De sancto Justo archiepiscopo inclytae
The Humble Bishop of Lyon
Justus of Lyon is introduced as a virtuous bishop who chooses to abandon his high office for a life of hidden holiness in the desert.
Blessed Justus of Lyon was made a priest, and now he is an exceptional patron and intercessor before our Lord Jesus Christ. When I recall his unshakable faith in his works, his extreme rigor in his way of life, and his long stay in the wilderness, I affirm without hesitation that he did not lose the palm of martyrdom, even though he did not fulfill it through suffering. For he was a bishop created and elected by God and the clergy, and he served with such purity, modesty, piety, patience, care for the poor, and observance of divine commands that he surpassed even the magnificent priests of the Lord in every grace of virtue. Justus, however, both in name and in reality, wished and decided to abandon the office of his dignity and to seek out foreign lands where he might remain hidden; he took with him as a companion on his journey a youth of excellent character who served as a lector in the church, and having received the boy as a comfort for his pilgrimage, he set sail for Egypt in search of the desert.
Prophecy and Departure
Justus lives a life of prayer in the desert and prophesies the future succession of his visitor, Antiochus.
Having cast all his cares upon the Lord, he clung to the One who is the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the distant sea. When he had already spent a long time in the desert and had drawn many to his example, Saint Antiochus, then a priest of Lyon, moved by a pious duty, set his heart on traveling to visit his bishop, the blessed Justus. Antiochus was a man distinguished by his discernment, and not without merit, he was later assumed into the height of that same pontificate. As he traveled through lands and seas with a longing for such a great bishop, it is said that Justus foretold his arrival and said, 'Our dear Antiochus is staying there today.' Even on the day he arrived, Justus knew he would come, enlightened by a prophetic spirit. But when he had spent some years in the desert, living a life close to the angels, and the end of such great labors was at hand, promising him the kingdom of heaven, the traveler, weeping and troubled in mind at those final moments of the holy soul departing, was there. Standing by him, he said, 'Why do you leave me, Lord?' Justus, the devoted pastor of the church, replied, 'Dearest son, do not be troubled as if you were abandoned.' For in a short time, you yourself will follow me. It is certain that this prophecy and revelation was fulfilled by the swift passing of the holy youth.
The Return of the Relics
The faithful of Lyon travel to the desert to recover the body of their bishop, honoring his memory and restoring his presence among them.
But I would be silent about the glory of our patron and that grace of Lyon if I did not mention that, in returning his holy body after a worthy reception of the Sacraments, the care of the citizens reached as far as the southern region. They searched those wildernesses, almost inaccessible due to the heat, and by their devotion in traveling to places near the very setting of the sun, they made almost the whole world a witness to their piety; and to the extent that the flight of the most modest and holy priest had withdrawn him, to that same extent did the zeal of the faithful reach out. So that those who had once abandoned him out of a disdain for his fault proved themselves not unworthy of such a distinguished bishop, when they matched the glory of his office to the greatness of his grace. In the example of the noble Justus, a deed of the most faithful people was also shown, which seemed no less wonderful: they brought the bones of that venerable, holy old man from remote parts of the earth with eagerness and religious devotion, received them with tears and exceptional reverence, and worked to ensure that he who was already with them in spirit might also be with them in body, to the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the blessed God, to whom belongs power, glory, and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.
Read the original Latin
Beatus Justus Lugdunensis urbis pruno sacerdos factus, nunc vero apud dominum nostrum Jesum Christum eximius patronus et intercessor: cujus cum recolo inexpugnabilem in operibus fidem, praecipuum in victu rigorem, longinqnam in solitudine comunorationem , incunctanter affirmo, hunc non impleta passione palmam martirii non amisisse, Fuit enim antistes Lugdunensiun a Deo et clero creatus et electus cum tanta puritate, modestia, pietate, patientia, pauperum cura, divinorum mandatorum observantia, ut etiam magnificos domini sacerdotes omni praeiret gratia virtutum. Justus autem nomine et re officium dignitatis deserere et peregrina, quo lateret, expetere voluit et decrevit et comitein sui itineris egregiae indolis juvenein, qui in ecclesia officium lectoris gerebat, assmnsit pueroque recepto in solatium suae peregrinationis eremum petens in Aegyptum navigavit. Jactata in domino omni cogitatione soli adhaerens animo, qui est spes omnium finium terrae et in mare longe, cum vero multo jam tempore morain in eremo ac multorum exemplar traxisset, sanctus Antiochus tunc presbiter Lugdunensis pio incitatus officio usque ad visendum episcopum sunm beatum Justum peregre animo intendit, vir discretione praecipuus et qui non immerito tempore interjecto ad ejusdem pontificii culmen est assumntus, Hic ergo cum desiderio tanti antistitis terras et maria transvaágaretur, praenuntiasse ejus adventum et dixisse ila ferlur: carus noster Antiochus hodie ilie moratur, Etiam die, quo ad ipsum venit, hunc venturum esse novit spiritu prophetico illustratus. Verum cwn aliquot annis in eremo et angelis proximam egisset vitun et dignus adesset finis tantis laboribus, regnum spondens coelorum atque illis jam extremis sanctae commigrantis animae flens et consternatus mente viator et. sibi adstans wit; cur me, domine, relinquis! Justus devotus pastor ecclesiae respondit: fili' carissime, ne turberis quasi destitutus. solatio, quia brevi tempore exacto ipse me sequeris, Quam utique prophetiam ac revelationem cito transitu sancti juvenis constat fuisse completam. Sed in gloriam tanti patroni nostri illam Lugdunensem gratiam tacite praeterierin, quod in referendo sancto ejus corpusculo post dignam sacramentorum susceptionem usque in australem plagam venerabilem se civiun cura porrexit, qui scrutati illas paene inaccessas ardoribus solitudines et ab ipso admodum solis occasu prope vicina loca devotione currentes totum paene orbem pietatis suae testem fecerunt, quantumque se abegerat verecundissimi et sancti sacerdotis fuga, in tantum se fidelium studia intenderunt.
Ut qni deseruerat despectione delicti, approbarunt se tam praeclaro non indignos antistite, cum gratiae ejus magnitudini officii gloriam aequiparaverunt. In tanto egregii Justi exemplo factum quoque fidelissimae plebis exhibitum est, quod non minus mirum videretur, Illa venerandi sancti senis Ossa a remotis terrae partibus eum alacritate et religione exhibuerunt, cum lacrymis et eximio cultu susceperunt atque elabórarunt, ut, qui jam cum ipsis spiritu erat, cum ipsis eliam corpore esset in honore domini nostri Jesu Christi filii Dei benedicti, cui est potestas, gloria et imperium cum patre et spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum, Amen.
The Golden Legend (Legenda Aurea) companion
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