Saint Hilary Of Poitiers (300 A.D.-368 A.D.). "Hammer Of The Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) And "Athanasius Of The West". Bishop, Confessor And Doctor Of The Church. Feast Day 14 January.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Stained-Glass Window in the Choir of the Church of Saint Hilary of Boussais, 

Deux-Sèvres, France. It shows the entrance of Saint Hilary into Poitiers.

Français: Vitraux du chœur de l'église Saint-Hilaire de Boussais, 

Deux-Sèvres, France. Représentation 

de l'entrée de saint Hilaire à Poitiers.

Photo: 23 June 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Père Igor.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Nave of the Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great, Poitiers, France.

Français: Nef de l'église Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand à Poitiers.

Photo: 12 June 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: GO69.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary (Hilarius) of Poitiers (circa 300 A.D. – circa 368 A.D.) was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" (Latin: Malleus Arianorum) and the "Athanasius of the West." His name, Hilary, comes from the Latin word for "happy" or "cheerful". His Feast Day is 14 January.

Hilary was born at Poitiers, either at the end of the 3rd-Century or the beginning of the 4th-Century A.D. His parents were pagans of distinction. He received a good education, including what had even then become somewhat rare in the West, some knowledge of Greek. He studied, later on, the Old and New Testament writings, with the result that he abandoned his Neo-Platonism for Christianity, and with his wife and his daughter (traditionally named Saint Abra), was Baptised and received into the Church.

The Christians of Poitiers so respected Hilary that, about 350 A.D. or 353 A.D., they unanimously elected him their Bishop. At that time, Arianism threatened to overrun the Western Church; Hilary undertook to repel the disruption. One of his first steps was to secure the excommunication, by those of the Gallican hierarchy who still remained orthodox Christians, of Saturninus, the Arian Bishop of Arles, and of Ursacius and Valens, two of his prominent supporters.

English: The Ordination of Saint Hilary of Poitiers.

From a 14th-Century Manuscript.

Français: Ordination de saint Hilaire.

Date: 14th century; Vie de saintes.

Source: http://saints.bestlatin.net/gallery/hilaire_bnfms.htm.

Author: Richard de Montbaston et collaborateurs.

(Wikimedia Commons)

About the same time, Hilary wrote to Emperor Constantius II a remonstrance against the persecutions by which the Arians had sought to crush their opponents (Ad Constantium Augustum liber primus, of which the most probable date is 355 A.D.). His efforts did not succeed at first, for at the Synod of Biterrae (Béziers), summoned by the Emperor in 356 A.D., with the professed purpose of settling the long-standing dispute, an Imperial "Rescript" banished the new Bishop, along with Rhodanus of Toulouse, to Phrygia.

Hilary spent nearly four years in exile, although the reasons for this banishment remain obscure. The traditional explanation is that Hilary was exiled for refusing to subscribe to the condemnation of Athanasius and the Nicene Creed. More recently, several scholars have suggested that political opposition to Constantius and support of the usurper, Silvanus, may have led to Hilary's downfall.

While in Phrygia, however, he continued to govern his Diocese, as well as writing two of the most important of his contributions to Dogmatic and Polemical Theology: the De synodis or De fide Orientalium, an epistle addressed in 358 A.D., to the Semi-Arian Bishops in Gaul, Germany and Britain, expounding the true views (sometimes veiled in ambiguous words) of the Eastern Bishops on the Nicene controversy; and the De trinitate libri XII, composed in 359 A.D. and 360 A.D., the first successful expression in Latin of that Council's theological subtleties originally elaborated in Greek. Although some members of Hilary's own party thought the first contribution had shown too great a forbearance towards the Arians, Hilary replied to their criticisms in the Apologetica ad reprehensores libri de synodis responsa.

Deutsch: Initial I und Miniatur des hl. Hilarius, ein totes Kind zum Leben erweckend; aus dem Weißenauer Passionale; Fondation Bodmer, Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.

English: Illumination, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, from the Passionary of Weissenau (Weißenauer Passionale); Fondation Bodmer, Coligny, Switzerland; Cod. Bodmer 127, fol. 144r.

Date: Between 1170 and 1200.

Source: http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/cb/0127.

Author: either an unknown master or „Frater Rufillus“.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary also attended several Synods during his time in exile, including the Council at Seleucia (359 A.D.), which saw the triumph of the "Homoion Party" and the forbidding of all discussion of the Divine Substance. In 360 A.D., Hilary tried unsuccessfully to secure a personal audience with Constantius, as well as to address the Council which met at Constantinople in 360 A.D.

When this Council ratified the decisions of Ariminum and Seleucia, Hilary responded with the bitter In Constantium, which attacked the Emperor Constantius as Anti-Christ and persecutor of orthodox Christians. Hilary's urgent and repeated requests for public debates with his opponents, especially with Ursacius and Valens, proved at last so inconvenient that he was sent back to his Diocese, which he appears to have reached about 361 A.D., within a very short time of the accession of Emperor Julian.

On returning to his diocese in 361 A.D., Hilary spent most of the first two or three years trying to persuade the local Clergy that the "Homoion" confession was merely a cover for traditional Arian sub-ordinationism. Thus, a number of Synods in Gaul condemned the Creed promulgated at the Council of Ariminium (359 A.D.).

In about 360 A.D., or 361 A.D., with Hilary's encouragement, Martin, the future Bishop of Tours, founded a Monastery at Ligugé in Hilary's Diocese.

English: The Saint Maixent School, Abbey Saint Maixent. Department of Deux-Sèvres, France. Stained-Glass Windows in the Choir, showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.

Français: Vitrail consacré à cinq saints évêques liés à l' abbatiale, et un roi: St Saturnin premier saint patron, St Quabit (?), St Hilaire, St Léger qui fut abbé de Saint-Maixent, St Maxence alias St Maixent nom monastique d'Adjutor fondateur du monastère, St Agapit fondateur de la première communauté et Saint Louis protecteur de l' abbaye.

Source: Own work.

Author: Dvillafruela.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 364 A.D., Hilary extended his efforts once more beyond Gaul. He impeached Auxentius, Bishop of Milan, a man high in the Imperial favour, as heterodox. Emperor Valentinian I accordingly summoned Hilary to Milan to there maintain his charges. However, the supposed Heretic gave satisfactory answers to all the questions proposed. Hilary denounced Auxentius as a hypocrite as he himself was ignominiously expelled from Milan. Upon returning home, Hilary, in 365 A.D., published the Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, describing his unsuccessful efforts against Auxentius. He also (but perhaps at a somewhat earlier date) published the Contra Constantium Augustum liber, accusing the lately-deceased Emperor as having been the Anti-Christ, a rebel against God, "a tyrant whose sole object had been to make a gift to the devil of that world for which Christ had suffered." According to Jerome, Saint Hilary died in Poitiers circa 368 A.D.

Recent research has distinguished between Hilary's thoughts before his period of exile in Phrygia under Constantius and the quality of his later major works. While Hilary closely followed the two great Alexandrians, Origen and Athanasius, in exegesis and Christology, respectively, his work shows many traces of vigorous independent thought.

Among Hilary's earliest writings, completed some time before his exile in 356 A.D., is his Commentarius in Evangelium Matthaei, an allegorical exegesis of the first Gospel. This is the first Latin Commentary on Matthew to have survived in its entirety. Hilary's "Commentary" was strongly influenced by Tertullian and Cyprian, and made use of several classical writers, including Cicero, Quintilian, Pliny and the Roman historians.

The Church of the former Abbey of Saint-Maixent , in the Commune 

of Saint-Maixent-School (Department of Deux-Sèvres), France. 

It contains Stained-Glass Windows showing 

Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).

Photo: 31 January 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Nave of the Abbey of Saint-Maixent, France, 

which contains Stained-Glass Windows 

showing Saint Hilary of Poitiers (see, above).

Photo: 31 January 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Hilary's expositions of the Psalms, Tractatus super Psalmos, largely follow Origen, and were composed some time after Hilary returned from exile in 360 A.D. Since Jerome found the work incomplete, no-one knows whether Hilary originally commented on the whole Psalter. Now extant are the "Commentaries" on Psalms 1, 2, 9, 13, 14, 51-69, 91, and 118-150.

The third surviving exegetical writing by Hilary is the Tractatus mysteriorum, preserved in a single manuscript, first published in 1887.

Because Augustine cites part of the "Commentary on Romans" as, by "Sanctus Hilarius", it has been ascribed by various critics at different times to almost every known Hilary.

Hilary's major theological work was the twelve books, now known as De Trinitate. This was composed largely during his exile, though perhaps not completed until his return to Gaul in 360 A.D.

English: Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 

showing Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers.

Deutsch: Illustration aus der Schedel'schen Weltchronik, Blatt 131 recto.

Date: 1493.

Source: Scan from original book.

Author: Michel Wolgemut, Wilhelm Pleydenwurff (Text: Hartmann Schedel).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Another important work is De synodis, written early in 359 A.D., in preparation for the Councils of Ariminium and Seleucia.

Various writings comprise Hilary's 'historical' works. These include the Liber II ad Constantium imperatorem, the Liber in Constantium inperatorem, Contra Arianos vel Auxentium Mediolanensem liber, and the various documents relating to the Arian controversy in Fragmenta historica.

Some consider Hilary as the first Latin Christian Hymn-Writer, because Jerome said Hilary produced a liber hymnorum. Three Hymns are attributed to him, though none are indisputable.

Hilary is the pre-eminent Latin writer of the 4th-Century (before Ambrose). Augustine of Hippo called him "the illustrious Doctor of the Churches", and his works continued to be highly influential in later Centuries. Venantius Fortunatus wrote a Vita of Hilary, by 550 A.D., but few now consider it reliable. More trustworthy are the notices in Saint Jerome (De vir. illus. 100), Sulpicius Severus (Chron. ii. 39-45) and in Hilary's own writings. Pope Pius IX formally recognised him as Universae Ecclesiae Doctor in 1851.

English: Pussemange (Belgium). Church of Saint Hilary (1872-1874).

Français: Pussemange (Belgique), l’église Saint-Hilaire (1872-1874).

Deutsch: Pussemange (Belgien), die Sint-Hilarius kirche (1872-1874).

Walon: Pûsmadje (Bèljike), l’églîje Sint-Ilaîre (1872-1874).

Photo: 14 July 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

For English educational and legal institutions, Saint Hilary's Festival lies at the start of the Hilary Term, which begins in January. The name Hilary Term is given in Oxford University to the Term, beginning on 7 January, that includes his Feast. Some consider Saint Hilary of Poitiers as the Patron Saint of Lawyers. From his writing, Saint Hilary's symbol came to be three books and a quill pen.

Sulpicius Severus' Vita Sancti Martini led to a cult of Saint Hilary, as well as of Saint Martin of Tours, which spread early to Western Britain. The villages of St Hilary, in Cornwall, and Glamorgan, and that of Llanilar, in Ceredigion, bear his name.

English: Interior of Sant'Ilario di Poitiers, France.

Italiano: L'autore io, chiesa di s.ilario, bedero valcuvia, libero uso.

Date: 12 January 2010 (original upload date).

Source: Transferred from it.wikipedia; transferred to Commons 

by User:Cruccone using CommonsHelper.

Author: Original uploader was Davide9191 at it.wikipedia.

Permission: Released into the public domain (by the author).

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The 15th-Century and 16th-Century 

Parish Church of Saint Hilary, 

Clohars-Fouesnant, Brittany, France.

Français: Clohars-Fouesnant : l'église 

paroissiale Saint-Hilaire (XVe et XVIe siècles).

Photo: 9 August 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Moreau.henri.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In France, most dedications to Saint Hilary are West (and North) of the Massif Central, and the cult in this region eventually extended to Canada.

In North-West Italy, the Church of Sant’Ilario, at Casale Monferrato, was dedicated to Saint Hilary, as early as 380 A.D.

The Church of Saint Hilary-the-Great, 

Poitiers, France.

This File: 12 April 2008.

User: MainMa.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The following Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

Saint Hilary.

Bishop and Doctor.

Feast Day 14 January.

Double.

White Vestments.

After having persecuted the Church during the first Centuries, the Christian, but at the same time Heretical, Emperors continued their attacks by supporting Arianism, which denied the Divinity of Christ.

In the Season after Epiphany, when Jesus affirms His Divinity by His teaching and miracles, the first Saint whom the Church presents to us is one of the most intrepid defenders of this fundamental Dogma of Christianity.

Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, in 352 A.D., (Communion) endowed with great natural and supernatural talent, for "the Lord has filled him with the spirit of Wisdom and Intelligence" (Introit), fought with his pen and his eloquence against those "who closed their ears to Truth and opened them to fables" (Epistle).

English: Shrine, containing the Relics of Saint Hilary,

in the Crypt of the Church of 

Saint Hilary-the-Great,

Poitiers, France.

Deutsch: Saint-Hilaire-de-Poitiers, Reliqienschrein in der Krypta

Photo: August 2008.

Source: Self-photographed (Original text: “selbst fotografiert”).

Transferred from de.wikipedia to Commons by 

User:Brackenheim using CommonsHelper.

Author: KBWEi at de.wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

This "Salt of the Earth", this Light of God's House, would not suffer, under the false excuse of favouring peace and unity, the Salt of True Doctrine to be corrupted or the Light of Truth to be hidden under a bushel.

"Having thus taught the practice of the Commandments, even to the last tittle, he is great in the Kingdom of Heaven" (Gospel), and the Church, which is the Earthly portion of this Kingdom, has, by the voice of Pope Pius IX, awarded him the Title of Doctor (Collect). He died in 368 A.D.

Let us have recourse to the intercession of Saint Hilary, in order always to be the intrepid defenders of the Divinity of Christ.

Mass: In Médio.

Commemoration: Saint Felix (Priest and Martyr), same day.

The Octave Of The Epiphany. 13 January.

Text taken from The Liturgical Year,
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 3.
Christmas - Book II.

The Baptism of Christ.

Date: 1600s.

Source: http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/

product/73240/baptismofchrist.

Author: Francesco Albani (1578–1660).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Francesco Albani's 

17th-Century Baptism of Christ 

is a typical depiction with the sky opening 

and the Holy Spirit descending as a dove.

The thoughts of the Church, today, are fixed on the Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan, which is the second of the three Mysteries of the Epiphany. The Emmanuel manifested Himself to the Magi, after having shown Himself to the Shepherds; but this manifestation was made within the narrow space of a stable at Bethlehem, and the world knew nothing of it.

In the Mystery of the Jordan, Christ manifested Himself with greater publicity. His coming is proclaimed by the Precursor; the crowd that is flocking to the river for Baptism is witness of what happens; Jesus makes this the beginning of His public life. But who could worthily explain the glorious circumstances of this second Epiphany ?

It resembles the first in this, that it is for the benefit and salvation of the human race. The Star has led the Magi to Christ; they had long waited for His coming, they had hoped for it; now they believe. Faith in the Messias having come into the world is beginning to take root among the Gentiles. But faith is not sufficient for salvation; the stain of sin must be washed away by water. He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved.

The time is come, then, for a new manifestation of the Son of God, whereby there shall be inaugurated the great remedy, which is to give to Faith the power of producing life eternal.

English: Jesus (left) is being identified by John the Baptist (in John 1:29).

Italiano: Ottavio vannini, san giovanni che indica il Cristo a Sant'Andrea.

Artist: Vannini.

Date: 17th-Century.

Source: Giovanni Piccirillo (a cura di), La chiesa dei 

Santi Michele e Gaetano, Becocci Editore, Firenze 2006.

Author: sailko.

Permission: pd-old.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Now the decrees of Divine Wisdom had chosen Water as the instrument of this sublime regeneration of the human race. Hence, in the beginning of the world, we find the Spirit of God moving over the Waters, in order that they might "even then conceive a principle of sanctifying power," as the Church expresses it in her Office for Holy Saturday [the Blessing of the Font].

But, before being called to fulfil the designs of God's mercy, this element of Water had to be used by the Divine Justice for the chastisement of a sinful world. With the exception of one family, the whole human race perished, by the terrible judgement of God, in the Waters of the Deluge.

A fresh indication of the future supernatural power of this chosen element was given by the Dove, which Noe sent forth from the Ark; it returned to him, bearing in its beak an Olive-branch, the symbol that peace was given to the Earth by its having been buried in Water. But this was only the announcement of the Mystery; its accomplishment was not to be for long ages to come.

Meanwhile, God spoke to His people by many events, which were figurative of the future Mystery of Baptism. Thus, for example, it was by passing through the waters of the Red Sea that they entered into the Promised Land, and, during the miraculous passage, a pillar of a cloud was seen covering both the Israelites and the Waters to which they owed their deliverance.

The Baptism of Christ, 

by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Stained-Glass window

at Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church,

Baltimore, United States.

Date: July, 2007(28 September 2007 (original upload date)).

Source: Transferred from en.wikipedia.

(Original text : User:JGHowes).

Author: User:JGHowes, photographer. Original uploader was JGHowes at en.wikipedia.

Attribution: (Original text : © by James G. Howes, July 26, 2007).

(Copyright holder must be properly attributed).

(Wikimedia Commons)

But, in order that Water should have the power to purify man from his sins, it was necessary that it should be brought in contact with the Sacred Body of the Incarnate God. The Eternal Father had sent His Son into the world, not only that He might be its Lawgiver and Redeemer, and the Victim of its salvation, but that He might also be the Sanctifier of Water; and it was in this sacred element that He would divinely bear testimony to His being His Son, and manifest Him to the world a second time.

Jesus, therefore, being now thirty years of age, comes to the Jordan, a river already celebrated for the prophetic miracles which had been wrought in its waters. The Jewish people, roused by the preaching of John the Baptist, were flocking thither in order to receive a Baptism which could indeed excite a sorrow for sin, but could not effect its forgiveness. Our Divine King approaches the river, not, of course, to receive sanctification, for He, Himself, is the author of all Justice — but to impart to Water the power of bringing forth, as the Church expresses the Mystery, a new and Heavenly progeny [The Blessing of the Font].

He goes down into the stream, not, like Josue, to walk dry-shod through its bed, but to let its waters encompass Him, and receive from Him, both for itself and for the Waters of the whole Earth, the sanctifying power which they would retain for ever.

The Saintly Baptist places his trembling hand upon the sacred Head of the Redeemer, and bends it beneath the water; the Sun of Justice vivifies this His creature; He imparts to it the glow of life-giving fruitfulness; and Water thus becomes the prolific source of supernatural life.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Abraham Bloemaert (1566 - 1651).

Date: 1624.

Current location: Centraal Museum,

Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Source/Photographer: NwF4IhKB6EBxaA at 

Google Cultural Institute.

(Wikimedia Commons)

But in this, the commencement of a new Creation, we look for the intervention of the Three Persons of The Blessed Trinity. All Three are there. The heavens open; the Dove descends, not as a mere symbol, prophetic of some future Grace, but as the sign of the actual presence of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Love, who gives peace to men and changes their hearts.

The Dove hovers above the Head of Jesus, overshadowing at one and the same time the Humanity of the Incarnate Word and the water which bathed His Sacred Body.

The manifestation is not complete; the Father's voice is still to be heard speaking over the Water, and moving by its power the entire element throughout the Earth. Then was fulfilled the Prophecy of David: The Voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of Majesty hath thundered. The Voice of the Lord breaketh Cedars, that is, the pride of the devils. The Voice of the Lord divideth the flame of fire, that is, the anger of God. The Voice of the Lord shaketh the desert, and maketh the flood to swell, that is, announces a new Deluge, the Deluge of Divine Mercy [Ps. cxxviii 3, 5, 7, 8, 10]. And what says this Voice of the Father ? This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well-pleased.

Thus was the Holiness  of Emmanuel manifested by the presence of the Dove and by the Voice of the Father, as His Kingly character had been previously manifested  by the mute testimony of the Star. The Mystery is accomplished, the Waters are invested with a spiritual purifying power, and Jesus comes from the Jordan and ascends the bank, raising up with Himself the world, regenerated and sanctified, with all its crimes and defilements drowned in the stream. Such is the interpretation and language of the Holy Fathers of the Church regarding this great event of Our Lord's Life.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Charles André van Loo.

Date: 1760.

Current location: Los Angeles County Museum of Art,

United States of America.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates this wonderful Mystery of Jesus' Baptism; and we cannot be surprised at the Eastern Church having selected this day for one of the Solemn administrations of the Sacrament of Baptism. The same custom was observed, as we learn from ancient documents, in certain Churches in the West. John Mosch tells us that, as regards the Oriental Church, the Font was more than once miraculously filled with water on the Feast of the Epiphany, and that immediately after having administered the Sacrament, the people saw the water disappear.

The Roman Church, even so early as the time of Saint Leo, decreed that Easter and Pentecost should be the only two days for the Solemn administration of Baptism; but the custom of Blessing the Baptismal Water with great Solemnity on the Epiphany was still retained, and is observed even now in some parts of the West.

The Eastern Church has always religiously observed it. Amidst all the pomp of Sacred Rites, accompanied by his Priests and Ministers, who are clothed in the richest Vestments, and followed by the whole people, the Bishop repairs to the banks of a river. After reciting certain beautiful Prayers, which we regret not being able to offer to our Readers, the Bishop plunges into the water a Cross richly adorned with precious stones; it represents Our Lord being Baptised by Saint John the Baptist.

At Saint Petersburg, the ceremony takes place on the River Niva, and it is through a hole made on the ice that the Metropolitan dips the Cross into the water. This same ceremony is observed by those Churches in the West which have retained the custom of Blessing the Baptismal Water on this Feast.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Tapestry, wool and silk on cotton warp.

Manchester Metropolitan University,

Manchester, England.

Designed 1888. Woven 1894.

Scanned from Stephen Wildman, Edward Burne-Jones:

Victorian Artist-Dreamer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998,

ISBN 0870998595.

Designed by Edward Burne Jones,

with details by William Morris and John Henry Dearle.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Faithful are very anxious to carry home with them the water of the stream thus sanctified; and Saint John Chrysostom, in his twenty-fourth Homily, on the Baptism of Christ, speaks to his audience of the circumstance, which was well known by all of them, of this water never turning corrupt. The same has been often seen in the Western Church.

Let us honour Our Lord in this second Manifestation of His Divinity, and thank Him, with the Church, for having given us both the Star of Faith which enlightens us, and the Water of Baptism which cleanses us from our iniquities.

Let us lovingly appreciate the humility of Our Jesus, who permits Himself to be weighed down by the hand of a mortal man, in order, as He says Himself, that He might fulfil all justice, for having taken on Himself the likeness of sin, it was requisite that He should bear its humiliation, that so He might raise us from our debasement.

Let us thank Him for this Grace of Baptism, which has opened to us the Gates of the Church, both of Heaven and Earth; and let us renew the engagements we made at the Holy Font, for they were the terms on which we were regenerated to our New Life in God.

The Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640).

Date: 1609 / 1628 - 1629.

Current location: Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain.

Source/Photographer: http://www.museodelprado.es/

imagen/alta_resolucion/P01638.jpg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON THE EPIPHANY.

The Seventh Day Within The Octave Of The Epiphany. 12 January.

Text taken from The Liturgical Year,
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 3.
Christmas - Book II.

The Magi, 

having followed the Star,

enter Bethlehem,

searching for the Infant . . .

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

Having laid their offerings at the feet of Jesus, as the sign of the alliance they had, in the name of all mankind, contracted with Him, and laden with His Graces and Blessings, the Magi take their leave of the Divine Babe; for such was His will.

They take their departure from Bethlehem and the rest of the world seems a wilderness to them. Oh, if they might be permitted to fix their abode near the new-born King and His incomparable Mother ! But, no; God's plan for the salvation of the world requires that everything savouring of human pomp and glory should be far from Him Who had come to take upon Himself all our miseries.

Besides, they are to be the first messengers of the Gospel; they must go and tell to the Gentiles that the Mystery of the Salvation has begun, that the Earth is in possession of its Saviour, and that their salvation is at hand. The Star does not return to them; they needed it to find Jesus; but now they have Him in their hearts, and will never lose Him.

These three men are sent back into the midst of the Gentile world, as the leaven of the Gospel, which, notwithstanding its being so little, is to leaven the whole paste. For their sakes, God will Bless the nations of the Earth; from this day forward, infidelity will lose ground, and faith will progress; and when, the Blood of the Lamb having been shed, Baptism shall be promulgated, the Magi shall be, not merely men of desire, but perfect Christians, initiated into all the Mysteries of the Church.

English: Cologne Cathedral, 

Germany.

The Mediaeval Shrine of the Magi

is kept in this magnificent Cathedral.

Deutsch: Kölner Dom, Ost-Ansicht.

Photo: 6 June 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Rolf Heinrich, Köln.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The ancient tradition, which is quoted by the author of The Imperfect Work On Saint Matthew, which is put in all the editions of Saint John Chrysostom, and was probably written about the close of the 6th-Century, tells us that the three Magi were baptised by Saint Thomas the Apostle, and devoted themselves to the preaching of the Gospel.

But we scarcely need a tradition on such a point as this. The vocation of these three Princes could never be limited to the mere privilege of being the first among the Gentiles to visit the eternal King, who had come down from Heaven to be born on this Earth, and show Himself to His creatures; a second vocation was the consequence of the first, the vocation of preaching Jesus to men.

There are many details relating to the life and actions of the Magi, after they had become Christians, which have been handed down to us; but we refrain from mentioning them, as not being sufficiently ancient or important traditions to have induced the Church to give them place in her Liturgy.

We would make the same observation with regard to the names assigned to them of Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthassar; the custom of thus naming them is to modern to deserve credit; and though it might be indiscreet to deny that these were their true names, it seems very difficult to give proofs of their correctness.

Altarpiece of the Magi,

Cologne Cathedral,

Germany.

By Stephan Lochner.

Date: 15th-Century.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Stefan Lochner.

Permission: PDArt.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Relics of these Holy Kings were translated from Persia to Constantinople, under the first Christian Emperors, and, for a long time, were kept in the Church of Saint Sophia. At a later period, they were translated to Milan, when Eustorgius was Bishop of that city. There they remained till the 12th-Century, when, through the influence of the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa, they were translated to the Cathedral Church of Cologne by Reynold, Archbishop of that Metropolitan See.

The Relics are in a magnificent Shrine, perhaps the finest specimen now extant of Mediaeval metallic art, and the superb Cathedral, where it is religiously kept, is, by its size and architectural beauty, one of the grandest Churches of the Christian world.

Thus, have we followed you, O Blessed Magi ! Fathers of the Gentile world ! From your first setting out from the East, for Bethlehem, to your return to your own country, and even to your sacred resting-place; which the goodness of God has made to be in this cold West of ours. It was the love of children for their parents that made us thus cling to you. Besides, were we not, ourselves, in search of that dear King Whom you so longed for and found ?

Blessed be those ardent desires of yours, Blessed be your obedience to the guidance of the Star, Blessed be your devotion at the Crib of Jesus, Blessed be the gifts you made Him, which, while they were acceptable to God, were full of instruction to us !

English: Shrine of the Three Magi, 

Cologne Cathedral, Germany.

Deutsch: Dreikönigsschrein im Kölner Dom.

Русский: Рака трёх королей в Кёльнском соборе.

Photo: 26 October 2004.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Arminia. Own photo.

Permission: GNU.

(Wikimedia Commons)

We revere you as Prophets, for you foretold the characters of the Messias by the selection of your three gifts. We honour you as Apostles, for your preached, even to Jerusalem, herself, the Birth of the humble Jesus of Bethlehem, of that Jesus, Whom His Disciples preached not till after the triumph of His Resurrection.

We hail you as the Spring Flowers of the Gentile world, but Flowers which produced abundant and rich fruits, for you brought over entire nations and countless people to the service of our Divine King. Watch over us, and protect the Church. Be mindful of those Eastern countries, whence rises to the Earth the light of day, the beautiful image of your own journey towards Bethlehem.

Bless this Western world of ours, which was buried in darkness when you first saw the Star, and is now the favoured portion of God's Earth, and on which the Divine Sun of Justice pours forth His brightest and warmest rays.

Faith has grown weak among us; re-kindle it. Obtain of the Divine Mercy that the West may ever send forth her messengers of salvation to the South and North, and even to that infidel East, where are laid the tents of Sem, and where the light you gave her has been long extinguished by her apostasy. Pray for the Church of Cologne, that illustrious sister of our holiest Churches in the West; may she preserve the faith, may she defend her sacred rights and liberty; may she be the bulwark of Catholic Germany, and be ever Blessed by the protection of her Three Kings, and the patronage of the glorious Ursula, and her virginal army.

. . . and present their gifts

of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

to the Infant.

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

Lastly, we beseech you, O venerable Magi !, to introduce us to the Infant Jesus, and his Blessed Mother; and grant us to go through these forty days, which the Church consecrates to the Mystery of Christmas, with hearts burning with love for the Divine Child, and may that same love abide with us during the pilgrimage of our life on this Earth.

Today, also, we will make use of the formulas employed by the several ancient Churches in honour of the Mystery of the Epiphany. Our first selection is a Hymn, written by the great Fulbert of Chartres. This is followed by two Prayers from the Mozarabic Breviary.

Then comes a Sequence from the ancient Missals of the Churches of Germany, followed by a beautiful Canticle, in honour of the Infant Jesus, from the pen of Saint Ephrem, the sublime bard of the Syrian Church.

The Greek Church contribute, too, with beautiful stanzas in honour of the Holy Mother of God.

Adoration of the Magi.

Artist: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617–1682).

Date: 1655 - 1660.

Current location: Toledo Museum of Art,

Ohio, United States.

Source/Photographer: JAFwsBSXui7rdg at Google Cultural Institute.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Feast Of The Holy Family. Sunday Within The Octave Of The Epiphany.

Text from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal (1945 Edition),

unless otherwise stated.

Illustrations, unless otherwise stated, from UNA VOCE OF ORANGE COUNTY
(from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal, 1952 Edition), who reproduce them 
with the kind permission of ST. BONAVENTURE PRESS

Feast of The Holy Family.
Sunday within the Octave of The Epiphany.

Greater-Double.

White Vestments.

The Holy Family.

"Is it not fitting," says Pope Leo XIII, "to celebrate the Royal Birth of the Son of the supreme Father, of the House of David and the glorious names of that ancient line" ? Yet it is more consoling for us to call to memory the little house at Nazareth and the humble life lived there; thus celebrating the hidden life of Our Lord.

For there, the Divine Child received His training in Joseph's humble trade; there, hidden and sheltered, He grew up and showed Himself ready to share the toil of a carpenter's life.

Let the moisture," He seemed to say, "trickle over My limbs before they are drenched with the torrent of My Blood, and the pain of this labour shall go to atone for the sins of men."

The Madonna Of The Roses.

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).

Date: 1903.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus.

Artist: Guido Reni (1575–1642).

Date: Circa 1635.

Source: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/reni/2/joseph_i.html.

Permission: PD-OLD.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Close to the Divine Child is His tender Mother; close to Joseph stands his devoted wife, happy to relieve their toil and suffering by her loving care. O Thou, Who wast not free from toil and care, and Who hast known adversity, come to the aid of the unfortunate, crippled by poverty and struggling against the difficulties of life" (Hymn for Matins).

In this lowly dwelling at Nazareth, by practising the domestic virtues of Charity, Obedience, Mutual Help, and Regard, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, hallowed family life (Collect, Epistle and Gospel). There, too, they constantly found joy and peace in recollection and Prayer in common.

May the great Christian family practise, here on Earth, the virtues of the Holy Family, so meriting a life in their Blessed company in Heaven (Collect).

Pope Benedict XV, being desirous of securing for Souls the Blessings flowing from meditation on the virtues of the Holy Family and from their imitation, extended this Feast to the Universal Church, fixing its observance for the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany. When this Feast happens to be the Octave Day of the Epiphany, the Feast is kept on the day before.

When this Feast is observed on a Sunday, every Parish Priest celebrates Mass for the people of his Parish.

The Madonna Of The Roses.

Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905).

Date: 1903.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Saint Joseph with the Infant Jesus.

Artist: Guido Reni (1575–1642).

Date: Circa 1635.

Source: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/r/reni/2/joseph_i.html.

Permission: PD-OLD.

(Wikimedia Commons)

"He was subject to them."

"Who was subject ?", Saint Bernard of Clairvaux asks, "and to whom ?"

A God to men ! Yes, the God Whom the Angels serve, Whom the Principalities and Powers obey. He was subject to Mary, and not to Mary, only, but to Joseph, also, for Mary's sake.

That a God should obey a human creature; here is humility without parallel. That the same human creature should command God; here is a height and depth nowhere else attained. Man, learn to obey. Earth, learn to consent to a low estate. Dust, learn to humble yourself, for the Evangelist says of your Creator: "He was subject to them," and there is no doubt that this means to Mary and Joseph.

Blush then, proud ashes. A God humbles Himself ; while you exalt yourself. A God becomes subject to men, while you, seeking to rule over men, put yourself above your Creator.

O Man, if you will not condescend to follow the example of a man, surely it will not be beneath you to follow your Creator" (Third Nocturn).

The Sixth Day Within The Octave Of The Epiphany. 11 January.

Text taken from The Liturgical Year,
by Abbot Guéranger, O.S.B.
Translated from the French by Dom Laurence Shepherd, O.S.B.
Volume 3.
Christmas - Book II.

The Magi wonder 

at the emergence

of the bright new Star.

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

The Magi were not satisfied with paying their adorations to the great King, whom Mary presented to them. After the example of the Queen of Saba, who paid her homage to the Prince of Peace in the person of King Solomon, these three Eastern Kings opened their treasures and presented their offerings to Jesus.

Our Emmanuel graciously accepted these mystic gifts, and suffered them not to leave Him until he had loaded them with gifts infinitely more precious than those He had vouchsafed to receive. The Magi had given Him of the riches which this Earth produces; Jesus repays them with heavenly gifts. He strengthened in their hearts the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity; He enriched, in their persons, the Church of which they were the representatives; and the words of the Canticle of Mary were fulfilled in them: He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent away empty, for the Synagogue refused to follow them in their search after the King of the Jews.

But let us consider the gifts made by the Magi, and let us, together with the Church and the Holy Fathers, acknowledge the Mysteries expressed by them. The gifts were three in number, in order to honour the sacred number of the Person in the Divine Essence, as likewise to express the triple character of Emmanuel.

He had come that He might be King over the whole world; it was fitting that men should offer gold to Him, for it is the emblem of sovereign power. He had come to be High Priest, and, by His mediation, reconcile Earth to Heaven; incense, then, was an appropriate gift, for the Priest uses it when he offers sacrifice.

The Magi follow the Star to Bethlehem.

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

But, thirdly, it was only by His own death that He was to obtain possession of the throne which was prepared for His glorified Human Nature, and the perpetual Sacrifice of the Divine Lamb was to be inaugurated by this same Death; the gift of Myrrh was expressive of the Death and Burial of an immortal Victim. The Holy Ghost, Who inspired the Prophets, had guided the Magi in their selection of these three gifts. Let us listen to Saint Leo, who, speaking of this Mystery, says with his usual eloquence:

"O admirable Faith, which leads to Knowledge and perfect Knowledge, and which was not taught in the school of Earthly wisdom, but was enlightened by the Holy Ghost, Himself ! For whence had they learnt the supernatural beauty of their three Gifts ?, they that had come straight from their own country, and had not as yet seen Jesus, nor beheld, in His Infant Face, the Light which directed them in the choice of their offerings ?

"Whilst the Star met the gaze of the bodily eye, their hearts were instructed by a stronger light — the ray of Truth. Before setting out on the fatiguing journey, they knew Him, to Whom were due, by Gold, the honours of a King; by Incense, the worship of God; by Myrrh, the faith in his Mortal Nature." [Sermon the Fourth: On the Epiphany.]

But these three gifts, which so sublimely express the three characters of the Man-God, are fraught with instruction for us. They signify three great virtues, which the Divine Infant found in the Souls of the Magi, and to which He added increase by His Grace. Gold signifies Charity, which unites us to God; Frankincense, Prayer, which brings God into man's heart; and Myrrh, self-abnegation, suffering and mortification, whereby we are delivered from the slavery of corrupt nature.

The Magi follow the Star to Bethlehem.

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

Find a heart that loves God, that raises herself up to Him by Prayer, that understands and relishes the Power of the Cross — and you have in that heart the worthiest offering which can be made to God, and one which He always accepts.

We, too, O Jesus !, offer Thee our treasure, and our gifts. We confess Thee to be God and Priest and Man. We beseech Thee to accept the desire we have of corresponding to the love Thou showest us by giving Thee our love in return; we love Thee, dear Saviour !, do Thou increase our love. Receive also the gift of our Prayer, for, though of itself it be tepid and poor, yet it is pleasing to Thee because it is united with the Prayer of Thy Church: Teach us how to make it worthy of Thee and how to give it the power of obtaining what Thou desirest to grant: Form within us the gift of Prayer, that it may unceasingly ascend up like sweet Incense in Thy sight.

And, lastly, receive the homage of our contrite and humble hearts, and the resolution we have formed of restraining and purifying our senses by mortification and penance.

The sublime Mysteries, which we are celebrating during this holy season, have taught us the greatness of our own misery, and the immensity of Thy love for us, and we feel more than ever the obligation we are under of fleeing from the world and its concupiscences, and of uniting ourselves to Thee. The Star shall not have shone upon us in vain: It has brought us to Thee, dear King of Bethlehem !, and Thou shalt be King of our hearts.

English: The Magi Journeying.

Français: Les rois mages en voyage.

Artist: James Tissot (1836–1902).

Date: Between 1886 and 1894.

Current location: Brooklyn Museum, United States.

Credit line: Purchased by public subscription.

Source/Photographer: Online Collection of Brooklyn Museum;

Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2006, 00.159.30_PS1.jpg.

(Wikimedia Commons)

What have we that we prize and hold dear, which we can hesitate to give Thee in return for the sweet infinite treasure of Thyself, which Thou hast given to us ?

Dear Mother of Our Jesus !, we put these, our offerings, into thy hands. The gifts of the Magi were made through thee, and they were pleasing to thy Son; thou must present ours to him, and He will be pleased with them, in spite of their poverty. Our love is deficient; fill up its measure by uniting it with thine own immense love.

Second our Prayer by thy maternal intercession. Encourage us in our warfare against the world and the flesh. Make sure our perseverance, by obtaining for the Grace of a continual remembrance of the sweet Mysteries which we are now celebrating; pray for us that, after thine own example, we may keep all these things in our hearts. That must be a hard and depraved heart which could offend Jesus in Bethlehem; or refuse Him anything now that He is seated on thy lap, waiting for our offering !

O Mary !, keep us from forgetting that we are the children of the Magi, and that Bethlehem is ever open to receive us.

The Magi follow the bright

new Star to Bethlehem . . .

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

Let us borrow the language of the ancient Liturgies, in order to give expression to the sentiments awakened in us by all these ineffable Mysteries. Let us begin with a Hymn on the Nativity of Our Lord, left us by the Saintly Bishop of Poitiers, Venantius Fortunatus, which is followed by an eloquent Prayer from the Mozarabic Breviary.

In addition, there follows a Sequence from the Paris Missal of 1584 and a Hymn by Saint Ephrem, the holy Deacon of Edessa, who continues his admirable dialogue between Mary and the Magi.

Then, we turn to a Hymn from the Greek Church, which we sing to the tender Mother. The Hymn breathes so sweetly the unction and piety of Saint Joseph the Hymnographer.

The Church, today, makes Commemoration of the holy Pope and Martyr, Hyginus. He held the Apostolic Chair under the reign of Antoninus, and closed his four years' Pontificate by Martyrdom.

. . . and present their gifts

of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

to the Infant.

Image: FREE BIBLE IMAGES

Pope Saint Hyginus (138 A.D. - 142 A.D.) Pope And Martyr. Feast Day 11 January.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Pope Saint Hyginus.

(138 A.D. - 142 A.D.)

From an icon inside the 

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls,

Rome, Italy.

This File: 14 September 2006.

User: TPM.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pope Hyginus (died 142 A.D.) was the Bishop of Rome from 138 A.D. to 142 A.D. Tradition holds that during his Papacy he determined the various prerogatives of the Clergy and defined the grades of the Ecclesiastical hierarchy. However, modern scholars tend to doubt this claim and view the governance of the Church of Rome during this period as still more or less collective.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Hyginus was Greek, born in Athens. The source further states that he previously was a philosopher, probably founded on the similarity of his name with that of two Latin authors.

Irenaeus says that the Gnostic, Valentinus, came to Rome in Hyginus's time, remaining there until Anicetus became Pontiff (Against Heresies, III, iii). Cerdo, another Gnostic, and predecessor of Marcion, also lived at Rome in the reign of Hyginus; by confessing his errors and recanting, he succeeded in obtaining re-admission into the bosom of the Church, but eventually he fell back into the Heresies and was expelled from the Church. How many of these events took place during the time of Hyginus is not known.

The Liber Pontificalis also relates that this Pope organised the hierarchy and established the order of Ecclesiastical precedence (Hic clerum composuit et distribuit gradus). This general observation recurs also in the biography of Pope Hormisdas; it has no historical value, and, according to Duchesne, the writer probably referred to the Lower Orders of the Clergy.

The ancient sources contain no information as to his having died a Martyr. At his death, he was buried on the Vatican Hill, near the tomb of Saint Peter. His Feast is celebrated on 11 January. Three Letters, attributed to him, have survived.

According to Eusebius (Church History, IV, xv.), Hyginus succeeded Telesphorus during the first year of the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius, i.e. in 138 A.D., or 139 A.D. Eusebius (Church History, IV, xvi) states that Hyginus's Pontificate lasted four years.

The following is taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal.

"At Rome, the holy death of Saint Hyginus, Pope, who generously suffered Martyrdom during the persecution of Emperor Hadrian" (Roman Martyrology) perhaps about 142 A.D.

If the Feast of Saint Hyginus be kept:

Mass: Státuit.

Red Vestments.