St. Casimir was born in 1458 and was the son of the King of
Poland. Though he was in line to be king
himself, he had no interest in succeeding his father. He himself lived simply,
gave away his possessions in charity, and devoted hours to prayer and study and
helping the poor and imprisoned. Despite
pressure to marry the Emperor’s daughter, Casimir vowed to remain celibate.
He died of tuberculosis in 1483 at the age of
23. Casimir is the patron saint of
Lithuania, Poland, and Russia.
The Opening Prayer began with the phrase: “to serve you is
to reign.” The Son of God left his
heavenly majesty to make himself as a ransom for many, to serve, not to be
served. The heart of Christ the King is
a servant’s heart, for Christ served the Father’s will on earth, and claimed no
earthly power. Mary, too, whose
Immaculate Heart burns in union with Her Son’s, is the obedient heart of a
handmaid, and it is she who is crowned Queen of Heaven. Today’s saint, Casimir always preferred to be
counted among the meek and poor of spirit, among those who are promised the
kingdom of heaven, rather than among the famous and powerful men of this
world.
On this final day of Ordinary Time before Lent, we do well to
consider the Lenten practices which will help us to imitate Christ’s servant
heart: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, that our hearts might become like
His.
Don’t wait until tomorrow to come
up with a plan for lent. God calls us to
a radical transformation of our heart.
So spend time today thinking about what God is calling you to fast from,
where is he calling you to give alms and perform extra acts of charity, and
when he is calling you to greater and deeper prayer.
May St. Casimir help us to remember that our true King is
Jesus Christ so that our hearts may continuously be a house of prayer, and our
lives: our time, talent, and treasure is to be put at the service of the
kingdom of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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