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Conrad
was born at Piacenza, Lombardy, in the year 1290, of a very noble family, and
while still quite young, he married Euphrosyne, the daughter of a nobleman of
Lodi. He had a great fondness for chivalrous sports and was an eager
hunter.
One time when out hunting, his quarry hid itself in
dense underbrush. To force it into the open, Conrad directed his attendants to
set fire to the brushwood. The wind, however, drove the flames upon a nearby
grain field, where it continued to spread, destroying the entire crop and a
large forest besides. The governor of Piacenza at once sent out armed men to
apprehend the incendiary.
Filled with consternation at the unfortunate turn
of the conflagration, Conrad meanwhile fled into the city along certain lonely
roads. The posse, however, came upon a poor peasant who had gathered a bundle
of charred sticks and was carrying them into the city. Believing him to be the
guilty person, the men seized him. He was tortured on the rack until they
wrung from the poor man a statement that he had set fire to the woods out of
sheer spite. He was condemned to death.
Not until the unfortunate victim was passing
Conrad's house on the way to execution, did Conrad learn why the sentence of
death had been imposed on the peasant. Driven by his conscience, Conrad rushed
out, saved the man from the hands of the bailiffs, and before all the people
acknowledged that he was the guilty person. He went to the governor and
explained that the conflagration was the result of a mishap; that he was
willing to repair all the damage done. His wife joined him in his good will
and sacrificed her dowry to assist in making restitution.
The incident taught Conrad the vanity of the goods
of this world, and he resolved to give his attention only to eternal goods. He
communicated his sentiments to his wife, and found that she entertained the
same ideas. She went to the convent of Poor Clares and received the veil
there, while Conrad, who was only 25 years old, left his native town and
joined a group of hermits of the Third Order.
In a very short time he made such progress in
virtue that the fame of his sanctity attracted many of his former friends and
acquaintances to his hermitage. But it was Conrad's wish to forsake the world
completely; so he slipped away to Rome, and from there went to Sicily, to the
Noto valley, near Syracuse, where he hoped he could remain unknown and in
utter seclusion. He lived there for 36 years, the last of which he spent in a
lonely cave on a height since named Mount Conrad.
There Conrad lived an extremely penitential life,
sleeping on the bare earth and taking only bread and water with some wild
herbs for nourishment. Nevertheless, he was subjected to some of the most
terrible assaults of the devil. But by means of prayer so pleasing to God that
he was granted the gifts of prophesy and miracles.
When Conrad perceived that his end was drawing
near, he went to Syracuse to make a general confession of his life to the
bishop. On the way flocks of birds flew about him and perched on his shoulders
as they used to do to St. Francis, and on the way back to his solitude they
accompanied him again, to the astonishment of all whom he met. On the very
same day he was seized with a fever, which resulted in his death a few days
later. He was kneeling before an image of the Crucified when he peacefully
passed away on February 19, 1351. In accordance with his wishes he was buried
in the church of St. Nicholas at Noto, where his remains still repose in a
silver shrine. Many miracles have taken place there. In the year 1515 Pope Leo
X permitted his feast be celebrated at Noto. Urban VIII canonized him in
1625.
ON MAKING RESTITUTION
1. Conrad and his wife
generously put up their entire fortune to repair the damage caused, without
even stopping to think whether they were really bound to make restitution. As
a matter of fact the damage was the result of a mischance rather than of any
guilt on Conrad's part. But the spirit of God urged him, after overcoming his
first fear, to do rather too much than too little, as Zacheus said to our
Lord: "If I have wronged any man of anything, I restore him fourfold" (Luke
19:8). And how did almighty God reward Conrad's magnanimity? The apparent
misfortune turned out to be his greatest fortune. Without doubt he would have
lived as an ordinary distinguished gentleman, and as such he would have died
and appeared before the judgement-seat of God. True, he now led a hard life of
severe penance, but at heart he was much happier than before, and he is today
numbered among the saints of heaven. Thus are sacrifices, made for conscience'
sake, rewarded by God a thousand times.
2. Consider that it is a strict
duty to restore what one has unjustly acquired, and to repair the damage one
has caused, be it through malice or through guilty carelessness. "If the
sinner do penance for his sins," says the Holy Spirit, "and do judgment and
justice, and restore the pledge and render what he has robbed, he shall surely
live and shall not die" (Ezech 33:14-15). To regret the wrong done and to
confess it, is not sufficient; even if you have prayed much and given
plenteous alms on that account, it does not help. "The sin will not be
remitted," says St. Augustine, "if that which has been taken is not restored."
If you are not in a position to restore, or to restore to the full extent, or
if you fear the loss of your good name in consequence, then consult your
confessor; he will be able to point out means and ways of fulfilling your
obligation and of quieting your conscience. -- In serious matters of this
nature, have you perhaps set your conscience at rest by means of empty
excuses?
3. Consider that in cases where it is entirely impossible to make
restitution, a Christian that is interested in his salvation will strive to
repair the injustice of which he has been guilty, according to his means and
as well as he is able. He can do that, for instance, by prayer, by offering up
holy Masses, by penance and other good works, applying the merits to the
injured person. In this way he can hope that God will restore what he is
physically unable to restore. -- In a similar way we must all make restitution
to God for whatever we enjoyed against the will of God and His commandments by
intemperance, sensuality, and the like, making amends by mortification and
renunciation for sins committed by indulging the senses. May the example and
intercession of St. Conrad animate us in such atonement.
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Grant, we beseech Thee, O
Lord, that as Thou wert pacified by the penance of Blessed Conrad, so we may
imitate his example and blot out the stains of our sins by crucifying our
flesh. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
from:
The Franciscan Book
of Saints, ed. by
Marion Habig, ofm., © 1959 Franciscan Herald
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