BL. HENRIK FRIESSEM - 7 OCTOBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER 

Saints celebrated on the 7th of October

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. HENRIK FRIESSEM 

Blessed Henrik Friessem was born on September 27, 1672 in Cologne, Germany. Feeling called to religious life, he joined the Premonstratensians and became a canon in their monastery Steinfeld in the Eifel near Cologne. He made his vows on July 2, 1692. 

After some time, Bl. Henrik was appointed novice master of the communes of Niederehe and Sayn, for which a provincial novitiate had been established, and in that position he had a great influence on the young candidates. 

Henrik was a true pattern of piety, and he worked in Glees, Ellen, Dünnwald and finally in the Wehr.

His whole appearance and demeanor reflected extraordinary holiness. He asked God to experience his sufferings in this world in order to avoid having to go through them in purgatory, and it seems as if his prayers were heard.

Although suffering from many ailments, he eagerly heard confessions, and in addition wrote several pamphlets printed in Cologne. This holy Premonstratensian died on October 7, 1741. 

He is honoured as blessed by the Premonstratensians with Memorial Day on the day of his death on October 7.

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