|
Post by Elizabeth on Jun 21, 2020 18:37:57 GMT
The biography was taken from the book: Dictionary of the Saints. I had to do some editing to make it sound more like a biography and less like a dictionary.
St. Elzéar`s Biography
St. Elzéar was born of noble parents at the family castle at Ansouis, Provence, France. He was educated at St. Victor’s monastery in Marseilles by his uncle, who was an abbot and he was married to St. Delphina of Giandièves when they were both sixteen. When he was twenty-three, he inherited his father`s estate, becoming lord of Ansouis and count of Ariano in the Kingdom of Naples. He managed his estate with firmness, prudence, and ability and St. Elzéar and St. Delphina were regarded as an ideal married couple, known for their holiness and piety. In 1317, they joined the court of King Robert of Naples, and St. Elzear became tutor to the King`s son Charles. St. Elzear was also named justiciar of southern Abruzzi by Robert. He acted as Robert`s envoy to France to arrange the marriage of Mary of Valois and Charles. He fell ill on the trip and died in Paris on September 27th. St. Elzear was canonized in 1369 in a ceremony attended by St. Delphina. His feast day is September 27th.
|
|
|
Post by Elizabeth on Jun 21, 2020 18:39:02 GMT
St. Elzéar`s Rules for his Household
They (St. Elzéar and his wife, St. Delphina) lived for seven years in Ansouis Castle, but Elzéar could not enjoy all the peace of mind he wanted there, because of the excessive worry and care that his grandfather and all his relatives had for temporal things, and into which they tried to drag him. At the age of twenty, he asked and obtained, after long solicitations, the freedom to go and stay at the castle of Puy-Michel, which was owned by his wife. They stayed there for three years. By moving to a different place, they changed for the better. The new head of the family first set up his house as a kind of monastery. He gave it a regulation in eight articles. 1° All the people in his service, men and women, had to hear at least one Mass every day. 2° All were to lead a chaste and pure life: those who were convinced of the contrary were to be expelled from the house. 3° Noblemen and knights, maidens and ladies were to confess once a week, and were to prepare themselves to receive Communion devoutly every month. 4° These same maidens and ladies will attend to prayers and acts of piety and devotion in the morning until dinner, after which they will go to manual work. 5. No one shall dare to utter blasphemy against God, against the Blessed Virgin, against any saint, nor swear falsely, lightly and without cause, nor utter dishonest words; for life and death are in the hands of the tongue, says the wise man: bad speeches corrupt good morals, says the Apostle. Transgressors of this status were punished in this manner. At dinner they sat on the floor in front of the others, eating only bread and drinking only water, or they were locked up all day long in a room where they received only common food. 6. No one was to gamble or play any illicit or dishonest games. Offenders were punished severely. 7. All members of his family were to live together in peace, friendship and concord, and no one was to offend the other by word or deed; if anyone did the contrary, he was to be reconciled immediately with the offended person. The saint watched over this in a special way and punished the offender according to the gravity of his fault. 8° Every day, after supper or at some other time in the evening, unless prevented by some other legitimate cause, they will have a conference together, and he himself with them, on the words of the Lord for the edification of their souls. In this conference, while one will speak, all the others will pray for him in their hearts, so that God may inspire him with words that will benefit everyone. No one must interrupt or in any way hinder the speaker. The offender was deprived of this good and devout conversation until, having corrected himself, he was called back to it by the others.
Taken and translated from l`Histoire Universelle de l`Église Catholique (Universal History of the Catholic Church) by Fr. Renée François Rohrbacher, Volume 20, pages 27-28
|
|
|
Post by Elizabeth on Jun 21, 2020 18:39:58 GMT
St. Elzéar`s Rules for his Subjects
In addition to this domestic regulation, Saint Elzéar is also attributed a public regulation for his estates, in ten articles. 1° None of my subjects shall blaspheme in any manner whatsoever in my estates; for as the praises of God draw His favors and graces upon us, so also perjury and swearing, which smell more like the language of the hell than that of men, draw upon us the wrath of Heaven, which loses both our bodies and our souls. 2° I want to introduce in all my lands piety towards the Holy Mother of God; consequently, I want all my subjects to choose Her as their patroness; for when we need God's mercy, we can have no better recourse than to this almighty Queen, since She deigns to receive us under Her protection and shows Herself the refuge of all sinners. I especially forbid, on the feast days dedicated to Her honor, to engage in any servile work, and I want all my subjects to attend Mass and the divine offices on those days, on pain of punishment to be inflicted by my officers. 3o I command all my officers to see to it that they live chastely in my land, and to drive out men of corruption from it. For as nothing unclean is to enter heaven, so nothing unclean is to be tolerated among the Christians who are destined for eternal glory. 4o I want all the great feasts of the Church to be exactly and solemnly celebrated in my house, such as Easter, Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and Christmas; that all may confess their sins in these days, or at least that no one passes two without doing so. It is the same with the Assumption of the Virgin, our Mother, and Her Annunciation, that She may always favor us in this world, and that at the hour of our death She may assist us as our Advocate, to obtain for us the grace of Her Son. 5o I interdict my house to all lazy people who do not want to work for a living; and so that the distribution of wheat that I care to make every year to help the poor may not be a cause of laziness to them, and so that in the hope of this almsgiving they do not cease to work for a living, I expressly forbid all my officers to give wheat to those they find who abuse this grace. I want them to abandon them to their misery, lest I lose their souls through idleness, seeking by this help so that their bodies do not die of hunger. 6° I forbid games of chance, assemblies where God is offended by execrable swearing, and all occasions of brawls. I do not forbid, however, that one should enjoy oneself on the feast days, to restore the body of the previous fatigues; but that these amusements should be without profit or loss of temporal goods, for these kinds of losses can only engender enmity among my subjects. 7o Let them all live in peace, and, in order to keep such a beautiful virtue, let them avoid brawls, arguments and insults, which are more fitting for demons than for reasonable men. 8. If it happens that they quarrel, I do not want the sun to set until they have been reconciled; this is the counsel of the Gospel, which warns us not to fall asleep in enmity, lest the common enemy of all, who is constantly on watch, should abuse our rage against us at night. 9. I expressly command that on all feast days and other days when there is a sermon, all the inhabitants should come to the church to hear the word of God, the true food of their souls; if, during the sermon, lazy or irreligious people are found in the squares, they will be put in prison and punished as neglecting the salvation of their souls. 10. None of my subjects shall harm his neighbor either in his goodness or in his honor; but they shall honor one another, as Christians who have been decorated with the character of Jesus Christ through baptism and are all destined to enjoy eternal bliss together. The most effective sanction to all these regulations was the very example of the one who prescribed them.Taken and translated from l`Histoire Universelle de l`Église Catholique (Universal History of the Catholic Church) by Fr. Renée François Rohrbacher, Volume 20, pages 29-30
|
|