Miyazya 28 — May 06

Saint Helena, the Faithful Queen

Today we remember Saint Helena. She was an empress, a kind of queen, the mother of a great king named Constantine. But the very best thing about Helena was not her crown. The best thing was that she loved God with her whole heart.

Helena was kind to everyone. She used what she had to help people and to honor God. And she had a special wish deep in her heart. She wanted to find the true Cross, the cross where Jesus had shown His great love for us. Long ago it had been lost, hidden away under the ground for many, many years.

By now Helena was already an old woman. But she did not stay home. She traveled a long way to the holy city of Jerusalem to look for the Cross. That was a hard journey, especially for someone so old. With God's help, she found it at last. Oh, what joy there was that day!

Helena did not stop there. She used her riches to build many beautiful churches in the holy places where Jesus had lived and walked. Now people could come and pray in those special places. After a long and good life, when she was about eighty years old, Helena went home to God in peace. God keeps every loving heart safe with Him forever.

Even when she was old, Helena was not too tired to follow her heart all the way to Jerusalem, because she loved God.

She built beautiful churches in holy places, so that everyone could come and pray to God.