ST MONEGONDES, ANCHORESS

ST MONEGONDES, ANCHORESS - 2 JULY

SAINT MONEGONDES, ANCHORESS

Saint Monegondes (Monegundis) (feast days: July 2, or alternatively July 1 and 9, and August 30). This Saint Monegundis - known in French as Moné - also appears in records as Monagundis, Monigundis, and Molnegundis. Saint Gregory of Tours chronicled her life. She was one of those women who, amidst the most varied circumstances of life, kept their gaze fixed steadfastly upon God. She lived with equal perfection as a maiden, a wife, and a widow. She had two daughters, whom the good Lord called to Himself at an early age. After her husband's death, she lived as a recluse in Chartres and Tours. Other women and maidens joined her; she served as their role model and teacher in the rigours of the spiritual life. She died with a reputation for sanctity around the year 570. Her relics were venerated in the Church of Saint Peter in Tours - housed in a precious shrine - until 1562, when Calvinists plundered the shrine and burned the sacred remains. A portion of them was saved and kept hidden until 1597. On July 9 of that year, they were once again exposed for veneration. She is also commemorated on August 30.

We offer a few further details from her life. When her daughters died, she mourned, yet not excessively: "If I were unwilling to find comfort in this," she said, "I would have to fear offending my Lord Jesus Christ." She prepared her own bread in her walled-up cell. One day, however, she found herself in a difficult predicament. The maidservant had gone away, and the pious woman had nothing left to eat - not even water to drink or to make the dough. Then, on the fifth day, in response to her prayer, God sent a heavy snowfall. She caught the flakes, mixed the water derived from them into the flour, and - trusting that God would provide for whatever else was needed - began to prepare dough for bread. The story does not recount what happened next, other than noting that she once again had enough to live on for five days. Presumably, some compassionate soul had come along to handle the baking. Initially, she was laid to rest within the cell itself. Her name also appears in the Roman Martyrology*. She was a patron saint of the collegiate church at Chimay in Hainaut. Ado and the Proprium Tungrense* list her feast day as July 1. Depictions show her as a recluse receiving food through the open window of her cell.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875, pp. 482-83)

*A hagiography source used by the authors

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Monegondes 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.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org

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