Do you remember how Saint Paul was changed from an enemy of Jesus in to a strong, loyal Christian? Norbert had a similar experience when he was a young man.
Norbert was born in Germany, a cousin to the emperor, so he had nearly everything he wanted in life; money, popularity, success. But his carefree life did not make him happy.
One day he went horseback riding through the woods. Unexpectedly a heavy storm broke. A sudden bolt of lightning frightened his horse. As the horse reared up, Norbert fell to the ground. When he regained consciousness, he considered the accident a warning from God. Like Saint Paul, he wondered. “Lord, what do you want me to do?’ Norbert seemed to hear a voice deep within him say, “Give up the foolish, empty life you are leading. Begin to do good to those around you.” Norbert took these words very seriously. He sold all his property and prepared to be ordained a priest. Once he was a priest, Norbert preached to everyone about the danger of living the way he had lived a few years before. Over the years so many young men wanted to live the way Norbert did that he had to start several monasteries. He tried to build these monasteries in out-of-the way places, where people did not hear the word of God very often. Near each monastery, Norbert usually opened a hospice. Here sick people, travelers, and pilgrims could find rest and help.
By the time he died, Norbert was an archbishop. He had worked very hard to stop heresies and to encourage loyalty to the pope. He had preached with great success to the rich and the poor, to the wise and the uneducated, and to believers and nonbelievers. Norbert was a man of faith, goodness, and loyalty.
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