Saints celebrated on the 20th of June
BLESSED BERTHOLD, RELIGIOUS, AND BLESSED MEINRICH, RELIGIOUS
Today is also the feast of Blessed Berthold and Blessed Meinrich (BB. Bertholdus et Menricus, Conf). Blessed Berthold was born of a noble family and at an early age entered the Premonstratensian monastery in Schleiden in Westphalia, where he zealously advanced on the path of godliness.
In the vicinity of this monastery was a place called Hasley, where on certain days people, nobility as well as commoners, assembled and indulged in all sorts of mischief. This pained our Blessed beyond measure, and it is said that he asked his sister, who served God in a hermitage at Ahlen, for an image of the Blessed Virgin, which their father had brought from back from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. With this picture he first went to in Menden in the administrative district of Arnsberg and collected alms there towards putting an end to the mischief in Hasley.
Then he returned to Mount Hasley and, to keep the people from indulging in their unholy pasttimes there, built a chapel on the very hill, enduring much from his brethren, until his pious purpose had been achieved.
However, he died on July 5 and was buried in his monastery.
The deceased had a brother, Meinrich (Meinrich) by name, who was a canon in Lübeck and also distinguished by virtue. He received an inspiration from on high, which caused him to follow in his brother's footsteps. Meinrich moved into his brother's apartment on Mount Hasley with several youths from Soest, taught them the pious life and finally built a house on the mountain with a little church in honour of Mary and the Archangel Michael. With the help of the archbishop and elector of Cologne, Heinrich Graf von Molenark (1225-1237), he subsequently established the Cistercian monastery at Fröndenberg (Vrundenberg) on the Ruhr in the Dortmund district. The pious founder had the consolation of seeing heaven crown his well-intentioned endeavour, and rejoicing, he slept happily in God on June 20, towards the middle of the thirteenth century.
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 1, Augsburg, 1858, p. 473)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Berthold and the blessed Meinrich 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.
Comments
Post a Comment