I have had some difficulty deciding on a Saint for today, so I went to a list that I keep while reading books of Saints. I write down names as I read stories that I find interesting - and then often wonder why when I go back to review them.
St. Athanasia was born in Greece about 790. She was the daughter of Christian nobles. She had a mystical experience of a star merging with her heart when she was a young girl. She desired a spiritual life, but an imperial edict required girls of marriageable age to marry soldiers. When she was 16, she married a young officer in obedience to her parents. Just sixteen days later her husband was killed in battle. Her second marriage was to a deeply religious man who wished to become a monk. With her blessing, he left to do so and left her free to convert her home into a convent. She served as abbess and was known for miraculously healing the sick and possessed. She was also an adviser to the Empress Theodora II.
St. Athanasia died of natural causes in 860 at approximately 70 years of age. Her feast day is April 18.
St. Athanasia, pray for us.
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