Subj : May 9th - St. Nicholas, Bishop of Lincopen, Sweden, Confessor To : All From : rich Date : Fri May 08 2020 10:35:59 From: rich May 9th - St. Nicholas, Bishop of Lincopen, Sweden, Confessor HERMAN and MARGARET, the parents of our saint, were citizens of Skeningen in Sweden, and held a distinguished rank in the country, which they rendered more illustrious by their virtue. By their care, Nicholas was imbued from the cradle with the perfect spirit of Christian piety, and taught to dread nothing so much as whatever could tarnish the robe of innocence and grace with which he had been clothed in the sacred laver of baptism. In these happy dispositions, he studied at home the first elements of grammar, and whilst yet very young was sent to Paris, in order to accomplish himself in the sciences.=E2=80=94Thence he removed to Orleans, where he both completed his theological course, and took his degrees in civil and canon law. Perfectly qualified by learning and virtue for the service of the church he returned home, and was soon after appointed archdeacon of Lincopen. His whole life was a perfect sacrifice of penance and devotion. On Fridays he took no other nourishment than bread with a little salt and water, and sometimes passed that whole day from Thursday evening till Saturday noon without food. In the discharge of his office he suffered, with unshaken constancy and patience, many grievous persecutions from the tyranny of great men and incorrigible sinners, reformed the manners of a savage and ignorant people, and established the rules of virtue and ecclesiastical discipline.=E2=80=94Herbert, the fir= st bishop of Lincopen, some pretend to have been contemporary with Charlemagne; but the more accurate antiquarians place him about the year 1000, something younger than St. Sigfrid. The history of the bishops of Lincopen, in Swedish verse, [1] informs us, that Gotzcalc, the 16th bishop of Lincopen, dying, St. Nicholas was advanced to that see. This dignity was a fresh spur to his zeal in promoting the divine honour, and to his fervour in every religious exercise. Raised above all views to his own private interest, in every thing he laid himself out for the service of God and his neighbour, and for the maintenance of peace among all men. His meekness and patience were proof to all trials: and prayer and heavenly meditation were to him a source of spiritual light, comfort, and strength. The study of the holy scriptures was principally his private entertainment: out of the most useful sentences of the canon law and fathers he compiled an excellent book, which he called Huitebook. He wrote short comments on the Morals of St. Gregory, certain works of St. Anselm, and the writings of St. Bridget, whose canonization he warmly promoted, but died in the year in which that affair was finished. He wrote the lives of St. Bridget, St. Anscarius, and some other holy servants of God: and compiled a book of flowers out of the psalms. How highly Pope Urban VI. honoured his sanctity, appears from a letter written by that pope in 1381, quoted by Benzelius. His successor, bishop Canut, speaks of his sanctity with great veneration. [2] St. Nicholas died in our Lord, in 1391, and was honoured in Sweden among the titular saints of the kingdom, with St. Sigfrid, St. Brinolph, St. Birget, St. Helen of Scoduc, St. Catharine, and St. Ingridie of Scheningen, who died in 1282, who are invoked together in the prayer of the mass for the feast of St. Nicholas, in the old Swedish Missal quoted by Benzelius. See the long particular office and lessons in honour of this saint, formerly used in the church of Lincopen, printed at Sudercopen in 1523, and republished by Benzelius, in his Monumenta Ecclesi=C3=A6 Suevogothic=C3=A6, p. 109. Also the Swedish Chronicle of the bishops of Lincopen, ib. p. 125, and this editor's notes, p. 254. Note 1. Published by Benzelius, Mon. Suec. p. 125. Note 2. Canutus episc. Lincop. ep. ad archiep. Upsal. apud Benzel. Mon. Suec. p. 160.] Saint Quote: "As Jesus died in taking away the sins of the world, that, by doing sin to death, he might rise in righteousness, so too, when you go down into the water [of baptism] and are, in a fashion, entombed in the water as he was in the rock, you may rise again to walk in newness of life." -- St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 3:12 Bible Quote: So also you now indeed have sorrow; but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice; and your joy no man shall take from you. =C2 (John 16:22) <><><><> Hymn: Custodes hominum Angel-guardians of men, spirits and powers we sing, Whom our Father hath sent, aids to our weakly frame, Heavenly friends and guides, help from on high to bring, Lest we fail through the foeman's wile. He, the spoiler of souls, Angel-traitor of old, Cast in merited wrath out of his honored place, Burns with envy and hate, seeking their souls to gain Whom God's mercy invites to heaven. Therefore come to our help watchful ward of our lives: Turn aside from the land God to thy care confides Sickness and woe of soul, yea, and what else of ill Peace of heart to its folk denies. Now to the Holy Three praise evermore resound: Under whose hand divine resteth the triple world Governed in wondrous wise: glory be theirs and might While the ages unending run. Amen (Roman Breviary) --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .