Beatrice of Nazareth

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Beatrice of Nazareth
Blessed Beatrix
Born c. 1200
Tienen
Died 1268
Honored in Roman Catholic Church
Feast July 29

Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth (1200 Tienen – 1268) was a Flemish Cistercian nun. She was the very first prose writer using an early Dutch language, a mystic, and the author of the notable Dutch prose dissertation known as the Seven Ways of Holy Love. She was also the first prioress of the Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in Nazareth near Lier in Brabant.

Evidence for her life comes from both her biography, published as Lilia Cistercii, the origins, lives and deeds of the holy virgins of Cîteaux, ed Chrysostomus Henriquez, (Douai 1633), and from her own work The Seven Ways of Holy Love (Seven Manieren van Heilige Minnen). The latter is a work of early mystic literature that describes seven stages of love, as it is purified and transformed, before it can return to God. It has a simple and balanced prose style.[1]

Life

She came of a wealthy family, but when her mother died she was sent to become a nun. At the age of seven she went to live with the Béguines. She afterwards joined the Cistercian nuns at Bloemendaal/Florival where she was sent to commence the new foundation at Nazareth, Belgium.

She practised very severe austerities, wearing a girdle of thorns and compressing her body with cords. In her visions, Jesus is said to have appeared to her and to have pierced her heart with a fiery dart. Her devotion to the Eucharist resulted in bleeding and physical collapse.[2]

She died in 1268 and was buried at the convent of Nazareth. After Nazareth was abandoned during a time of disturbance, the body of Beatrice was believed to have been translated by angels to Lier.

Veneration

She is known as Blessed within the Roman Catholic church. Her feast day is 29 July.

References

  1. ↑ Miejer (1992:16-17).
  2. ↑ Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). "The Beguines". Archived from the original on 5 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-10. 

Further Reading

Modern editions

  • The Life of Beatrice of Nazareth, 1200-1268, trans Roger DeGanck, (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1991)
  • Beatrice of Nazareth, Seven Ways of Holy Love, as translated by Wim van den Dungen, (1997, 1998, 2006)

Secondary sources

  • Kloppenborg, Ria; Hanegraaff, Wouter J. (1995). Female Stereotypes in Religious Traditions. Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 77–78. ISBN 90-04-10290-6. 
  • "Beatrice of Nazareth (1200-1268A.D.)". Retrieved 2006-04-10. 
  • Knuth, Elizabeth T. (1992). "The Beguines". Archived from the original on 5 April 2006. Retrieved 2006-04-10. 
  • Meijer, Reinder, Literature of the Low Countries: A Short History of Dutch Literature in the Netherlands and Belgium. (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1971), pp16-17
  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company. 

External links

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