St. Julie Billiart

Julie Billiart was born July 12, 1751, in Picardy, France, the fifth of seven kids. She was christened Marie Rose Julia. Julie lived on a farm, however her favourite pastime was pretending to be a teacher and taking part in faculty. The faculty Julie attended was a rural one-room faculty home. Her favourite topic was faith, taught by the native parish priest. This priest observed Julie’s nice piety and noticed that she was particular. For that motive, he secretly allowed Julie to make her first communion at age 9. At that point the conventional age was 13. Julie developed an ideal love for Jesus within the Eucharist.

When Julie was nonetheless a younger lady, somebody tried to homicide her father. Some believed that this incident so traumatized Julie that she developed a mysterious sickness paralyzing her for over twenty years. During the French Revolution Julie hid loyal clergymen in her dwelling. Because of this, Julie herself grew to become a fugitive. Many instances she needed to flee to flee discovery in properties the place mates have been hiding her. During this time Julie had a imaginative and prescient. She noticed the Lord crucified and throughout Him have been non secular girls wearing a behavior she had by no means seen. In an internal locution, she was informed that these girls could be her daughters and that she would begin an institute for the Christian schooling of younger women. In 1803 Julie, together with just a few girls, started their lives as non secular and based the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Julie’s imaginative and prescient had come true. One 12 months later, Julie was miraculously cured of the paralysis that she had endured for twenty-two years. Then in 1805, Julie and three of her companions took their ultimate vows. Julie was elected as Mother General of the congregation.

Mother Julie Billiart spent the following ten years caring for the poor, nursing the wounded from the Battle of Waterloo, and feeding the hungry. On April 8, 1816, at age 64, she went to be with the Lord.

Lessons

Julie labored onerous to increase her Institute and by the point of her demise, fifteen convents had been established. Pope Paul VI canonized her in 1969.

Prayer

Lord Jesus, we provide up all our ache and sufferings to You, simply as St. Julie did throughout her lengthy sickness. We pray, pricey Lord, that You will unite our sufferings with Yours and that by way of these, many souls are saved. Amen.

picture: Saint Julie Billiart Catholic Church (Hamilton, Ohio) – Saint Julie Billiart statue 2 by Nheyob, CC BY-SA 4.0, by way of Wikimedia Commons