Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. . . Violets and Widows, Mystical Flora. . .

[Shin]

Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra. . . Fulcite me floribus.

Here is a selection of the writings of the saints on the subject of violets and widows. . .

Though I fear I haven't answered your question truly Patricia.

'Another time when St. Mechtilde, after holy communion, desired to know what God would have of her, she received the following reply: "Let us go out into the fields." And it seemed to her as though she were in a great field in which many plants were to be seen, e.g. roses, lilies, violets, and others. By roses were to be understood the martyrs; by lilies, the virgins; widows and the rest of the saints were represented by violets and other flowers. In this field sat the Lord, as it were, surrounded on all sides with wheat heaped up; and it was revealed to her that the field represented all those fruits which the Church gathers in out of the Incarnation of Christ. Nightingales and larks also flew around the Lord, singing incessantly with sweet, glad voices. Now the nightingales signified the loving holy souls, while the larks were a figure of those who perform good works with gladness and singleness of heart.'

- from the Visions of St. Mechtilde

'The garden of the Lord, brethren, includes - yes, it truly includes - includes not only the roses of martyrs but also the lilies of virgins, and the ivy of married people, and the violets of widows. There is absolutely no kind of human beings, my dearly beloved, who need to despair of their vocation; Christ suffered for all. It was very truly written about him: who wishes all men to be saved, and to come to the acknowledgement of the truth.'

St. Augustine of Hippo

'Eternal Wisdom. . . "The soul that wishes to feel Me interiorly in the recesses of a secluded life, and sweetly to enjoy Me, must, first of all, be cleansed from sin, must be adorned with virtue, encircled with self-denial, decked out with the red roses of ardent love, strewn over with the fair violets of humble submission, and the white lilies of perfect purity. She should pray to Me with peace of heart, for in peace is My dwelling-place."'

Bl. Henry Suso, A Little Book of Eternal Wisdom

'As the wood-violets give forth their perfume from beneath the brushwood that conceals them from view, telling us of their unseen nearness, so kindness reveals to us the nearness of Jesus, the sweetness of whose spirit is thus breathed forth.'

Fr. F.X. Lasance

'But there were in Christ three kinds of flowers (1) red flowers, (2) black, (3) white. The red flowers are drops of blood; the black, the stripes of the wounds; the white, the splendours of the glorified Body. Of the third and first, Cant. v. 10, "My Beloved is white and ruddy." Of the second, 1 S. Pet. ii. 24, "By Whose stripes ye were healed." Jesus was altogether blooming, because girt with roses  that is, with drops  blood; adorned with violets that is, with the stripes of wounds; entrenched with lilies that is, with the splendours of the glorified Body: Cant ii. 12, "The flowers appear on the earth."'

St. Thomas Aquinas

'Mary ! thou art the only woman on whom the Saviour of the world has poured the treasures of his grace without measure ; hence \ve are taught to honor thy chaste womb as the temple of God, wherein he was pleased to begin the great work of our redemption, the reconciliation of God with man. Thou, O mother of God, art that spiritual garden, whose fruit is never gathered by the hands of sinners. Thou art that hallowed soil where God has planted all the flowers which adorn his church, and amongst the rest, the holy virtues of humility, purity, and charity, which are greater ornaments to the souls of men than violets, lilies, and roses are to the earth. Thou art the paradise of God, whence flows the stream of living water to moisten the earth. Oh, what benefits were bestowed on the world through thee, when thou wast selected to be the fortunate channel of so many graces !

Hail, Our Life, Our Sweetness and Our Hope!'

- St. Bernard, Prayer of

'She had a singular love of flowers.

"Often, before her appearance in public," says Caffarini, "divine love would cause her to fall into a holy languor, at which time she solaced herself by singing hymns, surrounded by earthly flowers, which reminded her of those of her heavenly Spouse. She twined them into garlands, or arranged them with admirable skill into the form of crosses; and these she afterwards distributed in order to excite other souls to the love of God." The same is testified by other witnesses, who speak of her great love for roses, lilies, and violets, and tell us how after she had finished her accustomed penances, she would arrange them into exquisite bouquets, singing over her work.'

- The History of St. Catherine of Siena and her Companions

'It is not only the shedding of blood that is accounted a confession: the spotless service of a devout mind is itself a daily martyrdom. Both alike are crowned; with roses and violets in the one case, with lilies in the other.'

St. Jerome

'For to what sort do you take the passionate man to belong, and to what the forbearing and meek?

Does not the soul of the one seem to be in a kind of solitary retreat, enjoying exceeding quiet; while that of the other is like a market-place and tumult and the midst of cities, where great is the clamor of those going out, the noise of camels, mules, asses: of men shouting loud to those that meet them, that they may not be trodden under foot: and again, of silver-beaters, of braziers, of men thrusting and pushing this way and that and some overborne, some overbearing?

But the soul of the former is like some mountain-top, with its delicate air, its pure sunshine, its limpid gushing fountains, its multitude of charming flowers, while the vernal meads and gardens put on their plumage of shrubs and flowers, and glance with rifling waters: and if any sound is heard there, it is sweet, and calculated to affect the ear with a sense of much delight.

For either the warbling birds perch on the outermost spray of the branching trees, and cicadas, nightingales and swallows, blended in one harmony, perform a kind of concerted music; or the zephyr gently stirring the leaves, draws whistling tones from pines and firs, resembling oft the notes of the swan: and roses, violets, and other flowers, gently swayed, and dark-dimpling, show like a sea just rippled over with gentle undulations. Nay, many are the images one might find.

Thus, when one looks at the roses, one shall fancy that he beholds in them the rainbow; in the violets a waving sea; in the lilies, the sky. But not by the spectacle alone, and the beholding, does such an one then cause delight: but also in the very body of him that looks to the meadow, rather it refreshes him, and causes him to breathe freely, so that he thinks himself more in heaven than on earth. There is withal a sound of a different kind, when water from the mountain-steep, borne by its own force through ravines gently plashes over its pebbly bed with lulling noise, and so relaxes our frame with the pleasurable sensations, as quickly to draw over our eyes the soft languor of slumber.

You have heard the description with pleasure: perhaps also it has made you enamored of solitude. But sweeter far than this solitude is the soul of the long-suffering. For it was not for the sake of describing a meadow, nor for the sake of making a display of language, that we have broached this similitude: but the object was, that, seeing how great is the delight of the long suffering, and how, by converse with a long suffering man, one would be far more both delighted and benefited, than by frequenting such spots, you may follow after such men.

For when not even a breath of violence proceeds from such a soul, but mild and engaging words, then indeed does that gentle softness of the zephyr find its counterpart: entreaties also, devoid of all arrogance, but forming the resemblance to those winged warblers, — how is not this far better? For not the body is fanned by the soft breeze of speech; no, it refreshes our souls heated and glowing. A physician, by ever so great attention, could not so speedily rid a man of the fever, as a patient man would cool, by the breath of his own words, a person who was passionate and burning with wrath.'

St. John Chrysostom

'We must take great care never to inquire why the Supreme Wisdom has bestowed a certain grace upon one person rather than upon another, nor why it makes its favours abound in one place rather than in another. No, Theotime, guard yourself well against this curiosity. For, since all have sufficiently, nay abundantly, what is requisite for salvation, what right has any man to complain if it pleases God to bestow his graces more abundantly upon some than upon others? If anyone inquired why God had made melons larger than strawberries, or lilies taller than violets, why rosemary was not a rose, why a pink was not a marigold, why a peacock was handsomer than a bat, or why a fig is sweet and a lemon acid, we should laugh at such questions, and say, "Poor man, since the beauty of the world requires variety, there must be different degrees of perfection in all things, and one thing cannot be another: and, therefore, some things are large, others small; some bitter, others sweet; some more beautiful, and others less so." Now, it is the same with supernatural things, for "every one hath his proper gift from God; one after this manner and another after that," says St. Paul (i Cor. vii. 7). It is, therefore, a great impertinence to inquire why St. Paul had not the same grace as St. Peter, or St. Peter the same as St. Paul; why St. Anthony was not a St. Athanasius, or St. Athanasius a St. Jerome. We might answer these questions by saying that the Church is a garden filled with a countless variety of flowers. There must, then, be flowers of various sizes, various colours, various scents, and in fine various perfections. All have their worth, their grace, and their charm, and all in the assemblage of their varieties form a perfection of beauty that is very agreeable.'

St. Francis de Sales

'A true widow is, in the Church, as a little March violet shedding around an exquisite perfume by the fragrance of her devotion, and almost always hidden under the ample leaves of her lowliness, and by her subdued colouring showing her spirit of mortification. She seeks untrodden and solitary places, not wishing to be disturbed by the conversation of worldlings, the better to preserve the freshness of her heart amidst all the glare with which earthly desires of honours, wealth, and even love may surround her. "Blessed shall she be," says the Apostle, "if she so remain" (i Cor. vii. 40).'

St. Francis de Sales

'It is also the true spirit of our poor little Order of the Visitation to keep one s self very small and abject, and to esteem one s self nothing, except inasmuch as it pleases God to regard one s lowliness, while all other ways of living in God are esteemed and honoured by us; and, as I have said to you, our congregation should hold itself among the congregations as the violet is amongst the other flowers low, small, and subdued in colour; happy, because God has created it for his service, and to diffuse a little fragrance in the Church. Everything that tends most to God's honour and glory must be loved and followed above all things. This is the rule of all true servants of Heaven.'

St. Francis de Sales

'Come, let us trudge on through these lowly valleys of humble little virtues, and we shall find the rose amongst thorns, charity which shines forth in the midst of afflictions from within and without, the lily of purity, the violet of mortification, and many more than I can tell. But, above all, I love these three little virtues sweetness of heart, poverty of spirit, and simplicity of life; and these great exercises of charity visiting the sick, helping the poor, consoling the afflicted; but all without flurry, and with true liberty. Our arms, as yet, are not long enough to reach to the cedars of Lebanon ; let us content ourselves with the hyssop of the valley.'

St. Francis de Sales

'I salute you, very dear daughters, in the love of the ever Blessed Virgin, upon whose cradle I invite you to throw flowers every morning during this holy octave; the lilies and roses of purity and ardent charity, with the violets of the most holy and most desirable virtues of humility and simplicity.'

St. Francis de Sales

'"Thou art a garden enclosed and sealed up," says the Spouse in the Canticles to the Blessed Virgin ; a garden set with the most beautiful flowers that could possibly be found. And to whom belong all these fair flowers with which the Church is filled and adorned, if not to the Blessed Virgin, whose example has produced them all? Is it not through her that the Church has been sown with the roses of martyrdom the violets of so many holy widows, who are humble and lowly as these flowers, but who shed a sweet perfume around them? And is it not to her that it owes so many beautiful lilies of purity and virginity, all white and innocent? It is after the example given by her that so many virgins have consecrated their hearts and bodies to the Divine Majesty by a resolution and indissoluble vow to preserve their virginity and purity.'

St. Francis de Sales

'The sweet Saviour of our souls wished to be called Jesus of Nazareth, because Nazareth is interpreted flowery or flourishing city. Ego sum flos campi. "I am the flower of the fields," He says in the Canticle of Canticles. And to show us that He was not only a flower, but a bouquet composed of the most beautiful and sweet-smelling flowers that could be found, He wished to keep this name of Jesus of Nazareth upon the cross. But does it not seem that our Lord was more like a faded, withered flower upon the cross, than a blooming one? Look at Him, all covered with wounds, defiled with spittle, his eyes sunken and dim, his face bruised, pale, and discoloured, from the greatness of his sufferings, all his blood poured out and the pangs of death having already seized upon all parts of his body. Oh! it was truly at that moment that He showed Himself rich in the flowers of all the most beautiful virtues. Oh! how great and lovely, my dear souls, are the flowers which this blessed plant of the death and passion of our Lord caused to bloom forth whilst He hung upon the cross.

I will content myself with choosing four of the principal, most remarkable and most necessary in the spiritual life. The first is holy humility, which, like a violet, sheds around it a perfume extremely sweet in the death and passion of our Saviour. The second is patience, the third perseverance, and the fourth is the very excellent virtue of holy indifference.'

St. Francis de Sales

'Read, then, this book [of the cross], and there you will find the name of Jesus, which means Nazarene that is to say, flowering for by the cross our souls have been decked out with fair and holy flowers of so many virtues and so many sweet-smelling aureoles. It was there that our Lord became the rose of martyrdom, the violet of mortification, the lily of purity, being not only pure Himself, but purifying others.

Our bed is strewn about and covered with flowers, says the devout soul, lectulus noster floridus. O beautiful hawthorn! upon your branches perch the birds of the Church, and there, meditating upon the wonders of God, they warble sweetly their holy praises. Absit mihi glorlari! God forbid that I should glory save only in the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ.'

St. Francis de Sales

The last quotes are from the Mystical Flora book on Saints' Books which is a collection of St. Francis de Sales writings on Christian life under the Emblem of Plants..

[Shin]

And on a different tack..

Further quotes mentioning widows alone, a variety, without the violets..

'How earnestly do I desire, if I were able, to celebrate thee, O Patience, queen of all things!

But by my life and manners more than by my words. For thou restest in thy own action and council more than in discourses, and in perfecting rather than in multiplying virtues. Thou art the support of virginity, the secure harbor of widowhood, the guide and directress of the married state, the unanimity of friendship, the comfort and joy of slavery, to which thou art often liberty. By thee, poverty enjoys all, because, content with itself, it bears all. By thee, the prophets were advanced in virtue, and the apostles united to Christ. Thou art the daily crown and mother of the martyrs. Thou art the bulwark of faith, the fruit of hope, and the friend of charity. Thou conductest all the people and all divine virtues, and dishevelled hairs bound up into one knot, for ornament and honor. Happy, eternally happy, is he who shall always possess thee in his soul.'

St. Zeno

'These trifles of trifles, these vanities of vanities, pulled me by the garment of my flesh, and whispered to me: "To you send us away? What! Shall we never more abide with you? And how now, shall this and that be no longer granted you -- and forever?" On the side to which I turned, and where I feared to pass, stood Continence, in chaste majesty, inviting me no longer with the smile of the courtesan, but with the purest caresses, to draw near her without fear; she stretched out her holy arms to receive and embrace me, and pointed with her hand to countless bright examples -- to children, tender maidens, young men above number, persons of every age, venerable widows and virgins with the snows of years on their brows. And the lovely form seemed to say to me with a sweet and cheerful voice of irony: "What! You cannot do what these children and these weak women have achieved? Is it, then, of themselves, and not in the Lord God, that such a live has been possible for them? O, cast yourself boldly on him, have no fear; he will not withdraw, nor allow you to fall."'

St. Augustine

'I consider it useless to speak to women advanced in years, and who, nevertheless are thinking of a second marriage. Could any words of mine convince them, when neither years, nor age, nor experience has been able to make them forego their purpose? Hence, I speak to young widows. We go on cheerfully with an enterprise whose beginnings have been favorable; but if we fail at the outset, we give up everything. Therefore, a young widow, it seems to me, ought to be all the further from a second marriage, because she has known sorrow and widowhood so early in life. In remaining a widow, she is sure of her future, and protects herself against similar misfortunes. Though the state of widowhood is the same for all widows, the rewards differ widely, and are more brilliant for some than for others. The widow who, while yet young, undergoes the yoke of continence, deserves more honor and glory than another who takes up the practice only in her old age.'

St. John Chrysostom

'He waits for our tears, that He may pour forth His goodness. So in the Gospel, having pity on the tears of the widow, He raised her son. He waits for our conversion, that He may Himself restore us to grace, which would have continued with us had no fall overtaken us. But He is angry because we have by our sins incurred guilt, in order that we may be humbled; we are humbled, in order that we may be found worthy rather of pity than of punishment.'

St. Ambrose of Milan

'We do not prohibit second marriages, but, on the other hand, we do not advise them; for not all that is allowed is profitable. The widow has no command to remain a widow, but she is counseled to do so; and the counsel has not only been once given, but has been often repeated. Do not say: "I am without assistance." This is the customary excuse of her who wishes to re-marry. Neither should you say: "I am all alone." Loneliness is favorable to purity; the modest woman loves retirement; she who is not so, is anxious to go out and parade herself. You have, you say, business to transact? And are there no lawyers in the world? But you are in dread of enemies? Well, then, our Lord himself pleads your case before the judges and says to them: "Deal justly with the widow." You are anxious to save your property? Chastity is also a property of the highest value, and the widow keeps it far better than the married woman. Do you still wish you get married? You are allowed to do so. I make no inquiries with regard to your motives: why do you dissemble when giving them? If your reasons are virtuous, state them; if otherwise, be silent about them. Accuse neither your relatives, nor God, when you complain of want of support; do not say you marry for the sake of your children, while depriving them of a mother.'

St. Ambrose of Milan

'Alas! They allege, as reason for their marriage, the very thing that ought to prevent them from doing so; for, by her second marriage, the widow places over her children, not a father who will provide for them, but an enemy. If you have children, why marry again? And if you have none, does not experience teach you to fear a like barrenness in the future?'

St. Jerome

'Saint Louis counted it a privilege to visit the hospitals, where he used to tend the sick with his own royal hands. Saint Francis loved poverty above all things, and called her his lady-love. Saint Dominic gave himself up to preaching, whence his Order takes its name. Saint Gregory the Great specially delighted to receive pilgrims after the manner of faithful Abraham, and like him entertained the King of Glory under a pilgrim's garb. Tobit devoted himself to the charitable work of burying the dead. Saint Elizabeth, albeit a mighty princess, loved above all things to humble herself. When Saint Catherine of Genoa became a widow, she gave herself up to work in an hospital. Cassian relates how a certain devout maiden once besought Saint Athanasius to help her in cultivating the grace of patience; and he gave her a poor widow as companion, who was cross, irritable, and altogether intolerable, and whose perpetual fretfulness gave the pious lady abundant opportunity of practicing gentleness and patience. And so some of God's servants devote themselves to nursing the sick, helping the poor, teaching little children in the faith, reclaiming the fallen, building churches, and adorning the altar, making peace among men. Therein they resemble embroidresses who work all manner of silks, gold and silver on various grounds, so producing beautiful flowers. Just so the pious souls who undertake some special devout practice use it as the ground of their spiritual embroidery, and frame all manner of other graces upon it, ordering their actions and affections better by means of this their chief thread which runs through all.

"Upon Thy Right Hand did stand the Queen in a vesture of gold wrought about with divers colours."'

St. Francis de Sales

'A lady wishing to have a widow live with her to take care of, asked St. Athanasius to find her one among his poor. Afterwards meeting the Bishop, she reproached him that he had treated her ill, because this person was too good, and gave her nothing to do by which she could gain heaven; and she begged him to give her another. The saint chose the worst he could find; of a cross, grumbling temper, never satisfied with what was done for her. This is the way we must act, for there is no great merit in doing good to one who values it, who thanks us and is grateful.

There are some persons who think they are never treated well enough; they seem as if they had a right to every thing. They are never pleased with what is done for them; they repay everybody with ingratitude. . . Well! those are the people to whom we should do good by preference.'

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

'In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth, and work better than idleness, especially since wealth becomes an obstacle even for those who do not devote themselves to it. Yet, when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy, soften our anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition which is reasonable, mild, kindly, and loving, how could poverty stand in our way? For we accomplish these things not by spending money but by making the correct choice. Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all.'

St. John Chrysostom

[Patricia]

Thank you, Shin. Precious quotes.

[Patricia]

Here is a selection of the writings of the saints on the subject of violets and widows. . .

Though I fear I haven't answered your question truly Patricia.

Reading these quotes answered my question, Shin.

[Shin]

Here is a selection of the writings of the saints on the subject of violets and widows. . .

Though I fear I haven't answered your question truly Patricia.

Reading these quotes answered my question, Shin.

Oh good! After all! 

[Patricia]

I like re-reading these quotes. 


 When you perceive that God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies...but to his friends, the martyrs, the saints, and those who were pleasing to him, and who have great power in God.

-- Saint John Chrysostom

[Shin]

Yes I love going back to old threads too!

Sometimes I go to click the link below the 'User's Online' topic on the bottom of the forum main page, which lists all the users online and what they are doing, and it shows that they're reading old interesting threads. And so I click on those threads to read them again!

Though actually many of those listed users are web spiders, not real people, but search engine programs sifting through the website to put it into their search results. But this is good too because that means people typing questions about the saints more specifically can find some of the threads here, Deo gratias! 

And since we don't have any rules against reviving old threads like some forums, there's always inspiration and gratitude we can have from reading these quotes.   

[Shin]

When you perceive that God is chastening you, fly not to his enemies...but to his friends, the martyrs, the saints, and those who were pleasing to him, and who have great power in God.

-- Saint John Chrysostom

I've got to remember this one! The devil tempts us to take relief in sensual things, but when we are suffering, we must fly to God and His saints and angels!

And God grant rest to the holy souls!

[Shin]

I believe this series of quotes should be added to the 'Selections' series too.