From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   "I AM THE TRUE VINE"   
      
   He [Jesus] was like those sent by the householder to receive the   
   fruits of the vineyard from the husbandmen [Matthew 21:33-39]; for He   
   exhorted all men to render a return. But Israel despised and would not   
   render, for their will was not right, nay moreover they killed those   
   that were sent, and not even before the Lord of the vineyard were they   
   ashamed, but even He was slain by them. Verily, when He came and found   
   no fruit in them, He cursed them through the fig-tree, saying 'Let   
   there be henceforth no fruit from thee' [Matthew 21:19]; and the   
   fig-tree was dead and fruitless, so that even the disciples wondered   
   when it withered away. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the   
   prophet: 'I will take away from them the voice of joy and the voice of   
   gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the   
   scent of myrrh, and the light of a lamp, and the whole land shall be   
   destroyed' [Jeremiah 25:10]. For the whole service of the law has been   
   abolished from them, and henceforth and forever they remain without a   
   feast.   
   St. Athanasius, Letters, 6   
      
      
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   March 13th - Saint Ansovinus of Camerino   
   Also known as Ansovino, Ansuinus, Answin, Oswin   
      
   St. Ansovinus was born at Camerino in Umbria, but no details of his   
   early life have been preserved. After his ordination to the priesthood   
   he retired into a solitary spot at Castel-Raimondo, near Torcello,   
   where he soon acquired a reputation for sanctity and miracles. It was   
   even believed that when he came to church he crossed the river on his   
   cloak which he cast into the water, and that, when the rays of the sun   
   dazzled him as he was offering the holy sacrifice, he hung the linen   
   purificator in the air and it shaded his eyes. The Emperor Louis the   
   Pious when in Italy chose him as his confessor, and ratified his   
   election to the see of Camerino. The saint, however, had no wish to   
   accept the dignity, and when he did consent it was with the proviso   
   that he should not be expected to provide soldiers for the imperial   
   army. Although such military service was usual in feudal and   
   semi-feudal states, he considered it unsuitable and contrary to the   
   law of the Church.   
      
   Ansovinus proved himself a wise and prudent pastor. Not only was he   
   liberal to the poor, but in seasons of dearth he husbanded all the   
   resources at his command with such sagacity that he was able to   
   relieve the sufferings of the needy. Indeed, it was said that when he   
   had entirely emptied a granary, it was supernaturally refilled. The   
   saint had the gift of healing and was instrumental in curing many sick   
   persons. He was in Rome when he was seized with a form of fever which   
   he and those about him recognized as likely to prove fatal. In spite   
   of the protests of his friends he insisted upon returning home to die   
   amongst his own people. They carried the sick man out to his horse,   
   and when the animal saw him that strange instinct which dumb creatures   
   often possess impelled him to kneel down to enable his master to   
   mount. Ansovinus reached Camerino and was able to give a last blessing   
   and to receive the viaticum before he quietly expired.   
      
   A singular miracle with which he is credited is worth relating, if   
   only to account for the attribute commonly connected with St.   
   Ansovinus. He was on his way to Rome to be consecrated when he and his   
   friends arrived at Narni, where they stayed for refreshment. They   
   called for wine, and the innkeeper brought some. Ansovinus, detecting   
   that it had been watered, remonstrated with the man, who answered   
   rudely that they could take it or leave it--it was all they would get.   
   The saint then asked for cups, but the innkeeper said that he only   
   provided wine and that visitors were expected to bring their own   
   drinking-cups. So St. Ansovinus took off his cape and told the host to   
   pour the wine into the hood. He did so, under protest, and the hood   
   retained the wine, whilst the water with which it had been mixed ran   
   away.   
      
   The life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. ii, which purports   
   to have been written by a certain Eginus not less than a century after   
   the death of the saint, is a wordy and unconvincing document   
   consisting mainly of miracles. But the cultus of St. Ansovinus is   
   recognized, and his name is entered in the Roman Martyrology. See also   
   M. Santoni, Culto di Sant’ Ansovino (1883).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Nothing is anything more to me; everything is nothing to me, but   
   Jesus: neither things nor persons, neither ideas nor emotions, neither   
   honor nor sufferings. Jesus is for me honor, delight, heart and soul.   
   -- Saint Bernadette of Lourdes   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Jesus answered them, and said: My doctrine is not mine, but his that   
   sent me. 17 If any man do the will of him; he shall know of the   
   doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 18 He   
   that speaketh of himself, seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh   
   the glory of him that sent him, he is true, and there is no injustice   
   in him. (John 7:16-18)  DRB   
      
      
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   From The Passion And Death Of Jesus Christ, by Saint Alphonsus de Liguori:   
      
   My sweet Lord, if others banish Thee, I will not banish Thee. there   
   was once an unhappy time when I ungratefully banished Thee from my   
   soul; but now I set a greater value on being united with Thee than on   
   the possession of all the kingdoms of the earth. Oh my God, who shall   
   ever be able again to separate me from Thy love?   
   Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)