Butler's Lives of the Saints

by Bernard Bangley

  JUNE 9

  Columba of Iona (ca. 521–97)

  Books and souls

  A wandering Scot-Irish monk who started life as the child of a royal family, Columba was a church leader with an unfortunately short temper. A large man with a loud voice, Columba was a striking person who combined his powerful physique with the soul of a poet. He devoted fifteen years of his life to preaching and founding monasteries. An avid scholar, he had a passion for collecting manuscripts.

  Columba copied a rare psalter by Jerome (September 30) that a fellow monk, Finnian, had brought back from Rome. When Finnian discovered this, he accused Columba of taking advantage of his generosity and claimed the copy as his own property. The dispute went to King Diarmaid of Ireland, who agreed with Finnian. The judgment handed down by the king is famous: “To every cow her calf, and to every book its son-book.”

  By nature, Columba did not accept the ruling quietly, and his relationship with King Diarmaid grew poorer with each passing experience. Diarmaid sent soldiers looking for a man, accused of killing one of the king’s men during a hurling match, who had now run to Columba for protective asylum. Bursting into Columba’s sanctuary, they grabbed the accused man and killed him immediately without trial. Fighting then broke out between Columba’s clan and supporters of Diarmaid. Three thousand died in bloody hand-tohand combat. Whether or not Columba encouraged this combat is an issue that has never been settled, but he accepted responsibility for the bloodshed, saying, “Men lie dead through the pride of a man of peace. I will not rest until I win for God the souls of as many men as have fallen in this battle.”

  In 593, Columba and twelve monks who were his relatives climbed into a flimsy boat and set out to sea. Unsure of their destination, they landed on the barren island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. Columba founded a monastery on Iona that would become the virtual center of Celtic spirituality. Faithful to his oath, Columba made many missionary journeys across the sea to Scotland, evangelizing many, including King Brude of Inverness.

  Columba remained on Iona for more than thirty years, copying manuscripts (some of which are the earliest existing examples of Irish handwriting) and working diligently for his Lord. Life on the island mellowed him and replaced his fiery temper with a calm and gentle spirit.

  JUNE 10

  Margaret of Scotland (1046–93)

  Devout living

  Educated in Hungary, Margaret actually grew up in the court of Edward the Confessor (October 13). Her grandfather was King Edmund Ironside of England and her mother was a Hungarian princess. Being one of the last members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family, she was in danger when the Normans invaded England. Margaret attempted to return to Hungary, but became shipwrecked off the Scottish coast. With royalty in her blood, she married King Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070. The first of their eight children became King David I (see May 24), recognized as one of the greatest Scottish kings.

  Margaret was devout, loving, and just. Prayer, reading, and needlework for church paraments filled her private hours. She founded the great Benedictine abbey of Dunfermline as a place for the burial of Scottish royalty. Biographers report that Margaret had a positive influence on her husband. The king could not read, but he respected her books and had ornate covers put on them. He recognized that Christ lived in her, and her preferences and moral decisions became his own.

  Life was not easy for Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Worn out, she died at the early age of forty-seven.

  JUNE 11

  Barnabas (first century)

  Encouragement

  Barnabas is one of those people most of us would enjoy meeting. Though his actual name was Joseph, his revealing Christian nickname, “Barnabas,” means “Son of Encouragement.” We first hear of him in The Acts of the Apostles when he sold his farm and donated the proceeds to the church, “laying it at the apostles’ feet.” Barnabas had the courage and understanding to introduce the converted adversary and former threat to the Church, Paul, (June 29) to the Christian community. They still feared Paul as a persecutor, but Barnabas helped establish trust for him. Barnabas became Paul’s traveling companion and fellow communicator of the gospel, and the two did effective work together. They established a thriving church in Antioch, the first place where followers of Jesus were called “Christians.” This congregation sent Barnabas and Paul abroad on a missionary journey into the northeastern Mediterranean area. Again, the duo met with encouraging responses.

  Paul and Barnabas intended to continue their mission, but before they departed, they had a disagreement regarding taking along a young man named John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas. Part of the way through a previous journey John Mark had dropped out of the team. Barnabas let Paul go on with Silas, and took John Mark with him to another destination. The last we hear of Barnabas was when he “sailed away to Cyprus” with his cousin.

  JUNE 12

  John of Sahagun (1419–79)

  Speaking out

  John began life in the Spanish town of Sahagun. After receiving an education at the Benedictine monastery there, John became a priest. For a while, he served a number of area congregations simultaneously, but then decided to attend the University of Salamanca for four years.

  Completing his studies, John began a nine-year pastorate with the parish of St. Sebastian, Salamanca, a city notorious for immoral behavior and crime. John accepted the challenge and gained a reputation as a preacher and spiritual director. On several occasions, John’s public pronouncements regarding moral choices resulted in opposition. An impressive document describes an incident that followed a sermon in which he criticized property owners who took advantage of tenants. The infuriated duke of Alba sent two assassins to kill John. When the assassins met their victim, they were unable to follow their instructions. Filled with remorse, they asked his forgiveness.

  Gallstones that required surgery interrupted John’s ministry for nearly a year. During this time of sickness and convalescence, John joined some Augustinian Friars, and continued to preach in public. He commented, “God alone knows what has passed between God and my soul.” In 1479, he correctly sensed that his life was near its end.

  JUNE 13

  Anthony of Padua (1195–1231)

  Making a difference

  Many saints have performed their most astonishing miracles from beyond the grave. The fascination with relics and shrines is kept alive by the remarkable things that take place among common people. Anthony’s popularity as a saint owes much to miracles that many attribute to him. For centuries, people have called on St. Anthony to help them find something lost. The story of a returned personal psalter in answer to Anthony’s prayer may have resulted in his status as the patron saint of lost things.

  Anthony was a Franciscan friar and priest who knew Francis of Assisi (October 4). Born in Portugal, Anthony studied in France and moved on to northern Italy. His early assignment was simply to take care of a small hospice for lay brothers at Monte Paolo. Anthony served in obscurity with no one suspecting the latent talent filling him to the brim.

  Recognition came to Anthony the way orchestra conducting came to an assistant named Leonard Bernstein—he was asked to pinch hit at the last moment. He attended an ordination ceremony of both Dominicans and Franciscans. Each Order expected the other to provide the speaker. When they turned to Anthony, he protested that he was a dishwasher and janitor. Pressed, he agreed to preach an extemporaneous sermon before a gathering that included the bishop and Dominicans who specialized in excellent preaching.

  His unprepared sermon began hesitantly, but he soon found his rhythm. He delivered an astonishing and superb Christian message. An early biography states, “He poured forth brilliant and burning words, a flood of divine eloquence.” The remarkable depth and understanding of his sermon was clothed in a speaking style that riveted attention. As a result, Francis wrote a letter authorizing him to preach and teach. “I am well pleased that you should read sacred theology to the friars, provided that such study does not quench t
he spirit of holy prayer and devotion according to our Rule.”

  Anthony began a preaching mission that took him to most Italian communities. He spoke outdoors, without notes, in the manner of modern day revivalists. The results were life-changing for many. The sound of his voice turned people away from destructive behavior such as gambling and drinking. Criminals reformed and did not return to jail in a repetitive cycle. Enemies kissed and made up. Legislators passed laws against usury. He worked significant wonders among people that go far beyond the legendary material about him.

  His preaching took him back to France with similar positive results. Wearing himself out, he died on June 13, 1231, at only thirty-six years of age. His spirit was in harmony with the spirit of Francis. Both loved nature and felt their kinship with it. Both loved Jesus Christ to the highest imaginable degree.

  Modern scientists scrutinized Anthony’s remains in 1981, confirming the facts that he died at an early age, had a meager diet, worked hard, and possessed a long, thin face with deep-set eyes.

  JUNE 14

  Methodius of Constantinople (d. 847)

  Cherishing art

  Iconoclasm, a passionate attempt to remove human images from churches, was active in parts of Europe in the eighth and ninth centuries. Both Judaism and Islam had rules against the artistic representation of people and animals. The plain “cracker box” architecture of early Protestant churches in America played upon Old Testament law and illustrates an anxiety about statues and paintings fostering superstitious practices.

  Methodius of Constantinople became caught up in the ninthcentury iconoclasm of the Eastern Church that was led by the emperor Leo V the Armenian. Methodius thought that religious statues and paintings assisted devotion. He believed a picture could help illiterate Christians to understand and visualize religious ideas and events. Much religious art was already part of the inheritance of the Church from previous generations. Consequently, Methodius took a firm stand against the destructive movement. The emperor threw him in jail, where he remained for seven years.

  Living conditions during his imprisonment were distressing. The authorities did not place Methodius in a stone dungeon or an ironbarred cage, but rather in a cave-like tomb. They locked two thieves in with him, and one of them died. The decaying corpse was never removed, but left beside the living.

  About 828, the authorities thought it was time to release Methodius. Gaunt, pale, bald, and dressed in filthy rags, he came blinking into the sunlight. With gratitude to God for his survival and freedom, he demonstrated that his spirit was not broken. When the new emperor Theophilus continued the purging of religious art, Methodius confronted him with a sharp question. “If an image is so worthless in your sight, why do you condemn the images of Christ but not the veneration given to representations of yourself?”

  Theophilus condemned Methodius to a flogging and put him back in prison, this time with a broken jaw. With the help of friends, he escaped jail the first night. The emperor died soon after and iconoclasm became a thing of the past. Within a month, churches in Constantinople had their icons back. The new empress Theodora designated Methodius patriarch of Constantinople, his broken jaw still bandaged, in 842. The immigrant from Sicily had made his mark. Five years later, Methodius died.

  JUNE 15

  Germaine Cousin (1579–1601)

  Quiet spirituality

  Germaine’s life was “of few days and full of trouble.” She tended sheep outside the small village of Pibrac, near Toulouse, France. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father never got over the loss of his wife. Both he and his second wife rejected the child, giving her scant attention and feeding her leftovers and table scraps. Germaine had a swelling in her neck and a paralyzed right arm, possibly the symptoms of tuberculosis, but in that day, the diagnosis was scrofula. She had to sleep under the stairs or out in the stable, and she was never accepted as part of the family.

  Germane accepted all of this without complaint. She returned love for hate, smiles for mistreatment. She particularly liked taking care of the sheep because it gave her time alone with God. Her prayer life developed an intensity and depth on the fields under open sky. Here she experienced the nearness of God.

  Many days, when the church bells announced Mass, Germaine would push her shepherd’s crook into the earth and run to church. She left her sheep in God’s hands, and no harm ever came to them. Neighbors began to recognize her spirituality and devotion, but at home, it made no difference. Her stepmother sharply upbraided her for sharing her table scraps with beggars in the streets.

  Minor miracles now become a part of Germaine’s story. On a cold winter day, her stepmother caught her holding up her apron. Confident that she was taking a missing loaf of bread to the poor, she insisted that Germaine let go of it. Instead of bread, summer flowers tumbled to the ground. Her family gradually began to recognize Germaine’s special qualities, but even as they softened their approach to her, she continued to perform her daily chores and sleep under the stairs. They found her there one morning, dead at the age of twenty-two. Her grave at Pibrac became a popular destination for pilgrims.

  JUNE 16

  Tychon of Amathus (d. ca. 450)

  Laboring in the vineyard

  Limassol, on the island of Cyprus, was known as Amathus in the fifth century. Vine growers in southern Cyprus remember Tychon of Amathus annually.

  Tychon was poor. Though he owned the land for a small vineyard, he lacked the capital to purchase grapevines. The story behind his festival relates that he picked up a discarded branch pruned in a neighboring vineyard and rooted it. As he waited for cuttings to sprout, he prayed that God would grant him four favors: that sap would flow in the cutting, that it should be fertile and productive, that its fruit would be sweet, and that it might ripen early. In the years that followed, Tychon’s vineyard produced excellent grapes that ripened ahead of the normal harvest.

  The annual celebration of St. Tychon’s day on June 16, with its blessing of the grapevines, comes well ahead of the normal ripening season on Cyprus. Prayers accompany the squeezing of juice into an ornate chalice from a bunch of immature grapes. Some have questioned the historical existence of Tychon, but most accept that he actually lived in Amathus, where he became a bishop.

  JUNE 17

  Hypatius of Chalcedon (d. ca. 450)

  Taking a stand

  A number of heresies troubled the early Christian Church. Nestorianism taught that the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ were separate rather than mingled together. Hypatius fiercely opposed Nestorius and his ideas. In fact, he challenged a number of other evils that were creeping into religious life in the fifth century.

  People avoided an abandoned monastery near Chalcedon because it had a reputation for being haunted. Hypatius discovered it while looking for a retreat site. Ghosts did not frighten him, and he began a Christian community there. One of his monks Callinicus wrote the biography of Hypatius. Unfortunately, Callinicus had a taste for spooky things, causing objective scholars to question the authenticity of his narrative.

  The basic story Callinicus tells is that Hypatius was born in Phrygia. His father, a respected scholar, had high standards of learning and beat Hypatius when he did poorly in his studies. At eighteen, Hypatius ran away to Thrace and became a shepherd. One day when he was singing out on a meadow, a priest heard his pleasant voice and taught him how to chant psalms. Subsequently, Hypatius befriended a retired soldier named Jonas. The two of them became Christian hermits. It was while Hypatius was on one of these lonely retreats of prayer and self-denial that his father found him. All was forgiven and father and son were reconciled. Leaving Jonas in Constantinople, Hypatius returned home and founded his monastery in the deserted “haunted” structure near Chalcedon. From this location, he worked hard to support orthodoxy and to refute Nestorius.

  JUNE 18

  Amandus of Bordeaux (d. ca. 431)

  Fulfilling one’s purpose

  Amandus grew up in a Christi
an home and possessed a thorough familiarity with sacred Scripture. The mistakes that trap so many adolescents did not scar his early life. Recognizing his special qualities, Bishop Delphinus of Bordeaux ordained Amandus and put him to work in his own church. When Delphinus died, Amandus became bishop. Eventually, his health and vigor began to fail. Amandus urged the people to elect a younger man to replace him. Severinus accepted the responsibilities of the position, but did not live long, and Amandus had to resume his labor as bishop of Bordeaux.

  Interestingly, this information is preserved in the fifth-century correspondence of a Spaniard, Paulinus, who was converted and instructed by Amandus. The two became friends for life.

  JUNE 19

  Romuald (ca. 951–1027)

  Practicing piety

  Romuald was exposed to violence as a child. He saw his father kill a relative in an angry dispute over property. Horrified, he ran to a nearby monastery and began a life of penance and prayer. He disturbed the other monks by his extreme practice of piety, and they asked him to leave. Romuald became convinced of the need for revitalizing monastic life. For the next thirty years, he traveled around Italy, promoting monastic life and setting up hermitages.

  Illness prevented a planned mission to Hungary on several occasions. Romuald returned to his struggle with lax monks and the need for monastic reform. His efforts were not entirely welcomed, and the disturbed religious people made false accusations against him. He quietly accepted punishment for a crime he did not commit. When a prince gave Romuald a fine horse, he exchanged it for a donkey, saying he would feel closer to Christ on such a mount.

  One of Romuald’s disciples was Peter Damian (February 21). Together, they gave a fresh start to the monastery at Fonte Avellana and founded another one at Camaldoli in 1012. Here, Romuald put strict practice of the Benedictine Rule into effect. Silence pervaded the atmosphere and fasts were severe. Some described Romuald as harsh. When he died in his cell in 1027, he was alone.