From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
July 13th - Saint Eugenius, Bishop of Carthage
=C2 (Died 505)
In the year 481, the episcopal see of Carthage had been vacant for
24 years, when Huneric, barbarian King of the African Vandals,
decided to allow the Catholics to fill it, provided certain
conditions be met. The people, impatient to enjoy the consolation
which a pastor would bring to the church, chose Eugenius, a citizen of Carthage, eminent for his learning, zeal, piety and prudence. His
charities to the distressed had already been very abundant, and in his
new office he refused himself the slightest convenience, in order to
be able to give all he had to the poor.
His virtue gained him the respect and esteem even of the Arians; but
at length envy and blind zeal overcame their better sentiments, and
Huneric sent Saint Eugenius an order never to sit on the episcopal
throne, preach to the people, or admit into his chapel any Vandals,
even if Catholic. The Saint courageously replied that the laws of God
commanded him not to shut the door of His church to any who desired to
serve Him there. The Vandal king, enraged at this answer, persecuted
the Catholics in various ways. Many nuns were so cruelly tortured that
they died on the rack. Great numbers of bishops, priests, deacons, and
eminent Catholic laymen were banished to a desert filled with
scorpions and venomous serpents. Many also were put to death.
During this persecution the people followed their bishops and priests
to execution with lighted tapers in their hands. Mothers carried their
little infants in their arms and laid them at the feet of the
confessors, crying out with tears, =E2=80=9COn your way to receiving your crowns, to whom do you leave us? Who will baptize our children? Who
will impart to us the benefit of penance, and free us from the bonds
of sin by the grace of reconciliation and pardon? Who will bury us
with solemn prayers at our death? By whom will the divine Sacrifice be offered?=E2=80=9D By the intervention of Providence, Saint Eugenius was liberated on the very scaffold, but exiled to an uninhabited desert in
the province of Tripoli and committed to the guard of Anthony, an
inhuman Arian bishop. The latter treated him with the utmost
barbarity, shutting him up in a narrow cell and allowing no one to
visit him. Before entering that prison, however, he had found a way to
write to his diocesans a splendid letter, in which he said: =E2=80=9CIf I return to Carthage, I will see you in this life; if I do not return, I
will see you in the other. Pray for us and fast, because fasting and
almsgiving have always obtained the mercy of God; but remember above
all, that it is written we must not fear those who can kill only the body.=E2=80=9D
When a new king named Gontamund succeeded Huneric, he recalled Saint
Eugenius to Carthage, opened the Catholic churches, and allowed all
the exiled clergy to return. After reigning twelve years, Gontamund
died, and his brother Thrasimund was called to the crown. Under that
prince Saint Eugenius was again banished. He died in exile in France
on July 13, 505, in a monastery which he had built and governed, at
Albi, near Toulouse. Saint Gregory of Tours assures that many miracles
occurred at his sepulchre.
Reflection: =E2=80=9CAlms shall be a great [source of] confidence before th=
e
Most High God, for those who give. Water quenches a flaming fire, and almsgiving opposes sin.=E2=80=9D (Holy Bible - Tobias 4:12)
Sources: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on
Butler's Lives of the Saints, and other sources
Saint Quote:
The Church teaches us that mercy belongs to God. Let us implore Him to
bestow on us the spirit of mercy and compassion, so that we are filled
with it and may never lose it. Only consider how much we ourselves are
in need of mercy.
-- Saint Vincent de Paul
Bible Quote:
Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God
for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions
and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's
righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which indeed you are suffering."=C2 [2 Thes 1:4,5,] DRB
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Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows
By St. Bridget
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a
martyrdom of love and grief, beholding the sufferings and sorrows of
Jesus! Thou didst co-operate in the benefit of my redemption by thy
innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His
only-begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my
sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive
thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to
save me, a sinner. Oh! make use of the unfailing intercession of thy
sorrows with the Father and the Son. that I may steadfastly amend my
life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins; and that, persevering till death in His grace, I may obtain eternal life through
the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.
Mother of love, of sorrow, and of mercy, pray for us.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)