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Jan 30 - St. Hyacintha Mariscotti 1585-1640

St. Hyacintha, born in 1585, belonged to a wealthy and prominent family. Her father was Count Antonio of Mariscotti, her mother descended from the princely Roman family of the Orsini.

After her younger sister had been given in marriage, the disappointed Clarice, as Hyacintha was then called, entered the convent of the Tertiaries at Viterbo, but apparently only as a secular Tertiary. She permitted herself to be supplied with all sorts of things by way of eatables and articles of dress which enabled her to enjoy quite an agreeable and comfortable existence. Her rooms were furnished with much worldly apparatus. The spirit of mortification and of penance with which every Tertiary ought to be equipped was in no wise discernible to her.

Then it happened that she was afflicted with a strange illness, and her confessor was obliged to go to her rooms to administer the sacraments to her. When he saw the worldly and frivolous objects in her cell, he sharply reproved the sick sister. Following her confessor's advice, she afterwards went to the common refectory and there, with a rope around her neck, begged forgiveness of her fellow sisters for the scandal she had given them.

However, it was only after she had invoked the aid of St. Catherine of Siena, that she dispossessed herself of all frivolous and unnecessary objects, and thereupon resolutely entered upon a life of heroic virtue.

She began to lead a very penitential life, in which she persevered unto the end. She went barefoot, wore an old habit that had been discarded by another sister, and performed the lowliest and most trying tasks. She ate only inferior food with which she mixed bitter herbs. Her bed consisted of a few bare boards, on which there was but a single blanket; a stone served as her pillow. She fostered a special devotion to the sufferings of Christ; and in memory of them, she subjected herself to special austerities on Fridays and in Holy Week. She also entertained a filial love for Mary, the Mother of Mercy, who sometimes appeared to her and comforted her.

Enriched by every virtue and held in great repute by her fellow sisters, she died in the 55th year of her age, in the year of our Lord 1640. Many miracles occurred at her grave for which reason Pope Benedict XIII placed her in the ranks of the blessed.

In the year 1807 she was canonized by Pope Pius VII.

ON ACCEPTING REPRIMANDS IN THE PROPER SPIRIT
1. How fortunate it was for Hyacintha that her confessor rebuked her so severely though he knew of her distinguished descent and saw that she was on her sickbed. It is really a great charity to us if a person points out our faults to us in a becoming manner. Every man has his faults. But often we are unaware of them; self-love hides them from us and, unfortunately, those that call themselves our friends, also try to palliate them and justify them, so that we can truly say, "Those who praise me, do not love me." Thus it is also written in Holy Scripture: "Open rebuke is better than hidden love. Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy" (Prov 27:5). -- Have you always counted those as your benefactors who have reprimanded you, and do you have the courage to extend this charity to others when it is seasonable?
2. Consider what folly it is to resent a well meant reprimand. What would have happened to Hyacintha if she had not accepted the reprimand given her by her confessor? When a person corrects you, he gives you a mark of his confidence, for evidently he regards you as virtuous enough to accept it in good par, otherwise it would be foolish to reprimand you. If you resent it, he will certainly be very careful not to correct you again; but in the end you will have to hear more severe reproaches when you stand before the judgement seat of God. Therefore do not shut the door of your heart to wholesome admonition, but be grateful to him who administers it. -- Has this been your way in the past? Do you perhaps also have the courage calmly to accept an unmerited reprimand?
3. Because friends that are true enough to correct us are so rare, we should be all the more anxious to profit from admonitions that are given in general. Such admonitions are given in sermons and in spiritual reading. On such occasions one is so readily inclined to refer everything that is faulty to others, or, when a reproof does strike home, to take offense at the author. It is the enemy of the soul who is back of all this and who is endeavoring to prevent our amendment. Do not let yourself be led astray by him, but rather be grateful to God, who so kindly leads us, erring sheep, back to the fold. From now on, strive to apply to yourself all the admonitions you meet with in sermons or in spiritual reading.

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
O God, who didst transform the holy virgin Hyacintha into a sacrifice of continual mortification and love, grant through her example and intercession that we may bewail our sins and love Thee at all times. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.