SAINT HILARY (c. 315-367)
January 13
	Born in Poitiers, France, whose populace would later elect him bishop, Hilary, married and a father, was converted from paganism to Christianity through his reading of scripture. The focus of his prayerful study was the Prologue to the Gospel according to John, which portrays Jesus as the divine Logos, eternally begotten of the Father. As a result, Hilary became in the words of the biblical scholar Jerome, “the Latin Trumpet against the Arians,” heretics who believed Jesus to be merely human, not divine. In defense of Christ’s divinity, Hilary was not only eloquent in debate but utterly fearless in the face of relentless persecution and even exile. Thus by the witness of his own discipleship, Hilary taught that faith in Jesus as the divine Son of God has consequences. Reflecting on Jesus’ challenge to his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), Hilary notes that, as salt both preserves from corruption and adds savor to food, so must the faithful disciple bear a witness that, by word and example, leads others to immortality and virtuous living.
—Peter Scagnelli