an examination of the lives of some saints for Lent (11/40 (deo volente))
The name Nazarius means consecrated, or clean, or separated, or flowering, or guarding. In man five things are required, namely thought, affection, intention, action, and speech. St. Nazarius was holy in his thought and is thus called consecrated, pure in his affections and thus called clean, straight in intention and thus called separated (for it is the intention that separates works), just in action and thus called flowering (for the just shall blossom as the lily), and moderate in speech and thus called guarding (for he guarded his way and sinned not with his tongue).
Celsus is interpreted to come from ‘excelsus’, meaning exalted. For Saint Celsus lifted himself above himself, rising above his young age by the strength of his spirit.
Nazarius was the son of a well-born Jew, and his mother was the blessed Perpetua, who had been baptised by Saint Peter. When Nazarius was nine years old, he began to consider which of the two religions he should practice. Both his father and mother tried to convince him, but eventually he was convinced by his mother and was baptised by Pope Linus (before he was made Pope). His father told him that he should not preach Christ for fear of persecution, but the saint was committed to it. So his parents urged him to leave the city of Rome with his possessions. So he did, passing through all the cities of Italy, giving away his wealth to the poor. He visited the martyrs in prison, to convince them to persevere in their faith. But for this he was driven away. Then his mother, who had died, appeared to him and told him to go to Gaul. So he went to Geneva, where he converted many. There a boy was brought to him, named Celsus, and he baptised him and took him with him on his travels. The prefect then banned them both from preaching in Geneva. So they went to Trier, where he converted many and built the first church of the city. For this, they were brought before Nero. The emperor saw how the face of Nazarius shone like the sun and thought it to be wizardry. So he ordered him to be thrown into the sea. The saints were taken on a ship and thrown overboard. But immediately there was a storm around the ship and calm waters around the saints. The saints walked on the water to the ship, and the crew converted, and the storm subsided. The ship landed in Genoa, where Nazarius preached for a long time, and then he went to Milan. He was exiled from there and went to Rome, where he found his father, who had converted, following an appearance of St. Peter. Nazarius and Celsus were then both brought before a judge, and beheaded, and buried. Long afterwards, St. Ambrose found their bodies. The body of Nazarius was incorrupt, giving forth a wonderful smell, the blood still fresh and liquid, the hair and beard growing. Ambrose transferred this sacred relic to the church of the Apostles and there buried it with honours.
Nazarius’ choosing his mother’s faith over his father’s shows how the Christian faith is to be preferred over the Jewish. His father converting later in his life shows how the wise Jews converted to Christianity. Nazarius giving away all of his wealth to the poor teaches us the virtues of almsgiving and poverty. His preaching in the face of persecution teaches us that we should fear not the wrath of the corporeal powers. His visiting of the martyrs in prison reflects how Christ visited us, who are imprisoned by the world. His being exiled by the governors of the cities reflects how the saints are rejected by the world for preaching to reject the world. The face of the saint shining like the sun symbolises how he radiated grace to the people around him. The sea around the saints being calm symbolises how the waves of the world are harmonised (for harmony and peace are the same in the world) by the presence of the saints. The ship represents the church, which is afflicted by storms when it rejects the blessing of the saints, but is saved when it repents and accepts their guidance. The saints walking on the water symbolises how they have overcome the world. The beheading of the saints represents the ‘slaying of the mind’. The body of the saint being incorrupt symbolises the perpetual life of the soul.
Saint Nazarius and Saint Celsus suffered and were martyred under Nero, whose reign began about the year 57.
Tu dudum multo latitantem pulvere dragma
Invenis accensa verbi virtute superna,
Ut pateant cunctis tua, Christe, munera sedis,
Angelicos cernant humanaque lumina vultus
(This coin, long hid in depth of dust
Lit by the heavenly power of the word, you lately found
That all may know, O Christ, the rewards of your abode
And human eyes may look upon angel faces.)
On Tradition 