Saint Serenus the Gardener: Cultivating Virtue
The one who supplies seed to the sower
and bread for food
will supply and multiply your seed
and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
—2 Corinthians 9:10
As we celebrate the Season of Lent—the Church’s “springtime”—it seems only fair that among the holy women and men we remember in these holy days is a saint who is honored as one of the patron saints of gardeners: Saint Serenus.
Born to a Greek family in the third century, Serenus (who is also known as Saint Cerneuf in France) became a hermit, living on produce he grew in his hermitage garden in Syrmium (Sremska Mitrovica in modern-day Croatia). When a persecution of Christians erupted, Serenus went into hiding for several months. He eventually returned to his hermitage and garden and, it seems, it was widely known that he was a Christian.
The most popular account of his life tells us that he was an exceptionally attractive man and a hard worker. He was respected and admired by everyone who came into contact with him, especially by the wife of one of the guards of the Emperor Maximian (r. 286-305). Her interest in Serenus quickly turned into sexual advances, which led him to criticize her behavior, declaring that she was dishonoring both herself and her husband. The spurned woman responded by writing to her husband and declaring that Serenus had insulted her.
A short time later, the husband presented a complaint to the governor and had Serenus brought to trial. The hermit defended himself so well that the husband dropped the charges, realizing that his wife had been the one at fault. Serenus was acquitted, but the governor suspected that anyone so conscientious must be a Christian. Although the complaint was abandoned, Serenus was, nevertheless, charged with being a Christian and he was invited to sacrifice to the Roman gods. He refused, declaring, “It has pleased God to reserve me for this present time. It seemed a while ago as if he rejected me as a stone unfit to enter his building, but he has the goodness to take me now to be placed in it; I am ready to suffer all things for his name, that I may have a part in his kingdom with his saints.” Because of his refusal to deny his commitment to Christ, Serenus died as a martyr around the year 303. His memory is celebrated each year on February 23.
The witness of saints like Serenus challenges us to reflect on how we cultivate the “garden” that is our own spiritual life. His life as a hermit, commitment to a truly Christian morality, and the witness of his martyrdom remind us that, regardless of our state of life, every follower of Jesus is called to cultivate virtue and to witness to our faith in every facet of our lives: in our work, in our private moments, and, most especially, in those times when our faith is challenged.
Lent is the time set aside for us by the Christian tradition when we are supposed to pause and take stock of the quality of our discipleship. As we know, our commitment as followers of Jesus isn’t measured or reflected in how much we “give up,” but in cultivating a commitment to care for others, in our dedication to prayer, and in the way our faith guides and inspires our day-to-day decisions.
With this in mind, spend some time this week reflecting on the Lenten prayer, fasting, and almsgiving to which you have committed yourself in these days. Reflect on how—or if—your “good works” are taking you outside of yourself by inspiring you—like Saint Serenus—to cultivate a life of virtue, goodness, and fidelity whose fruits enrich the world around you.
O God, who in your kindness called your servant blessed Serenus to the following of Christ, grant, we pray, through his intercession, that, denying ourselves, we may hold fast to you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for a Monk from The Roman Missal
