From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   -- 1 John 1:5-7 --   
      
   5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that   
   God is light and in him is no darkness[a] at all. 6 If we say we have   
   fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live   
   according to the truth; 7 but if we walk in the light, as he is in the   
   light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his   
   Son cleanses us from all sin.  RSVCE   
   =================   
   Just as darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, sin cannot   
   exist in the presence of a Holy God. If we want to have a relationship   
   with God, we must put aside our sinful ways of living. To claim that   
   we belong to him but then go out and live for ourselves is hypocrisy.   
   Christ will expose and judge such deceit.   
      
      
   <<>><<>><<>>   
   May 18th - Martyrs of Ancyra   
      
   Died at Ankara, Turkey, 304. According to a pious fiction, Saint   
   Theodotus of Ancyra (Ankara), Galatia (Turkey), was an innkeeper who   
   not only sold wine but also sheltered his Christian friends from   
   persecution. Whenever he could, he also recovered the bodies of the   
   martyred and gave them Christian burial.   
      
   When returning one day to Ancyra in the company of fellow Christians,   
   he stopped for a meal by the roadside and sent one of his companions   
   to a nearby village to invite a Christian priest, who lived there, to   
   join them. The priest came and invited them to his own house, but they   
   decided that it was pleasant eating in the open, and Theodotus   
   remarked: "What a lovely spot for a confession! Why don't you build an   
   oratory here?"   
      
   The priest replied: "My friend, you are too precipitous. We must have   
   the martyr before we can have the church."   
      
   To which Theodotus answered: "Ancyra is the scene of many conflicts   
   now. Build the church, and I will provide you with the martyr. Here,   
   take this as the token and return it when I have redeemed the pledge."   
   And removing a gold ring from his finger, he placed it on the   
   priest's.   
      
   A tragic episode followed. Seven Christian women—Thecusa, Alexandra,   
   Claudia, Faina (Phaina), Euphrasia, Matrona, and Julitta—including the   
   aunt of the innkeeper, were called before the magistrates and   
   condemned to suffer gross indignities. Stripped and mocked, they were   
   compelled to take part in offensive processions and ceremonies with an   
   image of a pagan goddess, after which they were drowned in a lake,   
   each with a heavy stone attached to her neck, and a guard was posted   
   to prevent the recovery of their bodies.   
      
   Then Theodotus went with others, armed with sickles to cut the cords   
   that bound the stones to the dead women. It was a dark, stormy night   
   with lightning and thunder, and their way lay past the place of public   
   execution with its grinning skulls and headless bodies. In pouring   
   rain and through thick mud they made their way to the lake where,   
   fortunately, the guards had left their posts to take shelter, and   
   Theodotus and his friends were able to wade into the water and recover   
   the bodies of the victims, which they loaded on to pack animals and   
   removed for burial.   
      
   When the loss of the bodies was discovered, the authorities had no   
   mercy. Theodotus was betrayed by his own brother and, though warned to   
   escape, turned himself into the court. He resisted every torture and   
   finally was executed, and a night-watch of soldiers was set to guard   
   his body.   
      
   That same night the priest was journeying to Ancyra with a load of   
   wine, and at midnight came upon this group of soldiers, who told him   
   the tavern was closed and invited him to share their camp. He   
   untethered his donkey and joined them, but when he learned from them   
   the story of the dead victim in their care, he made them drunk with   
   his wine and while they slept, recovered the body of his friend and   
   returned with it to his own village.   
      
   "Ah, Theodotus," he said, "you have indeed redeemed your pledge." And   
   taking the gold ring from his hand, he replaced it on that of his   
   friend, and buried him in the place where he had begged him to build a   
   church. The Bollandist Father Delehaye contends that the story is   
   merely a moral tale (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Gill).   
      
   In art, Saint Theodotus is depicted with a torch and sword. He is, of   
   course, patron of innkeepers (Roeder).   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   When a fire is lit to clear a field, it burns off all the dry and   
   useless weeds and thorns. When the sun rises and darkness is   
   dispelled, robbers, night-prowlers and burglars hide away. So when   
   Paul's voice was raised to preach the Gospel to the nations, like a   
   great clap of thunder in the sky, his preaching was a blazing fire   
   carrying all before it. It was the sun rising in full glory.   
   Infidelity was consumed by it, false beliefs fled away, and the truth   
   appeared like a great candle lighting the whole world with its   
   brilliant flame.   
   --Saint Bernardine of Siena   
      
    Saint Bernardine of Siena's patronage:Advertisers; advertising;   
   against hoarseness; Aquila, Italy; chest problems; Italy; Diocese of   
   San Bernardino, California; gambling addicts; public relations   
   personnel; public relations work; Bernalda, Italy   
      
   Bible Quote   
   For as in one body we have many members, but all the members have not   
   the same office: So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every   
   one members one of another. (Rom. 12:4-5) DRB   
      
   <><><><>   
   REFLECTION – “MARY:  THE SORROWING MOTHER – “Our Lady is there   
   listening to the words of her Son, united to Him in His suffering,   
   when He cried out ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’   What   
   could she do?   She united herself fully, with the redemptive love of   
   her Son and offered to the Father, her immense sorrow, which pierced   
   her pure heart, like a sharp-edged sword.”…St Josemaría Escrivá   
   (1902-1975)   
   “Mother of God and Our Mother,” Friends of God, 288   
      
   Let us offer to our Mother today:   
   The mortification of keeping quiet about any pain or discomfort, any   
   inconvenience or disappointment, uniting it with her pain as she stood   
   by her crucified Son.   
      
      
   “There is no more efficacious means than this   
   (Eucharistic Adoration)   
   for nourishing and increasing the piety of the people   
   toward this admirable pledge of love   
   which is a bond of peace and of unity.   
   --St Paschal Baylon (1540-1592)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)