From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   - Isaiah 43:1-2 -   
      
       But now, this is what the LORD says -   
       he who created you, O Jacob,   
       he who formed you, O Israel:   
       "Fear not, for I have redeemed you;   
       I have summoned you by name; you are mine.   
       When you pass through the waters,   
       I will be with you;   
       and when you pass through the rivers,   
       they will not sweep over you.   
       When you walk through the fire,   
       you will not be burned;   
       the flames will not set you ablaze.   
   __________________________________________________________________   
      
   Going through rivers of difficulty will either cause you to drown or force   
   you to grow stronger. If you go in your own strength, you are more likely to   
   drown. If you invite the Lord to go with you, he will protect you.   
      
      
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   August 15th - St. Tarcisius, martyr   
   Third Century   
      
   A tradition dating from the sixth century says that St. Tarcisius was an   
   acolyte whose fidelity and courage so impressed the leaders of the Church   
   during the persecution of Valerian that he was entrusted with taking the   
   Blessed Sacrament secretly to the Christians who awaited martyrdom in   
   prison. This custom arose when the priests who ministered to the prisoners   
   would be easily discovered, while the acolytes were less known to the   
   heathens   
      
   . The Roman Martyrology, based on the fourth-century poem of Pope St.   
   Damasus, gives the story of the "boy martyr of the Eucharist" in these   
   words: "At Rome, on the Appian way, the passion of St. Tarcisius the   
   acolyte, whom pagans met carrying the sacrament of the Body of Christ and   
   asked him what it was he was carrying. He deemed it a shameful thing to cast   
   pearls before the swine, and so was assaulted by them for a long time with   
   clubs and stones until he gave up the ghost. When they turned over his body,   
   the sacrilegious assailants could find no trace of Christ's Sacrament either   
   in his hands or in his clothing. The Christians took up the body of the   
   martyr and buried it with honor in the cemetery of Callistus." In his poem   
   Pope Damasus compares St. Tarcisius with St. Stephen who was stoned by the   
   Jews, and praises the martyr for suffering a cruel death rather than   
   surrender "the divine Body to raging dogs."   
      
    The body of St. Tarcisius was most probably laid to rest with those of Pope   
   St. Zephyrinus and others in the Basilica of St. Sixtus and Cecilia, but at   
   present it is said to be in the Church of San Silvestro in Capite. St.   
   Tarcisius is venerated as a model for altar boys and as an example of loving   
   and heroic devotion to our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.   
      
   St. Tarsicius is a good saint to pray to for teens, because he is a patron   
   saint for teenagers.Ask him to help you stand up for your faith by praying   
   to him about your problems.   
      
   Reflection: To honor the martyrs and duly celebrate their feasts, we must   
   learn their spirit and study to imitate them according to our state of life.   
   We must, like them, resist evil, subdue our passions, suffer afflictions   
   with patience, and bear with others without murmuring or complaining. The   
   cross is the ladder by which we must ascend to heaven.   
      
   Taken from"A Saint A Day" by Berchmans Bittle, O.F.M.Cap., published by The   
   Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee (c) 1958   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of   
   Christ. I thank God it is for this reason that I die. I believe that I am   
   telling the truth before I die. I know you believe me and I want to say to   
   you all once again: Ask Christ to help you become happy. I obey Christ.   
   After Christ's example, I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask   
   God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a   
   fruitful rain.   
   -- Saint Paul Miki (One of the Martyrs of Nagasaki)   
      
   Bible Quote   
   I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be   
   afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as   
   grass; And forgettest the LORD thy maker, that hath stretched forth the   
   heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth. (Isaiah 51:12-13)   
      
      
   Today is also the feast of the Assumption.   
      
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   Prayer to Our Lady, Assumed into Heaven:   
      
   O Virgin Immaculate!  Queen of Heaven and earth!  Hail to thee O Mother of   
   God and our Mother!  We profess our faith in thy triumphant Assumption into   
   Heaven, where the Angels and Saints acclaimed thee as Queen of all creation.   
   We join the heavenly court in praising thee, and give praise to the Holy   
   Trinity, Who from the moment of thy Conception raised thee above all   
   creatures, and at thy passing drew thee gloriously into Heaven.   
      
   O Mother of the servants of God, we beseech that our will and our very lives   
   be rendered unto the service of the Lord, so that we may join in union with   
   the legions of Heaven, and offer thee our deepest devotion and love.   
      
   O Mother of the Afflicted, do thou watch over and intercede for us in our   
   daily misfortunes and necessities.  Transform our fear of the Judgment into   
   a lively hope through thy blessed comfort, so that on that dreadful Day when   
   Christ will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire, we   
   may be granted not the Divine Justice but the Divine Mercy.   
      
   O Mediatrix of all graces, as we make our spiritual pilgrimage we look to   
   thee as our life, our sweetness, and our hope.  After this earthly life,   
   pray our souls, full of contrition and penitence, may be delivered unto the   
   blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.   
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)