ST. HILARY of Poitiers

Also known as: Athanasius of the West; Doctor of the Divinity of Christ
Memorial: 13 January; formerly 14 January
Profile: Born of wealthy polytheistic, pagan nobility, Hilary's early life was uneventful as he married, had children (including Saint Abra), and studied on his own. Through his studies he came to believe in salvation through good works, then monotheism. As he studied the Bible for the first time, he literally read himself into the faith, and was converted by the end of the New Testament.

Hilary lived the faith so well he was made bishop of Poitiers from 353 to 368. Hilary opposed the emperor's attempt to run Church matters, and was exiled; he used the time to write works explaining the faith. His teaching and writings converted many, and in an attempt to reduce his notoriety he was returned to the small town of Poitiers where his enemies hoped he would fade into obscurity. His writings continued to convert pagans.

Introduced Eastern theology to the Western Church. Fought Arianism with the help of Saint Viventius Proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1851.
Born: 315 at Poitiers, France
Died: 368 of natural causes
Patronage: against snakes, backward children, snake bites
Prayers: Prayer for Perseverance in Faith...,
...Acknowledging that God is in His Creation
Additional Information: Ecole Initiative, by Karen Rae Keck
Christian Biographies, by James Keifer
For All The Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
Catholic Information Network
Catholic Encyclopedia
Lives of the Saints, by Father Alban Butler
Lives of Illustrious Men, by Saint Jerome
Works: On the Councils at CCEL
On the Councils at NewAdvent
On the Trinity at CCEL
On the Trinity at NewAdvent
Homilies on the Psalms at CCEL
Homilies on the Psalms at NewAdvent
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Readings: To those who wish to stand in God's grace, neither the guardianship of saints nor the defenses of angels are wanting.

- Saint Hilary: Commentary on the Psalms, 365AD
We have been promised, and he who made the promise is trustworthy: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Yes, in our poverty we will pray for our needs. We will study the sayings of your prophets and apostles with unflagging attention, and knock for admittance wherever the gift of understanding is safely kept. But yours it is, Lord, to grant our petitions, to be present when we seek you and to open when we knock.

Impart to us, then, the meaning of the words of Scripture and the light to understand it, with reverence for the doctrine and confidence in its truth. Grant that we may express what we believe. Through the prophets and apostles we know about you, the one God the Father, and the one Lord Jesus Christ. May we have the grace, the face of heretics who deny you, to honor you as God, who is not alone, and to proclaim this as truth.

- from a sermon on the Trinity by Saint Hilary

January 13, 2005

St. Hilary

(315?-368)

This staunch defender of the divinity of Christ was a gentle and courteous man, devoted to writing some of the greatest theology on the Trinity, and was like his Master in being labeled a “disturber of the peace.” In a very troubled period in the Church, his holiness was lived out in both scholarship and controversy.
Raised a pagan, he was converted to Christianity when he met his God of nature in the Scriptures. His wife was still living when he was chosen, against his will, to be the bishop of Poitiers in France. He was soon taken up with battling what became the scourge of the fourth century, Arianism, which denied the divinity of Christ.
The heresy spread rapidly. St. Jerome said “The world groaned and marveled to find that it was Arian.” When Emperor Constantius ordered all the bishops of the West to sign a condemnation of Athanasius, the great defender of the faith in the East, Hilary refused and was banished from France to far off Phrygia. Eventually he was called the “Athanasius of the West.” While writing in exile, he was invited by some semi-Arians (hoping for reconciliation) to a council the emperor called to counteract the Council of Nicea. But Hilary predictably defended the Church, and when he sought public debate with the heretical bishop who had exiled him, the Arians, dreading the meeting and its outcome, pleaded with the emperor to send this troublemaker back home. Hilary was welcomed by his people.

Comment:

Christ said his coming would bring not peace but a sword (see Matthew 10:34). The Gospels offer no support for us if we fantasize about a sunlit holiness that knows no problems. Christ did not escape at the last moment, though he did live happily ever after—after a life of controversy, problems, pain and frustration. Hilary, like all saints, simply had more of the same.

Doctors of the Catholic Church

ST HILARY IS THE DOCTOR OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY. AS BISHOP, HE BRILLIANTLY DEFENDED THE SACRED HUMANITY OF JESUS. HILARY WAS THE ONLY MARRIED DOCTOR AND PROTECTED THE CHURCH AND ITS MEMBERS BY DEFEATING ARIANISM WHICH DENIED THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

FOR THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO CAN NOT IDENTIFY CHRIST AS GOD BUT THINK IT IS POSSIBLE, TALK WITH HILARY. IF YOU FEEL RELUCTANTLY TOWARD THE CHURCH, FOR ANY REASON, SPEAK WITH HILARY. IF YOU ARE A NON-BELIEVER, TURN TO HILARY. HE WAS ALL THESE AND MORE.

ST HILARY WAS CRITIZED, SLANDERED AND BANISHED FROM HIS COUNTRY. BY REFUSING TO OBEY THE EMPEROR, HE WAS EXILED. HE BOLDLY AND BRAVELY DEFENDED JESUS CHRIST IN HIS FULLNESS, BOTH SACRED HUMANITY AND ETERNAL DIVINITY.

HILARY CLUNG TO HIS FAITH WHEN MOST YIELDED TO WORLDLY, AUTHORITIVE POWERS AND INFLUENCES. HE SURRENDERED TO GOD, LIVED HIS FAITH, FAITHFULLY AND WOULD NOT BE INTIMIDATED.

St Hilary, 315-368. Doctor of Christ's Divinity. Feast, Jan 13th.

Saint Hilary,
Bishop & Doctor of the Church
Optional Memorial
January 13th

Anonymous illumination, St. Hilary writing his commentary on Matthew

Saint Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) was a leading defender of the Church against the Arian heresy. He wrote twelve books about the Holy Trinity as well as commentaries on St. Matthew's Gospel and the Psalms.

Collect:
All-powerful God,
as Saint Hilary defended the divinity of Christ Your Son,
give us a deeper understanding of this mystery
and help us to profess it in all truth.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 1 John 2:18-25
Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come; therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all know. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and know that no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also. Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is what He has promised us, eternal life.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:13-19
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Related Links on New Advent Website:
St. Hilary ..

- On the Councils, or the Faith of the Easterns
- On the Trinity
- Homilies on the Psalms

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