- Romans 8:37-39 -
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels
nor
demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height
nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
________________________________________________________
James tells us to "consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith
develops perseverance" (James 1:2-3). That's a tough thing to do. But it
gets easier when we remember that "we are more than conquerors through him
who loved us," because we know what lies on the other side of every trial:
the love of God. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Paul asks.
Since
God has loved us so lavishly in Christ, what do we have to fear? His love
is
more than enough to overcome any trial.
March 4th - St. Casimir the Pole.
Casimir was the third of thirteen children born on October 5, 1458 at
Cracow, Poland. His father was King Casimir IV of Poland and his mother,
Elizabeth, was the daughter of Emperor Albert II of Austria. Casimir was
the
third son, and a very holy man named Jan Dlugosz tutored him and his two
brothers, Ladislaus and John. It was Casimir who would gain great holiness
through his teachings.
Even as a young boy Casimir would practice fasting and austerity. He
seemed
to have a horror of anything which he considered self-indulgent or soft.
He
would spend many hours of the night in prayer and gave all he possessed to
relieve the needs of the poor. He had great love for Mary, the mother of
Jesus and often sang hymns to her.
In 1471 the nobility of Hungary, in opposition to their king, tried to
persuade Casimir to take the throne. He was only fifteen at the time, but
he
accepted his father's wishes and took an army to the frontier of Hungary.
Fortunately his own soldiers began deserting and his opponent was
assembling
a large army to fight him. Casimir decided to return home. When he learned
that the pope had sent an emissary to his father to deter such an assault,
he became surer of himself and refused ever after to take up arms.
Casimir returned to his studies and to prayer. His father tried to urge
him
to marry one of the daughters of Emperor Frederick III of Germany. Casimir
refused on the grounds that he had taken a vow of celibacy and dedicated
his
life to the service of God. Casimir governed Poland from 1481 to 1483,
during his father's absence. He gained a reputation for fairness, prudence
and deep love and concern for the needs of his people.
Casimir suffered from lung disease most of his life and his austere
practices most likely shortened his life. He died at the age of 25 on
March
4, 1484, while on a trip to Lithuania, where he was the Grand Duke. Soon
after his death, many miracles were attributed to his intercession. He was
canonized in 1521.
Reflection. May the meditation of Saint Casimir's life make us increase in
devotion to the most pure Mother of God - a sure means of preserving holy
purity in our own soul.
More on St. Casimir
St. Casimir, prince of Poland, was born in the royal palace at Krakow on
October 3, 1458.
When the King went to Lithuania to arrange affairs there, Casimir was
placed
in charge of Poland and from 1481 to 1483 administered the State with
great
prudence and justice. About this time his father tried to arrange a
marriage
for him with the daughter of Frederick III, but Casimir preferred to
remain
single. Shortly afterward he fell sick, and died at the court of Grodno on
March 3, 1484. He is the patron saint of Poland and Lithuania.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
I would like to emphasize that St. Casimir lived in the royal court of his
parents, Casimir IV the Great and Queen Elizabeth of Habsburg, to point
out
that he lived his life at court and became a saint there.
Sometimes, because of a certain erroneous vision of sanctity, one is led
to
think that only persons in the religious life - priests, monks and nuns -
can become saints. According to this mentality, it is so rare for a
layperson to become a saint that one who does so should be considered an
exception to the rule, a kind of miracle. However a lay saint is not an
exception to the rule; it is the normal accomplishment of the plan of
Divine
Providence for lay persons.
The fact that St. Casimir became a saint living in a royal court shows
that
the court was a place where one can live and be a saint. In this sense, it
constitutes a kind of eulogy to the ambience in which he lived. This fact
refutes the revolutionary propaganda that says that the courts were
necessarily corrupt. Frequently, as we can verify on our calendar, there
were saints who were kings and queens, saints who were princes and
princesses, and saints who were nobles. Very often sanctity perfumed the
courts. Therefore, those courts, instead of being seats of moral
corruption
and perdition, were often places where sanctity throve, flourished, and
exerted a considerable influence.
In this sense, the ambience of court in many ways realized the ideal of
Christian Civilization. What should an ideal court be in a Christian
Civilization? The king is an earthly image of God, and his court should be
an image of the heavenly court. In an ideal Catholic court, the saintly
king
would be surrounded by courtesans who should be images of the angels and
saints before God thrice holy. Now, the fact that this ideal has been
partially realized at certain times in History is something that should
fill
us with joy. These examples show that the Catholic courts were good, and
they also demonstrate how the revolutionary propaganda lies when it talks
about the courts.
Someone could object and say that in one thousand years of History, anyone
can find anything to prove a thesis. Therefore, just because many saints
can
be found in the courts, this does not prove what I said
I can answer this objection. First, the argument is not true. If it were
true, we should have a pro****tional number of saints in the governments
and
representative houses of the liberal republican system. This system has
been
established almost everywhere since the American and French Revolutions -
for more than 200 years. We do not find saints, however, flouri****ng in
these political ambiences, but quite the opposite.
Second, according to the laws of History, normally great virtue or great
vice does not appear isolated. It appears, to use a metaphor, like a
mountain peak on a whole chain of mountains. That means that if you have a
saint in one place, surrounding him you normally have a number of people
who
are very good Catholics even though they are not saints, a greater number
of
upright people, and a multitude of just decent people. Sanctity is the
greatest fruit of a whole social group that aspires to follow Our Lord
Jesus
Christ. Therefore, by showing that many saints existed in the Catholic
courts of times past, we demonstrate that those ambiences were compatible
with sanctity and good on many levels. So, the saints who lived in those
courts were not just exceptional cases, but reflections of the whole.
I think that St. Casimir is pleased that we are remembering these points
about him. I hope and pray that from his heavenly throne he will protect
us
in our counter-revolutionary fight.
Saint Quote:
"We the Christians are the true Israel which springs from Christ, for we
are
carved out of His heart as from a rock."
-St. Justin Martyr (d. 165)
Bible Quote:
"Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart:
and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:29)
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GRACES
All around are fruits of glory,
Sweet and ripened on the vine;
Pluck these seeds of untold story,
Eat of fruits that are divine!
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