— 1 Peter 1:6-7 —

=C2=A0=E2=80=94 1 Peter 1:6-7 =E2=80=94

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little whil=
e you
may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come
so that the proven genuineness of your faith =E2=80=94 of greater worth tha=
n
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire =E2=80=94 may result in
praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 As we realize that God brings benefit from our adversities, w=
e
will begin to face challenging times with confidence that he always
has our best interest in mind. This leads to joy, because we know he
is building our endurance, purifying our hearts, and making us people
with unshakable trust in Him.

<<>><<>><<>>
October 3rd - St. Hesychius
(Fourth Century)

MENTION of this holy monk is made in the Life of St. Hilarion, whose
faithful disciple he was. He accompanied his master when he left
Palestine for Egypt, and when Hilarion, being unwilling to return to
Gaza, where he was so well known, fled secretly across the sea to
Sicily; Hesychius sought him for three years. He could hear no word of
him either in the desert or the ports of Egypt, so he made his way
into Greece, where at last a rumour reached him that a wonder-working
prophet had arrived in Sicily. He went thither, and tracked Hilarion
to his retreat, where =E2=80=9Che fell on his knees and watered his master=
=E2=80=99s
feet with tears=E2=80=9D. Continuing the vain search for complete solitude
they went together to Dalmatia and then to Cyprus.

=C2=A0After two years St. Hilarion sent Hesychius to Palestine to salute
the brethren there, report on their progress, and visit the old
monastery near Gaza. On his return in the spring he found that
Hilarion, worried by the press of people, wanted to escape to yet
another country, but he was now considerably advanced in age and
Hesychius persuaded him to be content with a place of retreat deeper
in the island which he had found for him. Here Hilarion died. St.
Hesychius was again in Palestine at the time and directly he heard the
news he hurried back to Cyprus to watch over the body lest it be taken
away by the people of Paphos. He found that his beloved master had
left a letter bequeathing to him all his worldly goods, namely a book
of the gospels and some clothes. To allay the suspicions of those who
jealously guarded the hermitage he pretended that he was going to live
there, but after ten months he was able, with great difficulty and
risk, to carry off the body of St. Hilarion and convey it back to
Palestine. It was met by crowds of monks and lay people who
accompanied it for burial to the monastery which he had established at
Majuma, and there some years later Hesychius himself died.

A sufficient account of St. Hesychius is provided in the Acta
Sanctorum, October, vol. ii. It is mainly derived from St. Jerome; but
see later under Hilarion, October 21.


Saint Quote:
"Charity is the queen of virtues. As the pearls are held together by
the thread, thus the virtues are held together by charity; as the
pearls fall when the thread breaks, thus virtues are lost if charity
diminishes."
--St. Padre Pio

Bible Quote:
"Fear not, for I am with thee; turn not aside, for I am thy God; I
have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my
just one -- Jesus Christ -- hath upheld thee. Behold all that fight
against thee shall be confounded and ashamed; they shall be as
nothing, and the men shall perish that strive against thee. Thou shalt
seek them, and shalt not find the men that resist thee. They shall be
as nothing, and the men that war against thee shall be as a thing
consumed. For I am the Lord thy God, who take thee by the hand and say
to thee: Fear not, for I have helped thee."=C2=A0 (Isa. 41:10-13).


<><><><>
Steer the Ship of My Life, Lord
By St Basil the Great (329-379)

Steer the ship of my life, Lord,
to Your quiet harbour,
where I can be safe from
the storms of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can see the right direction
in which I should go.
And give me the strength
and the courage
to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough
and the waves are high,
knowing that, through enduring hardship
and danger, in Your Name
we shall find comfort and peace.
Amen