From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Listen to Him   
      
   "A voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved Son, with whom I am   
   well pleased; listen to him. I am manifested through his preaching. I   
   am glorified through his humility. So listen to him without   
   hesitation. He is the truth and the life. He is my strength and   
   wisdom. "Listen to him" whom the mysteries of the law foreshadowed, of   
   whom the mouths of the prophets sang. "Listen to him" who by his blood   
   redeemed the world, who binds the devil and seizes his vessels, who   
   breaks the debt of sin and the bondage of iniquity. "Listen to him"   
   who opens the way to heaven and by the pain of the cross prepares for   
   you the steps of ascent into his kingdom."   
   by Leo the Great, 400?-461 A.D.(excerpt from Sermon 38,7)   
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   August 16: - Saint Stephen of Hungary   
   (also known as Saint Stephen the Great,)   
      
   (969-1038)   
   Saint Stephen of Hungary was the first Christian king of Hungary.   
   Following his Christian missionary work and ascension to the throne,   
   it was written of the formerly pagan territory: "The mouth of the   
   Huns, formerly spewing foam and rage, now distils the honey of   
   charity. Such, O Christ, are Thy miracles; such are Thy works, O our   
   God!" He is known as the Apostle of Hungary.   
      
   Stephen was born at Gran (modern day Hungary). The son of Prince   
   Geisa, the 4th Duke of the Huns of Hungary, had been converted to the   
   Christian faith, along with his wife and several ministers. Throughout   
   his lifetime, Prince Geisa labored to bring Christianity to his land.   
   His wife, following a vision, told him that they would bear a son who   
   would perfect the Christian work they had begun. They named him   
   Stephen, and he was baptized by Saint Adalbert, bishop of Prague.   
      
   Stephen was educated in Italy, under the tutelage of Saint Adalbert,   
   and resided at the court of a pious count. When he was 15 years old,   
   he returned home and his father gave him the commandment of his   
   armies, seeing his virtue and Christian ardor. Stephen began to root   
   out idolatry and transform the pagan customs still existing among the   
   people. He also showed great generosity and care for the poor and   
   suffering in the land, inspiring others to charitable works and   
   service.   
      
   When Stephen was just 20, his father died, and he ascended to the   
   throne. Immediately, the pagan nobility rebelled, fearing that Stephen   
   would spread the faith of Christianity even further throughout the   
   land. They killed Christian nobles, burned fields, and rose up to   
   challenge the new king. Without hesitation, Saint Stephen marched upon   
   the rebels, under the banners of Saint George and Saint Martin, and   
   despite inferior forces, triumphed. In thanksgiving to the Lord,   
   Stephen had a monastery constructed on the spot of victory--dedicated   
   to Saint Martin--which is now referred to as the Holy Hill.   
      
   Stephen worked to establish Christianity throughout the country,   
   forming the archbishopric at Gran. He petitioned the pope to support   
   his actions in the name of God. Stephen founded monasteries and   
   churches all over the land, and Pope Sylvester II appointed bishops to   
   the eleven sees he had endowed, and bestowed upon him, for the greater   
   success of his work, the title of king. Pope Sylvester II sent him a   
   cross to be borne before him, saying that he regarded him as the true   
   apostle of his people. In 1001, on the feast of the Assumption of Our   
   Blessed Mother, he received a royal crown and was solemnly enthroned.   
      
   Despite his fierceness in battle, and his ardor and zeal for defending   
   the faith against invasion and rebellion, no trait was more evident in   
   St Stephen than his love and charity for the poor. It is said that   
   because he visited those in need in their houses and washed their   
   feet, his right hand has remained incorrupt since his death. He often   
   went out in disguise to exercise his charities, moving amongst the   
   poor and downtrodden, not wishing to be detected. One day, a band of   
   beggars, not satisfied with the alms they received, threw him down,   
   tore out handfuls of his hair and beard, and took his purse. He prayed   
   to the Lord and thanked Him for an insult he would not have suffered   
   from enemies, but accepted gladly from the poor who, he said to Him,   
   “are called Your own, and for whom I can have only indulgence and   
   tenderness.” He further prayed to Our Blessed Mother, to whom he was   
   especially devoted, "Queen of heaven, see how your people have treated   
   me whom you made king. If they were your enemies, I would have   
   punished them. But since they are your Son's people, I will suffer   
   this joyfully and say thank you for it."   
      
   Saint Stephen’s devotion was all-consuming. He placed his realms under   
   the protection of our Blessed Lady--to whom he devoted Hungary--and   
   kept the feast of Her Assumption with great affection. Mary, the   
   Mother of God, is considered the patroness of Hungary even today.   
   Saint Stephen established just laws, and saw to their execution. All   
   was done in service of the Lord, guided by the faith. While he spent a   
   great deal of time in war, he only engaged in wars of defense--when   
   Hungary was invaded multiple times, oftentimes by his relatives. In   
   each case, he was victorious, sending missionaries into any captured   
   lands, and spreading Christianity throughout the region.   
      
   Saint Stephen married the sister of the Emperor Saint Henry, Gisela,   
   who was a worthy companion for him. From his marriage came a saintly   
   son, the devout Emeric, an angel of purity, who died 7 years before   
   his father. Along with the death of Emeric, his other children died,   
   one by one. Stephen bore all with perfect submission to the Will of   
   God, however, embracing his trials, and doubling his time spent in   
   prayer and meditation.   
      
   When Saint Stephen was about to die, he summoned his bishops and   
   nobles, and told them to choose his successor. He urged them to   
   nurture and cherish the Catholic Church, which was still a tender   
   plant in Hungary, to follow justice, humility, and charity, to be   
   obedient to the laws, and to show at all times a reverent submission   
   to the Holy See. Then, raising his eyes towards heaven, he said: “O   
   Queen of Heaven, August Restorer of a prostrate world, to Thy care I   
   commend the Holy Church, my people, and my realm, and my own departing   
   soul.” Saint Stephen died on his favorite feast day, the feast of the   
   Assumption.   
      
   Throughout his life, Saint Stephen had Christ on his lips, Christ in   
   his heart, and Christ in all he did. Today, on his feast day, we pray   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)