De sancto Felice
The Life and Miracles of Saint Felix
An overview of the life, trials, and miraculous preservation of Saint Felix during times of persecution.
He is called Felix 'in Pincis,' either because of the place where he rests or because of the awls with which he is said to have suffered, since 'pinca' means an awl. They say that when he was a schoolmaster and had been too harsh with the boys, he was seized by pagans; because he openly confessed Christ, he was handed over to the very boys he had taught, who killed him with their styluses and awls. The Church, however, seems to hold that he was not a martyr, but a confessor. Whenever he was led to an idol to offer a sacrifice, he would blow on it, and it would immediately collapse. It is read in another legend, however, that while Maximus, the bishop of Nola, was fleeing persecution and had collapsed on the ground, afflicted by hunger and cold, Felix was sent to him by an angel; and since there was no food there, he saw a cluster of grapes hanging from a nearby briar, from which he squeezed wine into his mouth and carried it off, having placed it on his shoulders. When he died, therefore, Felix was chosen as bishop. Later, while he was preaching and his persecutor was searching for him, he hid behind some ruined walls in a small opening, and immediately, by the will of God, spiders wove their webs across the gap. When the persecutors saw them, they assumed no one was there and left. From there, Saint Felix moved to another place, where he received food from a certain widow for three months, though he never saw her face. Finally, when peace was restored, he returned to his own church and rested there in peace. He was buried near the city in a place called Pincis.
The Power of Faith Over Idolatry
Saint Felix and his brother demonstrate the impotence of idols through prayer and the power of the Christian faith.
He had another brother who was also named Felix. When he, too, was forced to worship idols, he said, "You are enemies of your own gods, because if you take me to them, I'll blow on them just as my brother did, and they'll fall." Saint Felix was tending his garden when some men, wanting to steal his vegetables, spent the whole night working the garden more diligently than he did, thinking they were committing a theft. In the morning, they were greeted by Saint Felix, confessed their sin, and returned home. When the pagans arrived to seize Saint Felix, a terrible pain seized their hands. As they were wailing, he said to them, "Say that Christ is God, and the pain will leave you at once." When they said it, they were healed. The priest of the idols came to him and said, "Master, look, my god fled the moment he saw you coming." When I asked him, "Why are you running away?" he replied, "I cannot endure the power of this Felix." If my god is so afraid of you, then how much more should I be afraid of you? After Felix had instructed him in the faith, he had himself baptized. Felix said to those worshipping Apollo, "If Apollo is truly a god, let him tell me what I am holding in my closed hand right now." He was, however, holding a slip of paper in his hand with the Lord's Prayer written on it. Since he gave no answer, the pagans were converted.
A Holy Departure
Saint Felix concludes his earthly ministry in prayer during the celebration of the Mass.
Finally, after the Mass was celebrated and the peace was offered to the people, he threw himself onto the floor in prayer and passed to the Lord.
Read the original Latin
Felix praenomine in pincis dicitur, vel a loco, in quo requiescit, vel a subulis, cum quibus passus perhibetur, nam pinca subula dicitur. Ajunt enim, quod, cum magister puerorum exstiterit et iis nimium rigidus fuerit, tentus a paganis, cum Christum libere confiteretur, traditus fuit in manibus puerorum, quos ipse docuerat, qui eum cum stilis et subulis occiderunt. Ecclesia tamen tenere videtur, quod non martir exstitit, sed confessor. Hic ad quodcunque ydolum ducebatur, ut ei sacrificaret, in illud exsuüfflabat, et conlinuo corruebat. Legitur autem in quadam legenda alia, quod dum Maximus, Nolanus episcopus, persecutionem fugiens fame et gelu afflictus solo corruisset, Felix ab angelo ad eum mittitur, et cum nihil ibi cibi haberet, de sente proxima pendentem vidit racemum, de quo in os ejus expressit vinum humerisque impositum secum detulit. Ipso igitur defuncto Felix in episcopum eligitur. Qui post dum praedicaret et persecutor eum quaereret, inter parietes dirutos per modicum aditum se occultavit statimque nutu Dei per aditum illum telas araneae texerunt. Quas dum persecutores conspiciunt, neminem illie esse putantes abscedunt.
Inde autem ad alium locum sanctus Felix pergens a quadam vidua per ires menses alimenta suscepit, nunquam tamen ejus faciem vidit. Tandem pace reddita ad ecclesiam suam rediit et ibi in pace requievit. Sepultus juxta urbem in loco, qui dicitur Pincis. Huic et alius erat frater, qui Felix similiter dicebatur. Cumque etiam ipse ydola adorare cogeretur, dixit: inimici estis Deorum vestrorum, quia si me ad illos duxeritis, in eos sicut frater meus exsufflabo et corrnent. Excolebat antem sanctus Felix hortum, quidam vero olera ejus rapere cupientes, dum furtum se facere cogitabant, tota nocte hortum diligentius excolebant, mane autem à sancto Felice salutati peccatum suum confitentes ad propria redierunt, Venientes autem gentiles, ut sanctum Felicem tenerent, manus eorum dolor nimius apprehendit. Qui cum ulularent, dixit iis: dicite, Christus est Deus, et dolor continno vos dimittet. Quibus dicentibus sanati sunt.
Pontifex ydolorum ad eum venit dicens: domine, ecce Deus meus, ut te venientem vidit, continno fugam arripuit. Cui dum dicerem: quare fugis? Ait; virtutem hujus Felicis ferre non possum. Si ergo Deus meus ita te timet, quanto magis ego timere te debeo. Quem cum Felix in fide instruxisset, baptizari se fecit. Adorantibus Apollinem dixit Felix : si vere est Deus Apollo, dicat mihi, quid est quod in manu nunc clausum teneo? Habebat autem in manu schedulam, in qua oratio dominica erat scripta. Quo nihil respondente gentiles conversi sunt.
Tandem missa celebrata et populo data pace in pavimentum in oratione se projiciens migravit ad dominum.
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