SAINT(S) OF THE DAY ~ FEAST DAY: MARCH 4TH

MEMORIAL OF SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND – FEAST DAY ~ MARCH 4TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Casimir of Poland. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and these Saints, we humbly pray for vocation to the priesthood and religious life and we pray for the sick and dying, we particularly pray for those who are suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. May God grant them His divine healing and intervention. We pray for the poor and the needy, for persecuted Christians, for an end to religious and political unrest, for justice and peace, love and unity in our world that is torn apart by war, terrorism, racism and countless other acts of violence against human life. Amen 🙏🏽

Saint Casimir, we ask your intercession to aid all leaders of governments, churches, and families to emulate your virtues; to be poor in spirit, just, pure, and faithful. With your aid, may leaders guide those under their authority to love and serve their country and their God with greater fervor…Amen🙏🏽

Holy Face of Jesus ~ Have Mercy on us; St. Casimir of Poland ~ Pray for us 🙏🏽

SAINT CASIMIR OF POLAND: St. Casimir of Poland (1458-1484), born Casimir Jagiellon on October 5, 1458, he was the second son of Poland King Casimir IV and Queen Elizabeth of Austria, he was third of the thirteen children born to them in the royal palace at Cracow. St. Casimir committed his life to God from an early age, thanks in part to a brilliant and pious priest who served as the royal tutor. He and several of his brothers studied with the priest and historian John Dlugosz, whose deep piety and political expertise influenced St. Casimir in his upbringing. St. Casimir, the young prince had a distaste for the luxury of courtly life, he turned away from the privileges of his station in life and instead exercised extreme asceticism and self-denial. He wore a hairshirt under his clothes, slept on the cold ground, and knelt in prayer for long hours outside of locked churches and would spend much of the night in prayer and meditation on the suffering and death of Christ. St. Casimir showed his love for God through these exercises of devotion, and also through his material charity to the poor. He was known as a deeply compassionate young man who felt others’ pains acutely. One of his principal devotions was to the Blessed Virgin, in whose honor he composed, or at least frequently recited, the well-known “Hymn of St. Casimir.”

The young prince, St. Casimir was only 13 years old when his father was asked by the Hungarians to offer his son as their new king. St. Casimir was eager to aid the Hungarians in their defense against the Turks, so he accepted and went to be crowned in the hope of defending the Christian nation against the Turks. St. Casimir marched at the head of an army of 20,000 men to the frontier, to comply with his father’s will. The reigning King of Hungary whom the people wished to dethrone was Matthias Corvinus. On reaching the frontier and learning that the differences between King and people had been adjusted, the plan did not come to fruition. St. Casimir gladly returned home to Poland to continue his life of prayer, penance, and generosity to the poor. Realizing afterward injustice of the attempt against the King of Hungary, he could never be prevailed upon to assume the crown when the Hungarian again offered to him. After his return St. Casimir resumed his studies with the priest and historian, John Dlugosz, while developing a canny grasp of politics by observing his father’s rule. In 1479 the king left Poland to attend to state business in Lithuania, leaving Prince Casimir in charge of the realm between 1481 and 1483.

St. Casimir took a vow of celibacy which he upheld despite immense political pressure to marry. Advisers to the prince joined his father in trying to convince St. Casimir to marry. But he preferred to remain single, focusing his life on the service of God and the good of his people. St. Casimir suffered from a chronic lung condition (tuberculosis), he foresaw his death and prepared for it by deepening his devotion to God. He died en route to Vilna, the capital of Lithuania on March 4, 1484 at the age of 25 and was buried with a copy of a Marian hymn he frequently recited. Many miracles were attributed to his intercession after his death. Pope Adrian VI canonized him in 1522. One hundred and twenty-two years after his death Saint Casimir’s tomb in the cathedral church of Vilna was opened, that the holy remains might be transferred to the rich marble chapel where it now lies. The place was damp, and the very vault crumbled away in the hands of the workmen; yet the Saint’s body, wrapped in robes of silk, still intact, was found whole and incorrupt, and emitting a sweet fragrance which filled the church and refreshed all who were present. Under his head was found his hymn to Our Lady, which he had had buried with him.

Five centuries after his death, in 1984, Pope John Paul II addressed Lithuanian pilgrims commemorating the 500th anniversary of the prince’s death. He said the Church “proclaimed Casimir a saint and placed him before us not only to be venerated but also that we might imitate his heroic virtues and follow his example of holiness.” Pope John Paul II recalled how St. Casimir “embraced a life of celibacy, submitted himself humbly to God’s will in all things, devoted himself with tender love to the Blessed Virgin Mary and developed a fervent practice of adoring Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament.” “His witness of great faith and fervent piety continues to have special meaning for us today,” the Pope said, noting especially the “challenging call” he offers to young people. “His life of purity and prayer beckons you to practice your faith with courage and zeal, to reject the deceptive attractions of modern permissive society, and to live your convictions with fearless confidence and joy.” “To all,” the Pope said, “he was a shining example of poverty and of sacrificial love for the poor and needy.” 

Saint Casimir Jagiellon life of service to God has made him a Patron Saint of Poland, Lithuania, and young people.

PRAYER: O God Almighty, to serve You is to reign. We pray through Saint Casimir’s intercession, that we may constantly serve you in sanctity and justice. And our services reflected in a holy way of life and justice. Help us to deepen our trust in You our Heavenly Father. Through our Lord Jesus Christ…. Amen🙏