Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Reading Notes: Saints and Animals, Part A

This story is about the Wonders of Saint Berach, from Abbie Farwell Brown’s collection. Apparently Saint Berach was a member of a parish in Ireland, and one of his duties was to watch the cows. This is what the story is based on.

Reading Notes
  • Ireland was apparently a wild country at the time (this was like 600 AD)
  • Berach liked to tend to the cows, and was especially fond of a cow called Bel, who had a calf.
  • One day, as he was watching them from the window of his cell, he saw a wolf approaching Bel and her calf, who had strayed from the herd.
  • Berach ran to the field, but he was too late; the wolf had killed and eaten the calf.
  • Berach was angry at first, because he hated to see how distressed Bel was at the death of her calf.
  • However, Berach thought about it, and realized that the wolf was probably hungry and didn’t know any better since he hadn’t been raised properly.
  • Berach was pretty good with animals, and he called out to the wolf in a stern voice to come to him.
  • Sure enough, the wolf did, and Berach spoke kindly to the wolf as the wolf crouched at his feet.
  • He also went to Bel and took her over to the wolf, talking calmly so they wouldn’t freak out.
  • He told the cow that the wolf would be her son now, and she was to treat him as she did her calf; he told the wolf that the cow would be his mother, and he was to listen to her and follow her wisdom.
  • The cow and wolf lived together after that, and the wolf protected both Bel and the rest of the herd from other predators. 
  • After this, in the winter, a child who was schooled at the monastery became ill, and begged for apples and other juicy things.
  • The Abbott trusted that Berach would be able to find something. 
  • Berach prayed in his room, then went to the field and found a tree; when he pronounced a blessing, the snow melted from the tree and apples grew and fell from it.
  • Berach took the apples back to the monastery, and the child grew well after eating them.

A glass image of St. Berach (Source)

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