Be ready and watch

[Weedy]

Be ready and watch

"And for this very reason there is also a word of the Savior to
prepare us for that day, in these words: 'Be ready and watch, for He
comes at an hour you do not know.' For, according to the blessed Paul:
'We must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, that each one
may receive according as he has done in the body, whether it be good
or bad.'"
-St. Athanasius, Incarnation of the Word, 56.5, 4th century

<<>><<>><<>>
January 25th - Saint Bretannion of Tomi
4th v.

At Tomis in Scythia, St. Bretannio, bishop, who worked in the
Church shewing great sanctity and zeal for the Catholic faith, and was
at the same time bravely opposed to the Arian emperor Valens.

In the reign of the Arian Emperor Valens, whom he fearlessly opposed,
he flourished in the Church in wondrous sanctity and zealous devotion
to the Catholic faith. Saint Bretannio (Bretanion, Vetranio,
Vetranion) a bishop of Tomi (today Constanta, Romania) during the
fourth century. Of Cappadocian origin, he occupied the see of Tomi
from 360.

According to Sozomen, during the campaign against the Goths in this
region, the emperor Valens stopped at Tomi and urged the populace to
convert to Arianism and reject the Nicene Creed. Bretannio spoke out
against this and for this he was exiled. However, due to public outcry
over the bishop’s exile, he was allowed to return.

Basil the Great requested of the ruler of Scythia Minor, Junius
Soranus (Saran), that he should send him the relics of saints of that
region. Basil was sent the relics of Sabbas the Goth in Caesarea,
Cappadocia, in 373 or 374 accompanied by a letter, the 'Epistle of the
Church of God in Gothia to the Church of God located in Cappadocia and
to all the Local Churches of the Holy Universal Church'. The sending
of Sabbas' relics and the writing of the actual letter has been
attributed to Bretannio. This letter is the oldest known writing to be
composed on Romanian soil and was written in Greek.

He may have represented Tomi at the council held in Constantinople in
381, but his name may have been confused with the name of the bishop
Gerontius (Terentius) of Tomi, who may have been the actual
participant at this council. Baronio, in compiling his martyrology,
seems to have arbitrarily assigned him the feast day of January 25.


Saint Quote:
An explanation of how repentant sinners are to be freed from their
sins is given through the prophet Isaiah in the words: Wash yourselves
and be clean. Remove the evil from your souls; learn to do what is
right. Be just to the orphan, vindicate the widow. Come, let us reason
together, says the Lord. If your sins are like scarlet, I will make
them white as wool; if they are like crimson, I will make them white
as snow.
--Saint Justin Martyr

Bible Quote:
“And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will,
to see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will
be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. And
now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins,
calling on his name,’” (Acts 22:14-16). [RSV]


<><><><>
TO OVERCOME EVIL PASSIONS
AND TO BECOME A SAINT

Dear Jesus, in the Sacrament of the Altar,
be forever thanked and praised.
Love, worthy of all celestial and terrestrial love!
Who, out of infinite love for me,
ungrateful sinner,
didst assume our human nature,
didst shed Thy most Precious Blood in the cruel scourging,
and didst expire on a shameful Cross
for our eternal welfare!
Now illumined with lively faith,
with the outpouring of my whole soul
and the fervor of my heart,
I humbly beseech Thee,
through the infinite merits of Thy painful sufferings,
give me strength and courage
to destroy every evil passion which sways my heart,
to bless Thee by the exact fulfillment of my duties,
supremely to hate all sin,
and thus to become a Saint.