PRAYERS TO OUR LADY

PRAYER OF ST COLETTE FOR ANY SPIRITUAL OR TEMPORAL FAVOUR

PRAYER OF ST COLETTE FOR ANY SPIRITUAL OR TEMPORAL FAVOUR

[This prayer was given to St Colette by an Angel, who appeared visibly in the choir before the Religious. It is daily recited in all her Convents. The original copy is still preserved at Besançon.]

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Blessed be the hour in which the Incarnate God was born; blessed be the Holy Spirit by Whose operation Jesus Christ was conceived; blessed be the glorious Virgin Mary of whom the Word Incarnate was born; through the intercession of the glorious Virgin Mother and in remembrance of the most sacred hour in which the Incarnate Word was born, may the Lord hear my prayers and accomplish my desires. O Jesus, Who art mercy and goodness itself, do not abandon me on account of my sins or punish me as I deserve, but graciously hear my humble prayer, and grant me the favour that I ask for Thy Honour and the glory of Thy Holy Name. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Colette was the daughter of a carpenter named DeBoilet at Corby Abbey in Picardy, France. She was born on January 13, christened Nicolette, and called Colette. Orphaned at seventeen, she distributed her inheritance to the poor. She became a Franciscan tertiary, and lived at Corby as a solitary.

She soon became well known for her holiness and spiritual wisdom, but left her cell in 1406 in response to a dream directing her to reform the Poor Clares. She received the Poor Clares habit from Peter de Luna, whom the French recognized as Pope under the name of Benedict XIII, with orders to reform the Order and appointing her Superior of all convents she reformed. Despite great opposition, she persisted in her efforts. She founded seventeen convents with the reformed rule and reformed several older convents. She was reknowned for her sanctity, ecstacies, and visions of the Passion, and prophesied her own death in her convent at Ghent, Belgium. A branch of the Poor Clares is still known as the Collettines. She was canonized in 1807. Her feast day is March 6th.

MARCH 6TH ROMAN MARTYROLOGY FEBRUARY 7TH FRANCISCANS-CAPUCHINS

Carpenter‘s daughter whose parents were near 60 at her birth. Colette was orphaned at age 17, and left in the care of a Benedictine abbot. Her guardian wanted her to marry, but Colette was drawn to religious life. She initially tried to join the Beguines and Benedictines, but failed in her vocation. Franciscan tertiary. Hermitess. On 17 September 1402, at age 21, she became an anchoress – walled into a cell whose only opening was a grilled window into a church.

She had visions in which Saint Francis of Assisi ordered her to restore the Rule of Saint Clare to its original severity. When she hesitated, she was struck blind for three days and mute for three more; she saw this as a sign to take action.

Colette tried to follow her mission by explaining it, but had no success. Realizing she needed more authority behind her words, she walked to Nice, France, barefoot and clothed in a habit of patches, to meet Peter de Luna, acknowledged by the French as the schismatic Pope Benedict XIII. He professed her a Poor Clare, and was so impressed that he made her superioress of all convents of Minoresses that she might reform or found, and a missioner to Franciscan friars and tertiaries.

She travelled from convent to convent, meeting opposition, abuse, slander, and was even accused of sorcery. Eventually she made some progress, especially in Savoy, where her reform gained sympathizers and recruits. This reform passed to Burgundy in France, Flanders in Belgium and Spain.

Colette helped Saint Vincent Ferrer heal the papal schism. She founded seventeen convents; one branch of the Poor Clares is still known as the Colettines.

She was known for a deep devotion to Christ’s Passion with an appreciation and care for animals. Colette fasted every Friday, meditating on the Passion. After receiving Holy Communion, she would fall into ecstasies for hours. She foretold the date of her own death.