Pope St. Nicholas I

November 13th - Pope St. Nicholas I

Born in Rome between 819-822; died there in 867. Born into a distinguished
Roman family, Nicholas served in the Curia under Pope Sergius II, became a
deacon under Pope Leo IV, and was a trusted adviser to Pope Benedict III.
Nicholas was elected bishop of Rome on April 22, 858, while still a deacon,
and occupied the see with distinguished courage and energy for nine troubled
years.
Among the matters with which he had to deal was the long dispute about the
patriarchal see of Constantinople, the turbulence of Archbishop John of
Ravenna and the ambition of Hincmar of Rheims, in addition to the
matrimonial troubles of several important persons. He insisted on the
sanctity and indissolubility of marriage, despite the threat of the invasion
of Rome, when he denounced the bigamous marriage of the emperor's nephew,
King Lothair II of Lorraine. This precipitated a struggle during which
Nicholas deposed two German archbishops and Lothair's army threatened Rome.

He also insisted on the freedom to marry when he forced King Charles the
Bald of Burgundy to accept the marriage of his daughter Judith to Baldwin of
Flanders without the king's consent and compelled the Frankish bishops to
withdraw the excommunication they had imposed on her for marrying without
her father's consent.

In 861 Nicholas compelled Archbishop Hincmar of Rheims to accept papal
appellate jurisdiction in important cases when he obliged Hincmar to restore
Bishop Rothad of Soissons, whom he had deposed.

Twice he excommunicated recalcitrant and powerful Archbishop John of
Ravenna, who counted on imperial support, for infringing on the rights of
the Holy See and for abuses of his office, and made him submit to papal
authority.

Nicholas was also involved in controversy with Constantinople throughout his
pontificate over the illegal deposition of Ignatius and the appointment of
Photius as patriarch of Constantinople by Emperor Michael III. Nicholas
excommunicated Michael in 863; the matter was not finally resolved until
newly crowned Emperor Basil I expelled Photius, who had declared the pope
deposed, on the day Nicholas died.

Faced by disorder or scandal, Nicholas could not rest until he had dealt
with it; but he sometimes invoked the aid of persons considerably less
moderate and reasonable than himself.

He encouraged missionary activities, sending Saint Anskar as papal
missionary to Scandinavia and bringing about the conversion of Bulgaria with
missionaries he sent there. A letter (Responsa Nicolai ad consulta Bulgarum)
he sent to the newly baptized Khan Boris of the Bulgars has been
characterized as 'a masterpiece of pastoral wisdom and one of the finest
documents of the history of the papacy.' The letter summarizes Christian
faith and discipline.

A champion of papal primacy and the ascendancy of the Church over emperors,
kings, and other secular authorities in matters concerning the Church, he
was responsible for restoring the papacy to the highest prestige.

Nicholas's generosity made him beloved by the people and his defense of
justice and virtue earned the respect of his contemporaries generally. He
was famous for the reforms he instituted among the clergy and laity, was a
patron of the arts and learning, and was a man of the highest personal
integrity. Saint Nicholas is one of the three popes to whom the epithet 'the
Great' is given (Saint Leo I and Saint Gregory I being the other two)
(Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney).

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Martyrology

St. Didacus, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor, whose birthday is
observed on November 12.

At Ravenna, the birthday of the holy martyrs, Valentine, Solutor, and
Victor, who suffered in the reign of the Emperor Diocletian.

At Aix in the province of Narbonne, Blessed Mitrius, a most famous martyr.

At Caesarea in Palestine, the suffering of St. Antoninus, Zebina, Germanus,
and Ennatha, virgin. At the time of Galerius Maximus, Ennatha was scourged
and then burned alive; the others were beheaded because they had fearlessly
and loudly accused the governor Firmilian of idolatry in offering sacrifice
to the gods.

In Africa, the holy Spanish martyrs Arcadius, Paschasius, Probus, and
Eutychian. In the Vandal persecution, they refused positively to join the
Arian heresy. They were first proscribed by the Arian king Genseric, and
then exiled. They were treated with atrocious cruelty and finally put to
death in various ways. At that time, too, was seen the constancy of
Paulillus, the little brother of SS. Paschasius and Eutychian. Since all
efforts failed to turn him away from the Catholic faith, he was subjected to
a long clubbing and then condemned to the vilest slavery.

At Rome, Pope St. Nicholas I, preeminent for his apostolic vigor.

At Tours in Gaul, St. Britius, bishop, who was a disciple of Blessed Bishop
Martin. His memory is recalled on November 14.

At Toledo in Spain, St. Eugene, bishop.

In Auvergne in Gaul, St. Quinctian, bishop.

At Cremona in Insubria, St. Homobonus, confessor. He was renowned for
miracles and was canonized by Pope Innocent III.


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The Act of Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows:

Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in
Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy
Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in
this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor
sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a
human creature can offer thee. In thine Immaculate Heart, pierced with so
many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a
partaker in thy Dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that
Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me. With thee, O Mary, I
will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it
will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer
to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life,
that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward
be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory
thou now enjoyest in Heaven. Since then, O Dear Mother, I now
compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou
also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may
become thy true and loyal son/daughter; come on my last day and assist me
in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son
Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made
partaker of thy glory.

AMEN.

from The Servite Manual