The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-01-02
TAE FINING OF sE AMBROSE.

Ths aHaies af tho body of Ht. Ambrose, the
ggaat htshup uf Milan, Ia this our generation,
10 one OF thuse eysnta iu the world Of faith
~hIsh blinss Joy and consolation to the hearts
uf all true Catholics. 1T. Ambrose lived in the
EuuSth century. his death taking place on the
ath uf April. ao7. after having bsen Bishop for
twenty y three yeara aud four months.
puring thin time. hs erected two churches,
ono tho RomAna. III form OF IA cross; and the
other called tho Ambrosiana.
This last ediioe oonaecrated in 3sG, but
the holy Bishop bad no relios to place beneath
tho altnr and tho dedication OF the Basilca
without relics displeasod many persons. God,
| ho wsver, who loves TO be honorsd in His Saints,
made known to Ambrose the place of interment
Of two Saints whose names had died out Of the
memory Of man.
| The Baslica Naboraua contained the bodies
Of Saints Nabor and Felix, and these last were
honored by special devotion and by large
| concourse of the faithful.
| Now, it was revealed to st. Ambrose that near
| the shrine of these two Saints were deposited
| the bodies of two others, whose names and
/ sepultores were unknown; and the ground
being dug in the spot pointed out, stone coHn
was discovered in which were two male skele-
tons of remarkable stature.
S.. Ambrose in discourse to his people on
the occasion Of ttanslating these relics TO his
! new Basilica, said:
! cannot but acknowledge with thanks the grace
that the Lord Jesus has granted fog the time of
my priesthood, that since l have not the merit
! of becoming a martyr, have the consolation
of having obtained for you these martyrs.
/ Behold. Noble relics have been been dag out
of an ignoble burial place; the trophies of the
| two cong ueIors have been brought to the light
of day. The sepulture is batbed in blood. That
! sign that ind ica;es their TT iumph is there. The
| relics arc found untouched, IN their place, in
! their order: the head severed from the trunk
! Let these triumphant v!s.ims now come and
! stand where Christ stauds-He himself the
victim; bnt he above the altar, as the One who
| ha- suffered for all; these martyrs beneath the
altar, as those who have been redeemed by His
passion.
That place beneath the altar 1 had already
| predetermined upon for my sepulture it
| being only Just thar the priest should have his
remains reposipg il the spot " here he was
wont to offer the Holy Sacrifice; but give up
the right portion TO the sacred victims this
| part is due to the martyrs. Let us then con-
sign to their place these sacred remains; let US
bear them within structure worthy of them,
and With sincere devotion let celeb ate
/ this GAy.'
Who can read these eloquent words spoken
by Catholic Bishop nearly fifteen hundred
years ago, without recognizing at once the
antiquity of the Church and the pe1petuity OF
the faith which, handed down from st. Ambrose
to the glorious Bishops of our own times, still
re-echoes its testimony to the glory of God and
the honor of His SAints7
| Fifteen hundred years ago, St. Ambrose de-
clared that the priest should be privileged to
rest in death beneath that altar where, during
life, he had 50 often offered mp the holy sacri-
fee; and We find, accordingly, that when the
holy Bishop died, his remains were deposited
in the spot which he had chosen, under the
high altar on the epistle side, and next to the
sepulchre of Saints Gervasius and Protasius:" :"
the Saints whose relics he had SO mraculously
discovered.
In 452, Milan was sacked by Attils, and still
later by Odoacer, King of the Heruli; but in
493, St Laurenti1s, then 3 shop of Milan, re-
turned to the city and restored the Basilcas
which the barbarians had befuuled aud desc
Grated and it is supposed that he also opened
the sepuichres of Saints Gervasius and Prota-
sius, and of st. Ambrose, as coins exactly of
that period have been found in these sarco.
phagi, together with coins of the Emperor
Theodosius, placed by ST. Ambrose in the
sarcophagus of Saints Gervasius and Protasius :;
and of the Emperors Arcadius and Honorius,
deposited in st. Ambrose's tomb at the time of
his interment in 397."
In 742, we have mention of the relics and
body of St. Ambrose in deed of gift to the
Hospitium of the Basilica, under King Init
prand, and in a deed of the Archbishop Peter
| in 759.
Charlemagne in 100 confirmed the foundation
of monastery of Benedictine rule, attached
to the Basilica, "that before the holy bodies of
these saints, the monks might continually
celebrate the divine Offices"
In s2i, Angilbsrt the Second, elected Bishop
of Milan, effected what is called the eraltation
of the relics of the three saints. He left the
original sarcophagus under the altar, but above
1t, and transversely to it, he placed larger one
of porphyry, with the bodies of the three saints
within it-St. Ambrose in the middle, st. Pro
tasus on his right and St. Gervasius on his left.
| From that day to this or, to be more ac-
curate, from the year 524 to 1s71-one thousand
years-these precious relics have been left up
disturbed. But while the pames of Tho oo,,