Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
The same divine Providence, which would not that the Church should be deprived of the consolation of keeping, during Advent, the feast of some of the Apostles, who announced to the Gentiles the coming of the Messias, has also willed that the holy Doctors, who defended the true Faith against heretics, should be represented in this important season of the Catholic Year. Two of them, St. Ambrose and St. Peter Chrysologus, shine as two brilliant stars in the firmament of the Church during Advent. It is worthy of note, that both of them were the zealous avengers of that Son of God whom we are preparing to receive. The first was the valiant opponent of the Arians, whose impious doctrine taught that Jesus, the object of our hopes, is merely a creature and not God; the second was the adversary of Eutyches, whose sacrilegious system robs the Incarnation of the Son of God of all its glory, by asserting that, in this mystery, the human nature was absorbed by the divinity.
It is this second Doctor, the holy Bishop of Ravenna, that we are to honor today. His pastoral eloquence gained for him a great reputation, and a great number of his Sermons have been handed down to us. In almost every page, we find passages of the most exquisite beauty, though we also occasionally meet with indications of the decay of literature, which began in the fifth century. The mystery of the Incarnation is a frequent subject of the Saint’s Sermons, and he always speaks upon it with a precision and enthusiasm, which show his learning and piety. His veneration and love towards Mary, the Mother of God, who, in that very age, had triumphed over her enemies by the decree of the Council of Ephesus, inspire him with thoughts and language which are extremely fine. Let us take a passage from the Sermon on the Annunciation. “God sends to the Virgin an Angelic Messenger, who, whilst he brings grace, gives her the entrusted pledge, and receives hers. Then does Gabriel return with Mary’s plighted troth. But, before ascending to heaven, there to tell the consent promised him by the Virgin, he delivers to her the gifts due to her virtues. Swiftly does this Ambassador fly to the Spouse, that he might assert God’s claim to her as his own. Gabriel takes her not from Joseph, but he restores her to Christ, to whom she was espoused when she was first formed in the womb.1 Christ, therefore, did but take his own, when he thus made Mary his Spouse. It is not a separation that he thus produces, but a union to himself of his own creature by becoming Incarnate in her womb.
“But let us hearken to the Angel’s words. Being come in, he said unto her: Hail, full of grace! the Lord is with thee! These words are not a mere salutation; they convey the heavenly gift. Hail! that is, Take, O Mary, the grace I bring thee; fear not; this is not the work of nature. Full of Grace! that is, Thou art not in grace as others are, thou art to be filled with it. The Lord is with thee! What means this, but that he is coming to thee not merely to visit thee, but to enter within thee by the new mystery of becoming thy Child? Blessed art thou among women. How fittingly does he add these words! They imply, that they who heretofore were mothers with the curse of Eve upon them, now have the Blessed Mary as their joy, and honor, and type: and whereas Eve was, by nature, the mother of children of death, Mary is, by grace, the Mother of children of life.”2
In the following passage from another Sermon, the Holy Doctor teaches us with what profound veneration we ought to contemplate Mary during these days when God is still residing in her womb. “What reverence and awe are shown to that inner chamber of a King, where he sits in all the majesty of his power! Therein, no man may enter that is a stranger, or unclean, or unfaithful. The usages of courts require, that when men come to pay their homage, everything must be the best, and fairest, and most loyal. Who would go to the palace-gate in rags? Who would go, that knew he was odious to the Prince? So it is with the sanctuary of the divine Spouse. No one is permitted to come nigh, but he that is of God’s family, and is intimate, and has a good conscience, and has a fair name, and leads a holy life. Within the holy place itself God receives but the Virgin, and spotless virginity. Hence learn, O man, to examine thyself:—who thou art? and what thou art? and what merits thou hast? Ask thyself, after this, if thou mayest dare to penetrate into the mystery of the Birth of thy Lord, or canst be worthy to approach that living sanctuary, wherein reposes the whole majesty of the King, and thy God.”3
Let us now listen to our holy Mother the Church, who thus speaks of our Saint.
Peter, surnamed, for his golden eloquence, Chrysologus, was born at Forum Cornelii (Imola) in Æmilia, of respectable parents. Turning his mind to religion from his childhood, he put himself under Cornelius, the Bishop of that city, who was a Roman. In a short while, he made such progress in learning and holiness of life, that, in due time, the Bishop ordained him Deacon. Not long after, it happened that the Archbishop of Ravenna having died, the inhabitants of that city sent, as usual, to Rome the successor, they had elected, that this election might be confirmed by the holy Pope Sixtus the Third. Cornelius, who was also sent in company with the deputies of Ravenna, took with him the young Deacon. Meanwhile, the Apostle St. Peter, and the holy Martyr Apollinaris, appeared to the Roman Pontiff in his sleep. They stood with the young levite between them, and ordered the Pontiff to create him, and none other, as Archbishop of Ravenna. The Pontiff, therefore, no sooner saw Peter, than he recognized him as the one chosen by God; and rejecting the one presented to him, he appointed Peter to the Metropolitan Church of that city, in the year of our Lord 433. At first, the deputies from Ravenna were dissatisfied at this decision of the Pope; but, having been told of the vision, they readily acquiesced to the divine will, and received the new Archbishop with the greatest reverence.
Petrus, qui ob auream ejus eloquentiam Chrysologi cognomen adeptus est, Foro Cornelii in Æmilia honestis parentibus natus, a prima ætate animum ad religionem adjiciens, Cornelio Romano, tunc ejusdem urbis Corneliensis Episcopo, operam dedit: a quo etiam scientia et vitæ sanctitate quum brevi profecisset, Diaconus creatus est. Postmodum contigit, ut Ravennates ob mortem Archipræsulis sui, alium ut moris erat ab eis electum, Romam ad sanctum Sixtum Papam Tertium pro confirmatione miserint una cum Legatis suis, et cum prædicto Cornelio, qui eumdem levitam secum perduxit. Interim sanctus Petrus Apostolus, et Martyr Apollinaris Summo Pontifici in somnis apparuerunt, mediumque habentes hunc juvenem, jusserunt, ut illum et non alium, in Archiepiscopum Ravennæ crearet. Hinc pontifex, mox ut vidit Petrum, cognovit eum a Domino Deo præelectum: propterea rejecto illo quem ipsi offerebant, hunc solum anno Christi quadringentesimo trigesimo tertio, illi Metropolitanæ præfecit Ecclesiæ. Quod quum legati Ravennatenses ægre ferrent, audita visione, divinæ voluntati libenter acquiescentes, novum Archiepiscopum maxima cum reverentia susceperunt.
Peter, therefore, being, though reluctant, consecrated Archbishop, was conducted to Ravenna, where he was received with the greatest joy by the Emperor Valentinian, and Galla Placidia the Emperor’s mother, and the whole people. On his part, he told them that he asked of them but this, that since he had not refused this great burden for their salvation’s sake, they would make it their study to follow his counsels, and to obey the commandments of God. He then buried in the city the bodies of two Saints, after having embalmed them with the most precious perfumes; Barbatian, a Priest, was one; and the other, Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, whose cowl and hair-shirt he claimed as his own inheritance. He ordained Projectus and Marcellinus Bishops. In the town of Classis he erected a fountain of an incredible size, and built some magnificent churches in honor of several Saints, of Saint Andrew among the rest. The people had a custom of assisting at certain games, on the first day of January, which consisted of theatrical performances and dances; the Saint repressed these by the severity with which he preached against them. One of his expressions deserves to be handed down: He that would play with the devil, can never enjoy the company of Jesus. At the command of Pope St. Leo the First, he wrote to the Council of Chalcedon against the heresy of Eutyches. He answered Eutyches himself by another epistle, which has been added to the Acts of that same Council in the new editions, and has been inserted in the Ecclesiastical Annals.
Petrus igitur, licet invitus, in Archipræsulem consecratus Ravennam deducitur: ubi a Valentiniano Imperatore, et a Galla Placidia ejus matre, et ab universo populo maxima lætitia exceptus est. Et ille ab eis id unum petere dixit, ut quando tantum oneris pro ipsorum salute subire non recusaret, studerent ipsi monitis suis obtemperare, divinisque præceptis non obsistere. Duorum Sanctorum tunc ibi defunctorum corpora optimis unguentis condita sepelivit; Barbatiani videlicet Presbyteri, et Germani Antissiodorensis Episcopi, cujus etiam cucullam et cilicium sibi vindicavit in hæreditatem. Projectum et Marcellinum Episcopos ordinavit. In Classe fontem extruxit magnitudinis vere admirabilis, et templa quædam magnifica ædificavit, tum beato Andreæ Apostolo, tum aliis Sanctis. Ludos ab hominibus personatis cum variis saltationibus, Kalendis Januarii fieri solitos, concione cohibuit acerrima, ubi inter alia illud præclare dixit: Qui jocari voluerit cum diabolo, non poterit gaudere cum Christo. Jussu sancti Leonis Papæ Primi scripsit ad Chalcedonense Concilium adversus hæresim Eutychetis. Respondit præterea ad Eutychem ipsum et alia Epistola, quæ eidem Concilio in novis editionibus præfixa, et in Annales Ecclesiasticos relata fuit.
In his sermons to the people he was so earnest, that at times his voice completely failed him, as in his Sermon on the Woman healed by our Lord, as mentioned in the 9th chapter of St. Matthew; on which occasion his people of Ravenna were so affected, and so moved to tears, that the whole church rang with their sobbings and prayers, and the Saint afterwards thanked God, for that he had turned the failure of his speech into the gain of so much love. After having governed that Church, in a most holy manner, about eighteen years, and having received a divine warning that his labors were soon to end, he withdrew into his native town. There he visited the Church of St. Cassian, and presented an offering of a large golden diadem, set with most precious stones, which he placed upon the high Altar; he also gave a golden cup, and silver paten, which imparts to water poured on it the virtue of healing the bites of mad dogs, and of assuaging fevers, as frequent instances have attested. He then took leave of those who had accompanied him from Ravenna, admonishing them to spare no pains in electing for their Pastor him who was the most worthy. Immediately after this he turned in humble prayer to God, that, through the intercession of his patron St. Cassian, he would mercifully receive his soul; and calmly passed out of this life, on the third of the Nones of December (Dec. 3), about the year 450. His holy body was buried, amidst the tears and prayers of the whole city, near the body of the same St. Cassian: there it is venerated even at this day; though Ravenna possesses and venerates one of the arms, which was enshrined in gold and gems and placed in the Basilica Ursicana.
Dum publice sermones haberet ad populum, adeo vehemens erat in dicendo, ut præ nimio ardore vox illi interdum defecerit: sicut contigit in concione Hæmorrhoissæ. Unde Ravennates commoti, tot lacrymis, clamoribus et orationibus locum repleverunt, ut postea ipse gratias ageret Deo, quod in lucrum amoris verterit damnum ejusdem sermonis. Cum tandem annos circiter decem et octo eam Ecclesiam sanctissime rexisset, laborum suorum finem adesse divinitus prænoscens, in patriam se contulit; ubi sancti Cassiani templum ingressus, magnum diadema aureum, gemmis distinctum pretiosissimis, offerens, super Altare majus posuit; necnon aureum craterem et patenam argenteam, quam tum rabidi canis morsus, tum febres sanare expertum est, aqua inde demissa. Ex tunc Ravennates qui eumdem secuti fuerant dimisit, admonens, ut in eligendo optimo Pastore invigilarent attente. Mox Deum humiliter precatus, et sanctum Cassianum patronum, ut benigne animam ejus exciperet, tertio Nonas Decembris, placide ex hac vita migravit, anno circiter quadringentesimo quinquagesimo. Sacrum ejus corpus communi totius civitatis fletu ac pietate prope corpus ejusdem sancti Cassiani honorifice conditum, nostris etiam temporibus religiose colitur: cujus tamen brachium, auro et gemmis ornatum, Ravennam delatum in Ursicana æde veneratur.
Holy Pontiff, who didst open thy lips and pour out on the assembly of the faithful, in the streams of thy golden eloquence, the knowledge of Jesus, cast an eye of compassion on the Christians throughout the world, who are watching in expectation of that same God-Man, whose two Natures thou didst so courageously confess. Obtain for us grace to receive him with that sovereign respect, which is due to a God who comes down to his creatures, and with that loving confidence, which is due to a Brother who comes to offer himself in sacrifice for his most unworthy brethren. Strengthen our faith, most holy Doctor! for the love we stand in need of comes from faith. Destroy the heresies which lay waste the vineyard of our Father; and uproot that frightful Pantheism, which is the form under which the heresy, thou didst combat, is still among us. May the numerous Churches of the East abjure that heresy of Eutyches which reigns so supreme amongst them, and gives them the knowledge of the ineffable mystery of the Incarnation only to blaspheme it. Pray that the children of the Church may show to the judgments of the Apostolic See that perfect obedience, to which thou didst so eloquently urge the heresiarch Eutyches, in the Epistle thou didst address to him, and which will ever be precious to the world: “We exhort thee above all things, most honored Brother, that thou receive with obedience whatsoever has been written by the most blessed Pope of the City of Rome: for, Blessed Peter, who lives and presides in his own See, shows the truth of faith to all them that seek it.” (Letter 25.)
The Same Day. Saint Barbara, Virgin and Martyr
Although, in the Roman Liturgy, St. Barbara is merely commemorated in the Office of St. Peter Chrysologus; yet the Church has approved an entire Office for the use of those Churches which honor the memory of this illustrious Virgin in a special manner. The Legend which follows, although of considerable weight, has not, consequently, the authority of those which are promulgated for the use of the whole Church, in the Roman Breviary. Let us not, on this account, be the less fervent in honoring this glorious Martyr, so celebrated in the East, and whose feast has been for so many ages admitted, with more or less solemnity, into the Roman Church. The Acts of her martyrdom, though not of the highest antiquity, contain nothing in them but what redounds to the glory of God and the honor of the Saint. We have already shown the liturgical importance which attaches to St. Barbara in the season of Advent. Let us admire the constancy wherewith this Virgin waited for her Lord, who came at the appointed hour, and was for her, as the Scripture speaks, a bloody Spouse, because he put the strength of her love of him to the severest of all tests.
Barbara, a Virgin of Nicomedia, the daughter of Dioscorus, a nobleman, but a superstitious pagan, came readily, by the assistance of divine grace, from the contemplation of the visible things of creation to the knowledge of the invisible. Wherefore, she devoted herself to God alone and to the things of God. Her father, desirous to preserve her from all danger of insult, to which he feared her great beauty might expose her, shut her up in a tower. There the pious virgin passed her days in meditation and prayer, studying to please God alone, whom she had chosen as her Spouse. She courageously rejected several offers of marriage, which were made to her, through her father, by rich nobles. But her father hoped, that by separating himself by a long absence from his child, her intentions would easily change. He first ordered that a bath should be built for her in the tower, so that she might want for nothing; and then he set out on a journey into distant countries.
Barbara, Virgo Nicomediensis, Dioscori nobilis, sed superstitiosi hominis filia, per ea quæ visibilia facta sunt, ad invisibilia, divina opitulante gratia, facile pervenit. Quapropter soli Deo rebusque divinis vacare cœpit. Eam pater, utpote forma venustiori nitentem, a quocumque virorum occursu tutari cupiens, turri inclusit: ubi pia virgo meditationibus et precibus addicta, soli Deo, quem sibi in sponsum elegerat, placere studebat. Oblata a patre pluries nobilium connubia fortiter sprevit. Pater vero per sui absentiam filiæ animum posse facilius emolliri confidens, jussit primo balneum extrui, ne quid ei deesset ad commoditatem; deinde peregre in exteras regiones profectus est.
During her father’s absence, Barbara ordered that to the two windows already in the tower a third should be added, in honor of the blessed Trinity; and that on the edge of the bath the sign of the most holy Cross should be drawn. When Dioscorus returned home, and saw these changes, and was told their meaning, he became so incensed against his daughter, that he went in search of her with a naked sword in his hand, and, but for the protection of God, he would cruelly have murdered her. Barbara had taken to flight: an immense rock opened before her, and she found a path by which she reached the top of a mountain, and there she hid herself in a cave. Not long after, however, she was discovered by her unnatural father, who savagely kicked and struck her, and dragging her by the hair over the sharp rocks, and rugged ways, he handed her over to the governor Marcian, that he might punish her. He, therefore, having used every means to shake her constancy, and finding that all was in vain, gave orders that she should be stripped and scourged with thongs, the wounds to be then scraped with potsherd, and so dragged to prison. There Christ, surrounded by an immense light, appearing to her, strengthened her in a divine manner for the sufferings she was yet to endure. A matron, named Juliana, who witnessed this, was converted to the faith, and became her companion in the palm of martyrdom.
Absente patre, jussit Barbara duabus fenestris quæ in turri erant, tertiam addi in honorem divinæ Trinitatis, labiumque balnei sacrosanctæ Crucis signo muniri: quod ubi rediens Dioscorus inspexit, audita novitatis causa, adeo in filiam excanduit ut stricto ense eam appetens, parum abfuerit ut eam dire confoderet; sed præsto adfuit Deus; nam fugienti Barbaræ saxum ingens se patefaciens viam aperuit, per quam montis fastigium petere, et sic in specu latere, potuit; sed paulo post quum a nequissimo genitore reperta fuisset, ejus latera pedibus dorsumque pugnis immaniter percussit, et crinibus per loca aspera difficilesque vias raptatam Marciano Præsidi puniendam tradidit. Itaque ab ipso omnibus modis, sed incassum tentata nudam nervis cædi et inflicta vulnera testulis confricari, deinde in carcerem trahi præcepit: ubi immensa luce circumdatus ei Christus apparens, mirifice confortatam in passionum tolerantia confirmavit: quod animadvertens Juliana matrona, ad fidem conversa ejusdem palmæ particeps effecta est.
At length Barbara had her body torn with iron hooks, her sides burnt with torches, and her head bruised with mallets. During these tortures she consoled her companion, and exhorted her to fight manfully to the last. Both of them had their breasts cut off, were dragged naked through the streets, and beheaded. The head of Barbara was cut off by her own father, who in his excessive wickedness had hardened his heart thus far. But his ferocious cruelty was not long left unpunished, for instantly, and on the very spot, he was struck dead by lightning. The Emperor Justinus had the body of this most holy virgin translated from Nicomedia to Constantinople. It was afterwards obtained by the Venetians from the Emperors Constantine and Basil; and having been translated from Constantinople to Venice, was deposited with great solemnity in the Basilica of St. Mark. Lastly, at the earnest request of the Bishop of Torcello and his sister, who was abbess, it was translated in the year of grace 1009, to the Nuns’ Church of St. John the Evangelist, in the diocese of Torcello; where it was placed in a worthy sepulcher, and from that time has never ceased to be the object of most fervent veneration.
Barbaræ demum ferreis unguibus membra laniantur, facibus latera incenduntur, et malleolis caput contunditur: quibus in cruciatibus consortem solabatur, et hortabatur ut ad finem usque constanter certaret. Præcisis tandem utrique uberibus, nudæ per loca publica tractæ, filiæque cervicem ipse scelestissimus pater humanitatis expers, propriis manibus amputavit: cujus fera crudelitas non diu inulta remansit; nam statim eo ipso in loco fulmine percussus interiit. Corpus hujus beatissimæ virginis Justinus Imperator Nicomedia auferens, Constantinopolim primum transportavit. Illud idem, cum in progressu temporis ab Imperatoribus Constantino et Basilio impetrassent Veneti, Constantinopoli deductum in sancti Marci Basilica fuit deinde solemniter collocatum. Postremo et ultimo, supplicantibus Torcellano Episcopo ejusque sorore Abbatissa, ad Ecclesiam monialium Sancti Johannis Evangelistæ Torcellanæ diœcesis, anno salutis millesimo nono defertur: ubi et honorifice conditum, perpetuo cultu ad præsens usque tempus summopere veneratur.
Such is the account of the life and martyrdom of the courageous Virgin of Nicomedia. She is invoked in the Church against lightning, on account of the punishment inflicted by divine justice on her execrable father. This same incident of the Saint’s history has suggested several Catholic customs: thus, her name is sometimes given to the hold of men-of-war where the ammunition is stowed; she is the Patroness of Artillery-men, Miners, &c.; and she is invoked by the faithful against the danger of a sudden death.
Of the Liturgical pieces, used in our Western Churches, in honor of St. Barbara, we will content ourselves with the following beautiful Antiphon, composed in the days of chivalry.
Antiphon
O immeasurable mercy of divine goodness, which did enlighten Barbara with the brightness of the true light, making her worthy, by her contempt for what was dazzling in earthly grandeur, to be admitted to a union with God! As the lily among thorns, as light in darkness, so shone Barbara. Alleluia.
O divinæ bonitatis immensa clementia, quæ Barbaram illustravit vero claritatis lumine, ut terrenæ dignitatis contempto splendore, divinitatis conscia effici mereretur: hæc velut lilium inter spinas enituit, et lux in tenebris eluxit. Alleluia.
The Greek Church is profuse in its praises of St. Barbara. We will take from the Menæa a few out of the many Strophes which are sung in honor of the holy Martyr.
Hymn of the Greek Church
When welcome death came before thee, O venerable Martyr Barbara! joyously and nimbly didst thou run thy course, and being immolated by the wicked hands of an impious parent, thou wast offered a victim to God. Now, therefore, art thou in the choir of the truly wise Virgins, and contemplatest the beauty of thy Spouse.
Quando coram te, veneranda martyr Barbara, dulcis mors apparuit, gaudens et festinans cursum complevisti, impiique genitoris injustis manibus sacrificata es, et Deo oblata es victima: unde vere prudentium Virginum conjuncta choris, tui Sponsi contemplaris splendorem.
This lamb of thine, O Jesus, cries to thee with a loud voice: Thee, O my Spouse, do I desire, thee do I seek by my combat; I am immolated and buried in thy baptism; I suffer for thee, that I may reign with thee; I die for thee, that I may live in thee; receive me, therefore, as an unreserved sacrifice lovingly sacrificed to thee. Save our souls, O merciful Jesus, by her prayers.
Agna tua, Jesu, magna voce clamat: Te, Sponse mi, desidero, et quærens te pugno, et confixa sum et consepulta tuo baptismati, et patior propter te, ut regnem tecum; et morior pro te, ut et vivam in te: igitur ut sacrificium irreprehensibile suscipe amanter sacrificatam tibi. Illius precibus ut misericors, salva animas nostras.
Glorious Barbara! most sacred rose grown out of a thorny stem, sweetly perfuming the Church, and ruddy by the blood of thy battle! we this day most fervently proclaim thee blessed.
E spinosa exorta radice, rosa sacratissima, Ecclesiam suaviter inodorans, te rubore prælii per sanguinem purpuratam, gloriosa Barbara, nunc dignissime beatam celebramus.
Neither the sweetness of luxury, nor the flower of beauty, nor riches, nor the pleasures of youth, could rob thee of thy energy, O glorious Barbara, most fair Virgin, espoused to Christ.
Non deliciarum jucunditas, non pulchritudinis flos, neque divitiæ, neque juventutis voluptates te mulserunt, Barbara gloriosa, Christo desponsata, pulcherrima virgo.
All stood in amazement at witnessing thy combat; for thou didst endure the tortures, and chains, and cruelties, of thy persecutors, O Barbara, of wide-world fame! Therefore, did God give thee the crown thou didst covet; thou didst run thy course with courage, and he healed thee.
In certamine tuo omnes obstupefecisti; nam tolerasti tyrannorum cruciatus, vincula, tormenta, Barbara celeberrima: quapropter et corona Deus te donavit quam desiderasti: cum animo cucurristi, et ille sanam te fecit.
Full of love for Jesus thy Spouse, thy bright lamp was well trimmed, and thy virtues shed forth their splendor, O Virgin, worthy of praise! Therefore didst thou enter in with Christ to the marriage-feast, and he wreathed thee with the crown of thy combat. We celebrate thy memory, O Barbara! Deliver us from danger.
Sponsum tuum Christum adamata lampadis tuæ fulgore præparato virtutibus refulsisti, laude digna: unde ingressa es cum eo ad nuptias, ab eo recipiens certaminis coronam: sed a periculis libera nos celebrantes, Barbara, tui memoriam.
By those three apertures, which thou wouldst have to thy bath, thou didst symbolize, O Barbara, the mystery of Baptism, which, by the light of the Trinity, imparts to our souls a cleansing that illuminates.
Tribus ostiolis lavacrum illustrari jubens, mystice indicasti Baptisma, O Barbara, Trinitatis lumine animabus splendidam suppetens purgationem.
Fleeing the terrible violence of her father, a rock immediately opened a reception of safety to Barbara, as happened heretofore to the illustrious Protomartyr of her sex, Thecla, for whom Christ worked a like miracle.
Furore terribili patris declinato, Barbaram statim se scindens mons recepit, ut olim illustrem Protomartyrem Theclam, miraculum operante Christo.
O Martyr Barbara! thou wast sacrificed with a sword, by thy father, like in this to Abraham; but his devotedness was to the devil.
Gladio te, martyr Barbara, immolans pater, Abraham alter, sed diabolo favit.
Jesus appeared to thee, O Barbara, in thy prison: he was surrounded by light inaccessible, but he came to animate thy confidence, heal thy wounds and make thee glad: this gave wings to thy love of thy Lord.
Apparuit Christus in lumine inaccessibili tibi inclusæ, O Barbara, in carcere, ut confidentem te incitans, et vibices sanans et lætitiam præbens: unde alas accepisti Sponsi tui amore.
When for Christ’s sake thou wast stripped of thy garments, O venerable Barbara! a bright Angel clothed thee, as a bride, with a splendid robe, which covered thy wounds; for thou hast put on the stole which gives creatures a divine transformation.
Angelus fulgidus te, propter Christum denudatam veneranda Barbara, vestivit, ut sponsam, veste splendida quæ vulnera texit; stolam enim induisti divinam afferentem mutationem.
Thy prophecy, O Christ, has been evidently fulfilled: for the father delivers his daughter up to death, nay himself becomes her murderer; but this cruel parent of thy Martyr is, in a wonderful manner, consumed by fire from heaven.
Demonstrata est evidenter, Christe, prophetia tua adimpleta: pater namque filiam ad cædem tradit, ipse artifex jugulationis; qui improbus genitor tuæ martyris stupendo modo e cœlo igne consumitur.
Thou, most honored Virgin, having entered the path of combatants, didst resist thy father’s demands, and, as a wise virgin bearing her lamp, thou didst go into the mansions of thy Lord; he gave thee, O generous Martyr, the power to drive away pestilence; pray to God for us who hymn thy praises, and deliver us from our spiritual diseases.
Athleticam ingressa viam, paternam renuisti voluntatem, tota honorabilis, et virgo quidem sapiens lampadem ferens, egressa es ad mansiones Domini tui; et ut Martyr generosa, gratiam accepisti sanandi carnis putidam pestilentiam: et nos hymnificantes te, spiritualibus doloribus libera tuis ad Deum precibus.
To this the voice of so many Churches we join ours, O faithful Virgin! and though we are unworthy, yet do we offer thee our praise and our prayers. Behold! our Lord cometh, and the darkness of the night is upon us; give to our lamp both the light which will guide us, and the oil which will keep in the light. Thou knowest that he who came for love of thee, and with whom thou art now united for all eternity, is coming to visit us too; pray for us that nothing may keep us from receiving him. May we go towards him courageously and swiftly as thou didst, and being once with him, may we never be separated from him again, for he is the center where we creatures find our only rest. Pray also, O glorious Martyr, that the faith in the Blessed Trinity may be ever increasing in this world. May our enemy, Satan, be confounded by every tongue’s confessing the Threefold light, and the triumphant Cross which sanctifies the waters of Baptism. Remember, O blessed Barbara, thou Spouse of Jesus, that he has put in thy gentle hands the power not of hurling but of staying and averting the thunderbolt. Protect our ships against the fires of heaven and of war. Shield by thy protection the arsenals where are placed the defense of our country. Hear the prayers of them that invoke thee, whether in the fierceness of the storm, or in the dark depths of the earth; and save us all from the awful chastisement of a sudden death.
Let us consider how the various nations on the face of the earth, though differing in customs, and speech, and interests, are all united in the expectation of a Deliverer soon to come. Neither the frightful corruption of morals, nor the long ages which have passed since the promises were given, have been able to efface the tradition, or the hope it inspired. At the very time when the world seems crumbling into dissolution, there is evinced a strong symptom of vigor, and from one end of the earth to the other there is heard this cry: The King of the universe is soon to appear; a new Empire, holy and everlasting, is to bring all peoples into one. It is thus, O Jesus! that Jacob prophesied on his dying bed, when he said, speaking of thee: He shall be the Expectation of nations.4 Men have, indeed, searched after, and found, the way to the lowest degradation; but they could not prevent the fulfillment of this prophecy: and by their expectation of a happier state of things, they themselves fulfill it; and by fulfilling it, are confessing that their misery has no remedy save thyself. Come, then, O Son of God! and cherish this ray of hope, of the ancient world, which renders thee this its only homage, even whilst falling under the weight of its own wretchedness. The expectation of a Deliverer is the bond of union between the two great divisions of the human race, those who preceded and those who have lived since thy Nativity. But, if the pagan world, from the depth of its vices and errors, could sigh after thee, O Jesus! what shall we not do, who have inherited what was promised, now that thou art preparing to come and take possession of our souls? We already know thee, for thou hast initiated us into thy Mysteries; we cannot do less, dear Jesus! we are longing for thee during these days of Advent. When the beautiful day of thy visit comes, mayst thou find that thy love is already in our hearts. Make our expectation more fervid, increase our faith, and Come!
Responsory of Advent
(Roman Breviary, Matins of the First Sunday.)
℟. We look for the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ; * Who will reform the body of our lowliness made like to the Body of his glory. ℣. Let us live soberly, and justly, and piously in this world, looking for the blessed hope and Coming of the glory of the great God, * Who will reform the body of our lowliness made like to the Body of his glory.
℟. Salvatorem exspectamus Dominum Jesum Christum; * Qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostræ configuratum corpori claritatis suæ. ℣. Sobrie, juste, et pie, vivamus in hoc sæculo, exspectantes beatam spem, et Adventum gloriæ magni Dei, * Qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostræ configuratum corpori claritatis suæ.