From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
August 29th - St. Sebbi, or Sebba, King and Confessor
THIS prince was the son of Seward, and in the year 664, which was
remarkable for a grievous pestilence, began to reign over the East
Saxons, who inhabited the country which, now comprises Essex,
Middlesex, and the greater part of Hertfordshire; he being the tenth
king from Erkinwin, founder of that kingdom, in 527, and sixth from
Sebert, the first Christian king, who founded St. Paul's church, an=
d
Thorney abbey, about the year 604. Sebba was, by his wise and pious
government, the father of his people, and a perfect model of all
virtues, and on the throne sanctified his soul by the most heroic
exercises of austere penance, profuse alms-deeds, and assiduous
prayer.
When he had reigned happily, and with great glory, during 30 years, he
resigned his crown to his two sons, Sigeard and Senfrid, which he had
long before desired to do, in order to be more at liberty to prepare
himself for his last hour. His queen took the religious veil about the
same time. St. Sebba received the monastic habit from the hands of
Waldhere, successor of St. Erconwald in the bishopric of London, whom
he charged with the distribution of all his personal estates among the
poor. Our saint seemed to have death always present to his mind; and
his grievous fears of that tremendous passage were at length converted
into a longing joyful hope. After two years spent in great fervour in
monastic retirement, he died at London, in holy joy, about the year
697, having been forewarned by God of his last hour three days before.
Bede assures us that his death was accompanied with many miracles and
heavenly favours. His body was interred in St. Paul's church, and h=
is
tomb was to be seen there, adjoining the north wall, till the great
fire in 1666. His Latin epitaph is extant in Weever's Funeral
Monuments, [1] as follows:=E2=80=94=E2=80=9CHere lies Sebba, king of the Ea=
st Saxons,
who was converted to the faith by St. Erconwald, bishop of London, in
677. A man very devout to God, and fervent in acts of religion,
constant prayer, and pious alms-deeds. He preferred a monastic life to
the riches of a kingdom, and took the religious habit from Waldere,
bishop of London, who had succeeded Erconwald.=E2=80=9D His name occurs in = the
Roman Martyrology.
See Bede Hist. l. 3, c. 30, l. 4, c. 11. Abo F. Alford's Annals, (a=
d
an. 693, t. 2, p. 413.) whose collection is a very valuable treasure
of the ecclesiastical history of this nation, as our most learned
antiquary Bishop Fleetwood observes, though the light of criticism
must direct the reader in some parts of the work.
Note 1. P. 356.
Bible Quote:
Then Jesus said to them: My time is not yet come; but your time is
always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth: because I
give testimony of it, that the works thereof are evil. (John 7:6-7) DRB
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Humility
Humility so greatly pleases God that, in coming upon earth, He made it
His own special virtue.=C2 In order to understand it, let us rise above
the highest heavens to that sublime solitude where the infinite
excellence of His Being places Him--at an incommensurable distance
from all created beings.=C2 This will be the starting-point which will
enable us to measure the humility of the Incarnate Word.=C2 He descends
first to the dazzling order of the Seraphim, which, for God, is
already an immense descent; it is to traverse the infinite.=C2 He still descends, and descends until He arrives at our nature.=C2 It is in our
clay He wills His majesty to be.=C2 But in this clay there are different degrees.=C2 There is the clay which shines beneath the splendor of gold
and of purple.=C2 It is doubtless a false splendor, but yet it shines;
the Word of God will have none of it.=C2 He, therefore, descends yet
lower.=C2 First, He finds a stable, then the dwelling of an artisan.=C2=
He
finds a poor woman, who gains her bread by labor.=C2 He descends even
lower than this, and He hides Himself in her womb; He chooses this
obscure person to be His first dwelling upon earth.=C2 O abyss of
humility!=C2 Who, after this, would desire esteem and glory? Who would
wish to appear in public, to attract notice, to make himself
applauded?=C2 Who would not love a hidden life?
=C2 --Rev. M. Hamon, Meditations for All the Days of the Year, 19th centu=
ry
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