2013
Vatican Radio REPORT: Below we publish the text of Pope Francis’ Homily for Palm Sunday:
1. Jesus enters Jerusalem. The crowd of disciples accompanies him in festive mood, their garments are stretched out before him, there is talk of the miracles he has accomplished, and loud praises are heard: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk 19:38).
1. Jesus enters Jerusalem. The crowd of disciples accompanies him in festive mood, their garments are stretched out before him, there is talk of the miracles he has accomplished, and loud praises are heard: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Lk 19:38).
Crowds, celebrating, praise, blessing, peace: joy fills the air. Jesus has awakened great hopes, especially in the hearts of the simple, the humble, the poor, the forgotten, those who do not matter in the eyes of the world. He understands human sufferings, he has shown the face of God’s mercy, he has bent down to heal body and soul. Now he enters the Holy City! This is Jesus.This is the heart that looks on all of us, watching our illnesses, our sins. The love of Jesus is great. He enters Jerusalem with this love and watches all of us.
It is a beautiful scene, the light of the love of Jesus, that light of his heart, joy, celebration.
At the beginning of Mass, we repeated all this. We waved our palms, our olive branches, we sang “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord” (Antiphon); we too welcomed Jesus; we too expressed our joy at accompanying him, at knowing him to be close, present in us and among us as a friend, a brother, and also as a King: that is, a shining beacon for our lives. Jesus is God, but he humbled himself to walk with us. He is our friend, our brother. Here, he enlightens us on the journey. And so today we welcome Him And here the first word that comes to mind is “joy!” Do not be men and women of sadness: a Christian can never be sad! Never give way to discouragement! Ours is not a joy that comes from having many possessions, but from having encountered a Person: Jesus, from knowing that with him we are never alone, even at difficult moments, even when our life’s journey comes up against problems and obstacles that seem insurmountable, and there are so many of them! It is at this time that the enemy comes, the devil comes, often disguised as an angel who insidiously tells us his word. Do not listen to him! We follow Jesus!
We accompany, we follow Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders. This is our joy, this is the hope that we must bring to this world of ours. Let us bring the joy of the faith to everyone! Let us not be robbed of hope! Let us not be robbed of hope! The hope that Jesus gives us!
2. A second word: why does Jesus enter Jerusalem? Or better: how does Jesus enter Jerusalem? The crowds acclaim him as King. And he does not deny it, he does not tell them to be silent (cf. Lk 19:39-40). But what kind of a King is Jesus? Let us take a look at him: he is riding on a donkey, he is not accompanied by a court, he is not surrounded by an army as a symbol of power. He is received by humble people, simple folk, who sense that there is more to Jesus, who have the sense of faith that says, "This is the Savior."
Jesus does not enter the Holy City to receive the honours reserved to earthly kings, to the powerful, to rulers; he enters to be scourged, insulted and abused, as Isaiah foretold in the First Reading (cf. Is 50:6). He enters to receive a crown of thorns, a staff, a purple robe: his kingship becomes an object of derision. He enters to climb Calvary, carrying his burden of wood. And this brings us to the second word: Cross. Jesus enters Jerusalem in order to die on the Cross. And it is here that his kingship shines forth in godly fashion: his royal throne is the wood of the Cross! I think of what Benedict XVI said to the cardinals: "You are princes but of a Crucified King"that is Christ's throne. Jesus takes it upon himself..why? Why the Cross? Jesus takes upon himself the evil, the filth, the sin of the world, including our own sin, and he cleanses it, he cleanses it with his blood, with the mercy and the love of God. Let us look around: how many wounds are inflicted upon humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conflicts that hit the weakest, greed for money, which no-one can bring with him. My grandmother would say to us children, no shroud has pockets! Greed for money, power, corruption, divisions, crimes against human life and against creation! And - each of us knows well - our personal sins: our failures in love and respect towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the whole of creation. Jesus on the Cross feels the whole weight of the evil, and with the force of God’s love he conquers it, he defeats it with his resurrection. This is the good that Christ brings to all of us from the Cross, his throne. Christ’s Cross embraced with love does not lead to sadness, but to joy! The joy of being saved and doing a little bit what he did that day of his death.
3. Today in this Square, there are many young people: for 28 years Palm Sunday has been World Youth Day! This is our third word: youth! Dear young people, I think of you celebrating around Jesus, waving your olive branches. I think of you crying out his name and expressing your joy at being with him! You have an important part in the celebration of faith! You bring us the joy of faith and you tell us that we must live the faith with a young heart, always, even at the age of seventy or eighty.! A young heart! With Christ, the heart never grows old! Yet all of us, all of you know very well that the King whom we follow and who accompanies us is very special: he is a King who loves even to the Cross and who teaches us to serve and to love. And you are not ashamed of his Cross! On the contrary, you embrace it, because you have understood that it is in giving ourselves that we have true joy and that God has conquered evil through love. You carry the pilgrim Cross through all the Continents, along the highways of the world! You carry it in response to Jesus’ call: “Go, make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19), which is the theme of World Youth Day this year. You carry it so as to tell everyone that on the Cross Jesus knocked down the wall of enmity that divides people and nations, and he brought reconciliation and peace. Dear friends, I too am setting out on a journey with you, from today, in the footsteps of Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI. We are already close to the next stage of this great pilgrimage of Christ’s Cross. I look forward joyfully to next July in Rio de Janeiro! I will see you in that great city in Brazil! Prepare well – prepare spiritually above all – in your communities, so that our gathering in Rio may be a sign of faith for the whole world. Young people need to tell the world: "It is good to follow Jesus, it is good to go with Jesus, the message of Jesus is good, it is good to come out of ourselves, from the edges of existence of the world and to bring Jesus to others!"
Three words: Joy, Cross and Youth.
Let us ask the intercession of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us the joy of meeting Christ, the love with which we must look to the foot of the Cross, the enthusiasm of the young heart with which we must follow him during this Holy Week and throughout our lives. Amen.
VATICAN RADIO REPORT:
(Vatican Radio) Below we publish the text of Pope Francis' Angelus address this Palm Sunday:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of this celebration, we invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that she may accompany us during Holy Week. May she, who followed her Son with faith all the way to Calvary, help us to walk behind him, carrying his Cross with serenity and love, so as to attain the joy of Easter. May Our Lady of Sorrows support especially those who are experiencing difficult situations. My thoughts turn to the people afflicted with tuberculosis, as today is the World Day against this disease. To Mary I entrust especially you, dear young people, and your path towards Rio de Janeiro.
May all of you have a good journey!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the end of this celebration, we invoke the intercession of the Virgin Mary, that she may accompany us during Holy Week. May she, who followed her Son with faith all the way to Calvary, help us to walk behind him, carrying his Cross with serenity and love, so as to attain the joy of Easter. May Our Lady of Sorrows support especially those who are experiencing difficult situations. My thoughts turn to the people afflicted with tuberculosis, as today is the World Day against this disease. To Mary I entrust especially you, dear young people, and your path towards Rio de Janeiro.
May all of you have a good journey!
WHAT IS PALM SUNDAY? - AWESOME SHORT VIDEO - JESUS DIED FOR YOU
PALM SUNDAY OR PASSION SUNDAY is the Sunday before Easter. It commemorates Jesus' entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. The donkey was a symbol of peace. The biblical account can be found in the Gospels:
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke.
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And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their garments upon them, and made him sit thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees, and strewed them in the way: And the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, the whole city was moved, saying: Who is this?(Matt. 21: 4-10) Palm leaves are blessed and given out to the congregation at Church. This is a Solemnity in the Church Calendar and the liturgical colors are red for this day. The palms are kept and burned the next year for Ash Wednesday.(Image Share : Google)FOR INSPIRATIONAL STORIES AND FREE MOVIES LIKE US ON FACEBOOK NOW http://www.facebook.com/catholicnewsworld
EGYPT : POLICE ON STRIKE - VIGILANTE JUSTICE - ANARCHY
ASIA NEWS REPORT
These are some of the fruits of the police strike. The Attorney General Talaat invites people to stop the criminals. In the villages, private guards administer justice. In the Nile Delta, the "vigilantes" hang and torture two men suspected of kidnapping.
Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The clash between the Muslim Brotherhood and the police on strike for weeks, has further transformed an already unstable Egypt into a land of anarchy where the only law that applies is sharia. The appeal made a few days ago by the Attorney General Talaat Abdullah, who encouraged civilians to arrest the criminals and bring them to police, has sparked hangings, lynchings, mutilations and attempted crucifixion in villages and suburbs. In a few weeks the Islamists have organized groups of "vigilantes" to administer justice. Most of them belong to Gamaa al-Islamiya, which recently asked the authorities for permission to carry arms. In a press conference, Interior Minister Ahmed Mekki described the recent lynchings as "the death of the state" criticizing the appeal launched by Talaat Abdullah.
The security vacuum that started with the police strike is throwing the country into chaos. The cases of beatings and attempts at private justice are increasing day by day. Yesterday in the village of el-Guindiya in the province of Sharqiya (500 km north of Cairo), in the Nile Delta region, an angry mob tied a man suspected of stealing to a tree beating him to death. On 17 March, a group of "vigilantes" in the village of Sammound in the governorate of Gharbiya hanged two people accused of trying to kidnap a girl who was on board a rickshaw. They were first lynched, then stripped naked and then hanged from a tree. Once dead improvised guards them hung upside down as a warning to criminals. The incident occurred in front of the whole village who shouted "Kill them, kill them." A photographer who witnessed the scene told The Associated Press (AP) that he had received death threats if he took pictures of the lynchings. Another case occurred on the following day in Mahallah Ziad in the same governorate. A crowd of hundreds of people surrounded one of the few active police stations trying to capture and execute a man suspected of kidnapping a local girl. Al-Muneer, spokesman for the Gharbiya Muslim Brotherhood stresses that the lynchings are the result of a wave of rapes and robberies by criminal gangs, who have been plaguing the region for months. The man explains that police are too few in the governorate and fail to administer justice, so the people have decided to take matters into their own hands.
There is a similar situation in Upper Egypt, where crime is compounded by clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians. To "restore" order the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya and the Muslim Brotherhood have offered to replace the police with private security gangs with the right to bear arms and make arrests.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
These are some of the fruits of the police strike. The Attorney General Talaat invites people to stop the criminals. In the villages, private guards administer justice. In the Nile Delta, the "vigilantes" hang and torture two men suspected of kidnapping.
Cairo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The clash between the Muslim Brotherhood and the police on strike for weeks, has further transformed an already unstable Egypt into a land of anarchy where the only law that applies is sharia. The appeal made a few days ago by the Attorney General Talaat Abdullah, who encouraged civilians to arrest the criminals and bring them to police, has sparked hangings, lynchings, mutilations and attempted crucifixion in villages and suburbs. In a few weeks the Islamists have organized groups of "vigilantes" to administer justice. Most of them belong to Gamaa al-Islamiya, which recently asked the authorities for permission to carry arms. In a press conference, Interior Minister Ahmed Mekki described the recent lynchings as "the death of the state" criticizing the appeal launched by Talaat Abdullah.
The security vacuum that started with the police strike is throwing the country into chaos. The cases of beatings and attempts at private justice are increasing day by day. Yesterday in the village of el-Guindiya in the province of Sharqiya (500 km north of Cairo), in the Nile Delta region, an angry mob tied a man suspected of stealing to a tree beating him to death. On 17 March, a group of "vigilantes" in the village of Sammound in the governorate of Gharbiya hanged two people accused of trying to kidnap a girl who was on board a rickshaw. They were first lynched, then stripped naked and then hanged from a tree. Once dead improvised guards them hung upside down as a warning to criminals. The incident occurred in front of the whole village who shouted "Kill them, kill them." A photographer who witnessed the scene told The Associated Press (AP) that he had received death threats if he took pictures of the lynchings. Another case occurred on the following day in Mahallah Ziad in the same governorate. A crowd of hundreds of people surrounded one of the few active police stations trying to capture and execute a man suspected of kidnapping a local girl. Al-Muneer, spokesman for the Gharbiya Muslim Brotherhood stresses that the lynchings are the result of a wave of rapes and robberies by criminal gangs, who have been plaguing the region for months. The man explains that police are too few in the governorate and fail to administer justice, so the people have decided to take matters into their own hands.
There is a similar situation in Upper Egypt, where crime is compounded by clashes between Muslims and Coptic Christians. To "restore" order the Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya and the Muslim Brotherhood have offered to replace the police with private security gangs with the right to bear arms and make arrests.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
AUSTRALIA : ABORIGINAL ARTIST CAMPBELL - SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese,
21 Mar 2013
21 Mar 2013
Richard J. Campbell is one of Australia's best known artists. His remarkable, moving and inspiring Aboriginal paintings of the Black Madonna and the Stations of the Cross are a beloved and a much admired feature of the Church of Reconciliation at La Perouse.
Tomorrow evening, Friday 22 March, the 56-year-old the artist will share his spiritual journey of faith and hope at the Church of Reconciliation.
Organised by the Archdiocese of Sydney's Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, the evening is a chance to hear Richard talk about his art and how his Catholic faith and talent for drawing served as an inspiration and escape from the brutality and abuse he suffered as a member of the Stolen Generation.
At nine years of age Richard was taken from his large and loving family and placed in Kempsey's notorious state-run Kinchela Boys Home at Kempsey. His elder brother was also taken away while his three young siblings went to other homes. It would be more than 12 years before he was reunited with his parents. But during the years he was separated from them and his uncles and aunties as well as his brothers and sisters, Richard says he clung to his faith in the Lord and what he had been taught by his parents, particularly his mother, about God, the Gospel and Christ's all-embracing love and compassion.
"I grew up Catholic and went to a Catholic school in Bowraville before I was taken away," he says.
But this all changed at the Kinchela Boys Home.
"It was a hideous time. Physical, mental and sexual abuse - it all happened there," he says. His voice is low and measured and despite all he suffered, surprisingly shows no bitterness.
Even at nine, he says, he knew that despite being taken from his family, his parents had done no wrong and that the years spent at Kinchela were not their fault or the result of anything they had done.
"My father was a Dunghutti man and my mother was a Gumbaynggir woman," he says proudly and says while his family never had much money, what they didn't have materially was more than made up for by love.
"As kids at home we were surrounded by love not only from our parents but all the aunties and uncles. Dad fished and hunted and no matter how tight money was, we always had food on the table," he says.
From early childhood, Richard loved to draw. At Kinchela he continued to sketch whatever he saw. "I'd draw animals and people and fauna and pretty much everything I saw. When they put me in a government school in Kempsey, I remember winning some big art competition."
Despite this, Richard's talent was not encouraged at Kinchela and the grim-faced officials who ran the home quickly realised the best punishment they could mete out to Richard for some real or perceived mischief was to confiscate his pencils.
By 16 Richard had managed to escape Kinchela . Finding work as a manual labourer it wasn't long before he headed for Sydney basing himself at Redfern which is where so many of the Stolen Generation went in a bid to find their families and siblings.
Calling this period his "wild years," he admits he was pretty much out of control. This changed in the 1990s when he returned to Kempsey and for the next 10 years worked for Telecom as a linesman.
Despite being employed full time, at any and every chance he got, he continued to draw. This remained his outlet, hobby and escape; and may have remained so if he had not decided to complete his education and obtain his HSC.
"I wanted to get my life on track and get an education," he explains.
Enrolling at the local TAFE he commenced his studies and during this time, happened to pass a class on Aboriginal art and on impulse, asked if he could join.
"I knew about sketching but I didn't know how to mix colours or anything like that," he says.
The art class was a turning point. His teacher quickly recognised Richard was an outstanding and exceptionally gifted student and gave him much needed encouragement, that not only helped build his self esteem but his confidence in his ability as an artist.
Inspired by the Biblical stories his mother had told him as a child, which he describes as "very like the stories of Dreamtime," he began painting in earnest. Reunited with his family more than a decade before, it was his sister Louise who was responsible for Richard's first-ever commission.
This would change his life and eventually lead to him being able to become an in demand and full-time professional artist.
"A priest in Maitland, who passed away a few years ago, was looking for someone to paint some religious Aboriginal artworks for his church and he happened to ask Louise if she knew anyone who might be able to do it. She hadn't known I painted but a few months before I had shown her some of my work and she suggested to the priest that he contact me."
Richard's first commission was for an Aboriginal painting of the Annunciation and one of the Crucifixion. Within a short time, this led to many more commissions from parishes and schools and community groups across Australia, including the spectacular and extremely moving Stations of the Cross and the Black Madonna for the Church of Reconciliation at La Perouse.
"So far I think I've done about five or six Black Madonnas and about the same number of Crucifixions," he says with a smile adding that his most recent work is one of the Last Supper which he has dubbed "the Last Corroboree."
Richard loves what he does, is inspired by his faith and the Lord, and strongly believes that for Aboriginal Catholics to have the Gospel interpreted by an Indigenous artist helps give a real sense of identity and an acknowledgement that they are an important and integral part of the Australian Church.
One of his own highlights was having his paintings of the Crucifixion and of the Black Madonna chosen to be part of the Canonisation Ceremony of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop in Rome in 2010.
"I was over the moon, to tell you the truth, when I was told they wanted my paintings," he admits adding the Sisters of St Joseph also invited him to be in Rome for the Canonisation.
In spite of the cruel, loveless and brutal years spent at the Kempsey's Kinchela Boys Home, Richard harbours no bitterness. His life is one of profound faith interwoven with his proud heritage as an Aboriginal man and a spiritual inheritor of the land.
A Spiritual Journey with Uncle Richard Campbell, renowned religious artist, begins at 7 pm, Friday 22 March at the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry's Reconciliation Church, Yarra Road, Philip Bay.
SHARED FROM ARCHDIOCESE OF SYDNEY
AMERICA : COLOMBIA : CALL FOR PEACE WITH SMALL GESTURES
Agenzia Fides REPORT - The archbishop of Cali, Monsignor Dario Monsalve MejÃa, urged the armed groups to engage in a"truce of God" during Holy Week, to show a "sign of hope for peace."
In a statement, sent to Fides, Mgr. Monsalve MejÃa asks everyone to engage in the choice of non-violence publicly showing such option "in writing or by any means at their disposal." May this, hopes the Archbishop be, "a simple gesture in favor of spirituality and non-violence, of reflection and prayer that are necessary for peace and reconciliation."
The Archbishop of Cali has also asked the government to order "a setback in the offensive war against guerrillas and criminal gangs also made of violent actions and ambushes, so that "reason will prevail in the talks." The Archbishop asked the different armed criminal groups in action in the region to refrain from any violent aggression towards ordinary citizens and authorities, putting away their arms and to avoid disturbance of the peace in places where there are religious celebrations or where people practice sports and try to live quiet moments of conviviality. Concluding his appeal, Msg. Monsalve Mejia asked everyone to wear white clothes during Holy Week to show their support for the request of truce, and even dialogues of peace between the government and the guerrillas of the FARC currently underway in Cuba (CE) (Agenzia Fides 23/03/2013)
In a statement, sent to Fides, Mgr. Monsalve MejÃa asks everyone to engage in the choice of non-violence publicly showing such option "in writing or by any means at their disposal." May this, hopes the Archbishop be, "a simple gesture in favor of spirituality and non-violence, of reflection and prayer that are necessary for peace and reconciliation."
The Archbishop of Cali has also asked the government to order "a setback in the offensive war against guerrillas and criminal gangs also made of violent actions and ambushes, so that "reason will prevail in the talks." The Archbishop asked the different armed criminal groups in action in the region to refrain from any violent aggression towards ordinary citizens and authorities, putting away their arms and to avoid disturbance of the peace in places where there are religious celebrations or where people practice sports and try to live quiet moments of conviviality. Concluding his appeal, Msg. Monsalve Mejia asked everyone to wear white clothes during Holy Week to show their support for the request of truce, and even dialogues of peace between the government and the guerrillas of the FARC currently underway in Cuba (CE) (Agenzia Fides 23/03/2013)
SUNDAY MASS ONLINE : PALM SUNDAY MARCH 24, 2013
Mar 24, 2013 - Passion Palm SunIsaiah 50: 4 - 7 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
4 | The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him that is weary. Morning by morning he wakens, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I turned not backward. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6 | I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
7 | For the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; Psalms 22: 8 - 9, 17 - 20, 23 - 24 8"He committed his cause to the LORD; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"9Yet thou art he who took me from the womb; thou didst keep me safe upon my mother's breasts.17I can count all my bones -- they stare and gloat over me;18they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots.19But thou, O LORD, be not far off! O thou my help, hasten to my aid!20Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog!23You who fear the LORD, praise him! all you sons of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you sons of Israel!24For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; and he has not hid his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. Philippians 2: 6 - 11 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,7but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.8And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.9Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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TODAY'S SAINT : MARCH 24 : ST. CATHERINE OF SWEDEN
St. Catherine of Sweden
CO-FOUNDRESS OF THE BRIGITTINES, DAUGHTER OF ST. BRIGID OF SWEDEN
Feast: March 24
Information:
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The fourth child of St. Bridget and her husband, Ulf Gudmarsson, born 1331 or 1332; died 24 March, 1381. At the time of her death St. Catherine was head of the convent of Wadstena, founded by her mother; hence the name, Catherine Vastanensis, by which she is occasionally called. At the age of seven she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg to be educated and soon showed, like her mother, a desire for a life of self-mortification and devotion to spiritual things. At the command of her father, when about thirteen or fourteen years, she married a noble of German descent, Eggart von Kürnen. She at once persuaded her husband, who was a very religious man, to join her in a vow of chastity. Both lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to the exercise of Christian perfection and active charity. In spite of her deep love for her husband, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome, where St. Bridget went in 1349. Soon after her arrival in that city Catherine received news of the death of her husband in Sweden. She now lived constantly with her mother, took an active part in St. Bridget's fruitful labours, and zealously imitated her mother's ascetic life. Although the distinguished and beautiful young widow was surrounded by suitors, she steadily refused all offers of marriage. In 1372 St. Catherine and her brother, Birger, accompanied their mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; after their return to Rome St. Catherine was with her mother in the latter's last illness and death.
In 1374, in obedience to St. Bridget's wish, Catherine brought back her mother's body to Sweden for burial at Wadstena, of which foundation she now became the head. It was the motherhouse of the Brigittine Order, also called the Order of St. Saviour. Catherine managed the convent with great skill and made the life there one in harmony with the principles laid down by its founder. The following hear she went again to Rome in order to promote the canonization of St. Bridget, and to obtain a new papal confirmation of the order. She secured another confirmation both from Gregory XI (1377) and from Urban VI (1379) but was unable to gain at the time the canonization of her mother, as the confusion caused by the Schism delayed the process. When this sorrowful division appeared she showed herself, like St. Catherine of Siena, a steadfast adherent of the part of the Roman Pope, Urban VI, in whose favour she testified before a judicial commission. Catherine stayed five years in Italy and then returned home, bearing a special letter of commendation from the pope. Not long after her arrival in Sweden she was taken ill and died. In 1484 Innocent VIII gave permission for her veneration as a saint and her feast was assigned to 22 March in the Roman martyrology. Catherine wrote a devotional work entitled "Consolation of the Soul" (Sielinna Troëst), largely composed of citations from the Scriptures and from early religious books; no copy is known to exist. Generally she is represented with a hind at her side, which is said to have come to her aid when unchaste youths sought to ensnare her.
(Taken from Catholic Encyclopedia) | |||||||||||
source: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/C/stcatherineofsweeden.asp#ixzz1q269PON6
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