- Matthew 24:36-42 -
"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven,
nor the
Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at
the
coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were
eating
and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered
the
ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came
and took
them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two
men
will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will
be
grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left."
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord
will
come."
_________________________________________________________________-
Christ's second coming will be swift and sudden. There will be no
op****tunity
for last-minute repentance or bargaining. The choice we have already made
will
determine our eternal destiny.
<<>><<>><<>>
April 8th - St. Walter of Pontoise, OSB Abbot (AC)
Born in Andainville, Picardy, France, c. 1030; died 1099.
The Bible says that the road to holiness is narrow but it doesn't tell you
that the road is straight or clear. Sometimes we need to find our way to
God
as though following a path through a forest. Sometimes the sun pokes
through
but often we walk in darkness, not quite knowing whether the destination
is
near or far. We grope. We trip over debris from dead trees or overgrown
vines. We must continue to trust that God is leading us to Himself.
Saint Walter followed a meandering path. He enjoyed his studies and became
a
professor of rhetoric and philosophy, for which he won success, honor, and
praise. But he wasn't happy because he wasn't sure that he was on the
right
road to God. So, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Rebais-en-Brie
(diocese of Meaux) with enthusiasm, where he practiced the most severe
austerities in the hopes of escaping worldly applause. Each day until his
death, Walter added some new practice of penance to his former austerities
to remind himself of the obligation of continually advancing in spirit
towards God.
At Rebais he found a peasant rotting in the abbey prison. Walter found it
inconceivable that one could be kept in a monastery by bonds other than
those of love. One night he gave the peasant the key to his fields. In the
morning Walter faced the abbot's wrath, an inquisition, confession, and
punishment.
After several years in Rebais (1060), Walter was made abbot of a new
monastery near Pointoise, which is now called Saint Martin's. King Philip
I
personally made the investiture, handing him the Cross. The king
considered
it a bond to him, but Walter coldly placed his hand not under but over the
hand of the king, saying: "It is not from you, but from God that I accept
the governance of this abbey." Shock and surprise were the rather normal
result, how could a man give God precedence over that of an earthly
potentate?
Once again Walter enjoyed success, honors, and praise. In order to escape
from the accolades, he left his cloister and walked to Cluny, where there
were hundreds of monks among whom he could be anonymous. Or, at least,
that's what he believed. Unfortunately, he was quickly recognized and
compelled to return to Pointoise.
Once again he questioned whether he was on the road to God or the road to
perdition. What if God wanted him elsewhere? He tested himself to see if
his
new vocation was that of a hermit and determined that it was.
One night, Walter, who had gotten into the habit of making escapes,
climbed
over the abbey wall. He took the road to Touraine to cover his tracks from
those who were bound to seek him. In his hermitage, Walter thought he had
found heaven on earth. Of course, terrestrial paradises never last for
long.
Soon the monks of Pointoise found him on an island in the Loire, and led
him
back to the abbey.
Walter must have been a very lovable character if, each time he
disappeared,
his monks would seek him out until they discovered him. They must have
thought he had a very odd way of practicing stability, but they would not
have changed their wandering abbot because he left them only in order to
search for God.
The saintly abbot still wanted to flee the admiration of his fellows, but
he
knew that his monks would eventually catch up with him wherever he roamed.
Then he had a brilliant idea: He would make his journey ad limina. He
would
return his cross to the Holy Father and at long last he would be free to
seek God in his own way. He left for Rome, planning never to return to
Pointoise.
God had different plans for Walter. In Rome, he explained his situation to
Pope Gregory VII but the saintly pope refused Walter's plea. "Turn back,
Father Abbot. From now on you must walk along the roads of the cloister
and
not along the grand highways of the world."
Was Walter disappointed? He was radiant. For the pope had spoken, and the
pope was the spokesman for Jesus Christ. Thus, Jesus had shown him the
way.
And because, ever since his novitiate, he had searched for God with all
his
soul and all his heart and even with all his legs, he was given to
understand that the image of our life that God fa****ons is infinitely
preferable to the image that we fa****on for ourselves.
When we understand that-and when that knowledge sinks from our head into
our
heart-then there's nothing else to do save go to heaven. Which Walter did
on
Good Friday in 1099. After diligent scrutiny the bishops of Rouen, Paris,
and Senlis declared several miracles wrought at his tomb authentic and
translated his relics on May 4. Abbot Walter Montague moved them again in
1655, and richly decorated his chapel. His life was written by a disciple
(Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth).
Saint Quote:
"Is Jesus Christ divided? No, surely, for he is the God of peace, not of
dissension, as S. Paul taught throughout the Church. It cannot then be
that
the true Church should be in dissension or division of belief and opinion,
for God would no longer be its Author or Spouse ...
"As soon as God takes a people to himself, as he has done the [Catholic
Roman] Church, He gives it unity of heart and of path: the Church is but
one
body, of which all the faithful are members, compacted and united together
by all its joints; there is but one spirit animating this body: therefore
the true Church of God [i.e., the Catholic Church] must be united
[meaning:
it is united], fastened and joined together in one same doctrine and
belief."
-St. Francis de Sales (Doctor, 1567-1622) - "Catholic Controversy"
Bible Quotes:
"He that heareth you heareth me: and he that despisethj you despiseth me
[i.e., My one and only Apostolic, Catholic, Roman Church]" - Luke 10:16:
"God is in his holy place: who maketh men of one manner [one Faith] dwell
in
a house" - Ps. 67:6-7
<><><><>
LADY IN THE LIGHT
Crystalline brilliance of light so endowed,
To Mary, our Mother, for Her heavenly shroud,
Love's own white fire, a fire that heals,
The souls She will come to when answering appeals.
The stars of divinity set in Her crown,
Send ****mmering stardust to earthly abounds;
Soft velvet whispers that need no translation,
To carry Her message to souls of all nations.
This is the aura that streams from above,
Sent forth from the heavens and the Father of love.
Soft velvet whispers that need no translation,
To carry Her message to souls of all nations.
This is the aura that streams from above,
Sent forth from the heavens and the Father of love.
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