St. Scholastica’s Feast Day – February 10th
The month of February is filled with many important dates. We celebrate St. Scholastica’s feast day on the 10th, Valentines Day on the 14th, Presidents’ Day on the 15th, Ash Wednesday on the 17th followed by the beginning of Lent. The first of these important dates falls on February 10, St. Scholastica’s feast day. St. Scholastica was the twin sister of St. Benedict. Together the two are considered the foundress and founder of the Benedictine Order.
There is little written about St. Scholastica, however, in the Dialogues of St. Gregory, there is a story told about her that all Benedictines love to tell. The story is told of how St. Scholastica cherished meeting with her brother, St. Benedict, so they could talk of spiritual matters. After dining one evening, as their day of prayer and discussion neared its end, St. Scholastica begged her brother to stay the night so they could continue “discoursing of the joys of heaven.” St. Benedict refused, because the rule did not allow for monks to stay out overnight.
In tears, St. Scholastica lowered her head upon her hands and prayed. A thunderstorm suddenly began, one so fierce it prevented St. Benedict from leaving. Astonished, he asked St. Scholastica what she had done. She replied, “I asked a favor of you, and you refused it. I asked it of God, and God has granted it!” St. Gregory remarks that St. Scholastica’s prayer was answered because her love overcame the law of St. Benedict’s rule. May we all be inspired to hold love as the first rule of our lives. Although a very short story, it speaks volumes about the power of prayer and Scholastica’s faithfulness in her relationship to God.
May we all be inspired to hold love as the first rule of our lives. I am thinking of all that has happened since last February. The pandemic, the countless number of lives lost to this pandemic, the politics of our nation that has divided us instead of uniting us for the good of all, the sin of racism and the awareness that we have never eradicated this sin from our nation, and the meaningless deaths that have occurred because of it, homegrown terrorists that are ready to attack our government leaders and others, and the list goes on.
I pray today with tears in my eyes, as Scholastica prayed so many years ago, that we may all be inspired to hold love as the first rule of our lives. I share with you the St. Scholastica Novena that St. Paul’s Monastery in Minnesota shared with their readers in their February newsletter. It is based on 1 Corinthians 13. I invite you to pray this novena with the intention of strengthening the love you hold in your heart. Pray for us as we pray for you and as we celebrate this great feast!
St. Scholastica Novena
(Sister Catherine Nehotte, OSB, Prioress, St. Paul’s Monastery, MN)
For each day, begin with this prayer and statement of intentions: “St. Scholastica, God granted your request because of your great love. I ask now that you turn to God with my request out of your great love for God and your great love for me.”
State your intentions. Add daily prayer (from below) and then end with the following prayer: “St. Scholastica, you were a great witness to this truth. Help me to believe it more fully and live it out each day. Amen.”
Day 1
Love is patient (1 Cor. 13:4). Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by becoming more patient. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails (1 Cor. 13:7-9).
Day 2
Love is kind. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by becoming more kind. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 3
Love is not jealous. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by becoming more grateful, and by overcoming my disordered desires for the goods or traits of my neighbor. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 4
Love is not pompous or inflated. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by becoming more humble. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 5
Love is not rude. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by becoming more courteous in mind and speech. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 6
Love does not seek its own interests. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by seeking God’s will and the interests of others before my own. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 7
Love is not quick-tempered. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by gaining greater control over my emotions. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 8
Love does not brood over injury. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by more readily forgiving those who have hurt me. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Day 9
Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. Through God’s grace, help me to grow in love by honoring the good in others and never celebrating another’s shame. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.