CHAPTER 68: The sign of the rainbow arc
CHAPTER 68
The sign of the rainbow arc
NOW that our holy bishop had gone to the Lord, his abbots and their subjects were afraid their old enemies might take up the attack again.
‘As long as our noble leader was alive,’ they said to themselves, ‘we endured numerous different trials at the hands of the kings and princes of Britain, all of which ended honourably for us, thanks to Wilfrid’s wisdom and sanctity and the help of his friends. We must now believe, fully and without reservation, that we have an intercessor in Heaven raised up by the power of the Holy Cross to the level of his own beloved Saints Peter and Paul, to whose patronage he and his followers dedicated all their possessions. We must trust that, there in the sight of God, he guards and defends us unceasingly.’
Their trust was soon given warrant by a sign appearing in the heavens. On the anniversary of his death all our bishops and their abbots gathered together from north, south, east, and west to mark the solemn occasion. As they were keeping the evening vigil in the church where his remains rested, certain of the less watchful brethren standing outside saw a sign appear in the sky. They kept quiet about it till the next morning. When the rest heard about it they were deeply grieved and murmured to each other that it had been kept back from them because of their sins. Their honesty was soon rewarded. When the feast that ended the solemnities was over, the whole assembly went out of doors in the twilight to sing compline. Suddenly a wonderful white arc shone out before them in the heavens, encircling the entire monastery. Apart from the lack of colour it looked exactly like a rainbow. Starting from the gables of St Peter’s basilica where Wilfrid’s bones were laid to rest, it stretched towards the south, then made a wide sweep to the north round the right-hand side of the monastery before bending upwards into the south-eastern quarter of the morning sky. We worshipped and praised the Lord for this sign, the Lord who is wondrous in His saints, for we clearly saw that He was with us, building a wall of protection around his chosen vineyard. Our conviction was borne out in every event that rose to affright us. Regular monastic life continued to flourish under outstanding abbots in all kingdoms on both sides of the Humber and the brethren lived to see the enemies who massed against us pierced with their own barbs. As for us, to quote the Psalmist: ‘In the name of our God we shall be exalted.’1