From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   September 10th - St. Pulcheria   
      
   "Thanks to you, the scandals stimulated by the evil spirit were suppressed.   
   Thanks to your efforts, the whole earth today is united in the confession of   
   the same Faith."   
      
   With these words, Pope St. Leo the Great paid tribute to Empress Pulcheria   
   (399-453), grand-daughter of Theodosius. She was baptized by St. John   
   Chrysostom in Constantinople and while still very young, she made a vow of   
   virginity along with her two younger sisters.   
      
   Six years after her father, Arcadius, died, the Senate proclaimed her   
   Augusta (empress), and named her regent of her younger brother Theodosius   
   II. Pulcheria was 15 years old when she assumed the full responsibility of   
   government. It is rare in History to find so much prudence joined with such   
   great precocity.   
      
   At age 20, Theodosius married Athenais, daughter of a pagan philosopher of   
   Athens. His wife, who received the name Eudoxia when she was baptized,   
   sought to weaken Pulcheria's influence over the Emperor. Eudoxia ended by   
   persecuting her sister-in-law and favoring the heresy of Nestorius, while   
   St. Pulcheria supported St. Cyril of Alexandria against the heretic.   
   Pulcheria was removed from power and withdrew from the court.   
      
   In 441 Eudoxia was exiled because of her infidelity to the Emperor, and   
   Pulcheria returned. Theodosius was supporting the heresy of the monk   
   Eutyches, but Pulcheria convinced him to withdraw it and follow St. Leo the   
   Great.   
      
   In 450 Theodosius died. Pulcheria was again proclaimed Empress. One year   
   later the Council of Chalcedon (451)-she assisted at its third   
   session-condemned Monophysism, the heresy of Eutyches. In a letter to the   
   Empress Pulcheria, St. Leo credited her with overcoming the heresies of   
   Nestorius and Euthyches.   
      
   On her return from exile, she found the Empire threatened by Attila. She   
   agreed to marry General Marcian to maintain the stability of the Empire on   
   the condition that he respect her vow of virginity. Together they governed   
   the Empire. Marcian persecuted the Nestorians and followers of Eutyches,   
   recalled the Catholic Bishops who had been exiled by Theodosius, and kept   
   Attila outside the boundaries of the Empire. St. Pulcheria died in 453 at   
   age 54.   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   It is a most beautiful life! A life full of lessons that deserve   
   commentaries.   
      
   First, you can see the very important role of elites in giving good example   
   in the customs and protecting the Catholic Religion. In his eulogy of St.   
   Pulcheria, St. Leo the Great gave her the credit for the bad customs being   
   suppressed and the whole earth having the same unity of Faith. This happened   
   because a certain woman who consecrated herself to God was raised to the   
   imperial throne, held the reins of the government, and used this power and   
   influence to favor a Saint who was a Pope, St. Leo, and the Patriarch of   
   Alexandria, St. Cyril.   
      
   Above all, the Catholic Religion must have holy priests, Bishops, and Popes.   
   But often this is not enough. It is also necessary to have saints in the   
   principal posts of the civil order. The life of St. Pulcheria teaches us   
   that the laypeople also have an important role to play in building Christian   
   Civilization and defend the Church. The clergy, even with saints as Pope and   
   Bishops, was not able by itself to extirpate the heresies of Nestorianism   
   and Monophysism.   
      
   Second, St. Pulcheria's first care was for the service of God. She   
   consecrated herself as a virgin; she was the regent of her brother; she   
   fought against the bad influence of her sister-in-law; she was exiled but   
   did not abandon the good cause; she returned and helped it conquer. Her only   
   concern was to make the cause of God victorious.   
      
   Third, there is one point that is not clear in this admirable life. Given   
   her influence over her brother, why did she allow him to marry Eudoxia? The   
   latter was the daughter of a pagan, and eventually caused an enormous   
   problem for the cause of God. The selection does not mention who arranged   
   that marriage. Would it have been a concession on the part of St. Pulcheria?   
   It is possible. Then, she would not have been a saint yet. Was there a good   
   reason for that marriage? Perhaps. At any rate, it was made with a high   
   price, since St. Pulcheria was exiled because of it and the heresiarchs   
   Nestorius and Euthyches were protected by Eudoxia. Once again, it follows   
   the same principle, with a good Empress, everything goes well; with a bad   
   Empress, everything worsens.   
      
   Fourth, it is interesting to notice what happened with Attila. When he came   
   to the West, he did not go straight to the Western Roman Empire. First he   
   tried to invade the Eastern Roman Empire. He was defeated there, and then   
   decided to enter Western Europe where he caused the devastation we know. We   
   can see the role of the Holy Empress who through her prayer and action   
   decisively kept those terrible enemies out of the Empire.   
      
   What should we ask of St. Pulcheria? We should ask her the grace to   
   understand and make understood with renewed ardor our role as laymen in   
   temporal society following the plan of Divine Providence. That is, to serve   
   God and Holy Mother Church living in the temporal order and transform it   
   into a true Christendom.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   I do not care if I have against me all the Bishops; I have with me the   
   Saints and all the doctors of the Church.   
   -St. Thomas More   
      
   Bible Quote   
   8 Be mindful that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen again from the dead, of the   
   seed of David, according to my gospel. 9 Wherein I labour even unto bands,   
   as an evildoer; but the word of God is not bound. 10 Therefore I endure all   
   things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation,   
   which is in Christ Jesus, with heavenly glory.  (2 Tim. 2:8-10)   
      
      
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   Daily Thought From The Following of Christ   
      
   EVERY man naturally desireth to know; but what doth knowledge avail without   
   the fear of God? Truly, a lowly rustic that serveth God is better than a   
   proud philosopher who pondereth the courses of the stars, and neglecteth   
   himself.   
      
      
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   Little Office of the Holy Angels   
      
   AT TIERCE   
      
   Antiphon:   
   God hath given His Angels charge of thee, that they keep thee in all thy   
   ways. Amen.   
      
   O God, incline unto my aid.   
   O Lord, make haste to help me.   
      
   Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,   
   as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,   
   world without end. Amen.   
   Alleluia.   
      
   HYMN   
      
   Bright Spirit! whom a God supremely wise   
    Hath given to be the Guardian of this land,   
   Come, arm'd with all thy power from the skies,   
   And bear its children harmless in thy hand-----   
   Safe from all evil that defiles the soul,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)