— Proverbs 15:15 —
Weedy
All the days of the oppressed are wretched,
but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.
Better a little with the fear of the LORD
than great wealth with turmoil.
Better a meal of vegetables where there is love
than a fattened calf with hatred.
A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension,
but a patient man calms a quarrel.
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Our attitudes color our whole personality. We cannot always choose
what
happens to us, but we can choose our attitude toward each situation.
The
secret to a happy heart is filling our minds with thoughts that are
pure and
lovely, with thoughts that dwell on the good things in life
(Philippians
4:8). As you face the struggles and challenges of daily living, look
at your
attitude and then examine what you allow to enter your mind and what
you
choose to dwell on. You may need to make some changes.
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January 8th - St. Gudula
(Latin, Guodila).
Born in Brabant, Belgium, of Witger and Amalberga, in the seventh
century;
died at the beginning of the eighth century. After the birth of Gudula
her
mother Amalberga, who is herself venerated as a saint, embraced the
religious life, and according to tradition received the veil at the
hands of
St. Aubert, Bishop of Cambrai (d. about 668). Gudula's sister was St.
Reinelda, and her brother, St. Emebertus, who succeeded St. Vindician
as
Bishop of Cambrai about 695. From an early age Gudula proved herself a
worthy child of her mother, and with Reinelda and Emebertus lived in
an
atmosphere of piety and good works. She frequently visited the church
of
Moorzeele, situated at a distance of two miles from her parents'
house. She
was buried at Ham (Eastern Flanders). About a century after her death,
her
relics were removed from Ham to the church of Saint-Sauveur at
Moorzeele,
where the body was interred behind the altar. Under Duke Charles of
Lorraine
(977-992), or more exactly, between 977 and 988, the body of the saint
was
taken from the church of Moorzeele and transferred to the chapel of
Saint
Géry at Brussels. Count Balderic of Louvain caused another translation
to be
made in 1047, when the relics of the saint were placed in the church
of
Saint-Michel. Great indulgences were granted on the feast of the saint
in
1330, to all who assisted in the decoration and completion of the
church of
St. Gudula at Brussels. On 6 June, 1579, the collegiate church was
pillaged
and wrecked by the Gueux and heretics, and the relics of the saint
disinterred and scattered. The feast of the saint is celebrated at
Brussels
on 8 January, and at Ghent-in which diocese Ham and Moorzeele are
located-on
19 January.
If St. Michael is the patron of Brussels, St. Gudula is its most
venerated
patroness. In iconography, St. Gudula is represented on a seal of the
Church
of St. Gudula of 1446 reproduced by Pere Ch. Cahier (Caracteristiques
des
saints, I, 198) holding in her right hand a candle, and in her left a
lamp,
which a demon endeavours to extinguish. This representation is
doubtless in
accord with the legend which relates that the saint frequently
repaired to
the church before cock-crow. The demon wishing to interrupt this pious
exercise, extinguished the light which she carried, but the saint
obtained
from God that her lantern should be rekindled. The flower called
"tremella
deliquescens", which bears fruit in the beginning of January, is known
as
"Sinte Goulds lampken" (St. Gudula's lantern). The old woodcarvers who
professed to represent the saints born in the states of the House of
Austria, depict St. Gudula with a taper in her hand.
This Version Taken From:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07056b.htm
Saint Quote:
"Very many wish to be vouchsafed the Kingdom without labors, without
struggles, without sweat; but this is impossible.
If you love the glories of men, and desire to be worshipped, and seek
comfort, you are going off the path. You must be crucified with the
Crucified One, suffer with Him that suffered, that you may be
glorified with Him that is glorified."
--St. Macarius of Egypt
Bible Quote:
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her
seed:
she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.
(Genesis
3:15)
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From The Passion and Death of Jesus Christ, by Saint Alphonsus
Liguori:
We read in history of a proof of love so prodigious that it will be
the
admiration of all ages.
There was once a king, lord of many kingdoms, who had one only son, so
beautiful, so holy, so amiable, that he was the delight of his father,
who
loved him as much as himself. This young prince had a great affection
for
one of his slaves; so much so that, the slave having committed a crime
for
which he had been condemned to death, the prince offered himself to
die for
the slave; the father, being jealous of justice, was satisfied to
condemn
his beloved son to death, in order that the slave might remain free
from the
punishment that he deserved: and thus the son died a malefactor's
death, and
the slave was freed from punishment.
This fact, the like of which has never happened in this world, and
never
will happen, is related in the Gospels, where we read that the Son of
God,
the Lord of the universe, seeing that man was condemned to eternal
death in
punishment of his sins, chose to take upon Himself human flesh, and
thus to
pay by His death the penalty due to man: He was offered because it was
His
own will (Is. 53:7). And his Eternal Father caused him to die upon the
cross
to save us miserable sinners: He spared not his own Son, but delivered
Him
up for us all (Rom. 8:32). What dost thou think, O devout soul, of
this love
of the Son and of the Father?
Thou didst, then, O my beloved Redeemer, choose by Thy death to
sacrifice
Thyself in order to obtain the pardon of my sins. And what return of
gratitude shall I then make to Thee? Thou hast done too much to oblige
me to
love Thee; I should indeed be most ungrateful to Thee if I did not
love Thee
with my whole heart. Thou hast given for me Thy divine life; I,
miserable
sinner that I am, give Thee my own life. Yes, I will at least spend
that
period of my life that remains to me only in loving Thee, obeying
Thee, and
pleasing Thee.
O men, men! let us love this our Redeemer, who, being God, has not
disdained
to take upon Himself our sins, in order to satisfy by His sufferings
for the
chastisement which we have deserved: Surely He hath borne our
infirmities,
and carried our sorrows (Is. 53:4)
St. Augustine says that our Lord in creating us formed us by virtue of
His
power, but in redeeming us He has saved us from death by means of His
sufferings: "He created us in his strength; he sought us back in his
weakness."
How much do I not owe Thee, O Jesus my Saviour! Oh, if I were to give
my
blood a thousand times over,-if I were to spend a thousand lives for
Thee,-it would yet be nothing. Oh, how could anyone that meditated
much on
the love which Thou hast shown him in Thy Passion, love anything else
but
Thee? Through the love with which Thou didst love us on the cross,
grant me
the grace to love Thee with my whole heart. I love Thee, infinite
Goodness;
I love Thee above every other good; and I ask nothing more of Thee but
Thy
holy love.