Holy Queen Matilda, patroness of those who have lost children

Exclusive. The name Matilda was not accidentally associated with royalty. Matilda (Mechtilda) is a German name that means a strong and courageous woman; comes from the words meht - "strength, courage" and hilt - "to fight". Not only thanks to the absolutely talentless (and also anti-historical) film directed by Oleksii Uchitel, which was given free advertising during the height of seasonal activity, religious fanatics in Shvabrostan. But also thanks to the real story of a little Polish ballerina (fragile on the outside, but very strong on the inside), who fell in love with the prince, a love story with several (as in the music of the Baroque era) "false endings". First a break in relations, and then after a period of trials - a relatively calm life in a happy marriage for almost 100 years in multifaceted Paris.

Holy Queen Matilda, patroness of those who have lost children

But the story of Saint Queen Matilda, a story from the first millennium of Christian history, is no less interesting and instructive. The history of the Holy Church, not yet divided, which should be respected by both Catholics and Orthodox. St. Matilda shows that even rich people often find a glorious way to Jesus Christ; so believe modern preachers.

Hence Saint Matilda, also known as Matilda of Ringelheim, Matilda of Westphalia, Matilda of Saxony. At one time, she was a politically influential queen of Germany. She was born in 895 in the town of Engleri in Westphalia, on the banks of the Rhine. She was the daughter of Count Theodoric (Dietrich) and Princess Reichilda of the Danish royal family. Briefly note that our dear king Danylo Halytskyi was her descendant.
But this is a lyrical digression. Let's go back to the childhood of the future saint. She was raised by her paternal grandmother, also Matilda, the abbess of the monastery in Hereford. It was she who took upon herself the upbringing of her granddaughter. The little countess was brought up in the reading of sacred books, prayers, needlework, and most importantly in the passion of God. She was distinguished by mature piety, and at the same time her beauty blossomed, and she improved in virtues. The years spent here will always be considered the most beautiful in her life. Here she also felt a taste for prayer and service to God and people.

At the age of 14, in 909, she married Henry Ptaholov, who three years later became Duke of Saxony, and in 919 - King of Germany. He is known in history as Henry I (919-936). The wedding took place in 909 in Wallhausen. The main source of information about the life of Saint Matilda is "VitaMathildisreginae" (The original version was written in 974, and the second around 1003).

We learn little from there about the first years of marriage. However, we do know that this relationship, while it may have been based on political calculations and initial infatuation, turned out to be very successful and happy. Matilda "lived in unity with her husband, his love was as necessary to her as air for life; in his environment she discovered all the treasures of her soul, all the tenderness of her femininity; she was the joy and decoration of his life; and the fresh vitality of her nature brought relief to his troubled mind, calming his sometimes impetuous temper.'

The first years of Henry's reign as King of Germany were a slow consolidation of his power within the country, with some separatist movements visible. However, within a few years, the monarch took the situation under control and, having organized internal German affairs, directed his military and political activities externally, mainly protecting the borders of the Kingdom, which were threatened from the North and East, but also pursuing an expansive policy.

A significant threat was posed by the numerous influxes of Hungarians, with whom Henry had to sign a truce in 926, which included the payment of tribute to them. However, this was only a temporary solution, since already in 934 the united German army defeated the Magyars, preventing them from organizing further attacks.

Although some believe that Queen Matilda had enormous political influence, based on medieval biographies of the Saint, it can be assumed that her role was more to gently support her husband, who often made decisions on his own. However, this does not mean that Matilda had to be a person devoid of any activity. On the contrary, she had already shown great diligence as a child, especially in good deeds, and now that she had become a queen, she could do even more.

For example, it is known from the sources that she often begged her husband to pardon criminals, because Henry was a very strict judge. The Queen even more actively supported the Church and the needy. She traveled with her husband around the country and gave money to numerous monasteries, as well as founded new ones. Their most important joint investment, made with the support of the Council, which consisted of the highest state dignitaries, was the construction of a special Royal Monastery in Quedlinburg. Matilda also often visited the poor and sick, whom she supported with money and good advice.

Surprisingly, Matilda turned the Royal Estate almost into a nunnery, calling everyone to regular prayers and being an example of living faith - she prayed most of the nights and began each day with Holy Mass. Her calmness and gentleness had a good effect on King Henry. Whenever he got angry with her, Matilda patiently waited for him to calm down, and only then returned to the conversation - she did not want to impose her decisions on her husband by arguing. They often attended services together, and when Matilda wanted to pray alone, her husband did not disturb her.

As a queen, she did not spare helping the needy - she believed that Christ is in each of them and thanks to them she is closer to him. She considered herself the mother of unhappy and upset people. She visited prisoners, apologizing to some of them. It is known that every Saturday she organized a bathhouse for the homeless and pilgrims, and sometimes distributed supplies from the Royal Pantry to the poor. Moreover, until all the food intended for the beggars was distributed, the queen herself did not eat anything.

Over time, the husband-king became more attentive to his wife, moreover, he even contributed to her acts of charity. Henry gave his wife complete freedom to do good. So Matilda did not spare money for those who needed support. She also used it as an opportunity to testify that many of the poor, having received help from the queen, were converted and started a new, pious life. Matilda did not forget about helping animals. In her piety, she really loved ... roosters, which "with their cry awaken believers to serve Christ." She also fed the birds, as Saint Francis of Assisi later did, to "glorify the name of the Creator."

For the last few years of marriage, she and her husband lived in such harmony that they seemed to be one body and one soul. They both had the same inclination to do God's will and good. Both of them equally loved their neighbor, pitied the unfortunate and treated their subjects with equal care. Matilda often retired to the chapel to pray in the silence of the night, and King Henry, not wanting to disturb her, pretended not to see it. She loved Christ in her husband, and her conjugal love was purest and most complete.

Dying, King Henry said beautiful words about his wife, full of thanks for her kindness and love: "...never did anyone have a wife whose loyalty was more steadfast, her zeal for all good works was not more tested. Accept thanks for pacifying my anger, for the fact that you gave me saving advice in all matters and for the fact that you often led me to justice and meekness, exhorting me to pity the oppressed. I entrust you and our children to Almighty God and the intercession of His chosen saints. I entrust my soul to him."

The king died at noon, here Matilda was sent to perform service for the deceased, and then, taking her sons, she led them to the coffin and said: “I charge you, fear God and serve Him as the supreme King of the whole world. Be like-minded and do not quarrel for vain honors. Look at your father and know what is the purpose of all worldly grandeur. Happy is he who humbles himself and seeks only eternal good. Do not care about which of you will follow the worldly or spiritual path, always remember the words of the Wisdom of God that he who humbles himself will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled.

Holy Queen Matilda, patroness of those who have lost children

They had five children - three sons (Otton, Henry and St. Bruno) and two daughters (Heberga and Jadwiga).

Matilda's position changed dramatically in 936 when her husband King Henry I died (buried at Quedlinburg Abbey) and was succeeded by his eldest son Otto, not Henry, who was Matilda's favorite child and favorite in the struggle for power in the Kingdom. There was a conflict between the brothers. The queen-mother absolutely did not expect such a fierce fraternal confrontation, and over the next few years she did everything to make her sons reconcile with each other. An agreement was finally reached in 941, but Matilda's worries (who temporarily resided in the monastery, praying for her husband's soul) did not end there. Soon, the reconciled brothers, fearing the "extravagance" of their mother, who spent large sums from the royal treasury on church and charitable purposes, forced her to give up the right to all her property, including what she received after becoming a widow. husband's death

Soon after that, a series of various failures fell on the German state, including King Otto who fell seriously ill. Many thought that this was a punishment for the unjust behavior of the sons in relation to the queen mother. Soon even Edith, Otto's wife, who was not very fond of Matilda, began to actively promote the return of the queen mother to the court. Having finally realized that they had done an injustice to their mother, the two brothers decided to correct their mistake and returned her. They did it very solemnly, because Otto sent several bishops and higher secular dignitaries to the monastery for her, thus emphasizing her high status in the state. All lands, all wealth and the position of "first in the Kingdom" were returned to her.

From that time, Matilda's influence was very strong, and it was not changed by the appearance next to Otto of Adelaide, the daughter of Rudolph II, the former wife of the Italian king Lothar (his first wife Edith died in 946). Adelaide, the later empress and saint, although by origin and family connections with many royal courts, was a person of a higher position than Matilda, but did not prevent the queen mother, all the time, to maintain a privileged place in the state and in the royal family. No one prevented her from opening new religious institutions and helping the needy.

At that time, she founded monasteries in Peld and Gerenrod. Twice a day she distributed provisions from the royal pantry to the poor, she herself did not eat anything until all the food allocated for the day reached the people who expected help. She traveled throughout the kingdom, making sure that every monastery was decently equipped with everything necessary, and also gave food and clothing to the poor. At the same time, she did not neglect her own spiritual development, spending many hours reading the Holy Scriptures, especially the Psalter.

Queen Matilda also eventually got a fair share of the country's governance when her son Otto and his wife Adelaide were crowned emperor and empress in Rome. Then Otto entrusted the rule of Germany to his sons: William, Archbishop of Mainz, the still minor Otto II and his mother. After returning from Rome in 965, the whole family gathered in Cologne, where Matilda was received with the greatest honors by the imperial couple. Two years later, Matilda fell seriously ill. Shortly before her death, she wrote the Computanum, that is, a list of deceased representatives of the Saxon dynasty for permanent memorial service in churches and monasteries.

The reason for this was that in 955 Queen Matilda survived the death of Henry's eldest son; this happened during her stay in the monastery in Pelda. Foreseeing his death, she called him to complete repentance of all sins and mistakes. Henry died soon after, on September 1, 955, in Regensburg. This death took away from her all attachment to earthly things, she did not long for anything transitory and did not desire any pleasures. She read pious scriptures, especially dedicated to the Lord's Passion and beloved saints. She was a second mother to orphans, widows and pilgrims, personally distributing food to the poor twice a day. The saint believed that thanks to them she was getting closer to Jesus Christ. She sent fruits and the best food to those in need, and it often happened that the food she sent brought healing.

Holy Queen Matilda, patroness of those who have lost children

And ten years later, in 965, the queen lost her youngest son, St. Bruno, the archbishop. At the end of her life, she experienced another painful experience - the death of her grandson, Bishop Wilhelm of Mainz, which she had foreseen.

In the last years of her life, Matilda devoted herself exclusively to prayer and works of charity. She generously supported churches and monasteries from her personal possessions. She built two large Benedictine abbeys: Northhausen in Quedlinburg. She spent the last years of her life in an abbey in Quedlinburg.

On Saturday after the first Sunday of Great Lent St. Matilda confessed and took communion. Sensing that her time on earth was coming to an end, she asked those present to pray and read the Gospel and the Psalms until her soul was separated from her body. She raised her eyes and heart to heaven, constantly praying with outstretched hands, after which she received the Holy Sacraments. About nine o'clock she ordered to be put in a cistern, sprinkled with ashes on her head and died, having crossed herself, at the time when she usually fed the poor.

The Queen passed away on March 14. 968 and was buried next to her husband, King Henry I, in the Cathedral of St. Servatius in Quedlinburg.

Soon after her death, Queen Matilda was venerated by the people as a saint, and in iconography she was most often depicted as a woman holding a church and a monastery in her hands. In the 1858th century, the cathedral in Quedlinburg was captured by the Protestants, and the Catholics built a new church in honor of St. Matilda in 14. To this day, her holiday is solemnly celebrated on March XNUMX. She is the patroness of the wrongly accused, widows, large families, and parents whose children have died.

Many believe that, living in peace, one cannot follow the strict evangelical prescriptions, one cannot achieve perfection, let alone become a saint. This reasoning is absurd, because in any state, high or low, perfection can be achieved.

We have saints from the poorest huts and artisan workshops; there are saints who wore episcopal mitres, or royal and imperial crowns, such as Saint Matilda. There are holy warriors, such as St. Sebastian and the forty martyrs, and there are fragile women. So, in the history of the Christian Church, we meet saints of all states, ages and sexes. Nor do we think that the number of saints is limited to those whose names are known to us and whose public veneration is recommended by the holy Church; on the contrary, there are much more of them.
Because the purpose of every person is to reach Heaven, that is, to become close to the saints; if it were impossible for all men, God would not require it, for His goodness and wisdom would not allow it. The grace of God helps everyone, we just need to cooperate with it, use the means provided by the Holy Church, namely, we should all always remember the words of the Savior: "watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41).

Ivan Verstyanuk, Newssky columnist