Subj : October 22nd - St. Donatus (Donagh) of Fiesole To : All From : rich Date : Sun Oct 21 2018 08:35:47 From: rich October 22nd - St. Donatus (Donagh) of Fiesole, Bishop Born in Ireland; died 874-876. Legend has it that Donatus was an Irishman who decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome with his friend Andrew. On his return home about 829, he went to Florence, Italy, and visited nearby Fiesole. Donatus, who was small and unaggressive by nature, slipped into the cathedral just when the people had come together to pray for enlightenment before electing a new bishop. The moment Donatus entered the cathedral of Fiesole, the bells began ringing. All the cathedral lamps and candles lit of their own accord, without any human help. The Christians present could only conclude that this was a divine sign, indicating that the stranger who had just come in was destined to be their next bishop. Unanimously the puzzled Irishman was elected, and Andrew became his deacon. Fortunately, Donatus was a man of exemplary piety and cultivation. In addition to many other works, Donatus authored two separate lives of Saint Brigid of Kildare, one in prose and the other in verse. He also wrote his own epitaph, which still survives and describes him as a splendid teacher, specializing in grammar and fine writing. The epitaph adds that the bishop loyally advised and served the Frankish King Lothaire and the Emperor Louis. Almost certainly he taught them and members of their household for he was ever willing to instruct the young. For 47 years Donatus shepherded the church of Fiesole. At times he served as a military leader, raising armies and conducting expeditions against the Saracens. Before he died he obtained from the king a charter of independence for the bishops of Fiesole with the power to impose taxes and administer their own laws. He was also a generous supporter of monastic foundations. In 852, he founded a church and a hospice of his beloved patron, Saint Brigid at Piacenza and placed it under the protection of Saint Columban's monastery at Bobbio. This church was declared a national monument in 1911. Long after his death, a legend developed that Donatus had an Irish traveling companion who became his archdeacon, St. Andrew of Fiesole, but there is no satisfactory evidence for Andrew's existence (Attwater, Bentley, Delaney, Montague). In art he is a bishop with an Irish wolfhound at his feet. Sometimes he is shown pointing out a church to his deacon, St. Andrew of Ireland (August 22) (Roeder). Saint Quote: Chastity is the lily among virtues and makes men almost equal to angels. --St. Francis de Sales Bible Quote: And rising in the morning, they offered holocausts, and peace victims, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Go, get thee down: thy people, which thou hast brought out of the land of Egypt, hath sinned. And when he came nigh to the camp, he saw the calf, and the dances: and being very angry, he threw the tables out of his hand, and broke them at the foot of the mount=C2 (Exodus 32:6-7,19) DR <><><><> Truly, O blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart. For only by passing through your heart could the sword enter the flesh of your Son. Indeed, after your Jesus -- who belongs to everyone, but is especially yours -- gave up his life, the cruel spear, which was not withheld from his lifeless body, tore open his side. Clearly it did not touch his soul and could not harm him, but it did pierce your heart. For surely his soul was no longer there, but yours could not be torn away. Thus the violence of sorrow has cut through your heart, and we rightly call you more than martyr, since the effect of compassion in you has gone beyond the endurance of physical suffering. Or were those words, Woman, behold your Son, not more than a word to you, truly piercing your heart, cutting through to the division between soul and spirit? What an exchange! John is given to you in place of Jesus, the servant in place of the Lord, the disciple in place of the master; the son of Zebedee replaces the Son of God, a mere man replaces God himself. How could these words not pierce your most loving heart, when the mere remembrance of them breaks ours, hearts of iron and stone though they are! Do not be surprised, brothers, that Mary is said to be a martyr in spirit. Let him be surprised who does not remember the words of Paul, that one of the greatest crimes of the Gentiles was that they were without love. That was far from the heart of Mary; let it be far from her servants. -- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux from a sermon --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .