Welcome To My World!

AUGUST 31
ST. AIDAN

Aidan was a seventh-century Irish monk. He lived at the great monastery of Iona, which St. Columban had founded. St. Oswald became king of North England in 634. He asked for missionaries to preach to his pagan people. The first missionary to go soon came back complaining that the English were rude, stubborn and wild. The monks got together to talk about the situation. "It seems to me," St. Aidan said to the returned monk, "that you have been too harsh with those people." He then explained that, as St. Paul says, first easy teachings are to be given. Then when the people have grown stronger on the Word of God, they can start to do the more perfect things of God's holy law.

When the monks heard such wise words, they turned to Aidan. "You should be the one to go to North England to preach the Gospel," they said. Aidan went willingly. He took on his new assignment with humility and a spirit of prayer. He began by preaching. King St. Oswald himself translated Aidan's sermons into English until the saint learned the language better. St. Aidan traveled all over, always on foot. He preached and helped the people. He did much good and was greatly loved by the people. After thirty years of St. Aidan's ministry, any monk or priest who came into the village was greeted with great joy by all the villagers.

On the island of Lindisfarne, St. Aidan built a large monastery. So many saints were to come from there that Lindisfarne became known as the Holy Island. Little by little, the influence of these zealous missionaries changed North England into a civilized, Christian land. St. Aidan died in 651.

We can learn from St. Aidan's life that the witness of a joyful, kind person is a powerful influence on others. When we need help seeing the good in people, we can whisper a prayer to St. Aidan.

Daily Reading & Meditation

Thursday (8/31): "If you knew in what part of the night the thief was coming, you would have watched!”

Scripture: Matthew 24:42-51

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, 51 and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

Meditation: What can a thief in the night teach us about the kingdom of God? Lack of vigilance invites disaster! What thief would send a message to announce his impending crime? God offers us the greatest treasure possible -- his kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. It’s possible to lose this great treasure if we do not keep vigilant watch. What do we watch for? The Lord and the coming of his kingdom for certain! We pray daily May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The Lord is at work to renew his people and to equip us for spiritual battle and for the spread of the gospel. Are you ready for his action and grace in your life?

We also watch for the enemy who seeks to rob us of our treasure. If Satan can’t induce us to give up on our faith in God and on our hope in heaven, he tries to make us spiritually dull and indifferent to the word of God and he tempts us to procrastinate. His ruse is to tell Christians that there is no hurry! His strategy is to make us think that there is plenty of time to get right with God and do his will. Jesus gives us sufficient grace for today and he gives us time to turn to him, but that time is right now! We cannot guarantee that tomorrow will come.

Colonoscopy

All the organs of the body were having a meeting,

trying to decide who was the one in charge.

"I should be in charge," said the brain ,

"Because I run all the body's systems,

so without me nothing would happen."

"I should be in charge," said the blood ,

"Because I circulate oxygen all over

so without me you'd all waste away."

"I should be in charge," said the stomach,"

Because I process food and give

all of you energy."

"I should be in charge," said the legs,

"because I carry the body wherever

it needs to go."

"I should be in charge," said the eyes,

"Because I allow the body to see

where it goes."

"I should be in charge," said the rectum,

"Because I'm responsible for

waste removal."

All the other body parts laughed at the rectum

And insulted him, so in a huff,

he shut down tight.

Within a few days,

the brain had a terrible headache,

the stomach was bloated,

the legs got wobbly,

the eyes got watery,

and the blood Was toxic.

They all decided that the

rectum should be the boss.

The Moral of the story?

The asshole is usually in charge !!

Typical macho man married typical good-looking lady
And after the wedding, he laid down the following
Rules:

"I'll be home when I want, if I want and at what time
I want and I don't expect any hassle from you. I
Expect a great dinner to be on table unless I tell you
That I won't be home for dinner. I'll go hunting,
Fishing, boozing and card-playing when I want with my
Old buddies and don't you give me a hard time about
It. Those are my rules. Any comments?"

His new bride said, "No, that's fine with me. Just
Understand that there will be sex here at seven
O'clock every night ......... Whether you're here or
Not."

(DAMM SHE'S GOOD!)

** * * *

Marriage (Part II)

Husband and wife had a bitter quarrel on the day of
Their 40th wedding anniversary!

The husband yells, "When you die, I'm getting you a
Headstone that reads:

"Here Lies My Wife - Cold As Ever "

"Yeah?" she replies. "When you die, I'm getting you a
Headstone that reads:

"Here Lies My Husband Stiff At Last"

(HE ASKED FOR IT!)

** * * *** *

Marriage (Part III)

Husband (a doctor) and his wife are having a fight at
The breakfast table.

Husband gets up in a rage and
Says, "And you are no good in bed either,"
And storms out of the house.

After sometime, he realizes he was nasty and decides
To make amends and rings her up. She comes to the
Phone after many rings, and the irritated husband
Says, "what took you so long to answer the phone?"

She says, "I was in bed."

"In bed this early, doing what?"

"Getting a second opinion!"

(YEP, HE HAD THAT ONE COMING, TOO!)

** * * *

Marriage (Part IV)

A man has six children and is very proud of his achievement. He is so proud of himself, that he starts calling his wife, "Mother of Six" in spite of her
objections.

One night, they go to a party. The man decides that
it's time to go home and wants to find out if his wife
is ready to leave as well. He shouts at the top of his
voice, "Shall we go home 'Mother of Six?'

His wife, irritated by her husband's lack of
discretion, shouts right back, "Anytime you're ready,
Father of Four."

(RIGHT ON, LADY!)

** * * * *

Marriage (Part V) The Silent Treatment

A man and his wife were having some problems at home
and were giving each other the silent treatment.
Suddenly,

The man realized that the next day, he would
Need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early
morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first
To break the silence (and LOSE),

He wrote on a piece
Of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it
where he knew she would find it.

The next morning, the
man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he
had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and
see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a
Piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00
AM. Wake up."

AUGUST 30
ST. PAMMACHIUS

Pammachius was a distinguished Christian layman who lived in the fourth century. As a young student, he had become friends with St. Jerome. They remained friends all their lives and kept an ongoing correspondence. His wife was Paulina, the second daughter of St. Paula, another good friend of St. Jerome. When Paulina died in 397, St. Jerome and St. Paulinus of Nola wrote deeply moving letters filled with sympathy, support and the promise of prayers.
Pammachius was heart-broken about his wife's death. He spent the rest of his life serving in the hospice he and St. Fabiola built. There pilgrims coming to Rome were welcomed and made comfortable. Pammachius and Fabiola willingly accepted and even preferred the poor, the sick and the handicapped. Pammachius felt that his deceased wife was with him as he performed his works of mercy. Paulina had been known for her love for the poor and suffering. Her husband now believed that by caring for them, he was paying the best possible tribute to her memory.

St. Pammachius was much more gentle with his words and ways than the fiery St. Jerome. He often suggested to Jerome that he soften or reword his letters, but Jerome usually did not. For example, a man named Jovinian was teaching serious errors. Jerome wrote a harsh essay exposing Jovinian's errors.

Pammachius read the essay and made some good suggestions about rewording the overpowering expressions. St. Jerome thanked his friend for his concern, but did not make the corrections. Pammachius also tried to heal a quarrel between his friend St. Jerome and a man named Rufinus. But it does not seem that he could move Jerome to become more mild in his handling of the person or issues.
St. Pammachius had a church in his house. Today it is the Passionist church of Saints John and Paul. St. Pammachius died in 410 as the Goths were taking over Rome.

St. Pammachius knew how to be a good friend. He was supportive and honest. We can ask him to help us be true to our friends as he was.

Daily Reading & Meditation

Wednesday (8/30): "You outwardly appear righteous, but within are full of hypocrisy and iniquity"

Scripture: Matthew 23:27-32

27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like white washed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but within you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, `If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.' 31 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

Meditation: What is true goodness and how can you distinguish it from its counterfeits? Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth (Isaiah 11:3-4). Jesus used strong language to warn the religious leaders about the vanity of appearance and pretense. In Palestine tombs were often placed by the sides of roads. They were painted white which made them glisten in the midday sun, especially around the time of the great feasts, so that people would not accidently touch them and incur ritual impurity. Jesus warns that what truly corrupts the soul is not ritual impurity but the impurity of sinful attitudes, such as pride, greed, sloth, envy, hatred, lust, and gluttony. The scribes and Pharisees were intensely religious in their outward observances, but their outward show didn't match the inner reality of the state of their hearts. They not only neglected the poor and the weak, but they were intolerant towards anyone who challenged their idea of religion. That is why so many of the prophets were persecuted in the past.

Jesus chastised the religious leaders for being double-minded and for demanding from others standards which they refused to satisfy. They professed admiration for the prophets by building their tombs while at the same time they opposed their message and closed their ears to the word of God. They shut themselves to heaven and they hindered others from understanding God's word. They rejected the Messiah because their hearts were hardened to the voice of God. Only the humble of heart can receive from God true wisdom and understanding, and pardon and healing. The Holy Spirit is ever ready to renew our minds and hearts and to fill us with the peace, joy, and righteousness of God's kingdom.