April 11: Saint Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr

Bonum mihi quia himiliasti me, ut discam justificationes tuas. ps. 118.
Oh Lord, it is most advantageous to me to be humiliated if that is how I learn to do Your Will.
Quaecumquae transitoria sunt altiori consilia iam transisse decerne, et velut ludificatoriae illusionis somnium deputa. S. Dam. l. 8. ep. 8.
It is easy to obey God when he strips us of perishable goods. He decides what is transient, is fleeting, has alredy passed, and is nothing but an ilusion and ultimately a dream.

Example: Saint Stanislas, Bishop and Martyr, whom is celebrated by some on this day although the Roman Martyrology celebrates him on May 7th, was well detached from the glories of the Earth -- such that when he was tortured to take back up his life of sin, he was equally generous to princes and to their subjects. King Boleslaus of Poland was a slave to all sorts of disorders to the point that he found himself mired in abject scandal. Stanislas, Bishop of Krakow, showed him the way out when the prince sent men to kill the saint, but they were stopped by a divine force. So the prince assumed the role of executioner and bestwoed the glory of martyrdom to Stanislas by his own hand. He dismembered the martyr's body, but four eagles guarded it until it could be placed in an honorable tomb. We could not find a more excellent example of someone who refused the riches of the Earth than that of Blessed Beatrix of Beaumont. consecrated virgin of Saint Clare. Although she was descended from the kings of Navarra, she was so humble that the glory of her consecrated life was only barely approached by the glory of her royalty.

Practice: Lover of God, what misfortune it is to attach yourself to the wealth and honors of this World, which produce nothing but jealousy, feuds, and rage in the hearts of those who are enchanted by it. You will be much better served by loving God alone, who has nothing but sweetness for the souls that are united with Him, and only bitterness for the rest. Nothing else can make your days joyful.