Subj : -- Proverbs 23:17-18 -- To : All From : rich Date : Fri Jan 10 2020 08:10:37 From: rich -- Proverbs 23:17-18 -- Let not thy heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long: Because thou shalt have hope in the latter end, and thy expectation shall not be taken away. = How easy it is to envy those who get ahead unharmed by Christian responsibility or God's laws. For a time they do seem to get ahead without paying any attention to what God wants. But to those who follow him, God promises a hope and a wonderful future even if we don't realize it in this life. <<>><<>><<>> January 11th - St. Hyginus, Pope and Martyr =C2 HE was placed in the chair of St. Peter after the martyrdom of St. Telespho= rus, in the year 139. Eusebius informs us, 1 that he sat four years. The ch= urch then enjoyed some sort of calm, under the mild reign of the emperor An= toninus Pius; though several martyrs suffered in his time by the fury of th= e populace, or the cruelty of certain magistrates. The emperor himself neve= r consented to such proceedings; and when informed of them by the governors= of Asia, Athens, Thessalonica, and Larissea, he wrote to them in favour of= the Christians, as is recorded by St. Justin and Eusebius. =C2 [1] =C2 But the devil had recourse to other arts to disturb the peace of God= 's church. Cerdo, a wolf in sheep's clothing, in the year 1= 40, came from Syria to Rome, and began to teach the false principles which = Marcion adopted afterwards with more success. He impiously affirmed that th= ere were two Gods; the one rigorous and severe, the author of the Old Testa= ment; the other merciful and good, the author of the New, and the father of= Christ, sent by him to redeem man from the tyranny of the former; and that= Christ was not really born of the Virgin Mary, or true man, but such in sh= adow only and appearance. Our holy pope, by his pastoral vigilance, detecte= d that monster, and cut him off from the communion of the church. The heres= iarch, imposing upon him by a false repentance, was again received; but the= zealous pastor having discovered that he secretly preached his old opinion= s, excommunicated him a second time. [2] =C2 Another minister of Satan was Valentine, who being a Platonic philos= opher, puffed up with the vain opinion of his learning, and full of resentm= ent for another's being preferred to him in an election to a certai= n bishopric in Egypt, as Tertullian relates, 4 revived the errors of Simon = Magus, and added to them many other absurd fictions, as of thirty =C3=86=C3= =B4nes or ages, a kind of inferior deities, with whimsical histories of the= ir several pedigrees. Having broached these opinions at Alexandria, he left= Egypt for Rome. At first he dissembled his heresies, but by degrees his ex= travagant doctrines came to light. Hyginus, being the mildest of men, endea= voured to reclaim him without proceeding to extremities; so that Valentine = was not excommunicated before the first year of St. Pius, his immediate suc= cessor. =C2 [3] =C2 St. Hyginus did not sit quite four years, dying in 142. We do not fi= nd that he ended his life by martyrdom, yet he is styled a martyr in some a= ncient calendars, as well as in the present Roman Martyrology; undoubtedly = on account of the various persecutions which he suffered, and to which his = high station in the church exposed him in those perilous times. See Tillemo= nt, T. 2. p. 252. [4] =C2 Note 1. Eus. l. 4. c. 11. Note 2. Eus. l. 4. c. 26. Note 3. St. Epiph. h=C3=A6r. 41. Iren. l. 3. c. 4. Euseb. &c. Note 4. Tertull. l. contra Valent. c. 4. Saint Quote: Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint. Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read. Study fatigues and drains the mind and heart. Go from time to time to refresh them at the feet of Jesus Christ under his cross. Some moments of repose in his sacred wounds give fresh vigor and new lights. Interrupt your application by short, but fervent and ejaculatory prayers: never begin or end your study but by prayer. Science is a gift of the Father of lights; do not therefore consider it as barely the work of your own mind or industry. --Saint Vincent Ferrer Bible Quote: "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:6-8) <><><><> Sea of Sorrow Oh! on what a sea of sorrow Was the Virgin-Mother cast, When her eyes with tears o'erflowing Gazed upon her Son aghast, From the bloodstained gibbet taken, Dying in her arms at last. In her bitter desolation, His sweet mouth, His bosom too, Then His riven side beloved, Then each hand, both wounded through, Then His feet, with blood encrimsoned, Her maternal tears bedew. She, a hundred times and over, Strains Him closely to her breast Heart to Heart, arms enfolding, Are His wounds on her impressed: Thus, in sorrow's very kisses, Melts her anguished soul to rest. Oh, dear Mother! we beseech thee, By the tears thine eyes have shed, By the cruel death of Jesus And His wounds' right royal red, Make our hearts o'erflow with sorrow From thy heart's deep fountainhead. To the Father, Son, and Spirit, Now we bend on equal knee: Glory, sempiternal glory, To the Most High Trinity; Yea! perpetual praise and honor Now and through all ages be. --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .