Litany in Honor of St. Scholastica

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Lord, have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us, Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us, Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Pray for us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.Holy Virgin of virgins, Pray for us.

Saint Scholastica, pray for us. (repeated after each invocation)
St. Scholastica, true sister of St. Benedict,
St. Scholastica, chosen by God from eternity,
St. Scholastica, predisposed to faith by the grace of Christ Our Lord,
St. Scholastica, consecrated to God from thine infancy,
St. Scholastica, always a Virgin incorrupt,
St. Scholastica, espoused to Jesus Christ,
St. Scholastica, scholar of the Holy Ghost,
St. Scholastica, mirror of innocence,
St. Scholastica, model of perfection,
St. Scholastica, pattern of virtues,
St. Scholastica, glory of the monastic life,
St. Scholastica, mother of numberless virgins,
St. Scholastica, imitator of the angelic life,
St. Scholastica, full of faith in God,
St. Scholastica, replenished with hope of the goods of Heaven,
St. Scholastica, ever burning with the love of thy Spouse,
St. Scholastica, resplendent with humility,
St. Scholastica, trusting as a daughter in the Lord,
St. Scholastica, intent on prayer,
St. Scholastica, quickly heard by the Lord,
St. Scholastica, famed for the praise of perseverance,
St. Scholastica, who didst enter the courts of Heaven in the form of a dove,
St. Scholastica, who dost now follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth,
St. Scholastica, who dost rejoice in the delights of thy Spouse forever,
St. Scholastica, adorned with a crown of glory,
St. Scholastica, advocate with God of those who invoke thee,
St. Scholastica, generous patron of those who imitate thee,
St. Scholastica, holy and innocent Virgin,

We sinners, Beseech thee, Saint Scholasica, to hear us.
That thou wouldst deign to help us by thy most holy
 and efficacious prayers to God,We beseech thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst deign to cherish and preserve,
by thy protection, the Benedictine Order and all who dwell therein, We beseech thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst deign to raise up, increase, and preserve our
devotion toward thee, We beseech thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst deign, by thy supplications, to moisten the dryness
of our hearts with the dew of heavenly grace,We beseech thee, hear us.
That by thy intercession thou mayest eternally unite us to Christ,
the Spouse of our souls, We beseech thee, hear us.
That thou mayest lead us to eternal joys, and to Jesus, We beseech thee, hear us.
That thou wouldst vouchsafe to hear us, We beseech thee, hear us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

            Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,

Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world,

Have mercy on us.

V. Pray for us, O holy Virgin Scholastica,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray.

O God, Who, to show the innocence of her life,
didst cause the soul of Thy blessed Virgin Scholastica
to ascend to Heaven in the form of a dove,
grant, we beseech Thee,
by her merits and prayers,
that we may live so innocently as to deserve to arrive at eternal joys, through Jesus Christ, Thine only-begotten Son Our Lord,
Who with Thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth,
God, forever and ever. R. Amen.

St. Scholastica

            St. Scholastica, the twin sister of St. Benedict, is said to have been consecrated to God from her childhood.  She was a nun, and possibly the leader of her community.[1]

            In his Dialogs, St. Gregory relates the last visit between St. Benedict and St. Scholastica.  It seems that every year they would meet at a house belonging to Benedict’s monastery, not far from the monastery gate.  Benedict would meet her there with a few of his monks, and they would spend the day in the praise of God, in holy conversation and share a meal together.

            As the day was coming to a close and Scholastica knew that Benedict would soon leave her to return to his monastery for the night, she beseeched him to stay with her.  St. Gregory relates the event, “When darkness was setting in, they took their meal together and continued their conversation at table until it was quite late.  Then the holy nun said to him, ‘Please do not leave me tonight, brother.  Let us keep on talking about the joys of heaven till morning.’  ‘What are you saying, sister?’ he replied.  ‘You know I cannot stay away from the monastery.’

            “The sky was so clear at the time, there was not a cloud in sight.  At her brother’s refusal Scholastica folded her hands on the table and rested her head upon them in earnest prayer.  When she looked u again, there was a sudden burst of lightning and thunder accompanied by such a downpour that Benedict and his companions were unable to set foot outside the door.[2]

            Indeed in this case, Scholasctica’s love triumphed over Benedict’s sense of duty.  Yes, Benedict was indignant and was not at all happy which he clearly expressed to his sister.  Scholastica’s reply, as recorded by Gregory, is priceless:  “When I appealed to you, you would not listen to me.  So I turned to my God and He heard my prayer.  Leave now if you can.  Leave me here and go back to your monastery.”[3]

            What he would not do of his own account, he did by the hand of God, and so they spent that last night together talking of the spiritual life.

            Three days later, Benedict would see the soul of Scholastica ascend to heaven in the form of a dove.  He had her body brought and buried in the tomb that he had prepared for himself.

            Her feast day is February 10.

   To read the section about St. Scholastica in Book II of the Dialogs of St. Gregory the Great; follow this link:  http://www.osb.org/gen/scholastica.html.

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[1] Life and Miracles of St. Benedict (Book Two of the Dialogues) by Pope St. Gregory the Great, translated by Odo J. Zimmermann, OSB and Benedict R. Avery OSB, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, pg. 69.

[2] Ibid, pg. 68.

[3] Ibid, pg. 68.