Sacred Calendar

Fourth Lesson - Complete Proper Lesson

Cyriacus the Deacon was long kept in prison with Sisinius, Largus, and Smaragdus, and wrought many wonderful works. Among other things he by his prayers freed from a devil Arthemia, a daughter of Diocletian, and, being sent to Sapor, King of the Persians, also delivered his daughter Jobia from a foul spirit. He baptized the king, her father, and four hundred and thirty others, and afterwards returned to Rome. He was arrested by command of the Emperor Maximian, and dragged in chains before his chariot. Then after four days he was brought forth from prison, had boiling pitch poured upon him, was stretched on a block, [and belaboured with a cudgel,] and at last was slain with the axe, along with Largus, Smaragdus, and twenty others, at the gardens of Sallust, on the Salarian Way. On this Way were their bodies buried by John the Priest, on the 16th day of March, [in the year of our Lord 303,] but afterwards, on the 8th of August, Pope Marcellus and the noble lady Lucina took them and wrapped them in linen, and embalmed them with costly ointments, and carried them to the farm belonging to the said lady Lucina, at the seventh mile-stone from Rome on the road to Ostia.

Seventh Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great on Mark 16

The Lesson is taken from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (xvi. 15). At that time: JESUS said unto His disciples: Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. And so on.

Homily by Pope St. Gregory the Great (29th on the Gospels). By the words "every creature" we may understand every tribe of the Gentiles. Of aforetime it had been said, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles," (Matth. x. 5,) but now, "Preach the Gospel to every creature," that, since the Jews had proudly rejected the preaching of the Apostles, that might become our gain which was the seal of their condemnation. But when the Eternal Truth sendeth forth His disciples to preach, what doth He but scatter seed over the field of the world? He scattered abroad a few grains for seed, that He may afterward reap an abundant harvest in our faith.

Eighth Lesson - Pope St. Gregory the Great

The great harvest of faithful souls throughout the whole world would never have sprung up, if the hand of the Lord had not first scattered those chosen grains of preachers over the reasonable soil of men's minds. Then is written, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be damned." Now, perchance, thou sayest in thine heart: I believe, and therefore I shall be saved. True, if to thy faith thou dost add works. He only hath a living faith whose life doth not give the lie to his profession. It is of this that Paul speaketh, where he saith of certain vain believers, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him." (Tit. i. 16.)

Ninth Lesson - Conclusion of Pope St. Gregory's Homily

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In My name they shall cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues, they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." My brethren, these signs do not follow us. Do we, then, not believe? Nay. The truth is, these things were needful when the Church was young. That she might grow by the increase of the faithful, she needed to be nourished with miracles. So we, when we plant a young tree, continually water and tend it, till we see that it hath taken firm root in the earth: but when once it hath taken firm root, it can grow of itself. Hence Paul saith of tongues: "Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe, but to them that believe not." (1 Cor. xiv. 22.)