Today, 21 May, is the feast of ...
Godric, pilgrim and hermit (1170): Born in Walpole in Norfolk, Godric
came from a poor family.In his youth he dabbled in piracy. After a trip
to Lindisfarne, however, his travels were devoted to pilgrimages. He
went to Jerusalem, Compostela, Rome and to the shrine of St Giles in
Provence. He returned to England and bought a Psalter which became his
most treasured possession. Next to the river Wear three miles from
Durham, he spent the rest of his days, living the austere life of a
hermit. Though he wanted to live in silence and seclusion, the prior of
Durham would often send strangers to be edified by his conversation.
Among his visitors were Aelred of Rievaulx and Robert of Newminster.
Godric had the gift of prophecy. He foretold the exile, return and
martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Four songs that Godric sang have been
preserved. Godric claimed that he learned them from the Virgin Mary and
his dead sister. According to Butler, these songs are of great interest
since they are the oldest pieces of English verse of which the musical
setting has survived, and among the oldest to show rhyme and measure
instead of alliteration.
Benvenuto of Recanati, Franciscan tertiary (1289): Lived with the
Franciscan Conventuals of Recanati and did all the cooking. Often when
he had received communion, he would fall into ecstasy. From one of these
trances he awoke to realise that it was almost time for the evening meal
to be served and had not prepared anything. He quickly ran to the
kitchen where he was greeted by an angelic chef who was busily chopping
vegetables. Miraculously, all the friars who ate the meal said that they
had never tasted better food.
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Dr Carolyn Muessig
Department of Theology and Religious Studies
University of Bristol
Bristol BS8 1TB
UK
phone: +44(0)117-928-8168
fax: +44(0)117-929-7850
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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