ST BRICE - 13 NOVEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 13th of November 

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST BRICE, BISHOP 

St Britius [Brice] was, in his childhood, placed under the charge of the holy bishop Martin. Guided by so great a master, he made such rapid progress in virtue and learning, that St Martin hesitated not to ordain him priest. 

HE WAS ORDAINED PRIEST BY ST MARTIN OF TOURS

Britius at first displayed an eminent zeal in his sacred calling; but in the course of time he became neglectful of his duties and unrestrained in his conduct and conversation. 

St Martin omitted not to admonish him with fatherly kindness; but Britius heeded not the admonitions, and went at last so far, that he not only publicly blamed the actions of the bishop, but shamelessly derided and ridiculed him. 

St Martin treated him, nevertheless, with great gentleness, and offered many prayers to the Almighty for his conversion. 

"GOD HAS HEARD MY PRAYERS"

One day, when Britius was standing in the street, a sick stranger came to him, and asked where he could find St Martin. Britius, pointing to the holy man at some distance, said: "Are you looking for that fool? There he stands! See how he keeps his eyes fixed on heaven, as if he had lost his senses." St Martin, who had heard him, said: "So, dear Britius, you speak of me as a fool to other people?" Britius was about to deny his own words, but St Martin added: "I heard all you said. And yet I assure you, that God has heard my prayers. You will be my successor. Prepare yourself, however, in time; for the crosses you will have to bear will be very heavy." 

"PREPARE YOURSELF IN TIME"

The prophecy of the holy bishop was fulfilled. No sooner had St Martin expired, than Britius, by especial Providence, was unanimously elected to succeed him. It was then that his eyes were suddenly opened; and weeping bitterly over his faults, and particularly over the wrong he had done to St Martin, he tore himself away from all vanity and worldly pleasures, which until now had enchained him, chastised his body with penances, and occupied a great part of his time in prayer and devout reading; in one word, changed his entire life not only into that of a real Christian, but into that of a saint.

TRIALS AND PERSECUTIONS

For thirty-three years, he was left in peace; but then, the second part of St Martin’s prophecy was fulfilled. 

Trials and persecutions began to assail Britius. He was suspected and accused of the most wicked immorality, and his own subjects so far forgot themselves, as not only to insult him to his face, but even threatened to stone him to death. 

Britius, amazed at their accusations, testified to his innocence with an oath, and then left his justification in the hands of God. 

His confidence in the divine protection was rewarded by a miracle: a child, not one month old, publicly declared, in plain words, that the Bishop was innocent. The people were struck with awe at this miracle, and began to think better of their bishop. 

"MY SOUL IS UNSTAINED"

Being urged to discover the guilty, he said: "In so far as I am concerned, I am satisfied with what you have heard from the child’s mouth; if you desire to know more, you must seek it yourself." The restless and embittered minds of the people were not yet satisfied, and ascribing the miracle to witchcraft, they intended to drive the bishop out of the city. 

Britius endeavoured to prove his innocence by another miracle. He gathered live coals in his cloak, and carried them to the tomb of St Martin. There depositing them, he said: "As truly as this garment has remained uninjured by the fire, so truly is my soul unstained by the crime of which I am accused." 

But neither could this miracle calm the rage of the people; the innocent bishop was banished and another elected in his place.

JUST PUNISHMENT?

Britius, not knowing what to do, went to Rome. He related to the Pope the injustice done to him, but confessed, at the same time, that he regarded it as a just punishment for the wrong he had done to the holy bishop, St Martin. 

The Pope ordered the Bishops of France to assemble in council and investigate the matter thoroughly. If they found Britius innocent, they were to restore him to his See. The holy Father’s command was obeyed, and Britius was sent back to his flock, which he governed for seven years more. 

During this period, not one word of complaint for the wrong he had suffered ever passed his lips. He showed not the slightest hatred or dislike toward those who had so shamefully ill-treated him, as he looked upon what had occurred as a just retribution for his former sins. 

A GREAT CONSOLATION

This conduct caused his flock to love and revere him again as in former times: nay, they even received his instructions with greater willingness, followed his directions more obediently than ever, and thus gave great consolation to the holy man. 

On his part, he became more and more deeply interested in the welfare and salvation of his flock, and continued to have a father’s care for them until his death, which took place in the 47th year of his episcopate. 

He repented continually of the faults which he had committed in his younger years, and endeavoured to atone for them by penances and by patience in trials and persecutions. He often begged pardon of St Martin for the dishonour with which he had treated him, invoked his intercession with great confidence, and always ascribed his conversion to the prayers of his holy teacher. St Britius ended his penitent and holy life calmly, after having received the holy Sacraments.

 (From Fr Weninger's Lives of the Saints - 🎨 St Martin and St Brice)