St. Louis - August 25th

 

Today, we celebrate the memorial of St. Louis King of France. He was born in 1215. His mother was a very good Catholic, and so, taught him the Catholic faith, and all about God’s heavenly kingdom. Louis often times would say “Death rather than mortal sin.” which is what his mother taught him.

His mother prepared him to be truly a holy king. He was crowned king when he was only 12 years old. Can you imagine a 6^th grader being made king of France? Even though he became king of France at the age of 12 years old, his mother ran the actual ran the government until Louis was old enough.

He was taught by Franciscan Friars, and later became a Third Order Franciscan. As king, he became very sick, and made a promise to the Lord that if his health would improve, he would lead a crusade to free the Holy Land from Muslims, because they had taken control and pushed out the Christians.

When he went with his army to fight the Muslims in the Holy Land, he was captured and taken prisoner. While in prison, the Muslims said they would release him from prison, but only, if he denied Jesus. He refused to deny Jesus, our Blessed Lord, because He loved Him with all his heart, mind and soul. Sometime later, he was freed from prison.

Louis was a very good king. He would not tolerate those who spoke filthy words, or spoke bad things of others. Even though, he had lots of money, as king, he used it wisely by taking care of the poor. He was able to get the actual Crown of Thorns of Jesus, and built a Catholic Church in Paris, which he placed the Thorns.

Due to Muslims again taking over the Holy Land, he decided to start another Crusade to battle against them. While on the journey, some of his soldiers became ill. Because he visited them, he got the illness himself, and died, before he could go to the Holy Land. St. Louis and his wife had 12 children, whom he daily prayed with. Before his death he wrote a beautiful letter to one of his sons, who would take over his throne upon his death.

In the letter, he states, “My dearest son, I exhort you above all else to love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with all your strength; there is no salvation apart from this. Keep yourself free from everything you know to be displeasing to God, that is, from every mortal sin. You must be willing to suffer any kind of martyrdom rather than commit a grievous sin. Be kindly disposed toward the poor, the wretched and afflicted; help them as much as you can and console them. Be just towards your subjects. Incline to the poor man’s side rather than to the rich man until you are certain where the truth lies. Be devoted and obedient to our mother, the Church of Rome, and to the supreme pontiff as your spiritual father. Work to eradicate all sin from your country, especially blasphemy and heresy. May the Blessed Trinity and all the saints protect you from all evil. May the Lord grant you the grace to do His will in such a way as to serve him and honor him; and after this life may we both meet to see, love and praise Him without end. Amen.”