From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Closed hearts - prejudiced minds   
      
   The prophet Isaiah had warned that some would hear God's word, but not   
   believe, some would see God's actions and miracles, and remain   
   unconvinced. Ironically some of the greatest skeptics of Jesus'   
   teaching and miracles were the learned scribes and Pharisees who   
   prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture, especially on the   
   law of Moses. They heard Jesus' parables and saw the great signs and   
   miracles which he performed, but they refused to accept both Jesus and   
   his message. How could they "hear and never understand" and "see but   
   never perceive"? They were spiritually blind and deaf because their   
   hearts were closed and their minds were blocked by pride and   
   prejudice. How could a man from Galilee, the supposed son of a   
   carpenter, know more about God and his word, than these experts who   
   devoted their lives to the study and teaching of the law of Moses?   
   Scripture:  Matthew 13:10-17   
      
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   August 11th - St. Alexander the Charcoal-Burner   
      
   In the mid-third century the Christians of Comana, in Pontus, sent   
   representatives to St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of Neocaesarea,   
   requesting a Bishop for their city. So St. Gregory went to Comana to   
   look for a shepherd for the new Diocese.   
      
   A city commission had sought out candidates of noble birth, great   
   eloquence, or other such qualities. When all these were presented to   
   him, St. Gregory advised the commission that they should consider   
   virtue first, and not despise those of more humble appearance. One of   
   these officials, deriding the counsel of St. Gregory, replied: ‘If you   
   don’t want one from among our most distinguished citizens, perhaps we   
   should choose a Bishop from among the plebeians. In this case, I   
   counsel you to bring forth Alexander the charcoal-burner so that we   
   can all acquiesce in the matter.’   
      
   St. Gregory asked: ‘Who is this Alexander?’ Laughing, they brought   
   Alexander to him.   
      
   Because of the charcoal dust, his face, hands, and modest clothing   
   were black with dirt. The assembly laughed at seeing such a figure   
   among the candidates for Bishop. Alexander remained self-composed,   
   unembarrassed at his modest condition. In fact, contrary to   
   appearances, he was a gifted philosopher, a truly wise man. It was not   
   need that caused him to take up that profession, but his will to   
   practice a life of virtue removed from public admiration. Young and   
   handsome, he desired to live chastely avoiding occasions of sin. The   
   charcoal dust disguised his face and, like a mask, prevented his   
   features from being noticed. The work provided just enough for him to   
   live and practice small works of charity.   
      
   St. Gregory ordered Alexander to take a bath and put on his own   
   episcopal robes. In a short time, a completely different man appeared,   
   attracting the attention of all who were assembled there. St. Gregory   
   told them: “Do not be surprised if you were fooled in your judgment,   
   which you only made according to what you could see. The Devil wanted   
   to hide this vessel of election and keep him from being a Bishop.”   
      
   He was consecrated Bishop and gave a sermon that astonished those   
   present by its profound thought and elegant form. Only a pompous   
   Athenian criticized it, saying it did not follow the Greek style. It   
   was only reasonable that St. Alexander’s style should not necessarily   
   be Greek, since he was not a Greek. At any rate, a vision from heaven   
   reprehended the man, and that put a stop to his criticisms.   
      
   St. Alexander became famous for his preaching and governed the church   
   of Comana in a dignified way until the persecution under Emperor   
   Decius, when he was burned to death, dying a martyr for the Catholic   
   Faith.   
      
      
   Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)   
      
   It is a very beautiful life! One could say that in this life one   
   wonder is added to another. The handsome young man was at the same   
   time a skilled philosopher, a truly wise man who had decided to flee   
   the world. He went to the small town of Comana and became a   
   charcoal-burner.   
      
   The profession of charcoal-burner is a very humble profession. It   
   consists of cutting wood, burning it until it is transformed into   
   charcoal, then stopping the burning process, and selling the charcoal.   
   Because of the dust of the charcoal, the man who works at this   
   profession is completely dirty, completely black.   
      
   So, St. Alexander decided to be a charcoal-burner to disguise his   
   features and avoid admiring eyes. Doing that, he had to work hard at a   
   job that kept him poor, but he lived innocent without occasion of sin.   
   And so he lived there in Comana in his world divided between charcoal   
   and philosophy.   
      
   You can imagine what the end of a day would be like for St. Alexander.   
   After returning from a day of hard work, he sits outside his modest   
   house, situated at a point where the open field ends and the forest   
   where he cuts his wood begins. He sits in silence; it is hot; some   
   simple food is cooking on the stove. While he waits, he thinks, he   
   makes distinctions, he raises abstract questions, he constructs   
   intellectual edifices until he reaches the heights of theology.   
      
   While he thinks, he prays to Our Lady. It is time to go in and eat.   
   After the simple meal he goes to a church to visit the Blessed   
   Sacrament, to visit a special statue of Our Lady that he likes. Then   
   he returns and has a chaste, pious and tranquil night in his little   
   Comana. When one compares his life with our lives in this   
   revolutionary world, one has a serious inclination to leave aside   
   everything modern and go off to a retired place to live a life like   
   that of St. Alexander.   
      
   Well, there he was following a normal day’s routine when he was called   
   to come before an assembly. It was an extraordinary thing for him. He   
   arrived at the assembly and people began to laugh at him. He didn’t   
   mind. He was secure and content about who he was and what he was   
   doing. He was a man who practiced what the Imitation of Christ teaches   
   us to do: To be happy to be ignored and considered as nothing in the   
   eyes of the world.   
      
   He was there, composed and happy, probably admiring the great St.   
   Gregory Thaumaturgus who was present. Thaumaturgus is a Greek word   
   that means ‘one who works miracles.’ You can easily image the great   
   eminence of St. Gregory, famous for his miracles – incomparably more   
   than any of the small celebrities of Comana who had gathered there.   
   What the text does not say, but what is very probable to have   
   happened, is that the two saints immediately discerned the sanctity   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)