Subj : May 8th - St. Magdalen of Canossa. To : All From : rich Date : Fri May 07 2021 10:15:20 From: rich May 8th - St. Magdalen of Canossa. Born in Verona, Italy, March 1, 1774; died there on April 10, 1835; declared venerable on January 6, 1927; beatified December 7, 1941, by Pope Pius XII; canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 2, 1988; feast day formerly on May 14. Saint Magdalen was only five years old when her father, the marquis of Canossa, died. Two years later her mother remarried and abandoned her four children to the care of their uncles. Although they treated the children well enough, their French governess was harsh. Perhaps as a result of this ill treatment, Magdalen suffered a painful illness when she was 15. Upon her recovery, she was determined to become a nun. In October 1791, she entered the Carmel for a short time before returning home to manage her father's estate until she was 33. During the Napoleonic wars, her family took refuge in Venice. There she had a dream in which she saw the Blessed Mother surrounded by six religious dressed in brown. Our Lady led them two by two into a church filled with women and girls, into a hospital, and into a hall filled with bedraggled children. She admonished the religious to serve all three, but especially to help the poor children. Almost immediately she began tending the sick in the city's hospitals and working with children. The family returned to Verona, where they were visited by Napoleon himself. Magdalen requested from him the empty convent of Saint Joseph, which she intended to use for the poor. Several women had already joined her in her charitable work and with the gift of the convent, they opened the first house of her institute, the Daughters of Charity. Its mission followed her vision: the education of poor girls, the service of the sick in hospitals, and the teaching of the catechism in parishes. The doors of the house in the San Zeno district were opened to poor girls on May 8, 1808. Thereafter the community prospered and its fame spread. The Canossians were invited to open a house in Venice, then in Milan, Bergamo, Trent, and elsewhere in northern Italy. Since Saint Magdalen's death, well over 400 have been established throughout the world. Saint Magdalen drew up the rule in Venice. The congregation received formal papal approval from Pope Pius VII in 1816 and definitive approval from Pope Leo XII in an apostolic brief dated December 23, 1828. When she was declared venerable by Pope Pius XI in 1927, he wrote that "many are charitable enough to help and even to serve the poor, but few are able deliberately to become poor with the poor." But that is exactly what the marchioness did. She herself tended the poorest and dirtiest children. Although the congregation's primary concern was poor and neglected children, she also founded high schools and colleges, especially for the deaf and dumb. Magdalen organized closed retreats for females. In Venice, she even launched a small congregation of men to carry on similar work with boys. Following her death, the Daughters of Charity entered the mission field. Despite, or perhaps because of, the hectic pace of her life, Saint Magdalen developed enormous powers of recollection and prayer. She attained remarkable levels of contemplation. On several occasions, witnesses observed her rapt in ecstasy, and once she was seen levitating. Towards the end of her life, Magdalen was bent almost double and could sleep only in a sitting position. She became seriously ill in Bergamo at the end of 1834 and was taken back to the motherhouse in Verona. By Holy Week 1835, she knew she was dying, though none of her doctors agreed with her. She asked for the last rites, then died suddenly (Benedictines, Walsh). Saint Quote: Whenever some act of wondrous power must be performed, Michael is sent, so that his action and his name may make it clear that no one can do what God does by his superior power. -- Pope Saint Gregory the Great Bible Quote: But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the giving of Christ.=C2 Wherefore he saith: Ascending on high, he led captivity captive; he gave gifts to men.=C2 (Ephesians 4:7-8) <><><><> O Queen of Heaven, thou gavest to us the Scapular as an outward sign by which we might be known as thy faithful children. May we always wear it with honor by avoiding sin and imitating thy virtues. Help us to be faithful to this desire of ours. (pause and mention petitions) Recite: Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .