Once upon a time there was a son born to noble parents in Poland and they named him Hyacinth. He had everything one could imagine - his own gold cup, his own horse, his own teacher - everything . Hyacinth was so grateful for the abundant life he had been born into, he decided to become a priest so he could thank God and give him his heart completely.

His parents were delighted and his uncle, the bishop of Cracow, took him to Rome to study there. Among many holy men, he met Dominic, who had just founded the Order of Preachers and who asked Hyacinth if he would like to join them. Hyacinth could think of no other way he would like to spend his life as much as this, so Dominic clothed him in the black and white friar's habit and sent him home to Poland to preach.

Hyacinth traveled not only to Poland but also to almost every corner of the world. He visited Austria and China and Norway and Scotland, preaching and teaching the way of the Christian. He especially loved to talk of Mary our Lord's mother. Every good deed, he said, came out of his love for her.

Once when Hyacinth was in a Russian town called Kiev, a rowdy band of men called Tartars, who were as fierce as they looked, thundered out of the hills on their horses and tried to destroy the town by smashing and burning whatever was in their sight.

Hyacinth heard the screaming and saw the flames reflected in the windows, but since he was in the middle of offering Mass, he did not think it polite to stop and think about other things. The windows crashed about him, the people fled, the candles swayed and flickered while Hyacinth blessed the empty church and said, "Go in peace, the Mass is over." Then he covered the cup of hosts with his cloak and walked quickly away from the altar. A voice bade him stop. the voice of a gentle lady which said, "Hyacinth, my son, will you leave me behind to my enemies? Please take me with you."

He looked up to the heavy statue of white alabaster and wondered how Mary expected him, not a very strong man, to lift it. But if Mary asked him, well, then he would, He tucked the hosts carefully into a leather pouch, took a deep breath and reached for the statue. He wrapped his arms around it and prayed neither he nor it would break.

When he lifted the statue, he found it light as a bit of milkweed  down. He ran with it as fast as he could, the Tartars' horses pounding behind him. He came to the river Dnieper and said. "Lord, what do I do now?" God said, "Keep walking." So he did, right straight across the river, which parted to make a path  for him. The Tartars stopped short at the water, which roared angrily at the men. They watched with amazement and some fear at this man carrying the huge statue across the stormy river. They decided they had better return to the hills and leave the town of Kiev alone. Strange people were living there!
Hyacinth spent the rest of his life traveling until our lord decided he needed a heavenly rest. On the feast of Mary's Assumption, Hyacinth left this world just in time to celebrate it with her.

His Feastday August 17.
Source:Once upon a time Saints.By Ethel Pochocki