NEVER do evil

[Weedy]

NEVER do evil

NEVER do evil for anything in the world, or for the love of any man.
For one who is in need, however, a good work may at times be purposely
left undone or changed for a better one. This is not the omission of a
good deed but rather its improvement.
Without charity external work is of no value, but anything done in
charity, be it ever so small and trivial, is entirely fruitful
inasmuch as God weighs the love with which a man acts rather than the
deed itself.
He does much who loves much. He does much who does a thing well. He
does well who serves the common good rather than his own interests.
--Imitation of Christ--a Kempis, Ch 15, Works Done in Charity

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21 May – Saint Godric of Finchale

(c 1070-1170)
Hermit, Merchant, Pilgrim, Hymnist, Spiritual Advisor to Saints, both
great and small, friend of all animals. Born in c 1070 at Walpole,
Norfolk, England and died in 1170 at Finchale, County Durham, England
of natural causes, Also known as – Godrick

Godric’s life was recorded by his contemporary, a Monk named Reginald
of Durham. Several other Hagiographies are also extant. According to
these accounts, Godric, who began from humble beginnings as the son of
Ailward and Edwenna, “both of slender rank and wealth but abundant in
righteousness and virtue,” was a peddler, then a sailor and
entrepreneur and may have been the captain and owner of the ship which
conveyed King Baldwin I of Jerusalem to Jaffa in 1102.

After years at sea, Godric went to the Island of Lindisfarne and there
experienced a vision of St Cuthbert. This encounter changed his life
and, thereafter, he devoted himself to Christianity and service to
God.

After many pilgrimages around the Mediterranean, Godric returned to
England and lived with an elderly hermit named Aelric for two years.
Upon Aelric’s death, Godric made one last pilgrimage to Jerusalem and
then returned home, where he convinced Ranulf Flambard, the Bishop of
Durham, to grant him a place to live as a Hermit at Finchale near the
Monastery, by the River Wear. He had previously served as doorkeeper,
the lowest of the minor orders, at the hospital Church of nearby St
Giles Hospital in Durham. He is recorded to have lived at Finchale for
the final 63 years of his life, occasionally meeting with visitors
approved by the Prior of Finchale Monaster, under whose care and
obedience he lived and died. A Monk of that house was his Confessor,
said Mass for him and administered him the Sacraments in a Chapel
adjoining to his cell, which the holy man had built in honour of St
John the Baptist.

As the years passed, his reputation grew, and St Thomas à Becket
(Martyr) (1118-1170) and Pope Alexander III, both reportedly sought
Godric’s advice as a wise and holy man.

Reginald of Durham. describes Godric’s physical attributes:

For he was vigorous and strenuous in mind, whole of limb and strong in
body. He was of middle stature, broad-shouldered and deep-chested,
with a long face, grey eyes most clear and piercing, bushy brows, a
broad forehead, long and open nostrils, a nose of comely curve and a
pointed chin. His beard was thick and longer than the ordinary, his
mouth well-shaped, with lips of moderate thickness, in youth, his hair
was black, in age as white as snow; his neck was short and thick,
knotted with veins and sinews; his legs were somewhat slender, his
instep high, his knees hardened and horny with frequent kneeling; his
whole skin rough beyond the ordinary, until all this roughness was
softened by old age.

For several years before his death, Godric was confined to his bed by
sickness and old age. Father William of Newburgh OSA, Augustinian
Priest and Historian, who visited him during that time, tells us that
although his body appeared in a manner dead, his tongue was ever
repeating the sacred names of the Three Divine Persons and, in his
countenance, there appeared a wonderful dignity, accompanied with an
unusual grace and sweetness. Having remained in his desert for 63
years, he was seized with his last illness and happily departed to his
Lord on the 21st of May, 1170,

His body was buried in the Chapel of St John Baptist. Many miracles
confirmed the opinion of his sanctity and a little Chapel was built in
his memory by Richard, brother to Hugh Pidsey, Bishop of Durham.

St Godric is often remembered for his affinity with and kindness
toward animals and many stories recall his protection of the
creatures, who lived near his forest home. According to one of these,
he hid a stag from pursuing hunters; according to another, he even
allowed snakes to warm themselves by his fire. Godric lived on a diet
of herbs, wild honey, acorns, crab-apples and nuts. He slept on the
bare ground.

Reginald of Durham recorded four hymns of St Godric. They are the
oldest hymns in English for which the original musical settings
survive. Reginald describes the circumstances in which Godric learnt
the first hymn. In a vision, the Virgin Mary appeared to Godric “two
maidens of surpassing beauty clad in shining white raiments,” at her
side. They pledged to come to his aid in times of need and the Virgin
herself, taught Godric a hymn of consolation, to overcome grief or
temptation Saintë Marië Virginë.
The novel Godric (1981) by Frederick Buechner is a fictional retelling
of his life and travels. It was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize.

https://anastpaul.com/2022/05/21/


Holy Purity

“Since Mary excelled so much in this virtue and had so great a love
for it, she will obtain for us from God, the grace necessary for us to
preserve it, as long as we pray humbly to her, especially in times of
temptation.
Let us remember that at Baptism, we became members of the Mystical
Body of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit (Cf 1 Cor 6:15-20).
We are obliged to avoid defiling this temple and making the Mystical
Body of Christ a dwelling-place for the devil!...
There is no need to be afraid.
If we do all that we can, God’s grace will do the rest.
“I can do all things in Him, Who strengthens me,” Phil 4:12) says St Paul.
“God is faithful,” he writes elsewhere “and will not permit you to be
tempted beyond your strength but, with the temptation, will also give
you a way out, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor 10:13).
If we remain pure, we shall see God.
We shall see Him in the work of His creation in this world and we
shall see and enjoy Him forever in Heaven.
“Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8).”
by Antonio Cardinal Bacci


“We may seek graces
but shall never find them
without the intercession of Mary.”
--St Cajetan (1480-1547)

“Do you not know,
that not only is Jesus,
resting and dwelling continually
in the Heart of Mary
but that He is, Himself the Heart of Mary … “
--St John Eudes CO (1601-1680)
Apostle of the Two Holy Hearts

Saint Quote:
Love does not consist in shedding tears, nor in tasting sweetness and
that tenderness in which one seeks consolation; it consists in serving
God in justice, in strength of soul, and in humility.
--St. Teresa of Avila

Bible Quote
For the spirit of the Lord hath filled the whole world: and that,
which containeth all things, hath knowledge of the voice. (Wisdom
1:7)


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For a Sick Person

O Father of mercies and God of all comfort, our only help in time of
need: We humbly beseech thee to behold, visit, and relieve thy sick
servant N. for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon him with the
eyes of thy mercy; comfort him with a sense of thy goodness; preserve
him from the temptations of the enemy; and give him patience under his
affliction. In thy good time, restore him to health, and enable him to
lead the residue of his life in thy fear, and to thy glory; and grant
that he may dwell with thee in life everlasting; through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.