From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Jesus goes before us   
      
   “Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and   
   into heaven and--I speak boldly--it is for us now to follow him with   
   all speed, . . .Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the   
   cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught   
   up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by   
   that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand   
   aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from   
   creatures and turn to the Creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed:   
   ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here.'”   
   …St Anastasius   
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   August 7th - St. Claudia   
      
   The Christian faith came to England in the 1st century. Tertullian   
   wrote a tract against the Jews about 200AD and mentions that there   
   were areas in Britain that were inaccessible to the Romans but had   
   been conquered by Christ. The first notable Christian was probably a   
   man named Bran, who was the father of Caractacus, king of the Silurian   
   tribe in Britain. He, and his family were taken captive to Rome in   
   50AD, and faced a public execution. Included in this party were Bran's   
   father Llyr Llediaith, his son Caractacus, and the children of   
   Caractacus who included the beautiful Claudia and probably Linus. When   
   they arrived in Rome, in chains, the emperor Claudius had Caractacus   
   brought before the Roman Senate. There he made an impassioned speech   
   and as a result was not only given a pardon but also a pension and   
   rooms in the Imperial palace. Caractacus was eventually returned to   
   England as a puppet king but his family were retained in Rome as   
   surety for his loyal behaviour. They were allowed to live normally in   
   Rome. It was probably during this time that the whole family became   
   Christians. We do know from Paul's epistle to the Romans, written in   
   58, that there were several Christians in Caesar's household at this   
   time. It is very likely that these people shared the Christian gospel   
   with the Royal hostages who were also living in the imperial palace.   
      
   It is possible that it was this same Linus who became one of the   
   leading members of the church in Rome. A Linus eventually became its   
   senior elder or bishop in the latter half of the first century.   
   Clement, the early church father, who lived in Rome at this time wrote   
   of the "saintly Linus, brother of Claudia". Bran, Linus and Claudia's   
   grandfather, eventually returned to Britain in 58 where he was the   
   focus for the church that developed around him. The ancient Welsh   
   Triads tell us that,   
      
   "Bran brought the faith of Christ to the Cambrians."   
      
   It was likely that this same Claudia married a young Roman Senator   
   named Pudens, whose full name was Rufus Pudens Pudentia. His family   
   owned a large home in the centre of Rome. A Spanish poet, called   
   Martial, lived in Rome at this time. He was not only a contemporary of   
   Pudens but also his friend. He usually wrote short scurrilous poems   
   but he treats his friends marriage with great respect. Several of his   
   poems mention this marriage.   
      
   "O Rufus, my friend Pudens marries the foreigner Claudia."   
      
   Although Claudia was a relatively common name, the following poem   
   suggests that this Claudia was the daughter of Caractacus.   
      
   "Concerning Claudia Rufina - Seeing Claudia Rufina has sprung from the   
   azure Britons, how come she has the feeling of a Latin maid? Thanks to   
   the gods, she has borne many children to her holy husband."   
      
   The description of a Roman Senator as being 'holy' is most unusual and   
   taken together with other information does suggest that he had become   
   a Christian. This affluent couple used their home as a Christian   
   centre, and it is likely that Paul might have visited their house. At   
   first this house, which still stands in Rome was called the 'Palatium   
   Britannicum', presumably because of the link with the family of   
   Caractacus. Another name was the 'Hospitium Apostolorum', or 'Apostles   
   House'. The apostles referred to probably included Paul and Peter.   
   Today the house is called 'St. Pudentiana'. There is an inscription on   
   the wall of this house saying,   
      
   "This is the house of Sanctus Pudens, in which many martyrs were   
   buried by Pudentiana and Praxedes themselves."   
      
   Praxedes was one of the sons of Pudens and Claudia. It is known that   
   the children of this couple were martyred for their Christian faith.   
   Another interesting fact is that Emperor Constantine the Great, the   
   first Christian Roman Emperor, was himself a fourth generation   
   descendant of Caractacus through another of his sons, Cyllinus.   
   Cyllinus' son was named Coel, who during his short reign founded the   
   fortress town of Colchester in Essex, which still bears his name. Most   
   people know of him as 'Old King Cole' of nursery rhyme fame! Coel's   
   daughter, Helen, was a Christian and she became the mother of   
   Constantine the Great.   
      
   Although the precise details of this story are not proven, it does   
   demonstrate how active the early church was. It is also fascinating   
   because Paul mentions the names of these leading Roman Christians in   
   one of his epistles to Timothy.   
      
   "Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens, Linus, Claudia and all the   
   brothers." (2 Tim. 4: 21)   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have   
   your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that   
   you have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear   
   conscience, so that those who slander your good behaviour in Christ   
   may be ashamed of their accusations.   
   --Saint Peter from 1 Peter 3: 15-16   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   He did all things well.  [Mark 7:37 ]   
      
   18. Much more is accomplished by a single word of the Pater Noster   
   said, now and then, from the heart, than by the whole prayer repeated   
   many times in haste and without attention.   
   --St. Teresa   
      
   The Lord one day revealed to St. Bridget that He was more pleased with   
   one who would recite with perfect faith and earnestness these three   
   words: "Jesu, miserere mei--Jesus, have mercy on me," than with   
   another who might recite a 1000 verses without attention.   
   ("A Year with the Saints".   August: Diligence)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)