Afterwards, it happened as well that a certain brother from the
monastery came to visit Meinrad. Meinrad received him and the
companions who had come with him willingly, and he kindly furnished
all the things that befit guests, as much as was possible. When the
time for vespers had come, and the stars by their shining suggested
sleep, they renewed themselves with the sweet discourse of holy
things, and after compline went in to sleep, the visiting brother
in one place, his companions in others, and the venerable man in
his private chamber.
After he had refreshed his body with sleep for a little while,
the man of God arose and watched in vigil with his accustomed
prayers. The visiting brother, though resting in bed, passed the
whole night practically sleepless. While he cast his eyes curiously
here and there, he saw a child of wondrous beauty in white robes,
who seemed to him about seven years old, come out of the oratory.
And the child went in to the man of God, prayed with him, and spoke
of various matters with him.
Although the brother could hear the sound of the boy's
conversation, he nevertheless did not understand the sense of it.
And the child stood by the brother, who was fully awake, and warned
him of certain things, which the brother himself said he was
altogether forbidden to speak about openly.
For the sake of brevity, I omit many
wonders concerning Meinrad, which a full and
faithful account would set forth, and turn to how he gained the
palm of martyrdom.
After Meinrad had lived in
that lonely place for 26 years, serving the Lord in fasts and by
abstinence from all worldly things, it came about by the
inspiration of the one who entered the serpent and through its
mouth deceived our first parents and threw them out of paradise
that two men made their way to his cell in order to kill him.[9]
They came to the village on the shore of Lake Zurich, asked where
lay the path that led to his cell, and had it pointed out to
them.
And getting up in good time the next morning, they went up the
path shown them, driven by the terrible spirit with which they were
filled. For a long time, however, they strayed from the right path
leading to his cell. Greatly put out, they at length got to where
they wanted to go after the greater part of the day was spent.
Meinrad, keeping watch with his accustomed prayers, was devoutly
offering the solemnity of the Mass to the Creator.
Footnotes
