† இன்றைய புனிதர் †
(நவம்பர் 20)
✠ வலோய்ஸ் நகர புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ் ✠
(St. Felix of Valois)
ஒப்புரவாளர்:
(Confessor)
பிறப்பு: ஏப்ரல் 16, 1127
வலோய்ஸ், ஃபிரான்ஸ்
(Valois, France)
இறப்பு: நவம்பர் 4, 1212 (வயது 85)
செர்ஃப்ராய்ட் துறவு மடம், ப்ரூமெட்ஸ், பிகார்டி, ஃபிரான்ஸ்
(Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Picardy, France)
ஏற்கும் சமயம்:
ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை
(Roman Catholic Church)
புனிதர் பட்டம்: மே 1, 1262
திருத்தந்தை நான்காம் அர்பன்
(Pope Urban IV)
முக்கிய திருத்தலம்:
செர்ஃப்ராய்ட் துறவு மடம், ப்ரூமெட்ஸ், அய்ஸ்ன், ஃபிரான்ஸ்
(Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Department of Aisne, France)
நினைவுத் திருநாள்: நவம்பர் 20
ஒரு கத்தோலிக்க துறவியான புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ், கத்தோலிக்க குருவும், புனிதருமான “மாதா'வின் ஜான்” (Saint John of Matha) என்பவருடன் இணைந்து “மகா பரிசுத்த திரித்துவ சபை” (Order of the Most Holy Trinity) எனும் கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்கான ஆன்மீக சபையை நிறுவியவர் ஆவார்.
மிகவும் மதிப்புமிக்க பிரபுக்களின் குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த ஃபெலிக்ஸ், தனது கல்வியை முடித்தபிறகு குருத்துவம் பெற்றார். சிறுவயதிலே உலக செல்வங்களைத் துறந்து காட்டிற்கு சென்று செபத்திலும் தவத்திலும் அமைதியாக தனிவாழ்வு நடத்தி வந்தார்.
குருவான பிறகு தனிமையாக வாழ்ந்து கடுமையான ஏழ்மையை கடைபிடித்தார். இவர் காட்டில் வாழும் துறவிகளை போல, அனைத்தையும் துறந்து வாழ வேண்டுமென்பதை விரும்பினார்.
சிறிது காலத்தின் பிறகு, ஃபிரான்ஸின் தென்கிழக்கு பிராந்தியமான “ப்ரொவென்ஸ்” (Provence) பகுதியைச் சேர்ந்த இளம் பிரபுவும், தெய்வீக முனைவரும் (Doctor of divinity), பிற்காலத்தில் குருத்துவ அருட்பொழிவு பெற்றவரும், கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபையின் புனிதருமான "மாதாவி'ன் ஜான்" (St. John of Matha) கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்காக ஒரு சபையை ஆரம்பிக்க வேண்டி ஃபெலிக்சின் வழிகாட்டுதலை வேண்டி அவரை சந்தித்தார். அப்போது, எழுபது வயதான நிலையிலும் ஃபெலிக்ஸ் தயங்காமல் அதற்கு சம்மதித்தார்.
கி.பி. 1198ம் ஆண்டு, ஜனவரி மாதம், அடர் குளிர் காலத்தில் ரோம் நகர் சென்றடைந்த இவர்கள் இருவரும் அப்போதைய திருத்தந்தை “மூன்றாம் இன்னொசன்ட்” (Pope Innocent III) அவர்களால் வரவேற்கப்பட்டனர். இவர்கள் ஏற்கனவே கொண்டு வந்திருந்த பாரிஸ் ஆயரின் பரிந்துரை கடிதங்களை அவர்களிடம் கையளித்தனர். "கைதிகளின் மீட்புக்கான தூய திரித்துவ சபை" (Order of the Holy Trinity for the Redemption of Captives) என்ற பெயரில் சபையினைத் தொடங்க திருத்தந்தை அனுமதி அளித்தார்.
சபையின் தலைவராக “மாதாவின் ஜானை” நியமித்த திருத்தந்தை அவர்கள், சபைக்கான சட்ட திட்டங்களை வகுக்கும் அதிகாரங்களை பாரிஸ் நகர ஆயரிடமும், புனித விக்டர் மடாலயத்தின் (Abbot of St. Victor) மடாதிபதியிடமும் அளித்தார். பிற்காலத்தில், அவர்கள் வகுத்த சட்ட திட்டங்கள் திருத்தந்தையின் ஒப்புதலும் பெற்றன. சபையை நிறுவுவதற்காக பாரிஸ் திரும்பிய ஃபெலிக்ஸ் பெரும் உற்சாகத்துடன் வரவேற்கப்பட்டார். ஃபிரான்ஸ் மன்னர் “பிலிப் அகஸ்டஸ்” (King Philip Augustus) சபையை ஃபிரான்ஸ் நாட்டில் அங்கீகரித்தார். அதனை வளர்க்கவும் உதவி செய்தார்.
நாற்பது வருடங்களுக்குள்ளேயே அச்சபை ஐரோப்பாவின் மூலைமுடுக்கெல்லாம் அருநூறுக்கும் மேற்பட்ட துறவு மடங்களுடன் பல்கிப்பெருகியது.
புனிதர் ஃபெலிக்ஸ், தமது தாய் இல்லம் அமைந்திருந்த “செல்ஃப்ராய்டில்” (Cerfroid), தமது சக திரித்துவ துறவியரின் மத்தியில் கி.பி. 1212ம் ஆண்டு, நவம்பர் மாதம், 4ம் தேதியன்று மரித்தார்.
† Saint of the Day †
(November 20)
✠ St. Felix of Valois ✠
Confessor, Hermit and a Co-founder (with Saint John of Matha) of the Trinitarian Order:
Born: April 16, 1127
possibly Valois, France
Died: November 4, 1212 (Aged 85)
Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Picardy (now the department of Aisne), France
Venerated in: Catholic Church
Canonized: May 1, 1262
Pope Urban IV
Major shrine:
Monastery of Cerfroid, Brumetz, Department of Aisne, France
Feast: November 20
St. Felix of Valois was a member of the royal family of France, the grandson of King Henry I. While carrying the future saint, his mother had a vision where she saw the Child Jesus holding a cross and another child holding a garland of flowers. The two boys traded their objects. The mother understood that the boy with the flowers was her son.
Because of troubles in the family, the young man left his home and went to the court, where he became a crusader to follow the King in the Crusade. During the preparatory training, the King fell from his horse and died. Felix approached the fallen monarch and ordered: “In the name of the Holy Trinity, arise.” Instantly the young King obeyed, alive and well.
During the Crusade, Felix gave proof of his great courage and virtue. In the military quarters, he maintained the austere life of a Cistercian religious. He was notable in all the battles he took part in.
When he returned to Paris he determined to give himself to God. Even though he was a close heir to the throne, he exchanged the fleur-de-lys of France for the cross of Our Lord and became a hermit. The vision of his mother was confirmed.
The fame of his sainthood spread and St. John of Matha sought him out for advice about founding the Order of the Trinitarians. St. Felix decided to join him in founding that order for the redemption of Catholic captives.
Comments:
Let me give a summary of the situation of Europe at the time, mainly Spain and France, where the Trinitarian Order was founded.
One who visits southern Spain today and admires the beautiful architecture of buildings in Toledo and Granada has no idea of what the substance of the Muslim State was at that time. It was not a State organized like the Western nations. They did not have kings or a regular dynastic succession as in China or old Egypt. It was a State made up of bandits who lived like barbarians from their pillaging and looting on land and sea, fighting not only with the Catholics but also among themselves. They did not have harmonically distributed social classes; there were the powerful persons who made those extraordinary buildings and then the rest of the population living in slums. The powerful were surrounded by sycophants who easily rose and fell from the positions of power.
The piracy at sea and pillaging on the land were the habitual sources of income. Making captured Catholics slaves was, therefore, both a way to spread fear among Catholics and a source of funds.
How did taking captives spread fear? In the Catholic society of that time, there was virtually no slavery, which existed only as a very rare exception to the rule. Prisoners of war were treated with respect by the Catholics. Hence, in the fighting between Catholics and Muslims, the Mohammedans had much less to fear should they lose a battle than the Catholics, because the former had the security that they would be treated decently if they were captured.
On the contrary, if Catholic warriors fell prisoners, they knew that they would be reduced to slavery and treated atrociously. It was not rare, for example, for the Muslims to cut out the eyes of Catholic prisoners to prevent them from escaping. Those blind slaves would work more efficiently in jobs calling only for brute animal labour, such as pulling ships out of the water to be repaired, for example, without the danger that they would run away. Other times, the Moors would morally and physically abuse nobles and important men. Finally and worst of all, they would corrupt the faith of those Catholics and use every means possible to make them apostatize and become Mohammedans. So, the condition of a captive was miserable from several points of view.
This situation generated great compassion in all Christendom for the captives and the idea of doing whatever they could to liberate their Christian brothers from that abominable condition. Another decisive reason to liberate them was to redress Catholic honour and prevent their Catholic leaders and relatives from being reduced to slaves without any vigorous action to save them.
These concerns often inspired military expeditions to save the captives. Other times alms were collected to buy the liberty of the prisoners. The idea of their captive brothers was constantly present and generated enormous sympathy.
Now then, when the Church or Christendom has a pressing need, Divine Providence always calls for a new order to resolve it. The Trinitarian Order was founded for this reason. St. Felix of Valois, who had been a valorous Crusader, and St. John of Matha founded the Order of Holy Trinity for the redemption of the Christian captives. That vocation, it could be said, focused the concern of Christendom regarding the captives. The order became famous and carried out prodigious works.
This is what St. Felix of Valois was called to do. He carried out this vocation so well that he became a saint canonized by the Church.
I would like to propose that we contrast the attitude of the Spanish and French Catholics of that time toward the Muslim threat and the attitude of today’s Catholics regarding Communism. There are millions of Catholics living in Russia, China, or other countries who are in true captivity. However, the Catholics of the West pay no attention to them. Almost no one has the desire to save them or fight for them. Many of these Western Catholics are self-righteously proud only because they do not allow Communism to conquer their own countries. They think that this makes them admirable and that they are doing a great thing. But almost nothing is done to liberate our captive brothers in the Catholic Faith who suffer under Communist persecution. Worse, there is a tendency to say that everything is fine under Communist domination and that we must compromise more and more with Communists in order to placate them.
One can imagine the frustration of those Catholics under Communist dominion when they realize that not only do their Western brothers have no interest in saving them but that even the Pope is being complacent with those same Communists who persecute them. Indeed, the Vatican established Ostpolitik as a policy to make concessions to Communism.
When I was in Rome for the first session of Vatican II, I became aware of this fact. There was a whole Catholic Russian network in the Catacomb Church that ran all kinds of risks in order to keep Rome well-informed about their latest activities. When John XXIII invited the Schismatics of Moscow to be observers at the Council, the Vatican told this network to close down. What a great trial for those Catholics!
When a son is being persecuted and his suffering reaches its apex, he relies on the love and support of his father. Should he learn that his father is supporting not him but his persecutors, what kind of discouragement would this cause? I use this example to help you understand the kind of trial to which our brothers in the faith were and are subject.
Let us ask St. Felix of Valois, who offered his life to save his brothers in the Faith, to help us not let this mentality conquer us. Let us ask him to help those Catholics to continue to be faithful even when their father – our father, the Pope – orders them to stop fighting for their faith.
