A man who vigorously pursues a goal may produce results far beyond his expectations and his intentions. Thus it was with Peter of the Golden Words, as he was called, who as a young man became bishop of Ravenna, the capital of the empire in the West.
At the time there were abuses and vestiges of paganism evident in his diocese, and these he was determined to battle and overcome. His principal weapon was the short sermon, and many of them have come down to us. They do not contain great originality of thought. They are, however, full of moral applications, sound in doctrine and historically significant in that they reveal Christian life in fifth-century Ravenna. So authentic were the contents of his sermons that, some 13 centuries later, he was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII. He who had earnestly sought to teach and motivate his own flock was recognized as a teacher of the universal Church.
In addition to his zeal in the exercise of his office, Peter Chrysologus was distinguished by a fierce loyalty to the Church, not only in its teaching, but in its authority as well. He looked upon learning not as a mere opportunity but as an obligation for all, both as a development of God-given faculties and as a solid support for the worship of God.
Some time before his death, St. Peter returned to Imola, his birthplace, where he died around A.D. 450.
Photo credit: Jbribeiro1 via Wikimedia Commons
The post Saint Peter Chrysologus appeared first on uCatholic.
Daily Reading
Tuesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 RV 14:14-19 I, John, looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown…
Daily Meditation
Do Not Be Led Astray, Do Not Fear
Click here for daily readings In this somewhat confusing Gospel passage Jesus says two things in particular that stand out to me. “Take heed that you are not led astray”…