Subj : January 31st - Bl. Louisa Albertoni, Widow To : All From : rich Date : Thu Jan 30 2020 09:17:39 From: rich January 31st - Bl. Louisa Albertoni, Widow Franciscan Third Order Secular, d. 1533. Celebrated by Franciscans on Feb. = 27. LOUISA'S (Lodovica) father, Stephen Albertoni, and her mother, Lucr= ezia Tebaldi, belonged to distinguished Roman families. She was born in 147= 3, and lost her father while yet an infant. Her mother married again, and L= ouisa was brought up first by her grandmother, and then by two of her aunts= ; and she was induced by family influence to marry James de Cithara, a youn= g man of noble family and great wealth. She bore him three daughters and li= ved with him on terms of deep affection, but he died in 1506. Becoming in t= his way her own mistress, Louisa gave herself up almost entirely to prayer,= assuming finally the habit of the third order of St. Francis. Her contempl= ation of the Passion was so uninterrupted, and the devotion with which she = called to mind the sufferings of our Lord so intense, that she is said to h= ave nearly lost her sight by the tears in which these hours of prayer were = spent. What remained of her time was given to the service of the sick and t= he poor, and to visiting the seven great basilicas of Rome. She lived in th= e deepest poverty, her whole fortune expended in alleviating the distress o= f those around her. The methods of relief which her humility adopted were often somewhat origin= al, as when, for example, she baked a great batch of bread to be distribute= d at random to the poor, putting into the loaves gold and silver coins of d= ifferent values, and praying at the same time that the largest alms might p= rovidentially find their way to those who most needed help. Louisa in fact = stripped herself so generously of all she possessed that the time came when= she had nothing left to give : her relatives supplied her with her daily f= ood, but she kept little even of this for herself. In these last years of h= er life she enjoyed profound peace of soul and was constantly rapt in ecsta= sy, during which times, as we are told by her biographers, she was not seld= om raised physically from the ground. She fell asleep in the Lord on Januar= y 31, 1533, as she repeated, like her Divine Master, the words =E2=80=9CFat= her, into thy hands I commend my spirit=E2=80=9D. Many miracles are said to= have taken place when her body lay in the church awaiting burial, and afte= rwards at her tomb. Her cultus was confirmed in 1671. See G. Peolo, Vita della B. Lodovica Albertoni (1672) Leon, Aureole Seraphi= que (Eng. trans.), vol. i, pp. 127-132 B. Mazzara, Leggendario Francescano = (1676), vol. i, pp. 145-155. Saint Quote: Fly from bad companions as from the bite of a poisonous snake. If you keep good companions, I can assure you that you will one day rejoice with the blessed in Heaven; whereas if you keep with those who are bad, you will become bad yourself, and you will be in danger of losing your soul. --Saint John Bosco Bible Quote: The foxes have dens, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of ma= n has nowhere to lay His head. =C2 (Matthew 8:20) <><><><> Be Thou my vision =C2 by St Dallan Forghaill Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart; Naught be all else to me save that Thou art. Thou my best thought by day or by night, Waking or sleeping Thy presence my light. Be Thou my wisdom and Thou my true Word; I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord; Thou my great Father, I Thy true son; Thou in me dwelling and I with Thee one. Be Thou my battle-shield, sword for my fight, Be Thou my dignity, Thou my delight. Thou my soul's shelter, Thou my high tower. Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power. Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise, Thou mine inheritance, now and always; Thou and Thou only, first in my heart, High King of heaven my Treasure Thou art. High King of heaven, my victory won, May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's son, Heart of my heart, whatever befall Still be my vision, O ruler of all. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .