From: richarra@gmail.com   
      
   Excerpt from commentary on Mt. 25:35   
      
     Hear St. Basil (Conc. 4, de Eleemosyn.), “That bread, which thou   
   holdest back, belongs to the hungry; the naked claims that garment   
   which thou art keeping in thy chest. That shoe which is mouldering   
   away at home is his who is shoeless. Thus thou art wronging just as   
   many as thou dost not help with thy goods whilst thou mayest.”   
   “Blessed,” says David, “is the man that is merciful and lendeth; he   
   guideth his words with discretion” (Ps. cxii. 5)   
      
   St. Chrysostom reads, “he renders his accounts.” As much as to say,   
   “He will render a most excellent account of his life; he will plead   
   successfully his cause before the Supreme Judge.” “And indeed,” says   
   the same St. Chrysostom, “it must needs be that the soul which is rich   
   in mercy can never be overwhelmed with heavy troubles of the mind.”   
   And again, “Uselessly will sins accuse him whom the poor man excuses.   
   And he cannot be excused whom the poor man’s hunger accuses. He will   
   witness a terrible day who shall enter into the judgment without the   
   intercession of the poor. He who lends to a poor man makes the Judge   
   Himself his debtor”   
   --(St. Peter Chrysolog. Serm. 40). Excerpt from commentary on Mt. 25:35   
      
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   January 23: -Saint Ildephonsus, Doctor of the Virginity of Mary   
      
   (607-667)   
   Today, January 23, we celebrate the feast of Saint Ildephonsus of   
   Toledo, Doctor of the Virginity of Mary, Archbishop of Toledo, and   
   recipient of a blessed priestly vestment from Our Blessed Mother, in   
   reward for his zeal and love for her. Saint Ildephonsus is highly   
   venerated in Spain, and considered a precursor in establishing the   
   later official Vatican doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Our   
   Blessed Mother. He was the first to establish the feast of the   
   Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.   
      
   Ildephonsus was born to a noble and distinguished family in Toledo,   
   Spain. He was the nephew of Saint Eugenius, who proceeded him as   
   Bishop of Toledo, and a pupil of Saint Isidore of Seville. While very   
   young, he entered the Benedictine monastery at Agalia, much against   
   the wishes of his father. He embraced the monastic life, being   
   ordained a deacon at the age of 23, and later becoming Abbot of the   
   monastery. Eventually, following his attendance at the Councils of   
   Toledo in 653 and 655, King Reccesyinth selected him to succeed Saint   
   Eugenius as Archbishop of Toledo. It was in this capacity that he   
   served the city and it’s inhabitants for nine years, performing his   
   duties with diligence and sanctity until his death.   
      
   Saint Ildephonsus is a favorite saint of medieval artists,   
   hymnographers, and poets, largely due to two famed events which   
   occurred during his life. In one occasion, Saint Ildephonsus was   
   praying before the relics of Saint Leocadia. It is said that during   
   his prayers, the martyred saint rose from her grave, thanking him for   
   the devotion he showed towards the Blessed Virgin Mary.   
      
   On a separate occasion, Our Blessed Mother herself appeared to Saint   
   Ildephonsus, presenting him with a priestly vestment in thanks for his   
   devotion to her. On the feast of the Mother of God, Ildephonsus and   
   the clergy found the church engulfed in a radiant light upon arriving   
   to celebrate Matins. All but Ildephonsus and two deacons fled, deeply   
   afraid. When the three entered the church, there, seated on the   
   Archbishop’s throne, was Our Blessed Mother surrounded by choirs of   
   angels and holy virgins. Our Blessed Mother spoke to Ildephonsus,   
   saying: "Thou art my chaplain and faithful notary. Receive from me   
   this chasuble, which my Son sends you from His treasury." Having said   
   this, the Immaculate Virgin clothed Ildephonsus in the chasuble, and   
   instructed him to wear it for the Holy Sacrifice on her festivals.   
      
   Saint Ildephonsus was also a prolific writer, and his literary works   
   are better known than the details of his life. While only four of his   
   works have survived, they include his treatise on the perpetual   
   virginity of the Blessed Virgin, and an important document of the   
   history of the Spanish Church during the first two-thirds of the   
   seventh century, entitled Concerning Famous Men.   
   Saint Ildephonsus also wrote several prayers in honor of Our Blessed Mother.   
   by Jacob   
      
      
   Bible Quote:   
   "So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God   
   who gives the increase."  (1 Corinthians 3:7)   
      
   Saint Quote:   
   "Virgin Mother of God: may I bind myself to God and to you, serve your   
   own Lord and serve you too, obey your own Son and so obey you. May I   
   worship Him as my Maker and you as the mother of my Maker. May I   
   venerate Him as the Lord of Hosts and you as the handmaid of the Lord.   
   May I adore Him as my God and you as the mother of my God."   
   --Saint Ildefonsus.   
      
      
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   Marian Prayer of Saint Ildephonsus   
      
   Virgin Mary, hear my prayer:   
   through the Holy Spirit   
   you became the Mother of Jesus;   
   from the Holy Spirit may I too have Jesus.   
   Through the Holy Spirit your flesh conceived Jesus;   
   through the same Spirit may my soul receive Jesus.   
   Through the Holy Spirit you were able to know Jesus,   
   to possess Jesus,   
   and to bring him into the world.   
   Through the Holy Spirit may I too come to know your Jesus.   
   Imbued with the Spirit,   
   Mary, you could say:   
   "I am the handmaid of the Lord,   
   be it done unto me according to your word";   
   in the Holy Spirit, lowly as I am,   
   let me proclaim the great truths about Jesus.   
   In the Spirit you now adore Jesus as Lord   
   and look on Him as Son;   
   in the same spirit, Mary, let me love your Jesus   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)