Several seminarians including Dan and I celebrated the feast at the Basilica Santuario della Consolata in Turin (Torino to the Italians). We chose to go there because we were already in the area and we have weekends off from our classes. We'll bring you more about Turin over the next few days.
We travelled through Vercelli on the train ride to and from Turin.
St. Eusebius lived in a time immediately after the legalization of Christianity, right at the time when the rising heresy of Arianism questioned the divinity of Jesus. The First Council of Nicaea in 325 settled the question and asserted that Jesus was consubstantial with God the Father(of the same substance -- in the Nicaean Creed we recite at Mass, we say "of one Being"). In spite of this, the Arian faction continued to gain power, and threatened to overtake true Christianity.
By the time Eusebius had been chosen to be a bishop, this dispute was widespread, and he was drawn into it. He and two other bishops were exiled in 355 by the Arian bishops after refusing to condemn St. Athanasius, the chief opponent of the Arians. For the remainder of his life until his martyrdom in 371, St. Eusebius spent his time in exile, and then in travels throughout the Christian world to preach against the errors of Arianism.
This translates to our own time. St. Eusebius continued to proclaim the truths of the Catholic Faith even when threatened with death. How willing are we to learn about the teachings of the Faith, and how willing are we to stand up for the Church and her teachings in the face of opposition?
A more detailed story of the life of St. Eusebius can be found at Catholic Online.
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