Page:HalfHoursWithTheSaints.djvu/74



" We  do  exhort  you,  that  you  receive  not  the  grace  of  God  in  vain." — 2 Corinthians  vi. 1.

[St. Aelred. — This great  saint  was  born  in  the  year  1169,  in  the north of  England. Descended from  a  noble  family,  and  having received an  excellent  education,  he  soon  obtained  a  valuable  appointment in  the  court  of  David  I.,  king  of  Scotland. The seeds  of  virtue having been  planted  within  him  by  a  pious  mother,  he  was  enabled  to battle  against  the  corruptions  of  the  world;  and  even  before  he  determined to  withdraw  himself  from  the  temptations, of  a  courtier's  life,  he ever  preserved  that  favourite  virtue  of  our  Saviour's,  namely,  humility. In addition  to  this,  he  possessed  an  unalterable  meekness,  which, according to  the  Gospel,  is  inseparable  from  humility.

In order  to  detach  himself  from  the  world,  he  quitted  Scotland  and went to  Rieval,  in  the  county  of  York. Here he  entered  the  Cistercian order, and  placed  himself  under  the  guidance  of  William,  a  disciple of the  glorious  St. Bernard.

In 1142,  he  was  elected  Abbot  of  Revesby,  in  the  county  of  Lincoln. He died  in  the  year  1166,  aged  57,  having  been  abbot  for  the  space of twenty- two  years. Benedict XIV.,  in  approving  of  the  martyrology of the  Cistercian  order,  calls  attention  to  the  learning,  innocence,  and humility of  St. AElred. The same  Pope  adds,  that  God  crowned  the virtues of  His  servant,  with  the  gifts  of  prophecy  and  miracles.]

St. AElred  describes  the  state  of  his  soul  before  he resolved  to  leave  the  world,  its  pomps,  and  vanities. In the Life  of  the  Saint  by  Godescard,  the  saint  says: —

Those who  looked  only  at  the  external  grandeur  which