Subj : March 16th - Saint Heribert
To   : All
From : rich
Date : Thu Mar 15 2018 10:09:52

From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

March 16th - Saint Heribert of Cologne
Also known as Eriberto, Herbert, Bert, Herko
d.1021

ST. HERIBERT, one of the most distinguished of the prelates who have
ruled over the diocese of Cologne, was born in the town of Worms in
the Palatinate of the Rhine, and as he showed himself eager to learn
he was sent to the celebrated abbey of Gorze in Lorraine. There he
would fain have entered the Benedictine Order, but his father had
other ambitions for him and recalled him peremptorily to Worms, where
the young man was given a canonry and was raised to the priesthood.
Heribert gained the confidence of the Emperor Otto III, whose
chancellor he became, and in 998 he was raised to the see of Cologne
amid general approval.

The one dissident was Heribert himself, who declared and honestly
believed that he was quite unfitted for the high dignity. From
Benevento, whither he was summoned by Otto, he passed on to Rome, and
there received the pallium from Pope Silvester II. He then returned to
Cologne, which he entered humbly with bare feet on a cold December
day, having sent the pallium on before him. It was on Christmas eve
that he was consecrated archbishop in the cathedral of St. Peter, and
from that moment he devoted himself indefatigably to the duties of his
high calling. State affairs were never allowed to hinder him from
preaching, from relieving the sick and needy, and from acting as
peacemaker throughout his diocese. He did not despise the outward
splendour which his position required, but under his gold-embroidered
vesture he always wore a hair-shirt. The more the business of the
world pressed upon him, the more strenuously did he strive to nourish
the spiritual life within.

Soon after taking possession of his see, Heribert accompanied the
emperor on another visit to Italy, which was to prove Otto's last, =
for
he died there, probably of smallpox, not, as alleged, by poison. In
accordance with his master's last wishes St. Heribert brought his b=
ody
back to Aachen, where it was buried. He also bore with him the
imperial insignia for he foresaw that there would be a contest for the
imperial crown, and he felt in duty bound to retain possession of the
insignia with which he had been entrusted until he could hand them
over to the properly constituted sovereign. Unfortunately the nearest
claimant, Duke Henry of Bavaria, misinterpreted his attitude and
concluded that the archbishop would have preferred to see some other
sovereign chosen. The consequence was that St. Heribert was in
disfavour with the duke, and continued to be so long after St. Henry
II had been duly elected king and emperor, and in spite of the fact
that the prelate had immediately yielded up the insignia, proving
himself on every occasion one of the emperor's most loyal supporter=
s.
Henry does not appear to have taken from him the chancellorship, for
his name appears appended to edicts of the years 1007 and 1008, but it
was only towards the close of Henry's reign that the emperor learne=
d
to appreciate the virtue and good faith of the great archbishop, and
there was a public and moving reconciliation between the two saintly
men who had been so long estranged.

St. Heribert would gladly have freed himself from secular business to
be at liberty to devote the rest of his life to the spiritual needs of
his diocese and people. On the opposite side of the Rhine, at Deutz,
he and Otto III had begun a monastery and church which he afterwards
completed with the help of money which that emperor had bequeathed to
him. His own income he habitually divided between the Church and the
poor, reserving for his personal use only what was absolutely
necessary. He would often steal away and seek out the sick and poor in
their homes and in hospitals; he relieved them, washed their feet, and
by his example inspired others to do likewise. Not did he confine his
charity to Cologne, hut sent money to priests he could trust in other
towns to be spent on assisting the destitute. At a time of great
drought the archbishop instituted a penitential procession from the
church of St. Severinus to that of St. Pantaleon, and exhorted the
multitude to do penance and to trust in God. Some of those present
declared that they saw a white dove flying close to the saint's hea=
d
as he walked with the procession. Entering the church of St. Severinus
Heribert went up to the high altar and, bowing his head in his hands,
gave himself to earnest prayer for his people. Scarcely had he risen
from his knees when a torrential rain poured down upon the city and
the countryside, and the harvest was saved, Another procession which
he instituted to avert plague and famine took place round the walls of
the city in Easter week and was kept up each year until the end of the
18th century. He is still invoked for rain.

Zealous for the maintenance of discipline amongst the clergy, Heribert
was assiduous in his visitations, and it was when visiting Neuss for
one of these pastoral visits that he contracted a fever which he soon
recognized as destined to be fatal. With great fervour the saint
received viaticum and then suffered himself to be borne back to
Cologne. After being laid at the foot of the crucifix in the cathedral
of St. Peter and commending himself and his flock to the mercy of God,
he was carried to his own house, and shortly afterwards he breathed
his last. His body was laid at Deutz, where in after years many
miracles were attributed to his intercession.

The archbishop had been the founder of the abbey and minster of Deutz,
and the monks were naturally solicitous that his memory should be held
in veneration. A short biography of him was accordingly written by
Lantbert, one of the monks. There is a long account of St. Heribert in
Kleinermanns, Die Heiligen auf den erzb. Stuhl von Koln, vol. ii.


Saint Quote:
Live in the world as if only God and your soul were in it; then your
heart will never be made captive by any earthly thing.
-- Saint John of the Cross

Bible Quote:
But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which, if they
were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able
to contain the books that should be written.  (John 21:25)


<><><><>
A Prayer To Be Generous

Teach me, Lord Jesus, to be generous:
to serve You as You deserve;
to give, not counting the cost;
to fight, not heeding the wounds;
to toil, not asking for rest;
to labor, not seeking any reward,
save that of knowing that we do Your will.

Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)

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