Saint Miles, and the Young Man Raised After a Lion's Attack

“Distributing to the Needs of the Saints” (Romans 12:13)

A holy man named Miles came from the city of Jerusalem. He had heard of Saint Mar Jacob, and when he saw that he had begun building the church, he borrowed three hundred dinars from merchants of his own country and gave them to Saint Mar Jacob as a blessing for the building of the church, for he knew that the saint owned nothing but his staff and his Gospel.

After that Saint Miles went up to see Saint Mar Okeen. His visit fell on a Sunday, when the brothers were gathered with their spiritual father. The brothers received the blessing of Saint Miles, and after the two saints had blessed one another, Saint Mar Okeen said, “Peace be to you, O man of God, Saint Miles, for you do not seek to please people. You will go to the East and rebuke the Patriarch, Papa of the East, for his faults, and he will not accept your rebuke.”

Saint Miles answered, “Peace be to you, venerable elder, Saint Mar Okeen, who saw the accursed serpent that rose up against the Church, and saw its destruction and the destruction of its offspring too.” Saint Mar Okeen said to him, “How do you know, my brother, this thing that I saw?” Saint Miles answered, “He who showed it to you, my father, showed it to me as well.”

Saint Mar Okeen Prophesies to Saint Miles

Saint Mar Okeen turned to Saint Miles and said, “Blessed are you, my brother, for the time has come when you will become an offering to God and a martyr for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in the land of Persia. You are like Paul the Apostle, the great preacher, who gave himself as a martyr at the hands of the wicked Nero. You will rebuke the wicked, bear witness to your Master and receive the crown of martyrdom.”

Saint Miles stayed two days with the holy brothers in the monastery, and they prayed the Psalms together. Then he bade farewell to the venerable elder Mar Okeen and all the holy brothers, who burst into tears over him. He said to them, “Pray for me, that the Lord may make me worthy to see you before the throne of His glory, for I will not see you again in this life.” The brothers’ hearts were torn by these words and they grieved greatly. Saint Mar Okeen said to them, “Strive, my children, to inherit life. See with what courage, zeal and joy in the Lord Christ Saint Miles goes to suffer for his Master, our Lord Jesus Christ, to offer himself as a sacrifice of love, and to receive martyrdom for His name.”

“He Works Signs and Wonders in Heaven and on Earth” (Daniel 6:27)

Saint Mar Jacob invited Saint Mar Okeen to join him in the prayer of consecration of a new monastery he had built. As Saint Mar Okeen and his disciples were walking along the bank of the River Tigris, they found a boy by the river weeping, now throwing dust on his head, now beating his chest with stones. The saint took his hand and said to him, “Why are you doing this, my son? Do not kill yourself. Tell me where you are from and why you are weeping.”

The boy answered, “How can you help me? I am an orphan boy with no father. My mother is an old woman who cannot get up, and I am, as you see, a small boy who cannot work. I came to help my older brother cut a little wood from these reeds, and a lion came out and seized my older brother. I saw it with my own eyes lift him up and dash him to the ground, and at last it took him in its mouth and went into these reeds. I want to kill myself over the loss of my brother, because my eyes saw him die. What will I tell my mother? My death is better than my life. Let me kill myself.”

The saint said to him, “Was no one near you?” The boy answered, “There was a shepherd. When he saw it, he ran to the village to tell them, so that its people would come and rescue me.”

The saint was deeply pained by the boy’s words and his tears flowed. He said, “Come, my son, show me the place where the lion went in.” The boy hurried ahead of the saint, longing to see his brother’s body. The boy, the saint and his disciples came to where the lion was, with the young man lying on the ground before it. At that moment the lion took fright and fled, and the little boy ran and fell weeping bitterly over his brother’s body.

Saint Mar Okeen wept too, and wiped the boy’s tears with his garments. When all the brothers saw the young man dead, parts of his body torn by the lion, their hearts ached and they wept greatly.

The Saint Raises the Young Man

Saint Mar Okeen asked the brothers to entreat the Lord Christ to restore the young man’s life, out of His tenderness toward his old mother and the anguish of his little brother. The saint stood entreating and praying, saying: “O our Lord Jesus Christ, abounding in mercy, whose treasures of mercy never run dry, full of compassion toward Your creation: when You saw the widow weeping, You had compassion on her and said to her, ‘Do not weep,’ and You raised her son and wiped away her tears without anyone asking You. Now, my Master, not for my sake, a sinner, but for Your compassion on this boy, who has been left alone with no helper but You and has chosen death rather than life, and for Your compassion on their poor, aged, widowed mother, who cannot move, lest woe upon woe overtake her: restore the life of this young man, that Your holy name may be glorified. For Yours is the glory, honor, majesty and worship, now and at all times, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.”

The dead young man opened his eyes, looked at his brother lying weeping on his chest, and sighed twice. The saint and his disciples rose and praised God, who had answered their supplication and given them back that young man’s life, and they came out of the reeds. The saint ordered his body to be washed of the stains of blood. The marks of some wounds remained on his body as a sign of what God had done for that man.

← Previous miracle · All miracles

Sources

• The Life of Saint Mar Okeen, by His Grace Anba Matthaeus, Bishop and Abbot of the Monastery of the Virgin Mary (El-Sourian)