BL. HARTWIG, ARCHBISHOP OF SALZBURG - 5 DECEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER

 Saints celebrated on the 5th of December 

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

BL. HARTWIG, ARCHBISHOP OF SALZBURG 

Blessed Hartwig was consecrated archbishop of Salzburg, Austria, in 990. Describing Hartwig as fervently exerting himself for the salvation of souls, Hartwig’s medieval biographer praises him as a man of great purity of heart and exceptional virtue who protected orphans and widows, consoled the sorrowing, and zealously taught the faith.

A MAN OF GREAT PURITY OF HEART

Numerous miracles were attributed to his intercession during his lifetime and afterwards.

Once, as Hartwig was heading through the woods on his way to a church for the 30th November feast of the apostle St Andrew, he paused to pluck a bare branch from a tree. As he proceeded with the branch in his hand, the twig sprouted flowers, completely out of season. This incident, which took place in Pluenbach, south of Salzburg, was considered so remarkable that three different sources recorded it.

FOLLOWING HIS DEATH, MORE MIRACLES WERE REPORTED

Following Hartwig’s death (in 1023), a series of miracles were reported at his tomb, including the healing of a paralytic girl and the restoration of sight to a blind man.

“Let us walk in the presence of the Lord in the company of the saints!”