Chapter 5. House in which Cecilia passed her youth

It is an ancient tradition of Christian Eome that the house in which Cecilia lived until she attained a marriageable age, was built upon the Campus Martius. A Church called St. Cecilia de Domo,* was erected at an early period upon the ground formerly occupied by the palace. It was rebuilt in the last century, through the liberality of Benedict XIII., as we will mention in its proper place, and the following inscription was taken from the ancient church, and engraven in mediaeval characters upon an antique cippus :

HAEC EST DOMVS m QVA ORABAT

SANCTA CAECILIA.f

The popular title (del divino amove) which has been attached to .this church forcibly reminds us that it was once the house of the Cecilii, which was truly a temple of divine love, during the years the virgin passed under its roof.

It is not surprising that the house of a patrician should have been built upon the Campus Martius, although ancient writers give us to understand that this immense tract of ground was destined for mili-

• See the certificate of Urban III., of the Calends of March, given in full by Fonseca. De Basilica S. Laurentii in Damaso. Page 252.

f This is the house where Saint Cecilia prayed. This inscriphas been removed to the Sacristy.

tary exercises. Many temples and public edifices were erected upon a large portion of it under the Emperors, and Augustus, in his sixth consulate, caused his celebrated mausoleum to be constructed between the Flaminian Way and the left bank of the Tiber, even beyond the locality where we have placed the palace of the Cecilii. This mausoleum was surrounded by groves of trees, designed for the amusement of the people.* Later, in the third century, many private dwellings, with gardens attached, being erected upon the plain, the Emperors were thwarted in the project they had conceived, of beautifying this region with an immense and sumptuous portico, the pillars of which should reach to the Milvian Bridget This field for military exercises, was consequently more and more circumscribed, so that nothing prevents our believing that, during the reign of Alexander Severus, the Cecilii family erected a palace upon ground already covered with public and private edifices, and situated this side of the site where Augustus, two centuries previous, had built his superb mausoleum. We, therefore, implicitly believe the tradition respecting the situation of the Cecilii palace.^ In this magnificent dwelling, deco-

• Suetonius, in Augusto. cap. 100. f Julius Capitolinus and Trebellius Pollion, cited by Canina. Ibid, page 439.

t We may also add that there was no reason for pointing out in Rome, the house in which Cecilia lived before her marriage, unless an ancient and venerable tradition had been really attached to the place where the church of St. Cecilia de Domo was afterwards built. Rome was sufficiently rich in the possession of the house where St. Cecilia consummated her sacrifice. This incontestable monument sufficed for the piety of the faithful ; there was no necessity of gratuitously imagining the existence of a house upon the Campus Martius. 5*

rated with all the splendor of Eoman pomp, sursounded by the trophies and crowns of her ancestors, Cecilia, despising the ostentation and attractions of the age, practised with perfect fidelity, the divine law which Christ came to establish upon earth. History throws no light upon the means used by the Holy Spirit to win her to this celestial doctrine ; but we know that from her earliest infancy, she was initiated in the mysteries of Christianity. Probably an aged relative, or faithful nurse, previously illuminated by the true light, instructed the young girl in the principles of that faith, the profession of which, in those days, almost necessarily involved the sacrifice of earthly happiness.

Although Cecilia's parents were Pagans, they do not appear to have opposed the attachment of their daughter to a religion which was daily gaining ground in Eome, and which had followers even in the imperial household. Either through tenderness or indifference, they permitted her to practise her religion, and attend the assemblies of the Christians. During the respite from persecution, a calm which was but the precursor of a storm, Cecilia publicly attended the celebration of the divine mysteries in the churches where the faithful were wont to assemble. She frequented the crypts of the martyrs, where the festivals of those Christian heroes frequently gathered the faithful of Eome ; and the poor, who were entrusted with the secret of St. Urban's retreat, knew her well, and promptly delivered all her messages.

The Christians of this period lived in continual expectation of martyrdom; the thought of it seemed a necessary element in all tlieir plans for tlie future ; even as a sailor, who commences a long sea voyage, lias ever present to his mind the dangers of a storm. Cecilia did not shrink from this prospect, so formidable to nature. On the contrary, she found rest and consolation in the thought that martyrdom would unite her forever to Christ, who had deigned to choose her from the bosom of a Pagan family, and to reveal himself to her. Whilst awaiting the happy summons, her heart was constantly united to that of her divine Master, with whom she held colloquies day and night.* Eavished with the charms of this interior communication, she sought Him at all times in the holy oracles, and the book of the Gospels, hidden under her garments, ever rested on her heart.f She derived from this sacred contact, a supernatural courage which elevated her above the weakness of human nature, whilst the vivifying unction of the words which are spirit and life (John vi., verse 64.) was communi-

• Non diebus, non noctibus, a colloquiis divinis et oratione cessabat. Acta S, Cecilice, edit, of Bosio (1G00) and of Laderchi (1723).

f This custom of the first Christians, of carrying the Gospel concealed under their garments, was still preserved in the fourth, and fifth centuries. St. Jerome speaks of it as being very frequent among the Christian females, (in Matthaeum, lib. iv. ad caput xxiii. 6.) and St. John Chrysostom says : They wore it suspended around their necks. (Ad populum Antioch. Homil. xix. n° 4.) We find remains of this pious practice among the Irish Catholics, who, during their travels, or while ill, are in the habit of wearing the opening verses of the Gospel of St. John, (verses 1 — 14.) printed upon a sheet of paper. At the present time, when so many emigrate to America, it is probable that scarcely one could be found, who has not this sacred text sewed in his garments.

cated to her. The hand of the celestial spouse could alone claim the privilege of culling this fresh and fragrant flower from among the thorns of the Gentiles, and he inspired the heart of Cecilia with a love worthy of that which he had shown her by dying upon the cross. The virgin fully responded to the advances of her God, and vowed in her heart never to accept a mortal spouse. It is not known whether she received from St. Urban the sacred veil which Pudentianaand Praxedes had worn with honor, and which formed the most beautiful ornament of many Eoman virgins. Cecilia may have privately made, in the secrecy of her own heart, the sacrifice of human affections, to consecrate herself to an eternal love. The spouse who had called her to be the bride of heaven, accepted her vows, and awaited in eternity, the day of their union. But where will this young maiden, whose soul is in heaven while her feet still tread the earth, find a protector in this most profane of cities, and in the bosom of a Pagan family ? The Spouse she has chosen will defend His bride ; He has commanded her guardian angel to appear to her ; this celestial messenger has assured Cecilia of his protection ; he will shield her from the world and its perils. She will be conscious that he is ever at her side, ready to strike with his avenging arm, the rash mortal who would presume to touch the treasure of heaven.

However, the virgin could not expect to gain without combat the nuptial crown destined for her ; and she was soon called upon to merit it by a painful trial. Adorned with every natural grace, faint image of the beauty of her soul, Cecilia was fitted for the most illustrious alliance. Her parents, proud of their daughter, determined to unite her in marriage to some noble patrician. Incapable of understanding the sublime love which consumed the heart of Cecilia, and the ties which bound her to heaven, they sought for her an earthly spouse, and thus compelled the bride of Christ to receive a mortal bridegroom.

Marriages between Christians and Pagans still occurred at this epoch ; though they sometimes led into difficult situations, they were often the instruments employed by God, to gain the infidel party to the true faith. The Church, however, conformably to the Apostolic doctrine,* strongly disaproved of them ; necessity alone could excuse the faithful who contracted them.f Cecilia, as we have said, was forced by the imperious will of her parents, notwithstanding her vow of virginity, tc marry a young pagan. The wisdom and greatness of God could alone triumph over so painful a situation.

Valerian was the name of the young Eoman, destined, according to human views, to receive the hand of Cecilia. His noble birth, handsome person, and generous qualities, seemed to render him worthy such an honor, and he ardently longed for the day, when he would possess the treasure coveted by so many young patricians. The happy bridegroom had a brother, named Tiburtius, whom he loved with that ingenuous and devoted affection which was one of the principal features of his character. It made him

• II. Cor. vi. 14. f We find nevertheless many celebrated examples after the third century ; In the fourth, St. Monica married Patricius, a Pagan. In the fifth, St. Clotilda married Clovis, happy to think that his "anion with Cecilia would strengthen the tender bonds which united them. The two brothers were not mistaken in their hope ; but God alone knew to what an extent the love planted in their hearts by Cecilia, would surpass all earthly affection ; and how soon these two brothers and their sister would pass to a region where pure souls are united in the bosom of infinite love.