April 14: Saint Lydwine, Virgin

Veniant mihi miserationes tuae et vivam, quia lex tua mediation mea est. ps. 118.
Oh Lord, make me feel the effects of Your mercy, and I shall live. For Your Will that is revealed to me in Your law is my meditation.
Totum te caelesti patri addicas, nec praesenti tempori sed futuro aevo vivas. S. Greg. naz. ad Philag.
Begin to live eternally here on Earth by making all of your days joyful through a total resignation to the Will of God.

Example: Saint Lydwine followed that rule exactly. Worried that her beauty would prove detrimental to her chastity, she prayed that she may be deformed. Her prayers were answered. Her body was racked by all kinds of illnesses. Jesus Christ, loving her particularly, often visited her amongst a host of angels to admire such a spectacle of patience. Her guardian angel visited her sometimes and filled her with celestial light. The extreme poverty which was joined to her extraordinary suffering did not stop her from giving aid to the poor. After having suffered so greatly, to the point that her pains were as Purgatory to her, she died in 1430. Or, rather, she stopped dying.

Practice: Take note, Lover of God, that she was not sanctified by her suffering. Rather, she suffered so much in great conformity to the Holy Will of God. We are cowards because although our pains are quite mild compared to those of Lydwine, we betray our great impatience. For to be truly patient, it does not suffice to merely endure illness, but rather long and severe illness in resignation to the Will of God. It is not through a fever that we prove our courage: It is fleeting, and even if it lasts for a long time it is not a significant trial. However, we do worry about such insignificant things. Alas, what would become of us if we were afflicted with a continuous migraine, colic, and all sorts of pains without reprieve, as was our Lydwine. If, in our wisdom, we can imitate her, then we can conform ourselves to the Will of God to turn the days of our affliction to days of joy.