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On God's Graciousness to Those who Love Him [1]
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Weedy
May 13, 2013, 2:02:51 PM5/13/13
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God's Graciousness to Those who Love Him [I]
THE DISCIPLE.
Oh, my God and my All! (1 Cor.15:28; John 20:28) What more can I possess? What greater joy can I desire? Word of sweetness and delight to all who love the Word better than the world and its treasures? My God and my All! To the wise, these words suffice and he who loves Thee will delight to repeat them again and again. When Thou are present, all is joy; when Thou are absent, all is gloom. Thou bringest rest to the heart, true peace and true gladness. You cause us to think well of all, and to praise Thee in all, for nothing can give us lasting joy without Thee.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3, Ch 34
<<>><<>><<>>
May 13th - St. John the Silent
ST JOHN derived the surname by which he is designated from his great love of silence and recollection. *[* At least by the first half of the seventh century this name, “Hesychast”, had become a technical term for those who followed a certain spiritual tradition in the East. John is sometimes called the Sabaite.]
He was born in the year 454, at Nicopolis in Armenia, of a family which had supplied generals and governors for that part of the empire. After the death of his parents he built a monastery in which, at the age of eighteen, he shut himself up with ten companions. Here, under the direction of their youthful superior, the little community led a most edifying life of devotion and hard work. The great reputation St. John acquired for sanctity and leadership led the archbishop of Sebaste to consecrate him bishop of Colonia in Armenia, much against his will, when he was only twenty-eight. For nine years he exercised his episcopal functions, zealously instructing his flock, depriving himself of even the necessaries of life that he might relieve the poor, and continuing to practise as far as possible the austerities of his former life. Then his inability to remedy certain evils, combined with a strong desire for a secluded life, decided him to lay down his charge. Instead of returning to Armenia he quietly went to Jerusalem--uncertain as to his future vocation.
His biographer assures us that whilst John was watching one night in prayer he saw before him a bright cross in the air and heard a voice which said, “If thou desirest to be saved, follow this light”. The cross then moved before him, and at length directed him to the laura (monastery) of St. Sabas. Convinced that he now knew God’s will, St. John immediately betook himself to the laura, which contained one hundred and fifty monks. He was then thirty-eight years old. St. Sabas at first placed him under the steward to fetch water, carry stone, and serve the workmen in building a new hospital. John came and went like a beast of burden, remaining ever recollected in God, always cheerful and silent. After this test, the experienced superior made him guestmaster; the holy man served every one as though he were serving Christ Himself. By this time St. Sabas recognized that his novice was on the road to perfection and, in order to give him opportunities for uninterrupted contemplation, he allowed him to occupy a separate hermitage. During five consecutive days of the week, which he passed fasting, John never left his cell; but on Saturdays and Sundays he attended public worship in church. After three years spent in this eremitic life, he was made steward of the laura. The business which this office entailed was no distraction to him: so great was his love for God that his mind was fixed on Him continually and without effort.
Four years later St. Sabas thought him worthy of the priesthood and decided to present him to the Patriarch Elias. Upon their arrival at the church of Mount Calvary, where the ordination was to take place, John said to the patriarch, “Holy father, I have something to impart to you in private: afterwards, if you judge me suitable, I will receive holy orders”. The patriarch granted him a private interview, and St. John, when he had bound him to secrecy, said, “Father, I have been consecrated bishop: but on account of my many sins I have fled and have sought out this desert to await the coming of the Lord”. Elias was startled, and having summoned St. Sabas, declared, “I cannot ordain this man, because of certain particulars he has communicated to me”. St. Sabas returned home deeply grieved because he feared that John must have committed some terrible crime, but in answer to his earnest prayer the truth was made known to him by revelation. He was, however, directed not to divulge the secret to others.
In the year 503 the factious spirit of certain turbulent monks obliged St. Sabas to leave his laura; St. John at the same time withdrew into a neighbouring desert, where he spent six years. When St. Sabas was recalled to his community, St. John returned to the laura and there lived in his cell for forty years.
Experience had taught him that a soul accustomed to speak to God alone finds only bitterness and emptiness in worldly intercourse. Moreover his love of obscurity and his humility made him desire more than ever to live unknown. Nevertheless the fame of his sanctity made it impossible for him to realize his ambition, and he now no longer refused to see those who resorted to him for advice. Amongst these was Cyril of Scythopolis, who wrote the saint’s life when he had reached the great age of 104, whilst still preserving the vigour of mind which had always characterized him. Cyril relates that he himself in early manhood had consulted the hermit as to his choice of a career. St. John advised him to enter the monastery of St. Euthymius. Instead, Cyril went to a small monastery on the bank of the Jordan. There he at once contracted a fever of which he nearly died. But St. John appeared to him in his sleep and, after a gentle reprimand, told him that if he repaired at once to St. Euthymius he would regain his health and win God’s favour. The next morning, he set out for the aforesaid monastery, and found that he had entirely recovered. The same author also describes how, in his presence, St. John exorcized an evil spirit from a child by making on its forehead the sign of the cross with oil.
Both by example and precept St. John led many souls to God, and continued in his hermitage to emulate, as far as this mortal state will allow, the glorious employment of the heavenly spirits in an uninterrupted exercise of love and praise. He passed to their blessed company in A.D. 558 having lived in solitude for seventy-six years, interrupted only by the nine years of his episcopate.
Cyril of Scythopolis, the biographer from whom we derive all our knowledge of St. John, seems to have entered the monastery of St. Euthymius in 544 and to have passed on to the laura at Jerusalem in 554. Though credulous, like all men of his generation, and delighting in marvels, he was a conscientious reporter of what he believed to be the truth. The biography he wrote is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. See also Ehrhard in the Römische Quartalschrift, vol. vii (1893), pp. 32 seq.; and the text of Cyril in E. Schwartz, Kyrillos von Skythopolis (1939).
Also Today:
May 13th - Our Lady of Fatima
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared six times to three shepherd children ("the Three Seers") near the town of Fatima, Portugal between May 13th and October 13th 1917. Appearing to the children, the Blessed Virgin told them that She had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child living in our century. Coming at a time when civilization was torn asunder by war and bloody violence, She promised that Heaven would grant peace to all the world if Her requests for prayer, reparation and consecration were heard and obeyed.
"If My requests are granted ... there will be peace"
Our Lady of Fatima explained to the children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would further castigate the world for its disobedience to His Will by means of war, hunger and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father and the Catholic Faithful. God's Mother prophesied that Russia would be God's chosen "instrument of chastisement," spreading the "errors" of atheism and materialism across the earth, fomenting wars, annihilating nations and persecuting the Faithful everywhere.
In all Her appearances at Fatima, the Blessed Mother repeatedly emphasized the necessity of praying the Rosary daily, of wearing the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice. To prevent the terrible chastisement at the hands of Russia and to convert "that poor nation", Our Lady requested the solemn public Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and all the Catholic bishops of the world. She also asked that the Faithful practice a new devotion of reparation on the first Saturday of five consecutive months ("the Five First Saturdays")
Saint Quote:
When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that proceeding from the mouth.
-- Saint Bonaventure
Bible Quote:
"Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged." [Psalm 25:16-17]
THE DISCIPLE.
Oh, my God and my All! (1 Cor.15:28; John 20:28) What more can I possess? What greater joy can I desire? Word of sweetness and delight to all who love the Word better than the world and its treasures? My God and my All! To the wise, these words suffice and he who loves Thee will delight to repeat them again and again. When Thou are present, all is joy; when Thou are absent, all is gloom. Thou bringest rest to the heart, true peace and true gladness. You cause us to think well of all, and to praise Thee in all, for nothing can give us lasting joy without Thee.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3, Ch 34
<<>><<>><<>>
May 13th - St. John the Silent
ST JOHN derived the surname by which he is designated from his great love of silence and recollection. *[* At least by the first half of the seventh century this name, “Hesychast”, had become a technical term for those who followed a certain spiritual tradition in the East. John is sometimes called the Sabaite.]
He was born in the year 454, at Nicopolis in Armenia, of a family which had supplied generals and governors for that part of the empire. After the death of his parents he built a monastery in which, at the age of eighteen, he shut himself up with ten companions. Here, under the direction of their youthful superior, the little community led a most edifying life of devotion and hard work. The great reputation St. John acquired for sanctity and leadership led the archbishop of Sebaste to consecrate him bishop of Colonia in Armenia, much against his will, when he was only twenty-eight. For nine years he exercised his episcopal functions, zealously instructing his flock, depriving himself of even the necessaries of life that he might relieve the poor, and continuing to practise as far as possible the austerities of his former life. Then his inability to remedy certain evils, combined with a strong desire for a secluded life, decided him to lay down his charge. Instead of returning to Armenia he quietly went to Jerusalem--uncertain as to his future vocation.
His biographer assures us that whilst John was watching one night in prayer he saw before him a bright cross in the air and heard a voice which said, “If thou desirest to be saved, follow this light”. The cross then moved before him, and at length directed him to the laura (monastery) of St. Sabas. Convinced that he now knew God’s will, St. John immediately betook himself to the laura, which contained one hundred and fifty monks. He was then thirty-eight years old. St. Sabas at first placed him under the steward to fetch water, carry stone, and serve the workmen in building a new hospital. John came and went like a beast of burden, remaining ever recollected in God, always cheerful and silent. After this test, the experienced superior made him guestmaster; the holy man served every one as though he were serving Christ Himself. By this time St. Sabas recognized that his novice was on the road to perfection and, in order to give him opportunities for uninterrupted contemplation, he allowed him to occupy a separate hermitage. During five consecutive days of the week, which he passed fasting, John never left his cell; but on Saturdays and Sundays he attended public worship in church. After three years spent in this eremitic life, he was made steward of the laura. The business which this office entailed was no distraction to him: so great was his love for God that his mind was fixed on Him continually and without effort.
Four years later St. Sabas thought him worthy of the priesthood and decided to present him to the Patriarch Elias. Upon their arrival at the church of Mount Calvary, where the ordination was to take place, John said to the patriarch, “Holy father, I have something to impart to you in private: afterwards, if you judge me suitable, I will receive holy orders”. The patriarch granted him a private interview, and St. John, when he had bound him to secrecy, said, “Father, I have been consecrated bishop: but on account of my many sins I have fled and have sought out this desert to await the coming of the Lord”. Elias was startled, and having summoned St. Sabas, declared, “I cannot ordain this man, because of certain particulars he has communicated to me”. St. Sabas returned home deeply grieved because he feared that John must have committed some terrible crime, but in answer to his earnest prayer the truth was made known to him by revelation. He was, however, directed not to divulge the secret to others.
In the year 503 the factious spirit of certain turbulent monks obliged St. Sabas to leave his laura; St. John at the same time withdrew into a neighbouring desert, where he spent six years. When St. Sabas was recalled to his community, St. John returned to the laura and there lived in his cell for forty years.
Experience had taught him that a soul accustomed to speak to God alone finds only bitterness and emptiness in worldly intercourse. Moreover his love of obscurity and his humility made him desire more than ever to live unknown. Nevertheless the fame of his sanctity made it impossible for him to realize his ambition, and he now no longer refused to see those who resorted to him for advice. Amongst these was Cyril of Scythopolis, who wrote the saint’s life when he had reached the great age of 104, whilst still preserving the vigour of mind which had always characterized him. Cyril relates that he himself in early manhood had consulted the hermit as to his choice of a career. St. John advised him to enter the monastery of St. Euthymius. Instead, Cyril went to a small monastery on the bank of the Jordan. There he at once contracted a fever of which he nearly died. But St. John appeared to him in his sleep and, after a gentle reprimand, told him that if he repaired at once to St. Euthymius he would regain his health and win God’s favour. The next morning, he set out for the aforesaid monastery, and found that he had entirely recovered. The same author also describes how, in his presence, St. John exorcized an evil spirit from a child by making on its forehead the sign of the cross with oil.
Both by example and precept St. John led many souls to God, and continued in his hermitage to emulate, as far as this mortal state will allow, the glorious employment of the heavenly spirits in an uninterrupted exercise of love and praise. He passed to their blessed company in A.D. 558 having lived in solitude for seventy-six years, interrupted only by the nine years of his episcopate.
Cyril of Scythopolis, the biographer from whom we derive all our knowledge of St. John, seems to have entered the monastery of St. Euthymius in 544 and to have passed on to the laura at Jerusalem in 554. Though credulous, like all men of his generation, and delighting in marvels, he was a conscientious reporter of what he believed to be the truth. The biography he wrote is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii. See also Ehrhard in the Römische Quartalschrift, vol. vii (1893), pp. 32 seq.; and the text of Cyril in E. Schwartz, Kyrillos von Skythopolis (1939).
Also Today:
May 13th - Our Lady of Fatima
The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, appeared six times to three shepherd children ("the Three Seers") near the town of Fatima, Portugal between May 13th and October 13th 1917. Appearing to the children, the Blessed Virgin told them that She had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman and child living in our century. Coming at a time when civilization was torn asunder by war and bloody violence, She promised that Heaven would grant peace to all the world if Her requests for prayer, reparation and consecration were heard and obeyed.
"If My requests are granted ... there will be peace"
Our Lady of Fatima explained to the children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would further castigate the world for its disobedience to His Will by means of war, hunger and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father and the Catholic Faithful. God's Mother prophesied that Russia would be God's chosen "instrument of chastisement," spreading the "errors" of atheism and materialism across the earth, fomenting wars, annihilating nations and persecuting the Faithful everywhere.
In all Her appearances at Fatima, the Blessed Mother repeatedly emphasized the necessity of praying the Rosary daily, of wearing the Brown Scapular of Mount Carmel and of performing acts of reparation and sacrifice. To prevent the terrible chastisement at the hands of Russia and to convert "that poor nation", Our Lady requested the solemn public Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart by the Pope and all the Catholic bishops of the world. She also asked that the Faithful practice a new devotion of reparation on the first Saturday of five consecutive months ("the Five First Saturdays")
Saint Quote:
When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that proceeding from the mouth.
-- Saint Bonaventure
Bible Quote:
"Turn Yourself to me, and have mercy on me, For I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart have enlarged." [Psalm 25:16-17]
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