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- James 1:22-25 --

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Feb 2, 2023, 3:40:16 AM2/2/23
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- James 1:22-25 --

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it
says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a
man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes
away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this,
not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what
he does.
========================
How many people read the Bible and then walk away, seemingly
unaffected? It is as though they forget the power of the Word as soon
as they close the book. These are the people who praise Jesus on
Sunday, but live Monday-through-Saturday lives of pretense.
These are the ones who, as the apostle James describes, forget what
they look like. "Do not merely listen to the Word and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says!" The world is dying to know what genuine
faith looks like. If you profess to know Jesus as Lord, then you carry
a solemn responsibility to show others the true face of faith. Let
them see Christ reflected in you.

<<>><<>><<>>
2 February – Saint Lawrence of Canterbury

(Died 619)
The Second Archbishop of Canterbury the successor of St Augustine of
Canterbury from 604 until his death in 619, but he was Consecrated as
Archbishop by his predecessor, St Augustine, during Augustine’s
lifetime, to ensure continuity in the office, Benedictine Monk,
Missionary. He was a member of the Gregorian mission sent from Italy
to England to Christianize the Anglo-Saxons. Born in the 6th Century
and died on 2 February 619 in Canterbury, England of natural causes.
Also known as – Lorenzo.

The Roman Martyrology states: “In Canterbury in England, St Lawrence,
Bishop, who after St Augustine ruled this Church and greatly increased
it by converting King Eadbald to the Faith.”

Lawrence, a Monk of the Monastery of St Andrea al Clelio in Rome,
arrived in England with St Augustine of Canterbury, to accompany him
on his new mission in a land that was still pagan. The expedition had
been strongly desired by Pope St Gregory the Great, informed by the
Christian Queen of Kent, of the need for shepherds to convert the
Anglo Saxons. The missionaries, after a long and dangerous journey,
landed in 597 on the island of Thanet, in the kingdom of Kent.
Everything that is known about Lawrence’s life is due to the first two
books of “Ecclesiastical history” written by St Bede the Venerable.

In 601, following the Baptism of King St Ethelbert, Lawrence was sent
to Rome to announce the success of the mission to the Pontiff and
receive further instructions on how to proceed.

On the death of Augustine, in 604, he was succeeded by Lawrence, whom
he himself had designated as his successor. The new Bishop consecrated
“the Church dedicated to the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, so that the
bodies of Augustine, all the bishops of Canterbury and the Kings of
the Cantia could be buried.”

Lawrence also attempted to continue the consolidation policy already
pursued by Augustine among the Anglo-Saxons of south-east England but
was unable, like his predecessor, to intensify collaboration with the
Irish and British Bishops of the western part of the country, still
linked to the island traditions. To the Irish shepherds he address a
letter that would find lasting echo in England in the following
centuries: “Before understanding the actual situation, we held in high
esteem the religious practice of the British and the Irish […]. Having
known the British, we thought that the Irish would have been better.
But now we have understood […] that the Irish do not surpass the
Britons in ecclesiastical observance.” In the same tone he also wrote
to the British Bishops but, as Bede pointed out, he made absolutely no
profit with this attitude and, therefore, had to face the worsening of
the situation even in Kent itself. The latter phenomenon culminated in
616 with the accession to the throne of Edbald, son of Ethelbert, who
refused to embrace the Christian faith accepted by his father.

Two Monks, followers of ,Lawrence, St Mellitus (24 April) and St
Justus (10 November), preferred to return to Gaul, in order to avoid
getting involved in any bloody persecutions against Christians.
Lawrence, after having meditated on this for a long time, in the end
preferred to remain in his chair and face the new King. According to
an ancient local tradition, also reported by St Bede, Lawrence changed
his mind about his departure ,following a very concrete apparition of
St Peter, who actually whipped Lawrence for his cowardice. “The
servant of Christ, Lawrence, went immediately to the King and, opening
his robe, showed him how many wounds he had received.” Edbaldo was
greatly impressed by this extraordinary display of supernatural power
and decided to convert to Christianity immediately. Granted the
resumption of the development of the Church in Kent, Mellitus and
Justus also soon returned to their positions.

Lawrence died on 2 February 619 and was buried next to St Augustine in
Canterbury Abbey. The tomb was opened in 1091 by Abbot Guido, to
transfer the relics to a more eminent place and an intense perfume
came out that invaded the entire Monastery. Another inspection of his
tomb again took place in 1915.

Gravestone marking the site of St Laurence’s burial in St Augustine’s
Abbey, Canterbury
The antiquity of the worship paid to the holy Bishop is attested by
the Irish Missal of Stowe, which set the date of his feast at 3
February, a commemoration that remained unchanged until the last
edition of the Martyrology moved it to 2 February, the actual
anniversary of his birth into Heaven.
The iconography relating to St Lawrence usually depicts him in the act
of showing King Edbald his wounds.

https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/02/


Saint Quote:
Let us faithfully transmit to posterity the example of virtue which we
have received from our forefathers.
--Saint Peter Damian

Bible Quote:
Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see. And ask for the
old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it, and you shall
find refreshment for your souls. (Jeremias 6:16)


<><><><>
3. Whoever is not very humble, can never draw profit from
contemplation, in which any little atom of insufficient humility,
though it may seem nothing, works the greatest harm.
--St. Teresa

One day, the Blessed Virgin prayed her most holy Son that He would
bestow some spiritual gifts upon St. Bridget. But He gave her this
reply: "Whoever seeks lofty things ought first to be exercised in the
lowly, by the paths of humility." Because the blessed clara of
montefalco experienced a vain pleasure in some things she had done,
the lord withdrew from her for 15 years, his lights and celestial
consolations, which she could not regain during all that time, though
she begged for them earnestly, with tears, prayers, and the use of the
discipline.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". February – Humility)

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