Saint Hugh of Lincoln

When he had received the order of priesthood, he spared nothing to correspond to the holiness of that divine character. His devotion grew ever greater, and he subdued his flesh and his passions more than ever through fasts, disciplines, the hair shirt, and the use of only bread and water for his nourishment. Ten years after his entry into religion, his prudence and gentleness led to his being chosen as procurator of the convent; and he performed this dut y so perfectly that Henry Henri II, roi d'Angleterre King of England who brought Hugh to found Witham. II, King of England, being informed of his merit, requested him to come and finish e stabli Witham The first Charterhouse founded by Hugh in England. shing the house of Witham, in the county of Somerset, which he had given to his Order. Poverty there was extreme, but the holy prior and his religious, animated by his word and his example, endured it with invincible patience. Finally, the king, having an extreme affection for him, gave him all the things necessary for the completion of the buildings and for the subsistence of the community. This prince held him in such high esteem that he could refuse him nothing, upon which he would say with great grace: "What power this stranger has over me! In truth, he would be formidable if he had entered my kingdom with great forces, since by his word alone he carries off everything he wishes."

But this veneration that he bore for the Saint increased even more through an extraordinary grace for which he recognized himself indebted to his merits; for as he was returning from France, such a furious storm arose at sea that his ship and his entire fleet were on the verge of shipwreck. Everyone began to pray and made vows to God and the Saints to be saved. Finally, as the sea did not calm down, he implored the help of Hugh, and at that very hour the storm ceased, the waves calmed, and all his ships arrived happily at port without losing a single man. It is said that in the height of the peril this prince made a vow to give a bishopric to Hugh, if he had the good fortune to escape; and it is certain that thereafter he had so much affection for him that there was no one in his kingdom who had as much credit in his mind.

Several people of merit, touched by his holiness, became his disciples by taking the Carthusian habit at Witham. There he was attacked again by violent temptations against purity; but, after many prayers and tears, he was delivered from them by the apparition of Basil, former prior of the Grande Chartreuse, who had received him into religion, and to whom he had recourse after his death, not doubting that he was one of the most glorious citizens of heaven. He used the time remaining from the duties of his office to read the Holy Scriptures and books of piety; he said that this reading was absolutely necessary for religious, and especially for solitaries, and that it served them as delights during calm, as support in battles, as food in hunger, and as a remedy in spiritual languor.

While he was thus enjoying the sweetness of the contemplative life, he was unanimously elected Bishop of Lin Lincoln Episcopal see of Saint Hugh. coln, the see of which had been vacant for several years. He did his utmost to defend himself against this honor, and for this purpose alleged supposed nullities in his election; but the King, the clergy, and the people ardently wishing for it to take effect, and his General having given his consent, he was forced against his will to accede to it. He was c onsecrated by Baldwin, Archbishop Baudoin, archevêque de Cantorbéry Archbishop who consecrated Hugh as bishop. of Canterbury, on September 21, 1186. The first thing he did, upon seeing himself in the episcopal seat, was to call to him wise, learned, and God-fearing men, to take their advice in the government of his Church. He entrusted the care of souls only to those persons whom he knew to love purity and to possess gentleness; he rejected others, however learned and skillful they might be. He also conferred benefices only upon those whose virtue he had tested; in which he was so exact that the King, his benefactor, having written to him to ask him to give a prebend to a man whose services he wished to recognize, he excused himself honestly, saying on this subject these excellent words: "Benefices are not for courtiers, but for ecclesiastics. The King has the means to reward those who are in his service; and he must not, in order to enrich them, deprive the servants of the King of Kings of the goods that are destined for them."

Hugh was offended by this procedure as an act of ingratitude and complained to him about it; but the Saint gave him such powerful reasons to justify what he had done that he remained perfectly satisfied.

He worked with all his might to make peace and charity reign among his flock, and for this, he wanted his officers to have great gentleness toward those over whom they had authority. He used to say that three things were necessary for a true Christian: charity in the heart, truth in the mouth, and chastity in the body, and that without these, one bears such a glorious title in vain. His preaching was so powerful that it converted many sinners who were considered incorrigible. His charity for the poor was boundless; he would strip himself of everything to give it to them. The sick found in him a comforter full of tenderness; he visited them assiduously and helped them spiritually and bodily in every way possible. He did not even refuse his assistance to lepers, and he often kissed them as figures of Jesus Christ in His Passion. William, Chancellor of Lincoln, said to him one day with a laugh that Saint Martin kissed lepers and healed them by kissing them, but that he kissed them and did not heal them. "It is true," he replied, "but if Saint Martin's kiss healed the bodies of the lepers, the lepers' kiss heals my soul."

His piety also extended to burying the dead; he even buried those who were very infectious, whom no one else dared to approach. And one day, when he learned that one of those who had persecuted him had died, he performed this duty of mercy for him, telling his people who wanted to dissuade him, under the pretext that traps would be set for him on the way, that when they had bound his feet and hands, he would have a just reason to exempt himself.

He showed, above all, episcopal vigor in the defense of justice and the support of ecclesiastical immunities. He excommunicated the Grand Master of the Royal Forests for the vexations that he and his guards inflicted upon the people and his vassals, and he would never lift the excommunication until he had acknowledged his fault and requested absolution in due form. Then he reconciled him to the Church, and thereafter, he was one of the most zealous protectors of ecclesiastical privileges and rights. He did not allow his official to condemn the guilty to pecuniary fines, for fear that interest and avarice might play the principal part in these sentences; rather, he wanted him to impose the penalties ordered by the Canons. It was then the custom for the clergy to present the king with a precious cloak every year. It was purchased with sums levied on the people, and the clerics shared the remaining money among themselves. Hugh abolished this custom after obtaining from the king that he would renounce the gift.

Richard, who had succeeded Henry, wishing to wage war against the King of France, assembled the bishops and the great men of the kingdom to ask them for a levy of funds. The Saint, knowing the poverty of the people and the lack of necessity for this war, opposed it generously and protested that, even if all others consented to it, he alone would never consent. The King was greatly offended by this action and sent soldiers to outrage him and to plunder the goods of his bishopric; but the excommunication he fulminated against them, should they touch the slightest thing belonging to the Church, intimidated them so much in fear of being seized by the demon that they withdrew without doing anything. He himself came to find the King in Normandy, forced him to embrace him, to send him the kiss of peace during Mass before kissing him, and to honor him above all the bishops who were at his court. Then, having taken the King aside, he asked him with great gentleness in what state his conscience was: "For," he said, "since you are one of my flock, I must render an account of your soul at the terrible judgment of God." — "It is going well enough," the King replied, "except that I always feel very animated against the enemies of my State." — "What is this I hear?" added the holy Pastor, "is it not you who oppress the poor, who afflict the innocent, who have no scruples about placing unbearable impositions upon your people? And is there not a rumor that you have engaged in illicit affections to the prejudice of the conjugal faith? Do these things seem like small sins to you?"

These words of the holy bishop, or rather of the Holy Spirit speaking through his mouth, extremely astonished the King. He confessed a part of his faults, asked for forgiveness, and promised to correct them; thereafter, he would say that if all bishops resembled the one of Lincoln, they would make themselves formidable to the greatest monarchs. This caused Saint Hugh to be called the Hammer of Kings. Some of his friends pressed him one day t o grant this pri Marteau des rois Bishop of Lincoln and Carthusian monk of Burgundian origin. nce something that was truly contrary to the right of his church, but of very little importance: "Our predecessors," he said, "have raised the honor and increased the liberties of the Church; would it not be a great subject of shame for us if, instead of increasing them, we let them weaken and diminish through our cowardice?"

This admirable courage came from the trust he had in God. It was so great that he accused himself as if of a considerable sin for having been touched by fear on occasions that would have made all others tremble. He was seen to remain firm in the midst of naked swords, and he did not cease to rebuke, to threaten, and to excommunicate those who had the temerity to attack him: which caused their weapons to fall from their hands or drew upon them terrible punishments from God.

He always maintained the spirit of a true religious even in the greatest affairs. He spoke of matters of State only when he was obliged to do so to pacify troubles and to reconcile kings and lords with one another; outside of these occasions, he spoke of them no more and did not wish for religious to discuss them. He was so recollected within himself that, during his travels, someone had to go before him to prevent him from straying. Every year, he made several days of retreat at the monastery of Witham, in order to fill his soul with the spiritual goods he was to distribute to his people. Wherever he was, he took care to recite the hours of the Divine Office at the times marked by the Church, without anyone ever being able to make him advance or delay them.

His humility was so perfect that he never distinguished himself by his habit from the Fathers of his Order, and he had no mark of a bishop other than the ring he wore on his finger. Throughout his life, he made great entreaties to the Popes to be relieved of his bishopric, but it was in vain; on the contrary, they often entrusted him with the greatest affairs of England to judge and decide, which he always did with marvelous judgment. Moreover, while having a church built in Lincoln, he took pleasure in carrying the materials for this edifice himself; and God showed by a miracle that this action was pleasing to Him, the hod he had used having healed a lame man who had it placed upon his back. As his devotion toward the Blessed Sacrament of the altar was admirable, Our Lord often consoled him there with His sensible presence, appearing to him at Mass in the figure of a child of incomparable beauty; which other devout persons also saw at the same time. His faith in the truth of this mystery was so perfect that he did not wish to see miraculous blood that had flowed from the holy Host onto the corporal, saying that he had no need of a miracle to be persuaded that Our Lord is really in the Blessed Sacrament.

Finally, he fell ill in London with an acute fever which warned him that his death was not far off. He was asked if he did not wish to make a will; but the only will he wished to make was to distribute to the poor, before his passing, the little that remained of his money and furniture. He received Extreme Unction on the day of Saint Matthew, which had been the day of his consecration. The Archbishop of Canterbury, who had unjustly persecuted him, came to see him in his illness and asked his forgiveness for it. He felt extreme joy at this act of humility, and, with a smiling face, he said to him: "I forgive you with all my heart. Know, however, that I have no regret for having reproved you, but rather for not having done so often enough; for your negligence and your attachment to worldly things caused great prejudice to the souls that God placed under your guidance."

Shortly before his death, he predicted the great evils that would befall all the Orders of England. On November 17, at the hour of Compline, he had blessed ashes spread on the floor of his room, had himself laid upon them, and during the Canticle of Simeon, he rendered his spirit to God in marvelous tranquility, in 1200, in the sixtieth year of his age.

His body was embalmed and transported solemnly from London to Lincoln. The kings of England and Scotland hastened to this ceremony, with a great number of archbishops, bishops, abbots, and counts. So many miracles occurred thereafter at his tomb that Pope Honorius III issu ed the decree o pape Honoré III Pope who canonized Saint Hugh. f his canonization. On October 6, 1280, his body was found without any corruption, and his clothes entirely intact; and a miraculous oil was seen flowing from his head and his coffin for the healing of the sick. Afterward, his translation was made into suitable reliquaries in the presence of the King and Queen of England and the King of Navarre.

Saint Hugh is represented: 1st, causing a furious storm to cease through his prayers; 2nd, visited by Our Lord in the figure of a child of incomparable beauty while he celebrates Mass; 3rd, accompanied by a swan, which is the symbol of solitude and silence.

Taken from Surius.

-- BLESSED SALOME, QUEEN O LA BIENHEUREUSE SALOMÉE Polish princess, Queen of Galicia, and Poor Clare nun. F GALICIA, VIRGIN, POOR CLARE RELIGIOUS (1201-1268).

This illustrious princess was the daughter of Leszek, Duke of Cr acow and Cracovie City of origin and burial of Salomea. Sandomierz. From her earliest childhood, radiant with beauty, innocence, and candor, she was the pride of her family and the ornament of the Polish court. She was barely three years old when the King of Hungary, Andrew II, father of Saint Elizabeth, asked for her for his youngest son, Prince Co lman, aged si prince Colman Husband of Salome, with whom he lived in virginity. x. They were betrothed, despite their youth; and Salome, having to be raised with her future spouse according to the custom of the time, was torn from the caresses of her august parents and taken to the court of Hungary.

The young princess soon became the admiration of her new family for her beauty, the vivacity of her mind, the amiability of her character, and the wisdom that seasoned all her speech. Among other things, she learned Latin with astonishing ease, and the activity of her memory was such that it sufficed for her to hear the Gospel read or sung once at Mass to retain and translate it. Salome was gentle in her words, full of tender compassion for the unfortunate; she loved solitude and silence. The best part of her time was for God and for the poor; the rest was devoted to good reading. Early on, she was inspired to consecrate her virginity to God; but, seeing too many difficulties in having her project accepted by those who had authority over her, she entrusted herself with complete abandonment to the loving providence of God, while recommending to Him with tears the pious design that grace had inspired in her young heart.

The time for her wedding arrived: Salome was then thirteen years old. The two young spouses, from the first day of their union, made a vow of perpetual virginity together; and, during the twelve years they lived together, they observed it with the most scrupulous fidelity. Salome often interrupted her night's rest for long hours which she gave to prayer. In her sweet communications with God, she experienced such vivid transports that she sometimes fell into a swoon; and, in the morning, she was found lying motionless on the floor of her oratory. Filled each day with a deeper contempt for the world, the Saint thought only of crucifying her flesh through mortifications of all kinds. Having exchanged purple for the habit of the Third Order, which she received from the hands of her confessor Father Adalbert, a Friar Minor, she wore from then on only the livery of poverty and penance, under which she hid a rough hairshirt. Such a striking contempt for the vanities of the century in a young and beautiful princess could not fail to be effective. A general reform was introduced at court; the noblest ladies renounced the pomp of finery and the luxury of entertainment to devote themselves to the practices of piety and works of mercy.

Having become a sovereign princess through the election of her husband to the throne of Galicia, the Blessed one changed nothing in her habits of simplicity and piety. On the contrary, she took advantage of the greater independence and more abundant resources that her position ensured her to extend and multiply her good works. Her noble husband, far from opposing her generous intentions, supported them with all his power. After twelve years of a union more angelic than human with Salome, the young King Colman went to receive from God the reward due to his chastity and his courage. He died in 1225, fighting gloriously against the Tartars for the defense of his homeland and his faith.

From that moment, Salomea resolved to dedicate herself to God in the religious life. To prepare for the great action she was planning, she divided her immense wealth into two parts: one was distributed to those who had suffered most from the misfortunes of war; the other was devoted to repairing and adorning churches ruined by the Tartars, and to building convents for Franciscans and Poor Clares . Nearly Clarisses Religious order whose way of life was adopted by Margaret. fifteen years passed in these holy occupations. Finally, the pious princess, having put the finishing touches on the great works she had undertaken, entered the convent of Zawichost in 1240, where the Rule of Saint Clare was observed in all its purity. She received the veil there from the hands of the blessed Prandota, Bishop of Krakow. Later, as the monastery of Zawichost was continually threatened by the incursions of the Tartars, the blessed princess left it and came to settle with her community in Skala, near Krakow, where Duke Boleslaw, her brother, had built a monastery for her.

Upon donning the religious habit, Salomea reserved nothing for herself of all that she had possessed until then. Furthermore, she asked as a favor for the most inconvenient and poorest cell in the monastery, so that her dwelling would be in every way consistent with the life she wished to lead. In this retreat that her heart had chosen, her fervor knew no bounds, and her austerities frightened the most courageous. Day and night, she wore various instruments of penance under her clothes; her fasts were continuous, and she forbade herself the use of wine forever, even though the Rule did not forbid it. Her bed was nothing but a mat thrown on simple boards, and the duration of her sleep never exceeded three or four hours. The Blessed one spent twenty-eight years in the practice of the deepest humility, the most absolute poverty, and the most complete obedience, waiting patiently for it to please God to withdraw her from this world, which happened on Saturday, November 17, 1268. Salomea had lived sixty-seven years, twenty-eight of which had been spent in religious life.

The body of the Saint was, according to her wishes, buried in the church of the Friars Minor of Krakow, near the remains of King Coloman . Pope Clement pape Clément X Pope who extended the cult of Saint Gonsalo to the entire Dominican Order. X, informed of the high sanctity of the blessed Salomea and of the great and numerous miracles performed through her intercession, solemnly authorized the cult that the Poles had been rendering to her for four centuries, and permitted the entire Order of Saint Francis to celebrate her feast, under the double rite, on the anniversary of her death. Extracted from the Franciscan Annals.