Celtic and Old English Saints 13 November =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Brice of Tours * St. Caillin of Ferns * St. Columba of Cornwall * St. Denick of Caithness * St. Gredifael of Wales * St. Kilian of Aubigny =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Brice of Tours, Bishop (Brictio, Britius, Brixius) ----------------------------------------------------- Died 444. God loves variety. He doesn't mass-produce his saints. Every saint is unique, for each is the result of a new idea. As the liturgy says: "Non est inventus similis illis"--there are no two exactly alike. It is we with our lack of imagination, who paint the same haloes on all the saints. God loves variety. Sometimes He seemingly takes pleasure in placing side by side two saints whose characters should make it impossible for them to get along together. No doubt God wants to teach them humility,by showing them that each represents only a small part of the mystery of saintliness; and perhaps God also wants to reassure us, by telling us that if there are many mansions in heaven, there are also many roads leading there. And so it was in the 4th century in Touraine, France. God set the impeccable Saint Martin of Tours (f.d. November 11) side-by-side with the difficult Saint Brice. Unlike his master, Brice was a proud, ambitious cleric. When still very young, Brice entered the monastery that Martin had founded at Marmoutier, just outside Tours. At first he was just an ordinary, boisterous young monk, but soon he grew up. By the time he was 18, he had become a deacon and had his own stables and slaves. Martin, whose enemies reproached him for his excessive poverty and for what Gaston Boissier has called his 'rather democratic' outlook, was worried about the way the young deacon was behaving and remonstrated with him like a father. Brice bristled and answered the bishop with biting sarcasm. How could a barbarian from the wilds of Hungary tell him, who had been born on the banks of the Loire, how to behave? Was he, who had been educated properly, to take instruction from an improperly educated old legionary? Anyone who has ever dealt with teenagers can imagine the encounter. Unlike most adults, however, Martin listened calmly and replied gently. He even predicted that Brice would one day become bishop, but that his episcopate would not be a peaceful one. The vicars-general and the canons of Tours, who didn't relish the idea of one day being ruled by this spitfire, urged Martin to send him packing. But Martin replied, "If Christ put up with Judas, then surely I can put up with Brice." Brice continued to hold Martin in contempt, but despite Brice's attitude Martin dealt patiently with him, and eventually Brice repented with great remorse and begged Martin's forgiveness. When Martin died, Brice succeeded him in 397 as bishop of Tours-- not by tricks or intrigue but by the regular open vote of the people. For 30 years Brice taught, baptized, confirmed, administered, and fulfilled all his duties as bishop. Several times Brice was accused of laxness but nothing really extraordinary happened, none of those miracles or scandals that were as dear to the hearts of the chroniclers then as they are to journalists today. Nevertheless, Brice slept badly; he couldn't forget that Martin had predicted that he would be put to the test, and with a man like Martin there wasn't the slightest hope that the prediction would prove false. It might be late coming, but come it would. And every day for 30 years Brice waited for the fulfilment of the prophecy. It was uncomfortable but God had chosen it as a way of deflating the excessive conceit of youth. Then it happened. One morning the rumour ran through the streets of Tours that a seamstress belonging to the bishop's palace had borne him a son. What a windfall for the town's gossips! The accusation was false, but how to prove it? Since blood tests for paternity hadn't been discovered, Brice had to find another way. He had the infant brought to him, and, in his most episcopal voice, said, "I admonish you in the name of Jesus Christ to say, in the presence of everybody, if I am the man who fathered you." To which the baby replied, "You are not my father." Such precociousness seemed suspicious to those present, and they thought that there must be some trick (all of this is recorded by Saint Gregory of Tours (f.d. November 17)). At any rate Brice's people were so far from being convinced that they expelled their bishop by physical force. Brice didn't resist, for he realised that Martin's prophecy was now being fulfilled. About 430, he used his free time to make a journey to Rome which took him seven years. During his 'exile' Brice had an opportunity to repent of his ways and completely changed his lifestyle. On his way back home he founded several new Christian centres. When the seven years had passed, Brice returned to Tours. Just as he was coming into sight of the town, a fever killed the bishop who had been elected his successor. Not wanting to be lacking in politeness, Brice quickened his step and arrived in time to perform the funeral rites for this most tactful of bishops. He then resumed the episcopate himself for the remaining years of his life and ruled with humility, holiness, and ability. At his death he was held to be a saint, and rightly so, such was the change of his manners and way of life. He was buried in the same church as Saint Martin, for now that they were both saints there was no reason why they shouldn't sleep side-by- side. God had destined them to be together and to serve as foundations for the church of Tours. By joining the serenity of Martin to the vigour of Brice, harmony was ensured for a town where the Loire and Vouvray meet (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopaedia). In art Saint Brice carries hot coals in his vestments. Sometimes he is pictured as (1) carrying fire in his hand; (2) with a child in his arms or near him; or (3) with Saint Martin of Tours (Roeder). St. Caillin of Ferns, Bishop ----------------------------------------------- 7th century. Caillin is associated with Saint Aidan (Maidhoc) of Ferns (f.d. January 31). It is said that Caillin turned certain unbelieving Druids into stones (Benedictines, Montague). St. Columba of Cornwall, Virgin Martyr ----------------------------------------------- Date unknown. Columba, the patron saint of two parishes in Cornwall, is said to have been a Christian maiden put to death by a heathen king of Cornwall (Benedictines). Like the majority of Cornish Churches the Parish Church of St Columb is dedicated in the name of a Celtic Saint-Columba the Virgin. She was a holy women who probably came from Ireland to preach the Gospel to fellow Celts here and in Brittany. According to tradition Columba was pursued up the river by a heathen tyrant who wished her to marry his son, and was martyred at Ruthvoes, about 2 1/2 miles from St Columb Town. (Columba in Latin means a Dove- the emblem of tenderness and purity.) The church occupies a splendid position at the head of the Vale of Lanherne. The site was quite possibly a large tumulus or burying place in pre-Christian times. but we know that a church has occupied it for at least 1000 years. http://homepages.tesco.net/~k.wasley/St_columb_church.htm St. Denick of Caithness, Bishop (Devenick, Teavneck) ----------------------------------------------- 6th century. In his old age this native of northern Scotland associated himself with the missionary work of Saints Columba (f.d.June 9) and Machar (f.d. Nov. 12) and evangelized Caithness. He is reputed to have been a bishop (Benedictines). Troparion of St Denick tone 1 Inspired by the virtuous example of our Fathers Columba and Machar,/ O Hierarch Denick, thou didst preach among the heathens of Caithness/ enduring great hardships, despite old age and infirmity./ Wherefore, O Saint, pray that worthless and useless as we are Christ our God will grant us great mercy. St. Gredifael of Wales ----------------------------------------------- 7th century. A Breton or Welsh saint who accompanied Saint Padarn (f.d. April 16) from Brittany to Wales. He is said to have been abbot of Whitland in Pembrokeshire (Benedictines). St. Kilian of Aubigny (Chillianus, Chillien, Chillen) ------------------------------------------------------------ Born in Ireland; 7th century. Saint Kilian, kinsman of Saint Fiacre (f.d. August 30), became a missionary in France almost by accident. On his return from a pilgrimage to Rome, Kilian stopped to visit Fiacre in his solitude in Brie. There he joined his near relative in his contemplation and evangelizing efforts. Then Bishop Saint Faro of Meaux (f.d. October 28) sent him out to preach the Gospel on his own in the Artois, where he met with success. His body was enshrined at Aubigny, near Arras, in the monastery church he established, where he is the object of great veneration. Styled a bishop in Colgan's manuscript, Kilian is said to have been the only Irishman to have been offered the Roman papacy--which he declined (Benedictines, Husenbeth, Montague). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Benedictine Monks of Saint Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1966). The Book of Saints. NY: Thomas Y. Crowell. Delaney, J. J. (1983). Pocket Dictionary of Saints, NY: Doubleday Image. Encyclopaedia of Catholic Saints, October. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry Regnery. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
