King Louis 1X, a Royal father‏

Dearest Ones,

When I think of kings, I imagine royal robes, servants waiting onthem hand and foot and great prestige. But King Louis 1X, ruler of France in the 13th century, had none of that. He was an unusual ruler. With him, God came first and then came his family, a wife and 11 children. Many places are named after him, both in France and here in the US. St. Louis, MO is the largest city named after him. Because of his wisdom and ability to lead others with honesty and fairness, other rulers came to him for advice. His portrait hangs both in the US House of Representatives and in the US Supreme Court. He lived a remarkable personal life of holiness, attended 2 Masses daily (there was a chapel in the palace) and went to confession every week. He personally helped serve several hundred poor people every day in the palace. He realized his wealth was not his own, but came from God to be used to help others. One day as he was attending Mass, a servant came running into the chapel and told him a very important person was there to see him. He told the servant to tell the person he was already with a very important person and could not be disturbed. He stayed in the chapel until Mass was finished. He often wore his kingly clothes under ordinary clothes of the poor. He was mistaken for an ordinary poor workman many times but he didn't identify himself.He made sure he prayed with his 11 children each evening and helped each with their lessons. His night prayers would be so long, the servants grew weary of waiting up for him. He is a great saint for families, especially fathers. At one time, he was asked if he would rather have leprosy or commit a serious sin. He immediately said he would rather have leprosy because when he died the leprosy would disappear, but the effects of serious sin would be with him for all eternity. King Louis shows us even kings must obey God. He teaches us we are not here to lead a selfish existence. We are here to help the future generation, which is really our own future as well because they will be taking care of us. Parents are to train, to guide and direct our children; to instill in them good conduct and character. One of the great sorrows of parents and grandparents is children who have left the faith, no longer go to Church, no longer pray, some have abandoned their faith altogether, causing much anguish for parents in this world. Parents, please don't blame yourselves, children have a free will - there's a lot of peer pressure. The faults of children are not always the fault of parents. Our Lord, for some reason, allows children to break the hearts of their parents. It's mysterious why He permits such things to happen. We must remember God brings good from evil. The Lord expects you parents to continue to love your children and pray and never give up. God is not ignorant of your sorrow.Always have hope in the Lord. Never give up praying because God's love and mercy are unending.

Here are a few words of wisdom from King Louis I'd like to share:
* You can't do much about your ancestors but you can influence your descendants enormously.
* It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.
* The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
* Only when we have knelt before God - can we stand before men.
* Courage is contagious; when a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.

Much love and prayers,
Sister Francelle