A Community of Love, Unity and Service

St. Silverius

Silverius was son of Pope Hormisdas, who had been married before he entered the ministry. Upon the death of Saint Agapetas, and after a vacancy of forty-seven days, Silverius, thensubdeacon, was elected Pope and consecrated on the 8^th of June, 536, despite maneuvers on thepart of heretics opposed to the Council of Chalcedon.

The heretical empress Theodora, resolved to win Silverius over to her interests, wrote to him, ordering that he should either acknowledge as lawful bishop the Eutychian heretic Anthimus, whohad been deposed as patriarch of Constantinople, or come in person to Constantinople andreexamine his cause. Without the least hesitation or delay, Silverius returned her a short answer,by which he gave her to understand that he neither could nor would obey her unjust demands,which would be to countermand his predecessor’s decision and betray the cause of the Catholicfaith.

The empress, finding that she could expect nothing from him, resolved to have him deposed. Vigilius, archdeacon of the Roman Church, a man of diplomacy, was then at Constantinople. Tothis ambitious ecclesiastic the empress exposed her wishes, and promised to make him pope andto bestow on him seven hundred pieces of gold, if he would engage himself to condemn theCouncil of Chalcedon and receive into Communion the three deposed Eutychian patriarchs. Vigilius assented to these conditions, and the empress sent him to Rome, charged with a letter tothe Roman general Belisarius, commanding him to drive out Silverius and contrive the election ofVigilius to the pontificate.

Vigilius urged the general to execute this project. In order to implement it, the Pope was accused of corresponding with the enemy, and a forged letter was produced, supposedly written by him tothe king of the Goths, inviting him to the city and promising to open the gates to him. Thesedealings succeeded; Vigilius was made Pope, and Silverius was banished to Patara in Lycia.

The bishop of Patara received the illustrious exile with all possible marks of honor and respect, and thinking himself bound to undertake his defense, journeyed to Constantinople and spokeboldly to the emperor Justinian. He terrified him with threats of divine judgments for theexpulsion of a bishop of so great a see, telling him, “There are many kings in the world, but thereis only one Pope over the Church of the whole world.” Justinian appeared startled at the atrocityof the proceedings and gave orders that Silverius be sent back to Rome. The enemies of the Popecontrived to prevent this, however, and he was intercepted on his road toward Rome and transported to the deserted island of Palmeria, where he died of hunger a year later, on the 20^th of June,538 and was buried.

It was perhaps in response to the martyred pope’s prayers that after his death the usurper of the pontifical throne, Vigilius, though he had wished to step down, was forced to remain in function and then transformed, like Saul of Tarsus, into another man. He exercised the pastoral dutieswith as much courage, piety, zeal and faith, as he formerly had used violence, avarice and crueltyduring his predecessor’s lifetime. The traitor Belisarius was accused of conspiracy against theemperor, stripped of all he had, and his eyes put out; he was obliged to beg for alms inConstantinople. But he too repented and built a church with an inscription over the door whichwas a public reparation for his fault.

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

Saint Aloysius, the eldest son of Ferdinand Gonzaga, Marquis of Castiglione, was born on the 9^th of March, 1568. The first words he pronounced were the holy names of Jesus and Mary. Whenhe was nine years of age he made a vow of perpetual virginity, and by a special grace was alwaysexempted from temptations against purity. He received his first Communion at the hands of SaintCharles Borromeo. At an early age he resolved to leave the world, and in a vision was directed byour Blessed Lady to join the Society of Jesus. The Saint’s mother rejoiced on learning hisdetermination to become a religious, but his father for three years refused his consent. At lengthSaint Aloysius obtained permission to enter the novitiate on November 25, 1585.

He pronounced his vows after two years, and studied, as was customary, philosophy andtheology. A fervent penitent at all times, he was accustomed to say that he doubted whetherwithout penance grace could continue to make headway against nature, which, when not afflictedand chastised, tends gradually to relapse into its unredeemed state, and thereby loses the habit ofsuffering. “I am a crooked piece of iron,” he said, “and have come into religion to be madestraight by the hammer of mortification and penance.”

During his last year of theology a malignant fever broke out in Rome. The Saint offered himself for the service of the sick, and was accepted for the dangerous duty. Several of the religiouscontracted the fever, and Aloysius was among them. He was at the point of death but recovered,only to relapse a little later into a slow fever, which after three months his fragile health could nolonger resist. He died at the age of twenty-three, repeating the Holy Name, a little after midnightbetween the 20^th and 21^st of June, on the octave day of Corpus Christi.

St. Paulinus

Paulinus was of a family which boasted a long line of senators, prefects and consuls of Rome, and he was educated with great care. His genius and eloquence in oratory, prose and verse were theadmiration of all the brilliant Christian minds of his time, including Saint Gregory the Great, SaintAmbrose, Saint Jerome, Saint Augustine, and Saint Martin of Tours. It is believed that SaintAmbrose would have chosen him to replace him as bishop of Milan, but Saint Paulinus was farfrom Milan when Saint Ambrose died. He said of him that Christians should follow and imitateSaint Paulinus, and that the greatest good fortune of the century in which they were living was tobe witness to the life of so rare and admirable a man.

Saint Paulinus, at first Roman Consul and then Prefect or Governor of Rome, had more thandoubled his wealth by his marriage with a virtuous Spanish noblewoman; he was one of thewealthiest and most honored men of his time, possessing domains in several nations of Europe. Though he was the chosen friend of Saints, he was still only a catechumen, and trying to servetwo masters. But God drew him to Himself along the way of sorrows and trials. The first andonly child of Paulinus and Theresia died shortly after birth. Saint Paulinus received baptism soonafterwards, at the age of thirty-eight, from the bishop of Bordeaux, Saint Delphin; then hewithdrew into Spain to be at liberty to pray in solitude.

He was ordained a priest in Barcelona, and afterwards retired to Nola in Campania. And then, in consort with his holy wife, he liberated all his slaves, sold all his vast estates in various parts of theempire, distributing their proceeds so widely and generously that Saint Jerome says both East andWest were filled with his alms. In Nola he built the magnificent Church of Saint Felix and servedit night and day, living a life of extreme abstinence and toil. He and his wife agreed to live asbrother and sister; they exchanged their silver utensils for those of wood and pottery, and worerobes of rude cloth, practicing from that time on a genuine poverty. Certain highly-placed worldlypersons were very much offended by this abrupt change in the way of life of these persons of suchgreat dignity.

Nonetheless, in 409 Saint Paulinus was chosen Bishop of Nola, and for more than thirty years so ruled as to be conspicuous, in an age blessed with many great and wise bishops. Saint Gregorythe Great tells us that when the Vandals of Africa made a descent on Campania, Paulinus spent allhe had in relieving the distress of his people and redeeming them from slavery. Finally, when allhad been disposed of, there came to him a poor widow, whose only son had been taken away bythe son-in-law of the Vandal king. “What I have I give you, said the Saint to her; “we will go toAfrica and you will offer me to the prince, saying I am one of your slaves, in exchange for theprisoner.” Her resistance once overcome, they went, and Paulinus was accepted in place of thewidow’s son and employed as gardener. After a time the king discovered, by divine interposition,that this valuable slave of his son-in-law was the renowned Bishop of Nola. He at once set himfree, granting him also the freedom of all the townsmen of Nola who were in slavery.

One who knew Saint Paulinus well says he was “meek as Moses, as priestly as Aaron, innocent as Samuel, tender as David, wise as Solomon, apostolic as Peter, loving as John, cautious asThomas, brilliant as Stephen, fervent as Apollos.” Saint Paulinus died in 431. His holy remainswere transferred several times but restored to the cathedral of Nola in 1908.

St. Etheldreda

Born the daughter of a king in about 630 in Northumbria, Saint Etheldreda, sometimes calledAudrey, was brought up in the fear of God. Her mother and three sisters are also numberedamong the Saints. Etheldreda had but one aim in life, to devote herself to His service in thereligious state. Her parents, however, had other views for her, and, in spite of her tears andprayers, she was compelled to become the wife of a certain prince named Tonbert. She lived withhim as a virgin for three years, and at his death retired to the isle of Ely which she had inherited,that she might apply herself wholly to heavenly things. This happiness was but short-lived; for thepowerful King of Northumbria pressed his suit with such insistence that she was forced into asecond marriage. Her life at his court was that of an ascetic rather than a queen; she lived withhim not as a wife, but as a sister, and devoted her time to works of mercy and love, whileobserving a scrupulous regularity of discipline.

After twelve years, she retired with her husband’s consent to Coldingham Abbey, then under the rule of Saint Ebba, and received the veil from the hands of Saint Wilfrid, who had been for manyyears her spiritual guide and protector. As soon as Etheldreda had left the court of her spouse, herepented of having consented to her departure, and followed her, meaning to bring her back byforce. She took refuge on a headland on the southern coast near Coldingham; and here a miracletook place, for the waters forced a passage and hemmed in the hill with morasses, barring thefurther advance of the king. The Saint remained in this island refuge for seven days, until herroyal spouse, recognizing the divine will, agreed to leave her in peace.

In 672 she returned to Ely and founded there a double monastery. She governed the conventherself, and by her example was a living rule of perfection to her Sisters. Some time after herdeath in 679, her body was found incorrupt, and Saint Bede records many miracles wrought byher relics.

St. Mary of Oignies

Mary of Oignies was born in the diocese of Liege in Belgium in 1167, of very wealthy parents. But while still very young, she rejected everything childish or vain — games, beautiful clothing,ornaments. At the age of fourteen, despite her desire to be a nun, she was obliged to marry avirtuous young lord. Her holy life caused admiration in her spouse and decided him to follow herexamples; and together they resolved to practice continence for life, to distribute their wealth tothe poor and consecrate themselves to works of piety. The demon tried every artifice to makethem relent in their holy resolution, but failed. They drew down on themselves the most abundantblessings, as well as sarcasms and insults from the worldly.

Mary had the gift of tears, and could not look at a crucifix without breaking into a torrent of tears or being ravished in ecstasy. When a priest told her to cease these exhibitions, she asked God tomake him understand that it is not possible for a creature to arrest tears which the Holy Spiritobliges to well up. And the priest, that same day while saying his Mass, began to shed so manytears that the altar cloths and his vestments were wet with them.

She had a great devotion to Saint John the Evangelist and conversed with him as well as with her Guardian Angel. By vision and revelation she often knew the temptations and secrets of thehearts of the persons who consulted her. She converted many, obtained graces by her prayers forthe living and especially for the dead, for whom she offered prayers and sacrifices, and sufferedvarious illnesses with invincible patience. Her many visitors made her life of contemplationdifficult, and she decided to change her residence; her husband permitted her to go to Oignies,where she lived in retreat amidst her heavenly favors and conversations.

She saw the place destined for her in heaven, and gave up her holy soul surrounded by angelicsongs of bliss. The faithful who have addressed her were so impressed with the value of her intercession that her relics became the object of great respect. Buried at Oignies, her remains in 1609were placed in a silver reliquary in its parish church of Our Lady; in 1817 they were transferred to the Church of Saint Nicolas at Nivelle, near her birthplace.

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