From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   July 19th - St. Arsenius the Great, Hermit   
    (also known as Arsenius the Roman or Arsenius the Deacon)   
      
   Born probably in Rome c. 354; d. near Memphis, Egypt, c. 450.   
      
   Legend has it that, c. 383, Pope Saint Damasus recommended the erudite Arsenius   
   to Emperor Theodosius the Great, who summoned the Roman deacon of senatorial   
   rank to Constantinople and appointed him tutor of his sons, Arcadius and   
   Honorius. He was rewarded with money and servants, honor and possessions.   
   Supposedly after a decade of luxury and influence, he kept hearing the voice of   
   God telling him that only by abandoning it all could he be saved. Nevertheless,   
   modern hagiographers doubt that Arsenius was a deacon or had served as a tutor   
   in Constantinople.   
      
   It is verified that about 395 he abandoned the court and joined the monks in   
   Alexandria, Egypt. On the death of Theodosius (c. 400), saddened and sickened   
   by   
   his pupils' weakness of character and quarrels-for which he felt some   
   responsibility as their former teacher, he became a desert monk in the Wadi   
   Natrun (Skete). There he was tutored in the eremitical customs by Saint John   
   the   
   Dwarf. Initially suspicious of his dedication, Saint John tested Arsenius's   
   humility by throwing his bread upon the floor. When Arsenius ate it,   
   undismayed,   
   Saint John became convinced of his devotion.   
      
   He lived in the greatest austerity, refusing the legacy left him by a relative   
   who was a senator, preferring the solitary life to a life of luxury. He said,   
   "I   
   died before he did" and tore the will in two.   
      
   Forced to leave Skete about 434 because of the barbarian raids, he spent the   
   next 10 years on the rock (Petra) of Troë in Memphis and some time on the   
   island   
   of Canopus near Alexandria, before dying at Troë.   
      
   He became known for his sanctity, and he shunned the company of others. His   
   disciples included Alexander, Zoilus, and Daniel. He felt learning was   
   unimportant and could even be a hindrance in a relationship with God. To an   
   educated Roman who expressed puzzlement at the high degree of contemplation   
   achieved by uneducated Egyptians, he responded, "We make no progress because we   
   dwell in the exterior learning which puffs up the mind; but these illiterate   
   Egyptians have a true sense of their own weakness, blindness, and   
   insufficiency."   
      
   The simple maxims for which he was known and the doings recorded of him are   
   characteristic of the desert fathers, marked by strict self-discipline and   
   shrewdness about human nature. He constantly repeated: "I have always something   
   to repent having spoken, but never for having held my tongue." Arsenius feared   
   damnation because of his former self-centered ways. He had learned in a hard   
   school, and expected others to do the same, and he seems to have been more than   
   usually averse to the company of his fellow men. But he was not wanting in   
   compassion, and sometimes modified his brusqueness.   
      
   Ancient writers emphasize the Arsenius had the 'gift of tears' in a surprising   
   degree-his handkerchief (sudarium) was always handy-and his self-depreciation   
   sometimes seems excessive. He continually shed tears for his feebleness and the   
   shortcomings of others, especially Honorius-so many tears that he was said to   
   have worn away his eyelashes. He felt a lifelong guilt for the weakness of   
   Arcadius and Honorius.   
      
   He died at Troë and left a fellow monk all his earthly possessions: a skin   
   coat,   
   palm leaves woven into sandals, and a goat-skin shirt. The life of Arsenius was   
   written by Saint Theodore the Studite, but this was too long after to be very   
   reliable. Forty-four written maxims and moral anecdotes are attributed to Saint   
   Arsenius (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White)   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "I know a great deal of Greek and Latin learning. I have still to learn even   
   the   
   alphabet of how to be a saint."   
    -Saint Arsenius   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   I am coming again, and I will take you to Myself; that where I am, there you   
   also may be.  (John 14:3)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   YOUR CROSS   
   The everlasting God has in His   
   Wisdom foreseen from eternity,   
   the cross He now presents to   
   you as a gift from His   
   innermost heart. This cross He   
   now sends you He has   
   considered with his all-knowing   
   eyes, understood with His   
   divine mind, tested with His   
   wise justice, warmed with   
   loving arms and weighted with   
   His own hands to see that it   
   not be one ounce too heavy for   
   you. He has blessed it with His   
   Holy Name, anointed it with His   
   grace, perfumed it with his   
   consolation, and taken one last   
   glance at you and your courage   
   - has sent it to you from   
   heaven, a special greeting   
   from God to you, an alms of   
   the all merciful love of God.   
   -St. Frances de Sales   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)