One Goal

We know we are traveling together. If our pace is slow, go on ahead
of us. We won't envy you but rather will seek to catch up with you.
However, if you consider us capable of a quicker pace, run along with
us.
There is only one goal, and we are all anxious to reach it—some at
a slow pace and others at a fast pace.
--St. Augustine-- Sermon on a New Canticle 4, 4

Prayer. Let everyone's sighs be uttered in longing for Christ. He
should be the object of our desire since he, he all-beautiful One,
loves repulsive people so that he might make them beautiful. Let us
run to him and cry out for him.
--St. Augustine-- Sermon on John 10, 13

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September 16: - Saint Cyprian of Carthage

“Whatever a man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself.”

Today, September 16, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Cyprian (died
258), Bishop of Carthage, and Martyr for the Faith. Saint Cyprian is
remembered for his importance in the development of Christian thought
and practice, especially in northern Africa. His sermons and writings,
extant today, continue to inspire us. His principal works, which are
respected and valued as those of a Church Father, included: On the
Unity of the Church; On Apostates; a collection of Letters; The Lord's
Prayer; On the Value of Patience. Saint Jerome said of him: "It is
superfluous to speak of his greatness, for his works are more luminous
than the sun."

Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus was born in Carthage, an African of noble
birth, and the son of a Roman senator. While little is known of his
life prior to the year 246, history tells us that he taught rhetoric,
and was well-respected. In 246, however, Cyprian discovered the truth
of Christianity through a friend—a priest who had converted late in life—and himself was converted and subsequently consecrated and
ordained a priest. He immediately gave up all his possessions to those
in need, and publicly made a vow of chastity to the astonishment of
those who had known him. Only two years later, following a time of
great preaching and consolidating of the faith in Carthage, Saint
Cyprian found himself recognized as Bishop of the city

Cyprian led his city with vigor and zeal. He was an energetic shepherd
of souls and a prolific writer, seeming never to tire, and fighting
for the salvation and conversion of all he encountered. Similarly,
Saint Cyprian recognized his own sinfulness and weakness, working to
stamp out his pride over his accomplishments, and his love of the
pleasures of his former life of frivolity. He defended the unity of
the Church against schismatic movements in Africa and Italy, and
greatly influenced the shaping of Church discipline relative to
reinstating Christians who had apostatized.

When the persecution of Christians under the direction of Emperor
Decius began, Saint Cyprian was the object of a search by the pagans
wanting to disorganize the flock. He fled the city of Carthage,
securing a hidden retreat, and from there continued to minister to the
needs of his flock via epistles and the Sacraments. He assured the
Christian burial of the martyrs suffering under Decius, and arranged
for the needs of the poor and those stripped of their possessions
during the persecution. When plague struck, Cyprian came out of hiding
to minister to the sick and dying. He encouraged Christians everywhere
to help the sick—not only their fellow Christians, but those who
persecuted them as well. His fellow priests and bishops encouraged him
to return to his place of secrecy, for fear he would be captured.

Saint Cyprian maintained a rigorous discipline of the mind and body,
fasting, prayer, and penance. He expected the same from others,
especially those who had apostatized to avoid persecution. Cyprian
maintained a hard line, backed by Rome, greatly developing the
Sacrament of Penance as a result. With the succession of emperor
Valerian to the Roman throne, Saint Cyprian was free to come out of
hiding. He continued to lead his flock for several years, until he was
banished by the emperor.

Saint Cyprian was exiled fifty miles outside the city, and while
there, learned by a supernatural vision that he was to be martyred.
Upon hearing the news, he responded, “Thanks be to God,” and was ready
to return to the city to stand trial when summoned. There, when he
refused to recant his faith, he was sentenced to death outside the
city. Saint Cyprian refused, however, to leave, insisting that he be
martyred surrounded by crowds of faithful. It is said that the
executioner grew so scared of the public’s reaction to his duty, that
Cyprian paid him his fee as a means of encouraging him.

Saint Cyprian was beheaded in 258. His decade of Christian fellowship
and stewardship had a profound influence on the development of the
Church in northern Africa, and later, through his writings, across the
globe. Even his death was a testament to his modeling of the faith,
with a large number of pagans converting upon the spot. He received a
public and solemn burial, and was mourned by all of Carthage—Christian
and pagan alike.

The feast day of Saint Cyprian is shared with the feast of Pope Saint Cornelius, his dear friend. Below, an excerpt from a letter written by
Cyprian to Cornelius:


“Dearest brother, bright and shining is the faith which the blessed
Apostle praised in your community. He foresaw in the spirit the praise
your courage deserves and the strength that could not be broken; he
was heralding the future when he testified to your achievements; his
praise to the fathers was a challenge to the sons. Your unity, your
strength have become shining examples of these virtues to the rest of
the brethren.

Divine providence has now prepared us. God’s merciful design has
warned us that the day of our own struggle, our own contest, is at
hand. By that shared love which binds us closely together, we are
doing all we can to exhort our congregation, to give ourselves
unceasingly to fastings, vigils and prayers in common. These are the
heavenly weapons which give us the strength to stand firm and endure;
they are the spiritual defenses, the God-given armaments that protect
us.

Let us then remember one another, united in mind and heart. Let us
pray without ceasing, you for us, we for you; by the love we share we
shall thus relieve the strain of these great trials.”
Short version

by Jacob


Saint Quote:
"There is one God and one Christ and but one episcopal chair,
originally founded on Peter, by the Lord's authority. There cannot,
therefore, be set up another altar or another priesthood. Whatever any
man in his rage or rashness shall appoint, in defiance of the divine institution, must be a spurious, profane and sacrilegious ordinance"
--St. Cyprian, The Unity of the Catholic Church.

Bible Quote:
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ: and make not provision for the
flesh in its concupiscences. (Rom. 13:14) DRB


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Mary, Mother of the Unborn
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I love you very much, I beg you to spare the
life of the unborn child that I have spiritually adopted who is in
danger of abortion. ( Fulton J. Sheen )

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