Glory to God

2 of 2 September 14 — THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS A few years later, his mother, St. Helen, having discovered the true cross upon Mount Calvary, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Croas was established in the Church but it was at a later perlod still — when the emperor Herachius achieved three wonderful victories over the Persian king Chosroes, who had possessed himself of the holy and precious relic — that this festival took a greater extension and was invested with a higher character of solemnity. The Feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross was thereupon instituted in memory of the discovery made by St. Helen, and that of the Exaltation to celebrate the triamphs of Heraclius. This was in the year 629. —— ✿ —— O lovely Tree, whose branches wore The royal purple of His gore! How glorious does thy body shine, Supporting members so divine! ~ VEXILLA REGIS —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice To make the sign of the cross in every temptation and danger. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) O Crux, ave, spes única. Hail, O Cross, our only hope.

September 14 — THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS WHEN the emperor Constantine was waverIng in mind between Christianity and idolatry, a luminous cross appeared to him in the heavens, bearing the inscription, ‘In this sign shalt thou conquer.’. He became a Christian and was victorious over the enemles of the faith. (continued)

2 of 2 SEPTEMBER 14 — THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST A few years later, his saintly mother having found the cross on which Our Saviour suffered, the feast of the "Exaltation" was established in the Church; but it was only at a later period still, namely, after the Emperor Heraclius had achieved three great and wondrous victories over Chosroes, King of Persia, who had possessed himself of the holy and precious relic, that this festival took a more general extension, and was invested with a higher character of solemnity. The feast of the " Finding " was thereupon instituted, in memory of the discovery made by St. Helena; and that of the " Exaltation " was reserved to celebrate the triumphs of Heraclius. The greatest power of the Catholic world was at that time centred in the Empire of the East, and was verging toward its ruin, when God put forth His hand to save it: the re-establishment of the Cross at Jerusalem was the sure pledge thereof. This great event occurred in 629. REFLECTION. — Herein is found the accomplishment of the Saviour's word: " If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to myself. ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) O Crux, ave, spes única. Hail, O Cross, our only hope.

SEPTEMBER 14 — THE EXALTATION OF THE HOLY CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST CONSTANTINE was still wavering between Christianity and idolatry when a luminous cross appeared to him in the heavens, bearing the inscription, "In this sign shalt thou conquer." He became a Christian, and triumphed over his enemies, who were, at the same time, the enemies of the faith. (continued)

2 of 2 September 13 — ST. AMATUS, Abbot But the weak Thierry III, influenced by corrupt and evil advisers, became the enemy of the holy Amatus, condemned him without appeal, and exiled him from his diocese. The meek bishop patiently bore this unjust treatment, and withdrew to a monastery, where he died a holy death in 690. Thierry, converted, no doubt, by the prayers of his gentle victim, discovered too late the wrong he had done the saintly man, and sought to repair the past by deeds of mercy. —— ✿ —— . . . Innocence shall make False accusation blush, and tyranny Tremble at patience. ~ SHAKESPEARE —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice Patiently endure wrongs, and it may be that you will convert the sinner who inflicts them upon you. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) St. Amatus, ora ora nobis.

September 13 — ST. AMATUS, Abbot ST. AMATUS was a recluse who led an austere life in a cell belonging to the ancient monastery of Agaune. He was called from his retirement to be elevated to the bishopric of Sion in the Valais. Here he labored faithfully in the functions of his high office, and by his sanctity gave universal edification. (continued)

2 of 2 SEPTEMBER 13 — ST. EULOGIUS, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA Having, by an enlarged pursuit of learning, attained to a great variety of useful knowledge in the different branches of literature, he set himself to the study of divinity in the sacred sources of that science, which are the Holy Scriptures, the tradition of the Church as explained in its councils, and the approved writings of its eminent pastors. In the great dangers and necessities of the Church he was drawn out of his solitude, and made priest of Antioch by the patriarch St. Anastasius. Upon the death of John, the Patriarch of Alexandria, St.Eulogius was raised to that patriarchal dignity toward the close of the year 583. About two years after his promotion, our Saint was obliged to make a journey to Constantinople, in order to concert measures concerning certain affairs of his Church. He met at court St. Gregory the Great, and contracted with him a holy friendship, so that, from that time, they seemed to be one heart and one soul. Among the letters of St. Gregory, we have several extant which he wrote to our Saint. St. Eulogius composed many excellent works against different heresies, and died in the year 606. REFLECTION. — We admire the great actions and the glorious triumph of the Saints; yet it is not so much in these that their sanctity consisted, as in the constant habitual heroic disposition of their souls. There is no one who does not sometimes do good actions; but he can never be called virtuous who does well only by humor, or by fits and starts, not by steady habits. ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) St. Eulogius, pray for us.

SEPTEMBER 13 — ST. EULOGIUS, PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA St. EULOGIUS was a Syrian by birth, and while young embraced the monastic state in that country. The Eutychian heresy had thrown the Churches of Syria and Egypt into much confusion, and a great part of the monks of Syria were at that time become remarkable for their loose morals and errors against faith. Eulogius learned from the fall of others to stand more watchfully and firmly upon his guard, and was not less distinguished by his innocence and sanctity of his manners than by the purity of his doctrine. (continued)

2 of 2 September 12 — ST. SACERDOS, Bishop Childebert, the pious king of Paris, held him in peculiar esteem; and he was so beloved and venerated by his own people that, having died at Paris in or about the year 550, envoys were sent by the faithful of Lyons to bring back the remains of St. Sacerdos to his own see, so that they might preserve even in death the holy body of their departed pastor and bishop. Thus the honors which that sainted prelate had shunned during life, pursued and crowned him in the tomb. —— ✿ —— . . . Dying to leave a memory like the breath Of summers full of sunshine and of showers, A grief and gladness in the atmosphere. ~ HENRY W. LONGFELLOW —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice To act in all things for the love of God, and He will make you, in your turn, beloved. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) St. Sacerdos, ora ora nobis.

September 12 — ST. SACERDOS, Bishop IN the sixth century, the see of Lyons being vacant, St. Sacerdos, against his will and almost by virtue of royal authority, was appointed to succeed St. Leo. The new prelate answered the general expectation formed respecting him by his personal virtues, by his great zeal for the sanctification of his flock and for the destruction of heresy. (continued)

2 of 2 SEPTEMBER 12 — ST. GUY OF ANDERLECHT Guy could not bear to leave the church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at last closed with it. Their ship, however, was lost on the first voyage, and on returning to Laeken, Guy found his place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for his inconstancy. About the year 1033, finding his end at hand, he returned to Anderlecht, in his own country. As he died, a light shone round him, and a voice was heard proclaiming his eternal reward. REFLECTION. — Jesus was only nine months in the womb of Mary, three hours on the Cross, three days in the sepulchre, but He is always in the tabernacle. Does our reverence before Him bear witness to this most blessed truth? ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) St. Guy of Anderlecht, pray for us.

September 12 — ST. SACERDOS, Bishop IN the sixth century, the see of Lyons being vacant, St. Sacerdos, against his will and almost by virtue of royal authority, was appointed to succeed St. Leo. The new prelate answered the general expectation formed respecting him by his personal virtues, by his great zeal for the sanctification of his flock and for the destruction of heresy. (continued)

SEPTEMBER 12 — ST. GUY OF ANDERLECHT As a child Guy had two loves, the Church and the poor. The love of prayer growing more and more, he left his poor home at Brussels to seek greater poverty and closer union with God. He arrived at Laeken, near Brussels, and there showed such devotion before Our Lady's shrine that the priest besought him to stay and serve the Church. Thenceforth, his great joy was to be always in the church, sweeping the floor and ceiling, polishing the altars, and cleansing the sacred vessels. By day he still found time and means to befriend the poor, so that his almsgiving became famous in all those parts. A merchant of Brussels, hearing of the generosity of this poor sacristan, came to Laeken, and offered him a share in his business. (continued)

2 of 2 September 12 — ST. SACERDOS, Bishop Childebert, the pious king of Paris, held him in peculiar esteem; and he was so beloved and venerated by his own people that, having died at Paris in or about the year 550, envoys were sent by the faithful of Lyons to bring back the remains of St. Sacerdos to his own see, so that they might preserve even in death the holy body of their departed pastor and bishop. Thus the honors which that sainted prelate had shunned during life, pursued and crowned him in the tomb. —— ✿ —— . . . Dying to leave a memory like the breath Of summers full of sunshine and of showers, A grief and gladness in the atmosphere. ~ HENRY W. LONGFELLOW —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice To act in all things for the love of God, and He will make you, in your turn, beloved. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) St. Sacerdos, ora ora nobis.

2 of 2 SEPTEMBER 12 — ST. GUY OF ANDERLECHT Guy could not bear to leave the church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at last closed with it. Their ship, however, was lost on the first voyage, and on returning to Laeken, Guy found his place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for his inconstancy. About the year 1033, finding his end at hand, he returned to Anderlecht, in his own country. As he died, a light shone round him, and a voice was heard proclaiming his eternal reward. REFLECTION. — Jesus was only nine months in the womb of Mary, three hours on the Cross, three days in the sepulchre, but He is always in the tabernacle. Does our reverence before Him bear witness to this most blessed truth? ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) St. Guy of Anderlecht, pray for us.

2 of 2 September 11 — ST. PAPHNUCIUS, Bishop When Constantine the Great restored peace to the Church, Paphnucius reappeared in his diocese; and the glory of his recent sufferings for the faith, as well as his personal sanctity, attracted to him not only the homage of his flock, but that of the Fathers of the Council at Nicea. The emperor delighted in conversing with the holy bishop, and never parted from him without kissing respectfully the scars of those wounds which Paphnucius had endured for Christ. At the Council of Tyre, when a difference had arisen between St. Athanasius and Maximus, patriarch of Jerusalem, Paphnucius was so fortunate as to effect a reconciliation between those who had been calumniated by the enemies of the faith. —— ✿ —— Thus he conducts, by holy paths and pleasant, Innocent souls, and sinful souls forgiven, Towards the bright palace where our God is present, Throned in high heaven. ~ CARDINAL NEWMAN —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice To keep your soul in such holy peace that you may be able to communicate peace to others. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) St. Paphnucius, ora ora nobis.

September 11 — ST. PAPHNUCIUS, Bishop ST. PAPHNUCIUS was the disciple of St. Anthony and one of the holiest bishops of Upper Egypt. During the persecution of Maximinus, because he confessed the faith, he was grievously wounded in the hand and ankle; his right eye was torn out; and he was condemned to labor in the mines. (continued)

2 of 2 SEPTEMBER 11 — ST. PAPHNUTIUS, BISHOP Constantine the Great, during the celebration of that synod, sometimes conferred privately with him in his palace, and never dismissed him without kissing respectfully the place which had once held the eye he had lost for the faith. St. Paphnutius remained always in a close union with St. Athanasius, and accompanied him to the Council of Tyre, in 335, where they found much the greater part of that assembly to be professed Arians. Seeing Maximus, Bishop of Jerusalem, among them, Paphnutius took him by the hand, led him out, and told him he could not see that any who bore the same marks as he in defence of the faith should be seduced and imposed upon by persons who were resolved to oppress the most strenuous assertor of its fundamental article. We have no particular account of the death of St. Paphnutius; but his name stands in the Roman Martyrology on the 11th of September. REFLECTION. — If to fight for our country be glorious, "it is likewise great glory to follow the Lord," saith the Wise Man. ~ Pictorial Lives of the Saints (1878) St. Paphnutius, pray for us.

SEPTEMBER 11 — ST. PAPHNUTIUS, BISHOP The holy confessor Paphnutius was an Egyptian, and after having spent several years in the desert, under the direction of the great St. Antony, was made bishop in Upper Thebais. He was one of those confessors who, under the tyrant Maximin Daia, lost their right eye, and were afterward sent to work in the mines. Peace being restored to the Church, Paphnutius returned to his flock. The Arian heresy being broached in Egypt, he was one of the most zealous in defending the Catholic faith, and for his eminent sanctity and the glorious title of confessor (or one who had confessed the faith before the persecutors and under torments) was highly considered in the great Council of Nice. (continued)

2 of 2 September 10 — ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINE, Confessor His eminent sanctity would seem to have been foretold by a star of wonderful splendor which at his nativity is said to have shot through the heavens from St. Angelo, pausing over the city of Tolentino, where he afterwards fixed his residence. In his religious career St. Nicholas was distinguished by his fervent devotion and extraordinary austerities, so that it was remarked of him that ‘‘he did not live, but languished through life.” He was also an eloquent preacher. After being favored with innumerable miracles, visions, and revelations, St. Nicholas died in 1309, and was canonized in 1446. —— ✿ —— . . . His flutt’ring pulses slowly cease To time the deeds that went his days to fill; And calmly, sweetly fades his life away, As fades the twilight of a cloudiess day. ~ BROTHER AZARIAS —— ✿ —— Favorite Practice To hide one’s little daily austerities under a sweet, affable exterior. ~ Short Lives of the Saints (1884) St. Nicholas of Tolentino, ora ora nobis.