Baring-Gould Sabine
The Lives of the Saints, Volume II (of 16): February
S. REMBERT, B. C
(A.D. 888.)
[Roman Martyrology; this being the day of his consecration to the Archbishopric of Bremen and Hamburg. But in some German Martyrologies, on June 11th, the day of his death. Authority: – his life written by a coeval author or authors].
This saint was born at Thourout, in Flanders, where was a monastic cell, that had been given by King Louis the Pious to S. Anskar. As Anskar was at Thourout one day, he noticed some boys going to church, and amongst them was one who, by his gravity, pleased him; and when the boy entered the church, he crossed himself, and behaved with so great reverence, that the archbishop went to him, and asked his name. He told him that he was called Rembert. Then S. Anskar took him and placed him in the little monastery, and bade that he should be well instructed. In after years, the apostle of Sweden called Rembert to assist him in his mission; and he loved his young friend greatly, and prayed to God for three days incessantly that He would grant to Rembert to accomplish the work that he, Anskar, had begun, and to make them companions together in the Heavenly Zion. After Anskar died, in 865, S. Rembert was unanimously chosen Archbishop of Hamburg and Bremen, and he superintended all the churches of Sweden, Denmark, and Lower Germany. He also began a mission to the Wends and Sclavonic race of Mecklenburg and Brandenburg, which was attended with considerable success. He sold the sacred ornaments of the Church to redeem captives from the Northmen. On one occasion he saw a party of these marauders pass, dragging after them a poor girl, who raised her shackled hands towards the bishop, and began to chant one of David's psalms. Then S. Rembert leaped off his horse, and ran to the chief, and offered him the horse if he would release the captive Christian maiden. And this he did, well pleased to obtain so valuable a horse. S. Rembert died on June 11th, in the year 888.
S. GILBERT OF SEMPRINGHAM, AB
(A.D. 1189.)
[Roman, Anglican, Belgian, Benedictine, and Cistercian Martyrologies. Authority: – his life, by a contemporary, published by Bollandus.]
This S. Gilbert, of whom Henricus Chrysostomus, a Cistercian chronicler, speaks as "a disciple of Bernard the mellifluous, a man of apostolical zeal, of most severe and rigid life, in purity conspicuous, illustrious for his gift of prophecy, and the mirific performer of stupendous miracles," was born about the year a. d. 1083, near the close of the reign of William the Conqueror. From an apparently contemporary pedigree he seems to have been related on the mother's side to that monarch, who may have rewarded the services of his father, "a bold and skilful warrior," with the hand of one of his relations, in addition to the manor of Sempringham, where Gilbert first saw the light. His mother is said to have received, shortly before his birth, a miraculous presage of the future greatness of her child, a greatness, however, of which few external tokens would seem to have manifested themselves during his childhood; since one of his biographers relates that as a child he was so dull and spiritless as to provoke the contempt and ill-usage of even the servants of his father's household. Driven by this maltreatment from his home and country, or more probably sent from home by the care of his parents, who discerned in him a greater aptitude for the cloister than for the camp, he passed some years in Gaul in the peaceful study of letters and philosophy. His childish education completed, he returned to England, and took up his abode with one of his father's dependents. Here he fell in love with the daughter of his host, and gave the first proof of his vocation to the counsels of perfection; for finding his passion increase daily in strength, and fearing lest he should be overcome by it, he fortified his soul by prayer and fasting; and then seeking the company of his beloved, he so wrought upon her by his exhortations and entreaties, that he prevailed upon her to join him in a vow of perpetual chastity, and she was one of the first who afterwards became nuns under his rule.
He now took to keeping a school, and gathered together a number of children of both sexes, to be instructed in the rudiments of religion, and especially taught them to live an orderly and pious life in the world, without as yet leading them forward to the higher life of the cloister; and these afterwards became the nucleus (primitiæ plantæ) of his order.
During this time he seems to have lived in the family of the then Bishop of Lincoln, and to have been admitted by him to the minor orders of the ministry; for the next thing related of him is that being presented by his father to the united benefices of Sempringham and Torrington he most willingly accepted the charge, and devoted the whole revenue of his livings to charitable purposes. Such was the fervour of his devotion at this time, that it is related that having one day invited one of his companions to join him in his prayers, the youth was so fatigued by the length of the office, and the punctilious care with which Gilbert genuflected whenever the holy names of God and of Christ occurred, that he swore he would never pray with him again.
After a while he was ordained priest by Alexander, Bishop of Lincoln, who held him in such high esteem that he made him his confessor, and would have appointed him Archdeacon; but this Gilbert resolutely declined saying, "that he knew not of a shorter road to perdition."
Persevering in his resolve to give his all to the poor, he now for the first time formally constituted his religious order, by assembling a number of poor girls, amongst them the object of his youthful attachment, whom he made cloistered nuns at Sempringham, and maintained them at his own cost. He next founded a monastery for male religious, to whom he entrusted all the more responsible affairs of the order, providing both nuns and monks with a habit "expressive of humility."
To this time of his life we must probably refer his miraculous escape from death by fire. The story is that a great fire having broken out either in his own house, or in the buildings immediately contiguous, Gilbert remained sitting abstractedly in his window seat, praying and singing psalms; the fire devoured all before it until it reached the spot in which he sat; there its progress was arrested, and the flames died away on every side, leaving the saint and his seat unharmed.
His order continued to expand, many religious flocked to him, and gifts of manors and farms pouring in from all quarters, many monasteries arose under his rule.
The charge of his Order now became so onerous that he is said to have attended the general chapter of the order at Citeaux, in the year 1140, for the purpose of formally resigning his authority. To this, however, his brother abbots refused their consent, and Gilbert returned to his labours, which he was to relinquish only with his life.
A peculiar interest attaches to this chapter, from the circumstance related by the same writer,19 who tells us of Gilbert's presence there, that the Pope Eugenius20 was present and took part in the proceedings, "not, however, presiding as with apostolical authority, but in brotherly love taking his seat among the assembled abbots, as one of themselves."
Returned to Sempringham, Gilbert resumed his life of prayer and mortification, observing the fasts of the Church with such rigidity that from Septuagesima to Easter, and throughout Advent, he not only abstained from flesh-meat, but even a morsel of fish never passed his lips. He practised also great austerity with regard to sleep, hardly allowing himself to lie down for months together.
His unwearied devotion and severe asceticism so forwarded his growth in grace that his influence over the religious under his authority became almost unbounded; with such prudence and persuasiveness was he endued, that he allayed without difficulty a serious disturbance which arose in the order from a spirit of insubordination that had crept in among the lay brethren. Overcome by his skilful reasonings and loving exhortations, the greater number returned to their obedience, "whereas," the chronicler adds, "those who held out and refused to do so, all perished miserably." His holiness and his acceptance with God were also attested by many miracles and wonders. Being at one time afflicted with a very severe fever, a friend came to condole with him; the saint enquired whether he had ever experienced the sensations of a fever; finding that he had not, Gilbert asked him whether he would be willing to take the fever from which he himself was suffering, if he might be thereby cured. The friend assented, and returning home, was the next morning seized with the fever, whereas the saint arose entirely free from it. Another time, a man suffering from gout was cured by simply wearing Gilbert's list slippers; and another man, sick of a fever, was healed by drinking out of his cup.
Overcome at length by the infirmities of advancing age, he resigned the charge of Sempringham to one of his disciples, Roger by name; but he seems still to have retained his authority, as it is mentioned that some time after this, he gave shelter to S. Thomas à Becket in one of his houses when that prelate, worsted in his contest with Henry II., was wandering about the kingdom in search of means to escape to the continent. He also supplied the archbishop with money during his exile, thereby drawing upon himself the displeasure of Henry, who, however, – such was Gilbert's popularity in the kingdom, – found it expedient to refrain from any proceedings against him.
At last, in the year 1189, and the 106th of Gilbert's age, his death drew near, and the man of God, full of years, and not less full of grace, prepared to render up his account with joy. He announced to his disciples his approaching departure, and on the evening of Christmas Day he was fortified with the last sacraments of the Church. The remaining time which God vouchsafed him on earth he devoted to the edification of others, and during this time many prelates, and men of various degrees, resorted to him in order to be consoled by his blessing, and instructed by his discourse. The night before the day on which he died "an immense globe of fire, and an appearance as of many candles" were seen to hover in the air over the church of Sempringham, in which his tomb was prepared. Three times the appearance descended from above, rising again twice towards heaven; the third time it penetrated the roof of the church, and descended to the floor. Then the brethren and the nuns knew that the time was at hand when their abbot must indeed leave them.
And so, on the next day, the 3rd of February, he departed this life, amid the sighs and lamentations of all, leaving behind him of religious men about 700, and of sisters in religion 1500; all serving God night and day without ceasing.
He was interred within the church at Sempringham, his tomb being placed between the two choirs, the monks on the one side, and the nuns at the other, so that the religious might offer their prayers at his sepulchre, and continually bearing in mind his holy life and happy death, might both be incited to diligence in prayer and good works, and also might profit by his intercessions for them.
Not long after his death, a certain canon of that order saw in a vision a brother not long since deceased, who, among other things, told him of S. Gilbert: "he is not amongst us, a different place possesses him; for from that place to which he departed (from the world) he has been translated to the choir of the virgins."
The veneration in which he was held may be seen in the eulogium of William of Newbury: —
"Nor must we in silence pass over the venerable Gilbert, a man altogether admirable, and of singular skill in the guardianship of women; from whom also the order of Sempringham took its beginning, and its rapid advancement. He, as it is said, from his very youth, by no means contented with being in the way of salvation himself, but kindled with a zeal for gaining souls for Christ, began eagerly to rival the weaker sex in the imitating of God, deriving his pious boldness from the consciousness of his own chastity, and his confidence in heavenly grace.
"Yet, fearing lest he should fail in his enterprise, he first sought the advice of the holy Bernard, and being instructed and encouraged by him, he commenced his work, and proceeding with great prudence and caution, he was mightily carried forward, both in the abundant multitude of persons gathered together for the service of Almighty God, and in the acquisition of temporal things; 'seeking first,' as it is written, 'the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all necessary things were added to him.'
"At last he organized a not ignoble monastery of two servants and eight handmaids of God, which also he replenished with numerous societies, and, according to the wisdom given him, furnished it with regular rules. And truly the gift of instructing the servants of God, divinely imparted to him, abounded especially in the care of women; indeed, in my judgment, he bears the palm in this respect amongst all whom we know to have devoted themselves to the instruction of female religious; moreover, having some years before been loaded with spiritual gains, the worn-out bridesman of the heavenly Bridegroom now departed to the Lord. Further, the multitude of his sons and daughters in religion still remains, and his seed is mighty upon earth, and his generation shall be blessed for ever."
The Order was peculiarly constituted, the men being Augustinian Canons, and the women following the rule of S. Benedict.
S. ANDREW CORSINI, B. C
(A.D. 1373.)
[S. Andrew died Jan. 6th; he was formally canonized by Urban VIII., in 1629, and his festival was transferred to Feb. 4th. Authorities: – Two lives, one by a disciple, the other by Friar Peter Andrew Castagna, written a hundred years after his death.]
Nicolas, a member of the illustrious Florentine house of Corsini, lived with his pious wife, Peregrina, for some time without children, which was to them a great grief, and they besought God to give them that blessing which He had hitherto withheld. Their prayer was heard, and on November 30th, 1302, a son was born to them, who received at the font the name of Andrew, because he was born on the festival of that apostle. His parents, who regarded him as the child of prayer, had already, before his birth, dedicated him to the Lord, and sought, in his childhood, to inspire him with devotion and morality. But Andrew was possessed of a vehement, independent spirit, which brooked no restraint, and he grew up to cause them bitter sorrow by his disorderly life. Nevertheless father and mother prayed on, hoping against hope. The wild youth passed for being one among the most dissolute young men of the city, and was acknowledged as the worst of a bad set, utterly godless and abandoned. But his parents prayed on. The mother cast herself before a figure of the Queen of Heaven, and, in the bitterness of her anguish of soul, cried, "Oh, Mother of my Saviour! Thou knowest how the soul of my child, for whom thy Son bled, is sinking to destruction. Thou knowest, Holy One! how, in his earliest youth, I dedicated my child to thee, and trusted him to thy protection, how I have done all that earthly mother can do to keep him clean and unspotted from the world! And now, pity me, weeping over my guilty son, thou, whose tears flowed for thy innocent Son! Thou, who art so mighty, entreat thy divine Son, that mine may be moved to true and broken-hearted repentance."
Thus praying, and with streaming eyes, Andrew lit upon her one day, as he was going forth to the commission of some new work of evil. He stood still and looked at her, and a feeling of compunction stirred his heart. Then, turning her reddened eyes towards him, she said, "I cannot doubt it; thou art the wolf whom I saw in a dream."
"What mean you, mother?" asked the young man.
She answered: "Before thou wast born, my child, I dreamt that I brought forth a wolf which rushed into a church, and was there transformed into a lamb. Thy father and I, on account of this dream, placed thee under the protection of the Mother of God. My son, thou art not ours, thou belongest not to the world, but only to the service of God. Oh, would to heaven, that as the first part of my dream has been fulfilled, the second part might find its accomplishment also!"
Andrew covered his face, and fell at his mother's feet, and sobbed forth: "Oh, good, pious mother! the wolf shall indeed become a lamb. Thou didst dedicate me to God, and to Him will I, also, devote myself. Pray, pray for me, mother, that I may obtain pardon for all my grievous offences."
Next day Andrew sought the Church of the Carmelites, and kneeling before an image of the Holy Virgin, wept bitterly over his past life, which now appeared to him in all its bare deformity. And he felt so powerfully called by the grace of God, that he resolved at once to take refuge from his evil companions and associations, in the cloister. He, therefore, sought the convent door that same hour, and asked to be admitted as a novice. He was received, and spent his novitiate in constant battle with his passions, and in trampling out the memory of the past, by not suffering his mind for a moment to repose on the thoughts of the evil he had done, save only for the purpose of stirring up compunction, and abasing himself in profound humility. After having been received into the Order, he became a model of self-restraint and earnestness, so that in the year 1328, at the age of twenty-six, he was ordained priest. He was shortly after appointed to preach in Florence; and his fervour and love for sinners produced very astonishing fruit, in moving many who had lived in sin to turn in sorrow to the cross, and renounce their evil ways. Andrew was next sent to Paris, there to prosecute his studies, and was there invested with the degree of doctor; and after he had completed his studies with Cardinal Corsini, his uncle, at Avignon, he returned to Florence, where he was elected prior of his cloister. His renown as a preacher of righteousness prevailed again, and his sermons produced such an effect, that he was regarded as the apostle of the land.
After the death of the bishop of Fiesole, the chapter elected Andrew Corsini to be his successor. But when the news of his election reached him, he fled away, and hid himself in a Carthusian monastery. He was sought for long in every direction, without result, and the chapter, despairing of finding him, were proceeding with the election of another, in his room, when a child cried out "He who is to be our bishop is praying in the Carthusian monastery." He was there sought, and Andrew recognising in this the will of God, yielded, and, in 1360, was consecrated bishop of Fiesole.
As prelate, he maintained the same discipline over himself, and never abandoned the penance he had imposed on himself for his youthful sins, of reciting daily the Seven Penitential Psalms, of sleeping on a faggot of vine twigs, and of never speaking without necessity. But however severe he was in his dealing with himself, nothing could exceed the tenderness and love with which he sought out and dealt with the greatest sinners in his diocese. And this love which overflowed from his heart rendered him peculiarly successful in reconciling enemies. Knowing this, Urban V. sent him to Bologna to appease a disturbance which had broken out between the nobles and the people, and he achieved this mission with signal success. In his 71st year, as he was singing midnight mass on Christmas Eve he felt great exhaustion, which was followed by a fever, from which he died on Jan. 6th, 1373.
Relics, in the Carmelite Church at Florence.
In Art he appears between a wolf and a lamb.
S. JOAN OF VALOIS, Q
(A.D. 1505.)
[French Martyrology. The process of her canonization began under Clement XII., and was completed by Pius VI. in 1775; but she was venerated at Bourges from the time of her death.]
Before Louis the son of Charles VII, ascended the throne of France, his wife, Charlotte of Savoy, bore him a daughter, called Anne of France. When he succeeded his father, with the title of Louis XI., he desired greatly to become the father of a son, and when his wife became pregnant in the third year after his coronation, his hopes were at the highest. When, however, she gave birth to a daughter, his disgust manifested itself in bitter antipathy towards the child, who was baptized Jeanne, or Joan. When she was eight days old, she was betrothed, May 19th, 1464, according to the custom of the time, to Louis, son of the Duke of Orleans and Mary of Cleaves, and sent to the house of her father and mother-in-law. At the expiration of four years, she was ordered to appear before her father at Plessis-le-Tours, where she was received by her mother with love, but when she was brought before her father, Louis turned from her with contempt, saying, "Bah! I did not think she was so ugly;" and he thrust her away. She was in fact somewhat deformed, and plain in face. It will be remembered that Sir Walter Scott has introduced her into his novel of Quentin Durward, taking, however, considerable liberties with her history. To such an extent did the spite of the king manifest itself, that when he saw how devout his daughter was, and that in her loneliness, she found comfort in the House of God, he forbade her frequenting churches and even the castle chapel.
When Joan was six years old, a son was born to Louis XI., and this was to her a day of good fortune, for her brother became her friend and protector; and because she was now once more permitted to frequent the churches. Louis XI. then visited Paris, to thank God for the birth of his son. Joan was in the splendid retinue which on this occasion entered the cathedral church of Notre Dame. She cast herself before an image of Our Lady, and taking her gold crown from her head, besought the holy Virgin to be her protector. Then a voice made itself heard in her soul, "My daughter, thou shalt found an Order in mine honour!"
The dislike of Louis XI. for Joan increased every day: the Countess of Linières was allowed to treat her with gross contempt; and the king, once so far forgot himself as to rush into her room sword in hand, and threaten to kill her. The Count of Linières threw himself between the king and his daughter, and saved her life, but could not prevent her receiving a wound, the scar of which never disappeared. The king retired in shame, and for a while gave her greater liberty.
In her twelfth year Joan was married, against her will, to Duke Louis of Orleans; however she fulfilled her duties, as wife, to the best of her ability. But her husband, who had married her for political reasons, made no scruple of treating her with coldness and contempt; deserting her almost entirely, that he might spend his time amidst the pleasures of the court, scornfully remarking that there was no risk to his honour in leaving his young bride unprotected, as her diminutive stature and plain face would be her defence.
Louis XI. died in August, 1483, and his son succeeded him, as Charles VIII., under the regency of his elder sister Anne, who was married to Peter of Bourbon. The husband of Joan, thinking that the regency ought to have been entrusted to him, endeavoured to stir up an insurrection; but was unsuccessful; and knowing that his life was threatened, fled to Duke Francis II. of Brittany, the bitter foe of France, and entered into league with him against Charles VIII. War broke out, and Joan stood as an angel of peace and reconciliation between the contending parties. Twice she obtained pardon for her captured and imprisoned husband, and as often he returned to his perfidy, – once against his sovereign, and once against his wife.
After the death of Charles VIII., on April 7th, 1498, the Duke of Orleans ascended the throne, as Louis XII. He at once obtained a divorce from Pope Alexander VI., by taking an oath that his marriage with Joan was not complete. Joan offered no opposition, rejoicing to see herself at liberty; and her husband at once concluded another marriage with Anne of Brittany, the widow of the young king. As some recompence to his divorced wife, Louis XII. gave her the Duchy of Berry, besides Pontoise, and other townships. She resided at Bourges, where she spent her time in the exercise of charity, to which she devoted her large revenues.
In 1500, she founded the order of the Annunciation, for women. S. Joan took the habit herself in 1504, but died on the 4th of February, 1505; and was buried at Bourges. Her body was torn from its resting place, in 1562, and burned by the Calvinists.
S. JOSEPH OF LEONISSA, C
(A.D. 1612.)
[Roman Martyrology Authority: – The Acts of his Beatification, which took place in 1737, and those of his canonization in 1746.]
This Saint was born at Leonissa, in the States of the Church, in 1556. He entered the Capuchin Order, and laboured at the redemption of Christian slaves. He died of cancer, at the age of fifty-eight. As the doctors desired to perform a painful operation on him, to remove the cancer, they ordered him to be bound, but he placed his crucifix before him saying, "this is the firmest of all bonds; it will hold me immoveable. Cut deep, I shall not flinch."
B. JOHN DE BRITTO, M., S.J
(A.D. 1693.)
[Roman Martyrology. Beatified on August 21st, 1853. The following account is epitomised from his life in "Pictures of Christian Heroism."]
John de Britto was born at Lisbon, March 1st, 1647; he was the son of Don Salvador de Britto Peregra and Beatrix his wife, both of whom were of noble birth. His father dying when he was only four years old, he was committed by his mother to the care of the Jesuits; and under them grew up full of the grace of God.
At the age of nine he was sent to court in the capacity of page to Don Pedro, the youngest son of the king, and probable heir to the throne of Portugal. During the six years he spent at court, he persevered in the pious habits he had formed under his mother's roof, and in the Jesuit school, frequently retiring for private prayer, and attending mass daily.
By this exemplary course of life he incurred the hatred of his fellow pages; for his rigid rule of life was a check upon their profligacy. They ridiculed his piety, and heaped upon him persecution, not only by words, but also by blows. He bore their ill-treatment with great patience; but it produced an illness which brought him into hourly danger of death. At the very moment of his agony his patron, S. Francis Xavier, at the earnest prayer of his mother, restored his health. She had from his birth dedicated her son to the apostle of India, and she now vowed that if her child were to recover, he should wear the Jesuit habit for the whole year in honour of his deliverer. When, therefore, he appeared at court again after his recovery, it was in a little black robe, with a chaplet of the Blessed Virgin hanging by his side; and in this garb he served the Prince, and attended the Jesuit college of S. Antony of Padua. The people stopped in the streets to see him pass; not on account of the strangeness of such a dress on a child, but to mark his holy and edifying demeanour. When the term of his vow had expired, he put off the dress, but with the intention to assume it one day for ever. Notwithstanding his infirm health, he had long resolved to leave the world, and lead an apostolic life as a Jesuit, and at the age of fifteen he carried this resolution into effect. He applied for admission into the society to the father-provincial, Michael Tinsco, by whom he was placed in the novitiate at Lisbon. The Prince, Don Pedro, opposed his resolution, but the mother rejoiced that her son should possess a vocation for the Company of Jesus.
It was on the 17th of December, 1662, that John de Britto entered the novitiate at Lisbon. A novena had just commenced in preparation for Christmas. At its close each postulant had to present the Infant Jesus with a petition, according to his wants. De Britto wrote his petition with the others. It was that he might be sent as a missionary to Japan, there to live and labour, and at length obtain the crown of martyrdom. After two years he took the three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, having passed through the novitiate a very model of holiness.
On leaving the novitiate at Lisbon, he went to Evora for two years, and thence to Coimbra, to study literature and philosophy. He then removed to Lisbon to teach grammar; and while thus employed, his thirst to go out as a missionary received an additional impulse from the visit of Father Balthazar da Costa, who had just returned from Madura to find recruits. To him he stated the wish of his heart, and he promised to plead his cause at Rome; the consequence of which was that a few months afterwards orders were received by the father-provincial to despatch John de Britto, along with several other young missionaries, in the first ship which should sail for Madura.
John returned hearty thanks to God for the favour, but his mother was distracted at the thought of losing her child. She appealed to the provincial, to her son himself, to the papal nuncio, and to the king, but without effect; and at length, fearing to offend God by persisting in her opposition, she offered him up as the dearest sacrifice she could render. His departure was fixed for the 25th of March, 1674. The night before, he paid a visit to his mother; but to save her the pang of parting, he forebore to tell her that it was the last. He carefully avoided any thing which might interfere with his object; and therefore, instead of joining the other missionaries, when, with a great crowd of people, they attended church on the banks of the Tagus, he embarked secretly, and only appeared when all danger of being delayed was over. He was ordained priest just before leaving.
