Opening Prayer

Day Three:
A Life of Sacrifice

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

By the time Blessed Emperor Karl was exiled to the island of Madeira his life was already one of making sacrifices for others.

He lost his homeland, empire and throne. His own people confiscated his private money and possessions. Penniless, friendless, and unable to earn a living, he had a wife and seven children, with another one on the way, to support. He was forced to live under foreign control on a far away island in a disagreeably damp house that was not inhabitable. Yet, despite all of these trials he was heroically ready to make sacrifices for others.

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