Saint ADON de VIENNE
Adon, né vers l'an 800, était d'une des
familles les plus riches et les plus nobles du Gâtinais, au diocèse de Sens. Ses
parents, qui étaient fort religieux, le formèrent à la piété dès son enfance.
Ils le mirent dans le monastère de Ferrières en Gâtinais, afin qu'il y apprît
en même temps les sciences et les saintes maximes du christianisme. Il y donna
des preuves de la vivacité de son esprit, et de la solidité de son jugement. Il
joignait à ces heureuses qualités une grande docilité et un amour tendre pour
la religion. Ses maîtres voyaient avec plaisir qu'il faisait tous les jours de
nouveaux progrès. Quelques-uns de ses amis, animés de l'esprit du monde,
cherchèrent à lui inspirer la passion des hommes et des plaisirs ; ils
applaudissaient à ses talents, et l'exhortaient à entrer dans la carrière où
l'appelait sa naissance. Mais il découvrit les pièges qu'on lui tendait, et
sentit le danger du parti qu'on lui proposait. Pour rompre entièrement avec le
monde, et se consacrer sans retour au service de Dieu, il prit l'habit dans le
monastère de Ferrières.
Il était encore jeune, lorsque Marcuard,
abbé de Prùm, qui avait été lui-même moine de Ferrières, le demanda pour
enseigner les saintes lettres à ses religieux. Adon, en inspirant l'amour de
l'étude à ses disciples, leur apprenait en même temps à éviter l'écueil où la
science conduit quelquefois,
et à profiter pour leur sanctification des connaissances qu'ils acquéraient.
Son objet principal était de faire de vrais serviteurs de Dieu. Mais il plut au
Ciel de l'éprouver pour perfectionner sa vertu.
Après
la mort de Marcuard, la jalousie lui suscita des ennemis. Ils employèrent
contre lui les outrages et la calomnie, et le chassèrent de Prùm[1].
Il alla visiter les tombeaux des apôtres à Rome, et passa cinq ans dans cette
ville. De là il vint à Ravenne. Il y trouva un ancien martyrologe dont il tira
copie, et qu'il publia vers l'an 858, avec des additions et des corrections. Il
donna aussi une chronique, avec les vies de saint Didier et de saint Chef.
A son retour d'Italie, il vint à Lyon,
et s'y arrêta quelque temps. Saint Rémy, archevêque de cette ville, le retint
auprès de lui, et le chargea du gouvernement de la paroisse de Saint-Romain,
près de Vienne, après avoir obtenu le consentement de l'abbé de Ferrières.
C'était le célèbre Loup, dont nous avons un recueil de lettres, et plusieurs
petits traités. Il prit avec zèle la défense d'Adon contre ses ennemis, et le
siège de Vienne étant devenu vacant, notre Saint fut élu pour le remplir. On le
sacra au mois de Septembre de l'année 860. Le Pape Nicolas lui envoya le
pallium, avec les décrets d'un concile de Rome, lesquels avaient pour objet de
remédier à différons abus qui s'étaient glissés dans plusieurs églises de
France.
Le même Pape écrivit encore à notre
Saint quatre autres lettres, sur divers sujets. On lit entre autres dans la
seconde, que les églises subordonnées ne doivent pas s'écarter dans leurs
usages de ce qui se pratique dans l'église de Rome[2].
Il reçut en outre plusieurs autres lettres flatteuses, notamment du Roi
Charles, qui lui témoignait beaucoup de considération.
Adon ne changea rien à sa première
manière de vivre ; il conserva la même humilité, la même modestie, le même
amour pour la mortification. Il annonçait avec un zèle infatigable les vérités
du salut. Sa coutume était de commencer ses instructions par ces paroles :
« Écoutez la vérité éternelle qui vous parle dans l’Évangile, ou, écoutez
Jésus-Christ qui vous parle, etc. ». Son clergé attirait sa principale
attention ; il n'admettait aux saints ordres que ceux qu'il avait bien éprouvés
et bien examinés ; il exigeait qu'ils réunissent à la science toutes les vertus
qui caractérisent les vrais ministres de Jésus-Christ. Il fit aussi de sages
règlements pour la décence du culte public. La réformation des mœurs parmi le
peuple était encore un objet dont il s'occupait avec beaucoup de zèle. Il avait
soin que ceux qui se présentaient pour être mariés ou pour recevoir les autres
sacrements, fussent suffisamment instruits des principes du christianisme. Il
travaillait sans relâche à bannir toutes les pratiques vicieuses, et tous les
abus qui pouvaient porter atteinte à la pureté des mœurs. Ses exemples
ajoutaient une nouvelle force è ses instructions.
Sa vie était fort austère ; il se
traitait en tout avec une grande sévérité, et les ecclésiastiques attachés à sa
personne avaient ordre de l'avertir de ses moindres fautes. S'il était inflexible
envers les pécheurs opiniâtres, il recevait avec bonté ceux qui se
convertissaient sincèrement. Il regardait les pauvres comme ses enfants ; il
pourvoyait à tous leurs besoins ; il fonda des hôpitaux où ils étaient
admis et entretenus à ses dépens. Pour achever de caractériser Adon, nous
dirons qu'il connaissait parfaitement tous ses devoirs, et qu'il n'y en avait
aucun qu'il ne remplît avec la plus grande fidélité. Il parut avec éclat dans
divers conciles ; il en tint lui-même plusieurs à Vienne pour maintenir la
pureté de la foi et des mœurs. Mais les actes de ces conciles sont perdus, et
il ne nous reste plus qu'un fragment de celui qui fut tenu par le Saint en 870.
Lorsque le Roi Lothaire, dégoûté de la
Reine Thietberge, voulut la renvoyer, Adon s'éleva contre ce divorce, et fit au
prince les plus fortes représentations pour l'en détourner. Il eut beaucoup de
part aux affaires publiques qui se traitèrent de son temps, et la religion
trouva toujours en lui un zélé défenseur. Le Pape Nicolas I, Charles-le-Chauve
et Louis de Germanie l'estimaient autant pour sa prudence que pour sa sainteté,
et déféraient avec confiance à ses avis. Mais l'embarras des affaires ne
nuisait point à son recueillement. Il priait avec la même persévérance et
s'assujettissait aux mêmes mortifications. Il aimait à lire les vies des
Saints, afin de se pénétrer de leur esprit, et de s'exciter à imiter leurs
actions. Il mourut le 16 Décembre 875. Il est honoré dans l'église de Vienne,
et nommé en ce jour dans le martyrologe romain.
Cette vie mortelle est un pèlerinage
rempli de peines, de difficultés, de dangers ; nous avons à traverser un désert
que mille routes détournées rendent presque impraticable, et où nous avons
beaucoup à craindre des bêtes féroces qui se rencontrent de toutes parts. La
multitude de ceux qui s'égarent devant nous est souvent le plus grand danger
dont nous soyons menacés ; nous suivons leurs traces sans réflexion, nous nous
égarons avec eux, et nous finissons par nous précipiter dans cet abyme où brûle
un feu qui ne s'éteindra jamais. La seule route qui soit sûre, est étroite ;
elle paraît semée de ronces et d'épines, et n'est fréquentée que par un petit
nombre d'âmes courageuses : mais elle mène au bonheur. Parmi ceux qui y
entrent, il en est encore plusieurs qui s'en écartent, et qui ont le malheur de
se perdre. Voulons-nous un guide assuré ? Ouvrons les yeux à la lumière de
la révélation, écoutons Jésus-Christ, marchons sous la direction de son esprit,
laissons-nous conduire par ses maximes et ses exemples. Il est la voie, la
vérité et la vie. C'est en suivant cette règle que les Saints ont échappé
aux dangers qui les environnaient comme nous. Ils semblent nous crier :
« La voie étroite est celle où nous avons marché ; vous devez y marcher
après nous. » Quel motif de consolation et d'encouragement que de les
avoir sans cesse devant les yeux ! Chacun d'eux nous dit avec saint
Paul : Imitez-moi, comme j'ai imité Jésus-Christ. Le souvenir de leurs
combats nous soutiendra, la vue de leur couronne nous animera, leur exemple en
un mot nous empêchera d'être submergés dans le torrent rapide de ce monde. Quoi
de plus propre à nous consoler dans cette vallée de larmes, que de penser que
nous avons les mêmes moyens qu'eux pour obtenir la gloire dont ils jouissent ?
Nous touchons en quelque sorte à ce moment. La vie la plus longue est bien
courte : à chaque heure, l'éternité peut commencer pour nous. Pourrions-nous
soupirer après le bonheur des Saints, sans les aimer, sans les honorer, sans
penser fréquemment à eux ?
SOURCE : Alban
Butler : Vie des Pères, Martyrs et autres principaux Saints… – Traduction :
Jean-François Godescard.
[1] Les couvents de Ferrières et de Prùm
avaient alors de fréquentes relations ensemble. On envoyait souvent des moines
de la première de ces abbayes à Prùm, pour y apprendre l'allemand, langue qui
n'était pas moins nécessaire en France, dans l'état des choses de cette époque,
si on en croit Loup de Ferrières, Epist. 70 et 71.
[2]
Ces lettres se trouvent dans la Coltection de conciles de Labbe, tome
VIII, ainsi qu'une cinquième, d'Anastase le Bibliothécaire, sur la mort du Pape
Nicolas. On possède encore un fragment d'une lettre de Nicolas, dans laquelle
il reproche au saint archevêque d'avoir permis, contrairement aux canons, au
sous-diacre Albëric de se marier. On trouve dans la même Collection de
conciles deux lettres du Pape Adrien II à Adon, dans la première desquelles
le Pape, accusé par notre Saint de s'être écarté des décrets de son
prédécesseur, justifie sa conduite.
SOURCE : http://nouvl.evangelisation.free.fr/adon_de_vienne.htm
Archevêque de
Vienne (✝ 875)
Moine bénédictin qui,
chassé de son monastère de Trèves, s'en fut à Rome puis à Lyon et devint évêque
de Vienne en Dauphiné où il rédigea l'un des premier 'martyrium'. Il joua un
rôle dans la politique religieuse de son temps. Du Pape Nicolas Ier,
nous avons une lettre à saint Adon où l'évêque de Rome écrit à l'évêque de
Vienne 'son très saint confrère'.
À Vienne, alors dans le royaume de Provence, en 875, saint Adon, évêque,
qui fut moine auparavant et composa un Martyrologe, où il inscrivit pour chaque
jour des éloges de saints.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saints_265.html
St. Ado of Vienne
An archbishop and scholar, St. Ado was born in
Sens and educated at the Benedictine abbey of Ferrieres. Abbot Lupus Servatus,
an outstanding humanist of the time, trained St. Ado, and was impressed with
the obvious holiness of the young man.
A noble by birth, St. Ado
renounced his inheritance and became a Benedictine, in time assigned to the
monastery of Prum, near Trier, Germany.
St. Ado’s holiness made him
enemies, and he was forced to leave Prum. He went to Rome on a pilgrimage and
remained there for two years. He then went to Ravenna, where he found an old
copy of the Roman Martyrology. Using this, St. Ado wrote a new version,
published in 858.
In Lyons, St. Ado was welcomed by
St. Remigius, the archbishop. He served as a pastor in Lyons until 860, when he
became the archbishop of Vienne, appointed by Pope Nicholas I. St. Ado reformed
the clergy in Vienne and wrote the lives of St. Desiderius and St. Theuderis.
He also opposed the actions of
Lothair II, the king of Lorraine, who tried to set aside his lawful wife to
marry his mistress. Lothair bribed officials to get a divorce from his queen,
Theutberga, but was undone when St. Ado went to Rome and denounced the plot to
the pope. St. Ado remained in Vienne until his death in 875.
Born about 800, in the diocese of Sens; d. 16 December, 875. He was
brought up at the Benedictine Abbey of
Ferrières, and had
as one of his masters the Abbot Lupus
Servatus, one of
the most celebrated humanists of
those times. By his brilliant talents and assiduous application Ado
gained the esteem of his masters and schoolmates, while his ready obedience,
deep humility,
and sincere piety
foreshadowed his future holiness. Though urged on all sides to enter
upon a career in the world, to which his nobility of birth and great intellectual abilities entitled him, he consecrated himself entirely to God by taking the Benedictine habit
at Ferrières.
When Markward, a monk of Ferrières,
became Abbot of Prüm near Trier, he applied for Ado
to teach the sacred sciences there. His request was granted. Soon, however, certain envious monks of Prüm
conceived an implacable hatred against Ado,
and upon the death of Markward, turned him
out of their monastery.
With the permission of his abbot, Ado
now made a pilgrimage
to Rome, where
he remained five years. He then went to Ravenna, where he discovered an old Roman
martyrology which served as the basis for his
own renowned martyrology
published in 858, which is generally known as the "martyrology of Ado".
At Lyons he was
received with open arms by the Archbishop, St. Remigius, who, with the consent of the Abbot of Ferrières,
appointed him pastor of
the Church of St. Roman near Vienne. In 860 he became Archbishop of Vienne,
and a year later received the pallium from Nicholas I. By word and example he began
reforming the laxity of his priests, and he gave them strict orders
to instruct the laity in the
necessary doctrines of
Christianity. His
own life was a model of humility and austerity. When Lothaire II,
King of Lorraine,
had unjustly
dismissed his wife Theutberga and the papal legates at the Synod of Metz had been bribed to sanction the King's marriage
to his concubine Waldrada, Ado
hastened to Rome, and
reported the crime to the Pope, who thereupon annulled the acts
of the synod. Besides the
"Martyrology" mentioned above Ado
wrote a chronicle from the beginning of the world to A.D. 874, "Chronicon
de VI ætatibus mundi", and the lives of St.
Desiderius and St. Theuderius. Ado's
name is in the Roman martyrology and at Vienne
his feast is
celebrated on 16 December, the day of his death.
Sources
Sources
Butler, Lives
of the Saints, 16 Dec.; for his praise Mabillon, Acta SS. Ord. S.
Bened. (1680), IV (2), 262-275; Ebert, Gesch. der lat. Litt. des
Mittelalters (1880), II, 384-387; Lechner, Martyrologium des
Benediktiner-Ordens (Augsburg, 1858); H. Achelis, Die Martyrologien
ihre Geschichte und ihr Wert (Berlin, 1900). For his martyrology P.L.,
CXXIII, 9 sqq.
Ott, Michael. "St. Ado of Vienne." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 16 Dec. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01145b.htm>.
Transcription. This article was transcribed for
New Advent by Richard E. Cullen.
Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of
New York.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01145b.htm
1 primi Martirologi ebbero carattere locale, limitato cioè ai Santi di una certa Chiesa, e vennero redatti come calendari: ad ogni giorno corrispondeva il nome di un Santo, o meglio di un Martire, e nulla più.
Presto però si tentarono Martirologi " generali ", con Santi cioè di tutti i paesi, elencati secondo la data della morte. Il più antico fu quello siriaco, e il più complesso quello attribuito, a torto, a San Girolamo. Poi si passò ai Martirologi " storici ", nei quali, accanto al nome del Santo, si davano notizie della sua vita e della sua morte. Nell'Alto Medioevo, i più celebri furono quello inglese del venerabile Beda e quello lionese del monaco Floro.
Ma i Martirologi di Beda e di Floro non erano completi. Alcuni giorni erano rimasti senza un Santo, e i monaci che iniziavano l'Ufficio quotidiano con la lettura dell'" elogio " di un Martire, in quei giorni si trovavano imbarazzati. Adone pensò così di completare il Martirologio, dando ad ogni giorno il suo Santo. Poi aggiunse altri nomi anche ai giorni che già ne avevano uno. Finalmente, trovandosi in mano un ampio materiale agiografico, pensò di rimpolpare le scarne notizie sui Santi con " estratti più numerosi e un po' più lunghi ".
Adone era francese, nato nella contea di Vienne, da nobile famiglia. Accolto giovinetto nel monastero di Ferrères, non vi restò a lungo, per dissapori con l'Abate. Fu a Roma, a Ravenna, e finalmente si fissò a Lione, centro di studio sui Martirologi.
Imparato il mestiere, lo mise rapidamente in opera, preparando frettolosamente il suo nuovo Martirologio. Purtroppo, alle buone intenzioni non corrisposero altrettante buone attuazioni. Per riempire i vuoti, egli si valse di una folla di personaggi, spesso degni della santità, ma più spesso sconosciuti, tratti dall'Antico e dal Nuovo Testamento e dalle opere di molti scrittori sacri. La sua fu anche un'opera di carità verso i fedeli. Infatti scriveva: " I fratelli più deboli, e quelli che hanno meno mezzi di lettura, troveranno qui, sul conto dei Martiri, tutto un insieme di letture riassunte, e avranno così, in un volume di piccola mole, l'equivalente di ciò che altri sono obbligati a cercare con fatica tra molti libri ".
Per allungare e colorire gli " elogi ", ricorse a tutte le fonti accessibili, buone o cattive. Peggio ancora, confuse e spezzettò le notizie già poco sicure; ripeté e mescolò i nomi; equivocò sulle località e sulle date, e aggiunse di sua iniziativa molti particolari che gli premevano.
Nonostante questi difetti, o forse proprio grazie a questi difetti, l'opera di Adone ebbe molto successo. Si diffuse rapidamente, soprattutto nelle comunità benedettine. Non piacquero però i commenti troppo lunghi che il monaco Usuardo ridusse all'essenziale. Il Martirologio di Adone, così sveltito, si diffuse ancor più largamente, propalando anche inesattezze storiche e fantasie devote.
Per fortuna i meriti di Sant'Adone non si limitarono a questa, e ad altre simili, opere di storico. Eletto Arcivescovo di Vienne, nel Delfinato, resse quella chiesa con ferma autorità in tempi di contese politiche. Morto nell'875, pochi secoli dopo era tra i Santi. E bisogna dire - a scanso di sospetti maliziosi - che egli venne incluso nei Martirologi da compilatori più scrupolosi di quanto non fosse stato egli stesso!
December
16
St. Ado, Archbishop of Vienne, Confessor
From his life collected by Mabillon, t. 6. Act. Ben.
p. 281. See Ceillier, t. 19, p. 247.
A.D. 875
ADO was born in the diocess of Sens, towards Gatinois,
about the year 800, and was of one of the richest and most noble families of
that country. It was the principal care of his religious parents to seek
tutors, masters, and companions who should concur together by their maxims,
example, interior spirit, and prudent and earnest instructions to form the
morals of their son, and inspire into his soul the most tender and perfect
sentiments of Christian piety. All this they happily found in the monastery of
Ferrieres in Gatinois, at that time famous for learning and discipline. The
pregnancy of his wit, the solidity of his judgment, his assiduity at his
studies, and, above all, his humble obedience and docility, and his sincere
piety, gained him the esteem and affections of the abbot Sigulph, and all his
masters; and engaged them to redouble their care and attention in lending him
every assistance to adorn his mind with all useful science, and to form the
most perfect Christian spirit in his heart. Their pains were abundantly
recompensed by the great progress which he made. Many great and powerful
friends sought, by soothing flatteries, and by setting before him the lure of
worldly honours and pleasures, to engage him in the career which his birth and
abilities opened to him. But the pious young nobleman was not to be imposed
upon by specious words or glosses. He saw clearly the dangers which attended
such a course, and the cheat of that false blaze of shadowy greatness which
seemed to surround it; and, dreading lest in such a state any thing could cause
a division in his heart, or slacken his ardour in the entire consecration of
himself to the divine service, he took the religious habit in that house,
resolving never to serve any other master but God alone.
The saint was yet young when Marcvard, abbot of Prom,
who had formerly been himself a monk of Ferrieres, begged of the abbot of
Ferrieres as the greatest of favours that Ado might teach the sacred sciences
in his monastery. The request could not be refused. Ado so taught as to
endeavour to make his hearers truly sensible that if studies, even of morality
and religion, entirely terminate in a barren knowledge of those truths, without
acquiring the interior habits, sentiments, and dispositions which they inculcate,
though they may sometimes be serviceable to others, they are not only useless,
but pernicious to those who are possessed of them. Science, without advancing
at the same time in humility and virtue, serves only to heighten vanity, and to
swell and puff up the mind. For men who study only to furnish themselves with
materials to shine in conversation, and to fill their heads with a set of
notions which never sink deep into or influence the heart, fall into an
overweening conceit of themselves, and are as much under the bias of pride as
worldly libertines are enslaved to an inordinate love of riches, honour, or
pleasures. Our saint, therefore, instructed his scholars how to form rules for
the conduct of their lives, to examine into themselves, to subdue their
passions, and, by conversing continually in heaven, to put on a heavenly
spirit. Thus he laboured to make all that were under his care truly servants of
God; and it pleased God to suffer him to fall under grievous trials, that by
them he might complete the work of his own sanctification, and the entire
sacrifice of his heart. After the death of Marcvard, he was, through envy and
jealousy, expelled the house, treated with great contempt, and oppressed by
outrageous slanders. Ado took this opportunity to visit the tombs of the
apostles at Rome, and stayed five years in that city. From thence he removed to
Ravenna, where he found an old Martyrology, of which he took a copy, which he
improved by many additions and corrections, and published about the year 858. 1 He also compiled a chronicle, and wrote the lives of
St. Desiderius and St. Chef. When he returned out of Italy, he made a halt at
Lyons, and St. Remigius, archbishop of that see, detained him there, and,
having obtained leave of the abbot of Ferrieres, gave him charge of the parish
church of St. Romanus, near Vienne. The celebrated Lupus, who had been chosen
abbot of Ferrieres, and who is well known by his hundred and thirty letters,
and several little treatises, became his zealous advocate, and, the see of
Vienne falling vacant, he was chosen archbishop, and consecrated in September,
860. The year following he received the pall from Pope Nicholas, with the
decrees of a Roman council, the purport of which was to check certain disorders
which had crept into several churches in France.
Ado’s promotion made no change in his behaviour: he
was still the same humble, modest, mortified man as when in a cloister, and
endeavoured to inspire his flock with the like sentiments and dispositions. He
was indefatigable in pressing the great truths of salvation. He usually began
his sermons and exhortations with these or the like words: “Hear the eternal
truth which speaks to you in the gospel;” or, “Hear Jesus Christ, who saith to
you,” &c. It was a principal part of his care that all candidates for holy
orders should be rigorously examined, and he would be present at these
examinations. He regulated the public service of the church with much zeal and
wisdom, and made strict inquiry into the conduct of all those who were called
to serve in the ministry of the altar, not only with regard to their progress
in sacred learning and the regularity of their manners, but also with regard to
their spirit of devotion and assiduity in constant prayer. The saint laboured
without intermission for the reformation of manners, and establishing good
discipline among the people. He took great care that all that were ignorant of
the principles of Christianity should be forbid to be sponsors at baptism, or
to be joined in matrimony, or admitted to any of the sacraments till they were
better instructed. By his vigilance no quarter was given to all those who
indulged themselves in any vicious practice, in pleasures that enervate the
soul, or in amusements and diversions which are dangerous to innocence. What
enforced his instructions, and gave them weight and efficacy, was his example.
His life was most austere; he was in everything severe to himself, and all the
clergymen that were about him were enjoined to apprize him of the least slip in
his behaviour. Though he was inflexible towards obstinate sinners, and employed
every means to bring them to repentance, when he found them sincerely desirous
to return to God, he received them with the greatest tenderness and indulgence,
imitating the Good Shepherd, who came down from heaven to seek the lost sheep,
and carried them back to the fold on his shoulders. By his care the poor were
every where tenderly assisted with every corporal and spiritual comfort and
succour they could stand in need of, and many hospitals were raised for their
reception and entertainment at his expense. It was his earnest desire to see
all Christians seriously engaged in the noble contest, which of them should
best fulfil his obligations in their full extent, which are all reduced to
those which tie him to his Creator; for on a man’s concern for them depends his
regard for all others. Religion alone can make mankind good and happy; and
those who act under its influence are steady in the disinterested pursuit of
every virtue, and in the discharge of every duty, even towards the world, their
families, and themselves. To sum up the whole character of this good prelate in
two words, Ado knew all the obligations of his post, and discharged them with
the utmost exactness and fidelity. He distinguished himself in many councils
abroad, and held himself several councils at Vienne to maintain the purity of
faith and manners; though only a fragment of that which he celebrated in 870 is
extant. When King Lothaire sought pretexts to divorce his queen, Thietburge,
our holy prelate obliged him to desist from that unjust project; and he had a
great share in many public transactions, in which the interest of religion was
concerned. For Pope Nicholas I., King Charles the Bald, and Lewis of Germany
had the greatest regard for him, on account of his prudence and sanctity, and
paid a great deference to his advice. In the hurry of employments his mind was
as recollected as if his whole business lay within the compass of his own
private concerns. The multiplicity of affairs never made him the less constant
in prayer, or less rigorous in his mortifications. To read the lives of the
saints, and to consider their edifying actions, in order to imbibe their
spirit, and quicken his own soul in the practice of piety, was an exercise in
which he always found singular comfort and delight, and a great help to
devotion; and, like the industrious bee, which sucks honey from every flower,
he endeavoured to learn from the life of every saint some new practice of
virtue, and to treasure up in his mind some new maxim of an interior life. From
thus employing his thoughts on the saints, studying to copy their virtues, and
affectionately and devoutly honouring them in God, he happily passed to their
glorious society, eternally to enjoy God with them, on the 16th of December,
875, having been bishop fifteen years, three months. He is honoured in the
church of Vienne, and named in the Roman Martyrology on this day.
This mortal life is a pilgrimage, full of labours,
hardships, and perils, through an inhospitable desert, amidst numberless
by-paths, and abounding with howling wild beasts. And the greatest danger
frequently is the multitude of those who go astray before us. We follow their
steps without giving ourselves leisure to think, and are thus led into some or
other of these devious broad roads, which unawares draw all that are engaged in
them headlong down the dreadful precipice into eternal flames. Amidst these,
one only narrow path, which seems beset with briers and thorns, and is trodden
by a small number of courageous souls, leads to happiness; and amongst those
who enter upon it, many in every part fall out of it into some or other of the
devious tracts and windings which terminate in destruction. Amidst these
alarming dangers we have a sure guide: the light of divine revelation safely
points out to us the strait way, and Christ bids us follow him, walk by his
spirit, carefully tread in his steps, and keep always close to his direction.
If ever we forsake his divine guidance, we lose and bewilder ourselves. He is the way, the truth, and the life. Many saints have followed this
rule, and escaped all dangers, who seem to cry out to us: “this is the right
way: walk you in it.” Can we have a greater comfort, encouragement, or
assistance than to have them always before our eyes? The example of a God made
man for us is the greatest model which we are bound continually to study in his
divine life and precepts. Those who in all stations of the world have copied
his holy maxims and conduct, sweetly invite us to this imitation of our divine
original: every one of them cries out to us, with St. Paul: 2 Be ye followers of me as
I also am of Christ. Their example, if always
placed before our eyes, will withhold us from being hurried away by the torrent
of the world, and its pernicious maxims, and the remembrance of their heroic
conflicts, and the sight of the crowns they now enjoy, will be our comfort and
support. What can give us greater joy in this valley of tears than to think
often on the bliss which these glorious conquerors already possess, and on the
means by which they attained to it? We ourselves press close after them, and
even now are not far from the same glory; for we live on the borders of it. The
longest life is very short: and every moment in it may, by the least unexpected
incident, ingulf us suddenly in the abyss of eternity, and remove us into the
society of these glorious saints. Can we desire this bliss, and not love, honour,
and always bear them in mind?
Note 1. The best edition of Ado’s Martyrology was that of Rosweidus, before
Monsignor Georgi, secretary to Benedict XIV. favoured us with a new one far
more correct, and enriched with notes and useful dissertations. [back]
Rev. Alban Butler (1711–73). Volume
XII: December. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
Sant' Adone di Vienne Vescovo
Sens, c. 800 - 875
Entrato
nell’abbazia di Ferrieres-en-Gatinais, dopo anni di vita monastica venne
proposto da S. Remigio quale vescovo di Vienne dove rimase fino alla morte.
Importante vescovo della Francia Medievale, restaurò la disciplina
ecclesiastica e regolò l’ufficiatura divina tenendo vari sinodi ed esercitando
una benefica influenza sulla vita politica del tempo.
Etimologia:
Adone = signore, padrone, dall'ebraico
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: A Vienne in Burgundia, nell’odierna Francia, sant’Adone, vescovo, che
da monaco fu eletto vescovo e onorò degnamente la memoria dei santi componendo
un martirologio.
Nessuna
memoria di Santo è prevista per questo giorno, ma il nuovo Calendario della
Chiesa, con le vicende che hanno accompagnato la sua revisione, non sempre
facile, ci incoraggia a parlare di un Santo, ricordato a questa data, che ha un
posto importante proprio nella storia interessantissima dei Martirologi, cioè
degli elenchi dei Santi e dei Martiri secondo l'ordine del Calendario.
1 primi Martirologi ebbero carattere locale, limitato cioè ai Santi di una certa Chiesa, e vennero redatti come calendari: ad ogni giorno corrispondeva il nome di un Santo, o meglio di un Martire, e nulla più.
Presto però si tentarono Martirologi " generali ", con Santi cioè di tutti i paesi, elencati secondo la data della morte. Il più antico fu quello siriaco, e il più complesso quello attribuito, a torto, a San Girolamo. Poi si passò ai Martirologi " storici ", nei quali, accanto al nome del Santo, si davano notizie della sua vita e della sua morte. Nell'Alto Medioevo, i più celebri furono quello inglese del venerabile Beda e quello lionese del monaco Floro.
Ma i Martirologi di Beda e di Floro non erano completi. Alcuni giorni erano rimasti senza un Santo, e i monaci che iniziavano l'Ufficio quotidiano con la lettura dell'" elogio " di un Martire, in quei giorni si trovavano imbarazzati. Adone pensò così di completare il Martirologio, dando ad ogni giorno il suo Santo. Poi aggiunse altri nomi anche ai giorni che già ne avevano uno. Finalmente, trovandosi in mano un ampio materiale agiografico, pensò di rimpolpare le scarne notizie sui Santi con " estratti più numerosi e un po' più lunghi ".
Adone era francese, nato nella contea di Vienne, da nobile famiglia. Accolto giovinetto nel monastero di Ferrères, non vi restò a lungo, per dissapori con l'Abate. Fu a Roma, a Ravenna, e finalmente si fissò a Lione, centro di studio sui Martirologi.
Imparato il mestiere, lo mise rapidamente in opera, preparando frettolosamente il suo nuovo Martirologio. Purtroppo, alle buone intenzioni non corrisposero altrettante buone attuazioni. Per riempire i vuoti, egli si valse di una folla di personaggi, spesso degni della santità, ma più spesso sconosciuti, tratti dall'Antico e dal Nuovo Testamento e dalle opere di molti scrittori sacri. La sua fu anche un'opera di carità verso i fedeli. Infatti scriveva: " I fratelli più deboli, e quelli che hanno meno mezzi di lettura, troveranno qui, sul conto dei Martiri, tutto un insieme di letture riassunte, e avranno così, in un volume di piccola mole, l'equivalente di ciò che altri sono obbligati a cercare con fatica tra molti libri ".
Per allungare e colorire gli " elogi ", ricorse a tutte le fonti accessibili, buone o cattive. Peggio ancora, confuse e spezzettò le notizie già poco sicure; ripeté e mescolò i nomi; equivocò sulle località e sulle date, e aggiunse di sua iniziativa molti particolari che gli premevano.
Nonostante questi difetti, o forse proprio grazie a questi difetti, l'opera di Adone ebbe molto successo. Si diffuse rapidamente, soprattutto nelle comunità benedettine. Non piacquero però i commenti troppo lunghi che il monaco Usuardo ridusse all'essenziale. Il Martirologio di Adone, così sveltito, si diffuse ancor più largamente, propalando anche inesattezze storiche e fantasie devote.
Per fortuna i meriti di Sant'Adone non si limitarono a questa, e ad altre simili, opere di storico. Eletto Arcivescovo di Vienne, nel Delfinato, resse quella chiesa con ferma autorità in tempi di contese politiche. Morto nell'875, pochi secoli dopo era tra i Santi. E bisogna dire - a scanso di sospetti maliziosi - che egli venne incluso nei Martirologi da compilatori più scrupolosi di quanto non fosse stato egli stesso!
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