On Humility in the Sight of God [II]

It is Thine love that achieves this, freely guiding and supporting me
in my many needs, guarding me from grievous perils, and, as I may
truthfully confess, rescuing me from evils without number. And whereas
by perverse self-love I had lost myself, (John 12:25) now by lovingly
seeking Thee alone, I have found both myself and Thee; for by that
love I have humbled myself to utter nothingness. Dearest Lord, You
deal with me above my deserts, and above all I dare hope or pray for.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3, Ch 8

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14 March – St Matilda of Ringelheim/Saxony

(c 895 – 968)
 – Queen, Apostle of Prayer and Charity, Foundress  – Patron of death
of children, disappointing children, falsely accused people, large
families, people ridiculed for their piety, queens, second marriages,
widows.

St Matilda, Queen of Germany and wife of King Henry I was the daughter
of Count Dietrich of Westphalia and Reinhild of Denmark. She was born
about 895 and was raised by her grandmother, the Abbess of Eufurt
convent. Matilda married Henry the Fowler, son of Duke Otto of Saxony,
in the year 909. He succeeded his father as Duke in the year 912 and
in 919 succeeded King Conrad I to the German throne.

She was widowed in the year 936 and supported her son Henry’s claim to
his father’s throne. When her son Otto (the Great) was elected, she
persuaded him to name Henry Duke of Bavaria after he led an
unsuccessful revolt.

St Matilda was known for her considerable almsgiving. She was severely criticised by both Otto and Henry for what they considered her
extravagant gifts to charities. As a result, she resigned her
inheritance to her sons and retired to her country home. She was later
recalled to the court through the intercession of Otto’s wife, Edith.
Matilda was welcomed back to the palace and her sons asked for her
forgiveness.

In her final years, she devoted herself to the building of many
churches, convents and monasteries. She spent most of the declining
years of her life at the convent at Nordhausen she had built. She died
at the monastery at Quedlinburg on March 14 and was buried there with
her late husband, Henry.

Last year’s post with more details of St Mathilda’s life – https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/03/14/saint-of-the-day-14-march-st-matilda-of-saxony/


Saint Quote
There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any
human being. Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a
special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person
chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at
hand.
--Saint Bernardine of Siena (from a sermon on Saint Joseph)

Bible Quote:
I tell you, that of every idle word men speak, they shall give account
on the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)


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By St. Alphonsus de Liguori, from "Preparation for Death"

"The time of death is a time of storm and confusion. At that awful
hour sinners call on God for assistance; but they invoke his aid
through the fear of hell, which they see at hand, and not with true
contrition of heart. It is for this reason that God is deaf to their
cry ;

"When sudden calamity shall fall on you, and destruction, as a
tempest, shall be at hand: when tribulation and distress shall come
upon you:...
Then shall they call upon me, and I will not hear. ... Therefore they
shall eat the fruit of their own way."[Prov 1:27-32]

"it is for this reason also that they will then taste the fruit of
their wicked life. What they have sown they shall reap. [Gal 8:8]

"Ah! it will not then be enough to receive the sacraments; it is
necessary at death to hate sin, and to love God above all things. But
how can he, then, hate forbidden pleasures, who has loved them till
that moment? How can he love God above all things, who has till then
loved creatures more than he has loved God?"

Pass it on, you never know who may be moved by God through it.
Ave Maria and onward, Jim

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