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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250221
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UID:13141-1740096000-1740182399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Peter Damien
DESCRIPTION:ST PETER DAMIAN \nFrom a discourse of Pope Benedict XVI \n◊◊◊ \nSt Peter Damian was one of the most significant figures of the 11th \ncentury… a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the \nChurch\, committed personally to the task of reform. Born during 1007 in the \nItalian city of Ravenna\, Peter belonged to a large family but lost both his father \nand mother early in life. An older brother took the boy into his household\, yet \ntreated him poorly. But another of Peter’s brothers\, a priest\, took steps to \nprovide for his education; and the priest’s own name\, Damian\, became his \nyounger brother’s surname. Peter excelled in school while also taking up \nforms of asceticism\, such as fasting\, wearing a hair shirt\, and spending long \nhours in prayer with an emphasis on reciting the Psalms. He offered \nhospitality to the poor as a means of serving Christ\, and eventually resolved to \nembrace voluntary poverty himself through the Order of Saint Benedict. \nThe monks he chose to join\, in the hermitage of Fonte Avellana\, lived \nout their devotion to the Cross of Christ through a rigorous rule of life. They \nlived mainly on bread and water\, prayed all 150 Psalms daily\, and practiced \nmany physical mortifications. Peter embraced this way of life somewhat \nexcessively at first\, which led to a bout with insomnia. Deeply versed in the \nBible and the writings of earlier theologians\, Peter developed his own \ntheological acumen and became a skilled preacher. The leaders of other \nmonasteries sought his help to build up their monks in holiness\, and in 1043 \nhe took up a position of leadership as the prior of Fonte Avellana. Five other \nhermitages were established under his direction. \nSerious corruption plagued the Church during Peter’s lifetime\, including \nthe sale of religious offices and immorality among many of the clergy. Through \nhis writings and involvements in controversies of the day\, the prior of Fonte \nAvellana called on members of the hierarchy and religious orders to live out \ntheir commitments and strive for holiness. \nIn 1057\, Pope Stephen IX became determined to make Peter Damian a \nbishop\, a goal he accomplished only by demanding the monk’s obedience \nunder threat of excommunication. Consecrated as the Bishop of Ostia in \nNovember of that year\, he also joined the College of Cardinals and wrote a \nletter encouraging its members to set an example for the whole Church. With \nPope Stephen’s death in 1058\, and the election of his successor Nicholas II\, \nPeter’s involvement in Church controversies grew. He supported Pope \nNicholas against a rival claimant to the papacy\, and went to Milan as the \nPope’s representative when a crisis broke out over canonical and moral issues. \nIn 1067\, Peter Damian was allowed to resign his episcopate and return \nto the monastery at Fonte Avellana… In 1072\, Peter returned to his own \nbirthplace of Ravenna\, to reconcile the local church with the Pope. The monk’s \nlast illness came upon him during his return from this final task\, and he died \nafter a week at a Benedictine monastery in Faenza during February of that \nyear. Never formally canonized\, St Peter Damian was celebrated as a saint \nafter his death in many of the places associated with his life. In 1823\, Pope Leo \nXII named him a Doctor of the Church and extended the observance of his \nfeast day throughout the Western Church.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-peter-damien/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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