- Hebrews 3:12-14 -
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart
that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as
long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's
deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the
end the confidence we had at first.
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Our hearts turn away from the living God when we stubbornly refuse to
believe him. If we persist in our unbelief, God will eventually leave us
alone in our sin. But God can give us new hearts, new desires and new
spirits (Ezekiel 36:22-27). To prevent having an unbelieving heart, stay
in
fellow****p with other believers, talk daily about your mutual faith, be
aware of the deceitfulness of sin (it attracts but it also destroys), and
encourage each other with love and concern.
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October 31st - St. Quentin of Amiens M (RM)
(also known as Quintinus)
Died 287. When we read the lives of the martyrs who offered their lives as
a
testimony to a grateful heart-a heart that humbly acknowledges the
sacrifice
of our Lord for a sinner-we are forced to question our own lives. Are we
witnesses to God's infinite love at least by lives of self-denial,
humility,
and self-giving? We may never be called to shed our blood, but what about
our time, talent, and treasure?
According to legend Quentin was a Roman, the son of Zeno of senatorial
rank.
It is said that filled with apostolic zeal, Quentin traveled to Gaul as a
missionary with Saint Lucian of Beauvais. Quentin settled at Amiens in
Picardy, while Lucian continued to Beauvais, where he won the martyr's
crown.
By his multitudinous prayers and continuous hounding of heaven, Quentin
wrought many miracles that confirmed the truth of the Gospel he preached
among the heathen. He was so successful in preaching that he was
imprisoned
by Prefect Rictovarus (Rictius Varus), who had travelled there from Trier.
Quentin was manacled, tortured repeatedly, and thrown into a dungeon. When
Rictovarus left Amiens, he commanded Quentin to be brought to Augusta
Veromanduorum (later Somme, now St-Quentin), through which Rictovarus
would
pass upon his return to Trier. Here Quentin was again tortured, beheaded,
and thrown into (or drowned in) the River Somme.
The body was recovered by Christians several days later and buried on a
mountainside. One-half century later, it was discovered by a devout woman
named Eusebia. A blind women recovered her sight by the sacred relics.
During the reign of Julian the Apostate, the place of his burial was again
lost to memory, though a chapel which was built near it remained. When
Saint
Eligius found the relics in 641 after a concerted effort, he distributed
the
nails with which Quentin's body had been pierced, as well as the saint's
teeth and hair. The remainder Eligius placed in a rich shrine made by his
own hands. This was placed behind the high altar at Noyon. The relics have
been translated several times since then and are now kept in Laon.
There is no doubt that he is a historical person; however, his story has
been much embellished (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
He is shown as a young man with two spits (1) as a deacon; (2) with a
broken
wheel; (3) with a chair to which he is transfixed; (4) with a sword; or
(5)
beheaded, a dove flying from his severed head. He is venerated at Amiens.
Patron of bombardiers, chaplains, locksmiths, ****ters, tailors, and
surgeons. Invoked against coughs, sneezes, and dropsy (Roeder).
Saint Quote:
God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that they
keep the
eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have eyes that are
shrouded
in
darkness, unable to see the light of the sun. Because the blind cannot see
it, it does
not follow that the sun does not ****ne. The blind must trace the cause
back
to
themselves and their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind
that
are
shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. No one who has
sin
within
him can see God. If you understand this, and live in purity and holiness
and
justice,
you may see God.
-Saint Theophilus of Antioch
Bible Quote
I have suffered the loss of all things, and I count them as dung, that I
may gain Christ. (Phil. 3:8)
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"He that keepeth his mouth and his tongue, keepeth his soul from
distress." - Proverbs 21:23
"To restrain the tongue is therefore a great good, and on the other hand,
not to restrain it, a poisonous evil"
"Behold also ****ps, whereas they are great, and are driven by strong
winds,
yet are they turned about with a small helm, whithersoever the force of
the
governor willeth. Even so the tongue is indeed a little member, and
boasteth
great things.
"Behold how small a fire kindleth a great wood. And the tongue is a fire,
a
world of iniquity. The tongue ... defileth the whole body, and inflameth
the
wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by hell. For every nature of
beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of the rest, is tamed, and hath
been tamed, by the nature of man.
"But the tongue no man can tame, an unquiet evil, full of deadly poison.
By
it we bless God and the Father: and by it we curse men, who are made after
the likeness of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and
cursing.
My brethren, these things ought not so to be." - James 3:4-10
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