By DEB PIROCH
Erasmus means “beloved” in Greek. We know little about him — not where or when he was even born. But there can be no doubt that he was beloved of God.
The saint is often confused with St. Erasmus of Antioch, a different saint entirely. And because St. Erasmus of Formia was born in the second century AD, approximately 1,900 years ago, tangible proofs have disappeared over the course of history.
What is powerful to see are murals and paintings from even the 1500s that depict his death and the popular instruments of his martyrdom. One Swedish mural predates the Protestant Reformation, when Sweden was still a Catholic country, and another painting even exists in St. Peter’s, in Rome. Such was his wide influence after over a thousand years.
When St. Erasmus was a bishop, he was in seclusion at Mt. Lebanon (in Lebanon) for seven years, during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, whom we know vengefully sought out and killed Christians. Many legends are intermingled with what may be truths in the saint’s life: For instance, we are told he lived there seven years but was fed by a raven. But more likely is that an angel appeared to him and told him he was to come out of hiding and return to his diocese.
Almost immediately, he was met by people who asked if he were Christian, which he answered in the affirmative. This led to tortures under Diocletian. Another angel helped him to escape. So, from here he went to Lycia, which is located in present-day Turkey. And on the way he raised one man from the dead and achieved a great many Baptisms (i.e., conversions).
Emperor Maximilian had him arrested and forced him to visit a temple with many idols. But whichever way Erasmus turned, the idols self-destructed and the temple in the end lit itself on fire. Angrily, the Emperor placed the saint in a barrel lined with metal spikes and rolled the barrel down a hill. An angel rescued Erasmus again, and healed him. But the tortures continued. Erasmus was then covered in tar and set on fire. But the fire did no damage, thanks to the intervention of God, and the Emperor failed again. Thrown into prison to starve, Erasmus escaped.
Now, this is the point at which the stories about Erasmus diverge — again a sign that it is impossible to tell which aspects are fully true anymore. One branch of the storyline says he was put in a metal chair heated hot like iron, and also was given a breastplate likewise heated to a fiery hot temperature. And while this time the angel saved him, the saint died of his wounds.
The other storyline is the one that “caught” and so perhaps is the more likely. In Illyricum, a Roman province or area that stretched from Slovenia/Croatia to Albania, Erasmus was captured and likewise tortured. Only the inflicted agony was of a different nature; his abdomen was slit open, his intestines taken out and wound around a “windlass,” a type of a winch native to ships.
The latter is the method of death most often shown in paintings. He might also be shown with a mitre and windlass, at the same time, reflecting also his role as bishop. St. Erasmus is therefore the patron saint of anything near the stomach, from infant colic, to menstrual cramps, to other issues. He is also the patron of…sailors. And not just because of the windlass.
Many of us know the term, “St. Elmo’s fire,” which is a phrase for certain atmospheric conditions where the ions in the sky become charged. Often seen after a storm, this triggers blue lights around masts and other objects high in the sky. Sailors reportedly considered these signs from St. Erasmus that they were under his protection. “Elmo” is a derivative of Erasmus. And the term comes from this St. Erasmus.
Butler’s Lives tells of a port town with the name of Faversham, in Kent, on the southeast coast of England. There, before the Reformation, one found an altar dedicated to St. Erasmus. The books states: “No one died who had nothing to give, but he left a legacy to maintain the lights which burnt about it.” I take this to mean that anyone leaving any kind of offering to St. Erasmus would return home safely, after weeks to months on board, no matter how dangerous the weather or the waters.
For those who state, since there is no traceable proof in books or documents as to which legends are true, there must have been no St. Erasmus, one must counter with a strong and resounding no. It’s very clear that there was such a man. The Church relies on tradition but tradition is based as well on facts: Erasmus is cited in the “Old Martyrology” of the ninth century, for instance. And St. Gregory the Great in the fifth century made mention of where the saint’s relics were preserved before moved to their current location in Gaeta, Italy, to keep them safe from Saracen invaders.
During the Medieval period, about a thousand plus years after his lifetime, the influence of Erasmus was still intensely felt, for he was one of the famed “Fourteen Holy Helpers” to whom one prayed during the times of the plague. These were times of serious illness, especially the plague, but many other sicknesses, as well. The best they had to offer was a belief in “the humors,” and bleeding with leeches and other practices that did no good, so thank goodness they had the power of prayer.
Each saint tended to have certain aspects of health assigned to his or her care, as did St. Erasmus. This prayer to them was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori, who lived during a time when one still actively prayed to the Holy Helpers:
Great princes of heaven, Holy Helpers,
Who sacrificed to God all your earthly possessions,
Wealth, preferment and even life
And who now are crowned in heaven
In secure enjoyment of eternal bliss and glory;
Have compassion on me,
A poor sinner in this vale of tears
And obtain for me from God,
For Whom you gave up all things,
And who loves you as His servants,
Strength to bear patiently all the trials of this life,
To overcome all temptations
And persevere in God’s service to the end,
So one day I, too, may be received into your company,
To praise and glorify Him, the supreme Lord,
Whose Beatific Vision you enjoy
And Whom you praise and glorify forever.
Amen.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress