Ss Vincent & Anastasius, Martyrs

From Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year

SAINT VINCENT, DEACON AND MARTYR.

Vincent, the Victorious, vested in the sacred dalmatic, and holding his palm in his hand, comes, today, to his Jesus’ Crib, and right welcome is he to Stephen, the Crowned, his leader and his brother. Spain is his country. He is a Deacon of the glorious Church of Saragossa, and, by the strength and warmth of his faith, he is a type of that land, which is, by excellence, the Catholic Kingdom. But he does not belong to Spain only: like Stephen, and like Laurence, Vincent is the favourite and hero of the whole Church. Stephen, the Deacon, preached the divinity of Jesus amidst the shower of stones which were hurled upon him as a blasphemer; Vincent, the Deacon, confessed his faith in Jesus upon his red-hot gridiron, as did that other Deacon, Laurence. This triumvirate of Martyr-Deacons cluster together in the sacred Litany, and when we hear their three grand names, the Crown, the Laurel, and the Conqueror, we hail them as the three bravest Knights of our most dear Lord.

Vincent triumphed over the torture of fire, because the flame of divine love which burned within his soul, was keener than that which scorched his body. He was comforted, in the most miraculous manner, during his great sufferings; but God worked these prodigies, not to deprive Vincent of his crown, but to show his own power. The holy Deacon had but one thought, in the midst of all his pains — he was ambitious to make a return, by the gift of his own life, for that sacrifice whereby his divine Master had died for him and for all men. And now, that so generous a lover of God should be at the Crib of this same Jesus — is it not right and just? Oh! how he urges us, every Christmas, to love this Divine Infant! He that hesitated not, when called on to give himself to his Lord, even though it was to cost him such cruel pains — what cowards would he not call us, who can come so many Christmases to Bethlehem, and have nothing to give, but cold and divided hearts! His sacrifice was to be burnt alive, and torn, and cut, and he smiled as he gave it: what are we to say of ourselves, who take years to think before we will give up those childish things, which prevent us from ever seriously beginning a new life, with our new-born Jesus! Would that the sight of all these Martyrs, in whose company the Church has made us. live during these few last days, would touch our hearts, and make them resolute and simple!

There is an ancient Christian tradition, which makes St. Vincent the patron of vineyards and labourers in vineyards. This was, no doubt, suggested by the Saint’s having held the office of Deacon; for the Deacon has to pour wine into the chalice during the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and that wine is to be changed into the Blood of Christ. A few days ago, we assisted at the mystery of the Feast at Cana: Jesus then offered us the sacred cup, the wine of his love: today, again, he offers it to us by the hand of his Martyr Vincent. To make himself worthy of his high office, the holy Deacon mingled his own blood, as a generous wine, in the cup that holds the price of the world’s salvation. It is thus that we are to understand that expression of St. Paul, which says, that the Saints fill up, in the flesh, by the merit of their sufferings, those things that are wanting, not in their efficacy, but in their fullness, of the sufferings of Christ whose members the Saints are. (Colossians 1:24)

We will now give the abridged account of the martyrdom of St. Vincent, as it is related in the Lessons of his Feast.

Vincent was born at Huesca, a town of northern Spain, and, when quite a child, applied himself to study. He was taught the sacred sciences by Valerius, the Bishop of Saragossa. This prelate intrusted him with the duty of preaching the Gospel, on account of himself not being able to discharge that office, by reason of an impediment in his speech. This having reached the ears of Dacian, who had been made governor of that province by Dioclesian and Maximian, Vincent was apprehended at Saragossa, and was led in chains to Valencia, before the judgment-seat of Dacian. There he was tortured by lashes and the rack, in the presence of many people; but neither the violence of the torments, nor the harsh or bland speeches addressed to him, could induce him to swerve from his resolution. He was therefore laid on a gridiron, which was set upon burning coals; his flesh was torn off with iron hooks, and red-hot plates were laid over him. After this, he was led back to prison, the floor of which had been strewed with broken potsherds, in order that when he lay down to sleep, his body might be tortured by their sharp edges.

But, whilst he was shut up in this dark prison, a most bright light penetrated the place. They who were present, were astonished beyond measure, and the gaoler informed Dacian of what had occurred. Vincent was then ordered to be taken out of prison, and put on a soft bed; for the governor thought to gain over by such comforts as this, him whom he had failed to seduce by tortures. But Vincent’s invincible spirit, strengthened by its faith and hope in Christ Jesus, overcame all their efforts; and after triumphing over fire, and sword, and all his tortures, took his flight to heaven, there to receive the crown of martyrdom, on the eleventh of the Calends of February (January 22). His body was thrown on a marsh, and denied burial; but a crow miraculously defended it, by its claws, beak, and wings, against birds of prey and a wolf. Dacian, hearing this, ordered it to be thrown into a deep part of the sea: but, by a fresh prodigy, it was washed to the shore, and the Christians gave it burial.

The Gothic Church of Spain, in her Mozarabic is magnificent in her praises of St. Vincent. The first and second of the following Prayers are taken from the Breviary, the third is from the Missal, of that Rite.

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PRAYER.

O God, who didst wonderfully, with manifold sufferings, crown thy servant Vincent, and didst deliver him from the effects of his torments, to the end that he might gloriously trample upon each cruel punishment with those feet of his, that had never trod in the mire of vice; who didst, moreover, save him from the deep waters, to the end that he, whose spirit had despised the world, might be near to his heritage in heaven: grant unto us, by the prayers of this so great a Martyr, that we may never be defiled by the mire of sin, nor be plunged in the deep pool of despair, but may be presented to thee, on the day of judgment, beautified with a spotless freedom of conscience. Amen.

PRAYER.

We bless thee, Almighty God, for that thou didst deliver thy most blessed Martyr Vincent, as heretofore the three children, from the flames of fire; for when his body was laid on the fire, it burned, but could not conquer, him. Hear his prayer for us, and pour into our innermost spirit the dew of thy mercy, that so, the fire of our carnal passions being slaked, the flame of sin that is within us may smoulder, and though, by nature, it cease not to molest us, permit not, we t beseech thee, that our weakness, while passing through the fire, should ever be burnt; but grant, that grace may in such manner assist nature, as that we may be able to quench by thy gift what originated without us. Amen.

PRAYER

Jesus! by whose great power the body of thy Martyr Vincent, which the mad fury of Dacian had cast into the sea, was borne to the shore on the bosom of the waves, that it might receive honour from man: do thou, by this thy Martyr’s praying for us, stretch out thy hand of pity, and raise us, from the stormy sea of this world, to the heavenly country above; that thus, we, who were driven, by the impulse of the enemy, to burden ourselves with guilt and so fall into the gulph, may at length, by charity, which covereth sin, arrive at the port of salvation, and rejoice in the company of all these, who out of love for thee, are assembled on this Feast of thy Martyr. Amen.

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We regret being obliged to content ourselves with a few stanzas of the magnificent Hymn composed by Prudentius in honour of St. Vincent. The Ambrosian Breviary has selected several verses of this long Poem, for one of its Hymns; and these we offer to our readers.

HYMN.

O blessed Martyr! bless this day of thy feast, whereon the crown is given to thee, the Conqueror; and thou didst purchase it by thy blood.

This is the day which took thee from this dark world to heaven, and restored thee in triumph to Christ, for thou hadst conquered thy torturer and thy judge.

Fellow now of the Angels, thou shinest in thy bright stole, which thou didst wash in the stream of thy blood, for thou wast the invincible witness of Christ.

Thou wast a levite of the holy tribe, a Minister of God’s altar, which is surrounded by its seven snow-white pillars; and, by thy noble triumph, thou art a Martyr of Christ.

Thou alone, doubly noble! didst bear away the palms of a double victory, and wreathe two laurels for thy brow.

Conqueror, once, in the hard death thou didst endure; and, then, after death, thou wast conqueror over the tyrant-thief, and, with thy body alone, didst gloriously defeat him.

Oh! by thy chains, and fires, and hooks; by thy prisonchains; by the potsherds, strewed to enhance thy glory,

Assist us now, and hear the humble prayers of thy suppliants, and make intercession for us sinners at the throne of God.

To God the Father, and to his Only Son, and to the Holy Paraclete, be glory now and for all ages. Amen.

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Adam of Saint-Victor composed two Sequences in honour of the great Deacon of Saragossa. We consider it a duty to insert them both, for they are very beautiful.

First Sequence.

Lo! the wished-for day is come! The happy, dear, and joyous day!

Let us honour this day, and admire in Vincent the combats of Christ.

Vincent was great by birth, and faith, and piety, and wisdom, and preaching, and dignity, and office.

He held the position of Deacon, under the command of his Father, Valerius.

The Bishop could not speak, so served his God in quiet, and gives to the Levite the office of the word.

On his lips, was the word of truth; and in his simple soul, the gracefulness of a twofold science:

For whilst, by the help of grace, he instructs the people of Saragossa in the faith,

There rages against the Church the envious tyranny of the governor, an idolatrous zealot.

He had heard of Valerius and his Deacon, and how boldly they taught the faith; he orders both to be put in chains, and led to Valentia.

To such a wretch as he, what was the flower of Vincent’s age, or the grey locks of the saintly Bishop?

Worn out by the journey, and galled by their iron chains, he confines them in a dark dungeon, denying them food and drink.

He does all he can, though not all he would, to give his captives pain ; they are dear to Christ, and He provides them food.

The governor sends the venerable Bishop into exile, keeping the young Deacon for a sharper test.

And first, he is put on the rack; then torn with hooks; and then, with twice a braver heart, mounts the iron bed.

His flesh is grilled, but his heart is staunch: louder than ever he confesses Christ: and heeds not the tyrant, who stands looking on.

The monster’s eyes flash with fire; his tongue is dumb, his hand is palsied, and himself wild with a maddened heart.

He bids them throw the Martyr into a prison, strewed with sharp potsherds, which will cut him as he stands, or sleeps; but here he enjoys a bright light, and is visited by Angels.

At last, he is laid upon a bed; his victorious and triumphant soul thus takes its flight to heaven, and is presented to its Lord.

The wicked tyrant refuses to the Martyr’s body the common right of burial, thus trampling on both law and nature.

He reeks his anger on the dead, but only to increase the Martyr’s praise; and beasts of prey approach, but fear to touch the holy corpse,

For lo! a crow protects the unburied saint; and thus is foiled the wicked tyrant’s scheme.

Then Dacian finding that he cannot destroy the holy remains on land, has them thrown into the silent grave of the deep sea.

But neither does the huge stone weigh them down, nor will the sea retain them. And now the Church studies how to honour Vincent with special praise, and the Faithful, with one accord, join her in her hymns.

This body, which was scorched by fire, is honoured both on sea and land. Jesus! mercifully grant, that together with thy Saints, we too may worthily praise thee in our heavenly home. Amen.

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2nd sequence.

The day of triumph has dawned, the honoured day that brings us the Deacon’s Feast. Therefore, let us all be glad, and venerate our Vincent victorious in Christ.

He is called Vincent, and he proves that his name was prophetic of his deeds: vanquishing on land, and vanquishing on sea, every insult, pain, and fear.

He is clad as with a twice-dyed crimson robe; he shines as the hyacinth. His loins are girt with purity twice pure. He wears the Deacon’s linen stole, and he seeks the Martyr’s palm, bearing, for Christ, and with unflinching heart, the pangs of cruel torture.

He is the well marrowed victim, and the lamb whose fleece is dyed with scarlet to cover the tabernacle. He sows in holy tears, and reaps the sheaf of life, earned by the sweat of his blood.

The servant of God is hurried to the blood-stained court of the cruel Dacian, who tempts the Saint, first by entreaty, then by threat, and then by offers of worldly pomps.

The soldier of Christ spurns the proposal of the haughty tyrant; his world-flower, his gifts, his coaxings, and his threats. For this, the rack. But while he tortures more, more tortured is the tyrant by his slighted pride.

The crackling flame, the fiery bed, the cutting whips, the salt rubbed deep within his gaping wounds — burn, indeed, and torture, but conquer not the laughing combatant of Christ.

The sharp potsherds of his prison-floor cut and tear his flesh; but joy, imparting ease and unction, is sent to him by God. His chains become his ornament, his gloomy prison a glittering hall, and the cruel potsherds soft sweet flowers.

He is laid on a soft couch; panting to ascend, and surrounded by a tuneful choir of Angels, his spirit soars to heaven. His body is thrown to beasts of prey; a faithful guard protects. It is cast into the sea; the waves convey it to the shore. Welcomed by mankind, he receives the loving veneration of a world.

Thus did the elements, sea, and earth, and air, and fire, celebrate his victory. O admirable witness of the truth! pray for us to Christ, that he cleanse us from our sins, and bring us purified to the heavenly joys, to sing with thee, companions in thy bliss, our ceaseless Alleluia.

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Hail, Victorious Deacon! How beautiful art thou, with the Chalice of salvation in thy brave hands! It was thine orifice to offer it at the Altar, in order that the wine it contained might be changed, by the sacred words, into the Blood of Christ; and, when the Mystery was accomplished, thou hadst to take this same Chalice, and present it to the Faithful, to the end that they who thirsted after their God, might drink at the source of eternal life. But, on this day, thou offerest it thyself to Jesus, and it is full to the brim with thine own blood. Oh! how faithful a Deacon! giving even thy very life in testimony to the Mysteries of which thou wast the dispenser. Three centuries had elapsed since Stephen’s sacrifice; sixty years had gone by since the sweet incense of Laurence’s martyrdom had ascended to the throne of God; and now, it is the last persecution — peace is dawning on the Church — and a third Deacon comes to prove that time had not impaired the Order — it was the Deacon of Saragossa — thyself, dear Saint!

Bright is thy name in the list of Martyrs, O Vincent! and the Church is proud of thy triumph. It was for the Church, after Jesus, that thou didst combat: — have pity on us, therefore, and signalize this day of thy Feast by showing us the effects of thy protection. Thou art face to face with the King of Ages, whose battle thou didst fight on earth, and thou gazest, with a loving yet dazzled eye, on his eternal beauty. We, also, we, who are in this valley of tears, possess him, and see him, for he calls himself our Emmanuel, God with us. But, it is under the form of a weak Babe that he shows himself to us, for he fears to overpower us with the splendour of his majesty. Pray for us, holy Martyr Vincent! for, at times, we tremble at the thought that this sweet Jesus is, one day, to be our Judge. When we reflect on what thou didst and sufferedst for him, we have scarcely courage to think upon ourselves, for, what good works can we show? or who can say of us, that we were ever warm in defending the cause of our Divine Master? Oh! that thy Feast might shame us into the earnest uncalculating simplicity, which this sweet Babe of Bethlehem is come to teach us — the simplicity which springs from humility and confidence in God, and which made thee go through all thy martyrdom with a brave, but oh! with such a calm spirit! Pray for us, that we may, at length, obey the God who teaches us by his own example, and, with hearts ambitious for nought but the pleasing Him, accomplish his will, whatever that may ask of us; and all this with the calm cheerfulness of devoted service.

Pray, Vincent, for all Christians, for all are called to fight against the world, and their own passions. We are all invited to a palm, a crown, a Victory. Jesus will admit none but conquerors to the banquet of eternal glory, where he has promised to drink with us the new wine, in the kingdom of his Father (Matthew 26:29) The wedding-garment, which all must have on who enter there, must be washed in the Blood of the Lamb — we must all be Martyrs, at least in heart, for we have all to triumph over self, and that is the harshest of tyrants.

Fly to the assistance of the Martyrs who, in distant countries, are dying for the true Faith; obtain for them such courage, that they may be the Vincents of our age. Protect Spain, thy country. Beseech our Emmanuel to send her heroes of thy stamp; that so, the Catholic Kingdom, which has ever been so jealous of purity of Faith, may speedily triumph over the trials, which are at present heavy upon her. Shall the illustrious Church of Saragossa — founded by St. James the Apostle, visited by the Blessed Mother of God, and sanctified by the ministry of thy deaconship — shall such a country as this ever grow indifferent about Faith, or suffer the bond of unity to be broken! — And since the devotion of the Christian people looks upon thee as the protector of the Vine, bless this portion of creation, which God has destined for man’s use, and which he has deigned to make both the instrument of the deepest of his Mysteries, and the symbol of his love of mankind.

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SAINT ANASTASIUS, MARTYR.

On this same 22nd of January, the Church honours the memory of the holy Persian Monk, Anastasius, who suffered Martyrdom in the year 628. Chosroes, having made himself master of Jerusalem, had carried with him, into Persia, the Wood of the True Cross, which was afterwards recovered by Heraclius. The sight of this Holy Wood excited in the heart of Anastasius, who was then a Pagan, the desire of knowing the Religion, of which it is the trophy. He renounced the Persian superstitions, in order to become a Christian, and a Monk. This, together with the neophyte’s zeal, excited the Pagans against him; and, after enduring frightful tortures, the Soldier of Christ was beheaded. His body was taken to Constantinople, and thence to Rome, where it is still honoured. Two celebrated Churches of Rome, one in the City itself, and the other outside the walls, are dedicated in common to St. Vincent and St. Anastasius, because these two great Martyrs suffered on the same day of the year, though in different centuries. This is the motive of the Church’s uniting their two Feasts into one. Let us pray to this new champion of the Faith, that he intercede for us to the Saviour, whose Cross was so dear to him.

We add the short Lesson upon St. Anastasius, which occurs immediately after those of St. Vincent.

Anastasius, a Persian by birth, had embraced the monastic life, during the reign of Jerosolymo-Heraclius. After visiting the Holy Places, in Jerusalem, he courageously endured, at Csesarea in Palestine, both imprisonment and scourgings for the faith of Christ. Not long after, the Persians put him to several kinds of torture for the same reason. King Chosroes, at last, ordered him to be beheaded, together with seventy other Christians. His relics were, at first, carried to Jerusalem, to the Monastery, where he had professed the monastic life; afterwards, they were translated to Rome, and were deposited in the monastery near the Salvian Waters.

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Let us now address ourselves to both these holy Martyrs, using the prayer of their Feast.

Ant. For of such is the kingdom of heaven; they despised the life of the world, and attained to the rewards of the kingdom, and washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb.

V. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just.

R. And glory, all ye right of heart.

LET US PRAY.

Rear, O Lord, our earnest prayers, that we who are sensible of the guilt of our crimes, may be delivered therefrom by the prayers of thy blessed Martyrs Vincent and Anastasius. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.