“Martin is only a catechumen, but he has clothed Me with this garment.”
A brief reflection on the Feastday of St. Martin the Merciful of Tours
Today is the feast day of Saint Martin the Merciful of Tours.
Saint Martin was born in Pannonia (now Hungary) in 316 to a pagan family. His father was a tribune in the Imperial Cavalry of the Roman Army, stationed in Ticinum, Gaul (now Pavia, Italy). At the age of 10, St. Martin’s burgeoning love for Christ led him to begin attending the Divine Services of our Church, and, by the grace of God, he became a catechumen at this young age. As the son of an Officer, at 15, he was required to join the Roman Army, and despite seeing himself as a soldier of Christ, he obeyed his father’s wishes and began his military service.
In 334, St. Martin was still a catechumen and stationed in Samarobriva, Gaul (now Amiens, France).
One cold day, as he was passing through the city gates, he encountered a scantily clad beggar. With nothing to offer this poor man but his own clothing, St. Martin drew his sword, cut his cloak in half, and gave half to the beggar to help cover him. He had nothing, yet he gave everything without a thought; he restored the beggar not just to warmth or some physical comfort, but to dignity. As the blessed Elder Ephraim of Arizona tells us, “Love is not measured by what you give, but according to how you give, Love is not stretching out your hand only, but giving your heart as well.” St. Martin shows us this, as does the pious Widow in the Gospels of Luke and Mark with her donation of two mites.
Later that night, St. Martin had a vision in which he saw Christ come before him as the beggar, now wrapped in his cloak. St. Martin heard our Lord say to the Angelic hosts that surrounded Him, “Martin is only a catechumen, but he has clothed Me with this garment.” Soon after this, aged around 18, St. Martin would be baptised, having seen the truth of the words of our Lord, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you do it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)
He continued to serve in the army, although it is said he refused to fight or carry arms, following in the footsteps of the first known conscientious objector, Saint Maximilian of Tebessa (295). St. Martin was convinced that the Holy Cross of our Lord would be his protection.
Eventually, he would be allowed to leave the army, and having put on Christ in Baptism, St. Martin would travel to Saint Hilary, the Bishop of Poitiers. Under whose guidance St. Martin would become a luminary among the Gauls and an ardent defender of the Holy Trinity. He embraced the ascetic life, spending some time as a hermit off the coast of Italy. He is often considered the father of French/Gaulish Monasticism. Founding the first Gaulish Monastery, the Abbey at Ligugé, sometime around 360/361. In his later life, after being consecrated Bishop of Tours, he established the notable Monastery of Marmoutier Abbey in 372.
St. Martin’s cloak, called a ‘capella’ in Latin, was preserved as a great relic. It was particularly revered by the Frankish Kings and nobility, who kept it with them when travelling or on military campaigns. When travelling, the ‘capella’ of St. Martin was kept in a series of small, often temporary, sanctuaries, which in time came to be known simply as the ‘capella’. This is the etymology of our word ‘Chapel’. The Priests and devout Christians who cared for the blessed cloak and the ‘capella’ were, in turn, called the ‘cappellani’, which is where our word ‘Chaplain’ comes from.
Having become, by the grace of God, a beacon of mercy and compassion, St. Martin reposed in our Lord in blessed peace in 397. Yet to this day, he continues to clothe and cover us with the Saintly cloak of his mercy, love, and intercession. Since, as we read in Proverbs, “The one who has mercy on the poor lends to God, and He will repay him according to his gift.” (Proverbs 19:17)
So, let us remember St. Martin, his mercy, his compassion, his kindness, and the love of his soft heart, the next time we see a beggar, a person rendered homeless, or a struggling sibling in Christ.
Because truly, my dear ones, we must confess that the things we have not done for the least among us, we have not done for Christ.
May Saint Martin the Merciful of Tours intercede for us all that our Lord might clothe and envelope our hearts with the glorious cloak of His Divine Grace and illumination.
- Revd. Presbyter Charalambos