Saints celebrated on the 15th 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 HALWARD, MARTYR
The life of Saint Halwardus, also called Halphardus, Halpwardus, Haluardus, Halvardus, is very obscure. The time and place of his work are unknown. Only this much is reliable, that he was highly revered in Norway.
HE WAS HIGHLY REVERED IN NORWAY
Legend calls him a son or relative of the holy King Olaus [Olave] of Norway, which in any case indicates a very noble lineage. His father's name was Vebron, the mother Thorni.
HIS GOOD DEED
He was killed in 1028. His death is related as follows: He was about to get on the boat to go home on Lake Dram when a pregnant woman ran after him, begging him to take her with him. No sooner had they boarded and gone a few ship's lengths from shore than three armed men came up and gave chase. Then the woman confessed to him that she was innocently being prosecuted for theft.
SHE WAS PREPARED TO DEMONSTRATE HER INNOCENCE
When questioned, she further explained that she was prepared to acquit herself of the unjust accusation by the test of the red-hot iron.
Meanwhile, the pursuers caught up with them and demanded of St Halward to send her over to them. He tried to calm them down and asked that they investigate the accusations against her.
Enraged, the men shot arrows towards them and killed him and the woman. According to legend, they hung a stone around his neck and threw him into the sea, but he still floated on the surface and was carried out of the land. This is said to have happened on the Gothland coast.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints)
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