From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   The Lord shows mercy to those who seek him   
      
   What did Jesus mean by the expression "throwing bread to the dogs"?   
   The Jews often spoke of the Gentiles with arrogance and insolence as   
   "unclean dogs" since the Gentiles were excluded from God's covenant   
   and favor with Israel. For the Greeks the "dog" was a symbol of   
   dishonor and was used to describe a shameless and audacious woman.   
   Matthew's Gospel records the expression do not give dogs what is holy   
   (Matthew 7:6). Jesus, no doubt, spoke with a smile rather than with an   
   insult because this woman immediately responds with wit and faith -   
   "even the dogs eat the crumbs". [Mark 7:24-30]   
      
   =============   
   April 2nd - Bl. Vilmos Apor, Bishop   
   Also known as Vilhelm Apor, Gulielmus Apor, William Apor   
      
   (1892-1945)   
      
   During World War II, Hungary sided with the Germans. That meant that   
   as the Nazis were defeated, Russia took control of the country, and a   
   communist government was set up that lasted until 1989. The Church   
   suffered much during those years, especially during the initial   
   Russian invasion of 1944-1945. One of the victims then was the Bishop   
   of Gyor, Vilmos Apor.   
      
   Apor was born in Sevesgar, Transylvania, on February 20, 1892.   
   Transylvania, then a part of eastern Hungary, was detached from it and   
   added to Romania after World War I. Vilmos came from a noble family,   
   as had many of the Hungarian bishops, for it was customary for the   
   second son of noble couples to enter the priesthood. Vilmos’ brother,   
   Baron Gabor Apor, was Hungarian ambassador to the Holy See from 1939   
   to 1945.   
      
   Vilmos’ early career as a priest was apparently impressive, for on   
   January 21, 1941, he was named Bishop of Gyor, a sizable city in   
   northwest Hungary, with a Catholic population of 500,000. An American   
   priest of Hungarian background describes Apor as an imposing person,   
   “But very kind and personable”. Despite his aristocratic background,   
   he was hardworking and had a strong sense of social justice. “Pastor   
   of the poor,” they called him. In 1944 he provided emergency supplies   
   to Jews being deported through his town.   
      
   The Russian invaders of 1945 were noted for their brutality. The   
   terrorized women in particular, and did not hesitate to kill anybody   
   who tried to defend them.   
      
   One who could not leave Hungarian women undefended was Bishop Apor.   
      
   The Bishop had hidden several pursued women from the predatory Russian   
   soldiery in the cellar of his residence at Gyor. On Good Friday, March   
   30, 1945, a drunken band of armed Russian soldiers, intent on   
   abducting them, approached the Bishop’s cellar determined to get in.   
   Bishop Apor was standing in front of the door. The soldiers tried to   
   push him away.   
      
   “No, you can’t go in,” he said.   
      
   Their answer? They shot him, wounding him mortally, and pressed on   
   with their mad search.   
      
   The Bishop of Gyor had laid down his life in defense of the lives and   
   virtue of a group of helpless women. He had obeyed the command of the   
   Scriptures: “Defend the lowly and the fatherless… from the hand of the   
   wicked deliver them” (Ps. 82:3-4). In the twinkling of an eye he had   
   become a martyr, a new paschal victim.   
      
   Pope John Paul II acknowledged that fact officially when he beatified   
   Vilmos Apor, Bishop and Martyr, in St. Peter’s Basilica on November 9,   
   1997.   
   –Father Robert   
      
   Saint Quote:   
   Fix your minds on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Inflamed with   
   love for us, he came down from heaven to redeem us. For our sake he   
   endured every torment of body and soul and shrank from no bodily pain.   
   He himself gave us an example of perfect patience and love. We, then,   
   are to be patient in adversity.   
   -- Saint Francis of Paola from a letter   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another,   
   that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power   
   in its effects.  [James 5:16]  RSVCE   
      
      
   <><><><>   
   Hymn: The Cross of Christ   
      
   Gal. vi. 14:--"God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of   
   our Lord Jesus Christ." "When we rise, the cross; when we lie down,   
   the cross; in our studies, the cross; everywhere and at every time,   
   the cross--shining more glorious than the sun."--St. Chrysostom.   
      
   O Child of God, remember,   
   When thou to Christ wast born,   
   How then across thine infant breast   
   His sacred sign was drawn.   
      
   And when confirming Chrism   
   Upon thy brow was laid,   
   How in that sign the Holy Ghost   
   His grace upon thee shed.   
      
   Therefore, when sleep invites thee   
   To take thy needful rest,   
   Be sure that with the sacred cross   
   Thou sign thy brow and breast.   
      
   The cross hath wondrous virtue   
   All evil to control;   
   To scatter darkness, and to calm   
   The tempest of the soul.   
      
   What though in sleep this body   
   May helpless seem to lie?   
   I nothing fear, assured that   
   One Stronger than all is nigh.   
      
   On Him my heart shall ponder,   
   E'en while my rest I take;   
   My shield and shelter while I sleep.   
   My joy when I awake.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)