From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   On our own Weakness and the Trials of This Life  [II]   
      
   Consider my lowness and weakness, O Lord, for You know all things.   
   Have mercy on me, and raise me from the mire, that I may not stick   
   fast in it, (Ps.25:16; 49:14) nor remain prostrate. It is this that   
   often defeats and confounds me in Your eyes -- that I am so prone to   
   fall and so weak in resisting my passions. And although I do not yield   
   to them entirely, yet their assaults trouble and distress me, so that   
   I am weary of living constantly at conflict. My weakness is apparent   
   to me, for evil fancies rush in on me more readily than they depart.   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3, Ch 20   
      
      
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   November 25th - St. Catherine of Alexandria   
      
   St. Catherine, virgin and martyr, is honored in both the Western and   
   Eastern churches on November 25, the traditional date of her martyrdom   
   in Alexandria, Egypt.   
      
   The usual account of Catherine’s life and death represents her as   
   beautiful, of noble birth, and of high intelligence. When the Roman   
   Emperor Maximus was persecuting Christians, this 18-year-old woman is   
   said to have rebuked him for his cruelty and attempted to prove to him   
   the folly of worshipping false gods. Maximus called in some leading   
   pagan scholars to refute her, hoping that they would induce her to   
   apostatize. But the little saint stood her ground so well that even   
   some of the emperor’s scholars were converted to Christianity.   
      
   Furious over his failure, the emperor then had the young woman   
   scourged and imprisoned. His wife, the empress, fascinated by what she   
   had heard of Catherine, went in the company of the emperor’s   
   generalissimo to visit her in jail. The empress and general were also   
   converted to Christianity by her words. Maximus therefore ordered that   
   Catherine be tortured to death on a spike-studded wheel. At her mere   
   touch, the deadly wheel fell apart, so the ruler had her beheaded. Her   
   body was transported (by angels, says the legend) to Mount Sinai in   
   Arabia. There in 527 Greek monks built the monastery of St. Catherine,   
   which is still functioning.   
      
   Another statement made in the legend of St. Catherine is that before   
   her death she had already reached the heights of contemplation, and in   
   a vision of Mary and the Christ-child had received the grace of being   
   accepted by Him as His mystical spouse.   
      
   Now, even the brief sketch I have just given has a very legendary   
   ring. As a matter of fact, what has come down to us about the life and   
   death of this saint is not historically dependable. Her various   
   “biographies” are filled with even more extravagant miraculous   
   details. During the Middle Ages, when the crusaders brought back news   
   of Catherine’s story to the West, popular devotion tended to favor   
   lives of saints that were full of miracles and wonders. St. Catherine   
   caught the fancy of everyday Christians and from the 10th to the 18th   
   century, she was venerated as one of the 14 most powerful saints (the   
   “14 Holy Helpers”). Many churches were named after her; her statue,   
   with the broken wheel as identifying symbol, was found in most   
   churches. Some of the greatest artists painted her likeness and the   
   events of her life. Because of her wisdom in disputation, theologians   
   invoked her aid. Churchmen sang and preached her praise. Nuns prayed   
   to her because of her mystical graces. Young women (and spinsters)   
   looked at her as their particular friend. Wheelwrights naturally chose   
   her as their saint because of the episode of the broken wheel. St.   
   Catherine’s feast was observed with solemnity and popular festivities   
   throughout Europe. (Do you know the “official” name of that firework   
   called a “pinwheel”? Look in the dictionary under “Catherine wheel”!)   
      
   With the arrival of the 18th century and of rationalism with its chill   
   gaze, critics began to look askance at all medieval legendary lore. To   
   be sure, criticism of dubious documentation was in order. Perhaps   
   through overreaction to St. Catherine’s fabulous biography, she became   
   thenceforth less popular as a saint.   
      
   Such a loss of popularity by saints is not uncommon. It says nothing   
   about the saints, only about the fickleness of the faithful. Maybe   
   that is why God permits so many women and men to be canonized. He   
   knows well our childish caprice and inconsistency, and will not   
   condemn it.   
      
   Nevertheless, St. Catherine served for centuries to inspire untold   
   numbers of peasants, tradesmen, craftsmen, theologians, poets and   
   orators. Then it was high time, the little Alexandrian may well have   
   thought, to pass on to other saints some of her long-term   
   responsibilities as a popular heavenly go-between.   
   –   
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Do not desire crosses, unless you have borne well those laid on you;   
   it is an abuse to long after martyrdom while unable to bear an insult   
   patiently.   
   -- François de Sales   
      
   Bible Quote:   
    Who turning, said to Peter: Go behind me, Satan, thou art a scandal   
   unto me: because thou savourest not the things that are of God, but   
   the things that are of men.  [Matt 16:23]  DRB   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Spirit of wisdom and understanding,   
   enlighten our minds to perceive the mysteries   
   of the universe in relation to eternity.   
      
   Spirit of right judgment and courage,   
   guide us and make us firm in our baptismal decision   
   to follow Jesus' way of love.   
      
   Spirit of knowledge and reverence,   
   help us to see the lasting value of justice   
   and mercy in our everyday dealings with one another.   
      
   May we respect life   
   as we work to solve problems of family and nation,   
   economy and ecology.   
      
   Spirit of God,   
   spark our faith,   
   hope and love into new action each day.   
      
   Fill our lives with wonder and awe   
   in your presence which penetrates all creation.Amen.   
   --Prayer of St. Augustine   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)