The Lives of the Saints, Volume III (of 16): March

S. FELIX, B(A.D. 654.)

[Roman and Gallican Martyrologies. Salisbury Breviary, and more modern Anglican Martyrologies. Also Molanus and Greven, in their addition to Usuardus. Authorities: – Bede and Malmesbury.]

S. Felix was a native of Burgundy, where he made the acquaintance of Sigebert, prince of the East Angles, who had been banished by Redwald. This prince was instructed in the Christian faith, and was baptized by Felix, at that time a priest. Some time after this, upon the death of his half-brother, king Espenwald, the son of Redwald, who had been killed at the instigation of the cruel Penda, king of Mercia, Sigebert was called to England to succeed to the kingdom, and he made it his care to introduce Christianity among the East Angles, who occupied Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. For this purpose he invited S. Felix to his court, and he, without demur, quitted country, friends, and home, to preach the faith to an uncivilized pagan people. But first he visited Honorius, archbishop of Canterbury, and from him he received his mission to the East Angles, and, as some say, his episcopal consecration. King Sigebert appointed Dunwich, on the Suffolk coast, as the head-quarters of his mission. Felix went about, preaching, founding churches and schools, and, through his exertions, the Christian faith took deep root in the land. Some attribute to him the foundation of the first school at Cambridge.

S. Felix lived till after the year 650, and having discharged the duty of a most zealous pastor of souls for the space of seventeen years, he departed to the Lord, and was buried in his church of Dunwich, from which place his body was afterwards translated to Soham, near Ely, and thence to the abbey of Ramsey.

S. DUTHAC, B. OF ROSS(ABOUT A.D. 1250.)

[Aberdeen Breviary. Authorities: – Leslie, Dempster, and the lections in the Aberdeen Breviary.]

S. Duthac was a member of an illustrious Scottish family. Several legends are told of his life in the Aberdeen Breviary, and little else is known of his acts. For instance, when a child, he was sent by his mother to bring fire from a forge, as all the fires in the house were extinguished. The blacksmith, in brutal jest, put some red-hot charcoal in the lap of the child, and Duthac brought the glowing embers thus to his mother. He was afterwards in Ireland, where he studied, and on his return was appointed to the bishopric of Ross. One day he was dining with a noble, and a guest becoming very drunk, gave his gold ring and a slice of meat to one of Duthac's disciples, ordering him to take them to his home. The disciple was on his way, when passing through a churchyard, he laid down the meat and the ring, whilst he said a prayer for the repose of the souls of those who lay there. At that moment a kite swooped down and carried off ring and meat. The young man ran to S. Duthac in dismay, and the bishop summoned the kite, which obeyed, and bringing the meat and the ring, deposited them at his feet. Duthac took the ring and gave it to the young man, but allowed the kite to consume the meat. On the feast of S. Finbar, a canon at Dornock slew a fat ox, roasted it, and distributed slices amongst the poor. "Surely some one will take Duthac his share of the beef," said the canon. Then a man offered himself, and lo! as he travelled by night with the meat for the bishop, a light like that of a lamp shone on his way, guiding him; and thus the bishop received his share before it had lost its freshness.

S. JOHN OF GOD, C(A.D. 1550.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority: – His Life, written twenty-five years after his death.]

S. John, surnamed of God, was born in Portugal, in 1495. His parents were of the lowest rank, but good and pious people. John spent a considerable part of his youth in service, under the chief shepherd of the count of Oropeusa, in Castile, and in great innocence and virtue. In 1522, he enlisted himself in a company of foot soldiers, raised by the count, and served in the wars between the French and Spaniards; and afterwards in Hungary, against the Turks, whilst the emperor Charles V. was king of Spain. By the licentiousness of his companions, he by degrees lost his fear of offending God, grew careless, and fell into many grievous sins. The troop to which he belonged having been disbanded, he went into Andalusia in 1536, where he entered the service of a rich lady near Seville, as a shepherd. He was now about forty years of age, and being stung with remorse for his past misconduct, he resolved to amend his life and do penance for his sins. He accordingly employed the greatest part of his time, both by day and night, in the exercises of prayer and mortification; bewailing his ingratitude towards God, and deliberating how he could best dedicate himself to His service. His compassion for the distressed moved him to pass into Africa, that he might there comfort and succour the slaves, not without hopes of meeting with the crown of martyrdom. At Gibraltar he met a Portuguese gentleman condemned to banishment, whose estate had been confiscated by king John III. He was then in the hands of the king's officers, together with his wife and children, and was on his way to Ceuta in Barbary, the place of his exile. John, out of compassion, served him without wages. At Ceuta the gentleman fell sick, and was reduced to dispose of the small remains of his shattered fortune for the support of his wife and children, who were with him in exile. John, not content to sell what little stock he had to relieve them, hired himself as a day labourer at the public works to earn all he could for their subsistence. The apostasy of one of his companions alarmed him, and his confessor telling him that his going in quest of martyrdom was an illusion, he determined to return to Spain. Coming back to Gibraltar, his piety suggested to him to turn pedler, and sell little sacred pictures and books of devotion, which might furnish him with opportunities of exhorting his customers to virtue. His stock increasing considerably, he settled in Granada, where he opened a shop in 1538, being then forty-three years of age.

The great preacher and servant of God, John D'Avila, surnamed the Apostle of Andalusia, preached that year at Granada, on S. Sebastian's day, which is there kept as a great festival. John having heard his sermon, was so affected with it, that, melting into tears, he filled the whole church with his cries, beating his breast, and calling aloud for mercy. Then, frenzied with compunction, he ran about the streets, tearing his hair, and behaving in such a manner that he was followed by the rabble with sticks and stones, and came home besmeared with dirt and blood. He then gave away all that he had in the world, and having thus reduced himself to absolute poverty, continued his frantic racing about the streets as before, till some had the charity to take him to the venerable John D'Avila, covered with dirt and blood. The holy man spoke to him in private, heard his general confession, gave him proper advice, and promised his assistance. John returned soon after to his extravagances. He was, thereupon, taken up and put into a madhouse, on supposition of his being disordered in his senses, where, according to the barbarous practice of the time, the severest methods were employed to bring him to himself. He underwent all the pains inflicted on him as an atonement for the sins of his past life. D'Avila being informed of his conduct, came to visit him, and found him reduced almost to the grave by weakness; and his body covered with wounds and sores; but his soul was still vigorous, and thirsting after new sufferings and humiliations. D'Avila, however, told him that being sufficiently exercised in so singular a method of penance and humiliation, he had better employ himself for the time to come in something more conducive to his own and the public good. His exhortation had its desired effect; and John became at once calm, to the great astonishment of his keepers. He continued, however, some time longer in the hospital serving the sick, but left it entirely on S. Ursula's day, in 1539. He then thought of executing his design of doing something for the relief of the poor; and, after a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe, to recommend himself and his undertaking to her intercession, he began to sell wood in the market-place, and expend the proceeds in feeding the poor. Soon after he hired a house in which to shelter poor sick persons, whom he served and provided for with such ardour, prudence, and economy, that it surprised the whole city. This was the foundation of the Order of Charity, in 1540, which, by the benediction of heaven, has since been spread all over Christendom. John was occupied all day in serving his patients; in the night he went out to find new objects of charity, rather than to seek provisions for them; for people of their own accord brought him in all necessaries for his little hospital. The archbishop of Granada, highly pleased with the discipline and order maintained in the establishment, gave largely towards its support, and his example was followed by others. Indeed, the charity, patience, and modesty of S. John, and his wonderful care and foresight, made every one admire and favour the institution. The bishop of Tuy, president of the royal court of judicature in Granada, having invited the holy man to dinner, put several questions to him, to all of which he answered in such a manner, as gave the bishop the highest opinion of his prudence and good sense. It was this prelate who gave him the name of John of God, and prescribed him a kind of habit, though S. John never thought of founding a religious order; for the rules which bear his name were drawn up only in 1556, six years after his death; and religious vows were not introduced among his brethren before the year 1570.

To make trial of the saint's disinterestedness, the marquis of Tarifa came to him in disguise to beg an alms, on pretence of a necessary law-suit, and received from his hands twenty-five ducats, which was all he had. The marquis was so much edified by his charity, that, besides returning the sum, he bestowed on him one hundred and fifty crowns of gold, and sent to his hospital every day, during his stay at Granada, one hundred and fifty loaves, four sheep, and six pullets. But the holy man gave a still more illustrious proof of his charity when the hospital was on fire; for he carried out most of the sick on his own back; and though he passed and repassed through the flames, and staid in the midst of them a considerable time, he received no hurt. But his charity was not confined to his own hospital; he looked upon it as his own misfortune if the necessities of any distressed person in the country remained unrelieved. He, therefore, made strict inquiry into the wants of the poor over the whole province, relieved many in their own houses, found employment for those that were able to work, and with wonderful sagacity laid himself out in every way to comfort and assist the afflicted members of Christ. He was particularly active and vigilant in providing for young maidens in distress, to prevent the dangers to which they are often exposed. He also reclaimed many who were already leading a course of sin, seeking them out, crucifix in hand, and with many tears exhorting them to repentance. Though his life seemed to be taken up in continual action, he accompanied it with perpetual prayer and incredible corporal austerities. And his tears of devotion, his frequent raptures, and his eminent spirit of contemplation, gave a lustre to his other virtues. But his sincere humility appeared most admirable in all his actions, even amidst the honours which he received at the court of Valladolid, whither business called him. The king and princes seemed to vie with each other who should show him the greatest courtesy, or put the largest alms in his hands. Only the most tried virtue could stand the test of honours, but John remained the same retiring, modest man he was before, preferring humiliation to honour. One day, when a woman called him a hypocrite, and loaded him with invectives, he gave her a piece of money, and desired her to repeat all she had said in the market-place.

Worn out at last by ten years' hard service in his hospital, he fell sick. The immediate occasion was excess of fatigue in saving wood and other such things for the poor, in a great flood. He at first concealed his sickness, that he might not be obliged to diminish his labours, but in the meantime he carefully went over the inventories of all things belonging to his hospital, and inspected all the accounts. He also revised the rules he had made for its administration, the distribution of time, and the exercises of piety to be observed in it. Upon a complaint that he harboured idle strollers and bad women, the archbishop sent for him. The man of God threw himself at his feet, and said, "The Son of God came for sinners, and we are obliged to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this; and I confess that I know no other bad person in my hospital but myself." This he spoke with go much humility that all present were moved, and the archbishop dismissed him with respect, leaving all things to his discretion. His illness increasing, the news of it spread. The lady Anne Ossorio was no sooner informed of his condition, than she came in her carriage to the hospital to see him. The servant of God lay in his habit in his little cell, covered with a piece of an old coat instead of a blanket, and having under his head the basket in which he was wont to collect alms for his hospital. The poor and sick stood weeping round him. The lady, moved with compassion, despatched secretly a message to the archbishop, who sent immediately an order to S. John to obey her as he would himself, during his illness. By virtue of this authority she obliged him to leave his hospital. In going out, he visited the Blessed Sacrament, and poured forth his heart before It with fervour; remaining there absorbed in his devotions so long, that the lady Anne Ossorio caused him to be taken up and carried into her carriage, in which she conveyed him to her own house. She herself prepared, with the help of her maids, and gave him with her own hands, broth and medicine, and often read to him the history of the passion of our Divine Redeemer. The whole city was in tears; all the nobility visited him; and the magistrates came to beg he would give his benediction to the city. He answered, that his sins rendered him the scandal and reproach of their country, but recommended to them his brethren the poor, and his religious that served them. At last, by order of the archbishop, he gave the city his dying blessing. The archbishop said Mass in his chamber, heard his confession, gave him the viaticum and extreme unction, and promised to pay all his debts and to provide for all his poor.

The saint expired on his knees, before the altar, on the 8th of March, in 1550, at the age of fifty-five. He was buried by the archbishop, and all the clergy, both secular and regular, accompanied by the court, the nobles, and the whole city, with the utmost pomp. He was honoured by many miracles, beatified by Urban VIII., in 1630, and canonized by Alexander VIII., in 1690. His relics were translated into the church of his brethren in 1664. His Order of Charity to serve the sick was approved of by pope Pius V.

March 9

S. Pacian, B. of Barcelona, in Spain, before A.D. 390.

S. Gregory Nyssen, B.C. in Cappadocia, circ.A.D. 390.

S. Bosa, B. in Northumbria, A.D. 705.

SS. Cyril and Methodius, App. of the Sclaves, 9th cent.

S. Vitalis of Sicily, Ab., A.D. 994.

S. Catharine of Bologna, V. in Italy, A.D. 1463.

S. Frances of Rome, W., A.D. 1440.

S. PACIAN, B. OF BARCELONA(BEFORE A.D. 390.)

[Roman Martyrology, and those of Ado, Notker, &c. Authority: – Mention by S. Jerome in his Ecclesiastical Writers, c. 106, 107, 132.]

Very little is known of this Spanish bishop, except that he was the author of some short works, of which one, named Cerbus, is lost. His "Epistles against the Novatians," his "Call to Penitence," and "Book on Baptism," addressed to catechumens, are extant. His son, Flavius Dexter, probably born before Pacian received episcopal orders, was an intimate friend of S. Jerome. Pacian died at an advanced old age in the reign of Theodosius.

S. GREGORY, B. OF NYSSA(ABOUT A.D. 390.)

[Roman Martyrology. Greek Menæa on Jan. 10th; the Coptic Church on Oct. 14th and Nov. 22nd. Authorities: – His own works; S. Gregory Nazianzen, in his letters; Socrates and Theodoret, in their Ecclesiastical Histories.]

S. Gregory was a younger brother of the great S. Basil, (June 14th,) and S. Macrina, (July 19th), and son of the holy Eusebius and Emmelia, who are commemorated on May 30th. Having lost his parents, he grew to reverence his brother Basil as a father, and his sister was to him as a mother, the instructress of his youth. He was educated in every accomplishment of the age, and became a rhetorician. He was married to a virtuous wife, named Theosebia, who is highly praised by S. Gregory Nazianzen in his ninety-fifth epistle, in after years, as "an honour to the church, an ornament of Christ, the utility of our age, the confidence of women, the fairest and most illustrious amidst the beauty of the brethren, truly holy wife of a priest, his peer in honour and worthy of the great mysteries." These expressions, though somewhat exaggerated, at least point Theosebia out as having been held in high honour by the great saint of Nazianzus. Gregory took the order of Reader, but instead of pressing forward to the diaconate and priesthood, showed an inclination to pursue a wholly secular avocation as a rhetorician, and this drew down on him a sharp reprimand from Gregory Nazianzen. Moved by this admonition, Gregory now resolved to turn his back upon worldly ambition, and devote himself wholly to the service of God. He was ordained bishop by his brother, S. Basil, in 371, when he was aged about thirty-two; and it is supposed by Baronius that Gregory lived with his wife in continence after his ordination, and that she was a deaconess. Nazianzen calls her his "holy and blessed sister," but this is slender ground for the conjecture. It must be remembered that the celibacy of the clergy, which is now required by the Western Church, with such advantage, was not a matter of rule for some centuries, and never prevailed in the Oriental Church. There cannot be much doubt as to the great benefit to the Church of a celibate priesthood, but it is a mistake to endeavour to force the facts of history to demonstrate that celibacy was of primitive obligation. It was always felt to be most seemly, and when Western Christendom became sufficiently organized to admit of the rule being made, the popes and councils did what was evidently for the good of the Kingdom of Christ in requiring the clergy to lead celibate lives.

The see of Gregory was Nyssa, a city of Cappadocia, of no great importance, but the brilliant qualities of the bishop, and his orthodoxy, made him soon conspicuous as a leader of the Catholics, and an object of great dread to the Arians, who prevailed on Demosthesus, the deputy-governor of the province, under the Arian Emperor Valens, to banish him. He spent eight years in exile, wandering from place to place, suffering everywhere persecution from the Arians. Shortly after the accession of Gratian, Gregory was restored to his see, and assisted at the Synod of Antioch, in 379, where he received the charge of visiting the scattered churches in Arabia. To enable him to execute this arduous work, the emperor Theodosius accorded to him the use of the government post-horses and chariots.

He assisted at the council of Constantinople, in 381, when he was chosen to make the funeral oration upon S. Meletius, patriarch of Antioch, and was delegated to be one of the bishops to visit Pontus. In 385, he preached at Constantinople the funeral oration of the empress Flacilla, and he was present at the dedication of the church of the Ruffini, in Constantinople, in 394. The exact date of his death is not known, but it is certain that he died at an advanced age.

It is unnecessary here to give a list of the writings of this eloquent doctor, a large number of which have been preserved.

S. BOSA, B. C(A.D. 705.)

[Wilson, in his Anglican Martyrology. Authority: – Bede.]

The monastery of Streaneshalch, now Whitby, was founded and governed by S. Hilda, towards the middle of the seventh century. It was a double community, under the rule of S. Columba, which S. Aidan had introduced among the Northumbrians. S. Hilda governed a congregation of men, as well as one of women, who lived in separate dwellings; and such was her care that no less than five bishops issued from this monastery, all of them men of singular merit and sanctity.

The first of these saint-like prelates named by Bede, was Bosa, who, upon the removal of S. Wilfrid, was taken from the solitude of the cloister, and ordained bishop of York by S. Theodore, archbishop of Canterbury, in the year 678. He most worthily administered the see till 700, when S. Wilfrid being recalled, he humbly resigned his charge, and returned to his monastery.

But S. Wilfrid being again expelled, S. Bosa was once more called forth to the pastoral administration of the see of York, and this he discharged till his death, which took place in the year 705. He was a man of great sanctity and humility, says Bede. He had for his successor S. John of Beverley, from the same monastery.

SS. CYRIL AND METHODIUS, APP(9TH CENT.)

[Roman Martyrology. S. Cyril by the Greeks on Feb. 14th, and S. Methodius on May 11th. Authorities: – The Life of S. Clement, a pupil of Methodius, pub. by Pampereus, Vienna, 1802; the Pannonian Life of Methodius; notices in the Life of S. Ludmilla; the Chronicle of Nestor; Cosmas of Prague, &c. The chronology in this article is from the treatise on Cyril and Methodius by Philaret, B. of Rigá, Milan, 1847.]

Cyril and Methodius, the apostles of the Sclaves, were brothers, the sons of a man of rank in Thessalonica. Constantine, who afterwards in religion assumed the name of Cyril, the younger, was educated at the court of Constantinople, along with the youthful emperor Michael, from the year 842, by the illustrious Photius, who instructed him in logic, philosophy, mathematics, and languages. His talents and accomplishments afforded him every prospect of a brilliant career in the world, but he chose to lay them at the foot of the cross, and, receiving sacred orders, was appointed librarian to the palace. Soon after, he retired to a little monastery, but was drawn from it again to give lectures on philosophy.

Methodius, his elder brother, as soon as his education was accomplished, entered the army, and was appointed to the government of the Græco-Sclavonic province, which, according to the Pannonian legend, he held for ten years.

In the year 851, Cyril retired to Mount Olympus, along with his brother, who had also resolved to desert the world, and lived in seclusion and the practice of self-discipline. In 858, some dignitaries of the Chazars, a Hunnish race, besought the emperor to send them a learned man to instruct them in the true faith, and Cyril and Methodius were chosen for this purpose.

How long they spent on this mission is not known exactly. They tarried till they could organise the church among the Chazars, and then retired to the Crimea where they worked together at making a Sclavonic translation of the Holy Gospels. It was whilst there that they discovered what they believed to be the relics of S. Clement of Rome, lying together with the anchor, which had been attached to his neck, where the faithful had reverently laid him. They raised the holy remains, and translated them to Constantinople.

In 862, the Sclavonic princes of Pannonia, Rostislaw, Swaetopolk, and Kotel requested the emperor Michael and the patriarch Photius, to send them teachers, "because they were without true instructors for the people," and they desired to have instruction and divine worship in their own language. It appears that missionaries of the Latin Church had already penetrated amongst them, but probably had been unable to master the Sclavonic tongue; at any rate, the Pannonians refused to accept them, and turned instead to the East.

None were better calculated to execute this mission than the brothers Methodius and Cyril, the former of whom had for some years governed a Sclavonic province, and both had been born at Thessalonica, on the confines of Sclavonic peoples, and where the language was familiar to the natives. The emperor and the patriarch felt this, and sent for them, and laid before them the desire of these heathen princes for the Gospel. The brothers at once undertook the mission, and set forth. On their way, Methodius was the means of converting the king of the Bulgarians. Boris had a sister, who was a Christian, having been brought up at Constantinople, whither she had been carried captive. The prince, who was passionately fond of hunting, desired the emperor to procure him a picture, which should illustrate his favourite pursuit, and adorn the hall of a new palace he had erected. Methodius was commissioned by the emperor to execute this task, and he appeared before king Boris, not as a missionary, but as a painter. "Let it be a good picture," said the prince, "large and terrible." "So shall it be," answered Methodius, "but one thing I demand, – that I may be left undisturbed here to complete my picture, that no one may see it till it is finished." The king reluctantly gave his consent, and day after day passed, and the painter was not seen. He remained closely shut up within the palace. Weeks rolled by, and Boris chafed with impatience and curiosity. At length the doors were thrown open, and the king entered. Methodius had painted the Last Judgment on the wall of the new hall. Above sat Christ on the great white throne, and below were men receiving sentence, and the angels dividing them. An awe and wonder fell on the king's heart as he contemplated the picture. "What meaneth this?" he asked. And Methodius seized the opportunity of preaching to him righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. He explained to the king the whole doctrine of the final judgment of men, their fate depending on their works in this world, and the king trembled. He went on to speak of the glories prepared for the baptized who keep the faith. Great and purifying thoughts swelled the bosom of the prince, and going up to the painter, he said, with his head bowed, "Take me, and teach me, that I too may pass to the beautiful side of the picture."