From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
July 16th - St. Sisenandus of Cordova, Martyr
=C2 (also known as Sisenando of Cordoba
Born at Badajoz, Estremadura, Portugal; died at Cordova, Spain, 851.
Sisenandus was a man of the cross. He made the sign of the cross on
himself and on everything-on the face of the morning, on his bread, on
the road that he travelled. At every step, at every turn, the cross
was before him: the cross that can be seen planted in the earth or
elevated above the altar, and the cross that cannot be seen, the cross
that is secret and hidden.
From his youth he was filled with faith, and from his faith he learned
hope, and from his contemplation of the cross he learned charity. Led
by the cross he went to Cordova to study Latin, theology, canon law,
liturgy, and all that was needed to become a priest. He was ordained a
deacon at Cordova.
He lodged in the church of Saint Acisclus, martyred under Diocletian,
and it was to Saint Acisclus that he prayed for help, as if he already
knew what his own fate was to be. He prayed to the saint fervently,
constantly, appealing to him on the fellowship of the cross, not yet
knowing just what it was that drew him on. Nevertheless, he answered
the call, acknowledging the smallness of his understanding in the
embrace of divine logic; and gradually, as he prayed, his resolution
grew, his hesitation lessened and he prepared-not without fear-to
answer the call of Peter, Wallabonsus, Sabinian, Wistremundus,
Habentius, and Jeremias, all of them martyred by the Moors.
They were claiming him as one of them, and Sisenandus put himself into
the hands of Jesus Christ. The Moors under Abderrahman II had just
unleashed a new epidemic of persecutions against the Christians, but
Sisenandus had put himself in the hands of Jesus Christ, so how could
he be other than joyful?
He was imprisoned, but prison did not deprive him of his freedom for
with the cross as his key no doors were locked to him. He lived
without thought for the morrow and prayed for the conversion of his
guards. He wrote to one of his friends, but had to break off the
letter and end it with a cross, for he knew before they arrived that
his guards were coming to take him to his death.
God had seen his strength and courage and found him worthy enough to
know that his death was coming and to go out and meet it. When the
guards came and dragged him out of the prison with insults and blows,
he made the sign of the cross as if he were entering a church. And
when he was taken in front of the large crowd to be bound and
beheaded, he crossed himself for the last time (Benedictines,
Encyclopedia).
Saint Quote:
Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with
bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be.
-- Saint Thomas More
Bible Quote:
=C2 For the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are done with faithfulness.=C2 [Psalm 33:4]=C2 DRB
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ACT OF CONSECRATION
By St. Francis de Sales
MOST Holy Mary, Virgin Mother of God, I (full name), most unworthy
though I am to be thy servant, yet touched by thy motherly care for me
and longing to serve thee, do, in the presence of my Guardian Angel
and all the court of Heaven, choose thee this day to be my queen, my
advocate, and my mother, and I firmly purpose to serve thee evermore
myself and to do what I can that all may render faithful service to
thee.
Therefore, most devoted Mother, through the Precious Blood thy Son
poured out for me, I beg thee and beseech thee, deign to take me among
thy clients and receive me as thy servant forever.
Aid me in my every action, and beg for me the grace never, by word or
deed or thought, to be displeasing in thy sight and that of thy most
holy Son.
Think of me, my dearest Mother, and desert me not at the hour of death. Ame=
n.
Saint Quote:
Whatever a man prefers to God, that he makes a god to himself.
-- Saint Cyprian of Carthage
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* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)