புனித அல்பி சால்வியன் St. Salvius of Albi September 10

இன்றைய புனிதர் :

(10-09-2020)

புனித அல்பி சால்வியன் St. Salvius of Albi

இறப்பு

584

இவர் அல்பி என்ற நகரில் ஆயராக இருந்தார்.திருத்தந்தை முதலாம் பெரிய கிரகோரியின்(Pope Gregory I) நண்பர். இவரின் சொந்த ஊரானஅல்பியில் வழக்கறிஞராக பணியாற்றினார்.அதன்பிறகு ஒரு துறவு மடத்திற்குள் நுழைந்து,

துறவியாகவே பணியாற்றினார். அதன்பிறகுதுறவியானார். அதன்பிறகு அத்துறவற மடத்துறவிகளை கவனிப்பதற்கான பொறுப்பை ஏற்றார். பின்னர் 574-584 வரை அல்பியிலுள்ள மக்களின் ஆயனாக ஆயர் பதவி வகித்தார். அங்கு நோயாளிகளை கவனிக்கும் பணியிலும் ஈடுபட்டார். அங்கிருந்த கைதிகளை மீட்டுக்கொண்டு வந்து, அவர்களின் வாழ்வையும் மாற்றினார். அரசர் சில்பெரிக்(King Chilperic) என்பவரையும் மனம் மாற்றி கிறிஸ்துவ நெறியில் வளர்த்தெடுத்தார்.

செபம்:

குணமளிப்பவரே எம் தலைவரே! நோயாளிகளின் மீது அக்கறை கொண்டு பணிபுரிய ஒவ்வொரு செவிலியர்க்கும், மருத்துவர்க்கும் உதவிசெய்யும் பணியிலிருக்கும் நேரங்களில் பொறுமையோடும், தியாக உணர்வோடும் செயல்பட உமதருள் தந்திடுமாறு இறைவா உம்மை மன்றாடுகின்றோம்.

---JDH---தெய்வீக குணமளிக்கும் இயேசு /திண்டுக்கல்.

Saint of the Day : (10-09-2020)

SAINT SALVIUS OF ALBI (DIED 584)

Roman Catholic Bishop

St. Salvius, a native of Albi, Gaul, became a lawyer then a magistrate before entering monastic life and living as a hermit.  He spent the last ten years of his life as Bishop of Albi.  As bishop the saint lived simply and aided the poor of the area.  He also ransomed prisoners of Mammolus, a patrician, at the city.  Yet the saint’s major claim to fame and holiness pertains to Chilperic I (reigned 561-584), King of Soissons.

Now I invite you, O reader, to follow the bouncing balls with me.

Gaul under Merovingian rule was Francia, seldom a unified realm.  When a king of all Franks died, his sons inherited parts of the kingdom.  They usually fought among themselves thereafter, bringing warfare to Francia.  Chilperic I was one of our sons of Clotaire/Lothair I (reigned 511-561), King of Soissons from 511 and King of all Franks from 558.  Chilperic I divorced one wife so he could marry Galeswintha, his sister-in-law.  Then he had her strangled and married his mistress, Frenegund.  Chilperic’s forces also fought those of his brother Sigibert I (reigned 561-575), King of Austrasia.  Frenegund had Sigibert assassinated, thus saving Chilperic from defeat and the loss of his realm.

Chilperic I was not a nice man.  And I have only begun to describe his perfidy.

Chilperic I also interfered with the church, trying to control it.  He committed simony when he sold bishoprics.  The king also fined young priests for not serving in the army.  And he annulled the wills of men who left large sums of money to the church.  The monarch also forbade the teaching of the doctrine of the Trinity as St. Gregory of Tours understood it.  St. Gregory, a historian on Francia, likened Chilperic I to Herod the Great and Nero.  That might have been an overreach, but harsh criticism of the monarch was justified.  The king, a pretentious man who wrote bad poetry and added four letters to the Latin alphabet, raised taxes steeply–for his own financial gain, not to benefit the kingdom.  And he did cause many people to die.

Both Sts. Gregory and Salvius opposed the offending policies and activities of Chilperic I, who increased his territory as brothers died.  Yet Chilperic began to change his mind and to back down after two of his sons died.  Maybe Sts. Gregory and Salvius proved to be persuasive.  And/or perhaps the aging monarch feared damnation.  Anyhow, he fell victim to an assassin in 584.  Next Frenegund ruled for a time as regent for their newborn son, Clotaire/Lothair II (reigned 584-629), King of Neustria from 584 and of all Franks from 613.  The price he paid for uniting Francia was to make concessions to nobles, setting the stage for the decline of Merovingian dynastic power and the rise of what became the Carolingian Dynasty.

Geeking out over French history is my right, my privilege, and a harmless activity, but now I return to the main purpose of this post–explaining the sanctity of St. Salvius.

St. Salvius, by opposing Chilperic I, placed himself at great risk, for people who proved inconvenient to the monarch ran the risk of turning up dead.  Yet the saint stood his ground while committing a host of good deeds for the benefit of people who could never repay him.  He, in fact, finished his days tending to plague victims.  His life overflowed with sanctity until the end.

---JDH---Jesus the Divine Healer---