From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Excuses that hold us back from pursuing the things of God   
      
   Jesus probes the reasons why people make excuses to God's great   
   invitation to "eat bread" with him at his banquet table. The first   
   excuse allows the claims of one's personal business or work to take   
   precedence over God's claim. Do you allow any task or endeavor to   
   absorb you so much that it keeps you from the thought of God? The   
   second excuse allows our possessions to come before God. Do you allow   
   the media and other diversions to crowd out time for God in daily   
   prayer and worship? The third excuse puts home and family ahead of   
   God. God never meant for our home and relationships to be used   
   selfishly. We serve God best when we invite him into our work, our   
   homes, and our personal lives and when we share our possessions with   
   others.   
      
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   November 15th - St. Leopold III of Austria   
      
   Saint Leopold III (1073 – November 15, 1136) was the Margrave of   
   Austria in 1095-1136. He is the patron saint of Austria, of the city   
   of Vienna, of Lower Austria, and, jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper   
   Austria.   
      
   Leopold was the son of Margrave Leopold II and Ida of   
   Formbach-Ratelnberg. He married twice. His first wife may have been   
   one of the von Perg family, who died in 1105. His second wife was   
   Agnes, the widowed sister of Emperor Henry V whom he had supported   
   against her father Henry IV. This connection to the Salians raised the   
   importance of the House of Babenberg, to which important royal rights   
   over the margravate of Austria were granted. Also, Agnes had   
   influential connections through her previous marriage, one of her sons   
   being Conrad III of Germany.   
      
   Leopold called himself "Princeps Terrae", a reflection of his sense of   
   territorial independence. He was considered a candidate in the   
   election of the Kaiser of The Holy Roman Empire in 1125, but declined   
   this honour.   
      
   He is mainly remembered for the development of the country and, in   
   particular, the founding of several monasteries. His most important   
   foundation is Klosterneuburg (1108). According to legend, the Virgin   
   Mary appeared to him and led him to a place where he found the veil of   
   his wife Agnes, who had lost it years earlier. He established the   
   monastery of Klosterneuburg there. He subsequently expanded the   
   settlement to become his residence.   
      
   Leopold also founded the monasteries of Heiligenkreuz, Kleinmariazell   
   and Seitenstetten which developed a territory still largely covered by   
   forest. All of these induced the church to canonize him in 1485.   
   Leopold also fostered the development of cities, such as   
   Klosterneuburg, Vienna and Krems. The last one was granted the right   
   to mint but never attained great importance.   
      
   The writings of Henry of Melk and Ava of Göttweig, which are the first   
   literary texts from Austria, date back to Leopold's time.   
      
   He is buried in the Klosterneuburg Monastery, which he founded. His   
   skull is kept in an embroidered reliquary, which leaves the forehead   
   exposed; it also wears an archducal crown.   
   k   
   In 1663, under the rule of his namesake Emperor Leopold I, he was   
   declared patron saint of Austria instead of Saint Koloman. There is no   
   school on November 15 (Leopoldstag) in Vienna and Lower Austria.   
      
   The brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn, each of whom sang in the choir   
   of St. Stephen's Cathedral, both sang in that capacity at   
   Klosterneuburg on this day. Joseph Haydn later became the more famous   
   composer of the two. Michael Haydn later (1805) wrote a Mass in honour   
   of Leopold, the Missa sub titulo Sancti Leopoldi.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   When you are alone in your room, take your crucifix, kiss its five   
   wounds reverently, tell it to preach you a little sermon, and then   
   listen to the words of eternal life that it speaks to your heart;   
   listen to the pleading of the thorns, the nails, the precious Blood.   
   Oh, what an eloquent sermon!   
   --St. Paul of the Cross   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Oh send out your light and your truth; let them lead me, let them   
   bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!  Then I will go to   
   the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy;  and I will praise you with   
   the lyre, O God, my God.  [Psalm 43:3-4]   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Invocation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus   
      
   I need Thee, precious Jesus,   
   I need a friend like Thee;   
   A friend to soothe and sympathize,   
   A friend to care for me.   
   I need Thy Heart, sweet Jesus,   
   To feel each anxious care;   
   I long to tell my every want,   
   And all my sorrows share.   
   I need Thy Blood, sweet Jesus,   
   To wash each sinful stain;   
   To cleanse this sinful soul of mine,   
   And make it pure again.   
   I need Thy Wounds, sweet Jesus,   
   To fly from perils near,   
   To shelter in these hallowed clefts   
   From every doubt and fear.   
   I need Thee, sweetest Jesus,   
   In Thy Sacrament of Love,   
   To nourish this poor soul of mine   
   With the treasures of Thy love.   
   I'll need Thee, sweetest Jesus,   
   When death's dread hour draws nigh.   
   To hide me in Thy Sacred Heart,   
   Till wafted safe on high.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)