The Lord shows mercy to those who seek him

What did Jesus mean by the expression "throwing bread to the dogs"?
The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles with arrogance and insolence as
"unclean dogs" since the Gentiles were excluded from God's covenant
and favor with Israel. For the Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of
dishonor and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman.
Matthew's Gospel records the expression do not give dogs what is holy
(Matthew 7:6). Jesus, no doubt, spoke with a smile rather than with an
insult because this woman immediately responds with wit and faith -
"even the dogs eat the crumbs". [Mark 7:24-30]

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April 2nd - Bl. Vilmos Apor, Bishop
Also known as Vilhelm Apor, Gulielmus Apor, William Apor

(1892-1945)

During World War II, Hungary sided with the Germans. That meant that
as the Nazis were defeated, Russia took control of the country, and a
communist government was set up that lasted until 1989. The Church
suffered much during those years, especially during the initial
Russian invasion of 1944-1945. One of the victims then was the Bishop
of Gyor, Vilmos Apor.

Apor was born in Sevesgar, Transylvania, on February 20, 1892.
Transylvania, then a part of eastern Hungary, was detached from it and
added to Romania after World War I. Vilmos came from a noble family,
as had many of the Hungarian bishops, for it was customary for the
second son of noble couples to enter the priesthood. Vilmos’ brother,
Baron Gabor Apor, was Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See from 1939
to 1945.

Vilmos’ early career as a priest was apparently impressive, for on
January 21, 1941, he was named Bishop of Gyor, a sizable city in
northwest Hungary, with a Catholic population of 500,000. An American
priest of Hungarian background describes Apor as an imposing person,
“But very kind and personable”. Despite his aristocratic background,
he was hardworking and had a strong sense of social justice. “Pastor
of the poor,” they called him. In 1944 he provided emergency supplies
to Jews being deported through his town.

The Russian invaders of 1945 were noted for their brutality. The
terrorized women in particular, and did not hesitate to kill anybody
who tried to defend them.

One who could not leave Hungarian women undefended was Bishop Apor.

The Bishop had hidden several pursued women from the predatory Russian
soldiery in the cellar of his residence at Gyor. On Good Friday, March
30, 1945, a drunken band of armed Russian soldiers, intent on
abducting them, approached the Bishop’s cellar determined to get in.
Bishop Apor was standing in front of the door. The soldiers tried to
push him away.

“No, you can’t go in,” he said.

Their answer? They shot him, wounding him mortally, and pressed on
with their mad search.

The Bishop of Gyor had laid down his life in defense of the lives and
virtue of a group of helpless women. He had obeyed the command of the Scriptures: “Defend the lowly and the fatherless… from the hand of the wicked deliver them” (Ps. 82:3-4). In the twinkling of an eye he had
become a martyr, a new paschal victim.

Pope John Paul II acknowledged that fact officially when he beatified
Vilmos Apor, Bishop and Martyr, in St. Peter’s Basilica on November 9,
1997.
–Father Robert

Saint Quote:
Fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with
love for us, he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sake he
endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain.
He himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then,
are to be patient in adversity.
-- Saint Francis of Paola from a letter

Bible Quote:
Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another,
that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power
in its effects.  [James 5:16]  RSVCE


<><><><>
Hymn: The Cross of Christ

Gal. vi. 14:--"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ." "When we rise, the cross; when we lie down,
the cross; in our studies, the cross; everywhere and at every time,
the cross--shining more glorious than the sun."--St. Chrysostom.

O Child of God, remember,
When thou to Christ wast born,
How then across thine infant breast
His sacred sign was drawn.

And when confirming Chrism
Upon thy brow was laid,
How in that sign the Holy Ghost
His grace upon thee shed.

Therefore, when sleep invites thee
To take thy needful rest,
Be sure that with the sacred cross
Thou sign thy brow and breast.

The cross hath wondrous virtue
All evil to control;
To scatter darkness, and to calm
The tempest of the soul.

What though in sleep this body
May helpless seem to lie?
I nothing fear, assured that
One Stronger than all is nigh.

On Him my heart shall ponder,
E'en while my rest I take;
My shield and shelter while I sleep.
My joy when I awake.

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