From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

March 4th - Bl. Humbert III of Savoy

HUMBERT III, Count of Savoy, was born in 1136 at Avigliana, and his
parents, Amadeus III of Savoy and Matilda of Vienne, were at pains to
give him a good and religious education. They entrusted his training
to Bl. Amadeus, Bishop of Lausanne, under whom the youth made great
progress, especially in the life of prayer. Called to rule at his
father's death, he sacrificed a desire for solitude to the task
imposed upon him, and though a mere boy when he took up the reins of
government he showed himself fully equal to his position, finding it
quite possible to reconcile the duty of a secular ruler with that of self-sanctification. When his wife died childless, the count sought in
the monastery of Aulps the consolation he needed, and would fain have
remained there, but his vassals came to entreat him not to abandon
them and to take steps to ensure the succession in his family.
Yielding to these representations he again took up the burden and
contracted two, if not three, more marriages. By his second wife,
Germana of Zahringen, he had a child, Agnes, who was betrothed to John Lackland, afterwards king of England, but both mother and daughter
died before the marriage could take place. During this period Humbert
had occasion to repel aggression by force of arms, and he then proved
himself as capable in warfare as in peace. =E2=80=9CBrave in contest,
undaunted in reverse, just and moderate in victory, he was ever
unflinching in his adherence to what he held to be just.=E2=80=9D His reputation for wisdom and probity reached far beyond the limits of his
own country, and won for him the confidence of his contemporaries. We
read, however, that on one occasion he came into violent conflict with
St. Anthelmus, Bishop of Belley. Happily the two holy men, though they
had lost their tempers badly, arrived at a very edifying
reconciliation.

The time came at last when Count Humbert felt that he was justified in
retiring from the world to prepare himself for death. He accordingly
withdrew to the Cistercian abbey of Hautecombe, where he gave himself
up to the humblest and most austere practices of the religious life.
According to some authorities, however, he was not suffered to remain
long in retirement; the call of his people, who were again threatened
with invasion from Germany, summoned him from the cloister to take
command of the army. Though forewarned of his approaching death he
marched with them as far as Chamb=C3=A9ry, where he died in 1188. This
account of the close of his troubled career is, it must be confessed,
very doubtful. There is good reason to believe that Bl. Humbert died
peacefully in his Cistercian retreat, where also was buried nearly a
century later Bl. Boniface of Savoy, who had been archbishop of
Canterbury. The cultus of Bl. Humbert was approved in 1838.

There seems to be no early biography of Bl. Humbert. The facts have to
be gathered from the imperfect and often conflicting accounts of the chroniclers. Most of the story can be gleaned from the important work
of Samuel Guichenon, Histoire g=C3=A9n=C3=A9alogique de la royale Maison de Savoye, of which the first edition appeared in 1660. See also the
convenient little volume of F. G. Allaria I1 b. Umberto III storia e
leggende (1879). It is noteworthy that Guichenon strongly maintains
that Humbert was married, not three, but four times, and that his
fourth wife, when he retired to his Cistercian abbey, herself became a
nun at Messines in Flanders.


Bible Quote:
19 Where words are many, sin is not wanting;
but those who restrain their lips do well.
20 Choice silver is the tongue of the just;
the heart of the wicked is of little worth.
21 The lips of the just nourish many,
but fools die for want of sense.*=C2 Proverbs 10:19-21:

* [10:21] The wise by their words maintain others in life whereas the
foolish cannot keep themselves from sin that leads to premature death.

Saint Quote:
It should be our principal business to conquer ourselves and, from day
to day, to go on increasing in strength and perfection. Above all,
however, it is necessary for us to strive to conquer our little
temptations, such as fits of anger, suspicions, jealousies, envy, deceitfulness, vanity, attachments, and evil thoughts. For in this way
we shall acquire strength to subdue greater ones.
-- St. Francis De Sales


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Memorare
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that
any one who fled to thy protection, implored thy help or sought thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired with this confidence, I fly
unto thee, O Virgin of virgins my Mother; to thee do I come, before
thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful; O Mother of the Word Incarnate,
despise not my petitions, but in thy clemency hear and answer me.
Amen.

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Mary, Mother of the Unborn
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much, I beg you to spare the
life of the unborn child that I have spiritually adopted who is in
danger of abortion. ( Fulton J. Sheen )

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