SS. Crispin and Crispinian
by VP
Posted on Wednesday October 25, 2023 at 12:00AM in Saints
SS. Crispin and Crispinian, pd
"The sanctification of Labor .
-Labor is regarded by men in general as a thing of penance; for the greater number it is a matter of pure necessity, and to many has proved the powerful means of procuring sanctification. Hence it was that SS. Crispin and Crispinian, who accompanied St. Quentin to Gaul to preach the Gospel there, labored with their hands, although of noble and illustrious lineage, to support themselves, after the manner of St. Paul, thereby to avoid burthening the faithful and to enable them to contribute by their earnings to the maintenance of the poor. They took up their abode at Soissons, and occupied their vacant hours in making and repairing shoes. Having been denounced in 287 to Maximian Hercules, they were by his order transferred to the tribunal of the prefect Rictius Varus, the most inveterate enemy of the Christians. The prefect vainly employed in turn all the devices of persuasion, threats, and tortures to induce them to renounce Christianity; being unable to overcome them, he condemned them to be beheaded. They are held in great veneration throughout France, or rather through the Church at large, and their names are met with in the most ancient martyrologies.
MORAL REFLECTION.-Of how many may it be said that "they labor in vain," since God is not the end and purpose that inspires the labor!-(Wisd. iii. 2.)
Source: Pictorial half hours with the saints. by Rev. Fr. Auguste François Lecanu
Saint Hilarion de Gaza, Monk
by VP
Posted on Saturday October 21, 2023 at 12:00AM in Saints
"ST. HILARION was born of heathen parents, near Gaza, and was converted while studying grammar in Alexandria. Shortly after, he visited St. Antony, and, still only in his fifteenth year, he became a solitary in the Arabian desert. A multitude of monks, attracted by his sanctity, peopled the desert where he lived. In consequence of this, he fled from one country to another, seeking to escape the praise of men; but everywhere his miracles of mercy betrayed his presence. Even his last retreat at Cyprus was broken by a paralytic, who was cured by St. Hilarion, and then spread the fame of the Saint. He died with the words, "Go forth, my soul; why dost thou doubt? Nigh seventy years hast thou served God, and dost thou fear death?" Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, Rev. Fr. John Gilmary Shea.
"While Saint Hilarion was at prayer, the devil appeared to him, at times as a wolf that howls, at times as a fox that barks, and once set before him the awful spectacle of a band of gladiators; and it seemed to him that one of them, having received a death-wound, fell at his feet imploring the rites of burial. Another time, while the Saint was praying prostrate on the ground, some distraction or other passed through his mind. The devil, taking this opportunity, sat astride on his back, and driving spurs into his sides, and whipping him on the head, exclaimed, "Come, come; why art thou so sleepy?" As the servant of God grew faint under the weight and blows, the demon began to scoff and deride him, saying, "Would you like a little corn to restore your strength?"
I have alluded to these few examples, among
many others that might be alleged, that the reader may see with what
constancy we should struggle and persevere in mental prayer when
the devil comes, either with inward suggestions or outward terrors, to
assail us. Let me now conclude in the words of St Cyprian: "In the time
of prayer, let the heart be opened to
God, but closed against the devil, so as to leave him not even the least
aperture by which he may enter; for this deceiver uses a thousand wiles
to effect a stealthy entrance, and having made good his position,
deludes us and hinders our praying to God." Source: Guide to the Spiritual Life. By Rev. Fr. Giovanni Battista Scaramelli, SJ 1870
