Million Book Collection - The Fishers of Men Ministries

66 ST. CUTHBERT AND
monastery, as the best preparation for death, which
he knew to be imminent. At Mailros1 and Lindis-
farne Cuthbert was a monk of striking holiness, and
a monk he would have remained had not the voice
of the people proclaimed his merits at the Synod of
Twyford, over which Archbishop Theodore presided.
As Abbot of Mailros Cuthbert had exercised a very
powerful influence over the neighbouring country.
The
r
ministry in the hands of a saint is a fruitful
source of miracles, and any one who has known the
difficulty of reclaiming even one hardened soul will
appreciate Bede's testimony to Cuthbert: "So
great indeed was his eloquence, such his fervour of
persuasion, so shining the light of his angelic
countenance, that no one present dared conceal from
him the hidden recesses of his heart. One and all
they made an open confession of their sins, because
they deemed that nothing could escape his know-
ledge, and they wiped away what they had confessed
with worthy fruits of penance, as he commanded
them."2 Between his missionary labours whilst at
Mailros and his consecration came his retirement at
Fame, where he spent many years, looking tip at
heaven, the only point he could see from the elevation
of his cell,3 the one abode of his desires. During
his episcopate the impression he made on others was
Also called Melrose. It was a Celtic foundation. Its site is
still known as Old Melrose. Les Moines d* Occident > iv. 56.
*
2 Hist. Eccles., lib. iv. cap. xxvi.
3 Ibid., lib. iv. cap. xxviii.