From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   On Eternity and the Limitations of This Life  [V]   
      
   THE DISCIPLE   
       Oh, how deep is my pain! For whenever I try to contemplate   
   heavenly things, a flood of worldly thoughts at once pours in upon me   
   as I pray. My God, do not desert me! Do not abandon me in Your anger   
   .(Ps. 25:16 ; 71:12) Strike with Your lightning, and scatter them:   
   loose Your arrows (Ps. 144:6) at the enemy, and utterly defeat all his   
   wiles. Recall all my senses to Yourself, and cause me to forget all   
   worldly things : help me to reject with scorn all the promptings of   
   vice.   
   --Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Bk 3 Ch 48   
      
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   February 12th - Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch   
      
   Saint Meletius, Archbishop of Antioch, was Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia (ca.   
   357), and afterwards he was summoned to Antioch by the emperor Constantius to   
   help combat the Arian heresy, and was appointed to that See.   
      
   St. Meletius struggled zealously against the Arian error, but through the   
   intrigues of the heretics he was thrice deposed from his cathedra. Constantius   
   had become surrounded by the Arians and had accepted their position. In all   
   this St. Meletius was    
   distinguished by an extraordinary gentleness, and he constantly led his flock   
   by the example of his own virtue and kindly disposition, supposing that the   
   seeds of the true teaching sprout more readily on such soil.   
      
   St. Meletius was the one who ordained the future hierarch St. Basil the Great   
   as deacon. St. Meletius also baptized and encouraged another of the greatest   
   luminaries of Orthodoxy, St. John Chrysostom, who later eulogized his former   
   archpastor. After    
   Constantius, the throne was occupied by Julian the Apostate, and the saint   
   again was expelled, having to hide himself in secret places for his safety.   
   Returning under the emperor Jovian in the year 363, St. Meletius wrote his   
   theological treatise, "   
   Exposition of the Faith," which facilitated the conversion of many of the   
   Arians to Orthodoxy.   
      
   In the year 381, under the emperor Theodosius the Great (379-395), the 2nd   
   Ecumenical Council was convened. In the year 380 the saint had set off on his   
   way to the 2nd Ecumenical Council at Constantinople, and came to preside over   
   it. Before the start of    
   the Council, St. Meletius raised his hand displaying three fingers, and then   
   withdrawing two fingers and leaving one extended he blessed the people,   
   proclaiming: "We understand three hypostases, and we speak about a single   
   nature." With this declaration,    
   a fire surrounded the saint like lightning. During the Council St. Meletius   
   fell asleep in the Lord. St. Gregory of Nyssa honored the memory of the   
   deceased with a eulogy.   
      
   St. Meletius has left treatises on the consubstantiality of the Son of God   
   with the Father, and a letter to the emperor Jovian concerning the Holy   
   Trinity. The relics of St. Meletius were transferred from Constantinople to   
   Antioch.   
      
   Saint Quote:   
   The Church is the only one, the Roman Catholic! And if there were left   
   upon earth but one Catholic, he would be the one, universal Church,   
   the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ against which the   
   gates of Hell shall never prevail.   
   -- Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   17 Therefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation;[a] the   
   old has passed away, behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from   
   God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the   
   ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, God was in Christ   
   reconciling[b] the world to himself,[c] not counting their trespasses   
   against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.   
   [Corinthians 5:17-19]   RSVCE   
      
      
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   EVENING PRAYER # 3   
      
   Evening Prayer to the Son of God   
      
   O Only-Begotten Word of the Father,   
   Jesus Christ,   
   who alone are perfect:   
   according to the greatness of your mercy,   
   do not abandon me, your servant,   
   but ever rest in my heart.   
   O Sweet Jesus,   
   Good Shepherd of Your flock,   
   deliver me from the attacks of The Enemy.   
   Do not allow me to become the prey of Satan's evil intent,   
   even though I have within me the seed of eternal damnation.   
   Instead, O Lord Jesus Christ,   
   Adorable God, Holy King,   
   while I sleep,   
   protect me by Your Holy spirit,   
   through Whom You sanctified Your Apostles.   
   Enlighten my mind by the light of the Holy Gospel,   
   my soul by the love of Your Cross,   
   my heart by the purity of Your teaching.   
   Protect my body by Your sacred passion,   
   my senses by Your humility,   
   and awaken me in due time for Your glorification.   
   For You, above all, are adorable,   
   together with Your eternal Father,   
   and the Holy Spirit,   
   now and ever, and forever.   
   Amen.   
   By: Saint Antiochus   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)