Nov 8 – V Sunday after Epiphany / Saint Godfrey of Amiens

It’s the V Sunday after Epiphany, 2nd Class, with the color of Green. In this episode: today in Church History: “Catholic Forces Triumph at White Mountain (1620)”, the meditation: “The Good Seed”, and today’s thought from the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Have feedback or questions about the DD or our other shows? podcast@sspx.org

Sources Used Today:

Please Support this Apostolate with 1-time or Monthly Donation >>

The bishop had gone to a monastery, hoping to spend the rest of his life in silence. Then the message arrived: he had to go back.

That reluctant shepherd was Saint Godfrey of Amiens, remembered in the Roman Martyrology on November eighth. His story includes something we don’t always picture when we think of saints: a good man who became deeply discouraged by the work God had given him.

Godfrey had grown up among Benedictine monks from about the age of five. Monastic life formed his habits, his prayer, and his understanding of responsibility. As abbot of Nogent, he took charge of a struggling community and helped it flourish.

Then, in 1104, he became Bishop of Amiens.

The city was caught in bitter struggles between powerful lords and townspeople seeking to defend their rights. Reforming the clergy brought further opposition. Godfrey had entered a world where correcting someone’s conduct could also mean challenging the powerful people protecting him.

Yet his gentleness toward the poor could be wonderfully practical.

An old account tells of people suffering from leprosy who came asking for food. Godfrey ordered a meal prepared, but hours later they were still waiting. So the bishop went into the kitchen himself, found a large salmon, hoisted it onto his shoulders, and carried it out to them.

His steward complained that this generosity would leave the bishop begging too. Godfrey’s answer was that people redeemed by Christ’s blood shouldn’t go hungry while their bishop enjoyed fine food.

It’s an unforgettable picture: episcopal charity arriving with a fish over its shoulder.

But kindness didn’t make the conflicts disappear. Worn down, Godfrey withdrew to the Grande Chartreuse, the Carthusian monastery in the mountains. He wanted solitude, prayer, and release from an office he believed he wasn’t worthy to hold.

Church authorities required him to return. He obeyed, though the accounts describe his tears.

Godfrey died only months afterward, in 1115, while staying at the Abbey of Saint-Crépin in Soissons.

His life offers a searching reminder about perseverance. Sometimes we imagine holiness will make our responsibilities feel natural, or at least make us confident that we’re doing them well. Godfrey’s story leaves room for exhaustion, disappointment, and the painful admission that we want to leave.

His final obedience was to return to the people entrusted to him.

Saint Godfrey, generous friend of the poor and shepherd in discouragement, pray for us.

– – – – – –

Explore more:

What is the SSPX Podcast?

The SSPX Podcast is produced by Angelus Press, which has as its mission the fortification of traditional Catholics so that they can defend the Faith, and reaching out to those who have not yet found Tradition.

What is the SSPX?

The main goal of the Society of Saint Pius X is to preserve the Catholic Faith in its fullness and purity, to teach its truths, and to diffuse its virtues, especially through the Roman Catholic priesthood.

Authentic spiritual life, the sacraments, and the traditional liturgy are its primary means of bringing this life of grace to souls.

Although the traditional Latin Mass is the most visible and public expression of the work of the Society, we are committed to defending Catholic Tradition in its entirety: all of Catholic doctrine and morals as the Church has always defended them. What people need is the Catholic Faith, without compromise, with all the truth and beauty which accompanies it.

https://sspx.org

SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST

Or just search “SSPX” in most podcast apps & programs.