From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Truth Speaks inwardly without the Sound of Words (2)   
      
      The children of Israel once said to Moses: “Speak thou to us and we   
   will hear thee: let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die.” Exod.   
   20:19.  Not so, Lord, not so do I pray. Rather with Samuel the prophet   
   I entreat humbly and earnestly:   
   “Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth.” Do not let Moses or any of the   
   prophets speak to me; but You speak, O Lord God, Who inspired and   
   enlightened all the prophets; for You alone, without them, can   
   instruct me perfectly, whereas they, without You, can do nothing.   
   They, indeed, utter fine words, but they cannot impart the spirit.   
   They do indeed speak beautifully, but if You remain silent they cannot   
   inflame the heart. They deliver the message; You lay bare the sense.   
   They place before us mysteries, but You unlock their meaning. They   
   proclaim commandments; You help us to keep them. They point out the   
   way; You give strength for the journey. They work only outwardly; You   
   instruct and enlighten our hearts. They water on the outside; You give   
   the increase.   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 3, Chapter 2   
      
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   July 29th - Blessed Urban II   
      
   1088 - 1099 AD   
   Odo of the knightly family of Lagery was born around 1042 at   
   Chatillon-sur Marne in Champagne. His parents were pious and Odo   
   followed their example. After studies at Rheims under St. Bruno, the   
   founder of the great Carthusian order, Odo became a canon and   
   archdeacon of Rheims. But he left rank and honor to be a monk at   
   Cluny. There under the great abbot St. Hugh he progressed mightily in   
   the spiritual life and was made prior. When St. Gregory VII asked Hugh   
   for some monks who would make good bishops, Hugh sent Odo to Rome.   
   Made cardinal-bishop of Ostia in 1078, Odo served Gregory with loyalty   
   and skill in the fight against Henry IV, Antipope Guibert, and church   
   abuses. As legate in Germany from 1082 to 1085, Odo did accomplish   
   much for reform by securing the election of worthy bishops. He held a   
   synod in Saxony which passed reform decrees and condemned Antipope   
   Guibert. After the short pontificate of Victor III, Odo was elected   
   pope by acclamation on March 12, 1088. He took the name Urban II.   
      
   Urban never knew lasting peace in the bitter fight with Henry IV. He   
   was in and out of Rome a number of times, and at his death the   
   struggle was far from ended. But more important than the monotonous   
   ups and downs in the struggle for reform was the great event which did   
   so much to change the Middle Ages--the crusade.   
      
   The East had been swamped by a horde of Seljuk Turks who had swarmed   
   out of Central Asia to threaten the Eastern Empire and make life   
   miserable for Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. The great St.   
   Gregory VII had planned to organize a crusade in answer to anguished   
   appeals from the shaky Eastern Empire, but the fight over lay   
   investiture had prevented him from doing this. Now Urban II decided to   
   do something about it. Most eager to end the unfortunate Eastern   
   Schism, Urban was anxious to oblige the Emperor. Indeed he absolved   
   Alexius from excommunication. Besides recovering the Holy Sepulcher of   
   Christ, Urban hoped that the expedition would lead to reunion of the   
   Eastern Church with Rome and that given a nobler ideal to fight for,   
   the warriors of the West would rise above petty squabbles.   
   Accordingly, in November 1095 Urban assembled at Clermont in France 13   
   archbishops, 225 bishops, and 90 abbots. After the council passed   
   reform decrees, Urban addressed the assembly in words which set the   
   West ablaze with ardor. "God wills it!" was the enthusiastic reply,   
   and from the great feudal principalities came hard-fighting knights   
   led by Godfrey of Lorraine, Robert of Normandy, Hugh of Vermandois,   
   Raymond of Toulouse, and Bohemond of Norman Italy. To control these   
   strong personalities, Urban appointed Adhemar, bishop of Le Puy, as   
   his legate.   
      
   Urban worked hard to make the crusade a success. And before his death   
   Jerusalem had fallen to the Christian army; but before he could hear   
   the good news, Urban II died on July 27, 1099. From the time of his   
   death Urban was honored for his sanctity, but it was only in 1881 that   
   he was officially beatified by Leo XIII.   
      
   http://cfpeople.org/Books/Pope/POPEp157.htm   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   The powers of hell will assail the dying Christian; but his angel   
   guardian will come to console him. His patrons, and Saint Michael, who   
   has been appointed by God to defend his faithful servants in their   
   last combat with the devils, will come to his aid.   
   --Saint Alphonsus Liguori   
      
   Bible Quote   
   Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what   
   is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it   
   may benefit those who listen.  [Ephesians 4:29]   
      
      
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   Prayer Against Envy   
      
   O my God, Thou so lovest the world that Thou gaveth Thy only begotten   
   Son so that all who believe in Thee might not perish, but may have   
   eternal life. Thou maketh the sun rise upon the good and the bad, and   
   Thou raineth upon the just and the unjust. Yet I am filled with   
   jealousy while others prosper. I want everything to come to me, and I   
   am saddened by my neighbor's least good fortune! O what inhuman   
   malice! O infernal poison! Forgive, o most loving Father what up to   
   this point has been my sin. Gentle is Thy mercy. From the depths of   
   that mercy, grant that henceforth I may be robed in kindness as a   
   chosen one of God. May I also, above all, strive to have charity,   
   which is the bond of perfection. (Col. 3:14)   
      
   Ant. Remember not, Lord, my offenses, nor the offenses of my fathers,   
   nor takest Thou vengeance upon them.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)