April 24th - St. Mellitus of Canterbury, OSB B (RM)
Died at Canterbury, England, on April 24, 624. Saint Mellitus was a Roman
abbot,
probably of Saint Andrew's Monastery on the Coelian Hill. He is one of the
second band of monks sent by Pope Saint Gregory the Great to England in
601 in
the wake of Saint Augustine. Gregory sent him a famous letter that
modified the
pope's earlier ruling to Augustine. Through Mellitus, Gregory told
Augustine not
to destroy the pagan temples of the Saxons but only their idols. The
temples, he
said, should be converted into churches and their feasts taken over and
directed
to Christian purposes, such as dedications. This directive was im****tant
for the
whole direction of missionary activity.
In 604, after three years of mission work in Kent, Mellitus was
consecrated the
first bishop of the East Saxons, with his see in London. As bishop,
Mellitus
traveled to Rome to consult with Pope Saint Boniface IV. While in Rome
Mellitus
participated in a synod of Italian bishops concerning the life of monks
and
their relation****p to bishops. The decrees of the synod he carried back to
England, together with letters from the pope to Archbishop Saint Laurence
of
Canterbury and King Ethelbert of Kent, who had built the first church of
St.
Paul in London.
Mellitus converted the king of the East Saxons, Sabert (Sigebert or
Saeberht).
Unfortunately, his royal sons did not follow suit. When Sabert died about
616,
his three pagan sons (***red, Seward, and Sigebert) succeeded him and
drove
Mellitus out; for they had asked him to give them the "white bread" (the
Eucharist), and he had refused because they were not baptized (or had
apostatized according to some). Mellitus withdrew to Gaul for a year with
Saint
Justus of Rochester, who had experienced a similar setback in Kent.
Laurence recalled them both. Soon after Mellitus's return in 619 he was
made
archbishop of Canterbury, in 619, to succeed Saint Laurence. Bede says of
him
that he suffered from gout but that in spirit he was healthy and active,
ever
reaching out to the things of God: "Noble by birth, he was yet nobler in
mind."
Bede attributes the change of wind that saved the church of the Four
Crowned
Martyrs in Canterbury from incineration to Mellitus's being carried into
the
path of the flames to pray. It was Saint Mellitus who built Saint Mary's
church
at Canterbury, of which a fragment remains outside the east end of the
foundations of the abbey church of SS. Peter and Paul (now Saint
Augustine's).
The feast of Saint Mellitus was observed on numerous English calendars
before
and after the Norman conquest. He is also mentioned in the commemoration
of the
dead in the Stowe Missal, together with Laurence and Justus. His relics
can be
found near those of Augustine in the abbey church of Saints Peter and Paul
in
Canterbury (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth).
Saint Mellitus is ****trayed in art as Saint Peter brings him a salmon to
present
to the king (Roeder).
Saint Quote:
For there are three ways of performing an act of mercy: the merciful word,
by
forgiving and by comforting; secondly, if you can offer no word, then
pray-that
too is mercy; and thirdly, deeds of mercy. And when the Last Day comes, we
shall
be judged from this, and on this basis we shall receive the eternal
verdict.
-Saint Faustina Kowalska
Bible Quote:
If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,
"Remove
from here," and it will remove. And nothing will be impossible to you. (
St.
Matthew 17:19)
<><><><>
CONSECRATION TO THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS
Adorable Heart of Jesus, the tenderest, the most
amiable, the most generous of all hearts, penetrated
with gratitude at the sight of Thy benefits, I come to
consecrate myself wholly and unreservedly to Thee!
I wish to devote all my energies to propagating Thy
wor****p and winning, if possible, all hearts to Thee.
Receive my heart this day, O Jesus!
Or rather take it, change it, purify it, to render it
worthy of Thee. Make it humble, gentle, patient,
faithful and generous like Thine, by inflaming it with
the fire of Thy love. Hide it in Thy Divine Heart with
all hearts that love Thee and are consecrated to
Thee; never permit me to take my heart from Thee
again. Let me rather die than grieve Thy Adorable
Heart. Thou knowest O Heart of Jesus, that the desire
of my heart is to love Thee always, to be wholly
Thine in life and in death, in time and in eternity.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus I trust in Thee.
<><><><>
CONSECRATION TO THE IMMACULATE
HEART OF MARY
I (Name), a faithless sinner, renew and ratify
today in thy hands, O Immaculate Mother, the vows
of my baptism; I renounce Satan, his pomps and
works and I give myself entirely to Jesus Christ, the
Incarnate Wisdom, to carry my cross after Him all the
days of my life, and to be more faithful to Him than I
have ever been before.
In the Presence of All the Heavenly Court, I
choose Thee this day for my Mother and Mistress. I
deliver and consecrate to Thee, as Thy slave, my
body and soul, my goods, both interior and exterior,
and even the value of all my good actions, past,
present and future; leaving to Thee the entire and
full right of disposing of me, without exception,
according to Thy good pleasure, for the greater glory
of God in time and in eternity. (Amen)
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