From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Humility  (2)   
      
      It is the humble man whom God protects and liberates; it is the   
   humble whom He loves and consoles. To the humble He turns and upon   
   them bestows great grace, that after their humiliation He may raise   
   them up to glory. He reveals His secrets to the humble, and with kind   
   invitation bids them come to Him. Thus, the humble man enjoys peace   
   in the midst of many vexations, because his trust is in God, not in   
   the world. Hence, you must not think that you have made any progress   
   until you look upon yourself as inferior to all others.   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 2   
      
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   6 December – Saint Peter Pascual   
      
    Bishop and Martyr, Theologian – born in 1227 at Valencia, Spain (as   
   Spanish: Pedro Pascual, Valencian: Pere Pasqual) and died by beheading   
   on 6 December 1300 at Granada, Spain.   
      
   Peter Paschal was born in Valencia on Spain’s east coast in the year   
   1227. Peter’s parents were devout Mozarabs (Iberian Christians) who   
   lived under Muslim rule, paying a yearly tax known as a jizyah. The   
   Mozarabs and the Muslim Arabs co-existed and even spoke a similar   
   language known as Mozarabic.   
      
   The founder of the Mercedarians (The Royal, Celestial and Military   
   Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives), St   
   Peter Nolasco (1189–1256), was very good friends of Peter’s family and   
   he and his Mercedarian companions would often stay at Peter’s home   
   when they were on a mission to free Christian captives. This exposure   
   to these pious men helped to instil in young Peter a deep sense of   
   piety. Combined with the virtuous, charitable and caring influence of   
   his parents, Peter Paschal grew into a deeply devoted servant of God.   
      
   Ironically, the primary influence in Peter’s educational journey was a   
   teacher whom Peter’s parents had ransomed from the Moors years before.   
   The young man traveled with him to Paris and, under his guidance,   
   studied, preached and taught, developing a fine reputation as a   
   learned and pious man.   
      
   Peter then returned to Valencia and Peter Nolasco became his spiritual   
   advisor. After another year of preparation, he became a full member of   
   the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, the Mercedarians. It   
   was time for him to begin redeeming captive Christians.   
      
   Peter Paschal had a brilliant mind and James I, the King of Arragon,   
   appointed him as a teacher of his son, Sanchez. Sanchez was so   
   influenced by Peter that he himself became a Mercedarian Priest and,   
   in 1262, was made the Archbishop of Toledo. Since Prince Sanchez was   
   too young to be consecrated, Peter Paschal was appointed to govern the   
   Diocese and was ordained the Bishop of Granada. Granada was under the   
   control of the Muslims.   
      
   As Bishop of Grenada, Peter Paschal preached tirelessly about   
   Christianity. He became known for his intense determination and zeal   
   in redeeming captive Christian slaves who had been imprisoned by the   
   Moors. His preaching was so potent that many Muslims began to embrace   
   the doctrines of Jesus Christ and convert to Christianity.   
      
   Besides preaching, Peter not only continually ransomed captive   
   Christians from the Moors, he also comforted those imprisoned and   
   preached the gospel to their captors. His ability to bring the Moors   
   to the Church was the reason he was finally arrested. Orders were   
   given that no-one was allowed to visit or speak to Peter. He was held   
   in prison and constantly treated cruelly and with disdain. But he was   
   given permission to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass every day.   
   And this is where the beautiful miracle, for which St Peter is   
   well-known happened.   
      
   One morning, the story goes, while Peter was preparing for Mass, a   
   little boy about the age of five appeared before him. The boy was   
   dressed in the clothes of a slave and told the Bishop he would gladly   
   serve Mass for him if he would let him. Peter asked him who he was and   
   the boy said, “I will tell you who I am when you have finished Mass.”   
   After Mass was finished, Peter asked the boy a few questions and was   
   amazed at the wisdom coming forth from the child. Then he asked the   
   boy, “Tell me, who is Jesus Christ?”   
      
   The boy answered: “I am Jesus Christ.  It is I Who was crucified for   
   your salvation and for that of the whole world, look at My hands and   
   My feet and My side and you will recognise the wounds I received   
   during My Passion. Because you, have of your own choice, remained   
   prisoner in order to procure freedom for my captive children and   
   because, to obtain their freedom, you spent money sent to procure your   
   own, you have made Me your Prisoner.” Then the little boy disappeared.   
   Peter Paschal was filled with an indescribable joy.   
      
   His Muslim captors sensed and actually revered the sanctity of their   
   prisoner. They told him if he would never say anything against   
   Mohammad they would give him his freedom. He said he could never make   
   such a promise. Shortly thereafter, as Bishop Peter Paschal was saying   
   his thanksgiving after Mass, an executioner came up from behind him   
   and cut off his head. The date was 6 January 1300. He was Beatified   
   and Canonised by Pope Clement X on 14 August 1670. St Peter was one of   
   the first theologians to proclaim that Mary was Immaculately   
   Conceived.   
      
    From Anastpaul 2019   
      
      
   “Faith lifts the soul.   
   Hope supports it.   
   Experience says it must.   
   And Love says let it be!”   
   --St Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821)   
      
   “Pray, hope and don’t worry.”   
   --St Pius of Pietrelcina/Padre Pio (1887-1968)   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   But what does such contempt of God deserve? Of what is it the sure   
   mark? St. John gives the answer: "He that knoweth God, heareth us. He   
   that is not of God, heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of   
   truth and the spirit of error" (I. John, iv.).   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Each is the Administrator of Their Own Grace   
      
   “Each one of us possesses the manifest energy of the Spirit in   
   proportion to the faith within them (cf Rm 12:6). And so, each is the   
   administrator of their own grace. Someone, who is well disposed,   
   could never be envious of anything, in the one who is honoured with   
   graces, provided that the disposition towards receiving God’s graces,   
   rests upon him. What determines that the gifts of God dwell in us, is   
   the measure of each one’s faith. Because it is to the extent that we   
   believe, that the enthusiasm to act is given us. And so those who act,   
   reveal the measure of their faith proportionate to their action, they   
   receive their measure of grace according to what they have believed.   
   (…)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)