Saint Giles
Abbot
(640-720)
Saint Veredemus
teaching Saint Giles
Saint
Giles, whose name has been held in great veneration for many centuries
in France and England, was born in the year 640 in Athens, and was of
noble extraction. Certain remarkable works of medicine and poetry are
attributed to him, but his knowledge was primarily that of the Saints.
When
as a young man he met a poor beggar who was sick and half-naked, he was
moved with compassion and gave him his splendid tunic; the moment the
beggar put it on, he found himself in perfect health. By this miracle,
Giles understood how pleasing almsgiving is to God, and shortly
afterwards, he distributed all his goods to the poor and entered upon a
life of poverty, suffering and humility. But Jesus Christ did not let
Himself be outdone in generosity, and soon miracles multiplied so
greatly in his wake, that the admiration of the world surrounded him. It
became impossible for him to profit in his own country from obscurity
and retirement, which he desired above all else. He therefore went to
France and chose for his hermitage the open spaces of the south, near
the mouth of the Rhone.
Soon
he was known there, too, by the miracles his kindness brought down from
heaven. He moved again, and this time Providence brought him near Saint
Veredemus, a hermit of Greek origin like himself; then the two rejoiced
in a common life of the love of God. For two years they remained
together, until the invasion of their solitude caused Giles to migrate
to a deep forest of southeastern France, in the diocese of Nimes.
He
passed many years in this intense solitude, living on wild herbs or
roots and clear water, and conversing only with God. He was nourished
there by a doe of the forest. One day, being pursued by Visigoths
hunting in the forests, she fled for refuge to the Saint and lay down at
his feet. Moved to tears, he prayed God to spare the life of the
innocent animal. An arrow the hunters had sent in her direction came and
lodged in his hand, making a wound which would never heal. When the
hunters found the animal there and saw the bleeding wound of the gentle
hermit, they begged his pardon on their knees, and the chase was ended.
The Visigoth king, hearing of this, came to visit this holy hermit,
accompanied by the bishop, who afterwards ordained Giles a priest.
The
reputation of the sanctity of Saint Giles increased constantly by his
many miracles, which rendered his name famous throughout France. He was
highly esteemed by the pious king, but could not be prevailed upon to
leave his solitude. He accepted several disciples, however, and
established excellent discipline in the monastery which the king built
for them. Destroyed during the invasions of the Moslems who had entered
Spain, it was rebuilt during the lifetime of the founder and his
disciples, when they returned after the torment. In succeeding ages, it
became a flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order, which bore his
name.
