St Nicholas and the Two Thieves
98In life Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, an area in modern Turkey, had a reputation for caring for and protecting his flock. Even before he became a Bishop at a very young age, he used the wealth he had inherited from his parents to help others. The story of how he secretly provided money for the dowries of the three daughters of a merchant who had fallen on hard times is a classic that has continually been retold down through the centuries.
After his death, St. Nicholas continued to watch over and help his flock on earth. There is an abundance of tales about St. Nicholas making appearances on earth after his death to both help those in distress as well as attempting to get those who have strayed to turn their lives around and away from crime and immorality. Like a good father, St. Nicholas encourages people, especially children, by rewarding good behavior and punishing bad behavior - even today we still warn children to be good if they want Santa Claus to bring them gifts and not punish them by leaving a lump of coal.
Here is a story about how the good saint steered two young thieves away from a life of crime. Because of this act, St. Nicholas became the patron saint of thieves who repent and change their ways.
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Patron Saint of Thieves who Repent
Giuseppe and Alfredo grew up as neighbors in a poor village in the mountains of Italy many years ago. Even as little boys they had a tendency to get into trouble and as they grew older their transgressions became more serious and by their mid-teens they were petty criminals living a life of crime.
In their heart of hearts they were still good boys and knew that what they were doing was wrong. But to themselves they justified their actions citing the injustice of being born poor in an area of great poverty and little opportunity. While there was some truth to this view of theirs, it was also true that both Giuseppe and Alfredo had a strong aversion to hard work.
While they went about their life of petty theft, their widowed mothers prayed daily for God to touch their sons' hearts and inspire them to turn their lives around. Hearing their prayers, God called upon St. Nicholas to try to convince Giuseppe and Alfredo to turn away from their life of crime.
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The Mothers' Prayers are Answered
St. Nicholas waited until evening and then came to them in a dream as they slept in the hut of a herdsman who was away with his heard of sheep. Knowing the herdsman would be spending the night with his flock, Giuseppe and Alfredo had entered the hut and eaten the scraps of bread and cheese and drank the remainder of the jug of wine the herdsman had left in his cupboard for when he returned. Their hunger satisfied and sleepy from the wine they had stretched out on the palate the herdsman used for a bed and went to sleep.
Suddenly, St. Nicholas was before them demanding to know what they were doing. Oh, they tried to justify their actions with a feeble excuse – if they hadn't eaten the food the mice probably would have so the herdsman would have lost either way. Besides, the herdsman had a hut and a job while they had nothing in life – it was only just that the herdsman share his good fortune with them.
But St. Nicholas would have none of that and, in their dream, he took them on a tour to show them the results of their misdeeds.
He first showed them the herdsman, a young man like themselves who had been born to poor parents who had no home and who had died of the plague when he was very young. From that young age the herdsman had worked hard caring for the sheep of others, sleeping in the fields with the sheep in summer and in the sheds with them in winter. He lived off of scraps of food and wine given him by his employers and only recently been given the little hut to live in and had acquired a couple of sheep of his own.
Giuseppe and Alfredo fidgeted uncomfortably as St. Nicholas whisked them off to the next site – the home of the lady whose purse they had stolen in the market. They were baffled as to why St. Nicholas had returned them to the scene of this crime – it was so minor compared to some their other heists. The lady was a farmer's wife selling some vegetables. As Giuseppe distracted her with questions, Alfredo had quietly lifted her purse and slipped away. There were only a few copper coins in the purse but they had been enough to buy a loaf of bread and a small jug of cheap wine for their supper that night. But St. Nicholas showed what happened after they had left. The lady had worked hard to grow the vegetables and was saving the money to buy her husband a new pair of shoes so he would not have to go barefoot in the coming winter.
And so it went as St. Nicholas took them from one crime to another showing them the pain and suffering their actions had wrought on the lives of others.
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St Nicholas Shows the Two Where their Life of Crime Will Ultimately End
Their final stop was the town square of the market town in the valley. Having already visited the scene of all their past crimes in this town, Giuseppe and Alfredo had no idea why St. Nicholas had chosen this spot. However, St. Nicholas sternly told them to pay attention as they were about to see what the future held in store for the two of them.
Shortly there was a commotion as a knight on horseback appeared followed by a cart containing two young men, like Giuseppe and Alfredo, with their hands tied behind their backs. The small crowd in the square jeered and threw clods of mud at the men in the cart. As the crowd parted to let the cart through, Giuseppe and Alfredo saw that a gallows had been erected where the cart had stopped. The knight pulled a scroll from his belt and read a list of thefts the two in the cart had committed – thefts that sounded eerily like those committed by Giuseppe and Alfredo. As the guards attending the cart proceeded to hang the two thieves, St. Nicholas directed the attention of Giuseppe and Alfredo toward the two weeping women at the edge of the crowd and told Giuseppe and Alfredo that this was the worst crime of the two thieves in the cart – the breaking of their mothers' hearts.
The crowing of a rooster awakened Giuseppe and Alfredo. St. Nicholas was gone and they were alone in the hut. Badly shaken from their experience of the past evening, both returned to their village and devoted the rest of their lives to working and caring for their families rather than lazily living off the hard work of others.
A Closing Note
This story is a work of fiction. However, it is based upon old legends about St. Nicholas appearing before thieves and convincing them to change their ways. In most of the legends, St. Nicholas not only gets the thieves to change their ways but to also return the property they had stolen.
While St. Nicholas is known as the patron saint of thieves, he does not watch over and protect thieves from the law or their victims but rather protects them from themselves by getting them to change their ways and thereby avoid the consequences that results from leading a life of crime.
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St Nicholas in the News
- St. Nicholas Ministry accepts referrals for needy familiesThe Victoria Advocate23 hours ago
HALLETTSVILLE - St. Nicholas Ministry is accepting referrals of needy people and families to receive food and gifts during the holiday season.
- Honor Roll (November 2009): St. Ann SchoolNaples Daily News20 hours ago
Here is the honor roll released by the St. Ann Catholic School in November 2009:Grade 6: Nicholas Ayan, John (Jack) Fumagalli, Megan O’Brian, Sofia Vega, Jenna ZimmermanGrade 7: James Buonavolonta, Kenneth Doerseln, Jenna Duffy, Madison Faerber, Sydney Schmitz, Catherine StifflerGrade 8: Shannon Foxhoven, Paola Santiago
- St. Landry Sheriff's Arrest Report: November 20, 2009KATC 3 Lafayette28 hours ago
This is the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report for November 20th, 2009. Carroll Meche, age 37, Nester Lane, Port Barre, La., charged with aggravated second degree battery, simple battery, and aggravated burglary. Nicholas O'Neal Bias, age 17, Magnolia St., Opelousas, La., hold for deputies. Robert Leon Bennett, Jr., age 47, Narceese Lacure, Opelousas, La., arrested by Louisiana ...
- Nicholas Stozic, 104, oldest 82nd Airborne vetThe Cincinnati Enquirer18 hours ago
UNION TWP. - When his nieces and nephews pulled out of his driveway, Nicholas Stozic saluted them.
- St. Mary tops state in spellingThe Times of Northwest Indiana18 hours ago
GRIFFITH | The good news for the St. Mary School Spell Bowl teamcame midmorning Friday.
- Collins & St. John-Coleman united in marriagePacifica Tribune2 days ago
Angela Maria Collins and Nicholas T. St. John-Coleman were united in marriage Sept. 6, 2009 at the Palo Alto Golf and Country Club. The Rev. Terry Plank officiated
- Looking backGloucester Daily Times11 hours ago
This week's old photo shows the altar boys and clergy at St. Ann Church in the early 1950s. This photo was submitted by Clark Dexter of Gloucester, who is one of the altar boys. The Rev. Maurice J. O'Brien, the church's pastor, and the Rev. Joseph P. Veneto sit in front, center. Pictured are, front, from left, Paul Bagley, Vito Aiello, Arthur Robinson, Lawrence Rubino, Vincent Orlando, Nicholas ...
- Stages premieres "Night Before Christmas" tonight, "Lake Minnetonka Today" TV news, Friday, Nov. 20Hopkins Sun-Sailor12 hours ago
Stages Theatre Company will premiere its production of "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" 7 p.m. tonight at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. The original holiday production is adapted from Clement C. Moore's classic poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."
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heyy :)u just helped me with my homework :D thankyou x
I'll have to read this one to my son, Nick!
Great story, thanks for making it a hub!
You have a good story going here. Any plans to take it any farther?
Mitch King - thank you for visiting my Hub. As to to going further with the story, the answer is possibly but not until I find the time to work on it.
Chuck
The story of St. Nicolas showing Giueseppe and Alfredo in their dream what the future held for them if they did not change their ways is very similar to " A Christmas Story" where the ghosts of Christmas "Past, Present and Future" appears to Scrooge. I enjoyed it immensely.It is also a good story for people to read because it points out values that can be used as lessons for people who are heading down a path of destruction. I have read a few of your hubs chuck and see you have been doing this for some time. I only have just started myself. I am very pleased to become your fan. well, thanks for the good read, I loved it and will read some more. God bless BB














David says:
3 months ago
Excellent writing, and a wonderful story of redemption! Thank you!