SAINT EUPHRASIA (380-410) 13 March 2014 She was born in Constantinople in the year 380 to a Roman noble family. She was named after her own mother (so, both, mother and daughter shared the same name Euphrasia). Her father, Antigonus, who was of the first rank in the court of Emperor Theodosius, died soon after her birth. They then moved to Egypt, because the holy widow wished to avoid anymore suitors for marriage. In Egypt, her devout mother bought a very large estate and built her house near a holy monastery of 130 nuns, who lived on nothing but herbs and pulses. The nuns lived in strict poverty and penance; when sick, they refrained from calling for physicians (unless it was absolutely necessary) - similar to today’s monks of La Trappe. At the age of 7, when Euphrasia expressed her heartfelt desire to enter this neighbouring monastery, her mother wept for joy. Not long after, her mother then took Euphrasia before an image of Christ in the monastery, and lifting up her hands to heaven, said “Lord Jesus Christ, receive this child under your special protection. You alone doth she love and seek: to you doth she recommend herself.” Then turning to her dear daughter, she said, “May God, who laid the foundations of the mountains, strengthen you always in His holy fear.” And leaving her in the hands of the abbess, her mother went out of the monastery weeping. Some time after this, her mother fell sick, and these were her last instructions to her daughter: “Fear God, honour your sisters, and serve them with humility. Never think of what you have been, nor say to yourself that you are of royal extraction. Be humble and poor on earth, that you may be rich in heaven.” Upon the news of her mother’s death, Emperor Theodosius sent for young Euphrasia, having promised her in marriage to a favourite young senator. But the saintly nun wrote him the following answer: “Invincible emperor, having consecrated myself to Christ in perpetual chastity, I cannot be false to my engagement, and marry a mortal man, who will shortly be the food of worms. For the sake of my parents, be pleased to distribute their estates among the poor, the orphans, and the church. Set all my slaves at liberty, order my fathers stewards to acquit my farmers of all they owe since his death, that I may serve God and may stand before Him without the solicitude of temporal affairs. Pray for me, you, and your empress, that I may be made worthy to serve Christ.” After reading her letter, the Emperor was so moved that he immediately carried out all that she expressed, a little before his death in 395. In the monastery, she initially ate herbs or pulses like the rest of the nuns every evening after sunset, but afterwards she reduced it and ate only once or twice a week. She cleaned out the chambers of the other nuns, and obediently employed herself in the meanest drudgery, making painful labour a part of her penance. The sisters recognised Euphrasia as a perfect pattern of humility, meekness, and charity. And that is why the devil often attacked her, too. She always confessed these disturbing incidents to the abbess, who would assign some humbling and painful penitential labour for Euphrasia. On one occasion, Euphrasia carried heavy stones from one place to another for 30 days till the devil was at last driven away by her humble obedience and chastisement of her body. At the age of 30, just before her death in the year 410, she was favoured with miracles - her feast is celebrated on March 13 in the Roman Catholic Church, and on July 25 in the Greek Orthodox Church. May Saint Euphrasia intercede for us on this day of Lent so that all our fasting and penance may be done in reverence and deep humility which will lead us to true repentance.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:14:32 +0000
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