Augustine of Hippo preaches a sermon on the feast of *Quadratus (bishop and martyr of Utica, S01324), one of the *Martyrs of Massa Candida (S00904). Sermon Dolbeau 18 (= 360F), delivered in Latin, probably in Utica or possibly in Hippo Regius (both central North Africa), sometime between 397 and 430.
E04552
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo, Sermo Dolbeau 18 (= 360F)
[Sermo Sancti Augustini episcopi de natali Quadrati martyris
'Sermon of Saint Augustine the bishop on the feast of the martyr Quadratus']
1. De martyrum ergo apud Deum et homines gloria tam saepe loquimur, quam saepe eorum sollemnia celebramus. Adsidua celebratio crebra sit exhortatio, ut possit esse exsultatio. Psalmum cantauimus congruum sane martyrum festo ...
'We speak about the glory of the martyrs with God and among people as frequently as we celebrate their solemnities. Let assiduous celebration turn into frequent exhortation and make us rejoice. We have sung an indeed relevant psalm for the feast of the martyrs ...'
Augustine reminds his audience that they do not pray for the martyrs, but seek their prayers:
Non solum autem pro ipsis non oramus, sed eorum nos orationibus commendamus.
'Not only we do not pray for them, but we trust ourselves to their prayers.'
In the next part of the sermon Augustine explains that the temptations of these days are similar to the persecutions of old. People who triumph over temptation imitate the martyrs. Only once (in §3) does he refer to Quadratus, and reflect on the meaning of his name ('squared'), emphasising that a square cannot fall. He expresses a hope that all his audience will become square and turn into massa Quadrati ('Quadratus's mass'- an obvious allusion to the martyrs of 'Massa Candida', the 'White Mass').
Text: Dolbeau 1996, 296.
Translation and summary: Robert Wiśniewski.
Service for the saint
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Protagonists in Cult and NarrativesEcclesiastics - bishops
Theorising on SanctityConsiderations about the veneration of saints
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.
This sermon was probably preached in Utica, where the martyrs of Massa Candida and their bishop Quadratus were venerated, or possibly in Hippo, Augustine's episcopal see. It cannot be precisely dated.
Bibliography
Edition and commentary:Dolbeau, F., Augustin d'Hippone, Vingt-six sermons au peuple d'Afrique (Etudes Augustiniennes, Antiquité, vol. 147; Paris, 1996), 296-304.
Robert Wiśniewski
23/08/2017
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00904 | Martyrs of Massa Candida (Utica) | Certain | S01324 | Quadratus, bishop and martyr of Utica | Quadratus | Certain |
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