Setem-1-acem Sogglem Santam
Setem-1-acem Sogglem Santam
Page URL: https://ocaminhodossantos.blogspot.com/2021/09/setem-1-acem-sogglem-santam.html .MAJOR FEASTS
- September 1: Happy Feast of the Old Testament Saints Josue ben Nun (Heretics call him "Joshua"), the Old Testament Judges Gideon, Abeson or Abesan and Abdon, and the Prophetess Ana / Anna. Today, September 1, is the feast of Josue, the successor to the Prophet Moses, first Judge of Israel, commanded by God, he led the settlement of the Promised Land, the Holy Land, by the Israelites, displacing the extremely corrupt and degenerate Canaanites. After him, a line of lesser judges ruled Israel by personal Divine appointment, among them, Saints Abeson or Abesan, and Abdon. St Abigail, prophetess, wife of King St David. Lastly today, we celebrate Ana or Anna, whose name means the Grace of God, Prophetess, who, together with the Prophet Simon, welcomed Our Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God at His Presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem.
- St Gerold the Younger (pictured)
- St Aegidius or Giles
- St Drythelm
September 1: Happy Feast of the Old Testament Saints Josue ben Nun (Heretics call him "Joshua"), the Old Testament Judges Gideon, Abeson or Abesan and Abdon, and the Prophetess Ana / Anna. Today, September 1, is the feast of Josue, the successor to the Prophet Moses, first Judge of Israel, commanded by God, he led the settlement of the Promised Land, the Holy Land, by the Israelites, displacing the extremely corrupt and degenerate Canaanites. After him, a line of lesser judges ruled Israel by personal Divine appointment, among them, Saints Abeson or Abesan, and Abdon. Lastly today, we celebrate Ana or Anna, whose name means the Grace of God, Prophetess, who, together with the Prophet Simon, welcomed Our Lord Jesus Christ, the true and living God at His Presentation in the Temple of Jerusalem.
Flee From Satan's Church
When Pope Pius XII died in October 1958, Public, Pertinacious and Manifest Satanists seized the Vatican Basilica and from there masquerade as the Catholic Church. Catholic Law excludes Public, Pertinacious and Manifest Heretics and Apostates from the Catholic Church, and all their pretended "acts" are null and void. All who observe and pretend to legitimize the Pretensions and Masquerades of these Satanists, thereby certify themselves satanists, and that their "gods" are the Demons Ganpati, Allah, etc., the "gods" of the Accursed Latrocinium of "Vatican2."God Demands Obedience And Excludes All False 'gods'
God's Firewall Against Satan and Satan's Lies of Pretended "New Gospels" eg Montanism, Mahomettanism, Waldensianism, Lutheranism, Calvinism, Modernism, etc
Proof of Satanism
Please read this page for context: https://www.traditioninaction.org/HotTopics/b021ht_Guru.htm.That Antipopes Roncalli, Montini, Luciani, Wojtyla, Ratzinger & Bergoglio were and are Satanists is evident from the Bible, particularly the First Commandment.
The ability to discern and distinguish between Christians and Satanists is proof of whether one is a Christian or a Satanist.
The refusal to acknowledge that the Antipopes Roncalli, Montini, Luciani, Wojtyla, Ratzinger & Bergoglio were and are Public, Pertinacious and Manifest Satanists and heads of a non-Catholic sect, is proof that one is a Satanist, a public enemy of the Living God.
Marian Calendar
September 1: Collection of all the Feasts of Our Lady, celebrated at Louvain.
The Abbot Orsini writes that "A feast is kept in honor of the Blessed Virgin, called the Collection of all the Feasts of Our Lady." Louvain refers to Leuven, the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in Belgium. There was once a chapel called Notre Dame de Leuven, or Our Lady of Louvain, which had stood near the church tower of a separate church dedicated to St Peter. The chapel owed its origin to an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was given by a group of monks from Abbey Park as a sign of brotherhood in the year 1132. According to tradition, the wooden statue, which depicted the Blessed Virgin seated with the Divine Child in her lap, was a gift from heaven deposited on the earth by heavenly angels. The image excited a lively religious fervor upon its reception, and there are numerous miracles credited to pious devotion to the image of Our Lady of Louvain. Over 350 years later, as the chapel of Our Lady of Louvain was built on land that was needed for the construction of the new, and larger, church of Saint Peter, it was necessary to demolish the chapel. In a letter dated March 28, 1496, Bishop John Horne of Liege, authorized the transfer of materials from the chapel of Our Lady of Louvain to the new basilica of St Peter. The old chapel was demolished two years later in 1498, and the statue of the Virgin was placed on a special altar in the collegiate church of St Peter. Every year, on the eve of the first Sunday in September, the miraculous image of Our Lady of Louvain had been carried in procession by the canons and members of the magistracy while bells tolled and musicians accompanied the image singing the Salve Regina. Some time later the statue became known by the title of Notre Dame sous la Tour. The original church of St Peter was made entirely of wood, and completed in about 986. It burned to the ground in 1176. It was rebuilt in Romanesque style with a crypt at the back in the choir. The church had two west towers, and that image is still used as the ancient seal for the city. The church was then enlarged in 1425 in the Brabantine Gothic style. The church of St Peter was heavily damaged in both world wars, but most importantly, the original statue of Our Lady of Louvain was completely destroyed in 1944 from allied bombing during World War II, and it is now only a replica that is on display at the church.September 1: Our Lady of Montevergine
At almost 1300 meters high, in the Partenius chain, in the Irpinian Apennines, between gigantic peaks that form authentic bulwarks of the plateau, stands the most famous sanctuary in Southern Italy, on the place that at the time of the great Latin poet Virgilius, stood a small temple dedicated to Cybele, goddess of nature and fertility. Virgil, who was a connoisseur, went up several times on this plateau that bears his name, leaving his commitments in Naples, to find the aromatic plants to distil the elixirs of long life, which then in the following centuries and still today, the friars produce the typical Benedictine liqueurs of the place. It was not easy to climb up there on those mountains of Irpinia, but you could restore your spirit with the breathtaking views that from there you could admire, from Vesuvius, to nearby Avellino, the entire Gulf of Naples with the wonderful islands of Capri, Ischia, Procida and then the vast plain of fertile Campania. In the early years of 1000, a young pilgrim arrived on this mountain headed for Palestine, but by the will of God diverted here, St William of Vercelli. Wearing his habit he visited the sanctuaries of northern Italy, then went to Spain to St James of Compostella and on his return he decided to travel the whole peninsula before proceeding to the Holy Land; but right up here our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him telling him to stop and build a temple to the Virgin instead of the one dedicated to the pagan goddess. William was not of an easy character and after having destroyed the pagan temple with its idol, he imposed himself on bishops and popes, to carry out his intent and built a small church to the Virgin Mary. He founded a monastic organization, a branch of the Benedictine order, which he called the Verginian Congregation, and are now called the Williamites; the fame of these monks spread throughout Southern Italy and Sicily. St William exhibited in the church for the veneration of the faithful, a small image of the Madonna, which in the last decades of the twelfth century was replaced by a beautiful altar, where the Virgin appears crowned and in the act of breastfeeding the Child. This image is kept in the museum of the sanctuary and is called Our Lady of St William. Montevergine soon became the mother house of 50 small monasteries that had been gradually founded, thus being able to impose the reality of its existence on the popes and kings of Naples, asking for its independence. The Norman and Angevin kings competed to give the abbey, built near the church, an economic self-sufficiency, exempting it from taxes and giving it fiefs and a castle for the abbot. Under the Angevins (1266-1435) the Romanesque style church was considerably transformed and enlarged in the Gothic style, with a Cosmatesque high altar and three rows of columns. The altar of Our Lady of St William was replaced around 1300 by an imposing image, on a panel of considerable proportions, representing the Madonna, who will take the title of Our Lady of Montevergine, seated on a large chair, with the Child Jesus on her knees. This icon reached Montevergine surrounded by legend and devotion; it was even said that it was painted by St Luke, who had known the Madonna and had dared to portray her, when he fell asleep, he found it completed the next morning by a mysterious heavenly intervention. The painting was first exhibited in Jerusalem, then transferred to Antioch, then to Constantinople, finally to Naples, here it ended up in the hands of Catherine II, wife of Philip of Taranto, who had it completed, it is said, by Montano d'Arezzo and he donated it to the Sanctuary of Montevergine. The people are never interested in who had painted it, it immediately pleased them and in the simplicity of the faith that was bestowed upon them, they called it the "Madonna Bruna" or even "Mamma Schiavona," etymology uncertain but sure to hold.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Benevento, twelve saintly brothers, martyrs, Saints Felix, Donatus, Arontius, Honoratus, Fortunatus, Sabinianus, Septimius, Januarius, Felix, Vitalis, Satyrus, and Repositus were natives of Hadrumetum in Roman Africa, now largely the Arab Colony of Tunisia, and after suffering grievous torments for the faith in that city, were sent into Italy, where they finished their glorious martyrdom at Benevento, in the persecution of Valerian in 258, or according to others, in that of Dioclesian.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Brescia Saints Arealdus and his sons Carillus and Odericus, martyred by the Arian Lombard invaders, September 1, 575. This St Arealdus is not to be confused with St Ariald of Milan.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Heraclea, Saints Ammon, deacon, and forty holy virgins whom he instructed in the faith, and led with him to the glory of matryrdom, under the tyrant Licinius.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Pannonia St Gerold the Younger, and Companions, martyred September 1, 799. After Emperor St Charlemagne had deposed the last Agilolfingian Duke of Bavaria, Thassilo II, he set up a governor for this newly acquired province of the great Frankish Empire. This was Gerold, from a noble family of the Swabian region. He is also called a count and the brother of St Hildegardis, the wife of Charlemagne. According to the testimony of Abbot Wallafried of Reichenau, he was very famous for his piety, full of truth and honesty, at the same time meek and very generous. He had great power and was a brave hero. The two monasteries of St Gallen and Reichenau in particular experienced his generosity. He had no children and consoled himself with the thought: "If the Lord does not give me an heir, He will remain my heir. What He has given me, He shall also receive from me again. I recommend everything to the Blessed Virgin and Mother of God." He also had a church built in Paderborn. For this work he called Greek builders and artists, who were the most excellent at the time. In 799 the Avars invaded the neighboring countries and again threatened to devastate everything. This time the Duke Eric of Friulia and the Governor of Bavaria, St Gerold marched against these devastators of the West. They drove back the enemy and got as far as Albania. There Eric besieged a city that was located on the sea. He invaded the city and was murdered in it. Gerold led his own to the meeting and encouraged them to fight valiantly against the wild multitudes. At the beginning of the battle he and the two military leaders who stood next to him had been killed. His body was brought to the Reichenau monastery and buried there. Twenty-five years after his death, a monk of the Reichenau monastery was told in a dream that St Gerold was numbered among the holy martyrs and enjoyed the same glory with them.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Sentianum Saints Donatus and Felix, martyred in the persecutions of Maximianus Herculeanus, September 1, 303.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Spain Saints Vincent and Laetus.
- + The Holy Martyrs of Spain, martyred, murdered by the Maranos and the Maranocracy illegally occupying Spain on September 1, 1936, Saints Alexander Cobos Celada, Alfonso Sebastia Vinals, Amparus Carbonell Munoz, Andrew Iniesta Egea, Anthony Lorca Munoz, Anthony Villanueva Igual, Augustine Navarro Iniesta, Carmen Moreno Benitez, Crescentius Lasheras Aizcorbe, Francis Trullen Gilisbarts, Henry Lopez y Lopez, Isidore Gil Arano, Joachim Pallerola Feu, Joachim Ruiz Cascales, Joseph de La Cruz Garcia-Arevalo, Joseph Franco Gomez, Joseph Prats Sanjuan, Joseph Samson y Elias, John Joseph Egea Rodriguez, Julian Villanueva Alza, Manuel Mateo Calvo, Marianus Nino Perez, Maximianus Fierro Perez, Michael Roca Huguet, Nicholas Aramendia Garcia, Peter Meca Moreno, Peter Rivera y Rivera, Pius Ruiz de La Torre, Simon Isidore Joachim Brun Arara, Thomas Galipienzo Perlada and William Rubio Alonso.
- + The Holy Exiles of Campania, Saints Adjutor, Augustus, Canion, Castrensis, Elpidius, Heraclius, Marcus, Priscus, Rosius, Secundinus, Tammarus and Vindonius, priests driven out of Roman Africa by the Arian Vandals. Subjected to various trials for the Christian faith during the persecution of the Arian Vandals, they were then put put in an old ship on the coast of Africa with the expectation that the ship would capsize and that they would drown, by Divine Providence they reached the shores of Campania, and separating, they were placed at the head of various churches, and thus greatly extended the Christian religion. St Priscus became bishop of Capua.
- + The MacCaiman or MacCaimene Brothers, Irish saints.
- + Saints Aegidius and Arcanus, they made a pilgrimage to Palestine where they collected relics which they brought back to Italy. Their hermitage was later converted into a Camaldolese monastery, which grew into Borgo San Sepulcro (modern Sansepolcro) in the Arezzo in Italy.
- + St Abdon, a Judge of Israel.
- + St Abesan or Abeson, one of the first Judges of Israel.
- + St Abigail, prophetess, 2nd wife of King St David of Israel, formerly the wife of Nabal.
- + St Aegidius, also called Giles, a corruption of his proper name, native of Roman Greece, hermit in Provence, in the province of Narbonne, wonderworker, abbot and confessor. those who attended his funeral heard choirs of angels singing and then fading away as they carried his soul to heaven.
- + St Agia, mother of St Lupus, bishop of Sens also celebrated today.
- + St Ambrosinianus, a bishop from southern Armenia who came to France at an unknown time. His relics are honored in the cathedral of Langres. He was the patron saint of the parish church in Fontaine-les-Dijon in France and was honored by St Aletha and Tescelin Sorrel, the parents of St Bernard of Clairvaux , and they consecrated a chapel in his honor in their chateau in Fontaine. He is still revered in this diocese and in the Cistercian order. His memorial day is September 1st.
- + St Ana or Anna, prophetess, with St Simon the Prophet, she welcome our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple of God at His Presentation.
- + St Anea, a child martyred by the pagan Roman Empire, his history is lost, his remains were found in the Catacombs of Rome, from where they were translated to the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Church of the Holy Cross in Como, Italy, in 1700.
- + St Columba of Brancastello, daughter of the count of Pagliara, Italy, and sister of St Bernard Valeara, bishop of Teramo, and of Saints Nicholas and Aegidius. As a teenager, Colomba retired to live as a hermitess in a mountain cave. Near the cave is an imprint in the rock that looks like a hand; tradition says it's where Colomba grabbed the stone to reach her home of solitude. After her death, her brother St Bernard built a chapel at her cave-hermitage.
- + St Constantius, bishop of Aquino, prophet and wonderworker.
- + St Cuimmen MacCuanna or MacCuanach, probably Abbot of Druim-Snechta, now Drumsnat, County of Monaghan, Ireland.
- + St Dryhthelm, also known as Drithelm or Drythelm, monk at the Abbey of Maelros, or Melrose Abbey in Scotland. See Appendix.
- + St Firminus, 3rd bishop of Amiens, died September 1, 390. A feast of the translation of his relics is celebrated January 2.
- + St Gideon, who was used by God to deliver the Israelites from Occupation by their enemies and oppressors, one of the first judges of Israel.
- + St Giles of Casaio, Cistercian monk and later, abbot of the monastery of St Martin of Castaneda, he later retired as a hermit. Died in the Lord, September 1, 1203.
- + St Joanna Soderini, Servite nun, died September 1, 1301.
- + St Josue, heretics call him "Joshua," he was the successor of Moses, and at God's command, led the Israelites into the Promised Land.
- + St Juliana of Collalto, foundress-abbess of a Benedictine convent on the island of Spinalonga or Giudecca off Venice, Italy, wonderworker, died September 1, 1262.
- + St Justinus, martyr. A lawyer, he taught at the University of Paris. He then became a Mercedarian secular knight in Valencia, Spain. Assigned to Granada, Spain where he worked to ransom Christians held prisoner by the Muslim Infidels, and encourage Christians who were about to renounce their faith in fear. Beaten and murdered by the Muslim Infidels, September 1, 1337.
- + St Laetus, deacon in the diocese of Dax, France, collaborator of St Vincent, 1st bishop of Dax.
- + St Louis Conciso, a Mercedarian, died September 1, 1372.
- + St Lupus or Leu, bishop of Sens in France, confessor, of whom it is related, that on a certain day, whilst he stood at the Holy Altar in presence of the clergy, a gem fell from Heaven into the consecrated chalice which he was using.
- + St Lythan of Llandaff in Cymru or "Wales."
- + St Neman, Bishop of Cill Bia in Ireland.
- + St Nivard, brother-in-law of King Childeric II of Austrasia, bishop of Rheims, died September 1, 673.
- + St Priscus, martyr at Capua on the Aquarian Road, he was one of the earliest disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- + St Regulus, martyr, cephalophore. He was exiled by the Arians from Africa to Piombino in Tuscany, and consumated his martyrdom under Totila. Regulus' reputation for holiness spread to the ears of Totila, king of the Ostrogoths, who sent envoys to contact him and to bring him to his court. The bishop declined the invitation, which caused Totila to feel insulted, and ordered him decapitated; Regulus picked up his own head, then dragged himself for about 300 meters. At the point where he would have stopped, he was buried and a church dedicated to him was built. His relics were later transferred to Lucca , where they are still preserved today in the cathedral of St Martin where he is the patron saint.
- + St Sceallan the Leper, of Armagh, County of Armagh, Ireland.
- + St Simon Ponce, Mercedarian friar assigned to the Muslim kingdom of Granada, he suffered abuse from the Muslim Infidels, but managed to free 137 Christians enslaved by Infidels. He died in the Lord, September 1, 1359.
- + St Terentianus, bishop of Todi in Umbria, martyr. Under the emperor Hadrianus, he was racked, and scourged with whips set with metal by order of the proconsul Laetianus, and finally, having his tongue cut out, he ended his martyrdom by undergoing capital punishment.
- + St Verena, virgin. A native of Roman Egypt, probably of the town of Garagos in the Thebaid, she came searching for her relative in the Thebean Legion, but when she found that he had been martyred at Agaunum now St Moritz, she passed through Agaunum to venerate them and then stopping in Solothurn, where she began to live with a man, remaining however a virgin and living the life of a hermitess, from there she went to Koblenz and then to Zurzach in the Aargau, where she founded a church and remained here until her death, September 1, 350. She lived by fulfilling the Christian ideal of virtues and love of neighbor, feeding the poor and caring for lepers.
- + St Vincent, 1st bishop of Dax.
- + St Victorius, bishop of Le Mans in France.
- + St Xystus, disciple of the Apostle St Peter, who was consecrated by him the first bishop of Rheims in Roman Gaul, now France, martyr under Nero.
COLLECTIVE OF MARTYRS
COLLECTIVE OF NON-MARTYR SAINTS OR ISO-MARTYRS
INDIVIDUAL SAINTS
APPENDIX: St Bede: The Purgatorial Experience of St Drithelm of Cuningham in Northumbria
Of one among the Northumbrians, who rose from the dead, and relate I the things which he had seen, some exciting terror and others delight.
At this time a memorable miracle, and like to those of former days, was wrought in Britain; for, to the end that the living might be saved from the death of the soul, a certain person, who had been some time dead, rose again to life, and related many remarkable things he had seen; some of which I have thought fit here briefly to take notice of.
There was a master of a family in that district of the Northumbrians which is called Cuningham, who led a religious life, as did also all that belonged to him. This man fell sick, and his distemper daily increasing, being brought to extremity, he died in the beginning of the night; but in the morning early, he suddenly came to life again, and sat up, upon which all those that sat about the body weeping, fled away in a great fright, only his wife, who loved him best, thought in a great consternation and trembling, remained with him. He, comforting her, said, “Fear not, for I am now truly risen from death, and permitted again to live among men; however, I am not to live hereafter as I was wont, but from henceforward after a very different manner.” Then rising immediately, he repaired to the oratory of the little town, and continuing in prayer till day, immediately divided all his substance into three parts; one whereof he gave to his wife, and other to his children, and the third, belonging to himself, he instantly distributed among the poor. Not long after, he repaired to the monastery of Melrose, which is almost enclosed by the winding of the river Tweed, and having been shaven, went into a private dwelling, which the abbat had provided, where he continued till the day of his death, in such extraordinary contrition of mind and body, that though his tongue had been silent, his life declared that he had seen many things either to be dreaded or coveted, which others knew nothing of.
Thus he related what he had seen. “He that led me had a shining countenance and a bright garment, and we went on silently, as I thought, towards the north-east. Walking on, we came to a vale of great breadth and depth, but of infinite length; on the left it appeared full of dreadful flames, the other side was no less horrid for violent hail and cold snow flying in all directions; both places were full of men’s souls, which seemed by turns to be tossed from one side to the other, as it were by a violent storm; for when the wretches could no longer endure the excess of heat, they leaped into the middle of the cutting cold; and finding no rest there, they leaped back again into the middle of the unquenchable flames. Now whereas an innumerable multitude of deformed spirits were thus alternately tormented far and near, as far as could be seen, without any intermission, I began to think that this perhaps might be hell, of whose intolerable flames I had often heard talk. My guide, who went before me, answered to my thought, saying, ‘Do not believe so, for this is not the hell you imagine.’
“When he had conducted me, much frightened with that horrid spectacle, by degrees, to the farther end, on a sudden I saw the place begin to grow dusk and filled with darkness. When I came into it, the darkness, by degrees, grew so thick, that I could see nothing besides it and the shape and garment of him that led me. As we went on through the shades of night, on a sudden there appeared before us frequent globes of black flames, rising as it were out of a great pit, and falling back again into the same. When I had been conducted thither, my leader suddenly vanished, and left me alone in the midst of darkness and this horrid vision, whilst those same globes of fire, without intermission, at one time flew up and at another fell back into the bottom of the abyss; and I observed that all the flames, as they ascended were full of human souls, which, like sparks flying up with smoke, were sometimes thrown on high, and again, when the vapour of the fire ceased, dropped down into the depth below. Moreover, an insufferable stench came forth with the vapours, and filled all those dark places.
“Having stood there a long time in much dread, not knowing what to do, which way to turn, or what end I might expect, on a sudden I heard behind me the noise of a most hideous and wretched lamentation, and at the same time a loud laughing, as of a rude multitude insulting captured enemies. When that noise, growing plainer, came up to me, I observed a gang of evil spirits dragging the howling and lamenting souls of men into the midst of the darkness, whilst they themselves laughed and rejoiced. Among those men, as I could discern, there was one shorn like a clergyman, a layman, and a woman. The evil spirits that dragged them went down into the midst of the burning pit; and as they went down deeper, I could no longer distinguish between the lamentation of the men and the laughing of the devils, yet I still had a confused sound in my ears. In the meantime, some of the dark spirits ascended from that flaming abyss, and running forward, beset me on all sides, and much perplexed me with their glaring eyes and the stinking fire which proceeded from their mouths and nostrils; and threatened to lay hold on me with burning tongs, which they had in their hands, yet they durst not touch me, though they frightened me. Being thus on all sides enclosed with enemies and darkness, and looking about on every side for assistance, there appeared behind me, on the way that I came, as it were, the brightness of a star shining amidst the darkness; which increased by degrees, and came rapidly towards me: when it drew near, all those evil spirits, that sought to carry me away with their tongs, dispersed and fled.
“He, whose approach put them to flight, was the same that led me before; who, then turning towards the right, began to lead me, as it were, towards the south-east, and having soon brought me out of the darkness, conducted me into an atmosphere of clear light. While he thus led me in open light, I saw a vast wall before us, the length and height of which, in every direction, seemed to be altogether boundless. I began to wonder why we went up to the wall, seeing no door, window, or path through it. When we came to the wall, we were presently, I know not by what means, on the top of it, and within it was a vast and delightful field, so full of fragrant flowers that the odour of its delightful sweetness immediately dispelled the stink of the dark furnace, which had pierced me through and through. So great was the light in this place, that is seemed to exceed the brightness of the day, or the sun in its meridian height. In this field were innumerable assemblies of men in white, and many companies seated together rejoicing. As he led me through the midst of those happy inhabitants, I began to think that this might, perhaps, be the kingdom of heaven, of which I had often heard so much. He answered to my thought, saying, ‘This is not the kingdom of heaven, as you imagine.’
“When we had passed those mansions of blessed souls and gone farther on, I discovered before me a much more beautiful light, and therein heard sweet voices of persons singing, and so wonderful a fragrancy proceeded from the place, that the other which I had before thought most delicious, then seemed to me but very indifferent; even as that extraordinary brightness of the flowery field, compared with this, appeared mean and inconsiderable. When I began to hope we should enter that delightful place, my guide, on a sudden stood still; and then turning back, led me back by the way we came.
“When we returned to those joyful mansions of the souls in white, he said to me, ‘Do you know what all these things are which you have seen?’ I answered, I did not; and then he replied, ‘That vale you saw so dreadful for consuming flames and cutting cold, is the place in which the souls of those are tried and punished, who, delaying to confess and amend their crimes, at length have recourse to repentance at the point of death, and so depart this life; but nevertheless because they, even at their death, confessed and repented, they shall all be received into the kingdom of heaven at the day of judgment; but many are relieved before the day of judgment, by the prayers, alms, and fasting, of the living, and more especially by masses. That fiery and stinking pit, which you saw, is the mouth of hell, into which whosoever falls shall never be delivered to all eternity. This flowery place, in which you see these most beautiful young people, so bright and merry, is that into which the souls of those are received who depart the body in good works, but who are not so perfect as to deserve to be immediately admitted into the kingdom of heaven; yet they shall all, at the day of judgment, see Christ, and partake of the joys of his kingdom; for whoever are perfect in thought, word and deed, as soon as they depart the body, immediately enter into the kingdom of heaven; in the neighbourhood whereof that place is, where you heard the sound of sweet singing, with the fragrant odour and bright light. As for you, who are now to return to your body, and live among men again, if you will endeavour nicely to examine your actions, and direct your speech and behaviour in righteousness and simplicity, you shall, after death, have a place or residence among these joyful troops of blessed souls; for when I left you for a while, it was to know how you were to be disposed of.’ When he had said this to me, I much abhorred returning to my body, being delighted with the sweetness and beauty of the place I beheld, and with the company of those I saw in it. However, I durst not ask him any questions; but in the meantime, on a sudden, I found myself alive among men.”
Now these and other things which this man of God saw, he would not relate to slothful persons and such as lived negligently; but only to those who, being terrified with the dread of torments, or delighted with the hopes of heavenly joys, would make use of his words to advance in piety. In the neighbourhood of his cell lived one Hemgils, a monk, eminent in the priesthood, which he honoured by his good works: he is still living, and leading a solitary life in Ireland, supporting his declining age with coarse bread and cold water. He often went to that man, and asking several questions, heard of him all the particulars of what he had seen when separated from his body; by whose relation we also came to the knowledge of those few particulars which we have briefly set down. He also related his visions to King Alfred, a man most learned in all respects, and was by him so willingly and attentively heard, that at his request he was admitted into the monastery above-mentioned, and received the monastic tonsure; and the said king, when he happened to be in those parts, very often went to hear him. At that time the religious and humble abbat and priest, Ethelwald, presided over the monastery, and now with worthy conduct possesses the episcopal see of the church of Lindisfarne.
He had a more private place of residence assigned him in that monastery, where he might apply himself to the service of his Creator in continual prayer. And as that place lay on the bank of the river, he was wont often to go into the same to do penance in his body, and many times to dip quite under the water, and to continue saying psalms or prayers in the same as long as he could endure it, standing still sometimes up to the middle, and sometimes to the neck in water; and when he went out from thence ashore, he never took off his cold and frozen garments till they grew warm and dry on his body. And when in the winter the half-broken pieces of ice were swimming about him, which he had himself broken, to make room to stand or dip himself in the river, those who beheld it would say, “It is wonderful, brother Drithelm, (for so he was called,) that you are able to endure such violent cold;” he simply answered, for he was a man of much simplicity and indifferent wit, “I have seen greater cold.” And when they said, “It is strange that you will endure such austerity;” he replied, “I have seen more austerity.” Thus he continued, through an indefatigable desire of heavenly bliss, to subdue his aged body with daily fasting, till the day of his being called away; and thus he forwarded the salvation of many by his words and example.
Source: Ecclesiastical History of England by St Bede the Venerable, edited by J A Giles; published in London by George Bell & Sons, 1903.Metamorphosis Ministry of Lúcío Mascarenhas. https://www.vaticaninexile.com.
