St Nicholas Day

In truth you were revealed to your flock as a rule of faith,
an image of humility and a teacher of abstinence;
your humility exalted you;
your poverty enriched you.
Holy Father Nicholas,
entreat Christ our God
that our souls may be saved.

Troparion (4th Tone)

Many of you, my faithful readers, are familiar with the life and deeds of this most beloved of saints. Visitors who are not acquainted with the story of St Nicholas of Myra may find out more at this post from two years back: The Man Behind the Legend.

The tales of St Nicholas' exploits are well-known - in his most famous deed, he threw purses of gold into the home of a poor man with three daughters under the cover of night over a period of three nights (or years, depending where you hear it from), and in doing so, saved the three girls from prostitution. The second finds him at the Council of Nicaea, as a participant, where so incensed he became upon hearing Arius' heresy that he struck him down.

In addition, there are numerous folk tales that include St Nicholas as a central character - most of these come from the land of Russia, where St Nicholas is particularly well-loved; his image often appearing on triptychs with Jesus and the Mother of God. Numerous Russian cathedrals, monasteries, and churches have been dedicated to St Nicholas.

Here is one such tale:

Once upon a time, Ss Nicholas and Cassian were sent down from Heaven to visit the earth. It was fall when they came to Russia, where much of the country had turned into a quagmire of mud. The two saints, however, were dressed in white robes and floated just above the ground (and the mud).

As they walked—or floated—about, they met a farmer with a heavily loaded wagon. The load was so big that the wagon wheels had sunk deep into the mud. Horses pulled and men pushed, trying to get the wagon out.

St Nicholas said, "Let us help this poor man." St Cassian, looking at his white robe, said, "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly get into the mud — it would ruin my robe."

So St Nicholas, by himself, plunged in to give aid. With his help, the wagon was pushed right out of the mud. Everything was covered in mud: the horses, the wagon, the men, and St Nicholas, too.

The two saints went on their way, returning to Paradise with St Nicholas still covered in mud. St Peter met them at the pearly gates. He took one look at St Nicholas, asking, "Nicholas, what in heaven's name has happened to you?" St Nicholas explained about the man and the wagon.

Turning to St Cassian, St Peter asked, "Were you with Nicholas when this happened, Cassian? If so, why are you so clean?"

"Oh," Cassian replied, "I thought of Paradise and my beautiful robe and I didn't want to ruin it. Besides, I don't meddle in things that don't concern me."

"I see," said St Peter, "you, Nicholas, care deeply about the earth and helping a neighbor, while, you, Cassian, are only concerned with heaven. Is that right?" "Yes," said St Cassian.

"Ah, Nicholas," said St Peter, "you will be greatly loved by all Russia and shall have two feast days each year. And you, Cassian, will be remembered once a year, on the 29th of February."

And so it came to pass.

CAVEAT: The aforementioned story has no theological basis (being the creative product of pious Russians) and is not to be taken seriously.

Saint Buddha

Today's saints (according to the Roman Catholic calendar; the Orthodox mark it on 26 August) is perhaps the most peculiar commemoration in the Church calendar - East or West:

Barlaam and Josaphat are said to have lived in third or fourth century India, where the Gospel was first preached by St Thomas the Apostle. The religion had grown steadily, but was persecuted by, among others, one King Abenner. This king was told by his astrologers that his son Josaphat would become a Christian. King Abenner kept his son locked away from the outside world to prevent this prophecy from coming true, but a Christian hermit named Barlaam preached the Chrsitian religion to the young prince, and he converted. King Abenner later became a Christian and then a hermit. Josaphat became king, but abdicated soon after to live a life of ascetic piety.

Josaphat's tale was wildly popular in the Middle Ages, and versions of it appeared in nearly all European languages, from Armenian to Icelandic. It was the basis of La vida es sueño (Life is a dream), the masterpiece by Spanish Golden Age playwright Pedro Calderón de la Barca. The legend quite nearly circumnavigated the globe; a version of it came into being in the Tagalog language of the Philippines.

The story, it turns out, is a Christianized retelling of the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Before his birth a seer predicted he would either be a great king or a holy man. To ensure the former outcome, his father the king shielded the boy from all forms of religious teaching and from witnessing any form of human suffering. Having accidentally witnessed the latter, he left his palace to lead an ascetic life. The Buddha's story traveled in all four directions. As it traveled west, the Sanskrit "Bodhisattva" became "Bodisav" in Persian, "Budhasaf" or "Yudasaf" in Arabic, "Iodasaph" in Georgian, "Ioasaph" in Greek, and "Josaphat" in Latin.

Thus, the Buddha came to be venerated in Christendom. This remarkable origin of this tale need not be cause for embarrassment. It is a testimony to the faith of the Age of Faith, whose children yearned for holiness and recognized it when they saw it, even in a tale from a faraway land. Without access to a fact-checking resource like Wikipedia, it is easy to see how such a cultus could have developed.

Were the Christians of the Middle Ages who asked for St Josaphat's intercessions praying to the Bodhisattva? Were the many parishes named after St Josaphat erected in honor of the Buddha?

MORE at the Western Confucian's interpretation of what this could mean to the Church.

Reply to Insults

A word from St Alphonsus Liguori, whom the Western Church commemorates today:

When we have to reply to anyone who has insulted us, we should be careful to do it always with gentleness. A soft answer extinguishes the fire of wrath.