April 12 Saint Alferius of La Cava

St. Alferius lead the model life of a nobleman in tenth century Italy. He was learned, acted as an ambassador for the duke of Salerno, Italy, traveled all over southern Italy. When he became seriously ill in Chiusa, Italy  he was taken to the local monastery. Like many a sickly person, he made the  clichéd pact that if he recovers he will join religious life. He did recover and he followed through on his promise to God. He became a monk in France and then was sent to his hometown of Salerno to reform the monasteries and local priests. He met with little success so he became a hermit in the foothills of Salerno.

His gentle teachings and wisdom earned a rather large following. He chose twelve of his favorite students and started his own monastery. The abbey became the motherhouse for scores of others in the region; this network of houses became a powerful force for civilization and religion in Sicily and southern Italy. Alferius lived to be 120, governing the abbey until the day he died, on Holy Thursday. On that day, he celebrated mass, and washed the feet of his brothers, including the future Pope Blessed Victor III. Twelve of the abbots of his monastery have gone on to be beatified.

March 14 St. Matilda

Patron Saint of Parents With Disappointing Children

Poor Matilda. She had the misfortune of marrying someone she loved in the 900s. Her true love happened to be the Duke of Saxony who became King of Germany upon his father’s death. King Otto loved and admired his wife and by all accounts, the equal partners were good and just rulers. St. Matilda was a devout Christian and took over the social justice and homeland concerns of Germany while her husband managed the wars and money.  They had five children whom they raised in the faith.

Upon her husband’s death, St. Matilda’s oldest son, Otto II took the crown. He continued to co-rule with mother until his younger brother Henry threw a fit. According to him, he should be, at the least, co-ruler, if not king. After raising an army and attempting an overthrow, St. Matilda at last convinced the two to work together and that she would step down. She began a second career establishing monasteries and convents with the family money. The two boys, doing as their mother wished, worked together to have her stripped of her money and rights. She was banished to her childhood home to live the rest of her life in relative poverty.

But her boys were not done. Her third son, Bruno, having become a priest, had become of of the most powerful men in the Northern European church. As bishop of Cologne, he had the power to raise armies, strike coins and levy taxes. As a duke he had the power of the king behind his actions. When he got wind of his brother Henry’s dealings with dissatisfied nobility, he stepped in and harshly reprimanded his brother. This led to Henry’s second attempt to take over the crown. By the end of the second attempt, Otto had become a hardened, cynical leader who solidified the Ottoman Empire. Henry was broken and physically ailing, dying shortly after the failed attempt. And Bruno was the velvet glove behind Otto’s iron fist, establishing the church as a powerful and feared entity in Northern Europe.

I think St. Matilda would have been happier if her children had chosen to become simple sheep herders.