From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   The Day of Judgment and God's final verdict   
      
   The "Day of the Lord" was understood in the Old Testament as the time   
   when God would manifest his glory and power and overthrow the enemies   
   of his people, Israel. The prophet Amos declared that the "Day" also   
   meant judgment for Israel as well as the nations (Amos 5:18-20). The   
   prophet Joel proclaimed that at this "Day" those who truly repented   
   would be saved, while those who remained enemies of the Lord, whether   
   Jew or Gentile, would be punished (see Joel 2).   
      
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   November 20th – St. Edmund of East Anglia, king and martyr   
      
   Edmund was the son of a king of East Anglia, one of the early small   
   kingdoms that composed primitive England. He was born around 840,   
   at a time when Christianity had already spread in various regions of   
   England. His father, a man of great piety, abdicated his throne to his   
   son when Edmund reached age 15. He then traveled to Rome and retired   
   in a monastery to dedicate his last years to meditation and prayer.   
   Edmund showed himself a model ruler and Catholic from the first. In   
   addition to being just and good, he was also a man of extraordinary   
   energy. He realized the danger the Scandinavians represented to his   
   country and prepared it militarily for possible war. He was not   
   mistaken in his prevision. The Danish soon attacked the English   
   dominions, and particularly his kingdom.   
      
   In the first attack in 870, he bravely repulsed two Danish chiefs.   
   They soon returned, however, joined by other aggressors, and overtook   
   St. Edmund by their great numbers. He was taken prisoner, loaded down   
   with chains, and brought before the Danish chieftain Hinguar in Hoxne   
   (Suffolk). The Danish chief made various proposals of peace to St.   
   Edmund, but since they went against the Catholic Religion and   
   interests of his subjects, he would not accept the terms. He was   
   cruelly tortured, and finally decapitated on November 20, 870.   
      
   A national council held at Oxford in 1122 designated November 21 as   
   his feast day. His remains were eventually removed to St. Edmundsbury   
   Abbey. Later the relics, including a psaltery he used daily, were   
   moved to the Abbey of Cluny in France and conserved there until the   
   Protestant wars.   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira   
      
   There are several interesting points in the life of St. Edmund.   
   First, to understand the historical situation, one should realize that   
   the Scandinavians of that time were the great danger to the civilized   
   peoples. Today they are so pacific that is hard to believe, but   
   actually in the past they were the tyrants of the seas. From the   
   Scandinavian peninsula they occupied, they frequently traveled by sea   
   and river throughout Europe. They represented the last wave of   
   barbarian invasions in Europe.   
      
   Known as Vikings, they were sea-faring adventurers who practically   
   lived in their ships making piracy everywhere. By the way, their   
   longboats had very beautiful bows, which symbolized well their courage   
   and audacity. Today these military characteristics have almost   
   disappeared in the Swedish and Danish mentality. The Vikings were,   
   therefore, the great enemies of the time, and St. Edmund prepared his   
   people to face an invasion by these barbarians.   
      
   Second, after a glorious defense and initial triumph, St. Edmund was   
   defeated and taken prisoner. He was obliged to negotiate with the   
   victors, who demanded that he relinquish important advantages for his   
   kingdom. He refused to do so, since such terms would favor the   
   re-establishment of Paganism in his lands. He resisted and died.   
      
   You can see St. Edmund’s high understanding of his public mission, his   
   keen consciousness of his role and obligations as king in both the   
   religious and temporal spheres. Today many people defend the   
   separation of politics and religion without knowing what they are   
   talking about. For today such a separation is becoming just   
   theoretical since religion interferes in politics more than ever.   
   Nonetheless politicians fear to touch topics regarding religion.   
      
   You can see the thinking of St. Edmund in his time: to install a pagan   
   dynasty in his kingdom would represent the paganization of the state   
   and its people. Thus it could cause the apostasy of his people and the   
   loss of their souls. He understood perfectly the link between politics   
   and religion. Because of this he did not accept the proposals of the   
   Vikings. For this, he was martyred.   
      
   Third, probably one reason the Vikings wanted him to make a concession   
   was because of the personal prestige he enjoyed in the kingdom. This   
   is reasonable because it would be difficult to consolidate the   
   conquest of the kingdom without the support of its leader, St. Edmund.   
   He probably also understood this, and refused to accept the terms of   
   his enemies moved by the hope that his subjects would raise up a   
   strong resistance, a kind of guerilla war against the occupying power   
   in order to save the Catholic Faith. He probably shed his blood with   
   the hope of a Catholic political reaction.   
      
   Fourth, his blood gave fruit, since soon after this England became a   
   Catholic ensemble of kingdoms that used to be called the Island of the   
   Saints, given the number of saints that bloomed there.   
      
   Fifth, his life is a wonderful example for those who govern in the   
   modern Church and state. For until the time when Catholic nations are   
   governed--in both the temporal and spiritual spheres--by men who are   
   disposed to shed their blood, nations will not have worthy men to   
   govern them. Only men who are faithful to the principles to the point   
   of offering their lives for them can govern well. Just as a military   
   officer who is not disposed to shed his blood is worthless, so also   
   with a civil governor or a Bishop--hey are worthless. The higher the   
   position, the more courage and dedication is demanded.   
      
   We don’t have high positions and titles, but we have a vocation to   
   defend the Catholic Church from the enemies within, which is a high   
   vocation. Often a high vocation is more than a high position.   
      
   Let us pray to St. Edmund to give us statesmen and Churchmen who have   
   this spirit of dedication to the true cause. Let us also ask him to   
   give us the determination to be faithful until death to our vocation.   
      
   http://www.traditioninaction.org/SOD/j048sdEdmund11-21.htm   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   This Creed is the spiritual seal, our heart's meditation and an   
   ever-present guardian; it is, unquestionably, the treasure of our   
   soul.   
   -- Saint Ambrose of Milan   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)