Subj : =?UTF-8?Q?October_25th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Gaudentius?= To : All From : rich Date : Thu Oct 24 2019 09:20:47 From: rich October 25th =E2=80=93 St. Gaudentius GAUDENTIUS seems to have been educated under St. Philastrius, Bishop of Brescia, whom he styles his =E2=80=9Cfather=E2=80=9D. His reputation was= very high and he travelled to Jerusalem, partly on pilgrimage and partly hoping by his absence to be forgotten at home. In this, however, he was mistaken. At Caesarea in Cappadocia he met with the sisters and nieces of St. Basil, who bestowed on him relics of the Forty Martyrs, knowing that he would honour those sacred pledges as they had honoured them. During his absence St. Philastrius died, and the clergy and people of Brescia chose Gaudentius for their bishop: they bound themselves by an oath to receive no other for their pastor. St. Gaudentius only yielded to the threat of refusal of communion by the Eastern bishops if he refused to obey. St. Ambrose consecrated him about the year 387; the sermon, which he preached on that occasion, expresses the humility with which his youth and inexperience inspired him. The church of Brescia soon found how great a treasure it possessed in so holy a pastor. A certain nobleman named Benevolus, who had been disgraced by the Empress Justina because he refused to draw up an edict in favour of the Arians, had retired to Brescia, and being hindered by sickness from attending the Easter sermons of Gaudentius, requested that he would commit them to writing for his use. By this means were preserved ten out of the 21 sermons of the saint which are extant. In the second, which he made for the neophytes at their coming from the font on Holy Saturday, he explained to them the mysteries which he could not expound in presence of the catechumens, especially the Blessed Eucharist, of which he says: =E2=80=9CThe Creator and Lord of Nature, who brings the bread out of the ground, makes also of bread His own body; because He has promised, and is able to perform it. And He who made wine of water, converts wine into His own blood.=E2=80=9D Gaudentius in the preface to his discourses warns the reader against pirated editions of them. He built a church at Brescia, which he named the =E2=80=9CAssembly of the Saints=E2=80=9D, and to the dedication of whic= h he invited many bishops and in their presence made the 17th sermon of those that are extant. In it he says that he had deposited in this church relics of the Apostles and others, affirming that a portion of a martyr's relics is in virtue and efficacy the same as the whole. =E2=80=9CTherefore=E2=80=9D, he says, =E2=80=9Cthat we may be succored by t= he patronage of so many saints, let us come and supplicate with an entire confidence and earnest desire, that by their interceding we may deserve to obtain all things we ask, magnifying Christ our Lord, the giver of so great grace.=E2=80=9D In 405, St. Gaudentius was deputed with two others by Pope St. Innocent I and the Emperor Honorius to go into the East to defend the cause of St. John Chrysostom before Arcadius, for which Chrysostom sent him a letter of thanks. The deputies were ill received, and imprisoned in Thrace their papers were forcibly taken from them, and bribes were offered if they would declare themselves in communion with the bishop who had supplanted St. John Chrysostom. St. Paul is said to have appeared in a vision to one of their deacons to encourage them. They eventually arrived back safely in Italy, though it is supposed their enemies intended them to be cast away at sea, for they were put on a most unseaworthy vessel. St. Gaudentius seems to have died about the year 410, and Rufinus styled him =E2=80=9Cthe glory of the doctors of t= he age wherein he lives=E2=80=9D. He is honoured on this day in the Roman Martyrology, which mentions on October 14 another ST Gaudentius. He was the first bishop of Rimini, and may have been martyred by the Arians in the year 359. The Canons Regular of the Lateran keeps his feast. There seems to be no formal biography of St. Gaudentius, but from contemporary allusions and letters a tolerably full account is furnished in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xi. The activities of the saint have occasionally been made the subject of contributions to the local ecclesiastical journal, Brixia sacra, e.g. vol. vi and vol. vii (1915-16). See also Lanzoni, Diocesi d'Italia (1927), vol. ii, = pp. 963-965 and the Journal of Theological Studies, vol. xii (1914), pp. 593-596. For the discourses, see A. Glueck, Sti Gaudentii . . . tractatus (1936). Saint Quote: A hundred private prayers have not as much efficacy as a single petition offered in the Divine Office. --St. Alphonsus Liguori, Doctor of the Church (1696-1787) Bible Quote: Not for the world do I pray, but for those whom Thou, Father, hast given Me, because they are Thine.=C2 (John 17:9) <><><><> An invocation of the Holy Ghost: May our hearts be cleansed, O Lord, by the imploring of the Holy Ghost, and may He render them fruitful by watering them with His heavenly dew.=C2 Amen. <><><><> Novena to the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit you who solve all problems, who light all roads so that I can attain my goal. You, who gave me the divine gift, forget all evil against me & who in all instances of my life are with me. I want in this short prayer to thank you for all things & to confirm once again that I never want to be separated from you even in spite of all material illusion. I wish to be with you in eternal glory. Thank you for your mercy toward me and mine. 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