From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   The Great might of Christ's hand   
      
       "The faithful also have the help of Christ, and the devil is not   
   able to snatch them. Those who have an endless enjoyment of good   
   things remain in Christ's hand, no one thereafter snatching them away   
   from the bliss that is given to them. [No one can throw them] into   
   punishment or torments. For it is not possible that those who are in   
   Christ's hand should be snatched away to be punished because of the   
   great might Christ has. For 'the hand' in the divine Scripture   
   signifies 'the power'” It cannot be doubted therefore that the hand of   
   Christ is unconquerable and mighty to all things."   
   by Clement of Alexandria, (excerpt from the COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL   
   OF JOHN 7.1)   
      
      
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   December 4th - Saint John Damascene   
      
    Saint John is considered the last of the four fathers of the Eastern   
   Church. He devoted himself to religious poetry, theological arguments   
   in defense of Church doctrine, and refutation of heresies. A prolific   
   writer, many of his works remain, including beautiful canons on the   
   Assumption of Our Blessed Mother, Easter, and the Ascension. His   
   eloquent defense of icons and Christian art earned him the title, “The   
   Doctor of Christian Art.” Saint John is famous for having had said:   
      
   ”Show me the icons that you venerate, that I may be able to understand   
   your faith.”   
      
   John was born in Greece to a Christian family who lived amongst the   
   Saracens. His father was a civil authority who one day stumbled upon a   
   group of Christian captives, sadly sitting in the town square. Among   
   the group was an Italian priest who had been condemned to slavery.   
   John’s father ransomed the priest, employing him as John’s tutor.   
   Almost immediately it was apparent that John was of incredible   
   intellect, and with the guidance of the ransomed priest, made   
   extraordinary progress in his studies. John mastered grammar,   
   philosophy, rhetoric, mathematics, music, poetry, and astronomy. His   
   love, encouraged by both his tutor and his father, however, was   
   theology. John quickly became renowned for his considerable—nearly   
   complete—knowledge of theology and the theological method.   
      
   Upon the death of his father, the caliph who had employed him,   
   appointed John as his principle advisor, the Grand Vizier. When his   
   father died, the caliph made of him his principal counselor, his Grand   
   Vizier. Saint John vigorously opposed the ferocious Iconoclast   
   persecution instigated by the Emperor of Constantinople, Leo the   
   Isaurian. He distinguished himself, with Saint Germain, Patriarch of   
   Constantinople, in the defense of the veneration of sacred images,   
   saving many from destruction.   
      
   Emperor Leo was unaccustomed to such vocal opposition, and found   
   himself quite irritated with the learned and holy man. The emperor   
   hatched an elaborate plot, which eventually convinced Saint John’s   
   caliph that he was a traitor. It was ordered that his right hand be   
   cut off in the public square, and the severed hand be attached to a   
   post for all to see. This was done without ceremony or complaint by   
   Saint John, who had not been allowed to defend himself against the   
   charges. However, Saint John later acquired the severed hand, and   
   prayed to the Blessed Virgin that he might be able to continue writing   
   the praises of Her Son and Herself. Upon awaking the following   
   morning, he found his hand re-attached, with no trace of pain. A   
   permanent score about his wrist remained the rest of his life, marking   
   the site of the miracle.   
      
   This miraculous healing convinced all that John had been telling the   
   truth, and he was re-instated to his position. However, the miracle   
   had also convinced John that his calling was in service to the Church   
   through his writings. He promptly gave all he had to those who needed,   
   and retired to the Monastery of Saint Sabas near Jerusalem. The   
   remainder of his years were spent in prayer, composition of hymns and   
   poems, and apologetics. Included in these works was “The Fountain of   
   Wisdom,” the first real compendium of Christian theology. He died at   
   the monastery at the age of 104, and was buried near the doorway of   
   the church.   
      
   Saint John Damascene had great faith—a faith grounded in the theology   
   and doctrine of the Church. One of the Church’s greatest defenders, he   
   drew upon his God-given intellect to defend not only the teachings of   
   the Church, including the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother, but to   
   expand the manner in which we worship and praise the Lord—through   
   poetry, through hymns, and through adapting music to use during the   
   Liturgy. The faith of Saint John, evidenced by the miraculous healing   
   of his hand, reminds us that all things are possible with the Lord,   
   through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother.   
      
   “The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and   
   heirs of God, as John the theologian and evangelist says: ‘But as many   
   as received him, he gave them the power to be made the sons of   
   God....’ Let us carefully observe the manner of life of all the   
   apostles, martyrs, ascetics and just men who announced the coming of   
   the Lord. And let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life,   
   patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may   
   also share their crowns of glory.”   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   “Like a tree planted by steams of water,” (Psalms 1:3), the soul is   
   irrigated by the Bible and acquires vigor, produces tasty fruit,   
   namely, true faith, and is beautified with a thousand green leaves,   
   namely, actions that please God.   
   --Saint John of Damascus   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   8 Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands,   
   you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind.  (James   
   4:8)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   THE HAND IN THE HARVEST   
   What measure of love is the greatest   
   To separate wheat from the chaff?   
   The hand of God in the harvest   
   Made known by the power of His staff.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)