Sermon on St. George by St. Peter Damian
On the life of Saint George, Martyr (d. c. 303)
Saint George (d. c. 303) The veneration of Saint George began as early as the fourth century at Lydda in Palestine, where a church was built in his honor. From antiquity this veneration spread throughout both the East and the West. Although he is the patron of England, Portugal, Germany, Aragon, Genoa, and Venice and is venerated in the East as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, all that is known of him with any certainty is that he suffered martyrdom at Lydda, Palestine sometime before the reign of Emperor Constantine and was a soldier in the imperial Roman army. The story of his slaying of the dragon does not appear until the twelfth century and its appearance in the Golden Legend. According to it he was a Christian knight who came to Sylene in Libya, where a dragon was terrorizing the city. The people were supplying the dragon with a victim as his demand; the latest victim was a princess. George attacked and subdued the dragon; the princess led it back into the city, and George slew it after the inhabitants agreed to be baptized. He was known in England as early as the eighth century and had tremendous appeal in the Middle Ages as the patron of knighthood and soldiers, particularly among the Crusaders. Numerous renaissance artists favored the depiction of his encounter with the dragon. “St. George’s arms,” a red cross on a white background, became the basis of the uniform of British soldiers and sailors; the red cross appears in the Union Jack. Below is a sermon of Saint Peter Damian, bishop of Ostia, delivered in the eleventh century. The battle of Saint George was against the dragon Satin, the prince of all wicked spirits, and his triumph, the crown of martyrdom.
Invincibly defended by the banner of the cross
Dear brothers, our joy in today’s feast is heightened by our joy in the glory of Easter, just as the splendor of a precious jewel enhances the beauty of its gold setting.
Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another: he gave up the rank of tribune to enlist as a soldier for christ. Eager to encounter the enemy, he first stripped away his worldly wealth by giving all he had to the poor. The, free and unencumbered, bearing the shield of faith, he plunged into the thick of the battle, an ardent soldier for Christ.
Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid to strip ourselves of our worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith.
As for Saint George, he was consumed with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Armed with the invincible standard of the cross, he did battle with an evil king and acquitted himself so well that, in vanquishing the king, he overcame the prince of all wicked spirits, and encouraged other soldiers of Christ to perform brave deeds in his cause.
Of course, the supreme invisible arbiter was there, who sometimes permits evil men to prevail so that his will may be accomplished. And although he surrendered the body of his martyr into the hands of murderers, yet he continued to take care of his soul, which was supported by the unshakable defense of its faith.
Dear brothers, let us not only admire the courage of this fighter in heaven’s army but follow his example. Let us be inspired to strive for the reward of heavenly glory, keeping in mind his example, so that we will not be swayed from our path, though the world seduce us with its smiles or try to terrify us with naked threats of its trials and tribulations.
We must now cleanse ourselves, as Saint Paul tells us, from all defilement of body and spirit, so that one day we too may deserve to enter that temple of blessedness to which we now aspire.
Anyone who wishes to offer himself to God in the tent of Christ, which is the Church, must first bathe in the spring of holy baptism; then he must put on the various garments of the virtues. As it says in the Scriptures: Let your priests be clothed in justice. He who is reborn in baptism is a new man. He may no longer wear the things that signify mortality. He has discarded the old self and must put on the new. He must live continually renewed in his commitment to a holy sojourn in this world.
Truly we must be cleanses of the stains of our past sins and be resplendent in the virtue of our new way of life. Then we can be confident of celebrating Easter worthily and of truly following the example of the blessed martyrs.
Source: The Liturgy of the Hours – Office of Readings