We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
St. Aileran
FREE Catholic Classes
An Irish saint, generally known as "Sapiens" (the Wise), one of the most distinguished professors at the Clonard in the seventh century. He died of the all-destroying Yellow Plague, and his death is chronicled in the "Annals of Ulster", 29 December, 664. His early life is not recorded, but he was attracted to the great Clonard by the fame of St. Finian and his disciples, and, about 650, was rector, of this celebrated seat of learning. As a classical scholar he was almost without a rival in his day, and his acquaintance with the works of Origen, Philo, St. Jerome, St. Augustine, and others, stamps him as a master of Latin and Greek. According to Colgan, numerous works are to be ascribed to St. Aileran, including the "Fourth Life of St. Patrick", a Latin-Irish Litany, and the "Lives of St. Brigid and St. Fechin of Fore." As regards the Latin-Irish Litany, there is scarcely a doubt but that St. Aileran was its author. An excellent transcript of it. is in the "Yellow Book of Lecain" ( Leabhar Buidhe Lecain ), a valuable Irish manuscript copied by the MacFirbises in the fourteenth century. The best known work of St. Aileran is his tract on the genealogy of Our Lord according to St. Matthew . A complete copy of this remarkable scriptural commentary is at Vienna in a manuscript of Sedulius (Siadhuil or Shiel), consisting of 157 folios, large quarto, written in two columns, with red initial letters. It is entitled: "Tipicus ac Tropologicus Jesu Christi Genealogiae Intellectus quem Sanctus Aileranus Scottorum Sapientissimus exposuit." The Franciscan, Patrick Fleming, published a fragment of this "Interpretatio Mystica Progenitorum Christi" (Mystical Interpretation of the Ancestry of Our Lord Jesus Christ ), in 1667, at Louvain -- being a posthumous publication passed through press by Father Thomas O'Sheerin, O.F.M., who died in 1673. This was reprinted in the Benedictine edition of the Fathers, in 1677, and again by Migne in his Latin "Patrology" (LXXX, 327 sqq.). The Benedictine editors take care to explain that although St. Aileran was not a member of their order, yet they deemed the work of such extraordinary merit that it deserved being better known. To quote their own words, "Aileran unfolded the meaning of Sacred Scripture with so much learning and ingenuity that every student of the sacred volume, and especially preachers of the Divine Word, will regard the publication as most acceptable." Another fragment of a work by St. Aileran, namely, "A Short Moral Explanation of the Sacred Names" found in the Latin "Patrology" of Migne, displays much erudition. Archbishop Healy says of it: "We read over both fragments carefully, and we have no hesitation in saying that whether we consider the style of the latinity, the learning, or the ingenuity of the writer, it is equally marvelous and equally honorable to the Clonard." The feast of St. Aileran is celebrated 29 December. Otto Schmid says (Kirchenlex., I, 370) that in medieval times it was customary in the great Swiss monastery of St. Gall to read this admirable work on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady as a commentary on the Gospel of the day, i.e. the genealogy of Jesus Christ ( Matthew 1:1-16 ).
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Join the Movement
When you sign up below, you don't just join an email list - you're joining an entire movement for Free world class Catholic education.
-
Mysteries of the Rosary
-
St. Faustina Kowalska
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
-
Saint of the Day for Wednesday, Oct 4th, 2023
-
Popular Saints
-
St. Francis of Assisi
-
Bible
-
Female / Women Saints
-
7 Morning Prayers you need to get your day started with God
-
Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Chaplain Reveals Unrest at Columbia University Caused by Communists
-
Discovering Who We Are: God's Truth in Scripture
-
Pope Francis Advises Parish Priests on Fostering a Missionary Church
-
5 Reasons Going To Church Is Important (even on days you feel like you can skip)
-
U.S. Catholic Parishes Experience Resurgence of Traditional Practices
Daily Catholic
- Daily Readings for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- St. Florian: Saint of the Day for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- The Universal Prayer (attributed to Pope Clement Xi): Prayer of the Day for Saturday, May 04, 2024
- Daily Readings for Friday, May 03, 2024
- St. James the Lesser: Saint of the Day for Friday, May 03, 2024
- Prayer before Starting on a Journey: Prayer of the Day for Friday, May 03, 2024
We ask you, humbly: don't scroll away.
Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you.Help Now >
Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. All materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of Catholic Online and are protected under U.S. and International copyright laws, © Copyright 2024 Catholic Online. Any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of Catholic Online is strictly forbidden and prohibited.
Catholic Online is a Project of Your Catholic Voice Foundation, a Not-for-Profit Corporation. Your Catholic Voice Foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Federal Tax Identification Number: 81-0596847. Your gift is tax-deductible as allowed by law.