[painting of Saint Helena]August 18
Saints of the Day
 

Saint Helen Empress, 250-330, Helena
Mother of Constantine the Great, found the True Cross at age 80 and built the church of the Holy Sepulcher for the Cross

    Converted to Christianity late in life. Married Constantius Chlorus, co-regent of the western Roman empire. Mother of Constantine the Great.
    Her husband put her aside for a second marriage with better political connections. On his death, her son ascended to the throne, brought her home, and treated her as royalty. She used her high position and wealth in the service of her religious enthusiasm, and helped build churches throughout the empire.
    At the age of 80 she led a group to the Holy Land to search for the True Cross. She and her group unearthed three crosses in 326. At the suggestion of Saint Macarius of Jerusalem, she took them to a woman afflicted with an incurable disease, and had her touch each one. One of them immediately cured her, and it was pronounced the True Cross.
    She built a church, of the Holy Sepulcher, on the spot where the cross was found, and sent pieces to Rome and Constantinople; the Feast of the Holy Cross on 14 September celebrates the event.

Images Gallery of Saint Helena
Additional Information
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/sainth01.htm
St. Helena
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id178.htm
http://www.magnificat.ca/cal/engl/08-18.htm
Translate español | français | deutsch | italiano | português [Saint Jane stained glass window]

Saint Jane Frances of Chantal, 1572-1641, Jeanne de Chantal
French Baroness, wife, mother of 6, widow, nun and founder of a religious community the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady, Writer and Activist

    Born to the nobility, the daughter of the president of the Parliament of Burgundy.
    Married in 1592 at age twenty to Baron de Chantal. Mother six children, three of whom died in infancy.
    Widowed at 28 when the Baron was killed in a hunting accident and died in her arms. Taking a personal vow of chastity, she was forced to live with her father-in-law, which was a period of misery for her. She spent her free time in prayer, and received a vision of the man who would become her spiritual director.
    In Lent, 1604, she met Saint Francis de Sales, and recognized him as the man in her vision. She became a spiritual student and close friend of Saint Francis, and the two carried on a lengthy correspondence for years.

    Founder:
    She founded the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady at Annecy, France.
    The Order was designed for widows and laywomen who did not wish the full life of the orders, it would be a haven for those whose health, age or other considerations barred them from entering the already established communities. There would be no cloister, and they would be free to undertake spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They were primarily intended to exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visitation (hence their name, the Visitation nuns): humility and meekness.
    She oversaw the founding of 69 convents. Jeanne spent the rest of her days overseeing the Order, and acting as spiritual advisor to any who desired her wisdom. Visitationist nuns today live a contemplative life, work for women with poor health and widows, and sometimes run schools.

    Writer and Activist... and interior Darkness:
    Francis wrote his famous Treatise on the Love of God for them. The congregation (three women) began when Jane Frances was 45. She underwent great sufferings: Francis de Sales died; her son was killed; a plague ravaged France; her daughter-in-law and son-in-law died.
    She encouraged the local authorities to make great efforts for the victims of the plague and she put all her convent’s resources at the disposal of the sick.
    During a part of her religious life she had to undergo great trials of the spirit—interior anguish, darkness and spiritual dryness. She died while on a visitation of convents of the community.

Born 28 January 1572 at Dijon, Burgundy, France
Died 13 December 1641 at the Visitation Convent, Moulins, France; relics at Annecy, Savoy
Canonized 16 July 1767
Additional Information
http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/saintj22.htm
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1111
http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id724.htm
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Readings
 
When shall it be that we shall taste the sweetness of the Divine Will in all that happens to us, considering in everything only His good pleasure, by whom it is certain that adversity is sent with as much love as prosperity, and as much for our good? When shall we cast ourselves undeservedly into the arms of our most loving Father in Heaven, leaving to Him the care of ourselves and of our affairs, and reserving only the desire of pleasing Him, and of serving Him well in all that we can?

Saint Jeanne
Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.

Saint Jeanne
She was full of faith, and yet all her life long she had been tormented by thoughts against it. Nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her. And so I regard her as one of the holiest souls I have ever met on this earth.

Saint Vincent de Paul
One day Saint Jane spoke the following eloquent words, which listeners took down exactly as spoken: "My dear daughters, many of our holy fathers in the faith, men who were pillars of the Church, did not die martyrs. Why do you think this was? Each one present offered an answer; then their mother continued. "Well, I myself think it was because there is another martyrdom: the martyrdom of love. Here God keeps his servants and handmaids in this present life to that they may labor for him, and he makes of them both martyrs and confessors. I know," she added, "that the Daughters of the Visitation are meant to be martyrs of this kind and that, by the favor of God, some of them, more fortunate than others in that their desire has been granted, will actually suffer such a martyrdom."

One sister asked what form this martyrdom took. The saint answered: "Yield yourself fully to God, and you will find out! Divine love takes its sword to the hidden recesses of our inmost soul and divides us from ourselves. I know one person whom love cut off from all that was dearest to her, just as completely and effectively as if a tyrant's blade had severed spirit from body."

We realized that she was speaking of herself. When another sister asked how long the martyrdom would continue, the saint replied: "From the moment when we commit ourselves unreservedly to God, until our last breath. I am speaking, of course, of great-souled individuals who keep nothing back for themselves, but instead are faithful in love. Our Lord does not intend this martyrdom for those who are weak in love and perseverance. Such people he lets continue on their mediocre way, so that they will not be lost to him; he never does violence to our free will."

Finally, the saint was asked whether this martyrdom of love could be put on the same level as martyrdom of the body. She answered: "We should not worry about equality. I do think, however, that they martyrdom of love cannot be relegated to a second place, for 'love is as strong as death.' For the martyrs of love suffer infinitely more in remaining in this life so as to serve god, than if they died a thousand times over in testimony to their faith and love and fidelity."

from the memoirs of the secretary of Saint Jane Frances de Chantal
Fidelity toward God consists in being perfectly resigned to his holy will, in enduring everything that his goodness allows in our lives, and in carrying out all our duties, especially that of prayer, with love and for love. In prayer we must converse very familiarly with our Lord, concerning our little needs, telling him what they are, and remaining submissive to anything he may wish to do with us...

We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our good angel, and then remain still in God's presence, full of faith that he is more in us than we are in ourselves.

There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer dependsd neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is.

We must never dwell on our sins during prayer. Regarding our offenses, a simple humbling of our soul before God, without a thought of this offense or that, is enough...such thoughts act as distractions.

Saint Jeanne de Chantal, from Wings to the Lord

Saints of August 18:

http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0818.htm

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