Collect taken from the optional memorial of St. Hedwig, religious.
Collect: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the revered intercession of Saint Hedwig may bring us heavenly aid, just as her wonderful life is an example of humility for all. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son…
“ Grant, we pray, almighty God, that the revered intercession of Saint Hedwig may bring us heavenly aid,”
— The saints are real to us, and we genuinely look for their help. As residents of heaven, their intercession is a reliable means to obtain help from heaven.
“just as her wonderful life is an example of humility for all.”
— Humility is the most important virtue, so we focus in on the profound humility of this saint. Our prayer resorts a simple kind of logic: Hedwig’s humility is already helpful to us as an example, so it makes sense that she can be helpful in other ways too. In this case, prayer.
Questions & Advice: Are the saints real to you? Do you seek their intercession genuinely or only as a kind of formality? Do you value the virtue of humility even more than your own success or comfort?
Read about prayer and its connection to humility in the Catechism (2558-65). In your daily prayer time, reflect on how close you are to various saints and St. Hedwig in particular. Consider praying the litany of humility.
 |
| Sancta Hedviges, ora pro nobis! |