July 4
Catherine Jarrige (1836)
Dominican laywoman
Born in Doumis, France, she was the youngest of seven children.
Biography
After a youth dedicated to lace crafts at home, without knowing how to speak except in “patois”, she lived in Mauriac for sixty years, dedicated to helping the poor, sick, orphans and imprisoned and teaching catechism to children. During the French Revolution, he helped many priests, persecuted for their fidelity to Rome, giving them refuge in his house and providing them with what they needed. In 1794 she was tried and taken to prison, from where she was later released: but Catherine did not fear death and said that under the guillotine she would have danced the “carmagnole”. She was admitted to the third Dominican order, she imitated Saint Catherine of Siena, especially in her intense love for the Eucharist, in the defense of her persecuted ministers, her fearlessness in confessing her faith and her love for the Church. On July 4, 1836 she fell asleep in the Lord, and was buried in the main church of Mauriac. On November 24, 1996 she was beatified by John Paul II.
Practical advice
Whenever you have the opportunity, prudently fulfill a responsibility that others have entrusted to you and end with a brief thanksgiving.