From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Cleansed by Jesus' word   
      
      "So the world - life enslaved by carnal passions - can no more   
   receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye can look at the light   
   of a sunbeam. First the Lord cleansed his disciples' lives through his   
   teaching, and then he gave them the ability to both see and   
   contemplate the Spirit. He says, 'You are already made clean by the   
   word I have spoken to you' (John 15:3). Therefore 'the world cannot   
   receive him, because it neither sees him nor knows him... You know   
   him, for he dwells with you' (John 14:17). Isaiah says, 'He who   
   settled the earth and the things in it; and gives breath to the people   
   on it, and Spirit to them that tread on it' (Isaiah 42:5). From this   
   we can learn that those who trample earthly things and rise above them   
   become worthy to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."   
    by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.(excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 22.53)   
      
      
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   May 29th - St. William of Toulouse and the Martyrs of Avignonet   
      
   Died 1242; beatified in 1866. One of the earliest of the many martyrs   
   of the Dominican Order was Blessed William Arnaud. He died with 11   
   companions in Avignonet, who are known as the "Martyrs of Toulouse."   
   Nothing is known about William's early life. In 1234, he and two other   
   Dominicans were commissioned as inquisitors by Pope Gregory IX to   
   combat Albigensianism in Languedoc, France. He and his companions were   
   driven out of Toulouse, Narbonne, and several other towns by the   
   heretics.   
      
   With him on the preaching mission were a fellow Dominican, Bernard of   
   Rochefort; the Franciscans, Steven of Narbonne and Raymond of   
   Carbonier, and two unnamed others; the Benedictine, Prior Raymond; the   
   clerks, Bernard Fortanier and Admer; and the Dominican lay brother,   
   Garcia d'Aure; and Peter the Notary. There were others who worked with   
   him through the long and difficult years in Toulouse, but these were   
   the ones who died in the martyrdom of Avignonet.   
      
   After the death of Saint Dominic, the party of Count Raymond of   
   Toulouse rose to power again. In a short time it regained possession   
   of Toulouse and several armed strongholds nearby. When William Arnaud   
   and his companions came into the vicinity, they found every gate   
   closed against them. None of the cities under the command of Raymond's   
   troops would allow them to come in, and, by order of the heretic   
   commander, the citizens of Toulouse were forbidden under pain of death   
   to supply the inquisitor's party with any food. They took refuge in a   
   farmhouse outside of Avignonet and preached around the countryside for   
   some time. Because they had some measure of success, the heretics   
   intensified their efforts to entrap and kill the inquisitors.   
      
   The members of the commission realized that they were only one step   
   from death. They might have escaped and gone safely to some other part   
   of the country had they chosen to do so. Instead, they remained where   
   obedience had assigned them, and at the end of May 1242, they were   
   given a heavenly warning that they were about to receive the crown of   
   martyrdom. William was absent from the rest of the group when the plot   
   was formed to kill them. Being told of a vision of martyrdom by one of   
   the brothers, he hurried back to rejoin his group. The heretics   
   completed their plans to massacre the entire party.   
      
   Scheming carefully, they set the scene at the country castle of one of   
   the wealthy members of their group. In order to make sure of getting   
   the inquisitors into the trap, they sent word to William that a   
   confirmed heretic of his acquaintance wished to abjure his heresy and   
   return to the faith.   
      
   Knowing well that it was a trap, William still could not refuse to go.   
   He and his eleven companions went, on the evening of the Ascension,   
   May 28, to the castle of Count Raymond VII of Toulouse. The soldiers   
   of Raymond were concealed in the great hall. They fell upon the   
   helpless group and killed all but four of them. These four were taken   
   out by friends who had known about the plot and hurried to the church.   
      
   William Arnaud and Steven of Narbonne were murdered in the sanctuary   
   of the church as they sang the Te Deum. This was a crime almost   
   unparalleled in medieval times when the right of sanctuary was one of   
   the few strongholds against barbarism. The bodies of the martyrs were   
   thrown into a deep ravine, and rocks were rolled down on them. During   
   the night, some hours after the martyrdom, bright lights radiating   
   from the bodies of the martyrs brought the faithful to gather up the   
   relics.   
      
   The church of Avignonet was placed under interdict because of the   
   sacrilege, and for 40 years no Mass was said there. The doors remained   
   closed. Finally, when the interdict was lifted, the bells rang of   
   themselves, according to legend, to let people know that Avignonet was   
   once more a member of the living Church.   
      
   There is a curious footnote to this story of martyrdom. Shortly after   
   the interdict was lifted, there appeared one day on the steps of the   
   church a fairly large statue of the Blessed Virgin. Who had put it   
   there has never been discovered. It is difficult to see how anyone in   
   such a small town could have successfully concealed a statue of that   
   size, for small towns are notoriously poor places to hide secrets. The   
   statue appeared on the steps in broad daylight, yet no one saw it   
   being placed there. The people took it as a sign that they were   
   forgiven for their part in the outrage, and also as a sign that they   
   should rebuild the devotion to Our Lady, which the Dominicans had   
   preached. The statue was named "Our Lady of Miracles," and they   
   petitioned for a special feast in honor of their own Miracle Lady.   
      
   Until very recently, a strange little ceremony was held in the Church   
   of Our Lady of Miracles on every May 28. It was a night ceremony, in   
   memory of the night martyrdom of William Arnaud and his companions,   
   and it was called "The Ceremony of the Vow." Carrying lighted candles,   
   the people proceeded across the entire width of the church on their   
   knees, praying for forgiveness for the people who committed the   
   massacre (Benedictines, Delaney, Dorcy).   
      
   Blessed William Arnaud is invoked by people who suffer from neuralgia,   
   in memory of a miracle of healing which he performed on one of the   
   sisters of Prouille (Dorcy).   
      
      
    Quote:   
   What doth it profit thee to enter into deep discussions concerning the   
   Holy Trinity, if thou lack humility, and be thus displeasing to the   
   Trinity? For verily it is not deep words that make a man holy and   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)