St Martin of ToursFeast day: November 11
Born: 315
Death: 397
Patron of soldiers, beggars
Pannonia (Roman province in modern Hungary)
Pagan parents
A historian of the early Church (Sulpicius) has provided us with the biography of Martin with great details directly from the saint before his death. We are told that Martin had a great desire to learn of Christianity although his parents held to the old pagan customs of their homeland. At the young age of ten years old, Martin would knock at the door of the church begging to be admitted as a catechumen.
At the age of fifteen, Martin was forced into the service of the Roman army. He had not yet completed his studies to come into full communion with the Church, yet his real desire was to be a soldier for Christ as a monk. The army had to place him in chains in order for him to accept the oath of service. True to his desire to live as a Christian, Martin accepted his fate and performed his duties to the best of his abilities. He was assigned to a ceremonial cavalry unit that protected the emperor and rarely saw combat. Like his father, he became an officer and eventually was assigned to garrison duty in Gaul.
However, Martin was also remained true to his desire to live as a monk. For example, his treatment of a servant he was assigned was beyond compare. Martin would switch roles with his servant on may occasion by taking on the servant's tasks, even going so far as to clean the belongings of the servant.
This effort to be the servant to others has since been portrayed in many forms of art. The story relayed in the art shows Martin giving of his cloak to a beggar. This was unheard of in these times to give up part of one's ceremonial uniform. Yet, Martin could not resist the desire to help bring comfort to this man on a cold wintry night. Many in the crowd thought this was so ridiculous a sight that they laughed and jeered but some realized that they were seeing Christian goodness. That night Martin dreamed that he saw Jesus wearing the half mantle he had given the beggar. Jesus said to the angels and saints that surrounded him, "See! this is the mantle that Martin, yet a catechumen, gave me." When he woke, it was the "yet a catechumen" that spurred Martin on and he went immediately to be baptized. He was eighteen years old.
From that moment, Martin then battled an internal conflict that would shape the remainder of his life. This would come to a climax before a battle to defend the empire from the Franks. As was the custom, the army was lined up before battle to accept payment to ensure their allegiance to the emperor. Martin refused his tribute and furthermore would not go into battle.
Martin, likely never having gone into battle, stated, "Put me in the front of the army, without weapons or armor; but I will not draw sword again. I am to become the soldier of Christ." Emperor Julian, furious at what he saw as cowardice, told Martin he would grant him his wish and put him right in the middle of battle the next day. Until that happened, he had Martin imprisoned. However, against all predictions and all explanation, the nomads sent word that they wanted to negotiate for peace and the battle was postponed. Martin was released from his prison and from the army.
Unsure of what to do with his life, Martin wandered into the care of St. Hilary (further study of this saint in January). Hilary desired to make Martin a priest or deacon; however, Martin refused this out of humility. He finally agreed to be ordained an exorcist (someone who performed rituals for those who were sick or possessed) when Hilary told him his refusal meant that he thought he was too good for such a lowly job.
Martin's new battle for Christ would be the Arian heresy. He returned to his hometown to visit his parents (possibly to convince his father of conversion) and was driven out of town after being whipped. He had made the choice to denounce the wrongs of the Arian heresy in the public square.
Martin also found that St. Hilary had been exiled because of his own rejection of these heresies. Martin would assist in the return of his mentor, and then Hilary would in turn help Martin to establish a monastery so he could live out his life as a prayer warrior for the Church.
Throughout the remainder of his life, many miracles would be attributed to his intercession. Martin was often sought out for advice. The people of the nearby village would come to him, so it was not surprising that they would want him to lead their spirituality when the opportunity arose. Upon the death of their bishop, they were quick to choose Martin as their next leader.
However, they knew he would never agree to be a bishop so they conceived a trick. A citizen of Tours came to Martin and begged him to come visit his sick wife. When the kindhearted Martin got to Tours crowds of people came out of hiding and surrounded him. Unable to escape, he was swept into the city. The people may have been enthusiastic about their choice but the bishops there to consecrate the new bishop declared they were repelled by this dirty, ragged, disheveled choice. The people's reply was that they didn't choose Martin for his haircut, which could be fixed by any barber, but for his holiness and poverty, that only charity and grace could bring. Overwhelmed by the will of the crowds the bishops had no choice but to consecrate Martin.
Instead of living in a palace, Martin made his first home as bishop in a cell attached to a church in hopes of being able to maintain his lifestyle as a monk. Martin would again have to face an internal battle with this conflicting role of his life. At this time, the role of bishop was both as a spiritual and political leader. Many more people would come to Martin for assistance.
To regain some of his solitude Martin fled outside the city to live in a cabin made of branches. There he attracted as many as eighty disciples who wanted to follow him and founded a monastery. He kept in touch with Tours through priest representatives who reported to him and carried out his instructions and duties with the people.
Martin did have a great desire to bring conversion to the people, many who were still living pagan lives, so he spent much of his time going from house to house bringing the Gospel to the people. Then he would organize the converts into a community under the direction of a priest of monk. In order to let them know of his continued love and to keep them following the faith, he would then visit these new communities regularly.
Martin tore down many non-Christian temples and always built a Christian church in their place to make a point about true worship and give people a genuine replacement for their false idols. Martin was also dedicated to freeing of prisoners, so much so that when authorities, even the emperors, heard he was coming, they refused to see him because they knew he would request mercy for someone and they would be unable to refuse.
Martin died when he was over 80 years old. His feast is November 11, the day he was buried, at his request, in the Cemetery of the Poor.
There are many stories of miracles and wisdom associated with St. Martin. The most fascinating tales are told of Martin through Sulpicius. It is hard not to follow these stories with great interest as they were collected by eyewitness accounts. To continue with these many stories would make for a very long post, so I encourage you to read more about St. Martin beyond this blog.
It just goes to show you that when given the opportunity to be soldiers for Christ, we can all do amazing things through the power of prayer and sacrifice. So as we learn about St. Martin on this day also set aside for our veterans, let us remember that even as we are placed in our various secular roles we can find a way to glorify God.
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| Amanda, 1998 |
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