Saint Ambrose:

Feast day : 07 December

Today the Church celebrates the feast of Saint Ambrose, Doctor of the Church and Bishop of Milan. He lived during the period 340-397 and is considered one of the most influential men of his time. He was a great writer and orator, a good administrator yet extraordinarily kind and generous towards the poor. He is considered to be instrumental in introducing hymns into the Church services. He is also known for his influence on Saint Augustine whom he baptised and the conversion of the Emperor Theodosius from his sinful life. He famously advocated celibacy through his writings and extensively spoke of the peerless Virgin, Mother of God for which he is called the ‘Patron of the Veneration of Mary’. His writings include 91 letters, a collection of hymns; he was a master of allegory and wrote extensively on characters and events of the Old Testament. He died after a brief illness on April 4, 397 on Holy Saturday. His sacred remains are kept in the crypt of the Church of St. Ambrose in Milan. His feast day is celebrated on December 7, the day he was consecrated as the Bishop.

Early life:

Saint Ambrose was born in the year 340 into an influential Christian family. His father Aurelius Ambrose was Pretorian Prefect of Gaul. He was the youngest of the three children. His elder siblings both went on to become saints of the church – St. Marcellina and St. Satyrus. According to legend when he was an infant, his nurse was alarmed to see him asleep with bees swarming in and out of his mouth. Eventually the bees swarmed together and flew away. On seeing this, his father remarked “If that child lives, he will be something great.” True to this prophecy, the child grew up to become a great influential figure of his time. After the death of his father, the family moved to Rome. There Saint Ambrose and his brother studied Latin, Greek, Law and rhetoric. He then joined in public service and was appointed Governor of Liguaria and Emilia in the year 372. He rose in popularity and influence among the people. Two years later, in 374 when the Bishop of Milan died, Saint Ambrose went to the Basilica to maintain order and addressed the people. During his address, a child cried out “Ambrose- Bishop” and soon the crowd also agreed to this suggestion. Saint Ambrose was already in a very influential position and had ambitions to rise further and hence was reluctant to become the Bishop of Milan. He hid himself in the country home of a friend named Leontius. However, a letter of approval from the Emperor Valentian I brought him back to accept the chair of the Bishop. Strangely he was still a catechumen then. So in the days that followed, he was baptised and received his minor and major orders of priesthood and was consecrated a bishop on 7 December, 374.

Vocational life:

Immediately after his consecration as bishop, he disposed off all his belongings. He gave his lands to the Church, his silver and gold to the poor, leaving only a small provision for his sister who was a religious nun. Since he was not much instructed in the religion, he began to devote his time to study the religion. He studied Theology with the help of Simplician, a presbyter of Rome, who later succeeded him as Bishop of Milan. He extensively read the writings of the Church Fathers. His brother Saint Satyrus resigned from his political career in the Government and assisted Saint Ambrose in the governance of the diocese. This helped him to devote more time to his studies.

Saint Ambrose was one of the most influential men of the fourth century. He had close relations with the Emperors Gratian and Valentianian II. He used his influence well and persuaded Emperor Gratian to outlaw Arianism in the Western Empire in the year 379. The conversion of Emperor Thoedosius through Saint Ambrose also had a significant impact on defining the Church-State relationships. As a Bishop he used his power to judge, condemn and pardon the Emperor who wilfully submitted to the authority of the Church.

Whilst being a good administrator and a mystic, he was also a great writer and orator. He was a strong advocate of virginity and often spoke of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ as a model for growing in virtues. This earned him the title “Patron of the Veneration of Mary.” He was a master in allegory and wrote extensively on the events in the Old Testament. Through his writings and sermons, he stirred the souls of many and among his most famous convert was Saint Augustine. There are 91 letters of Saint Ambrose and it was in one of them that the word ‘Missa’ or ‘Mass’ was written for the first time to describe the Eucharistic Sacrifice. He is also credited with bringing liturgical hymn into the Church services. Many famous hymns such as ‘Aeterne Rerum Conditor, Deus Creator Omnium, Jam Surgit Hora Tertia, Veni, Remptor Omnium etc. have been written by him.

Death & Sainthood:

In February of the year 397, Saint Ambrose fell seriously ill. On Good Friday he lay for some hours on his bed with outstretched arms and prayed silently. After receiving Holy Viaticum, he died peacefully after midnight, i.e. on Holy Saturday, April 4, 397. He was buried near the remains of the two martyrs Saints Gervasis and Protasis whose remains he had discovered. Several centuries later, the bones of the three saints were placed in one sarcophagus. It was opened in 1871 and kept in a crypt in the Church of St. Ambrose in Milan and remains there till date. He is regarded as one of the four great Latin doctors of the Church for all his valuable contributions to the Church.