Subj : June 12th - St. Onuphrius To : All From : rich Date : Mon Jun 11 2018 10:08:52 From: rich June 12th - St. Onuphrius Amongst the many hermits in the Egyptian desert during the 4th and 5th centuries was a holy man called Onuphrius. The little that is known of him is derived from an account attributed to a certain Abbot Paphnutius of a series of visits paid by him to some of the hermits of the Thebaid. This account seems to have been committed to writing by one or more of the monks to whom it was related, and several versions of it became current. Obviously the story has lost nothing in the telling. Paphnutius undertook the pilgrimage in order to study the eremitic life and to discover whether he himself was called to lead it. For 16 days after leaving his monastery he wandered in the desert, meeting with one or two strange and edifying adventures, but on the 17th day he was startled at the sight of what appeared to be an aged man with hair and beard falling to the ground, but covered with fur like an animal and wearing a loincloth of foliage. So alarming was the apparition that he began to run away. The figure, however, called after him, inviting him to return and assuring him that he also was a man and a servant of God. They entered into conversation and Paphnutius learned that the stranger's name was Onuphrius, that he = had once been a monk in a monastery of many brethren, but that he had felt a vocation for the solitary life which he had now led for 70 years. In reply to further questions he admitted that he had suffered severely from hunger and thirst, from extremes of temperature, and from violent temptations. Nevertheless God had given him consolation and had nourished him with the dates that grew on a palm-tree beside his cell. He then conducted Paphnutius to his cave, where they spent the rest of the day discoursing of heavenly things. At sunset some bread and water suddenly appeared before them and they were wonderfully refreshed after partaking of this food. All that night they prayed together. In the morning Paphnutius was distressed to see that a great change had come over his host, who was evidently at the point of death. But Onuphrius said, =E2=80=9CFear not, brother Paphnutius, for the Lord of His infinite mercy has sent you here to bury me.=E2=80=9D To a suggestion made = by Paphnutius that he should remain on in the cell after his host's death, the aged hermit replied that God willed it otherwise. He then asked to be commended to the prayers and oblations of the faithful for whom he promised to intercede, and after having blessed Paphnutius he prostrated himself to the ground and gave up the ghost. His visitor made a shroud for him with half his tunic which he rent asunder. He then buried the old man in a cleft of the rock which he covered with stones. No sooner was this done than the cave crumbled and the date palm faded away, thus clearly indicating to Paphnutius that he was not intended to linger in that place. Onuphrius is the patron of weavers, probably because "he was dressed only in his own abundant hair and a loin-cloth of leaves," and of a Sienese confraternity (Roeder). It would not be difficult to compile a long bibliography of St. Onuphrius. The Greek and Latin texts are indicated in BHG., nn. 1378-1382, and BHL., nn. 6334-6338, but a sufficient selection may be found in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. iii. There are also other oriental versions, notably in Coptic and Ethiopic. See, in particular, W. Till, Koptische Heiligen-und Martyrer-Legenden (1935) pp. 14-19; E. A. Wallis Budge, Miscellaneous Coptic Texts (1955) ; W. E. Crum, =E2=80=9CDiscours de Pisenthios=E2=80=9D in Revue de l'Orient chr= =C3=A9tien, vol. x (1956), pp. 38-67. Although Pisenthios tells us nothing new about Onuphrius, his sermon shows that already, about A.D. 600, the feast was celebrated with solemnity. St. Onuphrius has also been discussed at length in the essay of C. A. Williams, Oriental Affinities of the Legend of the Hairy Anchorite (Illinois Studies, vols. x and xi, 1926).... Saint Quote: Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day become a formal heretic or be led astray by the devil. -- Saint Louis Marie de Montfort Bible Quote: 4 Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; 5 it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ) RSVCE <><><><> Angels--Their Care of Us Has every child of Adam a Guardian Angel? Yes, every one without exception, as long as his probation lasts--Heathens and Christians, princes and beggars, the idiot as well as the man of genius, the little child just born into the world as well as the old man on the verge of the grave. What respect this should give us tor others! How we should tremble before the anger of their Guardian Angels, and count ourselves happy to win their approval! Even when the Guardian Angel knows that his task is hopeless or almost hopeless, still he faithfully remains at his post. At least he can do something to save the poor soul from the full violence of the demons who have dominion over it, and it may be that, through some miracle of God's mercy, repentance will come before it is too late. He never ceases, as long as life lasts, to do his utmost to turn the stubborn will to contrition and penance before it is too late. He never relaxes in his efforts or loses hope. Hence we too should not despair. If evil happens to men, if they lose their souls, are their Guardian Angels responsible for it? No, they always faithfully perform their task. They continue to warn, to aid, to breathe into the soul of God's holy inspirations with unremitting fidelity. It is because we neglect their warnings, reject their proffered help, that we do not profit more by their presence at our side. How often my Guardian Angel would have helped me if I had accepted his aid! --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .