From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Eternity will be ours when faith sees   
      
   "We are distanced from eternity to the extent that we are changeable.   
   But eternal life is promised to us through the truth. Our faith,   
   however, stands as far apart from the clear knowledge of the truth as   
   mortality does from eternity. At the present we put faith in things   
   done in time on our account, and by that faith itself we are cleansed.   
   In this way, when we have come to sight, as truth follows faith, so   
   eternity may follow mortality. Our faith will become truth, then,   
   when we have attained to that which is promised to us who believe. And   
   that which is promised to us is eternal life. And the Truth - not that   
   which shall come to be according to how our faith shall be, but that   
   truth that always exists because eternity is in it - the Truth then   
   has said, 'And this is life eternal, that they might know you the only   
   true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.' When our faith sees   
   and comes to be truth, then eternity shall possess our now changed   
   mortality."   
   --St. Augustine--(excerpt from ON THE TRINITY 4.18.24.34)   
      
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   May 22: - Saint Quiteria, Virgin Martyr of the Church   
   (2nd century)   
      
     Depending on which account of her life you read, Saint Quiteria and   
   her sisters were soldiers for Christ--traveling the countryside,   
   freeing Christians from imprisonment, and smashing pagan idols. Her   
   courageous proclamation of the Gospel led to her eventual capture and   
   death, although her faith never wavered.  Quiteria and her sisters   
   demonstrate that from the direst of circumstances, the Lord can create   
   miraculous moments of love and truth!   
      
   Quiteria was born into royalty, the daughter of a Galician prince.   
   She was one of nine daughters born together (nonuplets).  Her mother,   
   Calsia, was disgusted at the fact that she had produced nine daughters   
   (rather than sons), and suffered through nine childbirths. Viewing the   
   experience as a waste of her time, she ordered her maid, Sila, to take   
   the nine girls to the river and drown them.  Sila, however, was a   
   Christian, and secretly refused the task, instead delivering the   
   infants to a Cistercian monastery to be raised in community.   
      
   Quiteria and her sisters were raised by monks, baptized as Christians,   
   and embraced the faith.  Quiteria was the most dedicated of her   
   sisters, studying and practicing the tenets of the faith, reading the   
   Gospel, praying, and developing a profound devotion to Our Blessed   
   Mother.  The monks, placing a strong premium on truth, informed the   
   girls of their royal lineage when they were old enough to understand.   
   Yet, none of the girls wished to return to the palace or live a   
   luxurious lifestyle.  Instead, they became warriors for Christ,   
   forming a “gang” who traveled the country, breaking Christians out of   
   jail, proclaiming the Gospel, and smashing pagan idols.   
      
   The gang survived for a few years, but were eventually caught and   
   brought before the King, their father.  Recognizing his daughters, he   
   requested that they give up their reckless ways and come live in the   
   palace with him.  This they did, but only to witness to the royal   
   court.  The sisters converted their rooms into prayer halls, and spent   
   their days praying and praising the Lord. When the king realized they   
   were Christians, he ordered them to renounce their ways, sacrifice to   
   the Roman gods, and marry pagan husbands.   
      
   The sisters refused, led by Quiteria.  They were immediately jailed,   
   but their imprisonment did little to lessen their faith or joy in the   
   Lord.  In jail they praised and glorified Jesus, and eventually an   
   angel came and proclaimed to Quiteria, “Happy and fortunate you are,   
   for you deserved to find grace in front of God, so that God has chosen   
   you as his spouse. It is God's will, that you are to live in solitude   
   in Mount Oria and there you will exercise in oration and   
   contemplation.”   
      
   Released from imprisonment by the angel of God, the sisters split up,   
   escaping by each traveling in a separate direction.  It is said that   
   they were each eventually killed for their Christian faith.  Quiteria,   
   for her part, followed the angel and did as instructed, forming a   
   small community of women on the hills of Mount Oria, and living for a   
   brief time in peaceful contemplation of the Lord.  She was eventually   
   captured, and subsequently freed from imprisonment again by an angel.   
   In the process of her imprisonment, she converted many, and her   
   community continued to grow.   
      
   Eventually, Quiteria encountered the powerful ruler of the city of   
   Aufragia, Prosen Lastiano.  She successfully converted him to   
   Christianity, but a few days later he reverted to his pagan beliefs.   
   Humiliated in front of his people, he ordered Quiteria tracked down   
   and killed.  His soldiers tracked her to her hillside community, but   
   upon approach, Prosen suffered inexplicable injuries, including the   
   loss of feeling in his hands and legs.  Quiteria prayed for him, and   
   his senses and movements were restored.  Again, he converted to   
   Christianity, this time filled with the faith of God.  Many of his   
   followers did the same, which infuriated the king.   
      
   Under his order, Quiteria was found and beheaded for her Christian   
   faith.  Prior to beheading, she is said to have kept the king’s   
   vicious attack dogs at bay, with simply a gentle word.  For this   
   reason, she is often invoked against rabies, and frequently pictured   
   leading a dog.  (In rural Spain and France, farmers continue to lead   
   their livestock to a bridge that is said to contain a relic of Saint   
   Quiteria.  Passing the animals over the bridge is said to protect them   
   from contracting disease).  Each of the women who had found refuge in   
   her community was beheaded as well.  Legend states that following her   
   martyrdom, Saint Quiteria walked to the Church of the Virgin Mary,   
   carrying her head in her hands.  There, at Airein Gascony, her relics   
   were interred (until later scattered by the Huguenots), and she   
   continues to be venerated in southern France and northern Spain.   
      
   The life of Saint Quiteria, while possibly pious legend, is one of   
   struggle for the faith.  Despite a chance at a luxurious lifestyle,   
   this lovely young woman and her sisters instead chose to fight for the   
   truth of the Gospel, forsaking her family, her comfort, and eventually   
   her life.  Saint Quiteria’s courage and faith remind us that in our   
   moments of difficulty, we need only turn to the Lord for inspiration   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)