Saint of the Day: St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

Visitation Nun (1647-1690)

Her life

+ Margaret Mary was born in Autun, France. The entered the Order of the Visitation at Paray-le-Monial in 1671 and quickly developed habits of prayer and devotion that distinguished her in the eyes of her community.

+ In 1673, Margaret Mary experienced the first of a series of visions which focused on the mystery of God’s love and mercy as embodied in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

+ Along with her spiritual director, the Jesuit Saint Claude la Colombiere, she was responsible for helping spread devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus throughout the Church.

+ Saint Margaret Mary died on October 17, 1690. She was canonized in 1920.

For prayer and reflection

“This divine heart is an abyss of all blessings, and into it the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.”—Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

Spiritual bonus

On October 16, the Church also celebrates the memory of Saint Hedwig. The wife of Henry, Duke of Silesia and the mother of seven children, Hedwig (or Jadwiga) was known for her piety and devotion, as well as her service to the sick and poor. Following her husband’s death, she moved into the Cistercian monastery of Trzebnica, Poland, which was one of the many religious houses she had founded. She was clothed with the habit of a lay sister but she did not take religious vows. Distinguished for her prophecies, miracles, and care for the poor, she died in 1243. Canonized in 1267, she is honored as one of the patron saints of Poland.

Prayer

Pour out on us, we pray, O Lord,
the spirit with which you so remarkably endowed
Saint Margaret Mary,
so that we may come to know
that love of Christ which surpasses all understanding
and be utterly filled with your fullness.
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.

(from The Roman Missal)

Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.