ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 5th of March
SAINT GERASIMUS, ABBOT
The name Gerasimus, derived from the Greek, is rendered Honoratus in Latin. It means honoured.
This saint originally came from Lycia in Asia Minor. He devoted himself to the hermit life and had already made great strides in piety when the Eutychians succeeded in winning him over to their side. Thankfully, he was brought back to his senses by Abbot Euthymius and returned to the true faith.
During the reign of Theodosius the Younger, Gerasimus visited some monasteries in Thebais.and afterwards settled in Palestine, where he built a great Laura for 70 hermits on the Jordan River, not very far from Jericho. Along with Saint Sabas, he became one of the most famous and respected Ascetics of his time. When the Council of Chalcedon (in the year 451) took place, his reputation had already penetrated all the countries of the East.
His way of life and that of his brothers under him was very strict. Cooked food was served only on Saturdays and Sundays. All other days they consumed nothing but water and bread along with some fruit. Each individual was assigned his specific handwork that he had to finish on Saturdays. Their cell was never to be closed, even if the hermit who lived in it had to leave it for prolonged periods. Since nobody owned anything of his own, everyone was allowed to take what he needed from someone else's cell for his own use. Thus, by his teaching and example, Gerasimus "shone like a star" in the wilderness. He fasted so severely that during the 40 days of Lent, except for the holy Sacraments, he ate nothing at all.
It is also told about him that a lion, from which he once had plucked a thorn from the paw in the wilderness, served him faithfully like a dog, and died on his grave.
Both Latins and Greeks hold him in great veneration; all martyrologies, including the Roman Martyrology*, highly praise him. His blessed death occurred at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Zeno, around the year 475. The Greeks celebrate his festival also on March 20 (I. 386–389).
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, pp. 402-03)
*A hagiography source used by the authors
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Gerasimus may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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