My Purpose Is to Reach My God

[Rich]

My Purpose Is to Reach My God

   "Fervently, I seek my God in the material things of heaven and
earth, and I do not find him. I seek the reality of him in my own
soul, and I do not find it. Yet I am determined to seek my God.
   In my yearning to understand and look into the invisible things of
God by means of created things, I pour out my soul within me. I have
no other purpose henceforth but to reach my God."
--St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 41, 8

   Prayer: I call upon you, my God, my Mercy, my Creator. I had
forgotten you, but you held me ever in your sight.
--St. Augustine--Confessions 13, 1

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25 July – Saint Christopher

Memorial
25 July (Roman calendar)
9 March (Greek calendar)
9 May (some Eastern calendars)
16 November (Cuba)
10 July (some areas of Spain)

(c. 250)
There is a beloved saint whose image can be found inside of cars, on
the walls of churches and around the necks of safety-seeking
travellers. His most prevalent image is that of a tall, formidable man
who wades across an unruly river. Wooden staff firmly in hand, his
face is often strained, looking upward to the sweet-faced child
resting on his oversized shoulders.

He is referenced in literature: “A Cristofre on his breast of silver
shene…,”Chaucer wrote in The Canterbury Tales and in film, such as
2005’s Crash in which a habitual car thief uses his trusty Saint
Christopher medal as a good-luck charm.

Saint Christopher—patron of travellers, protector against toothaches,
hailstorms and sudden death—is one of the most endearing for
Catholics. His life and story, bordering somewhere between legend and
legitimacy, is a complex, faith-affirming exercise in service, grace
and love.

A picture of Saint Christopher was found in a monastery on Mount Sinai
dating from the time of Justinian (527-565). His image was cast on
coins in Württemberg and Bohemia and his statues could be found on
bridges, imparting safety to their many travellers.
Christopher’s woodcarvings and paintings were hung on the walls of
many European churches, often accompanied by the inscription, “Whoever
shall behold the image of Saint Christopher shall not faint or fall on
that day.”

Further proof of his early popularity, Saint Christopher was included
as someone invoked against an assortment of hardships. He was also
chosen as the patron of Baden, Brunswick and Mecklenburg and is one of
the efficacious saints, The Fourteen Holy Helpers.
And that popularity never wavered. Even somewhat recently,
organisations such as “The Christophers,” founded by Father John
Keller, M.M. in 1945, are named after him. The Christophers’ purpose
is to encourage all individuals to celebrate “their abilities and use
them to raise the standards in all phases of human endeavour.” It’s a
fitting principle.

Despite Saint Christopher’s long-lasting influence, aspects of his
life are shrouded in myth and in legend. But his popularity,
regardless of overwhelming uncertainty, is unmistakable. We love him
and trust in his intercession!

Christopher has proven his resilience, growing in popularity over the
centuries and withstanding suspicious historians who have questioned
his validity.

For many, Saint Christopher reminds us that, in our own way, we carry
Christ on our shoulders and in our hearts, across mighty rivers.
These mighty rivers of our lives!
St Christopher, Pray for us!

https://anastpaul.com/2019/07/25/


Saint Quote:
It is not enough to do good things, but we must do them well, in
imitation of Christ our Lord, of whom it was written: Bene omnia
fecit--He did all things well.  We ought, then, to strive to do all
things in the spirit of Christ; that is, with the perfection, with
circumstances, and for the ends for which He performed His actions.
Otherwise, even the good works that we do will bring us punishment
rather than reward.
--St. Vincent de Paul

Bible Quote:
From the beginning, and before the world, was I created, and unto
the world to come I shall not cease to be, and in the holy dwelling
place I have ministered before him. 15 And so was I established in
Sion, and in the holy city likewise I rested, and my power was in
Jerusalem.  16 And I took root in an honourable people, and in the
portion of my God his inheritance, and my abode is in the full
assembly of saints.  (Ecclesiasticus 24:14-16)

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Models of Humility: (2) The Blessed Virgin

No one of all the children of Adam ever approached the Blessed Virgin
Mary in humility. What had she to make her humble? No sin or
imperfection for which to humble herself before God. Yet the greatest
of sinners never humbled himself as did Mary. How was this? It was
because no one save she ever recognized her own nothingness in God's
sight. This is the surest basis for humility. It is because we do not
recognize our utter insignificance and the absence of any good in us
save what is the gift of God, that we are so wanting in humility.

Thus it was that, because Mary had a right to the highest place, she
always sought the lowest. This is the law that everywhere prevails.
Those who deserve the lowest place seek the highest, and those who
deserve the highest seek the lowest. It is the enemies of God who do
not like to come down. His friends recognize the lowest place as the
place most suitable for them. Am I in this respect one of God's
friends or one of His enemies?

Mary's humility was also the result of her desire to be like to her
Divine Son in all things. When she saw Him stoop from the highest
Heaven to earth, she longed to stoop to the very dust. She placed
herself in spirit beneath the feet of all, and would have placed
herself lower still if it had been possible. For what humiliation
could even Mary endure that was in any way comparable to that of her
Son? If Mary, then, is my Queen and Mother, I will seek to imitate her
in this. If the Immaculate Mother of God loved to humble herself, how
much more should I, who am but a miserable worm of earth?