ST DOROTHY OF MONTAU - 25 JUNE

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JUNE

Saints celebrated on the 25th of June

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.

ST DOROTHY OF MONTAU, WIDOW

[Saint] Dorothea [Dorothy] was a recluse, born at Montau, February 6, 1347; she died at Marienwerder, June 25, 1394. 

FREQUENT PILGRIMAGES

At the age of seventeen she married the sword-cutler Albrecht of Danzig, a hot-tempered man, whose nature underwent a change through her humility and gentleness. Both made frequent pilgrimages to Cologne, Aachen, and Einsiedeln, and they intended (1390) to visit Rome also; but Albrecht was prevented by illness and remained at home where he died, while Dorothea journeyed to Rome alone. 

NUMEROUS VISITORS SOUGHT HER ADVICE AND CONSOLATION

Of their nine children all died, except one daughter who joined the Benedictines. In the summer of 1391 Dorothea moved to Marienwerder, and on May 2, 1393, with the permission of the chapter and of the Teutonic Order, established a hermitage near the cathedral. 

She led a very austere life. Numerous visitors sought her advice and consolation, and she had wonderful visions and revelations. Her confessor, the deacon John of Marienwerder, a learned theologian, wrote down her communications and composed a Latin biography in seven books, "Septililium", besides a German life in four books. 

HER RELICS CANNOT BE FOUND

She was [canonised in 1976]. The people honoured her as the guardian of the country of the Teutonic Knights and Patroness of Prussia. Her feast is celebrated on June 25, in some places on October 30. The church at Marienwerder is now in the hands of the Lutherans; her relics cannot be found. 

(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)