_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 Phoenicia, having
recovered from a dangerous illness, felt impelled to prove his gratitude
to the Lord by exposing himself to great danger 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 solemn
procession, 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 Latin languages, 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 say the 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, in which 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 himself assumed 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 taken counsel
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 of Monte 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 fingers and
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 to adhere 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 condition of 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 world
next 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 shown
with 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 down with 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 high and 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, printed and 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.