Daily Saints - March 02

Prosper was a disciple of St. Augustine and was born in 390 AD in Aquitaine, France. At a very young age he left Aquitaine and moved to Provence, and settled in Marseilles.
The saint devoted most of his life to finding answers to theological questions. In 428 AD Prosper wrote a letter to St. Augustine, in response to which the latter wrote short essays on "Relentless Effort" and "The will of God".

St. Prosper vehemently opposed St. John Cassian's theory of semi-Pelagianism about salvation. Semi-Pelagian theorists had argued that grace is not necessary for the beginning of Christian faith and good deeds. Prosper wrote a book against this, based on the subject ‘Grace and Free Mind'.

In 431 AD he went to Rome with his friend Hillary to meet Pope Celestine-I and communicated the disputes around the gift of grace. Following this, the Pope had sent an exhortation through St. Prosper to the bishops of Gaul. In this exhortation, the Pope praised St. Augustine and called up on the bishops to keep a close eye on disputes over the gifts of grace. Even after returning to the Gaul, Prosper continued to study the subject of 'Grace and Free Mind' and continued to oppose semi-Pelagian arguments. At the age of sixty-five, he was called for his eternal reward. It is said that St. Prosper was the secretary of Pope Leo the Great.

Other saints of today

1. Lucius, Absalon
2. Jovinus and Basileus
3. Chad, Archbishop of York
4. Cinebild, brother of Archbishop Chad

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