Sainte Léa
Dame romaine, disciple de saint Jérôme (+ 384)
Elle faisait partie de ces nobles dames romaines admiratrices de saint Jérôme.
Admirative, elle écoutait les leçons d'Écriture Sainte qu'il donnait à Rome.
Devenue veuve, elle distribua ses biens aux pauvres et entra dans un monastère
romain dont elle devint la supérieure. Saint Jérôme lui consacrera une lettre
dithyrambique. Et c'est tout ce que nous savons d'elle.
...Léa instruisait ses moniales plus par l'exemple que par les discours ; elle
avait changé ses précieux habits par un rude cilice et ne mangeait que ce que
mangeaient les pauvres qu'elle secourait. Son humilité était profonde et
sincère, d'autant que, ayant eu une nombreuse domesticité à son service, elle
voulut se considérer comme la servante de ses compagnes et encore plus la
servante de Jésus-Christ...
(transcription envoyée par un internaute d'après la lettre de saint Jérôme à
Marcella - vie de sainte Léa, veuve)
Commémoraison de sainte Léa, veuve romaine, dont saint Jérôme a loué les vertus
et le passage à la vie en Dieu, vers l’an 303.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/848/Sainte-Lea.html
Léa vivait à Rome au
IVe siècle. et termina sa vie à Ostie, port de Rome, en 384. C'était une grande
dame de la noblesse romaine qui, devenue veuve, s'était retirée auprès de la
mer pour y mener la vie monastique. Comme d'autres dames dont on connaît les
noms - Paula et Eustokia, Marcelle et Mélanie -, elle était une auditrice assidue
des cours de saint Jérôme. Il quittera Rome pour la Terre Sainte et ira
s'enfouir à Bethléem afin de réaliser en latin sa version des Saintes Écritures, appelée la "Vulgate".
Pour savoir comment vivait Léa, grande dame devenue religieuse, lisons une
lettre que Jérôme écrivit de Bethléem, après avoir appris son décès : "Qui
louera la bienheureuse Léa comme elle le mérite ? Elle a renoncé aux fards, aux
perles brillantes et aux riches atours, pour se couvrir d'un sac ! Elle a cessé
de commander pour obéir, vivant dans un coin avec quelques pauvres meubles,
passant ses nuits en prière". Ensuite, le ton de Jérôme change : on
retrouve l'agressivité de son mauvais caractère contre les adversaires de ses
idées. Il aura de quoi se convertir à l'esprit de l'Évangile, près de la Crèche
de la Nativité du Sauveur ! Ainsi, il se met à parler d'un consul de Rome
venant de mourir et qui aurait bien besoin du secours de leur amie : "Du
sein d'Abraham, Léa voit notre consul naguère revêtu de pourpre et montant au
Capitole acclamé par la foule. Il est réduit à réclamer une goutte d'eau pour
étancher sa soif, plongé dans les ténèbres... tandis que notre amie Léa, qui
passa pour folle en cette vie, a été reçue dans la Maison du Père au festin de
l'Agneau".
Léa vient du latin "laetare", se réjouir, joie.
Rédacteur : Frère Bernard Pineau, OP
SOURCE : http://www.lejourduseigneur.com/Web-TV/Saints/Lea
Sainte LÉA
« Notre chère Léa,
puisqu'elle s'est de telle sorte donnée tout entière à Dieu que , sa vertu,
l'ayant élevée à la charge de supérieure du monastère, elle est devenue, la
mère de plusieurs vierges; et qu'après avoir été richement vêtue elle a mâté
son corps par la rudesse d'un cilice, elle a passé les nuits entières sans
fermer l’oeil, et a encore beaucoup plus instruit ses saintes compagnes par son
exemple que par ses paroles. Son humilité était si extrême due, s1etant vue
autrefois maîtresse d'une maison pleine d'un grand nombre de serviteurs, on
l'aurait prise pour la servante de toutes les autres, si ce n'est qu'elle
devait d'autant plus passer pour servante de Jésus-Christ qu'elle ne passait
plus pour maîtresse parmi les gens du monde. Son habit était très modeste, sa
coiffure très négligée et son manger très simple, parce qu'elle ne craignait
rien tant que de recevoir sa récompense dès ce monde. »
Ce passage d’une lettre de saint Jérôme est la seule chose que nous
connaissions de sainte Léa. Une grande dame romaine devenue veuve et supérieure
d’un monastère.
SOURCE : http://unjourunsaint.hautetfort.com/archive/2007/03/22/sainte-lea-22-mars.html
VIES DE PLUSIEURS SAINTES
FEMMES DE ROME :
VIE DE SAINTE LÉA, VEUVE.
A SAINTE MARCELLA.
Comme vers la troisième heure du jour nous commencions à lire le
soixante-douzième psaume,qui est le commencement du troisième livre, et que
nous nous trouvions obligés de faire voir qu'une partie du sujet de ce psaume
se rapporte à la fin du second livre, ces paroles: « Ici finissent les prières
de David fils de Jessé, » faisant la fin du livre précédent, et ces autres: «
Psaume d'Asaph, » le commencement du suivant, comme enfin nous étions arrivés à
l'endroit où le prophète, parlant en la personne du reste, use de ces termes: «
Si j'entrais en ce discours, je me rendrais prévaricateur de la cause de vos
enfants, » ce qui n'est pas exprimé de la même sorte dans les exemplaires latins,
on nous est soudain venu dire que la très sainte Léa était affranchie de la
prison de ce corps; sur quoi je vous ai vu pâlir de telle sorte qu'il parait
bien qu'il y a peu, ou, pour mieux dire, qu'il n'y a point d'esprits si fermes
qui ne soient touchés d'affliction en apprenant que ce vase d'argile dans
lequel notre âme est enfermée se brise en pièces. Je sais que la cause de votre
douleur ne procédait nullement de l'incertitude de son salut, mais de ce que
vous ne lui aviez pas rendu les derniers devoirs eu assistant à ses
funérailles. Nous apprîmes aussi ensuite que son corps avait déjà été porté à
Ostie.
Que si vous me demandez à quoi tend cette répétition de ce que vous savez aussi
bien que moi, je nie servirai des paroles de l'Apôtre pour vous répondre que
diverses considérations la rendent utile : premièrement parce que chacun est
obligé de témoigner de la ;joie dans la mort de celle qui, après avoir foulé
aux pieds toute la puissance du démon, jouit maintenant en repos dans le ciel
de la couronne de justice qu'elle a reçue de la main de Dieu; en second lieu,
afin que cela m'engage à représenter sa vie en peu de mots; et en troisième
lieu, pour faire voir de quelle sorte ce consul désigné, qui a été enlevé du
monde avant que de pouvoir jouir de la félicité de ce siècle, éprouve
maintenant les peines éternelles de l'enfer.
Mais qui est celui qui pourrait dignement louer une vie aussi excellente qu'a
été celle de notre chère Léa, puisqu'elle s'est de telle sorte donnée tout
entière à Dieu que , sa vertu, l'ayant élevée à la charge de supérieure du
monastère, elle est devenue, la mère de plusieurs vierges; et qu'après avoir
été richement vêtue elle a mâté son corps par la rudesse d'un cilice, elle a
passé les nuits entières sans fermer l’oeil, et a encore beaucoup plus instruit
ses saintes compagnes par son exemple que par ses paroles. Son humilité était
si extrême due, s’étant vue autrefois maîtresse d'une maison pleine d'un grand
nombre de serviteurs, on l'aurait prise pour la servante de toutes les autres,
si ce n'est qu'elle devait d'autant plus passer pour servante de Jésus-Christ
qu'elle ne passait plus pour maîtresse parmi les gens du monde. Son habit était
très modeste, sa coiffure très négligée et son manger très simple, parce
qu'elle ne craignait rien tant que de recevoir sa récompense dès ce monde.
Maintenant au lieu de ces travaux passagers elle jouit d'une félicité
éternelle; elle est reçue entre les choeurs des anges, et elle est heureuse
dans le sein d'Abraham où elle voit, avec le Lazare autrefois si pauvre, ce
riche vêtu de pourpre, ce consul, non pas couvert de palmes mais couvert de
deuil, lui demander une goutte d'eau.
Oh! quel changement ! celui qui quelques jours auparavant était élevé au comble
des dignités les plus éminentes, qui montait au Capitole comme un victorieux
prêt à triompher des nations qu'il avait domptées, que le peuple romain avait
reçu avec des cris, des acclamations et des réjouissances publiques, et par la
mort duquel toute la ville a été troublée, se trouve maintenant, tout nu et
sans consolation quelconque, non pas dans un céleste palais dont l'avenue semée
d'étoiles brillantes ait mérité par son éclat d'être nommée la voie lactée
ainsi que sa femme le dit faussement, mais dans des ténèbres épouvantables ; et
au contraire cette sainte, qui était enfermée dans la solitude d'une petite
cellule, qui passait pour pauvre et pour abjecte et dont la manière de vivre
était estimée une folie, suit maintenant Jésus-Christ et dit : « Nous voyons
dans la cité de notre Dieu les merveilles qui nous en avaient été rapportées.
C'est pourquoi, tandis que nous courons dans la carrière de cette vie mortelle,
je vous exhorte et vous conjure, les larmes aux yeux et les gémissements dans
le coeur, que nous ne nous revotions point de deux tuniques, c'est-à-dire d'une
foi double ; que nous ne couvrions point nos pieds de peaux d'animaux,
c'est-à-dire d'oeuvres mortes; que le poids des richesses ne nous fasse point
pencher vers la terre; que nous ne cherchions point l'appui d'un bâton, c'est-à-dire
des puissances séculières, et que nous ne nous imaginions point de pouvoir nous
attacher en même temps et à Jésus-Christ et au monde; mais que des biens
éternels succèdent à des biens passagers et périssables, et que, commençant
tous les jours à mourir selon le corps, nous ne nous persuadions pas d'être
immortels, afin que nous le puissions être dans une meilleurs vie.
Saint Jérôme. Oeuvres
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/saints/jerome/mystiques/022.htm
Lea of Rome, Widow (RM)
Died 384. Roman lady who
on becoming a widow entered the community of Saint Marcella, of which she later
became the superior. She was noted for the austerity of her life and her
extreme penances. Saint Jerome (Ep. 20 to Marcella) wrote a panegyric in her
honor (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0322.shtml
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001023.htm
Saint Lea of Rome
· Century: 4th
Century
· Patronage:
· Feast Day: March 22nd
St. Lea of Rome is known
only through the testimony of her beloved friend, the learned St. Jerome.
We know that she lived contemporaneously with St. Jerome during the 4th Century.
She was a noblewoman of Rome, born into wealth and privilege and married up the
social ladder. However, soon after her marriage she was widowed and left
in a very financially sound position. Instead of retiring as a wealthy
widow, however, she joined a convent of consecrated virgins in the
city—shedding all the money and social standing she possessed. In later
years she was named the prioress of the convent.
During her tenure in religious life, it seems she become well-acquainted with
St. Jerome, whose account of her stands as one of the primary sources of
evidence for her existence and age-old veneration as a saint. It appears
that she died in 384 while she was reciting Psalm 73 (alongside St.
Jerome). In a letter relaying her death to others within the city of
Rome, St. Jerome writes to St. Marcella that St. Lea, a woman of austerity,
obedience and remarkable penances had died. He described her as
“blessed,” emphasizing the woman’s virtues as being worthy of heaven.
Practical Take-Away: “Living like a fool on earth…”
St. Jerome described St. Lea’s moving from the highest echelons of Roman
society to the virgin’s convent as her “living like a fool on earth.”
Indeed, this seems to be the Christian life. St. Paul says that “the
language of the cross” is “illogical” and culminates in “the foolishness…that
we preach” (I Cor. 1:18, 21). It does seem silly sometimes trying to live
our Faith. We don’t look “normal.” But, then, again, “normal” is a
relative term. Certainly in today’s society anything looking remotely
Christian (let alone authentically Catholic) is radically abnormal. Yet,
this is precisely what we are called to do—to be in the world, but not of the
world. To live on the earth, but to look foolish as we wonder toward
sights unseen, toward mystical and spell-bounding mirages revealed to us clearly
by our Faith. St. Francis, quite clearly a lunatic by worldly standards
was called “God’s Fool.” Recalling Christ’s own admonition that if He was
persecuted, so, too, would His disciples be persecuted. Let the world
call us fools—it assures us that we are Christians. Embrace it.
Love it. Live like a fool! Live Faithfully! As Flannery
O’Connor, one of my favorite authors, once wrote about what being Faithful
looks like: “You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall make you odd.” Indeed!
St. Lea of Rome, pray for Us !
SOURCE : http://www.newmanconnection.com/faith/saint/saint-lea-of-rome
March 22 is the liturgical memorial of Saint Lea of Rome, a fourth-century
widow who left her wealth behind, entered consecrated life, and attained great
holiness through asceticism and prayer.
Though not well-known as a figure of devotion in modern times, she was
acknowledged as a saint on the testimony of her contemporary Saint Jerome, who
wrote a brief description of Lea's life after she had died.
Jerome, a scholarly monk best known for his Latin translation of the Bible (the
Vulgate), is the Church's only source of information on St. Lea, whose
biographical details are unknown. St. Jerome eulogized her in a letter written
during the year 384 to his student and spiritual directee Marcella, another
Roman consecrated woman who had left her aristocratic life behind after being
widowed.
It is clear from his letter that Lea was a mutual friend to both Jerome and
Marcella. Jerome states that his account is written to “hail with joy the
release of a soul which has trampled Satan under foot, and won for itself, at
last, a crown of tranquility.” Jerome also contrasts the life of “our most
saintly friend” with that of the late pagan public official Praetextatus, held
up by Jerome as a cautionary example.
“Who,” Jerome begins, “can sufficiently eulogize our dear Lea's mode of living?
So complete was her conversion to the Lord that, becoming the head of a
monastery, she showed herself a true mother to the virgins in it, wore coarse
sackcloth instead of soft raiment, passed sleepless nights in prayer, and
instructed her companions even more by example than by precept.”
Jerome describes how Lea, in her great humility, “was accounted the servant of
all … She was careless of her dress, neglected her hair, and ate only the
coarsest food. Still, in all that she did, she avoided ostentation that she
might not have her reward in this world.”
Jerome's letter goes on to compare her fate to that of Praetextus – who died in
the same year as Lea, after spending his life promoting a return to Rome's
ancient polytheistic pagan religion. The monk retells Jesus' parable of Lazarus
and Dives, with Lea in the place of the poor and suffering man.
Lea, Jerome says, is “welcomed into the choirs of the angels; she is comforted
in Abraham's bosom. And, as once the beggar Lazarus saw the rich man, for all
his purple, lying in torment, so does Lea see the consul, not now in his
triumphal robe but clothed in mourning, and asking for a drop of water from her
little finger.”
Thus Lea, “who seemed poor and of little worth, and whose life was accounted
madness,” triumphs in salvation. But the punishment of infidelity falls on the
consul-elect – who had led a triumphant procession just before his death, and
been widely mourned afterward.
Jerome ends his letter by urging Marcella to remember the lesson of St. Lea's
life: “We must not allow … money to weigh us down, or lean upon the staff of
worldly power. We must not seek to possess both Christ and the world. No;
things eternal must take the place of things transitory; and since, physically
speaking, we daily anticipate death, if we wish for immortality we must realize
that we are but mortal.”
SOURCE : http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=185
March 22
St. Lea, Widow
SHE was a rich Roman
lady; after the death of her husband she mortified her flesh by wearing rough
sack-cloth, passed whole nights in prayer, and by humility seemed every one’s
menial servant. She died in 384, and is honoured on this day in the Roman
Martyrology. St. Jerom makes an elegant comparison between her death and that
of Prætextatus, a heathen, who was that year appointed consul, but snatched
away by death at the same time.—See St. Jerom, Ep. 20. (olim. 24.) to Marcella,
t. 4. p. 51. Ed. Ben
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
III: March.The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/3/223.html
Saint Lea of Rome
22-03-2020
St Jerome's Letter XXIII
offers us a splendid portrait of St Lea (†384), a Roman widow who left her
wealth to follow the way of Christ becoming worthy of Paradise through prayer,
penance and spiritual motherhood towards various virgins.
St Jerome's Letter XXIII
offers us a splendid portrait of St Lea (†384), a Roman widow who left her
wealth to follow the way of Christ becoming worthy of Paradise through prayer,
penance and spiritual motherhood towards various virgins. Jerome's letter is
addressed to Saint Marcella (c. 330-410) to console her for the earthly death
of Lea (buried in Ostia), news of which reached the two holy friends while they
were reading and studying Psalm 72 together. Marcella was also a Roman widow
and noblewoman, who had formed a female community dedicated to asceticism and
to whom Jerome acted as spiritual father during her stay in Rome.
In his eulogy of Lea,
Jerome writes that “we must all greet with joy the liberation of a soul that
has crushed Satan underfoot and finally won for itself a crown of
tranquillity”. The author of the Vulgate then lists some of the
saint's virtues: “Who can sufficiently praise the conduct of our dear Lea's
life? Her conversion to the Lord was so complete that, by becoming the head of
a monastery, she showed herself as a true mother to the virgins in it”. Jerome
informs us that Lea wore rough sackcloth, spent nights in prayer, fed on the
poorest food and instructed her companions more by example than by words: “Her
humility was so great that she, who had once been the mistress of many, had
become the servant of all [...] a handmaid of Christ”.
Jerome draws a parallel
with the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, saying he was convinced that
Vettius Agorius Praetextatus, a consul who tried to restore paganism and who
also died in 384, “is now in Tartarus”, symbol of Hell. “As a reward for her
brief toil, Lea enjoys eternal happiness, is welcome in the choir of angels,
and is consoled in the bosom of Abraham. And, just as the beggar Lazarus once
saw the rich man [...] lying in torment, so Lea now sees the consul
[Praetextatus died before he could hold the office to which he had been
elected, ed.], no longer in his triumphal robes but dressed in mourning”.
In what sounds like a warning to convert, Jerome exhorts us not to trust in
earthly glory: “What a vast change! A few days ago the highest dignitaries of
the city walked before him as he ascended the ramparts of the Capitol like a
general celebrating a triumph, with the Roman people jostling to welcome him
and applaud him”.
Quite different is the
eternal fate of Lea, who in the eyes of the world “seemed poor and of little
worth, and whose life was considered madness”. Now she is in the presence of
Christ and can sing Psalm 47, quoted by Jerome: “As we had heard, so we saw in
the city of the Lord”. The saint concludes with another teaching with strong
Gospel references: “We must not seek to possess both Christ and the world. No.
Eternal things must take the place of ephemeral things [...], if we aspire to
immortality we must realise that we are but mortal”. As Saint Lea understood.
Read more: See Letter XXIII of
Saint Jerome to Saint Marcella
SOURCE : https://newdailycompass.com/en/saint-lea-of-rome
Saint JEROME.
Letter 23 : To
Marcella
Jerome writes to Marcella
to console her for the loss of a friend who, like herself, was the head of a
religious society at Rome.
The news of Lea's death had first reached Marcella when she was engaged with
Jerome in the study of the 73d psalm. Later in the day he writes this letter in
which, after extolling Lea, he contrasts her end with that of the consul-elect,
Vettius Agorius Prætextatus, a man of great ability and integrity, whom he
declares to be now in Tartarus. Written at Rome in
384 A.D.
1. Today, about the third
hour, just as I was beginning to read with you the seventy-second psalm —
the first, that is, of the third book— and to explain that its title belonged
partly to the second book and partly to the third— the previous book, I mean,
concluding with the words the prayers of
David the son of Jesse are ended, and the next commencing with the words a
psalm of Asaph — and just as I had come on the passage in which the righteous
man declares: If I say, I will speak thus; behold I should offend against the
generation of your children, a verse which is differently rendered in our Latin
version: — suddenly the news came that our most saintly friend Lea had departed
from the body. As was only natural, you turned deadly pale; for there are
few persons,
if any, who do not burst into tears when the earthen vessel breaks. 2 Corinthians 4:7 But
if you wept it was not from doubt as
to her future lot, but only because you had not rendered to her the last sad
offices which are due to the dead. Finally, as we were still conversing
together, a second message informed us that her remains had been already
conveyed to Ostia.
2. You may ask what is the use of repeating all this. I will reply in the
apostle's words, much every way. Romans 3:2 First,
it shows that all must hail with joy the
release of a soul which
has trampled Satan under
foot, and won for itself, at last, a crown of tranquillity. Secondly, it gives
me an opportunity of briefly describing her life. Thirdly, it enables me to
assure you that the consul-elect, that detractor of his age, is now in
Tartarus.
Who can sufficiently eulogize our dear Lea's mode of living? So complete was
her conversion to the Lord that, becoming the head of a monastery,
she showed herself a true mother
to the virgins in
it, wore coarse sackcloth instead of soft raiment, passed sleepless nights
in prayer,
and instructed her companions even more by example than by precept. So great
was her humility that she, who had once been the mistress of many, was
accounted the servant of all; and certainly, the less she was reckoned an
earthly mistress the more she became a servant of Christ.
She was careless of her dress, neglected her hair, and ate only the coarsest
food. Still, in all that she did, she avoided ostentation that she might not have
her reward in this world. Matthew 6:2
3. Now, therefore, in return for her short toil, Lea enjoys everlasting
felicity; she is welcomed into the choirs of the angels;
she is comforted in Abraham's bosom.
And, as once the beggar Lazarus saw the rich man, for all his purple, lying in
torment, so does Lea see the consul, not now in his triumphal robe but clothed
in mourning, and asking for a drop of water from her little finger. Luke 16:19-24 How
great a change have we here! A few days ago the highest dignitaries of the city
walked before him as he ascended the ramparts of the capitol like a general
celebrating a triumph; the Roman people leapt up to welcome and applaud him,
and at the news of his death the whole city was moved. Now he is desolate and
naked, a prisoner in the foulest darkness, and not, as his unhappy wife falsely asserts,
set in the royal abode of the milky way. On the other hand Lea, who was always
shut up in her one closet, who seemed poor and of little worth, and whose life
was accounted madness, Wisdom 5:4 now
follows Christ and sings, Like as we have heard, so have we seen in the city of
our God.
4. And now for the moral of all this, which, with tears and groans, I conjure
you to remember. While we run the way of this world, we must not clothe
ourselves with two coats, that is, with a twofold faith,
or burden ourselves with leathern shoes, that is, with dead works; we must not
allow scrips filled with money to weigh us down, or lean upon the staff of
worldly power. Matthew 10:10 We
must not seek to possess both Christ and the world. No; things eternal must
take the place of things transitory; 2 Corinthians 4:18 and
since, physically speaking, we daily anticipate death, if we wish for immortality we
must realize that we are but mortal.
Source. Translated by W.H. Fremantle, G. Lewis and W.G. Martley. From
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 6. Edited by Philip Schaff
and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1893.)
Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001023.htm>.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin
Knight. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001023.htm
Santa Lea Vedova
† Roma, 384
La vita di questa santa
ci è nota solo attraverso gli scritti di san Girolamo, che ne parla in una
lettera alla gentildonna Marcella, animatrice di una comunità femminile di tipo
quasi monastico nella sua residenza sull'Aventino. Anche Lea è di famiglia
nobile: rimasta vedova in giovane età, pareva che dovesse poi sposare un
personaggio illustre, Vezzio Agorio Pretestato, chiamato ad assumere la dignità
di console. Ma lei è entrata invece nella comunità di Marcella, dove si
studiano le Scritture e si prega insieme, vivendo in castità e povertà. Con
questa scelta, Lea capovolge modi e ritmi della sua vita. Marcella ha in lei
una fiducia totale: tant'è che le affida il compito di formare le giovani nella
vita di fede e nella pratica della carità nascosta e silenziosa. Quando
Girolamo ne parla, nel 384, Lea è già morta. (Avvenire)
Etimologia: Lea =
leonessa, dal latino
Martirologio
Romano: Commemorazione di santa Lea, vedova romana, le cui virtù e la cui
morte ricevettero la lode di san Girolamo.
Nella seconda metà del IV secolo i cristiani di Roma sono ormai molto numerosi. Ma con qualcuno di troppo. Infatti, in mezzo ai credenti veri s’infiltrano pure i ceffi untuosi e avidi dei voltagabbana di sempre, inquinatori della Chiesa. "Con questi qui d’attorno, essere santi diventa rischioso". Così si sfoga san Girolamo (ca. 347 - 420) che, da buon dàlmata focoso, qualche volta esagera. Ma qui parla di cose toccate con mano durante il suo soggiorno nell’Urbe, a contatto con quei gruppi cristiani che al pericolo di contagio spirituale oppongono la loro fede, approfondita con lo studio e “predicata” con l’esempio. Questo è il tempo di Roma sostituita da Milano come capitale effettiva, e ben poco frequentata dagli imperatori, sempre in guerra ai confini: nel 375 la morte coglie Valentiniano I durante una campagna in Pannonia (Ungheria); e il suo successore Valente muore nel 378 combattendo i Visigoti ad Adrianopoli (oggi Edirne, Turchia europea).
In questi tempi vive Lea, che conosciamo soltanto grazie a san Girolamo. Egli ne parla in una lettera alla gentil donna Marcella, animatrice del cristianesimo integralmente vissuto, che ha dato vita a una comunità femminile di tipo quasi monastico nella sua residenza sull’Aventino. Anche Lea è di famiglia nobile: rimasta vedova in giovane età, pareva che dovesse poi sposare un personaggio illustre, Vezzio Agorio Pretestato, chiamato ad assumere la dignità di console.
Ma lei è entrata invece nella comunità di Marcella, dove si studiano le Scritture e si prega insieme, vivendo in castità e povertà. Con questa scelta, Lea capovolge modi e ritmi della sua vita per diffondere, come diremmo noi, un “messaggio forte”. E Girolamo dice di lei: "Maestra di perfezione alle altre, più con l’esempio che con la parola, fu di un’umiltà così sincera e profonda che, dopo essere stata gran dama con molta servitù ai suoi ordini, si considerò poi come una serva".
Marcella ha in lei una fiducia totale: tant’è che le affida il compito di formare le giovani nella vita di fede e nella pratica della carità nascosta e silenziosa. Sarebbe difficile, scrive Girolamo, riconoscere in lei l’aristocratica di un tempo, ora che "ha mutato le vesti delicate nel ruvido sacco", e mangia come mangiano i poveri che soccorre.
Questo è il suo stile, sotto il segno del riserbo. Agire e tacere. Insegnare con i fatti. Fa così poco rumore che di lei non si sa altro, e ignoreremmo perfino la sua esistenza se Girolamo non l’avesse ricordata in quella lettera, quando lei era già morta (e sepolta a Ostia). Era il 384, anno della morte di papa Damaso I, regnando in concordia gli imperatori Teodosio I e Massimo. Più tardi il primo dei due sconfisse il secondo. E regnò poi da solo, avendolo fatto uccidere.
Autore: Domenico Agasso
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/46500
† 384 Lea
van Rome
Lea van Rome, Ostia,
Italië; weduwe & volgelinge van Hiëronymus; † 384.
Feest 22 maart.
Zij was een rijke weduwe uit de aristocratische kringen van Rome en had zich onder de geestelijke leiding geplaastst van Sint Hiëronymus († 420; feest 30 september). Zij trad toe tot de leefgemeenschap van Sint Marcella († 410; feest 31 januari). Zij stierf in de havenstad Ostia. Vermoedelijk met Hiëronymus op weg naar Bethelehem om daar met een aantal andere gezellinnen het leven van een kluizenares te leiden(?).
Pas in de 16e eeuw werd zij opgenomen in het Romeinse martelarenboek.
Zij is een van de patronessen van de weduwen.
[101a; 102; Dries van den Akker s.j./2001.12.09]
© A. van den Akker
s.j.
SOURCE : http://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/03/22/03-22-0384-lea.php
Voir aussi : https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2018/03/saint-lea-of-rome-384.html
