Pope Benedict XVI described Chromatius as “a wise teacher and a zealous pastor. His first and main commitment was to listen to the Word, to be able to subsequently proclaim it: he always bases his teaching on the Word of God and constantly returns to it.”

Chromatius was born in Aquileia in about 345. He was a friend and correspondent of St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, Rufinus, and most of the chief ecclesiastics of the age.

The Holy Father pointed out that Chrometius learned at home to know and love Christ. “Jerome himself spoke of this in terms full of admiration and compared Chromatius’ mother to the Prophetess Anna, his two sisters to the Wise Virgins of the Gospel Parable, and Chromatius himself and his brother Eusebius to the young Samuel.”

Chromatius became Bishop of Aquileia in about 388 and was one of the most influential of the Western prelates of his day. When St. John Chrysostom was exiled from Constantinople, he wrote three letters to those he considered the most important bishops of the West seeking to obtain their support with the emperors: he wrote one letter to the Bishop of Rome, the second to the Bishop of Milan and the third to the Bishop of Aquileia, Chromatius.

Chromatius was a warm defender of Chrysostom. He sent Chrysostom a letter of brotherly sympathy and Chrysostom wrote him a letter of thanks. Chromatius died in 407, the same year Chrysostom also died.

Pope Benedict pointed out certain subjects were particularly dear to Chromatius: “First of all, the Trinitarian mystery, which he contemplated in its revelation throughout the history of salvation. Then, the theme of the Holy Spirit: Chromatius constantly reminds the faithful of the presence and action in the life of the Church of the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity.”

“But the holy bishop returns with special insistence to the mystery of Christ … The heavy emphasis on Christ’s human nature led Chromatius to speak of the Virgin Mary … The Bishop of Aquileia often compares the Virgin with the Church: both, in fact, are ‘virgins’ and ‘mothers’. Chromatius developed his ecclesiology above all in his commentary on Matthew.”

The written deposit of Chromatius’ preaching, which came to light only in 1975, includes more than 40 sermons and 61 treatises of commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.

One of Chromatius’ favorite images of the Church is the boat in Matthew 8:23-27. Commenting on this passage, Chromatius wrote, “There is no doubt that the ship is a figure of the Church, as the Holy Spirit speaks through Solomon about it, saying, ‘She is like the ships of the merchant, she brings her food from afar.’ That is, it is the Church that runs everywhere by the word of preaching as the apostles sail, the Lord directs the rudder and the Holy Spirit fills the sails. The Church carries with it a great and countless treasure, by which it has purchased the whole human race or rather the whole world by the blood of Christ.”

Chromatius continued to comment on this passage allegorically: “The sea is understood to be this age, which swells with various sins and temptations as by waves … The fact that the Lord slept in this boat is then understood to be when he allows his Church to be tested by the oppressions and persecutions of that world in order to test its faith. The prayer of the disciples who roused the Lord and implored his help to be saved are shown to be the prayers of all the saints who with devout faith and constant prayer stir up the patience of the Lord as from sleep whenever the storm of persecution has arisen and the devil and his angels rage violently. As a result he deigns to help by the aid of his mercy those who are in danger owing to the fear of human weakness.”


龔彌迪傳授福音                                                                                   

公元345年龔彌迪出生於阿奎萊亞，他是當時顯赫聖職人物如聖安博、聖業樂、魯菲諾等人的朋友和筆友。教宗本篤十六世指出，龔彌迪在家中學習認識和愛慕基督。教宗又指出：聖業樂把龔彌迪的母親比作女先知亞納，把他兩個姊妹比作福音中明智的童女，把龔彌迪本人和他的兄弟歐瑟伯比作年青的撒慕耳先知。

公元388年龔彌迪任阿奎萊亞主教，已經是是時其中一位最有影響力的西方教會的教長之一。聖若望金口從君士坦丁被放逐時，親筆致函三位西方教會的重要主教，請他們尋求皇帝的支持：分別是羅馬主教、米蘭主教和阿奎萊亞主教龔彌迪。龔彌迪是聖若望金口親切維護者，曾去信聖若望金口表達同情，聖若望金口回函致謝。407年龔彌迪逝世，聖若望金口亦於同年離世。

教宗本篤十六世說：「龔彌迪是明智的老師及熱心的牧者；他首先和主要的職責是聆聽聖言，好能宣講聖言。他的教導常基於天主聖言並經常回歸到聖言。」

聖父又指出，龔彌迪喜愛談及一些主題：「首先是聖三的奧蹟，他默觀在救恩史中這奧蹟的啟示。然後是聖神的奧蹟。龔彌迪常常提醒信眾，至聖聖三的第三位在教會生活中的臨在與化工。」

「但這位聖善的主教，又會返回及特別堅持基督的奧蹟 …著重基督的人性令龔彌迪談到童貞瑪利亞 …，並把她比作教會：兩者都是童貞和母親。龔彌迪在他的瑪竇福音註釋發展出他的教會學。」

龔彌迪的教導遺篇，直到1975年才被發現，包括四十多篇的講道，和六十一篇有關瑪竇福音註釋的論文。

龔彌迪其中最喜愛的，是根據瑪竇福音8:23-27，把教會寓作一條漁船。他寫道：「無可置疑，那艘漁船是喻作教會，正如聖神藉撒羅滿謂：『她像一艘商船，從遠方帶來了食糧。』教會藉宣揚福音而走到各處，就是好像宗徒們航行，由耶穌掌舵，聖神揚帆。教會滿載大量和無數的珍寶，用以藉著基督聖血來買得全人類，更確切地說是買得整個世界。」

龔彌迪續以寓意註釋，道：「波濤洶湧的大海有如今世，充滿著如巨浪般的諸罪和誘惑 …吾主睡著的事實是當祂讓祂的教會受到世俗的壓迫和迫害以試煉它的信德；門徒祈求把祂喚醒，顯示教會眾聖者，每當迫害之浪出現和悪魔並其手下暴怒時，以虔誠的信德和不斷的祈禱來攪動主的忍耐，好像喚醒熟睡者。結果，在吾主的聖意下，用祂的慈悲，幫助那些因人性軟弱的恐懼而處於危險中的人。」