MEET MY COUSIN, SAINT CLOUD

Saint Cloud, cutting off his hair

Saint Cloud (originally Clodoald), is my 1st cousin, 42 times removed!  We share an ancestor.  His grandfather, Clovis I, King of the Franks and the originator of the Merovingian Dynasty, was the first to unite all the tribes of the Frankish empire under one king.  Clovis I was my 42nd great grandfather.

Clovis I, King of the Francs

Saint Cloud's Grandfather

My 42nd Great Grandfather

Many people alive today are descended from Clovis and related to Saint Cloud, but most are unaware of it.  Their genealogical links are lost in history.  I love knowing a little history and where I fit into the mix, mostly because it expands my notion of family and my feeling of relationship to mankind, which is physical as well as spiritual.

Statue of young Saint Cloud

Who took up religious life at

age 15

Knowing that the saints reside in heaven amongst the angels gives me great joy, since I know that I may speak to them and ask them for their prayers.  I look to them also for guidance by example in how to live the Christian life in this world, something which is becoming increasingly difficult to do.

Modern day painting of Saint Cloud

Saint Cloud narrowly escaped death by the murderous machinations of his uncle.  It is your typical story of assassination of one's rivals for control of territory or kingship.  Cloud's two younger brothers did not escape and were murdered.

Statue of Saint Cloud

Since his father had died when Cloud was only three years old, he had been raised in Paris with his two younger brothers by his grandmother, Saint Clotilde, my 42nd great grandmother, who I suspect is at least partially responsible for his tendency toward the religious life.

Statue of Saint Clotilde at Notre Dame

France

Wife of Clovis I and one of 

my ancestors

(grandmother of St. Cloud)

Like a great number of our saints, Cloud eschewed kingdoms, power and money for the sake of his soul and to live as a monastic.  In his case, he distributed what little inheritance was available to him at the time and put himself under the tutelage of the holy recluse Severinus, who clothed him in a monk's habit.

Saint Cloud, submitting himself to Saint Severinus

When Saint Cloud's fame grew to an intolerable point, after a miracle connected with some act of charity, he withdrew to Provence.  Even in Provence, however, he could not hide from petitioners seeking him out and from the many men who wished to follow in his footsteps.  Eventually, he returned to Paris, to the joy of many.

In this photo taken from Le Parc in St. Cloud, you can see

the Eiffel Tower clearly in the distance

In 551, the Bishop Eusebius ordained him as a priest, and he served in that capacity for some time, until the honor heaped upon him became too much and he retired, once again, this time to Nogent, where he built a monastery and where he died in the year 560.   Nogent has since been renamed "St. Cloud."

Bridge of St. Cloud

Old Watercolor

Saint-Cloud, France, is actually a suburb of Paris at this time and has a gorgeous park and a fair amount of quaint old streets and ruins of old buildings.

Beautiful cascade fountain in Le Parc de Saint-Cloud

I have tried to find out if there are any extant buildings associated with the monastery established by Saint Cloud but have been unable to locate them.  After 1500 years, it is no surprise.

Being disabled and mostly home-bound, I can only travel to these places of my ancestors in the pages of books or on the internet, but I am glad to have access to these, at least, and to be able to celebrate the feast day of my holy relatives in heaven.  Today, September 7th, is the feast day of cousin Saint Cloud.

Anyone interested in learning more about Saint Cloud, will find more at these links:

U CATHOLIC

CATHOLIC ONLINE

WIKIPEDIA

CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY

MAGNIFICAT - LIVES OF THE SAINTS


God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell
(c) 2015
All rights reserved.

WHAT IS THE THEME OF YOUR LIFE?

Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David.  The Virgin's name was Mary.  And he came to her and said, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!"  But she was greatly troubled at the saying and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.  And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus."  And Mary said to the angel, "How can this be since I have no husband?" And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore, the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God for with God, nothing is impossible."  Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word."

Mary's "fiat," her saying "let it be," saying "yes" to God is the theme of my life.  I am striving to learn how to always say "yes" to God, both in word and in deed.  Each day, I ask Mary to take my hand, show me how to say "yes" to God in all things, and lead me to Jesus.

Protestants often accuse Catholics of treating Mary as if she was a little God and, while this may be true of a few individuals who go overboard with it, the official Catholic position is that Mary, an unparalleled saint, is alive in heaven with the other saints, angels, cherubim, seraphim, and God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  

We venerate Mary as a holy person, "the Queen of Heaven," and we ask her to pray for us, just as we ask the other saints to pray for us, and just as we ask our friends to pray for us, except that Mary, who was conceived without sin and who is  the mother of God, the "Theotokos", is the Saint par excellence and especially has the ear of her son, who honors her as His mother.  We honor her likewise and seek her prayers.

Mary is, for me, the perfect example of the Holy person I wish to become.  She said "yes" to God. She held the Divine Child within her and birthed Him into the world.  I too wish to carry Jesus within me and give him to the world.  I wish to be as holy, pure and spotless as I would need to be in order to accomplish that feat.  She is my example, my guide and my Heavenly Mother.

Throughout the ages, painters have rendered their vision of the visitation of the Angel Gabriel to Mary.  For me, these paintings are a source of much joy and great objects upon which to meditate on Mary's "yes."  I offer them here as a gift to my readers in the hope that they will prove to be as inspiring to them as they are to me.

Hail Mary, full of grace!

The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women

And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

Pray for me, a sinner,

Now and at the hour of my death

Amen

Silver Rose Parnell

2015