SAINTS AUGUSTINE, LAURENCE, MELLITUS, JUSTUS, HONORIUS AND DEUSDEDIT OF CANTERBURY Our holy Father Augustine, who with

his spiritual father Pope Gregory the Great, is accorded the title of the Apostle of the English, was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome. According to one source, he may have come from Sicily. n the summer of the year !"# he was sent $y St. Gregory at the head of a party of forty mon%s from the same monastery to England, to convert the pagan Anglo&Sa'ons. (his had always $een a cherished dream of St. Gregory, who had himself set out for England once $ut had $een forced to return to Rome $ecause of his election to the Papacy. )aving arrived in Ai'&en&Provence, Augustine and his mon%s heard discouraging reports of the difficulty of the *ourney to England and the savagery of the islanders. Augustine was then sent $ac% to Rome to entreat St. Gregory to a$andon the pro*ect, while his mon%s remained at the famous monastery of +erins. )owever, Gregory raised Augustine to the ran% of a$$ot and sent him $ac% with strict orders to proceed to England, so the mon%s continued on their *ourney north. At the town of -e, some women created a riot against the mon%s, $ut when a supernatural light illumined the ground where the mon%s slept, the townsfol% changed their minds and said that they were gods. St. Augustine and his companions alighted in England at E$$sfleet, .ent, the stone which first received the imprint of their feet was preserved in St. Augustine/s monastery for centuries. (wo mon%s then went with their French interpreters to .ing Ethel$ert at -anter$ury. (he %ing, who had heard a$out the -hristian Faith from his -hristian wife 0ertha, gave the messengers a favoura$le hearing and ordered that St. Augustine/s party $e honoura$ly treated. A few days later, the %ing went to see the missionaries at Rich$orough. (he meeting too% place in the open air $ecause the %ing feared the influence of magicians inside. (he mon%s came to meet the %ing in a procession, chanting psalms and hymns and preceded $y a silver cross and an icon of the Saviour. Ethel$ert was not at first inclined to accept Augustine/s preaching, $ut he did not prevent him from preaching to others. 1oreover, he provided the missionaries with a house in -anter$ury and food at his own e'pense, and they were allowed to worship in the old Romano& 0ritish church of St. 1artin/s. Soon the holy life of the Roman mon%s $egan to $ear fruit. And the many miracles they performed $rought the %ing, too, to repentance and )oly 0aptism, which too% place on the Feast of

Pentecost, 2une 3, !"4. Five months later, on 5ovem$er 6#, !"4, Augustine was consecrated to the episcopate in France $y Arch$ishop 7irgilius of Arles and other French $ishops with the $lessing of Pope Gregory, although another source indicates that he was pro$a$ly consecrated $y $ishops in the ecclesiastical provinces of (rier and Rheims. (hen he returned to -anter$ury, where he was received with great *oy $y the %ing, who promptly gave him his palace as a monastery and archiepiscopal residence. (hat -hristmas more than 68,888 Englishmen received )oly 0aptism. On receiving the news, St. Gregory wrote to St. Eulogius, Patriarch of Ale'andria9 :Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of goodwill, $ecause a grain of wheat, falling into the earth, has died that it might not reign in heaven alone & even )e $y ;hose death we live, $y ;hose wea%ness we are made strong, through ;hose love we see% in 0ritain for $rethren whom we %now not, $y ;hose gift we find them whom without %nowing we sought.: Augustine now cleansed the pagan temple in which the %ing had cele$rated his idolatrous rites, and rededicated it in the name of the holy 1artyr Pancras. <uring the first +iturgy there, the $uilding was violently sha%en as if $y an earth=ua%e, as the devil struggled against his e'pulsion. (he ground ne't to the church $ecame the site of the 1onastery of Saints Peter and Paul. t was consecrated on -hristmas <ay, #8!, and from #66 it ac=uired stavropegial status as :the first&$orn and chief mother of monasteries in England:. From the time of St. <unstan, who dedicated it anew in the second half of the tenth century, it $ecame %nown as St. Augustine/s. n !"" Augustine sent messengers to Rome to see% the answers to certain =uestions from St. Gregory. (hese messengers were St. +aurence, later Augustine/s successor as arch$ishop, and St. Peter, first a$$ot of the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul. (hey came $ac% in #86 with the answers to the =uestions and several more missionaries, including Saints 1ellitus, 2ustus and Paulinus. )aving consolidated the position of the -hurch in .ent, Augustine set off to $ring the Gospel to other parts of England. )e was a very tall and strong man, and the miraculous signs that accompanied him were similarly great. (hus near >or% he healed a $eggar who had $een suffering from $lindness and paralysis, he $apti?ed vast num$ers of people in the River Swale in >or%shire, and on leaving >or% he healed a leper. From >or%shire Augustine headed for the $orders of ;ales, in order to meet the 0ritish $ishops whose fathers had fled to the ;est to escape the invasions of the pagan Anglo&Sa'ons. Augustine had $een given authority over the 0ritish $ishops $y St. Gregory, $ut the tas% of uniting with the 0ritish -hristians did not prove to $e easy.

(he first o$stacle was that the 0ritish, having suffered much from the Anglo&Sa'ons, were not willing to *oin with Augustine in trying to convert them to the Faith. (he second o$stacle was that as a result of their isolation from the -hurch on the continent, the 0ritish -hurch had slipped into practices which were at variance with the apostolic traditions. One of these was that they sometimes allowed Pascha to $e cele$rated on the 6@th day of 5isan, whereas the -ouncil of 5icaea had decreed that it should never $e cele$rated $efore the 6!th. Another was that they performed the sacrament of 0aptism in an irregular manner. Augustine stipulated three conditions for union9 that the 0ritish should correct these two canonical irregularities, and that they should cooperate with him in converting the Sa'ons. )owever, the 0ritish refused to accede on any of these points. At length, Augustine suggested that they pray to God to reveal )is will in the following manner9 :+et a sic% person $e $rought near, and $y whosoever/s prayers he will $e healed, let the faith and wor%s of that one $e *udged devout $efore God and an e'ample for men to follow.: (he 0ritish reluctantly agreed, and a $lind Sa'on was $rought $efore them. (he 0ritish clergy tried, $ut failed to heal him. 0ut through Augustine/s prayers he received recovery of his sight. (he 0ritish were impressed, $ut pleaded for time in which to discuss these =uestions with their elders $efore coming to a decision. Augustine travelled to his second meeting with the 0ritish accompanied $y Saints 1ellitus and 2ustus. (he 0ritish were represented $y seven $ishops and A$$ot <inoth of the great monastery of 0angor, which had over a thousand mon%s. 0efore the meeting they had approached a hermit and as%ed him how they should answer Augustine. )e said that if Augustine rose when they entered, this showed that he was hum$le and should $e o$eyed. f he did not rise, then they should not accede to him. (herefore when Augustine did not rise at their entrance, the 0ritish $ecame angry and refused $oth to accept his stipulations and to ac%nowledge him as their arch$ishop. As the meeting $ro%e up, St. Augustine prophesied that since the 0ritish had refused to cooperate in the conversion of the pagan English they would themselves $e put to sword $y the same English & a prophecy which was fulfilled a few years later when the pagan .ing Ethelfrid of 5orthum$ria defeated the 0ritish in $attle at -hester and %illed 6388 of the mon%s of 0angor. On his way $ac%, Augustine passed through <orset, where he was violently attac%ed $y the inha$itants. At one time they $eat him with fish tails, at another they sei?ed weapons and torches. As they

were *eering at him, he turned from preaching to prayer, and soon many of the pagans were afflicted with $urning ulcers over their whole $ody. (his had the effect of $ringing them to their senses, and in the end multitudes were $apti?ed. Augustine and his companions went on and came to a $arren spot, where the +ord revealed )imself to him. At the same time, a spring of water gushed up and converted the previous wilderness into a garden. Augustine called the place -ernel Anow -erne A$$asB, which is compounded of the )e$rew word :El: or :God:, and the +atin :-erno:, : see:. On his return to the East, Augustine $apti?ed .ing Se$ert of Esse' and consecrated St. 1ellitus as $ishop of Se$ert/s capital, +ondon. n the same year he consecrated St. 2ustus as $ishop of Rochester. (hen *ust $efore his death he consecrated St. +aurence as his successor at -anter$ury. (hese consecrations $y a single $ishop were $lessed $y St. Gregory as an e'ception to the apostolic rule that $ishops should $e consecrated $y no less than two $ishops, $ecause of the fact that there were no other canonical $ishops in 0ritain. St. Augustine reposed in the +ord on 1ay 3#, #8!, and was $uried ne't to the unfinished church of Saints Peter and Paul. )e was succeeded $y St. +aurence, who assumed the supervision of the English -hurch and wrote, with his fellow $ishops 1ellitus and 2ustus, to the -eltic -hristians in reland, e'horting them to unity. 0ut to no avail. 1oreover, after the death of .ing Ethel$ert in #6#, +aurence had to face a revival of idolatry in .ent under Ethel$ert/s son, Ead$ald. (o ma%e things worse, .ing Se$ert of Esse' also died, and his three sons, who were pagans, allowed the people to return to idolatry. Once, while St. 1ellitus was cele$rating the +iturgy, they came into the church and as%ed the $ishop9 :;hy do you not give to us that which $read which you used to give to our father Sa$a Afor so they used to call himB, and which you still continue to give to the people in the churchC: 1ellitus replied9 : f you will $e washed in the laver of salvation, in which your father was washed, you may also parta%e of the holy $read of which he partoo%, $ut if you despise the laver of salvation, you may not receive the $read of life.: (hey replied9 :;e will not enter into that laver, $ecause we do not %now that we stand in need of it, and yet we will eat of that $read.: Eventually, after a further refusal, they $ecame angry and forced 1ellitus to leave +ondon. )e then decided to go to France with St. 2ustus until the storm passed over.

St. +aurence was also a$out to flee with them. 0ut that night, the holy Apostle Peter appeared to him, and after scourging him for a long time said9 :;hy would you forsa%e the floc% which has $een committed to youC (o what shepherds will you commit -hrist/s sheep who are in the midst of wolvesC )ave you forgotten my e'ample, who for the sa%e of those little ones whom -hrist recommended to me in to%en of )is love, underwent at the hands of infidels and enemies of -hrist, $onds, stripes, imprisonment, afflictions, and lastly, the death of the cross, that might at last $e crowned with )imC: (he ne't morning, St. +aurence went to .ing Ead$ald and, ta%ing off his garment, showed him the scars of the stripes he had received from the Apostle. (he %ing was astonished and as%ed who had presumed to give such stripes to such a great man. On hearing the truth, he was terrified, a$andoned $oth his paganism and his unlawful marriage, and was $apti?ed. (hen +aurence went to France, and $rought 1ellitus and 2ustus $ac% with him. 2ustus was restored to his see at Rochester, $ut 1ellitus was not a$le to resume control of his see in +ondon $ecause of the strength of the pagan reaction. Goscelin relates of St. +aurence that he performed many miracles, he raised the dead, wal%ed on the sea, caused a fountain to spring up in a dry place, and after the manner of the Prophet Eli*ah $rought down fire from heaven to consume the impious. Once, after $uilding and consecrating a church in Scotland Aperhaps a men/s monasteryCB, he ordered that no woman should enter it. And when, in the late eleventh century, Dueen 1argaret of Scotland ventured to enter it, she was repulsed $y some invisi$le force. St. +aurence reposed on Fe$ruary 3, #6", and was $uried in the church of Saints Peter and Paul. )e was succeeded in the arch$ishopric $y St. 1ellitus. As we have seen, 1ellitus was $ishop of +ondon $efore he succeeded to the arch$ishopric. And it was he who, at .ing Se$ert/s re=uest, came to consecrate the first church at ;estminster on the isle of (horney, which is now the first church of the English capital, to God and the Apostle Peter. (he night $efore the consecration, according to the tradition related $y the 1on% Sulcard, while everyone was sleeping, the Apostle Peter appeared on the $an% of the (hames and motioned to a fisherman to row him over to the island. After alighting on the island, as the fisherman watched, the apostle created two streams $y stri%ing the ground with his staff, and then proceeded to the newly $uilt church to the accompaniment of the melodious voices of angels. (hen the astonished spectator saw the heavens opened and the whole island $athed in a heavenly light as heaven and earth *oined in magnificent service. 1uch as he wanted to depart, he was

una$le to, rooted as he was to the spot $y the apostle/s chains. And after the service Peter came $ac% to the trem$ling fisherman and said9 :<o not $e afraid $ecause of what you have seen and heard, for this is the will of God:. (hen he e'plained that he was the Apostle Peter, to whom this church was $eing dedicated, and that he should relate what he had seen and heard to St. 1ellitus. ;hen the $ishop would come he would see that the walls had already $een sealed with holy chrism, so he would not have to consecrate it. And the fisherman, whose name was Edric, was to present to 1ellitus one of a miraculous catch of fish which he would o$tain through the apostle/s prayers, as a witness to the truth of his words. Everything turned out as the apostle said. (he fishermen immediately cast his nets into the water of the river, and pulled in a huge catch of salmon. And St. 1ellitus, coming into the church the ne't day, found the signs of the heavenly consecration already on the walls. St. 1ellitus suffered greatly from gout, $ut this did not dampen his ?eal in the service of God. Once a great fire had already consumed a large part of -anter$ury, and no human means seemed a$le to stop it. (he $ishop then ordered that he $e carried to the church of the four martyrs, which was in the area where the fire raged most, and after his prayer, the wind suddenly changed from the south to the north, and the city was saved. St. 1ellitus reposed after five years as arch$ishop of -anter$ury, on April 3@, #3@. )e was succeeded $y St. 2ustus, $ishop of Rochester, who died in #34. And St. 2ustus was succeeded $y St. )onorius, another Roman mon% who had come to England in #86. )e promoted missionary wor% and struggled against $oth the calendar schism and the Pelagian heresy. St. )onorius reposed in a$out #!E, and eighteen months later was succeeded $y the first native English arch$ishop, St. <eusdedit, who came from Susse'. )e founded the monastery of Peter$orough in #!4 and a convent in (hanet. )e died from the plague on 2uly 6@, ##@, and was $uried, as were all his predecessors, in the church of Saints Peter and Paul in -anter$ury. n 4@4, at the -ouncil of -lovesho, the days of St. Augustine/s $irth and repose were declared to $e national feast&days. n 6866, when the <anes destroyed -anter$ury, a <ane sei?ed the pall from the tom$ of St. Augustine and hid it under his arm. )owever, the pall clung to his flesh as if it had $een glue, whereupon he went to the mon%s and repented. (he <anes made no further attac%s on the monastery. n 68"6, during re$uilding of the monastery, St. Augustine/s relics were uncovered and were found to $e incorrupt. And on Septem$er #, and a wee% later, on Septem$er 6E, the $odies of all si' of the first arch$ishops of -anter$ury, Saints Augustine,

+aurence, 1ellitus, 2ustus, )onorius and <eusdedit were translated into new tom$s to the accompaniment of many miracles. A translation feast was thereafter %ept at -anter$ury on Septem$er 6E. Augustine/s $iographer, Goscelin, writing towards the end of the eleventh century, records many miracles wrought through his intercession. )ere are some of them as presented in -ardinal 5ewman/s retelling of Goscelin/s account9& :A Sa'on, named +eodegarius, had $een afflicted from his $irth with dreadful contractions of the *oints of his $ody, so as almost to resem$le a monster rather than a human $eing. )e is said to have passed many years of his life in moving, or rather creeping, from place to place, for, in truth, he wore the appearance of a reptile. )e was a native of Germany, whence he had found his way to Rome, in hopes of $enefiting $y the prayers of some Saint. At length he came to England, and, one day, while watching during the night in the A$$ey of St. Peter, at ;estminster, he felt himself moved, $y a <ivine intimation, to see% help in the city of -anter$ury. :(he ne't morning found him on his way to the metropolitan city, which he is said to have reached $y ta%ing ship at Greenwich, where, it seems, vessels were stationed for conveying the poor at the pu$lic charge. On arriving at -anter$ury, a pious matron too% pity on him, and provided him with $oard and lodging for the night. (he ne't day, under her guidance, he repaired to the cathedral, and there, through the intervention of his charita$le hostess, was admitted within the sanctuary, or precincts of the high altar. n this place he spent three nights in prayer. On the fourth morning he met with the reward of his perseverance. (here appeared to him Aas he relatedB three venera$le figures, of patriarchal aspect and mien, $right as angels. (he central figure was much taller than the others. )is hair was white as snow, and seemed to ta%e the form of a cross upon his ample forehead, his eyes $eamed with sweetness, and his whole countenance was radiant and smiling. A priestly ro$e covered his person, so gorgeous that it seemed to rival the glory of Solomon, and it was confined at the waist $y a clasp of gold. n his hand was a cross of great si?e and da??ling $rilliancy. )is companion on the right was of middle stature, with eyes of remar%a$le $rightness, and a forehead li%e snow. On his left was one of dwarfish si?e, as if recorded of him who desired to receive -hrist into his house, $ut his form was one of perfect symmetry and e'=uisite $eauty. One and all were attired in vestments so rich and magnificent, that earth till then had never seen the li%e. (he three strangers were o$served to ma%e for the spot where the poor cripple, with his lim$s gathered up, was lying on the pavement. )is infirmity was of such a %ind as to render variety of posture impractica$le, standing, sitting, lying, and %neeling were all ali%e to him.

:On reaching him the strangers suddenly paused. (he poor helpless creature ga?ed on them with an awe which came near to terror. At length the central priest $ec%oned to his companion on the left, to signify to the cripple that they came as ministers of mercy. )e approached him and said, it was $lessed Augustine who had come to heal him. )ardly had the name of Augustine passed his lips when the other seemed to hear God spea%ing to him, and addressing himself to the chief visitor, / t is you,/ he said, /most clement father, whom see, you, of all the Saints, a <ivine voice has told it me, are to $e my deliverer./ (hereupon St. Augustine deputed his two companions to e'ercise the gift of healing, and they proceeded to lift him up, the one applying the hand of power to the upper part of his $ody, the other implanting strength in his %nees and an%le&$ones. (he cure is descri$ed as more painful than the malady. ;hile it was in progress Afor it was not instantaneousB the poor man, as we read, cried out lustily for mercy. At length his $ody, which had $een a mass of disease and deformity, assumed its natural shape, and the three wonderful $enefactors disappeared in the direction of their several tom$s. 1eanwhile, the sacristan and %eepers of the church, who had $een aroused from their sleep $y cries of distress proceeding from the sanctuary, had repaired to the spot, where to their astonishment they found the poor man, whose hapless condition they had commiserated the day $efore, in the full possession of health and activity. )e related to them the circumstances of his visit to -anter$ury, and learned that the three shrines from which they had appeared to issue, and among which his eyes had afterwards lost them, were those of St. Augustine and his two companions, St. +aurence and St. 1ellitus. (hese, then, were the strangers on right and left. :A great num$er of the miraculous narratives of which St. Augustine of -anter$ury is the su$*ect have their scene on the wide ocean... Among those a foremost place is given $y Goscelin to the wonderful preservation of .ing -anute from perils on the sea, on his return from his great pilgrimage to Rome Fin 68E6G. A terri$le storm is said to have overta%en him when he was *ust within sight of the English shore. )e $etoo% himself to St. Augustine, whose favour he had e'perienced throughout his travels, and vowed large gifts to his shrine. Soon after, the storm ceased, and the vessel got safe to shore. :A somewhat similar intervention was vouchsafed in the case of Egelvius, A$$ot of Ethelingey, who had also $een to Rome to pay his devotions at the tom$ of the Apostles. On his return home, he and his companions were detained si' full wee%s $y contrary winds, during which time their money was all e'pended in the purchase of necessaries, and they were o$liged to sell their horses and apparel. At length one of the party, a mon%, named ;ithgar, of age and

prudence, encouraged the A$$ot to loo% for help from the guardianship and intercessions of his island Saints, and $esought him to implore their good offices. (he A$$ot complied, and chiefly $etoo% himself to St. Augustine, who held a first place among the holy patrons of England, vowing that should he ever again $e granted a sight of his $eloved a$$ey, he would erect from the foundation a tower to the honour of God, under his tutelage. (hen falling asleep, there appeared to him a ship rapidly approaching him, in which was one of priestly dignity and heavenly $eauty, clad in shining vestments, who waved his hand to the home&sic% pilgrims as if inviting them to him. (hen the A$$ot awo%e, and while he was relating the vision to his companion, the pilot rushed in full of *oy, with the tidings that a favoura$le $ree?e had sprung up, and that no time was to $e lost. (he ship reached England in safety. (he A$$ot, upon his arrival, repaired to -anter$ury, where the hospita$le successor of our Saint received him with open arms, and li%e a worthy steward of the $ounty of such a father, set himself to ma%e good the losses of his guest. :(he good A$$ot was faithful to his vow, and laid the foundation of his tower. )e o$tained, not without difficulty, si' great $eams, the seventh, long refused, was at last given for love of the Saint. ;hen they came to measure it, it was found half a yard too short, and the A$$ot, not without hope that the Saint might once more grant him his aid, measured it again, and found it now as much too long as it had $een $efore too short. )is wor%man was a$out to ma%e it the right length, $ut this the A$$ot would $y no means allow, as esteeming it a disrespect to the Saint/s overflowing $ounty... :Elfnoth, a mem$er of one of the principal families of +ondon, had $een $rought up from his childhood in St. Augustine/s under the care of A$$ot Hlfric. )e had $een staying in 5ormandy with <u%e ;illiam, and was on his return to England, when, midway across the -hannel, a storm arose. (he ship was wrec%ed, and all perished, with the single e'ception of the young Elfnoth, who ceased not to call on his holy father for help, when, at length descrying a $ro%en mast in the water, he threw himself upon it and there remained, the sport of the waves. )is faith was tried for two whole days and nights, the third morning dawned in serenity, and he was rescued from death $y a friendly vessel from the 5orman coast. :Goscelin also spea%s of certain mon%s of St. Augustine/s, contemporaries of his own, and alive when he wrote, who had made the following statement upon their oaths. On a certain year, a$out Pentecost, they were on their way from -onstantinople to 7enice, and had on $oard 6!8 men, many of them learned clergy and laymen, $esides a num$er of others. (he wind rose, and $ecame so strong as to endanger a vessel thus heavily laden. (hey too% in their

sails, and, availing themselves of the first anchorage they found, remained for several days e'posed to the violent $eating of the waves. t so happened, in the year in =uestion, that the festival of St. Augustine F1ay 3#G fell during ;hitsuntide, and various were the feelings under which the holy $rethren loo%ed forward to its near approach at so trying and an'ious a time. On the one hand, it was a grief to them that they must cele$rate it to such disadvantage, on the other, they could not $ut esteem it providential that a season so full of promise should $efall at such a moment. t happened that on $oard were several Gree%s as well as talians, and it was a great delight to the holy $rethren to spend the mean season in recounting to them the history of the Saint whose day was coming on. (hey told how the illustrious Gregory, Augustine/s spiritual father, had $een connected with those very parts, having lived for some time at -onstantinople..., and how, out of his great charity to the English nation, he had sent this Augustine to preach -hrist among them. ;ith such delightful converse did they $eguile the weary time, and at length the whole party on $oard were wrought into a %ind of enthusiasm at the prospect of honouring God in Augustine, spiritual child of Gregory, and apostle of the English nation. (hey added, that among all the Saints of their own country, there was not one so powerful in his intercession, so large in his munificence, as $lessed Augustine, neither did they dou$t that, should the crew *oin in commemorating him with a holy unanimity, some mighty deliverance might $e e'pected to follow. (he ne't Sunday was the day of his festival, and whatever outward accompaniments of ceremonial splendour there lac%ed, were more than supplied $y the overflowing *oy of the heart. (he 7espers of the Saint were chanted $y the numerous $ody of priests and clerics, all the crew assisting at the service, and then the night was spent in watching, with prayer and praise. n the glowing words of the $iographer9 /(he ship was our church, its mast the watch&tower of Sion, the sail&yard our cross, the sails our drapery, the prow our altar, the priest $oatswain, the arch&priest pilot, the rowers clerics, the crea%ing ca$les our instruments of music, the whistlings of the wind our $ellows and pipes. Around us were the spacious courts of ocean, and the countless multitude of the waves responded to the voice of the chanters $y their incessant dashings. (he church of the waters resounded with the note, :O ye seas and floods, $less ye the +ord, $less )im O ye whales and all that move in the waters,: and the waters *oined in the response with the =uires a$ove, all sang of -hrist in high solemnity, and of Augustine, the servant of -hrist./ :+auds were chanted towards day$rea%, and then all retired to rest e'cept the helmsman. )e remained o$serving the stars, and trying the wind. On a sudden it came home to him that St. Augustine/s agency had $een $lessed. (he violent wind su$sided into the softest of $ree?es, and that a favoura$le one. )e $lew his whistle and shouted aloud, and for a moment the sleepers dou$ted

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whether all were not over. 0ut a moment after they were greeted with the *oyful words, /Hp, comrades9 God is with us,/ and the pilot continued, / t is St. Augustine, whose Feast we are %eeping, he is helmsman, $oatswain, master, and all./ All were speedily on the alert, and 1ass was sung in high *u$ilee. :Goscelin relates many other histories of the same description. One more only shall $e selected. n the village of -hilham, nor far from -anter$ury, was a little girl, eight years of age, the hope and comfort of a widowed mother. She was the life and spirit of her home, $ut some sad chance $efell her, $y which she lost the power of speech. )er mother, instead of having recourse to a human physician, too% her to the parish priest, $y name Elfhelm, who addressed her as follows9& /(he Feast of St. Augustine is at hand, go then and prepare a wa'en taper, and with it watch out the vigil of that day whereon the <ay&spring from on high first visited us, and let your child $e the companion of your prayers. f you will $ut persevere in faith, we verily $elieve that, through God/s goodness, you will not $e disappointed./ (he devout matron, armed with faith, and as at the $idding of an angel, is ready with the light on the appointed day, and repairs with her child to the shrine of her heavenly physician, where $oth %eep vigil in prayer... (he mother prays and utters her plaints aloud, the daughter can $ut sigh and vent her devotion and her grief in low inarticulate sounds, $ut the ears of the Saint are open to $oth. 5ow swell on high, at the close of matins, the solemn words of the hymn to the (hrice&)oly, the A$$ot intoning the first notes, and his children of the monastery ta%ing up the strain in chorus. ;hen they come to the words, /(he )oly -hurch throughout all the world doth ac%nowledge (hee/, the tongue of the damsel was suddenly loosened, and she was a$le to $ear her part in the chorus of the Hniversal -hurch.: n modern times, St. Augustine is $elieved to have interceded to save the 0ritish army during the evacuation from <un%ir% in 6"@8. (he operation $egan on 1ay 3#, 6"@8, which is the feast of St. Augustine according to the Anglican church calendar, and .ing George 7 as%ed that that day $e declared a 5ational <ay of Prayer, calling on the people of 0ritain and the Empire :to commit their cause to God:. n the opinion of many, the successful evacuation of the 0ritish army from <un%ir% was nothing short of a miracle, for which God and God/s apostle to England, St. Augustine, must undou$tedly $e given glory. ASources9 (he 7enera$le 0ede, A History of the English Church and People, St. Gregory the Great, Epistles, Goscelin, Historia Translationis S. Augustini, $oo%s and , 1on% Sulcard, Libellus de Fundatione Abbatiae Westmonasteriensis, P.G. -+7, 6#E#&6#EI, 2ohn )enry 5ewman, Li es of the English Saints, +ondon9 Freemantle, 6"86, volume E, <avid Farmer, The !"ford #ictionary

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of Saints, Fr. Andrew Phillips, :A -anter$ury (ale9 (he 1iracle at <un%ir%:, in !rthodo" Christianity and the English Tradition , Frithgarth9 English Orthodo' (rust, 6""!, pp. @#E&@##, 5icholas 0roo%s, The Early History of the Church of Canterbury$ +ondon and 5ew >or%9 +eicester Hniversity Press, 6""#B

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