Tuesday, September 10, 2013

St. Nicholas of Tolentino: Priest, Mystic, and Saint

JMJ
            Today before Mass someone challenged me by asking the question: “What do you know of St. Nicholas of Tolentino?” Today, of course, was his feast day in the calendar of the 1962 Missale Romanum.1 At a loss for a sufficient answer to his question, I decided to look into why the Church honored him today, and more importantly, how his life is a model of holiness which one could use as an example of how to live.
            Starting at the beginning, St. Nicholas was born, Nicholas Gurutti  Sant’Angelo, Italy in the year 1245.2 Known for being a model of innocence and virtue since the days of his youth3, he grew up to become a friar at the age of 18 and was ordained a priest 7 years later. He lived a life of holiness characterized by penance, fasting, works of mercy, and much time spent in prayer. He became well known as a preacher and a confessor.
            St. Nicholas worked in his years as friar feeding the poor at the monastery gates and tending to those whom Our Blessed Lord called “the least of His brethren”, those who by which we exercise the Corporal Works of Mercy we shall do unto Our Lord Himself. (D-R St. Matthew 25:35-36,40, 42-43)
            Augustinians have a custom in which they bless and give away bread known as St. Nicholas bread. That custom came from a mystical vision of St. Nicholas which occurred in his time working with the poor and the suffering. After a long fast, St. Nicholas found himself feeling very weak. He received a vision of the St. Augustine and Our Lady who told him to eat bread marked with a cross dipped in water. He regained his strength and gave these rolls to the ailing and afflicted people while devotedly praying to Mary. The suffering people to whom this saint gave bread were often cured of their afflictions. 4
            This was not the only mystical experience which is believed to have happened to St. Nicholas. St. Nicholas received visions of Purgatory. St. Nicholas, in his life, was very devoted to the souls in Purgatory which resulted in Pope Leo XIII pronouncing him patron of the souls of Purgatory in 1884, a year which only dates 129 years ago. 5
            One story holds that while Nicholas was in bed a deceased Friar whom he had known pleaded him to say Mass for him and for the salvation of other souls in Purgatory. Nicholas offered Mass for 7 days for the salvation of these souls. The deceased Friar returned to Nicholas in another vision assuring him that many souls were now in heaven as a result.
            Nicholas was a model pastor to his flock. Tolentino, a city which was divided by the conflict between the Guelfs who supported Papal control of Italy and The Ghibellines who supported the Holy Roman Emperor’s control of Italy. In the midst of this crisis between the Church and the Empire which became manifest in a very real way within the city of Tolentino in the form of conflict, he kept up his priestly ministry and tended to the poor, the imprisoned, and worked wonders and healed the afflicted. 7
            Conscious of his instrumental relationship as an instrument of the Lord, he continued the mortifications and fasting of his life up to the day of his death. He died on this day, September 10, 1305-- 708 years ago.8 His body is kept in the Shrine of St. Nicholas in the city of Tolentino for veneration.
            St. Nicholas was canonized in the year 1446 by Pope Eugene IV, and became the first Augustinian friar to become a saint after what is known as the Grand Union of the Order of St. Augustine in 1256. 9
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1 “Liturgical Calendar” The Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962). Kansas City: Angelus Press, 2009. p. 15
2 “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” Catholic Online. (accessed September 10, 2013) www.catholic.org
3 “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” The Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962).  Kansas City: Angelus Press, 2009. p.1400
4 Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of the Augustinian Order. “St. Nicholas of Tolentine” (accessed September 10, 2013) www.midwestaugustinians.org
5 “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” Wikipedia. (accessed September 10, 2013) www.wikipedia.org
6 Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of the Augustinian Order. “St. Nicholas of Tolentine” (accessed September 10, 2013) www.midwestaugustinians.org
7 “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” Wikipedia. (accessed September 10, 2013) www.wikipedia.org
8 “St. Nicholas of Tolentino” The Roman Catholic Daily Missal (1962).  Kansas City: Angelus Press, 2009. p.1400

9 Province of Our Mother of Good Counsel of the Augustinian Order. “St. Nicholas of Tolentine” (accessed September 10, 2013) www.midwestaugustinians.org

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