November 8th - Saint Godfrey, Bishop of Amiens
(Also known as Geoffroy)
(ca. 1066-1115)
Saint Godfrey was born about 1066 at Molincourt in France of a
distinguished
Christian family. He arrived late in the lives of his parents, who had
begged
the prayers of the holy abbot of Mount Saint Quentin, desiring to have a
child
they could consecrate to God. Their prayers and those of the religious of
the
monastery of Mount Saint Quentin were answered in the same year. The child
was
baptized by the Abbot and later confided to him to be educated. Eventually
Godfrey's father entered a monastery of Our Lady which he had enriched by
his
alms; and his mother spent her declining years in various good works.
Godfrey was given the charge of taking care of the sick, and exercised it
with
such great charity that he was also named hospitaller, to receive the poor
at
the gate. For assistance in that second duty he had his older brother
Odon, who
after many years in the military career had come to join him in the
religious
life. His brother would later die a holy death in the same abbey of Mount
Saint
Quentin.
When Saint Godfrey was 25 years old his abbot told him to prepare for the
priesthood. He received the Sacrament of Holy Orders from the bishop of
Noyon,
in which diocese the abbey of Mount Saint Quentin is situated. Not long
afterwards, the abbey of Our Lady of Nogent, whose abbot was incapacitated
by
illness, voted to obtain Godfrey in that office, and the abbot of Mount
Saint
Quentin consented to the sacrifice of his dear spiritual son for that
purpose.
The pleas of the disciple based on his youth and inexperience were not
heeded,
and in 1095 he became Abbot of Nogent, where the buildings were crumbling
and
only six monks and two young novices remained. He renovated the edifices
and
built a hostelry for pilgrims and the sick poor; and in this hostelry he
himself
continued to labor on their behalf. Soon the monastery filled up with
vocations,
drawing even two illustrious abbots from elsewhere, who desired to serve
under
this master.
When a severe drought was devastating the fields and flocks of the region,
the
bishop of Soissons, Hugh de Pierrefonds, went to Godfrey to ask his
counsel; the
holy abbot prescribed a fast in the manner of Ninevah - even the animals
were to
participate. On the first day of the fast, when the abbot rose to preach
in the
vast Church of Saint Steven, before the assembled people, the sky suddenly
darkened, and so heavy a rain fell that the people were not a little
inconvenienced on returning home.
When the aged bishop of Amiens died soon afterwards, its residents chose
Godfrey
to be their bishop, and went to a legate of the Holy See to ask him to
intercede
with the abbot to obtain his consent. When this decision was related to
Godfrey
he would have fled, but the order of the legate prevented his flight.
Moreover,
he had already had a vision of Saint Firmin, first Bishop of Amiens and
martyr,
advising him of this forthcoming new responsibility. He therefore
submitted to
the clear designs of Providence. After Saint Godfrey obtained a beautiful
new
reliquary for the relics of Amiens' first bishop, the confidence of the
people
in their patron Saint, Saint Firmin, redoubled. A prayer to him by Saint
Godfrey, asking for sun****ne on the day of the translation of the relics,
was
the occasion; a fog so heavy one could scarcely see, lifted, and the sun
at once
shone brilliantly in the sanctuary.
As bishop he did not cease to take care of the poor and the sick. When
some
lepers came to him he commanded his cook to prepare food for them; four
hours
later nothing had yet been done, and he himself went to the kitchen and
found a
large, prepared salmon which he took to the famished lepers. The cook
remonstrated with him, and the Saint told him that it was injustice to
allow the
poor to die of hunger while unworthy bishops enjoyed food that was too
succulent.
When troubles occasioned by the contem****ary quarrel over investitures
devastated the city of Amiens, the holy bishop thought it well to resign
his
office and retire to the Grand Chartreuse, and did so. The archbishop of
Rheims,
however, could not approve such an action, and reproached the residents of
Amiens when they brought up the question of a successor. The affair was
referred
to a Council to be held at Soissons in January of 1115. A letter was sent
by the
Council to the religious of Saint Bruno, begging them not to retain the
bishop
of Amiens, but to send him back to his see; and Godfrey with tears
resigned
himself to obeying the orders of the king and the Council. His declining
years
were not exempt from sufferings; the city of Amiens was decimated by a
fire
which spared only the church of Saint Firmin, the episcopal palace and a
few
houses of the poor. The people had not listened to the exhortations of
their
bishop when their prevarications enkindled the wrath of God. He died on
November
8, 1115, in perfect serenity, having given his farewell blessing to the
religious of the monastery of Soissons, where he had been taken, after
falling
ill during a journey there. His tomb was illustrated by many miracles.
Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin
(Bloud et
Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13.
Quote:
What will we do, what will we become, I ask you, when in Heaven, through
the
Sacred Wound of His side, we perceive that most adorable and most lovable
Heart
of our Master, aflame with love for us - that Heart where we will see each
of
our names written in letters of love!
-St. Francis de Sales
Bible Quote
14 And there came to him the blind and the lame in the temple; and he
healed
them. 15 And the chief priests and scribes, seeing the wonderful things
that he
did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying: Hosanna to the son
of
David; were moved with indignation. (Matthew 21:14-15)
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Saint Anthony, Guide of Pilgrims
Dear St. Anthony, we are all pilgrims. We came from God and
we are going to Him. He who created us will welcome us at
journey's end. The Lord Jesus is preparing a place for all His
brothers and sisters. St. Anthony, Guide of Pilgrims, direct my
steps in the straight path. Protect me until I am safely home in
heaven. Help me in all my needs and difficulties.
(Name them.)
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