THE
HOLY WOMEN OF THE MIDDLE AGES
BLESSED ANGELA OF FOLIGNO
Blessed Angela of Foligno, a
great medieval mystic lived in the 13th century. People are usually fascinated
by the consummate experience of union with God that she reached, but perhaps
they give too little consideration to her first steps, her conversion and the
long journey that led from her starting point, the "great fear of
hell", to her goal, total union with the Trinity. The first part of
Angela's life was certainly not that of a fervent disciple of the Lord. She was
born into a well-off family in about 1248. Her father died and she was brought
up in a somewhat superficial manner by her mother. She was introduced at a
rather young age into the worldly circles of the town of Foligno, where she met
a man whom she married at the age of 20 and to whom she bore children. Her life
was so carefree that she was even contemptuous of the so-called
"penitents", who abounded in that period; they were people who, in
order to follow Christ, sold their possessions and lived in prayer, fasting, in
service to the Church and in charity.
Certain events, such as the
violent earthquake in 1279, a hurricane, the endless war against Perugia and
its harsh consequences, affected the life of Angela who little by little became
aware of her sins, until she took a decisive step. In 1285 she called upon St
Francis, who appeared to her in a vision and asked his advice on making a good
general Confession. She then went to Confession with a Friar in San Feliciano.
Three years later, on her path of conversion she reached another turning point:
she was released from any emotional ties. In the space of a few months, her
mother's death was followed by the death of her husband and those of all her
children. She therefore sold her possessions and in 1291 enrolled in the Third
Order of St Francis. She died in Foligno on 4 January 1309.
The Book of Visions and
Instructions
of Blessed Angela of Foligno, in which is gathered the documentation on our
Blessed, tells the story of this conversion and points out the necessary means:
penance, humility and tribulation; and it recounts the steps, Angela's
successive experiences which began in 1285. Remembering them after she had
experienced them, Angela then endeavoured to recount them through her Friar
confessor, who faithfully transcribed them, seeking later to sort them into
stages which he called "steps or mutations" but without managing to
put them entirely in order (cf. Il Libro della beata Angela da Foligno, Cinisello Balsamo 1990, p.
51). This was because for Blessed Angela the experience of union meant the
total involvement of both the spiritual and physical senses and she was left
with only a "shadow" in her mind, as it were, of what she had
"understood" during her ecstasies. "I truly heard these
words", she confessed after a mystical ecstasy, but it is in no way
possible for me to know or tell of what I saw and understood, or of what he
[God] showed me, although I would willingly reveal what I understood with the
words that I heard, but it was an absolutely ineffable abyss". Angela of
Foligno presented her mystical "life", without elaborating on it
herself because these were divine illuminations that were communicated suddenly
and unexpectedly to her soul. Her Friar confessor too had difficulty in
reporting these events, "partly because of her great and wonderful reserve
concerning the divine gifts" (ibid., p. 194). In addition to Angela's difficulty
in expressing her mystical experience was the difficulty her listeners found in
understanding her. It was a situation which showed clearly that the one true
Teacher, Jesus, dwells in the heart of every believer and wants to take total
possession of it. So it was with Angela, who wrote to a spiritual son: "My
son, if you were to see my heart you would be absolutely obliged to do
everything God wants, because my heart is God's heart and God's heart is
mine". Here St Paul's words ring out: "It is no longer I who live,
but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2: 20).
Let us then consider only a
few "steps" of our Blessed's rich spiritual journey. The first, in
fact, is an introduction: "It was the knowledge of sin", as she
explained, "after which my soul was deeply afraid of damnation; in this
stage I shed bitter tears" (Il Libro della beata Angela da Foligno, p. 39). This "dread"
of hell corresponds to the type of faith that Angela had at the time of her
"conversion"; it was a faith still poor in charity, that is, in love
of God. Repentance, the fear of hell and penance unfolded to Angela the
prospect of the sorrowful "Way of the Cross", which from the eighth
to the 15th stages was to lead her to the "way of love". Her Friar
confessor recounted: "The faithful woman then told me: I have had this
divine revelation: "after the things you have written, write that anyone
who wishes to preserve grace must not lift the eyes of his soul from the Cross,
either in the joy or in the sadness that I grant or permit him'" (ibid.,
p. 143).
However, in this phase Angela "did not yet feel love". She said:
"The soul feels shame and bitterness and does not yet feel love but
suffering" (ibid., p. 39), and is unrequited.
Angela felt she should give
something to God in reparation for her sins, but slowly came to realize that
she had nothing to give him, indeed, that she "was nothing" before
him. She understood that it would not be her will to give her God's love, for
her will could give only her own "nothingness", her
"non-love". As she was to say: only "true and pure love, that
comes from God, is in the soul and ensures that one recognizes one's own
shortcomings and the divine goodness.... Such love brings the soul to Christ
and it understands with certainty that in him no deception can be found or can
exist. No particle of worldly love can be mingled with this love" (ibid.,
p. 124-125).
This meant opening herself solely and totally to God's love whose greatest
expression is in Christ: "O my God" she prayed, "make me worthy
of knowing the loftiest mystery that your most ardent and ineffable love
brought about for our sake, together with the love of the Trinity, in other
words the loftiest mystery of your most holy Incarnation.... O incomprehensible
love! There is no greater love than this love that brought my God to become man
in order to make me God" (ibid., p. 295). However, Angela's heart always bore the
wounds of sin; even after a good Confession she would find herself forgiven and
yet still stricken by sin, free and yet conditioned by the past, absolved but
in need of penance. And the thought of hell accompanied her too, for the greater
the progress the soul made on the way of Christian perfection, the more
convinced it is not only of being "unworthy" but also deserving of
hell.
And so it was that on this
mystical journey Angela understood the central reality in a profound way: what
would save her from her "unworthiness" and from "deserving
hell" would not be her "union with God" or her possession of the
"truth" but Jesus Crucified, "his crucifixion for me", his
love.
In the eighth step, she said, "However, I did not yet understand whether my liberation from sins and from hell and conversion to penance was far greater, or his crucifixion for me" (ibid., n. 41). This was the precarious balance between love and suffering, that she felt throughout her arduous journey towards perfection. For this very reason she preferred to contemplate Christ Crucified, because in this vision she saw the perfect balance brought about. On the Cross was the man-God, in a supreme act of suffering which was a supreme act of love. In the third Instruction the Blessed insisted on this contemplation and declared: "The more perfectly and purely we see, the more perfectly and purely we love.... Therefore the more we see the God and man, Jesus Christ, the more we are transformed in him through love.... What I said of love... I also say of suffering: the more the soul contemplates the ineffable suffering of the God and man Jesus Christ the more sorrowful it becomes and is transformed through suffering" (ibid., p. 190-191). Thus, unifying herself with and transforming herself into the love and suffering of Christ Crucified, she was identifying herself with him. Angela's conversion, which began from that Confession in 1285, was to reach maturity only when God's forgiveness appeared to her soul as the freely given gift of the love of the Father, the source of love: "No one can make excuses", she said, "because anyone can love God and he does not ask the soul for more than to love him, because he loves the soul and it is his love" (ibid., p. 76).
On Angela's spiritual journey
the transition from conversion to mystical experience, from what can be
expressed to the inexpressible, took place through the Crucified One. He is the
"God-man of the Passion", who became her "teacher of
perfection". The whole of her mystical experience, therefore, consisted in
striving for a perfect "likeness" with him, through ever deeper and
ever more radical purifications and transformations. Angela threw her whole
self, body and soul, into this stupendous undertaking, never sparing herself of
penance and suffering, from beginning to end, desiring to die with all the
sorrows suffered by the God-man crucified in order to be totally transformed in
him. "O children of God", she recommended, "transform yourselves
totally in the man-God who so loved you that he chose to die for you a most
ignominious and all together unutterably painful death, and in the most painful
and bitterest way. And this was solely for love of you, O man!" (ibid., p. 247). This
identification also meant experiencing what Jesus himself experienced: poverty,
contempt and sorrow, because, as she declared, "through temporal poverty
the soul will find eternal riches; through contempt and shame it will obtain
supreme honour and very great glory; through a little penance, made with pain
and sorrow, it will possess with infinite sweetness and consolation the Supreme
Good, Eternal God" (ibid., p. 293).
From conversion to mystic
union with Christ Crucified, to the inexpressible. A very lofty journey, whose
secret is constant prayer. "The more you pray", she said, "the
more illumined you will be and the more profoundly and intensely you will see
the supreme Good, the supremely good Being; the more profoundly and intensely
you see him, the more you will love him; the more you love him the more he will
delight you; and the more he delights you, the better you will understand him
and you will become capable of understanding him. You will then reach the
fullness of light, for you will understand that you cannot understand" (ibid.,
p. 184).
SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN
We are well acquainted with the events of St Bridget's life because her
spiritual fathers compiled her biography in order to further the process of her
canonization immediately after her death in 1373. Bridget was born 70 years earlier,
in 1303, in Finster, Sweden, a Northern European nation that for three
centuries had welcomed the Christian faith with the same enthusiasm as that
with which the Saint had received it from her parents, very devout people who
belonged to noble families closely related to the reigning house.
We can distinguished two periods in this Saint's life. The first was characterized by her happily married state. Her husband was called
Ulf and he was Governor of an important district of the Kingdom of Sweden. The
marriage lasted for 28 years, until Ulf's death. Eight children were born, the
second of whom, Karin (Catherine), is venerated as a Saint. This is an eloquent
sign of Bridget's dedication to her children's education. Moreover, King Magnus
of Sweden so appreciated her pedagogical wisdom that he summoned her to Court
for a time, so that she could introduce his young wife, Blanche of Namur, to
Swedish culture. Bridget, who was given spiritual guidance by a learned
religious who initiated her into the study of the Scriptures, exercised a very
positive influence on her family which, thanks to her presence, became a true
“domestic church”. Together with her husband she adopted the Rule of the
Franciscan Tertiaries. She generously practiced works of charity for the poor;
she also founded a hospital. At his wife's side Ulf's character improved and he
advanced in the Christian life. On their return from a long pilgrimage to
Santiago de Compostela, which they made in 1341 with other members of the
family, the couple developed a project of living in continence; but a little
while later, in the tranquillity of a monastery to which he had retired, Ulf's
earthly life ended. This first period of Bridget's life helps us to appreciate
what today we could describe as an authentic “conjugal spirituality”: together,
Christian spouses can make a journey of holiness sustained by the grace of the
sacrament of Marriage. It is often the woman, as happened in the life of St
Bridget and Ulf, who with her religious sensitivity, delicacy and gentleness
succeeds in persuading her husband to follow a path of faith. I am thinking
with gratitude of the many women who, day after day, illuminate their families
with their witness of Christian life, in our time too. May the Lord's Spirit
still inspire holiness in Christian spouses today, to show the world the beauty
of marriage lived in accordance with the Gospel values: love, tenderness,
reciprocal help, fruitfulness in begetting and in raising children, openness
and solidarity to the world and participation in the life of the Church.
The second period of
Bridget's life began when she was widowed. She did not consider another
marriage in order to deepen her union with the Lord through prayer, penance and
charitable works. Therefore Christian widows too may find in this Saint a model
to follow. In fact, upon the death of her husband, after distributing her
possessions to the poor — although she never became a consecrated religious —
Bridget settled near the Cistercian Monastery of Alvastra. Here began the
divine revelations that were to accompany her for the rest of her life. Bridget
dictated them to her confessors-secretaries, who translated them from Swedish
into Latin and gathered them in eight volumes entitled Revelationes (Revelations). A supplement followed these
books called, precisely, Revelationes extravagantes (Supplementary revelations).
St Bridget's Revelations have a very varied content and style. At times the revelations are
presented in the form of dialogues between the divine Persons, the Virgin, the
Saints and even demons; they are dialogues in which Bridget also takes part. At
other times, instead, a specific vision is described; and in yet others what
the Virgin Mary reveals to her concerning the life and mysteries of the Son.
The value of St Bridget's Revelations, sometimes the object of criticism Venerable John Paul II explained in
his Letter Spes Aedificandi: “The Church, which recognized Bridget's
holiness without ever pronouncing on her individual revelations, has accepted
the overall authenticity of her interior experience” (n. 5). Indeed, reading
these Revelations
challenges us on many important topics. For example, the description of
Christ's Passion, with very realistic details, frequently recurs. Bridget
always had a special devotion to Christ's Passion, contemplating in it God's
infinite love for human beings. She boldly places these words on the lips of
the Lord who speaks to her: “O my friends, I love my sheep so tenderly that
were it possible I would die many other times for each one of them that same
death I suffered for the redemption of all” (Revelationes, Book I, c. 59). The sorrowful motherhood of
Mary, which made her Mediatrix and Mother of Mercy, is also a subject that
recurs frequently in the Revelations.
In receiving these charisms, Bridget was aware that she had been given a
gift of special love on the Lord's part: “My Daughter” — we read in the First
Book of Revelations — “I
have chosen you for myself, love me with all your heart... more than all that
exists in the world” (c. 1). Bridget, moreover, knew well and was firmly
convinced that every charism is destined to build up the Church. For this very
reason many of her revelations were addressed in the form of admonishments,
even severe ones, to the believers of her time, including the Religious and
Political Authorities, that they might live a consistent Christian life; but
she always reprimanded them with an attitude of respect and of full fidelity to
the Magisterium of the Church and in particular to the Successor of the Apostle
Peter.
In 1349 Bridget left Sweden for good and went on pilgrimage to Rome. She
was not only intending to take part in the Jubilee of the Year 1350 but also
wished to obtain from the Pope approval for the Rule of a Religious Order that
she was intending to found, called after the Holy Saviour and made up of monks
and nuns under the authority of the Abbess. This is an element we should not
find surprising: in the Middle Ages monastic foundations existed with both male
and female branches, but with the practice of the same monastic Rule that
provided for the Abbess' direction. In fact, in the great Christian tradition
the woman is accorded special dignity and — always based on the example of
Mary, Queen of Apostles — a place of her own in the Church, which, without
coinciding with the ordained priesthood is equally important for the spiritual
growth of the Community. Furthermore, the collaboration of consecrated men and
women, always with respect for their specific vocation, is of great importance
in the contemporary world. In Rome, in the company of her daughter Karin,
Bridget dedicated herself to a life of intense apostolate and prayer. And from
Rome she went on pilgrimage to various Italian Shrines, in particular to
Assisi, the homeland of St Francis for whom Bridget had always had great
devotion. Finally, in 1371, her deepest desire was crowned: to travel to the
Holy Land, to which she went accompanied by her spiritual children, a group
that Bridget called “the friends of God”. In those years the Pontiffs lived at
Avignon, a long way from Rome: Bridget addressed a heartfelt plea to them to
return to the See of Peter, in the Eternal City. She died in 1373, before Pope
Gregory XI returned to Rome definitively. She was buried temporarily in the
Church of San Lorenzo in Panisperna in Rome but in 1374 her children, Birger
and Karin, took her body back to her homeland, to the Monastery of Vadstena,
the headquarters of the Religious Order St Bridget had founded. The order
immediately experienced a considerable expansion. In 1391 Pope Boniface IX
solemnly canonized her. Bridget's holiness, characterized by the multiplicity
of her gifts and the experiences that I have wished to recall in this brief
biographical and spiritual outline, makes her an eminent figure in European
history. In coming from Scandinavia, St Bridget bears witness to the way
Christianity had deeply permeated the life of all the peoples of this
Continent. In declaring her Co-Patroness of Europe, Pope John Paul II hoped
that St Bridget — who lived in the 14th century when Western Christianity had
not yet been wounded by division — may intercede effectively with God to obtain
the grace of full Christian unity so deeply longed for. Let us pray, dear
brothers and sisters, for this same intention, which we have very much at
heart, and that Europe may always be nourished by its Christian roots, invoking
the powerful intercession of St Bridget of Sweden, a faithful disciple of God
and Co-Patroness of Europe.
SAINT CATHERINE OF BOLOGNA
Catherine was born in Bologna
on 8 September 1413, the eldest child of Benvenuta Mammolini and John de’
Vigri, a rich and cultured patrician of Ferrara, a doctor in law and a public
lector in Padua, where he carried out diplomatic missions for Nicholas III
d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara. Not much information about Catherine’s infancy and
childhood is available and not all of it is reliable. As a child she lived in
her grandparents’ house in Bologna, where she was brought up by relatives,
especially by her mother who was a woman of deep faith. With her, Catherine
moved to Ferrara when she was about 10 years old and entered the court of
Nicholas III d’Este as lady-in-waiting to Margaret, Nicholas’ illegitimate
daughter. The Marquis was transforming Ferrara into a fine city, summoning
artists and scholars from various countries. He encouraged culture and,
although his private life was not exemplary, took great care of the spiritual
good, moral conduct and education of his subjects.
In Ferrara Catherine was
unaware of the negative aspects that are often part and parcel of court life.
She enjoyed Margaret’s friendship and became her confidante. She developed her
culture by studying music, painting and dancing; she learned to write poetry
and literary compositions and to play the viola; she became expert in the art
of miniature-painting and copying; she perfected her knowledge of Latin. In her
future monastic life she was to put to good use the cultural and artistic
heritage she had acquired in these years. She learned with ease, enthusiasm and
tenacity. She showed great prudence, as well as an unusual modesty, grace and
kindness in her behaviour. However, one absolutely clear trait distinguished
her: her spirit, constantly focused on the things of Heaven. In 1427, when she
was only 14 years old and subsequent to certain family events, Catherine
decided to leave the court to join a group of young noble women who lived a
community life dedicating themselves to God. Her mother trustingly consented in
spite of having other plans for her daughter.
We know nothing of Catherine’s
spiritual path prior to this decision. Speaking in the third person, she states
that she entered God’s service, “illumined by divine grace... with an upright
conscience and great fervour”, attentive to holy prayer by night and by day,
striving to acquire all the virtues she saw in others, “not out of envy but the
better to please God in whom she had placed all her love” (Le sette armi
necessarie alla battaglia spirituali, [The seven spiritual weapons], VII, 8, Bologna 1998,
p. 12). She made considerable spiritual progress in this new phase of her life
but her trials, her inner suffering and especially the temptations of the devil
were great and terrible. She passed through a profound spiritual crisis and
came to the brink of despair (cf. ibid., VII, 2, pp. 12-29). She lived in the night of the
spirit, and was also deeply shaken by the temptation of disbelief in the
Eucharist. After so much suffering, the Lord comforted her: he gave her, in a
vision, a clear awareness of the Real Presence in the Eucharist, an awareness
so dazzling that Catherine was unable to express it in words (cf. ibid., VIII, 2. pp. 42-46).
In this same period a
sorrowful trial afflicted the community: tension arose between those who wished
to follow the Augustinian spirituality and those who had more of an inclination
for Franciscan spirituality. Between 1429 and 1430, Lucia Mascheroni, in charge
of the group, decided to found an Augustinian monastery. Catherine, on the
other hand chose with others to bind herself to the Rule of St Clare of Assisi.
It was a gift of Providence, because the community dwelled in the vicinity of
the Church of the Holy Spirit, annexed to the convent of the Friars Minor who
had adhered to the movement of the Observance. Thus Catherine and her
companions could take part regularly in liturgical celebrations and receive adequate
spiritual assistance. They also had the joy of listening to the preaching of St
Bernardine of Siena (cf. ibid., VII, 62, p. 26). Catherine recounts that in 1429 —
the third year since her conversion — she went to make her confession to one of
the Friars Minor whom she esteemed, she made a good Confession and prayed the
Lord intensely to grant her forgiveness for all her sins and the suffering
connected with them.
In a vision God revealed to
her that he had forgiven her everything. It was a very strong experience of
divine mercy which left an indelible mark upon her, giving her a fresh impetus
to respond generously to God’s immense love (cf. ibid. IX, 2, pp. 46-48). In 1431 she
had a vision of the Last Judgement. The terrifying spectacle of the damned impelled
her to redouble her prayers and penance for the salvation of sinners. The devil
continued to assail her and she entrusted herself ever more totally to the Lord
and to the Virgin Mary (cf. ibid., X, 3, pp. 53-54). In her writings, Catherine has
left us a few essential notes concerning this mysterious battle from which,
with God’s grace, she emerged victorious. She did so in order to instruct her
sisters and those who intend to set out on the path of perfection: she wanted
to put them on their guard against the temptations of the devil who often
conceals himself behind deceptive guises, later to sow doubts about faith,
vocational uncertainty and sensuality.
In her autobiographical and
didactic treatise, The Seven Spiritual Weapons, Catherine offers in this
regard teaching of deep wisdom and profound discernment. She speaks in the
third person in reporting the extraordinary graces which the Lord gives to her
and in the first person in confessing her sins. From her writing transpires the
purity of her faith in God, her profound humility, the simplicity of her heart,
her missionary zeal, her passion for the salvation of souls. She identifies
seven weapons in the fight against evil, against the devil: 1. always to be
careful and diligently strive to do good; 2. to believe that alone we will
never be able to do something truly good; 3. to trust in God and, for love of
him, never to fear in the battle against evil, either in the world or within
ourselves; 4. to meditate often on the events and words of the life of Jesus,
and especially on his Passion and his death; 5. to remember that we must die;
6. to focus our minds firmly on memory of the goods of Heaven; 7. to be
familiar with Sacred Scripture, always cherishing it in our hearts so that it
may give direction to all our thoughts and all our actions. A splendid
programme of spiritual life, today too, for each one of us!
In the convent Catherine, in
spite of being accustomed to the court in Ferrara, served in the offices of
laundress, dressmaker and breadmaker and even looked after the animals. She did
everything, even the lowliest tasks, with love and ready obedience, offering
her sisters a luminous witness. Indeed she saw disobedience as that spiritual
pride which destroys every other virtue. Out of obedience she accepted the
office of novice mistress, although she considered herself unfit for this
office, and God continued to inspire her with his presence and his gifts: in
fact she proved to be a wise and appreciated mistress. Later the service of the
parlour was entrusted to her. She found it trying to have to interrupt her
prayers frequently in order to respond to those who came to the monastery
grill, but this time too the Lord did not fail to visit her and to be close to
her. With her the monastery became an increasingly prayerful place of
self-giving, of silence, of endeavour and of joy. Upon the death of the abbess,
the superiors thought immediately of her, but Catherine urged them to turn to
the Poor Clares of Mantua who were better instructed in the Constitutions and
in religious observance. Nevertheless, a few years later, in 1456, she was
asked at her monastery to open a new foundation in Bologna. Catherine would
have preferred to end her days in Ferrara, but the Lord appeared to her and
exhorted her to do God’s will by going to Bologna as abbess. She prepared
herself for the new commitment with fasting, scourging and penance.
She went to Bologna with 18
sisters. As superior she set the example in prayer and in service; she lived in
deep humility and poverty. At the end of her three-year term as abbess she was
glad to be replaced but after a year she was obliged to resume her office
because the newly elected abbess became blind. Although she was suffering and
and was afflicted with serious ailments that tormented her, she carried out her
service with generosity and dedication. For another year she urged her sisters
to an evangelical life, to patience and constancy in trial, to fraternal love,
to union with the divine Bridegroom, Jesus, so as to prepare her dowry for the
eternal nuptials. It was a dowry that Catherine saw as knowing how to share the
sufferings of Christ, serenely facing hardship, apprehension, contempt and
misunderstanding (cf. Le sette armi spirituali, X, 20, pp. 57-58).
At the beginning of 1463 her
health deteriorated. For the last time she gathered the sisters in Chapter, to
announce her death to them and to recommend the observance of the Rule. Towards
the end of February she was harrowed by terrible suffering that was never to
leave her, yet despite her pain it was she who comforted her sisters, assuring
them that she would also help them from Heaven. After receiving the last
Sacraments, she give her confessor the text she had written: The Seven
Spiritual Weapons, and entered her agony; her face grew beautiful and translucent; she
still looked lovingly at those who surrounded her and died gently, repeating
three times the name of Jesus. It
was 9 March 1463 (cf. I.
Bembo, Specchio di illuminazione, Vita di S. Caterina a Bologna, Florence 2001, chap. III). Catherine was to be
canonized by Pope Clement XI on 22 May 1712. Her incorrupt body is preserved in
the city of Bologna, in the chapel of the monastery of Corpus Domini. St
Catherine of Bologna is a pressing invitation to let ourselves always be guided
by God, to do his will daily, even if it often does not correspond with our
plans, to trust in his Providence which never leaves us on our own. In this
perspective, St Catherine speaks to us; from the distance of so many centuries
she is still very modern and speaks to our lives.
She, like us, suffered
temptations, she suffered the temptations of disbelief, of sensuality, of a
difficult spiritual struggle. She felt forsaken by God, she found herself in
the darkness of faith. Yet in all these situations she was always holding the
Lord’s hand, she did not leave him, she did not abandon him. And walking hand
in hand with the Lord, she walked on the right path and found the way of light.
So it is that she also tells us: take heart, even in the night of faith, even
amidst our many doubts, do not let go of the Lord’s hand, walk hand in hand
with him, believe in God’s goodness. This is how to follow the right path! And
I would like to stress another aspect: her great humility. She was a person who
did not want to be someone or something; she did not care for appearances, she
did not want to govern. She wanted to serve, to do God’s will, to be at the
service of others. And for this very reason Catherine was credible in her
authority, because she was able to see that for her authority meant, precisely,
serving others. Let us ask God, through the intercession of Our Saint, for the
gift to achieve courageously and generously the project he has for us, so that
he alone may be the firm rock on which our lives are built.
SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA
St. Catherine of Siena was a
woman who played an eminent role in the history of the Church. The century in
which she lived — the 14th — was a troubled period in the life of the Church
and throughout the social context of Italy and Europe. Yet, even in the most
difficult times, the Lord does not cease to bless his People, bringing forth
Saints who give a jolt to minds and hearts, provoking conversion and renewal. Catherine
is one of these and still today speaks to us and impels us to walk courageously
toward holiness to be ever more fully disciples of the Lord.
Born in Siena in 1347, into a
very large family, she died in Rome in 1380. When Catherine was 16 years old,
motivated by a vision of St Dominic, she entered the Third Order of the
Dominicans, the female branch known as the Mantellate. While living at home, she
confirmed her vow of virginity made privately when she was still an adolescent
and dedicated herself to prayer, penance and works of charity, especially for
the benefit of the sick. When the fame of her holiness spread, she became the
protagonist of an intense activity of spiritual guidance for people from every
walk of life: nobles and politicians, artists and ordinary people, consecrated
men and women and religious, including Pope Gregory xi who was living at Avignon in that period and whom she
energetically and effectively urged to return to Rome.
She travelled widely to press
for the internal reform of the Church and to foster peace among the States. It
was also for this reason that Venerable Pope John Paul ii chose to declare her Co-Patroness of Europe: may the Old
Continent never forget the Christian roots that are at the origin of its
progress and continue to draw from the Gospel the fundamental values that
assure justice and harmony. Like many of the Saints, Catherine knew great
suffering. Some even thought that they should not trust her, to the point that
in 1374, six years before her death, the General Chapter of the Dominicans
summoned her to Florence to interrogate her. They appointed Raymund of Capua, a
learned and humble Friar and a future Master General of the Order, as her
spiritual guide. Having become her confessor and also her “spiritual son”, he
wrote a first complete biography of the Saint. She was canonized in 1461. The
teaching of Catherine, who learned to read with difficulty and learned to write
in adulthood, is contained in the Dialogue of Divine Providence or Libro della Divina
Dottrina, a
masterpiece of spiritual literature, in her Epistolario and in the collection of her Prayers.
Her teaching is endowed with
such excellence that in 1970 the Servant of God Paul VI declared her a Doctor
of the Church, a title that was added to those of Co-Patroness of the City of
Rome — at the wish of Bl. Pius ix —
and of Patroness of Italy — in accordance with the decision of Venerable Pius
XII. In a vision that was ever present in Catherine's heart and mind Our Lady
presented her to Jesus who gave her a splendid ring, saying to her: “I, your
Creator and Saviour, espouse you in the faith, that you will keep ever pure
until you celebrate your eternal nuptials with me in Heaven” (Bl. Raimondo da Capua, S. Caterina da Siena,
Legenda maior, n. 115, Siena
1998). This ring
was visible to her alone. In this extraordinary episode we see the vital centre
of Catherine’s religious sense, and of all authentic spirituality:
Christocentrism. For her Christ was like the spouse with whom a relationship of
intimacy, communion and faithfulness exists; he was the best beloved whom she
loved above any other good. This profound union with the Lord is illustrated by
another episode in the life of this outstanding mystic: the exchange of hearts.
According to Raymond of Capua who passed on the confidences Catherine received,
the Lord Jesus appeared to her “holding in his holy hands a human heart, bright
red and shining”. He opened her side and put the heart within her saying:
“Dearest daughter, as I took your heart away from you the other day, now, you
see, I am giving you mine, so that you can go on living with it for ever” (ibid.). Catherine truly lived St.
Paul’s words, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal
2:20).
Like the Sienese Saint, every
believer feels the need to be conformed with the sentiments of the heart of
Christ to love God and his neighbour as Christ himself loves. And we can all
let our hearts be transformed and learn to love like Christ in a familiarity
with him that is nourished by prayer, by meditation on the Word of God and by
the sacraments, above all by receiving Holy Communion frequently and with
devotion. Catherine also belongs to the throng of Saints devoted to the
Eucharist with which I concluded my Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis (cf. n. 94). Dear brothers and
sisters, the Eucharist is an extraordinary gift of love that God continually
renews to nourish our journey of faith, to strengthen our hope and to inflame
our charity, to make us more and more like him.
A true and authentic spiritual
family was built up around such a strong and genuine personality; people
fascinated by the moral authority of this young woman with a most exalted
lifestyle were at times also impressed by the mystical phenomena they
witnessed, such as her frequent ecstasies. Many put themselves at Catherine’s
service and above all considered it a privilege to receive spiritual guidance
from her. They called her “mother” because, as her spiritual children, they
drew spiritual nourishment from her. Today too the Church receives great
benefit from the exercise of spiritual motherhood by so many women, lay and
consecrated, who nourish souls with thoughts of God, who strengthen the
people’s faith and direct Christian life towards ever loftier peaks. “Son, I
say to you and call you”, Catherine wrote to one of her spiritual sons,
Giovanni Sabbatini, a Carthusian, “inasmuch as I give birth to you in
continuous prayers and desire in the presence of God, just as a mother gives
birth to a son” (Epistolario, Lettera n. 141: To Fr Giovanni de’ Sabbatini). She would usually address
the Dominican Fr Bartolomeo de Dominici with these words: “Most beloved and
very dear brother and son in Christ sweet Jesus”.
Another trait of Catherine’s
spirituality is linked to the gift of tears. They express an exquisite,
profound sensitivity, a capacity for being moved and for tenderness. Many
Saints have had the gift of tears, renewing the emotion of Jesus himself who
did not hold back or hide his tears at the tomb of his friend Lazarus and at
the grief of Mary and Martha or at the sight of Jerusalem during his last days
on this earth. According to Catherine, the tears of Saints are mingled with the
blood of Christ, of which she spoke in vibrant tones and with symbolic images
that were very effective: “Remember Christ crucified, God and man….. Make your
aim the Crucified Christ, hide in the wounds of the Crucified Christ and drown
in the blood of the Crucified Christ” (Epistolario, Lettera n. 21: Ad uno il cui nome
si tace [to
one who remains anonymous]). Here we can understand why, despite her awareness
of the human shortcomings of priests, Catherine always felt very great
reverence for them: through the sacraments and the word they dispense the
saving power of Christ’s Blood. The Sienese Saint always invited the sacred
ministers, including the Pope whom she called “sweet Christ on earth”, to be
faithful to their responsibilities, motivated always and only by her profound
and constant love of the Church. She said before she died: “in leaving my body,
truly I have consumed and given my life in the Church and for the Holy Church,
which is for me a most unique grace” (Raimondo da Capua, S. Caterina da Siena, Legenda maior, n. 363). Hence we learn from
St Catherine the most sublime science: to know and love Jesus Christ and his
Church. In the Dialogue of Divine Providence, she describes Christ, with an
unusual image, as a bridge flung between Heaven and earth. This bridge consists
of three great stairways constituted by the feet, the side and the mouth of
Jesus. Rising by these stairways the soul passes through the three stages of
every path to sanctification: detachment from sin, the practice of the virtues
and of love, sweet and loving union with God.
SAINT CLAIRE OF ASSISI
One of the best loved Saints
is without a doubt St Clare of Assisi who lived in the 13th century and was a
contemporary of St Francis. Her testimony shows us how indebted the Church is
to courageous women, full of faith like her, who can give a crucial impetus to
the Church's renewal. So who was Clare of Assisi? To answer this question we
possess reliable sources: not only the ancient biographies, such as that of
Tommaso da Celano, but also the Proceedings of the cause of her
canonization that the Pope promoted only a few months after Clare's death and
that contain the depositions of those who had lived a long time with her.
In one of the four letters
that Clare sent to St Agnes of Prague the daughter of the King of Bohemia, who
wished to follow in Christ's footsteps, she speaks of Christ, her beloved
Spouse, with nuptial words that may be surprising but are nevertheless moving:
"When you have loved [him] you shall be chaste; when you have touched
[him] you shall become purer; when you have accepted [him] you shall be a
virgin. Whose power is stronger, whose generosity is more elevated, whose
appearance more beautiful, whose love more tender, whose courtesy more
gracious. In whose embrace you are already caught up; who has adorned your
breast with precious stones... and placed on your head a golden crown as a sign
[to all] of your holiness" (First Letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague:
FF, 2862).
Especially at the beginning of
her religious experience, Francis of Assisi was not only a teacher to Clare
whose teachings she was to follow but also a brotherly friend. The friendship
between these two Saints is a very beautiful and important aspect. Indeed, when
two pure souls on fire with the same love for God meet, they find in their
friendship with each other a powerful incentive to advance on the path of
perfection. Friendship is one of the noblest and loftiest human sentiments
which divine Grace purifies and transfigures. Like St Francis and St Clare,
other Saints too experienced profound friendship on the journey towards
Christian perfection. Examples are St Francis de Sales and St Jane Frances de
Chantal. And St Francis de Sales himself wrote: "It is a blessed thing to
love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here
which is to endure for ever there. I am not now speaking of simple charity, a
love due to all mankind, but of that spiritual friendship which binds souls
together, leading them to share devotions and spiritual interests, so as to
have but one mind between them" (The Introduction to a Devout Life, III, 19).
After spending a period of
several months at other monastic communities, resisting the pressure of her
relatives who did not at first approve of her decision, Clare settled with her
first companions at the Church of San Damiano where the Friars Minor had
organized a small convent for them. She lived in this Monastery for more than
40 years, until her death in 1253. A first-hand description has come down to us
of how these women lived in those years at the beginning of the Franciscan
movement. It is the admiring account of Jacques de Vitry, a Flemish Bishop who
came to Italy on a visit. He declared that he had encountered a large number of
men and women of every social class who, having "left all things for
Christ, fled the world. They called themselves Friars Minor and Sisters Minor
[Lesser] and are held in high esteem by the Lord Pope and the Cardinals.... The
women live together in various homes not far from the city. They receive
nothing but live on the work of their own hands. And they are deeply troubled
and pained at being honoured more than they would like to be by both clerics
and lay people" (Letter of October 1216: FF, 2205, 2207).
Jacques de Vitry had
perceptively noticed a characteristic trait of Franciscan spirituality about
which Clare was deeply sensitive: the radicalism of poverty associated with
total trust in Divine Providence. For this reason, she acted with great
determination, obtaining from Pope Gregory IX or, probably, already from Pope
Innocent III, the so-called Privilegium Paupertatis (cf. FF., 3279). On the basis of this
privilege Clare and her companions at San Damiano could not possess any
material property. This was a truly extraordinary exception in comparison with
the canon law then in force but the ecclesiastical authorities of that time
permitted it, appreciating the fruits of evangelical holiness that they
recognized in the way of life of Clare and her sisters. This shows that even in
the centuries of the Middle Ages the role of women was not secondary but on the
contrary considerable. In this regard, it is useful to remember that Clare was
the first woman in the Church's history who composed a written Rule, submitted
for the Pope's approval, to ensure the preservation of Francis of Assisi's
charism in all the communities of women large numbers of which were already
springing up in her time that wished to draw inspiration from the example of
Francis and Clare.
In the Convent of San Damiano,
Clare practised heroically the virtues that should distinguish every Christian:
humility, a spirit of piety and penitence and charity. Although she was the
superior, she wanted to serve the sick sisters herself and joyfully subjected
herself to the most menial tasks. In fact, charity overcomes all resistance and
whoever loves, joyfully performs every sacrifice. Her faith in the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist was so great that twice a miracle happened.
Simply by showing to them the Most Blessed Sacrament distanced the Saracen
mercenaries, who were on the point of attacking the convent of San Damiano and
pillaging the city of Assisi.
Such episodes, like other
miracles whose memory lives on, prompted Pope Alexander IV to canonize her in
1255, only two years after her death, outlining her eulogy in the Bull on the
Canonization of St Clare. In it we read: "How powerful was the
illumination of this light and how strong the brightness of this source of
light. Truly this light was kept hidden in the cloistered life; and outside
them shone with gleaming rays; Clare in fact lay hidden, but her life was
revealed to all. Clare was silent, but her fame was shouted out" (FF, 3284). And this is exactly how
it was, dear friends: those who change the world for the better are holy, they
transform it permanently, instilling in it the energies that only love inspired
by the Gospel can elicit. The Saints are humanity's great benefactors!
St Clare's spirituality, the
synthesis of the holiness she proposed is summed up in the fourth letter she
wrote to St Agnes of Prague. St Clare used an image very widespread in the
Middle Ages that dates back to Patristic times: the mirror. And she invited her
friend in Prague to reflect herself in that mirror of the perfection of every
virtue which is the Lord himself. She wrote: "Happy, indeed, is the one
permitted to share in this sacred banquet so as to be joined with all the
feelings of her heart (to Christ) whose beauty all the blessed hosts of the
Heavens unceasingly admire, whose affection moves, whose contemplation
invigorates, whose generosity fills, whose sweetness replenishes, whose
remembrance pleasantly brings light, whose fragrance will revive the dead, and
whose glorious vision will bless all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem,
because the vision of him is the splendour of everlasting glory, the
radiance of everlasting light, and a mirror without tarnish. Look into this mirror every
day, O Queen, spouse of Jesus Christ, and continually examine your face in it,
so that in this way you may adorn yourself completely, inwardly and
outwardly.... In this mirror shine blessed poverty, holy humility, and charity
beyond words..." (Fourth Letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague, FF, 2901-2903).
SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY
St. Elizabeth of Hungary, also called St.
Elizabeth of Thuringia was born in 1207; historians dispute her birthplace. Her
father was Andrew ii, the rich and
powerful King of Hungary. To reinforce political ties he had married the German
Countess Gertrude of Andechs-Meran, sister of St Hedwig who was wife to the
Duke of Silesia. Elizabeth, together with her sister and three brothers, spent
only the first four years of her childhood at the Hungarian court. She liked
playing, music and dancing; she recited her prayers faithfully and already
showed special attention to the poor, whom she helped with a kind word or an
affectionate gesture.
Her happy childhood was suddenly interrupted
when some knights arrived from distant Thuringia to escort her to her new
residence in Central Germany. In fact, complying with the customs of that time,
Elizabeth's father had arranged for her to become a Princess of Thuringia. The
Landgrave or Count of this region was one of the richest and most influential
sovereigns in Europe at the beginning of the 13th century and his castle was a
centre of magnificence and culture. However, the festivities and apparent glory
concealed the ambition of feudal princes who were frequently warring with each
other and in conflict with the royal and imperial authorities.
In this context the Landgrave Hermann very
willingly accepted the betrothal of his son Ludwig to the Hungarian Princess.
Elizabeth left her homeland with a rich dowry and a large entourage, including
her personal ladies-in-waiting, two of whom were to remain faithful friends to
the very end. It is they who left us the precious information on the childhood
and life of the Saint. They reached Eisenach after a long journey and made the
ascent to the Fortress of Wartburg, the strong castle towering over the city.
It was here that the betrothal of Ludwig and Elizabeth was celebrated. In the
ensuing years, while Ludwig learned the knightly profession, Elizabeth and her
companions studied German, French, Latin, music, literature and embroidery.
Despite the fact that political reasons had determined their betrothal, a
sincere love developed between the two young people, enlivened by faith and by
the desire to do God’s will. On his father's death when Ludwig was 18 years
old, he began to reign over Thuringia.
Elizabeth, however, became the object of
critical whispers because her behaviour was incongruous with court life. Hence
their marriage celebrations were far from sumptuous and a part of the funds
destined for the banquet was donated to the poor. With her profound
sensitivity, Elizabeth saw the contradictions between the faith professed and
Christian practice. She could not bear compromise. Once, on entering a church
on the Feast of the Assumption, she took off her crown, laid it before the
Crucifix and, covering her face, lay prostrate on the ground. When her
mother-in-law reprimanded her for this gesture, Elizabeth answered: "How
can I, a wretched creature, continue to wear a crown of earthly dignity, when I
see my King Jesus Christ crowned with thorns?”. She behaved to her subjects in
the same way that she behaved to God. Among the Sayings of the four maids we find this testimony: “She did not eat any
food before ascertaining that it came from her husband's property or legitimate
possessions. While she abstained from goods procured illegally, she also did
her utmost to provide compensation to those who had suffered violence” (nn. 25
and 37). She is a true example for all who have roles of leadership: the
exercise of authority, at every level, must be lived as a service to justice
and charity, in the constant search for the common good.
Elizabeth diligently practiced works of mercy:
she would give food and drink to those who knocked at her door, she procured
clothing, paid debts, cared for the sick and buried the dead. Coming down from
her castle, she often visited the homes of the poor with her ladies-in-waiting,
bringing them bread, meat, flour and other food. She distributed the food
personally and attentively checked the clothing and mattresses of the poor. This
behaviour was reported to her husband, who not only was not displeased but
answered her accusers, “So long as she does not sell the castle, I am happy
with her!”.
The miracle of the loaves that were changed
into roses fits into this context: while Elizabeth was on her way with her
apron filled with bread for the poor, she met her husband who asked her what
she was carrying. She opened her apron to show him and, instead of bread, it
was full of magnificent roses. This symbol of charity often features in depictions
of St Elizabeth. Elizabeth's marriage was profoundly happy: she helped her
husband to raise his human qualities to a supernatural level and he, in
exchange, stood up for his wife's generosity to the poor and for her religious
practices. Increasingly admired for his wife's great faith, Ludwig said to her,
referring to her attention to the poor: “Dear Elizabeth, it is Christ whom you
have cleansed, nourished and cared for”. A clear witness to how faith and love
of God and neighbour strengthen family life and deepen ever more the
matrimonial union. The young couple found spiritual support in the Friars Minor
who began to spread through Thuringia in 1222. Elizabeth chose from among them
Friar Rodeger (Rüdiger) as her spiritual director. When he told her about the
event of the conversion of Francis of Assisi, a rich young merchant, Elizabeth
was even more enthusiastic in the journey of her Christian life.
From that time she became even more determined
to follow the poor and Crucified Christ, present in poor people. Even when her
first son was born, followed by two other children, our Saint never neglected
her charitable works. She also helped the Friars Minor to build a convent at
Halberstadt, of which Friar Rodeger became superior. For this reason Elizabeth’s
spiritual direction was taken on by Conrad of Marburg.
The farewell to her husband was a hard trial,
when, at the end of June in 1227 when Ludwig iv
joined the Crusade of the Emperor Frederick ii.
He reminded his wife that this was traditional for the sovereigns of Thuringia.
Elizabeth answered him: “Far be it from me to detain you. I have given my whole
self to God and now I must also give you”. However, fever decimated the troops
and Ludwig himself fell ill and died in Otranto, before embarking, in September
1227. He was 27 years old. When Elizabeth learned the news, she was so
sorrowful that she withdrew in solitude; but then, strengthened by prayer and
comforted by the hope of seeing him again in Heaven, she began to attend to the
affairs of the Kingdom. However, another trial was lying in wait for Elizabeth.
Her brother-in-law usurped the government of Thuringia, declaring himself to be
the true heir of Ludwig and accusing Elizabeth of being a pious woman incapable
of ruling. The young widow, with three children, was banished from the Castle
of Wartburg and went in search of a place of refuge. Only two of her ladies
remained close to her. They accompanied her and entrusted the three children to
the care of Ludwig’s friends. Wandering through the villages, Elizabeth worked
wherever she was welcomed, looked after the sick, spun thread and cooked.
During this calvary which she bore with great
faith, with patience and with dedication to God, a few relatives who had stayed
faithful to her and viewed her brother-in-law's rule as illegal, restored her
reputation. So it was that at the beginning of 1228, Elizabeth received
sufficient income to withdraw to the family’s castle in Marburg, where her
spiritual director, Fra Conrad, also lived. It was he who reported the
following event to Pope Gregory ix:
“On Good Friday in 1228, having placed her hands on the altar in the chapel of
her city, Eisenach, to which she had welcomed the Friars Minor, in the presence
of several friars and relatives Elizabeth renounced her own will and all the
vanities of the world. She also wanted to resign all her possessions, but I
dissuaded her out of love for the poor. Shortly afterwards she built a
hospital, gathered the sick and invalids and served at her own table the most
wretched and deprived. When I reprimanded her for these things, Elizabeth
answered that she received from the poor special grace and humility” (Epistula
magistri Conradi, 14-17).
We can discern in this affirmation a certain
mystical experience similar to that of St Francis: the Poverello of Assisi declared in his testament, in fact,
that serving lepers, which he at first found repugnant, was transformed into
sweetness of the soul and of the body (Testamentum, 1-3). Elizabeth spent her last three years in
the hospital she founded, serving the sick and keeping wake over the dying. She
always tried to carry out the most humble services and repugnant tasks. She
became what we might call a consecrated woman in the world (soror in saeculo) and, with other friends clothed in grey
habits, formed a religious community. It is not by chance that she is the
Patroness of the Third Order Regular of St Francis and of the Franciscan
Secular Order. In November 1231 she was stricken with a high fever. When the
news of her illness spread, may people flocked to see her. After about 10 days,
she asked for the doors to be closed so that she might be alone with God. In
the night of 17 November, she fell asleep gently in the Lord. The testimonies
of her holiness were so many and such that after only four years Pope Gregory ix canonized her and, that same year,
the beautiful church built in her honour at Marburg was consecrated.
SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT
St Gertrude the Great is one
of the most famous mystics, the only German woman to be called
"Great", because of her cultural and evangelical stature: her life
and her thought had a unique impact on Christian spirituality. She was an
exceptional woman, endowed with special natural talents and extraordinary gifts
of grace, the most profound humility and ardent zeal for her neighbour's
salvation. She was in close communion with God both in contemplation and in her
readiness to go to the help of those in need.
At Helfta, she measured
herself systematically, so to speak, with her teacher, Matilda of Hackeborn. Gertrude came into contact
with Matilda of Magdeburg, another medieval mystic and grew up under the wing
of Abbess Gertrude, motherly, gentle and demanding. From these three sisters
she drew precious experience and wisdom; she worked them into a synthesis of
her own, continuing on her religious journey with boundless trust in the Lord.
Gertrude expressed the riches of her spirituality not only in her monastic
world, but also and above all in the biblical, liturgical, Patristic and
Benedictine contexts, with a highly personal hallmark and great skill in
communicating.
Gertrude was born on 6 January
1256, on the Feast of the Epiphany, but nothing is known of her parents nor of
the place of her birth. Gertrude wrote that the Lord himself revealed to her
the meaning of this first uprooting: "I have chosen you for my abode
because I am pleased that all that is lovable in you is my work.... For this
very reason I have distanced you from all your relatives, so that no one may
love you for reasons of kinship and that I may be the sole cause of the
affection you receive" (The Revelations, I, 16, Siena 1994, pp. 76-77).
When she was five years old,
in 1261, she entered the monastery for formation and education, a common
practice in that period. Here she spent her whole life, the most important
stages of which she herself points out. In her memoirs she recalls that the
Lord equipped her in advance with forbearing patience and infinite mercy,
forgetting the years of her childhood, adolescence and youth, which she spent,
she wrote, "in such mental blindness that I would have been capable... of
thinking, saying or doing without remorse everything I liked and wherever I
could, had you not armed me in advance, with an inherent horror of evil and a
natural inclination for good and with the external vigilance of others. "I
would have behaved like a pagan... in spite of desiring you since childhood,
that is since my fifth year of age, when I went to live in the Benedictine
shrine of religion to be educated among your most devout friends" (ibid.,
II, 23, p.
140f.).
Gertrude was an extraordinary
student, she learned everything that can be learned of the sciences of the
trivium and quadrivium, the education of that time; she was fascinated by
knowledge and threw herself into profane studies with zeal and tenacity,
achieving scholastic successes beyond every expectation. If we know nothing of
her origins, she herself tells us about her youthful passions: literature,
music and song and the art of miniature painting captivated her. She had a
strong, determined, ready and impulsive temperament. She often says that she
was negligent; she recognizes her shortcomings and humbly asks forgiveness for
them. She also humbly asks for advice and prayers for her conversion. Some
features of her temperament and faults were to accompany her to the end of her
life, so as to amaze certain people who wondered why the Lord had favoured her
with such a special love.
From being a student she moved
on to dedicate herself totally to God in monastic life, and for 20 years
nothing exceptional occurred: study and prayer were her main activities.
Because of her gifts she shone out among the sisters; she was tenacious in
consolidating her culture in various fields.
Nevertheless during Advent of 1280 she began to feel disgusted with all this and realized the vanity of it all. On 27 January 1281, a few days before the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, towards the hour of Compline in the evening, the Lord with his illumination dispelled her deep anxiety. With gentle sweetness he calmed the distress that anguished her, a torment that Gertrude saw even as a gift of God, "to pull down that tower of vanity and curiosity which, although I had both the name and habit of a nun alas I had continued to build with my pride, so that at least in this manner I might find the way for you to show me your salvation" (ibid., II, p. 87). She had a vision of a young man who, in order to guide her through the tangle of thorns that surrounded her soul, took her by the hand. In that hand Gertrude recognized "the precious traces of the wounds that abrogated all the acts of accusation of our enemies" (ibid., II, 1, p. 89), and thus recognized the One who saved us with his Blood on the Cross: Jesus.
From that moment her life of
intimate communion with the Lord was intensified, especially in the most
important liturgical seasons Advent-Christmas, Lent-Easter, the feasts of Our
Lady even when illness prevented her from going to the choir. This was the same
liturgical humus as that of Matilda, her teacher; but Gertrude describes it with
simpler, more linear images, symbols and terms that are more realistic and her
references to the Bible, to the Fathers and to the Benedictine world are more
direct.
Her biographer points out two
directions of what we might describe as her own particular
"conversion": in study, with the radical passage from profane, humanistic
studies to the study of theology, and in monastic observance, with the passage from a life
that she describes as negligent, to the life of intense, mystical prayer, with
exceptional missionary zeal. The Lord who had chosen her from her mother's womb
and who since her childhood had made her partake of the banquet of monastic
life, called her again with his grace "from external things to inner life
and from earthly occupations to love for spiritual things". Gertrude
understood that she was remote from him, in the region of unlikeness, as she said with Augustine;
that she had dedicated herself with excessive greed to liberal studies, to
human wisdom, overlooking spiritual knowledge, depriving herself of the taste
for true wisdom; she was then led to the mountain of contemplation where she
cast off her former self to be reclothed in the new. "From a grammarian
she became a theologian, with the unflagging and attentive reading of all the
sacred books that she could lay her hands on or contrive to obtain. She filled
her heart with the most useful and sweet sayings of Sacred Scripture. Thus she
was always ready with some inspired and edifying word to satisfy those who came
to consult her while having at her fingertips the most suitable scriptural
texts to refute any erroneous opinion and silence her opponents" (ibid.,
I, 1, p. 25).
Gertrude transformed all this
into an apostolate: she devoted herself to writing and popularizing the truth
of faith with clarity and simplicity, with grace and persuasion, serving the
Church faithfully and lovingly so as to be helpful to and appreciated by
theologians and devout people.
Little of her intense activity
has come down to us, partly because of the events that led to the destruction
of the Monastery of Helfta. In addition to The Herald of Divine Love and The Revelations, we still have her
Spiritual Exercises, a rare jewel of mystical spiritual literature.
In religious observance our
Saint was "a firm pillar... a very powerful champion of justice and
truth" (ibid., I, 1, p. 26), her biographer says. By her words and example she kindled
great fervour in other people. She added to the prayers and penances of the
monastic rule others with such devotion and such trusting abandonment in God
that she inspired in those who met her an awareness of being in the Lord's
presence. In fact, God made her understand that he had called her to be an
instrument of his grace. Gertrude herself felt unworthy of this immense divine
treasure, and confesses that she had not safeguarded it or made enough of it.
She exclaimed: "Alas! If you had given me to remember you, unworthy as I
am, by even only a straw, I would have viewed it with greater respect and
reverence that I have had for all your gifts!" (ibid., II, 5, p. 100). Yet, in
recognizing her poverty and worthlessness she adhered to God's will,
"because", she said, "I have so little profited from your graces
that I cannot resolve to believe that they were lavished upon me solely for my
own use, since no one can thwart your eternal wisdom. Therefore, O Giver of
every good thing who has freely lavished upon me gifts so undeserved, in order
that, in reading this, the heart of at least one of your friends may be moved
at the thought that zeal for souls has induced you to leave such a priceless
gem for so long in the abominable mud of my heart" (ibid., II, 5, p. 100f.).
Two favours in particular were
dearer to her than any other, as Gertrude herself writes: "The stigmata of
your salvation-bearing wounds which you impressed upon me, as it were, like a
valuable necklaces, in my heart, and the profound and salutary wound of love
with which you marked it.
"You flooded me with your gifts, of such beatitude that even were I to live for 1,000 years with no consolation neither interior nor exterior the memory of them would suffice to comfort me, to enlighten me, to fill me with gratitude. Further, you wished to introduce me into the inestimable intimacy of your friendship by opening to me in various ways that most noble sacrarium of your Divine Being which is your Divine Heart.... To this accumulation of benefits you added that of giving me as Advocate the Most Holy Virgin Mary, your Mother, and often recommended me to her affection, just as the most faithful of bridegrooms would recommend his beloved bride to his own mother" (ibid., II, 23, p. 145).
Looking forward to
never-ending communion, she ended her earthly life on 17 November 1301 or 1302,
at the age of about 46. In the seventh Exercise, that of preparation for death,
St Gertrude wrote: "O Jesus, you who are immensely dear to me, be with me
always, so that my heart may stay with you and that your love may endure with
me with no possibility of division; and bless my passing, so that my spirit,
freed from the bonds of the flesh, may immediately find rest in you. Amen" (Spiritual Exercises, Milan 2006, p. 148).
SAINT HILDEGARD OF BINGEN
St. Hildegard of Bingen, who
lived in Germany in the 12th century, was born in 1098, probably at
Bermersheim, Rhineland, not far from Alzey, and died in 1179 at the age of 81,
in spite of having always been in poor health. Hildegard belonged to a large
noble family and her parents dedicated her to God from birth for his service.
At the age of eight she was offered for the religious state (in accordance with
the Rule of St Benedict, chapter 59), and, to ensure that she received an
appropriate human and Christian formation, she was entrusted to the care of the
consecrated widow Uda of Gölklheim and then to Jutta of Spanheim who had taken
the veil at the Benedictine Monastery of St Disibodenberg. A small cloistered
women's monastery was developing there that followed the Rule of St Benedict.
Hildegard was clothed by Bishop Otto of Bamberg and in 1136, upon the death of
Mother Jutta who had become the community magistra (Prioress), the sisters chose
Hildegard to succeed her. She fulfilled this office making the most of her
gifts as a woman of culture and of lofty spirituality, capable of dealing
competently with the organizational aspects of cloistered life. A few years
later, partly because of the increasing number of young women who were knocking
at the monastery door, Hildegard broke away from the dominating male monastery
of St Disibodenburg with her community, taking it to Bingen, calling it after
St Rupert and here she spent the rest of her days. Her manner of exercising the
ministry of authority is an example for every religious community: she inspired
holy emulation in the practice of good to such an extent that, as time was to
tell, both the mother and her daughters competed in mutual esteem and in
serving each other.
During the years when she was
superior of the Monastery of St Disibodenberg, Hildegard began to dictate the
mystical visions that she had been receiving for some time to the monk Volmar,
her spiritual director, and to Richardis di Strade, her secretary, a sister of
whom she was very fond. As always happens in the life of true mystics,
Hildegard too wanted to put herself under the authority of wise people to
discern the origin of her visions, fearing that they were the product of
illusions and did not come from God. She thus turned to a person who was most
highly esteemed in the Church in those times: St Bernard of Clairvaux, of whom
I have already spoken in several Catecheses. He calmed and encouraged Hildegard.
However, in 1147 she received a further, very important approval. Pope Eugene
iii, who was presiding at a Synod in Trier, read a text dictated by Hildegard
presented to him by Archbishop Henry of Mainz. The Pope authorized the mystic
to write down her visions and to speak in public. From that moment Hildegard's
spiritual prestige continued to grow so that her contemporaries called her the
"Teutonic prophetess". This, dear friends, is the seal of an
authentic experience of the Holy Spirit, the source of every charism: the
person endowed with supernatural gifts never boasts of them, never flaunts them
and, above all, shows complete obedience to the ecclesial authority. Every gift
bestowed by the Holy Spirit, is in fact intended for the edification of the Church
and the Church, through her Pastors, recognizes its authenticity.
Hildegard's mystical visions
resemble those of the Old Testament prophets: expressing herself in the
cultural and religious categories of her time, she interpreted the Sacred
Scriptures in the light of God, applying them to the various circumstances of
life. Thus all those who heard her felt the need to live a consistent and
committed Christian lifestyle. In a letter to St Bernard the mystic from the
Rhineland confesses: "The vision fascinates my whole being: I do not see
with the eyes of the body but it appears to me in the spirit of the
mysteries.... I recognize the deep meaning of what is expounded on in the
Psalter, in the Gospels and in other books, which have been shown to me in the
vision. This vision burns like a flame in my breast and in my soul and teaches
me to understand the text profoundly" (Epistolarium pars prima I-XC:
CCCM 91).
Hildegard's mystical visions
have a rich theological content. They refer to the principal events of
salvation history, and use a language for the most part poetic and symbolic.
For example, in her best known work entitled Scivias, that is, "You know the
ways" she sums up in 35 visions the events of the history of salvation
from the creation of the world to the end of time. With the characteristic
traits of feminine sensitivity, Hildegard develops at the very heart of her
work the theme of the mysterious marriage between God and humanity that is
brought about in the Incarnation. On the tree of the Cross take place the
nuptials of the Son of God with the Church, his Bride, filled with grace and
the ability to give new children to God, in the love of the Holy Spirit (cf. Visio
tertia: PL 197,
453c).
From these brief references we
already see that theology too can receive a special contribution from women
because they are able to talk about God and the mysteries of faith using their
own particular intelligence and sensitivity. I therefore encourage all those
who carry out this service to do it with a profound ecclesial spirit,
nourishing their own reflection with prayer and looking to the great riches,
not yet fully explored, of the medieval mystic tradition, especially that
represented by luminous models such as Hildegard of Bingen.
The Rhenish mystic is also the
author of other writings, two of which are particularly important since, like Scivias, they record her mystical
visions: they are the Liber vitae meritorum (Book of the merits of life)
and the Liber divinorum operum (Book of the divine works), also called De
operatione Dei.
In the former she describes a unique and powerful vision of God who gives life
to the cosmos with his power and his light. Hildegard stresses the deep
relationship that exists between man and God and reminds us that the whole creation,
of which man is the summit, receives life from the Trinity. The work is centred
on the relationship between virtue and vice, which is why human beings must
face the daily challenge of vice that distances them on their way towards God
and of virtue that benefits them. The invitation is to distance themselves from
evil in order to glorify God and, after a virtuous existence, enter the life
that consists "wholly of joy". In her second work that many consider
her masterpiece she once again describes creation in its relationship with God
and the centrality of the human being, expressing a strong Christo-centrism
with a biblical-Patristic flavour. The Saint, who presents five visions
inspired by the Prologue of the Gospel according to St John, cites the words of
the Son to the Father: "The whole task that you wanted and entrusted to me
I have carried out successfully, and so here I am in you and you in me and we
are one" (Pars III, Visio X: PL 197, 1025a).
Finally, in other writings
Hildegard manifests the versatility of interests and cultural vivacity of the
female monasteries of the Middle Ages, in a manner contrary to the prejudices
which still weighed on that period. Hildegard took an interest in medicine and
in the natural sciences as well as in music, since she was endowed with
artistic talent. Thus she composed hymns, antiphons and songs, gathered under
the title: Symphonia Harmoniae Caelestium Revelationum (Symphony of the Harmony of
Heavenly Revelations), that were performed joyously in her monasteries,
spreading an atmosphere of tranquillity and that have also come down to us. For
her, the entire creation is a symphony of the Holy Spirit who is in himself joy
and jubilation.
The popularity that surrounded
Hildegard impelled many people to seek her advice. It is for this reason that
we have so many of her letters at our disposal. Many male and female monastic
communities turned to her, as well as Bishops and Abbots. And many of her
answers still apply for us. For instance, Hildegard wrote these words to a
community of women religious: "The spiritual life must be tended with
great dedication. At first the effort is burdensome because it demands the
renunciation of caprices of the pleasures of the flesh and of other such
things. But if she lets herself be enthralled by holiness a holy soul will find
even contempt for the world sweet and lovable. All that is needed is to take
care that the soul does not shrivel" (E. Gronau, Hildegard. Vita di una donna profetica alle origini
dell'età moderna, Milan 1996,
p. 402). And when
the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa caused a schism in the Church by supporting at
least three anti-popes against Alexander iii, the legitimate Pope, Hildegard
did not hesitate, inspired by her visions, to remind him that even he, the
Emperor, was subject to God's judgement. With fearlessness, a feature of every
prophet, she wrote to the Emperor these words as spoken by God: "You will
be sorry for this wicked conduct of the godless who despise me! Listen, O King,
if you wish to live! Otherwise my sword will pierce you!" (ibid., p. 412).
With the spiritual authority
with which she was endowed, in the last years of her life Hildegard set out on
journeys, despite her advanced age and the uncomfortable conditions of travel,
in order to speak to the people of God. They all listened willingly, even when
she spoke severely: they considered her a messenger sent by God. She called
above all the monastic communities and the clergy to a life in conformity with
their vocation. In a special way Hildegard countered the movement of German cátari
(Cathars).
They cátari means
literally "pure" advocated a radical reform of the Church, especially
to combat the abuses of the clergy. She harshly reprimanded them for seeking to
subvert the very nature of the Church, reminding them that a true renewal of
the ecclesial community is obtained with a sincere spirit of repentance and a
demanding process of conversion, rather than with a change of structures. This
is a message that we should never forget. Let us always invoke the Holy Spirit,
so that he may inspire in the Church holy and courageous women, like St
Hildegard of Bingen, who, developing the gifts they have received from God,
make their own special and valuable contribution to the spiritual development
of our communities and of the Church in our time.
SAINT JULIAN OF NORWICH
It is known that she lived
from 1342 until about 1430, turbulent years both for the Church, torn by the
schism that followed the Pope’s return to Rome from Avignon, and for the life
of the people who were suffering the consequences of a long drawn-out war
between the Kingdoms of England and of France. God, however, even in periods of
tribulation, does not cease to inspire figures such as Julian of Norwich, to
recall people to peace, love and joy. As Julian herself recounts, in May 1373,
most likely on the 13th of that month, she was suddenly stricken with a very
serious illness that in three days seemed to be carrying her to the grave.
After the priest, who hastened to her bedside, had shown her the Crucified One
not only did Julian rapidly recover her health but she received the 16
revelations that she subsequently wrote down and commented on in her book, Revelations
of Divine Love.
And it was the Lord himself,
15 years after these extraordinary events, who revealed to her the meaning of
those visions. “‘Would you learn to see clearly your Lord’s meaning in this
thing? Learn it well: Love was his meaning. Who showed it to you? Love.... Why
did he show it to you? For Love’.... Thus I was taught that Love was our Lord’s
meaning” (Julian of Norwich, Revelations of Divine Love, Chapter 86). Inspired by
divine love, Julian made a radical decision. Like an ancient anchoress, she
decided to live in a cell located near the church called after St Julian, in
the city of Norwich — in her time an important urban centre not far from
London. She may have taken the name of Julian precisely from that Saint to whom
was dedicated the church in whose vicinity she lived for so many years, until
her death. This decision to live as a “recluse”, the term in her day, might
surprise or even perplex us. But she was not the only one to make such a
choice. In those centuries a considerable number of women opted for this form
of life, adopting rules specially drawn up, for them, such as the rule compiled
by St Aelred of Rievaulx. The anchoresses or “recluses”, in their cells,
devoted themselves to prayer, meditation and study. In this way they developed a
highly refined human and religious sensitivity which earned them the veneration
of the people. Men and women of every age and condition in need of advice and
comfort, would devoutly seek them. It was not, therefore, an individualistic
choice; precisely with this closeness to the Lord, Julian developed the ability
to be a counsellor to a great many people and to help those who were going
through difficulties in this life.
We also know that Julian too
received frequent visitors, as is attested by the autobiography of another
fervent Christian of her time, Margery Kempe, who went to Norwich in 1413 to
receive advice on her spiritual life. This is why, in her lifetime, Julian was
called “Dame Julian”, as is engraved on the funeral monument that contains her remains.
She had become a mother to many. Men and women who withdraw to live in God’s
company acquire by making this decision a great sense of compassion for the
suffering and weakness of others. As friends of God, they have at their
disposal a wisdom that the world — from which they have distanced themselves —
does not possess and they amiably share it with those who knock at their door.
I therefore recall with
admiration and gratitude the women and men's cloistered monasteries. Today more
than ever they are oases of peace and hope, a precious treasure for the whole
Church, especially since they recall the primacy of God and the importance, for
the journey of faith, of constant and intense prayer. It was precisely in the
solitude infused with God that Julian of Norwich wrote her Revelations of
Divine Love. Two
versions have come down to us, one that is shorter, probably the older, and one
that is longer. This book contains a message of optimism based on the certainty
of being loved by God and of being protected by his Providence.
In this book we read the
following wonderful words: “And I saw full surely that ere God made us he loved
us; which love was never lacking nor ever shall be. And in this love he has
made all his works; and in this love he has made all things profitable to us;
and in this love our life is everlasting... in which love we have our
beginning. And all this shall we see in God, without end” (Revelations of
Divine Love,
Chapter 86). The theme of divine love recurs frequently in the visions of Julian
of Norwich who, with a certain daring, did not hesitate to compare them also to
motherly love. This is one of the most characteristic messages of her mystical
theology. The tenderness, concern and gentleness of God’s kindness to us are so
great that they remind us, pilgrims on earth, of a mother’s love for her
children. In fact the biblical prophets also sometimes used this language that
calls to mind the tenderness, intensity and totality of God’s love, which is
manifested in creation and in the whole history of salvation that is crowned by
the Incarnation of the Son. God, however, always excels all human love, as the
Prophet Isaiah says: “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should
have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will
never forget you” (Is 49:15).
Julian of Norwich understood
the central message for spiritual life: God is love and it is only if one opens
oneself to this love, totally and with total trust, and lets it become one's
sole guide in life, that all things are transfigured, true peace and true joy
found and one is able to radiate it. I would like to emphasize another point.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites the words of Julian of Norwich when it explains
the viewpoint of the Catholic faith on an argument that never ceases to be a
provocation to all believers (cf. nn. 304-313, 314). If God is supremely good and
wise, why do evil and the suffering of innocents exist? And the Saints
themselves asked this very question. Illumined by faith, they give an answer
that opens our hearts to trust and hope: in the mysterious designs of
Providence, God can draw a greater good even from evil, as Julian of Norwich
wrote: “Here I was taught by the grace of God that I should steadfastly hold me
in the Faith ... and that ... I should take my stand on and earnestly believe
in ... that ‘all manner of thing shall be well”’ (The Revelations of Divine
Love, Chapter
32).
SAINT JULIANA DE CORNILLON
St. Juliana de Cornillon, also
known as St. Juliana of Liège is little known but the Church is deeply indebted
to her, not only because of the holiness of her life but also because, with her
great fervour, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important
solemn Liturgies of the year: Corpus Christi. We know several facts about
her life, mainly from a Biography that was probably written by a contemporary
cleric; it is a collection of various testimonies of people who were directly
acquainted with the Saint.
Juliana was born near Liège,
Belgium between 1191 and 1192. It is important to emphasize this place because
at that time the Diocese of Liège was, so to speak, a true “Eucharistic Upper
Room”. Before Juliana, eminent theologians had illustrated the supreme value of
the Sacrament of the Eucharist and, again in Liège, there were groups of women
generously dedicated to Eucharistic worship and to fervent communion. Guided by
exemplary priests, they lived together, devoting themselves to prayer and to
charitable works.
Orphaned at the age of five,
Juliana, together with her sister Agnes, was entrusted to the care of the
Augustinian nuns at the convent and leprosarium of Mont-Cornillon.
She was taught mainly by a
sister called “Sapienza” [wisdom], who was in charge of her spiritual
development to the time Juliana received the religious habit and thus became an
Augustinian nun.
She became so learned that she
could read the words of the Church Fathers, of St Augustine and St Bernard in
particular, in Latin. In addition to a keen intelligence, Juliana showed a
special propensity for contemplation from the outset. She had a profound sense
of Christ’s presence, which she experienced by living the Sacrament of the
Eucharist especially intensely and by pausing frequently to meditate upon
Jesus’ words: “And lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt
28:20).
When Juliana was 16 she had
her first vision which recurred subsequently several times during her
Eucharistic adoration. Her vision presented the moon in its full splendour,
crossed diametrically by a dark stripe. The Lord made her understand the
meaning of what had appeared to her. The moon symbolized the life of the Church
on earth, the opaque line, on the other hand, represented the absence of a
liturgical feast for whose institution Juliana was asked to plead effectively:
namely, a feast in which believers would be able to adore the Eucharist so as
to increase in faith, to advance in the practice of the virtues and to make
reparation for offenses to the Most Holy Sacrament.
Juliana, who in the meantime
had become Prioress of the convent, kept this revelation that had filled her
heart with joy a secret for about 20 years. She then confided it to two other
fervent adorers of the Eucharist, Blessed Eva, who lived as a hermit, and
Isabella, who had joined her at the Monastery of Mont-Cornillon. The three
women established a sort of “spiritual alliance” for the purpose of glorifying
the Most Holy Sacrament.
They also chose to involve a
highly regarded Priest, John of Lausanne, who was a canon of the Church of St
Martin in Liège. They asked him to consult theologians and clerics on what was
important to them. Their affirmative response was encouraging.
What happened to Juliana of
Cornillon occurs frequently in the lives of Saints. To have confirmation that
an inspiration comes from God it is always necessary to be immersed in prayer
to wait patiently, to seek friendship and exchanges with other good souls and
to submit all things to the judgement of the Pastors of the Church.
It was in fact Bishop Robert
Torote, Liège who, after initial hesitation, accepted the proposal of Juliana
and her companions and first introduced the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in his diocese. Later other
Bishops following his example instituted this Feast in the territories
entrusted to their pastoral care.
However, to increase their
faith the Lord often asks Saints to sustain trials. This also happened to
Juliana who had to bear the harsh opposition of certain members of the clergy
and even of the superior on whom her monastery depended.
Of her own free will,
therefore, Juliana left the Convent of Mont-Cornillon with several companions.
For 10 years — from 1248 to 1258 — she stayed as a guest at various monasteries
of Cistercian sisters.
She edified all with her
humility, she had no words of criticism or reproach for her adversaries and
continued zealously to spread Eucharistic worship.
She died at Fosses-La-Ville,
Belgium, in 1258. In the cell where she lay the Blessed Sacrament was exposed
and, according to her biographer’s account, Juliana died contemplating with a
last effusion to love Jesus in the Eucharist whom she had always loved,
honoured and adored. Jacques Pantaléon of Troyes was also won over to the good
cause of the Feast of Corpus Christi during his ministry as Archdeacon in Lièges. It was he
who, having become Pope with the name of Urban iv in 1264, instituted the
Solemnity of Corpus Christi on the Thursday after Pentecost as a feast of precept
for the universal Church.
In the Bull of its
institution, entitled Transiturus de hoc mundo, (11 Aug. 1264), Pope Urban
even referred discreetly to Juliana's mystical experiences, corroborating their
authenticity. He wrote: “Although the Eucharist is celebrated solemnly every
day, we deem it fitting that at least once a year it be celebrated with greater
honour and a solemn commemoration.
“Indeed we grasp the other
things we commemorate with our spirit and our mind, but this does not mean that
we obtain their real presence. On the contrary, in this sacramental commemoration
of Christ, even though in a different form, Jesus Christ is present with us in
his own substance. While he was about to ascend into Heaven he said ‘And lo, I
am with you always, to the close of the age’ (Matthew 28:20)”.
The Pontiff made a point of setting
an example by celebrating the solemnity of Corpus Christi in Orvieto, the town where he
was then residing. Indeed, he ordered that the famous Corporal with the traces of the
Eucharistic miracle which had occurred in Bolsena the previous year, 1263, be
kept in Orvieto Cathedral — where it still is today.
While a priest was
consecrating the bread and the wine he was overcome by strong doubts about the
Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacrament of the
Eucharist. A few drops of blood began miraculously to ooze from the consecrated
Host, thereby confirming what our faith professes.
Urban iv asked one of the
greatest theologians of history, St Thomas Aquinas — who at that time was
accompanying the Pope and was in Orvieto — to compose the texts of the
Liturgical Office for this great feast. They are masterpieces, still in use in
the Church today, in which theology and poetry are fuse. These texts pluck at
the heartstrings in an expression of praise and gratitude to the Most Holy
Sacrament, while the mind, penetrating the mystery with wonder, recognizes in
the Eucharist the Living and Real Presence of Jesus, of his Sacrifice of love
that reconciles us with the Father, and gives us salvation.
Although after the death of
Urban iv the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Christi was limited to certain regions
of France, Germany, Hungary and Northern Italy, it was another Pontiff, John
xxii, who in 1317 re-established it for the universal Church. Since then the
Feast experienced a wonderful development and is still deeply appreciated by
the Christian people.
I would like to affirm with
joy that today there is a “Eucharistic springtime” in the Church: How many
people pause in silence before the Tabernacle to engage in a loving
conversation with Jesus! It is comforting to know that many groups of young
people have rediscovered the beauty of praying in adoration before the Most
Blessed Sacrament.
I am thinking, for example, of
our Eucharistic adoration in Hyde Park, London. I pray that this Eucharistic
“springtime” may spread increasingly in every parish and in particular in
Belgium, St Juliana’s homeland.
Venerable John Paul II said in
his Encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia: “In many places, adoration
of the Blessed Sacrament is also an important daily practice and becomes an
inexhaustible source of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in
the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is
a grace from the Lord which yearly brings joy to those who take part in it.
Other positive signs of Eucharistic faith and love might also be mentioned” (n. 10).
In remembering St
Juliana of Cornillon let us also renew our faith in the Real Presence of Christ
in the Eucharist. As we are taught by the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Jesus Christ is present in the
Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and
substantial way, with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity.
In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is,
under the Eucharistic Species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God
and Man” (n.
282).
Dear friends, fidelity to the
encounter with the Christ in the Eucharist in Holy Mass on Sunday is essential
for the journey of faith, but let us also seek to pay frequent visits to the
Lord present in the Tabernacle! In gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host,
we discover the gift of God's love, we discover Jesus' Passion and Cross and
likewise his Resurrection. It is precisely through our gazing in adoration that
the Lord draws us towards him into his mystery in order to transform us as he
transforms the bread and the wine.
The Saints never failed to
find strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. Let us repeat
before the Lord present in the Most Blessed Sacrament the words of the
Eucharistic hymn “Adoro te devote”: [Devoutly I adore Thee]: Make me believe ever more
in you, “Draw me deeply into faith, / Into Your hope, into Your love”.
SAINT MARGUERITE D’OINGT
With Marguerite d'Oingt we are
introduced to Carthusian spirituality which draws its inspiration from the
evangelical synthesis lived and proposed by St Bruno. We do not know the date
of her birth, although some place it around 1240. Marguerite came from a
powerful family of the old nobility of Lyons, the Oingt. We know that her
mother was also called Marguerite, that she had two brothers — Giscard and
Louis — and three sisters: Catherine, Elizabeth and Agnes. The latter followed
her to the Carthusian monastery, succeeding her as Prioress.
We have no information on her
childhood, but from her writings it seems that she spent it peacefully in an
affectionate family environment. In fact, to express God's boundless love, she
valued images linked to the family, with particular reference to the figure of
the father and of the mother. In one of her meditations she prays thus: “Most
gentle Lord, when I think of the special graces that you have given me through
your solicitude: first of all, how you took care of me since my childhood and
how you removed me from the danger of this world and called me to dedicate
myself to your holy service, and how you provided everything that was necessary
for me: food, drink, dress and footwear (and you did so) in such a way that I
had no occasion to think of these things but of your great mercy” (Marguerite
d'Oingt, Scritti Spirituali, Meditazione V, 100, Cinisello Balsamo, 1997, p. 74).
Again from her meditations we
know that she entered the Carthusian monastery of Poleteins in response to the
Lord's call, leaving everything behind and accepting the strict Carthusian Rule
in order to belong totally to the Lord, to be with him always. She wrote:
“Gentle Lord, I left my father and my mother and my siblings and all the things
of this world for love of you; but this is very little, because the riches of
this world are but thorns that prick; and the more one possesses the more
unfortunate one is. And because of this it seems to me that I left nothing
other than misery and poverty; but you know, gentle Lord, that if I possessed a
gentle thousand worlds and could dispose of them as I pleased, I would abandon
everything for love of you; and even if you gave me everything that you possess
in Heaven and on earth, I would not consider myself satiated until I had you,
because you are the life of my soul, I do not have and do not want to have a
father and mother outside of you” (ibid., Meditazione II, 32, p. 59).
We also have little data on
her life in the Carthusian monastery. We know that in 1288 she became its
fourth Prioress, a post she held until her death, 11 February 1310. From her
writings, however, we do not deduce particular stages in her spiritual
itinerary. She conceived the entirety of life as a journey of purification up
to full configuration with Christ. He is the book that is written, which is
inscribed daily in her own heart and life, in particular his saving Passion. In
the work “Speculum”, referring to herself in the third person Marguerite
stresses that by the Lord's grace “she had engraved in her heart the holy life
that Jesus Christ God led on earth, his good example and his good doctrine. She
had placed the gentle Jesus Christ so well in her heart that it even seemed to
her that he was present and that he had a closed book in his hand, to instruct
her” (ibid.,
I, 2-3, p. 81). “In this book she found written the life that Jesus Christ led
on earth, from his birth to his ascension into Heaven” (ibid., I, 12, p. 83). Every day,
beginning in the morning, Marguerite dedicated herself to the study of this
book. And, when she had looked at it well, she began to read the book of her
own conscience, which showed the falsehoods and lies of her own life (cf. ibid., I, 6-7, p. 82); she wrote
about herself to help others and to fix more deeply in her heart the grace of
the presence of God, so as to make every day of her life marked by comparison
with the words and actions of Jesus, with the Book of his life. And she did
this so that Christ's life would be imprinted in her soul in a permanent and
profound way, until she was able to see the Book internally, that is, until
contemplating the mystery of God Trinity (cf. ibid., II, 14-22; III, 23-40, pp.
84-90).
Through her writings,
Marguerite gives us some traces of her spirituality, enabling us to understand
some features of her personality and of her gifts of governance. She was a very
learned woman; she usually wrote in Latin, the language of the erudite, but she
also wrote in Provençal, and this too is a rarity: thus her writings are the
first of those known to be written in that language. She lived a life rich in
mystical experiences described with simplicity, allowing one to intuit the
ineffable mystery of God, stressing the limits of the mind to apprehend it and
the inadequacy of human language to express it. Marguerite had a linear
personality, simple, open, of gentle affectivity, great balance and acute
discernment, able to enter into the depths of the human spirit, discerning its
limits, its ambiguities, but also its aspirations, the soul's élan toward God. She showed an
outstanding aptitude for governance, combining her profound mystical spiritual
life with service to her sisters and to the community. Significant in this
connection is a passage of a letter to her father. She wrote: “My dear father,
I wish to inform you that I am very busy because of the needs of our house, so
that I am unable to apply my mind to good thoughts; in fact, I have so much to
do that I do not know which way to turn. We did not harvest the wheat in the
seventh month of the year and our vineyards were destroyed by the storm.
Moreover, our church is in such a sorry state that we are obliged to
reconstruct it in part” (ibid., Lettere, III, 14, p. 127).
A Carthusian nun thus
describes the figure of Marguerite: “Revealed through her work is a fascinating
personality, of lively intelligence, oriented to speculation and at the same
time favoured by mystical graces: in a word, a holy and wise woman who is able
to express with a certain humour an affectivity altogether spiritual” (Una
Monaca Certosina; Certosine, in the Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione, Rome, 1975, col. 777). In
the dynamism of mystical life, Marguerite valued the experience of natural
affections, purified by grace, as a privileged means to understand more
profoundly and to second divine action with greater alacrity and ardour. The
reason lies in the fact that the human person is created in the image of God
and is therefore called to build with God a wonderful history of love, allowing
himself to be totally involved in his initiative.
The God-Trinity, the God-love
who reveals himself in Christ fascinated her, and Marguerite lived a
relationship of profound love for the Lord and, in contrast, sees human
ingratitude to the point of betrayal, even to the paradox of the Cross. She
says that the Cross of Christ is similar to the bench of travail. Jesus' pain
is compared with that of a mother. She wrote: "The mother who carried me
in her womb suffered greatly in giving birth to me, for a day or a night, but
you, most gentle Lord, were tormented for me not only for one night or one day,
but for more than 30 years!... How bitterly you suffered because of me
throughout your life! And when the moment of delivery arrived, your work was so
painful that your holy sweat became as drops of blood which ran down your whole
body to the ground" (ibid., Meditazione I, 33, p. 59). In evoking the accounts of Jesus'
Passion, Marguerite contemplated these sorrows with profound compassion. She
said: “You were placed on the hard bed of the Cross, so that you could not move
or turn or shake your limbs as a man usually does when suffering great pain,
because you were completely stretched and pierced with the nails... and... all
your muscles and veins were lacerated.... But all these pains... were still not
sufficient for you, so much so that you desired that your side be pierced so
cruelly by the lance that your defenceless body should be totally ploughed and
torn and your precious blood spurted with such violence that it formed a long
path, almost as if it were a current”. Referring to Mary, she said: “It was no
wonder that the sword that lacerated your body also penetrated the heart of
your glorious Mother who so wanted to support you... because your love was
loftier than any other love” (ibid., Meditazione II, 36-39.42, p. 60f).
Dear friends, Marguerite
d'Oingt invites us to meditate daily on the life of sorrow and love of Jesus
and that of his mother, Mary. Here is our hope, the meaning of our existence.
From contemplation of Christ's love for us are born the strength and joy to
respond with the same love, placing our life at the service of God and of
others. With Marguerite we also say: “Gentle Lord, all that you did, for love
of me and of the whole human race, leads me to love you, but the remembrance of
your most holy Passion gives unequalled vigour to my power of affection to love
you. That is why it seems to me that... I have found what I so much desired:
not to love anything other than you or in you or for love of you” (ibid., Meditazione II, 46, p. 62).
At first glance this figure of
a Medieval Carthusian nun, as well as her life and her thought, seems distant
from us, from our life, from our way of thinking and acting. But if we look at
the essential aspect of this life we see that it also affects us and that it
would also become the essential aspect of our own existence. We have heard that
Marguerite considered the Lord as a book, she fixed her gaze on the Lord, she
considered him a mirror in which her own conscience also appeared. And from this
mirror light entered her soul. She let into their own being the word, the life
of Christ and thus she was transformed; her conscience was enlightened, she
found criteria and light and was cleansed. It is precisely this that we also
need: to let the words, life and light of Christ enter our conscience so that
it is enlightened, understands what is true and good and what is wrong; may our
conscience be enlightened and cleansed. Rubbish is not only on different
streets of the world. There is also rubbish in our consciences and in our
souls. Only the light of the Lord, his strength and his love, cleanses us,
purifies us, showing us the right path. Therefore let us follow holy Marguerite
in this gaze fixed on Jesus. Let us read the book of his life, let us allow
ourselves to be enlightened and cleansed, to learn the true life.
SAINT MATILDA OF HACKEBORN
St Matilda of Hackeborn was one
of the great figures of the convent of Helfta, who lived in the 13th century.
Her sister, St Gertrude the Great, tells of the special graces that God granted
to St Matilda in the sixth book of Liber Specialis Gratiae (Book of Special Grace),
which states : "What we have written is very little in comparison with
what we have omitted. We are publishing these things solely for the glory of
God and the usefulness of our neighbour, for it would seem wrong to us to keep
quiet about the many graces that Matilda received from God, not so much for
herself, in our opinion, but for us and for those who will come after us"
(Mechthild von Hackeborn, Liber specialis gratiae, vi, 1).
This work was written by St
Gertrude and by another sister of Helfta and has a unique story. At the age of
50, Matilda went through a grave spiritual crisis, as well as physical
suffering. In this condition she confided to two of her sisters who were
friends the special graces with which God had guided her since childhood.
However, she did not know that they were writing it all down. When she found
out she was deeply upset and distressed. However, the Lord reassured her,
making her realize that all that had been written was for the glory of God and
for the benefit of her neighbour (cf. ibid., II, 25; V, 20). This work,
therefore, is the principal source to refer to for information on the life and
spirituality of our Saint.
With her we are introduced
into the family of Baron von Hackeborn, one of the noblest, richest and most
powerful barons of Thuringia, related to the Emperor Frederick ii, and we enter
the convent of Helfta in the most glorious period of its history. The Baron had
already given one daughter to the convent, Gertrude of Hackeborn (1231/1232 -
1291/1292). She was gifted with an outstanding personality. She was Abbess for
40 years, capable of giving the spirituality of the convent a particular
hallmark and of bringing it to an extraordinary flourishing as the centre of
mysticism and culture, a school for scientific and theological training.
Gertrude offered the nuns an intellectual training of a high standard that
enabled them to cultivate a spirituality founded on Sacred Scripture, on the
Liturgy, on the Patristic tradition, on the Cistercian Rule and spirituality,
with a particular love for St Bernard of Clairvaux and William of
Saint-Thierry. She was a real teacher, exemplary in all things, in evangelical
radicalism and in apostolic zeal. Matilda, from childhood, accepted and enjoyed
the spiritual and cultural atmosphere created by her sister, later giving it
her own personal hallmark.
Matilda was born in 1241 or
1242 in the Castle of Helfta. She was the Baron's third daughter. When she was
seven she went with her mother to visit her sister Gertrude in the convent of
Rodersdorf. She was so enchanted by this environment that she ardently desired
to belong to it. She entered as a schoolgirl and in 1258 became a nun at the
convent, which in the meantime had moved to Helfta, to the property of the
Hackeborns. She was distinguished by her humility, her fervour, her
friendliness, the clarity and the innocence of her life and by the familiarity
and intensity with which she lived her relationship with God, the Virgin and
the Saints. She was endowed with lofty natural and spiritual qualities such as
knowledge, intelligence, familiarity with the humanities and a marvellously
sweet voice: everything suited her to being a true treasure for the convent
from every point of view (ibid, Proem.). Thus when "God's nightingale", as she
was called, was still very young she became the principal of the convent's
school, choir mistress and novice mistress, offices that she fulfilled with
talent and unflagging zeal, not only for the benefit of the nuns but for anyone
who wanted to draw on her wisdom and goodness.
Illumined by the divine gift
of mystic contemplation, Matilda wrote many prayers. She was a teacher of
faithful doctrine and deep humility, a counsellor, comforter and guide in
discernment. We read: "she distributed doctrine in an abundance never
previously seen at the convent, and alas, we are rather afraid that nothing
like it will ever be seen again. The sisters would cluster round her to hear
the word of God, as if she were a preacher. "She was the refuge and
consoler of all and, by a unique gift of God, was endowed with the grace of
being able to reveal freely the secrets of the heart of each one. Many people,
not only in the convent but also outsiders, religious and lay people, who came
from afar, testified that this holy virgin had freed them from their
afflictions and that they had never known such comfort as they found near her. "Furthermore,
she composed and taught so many prayers that if they were gathered together
they would make a book larger than a Psalter" (ibid., VI, 1).
In 1261 a five year old girl
came to the convent. Her name was Gertrude: She was entrusted to the care of
Matilda, just 20 years of age, who taught her and guided her in the spiritual
life until she not only made her into an excellent disciple but also her
confidant. In 1271 or 1272, Matilda of Magdeburg also entered the convent. So
it was that this place took in four great women two Gertrudes and two Matildas
the glory of German monasticism. During her long life which she spent in the
convent, Matilda was afflicted with continuous and intense bouts of suffering,
to which she added the very harsh penances chosen for the conversion of
sinners. In this manner she participated in the Lord's Passion until the end of
her life (cf. ibid., VI, 2). Prayer and contemplation were the life-giving humus of her existence: her
revelations, her teachings, her service to her neighbour, her journey in faith
and in love have their root and their context here. In the first book of the
work, Liber Specialis Gratiae, the nuns wrote down Matilda's confidences pronounced
on the Feasts of the Lord, the Saints and, especially, of the Blessed Virgin.
This Saint had a striking capacity for living the various elements of the
Liturgy, even the simplest, and bringing it into the daily life of the convent.
Some of her images, expressions and applications are at times distant from our
sensibility today, but, if we were to consider monastic life and her task as
mistress and choir mistress, we should grasp her rare ability as a teacher and
educator who, starting from the Liturgy, helped her sisters to live intensely
every moment of monastic life.
Matilda gave an emphasis in
liturgical prayer to the canonical hours, to the celebrations of Holy Mass and,
especially, to Holy Communion. Here she was often rapt in ecstasy in profound
intimacy with the Lord in his most ardent and sweetest Heart, carrying on a
marvellous conversation in which she asked for inner illumination, while
interceding in a special way for her community and her sisters. At the centre
are the mysteries of Christ which the Virgin Mary constantly recommends to
people so that they may walk on the path of holiness: "If you want true
holiness, be close to my Son; he is holiness itself that sanctifies all
things" (ibid., I, 40). The whole world, the Church, benefactors and sinners were
present in her intimacy with God. For her, Heaven and earth were united.
Her visions, her teachings,
the events of her life are described in words reminiscent of liturgical and
biblical language. In this way it is possible to comprehend her deep knowledge
of Sacred Scripture, which was her daily bread. She had constant recourse to
the Scriptures, making the most of the biblical texts read in the Liturgy, and
drawing from them symbols, terms, countryside, images and famous figures. She
had a special love for the Gospel: "The words of the Gospel were a
marvellous nourishment for her and in her heart stirred feelings of such
sweetness that, because of her enthusiasm, she was often unable to finish
reading it.... The way in which she read those words was so fervent that it
inspired devotion in everyone. "Thus when she was singing in the choir,
she was completely absorbed in God, uplifted by such ardour that she sometimes
expressed her feelings in gestures.... "On other occasions, since she was
rapt in ecstasy, she did not hear those who were calling or touching her and
came back with difficulty to the reality of the things around her" (ibid., VI, 1). In one of her
visions, Jesus himself recommended the Gospel to her; opening the wound in his
most gentle Heart, he said to her: "consider the immensity of my love: if
you want to know it well, nowhere will you find it more clearly expressed than
in the Gospel. No one has ever heard expressed stronger or more tender
sentiments than these: "As my father has loved me, so I have loved you (Jn 15: 9)'" (ibid., I, 22).
Dear friends, personal and
liturgical prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours and Holy Mass are at the
root of St Matilda of Hackeborn's spiritual experience. In letting herself be
guided by Sacred Scripture and nourished by the Bread of the Eucharist, she
followed a path of close union with the Lord, ever in full fidelity to the
Church. This is also a strong invitation to us to intensify our friendship with
the Lord, especially through daily prayer and attentive, faithful and active
participation in Holy Mass. The Liturgy is a great school of spirituality.
Her disciple Gertrude gives a
vivid pictures of St Matilda of Hackeborn's last moments. They were very
difficult but illumined by the presence of the Blessed Trinity, of the Lord, of
the Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, even Gertrude's sister by blood. When
the time came in which the Lord chose to gather her to him, she asked him let
her live longer in suffering for the salvation of souls, and Jesus was pleased
with this further sign of her love.
Matilda was 58 years old. The
last leg of her journey was marked by eight years of serious illness. Her work
and the fame of her holiness spread far and wide. When her time came, "the
God of majesty... the one delight of the soul that loves him... sang to her: Venite
vos, benedicti Patris mei.... Venite,
o voi che siete i benedetti dal Padre mio, venite a ricevere il regno... and he united her with his glory" (ibid., VI, 8).
May St Matilda of Hackeborn
commend us to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to the Virgin Mary. She invites us
to praise the Son with the Heart of the Mother, and to praise Mary with the
Heart of the Son: "I greet you, O most deeply venerated Virgin, in that
sweetest of dews which from the Heart of the Blessed Trinity spread within you;
I greet you in the glory and joy in which you now rejoice for ever, you who
were chosen in preference to all the creatures of the earth and of Heaven even
before the world's creation! Amen"
(ibid., I, 45).
SAINT VERONICA GIULIANI
Veronica was born on 27 December 1660 in
Mercatello, in the Metauro Valley to Francesco Giuliani and Benedetta
Mancini. She was the last of seven sisters, three of whom were to embrace the
monastic life. She was given the name “Orsola” [Ursula]. She was seven years
old when her mother died and her father moved to Piacenza as customs
superintendent of the Duchy of Parma. It was in this city that Ursula felt a
growing desire to dedicate her life to Christ. The call to her became ever more
pressing so that, when she was 17, she entered the strict cloister of the
monastery of Capuchin Poor Clares in Città di Castello. She was to remain here
for the rest of her life. Here she received the name of “Veronica”, which means
“true image” and she was in fact to become a true image of the Crucified
Christ.
A year later she made her solemn religious
profession and the process of configuration to Christ began for her, through
much penance, great suffering, and several mystic experiences linked to the
Passion of Jesus: being crowned with thorns, the mystical espousal, the wound
in her heart and the stigmata. In 1716, when she was 56, she became Abbess of
the monastery. She was reconfirmed in this office until her death in 1727,
after a very painful prolonged agony that lasted 33 days and culminated in a
joy so profound that her last words were: “I have found Love, Love has let
himself be seen! This is the cause of my suffering. Tell everyone about it,
tell everyone!” (Summarium Beatificationis, 115-120).
On 9 July she left her earthly dwelling place
for the encounter with God. She was 67 years old; 50 of those years she spent
in the monastery of Città di Castello. She was canonized on May 26, 1893, by
Pope Gregory XVI. Veronica Giuliani wrote prolifically: letters,
autobiographical reports, poems. However, the main source for reconstructing
her thought is her Diary,
which she began in 1693: about
22,000 handwritten pages that cover a span of 34 years of cloistered life. Her
writing flows spontaneously and continuously. There are no crossings-out,
corrections or punctuation marks in it, nor was the material divided into
chapters or parts according to a plan. Veronica did not intend to compose a
literary work; on the contrary, Fr Girolamo Bastianelli, a Filippini religious,
in agreement with the diocesan Bishop Antonio Eustachi, obliged her to set down
her experiences in writing.
St Veronica has a markedly Christological and
spousal spirituality: She experienced being loved by Christ, her faithful and
sincere Bridegroom, to whom she wished to respond with an ever more involved
and passionate love. She interpreted everything in the key of love and this
imbued her with deep serenity. She lived everything in union with Christ, for
love of him, and with the joy of being able to demonstrate to him all the love
of which a creature is capable. The Christ to whom Veronica was profoundly
united was the suffering Christ of the Passion, death and Resurrection; it was
Jesus in the act of offering himself to the Father in order to save us. Her
intense and suffering love for the Church likewise stemmed from this
experience, in its dual form of prayer and offering. The Saint lived in this
perspective: she prayed, suffered and sought “holy poverty”, as one
“dispossessed” and the loss of self (cf. ibid., III, 523), precisely in order to be like
Christ who gave the whole of himself.
In every page of her writings Veronica commends
someone to the Lord, reinforcing her prayers of intercession with the offering
of herself in every form of suffering. Her heart dilated to embrace all “the
needs of the Holy Church”, living anxiously the desire for the salvation of
“the whole world” (ibid.,
III-IV, passim). Veronica
cried: “O sinners... all men and all women, come to Jesus’ heart; come to be
cleansed by his most precious blood.... He awaits you with open arms to embrace
you” (ibid., II, 16-17).
Motivated by ardent love, she gave her sisters in the monastery attention,
understanding and forgiveness. She offered her prayers and sacrifices for the
Pope, for her Bishop, for priests and for all those in need, including the
souls in Purgatory. She summed up her contemplative mission in these words: “We
cannot go about the world preaching to convert souls but are bound to pray
ceaselessly for all those souls who are offending God... particularly with our
sufferings, that is, with a principle of crucified life” (ibid., IV, 877). Our Saint conceived this mission as
“being in the midst” of men and God, of sinners and the Crucified Christ.
Veronica lived profound participation in the
suffering love of Jesus, certain that “to suffer with joy” is the “key to love”
(cf. ibid., I, 299.417; III, 330.303.871; IV, 192). She emphasizes that Jesus suffers for
humanity’s sins, but also for the suffering that his faithful servants would
have to endure down the centuries, in the time of the Church, precisely because
of their solid and consistent faith. She wrote: “His Eternal Father made them
see and feel the extent of all the suffering that his chosen ones would have to
endure, the souls dearest to him, that is, those who would benefit from his
Blood and from all his sufferings" (ibid., II, 170). As the Apostle Paul says of
himself: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I
complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that
is, the Church” (Col 1:24).
Veronica reached the point of asking Jesus to
be crucified with him. “In an instant”, she wrote, “I saw five radiant rays
issue from his most holy wounds; and they all shone on my face. And I saw these
rays become, as it were, little tongues of fire. In four of them were the
nails; and in one was the spear, as of gold, red hot and white hot: and it went
straight through my heart, from one side to the other ... and the nails pierced
my hands and feet. I felt great pain but in this same pain I saw myself, I felt
myself totally transformed into God” (Diary, I, 897). The Saint was convinced that she was
already participating in the Kingdom of God, but at the same time she invoked
all the Saints of the Blessed Homeland to come to her aid on the earthly
journey of her self-giving while she waited for eternal beatitude; this was her
undying aspiration throughout her life (cf. ibid., II, 909; V, 246).
With regard to the preaching of that time which
often focused on “saving one’s soul” in individual terms, Veronica shows a
strong “sense of solidarity”, a sense of communion with all her brothers and
sisters on their way towards Heaven and she lives, prays and suffers for all.
The penultimate, earthly things, although appreciated in the Franciscan sense
as gifts of the Creator, were always relative, altogether subordinate to “God’s
taste” and under the sign of radical poverty. In the communio sanctorum, she explains the gift of herself to the Church,
as the relationship between the pilgrim Church and the heavenly Church. “All
the Saints”, she wrote, “are up there thanks to the merit and the Passion of
Jesus; but they cooperated with all that the Lord did, so that their life was
totally ordered ... regulated by these same works (his)” (ibid., III, 203).
We find many biblical citations in Veronica's
writings, at times indirectly, but always precise. She shows familiarity with
the Sacred Text, by which her spiritual experience was nourished. Furthermore,
it should be pointed out that the intense moments of Veronica's mystical
experience are never separate from the salvific events celebrated in the
Liturgy, where the proclamation of the Word of God and listening to it has a
special place. Hence Sacred Scripture illumines, purifies and confirms
Veronica’s experience, rendering it ecclesial. On the other hand, however, her
experience itself, anchored in Sacred Scripture with uncommon intensity, guides
one to a more profound and “spiritual” reading of the text itself, to enter
into its hidden depths. Not only does she express herself with the words of
Sacred Scripture but she also really lives by them, they take on life in her.
For example, our Saint often quotes the words of the Apostle Paul: “If God is
for us, who is against us?” (Rom 8:31; cf. Diary, I, 714; II 116.1021; III, 48).
The assimilation of this Pauline text, her
great trust and profound joy, becomes a fait accompli within her. “My soul”, she wrote, “was bound to
the divine will and I was truly established and fixed for ever in the will of
God. It seemed to me that I should never again have to be separated from this
will of God and I came to myself with these precise words: nothing will be able
to separate me from the will of God, neither anxieties, nor sorrows nor toil
nor contempt nor temptation nor creatures nor demons nor darkness, not even
death itself, because, in life and in death, I want all, and in all things, the
will of God” (Diary, IV,
272). Thus we have the certainty that death is not the last word, we are fixed
in God’s will, hence, truly,
in eternal life.
In particular, Veronica proved a courageous
witness of the beauty and power of Divine Love which attracted her, pervaded
her and inflamed her. Crucified Love was impressed within her flesh as it was
in that of St Francis of Assisi, with Jesus’ stigmata. “‘My Bride’, the
Crucified Christ whispers to me, ‘the penance you do for those who suffer my
disgrace is dear to me’.... Then detaching one of his arms from the Cross he
made a sign to me to draw near to his side... and I found myself in the arms of
the Crucified One. What I felt at that point I cannot describe: I should have
liked to remain for ever in his most holy side” (ibid., I, 37). This is also an image of her
spiritual journey, of her interior life: to be in the embrace of the Crucified
One and thus to remain in Christ's love for others.
Veronica also experienced a relationship of
profound intimacy with the Virgin Mary, attested by the words she heard Our
Lady say one day, which she reports in her Diary: “I made you rest on my breast, you were united
with my soul, and from it you were taken as in flight to God” (IV, 901). St
Veronica Giuliani invites us to develop, in our Christian life, our union with
the Lord in living for others, abandoning ourselves to his will with complete
and total trust, and the union with the Church, the Bride of Christ. She
invites us to participate in the suffering love of Jesus Crucified for the
salvation of all sinners; she invites us to fix our gaze on Heaven, the
destination of our earthly journey, where we shall live together with so many
brothers and sisters the joy of full communion with God; she invites us to
nourish ourselves daily with the Word of God, to warm our hearts and give our
life direction. The Saint’s last words can be considered the synthesis of her passionate
mystical experience: “I have found Love, Love has let himself be seen!”.
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