✠ புனிதர் ரெமிஜியஸ் ✠(St. Remigius). October 1

† இன்றைய புனிதர் †

(அக்டோபர் 1)

✠ புனிதர் ரெமிஜியஸ் ✠

(St. Remigius)

ஆயர் மற்றும் ஒப்புரவாளர்:

(Bishop and Confessor)

பிறப்பு: கி.பி. 437

செர்னி-என்-லான்னோய்ஸ், பிக்கார்டி, ஃபிரான்ஸ்

(Cerny-en-Laonnois, Picardy, France)

இறப்பு: ஜனவரி 13, 533

ரீம்ஸ், சாம்பெய்ன், ஃபிரான்ஸ

(Rheims, Champagne, France)

ஏற்கும் சமயம்:

ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க திருச்சபை

(Roman Catholic Church)

ஆங்கிலிகன் சமூகம்

(Anglican Communion)

கிழக்கு மரபுவழி திருச்சபை

(Eastern Orthodoxy)

நினைவுத் திருநாள்: அக்டோபர் 1

பாதுகாவல்: ஃபிரான்ஸ் (France)

புனிதர் ரெமிஜியஸ், ஃபிரான்ஸ் (France) நாட்டிலுள்ள “ரீம்ஸ்” (Rheims) ரோமன் கத்தோலிக்க மறைமாவட்ட ஆயரும், “ஃபிராங்க்ஸ்” (Apostle of the Franks) இன மக்களின் அப்போஸ்தலருமாவார். இவர், கி.பி. 496ம் ஆண்டு, டிசம்பர் மாதம், 25ம் தேதியன்று, “ஃபிராங்க்ஸ்” இன அரசரான (King of the Franks) “முதலாம் குளோவிஸுக்கு” (Clovis I) திருமுழுக்கு அளித்தார். இந்த திருமுழுக்கானது, முழு ஃபிராங்க் இன மக்களையும் கிறிஸ்தவ மதத்திற்கு மனம்மாற்ற வழிவகுத்தது. இது, திருச்சபைக்கு ஒரு பாரிய வெற்றியாகவும், ஐரோப்பிய வரலாற்றில் ஒரு விசேட நிகழ்வாகவும் அமைந்தது.

ரெமிஜியஸ், பாரம்பரியமாக, “கல்லோ-ரோமன்” (Gallo-Roman society) சமுதாயத்தின் மிக உயர்ந்த மட்டத்தில், லாவோன் (Laon), பிகார்ட்டிக்கு (Picardy) அருகிலுள்ள செர்னி-என்-லான்னோய்ஸ் (Cerny-en-Laonnois) என்ற இடத்தில் பிறந்தார். இவர், லாவோன் பிரதேச பிரபுவான (Count of Laon) “எமிலியஸ்” (Emilius) என்பவருக்கும், “சோய்சன்” ஆயரின் (Bishop of Soissons) மகளான “செலினாவுக்கும்” (Celina) மகனாகப் பிறந்தவர் என்பர். பின்னாளில், கி.பி. 486ம் ஆண்டு, “முதலாம் குலோவிஸுக்கு” (Clovis I) “சோய்சன்” நகரை வெற்றிகொண்டதாக வரலாறு உண்டு.

ரீம்ஸ் (Reims) நகரில் கல்வி கற்ற இவர், விரைவில் தமது கற்றல் மற்றும் புனிதத்தன்மைக்கு புகழ்பெற்றார். மேலும் அவரது உயர் நிலை காரணமாக, ஒரு பொதுநிலையினராக இருப்பினும், தமது 22 வயதில், ரீம்ஸ் ஆயராக (Bishop of Reims) தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டார். இவர், ஃபிரான்ஸ் நாட்டின் பெரும் வேந்தராகவும் (Lord Chancellor of France), “மெரோவிங்கியன் வம்ச” (Merovingian dynasty) தலைமை அதிகாரியாகவுமிருந்தார்.

“சோய்சன்” நகர தேவாலயத்தில் இருந்து திருடப்பட்ட புனித பாத்திரங்களை திரும்பப் பெறும் கதையானது, அவருக்கும் குளோவிஸுக்கும் இடையில் உள்ள நட்பான உறவுகளுக்குச் சான்று பகர்வதாகவும், ஃபிராங்க்ஸ் மன்னராக இருந்த குளோவிசை, அவர் புனிதர் வேதாஸ்ட் (Saint Vedast) மற்றும் குளோவிஸுக்கு மனைவியாக இருந்த பர்கண்டி இளவரசி புனிதர் க்ளோடில்ட் (Saint Clotilde) ஆகியோரின் உதவியுடன் கிறிஸ்தவத்திற்கு மனம் மாற்றினார். தாம் கிறிஸ்தவத்தை ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளும் முன்பே குளோவிஸ், ரெமிஜியஸ் மற்றும் ரீம்ஸ் நகர கிறிஸ்தவ மக்களுக்கு எண்ணற்ற நன்மைகளை வழங்கினார். டால்பாயாக் போரில் (Battle of Tolbiac) அலமன்னி (Alamanni) மீது வெற்றிகொண்ட பிறகு, ரீம்ஸ் நகரில் பெரும் எண்ணிக்கையில் கூடியிருந்த ஃபிராங்க்ஸ் மற்றும் ஆலமன்னி இன மக்களின் முன்னிலையில் தமக்கு திருமுழுக்கு அருட்சாதனம் வழங்குமாறு ரெமிஜியசை வேண்டினார். புனிதர் கிரகோரியின் கூற்றின்படி (Saint Gregory of Tours), சுமார் 3,000க்கும் மேற்பட்ட ஃபிராங்க்ஸ் இன மக்களுடன் க்ளோவிஸ் ஞானஸ்நானம் பெற்றார்.

அரசன் குலோவிஸ், ரெமிஜியசுக்கு எண்ணற்ற சமஸ்தானங்களை பரிசாக வழங்கினார். அதில், ரெமிஜியஸ் பல தேவாலயங்களை கட்டினார். பல்வேறு மறைமாவட்டங்களை நிறுவி, ஆயர்களை நியமித்தார். “டௌர்னை” (Tournai), “கேம்ப்ரை” (Cambrai) மற்றும் “தெரௌன்” (Thérouanne) ஆகிய மறைமாவட்டங்களை நிறுவிய அவர், கி.பி. 499ம் ஆண்டு, முதல் ஆயர்களை நியமித்தார்.

ரெமிஜியஸ், திருச்சபை கவுன்சில்களில் கலந்து கொள்ளவில்லை என்றாலும், கி.பி. 517ம் ஆண்டு, ரீம்ஸ் நகரில் ஒரு சபைக் கூட்டத்தை நடத்தினார். ஒரு சூடான விவாதத்திற்குப் பிறகு அவர் ஒரு ஆரிய இன ஆயரை கிறிஸ்தவராக மனம் மாற்றினார்.

† Saint of the Day †

(October 1)

✠ St. Remigius ✠

Bishop and Confessor:

Born: 437 AD

Cerny-en-Laonnois, Picardy, France

Died: January 13, 533

Rheims, Champagne, France

Venerated in:

Roman Catholic Church

Anglican Communion

Eastern Orthodoxy

Feast: October 1

Patronage: France

Saint Remigius was Bishop of Reims and Apostle of the Franks. On 25 December 496, he baptized Clovis I, King of the Franks. This baptism, leading to the conversion of the entire Frankish people to Christianity, was a momentous success for the Church and a seminal event in European history.

St. Remigius was born around the mid-fifth century close to the city of Laón, France, where a saintly hermit lived. This hermit, who was blind, was afflicted not over this suffering, but over the situation of the Catholic Religion in France, which had been devastated by the Vandal persecution. One night, while he was praying for the Church, he heard a celestial voice that said to him: 

“God has heard your prayers and deigns to look again upon the earth from the highest heaven so that all nations will praise the marvels of His omnipotence and kings will be honoured to serve Him. Know that the woman named Celina will give birth to a son to whom she will give the name of Remigius. To him, God reserves the glory to save His people.”

When Celina heard this message, she doubted his words since she was already old. But the monk went on:

“Know this, you will give birth to a son and while you are nursing your child, you are to anoint my eyes with your milk, and so restore my sight.” 

These things happened as foretold. St. Remigius was born into the noble house of his parents, Emilius, Count of Laón, and St. Celina, and the hermit’s sight was restored.

Sometime later when Remigius was 22-years-old, Benange, Archbishop of Rheims, died. The people, inspired by God, called for him to succeed Bernanke. When he was consecrated Bishop, he was anointed with holy oil on his forehead by a mysterious hand that all present could see and an exquisite perfume permeated the whole area.

[For a period he suffered from various temptations … ] For this reason St. Remigius is efficiently invoked in temptations of flesh and spirit. Those who have difficulty in meditating or comprehending the divine mysteries also find great support in St. Remigius.

One day a terrible fire whipped through the city of Rheims. Everyone gathered to help extinguish the devouring flames. But all efforts were useless. When the people had given up hope of stopping it, St. Remigius advanced to the heart of the fire carrying a cross and faced the most violent flames. The fire was stopped in its tracks and soon was completely subdued.

St. Remigius evangelized throughout Gaul and converted Clovis, King of the Franks. On Christmas Eve of 496, the night that preceded the ceremony of the baptism of Clovis, St. Remigius spent several hours in prayer before the altar of the Church of St. Mary. Afterwards, he went to the residence of the King. Taking advantage of the silence of the night, he wanted to give some last instructions to the Monarch before his baptism. In the oratory of the palace, the Queen, St. Clotilde, wife of Clovis, awaited his arrival. With her were the King and various other nobles. The Saint arrived and gave an admirable sermon.

While he was speaking, a splendorous light appeared in the chapel that far outshone the dim light of the candles, and a loud voice was heard saying: “Peace be with you. It is I, do not fear. Remain in my love.” The physiognomy of the man of God was shining with fiery brilliance. The King and the Queen knelt before the Prelate. Moved by the spirit of God, he made these prophecy:

“Your posterity shall nobly govern this kingdom, which will give much glory to the Holy Church. It shall inherit the Empire of the Romans. This nation will not cease to prosper so long as it follows the path of truth, but decadence will come upon it with vices and bad customs. For, in truth, it is in this way that all kingdoms and nations have fallen into ruin.”

At the end of his life, St. Remigius became blind. Far from grieving over this, he rejoiced, saying that by this means he could suffer from Our Lord Jesus Christ. He knew prophetically the day of his death many days before. In the end, he miraculously regained his sight so that he could see his flock and distribute his goods as he desired. When the day came, even though he was not sick, he made his farewell as if he were leaving on a long trip, and then died.

Comments:

These excerpts invite us to analyze several different aspects of St. Remigius’ life.

First, the Gaul [Galias, in Latin] of St. Remigius’ time was old France. It was the name the Romans gave to her when they dominated over what is present-day France. As a consequence of the invasion of the Barbarians, France entered a lamentable situation. In fact, prior to the invasion, innumerable Romans in Gaul were Catholics, but lukewarm Catholics, without character and merit. The Barbarians who took over France were mostly pagans who had deviated from the sound doctrine to Arianism, led by a heretic Bishop called Ulfilas.

Therefore, it was in this tragic situation that we find that afflicted blind hermit praying for the Catholic Church. He was praying at night, the selection says, that is, added to the darkness of his blindness was the darkness of the night. We don’t know how long he had been praying – for days, months, or years. He was in a historic situation that reminds us of our own when God seems to have turned His back on humankind and to no longer care about what happens in the world. At that moment he received a celestial message that began with these words: “God has heard your prayer.” It was a reward for all his waiting and longings.

The message continued: “God decided to look again upon the world.” We can see that this is an encouragement for us to keep praying for the restoration of the Catholic Church. He received the message that Celina would have a son, Remigius, and that God would use him to again reign over the world, and that the power would be honoured to serve God. It is a very beautiful message, because it was, in fact, the birth of Christendom that was being announced.

The difference between the situation of the Church at the time of the Roman Empire and the Church in the Middle Ages was that under the Romans, the powerful were not honoured to serve Our Lord. There was almost no saintly king in the times of the Roman Empire. On the contrary, in the Middle Ages, we note that the powerful and great of the earth frequently were the most zealous Catholics, and the impulse for the sanctification of the souls often came from the apex of temporal society. This was a remarkable change. When Christ reigns through the earthly kings, we have the Kingdom of Christ. It was the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ that was being announced.

Second, a beautiful scene is that of the consecration of St. Remigius as Bishop. God wanted to manifest His favour, so Our Lord made His hand appear carrying the holy oils surrounded by light and emitting an exquisite perfume. Our Lord himself consecrated St. Remigius as Bishop.

Third, regarding St. Remigius as the patron saint of those who wants to make good meditations, it is the first time I have heard about a saint with this kind of patronage. Normally, the difficulty in meditation comes from an intellectual obstacle, and the patronages of Saints are generally turned toward giving spiritual help. But it is very interesting to see that St. Remigius is a patron of this intellectual problem as well. He helps to put the mind aright so it can understand the things of God. Therefore, if one of us has difficulty in recollecting himself and elevating his thoughts toward God, he has the right intercessor in St. Remigius.

Fourth, the episode of the Saint confronting the fire is also remarkable. The Bishop advanced without hesitation to the very heart of the fire. We can imagine him wearing his mitre and Roman tunic and carrying his pastoral cross walking against the flames. Then, as the Bishop and the fire met, the flames started to diminish and finally were extinguished. The people, who were following the scene with admiration, fell to their knees. After the fire was conquered, St. Remigius returned to the people and blessed them. We can imagine the prestige the Church acquired with a miracle like this and the enormous glory given to God. 

There is a symbol in this episode. When the true man of God, especially when he is a Bishop, opposes an enemy, there is no obstacle that can support his presence. This is an overall truth in the spiritual realm. When the man of God faces the enemies and opposes them, they inevitably are curbed.

Fifth, the episode of the sermon of St. Remigius to the converted King Clovis is magnificent. It is nighttime, and the small city of Rheims is silent; everyone is sleeping. Only a few lights appear in the royal chapel. There is also a man walking through the twisting streets of Rheims. It is St. Remigius on his way to the royal palace. He arrives bearing with him all the blessings from the prayers he has just said.

In the chapel, Clovis is recollected, preparing himself to be baptized the next day. With him is St. Clotilde, praying. Also present are some clerics and nobles. St. Remigius enters, seats himself, and begins to speak. He prophesies about the future of France and the glory to God that this nation will give. Its entire history is synthesized in a few words. Everyone understands that the glorious future of France is linked to the baptism of King Clovis. When St. Remigius finishes, silence descends again upon the souls. They are thinking about that page in the book of History that will be turned the next day.

Facts like these about the life of St. Remigius transport us to an atmosphere completely different from the sad one we live in today. I note this parallel not to discourage us, but rather to give us strength. For Our Lady can obtain from Our Lord extraordinary graces for the Catholic Church in order to restore her. Our Lady can do this either through the catastrophes of the chastisements she announced in Fatima or perhaps by the birth of another St. Remigius who will reconstruct the sacred edifice, prostrate so desolately in our days. 

Therefore, in addition to our other legitimate individual intentions, we should ask St. Remigius to obtain the restoration of the Catholic Church, which is in a situation of unimaginable misery. We should ask God to turn His eyes again upon the world and His Church and do whatever is necessary to give birth to another Catholic era.