From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Against the tongues of detractors   
      
   2. "Let not thy peace depend upon the word of men; for whether they   
   judge well or ill of thee, thou art not therefore any other man than   
   thyself.  Where is true peace or true glory?  Is it not in Me?  And he   
   who seeketh not to please men, nor feareth to displease, shall enjoy   
   abundant peace.  From inordinate love and vain fear ariseth all   
   disquietude of heart, and all distraction of the senses."   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 28   
      
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   January 13th - St. Hilary of Poiters   
   (A.D. 368)   
      
   Today, January 13, marks the memorial of Saint Hilary of Poiters ,   
   Church bishop and doctor. Known as a staunch defender of the faith,   
   Saint Hilary suffered persecution and exile for asserting the truth of   
   the divinity of Jesus. At that time, the early church was undergoing   
   attack from outside, but also from within in the form of heresy. Even   
   church leaders asserted mistruths about the faith in efforts to   
   justify allegiances to powerful governments or lapses in their own   
   lives. Saint Hilary orthodoxy and public defense of the faith led to   
   exile on the coast of then, Phyrgia (now Turkey). While in exile he   
   penned a 12 volume set of books devoted to exploration of the divinity   
   of Christ and the Holy Trinity.   
      
   Throughout his life, in the midst of strife, Saint Hilary fought to   
   speak and write the truth. He facilitated meetings and discussions   
   amongst the various rifts in the church at the time, counseling   
   patience and understanding, while never compromising the tenets of the   
   faith. A favorite motto of St. Hilary was, Ministros veritatis decet   
   vera proferre, "Servants of the truth ought speak the truth."   
      
   Speaking the truth is rarely easy when it comes to our Christian   
   beliefs. Many would choose not to hear it, which oftentimes makes us   
   reluctant—whether we are afraid of argument, condemnation, mockery, or   
   just seeming foolish. How often do we discount, deny, or modify the   
   truth of Christ to be more accepted in today’s society? Saint Hilary   
   stands as an example to us—he lost his home, his family (he was bishop   
   prior to church doctrine on celibacy of priests and bishops), his   
   freedom because he refused to back down from preaching the truth of   
   the Gospel. Today, I continue to pray for those who are fearful and   
   afraid, as well as the courage to be truthful.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Without fail, [the vice of sodomy] brings death to the body and   
   destruction to the soul. It pollutes the flesh, extinguishes the light   
   of the mind, expels the Holy Spirit from the temple of the human   
   heart, and gives entrance to the devil, the stimulator of lust.   
   --Saint Peter Damian   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of Juda, in the days of   
   king Herod, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.   
   Saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen   
   his star in the east, and are come to adore him. (Matthew 2:1-2) DRB   
      
      
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   “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices   
   in God my savior.” With these words Mary first acknowledges the   
   special gifts she has been given. Above all other saints, she alone   
   could truly rejoice in Jesus, her savior, for she knew that he who was   
   the source of eternal salvation would be born in time in her body, in   
   one person both her own son and her Lord. “For the Almighty has done   
   great things for me, and holy is his name.” Mary attributes nothing to   
   her own merits. She refers all her greatness to the gift of one whose   
   essence is power and whose nature is greatness, for he fills with   
   greatness and strength the small and the weak who believe in him.   
      
   – Saint Bede the Venerable from a homily   
      
   Saint Bede the Venerable's patronage:lectors; English writers;   
   historians; and Jarrow, England.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)