- Luke 12:15 -
Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds
of
greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
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Jesus says that the good life has nothing to do with being wealthy, so be
on
guard against greed (desire for what we don't have). This is the exact
opposite of what society usually says. Advertisers spend millions of
dollars
to entice us to think that if we buy more and more of their products, we
will be happier, more fulfilled, more comfortable. How do you respond to
the
constant pressure to buy? Learn to tune out expensive enticements and
concentrate instead on the truly good life - living in a relation****p with
God and being holy in who you are and what you do.
<<>><<>><<>>
July 23rd - St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, Bishop, Martyr
(d. 79)
When Saint Peter, setting out for Rome, left Antioch after seven years as
its spiritual Head, he took with him several of the faithful of that city,
among them Apollinaris, a disciple of Jesus Christ. He consecrated him
bishop a few years later and sent him to Ravenna as its first bishop.
His first miracle was on behalf of the blind son of a soldier who gave him
hospitality when he first arrived in the city of Ravenna. When the apostle
told him of the God he had come to preach and invited him to abandon the
cult of idols, the soldier replied: "Stranger, if the God you preach is as
powerful as you say, beg Him to give sight to my son, and I will believe
in
Him." The Saint had the child brought and made the sign of the cross on
his
eyes as he prayed. The miracle was instantaneous, to the great amazement
of
all, and news of it spread rapidly. A day or so later, a military tribune
sent for him to cure his wife from a long illness, which again he did. The
house of the tribune became a center of apostolic action, and several
persons sent their children to the Saint to instruct them there. Little by
little a flouri****ng Christian assembly was formed, and priests and
deacons
were ordained. The Saint lived in community with the two priests and two
deacons.
The idolatrous priests aroused the people against him, as we see the
enemies
of Saint Paul do in the Acts of the Apostles. He was left half-dead on the
seashore, after being severely beaten, but was cared for by the Christians
and recovered rapidly. A young girl whom he cured after having her father
promise to allow her full liberty to follow Christ, consecrated her
virginity to God. It was after this that, in the time of Vespasian, he was
arrested and interrogated and again flogged, stretched on the rack and
plunged into boiling oil. Alive still, he was exiled to Illyria, east of
the
Adriatic Sea.
He remained three years in that country, having survived a ****pwreck with
only a few persons whom he converted. Then he evangelized the various
districts, with the aid of his converts. When an idol ceased to speak
during
his sojourn in one of these regions, the pagans again beat him and threw
him
and his companions on a ****p which took them back to Italy. Soon
imprisoned,
he escaped but was seized again and for the last time subjected to a
flogging. He died on July 23rd of the year 79. His body lay first at
Classis, four miles from Ravenna, and a church was built over his tomb;
later the relics were returned to Ravenna. Pope Honorius had a church
built
to honor the name of Apollinaris in Rome, about the year 630. From the
beginning the Church has held his memory in high veneration.
Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin
(Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 8.
Saint Quote:
Many things seem good and yet are not, because they be not done with a
good
mind and intention; and therefore our Saviour saith in the Gospel, "If thy
eye has naught, all thy body shall be dark." For when the intention is
wicked, all the work that follows is naught, although it seemed to be
never
so good.
-St. Gregory the Great
Bible Quote:
7 Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless
into
thy house: when thou shalt see one ****d, cover him, and despise not thy
own
flesh. 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health
shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the
glory of the Lord shall gather thee up. (Isaias 58:7-8)
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SPIRITUAL CHILDHOOD
What can I do but just love You
For my riches are in my heart;
They are not locked or chained against stealing.
They're always free to depart.
I offer this gift to You, Jesus,
Accept it with Your blessed joy.
I'm Yours to hold there in Your Kingdom;
Just treat me as Your little toy!
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