BLESSED PAULA OF TUSCANY - 5th JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 5th of January

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.

BLESSED PAULA OF TUSCANY, VIRGIN

One of the Blesseds remembered by the Church this Wednesday, 5, is Blessed Paula of Tuscany. She was born in Florence in 1318. One day Blessed Paula had a vision of the Virgin Mary, who directed her to visit the local Camaldoli monastery, where she met Brother Sylvester, the cook, and their spiritual lives became forever linked. 

HE ENCOURAGED HER TO ESTABLISH A CONVENT

Brother Sylvester, after a wild youth, experienced a miraculous conversion, which led him to join the monastery. It was said that Blessed Paula found in Brother Sylvester "the father of her soul". Her earthly father had other ideas and took Blessed Paula to Genoa, hoping that she would forget the monastery. But Blessed Paula returned to the monastery and Brother Sylvester encouraged her to establish a convent with two other religious women. 

SHE SPENT MOST OF HER DAYS IN PRAYER

Blessed Paula spent most of her days in prayer, often forgetting to serve up the meals that Brother Sylvester had cooked for them. Blessed Paula revered Brother Sylvester saying, "God filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and robed him with a stole of honesty and truth." 

"WHAT IS GOD?"

One day Brother Sylvester ran through the streets asking the people, "What is God? What is God?" No one had an answer until he came to Blessed Paula who responded, "God is love. God is love!" With her support, Brother Sylvester became an advisor to many people in Florence. 

SHE WOULD READ HIM THE SCRIPURES

As he was illiterate, Blessed Paula would read him the Scriptures, which he would interpret for her. Brother Sylvester died in 1348 during the great plague. Afterwards he appeared to Blessed Paula and assured her, "What was freed from the body had been assumed into heaven". Blessed Paula outlived him by nineteen years. She died on 5th or 6th January 1357 after a brief illness, and the monks in the monastery mourned here as one of their own. 

Blessed Paula of Tuscany, pray for us.

(From: Spiritual Thought From Father Chris)