— Proverbs 29:25 —
Weedy
Fear of man will prove to be a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
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This proverb gives us two options: we can fear others, which becomes a
snare. Or
we can trust God, which leads to safety. The devil is the source of
fear, and
his goal is to confuse and confound. The savior of our soul replaces
fear with
faith, and whoever trusts him is safe.
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December 18th - St. Auxentius of Mopsuetia B (RM)
Died after 321. Auxentius was probably a high-ranking officer in the
personal
guard of the Emperor Augustus Licinus, who co-signed the Edict of
Milan in 313,
which provided religious tolerance for Christians. Auxentius was
dismissed from
service for refusing to participate in idolatrous practices. He became
a priest
and soon found himself bishop of Mopsuetia in Cilicia. It is possible
that this
dismissal is the reason he did not sign the canons of the Council of
Arles (314)
which declared: "It is permissible for a Christian to be an imperial
official .
. . Christian soldiers who dodge their military obligations are to be
excommunicated."
Auxentius was one of the bishops who were 'defenders of the city'
instituted by
the Church itself against 'the insolence' of imperial officials. When
someone
was exiled by Emperor Constantine for political reasons, Auxentius
gladly gave
him refuge. The letter to Constantine, written at that time by Hosius,
bishop of
Cordova, Spain, could have been signed by Auxentius, "You do not have
the right
to interfere in religious affairs. God has given you authority over
the Empire,
but he has given us authority over the Church!" (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia).
St. Auxentius is represented in art as a Roman soldier refusing to
sacrifice to
Bacchus (Roeder).
From:
http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/1218.shtml
Saint Quote:
O Lord, grant us that love which can never die, which will enkindle
our lamps
but not extinguish them, so that they may shine in us and bring light
to others.
Most dear Savior, enkindle our lamps that they may shine forever in
your temple.
May we receive unquenchable light from you so that our darkness will
be
illuminated and the darkness of the world will be made less. Amen.
-Saint Columba
Bible Quote:
And I will shew wonders in the heaven above, and signs on the earth
beneath:
blood and fire, and vapour of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into
darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and manifest day of the Lord
come. 21
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord,
shall be saved. (Acts 2:19-21
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The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ, by St. Alphonsus
de Liguori
Quæ utilitas in sanguine meo, dum descendo in corruptionem?
"What profit is there in My Blood, whilst I go down to corruption?"-
Ps. 29:10
Jesus Christ revealed to the Venerable Agatha of the Cross that whilst
He was in
his Mother's womb, that which afflicted Him more than any other sorrow
was the
hardness of the hearts of men, who should, after His Redemption,
despise the
graces which He came into the world to diffuse. And He had expressed
this
sentiment before, by the mouth of David, in the words just quoted,
which are
generally thus understood by the holy Fathers: What profit is there in
My blood,
whilst I go down to corruption? St. Isidore explains whilst I descend
into
corruption, "whilst I descend to take the nature of man, so corrupted
by vices
and sins;" as if He had said, "O my Father, I am indeed going to
clothe Myself
with human flesh, in order to shed My Blood for men; but what profit
is there in
My Blood?-the greater part of the world will set no value on My Blood,
and will
go on offending Me, as if I had done nothing for the love of them."
This sorrow was the bitter chalice which Jesus begged the Eternal
Father to
remove from Him, saying: Let this chalice pass from Me. [Matt. 26:39]
What
chalice? The sight of the contempt with which His love was treated.
This made
Him exclaim again on the Cross: My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken
Me? Our
Lord revealed to St. Catherine of Sienna, that this was the
abandonment of which
He complained-the knowledge, namely, that His Father would have to
suffer that
His Passion and His love should be despised by so many men for whom He
died.
And this same sorrow tormented the Infant Jesus in the womb of Mary,
the
foresight of such a prodigality of sorrows, of ignominy, of blood-
shedding, and
of so cruel and ignominious a death, and all to so little purpose. The
holy
Child saw, even there, what the Apostle says, that many [indeed the
greater
number] should trample under foot His Blood, and despise His grace,
which this
Blood would obtain for them: Treading under foot the Son of God, and
offering an
affront to the Spirit of grace. [Heb. 10:29] But if we have been of
the number
of these ungrateful men, let us not despair; Jesus, at His birth, came
to offer
peace to men of good will, as He made the Angels sing: And on earth
peace to men
of good will. [Luke 2:14] Let us, then, change our will, repent of our
sins, and
resolve to love this good God, and we shall find peace, that is, the
Divine
friendship.
Affections and Prayers
O my most amiable Jesus, how much have I too caused Thee to suffer
during Thy
lifetime! Thou hast shed Thy blood for me with so much sorrow and
love, and what
fruit hast Thou hitherto drawn from me but contempt, offenses, and
insults? But,
my Redeemer, I will no longer afflict Thee; I hope that in the future
Thy
Passion will produce fruit in me by Thy grace, which I feel is already
assisting
me. I will love Thee above every other good; and to please Thee, I am
ready to
give my life a thousand times. Eternal Father, I should not have the
boldness to
appear before Thee to implore either pardon or graces, but Thy Son has
told me,
that whatever grace I ask of Thee in His name Thou wilt grant it to
me: If ye
shall ask anything of the Father in My name, He will give it to ye.
[John 16:23]
I offer Thee, therefore, the merits of Jesus Christ, and in His name I
ask of
Thee first a general pardon of all my sins; I ask holy perseverance
even unto
death; I ask of Thee, above all, the gift of Thy holy love. that it
may make me
always live according to Thy Divine will. As to my own will, I am
resolved to
choose a thousand deaths sooner than offend Thee, and to love Thee
with my whole
heart, and to do everything that I possibly can to please Thee. But in
order to
do all this, I beg of Thee, and hope to receive from Thee, grace to
execute what
I purpose. My Mother Mary, if thou wilt pray for me, I am safe. Oh,
pray for me,
pray; and cease not to pray till thou seest that I am changed, and
made what God
wishes me to be.
Amen.