Victor

ON ST. VICTOR, PRIEST, AT ARCHIAC IN FRENCH CHAMPAGNE

Sixth or Seventh Century.

Preliminary Commentary.

Victor, Priest, at Archiac in Gaul (St.)

Author G. H.

[1] Juan Tamayo Salazar in his Hispanic Martyrology raises ^a pious dispute with the French concerning the birthplace of St. Victor and the region in which he led the anchoretic life. He relies on the sole authority of the Chronicle published under the name of M. Maximus, Bishop of Caesaraugusta ^a thousand years ago, in which at the year 459 the following is read: In these times there flourishes in Baetica in the district of Arcilacum, St. Victor the hermit, ^a man of outstanding holiness, concerning whom it has been transmitted to memory that from his mother's womb he was formidable to demons. His body was carried to Gaul. Rodrigo Caro notes on this passage of Maximus that Arcilacum was, according to Ptolemy, in Baetica, which Moletius calls Alcalahorra; others, however, suspect that Arcilacum was in the Marian mountains, where Aracena now is—which is also his opinion, book 3, Chorography of the juridical district of the city of Seville, chapter 78, and Tamayo follows him. We concede that Ptolemy, book 2, Geography, chapter 4, places Arcilacum as an inland city among the Turduli, ^a people of Baetica. But that St. Victor, of whom we treat here, is not to be connected with this place, Tamayo himself will readily agree once he has read the most ancient Life; which Nicolaus Camuzat, Canon of the Church of Troyes, extracted from trustworthy manuscript codices and published in his Collection of the Sacred Antiquities of the Diocese of Troyes, from folio 358. The same Life was formerly sent by Guido, Abbot of Arremarum, to St. Bernard, requesting him to compose something to be sung or read on the anniversary feast of St. Victor. Tamayo is mistaken when he asserts that Nicolaus Camuzat, in his Historical Miscellanies, transcribed sermons of Bernard. He is mistaken, I say, though otherwise ^a most sagacious man; for Camuzat did not transcribe sermons of Bernard, but, as Menard notes in book 1 of his Observations at this 26th of February, the Life was published by Nicolaus Camuzat in his Historical Miscellanies, in which everything is found that St. Bernard said about him in those two sermons he composed in his praise. Tamayo seems to have examined this less carefully, since he cites Menard, and appears not to have read Camuzat except through Menard. The latter, moreover, in his Notes about St. Bernard, adds: This one thing I can truly say: that the fame of his most holy name was most celebrated even from the time of St. Bernard, who composed canticles and hymns for the divine office, still customarily sung in the monastery of Arremarum on the 26th of February, the day of the birthday of the same St. Victor. These are the only things Camuzat asserts about St. Bernard.

[2] There exists ^a letter of St. Bernard to Guido, Abbot of Arremarum, which is number 312, with this opening: You ask, my dearest Guido, and together with you the Brothers who are with you, that I dictate for you something to be read solemnly or sung at the festival of St. Victor, whose most holy body rests among you. After relating these words, Tamayo infers: If, therefore, the holy anchorite had been born, educated, and had lived as ^a hermit and preacher in Gaul, there is no doubt that Bernard would have expressed this. But since he obtained no other encomium, content with the mere commemoration of the tomb, he passed over the rest in silence. Bernard moreover composed ^a double sermon, in which you will find not ^a word about his origin, education, or preaching among the Gauls. So far Tamayo; but this argument does not establish that the Chronicle is ^a genuine offspring of Maximus. St. Bernard, neglecting the places of the birth and hermitage of St. Victor, reported those things that shine with truth, sound of justice, persuade of humility, and teach equity; which also bring forth the light of truth to minds, ^a pattern to behavior, the cross to vices, devotion to affections, and discipline to the senses—as he prefaces in the same letter. And then he indicates what he composed: I have done, he says, what you asked. I have done, I say, not what was to your liking but what came to hand for me, according to my ability, not according to your wish. But preserving the truth of the ANCIENT WRITERS, which you had sent me concerning the Life of the Saint, I have dictated two sermons in such style as is mine, guarding as much as I could against brevity making them obscure and prolixity making them burdensome. Then concerning what pertains to the chant: I have composed ^a hymn, neglecting meter so as not to fail in sense. I have arranged twelve Responsories with twenty-seven Antiphons in their places, with the addition of one Responsory which I assigned to the first Vespers, and also two other brief ones—one at Lauds, the other at Vespers—to be sung on the feast day itself according to your regular custom. So far St. Bernard, who in Responsory V (which Tamayo did not notice) has the following: While the King of the Franks was passing by and came near the place where the hermit was living, etc. And thus in all of these he preserved the truth of the ancient writers, which Abbot Guido had sent him concerning the Life of the Saint. This Life, from which St. Bernard drew his material, we give from Camuzat, and to it we append the first sermon, in which more historical matters are touched upon than in the second—which, with very few things removed, could be applied to nearly any holy Confessor. In the hymns, antiphons, and responsories, many things from the same Life are alluded to throughout and described paraphrastically. From these we give the hymns and ^a single antiphon with the Prayer.

[3] The places mentioned in this Life are, first, the diocese of Troyes in French Champagne, where he was born of distinguished parentage; second, the territory of Archiac, where, secluded in ^a cell in the village of Saturniacus, he lived and died ^a holy death. Archiacum, or Archiac, or Arceya, is ^a town or district on the Aube River in the same diocese of Troyes, called in number 9 "the castle of Arceiacum"; from it the territory of Archiac derives its name, and it is to this day still known by its Ecclesiastical Deanery, over which an Archdeacon presides. The individual parishes and other Ecclesiastical benefices contained in it can be seen in the Catalogue of Benefices of the Diocese of Troyes published in 1648. Mention of Arceya is also made in ^a fragment of the history of St. Balsemius the Martyr, published by Camuzat at folio 334, which begins thus: Finally, reaching the regions of Champagne, he came to ^a certain city called Arceyas; for it is said that at the time when the Vandals were devastating Gaul, it was ^a city, but now we all know it to be ^a village. St. Balsemius is venerated on the 16th of August. Ferrarius in his New Topography writes the following about the same place: Archiacum, Archy, formerly ^a village, now ^a town of Lugdunese Gaul, in the region called Champagne, in the territory and diocese of Troyes, where there is ^a monastery of the Cistercian Order. On the 26th of February, Victor, ^a monk of the Arrimarensian monastery. From the Cistercian Breviary, concerning which sermons exist in St. Bernard. So far Ferrarius. But in the aforesaid Catalogue of benefices of the diocese of Troyes, only the Priory of Archiac is noted, whose collation depends on the Abbot of the greater monastery of the Benedictine Order, to which the same Priory belongs. From that error, Wion assigned him to the Cistercians in the monastic Martyrology: In the territory of Archiac, he says, of St. Victor, Confessor, of the Cistercian Order, whose praises St. Bernard wrote. Nor was St. Victor ^a monk of the Arrimarensian monastery, which is another of Ferrarius's errors; for which reason, however, Dorgan, Menard, and Bucelinus number him among the Benedictines in their Martyrologies.

[4] The third place in the territory of Archiac is the village of Saturniacus, illustrious for the hermit life and death of St. Victor. Camuzat confesses in his Notes on this Life that it was not given to him to know in what place St. Victor had fixed his dwelling, where he was accustomed to sit in solitude and raise himself above himself by constant meditations, nor the place where his body was entombed. We suspect that ^a basilica of St. Victor was built on the site of his cell, six miles from the castle of Archiac, as is read at number 9. At this place one of the Kings of the Franks visited St. Victor as he dwelt there, as is said at number 4. Camuzat notes that he had read certain ancient documents and records asserting that St. Victor had flourished in the times of Chilperic, the ninth King of Gaul... But that he did not dare establish anything certain on this matter. Chilperic succeeded Chlothar I, who died in the year 561, together with three brothers; he himself died in the year 584. His brother St. Guntram, King of Burgundy and Orleans, who survived him, died in the year 593; in his kingdom the diocese of Troyes was situated. Should perhaps Childeric be read instead—the son of Clovis II, who, made sole monarch of Gaul, held this Champagne of Troyes as well under his rule, and was killed in the year 679?

[5] The fourth place mentioned in the Acts at number 7 is the district of Cupidiniaco, where the spiritual son of St. Victor, of noble Frankish blood, lived. All these things demonstrate that St. Victor lived in Gaul. Finally, the Benedictine monastery of Arremarum, to which the body of St. Victor was translated, is four leagues from the city of Troyes, founded in the year 837 by ^a Priest named Adremarus. The Abbot of this monastery is patron of several churches in the Deanery of Archiac, nominates the parish priests, or even confers priories; from one of these places the body of St. Victor may have been brought to his monastery along with the ancient Acts, in which no mention of this Translation is made. The origin of the Arremarian monastery is described, after others, by Miraeus, On Benedictine Origins, chapter 45. Concerning it, Bucelinus in the Benedictine Sanctuary has the following for this 26th of February: The birthday of St. Victor the Priest, whose sacred body is devoutly venerated in the monastery of Arremarum.

[6] Moreover, the sacred memory of St. Victor is inscribed on the same 26th of February in the manuscript Martyrology of the Cologne Carmel, the manuscript Florarium, the Martyrology printed at Cologne in 1490, the supplements to Usuard by Greven and Molanus, and the German Martyrology of Canisius, everywhere in these words: In the territory of Archiac, of St. Victor, Confessor. In the Roman Martyrology is added: whose praises St. Bernard wrote. Galesinius, with an altered phrase, reports: Within the boundaries of the Archiacensians, of St. Victor, Confessor, about whom St. Bernard delivered two sermons. The Martyrology published at Liege in the French language: In the territory of Archiac, diocese of Troyes in Champagne, died St. Victor, Confessor, whose Life was written by St. Bernard. Rather, two sermons and an Ecclesiastical office were composed from ^a Life once written about him. Saussaye in his Gallic Martyrology celebrates him with this eulogy: In the diocese of Troyes, in the district of Archiac, of St. Victor, Priest and Confessor, who flourishing in Gaul while the seeds of pagan superstition were still sprouting, eradicated the remaining wicked shoots of impiety, converted many from idolatry to the worship of Christ, and, illustrious with the documents of ^a heavenly life, examples of great piety and virtue, and great miracles, full of days and good works, passed to eternal felicity. His praises St. Bernard celebrated in ^a double eulogy, and adorned ^a proper office for the remembrance of his most sacred memory, which he inscribed to the monks of Arremarum, and which is still customarily sung on the birthday of this blessed Confessor in the monastery of Arremarum, where the most sacred relics of his body, deposited long ago, are venerated with due reverence, and to that place the possessed, the demoniacs, and the deranged are brought and freed by the saving aid of the Blessed One; and scarcely ^a day passes on which something of this sort of benefit does not occur. So far Saussaye, the last part of which is transcribed from Camuzat, preserving the very words. Menard also in book 1 of his Observations asserts that while St. Victor lived, there were still remnants of paganism, because it is said at number 7 in the Life that in the district of Cupidiniaco he taught throngs of men about the Catholic religion—by which words only the catechetical instruction of the peasants who came running is indicated.

[7] Maurolycus celebrates the same on the day before, that is, the 25th of February, in these words: In the district of Troyes, of Victor, Confessor. The same is read in the manuscript Florarium, the Martyrology printed at Cologne in 1490, and in the supplement of Greven to Usuard—by whom he was perhaps considered different from the one they then recorded on the 26th of February and called "Saint," whereas they had dignified the one they treated on the day before with only the title of "Blessed."

[8] N. Des Guerrois published the same Life that we give here in French in the History of Troyes, and adds that his skull is contained in ^a silver head skillfully crafted, and the rest of the bones in ^a likewise silver case, and that on the 11th of October, on account of the Translation of the relics, the feast is celebrated with the greatest concourse of pilgrims.

LIFE

by an anonymous but ancient author, published from manuscripts by Camuzat.

Victor, Priest, at Archiac in Gaul (St.)

BHL Number: 8564

By an ancient author.

CHAPTER I

The birth, education, priesthood, and anchoretic life of St. Victor; wine obtained by his prayers.

[1] The splendor of the Lord shone upon the just, whose fame unceasingly circulates throughout the world. Not of those is it told who hold inflated power, but of those who, with submissive mind and devout faith, are seen to serve Christ. When the most holy Job had fought his battle with the ancient enemy of the human race, he was shaken by ^a most grievous ulcer and the torment of worms from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet; but having patience, he merited the grace of the Lord. Was there ignorance with the Lord that he was righteous, and was he therefore tested? By no means; but so that, being tested, he might be justified, and each person might know that with God's help the devil can be overcome by man—for great is the struggle of the contest, where we triumph in the victory of Christ.

[2] There was therefore ^a certain Victor, rejoicing in his sweet name, born of distinguished parentage in the diocese of Troyes. He received his name before he received his limbs—before his mother, heavy with child, had completed the delays. When ^a certain man was being tormented by an unclean spirit, he cried out, saying: Why do you torment us before the beginning of birth, O holy one of God, Victor? But in this matter we do not seek the testimony of demons, but their confession, that they might announce him by name—a name which the outcome of events later proved. Then after seven months, at the beginning of the tenth, the mother's womb was stirred, and she brought forth the pious Victor, ^a sacred offspring, born to the world. Then, after the appointed period of days had passed, he was bathed in the water of baptism and cleansed from original sin by heavenly grace. When he was seen by his parents, placed in his cradle, seeing the Holy Spirit in the infant, they were amazed and marveled; but this was ^a presage of what was afterwards fulfilled in him. The boy grew in body, while as ^a child he was carried in infancy, but there was in him the maturity of mind that belongs to old age in the Lord.

[3] Given to the study of letters, he was imbued with learning; devoted to fasting and prayers, he continually distributed his food to the poor as alms. Leaving worldly studies, he devoted himself to divine readings; he preached the words of Scripture and the sweetness of the faith of Christ to the nations with fervor, and in him was fulfilled the saying that David proclaims: How sweet are your words to my palate, Lord, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb to my mouth. Psalm 119:103 When he reached the proper age, he assumed the burden of the clerical state according to the regular norm, until he ascended to the office of the diaconate and the rank of the priestly order. Not long afterward he betook himself to the territory of Archiac, having left his parents; and there, in ^a village called Saturniacus, he was loved with great affection for the grace of Christ by the illustrious men and all the inhabitants of that place, where day and night, secluded in his cell, he devoted himself unceasingly to fasting and prayers, praying for the indulgence and remission of sins of the people.

[4] While he was dwelling there, one of the Kings of the Franks, while wandering through the shady banks of the river with horsemen and hawks through the most pleasant places for the purpose of hunting, heard the fame of the blessed man and joyfully came to his cottage. But the blessed man, from whom nothing was hidden, hastened from his cell to meet him. When that King saw him, he met him and kissed him. Then the venerable man began saying: If the Highness of your kingdom does not refuse, deign to enter the cell of your servant. When the King entered, he said to one of his attendants: Bring me the vessel in which you usually carry wine. When he had brought it, he prostrated himself in prayer and poured forth prayers to the Lord thus: O God, whose power is higher than all things on your exalted throne, who suspended the heaven from the earth and adorned it with the beauty of the stars as with gems; who commanded me to come into this world from my mother's womb and to confess your holy name: bless this vessel and fill it with heavenly dew, so that, just as our fathers were satisfied with manna in the desert, so may we be filled with the gift of your blessing. Making the sign of the Cross, that vessel was immediately filled with the wine of gladness, whose sweetness was sweeter than honey; no tongue could describe its sweetness. And all the throng who drank were satisfied, and all departed rejoicing on their intended journey with joy. Nor was the kindness of him absent who at Cana of Galilee changed water into wine; and what nature had not produced, nor had hung upon the vine, nor had the vine brought forth, was changed into choice wine by the word of Christ.

[5] This miracle is not to be passed over in silence but narrated: namely, that one day he sent workers into the field to sow wheat, and one of them, making ^a pit large enough to hold nearly two bushels, dug into the earth. He was immediately seized by ^a demon and, like ^a raging lion, belched forth fire from both sides of his jaws. The man of God, seeing him from afar and making the sign of the Cross, cleansed him; and the wheat he had hidden was restored by his own hands.

CHAPTER II

The heavenly visions of St. Victor. His death. Miracles.

[6] One day, when he had given his body, worn out by fasting, prayers, and abstinence, to rest, rising in the dark silence of the night, he prostrated himself on the ground in ^a certain place to pray. Looking upward, he saw the heaven opened and the Cross of the Lord gleaming with golden splendor and adorned on both sides with precious stones; and he heard ^a voice saying to him: These things you see are the souls of the Saints who washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb for Christ the Lord. Struck with fear, he fell upon his face, magnifying the Lord who had revealed to him heavenly mysteries. From that day he lay hidden, enclosed in his cell; and though he was engaged in no worldly affairs, many nevertheless came to him, afflicted with various diseases, and were healed.

[7] Nor did I think this mystery should be passed over in silence, which must be told to the true praise and virtue of so great ^a man. When the most blessed man was of very advanced age, shunning all worldly things and rejecting what the world holds pleasant, he had ^a venerable white head and was perfect in charity. Among the leading men of the world, it had been granted to him from heaven by the Divinity that he was loved by all with special affection. Meanwhile, the most reverend man had ^a spiritual son of noble Frankish lineage in the district called Cupidiniaco, whom he had received from the font of holy baptism, and by whom he was most earnestly begged to deign to visit his home and family, for they had long desired his coming. The blessed man did not refuse, promised ^a day, and fulfilled his promise. When he had come to the aforesaid house, all came running with joy and received him as ^a heavenly gift or ^a shining pearl. He did not take food except when the day was already declining; after refreshment he allowed himself ^a little rest for his body. Rising at midnight as was his custom, he implored the Lord with psalms and hymns in modulated voices, until the dawn that shines on the Lord's Day was breaking. When the morning solemnity was completed, while ^a throng of people had come to visit, and he was teaching them about the Catholic religion—when the discourse was prolonged and the hour drew near, and they were hastening, as was customary, to the church to hear the sacred mysteries—he is said to have stopped at ^a certain place where he was deemed worthy to hear the hosts of Angels and the Lord's Prayer completed, where it says: But deliver us from evil. Struck with wonder, he bowed his head to the ground, and striking his breast with both hands, said: Woe is me, that though I am unworthy, Lord Jesus, I have been deemed worthy to hear with my ears the prayer that you yourself, Lord, taught your disciples to say, in the ineffable voices of Angels. And saying this he said: Let us return home, for the divine rites have already been accomplished in heaven. Upon hearing this, he was not elated by human glory, but marveled at the goodness of God in his work, because the Lord loves those who worship him and does not abandon all who hope in him. On that day, eating and drinking together, they remained there. On the following day he returned to his cell in joy and left all safe and sound.

[8] I have related ^a few things from many, lest I create tedium for the readers. For he restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, and their gait to the lame, with all the people testifying. On the fourth day before the Kalends of March he migrated to the Lord, and was placed in ^a pleasant spot, where his holy limbs are held in ^a tomb, and his spirit seeks the stars in great triumph.

[9] It happened at that time that ^a certain man, having committed the sin of theft, was seized in the castle of Arceiacum and thrown into the custody of the dungeon, where he was detained for ^a long imprisonment. He was deemed worthy to see Blessed Victor in ^a vision, as though he had touched the fastenings of the chains, with which he had been bound, with his staff. And he, having awakened, feeling the power shown in him—that the chains with which he had been bound had been loosened from his hands and neck, and remained only on his feet—was anxious about what he should do or what he ought to do. It came into his mind that he should seek the aid of protection at the basilica of the holy man, and perhaps the chains on his feet would also be loosened. The keeper of the prison lay as if lifeless, for the sleep of the Lord had fallen upon him. Rising, the one who had been bound tried to see if he could walk. His limbs stumbled as he extended his steps. Having opened the door of the dungeon and seized ^a weapon in his hands, at first barely walking with ^a stoop, his spirit was strengthened more and more toward salvation—so that the one whom divine power had freed could have no impediment. Wherefore, with swift course through the silence of the dark night, he traversed six miles as though he had not walked even one stadium, and it seemed to him as if he had been assisted by the service of angelic hands. For when he had entered the precincts and touched the doors of the basilica itself, the iron bond immediately cracked and was shattered into fragments—so that what had been fastened on his feet he might show, broken in his hands, with the people as witnesses. Many signs and wonders indeed has the kindness of our Savior deigned to produce through the same man at his tomb to this present day, in the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

SERMON OF ST. BERNARD, ABBOT.

Victor, Priest, at Archiac in Gaul (St.)

By St. Bernard.

[1] The life and glory of Victor are special—provoking not so much to glory as to virtue all who are of upright heart. It is not an upright but ^a perverse mind that seeks glory before practicing virtue and desires ^a crown without having competed lawfully. It is vain for you, the Psalmist says, to rise before the light. Psalm 127:2 Exactly so. In vain does one strive for the heights of glory who has not first shone in virtue. In vain do the foolish virgins rise to meet the bridegroom, whose lamps are extinguished; and they are foolish precisely because they glory in empty lamps, lacking the oil of virtue. Far be it from us to glory except in the glory of those to whom the Prophet offers congratulations, saying: Lord, in the light of your countenance they shall walk, and in your name they shall exult all the day long, and in your righteousness they shall be exalted. Psalm 89:17-18 And he adds: For you are the glory of their strength. Beautifully it is not their glory but the glory of their strength that is commended. For what is glory without virtue? It comes undeserved, is affected prematurely, and is sought with danger. Virtue is the step to glory; virtue is the mother of glory. Vain is the glory and empty the beauty that virtue has not brought forth. She alone is the one to whom glory is justly owed and safely bestowed.

[2] In holy Victor neither virtue nor glory is lacking; but how both things proceeded in the man, and in what order, it is worthwhile to observe. He fought bravely, manfully overcame, and thus at last was crowned with glory and honor. How indeed could ^a brave warrior, ^a humble Victor, have remained without glory? Although even in the day of his virtue he was not without glory, being marvelous in signs and wonders. We have, most beloved, in the Life of Victor, both what we may worthily admire and what we may healthfully imitate. I marvel that he gave wine in the wilderness—not from ^a vine but from ^a spring. I marvel and am astonished that an infant still in the womb was ^a terror to terrible demons, being foreknown by them and already designated by name. Nor was the name empty, where the flight of the enemies and the extorted confession granted victory to the infant. Who likewise would not marvel at ^a thief caught by ^a demon, and then the man freed from the demon? Who would not consider it worthy of all amazement that ^a man clothed in flesh, with the heavens opened, should fix the eyes of his flesh upon the heavenly light, and see visions of God, and moreover be charmed by an angelic canticle and taught by an oracle? These and similar things we venerate in the holy man, but we do not emulate them. Rightly indeed, since without danger to salvation they may not occur, and without danger to salvation they cannot be assumed. It is safer indeed to emulate more solid things rather than more sublime ones—things that savor more of virtue, less of glory.

[3] Let us therefore strive to be conformed in character to him to whom we cannot, even if we wish, become similar in miraculous deeds. Let us emulate in the man his sober diet, his devout affection; let us emulate the gentleness of spirit, the chastity of body, the guarding of the mouth, the purity of mind—putting ^a bridle on anger and ^a measure on the tongue, sleeping less, praying more frequently, admonishing ourselves with psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, joining nights to days and occupying them with divine praises. Let us emulate the better gifts. Let us learn from him that he was meek and humble of heart. Let us emulate, I say, that he was generous to the poor, pleasant to guests, patient with sinners, kind to all. For this is better. In these things there is ^a form upon which we may be imprinted; in the miracles there is ^a glory from which we should restrain ourselves. Let the former gladden us, let the latter edify us; let the former move us, let the latter promote us. Let us feast, most beloved, having been invited to the table of ^a rich man—a table abounding in bread, heaped with delicacies. Is he not rich who refreshes us with examples, protects us with merits, and gladdens us with signs? Rich indeed, at whose solemn banquet today Angels and men are gathered together. The latter to be refreshed, the former to delight; the latter to profit, the former to rejoice. His life, filled with good things—what is it but ^a table laden with food? Yet not all things are set before all, but each may take what he sees to be expedient and suitable for himself.

[4] And I, with the more salutary counsel, carefully consider what is set before me. I am cautioned to choose my own and not to touch what belongs to another. I will not stretch out my hand to the glory of miracles, lest if I attempt what I have not received from above, I rightly lose even what I seem to have received. I do not raise my eyes with him to probe the secrets of heaven, lest, oppressed by the glory, I draw back in confusion, belatedly taking refuge in the counsel of the wise man who says: Seek not what is too high for you, and search not what is beyond your strength. Ecclesiasticus 3:22 There is set on the table the new wine of reddened waters; I do not touch it, for I know it is not set before me, who am likewise unable to change the elements and renew natures. I also see on Victor's table that he heard Angels singing. Shall I too see heavenly singers presented to me, or those harpers of the Apocalypse harping before me on their harps? Revelation 14:2 He commands demons while still living in the body; the one bound in the body he loosened, being himself now loosed from the body. These are foods, but not mine; pleasant and savory indeed, but my soul does not touch them, since I, being poor, do not have the means to repay such things.

[5] But if I consider carefully, behold before my eyes on the table of the Saint: strictness of judgment, the rigor of discipline, the mirror of holiness, the form of life, the mark of virtue. These may be taken by me without presumption, and healthfully consumed; and if I neglect them, they are strictly demanded back. Hear further what I consider to be rightly set before me. If you offer me the bread of sorrow and the wine of compunction from the rich man's table, I take it confidently, for I am poor and needy. My tears shall be my bread day and night, and my cup I shall mingle with weeping. This is my portion, for I have committed things worthy of lamentation. Nor shall I be displeased, I think, with this food, since he who has added knowledge also adds sorrow. But if examples of temperance, justice, prudence, or fortitude appear, I take them without hesitation, knowing that I must prepare such things. I do not doubt that these are set before me, and that these will be demanded of me. Are signs and wonders to be required of us, that we should prepare them in return for the rich man?

[6] Brothers, they are vessels for the honor of him who invited us, not food for the poor. You therefore, who are invited, consider carefully what he has set before you and what before himself; for not everything on the table is set before you. What if it was served in ^a golden cup? The cup is not set before you, but the drink. Take the drink and put down the gold. Therefore the examples of good works and the rectitude of character the master of the house shares with his household, but retains for himself the prerogative in miracles. In these and those, however, he is to be glorified whose gift it is to live holily, whose power it is to work signs—who in the perfect Trinity lives and reigns as God forever and ever. Amen.

THREEFOLD HYMN

by St. Bernard, Abbot.

Victor, Priest, at Archiac in Gaul (St.)

[1] One distinguished by the merits of Victor Presents to the earth ^a man who is not of the earth, As if given from heaven, For imitation. Christ lived in him, and not he himself; A mirror of life for those dead to the world, The heavenly man offered himself, Seeking those like him. Having also professed something holier, Victor stood as ^a model of sanctity, Preserving whole and uncorrupted The glory of honor. Whence also he saw visions of God, Saw the heavens opened for himself; For the heavenly vision seeks Chaste eyes.

[2] Rightly the sweet voices of Angels A man weighed down by body heard, Destroying the lusts of the flesh, living An angel in the flesh. So it was fitting, that one already designated A vessel for honor should remain more holy; Whose sanctity was dedicated In his mother's womb. At last, seeing the mother heavy with child, They could not bear it, fleeing in fear; They reveal the name, they confess the holy one Enclosed in the womb. Nor did life, so early secure, Begrudge him glory; And indeed it heaped it up With much interest.

[3] Wine flows from ^a spring, not ^a vine; New wine flows channeled in place of streams, The hand of the one blessing, well used In place of ^a winepress. A sudden new flavor entering Forced the waters to new uses, The King marveling to find, where he did not expect, A royal drink. Tormented by ^a demon, ^a man reveals himself, Confesses his thefts; the wretch, even unwilling— The tormentor is expelled, the thief caught, He himself also tormented. These things sufficiently prove, and many others, The prerogative of Victor's glory— Not diminished, by which he was anticipated By the good Spirit. Glory to the supreme triune God, Glory to the Trinity, one of persons, The whole of each, not divided among three, For three are one.

Antiphon. O magnificent Victor, though your magnificence is exalted above the heavens, may your constant munificence not forsake the needy of the earth.

Prayer. Hear, O Lord, we beseech you, the prayers of those who supplicate you, that those whom you have caused to glory in the bodily presence of your blessed Confessor Victor, you may grant to be everywhere protected by his kind intercession. Through our Lord, etc.

ON BLESSED EDIGNA, ROYAL VIRGIN, AT BUECHA IN BAVARIA

Year 1109.

Edigna, Royal Virgin, in Bavaria (Bl.)

I. B.

[1] Buecha, or Bucha, or Puech, is ^a village of Bavaria between Munich and Augusta Vindelicorum, near Fuerstenfeld, ^a monastery of the Cistercian institute situated on the river Amper. Here, as Aventinus writes in book 7 of the Annals of the Bavarians, St. Edigna (whom the locals place in charge of thefts) lies buried and is venerated. Why Aventinus says she is placed in charge of "furcis" (gallows) in both editions, Ingolstadt and Basel—or rather "furtis" (thefts), as Raderus restores from the autograph—will presently be explained.

[2] That she is venerated on the 26th of February is reported by the same Raderus in volume 2 of his Holy Bavaria, and from him by Andreas Saussaye in the Gallic Martyrology and by our Francis Lahier in the Menologion of Virgins. Saussaye celebrates her with this eulogy: In Bavaria, of St. Edigna, Virgin, who was the illustrious offspring of the Kings of France, daughter of King Henry I and sister of Philip I. Wholly aflame with the love of Christ, she consecrated her virginity to the heavenly Spouse from the very flower of her youth. For this religious vow, having openly spurned marriage, when she was compelled by her parents' command to enter into it, she willingly underwent exile. Conveyed on ^a cart, in pilgrim's garb, with ^a staff—carried by oxen that voluntarily took the yoke to draw the noble burden—she came to Bavaria and halted in ^a place divinely appointed. There, hiding in ^a cave, she offered worship to God in sacred vows, tears, and many vigils for so long, until she set out from her foreign soil and exile to the heavenly fatherland. Her precious merits before God were made illustrious by great miracles, by which she is still renowned, and most celebrated in the church where she rests, which is dedicated under her patronage. Lahier composed ^a more extended Life in the French language, drawing his material from Raderus.

[3] Andreas Brunner of our Society writes succinctly and elegantly about her in part 3 of the Annals of Bavaria, book 12, section 1, page 227, at the year 1109: At the same time... the Virgin Edigna passed away. Her virtue does not allow her to be passed over, far more illustrious than her birth—which, however, common report refers to the Kings of France. Conveyed on ^a rustic wagon, in worn-out clothing to conceal her lineage, she came to Bavaria. At Buecha, ^a village between Munich and Augusta Vindelicorum, she settled, mostly hidden in the hollow trunk of ^a linden tree. This tree, imbued with the Virgin's holiness, after her death exuded oil that served as ^a panacea. As soon as this began to be sold, greed dried up the spring. Her other benefits, not subject to profiteering, continue to this day. Aventinus also wrote that losses from theft and cattle-rustling were especially commended to her, so that by her patronage lost property might be restored to its owners.

[4] Raderus presents ^a fuller account of her, which we shall also publish here. He prefixes an elegant image of the Blessed One, in which she sits on ^a cart; here ^a bell is attached, ^a rooster stands nearby, two oxen draw the cart; on the other side is the sacred chapel, and not far from it the hollow linden tree. Beneath are added these verses:

Is this, O Virgin, the most ample dowry of your kingdom? Is this your jasper, these your gems, your royal crown, your bed? Are your golden halls the cave of ^a linden hollowed by the ages? A comb, ^a bird, ^a cart, tinkling bells, and cattle? O Virgin prudent in the ways of the world—while you scorn the world, You can rightly call yourself mistress of the world. Whatever loves the vain is itself vain, and makes its lovers vain; Had you not fled it, it would have fled from you.

LIFE

by Matthaeus Raderus, S.J.

Edigna, Royal Virgin, in Bavaria (Bl.)

By Matthaeus Raderus.

[1] Manuscripts preserved at the church of Blessed Edigna report that Edigna set out from France of the Gauls to the lands of Germany among the Bavarians, and was born of royal stock, indeed ^a King's daughter. But they indicate neither the year of her birth nor the name of the King. She must have been born either to Henry I or to Philip I, who departed this life in the same year as Edigna—1109, I say—after having reigned forty-nine years; for in the year 1060 he had succeeded his father Henry as ^a very young man, or rather ^a boy. Thus it could be that Edigna was Philip I's sister, if we work out the chronology; or certainly his daughter, if she died at ^a younger age. I am inclined to think, however, that her father was Henry, though authority exists for neither position.

[2] But writers sometimes call even those who are closely related to kings the offspring of kings, as they do Richard, King of England, who appears to have been neither ^a king nor the son of kings, as we noted above in the affairs of St. Wunibald. So it is not clear about Edigna whether she was ^a king's daughter or ^a king's relative. The written tablets call her Francigena, "born of France," and ^a king's daughter. For thus ^a document speaks of her comb: This comb (which I myself saw in person and handled) belonged to Blessed Edigna the Virgin, born of France, who was the daughter of the King of France; and having undertaken exile for the sake of her Spouse Christ the Lord, she rests in this place, glorious with signs and miracles. There follows in the document ^a severe curse against those who might attempt to remove the comb from there.

[3] Of her sacred relics, nothing else is publicly available except the large shell that she had, which I have also taken care to append here. The rest of her small keepsakes are known to have been buried with her in the tomb. How she came to the place, we intend to set forth in another document. There also exists ^a tablet written in the vernacular language, which shows that she was descended from the royal line of the Franks, that she came to these lands concealed in pilgrim's garb, and that she offered worship to God in sacred vows, tears, and many vigils. At last, on the twenty-sixth of February 1109, she departed from her foreign soil and exile to the heavenly fatherland. Her skull, bones, veil, small strap, and spoon are devoutly preserved, and it is decreed that no one should take anything from there. The holiness of the Virgin has long been made famous by frequent benefits toward the afflicted.

[4] I deliberated anxiously with myself for ^a long time about what Aventinus meant when he wrote that the locals called her "placed in charge of gallows"—whether she was invoked as ^a patron by those about to be sent to the gallows, scaffolds, and crosses; or whether she warded off witches, Camiae, and Canidiae like some averting deity. But when I myself came to the spot on the 5th of August 1616, I learned from the neighbors and the sacristan (for the Pastor was absent) that, through the invocation of Edigna, things either stolen or lost by whatever chance were restored to their homes. From this I concluded that Aventinus had written "placed in charge of THEFTS," not "GALLOWS." I then examined his own handwriting and read THEFTS on page 120 of book 7, the last part. You will therefore correct the printed editions.

[5] I also examined her hiding place in the hollow of an immense linden tree that rises with ^a triple trunk. They affirmed that it had once exuded oil, but when greedy mortals sold the benefit, it refused its generosity and the spring of oil dried up. Today the bodily remains are preserved in ^a small case made visible with glass, recently fashioned, along with ^a pectoral image of the Virgin, at the left altar of the church, where ^a full-length image of the same is seen, placed between the Blessed Walburgis and Ursula. The image at the base of the altar shows Edigna arriving on ^a cart in pilgrim's garb, with ^a staff, by oxen that almost spontaneously took the yoke to carry the Virgin. Also depicted are ^a crested bird and ^a bell, which, when Edigna arrived, rang with no one moving them; the Virgin, as if receiving ^a divinely given sign, stopped and settled in that place, spending the rest of her life most holily—and I learned that she had been celebrated by wonderful deeds both during her lifetime and after her death.

[6] From the year 1610 to the present year 1616, when I visited the place, not ^a few miracles were observed. An eye disease from which ^a girl had long suffered was cured—in memory of which benefit, wax replicas of eyes hang at the altar. She removed headaches from some, throat infections from others, dysentery from others (a two-year-old boy was tormented by it for two days), and delirium from yet others, restoring their minds. I read that she delivered difficult labors that were stuck and had already brought the mothers to the last extremity of death; that she gently caught others who were falling; and that stones were removed by her benefaction. She is also said to have repelled diseases of cattle. These things are set forth more fully in the vernacular language, from which I chose to excerpt them, lest I be too prolix in commemorating the things that happened after her death and happen even today. For although we all willingly experience the benefits of the Saints when troubles press us, most people nevertheless recognize those same benefits not without weariness.

[7] I have read somewhere, but the place does not come to mind (in Wolfgang Selender, if my memory does not fail me), that she was ^a sister of Blessed Aurelia, whom I mentioned above; but the dates protest against this, if they have been correctly noted.