BL. BLANDINE MERTEN, VIRGIN - 18 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 18th of May

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. BLANDINE MERTEN, VIRGIN 

Maria Magdalena Merten was the ninth of eleven children born to farmers on July 10, 1883 in Düppenweiler/Saarland, Germany.

SHE TAUGHT CHILDREN 

Between 1902 and 1908 she taught children in a secular environment but in November 1908 decided to become a member of the Ursulines near Ahrweiler (along with her sister) with the intention of teaching and to deepen her understanding of faith.

HER SOLEMN PROFESSION

She commenced her novitiate in 1910. She made her solemn profession on November 4, 1913 and assumed the name of "Blandine of the Sacred Heart".

HER DEVOTION TO THE HOLY EUCHARIST

Bl. Blandine led a simple life with an emphasis on tending to the children entrusted to her while also associating action and contemplation with the huge devotion she fostered towards the Eucharist. In September 1916 she contracted tuberculosis and was forced to stop teaching as a result.

HER HOLY DEATH

Bl. Blandine died on May 18, 1918 at the convent of Saint Bantus due to her tuberculosis and she was buried at the Basilica of St Paulinus in Trier.

Pope John Paul II beatified her on November 1, 1987.

(Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Magdalena_Merten)