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Cathol ic ismedu

Also called Theophorus (ho

Theophoros); born in Syria,

around the year 50; died at

Rome between 98 and

117. More than one of the

earliest ecclesiastical writ-

ers have given credence,

though apparently without

good reason, to the legend

that Ignatius was the child

whom the Savior took up

in His arms, as described in

Mark 9:35. It is also be-

lieved, and with great

probability, that, with his

friend Polycarp, he was

among the auditors of theApostle St. John. If we in-

clude St. Peter, Ignatius

was the third Bishop of

Antioch and the immedi-

ate successor of Evodius

(Eusebius, Church History

II.3.22). Theodoret ("Dial.

Immutab.", I, iv, 33a, Paris,

1642) is the authority for

the statement that St. Pe-

ter appointed Ignatius to

the See of Antioch. St.

John Chrysostom lays spe-

cial emphasis on the

honor conferred upon the

martyr in receiving his

episcopal consecration at

the hands of the Apostles

themselves ("Hom. in St.

Ig.", IV. 587). Natalis Alex-

ander quotes Theodoret to

the same effect (III, xii, art.

xvi, p. 53). All the sterling

qualities of ideal pastor

and a true soldier of Christ

were possessed by the

Bishop of Antioch in a pre-

Volume 2 issue 2

S A I N T O F T HE M O N T H :S T . IG N A T IU S O F A N T IO C H

February 2015

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Quote from ignatius



eminent degree. Accord-

ingly, when the storm of the

persecution of Domitian

broke in its full fury upon

the Christians of Syria, itfound their faithful leader

prepared and watchful. He

was unremitting in his vigi-

lance and tireless in his ef-

forts to inspire hope and to

strengthen the weaklings of

his flock against the terrors

of the persecution. The res-

toration of peace, though it

was short-lived, greatly com-

forted him. But it was notfor himself that he rejoiced,

as the one great and ever-

present wish of his chival-

rous soul was that he might

receive the fullness of Chris-

tian discipleship through the

medium of martyrdom. His

desire was not to remain

long unsatisfied. Associated

with the writings of St. Igna-

tius is a work called

"Martyrium Ignatii", which

purports to be an account

by eyewitnesses of the mar-

tyrdom of St. Ignatius and

the acts leading up to it. In

this work, which such com-

petent Protestant critics as

Pearson and Ussher regard

as genuine, the full history

of that eventful journey

from Syria to Rome is faith-

fully recorded for the edifi-cation of the Church of An-

tioch. It is certainly very an-

cient and is reputed to have

been written by Philo, dea-

con of Tarsus, and Rheus

Agathopus, a Syrian, who

accompanied Ignatius to

Rome. It is generally admit-

ted, even by those who re-

garded it as authen-

tic, that this work has

been greatly interpo-

lated. Its most reli-

able form is thatfound in the

"Martyrium Colberti-

num" which closes

the mixed recension

and is so called be-

cause its oldest wit-

ness is the tenth-century

Codex Colbertinus (Paris).

According to these Acts, in

the ninth year of his reign,

Trajan, flushed with vic-tory over the Scythians

and Dacians, sought to

perfect the universality of

his dominion by a species

of religious conquest. He

decreed, therefore, that

the Christians should unite

with their pagan

neighbors in the worship

of the gods. A general per-

secution was threatened,

and death was named as

the penalty for all who

refused to offer the pre-

scribed sacrifice. Instantly

alert to the danger that

threatened, Ignatius

availed himself of all the

means within his reach to

thwart the purpose of the

emperor. The success of

his zealous efforts did not

long remain hidden fromthe Church's persecutors.

He was soon arrested and

led before Trajan, who

was then sojourning in

Antioch. Accused by the

emperor himself of violat-

ing the imperial edict, and

of inciting others to like

transgressions, Ignatius

valiantly bore witness to

the faith of Christ. If we

may believe the account

given in the "Martyrium",

his bearing before Trajan

was characterized by in-

spired eloquence, sublime

courage, and even a spirit

of exultation. Incapable of

appreciating the motives

that animated him, the

emperor ordered him to

be put in chains and taken

to Rome, there to become

the food of wild beasts

and a spectacle for the

people.That the trials of this jour-

ney to Rome were great

we gather from his letter

to the Romans (par. 5):

"From Syria even to Rome

I fight with wild beasts, by

land and sea, by night and

by day, being bound

amidst ten leopards, even

a company of soldiers,

who only grow worse

S T . I G N A T I U S O F A N T I O C H

The restoration of

peace, though it

was short-lived,greatly comforted

him.

Ignatius

Volume 2 issue 2

Letter from ignatius



Cathol icismedu newslet ter

when they are kindly

treated." Despite all this, his

journey was a kind of tri-

umph. News of his fate, his

destination, and his prob-able itinerary had gone

swiftly before. At several

places along the road his

fellow-Christians greeted

him with words of comfort

and reverential homage. It is

probable that he embarked

on his way to Rome at Se-

leucia, in Syria, the nearest

port to Antioch, for either

Tarsus in Cilicia, or Attalia inPamphylia, and thence, as

we gather from his letters,

he journeyed overland

through Asia Minor. At

Laodicea, on the River Lycus,

where a choice of routes

presented itself, his guards

selected the more northerly,

which brought the prospec-

tive martyr through Philadel-

phia and Sardis, and finally

to Smyrna, where Polycarp,

his fellow-disciple in the

school of St. John, was

bishop. The stay at Smyrna,

which was a protracted one,

gave the representatives of

the various Christian com-

munities in Asia Minor an

opportunity of greeting the

illustrious prisoner, and of-

fering him the homage of

the Churches they repre-sented. From the congrega-

tions of Ephesus, Magnesia,

and Tralles, deputations

came to comfort him. To

each of these Christian com-

munities he addressed let-

ters from Smyrna, exhorting

them to obedience to their

respective bishops, and

warning them to avoid

the contamination of

heresy. These, letters are

redolent with the spirit

of Christian charity, ap-ostolic zeal, and pastoral

solicitude. While still

there he wrote also to

the Christians of Rome,

begging them to do

nothing to deprive him

of the opportunity of mar-

tyrdom.

From Smyrna his captors

took him to Troas, from

which place he dispatchedletters to the Christians of

Philadelphia and Smyrna,

and to Polycarp. Besides

these letters, Ignatius had

intended to address others

to the Christian communi-

ties of Asia Minor, inviting

them to give public expres-

sion to their sympathy

with the brethren in An-

tioch, but the altered plans

of his guards, necessitating

a hurried departure, from

Troas, defeated his pur-

pose, and he was obliged

to content himself with

delegating this office to his

friend Polycarp. At Troas

they took ship for Neapo-

lis. From this place their

journey led them overland

through Macedonia and

Illyria. The next port ofembarkation was probably

Dyrrhachium (Durazzo).

Whether having arrived at

the shores of the Adriatic,

he completed his journey

by land or sea, it is impos-

sible to determine. Not

long after his arrival in

Rome he won his long-

coveted crown of martyr-

dom in the Flavian amphi-

theater. The relics of the

holy martyr were borne

back to Antioch by thedeacon Philo of Cilicia, and

Rheus Agathopus, a Syrian,

and were interred outside

the gates not far from the

beautiful suburb of

Daphne. They were after-

wards removed by the Em-

peror Theodosius II to the

Tychaeum, or Temple of

Fortune which was then

converted into a Christianchurch under the patron-

age of the martyr whose

relics it sheltered. In 637

they were translated to St.

Clement's at Rome, where

they now rest. The Church

celebrates the feast of St.

Ignatius on 1 February.

The character of St. Igna-

tius, as deduced from his

own and the extant writ-

ings of his contemporaries,


The relics of the

holy martyr were

borne back to

Antioch

ignatius

Ignatius quote



is that of a true athlete of

Christ. The triple honor of

apostle, bishop, and martyr

was well merited by this en-

ergetic soldier of the Faith.An enthusiastic devotion to

duty, a passionate love of

sacrifice, and an utter fear-

lessness in the defense of

Christian truth, were his

chief characteristics. Zeal for

the spiritual well-being of

those under his charge

breathes from every line of

his writings. Ever vigilant lest

they be infected by the ram-pant heresies of those early

days; praying for them, that

their faith and courage may

not be wanting in the hour

of persecution; constantly

exhorting them to unfailing

obedience to their bishops;

teaching them all Catholic

truth; eagerly sighing for the

crown of martyrdom, that

his own blood may fructify

in added graces in the souls

of his flock, he proves him-

self in every sense a true,

pastor of souls, the good

shepherd that lays down his

life for his sheep.

Collections

The oldest collection of the

writings of St. Ignatius

known to have existed was

that made use of by the his-

torian Eusebius in the firsthalf of the fourth century,

but which unfortunately is

no longer extant. It was

made up of the seven letters

written by Ignatius whilst on

his way to Rome; These let-

ters were addressed to the

Christians

of Ephesus (Pros Ephe-

sious);

of Magnesia

(Magnesieusin);

of Tralles

(Trallianois);of Rome (Pros Ro-

maious);

of Philadelphia

(Philadelpheusin);

of Smyrna

(Smyrnaiois); and

to Polycarp (Pros

Polykarpon).

We find these seven men-

tioned not only by Euse-

bius (Church History III.36)but also by St. Jerome (De

viris illust., c. xvi). Of later

collections of Ignatian let-

ters which have been pre-

served, the oldest is known

as the "long recension".

This collection, the author

of which is unknown, dates

from the latter part of the

fourth century. It contains

the seven genuine and six

spurious letters, but even

the genuine epistles were

greatly interpolated to

lend weight to the per-

sonal views of its author.

For this reason they are

incapable of bearing wit-

ness to the original form.

The spurious letters in this

recension are those that

purport to be from Igna-

tiusto Mary of Cassobola

(Pros Marian Kassobo-

liten);

to the Tarsians (Pros

tous en tarso);

to the Philippians (Pros

Philippesious);

to the Antiochenes (Pros

Antiocheis);

to Hero a deacon of An-

tioch (Pros Erona diako-

non Antiocheias). Associ-

ated with the foregoing is

a letter from Mary ofCassobola to Ignatius.

It is extremely probable

that the interpolation of

the genuine, the addition

of the spurious letters,

and the union of both in

the long recension was the

work of an Apollinarist of

Syria or Egypt, who wrote

towards the beginning of

the fifth century. Funk

identifies him with the

compiler of the Apostolic

Constitutions, which came

out of Syria in the early

part of the same century.

Subsequently there was

added to this collection a

panegyric on St. Ignatius

entitled, "Laus Heronis".

Though in the original it

was probably written in

Greek, it is now extant


Ever vigilant lest

they be infected by

the rampantheresies of those

early days;

Ignatius quote

Volume 2 issue 2

Ignatius




S CH ED U L E O F EVEN T S

•

Nothing scheduled

Laurentianusmanuscript at

Florence. This

codex is in-

complete,

wanting the

letter to the

Romans,

which, how-

ever, is to be

found associ-

ated with the"Martyrium Colbertinum"

in the Codex Colbertinus,

at Paris. The mixed collec-

tion is regarded as the

most reliable of all in de-

termining what was the

authentic text of the genu-

ine Ignatian letters. There

is also an ancient Latin

only in Latin and Coptictexts. There is also a third

recension, designated by

Funk as the "mixed collec-

tion". The time of its origin

can be only vaguely deter-

mined as being between

that of the collection known

to Eusebius and the long

recension. Besides the seven

genuine letters of Ignatius in

their original form, it alsocontains the six spurious

ones, with the exception of

that to the Philippians.

In this collection is also to be

found the "Martyrium Col-

bertinum". The Greek origi-

nal of this recension is con-

tained in a single codex, the

famous Mediceo-

version which is an unusu-

ally exact rendering of the

Greek. Critics are generally

inclined to look upon this

version as a translation of

some Greek manuscript of

the same type as that of

the Medicean Codex. This

version owes its discovery


quote

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI S AT

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February 2015



to Archbishop Ussher, of

Ireland, who found it in two

manuscripts in English librar-

ies and published it in 1644.

It was the work of RobertGrosseteste, a Franciscan

friar and Bishop of Lincoln

(c. 1250). The original Syriac

version has come down to

us in its entirety only in an

Armenian translation. It also

contains the seven genuine

and six spurious letters. This

collection in the original

Syriac would be invaluable

in determining the exacttext of Ignatius, were it in

existence, for the reason

that it could not have been

later than the fourth or fifth

century. The deficiencies of

the Armenian version are in

part supplied by the

abridged recension in the

original Syriac. This abridg-

ment contains the three

genuine letters to the Ephe-

sians, the Romans, and to

Polycarp. The manuscript

was discovered by Cureton

in a collection of Syriac

manuscripts obtained in

1843 from the monastery of

St. Mary Deipara in the De-

sert of Nitria. Also there are

three letters extant only in

Latin. Two of the three pur-

port to be from Ignatius to

St. John the Apostle, andone to the Blessed Virgin,

with her reply to the same.

These are probably of West-

ern origin, dating no further

back than the twelfth cen-

tury.

The controversy

At intervals during the last

several centuries a warm

controversy has been

carried on by patrolo-

gists concerning the

authenticity of the

Ignatian letters. Eachparticular recension

has had its apologists

and its opponents.

Each has been fa-

vored to the exclu-

sion of all the others,

and all, in turn, have been

collectively rejected, espe-

cially by the coreligionists

of Calvin. The reformer

himself, in language as vio-lent as it is uncritical

(Institutes, 1-3), repudiates

in globo the letters which

so completely discredit his

own peculiar views on ec-

clesiastical government.

The convincing evidence

which the letters bear to

the Divine origin of Catho-

lic doctrine is not condu-

cive to predisposing non-

Catholic critics in their fa-

vor, in fact, it has added

not a little to the heat of

the controversy. In gen-

eral, Catholic and Anglican

scholars are ranged on the

side of the letters written

to the Ephesians, Mag-

nesians, Trallians, Romans,

Philadelphians, Smyrniots,

and to Polycarp; whilst

Presbyterians, as a rule,and perhaps a priori, repu-

diate everything claiming

Ignatian authorship.

The two letters to the

Apostle St. John and the

one to the Blessed Virgin,

which exist only in Latin,

are unanimously admitted

to be spurious. The great

body of critics who ac-

knowledge the authentic-

ity of the Ignatian letters

restrict their approval to

those mentioned by Euse-bius and St. Jerome. The

six others are not de-

fended by any of the early

Fathers. The majority of

those who acknowledge

the Ignatian authorship of

the seven letters do so

conditionally, rejecting

what they consider the

obvious interpolations in

these letters. In 1623,

whilst the controversy was

at its height, Vedelius gave

expression to this latter

opinion by publishing at

Geneva an edition of the

Ignatian letters in which

the seven genuine letters

are set apart from the five

spurious. In the genuine

letters he indicated what

was regarded as interpola-

tions. The reformer Dal-


The manuscript was

discovered by

Cureton in acollection of Syriac

manuscripts

quote

Volume 2 issue 2

quote




laeus, at Geneva, in 1666,

published a work entitled

"De scriptis quae sub Diony-

sii Areop. et Ignatii Antioch.

nominibus circumferuntur",in which (lib. II) he called

into question the authentic-

ity of all seven letters. To

this the Anglican Pearson

replied spiritedly in a work

called "Vindiciae episto-

larum S. Ignatii", published

at Cambridge, 1672. So con-

vincing were the arguments

adduced in this scholarly

work that for two hundredyears the controversy re-

mained closed in favor of

the genuineness of the

seven letters. The discussion

was reopened by Cureton's

discovery (1843) of the

abridged Syriac version, con-

taining the letters of Ignatius

to the Ephesians, Romans,

and to Polycarp. In a work

entitled "Vindiciae Ignatia-

nae" London, 1846), he de-

fended the position that

only the letters contained in

his abridged Syriac recen-

sion, and in the form therein

contained, were genuine,

and that all others were in-

terpolated or forged out-

right. This position was vig-

orously combated by several

British and German critics,

including the CatholicsDenzinger and Hefele, who

successfully defended the

genuineness of the entire

seven epistles. It is now gen-

erally admitted that Cure-

ton's Syriac version is only

an abbreviation of the origi-

nal.

While it can hardly be said

that there is at present

any unanimous agree-

ment on the subject, the

best modern criticism

favors the authenticityof the seven letters

mentioned by Eusebius.

Even such eminent non-

Catholic critics as Zahn,

Lightfoot, and Harnack

hold this view. Perhaps

the best evidence of their

authenticity is to be found

in the letter of Polycarp to

the Philippians, which

mentions each of them byname. As an intimate

friend of Ignatius, Poly-

carp, writing shortly after

the martyr's death, bears

contemporaneous witness

to the authenticity of

these letters, unless, in-

deed, that of Polycarp it-

self be regarded as inter-

polated or forged. When,

furthermore, we take into

consideration the passage

of Irenaeus (Adv. Haer., V,

xxviii, 4) found in the origi-

nal Greek in Eusebius

(Church History III.36), in

which he refers to the let-

ter to the Romans. (iv, I) in

the following words: "Just

as one of our brethren

said, condemned to the

wild beasts in martyrdom

for his faith", the evidenceof authenticity becomes

compelling. The romance

of Lucian of Samosata, "De

morte peregrini", written

in 167, bears incontest-

able evidence that the

writer was not only famil-

iar with the Ignatian let-

ters, but even made use of

them. Harnack, who was

not always so minded,

describes these proofs as

"testimony as strong to

the genuineness of theepistles as any that can be

conceived of" (Expositor,

ser. 3, III, p. 11).

Contents of the letters

It is scarcely possible to

exaggerate the impor-

tance of the testimony

which the Ignatian letters

offer to the dogmatic

character of Apostolic

Christianity. The martyredBishop of Antioch consti-

tutes a most important

link between the Apostles

and the Fathers of the

early Church. Receiving

from the Apostles them-

selves, whose auditor he

was, not only the sub-

stance of revelation, but

also their own inspired

interpretation of it; dwell-

ing, as it were, at the very


It is scarcely possible

to exaggerate the

importance of the

testimony which the

Ignatian letters offer

to the dogmatic

character of Apostolic

Christianity.

Ignatius

quote



fountain-head of Gospel

truth, his testimony must

necessarily carry with it the

greatest weight and demand

the most serious considera-tion. Cardinal Newman did

not exaggerate the matter

when he said ("The Theology

of the Seven Epistles of St.

Ignatius", in "Historical

Sketches", I, London, 1890)

that "the whole system of

Catholic doctrine may be

discovered, at least in out-

line, not to say in parts filled

up, in the course of hisseven epistles". Among the

many Catholic doctrines to

be found in the letters are

the following:

the Church was Divinely

established as a visible soci-

ety, the salvation of souls is

its end, and those who sepa-

rate themselves from it cut

themselves off from God

(Philadelphians 3)

the hierarchy of the

Church was instituted by

Christ (Introduction to Phila-

delphians; Ephesians 6)

the threefold character of

the hierarchy (Magnesians

6)

the order of the episco-

pacy superior by Divine au-

thority to that of the priest-

hood (Magnesians 6 and 13;

Smyrnæans 8; Trallians 3)the unity of the Church

(Trallians 6; Philadelphians

3; Magnesians 13)

the holiness of the Church

(Smyrnæans, Ephesians,

Magnesians, Trallians and

Romans)

the catholicity of the

Church (Smyrnæans 8); the

infallibility of the

Church

(Philadelphians 3;

Ephesians 16-17)

the doctrine of theEucharist

(Smyrnæans 8), which

word we find for the

first time applied to

the Blessed Sacra-

ment, just as in

Smyrnæans 8, we meet for

the first time the phrase

"Catholic Church", used to

designate all Christians

the Incarnation(Ephesians 18); the super-

natural virtue of virginity,

already much esteemed

and made the subject of a

vow (Polycarp 5)

the religious character of

matrimony (Polycarp 5)

the value of united

prayer (Ephesians 13)

the primacy of the See

of Rome (Introduction to

Romans 13)

He, moreover, denounces

in principle the Protestant

doctrine of private judg-

ment in matters of religion

(Philadelphians 3), The

heresy against which he

chiefly inveighs is Do-

cetism. Neither do the Ju-

daizing heresies escape his

vigorous condemnation.

EditionsThe four letters found in

Latin only were printed in

Paris in 1495. The common

Latin version of eleven let-

ters, together with a letter

of Polycarp and some re-

puted works of Dionysius

the Areopagite, was

printed in Paris, 1498, by

Lefèvre d'Etaples. Another

edition of the seven genu-

ine and six spurious let-

ters, including the one to

Mary of Cassobola, wasedited by Symphorianus

Champerius of Lyons,

Paris, 1516. Valentinus

Paceus published a Greek

edition of twelve letters

(Dillingen, 1557). A similar

edition was brought out at

Zurich, in 1559, by Andrew

Gesner; a Latin version of

the work of John Brunner

accompanied it. Both of

these editions made use

of the Greek text of the

long recension. In 1644

Archbishop Ussher edited

the letters of Ignatius and

Polycarp. The common

Latin version, with three

of the four Latin letters,

was subjoined. It also con-

tained the Latin version of

eleven letters taken from

Ussher's manuscripts. In


the Church was

Divinely establishedas a visible society,

quote

Volume 2 issue 2

quote




1646 Isaac Voss published at

Amsterdam an edition from

the famous Medicean Codex

at Florence. Ussher brought

out another edition in 1647,entitled "Appendix Ig-

natiana", which contained

the Greek text of the genu-

ine epistles and the Latin

version of the "Martyrium

Ignatii".

In 1672 J.B. Cotelier's edi-

tion appeared at Paris, con-

taining all the letters, genu-

ine and supposititious, of

Ignatius, with those of theother Apostolic Fathers. A

new edition of this work was

printed by Le Clerc at Ant-

werp, in 1698. It was re-

printed at Venice, 1765-

1767, and at Paris by Migne

in 1857. The letter to the

Romans was published from

the "Martyrium Colberti-

num" at Paris, by Ruinart, in

1689. In 1724 Le Clerc

brought out at Amsterdam a

second edition of Cotelier's

"Patres Apostolici", which

contains all the letters, both

genuine and spurious, in

Greek and Latin ver-

sions. It also includes

the letters of Mary of

Cassobola and those

purporting to be fromthe Blessed Virgin in the

"Martyrium Ignatii", the

"Vindiciae Ignatianae" of

Pearson, and several

dissertations. The first

edition of the Armenian

version was published at

Constantinople in 1783. In

1839 Hefele edited the

Ignatian letters in a work

entitled "Opera PatrumApostolicorum", which

appeared at Tübingen.

Migne took his text from

the third edition of this

work (Tübingen, 1847).

Bardenhewer designates

the following as the best

editions: Zahn, "Ignatii et

Polycarpi epistulae marty-

ria, fragmenta" in "Patr.

apostol. opp. rec.", ed. by

de Gebhardt, Harnack,

Zahn, fasc. II, Leipzig,

1876; Funk, "Opp. Patr.

apostol.", I, Tübingen,

1878, 1887, 1901;

Lightfoot, "The Apostolic

Fathers", part II, London,

1885, 1889; an English

version of the letters to be

found in Lightfoot's"Apostolic Fathers", Lon-

don, 1907, from which are

taken all the quotations of

the letters in this article,

and to which all citations

refer.

O'Connor, John Bonaven-

ture. "St. Ignatius of An-

tioch." The Catholic Encyclo-

pedia. Vol. 7. New York:

Robert Appleton Company,

1910. 15 Jan. 2015<http://

www.newadvent.org/

cathen/07644a.htm>.

to serve others for the

love of Jesus Christ and to

seem poor in this world.Do not be self-sufficient

but place your trust in

God. Do what lies in your

power and God will aid

your good will. Put no

trust in your own learning

nor in the cunning of any

man, but rather in the

grace of God Who helps

The Imitation of Christ by

Thomas A'Kempis This book

can be downloaded for freehere: http://www.ccel.org/

ccel/kempis/imitation.html.

Book one: Thoughts helpful

in the life of the soul.

Chapter 7: Avoiding False

Hope and Pride

VAIN is the man who puts

his trust in men, in created

things. Do not be ashamed

the humble and humbles

the proud. If you have

wealth, do not glory in it,


C L A S S I C C A T H O L I C L I T E R A T U R E I M I T A T I O N O F C H R I S T : B Y T H O M A S A ’ K E M P I S

Do not be ashamed

to serve others for

the love of Jesus

Christ and to seem

poor in this world.

quote

quote



nor in friends because they

are powerful, but in God

Who gives all things and

Who desires above all to

give Himself. Do not boast ofpersonal stature or of physi-

cal beauty, qualities which

are marred and destroyed

by a little sickness. Do not

take pride in your talent or

ability, lest you displease

God to Whom belongs all

the natural gifts that you

have. Do not think yourself

better than others lest, per-

haps, you be accountedworse before God Who

knows what is in man. Do

not take pride in your good

deeds, for God’s judgments

differ from those of men

and what pleases them of-

ten displeases Him. If there

is good in you, see more

good in others, so that you

may remain humble. It does

no harm to esteem yourself

less than anyone else, but it

is very harmful to think

yourself better than even

one. The humble live in con-

tinuous peace, while in the

hearts of the proud are envy

and frequent anger.

Chapter8: Shunning Over-

Familiarity

DO NOT open your heart to

every man, but discuss your

affairs with one who is wiseand who fears God. Do not

keep company with young

people and strangers. Do

not fawn upon the rich, and

do not be fond of mingling

with the great. Associate

with the humble and the

simple, with the devout and

virtuous, and with them

speak of edifying

things. Be not inti-

mate with any

woman, but gener-

ally commend allgood women to God.

Seek only the inti-

macy of God and of

His angels, and avoid

the notice of men.

We ought to have

charity for all men but fa-

miliarity with all is not ex-

pedient. Sometimes it

happens that a person

enjoys a good reputationamong those who do not

know him, but at the same

time is held in slight re-

gard by those who do. Fre-

quently we think we are

pleasing others by our

presence and we begin

rather to displease them

by the faults they find in

us.

Chapter 9: Obedience and

Subjection IT IS a very great thing to

obey, to live under a supe-

rior and not to be one’s

own master, for it is much

safer to be subject than it is

to command. Many live in

obedience more from ne-

cessity than from love. Such

become discontented and

dejected on the slightest

pretext; they will never gain

peace of mind unless they

subject themselves whole-

heartedly for the love of

God. Go where you may,

you will find no rest except

in humble obedience to the

rule of authority. Dreams of

happiness expected from

change and different places

have deceived many. Every-

one, it is true, wishes to do

as he pleases and is at-

tracted to those who agree

with him. But if God be

among us, we must at times

give up our opinions for the

blessings of peace. Further-

more, who is so wise that

he can have full knowledge

of everything? Do not trust

too much in your own opin-

ions, but be willing to listen

to those of others. If,

though your own be good,

you accept another’s opin-

ion for love of God, you will

gain much more merit; for I

have often heard that it is

safer to listen to advice and

take it than to give it. It may

happen, too, that while

one’s own opinion may be

good, refusal to agree with

others when reason and

occasion demand it, is a

sign of pride and obstinacy.

I M I T A T I O N O F C H R I S T

It does no harm to

esteem yourself lessthan anyone else,

quote

Volume 2 issue 2

Thomas a’kempis




February 1st- St. Ignatius of antioch, bishop and martyr, At Smyrna, St. Pionius, priest

and martyr. With him suffered fifteen others. At Ravenna, the holy bishop Severus, At

Trois-Chateaux, in France, St. Paul, bishop, St. Ephrem, deacon of the church of Edessa,

martyr, In Ireland, St. Bridget, virgin. At Castel-Florentino, in Tuscany, the blessed virgin

Verdiana.February 2nd- The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, At Rome, on the Salarian road,

the passion of St. Apronian, a notary. the holy martyrs Fortunatus, Felician, Firmus and

Candidus. At Caesarea, in Palestine, St. Cornelius, a centurion, At Orleans, the holy

bishop Flosculus. At Canterbury, in England, the birthday of St. Lawrence, bishop.

February 3rd- At Sebaste, in Armenia, the passion of St. Blasius, bishop and martyr, In

Africa, St. Celerinus, deacon, the holy martyrs, Laurentinus, and Ignatius, his uncles, and

Celerina, his grandmother,the holy martyrs Felix, Symphronius, Hippolytus and their

companions. In the town of Gap, the holy bishops Tigides and Remedius. At Lyons, the

Saints Lupicinus and Felix, also bishops. St. Anscharius, bishop of Bremen.

February 4th- At Florence, St. Andrew Corsini, bishop of Fiesoli, At Rome, St. Eutychius,

martyr, At Fossombrone, the holy martyrs Aquilinus, Geminus, Gelasius, Magnus andDonatus. At Thmuis, in Egypt, the passion of blessed Philseas, bishop of that city, and of

Philoromus, St. Rembert, bishop of Bremen. At Troyes, St. Aventin, confessor. At Pelu-

sium, in Egypt, St. Isidore, a monk renowned for merit and learning. St. Gilbert, confes-

sor, In the town of Amatrice, in the diocese of Rieti, the decease of St. Joseph of Leon-

issa, of the Order of Minorite Capuchins.

February 5th- At Catania, in Sicily, St. Agatha, virgin and martyr. In Pontus, many holy

martyrs, At Alexandria, St. Isidore, martyr, In the kingdom of Japan, the passion of

twenty-six martyrs, At Vienne, blessed Avitus, bishop and confessor, At Brixen, the holy

bishops Genuinus and Albinus.

February 6th- The Festival of St. Titus, bishop and confessor. At Caesarea, in Cappadocia,

the birthday of St. Dorothy, virgin and martyr, the holy martyrs Saturninus, Theophilus,

and Revocata. At Emesa, in Phrenicia,St. Silvanus, bishop, martyr. At Clermont, in Au-

vergne, St. Antholian, martyr. the holy bishops Vedastus and Amandus, At Bologna, St.

Guarinus, bishop of Palestrina and Cardinal.

February 7th- The holy abbot Romuald, founder of the monks of Camaldoli, At London,

in England, the blessed bishop Augulus, martyr. In Phrygia, St. Adaucus, martyr, an Italian

of noble birth, many holy martyrs, At Heracles, St. Theodore, a military officer, martyr. In

Egypt, St. Moses, a venerable bishop, At Lucca, in Tuscany, the demise of St. Richard, king

of England. At Bologna, St. Juliana, widow.

February 8th- St. John of Matha, confessor, founder of the Order of the Most Holy Trin-

ity, for the redemption of captives, St. Jerome Æmiliani, confessor, founder of the Con-

gregation of Somascha, At Rome, the holy martyrs Paul, Lucius, and Cyriacus. In the

Lesser Armenia, holy martyrs Denis, Æmilian and Sebastian. At Alexandria, the martyr St.Cointha, At Constantinople, the holy martyrs, monks of the monastery of Dins, In Per-

sia,the holy martyrs, At Pavia, the bishop St. Juventius, At Milan, the demise of St. Hon-

oratus, bishop and confessor. At Verdun, in France, St. Paul, a bishop, At Muret, near Li-

moges, abbot St. Stephen, founder of the Order of Grandmont, In the monastery of

Vallumbrosa, blessed Peter, cardinal and bishop of Albano, of the Congregation of

Vallumbrosa, of the Order of St. Benedict, surnamed Igneus.

February 9th- At Alexandria, St. Cyril, bishop and doctor of the church. St. Apollonia, vir-

gin, martyr. At Rome, the holy martyrs Alexander, and thirty-eight others crowned with

him. At Solum, in Cyprus, the holy martyrs Ammonius and Alexander. At Antioch, St.

S A I N T S O F T H E M O N T H



Nicephorus, martyr, In Africa, in a village called Lemelis, the holy martyrs Primus and Do-

natus, deacons, In the monastery of St. Vandrille, St. Ansbert, bishop of Rouen. At Ca-

nossa, in Apulia, of St. Sabinus, bishop and confessor.

February 10th- At Mount Cassino, St. Scholastica, a virgin, At Rome, the holy martyrs

Zoticus, Irenaeus, Hyacinthus, and Amantius. on the Labican road, ten holy soldiers, mar-tyrs. on the Appian way, St. Soteres, virgin and martyr, In Campania, St. Silvanus, bishop

and confessor. At Maleval, in the diocese of Siena, St. William, a hermit. In the diocese of

Roueu, St. Austreberta, a virgin.

January 11th- At Lourdes, in France, the apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immacu-

late. In Africa, the holy martyrs Saturninus, a priest, Dativus, Felix, Ampelius, and their

companions. In Numidia, holy martyrs, At Adrianople, the holy martyrs Lucius, bishop,

and his companions. At Lyons, St. Desiderius, bishop of Vienne, and martyr. At Ravenna,

St. Calocerus, bishop and confessor. At Milan, St. Lazarus, bishop. At Capua, St. Castren-

sis, bishop. At Chateau-Landon, St. Severin, abbot of the monastery of Agaunum, In

Egypt, St. Jonas, a monk, eminent for virtues.

January 12th- In Tuscany, on Mount Senario, the seven Holy Founders of the Order ofServites of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At Barcelona, in Spain St. Eulalia, virgin, martyr. In

Africa, St. Damian, soldier and martyr. At Carthage, the holy martyrs Modestus and

Julian. At Benevento, St. Modestus, deacon and martyr. At Alexandria, the holy children

Modestus and Ammonius. At Antioch, St. Meletius, a bishop, At Constantinople, St. An-

thony, a bishop At Verona, St. Gaudentius, bishop and confessor.

January 13th- At Antioch, the holy prophet Agabus, At Ravenna, the Saints Fusca, virgin,

and her nurse, Maura, martyrs. At Meletine, in Armenia, St. Polyeuctus, martyr, At Lyons,

St. Julian, martyr. At Todi, St. Benignus, martyr. At Rome, pope St. Gregory II, At Angers,

holy bishop Lucinius, At Lyons, St. Stephen, bishop and confessor. At Rieti, the abbot St.

Stephen, At Prato, in Tuscany, St. Catherine de Ricci, a Florentine virgin, of the Order of

St. Dominic.

January 14th- At Rome, on the Flaminian road, blessed Valentine, priest and martyr, the

holy martyrs Vitalis, Felicula, and Zeno. At Teramo, St. Valentine, bishop and martyr, the

holy martyrs Proculus, Ephebus and Apollonius, At Alexandria, the holy martyrs Bassus,

Anthony, and Protolicus, the holy martyrs Cyrion, priest, Bassian, lector, Agatho, exor-

cist, and Moses, the Saints Denis and Ammonius, who were beheaded. At Ravenna, St.

Eleuchadius, bishop and confessor. In Bithynia, the abbot St. Auxentius. At Sorrento, St.

Anthony, abbot.

January 15th- At Brescia, holy martyrs Faustinus and Jovita, At Rome, St. Craton, martyr.

At Teramo, St. Agape, virgin and martyr. the holy martyrs Saturninus, Castulus, Magnus,

and Lucius. At Vaison, in France, St. Quinidius, bishop, At Capua, St. Decorosus, bishop

and confessor. In the province of Valeria, St. Severus, a priest, At Antioch, St. Joseph,

deacon. At Clermont, in Auvergne, St. Georgia, virgin.January 16th- blessed Onesimus, martyr. At Cumse, in Campania, St. Juliana, virgin and

martyr. In Egypt, St. Julian martyr, with five thousand other Christians. At Caesarea, in

Palestine, the holy martyrs Elias, Jeremias, Isaias, Samuel, and Daniel, Egyptians, St. Por-

phyry, servant of the martyr Pamphilus, and St. Seleucus, a Cappadocian, At Arezzo, in

Tuscany, blessed Gregory X, At Brescia, St. Faustinus, bishop and confessor.

January 17th- At Rome, the passion of St. Faustinus, whom forty-four others followed to

receive the crown of martyrdom. In Persia, blessed Polychronius, bishop of Babylon,

martyr. At Concordia, the holy martyrs Donatus, Secundian, and Romulus, with eighty-six

others, partakers of the same crown. At Caesarea, in Palestine, St. Theodulus, an aged


Volume 2 issue 2




man, martyr.St. Julian, a Cappadocian, martyr. In the territory of Terouanne, St. Silvinus,

bishop of Toulouse. In Ireland, St. Fintan, priest and confessor. At Florence, blessed Alex-

ius Falconieri, confessor, one of the seven Founders of the Order of the Servites of the

blessed Virgin Mary.

January 18th- At Jerusalem, St. Simeon, bishop and martyr, At Ostia, the holy martyrsMaximus and his brother Claudius, and Praepedigna, the wife of Claudius, with her two

sons Alexander and Cutias, In Africa, the holy martyrs Lucius, Sylvanus, Rutulus, Classicus,

Secundinus, Fructulus, and Maximus. At Constantinople, the holy bishop Flavian, martyr.

At Toledo, St. Helladius, bishop and confessor.

January 19th- At Rome, St. Gabinus, priest and martyr, In Africa, the holy martyrs Pub-

lius, Julian, Marcellus, and others. In Palestine, the holy monks and other martyrs, At

Jerusalem, St. Zambdas, bishop. At Soli, St. Auxibius, bishop. At Benevento, St. Barbatus,

a bishop illustrious for sanctity, At Milan, St. Mansuetus, bishop and confessor.

January 20th- At Tyre, in Phoenicia, many blessed martyrs, In the island of Cyprus, the

holy martyrs Pothamius and Nemesius. At Constantinople, St. Eleutherius, bishop and

martyr. In Persia, in the time of king Sapor, the birthday of St. Sadoth, bishop, and onehundred and twenty-eight others, At Catania, in Sicily, St. Leo, bishop, illustrious for vir-

tues and miracles. The same day, St. Eucherius, bishop of Orleans, At Tournai, in Belgium,

St. Eleutherius, bishop and confessor.

January 21st- In Sicily, seventy-nine holy martyrs, At Adrumetum, in Africa, the holy mar-

tyrs Verulus, Secundinus, Syricius, Felix, Servulus, Saturninus, Fortunatus, and sixteen

others, At Scythopolis, in Palestine, St. Severian, bishop and martyr. At Damascus, St.

Peter Mavimenus, At Ravenna, St. Maximian, bishop and confessor. At Metz, St. Felix,

bishop. At Brescia, St. Paterius, bishop.

January 22nd- The Chair of St. Peter at Antioch, At Hierapolis, in Phrygia, blessed Papias,

bishop of that city, At Salamis, in Cyprus, St. Aristion, In Arabia,many holy martyrs, At

Alexandria, St. Abilius, bishop, At Vienna, St. Paschasius, bishop,nAt Cortona, in Tuscany,

St. Margaret, of the Third Order of St. Francis.

January 23rd- The vigil of the apostle St. Matthias. At Faenza, St. Peter Dainian, Cardinal

bishop of Ostia, and Doctor of the Church, At Sirmium, St. Sirenus, monk and martyr. sev-

enty-two holy martyrs, At Rome, St. Polycarp, priest, martyr, In the city of Astorga, St.

Martha, virgin and martyr, At Constantinople, St. Lazarus, At Brescia, St. Felix, bishop. At

Seville, in Spain, St. Florentius, confessor. At Todi, St. Romana, virgin, who was baptised

by pope St. Sylvester. In England, St. Milburga, virgin, daughter of the king of Mercia.

January 24th- In Judea, Apostle St. Matthias, martyr. At Rome, St. Primitiva, martyr. At

Caesarea, in Cappadocia, St. Sergius, martyr, In Africa, the holy martyrs Montanus,

Lucius, Julian, Victoricus, Flavian, and their companions. At Rouen, the passion of St.

Praetextatus, bishop and martyr. At Treves, St. Modestus, bishop and confessor. In Eng-

land, St. Ethelbert, king of Kent, At Jerusalem, the first finding of the head of our Lord'sPrecursor.

January 25th- In Egypt, the holy martyrs Victorinus, Victor, Nicephorus, Claudian, Dio-

scorus, Serapion, and Papias, In Africa, the holy martyrs Donatus, Justus, Herena, and

their companions. At Rome, the birthday of pope St. Felix III, At Constantinople, St.

Tharasius, bishop, At Nazianzus, St. Caesarius.

January 26th- At Pergen, in Pamphylia, blessed bishop Nestor, martyr. the passion of

Saints Papias, Diodorus, Conon, and Claudian, holy martyrs Fortunatus, Felix, and

twenty-seven others. At Alexandria, the bishop St. Alexander, At Bologna, the bishop St.

Faustinian, At Gaza, in Palestine, St. Porphyry, bishop, At Florence, St. Andrew, bishop




and confessor. In the territory of Arcis, St. Victor, confessor.

January 27th- At Rome, the holy martyrs Alexander, Abundius, Antigonus, and Fortuna-

tus. At Alexandria, the passion of St. Julian, martyr. St. Besas, a soldier, martyr. At Seville,

in Spain, St. Leander, bishop of that city, At Constantinople, holy confessors Basil and

Procopius, At Lyons, St. Baldomer, a man of God.January 28th- At Rome, the holy martyrs Macarius, Rufinus, Justus, and Theophilus. At

Alexandria, the passion of the Saints Caerealis, Pupulus, Caius, and Serapion. the holy

priests, deacons, and other Christians in great number, martyrs. In the territory of Lyons,

on Mount Jura, the demise of St. Romanus, abbot, At Pavia, from the island of Sardinia,

St. Augustine, bishop.

As snow in summer and rain in harvest, so glory is not seemly for a fool.


P R O V E R B O F T H E M O N T H : P R O V E R B 2 6 : 1

Volume 2 issue 2




M ASS READINGS

Sun the 1st: Psalter IV, Ordinary Time Week 4.

Deut 18:15-20; Ps 95:1-9; 1 Cor 7:32-35; Matt 4:16; Mark 1:21-28

Mon the 2nd: Feast of Presentation of the Lord. Presentation of the Lord

Readings: Mal 3:1-4; Ps 24:7-10; Heb 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40Heb 11:32-40; Ps 31:20-24; Luke 7:16; Mark 5:1-20

Tue the 3rd: Optional memorial of Blase, bishop and martyr. Optional me-

morial of Ansgar, bishop. Heb 12:1-4; Ps 22:26-32; Matt 8:17;

Mark 5:21-43

Wed the 4th: Heb 12:4-15; Ps 103:1-18; John 10:27; Mark 6:1-6

Thu the 5th: Memorial of Agatha, virgin and martyr.

Heb 12:18-24; Ps 48:1-11; Mark 1:15; Mark 6:7-13

Fri the 6th: Memorial of Paul Miki and companions, martyrs.

Heb 13:1-8; Ps 27:1-9; Luke 8:15; Mark 6:14-29

Sat the 7th: Heb 13:15-21; Ps 23:1-6; John 10:27; Mark 6:30-34

Sun the 8th: Psalter I, Ordinary Time Week 5.

(Optional memorial of Jerome Emiliani.) (Optional memorial of

Josephine Bakhita, virgin.)

Job 7:1-7; Ps 147:1-6; 1 Cor 9:16-23; Matt 8:17; Mark 1:29-39

Mon the 9th: Gen 1:1-19; Ps 104:1-35; Matt 4:23; Mark 6:53-56

Tue the 10th: Memorial of Scholastica, virgin.

Gen 1:20-2:4; Ps 8:4-9; Ps 119:36, 29; Mark 7:1-13

Wed the 11th: Optional memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Gen 2:4-17; Ps 104:1-30; John 17:17; Mark 7:14-23

Thu the 12th: Gen 2:18-25; Ps 128:1-5; James 1:21; Mark 7:24-30

Fri the 13th: Gen 3:1-8; Ps 32:1-7; Acts 16:14; Mark 7:31-37

Sat the 14th: Optional memorial of Cyril, monk, and Methodius, bishop.

Gen 3:9-24; Ps 90:2-13; Matt 4:4; Mark 8:1-10

Sun the 15th: Psalter II, Ordinary Time Week 6.Lev 13:1-46; Ps 32:1-11; 1 Cor 10:31-11:1; Luke 7:16; Mark 1:40-

45

Mon the 16th: Gen 4:1-25; Ps 50:1-21; John 14:6; Mark 8:11-13

Tue the 17th: Optional memorial of Seven founders of the order of Servites.

Gen 6:5-8, 7:1-10; Ps 29:1-10; John 14:23; Mark 8:14-21

Wed the 18th: Ash Wednesday; Beginning of Lent.

Joel 2:12-18; 2 Cor 5:20-6:2; Ps 51:3-17; Matt 6:1-18



welfare of public utility in

years. It is probable, that,

for such an argument,which is attributed to the

certain hope of the peo-

ple, and a crown of flow-

ers and fruitful growth. Of

course, in any case, accept

joyfully received, and that

the multitude of the wise

is health that he had

wisely take note of is the

kingdom, and that no less

than by strength, or thestrength of the heroes of

the advice of prudent

men, the controlling dis-

ponan of the kingdoms of

their own, and then the

gift of the divine goodness

has given to you by means

of this longing for the

kingdom, will never go out

1255, April, 6. Nápoles. 4 en

que el estudio de Alejandro,

establish the Bula Generalde Salamanca.

... Alexander, bishop, ser-

vant of the servants of God,

my dearly beloved son in

Christ, the illustrious king of

Castile and Leon, health and

apostolic benediction.

Among the things that are

pleasing us joy, shall make

glad, our heart is refreshed

with a great joy, and glad-ness, and rejoiceth in his

desires, the people with the

government and to those

who are endowed with the

providence of the heavenly

kingdoms are, had set out to

the common intent are sub-

ject to them suorurn we see,

we see a concern for the

the light of wisdom to be

enlightened, and how this

supported by the adviceof experts in health and

maturity, in the city of

Salamanca, it is said, the

richest, and the salubrity

of the air and of any of the

requirements of the place

in the kingdom of thy Le-

gionensi chosen above all,

of our venerable brother

bishops and of our be-

loved sons of the chap-ter ... the advice and con-

sent of the people coming

near of Salamanca, such

as an image, and the pur-

suit of a general a general

study of the future, by the

doctors, and those who

teach in the celebrated

joyfully, and humbly asked

M ASS READINGS

P A PA L E N C Y C L I C A L I N T E R E A Q U A E P L A C I T A

the advice and

consent of the

people coming near

of Salamanca,

Volume 2 issue 2

Thu the 19th: Deut 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-6; Luke 9:22-25

Fri the 20th: Isa 58:1-9; Ps 51:3-19; Matt 9:14-15

Sat the 21st: (Optional memorial of Peter Damian, bishop and doctor.)Isa 58:9-14; Ps 86:1-6; Luke 5:27-32

Sun the 22nd: Psalter I, Lent Week 1. (Feast of Chair of St. Peter, apostle.)

Gen 9:8-15; Ps 25:4-9; 1 Pet 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15

Mon the 23rd: (Memorial of Polycarp, bishop and martyr.)

Lev 19:1-18; Ps 20:8-15; Matt 25:31-46

Tue the 24th: Isa 55:10-11; Ps 34:4-19; Matt 6:7-15

Wed the 25th: Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 51:3-19; Luke 11:29-32

Thu the 26th: Esth C:12-25; Ps 138:1-8; Matt 7:7-12

Fri the 27th: Ezek 18:21-28; Ps 130:1-8; Matt 5:20-26

Sat the 28th: Deut 26:16-19; Ps 119:1-8; Matt 5:43-48




for that from us an apostolic

corroboration. We, there-

fore, in the Lord our holiness

of intention to the purpose

of those worthy of praises,and to your prayers, that is

put upon the assent of the

bishop and of the chapter

of the aforesaid it from

thee: it is good and ac-

ceptable, that the protec-tion of the present writing,

and confirm by apostolic

authority. None does.

Given in Naples in the

eighth year of our pontifi-

cate on April first.

Here at catholicismedu our goal is to provide everyone free and easy access to

educational content on the catholic faith from the videos we make to PDF files

and mp3. we Aim to provide everything from prayers to theology including the

why, and how we do What as members of the catholic faith we do. We reach out

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P O P E O F T H E M O N T H :P O P E S T . E V A R I S T U S

I N T E R E A QUAE P L A C I T A

M I S S I O N S T A T E M E N T

which fact was already

known from St. Irenæus.

This order of succession is

undoubtedly correct. The

"Liber Pontificalis" says

that Evaristus came of aHellenic family, and was

the son of a Bethlehem

Jew. It also attributes to

him the allotment of defi-

nite churches as tituli to

the Roman presbyters,

and the division of the city

into seven diaconias or

deaconries; in this state-

ment, however, the "Liber

Pontificalis" arbitrarily re-

fers to the time of Evaris-

tus a later institution of

the Roman Church. More

trustworthy is the asser-

tion of the "Liber Pontifi-

calis" that he was laid to

rest in Vaticano, near the

tomb of St. Peter. The

martyrdom of Evaristus,

though traditional, is not

historically proven. Hisfeast occurs 26 Oct. The

two decretals ascribed to

him by Pseudo-Isidore are

forged.

Kirsch, Johann Peter.

"Pope St. Evaristus." The

Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.

5. New York: Robert Ap-

pleton Company, 1909. 29

Jan. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/

cathen/05646a.htm>.

Date of birth unknown; died

about 107. In the Liberian

Catalogue his name is given

as Aristus. In papal cata-

logues of the second century

used by Irenaeus and Hip-polytus, he appears as the

fourth successor of St. Peter,

immediately after St Clem-

ent. The same lists allow him

eight years of reign, cover-

ing the end of the first and

the beginning of the second

century (from about 98 or

99 to about 106 or 107). The

earliest historical sources

offer no authentic data

about him. In his

"Ecclesiastical History" Euse-

bius says merely that he suc-

ceeded Clement in the epis-

copate of the Roman Church

This order of

succession is

undoubtedly correct



A prayer against sinful words, and deceitful flatterers.

1 A psalm of David. I have cried to thee, O Lord, hear

me: hearken to my voice, when I cry to thee.2 Let my prayer be directed as incense in thy sight;

the lifting up of my hands as evening sacrifice.

3 Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth: and a door

round about my lips.

4 Incline not my heart to evil words; to make excuses

in sins. With men that work iniquity: and I will not

communicate with the choicest of them.

5 The just man shall correct me in mercy, and shall reprove me: but let not the oil of the

sinner fatten my head. For my prayer also shall still be against the things with which they

are well pleased:

6 their judges falling upon the rock, have been swallowed up. They shall hear my words,

for they have prevailed:

7 as when the thickness of the earth is broken up upon the ground: Our bones are scat-

tered by the side of hell.

8 But to thee, O Lord, Lord, are my eyes: in thee have I put my trust, take not away my

soul.

9 Keep me from the snare, which they have laid for me, and from the stumbling-blocks of

them that work iniquity.

10 The wicked shall fall in his net: I am alone until I pass.

a sinful but comely bride (

I am black and comley)

that is washed and sancti-

fied in the Laver of the

word of life through the

sacrifice of the true Adam

and groom on the cross;

from his pierced side asthe true Adam sleeps

comes the water blood

and spirit that cleanses;

The bride is prepared;

Baptism. You are washed

you are sanctified. The

marriage is consummated;

the cup of benediction

that we bless is it not par-

The unity of Christ and his

church is the greatest mys-

tery there is. Through the

sacraments the mystical

body of Christ is perpetu-

ated through time. My flesh

is real food my blood is real

drink he who eats my fleshand drinks my blood abides

in me and I in him. Man and

woman become one flesh,

Christ and his church be-

come one flesh. Christ even

speaks through the soul of

his bride. The mystery of

salvation is a love story be-

tween a perfect groom and

ticipation in the blood of

Christ? A rhetorical ques-

tion to those who were

living the faith. Christ of-

ten speaks through the

soul of his bride and

unless you understand this

you will not understand

P S A L M O F T H E M O N T H P S A L M 140

U N I T Y O F C H R I S T A N D C H U R C H B Y : L U K E H A S K E L L

O Lord, Lord, are

my eyes: in thee

have I put my trust,take not away my

soul.

Psalm 140

Volume 2 issue 2

unity




the prophets message. Paul

says spiritual things need to

be spiritually examined. St

Augustine Psalms 41 on in-terpreting the Psalms I com-

mend unto you oftentimes,

nor grieve I to repeat, what

for you is useful to retain,

that our Lord Jesus Christ

speaks often of Himself, that

is, in His own Person, which

is our Head; often in the per-

son of His Body, which are

we and His Church; but so

that the words sound as

from the mouth of one, that

we may understand the

Head and the Body to

consist together in the

unity of integrity, andnot be separated the

one from the other; as

in that marriage

whereof it is said, “They

two shall be one flesh.”

If then we acknowledge

two in one flesh, let us

acknowledge two in one

voice. First, that which

responding to the reader

we have sung, though it

be from the middle of the

Psalm, from that I will

take the beginning of

this Sermon.

B A P T I Z E D I N T H E B L O O D A N D WA T E R B Y : L U K E H A S K E L L

UNIT Y OF CH RIST A ND CHURCH

in fear and trembling in

one sentence and say you

are saved by grace as an

instantaneous event in

another, and Christ say he

who endures till the end

will be saved? Paul oftenmixes up the laws of grace

with the laws of circumci-

sion, sacrificing bulls and

goats, Sabbaths etc in the

613 commandments of

mosaic law. This is why

Peter says the unlearned

and unwise can read

Paul's letters to their own

destruction. He was beat

half to death by Jews bysaying the mosaic law

does not Justify. This obvi-

ously had a major impact

on how he wrote. Bap-

tized Jews who (secretly

entered in Jude 1) to the

church were trying to

force the rituals of mosaic

law on Gentile converts.

This is why when he talks

about law and grace he

often says "or isn't he the

God of both Jews and

Gentiles." You are no

longer Jew or Gentiles

freeman or slave becausewe have all been baptized

into Christ Jesus. The

problem is, the modern

world has denied the in-

credible implications of

original sin and the need

for baptism. ( I was born in

iniquity in my mothers

womb. Psalms 50. Who

can make unclean seed

clean? Job 14) When Paulrefers to salvation as an

instantaneous event he is

referring to baptism which

removes original sin and

active sin up to the point

of baptism. Again, I can't

stress this enough, when

he says you are no longer

under the law he is refer-

The problem is, many now

ignore or deny the detri-

mental nature of original sin.

To be saved by the blood of

the Lamb is to be baptized

into Christ Jesus, the glori-

fied Mystical Water, Blood,and Spirit that flows from

the rib of the true Adam. If

Paul says you are saved by

grace and not works of the

law, and Abraham was not

justified by works and also

says, if I have all faith and no

charity I am nothing, and

Christ will come and judge

everyone according to their

works, and James says faithwithout works is dead, and

Abraham was justified by

works then can you ignore

one aspect of salvation in

order to just accept the

other? Does Paul contradict

himself or is there more to

the story? How could Paul

say, I work out my salvation

This is why when he

talks about law and

grace he often says

"or isn't he the God

of both Jews and

Gentiles."

Ephesians 4:4-6



ring to the mosaic law bap-

tized pharasees were trying

to force on Jewish converts.

Sacrificing bulls and goats,

feast days and Sabbaths,circumcision. You have

been baptized into Christ

Jesus. Baptism now saves

you. Truly truly unless you

are born of water and spirit

you shall not enter the king-

dom of heaven. There are

three that give testimony on

earth the water the spirit

and the blood and THESE

THREE ARE ONE. Out of hispierced side came water and

blood. Baptism of the mysti-

cal body of Christ. Suffer the

little children to come unto

me . The primary reason for

baptism is redemption

through the blood of the

Lamb. Baptism destroys

original sin . Nothing un-

clean can enter God's

church nor heaven so it

frees our souls to be able to

enter both. It is entrance

into the Holy Nation the

Royal Priesthood, Grace

given freely. Since we

are born into iniqui-

ties God has given us

a free gift to remove

them as soon as wecome into the world.

Circumcision is a

pedagogue of bap-

tism, a teacher of its

mysteries. Baptism is

the laver of regenera-

tion in the WORD of life.

Ephesians 5, Titus 3. Once

baptized we run the race

and endure till the end

and be CAREFULL TO EX-CEL IN GOOD WORKS. Not

by the works of justice,

which we have done, but

according to his mercy, he

saved us, by the laver of

regeneration, and renova-

tion of the Holy Ghost;

6Whom he hath poured

forth upon us abundantly,

through Jesus Christ our

Savior: 7That, being justi-

fied by his grace, we may

be heirs, according to

hope of life everlasting. 8It

is a faithful saying: and

these things I will have

thee affirm constantly:

that they, who believe in

God, may be careful to

excel in good works. The

spirit and the bride saycome. ...come take of the

water of life freely given.

Grace given freely.

and his oblations.

2 And they shall receive

nothing else of the posses-

sion of their brethren: forthe Lord himself is their

inheritance, as he hath

said to them.

3 This shall be the priest's

due from the people, and

from them that offer vic-

tims: whether they sacri-

ficean ox, or a sheep, they

The Lord in the inheritance

of the priests and Levites.

Heathenish abominations

are to be avoided. Thegreat prophet, Christ, is

promised. False prophets

must be slain.

1 The *priests and Levites,

and all that are of the same

tribe, shall have no part nor

inheritance with the rest of

Israel, because they shall eat

the sacrifices of the Lord,

shall give to the priest the

shoulder and the breast:

4 *The first-fruits also of

corn, of wine, and of oil,

B A P T I Z E D I N T H E B L O O D A N D WAT E R

M O N T H L Y B I B L E R E A D I N G D E U T E R O N O M Y 1 8

Again, I can't stress

this enough, when

he says you are nolonger under the

law

baptism

Volume 2 issue 2

Deuteronomy 18




and a part of the wool from

the shearing of their sheep.

5 For the Lord thy God hath

chosen him of all thy tribes,

to stand, and to minister to

the name of the Lord, him

and his sons for ever.

6 If a Levite go out of any

one of the cities throughout

all Israel, in which he dwel-

leth, and have a longing

mind to come to the place

which the Lord shall choose,

7 He shall minister in the

name of the Lord his God, as

all his brethren the Levites

do, that shall stand at

that time before the Lord.

8 He shall receive the same

portion of food that the rest

do: besides that which is

due to him in his own city,

by succession from his fa-

thers.

9 When thou art come into

the land, which the Lord thyGod shall give thee, beware

lest thou have a mind to imi-

tate the abominations of

those nations.

10 *Neither let there be

found among you any one

that shall expiate his son or

daughter, making them to

pass through the fire: or that

consulteth soothsayers, or

observeth dreams and

omens, neither let there be

any wizard,

11 Nor charmer, nor any one

that consulteth pythonic

spirits, or fortune-tellers,*

or that seeketh the truth

from the dead.

12 For the Lord abhorreth all

these things, and for these

abominations he will de-

stroy them at thy coming.

13 Thou shalt be perfect,

and without spot before

the Lord thy God.

14 These nations, whose

land thou shalt possess,

hearken to soothsayers

and diviners: but thou art

otherwise instructed by

the Lord thy God.

15 *The Lord thy God will

raise up to thee a prophet

of thy nation, and of thy

brethren, like unto me:

him thou shalt hear, 16 As

thou desiredst of the Lord

thy God in *Horeb, when

the assembly was gath-

ered together, and saidst:

Let me not hear any more

the voice of the Lord my

God, neither let me see

any more this exceeding

great fire, lest I die.

17 And the Lord said to

me: They have spoken all

things well.

18 *I will raise them up a

prophet out of the midst

of their brethren, like to

thee: and I will put my

words in his mouth, and

he shall speak all that I

shall command him.

19 And he that will not

hear his words, which he

shall speak in my name, I

will be the revenger.

20 But the prophet, who

being corrupted with

pride, shall speak in my

name, things that I did not

command him to say, or in

the name of strange gods,

shall be slain.

21 And if in silent thought

thou answer: How shall I

know the word, that the

Lord hath not spoken?

22 Thou shalt have this

sign: Whatsoever that

same prophet foretelleth

in the name of the Lord,

and it

cometh not to pass: that

thing the Lord hath not

spoken, but the prophet

hath forged it by the pride

of his

mind: and therefore thou

shalt not fear him.

____________________

*

1: A.M. 2553.; Num. xviii.

20. and 23.; Supra x. 9.; 1

Cor. ix. 13.

4: Num. xviii. 21.

10: Levit. xx. 27.

11: 1 Kings xxviii. 7.

15: John i. 45.; Acts iii. 22.

16: Exod. xx. 21.

18: John i. 45.

Ver. 1. Oblations. Heb.

"they shall eat the holo-

causts of the Lord and his

inheritances." The priests

shall have the parts of the

sacrifices for peace allot-

ted to them, &c. tithes

shall be given to support

the Levites. (H.) These

M O N T H L Y B I B L E R E A D I N G

These nations,

whose land thou

shalt possess,

hearken to

soothsayers and

diviners:

Deuteronomy 18



parts are what God claims

from the people, as their

Sovereign, (C.) and these he

assigns to his ministers.

Sept. "The fruits of the Lordare their inheritance, they

shall eat them." H.

Ver. 3. Due, ( judicium.)

Moses only mentions a part,

having explained the rest.

Ex. xxix. 27. Lev. vii. 32. ---

Breast, (ventriculum.) In the

other places pectusculum

occurs. Heb. "the shoulder,

the two cheeks, and the

maw, or caul," called in Latinomasum, being the last and

fattest of the four ventricles,

and highly esteemed by the

ancients. The cheeks or

chaps are specified no

where else; so that some

think Moses here supplies

what he had left imperfect,

assigning to the priests the

cheeks and the tongue. Jan-

senius supposes that this is

only a part of the breast,

which appears to have two

cheeks when the shoulders

are cut off. But Moses here

probably speaks not of the

peace-offerings, but of the

beasts which were killed by

the Israelites at home for

their own uses, &c. (Clerc) as

Philo explains it, (de praem.)

and Josephus (iv. 4.) only

specifies the right shoulderand the breast, which were

given to the priests on these

occasions. C. --Sept. "the

shoulder, the cheeks, and

the last ventricle." The vic-

tims were not, therefore, of

a sacred nature; as they

were only sacrificed, inas-

much as the blood was to be

offered to the Lord.

H. See Gen. xliii. 16.

Ver. 4. Corn, besides

those which were

offered to the Lord at

the feast of Pente-

cost. Each landholder

was bound to give

between the 40th

and the 60th part of

his produce. S. Jer.

See Ex. xxii. 29.

Ver. 5. Stand. This was the

usual posture of the

priests ministering in the

temple, as well as of peo-ple praying. --- Minister.

Sam. and Sept. add, "and

to bless in," &c.

Ver. 6. Levite. In the days

of Moses, all the Levites

probably assisted in the

service of the tabernacle,

when they thought proper.

But, after they should be

dispersed, he encourages

them to come willingly.

David afterwards divided

the priests and the Levites

into classes, which were

obliged to serve in their

turns, 1 Par. xxiii. &c.

Though he derogated from

the words of the law, he

followed the spirit of the

injunction, which was in-

tended to promote the

great glory and decency of

religion; and even after

this regulation, (C.) those

who desired, like Samuel,

(M.) to consecrate their

labours to the Lord for life,

or for a long time, were in

all probability entitled to

the privileges here

granted. C.

Ver. 8. Portion. Whence

this was taken, whether

from the tithes in general,

or from the treasury of thetemple, or from the reve-

nue of the high priest, &c.

does not appear. C. --- Fa-

thers. The Levites might

possess houses, suburbs,

and cattle. M. --- Heb.

"besides that which

ariseth from the sale of his

patrimony." H.

Ver. 10. Fire. This impiety

is not punished with

death, (Lev. xviii. 21,) as

the burning of children

was. Lev. xx. 2. Grotius. ---

It was done in imitation of

the latter, and became

more common, as it was

less cruel; the person who

was thus expiated, being

to pass between or to

jump over fire. The council

of Trullo (c. 65,) wasforced to condemn this

remnant of an abominable

superstition. But the other

inhuman worship of Mo-

loc, and of other pagan

divinities, was certainly

very common, and chiefly

brought down

M O N T H L Y B I B L E R E A D I N G S

Lord at the feast of

Pentecost.

Deuteronomy 18

Volume 2 issue 2




destruction upon the people

of Chanaan. See Jer. xix. 5.

Ezec. xxiii. 37. Ps. cv. 37. 4 K.

xvii. 31. Ennius says, Paeni

sunt soliti suos sacrificare puellos. See S. Aug. C. D. vii.

17. S. Jer. in Jer. vii. 31. C. ---

Soothsayers. The original

term may also signify, "that

useth divination." Both

those who set up for divin-

ers, and those who consult

them, are condemned. H. ---

Hiscuni explains it of a su-

perstitious practice, by

which a person measured astick with his finger, saying

first I will go; and then I will

not; and if, when he came to

the end of the stick, he had

to say I will go, he deter-

mined to begin his journey.

See Ezec. xxi. 21. --- Dreams.

Heb. mehonen, (Lev. xix. 26,)

may denote one who judges

from the sight of the clouds,

or feigns revelations. --- Wiz-ard. Heb. "witch." Sept.

"poisoner," or one who

gives things to do harm.

Rabbins.

Ver. 11. Charmer of ser-

pents. Ps. lvii. 6. One who

makes a compact with the

devil. --- Spirits. Python

was the name of the ser-

pent, which Apollo slew. It

might be derived from theHeb. patah, "to seduce,"

because a serpent seduced

Eve, and dealers with the

devil generally deceive those

who consult them. Sept. "a

belly talker," as these impos-

tors muttered some sounds,

intimating that a spirit gave

answers from their belly,

See Isai. xxix. 4. --- Tellers.

Heb. "wise men." H. ---

Those who promise great

knowledge from the se-

crets of the caballa, ormagic. --- Dead. Necro-

mancy was already very

common. Thus the

witch of Endor made the

ghost of Samuel appear to

Saul, 1 K. xxviii. 7. The Rab-

bins say that the person

took a bone, or the skull of

the dead, when he in-

tended to enquire into fu-

turity. Drusius.

Ver. 13. And without spot

This is by way of explica-

tion of the word perfect .

Any mixture of superstition

in the worship of God is

hateful to him; and that

man who acknowledges

any other spirit capable of

foretelling what will come

to pass, freely (H.) denies

the Lord. C.

Ver. 14. God, who has al-

ready informed thee how

to proceed in difficult

emergencies, (C. xvii. 8,) by

having recourse to the

council of priests, and will

also, after any death, send

in due time a succession of

true prophets. Heb. "God

hath not suffered thee" to

imitate those nations; (H.)

or those prophets, whom

the Lord thy God will give

thee, shall not resemble

these (C.) soothsayers (or

observers of times) and

diviners. H. --- They shall

be filled with my spirit. C.

Ver. 15. Prophet. This pas-

sage plainly proves, that

the Scripture may have

many literal senses: for

the context insinuates that

God would supply thewants of his people, so

that they should not need

to go far in order to con-

sult diviners, since they

should have leaders and

prophets, after the death

of Moses, who might ex-

plain to them God's will,

as they had desired; but at

the same time, it clearly

refers to the Messias, as itis explained by S. Peter,

(Acts iii. 22. W.) and by S.

tephen, Acts vii. 37. The

Jews, at that time, were

convinced of the truth of

this application: but they

only denied that Christ

was the Messias. They

have since gone a step

farther, and deny that it

regards the Messias, some

referring it to Josue, oth-

ers to Jeremias, &c. Ap.

Munster & Fag. But surely

what other prophet could

be compared with Moses?

C. xxxiv. 10. What other

man reunited in his person

the qualifications of law-

giver, chief of God's peo-

ple, mediator, &c. or who

was like him? Hence

prophet is written in the

M O N T H L Y B I B L E R E A D I N G S

This passage plainly

proves, that the

Scripture may have

many literal senses

Deuteronomy 18

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