Jump to content

Devout Life: the Spirituality, Life, and Martyrdom of High Pontiff Pius II, Vol. I-III


yopplwasupxxx
 Share

Recommended Posts

FZYBGIwsSEZfrNwRgQ8XWD-J_r90GiuVK0oLqGESxLLRygumVlxjEChoRGTEe4K6iE6Yi4fU4UwsaowXZm2sGspIXh2NoQzxrmm8TWXwj2DjW8ZkFpOyGYd5ecSUF6OV7vey8t3a

Michael de Longueville (Naumarian: Mikel van Loengval) was a priest of the Canonist Church in the early Chivay-Carrion era of 10s, 20s, and 30s, siding himself against the Carrion monarchy and, in the beginning, being an avid supporter of the Chivay dynasts. However, when political winds changed and the two families reconciled, he was executed during his tenure as High Pontiff Pius II. He became a rallying call for later Hansetian schismatics, specifically the Waldenians of the Kingdom of Aesterwald, and his autobiographical writings became an important theological work in their dogma. The first two volumes are written by Pius II himself, while the third volume is written by an anonymous source.

 

(OOC: Full credit to @Pius who wrote this, posting it here for easier access.)

 

 

 

---

 

qtTDiT0QM8QZKbLXfitlhemycIuurq1Z1t2A75eFB5wv61jccnLbnrupfpCaUFvNEKHme1jSCoi0V3r6lRUcySu3OX4s5bKNXdCEkWo1BFzGupkQp2Tx1ra0HZ3Ulxt6X3S3o_6l

 

DEVOUT LIFE: THE SPIRITUALITY, LIFE, AND MARTYRDOM OF HIGH PONTIFF PIUS II

 

WRITTEN BY THE HANDS OF

MICHAEL DE LONGUEVILLE

AKA

HIGH PONTIFF PIUS II

ANONYMOUS

 

PUBLISHED BY

HIEROMAR LUDOVAR THE ELDER, SSE

 

---

 

VOLUME I

or, the Treatise on Man and the Rule in Religion

 

---

 

CHAPTER I

or, Man as Creation

 

It is clear to gentlemen of faith, gentlemen of hope, that man is not free of flaw and immaculate. As a race, we can recall that man is sinful, sorrowful, and in need of salvation. Man is a race of humility and of hope, of sin and of repentance, and of discipline and rules. It is not without grief that we can declare this the state of life for man.

 

God instituted various establishments to further guide His creation. Our God is a just God, Our God is an awesome God, He reigns, in Heaven and on the Earth, and under the Earth. Allows for us safe passage throughout the day, and has allowed us the minds capable of crafting tools to defend against creatures of the night. He has created all things and that He so loved the world that He had made, that He was compelled to create again, but this time, a steward for His creation. This steward was man.

 

---

 

CHAPTER II

or, Man as Shepherd

 

It is the man that we return to as a man new and created in love and for the purpose of love. Not to maim and kill his brother, but to defend and guard the truth. It is this truth and this reason that leads one to tremble, for he has been awakened to the notion that this reason stems from the inherent reason present in God, God who loves us has instilled in us the reason that HE Himself has. We were not only made with His reason, we can then infer that we were made in his likeness as Man. Superior to those who only look like deviants, the lesser races.

 

Man has an inherent vocation, a universal call to sainthood after death, but a call to holiness in life. In regards to creation, man must marry himself to creation, take on creation as his bride to have and defend. This creation includes that creation lesser than him. Trees and grass, and elves, and dwarves. Man is called to guide them, and to protect all of God’s creation, but this does not mean that man is indentured to these deviants, but instead are called to guide them, like a dog with a leash.

 

---

 

CHAPTER III

or, Man as Religious

 

It is the special honor that man has acquired. I refer, naturally to the special honor of being the most capable to give laud and honor and praise to our God who is worthy. Holy, Holy, Holy is the God who has made. Man must then discern in light of this great divine charity, and give thanks to God who is good.

 

The vocations of man are as follows, marriage, consecrated, and religious.

 

Marriage is inherently spiritual and, though some might try to deviate, it is the mission of the faithful to stay as such and know that marriage is a vocation, not a contract. It can be done only to please God and it is the inviolable seal of marriage that enables life to carry on to be fulfilled. God created life in two forms, in man and in woman. It is thus that marriage must be formed, as marriage is a continuation of creation, God created us in a way that we must imitate, for imitation of the Creator exudes holiness.

 

Consecrated is not lonesome, it is not cloistered, and it is needed. This vocation has the defining marks of singlehood, and gives great pleasure to God who loves all men. These vocations cannot be changed by our will, but by the will of the spirit of God who inspires us.

 

Religious does not pertin directly to those of religion, but instead in religion. That is to say, those who are consecrated to an Order or to a Diocese and with professed vows including priests, Bishops, Knights of Holiness, etc. This vocation is one more divine than the others as it is, in a way, a combination. While no one in religion can take a spouse, they are nonetheless married, either to the Church, to their Order, or to their respective charism.

 

---

 

CHAPTER IV

or, Rule of Life

 

Thus are the reformed Rules of life in faith and in holiness

 

On God in sum,

  • God is the first of all, and man is the superior of all His creation

  • God is the only destination of worship, though praise and honor are afforded to those of blessed lives.

  • God is King and is superior to all those on Earth or under the Earth

  • God is one and only one, never more than one

  • God is love, for love was created by God and all those following God’s law are bound by love

  • Because God is the destination of all honor and worship, the lack of or direct opposite of this is blasphemy

 

On the life of man,

  • Those in professed religion or in consecration cannot take a spouse and are bound by celibacy as a witness to the Kingdom of God

  • Those who are indeed in religion ought to be public witnesses to the faith by being so disposed as to reform their habits both internal and external

  • Only those who are naturally born as men can be rightly ordained as priests or bishops

  • Man owes honor and thanks to the Church which God has created through inspiration. It is the Church that guides us in matters temporal and spiritual

    • The Church of Man is made of flawed men and flawed laws. It is acceptable to reform if this Church is deemed through active prayer and discernment, deviant.

  • Man can and ought to explore the ideas of monasticism and asceticism and deepen spirituality through prayer, fasting, penance, and alms giving

 

On the clergy,

  • The Clergy ought not to swear and cause scandal to their vocation

  • The Clergy must never marry, and no dispensation is to be afforded to one who requests, in order to perfectly follow the example of the father, Pius II

  • The Clergy are bound to be loyal to the Church first, and all other earthly entities second, unto death

  • One is to have a servant’s spirit and accept his lifestyle as such

  • The Clergy are to be seen as nobility, but must act as gentlemen unentitled.

  • The first born son of noble families ought not to be considered for Seminary formation

  • Gentlemen who have less than 500 minas to their name ought not to be considered for seminary formation

  • Seminary Formation ought to be offered as a requirement to ordination

  • Diocesan Clergy need not take a vow of poverty, but instead are required to swear a vow of fiscal prudence.

  • All clergy must take a vow of obedience to a superior

  • Any clergyman who is approached to hear a confession is bound to hearing it, and what is heard can not be repeated on penalty of grave sin.

  • Clergymen are called to forgive for God as part of the special blessing and ordination to their order by Mother Church

 

---

 

VOLUME II 

or, the Life of Pius II in his Own Words

 

---

 

CHAPTER I

or, the Early Days

 

Michael was born in a cottage just north of Abresi. He was the youngest of the five children of Martha and Albrecht de Longueville. His oldest brother, James, would go on to become a lawman. James, however, lacked the familial pride that Michael had. When Michael was only nine, James would disgrace the Longueville name and run away with a lady of ill repute. While the family tried to forget about James, Michael continued to pray for James and his soul. Michael's second oldest brother, Henry, followed in his fathers footsteps and learned the lay of the land. Michael's two sisters, Aquina and Philomena, would both pursue marriage in their younger years.

 

Having been born in a well-to-do family, Michael did not lack proper schooling. His father, a gentleman farmer with a few hands at his his command, paid for a priest to tutor young Michael, now a growing boy. Michael received proper education in the fields of the liberal arts, Philosophy, theology, and writing. Michael excelled in theology and was a gifted public speaker.

 

At the point of Michael's fifteenth birthday, the Priest was sent away. Michael had reached manhood and was told by his father to grow in the name of the Creator and to discern his vocation in the world. This was easy for Michael who had been considering his vocation for some time already. He had formed his theology around the True Faith, and the graces that flowed from it. Being strongly of the opinion that the Holy Church takes precedence over all man, king or farmer, he accepted his father's wishes and set out to begin advanced training in the Faith.

 

As young Michael, only sixteen, wandered, he prayed and sang and was merry with innocent bliss. However, Michael would soon learn that he was no longer on the Longueville cottage. Indeed, as he wandered the roads, he adopted an ascetic mindset. Believing that his faith ought to be focused on his growth not as a priest, but as a hermit and a mendicant friar of sorts.

 

Dedicating himself to his prayerful itinerancy, Michael did not forsake a wanderer, but admitted that he had never much to give. As he prayed, and trusted in the Creator who created him and the world, his piety and seclusion grew stronger. He had never felt stronger in his faith than he did, sitting under a tree with no eyes watching, but God's. Where he could preach only to his heart and the birds. He had done away with any riches he was sent from the farm with. After several summers, Michael, now twenty-five but looking thirty-five, began to grow tired of brazing the hot and the cold alone. Of course, when such thoughts would manifest themselves, he would deny them at once - going so far as establishing regular fasting and penances.

 

The mendicant friar, living off the land. He felt old. His bones were weak, and sores had been felt along his back, where his belt had scourged him. He felt crippled, blinded by the rain in his eyes. He tried to preach, but just as the birds were hiding, he felt his heart was as well. He laid down, to rest, to die.

 

Michael, much to his chagrin, did not die. He suffered more, bitterly and angrily. His innocent bliss had been thrown away with his money; his care free attitude, with his faith. The mendicant surrendered, having been chased for years by his vocation, and reached the goal he had sought after when he set out from the cottage. He arrived at the home of the elderly priest who, years prior, had taught him everything he knew. The priest, now forgetting his very self, was alone. He, too, had gone in to seclusion. The priest met the boy he had raised, now thirty. The priest immediately assigned him chores, set out a bed, and once more vested the black cassock of his vocation. When Michael returned, his new liege required more from him; to shave his beard, to wash himself, and to change from his rags to the black cassock. Overjoyed, Michael did so at once. While not a priest, Michael dressed as a cleric, wearing an old cassock belonging to his teacher.

 

Over the course of two years, the ailing priest assisted in professing the truths of the faith and rearing Michael in the ways of the priesthood. Michael would ask frequently about his ordination, but the priest refused to entertain Michael's wants. Impatient, Michael cursed the priest and set out into the rain to return to his former lifestyle. After only three days away from his studies, Michael knew he would need to humble himself to be a true priest, after all, his faith was founded in the Creator, not the creation. He set out again, back to the hermitage of his friend and teacher.

 

Upon his arrival, an eerie calm fixed itself around him. As he surveyed the pitiable scene before him, the priest lay dead upon his cot, his clothes still damp from wandering in the rain and his skin cold and still. Michael cried no tears nor let out any emotion. He knew his mission was clear. He would pray for the priest for the rest of his life, and would live for the priest. As he committed himself to the burial rites of his spiritual father, Michael continued his studies, living in the hermitage and tending to it's upkeep.

 

---

 

CHAPTER II

or, the Order of St. Lucien

 

It was at this time that, on one of their patrols, the good Order of St. Lucien, recently founded, stumbled upon Michael and allowed him the opportunity to preach and to pray for their Order. It was after this encounter that the Grandmaster, Jacque de Rovin, found it beneficial for the Order to allow the hermit as Grand Prior, and he was ordained shortly thereafter in the Chapel of Ard Krallack.

 

As Grand Prior, he became a personal confidant and confessor to Pontiff Lucien II, assisting him in his pontifical duties in Kralta. After one battle where there were many casualties, Michael was chosen to preach at their requiem mass. While he was sensitive to the deaths, he was unafraid to criticize the lack of a Church in Abresi and the incredible lack of faith in Oren during his sermon. This would be the cornerstone of Michael as Pontiff.

 

Being a man from the land, d’Longueville was not afraid to chaplain to the Lucienists in battle, while arrows were loosed all around him, Father d’Longueville could be seen in the thick of the fight ministering to the sick and the dying or counselling the grandmaster. He found a great love for being a curate of souls and a pastor, assisting the village of Ager in building and operating a Church. His mission was the propagation of souls and his manner at doing this was love.

 

---

 

CHAPTER III

or, the Bishop Candidate

 

During his successful tenure as Grand Prior of the Order of St. Lucien, it was apparent that he held great sway. At the death of Pontiff Lucien II, he was called to minister Last Rites to the pontiff in the absence of any Bishop. This event was a defining moment for Michael, causing him heartache as a new Pontiff was named, Regulus. Unimpressed with Regulus, and saddened by the loss of his own Pontiff, Michael retreated back to the forest and prayed. It was during this time that he wrote his Spirituality of man, and his rule of life in religion.

 

However after months and months alone, the priest received word of his ascension as Bishop over the Diocese of the Steppes and Eastcoast. While this was a time of great jubilance and celebration, Michael gave thanks to God for the wisdom of Regulus in placing him in such a function.

 

Michael immediately wrote a Pastoral Letter to his people, the sheep in his flock. The recipients, primarily the people of Ager and to the Order of St. Lucien. These people received the letter happily, grateful for their Dioceses were no longer sedevacante. His time as Bishop was short lived, however, as the Pope, Regulus, was dying. Though Michael prayed earnestly for a longer life and a happy death, the Pope would expire, before Michael could be consecrated as Bishop.

 

Left in a difficult position, the College of Bishops were left in a state of sedevacante. Michael, praying for divine assistance to inspire his brother Bishops, began writing a second Pastoral Letter to the people of his Diocese. However, Divine Assistance turned to Divine Intervention, and Bishop Michael was to be elected as Pontiff Regulus’ successor.

 

---

 

CHAPTER IV

or, Send Him Victorious

 

During a time of triumph, as this was, Michael, now High Pontiff Pius II, was faced with great celebration as well as great desolation. The Election of Pius II caused great excitement, as well as great confusion. Michael had taken the name Pius as an analogy. It was, at that point, a great opportunity to show reformation of spirit, from an untamed and relatively wild lifestyle in his youth, to a refined and devout lifestyle later on. From Pius I, a debauched High Pontiff, to Pius II.

 

Pius II now had great chance to enact his wants for the Church, but through prudent discernment, found the means to do so. Within only a few weeks time, a new Order was started to assist the poor, construction on a Cathedral had begun with the help of the Lucienists, and numerous gentlemen were openly and proudly discerning the priesthood as a viable vocation for their lives. Monasteries were being planned and built, seminaries, and novitiates. It was a time of growth, and a time for great happiness.

 

It was seen early on that Pius Had a great love for country, making his personal motto “Pro Deo et Patria” - “For God and Country”. He was overjoyed to see Emperor Peter rise as the unitor of Oren and the formation of a Holy Empire. Seeing himself as the vicar of all Creation, he was amused as to the relationship between Church and State. Understanding that the Church was that of God and the State that of man, and as the Creator was superior to man, the Church was superior to State. It was inquired why such a patriotic Pontiff would not enter into correspondence to the Palace, and it was promptly answered that the State, not the Church, should reach out for dialogue.

 

Pius showed his humility in leaving the city and venturing through the darkness and risk of the Jungle with a confidant and confessor, Father Balthazar Basileus, who had been chosen to lead the Piusian Order of St. Tobias. Basileus escorted the Holy Father through the jungle and safely to the Mission Church of Saint Tobias.

 

It was here, at that monastery, that Pius would spend the most arduous days of his pontificate, laboring like a commoner, building, planting, and praying, ora et labora. He maintained contact to his Bishops, though this was a time when he doubted his Bishops faithfulness or reason. While he understand the necessity of their office, the occupants of those offices were found lacking.

 

Pius prayed earnestly for his Church, praying for the many soldiers he had under him and for the men in formation to be priests. Aging, now nearly seventy, the Holy Father felt the test of time.

 

---

 

VOLUME III

or, the Martyrdom of Pius II

 

In times of peril, it was Pius II’s sworn mission to turn to God, to confront the issue, rather than shirk from it. It was on a warm and humid morning at the Monastery of St. Tobias that the Pontiff learned that he was to be deposed. With great confusion and worry, he retreated into the Monastery proper, and bolted the doors, fearful of any potential assault on his person. It was here that he prayed; his prayer was one of truth and penance. Not understanding how he had engaged in any unholy behavior or how he had broken from his vows. It was blatant to him that his bishops had betrayed him. John of Darfey as well as the entire  College of Bishops had sullied their own names in a treacherous attempt to sully the Pontiff’s.

 

It was then that he wrote a Papal Bull condemning the deposition, and withheld the ability to excommunicate those who sought his triregnum. Pius II, intent on holding his claim, believed that he could foster support in the crown, the same crown that he so dutifully prayed for and was loyal to. Needless to say, he at once set out for Kaldonia, to face his aggressors. He told the monks of St. Tobias, that his time had come and to pray for the state of the church. He set out alone, on foot, to cross the rolling hills that separated him from the capitol.

 

During the night, he slept in a tree, fearful of Iblees’ servants. It was here that he had a great agony. He was losing hope and began fearing death, knowing that he would never see his beloved monastery again, and would certainly be beset by angry mobs who had been made to believe the error of the deposition. In the tree, he felt cold, old, and tired. He reminisced to himself of his childhood and youth. He remembered when they recognized him as the legitimate Pontiff. People would bow and protect him, and now he was outlawed, and he only had himself.

 

Understanding his death was to come soon, Pius II began to cry tears of blood and his neck began to pain him. He prayed that his vision did not come true.

 

At daybreak, the High Pontiff clamored out of the tree and closer to Kaldonia, finally being made to see the city that was never his, Pius entered at once and surveyed. As he walked through the newly paved streets, his pontifical cassock stained and muddied. Immediately, he was apprehended, cursed, and derided.  He was kicked down, his face stained with blood from his tears, and his throat paining so much it hurt to breath. Pius did not resist, knowing that he was High Pontiff for God and Country. Seeing the Anti-Pontiff, John of Darfey, the High Pontiff asked for a sentence of penance, but knew that death was soon to come. Archbishop John granted this request, and retreated. The Pontiff knelt and prayed, seeing the crowd, ugly and spiteful, spit and curse God’s chosen.

 

With thoughts of the forest, of the Lucienists, of his faithful who at once bowed around him, he knelt. As he bowed his head, seemingly in utter depression, he knew he was victorious; for in this last act, he was sending out his last Apostolic Encyclical, his life.

 

He remembered this street, the same street where a boy of youth would prostrate before the Holy Father, but now it was the holy father prostrate and the final bow would go to the hatchet. In an act of great reverence, the axe was the last of the faithful and the axe had the last great bow, as it came down upon the saints neck.

 

It is with great sadness that those words are written, but as our hero and champion knew he was ultimately triumphant, we write the words in joy and confidence that the fair Pontiff has been released of his sufferings and obligations save one; to pray for all those who seek his intercession. In truth, there is not enough paper to record his holiness and his sacrifice in the name of propagating the faith and lifting high his holy teaching to love and serve the King of Creation. It is then that it is attempted, in the name of Pius II, that we record this rule and hagiography. By his intercession the axe will conquer, the axe which so swiftly was used in a cruel manner, was the saint’s final penance.

 

Sancte PIVS, ora pro nobis!

Link to post
Share on other sites

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...