Hi, it’s Lize. Today, I continue the life of Saint Samson of Dol.
Last time, I stopped after the episode of the healing of the monk bitten by a viper. I forgot to point out to you that this first miracle is significant in the life of Samson since even today, he is often represented with a viper at his feet. Which is more discreet than Malo’s whale :)! As he could not resist boasting to Illtud when returning from the fields, the latter sent him to pray in the church.
After seven days of revolt against this injustice, without eating and almost without sleeping, Samson understood… let’s say he calmed down. Because, as we will see later, he had not completely lost his pride ! After that, the trust he felt towards his master had grown and Illtud paid him even more attention than before. His fellow students did not show jealousy, apart from two nephews of Illtud who began to worry about the sincere friendship which was displayed between the master and his disciple. Their discontent deepened when the bishop of Caër Léon, Dubric, came to spend a few days at the monastery and, on the abbot’s suggestion, ordained Samson deacon with two postulants to the priesthood. Now, at the moment when the three monks were kneeling before the altar, everyone in attendance saw a dove fluttering into the church and coming to land on Samson’s shoulder.
It remained there until he received Holy Communion. Everyone saw the presence of the Holy Spirit there. It was too much for the envious ! They couldn’t stand the adulation he received.
But the more the praises accumulated, the more mortifications Samson imposed on himself. He only
ate every other day, never used a bed again : he slept on the floor, leaning against a wall. It was said that he was on the path to perfection.
The two nephews feared that Illtud would make him his successor at the head of the monastery. This
was not his wish : he only wanted to devote himself to the relationship with God, in silence, prayer, contemplation. The nephews were nevertheless worried. They considered that the office of abbot of the monastery, the management of the properties and their income were due to them upon the death of their uncle. One was a priest, the other an apothecary-herbalist. Their hopes were based on a fairly “nepotistic” habit of the time within the Church : the transmission of responsibilities to family members and loved ones. Which Samson later practiced extensively, as we will see. But I dwell on details.
The nephews decided to get rid of him. The herbalist concocted a herbal tea which he dedicated to him. Unlike those intended for other monks to treat various ailments, one of which, called monks’ pepper, was almost imposed for its anaphrodisiac virtues, the one he brought to him was to definitively calm all ardor. He had tested it on the cat by pouring a few drops of the potion into its milk ; the poor animal, after a sudden jump, died instantly. As he approached, Samson, entering into his mind, divined his intention. He let him place the bowl in front of him, and as was his custom before ingesting any food or drink, Samson made the sign of the cross above it. At the same time, don’t repeat, he internally uttered a formula which annihilated the effects of the poison, and incidentally its nauseating odor. Aloud, he pronounced the holy words of the Gospel «if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them », Mark, 16, 18. Then, calmly, he drank the contents to the last drop. With an air of gratitude, he said to the apothecary : “Delicious !” I thank you, my brother, may God, in return, deliver you from the evil that is gnawing at you. » Faced with this miracle, the wicked repented. But his brother, the priest, remained inflexible and envious.
“Okay, we have to end this !” » thought Samson. The following Sunday, he said mass, the bad priest assisted him and the moment Samson handed him the chalice… “the devil took hold of him ! » He began to utter horrors, to emit dishonorable farts, he rolled on the ground, soiled himself in his filthy excrement, bit himself and tore his lips with his teeth… Samson approached him, made the sign of the cross and sprinkled holy water on him. The other calmed down and publicly confessed his crime. Samson pardoned him and his brother and they became his most faithful servants.
Two years later, Bishop Dubric ordained him to the priesthood. The dove reappeared.
After his ordination, he felt invested with a mission of purity which disturbed the other monks. His austere attitude came into conflict with their disturbances : he was soon accused of being a lecturer through his fasts and his sobriety. He didn’t mind a few glasses of wine, but their noisy drinking sessions really wore him out.
His hagiographers praise his chastity “as much with regard to the male sex as to that of the
female sex”. This was disturbing too !… He was too thirsty for rigor. Illtud was getting older, he was no longer able to maintain strict rules in the monastery. Or maybe Samson was too demanding ? He felt he had to leave Llanilltud for somewhere more in line with his aspirations. However, he was afraid of hurting his master. He conveniently received a visit from an angel during his sleep who invited him to let him go because it was the will of God. Someone very good, this angel ! Samson had spent twenty years with Illtud.
He kissed his hand, and an image came back to him : that of the same hand that had held his
and led him to the refectory when he was five years old, after his parents had left. Now he was the one holding her shoulder to help her walk. His master, his dear master.
He left. After a few days of walking, he set sail for Ynys Pyr, the island of Caldey.
Abbot Pyron’s monastery was located on this small island far from the hectic life, which corresponded to Samson’s wishes. Pyron showed him his cell and Samson threw himself wholeheartedly into prayer and manual activities. In the evening, he took a small lamp and spent much of the night studying and meditating on the Holy Scriptures.
Until the day a messenger arrived on the island to inform him that his father, Amon, was calling him because he was close to dying and wanted to speak to him. Samson stubbornly refused to leave his retirement. He invoked the Gospels to his aid : “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven….”, Matthew, 23 :9. But this time it didn’t work.
Abbot Pyron was indignant, he ordered him to go there immediately, “For God said : Honor your father and your mother ; » Matthew 15 :4 ! Accompanied by a young deacon, he harnessed a horse and a carriage, and they set off. As they walked praying through a huge forest, they heard a sinister voice to their right. In terror, the deacon let go of the horse, dropped his coat and ran ahead of him. Samson shouted at him to have confidence in his faith, he tried to hold him back, the deacon continued to flee.
Then appeared in the air a shaggy old woman, with white hair, dressed in a cape and holding a three-pronged spear in her hand. A theomach ! An enemy of God. She flew over the forest and chased the deacon. Samson took the reins in his hand, placed the fugitive’s coat on the horse, and set off into the race ! He quickly found the fugitive half-dead and, in the distance, he spotted the Theomach running ; he shouted : “Why are you running away, woman ? You see, I am a man, like the one you just defeated ; if you cast the same fate on me, here I am ; don’t run away, I’ll join you. » But she felt that he was not afraid and that he mastered magic stronger than hers, she tried to flee. He toughened his tone : “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ not to move a step until I am near you. » When he reached her, her whole body was trembling and she dropped her spear. He was very angry : “Who are you, evil creature ? » And she : “I am a theomach and I live alone in this forest. I have eight sisters and my mother is still living, they live in a more distant forest. I can’t join them because I was given to a husband in this country but my husband is dead and I can’t leave this forest. » Samson thought : «What is this madness ? » He gave her a chance : “Are you able to bring back to life the monk you hit ?” » But she replied : “I can’t, I only know how to do evil !” » No, frankly, she was too stupid ! She could have pretended ! Then he had enough, he said : “I beseech Almighty God that you cease from doing evil and, as you know nothing else, that you die this instant.” » She made a sudden jump to the left side, she collapsed, she was dead. This did not trouble Samson, the telemach was a demon, a giant descended from the fallen angels before the flood, not a human being.
He returned to the deacon who was no longer breathing. Then, following the example of Elisha, II Kings,
4, 34, he put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, his hands on his hands, he lay on him and implored God . The deacon’s body grew warm, he sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes. He was saved. When he was able, they set off again and after three days of walking, they arrived at Amon and Anna’s house. Amon was in his bed, sick. When he saw Samson, he cried out : “Here is he who will save my body and my soul !” » He asked everyone present to leave, except Anna, the deacon and Samson. And he publicly confessed the mortal sin he had never revealed.
We are not told what this sin was, but it must have been serious enough to justify Amon’s penance : inspired by the sweet words of his wife, he pledged to serve God until the end of his life, he had his head shorn, he donated all his possessions, apart from a small part to ensure the daily life of the family and he involved his children in his commitment ; he brought Samson’s five brothers to be dedicated to God ; but their little sister, a very little girl, Samson refused to dedicate to God, because he saw that she would be a lost girl. However, she could be fed since, as a girl, she was nevertheless a human being. For women, salvation was reserved for virgins and widows.
And right away, Anna received the status of widow and she showed such joy about it that I wouldn’t have liked it if I had been her husband ! In the general jubilation, Umbrafel, Amon’s brother, and Afrella, Anna’s sister, were also converted. The four men, Amon, Umbrafel, the deacon and Samson, set out to reach the monastery of Pyron, while the women went to a convent. I’m not sure I would have liked to live in Late Antiquity… In the first video, I promised you a dragon story, here it is. Suddenly, as they were walking, Amon noticed traces of burnt grass on the roadside. Right away he knew it was a dragon. Samson told the three men to have faith in God and to wait for him, it wouldn’t be long. He followed the burned trail, and saw in the distance the dragon with the flaming crest.
As he advanced, he sang a psalm, the dragon heard him and emitted a hiss of fury.
Which didn’t stop Samson ; he had expected some discontent from the monster. It tore up a clod of earth and threw it in his face. This is what is written in the Vita. You’d expect better from a terrifying dragon. Samson continued to advance, sure of divine protection, then, furious, the horrible serpent uttered a terrible cry as if mortally wounded, he rolled into a ball, and began to gnaw his tail with his furious teeth ! Symbolism aside, this is a bit of a pitiful reaction ! Samson joins him and hammers out Psalm 135 : “Give thanks to the God of gods, his love is eternal…” Hey, there are suddenly several gods ? In any case, the snake is paralyzed by this song, the monk takes the opportunity to draw a magic circle around it, a good sign of the cross there, and he forbids it to leave the circle. Stunned by his self-confidence, the beast obeys. Samson calls his companions so that they can see the strength of divine power : the serpent is unable to escape the circle, not even its head.
But the night was approaching, Samson said to the dragon : “We still have a long way to go before arriving at
Ynys-Pyr, so let us be brief : I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to die immediately. » The poor defeated animal stood up on its tail, raised its head into the sky, its body described a great arc, it vomited all its venom and it fell to the ground… dead.
The four men thanked God and on the third day of walking the group reached the pier for Ynys-Pyr. Father Pyron rejoiced at their return and welcomed Amon and Umbrafel with pleasure. Bishop Dubric was also there to spend the time of Easter Lent. The deacon told him the story of their adventures… and… that is what I’ll tell you in the next video.
So, see you soon and kenavo !
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