• =?UTF-8?Q?November_23rd_=E2=80=93_Bl=2E_Margaret_of_Savoy?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Thu Nov 22 06:44:27 2018
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    November 23rd =E2=80=93 Bl. Margaret of Savoy, OP Tert.
    Also known as Margarita, Margherita, Marguerite

    Memorial 23 November
    24 July on some calendars

    Born at Pinerolo in 1382; died 1464; beatified in 1669. Margaret of
    Savoy, daughter of Duke Amadeo II, is one of three royal princesses
    who wore the Dominican habit and were beatified. In the 15th century,
    she was the glory of a family that has given several beati to the
    Church.

    Born into the royal house of Savoy, Margaret grew up in a household in
    which piety and wealth were ordinary. Her own parents died when she
    was young, and she was educated by an uncle, who arranged an early
    marriage for her to the Marquis of Montferrat, Theodore Paleologus.

    As queen of her fairly large domain, Margaret was the model of
    Christian rulers. She felt that it was her duty to exceed in charity
    and humility in the proportion that she was wealthier than those
    around her, and she devoted all of her time to God and to her
    neighbors. Her husband was a widower with two children, to whom she
    gave the greatest care. The hundreds of dependents on the large
    estates came to her for charity and instruction.

    Disaster stuck Savoy several times in the years when she was wife and
    mother. Famine and plague came, making great demands on her time and
    her courage. Unhesitatingly, she went out to nurse the plague-stricken
    with her own hands, and she sent out food and clothing from her
    husband's stores until it was doubtful if anything would be left.
    After this crisis passed, war hovered over the kingdom, and she prayed earnestly that they would be delivered from the horrors of invasion.

    In 1418, the marquis died. His young widow was one of the most
    eligible women in Europe. Margaret sorrowed for her husband, but she
    made it clear to her relatives that they need not plan another
    marriage for her, as she was going to enter a convent. In order to
    live a life of complete renunciation, she decided to found a convent
    of her own at Alba in Liguria that would follow the ancient rule of
    Saint Dominic. Accordingly, she took over a cloister which had fallen
    into ruin, having only a few poor inhabitants, and rebuilt it for
    Dominican use. She dedicated the house to St. Mary Magdalen.

    There is one very delightful story told of her sojourn in the convent.
    When she had been there many years, she one day had a young visitor;
    he was the son of one of her step-children. Hunting nearby, he had
    killed a doe, and he brought her the motherless fawn to tend. It was a
    pretty little animal, and it soon grew to be a pet. The legends about
    the fawn have probably been exaggerated, as it was supposed to be able
    to go and find any sister she would name, and, for several years, the
    animal had free rein of the halls and cells of the sisters. Perhaps it
    was true, though, since the house confessor told her that the deer
    must go. She took it to the gate and told it to go. It fled into the
    forest, and returned only when Margaret was about to die.

    Margaret attained a high degree of contemplative prayer. One time Our
    Lord appeared to her and asked her whether she would rather suffer
    calumny, sickness, or persecution. Margaret generously accepted all
    three. Her offer was taken, and for the remaining years of her life
    she suffered intensely from all three sorrows (Dorcy). It should be
    noted that Saint Vincent Ferrer influenced Margaret to join the
    Dominican tertiaries (Benedictines).


    Bible Quote:
    11 Light dawns[a] for the righteous,
    =C2 =C2 and joy for the upright in heart.
    12 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
    =C2 =C2 and give thanks to his holy name!=C2 [Psalm 97:11-12]=C2=
    RSVCE


    <><><><>
    13. A sure proof that we love God alone is that we love Him equally in
    all cases. For, as He is always equal to Himself, the inequality of
    our love for Him can arise only from the consideration of something
    which is not Himself.
    --St. Francis de Sales

    By this test we may perceive how pure was the love of this Saint; for,
    it never increased in prosperity, nor diminished in adversity, but in everything was directed equally to the Lord, and through everything he
    thanked and blessed Him.

    St. Jane Frances de Chantal also gave this excellent proof of her
    perfect love of God, by feeling equally contented in consolations and
    in desolations, of which she suffered many, and for a long time. The
    reason was, as she said, because in both she desired and sought only
    the fulfillment of the Divine Will, by which she knew that both
    prosperity and adversity were sent to her.

    "True lovers of God," said a holy soul, "are like the sun, which,
    though it is sometimes covered with clouds, yet always possesses in
    itself the same light and the same warmth."
    ("A Year with the Saints".=C2 November: Charity)

    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
    * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)