- Isaiah 55:6-7 -
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
_______________________________________________________________
Isaiah tells us to call on the Lord while he is near. God is not planning
to move away from us, but we often move far from him or erect a barrier
between ourselves and him. Don't wait until you have drifted far away from
God to seek him. Later in life turning to him may be far more difficult.
Or
God may come to judge the earth before you decide to turn to him. Seek God
now, while you can, before it is too late.
<<>><<>><<>>
July 30th - Saint Peter Chrysologus
Bishop, Confessor, and Doctor of the Church, c.406-450
PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, a native of Imola, Italy, was baptized, educated, and
ordained a priest by Cornelius, the bishop of that city. In many of his
writings Peter speaks of Cornelius with affection and gratitude as his
spiritual father. Peter was elected bishop of Ravenna sometime between 425
and 429. The city was the imperial residence of Galla Placidia, mother of
the emperor Valentinian III. From this time it began to be an im****tant
civil, political, and ecclesiastical center.
When he arrived in Ravenna, Peter found the demoralizing effects of
paganism
ramp ant in that city. He urged his people to receive the Holy Eucharist
frequently as a means of combating vice. He pressed for complete obedience
to the commands of the pope, made apparent through the counsels of the
priests.
Although Saint Peter's charity toward the poor of his diocese was
outstanding, he is most noted for his sermons and treatises, which were
collected by Felix, archbishop of Ravenna from 708 to 724. His chief works
contain explanations of biblical texts and treatises defending the
Incarnation, which he wrote to denounce the heresy of Eutyches. He
dedicated
some homilies to the Blessed Virgin, asserting the truth of the Immaculate
Conception. Not so much because of his eloquence as because of the fervor
and devotion of his sermons, he was given the name Chrysologus, meaning
"golden speech."
Saint Peter died in 451 in the city of Imola, and was buried in the Church
of Saint Cassian. Examination of his discourses and their lasting
influence
led Pope Benedict XIII to declare him a Doctor of the Church in 1729.
The Gradual of the Mass for a bishop and confessor serves as the highest
praise for this holy priest: "Here was a great priest whose life was
acceptable to God. Where shall we find another to keep the law of the Most
High as he kept it?"
Saint Quote:
"Anyone who wishes to frolic with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ."
-Saint Peter Chrysologus
Bible Quote:
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9)
<><><><>
A Prayer in Spring
Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.
|
