May 12th - Saint Imelda, Virgin, Mystic
(d. 1333)
Saint Imelda was born at Bologna in Italy, in the early 14th century.
Still
a child, she arranged a little oratory in her house, where she often would
pray. She resolved to enter a monastery and make the vows of religion, and
to give herself entirely to her Saviour. Her parents permitted her entry
into a Dominican convent at Valdipietra, near Bologna. She practiced
mortifications above her age, and manifested a very tender love for the
Queen of Angels and the Holy Eucharist, though she could not yet receive
Holy Communion. But God was soon to manifest that it is not age which wins
His favor, but virtue.
On the day of the Ascension in 1333, when Imelda was twelve years old, she
alone remained unable to advance to receive Holy Communion. She raised her
eyes to heaven and prayed to her Lord: "Come, for I am langui****ng with
love
and dying with desire for Your adorable presence!" When He did not come,
she
continued to pray and weep. Suddenly, a miraculous Host came forth from
the
tabernacle, crossed the grill separating the choir, and stopped in the air
before her. The nuns, amazed, hardly dared raise their eyes, but soon they
realized there was no illusion: the miracle continued, a sudden brightness
and a sweet fragrance filled the church, while an invisible hand continued
to hold the mystical Bread in the air before the young girl. She herself
seemed an Angel in adoration. Her confessor was told to come, and saw all
that the Sisters were seeing. He placed the Sacred Host on a paten, and
then
gave it to the child. She seemed to lose consciousness. But soon the
Sisters
grew anxious; they called her by name, told her to rise, touched her, but
Saint Imelda was no longer of this world; she had expired in an ecstasy of
pure love.
Sources: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin
(Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 11.
Saint Quote:
[The devil] dreads fasting, prayer, humility, and good works: He is not
able even to stop my mouth who speak against him. The illusions of the
devil
soon vanish, especially if a man arms himself with the Sign of the Cross.
The devils tremble at the Sign of the Cross of our Lord, by which He
triumphed over and disarmed them.
--Saint Antony Abbot
Bible Quote:
I came that they may have life, and have it more abundantly. St. John
10:10
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Prayer to St. Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings
O Raphael, lead us towards those we are waiting for, those who are waiting
for us! Raphael, Angel of Happy Meetings, lead us by the hand towards
those
we are looking for! May all our movements, all their movements, be guided
by
your Light and transfigured by your Joy.
Angel Guide of Tobias, lay the request we now address to you at the feet
of
Him on whose unveiled Face you are privileged to gaze. Lonely and tired,
crushed by the separations and sorrows of earth, we feel the need of
calling
to you and of pleading for the protection of your wings, so that we may
not
be as strangers in the Province of Joy, all ignorant of the concerns of
our
country.
Remember the weak, you who are strong-you whose home lies beyond the
region
of thunder, in a land that is always peaceful, always serene, and bright
with the resplendent glory of God. Amen.
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Prayer for Help
Lord Jesus, You see my extreme poverty and destitution, You see my frail
nature surrounded with so many crafty, powerful enemies, both exterior and
interior placed amid many perils and countless evils both tem****al and
spiritual, from which only You, in Your great mercy, can rescue me. For
this
reason, I call upon You, for You know that we cannot obtain the least
thing
that is good, either for body or soul, except from You, the Father of
mercy
and of consolation, the source and giver of all good gifts. You know that
we
cannot rid ourselves of the least thing that is evil, unless You in Your
clemency put it far from us.
Filled with hope and confidence in Your sweet Heart, I cry to the Eternal
Father: Behold O Father, I have within my heart the sweet Heart of Your
dear
Son; I offer to You this Heart not that it may accuse me, but plead for
me,
not cry for vengeance, but for pardon. What can You refuse to this Heart?
Nothing assuredly, either to Him or to me, when I ask for His sake.
Deliver
me, therefore I pray from all my foes and the ills of this life. Help me
in
my necessities. Grant me grace to end my life by a holy and happy death. -
Amen.
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