From: hildegard8@excite.com   
      
   August 22nd - St. Emilian of Autun   
      
   Muslim invasions, which began taking over Spain in 711, soon began to spread   
   across the Pyrenees into various regions of France. In 725, an attack was   
   planned against the city of Autun, rich in abbeys and monasteries. A   
   reaction of the French Catholics rose in Bretagne, led by St. Emilian,   
   Bishop of Nantes.   
      
   Born in a noble family of Armonica, he was famous for his courage and honor.   
   Magnanimous, with keen discernment and a noble character, he had great   
   intelligence as well as a faith worthy of a martyr and an ardent zeal for   
   the interests of the Church. So, when he heard the news that the Muslims   
   would invade Autun, the Bishop considered it his duty to take up the sword.   
   He judged that it was necessary to fight rather than flee and see the things   
   he loved the most destroyed: Catholicism and France.   
      
   He called the people to the Cathedral and made this appeal, which became   
   legendary in the Middle Ages:   
      
       "O! All you strong men of war who are still stronger in the faith: take   
   into your hands the shield of this divine Faith, mark on your foreheads the   
   sign of the Cross, cover your heads with the helmet of salvation, and   
   protect your chests with the armor of the Lord. Then after taking up this   
   religious armor, soldiers of Jesus Christ, do yet more.   
      
       "Take your strongest weapons of war, your sharpest swords of the best   
   steel, and come together to combat and smash the miserable enemies who like   
   furious beasts slaughter our Catholic brothers. It is the moment to say with   
   Judas Macabeus: 'Be strong and make yourself ready that you may fight with   
   these   
   people, which are agreed together to destroy us and our sanctuary. Better is   
   it for us to die in battle, than to see our people and our sanctuary in such   
   a miserable state.'"   
      
   Touched by the Holy Ghost and filled with enthusiasm, the crowd shouted:   
   "Lord and Venerable Pastor, give the order and command, and where you go, we   
   will follow."   
      
   The Saint answered: "On this spot we shall gather and from the foot of this   
   altar we will start out against the enemy. And I will have the honor to   
   march at the head of the soldiers of Jesus Christ."   
      
   On the arranged date, wearing his sacred vestments the Bishop said Holy Mass   
   and gave Communion to the men who would fight with him. Then, they started   
   their march to Autun. A series of marvelous victories followed the Breton   
   army. They saved Autun at the great battle of Saint Forjand, and defeated   
   the infidel army at the pass of Crès d'Aussi.   
      
   The enemy made another attack but was defeated at the battle of St. Jean de   
   Louis. The Muslim chief, however, made another maneuver to reconquer Autun.   
   To cut off his path, St. Emilian gathered a number of his subjects and said:   
   "Dear and brave companions, I congratulate you for your great faith. The   
   number of combatants is not important; the victory comes from Heaven."   
      
   Then, making a sign of the Cross, he said, "Lord, into Thy hands I commend   
   my spirit," and entered into the thick of the fight.   
      
   Tradition says that St. Emilian severely wounded the Muslim chief during the   
   fight. When the Saracens saw their chief so near to death, many rallied to   
   help him. The Saint Bishop fell to the ground, fatally wounded by many sword   
   thrusts. He continued to shout encouraging his soldiers, but finally   
   expired. It was August 22, 725.   
      
   The Muslim chief ordered St. Emilian beheaded. Later the Catholics gathered   
   his relics, which were treasured as objects of great veneration. His cult   
   was confirmed by Pope Pius IX.   
      
       [Seven years after the sack of Autun in 725, Charles Martel met   
   Abd-er-Rahman outside of Tours and defeated and slew him. The Battle of   
   Poitiers of 732 is considered one of the great turning points in History,   
   which stopped the Islamic advance into Western Europe.]   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   The decree of Pope Pius IX is very valuable because it confirms the   
   legitimacy of St. Emilian's initiative to go into battle, leading his   
   warriors against the Moors, engaging in the fight, and finally reining his   
   horse to the center of battle, where he died from wounds inflicted by the   
   enemies.   
      
   There is a principle of Canon Law that states that ecclesiastics should not   
   shed blood with their own hands. Ecclesia abhorrit sanguine, the Church has   
   a horror of blood. She is the mother who doesn't want to see the blood of   
   her children shed. This is why she forbade her ecclesiastics to enter into   
   combat.   
      
   But that principle doesn't go so far as to affirm that bloodshed is never   
   permitted. There were the Crusades, for example, that were called by the   
   Church. What is the wise criteria behind this rule and its exceptions?   
      
   Let us imagine a village where a certain villain became famous for his   
   crimes and evil behavior. The man is justly condemned to death, and the   
   judge needs someone to execute the sentence. Let us suppose that the men who   
   would normally do this had gone to war, and the only one left who could   
   execute the sentence was the father of the bandit. Must the father hang the   
   son? What does Catholic Morals says about such a situation?   
      
   The Church teaches that even if the son is clearly guilty and deserves   
   death, the father is dispensed from executing the sentence. According to   
   Natural Law a father should not kill his own son. The father can agree that   
   his son is guilty and deserves to die, he can encourage others to execute   
   the sentence, but he should not have to do it. The judge should wait for   
   another person to execute the sentence.   
      
   An analogous situation governs Church policy regarding the shedding of   
   blood. She can agree that bloodshed is necessary, she can encourage it, she   
   can canonize those who do so; but since she is the mother, she does not do   
   so. There is no contradiction, it is a refinement of moral sensitivity. This   
   is the extremely beautiful rule.   
      
   So, Bishops and priests did not shed the blood of others. But it is also   
   very beautiful that some exceptions existed to this rule. One such exception   
   is that of St. Emilian who took up arms in a defensive war against the   
   enemies of the Church, rousing the people to action, encouraging the   
   faithful to fight, and entering the battle himself after he said the Mass   
   that began the military effort at the foot of the altar. It is a very   
   beautiful exception that we should understand and admire.   
      
   So we have St. Emilian who as a Bishop commanded an army, defeated the   
   Saracens, and when they tried a final maneuver to regain the city, went   
   straight into the heart of the battle to save the city. Having a   
   presentiment he would die, he repeated the last words of Our Lord: "My God,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)