Saint of the day and Feast days - Part 2

[martin]

They definitely are associated in more ways than one!

The association can be seen more readily today if one looks at the entertainments business and all the immorality that seems to be part and parcel of this kind of life.

I was listening to an audio book recently written by the 2nd century theologian Tertullian. He went into the history of theatre and how it originated from idol worshipers and made its way into Christian entertainment which he said was abominable and should not be a part of the Christian culture.
A few years ago I would have probably thought that this was a bit of exaggeration but now I think not. Even if the whole world accepts a thing as being harmless, doesn't mean that the whole world is right, and if a thing can be judged by its fruits then what can one say about sensual entertainment in general?

[Shin]

They definitely are associated in more ways than one!

The association can be seen more readily today if one looks at the entertainments business and all the immorality that seems to be part and parcel of this kind of life.

I was listening to an audio book recently written by the 2nd century theologian Tertullian. He went into the history of theatre and how it originated from idol worshipers and made its way into Christian entertainment which he said was abominable and should not be a part of the Christian culture.
A few years ago I would have probably thought that this was a bit of exaggeration but now I think not. Even if the whole world accepts a thing as being harmless, doesn't mean that the whole world is right, and if a thing can be judged by its fruits then what can one say about sensual entertainment in general?

Martin the same thing was on my mind earlier. There were denunciation of the synagogues in the writings of the early church, for using this method, turning their synagogues into theatres to try to draw Christians away from their churches. History and methods do not change much.

Theatre versus liturgy -- priests as actors and performers, or priests as priests -- here we are today.

The theatres, dancing, acting, these all have very bad associations generally. 

[odhiambo]

What of instances where these means are used to spread the Gospel?
Surely that cannot be frowned upon?

[Shin]

Well, what are you thinking of? 

[odhiambo]

Well, what are you thinking of?  

Well, I have in mind  EWTN. I used to watch it on occasions and follow Mass or hear someone preach. One time I watched Scott Hahn teach a group of seminarians.
Today too,  our parish is going to screen the movie The Passion of Christ. That is "theatre, acting". 
Then there is "Servant of God", Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, who I understand, was well known for his preaching and especially for his work on television and radio. I only read about these things of course, I have no first hand knowledge.
These are examples of what I had in mind.

[odhiambo]

April 6
One of the many Saints we remember today is
Saint Prudentius of Troyes

[odhiambo]

While reviewing this biography, I came across some controversy. I think it best to leave it alone.
Saint Prudentius,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

I thought that this would be appropriate for today,
Good Friday of the Lord's Passion.

"Shahbaz Bhatti was a devout Catholic serving as a minister in the Government of Pakistan.
He was championing the cause of Christians and religious freedom, calling for the abolition of the law of blasphemy.
On March 2, 2011, he was brutally murdered.
For the Christians in Pakistan, he has become a martyr. His brother, speaking to reporters in Rome on April 5, said his family had forgiven the assassins, "because our faith teaches us to forgive” The crucified Jesus is our inspiration to lay down our lives for the Gospel. Not all of us merit bearing witness with blood. More ordinary ways include prayer and fasting…."

From my "Bible Diary.
African Edition 2012".
May the Crucified Jesus rest Shahbaz Bhatti’s soul in Eternal peace!

[odhiambo]

April 7
One of the many Saints we remember today is
Saint George the Younger

[odhiambo]

Saint George the Younger
Bishop of Mitylene
George was born in the 8th century at Mitylene, the capital of the island of Lesbos in Greece. He was a wealthy man. He donated his wealth to the poor then entered a monastery and was named Bishop of Mitylene, Lesbos. Though noted for his holiness and charity, George became involved in the Iconoclastic Controversy and was exiled to the Chersonese by Emperor Leo the Armenian. He died in exile in 816.
He was called the Younger to distinguish him from two of his predecessors as bishop of Mitylene named George.
Saint George,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

April 8
Today my brothers and sisters in Christ is
Easter Sunday 2012
Easter is the greatest feast for us Catholics.
Today, all the prayers, the abstinence and the fasting as well as the spiritual struggles that we have been going through during Lent were all to give meaning to this great day, the day that Jesus Christ arose from the dead.
I hope that we all died “ spiritually with Christ on Good Friday” when He was crucified and that early this morning we all resurrected with Him and will hence forth lead new lives in Christ.
For as the Servant of God. Fulton J. Sheen puts it:
“Unless there is a Good Friday in your life, there can be no Easter Sunday.”
Happy Easter everyone. 

[Shin]

'Brethren and fathers, Lent is already galloping past and the soul rejoices at the imminence of Easter, because by it it finds rest and is relieved of many toils. Why did this thought sound for me in advance? Because it is as if our whole life directs its reason contemplating the eternal Easter. For this present Easter, even though it is great and revered, is nevertheless, as our fathers explain, only a type of that Easter to come.

For this Easter is for one day and it passes, while that Easter has no successor. From it pain, grief and sighing have fled away; there everlasting joy, gladness and rejoicing; there the sound of those who feast, a choir of those who keep festival and contemplation of eternal light; where there is the blessed breakfast of Christ and the new drink of which Christ spoke, I shall not drink of the fruit of this vine, until I drink it with you new in the kingdom of my Father. Of this he spoke to his disciples when he was about to ascend to heaven, I am going to prepare a place for you and, if I go, I will prepare a place for you. I am coming again and I will take you to myself, so that where I am you maybe also. And where I am going you know, and the way you know. And a little further on, On that day you will know that I am in the Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. And elsewhere, Father, I wish that where I am they may be with me also, so that they may see my glory, which you gave me, because you loved from before the foundation of the world. But because this concerns not only the Apostles, but also ourselves, he also said, I do not ask this only for them, but also for those who through their word believe in me, so that all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you, that they may also be one in us.

What could be more comforting than these words? What could be more appealing? What soul can they not soften? What heart not prick with compunction, even should someone say that the human heart is a nature of stone? With thoughts like these the saints bore all that they bore, considering afflictions as joys, constraints as freedoms, struggles as delights, harsh training as relaxation, deaths as lives.'

St. Theodore the Studite

[odhiambo]

April 8
Today is also the Memorial of
Saint Herodion of Patras
Saint Asyncritus of Marathon
Saint Phlegon of Hyrcania
Among many other Saints.
__________________

[odhiambo]

Saint Herodion of Patras
Saint Asyncritus of Marathon
Saint Phlegon of Hyrcania
The three were First Century martyrs. They may have been among the “70 Disciples of Christ”.
Herodion was a relative of Saint Paul, as noted in Romans 16:11. The three were bishops overseeing several Christian Communities. Herodion was bishop of Patras, Greece. Asyncritus was bishop of Marathon, Greece and Phlegon was bishop of Hyrcania, modern Iran. Each of these saints died as martyrs under unknown circumstances.
Saint Herodion of Patras,
Pray for us!
Saint Asyncritus of Marathon,
Pray for us!
Saint Phlegon of Hyrcania,
Pray for us!

[odhiambo]

April 9
Today we remember
The Martyrs of Masyla
Among many other Saints.

[odhiambo]

The Martyrs of Masyla
The date of these martyrdoms unknown. A group of Christians, called the Martyrs Massylitani, were put to death in Masyla in North Africa. The 4th century Latin poet, Prudentius, reportedly wrote a hymn in their honor.
Ref: Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia Of Saints - Revised
Martyrs of Masyla,
Pray for us!