- Philippians 4:19 and 1 Thessalonians 5:18 -
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches
in
Christ Jesus.
...give thanks in all cir***stances, for this is God's will for you in
Christ Jesus.
____________________________________________________________________________
Lord, I am willing to -
Receive what you give,
Lack what you withhold,
Relinquish what you take.
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July 25th - Saint Christopher, Martyr
Third Century
From the great mass of legendary material, often confused and
contradictory,
which is associated with the name of St. Christopher, there emerges one
clear
conception. It is that of a man who is strong, simple, kind, and
completely
dedicated to one thing: serving the Lord by serving his fellow men.
Christopher,
according to the ancient and very popular tradition, lived in the province
of
Lydia, Asia Minor, during the reign of the Emperor Decius. He was a man of
enormous size and strength, who had been converted to Christianity by a
holy
hermit. Having no gift for preaching, fasting, or prayer, the customary
practices of the good Christian, he searched for some other way of showing
his
love of God. An inspiration came to him. He went to a certain stream whose
current was so dangerous that travelers were often swept away while trying
to
ford it. Here Christopher built a hut for shelter, then stationed himself
on
the
bank, and carried across all who came, a sort of human ferry. After he had
been
laboring in this way for some time, a little child appeared one day, and
asked
to be carried. Christopher lifted the child in his great arms, placed him
on
his
shoulder, and started across, staff in hand. At every step the load grew
more
burdensome, and Christopher came near losing his balance in the ru****ng
water.
On reaching the other bank, he put the boy down, saying, "Child, thou hast
put
me in dire peril, and hast weighed so heavily on me that if I had borne
the
whole weight of the world upon my shoulders it could not have burdened me
more
heavily." The boy answered, "Wonder not, Christopher, for not only hast
thou
borne the whole world on thy shoulders, but Him who created the world"-for
the
Christ Child, bearing in His own arms the great world, had been
Christopher's
burden. To prove that this was true, He told Christopher to recross the
river
and plant his staff in the ground beside his hut and soon it would burst
into
bloom. Obeying, Christopher was amazed to see this occur, and then he knew
how
wonderfully he had been favored.
This miracle brought about the conversion of many in those parts, but it
aroused
the wrath of the pagan king, who had Christopher imprisoned, tortured, and
beheaded. In the Golden Legend are to be found other stories of the saint
which
were current in medieval times. Christopher is loved and honored in the
churches
both of the East and the West. In addition to being the patron and
protector
of
all travelers, he is also invoked against storms and sudden death.
In art Christopher is usually shown with his emblems, the Christ Child, a
tree
in bloom, a torrent; the great artists Durer and Pollaiuolo are among
those
who
have ****trayed him in the act for which he is best known.
This was taken from "Lives of Saints", Published by John J. Crawley & Co.,
Inc.
Saint Quote:
The nothing keeps silent, the nothing does not want to be, the nothing
suffers
all. The nothing does not impose itself, the nothing does not command with
authority, and finally, the nothing in the creature is practical humility.
-Saint Angela of the Cross Guerrero
Bible Quote:
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: Yet we esteemed
Him
stricken. Smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; The Chastisement for
our
peace was upon Him. And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have
gone astray; We have turned, every one to his own way; And the Lord has
laid
on
Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53: 4-6)
..
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Prayer to St. James the greater, Apostle:
O glorious Apostle, Saint James, who by reason of thy
fervent and generous heart wast chosen by Jesus to be a
witness of His glory on Mount Tabor, and of His agony in
Gethsemane; thou, whose very name is a symbol of warfare
and victory: obtain for us strength and consolation in the
unending warfare of this life, that, having constantly and
generously followed Jesus, we may be victors in the strife and
deserve to receive the victor's crown in heaven. Amen.
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Psalm 125
Gladness and hope in the Lord
When the Lord gave Sion back her captives, we became like dreamers.
Our mouths were filled with gladness and our voices cried in exultation.
Among the Gentiles they were saying,
"By his deeds the Lord has shown himself great".
The Lord's deeds showed forth his greatness,
and filled us with rejoicing.
Give us back our captives, O Lord,
as you renew the dry streams in the desolate South.
Those who sow in tears will rejoice at the harvest.
They wept as they went, went with seed for the sowing;
but with joy they will come, come bearing the sheaves.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
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