November 9
Patron Invoked For or Against Worms
BENEN, THE SON OF an Irish chieftain, was a mere child when he fell in love with the visiting Saint Patrick. He sprinkled flowers on Patrick while the Saint was sleeping, and clung to his feet when he tried to leave. Relenting, Patrick took Benen from his family, explaining that "the child will inherit my kingdom," which he did, captivating everyone with his gentle disposition and his lilting voice. Patrick wrote a hymn----"The Deer's Cry"----about how he and his disciples once escaped being ambushed by Druids; they transformed themselves into deer, and Benen into a faw. Benen succeeded Patrick as bishop of Armagh, and in time went to join his mentor in retirement as a hermit. Before his death, Patrick instructed Benen to build a cell wherever his staff burst into leaves. The staff blossomed in the middle of a swamp, and a spring gushed forth. It was there that Benen stayed until his death. At his tomb, people miraculously vomit the intestinal worms that have been plaguing them.
-----------excerpted from Saints Preserve Us by...
