april 2015 catholicismedu newsletter

Catholic ismedu

Bishop of Alexandria; Con-fessor and Doctor of the Church; born c. 296; died 2 May, 373. Athanasius was the greatest champion of Catholic belief on the sub-ject of the Incarnation that the Church has ever known and in his lifetime earned the characteristic title of "Father of Orthodoxy", by which he has been distin-guished ever since. While the chronology of his ca-reer still remains for the most part a hopelessly in-volved problem, the fullest material for an account of the main achievements of his life will be found in his collected writings and in the contemporary records of his time. He was born, it would seem, in Alexandria, most probably between the years 296 and 298. An earlier date, 293, is some-

times assigned as the more certain year of his birth; and it is supported appar-ently by the authority of the "Coptic Fragment" (published by Dr. O. von Lemm among the Mé-moires de l'académie im-périale des sciences de S.

Péterbourg, 1888) and cor-roborated by the un-doubted maturity of judge-ment revealed in the two treatises "Contra Gentes" and "De Incarnatione", which were admittedly written about the year 318 before Arianism as a

Volume 2, issue 4

S A I N T O F T H E M O N T H S T . A T H A N A S I U S

Apri l 2015

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St. Athanasius

movement had begun to make itself felt. It must be remembered, however, that in two distinct passages of his writings (Hist. Ar., lxiv, and De Syn., xviii) Athana-sius shrinks from speaking as a witness at first hand of the persecution which had bro-ken out under Maximian in 303; for in referring to the events of this period he makes no direct appeal to his own personal recollec-tions, but falls back, rather, on tradition. Such reserve would scarcely be intelligi-ble, if, on the hypothesis of the earlier date, the Saint had been then a boy fully ten years old. Besides, there must have been some sem-blance of a foundation in fact for the charge brought against him by his accusers in after-life (Index to the Festal Letters) that at the times of his consecration to the episcopate in 328 he had not yet attained the canoni-cal age of thirty years. These considerations, therefore, even if they are found to be not entirely convincing, would seem to make it likely that he was born not earlier than 296 nor later than 298. It is impossible to speak more than conjecturally of his family. Of the claim that it was both prominent and well-to-do, we can only ob-serve that the tradition to the effect is not contra-dicted by such scanty details as can be gleaned from the saint's writings. Those writ-ings undoubtedly betray

evidences of the sort of education that was given, for the most part, only to children and youths of a bet-ter class. It began with grammar, went on to rhetoric, and received its final touches under some one of the more fash-ionable lecturers in the philosophic schools. It is possible, of course, that he owed his remarkable train-ing in letters to his saintly predecessor's favour, if not to his personal care. But Athanasius was one of those rare personalities that derive incomparably more from their own na-tive gifts of intellect and character than from the fortuitousness of descent or environment. His career almost personifies a crisis in the history of Christian-ity; and he may be said rather to have shaped the events in which he took part than to have been shaped by them. Yet it would be misleading to urge that he was in no no-table sense a debtor to the time and place of his birth. The Alexandria of his boy-hood was an epitome, in-tellectually, morally, and politically, of that ethni-cally many-coloured Graeco-Roman world, over which the Church of the fourth and fifth centuries was beginning at last, with undismayed conscious-ness, after nearly three

hundred years of unweary-ing propagandism, to real-ize its supremacy. It was, moreover, the most impor-tant centre of trade in the whole empire; and its pri-macy as an emporium of ideas was more command-ing than that of Rome or Constantinople, Antioch or Marseilles. Already, in obe-dience to an instinct of which one can scarcely determine the full signifi-cance without studying the subsequent development of Catholicism, its famous "Catechetical School", while sacrificing no jot or tittle or that passion for orthodoxy which it had imbibed from Pantænus, Clement, and Origen, had begun to take on an al-most secular character in the comprehensiveness of its interests, and had counted pagans of influ-ence among its serious auditors (Eusebius, Church History VI.19). To have been born and brought up in such an at-mosphere of philosophiz-ing Christianity was, in spite of the dangers it in-volved, the timeliest and

S A I N T O F T H E M O N T H

on the hypothesis of

the earlier date

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Cathol ic ismedu newslet te r

most liberal of educations; and there is, as we have inti-mated, abundant evidence in the saint's writings to tes-tify to the ready response which all the better influ-ences of the place must have found in the heart and mind of the growing boy. Athanasius seems to have been brought early in life under the immediate super-vision of the ecclesiastical authorities of his native city. Whether his long intimacy with Bishop Alexander be-gan in childhood, we have no means of judging; but a story which pretends to de-scribe the circumstances of his first introduction to that prelate has been preserved for us by Rufinus (Hist. Eccl., I, xiv). The bishop, so the tale runs, had invited a num-ber of brother prelates to meet him at breakfast after a great religious function on the anniversary of the mar-tyrdom of St. Peter, a recent predecessor in the See of Alexandria. While Alexander was waiting for his guests to arrive, he stood by a win-dow, watching a group of boys at play on the seashore below the house. He had not observed them long before he discovered that they were imitating, evidently with no thought of irrever-ence, the elaborate ritual of Christian baptism. (Cf. Bun-sen's "Christianity and Man-kind", London, 1854, VI, 465; Denzinger, "Ritus Oriental-ium" in verb.; Butler's "Ancient Coptic Churches",

II, 268 et sqq.; "Bapteme chez les Coptes", "Dict. Theol. Cath.", Col. 244, 245). He therefore sent for the children and had them brought into his presence. In the investi-gation that followed it was discovered that one of the boys, who was no other than the future Primate of Alexandria, had acted the part of the bishop, and in that charac-ter had actually baptized several of his companions in the course of their play. Alexander, who seems to have been unaccountably puzzled over the answers he received to his inquir-ies, determined to recog-nize the make-believe bap-tisms as genuine; and de-cided that Athanasius and his playfellows should go into training in order to fit themselves for a clerical career. The Bollandists deal gravely with this story; and writers as diffi-cult to satisfy as Archdea-con Farrar and the late Dean Stanley are ready to accept it as bearing on its face "every indication of truth" (Farrar, "Lives of the Fathers", I, 337; Stanley, "East. Ch." 264). But whether in its present form, or in the modified version to be found in Soc-rates (I, xv), who omits all reference to the baptism and says that the game was "an imitation of the priesthood and the order of consecrated persons",

the tale raises a number of chronological difficulties and suggests even graver questions. Perhaps a not impossible explanation of its origin may be found in the theory that it was one of the many floating myths set in movement by popular imagination to account for the marked bias towards an ecclesiastical career which seems to have char-acterized the early boy-hood of the future cham-pion of the Faith. Sozomen speaks of his "fitness for the priesthood", and calls attention to the significant circumstance that he was "from his tenderest years practically self-taught". "Not long after this," adds the same authority, the Bishop Alexander "invited Athanasius to be his com-mensal and secretary. He had been well educated, and was versed in gram-mar and rhetoric, and had already, while still a young man, and before reaching the episcopate, given proof to those who dwelt with him of his wisdom


Perhaps a not

impossible

explanation of its

origin may be found

in the theory that it

was one of the

many floating myths


and acumen" (Soz., II, xvii). That "wisdom and acumen" manifested themselves in a various environment. While still a levite under Alexan-der's care, he seems to have been brought for a while into close relations with some of the solitaries of the Egyptian desert, and in par-ticular with the great St. An-thony, whose life he is said to have written. The evi-dence both of the intimacy and for the authorship of the life in question has been challenged, chiefly by non-Catholic writers, on the ground that the famous "Vita" shows signs of inter-polation. Whatever we may think of the arguments on the subject, it is impossible to deny that the monastic idea appealed powerfully to the young cleric's tempera-ment, and that he himself in after years was not only at home when duty or accident threw him among the soli-taries, but was so monasti-cally self-disciplined in his habits as to be spoken of as an "ascetic" (Apol. c. Arian., vi). In fourth-century usage the word would have a defi-niteness of connotation not easily determinable today. (See ASCETICISM). It is not surprising that one who was called to fill so large a place in the history of his time should have im-pressed the very form and feature of his personality, so to say, upon the imagination of his contemporaries. St. Gregory Nazianzen is not the

only writer who has described him for us (Orat. xxi, 8). A con-temptuous phrase of the Emperor Julian's (Epist., li) serves unin-tentionally to cor-roborate the picture drawn by kindlier ob-servers. He was slightly below the middle height, spare in build, but well-knit, and intensely energetic. He had a finely shaped head, set off with a thin growth of auburn hair, a small but sensitively mobile mouth, an aquiline nose, and eyes of intense but kindly brilli-ancy. He had a ready wit, was quick in intuition, easy and affable in manner, pleasant in conversation, keen, and, perhaps, some-what too unsparing in de-bate. (Besides the refer-ences already cited, see the detailed description given in the January Menaion quotes in the Bol-landist life. Julian the Apostate, in the letter al-luded to above sneers at the diminutiveness of his person — mede aner, all anthropiokos euteles, he writes.) In addition to these qualities, he was conspicuous for two others to which even his enemies bore unwilling testimony. He was endowed with a sense of humour that could be as mordant — we had almost said as sar-donic — as it seems to have been spontaneous

and unfailing; and his cour-age was of the sort that never falters, even in the most disheartening hour of defeat. There is one other note in this highly gifted and many-sided personal-ity to which everything else in his nature literally ministered, and which must be kept steadily in view, if we would possess the key to his character and writing and under-stand the extraordinary significance of his career in the history of the Christian Church. He was by instinct neither a liberal nor a con-servative in theology. In-deed the terms have a sin-gular inappropriateness as applied to a temperament like his. From first to last he cared greatly for one thing and one thing only; the integrity of his Catholic creed. The religion it en-gendered in him was obvi-ously — considering the traits by which we have tried to depict him — of a passionate and consuming sort. It began and ended in devotion to the Divinity of Jesus Christ. He was scarcely out of his teens,


Whatever we may

think of the

arguments on the

subject,


Volume 2, issue 4


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tents of both books certainly seems to jus-tify, that the two treatises are in reality one. As a plea for the Christian position, ad-dressed chiefly to both Gen-tiles and Jews, the young deacon's apology, while undoubtedly reminiscen-tial in methods and ideas of Origen and the earlier Alexandrians, is, neverthe-less, strongly individual and almost pietistic in tone. Though it deals with

and certainly not in more than deacon's orders, when he published two treatises, in which his mind seemed to strike the keynote of all its riper after-utterances on the subject of the Catholic Faith. The "Contra Gentes" and the "Oratio de Incarnatione" — to give them the Latin appel-lations by which they are more commonly cited — were written some time be-tween the years 318 and 323. St. Jerome (De Viris Illust.) refers to them under a common title, as "Adversum Gentes Duo Libri", thus leaving his read-ers to gather the impression which an analysis of the con-

the Incarnation, it is silent on most of those ulterior problems in defence of which Athanasius was soon to be summoned by the force of events and the fervour of his own faith to devote the best energies of his life. The work con-



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tains no explicit discussion of the nature of the Word's Sonship, for instance; no attempt to draw out the character of Our Lord's rela-tion to the Father; nothing, in short, of those Chris-tological questions upon which he was to speak with such splendid and coura-geous clearness in time of shifting formularies and un-determined views. Yet those ideas must have been in the air (Soz., I, xv) for, some time between the years 318 and 320, Arius, a native of Libya (Epiphanius, Haer., lxix) and priest of the Alex-andrian Church, who had already fallen under censure for his part in the Meletian troubles which broke out during the episcopate of St. Peter, and whose teachings had succeeded in making dangerous headway, even among "the consecrated virgins" of St. Mark's see (Epiphanius, Haer., lxix; Soc-rates, Church History I.6), accused Bishop Alexander of Sabellianism. Arius, who seems to have presumed on the charitable tolerance of the primate, was at length deposed (Apol. c. Ar., vi) in a synod consisting of more than one hundred bishops of Egypt and Libya (Depositio Ar., 3). The condemned he-resiarch withdrew first to Palestine and afterwards to Bithynia, where, under the protection of Eusebius of Nicomedia and his other "Collucianists", he was able to increase his already re-

markable influence, while his friends were endeavouring to pre-pare a way for his forcible reinstate-ment as priest of the Alexandrian Church. Athanasius, though only in deacon's or-der, must have taken no subordinate part in these events. He was the trusted secretary and advisor of Alexander, and his name appears in the list of those who signed the encyclical letter subse-quently issued by the pri-mate and his colleagues to offset the growing prestige of the new teaching, and the momentum it was be-ginning to acquire from the ostentatious patronage extended to the deposed Arius by the Eusebian fac-tion. Indeed, it is to this party and to the leverage it was able to exercise at the emperor's court that the subsequent importance of Arianism as a political, rather than a religious, movement seems primar-ily to be due. The heresy, of course, had its supposedly philosophic basis, which has been as-cribed by authors, ancient and modern, to the most opposite sources. St. Epiphanius characterizes it as a king of revived Aristo-teleanism (Haer., lxvii and lxxvi); and the same view is practically held by Socrates (Church History II.35), Theodoret (Haer. Fab., IV,

iii), and St. Basil (Against Eunomius I.9). On the other hand, a theologian as broadly read as Petavius (De Trin., I, viii, 2) has no hesitation in deriving it from Platonism; Newman in turn (Arians of the Fourth Cent., 4 ed., 109) sees in it the influence of Jewish prejudices rational-ized by the aid of Aristo-telean ideas; while Robert-son (Sel. Writ. and Let. of Ath. Proleg., 27) observes that the "common theol-ogy", which was invariably opposed to it, "borrowed its philosophical principles and method from the Pla-tonists." These apparently conflicting statements could, no doubt, be easily adjusted; but the truth is that the prestige of Arian-ism never lay in its ideas. From whatever school it may have been logically derived, the sect, as a sect, was cradled and nurtured in intrigue. Save in some few instances, which can be accounted for on quite other grounds, its proph-ets relied more upon curial influence than upon piety, or Scriptural knowledge, or


who had already

fallen under censure

for his part in the

Meletian troubles


Volume 2, issue 4


dialectics. That must be borne constantly in mind, if we would not move distract-edly through the bewilder-ing maze of events that make up the life of Athana-sius for the next half-century to come. It is his peculiar merit that he not only saw the drift of things from the very beginning, but was con-fident of the issue down to the last (Apol. c. Ar., c.). His insight and courage proved almost as efficient a bulwark to the Christian Church in the world as did his singu-larly lucid grasp of tradi-tional Catholic belief. His opportunity came in the year 325, when the Emperor Constantine, in the hope of putting an end to the scan-dalous debates that were disturbing the peace of the Church, met the prelates of the entire Catholic world in council at Nicaea. The great council convoked at this juncture was some-thing more than a pivotal event in the history of Chris-tianity. Its sudden, and, in one sense, almost unpre-meditated adoption of a quasi-philosophic and non-Scriptural term — homo-ousion — to express the character of orthodox belief in the Person of the historic Christ, by defining Him to be identical in substance, or co-essential, with the Father, together with its confident appeal to the emperor to lend the sanction of his au-thority to the decrees and pronouncements by which it

hoped to safeguard this more explicit profession of the ancient Faith, had consequences of the gravest import, not only to the world of ideas, but to the world of poli-tics as well. By the offi-cial promulgation to the term homoöusion, theo-logical speculation re-ceived a fresh but subtle impetus which made itself felt long after Athanasius and his supporters had passed away; while the appeal to the secular arm inaugurated a policy which endured practically with-out change of scope down to the publication of the Vatican decrees in our own time. In one sense, and that a very deep and vital one, both the definition and the policy were inevi-table. It was inevitable in the order of religious ideas that any break in logical continuity should be met by inquiry and protest. It was just as inevitable that the protest, to be effec-tive, should receive some countenance from a power which up to that moment had affected to regulate all the graver circumstances of life (cf. Harnack, Hist. Dog., III, 146, note; Bu-chanan's tr.). As Newman has remarked: "The Church could not meet together in one, without entering into a sort of negotiation with the power that be; who jealousy it is the duty of Christians, both as indi-

viduals and as a body, if possible, to dispel" (Arians of the Fourth Cent., 4 ed., 241). Athanasius, though not yet in priest's orders, accompanied Alexander to the council in the charac-ter of secretary and theo-logical adviser. He was not, of course, the originator of the famous homoösion. The term had been pro-posed in a non-obvious and illegitimate sense by Paul of Samosata to the Father at Antioch, and had been rejected by them as savouring of materialistic conceptions of the God-head (cf. Athan., "De Syn., " xliii; Newman, "Arians of the Fourth Cent., " 4 ed., 184-196; Petav. "De Trin., " IV, v, sect. 3; Robertson, "Sel. Writ. and Let. Athan. Proleg.", 30 sqq.). It may even be questioned whether, if left to his own logical instincts, Athana-sius would have suggested an orthodox revival of the term at all ("De Decretis", 19; "Orat. c. Ar.", ii, 32; "Ad Monachos", 2). His writings, composed during the forty-six critical years


He was not, of

course, the

originator of the

famous homoösion.


of his episcopate, show a very sparing use of the word; and though, as New-man (Arians of the Fourth Cent., 4 ed., 236) reminds us, "the authentic account of the proceedings" that took place is not extant, there is nevertheless abun-dant evidence in support of the common view that it had been unexpectedly forced upon the notice of the bish-ops, Arian and orthodox, in the great synod by Constan-tine's proposal to account the creed submitted by Eu-sebius of Caesarea, with the addition of the homoösion, as a safeguard against possi-ble vagueness. The sugges-tion had in all probability come from Hosius (cf. "Epist. Eusebii.", in the appendix to the "De Decretis", sect. 4; Socrates, Church History I.8 and III.7; Theodoret, Church History I; Athanasius; "Arians of the Fourth Cent.", 6, n. 42; outos ten en Nikaia pistin exetheto, says the saint, quoting his oppo-nents); but Athanasius, in common with the leaders of the orthodox party, loyally accepted the term as ex-pressive of the traditional sense in which the Church had always held Jesus Christ to be the Son of God. The conspicuous abilities dis-played in the Nicaean de-bates and the character for courage and sincerity he won on all sides made the youthful cleric henceforth a marked man (St. Greg. Naz., Orat., 21). His life could not

be lived in a corner. Five months after the close of the council the Primate of Alex-andria died; and Athanasius, quite as much in recognition of his talent, it would appear, as in defer-ence to the deathbed wishes of the de-ceased prelate, was cho-sen to succeed him. His election, in spite of his ex-treme youth and the oppo-sition of a remnant of the Arian and Meletian fac-tions in the Alexandrian Church, was welcomed by all classes among the laity ("Apol. c. Arian", vi; So-zomen, Church History II.17, 21, 22). The opening years of the saint's rule were occupied with the wonted episcopal routine of a fourth-century Egyptian bishop. Episcopal visitations, synods, pas-toral correspondence, preaching and the yearly round of church functions consumed the bulk of his time. The only noteworthy events of which antiquity furnishes at least probable data are connected with the successful efforts which he made to provide a hierarchy for the newly planted church in Ethiopia (Abyssinia) in the person of St. Frumentius (Rufinus I, ix; Soc. I, xix; Soz., II, xxiv), and the friendship which appears to have begun about this time between himself and the monks of

St. Pachomius. But the seeds of disaster which the saint's piety had unflinch-ingly planted at Nicaea were beginning to bear a disquieting crop at last. Already events were hap-pening at Constantinople which were soon to make him the most important figure of his time. Eusebius of Nicomedia, who had fallen into disgrace and been banished by the Em-peror Constantine for his part in the earlier Arian controversies, had been recalled from exile. After an adroit campaign of in-trigue, carried on chiefly through the instrumental-ity of the ladies of the im-perial household, this smooth-mannered prelate so far prevailed over Con-stantine as to induce him to order the recall of Arius likewise from exile. He himself sent a characteris-tic letter to the youthful Primate of Alexandria, in which he bespoke his fa-vour for the condemned heresiarch, who was de-scribed as a man whose opinions had been misrep-resented. These events


The suggestion had

in all probability

come from Hosius


Volume 2, issue 4


must have happened some time about the close of the year 330. Finally the em-peror himself was per-suaded to write to Athana-sius, urging that all those who were ready to submit to the definitions of Nicaea should be re-admitted to ecclesiastical communion. This Athanasius stoutly re-fused to do, alleging that there could be no fellowship between the Church and the one who denied the Divinity of Christ. The Bishop of Nicomedia thereupon brought various ecclesiastical and political charges against Athanasius, which, though unmistakably refuted at their first hearing, were afterwards refurbished and made to do service at nearly every stage of his subsequent trials. Four of these were very definite, to wit: that he had not reached the canonical age at the time of his consecration; that he had imposed a linen tax upon the provinces; that his officers had, with his connivance and authority, profaned the Sacred Myster-ies in the case of an alleged priest names Ischyras; and lastly that he had put one Arenius to death and after-wards dismembered the body for purposes of magic. The nature of the charges and the method of support-ing them were vividly char-acteristic of the age. The curious student will find them set forth in pictur-esque detail in the second

part of the Saint's "Apologia", or "Defense against the Arians", writ-ten long after the events themselves, about the year 350, when the re-tractation of Ursacius and Valens made their publication triumphantly opportune. The whole unhappy story at this distance of time reads in parts more like a specimen of late Greek romance than the account of an in-quisition gravely con-ducted by a synod of Chris-tian prelates with the idea of getting at the truth of a series of odious accusa-tions brought against one of their number. Sum-moned by the emperor's order after protracted de-lays extended over a pe-riod of thirty months (Soz., II, xxv), Athanasius finally consented to meet the charges brought against him by appearing before a synod of prelates at Tyre in the year 335. Fifty of his suffragans went with him to vindicate his good name; but the complexion of the ruling party in the synod made it evident that justice to the accused was the last thing that was thought of. It can hardly be wondered at, that Athana-sius should have refused to be tried by such a court. He, therefore, suddenly withdrew from Tyre, es-caping in a boat with some faithful friends who ac-companied him to Byzan-

tium, where he had made up his mind to present himself to the emperor. The circumstances in which the saint and the great catechumen met were dramatic enough. Constantine was returning from a hunt, when Athana-sius unexpectedly stepped into the middle of the road and demanded a hearing. The astonished emperor could hardly believe his eyes, and it needed the assurance of one of the attendants to convince him that the petitioner was not an impostor, but none other than the great Bishop of Alexandria him-self. "Give me", said the prelate, "a just tribunal, or allow me to meet my ac-cusers face to face in your presence." His request was granted. An order was per-emptorily sent to the bish-ops, who had tried Athana-sius and, of course, con-demned him in his ab-sence, to repair at once to the imperial city. The com-mand reached them while they were on their way to the great feast of the dedi-


The astonished

emperor could

hardly believe his

eyes, and it needed

the assurance of

one of the

attendants


cation of Constantine's new church at Jerusalem. It natu-rally caused some conster-nation; but the more influ-ential members of the Euse-bian faction never lacked either courage or resource-fulness. The saint was taken at his word; and the old charges were renewed in the hearing of the emperor himself. Athanasius was con-demned to go into exile at Treves, where he was re-ceived with the utmost kind-ness by the saintly Bishop Maximinus and the em-peror's eldest son, Constan-tine. He began his journey probably in the month of February, 336, and arrived on the banks of the Moselle in the late autumn of the same year. His exile lasted nearly two years and a half. Public opinion in his own diocese remained loyal to him during all that time. It was not the least eloquent testimony to the essential worth of his character that he could inspire such faith. Constantine's treatment of Athanasius at this crisis in his fortunes has always been difficult to understand. Af-fecting, on the one hand, a show of indignation, as if he really believed in the politi-cal charge brought against the saint, he, on the other hand, refused to appoint a successor to the Alexandrian See, a thing which he might in consistency have been obliged to do had he taken seriously the condemnation proceedings carried through

by the Eusebians at Tyre. Meanwhile events of the greatest impor-tance had taken place. Arius had died amid startlingly dra-matic circumstances at Constantinople in 336; and the death of Constantine himself had followed, on the 22nd of May the year after. Some three weeks later the younger Constantine in-vited the exiled primate to return to his see; and by the end of November of the same year Athanasius was once more established in his episcopal city. His return was the occasion of great rejoicing. The peo-ple, as he himself tells us, ran in crowds to see his face; the churches were given over to a kind of jubi-lee; thanksgivings were offered up everywhere; and clergy and laity ac-counted the day the happi-est in their lives. But al-ready trouble was brewing in a quarter from which the saint might reasonably have expected it. The Eu-sebian faction, who from this time forth loom large as the disturbers of his peace, managed to win over to their side the weak-minded Emperor Constantius to whom the East had been assigned in the division of the empire that followed on the death of Constantine. The old

charges were refurbished with a graver ecclesiastical accusation added by way of rider. Athanasius had ignored the decision of a duly authorized synod. He had returned to his see without the summons of ecclesiastical authority (Apol. c. Ar., loc. cit.). In the year 340, after the fail-ure of the Eusebian mal-contents to secure the ap-pointment of an Arian can-didate of dubious reputa-tion names Pistus, the no-torious Gregory of Cappa-docia was forcibly intruded into the Alexandrian See, and Athanasius was obliged to go into hiding. Within a very few weeks he set out for Rome to lay his case before the Church at large. He had made his appeal to Pope Julius, who took up his cause with a whole-heartedness that never wavered down to the day of that holy pon-tiff's death. The pope sum-moned a synod of bishops to meet in Rome. After a careful and detailed exami-nation of the entire case, the primate's innocence was proclaimed to the


Athanasius was

condemned to go

into exile at Treves,


Volume 2, issue 4


Christian world. Meanwhile the Eusebian party had met at Antioch and passed a series of de-crees framed for the sole purpose of preventing the saint's return to his see. Three years were passed at Rome, during which time the idea of the cenobitical life, as Athanasius had seen it practised in the deserts of Egypt, was preached to the clerics of the West (St. Jerome, Epistle cxxvii, 5). Two years after the Roman synod had published its de-cision, Athanasius was sum-moned to Milan by the Em-peror Constans, who laid before him the plan which Constantius had formed for a great reunion of both the Eastern and Western Churches. Now began a time of extraordinary activity for the Saint. Early in the year 343 we find the undaunted exile in Gaul, whither he had gone to consult the saintly Hosius, the great champion of orthodoxy in the West. The two together set out for the Council of Sardica which had been summoned in def-erence to the Roman pon-tiff's wishes. At this great gathering of prelates the case of Athanasius was taken up once more; and once more was his inno-cence reaffirmed. Two con-ciliar letters were prepared, one to the clergy and faith-ful of Alexandria, and the other to the bishops of Egypt and Libya, in which the will of the Council was

made known. Mean-while the Eusebian party had gone to Philippopo-lis, where they issued an anathema against Atha-nasius and his support-ers. The persecution against the orthodox party broke out with re-newed vigour, and Con-stantius was induced to prepare drastic measures against Athanasius and the priests who were devoted to him. Orders were given that if the Saint attempted to re-enter his see, he should be put to death. Athanasius, accordingly, withdrew from Sardica to Naissus in Mysia, where he celebrated the Easter festi-val of the year 344. After that he set out for Aquileia in obedience to a friendly summons from Constans, to whom Italy had fallen in the division of the empire that followed on the death of Constantine. Meanwhile an unexpected event had taken place which made the return of Athanasius to his see less difficult than it had seemed for many months. Gregory of Cappa-docia had died (probably of violence) in June, 345. The embassy which had been sent by the bishops of Sardica to the Emperor Constantius, and which had at first met with the most insulting treatment, now received a favourable hearing. Constantius was induced to reconsider his decision, owing to a

threatening letter from his brother Constans and the uncertain condition of af-fairs of the Persian border, and he accordingly made up his mind to yield. But three separate letters were needed to overcome the natural hesitation of Athanasius. He passed rap-idly from Aquileia to Treves, from Treves to Rome, and from Rome by the northern route to Adri-anople and Antioch, where he met Constantius. He was accorded a gracious interview by the vacillating Emperor, and sent back to his see in triumph, where he began his memorable ten years' reign, which lasted down to the third exile, that of 356. These were full years in the life of the Bishop; but the in-trigues of the Eusebian, or Court, party were soon renewed. Pope Julius had died in the month of April, 352, and Liberius had suc-ceeded him as Sovereign Pontiff. For two years Liberius had been favour-able to the cause of Atha-nasius; but driven at last into exile, he was induced


He passed rapidly

from Aquileia to

Treves, from Treves

to Rome


to sign an ambiguous for-mula, from which the great Nicene test, the ho-moöusion, had been studi-ously omitted. In 355 a council was held at Milan, where in spite of the vigor-ous opposition of a handful of loyal prelates among the Western bishops, a fourth condemnation of Athanasius was announced to the world. With his friends scat-tered, the saintly Hosius in exile, the Pope Liberius de-nounced as acquiescing in Arian formularies, Athana-sius could hardly hope to escape. On the night of 8 February, 356, while en-gaged in services in the Church of St. Thomas, a band of armed men burst in to secure his arrest (Apol. de Fuga, 24). It was the begin-ning of his third exile. Through the influence of the Eusebian faction at Constan-tinople, an Arian bishop, George of Cappadocia, was now appointed to rule the see of Alexandria. Athana-sius, after remaining some days in the neighbourhood of the city, finally withdrew into the deserts of upper Egypt, where he remained for a period of six years, liv-ing the life of the monks and devoting himself in his en-forced leisure to the compo-sition of that group of writ-ings of which we have the rest in the "Apology to Con-stantius", the "Apology for his Flight", the "Letter to the Monks", and the "History of the Arians". Legend has

naturally been busy with this period of the Saint's career; and we may find in the "Life of Pa-chomius" a collection of tales brimful of incidents, and enli-vened by the recital of "deathless 'scapes in the breach." But by the close of the year 360 a change was apparent in the complexion of the anti-Nicene party. The Arians no longer presented an unbroken front to their orthodox opponents. The Emperor Constantius, who had been the cause of so much trouble, died 4 No-vember, 361, and was suc-ceeded by Julian. The proc-lamation of the new prince's accession was the signal for a pagan outbreak against the still dominant Arian faction in Alexandria. George, the usurping Bishop, was flung into prison and murdered amid circumstances of great cru-elty, 24 December (Hist. Aceph., VI). An obscure presbyter of the name of Pistus was immediately chosen by the Arians to succeed him, when fresh news arrived that filled the orthodox party with hope. An edict had been put forth by Julian (Hist. Aceph., VIII) permitting the exiled bishops of the "Galileans" to return to their "towns and prov-inces". Athanasius re-ceived a summons from his

own flock, and he accord-ingly re-entered his episco-pal capital 22 February, 362. With characteristic energy he set to work to re-establish the somewhat shattered fortunes of the orthodox party and to purge the theological at-mosphere of uncertainty. To clear up the misunder-standings that had arisen in the course of the previ-ous years, an attempt was made to determine still further the significance of the Nicene formularies. In the meanwhile, Julian, who seems to have be-come suddenly jealous of the influence that Athana-sius was exercising at Alex-andria, addressed an order to Ecdicius, the Prefect of Egypt, peremptorily com-manding the expulsion of the restored primate, on the ground that he had never been included in the imperial act of clemency. The edict was communi-cated to the bishop by Py-thicodorus Trico, who, though described in the "Chronicon Athanasianum" (xxxv) as a "philosopher", seems to have behaved


With his friends

scattered, the

saintly Hosius in

exile, the Pope

Liberius denounced

as acquiescing in

Arian formularies,


Volume 2, issue 4


with brutal insolence. On 23 October the people gath-ered about the proscribed bishop to protest against the emperor's decree; but the saint urged them to submit, consoling them with the promise that his absence would be of short duration. The prophecy was curiously fulfilled. Julian terminated his brief career 26 June, 363; and Athanasius returned in secret to Alexandria, where he soon received a docu-ment from the new em-peror, Jovian, reinstating him once more in his episco-pal functions. His first act was to convene a council which reaffirmed the terms of the Nicene Creed. Early in September he set out for Antioch, bearing a synodal letter, in which the pro-nouncements of this council had been embodied. At An-tioch he had an interview with the new emperor, who received him graciously and even asked him to prepare an exposition of the ortho-dox faith. But in the follow-ing February Jovian died; and in October, 364, Atha-nasius was once more an exile. With the turn of circum-stances that handed over to Valens the control of the East this article has nothing to do; but the accession of the emperor gave a fresh lease of life to the Arian party. He issued a decree banishing the bishops who has been deposed by Con-stantius, but who had been

permitted by Jovian to return to their sees. The news created the great-est consternation in the city of Alexandria itself, and the prefect, in order to prevent a serious out-break, gave public assur-ance that the very spe-cial case of Athanasius would be laid before the emperor. But the saint seems to have divined what was preparing in se-cret against him. He qui-etly withdrew from Alex-andria, 5 October, and took up his abode in a country house outside the city. It was during this pe-riod that he is said to have spent four months in hid-ing in his father's tomb (Sozomen, Church History VI.12; Socrates, Church History IV.12). Valens, who seems to have sincerely dreaded the possible con-sequences of a popular outbreak, gave order within a very few weeks for the return of Athana-sius to his see. And now began that last period of comparative repose which unexpectedly terminated his strenuous and extraor-dinary career. He spent his remaining days, character-istically enough, in re-emphasizing the view of the Incarnation which had been defined at Nicaea and which has been sub-stantially the faith of the Christian Church from its earliest pronouncement in Scripture down to its last

utterance through the lips of Pius X in our own times. "Let what was confessed by the Fathers of Nicaea prevail", he wrote to a phi-losopher friend and corre-spondent in the closing years of his life (Epist. lxxi, ad Max.). That that confes-sion did at last prevail in the various Trinitarian for-mularies that followed upon that of Nicaea was due, humanly speaking, more to his laborious wit-ness than to that of any other champion in the long teachers' roll of Catholi-cism. By one of those inex-plicable ironies that meet us everywhere in human history, this man, who had endured exile so often, and risked life itself in de-fence of what he believed to be the first and most essential truth of the Catholic creed, died not by violence or in hiding, but peacefully in his own bed, surrounded by his clergy and mourned by the faith-ful of the see he had served so well. His feast in the Roman Calendar is kept on the anniversary of


That that

confession did at

last prevail in the

various Trinitarian

formularies that

followed


his death. [Note on his depiction in art: No accepted emblem has been assigned to him in the history of western art; and his career, in spite of its pic-turesque diversity and ex-traordinary wealth of detail, seems to have furnished

little, if any, material for distinctive illustration. Mrs. Jameson tells us that according to the Greek formula, "he ought to be represented old, bald-headed, and with a long white beard" (Sacred and Legendary Art, I, 339).]

Clifford, Cornelius. "St. Athanasius." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 13 Mar. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02035a.htm>.

C L A S S I C C A T H O L I C L I T E R A T U R E I M I T A T I O N O F C H R I S T B Y T H O M A S A ’ K E M P I S


according to their wish and liking, but if otherwise than they desire, they are soon disturbed and sad-dened. Differences of feel-ing and opinion often di-vide friends and acquaint-ances, even those who are religious and devout. An old habit is hard to break, and no one is willing to be led farther than he can see. If you rely more upon your intelligence or indus-try than upon the virtue of submission to Jesus Christ, you will hardly, and in any case slowly, become an enlightened man. God wants us to be completely subject to Him and, through ardent love, to rise above all human wis-dom. Chapter 15- Works Done in Charity NEVER do evil for anything in the world, or for the love of any man. For one who is in need, however, a good work may at times be purposely left undone or changed for a better one. This is not the omission of

a good deed but rather its improvement. Without charity external work is of no value, but anything done in charity, be it ever so small and trivial, is en-tirely fruitful inasmuch as God weighs the love with which a man acts rather than the deed itself. He does much who loves much. He does much who does a thing well. He does well who serves the com-mon good rather than his own interests. Now, that which seems to be charity is oftentimes really sensu-ality, for man’s own incli-nation, his own will, his hope of reward, and his self-interest, are motives seldom absent. On the contrary, he who has true and perfect charity seeks

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A'Kempis This book can be downloaded for free here: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/kempis/imitation.html. Book one: Thoughts helpful in the life of the soul. Chapter 14- Avoiding Rash Judgment TURN your attention upon yourself and beware of judg-ing the deeds of other men, for in judging others a man labors vainly, often makes mistakes, and easily sins; whereas, in judging and tak-ing stock of himself he does something that is always profitable. We frequently judge that things are as we wish them to be, for through personal feeling true per-spective is easily lost. If God were the sole object of our desire, we should not be disturbed so easily by oppo-sition to our opinions. But often something lurks within or happens from without to draw us along with it. Many, unawares, seek themselves in the things they do. They seem even to enjoy peace of mind when things happen

TURN your

attention upon

yourself and

beware of judging

the deeds of other

men,

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St. Thomas A’ kempis


self in nothing, but searches all things for the glory of God. Moreover, he envies no man, because he desires no personal pleasure nor does he wish to rejoice in himself; rather he desires the greater glory of God above all things. He ascribes to man nothing that is good but attributes it wholly to God from Whom all things proceed as from a fountain, and in Whom all the blessed shall rest as their last end and fruition. If man had but a spark of true charity he would surely sense that all the things of earth are full of vanity! Chapter 16- Bearing with the Faults of Others UNTIL God ordains other-wise, a man ought to bear patiently whatever he can-not correct in himself and in others. Consider it better thus—perhaps to try your patience and to test you, for without such patience and trial your merits are of little account. Nevertheless, un-der such difficulties you should pray that God will consent to help you bear

them calmly. If, after being admonished once or twice, a person does not amend, do not argue with him but commit the whole matter to God that His will and honor may be furthered in all His servants, for God knows well how to turn evil to good. Try to bear patiently with the defects and infirmities of others, whatever they may be, because you also have many a fault which others must endure. If you cannot make yourself what you would wish to be, how can you bend others to your will? We want them to be perfect, yet we do not cor-rect our own faults. We wish them to be severely corrected, yet we will not correct ourselves. Their great liberty displeases us, yet we would not be de-nied what we ask. We would have them bound by laws, yet we will allow ourselves to be restrained in nothing. Hence, it is clear how seldom we think of others as we do of our-

selves. If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God’s sake? But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with one an-other’s burdens, for there is no man without fault, no man without burden, no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough. Hence we must support one an-other, console one an-other, mutually help, coun-sel, and advise, for the measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in time of adversity—adversity that does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.

A mild answer *breaketh wrath: but a harsh word stirreth up fury.

C L A S S I C C AT H O L I C L I T E R AT U R E

P R OV E R B O F T H E M O N T H : P R OV E R B 1 5

But God has so

ordained, that we

may learn to bear

with one another’s

burdens,


April 1st- At Rome, St. Theodora, martyr. St. Venantius, bishop and martyr. In Egypt, the holy martyrs Victor and Stephen. In Armenia, the holy martyrs Quinctian and Irenaeus. At Constantinople, St. Macarius, confessor, At Grenoble, the bishop St. Hugh, At Amiens, the abbot St. Valery. April 2nd- St. Francis of Paula, founder of the Order of Minims. At Caesarea, in Palestine, martyr St. Amphian, St. Theodosia, a virgin of Tyre, martyr, At Lyons, St. Nizier, bishop of that city, At Como, St. Abundius, bishop and confessor. At Langres, St. Urban, bishop. In Palestine, St. Mary of Egypt. April 3rd- At Taormina, in Sicily, the bishop St. Pancratius, At Tomis, in Scythia, the holy martyrs Evagrius and Benignus. At Thessalonica, the martyrdom of the holy virgins Agape and Chionia, At Tyre, the martyr St. Vulpian, In the monastery of Medicion, in the East, the abbot St. Nicetas, In England, St. Richard, bishop of Chichester, St. Burgundofora, abbess and virgin. At Palermo, St. Benedict, confessor. April 4th- At Seville, in Spain, St. Isidore, a bishop, At Thessalonica, the holy martyrs Agathopodes, a deacon, and Theodulus, a lector, At Milan, the demise of St. Ambrose, bishop and confessor, At Constantinople, St. Plato, a monk, In Palestine, the anchoret St. Zozimus. April 5th- At Vannes, in Brittany, St. Vincent Ferrer, confessor, At Thessalonica, St. Irene, virgin, In the island of Lesbos, the sufferings of five holy martyrs. St. Zeno, martyr, In Af-rica, the holy martyrs. April 6th- In Rome, blessed Sixtus, pope and martyr, In Macedonia, the holy martyrs Timothy and Diogenes. In Persia, one hundred and twenty holy martyrs. At Ascalon, the holy martyrs Platonides and two others. At Carthage, St. Marcellin, At Rome, pope St. Celestin, In Ireland, the holy bishop Celsus In Denmark, St. William. April 7th- In Africa, holy martyrs Epiphanius, bishop, q, Rufinus, and thirteen others. At Sinope, in Pontus, two hundred holy martyrs. In Cilicia, St. Calliopius, martyr. At Nicome-dia, St. Cyriacus and ten other martyrs. At Alexandria, St. Peleusius, priest and martyr. At Rome, St. Hegesippus, At Verona, St. Saturninus, bishop and confessor. In Syria, St. Aphraates, an anchoret. April 8th- At Alexandria, the martyr St. Ædesius, In Africa, the holy martyrs Januarius, Maxima, and Macaria. At Carthage, St. Concessa, martyr. the Saints Herodion, Asyncritus and Phlegon, At Corinth, the bishop St. Denis, At Tours, the holy bishop Perpetuus, At Ferentino, in Campania, St. Redemptus, bishop, At Como, St. Amantius, bishop and con-fessor. April 9th- At Antioch, St. Prochorus, At Rome holy martyrs Demetrius, Concessus, Hilary and their companions. At Sirmium, seven holy virgins and martyrs, At Caesarea, in Cap-padocia, St. Eupsychius, martyr, In Africa, the holy Massylitan martyrs, At Amida, in Mesopotamia, St. Acatius, bishop, At Rouen, St. Hugh, bishop and confessor. At Die, St. Marcellus, bishop, In Judea, St. Mary Cleophas, At Rome, St. Monica, At Mons, in Hain-aut, blessed Waltrude. April 10th- The prophet Ezechiel, At Rome, many holy martyrs, At Alexandria, Fortunian, the holy martyrs Terentius, African, Pompey, and their companions, St. Macarius, bishop of Antioch, At Valladolid, in Spain, St. Michael of the Saints, confessor. April 11th- At Rome, St. Leo, pope and confessor, At Pergamus, in Asia, St. Antipas, At Salona, in Dalmatia, the holy martyrs Domnion, a bishop, and eight soldiers. At Gortina, in Crete, St. Philip, At Nicomedia, St. Eustorgius, a priest. At Spoleto, St. Isaac, monk and confessor, At Gaza, in Paletsine, St. Barsanuphius, an anchoret. April 12th- At Verona, the matryrdom of the bishop St. Zeno, In Cappadocia, St. Sabas, a

S A I N T S O F T H E M O N T H

Volume 2, issue 4


Goth, At Braga, in Portugal, St. Victor, martyr, At Fermo, in the Marches, St. Vissia, virgin and martyr. At Rome, pope St. Julius, At Gap, St. Constantine, bishop and confessor. At Pavia, St. Damian, bishop. April 13th- In Seville, in Spain, St. Hermenegild, At Pergamus, in Asia, the holy martyrs Carpus, bishop of Thyatira, Papylus, deacon, and his sister Agathonica, Agathadorus, their servant, and many others, Justin the Philosopher, the martyrdom of the Saints Maximus, Quinctillian, and Dadas, At Ravenna, St. Ursus, bishop and confessor. April 14th- The feast of St. Justin, martyr, At Rome, on the Appian way, holy martyrs Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus, At Teramo, St. Proculus, bishop and martyr. Also, St. Domnina, virgin and martyr, crowned with other virgins, her companions. At Alexandria, St. Thomaides, martyr. St. Ardalion, an actor. At Lyons, St. Lambert, bishop and confes-sor. At Alexandria, St. Fronto, an abbot, At Rome, St. Abundius. April 15th- At Rome, the Saints Basilissa and Anastasia. holy martyrs Maro, Eutyches, and Victorinus, In Persia, holy martyrs Maxinius and OJympiades, At Perentino, in Campania, St. Eutychius, martyr. At Myra, in Lycia, St. Crescens. April 16th- Corinth, the holy martyrs Callistus and Charisius, with seven others, At Sara-gossa, in Spain, eighteen holy martyrs, Optatus, Lupercus, Successus, Martial, Urbanus, Julia, Quinctilian, Pubilus, Fronto, Felix, Caecilian, Eventius, Primitivus, Apodemius, and four others, St. Encratis, a virgin and martyr, the martyr St. Lambert. At Palencia, St. Turibius, bishop of Astorga, At Braga, in Portugal, the bishop St. Fructuosus. St. Paternus, bishop of Avrauches. In Belgium, near Valenciennes, St. Drogo, confessor. At Siena, in Tuscany, blessed Joachim, of the Order of the Servites of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At Rome, St. Benedict Joseph Labre, confessor. April 17th- At Rome, St. Anicetus, pope and martyr, In Africa, blessed Mappalicus, and many martyrs, Marcian. At Antioch, the holy martyrs Peter, a deacon, and Hermogenes, his servant. At Cordova, the holy martyrs Elias, a priest, Paul and Isidore, monks. At Vi-enne, St. Pantagathus, bishop. At Tortona, St. Innocent, bishop and confessor. At Citeaux, in France, the abbot St. Stephen, In the monastery of Chaise-Dieu, in the diocese of Cler-mont, St. Robert, confessor. April 18th- At Rome, St. Apollonius, At Messina, holy martyrs, Eleutherius, bishop of Illyricum, and Anthia, his mother. St. Corebus, prefect, At Brescia, St. Calocerus, a martyr, At Cordova, St. Perfect, priest and martyr, At Milan, St. Galdini, cardinal and bishop of that city, In Tuscany, on Mount Senario, blessed Amideus. April 19th- St. Timon, At Collioure, in Spain, the holy martyr Vincent. the holy martyrs Socrates and Denis, At Jerusalem, St. Paphnutius, martyr. At Canterbury, in England, St. Elphege, bishop and martyr. At Antioch, in Pisidia, St. George, a bishop, At Rome, pope St. Leo IX, In the monastery of Lobbes, St. Ursmar, bishop. At Florence, St. Crescent, con-fessor. April 20th- At Rome, the holy martyrs Sulpicius and Servilian, martyrs Victor, Zoticus, Zeno, Acindinus, Csesareus, Severian, Chrysophorus, Theonas, and Antoninus, At Tomis, in Scythia, St. Theotimus, bishop, At Embrun, in France, St. Marcellin, first bishop of that city, At Auxerre, St. Marcian, a priest. St. Theodore, confessor, surnamed Trichinas, At Monte-Pulciano, St. Agnes, a virgin, of the Order of St. Dominic. April 21st- At Canterbury, in England, St. Anselm, bishop and Doctor of the Church, In Persia, St. Simeon, bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon with one hundred other confessors, among whom were bishops, priests, and clerics of various ranks and Abdechalas and Ananias, his priests, with Pusicius, a consecrated virgin, martyrs. At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Arator, priest, Fortunatus, Felix, Silvius, and Vitalis, Saints Apollo, Isacius, and


Crotates, At Antioch, St. Anastasius Sinaita, bishop. April 22nd- At Rome, on the Appian way, St. Soter, pope and martyr. pope St. Caius, mar-tyr, At Smyrna, the Saints Apelles and Lucius, many holy martyrs, the eunuch Azades, Milles, a bishop, the bishop Acepsimas, priest James; also Aithalas and Joseph, priests; Azadan and Abdiesus, deacons, and many other clerics; Mareas and Bicor, bishops, with twenty other bishops, and nearly two hundred and fifty clerics; many monks and conse-crated virgins, among whom was the sister of St. Simeon, called Tarbula, with her maid-servant, in Persia, the Saints Parmenius, Helimenas and Chrysotelus, priests, Lucas and Mucius, deacons, At Alexandria, martyr St. Leonides, At Lyons, St. Epipodius, martyr, At Sens, St. Leo, bishop and confessor. At Anastasiopolis, St. Theodore, a bishop renowned for miracles. April 23rd- St. George, martyr, At Valence, in France, the holy martyrs Felix, priest, Fortu-natus and Achilleus, deacons, At Toul, in France, St. Gerard, bishop of that city. April 24th- At Sevis, in Switzerland, St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, martyr, of the Order of Capuchin Minorites, At Rome, St. Sabas, martyr, At Lyons, in France, St. Alexander, mar-tyr, Thirty-four others suffered with him, the holy martyrs Eusebius, Neon, Leontius, Longinus, and four others, In England, the demise of St. Mellitus, bishop. At Elvira, in Spain, St. Gregory, bishop and confessor. At Brescia, St. Honorius, bishop. In Ireland, St. Egbert, priest and monk, At Rheims, the holy virgins Bona and Doda. April 25th- In Alexandria, blessed Mark, evangelist, martyr, disciple and interpreter of the apostle St. Peter. At Rome, the great Litanies in the church of St. Peter. At Syracuse, the holy martyrs Evodius, Hermogenes, and Callistus. At Antioch, St. Stephen, bishop and martyr, the Saints Philo and Agathopodes, deacons. At Alexandria, the bishop St. Anian, disciple of blessed Mark, At Lobbes, the birthday of St. Erminus, bishop and confessor. April 26th- At Rome, the birthday of blessed Cletus, pope who governed the Church the second after the apostle St. Peter, and was crowned with martyrdom. St. Marcellinus, pope and martyr, with Claudius, Cyrinus, and Antoninus and seventeen thousand Chris-tians, At Amasea, in Pontus, St. Basileus, bishop and martyr, At Braga, in Portugal, St. Pe-ter, martyr, the first bishop of that city. At Venice, St. Clarence, bishop and confessor. At Verona, St. Lucidius, bishop. In the monastery of Centula, St. Richarius, priest and confes-sor. At Troyes, St. Exuperantia, virgin. April 27th- In Nicomedia, St. Anthimus, bishop and martyr, Nearly all his numerous flock followed him; At Tarsus, in Cilicia, the Saints Castor and Stephen, martyrs. At Rome, the demise of the blessed pope Anastatius, At Bologna, St. Tertullian, bishop and confessor. At Brescia, the bishop St. Theophilus. At Constantinople, the abbot St. John, At Tar-ragona, the blessed Peter Armengaudius, of the Order of Blessed Mary of Mercy for the Redemption of Captives, At Lucca in Italy, blessed Zita, a virgin. April 28th- St. Paul of the Cross. At Ravenna, the birthday of St. Vitalis, martyr. At Milan, the martyr St. Valeria. At Atinor St. Mark, martyr. At Alexandria, the martyrdom of the virgin St. Theodora. The saints Aphrodisius, Caralippus, Agapius, and Eusebius, martyrs. In Pannonia, St. Pollio, martyr, At Prusa, in Bithynia, the holy martyrs Patritius, bishop, Acatius, Menander, and Polyenus. At Tarrazona, in Spain, St. Prudentius, bishop and mar-tyr. At Pelino, in Abruzzo, St. Pamphilus, bishop of Valva. April 29th- At Milan, St. Peter, martyr, of the Order of Preachers. At Paphos, in Cyprus, St. Tychicus, At Cirtha, in Numidia, martyrs Agapius and Secundinus, bishops, In their company, suffered Æmilian, soldier, Tertulla and Antonia, consecrated virgin, and a woman with her twin children. seven robbers, At Brescia, St. Paulinus, bishop and con-fessor. In the monastery of Cluny, the abbot St. Hugh. In the monastery of Molesmes, St.


Volume 2, issue 4


Robert, first abbot of the Cistercians. April 30th- At Rome, St. Catherine of Siena, virgin, of the Order of St. Dominic. At Lam-besa, in Numidia, martyrs Marian, lector, and James, deacon. At Saintes, blessed Eutro-pius, bishop and martyr. At Cordova, martyrs Amator, priest, Peter, monk, and Lewis. At Novara, the martyrdom of the holy priest Lawrence, and some boys. At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Aphrodisius, priest, and thirty others. At Ephesus, St. Maximus, martyr, At Fermo, in the Marches, St. Sophia, virgin and martyr. At Naples, in Campania, St. Severus, bishop, At Evorea, in Epirus, St. Donatus, a bishop, At London, in England, St. Erconwald, a bishop celebrated for many miracles.

P S A L M O F T H E M O N T H P S A L M 2 4


8 The Lord is sweet and righteous: therefore he will give a law to sinners in the way.

9 He will guide the mild in judgment: he will teach the meek his ways.

10 All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth, to them that seek after his covenant and his testimo-nies.

11 For thy name's sake, O Lord, thou wilt pardon my sin: for it is great.

12 Who is the man that feareth the Lord? He hath appointed him a law in the way he hath chosen.

13 His soul shall dwell in good things: and his seed shall inherit the land.

14 The Lord is a firmament to them that fear him: and his covenant shall be made manifest to them.

15 My eyes are ever to-wards the Lord: for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare.

16 Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me; for I am alone and poor.

17 The troubles of my heart are multiplied: de-liver me from my necessi-ties.

18 See my abjection and my labour: and forgive me all my sins.

19 Consider my enemies, for they are multiplied, *and have hated me with an unjust hatred.

20 Keep thou my soul, and deliver me: I shall not be ashamed, for I have hoped in thee.

21 The innocent and the upright have adhered to me: because I have waited on thee.

22 Deliver Israel, O God, from all his tribulations.

____________________

*

19: John xv. 25.

A prayer for grace, mercy, and protection against our enemies.

1 Unto the end. A psalm for David. To thee, O Lord, have I lifted up my soul.

2 In thee, O my God, I put my trust; let me not be ashamed.

3 Neither let my enemies laugh at me: for none of them that wait on thee shall be confounded.

4 Let all them be con-founded that act unjust things without cause. Shew, O Lord, thy ways to me, and teach me thy paths.

5 Direct me in thy truth, and teach me; for thou art God, my Saviour; and on thee have I waited all the day

long.

6 Remember, O Lord, thy bowels of compassion; and thy mercies that are from the beginning of the world.

7 The sins of my youth and my ignorances do not re-member. According to thy mercy remember thou me: for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Consider my enemies, for they are multiplied, *and have hated me with an unjust hatred.


Ver. 1. David. This word alone occurs in Heb. Sept. and S. Jerom add also Psalm. H. --- S. Aug. and Theod. agree with the Vulg. C. --- These variations prove that we cannot depend much on the titles; and the learned do not look upon them as the word of God. The psalm may have been composed, when David was persecuted by his son, (Bert.) or by Saul. It may also allude to the cap-tives. This is the first of the seven alphabetical psalms. The 33d, 35th, 110th, 111th, 118th, and 144th, are of the same description, being written in this manner (C.) on account of their impor-tance, (Kimchi) or to help the memory, (Bert.) or for copies, to teach young peo-ple to write. Grot. --- Each verse forms a distinct sen-tence, not much connected with the rest. We perceive some derangement in the present Heb. copies of this psalm, as the letters are not in proper order, though it might easily be restored by altering the divisions, &c. The Jews have been less at-tentive to preserve these divine canticles (C.) than their Thalmudical songs. Pel-lican in Ps. lxxxv. 9. --- The Sept. and S. Jerom seem to have had better copies. Christ, the Church, (C.) or any pious soul, may address this fervent prayer to God under affliction. --- Lifted up in the true spirit of prayer, (Bert.) with fervour and con-fidence. Deut. xxiv. 15. Lam.

iii. 41. C. --- Attention is requisite to obtain a petition, (W.) as well as fervour, &c. H.

Ver. 2. In thee. Heb. bec. Thus the second verse will properly begin with b, (Capel. Houbig.) though the

Jews place my God first, as it is in the Vulg. Deus meus, in te, &c. H. --- Ashamed. Sept. Compl. adds, "for ever."

Ver. 3. Laugh. Saying scornfully where is their God? C. --- Wait. This is often urged (Is. xlii. 23.) as

comprising all the science of a spiritual life. We must neither despair nor omit the means of salvation.

Bert. --- Those who hope for the accomplishment of God's promises, will not be disappointed. C.

Ver. 4. All, is not expressed in Heb. or some copies of the Sept. Bert. --- Cause. No one can have reason

to do so. But those who injure their harmless brethren, are more repre-hensible, (H.) and the psalmist foretells that they will be put to shame. S. Jer. --- This manner of praying frequently occurs in the psalms, to signify the event, and the appro-bation of the just. W. --- Shew. The forth verse ought to begin here with d, as in Heb. H. --- Paths. The mysterious ways of Provi-dence, (Euseb.) or the law

which is unknown to

many, (S. Athan.) and prac-tised by still fewer. C.

Ver. 5. And teach. If the verse were to commence thus, (C.) v would not be out of its place. H. --- With-out God's direction, we cannot walk in the narrow path. Bert. --- Long. We must never cease to desire the knowledge of true doc-trine. W.

Ver. 6. World. God's truth or fidelity in performing his promises, and his tender mercies towards his

people, are the motives most frequently urged. C.

Ver. 7. Ignorances. Heb. "defects," as youth is more apt to omit duties than to act very wickedly. Yet it is

difficult to decide how grievous such sins may be. Bert. --- Passion and igno-rance then concur to lead the inexperienced astray. H. --- From the first use of reason, many are careless, and neglect to learn their

duty. W. --- Ignorance is sometimes a sin, though it may be more pardonable. 1 Tim. i. M.

P S A L M O F T H E M O N T H

The psalm may

have been

composed, when

David was

persecuted by his

son, (Bert.) or by

Saul.


Volume 2, issue 4


Ver. 8. Righteous. Though he is always ready to receive the penitent, he will punish the obstinate with

severity. C. W. --- Yet he points out the means of ob-taining his favour. S. Aug. --- A law. Heb. "will instruct." C.

Ver. 9. Mild. Only rebels are made the victims of justice. H.

Ver. 10. Seek. Heb. "keeps." But no one seeks after the law, who does not strive to keep it. Bert. --- Jesus

Christ shewed mercy at his first coming, and he will dis-play truth at his second, judging all with equity. S. Aug. --- Testimonies. When God gave the law to mani-fest his will, he attested heaven and earth, that all might observe it carefully. C. --- The law is God's cove-nant, and the testimony of his will. He mercifully

preventeth us with his grace, and will reward with truth and justice. W.

Ver. 11. Great. "Original sin is common to all, and will not be washed away, except God be pleased to destroy it in baptism." S. Jer. --- David had committed adultery; and all must acknowledge their manifold guilt. C. --- Though the guilt had been remitted, the punishment due to David's crime was to be endured in this life, and he ought daily to pray for pardon. Bert. --- The aver-sion from God in sin is great, and standeth in need of his

gracious remission. W.

Ver. 12. He hath. This may be understood ei-ther of God, or of man, who has chosen a state of life. Bert. -- Provided he be guided by the fear of the Lord, (C.) all things

Will turn to his advan-tage. H.

Ver. 13. Dwell. Heb. inti-mates, "all night" at rest; yet so that he must only enjoy temporal goods like a traveller. Bert. --- We ought to look up to heaven as to our true country, (C.) or which Palestine was only a figure. Ps. lxviii. M. --- The land, is not ex-pressed in Heb. "his seed shall receive (good) for an

inheritance." H. --- Five blessings are here prom-ised to those who fear the God: instruction, a supply of necessities, a progeny to imitate his virtues, protec-tion, and heaven. W.

Ver. 14. Firmament, or strong support. H. --- Heb. "the secret of the Lord is for them," &c. He conceals

nothing from his friends. C. --- Both these senses are good, (Bert.) and the Heb. words are nearly allied.

Robertson. --- All who fear God, ought to interest themselves, and pray that he would enlighten the

ignorant, and convert sin-ners. Bert. --- The uncer-tain and hidden things of thy wisdom thou hast made manifest to me. Ps. l.

M.

Ver. 15. Lord. Our prayers are not heard, because they are not like this: fer-vant, incessant, and hum-ble. We have all to fear from our passions, which are the most dangerous snares. Bert.

Ver. 16. Alone. Desolate, (Ps. xxi. 21.) without any assistant. H. --- Such is man destitute of God's grace. W.

Ver. 17. Multiplied. Heb. "enlarged." So in the grad-ual for the second Sunday of Lent, we read dilatatae.

Bert. --- Afflictions must be endured. W. Sen. ep. 12.

Ver. 18. See. The word kum, "arise," may be want-ing, as the verse should begin with k, (C.) unless it be lost. MS. 2, repeats the former verse, perhaps to fill up the space. Kennicott. --- Forgive. Heb. or "bear."

Bert. S. Jer. M. --- If the cause be removed, the affliction will have an end. W.

Ver. 19. Unjust. Heb. also, "cruel," (H.) or "violent." But S. Jerom agrees with

P S A L M O F T H E M O N T H

Alone. Desolate, (Ps. xxi. 21.) without any assistant. H. --- Such is man destitute of God's grace. W.


the Sept. Our spiritual

enemies are the most dan-gerous and unrelenting, and we are too often off our guard. Bert. --- The wicked,

through hatred of God, (H.) seek to draw others into sin. W.Ver. 20. Soul. David was most concerned for it; (Bert.) and those who sin-cerely place their confidence in God, will never be con-founded. W.

Ver. 21. Adhered. Heb. "innocence, &c. have kept me." C. --- Those faithful subjects, who have

accompanied me in my

flight, stand guard to protect me. Requite them, O Lord, and grant peace to all my people. H. --- My ex-ample encourages them to follow thy law, and they will be staggered, if thou grant not my request. M.

Ver. 22. Deliver. Heb. pede, "redeem." All the 22 (H.) letters of the alphabet are complete without this

supplication for all Israel, or for the Church. W. --- It might form a part of the last verse, or belong to the

next psalm; unless it be a conclusion like that of Ps. xxxiii. (C.) out of the alpha-betical order. Houbigant. --

Israel. S. Aug. and some ancient psalters read, "Me, O God of Israel, from all my tribulations." C.

M A S S R E A D I N G S

P S A L M O F M O N T H

The wicked,

through hatred of

God,


Volume 2, issue 4

Wed the 1st: Isa 50:4-9; Ps 69:8-34; Matt 26:14-25

Thu the 2nd: Holy Thursday. Exod 12:1-14; Ps 116:12-18; 1 Cor 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

Fri the 3rd: Good Friday. Isa 52:13-53:12; Ps 31:1-25; Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9; John 18:1-19:42

Sat the 4th: Holy Saturday. Vigil of Solemnity of Easter. Gen 1:1-2:2; Gen 22:1-18; Exod 14:15-15:1; Isa 54:5-14; Isa 55:1-11; Bar 3:9-15, 32-4:4; Ezek 36:16-28; Ps 104:1-35 or Ps 33:4-22; Ps 16:5-11; Exod 15:1-18; Ps 30:1-13; Isa 12:1-6; Ps 19:8-11; Ps 42:3-5, 43:3-4 or Ps 51:12-19; Rom 6:3-11; Psalm 118:1-23; Mark 16:1-7

Sun the 5th: Psalter I, Octave of Easter. Solemnity of Easter. Acts 10:34-43; Ps 118:1-23; Col 3:1-4 or 1 Cor 5:6-8; John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:13-35

Mon the 6th: Acts 2:14-33; Ps 16:1-11; Ps 118:24; Matt 28:8-15

Tue the 7th: (Memorial of John Baptist de la Salle, priest.) Acts 2:36-41; Ps 33:4-22; Ps 118:24; John 20:11-18

Wed the 8th: Acts 3:1-10; Ps 105:1-9; Ps 118:24; Luke 24:13-35

Thu the 9th: Acts 3:11-26; Ps 8:1-9; Ps 118:24; Luke 24:35-48

Fri the 10th: Acts 4:1-12; Ps 118:1-27; Ps 118:24; John 21:1-14

Sat the 11th: (Optional memorial of Stanislaus, bishop and martyr.) Acts 4:13-21; Ps 118:1-21; Ps 118:24; Mark 16:9-15


M A S S R E A D I N G S

Sun the 12th: Psalter II, Octave of Easter. Feast of Divine Mercy. Last Day of Octave. Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:1-24; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31

Mon the 13th: Optional memorial of Martin I, pope and martyr. Acts 4:23-31; Ps 2:1-9; Col 3:1; John 3:1-8

Tue the 14th: Acts 4:32-37; Ps 93:1-5; John 3:7-15

Wed the 15th: Acts 5:17-26; Ps 34:1-9; John 3:16-21

Thu the 16th: Acts 5:27-33; Ps 34:1-20; John 20:29; John 3:31-36

Fri the 17th: Acts 5:34-42; Ps 27:1-14; Matt 4:4; John 6:1-15

Sat the 18th: Acts 6:1-7; Ps 33:1-19; John 6:16-21

Sun the 19th: Psalter III, Easter Week 3. Acts 3:13-19; Ps 4:1-9; 1 John 2:1-5; Luke 24:35-48

Mon the 20th: Acts 6:8-15; Ps 119:23-30; Matt 4:4; John 6:22-29

Tue the 21st: Optional memorial of Anselm, bishop and doctor. Acts 7:51-8:1; Ps 31:3-21; John 6:30-35

Wed the 22nd: Acts 8:1-8; Ps 66:1-7; John 6:35-40

Thu the 23rd: Optional memorial of George, martyr. Optional memorial of Adal-bert, bishop and martyr. Acts 8:26-40; Ps 66:8-20; John 6:44-51

Fri the 24th: Optional memorial of Fidelis of Sigmaringen, priest and martyr. Acts 9:1-20; Ps 117:1-2; John 6:52-59

Sat the 25th: Feast of Mark, evangelist. Acts 9:31-42; Ps 116:12-17; John 6:60-69

Sun the 26th: Psalter IV, Easter Week 4. Acts 4:8-12; Ps 118:1-29; 1 John 3:1-2; John 10:11-18

Mon the 27th: Acts 11:1-18; Ps 42:1-4; John 10:14; John 10:1-10

Tue the 28th: Optional memorial of Peter Chanel, priest and martyr. Optional me-morial of Louis Mary de Montfort, priest. Acts 11:19-26; Ps 87:1-7; John 10:22-30

Wed the 29th: Memorial of Catherine of Siena, virgin and doctor. Acts 12:24-13:5; Ps 67:1-8; John 8:12; John 12:44-50

Thu the 30th: Optional memorial of Pius V, pope. Acts 13:13-25; Ps 89:1-27; Rev 1:5; John 13:16-20

Kindly giving your requests 1255, July, 15. Anagni. Bula grant from the University of Salamanca from the Alejan-dro 4 en que el uso del Sello. Beloved sons, Alexander, bishop, servant of the ser-vants of God to the entire body of the masters and scholars of the righteous shall be Salamantinus. greet-ing. Of your request, gentle, willing consent, in order to be able to freely make use of him, and to have a com-

mon seal, the free grant, to the author-ity of the presents the capacity of your devo-tion. To no one, therefore, of all men to infringe this page of our concession or to oppose it with rash daring. But if any man should presume to attempt this, the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, of the apostles, that

he will incur. Dat. Anagni it. July in the year of our.

P O P E O F T H E M O N T H : S T . S I X T U S 1

P A PA L E N C Y C L I C A L : P E T I T I O N I B U S V E S T R I S B E N I G N U M I M P E R T I E N T E S

cording to the "Liber Pon-tificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 128), he passed the follow-ing three ordinances: (1) that none but sacred min-isters are allowed to touch the sacred vessels; (2) that bishops who have been summoned to the Holy See shall, upon their return, not be received by their diocese except on present-ing Apostolic letters; (3) that after the Preface in the Mass the priest shall recite the Sanctus with the people. The "Felician Cata-logue" of popes and the various martyrologies give him the title of martyr. His feast is celebrated on 6 April. He was buried in the Vatican, beside the tomb of St. Peter. His relics are said to have been trans-ferred to Alatri in 1132, though O Jozzi ("Il corpo di

S. Sisto I., papa e martire rivendicato alla basilica Vaticana", Rome, 1900) contends that they are still in the Vatican Basilica. But-ler (Lives of the Saints, 6 April) states that Clement X gave some of his relics to Cardinal de Retz, who placed them in the Abbey of St. Michael in Lorraine. The Xystus who is com-memorated in the Canon of the Mass is Xystus II, not Xystus I.

Pope St. Sixtus I (in the old-est documents, Xystus is the spelling used for the first three popes of that name), succeeded St. Alexander and was followed by St. Telesphorus. According to the "Liberian Catalogue" of popes, he ruled the Church during the reign of Adrian "a conulatu Nigri et Aproniani usque Vero III et Ambibulo", that is, from 117 to 126. Eu-sebius, who in his "Chronicon" made use of a catalogue of popes different from the one he used in his "Historia ecclesiastica", states in his "Chronicon" that Sixtus I was pope from 114 to 124, while in his "History" he makes him rule from 114 to 128. All authori-ties agree that he reigned about ten years. He was a Roman by birth, and his fa-ther's name was Pastor. Ac-

in the oldest

documents, Xystus

is the spelling used

for the first three

popes of that name

Pope Alexander iv

Volume 2, issue 4

Pope Sixtus


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M O N T H L Y B I B L E R E A D I N G : I S A I A H 5 0

M I S S I O N S TAT E M E N T

as a master.

5 The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist: I have not gone back.

6 *I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me.

7 The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be con-founded.

8 *He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand together, who is my adversary? let

him come near to me.

9 Behold, the Lord God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.

10 Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in

darkness, and hath no

light? let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God.

11 Behold, all you that kin-dle a fire, encompassed with flames, walk in the light of your fire, and in the flames which you have kindled: this is done to you by my hand, you shall sleep in sorrows.

____________________

*

2: Infra lix. 1.

6: Mat. xxvi. 67.

8: Rom. viii. 33.

The synagogue shall be di-vorced for her iniquities. Christ, for her sake, will en-dure ignominious

afflictions.

1 Thus saith the Lord: What is this bill of the divorce of your mother, with which I have put her away? Or who is my creditor, to whom I sold you: behold, you are sold for your iniquities, and for your wicked deeds have I put your mother away.

2 Because I came, and there was not a man: I called, and there was none that would hear. *Is my hand shortened and become little, that I can-not redeem? or is there no strength in me to deliver? Behold, at my rebuke I will make the sea a desert, I will turn the rivers into dry land: the fishes shall rot for want ofwater, and shall die for thirst.

3 I will clothe the heavens with darkness, and will make sackcloth their covering.

4 The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary: he wakeneth in the morning, in the morning he wakeneth my ear, that I may hear him

Behold, all you that

kindle a fire,

encompassed with

flames,

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