tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-186928102024-03-21T11:42:05.234-05:00Gloria RomanorumBook reviews, Catholic commentary, late Roman history, homeschooling, politics, and more!Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.comBlogger610125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-49928297763443430362024-03-14T18:58:00.008-05:002024-03-15T08:50:29.665-05:00A Review of Cabrini -- A saintly biopic marred by boring Hollywood tropes<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtTllFrfn55ru9J6kJNsMzAfnt0jnNhbsAqyKYP3ci4yRKyuI-N5sU8C-3GJc_jpSkLliOxfF9gvtn-LtChW4AXQ0-HWlTZV17g5TbzqCo0Uf7nkKAn9p_ufU6xxLD9d3ORg5LrtxA0mVk-bQmeKNy1qjL-GePPvOTqLWFEKaHHkZvqKesSRri" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="783" data-original-width="1523" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgtTllFrfn55ru9J6kJNsMzAfnt0jnNhbsAqyKYP3ci4yRKyuI-N5sU8C-3GJc_jpSkLliOxfF9gvtn-LtChW4AXQ0-HWlTZV17g5TbzqCo0Uf7nkKAn9p_ufU6xxLD9d3ORg5LrtxA0mVk-bQmeKNy1qjL-GePPvOTqLWFEKaHHkZvqKesSRri=w503-h259" width="503" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mother Cabrini (played by Cristiana Dell'Anna) receives the reply of <br />Pope Leo XIII (played by Giancarlo Giannini)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />My wife and I went to see <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14351082/">Cabrini</a> last night. Given the mixed yet passionate reaction to the film by a variety of folks whose opinions I respect, I was looking forward to it. Having now seen it, I think the mixed reaction is completely appropriate.<p></p><p>My reaction was also mixed, though tending more toward the negative. </p><p>On the positive side, the film had a lot of spoken Italian in it which was fun. It was also well acted and beautifully shot, with a moving soundtrack that reminded me of a cross between The Village and Master and Commander. Though there have been some complaints that Catholic spirituality is not overtly put into the mouth of a Catholic saint (a valid complaint to be sure), Catholic spirituality saturates the background of the film. There are crosses and other Catholic symbols in practically every scene, and several scenes take place in beautiful Catholic churches and buildings. So we end up with some beautiful Catholic settings for a not particularly Catholic film.</p><p>The lead role was well played by Cristiana Dell'Anna who provided a convincing likeness of Mother Cabrini. Pope Leo XIII is played sympathetically by Giancarlo Giannini, though I thought he resembled Pope Pius IX more than Leo XIII.</p><p>That said, I felt that the film was too dark and brooding for the story of a Catholic saint. The first third of the film is purposely dark, focusing on Mother's illness and all of the "no" answers she receives from the men who are in positions of authority over her. The film does lighten up in spots, but the overall ambience is darkness and obscurity.</p><p>What truly drove Mother Cabrini was left largely unexplored. The inferences one must draw from the film are the typical boring Hollywood tropes -- follow your heart; don't let the naysayers get you down; I am woman, hear me roar. The film presents a woman primarily motivated by an altruistic desire to help other Italians. So rather than being driven by the Gospel message of Jesus Christ to take care of the poor, Mother is portrayed, rather, as the celibate CEO of an Italian NGO in America. There is also an insinuation that she is at least partly driven by spite. Every time she faces an obstacle, the Cabrini in the film hears in her head an admonition given early in the film by a patriarchal archbishop: "Stay where you belong." This very worldly urge, rather than any divine inspiration, seems to motivate her to do bold things.</p><p>The film also spent considerable time building up the Italian immigrant-as-victim trope. While nativist sentiments were no doubt major obstacles for the first waves of Italian immigrants coming to America, there was another issue at play that the film studiously avoids: the hatred of Catholics by the largely Masonic ruling elite. (This particular angle was effectively brought to the fore in the film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566501/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">For Greater Glory</a>, another imperfect though more inspiring film.) Though forty years after the height of the KnowNothing period when Catholic churches were torched in several cities, there was still a strong antipathy toward Catholics among the upper echelons of American society that persists to this day. While it wasn't long before Italians were accepted as Americans, devout Catholics have never really been. If you need evidence of that, consider <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2016/10/abp-chaput-calls-for-clinton-to.html">the overtly anti-Catholic emails of Hillary Clinton campaign chair, John Podesta in 2016,</a> or how <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/judiciary-committee-uncovers-multiple-fbi-field-offices-coordinated-prepare">our current "Catholic" president's Department of Justice classifies traditional Catholics among potential terrorist groups</a>. </p><p>As other reviewers have pointed out, the filmmakers also managed to turn Mother Cabrini into something of a Mary Sue. Whatever she accomplishes, she does via the force of her own powerful will. She draws her strength not from God nor from the Gospel, but from within herself. That is not a Catholic mentality at all, and I'm sure the real Mother Cabrini would have been horrified at being portrayed that way. This seems to have been done in service to a narrative that is not in keeping with the actual life of the saint.</p><p>Finally, the ending of the film was anti-climactic and strange. </p><p>SPOILER ALERT -- stop here if you don't want to read what happens at the end...</p><p>In the movie, Mother Cabrini achieves her final victory via political blackmail -- threatening the mayor of New York that she will unleash a negative publicity campaign against him and work to get him defeated in the next election unless he allows her hospital project to go forward. She also indicates that she is willing to help him if he helps her -- a sort of "pay to play" arrangement. The fictitious Mayor Gould (who is portrayed effectively by John Lithgow as a racist political animal) is impressed by Mother's rather savvy tactics and agrees to her terms. I have no idea how much of this scenario is based on reality, but it didn't strike me as a particularly fitting denouement to a biopic of a Catholic saint. </p><p>So overall, I give Cabrini two stars. It's worth watching once, but having now seen it, I have no desire to see it again. Instead, I'll go and read more about <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2024/03/the-intense-catholic-spirituality-of.html">The Intense Catholic Spirituality of Mother Cabrini.</a></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-66305252192028454582024-03-09T14:06:00.000-05:002024-03-09T14:06:05.497-05:00The Intense Catholic Spirituality of Mother Cabrini ~ "How grateful we should be to Christianity, which has raised the dignity of woman."<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9-7HKVYP7pS6CF7wngtpiz4fAWqRRL03UhgYBhzcQ7x865gguP6ZW1PnPdigu3DQlPvXURSOHgv2iGbT8ozRUn66ULdNcu765baXoq8NpM4OmXbB6PxZ2XEikHk-qoQTBGWX1E7w1FdeGICF1STCYIzk7t5TjdolCWo0aIKeg5BCDzzQLkPo/s564/Mother%20Cabrini.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="564" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP9-7HKVYP7pS6CF7wngtpiz4fAWqRRL03UhgYBhzcQ7x865gguP6ZW1PnPdigu3DQlPvXURSOHgv2iGbT8ozRUn66ULdNcu765baXoq8NpM4OmXbB6PxZ2XEikHk-qoQTBGWX1E7w1FdeGICF1STCYIzk7t5TjdolCWo0aIKeg5BCDzzQLkPo/w470-h292/Mother%20Cabrini.jpeg" width="470" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini from the frontispiece <br />of <i>Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini</i>.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Yesterday marked the opening of a new film by Angel Studios — <a href="https://www.angel.com/movies/cabrini">Cabrini</a> — and the film has already generated an impressive amount of buzz. Considering the Catholic content of the film, this is somewhat surprising but in a very good way.</p><p>I haven't seen the film yet, but I intend to over the next week. I'm told that local theaters are basically sold-out this weekend.</p><p>Of course, nothing produced with religious content is without controversy. Cabrini is being promoted as a sort-of feminist anti-Barbie, which is an interesting tactic. This indicates that the filmmakers are attempting to broaden the audience beyond the Christian core, out to the larger market of pop-culture agnostics and nones. Of course, that tactic will not please everyone, and one of the criticisms of the film that has already emerged is that the feminist angle is played up to the detriment of the spiritual angle. Indeed, it is claimed that the film makes almost no reference to Mother Cabrini's intense spiritual life.</p><p>Again, I haven't seen the film yet, so I can't comment on that. If Mother Cabrini's spiritual life is cast into shadow by the film, that is a shame. However, it nevertheless presents a golden opportunity to set the record straight. Anyone who has their curiosity piqued by the film should certainly delve deeper into the life and works of this holy apostle to the Italian immigrants.</p><p>Interested viewers might take a look at her letters which may be found in a book from the 1940s entitled <i>Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini: Foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus</i>. Following is an example which demonstrates how much Mother Cabrini's thoughts were permeated through-and-through by the power of Almighty God and how, for her, every event was an inspiration to advance in the spiritual life.</p><p>This charming letter was written from aboard a steamer en route from Paris to New York in 1890, and addressed to "her dear daughters" — the Missionary Sisters of The Sacred Heart, The Alumnae and Students of the Teachers' College in Rome. By this point, Mother and her sisters had been on the water for three days and were encountering rough seas:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Monday, April 21st. </p><p>Here we are; the see-saw has started, moved by the almighty hand of God: willy nilly we have to play the game. Yesterday about five o’clock in the afternoon the sea began to be a real sea. It was not possible to stand on your feet without leaning on something for support. Already five hours have elapsed since Sister Eletta began to pray God to calm the sea. But now, seeing such a frightful spectacle, she is lost for words, and thinks the best thing to do is to go to bed as the other Sisters have done. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>I remain firm and always keep on deck. I made them laugh so much that Sister Eletta said she felt almost better. After supper, about six o’clock, I wanted to see the other good Sisters, and, following their example, I began to feel sea-sick. Patience! Twice I was obliged to resign myself to their company. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Sister Assunta looks like a soul full of thoughts and weariness. Sister Giovannina is always laughing, even when she is very sick. Sister Agostina also smiles. Sister Bernardina is just like one dead, so is Sister Battistina! Sister Ignatius tries to endeavour to follow my example, but after a time she has to run for her life, or else stay in the cabin so as not to fall. Of all the passengers on board, both men and women, only six or seven come to the table. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>It is dreadful if we do not try to resist this sickness; the best plan is to stay on deck; even if it rains, it is better to remain in the open. Last night, I stayed until after midnight, partly dressed (because I believed a storm was threatening), so as to be ready to save myself and all; but the good God is continually watching over His Spouses. The great swing subsided though the gale beat all round us. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>I rose early this morning to go on deck to view the wonderful spectacle. Oh! how beautiful is the sea in its great motion! How the waves swell and foam! Enchanting! The wind is, however, favourable, and the boat goes so quickly, it seems to fly. If you could only see the waves! None of us could stay at the stern because the waves swept over the vessel at every moment. At the bows it is not so bad, and, stretched in an armchair, I can write fairly well. A single wave could submerge all, but He Who has created the sea and has commanded it to rise like mountains, would not permit His beloved creatures to be drowned, much less His loving Spouses. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>God loved us before He created the sea; nay, He created the sea itself for our use and pleasure. He has chosen us for His Spouses, and we have answered His call, attracted by His infinite lovableness. Let us remain, my daughters, entirely subject to Him, conquered by His love; and let us run swiftly in His footsteps. The good God has perpetually loved us with the love of predilection, so let us love Him and serve Him with joy during the few days of our life. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>If you were all here with me, dear daughters, to cross the immense ocean, you would exclaim, ‘‘Oh, how great and loving is God in all His works!'’ But the ocean of graces, oh, my daughters, that the good Jesus pours down upon us, in every instant of our life, is immensely superior to anything in nature. All natural splendours are eclipsed by the abundance of riches which God showers upon His beloved Spouses. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>Let us venerate and love, then, our excellent state, and let us examine ourselves frequently and remove all defects that are unbecoming the Virgins of Christ, so that our Beloved may quickly introduce us into the Holy of Holies and plant charity in our souls. [<a href="https://archive.org/details/travelsofmotherfrancesxaviercabrini/page/n23/mode/2up"><i>Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, </i>pages 5-6</a>]</p></blockquote><p>Here is an excerpt from another letter by St. Frances Cabrini, deeply imbued with the wisdom of one who knows that children must be brought up in virtue. This one addressed to the students of the Teachers' College in Rome, and dated May 1904:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">How great, noble, exalted, is the mission you are called to accomplish in this world! To you. Our Divine Lord addressed the words He spoke to His Apostles one day, "I have chosen you so that you will bear fruit and that your fruit will remain.” </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Reflect a little with me on the predilection of God for you in this call, "I have chosen you," not "you have chosen Me." In fact, He did not wish that during your studies you should be exposed to the poisonous atmosphere of the world. He has drawn you into His own House, so that you could breathe into your souls its salubrious atmosphere. There you prepare yourselves for the mission you are to fulfill in Society. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">To many of you, already, we may say, despite our great regret at parting from you, "Go and bear fruit," for you are already fortified against the world’s dangers by the solid instruction you have received. But what fruit will you bear? However small your experience is of the world, still you see that the multitude is insensible, forgetting God. But how much good cannot a wise teacher do to repair this, the greatest of evils, if to her mental culture and her intellectual gifts she adds that of a soul solidly founded and frankly Christian and religious. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">She knows as the immortal and lamented Pontiff Leo XIII, said that we cannot renew Solomon’s judgment on the child by the cruel and unjust separation of the intellect and the will. She knows that while she cultivates her mind, she is bound to direct her will at acquiring virtue to obtain the last end. She knows that those who have not received in their early years the impressions of Religion, grow up without having even the slightest idea of those high truths which alone can awaken in them the love of virtue and the control of the passions. She then makes her sweet influence felt in the school, aided by the grace of the Holy Ghost, and silently mould those young hearts which, soft as wax, are ready to receive impressions. Here you perceive the great responsibility of those who neglect their duty, for it is difficult to eradicate these early impressions. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">This is the fruit which you are called upon to bring forth in the Church, with this difference, however, that whilst a simple teacher has only to instruct her class of children, you have the responsibility of educating the future teachers, and consequently have a wider field wherein to sow your seed, which will thus spread more rapidly and bear more fruit. As such you are associated with the great work of the Christian Apostolate. Thus you enter the ranks of those generous champions who at the command of our great Leader and His Vicar on earth, fight bravely to restore the world to Christ.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">How far the world is from Him who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, is better understood by one who has to travel so to speak, from one end of the world to the other. [<a href="https://archive.org/details/travelsofmotherfrancesxaviercabrini/page/n249/mode/2up"><i>Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, </i>pages 239-240</a>]</p></blockquote><p>This letter also contains a brief reflection on the history and nature of womanhood which, given the film's seeming focus on feminism, it seems appropriate to quote. In this reflection, Mother Cabrini begins with her observation of the status of women among the Coeur d’Alenes, an American Indian tribe of eastern Washington State, as follows:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>The Indian woman, as in all those nations which have not received the light of faith, has to work while the man quietly smokes his pipe. The poor woman and mother of many little ones, who are too small to stand, is forced to tie her offspring round her waist in a sack, and in this unconventional way has to do her washing. If the baby cries, she moves it with a shrug of her shoulders and thus quiets it. This is the way the Indian baby is fondled.</p><p>See how grateful we should be to Christianity, which has raised the dignity of woman, re-establishing her rights, unknown to the pagan nations. Until Mary Immaculate, the Woman by excellence, foretold by the prophets, sighed for by the patriarchs, desired by the people. Dawn of the Sun of Justice, had appeared on earth— what was woman?</p><p>But Mary appeared, this new Eve, true Mother of the Living, elected by God to be the Co-Redemptrix of the human race, and a new era arose for woman. She is no longer a slave, but equal to man; no longer a servant, but mistress within her domestic walls; no longer the object of disdain and contempt, but raised to the dignity of Mother and Educator, on whose knee generations are built up. [<a href="https://archive.org/details/travelsofmotherfrancesxaviercabrini/page/n255/mode/2up"><i>Travels of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, </i>pages 245</a>]</p></blockquote><p>This was the spirituality of Mother Cabrini. Nowhere near the destructive creed of modern feminism, but hewing closely to the ideal of Christian womanhood.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-47222525667122622112024-03-06T15:34:00.004-05:002024-03-09T12:28:10.174-05:00Belisarius and Procopius celebrate the defeat of the Goths at the Siege of Rome, March of AD 538 ~ An excerpt from Belisarius, Book III: Rome the Eternal<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivAVNicYJDE26zDW9TYdudEqWHyTbAqlChL-MjWgpYKT0kXg-uNvxFsn6F6ucPt_sQ0gg7PvVA-R8fJXwrRz2vlIYQyr9DHiCMv7M80WGi7UEV7BnjYd-HDI9sg4S_QFkFcIR7hpyewQrshJUWT40lvd8x7isCddabLVcBTILfU62NIdYRl0XN" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="365" data-original-width="512" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEivAVNicYJDE26zDW9TYdudEqWHyTbAqlChL-MjWgpYKT0kXg-uNvxFsn6F6ucPt_sQ0gg7PvVA-R8fJXwrRz2vlIYQyr9DHiCMv7M80WGi7UEV7BnjYd-HDI9sg4S_QFkFcIR7hpyewQrshJUWT40lvd8x7isCddabLVcBTILfU62NIdYRl0XN=w441-h314" width="441" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belisarius and Procopius chat atop the Pincian Gate in Rome. <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image created using <a href="http://hotpot.ai/art-generator">hotpot.ai/art-generator</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />In March of the year AD 538, the late Roman general, Belisarius, pulled off one of the most incredible feats in military history: he successfully defended the massive city of Rome—with its 12 miles of circuit walls—with a scant 5,000 soldiers, against a vast army of Goths that outnumbered his own some 15 or 20 to 1. Indeed, by the time the Gothic King Vitiges broke up the siege after twelve frustrating months, it had become unclear which side was the besieged and which was the besieger. Unable to prevent the Romans from bringing in supplies or leaving the city in force, Vitiges found himself bogged down with a stubborn fortified city in front of him, and far flung enemy cavalry units ravaging his supply lines behind him, threatening to cut him off from his base in Ravenna.<p></p><p>What did Belisarius do once it became clear that the Goths were abandoning their camps and moving out? Did he allow the reduced but still tremendous force of Goths to go in peace, counting himself blessed and fortunate that the city had withstood the prolonged siege against such heavy odds? </p><p>He did not. </p><p>Instead, he rode out with every available man and attacked the Gothic rear-guard. </p><p><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/03/belisarius-smashes-retreating-goths.html">I recorded Procopius's eye-witness account of the end of the siege in a previous post here.</a></p><p><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Belisarius, Book III: Rome the Eternal</a></i>, provides a dramatized description of this action with Belisarius's biscuit-eaters Longinus and Mundilas leading the charge. Mundilas is injured, while Longinus is killed despite amazing acts of valor. This much is recorded in Procopius's <i>History of the Wars</i>. I embellished the action in the novel.</p><p>Here is an excerpt from the novel, presenting a scene on the walls of Rome in the immediate aftermath of the Gothic withdrawal. In this scene, Belisarius has an opportunity to speak privately with his secretary, Procopius of Caesarea—the man who would go on to become the most important historian of the Justinianic period.</p><p>I had fun writing this scene. I hope you enjoy it!</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> End of Chapter XXXI...</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Belisarius secured the gatehouse at the Milvian Bridge that he had been forced to cede when the Gothic host first arrived the previous March. With that act, the great siege of Rome came to an end. Belisarius entered the city to cheering throngs, many of whom had ventured out of the gates to watch the battle from the protection of the tree line. The ecstasy of the Romans was tempered only by the arrival of a cart bearing Mundilas and Longinus—the first gravely injured, the second slain. Meeting the bereaved men of Longinus, Belisarius offered his sincere sympathy, weeping along with them without shame.</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Later, Belisarius stood alone atop the Pincian Gate, for once gazing into the city, not outward toward the Gothic camps now in ashes. As the celebration continued unabated well into the night, Belisarius insisted that the gates be manned and the guards be sober, lest the Goths sneak into the city via stratagem while its inhabitants were lulled into a drunken slumber. To drive home the point, Belisarius himself kept vigil all night on the walls.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Has the great wooden horse arrived yet, O Aeneas?” Procopius laughed. He made his way slowly and carefully up the stone steps, his tottering gait threatening to cast him fifty feet down.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“No sign of it,” Belisarius smiled, offering his secretary a strong hand up. “If you would warn me against it, though, be mindful of the fate of Laocöon. How are you at wrestling with snakes?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“I would fare no better than the ill-fated Trojan priest, I suppose,” Procopius sighed. “I fear serpents above all things. Here, I have brought you a drink—wine mixed with honey, and a good vintage, too.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Though I am on duty, I accept. From any hand but yours I might demur, old friend,” Belisarius replied, recalling the recent attempt to drug the gate guards using spiked wine.</p><p style="text-align: left;">The two stood in silence as Belisarius sipped.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Was it worth it?” Procopius intoned quietly, casting his bleary gaze over a large group of revelers carousing in the plaza below. “Was recovering this city worth the lives of Longinus and Principius and Tarmutus?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Don’t forget about Chorsamantis, Bochas and Cutilas,” Belisarius added. Poor Cutilas had lingered a month after suffering his gruesome head wound, only to perish of fever despite the best efforts of Theoctistus. “May Christ have mercy on their souls.” He made the sign of the cross on his forehead.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Maxentius, Petronius and Valentine, too,” continued Procopius. “And so many other good men.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“And Constantinus,” Belisarius added gloomily. “His unhealthy lust for plunder killed him as surely as any Gothic spear. But my answer is yes. This is the Eternal City of Rome, the birthplace of the Empire and the rampart of civilization. Had more good men been willing to give their lives to defend it in past ages, it would never have fallen under the sway of the barbarians to begin with.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“But if too many good men die, who...who...but wicked men and weaklings will remain to defend Rome?” Procopius asked with a tipsy stammer.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“God will raise up others as He raised up this generation. That is why what you are doing is of such great import.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“My letters to the praetorian prefect about the grain supply are pointless—irrelevant two weeks after they are written,” Procopius lamented.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Not your letters, friend. Your history.”</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhor-e4BDBNQkXI2tpXvS6-YlVgm4UZb3eA5Yi5tjDtyjZbObf87an_jLcZcorv2rhNKLOd1ayO39uHvwKw1jb4wp7kxZFBwY5KbTlg7iJV1uURbxJI9oVhauWz9NUnjTwxeNTcbkttO0MqFS3orcXQ8gYnND3xchYI2htG4Ks-HpCWmNF4qPO/s320/Belisarius3Cvr.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Click here for more information.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>“That disorganized pile of waste paper?” Procopius replied, the wine loosening his tongue. “Alas, your words earlier today—was it really today? It feels like weeks ago—your words have put a worry into my heart. What will the ending be? Will our astounding run of blessed good fortune continue? Or will some great disaster turn the tale into an awful tragedy? Or worse, will a sequence of little disasters grind us down into abject failure. You know, when my mood turns this way, I have considered destroying all my notes and abandoning the work completely.”<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">“Am I truly speaking with the same man who said that he was writing a history to be read for a thousand years?” Belisarius replied in amazement. “Has our victory in the siege somehow drained your cask of optimism?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Even victories, it seems, come with a cost in noble lives lost that can never be replaced,” Procopius sighed. “Writing about the death of yet another hearty soul like Longinus makes me never want to write again.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“That is not well at all,” Belisarius chided, turning deadly serious. “You must persevere and continue to write without flinching and without despair, no matter what outcome God has ordained for our campaign. For if those men died in this cause, their deaths will not be in vain if their names are recorded for posterity so that those who read in the far distant future, hundreds or thousands of years from now, may remember and admire their acts.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Of course, you are right,” Procopius grimaced, focusing his eyes on a bonfire burning outside the city. “The purpose of history is to give the future examples of valor to imitate and perfidy to despise. And certainly, the acts of Principius and Longinus did just that.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“So then you will continue?” Belisarius asked, exhaling a vaporous cloud into the chilly night air.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Yes, I will continue, Magister,” Procopius replied pensively. “Though I will pray hard that my history doesn’t devolve into a dreary chronicle of disasters and obituaries.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Indeed,” Belisarius nodded. “I will do my very best to make sure that you are well supplied with noble deeds and heroic victories to record.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Procopius smiled a little sadly, but remained silent. <i>Would that you had the power to ensure that, O Magister.</i></p></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">If you want to see how things turn out for Belisarius, check out <i>Book III: Rome the Eternal</i> which is available from <a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Arx Publishing here</a>, on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Belisarius-Rome-Eternal-Paolo-Belzoni/dp/1935228277/">Amazon.com here</a>, on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Belisarius-Book-III-Rome-Eternal-ebook/dp/B0CVMRNBXT">Amazon Kindle here</a>, and <a href="https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/belisarius-paolo-a-belzoni/1144388817?ean=9781935228271">other</a> bookselling websites.</div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-8822694663238893922024-02-03T15:01:00.005-05:002024-02-03T16:56:10.194-05:00Is the floor of Hell paved with the skulls of bishops? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjguAe-QHngAicXhAzx1witQ3tHtuRXHWDhrCmjo0BMxZ1On-7Yxx-SLvWVKZ_FvGPD2ZlAl9qWJX8jQWiilRx_hR1tfPaWu7UHLgQyAxwMW1TknVIGmrS5SbOXvgXhTj09FD946B60NWImKAeF4pDArNOMv1qLUYX4byecftzHq1GYVkfMAhQJ" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="581" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjguAe-QHngAicXhAzx1witQ3tHtuRXHWDhrCmjo0BMxZ1On-7Yxx-SLvWVKZ_FvGPD2ZlAl9qWJX8jQWiilRx_hR1tfPaWu7UHLgQyAxwMW1TknVIGmrS5SbOXvgXhTj09FD946B60NWImKAeF4pDArNOMv1qLUYX4byecftzHq1GYVkfMAhQJ=w426-h315" width="426" /></a></div><br />The well-used quote: "The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops," may be found in a variety of forms. Perhaps the most colorful version of it is: "The road to Hell is paved with the bones of priests and monks, and the skulls of bishops are the lamp posts that light the path."<div> <div>This saying has been attributed to one of several Fathers of the ancient Church and to Protestant revolutionaries from more recent times. Most often, it is claimed to be from the writings of St. Athanasius or St. John Chrysostom. After a thorough search, I have come to the conclusion that this saying is of more modern provenance, likely originating from a Protestant polemic which made very liberal use of a homily from St. John Chrysostom. <div> </div><div>So to respond to the question posed in the title of this post: Is the literal floor of Hell paved with the literal skulls of bishops? The answer is: No, probably not as such.</div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>That said, I looked up the homily of St. John Chrysostom to which this quote is often attributed, and what I found there is, perhaps, even more daunting than the rhetorically evocative version that most folks are familiar with. The work in question is St. John's Third Homily on the Acts of the Apostles. The passage in question is the following which I am pasting here for future reference:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><b>"I do not think there are many among Bishops that will be saved, but many more that perish:</b> and the reason is, that it is an affair that requires a great mind. Many are the exigencies which throw a man out of his natural temper; and he had need have a thousand eyes on all sides. Do you not see what a number of qualifications the Bishop must have? To be apt to teach, patient, holding fast the faithful word in doctrine [see <a href="https://drbo.org/chapter/61003.htm">1 Timothy 3:2-9</a>; <a href="https://drbo.org/chapter/63001.htm">Titus 1:7-9</a>]. What trouble and pains does this require!</div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">And then, others do wrong, and he bears all the blame. To pass over every thing else: i<b>f one soul depart unbaptized, does not this subvert all his own prospect of salvation?</b> The loss of one soul carries with it a penalty which no language can represent. For if the salvation of that soul was of such value, that the Son of God became man, and suffered so much, think how sore a punishment must the losing of it bring! And if in this present life he who is cause of another's destruction is worthy of death, much more in the next world. Do not tell me, that the presbyter is in fault, or the deacon. <b>The guilt of all these comes perforce upon the head of those who ordained them.</b></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"> </div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">Let me mention another instance. It chances, that a bishop has inherited from his predecessor a set of persons of indifferent character. What measures is it proper to take in respect of bygone transgressions (for here are two precipices) so as not to let the offender go unpunished, and not to cause scandal to the rest? Must one's first step be to cut him off? There is no actual present ground for that. But is it right to let him go unmarked? Yes, say you; for the fault rests with the bishop who ordained him. Well then? Must one refuse to ordain him again, and to raise him to a higher degree of the ministry? That would be to publish it to all men, that he is a person of indifferent character, and so again one would cause scandal in a different way. <b>But is one to promote him to a higher degree? That is much worse.</b></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"> If then there were only the responsibility of the office itself for people to run after in the episcopate, none would be so quick to accept it. But as things go, we run after this, just as we do after the dignities of the world. That we may have glory with men, we lose ourselves with God. What profit in such honor? How self-evident its nothingness is! When you covet the episcopal rank, put in the other scale, the account to be rendered after this life. Weigh against it, the happiness of a life free from toil, take into account the different measure of the punishment. I mean, that even if you have sinned, but in your own person merely, you will have no such great punishment, nothing like it: <b>but if you have sinned as bishop, you are lost." </b></p></blockquote><p>Read the entire <a href="https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/210103.htm">Third Homily of St. John Chrysostom on Acts of the Apostles</a> here.</p><p>What more is there to say, really? Except this -- may our bishops understand the gravity of what they do when they preach that which is contrary to traditional Church doctrine and morality.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-22898118890502261222024-01-19T11:22:00.002-05:002024-01-19T11:27:59.204-05:00"Why is the believing Catholic not subject to neurosis?" A question posed to Karl Jung in 1939<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gYuF2JoudcMMxtJkm6QnQTuRFmTiaslVBquZnxKGW5go6ntc__wbUcN-wmWXet_h_W_IPlQMJ8CS_7zNPgq-4l8M2Fayv9XRcs9BafofuG8p8q0mP2GKroqFLgV2LtbszNhQoDv7usvRkjUUw9mu95IJd5DLiajYBohE8SEMSv1Gae3INQvj/s754/8cumin.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="754" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gYuF2JoudcMMxtJkm6QnQTuRFmTiaslVBquZnxKGW5go6ntc__wbUcN-wmWXet_h_W_IPlQMJ8CS_7zNPgq-4l8M2Fayv9XRcs9BafofuG8p8q0mP2GKroqFLgV2LtbszNhQoDv7usvRkjUUw9mu95IJd5DLiajYBohE8SEMSv1Gae3INQvj/w481-h319/8cumin.jpg" width="481" /></a></div><p>Social media grenade-launcher <a href="https://twitter.com/MattWalshBlog">Matt Walsh</a> recently posted the following on his FaceBook page: </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"Many people claim to know for a fact that the practice of psychotherapy has been deeply helpful to humanity. To those people, I ask: If therapy is generally so helpful, and more people than ever are doing it, then why are people less able to deal with hardship and cope with suffering than ever before? Is it because our lives are really so much more difficult?" </p></blockquote><p>It's a fair question.</p><p>It's certainly hard to make the case that our lives are so much more difficult than, say, those of our Great Depression era grandparents or great-grandparents. </p><p>Add to this the fact that despite the ubiquity of mental health services in American society, we are in the midst of an ongoing and worsening mental health crisis, particularly among the young. It's almost as if the expansion of mental health services has in some way contributed to the proliferation of mental illness. </p><p>Thousands of articles like the following have been written over the past half-decade examining the problem and ultimately failing to come up with good answers:</p><p><a href="https://www.eviemagazine.com/post/over-50-percent-white-liberal-women-under-30-mental-health-condition">Over 50% Of Liberal, White Women Under 30 Have A Mental Health Issue. Are We Worried Yet?</a></p><p><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/depression-rates-us-adults-reach-new-high-gallup/story?id=99387994">Depression rates among US adults reach new high: Gallup</a></p><p><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-health-matters/202311/rates-of-depression-and-anxiety-are-rising-in-young-people">Rates of Depression and Anxiety Are Rising in Young People</a></p><p>Many will no doubt blame the mental health crisis on a host of pop-politico-cultural bugbears: sexism, student debt, racism, transphobia, the COVID shutdowns, MAGA-terror, etc. But could the core reason for this epidemic of mental illness be that fewer people than ever before in the West are practicing Catholics who make regular and devout use of the sacraments of the Church? </p><p>Now before you dismiss this possibility out of hand, I'd like to call your attention to a talk by one of the primordial psychoanalysts of the early 20th century, Carl Gustav Jung. </p><p>Jung was the offspring of a Swiss Lutheran pastor. Several of his uncles were also Protestant pastors, and it was expected that Carl himself would find a career in the ministry. Instead, Jung rejected Christianity and entered the nascent world of psychotherapy as it was developing under Sigmund Freud. During his life, <a href="https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=4676">Jung had numerous spiritual experiences</a>, nearly all of which a believing Catholic might consider encounters with the demonic.</p><p>All this is to say that Carl Jung was no great friend of Catholicism. </p><p>And yet, in a lecture he gave in London in April of 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of the Second World War, Jung was asked to offer insights on why the believing Catholic was not subject to neurosis, or at least not to the same extent as, say, Protestants or Jews. Jung's answer is fascinating:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">"You have heard that I said Roman Catholics are less threatened by neurosis than members of other religious confessions. Of course, there are Catholic neurotics just as well as others, <b>but it is a fact that in my forty years of experience I have had no more than six practicing Catholics among my patients.</b> Naturally, I do not count all those who <i>have been</i> Catholics, or who <i>say</i> that they are Catholics but who do not practice; but of practicing Catholics I have had not more than about six. That is also the experience of my colleagues. In Zurich we are surrounded by Catholic cantons; not quite two-thirds of Switzerland is Protestant and the rest is Catholic. And then we have on the frontier Southern Germany, which is Catholic. <b>So we should have a fair number of Catholic patients, but we have not; we have very few....</b></p><p style="text-align: left;">"...Now, I have spoken of my own experience in this field, but recently statistical researches have been made in America about the very same question, but from another angle. It is a sort of appreciation of the amount of complexes, or complex manifestations, you find in people. You find the least or the smallest number of complex manifestations in practicing Catholics, far more in Protestants, and the most in Jews. This is absolutely independent of my own researches; a colleague of mine in the United States made these researches and that bears out what I have told you. [See more on this below.]</p><p style="text-align: left;">"<b>So there must be something in the Catholic Church which accounts for this peculiar fact.</b> Of course, we think in the first place of confession....The fact is that there are relatively few neurotic Catholics, and yet they are living under the same conditions as we do. They are presumably suffering from the same social conditions and so on, and so one would expect a similar amount of neurosis. There must be something in the cult, in the actual religious practice, which explains that peculiar fact that there are fewer complexes or that these complexes manifest themselves much less in Catholics than in other people. <b>That something besides confession, is really the cult itself. It is the Mass,</b> for instance. The heart of the Mass contains a living mystery, and that is the thing that works. When I say "a living mystery," I mean nothing mysterious; I mean mystery in that sense which the word has always had—a <i>mysterium tremendum</i>. And the Mass is by no means the only mystery in the Catholic Church."</p></blockquote><p>Of course, by "the Mass", Jung was referring the Traditional Latin Mass as it was known everywhere by Catholics prior to the late 1960s. After a tangent during which Jung elaborates on ancient symbolism as found in Catholic ritual, he returns to confession with this very curious passage:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">"When a practicing Catholic comes to me, I say, 'Did you confess this to the father-confessor?' </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">Naturally he says, 'No, he does not understand.' </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">'What in hell, then,' I say, 'did you confess?' </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">'Oh, lousy little things of no importance'—but the main sins he never talked of. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">As I have said, I have had quite a number of these Catholics—six. I was quite proud to have had so many, and I said to them, "Now, you see, what you tell me here, this is really serious. You go now to your father-confessor and you confess, whether he understands or does not understand. That is of no concern. It must be told before God, and if you don't do it, you are out of the Church, and then analysis beings, and then things will get hot, so you are much better off in the lap of the Church." </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">So you see, I brought these people back into the Church, with the result that the Pope himself gave me a private blessing for having taught certain important Catholics the right way of confessing." [Source: <i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=x6_gBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA267">C. G. Jung, The Collected Works, Volume 18: The Symbolic Life</a></i>, beginning on page 267]</p></blockquote><p>God only knows if what Jung says above regarding the Pope giving him a private blessing is actually true. His account has a pretty thick overlay of hubris, so it is perhaps best to take it with a grain of salt.</p><p>But the fact remains that this former Lutheran spiritualist psychoanalyst who occasionally had communication with potentially demonic beings was astounded by the psychological resilience of practicing Catholics. </p><p>I looked up the American study Jung cited and found out that it was part of a 1938 work entitled <i><a href="https://archive.org/details/explorations-in-personality-by-the-late-henry-a.-murray-dan-mc-adams-z-lib.org-1/page/739/mode/2up">Explorations in Personality: A Clinical and Experimental Study of Fifty Men of College Age</a></i> by Henry A. Murray. Murray was another mid-20th century psychological researcher who was no great friend of Catholics. In his conclusion, Murray writes:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The Catholic subjects were conspicuously more solid and secure....There was relatively little anxiety-linked material bubbling up in the minds of the Catholics. Their repressions were firmer and what occurred in their depths could only be inferred indirectly by interpreting their projections. It was as if their faith in an ultimate authority relieved them of the necessity of independently resolving fundamental issues. Their unconscious fears, one might say, were quieted by the hovering presence of the maternal Church. And if they were unable sometimes to live up to the precepts of their religion, they knew that forgiveness was always at hand. A secret, remorseful confession and once more they would be beneficently accepted members of the flock. It might be supposed that the irrational unconscious tendencies of these Catholics were so satisfactorily interpreted by a wise, human and altogether forgiving Church that they never knew what it was to feel themselves alone and forsaken in a maelstrom of incommunicable feelings and ideas. In the rationalized fantasy system of an effective Church there is a place for everything, and the faithful communicants do not have to face—and thus become conscious of and wrestle with—the naked impulses of their own souls. The problem of good and evil is settled and only the problem of moral will remains. Our Catholic subjects were relatively happy, free from neurotic symptoms, blissfully self-deceived, superficial in their psychological discernments, and always competent to clothe raw facts in the rational vestments of their faith."</p></blockquote><p>Were they really "self-deceived"? Or had they adopted a faith that allowed them to see the world as it truly is, understand it, and react to the challenges presented by life in healthy and resilient ways? Given that Murray's later career included abusive experiments on college students, one of whom was apparently so damaged that he went on to achieve infamy as the Unabomber, I'm not particularly concerned about his judgments on self-deception.</p><p>Sad to relate, those very aspects of Catholicism which formed such mentally strong men and women in the past—the Mass, the rituals, the sacraments and confession in particular—were all watered down and de-emphasized in the aftermath of the 1960s. The result has been that today's Catholics, practicing or otherwise, seem just as susceptible to mental illness as the rest of society. </p><p>Nevertheless, we can hear echoes of this resilience even today. Anecdotally, some of the most emotionally and psychologically solid people I have ever known may be found among that relatively small remnant of Catholics who steadfastly practice the faith with reverence and devotion. Never have I encountered a group of people who have endured so much personal suffering with such abiding grace. I am continually amazed at how many of these good people are struck with truly gut-wrenching family tragedies. And yet, they are able to endure, heal, and carry on, trusting that Christ will always be with them and that their departed loved ones are even now praying for them before the heavenly throne of God Almighty.</p><p>It is not controversial to observe that many of the current-day princes of the Catholic Church have wandered far from the traditional teachings and practices of the Church. Perhaps if these men would pause their awkward shamble after adolescent sexualized mysticism, they might realize that the ancient practice of Catholicism which they largely discarded in the 1960s was among the greatest treasures that God has ever gifted to mankind. </p><p>At the very least, we can posit that the traditional practice of Catholicism is a way to comprehend the triumphs and tragedies of human existence that does not ultimately drive men mad. </p><p>The same can not be said for the neurotic mess that modern Western secular culture has become.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-33393445342995025662023-11-26T14:24:00.001-05:002023-11-26T14:28:38.972-05:00One should never forget about the Persians ~ The Eternal Peace between the Roman Empire and Persia is broken after 8 years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFG7Pl6OfAmDvxR1tnTmjEtnA2Yefxl3eMq4x5T2SFAeiHm6FFj7h8gz1Vep6Z1htG66b7m03giVqDCrYsgexouVuRVUWb7dq-Sa2wZQC6joSMRCo97djU-dg4K2e6629BkCo_ev4sEKbQjOXPqShz8iJMYjUxEXaSBeSWn7gMVKWeuaQ0DxhO/s700/87aw87.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="449" data-original-width="700" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFG7Pl6OfAmDvxR1tnTmjEtnA2Yefxl3eMq4x5T2SFAeiHm6FFj7h8gz1Vep6Z1htG66b7m03giVqDCrYsgexouVuRVUWb7dq-Sa2wZQC6joSMRCo97djU-dg4K2e6629BkCo_ev4sEKbQjOXPqShz8iJMYjUxEXaSBeSWn7gMVKWeuaQ0DxhO/w456-h292/87aw87.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><br />
When Justinian secured the so-called "Eternal Peace" with the Persians in AD 532 after the <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2013/04/this-day-in-christian-roman-history.html">Battle of Daras</a>, it is likely that he realized that the peace on his eastern frontier would not actually be perpetual. But he probably thought it would last longer that seven or eight years. In any event, the emperor made the most the respite, gathering his substantial forces from the east which had previously been on station to face down the Persian menace, and readying them for a thrust to the West.<div><br /></div><div>His first target was the Vandal Kingdom which had ruled Roman Africa for nearly 100 years. Squatting upon one of the richest provinces of the Empire, the Vandalic realm had been a thorn in the Romans' side. Their acts of piracy were legendary, extending even to the sack of the city of Rome itself in AD 455. The stars aligned for Justinian in AD 533. The Vandal throne was occupied by a usurper named Gelimer who was reputedly unfriendly to the Romans. Justinian furthered this instability by instigating rebellions throughout the Vandal realm, while at the same time, mustering an army under the command of his bold Master of Soldiers, Belisarius, to strike at the seat of the Vandal government in Carthage. Landing safely in Africa (a trick that previous Roman commanders had failed to accomplish) Belisarius was victorious at the Battles of <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2016/09/on-september-13-in-year-of-our-lord-533.html">Ad Decimum</a> and <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/12/belisarius-routs-vandalic-host-at.html">Tricamarum</a> and, having captured Gelimer, he returned to Constantinople in triumph.</div><div><br /></div><div>Within a year of this signal victory, however, Justinian was already planning an even greater campaign. It so happened that the situation in Ostrogothic Italy was also unstable. King Athalaric, grandson of King Theodoric the Great, had perished before his time in AD 534. The rule over the Kingdom of the Goths and Italians had then passed to his mother, Queen Amalasuntha, but as the Gothic nobles could not endure a woman ruling over them, Amalasuntha accepted marriage to her cousin, a weasel of a man named Theodatus, who was then crowned king. Within several weeks of this arrangement being formalized, Amalasuntha was dead, strangled in her bath. With such a weak character on the Ostrogothic throne, Justinian decided to make his move. He assembled two more armies to menace the Goths. The first, under Mundus, was to invade Dalmatia and threaten Gothic Italy from the north. The second, under Belisarius, would land in Sicily and march up the Italian boot from the south. </div><div><br /></div><div>Though things did not go as smoothly as during the Africa campaign, Belisarius was able to resist the full power of the Goths at the great <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2023/02/he-weathered-their-rage-like-some.html">Siege of Rome</a> and then <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/03/belisarius-smashes-retreating-goths.html">chase their retreating host</a> back to Ravenna. While Belisarius laboriously captured Gothic held fortified cities in central Italy, however, the new Gothic king, Vittiges, hit upon a strategy to relieve his beleaguered kingdom. He would send agents east to convince the Persians to end the Eternal Peace. </div><div><br /></div><div>For their part, the Persians had a young king who had taken the throne shortly after the Eternal Peace was originally promulgated. This man, King Chosroes I (or King Khosrow I), had now come of age, secured his kingdom, and was itching for a fight with the hated Romans. As Procopius relates, the Gothic ambassadors found willing ears for their suggestions at the Persian court:</div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;">When Chosroes heard [their arguments], it seemed to him that Vittigis advised well, and he was still more eager to break off the treaty. For, moved as he was by envy toward the Emperor Justinian, he neglected completely to consider that the words were spoken to him by men who were bitter enemies of Justinian. But because he wished the thing he willingly consented to be persuaded. [Procopius, <i><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_the_Wars/Book_II#II">History of the Wars</a></i>, Book II, Chapter II]</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div>Encouraged by the Gothic ambassadors, Chosroes unilaterally ended the Eternal Peace in AD 540 and invaded the Eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.</div><div><br /></div><div>With the bulk of his forces fighting in Italy and putting down still simmering rebellions in Africa, Justinian was caught with his pants down. Chosroes and his armies burst through the frontier and began demanding ransom from the Roman cities of the east, sacking any that resisted. Meeting hardly any resistance, he besieged the city of Antioch—the fourth largest city of the Empire after Rome, Constantinople, and Alexandria—and successfully captured and looted it in June of AD 540, returning to Persia with a long train of Roman captives.</div><div><br /></div><div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="396" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbIvrAQwc1J-5uQTade-nkkT2uSt0vV4L-4M3wezH7BoUK-nCteAzfqqAUP9acytdUTv2BH95S7kFv8o-rKPK3hKgsUsY_cZABHFU_PZW_-ZnIpZOdi7v677UVZPIEWdEwbUt4zHPL7AB44jK6NQjV1GxaQd5psHuR5ODZyCgd3kHxb2_QRevU/w129-h200/Belisarius3Cvr.jpg" width="129" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Click here for info.</span></a></td></tr></tbody></table>So the moral of the story is, "Don't forget about the Persians." And perhaps it's not completely fair to accuse Justinian of forgetting about them. If one reads Procopius, it seems clear that as soon as Justinian and his court were made aware of the dangerous Gothic overture to the Persians, he attempted to bring the war in Italy to an immediate conclusion, offering the Goths a remnant of their kingdom in northern Italy in exchange for peace. </div><div><br /></div><div>Belisarius thought this offer to be extravagant given the dire situation of the Goths at the time. How he settled things in Italy, the resulting delay, and the unfolding catastrophe in the East forms the climax of my most recent novel, <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Belisarius, Book III: Rome the Eternal</a></i>.</div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-25549316221770406172023-11-16T00:05:00.000-05:002023-11-16T00:05:33.461-05:00The Martyrdom of Pope St. Silverius -- Starved to death on the Island of Palmarola in AD 538<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZy0INByQ4mZvTb_3Kd-NEOdv2mbZeOk51IykgnKecVy-9GznbuGwp6nHpOzn5bpVQ_ixS0Xh-KMjyz8am_QGd8NQCIPkGRsMy77388ABlUd_fDupf43hbJeHMF3qx8qFX6WKi3rsX8DgEyoscDwgixzaf_EDI-qpDz0ENCTXAe7sA8C6qeO9s" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="693" data-original-width="1269" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZy0INByQ4mZvTb_3Kd-NEOdv2mbZeOk51IykgnKecVy-9GznbuGwp6nHpOzn5bpVQ_ixS0Xh-KMjyz8am_QGd8NQCIPkGRsMy77388ABlUd_fDupf43hbJeHMF3qx8qFX6WKi3rsX8DgEyoscDwgixzaf_EDI-qpDz0ENCTXAe7sA8C6qeO9s=w484-h265" width="484" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pope St. Silverius is deposed in AD 537. Artwork by Lori Kauffmann.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Throughout the history of the Church, several Popes have been deposed for a variety of reasons. <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/09/that-seat-of-peter-might-not-be.html">Pope Liberius was deposed and exiled</a> by the Arian emperor, Constantius II in the mid-4th century. Six hundred years later, <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2021/12/what-wonder-that-whole-world-was-prey.html">Pope Gregory VII was deposed by anti-Pope Clement III</a>, the creature of the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV. <p></p><p>During the reign of Justinian, Pope Saint Silverius, <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/06/pope-saint-silverius-resisted-state.html">who I have written about previously on this blog</a>, was not only deposed—he was martyred by the political forces who coveted his ecclesiastical power as head of the Church. In my previous post, I included an excerpt from the <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Popes-Liber-Pontificalis-Christian-Empire/dp/1889758868">Liber Pontificalis</a></i> that provided some extraordinary details of the event. Given that the <i>Liber</i> was first compiled in the late 6th century, possibly within living memory of the deposition, it is a solid source, and I used the account provided therein as the basis for that pivotal scene in <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Belisarius Book III: Rome the Eternal</a></i>.</p><p>Most of what we know of Silverius's brief reign comes from the <i>Liber Pontificalis</i> and the writings of Procopius. To the best of my knowledge, the only written work of Silverius that survives is <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-epitaph-of-pope-saint-hormisdas.html">an epitaph that he wrote for his father, Pope Saint Hormisdas</a>. After his deposition, Silverius was exiled to the city of Patara in Asia Minor. According to the account of Liberatus of Carthage in his <i>Breviarium</i>, it soon became clear to the resident bishop, a certain Licinius, that Silverius had been slanderously accused and wrongfully deposed. Licinius took it upon himself to go directly to Constantinople to advise the emperor Justinian of this fact. The bishop's effort had the desired effect because following this meeting, the emperor sent Silverius back to Italy to receive a proper trial.</p><p>But Silverius would never get the opportunity to defend himself. Upon his arrival in Italy, the deposed Pope was seized and hustled to the tiny island of Palmarola about 20 miles off the west coast of Italy, roughly halfway between Rome and Naples. </p><p>A craggy islet about a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, Palmarola is part of the Pontine Archipelago, a grouping of small islands which were used as places of exile during Roman times. One of the other islands in the group—known as Ventotene today and Pandateria in antiquity—once housed the disgraced Julia the Elder, daughter of Augustus Caesar. The same island also served as the place of exile for Agrippina the Elder, granddaughter of Augustus. Saint Flavia Domitilla, granddaughter of the emperor Vespasian, was also exiled there on suspicion of being a Christian.</p><p>But Pandateria at least has a harbor and some residents. Tiny Palmarola is uninhabited. It is said that Pope Silverius starved to death after being abandoned there. To this day, a shrine in his honor may be found on Palmarola. </p><p>Here is how I have described the scene in <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Belisarius: Rome the Eternal</a>. </i>Silverius is a recurring character in the first half of the book, and I have given him a fictional servant named Philo to serve as an interlocutor:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Chapter XXIX</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">“Something’s wrong,” Philo whispered. “The pilots were supposed to conduct us into the harbor, but instead, they are taking us back out to sea.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“We are in God’s hands, Philo,” Pope Silverius replied. “His will be done.” The Holy Father had become thinner since his exile in the east. A rough gray beard now covered his previously smooth chin. A raspy cough rattled in his chest, as he pulled his cloak tighter about him to ward off the chilly wind.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“That may be, but nevertheless, I am going to say something,” Philo persisted.</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmFuL4dEAZAzkb_4jG6lfw08g7pbpCdEWRySLhG2fXtnVmZgqGNcT2KsOSfKoyUZ_2Gd5rxsxYaYR2ma3KI8pIOhIQshJxH_WDEmrpilYdYiD6t3WqZUv8Ox5rRYV3_jrtqi_sJpNco8DtVJsg8FT5AWQFtAtgwf4IrIY8pUJj6nB-bW8ILpnw/s320/Belisarius3Cvr.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Click for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>“Friend, I beg you...” Silverius trailed off. But his servant was already making his way to the stern from whence the ship was conned. Silverius returned to his prayers, gazing out over the choppy sea. January was a terrible time for travel by sea and the sailors dreaded it. To this point, they had credited their unusually safe passage from Asia at this inauspicious time of year to Stella Maris smiling kindly upon their very special passenger. But their attitude had shifted after their arrival outside the harbor at Ostia. A large dromon had intercepted them and four men came across in a skiff, braving the rough seas. All aboard had assumed they were harbor pilots—until the ship’s prow was turned toward the south, back from whence they had come.<p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Striding with care along the pitching deck with Philo stumbling behind him, a hooded Calligonus approached Silverius with a stony expression. “My apologies but there has been a change of plans. It is too dangerous for you to land at Ostia now. We will therefore conduct you to a place of safety until the perils have passed.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Where?” Philo asked. “Neapolis? We seem to be sailing south.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Silverius said nothing. He recognized Calligonus immediately as one who had been present at his deposition and none too friendly.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Neapolis is not safe either, I’m afraid,” Calligonus said.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Safe for whom?” Silverius asked. “Belisarius and his wife? Or for Theodora, perhaps?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Calligonus gave a sly smile, bowed his head and walked away. </p><p style="text-align: left;">“What do you mean?” Philo said, clutching Silverius’s sleeve, alarm rising in his voice. “Where are they taking us, Holy Father?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“God knows,” Silverius replied.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Several hours of sailing brought them to within sight of a small islet with vaulting cliffs of sheer rock, almost white, emerging from a rolling azure sea. Using a combination of sail and oars, the crew maneuvered the ship to a sheltered spot about two bowshots offshore where they dropped anchor.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“May I present your new home,” Calligonus said as he once again approached Silverius and Philo.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Does this rock even have a name?” an agitated Philo asked.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“It is called Palmarola,” Calligonus replied. “I am told that no one lives there at all, so you will have a new patriarchal see all to yourself with plenty of gulls and lizards to hear your homilies. Now, if you please. I would ask you both to step smartly into the boat. Your basilica awaits.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Is there even any fresh water?” Philo cried.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“That’s a fair question,” Calligonus puzzled. “You will have to find out.” </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;">Pope Silverius and his servant climbed down into the heaving boat with friendly hands from the sailors, all of whom seemed to dread what was happening. “Remember us in your prayers, Holy Father,” one of them said softly. “What we do today we are forced to do.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Have no concern, my son,” Silverius replied. “Even Saint Peter was led where he did not wish to go.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Forgive us!” a few called aloud from the deck.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Silverius made the sign of the cross over the ship as the boat pulled away. “I shall always remember the kind sailors who risked the winter seas for me.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Moments later, the boat grounded on a beach of brown sand. The three henchmen of Calligonus hurried Silverius and Philo out of the boat, dumped some meager supplies on the beach, and hastened to row back to the ship. Within an hour, the ship had sailed out of sight.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Resigned to his fate, Silverius soon found a small grotto which would at least offer shelter and a place to pray if nothing else. He put the supplies in order and attempted to set up a place of repose for them that was somewhat protected from the chilly wind. Philo, meanwhile, made a circuit of the tiny island which did not take him long.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Based on what I have seen, we will starve within two weeks,” Philo declared. “Sooner if it doesn’t rain at all.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“I doubt I will last even that long,” Silverius said, suppressing a cough. Even the light work he had done had exhausted him.</p><p style="text-align: left;">“Perhaps they will drop food and water for us?”</p><p style="text-align: left;">“I don’t think so, my friend,” Silverius smiled a little sadly. “I think Our Lord Jesus has offered us the palm of a bloodless martyrdom. Let us embrace it, come what may.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Philo sighed, fingering the stiff fronds of a dwarf palm which he had collected during his walk. “A small, pathetic palm to match the stunted trees that clutter this tiny rock.”</p><p style="text-align: left;">Silverius smiled luminously. “There is no such thing as a small martyrdom. Let us fill this island with our prayerful voices so that blessings may flow from it for centuries to come.”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: left;">If you enjoyed that passage, you'll probably enjoy the entire book which is <a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">available for purchase at the Arx Publishing website</a>. Other excerpts from this book may be found at these links:</p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2023/02/he-weathered-their-rage-like-some.html">"He weathered their rage like some craggy rock in a howling tempest." ~ Belisarius and the lead-up to the Great Siege of Rome</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/07/saint-benedict-chases-devil-off-boulder.html">Saint Benedict Chases the Devil off a Boulder</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/03/march-23-ad-536-mutiny-of-justinians.html">"They went with all speed to the palace carrying weapons and raising a great tumult" ~ March 23, AD 536, Mutiny of Justinian's Army in Africa</a></li></ul><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1lLE1mfrddDd8zacksB4BmPSX4BgwaaX-t_MKyRoNP3wZq4S2Vp_e6Uy6Ri_nIj4Axdxmv_jKnj7xR_NtbP2gDGIVRR5KgvwddPoqp6duenGlX7t7B7b-C3zlGzunRfVL8MB0wNSXCmGLNCpeVRSL0B_xTcVSAlZ20yuSNstF35TXu1H8o2j3" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="827" data-original-width="1240" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg1lLE1mfrddDd8zacksB4BmPSX4BgwaaX-t_MKyRoNP3wZq4S2Vp_e6Uy6Ri_nIj4Axdxmv_jKnj7xR_NtbP2gDGIVRR5KgvwddPoqp6duenGlX7t7B7b-C3zlGzunRfVL8MB0wNSXCmGLNCpeVRSL0B_xTcVSAlZ20yuSNstF35TXu1H8o2j3=w421-h280" width="421" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Palmarola today. The shrine of St. Silverius is atop the peak at left.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-57391596704389746882023-11-08T00:15:00.003-05:002023-11-08T00:15:55.063-05:00At press: Rome the Eternal <p> I have not been able to post much over the past few months and here is the reason:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="396" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj21KxlziHe9aEHhE94CHeUBgGpt0A6DyjKcVW8mqwtednSKhKRNap3MGFrpfQ-kYetn49S9h9uMQGoQijN34AsD2vsZYHHkRbvs-Vwo6LVZDyLJ0xp4eQFKNnc8XqbpU0vJMR2SuyUEGBgaqWli4wmfGZovRIDd1aMMKrIwfYZJCvUTVI48Y4E/w308-h476/Belisarius3Cvr-1.jpg" width="308" /></a></div><p>Book III in my <a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Belisarius</a> series has just gone to press after 13 years of work. Good grief, that's a long time. </p><p>I'll be posting some excerpts over the next couple weeks as the official release date approaches. If you read the previous books and want to pre-order this one, <a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">have at it.</a></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-53782281411677136862023-10-11T22:16:00.008-05:002023-11-08T15:20:33.582-05:00A Little Flower grows in New Jersey ~ The story of Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2ZBatXPDrD_feUeD1Mzyh0HdkMM93_lqVwPlLHbOAcmbtcoI4irtRAkyxz5awYy3r1rA61LQPYVgLqRcaIJMgRTRY6oLKd7SAJfK8onGdgkRNgHRV4IaKWBVuFJ3gF35GnttKGiZeSa_ZOShDUpzWdgccTyqQnGraatTdK5o8YMWClcPCz6O/s841/Teresa%20Detail.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="841" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq2ZBatXPDrD_feUeD1Mzyh0HdkMM93_lqVwPlLHbOAcmbtcoI4irtRAkyxz5awYy3r1rA61LQPYVgLqRcaIJMgRTRY6oLKd7SAJfK8onGdgkRNgHRV4IaKWBVuFJ3gF35GnttKGiZeSa_ZOShDUpzWdgccTyqQnGraatTdK5o8YMWClcPCz6O/w476-h287/Teresa%20Detail.jpeg" width="476" /></a></div>Who is Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich? Do you know? I didn't. Sure, I had heard her name because she is included in <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Martyrology-Frederick-George-Holweck/dp/1935228137/">The American Martyrology</a></i> as part of the entry for May 8. But details about her life? I knew literally nothing. Of course, the primary reason for that was my woefully deficient Catholic education wherein we spent much time reading forgettable books by Judy Blume, and almost no time reading about the glorious history of Christendom or the lives of the saints.<p></p><p>And that's why I absolutely love books like <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower">An American Little Flower: Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich</a>.</i> Books like this are what American Catholic kids should be reading. Heck, they should have been reading them 40 years ago!</p><p>Similar to a book I reviewed previously, (see <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2023/07/among-laymen-none-are-superior-to-him.html" style="font-style: italic;">Pierre Toussaint: A Citizen of Old New York</a>), <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower">An American Little Flower: Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich</a>, </i>introduces young readers to the story of a little-known Catholic Blessed from the United States. Blessed Teresa lived practically unknown in and among our own grandparents and great grandparents, growing up in Bayonne, New Jersey during World War I and its aftermath. Her story opens a window into the hardworking immigrant communities of the 1910s and 20s as they struggled to make a better life for themselves and their children. Readers not only learn about Blessed Teresa's early life, her upbringing in the bosom of a loving family, her closeness with Christ and her call to the religious life, they also come to see how the outbreak of the Great War affected her family in very real ways. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="ttp://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="841" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu_WgIa7R5mRvoN-aojOHptdOQRbEfsBuzK7xigbJSCEHuGtcMU_Jam50wZSYNv7yCUttoCQghUpP4acsDSAYD5ErEzxzyuKLZSXxGZBcUynjFuqtjfvPb4dKsz9SC7X5Hv9923Ca0MWEFJdAa1A7kUByO4OjJQjfLiNmFc4pDO0pe9dl17dNc/s320/BlTeresa.jpeg" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="ttp://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower">Click here to find out more.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>One of the most interesting passages in the book has to do with acts of sabotage committed by German agents operating in the US. On June 30, 1916, a gigantic explosion rocked a munitions depot on Black Tom Island in New York Harbor. The shock from the explosion was so great that it was felt as far away as Philadelphia. Teresa and her family were much closer than that, so the event had a real impact. Worse, one of the culprits was believed to be a Slovak immigrant acting on behalf of the Central Powers. Given that the Demjanovichs were also Slovaks, this brought the event very close to home. The Black Tom explosion, along with other acts of German sabotage, would play a role in propelling the US into the Great War on the Allied side.<p></p><p>Another aspect of <i><a href="ttp://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower">An American Little Flower</a></i> that I particularly enjoyed was Teresa's devotion to Saint Therese of Lisieux. As the title of the book indicates, young Teresa was influenced by the life of the original Little Flower and her Little Way of holiness. Nothing quite inspires ordinary people to become saints like the examples of other saints. A similar message may be found in another book I that I read recently: <i><a href="https://tanbooks.com/products/books/unbreakable-saints-who-inspired-saints-to-moral-courage/">Unbreakable: Saints Who Inspired Saints to Moral Courage</a></i> by Kimberly Begg. The first saint mentioned in this book is St. Joan of Arc, who was herself inspired by St. Michael, Saint Margaret and St. Catherine. So it seems that Blessed Teresa Demjanovic could trace her lineage of sanctity back through St. Therese of Lisieux, through St. Joan, through Sts. Margaret, Michael and Catherine back to Christ Himself who is, of course, the ultimate inspiration for all the saints. One wonders what future saints Blessed Teresa will inspire?</p><p>This book is yet another very worthy entry in the august Vision Series, published by Ignatius Press. This is the second entry in the series written by author GinaMarie Tennant. If that name sounds at all familiar, it may be because I posted an author interview and review of Miss Tennant's first book, <i><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2021/08/catholic-homeschool-grad-authors-new.html">Louis and Zélie: The Holy Parents of Saint Thérèse</a></i> a couple years ago on this blog. As enjoyable as her first book was, I found <i>An American Little Flower</i> to be even more engaging. Perhaps this is because the main character was born and raised in New Jersey—as someone recently quipped to me, "If New Jersey can produce a saint, there's hope for all of us." Or maybe it was because the book focused on Blessed Teresa's early life which Miss Tennant seemed perfectly comfortable writing about.</p><p><i><a href="ttp://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#AmLittleFlower.">An American Little Flower</a></i> is highly recommended for young readers. No doubt this book will become a staple for Catholic homeschoolers and find its way into the various curricula. Assuming that Blessed Teresa will eventually be raised to the altars, Miss Tennant should be congratulated for making her name known to a wide audience in advance of that event.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-85836566749120652062023-09-18T22:20:00.002-05:002023-11-08T00:16:56.435-05:00A Prayer for the Synod on Synodality <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi05_SB26n-amkYfvf6u9chQxQbtwevveEn-sWU5s_4gJy4fTDjrFO6UCNOAkfDVxCspkN-uqXCNoIThqAR91tHzAlQ083RcizlXuD5-7wJoHsDQrkxYSr_JFIFKk2Fp2fVEdIfCuj69z7reb60pKOGXhaDSEaCHZTz8PR2-KA3XpmDXpZQ8Upb" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="817" data-original-width="1123" height="341" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi05_SB26n-amkYfvf6u9chQxQbtwevveEn-sWU5s_4gJy4fTDjrFO6UCNOAkfDVxCspkN-uqXCNoIThqAR91tHzAlQ083RcizlXuD5-7wJoHsDQrkxYSr_JFIFKk2Fp2fVEdIfCuj69z7reb60pKOGXhaDSEaCHZTz8PR2-KA3XpmDXpZQ8Upb=w467-h341" width="467" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mosaic of Christ casting demons out of a possessed man and into swine.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I have no plans to follow this event which, by its name alone, sounds like a gigantic exercise of corporate clericalism, and expanding clericalism to include a whole host of tedious aging radicals and busybodies from new demographics. Given the cast of characters who have been invited, I have zero hope for a good outcome. The best thing that can possibly come out of it is nothing—nothing but a ringing endorsement of what the Church already teaches and has taught for hundreds and thousands of years.</p><p>But the Holy Spirit often uses wicked and bad-intentioned men to work His Will in ways that none of us can comprehend or predict. So in that spirit, I offer this prayer to our Father in Heaven:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Almighty God, I pray that all who propose to speak on behalf of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church be granted the gifts of wisdom, charity, eloquence and clarity, that they may expound the eternal Truths of Jesus Christ and his Gospel persuasively and with zeal. </blockquote><blockquote>For any who attempt to alter, pervert or contradict those same eternal Truths, may a spirit of confusion descend upon them, may their efforts come to naught, and may they be shunned by all Christian men and women who desire the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ and the unchangeable teachings of Holy Mother Church. </blockquote><blockquote>I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the Everliving God. Amen."</blockquote><p></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-35586373795040839072023-09-18T20:30:00.001-05:002023-09-18T20:30:27.816-05:00Yes, some men really do think about the Roman Empire every day<p>There's a social media trend going around where women ask the men in their lives how often they think about the Roman Empire. The women are then duly surprised when the man says some variation of "Pretty much every day." </p><p>If you're a reader of this blog, you're probably one of those people. Admittedly, I am as well. So, in that vein, here are some ridiculous memes that I made. Enjoy!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53AIi6fLM32v-Y4U3R1fnxOCNnTQB6cIiWm-apzglK8lkwY5MtLcqjCl421sM-RvbsQStJIyAVglYrc-Vlw_LjT0NH3GLysBwNw0XbxSYZ5IQX5EQThOh3fARr4yQ6BFEtmK__BV6o_qYP_kqlf47-CA2XSWdYWmyBHpH8G9DAlWffODgGltF/s750/7zlxsk.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj53AIi6fLM32v-Y4U3R1fnxOCNnTQB6cIiWm-apzglK8lkwY5MtLcqjCl421sM-RvbsQStJIyAVglYrc-Vlw_LjT0NH3GLysBwNw0XbxSYZ5IQX5EQThOh3fARr4yQ6BFEtmK__BV6o_qYP_kqlf47-CA2XSWdYWmyBHpH8G9DAlWffODgGltF/s320/7zlxsk.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn03G9rptMnDmGPCKp8bGKUMga0JJaznGQLTSjooqkWlG8CD5LGnEdvv5fAIkiYkH-eX3M23-4r-YelHhgCJkNMhjl8Rfv3sWRsk7cZg2NVg9M2yUmCe4isGyq2xDulzJ5V6iVg4YR-LuTtKJvUQKa8MjHL18Aj83LJpzHZ-wpOcNBuOq6A3_2/s889/7zlyb3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="889" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn03G9rptMnDmGPCKp8bGKUMga0JJaznGQLTSjooqkWlG8CD5LGnEdvv5fAIkiYkH-eX3M23-4r-YelHhgCJkNMhjl8Rfv3sWRsk7cZg2NVg9M2yUmCe4isGyq2xDulzJ5V6iVg4YR-LuTtKJvUQKa8MjHL18Aj83LJpzHZ-wpOcNBuOq6A3_2/s320/7zlyb3.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPG0nZnpZMF_1MmLZUu2NizR0QjDSHq1ownLk6K6ufePmnFiez532JMxp3ppHJjvA4g6MV4I0NFDGtVPHCIkYTS9nLVHvZw4db9m7gPdfTtg0xdPYOsJg3rE4Lz6pkJJJpSSo_JI9i6Yb7RT_p8HRaEyBz_eYC8C2YcOf6wl-SxPSE7YiNqd_/s680/7zlyyb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="680" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTPG0nZnpZMF_1MmLZUu2NizR0QjDSHq1ownLk6K6ufePmnFiez532JMxp3ppHJjvA4g6MV4I0NFDGtVPHCIkYTS9nLVHvZw4db9m7gPdfTtg0xdPYOsJg3rE4Lz6pkJJJpSSo_JI9i6Yb7RT_p8HRaEyBz_eYC8C2YcOf6wl-SxPSE7YiNqd_/s320/7zlyyb.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApn9N64pA12jSeLe3qQpQWymwSlGHmFReEfjEvlYmmErpxLNs5bwP6H09E8wnTjaZe3WewD9zx6frb55OuTWyK4ztEnOAYgxVKZFCWnRkCmOx7EcmJbpdrl4BqNdRCElo-IfeVeQetn803LpzVuMKuJy_8X7JTehiYZPwddSweqOGh1uV8kfp/s524/7zm2xq.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="524" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiApn9N64pA12jSeLe3qQpQWymwSlGHmFReEfjEvlYmmErpxLNs5bwP6H09E8wnTjaZe3WewD9zx6frb55OuTWyK4ztEnOAYgxVKZFCWnRkCmOx7EcmJbpdrl4BqNdRCElo-IfeVeQetn803LpzVuMKuJy_8X7JTehiYZPwddSweqOGh1uV8kfp/s320/7zm2xq.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-25894745939074362922023-07-08T14:08:00.002-05:002023-07-22T19:19:06.487-05:00"Among laymen, none are superior to him in devotion and zeal for the Church." ~ A review of "Pierre Toussaint: A Citizen of Old New York"<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1_QjNqwd0hFfTmIIr6s75C9J37dGUVawxaYbZTG9fdjygzafzzPrOoPQ5AG-v6N37Eq9HSE-8WQRSaruxbYh6OmB6d18bSpfqcgzpyNy2AzaigGohJcXXjOE3snEvX8aaKbqHFbzXmffoGN18iR3C993y9hLh2ovv48DjovkX8hCWq_mSUdp/s532/Pierre%20copy.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="532" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY1_QjNqwd0hFfTmIIr6s75C9J37dGUVawxaYbZTG9fdjygzafzzPrOoPQ5AG-v6N37Eq9HSE-8WQRSaruxbYh6OmB6d18bSpfqcgzpyNy2AzaigGohJcXXjOE3snEvX8aaKbqHFbzXmffoGN18iR3C993y9hLh2ovv48DjovkX8hCWq_mSUdp/w436-h320/Pierre%20copy.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pierre Toussaint, from a miniature painted ca. 1825 by Anthony Meucci.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I recently picked up a copy of <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#PierreToussaint">Pierre Toussaint: A Citizen of Old New York</a></i> by Arthur and Elizabeth Odell Sheehan (published by the good folks at <a href="https://www.hillsideeducation.com/">Hillside Education</a>) of at a homeschool conference on Long Island. Truth be told, I knew next to nothing about Toussaint before I began reading, though I can honestly say I had <i>wanted</i> to know more about him. I especially wanted to know what heroic virtues this man possessed that has him on the path to canonization as a saint of the Catholic Church.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtNBMpQWr66Th289mNLAmQgM4ghDd8JMhvKCc_-kSU7NjMSDd0sar7SSifV8PIy2PHQBQuosRKWBXEZ9CLPGINyWtVeqofZMRgqvw_f-uMvutsQ902FSQSiXdj8Pld1CjMvmqo84nSZKICJcxn-zti9vtkHoQSt95AksALjJ5WQjkTHJYarFm/s1000/Toussaint.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZtNBMpQWr66Th289mNLAmQgM4ghDd8JMhvKCc_-kSU7NjMSDd0sar7SSifV8PIy2PHQBQuosRKWBXEZ9CLPGINyWtVeqofZMRgqvw_f-uMvutsQ902FSQSiXdj8Pld1CjMvmqo84nSZKICJcxn-zti9vtkHoQSt95AksALjJ5WQjkTHJYarFm/s320/Toussaint.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#PierreToussaint">Click here for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Well, to start with, Venerable Pierre Toussaint's life story is anything but typical. It is a study in contrasts and paradoxes. It began in a country that was considered a paradise on earth at the time — Saint-Domingue, a French colony on the island of Hispanola in the Caribbean which is today known as the nation of Haiti. But like many European colonies in the western hemisphere, Saint-Domingue was burdened at its creation with the original sin of slavery. Pierre himself was born a slave, though perhaps atypically, he was born into a French family that did not consider its slaves as mere property but as children of God with souls who could love and be loved.<p></p><p>During Pierre's early life, the slave-supported paradise of Saint-Domingue would become hell on earth for the original colonizers. The ideals of the French revolution took root in the colony and encouraged former slaves like Toussaint Loverture and Jean-Jacques Dessalines to consider freedom the birthright of all men. With the advent of Napoleon, a slave rebellion broke out in Saint-Domingue which quickly escalated into a war of atrocities, with the French and Haitians vying to outdo each other in brutality. Eventually, the French lost. But their cruelty toward their former slaves was not forgotten. By way of revenge, General (and later Emperor) Jean-Jacques Dessalines systematically slaughtered the 3-5,000 French who remained in the country.</p><p>Pierre Toussaint witnessed little of this, however. As the conflicts increased, Pierre's French family, the Bérards, fled Saint-Domingue in 1787 for what they believed was temporary refuge in New York City. Little did they know that they would never return to their homes again. Pierre himself would live in New York for nearly 60 years.</p><p>Over the course of those 60 years, the fortunes of the Bérard family would decline. They would have been completely ruined and destitute if not for the abilities of their indefatigable slave, Pierre. While in New York, Pierre was apprenticed to a man who was an expert hair-dresser. In an era where arranging women's hair was a complicated art form, Pierre became a master. His talents were soon in high demand among the rich ladies of New York. But Pierre was no mere mindless automaton who curled and coiffed all day long. He had other talents, among them an approachable demeanor, an ear for listening, a quiet wisdom, and a genuine care for the trials and tribulations of others. </p><p>In a short time, Pierre became the sole support of the Bérards. Jean Bérard, the scion of the family, had returned to Haiti in 1791 an attempt to reclaim his family's property, only to die of sickness shortly after his arrival. His widow, Marie, was now destitute. During this time, Pierre supported her with his earnings as a hair-dresser. She would later marry another French refugee, only to perish in 1807. Upon her death, Marie Bérard gave Pierre his freedom.</p><p>With freedom and a marketable skill in tremendous demand, Pierre could have lived the easy life of a wealthy ne'er-do-well. He did exactly the opposite. He transformed his earnings into charitable good works. He purchased the freedom of another slave, Juliette Noel, then married her. He also displayed an almost supernatural sense of magnanimity, secretly assisting many distressed French refugees in New York. Former slave-holders found themselves beholden to a former slave. And Pierre never lorded this paradox over them. Instead, as Our Lord suggested, he kept his works of mercy discreetly quiet so that his beneficiaries could save face.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhP-jaoyfqRdQA_EwJ4B2HwfrLwj6x7YOGkDk8wqsVfLZHR6TWWlcPUidgQccBoxxiSTn-OTCReMmIqrO0zGahsS5UnmTc9Eemx6p7u7uX5kCClTMpoo9EdWzc9lBN-AFfVZA2Hz3xSLBF9Vo0SMN3ZPidD829M8pyPSQk72tf719c2EloOXm/s337/Euphemia.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="222" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuhP-jaoyfqRdQA_EwJ4B2HwfrLwj6x7YOGkDk8wqsVfLZHR6TWWlcPUidgQccBoxxiSTn-OTCReMmIqrO0zGahsS5UnmTc9Eemx6p7u7uX5kCClTMpoo9EdWzc9lBN-AFfVZA2Hz3xSLBF9Vo0SMN3ZPidD829M8pyPSQk72tf719c2EloOXm/s320/Euphemia.jpg" width="211" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Euphemia Toussaint, Pierre's adopted <br />daughter, from a miniature painted ca. 1825<br />by Anthony Meucci.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>When Pierre's sister Rosalie died, Pierre and Juliette adopted her infant daughter, Euphemia. Unable to have children of their own, Pierre and Juliette would raise Euphemia as their child. Tragically, the child would die at age 14 of tuberculosis. This incident and the pain it caused Pierre is described poignantly in <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#PierreToussaint">Pierre Toussaint: A Citizen of Old New York.</a></i><p></p><p>Incredibly, Pierre's devotion to the French family that held him as a slave extended decades after his freedom. Word reached Pierre that his godmother Aurora, the sister of Jean Bérard, had fallen upon hard times in France. Pierre and Juliette kept up a lively correspondence with Aurora over many years, sending her expensive presents to help alleviate her straits. In one letter, regarding some dresses and Madras handkerchiefs Pierre and Juliette had sent her, Aurora wrote: "To judge from the dearness of the articles here, I fear you may have made some sacrifice to purchase them, and this idea gives me pain." [Lee: <i><a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/leehf/leehf.html">Memoir of Pierre Toussaint</a></i>]</p><p>Examples of Pierre's charity are too numerous to mention in their entirety. His hard work, intelligent money management, and scrupulous penny-pinching meant that he had resources enough for a comfortable home for Juliette and Euphemia, and largesse for both the poor and the Church. Pierre's devotion as a Catholic is the stuff of legend. Whatever rudeness Pierre endured as a black man in antebellum New York was redoubled by the fact that he was a very public Papist in an era where Catholicism was considered by many to be the moral equivalent of treason. Neither of these social handicaps thwarted Pierre. It is said that Pierre attended Mass every day of his life after his arrival in New York.</p><p>Pierre also took up the philanthropic works of the Church as his own. He donated and helped raise money for the first Catholic cathedral in New York City—Old Saint Patrick's. According to Hannah Lee, who knew Pierre and compiled a memoir of his life, Pierre endeavored to do the 19th century equivalent of "paying it forward":</p><blockquote><p>"One of the methods in which Toussaint did essential good was by bringing up colored boys one after another, sending them to school, and, after they were old enough, teaching them some useful business. In all these plans of charity Juliette united." [Lee: <i><a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/leehf/leehf.html">Memoir of Pierre Toussaint</a></i>]</p></blockquote><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcvGwF2a_6nTuBK4BlDUyIQ-5cBT_ln4faTTHn2rhIsNYNANpznalBjSJSoSQm-f63sn1SePmDCWr10eOrKHdcGHDca4dsPBpE1JGAsFpFo3DUnIGd6FGgOXiwpbcJqoqvoBkMSyWCQ89a50WIgCNO7O_gFf58DwcwRh45ys9-1HRHWTpXp0l/s414/Juliette.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPcvGwF2a_6nTuBK4BlDUyIQ-5cBT_ln4faTTHn2rhIsNYNANpznalBjSJSoSQm-f63sn1SePmDCWr10eOrKHdcGHDca4dsPBpE1JGAsFpFo3DUnIGd6FGgOXiwpbcJqoqvoBkMSyWCQ89a50WIgCNO7O_gFf58DwcwRh45ys9-1HRHWTpXp0l/s320/Juliette.jpg" width="203" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Juliette, wife of Pierre Toussaint, <br />from a miniature painted ca. 1825 <br />by Anthony Meucci.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#PierreToussaint">Pierre Toussaint: A Citizen of Old New York</a></i> chronicles many of Pierre's charitable works. Written in 1950, the authors could not know that Pierre would be declared Venerable by Pope John Paul II in 1996, though doubtless they would have celebrated the announcement. It should be kept in mind that this book is not an historical novel like many of the others I review. It is more of a biography with numerous dramatized scenes sprinkled throughout. As such, it easily holds the attention of the reader and is especially well-suited for young Catholics. It is a perfect addition to a homeschool curriculum for those who "read their way through history" as it covers a somewhat obscure period of US and world history. It allows for tangential discussions of such historical events as the revolution in Haiti, the Napoleonic wars and their aftermath, slavery both in the US and abroad, numerous devastating epidemics, the free Black community in New York, the growth of Catholicism in the US during the early 19th century, and life in America cities more generally during the early years of the Republic. <p></p><p>But perhaps the most important contribution made by this book is that it successfully spurs curiosity about the humble and virtuous Pierre Toussaint. Based on the research I have done on him subsequent to reading this book, there is much more that could be said about him. But that was not the object of this brief review, so I will close with a quote taken from Fr. Quin's oration subsequent to Pierre's funeral Mass which seems to exemplify the esteem in which Venerable Pierre Toussaint was held at the time of his death: </p><blockquote><p>"There were few left among the clergy superior to him in devotion and zeal for the Church and for the glory of God. Among laymen, none." [Lee: <i><a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/leehf/leehf.html">Memoir of Pierre Toussaint</a></i>]</p></blockquote><p>Such high praise seems to presage that Venerable Pierre Toussaint will be recognized as a saint in due course. Read <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#PierreToussaint">Pierre Toussaint: Citizen of Old New York</a></i> now so that you'll be well prepared when that happy day arrives.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-37265568856180823012023-04-25T00:00:00.001-05:002023-04-25T00:00:00.141-05:00Padre Pio for a new generation of young Catholics: A Review of "Wounds of Love" by Phillip Campbell<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fmj22T8HwY-I2C1XRJQZcU8Ld6olwgrRMZN50Sqf2Se27oajg5pJ-_7kfdVV7CgmKHui5dYKb_H0UDLVocR9X5-on0lWH6mfN366z4I3ei355t5yrrT27Y9Lq31RZn6JhAlOa6YjO849xhBi5f2IAxnDVnP8vKioDbho5TAqR4fulQUySQ/s647/PadrePio.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="647" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_fmj22T8HwY-I2C1XRJQZcU8Ld6olwgrRMZN50Sqf2Se27oajg5pJ-_7kfdVV7CgmKHui5dYKb_H0UDLVocR9X5-on0lWH6mfN366z4I3ei355t5yrrT27Y9Lq31RZn6JhAlOa6YjO849xhBi5f2IAxnDVnP8vKioDbho5TAqR4fulQUySQ/w389-h293/PadrePio.jpg" width="389" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Detail from the cover of <i>Wounds of Love: The Story of Saint Padre Pio.</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Like Jeanne d’Arc or Francesco di Bernardone, Francesco Forgione was one of those unique individuals gifted by God to the human race to assure us of His love, His understanding, and above all else, that He is not deaf to our sufferings and entreaties. But unlike these other great visionary saints, Forgione was not a streak of light which flashed across the firmament and returned quickly to heaven. <p></p><p>Saint Joan’s mission lasted about two years before she was martyred at age 19. </p><p>Saint Francis of Assisi was 45 when he passed to eternity, roughly 20 years elapsing between his call and his death.</p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#Woundsoflove" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="647" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOigGpMJ0feFOsj4YmJK-xbwPqyqHVPRUn5yMwwWwQylLf6JSOZf2MD5xuuC7qCPYq9Pf2cCwiQvLNAfQp3B5TaKOz1GtRZZviEF7OUk8_LZjoN_cesVg8C4zeJxcws76L4-gIRC0eavlFc8QQouM69ST5P0BfqPgATWU5kjlSg-T32zmzFg/s320/71LLHaOXtaL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#Woundsoflove">Click here for more info.</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, on the other hand, spent almost the entirety of his long life as a suffering servant of Jesus Christ. Afflicted with ill-health, physical infirmities, the Stigmata, and demonic attacks which left him battered and bruised, Padre Pio was also subjected to slanderous assaults on his character, all over a period of nearly seven decades. Yet during that time, he was able to touch the lives of thousands upon thousands of people, uniting his suffering to that of Christ and translating it into God's grace to heal sinners from all over the world. And his reach was truly immense. At his shrine at San Giovanni Rotondo, <a href="https://splashofyellow.blogspot.com/2014/09/padre-pio-and-st-pio-shrine-in-san.html">there is a wall of shelves filled with thousands of letters</a> received by Padre Pio—in a single year. <p></p><p>Nearly as many people recall unforgettable personal encounters with the gruff Capuchin saint of San Giovanni Rotondo, either in the flesh, or in the spirit. It is said that he heard about five million confessions over the course of his priesthood. And there are numerous miracle stories. One such story that I heard in person is that of Philadelphia native Frank Tenaglia (1965-2019) <a href="https://southphillyreview.com/2003/02/27/a-monk-for-all-seasons/">who credited Padre Pio with healing him of a grave childhood illness</a>—a miracle which allowed him <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfmX1r3wh0o">to praise God with his amazing voice</a> for many years. </p><p>Though there are myriad books about Padre Pio's extraordinary life, very few of these are accessible to younger readers. This has now changed with the release of <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#Woundsoflove">Wounds of Love: The Story of Saint Padre Pio</a></i> by Phillip Campbell. I have been waiting for a book like this for years. It’s no easy task to condense the long and eventful life of someone like Padre Pio into the historical fiction format which appeals to young readers, but Phillip Campbell has done a masterful job. His focus on the early life of St. Pio is pitch-perfect. While most readers think of Padre Pio as a rather grumpy elderly man, Campbell’s presentation spends more time introducing readers to the young Francesco Forgione growing in grace and holiness in the bosom of a loving family. </p><p><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#Woundsoflove">Wounds of Love</a></i> includes some of the most famous anecdotes associated with Padre Pio, including the well-known incident reported by General Nathan F. Twining of <a href="https://catholicconnect.care/st-padre-pio-the-flying-saints-and-the-american-comrades/">a Capuchin monk appearing in the sky to thwart Allied bombing runs on San Giovanni Rotondo during World War II</a>. Campbell also relates a few more obscure ones, including one that I had never heard before, despite having read several books on Padre Pio in the past. In Chapter 12, the novel delves into the slanders aimed at Padre Pio by those within the Church in the early 1960s. In an effort to gather evidence against him, someone apparently wiretapped his confessional. Originally, I thought that this outrageous story belonged more to the “fiction” than to the “historical” side of the narrative. But upon further research, I discovered that this inconceivably awful tale was true—and that Padre Pio actually did discover the microphone himself and cut out the wire with a penknife! </p><p>In sum, <i>Wounds of Love</i> is a fantastic book and I heartily recommend it to readers of all ages. If you need additional proof of how the story draws you in, I gave it to my 17-year old son to read and he polished it off in about a week. What's more, he immediately moved on to a more in-depth biography of Padre Pio that we have on our bookshelves. </p><p>Mission accomplished, Mr. Campbell!</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-67000561533110623632023-04-09T01:06:00.003-05:002023-04-10T17:09:16.494-05:00Who was Veronica? Tracking down one of the most beloved figures from Christ's Passion<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7T2JvyimBvUf0MYBoF5423IvO8PSnVyX7vALbZpcBs_DBRdK3sxLiZPuAV2XrwrluBwZJgOAxGCio22jq4LgW0ffXkUb750dEE8Y5WXriwtr7eF9zwgkaJnhCGShgT7VB54K_La8Qok-r5XeC1stc7cX5QgDNF5v9am1hqEurQL4idoDow/s1280/Healing_of_a_bleeding_women_Marcellinus-Peter-Catacomb.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1172" data-original-width="1280" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV7T2JvyimBvUf0MYBoF5423IvO8PSnVyX7vALbZpcBs_DBRdK3sxLiZPuAV2XrwrluBwZJgOAxGCio22jq4LgW0ffXkUb750dEE8Y5WXriwtr7eF9zwgkaJnhCGShgT7VB54K_La8Qok-r5XeC1stc7cX5QgDNF5v9am1hqEurQL4idoDow/s320/Healing_of_a_bleeding_women_Marcellinus-Peter-Catacomb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Christ heals the woman with a flow of blood as depicted in the <br />Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter in Rome, 4th century AD.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>One of the more enigmatic figures from early Christian history is Saint Veronica—the woman known to Catholics from the Sixth Station of the Cross, who is said to have wiped the face of Jesus while He carried His cross on the road to Calvary. There is a memorable and beautifully presented sequence of scenes featuring Veronica in Mel Gibson's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWauHFPXtMo">Passion of the Christ</a></i>. But nowhere is the woman or the incident described mentioned in Sacred Scripture. </p><p>To learn about Veronica, we must turn to extra-biblical sources. The first mention of a woman named Veronica associated with Our Lord may be found in an apocryphal work known alternately as the <i>Acts of Pilate</i> or the <i>Gospel of Nicodemus</i>. The scholarly consensus is that this work does not come from Apostolic times, but was written during the Patristic period sometime after the middle of the 4th century AD. Even so, it is considered a suitably ancient work and it likely includes traditions held by the community of the very early Church. The work records the names of several otherwise unnamed minor personages mentioned in the Gospels, such as the centurion at the crucifixion (Longinus) and the two thieves crucified along with Jesus (Dismas and Gesmas). Also named is the woman whom Jesus healed of a hemorrhage of blood in Matthew 9:20-22:</p><blockquote><p>There was found there also a woman named Veronica [or Bernice], and she said: Twelve years I was in an issue of blood, and I only touched the edge of his garment, and directly I was cured. [<i><a href="https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/08071b.htm">Acts of Pilate,</a></i> Chapter 7]</p></blockquote><p>This is important because it connects Veronica with another, more reliable ancient source: <i>The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius.</i> In this work, we find the following fascinating passage:</p><blockquote><p>Since I have mentioned this city [Caesarea Philippi] I do not think it proper to omit an account which is worthy of record for posterity. For they say that the woman with an issue of blood, who, as we learn from the sacred Gospel, received from our Savior deliverance from her affliction, came from this place, and that her house is shown in the city, and that remarkable memorials of the kindness of the Savior to her remain there.</p><p>For there stands upon an elevated stone, by the gates of her house, a brazen image of a woman kneeling, with her hands stretched out, as if she were praying. Opposite this is another upright image of a man, made of the same material, clothed decently in a double cloak, and extending his hand toward the woman. At his feet, beside the statue itself, is a certain strange plant, which climbs up to the hem of the brazen cloak, and is a remedy for all kinds of diseases.</p><p>They say that this statue is an image of Jesus. It has remained to our day, so that we ourselves also saw it when we were staying in the city.</p><p>Nor is it strange that those of the Gentiles who, of old, were benefited by our Saviour, should have done such things, since we have learned also that the likenesses of his apostles Paul and Peter, and of Christ himself, are preserved in paintings, the ancients being accustomed, as it is likely, according to a habit of the Gentiles, to pay this kind of honor indiscriminately to those regarded by them as deliverers. [<a href="https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250107.htm">Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus, Book VI, Chapter 18</a>]</p></blockquote><p>Recall that Eusebius was writing in the early 4th century AD. There is so much packed into the above passage that it will probably require a post of its own at some point.</p><p><i>The Chronicle of John Malalas </i>(written in the late 6th century), elaborates on this episode, relating that Veronica petitioned Herod (probably Phillip the Tetrarch also known as Herod Phillip II) for permission to raise a statue to Jesus. Incredibly, Herod not only agreed but ordered her to set up a larger statue than she had first proposed:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>King Herod, hearing this prayer of hers, was surprised at the marvel. And fearing the mysterious healing, he said: “this healing, O woman, is worth a larger statue. Go then and set up whatever statue you wish, praising with zeal him who had healed you.” And straightway Veronica, who was formerly bleeding, set up in the midst of her city Paneas a bronze statue to the Lord our God Jesus Christ, of hammered bronze mixed with a small portion of gold and silver. That image stands to this day in the city of Paneas, having been carried many years ago from the place where it had stood in the midst of the town to a holy church. I found in that city of Paneas a memorandum about it by a certain Bassus, a former Jew become a Christian, with the life of all the former reigning kings in the territory of Judaea. [<i><a href="https://topostext.org/work/793">Chronicle of John Malalas,</a></i> 10.239]</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Malalas's notice here is important for two reasons. First, he connects Veronica's name with the woman healed of a flow of blood in the late 6th century, demonstrating that he was familiar with the <i>Acts of Pilate</i> or another ancient source with the same information. Second, he's writing in the Greek east, not the Latin west where Veronica's name and role would become more legendary in the Middle Ages.</p><p>While it is not impossible that this Veronica also wiped the face of Our Lord during his passion, I was unable to locate any early records corroborating this event. The earliest sources mentioning it seem to be from the high Middle Ages. It is interesting to note, however, that the name of Veronica is associated with one of the earliest recorded images of Christ, apparently commissioned by a saintly woman who saw Our Lord in the flesh.</p><p>As for the mysterious artifact known as the Veil of Veronica, that will have to be the subject of a future post.</p><p></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-19738212225053642142023-04-01T13:31:00.000-05:002023-04-01T13:31:19.058-05:00Goodreads Giveaway ~ Phillip Campbell's Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia<p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Philippines.html" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2701" data-original-width="1800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX9RoIIjn7Xx9qNaKiJRxiDYiMrCxCBq7bMxZhnvXcDQ7Za9nHZvBngLpnVIQLGz77UJx7IAEuxNsWirgsJ_oH8MDf6RbvypdcUwriPjCAok5pEAdU0EZTjfR9ScjvOY16KtXXaYpYFKFU6QtzytufWjH2lPBI5td2wGr3mXak-_gMVpE--Q/s320/9781935228240.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Philippines.html">Click here for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>One of the books cited frequently on this blog is <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Philippines.html">The Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia</a></i>. Written in the style of Campbell's <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/storyofcivilization.html">Story of Civilization</a></i> curriculum for Catholic students, <i>The Story of the Philippines</i> is a readable capsule summary of the long and complex history of the Filipino people, complete with poignant and amusing vignettes written in Campbell's appealing style.<p></p><p>Well, through <b>Thursday, April 13, 2023,</b> you can enter to win a free copy of this book on Goodreads. Details may be found by clicking the link below:</p><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62691035-the-story-of-the-philippines?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=IPCYGPcPzL&rank=1"><i>The Story of the Philippines</i> ~ Giveaway on Goodreads.</a></p><p>Five gratis copies of the book are available. </p><p>As it is meant for young readers, the book includes several really nice illustrations by artist Lori Kauffmann who, as it turns out, also did the cover art for all of my <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Belisarius</a></i> books.</p><p>Here are a few examples of here illustrations that accompany and enhance <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Philippines.html">The Story of the Philippines</a></i>:</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxjUkldI0y410eRI0vBhCioqgyqzRxmMfDzsIWytDMVb-LsWR35gWuCX98FFwYYIm9o5AKFRY3y0kES2k0BGS-2q9xL606H1n6p2_B0ofL9W7ECV0AboQsSoTty0jkTrBhKJHOD4ieshp0jTdYJSkSM9PV949fqOiOnDYLy7kAsIAwmk7uA/s876/Chinese%20Traders.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="876" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWxjUkldI0y410eRI0vBhCioqgyqzRxmMfDzsIWytDMVb-LsWR35gWuCX98FFwYYIm9o5AKFRY3y0kES2k0BGS-2q9xL606H1n6p2_B0ofL9W7ECV0AboQsSoTty0jkTrBhKJHOD4ieshp0jTdYJSkSM9PV949fqOiOnDYLy7kAsIAwmk7uA/w463-h326/Chinese%20Traders.jpg" width="463" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Chinese Traders visit the Kingdom of Tondo.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5d2i04SBtBwB0bK8B0ge4qhZc7P1bL-eBSWr3Dx_WedPr5YV1tCAfOrIScUaBFGT3rOpdNzW5xNHNOwXHoXVO5fN5sr-4tcABTdEBvvNyq94wH7KLcEQid5_qA1tE0dPiSe1jgEnlK1uAWEDGro5X-DZrp98m5FZmPXz0B0h26GXOc0mLVQ" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="901" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh5d2i04SBtBwB0bK8B0ge4qhZc7P1bL-eBSWr3Dx_WedPr5YV1tCAfOrIScUaBFGT3rOpdNzW5xNHNOwXHoXVO5fN5sr-4tcABTdEBvvNyq94wH7KLcEQid5_qA1tE0dPiSe1jgEnlK1uAWEDGro5X-DZrp98m5FZmPXz0B0h26GXOc0mLVQ=w479-h325" width="479" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">MacArthur and Osmeña return to the Philippines, October 1944. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrXrhZ_sT2M-NMS1mPsHg8gwxVyjP-aP3NXLGcoKruJL64aagvv2UD1k8VR4ywHqev1u4WI0H5B4w-MV9V2Z0LLBvSdyo66gTXkugTarmFI1IkGS2kgQ1GRCk4z_UUm3sGZGOj_w97w1iEkVVGVXn2Hg85XO4OLVfDfXrrGLpCU4VYJseDpw" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="512" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgrXrhZ_sT2M-NMS1mPsHg8gwxVyjP-aP3NXLGcoKruJL64aagvv2UD1k8VR4ywHqev1u4WI0H5B4w-MV9V2Z0LLBvSdyo66gTXkugTarmFI1IkGS2kgQ1GRCk4z_UUm3sGZGOj_w97w1iEkVVGVXn2Hg85XO4OLVfDfXrrGLpCU4VYJseDpw=w329-h303" width="329" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Regular readers of this blog know that that the Philippines, the Spanish-American War, and the Battle of Manila Bay are regular topics. Here are links to several related articles:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-first-mass-in-philippines-march-31.html">The First Mass in the Philippines, March 31, AD 1521 ~ An eyewitness account by Antonio Pigafetta</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2022/03/for-many-year-they-will-remember-two_14.html">"For many a year they will remember the two stout galleons of Manila." ~ The victory of the Spanish over the Dutch at the Battle of Naval de Manila, AD 1646</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-destruction-of-fort-drum-famous.html">The Destruction of Fort Drum, the Famous Concrete Battleship of Manila Bay</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/05/open-with-all-guns-battle-of-manila-bay.html">"Open with all guns." The Battle of Manila Bay, May 1, 1898</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2022/06/telling-story-of-philippines-eastern.html">Telling the Story of the Philippines ~ Eastern History for the Catholic Student</a></li></ul></div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-54860667212234328082023-03-30T22:48:00.003-05:002023-03-31T09:17:26.925-05:00The First Mass in the Philippines, March 31, AD 1521 ~ An eyewitness account by Antonio Pigafetta<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTBIrtgawA9Bfba-0BNhKxhY38IZzZNwqInEq9a4BzVfNW56CQu9mRDPw5bNbLBVzEmHXLlQ149xwj_ObCw9IPdbJxPEsQlzdtijGPwHqc2JXY7jNDVMRdFbvu5XnVjk1YvIZk6PuNfdSfLU1QPW-9TgBnXq6Dzx13FRWU_F6uXDAJNmDqA/s1800/SoP%20detail.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1800" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOTBIrtgawA9Bfba-0BNhKxhY38IZzZNwqInEq9a4BzVfNW56CQu9mRDPw5bNbLBVzEmHXLlQ149xwj_ObCw9IPdbJxPEsQlzdtijGPwHqc2JXY7jNDVMRdFbvu5XnVjk1YvIZk6PuNfdSfLU1QPW-9TgBnXq6Dzx13FRWU_F6uXDAJNmDqA/w540-h282/SoP%20detail.jpg" width="540" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first Mass in the Philippines at Limasawa by Lori Kauffmann. This image <br />appears on the cover of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Story-Philippines-Gods-Rampart-Asia/dp/1935228242">The Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia</a></i> <br />by Philip Campbell.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />In the year of our Lord 1521, on Easter Sunday, March 31, the first Mass on what would later be known as the Philippine archipelago was said on a small island known as Limasawa. Little did those attending that Mass realize that the seed planted that day would blossom into a brilliant faith that, 500 years later, would make the Philippines one of the most devoutly Catholic nations in the world.<p></p><p>An account of that epochal event exists, written by Antonio Pigafetta, a Venetian accompanying Ferdinand Magellan on his voyage of circumnavigation, who kept a detailed journal of events: Here is Pigafetta's account, along with some extra details of what happened next: </p><p></p><blockquote><p>On Sunday, the last day of March, and feast of Easter, the captain sent the chaplain ashore early to say Mass, and the interpreter went with him to tell the king that they were not coming on shore to dine with him, but only to hear the mass. The king hearing that sent two dead pigs. </p><p>When it was time for saying Mass the captain went ashore with fifty men, not with their arms, but only with their swords, and dressed as well as each one was able to dress, and before the boats reached the shore our ships fired six cannon shots as a sign of peace. At our landing the two kings were there, and received our captain in a friendly manner, and placed him between them, and then we went to the place prepared for saying Mass, which was not far from the shore. Before the mass began the captain threw a quantity of musk rosewater on those two kings, and when the offertory of the Mass came, the two kings went to kiss the cross like us, but they offered nothing, and at the elevation of the body of our Lord they were kneeling like us, and adored Our Lord with joined hands. The ships fired all their artillery at the elevation of the body of our Lord. </p><p>After Mass had been said each one did the duty of a Christian, receiving our Lord. After that the captain had some sword-play by his people, which gave great pleasure to the kings. Then he had a cross brought, with the nails and crown, to which the kings made reverence, and the captain had them told that these things which he showed them were the sign of the emperor his lord and master, from whom he had charge and commandment to place it in all places where he might go or pass by. He told them that he wished to place it in their country for their profit, because if there came afterwards any ships from Spain to those islands, on seeing this cross, they would know that we had been there, and therefore they would not cause them any displeasure to their persons nor their goods; and if they took any of their people, on showing them this sign, they would at once let them go. Besides this, the captain told them that it was necessary that this cross should be placed on the summit of the highest mountain in their country, so that seeing it every day they might adore it, and that if they did thus, neither thunder, lightning, nor the tempest could do them hurt. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>The kings thanked the captain, and said they would do it willingly. Then he asked whether they were Moors or Gentiles, and in what they believed. They answered that they did not perform any other adoration, but only joined their hands, looking up to heaven, and that they called their God, Aba. Hearing this, the captain was very joyful, on seeing that, the first king raised his hands to the sky and said that he wished it were possible for him to be able to show the affection which he felt towards him. </p><p>The interpreter asked him for what reason there was so little to eat in that place, to which the king replied that he did not reside in that place except when he came to hunt and to see his brother, but that he lived in another island where he had all his family. Then the captain asked him if he had any enemies who made war upon him, and that if he had any he would go and defeat them with his men and ships, to put them under his obedience. The king thanked him, and answered that there were two islands the inhabitants of which were his enemies; however, that for the present it was not the time to attack them. The captain therefore said to him that if God permitted him to return another time to this country, he would bring so many men that he would put them by force under his obedience.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>As it worked out, Magellan did make an attack—an ill-advised assault on Lapu Lapu and his warriors at the Battle of Mactan about a month later. The Spaniards were repulsed with heavy losses, among them Ferdinand Magellan himself who was struck by poison arrows, stabbed, and eventually hacked to pieces. A nice vignette-account of this battle and Magellan's end may be found in Philip Campbell's <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Story-Philippines-Gods-Rampart-Asia/dp/1935228242">Story of the Philippines: God's Rampart in Asia.</a></i></p><p>As for Antonio Pigafetta, he witnessed the battle but was able to escape when the Spanish withdrew. He would eventually make it back to Spain with the few survivors of the voyage. A few years thereafter, he managed to get his journal published. It has survived to this day, and is one of the key primary sources of the Age of Exploration. </p><p>Pigafetta would later join the <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2016/12/december-20-ad-1522-knights-of-saint.html">Knights of Rhodes who had recently been expelled from their island fortress by the Turks</a>. It is at this point that Pigafetta disappears from history. What few details remain of his life may be found in this <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.3138/9781442684928-002/pdf">bio-bibliographical note</a>. </p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-45160045101615619192023-02-18T18:14:00.001-05:002023-02-18T20:58:46.548-05:00"He weathered their rage like some craggy rock in a howling tempest." ~ Belisarius and the lead-up to the Great Siege of Rome<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWdI_UP2VjNL69WcnqywXMSkhjeUDjbwArCx0IkN6gwvd0q-7u3L6kod0iE04NR64nDqAxn_8yByTOr0Az-KNoQznCXYYLUDSG7UKFophJPOBStudkTzwyjHfW4_zlLkzetDxx7YD3is5RjsKlSoOiHxx4nbuEdn-Mgk8LnEv4fXr_JEnvw/s500/7bnmgs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFWdI_UP2VjNL69WcnqywXMSkhjeUDjbwArCx0IkN6gwvd0q-7u3L6kod0iE04NR64nDqAxn_8yByTOr0Az-KNoQznCXYYLUDSG7UKFophJPOBStudkTzwyjHfW4_zlLkzetDxx7YD3is5RjsKlSoOiHxx4nbuEdn-Mgk8LnEv4fXr_JEnvw/w411-h411/7bnmgs.jpg" width="411" /></a></div><br />Given the month, I am mindful of a February nearly 1,500 years ago when Belisarius, newly arrived in Rome after the withdrawal of the Gothic garrison, found his situation far from secure. The Roman citizens, who had welcomed his arrival with glad tidings, now began to suspect that their savior was not intent on pushing on to face the Goths in a decisive battle. Worse, the army of Belisarius that had liberated Rome was not some overwhelming force—far from it. An optimistic observer might have counted their number at 5,000. <p></p><p>Such an army could not be expected to inflict an open-field defeat upon the vast Gothic hosts of Vitiges, the self-styled King of the Goths and Italians. Worse, it was not even sufficient to guard the 12-mile long circuit walls of Rome in the event of Gothic attack.</p><p>With these facts clear to even the most obtuse citizen, the Senate of Rome, still largely intact despite over sixty years of Gothic rule, watched with trepidation as Belisarius and his men began repairing the crumbling fortifications of Rome. The great walls which surrounded the city had been constructed 250 years before by the emperor Aurelian. Though imposing, these fortifications were ruinous and vulnerable in many locations, and Belisarius assiduously set about restoring them. Some of his innovations—such as adding a merlon to each battlement to protect the backs of the defenders—left the Romans impressed. Yet they remained deeply troubled by what these preparations presaged. As Procopius relates:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;">The Romans applauded the forethought of the general and especially the experience displayed in the matter of the battlement; but they marveled greatly and were vexed that he should have thought it possible for him to enter Rome if he had any idea that he would be besieged, for [Rome] can not possibly be supplied with provisions since it is not on the sea, is enclosed by a wall of so large a circumference, and above all, lying as it does on a level plain, is naturally exceedingly easy of access for its assailants. [Procopius, <i><a href="https://www.loebclassics.com/view/procopius-history_wars/1914/pb_LCL107.147.xml">History of the Wars</a>,</i> Book V, Chapter XIV]</p></blockquote><p>Procopius goes on to say that Belisarius heard all the criticisms of his strategy but redoubled his efforts, even compelling the indignant Romans to bring in all their provisions from the countryside.</p><p>In his novel, <i>Count Belisarius</i>, Robert Graves puts the discontent of the Roman citizens over the strategy of Belisarius into the mouth of Pope Silverius. In this, he plants the seed of the conflict that would later emerge between the Pope and the household of Belisarius. Given Graves's rather negative view of the Catholic Church which is evident throughout <i>Count Belisarius</i>, I have always disliked this approach.</p><p>In my third book, <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Belisarius: Rome the Eternal</a></i>, I have opted to expand this discontent into a scene in which the Roman senators and clergy confront Belisarius at the Lateran Palace, taking the opportunity to work in some history lessons. Rather than using the scene to create conflict between the spiritual and temporal powers in Rome, I have attempted to show how Belisarius turned the situation to his favor, enhancing the loyalty of the doubtful Roman senators who were pretty clearly having second-thoughts at this time immediately before the commencement of the siege. </p><p>Here is part of the scene. I have added a few notes in red, if for no other reason than to remind myself of why the individuals named are present. See what you think:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OT6ng949tqxoqcqz6JECRGS7HiZ2Vc3xngsHm8xGm9aql6YsrClG8BBU2yewpa-MUqCwTUd9T9yyw-2oz3J0-N2Aq1WJvwWHLYgxo70ZJsCfb1UaRTd8wUZlQXdIkDSxaCEQeQQtElvQ5cvf9St-MVn1-Xt_TT_d7Lal0GinRAjB0we8CQ/s612/Belisarius3Cvr.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="612" data-original-width="396" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9OT6ng949tqxoqcqz6JECRGS7HiZ2Vc3xngsHm8xGm9aql6YsrClG8BBU2yewpa-MUqCwTUd9T9yyw-2oz3J0-N2Aq1WJvwWHLYgxo70ZJsCfb1UaRTd8wUZlQXdIkDSxaCEQeQQtElvQ5cvf9St-MVn1-Xt_TT_d7Lal0GinRAjB0we8CQ/s320/Belisarius3Cvr.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Click here for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>...“Forgive the interruption, O General,” Fidelius said, bowing slightly. “All are now present. And here is Honorius, prefect of the city. Allow me to present him first.”<p></p><p>“At your service,” mumbled Honorius bowing.</p><p>“Ah, here is a man I am anxious to meet,” said Belisarius, raising the prefect up by his hand. “I am told you have a crew at your disposal whose purpose it is to repair public monuments and buildings. Is that correct?”</p><p>“Certainly. Three hundred men, no less,” Honorius bellowed in response. “Granted, some are slaves, but all have strong backs and are skilled in metalcraft and stonework. For the past months, they have been restoring the great bronze elephants along the Via Sacra, for this was our final order from Theodatus the tyrant.” <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>[This is taken directly from the <i>Variae</i> of Cassiodorus, Book X, Letter 30]</b></span></p><p>“Laudable as that work may be, I must conscript all of your men starting tomorrow morning. Restoring the fortifications must take immediate precedence over all other construction work in the city,” Belisarius explained. “Let them know that they will be well paid for their labors.”</p><p>“Yes, that is something that puzzles us, Magister, if I may,” senator Gennadius Orestes spoke up with a slight chuckle. “Perhaps it is my fatalistic nature getting the better of me, but it almost seems as if you are preparing Rome for a siege.” <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>[Gennadius Orestes was a Roman Senator who was Consul in AD 530]</b></span></p><p>“But we know that cannot be,” the elderly senator Anicius Basilius added. “Anyone who has studied the history of Rome knows that the city cannot be defended effectively without a great army, several legions at least. The walls are too long, the supply lines impossible to protect, the civilian population too huge. And your men, regrettably, are too few.” <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">[Anicius Basilius was a Roman senator who would later be named consul by Justinian in AD 541]</span></b></p><p>“That brings us to another question, Magister,” senator Cethegus boomed in his pompous oratorical voice. “Where <i>is</i> your army? Surely, the skeleton crew that marched into the city with you is but the advance guard. When should we expect to see the rest?” <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>[Nicomachus Cethegus was consul in Rome under the Gothic king, Theodoric the Great, in AD 504. He would later flee to Constantinople and play a role in the discord between Justinian and Pope Vigilius.]</b></span></p><p>Belisarius scowled slightly and scanned the faces gathered about him. It was time to deliver some hard truths to these men, many of whom had grown used to security and prosperity under the long reign of Theodoric. He wasn’t sure how they’d stomach what he had to offer them—the gloomy trio of hardship, want, and a desperate struggle.</p><p>“Noble senators, the rest of my army is scattered throughout Sicily and southern Italy. Just as I have brought the core of my forces here to guard Rome, so the remainder secure Neapolis, Cumae, Beneventum, Rhegium, Syracuse, Panormus and a score of other cities. Yes, it is my intention to hold Rome in safety against all attacks by the Goths. If that means enduring a siege, then endure it we must.”</p><p>An outcry immediately erupted from the assembled politicians.</p><p>“Your men are five thousand at most!” tall Cethegus cried. “You cannot hold the city with so few. It is impossible!”</p><p>“Do you not realize, O Magister, that this Vitiges whom the Goths call king, can muster an army of myriads upon myriads?” Orestes shouted. “If you attempt to defend Rome against the full power of the Goths, you will bring upon us destruction that will make the sacks of Alaric and Gaiseric seem like the Saturnalia. Olympius could not defend Rome from the Visigoths despite his lofty name. Petronius Maximus failed utterly to thwart the Vandals despite the greatest blessings of holy Peter. What hope have you, then, to repulse such a force when these others have failed with more resources at their disposal?”</p><p>“Peace, senators, peace!” Pope Silverius commanded in a loud voice, but few took heed even among the clergy who had joined the tumult.</p><p>Belisarius said nothing, but let the assembled men grumble, rant and vent their frustration. Wearing on his face a look of stoic dispassion, he weathered their rage like some craggy rock in a howling tempest.</p><p>Minutes more of clamorous outrage passed during which the expression on the face of Belisarius softened not at all but grew only harder, and it suddenly dawned upon the senators that he would not engage in debate with them. Soon they grew quiet, looking upon him in astonishment, wondering whether their outburst would ultimately elicit a reaction of anger or capitulation from the Magister Militum of Roman Empire, the right hand of the emperor Justinian.</p><p>“What say you, O General?” Honorius the prefect ventured, now feeling empowered by the near unanimity of the nobles. “Will you not—ahem—reveal to us your plans for defending Rome and defeating—uh—our enemies?”</p><p>Leaping up onto a low platform surrounding a fountain in the middle of the courtyard so that he could better be seen and heard, Belisarius began:</p><p>“It is not for you to know my plans, O Senators, for what fool of a general announces his intentions to the wide world? But I will say this: if you compare me with Olympius or Petronius Maximus you do me a great wrong. As you well know, Olympius of ill fame, took the administration of Rome after plotting the disgraceful murder of Stilicho, the greatest warrior of his age, who fearlessly defended the Empire. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>[Stilicho was the Master of Soldiers and principal support of the Western Emperor Honorius, assassinated in AD 408. Rome would be sacked by Alaric two years later.]</b></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"In the same way, Petronius Maximus proved himself only the greatest of traitors, seeking ascendancy for himself by the assassination of Aetius, a general of such excellence that even the hordes of Attila quailed before him. <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">[Aetius was the Master of Soldiers under the Western Emperor Valentinian III. He defeated Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in Gaul in AD 451, but was assassinated following a court intrigue three years later. Soon after, Rome would be sacked again by Gaiseric.]</span></b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"Both Aetius and Stilicho feared not death and indeed preferred it to surrender to the enemies of the Empire. Both were ultimately undone not by lack of military prowess, but by short-sighted politicians bent on amassing power and fortune.</p><p>“Let us recall these events of a century ago with shame, for we have five-score years of gloomy hindsight to remind us where they led—defeat and fear, sack and slaughter, domination and ruin. But now this will change. I come before you not as a politician or as a bureaucrat, but as a soldier and servant of Justinian Augustus, most happy and victorious emperor of the Romans. I hereby pledge my life to your safety. If during the coming storm you suffer, know that I will suffer before you. If you are injured, know that the enemy will have to knock me down to get at you. If you are in peril of death, know that I will share that peril every day until the peril is gone. As Stilicho and Aetius, I do not fear my own destruction, but I will put everything I have on the line to protect Rome from our enemies.”</p><p>In stunned silence, the assembled nobles and clergy listened, amazed that this man whom they considered an unlettered Thracian was more knowledgeable in their own history than most of them. A smile brightened the wrinkled face of Anicius Basilius, and Orestes’s cynical scowl turned to a look of delighted stupefaction.</p><p>“You see that my army is small,” Belisarius continued, “but what you do not see is that it is filled with men of the greatest courage. I have, furthermore, requested reinforcements from the thrice-blessed Justinian Augustus, and these he will supply after no little time. But, noble senators and holy fathers, no strategy designed by a man can succeed without trust and ultimately obedience. I have no concerns in this regard when it comes to my soldiers. I know that they are loyal and will, when called upon, sacrifice their lives for the safety of Rome. Thus, the success or failure of this enterprise depends ultimately on the Will of God and on you, the inhabitants of this city. If you will support my efforts, trust my decisions, and obey my commands, there is no question in my mind that we will attain victory. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>"If, however, you doubt, despair, demur and disobey, there can be only one result: death for me, defeat for the cause, and destruction for Rome.</p><p>“Friends, one year ago, no one believed that Justinian Augustus could liberate Rome. And yet, here I stand before you having accomplished the deed. Will you support me now in preserving the victory? Will you trust me?”</p><p>“Magister, please,” Basilius said quietly. “Please step down.” Belisarius stepped from the platform onto the flagstones of the courtyard. Now at eye-level, Basilius grasped Belisarius’s hand and fell to one knee, his aged frame tottering slightly. “You have my trust.”</p><p>“I will trust you as well, O Magister,” Orestes said solemnly, repeating the gesture of the older man.</p><p>“And I,” Cethegus said humbly.</p><p>“As for me, my life already belongs to Justinian Augustus,” Fidelius said with a smile.</p><p>The rest of the nobles crowded around to show similar obeisance. Belisarius accepted it, knowing well the sacrifices he would soon demand of these men.</p><p>“Command us,” Honorius the prefect said. “Whatever you would have us do, it will be done.”</p><p>“I shall confer with my commanders,” Belisarius replied. “Come to the Pincian at first light tomorrow morning.”</p><p>“And what of the clergy, Magister?” Pope Silverius asked. “How would you have us serve the people of Rome to aid this endeavor?”</p><p>“Far be it from me to advise your Holiness on how best to provide for your flock,” Belisarius replied. “Only do not disrupt the normal cycle of liturgies, feasts and processions in the city. And keep me informed as to the wants of the poor. I will do my utmost to ameliorate their travails.”</p></blockquote><p><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html#Book3">Rome the Eternal</a></i> is deep in the edits, so feel free to hit me with criticisms of this scene if you feel the urge. My expectation is that edits and some incidental interior art will complete in March, and this book will finally make it into print after over a decade of work. </p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-50358585711886818902023-01-26T15:18:00.002-05:002023-02-05T20:57:32.721-05:00"Never give up." ~ A review of Pelayo: King of Asturias by James Fitzhenry<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43rXmVyoPTpreQQztW_oWygNQnXR5B750iJoyMl_UtEzvUt1zrh6X8SU41zus-MF99psJHttY4OBv8orK4eptTyldLEvWtZxO9D_nx9AE3oF18KUE9_wtaD_i67Ox5Sv_onniEXJ90-1xgxOeQ1e5cOYOemfpyfy19Y71f5ax1l7gymw5Fw/s1046/Pelagius%20of%20Asturias.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="609" data-original-width="1046" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh43rXmVyoPTpreQQztW_oWygNQnXR5B750iJoyMl_UtEzvUt1zrh6X8SU41zus-MF99psJHttY4OBv8orK4eptTyldLEvWtZxO9D_nx9AE3oF18KUE9_wtaD_i67Ox5Sv_onniEXJ90-1xgxOeQ1e5cOYOemfpyfy19Y71f5ax1l7gymw5Fw/w481-h280/Pelagius%20of%20Asturias.jpeg" width="481" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Detail from a 19th century engraving of Pelayo, king of Asturias.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Almost exactly 15 years ago, I received a book in the mail entitled <i><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2008/01/el-cid-gods-own-champion.html">El Cid: God's Own Champion</a></i>. When first flipping through this book, I remember thinking to myself, "This probably won't be very good." After all, it was a work by an unknown author, meant for young readers, and self-published to boot. But as it turned out, I loved it. My kids have read it—even the one with dyslexia read and enjoyed it. Since I wrote the above-linked review in 2008, I have recommended <i>El Cid</i> to hundreds of people.<p></p><p>A few years later, Mr. Fitzhenry published another equally admirable book—<i><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/03/saint-fernando-iii-spains-great.html">Saint Fernando III: A Kingdom for Christ</a></i>. Much like his first book, Fitzhenry's second endeavor delved into the epic life of a Spanish hero that almost no one knows about today. Again, I found myself enchanted with the book and have recommended it numerous times. </p><p>Shortly thereafter followed <i><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2015/02/deus-le-vult-remembering-forgotten.html">Defenders of Christendom</a></i>, offering a collection of excellent capsule biographies of forgotten Catholic heroes from the crusading period. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#Pelayo" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="742" data-original-width="475" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7BcrFEEyNgZ9aH7nJHLpTNCCmG_aycOkhvPw99-r9neMxlqNdeALnCNVJIH8t_RSfCEfZatPIH_fQcvl5Tqa9AnPn3BDcbCnCQ0uyO1EQQKfEtNXNZ8AR6N5iOop4wfXa3pCd57k23Vf-uBU5MmnMV4PJ83E7q6umGmraKXSHAHITy5R5w/s320/Pelayo.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#Pelayo">Click for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>By this time, I have come to have very high expectations for Mr. Fitzhenry's work, so when I received a copy of <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#Pelayo">Pelayo: King of Asturias</a></i>, I was ready to tear into it straight away. <div><br /></div><div>And <i>Pelayo</i> did not disappoint. <div><p></p><p>Much like Fitzhenry's previous books, <i>Pelayo</i> tells an ancient story that is rarely heard today. It is the sobering tale of the end of Visigothic Spain—a state whose leaders had become corrupt, corpulent and cowardly. They had largely abandoned their Christian ethic and had little remaining loyalty to God or man. When confronted with a zealous, powerful enemy who wished to impose an alien culture upon them, their internal dissensions proved stronger than their desire to preserve their heritage.</p><p>Fitzhenry does a brilliant job setting the stage for Pelayo's heroism. Starting with the collapse of Visigothic Spain under the beleaguered King Roderick, Fitzhenry emphasizes the treason of those closest to the king as a contrast to the steadfast loyalty of Pelayo. At the Battle of Guadalete, the Visigoths are catastrophically defeated when part of their army commanded by renegade nobles and an apostate bishop turn on their own Christian countrymen. Following the battle, the Muslim emir, Tariq, overruns the whole kingdom. Pelayo and a remnant of loyal Visigoths retreat into the mountains of northern Spain. There, he begins his exploits—escaping from an assassination attempt, rescuing his kidnapped sister, and building up the solid core of a Christian army to resist Islam.</p><p>After finishing <i>Pelayo: King of Asturias</i>, I immediately began searching for the ancient sources underpinning Fitzhenry's inspiring biography. I quickly discovered that Pelayo is the hispanicized version of the name Pelagius. He is considered a Visigothic noble, but given that Pelagius is not a typical Gothic name, he likely had a Greco-Roman strain somewhere in his lineage. This makes sense given that the Spanish Visigothic kingdom was built upon the foundation of the Roman provinces of Hispania. My search eventually led to a 10th century source called <a href="https://www.aymennjawad.org/24483/the-chronicle-of-alfonso-iii-the-kingdom">The Chronicle of Alfonso III</a>. While reading it, I discovered that Fitzhenry stayed true to the history. His description of the events surrounding the history-changing Battle of Covadonga was drawn faithfully from this ancient historical work. </p><p>Fitzhenry's <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#Pelayo">Pelayo</a></i> joins <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#defenders">El Cid</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/Saints.html#Fernandoiii">Saint Fernando III</a></i> among the growing list of exceptional historical books meant to educate young Catholic men about their heritage. <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#angelsiniron">Angels in Iron</a></i> and <i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/crusades-medieval.html#crownoftheworld">Crown of the World</a></i> are two other examples of this counter-cultural trend—portraying distinctly Catholic heroes as what the world desperately needs. I hope that <a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">my own books about the late Roman general Belisarius</a> are serving a similar function. </p><p>Toward the end of the book, the author lays out the message of Pelayo's life for those of us today: </p><blockquote><p>"Never give up. Even if it seems that you struggle in complete isolation, know that you are not alone....Follow closely in the footsteps of Christ. There are many who have trod the narrow path before you, and for those who do not give up the fight, eternal glory awaits in a kingdom that is not of this world!"</p></blockquote><p>During a time when many Catholic institutions have failed and our leaders seem content to bury their talents in the ground, such a message is badly needed.</p></div></div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-89361434268009408312023-01-12T17:11:00.003-05:002023-01-12T17:31:33.693-05:00"This pontificate is a disaster..." The final testament of George Cardinal Pell (d. January 10, 2023)<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQi0KS9Y6lqh8Uj4FodsOZZ8bLqRn4DJYznvS9o3w2hhSpUWvmbyYoVkhhRSw8q-hU38ZQtSvrYrGswBL_qrexP33f_bfVTX7ZiUwOjyacKlD4HQcMkUBrZvhm1dIfwAcpPAATXE-K-PX6rX5tiaoO02SR38c3kHgzeT3NfUHjj0oDH_KgQ/s900/Pell%20with%20Benedicts%20body.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQi0KS9Y6lqh8Uj4FodsOZZ8bLqRn4DJYznvS9o3w2hhSpUWvmbyYoVkhhRSw8q-hU38ZQtSvrYrGswBL_qrexP33f_bfVTX7ZiUwOjyacKlD4HQcMkUBrZvhm1dIfwAcpPAATXE-K-PX6rX5tiaoO02SR38c3kHgzeT3NfUHjj0oDH_KgQ/w443-h295/Pell%20with%20Benedicts%20body.jpg" width="443" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">George Cardinal Pell prays before the body of Pope Benedict XVI lying in state, January 2023.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />George Cardinal Pell is dead. <p></p><p>As a man, Cardinal Pell stood accused of grievous sins before several earthly tribunals. He was convicted of some of those crimes in secular courts, and as a result, spent over a year in prison—much of it in solitary confinement. He was later acquitted and released when the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-07/george-pell-high-court-of-australia-full-judgment-summary/12128468">High Court of Australia unanimously overturned his convictions</a> saying that the jury likely made its decision based on faulty evidence, and that there was a significant possibility that an innocent person had been convicted. </p><p>Was Cardinal Pell guilty of the crimes he was accused of? Or was he targeted for destruction by enemies who would stoop even so low as to manufacture false sins? In this world, we will never know. </p><p>But now, Cardinal Pell has taken his stand before the Just Judge from whom nothing can be hidden. Whether his sins warranted mercy or damnation is in the hands of Christ, and all the faithful can do is pray that our gracious Lord will have mercy on him. </p><p>What is clear is that George Cardinal Pell did not go out with a whimper, but with a resounding bang.</p><p>Less than a week before he died, Cardinal Pell wrote an article in the UK Spectator that is nothing less than a clarion call. The title of the article says it all: <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-catholic-church-must-free-itself-from-this-toxic-nightmare/">The Catholic Church Must Free Itself from this "Toxic Nightmare.</a>"</p><p>What toxic nightmare is he referring to? That would be the so-called Synod on Synodality—that useless and wasteful meeting of bishops that seems to be the very embodiment of the unofficial motto of the current pontificate: "¡Hagan lío!" or "make a mess!" Regarding the 45-page document put out by the Vatican explaining the "listening" stage of the synod, Pell calls it: "one of the most incoherent documents ever sent out from Rome."</p><p>After offering a point-by-point deconstruction of the document, Pell is left scratching his head:</p><blockquote><p>What is one to make of this potpourri, this outpouring of New Age good will? It is not a summary of Catholic faith or New Testament teaching. It is incomplete, hostile in significant ways to the apostolic tradition and nowhere acknowledges the New Testament as the Word of God, normative for all teaching on faith and morals. The Old Testament is ignored, patriarchy rejected and the Mosaic Law, including the Ten Commandments, is not acknowledged.</p></blockquote><p>This is a pretty harsh condemnation that should be taken very seriously by all serious Catholics.</p><p>But it gets better. </p><p>In the spring of 2022, <a href="https://voxcantor.blogspot.com/2023/01/sandra-magister-reveals-that-george.html">an anonymous letter was said to be circulating among the Cardinals</a> signed by someone called "Demos" or the Greek word for "the common people." It was a sober reflection upon and harsh criticism of the numerous scandals which have proliferated over the past 10 years within the Church, with an unusually pointed critique of the Francis papacy. The opening sentence gives the reader a sense of what follows:</p><blockquote><p><b>Commentators at every school, though for different reasons, with the possible exception of Father Spadaro SJ, agree that this pontificate is a disaster in many or more respects, a catastrophe.</b></p></blockquote><p>It was revealed today that the author of this letter was none other than George Cardinal Pell.</p><p>This letter is not merely a litany of the failures of Pope Francis. It is a road map for his successor. Indeed, the second half of the letter reads more like avuncular advice from an experienced elder churchman to a man who will be faced with cleaning up a gigantic mess not of his doing. </p><p>The entire letter is well worth reading, but the following point seems to be the most important of all, encapsulating what has gone wrong and the attitude necessary to fix it:</p><blockquote><p><b>The new pope must understand that the secret of Christian and Catholic vitality comes from fidelity to Christ's teachings and Catholic practices. It doesn't come from adapting to the world or money.</b></p></blockquote><p>This point is followed immediately by another that lays out the steps necessary to return from the present chaos:</p><blockquote><p>The first tasks of the new pope will be the restoration of normality, the restoration of doctrinal clarity in faith and morals, the restoration of just respect for the law, and the guarantee that the first criterion for the appointment of bishops is acceptance of apostolic tradition. Theological competence and culture are an advantage, not an obstacle for all bishops and especially for archbishops. These are necessary foundations for living and preaching the Gospel.</p></blockquote><p>More than anything else, the faithful need doctrinal clarity. Indeed, we thirst for it, as one can not drink the muddy slurry churned up by "¡Hagan lío!"</p><p>Pell's "Demos" letter reads like an encyclical letter written by one of the Church Fathers when faced with an ecclesiastical crisis.</p><p>Thank you, Cardinal Pell, for speaking like a believing Catholic, reminding us of our patrimony, and for standing up for the devout who have spent the past nine years taking abuse from those tasked to nurture them in faith and teach them the Gospel of Jesus Christ.</p><p>With men like Benedict XVI and Cardinal Pell passing into eternity, ordinary devout Catholics pray that Christ will raise up other bishops and cardinals with the fortitude to keep the current mess from spreading and leading even more souls to perdition. </p><p>May the Holy Spirit, in His good time, bestow upon us a new pope who will come armed the charism of Saint Francis of Assisi who was commanded by God to "restore my Church which is falling down."</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-47760023064600119442023-01-03T23:52:00.002-05:002023-01-04T11:08:19.485-05:00"Attila shouted that he would have crucified him and given him as food to the birds." ~ Priscus and the Roman Embassy to the Huns of AD 448<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZEcO7hYUhFhLM3hyeAbPzQ9GdLsS7vfQEd2MuOYpVkLAMgTSgyzAIBJ_CYKdIpjky12zQrQgRMhf0a-dQVeYjIFqftiVcsRvl9KkHku2i1lP0E-ZAVaF1N632U7kALIvY3QZG5nsnj2IRDVgcTOlmNAbP6jmp7FW4GefGHSYb-FFkdYz5w/s2237/Priscus%20-%20Attila.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="2237" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyZEcO7hYUhFhLM3hyeAbPzQ9GdLsS7vfQEd2MuOYpVkLAMgTSgyzAIBJ_CYKdIpjky12zQrQgRMhf0a-dQVeYjIFqftiVcsRvl9KkHku2i1lP0E-ZAVaF1N632U7kALIvY3QZG5nsnj2IRDVgcTOlmNAbP6jmp7FW4GefGHSYb-FFkdYz5w/w493-h251/Priscus%20-%20Attila.jpg" width="493" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Roman Embassy to Attila by Cecila Lawrence, as it appears on the cover of <br />Given's <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fragmentary-History-Priscus-430-476-Christian/dp/1935228145">Fragmentary History of Priscus</a></i>. </span></td></tr></tbody></table>Much of our detailed knowledge of Attila and the Huns comes from one relatively obscure source, the late 5th century <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fragmentary-History-Priscus-430-476-Christian/dp/1935228145">History</a></i> of Priscus. It’s probable that you’ve never heard of Priscus because his history was considered lost after about the 10th century AD. All that survives of it are fragments that later historians have recovered from other ancient and medieval sources that incorporated or paraphrased certain passages of interest. Excerpts from Priscus may be found embedded within works such as the <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gothic-History-Jordanes-Christian-Empire/dp/1889758779">Gothic History</a></i> of Jordanes, the <i>Histories</i> of Procopius, the works of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Suda, the <i>History</i> of John of Antioch, and several others.<p></p><p>Priscus possessed such in depth knowledge about the Huns because he had a personal encounter with Attila himself. In AD 448 or 449, Priscus was part of an embassy to the Huns sent by the Emperor Theodosius II and his right-hand eunuch, Chrysaphius. At that time, Attila was threatening both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, and both halves were making every possible attempt to pacify the barbarian and his pillaging horde. In fact, Chrysaphius and Theodosius had made a secret pact with one of Attila’s leading advisors, Edekon by name, to make sure that Attila rested in peace—for good. Unbeknownst to them, however, Edekon had revealed everything to Attila, and the King of the Huns was well prepared to deal with the potentially treacherous Roman embassy when it arrived.</p><p>Priscus has left a fascinating account of his visit to the Huns and his initial meeting with Attila. Following is an excerpt from the <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fragmentary-History-Priscus-430-476-Christian/dp/1935228145">Fragmentary History of Priscus</a></i> as translated by John Given, detailing the opening phase of what must have been a very frightening encounter:</p><p style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EjzrvYSD3LM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">You may also listen to the excerpt at the video above.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> <br /></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p><b>FRAGMENT 8: From the Excerpts on Romans’ Embassies to Foreigners of Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos</b></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>After the eunuch Chrysaphius urged Edekon to kill Attila, Emperor Theodosius and the magister Martialios decided, as they discussed the events, to dispatch as ambassadors to Attila not only Bigilas but also Maximinos. They also decided that Bigilas, as a pretense, should keep occupying the translator’s post and should do whatever Edekon thought best, and Maximinos, since he knew nothing of their plans, should deliver the emperor’s letter....</p><p>With earnest entreaty, Maximinos persuaded me to accompany him on this embassy. And so, closely following the road alongside the barbarians, we reached Serdica, a thirteen days’ journey from Constantinople for a lightly armed man. There, as we settled into our quarters, we thought it would be a good idea to invite Edekon and his barbarian companions to a feast. We bought sheep and cows from the locals, slaughtered them and made our meal. At the height of the banquet, when the barbarians were extolling Attila and we the emperor, Bigilas said it was not right to juxtapose a god and a man—meaning by “man” Attila and by “god” Theodosius. The Huns were agitated and, their temperatures rising little by little, grew angry. We turned the conversation to other topics and appeased their anger with friendliness...</p><p>Arriving at Naissos, we found the city bereft of people because it had been overturned by the enemy, though there were some people in the sacred lodgings who were suffering from diseases. We camped a little bit upriver in a clearing, since the bank was everywhere covered with the bones of war casualties...</p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>After passing the night, we traveled from the region of Naissos to the Istros River....After we crossed the Istros and traveled about seventy stades with the barbarians, we were forced to wait on a plain so that Edekon’s men could inform Attila of our arrival. The barbarians stayed with us and acted as our guides. As we were taking our dinner in the late afternoon we heard the rumble of horses coming toward us. Two Scythian men arrived and ordered us to go to Attila. First, though, we asked them to join us for dinner. They dismounted and we sumptuously entertained them. On the next day they led us along the road. Around the ninth hour of the day we reached Attila’s tents (and there were many tents there). We wanted to pitch ours on the crest of a hill, but the barbarians who met us prevented it, since Attila’s tent was on lower ground.</p><p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegVtNsiBa6U9GvpjeXVR2asbq0ufOBT-5A2Epqqgji_9cFyfoN_56d_5hQy70C8Ca96DOFmuJ49gIe1bVMdN-5N-k30Hbp03OzaPQO913Pw05svhkgNVQFTqAOc9w0nVmBu6RWVRWaCctYGbW8yV-Rzq5uFo0we1ILUOfvkPABxA8GUDuQQ/s576/CRE11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="360" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjegVtNsiBa6U9GvpjeXVR2asbq0ufOBT-5A2Epqqgji_9cFyfoN_56d_5hQy70C8Ca96DOFmuJ49gIe1bVMdN-5N-k30Hbp03OzaPQO913Pw05svhkgNVQFTqAOc9w0nVmBu6RWVRWaCctYGbW8yV-Rzq5uFo0we1ILUOfvkPABxA8GUDuQQ/w125-h200/CRE11.jpg" width="125" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.evolpub.com/CRE/CREseries.html#CRE11">Click for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Once we settled down where the Scythians wanted, Edekon, Orestes, Skottas and some other select men came and asked what our embassy was eager to procure. We expressed our confusion at the senseless question and kept looking at one another, but they continued to trouble us for an answer. When we said that the emperor bade us to speak to Attila and to no one else, Skottas replied angrily that their order was from their leader; they would not have come to us out of their own desire to meddle. We said that it was not customary for ambassadors to be questioned by intermediaries about why they had come without their meeting nor even seeing the parties to whom they had been sent. This, we said, was not unknown even to the Scythians, who often sent ambassadors to the emperor. It was necessary that we receive identical treatment; otherwise we would not disclose the embassy’s purpose. So we spoke, and they withdrew to Attila.</p><p>Again they returned, though without Edekon, repeated to us all the reasons for which we had come on the embassy, and ordered us to go away by the quickest route possible unless we could name anything else. We were still more mystified by these words since it was not easy to see how decisions made by the emperor in secret had become clearly known. We believed that it was to our benefit to answer nothing further about the embassy unless we gained access to Attila. So we said it was their leader who asked whether we came to negotiate the things listed by the Scythians or other matters too; we would not discuss it with anyone other than him. They immediately ordered us to leave....</p></blockquote><p>At this point, Priscus goes off on a slight tangent, explaining that Bigilas was insistent on meeting with Attila, boasting that if he would be able to meet with him, he would easily persuade him to make peace. It is not clear that Priscus or anyone else among the Romans knew at this point that the true purpose of the embassy was to arrange the assassination of Attila. Priscus explains, however, that unbeknownst to Bigilas, the plot had already been revealed to Attila by Edekon.</p><p>Priscus continues:</p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>We had already loaded our baggage onto the pack animals and were attempting—out of necessity, at nighttime—to begin our journey, when some of the barbarians came and said Attila told us to remain because of the late hour. To the place from which we were getting ready to set out, some men brought us a cow and some river-caught fish sent by Attila. Then, after dining, we turned to sleep. When day came, we thought that the barbarian would reveal some kind, pleasant news. Once again, however, he sent the same men, advising us to go away unless we had something to say beyond what they already knew. We said no and began preparing for the journey, although Bigilas vehemently argued we should say that we had more to say.</p><p>Seeing Maximinos very dejected, I went out with Roustikios since he knew the barbarians’ language fluently. (He had come with us to Scythia not on the embassy, but for some business with Constantius, Attila’s Italian secretary, whom Aetius, the Western Roman general, had sent.) I came to Skottas—Onegesios was not present at the time— and, addressing him through the translator Roustikios, I said that he would receive numerous gifts from Maximinos if he helped him get access to Attila. The embassy, I said, would benefit not only the Romans and the Huns but also Onegesios, since the emperor wanted him to come and mediate the nations’ differences, and he would receive magnificent gifts when he went. Since Onegesios was away, I said, he needed to support us, and more his brother, in pursuit of this good business. I said we knew Attila followed his guidance too, but we would not firmly believe the reports about him unless we came to know his power through experience. He replied that no one any longer doubted Attila deemed his words and deeds equal to his brother’s. And he immediately mounted his horse and rode to Attila’s tent.</p><p>I returned to Maximinos, who with Bigilas was perplexed and at a loss regarding the recent events. I repeated what I said to Skottas and what I heard from him, and said that we needed to prepare the gifts for the barbarian and to calculate what we would say to him. Both of them leapt up (they happened to be lying in the grass), praised my actions and called back those who had already departed with the pack animals. They considered how to address Attila and how to give him the emperor’s gifts as well as what Maximinos had brought for him. As we were worrying about these things, Attila summoned us through Skottas. And so at last we came to Attila’s tent, which was guarded by a barbarian multitude arrayed in a circle.</p><p>When we reached the entrance, we found Attila seated on a wooden chair. Maximinos approached, as the rest of us stood a short distance from the seat, and he greeted the barbarian. Giving him the emperor’s letter, he said that the emperor prayed that he and those around him were safe. Attila replied that the Romans would have what they desired for him. He turned his attention straight to Bigilas, called him a shameless beast and asked why he wanted to come to him, considering that he knew his and Anatolios’s peacetime agreement that no ambassadors should come to him until all fugitives had been surrendered to the barbarians. Bigilas said that there was not a single Scythian fugitive among the Romans; those who had been there had been surrendered. Growing angrier and reviling him all the more, Attila shouted that he would have crucified him and given him as food to the birds, if he did not think inflicting this penalty on his shamelessness and on the effrontery of his words would violate sacred diplomatic law. There were, he said, fugitives of their race among the Romans—many of them—whose names, which had been recorded on papyrus, he ordered the secretaries to read out. </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p>When they had gone through <all the> absent men, he ordered Bigilas to depart without a moment’s delay. He would send Eslas with him too, he said, to tell the Romans they should send him all the barbarian fugitives, from the time of Karpileon (the son of Aetius, the Western Roman general), who had lived as a hostage at his court. He would not allow his own subjects to fight against him, although they were incapable of helping anyone who trusted them to protect his land. What city, he asked, or what fortress had they saved, once he himself had begun a siege? He told us to return again after we had repeated his demands about the fugitives and to say whether the Romans wanted to surrender them or undertake war on their behalf. He had earlier told Maximinos to stay, so that he might reply to the emperor’s letter through him, and so he permitted us to present the gifts Maximinos was carrying and to withdraw.</p><p>We presented the gifts and retired into our tent, where we reviewed what had been said. Bigilas was amazed how Attila angrily reviled him, even though he seemed gentle and kind to him on his previous embassy. I expressed the fear that some of the barbarians who had feasted with us in Serdica had made Attila hostile to him by reporting that he called the Roman emperor a god but Attila a man. Maximinos thought that was right, since he was <not> a partner in the eunuch’s conspiracy against the barbarian. Bigilas was doubtful and seemed to me at a loss to explain why Attila had reviled him. He thought, as he later told us, that neither the events in Serdica nor the details of the plot had been reported to Attila, because, on the one hand, no one else from the group, he thought, was bold enough to speak with Attila due to the fear that governed them all; on the other hand Edekon, he thought, would keep his silence completely because of his oaths and the uncertainty of the deed, in fear that he himself too, since he was a participant in such plans, would lose his favored status and suffer death as punishment. [Given, <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Fragmentary-History-Priscus-430-476-Christian/dp/1935228145">Fragmentary History of Priscus</a></i>, pages 47-55]</p></blockquote><p>What happens next is perhaps even more intriguing. Later, Priscus would meet a former Roman citizen who had been taken captive by the Huns. This man would claim that life as a prisoner among the Huns was superior to life as a Roman. His debate with Priscus on this topic is perhaps the most famous of the surviving fragments of Priscus’s <i>History</i> and well worth reading. I have discussed this debate in a previous post: <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/03/romans-are-easily-killed-in-war-because.html">"Romans are easily killed in war because they rely on others for safety" ~ Priscus and the notion of Romans voluntarily becoming Huns.</a></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-62244695513886886612022-12-27T20:27:00.000-05:002022-12-27T20:27:22.573-05:00Book Review: Matron of Paris by Phillip Campbell<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-dOPtxn5JDRtfEdwjC2VEqA9x2vSKbXTcSjRkLQmi9FDSfcJyUdZSshqpWmVedo7qOtgranamXziYT0afTh1vL8yfwhmHjYsdI16OAiTUt2H2K3aekf1ue-YqQ38dgvanVzRk4LBvGKG8KjF_GyEYg6RUJPFMJQQTU-_y9O2KRwzNv3agg/s872/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%2011.20.07%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="872" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU-dOPtxn5JDRtfEdwjC2VEqA9x2vSKbXTcSjRkLQmi9FDSfcJyUdZSshqpWmVedo7qOtgranamXziYT0afTh1vL8yfwhmHjYsdI16OAiTUt2H2K3aekf1ue-YqQ38dgvanVzRk4LBvGKG8KjF_GyEYg6RUJPFMJQQTU-_y9O2KRwzNv3agg/w465-h318/Screen%20Shot%202022-12-27%20at%2011.20.07%20AM.png" width="465" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Saint Germain bestows his blessing upon the girl Genevieve, from a 19th century triptych, <br /><i>The Pastoral Life of Saint Genevieve</i> by Pierre-Cécile Puvis de Chavannes</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Unbeknownst to many outside of the homeschooling community, there is something of a literary renaissance going on in Catholic circles, particularly with regard to historical novels for younger readers. At the moment, there are enough of these high-quality novels on the market to keep even the most avid young reader going for a very long time. <p></p><p>One of the eras that has attracted particular attention from writers of Catholic historical novels is the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The most recent entry in this category is <i><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/89423/9781505123227">Matron of Paris</a></i>, a lively work by Phillip Campbell about the eventful life and miraculous works of St. Genevieve of Nanterre. Some readers may recall my previous post about this patroness of France: <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/01/saint-genevieve-and-barbarism-from.html">Saint Genevieve and Barbarism: From Attila to the Republic</a>.</p><p>A Gallo-Roman woman, Genevieve (or Genovefa as she is called in Latin) was born toward the end of the reign of the weak Western Roman Emperor Honorius, circa AD 422. With Roman power in eclipse, barbarian tribes breached the frontier with increasing ease, carving out their own petty principalities in Roman Gaul and oppressing the inhabitants. This was the chaotic and dangerous era into which the girl Genevieve was born. </p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/matron-of-paris-the-story-of-saint-genevieve/18898605?ean=9781505123227" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="829" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg54LAQeq5MFuVL4gJrjE7BV0hkwTupEBpJUMGk-Q-HR4cLe9gi2ovL_AamlsIoQtXshJqOSfUVa4dK89v5EjTapMzPNAYrMoKsY9W8CfgzS20m92Mmal6TZMtMsc2_JQLcq0Lqx6eT8R1gJzQ1mQ5mEEGo7Nn-uR0khVeAgVPTHDRJJM5jw/s320/8668__80898.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/matron-of-paris-the-story-of-saint-genevieve/18898605?ean=9781505123227">Click for more info.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>In <i><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/89423/9781505123227">Matron of Paris: The Story of Saint Genevieve</a></i>, Phillip Campbell tells the story of this great saint in his usual engaging style, leading the reader from the simple life of a Gallo-Roman peasant girl into the brutal and complicated world of Late Roman / early Merovingian warfare and politics. While following the tale, readers will be introduced to numerous historical characters: from Saint Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, who first recognized Genevieve's sanctity, to Clovis, king of the Franks, whose story would ultimately become intertwined with that of Genevieve. Others who were Genevieve's rough contemporaries are also mentioned — from Aetius, the Roman <i>magister militum</i> who defeated Attila at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, to a mysterious saintly presbyter named Patricius who serves briefly at Nanterre before moving on to greener pastures. <p></p><p>The core of the book, however, follows Genevieve as a mature woman. She becomes the heart and soul of Paris whose prayers and entreaties would hearten the beleaguered city during Atilla's invasion of Gaul. Later in life, her occasionally miraculous interventions would help the Franks and Gallo-Romans become one people. It is during this part of the novel that two other saints enter the story: Saint Clotilde, the Burgundian wife of Clovis, and Saint Remigius of Reims who would baptize the Frankish king. Campbell does a wonderful job weaving the story of Genevieve together with that of Clovis and Clotilde.</p><p>I highly recommend <i>Matron of Paris</i> and think it makes a fantastic addition to the literature of late Rome and the early Middle Ages, ideal for readers ages 12 and up. It fits together beautifully with another novel of the same time period, <i><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/10/the-battle-of-soissons-ad-486-final.html">Centurion's Daughter</a></i> by Justin Swanton. Considering St. Genevieve's feast day is coming up on January 3, the Christmas season is a particularly appropriate time to purchase this book.</p><p>For students who want to do a deep study of this period, here is a quick reading list of available resources in rough chronological order, (including my own books):</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Between-Forest-Hills-Adventure-Library/dp/1883937396">Between the Forest and the Hills</a></i> by Ann Lawrence (5th century AD)</li><li><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/89423/9781505123227"><i>Matron of Paris: The Story of Saint Genevieve</i></a> by Phillip Campbell (5th and 6th century AD)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Centurions_Daughter.html">Centurion's Daughter</a></i> by Justin Swanton (late 5th century AD)</li><li><i><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/89423/9781586174736">Saint Clothilde: The First Christian Queen of France Tells Her Story</a></i> by Blandine Malé (5th and 6th century AD)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/literary/Belisarius.html">Belisarius</a></i> series by Paolo Belzoni (6th century AD)</li><li><i><a href="http://www.arxpub.com/HSBookstore/grecoroman.html#CitadelofGod">Citadel of God: A Novel about Saint Benedict</a></i> by Louis de Wohl (6th century AD)</li></ul>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-57469760451816486132022-11-12T15:18:00.001-05:002022-11-12T17:52:57.340-05:00Old Hickory and Our Lady of Prompt Succor<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjF1u40eqQmuT91RxSP8nKrLu0GTVuBY1ksn7rRWWadEIzF5-e9G3Y4ZDGTOSsMJGaupED7V5jYc0FPtMQQahQe5SAxcGPZDUyx9_QY28oJSEfIuLc2O98ll1_EOyK_hkPoX0Y5HRlZ3vKpZSWLXEYhnFazHm3e0SI_lJG8nDlrswOD0v9g/s1889/Our%20Lady%20of%20Prompt%20Succor.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1186" data-original-width="1889" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggjF1u40eqQmuT91RxSP8nKrLu0GTVuBY1ksn7rRWWadEIzF5-e9G3Y4ZDGTOSsMJGaupED7V5jYc0FPtMQQahQe5SAxcGPZDUyx9_QY28oJSEfIuLc2O98ll1_EOyK_hkPoX0Y5HRlZ3vKpZSWLXEYhnFazHm3e0SI_lJG8nDlrswOD0v9g/w481-h302/Our%20Lady%20of%20Prompt%20Succor.jpeg" width="481" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Mosaic of the three times Our Lady of Prompt Succor saved New Orleans. General Jackson <br />and his men may be seen in the bottom right. I took this photo of the mosaic at the <br />Ursuline Convent in New Orleans in 2019. </span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Andrew Jackson was a study in contrasts. By most accounts, he was hot tempered and had a tendency to violence. In his youth, he engaged in most of the vices common to young men of that time: drinking, carousing, and engaging in every form of gambling known to man. He apparently had a passion for cock-fighting. He got into brawls without number and fought duels, killing at least one man—though admittedly, that man had shot him first, hitting Jackson square in the chest. The bullet lodged too close to his heart to be extracted, and Jackson would carry it inside him for the rest of his life.</p><p>Jackson was a slave owner and an Indian fighter. He is perhaps most infamous today for his policy while president of removing tribes from the eastern states to Indian Territory in the present-day state of Oklahoma. This policy's most noteworthy and awful result was the removal of the Cherokee from Georgia along the <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/08/will-left-tear-down-stand-waties.html">Trail of Tears</a>. At the same time, Jackson was compassionate, taking in an orphaned Creek boy named Lyncoya after the Battle of Tallushatchee in 1813. He would adopt Lyncoya as his son, and later took in two other Creek orphans, Theodore and Charley. </p><p>If you read about Jackson in any of the earlier biographies, you get a sense that Old Hickory's contemporaries—whether friend or foe—struggled to pigeon-hole the man. Later in his life, Jackson apparently became quite religious, even helping to found Hermitage Presbyterian Church on land donated from his estate in Nashville, Tennessee. Indeed, even in Jackson's dissipated youth, it seemed that there was a latent tendency toward Christian piety to be found buried deep within him. Biographers struggled to reconcile these conflicting tendencies, resulting in awkward passages like this one from Cyrus Townsend Brady:</p><blockquote><p>General Jackson was a thoroughly religious man during the greater part of his life…Now, when I say he was a religious man I do not mean that his religion was at first of the active, personal sort. On the contrary, it was originally intermixed with worldliness to an excessive degree. [<i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=YXwEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA366#v=onepage&q&f=false">The True Andrew Jackson</a></i> (1906), p. 366]</p></blockquote><p>Writing in 1888, another biographer, James Parton, recorded the following anecdote that exemplifies Jackson’s internal paradox in a concrete way:</p><blockquote><p>After his wife had joined the [Presbyterian] church, the general, in deference to her wishes, was accustomed to ask a blessing before meals. The company had sat down at the table one day, when the general was telling a warlike story with great animation, interlarding the discourse, as was then his custom, with a profusion of expletives most heterodox and profane. In the full tide of this narration, the lady of the house interrupted her lord, “Mr Jackson, will you ask a blessing?” Mr. Jackson stopped short in the midst of one of his most soldier-like sentences, performed the duty required of him, and then instantly resumed his narrative in the same tone and language as before. [<i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=7RQOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA655#v=onepage&q&f=false">Life of Andrew Jackson</a></i>, Volume 2 (1888), p. 655]</p></blockquote><p>Many of us have known men similar to this. They are often individuals who have lived a harsh early life (Jackson was orphaned at 14) and find it nearly impossible to make that final conversion of heart to Christ, crying out with the young Augustine of Hippo, "Lord make me pure—but not yet!" </p><p>I, for one, think Jackson's religious tendencies were sincere, even if he often consciously chose the course of worldliness and sin. Let's look at an incident during the Battle of New Orleans as an example. </p><p>In January of 1815, at the age of 47, Jackson was placed in command of a rag-tag collection of regular army units, local militia, a squad of gunners from Jean Lafitte's crew of privateers, and even a detachment of Choctaws. Jackson's force numbered about 5,000 all told. </p><p>These men were meant to defend New Orleans against an army of 10,000 British regulars under the command of General Edward Pakenham. Many of these men were veterans of the Napoleonic War in Europe and both officers and men had every expectation that they would brush aside Jackson's disorderly mob with little effort and capture New Orleans. </p><p>Gambler that he was, Jackson must have known that the odds of survival were long, and the odds of victory even longer still. As Pakenham's redcoats advanced, Jackson came face-to-face with that old adage: there are no atheists in foxholes. Some accounts of activities prior to the battle include <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/History_of_New_Orleans/z-gxAQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22andrew+jackson%22+%22visit%22+%22ursuline+convent%22&pg=PA701&printsec=frontcover">mention of Jackson visiting Abbe William DuBourg</a> to request public prayers for the success of American arms. </p><p>In New Orleans, that city of contrasts nearly as striking as those affecting Jackson, the 18,000 inhabitants were in a state of near panic. The mood at the Ursuline Convent, however, was markedly different. Writing in <i>The Story of the Battle of New Orleans</i> (1915) Stanley Clisby Arthur offers the following account of what went on among the nuns on that fateful eve of battle:</p><blockquote><p>From the windows of the Convent, the Ursulines could see the smoke rising from the battle-field on the plains of Chalmette. The night of January 7th had been spent in prayer before their Blessed Sacrament. Everything seemed hopeless for the Americans; and Jackson himself had sworn that, should he be vanquished, the enemy would find New Orleans a heap of ruins.</p></blockquote><blockquote><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf6Rkn41FKcZW8HHt2Xa0buz9WwcsarbnrE4JY4GFoExHV-wT5utiTQKNPRZ9ZG0vucb2CCirw-kvRbf6IikRuBuO-vG2FpOWqW8rPGqp5GnnN-gwWePMgiZSxhCGNTpEvaYXkr8i2GiyKFQfDYTNjBwykvFHya41-47weTlJaMCJghYu4Q/s424/OLPS.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="424" data-original-width="271" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzf6Rkn41FKcZW8HHt2Xa0buz9WwcsarbnrE4JY4GFoExHV-wT5utiTQKNPRZ9ZG0vucb2CCirw-kvRbf6IikRuBuO-vG2FpOWqW8rPGqp5GnnN-gwWePMgiZSxhCGNTpEvaYXkr8i2GiyKFQfDYTNjBwykvFHya41-47weTlJaMCJghYu4Q/s320/OLPS.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The wooden statue of Our Lady of<br />Prompt Succor that was placed on the<br />altar during the Battle of New Orleans </span></td></tr></tbody></table>In order to assist in averting this imminent peril — for all was in consternation on the morning of January 8th — the Chapel was continually thronged with pious ladies and poor negresses, all weeping and praying at the foot of the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor, which had been placed on the main altar; and the Community, through the Superioress, Mother Ste Marie (in the world, Marie Francoise Victoire Olivier de Vezin), made a vow to have a solemn Mass of thanksgiving sung every year, should the Americans gain the victory.<p></p></blockquote><blockquote><p>That morning, January 8, 1815, Very Reverend William DuBourg, the Vicar Apostolic (afterwards Bishop of New Orleans), offered up the holy sacrifice of the Mass before the statue of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>At the moment of communion, a courier entered the chapel to announce the glad tidings of the enemy’s defeat.</b></p></blockquote><blockquote><p>After Mass, the Abbe DuBourg entoned <i>Te Deum</i>, which was taken up and sung with accents of such lively gratitude that it seemed as though the very vaults of the chapel would open to allow this touching thanksgiving to ascend more freely to the throne of God. [<i><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9b4TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA239#v=onepage&q&f=false">The Battle of New Orleans</a></i> (1915), p. 239). </p></blockquote><p>It is said that the battle itself was over within half-an-hour. The badly mauled British were forced to retreat and Jackson's riff-raff were left in possession of the field. Operating from a hastily fortified position, Jackson's troops inflicted over 2,000 casualties on the British. By contrast, the Americans had suffered only 13 killed in action, and 39 wounded. </p><p>The latter group, along with the sick, were lodged in the schoolrooms of the convent and nursed by the gentle hands of the Ursuline sisters who had prayed so fervently for them. Shortly after returning to New Orleans, Jackson would visit the Ursulines. In a lecture read before the Louisiana Historical Society in 1901, Henry Renshaw described the scene:</p><blockquote><p>In the period of the city's dread anxiety and peril, the Ursulines invoked Divine assistance that victory might be won by the soldiery of the Republic. Andrew Jackson, in the flush of brilliant triumph, visited the convent and thanked these pious women for their prayers for his success. What a scene was this — the victorious warrior expressing gratitude to these nuns for the petitions which they had offered for celestial aid in his behalf. What a subject to be represented in stone or in metal, or upon the painted canvas. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>And not alone by fervent supplication did the Ursulines evince their sympathetic patriotism. The sick and wounded soldiers were received at the convent and lodged in the class rooms of the day scholars where, for three months they were cared for by the nuns. [<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jLLOkE7xrPoC&pg=RA1-PA35#v=onepage&q&f=false">"The Louisiana Ursulines,"</a> <i>Publications of the Louisiana Historical Society</i>, Volume 2, Issues 3-4].</p></blockquote><p>An even earlier historical record confirms the good offices of the Ursuline sisters:</p><blockquote><p>The Ursuline nuns are also entitled to a particular notice. They gave admittance within the walls of their monastery to as many of the sick as could be conveniently lodged therein, and afforded them every aid, comformably to the dictates of true charity. [<i><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/Historical_Memoir_of_the_War_in_West_Flo/4qxEAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=ursuline">Historical Memoir of the War in West Florida and Louisiana </a></i>(1816) Appendix, p. cxxviii]</p></blockquote><p>Jackson also chose to express his gratitude publicly at the very center of Catholicism in the city:</p><blockquote><p>In the old cathedral, burnished up for the occasion, a solemn service of thanksgiving was held at Jackson's request. [Crawford, <i><a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/ROMANTIC_DAYS_IN_THE_EARLY_REPUBLIC/g9e8K1AeCWMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA383">Romantic Days in the Early Republic</a></i> (1912) p. 383]</p></blockquote><p>This was not merely a momentary episode of piety on the part of Jackson. Thirteen years later, during the bruising election campaign of 1828, Jackson would have occasion to visit New Orleans again. Though a man embroiled in the bare-knuckles brawl of a very contentious political battle for the nation's highest office, Jackson made time to visit the humble sisters who had prayed so fervently for him at the crisis of his life:</p><blockquote><p>In 1824, the Ursulines removed to their present convent near the lower limits of the city. There, also, Andrew Jackson visited the nuns. This was in 1828. The political campaign which eventuated in his election to the presidency had opened. Jackson had come to New Orleans upon the invitation of the Louisiana legislature to participate in the thirteenth anniversary of the victory at Chalmette. He was accompanied to the convent by several of his staff and by some of the most distinguished men and women of the city. The convent’s cloistered precincts were opened to the renowned guest and to those who were with him. It may that among these surroundings the chieftains thoughts were diverted from the presidential contest, that the suggestions of ambition receded before the grateful reminiscence of the nuns who, thirteen years before, had prayed for victory to his battalions. [<a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jLLOkE7xrPoC&pg=RA1-PA36#v=onepage&q&f=false">"The Louisiana Ursulines,"</a> <i>Publications of the Louisiana Historical Society</i>, Volume 2, Issues 3-4].</p></blockquote><p>Here we find yet another example of how God Almighty uses very imperfect men as the instruments of His holy Will. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx13PzYRS3IeptDB-R7W6RU2rItZx7nUe4bGd-ekmvtVTiYDOS02r1WN-otbTzwx9FSm7m4ME08eV_s4PDPMd-sTlPeTgqZvhD_pHLMqJ77_OcjkrBB3ucXnHc1h4MKsNM0qfydNg3BNya9pnuz-GNiTcG2xwhfR-aOmwjhlJGo0qjBoYzTQ/s864/Jackson%20Square%20NOLA.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="603" data-original-width="864" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx13PzYRS3IeptDB-R7W6RU2rItZx7nUe4bGd-ekmvtVTiYDOS02r1WN-otbTzwx9FSm7m4ME08eV_s4PDPMd-sTlPeTgqZvhD_pHLMqJ77_OcjkrBB3ucXnHc1h4MKsNM0qfydNg3BNya9pnuz-GNiTcG2xwhfR-aOmwjhlJGo0qjBoYzTQ/w472-h329/Jackson%20Square%20NOLA.jpeg" width="472" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Statue of Andrew Jackson in Jackson Square, New Orleans, with the Cathedral-Basilica of <br />Saint Louis in the background. I took this photo during a visit in 2016.</span></td></tr></tbody></table>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-60090494606522605552022-10-19T16:57:00.003-05:002022-10-19T16:57:13.008-05:00"We are dead men, my brothers...May death find you with God in mind." ~ The Martyrdom and Life of St. Charles Garnier<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUkuWIqiTD69bZOqjN1zlV01M5Rf2rw9HKdXs9HbH79WNRC0JPRkZaZYSUxSk_JkDFwXexImCsDc7o1ZgKCpiekT7C7cvPZuVyN03nXabhK5CtKxtQyIWmn3McJkN-Qt0VLkUcTr6usRUxBB3lkA__Dmk_rswcnbupFVhKYTHw8_6OKTw9A/s1469/Death%20of%20Garnier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="867" data-original-width="1469" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUkuWIqiTD69bZOqjN1zlV01M5Rf2rw9HKdXs9HbH79WNRC0JPRkZaZYSUxSk_JkDFwXexImCsDc7o1ZgKCpiekT7C7cvPZuVyN03nXabhK5CtKxtQyIWmn3McJkN-Qt0VLkUcTr6usRUxBB3lkA__Dmk_rswcnbupFVhKYTHw8_6OKTw9A/w460-h272/Death%20of%20Garnier.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The death of St. Charles Garnier, as depicted in a French woodcut.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>For the feast of the North American martyrs today, I post the account of Saint Charles Garnier's death and life as taken from the <i>Jesuit Relation</i> of 1650. Garnier was slain by the Iroquois on December 7, 1649 at the age of 44. </p><p>Fr. Garnier's death occurred during that year of destruction, 1649, when the Iroquois erupted like a whirlwind from their base in present-day central New York and burst upon their traditional enemies to the north. Newly equipped with British muskets and schooled in their use, the Iroquois had an insuperable advantage over the Hurons, Algonquins, and Tobacco nations who were still armed with their more primitive traditional weapons. </p><p>Fr. Garnier was a missionary among the Petun (or Tobacco) nation, allies of the Hurons who lived south of Georgian Bay in present-day Ontario. During that winter of 1649, news had gone out to the Petun that an Iroquois war party was headed their way. Rather than await the arrival of these raiders, the Petun warriors set out to find and destroy them in the wilderness. Unfortunately, their ambush was misled and the stealthy Iroquois arrived unopposed at the defenseless Petun villages.</p><p>The account below was drawn from the testimony of eye-witnesses who escaped the attack, and those who found his remains after the Iroquois withdrew: </p><blockquote><p>It was on the seventh day of the month of last December, in the year 1649, toward three o'clock in the afternoon, that this band of Iroquois appeared at the gates of the village, spreading immediate dismay, and striking terror into all those poor people—bereft of their strength, and finding themselves vanquished when they thought to be themselves the conquerors. Some took to flight. Others were slain on the spot. To many, the flames, which were already consuming some of their cabins, gave the first intelligence of the disaster. Many were taken prisoners; but the victorious enemy, fearing the return of the warriors who had gone to meet them, hastened their retreat so precipitately, that they put to death all the old men and children, and all whom they deemed unable to keep up with them in their flight.</p><p>It was a scene of incredible cruelty. The enemy snatched from a mother her infants, that they might be thrown into the fire; other children beheld their Mothers beaten to death at their feet or groaning in the flames—permission, in either case, being denied them to show the least compassion. It was a crime to shed a tear, these barbarians demanding that their prisoners should go into captivity as if they were marching to their triumph. A poor Christian Mother, who wept for the death of her infant, was killed on the spot, because she still loved, and could not stifle soon enough her natural feelings. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>Father Charles Garnier was, at that time, the only one of our Fathers in that Mission. When the enemy appeared, he was just then occupied with instructing the people in the cabins which he was visiting. At the noise of the alarm, he went out, going straight to the Church, where he found some Christians. "We are dead men, my brothers," he said to them. "Pray to God, and flee by whatever way you may be able to escape. Bear about with you your faith through what of life remains; and may death find you with God in mind."</p></blockquote><blockquote><p>He gave them his blessing, then left hurriedly, to go to the help of souls. A prey to despair, not one dreamed of defense. Several found a favorable exit for their flight. They implored the Father to flee with them, but the bonds of Charity restrained him. All unmindful of himself, he thought only of the salvation of his neighbor. Borne on by his zeal, he hastened everywhere—either to give absolution to the Christians whom he met, or to seek, in the burning cabins, the children, the sick, or the catechumens, over whom, in the midst of the flames, he poured the waters of Holy Baptism, his own heart burning with no other fire than the love of God.</p><p>It was while thus engaged in Holy work that he was encountered by the death which he had looked in the face without fearing it, or receding from it a single step. A bullet from a musket struck him, penetrating a little below the breast; another, from the same volley, tore open his stomach, lodging in the thigh, and bringing him to the ground. His courage, however, was unabated. The barbarian who had fired the shot stripped him of his cassock, and left him, weltering in his blood, to pursue the other fugitives.</p><p>This good Father, a very short time after, was seen to clasp his hands, offering some prayer; then, looking about him, he perceived, at a distance of ten or twelve paces, a poor dying Man—who, like himself, had received the stroke of death, but had still some remains of life. Love of God, and zeal for Souls, were even stronger than death. Murmuring a few words of prayer, he struggled to his knees, and rising with difficulty, dragged himself as best he might toward the sufferer, in order to assist him it dying well. He had made but three or four steps when he fell again, somewhat heavily. Raising himself for the second time, he got, once more, upon his knees and strove to continue on his way; but he body, drained of its blood, which was flowing in abundance from his wounds, had not the strength of his courage. For the third time he fell, having proceeded but five or six steps. </p></blockquote><blockquote><p>Further than this, we have not been able to ascertain what he accomplished—the good Christian woman who faithfully related all this to us having seen no more of him, being herself overtaken by an Iroquois, who struck her on the head with a war-hatchet, felling her upon the spot, though she afterward escaped. The Father shortly after, received from a hatchet two blows upon the temples, one on either side, which penetrated to the brain. To him it was the recompense for all past services, the richest he had hoped for from God's goodness. His body was stripped, and left, entirely naked, where it lay.</p><p>Two of our Fathers, who were in the nearest neighboring Mission, received a remnant of these poor fugitive Christians, who arrived all out of breath, many of them all covered with their own blood. The night was one of continual alarm, owing to the fear, which had seized all, of a similar misfortune. Toward the break of day, it was ascertained from certain spies that the enemy had retired. The two Fathers at once set out, that they might themselves look upon a spectacle most sad indeed, butt nevertheless acceptable to God. They found only dead bodies heaped together, and the remains of poor Christians—some who were almost consumed in the pitiable remains of the still burning village; others deluged with their own blood; and a few who yet showed some signs of life, but were all covered with wounds,—looking only for death, and blessing God in their wretchedness. At length, in the midst of that desolated village, they descried the body they had come to seek; but so little cognizable was it, being completely covered with its blood, and the ashes of the fire, that they passed it by. Some Christian Savages, however, recognized their Father, who had died for love of them. They buried him in the same spot on which their Church had stood, although there remained no longer any vestige of it, the fire having consumed all.</p><p>The poverty of that burial was; sublimed sanctity no less so. The two good Fathers divested themselves of part of their apparel, to cover therewith the dead; they could do no more, unless it were to return entirely unclothed...</p><p>Two days after the taking and burning of the village, its inhabitants returned—who, having discovered the change of plan which had led the enemy to take another route, had had their suspicions of the misfortune that had happened. But now they beheld it with their own eyes; and at the sight of the ashes, and the dead bodies of their relatives, their wives, and their children, they maintained for half the day a profound silence—seated, after the manner of savages, upon the ground, without lifting their eyes, or uttering even a sigh—like marble statues, without speech, without sight, and without motion. For it is thus that the Savages mourn—at least, the men and the warriors—tears, cries, and lamentations befitting, so they say, the women.</p></blockquote><p>At this point, the author of the relation, Fr. Paul Ragueneau, provides a brief biography of his Jesuit colleague, Fr. Garnier. </p><blockquote><p>Father Charles Garnier was born in Paris, in the year 1605, and entered our Society in 1624. He was thus but little over 44 years of age on the 7th of December, 1649—the day on which he died in labors which were truly Apostolic, and in which he had lived since the year 1636, when he left France and went up to the country of the Hurons.</p><p>From his infancy, he entertained the most tender sentiments of piety, and, in particular, a filial love toward the most holy Virgin, whom he called his Mother. "It it she," he would say, "who carried me in her arms through all my youth, and has placed me in the Society of her Son." He had made a vow to uphold, until death, her Immaculate Conception. He died on the eve of that august Festival [December 8], that he might go to solemnize it yet more gloriously in Heaven.</p><p>From the time of his Novitiate, he seemed an angel, his humility being so uncommon that he was held before all others as a mirror of sanctity. He had experienced the greatest difficulties in obtaining permission from his father to enter our Society; but these were very much enhanced when, ten years after that first separation, it became necessary to reconcile the father to a second, of a still more painful kind. This was his departure from France, to go into these Missions at the end of the world—our Superiors having expressed their wish that his father should yield consent to this, on account of peculiar obligations which our Society was under to him. His voyage was thus delayed, an entire year, but this only served to fan the flame of his desires. Day and night he thought only of the conversion of the savages, and of devoting to them his life, to its latest breath....At length, he succeeded in obtaining this great boon from Heaven, and with so much joy in his heart, that he looked upon that day as the happiest of his entire life.</p><p>While crossing the sea, he made some remarkable conversions on shipboard. Among others, he was informed that belonging to the crew was a man without conscience, without Religion, and without God. This man avoided every one, and all avoided him. It was over ten years since he had confessed. The Father, carried away by his usual zeal, took in hand that gloomy temper and that hopeless man, and, after a thousand evidences of love—exhibited in all manner of attentions, instructions, and good of fines—succeeded at last in winning him. He induced this man to make a general confession, and brought him into so great a peace, and joy of conscience, that all wondered, and were touched by it.</p><p>As soon as he came among the Hurons, we had in him an indefatigable worker, replete with every gift of Nature and of Grace that could make an accomplished Missionary. He had mastered the language of the Savages so thoroughly that they themselves were astonished at him. He worked his way so far into their hearts, and with such a power of eloquence, as to carry them away with him. His face, his eyes—even his laugh, and every movement of his body—preached sanctity. His heart spoke yet louder than his words and made itself heard, even in his silence. I know of several who were converted to God by the mere aspect of his countenance, which was truly Angelic, and which imparted a spirit of devotion, and chaste impressions, to those approaching him—whether he were at prayer, of seemed to be communing with himself, collecting his thoughts, after some activity in behalf of his neighbor; or whether he spoke of God; or it might be, even, when Charity had engaged him in discourse of a different character, which afforded some relaxation to his mind. The love of God which reigned in his heart gave life to all his movements, and made them heavenly.</p><p>His virtues were heroic, nor was there lacking in him one of those which go to make up the greatest Saints....His prayers were so full of reverence for the presence of God, and so peaceful in the hush of all his own powers, that he scarcely seemed to suffer the least distraction, though engaged in occupational most apt to dissipate his thoughts. His Prayers, from the outset, were but a series of colloquies, devout emotions, and acts of love; and this ardor grew even more intense until the close.</p><p>His mortification was equal to his love. He sought it night and day. He always lay on the bare ground, and bore constantly upon his body some portion of that Cross which during life he held most dear, and on which it was his desire to die. Every time that he returned from his Mission rounds he never failed to sharpen freshly the iron points of a girdle all covered with spur-rowels, which he wore next to his skin. In addition to this, he would very often use a discipline of wire, armed, besides, with sharpened points. His daily fare differed in no way from that of the savages—that is to say, it was the scantiest that a miserable beggar would expect in France. During that last year of famine, acorns and bitter roots were, to him, delicacies—not that he was insensible to their bitterness, but that love gave a relish to them. And yet he had ever been the cherished child of a rich and noble house, and the object of all a Father's endearments....</p><p>In his latest letters, addressed to me three days before his death, in response to a request which I made to him touching the state of his health—asking if it would not be right that he should quit for a time his Mission, in order to come once more to see us, and recover a little his strength—he answered me by urging, at great length, many reasons which disposed him to remain in his Mission, but reasons which gathered their force only from the spirit of charity and truly Apostolic zeal with which he was filled. "It is true," he added, "that I suffer something in regard to hunger, but that is not to death; and, thank God, my body and my spirit keep up in all their vigor. I am not alarmed on that side. But what I should fear more would be that, in leaving my flock in the time of their calamities, and in the terrors of war—in a time when they need me more than ever—I would fail to use the opportunities which God gives me of losing myself for him, and so render myself unworthy of his favors. I take only too much care of myself," added he; "and if I saw that my powers were failing me, I should not fail, since your Reverence bids me, to come to you; for I am at all times ready to leave everything, to die, in the spirit of obedience, where God wills. But otherwise, I will never come down from the Cross on which his goodness has placed me."</p><p>These great aspirations after sanctity had grow with him from his infancy. For myself, having known him for more than twelve years—in which he opened to me all his heart, as he did to God himself—I can truly say that, in all those years, I do not think that, save in sleep, he has spent a single hour without these burning and vehement desires of progressing more and more in the ways of God, and of helping forward in them his fellow-creatures. Outside of these considerations, nothing in the world affected him—neither relatives, nor friends, nor rest, nor consolation, nor hardships, nor fatigues. God was his all; and, apart from Him, all else was to him as nothing.</p><p>He took some sick people, and carried them on his shoulders for one or two leagues, in order to gain their hearts and to secure the opportunity to baptize them. He accomplished some ten or twenty leagues during the most excessive heat of Summer, along dangerous roads, where the enemy was continually perpetrating massacres. All breathless, he would hurry after a single savage, who served him as guide, that he might baptize some dying man, or a captive of war who was to be burnt that same day. He has passed whole nights in groping after a lost path, amid the deep snows and the most biting cold of winter—his zeal knowing no obstacle at any season of the year.</p><p>During the prevalence of contagious diseases—when they shut on us everywhere the doors of the cabins, and talked of nothing but of massacring us—not only did he go unswervingly where he felt there was a soul to gain for Paradise, but, by an excess of zeal and an ingenuity born of Charity, he found means of opening all the ways that had been closed against him, and of breaking down, sometimes forcibly, all that opposed his progress. But that which imparted a more heavenly aspect to every such procedure, and did not result from human sagacity, was this, that, from the moment of his entry, he won over fierce spirits by a single word, and accomplished all that he had set himself to do. Nothing repelled him; and he always looked for good, even from souls the most hopeless.</p><p>He had a way of recourse to the angels all his own, and experienced their most powerful assistance. The savages, to whose aid he went at the hour of death, have seen him accompanied, as they said, by a young man of rare beauty and majestic glory, who remained at his side, and urged them to obey the instructions of the Father. These good people could tell no more, and inquired who was this companion who had so stolen away their hearts. They knew not that the angels do more than we in the conversion of sinners, although ordinarily, their operation is not so evident.</p><p>His strongest inclination was to aid the most depraved, however repulsive the disposition that any one might possess, however vile and insolent he might be. He felt for all alike, with the bowels of a Mother—not omitting any act of corporal Mercy which he could perform for the salvation of souls. He has been seen to dress ulcers so loathsome, and which emitted a stench so offensive, that the savages, and even the nearest relatives of the sick man, were unable to endure them. He alone would handle these, wiping off the pus and cleansing the wound, every day, for two and three months together, with an eye and a countenance that betokened only charity—though he often saw very clearly that the wounds were incurable. "But," said he, "the more deadly they are, the stronger inclination have I to undertake the care of them—that I may lead these poor people even to the gate of Paradise, and keep them from falling into sin at a time which is for them the most perilous in life."</p><p>Not one Mission was there in the whole territory of the Hurons in which he had not been; and several of them he had himself originated—that, in particular, in which he died. Toward the savages he conducted himself with a remarkable prudence, and with a sweetness of charity that could excuse all, and bear with all, though having in it nothing that was mean-spirited....</p><p>He was not so wedded to the conversion of the Hurons that his heart did not go out to Nations the most distant—were it only to baptize the infants, "who," he remarked, "are a certain gain for Heaven." He often said to us that it would have pleased him to fall into the hands of the Iroquois, and be their captive. For, had they burned him alive, he would at least have had a chance of instructing them for as long a time as they prolonged his torments; and, if they had spared his life, that would have been a precious means of obtaining their conversion—a thing impossible, as it is, the way being closed against us as long as they remain our enemies....</p></blockquote><p>The full account, followed by a letter written by one of the Jesuit Fathers who buried St. Charles wrote, may be found here: <i><a href="http://moses.creighton.edu/kripke/jesuitrelations/relations_35.html">Jesuit Relations, Volume XXXV</a></i>. </p><p>Other posts on this blog drawn from the <i>Jesuit Relations</i> may be found here:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2022/09/the-invincible-spirit-rising-again-from.html">"The Invincible Spirit, Rising Again from the Midst of the Flames" — The gruesome death of the Iroquois Christian, Pierre Ononelwaia</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/09/when-jesuits-were-catholic.html">When the Jesuits were Catholic</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/02/charles-huault-de-montmagny-great.html">Charles Huault de Montmagny - The Great Mountain of New France</a></li><li><a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2016/09/saint-isaac-jogues-and-sign-of-cross_28.html">Saint Isaac Jogues and the sign of the cross</a></li></ul><p></p><p></p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-63768369826984514502022-10-18T14:17:00.005-05:002022-10-18T14:49:54.782-05:00"The Holy Apostle Luke Painted this Image" ~ The traditional Lucan origin of the icon of the Hodegetria<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E-zs3qTS6WC2eScu0e8UmMTNmAA7c30rHhIUa73MU9_4OITMP5Zj-l3GlfIKwZOE_72x2VwDBl7yhgBa2ykKE30gbfRUKm05WwIe9DShBpl9tMnAa2HhcC3qqJAKiYbleYr9P4Lxxy1liDsozH9YAzzjei-J8O5vYUcY8_2WtAQqVzs0lQ/s697/Hodegetria1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="697" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_E-zs3qTS6WC2eScu0e8UmMTNmAA7c30rHhIUa73MU9_4OITMP5Zj-l3GlfIKwZOE_72x2VwDBl7yhgBa2ykKE30gbfRUKm05WwIe9DShBpl9tMnAa2HhcC3qqJAKiYbleYr9P4Lxxy1liDsozH9YAzzjei-J8O5vYUcY8_2WtAQqVzs0lQ/w416-h307/Hodegetria1.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">15th century Greek representation of St. Luke painting the Hodegetria icon.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Today is the feast of Saint Luke, a father of the ancient Church renowned as Evangelist, Historian, and Physician. We should be aware of one additional title that is traditionally attributed to this early disciple of Christ: Artist. For the name of Saint Luke is attached to one of the most venerable works of art of the ancient Church—the Hodegetria icon which resided in Constantinople until its destruction in 1453. </p><p>While the origins of the Hodegetria icon are shrouded in mystery, its connection to St. Luke is based upon traditions stretching back to the early centuries of Constantinople as a Christian capital. Among the most ancient sources to record this tradition is a manuscript known as the <i>Anonymous Mercati</i>, a document penned by an English pilgrim who journeyed to Constantinople in the 11th century AD. A translation of the key passage may be found in Pentcheva's work, <i>Icons and Power: The Mother of God in Byzantium</i>. Here is a snippet:</p><blockquote><p>“In the part of the palace near the church of Hagia Sophia, very near to the great palace by the sea, is situated the monastery of the Mother of God, Theotokos. And in this monastery there is a holy icon of the Theotokos, called Hodegetria, which can be translated as “She Who Leads the Way.” … The holy apostle Luke painted this image of the Mother of God holding the Christ Child on her arm.” (Pentcheva, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SD7sOSsx2JwC&pg=PA126"><i>Icons and Power,</i> page 126</a>).</p></blockquote><p>There is a further legend that explains how this icon of the Mother of God, presumably painted by St. Luke in Antioch (Luke’s presumed home town), Jerusalem, or some other city in the Levant, became associated with Constantinople. A late 14th century text known as the <i>Logos Diegematikos </i>holds that the icon was sent from the Levant by the empress Eudocia to her sister-in-law, Saint Pulcheria, in the mid-5th century AD:</p><blockquote><p>“In fact, the empress Eudocia, upon receiving these holy and divine gifts [the Hodegetria icon and relics] from those holy monks like some much-valued treasure, sent them to the empress Pulcheria….Which gift, Pulcheria, as one could say, receiving it with great joy, deposited in the famous and holy sanctuary of the Theotokos and ordered the holy and sacred icon to be in the church as a protection of the palace, the entire city, and the whole world.” (Pentcheva, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=SD7sOSsx2JwC&pg=PA128"><i>Icons and Power,</i> page 128</a>).</p></blockquote><p>A previous post on this blog notes that <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-pagan-convert-becomes-empress-of.html">Eudocia was indeed resident in both Antioch and Jerusalem</a> for a time. Readers will also recall posts about Saint Pulcheria <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/01/pulcheria-powerful-roman-empress-and.html">here</a> and <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2018/03/pulcheria-princess-empress-saint-brief.html">here</a>, as well as a post demonstrating <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-actual-remains-of-great-doctor-were.html">Pulcheria’s keen interest in bringing relics to Constantinople</a>. Another post, citing a passage in the writings of St. John Damascene in the 8th century, indicates that Pulcheria and her consort, the emperor Marcian, <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2017/08/for-even-though-her-god-bearing-body.html">had an interest in Marian relics</a> and had specifically sought (though in vain) for the body of the Mother of God.</p><p>Pentcheva believes that the late recording of these acts make it likely that they are mere interpolations of medieval writers. An alternative viewpoint may be found in Grotowsky's <i>The Hodegon: Considerations on the location of the Hodegetria sanctuary in Constantinople</i> (<i><a href="https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/bz/article/view/13888/14445">Byzantina Symmeikta</a></i>, Volume 27). This excellent work compiles and interprets the fragments of history on the Hodegetria that have come down to us. </p><p>This story of St. Luke painting the famous icon has served as fodder for other artists down through the centuries. The version shown at the top of this post was painted by an unknown Greek artist, likely in the early 15th century shortly before the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. Below is a fanciful version, showing Our Lady and the Christ child actually sitting for their portraits, with both the artist and the subjects dressed in Renaissance garb and looking very Dutch.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7QT-koSlJCXuPl3YKlWdUc-vNniWmrfCrFBw36BeOADWpQRc3QnxtUeM1ILWl3B509_43nubBHbkCLrJ0vW0FD0F9LMVtbJAvFyH6ruJnjn64i2fHXJnSRvmBceg4N7QKVS_-qMehLievCugmUmS9EGP2uZWGTDm5yhZLZZaUAFtSqW_xg/s885/St%20Luke%20Hodegetria.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="882" data-original-width="885" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi7QT-koSlJCXuPl3YKlWdUc-vNniWmrfCrFBw36BeOADWpQRc3QnxtUeM1ILWl3B509_43nubBHbkCLrJ0vW0FD0F9LMVtbJAvFyH6ruJnjn64i2fHXJnSRvmBceg4N7QKVS_-qMehLievCugmUmS9EGP2uZWGTDm5yhZLZZaUAFtSqW_xg/s320/St%20Luke%20Hodegetria.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Saint Luke Painting the Virgin, Derick Baegert, ca. 1470.<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Next, we see an even more fanciful, proto-Baroque rendition of the same event as imagined by Florentine artist Giorgio Vasari, complete with Saint Luke’s symbol (the ox) and the heavenly Virgin attended by cherubs. </p><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA1KcoBKPkVwOp6LaFmIqPvM6wqqDxA5xIHpaTELckiboeltFlHDU4eanEu_CHzHAl40MjbbvBaTakMxmFO7OqvNoYN02cF0A4fLnOCir5r8pBAXeJRtLjtIWCSDr2B5T5S70QR2hbADZ1_xOaZvS8efw-A4YpO4Fnx5rJJEwcIn4Pi9B2g/s573/Baroque%20St%20Luke.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="524" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRA1KcoBKPkVwOp6LaFmIqPvM6wqqDxA5xIHpaTELckiboeltFlHDU4eanEu_CHzHAl40MjbbvBaTakMxmFO7OqvNoYN02cF0A4fLnOCir5r8pBAXeJRtLjtIWCSDr2B5T5S70QR2hbADZ1_xOaZvS8efw-A4YpO4Fnx5rJJEwcIn4Pi9B2g/w305-h333/Baroque%20St%20Luke.jpg" width="305" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">Saint Luke Painting a Portrait of the Madonna, ca 1565</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><p>As recorded by the 15th century Greek historian Constantine Dukas, the original Hodegetria icon was destroyed by the Turks after the sack of Constantinople in AD 1453. As the story goes, four Turkish looters found it in the Chora monastery where it had been placed to protect the city during the siege. The Turks debated over which of them should possess it, and utilizing the wisdom of Solomon, decided to break it into four pieces. </p><p>There are many likely spurious accounts, however, which maintain that the true icon was spirited out of Constantinople at some point during its long history, with several cities in Italy, including Venice, claiming ownership. The Poles also claim that the icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa is the original Hodegetria. For more on these claims, see, Wolff, "Footnote to an Incident of the Latin Occupation of Constantinople: The Church and the Icon of the Hodegetria" (<a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27830176"><i>Traditio</i>, vol. 6 (1948), pp. 319-328</a>).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveAbu0BIKwr70zPuGmeWeHK2QBHmEPohWsP5R66XEWenlMijdQDIxTwzTi_ktxjax_YV6i53Ccfhxw0P5hdbL9XZ9lfIs877myBxVvoF5B53XwGWH85D-B7CkbHXybTtXBmPRjgm31OnyqEQLEekzU2pH6-nK6TbdlIIJMZcB7A7BGVPlCQ/s1466/Madonna%20Nicopeia%20&%20Lady%20of%20Czestochowa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="931" data-original-width="1466" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjveAbu0BIKwr70zPuGmeWeHK2QBHmEPohWsP5R66XEWenlMijdQDIxTwzTi_ktxjax_YV6i53Ccfhxw0P5hdbL9XZ9lfIs877myBxVvoF5B53XwGWH85D-B7CkbHXybTtXBmPRjgm31OnyqEQLEekzU2pH6-nK6TbdlIIJMZcB7A7BGVPlCQ/w503-h319/Madonna%20Nicopeia%20&%20Lady%20of%20Czestochowa.jpg" width="503" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Left:</i> Image of the Madonna Nicopeia from Saint Mark’s Basilica, Venice. <i>Right:</i> Icon of <br />Our Lady of Czestochowa which is housed in Jasna Gora Monastery, Czestochowa, Poland.</span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18692810.post-70133389125672400382022-09-22T23:30:00.002-05:002022-09-22T23:51:39.198-05:00"The Invincible Spirit, Rising Again from the Midst of the Flames" — The gruesome death of the Iroquois Christian, Pierre Ononelwaia<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUebtM1n9mmu8gha0OHMzgWk5gRiwZkiYNTJGzv7OHMME3ADu9VgappZDyWYaZHLs90Vfdl6mVTDnRfeRCOsCL78bmmZxLNgV1MGlS8mFzNBblW34wBVr_UpMJx8adXcAIF4Fepk-f6yju-ihdT3E9Fj4rXrGI7NXmeRnBaPJ0k_64oSBQkA/s1091/IroquoisPrisoner.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="1091" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUebtM1n9mmu8gha0OHMzgWk5gRiwZkiYNTJGzv7OHMME3ADu9VgappZDyWYaZHLs90Vfdl6mVTDnRfeRCOsCL78bmmZxLNgV1MGlS8mFzNBblW34wBVr_UpMJx8adXcAIF4Fepk-f6yju-ihdT3E9Fj4rXrGI7NXmeRnBaPJ0k_64oSBQkA/w506-h384/IroquoisPrisoner.jpg" width="506" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Torture of a captive in the Eastern Woodands. Detail of a woodcut from<br />Mason: <i>True Stories of Our Pioneers</i>, 1904. <br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p>In my previous <a href="https://gloriaromanorum.blogspot.com/2022/09/book-review-joseph-huron-by-antoinette.html">review of the novel <i>Joseph the Huron</i> by Antoinette Bosco</a>, I mentioned briefly a scene in the book describing the capture and torture of an Iroquois prisoner by the Hurons. The details of this scene were drawn from the true story which appeared in the <i>Jesuit Relations</i>. Of course, Mrs. Bosco softened the story somewhat to make it more suitable for her audience of younger readers. </p><p>When writing the review, I revisited the original account of this prisoner in the <i>Relations</i>. Written in 1639 by an eye-witness—Jesuit Fr. Jerome Lalemant—I recalled the impression the account had made on me when I first read it some 20 years ago. Beyond the sheer cruelty and brutality of the scene, what strikes the reader most forcefully is the victim's supernatural courage in the face of certain death. </p><p>I post Fr. Lalemant's account here in part so I should not lose it again within the vast gulf of the internet. But I also post it so that those Catholics, who lack even a fraction of the fortitude of their forebears and who would apologize for their audacious missionary work among the indigenous tribes, may think twice. Indeed, may they shrink from such pusillanimous apologies once, twice, and every time they are tempted to offer them.</p><p>Without further ado, here is Fr. Lalemant's description of the death of the Iroquois convert Pierre Ononelwaia:</p><p>
<blockqoute></blockqoute></p><blockquote><p><blockqoute>The first one baptized in this village was a poor unfortunate Hiroquois, a prisoner of war, who was taken to another village, near this, to be given as a recompense to the relatives of that brave Taratwane who was captured during these last years by the enemy, as has been mentioned in previous Relations. I do not know if I should not tarry for a moment to consider and admire the adorable Providence of God towards this poor wretch, and his fellow prisoners, to the number of 12 or 13, baptized by the Fathers of this Residence; but I prefer to leave these reflections to those who shall cast their eyes over this Narrative, and to stop only to observe some circumstances of these events which render them more important.</blockqoute></p><p>For a long time, the Hurons had no more good fortune or advantage over their enemies until last year. Having gone to war, together with some Algonquains, their neighbors, they captured at one stroke about eighty of their enemies, whom they brought home alive. Besides this victory, the most notable of all, they had others of less importance, which in all gave them more than a hundred prisoners.</p><p>All those who were assigned to the villages where we have residences, or which are near these, were, thank God, instructed and baptized, and hardly one without circumstances so peculiar that there is reason to believe that there was, in their cases, some special guidance of divine Providence and of their predestination. In many instances, we had only the exact time necessary for their instruction and baptism; others, after having been baptized, were so comforted that they could not refrain from putting into song the cause of their consolation, — that thenceforward, at least, they were sure of going to Heaven. Others nobly refused to imitate foul and immodest actions to which their captors tried to incite them. Others afterward displayed so much fortitude in their torments that our barbarians resolved no longer to allow us to baptize these poor unfortunates, reckoning it a misfortune to their country when those whom they torment shriek not at all, or very little.</p><p>Indeed, this has given us so much trouble since then, that there has not been one of these for whose baptism we have not been obliged to give battle to those who are their Masters and Guardians; and sometimes it has been necessary to atone for this violence by some present.</p><p>Among those who showed most fortitude, and most appreciation of their good fortune, was one Ononelwaia, in baptism named Pierre, who was one of the prisoners at that principal defeat of which we have just spoken, a Captain of the Oneiouchronons [Oneidas], a nation of the Hiroquois. This man, being fastened to a stake upon a platform, not very far from his companion fastened to another — where our barbarians, every one according to his pleasure, tormented them, by the application of flames, firebrands, and glowing irons, in ways cruel beyond all power of description, and beyond all imagination of those who have not seen it — Pierre, I say, seeing this companion of his lose patience in the midst of these torments, comforted and encouraged him by representing the blessedness they had found in their misfortune, and that which was prepared for them after this life. Finally seeing him dead, “ Ah, my poor comrade,” said he, “ didst thou ask pardon of God before dying? “ — fearing that the evidence of suffering he had given was some grievous sin.</p><p>This brave spirit, who merited a better fate, was more tormented than ever by our barbarians after the death of his companion; for, the latter having died sooner than they expected, they all wreaked the rest of their fury upon him who remained. Accordingly, the first thing they did to him afterward was that one of them cut with a knife around his scalp, which he stripped off in order to carry away the hair, and, according to their custom, to preserve it as very precious.</p><p>After such treatment one would hardly believe that there could remain any sensation of life in a body so worn out with tortures. But lo! He suddenly rises, and, seeing upon the scaffold only the corpse of his dear companion, he takes in his hands, which were all in shreds, a firebrand, that he might not die as a captive, and that he might defend the brief liberty he had recovered a little while before death. The rage and the cries of his enemies redouble at this sight; they rush towards him with pieces of red-hot iron in their hands. His courage gives him strength; he puts himself on the defensive; he hurls his firebrands upon those who come nearest him; he throws down the ladders, to cut off their way, and avails himself of the fire and flame, the severity of which he has just experienced, to repel their attack vigorously. The blood that streamed down from his head over his entire body would have rent with pity a heart which had any remnant of humanity; but the fury of our barbarians found therein its satisfaction. </p><p>Some throw upon him coals and burning cinders; others underneath the scaffold find open places for their firebrands. He sees on all sides almost as many butchers as spectators; when he escapes one fire, he encounters another, and takes not one step without falling into the evil that he flees.</p><p>While defending himself thus for a long time, a false step causes him to fall backward to the ground. At the same time, his enemies pounce upon him, burn him anew, then throw him upon the fire. This invincible spirit, rising again from the midst of the flames — all covered with cinders that were imbued in his blood, two flaming firebrands in his hands — turns towards the mass of his enemies, to inspire them with fear once more before he dies. Not one is so hardy as to touch him; he makes a way for himself, and walks towards the village, as if to set it on fire.</p><p>He advances about a hundred paces, when some one throws a club which fells him to the ground; before he can rise again, they are upon him; they cut off his feet and hands, and, having seized the rest of this mangled body, they turn it round and round over nine different fires, which he almost entirely extinguished with his blood. Finally they thrust him under an overturned tree-trunk, all on fire, so that, at the same time, there may be no part of his body which is not cruelly burned. It was then that nature, before yielding to the cruelty of these torments, made one last effort, that could never have been expected. For, having neither feet nor hands, he rolled over in the flames, and, having fallen outside of them, he moved more than ten paces, upon his elbows and knees, in the direction of his enemies, who fled from him, dreading the approach of a man to whom nothing remained but courage, of which they could not deprive him except by wresting away his life.</p><p>This they finally did, one of them cutting off his head with a knife. Happy stroke which gave him freedom! For we have reason to believe that this brave spirit is now enjoying in Heaven the freedom of the children of God, since even his enemies loudly exclaimed that there was something more than human within him, and that without doubt baptism had given him his strength and courage, which surpassed all that they had ever seen.</p><p>Several Savages have reported with wonder, and a sort of conviction of the truths that we preach to them, that, shortly before he received the last blow which caused his death, he raised his eyes to Heaven and cried out joyfully, “ Let us go, then, let us go,” as if he were answering a voice that invited him. [Thwaites: <i><a href="http://moses.creighton.edu/kripke/jesuitrelations/relations_17.html">Jesuit Relations</a></i>, Volume 17]</p></blockquote><p></p><p></p>The common reaction of modern secular scholars to these types of accounts is as facile as it is dishonest. The claim is advanced that this and similar accounts were "fictionalized" or "exaggerated" by the Jesuit fathers. It is noteworthy that the one thing these critics often don't do in their long-winded attempts to excuse this type of grotesque brutality is quote liberally from the accounts themselves. <p>Which is another reason I have done that here.</p>Florentiushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17620534177711410311noreply@blogger.com0