Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon at the feast of *Felix (priest and confessor of Nola, S00000), most probably at Hippo Regius (Numidia, central North Africa). Exposition on Psalm 127, delivered in Latin, possibly in 407.
E01774
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 127
Ch. 2
Augustine comments upon Psalm 127, verse 4, which mentions filii excussorum or the 'children of those shaken out'. He explains that the expression refers to the Apostles, as the wrapping of the Old Testament which often spoke in riddles should be shaken out in order to make the content, that is the true sense of the word of God, visible. In this context he says:
Excutiamus, si uidetur caritati uestrae: aderit dominus, ut procedat quod intus est; maxime, fratres mei, quia martyrum natalitia celebramus.
'Let us shake out, if it pleased to your Charity. The Lord will help us to get out what is inside. Especially, my brothers, as we are celebrating the annual feast of martyrs (natalitia martyrum).'
There follows a passage on the suffering of the martyrs.
Ch. 6
Ergo, fratres, Felix martyr et uere felix et nomine et corona, cuius hodie dies est, contemsit mundum.
'And so, brothers, the martyr Felix, who is truly happy (felix) both by name and crown, whose day we are celebrating, spurned the world'
There follows a description of the death of Felix, who was imprisoned, tortured, and confessed his faith, though he died in prison and was not killed like other martyrs.
Text: Dekkers and Fraipont 1956.
Translation and summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Saint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Source
Augustine of Hippo was born in 354 in the north African city of Thagaste. He received an education in rhetoric at Carthage, and after a period teaching there moved to Rome, and then in 384 to a public professorship of rhetoric in Milan. In these early years of adulthood Augustine was a Manichaean, but then got disillusioned with this religion, and in Milan in 386, largely under the influence of Ambrose, bishop of the city, he converted to Christianity, and was baptised by Ambrose in 387. Returning to Africa in 388, he was ordained a priest in 391 at Hippo Regius (in the province of Numidia), and rapidly acquired a reputation as a preacher. In 395 he became bishop of Hippo, which he remained until his death in 430. Details of his early life were recorded by Augustine himself in his Confessions, and shortly after his death a pupil and long-time friend, Possidius, wrote his Life, focused on Augustine as an effective Christian writer, polemicist and bishop (E00073).Amongst his many writings, the most informative on the cult of saints are his numerous Sermons, the City of God, and a treatise On the Care of the Dead. The Sermons tell us which saints (primarily African, but with some from abroad) received attention in Hippo, Carthage and elsewhere, and provide occasional details of miracles and cult practices. The City of God records the distribution, and subsequent miracles, of the relics of saint Stephen, after they arrived in Africa from Palestine in around 420. On the Care of the Dead, discusses the possible advantages of burial ad sanctos (in other words, close to a saint), and theorises on the link between the saints who dwell in heaven and their corporeal remains buried in their graves. In these works, and others, Augustine reveals his own particular beliefs about the saints, their relics and their miracles.
The Expositions on the Psalms are based on Augustine's homilies preached either in Hippo or in other places in North Africa in the period from 392 to 417. According to la Bonnardière this sermon was preached in 407 and belongs to a series delivered in Hippo.
Bibliography
Edition:Dekkers, E., and Fraipont, J., Enarrationes in psalmos (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 38; Turnhout: Brepols, 1956).
Further reading:
La Bonnardière, M.A., "Les Enarrationes in Psalmos prêchées par saint Augustin à l'occasion de fêtes des martyrs," Recherches Augustiniennes 7 (1971), 73-104.
Robert Wiśniewski
27/06/2016
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00000 | Felix, priest and confessor of Nola | Felix | Certain |
|---|
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