Laudate Dominum

Picture of Saints

LAUDATE DOMINUM.NET--Traditional Lives of the Saints--October

OCTOBER

NAVIGATION:


OCTOBER 1.-ST. REMIGIUS, BISHOP.
OCTOBER 2.-THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS.
OCTOBER 3.-ST. GERARD, ABBOT.
OCTOBER 4.-ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI.
OCTOBER 5.-ST. PLACID, MARTYR.
OCTOBER 6.-ST. BRUNO.
OCTOBER 7.-ST. MARK, POPE.
OCTOBER 8.-ST. BRIDGET OF SWEDEN.
OCTOBER 9.-ST. DIONYSIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS,MM.—ST. LOUIS BERTRAND.
OCTOBER 10.-ST. FRANCIS BORGIA.
OCTOBER 11.-ST. TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS.
OCTOBER 12.-ST. WILFRID, BISHOP.
OCTOBER 13.-ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.
OCTOBER 14.-ST. CALLISTUS, POPE, MARTYR.
OCTOBER 15.-ST. TERESA.
OCTOBER 16.-ST. GALL, ABBOT.
OCTOBER 17.-ST. HEDWIGE -ST. MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE..
OCTOBER 18.-ST. LUKE.
OCTOBER 19.-ST. PETER OF ALCANTARA.
OCTOEER 20.-ST. JOHN CANTIUS.
OCTOBER 21.-ST. URSULA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR.
OCTOBER 22.-ST. MELLO, BISHOP.—ST. HILARION, ABBOT.
OCTOBER 23 -ST. THEODORET, MARTYR.
OCTOBER 24.-ST. MAGLOIRE, BISHOP.
OCTOBER 25.-SS. CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN, MARTYRS.
OCTOBER 26.-ST. EVARISTUS, POPE AND MARTYR.
OCTOBER 27.-ST. FRUMENTIUS, BISHOP.
OCTOBER 28.-SS. SIMON AND JUDE.
OCTOBER 29.-ST. NARCISSUS, BISHOP.
OCTOBER 30.-ST. MARCELLUS, THE CENTURION, MARTYR.
OCTOBER 31.-ST. QUINTIN, MARTYR.

OCTOBER 1.—ST. REMIGIUS, BISHOP.

Remigius, or Remi, was born of noble and pious parents. At the age of twenty-two, in spite of the canons and of his own reluctance, he was acclaimed Archbishop of Rheims. He was unusually tall, his face impressed with blended majesty and serenity, his bearing gentle, humble, and retirig. He was learned and eloquent, and had the gift of miracles. His pity and charity were boundless, and in toil he knew no weariness. His body was the outward expression of a noble and holy soul, breathing the spirit of meekness and compunction. For so choice a workman God had fitting work. The South of France was in the hands of Arians, and the pagan Franks were wresting the North from the Romans. St. Remigius confronted Clovis, their king, and converted and baptized him at Christmas, a.d. 496. With him he gained the whole Frank nation. He threw down the idol altars, built churches, and appointed bishops. He withstood and silenced the Arians, and converted so many that he left France a Catholic kingdom, its king the oldest and at the time the only crowned son of the Church.

He died a.d. 533, after an episcopate of seventy-four years, the longest on record.

Reflection.—Few men have had such natural advantages and such gifts of grace as St. Remi, and few have done so great a work. Learn from him to bear the world's praise as well as its scorn with a lowly and chastened heart.

OCTOBER 2.—THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS.

God does not abandon to mere chance any of His handiworks; by His providence He is everywhere present; not a hair falls from the head or a sparrow to the ground without His knowledge. Not content, however, with yielding such familiar help in all things, not content with affording that existence which He communicates and perpetuates through every living being, He has charged His angels with the ministry of watching and safeguarding every one of His creatures that behold not His face. Kingdoms have their angels assigned to them, and men have their angels; these latter it is whom religion designates as the Holy Guardian Angels. Our Lord says in the Gospel, " Beware lest ye scandalize any of these little ones, for their angels in heaven see the face of my Father." The existence of Guardian Angels is, hence, a dogma of the Christian faith: this being so, what ought not our respect be for that sure and holy intelligence that is ever present at our side; and how great should our solicitude be, lest, by any act of ours, we offend those eyes which are ever bent upon us in all our ways!

Reflection.—Ah! let us not give occasion, in the language of Holy Scripture, to the angels of peace to weep bitterly.

OCTOBER 3.—ST. GERARD, ABBOT.

St. Gerard was of a noble family of the county of Namur, France. An engaging sweetness of temper, and a strong inclination to piety and devotion, gained him from the cradle the esteem and affection of every one. Having been sent on an important mission to the Court of France, he was greatly edified at the fervor of the monks of St. Denis, at Paris, and earnestly desired to consecrate himself to God with them. Returning home he settled his temporal affairs, and went back with great joy to St. Denis's. He had lived ten years with great fervor in this monastery, when in 931 he was sent by his abbot to found an abbey upon his estate at Brogne, three leagues from Namur. He settled this new abbey, and then built himself a little cell near the church, and lived in it a recluse until God called him to undertake the reformation of many monasteries, which he did successfully. When he had spent almost twenty years in these zeal ous labors, he shut himself up in his cell, to prepare his soul to receive the recompense of his labors, to which he was called on the 3d of October in 959.

Reflection.—Though we are in the world, let us strive to separate ourselves from it and consecrate ourselves to God, remembering that "the world passeth away, but he that doth the will of God abideth forever."

OCTOBER 4.—ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI.

St. Francis, the son of a merchant of Assisi, was born in that city a.d. i 182. Chosen by God to be a living manifestation to the world of Christ's poor and sufTering life on earth, he was early inspired with a high esteem and burning love of poverty and humiliation. The thought of the Man of Sorrows, who had not where to lay His head, filled him with holy envy of the poor, and constrained him to renounce the wealth and worldly station which he abhorred. The scorn and hard usage which he met with from his father and townsmen when he appeared among them in the garb of poverty were delightful to him. " Now," he exclaimed, " I can say truly, ' Our Father who art in heaven.' " But divine love burned in him too mightily not to kindle like desires in other hearts. Many joined themselves to him, and were constituted by Pope Innocent III. into a religious Order, which spread rapidly throughout Christendom. St. Francis, after visiting the East in the vain quest of martyrdom, spent his life like his Divine Master—now in preaching to the multitudes, now amid desert solitudes in fasting and contemplation. During one of these retreats he received on his hands, feet, and side the print of the five bleeding wounds of Jesus. With the cry. " Welcome, sister Death," he passed to the glory of his God October 4th, 1226.

Reflection.—" My God and my all," St. Francis's constant prayer, explains both his poverty and his wealth.

OCTOBER 5.—ST. PLACID, MARTYR.

St. Placid was born in Rome, in the year 515, of a patrician family, and at seven years of age was taken by his father to the monastery of Subiaco. At thirteen years of age he followed St. Bernard to the new foundation at Monte Cassino, where he grew up in the practice of a wonderful austerity and innocence of life. He had scarcely completed his twenty-first year- when he was selected to establish a monastery in Sicily upon some estates which had been given by his father to St. Benedict. He spent four years in building his monastery, and the fifth had not elapsed before an inroad of barbarians burned every thing to the ground, and put to a lingering death not only St. Placid and thirty monks who had joined him, but also his two brothers, Eutychius and Victorinus, and his holy sister Flavia, who had come to visit him. The monastery wasre built, and still stands under his invocation.

Reflection.—Adversity is the touchstone of the soul, because it discovers the character of the virtue which it possesses. One act of thanksgiving when matters go wrong with us is worth a thousand thanks when things are agreeable to our inclinations.

OCTOBER 6—ST. BRUNO.

Bruno was born at Cologne, about a.d. 1030. of an illustrious family. He was endowed with rare natural gifts, whicn he cultivated with care at Paris. He became canon of Cologne, and then of Rheims, where he had the direction of theological studies. On the death of the bishop the see fell for a time into evil hands, and Bruno retired with a few friends into the country. There he resolved to forsake the world, and live a life of retirement and penance. With six companions he applied to Hugh, Bishop of Grenoble, who led them into a wild solitude called the Chartreuse. There rhey lived in poverty, self-denial, and silence, each apart in his own cell, meeting only for the worship of God, and employing themselves in copying books. From the name of the spot the Order of St. Bruno was called the Carthusian. Six years later, Urban II. called Bruno to Rome, that he might avail himself of his guidance. Bruno tried to live there as he had lived in the desert; but the echoes of the great city disturbed his solitude, and, after refusing high dignities, he wrung from the Pope permission to resume his monastic life in Calabria. There he lived, in humility and mortification and great peace, till his blessed death in 1101.

Reflection.—" O everlasting kingdom," said St. Augustine; " kingdom of endless ages, whereon rests the untroubled light and the peace of God which passeth all understanding, where the souls of the Saints are in rest, and everlasting joy is on their heads, and sorrow and sighing have fled away! When shall I come and appear before God? "

OCTOBER 7.—ST. MARK, POPE.

St. Mark was by birth a Roman, and served God with such fervor among the clergy of that Church, that, advancing continually in sincere humility and the knowledge and sense of his own weakness and imperfections, he strove every day to surpass himself in the fervor of his charity and zeal, and in the exercise of all virtues. The persecution ceased in the West, in the beginning of the year 305 ; but was revived a short time after by Maxentius. St. Mark abated nothing of his watchfulness, but endeavored rather to redouble his zeal during the peace of the Church ; knowing that if men sometimes cease openly to persecute the faithful, the devil never allows them any truce, and his snares are generally most to be feared in the time of the calm. St. Mark succeeded St. Sylvester in the apostolic chair on the 18th of January, 336. He held that dignity only eight months and twenty days, dying on the 7th of October following. He was buried in a cemetery in the Ardeatine Way, which has since borne his name.

Reflection.—A Christian ought to be afraid of no enemy more than himself, whom he carries always about with him, and from whom he is not able to flee. He should therefore never cease to cry out to God, " Unless Thou, O Lord, art my light and support, I watch in vain."

OCTOBER 8.—ST. BRIDGET OF SWEDEN.

Bridget was born of the Swedish royal family, a.d. 1304. In obedience to her father, she was married to Prince Ulpho of Sweden, and became the mother of eight children, one of whom, Catherine, is honored as a Saint. After some years, she and her husband separated by mutual consent. . He entered the Cistercian Order, and Bridget founded the Order of St. Saviour, in the Abbey of Wastein, in Sweden. In 1344 she became a widow, and thenceforth received a series of the most sublime revelations, all of which she scrupulously submitted to the judgment of her confessor. By the command of Our Lord, Bridget went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and amidst the very scenes of the Passion was further instructed in the sacred mysteries. She died a.d. 1373.

Reflection.—" Is confession a matter of much time or expense? " asks St. John Chrysostom. " Is it a difficult and painful remedy? Without cost or hurt, the medicine is ever ready to restore you to perfect health."

OCTOBER 9.—ST. DIONYSIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS,
MARTYRS.—ST. LOUIS BERTRAND.

Of all the Roman missionaries sent into Gaul, St. Dionysius carried the faith the furthest into the country, fixing his see at Paris, and by him and his disciples the sees of dartre* Senlis, Meaux, and Cologne were erected in the fourth century. During the persecution of Valerian he was arrested and thrown into prison, and after remaining there for some time was beheaded, together with St. Rusticus, a priest, and Eleutherius, a deacon.
St. Louis Bertrand was born at Valencia, in Spain, a.d. 1526, of the same family as St. Vincent Ferrer. In 1545, after severe trials, he was professed in the Dominican Order, and at the age of twenty-five was made master of novices, and trained up many great servants of God. When the plague broke out in Valencia he devoted himself to '.he sick and dying, and with his own hands buried the dead. In 1562 he obtained leave to embark for the American mission, and there converted vast multitudes to the faith. He was favored with the gift of miracles, and while preaching in his native Spanish, was understood in various languages. After seven years he returned to Spain, to plead the cause of the oppressed Indians, but he was not permitted to return and labor among them. He spent his remaining days toiling in his own country, till at length, in 1580, he was carried from the pulpit in the Cathedral at Valencia to the bed from whence he never rose. He died on the clay he had foretold —October 9th, 1581.

Reflection.—The Saints fasted, toiled, and wept, not only for love of God, but for fear of damnation. How shall we, with our self-indulgent lives and unexamined consciences, face the judgment-seat of Christ?

OCTOBER 10.—ST. FRANCIS BORGIA.

Francis Borgia, Duke of Gandia and Captain-General of Catalonia, was one of the handsomest, richest, and most honored nobles in Spain, when, in 1539, there was laid upon him the sad duty of escorting the remains of his sovereign, Queen Isabella, to the royal burying-place at Granada. The coffin had to be opened for him that he might verify the body before it was placed in the tomb, and so foul a sight met his eyes that he vowed never again to serve a sovereign who could suffer so base a change. It was some years bebefore he could follow the call of his Lord; at length he entered the Society of Jesus to cut himself off from any chance of dignity or preferment. But his Order chose him to be its head. The Turks were threatening Christendom, and St. Pius V. sent his nephew to gather Christian princes into a league for its defence. The holy Pope chose Francis to accompany him, and, worn out though he was, the Saint obeyed at once. The fatigues of the embassy exhausted what little life was left. St. Francis died on his return to Rome, October 10th, 1572.

Reflection.—St. Francis Borgia learnt the worthlessness of earthly greatness at the funeral of Queen Isabella. Do the deaths of friends teach us aught about ourselves?

OCTOBER 11.—ST. TARACHUS AND HIS COMPANIONS.

In the year 304, Tarachus, Probtis, and Andronicus, differing in age and nationality, but united in the bonds of faith, being denounced as Christians to Numerian, Governor of Cilicia, were arrested at Pompeiopolis, and conducted to Tharsis. They underwent a first examination in that town, after which their limbs were torn with iron hooks, and they were taken back to prison covered with wounds. Being afterwards led to Mopsuesta, they were submitted to a second examination, ending in a manner equally cruel as the first. They underwent a third examination at Anazarbis, followed by greater torments still. The governor, unable to shake their constancy, had them kept imprisoned that he might torture them further at the approaching games. They were borne to the amphitheatre, but the most ferocious animals, on being let loose on them, came crouching to their feet and licked their wounds. The judge, reproaching the jailers with connivance, ordered the martyrs to be despatched by the gladiators.

Reflection.—Such is true Christian devotion. "Neither death nor life shall be able to separate us from the love that is in Christ Jesus."

OCTOBER 12.—ST. WILFRID, BISHOP.

" A quick walker, expert at all good works, with never a sour face"—such was the great St. Wilfrid, whose glory it was to secure the happy links which bound England to Rome. He was born about the year 634, and was trained by the Celtic monks at Lindisfarne in the peculiar rites and usages of the British Church. Yet even as a boy Wilfrid longed for perfect conformity in discipline, as in doctrine, with the Holy See, and at the first chance set off himself for Rome. On his return, he founded at Ripon a strictly Roman monastery, under the rule of St. Benedict. In the year 664 he was elected Bishop of Lindisfarne, and five years later was transferred to the see of York. He had to combat the passions of wicked kings, the cowardice of worldly prelates, the errors of holy men. He was twice exiled and once imprisoned; yet the battle which he fought was won. He swept away the abuses of many years and a too national system, and substituted instead a vigorous Catholic discipline, modelled and dependent on Rome. He died October 1 2th, 709, and at his death was heard the sweet melody of the angels conducting his soul to Christ.

Reflection.—To look towards Rome is an instinct planted in us for the preservation of the faith. Trust in the Vicar of Christ necessarily results from the reign of His love in our hearts.

OCTOBER 13.—ST. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.

Edward was unexpectedly raised to the throne of England at the age of forty years, twenty-seven of which he had passed in exile. On the throne, the virtues of his earlier years, simplicity, gentleness, lowliness, but above all his angelic purity, shone with new brightness. By a rare inspiration of God, though he married to content his nobles and people, he preserved perfect chastity in the wedded state. So little did he set his heart on riches, that thrice when he saw a servant robbing his treasury he let him escape, saying the poor fellow needed the gold more than he. He loved to stand at his palace-gate, speaking kindly to the poor beggars and lepers who crowded about him, and many of whom he healed of their diseases. The long wars had brought the kingdom to a sad state, but Edward's zeal and sanctity soon wrought a great change. His reign of twenty-four years was one of almost unbroken peace, the country grew prosperous, the ruined churches rose under his hand, the weak lived secure, and for ages afterwards men spoke with affection of the " laws of good St. Edward." The holy king had a great devotion to building and enriching churches. Westminster Abbey was his latest and noblest work. He died January 5th, 1066.

Reflection.—David longed to build a temple for God's service. Solomon reckoned it his glory to accomplish the work. But we, who have God made flesh dwelling in our tabernacles, ought to think no time, no zeal, no treasures too much to devote to the splendor and beauty of a Christian church.

OCTOBER 14.-- ST. CALLISTUS, POPE, MARTYR.

Early in the third century, Callistus, then a deacon, was intrusted by Pope St. Zephyrinus with the rule of the clergy, and set by him over the cemeteries of the Christians at Rome ; and, at the death of Zephyrinus, Callistus, according to the Roman usage, succeeded to the Apostolic See. A decree is ascribed to him appointing the four fasts of the Ember seasons, but his name is best known in connection with the old cemetery on the Appian Way, which was enlarged and adorned by him, and is called to this day the Catacomb of St. Callistus. During the persecution under the Emperor Severus, St. Callistus was driven to take shelter in the poor and populous quarters of the city ; yet, in spite of these troubles, and of the care of the Church, he made diligent search for the body of Calipodius, one of his clergy who had suffered martyrdom shortly before, by being cast into the Tiber. When he had found it he was full of joy, and buried it, with hymns of praise. Callistus was martyred October 14th, 223.

Reflection.—In the body of a Christian we see that which has been the temple of the Holy Ghost, which even now is precious in the eyes of God, who will watch over it, and one day raise it up in glory to shine forever in His kingdom. Let our actions bear witness to our belief in these truths.

OCTOBER 15.—ST. TERESA.

When a child of seven years, Teresa ran away from her home at Avila in Spain, in the hope of being martyred by the Moors. Being brought back and asked the reason of her flight, she replied, "I want to see God, and I must die before I can see Him." She then began with her brother to build a hermitage in the garden, and was often heard repeating" Forever, forever." Some years later she became a Carmelite nun. Frivolous conversations checked her progress towards perfection, but at last, in her thirty-first year, she gave herself wholly to God. A vision showed her the very place in hell to which her own light faults would have led her; and she lived ever after in the deepest distrust of self. She was called to reform her Order, favored with distinct commands from Our Lord, and her heart was pierced with divine love; but she dreaded nothing so much as delusion, and to the last acted only under obedience to her confessors, which both made her strong and kept her safe. She died on October 4th, 1582.

Reflection.—" After all I die a child of the Church." These were the Saint's last words. They teach us the lesson of her life—to trust in humble, childlike obedience to our spiritual guides as the surest means of salvation.

OCTOBER 16.—ST. GALL, ABBOT.

St. Gall was born in Ireland soon after the middle of the , sixth century, of pious, noble, and rich parents When St. Columban left Ireland, St. Gall accompanied him into England, and afterward into France, where they arrived in 585. St. Columban founded the monastery of Anegray, in a wild forest in the diocese of Besangon, and two years afterward another in Luxeu. Being driven thence by King Theodoric, the Saints both withdrew into the territories of Theodebert. St. Columban, however, retired into Italy, but St. Gall was prevented from bearing him company by a grievous fit of illness. St. Gall was a priest before he left Ireland, and having learned the language of the country where he settled, near the Lake of Constance, he converted to the faith a great number of idolaters. The cells which this Saint built there for those who desired to serve God with him, he gave to the monastery which bears his name. A synod of bishops, with the clergy and people, earnestly desired to place the Saint in the episcopal see of Constance ; but his modesty refused the dignity. He died in the year 646.

Reflection.—" If any one would be My disciple," says our Saviour, " let him deny himself." The denial of self is, then, the royal road to perfection.

OCTOBER 17. -ST. HEDWIGE -SAINT MARGARET
MARY ALACOQUE.

St. Hedwige, the wife of Henry, Duke of Silesia, and the mother of his six children, led a humble, austere, and most holy life amidst all the pomp of royal state. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was the key-note of her life. Her valued privilege was to supply the bread and wine for the Sacred Mysteries, and she would attend each morning as many Masses as were celebrated. After the death of her husband she retired to the Cistercian convent of Trebnitz, where she lived under obedience to her daughter Gertrude, who was abbess of the monastery, growing day by day in holiness, till God called her to Himself, a.d. 1242.

Margaret Mary was born at Terreau in Burgundy, on the 22d July, 1647. During her infancy she showed a wonderfully sensitive horror of the very idea of sin. In 1671 she entered the Order of the Visitation, at Paray-le-Monial, and was professed the following year. After purifying her by many trials, Jesus appeared to her in numerous visions, displaying to her His Sacred Heart, sometimes burning as a furnace, and sometimes torn and bleeding on account of the coldness and sins of men. In 1675 the great revelation was made to her that she, in union with Father de la Colombiere, of the Society of Jesus, was to be the chief instrument for instituting the feast of the Sacred Heart, and for spreading that devotion throughout the world. She died on the 17th October, 1690.

Reflection.—Love for the Sacred Heart especially honors the Incarnation, and makes the soul grow rapidly in humility, generosity, patience, and union with its Beloved.

OCTOBER 18.—ST. LUKE.

St. Luke, a physician at Antioch, and a painter, became a convert of St. Paul, and afterwards his fellow-laborer. He is best known to us as the historian of the New Testament. Though not an eye-witness of our Lord's life, the Evangelist diligently gathered information from the lips of the Apostles, and wrote, as he tells us, all things in order. The Acts of the Apostles were written by this Evangelist as a sequel to his Gospel, bringing the history of the Church down to the first imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. The humble historian never names himself, but by his occasional use of " we " for "they" we are able to detect his presence in the scenes which he describes. We thus find that he sailed with St. Paul and Silas from Troas to Macedonia; stayed behind apparently for seven years at Philippi, and, lastly, shared the shipwreck and perils of the memorable voyage to Rome. Here his own narrative ends, but from St. Paul's Epistles we learn that St. Luke was his faithful companion to the end. He died a martyr's death some time afterwards in Achaia.

Reflection.—Christ has given all He had for thee; do thou give all thou hast for Him.

OCTOBER 19.—ST. PETER OF ALCANTARA.

Peter, while still a youth, left his home at Alcantara in Spain, and entered a convent of Discalced Franciscans. He rose quickly to high posts in the Order, but his thirst for penance was still unappeased, and in 1539, being then forty years old, he founded the first convent of the " Strict Observance." The cells of the friars resembled graves rather than dwelling-places. That of St. Peter himself was four feet and a half in length, so that he could never lie down; he ate but once in three days; his sackcloth habit and a cloak were his only garments, and he never covered his head or feet. In the bitter winter he would open the door and window of his cell that, by closing them again, he might experience some sensation of warmth. Amongst those whom he trained to perfection was St. Teresa. He read her soul, approved of her spirit of prayer, and strengthened her to carry out her reforms. St. Peter died, with great joy, kneeling in prayer, October 18th, 1562, at the age of sixty-three.

Reflection.—If men do not go about barefoot now, nor undergo sharp penances, as St. Peter did, there are many ways of trampling on the world; and Our Lord teaches them when He finds the necessary courage.

OCTOBER 20.—ST. JOHN CANTIUS.

St. John was born at Kenty in Poland, a.d. 1403, and studied at Cracow with great ability, industry, and success, while his modesty and virtue drew all hearts to him. He was, for a short time, in charge of a parish; but he shrank from the burden of responsibility, and returned to his life of professor at Cracow. There, for many years, he lived a life of unobtrusive virtue, self-denial, and charity. His love for the Holy See led him often in pilgrimage to Rome, on foot and alone, and his devotion to the Passion drew him once to Jerusalem, where he hoped to win a martyr's crown by preaching to the Turks. He died a.d. 1473, at the age of seventy.

Reflection.—He who orders all his doings according to the will of God, may often be spoken of by the world as simple and stupid; but, in the end, he wins the esteem and confidence of the world itself, and the approval and peace of God.

OCTOBER 21.—ST. URSULA, VIRGIN AND MARTYR.

A number of Christian families had entrusted the education of their children to the care of the pious Ursula, and some persons of the world had in like manner placed themselves under her direction. England beinsr then harassed by the Saxons, Ursula deemed that she ought, after the example of many of her compatriots, to seek an asylum in Gaul. She met with an abiding-place on the borders of the Rhine, not far from Cologne, where she hoped to find undisturbed repose; but a horde of Huns having invaded the country, she was exposed, together with all those who were under her guardianship, to the most shameful outrages. Without wavering, they preferred one and all to meet death rather than incur shame. Ursula herself gave the example, and was, together with her companions, cruelly massacred in the year 453. The name of St. Ursula has from remote ages been held in great honor throughout the Church; she has always been regarded as the patroness of young persons and the model of teachers.

Reflection.—In the estimation of the wise man, "the guarding of virtue" is the most important part of the education of youth.

OCTOBER 22.—ST. MELLO, BISHOP.—ST. HILARION, ABBOT.

St. Mello is said to have been a native of Great Britain; his zeal for the faith engaged him in the sacred ministry, and God having blessed his labors with wonderful success, he was consecrated first bishop of Rouen in Normandy, which see he is said to have held forty years. He died in peace, about the beginning of the fourth century. St. Hilarion was born of heathen parents, near Gaza, and was converted while studying grammar in Alexandria. Shortly after, he visited St. Antony, and, still only in his fifteenth year, he became a solitary in the Arabian desert. A multitude of monks, attracted by his sanctity, peopled the desert where he lived. In consequence of this, he fled from one country to another, seeking to escape the praise of men; but everywhere his miracles of mercy betrayed his presence. Even his last retreat at Cyprus was broken by a paralytic, who was cured by St. Hilarion, and then spread the fame of the Saint. He died with the words, " Go forth, my soul; why dost thou doubt? Nigh seventy years hast thou served God, and dost thou fear death? "

OCTOBER 23 ST. THEODORET, MARTYR.

About the year 361, Julian, uncle to the emperor of that name, and like his nephew an apostate, was made Count of the East. He closed the Christian churches at Antioch, and when St. Theodoret assembled the Christians in private, he was summoned before the tribunal of the count and most inhumanly tortured. His arms and feet were fastened by ropes to pulleys, and stretched until his body appeared nearly eight feet long, and the blood streamed from his sides.
" O most wretched man," he said to his judge, "you know well that at the day of judgment the crucified God whom you blaspheme will send you and the tyrant whom you serve to hell." Julian trembled at this awful prophecy, but he had the Saint despatched quickly by the sword, and in a little while the judge himself was arraigned before the judgment-seat of God.

Reflection.—Those who do not go down to hell in spirit are very likely to go there in reality. Take care to mediate upon the four last things, and to live in holy fear. You will learn to love God better by thinking how He punishes those who do not love Him.

OCTOBER 24.—ST. MAGLOIRE, BISHOP.

St. Magloire was born in Brittany towards the end ot the fifth century. When he and his cousin St. Sampson came of an age to choose their way in life, Sampson retired into a monastery, and Magloire returned home, where he lived in the practice of virtue. Amon, Sampson's father, having been cured by prayer of a dangerous disease, left the world, and with his entire family consecrated himself to God. Magloire was so affected at this that, with his father, mother, and two brothers, he resolved to fly the world, and they gave all their goods to the poor and the Church. Magloire and his father attached themselves to Sampson, and obtained his permission to take the monastic habit in the house over which he presided. When Sampson was consecrated bishop, Magloire accompanied him in his apostolical labors in Armonca, or Brittany, and at his death he succeeded him in the Abbey of Dole, and in the episcopal character. After three years he resigned his bishopric, being seventy years old, and retired into a desert on the continent, and some time after into the isle of Jersey, where he founded and governed a monastery of sixty monks. He died about the year 575.

Reflection.—" Be mindful of them that have rule over you, who have spoken to you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end."

OCTOBER 25.—SS. CRISPIN AND CRISPINIAN, MARTYRS.

These two glorious martyrs came from Rome to preach the faith in Gaul toward the middle of the third century. Fixing their residence at Soissons, they instructed many in the faith of Christ which they preached publicly in the day, and at night they worked at making shoes, though they are said to have been nobly born, and brothers. The infidels listened to their instructions, and were astonished at the example of their lives, especially of their charity, disinterestedness, heavenly piety, and contempt of glory and all earthly things: and the effect was the conversion of many to the Christian faith. The brothers had continued their employment several years when a complaint was lodged against them. The emperor, to gratify their accusers and give way to his savage cruelty, gave orders that they should be convened before Rictius Varus, the most implacable enemy of the Christians. The martyrs were patient and constant under the most cruel torments, and finished their course by the sword about the year 287.

Reflection.—Of how many may it be said that " they labor in vain," since God is not the end and purpose that inspires the labor!

OCTOBER 26.—ST. EVARISTUS, POPE AND MARTYR.

St. Evaristus succeeded St. Anacletus in the see of Rome, in the reign of Trajan, governed the Church nine years, and died in 112. The institution of cardinal priests is by some ascribed to him, because he first divided Rome into several titles or parishes, assigning a priest to each ; he also appointed seven deacons to attend the bishop. He conferred holy orders thrice in the month of December, when that ceremony was most usually performed, for holy orders were always conferred in seasons appointed for fasting and prayer. St. Evaristus was buried near St. Peter's tomb on the Vatican.

Reflection.—The disciples of the apostles, by assiduous meditation on heavenly things, were so swallowed up in the life to come, that they seemed no longer inhabitants of this world. If Christians esteem and set their hearts on earthly goods, and lose sight of eternity in the course of their actions, they are no longer animated by the spirit of the primitive Saints, and are become children of this world, slaves to its vanities, and to their own irregular passions. If we do not correct this disorder of our hearts, and conform our interior to the spirit of Christ, we cannot be entitled to his promises.

OCTOBER 27.—ST. FRUMENTIUS, BISHOP.

St. Frumentius was yet a child when his uncle, Meropius of Tyre, took him and his brother Edesius on a voyage to Ethiopia. In the course of their voyage the vessel touched at a certain port, and the barbarians of that country put the crew and all the passengers to the sword, except the two children. They were carried to the king, at Axuma, who, charmed with the wit and sprightliness of the two boys, took special care of their education ; and, not long after, made Edesius his cup-bearer, and Frumentius, who was the elder, his treasurer and secretary of state; on his death-bed, he thanked them for their services, and, in recompense, gave them their liberty. After his death, the queen begged them to remain at court, and assist her in the government of the state until the young king came of age. Edesius went back to Tyre, but St. Athanasius ordained Frumentius bishop of the Ethiopians, and vested with this sacred character, he gained great numbers to the faith, and continued to feed and defend his flock till it pleased the Supreme Pastor to recompense his fidelity and labors.

Reflection.—" The soul that journeys in the light and the truths of the faith is safe against all error."

OCTOBER 28.—SS. SIMON AND JUDE.

Simon was a simple Galilean, called by Our Lord to be one of the pillars of His Church. Zelotes, " the zealot," was the surname which he bore among the disciples. Armed with this zeal, he went forth to the combat against unbelief and sin, and made conquest of many souls for his Divine Lord.

The Apostle Jude, whom the Church commemorates on the same day, was a brother of St. James the Less. They were called " brethren of the Lord," on account of their relationship to His Blessed Mother. St. Jude preached first in Mesopotamia, as St. Simon did in Egypt; and finally they both met in Persia, where they won their crown together.

Reflection.—Zeal is an ardent love which makes a man fearless in defence of God's honor, and earnest at all costs to make known the truth. If we would be children of the Saints, we must be zealous for the faith.

OCTOBER 29—ST. NARCISSUS, BISHOP.

St. Narcissus was consecrated bishop of Jerusalem about the year 180. He was already an old man, and God attested his merits by many miracles, which were long held in memory by the Christians of Jerusalem. One Holy Saturday in the church the faithful were in great trouble, because no oil could be found for the lamps which were used in the Paschal feast. St. Narcissus bade them draw water from a neighboring well, and, praying over it, told them to put it in the lamps. It was changed into oil, and long after some of this oil was preserved at Jerusalem in memory of the miracle. But the very virtue of the Saint made him enemies, and three wretched men charged him with an atrocious crime. They confirmed their testimony by horrible imprecations: the first prayed that he might perish by fire, the second that he might be wasted by leprosy, the third that he might be struck blind, if they charged their bishop falsely. The holy bishop had long desired a life of solitude, and he withdrew secretly into the desert, leaving the Church in peace. But God spoke for His servant, and the bishop's accusers suffered the penalties they had invoked. Then Narcissus returned to Jerusalem and resumed his office. He died in extreme old age, bishop to the last.

Reflection.—God never fails those who trust in Him; He guides them through darkness and through trials secretly and surely to their end, and in the evening time there is light

OCTOBER 30.—ST. MARCELLUS, THE CENTURION, MARTYR.

The birthday of the Emperor Maximian Herculeus in the year 298 was celebrated with extraordinary feasting and solemnity. Marcellus, a Christian centurion or captain in the legion of Trajan, then posted in Spain, not to defile himself with taking part in those impious abominations, left his company, declaring aloud that he was a soldier of Jesus Christ, the eternal king. He was at once committed to prison. When the festival was over, Marcellus was brought before a judge, and having declared his faith, was sent under a strong guard to Aurelian Agricolaus, vicar to the prefect of the prgetorium, who passed sentence of death upon him. St. Marcellus was forthwith led to execution, and beheaded on the 30th of October. Cassian, the secretary or notary of the court, refused to write the sentence pronounced against the martyr, because it was unjust. He was immediately hurried to prison, and was beheaded, about a month after, on the 3d of December.

Reflection.—" We are ready to die rather than to transgress the laws of God," exclaimed one of the Machabees. This sentiment should ever be that of a Christian in presence of temptation.

OCTOBER 31.—ST. QUINTIN, MARTYR.

St. Quintin was a Roman, descended of a senatorial family. Full of zeal for the kingdom of Jesus Christ, he left his country, and, attended by St. Lucian of Beauvais, made his way to Gaul. They preached the faith together in that country till they reached Amiens in Picardy, where they parted. Lucian went to Beauvais, and having sown the seeds of divine faith in the hearts of many, received the crown of martyrdom in that city. St. Quintin stayed in Amiens, endeavoring by his prayers and labors to make that country a portion of Our Lord's inheritance. He was seized, thrown into prison, and loaded with chains. Finding the holy preacher proof against promises and threats, the magistrate condemned him to the most barbarous torture. His body was then pierced with two iron wires from the neck to the thighs, and iron nails were thrust under his nails, and in his flesh in many places, particularly into his skull; and lastly, his head was cut off. His death happened on the 31st of October, 287.

Reflection.—Let us bear in mind that the ills of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory " God has reserved for those who love Him."