Sts.
Simon and Jude Jude named by Luke Acts Matthew Mark - Thaddeus
In Pérside
natális beatórum Apostolórum Simónis Chananæi,
et Thaddǽi, qui et Judas dícitur. Ex ipsis autem Simon in
Ægypto, Thaddǽus in Mesopotámia Evangélium prædicávit;
deínde, in Pérsidem simul ingréssi, ibi, cum innúmeram
gentis illíus multitúdinem Christo subdidíssent, martyrium
consummárunt.
In Persia, the birthday of the blessed apostles Simon the Canaanite and
Thaddeus, who is also called Jude. Simon preached the Gospel in Egypt,
Thaddeus in Mesopotamia. Afterwards, entering Persia together, they
converted to Christ a numberless multitude of the inhabitants, then underwent
martyrdom.
SS. SIMON AND JUDE, OR THADDEUS, APOSTLES
ST SIMON is surnamed the Cananean or Zelotes in the Holy Scriptures,
words which both mean “the Zealous”. Some have mistakenly thought that the
first of these names was meant to imply that St Simon was born at Cana in
Galilee. The name refers to his zeal for the Jewish law before his call, and does not necessarily mean that he was one of that particular
party among the Jews called Zealots. No mention of him appears in the gospels
beyond that he was chosen among the apostles. With the rest he received
the Holy Ghost, but of his life after Pentecost we have no information whatever;
it is not possible to reconcile the various traditions.
Menology of Basil says that
St Simon died in peace at Edessa, but Western tradition recognized in the
Roman liturgy is that, after preaching in Egypt, he joined St Jude from
Mesopotamia and that they went as missionaries for some years to Persia,
suffering martyrdom there. They are accordingly commemorated together in
the West on this day, but in the East separately and on various dates.
The apostle Jude (Judas), also called Thaddeus (or Lebbeus),
“the brother of James”, is usually regarded as the brother of St James
the Less. It is not known when and by what means he became a disciple of
Christ, nothing having been said of him in the gospels before we find him
enumerated among the apostles. After the Last Supper, when Christ promised
to manifest Himself to His hearers, St Jude asked Him why He did not manifest
Himself to the rest of the world; and Christ answered that He and the Father
would visit all those who love Him, “we will come to him, and will make
our abode with him” (John xiv 22—23).
The history of St Jude after our Lord’s ascension and the descent
of the Holy Ghost is as unknown as that of St Simon. Jude’s name is borne
by one of the canonical epistles, which has much in common with the second
epistle of St Peter. It is not addressed to any particular church or person,
and in it he urges the faithful to “contend earnestly for the faith once
delivered to the saints. For certain men are secretly entered in…ungodly
men, turning the grace of our Lord God into riotousness, and denying the
only sovereign ruler and our Lord Jesus Christ.”
St Jude Thaddeus has often been confounded with the St Thaddeus
of the Abgar legend (see Addai and Mari, August 5), and made to die in
peace at Bairut or Edessa. As has been said above, according to a Western
tradition he was martyred with St Simon in Persia. Eusebius quotes a story
that two grandsons of St Jude, Zoker and James, were brought before the
Emperor Domitian, who had been alarmed by the report that they were of
the royal house of David. But when he saw they were poor, hard-working peasants,
and heard that the kingdom for which they looked was not of this world,
he dismissed them with contempt.
There
is what purports to be a passio of these two apostles, but in its
Latin form it cannot be earlier than the latter part of the sixth century.
It is attributed to a certain Abdias who is said to have been a disciple
of Simon and Jude and consecrated by them first bishop of Babylon. This
no doubt explains the curious entry on this day in the Félire
of Oengus: “Ample is their assembly: Babylon their burial ground
Thaddeus and Simon, huge is their host.” On pseudo-Abdias see further R.
A. Lipsius, Die Apocryphen Apostelgeschichten…vol. i, pp.
117 seq. and Batiffol in DTC., vol. i, c. 23. The
mention of SS. Simon and Jude together is found in the Hieronymianum
for this day, and the scene of their martyrdom is said to be “Suanis,
civitate Persarum”, on which consult CMH., and Gutschmid, Kleine
Schriften, vol. ii, pp. 368—369. On the invocation of St Jude as believed
to have special efficacy in “desperate cases”, see the Acta
Sanctorum, October, vol. xii, p. 449 and L. du Broc, La saints patrons des corporations et protecteurs…vol. ii, pp. 390 seq.
He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except, of
course, where all the apostles are referred to. Scholars hold that he is
not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as
Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that
name, it was shortened to “Jude” in English. Simon is
mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called
“the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that
represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise
of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent
nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the
very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some
of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their
ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern
terrorists. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. They were chiefly responsible
for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem
in A.D. 70.
Comment: As
in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are
faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that
their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely
people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous
fisherman, two “sons of
thunder” and a man named
Judas Iscariot.
It is a reminder
that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit,
culture, personality, effort or achievement. It is entirely God's creation
and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude,
like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: only God can create
his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.
Quote:
“Just as Christ was
sent by the Father, so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit.
This he did so that, by preaching the gospel to every creature (cf. Mark
16:15), they might proclaim that the Son of God, by his death and resurrection,
had freed us from the power of Satan (cf. Acts 26:18) and from death, and
brought us into the kingdom of his Father.” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy).
|
St. Jude Thaddaeus
brother of St. James the Less
relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus.
Ancient writers tell us that
he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia,
and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in
the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem.
He is an author of an epistle
(letter) to the Churches of the East, particularly the Jewish converts,
directed against the heresies of the Simonians, Nicolaites, and Gnostics.
This Apostle is said to have suffered martyrdom in Armenia, which was then
subject to Persia.
The final conversion of the
Armenian nation to Christianity did not take place until the third century
of our era.
Jude was the one who asked Jesus
at the Last Supper why He would not manifest Himself to the whole world
after His resurrection.
Little else is known of his life. Legend claims that he visited
Beirut and Edessa; possibly martyred with St. Simon in Persia.
Jude is invoked in desperate
situations because his New Testament letter stresses that the faithful
should persevere in the environment of harsh, difficult circumstances,
just as their forefathers had done before them. Therefore, he is the patron
saint of desperate cases and his feast day is October 28. Saint Jude is
not the same person as Judas Iscariot who betrayed Our Lord and despaired
because of his great sin and lack of trust in God's mercy.
|
St. Simon of Zealot
surnamed for his rigid adherence to Jewish law and Canaanite law
Simon was surnamed the Zealot for his rigid adherence to the Jewish
law and to the Canaanite law. He was one of the original followers of Christ.
Western tradition is that he preached in Egypt and then went to Persia with
St. Jude, where both suffered martyrdom. Eastern tradition says Simon died
peacefully at Edessa. |
3rd v. Greatmartyr Parasceva
of Iconium parents especially reverenced
Friday Passion of the Lord therefore called daughter Paraskeva “St Paraskeva,
also called Piatnitsa (in Russian: Friday).”
The Great Martyr Paraskeva of Iconium, lived during the third
century in a rich and pious family. The parents of the saint especially
reverenced Friday, the day of the Passion of the Lord, and therefore they
called their daughter Paraskeva. This name, Paraskeva, also means Friday.
Young Paraskeva with all her heart loved purity and
the loftiness of the virginal life, and she took a vow of celibacy. She
wanted to devote all her life to God and to enlighten pagans with the light
of Christ.
Because of her confession of
the Orthodox Faith, the pagans in a frenzy seized her and brought her to
the city prefect. They demanded that she offer unholy sacrifice to the pagan
idols. With a steady heart, and trusting on God, the saint refused this
demand. For this she underwent great torments: after stripping her, they
tied her to a tree and beat her with rods. Then the torturers raked her
pure body with iron claws. Finally, they threw her into prison, exhausted
by the torture and lacerated to the bone. But God did not forsake the holy
sufferer, and miraculously healed her wounds. Not heeding this divine miracle,
the executioners continued with their torture of St Paraskeva, and finally,
they cut off her head.
St Paraskeva has always enjoyed
a special love and veneration among the Orthodox people. Many pious customs
and observances are associated with her. In the ancient Russian accounts
of the Saints' Lives, the name of the Great Martyr is inscribed as: “St Paraskeva, also called Piatnitsa
(in Russian: Friday).”
Churches dedicated to St Paraskeva in antiquity were given the name Piatnitsa.
Small wayside chapels in Rus received the name Piatnitsa.
The simple Russian people called
the Martyr Paraskeva variously Piatnitsa, Piatina, Petka.
Icons of St Paraskeva were
especially venerated and embellished by the faithful. Russian iconographers
usually depicted the martyr as an austere ascetic, tall of stature, with
a radiant crown upon her head. Icons of the saint guard pious and happy households.
By Church belief, St Paraskeva is protectress of fields and cattle. Therefore,
on her Feastday it was the custom to bring fruit to church to be blessed.
These blessed objects were kept until the following year. Moreover, St Paraskeva
is invoked for protection of cattle from disease. She is also a healer of
people from grievous illness of both body and soul.
|
249 Martyr Photius with his
parents
Saint Photius was the son of
the martyrs Terence and Neonilla. He and his family suffered martyrdom
during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250).
They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans
subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments,
but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs
were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.
|
249 Martyr Sarbelus with his parents
Saint Sarbelus was the son of
the martyrs Terence and Neonilla. He and his family suffered suffered martyrdom
during a persecution of Christianity under the emperor Decius (249-250).
They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry. For this the pagans
subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures and torments,
but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were
beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.
|
249 Martyr
Neonilla with her husband and children
Saint Neonilla was the wife
of St Terence. They suffered martyrdom with their children Sarbelus, Photius,
Theodulus, Hierax, Nita, Vele and Eunice during a persecution of Christianity
under the emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and
denounced idolatry. For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family
to terrible tortures and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the
true Faith. So, the holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.
|
249 Martyr Terence
with his wife and children
The Martyrs Terence and Neonilla
and their children: Sarbelus, Photius, Theodulus, Hierax, Nita, Vele and
Eunice suffered martyrdom during a persecution of Christianity under the
emperor Decius (249-250). They zealously confessed Christ and denounced idolatry.
For this the pagans subjected the entire Christian family to terrible tortures
and torments, but failed to get them to renounce the true Faith. So, the
holy martyrs were beheaded, and received crowns of martyrdom.
Martyr Terence and 39 ohers of Carthage
Saint Terence was from Syria, and suffered for Christ with his wife
Neonilla and their seven children Sabelus, Photius, Theodoulus, Vele, Hierax,
Nitus, and Eunice. They were denounced as Christians and brought before
the authorities for interrogation.
The saints confessed Christ and mocked the pagan gods, even as their
sides were raked with iron hooks. Vinegar was poured into their wounds, which
were then set afire. The saints encouraged one another and prayed to God
to help them. He sent angels to free them from their bonds and to heal their
wounds.
Then the saints were thrown to the wild beasts, who became gentle and
did not harm them. Afterward, they were thrown into a cauldren filled with
hot pitch, but they were not burned. Seeing that nothing could harm the
saints, the pagans beheaded them.
|
257
St. Anastasia II Martyr
Romæ sanctórum Mártyrum Anastásiæ
senióris Vírginis, et Cyrílli. Ipsa Virgo, in
persecutióne Valeriáni, sub Probo Præfécto, vínculis
constrícta, cólaphis cæsa, igne et verbéribus
est cruciáta, et, cum in confessióne Christi permanéret
immóbilis, tandem, abscíssis mamíllis, evúlsis
únguibus, déntibus comminútis, mánibus pedibúsque
præcísis, truncáta cápite, tot passiónum
ornáta monílibus migrávit ad Sponsum; Cyríllus
autem, ei peténti aquam propínans, martyrium pro mercéde
accépit.
At Rome, the holy martyrs Cyril and Anastasia
the Elder, virgin. In the persecution of Valerian, under the prefect
Probus, Anastasia was bound with chains, buffeted, subjected to fire and
scourging, and, as she remained immovable in the confession of Christ, her
breasts were cut away, her nails plucked out, her teeth broken, and her
hands, feet, and head severed from her body. Adorned with her sufferings
as with so many jewels, she went to her Spouse. At her request, Cyril
gave her some water to drink, and for his reward became a martyr.
SS. ANASTASIA AND CYRIL, MARTYRS
CARDINAL BARONIUS added the following entry to the Roman Martyrology
under this date “At Rome, the passion of the holy martyrs Anastasia the Elder,
a virgin, and Cyril. This same virgin during the
persecution of Valerian was bound with fetters by the prefect Probus, smitten
with blows and tortured with fire and scourges; and as she continued unmoved
in the confession of Christ her breasts were cut off, her nails torn out,
her teeth broken, her hands and feet hacked away. Then she was beheaded and,
beautified with the jewels of so many sufferings, she passed to her Bridegroom.
Cyril brought her water when she asked therefor, and received martyrdom for
his reward.”
Traditions of the Church of
Rome know nothing of these martyrs, who were first venerated in the East.
Their Greek passio says that St Anastasia was a maiden of
patrician birth, twenty years old, who lived in a community of consecrated
virgins. Soldiers of the prefect broke into the house, carried her off,
and brought her before Probus, who ordered that she be stripped naked. On
her protesting that this would shame him more than it would her, she was
maltreated as the martyrology sets out. Her body was afterwards translated
to Constantinople.
The
passio exists both in Greek and in Latin. Both texts
are printed in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xii. J.
P. Kirsch seems inclined to think that the only historical martyr was the
widow who suffered at Sirmium (December 25), but that, as her feast was
kept on a different date in the East, some Greek hagiographer thought it
well to invent a new story of a virgin bearing the same name, which he embellished
with the fantastic details recounted above. See Lexikon für
Theologie und Kirche, vol. i (1930), c. 389.
She is believed to have been a young woman who lived with
a group of Christian virgins in Rome. During the persecutions of Emperor
Valerian, she was arrested
and cruelly tortured by a perfect named Probus.
|
| 304 St. Fidelis
of Como martyred Roman soldier' stationed
in Milan, Italy.
Apud
Comum sancti Fidélis Mártyris, sub Maximiáno Imperatóre.
At Como, under Emperor Maximian, St. Fidelis, martyr.
303 ST FIDELIS OF COMO, MARTYR
DURING the persecution of Maximian the imprisoned Christians of Milan
were visited and ministered to by an army officer named Fidelis, according
to his legend in which no trust can be placed. He procured the freedom of
five of them and, with two soldiers, Carpophorus and Exanthus; they tried
to make their escape into the Alps. They were overtaken near Como, and
the two last-named with their companions were executed on the spot, in
a wood. Fidelis got away and reached Samolito, at the other side of the
lake, but here he was captured by soldiers who had followed him in a boat.
There they scourged and beheaded him. There is another version which says
that SS. Fidelis, Carpophorus and Exanthus were three Christian soldiers
who when persecution began deserted the army and fled to Como, where they
were apprehended and put to death. The cultus at Como is ancient.
The relatively sober text is printed
in the Acta Sanctorum, vol. xii,
from a fourteenth century manuscript. Ennodius knew a tomb of St Fidelis
at Como in the sixth century, and the lake has remains of a fourth-century
basilica.
He aided Christian prisoners in an escape and was slain
by his superiors. St. Charles Borromeo
took Fidelis' relics to Milan, but some are venerated in Como.
|
St.
Cyrilla, virgin, daughter of St. Tryphonia
Item Romæ sanctæ Cyríllæ
Vírginis, quæ fília éxstitit sanctæ Tryphóniæ,
et, sub Cláudio Príncipe, pro Christo juguláta est.
In the
same city, during the reign of Claudius, St. Cyrilla, virgin, daughter
of St. Tryphonia, who was pierced through the throat for the faith of Christ.
History
The beginnings of the Church
in Libya go back to the origins of Christianity itself. One
recalls Simon of Cyrene who helped Christ carry the cross (Mk 15, 21).
On the day of Pentecost, there were in Jerusalem, some devout men coming
from Libya, belonging to Cyrene (Ac 2,10). After the persecution of Jerusalem,
it was some citizens from Cyprus and Cyrene who carried the Good News of
Jesus to the Greeks (Ac 11,20).
According to the tradition of the Coptic Church in Egypt,
St. Mark would be originally from Cyrene. Some historians hold that
in the year 40 a.C., Mark was back in Cyrene where he converted many Jews
and Greeks. Later around the year 60, he went to Alexandria where he
founded several Christian communities.
Following this tradition, it is said that upon his return
to Cyrene, Mark appointed Lucius of Cyrene as the first Bishop, who
suffered martyrdom in Alexandria after a popular uprising on 25th April 68
BC.
The Arab annals of Patriarch Eutichius, inform us that the
Bishops of Alexandria, from St. Mark to Demetrius, his 11th successor (+
231), were assisted by ordinary priests in administering their churches.
What is certain however is that after Lucius of Cyrene, there is no trace
of bishops in that region before the first half of the third century.
In the Roman Martyrology we find the name of Theodorus, bishop
of Cyrene who was martyred in 302 BC; another Theordorus together with
the deacon Irenaeus and the Lectors Serapius and Ammonius, suffered martyrdom
on 26th March 319 BC. One of the most famous martyrs of the persecution
of Diocletian, was St. Cyrilla, a noble girl from Cyrene.
|
363 Hieromartyr Cyriacus the Patriarch of Jerusalem a Jew who pointed out to the holy Empress Helen
the place where the Life-Creating Cross of Christ lay buried
The Hieromartyr Cyriacus, Patriarch
of Jerusalem, was a Jew who pointed out to the holy Empress Helen the place
where the Life-Creating Cross of Christ lay buried (September 14). Being
present at the discovery of the Cross, Cyriacus (before Baptism he was named
Jude) sincerely came to believe in Christ the true God, and he became a
Christian. Cyriacus, because of his pure and virtuous life, was later chosen
to be Patriarch of Jerusalem. He suffered martyrdom under the emperor Julian.
During the cruel persecution under Julian the Apostate,
in the year 363, St Cyriacus accepted suffering for the Faith. He was killed
after prolonged tortures.
|
415 St. Honoratus
of Vercelli Bishop of Vercelli
Vercéllis sancti Honoráti
Epíscopi.
At Vercelli, St. Honoratus, bishop.
Italy, and a disciple of Sts.
Eusebius and Ambrose. Born
330 in Vercelli, Honoratus served St. Eusebius, who governed that see. When
St. Eusebius went into exile in 355, Honoratus accompanied him to Scythopolis,
Palestine. They traveled to Cappadocia , Egypt, and Illyricum, also Dalmatia.
In 396, Honoratus was nominated as a bishop by St. Ambrose.
Honoratus attended St. Ambrose
on his deathbed.
|
St. Ferrutius martyred
Roman soldier at Mainz, Germany
Mogúntiæ sancti Ferrútii
Mártyris. At Mainz, St. Ferrutius, martyr.
Refused to take part in pagan
ceremonies. Thrown into prison, Ferrutius died of abuse and starvation.
|
St Arsenius
of Cappadocia
St Arsenius of Farasa is the priest who baptised Elder Paisios the Athonite
and gave him his Christian name - Arsenios.
|
6th v. St. Abraham archbishop of Ephesus, Greece a learned
theologian St. Abraham
who authored many treatises
that influenced his contemporaries. He erected monasteries in Jerusalem and
Constantinople. The monastery in Constantinople was involved in a dispute
with the Byzantine Emperor, Theophilus. The monks in the abbey were called
Abrahamites, after the founding saint, and they refused to accept the heresy
of the Iconoclasts of the time.
|
596
Venerable John the Chozebite
Whenever he served the Divine
Liturgy, he saw a heavenly light in the altar.
Saint John the Chozebite, Bishop
of Caesarea in Palestine (587-596), was famed for his struggle against
the Eutychian heresy, and also for his grace-filled gifts of discernment
and wonderworking. He was born in the Egyptian city of Thebes and while
still a youth he spent a long time with his uncle, an ascetic, in the Thebaid
wilderness.
The emperor, who learned of John's holy life, decided to
make him bishop of the city of Caesarea. But the saint, yearning for solitude,
withdrew into the Chozeba wilderness (between Jerusalem and Jericho) and
pursued asceticism there until the end of his life. Whenever he served
the Divine Liturgy, he saw a heavenly light in the altar.
|
6th v. St. Salvius Hermit;
Normandy is named after him; devotion of the people who visited the church
or chapel which was built where his hermitage stood was supported by miracles
and extraordinary cures which the divine power wrought there, insomuch
that the reputation of it went very far…The canons of Rouen were at the
expense of clearing some of the more accessible lands for the subsistence
of the priests who there performed the divine office; and this is the first
origin of the parish of Saint-Saire, and the foundation of the lordship
which the chapter of Rouen possesses there.
ST SALVIUS, OR SAIRE
THIS saint has been confused
with St Salvius of Albi and St Salvius of Amiens (and they with one another),
but he seems to have been a distinct person and a hermit in the forest
of Bray in Normandy. Nothing is known about him, but in a footnote to his
account of St Salvius of Albi, Alban Butler gives an extract from a manuscript
then preserved in the castle of Saint-Saire (Eure-et-Loir) of the counts
of Boulain-villiers. It runs as follows:
The titles of the metropolitan of Rouen prove that about
the year 800, and near a century after, there was a place in the forest
of Bray consecrated to the memory and honour of St Salvius…There remain,
however, formal proofs of St Salvius being a solitary in an ancient
MS. from five to six hundred years old, which contains the office of his
feast.
He is also represented in a pane of glass in an ancient
subterraneous chapel in the dress of a hermit, on his knees, praying with
his hands extended. The devotion of the people who visited the church or
chapel which was built where his hermitage stood was supported by miracles
and extraordinary cures which the divine power wrought there, insomuch that
the reputation of it went very far…The canons of Rouen were at the expense
of clearing some of the more accessible lands for the subsistence of the priests
who there performed the divine office; and this is the first origin of
the parish of Saint-Saire, and the foundation of the lordship which the chapter
of Rouen possesses there.
A brief notice
of St Salvius may be found in the Acta
Sanctorum, October, vol. xii. There is no biography of any sort, except
the lessons in breviaries. Father Grosjean suggests that the breviary seen
by Butler may be one of two now at Amiens, Bibliothèque municipale,
MS. 111 or MS. 112; both were copied 1250 and both have the lessons.
Sometime identified with Salvius of Albi. Saint-Saire,
Normandy, is named after
him, from the French Saire, for Salvius.
|
7th
v. Martyr Neophytus of Urbin, Georgia descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers
pagans stoned the saint to
death. With his last breath Holy Hieromartyr Neophytus cried out, “Lord
Jesus Christ receive my soul!”
The holy hieromartyr Neophytus
of Urbnisi descended from a line of Persian fire-worshippers.
In the 7th century, by order
of the Saracen emir Mumni (Mu’min), the military leader Ahmad attacked
Georgia with an enormous army. After overrunning the central part of Shida
(Inner) Kartli, Ahmad dispatched two of his commanders, Omar and Burul,
to the capital city of Mtskheta. At the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi
rivers, across from the village of Tsikhedidi in the rocky Sarkineti region,
the invaders discovered a group of caves and plotted to occupy them. They
tried to cross the Mtkvari but were unable.
Having suffered a setback, the enemies asked their captives
what was located in those caves. They were told that this was the Shio-Mgvime
Monastery, where dwelt God’s chosen, who had deprived themselves of every
earthly blessing.
Surprised at this reply, the commanders decided to pass this
information on to Ahmad. Then, as though it were commonplace, Ahmad sent
Omar to the monastery to ask the monks to pray for him and remember him at
the grave of their abbot, St. Shio. “Pray for me, O slaves of God, and accept
these gifts of aloe and incense. Offer these as a sacrifice to your abbot,”
he told them.
Approaching the monastery caves, Omar sent a messenger to
inform the monks that he was coming to them in peace and bearing gifts. Drawing
near to the monastery gates, the commander saw an army of incorporeal hosts
descending from the heavens and among them an elder, radiant with a great
light.
The meek and modest behavior of the monks left a great impression
on Omar. He soon understood that the strange armies he had seen on the
steps of the monastery were angels of God and that the elder was St. Shio
of Mgvime, abbot of the monastery. He related his vision to the monks and
vowed to return to them, receive the sacrament of Holy Baptism, be tonsured
a monk, and remain there to join in their holy labors.
Soon Omar abandoned all his possessions, his military rank,
and his wealth and was baptized in the Christian Faith at the Shio-Mgvime
Monastery as he had promised. Two of his slaves were baptized with him as
well. Omar received the new name Neophytus (Newly Planted / From the Greek
word neophytos, which in I Tim. 3:6 refers to a new convert.), and his slaves
became Christodoulus (Christ’s Slave) and Christopher (Christ-bearer).
According to God’s will, St. Neophytus was consecrated bishop
of Urbnisi, and all were amazed at his wisdom and steadfastness. He was
a true father to his flock: “He strengthened the weak, healed the sick,
raised the fallen, cleansed the possessed, directed the lost and sought
out those who were perishing, protecting them, and forbidding them to wander
off again.”
But the enemy could not tolerate the native Persian’s apostolic
activity, and he convinced the fire-worshippers to kill the Christian shepherd.
So the unbelievers devised an ambush and attacked Neophytus’ isolated cell,
then tied him up and began to mock, curse, and revile him. They knew that
St. Neophytus longed to become like the holy protomartyr Stephen, and they
plotted to stone him to death.
When his time to depart this world had arrived, St. Neophytus
turned to his persecutors with a tender voice, saying, “Sweet is death
to me, O unbelievers! Sweet it is to me. I desire to sunder the link between
my mortal and immortal nature.… With my own blood I will confirm the Holy
Church, which is founded upon the Precious Blood of the Son and Word of
God, Whom I preach. May that which was foreordained for me by the Providence
of God be fulfilled, for He has called me to His light from the depths of
ungodliness!”
The furious pagans stoned the
saint to death. With his last breath Holy Hieromartyr Neophytus cried out,
“Lord Jesus Christ receive my soul!”
|
672 ST FARO, BISHOP OF MEAUX restored sight to a blind man by conferring on
him the sacrament of Confirmation, and wrought several other miracles one of
the first known bishops of Meaux, has rendered his name the most illustrious
of all the prelates of this see who are mentioned in the calendars of the
Church
THE eminent sanctity of St Faro, one of the first known bishops
of Meaux, has rendered his name the most illustrious of all the prelates
of this see who are mentioned in the calendars of the Church. He was the
brother of St Chainoaldus of Laon and of St Burgundofara, first abbess of
Faremoutier, and spent his youth in the court of King Theodebert II of Austrasia.
Later he married, and passed to the court of Clotaire II. When that prince,
provoked at the insolent speeches of certain Saxon ambassadors, had cast
them into prison and sworn he would put them to death, St Faro prevailed
on him by a stratagem to pardon them. The life which he led was most edifying
and holy, and when he was about thirty-five years old he determined, if his
wife would agree, to enter the ecclesiastical state. - Blide- child
was of the same disposition, and she retired to a place upon one of her own
estates, where some years after she died, having persuaded her husband to
persevere in his new vocation, which for a time he had wished to abandon
and return to her.
St Faro received the tonsure among the clergy
of Meaux, which episcopal see becoming vacant, he was chosen to fill it,
about the year 628. Under Dagobert I he became chancellor, and used his influence
with his prince to protect the innocent, the orphan and the widow, and
to relieve all that were in distress.
The holy
prelate laboured for souls with unwearied zeal and attention, and promoted
the conversion of those who had not yet forsaken idolatry. The author of
his life tells us that he restored sight to a blind man by conferring on
him the sacrament of Confirmation, and wrought several other miracles. Soon
after Faro’s episcopal consecration St Fiacre arrived at Meaux, and the
bishop gave to Fiacre some land of his own patrimony at Breuil for a hermitage.
He founded in the suburbs of Meaux the monastery of the Holy Cross, which
later bore his name. St Faro placed in it monks of St Columban from
Luxeuil. In 668 he gave hospitality to St Adrian, later of Canterbury,
on his way to England.
The Life of St Faro, which was
written 200 years after his death by another bishop of Meaux, Hildegar,
is of no great historical value. It has been critically edited after Mabillon
by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores Merov.,
vol. v, pp. 171—206. This text is undoubtedly the original of the shorter
narrative printed in the Acta Sanctorum.
There is reference in Hildegar’s compilation to a ballad which, we are told,
was sung by the people in commemoration of Clotaire’s victory over the Saxons,
and which is known as the “Cantilene de St Faron”. As a supposed specimen
of the early Romance language it has given rise to a considerable literature,
of which a full account, with bibliography, may be found in DAC., vol. v,
cc. 1114—1124. With regard to St Faro, see Beaumier-Besse, Abbayes et prieurés de France,
vol. i, pp. 304 seq.; Duchesne, Fastes
Épiscopaux, vol. ii, p. 477; and in H.
M. Delsart, Sainte Fare (1911).
|
690
St. Godwin Benedictine abbot of the monastery of Stravelot Malmedy,
Belgium, and a noted scholar.
|
768
St. Anglinus Benedictine abbot Anglinus is recorded as the tenth abbot
of Stovelot-Malmedy, near Liege, Belgium.
|
875 St. Remigius
Archbishop of Lyons France theologian
After serving as
the arch-chaplain to the royal court of the Carolingian ruler Charles the
Bald, he was named archbishop of Lyons in 852. During his time as archbishop,
he became involved in the controversy surrounding the theologian Gottschalk
of Fulda. While he was opposed to Gottschalk’s teachings and ideas on predestination,
he was firmly against the harsh treatment of the theologian as a result
of his incarceration at the hands of Hincmar of Reims.
|
1050 St. Eadsin
Archbishop of Canterbury England, who crowned King St. Edward the Confessor.
|
1266
Repose of St Arsenius
the Archbishop of Serbia
Saint Arsenius, Archbishop of
Pech, was born in Srem. He spent a large part of his life as a monk at
the Zhicha monastery under the spiritual direction of St Sava (January
14). Because of his strict ascetic life, St Sava made him the igumen of
the monastery.
When Serbia was invaded by Hungary, St Sava sent St
Arsenius to find a safer place in the south for a new episcopal See. Arsenius
chose Pech, where he built a monastery and a church which was dedicated
to the Holy Apostles, and then to the Lord's Ascension.
Before leaving for Jerusalem, St Sava designated Arsenius
as his successor. In 1223, St Sava died in Trnovo on the way home, and St
Arsenius urged King Vladislav to bring his body home for burial in Serbia.
After thirty-three years of wisely guiding his flock, St Arsenius fell asleep
in the Lord in the year 1266. His relics were buried at the Pech monastery,
now resting in the Zhrebaonik, Montenegro.
|
1311 Venerable Athanasius the Younger the Patriarch
of Constantinople 1289-1293; 1303-1311
Shunning praise, Acacius humbly left Mt. Athos at first for the holy places
in Jerusalem, and then to Mount Patra, where for a long time he lived ascetically
as an hermit
Saint Athanasius I, Patriarch of Constantinople (1289-1293;
1303-1311), in the world Alexius, was from Adrianopolis. While still in
his youth, thriving upon the knowledge of the wisdom of Christ, he left his
home and went to Thessalonica, where he was tonsured in one of the monasteries
with the name Acacius. He soon withdrew to Mount Athos and entered the brethren
of the Esphigmenou monastery, where for three years he served in the trapeza.
In his works and his ascetic deeds he acquired the gift of tears, and by
his virtuous acts he won the overall goodwill of the brethren.
Shunning praise, Acacius humbly left Mt. Athos
at first for the holy places in Jerusalem, and then to Mount Patra, where
for a long time he lived ascetically as an hermit. From there the ascetic
transferred to the Auxention monastery, and then to Mount Galanteia to
the monastery of Blessed Lazarus, where he accepted the great angelic schema
with the name Athanasius, was ordained a priest and became ecclesiarch (monk
in charge of the sacred relics and vessels in the church). Here the saint
was granted a divine revelation: he heard the Voice of the Lord from a crucifix,
summoning him to pastoral service.
Wishing to strengthen his spirit still more in
silence and prayer, St Athanasius again settled on Mount Athos after ten
years. But because of disorders arising there he returned to Mount Galanteia.
Here also he was not long to remain in solitude. Many people thronged to
him for pastoral guidance, and so he organized a women's monastery there.
During this time the throne of the Church of
Constantinople fell vacant after the disturbances and disorder of the period
of the Patriarch John Bekkos. At the suggestion of the pious emperor Andronicus
Paleologos, a council of hierarchs and clergy unanimously chose St Athanasius
to the Patriarchal throne of the Church in 1289.
Patriarch Athanasius began fervently to fulfill
his new obedience and did much for strengthening the Church. His strictness
of conviction roused the dissatisfaction of influential clergy, and in 1293
he was compelled to resign the throne and to retire again to his own monastery,
where he lived an ascetic life in solitude. In 1303 he was again entrusted
with the staff of patriarchal service, which he worthily fulfilled for
another seven years. In 1308 St Athanasius established St Peter as Metropolitan
of Kiev and All Rus (December 21).
Again, because of some sort
of dissatisfaction, and not wanting to be the cause of church discord, St
Athanasius resigned the governance of the Church in 1311. He departed to
his own monastery, devoting himself fully to monastic deeds.
Toward the end of his life, the saint was again
found worthy to behold Christ. The Lord reproached him because Athanasius
had not carried out his pastoral duty to the end. Weeping, the saint repented
of his cowardice and received from the Lord both forgiveness and the gift
of wonderworking. St Athanasius died at the age of 100.
|
1651 Repose of the Venerable
Job, Abbot and Wonderworker of Pochaev
Saint Job, Abbot and Wonderworker
of Pochaev (in the world named Ivan Zhelezo), was born around 1551 in Pokutia
in Galicia. At age ten he came to the Transfiguration Ugornits monastery,
and at age twelve he received monastic tonsure with the name Job. The venerable
Job from his youth was known for his great piety and strict ascetic life,
and he was accounted worthy of the priestly office.
Around the year 1580, at the request of the renowned
champion of Orthodoxy Prince Constantine Ostrozhsky, St Job was appointed
the head of the Exaltation of the Cross monastery near the city of Dubno,
and for more than twenty years he governed the monastery amidst the growing
persecution of Orthodoxy on the part of the Catholics and Uniates.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century,
St Job withdrew to Pochaev hill and settled in a cave not far from the ancient
Dormition monastery, famed for its wonderworking Pochaev Icon of the Mother
of God (July 23). The holy hermit, beloved by the brethren of the monastery,
was chosen as their Igumen. St Job zealously fulfilled his duty as head of
the monastery, kind and gentle with the brethren, he did much of the work
himself, planting trees in the garden, and strengthening the waterworks at
the monastery.
St Job was an ardent defender of the Orthodox
Faith against the persecution of the Catholics. Following the Union of Brest
(1596), many Orthodox living in Poland were deprived of their rights, and
attempts were made to force them to convert to Catholicism. Many Orthodox
hierarchs became apostates to Uniatism, but St Job and others defended Orthodoxy
by copying and disseminating Orthodox books. Prince Ostrozhsky was also responsible
for the first printed edition of the Orthodox Bible (1581).
In taking an active part in
the defense of Orthodoxy and the Russian people, St Job was present at the
1628 Kiev Council, convened against the Unia. After 1642, he accepted the
great schema with the name John.
Sometimes he completely secluded himself within
the cave for three days or even a whole week. The Jesus Prayer was an unceasing
prayer in gentle heart. According to the testimony of his disciple Dositheus,
and author of the Life of St Job, once while praying in his cave, the saint
was illumined by a heavenly light. St Job reposed in the year 1651. He was
more than 100 years old, and had directed the Pochaev monastery for more
than fifty years.
The uncovering of St Job's relics took place
August 28, 1659. There was a second uncovering of the relics August 27-28,
1833.
|
1709 St Demetrius (Dimitri), Metropolitan of Rostov organizing the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints
for the whole year
Saint Demetrius, Metropolitan
of Rostov (in the world Daniel Savvich Tuptalo), was born in December 1651
in the locale of Makarovo, not far from Kiev. He was born into a pious
family and grew up a deeply believing Christian. In 1662, soon after his
parents resettled to Kiev, Daniel was sent to the Kiev-Mogilyansk college,
where the gifts and remarkable abilities of the youth were first discovered.
He successfully learned the Greek and Latin languages and the entire series
of classical sciences. On July 9,1668 Daniel accepted monastic tonsure with
the name Demetrius, in honor of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.
Prior to the spring of 1675 he progressed through the monastic obediences
at Kiev's Kirillov monastery, where he began his literary and preaching activity.
The Archbishop of Chernigov Lazar (Baranovich) ordained Demetrius
as hieromonk on May 23, 1675. For several years Hieromonk Demetrius lived
as an ascetic and preached the Word of God at various monasteries and churches
in the Ukraine, Lithuania and Belarus. It was while he was Igumen of the
Maximov monastery,and later the Baturinsk Nikol'sk monastery, in 1684 he
was summoned to the Kiev Caves Lavra. The Superior of the Lavra, Archimandrite
Barlaam (Yasinsky), knowing the high spiritual disposition of his former
disciple, his education, his proclivity for scientific work, and also his
undoubted literary talent, entrusted the hieromonk Demetrius with organizing
the MENAION, the Lives of the Saints for the whole year.
From this time, all the rest of St Demetrius's life was devoted
to the fulfilling of this ascetic work, grandiose in its scope. The work
demanded an enormous exertion of strength, since it necessitated the gathering
and analizing of a multitude of various sources and to expound them in a
fluent language, worthy of the lofty subject of exposition and at the same
time accessible to all believers. Divine assistance did not abandon the saint
for his twenty year labor.
According to the testimony of St Demetrius himself, his soul
was filled with impressions of the saints, which strengthened him both in
spirit and body, and they encouraged faith in the felicitous completion of
his noble task. At this time, the venerable Demetrius was head of several
monasteries (in succession).
The works of the ascetic brought him to the attention of
Patriarch Adrian. In 1701, by decree of Tsar Peter I, Archimandrite Demetrius
was summoned to Moscow, where on March 23 at the Dormition cathedral of
the Kremlin he was consecrated as Metropolitan of the Siberian city of Tobolsk.
But after a certain while, because of the importance of his scientific work
and the frailty of his health, the saint received a new appointment to Rostov-Yaroslavl,
and on March 1, 1702 assumed his duties as Metropolitan of Rostov.
Just as before, he continued to be concerned about the strengthening
of the unity of the Russian Orthodox Church, weakened by the “Old Believers”
schism.
From his inspired works and preachings many generations of
Russian theologians drew spiritual strength for creativity and prayer.
He remains an example of a saintly, ascetic, non-covetous life for all
Orthodox Christians. Upon his death on October 28, 1709, it was discovered
that he had few possessions, except for books and manuscripts.
The glorification of St Demetrius,
Metropolitan of Rostov, took place on April 22, 1757. He is also remembered
on September 21, the day of the uncovering of his holy relics.
|
1798
St. John Dat Martyred native priest of Vietnam
ordained in 1798, and arrested in that same year and imprisoned for
three months before being beheaded.
He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II.
|
1924
St Arsenius of Cappadocia MUCH
MORE HERE
St Arsenius of Farasa is the priest who baptised Elder Paisios the Athonite
and gave him his Christian name - Arsenios.
An Example of Miraculous Help.
To expand this thought, the
Elder told me the following: Once, it was essential for me to go somewhere.
I needed around 1000 drachmas for traveling expenses but I did not have
any money. While I was pondering on how to get the money for my trip, a
brother brought me a letter with a remittance of exactly 1000 drachmas.
The letter was unsigned. In place of the 
return address there was an inscription on the
envelope that said:
"Sender: Pantanassa" — i.e. the
"Queen of All."
As soon as I saw how miraculously the Lord took care of me,
I cried and thanked the Lord and the Most-Holy Virgin.
I have seen many miraculous things in my life. It is amazing:
if you do not attend to yourself, but only concern yourself about the Kingdom
of God, then God does not even let us notice that we need anything! Truly:
for that remittance had been sent to me even before I knew that I would
need money. God, as a good Father, cares about us before we start to need
any thing, and, in addition, His Providence takes cares of us even before
we ask. On our part, we need to trust Him.
"Sometimes a thought comes to
me, but I do not dwell on it. For example, the wine for the Liturgy is
almost gone and I need to get more. I reject this worry immediately, saying:
"Eh, probably tomorrow or the next day someone will bring it to me!" And
that is what happens. Then I am greatly amazed, for the one who brought
it, say--from Crete, had already prepared it several days before I needed
it!
From this I clearly see that God takes care
of us even before the moment that we find out we lack something and decide
to ask Him, as it is written: "For Your Father knoweth what things ye have
need of, before ye ask Him…Take therefore no thought for the morrow…" (Math.
6:8, 33-34).
"Our task and concern should be to please God and
to help our brother, while everything, that concerns our well-being, we
must entrust to the will of God — for it is His, God’s, business. He wants
a spiritual symphony, when, while working for Him, we, without any concern,
rely on Him for everything, and He in turn, takes care of us. This is what
the Apostle teaches us when he writes: "Casting all your care upon Him; for
He careth for you" (1 Pet.5:7).
"He, who lives simply, thinks of himself humbly and
feels the necessity of the paternal care of God, leaving to Him all the
concerns about himself. In this case, the good God, seeing that this soul
trusts Him in everything, and not itself, protects it with providence and
mercy. Then the soul clearly sees the Divine help and rejoices.
God wants the soul to be simple, without the slightest doubt
and questioning. Let it be like that of a child, who expects everything from
his parents. Therefore, the Lord had said: "Whosoever shall not receive
the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein" (Mark
10:13).
"One should ask God for help with much simplicity and confess
to Him his weakness, for in this way we can become freed from any worries
and concerns about ourselves: and as the shadow follows the body, Divine
mercy follows humility and faith."
An
Incident with an Elder, Who Doubted Divine Providence.
In order to could convince his
visitors that God always cares about people and directs everything the
best way, the Elder related the following incident:
"One ascetic, suffering in his soul due to the
multiple injustices he had seen in his life, begged God to reveal to him,
why the pious people so often fall into difficulties and suffer various oppressions,
while the sinners and atheists triumph and thrive. For a long period of
time, he begged God daily to reveal to him the mystery of the ways of His
Providence and explain the riddle of the seeming contradiction between that
which should be and that which occurs. Finally, the ascetic heard a voice
saying to him:
—Do not examine that, what exceeds your understanding, and
do not strive to fathom the mysteries of Divine judgments, for they are
an incomprehensible abyss. Condescending to your heart’s pain, God will
reveal His Providence to you in one life incident. And you pay attention
to what you see.
And so, like in a vision, the elder felt himself above the
earth, and a mysterious air-flow brought him to a field, close to which
there was a road. On the other side of the field, there was a spring and
an old tree. The ascetic was ordered to hide himself in the hollow of that
tree and to observe what would happen.
Soon a rich man rode up to the spring on a horse. He stopped
to drink some water and to rest. Settling down on the grass, he took out
of the basket a small purse, tightly stuffed with gold coins. After counting
them, he put the purse back into the basket and took some food out to eat.
He did not notice that, when he was taking out the food, the purse fell
out into the grass. The rich man ate, lay down to take a nap, and then,
mounting the horse, rode on, without noticing that the purse with the coins
was left in the grass.
A little later, another passer-by
approached the spring. He saw the purse with the gold coins, picked it
up and left, delighted.
Soon, there appeared a third passer-by, skinny and badly
dressed — apparently, a beggar. He, too, stopped by the spring, drank some
water, took a roll out of his handkerchief and sat down to eat. He had
not yet finished eating his bread, when suddenly, the first passerby rode
up, the rich man that had lost his purse. With a face, crimson with anger,
he pounced on the beggar and began demanding the return of his gold coins.
Naturally, the beggar, not knowing what the matter was, began to refuse
and assure the rich man, that he had never seen his coins. The rich man,
however, did not believe the beggar, and, becoming violent, started to severely
beat the beggar until he killed him. Upon searching the beggar’s clothes,
he did not find anything, and galloped away, anguished.
Observing all this from the hollow, the elder began to grieve
and cry, that the beggar died for nothing. And again the elder appealed
to God: "Lord, what do these events mean? How can Your goodness tolerate
such injustice: the rich man lost his coins absent-mindedly, an accidental
stranger took them, and the innocent beggar paid for them with his life."
Then the Lord’s Angel descended
from Heaven and answered the elder:
—Do not be sad, and do not think that this happened contrary
to the will of God. For everything in life happens either because God permits
it, or, for the purpose of teaching people, or as part of the Divine house-building.
So, listen:
The man, who lost the gold coins, is the neighbor of the
one that found them. The latter had a garden, which had a value of 100 gold
coins. The rich man, being covetous, made him sell the garden to him for
half the price.
Suffering damage at the hands of the rich man, the neighbor,
not knowing to whom to complain, began to ask God to come to his defense.
And God so arranged it: in finding the gold coins, he received what was
due him.
The beggar, who, it appeared, had suffered for nothing, had
committed a murder in his youth.
Later, he sincerely repented of that sin, and lived the
rest of the life righteously. Nevertheless, suffering in his soul for his
grave sin, He prayed God to send him a death that would redeem him of his
sin of the murder of an innocent person. Of course, the merciful Lord forgave
him, seeing his complete reformation.
Nevertheless, he permitted him
to die violently, to crown him with the martyr’s crown, that he had asked
for himself!
Finally, the miserly rich man, that lost the gold coins,
was punished for his covetousness: God let him commit the grave sin of murder.
Staggered by that incident, he came to his senses and with great grief started
repenting.
Then, having distributed
his wealth, he left the world and became a monk in one of the monasteries.
So, in which of these three events do you see injustice or
blind fate? Therefore, humble yourself before God, and in future, do not
delve into His destinies, for He does everything righteously and leads to
the best result.
Concluding this story, Elder Paisius mentioned the words
of the Psalm:
"Righteous art Thou, O LORD,
and upright are Thy judgments" (Ps.118:137).
|
Synod Presents 55 Propositions
to Pope
Assembly Approves Every Proposal VATICAN CITY, OCT. 26, 2008 (Zenit.org)
The work sessions of the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God concluded
at midday Saturday, with the approval of 55 propositions that the synodal
assembly presented to Benedict XVI.
The proposals were voted on electronically by the 244 synod fathers
present in the hall. To be approved, each proposition needed a two-thirds
majority.
All of the propositions that were presented were approved, confirming
the evaluation of this synod as exhibiting perhaps more consensus than
any synod since the Second Vatican Council reinstituted this assembly.
Part 1 The first part includes propositions on the Word of God in the
faith of the Church. The proposals in this sections include suggestions
so that Catho lic communities better understand and live their deep relationship
with the Word, Jesus Christ, who can be found in the reading and meditating
Scripture.
They highlight the role of the Holy Spirit, the Church and tradition,
as well as the intimate relationship between Scripture and the Eucharist.
Three propositions present the Word of God as a Word of reconciliation,
a Word of commitment in favor of the poor, and the base of natural law. This
section also considers the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.
Part 2 The second part of the document (propositions 14-37) considers
the Word of God in the life of the Church. Among other things, concrete
ideas are offered to improve homilies, a revision of the Lectionary is suggested,
and lectio divina is promoted. It is suggested that women be allowed to
be instituted lectors.
This section also urges overcoming division between exegetes and theologians,
or exegetes and pastors.
Proposition 3 7 has a historical value, because it takes up the contribution
make by Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople.
Part 3 Propositions 38-54, on the Word of God in the mission of the
Church, speaks of the Word in relation to art and culture, and the translations
and availability of the Bible.
This section also considers the transmission of the Word in the media,
as well as the fundamentalist reading of the Bible and the phenomenon of
sects. It also takes into account proposals on interreligious dialogue, the
promotion of pilgrimages and studies in the Holy Land, dialogue with Judaism
and Islam, and the relationship between the Word and protection of the environment.
The concluding proposition is dedicated to Mary, and invites a promotion
of the Angelus and the rosary -- contemplation of the Word though the eyes
of the Mother of Christ.
Public The propositions were prepared by a team led by the relator-general
of the synod, Cardinal Marc Oue llet, archbishop of Quebec and by the special
secretary, Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo.
The team spent the entire night working so as to present the propositions
for vote.
Normally the propositions are not made public, but Benedict XVI has
asked the secretariat of the synod to publish a provisional, non-official
Italian translation.
|
Make a Novena
and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory 
Saint_of_the_DayOctober
28 Quinto Kaléndas Novémbris
Sts. Simon
and Jude; Jude named by Luke Acts Matthew Mark - Thaddeus
In the spiritual life he who
does not advance goes backward. 
Quote:
Pope Paul VI’s 1969 
Benedict
XVI met with Aram I Catholicos of
Cilicia, the highest authority of the Orthodox
Church. The
Pope remembered the martyrs of the Armenian
Church and the Armenian genocide, without
explicitly mentioning it, and denounced the persecution
of Christians in modern times.
Benedict XVI
As
we watch the spectacle of the world
seeming to self-destruct before our eyes,
we can’t help but be saddened and even frightened
by so much evil run rampant. Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan,
Somalia, North Korea—It is all a disaster
of epic proportions displayed in living color on
our television screens.