From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
17 January =E2=80=93 Blessed Rosalina of Villeneuve O.Cart.
Religious Nun of the Carthusaian Order, Mystic, Apostle of Charity =E2=80=
=93
born in 1267 in a castle at Villeneuve, France and died on 17 January
1329. Her body is incorrupt.
Rosalina belonged to the noble Southern French family of the =E2=80=98de Villeneuve', which still exists today. She was born in 1263. When t=
he
Bishop of Fr=C3=A9jus gave her the sacrament of confirmation in 1270 in the chapel of the family castle, a supernatural light seemed to envelope
the child. At a very young age she made a private vow of virginity.
She loved more than anything else to take care of the poor,
distributing generously from the family provisions, which alarmed the
servants of the castle. Once, after having filled her skirt with
bread, Rosalina was on her way to the poor grouped together at the
doors of the castle. She was suddenly stopped by her father who asked
her what she was carrying. She answered: =E2=80=9CThese are the roses I jus=
t
finished picking.=E2=80=9D Extending her skirt, she showed the said roses t=
o
the astonished eyes of her father. It is to recall this miracle that
Rosalina is often represented in portraits with her skirt full of
roses.
When she was 16 years old she wanted to become a Carthusian nun.
She knew their life from the Charterhouse of la Celle-Roubaud close
by, where her aunt Jeanne de Villeneuve was Prioress. Since that House
had no novitiate, it was at Saint Andr=C3=A9 de Ramires that she entered
and then she moved to the chief Charterhouse for women, Bertaud, not
far from the city of Gap, in the French Alps. She made profession
there in 1280.
Her aunt at Celle Roubaud was getting on in age, so after a few years
the Superior General of our Order permitted Rosalina to go to that
House to help her aunt. In 1288 she received virginal consecration at
the hands of the Bishop of Fr=C3=A9jus.=C2 It is told that this grace pu=
t her
into a state of ecstasy which lasted the whole day. Although she
assisted in the choir and followed all the activities of the
community, her soul was united with the Lord. She was known for her
inclination towards asceticism. For example, she reduced her sleep and
lived only on bread the days when she went to communion. Prayer was
for her most important in Carthusian life. Each night she used to
spend long hours in prayer, thus obtaining special graces for the
Order, her family and town and for the entire Church.
Owing to her purity of heart God granted her the gift of reading what
is in other people's heart. At the death of her aunt in 1300 the
Superior General appointed Rosaline as Prioress. She held that office
for twenty-nine years. It was during this time that her friend, the
Bishop of Fr=C3=A9jus, became Pope as John XXII.
She died at the age of sixty-six with a great renown for holiness.
Immediately, there were miracles =E2=80=93 blind received their sight and s= ick
were cured. Five years after her death, in 1334, Pope John ordered to
open her tomb. Her body was found entirely incorrupt and it is still
so today. In 1602 it was transferred from the crypt to a newly built
chapel. In 1851 Blessed Pius IX authorised her feast for the diocese
of Fr=C3=A9jus and in 1857 for the Carthusian Order.=C2 Today, the
Carthusians celebrate her memory on 6 July and her feast is a
solemnity for the nuns of the Order.
Saint Quote:
Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea, you could give me
no greater gift than the gift of yourself. For you are a fire ever
burning and never consumed, which itself consumes all the selfish love
that fills my being. Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness, illuminates the mind with its light, and causes me to know your truth.
And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself. The food of angels,
you gave yourself to man in the fire of your love.
-- Saint Catherine of Siena
Bible Quote
And hope confoundeth not: because the charity of God is poured forth
in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us.=C2 (Romans 5:5)
Prayer
Lord God, for love of You, Saint Rosalina trampled underfoot the
flattering allurements of the world, that she might adhere only to
You. Help us to follow her example and, turning away from things of
earth, find our joy in sharing Your heavenly gifts.
Deus, pro cuius amore, beata Rossolina mundi sibi blandientis calcavit illecebras ut tibi unice adhaereret: tribue nobis ex eius imitatione
terrena despicere, et caelestium donorum semper participatione gaudere
=C2 text from from the Charterhouse of the Transfiguration.
<><><><>
=C2 The Three O'clock Prayer
Lord Jesus, we gather in spirit at the foot of the Cross with
Thy Mother and the disciple whom Thou loved. We ask Thy
pardon for our sins which are the cause of Thy death.
We thank Thee for remembering us in that hour of salvation
and for giving us Mary as our Mother.
Holy Virgin, take us under thy protection and open us to the
action of the Holy Ghost.
Saint John, obtain for us the grace of taking Mary into our
life, as thou didst, and of assisting her in her mission. Amen.
May the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost be glorified
in all places through the Immaculate Virgin Mary.
Amen.
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)