St. Balthild in Chronicle of St. Denis, British Library public domain
Two grave sins that have plagued America are slavery/racism and abortion/infanticide. But these sins are not unique to America or to our time. Nonetheless, Christianity has sought to eliminate both these plagues on humanity. Today's saint is one who dedicated her power to do so!
St. Balthild (or Bathildis) was a slave herself, an Anglo-Saxon from Britain sold to a court official of the the Frankish king, Clovis II, in the seventh century. Clovis was impressed by her intelligence and skills and married her. She beame famous for her service to others and her donations. Two abbeys were founded due to her gifts. She bore Clovis three sons, all of whom succeeded him as kings. When Clovis died, she became queen regent and guided the affairs of state. Here is where her faith became critical in helping her people come closer to God.
According to her biography: "She ... ordained that yet another evil custom should cease, namely, that many people determined to kill their children rather than nurture them, for they feared to incur the public [taxes] that were heaped upon them by custom...." Furthermore, "she prohibited the sale of captive Christian folk to outsiders and gave orders through all the lands that no one was to sell captive Christians within the borders of the Frankish realm. What is more, she ordered that many captives should be ransomed, paying the price herself."
Some might say, "Not enough!" But the point is she did what she could do! Do we? Do we continue to promote life for the unborn? Do we work to eliminate racism in our society? These are NOT contradictory efforts! God has given us dignity by virtue of creating us in his image and likeness. That dignity belongs to all of us, no matter what our status, location, abilities, or development! St. Balthild, pray for us!
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