From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Excerpt from sermon of St. Cyril   
      
   And when we examine the story of Jonah, great is the force of the   
   whereas the one fled, not knowing what should come to pass; the other   
   came willingly, to give repentance unto salvation. Jonah was asleep in   
   the ship, and snoring amidst the stormy sea; while Jesus also slept,   
   the sea, according to God's providence, began to rise, to show in the   
   sequel the might of Him who slept. To the one they said, "Why are you   
   sleeping? Arise, call your God, that God may save us;" but in the   
   other case they say unto the Master, "Lord, save us." Then they said,   
   Call upon thy God; here they say, save Thou. But the one says, Take   
   me, and cast me into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you; the   
   other, Himself rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great   
   calm. The one was cast into a whale's belly:   
   but the other of His own accord went down, where the invisible whale   
   of death is. And He went down of His own accord, that death might cast   
   up those whom he had devoured, according to that which is written, I   
   will ransom them from the power of the grave; and from the hand of   
   death I will redeem them.   
   --St. Cyril of Jerusalem.   
      
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   February 3rd – St. Aelred of Rievaulx, Abbot   
      
   Aelred was born in 1109 at Durham, and was sent to the Scottish court   
   for an education that would ensure his future as a noble and courtier.   
   He succeeded, to the extent of being made Master of the Household of   
   the King of Scotland. Nevertheless, he found success at the court of   
   an earthly king unsatisfying, and at the age of 24 he entered the   
   Cistercian monastery at Rievaulx in Yorkshire. Bernard of Clairvaux   
   encouraged him to write his first work, The Mirror of Charity, which   
   deals with seeking to follow the example of Christ in all things. In   
   1147 he became abbot of Rievaulx, a post which he held until his death   
   of kidney disease twenty years later at the age of 57.   
      
   His most famous work is called “Spiritual Friendship” (both it and the   
   Mirror have been published in English by the Cistercian Press).   
      
   When Jesus was told that his family was waiting to see him, he   
   replied, "All who do the will of my Father are my family." From this,   
   some Christians have drawn the conclusion that the only kind of love   
   permissible to a Christian is Charity--that is: (a) the universal   
   benevolence that wills the good of all persons, and (b) the bond that   
   unites the Christian with Christ and through Christ with all other   
   Christians. Note that Universal Benevolence is extended equally to all   
   persons (we are to love Jones because God made him), and that the bond   
   of Christian Unity unites us equally with all our fellow Christians   
   who are in a state of grace (we are to love Jones because Christ   
   dwells in him). Neither leaves any room for particular friendships,   
   for liking Jones more than Smith because Jones shares our interest in   
   hockey, or because Jones and we like the same sort of jokes, or come   
   from the same part of the country and have similar childhood memories,   
   or because Jones is an easy-going type and it is easy to relax and   
   feel comfortable around him, or because Jones and we have a special   
   bond of friendship, loyalty, and trust. Particular friendships are   
   OUT!   
      
   Some who do not think that every Christian must renounce particular   
   friendships believe that every monastic must do so. In many religious   
   houses, where the monks or nuns walk two by two into chapel or the   
   dining hall or while pacing about during the daily hour of recreation,   
   the superior will make a point of constantly shifting partners, lest   
   anyone form a liking for one partner more than another. (This does not   
   apply just to friends. It is sometimes held that no monk ought to   
   allow himself any preferences in food or drink.) Against this view,   
   Aelred wrote that it is compatible with the highest degree of   
   Christian perfection to take special pleasure in the company of   
   particular friends. He pointed out that we are told that Jesus loved   
   John, and Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus, and that this probably means   
   that he found their company congenial.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   How I savor it when I see the Lord of all majesty showing himself as   
   far as bodily exertion and human emotion are concerned not like the   
   strong but the weak. What a comfort it is to me in my weakness! Truly   
   this weakness of my Lord without doubt brings me strength and   
   stability in my weakness. I am entrusted with the care of my brother's   
   body and soul (for I do not love the whole man if I neglect anything   
   belonging to either -- for it is very difficult for the mind not to be   
   tempted when the flesh has too much to suffer). If I see him in   
   distress, whether it be on account of the austerity of the food or   
   because of work or the vigils -- if, I say, I see that he is tormented   
   in body and tempted in spirit, if I see him in such affliction   
   and...do not on occasion accommodate myself to the infirmities of the   
   weak I am not running in the fragrance of Christ's ointments but with   
   the harshness of the pharisees.   
   -- Saint Aelred   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   See that you refuse him not that speaketh. For if they escaped not who   
   refused him that spoke upon earth, much more shall not we that turn   
   away from him that speaketh to us from heaven.  (Heb 12:25) DRB   
      
      
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   Here is one of the best means to acquire humility: fix well in mind   
   this maxim: One is as much as he is in the sight of God, and no more.   
   --Thomas a Kempis   
      
   St. Francis made a beginning of sanctity by trampling underfoot human   
   respect; for he had thoroughly penetrated the truth of this holy maxim   
   which he often revolved in his mind.   
      
   In this solid maxim, St. Francis de Sales was equally well-founded and   
   established. Therefore, he had his own reputation very little at   
   heart, and did not care at all how others might feel in regard to him.   
   In conversation, he once said: "Oh that it were God's pleasure that my   
   innocence should never be recognized even in the day of universal   
   judgment, but that it should remain always hidden and eternally   
   concealed in the secret recesses of the eternal wisdom!" And again:   
   "If the grace of God had caused me to perform any work of   
   righteousness, or had wrought any good by my means, I should be   
   content that in the day of judgment, when the secrets of hearts are   
   manifested, God alone should know of my righteousness; and my   
   unrighteousness, on the contrary, should be seen by every creature."   
   (Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". February - Humility)   
      
      
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   Prayer:   
      
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)