The humble never fall.

[Weedy]

The humble never fall.

How could they when they are beneath everyone? Pride is a great
abasement, but humility a great exaltation, honor, and dignity. Let us
then force and compel ourselves to be humble even though it goes
against the grain, and to be gentle and loving; with this object
before us let us continually beg God in prayer with faith, hope, and
love to send his Spirit into our hearts to enable us to pray and
worship him in spirit and in truth. Then the Spirit himself will teach
us how to pray properly, which we cannot do now however much we try;
he will teach us to be truly compassionate and kind, and to obey all
the other commandments of the Lord without effort or constraint, for
he knows how to fill us with his fruits.
--Macarius of Egypt

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June 27th - St. Cyril of Alexandria, Champion of the Mother of God

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, c. 376-80; died there 444; named "Doctor of
the Incarnation" by Pope Leo XIII in 1882; known as the "Seal of the
Fathers" in the East; feast day formerly on January 28 and February 9.

As the early church developed in organization, certain dioceses
assumed a predominant role in sections of Christianity. These
“superarchdioceses”, acknowledged by 451, came to be called
patriarchatea. The five ancient patriarchates were: Rome in the West;
and in the East, Antioch (Syria), Alexandria (Egypt), Constantinople
(the Balkans, Asia Minor, and Russia), and Jerusalem (Palestine).

One of the great archbishops (or, as they are still called, “popes”)
of Alexandria, was St. Cyril. Almost nothing is known about this
churchman’s early life; but after his election as patriarch in 412, he
emerged as the leading defender of the dogma that Christ had two
natures, the divine and human, but only one person: the “Word made
flesh.”

Cyril was a man always ready for battle. In fact, for a while in his
patriarchal career, he seemed to share some of the impetuous,
domineering disposition of Patriarch Theophilus, his uncle and
predecessor. As time passed he would learn that compromise, too, can
be virtuous.

The truth itself was compromised, Cyril saw in 428, when Nestorius,
the newly installed patriarch of Constantinople, publicly questioned
the appropriateness of applying the popular name, “Mother of God”
(“Theotokos”, in Greek), to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Nestorius said he
preferred the term, “Mother of Christ.” (This is a preference some
Christians can tend to even today if they do not understand the real
meaning of and implications of “Mother of God.”)

But Cyril saw at once that Nestorius’ theology was superficial. He
therefore replied with a series of writings pointing out the true
doctrine. When the scriptures say that the Word was made flesh, he
said, that implies that the second person of the Blessed Trinity, to
redeem humankind, united Himself with a human body and soul in the
womb of Mary. God gave Him His divine nature; Mary, His human nature;
but He who was born of her on Christmas day was one person, not two
(one a human person, the other, divine). Hence the title of “Mother of
God” is fitting, even necessary; it does not mean, of course, that she
was the mother of the Blessed Trinity (which would be impossible), but
that He who was born of her in his human nature, was truly a member of
the Trinity.

Unfortunately, the controversy that followed between the defenders of
Nestorius and the forthright defenders of correct doctrine became
involved in church and state politics. It was settled, however, in the
third ecumenical council, held at Ephesus in Asia Minor in 431 and
approved by Pope Celestine I. When the leaders of the patriarchate of
Antioch continued to have questions, Cyril generously qualified some
of the incidental phrases he had used as leader of the Council.

In 433 the bishops of the patriarchate of Constantinople agreed with
Cyril on a “Formula of Union.” The Formula professed that Christ is
one in substance with the Father in divine nature, one in substance
with us in the human nature: two natures united in “one Christ, one
Son, one Lord.” “According to this unconfused unit,” said the
statement, “we confess the Blessed Virgin to be the Mother of God,
because God the Word was enfleshed and made human and through that
conception united in Himself a temple received from her.”

After the Council of Ephesus, a group of Syrians loyal to Nestorius
broke off into schism from the rest of Eastern Christianity. They
still remain in at least verbal heresy today, now much reduced in
number and dwelling mostly in Iraq. Orthodox Christians, however,
stuck valiantly by the definition of Ephesus and the theology of Cyril
of Alexandria. In their liturgy the Greek Orthodox insistently refer
to Mary as the Theotokos (“She who bore God”). You will also notice
that the abbreviation for “Mother of God” is still painted boldly on
all Greek Orthodox icons of the Virgin and Child.

Cyril’s own mellowing was noticeable as time passed. He seems
gradually to have realized that one can defend the truth without being
harsh or ungracious. Truth and charity are both Christian virtues. Was
it the Mother of God herself who led her strong and brilliant champion
to this gentler understanding?

Our knowledge of St Cyril is derived principally from his own writings
and from the church historians Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. The
view of his life and work presented by Butler is the traditional view,
and we are not here directly concerned with the discussions which,
owing mainly to the discovery of the work known as The Bazaar of
Heracleides, have since been devoted to the character of Nestorius and
his teaching. The literature connected with St Cyril is very copious.
A sufficient account will be found in the two articles in DTC.,
"Cyrille d'Alexandrie" and "Ephèse, Concile de"-as well as in
Bardenhewer's Patrology. See also Duchesne, Histoire ancienne de
l’Église, vol. iii (Eng. trans.); Abbot Chapman in the Catholic
Encyclopedia, vol. iv, pp. 592-595; and A. Fortescue, The Greek
Fathers (1908).
–Father Robert

Saint Quotes:
"Hail, Mother and Virgin, imperishable temple of the Godhead,
venerable treasure of the whole world, crown of virginity, support of
the true faith on which the Church is founded throughout the whole
world.

"Mother of God, who contained the infinite God under your heart, whom
no space can contain: Through you the Most Holy Trinity is adored and
glorified, demons are vanquished, satan cast down from heaven and into
hell, and our fallen nature again assumed into heaven.

"Through you the human race, held captive in the bonds of idolatry,
arrives at the knowledge of the truth. What more shall I say of you?
Hail, through whom kings rule, through whom the only-begotten Son of
God has become a star of light to those who were sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death. Amen.

"All of us are united with Christ inasmuch as we have received Him who
is one and indivisible in our bodies. Therefore we owe the service of
our members to Him rather than to ourselves."
--Saint Cyril of Alexandria.

Bible Quote:
And then shall many be scandalized: and shall betray one another: and
shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall rise, and shall
seduce many. And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many
shall grow cold. But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be
saved. (Matt 24:10-13)


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Patience is a virtue of the Lord:
He awaits the return of His children.
Forgive my trespasses Oh Lord Jesus,
For many times have I tested You.
I deserved the wrath of Your hand,
But You saw greater things for me:
Your patience has been enormous!
Grant me a droplet of such endurance,
That I may abolish my impious impatience,
Refraining from using unpleasant words,
And always reflecting Your serenity.
Great is the Lord Jesus in His ways!