[231] Matthew xxv, 21.
[232] i.e., “The priesthood is the apex of all good things which exist among men.”
St. Ignatius the Martyr was born about the middle of the first century of the Christian era, and is said to have been baptized by the apostle John. He was bishop of Antioch for forty years. Arrested by the Roman authorities because of his preaching, he was sent to Rome, where he was killed by wild beasts in the arena, probably about 107 A. D. He met the famous Polycarp while on his way to Rome. Many epistles exist which are said to have been written by him, although some of them are probably spurious. His day is celebrated on February 1. See S. Baring-Gould (ut supra), ii, pp. 1–5, and New International Encyclopædia.
[233] i.e., “Concerning the dignity of the priesthood.” M. adds: ”Nihil est in hoc secula excelentius sacerdotibus [i.e., ‘There is nothing more excellent in this world than the priesthood’]; and above, horur igitur, et sublimitas sacerdotalis nullis poterit compurationibus adequari si regum fulgori compares, et principum Diademati longe erit inferius, quam si plumbi metallum aduri fugorem compares. [i.e., “Therefore the priestly reverence and height can be equaled by no comparisons. If it be compared to the splendor of kings and the diadem of princes, the comparison is far more inferior than if the metal lead were compared to gleaming gold.”] And of this Father Don Antonio Molina speaks at length in his admirable book.”
[234] St. Ambrose was one of the four doctors of the western church. He was born at Trèves about 340 A. D., and received a good education in Rome, and entered into the Roman civil service. Elected to the office of bishop of Milan, in what was regarded as a miraculous manner, he soon became one of the great strongholds of the young religion of Christianity. To him was due the honor of receiving the great Augustine into the Church. His death occurred in 397 A. D. His day is celebrated on December 7; and in Milan he is regarded as a patron saint. The Ambrosian Library of that city is named for him. See S. Baring-Gould (ut supra), xv, pp. 74–104; and New International Encyclopædia.
[235] Antonio de Molina was a Spanish theologian, who was born at Villa-Nueva-de-los-Infantes (Castilla). Entering the Augustinian order, he taught theology, until he later retired to the house at Miradores, where he died September 12, 1612. He wrote a book called Instruccion de Sacerdotes, which was published in various places in Spain, and later translated into various languages, among them the Latin. See Hoefer’s Nouvelle biographie générale, xxxv, col. 892.
[236] Paulo Segneri, S.J. was one of the most illustrious men that the Jesuit order has produced. He was a native of Nettuno, Italy, being born March 22, 1624, and entered the Society December 2, 1637. He early became deaf through his excessive study. After teaching the humanities and rhetoric, he became a preacher and missionary, traversing Italy on his missionary journeys during the years 1665–1692. In 1692 he was called to Rome by Innocent XII, to take the place of his preacher-in-ordinary. His death occurred at Rome, December 9, 1694. His influence on Italy is ranked by some only second to that of Savonarola. His style in writing is regarded as of chief rank in purity and accuracy for his century. His writings were numerous, and have been translated into many languages, some of them into Greek and Arabian. The book mentioned in the text is Il parroco instruito: opera in cui si dimostra a qualsisia curato novello il debito che lo strigne, e la via da tenerse nell’ adempirlo (Firenze, 1692). See Sommervogel’s Bibliothèque; and Hoefer (ut supra), xliii, cols. 685, 686.
[237] The dignity of patriarch in the Catholic church (leaving aside the papal rank) is the highest grade in the hierarchy of jurisdiction. Antioch early occupied a high place among the patriarchates, although with the lapse of time it lost its high position; and finally, after the schism between the eastern and western churches, the appointee to that dignity did not actually assume the office. See Addis and Arnold’s Catholic Dictionary, pp. 35, 36, and 640. The patriarch mentioned in the text was the famous Cardinal Charles Thomas Millard de Tournon. See Vol. XXVIII, p. 118, and note 56; Concepción, ix, pp. 1–123; and Crétineau-Joly, v, pp. 38–54.
[238] These last two sentences are missing in M.
[239] At this point the letter proper in M. ends with the words: “May God preserve you for many years,” and no signature follows. This is followed by the questions for men and women of Murillo Velarde.