ST ANSFRID, BISHOP OF UTRECHT - 3 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 3rd 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.

ST ANSFRID, BISHOP OF UTRECHT 

Saint Aufridus (Ansfridus, Ausfridus), (French Aufroy) (May 3), Bishop of Utrecht, is called a Brabantian count by the author of his acts and by Siegbert von Gemblours (Comes apud Brachbantium, Bratispantium). 

A COUNT FROM BRABANT

He was held in high esteem by the Emperor Otto III and Henry the Saint and proved his bravery in several battles. After the death of Bishop Baduin of Utrecht, the Emperor made him the proposal to devote himself to the clergy and take the vacant seat for the good of the Church. In vain he resisted and was thus ordained bishop in A.D. 994. 

HOHORST MONASTERY

He built a monastery at some distance from the city, which was initially called Hohorst, then Heiligen, finally Marienberg, and placed it under the protection of SS. Peter and Paul. Towards the end of his life he lost his sight, retired to the monastery he founded and died in 1008 (according to others 1010). His body was buried in the church in Utrecht.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Ansfrid, your blessed bishop, 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.