Subj : April 1st - St. Walaricus, Abbot To : All From : rich Date : Mon Mar 30 2020 10:04:24 From: rich April 1st - St. Walaricus, Abbot (Also known as Valery) St. Walaricus or Valery, whose body William the Conqueror caused to be publicly exposed that the saint might obtain a favourable wind for his English expedition, was born in a humble home in the Auvergne. Somehow he learned to read, and he is said to have procured a psalter, the contents of which he committed to memory while tending sheep. His uncle one day took him to visit the monastery of Autumo, but when the time came for returning, the boy insisted upon staying behind; so there he was allowed to remain and to continue his education, though it is doubtful whether he ever took the habit there. Some years later he left to enter the abbey of St. Germanus near Auxerre, but his sojourn does not seem to have been a protracted one. It was not unusual in those days for monks voluntarily to go from one monastery to another; some indeed were vagrants by nature who could never settle anywhere, but many of them were men striving after perfection, who were only eager to find a director capable of assisting them to attain their goal. Of this number was Walaricus. The renown of St. Columban and of the life led by his followers at Luxeuil determined him to seek out the great Irishman and to place himself under his rule. With him went his friend Bobo, a nobleman who had been converted by him and who had abandoned his possessions to join him. At Luxeuil, where they found the leader and the spiritual life they sought, they settled down happily. To Walaricus fell the duty of cultivating part of the garden. The flourishing condition of his allotment, when the rest of the estate was being devoured by insects, was regarded as miraculous, and is said to have induced St. Columban, who already had a high opinion of him, to profess him after an unusually short novitiate. When King Theodoric expelled the abbot from his monastery, allowing only the Irish and the Bretons to accompany him, Walaricus, not wishing to remain on at Luxeuil without St. Columban, obtained leave to join a monk called Waldolanus, who was about to start on a mission of evangelization. Receiving permission to settle in Neustria, they preached freely to the people, and Walaricus's eloquence and miracl= es gained many converts. It was not long, however, before he began to feel again the call to retire from the world, but this time he thought it his vocation to be a hermit. By the advice of Bishop Berchundus he chose a solitary spot near the sea, at the mouth of the river Somme, where he proposed to live in solitude; but he could not remain hidden. Disciples discovered him and cells sprang up around, which developed into the celebrated abbey of Leuconaus. St. Walaricus would occasionally issue forth to preach missions in the countryside, and so successful were his efforts that he is said to have evangelized not only what is now known as the Pas-de-Calais, but the whole eastern shore of the English Channel. Tall and ascetic-looking, the holy man was noted for his singular gentleness which tempered the stern Rule of St. Columban with excellent results. Animals were attracted to him: birds perched on his shoulders and ate from his hand, and often the good abbot would gently warn off an intruding visitor with the words, =E2=80=9CDo let these innocen= t creatures eat their meal in peace=E2=80=9D. After ruling his monastery for six years or more, St. Walaricus passed to his rest about the year 620. Numerous miracles reported after his death quickly spread his cultus, at least two French towns, St.-Valery-sur-Somme and St.-Valery-en-Caux, being named after him. King Richard Coeur-de-Lion transferred his relics to the latter town, which is in Normandy, but they were afterwards restored to St.-Val=C3=A9ry-sur-Somme, on the site of the abbey of Leuconaus. We are told that a life of St. Walaricus was written by Raginbertus, who became abbot of Leuconaus not long after the death of the saint. It was formerly believed that this document was preserved in substance by a later writer, who re-edited it in a new setting and in a more correct style. Bruno Krusch, however, seems to have proved that this later life dates only from the 11th century and is a fabrication which borrows freely from other hagiographical materials which have nothing to do with St. Walaricus. See MGH., Scriptores Merov., vol. iv, pp. 157-175; where a more critical text than that of the Bollandists and Mabillon may also be found. For some criticisms of B. Krusch's edit= ion see Wattenbach-Levison, Deutschlands Geschichtsquellen im Mittelalter Vorzeit und Karolinger, vol. I (1952). Saint Quote: He who always acts under obedience may be assured that he will not have to give an account of his actions to God. --St. Philip Bible Quote: Afterwards, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said: I thirst. 29 Now there was a vessel set there full of vinegar. And they, putting a sponge full of vinegar and hyssop, put it to his mouth. 30 Jesus therefore, when he had taken the vinegar, said: It is consummated. And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost.=C2 (John 18:28-30) <><><><> The festival of victory =C2 =C2 The festival we celebrate is one of victory--the victory of th= e Son of God, king of the whole universe. On this day the devil is defeated by the crucified one; our race is filled with joy by the risen one. In honor of my resurrection in Christ this day cries out: "In my journey I beheld a new wonder--an open tomb, a man risen from the dead, bones exulting, souls rejoicing, men and women refashioned, the heavens opened, and powers crying out: Lift up your gates, you princes; be lifted up, you everlasting doors, that the king of glory may come in. On this day I saw the king of heaven, robed in light, ascend above the lightning and the rays of the sun, above the sun and the sources of water, above the dwelling place of the angelic powers and the city of eternal life." =C2 =C2 Hidden first in a womb of flesh, he sanctified human birth by = his own birth; hidden afterward in the womb of the earth, he gave life to the dead by his resurrection. Suffering, pain, and sighs have now fled away. For who has known the mind of God, or who has been his counselor if not the Word made flesh, who was nailed to the cross, who rose from the dead, and who was taken up into heaven? =C2 --Hesychius of Jerusalem --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .