Évêque, ami et correspondant de Saint Jérôme (4ème s.)
Ayant abandonné la carrière militaire pour se joindre à un groupe d'ascètes, il retrouva à Antioche, saint Jérôme, son ami et son compatriote de Dalmatie. Nommé plus tard évêque d'Altino, non loin d'Aquilée, il laisse entrevoir, dans sa correspondance avec le saint Docteur, quel était le sérieux de la vie chrétienne dans son diocèse.
À Altinum, sur les confins de la Vénétie, à la fin du IVe siècle ou au début du Ve siècle, saint Héliodore, évêque. Il eut comme maître saint Valérien d’Aquilée, fut compagnon de saint Chromace et de saint Jérôme et devint le premier évêque de la cité.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1431/Saint-Heliodore.html
SAINT HÉLIODORE D'ALTINO
Évêque
(+ vers 390)
Saint Héliodore naquit au
milieu du IVe siècle, en Dalmatie, dans le même pays que saint Jérôme, et il
s'attacha de bonne heure à ce grand Saint, plus encore pour suivre ses conseils
dans l'ordre de la vertu et de la perfection chrétienne que pour profiter de
ses lumières et de son érudition profonde dans l'ordre des sciences humaines et
divines.
La vie solitaire avait
pour lui des attraits particuliers; mais, en entrant dans un monastère, il
aurait fallu se séparer de son maître, et ce sacrifice lui parut au-dessus de
ses forces. Il resta donc dans le monde sans l'aimer ni le fréquenter, vivant
comme les anachorètes, uniquement occupé de la prière et de la lecture des
Livres saints. Saint Jérôme ayant quitté Aquilée, ville du royaume d'Illyrie,
où il avait passé quelques temps avec Héliodore, celui-ci l'accompagna dans un
voyage qu'il fit en Orient, visitant les serviteurs de Dieu qui peuplaient les
solitudes et les couvents.
Bientôt Héliodore éprouva
un vif désir de revoir ses parents et sa patrie, et il prit la route de la
Dalmatie, promettant à son maître de revenir près de lui. Saint Jérôme, après
avoir attendu très longtemps, ne le voyant pas revenir, craignit que l'amour de
ses parents et des biens de la terre n'ébranlât sa vocation et lui écrivit une
lettre touchante pour l'exhorter à rompre entièrement avec le monde et se
donner à Dieu irrévocablement. Mais Dieu avait d'autres desseins sur Héliodore.
Revenu en Italie, il y
devint évêque, soutint la foi contre les Ariens et devint l'un des prélats les
plus éminents de son temps.
Abbé L. Jaud, Vie
des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950.
SOURCE : http://magnificat.ca/cal/fr/saints/saint_heliodore_d_altino.html
SAINT JERÔME
SÉRIE VI. LETTRES.
A HELIODORE, POUR L’ENGAGER A FUIR LE MONDE ET A
REVENIR DANS LE DÉSERT.
Lettre écrite du désert, en 374
1 Vous qui connaissez toute mon amitié pour vous,
vous savez avec quelle ardeur je vous ai conjuré de rester avec moi dans la
solitude, et cette lettre que vous voyez presque effacée par mes larmes
témoigne aussi avec quelle douleur, quels regrets et duels soupirs je vous y ai
suivi lors de votre départ. Mais, comme un petit enfant qui nous flatte, vous
parvîntes si bien à adoucir par vos caresses le mépris due vous faisiez de mes
prières, que je ne sus à quoi me déterminer. Car, aurais-je gardé le silence? Mais
le moyen de pouvoir dissimuler par une modération affectée, ce que je
souhaitais avec tant d'ardeur? Aurais-je redoublé mes importunités et mes
prières? Mais vous ne vouliez pas m'écouter, parce que votre amitié n'était pas
égale à la mienne. Mon amitié dédaignée n'avait qu'une chose à faire, elle le
fait ; elle cherche au loin celui qu'elle n'a pu retenir. Ainsi que vous
l'aviez demandé en partant, je vous avais promis de vous écrire à mon entrée
dans le désert, pour vous engager à y venir vous-même. Hâtez-vous donc, et ne
pensez plus aux incommodités que nous y avons souffertes ; le désert aime ceux
qui sont dépouillés de toutes choses. Les difficultés que nous y avons
rencontrées lors de notre premier voyage ne doivent point vous étonner. Puisque
vous croyez en Jésus-Christ, vous devez aussi croire en ses paroles lorsqu'il
dit: « Cherchez premièrement le royaume de Dieu, et tout le reste vous sera
donné. Ne prenez ni besace ni bâton; celui-là est assez riche, qui est pauvre
avec; Jésus-Christ. »
2 Mais que fais-je ? je vous prie. encore sans y
penser. Que toutes ces prières cessent ; une amitié blessée comme la mienne l'a
été, doit plutôt se mettre en colère ; et peut-être qu'après avoir méprisé mes
prières, vous serez sensible à mes reproches. Soldat efféminé, que faites-vous
dans la maison de votre père? Où sont les remparts, où sont les tranchées, où
sont ces hivers passés sous la tente? Voilà la trompette qui sonne dans le ciel
; voilà ce puissant roi qui parait en armes, et qui, marchant sur les nuées,
vient pour conquérir toute la terre. Il sort de sa bouche, dit, l'Apocalypse,
une épée à deux tranchants qui taille en pièces tout ce qu'elle rencontre; et
vous croyez passer d'une couche efféminée au champ de bataille, et de l'ombre à
la plus grande ardeur du soleil. Vous vous trompez; un corps habitué à la
tunique ne saurait supporter le poids d'une cuirasse; une tète couverte
légèrement ne saurait souffrir le casque, et le poignée d'un glaive semble trop
dure à une main faible et délicate.
Ecoutez les paroles de votre roi : « Celui qui n'est
pas avec moi est contre moi , et celui qui rie recueille pas avec moi dissipe.
» Souvenez-vous du temps où vous vous êtes enrôlé sous le drapeau de
Jésus-Christ, et où vous vous êtes enseveli avec lui dans le baptême; alors
vous vous êtes obligé par un serment solennel de ne considérer ni père ni mère,
lorsqu'il s'agirait de sa gloire. Voici le démon qui s'efforce de tuer le
Christ dans votre coeur; voici des armées ennemies qui viennent pour vous ravir
la solde que vous aviez reçue en vous enrôlant. Mais quelques caresses que vous
fasse votre petit neveu; quoique votre mère, avec ses cheveux épars et ses
habits déchirés, vous montre le sein qui vous a nourri ; et que votre père,
pour vous empêcher de sortir, se jette à terre sur le seuil de votre porte :
passez par-dessus lui avec des yeux secs, volez plutôt que de courir, pour vous
ranger sous l'étendard de la croix; car alors, la piété consiste à être
insensible.
3. Oui, oui, il viendra un jour où, après être resté
victorieux, vous retournerez en votre patrie, et marcherez la couronne sur la
tête dans la Jérusalem céleste. Alors vous jouirez avec saint Paul du droit qui
appartient aux habitants de cette cité toute divine ; vous demanderez la même
grâce pour ceux qui vous ont mis au monde, et vous la demanderez aussi pour
moi 471 qui vous exhorte maintenant à remporter cette victoire.
Je sais quel empêchement vous pouvez alléguer. Je n'ai
pas, non plus que vous, un coeur de fer ni des entrailles de bronze ; je n'ai
pas été enfanté par un rocher ; je n'ai pas sucé le lait des tigresses
d'Hircanie, et j'ai passé par les mêmes épreuves. Je sais que votre sueur, dans
l'affliction de son veuvage, vous embrasse pour vous arrêter; que les enfants
de vos esclaves qui ont été élevés avec vous vous disent, les larmes aux yeux :
« Sous la puissance de quel maître nous laissez-vous en nous abandonnant de la
sorte? » Je sais que cette femme qui autrefois vous portait dans ses bras,
maintenant courbée par la vieillesse, se joint à votre gouverneur, qui est pour
vous un second père, pour vous dire d'une voix lamentable : « Nous voilà sur le
bord de notre fosse; tardez encore un peu afin de nous ensevelir. » Votre mère
elle-même, vous montrant son sein et les rides de son front, vous fera
peut-être ressouvenir des paroles que bégayait votre bouche enfantine alors
qu'elle vous nourrissait de son lait. Ils pourront encore vous adresser ces
paroles du poète : « Et vous, maintenant, vous soutenez seul votre maison
chancelante. » Mais l'amour de Dieu et la crainte de l'enfer peuvent aisément
triompher de tous ces obstacles.
Que si vous m'alléguez que l'Écriture nous ordonne
d'obéir à nos parents, je vous répondrai que celui qui les aime plus que
Jésus-Christ perd son âme. Lorsque l'ennemi de mon salut tient le glaive pour
me tuer, m'amuserai-je à penser aux pleurs de ma mère! et mon père me fera-t-il
abandonner le service de Jésus-Christ, à moi qui ne dois pas m'arrêter à
l'ensevelir lorsqu'il s'agit des intérêts de Jésus-Christ, pour l'amour duquel
je ne dois refuser la sépulture à personne? Quand notre Seigneur parlait du
supplice de la croix, saint Pierre lui devint un sujet de scandale par le
conseil qu'il lui donna d'avoir plus de soin de sa vie; et quand les fidèles
voulaient arrêter saint Paul pour l'empêcher d'aller à Jérusalem où il savait
qu'il devait beaucoup souffrir, il leur répondit: « Pourquoi pleurez-vous ainsi
inutilement et m'attristez-vous le coeur, puisque je ne suis pas seulement prêt
à souffrir la prison, mais aussi la mort pour la confession de notre Sauveur? »
Toutes ces subtilités par lesquelles: on s'efforce
d'attaquer notre foi sous prétexte de pitié doivent tomber devant ces paroles
de l'Évangile : « Ceux-là sont ma mère et mes frères, qui font la volonté de
mon Père qui est dans le ciel. » S'ils croient en Jésus-Christ, ne doivent-ils
pas m'être favorables, lorsque je me prépare à combattre pour son service? et
s'ils n'y croient pas, et s'ils sont comme des morts, alors qu'ils
ensevelissent leurs morts. Mais cela est bon, me dites-vous, lorsqu'il s'agit
du martyre.
4 Vous vous trompez, mon frère, si vous croyez
qu'en quelque temps que ce puisse être un chrétien soit exempt de persécution;
car vous n'êtes jamais si près d'y succomber que lorsque vous ne vous en
apercevez pas. Notre ennemi, ainsi qu'un lion rugissant, dit saint Pierre,
tourne de tous côtés afin d'enlever quelqu'un pour le dévorer; et vous croyez
être en sûreté! Il tend des piéges avec les riches pour tuer en secret
l'innocent ; il jette les yeux sur le pauvre et l'épie, ainsi qu'un lion dans
sa caverne. Et vous, vous dormez à votre aise sous l'ombrage épais et touffu
d'un arbre, lorsque vous allez devenir la proie du lion !
L'impureté me sollicite, l'avarice s'efforce de me dominer, la gourmandise veut
que je fasse un dieu de mon ventre, pour le mettre à la place de Jésus-Christ.
L'amour matériel me presse de chasser le Saint-Esprit qui habite dans mon âme
et de violer son temple; enfin cet ennemi, qui a mille noms, qui possède mille
moyens de me séduire, me persécute sans cesse; et je serai assez malheureux
pour me croire victorieux lorsque je suis vaincu!
5 Gardez-vous bien, après avoir examiné quelle
est l'énormité de tous ces péchés, de croire qu'ils soient moindres que celui
de l'idolâtrie; mais écoutez plutôt ces paroles de l'Apôtre : « Sachez et
comprenez bien que nul impudique, nul avare et nul trompeur n'aura part au
royaume de Dieu, car ils sont esclaves des démons. » Et quoiqu'en général tout
ce qui est du démon soit contraire à Dieu, et que tout ce qui appartient à cet
esprit impur soit idolâtrie, puisque toutes les idoles lui sont consacrées; le
même apôtre ne laisse pas toutefois de le déclarer particulièrement et en
termes formels en un autre endroit, lorsqu'il dit : « Mortifiez vos sens; renoncez
à toute sorte d'impuretés, de mauvais désirs et d'avarice qui nous mettent dans
la dépendance des idoles, et qui attirent la colère de Dieu sur les enfants
d'incrédulité. » Car la servitude des idoles ne consiste pas à prendre avec le
bout des doigts un peu d'encens et à le jeter dans le feu du sacrifice, ou à
répandre un peu de vin d'une coupe. A celui-là qui ose donner le nom de justice
à l'acte de vente de notre Seigneur pour trente pièces d'argent, il appartient
de nier que l'avarice soit idolâtrie ; il appartient à celui qui, par un
commerce infâme avec ces victimes publiques d'impudicité, â profané les membres
de Jésus-Christ, cette hostie vivante et agréable à Dieu, de nier qu'il y ait
du sacrilège dans cette action brutale; enfin, nier que la fraude soit
idolâtrie, cela appartient encore à celui qui est insensible au sort de ceux
que nous voyons, dans les Actes des Apôtres, frappés de mort pour s'être
réservé une partie du prix de la vente de leur bien.
Considérez, je vous prie, mon frère, qu'il ne vous est
permis de rien posséder de tout ce qui vous appartient, puisque notre Seigneur
dit « Celui qui ne renoncera pas à tout ce qu'il possède ne peut. être mon
disciple. » Pourquoi, chrétien, avez-vous si peu de courage?
6 Ne savez-vous pas que saint Pierre abandonna
ses filets, et que saint Mathieu, après avoir quitté sa barque, de publicain
devint aussitôt apôtre? Le Fils de l'Homme n'a pas un lieu où reposer sa tête ;
et vous avez d'immenses portiques et de magnifiques palais pour vous promener, comme
si vous pouviez être co-héritier de Jésus-Christ et en même temps héritier
d'une riche succession dans le monde! Considérez ce que signifie ce mot de
solitaire qui est votre nom ; et puisqu'il vous oblige à être seul, pourquoi
demeurez-vous au milieu de la foule?
Je vous parle ici comme un pilote qui n'ignore pas la
fureur des flots, et qui, après avoir fait naufrage et être devenu habile par
sa propre expérience, avertit d'une voix tremblante ceux qui sont prêts à
s'embarquer de prendre garde au péril qui les menace. Dans ce dangereux
détroit, l'impudicité, semblable à Charybde, engloutit notre salut ; et le
plaisir sensuel', ainsi qu'un autre Scylla, attire notre pudeur en de funestes
naufrages. Ces côtes sont barbares, et le démon, comme un pirate, porte avec
ses compagnons quantité de chaînes pour attacher ceux qu'il doit réduire en
esclavage. Gardez-vous donc bien de vous y fier, gardez-vous bien de vous
croire en sûreté; car, quoique la mer paraisse calme et aussi tranquille qu'un
étang, quoiqu'il semble due le vent puisse à peine agiter la superficie de ses
eaux, cette surface si unie couvre des montagnes très élevées qui cachent le
péril due vous devez craindre et les ennemis qui vous doivent être si
redoutables. Préparez donc les cordages, déployez les voiles, et faites le
signe de la croix sur vos fronts : ce calme est une véritable tempête.
Mais, me direz-vous, ceux qui demeurent dans les
villes ne sauraient-ils donc être chrétiens? Je réponds que vous n'êtes pas
dans la même position que les autres. Car écoutez notre Seigneur qui dit : « Si
vous voulez être parfait, vendez tout ce que vous avez, donnez-en le prix aux
pauvres; puis, venez et suivez-moi. » Or, vous avez promis d'être parfait,
puisqu' abandonnant la milice du siècle et renonçant au mariage pour gagner le
ciel, vous avez en effet embrassé une vie parfaite. Or, un parfait serviteur de
Jésus-Christ ne possède rien que Jésus-Christ ; et s'il possède quelque autre
chose, il n'est pas parfait. Que s'il n'est pas parfait après avoir promis à
Dieu de l'être, il passe devant lui pour un menteur, et le mensonge tue l'âme
de celui qui le profère. Si donc vous êtes parfait, pourquoi désirez-vous les
biens de la terre? et si vous n'êtes pas parfait, vous avez trompé notre
Seigneur. L'Évangile nous dit d'une voix éclatante : « Vous ne pouvez servir
deux maîtres. » Et se trouvera-t-il après cela des personnes assez hardies pour
rendre Jésus-Christ menteur, en servant en même temps Dieu et les richesses? Il
nous dit si souvent à haute voix: « Si quelqu'un veut venir après moi, qu'il
renonce à soi-même, qu'il porte sa croix et qu'il me suive. » L'homme accablé
sous le poids de l'or s'imaginerait-il pouvoir le suivre? Celui qui fait
profession de croire en Jésus-Christ doit imiter ses actions.
7 Que si vous prétendez ne rien posséder, comme
je suis certain que vous le direz, pourquoi, si bien préparé pour cette guerre
spirituelle, demeurez-vous ainsi inactif? Est-ce que vous croyez pouvoir
combattre dans votre pays, quand Jésus-Christ lui-même n'a pu faire des
miracles dans le sien? Et pourquoi n'en a-t-il point fait? En (473) voici la
raison, appuyée sur l'autorité divine : « Nul prophète n'est honoré dans son
pays. » Vous me répondrez peut-être : « Je ne recherche point l'honneur, et je
me contente du témoignage de ma propre conscience. » Notre Seigneur ne le
recherche point non plus, puisqu'il s'enfuit pour éviter d'être établi roi par
les peuples. Mais où il n'y a point d'honneur il y a du mépris, où il y a du
mépris il y a des injures à souffrir , où il y a des injures à souffrir il y a
de l'indignation, où il y a de l'indignation il n'y a point de repos, où il n'y
a point de repos il y a d'ordinaire du découragement. Ce découragement diminue
quelque chose de notre ardeur; cette diminution affaiblit d'autant notre
action, et l'on ne peut plus dire qu'une chose qui a souffert quelque
affaiblissement est parfaite. Tirez la conclusion de ces principes, et vous
trouverez qu'un solitaire ne saurait être parfait en restant dans son pays. Or,
c'est déjà une imperfection de ne vouloir pas être parfait.
8 Mais, chassé de ce retranchement, vous passerez
à l'état de clerc; et vous me demanderez si j'oserai dire quelque chose contre
ceux de cette profession qui habitent les villes. Dieu me garde de rien dire au
désavantage de ceux qui, succédant aux fonctions des Apôtres, consacrent par la
vertu de leurs paroles le corps de Jésus-Christ, nous rendent chrétiens.; qui
ayant entre leurs mains les clefs du royaume du ciel, jugent en quelque sorte
avant le jour du jugement; et qui avec un coeur pur conservent l'épouse du
Seigneur! Mais, comme je l'ai déjà dit, la position des solitaires et celle des
clercs sont différentes : les clercs paissent les brebis, et je suis l'une de
ces brebis; et moi, comme un arbre stérile, je vois la cognée prête à me couper
par la racine si je n'offre mon présent à l'autel, sans que je puisse, pour
m'en excuser, alléguer ma pauvreté; puisque le Seigneur a loué dans l'Évangile
cette pauvre veuve qui donna les deux seuls deniers qu'elle avait. Il ne m'est
pas permis de m'asseoir en la présence d'un prêtre, tandis qu'il lui est
permis, si je tombe dans le péché, de me livrer à Satan, pour faire mourir mon
corps, afin de faire vivre mon âme au grand jour de notre Seigneur. Ceux qui
sous l'ancienne loi manquaient d'obéir aux prêtres étaient mis hors l'enceinte
du camp, et y étaient lapidés ou avaient la tête tranchée, afin d'expier par
leur sang le mépris qu'ils avaient fait des oints du Seigneur; et maintenant
ceux qui n'obéissent pas sont retranchés par le glaive spirituel, ou sont
chassés hors de l'Église pour être livrés aux démons. Que si des amis pieux
vous persuadent par leurs avis d'embrasser un état si saint, je me réjouirai de
votre élévation, mais je craindrai pour vous une chute. L'Apôtre, il est vrai,
dit que celui qui désire l'épiscopat désire une oeuvre excellente ; mais
joignez-y ce qui suit : il doit être irrépréhensible, mari d'une seule femme,
sobre, chaste, prudent, honnête, hospitalier, capable d'enseigner, point sujet
au vice, point violent, mais modeste. Et en expliquant ce qu'il ajoute sur le
même sujet, on voit que ceux qui, après les évêques et les prêtres, sont
appelés au troisième ordre entre les ecclésiastiques, ne doivent pas veiller
avec moins de soin sur eux-mêmes, comme il parait par ces paroles : « Les
diacres doivent aussi être chastes, sincères, point sujets au vin, point
amateurs de gains illicites; ils doivent porter le témoignage secret de leur
foi dans une conscience pure, et il faut qu'ils soient exempts de tous crimes
et éprouvés avant d'être admis au ministère. »
Malheur à celui qui ose se trouver au festin des noces
sans avoir sa robe nuptiale! car que peut-il entendre, sinon qu'on lui dise à
l'instant même : « Mon ami, comment avez-vous la hardiesse d'entrer ici? » Et
alors ne sachant que répondre, ne commandera-t-on pas aux serviteurs de
l'emporter pieds et mains liés et de le jeter dans les ténèbres extérieures, où
il y aura des pleurs et des grincements de dents? Malheur à celui qui, ayant
enveloppé dans un linge le talent qui lui a été confié, se contente de le
conserver, tandis que les autres l'ont profiter l'argent qui leur a été mis
entre les mains! Ne sera-t-il pas frappé d'étonnement, lorsque son maître lui
dira avec indignation et colère « Mauvais serviteur, pourquoi n'as-tu pas donné
mon argent à la banque, afin que je le reçusse avec l'intérêt? c'est-à-dire
pourquoi n'as-tu pas remis aux pieds de l'autel la charge que tu n'étais pas
digne de porter, puisqu'en gardant cet argent, qui reste improductif par ton
insouciance, tu tiens la place d'un autre qui aurait su le faire valoir au
double? De même que celui qui s'acquitte bien de son devoir mérite une grande
récompense; de même celui qui approche indignement de la coupe du
Seigneur 474 se rend coupable de son corps et de son sang.
9 Si vous jetez les yeux sur saint Pierre,
jetez-les aussi sur Judas ; si vous considérez saint Etienne, considérez aussi
saint Nicolas, contre lequel Jésus-Christ prononce sentence de condamnation
dans l'Apocalypse, pour avoir été l'auteur d'une doctrine si infâme et si
abominable qu'elle a été la source de l'hérésie qui porte son nom.
Que personne ne s'approche donc des ordres sacrés
qu'après s'être bien éprouvé soi-même. La dignité ecclésiastique ne rend pas un
homme chrétien. Le centenier Corneille. fut. purifié par le don du
Saint-Esprit, étant encore païen. Daniel, n'étant encore qu'un enfant, fut juge
des prêtres. Amos en cueillant des figues sauvages dans le désert devint tout à
coup prophète. David paissant des troupeaux fut élu roi, et Jésus-Christ aima
avec tendresse le plus ,jeune de ses disciples. Mettez-vous à la dernière
place, afin qu'à l'arrivée d'un inférieur on vous commande de monter plus haut.
Car sur qui Dieu prend-il plaisir à se reposer, sinon sur celui qui est humble,
paisible, et qui tremble au bruit de sa voix? On exige davantage de celui à qui
on a confié davantage; les plus puissants souffriront les plus grands
tourments. Et que personne ne se flatte d'être seulement chaste de corps,
puisque les hommes rendront compte au jour du jugement des paroles, même
inutiles, qu'ils auront proférées; et que, pour avoir dit une injure à son
frère, on est réputé coupable d'homicide. II n'est pas aisé de tenir la place
de saint Paul, ni d'être élu à la dignité de saint Pierre, qui règnent
maintenant avec Jésus-Christ; et il y a su jet de craindre que quelque ange ne
vienne déchirer le voile de votre temple, et ôter votre chandelier de sa place.
Si vous entreprenez de bâtir une tour, voyez à combien pourra monter la dépense
de l'édifice. Le sel une fois corrompu n'est plus bon qu'à être jeté et foulé
aux pieds par les pourceaux. Si un solitaire tombe dans le péché, le prêtre
priera pour lui; mais qui priera pour le prêtre s'il y tombe?
10 Or, puisque ce discours est venu
jusqu'ici, malgré tant d'obstacles, et que mon faible esquif après avoir passé
au milieu de tant de récifs est arrivé en pleine mer, il faut que je déploie
les voiles, et qu'après être sorti de ces questions si difficiles a démêler,
j'imite les cris de joie des pilotes en chantant : O désert, que les fleurs de
Jésus-Christ remplissent d'un émail si agréable ! ô solitude qui produit des
pierres précieuses, avec lesquelles la ville du grand roi est bâtie! ô pays
inhabité, où Dieu habite plus qu'en aucun autre ! que faites-vous, mon cher
frère, dans le monde? L'ombre des maisons vous couvrira-t-elle encore
longtemps? Jusqu'à quand demeurerez-vous emprisonné dans ces villes toutes
noires de fumée? Croyez-moi ; je vois je ne sais quelle lumière que vous ne
voyez point, et en me déchargeant du fardeau pénible de ce corps, je prends
plaisir à me transporter dans un air plus pur. La pauvreté vous fait-elle peur?
Mais Jésus-Christ nomme les pauvres bienheureux. Redoutez-vous le travail? mais
nul athlète n'est couronné qu'après avoir été couvert de sueur et de poussière.
Êtes-vous en peine de votre nourriture? mais la foi ne redoute pas la faim.
Craignez-vous de meurtrir votre corps affaibli par des jeunes en couchant sur
la terre? mais notre Seigneur y est avec vous. Une tête malpropre et des
cheveux en désordre vous inspirent-ils du dégoût, de l'horreur? mais
Jésus-Christ est votre tête. La vaste étendue du désert vous épouvante-t-elle?
mais promenez-vous en esprit dans le paradis; et toutes les fois que vous vous
y élèverez par vos pensées, vous ne serez plus dans le désert. Vous fâchez-vous
de ce que, faute de pain, votre peau se sèche et devient rude? mais celui qui
une fois a été purifié parla grâce de Jésus-Christ dans l'eau du baptême n'a
plus besoin de se laver, et l'Apôtre vous dit en un mot pour ré. pondre à
toutes vos difficultés : « Les souffrances de ce siècle ne sont pas dignes
d'être comparées à la gloire qui nous attend et dont nous jouirons dans
l'autre. » C'est bien chercher vos aises, mon cher frère, que de vouloir goûter
les plaisirs ici-bas avec les personnes du siècle, et régner ensuite là-haut
avec Jésus-Christ.
11. Il viendra ce grand jour où nos corps, à
présent mortels et corruptibles, seront incorruptibles et immortels.
Bienheureux le serviteur que le maître trouvera veillant! Vous vous réjouirez
lorsque la terre et toutes les nations trembleront au bruit de cette trompette
terrible. Et quand Jésus-Christ viendra pour juger le monde, quand les pécheurs
jetteront des cris effroyables, quand tous les peuples, en se frappant la
poitrine, se plaindront 475 les uns aux autres dans l'horreur de leur
misère; quand ceux qui étaient autrefois les plus puissants d'entre les rois se
verront, sans suite et sans gardes, exposés aux yeux de tout le monde et
pourront à peine respirer; quand le fabuleux Jupiter, au lieu de lancer la
foudre, sera véritablement enseveli avec toute sa race dans les flammes
éternelles; quand cet insensé Platon paraîtra avec ses disciples malheureux, et
que tous les arguments d'Aristote seront inutiles ; vous, au contraire, tout
simple et tout pauvre, vous serez dans les ris et dans la joie, et vous direz :
« Voici mon Dieu qui a été crucifié; voici mon Dieu qui, étant né dans une
étable, a été revêtu de langes et a jeté des cris comme les autres enfants;
voici le fils d'un charpentier et d'une Vierge qui gagnait sa vie avec son
travail; voici celui qui, étant Dieu, s'est enfui en Egypte dans les bras de sa
mère, pour éviter la fureur d'un homme; voici celui qui a été vêtu de pourpre,
qui a été couronné d'épines, qui a été pris pour un magicien, pour un
Samaritain et pour un démoniaque. Considère, Juif, les mains que tu as
attachées à une croix; regarde, Romain, le côté que tu as percé: et voyez tous
deux si c'est le même corps que vous disiez avoir été enlevé de nuit par ses
disciples.
Mon extrême affection pour vous, mon cher frère, m'a
engagé à vous écrire ceci, afin que vous jouissiez un jour du bonheur pour la
possession duquel vous entreprenez des travaux qui vous semblent maintenant si
rudes et si difficiles.
SOURCE : http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/eglise/jerome/heliodore1.htm
EPISTOLA XIV. AD HELIODORUM MONACHUM.
1. Quanto amore et studio contenderim, ut pariter
in eremo moraremur, conscium mutuae caritatis pectus agnoscit. Quibus
lamentis, quo dolore, quo gemitu, te abeuntem prosecutus sim, istae quoque
litterae testes sunt, quas lacrymis cernis interlitas. Verum tu quasi parvulus
delicatus, contemptum rogantis per blandimenta fovisti, et ego incautus, quid
tunc agerem, nesciebam. Tacerem? sed quod ardenter volebam, moderate
dissimulare non poteram. Impensius obsecrarem? sed audire nolebas, quia
similiter non amabas. Quod unum potuit, spreta caritas fecit. Quem praesentem
retinere non valuit, nunc quaerit absentem. Quoniam igitur et tu ipse abiens
postularas, ut postea quam ad deserta migrassem, invitatoria ad te scripta transmitterem,
et ego me facturum promiseram: Invito, jam propera. Nolo pristinarum
necessitatum recorderis. NUDOS AMAT EREMUS. Nolo te antiquae peregrinationis
terreat difficultas. Qui in Christum credis, et ejus crede sermonibus. Quaerite
primum regnum Dei, et haec omnia apponentur vobis (Matth. 6. 33). Non pera
tibi sumenda, non virga est. Affatim dives est, qui cum Christo pauper est.
2. Sed quid ago? Rursus improvidus obsecro?
Abeant preces, blandimenta discedant. Debet amor laesus irasci. Qui rogantem
contempseras, forsitan audies objurgantem. Quid facis in paterna domo delicate
miles? Ubi vallum? ubi fossa, ubi hyems acta sub pellibus? Ecce de coelo tuba
canit: ecce cum nubibus debellaturus orbem, imperator armatus egreditur: ecce
bis acutus gladius ex regis ore procedens (Apoc. 1. 16), obvia quaeque metit;
et tu mihi de cubiculo ad aciem, tu de umbra egrederis ad solem? Corpus
assuetum tunica, loricae onus non fert. Caput opertum linteo, galeam recusat.
Mollem otio manum, durus exasperat capulus. Audi edictum regis tui: Qui
non est mecum, contra me est: et qui mecum non colligit, spargit (Luc. 11.
23; Matth. 12. 30).
Recordare tyrocinii tui diem, quo Christo in
baptismate consepultus, in sacramenti verba jurasti: pro nomine ejus non te
matri parciturum esse, non patri. Ecce adversarius in pectore tuo Christum
conatur occidere. Ecce donativum, quod militaturus acceperas, hostilia castra
suspirant. Licet parvulus ex collo pendeat nepos, licet sparso crine et scissis
vestibus, ubera quibus te nutrierat, mater ostendat, licet in limine pater
jaceat, per calcatum perge patrem, siccis oculis ad vexillum crucis evola.
SOLUM PIETATIS genus est, in hac re esse crudelem.
3. Veniet, veniet postea dies, quo victor
revertaris in patriam; quo per Jerosolymam coelestem vir fortis coronatus incedas.
Tunc municipatum cum Paulo capies. Tunc et parentibus tuis ejusdem civitatis
jus petes. Tunc et pro me rogabis, qui te ut vinceres, incitavi.
Neque vero nescio, qua te dicas nunc compede
praepediri. Non est nobis ferreum pectus, nec dura praecordia. Non ex silice
natos Hyrcanae nutriere tigrides. Et nos per ista transivimus. Nunc tibi
blandis vidua soror haeret lacertis, nunc illi, cum quibus adolevisti,
vernaculi aiunt: Cui nos servituros relinquis? Nunc et gerula quondam, jam
anus, et nutricius, secundus post naturalem pietatem pater, clamitat: Morituros
exspecta paulisper, et sepeli. Forsitan et laxis uberum pellibus mater, arata
rugis fronte, antiquum referens mammae lallare, congeminet. Dicant si volunt et
Grammatici: In te omnis domus inclinata recumbit (Aeneid. 12). Facile
rumpit haec vincula amor Dei, et timor gehennae.
At contra Scriptura praecipit parentibus obsequendum:
sed quicumque eos supra Christum amat, perdit animam suam. Gladium tenet
hostis, ut me perimat, et ego de matris lacrymis cogitabo? Propter patrem
militiam Christi deseram, cui sepulturam Christi causa non debeo, quam etiam
omnibus ejus causa debeo? Domino passuro timide Petrus consulens scandalum fuit
(Matth. 16). Paulus retinentibus se fratribus, ne Jerosolymam pergeret, respondit: Quid
facitis plorantes, et conturbantes cor meum? Ego enim non solum ligari, sed et
mori in Jerusalem paratus sum pro nomine Domini Jesu Christi (Act. 21.
13).
Aries iste pietatis, quo fides quatitur, Evangelii
retundendus est muro. Mater mea, et fratres mei hi sunt, quicumque faciunt
voluntatem Patris mei, qui in coelis est (Luc. 8. 21; Matth. 12. 30). Si
credunt in Christum, faveant mihi pro ejus nomine pugnaturo. Si non credunt,
mortui sepeliant mortuos suos (Matth. 8. 22). Sed hoc, ais, in Martyrio.
4. Erras, frater, erras, si putas unquam
Christianum persecutionem non pati: ET TUNC MAXIME oppugnaris, si te oppugnari
nescis. Adversarius noster, tanquam leo rugiens, aliquem devorare quaerens,
[al. cupiens], circumit (1. Petr. 5. 8), et tu pacem putas? Sedet in
insidiis cum divitibus, et in occultis interficiat innocentem. Oculi ejus
in pauperem respiciunt. Insidiatur in occulto, sicut leo in spelunca sua:
insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem (Psal. 9. 30); et tu frondosae arboris
tectus umbraculo, molles somnos, futura [al. futurus] praeda, carpis?
Inde me persequitur luxuria: inde avaritia conatur
irrumpere: inde venter meus vult mihi Deus esse pro Christo. compellit libido,
ut habitantem in me Spiritum Sanctum fugem, ut templum ejus violem.
Persequitur, inquam, me hostis, cui nomina mille, Mille nocendi artes (Aeneid.
lib VII): et ego infelix victorem me putabo, dum capior?
5. Nolo, frater carissime, examinato pondere
delictorum, minora arbitreris [al. nolo te arbitrari] idololatriae crimine
[al. crimina] esse, quae diximus. Imo Apostoli disce sententiam, qui ait: hoc
enim scitote intelligentes, quia omnis fornicator, aut immundus, aut avarus,
aut fraudator, quod est idolorum servitus, non habet haereditatem in
regno Christi, et Dei (Ephes. 5. 5). Et quanquam generaliter adversus Deum
sapiat, quidquid diaboli est; et quod diaboli est, idololatria sit, cui omnia
idola mancipantur: tamen et in alio loco speciatim, nominatimque determinat,
dicens: Mortificate membra vestra, quae sunt super terram, deponentes fornicationem,
immunditiam, et concupiscentiam malam, et cupiditatem, quae sunt idolorum
servitus, propter quae venit ira Dei. (1. Coloss. 3. 5 et 6).
Servitus idolorum in vitiis et peccatis. - Non est tantum in eo servitus idoli,
si quis duobus digitulis, thura in bustum arae jaciat, aut haustum paterae
poculo fundat merum. Neget avaritiam esse idololatriam, qui potest triginta
argenteis Dominum venditum appellare justitiam. Neget sacrilegium in libidine,
sed is, qui membra Christi, et hostiam vivam placentem Deo, cum publicarum
libidinum victimis, nefaria colluvione violavit. Non fateatur fraudem
idololatriam esse, sed similis eorum, qui in Actibus Apostolorum ex patrimonio
suo partem pretii reservantes, praesenti periere vindicta (Act. 5).
Animadverte, frater, non tibi licere [al. licet.]
de tuis quidquam habere rebus. Omnis, inquit Dominus, qui non
renuntiaverit cunctis, quae possidet, non potest meus esse discipulus (Luc.
14. 33). Cur timido animo
Christianus es?
6. Respice Petro [al. cum Petro] relictum
rete: respice surgentem de telonio Publicanum, statim Apostolum. Filius hominis
non habet, ubi caput reclinet: et tu amplas porticus, et ingentia tectorum
spatia metiris? HAEREDITATEM EXSPECTANS saeculi, cohaeres Christi esse non
poteris. Interpretare vocabulum Monachi, hoc est nomen tuum. Quid facis in
turba qui solus es?
Et hoc ego, non integris rate, vel mercibus, nec quasi
ignarus fluctuum doctus nauta praemoneo; sed quasi nuper naufragio ejectus in
littus, timida navigaturis voce denuntio. In illo aestu Charybdis luxuriae,
salutem vorat. Ibi ore virgineo, ad pudicitiae perpetranda naufragia, Scyllaeum
renidens libido blanditur. Hic barbarum littus, hic diabolus pirata, cum sociis
portat vincula capiendis. Nolite credere, nolite esse securi. Licet in modum
stagni fusum aequor arrideat: licet vix summa jacentis elementi spiritu terga
crispentur, magnos hic campus montes habet. Intus inclusum est periculum, intus
est hostis. Expedite rudentes, vela suspendite. Crucis antenna figatur in
frontibus. Tranquillitas ista tempestas est.
Sed forsitan dicturus es: Quid ergo? quicumque in
civitate sunt, Christiani non sunt? non est tibi eadem causa quae caeteris.
Dominum ausculta dicentem: Si vis perfectus esse: vade, vende omnia tua,
et da pauperibus, et veni, sequere me (Matth. 19. 21). Tu autem perfectum
te esse pollicitus es. Nam quum derelicta militia [al. derelicta domo,
militia], te castrasti propter regna caelorum, quid aliud quam perfectam
sequutus es vitam? PERFECTUS AUTEM servus Christi, nihil praeter Christum
habet. Aut si quid praeter Christum habet, perfectus non est. Et si perfectus
non est, cum se perfectum fore Deo pollicitus sit, ante mentitus est. Os
autem, quod mentitur, occidit animam (Sap. 1. 11). Igitur, ut concludam:
si perfectus es, cur bona paterna desideras? Si perfectus non es, Dominum
fefellisti. Divinis Evangelium vocibus contonat: Non potestis duobus
dominis servire (Luc. 16. 13); et audet quisquam mendacem Christum facere,
Mammonae, et Domino serviendo? Vociferatur ille saepe: Si quis vult post
me venire, abneget semetipsum sibi, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me (Ibid.
9. 23). Et ego onustus auro arbitror me Christum sequi? «Qui dicit se in
Christum credere, debet quomodo ille ambulavit, et ipse ambulare.» (1. Joan. 2.
6).
7. Quod si nihil habes (ut te responsurum scio)
cur, tam bene paratus ad bella, non militas? Nisi forte in patria tua te
arbitraris hoc facere, cum in sua Dominus signa non fecerit. Et cur id? Cum
auctoritate sume rationem. Nemo Propheta in patria sua honorem habet (Luc.
4). Non quaero, inquies, honorem: sufficit mihi conscientia mea. Neque Dominus
quaerebat, quippe qui ne a turbis rex constitueretur, aufugit. Sed ubi honor
non est, ibi contemptus est. Ubi contemptus, ibi frequens injuri : ubi autem
injuria, ibi et indignatio: ubi indignatio, ibi quies nulla: ubi quies
non est, ibi mens a proposito saepe deducitur. Ubi autem per inquietudinem
aliquid aufertur ex studio, minus fit ab eo, quod tollitur: et ubi minus est,
perfectum non potest dici. Ex hac supputatione summa illa nascitur, Monachum in
patria sua perfectum esse non posse. Perfectum autem esse nolle, delinquere
est.
8 Sed de hoc gradu pulsus; provocabis ad
Clericos. An de his aliquid audeam dicere, qui certe in suis urbibus
commorantur? Absit ut de his quidquam sinistrum loquar, quia Apostolico gradui
succedentes, CHRISTI CORPUS sacro ore conficiunt; per quos et nos Christiani
sumus. Qui claves regni coelorum habentes, quodammodo ante judicii diem
judicant: qui sponsam Domini sobria castitate conservant. Sed alia, ut ante
perstrinxi, Monachorum est causa, alia Clericorum. Clerici pascunt oves: ego
pascor. Illi de altario vivunt: mihi quasi infructuosae arbori, securis ponitur
ad radicem, si munus ad altare non defero. Nec possum obtendere paupertatem,
cum in Evangelio anum viduam, duo, quae sola sibi supererant, aera mittentem in
gazophylacium, laudaverit Dominus (Luc. 21. 24). Mihi ante presbyterum sedere
non licet: illi, si peccavero, licet tradere me Satanae in interitum carnis, ut
spiritus salvus sit (1. Cor. 5. 5). Et in veteri quidem Lege, quicumque
Sacerdotibus non obtemperasset, aut extra castra positus, lapidabatur a populo;
aut gladio cervice subjecta, contemptum expiabat cruore (Deut. 17. 12). Nunc
vero inobediens spirituali mucrone truncatur: aut ejectus de Ecclesia rabido
daemonum ore discerpitur. Quod si te quoque ad eumdem Ordinem pia fratrum
blandimenta sollicitant, gaudebo de ascensu, sed timebo de lapsu. Qui
Episcopatum desiderat, bonum opus desiderat. Scimus ista: sed junge quod
sequitur: Oportet autem hujusmodi irreprehensibilem esse, unius uxoris
virum, sobrium, pudicum, prudentem, ornatum, hospitalem, docibilem, non
vinolentum, non percussorem, sed modestum (1. Tim. 3). Et caeteris,
quae de eo sequuntur, explicitis, non minorem in tertio gradu adhibuit
diligentiam, dicens: Diaconos similiter pudicos: non bilingues, non multo
vino deditos, non turpilucros [al. turpis lucri appetitores]: habentes
ministerium fidei in conscientia pura. Et hi autem probentur primum: et sic
ministrent, nullum crimen habentes.
Vae illi homini, qui vestem non habens nuptialem,
ingreditur ad coenam. Nihil superest, nisi ut statim audiat: Amice quomodo
huc intrasti? Et illo obmutescente dicatur ministris: Tollite illum,
ligatis manibus et pedibus, et mittite eum in tenebras exteriores, ubi erit
fletus et stridor dentium (Matth. 22. 12. 13). Vae illi qui acceptum
talentum in sudario ligans, caeteris lucra facientibus, id tantum quod
acceperat, reservavit. Illico indignantis Domini clamore ferietur: Serve
nequam, quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam, et ego veniens cum usuris
exegissem eam (Matth. 35. 16. 17)? Id est, deposuisses ad altare, quod
ferre non poteras. Dum enim tu ignavus negotiator denarium tenes, alterius
locum, qui pecuniam duplicare poterat, occupasti. Quamobrem sicuti qui bene
ministrat, bonum gradum sibi acquirit: ita qui indigne ad calicem Domini
accedit, reus erit Dominici Corporis et Sanguinis (1. Cor. 11).
9. Non omnes Episcopi, Episcopi sunt. Attendis
Petrum: sed et Judam considera. Stephanum suspicis: sed et Nicolaum respice,
quem Dominus in Apocalypsi sua damnat sententia: qui tam turpia et nefanda
commentus est, ut Nicolaitarum haeresis ex illa radice nascatur.
Probet se unusquisque, et sic accedat. NON FACIT
Ecclesiastica dignitas Christianum. Cornelius Centurio adhuc ethnicus, dono
Sancti Spiritus mundatur (Act. 10). Presbyteros Daniel puer judicat (Dan. 13):
Amos ruborum mora distringens, repente Propheta effectus est. David pastor
eligitur in Regem (1. Reg. 16). Minimum discipulum Jesus amat plurimum.
Inferius frater accumbe, ut minore adveniente, sursum jubearis ascendere (Luc.
14). Super quem Dominus requiescit, nisi super humilem et quietum, et trementem
verba sua (Isai. 66. 2)? Cui plus creditur, plus ab eo exigitur. Potentes
potenter tormenta patientur (Sap. 6. 3). Nec sibi quisquam de corporis
tantum mundi castitate supplaudat, cum omne verbum otiosum, quodcumque locuti
fuerint homines, reddituri sint pro eo rationem in die judicii (Matth. 12. 5):
cum etiam convicium in fratrem, homicidii sit reatus. Non est facile stare loco
Pauli, tenere gradum Petri, jam cum Christo regnantium: ne forte veniat
angelus, qui scindat velum templi tui, qui candelabrum tuum de loco moveat (Apoc.
2. 5). Aedificaturus turrim, futuri operis sumptus supputa (Luc. 14. 28).
Infatuatum sal ad nihil est utile, nisi ut projiciatur foras, et a porcis conculcetur.
Monachus si ceciderit, rogabit pro eo Sacerdos. Pro Sacerdotis lapsu quis
rogaturus est?
10. Sed quoniam e scopulosis locis enavigavit
oratio, et inter cavas spumeis fluctibus cautes, fragilis in altum cimba
processit, expandenda vela sunt ventis, et quaestionum scopulis transvadatis,
laetantium more nautarum, epilogi celeuma cantandum est. O desertum, Christi
floribus vernans! O solitudo, in qua illi nascuntur lapides, de quibus in
Apocalypsi civitas magni regis extruitur (Apoc. 21. 18)! O eremus familiarius
Deo gaudens! Quid agis frater [3] in saeculo, qui major es mundo? Quamdiu te
tectorum umbrae praemunt? quamdiu fumosarum urbium carcer includit? Crede mihi,
nescio quid plus lucis aspicio. Libet, sarcina corporis abjecta, ad purum
aetheris evolare fulgorem. Paupertatem times? sed beatos Christus pauperes
appellat. Labore terreris? at nemo athleta sine sudore coronatur. De cibo
cogitas? sed fides famem non timet. Super nudam metuis humum exesa jejuniis
membra collidere? sed Dominus tecum jacet. Squalidi capitis horret inculta
caesaries? sed caput tuum Christus est. Infinita eremi vastitas te terret? sed
tu paradisum mente deambula. Quotiescumque illuc cogitatione conscenderis,
toties in eremo non eris. Scabra sine balneis attrahitur cutis? sed qui in
Christo semel lotus est, non illi necesse est iterum lavare (Joan. 13). Et ut
breviter, ad cuncta audias Apostolum respondentem; Non sunt, inquit, condignae
passiones hujus saeculi ad superventuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis (Rom.
8. 18). Delicatus es, frater, si et hic vis gaudere cum saeculo, et postea
regnare cum Christo.
11. Veniet, veniet illa dies, qua corruptivum hoc
et mortale incorruptionem induat et immortalitatem. Tunc beatus servus, quem
Dominus invenerit vigilantem (Luc. 12. 43). Tunc ad vocem tubae pavebit terra
cum populis, et tu gaudebis. Judicaturo Domino lugubre mundus immugiet: et
tribus ad tribum pectora ferient. Potentissimi quondam reges nudo latere
palpitabunt. Exhibebitur cum prole sua Venus. Tunc ignitus Jupiter adducetur,
et cum suis stultus Plato discipulis. Aristotelis argumenta non proderunt. Tunc
tu rusticanus et pauper exultabis, et ridebis, et dices: Ecce crucifixus meus,
ecce judex, qui obvolutus pannis in praesepio vagiit. Hic est ille operarii, et
quaestuariae filius: hic qui matris gestatus sinu, hominem Deus fugit in
Aegyptum (Matth. 2): hic vestitus coccino: hic sentibus coronatus: hic Magus,
daemonium habens, et Samarites. Cerne manus, Judaee, quas fixeras: cerne latus,
Romane, quod foderas. Videte corpus, an idem sit, quod dicebatis clam
nocte sustulisse discipulos.
Dilectio tua me compulit, ut haec tibi frater dicerem; ut his interesse contingat, cui nunc labor durus est.
SOURCE : http://remacle.org/bloodwolf/eglise/jerome/heliodore1.htm
_-_Venice_2016.jpg)
Altar of Saint Heliodorus - Santa Maria Assunta (Torcello) - Venice
Also known as
Heliodorus of Altino
Eliodoro
Profile
A soldier in
his youth. Close friend and financial supporter of Saint Jerome,
and helped with the logistics of the translation of the Vulgate Bible.
Followed Jerome to
the east, but declined the life of a desert hermit. Bishop of Altinum,
a small town near Venice, Italy which
has since disappeared. Fierce opponent of Arianism.
Born
390 at Altino, Italy of
natural causes
Additional Information
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SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-heliodorus-of-altinum/
Article
(Saint) Bishop (July 3) (4th century) Born in
Dalmatia, probably at the same place and about the same time (A.D. 332-A.D.
342) as Saint Jerome, he was through life the intimate friend and confidant of
the famous Doctor of the Church. He helped him, financially and otherwise, in
the preparing of the Vulgate. He made two pilgrimages to the East in company
with Saint Jerome, and on his second return to Italy was made Bishop of
Altinum, a small town (since destroyed), not far from Venice. He assisted at
the Council of Aquileia (A.D. 381). We have a letter addressed to him by Saint
Jerome, written in the year 396; but the exact date of his death is unknown.
MLA Citation
Monks of Ramsgate. “Heliodorus”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
2 September 2013. Web. 3 July 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-heliodorus/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-heliodorus/
Pictorial
Lives of the Saints – Saint Heliodorus, Bishop
Article
This Saint was born at Dalmatia, Saint Jerome’s native
country, and soon sought out that great Doctor, in order not only to follow his
advice in matters relating to Christian perfection, but also to profit by his
deep learning. The life of a recluse possessed peculiar attractions for him,
but to enter a monastery it would be necessary to leave his spiritual master
and director, and such a sacrifice he was not prepared to make. He remained in
the world, though not of it, and, following the example of the holy anchorites,
passed his time in prayer and devout reading. He accompanied Saint Jerome to
the East, but the desire to revisit his native land, and to see his parents
once more, drew him back to Dalmatia, although Saint Jerome tried to persuade
him to remain. He promised to return as soon as he had fulfilled the duty he
owed his parents. In the meantime, finding his absence protracted, and fearing
that the love of family and attachment to worldly things might lure him from
his vocation, Saint Jerome wrote him an earnest letter exhorting him to break
entirely with the world, and to consecrate himself to the service of God. But
the Lord, who disposes all things, had another mission for His servant. After
the death of his mother, Heliodorus went to Italy, where he soon became noted
for his eminent piety. He was made Bishop of Altino, and became one of the most
distinguished prelates of an age fruitful in great men. He died about the year
390.
MLA Citation
John Dawson Gilmary Shea. “Saint Heliodorus,
Bishop”. Pictorial Lives of the Saints, 1922. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 December 2018. Web. 3 July 2021. <https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-heliodorus-bishop/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/pictorial-lives-of-the-saints-saint-heliodorus-bishop/
Saint JÉRÔME Letter 14
To Heliodorus, Monk
Heliodorus, originally a soldier, but now a presbyter of the Church, had
accompanied Jerome to the East, but, not feeling called to the solitary life of
the desert, had returned to Aquileia. Here he resumed his clerical duties, and
in course of time was raised to the episcopate as bishop of Altinum.
The letter was written in the first bitterness of separation and reproaches
Heliodorus for having gone back from the perfect way of the ascetic life. The
description given of this is highly colored and seems to have produced a great
impression in the West. Fabiola was so much enchanted by it that she learned
the letter by heart. The date is 373 or 374 A.D.
1. So conscious are you of the affection which exists between us that you
cannot but recognize the love and passion with which I strove to prolong our
common sojourn in the desert. This very letter— blotted, as you see, with
tears— gives evidence of the lamentation and weeping with which I accompanied
your departure. With the pretty ways of a child you then softened your refusal
by soothing words, and I, being off my guard, knew not what to do. Was I to
hold my peace? I could not conceal my eagerness by a show of indifference. Or
was I to entreat you yet more earnestly? You would have refused to listen, for
your love was not like mine. Despised affection has taken the one course open
to it. Unable to keep you when present, it goes in search of you when absent.
You asked me yourself, when you were going away, to invite you to the desert
when I took up my quarters there, and I for my part promised to do so.
Accordingly I invite you now; come, and come quickly. Do not call to mind old
ties; the desert is for those who have left all. Nor let the hardships of our
former travels deter you. You believe in Christ, believe also in His words:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33 Take neither scrip nor staff. He is rich enough who is poor— with
Christ.
2. But what is this, and why do I foolishly importune you again? Away with
entreaties, an end to coaxing words. Offended love does well to be angry. You
have spurned my petition; perhaps you will listen to my remonstrance. What
keeps you, effeminate soldier, in your father's house? Where are your ramparts
and trenches? When have you spent a winter in the field? Lo, the trumpet sounds
from heaven! Lo, the Leader comes with clouds! Revelation 1:7 He is armed to subdue
the world, and out of His mouth proceeds a two-edged sword Revelation 1:16 to
mow down all that encounters it. But as for you, what will you do? Pass
straight from your chamber to the battlefield, and from the cool shade into the
burning sun? Nay, a body used to a tunic cannot endure a buckler; a head that
has worn a cap refuses a helmet; a hand made tender by disuse is galled by a
sword-hilt. Hear the proclamation of your King: He that is not with me is
against me, and he that gathers not with me scatters. Matthew 12:30 Remember
the day on which you enlisted, when, buried with Christ in baptism, you swore
fealty to Him, declaring that for His sake you would spare neither father nor
mother. Lo, the enemy is striving to slay Christ in your breast. Lo, the ranks
of the foe sigh over that bounty which you received when you entered His
service. Should your little nephew hang on your neck, pay no regard to him;
should your mother with ashes on her hair and garments rent show you the
breasts at which she nursed you, heed her not; should your father prostrate
himself on the threshold, trample him under foot and go your way. With dry eyes
fly to the standard of the cross. In such cases cruelty is the only true
affection.
3. Hereafter there shall come— yes, there shall come— a day when you will
return a victor to your true country, and will walk through the heavenly
Jerusalem crowned with the crown of valor. Then will you receive the
citizenship thereof with Paul. Then will you seek the like privilege for your
parents. Then will you intercede for me who have urged you forward on the path
of victory.
I am not ignorant of the fetters which you may plead as hindrances. My breast
is not of iron nor my heart of stone. I was not born of flint or suckled by a
tigress. I have passed through troubles like yours myself. Now it is a widowed
sister who throws her caressing arms around you. Now it is the slaves, your
foster-brothers, who cry, To what master are you leaving us? Now it is a nurse
bowed with age, and a body-servant loved only less than a father, who exclaim:
Only wait till we die and follow us to our graves. Perhaps, too, an aged
mother, with sunken bosom and furrowed brow, recalling the lullaby with which
she once soothed you, adds her entreaties to theirs. The learned may call you,
if they please,
The sole support and pillar of your house.
The love of God and the fear of hell will easily break such bonds.
Scripture, you will argue, bids us obey our parents. Ephesians 6:1 Yes, but
whoso loves them more than Christ loses his own soul. Matthew 10:37 The enemy
takes sword in hand to slay me, and shall I think of a mother's tears? Or shall
I desert the service of Christ for the sake of a father to whom, if I am
Christ's servant, I owe no rites of burial, Luke 9:59-60 albeit if I am
Christ's true servant I owe these to all? Peter with his cowardly advice was an
offense to the Lord on the eve of His passion; Matthew 16:23 and to the
brethren who strove to restrain him from going up to Jerusalem, Paul's one
answer was: What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? For I am ready not to
be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
Acts 21:13 The battering-ram of natural affection which so often shatters faith
must recoil powerless from the wall of the Gospel. My mother and my brethren
are these whosoever do the will of my Father which is in heaven. If they
believe in Christ let them bid me God-speed, for I go to fight in His name. And
if they do not believe, let the dead bury their dead. Matthew 8:22
4. But all this, you argue, only touches the case of martyrs. Ah! My brother,
you are mistaken, you are mistaken, if you suppose that there is ever a time
when the Christian does not suffer persecution. Then are you most hardly beset
when you know not that you are beset at all. Our adversary as a roaring lion
walks about seeking whom he may devour, 1 Peter 5:8 and do you think of peace?
He sits in the lurking-places of the villages: in the secret places does he
murder the innocent; his eyes are privily set against the poor. He lies in wait
secretly as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the poor; and do you
slumber under a shady tree, so as to fall an easy prey? On one side
self-indulgence presses me hard; on another covetousness strives to make an
inroad; my belly wishes to be a God to me, in place of Christ, and lust would
fain drive away the Holy Spirit that dwells in me and defile His temple. 1
Corinthians 3:17 I am pursued, I say, by an enemy
Whose name is Legion and his wiles untold;
and, hapless wretch that I am, how shall I hold myself a victor when I am being
led away a captive?
5. My dear brother, weigh well the various forms of transgression, and think
not that the sins which I have mentioned are less flagrant than that of
idolatry. Nay, hear the apostle's view of the matter. For this ye know, he
writes, that no whore-monger or unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians
5:5 In a general way all that is of the devil savors of enmity to God, and what
is of the devil is idolatry, since all idols are subject to him. Yet Paul
elsewhere lays down the law in express and unmistakable terms, saying: Mortify
your members, which are upon the earth, laying aside fornication, uncleanness,
evil concupiscence and covetousness, which are idolatry, for which things' sake
the wrath of God comes. Colossians 3:5-6
Idolatry is not confined to casting incense upon an altar with finger and
thumb, or to pouring libations of wine out of a cup into a bowl. Covetousness
is idolatry, or else the selling of the Lord for thirty pieces of silver was a
righteous act. Matthew 26:15 Lust involves profanation, or else men may defile
with common harlots those members of Christ which should be a living sacrifice
acceptable to God. Romans 12:1 Fraud is idolatry, or else they are worthy of
imitation who, in the Acts of the Apostles, sold their inheritance, and because
they kept back part of the price, perished by an instant doom. Consider well,
my brother; nothing is yours to keep. Whosoever he be of you, the Lord says,
that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 Why are
you such a half-hearted Christian?
6. See how Peter left his net; Matthew 4:18-20 see how the publican rose from
the receipt of custom. Matthew 9:9 In a moment he became an apostle. The Son of
man has not where to lay his head, Matthew 8:20 and do you plan wide porticos
and spacious halls? If you look to inherit the good things of the world you can
no longer be a joint-heir with Christ. Romans 8:17 You are called a monk, and
has the name no meaning? What brings you, a solitary, into the throng of men?
The advice that I give is that of no inexperienced mariner who has never lost
either ship or cargo, and has never known a gale. Lately shipwrecked as I have
been myself, my warnings to other voyagers spring from my own fears. On one
side, like Charybdis, self-indulgence sucks into its vortex the soul's
salvation. On the other, like Scylla, lust, with a smile on her girl's face,
lures it on to wreck its chastity. The coast is savage, and the devil with a
crew of pirates carries irons to fetter his captives. Be not credulous, be not
over-confident. The sea may be as smooth and smiling as a pond, its quiet
surface may be scarcely ruffled by a breath of air, yet sometimes its waves are
as high as mountains. There is danger in its depths, the foe is lurking there.
Ease your sheets, spread your sails, fasten the cross as an ensign on your
prow. The calm that you speak of is itself a tempest. Why so? you will perhaps
argue; are not all my fellow-townsmen Christians? Your case, I reply, is not
that of others. Listen to the words of the Lord: If you will be perfect go and
sell that you have, and give to the poor, and come and follow me. Matthew 19:21
You have already promised to be perfect. For when you forsook the army and made
yourself an eunuch for the kingdom of heaven's sake, Matthew 19:12 you did so
that you might follow the perfect life. Now the perfect servant of Christ has
nothing beside Christ. Or if he have anything beside Christ he is not perfect.
And if he be not perfect when he has promised God to be so, his profession is a
lie. But the mouth that lies slays the soul. Wisdom 1:11 To conclude, then, if
you are perfect you will not set your heart on your father's goods; and if you
are not perfect you have deceived the Lord. The Gospel thunders forth its
divine warning: You cannot serve two masters, Luke 16:13 and does any one dare
to make Christ a liar by serving at once both God and Mammon? Repeatedly does
He proclaim, If any one will come after me let him deny himself and take up his
cross and follow me. Luke 9:23 If I load myself with gold can I think that I am
following Christ? Surely not. He that says he abides in Him ought himself also
so to walk even as He walked. 1 John 2:6
7. I know you will rejoin that you possess nothing. Why, then, if you are so
well prepared for battle, do you not take the field? Perhaps you think that you
can wage war in your own country, although the Lord could do no signs in His?
Matthew 13:58 Why not? You ask. Take the answer which comes to you with his
authority: No prophet is accepted in his own country. Luke 4:24 But, you will
say, I do not seek honor; the approval of my conscience is enough for me.
Neither did the Lord seek it; for when the multitudes would have made Him a
king he fled from them. John 6:15 But where there is no honor there is
contempt; and where there is contempt there is frequent rudeness; and where
there is rudeness there is vexation; and where there is vexation there is no
rest; and where there is no rest the mind is apt to be diverted from its
purpose. Again, where, through restlessness, earnestness loses any of its
force, it is lessened by what it loses, and that which is lessened cannot be
called perfect. The upshot of all which is that a monk cannot be perfect in his
own country. Now, not to aim at perfection is itself a sin.
8. Driven from this line of defence you will appeal to the example of the
clergy. These, you will say, remain in their cities, and yet they are surely
above criticism. Far be it from me to censure the successors of the apostles,
who with holy words consecrate the body of Christ, and who make us Christians.
Having the keys of the kingdom of heaven, they judge men to some extent before
the day of judgment, and guard the chastity of the bride of Christ. But, as I
have before hinted, the case of monks is different from that of the clergy. The
clergy feed Christ's sheep; I as a monk am fed by them. They live of the altar:
1 Corinthians 9:13-14 I, if I bring no gift to it, have the axe laid to my root
as to that of a barren tree. Matthew 3:10 Nor can I plead poverty as an excuse,
for the Lord in the gospel has praised an aged widow for casting into the
treasury the last two coins that she had. Luke 21:1-4 I may not sit in the
presence of a presbyter; he, if I sin, may deliver me to Satan, for the
destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved. 1 Corinthians 5:5 Under
the old law he who disobeyed the priests was put outside the camp and stoned by
the people, or else he was beheaded and expiated his contempt with his blood.
Deuteronomy 17:5, 12 But now the disobedient person is cut down with the
spiritual sword, or he is expelled from the church and torn to pieces by
ravening demons. Should the entreaties of your brethren induce you to take
orders, I shall rejoice that you are lifted up, and fear lest you may be cast
down. You will say: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desires a good
work. 1 Timothy 3:1 I know that; but you should add what follows: such an one
must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, chaste, of good
behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker but
patient. 1 Timothy 3:2-3 After fully explaining the qualifications of a bishop
the apostle speaks of ministers of the third degree with equal care. Likewise
must the deacons be grave, he writes, not double-tongued, not given to much
wine, not greedy of filthy lucre, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure
conscience. And let these also first be proved; then, let them minister, being
found blameless. 1 Timothy 3:8-10 Woe to the man who goes in to the supper
without a wedding garment. Nothing remains for him but the stern question,
Friend, how did you come in hither? And when he is speechless the order will be
given, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer
darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 22:11-13 Woe to
him who, when he has received a talent, has bound it in a napkin; and, while
others make profits, only preserves what he has received. His angry lord shall
rebuke him in a moment. Thou wicked servant, he will say, wherefore gavest thou
not my money into the bank that at my coming I might have required my own with
usury? Luke 19:23 That is to say, you should have laid before the altar what
you were not able to bear. For while you, a slothful trader, keep a penny in
your hands, you occupy the place of another who might double the money.
Wherefore, as he who ministers well purchases to himself a good degree, 1
Timothy 3:13 so he who approaches the cup of the Lord unworthily shall be
guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 11:27
9. Not all bishops are bishops indeed. You consider Peter; mark Judas as well.
You notice Stephen; look also on Nicolas, sentenced in the Apocalypse by the
Lord's own lips, Revelation 2:6 whose shameful imaginations gave rise to the
heresy of the Nicolaitans. Let a man examine himself and so let him come. 1
Corinthians 11:28 For it is not ecclesiastical rank that makes a man a
Christian. The centurion Cornelius was still a heathen when he was cleansed by
the gift of the Holy Spirit. Daniel was but a child when he judged the elders.
Amos was stripping mulberry bushes when, in a moment, he was made a prophet.
Amos 7:14 David was only a shepherd when he was chosen to be king. And the
least of His disciples was the one whom Jesus loved the most. My brother, sit
down in the lower room, that when one less honorable comes you may be bidden to
go up higher. Luke 14:10 Upon whom does the Lord rest but upon him that is
lowly and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at His word? Isaiah 66:2 To
whom God has committed much, of him He will ask the more. Luke 12:48 Mighty men
shall be mightily tormented. Wisdom 6:6 No man need pride himself in the day of
judgment on merely physical chastity, for then shall men give account for every
idle word, Matthew 12:36 and the reviling of a brother shall be counted as the
sin of murder. Matthew 5:21-22 Paul and Peter now reign with Christ, and it is
not easy to take the place of the one or to hold the office of the other. There
may come an angel to rend the veil of your temple, Matthew 27:51 and to remove
your candlestick out of its place. Revelation 2:5 If you intend to build the
tower, first count the cost. Luke 14:28 Salt that has lost its savor is good
for nothing but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of swine. Matthew
5:13 If a monk fall, a priest shall intercede for him; but who shall intercede
for a fallen priest?
10. At last my discourse is clear of the reefs: at last this frail bark has
passed from the breakers into deep water. I may now spread my sails to the
breeze; and, as I leave the rocks of controversy astern, my epilogue will be
like the joyful shout of mariners. O desert, bright with the flowers of Christ!
O solitude whence come the stones of which, in the Apocalypse, the city of the
great king is built! Revelation 21:19-20 O wilderness, gladdened with God's
special presence! What keeps you in the world, my brother, you who are above
the world? How long shall gloomy roofs oppress you? How long shall smoky cities
immure you? Believe me, I have more light than you. Sweet it is to lay aside the
weight of the body and to soar into the pure bright ether. Do you dread
poverty? Christ calls the poor blessed. Luke 6:20 Does toil frighten you? No
athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow. Are you anxious as regards
food? Faith fears no famine. Do you dread the bare ground for limbs wasted with
fasting? The Lord lies there beside you. Do you recoil from an unwashed head
and uncombed hair? Christ is your true head. Does the boundless solitude of the
desert terrify you? In the spirit you may walk always in paradise. Do but turn
your thoughts there and you will be no more in the desert. Is your skin rough
and scaly because you no longer bathe? He that is once washed in Christ needs
not to wash again. John 13:10 To all your objections the apostle gives this one
brief answer: The sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall come after them, which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18 You are too greedy of enjoyment, my brother, if you wish to rejoice
with the world here, and to reign with Christ hereafter.
11. It shall come, it shall come, that day when this corruptible shall put on
incorruption , and this mortal shall put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:53
Then shall that servant be blessed whom the Lord shall find watching. Matthew
24:46 Then at the sound of the trumpet 1 Thessalonians 4:16 the earth and its
peoples shall tremble, but you shall rejoice. The world shall howl at the Lord
who comes to judge it, and the tribes of the earth shall smite the breast. Once
mighty kings shall tremble in their nakedness. Venus shall be exposed, and her
son too. Jupiter with his fiery bolts will be brought to trial; and Plato, with
his disciples, will be but a fool. Aristotle's arguments shall be of no avail.
You may seem a poor man and country bred, but then you shall exult and laugh,
and say: Behold my crucified Lord, behold my judge. This is He who was once an
infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and crying in a manger. Luke 2:7 This is He
whose parents were a workingman and a working-woman. This is He, who, carried
into Egypt in His mother's bosom, though He was God, fled before the face of
man. This is He who was clothed in a scarlet robe and crowned with thorns.
Matthew 27:28-29 This is He who was called a sorcerer and a man with a devil
and a Samaritan. John 8:48 Jew, behold the hands which you nailed to the cross.
Roman, behold the side which you pierced with the spear. See both of you
whether it was this body that the disciples stole secretly and by night.
Matthew 27:64 For this you profess to believe.
My brother, it is affection which has urged me to speak thus; that you who now
find the Christian life so hard may have your reward in that day.
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/3001014.htm.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001014.htm
Saint JÉRÔME Letter 60
To Heliodorus
One of Jerome's finest letters, written to console his old friend, Heliodorus,
now Bp. of Altinum, for the loss of his nephew Nepotian who had died of fever a
short time previously. Jerome tries to soothe his friend's grief (1) by contrasting
pagan despair or resignation with Christian hope, (2) by an eulogy of the
departed both as man and presbyter, and (3) by a review of the evils which then
beset the Empire and from which, as he contended, Nepotian had been removed.
The letter is marked throughout with deep and sincere feeling. Its date is 396
A.D.
1. Small wits cannot grapple large themes but venturing beyond their strength
fail in the very attempt; and, the greater a subject is, the more completely is
he overwhelmed who cannot find words to unfold its grandeur. Nepotian who was
mine and yours and ours— or rather who was Christ's and because Christ's all
the more ours— has forsaken us his elders so that we are smitten with pangs of
regret and overcome with a grief which is past bearing. We supposed him our
heir, yet now his corpse is all that is ours. For whom shall my intellect now
labour? Whom shall my poor letters desire to please? Where is he, the impeller
of my work, whose voice was sweeter than a swan's last song? My mind is dazed,
my hand trembles, a mist covers my eyes, stammering seizes my tongue. Whatever
my words, they seem as good as unspoken seeing that he no longer hears them. My
very pen seems to feel his loss, my very wax tablet looks dull and sad; the one
is covered with rust, the other with mould. As often as I try to express myself
in words and to scatter the flowers of this encomium upon his tomb, my eyes
fill with tears, my grief returns, and I can think of nothing but his death. It
was a custom in former days for children over the dead bodies of their parents
publicly to proclaim their praises and (as when pathetic songs are sung) to
draw tears from the eyes and sighs from the breasts of those who heard them.
But in our case, behold, the order of things is changed: to deal us this blow
nature has forfeited her rights. For the respect which the young man should
have paid to his elders, we his elders are paying to him.
2. What shall I do then? Shall I join my tears to yours? The apostle forbids me
for he speaks of dead Christians as them which are asleep. 1 Thessalonians 4:13
So too in the gospel the Lord says, the damsel is not dead but sleeps, Mark
5:39 and Lazarus when he is raised from the dead is said to have been asleep.
John 11:11 No, I will be glad and rejoice that speedily he was taken away lest
that wickedness should alter his understanding for his soul pleased the Lord.
But though I am loth to give way and combat my feelings, tears flow down my
cheeks, and in spite of the teachings of virtue and the hope of the
resurrection a passion of regret crushes my too yielding mind. O death that
dividest brothers knit together in love, how cruel, how ruthless you are so to
sunder them! The Lord has fetched a burning wind that comes up from the
wilderness: which has dried your veins and has made your well spring desolate.
You swallowed up our Jonah, but even in your belly He still lived. You carried
Him as one dead, that the world's storm might be stilled and our Nineveh saved
by His preaching. He, yes He, conquered you, He slew you, that fugitive prophet
who left His home, gave up His inheritance and surrendered his dear life into
the hands of those who sought it. He it was who of old threatened you in Hosea:
O death, I will be your plagues; O grave, I will be your destruction. Hosea
13:14 By His death you are dead; by His death we live. You have swallowed up
and you are swallowed up. Whilst you are smitten with a longing for the body
assumed by Him, and while your greedy jaws fancy it a prey, your inward parts
are wounded with hooked fangs.
3. To You, O Saviour Christ, do we Your creatures offer thanks that, when You
were slain, You slew our mighty adversary. Before Your coming was there any
being more miserable than man who cowering at the dread prospect of eternal
death did but receive life that he might perish! For death reigned from Adam to
Moses even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's
transgression. Romans 5:14 If Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be in hell, who can be
in the kingdom of heaven? If Your friends— even those who had not sinned
themselves— were yet for the sins of another liable to the punishment of
offending Adam, what must we think of those who have said in their hearts There
is no God; who are corrupt and abominable in their self-will, and of whom it is
said they are gone out of the way, they have become unprofitable; there is none
that does good, no not one? Romans 3:12 Even if Lazarus is seen in Abraham's
bosom and in a place of refreshment, still the lower regions cannot be compared
with the kingdom of heaven. Before Christ's coming Abraham is in the lower
regions: after Christ's coming the robber is in paradise. And therefore at His
rising again many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and were seen in the
heavenly Jerusalem. Matthew 27:52-53 Then was fulfilled the saying: Awake thou
that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.
Ephesians 5:14 John the Baptist cries in the desert: repent ye; for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:2 For from the days of John the Baptist the
kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent take it by force. Matthew
11:12 The flaming sword that keeps the way of paradise and the cherubim that
are stationed at its doors Genesis 3:24 are alike quenched and unloosed by the
blood of Christ. It is not surprising that this should be promised us in the
resurrection: for as many of us as living in the flesh do not live after the
flesh, 2 Corinthians 10:3 have our citizenship in heaven, and while we are
still here on earth we are told that the kingdom of heaven is within us. Luke
17:21
4. Moreover before the resurrection of Christ God was known in Judah only and
His name was great in Israel alone. And they who knew Him were despite their
knowledge dragged down to hell. Where in those days were the inhabitants of the
globe from India to Britain, from the frozen zone of the North to the burning
heat of the Atlantic ocean? Where were the countless peoples of the world?
Where the great multitudes?
Unlike in tongue, unlike in dress and arms?
They were crushed like fishes and locusts, like flies and gnats. For apart from
knowledge of his Creator every man is but a brute. But now the voices and
writings of all nations proclaim the passion and the resurrection of Christ. I
say nothing of the Jews, the Greeks, and the Romans, peoples which the Lord has
dedicated to His faith by the title written on His cross. Luke 23:38 The
immortality of the soul and its continuance after the dissolution of the body—
truths of which Pythagoras dreamed, which Democritus refused to believe, and
which Socrates discussed in prison to console himself for the sentence passed
upon him— are now the familiar themes of Indian and of Persian, of Goth and of
Egyptian. The fierce Bessians and the throng of skinclad savages who used to
offer human sacrifices in honour of the dead have broken out of their harsh
discord into the sweet music of the cross and Christ is the one cry of the
whole world.
5. What can we do, my soul? Whither must we turn? What must we take up first?
What must we pass over? Have you forgotten the precepts of the rhetoricians?
Are you so preoccupied with grief, so overcome with tears, so hindered with
sobs, that you forget all logical sequence? Where are the studies you have
pursued from your childhood? Where is that saying of Anaxagoras and Telamon
(which you have always commended) I knew myself to have begotten a mortal? I
have read the books of Crantor which he wrote to soothe his grief and which
Cicero has imitated. I have read the consolatory writings of Plato, Diogenes,
Clitomachus, Carneades, Posidonius, who at different times strove by book or
letter to lessen the grief of various persons. Consequently, were my own wit to
dry up, it could be watered anew from the fountains which these have opened.
They set before us examples without number; and particularly those of Pericles
and of Socrates's pupil Xenophon. The former of these after the loss of his two
sons put on a garland and delivered a harangue; while the latter, on hearing
when he was offering sacrifice that his son had been slain in war, is said to
have laid down his garland; and then, on learning that he had fallen fighting
bravely, is said to have put it on his head again. What shall I say of those
Roman generals whose heroic virtues glitter like stars on the pages of Latin
history? Pulvillus was dedicating the capitol when receiving the news of his
son's sudden death, he gave orders that the funeral should take place without
him. Lucius Paullus entered the city in triumph in the week which intervened
between the funerals of his two sons. I pass over the Maximi, the Catos, the
Galli, the Pisos, the Bruti, the Scævolas, the Metelli, the Scauri, the Marii,
the Crassi, the Marcelli, the Aufidii, men who showed equal fortitude in sorrow
and war, and whose bereavements Tully has set forth in his book Of consolation.
I pass them over lest I should seem to have chosen the words and woes of others
in preference to my own. Yet even these instances may suffice to ensure us
mortification if our faith fails to surpass the achievements of unbelief.
6. Let me come then to my proper subject. I will not beat my breast with Jacob
and with David for sons dying in the Law, but I will receive them rising again
with Christ in the Gospel. The Jew's mourning is the Christian's joy. Weeping
may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. The night is far spent,
the day is at hand. Romans 13:12 Accordingly when Moses dies, mourning is made
for him, Deuteronomy 34:8 but when Joshua is buried, it is without tears or
funeral pomp. Joshua 24:30 All that can be drawn from scripture on the subject
of lamentation I have briefly set forth in the letter of consolation which I
addressed to Paula at Rome. Now I must take another path to arrive at the same
goal. Otherwise I shall seem to be walking anew in a track once beaten but now
long disused.
7. We know indeed that our Nepotian is with Christ and that he has joined the
choirs of the saints. What here with us he groped after on earth afar off and
sought for to the best of his judgment, there he sees near at hand, so that he
can say: as we have heard so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in
the city of our God. Still we cannot bear the feeling of his absence, and
grieve, if not for him, for ourselves. The greater the happiness which he
enjoys, the deeper the sorrow in which the loss of a blessing so great plunges
us. The sisters of Lazarus could not help weeping for him, although they knew
that he would rise again. And the Saviour himself— to show that he possessed
true human feeling— mourned for him whom He was about to raise. John 11:35 His
apostle also, though he says: I desire to depart and to be with Christ, and
elsewhere to me to live is Christ and to die is gain, thanks God that Epaphras
(who had been sick near unto death) has been given back to him that he might
not have sorrow upon sorrow. Words prompted not by the fear that springs of
unbelief but by the passionate regret that comes of true affection. How much
more deeply must you who were to Nepotian both uncle and bishop, (that is, a
father both in the flesh and in the spirit), deplore the loss of one so dear,
as though your heart were torn from you. Set a limit, I pray you, to your
sorrow and remember the saying in nothing overmuch. Bind up for a little while
your wound and listen to the praises of one in whose virtue you have always
delighted. Do not grieve that you have lost such a paragon: rejoice rather that
he has once been yours. As on a small tablet men depict the configuration of
the earth, so in this little scroll of mine you may see his virtues if not
fully depicted at least sketched in outline. I beg that you will take the will
for the performance.
8. The advice of the rhetoricians in such cases is that you should first search
out the remote ancestors of the person to be eulogized and recount their
exploits, and then come gradually to your hero; so as to make him more
illustrious by the virtues of his forefathers, and to show either that he is a
worthy successor of good men, or that he has conferred lustre upon a lineage in
itself obscure. But as my duty is to sing the praises of the soul, I will not
dwell upon those fleshly advantages which Nepotian for his part always
despised. Nor will I boast of his family, that is of the good points belonging
not to him but to others; for even those holy men Abraham and Isaac had for
sons the sinners Ishmael and Esau. And on the other hand Jephthah who is
reckoned by the apostle in the roll of the righteous Hebrews 11:32 is the son
of a harlot. Judges 11:1 It is said the soul that sins, it shall die. The soul
therefore that has not sinned shall live. Neither the virtues nor the vices of
parents are imputed to their children. God takes account of us only from the
time when we are born anew in Christ. Paul, the persecutor of the church, who
is in the morning the ravening wolf of Benjamin, Genesis 49:27 in the evening
gave food, that is yields himself up to the sheep Ananias. Let us likewise
reckon our Nepotian a crying babe and an untutored child who has been born to
us in a moment fresh from the waters of Jordan.
9. Another would perhaps describe how for his salvation you left the east and
the desert and how you soothed me your dearest comrade by holding out hopes of
a return: and all this that you might save, if possible, both your sister, then
a widow with one little child, or, should she reject your counsels, at any rate
your sweet little nephew. It was of him that I once used the prophetic words:
though your little nephew cling to your neck. Another, I say, would relate how
while Nepotian was still in the service of the court, beneath his uniform and
his brilliantly white linen, his skin was chafed with sackcloth; how, while
standing before the powers of this world, his lips were discoloured with fasting;
how still in the uniform of one master he served another; and how he wore the
sword-belt only that he might succour widows and wards, the afflicted and the
unhappy. For my part I dislike men to delay the complete dedication of
themselves to God. When I read of the centurion Cornelius Acts x that he was a
just man I immediately hear of his baptism.
10. Still we may approve these things as the swathing bands of an infant faith.
He who has been a loyal soldier under a strange banner is sure to deserve the
laurel when he comes to serve his own king. When Nepotian laid aside his
baldrick and changed his dress, he bestowed upon the poor all the pay that he
had received. For he had read the words: if you will be perfect, sell that you
have, and give to the poor and follow me, Matthew 19:21 and again: ye cannot
serve two masters, God and Mammon. Matthew 6:24 He kept nothing for himself but
a common tunic and cloak to cover him and to keep out the cold. Made in the
fashion of his province his attire was not remarkable either for elegance or
for squalor. He burned daily to make his way to the monasteries of Egypt, or to
visit the communities of Mesopotamia, or at least to live a lonely life in the
Dalmatian islands, separated from the mainland only by the strait of Altinum.
But he had not the heart to forsake his episcopal uncle in whom he beheld a
pattern of many virtues and from whom he could take lessons without going
abroad. In one and the same person he both found a monk to imitate and a bishop
to revere. What so often happens did not happen here. Constant intimacy did not
produce familiarity, nor did familiarity breed contempt. He revered him as a
father and every day admired him for some new virtue. To be brief, he became a
clergyman, and after passing through the usual stages was ordained a presbyter.
Good Jesus! How he sighed and groaned! How he fasted and fled the eyes of all!
For the first and only time he was angry with his uncle, complaining that the
burden laid upon him was too heavy for him and that his youth unfitted him for
the priesthood. But the more he struggled against it, the more he drew to
himself the hearts of all: his refusal did but prove him worthy of an office
which he was reluctant to assume, and all the more worthy because he declared himself
unworthy. We too in our day have our Timothy; we too have seen that wisdom
which is as good as gray hairs; Wisdom 4:9 our Moses has chosen an elder whom
he has known to be an elder indeed. Nepotian regarded the clerical state less
as an honour than a burden. He made it his first care to silence envy by
humility, and his next to give no cause for scandal that such as assailed his
youth might marvel at his continence. He helped the poor, visited the sick,
stirred men up to hospitality, soothed them with soft words, rejoiced with
those who rejoiced and wept with those who wept. Romans 12:15 He was a staff to
the blind, food to the hungry, hope to the dejected, consolation to the
bereaved. Each single virtue was as conspicuous in him as if he possessed no
other. Among his fellow presbyters while ever foremost in work, he was ever
satisfied with the lowest place. Any good that he did he ascribed to his uncle:
but if the result did not correspond to his expectations, he would say that his
uncle knew nothing of it, that it was his own mistake. In public he recognized
him as a bishop; at home he looked upon him as a father. The seriousness of his
disposition was mitigated by a cheerful expression. But while his laughter was
joyous it was never loud. Christ's virgins and widows he honoured as mothers
and exhorted as sisters with all purity. 1 Timothy 5:2 When he returned home he
used to leave the clergyman outside and to give himself over to the hard rule
of a monk. Frequent in supplication and watchful in prayer he would offer his
tears not to man but to God. His fasts he regulated— as a driver does the pace
of his horses— according to the weariness or vigour of his body. When at his
uncle's table he would just taste what was set before him, so as to avoid superstition
and yet to preserve self-control. In conversing at entertainments his habit was
to propose some topic from scripture, to listen modestly, to answer
diffidently, to support the right, to refute the wrong, but both without
bitterness; to instruct his opponent rather than to vanquish him. Such was the
ingenuous modesty which adorned his youth that he would frankly confess from
what sources his several arguments came; and in this way, while disclaiming a
reputation for learning, he came to be held most learned. This he would say is
the opinion of Tertullian, that of Cyprian; this of Lactantius, that of Hilary;
to this effect speaks Minucius Felix, thus Victorinus, after this manner
Arnobius. Myself too he would sometimes quote, for he loved me because of my
intimacy with his uncle. Indeed by constant reading and long-continued
meditation he had made his breast a library of Christ.
11. How often in letters from beyond the sea he urged me to write something to
him! How often he reminded me of the man in the gospel who sought help by night
Luke 11:5, 8 and of the widow who importuned the cruel judge! And when I
silently ignored his request and made my petitioner blush by blushing to reply,
he put forward his uncle to enforce his suit, knowing that as the boon was for
another he would more readily ask it, and that as I held his episcopal office
in respect he would more easily obtain it. Accordingly I did what he wished and
in a brief essay dedicated our mutual friendship to everlasting remembrance. On
receiving this Nepotian boasted that he was richer than Crœsus and wealthier
than Darius. He held it in his hands, devoured it with his eyes, kept it in his
bosom, repeated it with his lips. And often when he unrolled it upon his couch,
he fell asleep with the cherished page upon his breast. When a stranger came or
a friend, he rejoiced to let them know my witness to him. The deficiencies of
my little book he made good by careful punctuation and varied emphasis, so that
when it was read aloud it was always he not I who seemed to please or to
displease. Whence came such zeal, if not from the love of God? Whence came such
untiring study of Christ's law, if not from a yearning for Him who gave it? Let
others add coin to coin till their purses are chock-full; let others demean
themselves to sponge on married ladies; let them be richer as monks than they
were as men of the world; let them possess wealth in the service of a poor
Christ such as they never had in the service of a rich devil; let the church
lose breath at the opulence of men who in the world were beggars. Our Nepotian
spurns gold and begs only for written books. But while he despises himself in
the flesh and walks abroad more splendid than ever in his poverty, he still
seeks out everything that may adorn the church.
12. In comparison with what has gone before what I am now about to say may
appear trivial, but even in trifles the same spirit makes itself manifest. For
as we admire the Creator not only as the framer of heaven and earth, of sun and
ocean, of elephants, camels, horses, oxen, pards, bears, and lions; but also as
the maker of the most tiny creatures, ants, gnats, flies, worms, and the like,
whose shapes we know better than their names, and as in all alike we revere the
same creative skill; so the mind that is given to Christ shows the same
earnestness in things of small as of great importance, knowing that it must
render an account of every idle word. Matthew 12:36 Nepotian took pains to keep
the altar bright, the church walls free from soot and the pavement duly swept.
He saw that the doorkeeper was constantly at his post, that the doorhangings
were in their places, the sanctuary clean and the vessels shining. The careful
reverence that he showed to every rite led him to neglect no duty small or great.
Whenever you looked for him in church you found him there.
In Quintus Fabius antiquity admired a nobleman and the author of a history of
Rome, yet his paintings gained him more renown than his writings. Our own
Bezaleel Exodus 31:2-3 also and Hiram, the son of a Tyrian woman, are spoken of
in scripture as filled with wisdom and the spirit of God because they framed,
the one the furniture of the tabernacle, the other that of the temple. For, as
it is with fertile tillage-fields and rich plough-lands which at times go out
into redundant growths of stalk or ear, so is it with distinguished talents and
a mind filled with virtue. They are sure to overflow into elegant and varied
accomplishments. Accordingly among the Greeks we hear of a philosopher who used
to boast that everything he wore down to his cloak and ring was made by
himself. We may pass the same eulogy on our friend, for he adorned both the
basilicas of the church and the halls of the martyrs with sketches of flowers,
foliage, and vine-tendrils, so that everything attractive in the church,
whether made so by its position or by its appearance, bore witness to the
labour and zeal of the presbyter set over it.
13. Go on blessed in your goodness! What kind of ending should we expect after
such a beginning! Ah! hapless plight of mortal men and vanity of all life that
is not lived in Christ! Why, O my words, do you shrink back? Why do you shift
and turn? I fear to come to the end, as if I could put off his death or make
his life longer. All flesh is as grass and all the glory of man as the flower
of grass. 1 Peter 1:24 Where now are that handsome face and dignified figure
with which as with a fair garment his beautiful soul was clothed? The lily
began to wither, alas! When the south wind blew, and the purple violet slowly
faded into paleness. Yet while he burned with fever and while the fire of
sickness was drying up the fountains of his veins, gasping and weary he still
tried to comfort his sorrowing uncle. His countenance shone with gladness, and
while all around him wept he and he only smiled. He flung aside his cloak, put
out his hand, saw what others failed to see, and even tried to rise that he
might welcome new comers. You would have thought that he was starting on a
journey instead of dying and that in place of leaving all his friends behind
him he was merely passing from some to others. Tears roll down my cheeks and,
however much I steel my mind, I cannot disguise the grief that I feel. Who
could suppose that at such an hour he would remember his intimacy with me, and
that while he struggled for life he would recall the sweetness of study? Yet
grasping his uncle's hand he said to him: Send this tunic that I wore in the
service of Christ to my dear friend, my father in age, but my brother in
office, and transfer the affection hitherto claimed by your nephew to one who
is as dear to you as he is to me. With these words he passed away holding his
uncle's hand and with my name upon his lips.
14. I know how unwilling you were to prove the affection of your people at such
a cost, and that you would have preferred to win your countrymen's love while
retaining your happiness. Such expressions of feeling, pleasant as they are
when all goes well, are doubly welcome in time of sorrow. All Altinum, all
Italy mourned Nepotian. The earth received his body; his soul was given back to
Christ. You lost a nephew, the church a priest. He who should have followed you
went before you. To the office which you held, he in the judgment of all
deserved to succeed. And so one family has had the honour of producing two
bishops, the first to be congratulated because he has held the office, the
second to be lamented because he has been taken away too soon to hold it. Plato
thinks that a wise man's whole life ought to be a meditation of death; and
philosophers praise the sentiment and extol it to the skies. But much more full
of power are the words of the apostle: I die daily through your glory. For to
have an ideal is one thing, to realize it another. It is one thing to live so
as to die, another to die so as to live. The sage and Christian must both of
them die: but the one always dies out of his glory, the other into it.
Therefore we also should consider beforehand the end which must one day
overtake us and which, whether we wish it or not, cannot be very far distant.
For though we should live nine hundred years or more, as men did before the
deluge, and though the days of Methuselah Genesis 5:27 should be granted us,
yet that long space of time, when once it should have passed away and come to
an end, would be as nothing. For to the man who has lived ten years and to him
who has lived a thousand, when once the end of life comes and death's
inexorable doom, all the past whether long or short is just the same; except
that the older a man is, the heavier is the load of sin that he has to take
with him.
First hapless mortals lose from out their life
The fairest days: disease and age come next;
And lastly cruel death does claim his prey.
The poet Nævius too says that
Mortals must many woes perforce endure.
Accordingly antiquity has feigned that Niobe because of her much weeping was
turned to stone and that other women were metamorphosed into beasts. Hesiod
also bewails men's birthdays and rejoices in their deaths, and Ennius wisely
says:
The mob has one advantage o'er its king:
For it may weep while tears for him are shame.
If a king may not weep, neither may a bishop; indeed a bishop has still less
license than a king. For the king rules over unwilling subjects, the bishop
over willing ones. The king compels submission by terror; the bishop exercises
lordship by becoming a servant. The king guards men's bodies till they die; the
bishop saves their souls for life eternal. The eyes of all are turned upon you.
Your house is set on a watchtower; your life fixes for others the limits of
their self-control. Whatever you do, all think that they may do the same. Do
not so commit yourself that those who seek ground for cavil may be thought to
have rightly assailed you, or that those who are eager to imitate you may be
forced to do wrong. Overcome as much as you can— nay even more than you can—
the sensitiveness of your mind and check the copious flow of your tears. Else
your deep affection for your nephew may be construed by unbelievers as indicating
despair of God. You must regretim not as dead but as absent. You must seem to
be looking for him rather than have lost him.
15. But why do I try to heal a sorrow which has already, I suppose, been
assuaged by time and reason? Why do I not rather unfold to you— they are not
far to seek— the miseries of our rulers and the calamities of our time? He who
has lost the light of life is not so much to be pitied as he is to be
congratulated who has escaped from such great evils. Constantius, the patron of
the Arian heresy, was hurrying to do battle with his enemy when he died at the
village of Mopsus and to his great vexation left the empire to his foe. Julian
, the betrayer of his own soul, the murderer of a Christian army, felt in Media
the hand of the Christ whom he had previously denied in Gaul. Desiring to annex
new territories to Rome, he did but lose annexations previously made. Jovian
had but just tasted the sweets of sovereignty when a coal-fire suffocated him:
a good instance of the transitoriness of human power. Valentinian died of a
broken blood vessel, the land of his birth laid waste, and his country
unavenged. His brother Valens defeated in Thrace by the Goths, was buried where
he died. Gratian, betrayed by his army and refused admittance by the cities on
his line of march, became the laughing-stock of his foe; and your walls, Lyons,
still bear the marks of that bloody hand. Valentinian was yet a youth— I may
say, a mere boy— when, after flight and exile and the recovery of his power by
bloodshed, he was put to death not far from the city which had witnessed his
brother's end. And not only so but his lifeless body was gibbeted to do him
shame. What shall I say of Procopius, of Maximus, of Eugenius, who while they
held sovereign sway were a terror to the nations, yet stood one and all as
prisoners in the presence of their conquerors, and— cruellest wound of all to
the great and powerful— felt the pang of an ignominious slavery before they
fell by the edge of the sword.
16.
Some one may say: such is the lot of kings:
The lightning ever smites the mountain-tops.
I will come therefore to persons of private position, and in speaking of these
I will not go farther back than the last two years. In fact I will content
myself— omitting all others— with recounting the respective fates of three
recent consulars. Abundantius is a beggared exile at Pityus. The head of
Rufinus has been carried on a pike to Constantinople, and his severed hand has
begged alms from door to door to shame his insatiable greed. Timasius, hurled
suddenly from a position of the highest rank thinks it an escape that he is
allowed to live in obscurity at Assa. I am describing not the misfortunes of an
unhappy few but the thread upon which human fortunes as a whole depend. I
shudder when I think of the catastrophes of our time. For twenty years and more
the blood of Romans has been shed daily between Constantinople and the Julian
Alps. Scythia, Thrace, Macedonia, Dardania, Dacia, Thessaly, Achaia, Epirus,
Dalmatia, the Pannonias— each and all of these have been sacked and pillaged
and plundered by Goths and Sarmatians, Quades and Alans, Huns and Vandals and
Marchmen. How many of God's matrons and virgins, virtuous and noble ladies,
have been made the sport of these brutes! Bishops have been made captive,
priests and those in minor orders have been put to death. Churches have been
overthrown, horses have been stalled by the altars of Christ, the relics of
martyrs have been dug up.
Mourning and fear abound on every side
And death appears in countless shapes and forms.
The Roman world is falling: yet we hold up our heads instead of bowing them.
What courage, think you, have the Corinthians now, or the Athenians or the
Lacedæmonians or the Arcadians, or any of the Greeks over whom the barbarians
bear sway? I have mentioned only a few cities, but these once the capitals of
no mean states. The East, it is true, seemed to be safe from all such evils:
and if men were panic-stricken here, it was only because of bad news from other
parts. But lo! In the year just gone by the wolves (no longer of Arabia but of
the whole North ) were let loose upon us from the remotest fastnesses of
Caucasus and in a short time overran these great provinces. What a number of
monasteries they captured! What many rivers they caused to run red with blood!
They laid siege to Antioch and invested other cities on the Halys, the Cydnus,
the Orontes, and the Euphrates. They carried off troops of captives. Arabia,
Phenicia, Palestine and Egypt, in their terror fancied themselves already
enslaved.
Had I a hundred tongues, a hundred lips,
A throat of iron and a chest of brass,
I could not tell men's countless sufferings.
And indeed it is not my purpose to write a history: I only wish to shed a few
tears over your sorrows and mine. For the rest, to treat such themes as they
deserve, Thucydides and Sallust would be as good as dumb.
17. Nepotian is happy who neither sees these things nor hears them. We are
unhappy, for either we suffer ourselves or we see our brethren suffer. Yet we
desire to live, and regard those beyond the reach of these evils as miserable
rather than blessed. We have long felt that God is angry, yet we do not try to
appease Him. It is our sins which make the barbarians strong, it is our vices
which vanquish Rome's soldiers: and, as if there were here too little material
for carnage, civil wars have made almost greater havoc among us than the swords
of foreign foes. Miserable must those Israelites have been compared with whom
Nebuchadnezzar was called God's servant. Jeremiah 27:6 Unhappy too are we who
are so displeasing to God that He uses the fury of the barbarians to execute
His wrath against us. Still when Hezekiah repented, one hundred and eighty-five
thousand Assyrians were destroyed in one night by a single angel. 2 Kings 19:35
When Jehosaphat sang the praises of the Lord, the Lord gave His worshipper the
victory. 2 Chronicles 20:5-25 Again when Moses fought against Amalek, it was
not with the sword but with prayer that he prevailed. Exodus 17:11 Therefore, if
we wish to be lifted up, we must first prostrate ourselves. Alas! For our shame
and folly reaching even to unbelief! Rome's army, once victor and lord of the
world, now trembles with terror at the sight of the foe and accepts defeat from
men who cannot walk afoot and fancy themselves dead if once they are unhorsed.
We do not understand the prophet's words: One thousand shall flee at the rebuke
of one. Isaiah 30:17 We do not cut away the causes of the disease, as we must
do to remove the disease itself. Else we should soon see the enemies' arrows
give way to our javelins, their caps to our helmets, their palfreys to our
chargers.
18. But I have gone beyond the office of a consoler, and while forbidding you
to weep for one dead man I have myself mourned the dead of the whole world.
Xerxes the mighty king who rased mountains and filled up seas, looking from
high ground upon the untold host, the countless army before him, is said to
have wept at the thought that in a hundred years not one of those whom he then
saw would be alive. Oh! If we could but get up into a watchtower so high that
from it we might behold the whole earth spread out under our feet, then I would
show you the wreck of a world, nation warring against nation and kingdom in
collision with kingdom; some men tortured, others put to the sword, others
swallowed up by the waves, some dragged away into slavery; here a wedding,
there a funeral; men born here, men dying there; some living in affluence,
others begging their bread; and not the army of Xerxes, great as that was, but
all the inhabitants of the world alive now but destined soon to pass away.
Language is inadequate to a theme so vast and all that I can say must fall
short of the reality.
19. Let us return then to ourselves and coming down from the skies let us look
for a few moments upon what more nearly concerns us. Are you conscious, I would
ask, of the stages of your growth? Can you fix the time when you became a babe,
a boy, a youth, an adult, an old man? Every day we are changing, every day we
are dying, and yet we fancy ourselves eternal. The very moments that I spend in
dictation, in writing, in reading over what I write, and in correcting it, are
so much taken from my life. Every dot that my secretary makes is so much gone
from my allotted time. We write letters and reply to those of others, our
missives cross the sea, and, as the vessel ploughs its furrow through wave
after wave, the moments which we have to live vanish one by one. Our only gain
is that we are thus knit together in the love of Christ. Charity suffers long
and is kind; charity envies not; charity vaunts not itself, is not puffed up;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Charity never fails. It lives always in the heart, and thus our Nepotian though
absent is still present, and widely sundered though we are has a hand to offer
to each. Yes, in him we have a hostage for mutual charity. Let us then be
joined together in spirit, let us bind ourselves each to each in affection and
let us who have lost a son show the same fortitude with which the blessed pope
Chromatius bore the loss of a brother. Let every page that we write echo his
name, let all our letters ring with it. If we can no longer clasp him to our
hearts, let us hold him fast in memory; and if we can no longer speak with him,
let us never cease to speak of him.
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/3001060.htm.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3001060.htm
_(Altino%2C_Quarto_d'Altino).jpg)
Altino, frazione di Quarto d'Altino: la chiesa parrocchiale di San Eliodoro.
.jpg)
Altino, frazione di Quarto d'Altino: la chiesa parrocchiale di San Eliodoro.
Sant' Eliodoro Vescovo
Nel giorno della festa per l’apostolo Tommaso, si
ricorda anche Eliodoro di Altino, oggi Quarto d’Altino, in provincia di
Venezia. Fu amico e collaboratore di san Girolamo, che da giovane seguì prima
ad Aquileia e poi in Oriente, dedicandosi alla preghiera e allo studio della
Bibbia. Nel 381 era già divenuto primo vescovo di Altino, allora crocevia di
grande importanza (vi partiva la via Claudia Augusta che arrivava fino in
Germania). Ritiratosi da anziano su un’isoletta deserta della Laguna, morì
attorno al 410. Il corpo fu portato ad Altino e, dopo le invasioni barbariche,
a Torcello. (Avvenire)
Martirologio Romano: Ad Altino in Veneto,
sant’Eliodoro, vescovo, che, istruito alla scuola di san Valeriano di Aquileia,
fu compagno dei santi Cromazio e Girolamo e fu il primo vescovo di questa
città.
Eliodoro, nato verso la metà del IV secolo, fu discepolo del vescovo d’Aquileia S. Valeriano, compagno di vita ascetica nel "chorus beatorum" aquileiese, cui fece parte anche S. Cromazio ; accompagnò S. Girolamo nel suo primo viaggio in oriente, conducendovi una rigorosa vita monastica. Al rientro divenne primo vescovo di Altino e in tale veste prese parte al Concilio antiariano di Aquileia del 381. Alcune vicende della sua vita e della sua azione pastorale sono note attraverso le lettere palestinesi di S. Girolamo che gli dedicò anche la traduzione di alcuni libri biblici. Morì probabilmente agli inzi del sec. V°.
Autore: P. Renzo Bon
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91153
Den hellige Heliodorus av Altino ( -~400)
Minnedag: 3.
juli
Den hellige Heliodorus var venn av den hellige Hieronymus, og
fulgte med ham til det østlige middelhavsområde. Senere dro han hjem til
Aquileia og ble utnevnt til biskop av Altino. Derfra fortsatte han å støtte opp
om den hellige Hieronimus' arbeid materielt. Minnedag 3. juli.
