BACK YARD

BACK YARD
Watercolor Painting of my back yard in Northern California

Saturday, July 24, 2021

SAINT KINGA OF POLAND

Saint Kinga of Poland
1224-1292
Feast day: July 24

This weekend, I appeal to yet another sainted relative of mine. My 7th cousin, 25 times removed, is Saint Cunegunde, also called Zinga, Kioga, or, more popularly, Saint Kinga of Poland. I will repeat what I often tell people, and that is that there are thousands of people who are related to this saint, both in this country and in Europe, and we know this because history keeps track of these descendants who all seem to be married to one another. In fact, there is so much intermarriage of the nobility of Europe that I am a cousin to myself at least 100 times over!

Since I come from a VERY small natal family, none of whom are religious, it pleases me that I have, at least, a few sainted ancestors and distant relations to whom I can appeal for intercessory prayer. One of the special benefits of the Catholic faith is the surety that life on earth is not all we have. There is the hope of Heaven for us all. The saints in Heaven are fully able to pray for us from where they are, and so I ask them to pray for me and for others, just as I ask for my friends on earth to do the same.

The day before her feast day, Friday, I had an appointment at the eye retina specialist. I was feeling like my sight had improved somewhat, and halfway through my hours-long appointment with them, I had them refract my vision for a new eyeglass prescription to replace the sunglasses that were recently stolen, and the technician told me that my right eye had returned to 20/20 vision when it had been 20/40 for the longest time. The left eye has lost the center vision, but even so, I still had SOME vision with it, so while I was waiting for the rest of the tests that would take a picture of what was happening at the back of the eye in the retina, I felt buoyed up with hope. After all, tests taken during the LAST appointment, some 6 weeks previous, had shown that the retina of the right eye had stopped its progression of the disease.

Unfortunately, this Friday I was told that the retina in the right eye had begun to worsen again and that I would probably need to begin a series of injections in my eye balls. The injections don't stop the disease. They only have the potential to slow it. And you have to keep getting these shots every 3 to 6 weeks.

I am calling in all my sainted relatives, including Saint Kinga, as well as OTHER saints in Heaven, to PLEASE stop this progression of the eye disease that is slowly robbing me of my vision.

Saint Kinga of Poland, Patroness of Poland and Lithuania, was born 5 March 1224 In Esztergom, Hungary.  princess daughter of King Bela IV of Hungary.  She was a niece of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and the great niece of Saint Hedwig.  An illustrious and pious family, her sisters were Saint Margaret of Hungary and Blessed Jolenta of Poland.


Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, washing a poor sick man
Aunt of Saint Kinga


Saint Kinga's name appears in various forms and spellings, including: Kunegunda, Cunegunda, Kioga, and Zinga.


Statue of Saint Kinga


Both Kinga and her husband, Boleslaw V "the Chaste" embarked upon a marriage in which both parties were vowed to perpetual chastity.  Boleslaw's family was similarly pious and sincere.  His sister was blessed Salome of Cracow.  When he ascended to the throne as Prince of Cracow, Kinga became his princess.  Kinga soon began to devote herself to the care of the poor and the lepers and was known, both for her deep concern for the people, and her obedience and devotion to Christ and His Church.
 

Boleslaw "the Chaste"
June 21, 1226 - December 1279
High Duke of Poland 1243-1279
Husband of Saint Kinga


There is a popular legend about this beloved saint in which she is said to have thrown her engagement ring into the Maramures salt mine in Hungary and that the ring miraculously traveled through the mine, following the trail of salt deposits, and was discovered at Wieliczka, where additional salt deposits were revealed, and where a salt mine now stands.


Saint Kinga


Kinga is patron saint of the salt miners, and the salt mine of Wieliczka in Poland has a large chapel dedicated to her that is 101 meters under ground.  It is a remarkably beautiful Cathedral that is able to accommodate about 400 people.




When her husband died in 1279, Kinga sold all her possessions and gave the money to the poor.  Not long after that, she joined the Poor Clares monastery at Sandec (Stary Sacz).  Matters of state, and the prestige of her royal position, held no interest for her.  She was too modest and humble to have any taste for such power. Her heart belonged to Christ alone.  In fact, she would allow no one to call her by her official title of Grand Duchess of Poland.

Hers is a beautiful comment on the reality of the emptiness of fame, wealth, status and prestige. None of it comes close to the experience of the Lord in our hearts. Touched by the grandest force of all, humility would naturally occur, don't you think? It is from her humility that I surmise that she had a profound mystical experience of the Lord at some point.


Saint Kinga, abandoning her crown and scepter
for the veil of a nun


While her life with the prince had been characterized by charitable works and service, her time in the monastery was spent in silent contemplation.  In 1292, at the age of 68, she passed from this world. In 1690, she was beatified, and in 1999 she was sainted.

Saint Kinga's convent, the Monastery of the Poor Clares, in Stary Sacz, Poland, remains a much-beloved landmark in the oldest section of this historic little town.


Stary Sacz, Poland


The Sanctuary of Saint Kinga still towers over the town of Stary Sacz.  In the entire history of the town, the nuns have left that convent only 3 times.



Poor Clare Monastery in Stary Sacz,
Where Saint Kinga lived out the remainder of her life


On June 16, 1999, Pope John Paul II visited Stary Sacz, the town of his birth, for the proclamation of the canonization of beloved Saint Kinga.  A papal altar was erected on the common outside of the monastery that Kinga and created and in which she had died.


Papal altar, erected for John Paul II and the
canonization of Saint Kinga


It was decided that the "Papal Altar" would remain as a visible remembrance of this special event. 700,000 people came to see the Pope on that day and to hear him speak, but he was too ill to read his own homily, which Cardinal Macharski of Poland read for him.  The event had great personal significance for the Pope and, as time went on, he appeared refreshed by the memories and the loving people and was able to reminisce a bit.



Hungary's Gate - a gift in honor of the visit of
Pope John Paul II and the canonization of
Saint Kinga


Saint Kinga had every sought-after pleasure that exists in the world - money, prestige, power, glamour, luxurious possessions and properties - yet for her, Christ was the only jewel in her crown. We can learn a lot from her example, particularly Americans, who have at their disposal an excellent standard of living and the availability of many types of pleasures.  Serving the poor and suffering while at the same time eschewing earthly pleasure in favor of the bliss of the Lord, Kinga became a saint.

I have a feeling that if SHE were faced with growing blindness, she would find some way to accept it with more grace than I currently feel, so, in addition to praying for her intercession for my vision, I also pray that, if it is not within the will of God to cure my vision, perhaps the Lord can gift me with a way to develop the grace to accept blindness, which I currently lack.

Waiting for an answer, I beg you all for your prayers also: a cure or the gift of graceful acceptance.

Silver Rose
(Copyrighted 2015 and 2021. All rights reserved.)

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)