May 16th - Sts. Ubaldus and John Nepomucen

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May 16 – St Ubaldus, Bishop and Confessor

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

In order to honor her Eternal High Priest, the Church presents to him this day the merits of a Pontiff who, after his mortal career, was admitted into a happy Immortality. Ubaldus, here on earth, was the image of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like his Divine Master, he received the holy Anointing of Priesthood; he was a Mediator between God and man; he was the Shepherd of a flock; and now, he is united with our Risen Jesus—the great Anointed, the Mediator, the Shepherd. In proof of his influence in heaven, our Ubaldus has had given to him a special power against the wicked Spirits, who lay snares for our perdition. It has frequently happened that the simple invocation of his name has sufficed to foil their machinations. It is with the view of encouraging the Faithful to have recourse to his protection that the Church has fixed this day as his feast.

Let us now read the account she gives of the virtues of the saintly Bishop.

Ubaldus was born at Gubbio in Umbria, of a noble family. He was, from childhood, formed, in the most admirable way, to piety and learning. When grown up, he was frequently urged to marry; but nothing could shake his resolution of leading a life of celibacy. On being ordained Priest, he divided his fortune between the poor and the Churches, and entered among the Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine. He established that Institute in his own country, and was for some time a most fervent observer of all its regulations. The fame of his virtue spread far and wide. Pope Honorius the Second compelled him to accept the charge of the Church of Gubbio; and, accordingly, he was consecrated Bishop.

Having taken possession of his See, he changed little or nothing of his mode of life; but he began to apply himself more than ever to the practice of every virtue, in order that he might the more effectually, both by word and example, procure the salvation of souls, for he was a pattern of the flock in all earnestness. His food was scanty, his dress unpretending, his bed hard and most poor. While always bearing about, in his body, the mortification of the Cross, he every day refreshed his spirit with prayer, in which he seemed insatiable. The result of such life was meekness of so admirable a nature, that he not only bore the worst injuries and insults with patience, but he even treated his persecutors with surprising affection, and showed them all possible kindness.

During the last two years of his life, he suffered much from sickness. In the midst of the most acute pains, whereby he was made pure as gold that is cleansed in the furnace, he ceased not to give thanks to God. Finally, on the holy Feast of Pentecost, after governing for many years, and in a most laudable manner, the Diocese that had been entrusted to him, he slept in peace, venerated for his holy life and miracles. He was canonized by Pope Celestine the Third. God has given him a special power for driving away unclean spirits. His body, which has remained incorrupt for several centuries, is honored with much devotion, by the Faithful of the city of Gubbio, which he has more than once rescued from the calamities that threatened it.

O blessed Pontiff! be thou our protector against the spirits of hell. They are devoured by envy at seeing how Man, that lowly and feeble creature, has become the object of God’s predilection. The Incarnation of the Son of God, his Death on the Cross, his glorious Resurrection, the Sacraments which give us the life of Grace—all these sublime means, whereby the infinite goodness of God has restored us to our lost dignity, have excited the rage of the old enemy, and he seeks revenge by insulting, in us, the Image of our Creator. At times, he attacks man with all the frenzy of angry jealousy. To mimic the operations of Sanctifying Grace—which, so to speak, makes us the instruments of God’s good pleasure—Satan sometimes takes possession of our fellow creatures, and makes them his slaves. Thy power, O Ubaldus, has often manifested itself by rescuing these unhappy victims of the devil’s jealousy; and holy Church, on this day, celebrates the special prerogative conferred on thee by our Heavenly Father. Relent not in the exercise of thy charitable office. And yet, O holy Pontiff, thou knowest that the snares of the wicked spirits are more injurious to the souls than to the bodies of men. Have pity, then, on the unhappy slaves of sin, who, though the divine Sun of the Pasch has risen upon them, are still in the darkness of guilt. Pray for them, that they may become, once more, Children of the Light, and share in the Easter Resurrection which Jesus offers to all.

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May 16 – St John Nepomucen, Martyr

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

To the Martyrs who were slain because they refused to adore false gods—to the Martyrs whose blood was shed by heretics—there is added today another brave soldier of Christ, who won his crown in a very different sort of combat. The Sacrament of Penance, whereby sinners regain the heaven they had lost, claims John Nepomucen as its glorious defender.

A holy secrecy shrouds the reconciliation made between God and the Penitent. This Sacramental Secrecy deserved to have its Martyr. When Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Penance—that second Baptism, wherein the Blood of our Redeemer washes away the sins of the Christian soul—he willed that man should not be deterred from confessing his humiliations to his spiritual physician, by the fear of their ever being revealed. How many hidden martyrdoms have there not been, during these eighteen hundred years, for the maintenance of this Secret which, while its gives security to the Penitent, exposes the Confessor to obloquy, injustice, and even death! But the Martyr we honor today was not one of these hidden sufferers. His testimony to the inviolability of the Sacramental Seal was public; he gave it amidst cruel tortures; it cost him his life.

All praise, then, to the brave and faithful Priest! Right worthy was he to hold in his hands the Keys that open or shut the gate of heaven! In this great fact of the observance of the Seal of Confession, on which depends the salvation of millions of souls, we have a permanent miracle. But there was one thing wanting to it—the glory of Martyrdom. The holy Priest of Prague gave it that glory; and he offers the fair Palm to our Risen Jesus, whom we have seen, during these days between his Resurrection and Ascension, mercifully instituting the Sacrament of Penance, wherein he communicates to men his own power of forgiving sin.

We subjoin the Lessons approved of by the Holy See for the feast of this great Martyr.

John was born at Nepomuk a town in Bohemia (from which he took the name of Nepomucen), and of parents who were advanced in years. His future sanctity was foretold by the appearance of bright rays miraculously shining over the house wherein he was born. When an infant, he was seized with a dangerous illness; but was delivered from death by the protection of the Blessed Virgin, to whom his parents considered themselves indebted for his birth. He was blessed with an excellent disposition, and received a pious training, in keeping with the indications given from heaven. He spent his boyhood in the practice of religious exercises; among which it was his delight to be frequently at the Church, and serve the Priests when saying Mass. He went through his humanities at Zatek, and the higher studies at Prague, where he took his degrees in Philosophy, Theology, and Canon law. He was ordained Priest; and being, by his proficiency in the science of the Saints, well fitted for gaining souls, he devoted himself entirely to preaching the word of God. In consideration of the great fruits produced by his eloquence and piety, which extirpated vice and brought sinners back to the way of salvation, he was made a Canon of the Metropolitan Church of Prague. Being afterwards chosen as Preacher to King Wenceslaus the Fourth, he so far succeeded, that the King did many things through his advice, and had a great regard for his virtue. He offered him several high dignities; but the Saint peremptorily refused to accept them, fearing that they would interfere with his preaching the divine word.

He was entrusted with the distribution of the royal alms to the poor, and Queen Jane chose him as her own spiritual director. Wenceslaus having given himself up to vices, which disgraced both his kingly and christian character, and being displeased at the entreaties and counsels of his wife, he even dared to insist on John’s revealing to him the secrets, told to him as Priest, by the queen in the Sacrament of Penance. The minister of God courageously resisted the King’s impious request, and neither bribes, nor tortures, nor imprisonment, could make him yield. Seeing that the King had got to such a pitch of rage that the laws of neither man nor God made him relent, the soldier of Christ plainly foretold in one of his sermons, his own approaching death, and the calamities that were to befall the kingdom. He then set out for Buntzel, where is kept the image of the Blessed Virgin that has been venerated for centuries: he there, in fervent prayer, implored heaven to grant him the assistance he needed, in order to fight the good fight. As he was returning home, on the evening before the Vigil of the Ascension, the King, who was standing at the palace window, saw him, and sent him word that he was to repair to the King. The King was more than ever urgent in his demand, and threatened John with immediate drowning, if he continued to refuse compliance. The Saint was not to be conquered, and showed the King that he was not afraid of his threats. Wherefore, by the King’s orders, he was thrown that same night, in to the river Moldaw, which flows through Prague; and John obtained the glorious crown of Martyrdom.

The sacrilegious crime, thus privately committed, was miraculously revealed, as was also the Martyr’s great glory. For as soon as life was extinct, and the corpse began to float down the stream, flaming torches were seen following on the surface of the water. The next morning, the Canons went and took the body from the sand on which it lay, and heedless of the King’s displeasure, they had it carried, with much solemnity, to the metropolitan Church, and gave it burial. The memory of this courageous Priest became gradually most venerable, both by the miracles that were wrought, and by the devotion of the Faithful—of those especially whose good name is injured by evil report. After upwards of three hundred years, a juridical examination was made of his body (which, during all that time, had lain under the ground) and his tongue was found to be incorrupt and as though it were that of a living man. Six hears later on, the tongue was shown to judges delegated by the Apostolic See; when, by a fresh miracle, it immediately resumed the fullness of life, and, from being of a brownish color, it became perfectly red. These and other miracles having been authentically approved, he was canonized by Pope Benedict the Thirteenth, on the nineteenth day of March, in the year of our Lord 1729, as the defender of the Sacramental Seal, and the first Martyr that had shed his blood for the maintenance of its holy secrecy.

How great, O glorious Martyr, was the honor reserved for thee by the Son of God, when he chose thee to be the one who was to attest, by laying down his life, the sacredness of the secret which protects the Sacrament of Penance! Other Priests, as well as thyself, have bravely suffered persecution for the sake of the secrecy of the mystery of Reconciliation; but thou wast the one chosen by heaven to give a solemn testimony of priestly discretion. Thy sufferings were known to more than to Angels: thy Martyrdom was a public one, and the Faithful honor thy courage as an eloquent proof of how truly our good Shepherd, Jesus, removes every difficulty that could deter the strayed sheep from returning to the fold.

We address ourselves to thee, O holy Martyr, on this the day of thy triumph, and we beg of thee to intercede for sinners. Admirable minister of the Sacrament of Penance! thou seest how many Christians there are who neglect to avail themselves of the means of salvation prepared for them by our Risen Savior. Instead of laying hold of this “second plank after shipwreck,” they let themselves be carried on to the deep abyss by the tide of their sinful habits. There are thousands who have turned a deaf ear, even this Easter, to the call of holy Church, who invited them, as an affectionate Mother, to approach the Tribunal of mercy and Reconciliation. We beseech thee, intercede for these blind, these unwary, these ungrateful men. Get them that grace which will lead them to the feet of the God of Mercy, who is ever ready to grant pardon.

There are others, again, who go to Confession, but who have not the dispositions requisite for receiving the grace of the Sacrament—the justification of their souls. Pray also for these, that they may see the danger they thus incur of profaning the Blood of Christ. Obtain for all them who approach the holy Tribunal, an honest avowal of their sins, and contrition of heart; that thus the life of our Risen Jesus may be imparted to them, and that they may never again lose it. By thy powerful intercession, raise up zealous and faithful ministers of this great Sacrament, of which thou wast the Martyr. Draw down on their arduous labor the blessing of heaven: then will the number of the children of God be increased, and the grace of the Holy Ghost triumph in souls that have long been dead in sin.

Cast, too, an eye of compassion on thy fatherland of Bohemia, where there are so many Faithful hearts that love and honor thee. Alas! there are tares which disfigure that portion of the Church. The enemy came, not many years after thy glorious martyrdom, and sowed the baneful weeds of heresy in thy native land. The good seed claims thy protection; but take pity also on the cockle, for even it may be turned, by the True Faith, into wheat, and be garnered into the House of our Heavenly Father. Secure to thy Bohemia the peace of which an ambitious diplomacy is now seeking to deprive her, and save her from the snares that are being laid for her.