The touch of the Lord

The touch of the Lord

"That power which may not be handled came down and clothed itself in
members that may be touched, that the desperate may draw near to him,
that in touching his humanity they may discern his divinity. For that
speechless man the Lord healed with the fingers of his body. He put
his fingers into the man's ears and touched his tongue. At that moment
with fingers that may be touched, he touched the Godhead that may not
be touched. Immediately this loosed the string of his tongue (Mark
7:32-37), and opened the clogged doors of his ears. For the very
architect of the body itself and artificer of all flesh had come
personally to him, and with his gentle voice tenderly opened up his
obstructed ears. Then his mouth which had been so closed up that it
could not give birth to a word, gave birth to praise him who made its
barrenness fruitful. The One who immediately had given to Adam speech
without teaching, gave speech to him so that he could speak easily a
language that is learned only with difficulty ,(Genesis 1:27-28).
 by Ephrem the Syrian (306-373 AD) (excerpt from HOMILY ON OUR LORD 10.3)

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18 February =E2=80=93 St Flavian
 (Died 449)

 Archbishop of Constantinople, Martyr, Confessor, Defender of the
Christ=E2=80=99s two natures, both divine and human.

St Flavian endured condemnation and severe beatings during a
fifth-century dispute about the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.
Though he died from his injuries, his stand against heresy was later
vindicated at the Church=E2=80=99s fourth ecumenical council in 451.

St Flavian is closely associated with St Pope Leo the Great (400-461),
who also upheld the truth about Christ=E2=80=99s divine and human natures
during the controversy. The Pope=E2=80=99s best-known contribution to the
fourth council =E2=80=93 a letter known as the =E2=80=9CTome of Leo=E2=80=
=9D =E2=80=93 was originally
addressed to St Flavian, though it did not reach him during his
lifetime.

Flavian=E2=80=99s date of birth is unknown, as are most of his biographical
details. He was highly-regarded as a priest during the reign of the
Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II (which lasted from 408 to 450) and
he became Archbishop of Constantinople following the death of Saint
Proclus in approximately 447.

Early in his reign, Flavian angered a state official named Chrysaphius
by refusing to offer a bribe to the emperor. The ruler=E2=80=99s wife Eudoc=
ia
joined the resulting conspiracy which Chrysaphius hatched against
Flavian, a plot that would come to fruition in an illegitimate Church
council and the patriarch=E2=80=99s death.

As head of the Church in Constantinople, Flavian had inherited a
theological controversy about the relationship between deity and
humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. In an occurrence that was not
uncommon for the time, the doctrinal issue became entangled with
personal and political rivalries. Flavian=E2=80=99s stand for orthodoxy gav=
e
his high-ranking court opponents a chance to act against him by
encouraging the proponents of doctrinal error and manipulating the
emperor in their favour.

The theological issue had arisen after the Council of Ephesus, which
in 431 had confirmed the personal unity of Christ and condemned the
error (known as Nestorianism) that said He was a composite being made
up of a divine person and a human person. But questions persisted:
Were Jesus=E2=80=99 eternal divinity and His assumed humanity, two distinct
and complete natures fully united in one person? Or did the person of
Christ have only one hybrid nature, made up in some manner of both
humanity and divinity?

The Church would eventually confirm that the Lord=E2=80=99s incarnation
involved both a divine and a human nature, at all times. When God took
on a human nature at the incarnation, in the words of St Leo the
Great, =E2=80=9Cthe proper character of both natures was maintained and cam=
e
together in a single person,=E2=80=9D and =E2=80=9Ceach nature kept its pro=
per
character without loss.=E2=80=9D

During Flavian=E2=80=99s reign, however, the doctrine of Christ=E2=80=99s t=
wo natures
had not been fully and explicitly defined. Thus, controversy came up
regarding the doctrine of a monk named Eutyches, who insisted that
Christ had only =E2=80=9Cone nature.=E2=80=9D Flavian understood the =E2=80=
=9Cmonophysite=E2=80=9D
doctrine as contrary to faith in Christ=E2=80=99s full humanity and he
condemned it at a local council in Nov. of 448. He excommunicated
Eutyches and sent his decision to Pope Leo, who gave his approval in
May 449.

Chrysaphius, who knew Eutyches personally, proceeded to use the monk
as his instrument against the patriarch who had angered him. He
convinced the emperor that a Church council should be convened to
consider Eutyches=E2=80=99 doctrine again. The resulting council, held in
August 449 and led by Dioscorus of Alexandria, was completely
illegitimate and later formally condemned. But it pronounced against
Flavian and declared him deposed from the patriarchate.

During this same illicit gathering, known to history as the =E2=80=9CRobber
Council,=E2=80=9D a mob of monks beat St Flavian so aggressively that he di=
ed
from his injuries three days later. Chrysaphius seemed, for the
moment, to have triumphed over the Archbishop.

But the state official=E2=80=99s ambitions soon collapsed. Chrysaphius fell
out of favour with Theodosius II shortly before the emperor=E2=80=99s death=
 in
July 450 and he was executed early in the reign of his successor
Marcian.
St Flavian, meanwhile, was Canonised by the Fourth Ecumenical Council
in 451. Its participants gave strong acclamation to the =E2=80=9CTome of Le=
o=E2=80=9D
=E2=80=93 in which the Pope confirmed St Flavian=E2=80=99s condemnation of =
Eutyches
and affirmed the truth about Christ=E2=80=99s two natures, both divine and
human.

https://anastpaul.com/2020/02/18/


Interior Silence

Many people allow themselves to be swept away in the confusion of the
world around them.
Modern life has become a whirling machine which snatches men up into
it=E2=80=99s enormous rotators and carries them with it.
Not only has it become difficult to remain a Christian but it is even
difficult to continue to be a man!
You cannot cast aside the natural gifts of intellect, free will and
personal dignity which God has given us.
Still less, can we renounce the dignity of being Christians.
This dignity can be retained by interior recollection, which will be
nourished by divine grace, if we ask for it and, will find it=E2=80=99s
external expression in good works.
A man must be able to detach himself from the din of modern life and
spend an occasional moment in recollection..
No matter what is going on around him, he must be able to find time to
raise his mind to God.
Otherwise, he will realise one day, that life has passed him by like a
cloud, or, worse still, like a lost battle.
We shall not be tormented with useless regrets on our deathbed, if we
think about this now.
--Antonio Cardinal Bacci