St Paula, Widow

From Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year

The noble and pious Widow, who left all the pomps of Rome, and bade adieu to her children, to lead a life of retirement in Bethlehem, comes before us today, as one of the Saints that have a special right to be near the Crib of the Infant Jesus. She was, during her life, irresistibly attracted to it, as to something far richer, in her eyes, than all the palaces of kings. There did she find her God, who had rendered himself poor for our sakes, and whose poverty she, in the days of her opulence, used to console by relieving the wants of the indigent. It was through her zeal, that several Monasteries were founded in the neighbourhood of the holy Cave, where the Word made Flesh first appeared to men. She spent her days in prayer, in works of penance and charity, and in the meditation of the Holy Scriptures, which she studied under the guidance of the great St. Jerome. It is a sight worthy of our admiration to behold these Christian ladies and virgins filled with the sublime spirit of the gospel of Jesus Christ, whilst everything around them was corrupted by the grossest sensualism of pagan Rome. We find them retiring either to the deserts of Egypt, there to study the virtues of the Monks and Hermits, or to the Holy Land, there to venerate the scenes of our Lord’s life. Paula is one of the foremost of these noble Christian women ; and it is with extreme regret, that we are obliged to omit the account of her pilgrimage, given with so much spirit and unction by St. Jerome, in letters addressed to the illustrious virgin Eustochium, the daughter of St. Paula. We must limit ourselves to the following quotation, in which the Holy Doctor describes the arrival at Bethlehem.

“Having divided among the poor and her attendants what little money she had still remaining, Paula left Jerusalem and proceeded to Bethlehem. After paying a short visit to the tomb of Rachel, which lies on the right hand of the road, she arrived at the City she so much longed to see, and she entered into the Grotto of our Lord. As soon as she beheld the sacred spot wherein our Lady sought shelter, and saw the stable where the ox knew his owner, and the ass his Masters crib, (Isaiah 1:3) she told me, with much emotion, that she saw, with the eyes of her faith, the Infant wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and weeping in the manger; the Magi adoring, the Star brightly shining over the Stable, the Virgin-Mother, Joseph eager to render her his service, the Shepherds arriving at mid-night, the Innocents massacred, Herod enraged, and Joseph and Mary fleeing into Egypt. Tears of joy trickled down her cheeks, and she exclaimed: Hail, O Bethlehem! house of bread, wherein was born the Bread that came down from heaven! Hail, Ephrata! fertile land, whose fruit is our very God. It is of thee, that the Prophet Micheas spoke, when he said: Bethlehem, Ejphrata! thou art not the least of the thousand cities of Juda, for out of thee shall come He, that is to be the Ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. (Matthew 2:6) Yes, it was in thee that was born the Prince, who was begotten before the day-star, and whose birth in l the bosom of the Father was before all ages. I, a poor wretched sinner, even I have been permitted to kiss the Crib, wherein the Infant Saviour shed his first tears; I have been permitted to pray in that Cave, wherein the Virgin-Mother brought forth our Lord. Here, henceforth, will I rest, for this is the country of our Master. Here will I dwell, for our Lord chose it for his own dwelling-place.”

We will now give the Lessons, read in the Proper of the Churches of Spain. They are mainly drawn up from the words of St. Jerome.

Paula, a Roman Lady, of a most noble Senatorial family, but still more noble by the holiness of her life, was married to Toxotius, of an equal noble race, and bore him five children. After her husband’s death, she devoted her whole self to the service of God, and distributed her great wealth to the poor of Christ, but with so much charity, that she would go through the city in search of them, and (as St. Jerome relates of her) would count herself a loser, if any poor needy person were fed by any other than herself. This her zeal for the poor continued till her death, and she would sometimes say, that she longed to die as a poor mendicant, and to be buried in a borrowed winding-sheet. Certain dissensions having arisen between some of the Churches, under the pontificate of St. Damasus, several Bishops, both of the East and West, came to Rome. Paula gave hospitality to St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Salamina, in Cyprus. She, also, loaded Paulinus of Antioch with every sort of kindness. Their virtues made such an impression upon her, that she determined upon leaving her country, and spending the rest of her days in the desert. She therefore, without delay, fled from the noise and bustle of the City, and from the flattery of admirers; and preferring the humble Bethlehem to Rome, she set out for Porto, and there embarked for Palestine. Her brother, relatives, and children, did their utmost to dissuade her from her resolution, and made use of every argument that could weigh with a mother’s heart. But she, whilst feeling all the keenness of sorrow, raised her tearless eyes to heaven, and conquered, by her love for God, the love that would have kept her with her children. She was a mother ; but she was also the handmaid of Christ, and that was before all else.

Having, therefore, embarked, accompanied by her daughter Eustochium, who had imitated her in her holy purpose, she set sail, longing, with all the ardour of faith and love, to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Places. After touching at Cyprus, and Selucia, she landed at Syria and Palestine, visiting each hallowed spot with so much joy and devotion, that nothing less than the resolution of seeing the others could have torn her from it. Having, at length, reached Bethlehem, there she remained, and built four Monasteries; one for men, over which. St. Jerome presided, and the three others for women. The remainder of her life was spent in Bethlehem, in the exercises of the most admirable sanctity. Humility was her favourite virtue. Her meekness was extraordinary, as also was her love for the poor. She was calumniated by certain envious tongues, and was tried by numerous crosses; but she bore all with invincible patience and forbearance. She was slow to speak, and swift to hear. She knew the Sacred Scriptures by heart, for she was most assiduous in reading both the Old and New Testament. She applied herself to the study of Hebrew, which she so perfectly mastered, that she used to sing the Psalms in that language, and spoke it as though it had been her native tongue. She slept on a haircloth thrown on the floor, and even such sleep as this was interrupted by such long and frequent prayers, that it seemed as though her nights were prayer rather than sleep. Even when suffering the most violent fever, she would not allow herself anything that could make her bed less comfortless. Her abstinence was so great, that it bordered on imprudence. She added to the weakness of her frame by severe fasting and hard work. Excepting the Feast-days, she would scarcely allow herself a drop of oil with her food. No argument could induce her to take wine as a means for restoring her to strength. It would be difficult to describe the tender care wherewith she nursed the sick; she lavished upon them whatever she had, whilst to herself, when in sickness, she allowed no indulgence; so that she had two measures ; one of commiseration for others, and one of severity towards herself.

At length, she fell into a dangerous sickness, and saw that her death was approaching. A chill was over her whole body, her heart alone retaining a spark of life. Then, as though she were going to her home, and was leaving a place of banishment, she ceased not, until she breathed forth her soul, to repeat these verses of the Psalm:

“Lord! I have loved the beauty of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwelleth. How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord.”

Signing her lips with the sign of the cross, she yielded her most holy soul to her God, on the seventh of the Calends of February (January 26th), in the fifty-sixth year of her age. Her remains were carried by Bishops into the Church of the Holy Cave. From all the towns of Palestine, there came to her funeral a multitude of monks, virgins, widows, and poor, who, as at the death of Dorcas, showed the garments she had given them. On the third day, she was buried under the Church, close to the Grotto of our Lord.

Thou didst love the Crib of thy Lord, O generous-hearted Paula! Thou didst prefer the humble Grotto of Bethlehem to all the riches of Rome; and Jesus, to reward thy love and the sacrifice thou didst make for him, has united thee to himself for eternity. May we learn, from thy example, to go in search of the Infant Jesus, and to relish the mysteries of his divine Birth. May we break down every obstacle, whensoever he calls us to himself. May he mercifully teach us to acknowledge the rights he has acquired over us by the sacrifices he made for our sakes, and be, thereby, disposed to give him whatsoever he may ask at our hands. May thy eagerness to sacrifice the strongest affections of thy heart, in order that thou mightest be united to him alone, animate us to moderate and regulate ours. May thy prayers help us to keep our hearts faithful to Him who made them, and ready, at all times, to follow him in the path to which he may call us. May we stand on our guard against that spirit of the world, which is ever seeking to enter into a compact with Christianity, and by calling into question the Counsels of our Lord, to deny even the obligation of all men to obey his Precepts. May the light of the Holy Ghost shine upon us, and the love of Jesus inflame our hearts; then shall we understand the conduct of the Saints. Their examples may, indeed, make us feel ashamed at our weakness, but they will also bring light to our soul, and will encourage us to fulfill those duties which God puts upon us, nor will self-love be able to cheat us into tepidity.

Pray for the Church of Syria, which thou didst sanctify by thy virtues. May she return to unity of faith, and so regain peace. Watch over the sanctuaries of the Holy Land, desecrated more by the presence and the sacrileges of heretics, than by the pillages of the Pagans. May Jerusalem be liberated by thy prayers, and Bethlehem be saved from insult: may the Sacrifice, which taketh away the sins of the world, no longer be offered by unworthy and schismatical Priests on the very spot where our Emmanuel was born. Protect the Pilgrims, who, after thine example, visit the Holy Places, where were achieved the Mysteries of our Redemption. Excite throughout Christendom a love of the Holy Land, which our fathers won. from the infidels by their arms; and may we be inflamed in the love of Jesus, by following devoutly the Stations he marked for us in his sacred Passion.