Saint Sulpicius Severus (29 January): Butler's Lives of the Saints

About this sermon

In this reading from The Lives of the Saints by Father Alban Butler, we commemorate St. Sulpicius Severus, a wealthy Roman advocate who renounced the world to embrace a life of poverty, humility, and holiness. Born in Aquitaine to an illustrious Roman family, Sulpicius was trained in law and classical literature and surpassed his contemporaries in eloquence at the bar. After the early death of his wife, and inspired by the example of his pious mother-in-law Basila, his heart was gradually weaned from the world. Around the year 392, during the same period as the conversion of St. Paulinus of Nola, Sulpicius withdrew from secular life. Rather than distributing his entire fortune at once, he devoted its revenues to the poor and lived as a servant of the Church. Choosing a humble retreat in Aquitaine, he embraced a severe ascetic life—subsisting on herbs, pulse, coarse bread, and sleeping on straw. He freed his slaves, lived among them as brothers, and endured criticism from friends who could not understand his radical withdrawal from society. Around 394, Sulpicius Severus became a devoted disciple of St. Martin of Tours, visiting him frequently and modeling his life on the saint’s counsel and example. He later authored the Life of St. Martin, along with dialogues and letters that testify to the miracles, virtues, and sanctity of that great bishop. His most important literary work, an Abridgement of Sacred History completed around the year 400, earned him the title “the Christian Sallust” for its elegance, clarity, and conciseness. His Latin style was praised as among the purest of the Church Fathers. St. Sulpicius Severus was renowned for his extraordinary love of poverty, humility, and prayer. Though not commemorated in the Roman Martyrology, he has been honored as a saint at Tours from time immemorial, with his feast traditionally kept on January 29. 📖 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” 00:00 – Introduction & Source (Butler, Lives of the Saints) 00:19 – Birth and Roman noble background 00:39 – Education, law, and eloquence 00:54 – Marriage, widowhood, and inheritance 01:14 – Conversion from the world (c. 392) 01:52 – Charity, poverty, and stewardship of wealth 02:29 – Solitary life and ascetic practices 03:02 – First visit to St. Martin of Tours 03:26 – Churches founded and relics of the True Cross 04:07 – Letters, humility, and penitential life 05:18 – Vision of St. Martin’s glory 05:53 – Life and death of St. Martin 06:26 – Dialogues and miracles 07:03 – Sacred History & literary legacy 07:53 – Poverty, humility, and monastic life 08:23 – Later years and death 09:39 – Feast day confusion & January 29 tradition 10:24 – Conclusion & veneration at Tours https://sensusfidelium.com/the-lives-of-the-fathers-martyrs-and-other-principal-saints/january/st-sulpicius-severus/ Get Butler's Lives of the Saints here: https://loretopublications.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=102&url=1 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 SpiritusTV - https://spiritustv.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. #StSulpiciusSeverus #LivesOfTheSaints #January29 #CatholicSaints #StMartinOfTours #AlbanButler #CatholicHistory #Hagiography #TraditionalCatholic #SaintOfTheDay