Saint Theodosius

BE MINDFUL OF DEATH.-Theodosius was born in Cappadocia towards the year 423, and was brought up in sentiments of tender piety. He first devoted himself to the priestly state; but feeling afterwards called to contemplation and retirement, he adopted the life of a cœnobite. His humility failed to hide from the eyes of the world at large the splendour of his sanctity; and a great throng of persons of every age having assembled round his cell, he withdrew into a solitude more retired still, with the intent to remain unknown to men. A few companions went to join him, and subsequently numerous disciples followed; so that he saw himself obliged to found a new monastery; for his charity exceeded all bounds. He never refused to receive any one, nor denied anything to any one. He often expended the last resources of the monastery in favour of strangers, pilgrims, and the poor. The thought ever-present to his mind was that of death; the first advice which he offered to his disciples was to prepare to die. Despite his great austerities and labours, his life was prolonged to the age of 106.

MORAL REFLECTION.-The Holy Spirit has told us by the lips of the Wise Man, "Have ever before thy eyes the remembrance of thy last end, and thou shalt never sin."-(Eccles. vii. 40.) (Pictorial half hours with the saints, by Abbe Auguste François Lecanu)

Saint Guillaume de Bourges

DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. St. William, archbishop of Bourges, is chiefly remarkable for his fervent devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. The tender piety which he practised from early youth led him to renounce the great wealth and rank which he might have enjoyed in the world. Having embraced the ecclesiastical state, he was made a canon of Soissons and, subsequently, of Paris. He afterwards entered the order of Grammont, and eventually that of Citeaux, whence he was drawn, against his will, to be raised to the archiepiscopal see of Bourges. His elevation to this high position caused his piety to shine forth more strikingly, and at the same time enabled him to display the treasure of zeal and charity that filled his soul, for the solacing of the unfortunate and the conversion of sinners. He was wont to style the poor "his creditors," and never deemed himself out of debt to them till he had not the wherewithal to give. St. William died on the 10th of January, 1209, after having addressed his flock from the pulpit, prophetic words of farewell.

MORAL REFLECTION. -Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament is the virtue of the predestined. "He who shall eat of this bread, shall live for ever," saith Jesus Christ.-(John vi. 59.) (Pictorial half hours with the saints By Abbe Auguste François Lecanu)

Saint Julian the Hospitaller with Christ the Redeemer (1451) by Andrea del Castagno

ALMSGIVING.--St. Julian had dedicated himself to God; but being compelled to marry in order to content his family, he was careful to inspire his young spouse, Basilissa, with an esteem for the virtue of continence equal to that which possessed his own soul, and on the day of their union they both pronounced the vow of which Mary and Joseph had given the example. They superadded a vow to devote both their life and property to the comforting of pilgrims, of the poor and the sick, and turned their abode into a hospital, becoming the first ministering servants thereof. Such great charity and devotion could not fail to attract the attention of the persecutors of the Christian faith. Basilissa was the first who had to encounter the ordeal; but she outlived the trial, and died peacefully in the midst of her good works. Julian, being denounced in his turn, underwent martyrdom some years afterwards, at Antioch, with many confessors of the faith, on the 9th day of January, 313. A miraculous cure effected by him at the very moment when he was to suffer failed to bend the minds of his judges, and he was beheaded.

MORAL REFLECTION.-In imitation of the holy martyr, we should know how to put in practice the injunction of the prophet Daniel, "Redeem your sins by almsgiving, and your iniquities by mercy to the poor."-(Dan. iv. 24.) (Pictorial half hours with the saints. by abbe Auguste François Lecanu)

Severin von Noricum, 1470

DO PENANCE. -St. Severinus quitted the solitudes of the East, where he had been devoting himself to the exercises of the cœnobitic life, in order to evangelize the population of Norica, a province which comprised the greater part of Austria and the Tyrol. He at first encountered great resistance, but soon effected wonders of conversion, as well by reason of his humble and mortified life, as because he announced to his hearers the calamities wherewith the rebellious nations would be afflicted. "Do penance," exclaimed he: "sin is the cause of all the woes that God scatters upon the earth!" Before consenting to pray for those who were afflicted, and before releasing them from their infirmities, he required that they should do penance. His own life showed forth the constant example thereof. He foretold to Odoacer, king of the Herules, that he was to lay waste Italy, by way of punishment for its crimes; and the prophecy was amply verified. Hence kings and nations and rulers ended by holding him in singular veneration, regarding him as the envoy of Heaven. He yielded up his spirit on the 8th January, 482.

MORAL REFLECTION. -If not out of tenderness towards God, let us, at least from charity for ourselves, repair our past guilt, and avoid committing fresh offences; for, "As by one man sin entered into the world, so death passes by sin."-(Rom. v. 12.)

THE STUDY OF THE SACRED SCRIPTURES . -St. Lucian, who suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia, in 312, was a native of Samosata. Having been invested from early youth with full power of disposing of his worldly goods, he distributed them to the poor, and withdrew to Edessa, to live near a holy man, called Macarius, who imbued his mind with a knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, and led him to the practice of the Christian virtues. Having become a priest, his time was divided between the external duties of his holy state, the performance of works of charity, and the study of sacred literature. He revised the books of the Old and New Testament, expunging the errors which, through the negligence of copyists or the malice of heretics, had been insinuated into the text; thus preparing the way for the learned St. Jerome, who shortly after was to give to the world that Latin translation known as "The Vulgate." Having been denounced as a Christian, Lucian was put in chains and condemned to the torture, which was protracted for twelve whole days. Having been visited by Christians while in prison on the day of the Epiphany, he had bread and wine brought to him, consecrated the elements, communicated, and with his dying lips pronounced the words, "I am a Christian!"

MORAL REFLECTION.-Let us strengthen ourselves by "reading" and meditating upon the Holy Scriptures, conformably with the counsel of the great Apostle.-(1 Tim. iv. 13.)" Pictorial Half Hour Saints by Abbe Auguste Lecanu

RESISTANCE AND OBEDIENCE TO GRACE. St. Gregory the Great had three aunts on the father's side,-Thrasilla, Emiliana, and Gordiana. All three made a vow of chastity, and devoted themselves to an ascetic life in the house of their father, the senator Gordian. Thrasilla and Emiliana having renounced the world on the same day, gave themselves up, with mutual zeal, to the practice of perfection, and made great progress in the spiritual life. Gordiana allowed the fervour of her piety gradually to tone down. Her sisters, by force of entreaties, and by lavish marks of affection towards her, were instrumental in leading her to fresh renewals of zeal; but her love of the world ended by detaching her wholly from a devout life, and inducing her to relinquish the practices of piety. Nothing further is known of her after-life. Thrasilla was first called to her reward, after having been favoured with a vision of the Pope St. Felix, her uncle, who addressed her thus:Come! I will accompany you to the abode of glory." Shortly after, she herself appeared to Emiliana, inviting her to celebrate with her, in Heaven, the feast of the Epiphany. Emiliana, in effect, died the following day, the 5th of January, on the eve of that great festival.

MORAL REFLECTION.-Let us often keep in mind the words of our Saviour, "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will sustain the one and despise the other."-(Matt. vi. 24.)

GOOD EXAMPLE. -St. Titus, the disciple of St. Paul, and one of the first-fruits of the great Apostle's victories, accompanied him through his evangelical wanderings, sharing with him his toils and perils. He was present with him at the first General Council, held in Jerusalem in the fifty-first year of the Christian era, and followed his master to Ephesus, whence the Apostle sent him to Corinth, towards the end of the year 56, to appease the discord and the troubles which afflicted the bosom of the infant Church. From Corinth St. Titus went to rejoin St. Paul at Troad, a town in Macedonia; he accompanied St. Paul to Rome, returning with him, subsequently, to the East. Then it was, in the year 63, that the great Apostle placed him as bishop, in Crete. Titus did not, however, remain constantly there; for we find him, later on, at Nicopolis and in Dalmatia, ever intent upon spreading a knowledge of the Gospel. It is, however, believed that he returned to his diocese after the martyrdom of St. Paul, remained there for the rest of his days, and died at a very advanced age.

MORAL REFLECTION. -If it be not vouchsafed to us to fashion our lives on the apostolic model of St. Titus, let us at least endeavour to reduce to practice the counsel given him by the great Apostle: "In all things show yourself an example of good works; in doctrine, in integrity, in gravity."-(Titus ii. 7.) Pictorial half hours with the saints by Abbe Auguste François Lecanu

Le Brun: Sainte Geneviève

"IN RETURN FOR EVIL, DO GOOD. -Genevieve was born about 422, at a village in the environs of Paris, called Nanterre. St. Germain, bishop of Auxerre, passing near the spot while Genevieve was as yet a child, discerning her in the midst of the pressing crowd, asked her whether she desired to dedicate herself to God's service, and with his own hands invested her with the insignia of the religious life. The youthful virgin made such rapid progress in piety, that the inhabitants of the country grew accustomed to regard her as a saint. But later on, their homage was converted into scoffing, and they treated her most evident virtues as hypocrisy. St. Germain once more came to her aid, and publicly demonstrated the reality of her virtues. At a subsequent period, Genevieve herself afforded the highest proofs thereof by twice saving Paris: on the first occasion by her prayers, when Attila, king of the Huns, at the head of an armed host, was threatening its destruction, and again, by providing the citizens with food, when Merovée, king of the Francs, was besieging it. Genevieve died in 512, and is invoked by Paris as its patron saint.

MORAL REFLECTION. -Never to allow oneself to be discouraged by the ingratitude and injustice of men; persecution is the crucible wherein the gold of virtue is refined. "All that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution."-(2 Tim. iii. 12.)"  Pictorial half hours with the saints By Abbe Auguste François Lecanu 1865

"ST. SYLVESTER was bishop of Rome: pray for his present successor, that inheriting his virtues, he may with a like fidelity take care of his flock.

It was in his time that the Church, after three hundred years of persecution, was restored to peace, by the command of the Emperor Constantine the Great; who destroyed the temples of the idols, ordered churches to be everywhere built to the living God. Pray for the peace of the Church, and the propagation of its faith among heathens and unbelievers; that idolatry being destroyed, the name of God may be sanctified in all nations of the earth.

"St. Sabinus was bishop of Spoletum, and in the persecution of Maximian was seized by Venustianus, president of the city, and for breaking an image of Jupiter, which he was commanded to adore, had his hands immediately cut off, and then was cast into prison, where he was supported by the charity of a pious widow. His two deacons, Marcellus and Exuperantius, were scourged, beaten with clubs, and torn with iron nails or broad tenter hooks, under which torments they both expired. Venustianus, being afterwards miraculously healed of a violent distemper in his eyes, by the holy bishop, became a Christian; and being baptized with his wife and children, they were soon after put to death by the emperor's order, and Sabinus beaten with staves till he expired.

Thus are you encouraged to suffer in the service of your God. If you have not the persecutor to threaten you with the sword, you have an enemy at least, who offers you idols to adore. He offers many; and while you express your abhorrence against some, is there not any one to which you are more favourable? To adore only one, is enough to be an idolater. What if it be company, drink, or money? What if a sensual friend, the courted world, or our own admired self? There may be idolatry enough in any one of these; and it is too likely to be so with you, if, like this prelate, you do not violence to the idol, or to yourself, if not by breaking, at least by separation. See what it cost him: think not of escaping, if you expect to do so without pain or trouble: you will never be a conqueror, if you are afraid of hurting yourself. How powerfully do the martyrs cry out to us by their example, exhorting us to despise a false and wicked world! A soul can find no rest in creatures. How long then shall we suffer ourselves to be seduced by them? Let the light of heaven, and the truths of the gospel shine upon us, and the illusions of the world and our senses will disappear." The Catholic Year by Rev. Fr. John Gother