MEMORIAL OF SAINT EVARISTUS, POPE AND MARTYR AND SAINT RUSTICUS, BISHOP OF NARBONNE – FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 26TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Evaristus, Pope and Martyr and Saint Rusticus, Bishop of Narbonne. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We pray for the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable in our communities and around the world. We pray for peace, love, justice and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically ill and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. We pray for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world…. Amen🙏
SAINT EVARISTUS, POPE AND MARTYR: Pope St. Evaristus (1st century), also known as Aristus was the fifth Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church and was elected to succeed Pope St. Clement I in the See of Rome. During this time the Roman empire was ruled by Trajan. Pope Evaristus was the fifth bishop of Rome from c. 99 to his death c. 107. St. Evaristus was the son of a Greek Jew, originally from Bethlehem. According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was born to a family of Greek Jews in Bethlehem; His father was named Judah. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and Oriental Orthodoxy. It is likely that he was the bishop of Rome when John the Apostle died, marking the end of the Apostolic Age.
According to tradition, Pope St. Evaristus, was known to have ordained seven deacons to help serve the faithful in Rome. Early scholars credit St. Evaristus with dividing the city of Rome into parishes, he divided the titles among the priests in the city of Rome and ordaining bishops, priests, and deacons to oversee them. In his first epistle, St. Evaristus wrote that seven ordained deacons should monitor the preaching of each bishop, to ensure the truth was being taught, on account of the style of truth. In his second epistle, he compared the bond between husband and wife to the relationship between a bishop and his diocese. Church tradition holds that Pope St. Evaristus died as a martyr at the same time as St. Ignatius of Antioch. Pope Saint Evaristus was buried on Vatican Hill near St. Peter. He is typically depicted with a sword, because he was decapitated, or with a crib, because he is said to be from Bethlehem from which his father emigrated. His feast day is October 26th.
SAINT RUSTICUS, BISHOP OF NARBONNE: St. Rusticus of Narbonne was a monk of the Lérins Abbey and bishop of Narbonne and Catholic saint of Gaul. Born at the start of the 5th century in Marseille, Rusticus, was the son of a Bishop named Bonosus. He became a popular preacher at Rome and then a monk at Lérins. When he had completed his education in Gaul, Rusticus went to Rome, where he soon gained a reputation as a public speaker, but he wished to embrace the contemplative life. He wrote to Jerome, who advised him to continue his studies, commending him to imitate the virtues of St. Exuperius of Toulouse and to follow the advice of Proculus, then Bishop of Marseille. Thus Rusticus entered the Lérins Abbey. In 427, St. Rusticus was ordained at Marseilles, and on October 3, 430 was consecrated Bishop of Narbonne. He was present at the First Council of Ephesus in 431. With all his zeal, he could not prevent the progress of the Arian heresy which the Goths were spreading abroad; there is evidence that an Arian rival bishop was established in Narbonne. The siege of Narbonne by the Goths in 436 and dissensions among the Catholics so disheartened him that he wrote to Pope Leo I, renouncing the bishopric, but St. Leo dissuaded him (Epistle CLXVII).
St. Rusticus then endeavored to consolidate the Catholics. In 444–448, he rebuilt the church in Narbonne dedicated to Saint Genès of Arles, which was burned in 441; in 451, he assisted at the convocation of forty-four bishops of Gaul and approved St. Leo’s letter to Flavian, concerning Nestorianism; he was present also at a Council of Arles, with thirteen bishops, to decide the debate between Theodore, Bishop of Fréjus, and the Abbey of Lérins. He was one of the twelve bishops who assembled to elect Ravennius bishop of Arles in 449, a letter from Ravennius to Rusticus, proves the high esteem in which he was held. St. Rusticus’ own letters are lost, with the exception of the one to St. Jerome and two others to St. Leo, written either in 452 or 458. In time, his people became split by Arianism spread by the invading Goths as well as by inner dissension arising from a synod convoked by the Saint himself in 458. At one point, St. Rusticus was so overwhelmed that he sought to leave his post and lead a quiet life with God. Hence, he asked Pope Leo the Great to allow him to resign. Instead of doing so, the Pope encouraged him to persevere and sent him a letter about governing a diocese. Rusticus remained at his post and did the Lord’s work. The holy Bishop built a cathedral, was esteemed by his brother Bishops, and attended the Synod of Arles, which approved Leo the Great’s condemnation of Nestorianism. This heresy preached that Christ had two personalities and two natures and that Mary was the Mother of the human nature alone. St. Rusticus died on October 26, 461.
PRAYER: Almighty God, You made St. Rusticus a leader of the Church to inspire Your people with his teaching and example. Through his intercession, grant that we may venerable him as our teacher and protector and experience the sweetness of Your mercy. Amen 🙏