Saint of the Day: Bl. Jane of Toulouse

Virgin (d. 1286)

Her life

+ Jane was born in Toulouse, France, and she took a vow of perpetual chastity as a young woman. At that time, she received the Carmelite veil from Saint Simon Stock and began to live a life of prayer and service based on the Carmelite Rule.

+ Honored as the first Carmelite tertiary (the Carmelite Third Order), she worked with the sick and poor and was a mentor to young friars.

+ Jane died in 1286 and was remembered for her gentle spirit, piety, and dedication. Devotion to this holy woman was approved in 1895.

For prayer and reflection

“Faith must be your shield on all occasions, and with it you will be able to quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one: there can be no pleasing God without faith; and the victory lies in this - your faith.”—from The Carmelite Rule, no. 20

Spiritual bonus

On this day we also remember Saint Balbina. The daughter of Saint Quirinus “the Jailer,” she was baptized by Pope Saint Alexander I and was martyred with her faither around the year 130 in Rome.

Prayer

Hear us, God our Savior, that, as we rejoice in commemorating the Virgin blessed Jane, we may be instructed by her loving devotion. 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: Common of Virgins—For One Virgin)

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