Saint Scholastica
Twin sister of Saint Benedict of Nursia, Saint Scholastica is the patron saint of the city of Le Mans, Benedictine nuns, and women in childbirth. Nevertheless, having dedicated her life to the Lord, she spent her life in a monastery at the foot of Monte Cassino, not far from where her brother lived. She is considered to be thefirst Benedictine nun, having lived in the 5th century.
It is essentially Saint Gregory the Great who, in his Dialogues, reports to us the life of Saint Scholastica, her remarkable personality, and hersanctity.
Biography of Saint Scholastica
Saint Scholastica was born in 480, probably on March 2, in Nursia, in the province of Perugia in Umbria. His twin brother is the future Saint Benedict. She was born into a family of high society because her father, captain general of the Romans of the region, came from an old senatorial family and her mother was countess of the city. Unfortunately, she died shortly after giving birth. Their father educated them alone for a time but finally made the decision to send the little girl to the monastic life. The twins grew up. Benedict was sent to Rome to continue his studies but was disappointed by the frivolous life he encountered. He then became a hermit in a cave in Subiaco. Scholastica, aged twelve, was also opposed to worldly life and asked her father to become, as expected, a nun. After taking a vow of chastity and vowing to consecrate her life to God, she moved to her brother's hermitage with one or two other consecrated virgins. When, a few years later, Benoît left to found the abbey of Mont-Cassin, she followed him. At about seven kilometers, Scholastica founded her own monastery, that of Piumarola, with her sisters, she follows the rule established by her brother. They founded the first female monastery of the Benedictine order.
Scholastica asked her sisters to observe the rule of silence and to avoid any conversation with anyone outside the monastery, even if they are pious visitors. Scholastica never broke her vow of silence, except to speak of the Lord. Scholastica and Benedict decided to meet once a year, halfway between their two monasteries, in a house of prayer. During their meeting in the year 547, certainly feeling his end near, Scholastica begged her brother not to leave and to stay with her until the next day. The latter refused. She then prayed to the Lord with special fervor, so that a storm would break out and the monk would not be able to leave. God granted her this grace. Benedict then said to her: "What have you done?"; she replied: "I asked you to stay and you refused: so, I turned to God and He answered me". The twins then spent the night discussing various spiritual topics. Scholastica surrendered her soul to the Lord three days later, on February 10, 547. Benedict then saw her soul ascend to heaven in the form of a dove and had the body of his holy sister transported to his monastery and buried in the tomb provided for her. Benedict joined his sister in burial shortly after. This is what is written on their tomb: "As their spirit was always united in God, in the same way their bodies were united in the same tomb". It is said that their bones were transferred, in 660, to the abbey of Fleury, today Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, near Orléans. But in July 1107, Pope Paschal II declared that the relics of Saint Benedict were false. Those of Saint Scholastica had already been transferred, between 686 and 707, to Le Mans, in the former church of the Collegiate Church of Saint-Pierre-la-Cour.
Saint Scholastica is venerated on February 10th.
Prayers to Saint Scholastica
Prayer to ask for the courage and devotion of Saint Scholastica
Glorious sister of Saint Benedict, Saint Scholastica, you who generously exchanged the joys of the world and the luxuries of a brilliant condition for the austerities and holy sorrows of penance, ask God for us, that if we do not have, like you, the courage to renounce the world, and to enclose ourselves in a cloister, we may at least have the courage not to be attached to vanities, and to live as Christians in the condition in which it pleased the Lord to place us. Amen.
Prayer to give glory to Saint Scholastica
Happy spouse of Christ, Scholastica, dove of virgins, the inhabitants of Heaven shower you with praises; our hearts greet you by offering up to you the tribute of a joyful concert. You trampled underfoot the honors of the world and its crowns; guided by the teachings of your brother and the precepts of his holy rule, drawn by the scent of Heavenly Graces, you learned early on to take the path to the homeland. O invincible strength of love! O victory forever glorious, on this day when, by the power of your tears, you bring down the rains from Heaven, and compel the patriarch of Nursia to continue his celestial conversations. Today you shine, highest in the Heavens, with the radiance of that light for which you longed; the fires of charity, the splendors of grace adorn your brow; united with the Bridegroom, you rest in the bosom of glory. Therefore, deign now to dispel from the hearts of the faithful the clouds of this world, so that the eternal Sun, pouring forth its serene splendor upon us, may fill us with the joys of endless Light. Let us sing Glory to the Father and Glory to the only Son; equal tribute to the Divine Paraclete; eternal Honor to Him who created the ages and who governs them. Amen.
Prayer for Families to St. Benedict and St. Scholastica
O holy Benedict and Saint Scholastica, you were brother and sister, and both of you reached Holiness. Remembering your brotherly friendship, please come to the aid of our families, so that they may be united like you in the same faith and love of God, and become homes of sanctity. Through the merits of your lives entirely dedicated to Christ, grant us to follow the path of the Gospel in fidelity to the Church, and to seek God together, through religious practice and communal prayer. May our families pray abundantly, following your example, to progress in unity and love. Help us to live in mutual esteem and respect, seeing Christ Jesus in each of our loved ones. Make us more generous in forgiveness, more attentive in listening, and more open to welcome. May we maintain peace through charity. You whose heart was so compassionate, comfort families in difficulty, those afflicted by unemployment, illness, or the loss of loved ones. Aid separated spouses, unloved children, neglected parents. Protect the youth, preserve vocations. Watch over the safety of our homes, and implore peace for all families in the world. Be near us at the hour of our death, with Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and grant us to open ourselves to God's mercy, so that He may grant us the grace to reunite in the dwelling of heaven, to live eternally happy with Him, our very good Father, and His Son, Christ Jesus our Brother, and their Spirit of love. Amen.
Continue your prayer to Saint Scholastica with Hozana!
With Saint Scholastica, pray for peace in the Holy Land and learn to help yourself with the Bible in case of difficulty!
With Hozana, participate in beautiful novenas and discover a passage of the Gospel every day!
