March Saints

Saint Simplicius (d. 483)

St. Simplicius was born in Tivoli and became pope in 468. His pontificate witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. In 476, the last emperor of the Western Empire was deposed, and Odoacer the Goth became the first king of Italy.

Simplicius opposed Monophysitism, which held that Jesus possessed only a divine nature, and built many churches. He wanted to maintain papal authority in the Western Empire in spite of the collapse of civil authority. The Council of Chalcedon (451) defined the dual nature of Christ’s divinity and humanity.

Saint Simplicius, keep us true to the teachings of the Church.

(Source: Internet – various)

Saint Marie Eugenie of Jesus (1817-1898)

Saint Anne Marie Eugenie Milleret was born in Metz, France. Her father was a banker. Her mother provided her with an education which strengthened her character and gave her a strong sense of duty. Family life developed her intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions and a broad world view.

Like other Catholic children, she went to Mass on feast days and received the sacraments of initiation, but without commitment. Her first Holy Communion was a mystical experience.

An otherwise happy childhood was marked by the deaths of an elder brother and a baby sister and she herself was delicate. Mature for her age, she learned to face up to events. When her father’s banks failed and her parents separated, each taking one child, Eugenie went to Paris with her mother, who died when the girl was 15.

At age 19, Eugenie met Abbe Lacordaire who touched her heart and filled her with a longing to devote all her strength to the Church, which she saw as holding the key to the knowledge and achievement of all that is good. Another preacher, Father Cambelot, recognised the spirit in the young woman and persuaded her, at age 22, to found the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to consecrating their lives to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in the world. In 1841, the Sisters opened their first school.

Marie Eugenie and her Sisters wanted to unite the past treasures of the Church’s spirituality with a type of religious life and education able to satisfy the demands of modern minds. Their spirituality, centred on Christ and the Incarnation, was both deeply contemplative and dedicated to apostolic action, given to the search for God and the love and service of others. The saint’s gift of friendship was able to inspire many lay people to work with her.

In the last years of her life, Eugenie experienced a progressive physical weakening which she bore in silence and humility – a life totally centred on Christ. She died on 10 March, 1898.

Today, her Congregation has houses in 34 countries.

Saint Marie Eugenie, inspire us always to seek God through our actions.

(Source: Internet – various)

Saint Catherine of Sweden (d. 1381)

Catherine, daughter of Saint Bridget of Sweden, was born near the beginning of the 14th century. She was sent to the Abbey at Risburgh when she was 7, placed under the care of the abbess, to receive an education and to build a foundation for her spiritual life.

At the age of 13, Catherine was given in marriage to Egard, a German nobleman, whom Catherine persuaded to make a mutual vow of perpetual chastity with her. The two dedicated themselves to the service of God and encouraged each other in works of mortification, prayer and charity.

Around the year 1349, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome to visit the relics of the Roman Martyrs and stayed there for several years. In 1373 Saint Bridget died and Catherine returned to Sweden with her mother’s body. Two years later, she returned to Rome to promote her mother’s canonisation and to gain approval for a Rule she had written for a group of religious women.

After gaining approval for her rule, Catherine returned to Sweden and became abbess of Vadzstena.

Saint Catherine, obtain for us a spirit of prayer.

(Source: http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=187)