The story of Saint Alexius appears at first to be an unusual, perhaps difficult story, but as I meditated on it and thought about it more, I’ve come to love and cherish this saint very much.
In the late 4th century, Saint Alexius was born to a wealthy nobleman in Rome. On the night of his marriage, he secretly left his home and traveled to Edessa in the Syrian Orient (over 1000 miles away). There, he led the life of a very pious ascetic on the steps of Our Lady’s Church.
Naturally, his wife and parents spent much effort trying to find him. St. Alexius once saw the servants of his father looking for him in Edessa, but out of love and preference for Our Lord, he did not reveal himself to the servants. These servants even gave him alms on the steps of the church, but he chose to remain hidden as an unwanted beggar, living his life of prayer and penance. He would divide the alms he was given to the poor he knew and keep only enough to barely sustain his physical life. After a miraculous vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in which he was singled out as a “Man of God”, his reputation, and in his opinion, notoriety, grew to be too much. He fled from the acclaim in Edessa back to Rome.
There in Rome, he was taken in by his parents who did not even recognize him. As good Christians, they sheltered him for the last 17 years of his life, providing him with a small room under the stairs. There he prayed constantly and taught catechism to the little children of the household.
During this time, he often witnessed his parents and wife mourning his absence and going about their household duties in great sorrow, but he remained steadfast in not revealing himself to them. Instead, he chose to reject all the comforts and pleasures that come from relationships with family and friends in pursuit of that which only Our Lord can give though single-minded pursuit of His graces. The purity of heart of Saint Alexius teaches us in a beautiful and radical example what Our Lord ultimately seeks from all of us. Our Lord is a jealous Master and He is not pleased until all that we have and all that we are belong to Him. Usually only the Blessed who reach Heaven fully realize and live this. However, Saint Alexius lived this truth in an extraordinary and heroic way here in this vale of tears. Through his example, God provides powerful and compelling proof of what life in Heaven is meant to be and how we are to live a foretaste of it here on earth.
After the death of Saint Alexius in 417, his family discovered a letter on his body which told them who he was and how he had lived his life of penance from the day of his wedding, for the love of God.
O St. Alexius, holy ascetic and beggar, pray for us, that despite our great weakness, we may cling more to Our Heavenly Father and trust in His Providence and concern for our lives.