Called to shine in the midst of darkness

Called to shine in the midst of darkness

   "Why does the Lord call us the light of the world? Why has he
compared us to a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14)? Are we not called to
shine in the midst of darkness, and stand up high for those most sunk
down? If you hide your lamp beneath a bushel (Matthew 5:15; Luke 8:26,
11:33), you will soon notice that you yourself will be in the dark.
You will find others bumping into you. So what can you do to illumine
the world? Let your faith produce good works. Be a reflection of God's
light. The good is not preoccupied with darkness. It rejoices in being
seen (John 3:21). It exults over the very pointings which are made at
it. Christian modesty not only wishes to be modest, but also it wishes
to be beheld as what it actually is."
by Tertullian, 160-225 A.D.(excerpt from ON THE APPAREL OF WOMEN 2.13)

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 9 February =E2=80=93 Saint Raynald of Nocera

(c 1150-1217)
Bishop, Hermit, Monk, Abbot. Born in c 1150 and died on 9 February
1217 in Nocera, Umbria, Italy of natural causes. Patronages =E2=80=93 the
Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino, Italy. and City of
Norcera. Also known as Rainaldus and Rainaldo. His body is incorrupt.

The Roman Martyrology reads: =E2=80=9CIn Nocera Umbra, St. Rainaldo, Bishop=
,
formerly a Camaldolese Monk of Fonte Avellana, who, while carrying out
the Episcopal office, firmly preserved the habits of monastic life.=E2=80=
=9D

Raynald was a rather singular figure of a Hermit Monk and Bishop, who
broke away from the mentality of his time, to radically change his
life, becoming an admirable example of piety and charity, faith and
obedience, in a world characterised by wealth and power, compromises
and collusions between secular and spiritual powers.

He was the eldest son of one of the local Lords who dominated Nocera
and Foligno, heir to the fief of Postignano and already destined for
posts of political and military importance of the first degree,
Raynald received a refined education as befitted his rank.

But at the age of twenty, he abandoned all his possessions to give
himself to the hermitage on the mountain of Gualdo, the Serrasanta,
famous for the presence of men dedicated to prayer and penance. Here
he was able to live =E2=80=9Ca perfect eremitical life.=E2=80=9D However, h=
e soon
felt, in his heart the need to submit to a superior, who could guide
him in constantly following God=E2=80=99s will and he then became a Monk at
the Camaldolese Monastery of Fonte Avellana, where =E2=80=9Ctogether with h=
is
brothers, he served God perfectly and devoutly=E2=80=9D and was also electe=
d
Abbot.

Raynald was associated in the Episcopate with Bishop Ugo, who was
engaged in high juridical positions in the Roman Curia. In 1213, on
the death of Ugo, the holy hermit became the Bishop of the Diocese.

The Episcopate of Raynald was distinguished by his unusual choice =E2=80=93=
 to
remain a Monk even as a Bishop and he did so with the typical
obstinacy of Saints, always entirely dedicated to God and to his
brothers, as the Minor Legend narrates: =E2=80=9Che kept his life perfect, =
as
when he was in the Monastery with fasts, vigils and prayers,
dedicating himself to God and busy in the Bishop=E2=80=99s care as a celebr=
ant
of divine worship and a helper of the poorest and most needy people .=E2=80=
=9D

To give a living example of Christian love, he adopted a child from
Nocera, an orphan, keeping him in the Bishop=E2=80=99s palace and honouring
him every day at the table, as if it had been Christ Himself Who was
asking for help.

The presence of the holy Bishop was important at the promulgation of
the Indulgence of the Portiuncula in August 1216, commissioned by St
Francis of Assisi.

Raynald died on 9 February 1217 near Nocera Umbra and his body was
immediately honoured. With a trial on miracles, promoted by his
successor Bishop Pelagius, after a few months, he was raised on the
main Altar of the Cathedral and, therefore, proclaimed a Saint
according to the customs of the time.

The troubled political events soon dispersed, attributed to the
intercession of the Saint. In 1248 Nocera, a Guelph City, was
destroyed by the army of Frederick II who encamped in the
aforementioned Cathedral. An extraordinary event was the discovery of
the body of St Raynald, intact. St Raynald was then proclaimed Patron
of Nocera and his tomb was transferred to the Church of Santa Maria
dell=E2=80=99Arengo, now dedicated to St John the Baptist. The destroyed Ci=
ty
was rebuilt and the devotion to the Saint persisted over the
centuries.

When in 1448 the reconstruction of the Cathedral resumed again, the
memory of St Raynald was added to the official title of the Church,
which, for seven centuries had been dedicated to the Virgin of the
Assumption. His body was solemnly transported to the new Cathedral in
1456 and for centuries it was the centre of the cult that made St
Raynald the protector of the City and of the Diocese of Nocera.

The Saint did not fail to help his faithful with protective
intercession in the tragic moments of wars, destruction and calamitous
events such as frequent earthquakes. Today, after the painful events
of the 1997 earthquake, the Patron=E2=80=99s still incorrupt body was
venerated in the Church of St Felicissimus. On the anniversary of his
death, St Raynald is commemorated by the Camaldolese Monastery.

In art, Saint Raynald is shown as a bishop, sometimes in episcopal
vestments, waylaid by robbers, with whom he prays (Roeder).

https://anastpaul.com/2022/02/09/


Jesus said to His disciples: =E2=80=9CYou are the salt of the earth.
=E2=80=A6 You are the light of the world.=E2=80=9D =E2=80=93 Matthew 5:13, =
14

=E2=80=9CYou are the salt of the earth... Again, the man who is clean of
heart, a peacemaker and ardent for truth, will order his life so as to
contribute to the common good. =E2=80=A6
The light He means, is an intelligible light, far superior to the rays
of the sun we see, just as the salt is a spiritual salt. First salt,
then light, so that you may learn how profitable sharp words may be
and how useful, serious doctrine. Such teaching holds in check and
prevents dissipation, it leads to virtue and sharpens the mind=E2=80=99s ey=
e.
A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do men light a lamp and put
it under a basket. Here again, He is urging them to a careful manner
of life and teaching them to be watchful, for they live under the eyes
of all and have the whole world for the arena of their struggles.=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=93 St John Chrysostom (347-407) Archbishop of Constantinople, Father
and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Homily on Matthew).


PRAYER =E2=80=93 King of heaven and earth, Lord God, rule over our hearts a=
nd
bodies this day. Sanctify us and guide our every thought, word and
deed according to the commandments of Your law, so that now and
forever, Your grace may free and save us. Teach us Lord to walk in the
ways of the Cross of Your Son, our Saviour, longing for and rejoicing
always in our heavenly home as St Cyril of Alexandria so lovingly and
willingly inspires us to do. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy
Spirit, God, forever, amen.