Blessed Thomas of Maurienne

One night, weary from his prayers and vigils, Thomas fell asleep near the tomb of Jesus Christ. He saw the blessed Virgin Mary approach him, who said: "Why this sadness and these tears? Be constant and take courage; the Lord has heard your prayers. Return to Italy. When, by the protection of God, you have arrived there, seek in the province of Sabina, at the place called Acutien, three large cypre province de Sabine Region of Italy where the monastery of Farfa is located. sses that stand isolated next to one another. Very close by is a magnificent basilica, built in my honor; it is dear to me and I visit it often. It is there that you will spend the rest of your life. Nothing will be lacking there for you or yours; all goods will follow you there and a multitude of brothers, drawn by your example, will go to work with you for the conquest of the eternal kingdom." While the Mother of God was speaking thus, she presented to her servant a bread of marvelous size and dazzling whiteness, and she added: "Receive this bread and go without worry; know that it will never fail you and that it will suffice abundantly for all the days of your life." It was the bread of the love of God, heavenly bread that nourishes the soul and makes all the futilities of the earth insipid to it. From that moment, the Blessed one was so inflamed with the fire of charity and at the same time received to such a degree the gift of tears, that he could neither speak of God, nor attend to prayer or psalmody, without them flowing in abundance from his eyes or rather from his heart. The contemplation of divine things raised him far above the miserable vanities of this world. Continually united to God by the ardor of his desires, one would have said at every moment that his soul was about to break the bonds of flesh that held it far from its love. The life of Thomas became an uninterrupted prayer and like a perpetual song of the praises of God. It is thus that the apostle Saint John represents the Saints before the throne of God, the Saints of the earth as the Saints of heaven; for for them temporal life and eternal life are but one and the same life, they do in the first by faith and combat what they will do in the second by love alone and in glory. From this valley of tears their gaze is fixed on the homeland. They ascend there unceasingly by the divine rungs of grace, and when, having arrived at the summit by perfect holiness, as much as the holiness of man can be, they see the eternal gates still delaying to open, it is not surprising that they suffer from this delay pains that we do not know, we, who remain among our earthly affections and our vile passions.

Returning to Italy to obey the voice of heaven, our Saint came to pass through Ephesus. He could not resist the desire to remain for some time near the tomb of Saint John the Evangelist , the Éphèse Principal city of John's apostolate in Asia Minor. apostle par excellence of charity. He remained there for three years, occupied with the meditation of the great mysteries of which he had just visited the glorious theater. Finally, God pressing him more and more, he embarked for Italy. His pilgrimage had lasted nearly seven years.

As soon as he arrived in Italy, Thomas went to Sabina. One day, while he was in a place called Lervinaire, the thought came to him to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass there. When he had finished, feeling tired, he told his disciples to prepare a meal with whatever provisions might still be in their bags, and he withdrew under a tree to take a little rest. His intention was to go to Rome as soon as possible, in order to visit the tombs of the holy Apostles once again, and then to return to Maurienne. But God, who knew the obedience of his servant, came a second time to manifest His will to him. While the Saint was resting, the Mother of God appeared to him and said with kindness: "This is the place I promised you: take courage, therefore, my brother, and do not let yourself be overcome by cowardly distrust." And pointing to three cypresses not far from there, she added: "Go, and near these trees that you see, you will find the basilica of which I spoke to you. It is there that you shall dwell. You will enjoy rest in God there; work like a valiant soldier, to merit the crown of life. I will be with you and with your brothers now and always. I will bring a multitude to you, so that they may learn to serve God under your guidance." Having said these words, the blessed Virgin disappeared.

Upon waking, Thomas recounted the vision he had had to his companions, and, looking around him, he indeed saw three cypresses at a short distance, on the eastern side. "There they are," he exclaimed, "the trees that were shown to me. Rise and let us go where God calls us." They went there immediately, but not without difficulty; for they were forced to cut a path for themselves with their knives through the brambles and thorns. Having reached the foot of the cypresses, it was not difficult for them to find the basilica, and, entering it, they gave thanks to God.

When they had spent a few days there singing the praises of the Lord, Thomas's disciples began to grow weary and to say sadly: "What shall we do here, venerable father, when the provisions we have left are exhausted? This place, as you can see, can only be known to wild beasts and thieves, who will come to slaughter us." Thomas consoled them by saying: "I trust in the infinite generosity of God Almighty and in the intercession of His holy Mother, that we shall have to fear neither hunger nor thieves. The goodness of the Lord will come to our aid, for He has promised it through the Prophet: 'Those who hope in Him shall lack nothing,' and His promise will soon be fulfilled for us."

The Duchy of Spoleto was then governed by Far oald, s Faroald Duke of Spoleto and principal benefactor of Thomas. econd of the name, son and successor of Trasemund. This prince, intending to go to Rome, sent off servants and beasts of burden laden with provisions, wishing to follow them himself the next day with his escort. But, during the night, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and said: "Renounce the journey you are planning, for it is not advantageous for you to go to Rome now. Follow rather my counsel, which will be much more profitable to you. There is in the territory of the Sabine a church consecrated in my honor, in which foreign monks dwell, serving God night and day through prayer and the singing of hymns. Have all the provisions that have just left brought to them, so that through their prayers the Lord may be propitious to you."

Faroald immediately sent the troop laden with provisions toward the Sabine. These men, having arrived at a place called Pompeianus, inquired of the inhabitants where the church of the Blessed Virgin was, inhabited by foreign monks. "We know," they said all unanimously, "several churches that are dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, but we cannot tell you where these monks are. However, we hold from our fathers that their ancestors had heard it said that, in the land called Acutien, near three cypresses, there was a church of marvelous beauty, under the title of the Blessed Virgin, and that right next to it stood, in the time of the Romans, a monastery of religious. We do not know that there is any habitation there now." And, speaking in this way, they pointed with their hands in the direction where these three cypresses were, without anyone knowing the path that had to be followed to get there. Suddenly the beasts of burden, which had been made to stop, set off by themselves and took precisely the direction that had just been indicated. The drivers followed them.

As they approached the church, the brothers, hearing the noise of a troop of men and horses, believed that they were thieves, and, running to the church all frightened, they took it up with the blessed Thomas who, prostrate at the foot of the altar, was pouring out his soul before God, and they said to him: "Behold, father, that, as we predicted to you, thieves are coming to slaughter us." And they strove to close the door.

However, one of them saw through a hole the prince's men preparing to unload their mounts in front of the church. He ran all joyful to tell Thomas and the others that not only was there nothing to fear, but that horses were arriving laden with provisions. Immediately all went out and asked the drivers where these provisions came from and who was sending them. They replied: "Faroald, glorious Duke of Spoleto, warned by the Blessed Virgin Mother of God, sends you this gift and asks you to remember him before the Lord." They deposited their load, received the blessing of the brothers, and took back the path by which they had come.

Faroald often sent gifts to the monaste ry of Farfa; he ev monastère de Farfe Benedictine monastery located in Sabina, restored by Thomas. en begged Abbot Thomas to come see him in Spoleto, commended himself to his prayers, and, in order to ensure the existence of the monastery, ceded considerable lands to him. He then wrote to Pope John VII pape Jean VII Pope who consecrated a chapel to the Holy Shroud in the Vatican. to ask him to confirm this donation by his apostolic authority, and charged the blessed Thomas to go to Rome to press this matter. The Sovereign Pontiff willingly granted it; he had a bull drawn up, which was addressed to "Abbot Thomas, religious priest, and to the congregation of the venerable monastery of Saint Mary, Mother of God, ever virgin." The letter of Faroald and the bull of John VII are from the year 705 or 706. They can be seen in Volume II of the Annals of the Order of Saint Benedict.

Thus did Mary fulfill the promise she had made to the blessed Thomas and magnificently reward his trust. Thanks to the liberality of the Duke of Spoleto, the monastery of Farfa was soon rebuilt (681).

The Blessed Virgin had told the blessed one that his examples would attract to Farfa a multitude of brothers, desirous of walking, under his guidance, to the conquest of the kingdom of God. It was a promise as well as a prophecy. Mary kept her word. From the depths of the solitude where Thomas had retired with his disciples from Maurienne, the fame of his holiness spread far and wide. It is with virtue as it is with the violet: the more humble and small it makes itself, the more it hides from the eyes of men, and the more its perfume betrays it. The sweetness of the holy abbot's character, the tender affection he bore for his brothers, his thoughtful charity towards the strangers to whom the monastery door was always open, the entirely heavenly fervor that appeared on his face and which showed that, while touching the earth only with his feet, his soul lived in heaven, won him all hearts. Thus he saw a crowd of men of all conditions flocking to him, coming from neighboring regions and even from the most distant provinces. Thomas received them with joy, and, in such a holy school, they did not take long to make rapid progress in the perfection of religious life. His lessons were inspired by that spirit of kindness and gentle firmness that formed the foundation of his soul. But the most effective of all were his examples. It was enough to see him to understand what one should be oneself.

An enemy of laziness, he obliged his religious to clear the forests, to cultivate the lands that Duke Faroald had given him and some others that he had bought himself, to practice hospitality, to unite prayer and the practice of all virtues with the labors of agriculture. By this means, he made the roads safe everywhere and completely renewed the face of the country.

The holy man thus spent thirty-five years, seven months, and five days at the head of the monastery of Farfa, sighing for the happy day when it would be given to him to leave for the heavenly homeland. That day finally came. The blessed Thomas o Le bienheureux Thomas de Maurienne Abbot and restorer of the monastery of Farfa in the 8th century. f Maurienne rendered his soul to God on September 10 of the year 715, in the midst of his grieving disciples.

## CULT AND RELICS. — ABBEY OF FARFA.

Blessed Thomas was buried under the high altar of the monastery church, next to Saint Lawrence the Syrian. This altar having been rebuilt in 1604, the two holy bodies were found enclosed in marble urns. They were then transported to the vault of the old chapel of relics, the opening of which was walled up and where they still rest today.

A 14th-century manuscript, preserved in the archives of the monastery of Farfa and entitled: *Lectionarium et passiones martyrum*, contains the office of Saint Thomas, for December 12th. The legend is divided into eleven lessons; Mabillon gives it textually in his *Acts of the Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict*. In 1636, Gregory of Perugia, prior of Farfa, suppressed this proper office, for the reason that it was not approved by the Holy See. Nevertheless, the office and the feast of Saint Thomas continued to be celebrated and are still celebrated in the monastery of Farfa, on the indicated day, as for the common of abbots. One of the side altars of the church of Farfa is dedicated to Saint Thomas. The painting represents the apparition that the Blessed Virgin made to him in Jerusalem.

We cannot end this biography without saying what the monastery of Blessed Thomas of Maurienne was and what it became over the course of the centuries.

The mona stery of Farfa, in monastère de Farfe Benedictine monastery located in Sabina, restored by Thomas. Sabina, in the diocese of Spoleto, had been founded in the 8th century by Sain t Lawrence, S saint Laurent First founder of the monastery of Farfa in the 8th century. yrian by birth, who, having left his parents, had gone to Rome with his sister, Saint Susanna, and had then retired to this place to serve God there in the exercises of religious life. He became Bishop of Spoleto and is greatly praised for his holy life in a bull of Pope John VII, addressed to Saint Thomas and the religious of Farfa. A few years after the death of Saint Lawrence, the Lombards invaded Italy. Everywhere in their path, churches were profaned, monks massacred, monasteries pillaged and delivered to the flames. They penetrated into Sabina; the monastery of Farfa fell into their hands and was completely destroyed; the church alone remained standing, but stripped and abandoned, until the moment when the Lord sent Blessed Thomas to restore the work of Saint Lawrence.

Such was the influx of those who went to the monastery of Farfa to seek a surer way to reach God, that he was forced to send colonies to various parts of Italy. It thus became the headquarters of a numerous Congregation and counted six hundred and eighty-three churches under its dependence. It was subject only to the Pope and the Emperor. Louis II, Charles the Bald, Charles the Fat, Berengar, Otto, and Henry IV of Germany confirmed its privileges, which were very extensive.

Destroyed by the Saracens in 891, at which time it contained eight hundred religious, it was rebuilt, fifty-eight years later, after the expulsion of these barbarians. In 1009, it adopted the reform of Cluny. In 1097, Abbot Berald, seeing that it was falling into ruins, had another monastery built on the mountain, with the revenues of the abbey and the help of the Romans.

From this time on, the history of the monastery of Farfa offers nothing more remarkable than the harassment of neighboring lords and those alternations of fervor and relaxation from which no religious society escapes. Nevertheless, protected by its two holy founders, it has resisted all storms and has reached our times, although much fallen from its ancient glory. In 1819, a republican band, commanded by a certain Capiccioni, broke down its doors, in the name of liberty, drove out the religious, and carried off everything that was found in money, grain, and livestock in the monastery.

We have drawn this biography from the Hagiological History of the Diocese of Maurienne, by Abbé Truchet, parish priest of Saint-Jean d'Arves.