August 2nd - St. Eusebius of Vercelli

[Weedy]

August 2nd - St. Eusebius of Vercelli

(Died A.D. 371)
St. Eusebius of Vercelli, a Sardinian by birth, is said to have had a
father who died for the faith as the result of long imprisonment.
Eusbius himself is often called a martyr. But his sufferings, though
heavy, were not mortal.

The saint’s father would have been a victim of pagan persecutors.
Bishop Eusebius, unfortunately, was plagued by Christians. The tyrant
in his case was Emperor Constantius, who had rejected the Catholic
dogma that Jesus is truly both God and man. Arianism was the name of
the heresy that denied Christ’s divinity. It is true that the world’s
Catholic hierarchy, meeting at Nicaea, Turkey, in 325, settled the
issue doctrinally when they proclaimed the Nicene Creed, in which we
still declare, “We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ … true God from
true God,, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.” But
Emperor Constantius itched to cancel this creed, and to strike at St.
Athanasius of Alexandria, Egypt, who was its noblest defender.

Eusebius had moved from Sardinia to Rome in his youth and become a
cleric of the Roman diocese. Because of his demonstrated ability,
around 344 he was appointed bishop of Vercelli in northern Italy.
Bishop Eusebius soon distinguished himself as a prelate of sound
doctrine, pastoral zeal, and constructive ideas. One of his
undertakings was to gather his clergy about him into a sort of
religious community, following a rule of life. Out of this little body
of clergy came several leading churchmen of the next generation.

In 355, Pope Liberius asked Eusebius and another bishop to entreat
Emperor Constantius to assemble a church council that would reconcile
Catholics and Arians over the issue of Christ’s divinity. The emperor
did call a council at Milan, but it was at once evident that he would
tolerate only a pro-Arian solution and that he was out to condemn
Athanasius. The gathered orthodox bishops, in the majority, insisted
that their first action at the council be to approve the Nicene Creed.
Constantius refused, and demanded the condemnation of St. Athanasius.
Eusebius said, “You can’t condemn a man without giving him a hearing.”
The emperor fumed and threatened to kill Eusebius and the others. He
did not carry out his threat, but he did send several into exile.

Eusebius was hurried off from Italy to Scythopolis in Palestine, and
placed under the surveillance of a heretic bishop. At first he was
treated with some consideration, but this phase did not last. The
Arians now began to insult him, dragging him through the streets
half-naked. He was shut up in a small room and denied access to his
friends. For four days he underwent a sort of “hunger strike.” He was
then allowed to return to his lodgings; but three weeks later he was
again dragged out, thrashed, robbed and isolated. His persecutors made
every effort to get him to conform to Arian doctrine. Later he was
transferred from Palestine to Cappadocia, then to Egypt. In his
writings of this period, he expressed his desire to suffer death for
truth.

Constantius died in 361. His successor, Julian the Apostate, though
not even Christian, did allow the exiled bishops to return to their
homes. Gradually Eusebius made his way west. How his people at
Vercelli rejoiced to have their bishop back! He spent his last years
working everywhere to confront Arianism and repromote belief in the
Nicene Creed In this work he collaborated particularly with St. Hilary
of Poitiers, one of the most ingenious defenders of the divinity of
Jesus.

In Vercelli is treasured a very ancient manuscript of the Latin
Gospels that Eusebius is reputed to have copied, the Codex
Vercellensis, which is the oldest such manuscript in existence. This
and his extant letters demonstrate that Eusebius was a serious scholar
as well as a zealous opponent of Arianism.

In one sense, martyrdom by execution is the easier heroism. The sword
slices once, the squad fires once, and all is over. Humanely speaking,
there are harder sufferings for the faith than instant death.
Lingering death in a forgotten prison must be most agonizing unless
God gives (as He surely does) super patience. Even those sent into
exile, fined into poverty, mistreated short of death, but then
released, suffer raw cruelty. Thus sometimes he is called a martyr,
but this is attributed to his sufferings and not to a violent death.
–Father Robert


Saint Quote:
" One person thinks that some days are holier than others, and
another thinks them all equal. Let each of them be fully convinced in
his own mind. 6 The one who makes special observance of a particular
day observes it in honor of the Lord. So the one who eats freely, eats
in honor of the Lord, making his thanksgiving to God; and the one who
does not, abstains from eating in honor of the Lord and makes his
thanksgiving to God. [Romans 14:5-7]

Bible Quote
"Light is sown for the righteous, And gladness for the upright in
heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, And give thanks at the
remembrance of His holy name." [Psalm 97:11-12]


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For this day, a reflection of Saint Eymard on Holy
Communion:

Having received Jesus into your heart at Holy Communion,
spend some time in simple reflection, without vocal prayers.
Adore Him in silence; sit like Magdalen in humble, adoring
love at His feet; gaze upon Him like Zaccheus, love Him in
mute worship, like Mary, His Mother.

Call Him your King, the Spouse of you soul. Say to Him;
"Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." Offer yourself to Him
as His servant, ready to execute His will. Bind your heart to
His footstool, that it may wander no more, or rather, put it
under His feet, that He may crush out its self-love and pride.

While your soul remains in recollection, in the hushed calm of
His holy presence, do not seek to disturb it. It is the sleep of
the soul upon the breast of Jesus, and this grace, which
strengthens and unites it to Our Lord, will be more profitable
that any other exercise.