Psalm 119:114: Psalm 18:2
- From: "Waldtraud" <hildegard8@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 25 Feb 2006 11:56:55 -0600
Bible Verse
-- Psalm 119:114: Psalm 18:2 --
You are my refuge and my shield;
I have put my hope in your word.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
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When you feel temptation approaching. as a rabbit is aware of the hawk
hovering near, run instantly to Christ for protection. He will not fail you.
He is both the Rock of your salvation and your hiding place. Whenever sin,
fear or worry threatens you, run to Jesus, crying "Lord, help me!" and He
will.
- - F.B. Meyer
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February 25 - St. Ethelbert of Kent,
In the 6th century, Pope St. Gregory the Great sent a group of missionaries
under the authority of St. Augustine to England, which was pagan.
Reaching the Isle, the apostles announced their arrival to King Ethelbert of
Kent, telling him they brought the message of eternal life. Through his wife
Bertha, the sovereign had already heard about the Catholic religion, and he
promised to receive the group in a public interview.
The monks arrived in procession carrying as a standard the silver cross of
Our Savior and singing litanies to God asking the salvation of this people.
The Sovereign ordered them to sit, and they began to preach the Gospel.
Then Ethelbert said: "Your words and promises are very beautiful. But
because they are new and uncertain, I cannot approve them and leave
everything that I along with all my people have followed for so long a time.
However, since you have traveled from afar and made a long journey in order
to share with us what you deem to be truer and better, I will not place
obstacles in your way, but will receive you well and offer what is necessary
for your subsistence. Nor will I impede you from bringing to your religion
all those whom you are able to persuade."
The King provided them a place to live in the region that would later be
called Canterbury. Some time after, impressed with the example of the monks
and their doctrine, King Ethelbert converted and was baptized, bringing a
large part of his people with him into the Church.
The last 20 years of his life he dedicated himself to propagating the
Catholic Faith in his kingdom. Supported and encouraged by Pope Gregory the
Great, he built churches and offered protection to Catholics in his lands.
He also endeavored to convert the neighboring princes and brought the King
of the East Saxons and the King of the East Angles into the Church. St.
Ethelbert died in 606. His example bore much fruit for no other nation ever
gave the Church so many saintly Kings as England did.
Comments of Prof. Plinio:
Here you see two great figures who were founders of the Middle Ages. A great
missionary, who is St. Augustine of Canterbury, comes into contact with a
great founder King, who is St. Ethelbert. I call him a founder King because
before his conversion, England was a kind of agglomerate of pagan
barbarians. There was not, properly speaking, an English civilization or an
England as a nation. What existed were only the seeds of the future England,
which, placed in contact with St. Augustine, grew and gave rise to that
country.
The solemn ceremony described in this text is truly magnificent. You can
imagine the King and his semi-barbarian warriors in a clearing in the woods
awaiting the arrival of the missionaries. St. Augustine and his monks
ceremoniously arrived at the meeting spot and began to speak. The heart of
St. Ethelbert was touched by St. Augustine from the beginning. He gave St.
Augustine liberty of movement and speech in his realm, even though he said
he could not agree to a change of religion so quickly. He wanted to study
everything more carefully.
But the King's sympathy was already apparent for he offered them a place to
stay, thanked them for making the long journey, and told them they could
receive all the people who wanted to come to the Catholic Religion. He
revealed an inclination to the Truth, which he had just begun to hear.
St. Augustine established himself in the region and preached the true
religion. After a time, the King not only gave his entire adhesion to the
Catholic Religion after examining it, but he also brought two other
neighboring Kings into the Church. It is proof that the liberty he gave to
St. Augustine was the first step of his conversion.
From this you can see that anyone who has contact with the Catholic Religionand is moved by grace has the possibility to discern that he is dealing with
the true Religion and give his adhesion to it.
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"If we should well consider all that is human and imperfect in us, we
should find but too much cause to humiliate ourselves before God and men,
even before our inferiors" -St. Vincent de Paul
A holy woman, once having asked light of the Lord that she might know
herself well, saw so much ugliness and so many miseries in her own heart
that, not being able to bear the sight, she prayed to God to relieve her
from such distress; for she said if it had lasted longer she would have sunk
under it.
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". February - Humility)
Bible Quote:
2 Where pride is, there also shall be reproach: but where humility is, there
also is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
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Judgement Day
I kneel before the tribunal,
as every knee shall bow.
My body shaking with denial,
too late for repentance now.
My life lies exposed before me,
every sin, every kind deed.
Sobbing with dread and worry,
groveling on my face, I plead!
Daniel, A voice thunders,
Are you worthy of my call?
Why does He ask me, I wonder?
My face begins to pall.
Reflecting on my past life,
I hang my head in shame.
Past sins cut like a knife,
way too many to name.
No, Lord, I am not worthy.
Please have mercy on my soul!
Trembling with fear and anxiety,
my many virtues, I extol.
My son, I have loved you,
and many times did mourn.
I extended my hand to you
when you were lost and forlorn.
But continually you denied me,
and refused to repent.
The course I must take grieves me.
To hell, you will be sent.
I see tears in His eyes
as I hear those words I dread.
My fate comes as no surprise.
Te'kel echoes in my head!
by Dan McDonald
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