From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Christ is the Husband of the Church his Bride   
      
   "This means he alone is the husband of the church (John 3:29), he is   
   the expectation of the nations, and the prophets removed their sandals   
   while offering to him a union of nuptial grace. He is the bridegroom;   
   I am the friend of the bridegroom. I rejoice because he is coming,   
   because I hear the nuptial chant, because now we do not hear the harsh   
   penalties for sinners, the harsh torments of the law, but the   
   forgiveness of offenses, the cry of joy, the sound of cheerfulness,   
   the rejoicing of the nuptial feast."   
   --by Ambrose of Milan,(excerpt from ON THE PATRIARCHS 4.22)   
      
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   March 12th – St. Paul Aurelian, Bishop   
      
   Like the naming of Constantine, this saint reminds us of how the   
   influence of the Roman occupation lingered on after the legions had   
   left Britain. Paul was born in Genychen in East Glamorgan about the   
   year 480 of a Romano-British family, his father Porphius being an   
   "official of high dignity". He was sent to be educated by St. Illtyd,   
   first at Caldy Island and then at the famous monastery of Llantwit   
   Major, having David, Sampson and Gildas among his fellow students. He   
   learnt not only from books but also from the manual labour in which   
   all the community was expected to share and included reclaiming   
   fertile ground by banking up the River Severn.   
      
   When he was quite young he left to set up an hermitage for himself   
   where he was joined by a dozen other young men who regarded him as   
   their leader and there he was ordained priest by St. Dyfrig. A local   
   king called Mark tried to persuade him to be a bishop to his people   
   who were of mixed race, "speaking four tongues", but he was unwilling   
   to accept this office and after quarreling with the king who refused   
   to give him one of his seven bells he departed to Cornwall.   
      
   Paul's sister Sitafolia had established a convent near Penzance,   
   possibly at Newlyn, and he built himself a church in the parish which   
   bears his name where there are two ancient Celtic crosses, one set   
   into the wall of the church which boasts the second highest tower in   
   Cornwall. It is a tradition that his sister's community was threatened   
   by encroachments by the sea and that they together marked out the   
   tide-time with pebbles and at his prayers the pebbles grew into rocks   
   which prevented further erosion of the land.   
      
   After a while Paul moved on to Brittany landing on the Isle of   
   Ouessant at a place called Porzpol and there constructed a monastery   
   consisting of a small church and thirteen huts of turf and stone at a   
   place still called Lampol. He did not remain on the island for long   
   but founded another monastic centre on the mainland at Lampaul   
   Plondalmezon where his monks christianised some of the pagan menhirs   
   by cutting them into crosses.   
      
   However Paul was still not satisfied and felt he needed the sanction   
   of the civil authority and so he went in search of the chieftain of   
   Leon who turned out to be a relative from Gwent, Withur, a devout   
   Christian then living in the Isle of Batz. When Paul arrived at his   
   house he was just finishing transcribing a copy of the Gospels which   
   he gave to him with a bell, which had been denied him by the chieftain   
   in Wales. The holy Abbot is believed to have delivered the island of   
   Batz of a monstrous serpent or dragon which had terrorised the   
   inhabitants and a hole in the island is still pointed out as its lair.   
      
   Withur gave Paul land on the Isle of Batz and also the ruined Roman   
   town of Ocismor and there he built his main foundation, which is now   
   known as St Pol de Leon. Withur, realising that the status of Abbot   
   which was recognised among the British was not acceptable to the   
   people of Gaul, managed to get Paul consecrated bishop by sending him   
   on a mission to Childebert the Frankish king and so he became the   
   first diocesan of that part of Brittany. With his monks the bishop   
   began the work of evangelising the native population who were nearly   
   all pagan.   
      
   About the year 526 St. Paul resigned his See to his nephew Joerin and   
   retired to Batz where he was visited by St. Brendan. More than twenty   
   years later he resumed his episcopate when a change of rulers took   
   place after a great battle at Gerber, where he built another abbey,   
   now called Le Relecq because of the large number of bones of the   
   slain. He only remained as bishop for a short time before resigning   
   once again and going to Batz where he died about 580 more than a   
   hundred years old. His body is enshrined in the old Cathedral at St   
   Pol de Leon where his bell is preserved and his stole can be seen at   
   Batz (Bowen, Baring Gould and Fisher).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden   
   ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer   
   to him--the heaven of our souls, created in His Image, the living   
   temples of the Adorable Trinity.   
   --Saint Therese of Lisieux   
      
   Bible Quote   
   You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you; and have appointed you,   
   that you should go, and should bring forth fruit; and your fruit   
   should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name,   
   he may give it you.  (John 15:16)  DRB   
      
      
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   Hail, Sweet Jesus!   
   Prayer to Christ   
   in His Passion and Death   
   By St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)   
   Doctor of the Church   
      
   Hail, sweet Jesus!   
   Praise, honour and glory be to Thee, O Christ,   
   Who, of Thou own accord, embraced death,   
   and recommending Thyself to Thy heavenly Father,   
   bowing down Thy venerable Head,   
   did yield up Thy Spirit.   
   Truly thus giving up Thy life for Thy sheep,   
   Thou hast shown Thyself, to be the Good Shepherd.   
   Thou died, O Only-begotten Son of God.   
   Thou died, O my beloved Saviour,   
   that I might live forever.   
   O how great hope,   
   how great confidence have   
   I reposed in Thy Death and Thy Blood!   
   I glorify and praise Thy Holy Name,   
   acknowledging my infinite obligations to Thee.   
   O good Jesus,   
   by Thy bitter Death and Passion,   
   give me grace and pardon.   
   Give unto the faithful departed,   
   rest and life everlasting.   
   Amen   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)