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On Contrition of Heart (II)
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May 14, 2013, 2:12:14 PM5/14/13
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The Grace of God [II]
No one of us does anything good unless aided by Christ's grace. What we do badly comes from ourselves; what we do well, we do with the help of God. Therefore, let us give thanks to God who made it possible. And when we do well, let us not insult anyone who does not act in the same way. Let us not extol ourselves above such a person.
--St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 93, 15
Prayer.
You, O Lord, who always are, both before we were and before the world was, have become a refuge for us, within which we turn to you.
--St. Augustine-- Commentary on Psalm 89, 3
<><><><><>
May 14th - Saint Matthias, Apostle
St. Matthias was one of the 72 disciples of Our Lord; he was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot in the College of the Twelve Apostles. There is not much information about him.
According to a Greek tradition, he preached the Gospel in Cappadocia and in regions bordering the Caspian Sea. Tradition tells us he suffered martyrdom in present day Ethiopia, where he was stoned, and then beheaded.
Some parts of his doctrine were conserved by Clement of Alexandria. This sentence is attributed to the Apostle:
“We must combat the flesh, taking what advantages we can without giving it blameworthy delights. Regarding the soul, we should develop it through intelligence and faith.”
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
We can imagine what was, or what could have been the life of St. Matthias. There are many persons in the Gospel about whom little is said. However, by examining the nature of the mission of the person, we can reconstitute his or her personality. So, the little that is said about them invites us to compose their personalities.
The most illustrious example of this is St. Joseph. There is almost nothing said about him. We know his mission, however, and that he accomplished it successfully. Essentially what the Gospel tells us is that he was a just man, nothing else. But there are a thousand things that we can envisage regarding St. Joseph by the fact that he was chosen to be the worthy Spouse of Our Lady. We can understand, therefore, much about him, even though the Gospel is silent.
An analogous sketch can be made of St. Matthias. The Apostolic College suffered an enormous blow with the treason of Judas. It was, perhaps, the most significant blow ever received by the Catholic Church throughout the centuries. The place of Judas became empty. It was necessary to replace him with someone who, by his virtue, would make reparation to Divine Justice for the sin and evil committed by Judas. This new Apostle needed to be excellent along the same lines wherein Judas was evil; he should be the anti-Judas. He should be admirable and laudable in those very points where Judas was execrable and abominable. So, to achieve this contrast, we should picture St. Matthias as the Apostle of detachment from material goods, the Apostle of honesty and loyalty. Considering him in opposition to Judas reveals some aspects of his mission and of his character.
He left a beautiful statement regarding the kind of combat we should make against the vices of the flesh. He says that we should take advantage of the correct tendencies of the flesh and avoid making any concession to what is evil. It is a consideration that primarily applies to the lay Catholic who is turned to a normal life in the world. He is not called to lead the life of an austere religious man, but to enjoy the honest pleasures of life, without any dishonest concessions.
These words translate what St. Matthias saw in the example of his Divine Master. Indeed, Our Lord used to go to refined banquets such as at the wedding of Canaan or at the house of Lazarus, or at the Last Supper. He also took pleasure in the exquisite perfume that Mary Magdalene poured on His Feet. He partook of these pleasures, of course, with an extreme temperance, giving to each the correct place it deserved for the glory of God, without any concession to evil. That is to say, the words of St. Matthias describe Our Lord’s behavior in face of life. It provides a very good orientation for Catholics.
In this balanced attitude toward life to which St. Matthias counsels us, we can also see the opposite of Judas who had an unbalanced craving for money, a strong avarice. By yielding to this vice, he became a thief, pilfering money destined for Our Lord and the Apostles as well as for the poor. This vice went so far as to induce him to sell his Lord and his God for thirty silver coins. This is one example that shows us St. Matthias’ vocation as opposed to the actions of Judas.
It does not give a complete picture of his life, but pierces the veil of silence that surrounds him. Only at the Last Judgment shall we know how he fully accomplished his vocation, which before God wiped out the stain left by Judas in the primitive Church.
Let us ask St. Matthias to intercede for us and give us loyalty, honesty, detachment and equilibrium in face of the sufferings and pleasures of life.
Taken from
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j212sd_Matthias_02_24.html
Saint Quote:
Oh how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: "Today if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." Let us not put off for one moment to another what we "should" do, because the next moment is not yet ours!
-- Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Bible Quote:
"May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand." (Psalms 20:5-6)
<><><><>
A prayer to Mary, and an triple invocation:
O dearest Lady, Sweet Mother mine, watch the hour
when my departing soul shall lose its hold on all earthly
things, and stand unveiled in the presence of its Creator.
Show thyself as my tender Mother then, and offer to the
Eternal Father the precious Blood of thy Son Jesus for my
poor soul, that it may, thus purified, be pleasing in His
sight. Plead for thy poor child at the moment of his (or
her) departure from this world, and say to the Heavenly
Father: Receive him (or her) this day into Thy Kingdom!
Amen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in
peace with you.
Imprimatur: +John Farley, Archbishop of New York,
Sept 19, 1908.
No one of us does anything good unless aided by Christ's grace. What we do badly comes from ourselves; what we do well, we do with the help of God. Therefore, let us give thanks to God who made it possible. And when we do well, let us not insult anyone who does not act in the same way. Let us not extol ourselves above such a person.
--St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 93, 15
Prayer.
You, O Lord, who always are, both before we were and before the world was, have become a refuge for us, within which we turn to you.
--St. Augustine-- Commentary on Psalm 89, 3
<><><><><>
May 14th - Saint Matthias, Apostle
St. Matthias was one of the 72 disciples of Our Lord; he was chosen to replace Judas Iscariot in the College of the Twelve Apostles. There is not much information about him.
According to a Greek tradition, he preached the Gospel in Cappadocia and in regions bordering the Caspian Sea. Tradition tells us he suffered martyrdom in present day Ethiopia, where he was stoned, and then beheaded.
Some parts of his doctrine were conserved by Clement of Alexandria. This sentence is attributed to the Apostle:
“We must combat the flesh, taking what advantages we can without giving it blameworthy delights. Regarding the soul, we should develop it through intelligence and faith.”
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
We can imagine what was, or what could have been the life of St. Matthias. There are many persons in the Gospel about whom little is said. However, by examining the nature of the mission of the person, we can reconstitute his or her personality. So, the little that is said about them invites us to compose their personalities.
The most illustrious example of this is St. Joseph. There is almost nothing said about him. We know his mission, however, and that he accomplished it successfully. Essentially what the Gospel tells us is that he was a just man, nothing else. But there are a thousand things that we can envisage regarding St. Joseph by the fact that he was chosen to be the worthy Spouse of Our Lady. We can understand, therefore, much about him, even though the Gospel is silent.
An analogous sketch can be made of St. Matthias. The Apostolic College suffered an enormous blow with the treason of Judas. It was, perhaps, the most significant blow ever received by the Catholic Church throughout the centuries. The place of Judas became empty. It was necessary to replace him with someone who, by his virtue, would make reparation to Divine Justice for the sin and evil committed by Judas. This new Apostle needed to be excellent along the same lines wherein Judas was evil; he should be the anti-Judas. He should be admirable and laudable in those very points where Judas was execrable and abominable. So, to achieve this contrast, we should picture St. Matthias as the Apostle of detachment from material goods, the Apostle of honesty and loyalty. Considering him in opposition to Judas reveals some aspects of his mission and of his character.
He left a beautiful statement regarding the kind of combat we should make against the vices of the flesh. He says that we should take advantage of the correct tendencies of the flesh and avoid making any concession to what is evil. It is a consideration that primarily applies to the lay Catholic who is turned to a normal life in the world. He is not called to lead the life of an austere religious man, but to enjoy the honest pleasures of life, without any dishonest concessions.
These words translate what St. Matthias saw in the example of his Divine Master. Indeed, Our Lord used to go to refined banquets such as at the wedding of Canaan or at the house of Lazarus, or at the Last Supper. He also took pleasure in the exquisite perfume that Mary Magdalene poured on His Feet. He partook of these pleasures, of course, with an extreme temperance, giving to each the correct place it deserved for the glory of God, without any concession to evil. That is to say, the words of St. Matthias describe Our Lord’s behavior in face of life. It provides a very good orientation for Catholics.
In this balanced attitude toward life to which St. Matthias counsels us, we can also see the opposite of Judas who had an unbalanced craving for money, a strong avarice. By yielding to this vice, he became a thief, pilfering money destined for Our Lord and the Apostles as well as for the poor. This vice went so far as to induce him to sell his Lord and his God for thirty silver coins. This is one example that shows us St. Matthias’ vocation as opposed to the actions of Judas.
It does not give a complete picture of his life, but pierces the veil of silence that surrounds him. Only at the Last Judgment shall we know how he fully accomplished his vocation, which before God wiped out the stain left by Judas in the primitive Church.
Let us ask St. Matthias to intercede for us and give us loyalty, honesty, detachment and equilibrium in face of the sufferings and pleasures of life.
Taken from
http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j212sd_Matthias_02_24.html
Saint Quote:
Oh how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: "Today if you hear God's voice, harden not your heart." Let us not put off for one moment to another what we "should" do, because the next moment is not yet ours!
-- Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina
Bible Quote:
"May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven With the saving strength of His right hand." (Psalms 20:5-6)
<><><><>
A prayer to Mary, and an triple invocation:
O dearest Lady, Sweet Mother mine, watch the hour
when my departing soul shall lose its hold on all earthly
things, and stand unveiled in the presence of its Creator.
Show thyself as my tender Mother then, and offer to the
Eternal Father the precious Blood of thy Son Jesus for my
poor soul, that it may, thus purified, be pleasing in His
sight. Plead for thy poor child at the moment of his (or
her) departure from this world, and say to the Heavenly
Father: Receive him (or her) this day into Thy Kingdom!
Amen.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in
peace with you.
Imprimatur: +John Farley, Archbishop of New York,
Sept 19, 1908.
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