Blessed Herman was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy and spina bifida, but he also had a brilliant mind.
God often uses weak instruments to bring about a greater good. Such was the case of Bl. Herman of Reichenau. Herman was born with a cleft palate, cerebral palsy and spina bifida.
His childhood proved to be extremely difficult, but his parents wanted the best for him. When he was seven years old, they arranged for him to stay at a nearby Benedictine monastery where he would be educated and raised. Herman flourished at the monastery and it was quickly discovered that while his body was crippled, his mind was extraordinary.
He became a scholar in astronomy, theology, math, history and poetry. Herman was also a master of language and became fluent in Arabic, Greek and Latin. Yet what was even more remarkable was his gentle disposition and devout interior life. He possessed a great joy and despite his physical failings, he always smiled. Later in life he became blind and this is when he began composing beautiful hymns.
Even though his body failed him, his mind and heart were on fire with God’s love and it moved him to create some of the most well-known hymns of all time. In particular, Herman composed the ever popular Salve Regina (“Hail, Holy Queen”) and Alma Redemptoris Mater (“Loving Mother of the Redeemer”). Both hymns have become incorporated into the Church’s Liturgy of the Hours and are included after the recitation of Night Prayer.
The Salve Regina in particular is one of the most well-known Marian hymns of the Church. When we read or sing both of these hymns after learning about Bl. Herman, they are even more remarkable. The hymns are jubilant songs full of love and devotion, coming from the heart of a man who suffered greatly during his life.
It reminds us of the power of faith and how no matter what sufferings we may have to endure, we can still praise God and thank him for the wondrous things he has done for us.
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy,
our life, our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee to we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate,
thine eyes of mercy toward us,
and after this, our exile,
show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary
Loving mother of the Redeemer, gate of heaven, star of the sea,
assist your people who have fallen yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel’s joyful greeting,
have pity on us poor sinners.
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
Purest Gold: God's Refining Fire in our Lives »
After salvation, many young Christians wonder if there's anything more to their newfound faith than just the security blanket of "being a Christian." Time and time again, God shows himself as a "refiner," and our lives are as gold. God started leading me in this study to understand what He was doing in my life, as well as in the lives of others.
Picking up my pen to write this column, I couldn’t imagine how time flies. Since the last publication of this column I have gone through a lot, especially the loss of my dear mother to whom I dedicate this article. Not only her, but seems I lost a whole generation of my close family.
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Most of us youth in today's fast moving world are easily thrown off by difficulties and worries.
The theme of conversion is a thread that runs all through Lent, but conversion takes on different aspects throughout the phases of Lent. The first two and a half weeks focused on the interior turning of hearts; the liturgy urges the faithful to reflect and examine consciences thoroughly.
Saint Josephine Bakhita »
Feast Day: February 8
Patron Saint Of: Sudan
Saint Josephine Margaret Bakhita was born around 1869 in the village of Olgossa in the Darfur region of Sudan. She was a member of the Daju people and her uncle was a tribal chief. Due to her family lineage, she grew up happy and relatively prosperous, saying that as a child, she did not know suffering.
Catholics Must Fast More Intensely This Lent»
The Norbertine Canons of St. Michael's Abbey have created this digital Lenten retreat so that you can journey through this holy season alongside them. If you want to have one of your best Lenten seasons yet, join us in our Lenten Program "The Great Fast" - https://theabbotscircle.com/the-great-fast-join
When Your Faith Is Put to the Test - Bishop Barron's Sunday Sermon»
Friends, we come now to the Second Sunday of Lent, and we’re on both dangerous and very holy ground with the first reading from the twenty-second chapter of Genesis. The ancient Israelites referred to it as the “Akedah,” which means the “binding”: Abraham binds and is ready to sacrifice Isaac at God’s command.
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