Saint Sabinian of Condat

The monks of C ondat Condat Jura monastery founded by Saint Romanus and Saint Lupicinus. had to struggle against the elements, against the difficulties of nature, to clear and make fruitful a land as wild as the region they inhabited. We see that they made, in their own way, the necessary embankments to utilize the watercourses of the valley. Under the direction of Saint Romanus and Saint Lupicinus, saint Romain Founder of the Abbey of Condat. they ad apted vast la saint Lupicin Founder and abbot of Condat. nds, hitherto deserted, for cultivation. But natural obstacles were not the only ones they had to fight. God, who allowed the spirits of evil to sit one day among the angels, also sometimes lets these spirits of darkness introduce themselves here below, even in a visible manner, among his servants and his elect, to tempt them and test their virtue, in order to make it more glorious. It is thus that Sabinian, in his humble cell, was subjected to the most violent attacks of the demon, who tormented him night and day, sometimes leaving him, says his biographer, not even a single moment of rest. He made him suffer all sorts of inconveniences, shaking and rocking his dwelling, and frightening him with monstrous visions. But, like another Anthony, the holy deacon opposed him with vigilance and prayer. S ustaine Antoine Saint to whom Grace had a particular devotion and whose temptations she also endured. d by the liveliest faith, he drove away the impure spirit by invoking the name of Jesus Christ.

The virtue that shone above all in Sabinian was an unalterable chastity. The enemy of mankind, jealous of such a pure life, tried to seduce him with the attractions of sensuality. He presented to Sabinian the most lascivious images, the most voluptuous phantoms. But the holy deacon armed his heart with the shield of prayer, and disdained the pleasures whose desire the tempter sought to awaken in his soul. "Whatever you do," he said, "O enemy of our souls, Christ sustains me, and you cannot triumph over my constancy. My heart is protected by the standard of the Savior's Passion, and you will not be able to corrupt it with pleasure, nor break it with terror." The historian adds that several times the demon appeared visibly to the servant of God, to tempt and torment him, and that one day even, wanting to discourage him and push him to the limit, he struck him so violently on the cheek that he was all wounded and bruised; that the next day, when Sabinian went to the monastery, he told the other brothers what had happened to him, spread holy oil on his wound, and then returned to his cell, where the demon did not try to torment him thereafter.

Saint Sabinien Saint Sabinien Deacon and monk of the Abbey of Condat in the 5th century. died at C ondat, Condat Jura monastery founded by Saint Romanus and Saint Lupicinus. around the year 480, according to Chastelain, who indicates his feast day on December 23.

His memory remained in veneration among his brothers, and his name was inscribed, with the title of Saint, in the calendar of the Jura martyrology, on the 10th of the kalends of January (December 23). He is also mentioned in the Bollandists on February 23 and 28. The rhymed chronicle of Condat cites him, with the title of Saint, as having shone through his miracles, his knowledge, and his virtues, along wit h another disciple bienheureux Pallade Disciple of Saint Romanus mentioned in the Chronicle of Condat. of Saint Romain, the blessed Pallade.

Excerpt from the Saints of Franche-Comté, by the professors of the Saint-François-Xavier college in B collège Saint-François-Xavier de Besançon Educational institution whose faculty compiled the lives of saints. esançon.