CURRICULUM VITAE
He came from the Jagiellonian royal family in Poland. He found greater joy in being a child of God than in his noble lineage. In 1471, he was elected king by the Hungarian nobility, but he did not ascend the Hungarian throne because he refused the bloody struggle, without which it was impossible. He preferred a life of seclusion. He was distinguished by moral purity, Eucharistic and Marian reverence, and outstanding charity.
He died in Grodno, Lithuania. He was declared a saint in 1521.
CV FOR MEDITATION
HE LEARNED WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, WHAT HAS GREATER VALUE
He was born in Kraków on 5 October 1458 as the son of the Polish and Lithuanian king Casimir IV and Elizabeth of Habsburg. He was the third of 13 children. The queen considered it most important to lead children to piety and to adopt the correct order of values. Casimir was quiet, kind, and serious-minded from an early age. When he was less than 13 years old, his eldest brother, Vladislav, was unanimously elected king of Bohemia at the Kutná Hora Diet and accepted the election on 16 June. In the same year (1471), a conspiracy of disgruntled nobility against King Matthias Corvinus (Huňadov) ripened in Hungary, and the Polish king was asked to give young Casimir to the Hungarians as king. Casimir left Kraków on 2 October with his army and, after a month, stopped at Hátvár near Buda. Matthias withdrew his army and divided his opponents so that no one joined Casimir’s army after his entry into Hungary. Thirteen-year-old Casimir considered that too much blood could flow in a decisive battle, and therefore withdrew to Nitaskingra. He left the main garrison there and returned home with part of the army by the shortest route. He told his parents that he did not want any crown that would be stained with the blood of his subjects, and that he would rather strive for the crown of Christian virtues. His father was very dissatisfied that his plans in Hungary did not work out, and Casimir therefore withdrew to a distant castle, where he devoted himself to a pious life and considered his future. He despised luxury and began to live an ascetic life. He slept on the ground, wore rough penitential clothing, and fasted in various ways. Even before the church opened, he could sometimes be seen kneeling at the entrance. The more he prayed and attended church services, the more he desired to live only for Jesus and his mother, for whom he had great respect and love.
He also decided not to marry and took a vow of chastity. He had great respect for the Blessed Sacrament and loved to meditate on the Passion of Jesus. He considered chastity to be the most beautiful virtue and rejoiced in his vow. In vain did his father try to talk to him about the benefit he would bring to the royal family by marriage, and the doctors pretended to him that marriage would prolong his life.
Casimir was prudent in speech and avoided unnecessary words. He moved with dignity in noble society. With his wisdom, he helped his father rule and shared his regal concerns. He cared for his subjects and helped oppressed people achieve justice. To the objections that it was not fitting for a prince to so condescend to the common people, he had the answer that “Christ, the Son of God, the King of all kings, descended from the throne of heaven and became poor benefitss. By word and life, the Savior taught us that whoever serves the poor serves himself. ” Therefore, Casimir loved the poor as a father and was happy to serve them. With all his holiness, he was always a very humble penitent.
He was often ill and died of tuberculosis in Grodno, Lithuania, at the age of 25, during his last high fever.
After 120 years, his grave in Vilnius was opened, his body was intact, and on his chest lay a preserved and handwritten hymn to the Virgin Mary.
RESOLUTION, PRAYER
I will meditate on Casimir’s virtues and his example and pray a hymn of praise to the Virgin Mary.
Almighty God, to serve you is to reign; guide us, through the intercession of Saint Casimir, to serve you in holiness and righteousness all the days of our lives. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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