From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   February 7th - Richard The King (RM)   
      
   Died 722. Perhaps Saint Richard was not really a king-early Italian legend   
   made him a prince of Wessex-but his sanctity was verified by the fact that   
   he fathered three other saints: Willibald, Winebald (Wunibald), and Walpurga   
   (Walburga). Butler tells us that "Saint Richard, when living, obtained by   
   his prayers the recovery of his younger son Willibald, whom he laid at the   
   foot of a great crucifix erected in a public place in England, when the   
   child's life was despaired of by a grievous sickness. . . . [he was] perhaps   
   deprived of his inheritance by some revolution in the state; or he renounced   
   it to be more at liberty to dedicate himself to the pursuit of Christian   
   perfection. . . . Taking with him his two sons, he undertook a pilgrimage of   
   penance and devotion, and sailing from Hamble-haven, landed in Neustria on   
   the western coasts of France. He made a considerable stay at Rouen, and made   
   his devotions in the most holy places that lay in his way through France."   
      
   He fell ill, died suddenly at Lucca, Italy, and was buried in the church of   
   San Frediano. A later legend makes him the duke of Swabia, Germany. Miracles   
   were reported at his tomb, and he became greatly venerated by the citizens   
   of Lucca and those of Eichstätt to where some of his relics were translated.   
   The natives of Lucca amplified accounts of his life by calling him king of   
   the English. Neither of his legends is especially trustworthy-even his real   
   name is unknown and dates only from the 11th century. A famous account of   
   the pilgrimage on which he died was written by his son's cousin, the nun   
   Hugeburc, entitled Hodoeporicon (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill,   
   Husenbeth, White)   
      
   In art, King Saint Richard is portrayed as a royal pilgrim (ermine- lined   
   cloak) with two sons-one a bishop and one an abbot. His crown may be on a   
   book (Roeder). He is venerated at Heidenheim and Lucca (Roeder).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   We must always choose the most perfect. Two good works present themselves to   
   be done, one in favour of a person we love, the other in favour of a person   
   who has done us some harm. Well, we must give preference to the latter.   
   -Saint John Vianney   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: Execute true justice, show mercy and   
   compassion, every one to his brother: Do not oppress the widow or   
   fatherless, the alien or the poor.  Let none of you plan evil in his heart   
   against his brother."   
   -Zechariah 7:9,10   
      
      
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   Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost   
      
   O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before ascending into heaven didst promise to send   
   the Holy Ghost to finish Thy work in the souls of Thy Apostles and   
   disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in   
   my soul the work of Thy grace and Thy love. Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom   
   that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after   
   the things that are eternal; the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my   
   mind with the light of Thy divine truth; the Spirit of Counsel that I may   
   ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven; the Spirit of   
   Fortitude that I may bear my cross with Thee and that I may overcome with   
   courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge   
   that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the   
   saints; the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and   
   amiable; the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence   
   towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him. Mark me, dear Lord,   
   with the sign of Thy true disciples and animate me in all things with Thy   
   Spirit. Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)