From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Fearing the truth   
      
   "Fearing a stoning, but fearing more an admission of the truth, they   
   answered the truth with a lie, reminiscent of the Scripture:   
   'injustice has lied within herself' (Psalm 27:12). For they said, 'We   
   know not.' And because they had shut themselves up against him, by   
   asserting that they did not know what they knew, the Lord did not open   
   up to them because they did not knock. For it has been said, 'Knock   
   and it will be opened to you' (Matthew 7:7; Luke 11:9). But they not   
   only had not knocked that it might be opened, but by their denial they   
   barricaded the door itself against themselves. And the Lord said to   
   them, 'Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things'   
   --St. Augustine--(Matthew 21:27; Mark 11:33; Luke 20:7). (excerpt from   
   TRACTATE ON JOHN 2.9.4)   
      
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   September 14: - Saint Peter of Tarentaise, the "Runaway Bishop"   
      
   Memorial   
     • 14 September   
     • 8 May (on some calendars)   
      
   Today, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Peter of Tarentaise   
   (1102-1175), Archbishop, minister to the poor, and saintly model of   
   charity. Known as the “runaway bishop,” Saint Peter’s ideal life was   
   to live as a simple monk… but he recognized that the Lord had other   
   plans for him, and was willing to follow the path put before him.   
   Once he realized that his place was in service to the diocese of   
   Tarentaise, Peter threw himself whole-heartedly into his duties,   
   sacrificing his own wants for those of God. Today, on his feast day,   
   we are reminded to seek the Lord’s will in our own lives, keeping our   
   eyes fixed firmly on the heavens, and following where He might lead   
   us.   
      
   Peter was born in Vienne, France, to a peasant family. He was a model   
   of steadfastness and holiness as a youth, joining the Cistercian   
   monastery at Bonnevaux at the age of twenty. There, he shone so   
   brightly as a holy light, he attracted many followers, including his   
   two brothers and his father, who joined the order. By age 30, Peter   
   was elected abbot of a new Cistercian house in the Tarentaise   
   mountains. There, the monastery sat atop a perch which overlooked the   
   major traveling route between Geneva and Savoy. To aid travelers,   
   Peter saw to the construction of a hospice for those far from home,   
   especially the poor and ill. Despite his position as abbot, he spent   
   his days humbly, serving all who entered the doors of the hospice, and   
   providing Christian hospitality.   
      
   Not long thereafter, having grown the faith in the area through his   
   model, Peter was elected Archbishop of Tarentaise (in 1142).   
   Reluctantly, Peter accepted the post. His preference would have been   
   to continue his current service to the poor and wayward, but he felt   
   called to obey the people’s wishes. Immediately, Peter set about   
   correcting the mismanagement of funds and corruption that had preceded   
   his election. He replaced those who extorted the faithful with canons   
   regular of the Order of Saint Augustine, rebuilt the cathedral in the   
   glory of holiness, and spent much time creating public programs for   
   the poor and uneducated. Saint Peter became known for miracles,   
   including physical healings of the lame and sick, and multiplication   
   of scarce provisions during famine and drought.   
      
   After 13 years of service, Saint Peter disappeared from his post, only   
   to be discovered one year later in a remote area of Switzerland.   
   There he had offered himself as a lay member of a Cistercian house,   
   and lived simply as a monk. Upon discovery, he returned to his see,   
   and lived out the remainder of his life in service. Delighted to see   
   how much he had been missed by his flock, Peter threw himself back   
   into service with renewed vigor.   
      
   With his strength renewed, Peter focused his attention on the poor,   
   providing spiritual, physical, and educational nourishment. He   
   rebuilt the hospice of Little Saint Bernard at the mountain pass, and   
   erected many more hospices for the sick and travelers along the Alpine   
   pass routes. He instituted public bread lines for those who were poor,   
   a practice which continued in the region for hundreds of years.   
   Always preaching peace, Saint Peter was called upon by Pope Alexander   
   III to assist in minimizing bloodshed throughout France, and later   
   England. Saint Peter counseled kings and leaders, preaching the   
   Gospel of peace. He fell ill on a return trip from England, and died   
   at the age of 73 at the Bellevaux monastery.   
      
   Saint Peter was a model of charity and peace, one the world would have   
   lost had he followed his own plan, rather than the Lord’s.  What are   
   we depriving the world of when we close our hearts and minds to God’s   
   plan?  Let us recommit ourselves to sowing the seeds of love, service,   
   and peace, as did Saint Peter of Tarentaise.   
      
      
   Saint Quote:   
   [God] does not want each person to keep all the counsels, but only   
   those appropriate to the diversity of persons, times, opportunities,   
   and strengths, as charity requires; for it is charity, as queen of all   
   virtues, all commandments, all counsels, and, in short, of all laws   
   and all Christian actions that gives to all of them their rank, order,   
   time, and value.   
   -- St Francis de Sales   
      
   Bible Quote:   
   "I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the   
   goodness of the Lord In the land of the living."  [Psalm 27:13]   
      
      
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   Almighty God, you have raised up faithful bishops of your church,   
   including your servant Saint Peter of Tarentaise.   
   May the memory of his life be a source of joy for us and a bulwark of our   
   faith,   
   so that we may serve and confess your name before the world,   
   through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with   
   you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)