From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   The Risen Lord Jesus reveals himself   
   to us as we listen to his word   
      
       Mary's message to the disciples, I have seen the Lord, is the very   
   essence of Christianity. It is not enough that a Christian know about   
   the Lord, but that we know him personally. It is not enough to argue   
   about him, but to meet him. In the resurrection we encounter the   
   living Lord Jesus who loves us personally and shares his glory with   
   us. The Lord Jesus gives us "eyes of faith" to see the truth of his   
   resurrection and his victory over sin and death (Ephesians 1:18). And   
   he opens our ears to recognize his voice as we listen to the "good   
   news" proclaimed in the Gospel message today.   
       The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the foundation   
   of our hope--the hope that we, too, who believe in him will see the   
   living God face to face and share in his everlasting glory and joy.   
   "Without having seen him you love him; though you do not now see him   
   you believe in him and rejoice with unutterable and exalted joy.  As   
   the outcome of your faith you obtain the salvation of your souls" (1   
   Peter 1:8-9). Do you recognize the Lord's presence with you, in his   
   word, in the "breaking of the bread," and in his church, the body of   
   Christ?   
      
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   April 4th – St. Zosimas of Palestine   
   (also called Zosima)   
   Born c. 460, Palestine   Died c. 560, Palestine   
      
   Saint Zosimas was born in the 2nd half of the 5th century, during the   
   reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger. He became a monk in a   
   monastery in Palestine at a very young age, gaining a reputation as a   
   great elder and ascetic. At the age of 53, now a hieromonk, he moved   
   to a very strict monastery located in the wilderness close to the   
   Jordan River, where he spent the remainder of his life.   
      
   He is best known for his encounter with St. Mary of Egypt   
   (commemorated on April 1). It was the custom of that monastery for all   
   of the brethren to go out into the desert for the forty days of Great   
   Lent, spending the time in fasting and prayer, and not returning until   
   Palm Sunday. While wandering in the desert he met Saint Mary, who told   
   him her life story and asked him to meet her the next year on Holy   
   Thursday on the banks of the Jordan, in order to bring her Holy   
   Communion. He did so, and the third year came to her again in the   
   desert, but he found that she had passed away and he buried her. St   
   Zosimas is reputed to have lived to be almost one hundred years of   
   age.   
      
   All that we know of Zosimas' life comes from the Vita of St. Mary of   
   Egypt,[1] recorded by St. Sophronius, who was the Patriarch of   
   Jerusalem from 634 to 638. Sophronius based his work on oral tradition   
   he had heard from Palestinian monks. This Vita is traditionally read   
   as a part of the Matins of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, on   
   the fifth Thursday of Great Lent.   
      
   A type of eucharistic miracle was recorded by St. Zosimus of Palestine   
   in the sixth century. This miracle concerns St. Mary of Egypt, who   
   left her parents at the age of 12 and became a prostitute. Seventeen   
   years later, she found herself in Palestine. On the feast day of the   
   Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Mary went to the church, looking for   
   customers. At the door of the church, she saw an image of the Virgin   
   Mary. She was overcome with remorse for the life she had led and asked   
   for our Lady’s guidance. A voice told her, "If you cross the Jordan   
   River, you will find peace."   
      
   The next day, Mary did so. There, she took up the life of a hermit and   
   lived alone in the desert for forty-seven years. As the Virgin had   
   promised, she found peace of soul. One day she saw a monk, St. Zosimus   
   of Palestine, who had come to the desert for Lent. Although they had   
   never met, Mary called him by his name. They spoke for a while, and at   
   the end of the conversation, she asked Zosimus to come back the   
   following year and bring the Eucharist for her.   
      
   Zosimus did as she requested, but Mary was on the other side of the   
   Jordan. There was no boat for him to cross to her, and Zosimus thought   
   that it would be impossible to give her Communion. St. Mary made the   
   sign of the cross and walked across the water to meet him, and he gave   
   her Communion. She again asked him to return the following year, but   
   when he did, he found that she had died. Next to her corpse was a note   
   asking that he bury her. He reported that he was assisted by a lion in   
   the digging of her grave.   
      
   Notes   
      1. ^ A Vita is the life of a saint, often the earliest formal   
   hagiography of that particular individual.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "Whatever you do, think not of yourselves but of God."   
   --Saint Vincent Ferrer.   
      
   Bible Quote:   
    It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’   
   Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.   
   (John 6:45)  RSVCE   
      
      
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   Prayer for Healing of Mind   
      
   O Jesus, come into my sorrows,   
   anxieties, mental troubles   
   and to every stages of my growth and formation.   
   Deliver me from the painful memories of the past.   
   Fill me with your Holy Spirit.   
   I forgive all those who hurt me   
   and fill all of them with your Holy Spirit.   
   Thank you Jesus.   
   Praise you Jesus.   
      
   Amen.    
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)