PROSELYTISING MONKS AND PREACHERS.
A CAPTIVE NUN CONVERTING THE IBERIANS.
In the reign of the Christian Emperor Constantine, early in the fourth century, a Christian nun, called Nunia, was carried off captive by the Iberians, and was given as a slave to one of the natives. Her ascetic and devotional life soon attracted the notice of the Pagans, who became convinced that she had some magical power of life and death. A child was thought to be at the point of death, and was carried from place to place in search of a physician. Some one suggested the nun, who when challenged said she knew of no remedy but Christ, when all other help was wanting. She prayed for the child, and it recovered. This made an extraordinary impression, and the miracle reached the ears of the Queen. The Queen fell sick, and was prayed for, and also recovered. The King hearing of this, wanted to send a rich present, but was told the Christian woman despised such earthly goods, and looked for her only reward in bringing people to join in worshipping the true God. Some time afterwards the King lost his way while hunting, and remembered this Christian woman’s action, and made a vow that, if he were saved, he would join in this new worship. Presently the sky cleared, and the King was able to find his way back. He then set about inquiring, and soon engaged teachers and preachers of the new doctrine. And this was the beginning of Christianity among the Iberians, who soon united with the Armenian Church.
A FOURTH-CENTURY MISSIONARY.
Near the end of the fourth century, a monk, Abraham, in Phœnicia, having recovered from a dangerous illness, felt impelled to prove his gratitude to the Lord by exposing himself to greatdanger in publishing the Gospel. In the disguise of a merchant he betook himself with some companions to a village in Lebanon, where all were Pagans, under the pretext that they wished to purchase walnuts, for which the place was noted. They took sacks for the purpose. But when the people heard him singing spiritual songs with his friends in a hired house, they met in a rage, barricaded the house, and were on the point of murdering the inmates, though at last these were allowed to escape. Just at that moment the tax-gatherers came and made heavier demands than the people could meet, whereupon Abraham interceded, and raised among his friends a sum sufficient to buy out the excisemen, and became surety for them also. This conduct made at once a great impression on the villagers, who changed from violent hostility into great gratitude and reverence. They requested their deliverer to undertake the office of their overseer or governor—an office then vacant. He agreed, on condition of their building a church, which they soon assented to. He then urged them to appoint a priest, and they begged him to act as such himself. He did so, and in three years he established a mission which was afterwards known as the tribe of Maronites, who became noted for their pure and simple way of life.
A LONG SERMON BY ST. PATRICK.
It is said that St. Patrick, who died 466, once went through the four gospels in one exposition to the Irish at a place called Finnablair, and he was three days and nights about it, without intermission, to the great delight of the hearers, who thought that only one day had passed. St. Bridget was present, but it was observed that she took a sleep and had a comfortable vision during its continuance.
HOW A MONK WARDED OFF THE LOCUSTS.
Severinus, a monk missionary, who laboured among the German races near the Danube, and who died in 482, was deemed the holiest man of his generation, and Providence was said to be visibly supporting his ministry. Once a great swarm of locusts settled on the country. Severinus was asked for his prayers, as a means of deliverance from the plague. After quoting Scripture and urging them to works of repentance, he said, “Let no one of you now go to his fields, thinking that by human care you can ward off the locusts.” All were affected by this advice, and assembled in church, acknowledging with tears their sinful courses.Only one poor man, from anxiety about his land, while the rest were at church was absent all day, trying to drive away the locusts, and only in the evening found time to join the rest at church. But next morning he found his field devoured by the locusts, while the other fields had escaped. This occurrence made a great impression, which Severinus turned to account by teaching them how their duties towards God should take precedence of everything else. But he also added, “It is but reasonable that by your bounty this poor man should be maintained during the present year, seeing that by the punishment he has suffered he has given you a lesson of humility.” Accordingly, they all contributed jointly to support the poor man for a year.
FIRST PLANTING OF THE CROSS IN ENGLAND.
There are two theories of historians as to the first foundation of the Anglican Church. Some say it began with the mission of St. Augustine; others say it was coeval with the Apostles. The latter party maintain that there were Christian Britons at Rome when St. Peter was there, and that the British kings and nobles used to send their sons to be educated at that period in Rome. It is said that at the time of Peter’s preaching there were about a hundred converts, Britons and others, who were in the habit of assembling at a certain house for prayer and worship. This house belonged to a British lady, Claudia, and her husband, Pudens. One Eubulus was the father of Claudia. In this house, and entertained by Claudia and Pudens, lived St. Peter, by whom they had been converted to Christianity, and many of their friends and acquaintances. Few things are said to be clearer than that St. Peter, when in Rome, was the guest of this British lady Claudia. Claudia and Pudens had two daughters, Pudentiana and Praxedes, and their son Novatus. Nearly all these persons are mentioned by St. Paul, who must have known them well. The poet Martial corroborates this account in his fifty-third epigram. Therefore, as there were British Christians at Rome known to St. Peter and to St. Paul, it is highly probable that those converts increased in number, and that some of them found their way to their native place. Justin Martyr, in the early part of the second century, says that professors of Christianity had gone to every country; and Tertullian expressly mentions Britain as one of these countries. So does Eusebius in the fourth century. Moreover, Gregory and St. Augustine, in sending their mission to England at the end of the sixth century, recognise the fact of an already existing Church in Britain.
HOW POPE GREGORY CAME TO SEND MISSIONARIES TO ENGLAND.
Bede narrates the origin of the mission to Christianise England thus: One day, certain merchants having lately arrived at Rome, a quantity of goods was brought into the market for sale, and many people had resorted thither to buy; and among the rest Gregory the Great himself came, and saw, together with other merchandise, some boys exposed for sale—their bodies white, their faces handsome, and their hair very beautiful. And having looked at them, he asked, as they say, from what country or land they had been brought, and was told from the island of Britain, whose inhabitants were of such appearance. Again he asked whether the same islanders were Christians, or were still involved in Pagan errors; and was told that they were Pagans. Then fetching a deep sigh from the bottom of his heart, “Alas! the pity,” said he, “that the author of darkness should possess men of so bright a countenance, and that persons conspicuous for so much grace of aspect should have minds void of inward grace.” He therefore again asked what was the name of that nation. He was answered that they were Angles. “That is well,” said he, “for they have angelic faces, and such men ought to be coheirs with the angels in heaven.” He asked other things; and then repairing to the Bishop of the Roman and Apostolic See (for he himself had not yet been made Pontiff), he asked him to send into Britain some ministers of the Word, by whom they might be converted to Christ, declaring himself ready to undertake the work with the Lord’s assistance, if only the Pope were pleased that he should do so; which thing he was not for a while able to perform, because, although the Pope was willing, yet the citizens of Rome would not allow him to withdraw so far from the city. Afterwards, when he was himself made Pope, he achieved the work so long desired, sending other preachers indeed, but himself aiding by his exhortations and prayers that their preaching should bear fruit.
HOW ST. AUGUSTINE MADE IMPRESSION ON THE SAXON KING (A.D.596).
When Gregory the Great, in 596, sent St. Augustine to convert the Anglo-Saxons, the saint, on landing in the Isle of Thanet, sent messengers to Ethelbert, the Saxon King, to say he was the bearer of joyful tidings. The King, however, stipulated that their first interview should be in the open air, as he had a fear of charms and spells. So the King crossed the river Stour, and waited under an oak in the middle of the Isle of Thanet. To make a deeper impression, Augustine came up from the shore in solemnprocession, preceded by a verger carrying a large silver cross, and followed by one bearing aloft, on a board, a well-gilt picture of the Saviour. Then came the rest of the brethren and the choir chanting a solemn litany for the eternal welfare of the Saxon people. On their meeting, the saint could not speak Anglo-Saxon, and the King could not speak Latin, but the priests interpreted the conversation. The saint told of the Son of God having left His heavenly throne to come to the world, where He died for the sins of the guilty. The King listened fairly, and confessed that the tidings were new and full of significance. He would not at once engage to change the customs of his people, but he promised hospitality and kindness to the strangers, and agreed that none of his people should be prohibited from adopting the new religion. The saint was pleased at this success, and with his companions again formed a procession and crossed the river to Canterbury (which was then a rude place surrounded with thickets, and the capital of the kingdom), chanting all the way their solemn litanies. The missionaries took up their abode, waiting till the King made up his mind, and they devoted themselves to prayers and fasting. Their conduct made a great impression; and Ethelbert, a year after the first interview, avowed his acceptance of Christianity and was baptised. Augustine, soon after, returned to France, and was consecrated at Arles the first Archbishop of Canterbury.
METHODIUS PREACHES IN THE NATIVE LANGUAGE (A.D.862).
In Moravia, King Swatopluk and his Queen having been converted to the new faith, applied, about 862, to the Emperor Michael to send them some Christian teachers, and two missionaries named Cyril and Methodius were sent. They took with them a relic, supposed to be the body of St. Clement of Rome, a martyr. They obtained great success, for the ordinary practice of the time was to use the Greek and Latin tongues; whereas these men saw that nothing could be done without first mastering the language of the country. They set about learning the Slavonic tongue, compiled an alphabet, and rapidly spread a knowledge of the truth, which led to the building of churches and great interest in the new doctrines, so that they were summoned to Rome, charged with some kind of heretical error. But they proved their orthodoxy, and the Pope consecrated Methodius as Archbishop of the Moravians. At a later date he was again cited before the Pope for using the Slavonic tongue in the Liturgy. But he again overcame all opposition, and showed that the praises of the Lord were not confined to the Hebrew, Greek, and Latinlanguages, for St. Paul said, “Let every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord,” and it was a scriptural command, “Praise the Lord, all ye nations.” It was said that Methodius afterwards met some heathen dukes at the King’s table; and after talking to them, one of the dukes asked what he might expect to gain by becoming a Christian. The answer given was that the change would exalt him above all kings and princes; whereupon the savage chiefs were all there and then baptised. It seemed that after the death of Methodius, about 885, the orthodox people still professed antipathy to the Slavonic liturgy as an innovation; but it lasted at least to the fall of the Moravian kingdom in 908.
GALLUS, THE APOSTLE OF SWITZERLAND (A.D.630).
One of the Abbot Columban’s favourite scholars who went with him from Ireland to France was Gallus, who died 646. The party, on settling in the old castle in Bregenz, found three gilded images of Pagan idols; and at the first discourse preached to a large company by Gallus, he in his zeal dashed the idols in pieces, which made a great impression on the congregation. Gallus, besides being a zealous preacher, was expert at gardening and weaving nets, and was so successful in fishing that he not only supplied the monks’ table, but made gifts to guests and strangers. Gallus was too sick to accompany Columban from France to Italy; and when left behind he took a few friends and ranged the forests, which abounded in wild beasts, and looked out for a settlement. They came to a stream full of fish. These Gallus caught with ease, and they broiled them on the banks, and with some bread out of their knapsack made a meal. Gallus then went into the bush to pray, and was so pleased with the situation that he suddenly became satisfied that there he should settle. He made a cross with a small twig, thrust it in the ground, and hung up some relics, and the party knelt in prayer. On this spot was founded the great monastery called by his name, St. Gall. There he trained many monks and spread the light of the Gospel among the surrounding people. He preached in Latin, and one of his scholars translated the discourse into German.
ST. ELIGIUS DENOUNCING PAGAN SUPERSTITIONS (A.D.650).
St. Eligius is said to have rebuked the superstitions of his time, such as fortune-telling. He said, “Attend not to omens, to sneezing, the flight of birds, or strange creatures met in journeys; but whatever you do sign yourself in the name of Christ, and saythe Creed and Paternoster with faith and devotion, and then no enemy can hurt you. Let no Christian attend to the day or to the moon for beginning any work. Practise no Pagan buffooneries, believe in no charms, for these are diabolical works; for the sun and moon are the creatures of God, and serve the necessities of men by His order. Let the sick have no recourse to magicians, but let them trust in the sole mercy of God. Adore not the heavens, or the stars, or the earth, or any other creature, because God has made and disposed them all. High indeed are the heavens, vast the earth, immense the sea, beautiful the stars, but more immense and beautiful is He who created them. And if those things that we see are so incomprehensible—that is, the various sights of the earth, the beauty of flowers, the diversity of fruits, the races of animals, the prudence of the bees, the winds and the dew, and the lightning and the succession of the seasons, all which things no human mind can fully comprehend,—if these things are such which we behold, what must be those heavenly things which have not yet been seen? or what their Maker, whose hand created them, or by whose will they are all governed? Brethren, Him you must fear, adore, and love; hold to His mercy, and never despair of His goodness.”
ANSCHAR, THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH (A.D.825).
Anschar was born in 801, near Amiens, his mother being noted for her piety, but dying while he was in his fifth year. One night, in his schooldays, he had a vision and an ecstasy. He dreamt that he stood on a slippery precipice, and could see no way of extricating himself; but on a pleasant meadow not far off a shining group of white-robed females attracted his eye; and in scanning them he beheld his own mother in the crowd, which was led on by the Virgin Mary as Queen. The Virgin kindly saluted him, and asked if he would not come to his mother. He answered that he would gladly do so if he could; whereon the Queen replied, “If you wish to join us, you must eschew vanity and diligently take heed to your ways.” From that time a change came over him. He joined the convent of Corbie, and there he had another vision and ecstasy. He dreamt that he was transported to the assembly of the blessed, and saw and heard what filled him with inexpressible delight—a company of angels surrounded with glorious colours; and Peter and John came to be his guides, when suddenly a voice issued from the centre of light, full of sweetness and majesty. It said, “Go hence, and return to Me with a crown of martyrdom.” Two years afterwards he had a third vision, inwhich he beheld the glorified figure of Christ, who invited him to confess his sins, that he might receive forgiveness, at which he knelt down and made confession. From that time Anschar felt that he was consecrated to be a missionary. As a monk he became known to the Jutland King, Harold, who had just been baptised at the monastery near the Rhine, and who wished to take home with him a Gospel preacher. Anschar was selected, and for forty years he laboured incessantly in Denmark and Sweden, and became a great civiliser of men. When at last a mortal sickness attacked him, his only regret was that he had not been thought worthy to die a martyr, instead of being tended by loving hands all the days he lay on his bed (in 865).
ST. NEOT, THE CORNISH SAINT (A.D.890).
St. Neot was a monk at Glastonbury, and an angel was sent to him, telling him to prepare to go a long journey. After many wanderings, he reached a place in Cornwall among the hills. Each morning, both in summer and winter, he went and stood up to the neck in a well, repeating the Psalter through. One day, in the depth of winter, he was disturbed by a hunting party, and sprang hastily out of the well, and was retiring, but dropped one of his shoes. He had not time to wait; but soon afterwards, when he had finished his psalms and prayers, he remembered the shoe, and sent his servant to fetch it. Meantime a fox had passed and wanted to steal the shoe; but an angel who hovered over that place smote the fox, and the thongs of the shoe were found in the creature’s mouth at the time of its death. Another time St. Neot was standing in his valley by the water’s side, when a young and beautiful fawn bounded from the adjoining thicket, and, panting from weariness and terror, sought a refuge at his feet. Hitherto the poor creature had known man only as its foe; but the serene countenance of the holy man had no terror for the innocent and oppressed; and crouching closely to him, with upturned imploring eyes, it appeared to beseech his protection. Not so the fierce and hungry bloodhounds that followed hot behind. Nature has nothing more terrible to savageness and cruelty than the gentle majesty of virtue, and the frightened animals shrank back cowed and overawed into the wood. Up came the wild huntsman, and hallooed them towards the prey; but his hot spirit too was quenched in the pure influences which flowed from the countenance of the saint. He felt the reproach; the mild rebuke cut him to the heart; and in the first enthusiasm of repentance he hung up his horn as an offering at the shrine of St. Petrox, and himselfassumed the habit of a monk. St. Neot soon founded the monastery of Neotstowe, where he not long afterwards died, about 890.
THE CONVERSION OF RUSSIA IN 864.
Photius, Patriarch of Constantinople, took credit for having assisted in the conversion of the Russians about 864, with the aid of the missionaries. But the new doctrine took no visible root till 955, when the then ruling Queen, Olga, resolved to visit Constantinople. Constantine Porphyrogenitus is said to have received her with great pomp, and her vanity was gratified with titles, banquets, and presents. She openly professed to be baptised along with her retinue of domestics, ministers, and leading merchants. On her return to Kion and Novgorod, she persisted in her new religion, but her family and nation remained obstinate and indifferent. Her example, however, was long appealed to by a few, and the Greek missionaries worked with zeal and led the people to imitate the dome of St. Sophia, with its pictures of saints and martyrs, the pomp of priestly vestments and ceremonies. A little later, in 968, the marriage of King Wolodomor with a Roman bride gave a fresh impulse to Christian zeal; and the god of thunder, the chief Pagan deity, was dragged through the streets, battered with clubs, and thrown into the sea. Other relics of Paganism soon followed, and a broad foundation was laid for the culture of Christian rites.
BISHOP OTTO IN POMERANIA (A.D.1124).
Bishop Otto, of Bamberg, was induced in 1124 to set out as a missionary to Pomerania. Amid the difficulties caused by the Pagan superstitions, a mob in Stettin was incited by the native priests to destroy the Christian church and all who were assembled in it. Otto was not alarmed, but by his calm confidence and courage reassured his band of followers. After commending himself and his friends in prayer to God, he went forth in his episcopal robes in the midst of the clergy, who bore before him the crucifix and relics, singing psalms and hymns. The calmness of the bishop confounded the raging multitude for a while. A stout priest, of portly stature and sonorous voice, tried to inflame the fury of the Pagans and incite them to vengeance. But Otto’s venerable appearance, at the head of a company of believers, enabled them to proceed without further difficulty in consecrating a church and founding a permanent society of Christian worshippers.
NORBERT DENOUNCING CLERICAL VICES (A.D.1134).
About 1114 Norbert, the founder of the Premonstrants, had been in early life a courtly ecclesiastic, and a favourite of Henry V. While riding for pleasure he was caught in a storm, and prostrated by a flash of lightning. On recovering his senses, he was so impressed by this escape from sudden death that he at once began a new life. He laid aside his sumptuous apparel, entered the order of priests, became an itinerant preacher, went barefoot and wearing a sheepskin, and having his body girt with a cord. He exposed the worldly-minded and degenerate clergy of his time, and became popular, having obtained from the Pope a roving licence to preach. Whenever he entered a village or approached a castle, the herdsmen who caught sight of him circulated the news; the bells were rung, and young and old hastened to church, where, after performing Mass, he exhorted the people. After the sermon he conversed with individuals on the concerns of their souls. Towards evening he was conducted to his lodgings, and all were eager to have him as their guest. He did not, like others, take up his abode in monasteries or priests’ houses, but preferred the populous places, where he could reach the multitude with ease. The Pope wished to see him, as a means of reforming the lives of the clergy; but so violent was their opposition that Norbert retired to a desert region in the valley of Premonstre, in the forest of Couchy, and founded a new spiritual society, resembling in its rule that of Augustine; and his power was so great that he made the wolves do the duty of sheepdogs. Finally, Norbert became Archbishop of Magdeburg, being chosen because he suddenly appeared at an election there. He died in 1134. The Premonstrantensians were, by their rules, specially forbidden to keep rare and curious tame animals, as deer, bears, monkeys, peacocks, swans, or hawks. Even when Norbert became archbishop he went barefooted and meanly dressed, and once his own porter was about to shut him out as a beggar. The order thus founded long kept up its austere discipline; but after a time, like other societies, it grew rich and careless.
FULK, A ROUSING MONK PREACHER (A.D.1190).
About 1190 a bustling priest near Paris, named Fulco of Neuilly, said to be ignorant and worldly-minded, achieved a great reputation. He had attended the lectures of Peter Cantor, and obtained an insight into his impressive style. In a coarse cowl,and girt about with a leather thong, he fearlessly denounced the vices of the time. His sermons wrought such deep conviction that people scourged themselves, fell down before him on the ground, and confessed themselves in public. Usurers made restitution of their gains; engrossers and corndealers threw open their granaries; abandoned women forsook their haunts; the clergy separated from their concubines. A curse from his lips spread alarm like a thunderbolt. His hearers would fall down in convulsive fits, foaming at the mouth. The sick were brought to him to be healed by his touch. His garments were sometimes seized and torn into shreds, to be preserved as precious relics. He was so mobbed in the street that he had to swing his staff violently about to clear his way; and those wounded, so far from murmuring, kissed the blood that flowed from their wounds, as if they had been instantaneously healed. His stirring example gave a great impetus to preachers, and students of theology were turned into itinerant missionaries. Afterwards Fulco stood forth as a preacher of the Crusades, and great sums of money were sent to him, which he divided among the Crusaders. It was noticed that, however impressive were his discourses when delivered by himself, those who redelivered the same after they had been taken down by shorthand writers and copied fell far short in their effect. It was also said that he impaired his influence by riding on horseback, shaving his hair, and indulging in dress and food. It was he who reproved Richard of England for cherishing his three daughters—pride, covetousness, and luxury; to which the King replied that he had bestowed his pride on the Templars, his greed on the Cistercians, and his luxury on the prelates.
ST. DOMINIC’S ZEAL IN PREACHING (A.D.1221).
St. Dominic, who died 1221, said it is not by the display of power and pomp, by cavalcades of retainers, and richly houselled palfreys, or by gorgeous apparel that the heretics win proselytes; it is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, it is true, but yet seeming, holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth. He noticed how eagerly the women, especially the noble ladies of Languedoc, listened to the heretical preachers; hence he first founded a convent of females, so as to dispose of the most impressible of that sex. St. Dominic’s great maxim was—the man who governs his passions is master of the world; we must command them or be enslaved by them.
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISIUM (A.D.1226).
St. Francis, who died in 1226, was born at Assisium, a town situated on the brow of a hill called Assisi, in Umbria, Italy. He was in youth abandoned to all sorts of amusements, but became serious by being made a prisoner and also by a long illness. One day, on riding out and seeing a beggar, he changed clothes with him, and then became conscious of the innate beauty of poverty and humility. He visited Rome to see the tombs of the Apostles. He gloried in tending the sick lepers and in all the hardships of poverty. He wandered over the Umbrian Mountains, praising God for all things—for the sun which shone above, for the day and for the night, for his mother the earth, and for his sister the moon, for the winds which blew in his face, for the pure precious water and for the jocund fire, for the flames under his feet and for the stars above his head, saluting and blessing all creatures, whether animate or inanimate, as his brethren and sisters in the Lord. He existed entirely on the alms begged from door to door. He espoused poverty. He was endowed with an extraordinary gift of tears; he wept continually for his own sins and those of others. He founded the order of Franciscans. He held his first chapter of the order when five thousand friars assembled in tents at the foot of the hill of Assisi, called the Chapter of Mats, because mats were spread over their booths for shelter. He created an enthusiasm for austerities and mortifications. The body of St. Francis stands upright in a subterranean vault under the altar of the rich chapel of St. Francis at Assisium. On his deathbed he particularly requested to be buried at the common place of execution among the bodies of malefactors. All the princes of Christendom sent offerings, and all the neighbouring towns sent their artists to decorate his church.
HOW FRANCIS OF ASSISI TENDED THE LEPERS.
In the Speculum Vitæ this is related as to the attempts of the friars to help the lepers: “There was in a certain place a leper so impatient, froward, and impious that every one thought he was possessed by an evil spirit. He abused all that served him with terrible oaths and imprecations, often proceeding to blows. What was still more fearful, he uttered the direst blasphemy against Christ and His holy mother and the holy angels. The friars endured this ill-usage patiently, but they could not tolerate his blasphemies; they felt they ought not, and therefore they resolved to abandon the leper to his fate, having first takencounsel with St. Francis. Brother Francis visited the leper, and upon entering the room said to him in the usual salutation, ‘The Lord give thee peace, brother.’ ‘What peace,’ exclaimed the leper, ‘can I have who am utterly diseased?’ ‘Pains that torment the body,’ replied St. Francis, ‘turn to the salvation of the soul, if they are borne patiently.’ ‘And how can I endure patiently,’ rejoined the leper, ‘since my pains are without intermission night and day? Besides, my sufferings are made worse by the vexation I endure from these friars you have appointed to wait upon me. There is not one of them who serves me as he ought.’ St. Francis perceived that the man was troubled by a malignant spirit, and went away and prayed to God for him. Then returning, he said, ‘Since others do not satisfy you, let me try.’ ‘You may if you like; but what can you do more than the rest?’ ‘I am ready to do whatever you please,’ replied St. Francis. ‘Then wash me,’ replied the leper, ‘because I cannot endure myself; the stench of my wounds is intolerable.’ Then St. Francis ordered water to be warmed with sweet herbs; and stripping the leper, began to wash him with his own hands, whilst a friar standing by poured water upon him.”
ST. FRANCIS’S DEXTERITY.
After giving away all his property, St. Francis of Assisi, who died 1226, set himself the task of repairing the church of St. Damian at Assisi. And he had an ingenious mode of collecting funds. He said to the mob, “Whoever will give me one stone shall have one prayer; whoever gives me two shall have two prayers; and three stones three prayers.” The mob laughed and jeered; but he carried the stones with his own hands, and gradually he accumulated materials enough. He was equally adroit with the Pope, Innocent III. One day his Holiness was walking on the terrace of the Lateran, when a mendicant of the meanest appearance presented himself, proposing to convert the world by poverty and humility. The haughty pontiff dismissed him with contempt. But on second thoughts he had a vision, and then saw that this was a very feasible way of meeting the heretics on their own ground. He sent for St. Francis, and on the whole approved of the new order.
THE STIGMATA OF ST. FRANCIS.
The remarkable characteristic of St. Francis was that his hands and feet had marks resembling those of Christ after the Crucifixion, called the stigmata of St. Francis. He had in the solitude ofMonte Alverno been holding a solemn fast in honour of the archangel Michael. He had thrice opened the Scriptures, and thrice they opened on the Passion of our Lord. One morning, it is said, he was praying with great devotion, when he saw a vision, which, on approaching, was a seraph with six wings, and having the likeness of the crucified Saviour. This left on his mind an indescribable impression of delight and awe. Instantaneously there appeared on his hands and feet marks of the Crucifixion, like those he had seen in the vision. Two black excrescences, like nails having heads and points, grew in these spots. There was also a wound on his side, which frequently flowed with blood and stained his garment. Francis, in his humility, sought to conceal this wondrous sight from his disciples, but fifty of them at one time had seen these marks. Afterwards Pope Alexander IV. also saw them, and publicly declared that they were there. Francis died two years afterwards, and then again the wondering disciples saw this sight on his body. These marks at once identified Francis with the Saviour, and this singularity became part of the creed of Christendom.
A CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF ST. FRANCIS.
Thomas of Celano was a friend and biographer of St. Francis, and gives this portrait of the saint: “Oh, how beautiful, how splendid, how glorious, did he appear in the innocence of his life, in the simplicity of his words, in the purity of his heart, in his love of God, in brotherly charity, in fragrant obedience, in angelic aspect! Gentle in manners, placid in nature, affable in conversation, faithful in undertakings, of admirable foresight in counsel, able in business, gracious to all, serene in mind, gentle in temper, sober in spirit, steadfast in contemplation, persevering in grace, and in all things the same; swift to forgive, slow to anger, free in intellect, bright in memory, subtle in dissertation, circumspect in judgment, simple in all things. Rigid towards himself, pious towards others, discreet to everybody—a most eloquent man, of cheerful aspect and benevolent countenance, free from idleness, void of insolence. He was of the middle stature, rather inclined to shortness, his head was of the medium size and round, with an oblong and long face, a small smooth forehead, black and simple eyes, dark-brown hair and straight eyebrows; his nose was thin, well proportioned, and straight; his tongue was placable, though fiery and sharp; his voice was vehement, though sweet, clear, and sonorous; his teeth well set, his lips of moderate size, his beard black, his neck thin; small arms, thin hands, long fingersand nails; thin legs, small feet, a delicate skin, and very little flesh. He wore a rough vest, took very little sleep, and though he was most humble he showed every courtesy to all men, conforming himself to the manners of every one. As he was holy among the holy, so among sinners he was as one of them.”
ST. ANTONY OF PADUA AS A STREET PREACHER (A.D.1220).
St. Antony of Padua, who died in 1231, was in early life fired with zeal for martyrdom, and was anxious to enter the Franciscan convent at Assisi; but there was no opportunity, and he entered a hermitage at Bologna. There he was made to serve in the kitchen, and his talents and learning were not suspected till one day, owing to there being no one ready to preach, the managers asked Antony to take the duty. Antony answered that his proper work was to wash up dishes and scrub the floors; but these objections being overruled, he entered the pulpit. From the first his manner and style attracted attention. He had a rich voice of great compass and flexibility; his action was graceful, his language was choice, and his face shone with the enthusiasm of a seraph. The great St. Francis soon heard of the success, and gave his blessing to the young recruit. With this encouragement, Antony preached in many leading cities, and attracted great crowds. The churches were found too small, and he stood in churchyards and market-places. Shops were shut when he was announced, and ladies rose early to secure places. Sometimes people remained all night in the church in order to be sure of a seat next day. Crowds pressed on him as he went to the place appointed, and begged to kiss his hand and touch his garment. He swayed the congregations as he pleased—sobs of the hardened sinners sometimes drowned all sounds; his clear, bell-like voice was heard in all the neighbouring streets, and the excitement of the population was intense. His memory was so good that he knew the Scriptures by heart. He once addressed a ferocious tyrant who used to shed innocent blood, calling on the sword of the Lord to smite him. The congregation was worked to the highest pitch of excitement, when the tyrant fell on his knees and promised amendment. Antony’s exertions under this high pressure brought on paralysis, and he died at the age of thirty-six.
HOW THE ENGLISH FRIARS DISDAINED SHOES (A.D.1224).
Thomas of Eccleston relates that the Franciscan friars, on coming to England in 1224, were full of zeal, and resolved toadhere to the strictest rules of the order. In one of their London stations, two weary and hungry strangers one night arrived, and the seniors had not a drop of beer to give them; but after much anxious consultation, they at last made up their minds to borrow a pot of beer, and when the pot was passed to them, the brethren of the convent were only to pretend to take a sip. By this device they got through the entertainment. They resolutely made up their minds to go barefooted in spite of the cold and mud. At the Oxford station it is said that Friar Walter de Madeley, of happy memory, found two shoes, and when he went to matins put them on. He stood at matins accordingly, and felt considerable comfort. But afterwards, when he went to bed, and was resting, he dreamt that he had to go through a dangerous pass between Oxford and Gloucester—Boysalum—where there are usually robbers; and when he was going down into a deep valley, they ran up to him on each side of the way, shouting, “Kill him! kill him!” Overpowered with dread, he said he was a Friar Minor; but they said, “You lie, for you do not walk barefooted.” He, believing himself to be as usual unshod, said, “Yes, I do walk barefooted”; and when he boldly put forth his foot to look at it, he found himself standing before them shod with those shoes. In his excessive confusion he immediately awoke from sleep, and pitched the shoes into the middle of the yard as an unclean thing.
HOW RAIMUND LULL WENT TO CONVERT THE SARACENS (A.D.1236).
In 1236 Raimund Lull was born, and early developed a turn for verse, and wrote sprightly drinking songs; but at the age of thirty he suddenly felt a desire to convert the Saracens, as the Crusaders hitherto had made so little impression on them. Yet he did not know the language; hence he bought a Saracen, who taught him Arabic. His notion was to go and encounter the most learned Mohammedans, and refute all their arguments against Christianity face to face. He first went and urged the Pope to found colleges to educate missionaries in foreign languages, saying that missions would keep them better employed than they used to be in their idle haunts. But he made no impression, and felt bound to go out singlehanded and encounter all the dangers of the enterprise he advocated. He arrived at Tunis, and assembled the Mohammedan doctors and disputed with them. One of them, however, soon complained that he was seditious, and proposed that Raimund should be put to death; but another of the natives interceded and saved him, on conditionof his quitting the country. He then composed a learned work, in which he refuted all the arguments usually brought against Christians, urging again and again the necessity of schools and colleges to train the missionary mind. He also tried his skill at argument on all the Jews and Saracens within his reach at Majorca and Cyprus. He soon again became restless, and sailed to Africa and attacked the Mohammedan religion, and again he narrowly escaped death and was banished. He next wrote a treatise, setting forth his plan for establishing colleges for missionaries, and also for uniting the various orders of knighthood, to recover the countries taken from the Christians by unbelievers. He thought that unbelievers ought never to be fought with the sword, but only by the force of truth, and that martyrdom in such a cause was the greatest of honours. He could not repress his desire to act on this view, and again he sailed to Africa and attacked the leading men with fiery zeal. They at last stoned him to death, and his body was afterwards brought and buried in his native island, Majorca.
ST. IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA (A.D.1520).
Ignatius was born in 1491 in his father’s castle of Loyola, the family being ancient and noble. He was the youngest of eight sons, and was spirited and keen-witted from his earliest years. One day, after he had vowed to be a monk, he gave away his rich clothes to a beggar, who was then accused of larceny, but released after the donor followed to explain the gift; while Ignatius gloried in his freedom from the livery of sin, and indulged in the self-imposed austerities of his order. Being wounded in both legs at the siege of Pampeluna, he was long confined to his couch; and it was in seeking for amusement from romances that he was supplied with the Lives of the Saints, which first struck the new chord in his heart; and he vowed that he would devote his life to the service of Jesus and the Virgin. He transferred the habits of military obedience to the order he founded, and called it the Company of Jesus. He had nine associates closely connected with him, of whom Xavier and Faber were two. His head and face showed an imperious temper; and his visions, penances, and miracles soon attracted attention far and wide. Ignatius was general of his society about fifteen years, and died in 1556, aged sixty-five. He lived to see his society flourishing in every country. His body was buried in the church of the Virgin in Rome, and in 1587 removed to the church of Jesus under the altar, being the most magnificent church in the worldnext to the Vatican, and called the church of St. Ignatius, where is a statue of gold and silver and diamonds. He was beatified in 1609 and canonised in 1622.
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL, THE PHILANTHROPIST (A.D.1600).
St. Vincent was born in 1576, and in his time originated many useful philanthropic institutions. In his youth he was taken by pirates and carried off to slavery, and kept as a slave for two years. When afterwards a domestic chaplain to a benevolent countess, he had to visit and distribute alms, and he set to work to organise a system of relief in some respects resembling a modern poor law. He divided a town into districts, and set inspectors to weed out the tramps and beggars and arrange lists of the really necessitous. He also devised a system of home missions for preaching the Gospel to the poor. In Paris a large building of the name of St. Lazare was dedicated to the service of candidates for holy orders, and he introduced method into the institution for training all the recruits who came, and to this was added soon a seminary for training young clergymen. In course of his works of charity he met with Madame le Gras, a lady of good family and devoted to good works, and they founded in 1633 the institution known as a new Society of Sisters of Charity, which grew rapidly into favour, and soon twenty-eight houses were established in different districts. The rest of France and Poland followed the example. Their chief care were the sick, poor, widows, orphans, wounded soldiers, and hospital patients. They soon added to their flock the foundlings and convicts. These Sisters of Charity or Grey Sisters underwent a five years’ training. He also instituted a kindred order, called the Company of Ladies of Charity, with like objects. It is said that in one year these ladies converted or reclaimed seven hundred and sixty heretics. The number of foundlings taken care of averaged about three hundred and four each year, and the Congregation of St. Vincent Sisters are said to take charge of such poor children in Paris. Many other institutions were originated by this apostle of charity. He died in 1660 in his armchair, as the Fathers of the Mission were saying matins, having reached his eighty-fifth year. St. Vincent de Paul, the apostle of compassion, thus showed a genius for his work, and also founded the hospital of La Madeleine for penitent girls. He became a friend of Richelieu, and was summoned from his attendance on the galley slaves to the deathbed of Louis XIII. He was called the Father of the Poor. In some of the sacred pictures he is shownwith a newborn infant in his arms and a Sister of Mercy at his side.
MISTAKES OF MEDIÆVAL MISSIONARIES.
It is related by Pasquier, on the authority of Joinville, born in 1220, and the biographer of St. Louis IX. of France, that when Louis was in the island of Cyprus, he there received from the Cham of the Tartars an embassy, informing him of the Cham’s conversion to Christianity. On this intelligence, the zealous monarch, full of joy, despatched preachers to attempt the conversion of the other Tartars. These preachers incessantly in their sermons repeated that the Pope was the Vicar of God on earth, whereupon it occurred to the Cham that he should send ambassadors to the Pope to pay him filial obedience. The preachers, hearing of this design, thereupon began to fear that if the ambassadors should go to Rome, and there witness the disorders that reigned among Christians, they would on their return recommend their master to continue in his errors, and resolved to dissuade the Cham from carrying out any such enterprise.
A FRIAR STARTLING THE BENCH OF JUDGES.
In Venice, one day in 1552, when the tribunal of Quaranthia, consisting of the Doge and senators, sat to try causes of life and death, a hermit or friar suddenly called out with a terrific voice, “To hell shall go all who do not administer true justice—to hell the mighty who oppress the poor—to hell the judges who shed the blood of the innocent!” After the first emotions of surprise, the intruder was recognised to be a Capuchin friar who had been a well-known preacher in Venice, and not only admonished sinners, but spent his days in works of mercy. He had no habitation, but slept at nights under the portico of St. Mark or of the Rialto, or under the campanile of the church of St. Moses, and was often seen at early dawn before the church doors in prayer. The Doge was annoyed at this unseemly interruption, and was about to order his expulsion, but an illustrious senator named Sebastian Venerius interposed, and thus addressed his brother judges: “Most serene prince and conscript fathers, we are constituted judges in this republic; and what ought to be more desired by us in our administration of justice than that we should be admonished of our duty by celestial messengers? This is a most serious judgment we are engaged in, for another sentence can be corrected; but that which deprives men of life is immutable.These words of the holy man recall to our minds how important and perilous is the office which we discharge. Though we all hold in horror a wilful violation of justice, yet our judgment may sometimes sleep. And now if God should have sent this man as an angel to awaken us from sleep, ought he to be driven out and his admonition rejected, because we judge the man who conveys it to be mean, estimating his mind from the habit he wears? Far be such scorn from us who boast to be disciples of the humble Fisherman!” This address made such an impression on the assembly that the friar was allowed ever after to repeat his imprecations.
MENDICANT FRIARS AND SCHOOLMEN.
The mendicant friars under St. Francis and St. Dominic early forced their way into the chairs of the chief universities of Europe. Alexander Hales went first into Paris, then Oxford, giving a great impulse to the higher studies. The Dominicans produced Thomas Aquinas, the prince of schoolmen, who was born in 1228. The Franciscans also claimed Alexander Hales, Bonaventura, and Duns Scotus. These rival schoolmen divided the allegiance of the leading intellects of their time.
FRIARS BURNING SENSELESS ORNAMENTS (A.D.1429).
It is related that in 1429, when Brother Richard, a Franciscan, returned from Jerusalem, he delivered so stirring a sermon that the people of Paris kindled hundreds of fires, in which men burned card and billiard tables, and the women their extravagant and gaudy ornaments. So at the preaching of Friar Jerome at Florence, the friars during the carnival incited a numerous flock of children to go round in all districts and in a spirit of humility and devotion beg people to deliver up all the profane books and pictures that were kept by them. These were freely given; and the devout women yielded humbly to these innocent preachers, suffered themselves to be despoiled of their dearest personal ornaments, and of everything that was used to give them a fictitious beauty. On the last day of the carnival, after having heard Mass, clothed in white, carrying on their heads garlands of olive, and red crosses in their hands, the children made a procession, singing psalms to the Piazzo dei Signori, where a pyramidal scaffold had been erected, upon which these instruments of pleasure and profane luxury were deposited. The children mounted the rostrum, and after having sung spiritual hymns the four deputies came downwith lighted torches and set fire to the pile, and watched it as it was consumed amidst voices of joy and the sound of trumpets. Another saint of the Franciscan order, named Bernardine of Sienna, born in 1380, undertook a reform which was styled of the strict observance, and was the means of founding five hundred convents in Italy. He was a most famous preacher, and shone in his denunciations of the then prevailing weaknesses, which were the vices of gaming and divination and magic. His power over his contemporaries was supreme as a reconciler of long-standing enmities. He distinguished himself by collecting on the Capitoline Hill an immense assemblage of pictures, musical instruments, implements of gaming, false hair, and extravagant female dresses, of which he made an enormous bonfire. This saint was said to work miracles, but at last was charged with heresy and idolatry, on account of his using an ornament which he invented as a help to devotion. The Pope pronounced against this ornament, and the saint dutifully gave it up. He died in 1444, and at the jubilee in 1450 was canonised at the instance of Pope Nicolas V.
AN ELOQUENT FRIAR ON THE FASHIONABLE VICES.
John Capistran, a Franciscan friar of the fifteenth century, was noted for his eloquence. At Nuremberg, where he went to preach in 1452, he caused a pulpit to be set up in the middle of the great square, and there preached for some days in so forcible a manner against vice that he led the inhabitants to make a pile of their cards and dice, and afterwards set fire to them; which being done, he exhorted them to take up arms against the Turks. The year after, he went to Breslau, in Silesia, and there inveighed strongly against cards and dice; and commanding a pile to be made of them all, he set fire to it. But the power of his eloquence was not confined to inanimate things; for exerting his eloquence in a most intolerant manner against the Jews, he caused a great number of these people to be burnt in all parts of Silesia, upon pretence of their behaving with irreverence towards the consecrated bread.
A MONK DENOUNCING FEMALE HEAD-DRESSES.
Thomas Conecte, a Carmelite monk, born in Brittany in 1434, was the greatest preacher of his time. When in Flanders, he drew vast crowds and discoursed vehemently on the vices of the clergy, the luxury and extravagance of women’s head-dresses, which were of prodigious height, called hennins. These were highand broad horns an ell long, having on each side ears so large that they could not get through doors. The preacher not only denounced these, but gave presents to little children to cry and hoot at them, and even throw stones at the wearers. The ladies at last durst not appear, except in disguise, to listen to Brother Thomas’s fervent appeals. For a time the excess was reduced; but when he left the country the head-dresses were put on again, with still higher toppings than before, as if to redeem the lost time. As Paradin relates: “After Thomas’s departure the ladies lifted their horns again, and did like the snails, which, when they hear any noise, pull in their horns, but when the noise is over suddenly lift them higher than before.” Wherever Thomas went his zeal against the senseless ornaments and crying vices of the day led to many superfluous clothes, tables, dice, cards, and frivolities being burned. He passed triumphantly from the Netherlands to Italy, exciting great attention and awakening no small jealousy. At last the Pope was moved to put him on his trial, when he was found guilty of the dangerous heresy of denouncing the vices of the clergy and the gluttony of the monks. He met an appropriate fate by refusing to retract, and then by being burnt, as being far too advanced a reformer for his times.
SAVONAROLA, THE MARTYRED PREACHER (A.D.1498).
Savonarola at an early age chose the study of theology for a profession, and devoted himself to the Holy Scriptures, and at the age of twenty-two was greatly impressed by the preaching of a friar. He became member of a Dominican convent at Bologna. He was removed to Florence, then became friar, and saw great need of reform in the lax and worldly ways of the monks. He soon developed great gifts as a preacher, and had a rapt and impassioned style of oratory; and his early study of the Apocalypse led him into mystical language, which heightened the effect. His denunciations of the current vices made him a formidable censor, and even gave him political influence, and excited enmities. Like some of his near contemporaries, his influence over the ardent youths caused them at the carnival of 1497 to go the round of the city and collect all the rich and extravagant dresses, pictures, musical instruments, books of sorcery, and false hair into a large pile; and then, amid singing of hymns, sounding of bells and trumpets, the heap was fired amid great enthusiasm. His attacks on the vices of the period led the Pope to excommunicate him. But his preaching was a constant attraction and kept up the excitement. Shorthand writers took the sermons down, printedand dispersed them all over Italy. Once he was challenged by a bitter enemy to walk through a burning pile forty yards long, in order to test which of two opposing doctrines was true; and he felt bound to accept the challenge, though ultimately this mode of trial was prohibited by the magistrates. He was, like other advanced reformers, charged with heresy, tortured, and ultimately sentenced to be burnt alive, after being degraded. The sentence was carried out in 1498, and his ashes were thrown into the river, under the idle notion that his name and influence would perish. Some have denounced him as a fanatic, and others as a reformer too far advanced for his age, though Luther was only a few years his junior. In Germany also three noted reformers appeared between 1450 and 1489—namely, John of Goch, John of Wesel, and John Wessel, whose teaching tended towards Lutheranism, then in the bud and soon about to flower.
FAMOUS MONKS AND MONASTERIES.
A MONK WITH A GENIUS FOR MONKERY (A.D.400).
Arsenius the Great was a famous monk, born about 354, and had been early in life made tutor to the sons of the Emperor Theodosius; but finding it an unsatisfactory post, retired at the age of forty, resolving to cleanse his soul and fly from the society of men. He went to Egypt; and being anxious to be taken in as a monk, applied to John Colobus (the Dwarfish), who invited him to a meal to test his suitability. Arsenius was kept standing while the others sat. John then flung a biscuit to him, which Arsenius ate in a kneeling posture. “He will make a monk,” said John; and he was admitted forthwith. Arsenius soon afterwards went to Scetis, and lived as a hermit. A senator once left him a legacy; but the hermit rejected it, saying, “I was dead before him.” Two monks once called on Arsenius, and were received with absolute silence; they waited on another famous monk, called Moses, who received them with cordial welcome. The visitors were perplexed at two great men acting so dissimilarly; but the doubt was solved by another monk, who one day saw in a vision two boats on the Nile. One boat contained Arsenius, with the Spirit of God; the other boat contained Moses, fed with honey by angels. Arsenius was often rude to his visitors. One was a high-born Roman lady, who requested to be remembered in his prayers; but the monk brusquely told her that he hoped he might be able to forget her. She complained of this to Theophilus, who told her she was but a woman, and the old man would pray for her soul notwithstanding. Arsenius once took a thievish monk into his cell to cure him, but found it impossible. He used often to say that he had been sorry for having spoken, but never for having been silent. When his end drew near, he was seen to weep, which made the other monks ask, “Areyouthen, father, afraid?” “Truly,” said Arsenius, “the fear that is with me in this hour has been with me ever since I became a monk.”
ST. NINIAN, THE SCOTTISH SAINT (A.D.400).
St. Ninian was a Briton, born about 360, of Christian parents, and of a grave and earnest disposition. After much searching of the Scriptures, he went to Rome in order to know more of the truth. When arrived there, he wept over the relics of the Apostles, and the Pope received him graciously. After spending some years there, it was made clear to the Pope that Western Britain was much in need of Christian enlightenment, and Ninian was consecrated a bishop, and sent there as the first bishop of his nation. On his way he visited the famous St. Martin of Tours, the demolisher of Pagan temples. The two saints were mutually pleased and edified. They were described as two cherubims, from the intimate understanding and mutual light displayed by them. Ninian, on returning to Scotland, erected a church at Whithorn, in Galloway, and he was anxious to imitate what he had seen at Tours, and begged the loan of masons from that place, and the church was dedicated to St. Martin. Ninian became there a great preacher and evangelist, and the miracles he performed spread his fame everywhere. If he read the Psalter in the open air, the shower would avoid touching him and his book. If thieves tried to steal his cattle, an angel drove them away. One of Ninian’s scholars, being afraid of a whipping, fled to the seashore, but took care to steal his master’s pastoral staff; and this staff, after the youth had prayed, guided his boat in safety, and was both rudder and mast and sail by turns. The saint converted the Picts far and near, and was succeeded by St. Mungo and St. Columba. His relics also were said to continue to work miracles long after he was dead.
ST. MUNGO, AN EAST LOTHIAN SAINT (A.D.580).
While St. Servanus, an early bishop of the Scots, was settled at Culross, near Loch Leven, one Kentigern, who had been born about 514, under mysterious circumstances, at a seaport in East Lothian, was taken to the bishop by the shepherds, and said to be a child of promise. On seeing the child, Servanus smiled welcome, carefully instructed him, and gave him the name of Mun Cu or Mungdu (the Gaelic words for “Dear one”), since named Mungo. The boy soon began to work miracles by restoring birds and dead bodies to life. This gift excited the jealousyof the other pupils, and caused Mungo to flee. He went to Dumfries, and thereafter settled at Glasgow. The King and clergy soon afterwards elected him as bishop, an office then vacant. He lived on bread and butter and cheese, abstaining from flesh and wine. He was clothed in a rough hair shirt, and slept every night in a stone trough, which was in shape like a coffin, strewed with ashes, and a stone for a pillow. Every morning he went and stood in the neighbouring stream up to the neck, however cold it might be, till he had chanted the Psalter, after which he came out clean and pure as a dove washed in milk. He had the gift of silence, and spoke seldom, yet weightily. He could scarcely help working miracles. One day he went to plough, but had no oxen at hand; and a wolf and deer passing that way, he hailed them, and they both came and quietly entered under the yoke. After he had given away all his corn to the poor, he would sow the land with sand, and great crops grew up. One day he asked the King to supply him with corn, but met with an indignant refusal, whereon the river Clyde rose and swept away the King’s barn, and floated the contents up the Molendinar burn, and they landed near the saint’s dwelling. The King in a passion once lifted his foot to strike the saint, and the foot became gangrened, and the King died soon after. The saint went seven journeys to Rome, where he was highly valued. The Queen once lost a ring, which had been thrown into the Clyde, and she applied to St. Mungo, who caused a salmon to be caught which had swallowed the ring. He died at the age of one hundred and eighty-five, full of years, and in the odour of sanctity.
A MONK CURED OF ABSENTING HIMSELF FROM PRAYERS (A.D.540).
It is related in the Life of St. Benedict, born in 480, who founded the famous monasteries for monks, that in one of these monasteries there was a certain monk, who could not endure to abide with the brethren during the time of prayer, but the moment they knelt down went out, and with a wandering mind betook himself to things purely transitory and worldly. And this being told to the man of God, and admonition proving unavailing, Benedict visited the monastery; and when the psalms were ended, and the brethren knelt down to pray, he saw a little black boy drawing the monk referred to out of the church. And pointing it out to the superior, and the latter not being able to see the boy, “Let us pray,” said Benedict, “that you may.” And after two days Maurus, a pupil of Benedict, saw him; but still the superior could not. And on the third day, after prayer, Benedict foundthe monk standing outside the door; and striking him with his staff in reproof of the blindness of his heart, from that day forth he was no more troubled by that black boy, but stayed out the prayers patiently with his brethren.
THE DEATH OF ST. BENEDICT (A.D.543).
St. Benedict, the patriarch of the Western monks and founder of the Benedictine order, died in 543, and his biographers and contemporaries thus described his death: “Shortly before the decease of St. Benedict, standing at the window by night and praying to God, suddenly he perceived a great light, and (as he thereafter declared) the whole world was brought together before his eyes, collected as under a single ray of the sun. For his spirit being dilated and rapt into God, he saw without difficulty everything that is beneath God. And at the hour of his death there appeared unto two of the brethren, then absent and apart from each other, the self-same vision; for they saw a path stretching from his cell up to heaven, strewed with robes of silk and with numberless lamps, burning all along it, ascending towards the east. And, behold, a man of majestic mien and in seemly attire stood over against them, and asked whose that path was. And they confessing that they knew not, he answered, ‘This is the path through which Benedict, the beloved of God, is ascending to heaven.’ And thereby they knew of his decease.”
ST. COLUMBA OF IONA (A.D.597).
Columba, who had first an Irish name, was born about 518 at Gartan, in Donegal, of good family. After his ordination he entered the monastery of Glasnevin, near Dublin. He soon after founded the monasteries of Derry and of Durrow. He determined to be a missionary, after engaging in some family feuds and being tired of fighting. About 563 he left Ireland, then called Scotia, and, accompanied by twelve disciples, took to the sea in a wicker wherry covered with hides, leaving the result to Providence. They first landed at Colonsay, then crossed to Iona. Two savage kings having fought a battle, the successful one gave him the island to settle in. He made an early visit to the Pictish King; and though at first rudely treated, he made a conquest and obtained speedy honours. He soon became known also as a worker of miracles. One day the inhabitants were much alarmed at the visits of a sea monster that lived in the river Ness and roared terribly; the saint raised his hand, and making the sign of the cross in the air, called on the brute to desist, and, strange to say, itvanished amid the breathless amazement of the crowds that were watching it. The saint and his followers settled in the island of Iona, and lived somewhat in the fashion of a monastery, but they acted as missionaries. One day a stranger visited Iona in disguise; and joining Columba in celebrating the Eucharist, the latter suddenly looking the stranger in the face as he stood at the altar, said, “Christ bless thee, brother, consecrate alone, for I know thou art a bishop.” On hearing this the stranger wondered exceedingly at the second sight of the saint, and all the bystanders gave glory to God for the honour done by the visit of a bishop, a personage then unknown in that quarter. Columba died in 597 as he was praying at the altar, and the other monks saw the church filled with a strange light, for the saint was leaving an example of piety to all future ages.
ST. COLUMBA PUNISHING A SAVAGE CHIEF (A.D.520).
It is related by Adamnan, the biographer of St. Columba, that in the early days, when Columba was in deacon’s orders, going about in Leinster along with his tutor Gemman, a brutal chief was pursuing a young girl who fled before him on the level plain. As she chanced to notice the aged Gemman as he sat reading, she ran straight towards him. The old man being alarmed at this spectacle, called to Columba, who was reading at some distance, to help him in defending the girl. But the brutal chief on coming up to them, without taking the least notice of their presence, in his rage stabbed the child as she was hiding herself under their cloaks, and leaving her dead at their feet, turned to go back. At this the old man, turning to Columba, said, “How long, O holy youth, shall God the just Judge allow this horrid crime and this contempt of our faith to go unpunished?” Then the saint at once pronounced this sentence: “Mark well, that at the very instant, when the soul of this young innocent ascends to heaven, shall the soul of the murderer descend into hell.” Scarcely had Columba spoken the word, when the murderer of innocent blood, like Ananias before Peter, fell down dead on the spot. The news of this awful retribution soon spread through the land; it made the name of the holy deacon a praise and protection to the innocent, and a sure avenger of every brutal oppression on the part of those savage chiefs who then ruled the land.
DEATH OF ST. COLUMBA IN IONA (A.D.597).
The biographer of St. Columba of Iona, who died in 597, aged seventy-seven, after thirty-four years’ missionary work, says thaton feeling the hand of death he was at his own request carried out of doors in a car to visit the working brethren, and then he warned them of his early departure, and blessed them and the island and its inhabitants. On the following Saturday, he told the friends that that would be the last day of his life. He begged them to take him out, that he might bless the barn and the crops of corn which were the supplies of their food. On going back to the monastery, the old white pack-horse, that used to carry the milk-pails, strange to say, came up to the saint, laid its head on his bosom, and uttered plaintive cries, like a human being, also shedding tears. The attendant began to drive away the beast; but the saint forbade him, saying, “Let it alone; let it pour out its bitter grief. Lo, thou who hast a rational soul canst know nothing of my departure—only expect what I have just told you; but to this brute beast, devoid of reason, the Creator Himself hath evidently in some way made it known that its master is going to leave it.” And saying this, he blessed the poor work-horse, which turned away from him in sadness. The saint then ascended a hillock overhanging the monastery, and stood musing and looking round, and said that, small as that place was, it would be held in after-times in great honour by kings and foreign rulers and saints of other Churches. On returning to the monastery, he sat in his cell and transcribed part of the thirty-third Psalm. The rest of the night he lay on the bare ground, with a stone for his pillow. He discoursed to the brethren on the blessing of peace, harmony, and charity among themselves. When the bell rang at midnight, he rose quickly and knelt before the altar, and a heavenly light was noticed to surround him; and the brethren knew that his soul was departing; and after signifying to them his holy benediction, he breathed his last. The matin hymns being then finished, his sacred body was carried, the brethren chanting psalms; and being wrapped in fine clean linen, was buried after three days and nights. A violent storm had been raging for these days, preventing any person crossing the sound; but after the burial the storm ceased, and all was calm.
THE MONK COLUMBAN (A.D.615).
The monk Columban, who died 615, was held in great honour by Thierry II., the King of Burgundy, where his convents were situated. The abbot took on himself at times to reprove the King’s voluptuous life; but the grandmother of the King took offence, and schemed till she got Columban banished. In his journeying through France, he arrived with some followers at thecity of Nantes, and was meditating in his cell, when a beggar came before it. Columban caused the last measure of meal to be served out of his stores to the hungry man. The next two days the abbot had to contend with want himself, yet he kept up his spirits, full of faith and hope, when suddenly some one knocked at the door, and this person turned out to be the servant of a pious female of the city, who had sent a considerable supply of corn and wine for him. Afterwards he went to Italy, and established in the vicinity of the Apennines the famous monastery of Bobbio, and there the abbot found rest and ended his days. One of his sayings was, “If thou hast conquered thyself, thou has conquered all things.” He was a disciplinarian among his monks. He said to them, “A monk must learn humility and patience, silent obedience and gentleness. Let him not do his own will; let him eat what is offered to him, let him fulfil the day’s work prescribed to him, let him go to bed weary, and let him be taught to get up at the time appointed.”