Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?May_11th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Mamertus?= To : All From : rich Date : Thu May 10 2018 10:12:22 From: rich May 11th =E2=80=93 St. Mamertus of Vienne (Also known as Mamertius, Mammertus) =E2=80 475. Mamertus of Vienne was responsible for the litanies and processions that once marked the Rogation days of spring, the 3 days before Ascension Day when solemn intercession was made for God's blessing on the crops and other fruit of the earth. "Bless all farmers in all their labors, and grant such seasonable weather that they may gather the fruits of the earth and ever rejoice in Your goodness, to the praise of Your holy Name." Mamertus, the elder brother of the poet Claudian, lived in France, was known for his erudition, and was bishop of Vienne from 461 to 475. In 463, he was censured by Rome for consecrating, without the authority to do so, a new bishop of Die, which had been transferred to the jurisdiction of Arles; but no papal action seems to have been taken in the matter. During his episcopate the Goths invaded Gaul. The countryside never seemed free from the perils of the enemy, as well as from natural dangers of pestilence, forest fires, and prowling wolves and bears, and when every night brought its unknown fears and each day was threatened with calamity. During this period of catastrophe, Mamertus spent his days prostrate before the altar beseeching God to help his stricken people and tirelessly visiting his flock to comfort them in their distress. As a result of his prolonged vigils, he conceived the idea of an annual procession and litany, called a Rogation, to take place every spring, in which the whole community would together intercede with God to have mercy on His people and to bless their crops throughout the year. He made this decision one Easter night as he watched before the altar, when there came through the windows of the darkened church the lurid reflection of flames from a fresh fire threatening to overwhelm Vienne. In that hour of fearful conflagration, for it was the worst of all the fires the village had known, he prayed to God to have pity. When he next preached to his flock, he set forth his plan. "We shall pray to God," he said, "that He will turn away the plagues from us, and preserve us from all ill, from hail and drought, fire and pestilence, and from the fury of our enemies; to give us favorable seasons, that our land may be fertile, good weather and good health, and that we may have peace and tranquility, and obtain pardon for our sins." Thus, out of that night of fire and storm came the custom of Rogationtide (Benedictines, Delaney, Gill). In art, Saint Mamertius is shown as an archbishop walking in a procession with a lighted candle because he was the originator of Rogation Days (Roeder). Saint Quote: "The heart can change several times in one moment--to good or evil, to faith or unbelief, to simplicity or cunning, to love or hatred, to benevolence or envy, to generosity or avarice, to chastity or fornication. O, what inconstancy! O, how many dangers! |O, how sober and watchful we must be!" --St. John of Kronstadt. Bible Quote: Paul beautifully expressed the gift of God's grace and the faith that leads to salvation in his letters to the churches of Galatia and Ephesus when he wrote, "We are led by the Spirit to wait in the confident hope of saving justice [justification] through faith, since in Christ Jesus it is not being circumcised or being uncircumcised that can effect anything--only faith working through love." Galatians 5:5-6. "But God, being rich in faithful love, through the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, brought us to life with Christ--it is through grace that you have been saved--and raised up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus. This was to show for all ages to come, through his goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how extraordinarily rich he is in grace. Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so that nobody can claim the credit. We are God's work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designed to make up our way of life." Ephesians 2:4-10 <><><><> =E2=80=9CLet us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honoured, the greater is the glory of her Son. There can be no doubt that whatever we say in praise of the Mother gives equal praise to the Son.=E2=80=9D --Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) =E2=80=93 Doctor of the Church --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .