Lives Of The Saints
December 23
St. Servulus
Quick answer
At a glance
- What it is
- Servulus had almost nothing, and that is exactly why his story strikes so hard.
- Feast
- December 23
- Source
- Butler's Lives of the Saints, Volume IV (October-November-December), December 23, St Servulus, Christian Classics 1990, pp. 600-601. Read the source standards.
Devotional card
St. Servulus
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Brief life
The life of Servulus comes from St. Gregory the Great and is short but unforgettable. Paralyzed from infancy, unable even to stand, sit upright, or feed himself, he was carried to the porch of St. Clement's in Rome, where he lived by alms. Yet he shared what he received with beggars poorer than himself and spent what he could save on books of Scripture so that others might read them aloud to him.
In that way he learned them by heart, sang hymns through constant pain, and turned a life of helplessness into a life of praise. When death came he asked the poor and pilgrims around him to sing psalms until he suddenly said that he could hear wonderful music in heaven. The whole story is a sharp reminder that a beggar may be richer before God than those who have health, ease, and comfort.
Historical note
This life uses St. Servulus because Butler gives him a memorable life grounded in St. Gregory the Great, while several other entries on the date are either thinner or much less secure.
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