BL. BERNARD OF SITHIU, PENITENT - 19 APRIL

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN APRIL

Saints celebrated on the 19th of April

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 BERNARD OF SITHIU, PENITENT 

Blessed Bernard of Sithiu (Bernard Maguellone) was born in France. To repent for his sins including murder, Bl. Bernard made a pilgrimage of expiation. He ended up settling next to the abbey of Sithiu. 

A PILGRIMAGE OF EXPIATION

Some information about his life has come down to us through the writings of the then abbot Jean de Sithiu.

He died on April 19, 1182 in the monastery of Saint-Bertin, Thérouanne region, France.

His name is inserted in the Roman Martyrology. 

At the monastery of Saint-Bertin in Thérouanne, the year 1182, the death of Blessed Bernard the Penitent, who, seeking to expiate by a very harsh penance for the sins of youth, chose a voluntary exile: barefoot, dressed in woolen fabrics,  contenting himself with a little food, he constantly made pilgrimages to sacred places and ended his days in the monastic habit. 

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Blessed Bernard may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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