From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   - James 4:6-10 -   
   But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:   
   "God opposes the proud   
   but gives grace to the humble."   
      
   Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from   
   you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you   
   sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail.   
   Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves   
   before the Lord, and he will lift you up.   
   __________________________   
      
   Have you let adversity or failure pull you away from God instead of toward   
   Him? To put distance between you and Jesus, Satan will misuse the very   
   situations that the Lord can utilize to draw you to Himself. Don't let the   
   Enemy win the battle. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James   
   4:7).   
      
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   May 1st - Sigismund of Burgundy, King, Martyr   
      
   Died 523. Gunebald, ruler of the kingdom of Burgundy, in the early 6th   
   century, claimed to be a Christian but denied the divinity of Jesus Christ.   
   His son and heir, Sigismund, under the influence of Bishop Saint Avitus of   
   Vienne, accepted the truth. In 515, Sigismund built the famous monastery of   
   Saint- Maurice at Agaune in Valais, where many hermits had lived in   
   scattered cells.   
      
   Sigismund succeeded his father in 516. Although he had intellectually become   
   a Christian, his temper and savage ways remained those of a Vandal pagan. He   
   had been king for scarcely a year when his son Sigeric fell out with his   
   stepmother, Sigismund's second wife, who accused him of conspiracy to kill   
   his father. The king took the stepmother's part. So great became his rage   
   during the course of the quarrel that he ordered his officers to strangle   
   the prince.   
      
   When Sigismund's temper cooled, he was appalled at what he had done to his   
   son. He strove to make amends. He retired to the monastery of Saint-Maurice,   
   bringing with him enough monks to ensure that the voice of praise could be   
   heard at all times.   
      
   The king became a lover of the poor, liberally distributing his goods in   
   their service. But still he felt he had not properly made amends for the   
   murder of Sigeric. Only some great calamity, he felt, could atone for such   
   an action; and in his prayers Saint Sigismund welcomed anything that might   
   happen to him by way of punishment in this life that he might not suffer in   
   the next.   
      
   Gunebald had killed the grandfather of three royal sons of Clovis, king of   
   the Franks. They decided not only to take revenge by attacking Sigismund;   
   they also aimed at overrunning Burgundy, too. The three men conquered   
   Sigismund in battle.   
      
   Sigismund disguised himself in a monk's habit and hid in a cell near the   
   abbey of Agaunum. For some time Sigismund escaped their swords, but he was   
   eventually found, captured, and taken to Orléans for execution. His corpse   
   was flung down a well at Columelle. His shrine is near the Abbey of Agaunum,   
   where he is honored as a martyr; however his relics were translated to the   
   cathedral of Prague by Emperor Charles IV (Benedictines, Bentley,   
   Husenbeth).   
      
   Sigismund is depicted in art as an old king with a sword and well or font   
   near him. At times he may be shown (1) with his two sons by him; (2)   
   enthroned with royal regalia, a greyhound at his feet, Sigismondo Malatesta   
   before him; (3) with a sword and palm, armor by him; or (4) as a young   
   ruler, crowned holding an orb and scepter (Roeder). Sigismund is venerated   
   at Rimini (Templo Malatestiana) and is invoked against fever (Roeder).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Jesus is happy to come with us, as truth is happy to be spoken, as life to   
   be lived, as light to be lit, as love is to be loved, as joy to be given, as   
   peace to be spread.   
   -- Saint Francis of Assisi   
      
   Bible Quote"   
   30 And Philip running thither, heard him reading the prophet Isaias. And he   
   said: Thinkest thou that thou understandest what thou readest? 31 Who said:   
   And how can I, unless some man shew me? And he desired Philip that he would   
   come up and sit with him.   (Acts 8:30-31)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   This is the prayer to Saint Joseph, Patron of Workers whose   
   feast is also celebrated today   
      
   O glorious patriarch, Saint Joseph, humble and just craftsman   
   of Nazareth, you gave to all Christians, but particularly to us,   
   an example of a perfect life of assiduous work and of   
   admirable unity with Mary and Jesus. Help us in our daily   
   work so that we might find in it an effective means of   
   glorifying our Lord, of sanctifying ourselves and of being   
   useful to the society in which we live. Obtain for us from our   
   Lord, O beloved protector, humility and simplicity of heart,   
   attachment to work, benevolence towards those who work   
   with us, compliance with the divine will in the difficulties of this   
   life and joy in bearing them, consciousness of our specific   
   social mission and the sense of our social responsibility, a   
   spirit of discipline and prayer, docility and respect for our   
   superiors, fraternity towards our equals, support in times of   
   stress, charity and indulgence for our dependents. Help us to   
   follow your example and to keep our sight fixed on Mary, our   
   Mother, your gentle wife, who wove silently in a corner of your   
   humble shop, smiling sweetly. May we never avert our eyes   
   from Jesus, who worked with you at your carpenter's bench,   
   so that we may in like manner lead peaceful and holy lives on   
   earth, the prelude to the eternally happy one which awaits us   
   in heaven for ever more. Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)