Hello everyone.
Heyo.
Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where we read the daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started. Today is Thursday, June 25th, and for the summer weeks we are going to do the ABCs of our Catholic faith and saints.
Today is the letter N for Nun.
And the scripture to reflect on is 1 Corinthians 7, 17.
Only let everyone lead the life which the Lord has assigned to him and in which God has called him.
This is my rule in all the churches.
A nun is a woman who dedicates her whole life to serving God and helping other people.
Instead of having a regular job and their own families, they spend their time praying, studying, and doing charitable work like teaching, nursing, or feeding the hungry.
Nuns usually live together in a special quiet community called a convent or a monastery.
When a woman becomes a nun, she makes three big promises, often called vows.
One is poverty, promising not to care about being rich and sharing everything they own with their community.
Two is chastity, promising not to get married so they can have and give all their love and attention to God.
And three is obedience, promising to listen to the leaders of their community and follow God’s rules.
Many nuns wear special clothes called a habit, which is usually a long simple dress with a head covering called a veil.
Today’s saint of the day is N, Saint Notberga.
She was born 1265 and died 1313.
She is the patron saint of servants and peasants.
Notberga was a servant in the household of a 13th century Austrian court.
There was often a good deal of food left after the family’s stupendous meals, and Notberga fed the leftovers to the poor who came to the kitchen door every evening.
She also fasted on Friday and gave her patron of food to those in need.
This made the court’s wife furious.
She ordered that leftover food would be given to the pigs rather than to dirty bakers.
Notberga obeyed her mistress, but the pigs miraculously refused to touch the food.
When it became clear that the animals were not eating the food taken from the mouths of the needy, Notberga quietly began directing the poor to the place she’d posited the food for the pigs.
When the courtness discovered this, she angrily dismissed Notberga.
Shortly afterward, the courtness became very sick, and Notberga returned to her former mistress and nursed the woman until she died.
Women become nuns for many reasons.
Some feel a strong call from God to serve him fully.
Others want to dedicate their lives to helping people in need.
Many nuns find deep peace and purpose in their spiritual journey.
They commit to a life of simplicity, prayer, and helping others.
Notberga went to work on a nearby farm.
She agreed to help with the harvest, provided she could rest and attend Mass on Sunday.
One Saturday, when the church bells began to ring, signaling the start of the Lord’s Day, Notberga put down her scythe and prepared to leave, but her master ordered her to continue working.
Notberga insisted that he keep his promise, but he refused.
She said, We shall let God decide between us.
She tossed up her scythe and hung it suspended in midair. Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear God, help me to live a holy life, even if I might not be called to the lives of a layperson.
And help me to always take care of the poor, like St.
Notberga did.
St.
Notberga, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back tomorrow scattering more flowers.
See ya!