Saint Cassian, Bishop And Martyr
First Point
The zeal shown by Saint Cassian cannot be praised too much. The Emperor Julian the Apostate had forbidden any Christian to teach youth. Saint Cassian, nonetheless, thought that he could not take on a work more useful for the Church and better able to promote religion than that of a schoolteacher. He devoted himself with all possible care to instruct children, and while teaching them reading and writing, he trained them in piety and educated them in the fear of God.The emperor, for his part, was working to destroy religion by destroying schools; this saint, on the contrary, was trying to establish religion through the instruction and education of the young.Oh, how often it happens that the work which people consider lowly produces much more good than the most brilliant work! Value your work as one of the most important and most excellent in the Church, for it is one that is most able to strengthen it by giving it a solid foundation.
Second Point
The patience of Saint Cassian was indeed admirable. He was denounced to the judge as being a Christian and was found in his school teaching children the mysteries. When pressed to declare his religion, he admitted that he was a Christian, and his instructions made this amply clear. On the spot he was judged and condemned, and the sentence was executed. He was delivered over to the hands of his own students, who put him to death by stabbing him with the iron styluses they used for writing. This martyrdom was all the more cruel because the children had less strength to strike him. What patience this saint must have had to suffer for so long and with such constancy from the ones for whom he had gone to so much trouble!You have this saint as your patron, and you have succeeded him in his work, but do you imitate his patience? How often do you let yourselves be carried away by an initial impulse, either by hitting the students, something that is against your Rule and all good order, or by correcting them perhaps improperly or without reflecting? You cannot instruct them better than by edifying them and by controlling every angry impulse
Third Point
The martyrdom endured by Saint Cassian was the only reward he received from his students for the care he had taken of them. He considered himself fortunate when those to whom he had tried to give life in Jesus Christ1 brought about his death. Seeing himself about to die from the wounds he received from them, he desired that hisblood, spurting out upon them, might give life to their souls.The only thanks you ought to expect for instructing children, especially the poor, is injury, insult, calumny, persecution, and even death.2 This is the recompense of saints and apostolic people, as it was for our Lord Jesus Christ. Do not expect anything else if you have God in view in the ministry he entrusted to you. This is also what ought to encourage you to work at it with all the more affection, and this will give you the way to do more good. The more faithful you are to God on occasions of suffering, the more God will pour out his graces and blessings on you in the exercise of your ministry.
Historical Context
Cassian (martyred around 363) is known through an account of his life by the Christian poet Prudentius (348–410). There is a short biography of Saint Cassian, based on Prudentius’ poem, in the appendix of De La Salle’s Meditations. In this meditation on Saint Cassian, De La Salle reflects on his being a teacher and on his martyrdom by his students. He speaks of Cassian as a patron for the Brothers, especially in his patience with students. It is an historical error to call Cassian a bishop; this probably resulted from confusing him with another martyred Cassian who was bishop of Todi. Cassian may well be the first teacher but not the last to suffer a slow martyrdom from his students. His feast is not in the current liturgical calendar. In the Rule of 1718 (CL 25, p. 134), the feast of Saint Cassian was moved to Thursday and treated as an all-day holiday for the Brothers.
Scripture Citation
- 1 Cor 4:15
- 1 Cor 4:11–13