Subj : June 7th - St. Robert of Newminster, Abbot To : All From : rich Date : Thu Jun 06 2019 09:45:12 From: rich June 7th - St. Robert of Newminster, Abbot (died 1159) In 1132 Robert was a monk at Whitby, England, when news arrived that 13 religious had been violently expelled from the Abbey of Saint Mary in York, for having proposed to restore the strict Benedictine rule. He at once set out to join them, and found them on the banks of the Skeld near Ripon, living, in the midst of winter, in a hut made of woven branches and roofed with turf. In the spring they affiliated with Saint Bernard's reform at Clairvaux, and for two years struggl= ed on in extreme poverty. Eventually the fame of their sanctity brought another novice, Hugh, Dean of York, who endowed the community with all his wealth, and thus laid the foundation of Fountains Abbey. In 1137 Raynulph, Baron of Morpeth, was so edified by the example of the monks at Fountains that he built them a monastery in Northumberland, called Newminster, of which Saint Robert became Abbot. The holiness of his life and his instructions guided his brethren to perfection, and within the next ten years three new communities migrated from this one house, to become centers of holiness in other parts. The abstinence of Saint Robert at table sufficed to maintain the mortified spirit of the community. One Easter Day his stomach, weakened by the fast of Lent, could take no food, but he finally consented to try to eat some bread sweetened with honey. Before it was brought, however, he felt this relaxation would be a dangerous example for his monks, and sent the food untouched to the poor at the gate. The plate was received by a young man of shining countenance, who straightway disappeared. What the Saint had sacrificed for his brethren had been accepted by Christ. At the moment of Saint Robert's death in 1159, Saint Godric, a herm= it of Finchale, saw his soul like a globe of fire, borne up by the Angels in a pathway of light, while the gates of heaven opened before them. Reflection. Reason and authority prove that virtue ought to be practiced. But facts alone prove that it is practiced, and this is why our individual actions are of such grave importance for others as well as for ourselves. Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on Butler's Lives of the Saints, and other sources by John Gilmary She= a (Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894). Saint Quote Those who are led by the Holy Spirit have true ideas. That's why so many ignorant people are wiser than the learned. -- St. John Vianney Bible Quote: But I have cried to God: and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning, and at noon I will speak and declare: and He shall hear my voice: He shall redeem my soul in peace from them that draw near to me...=C2 =C2 (Psalm liv, 17-19 ) <><><><> Devotional Prayer: "My Lord and My God, it is my unchangeable will to honor You in these fifteen secret torments when You shed Your Precious Blood. As many times as there are grains of sand around the seas, as grains of wheat in the fields, as blades of grass in the meadows, as fruit in the orchards, as leaves on the trees, as flowers in the gardens, as stars in the sky, as angels in Heaven, as creatures on earth--so many thousands of times may You be glorified, praised and honored, O most love-worthy Lord Jesus Christ--Your Holiest Heart, Your Precious Blood, Your Divine Sacrifice for mankind, the Holiest Sacrament of the Altar, The Most Holy Virgin Mary, the nine glorious choirs of Angels and the Blessed Phalanx of the Saints, from myself and everyone, now and forever, and In the eternal ages." (This devotion is approved and recommended by His Holiness Clement II, 1730-1740.) Please make this Devotion to the Passion of Jesus a part of your daily prayer life. There is an Important prayer which is called the "Jesus Prayer." It should be recited devoutly every day and is as follows: "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner." --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .