The memory of Saint Severus

In the country of Tudor [This place was in central Italy, in the province of Valeria, between the mountains of Reate and Ameterium.] between the two mountains, in a valley called Interroclea, there was a church of the Most Holy Sovereign of Our Lady and the Virgin Mary.

And one of the men of the city was sick, and was at the point of death; and he sent messengers to him, saying, Come hastily to me, and confess, and let me go, before I die.

But when he saw that there were still many grapes to be gathered, he wanted to wait a little longer to gather up what was left. When he had finished his work, he went to the sick man. On the way, those who had been at the sick man's house met him and said to him, 'Father, why did you delay? Do not work any more, for the man is dead.' When the priest heard this, he trembled with fear and wept bitterly, calling himself a murderer of the dead.

And when he was come near to the house where the dead was laid, he fell down before the door, and wept, and beat his head, and said before all the people that he was dead.

And he said, The Ethiopians, fierce and proud, whose nostrils and ears burned with fire, have taken me, and have brought me into a dark place, full of terror.

And behold, a young man of a good countenance came out to meet us, and two men of light; and he turned to the men that were dragging me, and said with authority, Send him back; for Sevir the chief ruler mourns for him; for the tears of this man, the Lord will revive the dead in the flesh.

When he heard this, Sevirus rose from the ground with great joy and gave thanks to God. Then he taught the resurrected man how to offer repentance to God, he listened to his confession, cleansed from sins, and partaken of the Divine Bodies and Blood of Christ.

And we know how much God loved his preacher Sevir, for he did not desire to grieve him, but heard the prayer of the saint, and did according to his desire.

Having served the Lord, he, at the end of his earthly exploit, stood before the throne of divine glory, with the faces of the saints, praising the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God in the Trinity, to whom be glory from us also forever.