Saint of the day and Feast days-Part 3

[odhiambo]

Saint Nicasius
Bishop of Rheims.
Martyr.
Saint Nicasius was beheaded in 451 by marauding barbarians, either the Vandals or the Huns. He was slain while trying to save the lives of his faithful during an invasion he had prophesied. Murdered with him were Saint Florentius, his deacon; Saint Jacundus , his lector and Saint Eutropia, his sister who was killed when he attacked her brother's murderers.
Saint Nicasius,
Pray for us!

[centurionguard]

St. John of the Cross Mystical Doctor Of The Church
Advent December 14 Feast Day
You will not take from me, my God, what You once gave me in Your only Son, Jesus Christ, in whom You gave me all I desire. Hence, I rejoice that if I wait for You, You will not delay.
For St. John of the Cross, the spiritual life, the life of prayer, is part of a great romance of Christ and the Church. That is, in the vision of this great saint Christ yearns for the Church in a faithful, indissoluble, sacrificial and fruitful way. This kind of love evokes the response of love, not only in the Church as a whole, but in each of us who allow the Lord's love to touch and form our hearts. For this to happen, we need to keep vigil for his coming, and the best way to keep this vigilance is to behave like the betrothed, to live by love alone.

This message cooresponds with these last days before Christmas. It is such a beautiful time of gathering together with friends and family. We find ourselves easily excited and filled with great expectations about what the reunions will be like. If sometimes we are caught up in a frenzy of buying, this is only because we want everything to be perfect for everyone we love. At the same time, it is so easy to exhaust ourselves on anxieties, stress, insobriety and self-pity that we do not remember to pray. In the midst of it all, we forget that this is a time to wait for the Lord, to live simply in His love, and to seek Him in those He sends to us.

It such a busy time of year, do we really have time to pray? Yes. We make time for those things we most value - whatever is the priority of our heart, that we make time for. The real question is never really about time, its always about our priorities. When we make prayer a priority, instead of being driven by our commercial entertainment culture, we find ourselves rooted in love, moved to love by the One who comes for us.

The One who comes for us is sent by the Father as his great gift to us. He will never take this gift back, but always offers His Son to us in ever new ways, even if we should for a time reject this love. In the Father's eyes, we are members of the Body of Christ, the Bride He has prepared for His Son from all eternity. He yearns to see His Son delight in this Bride, and to see this Bride overcome by His Son's love for her.

This at least is the picture that St. John of the Cross paints in his poem Romances, one of his few works that takes up the themes of Advent and Christmas. This poem opens up a beautiful mystery, a mystery only those who say 'yes' to the Lord fully see. In this, the poem invites us to see with the eyes of Mary, the one person above all who was vigilant for the coming of the Lord. He not only came to her in her womb, but just as important, He came into her heart, just like he yearns to come into our hearts. To help us appreciate this inestimable gift, the poem ends with Mary holding her newborn child and pondering how men accostumed to sorrow, now rejoice and how God accostumed to perfect joy, has found a way to bear man's sorrows.

continued...

[centurionguard]

continued...

St. John of the Cross is a 16th century Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church. He had an intense and intimate relationship with God and he possessed a unique gift for communicating that relationship to others through poetry and prose. John was called by God, along with his dear friend St. Teresa of Avila, to reform the Carmelite Order at that time.

The Carmelites are a contemplative religious order founded on a commitment to God in silent-as well as communal-prayer. John’s attempt to bring the focus more completely back to this original foundation was met with much resistance. His own contemporaries rejected him, and even had him abducted and brought to the Carmelite monastery in Toledo, where he was placed in a tiny cell with little food, little water and almost no light at all. He was treated miserably.

Yet it was there, alone and in the darkness of that prison cell, that St. John of the Cross made a remarkable discovery. He found joy—even there, of all places—and understood well that our rejoicing in God is not dependent upon anyone or anything else around us. We do not depend upon the way others treat us, or on what is happening in the world around us, or on any other thing. Our joy, St. John of the Cross would attest, comes from God.

And there, in the darkness, John began to write the most beautiful poems about the depths of God’s love and the soul’s remarkable journey towards union with Him. We still have those poems today

which brings me back to that story I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I said that it was a love story, a romance. It was written by St. John of the Cross and it is a poem which he himself entitled The Romances. It begins in heaven, as a dialogue of love between God the Father and God the Son. We are allowed to kind of eavesdrop on that conversation in heaven, and in that poem God the Father says:

“My Son, I wish to give you
a Bride who will love you.
Because of you she will deserve
to share our company,
and eat at our table,
the same bread I eat,
that she may know the good
I have in such a son;
and rejoice with me
in your grace and fullness.”

The Bride, of course, is us. We are the Father’s gift to His Son. But that gift is one that is incomplete because of the nature of God and because of our own human nature. God is pure spirit, existing from all eternity long before the material world is ever created. He is different from us.

We are made of body and soul, flesh and blood. We could never be fully united to the Son. The Father in The Romances recognizes this. He says:

“Now, you see Son, that your bride
was made in your image,
and so far as she is like you
she will suit you well;
yet she is different in her flesh,
which your simple being does not have.”

And so the Father proposes that the Son become like His bride. He will have a body, become flesh and blood like Her. The Son—of course—is delighted, as He is delighted in everything that the Father does. He cries out to the Father:

“My will is yours,
and my glory is
that your will be mine . . .
I will go and seek my bride
and take upon myself
her weariness and labors
in which she suffers so;
and that she may have life,
I will die for her,
and lifting her up out of that deep,
I will restore her to you.”

—St. John of the Cross
“The Romances”

That love story, that romance, of course, is the story of Christmas that we are even now anticipating and preparing to celebrate. It is the story of the God who sees our suffering and sorrow here on earth and chooses to become like us, to take upon Himself our suffering, our sorrows; He comes to die, and give us new life. He comes to lift us out of this deep and restore us again to God.

So that is why we rejoice; Our joy comes from that romance and that overwhelming story where we see revealed the great love God has for His bride, the Church. And to make sure we would never forget a story like that, to see that it would not simply remain a poem, something to be read aloud each year without ever touching us deeply and transforming us, the Bridegroom chose to make His love for us a sacrament. It is the Sacrament of the Eucharist which we celebrate at every Mass.

Here we listen to the words of Christ spoken to His Bride, the Church. He says: “Take this, all of you, and eat it. This is my body, which will be given up for you.” He pours out His life for us and says: “Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood.” We become one with Christ here, we find the strength to get through any difficulty here. The Bride is united to Her Bridegroom here. That is why we rejoice even in the midst of afflictions at Mass and we take St. Paul’s words to heart in his letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Notice Saint Paul repeats himself, just in case we missed it the first time! Rejoice!

[CatholicFireman]

Saint John of the Cross. One of my favorite saints.

[odhiambo]

Originally Posted by centurionguard

continued...

St. John of the Cross is a 16th century Spanish mystic and Doctor of the Church. He had an intense and intimate relationship with God and he possessed a unique gift for communicating that relationship to others through poetry and prose. John was called by God, along with his dear friend St. Teresa of Avila, to reform the Carmelite Order at that time.

The Carmelites are a contemplative religious order founded on a commitment to God in silent-as well as communal-prayer. John’s attempt to bring the focus more completely back to this original foundation was met with much resistance. His own contemporaries rejected him, and even had him abducted and brought to the Carmelite monastery in Toledo, where he was placed in a tiny cell with little food, little water and almost no light at all. He was treated miserably.

Yet it was there, alone and in the darkness of that prison cell, that St. John of the Cross made a remarkable discovery. He found joy—even there, of all places—and understood well that our rejoicing in God is not dependent upon anyone or anything else around us. We do not depend upon the way others treat us, or on what is happening in the world around us, or on any other thing. Our joy, St. John of the Cross would attest, comes from God.

And there, in the darkness, John began to write the most beautiful poems about the depths of God’s love and the soul’s remarkable journey towards union with Him. We still have those poems today

which brings me back to that story I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I said that it was a love story, a romance. It was written by St. John of the Cross and it is a poem which he himself entitled The Romances. It begins in heaven, as a dialogue of love between God the Father and God the Son. We are allowed to kind of eavesdrop on that conversation in heaven, and in that poem God the Father says:

“My Son, I wish to give you
a Bride who will love you.
Because of you she will deserve
to share our company,
and eat at our table,
the same bread I eat,
that she may know the good
I have in such a son;
and rejoice with me
in your grace and fullness.”

The Bride, of course, is us. We are the Father’s gift to His Son. But that gift is one that is incomplete because of the nature of God and because of our own human nature. God is pure spirit, existing from all eternity long before the material world is ever created. He is different from us.

We are made of body and soul, flesh and blood. We could never be fully united to the Son. The Father in The Romances recognizes this. He says:

“Now, you see Son, that your bride
was made in your image,
and so far as she is like you
she will suit you well;
yet she is different in her flesh,
which your simple being does not have.”

And so the Father proposes that the Son become like His bride. He will have a body, become flesh and blood like Her. The Son—of course—is delighted, as He is delighted in everything that the Father does. He cries out to the Father:

“My will is yours,
and my glory is
that your will be mine . . .
I will go and seek my bride
and take upon myself
her weariness and labors
in which she suffers so;
and that she may have life,
I will die for her,
and lifting her up out of that deep,
I will restore her to you.”

—St. John of the Cross
“The Romances”

That love story, that romance, of course, is the story of Christmas that we are even now anticipating and preparing to celebrate. It is the story of the God who sees our suffering and sorrow here on earth and chooses to become like us, to take upon Himself our suffering, our sorrows; He comes to die, and give us new life. He comes to lift us out of this deep and restore us again to God.

So that is why we rejoice; Our joy comes from that romance and that overwhelming story where we see revealed the great love God has for His bride, the Church. And to make sure we would never forget a story like that, to see that it would not simply remain a poem, something to be read aloud each year without ever touching us deeply and transforming us, the Bridegroom chose to make His love for us a sacrament. It is the Sacrament of the Eucharist which we celebrate at every Mass.

Here we listen to the words of Christ spoken to His Bride, the Church. He says: “Take this, all of you, and eat it. This is my body, which will be given up for you.” He pours out His life for us and says: “Take this, all of you, and drink from it. This is the cup of my blood.” We become one with Christ here, we find the strength to get through any difficulty here. The Bride is united to Her Bridegroom here. That is why we rejoice even in the midst of afflictions at Mass and we take St. Paul’s words to heart in his letter to the Philippians: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Notice Saint Paul repeats himself, just in case we missed it the first time! Rejoice!

Thank You centurionguard!
Thank you for your two posts that I am sure will help me celebrate this year's Christmas more appropriately, prayerfully, with thanksgiving for the birth of Our Lord!

[odhiambo]

Saint John of the Cross was treated shabbly by members of his own community. It is difficult to imagine such uncharitable actions in those preaching God's love and His ways.

[odhiambo]

December 15
Today we remember
Saint Paul of Latros
Among many other saints

[odhiambo]

Saint Paul of Latros
Sometimes listed as Paul the Younge.
Paul was born at Pergamos near Smyrna, in Turkey. His father was an officer in the imperial army. His father was killed in battle. After his mother died, he became a monk at Karia on Mount Olympus in Greece together with his brother Basil. Paul later left the monastery and became a hermit on Mount Latros in Bithynia, Asia Minor. Soon he attracted followers and was compelled to organise them into an hermitic community. After twelve years, Paul left Mount Latros in search of greater solitude. He settled on the island of Samos to live in a cave. Here too, more followers came and again he organised them into several Lauras or communities. He then returned to Latros where he spent the rest of his life in prayers and spiritual exercises.
He died in 956 at Latros.
Saint Paul of Latros,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

December 16
Today we remember the
Martyred Women of North-West Africa
Among many other Saints

[odhiambo]

Martyred Women of North-West Africa
In 482 in North-West Africa, a large group of women were put to death by the Vandal King Hunneric for refusing to accept Arian Christianity i.e, Arian heresy.
This was all the information I could find about these Christians. The Church remembers them today, among other saints. We honor them for being true to the faith and thereby standing tall as role models for posterity.
Martyred Women of North-West Africa
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

December 17
Today is theMemorial of
Saint Olympias
Among many other Sainta

[odhiambo]

Saint Olympias
Olympias was born around the year 361 in Constantinople. She was born in a noble and wealthy family. Her parents died when she was still a child, leaving her an orphan.
Her uncle handed her over to the care of Emperor Theodosius the Great.
When she was old enough, she married to Nebridius, prefect of Constantinople. She was widowed soon after the marriage. There after, she refused several offers of marriage even to those the Emperor had recommended for her. To punish her, Theodosius had her fortune put in trust untill she was thirty.When he finally restore her fortunes in 391, she became a deaconess. With several other ladies, she founded a community of prayerful women in her home and devoted herself to charity. She built a hospital and orphanage, sheltered the homeless. She was so lavish in her alms giving that her friend, Saint John Chrysostom remonstrated with her and when he became Bishop of Constantinople in 398, he became her spiritual director. Olympias was a firm supporter of Chrysostom when he was expelled in 404 from Constantinople and refused to accept the ursurper Arsacius as Patriarch. As a result of this refusal, her community was fined by the prefect Optatus. She was also continually persecuted by the imperial and Church officials antil finally, her community was disbanded and her charitable works ended.Throughout her tribulations, she received encouragement from John from his place of exile.Olympia was herself, finally exiled. She died in exile in Nicomedia on 25 July 408, less than one year after the death of Saint John Chrysostom.
Saint Olympias,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

December 18
Today we remember
Saint Paul My
Among many other Saint,

[odhiambo]

Saint Paul My
Martry.
Paul My was a Vietnamese who converted to Catholicism. He entered into the service of the Paris Foreign Missions Society and as such, he helped in spreading the Catholic Faith in Vietnam. He was arrested by those opposed to the Church in Vietnam and strangled to death in 1838. He was canonized in 1988 by Pope John Paul II
Saint Paul My,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

December 19
Today we remember
Blessed Francis Man aka Blessed Francis Mau
Among many other Saints and Blesseds.