It's great

It's great

It's great when others think highly of you. And yet your value does not
depend on what others think.

It's great when things are going your way. And yet true fulfillment in
life
does not depend on everything always being perfect.

It's great when fortune smiles on you. And yet it is in the difficult,
challenging times that you grow stronger and gain valuable wisdom.

It's great when you get something right on the first attempt. And yet
there
is much to be learned from mistakes and disappointments as well.

It's great to spend some time relaxing. And yet if that's all you ever do,
life can become unbearably empty.

Whatever life may send your way, there's a way for you to make the most of
it. In every up and every down, you have the golden op****tunity to fully
live.

-- Ralph Marston


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May 21st - St. Serapion the Sindonite (AC)

Born in Egypt; died c. 356. Serapion's moniker, the Sindonite, comes from
garment of coarse linen which he always wore. Like other desert monks, he
led a
life of extreme austerity. Though he traveled into several countries, he
always
lived in the same poverty, mortification, and recollection.
In one town, recognizing the spiritual blindness of comedian, he sold
himself to
the idolater for a small sum. His only sustenance in this servitude was
bread
and water. He accomplished every duty belonging to his servitude with the
utmost
diligence and fidelity, joining with his labor prayer. Having converted
his
master and the whole family to the faith, and induced him to quit the
stage,
Serapion was freed. His former master tried to return the sum he had paid,
but
Serapion refused it, even to distribute to the poor.

Soon after this Serapion sold himself a second time, to relieve a
distressed
widow. Having spent some time with his new master, in recompense of signal
spiritual services, he was given his liberty, a cloak, a tunic, and a book
of
the Gospels.

He was scarcely out the door when he met a poor man to whom he gave his
cloak.
Shortly thereafter he gave his tunic to a man ****vering in the cold. Thus
he was
again reduced to his single linen garment. A stranger asked who had
stripped him
and left him ****d. Showing the man his book of the Gospels, he said:
"This it
is that hath stripped me." Not long after, he sold the book itself to
relieve
someone in extreme distress.

When an old acquaintance asked what had happened to the book, Serapion
replied:
"Could you believe it? This gospel seemed continually to cry to me: 'Go,
sell
all thou hast, and give it to the poor.' Wherefore I have also sold it and
given
the price to the indigent members of Christ." Having nothing left but his
own
person, he sold himself again on several other occasions, when the
cor****al or
spiritual necessities of his neighbor called for relief. Once he became
slave to
a certain Manichee at Lacedaemon whom he served for two years. Again he
brought
the man and his whole family over to the true faith.

Saint Serapion went from Lacedaemon to Rome to study the most perfect
models of
virtue, but returned to Egypt where he died before Palladius visited in
388.
Upon reading the story of Serapion, Saint John the Almsgiver called for
his
steward, and, weeping, said: "Can we flatter ourselves that we do anything
great
because we give our estates to the poor? Here is a man who could find
means to
give himself to them, and so many times over" (Benedictines, Husenbeth


Saint Quote:
Complain as little as possible of your wrongs, for, as a general rule, you
may
be sure that complaining is sin: ... because self-love always magnifies
our
injuries.
-François de Sales

Bible Quote:
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me that I am meek and humble of
heart; and
you will find rest for your souls. St. Matthew 11:29



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PRAYER FOR THE CONVERSION OF SINNERS

God of great mercy, Who deigned to send us Your only-begotten
Son as the greatest proof of Your fathomless love and mercy,
You do not reject sinners; but in Your boundless mercy You
have opened for them also Your treasures, treasures, from
which they draw abundantly, not only justification, but also
all the sanctity that a soul can attain. Father of great mercy,
I desire that hearts turn with confidence to Your infinite mercy.
No one will be justified before You is he is not accompanied by
Your unfathomable mercy. When You reveal the mystery of
Your mercy to us, there will not be enough of Eternity to
render You thanksgiving.

O Jesus, how sorry I am for poor sinners. Jesus, grant them
contrition and repentance. Remember Your Sorrowful Passion.
Jesus, give me the souls of sinners; let Your mercy rest on them.
Take everything away from me, but give me souls.
Let the shell of my body conceal my offering, for Your
Most Sacred Heart is hidden in a Host, a living sacrifice.
Transform me into a sacrifice for sinners, pleasing to You.
 I desire to atone each moment for poor sinners.
O my Creator and Father of great mercy, I trust in You,
for You are Goodness Itself.


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GRACES

All around are fruits of glory,
Sweet and ripened on the vine;
Pluck these seeds of untold story,
Eat of fruits that are divine!