The 'new temple' of God's presence in the world

Jesus is the new temple (John 1:14; 2:19-22). In the Old Testament God manifested his presence in the "pillar of cloud" by day and the
"pillar of fire" by night as he led them through the wilderness. God's
glory visibly came to dwell over the ark and the tabernacle (Exodus
40:34-38). When the first temple was built in Jerusalem God's glory
came to rest there (1 Kings 8). After the first temple was destroyed,
Ezekiel saw God's glory leave it (Ezekiel 10). But God promised one
day to fill it with even greater glory (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 8-9).
That promise is fulfilled when the "King of Glory" himself comes to
his temple (Psalm 24:7-10; Malachi 3:1).  Through Jesus' coming in the
flesh and through his saving death, resurrection, and ascension we are
made living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Ask
the Lord to renew your faith in the indwelling presence of his Spirit
within you. And give him thanks and praise for coming to make his home
with you.

<<>><<>><<>>
February 1st – St. Severus of Ravenna, Bishop

Died c. 348.
 Severus was a poor weaver of Ravenna, Italy, who never dreamed that
God would one day call him from his weaver's loom to rule a diocese,
but God has strange ways of calling His servants and sometimes lays
His hand upon them in the least likely places: from the plough and the
bench have come some of the greatest of His apostles.

So it happened that when the bishopric of Ravenna fell vacant in 283
and the cathedral was filled with those who had gathered to elect a
new bishop, Severus said to his wife, Vincentia, that he would visit
the minister and see what was going on. She replied that he had much
better remain at home and not show himself in his working clothes
among the nobles and well-dressed citizens. "What harm is there in my
going?" he asked. "Why, you have work to do here," she answered,
"instead of gadding about sightseeing." When he persisted, she said,
"Go, and may you come back with a good box on your ear," and added sarcastically: "Go, then, and get elected bishop."

Severus, accustomed to her sharp tongue, set out and, entering the
crowded cathedral, stood at the back, ashamed of his working clothes
covered with flocks of wool. When, in the course of the service, the
power of the Holy Spirit was invoked in prayer, there appeared in the
cathedral a white dove that attracted the attention of the assembly,
and which after flying around fluttered at the ear of the poor
spinner. He beat it off, but it returned and finally came to rest upon
his shoulder. Every eye was now turned in his direction, and the
people, regarding it as a heavenly sign, with one accord chose him to
be their bishop.

Vincentia was still at home, and when a neighbor came running,
breathless, to her door with the news, she laughed and would not
believe it. "What a tale," she said, "that a man who tosses a shuttle
should be made a prelate!" But when another came with the same story,
and yet another, and a crowd gathered at her door, and she found it
was true, she was speechless.

Thus, it came to pass that Severus the weaver became bishop of Ravenna
and who can doubt that he was a good weaver, well respected for his
work and character, and that he was chosen not only because of a good
omen but also for his own fine qualities. For these he was chosen to
accompany the papal legate to the synod of Sardica in 344.

He made a good bishop, and when at last he came to die, he said his
last Mass before all the people, then quietly dismissed them with his
blessing. When all had departed save a single boy who served at the
altar, he bade the boy close the doors, and clothing himself in his
episcopal robes, went to the tomb of his wife and daughter, who had
died before him. There with the help of the boy he raised the stone,
and descending into the grave, laid himself down, and after a prayer
closed his eyes and fell asleep. After his death he was canonized a
saint, and is usually portrayed in his bishop's robes and with a
weaver's shuttle (Benedictines, Gill).

It may be that the dove was a common phenomenon, or that it was simply
a pious addition to the story of unlikely bishops, but it occurs in
several stories.

In art, St. Severus is a bishop weaving. He may have a loom and
weaver's tools and, possibly, a dove on his shoulder (Roeder). He is
the patron of glove makers, hatters, and weavers (Roeder).


Saint Quote:
It is by the path of love, which is charity, that God draws near to
man, and man to God. But where charity is not found, God cannot dwell.
If, then, we possess charity, we possess God, for "God is Charity”.
--Saint Albert the Great

Bible Quote:
Labor as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.  (II Tim. 2:3)


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PRAYER FOR A SICK PERSON # 2

    Dear Jesus,
    Divine Physician and Healer of the Sick,
    we turn to You in this time of illness.
    O dearest Comforter of the Troubled,
    alleviate our worry and sorrow with Your gentle love,
    and grant us the grace and strength to accept this burden.
    Dear God,  we place our worries in Your hands.
    We ask that You restore Your servant to health again.
    Above all, grant us the grace to acknowledge Your holy will
    and know that whatsoever You do,
    You do for the love of us.     Amen.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

The 'new temple' of God's presence in the world

Jesus is the new temple (John 1:14; 2:19-22). In the Old Testament God manifested his presence in the "pillar of cloud" by day and the
"pillar of fire" by night as he led them through the wilderness. God's
glory visibly came to dwell over the ark and the tabernacle (Exodus
40:34-38). When the first temple was built in Jerusalem God's glory
came to rest there (1 Kings 8). After the first temple was destroyed,
Ezekiel saw God's glory leave it (Ezekiel 10). But God promised one
day to fill it with even greater glory (Haggai 2:1-9; Zechariah 8-9).
That promise is fulfilled when the "King of Glory" himself comes to
his temple (Psalm 24:7-10; Malachi 3:1). Through Jesus' coming in the
flesh and through his saving death, resurrection, and ascension we are
made living temples of his Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). Ask
the Lord to renew your faith in the indwelling presence of his Spirit
within you. And give him thanks and praise for coming to make his home
with you.

<<>><<>><<>>
January 14th - St. Macrina the Elder

This lady was the grandmother of saints, the most notable being the
brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa. It was Macrina and her
husband who founded the faith of the family and passed it on as a
splendid treasure to her children and grandchildren. That faith was
born of suffering and persecution.

St. Macrina the elder was a native of Cappadocia, in what is now
eastern Turkey. It was here that the great apostle of Cappadocia, St.
Gregory the Wonderworker, established the faith around the year 250.
When he arrived in the territory, it was said, there were only
17 Christians in the town of Neo-Caesarea; when he died in 268,
there were only 17 pagans.

Macrina was born about the time of Gregory's death, and it was the
faith of this ardent apostle that became the way of life for her
family. Early in the next century, during the persecution of the
Emperor Galerius, Macrina and her husband were forced to leave their
home and to live in the wooded hills of Pontus for seven years, during
which they suffered much. They were often without food. Later, during
another persecution, their property was seized by agents of the
emperor, and they lived in almost total destitution. When the
persecution ended, they were honored as confessors of the faith, a
much revered title among the Christians of that time.

It was at his grandmother's knee that Basil received his first
instructions in the Christian faith, and it was from her that he and
his family were nourished in that Christian discipline that made them
saints. Macrina was known to have treasured and read the writings of
Gregory the Wonderworker, and it was the fire and zeal of his writings
that was passed on to Basil and his brother.

The exact date of Macrina's death is not known. She is revered as a
saint in the calendars of both the Eastern and Western Churches.


Saint Quote:
Our wish, our object, our chief preoccupation must be to form Jesus in ourselves, to make his spirit, his devotion, his affections, his
desires, and his disposition live and reign there. All our religious
exercises should be directed to this end. It is the work which God has
given us to do unceasingly.
-- Saint John Eudes

Bible Quote:
But whereunto shall I esteem this generation to be like? It is like to
children sitting in the market place. Who crying to their companions
say: We have piped to you, and you have not danced: we have lamented,
and you have not mourned. For John came neither eating nor drinking;
and they say: He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and
drinking, and they say: Behold a man that is a glutton and a wine
drinker, a friend of publicans and sinners. And wisdom is justified by
her children. [Mt. 11:16-19] DRB


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Consecration of the Sick to Mary

O kind and good Mother,
whose own soul was pierced by the sword of sorrow,
look upon us while,
in our sickness,
we arraign ourselves beside you
on the Calvary where your Jesus hangs.

Dowered with the high grace of suffering,
and hopeful of fulfilling in our own flesh
what is wanting in our sharing of Christ's passion,
on behalf of his Mystical Body, the Church,
we consecrate to you ourselves and our pain.
We pray that you will place them
on that Altar of the Cross to which Jesus is affixed.
May they be little victims of propitiation for our salvation,
for the salvation of all peoples.

O Mother of Sorrows,
accept this consecration.
Strengthen our hopeful hearts,
that as partakers of Christ's sufferings
we may also share in his comfort now and for evermore.
Amen.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)