De sancto Remigio
The Shepherd and Fighter
The name and spiritual character of Saint Remigius are introduced through etymology and his commitment to the defense of the faith.
The name Remigius is derived from 'remi', which means 'feeding', and 'geos', which means 'earth', as if to say he feeds those of the earth with his teaching. Alternatively, Remigius comes from 'remi,' meaning 'shepherd,' and 'gyon,' meaning 'struggle,' implying he is both a shepherd and a fighter. For he fed his flock with the word of preaching, the example of his conduct, and the support of his prayer. There is also a threefold kind of armor: defense, such as a shield; combat, such as a sword; and protection, such as a breastplate or helmet. He struggled, therefore, against the devil with the shield of faith, the sword of the word of God, and the helmet of hope. Hincmar, the Archbishop of Reims, wrote his life.
A Life Ordained by Grace
The miraculous circumstances of Remigius's birth, his early devotion, and his rise to the episcopate are recounted.
Remigius, that remarkable teacher and glorious confessor of the Lord, was foreseen by a certain hermit as being destined for birth in this way. For when the persecution of the Vandals had devastated all of France, a certain holy recluse who had lost his sight was praying to the Lord with frequent petitions for the peace of the Gallican Church. And look, an angel of the Lord stood before him in a vision and said, "Know that a woman named Cilina will bear a son named Remigius, who will deliver his people from the attacks of evil." When he woke up, he went straight to Cilina’s house and told her what he had seen. When she didn't believe him, because she was already an old woman, he replied, "Know that when you have weaned the child, you will anoint my eyes with your milk, and you will immediately restore my sight." When all these things had happened in order, Remigius fled the world and entered a hermitage. As his fame grew, he was elected Archbishop of Reims by all the people when he was twenty-two years old. He was so gentle that even sparrows would come to his table and eat scraps of food from his hand.
Signs and Conversions
Remigius performs miracles of provision and oversees the pivotal baptism of King Clovis.
Once, while staying at the home of a noblewoman who had very little wine, Remigius went into the cellar and made the sign of the cross over the cask. After he prayed, wine immediately began to flow from it, so much that it spilled across the middle of the cellar floor. But since Clovis, the King of the Franks, was a pagan at that time and could not be converted by his most Christian wife, he saw that a vast army of Alemanni had come against him and vowed to the Lord God, whom his wife worshipped, that if He would grant him victory over the Alemanni, he would immediately accept the faith of Christ. Once he had obtained what he wanted, he went to the blessed Remigius and asked to be baptized; but when he arrived at the baptismal font and found there was no holy chrism, a dove suddenly appeared, carrying in its beak a vial of chrism, with which the bishop anointed the king. This vial is kept in the church at Reims, and the kings of France are still anointed with it to this day.
The Discipline of Repentance
The story of Genebaldus illustrates the necessity of penance, the mercy of God, and the authority of the saint in restoring the fallen.
Long after this, when Genebaldus—a prudent and worthy man—had married the niece of the blessed Remigius and they had mutually agreed to separate for the sake of the religious life, the blessed Remigius ordained Genebaldus as Bishop of Laon. But Genebaldus, by allowing his wife to visit him frequently for instruction, found his heart inflamed with desire through their constant conversation, and he fell into sin with her. When she conceived and bore a son, she told the bishop; in his shame, he sent word back to her, saying, 'Since the boy was born of theft, I want him to be called Latro.' To avoid suspicion, he allowed his wife to come to him as before, yet after weeping over his first sin, he fell into it again with her. When she had given birth to a daughter and reported this to the bishop, he replied, 'Name that daughter Vülpecula.' Finally, having come to his senses, he went to Saint Remigius and, falling at his feet, wanted to take the stole from his own neck. When Saint Remigius had forbidden this and heard from him what had happened, he consoled him gently and shut him away in a small cell for seven years, while he himself governed his church in the meantime. In the seventh year, therefore, while he was persisting in prayer on Maundy Thursday, an angel of the Lord stood by him and declared that his sin had been forgiven, and commanded him to go outside. When he replied to the angel, 'I cannot, because my master Remigius closed this door and sealed it with his own seal,' the angel said, 'Look, so that you may know that heaven is open to you, this room will also be opened now, while the seal remains intact.' And immediately, just as he had said, it was opened. Then Genebaldus, throwing himself down in the middle of the doorway in the shape of a cross, said, 'Even if my Lord Jesus Christ were to come to me here, I won't leave this place unless my master Remigius, who shut me in, comes here.' Then Saint Remigius, at the angel's prompting, came to Laon and restored him to his place; he persevered in holy works until his death, as did his son, Latro. He succeeded him in the episcopate and was also a saint; finally, Saint Remigius, illustrious for many virtues, rested in peace around the year of our Lord 500. [c1]1
A Shared Feast
The chapter concludes by noting the liturgical connection to Saint Hilary.
The feast of Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, is also celebrated on this day.
Read the original Latin
Remigius dicitur a remi, quod est pascens, et geos, quod est terra, quasi pascens terrenos doctrina. Vel Remigius dicitur a remi, quod est pastor, et gyon, quod est luctatio, quasi pastor et luctator. Pavit enim gregem suum verbo praedicationis, exemplo conversationis, suffragio orationis. Est etiam triplex genus armorum, scilicet defensionis ut scutum, pugnationis ut gladius, munitionis ut lorica sive galea, Luctatus est igitur contra dyabolum scuto fidei, gladio verbi Dei et galea spei. Ejus vitam Hincmarus Remensis archiepiscopus scripsit.
Remigius doctor egregius et confessor domini gloriosus a quodam eremita nasci taliter est praevisus. Cum enim Vandalorum persecutio totam Franciam devastasset, quidam reclusus vir sanctus, qui lucem oculorum amiserat, pro pace ecclesiae Gallicanae crebris orationibus dominum exorabat. Et ecce angelus domini in visu ei adstitit eique dixit: scito quod mulier illa nomine Cilina filium nomine Remigium generabit, qui gentem suam a malorum incursibus liberabit. Cumque evigilasset, statim ad domum Cilinae venit et, quod viderat, enarravit. Cumque illa non crederet, eo quod anus jam esset, ille respondit: scias quod cum puerum ablactaveris, oculos meos de lacte tuo perunges et continuo mihi visum restitues. Cumque per ordinem haec omnia contigissent, Remigius mundum fugit et reclusorium intravit. Crescente autem ejus fama, cum esset viginti duorum annorum, ab omni populo Remensis archiepiscopus est electus. Tantae autem mansuetudinis fuit, quod etiam ad mensam ejus passeres veniebant et de manu ejus reliquias ciborum comedebant.
Quodam tempore cum in domo cujusdam matronae hospitatus fuisset et illa modicum vini haberet, Remigius cellarium introivit et super dolium crucem fecit; cumque ibidem orasset, mox desuper vinum egreditur, ita quod per medium cellarium fundebatur. Cum autem Clodoveus rex Franciae tunc temporis gentilis esset nec ab uxore sua christianissima converti posset, videns, quod infinitus exercitus Alemannorum super se venisset, domino Deo, quem uxor sua colebat, votum vovit, quod, si de Alemannis sibi victoriam concederet, mox fidem Christi reciperet. Quod cum fuisset ad libitum consecutus, beatum Remigium -adiit et se baptizari poposcit, Cumque ad fontem baptismatis advenisset nec ibidem sacrum chrisma haberet, ecce columba quaedam ampullam cum chrismate in rostro detulit, de quo regem pontifex linivit. Haec autem ampulla in Remensi ecclesia conservatur et inde usque hodie reges Franciae inunguntur. Post longum tempus cum Genebaldus vir providus et dignus neptem beati Remigii in uxorem haberet et se religionis causa mutno absolvissent, praedictum Genebalduim beatus Remigius Landunensem episcopum ordinavit. At Genebaldus cum uxorem suam causa instruendi ad se saepius venire permitteret, ex frequenti colloquio animus ejus in concupiscentiam inflammatur et usque'in peccatum secum prolabitur; quae concipiens et filium pariens hoc episcopo intimavit et ille confusus ad eam remandavit dicens: quoniam puer de latrocinio acquisitus est, volo ut Latro vocetur. Ne autem suspicio aliqua oriretur, uxorem suam sicut prius ad se venire permisit, verumtamen post primi peccati fletum secum ruit iterum in peccatum. Quae cum filiam peperisset et hoc episcopo retulisset, ille respondit: illam filiam Vülpeculam nominate.
Tandem ad se reversus beatum Remigium adiit et ad pedes suos procidens stolam de collo suo deponere voluit. Quod cum sanctus Remigius prohibuisset et ab eo, quid acciderit, audivisset, blande eum consolans ipsum in quadam cellula parva per septem annos reclusit et ipse interim ejus ecclesiam gubernavit. Septimo igitur anno cum in coena domini in oratione persisteret, angelus domini eidem adstitit et peccatum suum sibi dimissum perhibuit ac, nt foris abire debeat, imperavit. Cui cum respondisset: non possum, quoniam dominus meus Remigius ostium hoc clausit et sigillo suo munivit, angelus ait: ecce ut scias tibi coelum apertum esse, hoe etiam hospitium salvo sigillo nunc aperietur. Statimque ut dixerat est apertum. Tunc Genebaldus jactans se in medio ostii in modum crucis ait: etiamsi dominus meus Jesus Christus ad me veniret huc, hinc non egrediar, nisi dominus meus Remigius huc veniat, qui me reclusit. Tunc sanctus Remigius ad admonitionem angeli Laudunum venit et ipsum in locum suum restituit, qui usque ad obitum in sanctis operibus perseveravit et Latro filius ejus. in episcopatu eidem successit, qui etiam sanctus fuit, Tandem sanctus Remigius multis clarus virtutibus in pace quievit circa annum domini D.
Eodem die celebratur natalis sancti Hilarii Pictavorum urbis episcopi.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Latin text ends with 'D', which is the Roman numeral for 500.
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