(512-582) Saint Maurus is mentioned by Saint Gregory the Great as the first disciple of Saint Benedict of Nursia. As the first Benedictine oblate, he was entrusted to Benedict in the monastery at Subiaco, Italy, by his Roman senator father when Maurus was 12 years old. He was the model of Benedictine monks, according to Saint Gregory the Great. Maurus had a gift of miraculous healing, and one story details him walking on water to save a young oblate, the future Saint Placidus, from drowning.
Saint Maurus attributed the miracle of walking on water to obedience to Saint Benedict. He was just doing what the abbot instructed. Sometimes the command of a trusted fellow pilgrim helps us do what we could not do on our own. How well do you follow the suggestions of your sponsor?
“In the name of the most holy and undivided Trinity and supported by the merits of the most holy Father Benedict, I bid you to rise, stand upon your feet and be cured” (invocation by which Saint Maurus healed the sick).
Reflection by Brad Farmer