Saint Hamon

While the two religious were taking their rest, Hamon would secretly slip away and withdraw to the house chapel, where he occupied himself sometimes with chanting psalms, sometimes with praying, his body prostrate; he gave himself to this holy exercise with such assiduity, and took so little care of himself, that he was seen several times to fall into a faint. The community finally recognized that he was in no way a leper, and, after he had spent a fairly long time of trials in the Desert, he was admitted to make his profession; a benefit for which he sighed deeply, and which contributed further to increasing his fervor. It appeared so remarkable to Saint Geoffrey, his abbot, that he felt he should call him to holy orders, and, later, have him raised to the priesthood.

Clothed in this august character, Saint Hamon showed himself to be a new man. The holiness of the priesthood penetrated him so deeply that he was entirely absorbed by it, and often forgot to take bodily nourishment. One can easily sense what confidence such a fervent priest must have inspired: thus, Saint Geoffrey soon entrusted him with the office of confessor to the community. The servant of God did not disappoint the hope that his abbot had conceived of his zeal and capacity. He produced great fruits in the tribunal of penance; and his reputation spread so widely in various convents of women in the province that, more than once, he found himself obliged to leave his cloister to assist them in their spiritual needs. The most remarkable of his disciples were Saint Peter of Avranches, a religious of Savigny, saint Pierre d'Avranches Disciple of Hamon at Savigny. and the Blessed Bergoigne, a religious of Mortain, bienheureuse Bergoigne Religious of Mortain and disciple of Hamon. both celebrated for the holiness of their lives. He directed them both until their deaths, and, shortly after their passing, God gave him the consolation of seeing them in glory. Saint Peter of Avranches appeared to him all radiant with light, and made known to him the happy state in which he found himself.

It was not only to those consecrated to God that Hamon made himself useful. His virtue, so pure and perfect, won him the confidence of the great and of worldly people, who confessed their weaknesses to him, listened with respect to his wise counsel, and benefited from it, both in regulating their morals and in committing themselves to the practice of good works. When people whose consciences were burdened with significant faults came to him, he was not content to act toward them as a judge and a physician; he also became their intercessor before God, and strove, through the most fervent prayers, to bring down upon them the spirit of compunction. Often it was revealed to him, in this holy occupation, that those for whom he asked mercy had rendered themselves unworthy of it through a voluntary hardening of heart. The remedies he applied to the sins of others did not reassure him, and he often trembled for himself, fearing that he was not sufficiently healed of the wounds that contact with the world had inflicted upon his soul before his entry into religion. This was the reason he approached the altar only with holy fear. In addition to a purity of life in which his delicate conscience would not suffer the trace of any stain, he brought to the celebration of the holy mysteries such a vivid attention to all the ceremonies and all the words that nothing escaped him upon which his reflections did not act in a way that made the past present to him, and which gave rise to the saying that he truly saw the mysterious things that were the subject of his application. Thus, when he said at the consecration: 'The day before he was to suffer, he took bread, etc.', the eyes of his soul distinctly saw the divine Savior of whom he spoke taking the bread and blessing it. When he invited the angel of God to present the sacred offering before the throne of His Majesty, his spirit saw the execution of his prayers in the ministry of the angels at that very instant. If he prayed to God to accept his offering as He had received those of Abraham and Melchizedek, he saw how his offering was accompanied, in the eyes of God, by those of these holy souls. He was happy to have always brought a renewed attention to the most formidable of our mysteries, and to that of all our actions which most deserves all our attention and all the recollection of our spirit, just as the goods we receive therein deserve all the gratitude of our heart.

The Lord, who delights in communicating Himself to innocent souls, favored His servant with those precious graces that He usually reserves for His dearest friends. It was especially during the celebration of the holy mysteries that Saint Hamon received these particular marks of God's goodness, which filled his soul with the sweetest consolations. The historian of his life assures us that one day, during the holy sacrifice and at the moment of pronouncing the holy words of consecration, Hamon had a vision in which he saw Jesus Christ standing, His face turned toward the East, and who by a sign expressed His satisfaction to him. He experienced such great joy from this that for a few moments he lost the use of his senses. When he had returned to himself, he retained such a vivid and constantly present memory of this vision that he could no longer pay any attention to created objects.

The superiors of the monastery of Savigny deemed it appropriate to charge Hamon with the care of the house's lay brothers. It was a difficult task, because most of these brothers were coarse and ignorant men who, after having entered the path of perfection, soon looked back and made little progress in virtue. Some even returned to the world to be able to live there according to their own whims. The servant of God was greatly distressed by their conduct and thought it might be caused by some negligence or other fault on his part. He also attributed the departure of these unfortunate fugitives to his own incapacity and feared that the Lord would one day demand an account of their souls from him. One day, when he was even more burdened than usual regarding this matter, he saw, during Mass and at the moment of Communion, Jesus Christ attached to the cross, yet full of life, with his head bowed to the right side, who spoke to him in this manner: "If, innocent as I am, I have suffered such great evils for the love of you, is it not very just that you should count as nothing the pain you endure for me?" At the same moment, the heart of the holy religious was penetrated with such great consolation and so much sweetness that he firmly believed this apparition had taken place only to draw him out of the anxiety in which he found himself and to deliver him from the pains he was experiencing regarding his brothers. This spiritual favor filled him with joy, and he spoke of it only with rapture.

Hamon had the consolation of learning of the blessed state in which the souls of his father and mother were.

It is asserted that this holy religious knew the secret of hearts, and that God revealed to him the sad state in which one of his brethren found himself, who, as an unfaithful steward, had kept for himself money he was charged with distributing as alms. This holy man also possessed the talent of persuasion, and Willia m of Toulouse, among Guillaume de Toulouse Doctor of Caen who became Abbot of Cîteaux under the influence of Hamon. others, experienced it. He was a famous doctor from Caen, who, being filled with the highest esteem for Hamon, had come to see him and had expressed the desire to dedicate himself to the service of God at Savigny. At the same time, he manifested the intention of returning to Caen to settle his temporal affairs, and promised to return without much delay. Some abbots of the Order of Cî teaux, who were Ordre de Cîteaux Monastic order to which Bertrand and the Abbey of Grandselve belong. on the premises and to whom he communicated his intentions, strongly opposed them and sought to show him how dangerous it was for his vocation to return to the world. All their efforts were useless, and William remained no less resolved to make this journey. These abbots having then withdrawn, Hamon came to find the doctor in private, spoke to him with such gentleness and in such a persuasive tone that he soon had to rejoice in a success that the assembled abbots had not been able to obtain. He took it upon himself to go to Caen to put the doctor's affairs in order, who, now tranquil, thought only of dedicating himself to God in the house where he then found himself. His merit led to his being chosen later to govern, in the capacity of abbot, the famous monastery of Cîteaux, where he was remarkable for his tender compassion toward the poor and the afflicted. He died there in 1175.

As there was no religious in the abbey holier than Hamon, it was to him alone that the care of touching and distributing some relics of the Saints, with which the house had been enriched through his means, was given. He did not lay his hand upon these precious remains of the living temples of the Holy Spirit except with trembling: and without the miracles that often accompanied this religious exercise, he would have had difficulty resolving to continue it, so afraid was he of being punished, as a rash person, for an action of which no one was more worthy than he. It was not only to the relics of the Saints that he had such a lively and respectful devotion; he also honored their memory, and had oratories built under their invocation. Several chapels in the vicinity of Savigny were for a long time subsisting proofs of his zeal for the cult of the friends of God who are in possession of eternal glory.

Among his miracles is counted what happened to him regarding a nun of an abbey through which he passed on one of his journeys. This nun, being at the point of death, wished for the Saint to hear her confession. Hamon could not refuse her his ministry on such a pressing occasion; but he was also hastening to return to his monastery where obedience called him back. The dying nun showed much sorrow at his departure, and the Saint, touched by her affliction, said to her with a simplicity full of confidence: "I must obey, and I must return; but wait to die until I have returned." He left immediately, and having returned a few days later, he found that death had, so to speak, respected his orders. It seemed that this good nun was only waiting for the blessing of Hamon to go and enjoy beatitude; as soon as she had seen him again, and heard the edifying discourses with which he had come to strengthen her in this terrible passage, she peacefully rendered her spirit to God.

The abbey of Savigny had, in the time of Saint Hamon, only a narrow church, which was falling into ruins. Saint Vital had built it; but it was no longer in proportion to the number of religious that this house contained. The servant of God ardently desired that the old church be replaced by another more solid and more spacious; the Lord granted his desires; a vision he had taught him that they would soon be accomplished. Indeed, the venerable Joscelin, abbot of Savigny, had, shortly after, this church which had already partially c ollapsed Joscelin Abbot of Savigny who had the church rebuilt. demolished, and had the one built that was seen there until the end of the 18th century. Alas! revolutionary impiety did not respect this monument and the rest of the monastery any m ore than the other work impiété révolutionnaire Period during which the saint's relics were hidden and lost. s of the Saints. The abbey of Savigny now offers only a heap of ruins.

This holy man was afflicted, at the end of his life, by an illness that did not allow him to lie down. He remained seated and bore his pains with a patience that was the admiration and edification of everyone. To these bodily afflictions were added terrors of the soul, caused by the approach of death, which he feared. But the Lord put an end to these trials, which He permitted only to make the virtue of His servant more pure and more perfect. Hamon was favored with several visions in which he had some knowledge of the happiness of the Saints. This knowledge, which filled his heart with joy, inspired in him a firm hope of reaching the heavenly homeland. It was thus that he received from God consolations that softened the ills of the body and calmed the pains of the spirit. He died holily on April 30 of the year 1173. The anonymous author of his Life assures that he knew those who had lived with this religious; and this Life bears at its head the title Life of Saint Hamon, a quality that the author gives him, as a designation that was acquired and firmly established for him. It is asserted that this author is Étienne de Fougères, Bi shop of Rennes, a c Étienne de Fougères Bishop of Rennes and presumed author of the life of Hamon. ontemporary of Saint Hamon. The religious of the Abbey of Savigny did not celebrate a particular feast for their holy confrere; but they made a commemoration of five Saints every day at the office, among whom he was named. His body was raised from the ground with solemnity by the bishops of Avranches, Rennes, and Le Mans, as early as the year 1184. A second translation took place in 1243. The greater part was then deposited in a raised tomb in front of one of the altars of the church, and the rest was enclosed in a reliquary. Since the Revolution, they have been in the parish church of Savigny, where they are venerated. Several miracles performed by this virtuous religious are so many proofs of holiness. Dom Ménard asserts that twelve manuscript volumes of the works of Saint Hamon were kept in the library of Savigny.

Cf. Histoire des saints de Bretagne, by Dom Lobineau Dom Lobineau Hagiographer and historian of Brittany. .