Episode Details

A meditation for the Feast of St. Radegund of Poitiers, Queen of the Franks, from Dom Guéranger’s “The Liturgical Year”, Volume IV of the Time after Pentecost.Saint Radegund (c. 520–587) was a sixth-century Frankish queen who became renowned for her holiness, charity, and renunciation of worldly power. Born to a royal family in Thuringia, she was taken captive by the Frankish king Clotaire I, whom she was compelled to marry. After Clotaire murdered her brother, Radegund courageously withdrew from the royal court and devoted herself entirely to Christ, eventually obtaining his permission to enter the religious life. She founded the monastery of the Holy Cross at Poitiers, where she lived a life of prayer, fasting, penance, and extraordinary care for the poor and sick. She also obtained from the Byzantine Emperor a relic of the True Cross, which became a treasured possession of her monastery. Radegund died in 587 and was buried at Poitiers, where her tomb became a place of pilgrimage. She is honored as a model of Christian queenship transformed into humble service of God and the poor.Please note that Servant of God Dom Prosper Guéranger went to his eternal reward in 1875; at this point, Volumes I-IX (Advent to Pentecost Saturday) had been completed, but Volumes X-XV (Trinity Sunday to Advent) had not yet been completed. Thus, the remaining readings of the Liturgical Year, from Trinity Sunday until Advent, were not directly authored by Dom Prosper, but were the work of his disciple Dom Lucien Fromage. Dom Prosper Guéranger's The Liturgical Year, a monumental fifteen-volume work, offers a comprehensive exploration of the Catholic Church’s liturgical calendar, guiding readers through the spiritual and historical richness of the Church’s worship. Written in the 19th century, the series provides daily meditations, historical context, and liturgical texts for the Mass and Divine Office, covering the entire cycle of seasons—Advent, Christmas, Lent, Passiontide, Easter, and the Time after Pentecost—as well as feast days of saints. Guéranger’s work, rooted in a deep contemplative spirit, aims to immerse the faithful in the Church’s prayerful life, emphasizing the unity of faith through the axiom lex orandi, lex credendi ("the law of prayer is the law of belief"), and remains a cherished resource for Catholics seeking to deepen their spiritual lives. Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805–1875) was a French Benedictine monk, liturgical scholar, and founder of the Solesmes Abbey, renowned for his pivotal role in reviving the Benedictine Order in France and restoring the Roman liturgy after the disruptions of the French Revolution. Born in Sablé-sur-Sarthe, he entered the priesthood in 1827 and, inspired by a vision to restore monastic life, reestablished the Benedictine community at Solesmes in 1833, becoming its first abbot. A staunch defender of ultramontanism and traditional Catholic worship, he also championed the revival of Gregorian chant, significantly influencing the liturgical renewal movement.Link to the Dom Guéranger's Liturgical Year playlist (updated daily): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKdyYnV_bkh7rH6piW0ShgsdcefFoOvJIf you would like to support this channel:  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/InprincipioPodcast PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=U5EZ9X2CE2V7W Venmo: https://venmo.com/u/InPrincipioPodcast Zelle: inprincipiopodcast@gmail.com; or search for Zelle tag “inprincipiopodcast”  Checks may be written out to ‘InPrincipio Podcast’ and mailed to: P.O. Box 117 Cedar Ridge, CA 95924Sincere thanks to all who are able to contribute, by your prayers, your patronage, or otherwise. Your support sustains this work and helps make these readings available to others.Artwork: “Sainte Radegonde de Poitiers" by Ingres, Jean-Auguste-Dominique, 1844Music: Ave Maria (Gregorian chant)Performed by Schola Gregoriana, Pallottine Seminary