From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   All have eyes   
      
   God is seen by those who have the capacity to see him, provided that   
   they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes, but some have   
   eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the light of the   
   sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun   
   does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and   
   their eyes. In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are   
   shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. No one who   
   has sin within him can see God. If you understand this, and live in   
   purity and holiness and justice, you may see God.   
   --Saint Theophilus of Antioch   
      
   ================   
   December 31st – St. Zoticus the Hieromartyr   
   4th v.   
      
   Protector of Orphans, an illustrious and rich Roman in the service of   
   St. Constantine the Great (306-337); St. Constantine's son,   
   Constantius (337-361), an adherent of the Arian heresy martyred the   
   saint   
      
   When the emperor transferred the capital from Rome to Constantinople,   
   Zoticus also moved there. Soon, however, spurning worldly honors,   
   Zoticus was ordained to the holy priesthood, and he began to provide   
   for the destitute and orphaned in his own home. Then, receiving funds   
   from St. Constantine, he built a place of treatment for the sick, a   
   shelter for the homeless, where he took in those afflicted with   
   leprosy, rescuing them from the soldiers, who had been ordered to   
   drown them in the sea.   
      
   When St. Constantine's son, Constantius (337-361), an adherent of the   
   Arian heresy, succeeded his father, St. Zoticus was accused of   
   receiving a large sum of money from the deceased emperor. When asked   
   about this, Zoticus showed the emperor the homeless and sick home he   
   had built. Constantius became angry, for he thought that Zoticus had   
   purchased jewels with the money received from his father, and he   
   wanted them back.   
      
   He ordered St. Zoticus to be tied to wild mules, which dragged the   
   saint over the stones. His whole body was lacerated, and the saint   
   gave up his soul to God. A stream of pure water sprang forth at the   
   place of his death, from which many received healing.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   In this holy abandonment springs up that beautiful freedom of spirit   
   which the perfect possess, and in which there is found all the   
   happiness that can be desired in this life; for in fearing nothing,   
   and seeking and desiring nothing of the things of the world, they   
   posses all.   
   --St. Theresa   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou   
   turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.   (Psalms 29:8)   
      
      
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   The City of God Sighs for Heaven   
      
   "Know that the origin of the city of God goes back to Abel, as that of   
   the evil one goes back to Cain. It is, therefore, an ancient city,   
   this city of God: always enduring its existence on earth and always   
   sighing for heaven. Its name is also Jerusalem and Zion."   
   --St. Augustine--Commentary on Psalm 142, 2   
      
   Prayer: Lord, hear me and have mercy. Lord my God, you are the light   
   of the blind and the strength of the weak, as well as the light of the   
   sighted and the strength of the powerful. Attend to my soul, and hear   
   the one crying from the depths.   
   --St. Augustine--Confessions 11, 2   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)