January 14 — Saint Hilary

After having consecrated the joyous Octave of the Epiphany to the glory of the Emmanuel who was manifested to the earth, the Church — incessantly occupied with the Divine Child and his august Mother, during the whole time from Christmas Day to that whereon Mary will bring Jesus to the Temple, there to be offered to God, as the law prescribes — the Church, we say, has on her Calendar of this portion of the year the names of many glorious Saints, who shine like so many stars on the path which leads us, from the joys of the Nativity of our Lord, to the sacred mystery of our Lady's Purification.

And firstly, there comes before us, on the very morrow of the day consecrated to the Baptism of Jesus, the faithful and courageous Hilary — the pride of the Churches of Gaul, and the worthy associate of Athanasius and Eusebius of Vercelli in the battle fought for the Divinity of our Emmanuel Scarcely were the cruel persecutions of paganism over, \ hen there commenced the fierce contest with Arianism, which had sworn to deprive of the glory and honours of his divinity that Jesus, who had con-

1 We have put the Feast of St. Titus, the Disciple of St. Paul, at the end of the Month. Having been quite recently inserted in the Calendar, it has no fixed day ; and each Church is permitted to keep it on the first day not occupied by another Feast. quered, by his Martyrs, over the violence and craft of the Roman Emperors. The Church had won her liberty by shedding her blood, and it was not likely that she would be less courageous on the new battle-field into which she was driven. Many were the Martyrs that were put to death by her new enemies — christian, though heretical, Princes: — it was for the Divinity of that Lord, who had mercifully appeared on the earth in the weakness of human flesh, that they shed their blood. Side by side with these, there stood those holy and illustrious Doctors, who, with the martyr-spirit within them, defended, by their learning and eloquence, the Nicene Faith, which was the Faith of the Apostles. In the foremost rank of these latter we behold the Saint of to-day, covered with the rich laurels of his brave confessorship, Hilary : — who, as St. Jerome says of him, was brought up in the pompous school of Gaid, yet had culled the flowers of Grecian science, and became the Rhone of Latin eloquence. St. Augustine calls him the illustrious Doctor of tlie Churches.

Though gifted with the most extraordinary talents, and one of the most learned men of the age, yet St. Hilary's greatest glory is his intense love for the Incarnate Word, and his zeal for the Liberty of the Church. His great soul thirsted after martyrdom, and, by the unflinching love of truth which such a spirit gave him, he was the brave champion of the Church in that trying period, when Faith, that had stood the brunt of persecution, seemed to be on the point of being betrayed by the craft of Princes, and the cowardice of temporising and un-orthodox Pastors.

Let us listen to the short Life of our Saint, contained in the Lessons of his Office.

Hilarius, in Aquitania Hilary was born of a noble nobili genere natus, doc- family in Aquitaine, and was trina et eloquontia excelluit. distinguished for his learning

JAN. 14. S and eloquence. He was married, but the life he led was almost that of a monk, so that, later on, on account of his

S-eat virtues, he was made ishop of Poitiers, and so well did he discharge the episcopal office, as to be the ooject of the deepest veneration on the part of the faithful. At that time, the Emperor Constantius was inflicting every sort of harsh treatment, intimidation, confiscation of their property, and banishment, on the Catholics who refused to side with the Arians. Hilary set himself as a bulwark against the Arians, thereby bringing on himself all their fury. On this account, they many times sought to ensnare him, and at length, by the treachery of Saturninu, the Bishop of Aries, he was banished from the Council at Beziers into Phrygia, There he raised a dead man to life, and wrote his twelve books On the Trinity, against the Arians.

Four years after, a Council was called at Seleucia, a town in Isauria, at which Hilary was compelled to assist. Thence he set out for Constantinople, where, seeing the extreme dangers to which the true faith had been exposed, he petitioned the Emperor, by three public petitions, to grant him an audience, in order that he might obtain permission to hold a controversy with his adversaries concerning matters of faith. But Ureacius and Valens, two Arian Bishops, whom Hilary

Qui primum in matrimonio auasi monachi vitam egit; aeinde propter singulares virtutes Pictavorum episcopus creatur: quod munus episcopale sic gessit, ut a fidelibus summam laudem consequeretur. Quo tempore, cum terroribus, bonorum spoliatione, exilio et omni crudelitate Constantius Imperator Catholicoe vexaret, nisi ad Arianas partes transirent: Hilarius tamquam firmissimum murum se Arianis opponens, illorum furorem in se concitavit Itaque multis petitus insidiis, tandem dolo Saturnini Arelatensis Episcopi, de Synodo Biterrensi in Phrygiam relegatus est : ubi et mortuum suscitavit, et libros duodecim scripsit de Trinitate contra Arianos.

Quadriennio post coacto Concilio ad Seluciam Isauria urbcm, Hilarius adesse compulsus est : ac deinde Constantinopolim profectus,ubi extremum fidei periculuin animadvertit, tribus libel lis publico datis audientiam Imperatoris poposcit, ut de fide cum adversariis coram disputaret. Verum cum Ursacius et Valens Ariaui Episcopi, quos Hilarius scriptis confutarat, praesentis eruditionem pertimescerent, Constantio persuaserunt, ut specie honoris earn in saum Episcopatum restitueret Tunc Hilarium e praelio haereticorum revertentem, ut inquit sanctus Hieronymus, Gulliarum Ecclesia complexa est : quern ad Episcopatum secutus est Martin us, qui postea Turoneusi prafuit Ecclesi® : tantumque ilio doctore profecit, quantum ejus postea sanctitas deciaravit.

Magna deinceps tranquillitate Pictavoruni Ecclesiam administravit : Galliamque universam adduxit, ut Arianorum impietatem condemnaret. Multos libros scripsit mira eruditione : quos omnes sanctus Hieronymus ad Laetam, sine ulla erroris suspicione legi posse testatur illis verbis : Hilarii libros inotfenso decurrat pede. Migravit in caelum ldibus Januarii, Valentiniano et Valente imperatoribus, anno post Christum natum trecentesimo sexagesimo nono. Eum a multis Patribus et conciliisinsignem Ecclesiaa Doctorem nuncupatum, atque uti talem in aliquot dicecesibus cultura, tandem, instante synodo Burdigalensi, Pius nonus, Pontifex Maximus, ex sacrorum Rituum Congregationi consulto, universaa Ecclesiae Doctorem deciaravit et confirma- had refuted in his writings, were afraid of allowing so learned a man to continue there any longer, and persuaded Constantius to restore him to his episcopal see, under the pretence of showing him honour. Then did the Church of Gaul open her arms, as St. Jerome says, to receive Hilary on his return from battle with the heretics. St. Martin, who was afterwards Bishop of Tours, followed the holy Doctor to Poitiers; how much he profited by the instructions of such a master is evidenced by the sanctity of his after-life.

From that time, he was left in perfect peace in the government of the Church of Poitiers. He leu the whole of Gaul to condemn the Arian blasphemies. He composed a great many exceedingly learned books, of which St. Jerome, in a letter to Laeta, says, that they may be all read without the slightest fear of meeting any false doctrine in them ; he assures her, that she may run through the books of Hilary without stumbling on anything dangerous. He passed from this earth to heaven on the Ides of January (January 13th), during the reign of the Emperors Valentinian and Valens, in the year of our Lord 369. Hilary was called by several Fathers and Councils, an illustrious Doctor of the Church, and was publicly honoured as such in certain dioceses. At length, at the petition of the Council of Bordeaux, the Supreme

28ft

Pontiff, Pius the Ninth, after vit : ac ipsius festo die having consulted the congre- Missam et Officium do ration of sacred Rites, declared Doctoribus ab omnibus re-

Eim to have been justly called, citare jussit and to be in effect, a Doctor of the universal Church ; and ordered, that on his Feast, all should recite the Mass and

Office Of Doctors^ r< fc. . r

The ancient Gallican Liturgy, of which a few precious remnants have been handed down to us, thus celebrated the praise of the most illustrious of the Bishops of that great country. Our first extract is an Allocution addressed to the Faithful, taken from an ancient Sacramentary.

ALLOCUTION.

On the recu rrence, Brethren, of this solemn Feast of the most blessed Bishop Hilary, whose tongue, during his mortal life, so thundered forth the truth concerning the equality of the Three Divine Persons, that he, the soldier of Christ, threw down the Prince of this world, and entered a conqueror into the palace of the heavenly King— let us, with more than our wonted fervour, beseech the adorable God, that He, who made Hilary so vigilant in all bis combats as to give security in the battle, may mercifully grant to us, that what we ask in his honour, may be granted to us by his intercession.

Adorabilem, popuH{ beatissimi Hilarii antistitis festivitate solemniter recurrente, cujus lingua in saeculo pro sanctae Trinitatis sequalitate sic tonuit, ut hujus mundi Principem miles Christi prosterneret, et in ccelestis Regis aula victor intraret, Dominum votis uberioribus deprecemur, ut qui eum inter diversas acies ita fecit esse sollicitum, ut redderet inter bella securum, nobis concedere dignetur, ut quod in ejus honore deposciinus, eo suffragante consequi mereamur.

This Preface, which extols the virtues and the miracles of St. Hilary, was sung in the Church of Gaul, even after the introduction of the Roman Liturgy.

PREFACE*

It is truly right and just that we give thanks, and pay our vows, and consecrate our gifts to thee, O Holy Lord, Father Almighty,£ternal God. who didst choose unto thyself the blessed Hilary thy Confessor, that he might be the Pontiff of thy sacred doctrines. He was a great and brilliant light, he was full of meekness in his comportment, he was all fire in fervour of faith, he was a torrent of eloquence. How great is his glory, is shown by the concourse of people at his tomb, the deliverance of the possessed, the healing of sicknesses, and the miracles of wonderful power. He has, by nature's law, ended his course and passed hence away ; but the merits of the Pontiff are still living there, beyond the grave, where reigns our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ.

The following prayer has been culled out of several old manuscript Missals.

Vere dignum et justum est gratias agere, vota solvere, munera consecrare, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, ssterne Deus, qui beatum Hilarium Confesso; rem tuum praelegisti tibi sacrat» conf essionis tusa antistiteni, ingenti luniine coruscantem, moruni lenitate pollentem, fidei fervore flagrantem, eloquii fonte torrentem : cui quae sit gloriatio ostendit concursus ad tumulum, purificatio incursorum, medela languentium, mirandarum signa virtutum. Qui etai uatura fecit finem per transitum, illic vivunt Pontiticis merita post sepulcrum, ubi praasentia Salvatoris est Jesu Christd Domini nostrl

PEAYEK.

Deus, cujus miseratione delinquentes mutantur ad veniam, justi transferuntur ad pal mam, qui infusus in corde beati Hilarii antistitis quasi de tuo templo fidei responsa dedisti, concede propitius, ut qui tunc inclytum Confessorem tuum fecisti Cfiesarem non timere, ejus intercessione ab spiritali hoste plebem pro-

CD God, by whose mercy sinners are raised up to pardon, and the just are translated to heaven for their crown ; who, poured out into the heart of the blessed Bishop Hilary, didst thence, as from thy sanctuary, give the answers of faith ; mercifully grant that, as thou didst make thy glorious Confessor to be fearless before Caesar, so mayest pro- tegas obsecrantem, ut cujus solemnitati tripudiat, ejus sit fida prece defensa. thou, by his intercession, tect thy suppliant people from their spiritual enemy : thus may they, who rejoice on his solemnity, be defended by his powerful prayers.

The Church of Poitiers has ever cherished, with the utmost devotion, the memory of her heroic Pontiff, and his Feast, as we may supj>ose, is kept there with the utmost solemnity. She sings in the Mass of this day, the Preface of the Blessed Trinity, to express more forcibly her admiration of the zeal, wherewith Hilary defended the master-dogma of our holy faith — the mystery of Three Persons in one God. It will be interesting to our readers to hear a few passages from the ancient liturgical books of this illustrious Church of Poitiers. The following Responsories are taken, in part, from the Life of the Saint, and were composed by St. Venantius Fortunatus, one of St. Hilary's successors.

RE8PON80EIES.

I?. Blessed Hilary shone above others by the nobility of his birth, to which was added an unsullied heart ; * He was as the day-star is among other stars. Jr. Blessed Hilary, the Bishop of the city of Poitiers, was born in the province of Aquitaine.

• He was. I?. Oh ! how perfect was he not as a lay-man ! The very Priests made him their model.

• His whole life was the fearing Christ with love and the loving him with fear. f. They who follow him, attain to glory ; they who follow him not, iucur punishment ; they who believe him, are reward- ly*. Beatus Hilarius, pro caeteris gratia generositatis ornatus, nitore pectoris addito, * Quasi refulgens Lucifer inter astra processit. Igitur beatus Hilarius, ictavensis urbis Episcopus, regionis Aquitanic® partibus oriundus. * Quasi refulgens.

Kj. O quam perfectissimum laicum ! cujus imitatores ipsi esse desiderant sacerdotes ; * Cui non f uit aliud vivere nisi Christum cum dilectione timere, et cum timore diligere. f. Cujus sequaces currunt ad gloriam, divertentes ad pcenam ; credenti succedunt fraemia, recusanti tormenta. CuL

19. Tom itaque sanctissimus Hilarius in Phrygiam, Asiae rerionem, missus est exilio, ad virtutis augmentum ; * Quia quantum, pro •Chrifiti nomine, longius discedebat a solo proprio, tantum merebatur fieri vicinior coelo. . Qui dum ad locum pervenisset optabilem, nobis tacendum non est quid ill! concessum est. ♦Quia.

I^. Cum de exilio regressus sanctus Hilarius Pontifex Pictavim introivit j summo favore plaudebant omnes pariter, * £0 quod recepisset Ecclesia Pontificem, grex Pastorem. % Gemma prassulum remeante ad propria, laudemus Dominum ; laatetur quoque chorus Angelorum. * Eo quod. ed; they who disbelieve him, are tormented. * His whole life.

19. The most saintly Hilary was therefore banished into Phrygia, a country of Asia; it served but to increase his virtue; * since the further, for the name of Christ, he was separated from his own land, the nearer he deserved to be made to heaven, t. When he had reached the longed-for place, great were the favours bestowed on him, and we will publish them.

• Since.

19. When the holy Bishop Hilary, returning from exile, entered Poitiers, all men were alike loud in the ex* predion of unbounded joy.

• For the Church recovered her Pontiff, and the flock its Shepherd. ?. The pearl of Bishops has returned home, let us give praise to our Lord, and let the choir of Angels rejoice. * For the Church.

The same venerable Church of Poitiers sings these two Hymns in honour of her glorious Saint. They were composed by the pious Simon Gourdan, a Canon Regular of Saint V ictor's Abbey, that celebrated House in Paris, where Adam of Saint- Victor wrote his admirable Sequences.

HYMN.

Ex quo Relligio, tot pro- From the time that the cerum parens, Church, the mother of so

Gallps addiderit Christia- many great men, united Gaul num gregi, to the flock of Christ— who is

JAN. 14. S there that can be compared to Hilary 1 who is there that ever defended more zealously than he the Son of the Eternal Father?

Let the holy flock sing the great titles of his glory, his majestic eloquence, and his innumerable gifts; but. his grandest praise is the faith, wherewith he so loudly proclaimed Christ to be the Son of God.

The noble mitre, that glittered on his venerable head, was not, indeed, purpled with the blood of martyrdom : his sacrifice was that of a thousand cares, and his ceaseless labours supply for the beauty of martyrdom.

He was the bold defender of the Nicene Faith, which the fury of hell sought in vain to destroy. The golden sword, which came so brightly from his mouth, drives away the ravenous wolves.

With what beaming joy did not his devoted flock welcome him from exile! How fair the laurels he reaped in the long campaigns for Christ ! He taught thee, O Martin ! to walk with vigour in the path of virtue.

Infinite praise to the Father, and infinite be to the Son, begotten in the fruitful bosom of the Father; to the Son, who is equal to the Father, and God like Him. To the Divine Spirit, too, be there infinite praise 1

Amen.

(2)

Quia par Hilario 1 quis generosius Natum de Patre vindicatt

Insignes titulos,eloquium grave,

Dotes in numeras plebs sacra concinat: Laus suprema fides, qua genitum Deo Altis vocibus asserit

Si non tincta fuit sanguine profluo Clara fronte micans infula nobilis, Curis mille litat: martyrii decua

Supplet continuus labor.

Hoc Nicaena fides vindice nititur : Frustra tartareus concutib hanc furor j Hie oris gladio fulgurat aureo,

Vastantes abigens lupos. Quo vultu reaucem grex pins excipit I Quas post longa metit pro- lia laureas ! Te, Marti ne, docet quam pede 8trenuo Virtutum rapias viam.

Patri maxima laus, maxima Filio, Fcecundo generat quern

Pater in sinu, JSquum Principio, numine com pa rem : Sacro maxima Flamini. Amen.

U wo

Non fraus magnanimum iion favor aut minae, Athletam quatiunt : juasa tyrannidis Explens, Pastor oves linquere cogitur ; Quia jam contineat luposl

Ergo, Praesul, abist dnm generosa mens Te parere facit, Gallia lacrymas

Fnndat: terra Phrygnm suscipiens patrem, Yerbi vindice gaudeat

Erroris latebras Doctor Hilarius Spargit luce nova, fonteque vivido

Ezpurgat nocuis pascua faecibus. Gen tea erudit efferas.

Ipsos dum titubant, instituit fide Pas tores : redeunt mox ad ovilia,

Quos error timidos abstulerat procul, Et vocem Patria audiunt.

Praesul magne, poli qui super ardua Solem justitiae cominus adspicis ;

Vexbum nos doceat, quaesumus, impetra, Cujus dogmata praedicas. Mundani metuant imperii ducem, Qui terrain sapiunt : Caesaris baud timet

Nor craft, nor favour, nor threat, can move this highminded soldier of Christ. He obeys the sentence of the tyrant, and the flock is deprived of its Shepherd— oh I who will now defend them from the wolves!

And must thou, then, Pontiff, go) Thy noble mind makes thee submit to the sentence, but Gaul sheds floods of tears. Phrygia receives thee on her land, nappy to possess the champion of the Word Incarnate.

Hilary, the holy Doctor* darts the fresh light into the lurking holes of error, and with a stream of living water carries from the pastures of the flock the poisonous slime. Barbarous nations receive instruction at his hands.

There were Pastors that had faltered, and he confirms them in the faith ; then sends them back to the flocks they had, in timid compromise to error, abandoned; and thus the children hear their Father's voice again.

Great Pontiff ! who now, in heaven above, seest the Sun of Justice face to face ; pray, for us, we beseech thee, that He, the Incarnate Word, whose nature thou didst preach to men, may teach us all truth.

Let worldly men, that are earthly minded, fear if they will an Emperor's tyranny: Hilary heeds not the passion

*9l of an angry Caesar, bat Infensi furias pastor, el preaches, with holy liberty, asserit the faith of Christ Christi liberius fidem.

Patri maxima laus, maxi- Filio, generat quern Pater in sinu, JSquum Principio, numine comparem : Sacro maxima FlaminL

Infinite praise to the Father, and infinite be to the Son, be- ma gotten in the fruitful bosom Foecnndo of the Father ; to the Son, who is equal to the Father, and God like Him. To the Divine Spirit, too, be there infinite praise 1 Amen.

Amen.

Thus did the holy bishop, Hilary of Poitiers, receive the honours of the Church's love for his having so courageously, and even at the peril of his life, fought in defence of the great Mystery. Another of his glories is, that he was one of the most intrepid champions of that principle, which cannot be compromised without the vitality and very existence of the Church being endangered — the principle of that Church's Liberty. A few days ago we were cele* brating the Feast of our holy Martyr, St Thomas of Canterbury ; to-day, we have the Feast of the glorious Confessor, whose example enlightened and encouraged him in the great struggle. Both Hilary and Thomas a Becket were obedient to the teaching left to the Pastors of the Church by the Apostles ; who, when they were arraigned the first time before the authorities of this world, uttered this great maxim: We ought to obey Ood rather than men} The Apostles and the Saints were strong in the battle against flesh and blood, only because they were detached from earthly goods, and were convinced, that the true riches of a Christian and a Bishop consist in the humility and poverty of the Crib, and that the only victorious power is in the imitation of the simplicity and the weakness of the Child that is 6om unto us. They relished the lessons of the School of

1 Acts, v. 29.

Bethlehem ; hence, no promise of honours, of riches, or even of peace, could make them swerve from the principles of the Gospel

How dignified is this family of Soldiers of Christ, which springs up in the Church ! If the policy of tyrants, who insist on being Christians without Christianity, carry on a persecution, in which they are determined that no one shall have the glory of Martyrdom— these brave Champions raise their voice, ference with that Liberty, which is due to Christ and his Ministers. They begin by telling them their duty, as Hilary did Constantius, when he sent him his first Memorial: "My Lord and most gracious Au- " gustus ! Your own great and admirable prudence " tells you, that it is not right, nor possible, violently '* to compel, such as are unwilling and opposed to it, " to submit to, and take part with, them that are " sowing the corrupt seed of false doctrine. The one " end of your endeavours, wise counsels, government, " and vigilance, should be, that all your subjects may " enjoy the sweets of liberty. There is no other " means of settling the troubles of the state, or of " uniting what discord has separated, than that every u one be master of his own life, unconstrained by

• slavish compulsion. You should not turn a deaf

• ear to the voice of any subject, who thus appeals to

• you for support : ' I am a Catholic ; I will not be a ' heretic : I am a Christian, and not an Arian : I ' would rather Lose my life, than allow the tyranny ' of any man to corrupt the purity of my faith/ "

When some people spoke to Hilary in favour of those who had been traitors to the Church, and had been disloyal to Jesus Christ, in order to keep in the good graces of the Emperor, they ventured to tell the Saint, that their conduct was justifiable, on the ground that they had but obeyed the Law ! The noly Pontiff was indignant at this profanation of the persecutors for their inter-

29& word, and, in his Book against Auxenbius, courageously reminds his fellow Bishops of the origin of the Church — how her very establishment depended on the breaking of unjust human Laws, and how she counts it one of her glories to infringe all such Laws as would oppose her existence, her development, and her action.

" We have a contempt for all the trouble that men " of these days are giving themselves ; and I am " grieved to see them holding such mad opinions, as " that God needs mans patronage, and that the Church " of Christ requires to be upheld by an ambition, that " curries favour with the world. I ask of you Bishops, " what favour did the Apostles court, in order that " they might preach the Gospel ? Who were the "princes that helped them to preach Christ, and "convert almost the whole world from idolatry to "God? Did they, who sang hymns to God in " prisons and chains, and whilst bleeding from being "scourged, did they accept offices from the state? " Did Paul wait for a royal permission to draw men " to the Church of Christ ? Did he, think you, u cringe for the patronage of a Nero, or a Vespasian, " or a Decius, whose very hatred of our faith was the " occasion of its being more triumphantly preached 1 " These Apostles, who lived by the labour of their " own hands, who assembled the Faithful in garrets " and hiding-places, who visited villages and towns, " and well nigh the whole world, travelling over sea " and land, in spite of the Senate's decrees and Im- " perial Edicts — these men, according to your prin- " cipies, had not received the keys of the kingdom of u heaven ! What sav you to all this manifestation " of God's power in tne very face of man's opposition, " when, the more there was a prohibition to preach " Christ, the more that preaching was exercised V

But the time came, at last, to speak to the Emperor himself, and to protest against the system*

S94 whereby he aimed at making the Church a slave ; then did Hilary, who was exceedingly gentle in disposition, put on that holy indignation, which our Lord himself had, when he scourged the profaners of his Father's House, and drove them out of the Templa He braved every danger, and held up to execration the system invented by Constantius for insulting and crushing the Church of Christ. Let us listen to the language of his apostolic zeaL

" The time for speaking is come, for the time for " silence is past Let (jurist now appear, for Anti-

" into the fold, and a furious lion is prowling around " it. Let us prepare for martyrdom * * , for the

• angel of satan nath transformed himself into an

• angel of light. * *

" Why, 0 my God, didst thou not permit me to " confess thy holy Name, and be the minister of " thine Only Begotten Son, in the times of Nero or

• Decian ? Full of the fire of the Holy Spirit, I u would not have feared the rack, for I would have " thought on Isaias, how he was sawn in two. I " would not have feared fire, for I would have said to " myself, that the Hebrew Children sang in their "fiery furnace. The cross and the breaking every " bone of my body should not have made me a coward, " for the good thief would have encouraged me, who " was translated into thy kingdom. If they had " threatened to drown me in the angry billows of the " deep ocean, I would have laughed at their threats, " for. thou hast taught us, by the example of Jonas u and Paul, that thou canst give life to thy servants

• even in the sea.

• Happy roe, could I thus have fought with men, " who professed themselves to be the enemies of thy

• rwune ; every one would have said, that they who

JAN. 14. ST. HILARY. J95

"had recourse to tortures, and sword, and fire, to " compel a Christian to deny thee, were persecutors; " and my death would have been sufficient testimony " to thy truth, O God ! The battle would have been " an open one, and no one would have hesitated to " call, by the honest name, these men that denied " thee, and racked and murdered us ; and thy people, " seeing that it was an evident persecution, would "have followed their Pastors in the confession of " their faith.

" But, now-a-days, we have to do with a disguised " persecutor, a smooth-tongued enemy, a Constantius " who has put on Antichrist; who scourges us, not " with lashes, but with caresses ; who instead of rob- " bing us, which would give us spiritual life, bribes " us with riches, that he may lead us to eternal death ; " who thrusts us, not into the liberty of a prison, but " into the honours of his palace, that he may enslave " us ; who tears, not our flesh, but our hearts ; who " beheads not with a sword, but kills the soul with " his gold ; who sentences not by a herald that we are " to be burnt, but covertly enkindles the fire of hell " against us. He does not dispute with us, that he "may conquer; but he flatters us, that so he may " lord it over our soula He confesses Christ, the " better to deny Him ; he tries to procure a unity " which shall destroy peace ; he puts down some few " heretics, so that he may also crush the Christians ; he " honours Bishops, that they may cease to be Bishops ; " he builds up Churches, that he may pull down the - Faith. • •

"Let men talk as they will, and accuse me of " strong language, and calumny : it is the duty of a " minister of the truth, to speak the truth. It what " I say be untrue, let me be branded with the name "of an infamous caluminator: but if I prove what " I assert, then am I not exceeding the bounds of " apostolic liberty, nor transgressing the humility of

" a successor of the Apostles, by speaking thus, after "so long observing silence. * • No, this is not " rashness, it is faith ; it is not inconsiderateness, it " is duty ; it is not passion, it is conscience.

• I say to thee, Constantius, what I would have said " to Nero, or Decius, or Maximian : You are fighting u against God, you are raging against the Church, " you are persecuting the saints, you are hating the " preachers of Christ, you are destroying religion, you " are a tyrant, not in human things, but in things " that appertain to God Yes, this is what I should " say to thee as well as to them ; but listen, now, to "what can only be said to thyself: Thou falsely " callest thyself a Christian, for thou art anew enemy " of Christ ; thou art a precursor of Antichrist, and a " doer of his mystery of iniquity ; thou, that art a u rebel to the faith, art making formulas of faith ; " thou art intruding thine own creatures into the " sees of the Bishops ; thou art putting out the good ''and putting in the bad. * * By a strange in- " genious plan, which no one had ever yet discovered,

• thou hast found a way to persecute, without making " Martyrs.

" We owe much to you, Nero, Decius, and " Maximian ! your cruelty aid us service. We con- " quered the devil, by your persecutions. The blood " of the holy Martyrs you made, has been treasured " up throughout the world, and their venerable relics " are ever strengthening us in faith by their mute " ceaseless testimony. * * But thou, Constantius,

• cruel with thy refinement of cruelty, art an enemy " that ragest against us, doing us more injury, and "leaving us less hope of pardon. * * Thou de- " privest the fallen of the excuse they might have " had with their Eternal Judge, when they showed " Him the scars and wounds they had endured for " him, for perhaps their tortures might induce him w to forgive their weakness. Whereas, thou, most u wicked of men ! thou hast invented a persecution, u which, if we fall, robs us of pardon, and, if we

• triumph, does not make us Martyrs !

« * * • gee t^eGj javeQous wo\ff under thy

" sheep's clothing. Thou adornest the sanctuaries of M God s temples with the gold of the State, and thou " offerest to Him what is taken from the temples, or " taxed by edict, or extorted by penalty. Thou re- " ceivest his Priests with a kiss like that which

• betrayed Christ. Thou bowest down thy head for " a blessing, and then thou usest it to trample on our "Faith. Thou dispensest the clergy from paying " tributes and taxes to Caesar, that thou mayest bribe " them to be renegades to Christ, foregoing thy own " rights, that God may be deprived of His 1

Glorious Hilary ! thou didst well deserve that thy Church of Poitiers should, of old, address to thee the magnificent praise given by the Roman Church to thy illustrious disciple, St. Martin : " 0 blessed " Pontiff ! who with his whole heart loved Christ our 44 King, and feared not the majesty of emperors ! O " most holy soul ! which, though not taken away by " the sword of the persecutor, yet lost not the palm " of martyrdom !" If the Palm of a Martyr is not in thy hand, yet hadst thou a Martyr's spirit, and well might we add to thy other titles, of Confessor, Bishop, and Doctor, the glorious one of Martyr, just as our holy Mother the Church has conferred it upon thy fellow-combatant, Eusebius, who was but Martyr in heart like thyself. Yes, thy glory is great; but it is all due to thee for thy courage* in confessing the Divinity of that Incarnate Word, whose Birth and Infancy we are now celebrating. Thou hadst to stand before a Herod, as had the Magi, and, like them, thou fearedst not: and when the Caesar of those times banished thee to a foreign land, thy soul found comfort in the thought, that the Infant Jesus, too, was exiled into Egypt. Oh ! that we could imitate thee in the application of these Mysteries to ourselves !

Now that thou art in heaven, pray for our Churches, that they may be firm in the Faith, and may study to know and love Jesus, our Emmanuel. Pray for thy Church of Poitiers, which still loves thee with the reverence and affection of a child ; but since the ardour of thy zeal embraced all the world, pray, also, for all the world. Pray that God may bless his Church with Bishops powerful in word and work, profound in sacred science, faithful in the guardianship of that which is intrusted to them, and unswerving defenders of Ecclesiastical Liberty.

January 15. ST. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT.

To-day, the Church honours the memory of one of those men, who were expressly chosen by God to represent the sublime detachment from all things, which was taught to the world by the example of the Son of God, born in a Cave, at Bethlehem. Paul the Hermit so prized the poverty of his Divine Master, that he fled to the desert, where he could find nothing to possess and nothing to covet. He had a mere cavern for his dwelling ; a palm-tree provided him with food and clothing; a fountain gave him wherewith tc quench his thirst; and heaven sent him his only luxury, a loaf of bread brought to him daily by a crow. For sixty years did Paul thus serve, in poverty, and in solitude, that God, who was denied a dwelliag on the earth he came to redeem, and could have but a poor Stable wherein to be born.

But God dwelt with Paul in his cavern ; and in him began the Anchorites, that sublime race of men, who, the better to enjoy the company of their God, denied themselves, not only the society, but the very light, of men. They were the Angels of earth, in whom God showed forth, for the instruction of the rest of men, that he is powerful enough, and rich enough, to supply the wants of his creatures, who, indeed, have nothing but what they have from Him. The Hermit, or Anchoret, is a prodigy in the Church, and it behoves us to glorify the God who has produced it. We ought to be filled with astonishment and gratitude, at seeing how the Mystery of a God soo made Flesh has so elevated our human nature, as to inspire a contempt and abandonment of those earthly goods, which heretofore had been so eagerly sought after.

The two names, Paul and Antony, are not to be separated ; they are the two Apostles of the Desert ; both are Fathers — Paul of Anchorites, and Antony of Cenobites ; the two families are sisters, and both have the same source, the Mystery of Bethlehem. The sacred Cycle of the Church's year unites, with only a day between their two Feasts, these two faithful disciples of Jesus in his Crib.

The Church reads in her Office, the following abridgment of St. Paul's wonderful Life.

Paulua, Eremitarum auotor et magister, apud inferiorem Thebaidem natus, cum quindecim easet annoruin, orbatus parentibus est. Qui postea declinandae causa persecutionis Dccii et Valerian i, et Deo liberius inserviendi, in ererai speiuncam se contulit : ubi, pal ma ei victum et vestitum praebente, visit ad centesimuin et decimuui tertium annum: quo tempore ab Antonio nonagenario Dei admonitu invisitur. Quibus inter se, cum antea non nossent, proprio nomine consalutantibus, et multa de regno Dei colloquentibus, corvus, qui antea semper dimidiatum panem attulerat, integrum detulit.

Post corvi discessura

Paul, the institutor and master of Hermits, was born in Lower Thebais. He lost his parents when he was fifteen years of age. Not long after that, in order to escape the persecution of Decius and Valerian, and to serve God the more freely, he withdrew into the desert, where he made a cave his dwelling. A palm-tree afforded him food and raiment, and there he lived to the age of a hundred and thirteen. About that time, he received a visit from Antony, who was ninety-years old. God bade him visit Paul. The two Saints, though they had not previously known each other, saluted each other by their names. Whilst holding a long conversation on the kingdom of God, a crow, which every day brought half a loaf of bread, carried them a whole one.

When the crowhad leftthem,

JAN. 15. ST. PAUJ

Paul said : "See ! our truly good " and truly merciful Lord has " sent us our repast. For sixty " years, I have daily received " a half loaf ; now, because "thou art come to see me, " Christ has doubled the por- " tion for his soldiers." Wherefore, they sat near the fountain, and, giving thanks, they eat the bread ; and when they were refreshed, they again returned the accustomed thanks to God, and spent the night in the divine praises. At daybreak, Paul tells Antony of his approaching death, and begs turn so and bring the cloak, which Athanasius had given him, and wrap his corpse in it. As Antony was returning from his cell, he saw Paul's soul going up into heaven, amidst choirs of Angels, and a throng of Prophets and Apostles.

When he had reached the hermit's cell, he found the lifeless body : the knees were bent, the head erect, and the hands stretched out and raised towards heaven. He wrapped it in the cloak, and sang hymns and psalms over it, according to the custom prescribed by Christian tradition. Not having a hoe wherewith to make a grave, two lions came at a rapid pace from the interior of the desert, and stood over the body of the venerable Saint, showing how, in their own way, they lamented his death. They began to tear up the earth with their feet, and seemed to strive to outdo each

Eia, inquit Paulus, Dominus nobis prandium misit vere pius, vere misericors. Sexaginta jam anni sunt, cum accipio quotidie dimidii panis fragraentum ; nunc ad adventum tuum militibus suis Christus duplicavit annonam. Quare cum gratiarum actione ad fon* tern capientes cibum, ubi tantisper recreati sunt, iterum gratiis de more Deo actis, noctem in divinis laudibus consumpserunt. Diluculo Paulus de morte, quae sibi instaret. admonens Antonium, hortatur, ut pallium, quod ab Athanasio acceperat, ad involvendum suum corpus afferret. Quo ez itinere rediens ille, vidit inter Augeloruin choros, inter Propbetarum et Apostolorum ccetus, Pauli animam in cesium ascendere.

Cumque ad ejus cellam pervenisset, invenit genibus complicatis, erecta cervice, eztensisque in altum manibus corpus examine : quod pallio obvolvens, hymnosque et psalmos ex Christiana traditione decantans, cum sarculum, quo terram foderet non haDeret ; duo leones ex interiore eremo rapido cursu ad beati sen is corpus feruntur : ut facile intelligeretur, eos, quo modo poterant, ploratuni edere ; qui cerUtim terram pedibus effodientes, foveam, qua hominem commode caperet, effecerunt. Qui cum abiissent, Antonius sanctum cor-

SOS locum intulit: et injects humo, tumulum ex christiano tunicam vero Pauii, quam in sport® modum ex palma folks ille sibi contexuerat, secum auferens, eo vestitu diebus soiemnibus Paschae et Pentecostes, quoad vixit, est. pas in earn more composuit : us as other in the work, until they had made a hole large enough to receive the body of a man. When they had gone, Antony carried the holy corpse to the place, and covering it with the soil, he arranged the grave after the manner of the Christians. As to the tunic, which Paul had woven for himself out of palm-leaves, as baskets are usually made, Antony took it away with him, and, aa long as he lived, wore it on the great days of Easter and Pentecost

We give three stanzas of the Hymn sung by the Greek Church in honour of our Holy Hermit. We take them from the Mensea. xv. DIE

Quando, nutu divino, Pater, vitsa 8ollicitudine sapienter reliquisti, et ad ascesis labores transisti, tunc gaudens in via occupasti deserta; aastu innammatus amoris Domini ; ideo deserens libidines, in meliorum perseverantia rerum, Augelo similis, vitam duxiati.

Ab omni humana teipsum, Pater, societate segregans ex adolescentia, primus omnino aolitudinem, Paule, occupasti ultra quemcumque soutane viventem, et per to tarn vitam visas es incognitus ; ideo Anton i us te uivenit nutu divino tarn-

JAXUABII.

When, O Father! thou didst by divine inspiration, wisely leave the cares of this life, and devote thyself to the laboursof an ascetic, thou didst joyfully enter the trackless desert. Inflamed with the heat of divine love, thou didst abandon human affections, and, Angel-like, didst spend thy life in the persevering search after more perfect things.

Father ! thou didst, from thv early youth, separate thyself from all human society, and wast the first to live m the desert, surpassing all other Anchorets. Thou, Paul, didst pass thy whole life unknown to men ; therefore was An* tony divinely inspired to go in search of thee, as the hidden quam latentem, et orbi ter-

Saint ; he found thee and re- rarum manifestavit. vealed thee to the whole earth.

A life unknown to the Insolit» in terra conver- world was thine, O Paul ! the sationi deditus, Paule, cum wild beasts were thy compa- bestiis habitasti, avis minis- nions, and a bird, sent thee terio divinavoluntateutens; by God, ministered to thee, et hoc ut vidit quando to

When the great Antony maximus invenit Antoniua, found thee, and saw all this, stupens, omnium et Prophe- he was filled with wonder, and tarn et Magistrum, quasi never ceased speaking thy Deum, te sine intermisaione praises, as a Prophet and the magnificavit Teacher of all men, and as a something divine.

Father and Prince of Hermits ! thou art now contemplating in all his glory that God, whose weakness and lowliness thou didst study and imitate during the sixty years of thy desert-life : thou art now with him in the eternal union of the Vision. Instead of thy cavern, where thou didst spend thy life of unknown penance, thou hast the immensity of the heavens for thy dwelling ; instead of thy tunic of palm-leaves, thou hast the robe of Light ; instead of the pittance of material bread, thou hast the Bread of eternal life ; instead of thy humble fountain, thou bast the waters which spring up to eternity, filling thy soul with infinite delights. Thou didst imitate the silence of the Babe of Bethlehem by thy holy life of seclusion ; now, thy tongue is for ever singing the praises of this God, and the music of infinite bliss is for ever falling on thine ear. Thou didst not know this world of ours, save by its deserts ; but now, thou must compassionate and pray for us who live in it ; speak for us to our dear Jesus ; remind him how he visited it in wonderful mercy and love ; pray his sweet blessing upon us, and the graces of perfect detachment from transitory things, love of poverty, lovo of prayer, and love of our heavenly country.