Subj : July 6th - St Godeleva, Martyr To : All From : rich Date : Fri Jul 05 2019 08:55:12 From: rich July 6th - St Godeleva, Martyr d.1070 The scene of the murder of Godeleva soon had a reputation for miracles According to the narrative written by a contemporary priest, Drogo, the story of Godeleva is an example of that wanton persecution and cruelty shown towards an innocent victim which is as shocking to reasonable, not to say Christian, human beings as it is unexplainable; no adequate motive is given or even suggested for the behaviour of the offender at first, though afterwards his desire to get rid of his wife is clear enough. Godeleva was born at Londefort-lez-Boulogne about 1049, of noble parentage. She grew up beautiful both in person and character, and was particularly beloved by the poor, to whose welfare she constantly devoted herself. At age eighteen she married a Flemish lord, Bertulf of Ghistelles, who conducted his bride home, where she was received with insults by his mother; apparently she had had other plans for her son, and was furious that he had disregarded them in favour of this girl from the Boulonnais. Bertulf, the days of the wedding festivities yet unfinished, deserted Godeleva, leaving her in charge of his mother, who was not content with petty persecutions, but treated her who should have been mistress of the house with fanatic brutality. She at length contrived to escape and returned to her parents, who took the case to the count of Flanders and the bishop of Tournai. It was ruled that Bertulf should receive back his wite, and henceforward treat her properly, which he promised to do. =C2 =C2 But once she was back at Ghistelles, Bertulf was first indiffe= rent and then again openly violent to her, and to get rid of her he resolved on more direct action. First of all he shammed penitence and a desire for reconciliation, with the object both of averting suspicion from himself and to enable him the more easily to entrap the girl.=C2 =C2 Then at the appointed time Godeleva was induced by a tric= k to go out of the castle by a back-door at night; she was seized by two of Bertulf's servants and smothered by having her head held down in a pond, with a thong drawn tight round her neck.=C2 When she was dead, the ruffians replaced her body in bed, meaning it to be supposed she had died a natural death.=C2 It was obvious that she had not, but Bertulf had absented himself in Bruges at the time of the crime and Godeleva's parents were unable to bring it home to him. He at once married again, but his wickedness haunted him, and he ended his days in a monastery at Bergues-St-Winoc. =C2 =C2 The scene of the murder of Godeleva soon had a reputation for miracles, and the sudden recovery of sight by Bertulf's blind daughter by his second wife was attributed to her intercession.=C2 =C2 In 1084 = her body was dug up and enshrined in the church, which is still a place of pilgrimage, the people drinking the water of her well and appropriately invoking her intercession against sore throats. =C2 It is difficult to see why (except in popular estimation) Godeleva is venerated as a martyr: she did not endure death for any article of the faith or for the preservation of any Christian virtue or for any other act of virtue relating to God-unless indeed her supernatural patience finally provoked her husband to his wicked violence. The Bollandists in the Acts Sanctorum (July, vol. ii) have treated St Godeleva at great length, printing not only the life by Drogo, but also another, more diffuse, narrative of her history. A copy of the formal verification of the saint's relics made when they were elevated in 1084, shortly after her death, has been preserved, and its authenticity has been established by the tattered fragments of a later deed which recites it.=C2 This was found when the shrine was examined in 1907. See the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xliv (1926), pp. 102-137, for an earlier text of the Drogo vita, ed. by Father Coens, and vol. lxii (1944), pp. 292-295; and also the charming little book of M. English, Les quatre couronnes de Ste Godelieve de Gistel (1953) . Saint Quote: =E2=80=9CNowhere does Jesus hear our prayers more readily than in the Blessed Sacrament.=E2=80=9D --Blessed Henry Suso O.P. (1290-1365) Bible Quote: Each will receive his own reward according to his labor.( I Cor. 3:8) <><><><> ETERNAL Father, I wish to honor St. (Name), and I give You thanks for all the graces You have bestowed upon him (her).=C2 I ask You to please increase grace in my soul through the merits of this saint, and I commit the end of my life to him (her) by this special prayer, so that by virtue of Your goodness and promise, St. (Name) might be my advocate and provide whatever is needed at that hour.=C2 Amen. PROMISE:=C2 "When you wish to honor any particular saint and give Me thanks for all the graces I have bestowed on that saint, I increase grace in your soul through the merits of that saint.=C2 When you commit the end of your life to any of the saints by special prayers, I appoint those saints to be your advocates and to provide whatever you need at that hour." --Our Lord to St. Gertrude --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .