Sainte Zdislava de Lemberk
Tertiaire
dominicaine (✝ 1252)
Née vers 1215, dans
une famille aristocratique à Krizanov. "Lorsqu'elle s'est mariée avec le
seigneur Havel de Lemberk de la famille des Markvartic, elle n'avait que quinze
ans. L'époux de Zdislava était un chevalier du XIIIe siècle devenu celèbre sur
le champs de bataille. Mais il n'était pas seulement un vaillant guerrier, il
avait l'esprit des croisés exaltés pour les affaires religieuses. Havel
apportait son soutien aux frères dominicains et contribuait aussi à la
construction de l'hôpital pragois Na Frantisku, bâti à l'inititative d'Agnès de Bohême, une autre sainte tchèque. Tout porte à
croire que les deux saintes, Agnès et Zdislava, se connaissaient." (source Radio Praha) "Zdislava est
devenue mère de quatre enfants. Avec son mari, elle fit construire à Jablonné v
Podjestedi, non loin du château de Lemberk, en Bohême du nord, l'église
Saint-Laurent et un couvent pour les dominicains. Elle même est entrée dans
l'ordre comme une collaboratrice laïque. Zdislava fréquentait souvent les
pauvres, les pélèrins, malades, personnes nécéssiteuses rencontrant toujours un
accueil chaleureux chez elle. Menant une vie modeste elle-même, elle
distribuait l'argent partout où l'on en avait besoin. Aimée par tout le monde,
Zdislava a reçu le nom de mère des pauvres."
Béatifiée en 1908 à Rome par Pie X.
Canonisée le 21 mai 1995 à Olomouc (Tchéquie - Moravie) par Jean-Paul II.
Voir aussi: Voyage Apostolique en République Tchèque et en Pologne (20 - 22 mai 1995) Canonisation de Zdislava de Lemberk et de Jan Sarkander à l'Aéroport Nerědìn de Olomouc (République Tchèque, 21 mai 1995)
À Jablonné en Bohème, l’an 1252, sainte Zdislava, mère de famille, qui fut d’un grand secours aux affligés.
Martyrologe
romain
"Son
exemple apparaît éminemment actuel surtout par rapport à la valeur de la
famille qui, comme elle nous l'enseigne, doit être ouverte à Dieu, au don de la
vie et aux besoins des pauvres." (Jean Paul II)
Sainte Zdisláva
de Lemberk
Mère de famille – Tertiaire
Dominicaine
Fête le 30 mai
O.P.
Krizanov, Moravie [auj. Rép.
Tchèque], 1220 – † Jablonné nad Orlicí, Rép. Tchèque, 1er janvier 1252
Béatifiée le 28 août 1907 par
le pape Pie X
Canonisée le 21 mai 1995 par
le pape Jean Paul II
Autres fêtes : 1 janvier
– 4 janvier (calendrier dominicain)
Autres noms : [Zdislawa
Berka] Zedislava Zemberka
Sainte Zdislava de Lemberk,
née à Krizanov en Moravie (Mähren), au diocèse de Litomerici, vers 1220 et
décédée en 1252, a été béatifiée le 28 août 1907 par Pie X à Rome et canonisée
le 21 mai 1995 par Jean-Paul II à Olomouc (Rép. Tchéque – Moravie). De parents
nobles, elle se maria et eut quatre enfants (Havel, Daisy, Jaroslav et
Zadislav). Réprimandée par son mari, le comte Havel (latin Gallus ?) de
Lemberk, à cause de sa générosité envers les pauvres, elle fit preuve d’une
patience héroïque ; sa vie exemplaire fut toute donnée à sa famille et aux
pauvres. Elle fonda deux prieurés dominicains. Elle mourut comme tertiaire
dominicaine dans le prieuré de Saint-Laurent (près de son château), qu’elle
avait elle-même fondé. Son culte fut approuvé en 1907. Sainte Zdisláva est
fêtée le 3 janvier dans le calendrier liturgique dominicain et le 30 mai en
République Tchèque.
Sainte ZDISLAVA DE LEMBERK
Nom: ZDISLAVA DE LEMBERK
Prénom: Zdislava
Pays: Bohême
Naissance: 1220
(Moravie)
Mort: 1252
Etat: Laïque -
Mère de 4 enfants - Tertiaire dominicaine
Note: Mère de 4
enfants. Vie exemplaire, toute donnée à sa famille et aux pauvres. (Née vers
1220)
Béatification: 1908
à Rome par Pie X
Canonisation: 21.05.1995 à Olomouc (Tchéquie - Moravie) par Jean Paul II
Fête: 1er
janvier
Réf. dans l’Osservatore Romano: 1995 n.22 p.4 &
6
Réf. dans la
Documentation Catholique: 1995 n.13 p.622-626
Notice
Zdislava de Lemberk (vers 1220 - 1252) naquit en
Moravie et vécut en Bohême du Nord. Elle fut tertiaire dominicaine dont elle a
pratiqué la spiritualité avec ardeur. Elle fut un modèle de charité tant dans
sa famille (elle eut 4 enfants) qu'envers les pauvres et spécialement au chevet
des malades, si bien qu'on l'appelle encore la "guérisseuse". Sa
figure est restée très populaire en Bohême et au-delà où beaucoup de filles et
même de garçons portent son nom. "Son exemple apparaît éminemment actuel
surtout par rapport à la valeur de la famille qui, comme elle nous l'enseigne,
doit être ouverte à Dieu, au don de la vie et aux besoins des pauvres."
(Jean Paul II)
SOURCE : http://www.abbaye-saint-benoit.ch/hagiographie/fiches/f0357.htmZdislava Berka, OP, Matron (RM)
(also known as Zedislava Zemberka)
Born in Bohemia (Czech Republic), 1210; died there on January 1, 1252; cultus
approved by Pope Pius X in 1907; canonized by Pope John Paul II in Olomouc,
Czech Republic, in 1995.
Born of a warrior
race to noble parents, Zedislava lived in a fortified castle on the borders of
Christendom, in an age when the fierce Mongol hordes were the world's worst
menace. Her whole life was spent within the sound of clashing arms, and the
moans of the dying. The gentleness and purity of her life stand out in
surprising beauty against the dark background of a warlike and materialistic
people.
Zedislava learned
Christian charity early in life from her mother, who taught her not only the
secrets of preparing medicinal herbs but also the healing balm of prayer. Going
each day to the castle gate with alms and medicines for the poor and the
wretched who crowded there for help, she was soon well acquainted with human
misery. Cheerful, prayerful, and alert to see the sorrows of others, the child
became a light of hope to the miserable. Because of her sweetness and natural
charm, she was able to teach many lessons to those about her.
As a child, she is
said to have fled from her home for a time to live as a hermit, but she
returned to live a more normal life that included an early marriage to a
soldier, the duke of Lemmberk, who, like her own father, was a rich nobleman in
command of a castle on the frontier. The couple produced four children.
Zedislava cared judiciously for her own family and lavished great care on the
poor, especially the fugitives and victims of the Tartar invasions.
Her husband was a
good man, but a rough and battle-hardened soldier who liked nothing better than
the clash of swords. He may have treated Zedislava badly and he certainly tried
his young wife's patience and obedience in a thousand ways. He insisted that
she dress in her finest gowns and attend the long and barbarous banquets that
pleased him so. (In return, she tried his patience because of her generosity
towards the poor.)
Being of a retiring
disposition and much given to prayer--and, moreover, having a family and a
large castle to care for--she found this a real sacrifice. However, obedience
and patience had been an important part of her training, and she taught herself
to spiritualize the endless trials that would beset the mother of four children
in a medieval fortress.
The Polish
missionaries, Saint Hyacinth and Blessed Ceslaus, brought Zedislava the first
knowledge of the new religious order which had begun but a few years before.
Saint Dominic, a Spaniard, had met them in Italy, where he had gone to have his
order approved. Begun in France, the Dominican Order was already international,
and with the profession of Zedislava as the first Slavic Tertiary, its
world-wide scope became apparent.
Enchanted with the
possibilities of an order that allowed her to share in its benefits and works
while caring for her family, Zedislava threw herself into the new project with
enviable zeal. She encouraged her husband to build a hostel for the many poor
pilgrims who came homeless to the gate. She visited the prisoners in the
frightful dungeons, and used her influence to obtain pardons from the severe
sentences meted out to them. She fed and cared for the poor, taught catechism
to the children of the servants, and showed all, by the sweetness of her life,
just what it meant to be a Christian lady and a Dominican Tertiary. On the
occasion of a Mongol (Tartar) attack, when homeless refugees poured into the
castle stronghold, her calm, invincible charity was a bulwark of strength to
all.
With her own funds,
Zedislava determined to build a church (Priory of Saint Lawrence) where God
might be fittingly worshipped. As an act of zeal and penance, she herself
carried many of the heavy beams and materials that went into the building. She
did this at night so that no one would know of her hard work.
Zedislava
experienced visions and ecstasies during this time. She also received Holy
Communion nearly every day in an age when this was not customary.
Her death came soon
after the completion of the church. The mourning people who knelt by her
deathbed could see evidence of her strong Christian virtues in the monuments
she had left: her children, her church, and the inspiration of a saintly wife
and mother. She consoled her husband in life and appeared to him in glory after
death, which strongly encouraged his desire for conversion.
Numerous miracles
are ascribed to Saint Zedislava, including the raising of the dead to life,
though Pope Pius X did not refer to these in his approval of the cultus given
to her in her native country (Benedictines, Dorcy, Farmer).
In art she is
depicted as a Dominican tertiary with a crucifix wound with roses, lying in the
place of a sick person in bed (Roeder). Venerated in Bohemia (Roeder).
Blessed Zedislava, Matron, O.P.
Memorial day: January 3rd
Profile
Born of a warrior race to noble parents, Zedislava
lived in a fortified castle on the borders of Christendom, in an age when the
fierce Mongol hordes were the world's worst menace. Her whole life was spent
within the sound of clashing arms, and the moans of the dying. The gentleness
and purity of her life stand out in surprising beauty against the dark
background of a warlike and materialistic people.
Zedislava learned Christian charity early in life
from her mother, who taught her not only the secrets of preparing medicinal
herbs but also the healing balm of prayer. Going each day to the castle gate
with alms and medicines for the poor and the wretched who crowded there for
help, she was soon well acquainted with human misery. Cheerful, prayerful, and
alert to see the sorrows of others, the child became a light of hope to the
miserable. Because of her sweetness and natural charm, she was able to teach
many lessons to those about her.
As a child, she is said to have fled from her home
for a time to live as a hermit, but she returned to live a more normal life
that included an early marriage to a soldier, the duke of Lemmberk, who, like
her own father, was a rich nobleman in command of a castle on the frontier. The
couple produced four children. Zedislava cared judiciously for her own family
and lavished great care on the poor, especially the fugitives and victims of
the Tartar invasions.
Her husband was a good man, but a rough and
battle-hardened soldier who liked nothing better than the clash of swords. He
may have treated Zedislava badly and he certainly tried his young wife's
patience and obedience in a thousand ways. He insisted that she dress in her
finest gowns and attend the long and barbarous banquets that pleased him so.
(In return, she tried his patience because of her generosity towards the poor.)
Being of a retiring disposition and much given to
prayer--and, moreover, having a family and a large castle to care for--she
found this a real sacrifice. However, obedience and patience had been an
important part of her training, and she taught herself to spiritualize the
endless trials that would beset the mother of four children in a medieval
fortress.
The Polish missionaries, Saint Hyacinth and Blessed
Ceslaus, brought Zedislava the first knowledge of the new religious order which
had begun but a few years before. Saint Dominic, a Spaniard, had met them in
Italy, where he had gone to have his order approved. Begun in France, the
Dominican Order was already international, and with the profession of Zedislava
as the first Slavic Tertiary, its world-wide scope became apparent.
Enchanted with the possibilities of an order that
allowed her to share in its benefits and works while caring for her family,
Zedislava threw herself into the new project with enviable zeal. She encouraged
her husband to build a hostel for the many poor pilgrims who came homeless to
the gate. She visited the prisoners in the frightful dungeons, and used her
influence to obtain pardons from the severe sentences meted out to them. She
fed and cared for the poor, taught catechism to the children of the servants,
and showed all, by the sweetness of her life, just what it meant to be a
Christian lady and a Dominican Tertiary. On the occasion of a Mongol (Tartar)
attack, when homeless refugees poured into the castle stronghold, her calm,
invincible charity was a bulwark of strength to all.
With her own funds, Zedislava determined to build a
church (Priory of Saint Lawrence) where God might be fittingly worshipped. As
an act of zeal and penance, she herself carried many of the heavy beams and
materials that went into the building. She did this at night so that no one
would know of her hard work. Zedislava experienced visions and ecstasies during
this time. She also received Holy Communion nearly every day in an age when
this was not customary.
Her death came soon after the completion of the
church. The mourning people who knelt by her deathbed could see evidence of her
strong Christian virtues in the monuments she had left: her children, her
church, and the inspiration of a saintly wife and mother. She consoled her
husband in life and appeared to him in glory after death, which strongly encouraged
his desire for conversion. Numerous miracles are ascribed to Saint Zedislava,
including the raising of the dead to life, though Pope Pius X did not refer to
these in his approval of the cultus given to her in her native country
(Benedictines, Dorcy, Farmer).
Born: (Unknown Year ) diocese of Litomerici,
Bavaria
Died: 1252
Beatified: 1907 (cultus confirmed) by
Pope Pius X
Patronage: difficult marriages;
people ridiculed for their piety
Representation: In art she is depicted as a
Dominican tertiary with a crucifix wound with roses, lying in the place of a
sick person in bed (Roeder). Venerated in Bohemia (Roeder).
Prayers/Commemorations
First Vespers:
Ant:
Come, O My chosen one, and I will place My throne in thee, for the King hath
exceedingly desired thy beauty.
V. Pray
for us, Blessed Zedislava
R. That
we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Lauds:
Ant: She
hath opened her hands to the needy, her palms she hath extended to the poor;
fortitude and beauty are her vesture, and she shall rejoice on the last day.
V. God
hath chosen her, and preferred her.
R. He
maketh her to dwell in His tabernacle
Second Vespers:
Ant. She
hath girded her loins, with courage and hath strengthened her arms: she hath
tatsed and seen , for her occupation is good: her lamp shall not be put out in
the night.
V. Pray
for us, Blessed Zedislava
R. That
we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Prayer:
Let us Pray: O God who didst deign to
grant the Blessed Zedislava constantly to contemplate Thee with a right might,
while being at the same time solicitous for the neighbor's welfare, make us,
through her intercession, diligently to attend to heavenly things and to exercise
our charity by pious works. Through Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
Prayer II:
Faithful
God, by her married life and works of charity you taught Blessed Zedislava to
pursue the way of perfection. By her prayers may family life be strengthened
and be a witness to Christian virtue. We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Ghost, one God,
for ever and ever. - General Calendar of the Order of Preachers
SOURCE : http://www.willingshepherds.org/Dominican%20Saints%20I.html#Zedislava
Saint Zedislava
Berka
Saint Zedislava
Berka
Also
known as
§
Zdislava
Berka
§
Zedislava
Berkiana
§
Zdislava
of Lemberk
§
4
January (Dominicans)
Profile
Born to the Bohemian nobility. Married
laywoman, and mother of four. Hers was not a happy marriage,
and her largesse to the poor put her in frequent conflict with her husband. Dominican
tertiary. Founded the Dominican
priory
of Saint Lawrence near her castle where she received Communion
daily, an unusual practice at the time.
Born
§
c.1220
in the diocese in Križanov, Ždár nad Sázavou, Vysocina kraj (modern Czech Republic)
§
1
January 1252
at Jablonné, Ceská Lípa, Liberecký kraj (modern Czech Republic) of natural causes
§
28
August 1907
by Pope Pius X (cultus confirmed)
§
2 July
1994 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues after Cause re-opened)
§
21 May
1995 by Pope John Paul II
