Daily Reflection for March 18, 2014 March 18, 2014 -------------------------------------------------------- Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot It is a great poverty that a child must die so that you may live as you wish. -- Mother Teresa A SAINT A DAY ------------------------------ ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM Bishop of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church Information: Feast Day: March 18 Born: 315 Died: 386 Bishop of Jerusalem and Doctor of the Church, born about 315; died probably 18 March, 386. In the East his feast is observed on the 18th of March, in the West on the 18th or 20th. Little is known of his life. We gather information concerning him from his younger contemporaries, Epiphanius, Jerome, and Rufinus, as well as from the fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. Cyril himself gives us the date of his Catecheses as fully seventy years after the Emperor Probus, that is about 347, if he is exact. Constans (d. 350) was then still alive. Mader thinks Cyril was already bishop, but it is usually held that he was at this date only as a priest. St. Jerome relates (Chron. ad ann. 352) that Cyril had been ordained priest by St. Maximus, his predecessor, after whose death the episcopate was promised to Cyril by the metropolitan, Acacius of Caesarea, and the other Arian bishops, on condition that he should repudiate the ordination he had received from Maximus. He consented to minister as deacon only, and was rewarded for this impiety with the see. Maximus had consecrated Heraclius to succeed himself, but Cyril, by various frauds, degraded Heraclius to the priesthood. So says St. Jerome; but Socrates relates that Acacius drove out St. Maximus and substituted St. Cyril. A quarrel soon broke out between Cyril and Acacius, apparently on a question of precedence or jurisdiction. At Nicaea the metropolitan rights of Caesarea had been guarded, while a special dignity had been granted to Jerusalem. Yet St. Maximus had held a synod and had ordained bishops. This may have been as much as the cause of Acacius enmity to him as his attachment to the Nicene formula. On the other hand, Cyrils correct Christology may have been the real though veiled ground of the hostility of Acacius to him. At all events, in 357 Acacius caused Cyril to be exiled on the charge of selling church furniture during a famine. Cyril took refuge with Silvanus, Bishop of Taraus. He appeared at the Council of Seleucia in 359, in which the Semi-Arian party was triumphant. Acacius was deposed and St. Cyril seems to have returned to his see. But the emperor was displeased at the turn of events, and, in 360, Cyril and other moderates were again driven out, and only returned at the accession of Julian in 361. In 367 a decree of Valens banished all the bishops who had been restored by Julian, and Cyril remained in exile until the death of the persecutor in 378. In 380, St. Gregory of Nyssa came to Jerusalem on the recommendation of a council held at Antioch in the preceding year. He found the Faith in accord with the truth, but the city a prey to parties and corrupt in morals. St. Cyril attended the great Council of Constantinople in 381, at which Theodosius had ordered the Nicene faith, now a law of the empire, to be promulgated. St. Cyril then formally accepted the homoousion; Socrates and Sozomen call this an act of repentance. Socrates gives 385 for St. Cyrils death, but St. Jerome tells us that St. Cyril lived eight years under Theodosius, that is, from January 379. FAVOURITE QUOTES FOR DADS ------------------------------ The family is the nucleus of civilization. -- William J. Durant FAVOURITE QUOTES FOR MOMS ------------------------------ It was my mother who taught us to stand up to our problems, not only in the world around us but in ourselves. -- Dorothy Pitman Hughes 1ST READING (Isaiah 1:10, 16-20) ------------------------------ This is an uncompromising call to repentance. It is exactly what we need to hear, or maybe not. If we have sin in our lives that we are not addressing, then this text is for us. We cannot afford to take sin lightly as it has the power to destroy our lives. The alternative is a much more attractive option — living in and serving the Gospel; living in and bathing in the love and mercy of God. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION ------------------------------ Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the Lord, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. GOSPEL (Matthew 23:1-12) ------------------------------ We should always strive to make life as easy as we can for others. That is, let us not cause others to stumble or make their way difficult. This may seem a little unreasonable as the world often presents us with circumstances that make it virtually impossible to help everyone. Let us seek to cause the least amount of damage and difficulty for others. REFLECTION ------------------------------ Tuesday (March 18): Whoever humbles himself will be exalted Meditation: Who doesn’t desire the praise and respect of others? We want others to see us at our best with all of our strengths and achievements – rather than at our worst with all of our faults and shortcomings. God sees us as we truly are – sinners and beggars always in need of his mercy, help, and guidance. The prophet Isaiah warned both the rulers and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah to listen to Gods teaching so they could learn to do good and to cease from evil (Isaiah 110,17). Jesus warned the scribes and Pharisees, the teachers and rulers of Israel, to teach and serve their people with humility and sincerity rather than with pride and self- promotion. They went to great lengths to draw attention to their religious status and practices. In a way they wanted to be good models of observant Jews. See how well we observe all the ritual rules and regulations of our religion! In their misguided zeal for religion they sought recognition and honor for themselves rather than for God. They made the practice of their faith a burden rather than a joy for the people they were supposed to serve. True respect for God inclines us to humble ourselves and to submit to his teaching. We cannot be taught by God unless we first learn to listen to his word and then obey his instruction. Was Jesus against calling anyone a rabbi, the Jewish title for a teacher of Gods word (Matthew 23:7-8), or a father? – the law of Moses commanded fathers to teach their children to obey Gods instructions (Deuteronomy 6:7)? Or was he just directing this sharp rebuke to the scribes and Pharisees? Jesus seemed to be warning both his disciples and the religious leaders about the temptation to seek titles and honors to increase ones own reputation and admiration by others. The scriptures give ample warning about the danger of self-seeking pride: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbes 16:18). God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6; Proverbs 3:24). Origen, a Christian teacher and bible scholar writing in the 3rd century, reminds those who teach and lead to remember that you have one teacher, and you are all brothers to each other... Whoever ministers with the divine word does not put himself forward to be called teacher, for he knows that when he performs well it is Christ who is within him. He should only call himself servant according to the command of Christ, saying, Whoever is greater among you, let him be the servant of all. Respect for God and for his ways inclines us to Godly humility and simplicity of heart. What is true humility and why should we embrace it? True humility is not feeling bad about yourself, or having a low opinion of yourself, or thinking of yourself as inferior to others. True humility frees us from preoccupation with ourselves, whereas a low self-opinion tends to focus our attention on ourselves. Humility is truth in self-understanding and truth in action. Viewing ourselves truthfully, with sober judgment, means seeing ourselves the way God sees us (Psalm 139:1-4). A humble person makes a realistic assessment of oneself without illusion or pretense to be something one is not. A truly humble person regards oneself neither smaller nor larger than one truly is. True humility frees us to be ourselves as God sees us and to avoid despair and pride. A humble person does not want to wear a mask or put on a facade in order to look good to others. Such a person is not swayed by accidentals, such as fame, reputation, success, or failure. Do you know the joy of Christ-like humility and simplicity of heart? Humility is the queen or foundation of all the other virtues because it enables us to see and judge correctly, the way God sees. Humility helps us to be teachable so we can acquire true knowledge, wisdom, and an honest view of reality. It directs our energy, zeal, and ambition to give ourselves to something greater than ourselves. Humility frees us to love and serve others selflessly, for their sake, rather than our own. Paul the Apostle gives us the greatest example and model of humility in the person of Jesus Christ, who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, and ...who humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:7-8). Do you want to be a servant as Jesus served and loved others? The Lord gives grace to those who humbly seek him. PRAYER ------------------------------ Lord Jesus, you became a servant for my sake to set me free from the tyranny of selfish pride and self-concern. Teach me to be humble as you are humble and to love others generously with selfless service and kindness. -------------------------------------------------------- Lectionary for Mass is from the USCCB website located at: usccb.org/bible/readings/ -------------------------------------------------------- This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager, whose website is located at: rc.net/wcc/readings/ -------------------------------------------------------- You can also visit mobilegabriel/ for the complete readings and reflections for the whole month. -------------------------------------------------------- A Saint A Day courtesy of EWTN Global Catholic Network at: ewtn/saintsHoly/ -------------------------------------------------------- Inspirational message courtesy of EWTN Global Catholic Network at: ewtn/Devotionals/
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 06:57:58 +0000
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