5 quotes from St Martin de Tours

1. "Now let me fight for God. As for your bonus, let someone who is going to battle receive it.

I am a soldier of Christ--combat is not permitted of me."

2. "In the name of the Lord Jesus and protected only by the sign of the cross, without shield or helmet,

I shall penetrate the enemy's ranks and not be afraid."

3. "With the sign of the Cross, I shall break through more enemy ranks than if armed with shield and sword."

4. "Allow me, brothers, to look toward heaven rather than at the earth,

so my spirit sets the right course when it is time for my journey to the Lord."

5. "Lord, if your people need me, I will not refuse. Your will be done."

-St Martin de Tours, feast 11-11

Fun Facts. St Martinio de Tours (316–397 A.D.) was a Roman Catholic bishop in France. He is called the father of French monasticism. Martin opposed civil interference in ecclesiastical matters. At an imperial court in Trier, he protested to Emperor Magnus Maximus against the killing of heretics. He opposed Priscillianism a heretical doctrine, renouncing all pleasures. He is the patron saint of France, soldiers and tailors. His feast. Born to pagan parents in what is now Hungary; Martinio's father was a Roman officer and tribune. Here are some fun facts, the 6th and 10th bullet show his zealful sense of humor.

At 10, he discovered Christianity and became a catechumen.

At 15, he joined the Roman imperial army, serving in a ceremonial unit as the emperor’s bodyguard. He was promoted to Cavalry officer and garrisoned in France.

At age 18, he was baptized into the Church. Trying to live the faith, he refused to let servants wait on him.

Once, while on horseback in Amiens, France, he encountered an almost naked beggar. Having nothing to share but his clothes, St Martinio cut his heavy officer‘s cloak in half, prayed and gave it to the beggar. Later he had a vision of Christ wearing the cloak, which became his forever icon.

Before a battle, Martinio announced that his faith prohibited him from fighting, as he was now a Servant of God. He was arrested for cowardice, jailed, and his superiors planned to put him in the front of the battle. However, the battle never occurred, and Martinio was released from military service. He then became a spiritual student of St Hilary at Poitiers where Martino found enlightenment.

On a visit to Lombardy to see his parents, Martin was robbed in the mountains but converted one of the thieves.

At home, his mother found the faith, but his father had not. The area was strongly Arian and openly hostile to Catholics. Martinio was badly abused by heretics. including an Arian bishop.

Martinio fled to an island after learning St. Hilary was exiled by Arians. Once the emperor authorized Hilary's return, Martin ran to him in 361 A.D. and became a hermit for 10 years.

His reputation for holiness attracted others, where they formed the Liguge Benedictine Abbey. Many locals held strongly to their pagan beliefs. Unsuccessfully, they haunted Martinio at night by dressing as old Roman gods. In turn, Martin destroyed their temples and built churches on the same land.

When the bishop of Tours died in 371, Martinio was the immediate replacement choice. Martin declined, citing his unworthiness. A wealthy citizen of Tours claimed his ill wife was asking for Martin. Tricked by this ruse, Martin went to the city where he was declared bishop and consecrated in 372.

As bishop, he lived in a hermit's cell near Tours. Other monks joined him, forming Mar Moutier. He rarely left his monastery or See city. Sometimes he went to Trier, Germany to plead with the emperor for his city, church, or parishioners. Once when he went to plead clemency for a condemned prisoner, an angel woke the emperor to announce Martinio's arrival. The prisoner was reprieved.

St Martinio is known for: healing the sick, reviving a drowned child, exorcising demons and mystical visions. An extensive biography of St Martin was written by Sulpicius Severus. He was the first non-martyr to receive the cultus of a saint.

St Martin de Tours, pray for us.

Mother Mary, pray for us.

Jesus, we trust in You.

Sources

5 Martin of Tours Quotes to Honor the Catholic Saint on His Feast Day - Newsweek

St. Martin of Tours | Patron Saint Of, Feast Day, France, Soldier, Bishop, & Facts | Britannica