👑Saint Hedwig, duchess of Silesia and Poland, is a beacon of both earthly and spiritual nobility. Born around 1174, she married Duke Henry I, and together they had seven children. Even amidst the responsibilities of the court, her life was dedicated to deep piety, tireless charity towards the poor, and exemplary humility, even to the point of walking barefoot in winter as an act of penance. After the death of her husband in 1238, she retired to the Cistercian monastery of Trzebnica, which she herself had founded. There, she lived as a simple nun, though without professing vows so that she could continue to administer her assets for the benefit of the needy. She gave her soul to God in 1243, leaving a legacy that true royalty is found in serving Christ and His little ones. Her life reflects the wisdom of one who understood that the Kingdom of Heaven is the only treasure for which it is worth selling all that one possesses.
📜Epistle (I Tim 5:3-10)
Dearest: Honour widows that are widows indeed. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let her learn first to govern her own house and to make a return of duty to her parents; for this is acceptable to God. She that is a widow indeed, but desolate, let her trust in God, and continue in supplications and prayers night and day. But she that lives in pleasure, is dead while she is living. Admonish them of this, that they may be blameless. But if any man has not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. —Let a widow be admitted into the service of the Church, being no less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, if she has exercised hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has ministered to the afflicted, if she has diligently followed every good work.
📖Gospel (Mt 13:44-52)
At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to his disciples: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man finds it, he hides it again, and out of joy for it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. The Kingdom of Heaven is also like a merchant seeking fine pearls. When he finds one pearl of great value, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. The Kingdom of Heaven is also like a net thrown into the sea, which gathers fish of every kind. When it is full, the fishermen pull it ashore, sit down, and gather the good into baskets, but throw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age: the angels will come and separate the wicked from the midst of the just and cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all this?" They answered, "Yes." Then Jesus said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like the head of a family who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old."
🤔Reflections
💎The hidden treasure and the pearl of great price represent the sweetness of the heavenly Kingdom, the discovery of which makes all earthly possessions lose their luster. The field is not the world, but the discipline of the spiritual life, which is "bought" by renouncing carnal pleasures to obtain the treasure of holiness. Saint Hedwig understood this perfectly, for, having found this treasure in faith, she joyfully sold the pomps of her ducal position to acquire the field of mortification and prayer, where her precious pearl was hidden. "He who understands how sweet the Kingdom of heaven is, joyfully gives up all that he has loved on earth. The world's beauty loses its charm when compared to it, and all wealth appears as poverty." (St. Gregory the Great, Homily 11 on the Gospels).
🕊️The description of the "true widow" by St. Paul is a prophetic portrait of the life of Saint Hedwig after her husband's death. She not only persevered in prayers but embodied each of the good works listed: she raised her children in holiness, practiced hospitality to a heroic degree, washed the feet of the saints by serving the poor and suffering, and aided the afflicted with her own goods. She did not become a widow who is "dead while she lives" in pleasure, but one who found in widowhood a path to perfection and total consecration to God. "For the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. She is dead to the faith, dead to the promise, dead to God." (St. John Chrysostom, Homily 14 on 1 Timothy).
🏛️The liturgy and doctrine of the Church propose the lives of the saints as a living gospel, a practical demonstration of the truth of the faith. The life of Saint Hedwig exemplifies the perennial teaching on detachment from earthly goods as a condition for attaining heavenly ones. The Catechism of the Council of Trent, when discussing the commandments and virtues, emphasizes that true wealth is not in what is accumulated on earth, but in the merits acquired for heaven. The holy duchess, by exchanging her noble garments for a simple habit and her palaces for the refuge of the monastery, did nothing more than follow Christ's counsel, showing that voluntary mortification and generous charity are the price to buy the "field" that contains the eternal treasure.
➡️See English version of the critical articles here.
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