-- Psalm 139:23-24 --
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
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David asked God to search for sin and point it out, even to the level of
testing his thoughts. This is exploratory surgery for sin. How are we to
recognize sin unless God points it out? Then, when God shows us, we can
repent and be forgiven. Make this verse your prayer. If you ask the Lord
to
search your heart and your thoughts and to reveal your sin, you will be
continuing on God's "way everlasting."
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March 18th - St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Cyril was born in Jerusalem in 315. From his youth he dedicated himself to
the study of the Holy Scriptures and acquired a great knowledge of Church
doctrine by reading the Fathers who came before him. When St. Maximus
died,
Cyril succeeded him in the See of Jerusalem in 349.
At the beginning of his episcopacy, he became famous for a dispute with
Acacius, Archbishop of Caesarea, an ardent follower of Arianism who
abhorred
Cyril and his orthodoxy. Because of the plots of Acacius, he was exiled
twice from Jerusalem. But after Julian the Apostate was raised to the
throne
of the Empire, a general amnesty was granted for Prelates who had been
exiled; therefore, he entered the city and re-assumed his see.
From there, he witnessed the miraculous obstacles send by God that made it
impossible to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem. Julian, who took the side
of
the Jews against the Catholics, tried to rebuild the Temple two times. The
first time the recently laid foundation was destroyed by an earthquake;
the
second time the groundwork was destroyed by flames of fire that burst
forth
from the ground. During these attempts of reconstruction, St. Cyril calmly
affirmed that the prophecy of Christ would remain true, and that not one
stone of the Temple would be left standing upon another.
He was exiled for a third time when Emperor Valens, a follower of
Arianism,
decreed the expulsion of all Prelates recalled by Julian. Under
Theodosius,
he returned from this exile to find his flock torn by heresies and
schisms.
He made great efforts to achieve doctrinal unity and peace.
In 381 he took part in the Council of Constantinople and signed the
condemnation of semi-Arianism. He died in 386. His great work, The
Catecheses, or Catechetical Lectures, is turned toward the preparation of
catechumens and neophytes.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
Parallel to Bishops that were founder of nations, like St. Patrick, whose
life we have already commented on [click here], there were also Bishops
whom
we can call columns of the Church. They existed primarily in the East, and
St. Cyril of Jerusalem was one of them.
When the Church left the Catacombs, many of her members were contaminated
by
a spirit of tepidness and spiritual decadence that propitiated the
infiltration of paganism into Catholic milieus. It was a subtle
penetration
that stimulated them to accept diverse heresies. It was an attempt of the
Devil to shake the easy yoke of Our Lord placed by Constantine over the
entire Empire.
In the West heresies popped up, one more harmful than the other, until the
fall of the Roman Empire. In the East those heresies would continue. Such
heresies, however, gave rise to numerous heroic and saintly Bishops who
fought like lions against them. These heroes often ended by being
defeated,
but they filled the Church with splendor. They wrote works; they took
positions that later would be admired and serve as a base to build the
magnificent edifice of the Middle Ages.
Considering the example of St. Cyril of Jerusalem and so many other
Saints,
we understand what the fight for the Church should be. One must fight
expending all his strength and resources. At times, he will die in the
battle without fully realizing the effect of his effort, for often only
the
immediate defeat is apparent. But afterwards, that effort is remembered
and
treasured by others as a precious legacy, and it gives great fruits.
The Fathers and the Doctors of the Church - St. Cyril is one of them -
played an enormous role in setting the foundations for Scholasticism and
establi****ng the Catholic State in the Middle Ages. They were received
with
ingratitude by their contem****aries, but they formed the basis for the
great
triumph of Catholic Civilization.
From such examples, we can understand that we should fight for the cause
of
the Church by assuming a similar state of spirit that can appear
paradoxical:
First, we must fight with the certainty that we are defeating the
Revolution, which will fall under the blows we are giving it. We feel an
appeal of Divine Providence calling us to do this and a promise that Our
Lady wants to use us to accomplish this work.
Second, we must have such a great dedication to this fight that, even if
we
were to die without having defeated the Revolution and seeing the Reign of
Mary, we would close our eyes in peace knowing that our effort will have
an
effect.
Third, even if this effort were not to have any effect in the future and
would never be known to future generations, even if it would be lost in
anonymity, we should be at peace because we will know that in the Book of
the Life, our fight was written for the Day of the Judgment. It will be
recognized that at the moment in History when Our Lady was prisoner there
were some few who came to fight for her. In a world where truth was no
longer welcome, there were some who proclaimed it. In this epoch of
darkness, there were some who glorified God.
Therefore, our fight - which is motivated by these three certainties - is
always a work that gives fruit. And if it is an incessant, indomitable
fight
in which we use every legitimate means, it will be an invincible one.
Let us pray to the great St. Cyril of Jerusalem to obtain for us the
spirit
of Faith he showed and left as an example so that we might destroy the
Revolution in our days.
See Images at:
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j171sd_CyrilJerusalem_3-18.shtml
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"Whoever wishes to make progress in perfection should use particular
diligence in not allowing himself to be led away by his passions, which
destroy with one hand the spiritual edifice which is rising by the labors
of
the other. But to succeed well in this, resistance should be begun while
the
passions are yet weak; for after they are thoroughly rooted and grown up,
there is scarcely any remedy"
-St. Vincent de Paul
St. Dorotheus tells us of an old monk, who, walking with one of his
disciples in a grove of cypresses, commanded him to pull some of them up,
pointing out to him first, one which was but just beginning to sprout from
the ground; after that, another, which had grown into a sapling; and
finally, one that was a full-grown tree. The disciple set himself to the
work and tore up the first with one hand and with all possible ease; the
second also with one hand, but with some difficulty; to pull up the third
he
was obliged to try several times, with both hands and all his strength.
But
when he arrived at the fourth, he encountered the real difficulty; and
though he tried again and again, with all his force, and in every way that
his ingenuity could suggest, he was not able to stir it in the least from
the spot. Then the aged Saint said: "Now, my son, it is the same as this
with our passions. While they are still small, with a little vigilance and
mortification one can easily repress and disable them; but, if we let them
take root in our souls, there is no human force sufficient to conquer
them;
it requires the omnipotent hand of God. Therefore, my son, if you wish to
acquire virtue, watch the first irregular movements of your soul, and
study
to repress them promptly, by contrary acts, at their very birth. Upon
this,
everything depends."
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". March - Mortification)
Bible Quote:
17. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear
the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican. 18. Amen I say
to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in
heaven;
and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.
(Matthew 18:17-18)
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Lead Gently Lord, And Slow
By Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906)
Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For oh, my steps are weak,
And ever as I go,
Some soothing sentence speak;
That I may turn my face
Through doubt's obscurity
Toward thine abiding-place,
E'en tho' I cannot see.
For lo, the way is dark;
Through mist and cloud I grope,
Save for that fitful spark,
The little flame of hope.
Lead gently, Lord, and slow,
For fear that I may fall;
I know not where to go
Unless I hear thy call.
My fainting soul doth yearn
For thy green hills afar;
So let thy mercy burn--
My greater, guiding star!
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