Love -- The Distinguishing Sign

[Weedy]

Love -- The Distinguishing Sign

Love is the only sign that distinguishes the children of God from
the children of the devil. To prove this, let them all sign themselves
with the cross of Christ. Let them all respond: Amen. Let all sing:
Alleluia. Let all build the walls of churches.
There is still no way of discerning the children of God from the
children of the devil except by love!"
--St. Augustine--Sermon on 1 John 5, 7

Prayer: Come to my aid, O God, the one eternal, true reality! In you
there is no strife, no disorder, no change, no need, no death, but
supreme harmony, supreme clarity, supreme permanence, supreme life.
--St. Augustine--Soliloquies 1, 1

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August 29th - Bl. Richard Herst, English Martyr

ON the day following the martyrdom of Bl. Edmund Arrowsmith at
Lancaster there suffered in the same town Bl. Richard Herst, whose
story is one of the most remarkable in the histories of the English
and Welsh martyrs. He was hanged, ostensibly for willful murder.

Richard Herst (Hurst, Hayhurst) was born in a year unknown, near
Preston, probably at Broughton, and was a yeoman farmer, comfortably
off. Being a recusant, on a day in 1628 the bishop of Chester sent a
pursuivant, Norcross, with two men, Wilkinson and Dewhurst, to arrest
him. They found him ploughing, and as Norcross handed him the
warrant, Wilkinson struck at him with a stick. A girl at work in
another part of the field, seeing this, ran to summon her mistress,
who came running out with a farm-servant and another man. The
process-servers turned to meet this diversion and Wilkinson knocked
the two men down, whereat the girl (unfortunately the name of this
spirited young woman is not known) hit Dewhurst over the head. The
pursuivant's men then ran away, but Dewhurst, "partly on occasion of
the blow, partly also to apply himself close to Wilkinson, made more
haste than good speed, and ran so disorderly over the hard ploughed
lands, as that he fell down and broke his leg". The fracture mortified
and 13 days later Dewhurst died of it, after declaring that his fall
had been quite accidental. Nevertheless Herst was indicted for murder
before Sir Henry Yelverton and convicted, in defiance of all evidence,
the known facts of the case, and the finding of the coroner's jury;
the criminal jury was unwilling to bring in a verdict of guilty, but
the judge told the foreman in private that it must be done "for an
example".

A petition of reprieve was sent to King Charles I, supported by Queen
Henrietta Maria, but the contrary influence was too strong; his life
was offered him if he would take the oath which had been condenmed by
the Holy See, which fact alone shows the humbug of the murder charge.
Three short letters are extant from Bl. Richard to his confessor.

In one he says, "I pray you remember my poor children, and encourage
my friends about my debts; and let it appear that my greatest worldly
care is to satisfy them as far as my means will extend"; in another,
"Although my flesh be timorous and fearful, I yet find great comfort
in spirit in casting myself upon my sweet Saviour with a most fervent
love, when I consider what He hath done and suffered for me, and my
greatest desire is to suffer with Him. And I had rather choose to die
a thousand deaths than to possess a kingdom and live in mortal sin;
for there is nothing so hateful to me as sin, and that only for the
love of my Saviour." On his way to the gallows, he looked up to where
Bl. Edmund Arrowsmith's head was displayed above the castle; "I look",
he said, "at the head of that blessed martyr whom you have sent before
to prepare the way for us", and then turned to the minister who was
questioning him, and said, "I believe according to the faith of the
Holy Catholic Church". He spent some time in prayer at the foot of
the scaffold and then, seeing that the hangman was fumbling over
fixing the rope, called up to him, "Tom, I think I must come up and
help thee". He left behind in the world six young children, and one
yet unborn.


Saint Quote:
My hope is in Christ, who strengthens the weakest by His Divine help.
I can do all in Him who strengthens me. His Power is infinite, and if
I lean on him, it will be mine. His Wisdom is infinite, and if I look
to Him for counsel, I shall not be deceived. His Goodness is infinite,
and if my trust is stayed in Him, I shall not be abandoned.
-- Pope Saint Pius X

Bible Quote:
Now seeing the constancy of Peter and of John, understanding that they
were illiterate and ignorant men, they wondered: and they knew them
that they had been with Jesus. [Acts 4:13] DRB

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Each new day brings an opportunity:

Each new day brings an opportunity to do some little thing that will
help to make a better world that will bring God's kingdom a little
nearer to being realized on earth. Take each day's happenings as
opportunities for something you can do for God. In that spirit, a
blessing will attend all that you do. Offering this day's service to
God, you are sharing in His work. You do not have to do great things.
--Twenty-Four Hours a Day