From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   The humble never fall   
      
   The humble never fall. How could they when they are beneath everyone?   
   Pride is a great abasement, but humility a great exaltation, honor,   
   and dignity. Let us then force and compel ourselves to be humble even   
   though it goes against the grain, and to be gentle and loving; with   
   this object before us let us continually beg God in prayer with faith,   
   hope, and love to send his Spirit into our hearts to enable us to pray   
   and worship him in spirit and in truth. Then the Spirit himself will   
   teach us how to pray properly, which we cannot do now however much we   
   try; he will teach us to be truly compassionate and kind, and to obey   
   all the other commandments of the Lord without effort or constraint,   
   for he knows how to fill us with his fruits.   
   --Macarius of Egypt   
      
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   January 30th - Saint Hyacintha Mariscotti   
   (1585-1640)   
      
   It seems that most saints we read about, and look to for inspiration,   
   were considered holy since birth (or at least from an early age). One   
   of the saints we celebrate today is quite the exception to that rule.   
   Saint Hyacintha (Giacinta) Mariscotti , by all reports, had little   
   interests in acts of piety, and was generally of bad temper. Raised in   
   a wealthy noble family, she indulged in the finest things life could   
   offer her--rich foods, luxurious clothing, frivolous hobbies. She was   
   both comfortable and complacent with her life, rarely looking beyond   
   the walls of her family’s home.   
      
   At age 17, Hyacintha suffered an unknown accident, and her life was   
   miraculously saved. Not even this changed her heart. At age 20,   
   Hyacintha was passed over by the man she had hopes to marry--he chose   
   her younger sister, which filled her with rage. Furious, she became   
   unable to be tolerated by her parents, who, according to tradition at   
   that time, declared she should enter the convent. Hyacintha   
   half-heartedly took the veil at the Franciscan convent of Viterbo. The   
   Franciscan sisters followed the rules of poverty, chastity, and   
   obedience. While Hyacintha attended devotions, and maintained her vow   
   of chastity, she ignored the rules of poverty and obedience, declaring   
   her intention to use her personal funds to finance a life of comfort.   
   For over 10 years she lived within the convent, maintaining her own   
   kitchen, wearing a habit of the finest material, entertaining   
   visitors, and keeping her room both comfortable and worldly.   
      
   It was not until her confessor visited her in her cell to deliver the   
   Holy Eucharist while Hyacintha was ill that her ways changed.   
   Surprised, appalled, and somewhat dismayed, he pointed out the   
   inappropriateness of her life. He stated that her presence in the   
   convent was merely to help the Devil. His remarks changed her heart.   
   She later declared publicly before her sisters and the Franciscan   
   community the errors of her ways, confessing, and becoming a model   
   Franciscan, and mentor to the novices.   
      
   Moved by her realization, and changed by the grace of God, Hyacintha   
   discarded her costly habit for an old, used one. She gave up her   
   worldly pleasures, oftentimes going barefoot, replacing her bed with   
   rough boards, rigorously practicing self-denial, and frequently   
   fasting on bread and water for days at a time. Hyacintha requested and   
   performed the most menial jobs in the convent. Her personal devotion   
   to the Jesus, to the Passion of Christ, to the Holy Eucharist, and to   
   the Blessed Mother deepened through contemplative prayer. She embraced   
   mortification, scourging herself with a spiked belt (pictured below),   
   and connecting her bodily pain to the Passion of Christ.   
      
   Hyacintha became a model of charity towards others, begging door to   
   door to collect food and clothing for the poorest of her community.   
   She ministered to those others had forgotten: those infected with   
   plague, the homeless, the imprisoned, the ill, and the proud.   
   Hyacintha founded two community groups (one of which, the Oblates of   
   Mary, was dedicated to the Blessed Mother) to serve the poor, ill, and   
   aged. Despite her courage, Hyacintha refused praise or commendation of   
   any kind, considering herself completely unworthy. She said, “The sort   
   of people who most appeal to me are those who are despised, who are   
   devoid of self love and who have little sensible (spiritual)   
   consolation.... The cross, to suffer, to persevere bravely in spite of   
   the lack of all sweetness and relish in prayer: This is the true sign   
   of the spirit of God.”   
      
   Saint Hyacintha died in 1640, at age 55. She was canonized in 1807 by   
   Pope Pius VII who declared that she had, through her charity,   
   “converted more souls than many preachers of her time.”   
      
   Saint Hyacintha’s life is unlike many of the holy men and women we   
   hear about. She was blind to the call of the Lord for the first 35   
   years of her life, choosing instead worldly indulgences. Her   
   repentance and rebirth in Christ, through contemplation, service to   
   those in need, and mortification of her body is all the more   
   remarkable, given her early life. This woman, of quick temper and   
   spiritual apathy, became a model of Christ to her Franciscan sisters   
   and to her community, herself a reflection of His love for all--even   
   those that had been forgotten by society. This inspires us to look at   
   our own lives, regardless of age--what are the habits and addictions   
   we put before the Lord? What worldly pleasures are more important to   
   us than the deepening of our faith in Christ? What will it take for us   
   to hear the call, see the error of our ways, and be reborn?   
    --by Jacob   
      
      
   Bible Quote:   
   And answering, he said to them: Go and relate to John what you have   
   heard and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made   
   clean, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is   
   preached: And blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me.   
   (Luke 7:22-23)   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Prayers for Selfless Service:   
      
   O Dearly beloved Word of God, teach me to be generous, to serve Thee   
   as Thou dost deserve, to give without counting the cost, to fight   
   without fretting at my wounds, to labor without seeking rest, to spend   
   myself without looking for any reward other than that of knowing that   
   I do Thy holy will. Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)