Saint Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr
Amidst the sweetness he is enjoying from the contemplation of the Word made Flesh, John, the Beloved Disciple, beholds coming towards him his dear Polycarp, the Angel of the Church of Smyrna,1 all resplendent with the glory of martyrdom. This venerable Saint has on his soul the fervent love that made him say, in the amphitheater, when asked by the Proconsul to curse his Divine Master: “Six-and-eighty years have I served Him, and he has never done me any wrong—nay, he has laden me with kindness. How could I blaspheme my King, who has saved me?” After having suffered fire and the sword, he was admitted into the presence of this King, his Savior, in reward for the eighty-six years of his faithful service, for the labors he had gone through in order to maintain faith and charity among his flock, and for the cruel death he endured.
He was a disciple of St. John the Evangelist, whom he imitated by zealously opposing the heretics, who were then striving to corrupt the faith. In obedience to the command of his holy Master,2 he refused to have any dealings with Marcion, the heresiarch, whom he called the first-born of Satan. This energetic adversary of the proud sect, that denied the mystery of the Incarnation, wrote an admirable Epistle to the Philippians, in which we find these words: Whosoever confesses not that Jesus Christ came in the flesh, is an Antichrist. Polycarp, then, had a right to the honor of standing near the Crib, in which the Son of God shows himself to us in all his loveliness, and clothed in flesh like unto our own. Let us honor this disciple of John, this friend of Ignatius, this Bishop of the Apostolic Age, whose praise was pronounced by Jesus Christ himself, in the Revelations of Patmos. Our Savior said to him by the mouth of Saint John: Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.3 Polycarp was faithful even unto death, and has received his crown; and whilst we are celebrating the coming of his King among us, he is one of the Saints who assist us to profit of the holy season.
The Church gives us a passage from St. Jerome’s book, On Ecclesiastical Writers, in which there is contained the following short notice of our holy Martyr.
Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John, who ordained him Bishop of Smyrna, was looked up to by all the Churches of Asia, inasmuch as he had not only known some of the Apostles, and those who had seen our Lord, but had been trained by them. He went to Rome, during the reign of the Emperor Antoninus Pius, and under the Pontificate of Anicetus, in order to have an answer to certain questions regarding Easter-Day. Whilst there, he brought back to the faith several Christians who had been misled by the teaching of Marcion and Valentine. Having, on a certain occasion, casually met Marcion, who said to him: “Dost thou know us?” Polycarp replied: “Yes, I know thee as the first-born of Satan.” Some time after, under the reign of Marcus-Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, in the fourth persecution after that under Nero, he was cited before the Proconsul of Smyrna, who condemned him to be burnt alive; which sentence was carried into effect in the amphitheater, amidst the clamors of the whole people. He wrote an important Letter to the Philippians, which is still read in the Churches of Asia.
Polycarpus, Joannis Apostoli discipulus, et ab eo Smyrnæ Episcopus ordinatus, totius Asiæ princeps fuit; quippe qui nonnullos Apostolorum, et eorum qui viderant Dominum, magistros habuerit et viderit. Hic propter quasdam super die Paschæ quæstiones, sub Imperatore Antonino Pio, Ecclesiam in Urbe regente Aniceto, Romam venit: ubi plurimos credentium, Marcionis et Valentini persuasione deceptos, reduxit ad fidem. Cumque ei fortuito obviam fuisset Marcion, et diceret: Cognoscis nos? respondit: Cognosco primogenitum diaboli. Postea vero regnante Marco Antonino et Lucio Aurelio Commodo, quarta post Neronem persecutione, Smyrnæ sedente proconsule, et universo populo in amphitheatro adversus eum personante, igni traditus est. Scripsit ad Philippenses valde utilem epistolam, quæ usque hodie in Asiæ conventu legitur.
The Greek Church sings the praises of St. Polycarp in her Menæa, from which we extract the following passages.
Die XXIII. Februarii
When the Fruit of the Virgin, and the Seed that is the germ of life, came on the earth, he produced thee, O Polycarp, as the grain of wheat, that nourishest the faithful with the word and teachings of piety, and trainest them to holiness by the glorious shedding of thy blood, and the odor of thy saintliness.
Quando fructus ille Virginis, et semen germinans vitæ principium, in terram cecidit, tunc te Polycarpum spicam produxit, fideles nutrientem pietatis verbo et documentis, et eos sanctificantem divino certaminis sanguine et sanctitatis unguento.
When Christ, the True Vine, was raised up pendent on the Tree of the Cross, then wast thou produced as one of his fruitful branches, that wast pruned with the knife of a venerable martyrdom, and wast put into the wine-press of torture. Drinking his Cup of gladness with faith, we glorify, O Father! thy glorious combat.
Quando in ligno crucis vitis vera suspensa elevata est, tunc te fructuosum palmitem extendit, falce incisum venerandi martyrii, et tormentorum torculari agitatum, cujus lætitiæ calicem cum fide libantes, o Pater, veneranda tua certamina glorificamus.
Truly, O wise Father! didst thou cherish in thy soul the growth of the vine of charity, and didst pour forth the wine of the word of faith. Thou didst gladden the hearts of all the Faithful, and wast like the boundless sea in thy miracles. Therefore, art thou the glory of Martyrs, O Polycarp! for thou hast been purified by fire, and rewarded with light everlasting. Pray for us to Christ our God, that he grant pardon of our sins to us, who lovingly celebrate thy holy memory.
Charitatis uvam in anima vere coluisti, ô Pater sapiens, et tamquam vinum effudisti fidei verbum; lætificans omnium fidelium mentes, et miraculorum demonstratus es immensum mare; unde martyrum decus apparuisti, igne purificatus et lumine dignatus æterno, o Polycarpe: deprecare Christum Deum dare veniam peccatorum, nobis celebrantibus cum amore tuam sanctam commemorationem.
Walking in uprightness, and showing thyself a son of light and peace, thou didst unmask Marcion, the first-born of night.
Honeste ambulans et filium lucis pacisque denuncians, noctis primogenitum revelasti Marcionem.
O glorious Polycarp! by thy undaunted soul thou didst overcome the burning fire, like unto the Three Children, who quenched the furnace with dew; and in the midst of the flames, thou wast unconsumed, and didst cry out: Blessed art thou, O God of our Fathers!
Firma ratione comburentem flammam supergressus es, o gloriose, quasi tres pueri qui fornacis ignem rore sedarunt, et in medio ignis incombustus permansisti clamans: Benedictus es, Deus patrum nostrorum.
Religiously didst thou cultivate the mystical garden of Christ, and thou thyself, the spiritual victim, wast offered to God an acceptable and perfect sacrifice, a victim most fruitful, O thrice blessed Polycarp!
Pie coluisti Christi mysticam culturam, et rationabilis victima ipse oblatus es Deo sacrificium acceptabile et optimum, omnino fructuosa victima, Polycarpe ter beate.
Thou wast seen upon the cross, O Father! and being worthily clad with the pontifical robes, thou didst enter, by thine own blood, into the temple of God.
Supra crucem visus, et hierarchico ornamento digne indutus, Pater, in templum Dei introisti proprio sanguine.
That thou, O holy Pontiff! mightest be presented to Christ, the Prince of Pastors, as the victim elect marked out by him, thou becamest the imitator of his passion, and art now a partaker of his glory, and the co-heir of his kingdom.
Archipastori Christo præsentandus, a Christo signatus quasi aries insignis, Hierophantes, imitator demonstratus es passionum ejus, et gloriæ effectus particeps, et regni ipsius cohæres.
Thy Feast, with its blaze of glory, O Father! has risen, enlightening the souls of them that piously keep it, O heavenly man! and making them all partakers of thy supreme brightness, which we worthily magnify in our hymns, O wise Polycarp!
Commemoratio tua ignifera exorta, o Pater, illuminat animas eorum qui illam pie perficiunt, o divine, et omnes participes tuæ divinæ illuminationis afficit, quam digne, o sapiens, in hymnis magnificamus.
How well didst thou bear out the full meaning of thy name, O Polycarp! for thou didst produce many fruits for thy Savior, during thy six-and-eighty years spent in his service. The numerous souls won over to Christ, the virtues which adorned thy life, and thy life itself, which thou didst present to thy Lord in its full maturity—these were thy fruits. And what happiness was thine, to have received instruction from the Disciple that leaned upon Jesus’ Breast! After being separated from him for more than sixty years, thou art united with him on this the day of thy martyrdom, and thy venerable master receives thee in a transport of joy. Thou adorest, with him, that Divine Babe, whose simplicity thou hadst imitated during life, and who was the single object of thy love. Ask of him, for us, that we, too, may be Faithful unto death.
Fertilize by thy prayers, now that thou art throned in heaven, the vineyard of the Church, which, when on earth, thou didst cultivate by thy labors, and water with the blood of thy glorious martyrdom. Re-establish faith and unity in the Churches of Asia, which were founded by thy venerable hand. Hasten, by thy prayers, the destruction of that degrading slavery of Mahometanism, which has kept the East in bondage so long, because her once faithful children severed themselves from Rome, by the great schism of Byzantium. Pray for the Church of Lyons, which regards thee as its founder, through the ministry of thy disciple Pothinus, and takes itself so glorious a share in the apostolate of the Gentiles, by the Work of the Propagation of the Faith.
Watch over the purity of our holy Faith, and preserve us from being deceived by false teachers. The error which thou didst combat, and which teaches that all the mysteries of the Incarnation are but empty symbols, has risen up again in these our days. There are Marcions, even now, who would reduce all religion to myths; and they find some few followers; may thy powerful prayers rid the world of this remnant of so impious a doctrine. Thou didst pay homage to the Apostolic Chair, for thou, too, wouldst see Peter, and didst journey to Rome, in order to consult its Pontiff on questions regarding the interests of thy Church of Smyrna. Defend the rights of this august See, whence alone are derived both the jurisdiction of our Pastors, and the authoritative teachings of Faith. Pray for us, that we may spend the remaining days of this holy Season in the contemplation and the love of our new-born King. May this love, accompanied with purity of heart, draw down upon us the merciful blessings of our God, and, at length, after our course is run, obtain for us the Crown of Life.
The Same Day. Saint Paula, Widow
The noble and pious Widow, who left all the pomps of Rome, and bade adieu to her children, to lead a life of retirement in Bethlehem, comes before us today, as one of the Saints that have a special right to be near the Crib of the Infant Jesus. She was, during her life, irresistibly attracted to it, as to something far richer, in her eyes, than all the palaces of kings. There did she find her God, who had rendered himself poor for our sakes, and whose poverty she, in the days of her opulence, used to console by relieving the wants of the indigent. It was through her zeal, that several Monasteries were founded in the neighborhood of the holy Cave, where the Word made Flesh first appeared to men. She spent her days in prayer, in works of penance and charity, and in the meditation of the Holy Scriptures, which she studied under the guidance of the great St. Jerome. It is a sight worthy of our admiration to behold these christian ladies and virgins filled with the sublime spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, whilst everything around them was corrupted by the grossest sensualism of pagan Rome. We find them retiring either to the deserts of Egypt, there to study the virtues of the Monks and Hermits, or to the Holy Land, there to venerate the scenes of our Lord’s life. Paula is one of the foremost of these noble christian women; and it is with extreme regret, that we are obliged to omit the account of her pilgrimage, given with so much spirit and unction by St. Jerome, in letters addressed to the illustrious virgin Eustochium, the daughter of St. Paula. We must limit ourselves to the following quotation, in which the Holy Doctor describes the arrival at Bethlehem.
“Having divided among the poor and her attendants what little money she had still remaining, Paula left Jerusalem and proceeded to Bethlehem. After paying a short visit to the tomb of Rachel, which lies on the right hand of the road, she arrived at the City she so much longed to see, and she entered into the Grotto of our Lord. As soon as she beheld the sacred spot wherein our Lady sought shelter, and saw the stable where the ox knew his owner, and the ass his Master’s crib,4 she told me, with much emotion, that she saw, with the eyes of her faith, the Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and weeping in the manger; the Magi adoring, the Star brightly shining over the Stable, the Virgin-Mother, Joseph eager to render her his service, the Shepherds arriving at mid-night, the Innocents massacred, Herod enraged, and Joseph and Mary fleeing into Egypt. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks, and she exclaimed: ‘Hail, O Bethlehem! house of bread, wherein was born the Bread that came down from heaven! Hail, O Ephrata! fertile land, whose fruit is our very God. It is of thee, that the Prophet Micheas spoke, when he said: Bethlehem, Ephrata! thou art not the least of the thousand cities of Juda, for out of thee shall come He, that is to be the Ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.5 Yes, it was in thee that was born the Prince, who was begotten before the day-star, and whose birth in the bosom of the Father was before all ages. I, a poor wretched sinner, even I have been permitted to kiss the Crib, wherein the Infant Savior shed his first tears; I have been permitted to pray in that Cave, wherein the Virgin-Mother brought forth our Lord. Here, henceforth, will I rest, for this is the country of our Master. Here will I dwell, for our Lord chose it for his own dwelling-place.’”
We will now give the Lessons, read in the Proper of the Churches of Spain. They are mainly drawn up from the words of St. Jerome.
Paula, a Roman Lady, of a most noble Senatorial family, but still more noble by the holiness of her life, was married to Toxotius, of an equal noble race, and bore him five children. After her husband’s death, she devoted her whole self to the service of God, and distributed her great wealth to the poor of Christ, but with so much charity, that she would go through the city in search of them, and (as St. Jerome relates of her) would count herself a loser, if any poor needy person were fed by any other than herself. This her zeal for the poor continued till her death, and she would sometimes say, that she longed to die as a poor mendicant, and to be buried in a borrowed winding-sheet. Certain dissensions having arisen between some of the Churches, under the pontificate of St. Damasus, several Bishops, both of the East and West, came to Rome. Paula gave hospitality to St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamina, in Cyprus. She, also, loaded Paulinus of Antioch with every sort of kindness. Their virtues made such an impression upon her, that she determined upon leaving her country, and spending the rest of her days in the desert. She therefore, without delay, fled from the noise and bustle of the City, and from the flattery of admirers; and preferring the humble Bethlehem to Rome, she set out for Porto, and there embarked for Palestine. Her brother, relatives, and children, did their utmost to dissuade her from her resolution, and made use of every argument that could weigh with a mother’s heart. But she, whilst feeling all the keenness of sorrow, raised her tearless eyes to heaven, and conquered, by her love for God, the love that would have kept her with her children. She was a mother; but she was also the handmaid of Christ, and that was before all else.
Paula matrona Romana e nobilissimorum Senatorum genere, sed vitæ sanctitate multo nobilior, mortuo Toxotio paris nobilitatis viro, cui quinque liberos ediderat, totam se ad Dominum convertit, et copiosas cœpit divitias in Christi pauperes tanto affectu erogare, ut eos tota urbe perquireret, et damnum putaret (ut de ea sanctus Hieronymus scribit), si quisquam debilis, et esuriens cibo sustentaretur alterius: quo in studio usque ad mortem perseverans, dicebat interdum, se id voti habere, ut mendicans moreretur, et in suo funere aliena sindone involveretur. Cum autem ob quasdam Ecclesiarum dissensiones, Orientis et Occidentis Episcopi Romam, sancto Damaso Pontifice, convenissent, sanctum Epiphanium, Salaminæ Cypri Episcopum, hospitio excepit, et Paulinum Antiochiæ omnibus charitatis officiis colere studuit; quorum accensa virtutibus, patriam deserere et ad eremum pergere gestiebat. Quare Urbis frequentiam et ora laudantium fugere festinans, et parvulam Bethlehem Romæ præferre volens, tandem ad Portum Romanum navigatura descendit, fratre, propinquis, ac liberis persequentibus, et piam matrem materna charitate retinere cupientibus. Illa vero, quamvis viscera ejus dolore torquerentur, siccos ad cœlum tendebat oculos, et pietatem in filios pietate in Deum superans, nesciebat se matrem, ut Christi probaret ancillam.
Having, therefore, embarked, accompanied by her daughter Eustochium, who had imitated her in her holy purpose, she set sail, longing, with all the ardor of faith and love, to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Places. After touching at Cyprus, and Seleucia, she landed at Syria and Palestine, visiting each hallowed spot with so much joy and devotion, that nothing less than the resolution of seeing the others could have torn her from it. Having, at length, reached Bethlehem, there she remained, and built four Monasteries; one for men, over which St. Jerome presided, and the three others for women. The remainder of her life was spent in Bethlehem, in the exercises of the most admirable sanctity. Humility was her favorite virtue. Her meekness was extraordinary, as also was her love for the poor. She was calumniated by certain envious tongues, and was tried by numerous crosses; but she bore all with invincible patience and forbearance. She was slow to speak, and swift to hear. She knew the Sacred Scriptures by heart, for she was most assiduous in reading both the Old and New Testament. She applied herself to the study of Hebrew, which she so perfectly mastered, that she used to sing the Psalms in that language, and spoke it as though it had been her native tongue. She slept on a haircloth thrown on the floor, and even such sleep as this was interrupted by such long and frequent prayers, that it seemed as though her nights were prayer rather than sleep. Even when suffering the most violent fever, she would not allow herself anything that could make her bed less comfortless. Her abstinence was so great, that it bordered on imprudence. She added to the weakness of her frame by severe fasting and hard work. Excepting the Feast-days, she would scarcely allow herself a drop of oil with her food. No argument could induce her to take wine as a means for restoring her to strength. It would be difficult to describe the tender care wherewith she nursed the sick; she lavished upon them whatever she had, whilst to herself, when in sickness, she allowed no indulgence; so that she had two measures; one of commiseration for others, and one of severity towards herself.
Navi igitur conscensa cum Eustochia filia, quæ propositi et navigationis ejus comes erat, alis fidei sumptis, Hierosolymam, et sancta loca incredibili ardore videre cupiebat. Quare, cum Cyprum primum, deinde Seleuciam appulisset, in Syriam et Palæstinam venit, cujus cuncta sacra monumenta tanto studio, ac pietate circumivit, ut nisi ad reliqua festinaret, a primis non posset abduci. Denique Bethlehem substitit mansura perpetuo; ubi structis quatuor monasteriis, uno virorum, quod sanctus Hieronymus gubernaturus suscepit, aliis virginum, reliquum vitæ iter admirabili sanctitate confecit. Humilitatis virtus in ea maxime enituit: nihil ea clementius: nihil erga humiles blandius fuit. Invidorum calumnias, et sæculi varias tentationes summa patientia et mansuetudine toleravit. Tarda erat ad loquendum, et velox ad audiendum. Sanctas Scripturas tenebat memoriter, et Vetus ac Novum Testamentum assidue perlegebat. Hebræam linguam discere voluit, et consecuta est ita, ut psalmos hebraïce caneret, et illum, quasi nativum, personaret. Super durissimam humum, stratis ciliciolis, quiescebat, si tamen quies dicenda est, quæ jugibus pene orationibus dies noctesque jungebat. Mollia, etiam in gravissima febre, lectuli strata non habuit. Tantæ autem continentiæ fuit, ut prope mensuram excederet, et debilitatem corporis nimiis jejuniis, ac labore contraheret: exceptisque diebus festis, vix oleum in cibo caperet. Neque adduci ullo modo potuit, ut ad vires corporis reficiendas vino uteretur. Ægrotantes miris obsequiis ac ministeriis confovebat: cumque aliis languentibus large præberet omnia, si quando ipsa ægrotasset, sibi non indulgebat: et in eo inæqualis videbatur, quod in aliis clementiam, in se duritiam commutabat.
At length, she fell into a dangerous sickness, and saw that her death was approaching. A chill was over her whole body, her heart alone retaining a spark of life. Then, as though she were going to her home, and was leaving a place of banishment, she ceased not, until she breathed forth her soul, to repeat these verses of the Psalm: “O Lord! I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth. How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.” Signing her lips with the sign of the cross, she yielded her most holy soul to her God, on the seventh of the Calends of February (January 26th), in the fifty-sixth year of her age. Her remains were carried by Bishops into the Church of the Holy Cave. From all the towns of Palestine, there came to her funeral a multitude of monks, virgins, widows, and poor, who, as at the death of Dorcas, showed the garments she had given them. On the third day, she was buried under the Church, close to the Grotto of our Lord.
Tandem cum in gravissimam valetudinem incidisset, ac mortem adesse sentiret, et frigente alia parte corporis, animæ tepor in solo pectore palpitaret, quasi ad suos pergeret, alienosque desereret, illos versiculos usque ad expirationem animæ repetebat: Domine, dilexi decorem domus tuæ, et locum habitationis gloriæ tuæ; et, Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum; concupiscit et deficit anima mea in atria Domini: digitoque crucis signum in labiis imprimens, sanctissimam animam Deo reddidit, septimo Kalendas Februarii, ætatis suæ anno quinquagesimo sexto. Translataque Episcoporum manibus in Ecclesiam Speluncæ, tota ad funus ejus Palæstinarum urbium turba concurrente, monachorum, virginum, viduarum et pauperum, qui ad exemplum Dorcadis, vestes ab ea præbitas ostendebant: triduo post subter Ecclesiam juxta Specum Domini condita est.
Thou didst love the Crib of thy Lord, O generous-hearted Paula! Thou didst prefer the humble Grotto of Bethlehem to all the riches of Rome; and Jesus, to reward thy love and the sacrifice thou didst make for him, has united thee to himself for eternity. May we learn, from thy example, to go in search of the Infant Jesus, and to relish the mysteries of his divine Birth. May we break down every obstacle, whensoever he calls us to himself. May he mercifully teach us to acknowledge the rights he has acquired over us by the sacrifices he made for our sakes, and be, thereby, disposed to give him whatsoever he may ask at our hands. May thy eagerness to sacrifice the strongest affections of thy heart, in order that thou mightest be united to him alone, animate us to moderate and regulate ours. May thy prayers help us to keep our hearts faithful to Him who made them, and ready, at all times, to follow him in the path to which he may call us. May we stand on our guard against that spirit of the world, which is ever seeking to enter into a compact with Christianity, and by calling into question the Counsels of our Lord, to deny even the obligation of all men to obey his Precepts. May the light of the Holy Ghost shine upon us, and the love of Jesus inflame our hearts; then shall we understand the conduct of the Saints. Their examples may, indeed, make us feel ashamed at our weakness, but they will also bring light to our soul, and will encourage us to fulfill those duties which God puts upon us, nor will self-love be able to cheat us into tepidity.
Pray for the Church of Syria, which thou didst sanctify by thy virtues. May she return to unity of faith, and so regain peace. Watch over the sanctuaries of the Holy Land, desecrated more by the presence and the sacrileges of heretics, than by the pillages of the Pagans. May Jerusalem be liberated by thy prayers, and Bethlehem be saved from insult: may the Sacrifice, which taketh away the sins of the world, no longer be offered by unworthy and schismatical Priests on the very spot where our Emmanuel was born. Protect the Pilgrims, who, after thine example, visit the Holy Places, where were achieved the Mysteries of our Redemption. Excite throughout Christendom a love of the Holy Land, which our fathers won from the infidels by their arms; and may we be inflamed in the love of Jesus, by following devoutly the Stations he marked for us in his sacred Passion.