This design, donated to the monastery by a friend, is an iconographic drawing of St. Helena, mother of St. Constantine the great, born c. 255, died c. 330.
Although it is not known when Helena became a Christian, her husband repudiated her for political reasons. After her son became emperor, however, he treated his mother with great honor. Because of this, she was able to use her influence to build up the Church.
It was fashionable for scholars to scoff at her skills of archaeology, but modern excavations and scholarship have vindicated most of her work. She listened to the oral histories of the Palestinian Christians, and with their aid, was able to identify many of the sites of the Lord's life, ministry, death and resurrection. Without her devotion, many of these sites would have been lost during the years of Moslem conquest.
Knowing how carefully Christians care for their holy places and for their dead, it seems rather inconceivable that the Christians of Palestine would have forgotten the sites so intimately associated with the Man they knew to be also their Savior and their God!
St. Helena is a powerful intercessor before the Lord, and in these days, we do well to call on her to once more use her influence on behalf of the Church in the Holy Land.
The saying on the reverse of her card reads: "As you stand before God, divinely blessed one, show us the precious Cross, the weapon of salvation, and the hope of Christians."
Available as Note Folders, with saying on the inside of the front cover, in dozens and half-dozens
4 1/4" X 5 1/2"
or as Bookmarks with the saying on the reverse.
3 1/8" X 4 1/8"
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