St. Giles of Nimes, born 650 ad in Athens, Greece, is the Patron Saint of Disabled Persons and Outcasts in our Roman Catholic Church. Legend has it, Giles was born of royal lineage. His father was King Theodore and his mother was Queen Pelagia. The feast day of our Saint is September 1st.. St. Giles had a burning desire in his heart to dedicate his life as a hermit. He settled deep in the forest near Nimes, a small village, in the south of France. For many years he dedicated his life to God alone in the stillness of his hermitage, with his sole companion being a deer. However, his dream of being a hermit was tragically interrupted. For one day, King Wamba, a Frank and Visigoth, was on a hunting expedition and came upon the beautiful deer St. Giles befriended. The deer fled in flight when the King came close and hid behind St. Giles for protection. In the King’s excitement, he haphazardly shot an arrow toward the escaping deer. The arrow tragically lodged in the arm of St. Giles and rendered his arm useless from that moment on. King Wamba became so sorrowful for his actions he humbly petitioned St. Giles to forgive him. The Saint, filled with the mercy of God in his heart, forgave the King. The king was so moved by the holy man, he turned his heart over to God. Realizing that St. Giles was permenantly disabled because of his actions, King Wamba had a monastery built for him which was closer to twon enabling St. Giles to not only follow the monastic way once again, but also to receive the medical assistance he now needed with his daily activities. St. Giles accepted his cross, and with the Sacraments, the Scriptures and the Rule of St. Benedict he lived out his life in union with Jesus our Lord. The holiness of St. Giles spread throughout the land and God worked many miracles through him. Have a most blessed week.
Love and prayers,
Bro. Mark
Hermits of St. Giles