 Today is an exciting day for us here at the River! It is the feast day
of our patron saint- St Balatro! Everyone at the River knows the story
behind our blessed saint, but I thought it would make a good blog entry
to recount the tale for others.
Balatro was born in 396AD in
what is today Italy, in the village of Fassor. His childhood years
were unremarkable, but it was when he turned 13 that wonderful things
occurred. Balatro's father had been a wood worker, but died when the
saint was very young. At age 13, his mother secured for him an
apprenticeship with a metal worker in a neighbouring village. He would
walk the 3 miles each morning to his work, and return again each
night. He was a hard working lad, who quickly took to the art of metal
shaping.
One day, when Balatro was about 16, an Abbott from a
local monastery asked the metal master to make a great bell for the
priory. The specifications were difficult however. The bell needed to
be loud enough to call the friars in from work in the fields, but also
could not be so loud as to disturb the birds who lived in the tower. A
tough assignment!
The master worked on the problem for weeks.
Eventually, he made three bells for the Abbott. A small round bell, a
medium square bell, and large traditional bell. Surely one of them
would work!
On the day the master and Balatro delivered the
bells to the monks, the sun shone bright and the sky was clear. The
round bell was hoisted up into the tower, and rung. The birds were not
disturbed, but the brothers in the fields could not hear it. The large
bell was then hefted up into the tower and was struck. The brothers
had no trouble hearing the bell, but the birds scattered everywhere!
So, with much effort, the third, square bell was lifted up into the
tower. As Balatro pulled the cord, his master and the Abbott stood by
with great anticipation. The bell rang true and clear, but not loud
enough for the brothers in the farther fields to hear it, but just loud
enough to disturb a few of the closest birds. Failure! The Abbott
said he would look to another metal worker for his bell, but the master
pleaded for just a few more days to try again! The Abbott agreed, and
so Balatro and his master began the long cart ride home.
Their
journey took them past the Dolor river. As they rode along its shore,
the master, overcome with misery, told Balatro he was going to throw
himself into the fast moving current and drown. He had mortgaged
everything he had to buy the metal for the three bells he had made for
the monastery, and was ruined! Balatro tried to stop him, but the
master was too strong. First he tossed the bells in one by one, tying
the rope of the large one around his waist, and then hurled himself
into the water after it. Balatro didn't know what to do! He fell to
his knees and asked for Divine intervention.
Soon, a strong wind
blew across the river, and the water began to foam. One by one the
bells rose to the surface, but were somehow changed. Each bell had been
transformed into hundreds of little bells, all pieced together somehow!
They looked just like bunches of grapes! The bells floated over to the
shore, where Balatro easily lifted them out. Then his master,
perfectly dry and in good health, floated to the surface and over to
shore. It was a miracle!
The transformed bells were beautiful,
and the song they made was second to none. The master, himself
transformed, quickly put the bells back on the cart and raced with
Balatro to see the Abbott. Even though the day was near end, the old
monk agreed to try the "new" bells. Balatro and his master hoisted up
all three sets of bells into the tower. When the cords were pulled,
they sang a song that could be heard throughout the countryside, yet
the birds of the monastery were not bothered, In fact, they sang along
with the bells in a heavenly chorus that brought smiles and tears to
all who heard. The Abbott was so pleased, that he paid the master
triple the agreed price! A miracle in every way!
Soon the story
of Balatro's faith spread throughout the land. Eventually he left the
metal shop and joined that very monastery. He performed many miracles
throughout his lifetime, but none was as special as the bells of the
monastery on the banks of the Dolor river near the village of Fassor.
That is why St Balatro is the patron saint of makers of tiny bells, and
churches called 'River'.
We honour the saint on his feast day by wearing tiny bells on our clothing, swimming, and eating grapes.
Hodie est primoris dies of April!
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