Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor

St. Hilary of Poitiers

Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor



A homily by Saint Hilary the Bishop

There is, to my thinking, no such thing as salt of the earth. How then can the Apostles be called the salt of the earth? We must seek out the true meaning of these words, and the same will be made plain when we consider the office of the Apostles, and the nature of salt itself. Now salt is a compound of elements, for it joineth in itself a certain weakness like unto water, and a certain power like unto fire, so that it hath a double nature.

Salt is therefore able to serve the use of men in divers ways, for wherever it is added, it both preserveth from corruption and giveth savour. And to the Apostle was given a similar two-fold power. For the words which they scattered upon the world, as preachers of the kingdom of heaven, do act as a preservative unto immorality ; that is, as preachers they do confer a savour of sweetness, even unto life everlasting, upon those who receive their teaching.

Then the nature of salt is to be ever the same, and unchanging. Man, on the other hand, hath this weakness, to be changeable. He alone is called blessed who hath persevered unto the end and in all the works of God. Therefore doth the Lord warn them whom he calleth the salt of the earth, that they are to remain strong in that strength which he hath given unto them, lest, becoming themselves savourless, they have no power to season anything. Once having lost the freshness of their saltness, they are unable to stop the corruption round about them ; and so the Church must needs cast them out of her buttery. Thus both they and those whom they should have salted, will be altogether trodden under foot of such as enter in.

Hagiography of Cyril


Cyril of Alexandria hath been styled the Doctor of the Incarnation. For he was concerned with the Nestorian heresy from its inception, and denounced the same to Saint Pope Celestine I, and at the Council of Ephesus in 431, at which the heresy was solemnly condemned , he presided as the representative of the Roman See. And the rest of his life was given over the defence of the truth that in Christ Jesus there is one divine Person. * Cyril was born of distinguished parents, and was the nephew of Theophilus, Patriarch of Alexandria, whom he succeeded in that office. He was a man of learning, and of much vigor and determination, and he turned all his powers to the extirpation of heresy and unbelief. His sternness in these matters made him many enemies, even amongst those of orthodox practice, but chiefly he was assailed by the followers of Nestorius, who at one time secured a sentence of excommunication against him as a troublemaker, to which many even of the orthodox bishops assented, which same was later declared null and void. * He wrote much regarding the Faith, and was emphatic in his teaching concerning the Eucharist, whereof he said : We receive it, not as common flesh (which God forbid), nor as the flesh of a man sanctified and associated with the Word, but as indeed the lifegiving and very Flesh of the Word himself. But chiefly he is remembered for his teaching that Mary is the Mother of God, which title the Council of Ephesus acceded to her. At length he died a holy death, in June of the year 444, and the 32^nd of his episcopate, but in the west his feast is kept in February.

Collect:

O God, who didst strengthen thy blessed confessor and Bishop Saint Cyril, invincibly to maintain the divine motherhood of the blessed Virgin Mary : vouchsafe that at his intercession we, believing her to be indeed the Mother of God ; may as her children rejoice in her protection, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Hilary of Poitiers

Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop, Confessor & Doctor

Hilary was born of a most illustrious family in Aquataine, and of him blessed Jerome saith : He was a man of mighty eloquence, the Latin Trumpet against the Arians. He was born of pagan parents , and brought up in idolatry, but in due time was found of Christ and became God’s servant. In early life he had married, but at his ordination he and his wife chose to live in continence. And because of the fame he made for himself by his wisdom and eloquence as a priest, he was chosen to be Bishop of Poitiers, in which office he gained the universal praise of the faithful. At that time the Emperor Constantius was persecuting the Catholics by every species of cruelty, in order to make them yield to the Arian heresy. Against the Arians Hilary set himself up as a brazen wall, and thereby turned upon himself the fierceness of their anger. When they procured his banishment to Phrygia, he used his exile to write a work in twelve books, on the Trinity, against these hereticks. * In the year 359, the fourth of his exile, he was obliged to attend the Council of Selucia in Isauria, which was largely composed of Arians, whom he there publicly withstood. And afterwards he withdrew to Constantinople, where he demanded leave from the Emperor to hold a public disputation in his presence. However, the Arian Bishops Ursacius and Valens, whom Hilary had already confuted in writing, were afraid to meet him in debate, and therefore induced Constantius, under pretence of pardon, to send him back to his bishoprick. And he was followed to Poitiers by Martin, afterwards Bishop of Tours, whose growth in holiness was a fruit of his teaching. * Henceforth he ruled the Church of Poitiers in great peace. His wonderful learning is seen in his numerous written works. And his tenderness of heart is well manifested in a letter, still extant, which during his exile he wrote to his daughter, urging upon her to become a nun, which same by this letter she was moved to do. He passed from earth to heaven upon January 13^th, about the 368, during the reign of the Emperors Valentian and Valens. He has been called an Illustrious Doctor of the Church by many Fathers and Councils.

The Collect:

O GOD, who hast enlightened thy Church with the wondrous learning of blessed Hilary thy Confessor and Doctor: mercifully grant to us thy servants; that we, being in all things enlightened by his wisdom, may at all times feel the effectual succour of his righteousness. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Wednesday within the Octave of Corpus Christi - St. Hilary

Wednesday within the Octave of Corpus Christi

A Homily by St. Hilary the Bishop



When we speak concerning the things of God, we must not speak after the manner of men, nor after the manner of the world. Let us ponder those things which are written, and endeavour to understand those things which we read ; and them let us act in a fulness of faith. Unless we learn from Christ how to speak concerning the real truth of his abiding in us, we shall speak thereof foolishly and without devotion. For he himself saith : My Flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood, dwelleth in me, an I in him. There is here no room left for doubt as to what is his Flesh and what is his Blood.

For now we do know, from the declaration of the Lord himself, and from the experience of our own faith, that this is truly his Flesh and Blood. And when we eat the one and drink the other, they work effectually in us to make us dwell in him and he in us. Is not this true? Of a truth it cannot be denied except by them that in some sense deny that Christ Jesus is very God. He is in us by means of his Flesh, and we are in him, for our own nature is with him in God. That we dwell in him through that Sacrament wherein his Flesh and Blood are given unto us, he himself doth testify, where he saith : Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me ; because I live ye shall live also ; at that day, ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me and I in you.

That this his union with us is real, Christ himself testifieth thus : He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me, and I in him. For no one dwelleth in Christ in whom Christ doth not dwell, and only he that receiveth the Body and Blood of the Lord is made one body with Christ. He had already taught that this was the Sacrament of perfect unity, when he said : As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father, so, he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. He therefore liveth by the Father, and, as he liveth by the Father, so shall we live by receiving his Body.