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Life of St Wilfrid

Eddius Stephanus, tr. Colgrave, 1927

37. How a Woman Was Healed

And so, while our holy bishop waited patiently in the prison, he was manifested by the power of God, as John the Apostle and Evangelist was, when, being confined to the island of Patmos by Caesar, he saw the mighty works of God. For at that time, as we have said, when our holy bishop was in distress, the wife of the reeve of this town was suddenly overtaken by a palsy; all her limbs became nerveless, she was rigid, her body grew cold, her eyes closed, her mouth foamed, and she was just breathing from her breast the last breath of life in an unconscious condition. But her husband, as soon as he saw his wife on the point of death, quickly ran to our holy bishop, as the centurion ran to the Lord: he knelt before him and, bewailing his sins and acknowledging the king’s misdeeds against him, he adjured him, in the name of the Lord, to help him, unworthy as he was, and his dying wife. Then our holy bishop, being forgetful of his wrongs, like Joseph led forth from the prison, came to the wretched woman, and, standing over her, he sprinkled her face with holy water, imploring the help of God in prayer: then, drop by drop, he bedewed her face till it was wet with the holy water. Then she opened her mouth, drew in long breaths, unclosed her eyes, recovered consciousness and understanding, and shortly afterwards her limbs became warm; she raised her head and moved her tongue to speak, and thanked God. Like Peter’s wife’s mother, she ministered to our holy bishop in all honour; she is still living and is now a holy abbess named Aebbe, and is wont to tell this story with tears.