Aidan was a seventh-century Irish monk. He lived at
the great monastery of Iona, which St. Columban had
founded. St. Oswald became king of North England in 634.
He asked for missionaries to preach to his pagan people.
The first missionary to go soon came back complaining that
the English were rude, stubborn and wild. The monks got
together to talk about the situation. "It seems to me," St.
Aidan said to the returned monk, "that you have been too
harsh with those people." He then explained that, as St.
Paul says, first easy teachings are to be given. Then when
the people have grown stronger on the Word of God, they
can start to do the more perfect things of God's Holy Law.
When the monks heard such wise words, they turned to
Aidan. "You should be the one to go to North England to
preach the Gospel," they said. Aidan went willingly. He took
on his new assignment with humility and a spirit of prayer.
He began by preaching. King St. Oswald himself translated
Aidan's sermons into English until the saint learned the
language better. St. Aidan traveled all over, always on foot.
He preached and helped the people. He did much good
and was greatly loved by the people. After thirty years of
St. Aidan's ministry, any monk or priest who came into the
village was greeted with great joy by all the villagers.
On the island of Lindisfarne, St. Aidan built a large
monastery. So many saints were to come from there that
Lindisfarne became known as the Holy Island. Little by
little, the influence of these zealous missionaries changed
North England into a civilized, Christian land. St. Aidan
died
in
651.
We can learn from St. Aidan's life that the witness of a
joyful, kind person is a powerful influence on others. When
we need help seeing the good in people, we can whisper a
prayer to St. Aidan.
Let us pray today for all those who labor far from their
homelands to spread the Gospel