March 21st - St. Serapion the Scholastic, Monk
(Also known as Serapion or Sarapion of Thmuis)
Died in Egypt c. 365-370. Serapion was an Egyptian monk of great erudition
and a penetrating intellect. For a time, he ran the famous catechetical
school of Alexandria, Egypt, but resigned in order to spend more time in
prayer and penitential exercises. Thus, early in life he was a disciple of
Saint Antony in the desert. He was also a good friend and supporter of
Saint
Athanasius, who tells us in his Life of Saint Antony that when Serapion
visited Antony the latter often told the former events that were occurring
at a distance in Egypt. Upon his death, Antony left Serapion one of his
tunics of hair.
Following his consecration as bishop of Thmuis (near Diospolis) in the
Nile
delta, Serapion became a leading figure in ecclesiastical affairs. He was
a
vigorous opponent of Arianism (the Son is not consubstantial with the
Father) and an avid supporter of Athanasius. For this stance, he was
banished by Emperor Constantius and called a confessor by Saint Jerome. As
soon as the blasphemy of Macedonianism arose, Serapion vigorously opposed
this denial of the divinity of the Holy Spirit and informed Athanasius,
who
wrote against it in four letters addressed to Serapion, in 359, while
Athanasius was hiding in the desert.
Serapion also wrote an excellent book against Manicheism in which he shows
that our bodies may be made the instruments of good or evil depending upon
the disposition of the heart, and that both just and wicked men are often
changed to the other type. It is, therefore, a self-contradiction to
pretend
with the Manichees that our souls are the work of God, but our bodies of
the
devil, or the evil principle. He also wrote several learned letters, and a
treatise on the titles of the Psalms, quoted by St. Jerome, but which are
now lost.
Above all, Serapion has become the best known of the saints with this name
because a sacramentary ascribed to him, called the Euchologion, was
discovered and published in 1899. This collection of liturgical prayers,
which has been translated into English, was intended primarily for the use
of a bishop. It is valuable for the knowledge of early public worship in
Egypt
At Serapion's request, Athanasius composed several of his works against
the
Arians. A letter addressed to him Concerning the death of Arius still
exists. So great was Athanasius's opinion of Serapion that he desired him
to
correct or add to them anything that he thought was wanting. Socrates
relates that Serapion gave an abstract of his own life-an abridged rule of
Christian perfection-that he often repeated: "The mind is purified by
spiritual knowledge (or by holy meditation and prayer), the spiritual
passions of the soul by charity, and the irregular appetites by abstinence
and penance." Serapion died in exile (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines,
Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
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Whoever will come after Me, let him deny himself. (Matthew 16:24)
"Do not weary thyself in vain; for thou wilt never succeed in possessing
true spiritual sweetness and satisfaction. unless thou first deny all thy
desires"
-St. John of the Cross
The Abbot Ellem as we read in the Lives of the Fathers, saw a honeycomb
hanging from a rock and some fruit that had fallen from a tree, but he
abstained from them. He then fell into a sleep, from which he was wakened
by
an angel, when he found himself by the side of a fountain surrounded by
the
freshest herbs, some of which he ate, and declared that he had never
before
tasted so great a delicacy.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". March - Mortification)
Bible Quote:
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. (John
8:7)
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The third sorrowful mystery prayer of the Eucharistic Rosary,
to be offered before the Blessed Sacrament:
The Crowning with Thorns, offered for moral courage and
love of humiliations:
O King of glory! crowned with thorns and proclaimed in
derision king of the Jews by brutal soldiers who
ignominiously spit upon Thy adorable face, Thou fallest a
victim to the sins committed by pride; in the Blessed
Sacrament also Thou bearest a crown of ignominy made up
of the many acts of irreverence, contempt, hypocrisy, and
vanity committed by Christians in Thy sanctuary.
O loving King! overwhelmed with insults both in Thy passion
and in the Sacred Host, we adore Thee and we beg of Thee,
through the intercession of Thy holy Mother, the grace of
mortifying our self-love.
Imprimatur: + John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York,
Sept 19, 1908.
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IDLE TALK
A sin that is most common and very little recognized is the sin
of idle talk. Let us ponder what the Holy Bible has to say on
this subject and then adjust our lives accordingly. From the
Holy Bible: "But I tell you that of every idle word men speak,
they shall give account on the day of judgment. For by thy
words thou wilt be condemned" (Matt. 12:36-37). What is the
general rule about the use of the tongue? "But let every man
be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. For the
wrath of man does not work the justice of God" (James 1:19-
20). What does idle talking lead to? "But avoid profane and
empty babblings, for they contribute much to ungodliness and
their speech spreads like a cancer" (2 Tim. 2:16:18).
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