Praxedes Fernandez and the Sanctification of Our Daily Duties
by Emily Gossard, O.P.
"The more we suffer with patience and love in this world, the greater will our glory be in the next." — Praxedes Fernandez
Praxedes Fernandez (1886 - 1936) was a 20th century Spanish wife, mother, widow, and Lay Dominican whose cause for beatification is open.
Praxedes lived in the valley of Mieres, the heart of the coal mining industry in Spain. She was born into a Catholic family in 1886 and had an ideal example of marriage from her parents. Praxedes herself was very faithful and pious, and she had a generous heart for the poor.
Although Praxades expressed an attraction to the religious life, it was her father's desire for her to marry, and Praxades intended to obey her father in this matter. Her father called her “a precious jewel” and he wanted to ensure that she was taken care of for the rest of her life. Even though Praxedes was very careful about her choice of future husband (and went through many suitors whom she declined) her family was still not satisfied with the man she chose. He was an Asturian miner named Gabriel, and his social status was much lower than her own family. Through much hard work, Praxedes' family had become rich, but now she was marrying a simple laborer who barely provided enough to eat. This loss of social standing would go on to play an important role for the rest of her life. Although Gabriel had a terrible temper, Praxedes loved him very much. She was 28-years-old when they entered into the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
Praxedes played the guitar.
As a new wife, Praxades never wavered in her resolve to fulfill her duties at home and to her husband. Praxedes knew that her sanctification would be found in her attentiveness to these daily duties; she saw God's will in the situations of her ordinary life and she joyfully clung to this as her path to holiness. She was determined to carry all the crosses of her life with fortitude, perfectly resigned to God's will.
She lovingly and diligently attended to her home, took care of her husband, cared for her children, and carried out her pious practices. Far from distracting her from her religious practices, her married state helped her comply with them even better. She could often be seen sewing and ironing on the porch, which was all windows. Since she sewed all the clothes for her family, she was always very busy. Her cousin said of her, "I always had the impression that Praxedes was interiorly praying as she sewed."
Praxedes had no time for visiting neighbors. She left her home only for necessities. A neighbor said of her, "Do you see that woman? She leaves her home only to go to church and get water from the spigot. She never wastes time visiting or talking to anyone." As directed by the Gospel, Praxedes had left her father and mother to become one with her husband.
Praxedes and Gabriel were both very hospitable and friendly people. The door to their home was always open to friends and family. Many people testified that Praxedes was always recollected in the midst of whatever she was doing -- everywhere and in all circumstances, she gave the impression that she lived in the "cell of her heart," (like St. Catherine of Siena) without ever neglecting her household duties.
Although Praxedes and Gabriel had a relatively happy marriage, their happiness was not destined to last. Tragedy would soon strike.
After just six years of marriage, Gabriel was tragically killed in a train accident. Praxedes was a widow with four young boys and no money to speak of. Her oldest son was five and her youngest was only a few days old when she became a destitute widow.
After a visit to give her sympathies, a relative said of Praxedes: "I never saw such conformity to God's will as hers! What patience! I have never seen anyone like her." But in the midst of her complete resignation to the will of God, there was one thing that caused her pain and suffering: her husband had died without a priest and had not had time to prepare for his death. She was worried about the state of his soul and his eternal destiny.
As for her boys, she said she had no worries because she had given them over to the Blessed Mother. In the midst of all her sorrow, she said she enjoyed great peace because her whole family was under the protection of the Blessed Mother, and she knew that she would always care for them.
Now that she was a poor widow, she went to live with her mother and sister, Florentina. By this time, Praxedes father had died.
Although her mother was kind to her, Florentina was not. Because of her lower social status, Florentina treated Praxedes as a slave. Praxedes became the housekeeper and the cook, and so became a true Cinderella in her mother’s home. She did all the cooking and cleaning for the whole household and waited on her mother and sister like a servant. But Praxedes did not resent the condition of servant because it made her feel closer to Mary, "the handmaid of the Lord."
Despite all her work and service, she always found time for her private devotions. Her cousin relates: "She used to get up very early to begin her housework. If we ever invited her to the theater she excused herself, saying her duties don't allow her the time. She would even counsel me to stay home more so that I could be more attentive to my husband and children."
It was common knowledge among her family and neighbors that she devoted herself admirably to her pious devotions without ever neglecting her daily duties. Flortentina, who lived with her during her whole widowhood, says: "Praxedes loved to pray and took plenty of time for that without every neglecting her duty. She slept very little and was up very early." Praxedes once advised a cousin: "The time that it takes to assist at Mass, far from being an impediment, serves to help you do [your duties] even better." She once told her son Enrique, "Ever since I heard a sermon about St. Zita, that she went about her domestic duties thinking of God, I do the same."
After becoming acquainted with Bishop Malaga, Praxedes love of the Eucharist grew even deeper. Bishop Malaga was known as the "Bishop of the Tabernacle" because he encouraged and inspired his flock to have a deeper love for Jesus hidden in the Tabernacle. During this time in her life, Mass and Communion became indispensable for Praxedes; neither snow, rain, nor sickness could keep her from going to receive the Eucharist. Starting in 1931, she began to assist at three Masses daily. She said the first one was offered in preparation for Holy Communion; in the second she received Our Lord; and in the third she offered thanksgiving. Praxedes wished ardently for the salvation of all her family and of all mankind, and she placed all her confidence in prayer and especially in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. During the revolution in Spain, there was a time during which she was unable to receive Holy Communion, and Praxedes said those days without the Eucharist were like days without the sun.
In addition to these three Masses, she would also visit the Blessed Sacrament later in the day. It was the Bishop who opened her eyes to how many people had little or no devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and she desired greatly to make reparation for all the people who were forgetful of Jesus. Her heart ached at the thought that anyone would receive Jesus in a state of mortal sin.
Those who saw Praxedes’ devotion and reverence at Mass were inspired to greater piety. The Rosary was a mainstay through-out her entire life. Her charity toward the poor and sick had no limited, and yet she managed to tend to the sick and poor without ever neglecting her duties as mother and housekeeper, nor as the only provider for the education of her sons. She was not only generous in her prayers, but also practiced extraordinary penances. Praxedes believed that voluntary suffering, accepted and joined to the Passion of Our Lord, contributes to the salvation of the world. By Suffering with Jesus, we atone for our sins and the sins of others. "It is important to make many, many sacrifices," she once said. Her fervent dream was to go to heaven with all her sons.
This is how Praxedes life passed: always with prayer, penance, untiring work, giving material and spiritual help to the poor, sick, and dying, and concern for her sons' futures.
Although there is so much more that could be said of this remarkable woman and her admirable faith, I wanted only to briefly highlight how great was her fidelity to her daily duties, and how she accepted and resigned herself to God’s will in all things.
A paperback edition of her biography can be found on Amazon, or an ebook can be purchased from TAN Books:
