Saint Cuthbert

Cuthbert became an orphan when he was very young. He was a shepherd boy and did not have much money. He loved to play games with his friends and he was very good at sports. One day while he was playing with his friends, one of them asked him how he could waste his time playing games when he was supposed to be a priest and bishop. Cuthbert couldn’t understand why his friend would say that to him, it didn’t sound like something his friend would say and it made Cuthbert wonder if he really was being called to be a priest and bishop. Then when Cuthbert was 15 years old he had a vision of a black sky with a bright beam of light filled with angels carrying a ball of fire up past the sky. Cuthbert learned later that on this same night Bishop St. Aiden had gone to heaven, the ball of fire the angels were carrying was St. Aiden going up to heaven. Cuthbert didn’t know why God had given him this vision, but he decided that day to become a monk, and he entered the monastery of Melrose, which was started by Bishop St. Aiden. Cuthbert became a priest and then a Bishop, just like his playmate had told him so many years ago. He worked really hard to help his people and tell everyone about God and everyone loved him so much. God had given him the gifts of healing and prophecy (telling people what God's plans were for them) and he shared these gifts with the people of the Church.