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St. Alexius, Confessor
 by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876



The life of Alexius teaches us how great God is in His Saints. His parents, Euphemianus and Aglae, were rich and distinguished people, but they were long without issue. At length, after many prayers, they were blessed with a son, whom they named Alexius. They neglected nothing to give him a pious education; and Alexius, who was always much inclined to piety, never gave them any cause for sorrow, but was their greatest happiness and comfort. When he grew older, his parents desired that he should take to wife a maiden who was highly esteemed in Rome, as well on account of her riches as of her virtues. Although Alexius had different thoughts as to the life he wished to lead, he nevertheless, after having asked God's advice in prayer, consented to their wish, and the wedding was celebrated with great festivities. Alexius, however, on the same day, felt an invincible desire to leave his bride, and his home, and all his riches. He obeyed the Divine voice within him, and proceeding to the apartment of his bride, he made her most costly presents of Jєωels and other precious things, asking her to receive and keep them as tokens of his love. He then went into his room, and, without telling any one of his design, changed his clothes, and secretly left the house. He hastened to the harbor, and embarked in a ship which was ready to sail. After a prosperous voyage, he arrived at Laodicea, and thence went to Edessa in Syria.

The consternation in Alexius' home, the grief and anxiety of his parents and pious bride, when he did not return the following day, may easily be imagined. They sent their servants in all directions to search for Alexius, and bring him back to his home, and as he could not be found anywhere in the city, messengers were dispatched to neighboring states and cities; but all was useless; they found no trace of him. Meanwhile Alexius, after visiting many remarkable places, and having made many devout pilgrimages, had arrived at Edessa, and begun the life he was resolved henceforth to lead, and which consisted in living, for the honor of God and the salvation of his soul, in voluntary poverty until his death. Hence he gave to the poor all he still possessed, covered himself with a ragged garment, and went to a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. This house of the Almighty became, so to say, his dwelling-place, as he spent in it the whole day, except the hour for begging alms. He passed the greater part of the night in praising the Lord in the vestibule of the sacred edifice, giving only a few hours to sleep on the bare ground. He fasted most rigidly and distributed most of the alms he received among the poor. His manner of living altered the face of the Saint to such a degree that no one would have recognized him. He convinced himself of this fact by asking alms of his own servants who had come to Edessa in search of him: they gave him alms without recognizing in the miserable beggar their own master. When Alexius had lived in this manner for some time, several persons who had observed his virtuous conduct, began to think that this beggar was more than he appeared. The curate of the church, one day, while pondering over the actions of this beggar, heard a voice proceeding from an image of the Blessed Virgin, informing him that the poor man, who dwelt at the door of the church, was a great servant of the Almighty, and that his prayers were very agreeable to the Most High. This was soon known to many, and Alexius perceived that they began to honor him and treat him with distinction; and as he had determined to live in abnegation and poverty, he resolved to leave Edessa. Accordingly, he went on board of the first vessel he found, praying God to lead him where it was His holy will that he should serve Him unknown and unheeded. His prayer was accepted; for, instead of reaching Laodicea, whither the ship was bound, it was driven into the harbor of Rome. The heroic conqueror of himself saw in this that it was the design of Providence that he should continue in his home the life he had begun at Edessa.

The Almighty, who wished to give to the world an unprecedented example of self-abnegation, inspired Alexius to go into the house of his father; and the holy youth, although willing to obey the call, went first to the seven principal churches of the city, praying God to give him strength for the terrible struggle before him. No sooner had he finished his prayers, than he went to his father's house. At that moment Euphemianus, followed by many of his servants, was coming out of his house. Alexius, clad in rags, approaching him most humbly said: "Lord, for the sake of Christ, have compassion on a poor pilgrim, and give me a corner of your palace to live in." Euphemianus looked in pity at Alexius, and although he had no idea that his son was concealed under the garments of the beggar, his heart was moved and he consented to his request. Hence he ordered his servants to assign him a place where he might live, and to give him his daily food. The order was obeyed, and a corner under the staircase, or as some say, a small room was appointed to the poor pilgrim as his dwelling. He gratefully accepted it and remained there until his death without being recognized by any one.

God permitted that the servants soon grew weary of him, and often treated him with great indignity. They not only derided and abused him, but even sometimes dared to lay hands on him. The holy pilgrim bore it all without complaining. His greatest trial was when he saw his father, his mother or his bride, or when he heard from their own lips, how they were grieving for the loss of their Alexius. But the grace of God sustained him and he wavered not in his heroic resolution. He never left his corner, except when he went to church. Every week he partook of the Blessed Sacrament and passed many hours in church in prayer and devout reading. He fasted daily, slept on the bare floor, and mortified his body most unmercifully. He possessed no other pictures but those of Christ and the Blessed Virgin, the sight of which encouraged him to persevere. These were the means by which God enabled him to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. For seventeen years he thus struggled and conquered his own heart in his father's house, when it pleased the Almighty to bestow upon this brave and incomparable soldier, the crown of everlasting glory. The hour of his death was revealed to him, and Alexius, after having, according to his custom, assisted at Holy Mass and received the Blessed Sacrament, went home and wrote who he was, why he had left his father's house, and all that had taken place during his absence. This note he folded together and held in his hand when he peacefully and happily gave his heroic soul to God, in the year of our Lord 403, or as others say in 304.

At the hour of his death, Euphemianus, his father, was in church, assisting at the divine sacrifice, which Pope Innocent I. offered in the presence of the Emperor Honorius, when suddenly, a voice announced that the great servant of God at the house of Euphemianus was dead. The latter, questioned by the Pope and the Emperor, what servant of God dwelt in his house answered: "It can be none but the poor beggar to whom I have given lodgings for many years." Accompanied by the Pope and the Emperor, Euphemianus went home, found Alexius dead. Seeing a paper in his hand, Euphemianus would have taken it, but the fingers of the dead had closed so tightly over it, that it was not possible to loosen them. The Pope and all present fell on their knees and prayed that God would permit the paper to be read, after which the Pope approached the Saint, and took the paper without any effort. The astonishment of all, but especially of Euphemianus, the Pope and the Emperor, when they read that the beggar was the long-lost son of Euphemianus is easier to be imagined than described. Grief, surprise, joy and sorrow overwhelmed the father's heart with such force, that, for a long time, he was unable to utter a word. At last throwing himself at the feet of his holy son, he bedewed them with his tears, and broke out into piteous lamentations that he had not recognized him. Meanwhile, the mother and bride of the Saint were apprised of the startling event; and no pen can describe the scene which took place when they beheld the holy body. The report of this astonishing occurrence spread quickly through the city, and the palace of Euphemianus was soon filled with people. Every one wished to kiss, or at least to see the holy relics. Several miracles which took place, and the heavenly light with which God graced the countenance of the Saint, increased from hour to hour the crowd that came to see him. The Pope ordered that the body should be transported to the Church of St. Peter, to satisfy the people. He, as well as the Emperor, followed in the funeral procession, which was more like a triumphal march, and such as Rome had never seen before. The holy relics were, in the course of time, transferred to the church of St. Boniface; and the dwelling of Euphemianus was converted into a church and dedicated to St. Alexius. The costly tomb which encloses the holy body has been honored with many and great miracles.




PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS.



I. To gain heaven, St. Alexius left his home, with all its riches, pleasures and comforts, and lived an abject, despised and austere life. He was earnest in his desire to save his soul; hence nothing was too hard for him. What are you doing to save your soul? You desire to live in pleasures, honors, riches and comforts: you even seek sinful gratifications. You procure for your body all it desires, you will not be deprived of anything, you avoid all that is troublesome and do not wish to suffer or labor to obtain heaven. But nevertheless you desire to reach the same heaven into which St. Alexius has entered. Is this reasonable? It is true, God does not require of you all that this Saint did; but it is also true that we must conquer ourselves if we will gain salvation; that we must labor and suffer, avoid sin and sinful pleasures, do penance and good works, if we will enter the kingdom of God. How dare you hope to gain salvation, if you will not do this? If you tell me, as many others have said: "Heaven is intended for men;" I shall say to you: "Yes, Heaven is intended for men; but not for sinners and idle servants, who will neither mortify themselves nor do good works.''

 II. To leave home, honors and riches, and to lead a life of poverty and austerity, was undoubtedly a heroic deed of St. Alexius; but infinitely greater was the heroism which made him continue, during so many years in his father's house, his life of austere self-abnegation, amid such severe temptations of Satan and persecutions of men. But man is strong when the grace of God is within him. You sometimes make the resolution to begin to labor and suffer for heaven. You, so to say, promise to do and suffer everything to gain salvation. But why is your zeal so short-lived? Why do you so soon change your mind? Ah! It is not enough to begin; you must continue until the end, otherwise it is unavailing. If Satan, or the world would prevent you, fight bravely, as St. Alexius did, and pray for strength from the Almighty. "Vain are our good deeds," writes St. Gregory the Great, " if we discontinue them before our life is ended: just as he has run to no purpose, who ceases his course before he has arrived at the goal."











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