Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia
Praised be Jesus and Mary.
Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Henry II,
who was born in the year 972, son of the Duke of Bavaria.
And he received a very excellent education under the care of St. Wolfgang,
the Bishop of Radisbon.
And we have preserved,
for us today in the Office of Readings,
an excerpt from an ancient account of his life.
I just wanted to share a bit of it with you.
It says,
After the most blessed servant of God had been anointed king,
that was in 995,
he said he was not satisfied with the anxieties of his realm.
So in order to attain the crown of immortality,
he determined to campaign for the king of all,
for to serve him is to rule.
He saw to it the care of the church,
and enriched it with properties,
and he endowed the churches with greater beauty.
He saw to it that the sacred,
the holy sacrifice of the mass and sacred liturgies
were adequately provided for and celebrated with dignity.
He had his priorities in order.
That he sought in all things the greater glory of God.
And then when he was made emperor of the Holy Roman Empire,
he didn't glory in that.
He didn't glory in that title or in that position.
And even when he had to deal with the temporal affairs of the kingdom,
and he was drawn into wars,
he was always victorious.
He placed his trust in God,
not only in his spiritual battles,
but in his real battles.
But even in his victories he dealt with great moderation and clemency.
So the humility and spirit of St. Henry was equal.
His humility was equal to that of St. Henry.
His humility was equal to that of St. Henry.
His humility and spirit for justice was equal to his zeal for religion.
One time he had a misunderstanding with Herbert,
the bishop of Cologne.
And he cast himself upon his feet,
his knees upon the feet of Herbert,
and begged pardon for having treated him with coldness
on account of this misunderstanding.
He even wished to abdicate and retire to a monastery,
but the abbot of Verdun advised him to retain his dignity.
And his wife, Kunagundas,
and he lived in perpetual chastity,
just doing good works.
They had bound themselves by a vow.
So they made several pious foundations and monasteries,
and his wife entered the convent after his death in the year 1024.
His wife entered the convent after his death in the year 1024.
So we can pray to St. Henry and St. Kunagundas today
So we can pray to St. Henry and St. Kunagundas today
for their love of God.
and their zeal for holiness.