Little is known about the early life of Severinus of Noricum other than he was born in the year 410 to high-profile Roman parents either in southern Italy or North Africa. At some point, he gave away his wealth and went into the Egyptian desert to live as a hermit, but he felt a call to evangelization and set off to Europe. He settled in Noricum, which is part of modern-day Austria on the Danube River. Though he was never ordained, he worked tirelessly as God’s servant: he preached, founded monasteries, miraculously cured the sick through prayer, cast out demons, helped refugees displaced by Atilla the Hun, and fed the poor and hungry.
CHALLENGE
St. Severinus of Noricum was known for his self-imposed mortifications like eating only one meal a day and going barefoot year-round. Today, prayerfully consider what voluntary mortification you can adopt as a routine sacrifice. Consider ideas like meat-free Fridays year-round, half-portion Saturdays, or media-free Mondays.
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