Saint Hilarion

First Point

Saint Hilarion was competent in the humanities and in literature, thanks to the keenness of his mind, but he made himself much more admirable by the purity of his life and especially by his great piety. The example of Saint Anthony, who was then famous throughout the desert, did much to help him acquire this spirit. The reputation won by this great Father of the desert induced Saint Hilarion to go out to find him. Once near him, he observed with great care Saint Anthony’s way of life and his great abstinence, which no infirmity could make him quit. He also noted the saint’s diligent application to prayer, his humility in dealing with his Brothers, his strictness joined to gentleness when he corrected them, and the zeal he showed for their sanctification. Later on, Saint Hilarion dedicated himself with all conceivable fervor to practice all the virtues he had observed in Saint Anthony. Oh, what power and efficacy does example have to convert souls and to lead them to make progress in virtue! This saint lived a life of great perfection; the example of Saint Anthony led him to it. It is mainly in communities that good example is most notable and has the most power and efficacy. All those who live there together encourage one another to practice what is most holy and most perfect in the Gospel maxims, because when someone does something good, others feel ashamed not to do it. Moreover, according to an axiom of the philosophers, both the practice and the love of what is right are easily communicated in community to those who have a little goodwill to do what is right. Let everyone, therefore, be encouraged and motivated by the example of the more fervent among your Brothers and by those who possess most fully the spirit of your Institute.

Second Point

Another thing that engaged Saint Hilarion to give himself entirely to God is the fact that he had impressed so deeply on his mind the saying of our Lord in the holy Gospel, Whoever does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my disciple,¹ that when his parents died—he was still only 15 years old—he gave away all that he had and withdrew into solitude. Oh, how powerful the word of God is to touch hearts! It is, says Saint Paul, living and effective; it pierces the heart better than a two edged sword; it enters and penetrates even to the secrets of the soul.² How happy you would be if this divine word penetrated so deeply into your heart that you would no longer be attached to any creature! Yet you will not be worthy of your ministry except insofar as you have this disposition. This is the first thing God requires of those who wish to be his disciples. Nothing contributes more to this than solitude. Because you cannot seek anything but God there, your first thought is to empty your heart of all created things in order to be able to fill it entirely with God. Nor is anything more consoling and more useful than to be devoted to God in your youth, because then you have the advantage of being able to establish solid piety, which becomes like second nature. If you have not had this advantage in your youth, seek through interior and continual application to your exercises to have it so deep in you that it becomes unalterable.

Third Point

This saint practiced most extraordinary penance and abstinence. He usually ate almost nothing. Fifteen figs a day made up all his nourishment; sometimes it was dry bread and vegetables soaked in cold water. He broke his fast only after sunset. To the day he died, he took his rest on hard ground and on a few reeds. This penitential life, combined with prayer and his gift of miracles, won him the esteem and admiration of all who lived in the area. As a result, a great many people came to him to receive encouragement. This is how those who have overcome their bodies and their passions become masters of the elements and of all the world. This saint had made himself so independent of all creation that it seemed only proper for God to share with him his power over his creatures to dispose of them as he pleased.You can perform several miracles in regard to you and your work: in your own regard, by an entire fidelity to grace, not letting any movement of grace go by without corresponding with it; in regard to your work, by touching the hearts of the wayward children entrusted to your care, by making them docile and faithful to themaxims of the holy Gospel and to their practice, and by teaching them to be pious and recollected in church and during prayers and devoted to the performance of their duty in school and at home. Such are the miracles that God gives you the power to perform and that he asks of you.

Historical Context

Hilarion (fourth century) is known to us from the biography of him written by Saint Jerome, who learned about him from Saint Epiphanius of Salamis, who knew Hilarion personally. Hilarion was born in Palestine and studied in Alexandria, becoming a Christian there at the age of 15. His life was a series of moves from one place to another in search of solitude, which was constantly thwarted by his reputation for miracles. He eventually found peace in Cyprus, where he died at e eventually found peace in Cyprus, where he died at the age of 80.

Scripture Citation

1. Lk 14:33
2. Heb 4:12