Born in modern-day Germany in 1347, Dorothea of Montau’s father was a wealthy farmer from Holland, and from the age of seven, she lived a secret life of intense spirituality. At 16 she was forced to marry a wealthy 40-year-old swordsmith with a bad temper. She began having mystical experiences that kept her from doing housework, so her husband would beat her for being a poor wife. She continued to pray for him and eventually transformed him. Together the two suffered through the loss of eight of nine children, a fall into poverty, a house fire, the plague, and being robbed of everything. They took several pilgrimages together, and then after 27 years of marriage, she was widowed. She cloistered herself in a cell at a cathedral and died there at the age of 47.
CHALLENGE
The spiritual director of St. Dorothea of Montau declared that her mystical experiences were from the Lord and not the devil, and in one of these experiences during the early years of her marriage she was told by the Lord that she was being asked to be a “martyr for the indissolubility of marriage”. Today think about someone you know in a troubled marriage, and pray a Rosary for them.
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Being a good husband and father starts when a man honors his wife.
In Kevin Lowry’s new delightful, easy-to-read book Honor Thy Wife, he shares a month’s-worth of stories and the lessons he learned over 35+ years of marriage.
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And Michael Hernon, President and co-founder of Messy Family Project enthused, “All married men need this book—their wives will be grateful!”
