ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 2nd of March
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 AGNES OF BOHEMIA, VIRGIN
(Also called Saint Agnes of Prague). St Agnes was born at Prague in the year 1200. She was the daughter of Ottocar, King of Bohemia and Constance of Hungary, a relative of St Elizabeth.
A RELATIVE OF ST ELIZABETH
At an early age she was sent to the monastery of Treinitz, where at the hands of the Cistercian religious she received the education that became her rank.
SHE MADE A RESOLUTION
She was betrothed to Frederick II, Emperor of Germany; but when the time arrived for the solemnisation of the marriage, it was impossible to persuade her to abandon the resolution she had made of consecrating herself to the service of God in the sanctuary of the cloister.
EMPEROR FREDERICK WAS FUMING
The Emperor Frederick was incensed at the unsuccessful issue of his matrimonial venture, but, on learning that St Agnes had left him to become the spouse of Christ, he is said to have remarked: “If she had left me for a mortal man, I would have taken vengeance with the sword, but I cannot take offence because in preference to me she has chosen the King of Heaven.”
SHE ENTERED THE ORDER OF ST CLARE
The servant of God entered the Order of St Clare in the monastery of St Saviour at Prague, which she herself had erected. She was elected abbess of the monastery, and became in this office a model of Christian virtue and religious observance for all.
THE GIFT OF MIRACLES
God favoured her with the gift of miracles, and she predicted the victory of her brother Wenceslaus over the Duke of Austria. The exact year of her death is not certain; 1281 is the most probable date.
(From Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)
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