Feast of Stephen

I find it interesting that the day after we celebrate Jesus' birth, we commemorate the protomartyr St Stephen. I don't think its a coincidence. The day after we celebrate the divine baby, Jesus, coming into the world we remember and celebrate St Stephen's birth into Heaven.


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Presents and Punch

I found this on a friend's FB page
see also
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St Joan of Arc burned for wearing men's clothing

Its true! The inquisitors were not able to have St Joan of Arc condemned to death for any other heresy, so they managed to have her burned at the stake for wearing men's clothing. From the Catholic Encyclopedia:

Moreover, as one of the points upon which she had been condemned was the wearing of male apparel, a resumption of that attire would alone constitute a relapse into heresy, and this within a few days happened, owing, it was afterwards alleged, to a trap deliberately laid by her jailers with the connivance of Cauchon. Joan, either to defend her modesty from outrage, or because her women's garments were taken from her, or, perhaps, simply because she was weary of the struggle and was convinced that her enemies were determined to have her blood upon some pretext, once more put on the man's dress which had been purposely left in her way. The end now came soon. On 29 May a court of thirty-seven judges decided unanimously that the Maid must be treated as a relapsed heretic, and this sentence was actually carried out the next day (30 May, 1431) amid circumstances of intense pathos.

She actually had dispensation from French bishops to wear male clothing, but this was not recognized by the English inquisitors.
I meant to post this earlier today, but I forgot until tonight.
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Feast of St Stephen the Protomartyr

Today is the Feast of St Stephen so here is Good King Wenceslas:


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Saint Quiz XIII

This Saint Quiz isn't meant to be difficult. I really just wanted to do another one. Since I haven't done one in almost a year, so I'll quickly explain that the object is to see who can name the depicted saints in the comment box.

Image source

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Saints and Scripture Jesus' Divinity

"Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, 'Jesus is accursed'”; and no one can say, 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:3

I've met many people who refuse to believe in the Divinity of Jesus Christ (Mormons, Muslims, Atheists). I've also met people who profess the Christian faith, but refuse to believe that Jesus Christ is the Second Person in the Holy Trinity.
St Athanasius struggled against the Arian Heresy, which denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ. He was exiled a few times and his life was threatened, but yet he persisted in the orthodox faith. Today he is a saint and a hero of the faith. Some quotes from St Athanasius on Jesus' Divinity:
“Even on the cross He did not hide Himself from sight; rather, He made all creation witness to the presence of its Maker.”
“He became what we are so that he might make us what he is.”(When you receive the Eucharist, you become one with the Lord Jesus)
“God became man so that man might become a god."
“He, the Life of all, our Lord and Saviour, did not arrange the manner of his own death lest He should seem to be afraid of some other kind. No. He accepted and bore upon the cross a death inflicted by others, and those other His special enemies, a death which to them was supremely terrible and by no means to be faced; and He did this in order that, by destroying even this death, He might Himself be believed to be the Life, and the power of death be recognised as finally annulled. A marvellous and mighty paradox has thus occurred, for the death which they thought to inflict on Him as dishonour and disgrace has become the glorious monument to death's defeat.”


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St Phillip's Tomb Found in Turkey

DENIZLI, Turkey (EWTN News) — An archaeological team working in southwest Turkey says it has uncovered the tomb of St. Philip the Apostle.

Italian professor Francesco D’Andria, head of the excavation team at the ancient city of Hierapolis in the province of Denizli, told reporters on July 26 that experts had reached the apostle’s tomb.

Archaeologists had been working for years to find the tomb, he said. They reached the monument while working on the ruins of a newly unearthed church in Hierapolis, the Turkish news agency Anadolu reports. The city of Hierapolis, whose name means “sacred city,” is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its historical hot springs and was used as a spa since the second century. It features a mixture of pagan, Roman, Jewish and early Christian influences.

The structure of the tomb and the writings on it prove that it belonged to St. Philip the Apostle, D’Andria said. He characterized the discovery as a major development both for archaeology and the Christian world.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/st.-philips-tomb-found/#ixzz1TU6DBYrL

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Clouds

Just as the sun's rays are sometimes hidden from the earth by thick cloud, so for a while a person may be deprived of spiritual comfort and of grace's brightness. This is caused by the cloud of the passions. Then, all of a sudden, without that person being aware, it is all given back. Just as the surface of the earth rejoices at the rays of the sun when they break through the clouds, so the words of prayer are able to break through to drive the thick cloud of the passions away from the soul.

St. Isaac the Syrian

hat tip to Word from the Desert

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Love and Knowledge

"Love is inseparable from knowledge."
-- St Marcarius

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A thru Z saints

I saw a challenge on Catholicism for Everyone to come up with a list of Saints for every letter of the alphabet. So here is my attempt:

Anthony of the Desert
Benedict of Nursia
Cyril
Diogenes
E
Francis of Assissi
George
H
Ignatios of Antioch
John Climacus
Kevin
Lawrence
Maximillian Kolbe
Nino
Otranto Martyrs
Peter
Q
Robert Bellarmine
Stephen the Protmartyr
Thomas the Apostle
Ursula
Veronica
William of Norwich
Xavier
Yves
Z

That's all I can get without Google's help.
With Google's help I also can put:
Elmo
Helena
Quentin
Zachary

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Prayer and distraction

You should not wait until you are cleansed of wandering thoughts before you desire to pray; such distraction is not banished from the mind except by assiduous prayer requiring much labor. If you only begin to pray when you see that your mind has become perfect and exalted above all recollection of the world, then you will never pray.

- St. Isaac the Syrian

H/t to Byzantine, TX
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Saint Quiz XII answers

Explanation for last Saint Quiz
Source for the image and explanation of the icon.
1-5 from left-Adam, Enoch, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob
6-10 from right Zechariah, Noah, Melchizedek, Elijah, Jeremiah
11-14 from left to right Samuel, Ezekiel, Elisha, Moses
15-22 from left to right Aaron, the Three Holy Youths (Shadrach, Meeshack, and Abendago), Daniel, David, Isaiah

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Sayings from St Marcarius one of the Desert Fathers, set to chant.

h/t to Orthodox Word
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Saint Quiz XII

This time for the Saint Quiz I found an icon with Old Testament figures, I numbered them. Click the image to see it in a bigger size. See how many you can figure out.

I've set an autopost to show the answer in a week.
Answers
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Saint and Scripture St John Climacus

As I was watching EWTN on Wednesday morning I saw a quote: "Run from places of sin as from the plague."--St John Climacus
I found the saying to be really profound, since sin is just as dangerous to souls as plagues are to bodies. It is a reminder to actively resist that which draws us away from God.
St John Climacus was born in the 6th Century in Palestine. At 16 he joined St Catherine's Monastery (it still exists) on Mt Sinai. After a time he withdrew to a hermitage at the base of the mountain. Two of his written works still exist today, Ladder of Divine Ascent and To the Pastor. The Ladder of Divine Ascent also has an icon named for it.
St John Climacus's quote also reminded of Christ's warnings to cut off anything which leads us into sin.

"You have heard that it was said to them of old: Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say to you, that whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell. And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body be cast into hell." Matthew 5:28-30

"And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire." Matthew 18:8

"And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life, maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into unquenchable fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy foot scandalize thee, cut it off. It is better for thee to enter lame into life everlasting, than having two feet, to be cast into the hell of unquenchable fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished. And if thy eye scandalize thee, pluck it out. It is better for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not extinguished." Mark 9:42-47

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Source for the pic of St John Climacus
Source for the ladder icon

Saints and Scripture Sunday

Hebrews 11:31,32 mention great heroes of the faith such as Gideon, David, Samuel and Samson who worked mighty deeds and slew many enemies. Hebrews 1:36 mentions the often forgotten heroes of our faith:
"And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bands and prisons"

Too often when we think of the persecution of the Church we think of Ancient times or other historical times. Christians are persecuted and killed TODAY. In Communist, Hindu, but mostly Muslim lands Christians are forbidden from practicing the True Faith and very often imprisoned or killed for it. The process for declaring sainthood takes some time, while there are a great many new martyr saints every year it takes a while for the Church to declare them so, so for a Saint in this week's Saints and Scripture I chose instead of a Saint, Servant of God Fr. Emil J. Kapaun. He was an Army chaplain in WWII and Korea. In the Korean War he was captured by Communist Chinese forces and in the POW camp he resisted attempts to brainwash UN troops, led Sunday celebrations (he had no bread or hosts to consecrate for a Mass), led secret prayer groups, stole food to help his fellow prisoners survive, and more. In the end he became ill and the Chinese left him in a shack by himself with no medical treatment. This was their solution to his resistance to Communism.
Also, I once posted about saints from Eastern Europe, including one who was immured (they bricked him into the wall and left him there to die).
For more info on the persecuted Church, I recommend Voice of the Martyrs or you can go here to write letters (in their own language) to currently imprisoned Christians around the world.

"Remember them that are in bands, as if you were bound with them; and them that labour, as being yourselves also in the body." Hebrews 13:3

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Saint Quiz XI

Same deal as the other ten Saint Quizzes, place a comment in the combox when you figure out one or more of the saints. These three should be simple. The top one is from my parish, St Ignatios of Antioch in Augusta, GA.





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When I think of St Thomas Aquinas, I always think of the dry philosophy/theology in the Summa Theologica and Summa Contra Gentiles. Today I was scanning thru Catholic Patristics and found this icon. After a quick Google search, I found out that the text on the scroll is apparently of his most famous quotes. I guess he's not all brain after all. Not only that, but it has definitely given me something to think over.

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Eucharist and the Incarnation

I have nothing original to post today, so here is some wisdom from one of the Church's great saints:
The manner of our indwelling in Him through the Sacrament of His Body and Blood is evident from the Lord’s own words: This world will see Me no longer but you shall see Me. Because I live you shall live also, for I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. If it had been a question of a mere unity of will, why should He have given us this explanation of the steps by which it is achieved? He is in the Father by reason of His divine nature, we are in Him by reason of His human birth, and He is in us through the mystery of the Sacraments. This, surely, is what He wished us to believe; this is how He wanted us to understand the perfect unity that is achieved through our Mediator, who lives in the Father while we live in Him, and Who, while living in the Father, lives also in us. This is how we attain to unity with the Father. Christ is in very truth in the Father by his eternal generation; we are in very truth in Christ, and He likewise is in us.

St Hilary, bishop of Poitiers

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Small Seed Big Harvest

I saw a quote here:
The Magi set out because of a deep desire which prompted them to leave everything and begin a journey. It was as though they had always been waiting for that star.

Pope Benedict XVI

This quote caused something in me to think of the Magi's story as an metaphor for vocations. They left everything for a calling to follow the star and meet the new King. When Pope Benedict XVI said "It was as though they had always been waiting for that star.", the lightbulb went off and I realized that God calls all of us to do something like the Magi's journey to glorify Him and lead others to Him. How many people over the two millenia since have been inspired by the story or meditated upon it and developed a deeper relationship with Christ.
That got me to thinking about all the minor characters in the Bible and all the Saints who led quiet, unassuming lives, but have been an inspiration to many people and their example and/or writings have led many others into a deeper relationship with Christ. The Magi were minor if you consider how much they are mentioned in the Bible, but they are quite popular so I will use someone else as a better example.
In the Gospels for instance, is the story of Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52), the blind man who called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" so that he might be healed of his blindness. Among the Saints is St Therese de Lisieux who led a quiet life in the cloister, but her writings have led millions around the world into a deeper life in Christ and she is now a Doctor of the Church.
Obviously, the list goes on and I'm sure that you could also name many, many more. This is going to be the beginning of a weekly segment on my blog (at least for as long as I can remember to keep doing it; I can be forgetful). I'm calling it Small Seed Saturday. I got the name from the Gospel of St John 12:24: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." There are many Saints and others who have been small seeds planted in the ground who have produced much fruit.
Next week, I'll expound more on Bartimaeus.

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