- Colossians 3:5-10 -
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:
***ual
immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Because
of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in
the
life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as
these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
Do not
lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its
practices and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image
of
its Creator.
_____________________________________________________________________
Every Christian is in a continuing education program. The more we know
Christ
and his work, the more we are being changed to be like him. Because this
process
if lifelong, we must never stop learning and obeying. There is no
justification
for drifting along, but there is an incentive to find the rich treasures
of
growing in him. It takes practice, ongoing review, patience and
concentration to
keep in line with his will.
<<>><<>><<>>
July 8th - St. Withburga
(Also known as Withburge, Witburh)
Died March 17, c. 743; other feasts are celebrated on April 18 at
Cambridge and
on March 17; today's feast commemorates her translation. She was the
youngest
daughter of King Anna of the East Angles. Like her holy sisters, she
devoted
herself to the divine service, and led an austere life in solitude for
several
years at Holkham, near the seacoast in Norfolk, where a church dedicated
to her
was afterwards built. After the death of her father she changed her abode
to
East Dereham, now a market town in Norfolk, but then an obscure place of
retirement.
Withburga assembled there some devout maidens, and laid the foundation of
a
church and convent, but did not live to finish the buildings. Her body was
interred in the churchyard at East Dereham and 50 years later was found
incorrupt and translated into the church. In 974, with soldiers and under
the
cover of night but with the blessing of King Edgar and Saint Ethelwold,
Abbot
Brithnoth of Ely removed it to Ely. They moved the body by wagon, drove 20
miles to Brandun River, and continued their journey by boat-much to the
dismay
of the men of Dereham who had pursued them by land and could only watch
helplessly as their treasure drifted away. At Ely Brithnoth deposited
Withburga's relics near the bodies of her two sisters.
In 1102, Withburga's relics were moved into a new part of the church. In
1106,
the remains of four saints were translated into the new church and laid
near the
high altar. The bodies of Saints ***burga and Ermenilda were reduced to
dust,
except the bones. That of Saint Etheldreda was entire, and that of Saint
Withburga was not only sound but also fresh, and the limbs flexible. This
is
related by Thomas, monk of Ely, in his history of Ely, which he wrote the
following year.
He also tells us that in the place where Saint Withburga was first buried,
in
the churchyard at Dereham, a spring of clear water gushed forth when her
body
was first exhumed: it is to this day called Saint Withburga's well. The
church
at Holkham is dedicated to her honor (Benedictines, Farmer, Walsh).
In art, Saint Withburga is ****trayed as an abbess with two hinds at her
feet
because William of Malmesbury described her as being provided milk in her
solitude by a doe. She may be holding a church inscribed Ecclia de
Estderham.
She is venerated at Barham, Burlingham, and Dereham in Norfolk (Roeder).
Saint Quote
I am gently going to my grave. It is the will of God, and I thank Him very
much
for letting me die of the same disease and in the same way as my lepers. I
am
very satisfied and very happy.
-Blessed Father Damien de Veuster
Bible Quote
But Peter and the apostles answering, said: We ought to obey God, rather
than
men. The God of our fathers hath raised up Jesus, whom you put to death,
hanging
him upon a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be Prince
and
Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and remission of sins. (Acts
5:29-31)
<><><><>
Prayer for the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit, divine Consoler, I adore You as my true God, with God the
Father and God the Son. I adore You and unite myself to the adoration You
receive from the angels and saints.
I give You my heart and I offer my ardent thanksgiving for all the grace
which You never cease to bestow on me.
O Giver of all supernatural gifts, who filled the soul of the Blessed
Virgin
Mary, Mother of God, with such immense favors, I beg You to visit me with
Your grace and Your love and to grant me the gift of holy fear, so that it
may act on me as a check to prevent me from falling back into my past
sins,
for which I beg pardon.
Grant me the gift of piety, so that I may serve You for the future with
increased fervor, follow with more promptness Your holy inspirations, and
observe your divine precepts with greater fidelity.
Grant me the gift of knowledge, so that I may know the things of God and,
enlightened by Your holy teaching, may walk, without deviation, in the
path
of eternal salvation.
Grant me the gift of fortitude, so that I may overcome courageously all
the
assaults of the devil, and all the dangers of this world which threaten
the
salvation of my soul.
Grant me the gift of counsel, so that I may choose what is more conducive
to
my spiritual advancement and may discover the wiles and snares of the
tempter.
Grant me the gift of understanding, so that I may apprehend the divine
mysteries and by contemplation of heavenly things detach my thoughts and
affections from the vain things of this miserable world.
Grant me the gift of wisdom, so that I may rightly direct all my actions,
referring them to God as my last end; so that, having loved Him and served
Him in this life, I may have the happiness of possessing Him eternally in
the next.Amen.
-St. Alphonsus Liguori
|
