Novena to Bl. Catherine of St. Augustine

Novena to Bl. Catherine of St. Augustine

(feast May 8)

O Glorious Bl Catherine, virgin and missionary, I invoke your intercession from your place in heaven.  Pray that we may have the strength to trust in God when our body is weak and we feel spiritual dryness.  Shower prayers upon us that we may have the patience and love to bear all for the Lord.  May we always listen closely to the direction of our Lord and have the grace to discern His Will for us.  Please pray for us Bl. Catherine that we may have the strength in body and spirit to follow God’s direction and the courage to follow it through as you did here on earth. Please carry our petitions before the Lord. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen

1 Glory Be

Bl. Catherine of St. Augustine was beatified by Pope John Paul on April 1989.  Pope John Paul II said of her in his homily,"Among the founders of the Church of Canada in its spiritual springtime can be numbered Marie Catherine, this Augustinian whose hand, as well as her heart, was nothing other than charity."

Catherine was born in France in 1632.  Her grandparents were a witness of charity to the poor.  As a young girl Catherine saw her grandmother take a handicapped beggar into their home, bath and feed him.  Her grandparents coupled charity with prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord.  As Catherine grew she felt a call to join the consecrated life and care for the sick and poor.  This brought her to join the Sisters of St. Augustine and travel to Canada as a missionary. Catherine would suffer illness and spiritual dryness for much of her life.  Despite this suffering,  she cooked and cared for the sick in the sister’s poor hospital.  Although there was danger present from Iroquois Indians who were burning villages she stayed and became respected by the indians. Catherine died at the age of 36.

The superior of the Quebec mission stated in a letter upon Catherine’s death, "Her outward bearing had a charm that was the most attractive and winning in the world: it was impossible to see her and not love her. Her nature was one of the most perfect that could have been desired: prudent, with simplicity, keen of perception, without curiosity; sweet and gracious, without flattery; invincible in her patience; tireless in her charity; amiable to all, without undue attachment to any; humble, without being mean-spirited; courageous, without any haughtiness." 

Favorite Quote by Bl. Catherine of St. Augustine

“My God, I adore Your divine perfections; I adore Your divine Justice; I abandon myself to it with my whole heart.”