From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
December 2nd - St. Chromatius, Bishop of Aquileia
CHROMATIUS was brought up in the city of Aquileia, of which he was
probably a native, and lived there with his widowed mother (of whom
St. Jerome's good opinion is seen in a letter written to her in the
year 374) his brother, who also became a bishop, and unmarried
sisters. After his ordination to the priesthood St. Chromatius took
part in the synod of Aquileia against Arianism in 381, baptized
Rufinus in his early manhood, and soon acquired a great reputation. On
the death of St Valerian in 388 he was elected bishop of Aquileia, and
in that office became one of the most distinguished prelates of his
time. He was a friend and correspondent of St. Jerome (who dedicated
several of his works to him), at the same time preserving his
association with Rufinus, and trying to act as peace-maker and
moderator in the Origenistic dispute.
=C2 It was owing to the encouragement of St. Chromatius that Rufinus
undertook the translation of the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius
and other works, and at his suggestion St Ambrose commented on the
prophecy of Balaam; he helped St. Heliodorus of Altino to finance St.
Jerome's translation of the Bible. Chromatius was an energetic and
valued supporter of St. John Chrysostom, who had a high opinion of
him; he wrote to the Emperor Honorius protesting against the
persecution of Chrysostom, and Honorius forwarded the protest to his
brother, Arcadius, at Constantinople. But the efforts of Chromatius
were without effect. He was himself a capable commentator of the Holy Scriptures; 17 of his treatises on parts of St Matthew's gospel are
extant and a homily on the Beatitudes. St Chromatius died about the
year 407, and is named in the Roman Martyrology; his feast is observed
in the churches of Gorizia and Istria, formerly parts of the Aquileian province. Part of Chromatius' commentary on St. Matthew is extant.
There seems to be no formal biography; but some attention has been
directed to St. Chromatius of late years on account of the writings
attributed to him. See Bardenhewer, Geschichte der altkirchilchen
Literatur, vol. iii, pp. 548-551; P. de Puniet in the Revue d'histo=
ire
eccl=C3=A9siastique, vol. vi (1905), pp. 15-32, 304-318 P. Paschini in the Revue B=C3=A9n=C3=A9dictine, vol. xxvi (1909), pp. 469-475. The works attri= buted
to Chromatius are printed in Migne, PL., vol. XX, CC. 247-436, but the
state of the text is very unsatisfactory. To him must probably be
attributed the =E2=80=9CExpositio de oratione dorninica=E2=80=9D printed by=
M. Andrieu
in Lea Ordines romani du haut moyen =C3=A2ge, vol. ii (1948), pp. 417-447.
ST. CHROMATIUS INVITES US TO ENTER INTO CONTACT WITH GOD
VATICAN CITY, DEC 5, 2007 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which
was held in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI dedicated his remarks to
the figure of St. Chromatius, bishop of Aquileia in northern Italy, "a
dynamic center of Christian life located in the 'Decima regione' of
the Roman empire, 'Venetia et Histria'."=C2 "Between the middle of the
third century and the early years of the fourth," said the Pope, "the persecutions of Decius, Valerian and Diocletian had produced a large
number of martyrs." At the same time, the Church of Aquileia was
facing "the threat of the Arian heresy."
=C2 In 381 Chromatius, then a priest and the expert assistant of Bishop Valerian of Aquileia, participated in a synod "to eliminate the last
residues of Arianism in the West."
=C2 The Holy Father recalled how Chromatius was born in Aquileia in the
year 345, "he was ordained a deacon then a priest and finally elected
as pastor of that church in 388. Having received episcopal
consecration from St. Ambrose, he dedicated himself courageously and energetically to a task of immense proportions because of the vastness
of the lands entrusted to his care: the ecclesial jurisdiction of
Aquileia stretched to what is currently the territory of Switzerland,
Bavaria, Austria and Slovenia, even reaching as far as Hungary." The
saintly bishop died an exile in Grado in 407, the same year as St.
John Chrysostom.
The Holy Father indicated that of St. Chromatius' works, more than 40
sermons and over 60 commentaries on the Gospel of St. Mark survive.
"He was wise master and a zealous pastor," said the Pope. "In his
teaching he always began from the Word of God and to that he always
returned. Among subjects particularly dear to him were, primarily, the Trinitarian mystery which he considered in its revelation throughout
the history of salvation, the theme of the Holy Spirit, ... and the
mystery of Christ. The incarnate Word is true God and true man: He
fully assumed the human condition so as to give it His own divinity."
His "insistence on the human nature of Christ led Chromatius to speak
of the Virgin Mary," said the Pope, pointing out how the saint
described Mary in various ways such as "the evangelical virgin capable
of accepting God," and compared her with the Church, both being
"virgins and mothers." The Holy Father then explained that
"Chromatius' ecclesiology is developed above all in his commentary on
Matthew," where he writes that "the Church is unique, she is born from
the blood of Christ."
Chromatius "knew how to address his people using a fresh, vivacious
and incisive language." As a "good pastor, in troubled times such as
his own marked by the barbarian incursions, he stood alongside the
faithful to comfort them and open their souls to faith in God, Who
never abandons His children."
In off-the-cuff remarks at the end of his talk, the Pope noted how
"St. Chromatius reminds us that Advent is a time of prayer, in which
we must enter into contact with God. God knows us, He knows me, He
knows each of us. He loves me, He does not abandon me. Thus
trustingly, let us proceed into the liturgical time that has just
begun." AG/ST. CHROMATIUS/...=C2 =C2 VIS 071205 (560)
Saint Quote:
If you find it impossible to pray, hide behind your good Angel and
charge him to pray in your stead.
---Saint John Vianney
Bible Quote:
For the lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they shall seek
the law at his mouth: because he is the angel of the Lord of hosts.
(Malachias 2:7)
<><><><>
God's eternal quest
God's eternal quest must be the tracking down of souls. You should join Him
in His quest.=C2 Glorious to follow where the Leader goes. You are seeki=
ng
lost sheep. You are bringing the good news into places where it has not bee=
n
known before. You may not know which soul you=C2 will help, but you can = leave
all results to God. Just go with Him in His eternal quest for souls. -
--From Twenty-Four Hours a Day
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
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