Saint Martin of Tours
Renouncing the Sword, by Simone Martini (c.
1321). Located in the Lower Church of
the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi,
Italy
THE FAST OF SAINT MARTIN IN THE CFP RULE
Our CFP Rule and Constitutions state:
RULE: Section 9
9. They are to fast daily, except on
account of infirmity or any other need,
throughout the fast of St. Martin from
after said day until Christmas, and
throughout the greater fast from
Carnival Sunday until Easter.
CONSTITUTIONS: SECTION 9
a. Penitents are to observe a
pre-Christmas fast from November 12, the
day after the Feast of St. Martin, until
Christmas and a pre-Easter fast from Ash
Wednesday until Easter.
WHO IS TO OBSERVE THIS PART OF THE RULE?
Those who
have completed their tenth lesson of their
second Novice year are to observe this part
of the CFP Rule unless dispensed from doing
so by their spiritual directors. The fast is
to be followed according to the guidelines
in the CFP Rule, enumerated in Chapters II and
III of the CFP Rule and Constitutions and in Appendix A
of the Constitutions.
All other
penitents, who have not yet completed Lesson
10 of their second Novice year, could also
embrace some sort of penance during the Fast
of Saint Martin, to keep the spirit of the
Pre-Christmas Fast. Some suggestions
might be to give up sweets during the Fast
of Saint Martin or to pray a decade of the
Rosary daily for the intentions of the Holy
Father. Those wishing to observe
the Fast, yet not yet obligated to do so,
could discuss possible penances with their
spiritual directors and/or their Regional
Ministers.
WHO WAS
SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS?
One of the
most popular saints of medieval times, Saint
Martin of Tours was born in 316, the son of
a pagan army officer in Sabaria, Pannonia,
on the Danube, which today is Hungary.
From there he moved with his family to Pavia,
Italy where his father was transferred.
Martin was attracted by Christianity whose
principles he began to study and, at the age
of ten, became a catechumen.
At that
age of fifteen, Martin was forced into the
army where he lived more like a monk
than a soldier. In 337, in
Amiens, France, Martin's heart was deeply
moved by a freezing, nearly naked beggar who
was pleading for alms at the city gate.
In an act of great generosity, Martin, who
had no money, drew his sword and cut his
military cloak in two, giving half of it to
the shivering man. That night, Martin
was granted a vision of Christ, wearing half
of his cloak, Who said, "Martin, yet a
catechumen, has covered me with his
garment." The vision prompted Martin
to be baptized immediately.
When
Martin was twenty years old, his army
defeated a barbarian invasion of Gaul.
Refusing his war bounty, Martin relinquished
his sword to take up the armor of Christ.
When the emperor Julian accused Martin of
cowardice, he offered to enter the battle
unarmed. Instead of being taken up on
the offer, Martin was thrown into prison
where he remained until being released
during an armistice and then discharged from
military duty. Martin then went to
Poitiers where the bishop St. Hilary
received him as a disciple.
Upon his
return home, Martin's zeal converted his
mother and sisters to Christianity.
Martin fought Arianism, which denied the
divinity of Christ, and was publicly
scourged and banished. When St.
Hilary, who had also been banished for his
own battle against the Arians, was allowed
to return to Poitiers in 360, Martin joined
him and became a hermit at Liguge, the
first monastic community in France.
Martin was gifted with many mystical graces
and was the outstanding monastic pioneer
before Saint Benedict.
In 371,
the local clergy and people of Tours
demanded that Martin be made their bishop.
When forced to accept this office, Martin
continued to live simply and poorly.
To discourage frequent visitors, Martin
founded Marmoutier Abbey in a desert place
enclosed by a steep cliff on one side and a
river on the other. From here, he
governed his diocese, visiting his outlying
parishes yearly.
Paganism
greatly decreased in Tours through Martin's
teaching and his active destruction of pagan
temples, sacred groves, and other
objects. Some of these incidents
involved miracles and other extraordinary
spiritual happenings. Martin was also
favored with revelations, mystical visions,
and prophecies. His prayers brought
about healings and obtained mercy for
prisoners.
When
Priscillianists, heretics who believed in
two Kingdoms, one of light and one of
darkness, were being marked for death,
Martin interceded, asking that they be
excommunicated but not murdered. His
plea was only partly successful.
Martin
fell mortally ill at Candes, a village in
his diocese where he had gone to foster
peace. When the people begged him not
to die, he replied,
"Lord, if thy
people still need me, I will not shirk the
toil. Thy will be done."
God, however, was calling Martin home, and,
after receiving a premonition of his death,
Martin died November 8, 397. By his
request, Martin was buried in the Cemetery
of the Poor in Tours on November 11.
Martin's relics were transferred to the
basilica of Tours, a scene of huge medieval
pilgrimages and many miracles.
WHAT IS
THE PURPOSE OF THE FAST OF SAINT MARTIN?
The Fast
of Saint Martin is meant to prepare the
penitent to celebrate the Solemnity of
Christmas. The fast reminds the
penitent of several truths:
a. Our
lives must be centered on God, not on self.
b. Our
self denial is a prayer of the body to Our
Lord Who came as an Infant to teach us and
to redeem us.
c.
Martin's act of cutting his cloak in two was
both penitential and loving. All
penances, if they are to have any merit
spiritually, must be done in love.
d. We must
be willing to give up anything and
everything which keeps us from full union
with God.
e. As
soldiers of Christ, our struggle is to be
against evil, not against others. We
are always to be peacemakers as Martin was.
