From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Follow me and you will have life in abundance   
      
   While Peter and John were both called as disciples of Jesus, each was   
   given a particular task and mission to fulfill. When Peter questions   
   John's role, Jesus responds, "What is that to you? Follow me!" Peter's   
   given task was to "shepherd the sheep of Christ," and in the end to   
   die as a martyr for the Lord Jesus. John's role was preeminently to   
   witness to the risen Lord Jesus and to give his testimony to the   
   Gospel account of Jesus' identity as the divine Son of God who became   
   a man to save us from sin, Satan, and death (John 20:31). John lived   
   to long age and wrote the Gospel as his testimony to the reality of   
   the resurrection of Jesus Christ.   
      
      
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   May 23rd - Saint William of Rochester   
    (also known as Saint William of Perth)   
    12th century   
      
    Saint William of Rochester, patron saint of adopted children, and   
   martyr for the faith.  Originally from Scotland, Saint William   
   traveled to England, where he was eventually martyred.  His life,   
   acts, and selfless commitment to those in need serve as a model of   
   Christian love and service.   
      
   William was born in Perth in the 12th century, one of the most   
   important Scottish towns at the time. While little is known about his   
   life, what we do know is inspiring.  After a wayward youth, William   
   found the Lord, and embraced the Gospel.  He worked tirelessly each   
   day in his trade, as a baker.  Evenings were spent in service to the   
   Church, the poor, and in prayer.  It is said that every tenth loaf of   
   bread that he baked was given to the needy.   
      
   Saint William attended daily Mass, oftentimes prior to sunrise so that   
   he could begin his day at the bakery.  One morning, he found an   
   abandoned infant, left on the steps of the church.  He immediately   
   adopted the boy, raising him in the faith, and providing him training   
   in trade.  He named him David (and the Scots refer to this boy as   
   “David the Foundling”).   
      
   As the boy grew, Saint William took him on a tour of the Holy Land,   
   visiting the holy places of Christ’s life.  With him, Saint William   
   brought a consecrated wallet and staff.  While in Rochester, England   
   (on their way to visit Canterbury, and then to Jerusalem), David led   
   his father into a dangerous area of town, slit his throat, stole his   
   wallet, and disappeared.   
      
   Saint William’s body was discovered by woman known to be mentally ill.   
   She dressed the saint’s body with a garland of honeysuckle, treating   
   him with reverence.  It is said that the madness immediately left her,   
   and she brought the saint’s body to the cathedral.  There, the monks   
   of Rochester buried him, enshrining his relics, and proclaiming him   
   saintly due to his holy life, his love for his son, and the miraculous   
   cures he wrought in death (not only of the mad woman, but also of many   
   at his graveside).  Saint William was canonized by Pope Alexander IV   
   in 1256.  A shrine dedicated to Saint William still stands at the   
   Cathedral of Rochester.  His tomb and a chapel at his murder scene,   
   called Palmersdene, soon became sites of pilgrimage and donation, even   
   by the crown. Remains of the chapel can be seen near the present Saint   
   William's Hospital.   
      
   The life of Saint William is inspirational in that he placed service   
   to the Lord, and love of his fellow man, above all else.  He worked   
   tirelessly to support the Church and serve the needy, and raised an   
   abandoned boy as his own son.  Today, we pray for all those who are   
   abandoned and forgotten, in need to love and support, and for those   
   who provide service in the vineyard of the Lord.   
    by Jacob   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "One of the most excellent allotments of the gift of faith, is for a   
   man to be certain of the petition of his prayer through his trust in   
   God. Certainty of faith in God is not the soundness of a man's   
   confession (although this is the mother of faith), but a soul that   
   beholds the truth of God by the power of her disciplines."   
   --St. Isaac the Syrian   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   "But the Lord shall endure forever; He has prepared His throne for   
   judgment. He shall judge the world in righteousness."  [Psalm 9:7-8]   
      
   <><><><>   
   God of the broken, God of the wanderer,   
   Christ who is without shelter,   
   Surround those in deep need among us.   
   Surround them and help us hear their cries for help.   
   We are a people who long for the broken to be mended,   
   We long for justice in the face of much corruption,   
   We want to practice hospitality but have legitimate fears,   
   Surround us in our trying times and help us to reach beyond ourselves.   
   We confess we are bogged down by so much need in the world,   
   May we have the courage to stand for what is right even when it offends,   
   May we have the imaginations to help create a better world,   
   And the strength of your Spirit to carry on.   
   Let us be as you are in this world.   
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)