Perseverance into Old Age

[Weedy]

Perseverance into Old Age

"Please forgive me if I have spoken too much. I am a long-winded
old man, and ill health has made me anxious. As you see, I have grown
old with the passing years. But for a long time now, this ill health
has made an old man of me.
However, if God is pleased with what I have just said, he will give
me strength. I will not desert you."
--St. Augustine--Sermon 355, 7

Prayer: Lord, with your help we have done what you commanded. Reward
us, now, as you promised.
--St. Augustine--Sermon 31, 6

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18 August – Saint Macarius the Wonder-Worker
Also known as Christopher, Macarius of Constantinople

Memorial 18 August
1 April on some calendars

Monk, Abbot, Defender of Icons, miracle worker – Born in the 9th
century Constantinople as Christopher and died on 18 August 850 on the
island of Aphusia, Bithynia of natural causes.

St Macarius’ legacy is one of working miracles and standing for truth
even in the face of torture.

Macarius was born in the ninth century in Constantinople, originally
named Christopher. He took the name Macarius when he became a monk.

Eventually, he was selected as abbot of his monastery and became
well-known for healing miracles, which is how he earned his title – St
Macarius the Wonder-Worker. Crowds would flock to the monastery to
seek cures.

St Macarius opposed the emperor’s orders to suppress icons in one of
the great iconoclasm controversies. The controversy over icons was a
dispute that arose when some misinterpreted the Second Commandment,
which forbids the worship of images. The Church has consistently
insisted upon the orthodoxy of icons and other religious imagery as a
consequence of the Incarnation – Jesus proved that God redeems all of
creation and that all of creation can help mediate God’s presence to
us. Icons and religious imagery point our hearts and minds to God and
remind us of holy figures, they are not themselves objects of
veneration.

Macarius was imprisoned and tortured for defending the use of icons.
When the emperor died, the successor released him from prison and
tried to win him over. He rejected the new emperor as well and was
exiled. He died during this banishment.

The relics of St Macarius rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica
of the Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus.

St Macarius, who suffered torture and exile for your defence of
religious images—pray for us!

https://anastpaul.com/2019/08/18/


Saint Quote:
The rosary is said not with the lips alone, muttering Hail Marys one
after the other. … For a Christian vocal prayer must spring from the
heart, so that while the rosary is said, the mind can enter into
contemplation of each one of the mysteries.
-- Saint Josemaria Escriva

Bible Quote:
"Put not your trust in princes; in the children of men, in whom there
is no salvation. Blessed is he who hath the God of Jacob for his
helper, whose hope is in the Lord his God; who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all things that are in them." (Ps. 114:3,5-6).


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Jesus, Joy of Loving Hearts
By St Bernard (1090-1153)

Jesus, joy of loving hearts,
You Fount of life,
You Light of men,
from the best bliss that earth imparts
we turn unfilled to You again.
We taste You,
O You living Bread,
and long to feast upon You still.
We drink of You, the Fountainhead,
and thirst our souls from You to fill.
O Jesus, ever with us stay,
make all our moments calm and bright;
chase the dark night of sin away,
shed o’er the world Your holy light.
Amen, Amen