From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   You tear yourself apart by hating   
      
      "We have seen how murder is born from anger and adultery from   
   desire. In the same way, the hatred of an enemy is destroyed by the   
   love of friendship. Suppose you have viewed a man as an enemy, yet   
   after a while he has been swayed by your benevolence. You will then   
   love him as a friend. I think that Christ ordered these things not so   
   much for our enemies as for us: not because enemies are fit to be   
   loved by others but because we are not fit to hate anyone. For hatred   
   is the prodigy of dark places. Wherever it resides, it sullies the   
   beauty of sound sense. Therefore not only does Christ order us to love   
   our enemies for the sake of cherishing them but also for the sake of   
   driving away from ourselves what is bad for us. The Mosaic law does   
   not speak about physically hurting your enemy but about hating your   
   enemy. But if you merely hate him, you have hurt yourself more in the   
   spirit than you have hurt him in the flesh. Perhaps you don’t harm him   
   at all by hating him. But you surely tear yourself apart. If then you   
   are benevolent to an enemy, you have rather spared yourself than him.   
   And if you do him a kindness, you benefit yourself more than him."   
    by an anonymous early author from the Greek church(excerpt from   
   INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY 13, The Greek Fathers)   
      
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   December 21st - Our Lady of Beauraing: The Apparitions Continue   
      
   Today marks the anniversary of the appearance of Our Blessed Mother to   
   five children in Beauraing, Belgium in 1932. Our Lady of Beauraing,   
   also known as the “Virgin of the Golden Heart,” had appeared to   
   Fernande, Gilberte, and Albert Voisins and Andree and Gilberte   
   Degeimbres over the previous weeks, beginning on November 29. On that   
   day, the children saw a “beautiful lady” walking through the air above   
   a railroad bridge. Dressed in a flowing white gown, the lady emanated   
   a radiant glow, and smiled at them as she approached. She was observed   
   to be praying, never spoke, and simply gazed upon them with beautiful   
   blue eyes.   
      
   Following the apparition, the nuns at the convent, the children’s   
   parents, and even their friends had scolded them and teased them. But   
   the children maintained their story, and over the next several nights,   
   witnessed the same apparition of Our Blessed Mother. On December 2,   
   the children, bravely, asked her name, and she nodded her assent to   
   the question, “Are you the Immaculate Virgin?”   
      
   Over the next several weeks, between December 2 and 21, Our Virgin of   
   the Golden Heart continued to appear nightly to the children, in the   
   convent garden, hovering over a hawthorn tree. She smiled gently at   
   them, prayed, and they were transfixed by her beauty.   
      
   On the feast of the Immaculate Conception, on December 8, a crowd of   
   15,000 gathered, observing the children becoming “transfixed” and   
   immovable. Although no one else could see the Blessed Virgin, their   
   eyes locked and a look of peace and serenity overtook them. Physicians   
   tested them during the apparition, finding them immovable and unhurt   
   by pin pricks, burns, and lights. The five children remained in   
   ecstasy for nearly 15 minutes, at which time they Blessed Virgin   
   departed as in past visions.   
      
   On the 17th of December, Our Blessed Mother requested that a chapel be   
   built, upon questioning from the children (prompted by the clergy).   
   Today, on the 21st, Our Virgin of the Golden Heart appeared again to   
   the children in the small convent garden, alighting on the hawthorn   
   tree.   
      
   As had become their custom, the children prayed the Holy Rosary along   
   with Mary, transfixed and peaceful. Upon completion of the prayer,   
   they said, “Tell us who you are.”   
      
   Our Blessed Mother clearly replied, “I am the Immaculate Virgin.”   
   After a few more joyful moments in her presence, Our Lady disappeared   
   as she had in each previous apparition, floating into the heavens.   
      
   The Blessed Virgin would return to the children 33 times over the   
   course of 10 weeks, bringing with her a message of peace, penance, and   
   prayer for the conversion of sinners. Our Blessed Mother graced us   
   with her golden heart, encouraging us to sacrifice ourselves for the   
   Lord, and for the salvation of the world. We pray today, in the words   
   of Our Mother, to find the strength and virtue “to be good” in the   
   eyes of the Lord.   
    by Jacob   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Let us abandon everything to the merciful providence of God.   
   --St. Albert the Great   
      
   “See, days are coming — oracle of the LORD — when I will raise up a   
   righteous branch for David. As king he shall reign and govern wisely,   
   he shall do what is just and right in the land.” … Jeremiah 23:5   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Our Lady of Beauraing, Immaculate Virgin, bring to Jesus, your Son,   
   all the intentions that we entrust to you today. Mother of the Golden   
   Heart, reflection of the Father's tenderness, look upon the men and   
   women of our time with love and fill them with the joy of your   
   presence. You, who promised to convert sinners, help us discover the   
   infinite mercy of our God. Awaken within us the grace of conversion so   
   that our lives may be a reflection of that mercy. Make every moment of   
   our existence "a yes" to the question you ask today: "Do you love my   
   Son? Do you love me?" Then the kingdom of Jesus will come to the   
   world. Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)