From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
June 30th - St. Erentrude
Also known as, Erentrudis, Ermentrude
died. c. 718
WHEN St. Rupert had been engaged for some years in the task of
preaching the gospel in Bavaria, he paid a visit to his native land,
which was in the diocese of Worms, in order to enlist fresh helpers.
He appealed particularly for the aid of devoted men and women,
prepared to occupy religious houses in the new city of Salzburg, and
amongst those who responded to the call was his kinswoman, Erentrude,
or Erentrudis. She was probably his niece, the daughter of his
brother, but may possibly have been his sister. For her and for the
women who accompanied her to Salzburg, or rallied round her after her
arrival, he erected a convent on a hill which is still known by the
name of Nonnberg. She governed the community as abbess, and by her
instruction and example trained them to great piety.
One day, shortly before St. Rupert's death, Erentrude went to visit
him at his special request. After pledging her to secrecy, he told her
that he was about to die, and asked her to promise that she would
continue to intercede for him when he had departed. Overcome with
emotion, she besought him to pray that she might be taken first, and
not be left orphaned in a strange land. It was at his bidding, she
reminded him, that she had abandoned her own country. St. Rupert
replied with a gentle reproof. The disposal of the end of our lives is
in the hands of God, he told her, and it is not right to wish to die
before the appointed time. She accepted the rebuke, and modified her
petition. Would he at least undertake to ask God, after his death, to
allow her soon to follow? This he promised to do. "When they had
conversed for a long time on the sweetness of eternal life, amid tears
shed by both, they sadly bade each other a last farewell." Erentrude's
desire was granted. One night, shortly after St. Rupert's death, she
was praying earnestly for his soul, when he appeared to her and said,
"Come, dear sister, come to the kingdom you have so long been striving
to reach." She fell ill almost immediately, and the end came within a
few days. She is believed to have died on June 30, 718.
Three hundred years later, her convent and church, which had fallen
into ruins, were rebuilt by the Emperor St. Henry, as a thank-offering
for a cure which he attributed to her intervention. St. Erentrude's
relics, which have been carefully treasured through the centuries, now
rest in the crypt of the church on the Nonnberg.
There is a short Latin biography printed by Mabillon, Acta Sanctorum
O.S.B., vol. iii, pp. 348-349. In some modern reference books the name
is mistakenly given as Ermentrude.
Saint Quote:
Bear the cross and do not make the cross bear you.
--Saint Philip Neri
Bible Quote:
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.=C2 (Matt. 6:34)
Be reconciled to your brother:=C2 Matthew 5:20-26
Meditation:
=C2 Are you ever driven by anger, rage, or revenge? The first person to
hate his brother was Cain, the son of Adam and Eve. God warned Cain:
Why are you angry? ..Sin is couching at the door; it's desire is for
you, but you must master it (Genesis 4:6-7). Sin doesn't just happen
to us - it first grows as a tiny seed in our heart. Unless it is uprooted
by God's grace, it grows like a weed and chokes the vine and
all its fruit.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)