From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Perfect blessedness is humility of spirit   
      
     "'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of   
   heaven.' The Lord taught by way of example that the glory of human   
   ambition must be left behind when he said, 'The Lord your God shall   
   you adore and him only shall you serve' (Matthew 4:10). And when he   
   announced through the prophets that he would choose a people humble   
   and in awe of his words [Isaiah 66:2], he introduced the perfect   
   Beatitude as humility of spirit. Therefore he defines those who are   
   inspired as people aware that they are in possession of the heavenly   
   kingdom... Nothing belongs to anyone as being properly one's own, but   
   all have the same things by the gift of a single parent. They have   
   been given the first things needed to come into life and have been   
   supplied with the means to use them."   
   by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD) (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 4.2)   
      
   ==============   
    February 14th – Sts Cyril (827-869) & Methodius (826-885)   
      
   Bishops, Confessors, Theologians, Missionaries, Writers, Preachers,   
   Patrons of Europe, Apostles to the Slavs.   
      
     Sts Cyril & Methodius were two brothers who were Byzantine Christian   
   theologians and Christian missionaries. Through their work they   
   influenced the cultural development of all Slavs, for which they   
   received the title “Apostles to the Slavs”. They are credited with   
   devising the Glagolitic alphabet, the first alphabet used to   
   transcribe Old Church Slavonic. After their deaths, their pupils   
   continued their missionary work among other Slavs. In 1880, Pope Leo   
   XIII introduced their feast into the calendar of the Roman Catholic   
   Church. In 1980, St Pope John Paul II declared them co-patron saints   
   of Europe, together with Benedict of Nursia.   
      
   Methodius and Cyril (born Constantine) were born into a prominent   
   Christian family in Thessalonica. As the area in which they were   
   raised was a popular spot for Slavic people to settle in, traditions   
   tells us that the holy brothers grew up familiar with the Slavic   
   language (Slavonic). While we know their father was a prominent   
   officer in the army, little is known of their young lives. History has   
   recorded that Methodius, the elder brother, rose to the position of an   
   important civil authority, who likely dealt in law and trade. His   
   brother, Cyril, was trained as a scholar, professor and philosopher   
   who gained renown in Constantinople.   
      
   After some years in public service, Methodius grew tired of worldly   
   affairs and retired, seeking out solace and contemplation in a   
   monastery. Eventually, Cyril joined him there, refusing a district to   
   govern, preferring quiet devotion to the Lord. Together they lived in   
   peace until the Byzantine emperor, having received a request for   
   missionaries by the Moravian prince Rastislav, sent the brothers as   
   missionaries to modern-day Ukraine. Being familiar with the language   
   and well-acquainted with administration and politics, they were the   
   perfect choice for such a mission. And given Rastislav’s desire for   
   independence from Germany, Eastern missionaries (such as Methodius and   
   Cyril) could help him gain independence over Church affairs.   
      
   Cyril and Methodius firmly believed that the Liturgy should be   
   celebrated in the native language of the people, for greater inclusion   
   in the Mass—a tradition which continues today. At that time, many were   
   committed to only celebrating Mass in Greek or Latin, but these holy   
   brothers dedicated themselves to proving otherwise. Prior to their   
   departure for Moravia, they created a script for Slavonic (which had   
   not previously existed). Known as Glagolithic, this written script is   
   considered the precursor to Cyrillic (named after Saint Cyril).  The   
   creation of this script would allow the translation of Scripture and   
   Liturgy into the language of the people.   
      
   Upon their arrival, Cyril immediately began translating the Liturgy   
   into Slavonic. This created anxiety in the German priests, who saw the   
   use of language as the next step to Slavic independence, and they   
   actively worked against the translation. As neither Cyril nor   
   Methodius was ordained a bishop, they traveled to Rome with their   
   candidates for the priesthood to see the pope. After an audience, the   
   pope approved the use of the Slavonic language in services, ordaining   
   the local priests and securing the presence of Catholicism in the   
   region.   
      
   Sadly, Constantine never returned to Moravia. He entered the   
   monastery, taking the name Cyril and not long after died. Methodius   
   was stricken with grief and wished for nothing more than live the   
   remainder of his days in the monastery but honoured a promise made to   
   his brother and returned to finish their missionary work. Due to the   
   political upheaval in Moravia, he was forbidden to return there.   
   However, upon his ordination as bishop, he was invited to modern-day   
   Serbia and Croatia, where he assumed the bishopric of Sirmium. There   
   he continued to say Mass and administer baptisms in the native,   
   Slavonic tongue.   
      
   Again, falling victim to the anxiety of the German priests and   
   bishops, Saint Methodius was imprisoned and only released following   
   Moravian independence from German and intervention from the pope.   
   Again, Methodius traveled to Rome, meeting with the Pope, and   
   explaining how important it was to celebrate the Liturgy in the tongue   
   people understood. Instead of condemning him, as the German bishops   
   had hoped, the pope gave him permission to use Slavonic in the Mass,   
   in Scripture reading and in the office. He also made him head of the   
   hierarchy in Moravia.   
      
   Memorial Plaque to Sts Cyril & Methodius in Skopje   
   Saint Methodius, despite constant criticism and backlash, never   
   stopped translating. It is said that he had translated the Bible and   
   the works of the Church Fathers into Slavonic before his death.   
      
   St Cyril’s Patronages – against storms, ecumenism, Slavic peoples   
   (given in 1863 by Pope Pius IX), unity of the Eastern and Western   
   Churches, Bohemia, Bosnia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Carinthia,   
   Austria, Carniola, Circassia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Czechoslovakia,   
   Dacia, Dalmatia, Europe (given in 1980 by St Pope John Paul II),   
   Khazaria, Krain, Krajna, Kranjska, Moravia, Pannonia, Russia, Silesia,   
   Slovenia, Yugoslavia, Ljubljana, Slovenia, archdiocese of, Maribor,   
   Slovenia, archdiocese of, Saints Cyril and Methodius of Toronto,   
   Ontario, diocese of.   
      
    St Methodius’s Patronages – against storms, ecumenism, Slavic peoples   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)