Arianus the judge, who had condemned S. Asclas (Jan. 23rd) to a cruel death, at AntinoË in Upper Egypt, did not leave the place till many other Christians had suffered by his orders. Now there was at AntinoË a deacon named Apollonius, who feared torture, being by nature of a highly sensitive and timorous constitution, and when the governor had given orders that every inhabitant should appear before him and sacrifice, he went to Philemon, a stage piper and dancer, and offered him money if he would go and sacrifice in his name, and bring him a ticket to the effect that Apollonius had sacrificed. Christians who thus acted were called libellatics; and on the return of tranquillity were put to penance, but were not regarded in the same light as apostates. Philemon asked Apollonius for one of his hooded cloaks, which would conceal his face, and then went before the judge.

Then Arian said, "Well, fellow, what art thou? A Christian perhaps, muffled thus, as if thou fearedst to be seen."

Philemon, filled with the grace of God, answered gravely, "Yes, my lord, I am a Christian."

"Thou knowest the choice that is set before thee, torture or sacrifice," said the magistrate.

"I will not sacrifice," answered the piper, "I saw how, by the power of God, Asclas held thee stationary in the midst of the river."

Then Arian, leaning back in his seat, said to his officers, "Send for Philemon the piper; perchance his sweet melodies will drive away the fancies of this fool, and allure him to the worship of our gods." But Philemon was not to be found; then his brother Theonas was brought in, and Arian asked him where was the piper Philemon. Theonas, looking intently at the prisoner, said, "That is he." Then the hood was plucked off the face of Philemon, and the cloak drawn from his shoulders, and it was the merry piper shod with his gay buskins, and with the tuneful reeds in his hands. Arian laughed heartily, and exclaimed that this was a rare joke. "We make no account of all this, man!" said he, "for to this thou wast born, and to this bred, that thou shouldst shake our sides with laughter. Now sacrifice, and end the farce."

But Philemon steadfastly refused, and Arian saw that no jest was meant, but that this was sober earnest. So putting on an angry look, he said, "It is foolery for thee to pass thyself off as a Christian, piper! for thou art not baptized." Then the poor man was filled with tribulation, and in his doubt and grief he cried to the Lord Jesus Christ to accept and baptize him. And as he prayed, there came down a soft sparkling spring shower, and the piper, stretching his hands to heaven, cried joyously, "He has heard me, and has baptized me in the cloud!"34 And he took his pipes and broke them up, and cast them away. Now the officer had taken the deacon Apollonius, and they brought him before Arian, who reproached him for his cowardice; the deacon in shame admitted that he had done wrong. "But now," said he, in a firm voice, "know that I will not sacrifice." Then the judge ordered him and Philemon to be executed with the sword.

So far the Acts seem to be trustworthy, but what follows is fabulous; some of these incidents shall however be given. Philemon before his execution, bade the officers bring a brass pot, and put a baby in it, cover it, and take aim at it with their arrows. The pot was soon transfixed; but when it was opened, the child within was found unhurt. Then Philemon said, "Like that vessel is a Christian's body, riddled with wounds, but the soul within, like that infant, is unharmed." And when the governor ordered a flight of arrows to be discharged at him, he raised his hand, and the arrows remained stationary in the air, but one returning put out the eye of Arian. Then Philemon said, "When I am dead, go to my grave, and make clay of the dust there, and anoint thine eye, and it will be restored whole."

This Arian does and is healed, and in consequence converted. Then Dioclesian, hearing of his conversion, sends four officers to judge him, and these in turn are converted, and finally Arian and the four officers are sewn up in sacks and flung into the sea. All this may safely be rejected as fabulous.

S. SENAN OF INISCATTHY, AB. B.

(ABOUT A.D. 546.)

[Irish Martyrologies. He died on March 1st, but was buried on the 8th, on which day his festival is kept. His name occurs in the Festology of S. Ængus. Authorities:—A life written by S. Colman, versified by a later hand, and full of fables, also an Irish life written in the 12th cent.]

Senan was a native of Corco-baskin, a district in the western part of Thomond.35 His parents were Christians and noble. Ercan, his father, is said to have been of the royal blood of Conary I., king of Ireland. Coemgalla, his mother, was likewise of an illustrious Munster family. An odd legend of his childhood is told. His parents were moving house, and Senan remained immersed in prayer, lending no hand to the work. Then his mother, provoked, threw some water over him to wake him up, and scolded him soundly. Senan resumed his devotions, and instantly the pots and pans of the domestic establishment came flying through the air from the kitchen of the old house into the kitchen of the new one.

When arrived at a certain age, he was forced by the prince of Corco-baskin to join in an expedition undertaken against the territory of Corcomroe, for the purpose of carrying off plunder. This did not suit the disposition of young Senan, and accordingly he contrived to avoid taking any share in the devastation of the country. He was rewarded for this, for, when the party to which he belonged was routed with great loss, and he had fallen into the hands of their opponents, he was allowed to depart without injury, and go whithersoever he pleased. He therefore placed himself under the abbot Cassidan, and having received from him the monastic habit, became a proficient in piety and learning. Next he repaired to the monastery of S. Natalis, or Naal, with whom he spent some years. Several legends are connected with this period. He had to keep cows, and one day seeing the calves sucking them, and dreading lest there should be a deficiency of milk for the brethren, he put his stick between them, and neither could approach the other. Another story is to the effect that he read at night using the fingers of his left hand as candles,—a story told also of S. Columba, S. Kentigern, and other Irish and Scottish saints. A monk observed him; then Senan said, "For peeping and prying, a stork shall peck out your eye." And as the monk left the place, a stork rushed at him, and had one of his eye balls out in a trice. But when S. Natalis heard of this, he ordered Senan to replace the eye, and cure it instantly, and this he did. After Senan had left the monastery of S. Naal, he is said to have gone into foreign parts, to have visited Rome and Tours, and on his return to have tarried with S. David of Menevia, with whom he continued very intimate until his death. Senan's first establishment was at Inis-Carra, near the river Lee, about five miles from Cork, in the barony of Barrets. While he was in that place, a vessel arrived in Cork harbour, bringing fifty religious persons, passengers from the continent, who came to Ireland for the purpose of improving themselves in monastic studies. Senan retained ten of them with himself, the others were distributed in various establishments. He was not long at Inis-Carra, before Lugadh, prince of that country, insisted on his submitting to certain exactions, which Senan refused to comply with. The dispute was soon settled through the interference of two young noblemen, who were then at the court of Lugadh. Not long after, Senan, having left eight of his disciples at Inis-Carra, went to Inis-luinge, an island in the Shannon, where, having erected a church, he gave the veil to the daughter of Brendan, the prince of that country. Thence, setting out by water to Inis-mor, he was driven by adverse winds to an island called Inis-tuaiscert. Thinking that it was a special providence which had brought him there, he erected a church, and left it to the care of some of his disciples. He then made his way to Inis-mor,36 and there founded a monastery, which he governed for some time. We afterwards find him settled in the island of Inis-cathaig, now Iniscatthy, at the mouth of the Shannon, where he erected a monastery in spite of the opposition of Mactael, the prince of the country. One of his rules was that no females should be admitted into the island. This regulation was observed even with regard to the most saintly virgins. S. Kannera, a nun of Bantry, wished to receive the Holy Viaticum from the hands of Senan, and to be buried at Iniscatthy. Accordingly she set out for the island, but, just as she drew near, Senan met her,37 and obstinately refused to allow her to land, and requested her to go to the house of his mother, who lived not far distant, and was related to Kannera. The conversation given in the metrical life between the abbot and the dying nun, is very quaint. The abbot said, "What have monks in common with women? We will not let you step on to our island." She said, "But if Christ will receive my spirit, why should you reject my body?" "That," answered the venerable Senan, "is true; but for all that I will not suffer you to come here, go back, and do not be a plague to us. You may be pure enough in soul, but you are a woman, nevertheless." "I will die, before I go back!" said S. Kannera. Like many another woman, she gained her point, and, dying on the shore, was there buried.

Senan was a bishop when he founded his monastery of Iniscatthy, but when, or by whom he was consecrated, we are not informed. It is related that, perceiving the time of his departure draw nigh, he determined to go to the monastery of S. Cassidus, and to the nunnery of S. Scotia, his paternal aunt, that he might apply himself more fervently to prayer in these retreats, and prepare himself for his wished-for departure. On his way thither he turned off a little towards the church of Kill-eochaille, for the purpose of visiting certain holy virgins, the daughters of one Naereus, who had received the veil from him. Having performed his devotions in the church of S. Cassidus, he was returning to Iniscatthy, when, in a field near the church of Kill-eochaille, he heard a voice announcing to him that he was to be removed to heaven without delay. Accordingly, he died on that very day, and his body remained at Kill-eochaille until the next, when several of the principal members of his monastery arrived, and had it brought to Iniscatthy. Notice of his death was then sent to the prelates, clergy, and principal persons of the neighbouring churches, and his obsequies were celebrated on the octave. A foolish story, incorporated in some of the martyrologies, relates that on the day of his burial, as he was being carried to the grave, he sat up and informed the assistants that his anniversary was to be celebrated on the 8th March, instead of the 1st. The year of his death is unknown; but there can be no doubt that it was later than 544, the date assigned to it by some writers. The reputation of S. Senan has not been confined to Ireland, and his Acts have been published among those of the saints of Brittany, by Albert le Grand, as one of the chief patrons of the diocese of S. Pol de LÉon; but the S. SanÉ there venerated seems not to be the same, but some local saint of whom nothing is known.

S. FELIX, B.

(A.D. 654.)

[Roman and Gallican Martyrologies. Salisbury Breviary, and more modern Anglican Martyrologies. Also Molanus and Greven, in their addition to Usuardus. Authorities:—Bede and Malmesbury.]

S. Felix was a native of Burgundy, where he made the acquaintance of Sigebert, prince of the East Angles, who had been banished by Redwald. This prince was instructed in the Christian faith, and was baptized by Felix, at that time a priest. Some time after this, upon the death of his half-brother, king Espenwald, the son of Redwald, who had been killed at the instigation of the cruel Penda, king of Mercia, Sigebert was called to England to succeed to the kingdom, and he made it his care to introduce Christianity among the East Angles, who occupied Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire. For this purpose he invited S. Felix to his court, and he, without demur, quitted country, friends, and home, to preach the faith to an uncivilized pagan people. But first he visited Honorius, archbishop of Canterbury, and from him he received his mission to the East Angles, and, as some say, his episcopal consecration. King Sigebert appointed Dunwich, on the Suffolk coast, as the head-quarters of his mission. Felix went about, preaching, founding churches and schools, and, through his exertions, the Christian faith took deep root in the land. Some attribute to him the foundation of the first school at Cambridge.

S. Felix lived till after the year 650, and having discharged the duty of a most zealous pastor of souls for the space of seventeen years, he departed to the Lord, and was buried in his church of Dunwich, from which place his body was afterwards translated to Soham, near Ely, and thence to the abbey of Ramsey.

S. DUTHAC, B. OF ROSS.

(ABOUT A.D. 1250.)

[Aberdeen Breviary. Authorities:—Leslie, Dempster, and the lections in the Aberdeen Breviary.]

S. Duthac was a member of an illustrious Scottish family. Several legends are told of his life in the Aberdeen Breviary, and little else is known of his acts. For instance, when a child, he was sent by his mother to bring fire from a forge, as all the fires in the house were extinguished. The blacksmith, in brutal jest, put some red-hot charcoal in the lap of the child, and Duthac brought the glowing embers thus to his mother. He was afterwards in Ireland, where he studied, and on his return was appointed to the bishopric of Ross. One day he was dining with a noble, and a guest becoming very drunk, gave his gold ring and a slice of meat to one of Duthac's disciples, ordering him to take them to his home. The disciple was on his way, when passing through a churchyard, he laid down the meat and the ring, whilst he said a prayer for the repose of the souls of those who lay there. At that moment a kite swooped down and carried off ring and meat. The young man ran to S. Duthac in dismay, and the bishop summoned the kite, which obeyed, and bringing the meat and the ring, deposited them at his feet. Duthac took the ring and gave it to the young man, but allowed the kite to consume the meat. On the feast of S. Finbar, a canon at Dornock slew a fat ox, roasted it, and distributed slices amongst the poor. "Surely some one will take Duthac his share of the beef," said the canon. Then a man offered himself, and lo! as he travelled by night with the meat for the bishop, a light like that of a lamp shone on his way, guiding him; and thus the bishop received his share before it had lost its freshness.

S. JOHN OF GOD, C.

(A.D. 1550.)

[Roman Martyrology. Authority:—His Life, written twenty-five years after his death.]

S. John, surnamed of God, was born in Portugal, in 1495. His parents were of the lowest rank, but good and pious people. John spent a considerable part of his youth in service, under the chief shepherd of the count of Oropeusa, in Castile, and in great innocence and virtue. In 1522, he enlisted himself in a company of foot soldiers, raised by the count, and served in the wars between the French and Spaniards; and afterwards in Hungary, against the Turks, whilst the emperor Charles V. was king of Spain. By the licentiousness of his companions, he by degrees lost his fear of offending God, grew careless, and fell into many grievous sins. The troop to which he belonged having been disbanded, he went into Andalusia in 1536, where he entered the service of a rich lady near Seville, as a shepherd. He was now about forty years of age, and being stung with remorse for his past misconduct, he resolved to amend his life and do penance for his sins. He accordingly employed the greatest part of his time, both by day and night, in the exercises of prayer and mortification; bewailing his ingratitude towards God, and deliberating how he could best dedicate himself to His service. His compassion for the distressed moved him to pass into Africa, that he might there comfort and succour the slaves, not without hopes of meeting with the crown of martyrdom. At Gibraltar he met a Portuguese gentleman condemned to banishment, whose estate had been confiscated by king John III. He was then in the hands of the king's officers, together with his wife and children, and was on his way to Ceuta in Barbary, the place of his exile. John, out of compassion, served him without wages. At Ceuta the gentleman fell sick, and was reduced to dispose of the small remains of his shattered fortune for the support of his wife and children, who were with him in exile. John, not content to sell what little stock he had to relieve them, hired himself as a day labourer at the public works to earn all he could for their subsistence. The apostasy of one of his companions alarmed him, and his confessor telling him that his going in quest of martyrdom was an illusion, he determined to return to Spain. Coming back to Gibraltar, his piety suggested to him to turn pedler, and sell little sacred pictures and books of devotion, which might furnish him with opportunities of exhorting his customers to virtue. His stock increasing considerably, he settled in Granada, where he opened a shop in 1538, being then forty-three years of age.

The great preacher and servant of God, John D'Avila, surnamed the Apostle of Andalusia, preached that year at Granada, on S. Sebastian's day, which is there kept as a great festival. John having heard his sermon, was so affected with it, that, melting into tears, he filled the whole church with his cries, beating his breast, and calling aloud for mercy. Then, frenzied with compunction, he ran about the streets, tearing his hair, and behaving in such a manner that he was followed by the rabble with sticks and stones, and came home besmeared with dirt and blood. He then gave away all that he had in the world, and having thus reduced himself to absolute poverty, continued his frantic racing about the streets as before, till some had the charity to take him to the venerable John D'Avila, covered with dirt and blood. The holy man spoke to him in private, heard his general confession, gave him proper advice, and promised his assistance. John returned soon after to his extravagances. He was, thereupon, taken up and put into a madhouse, on supposition of his being disordered in his senses, where, according to the barbarous practice of the time, the severest methods were employed to bring him to himself. He underwent all the pains inflicted on him as an atonement for the sins of his past life. D'Avila being informed of his conduct, came to visit him, and found him reduced almost to the grave by weakness; and his body covered with wounds and sores; but his soul was still vigorous, and thirsting after new sufferings and humiliations. D'Avila, however, told him that being sufficiently exercised in so singular a method of penance and humiliation, he had better employ himself for the time to come in something more conducive to his own and the public good. His exhortation had its desired effect; and John became at once calm, to the great astonishment of his keepers. He continued, however, some time longer in the hospital serving the sick, but left it entirely on S. Ursula's day, in 1539. He then thought of executing his design of doing something for the relief of the poor; and, after a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe, to recommend himself and his undertaking to her intercession, he began to sell wood in the market-place, and expend the proceeds in feeding the poor. Soon after he hired a house in which to shelter poor sick persons, whom he served and provided for with such ardour, prudence, and economy, that it surprised the whole city. This was the foundation of the Order of Charity, in 1540, which, by the benediction of heaven, has since been spread all over Christendom. John was occupied all day in serving his patients; in the night he went out to find new objects of charity, rather than to seek provisions for them; for people of their own accord brought him in all necessaries for his little hospital. The archbishop of Granada, highly pleased with the discipline and order maintained in the establishment, gave largely towards its support, and his example was followed by others. Indeed, the charity, patience, and modesty of S. John, and his wonderful care and foresight, made every one admire and favour the institution. The bishop of Tuy, president of the royal court of judicature in Granada, having invited the holy man to dinner, put several questions to him, to all of which he answered in such a manner, as gave the bishop the highest opinion of his prudence and good sense. It was this prelate who gave him the name of John of God, and prescribed him a kind of habit, though S. John never thought of founding a religious order; for the rules which bear his name were drawn up only in 1556, six years after his death; and religious vows were not introduced among his brethren before the year 1570.

To make trial of the saint's disinterestedness, the marquis of Tarifa came to him in disguise to beg an alms, on pretence of a necessary law-suit, and received from his hands twenty-five ducats, which was all he had. The marquis was so much edified by his charity, that, besides returning the sum, he bestowed on him one hundred and fifty crowns of gold, and sent to his hospital every day, during his stay at Granada, one hundred and fifty loaves, four sheep, and six pullets. But the holy man gave a still more illustrious proof of his charity when the hospital was on fire; for he carried out most of the sick on his own back; and though he passed and repassed through the flames, and staid in the midst of them a considerable time, he received no hurt. But his charity was not confined to his own hospital; he looked upon it as his own misfortune if the necessities of any distressed person in the country remained unrelieved. He, therefore, made strict inquiry into the wants of the poor over the whole province, relieved many in their own houses, found employment for those that were able to work, and with wonderful sagacity laid himself out in every way to comfort and assist the afflicted members of Christ. He was particularly active and vigilant in providing for young maidens in distress, to prevent the dangers to which they are often exposed. He also reclaimed many who were already leading a course of sin, seeking them out, crucifix in hand, and with many tears exhorting them to repentance. Though his life seemed to be taken up in continual action, he accompanied it with perpetual prayer and incredible corporal austerities. And his tears of devotion, his frequent raptures, and his eminent spirit of contemplation, gave a lustre to his other virtues. But his sincere humility appeared most admirable in all his actions, even amidst the honours which he received at the court of Valladolid, whither business called him. The king and princes seemed to vie with each other who should show him the greatest courtesy, or put the largest alms in his hands. Only the most tried virtue could stand the test of honours, but John remained the same retiring, modest man he was before, preferring humiliation to honour. One day, when a woman called him a hypocrite, and loaded him with invectives, he gave her a piece of money, and desired her to repeat all she had said in the market-place.

Worn out at last by ten years' hard service in his hospital, he fell sick. The immediate occasion was excess of fatigue in saving wood and other such things for the poor, in a great flood. He at first concealed his sickness, that he might not be obliged to diminish his labours, but in the meantime he carefully went over the inventories of all things belonging to his hospital, and inspected all the accounts. He also revised the rules he had made for its administration, the distribution of time, and the exercises of piety to be observed in it. Upon a complaint that he harboured idle strollers and bad women, the archbishop sent for him. The man of God threw himself at his feet, and said, "The Son of God came for sinners, and we are obliged to seek their conversion. I am unfaithful to my vocation because I neglect this; and I confess that I know no other bad person in my hospital but myself." This he spoke with go much humility that all present were moved, and the archbishop dismissed him with respect, leaving all things to his discretion. His illness increasing, the news of it spread. The lady Anne Ossorio was no sooner informed of his condition, than she came in her carriage to the hospital to see him. The servant of God lay in his habit in his little cell, covered with a piece of an old coat instead of a blanket, and having under his head the basket in which he was wont to collect alms for his hospital. The poor and sick stood weeping round him. The lady, moved with compassion, despatched secretly a message to the archbishop, who sent immediately an order to S. John to obey her as he would himself, during his illness. By virtue of this authority she obliged him to leave his hospital. In going out, he visited the Blessed Sacrament, and poured forth his heart before It with fervour; remaining there absorbed in his devotions so long, that the lady Anne Ossorio caused him to be taken up and carried into her carriage, in which she conveyed him to her own house. She herself prepared, with the help of her maids, and gave him with her own hands, broth and medicine, and often read to him the history of the passion of our Divine Redeemer. The whole city was in tears; all the nobility visited him; and the magistrates came to beg he would give his benediction to the city. He answered, that his sins rendered him the scandal and reproach of their country, but recommended to them his brethren the poor, and his religious that served them. At last, by order of the archbishop, he gave the city his dying blessing. The archbishop said Mass in his chamber, heard his confession, gave him the viaticum and extreme unction, and promised to pay all his debts and to provide for all his poor.

The saint expired on his knees, before the altar, on the 8th of March, in 1550, at the age of fifty-five. He was buried by the archbishop, and all the clergy, both secular and regular, accompanied by the court, the nobles, and the whole city, with the utmost pomp. He was honoured by many miracles, beatified by Urban VIII., in 1630, and canonized by Alexander VIII., in 1690. His relics were translated into the church of his brethren in 1664. His Order of Charity to serve the sick was approved of by pope Pius V.