From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Having a Humble Opinion of Self   
    EVERY man naturally desires knowledge    (Aristotle, Metaphysics, i. 1.);   
   but what good is knowledge without fear of God?   
   Indeed a humble rustic who serves God is better than a proud intellectual   
   who neglects his soul to study the course of the stars.  ( Augustine,   
   Confessions V. 4.)   
   He who knows himself well becomes mean in his own eyes and is not happy when   
   praised by men.   
   If I knew all things in the world and had not charity, what would it profit   
   me before God   
   Who will judge me by my deeds?   
   --Ch 2 p.3 Imitation of Christ, Thomas À Kempis   
      
   Meditation for troubled times:   
     I will be renewed. I will be remade. In this, I need God's   
   help. His spirit shall flow through me and, in flowing through me, it shall   
   sweep away all the   
   bitter past. I will take heart. The way will open for me. Each day will   
   unfold something good,   
   as long as I am trying to live the way I believe God wants me to live.   
   --From Twenty-Four Hours a Day   
      
      
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   January 10th - St. Peter Orseolo   
      
   Today's saint is probably one of the strangest of 10th century religious   
   history. Peter was born in 928 at Venice, Italy. He was from a well to do   
   Venetian family and at the age of eighteen married. His wife gave birth to a   
   son and then it is believed that husband and wife lived a celibate life as   
   brother and sister.   
      
   In 948, at the age of twenty he was the commander of the Venetian fleet in a   
   war against Dalmatian pirates whom he successfully defeated. There is a   
   question of his involvement in the revolution of 976, in which the chief   
   magistrate of the city, Doge Peter Candiani IV, was murdered and a large   
   part of the city was destroyed by fire. The reality of this can not be   
   determined. Peter was however, elected doge of Venice.   
      
   His brief administration was marked by tact and energy. He brought peace by   
   ending the political crises. He settled the claims of the widowed dogress   
   Candiani to the satisfaction of Otto II. He also built hospitals, took care   
   of orphans and widows and generally promoted peace in the city. He was   
   praised as one of the greatest doges of Venice.   
      
   Then a very unusual happening took place. One tradition tells us that on   
   September 1, 978. Peter disappeared. His wife of thirty-two years and his   
   son had no idea of his whereabouts for some time. Peter had gone to the   
   Benedictine Abbey of Cuxa, in Prades, France, on the borders of Spain. Peter   
   became known as a model religious. He lived a very simple and austere life,   
   devoting himself to the most menial of tasks. He did contact his family and   
   instructed his son, who had been elected dogo in his place, in prudence and   
   the Christian virtues of a good ruler. He later built a hermitage for   
   himself possibly at the suggestion of St. Romuald whom he met at Cuxa.   
      
   What the circumstance were which caused him to quietly slip away to the   
   monastery and devote himself to a life just the opposite of what he had been   
   living is unknown. There are some who believe it was in reparation for the   
   revolution and perhaps for involvement in the murder of Doge Candiani. What   
   his wife thought about his monastic life is also only open to conjecture,   
   because this was the 10th century.   
      
   Peter died at Cuxa on January 10, 987. Miracles were soon reported by people   
   who asked his intercession to God for them. At first reading he seems hardly   
   the sort of candidate, one would select for sainthood. But, when one reads   
   between the lines a different picture emerges. He chose to give up his   
   wealth and prestige to seek a life dedicated to God. In the 10th century it   
   was not uncommon for both husbands and wives to choose to live a celibate   
   life and it was not unusual for one or both to enter monastic life. When a   
   wealthy individual chose religious life in the 10th century, their spouse   
   and children were first taken care of and settled before they could make a   
   permanent commitment to the monastery. This was common practice.   
      
   When we look at Peter as chief magistrate, we see not only a good statesman,   
   but also a man who cared for his people. He took care of those in need,   
   using his own wealth and resources. We also see a man truly desirous of   
   peace for his people. History also shows us that in a letter in 968, before   
   the revolution, Peter had thoughts of monastic life. Perhaps he was an   
   ambitious man at one point, but his final decision was to dedicate his life   
   to God and to the development of the Gospel values within himself. The   
   desire and search for holiness comes in many different ways and different   
   ages for each individual person.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "Oh what remorse we shall feel at the end of our lives, when we look back   
   upon the great number of instructions and examples afforded by God and the   
   Saints for our perfection, and so carelessly received by us! If this end   
   were to come to you today, how would you be pleased with the life you have   
   led this year?"   
   -St. Francis de Sales   
      
   Bible Quote   
   And Abraham answered, and said: Seeing I have once begun, I will speak to my   
   Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes.  (Genesis 18:27)   
      
      
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   HAIL THOU STAR OF OCEAN   
      
   Hail thou star of ocean Portal of the sky   
   Ever virgin Mother Of the Lord Most High   
      
   O! by Gabriel's Ave Uttered long ago,   
   Eva's name reversing, Established peace below   
      
   Break the captives' fetters, Light on blindness pour,   
    All our ills expelling, Every bliss implore   
      
   Show thyself a Mother, Offer Him our sighs,   
   Who for us incarnate Did not thee despise   
      
   Virgin of all virgins To thy shelter take us,   
   Gentlest of the gentle Chaste and gentle make us   
      
   Still, as on we journey, Help our weak endeavor,   
   Till with thee and Jesus We rejoice forever   
      
   Through the highest heaven, To the almighty Three   
   Father, Son, and Spirit, One same glory be.  Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)