From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
January 26th - St. Paula, Widow
A regimen that nuns were to develop over the Christian centuries: The
wearing of habits, the routine of study, work and prayer that
characterized the life of sisters up to our time. Among the women who contributed to this development was St. Paula of Rome and Bethlehem.
Paula was a member of one of Rome's most ancient and illustrious
families. Her husband Toxotius was also a scion of a premier Roman
clan. Roman Christians were deeply moved by the practical faith of
this aristocratic couple. Indeed, two of their five children, Blesilla
and Eustochium, are venerated as saints.
Despite her good works, Paula originally retained some of the worldly
traits that were characteristic of a matron of her station. The death
of her husband when she was only 32 gave her a completely new sense of
the meaning of life. At first, she grieved deeply, even to excess.
Then, however, she yielded to the counsel of St. Marcella, another
highborn Roman widow, that she embrace a life of penance. Thenceforth
Paula the Widow lived austerely by herself, and gave all possible
assistance to paupers and travelers. Eventually she met St. Jerome,
the already noted scripture scholar and joined the cluster of devout
Roman women who were eager to learn from him about the Holy Scriptures
and how best to live their teachings.
Now this urban matron began to weary of city life and aspire to
embrace the religious life that had become so phenomenally popular in
the Mideast. After the death in 385 of her eldest daughter, St.
Blesilla, Paula and her unmarried daughter Eustochium decided to move
to Levant and embrace monasticism. After visiting enroute their friend
St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, the two women reached Antioch, then
the capital of Syria. Jerome, already a resident of Bethlehem, greeted
them at Antioch and took them on a year's tour of the monastic cent=
ers
of Egypt and the shrines of the Holy Land. Then they settled in
Bethlehem, in order to be under the guidance of the scriptural saint.
At Bethlehem, Paula used up the rest of her personal fortune to build
one monastery for men and one for women. (She also constructed a
hospice for pilgrims and travelers, because, as she said, =E2=80=9CMary and Joseph had not been able to find shelter=E2=80=9D when they came to town.) = Her
buildings were simply constructed, for St. Paula believed that money
was best expended on the poor. Mother and daughter were the first
occupants of the convent, but they were quickly joined by other women
of varying social background. By 404 there were 50 women in that
household.
As superior, Paula established a rigorous pattern of life, laying
special emphasis on the virtue of poverty. All the sisters wore
similar garb. (Was this the beginning of religious habits?) They ate
plain fare and labored not only at housework but in the making of
clothing, particularly for the needy. Woe to the sister who showed
herself over talkative or notional or wayward; she could expect
stringent punishment. Yet St. Paula never asked any of them to do what
she herself had not done or was not ready to do.
St. Jerome headed the monastery of men. St. Paula took care of his needs=E2=80=93no easy task in the case of a man who was notoriously cranky.=
At
the same time, she profited by his learning and advice. She became a
pretty good theologian herself; and because she knew so much Greek and
some Hebrew, she was able to assist him a good deal in his literary
work.
St. Paula died at age 56. During her last hours she repeated by
memory, as long as she could, those psalms that speak of pilgrimage to
the heavenly Jerusalem. When her voice failed, she signed her lips
with the cross and slipped into eternity. Crowds from all over
Palestine attended her burial in the Basilica of the Nativity. St.
Jerome, disconsolate, even called her a martyr because of her daily
sacrifice of herself. She was an Easter person.
St. Paula was clearly one of the great women of the early Christian
Church, a true leader in charity and prayer.
Saint Quote:
=E2=80=9COur perfection certainly consists in knowing God and ourselves.=E2= =80=9D
--Blessed Angela of Foligno
Bible Quote
And they brought to him young children, that he might touch them. And
the disciples rebuked them that brought them.=C2 Whom when Jesus saw, he
was much displeased, and saith to them: Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Amen I say to you, whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a
little child,
shall not enter into it.=C2 (Mark 10:13-15) DRB
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Salutatio ad Dominum Iesum Christum
(Salutation to the Lord Jesus Christ),
a prayer to the Body and Blood of Christ,
by St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church.
Body of Christ, Hail! Of the holy Virgin born,
Living flesh, Deity entire, true man!
Hail! true salvation, strength, life, redemption of the world,
May Thy right Hand free us from all evil.
Blood of Christ, Hail, Heaven's most holy libation,
River of salvation washing away our crimes.
Hail, Blood! floweth from the Wound of Christ's Side,
River of salvation, hung on the Cross, Hail!
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)