Sainte Maria Crescentia Höß
Vierge, moniale du tiers ordre franciscain
Fête le 5 avril
Kaufbeuren, Bavière, 20 octobre 1682 – † id. 5 avril 1744
Béatifié le 7 octobre 1900 par le pape Léon XIII
Canonisé le 25 novembre 2001 par le pape Jean Paul II
Autre graphie : [Anna Höss] Creszentia ou Kreszentia
Le 18 décembre 2000, cité du Vatican, dans la Salle Clémentine, en présence de Jean-Paul II, des membres de la Congrégation pour les Causes des Saints et des Postulateurs des Causes respectives, un Décret a été promulgué relatif à un miracle attribué à l’intercession de la Bienheureuse Maria Crescenzia (au siècle Anna Höss), allemande, Moniale professe du Tiers-ordre régulier de St.François (1682-1744).
Maria Crescentia (au siècle, Anna Höss), vierge, moniale bavaroise du Tiers-Ordre régulier de Saint-François d’Assise au couvent de Kaufbeuren (Allemagne).
Anna Höss est née à Kaufbeuren, en Bavière, au diocèse d’Augsburg : elle ne quitta jamais sa ville natale. Elle y entra dans la vie religieuse et y vécut quarante ans une vie mystique intense. Sa dépouille repose dans l’église du couvent. On la fête le 5 avril.
CHAPELLE PAPALE POUR LA CANONISATION DES BIENHEUREUX
HOMÉLIE DU PAPE JEAN PAUL II
Dimanche 25 novembre 2001
1. "Il y avait aussi une inscription au-dessus de lui: "Celui-ci est le roi des Juifs"" (Lc 23, 38).
Cette inscription, que Pilate avait faite placer sur la croix (cf. Jn 19, 19), contient à la fois le motif de la condamnation et la vérité sur la personne du Christ. Jésus est roi - lui-même l'a affirmé - mais son royaume n'est pas de ce monde (cf. Jn 18, 36-37). Devant Lui, l'humanité se divise: ceux qui le méprisent pour son échec apparent, et ceux qui le reconnaissent comme le Christ, "image du Dieu invisible, Premier-Né de toute créature" (Col 1, 15), selon l'expression de l'Apôtre Paul dans l'Epître aux Colossiens, que nous avons entendue.
Face à la croix du Christ s'ouvre, d'une certaine façon, la grande scène du monde et s'accomplit le drame de l'histoire collective et de chacun. Sous le regard de Dieu, qui dans son Fils unique immolé pour nous s'est fait la mesure de chaque personne, de chaque institution, de chaque civilisation, chacun est appelé à se décider.
2. Face au divin Roi crucifié se sont également présentés ceux qui viennent d'être proclamés saints: Giuseppe Marello, Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, Léonie Françoise de Sales Aviat et Maria Crescentia Höss. Chacun d'eux s'est confié à sa royauté mystérieuse, en proclamant à travers toute leur vie: "Jésus, souviens-toi de moi, lorsque tu viendras avec ton royaume" (Lc 23, 42). Chacun d'eux a reçu, d'une façon totalement personnelle, la réponse du Roi immortel: "En vérité, je te le dis, aujourd'hui tu seras avec moi dans le Paradis" (Lc 23, 43).
Aujourd'hui! Cet "aujourd'hui" appartient au temps de Dieu, au dessein de salut, dont parle saint Paul dans l'Epître aux Romains: "Ceux que [Dieu] d'avance a discernés, il les a aussi prédestinés... appelés... justifiés... glorifiés" (Rm 8, 29-30). Cet "aujourd'hui" contient également le moment historique de la canonisation de ce jour, au cours duquel ces quatre témoins exemplaires de la vie évangélique sont élevés à la gloire des autels.
Giuseppe Marello
3. "Car Dieu s'est plu à faire habiter en lui [le Christ] toute la Plénitude" (Col 1, 19). A cette plénitude participa saint Giuseppe Marello, en tant que prêtre du clergé d'Asti et en tant qu'évêque du diocèse d'Acqui. Plénitude de grâce, fomentée en lui par l'intense dévotion à la Très Sainte Vierge Marie; plénitude du sacerdoce, que Dieu lui conféra comme un don et un engagement; plénitude de la sainteté, qu'il atteint en se conformant au Christ, Bon Pasteur. Mgr Marello se forma au cours de la période glorieuse de la sainteté piémontaise, lorsque face à de multiples formes d'hostilités contre l'Eglise et la foi catholique, fleurirent des héros de l'esprit et de la charité, tels que Cottolengo, Cafasso, Dom Bosco, Murialdo et Allamano. Jeune homme bon et intelligent, passionné par la culture et l'engagement civil, notre saint ne trouva que dans le Christ la synthèse de tous les idéaux et c'est à Lui qu'il se consacra dans le sacerdoce. "Protéger les intérêts de Jésus" fut la devise de sa vie, et c'est pour cela qu'il s'identifia totalement à saint Joseph, l'époux de Marie, le "gardien du Rédempteur". Ce qui l'attira profondément chez saint Joseph, fut le service caché, nourri d'une profonde intériorité. Il sut transmettre ce style aux Oblats de saint Joseph, la Congrégation qu'il fonda. Il aimait à leur répéter: "Soyez extraordinaires dans les choses ordinaires" et il ajoutait: "Soyez des ermites chez vous et des apôtres à l'extérieur". Le Seigneur voulut utiliser sa forte personnalité, en l'appelant à l'épiscopat dans le diocèse d'Acqui, où, en quelques années, il dépensa toutes ses énergies pour le troupeau, laissant une empreinte que le temps n'a pas effacée.
Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz
4. "En vérité, je te le dis, aujourd'hui tu seras avec moi au paradis" (Lc 23, 43). C'est au paradis, dans la plénitude du Royaume de Dieu, que fut accueillie sainte Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, fondatrice de l'Institut des Filles de Marie, religieuses scolopes, après une vie de sainteté. Tout d'abord dans sa ville natale, Arenys del Mar, engagée dans diverses activités apostoliques et pénétrant, à travers la prière et la piété sincère, les mystères de Dieu; ensuite, en tant que fondatrice d'une famille religieuse, s'inspirant de la devise de Giuseppe Calasanz "piété et instruction", elle se consacra à la promotion de la femme et de la famille en suivant son idéal de "sauver la famille, en éduquant les petites filles dans la sainte crainte de Dieu"; pour finir, elle fit preuve de l'authenticité, du courage et de la tendresse de son esprit, un esprit modelé par Dieu, au cours des trente années de vie retirée à Olesa de Montserrat.
La nouvelle sainte appartient à ce groupe de fondateurs d'instituts religieux qui, au XIXème siècle, se consacrèrent aux nombreuses nécessités qui se présentaient alors et auxquelles l'Eglise, en suivant l'Evangile et l'inspiration de l'Esprit, devait répondre pour le bien de la société. Le message de sainte Paula continue à être actuel et son charisme éducatif est une source d'inspiration pour la formation des générations du troisième millénaire chrétien.
Léonie Françoise de Sales Aviat
5. Le dessein bienveillant du Père qui "nous fait entrer dans le royaume de son Fils bien-aimé" trouve en sainte Françoise de Sales Aviat une splendide réalisation: elle a vécu jusqu'au bout l'offrande d'elle-même. Au coeur de son engagement et de son apostolat, Soeur Françoise de Sales place l'oraison et l'union à Dieu, où elle trouve lumière et force pour surmonter les épreuves et les difficultés, et jusqu'à la fin de son existence elle persévère dans cette vie de foi, désirant se laisser conduire par le Seigneur: "Ô mon Dieu, que mon bonheur soit de vous sacrifier toutes mes volontés, tous mes désirs!". La résolution qui caractérise si bien Mère Aviat, "M'oublier entièrement", est aussi pour nous un appel à aller à contre-courant de l'égoïsme et des jouissances faciles, et à nous ouvrir aux nécessités sociales et spirituelles de notre temps. Chères Soeurs Oblates de Saint-François-de-Sales, à l'école de votre fondatrice, en communion profonde avec l'Eglise, là où Dieu vous a plantées, soyez bien déterminées à recevoir les grâces présentes et à en profiter, car c'est en Dieu que l'on trouve la lumière et le secours nécessaires en chaque circonstance! Confiantes en l'intercession puissante de la nouvelle Sainte, accueillez dans la joie l'invitation à vivre, dans une fidélité renouvelée, les intuitions qu'elle a si parfaitement vécues.
Maria Crescentia Höss
6. Rendre gloire au Christ, le Roi: ce désir a animé sainte Maria Crescentia Höss dès son enfance! Elle plaça ses qualités à son service. Dieu lui avait doné une belle voix. Jeune fille, elle eut l'occasion de chanter dans une chorale comme soliste, non pour se mettre en valeur, mais pour chanter et jouer de la musique pour le Christ-Roi.
Elle plaça également ses connaissances au service du Seigneur. Cette franciscaine fut une conseillère très sollicitée. Les personnes se pressaient devant la porte du couvent: des hommes et des femmes simples, mais également des princes et des impératrices, des prêtres et des religieux, des abbés et des évêques. Elle devint ainsi une sorte de "sage-femme" qui tentait d'accoucher la vérité dans le coeur de celui qui lui demandait conseil.
Toutefois, la douleur ne lui fut pas non plus épargnée. Les rivalités internes existaient déjà à cette époque. Elle supporta les intrigues au sein de sa communauté sans jamais mettre en doute sa vocation.
Le vaste souffle de la passion fit mûrir en elle la vertu de la patience. Elle réussit à devenir Supérieure: pour elle, diriger spirituellement signifiait servir. Elle avait une attitude généreuse envers les pauvres, maternelle envers ses consoeurs et sensible à l'égard de ceux qui avaient besoin d'une bonne parole. Sainte Crescentia a aimé la signification du Royaume du Christ: "Dans la mesure où vous l'avez fait à l'un de ces plus petits de mes frères, c'est à moi que vous l'avez fait" (Mt 25, 40).
7. "Vous remercierez le Père qui vous a mis en mesure de partager le sort des saints dans la lumière" (Col 1, 12). Jamais autant qu'en ce moment, ces paroles de saint Paul résonnent en nous! La communion des saints nous fait véritablement goûter à l'avance le Royaume céleste et, dans le même temps, elle nous pousse, sur leur exemple, à le construire dans le monde et dans l'histoire.
"Oportet illum regnare", "Car il faut qu'il règne" (1 Cor 15, 25), écrivait l'Apôtre en se référant au Christ.
"Oportet illum regnare" nous répètent, à travers votre témoignage, saint Giuseppe Marello, sainte Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, sainte Léonie Françoise de Sales Aviat et sainte Maria Crescentia Höss! Que votre exemple nous incite à une plus vive contemplation du Christ-Roi, crucifié et ressuscité. Que votre soutien nous aide à marcher fidèlement sur les traces du Rédempteur, afin de partager un jour, avec vous, avec Marie et tous les saints, sa gloire éternelle au paradis. Amen!
CANONIZATION OF 4 BLESSEDS
HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II
Sunday, 25 November 2001
1. "There was an inscription over his head,"This is the King of the Jews" (Lk 23,38).
That inscription, which Pilate had placed on the cross (cf. Jn 19,19), contains the motive of the condemnation and the truth about the person of Christ. Jesus is king ... he affirmed it ... but his kingdom is not of this world (cf. Jn 18,36-37). Before him humanity is divided into two parts: those who reject him on account of his apparent failure, and those who recognize him as theChrist, "the image of the invisible God, begotten before all creation" (Col 1,15), according to the expression of the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Colossians, that we have heard.
Before the Cross of Christ, the great scene of the world is opened up and the drama of our personal and collective history takes place. Under the gaze of God, who in his Only begotten Son immolated for us, has become the measure of every person, institution, and civilization, each one is called to decide for or against Christ.
2. Those who were just proclaimed saints: Joseph Marello, Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, Leonie Frances de Sales Aviat and Maria Crescenzia Höss come before the crucified divine king. Each of them entrusted himself/herself to his mysterious kingship, proclaiming with their entire life: "Jesus, remember me when you enter into your kingdom" (Lk 23,42). And in an absolutely personal way, each received the reply from the immortal King: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23,43).
Today! That "today" belongs to the time of God, to the plan of salvation, of which St Paul speaks in the Letter to the Romans: "Those whom he foreknew he also predestined ... he also called ... justified ... glorified" (Rom 8,29-20). That "today" contains the historical moment of today's canonization, in which these four exemplary witnesses of evangelical life are raised to the glory of the altars.
3. "It pleased God to make every fullness dwell in him Christ" (Col 1,19). St Joseph Marello participated in that fullness, as priest of the clergy of Asti and as Bishop of the Diocese of Acqui. Fullness of grace, fostered in him by an intense devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary; fullness of the priesthood, which God conferred on him as gift and mission; fullness of holiness which he ahieved, by being conformed to Christ, the Good Shepherd. Bishop Marello was formed in the golden period of holiness in the Piedmont area, when, in the midst of numerous forms of hostility against the Church and the Catholic faith, the champions of the spirit and of charity flourished, Sts Cottolengo, Cafasso, Don Bosco, Murialdo and Allamano. Joseph was a good and intelligent young man, enthusiastic about cultural and social movements, but our saint only found in Christ the synthesis of every ideal and was consecrated to him in the priesthood. "To take care of the interests of Jesus" was his motto inlife, and for this reason he wanted to imitate St Joseph, the spouse of Mary, the custodian of the Redeemer. What strongly attracted him to St Joseph was the life of hidden service, joined with deep interior life. He knew how to transmit this style to the Oblates of St Joseph, the Congregation he founded. He liked to repeat to them, "Be extraordinary in ordinary things" and he added, "Be Carthusians inside your house and apostles outside". The Lord wanted to use his robust personality for his Church, calling him to govern the Diocese of Acqui, where, in the span of a few years, he spent himself for his flock, leaving a memory that has only grown with time.
4. "I say to you: today you will be with me in Paradise" (Lk 23,43). St Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, foundress of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary, Sisters of the Pious Schools, was received in paradise, into the fullness of the kingdom of God, after a life of holiness. First in her native city, Arenys del Mar, she was involved in many apostolic activities and in prayer and interior devotion she was led into the mystery of God; then as foundress of a religious family, inspired by the slogan of St Joseph Calasanz "Piety and Letters", she gave herself to advancing women and the family with her ideal: "Save the family, educating the young girls in a holy fear of God"; in the end, she was to give proof of the authenticity, the firmness and the beauty of her spirit, a spirit shaped by God during the 30 years of hidden life in Olesa de Montserrat.
The new saint belongs to the group of founders of religious orders who in the 19th century came forward to meet the many needs that were present and that the Church, inspired by the Gospel and by the Spirit, wanted to respond to for the good of society. The message of St Paula is still valid today and her educational charism is a source of inspiration in the formation of the generations of the third Christian millennium.
5. The loving plan of the Father "who has made us enter the kingdom of his beloved Son" found a splendid realization in St Frances de Sales Aviat: who lived her self offering to the end. At the heart of her dedication and of her apostolate, Sister Frances de Sales put prayer and union with God, where she found the light and the energy to overcome trials and difficulties, and to persevere to the end of her life in the life of faith, desiring to be led by the Lord: "O my God, let my happiness be found in sacrificing my will and my desires for you!". The resolution which distinguished Mother Aviat so well, "Forget oneself completely", is also for us an appeal to go against the current of egotism and easy pleasures, and open ourselves to the social and spiritual needs of our time. Dear Oblate Sisters of St Francis-de-Sales, at the school of your foundress, in profound communion with the Church and wherever God has placed you, be determined to receive the present graces and to benefit from them, for it is in God that we find the light and the help necessary in every circumstance! Trusting in the powerful intercession of the new saint, accept with joy the invitation to live, with renewed fidelity, the intuitions which she so perfectly lived.
6. Give glory to Christ the King: this wish inspired St Maria Crescenzia Höss from her childhood. It was for his service that she used her talents. God gave her a beautiful voice. Already as a young lady she could sing a solo part, not to display herself but to sing and to play for Christ the King.
Her knowledge of her fellow men she placed at the service of the Lord. This Franciscan was an esteemed advisor. To her convent came many visitors: both simple men and women, princes and empresses, priests and religious, abbots and bishops. In a certain way she became a kind of "midwife" and helped those seeking counsel to bring forth the truth in their hearts.
Sorrow did not spare the saint. "Mobbing" took place in her time. She endured the intrigues of her own community, without ever doubting her own vocation. The long period of suffering allowed her to grow in the virtue of patience. That was helpful for her when she became superior: for her to direct meant spiritually to serve. She was generous with the poor, motherly with her sisters, and kind to all who needed a kind word. St Crescenzia lived what the Kingdom of Christ means: "Whatever you do to the least of your brothers, that you do to me" (Mt 25,40).
7."Let us give thanks with joy to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col 1,12). Never as at the present time do the words of St Paul find an echo in our hearts! Truly the communion of saints gives us the foretaste of the Kingdom of heaven, and, at the same time, inspires us, following their example, to build it in the world and in history.
"He must reign" (I Cor 15,25), the Apostle wrote referring to Christ.
"He must reign", you repeat to us with the example of your lives, St Joseph Marello, St Paula Montal Fornés de San José de Calasanz, St Leonie de Sales Aviat and St Maria Crescenzia Höss. May your example inspire us to living contemplation of Christ the King, crucified and risen. May your support help us to walk faithfully in the footsteps of the Redeemer, to share one day with you together with Mary and all the saints, his eternal glory in heaven. Amen.
St Maria Crescentia Höss
(1682-1744)
Maria Crescenzia Hoss was born in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria, in the Diocese of Augsburg on 20 October 1682, the seventh of the eight children of Matthias Höss and Lucia Hoermann. In 1703, in spite of family difficulties and the superior's reluctance, she was admitted to the Franciscan Tertiaries of Mayerhoff where she was professed in 1704 and remained until her death.
From 1709 to 1741 with the election of superiors who were favourably disposed to her, she fulfilled the most important positions of the monastery: porter, novice mistress, and superior with the greatest dedication and generosity. She was novice mistress from 1726 to 1741. In 1741 sister Maria Crescenzia was elected superior of the community and, despite her attempts to refuse the post, was forced to accept the task. To her sisters she recommended observing silence, recollection, and spiritual reading, especially the Gospels. The teacher of their religious life had to be Jesus on the Cross.
Maria Höss was also a prudent and wise counsellor to all who turned to her for strength and comfort, as can be seen from her numerous letters.
In her three years as superior of the community of Mayerhoff she became its second foundress. She justified her selectivity regarding vocations saying, "God wants the convent rich in virtue, not in temporal goods". The principal points of her program for the renewal of the house were: unlimited trust in divine providence, readiness in the acts of the common life, love of silence, devotion to Jesus crucified, and devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.
She died on Easter in 1744 and her mortal remains are still very much venerated in the chapel of her monastery.
St. Crescentia Hoess
St. Crescentia was born in 1682 in a little town near Augsburg, the daughter of a poor weaver. She spent play time praying in the parish church, assisted those even poorer than herself and had so mastered the truths of her religion that she was permitted to make her holy Communion at the then unusually early age of seven. In the town she was called “the little angel.”
As she grew older she desired to enter the convent of the Tertiaries of St. Francis. But the convent was poor and, because Crescentia had no dowry, the superiors refused her admission. Her case was then pleaded by the Protestant mayor of the town to whom the convent owed a favor. The community felt it was forced into receiving her, and her new life was made miserable. She was considered a burden and assigned nothing other than menial tasks. Even her cheerful spirit was misinterpreted as flattery or hypocrisy.
Conditions improved four years later when a new superior was elected who realized her virtue. Crescentia herself was appointed mistress of novices. She so won the love and respect of the sisters that, upon the death of the superior, Crescentia herself was unanimously elected to that position. Under her the financial state of the convent improved and her reputation in spiritual matters spread. She was soon being consulted by princes and princesses as well as by bishops and cardinals seeking her advice. And yet, a true daughter of Francis, she remained ever humble.
Bodily afflictions and pain were always with her. First it was headaches and toothaches. Then she lost the ability to walk, her hands and feet gradually becoming so crippled that her body curled up into a fetal position. In the spirit of Francis she cried out, “Oh, you bodily members, praise God that he has given you the capacity to suffer.” Despite her sufferings she was filled with peace and joy as she died on Easter Sunday in 1744.
She was beatified in 1900 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2001.
Saint Crescentia Hoess
(St. Crescentia Höss)
Feast Day – April 5
Saint Crescentia Hoess was born on October 20, 1682, in Kaufbeuren, a little town in the diocese of Augsburg. Her father, Matthias Hoess, a simple weaver, was barely able in spite of diligent work to provide the necessaries for his family of eight children. But he was a pious Christian, satisfied with his condition, and delighted to think upon the poor life and the bitter suffering of Jesus Christ. The mother bore a tender love for the sick and poor.
Crescentia received the virtues of her good parents as a precious inheritance. Even as a child she would withdraw from association with her playmates in order to pray in church or in a quiet corner of the house. If a poor person came to the house at mealtime, she often asked permission to give her portion to him.
At an early age Saint Crescentia Hoess was so thoroughly instructed in the truths of religions that her spiritual director permitted her to go to Holy Communion at the age of seven. Her answers in catechism class were sometimes filled with such depth of meaning that she said:
“My child, you must surely have a higher teacher.”
It has been recorded that her guardian angel and the Lord Himself, in the guise of a child frequently conversed with her.
As Crescentia grew older, she not only assisted her mother in all the housework, but also learned weaving from her father in spite of the fact that she was not robust. Her whole deportment, however, showed that she was not destined for this world. In town she was called “the little angel,” and she entertained no fonder hope than to be admitted among the consecrated virgins in the convent of the Tertiaries in her native town.
But the convent was poor, and the superiors declared that they could not receive her without a dowry. Then the Protestant Mayor of the town lent his aid. He had rendered the convent a great service; when the nuns came to offer their expressions of gratitude, he told them that they might now, as a favor to him, accept the daughter of the poor weaver Hoess.
“It would surely be a shame,” he added, “if such an angel were spoiled by the world.”
Now Crescentia was received into the convent, but she was made to feel that she had come without a dowry and was received only through force of necessity. She was compelled to do the lowliest work of a maid; she was regarded as a burden, frowned upon and despised. Her readiness to be obliging and friendly were set down as flattery and hypocrisy; and when visible persecutions came from the devil, she was called a witch. The nuns would gladly have gotten rid of her if they had not been obliged to consider the mayor.
