-- John 14:6 --

-- John 14:6 --

Jesus said to him, =E2=80=9CI am the way, and the truth, and the life; no o=
ne
comes to the Father, but by me.   RSVCE
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
    Jesus says he is the only way to God, the Father. Some people may
argue that this way is too narrow. In reality, it is wide enough for
the whole world, if the world chooses to accept it. Instead of
worrying about how limited it sounds to have only one way, we should
be saying, "Thank you, God, for providing a sure way to get to you!"
As the way, Jesus is our path to the Father. As the truth, he is the
reality of all God's promises. As the life, he joins his divine life
to ours, both now and eternally.

<<>><<>><<>>
March 10th - Saint Attalas of Bobbio
(Also known as Attal, Attala, Attale)

d. 627
ST. ATTALAS, a Burgundian, spent his youth with Aregius, Bishop of
Gap, to whom his parents had confided him. There he received excellent
instruction in letters, but found that he was not making sufficient
spiritual progress. He therefore made his way to the monastery of
L=C3=A9rins, where he entered, but later resolved to seek a stricter
community. At the celebrated monastery of Luxeuil, which St. Columban
had founded on the site of the old Roman town of Luxovium, he found
all the austerity he desired, and of all the pious band Attalas was
perhaps the one most after Columban=E2=80=99s heart. He recognized in him a
kindred spirit and took special pains to lead him on to perfection.
When the holy abbot and his Irish companions were exiled from France
by Theodoric, King of Austrasia, whom he had boldly rebuked for his
vices, Columban took Attalas with him on his travels, which ended in
Lombardy, when Agilulf, King of the Lombards, gave him land for the
foundation of a monastery at Bobbio, a lonely spot in the Apennines.
St. Columban was 70 years of age at the time; and as he only lived one
year after the foundation of Bobbio. Much of the credit for the
establishment and prestige of the great monastery is certainly due to
Attalas, who succeeded him as abbot in 615. The new superior had many
difficulties with which to contend, the chief of which was disloyalty
amongst his brethren. Once the authority of St. Columban was removed,
they murmured against the severity of the rule and broke out into
rebellion.

Like St. Columban, Attalas contended strenuously against Arianism,
which was rife in the districts about Milan. He was endowed with the
power of healing, and Jonas the Scot, who wrote his life, was
eye-witness of some of the cures which he effected. Fifty days before
his death, St. Attalas was divinely warned to get ready for a long
journey. Doubtful whether this meant an expedition to foreign parts or
the passage to eternity, the abbot put everything in order in the
monastery and prepared himself for a voyage. Falling ill with fever he
realized that the warning referred to death, and when the disease
increased, he asked to be laid outside the door of his cell, beside
which stood a cross which he always touched on leaving or returning to
it. As he wished to be alone for a while, all withdrew except St.
Blimond (afterwards abbot of Saint-Valery), who remained near at hand
in case St. Attalas might require assistance. The dying man besought
mercy of God with many tears, and then he saw Heaven unveiled, and
contemplated it for several hours. Afterwards he recalled his monks
and bade them carry him back to his cell. The following day he
rendered up his soul to his Creator, and was buried at Bobbio beside
his master Columban. The body of St. Bertulf was afterwards placed in
the same tomb and the three holy men were venerated together.

See Mabillon, vol. ii, pp. 115-118. The short contemporary biography
of St. Attalas by his disciple Jonas is also printed by the
Bollandists (March, vol. ii) and by Migne, PL., vol. lxxxvii, cc.
1055-1062. But the best edition/is by B. Krusch in MGH., Scriptores
Merov., vol. iv, pp. 113-119.

Saint Quote:
I say the same of humility and of all the virtues; the wiles of the
devil are terrible, he will run a thousand times round hell if by so
doing he can make us believe that we have a single virtue which we
have not. And he is right, for such ideas are very harmful, and such
imaginary virtues, when they come from this source, are never
unaccompanied by vainglory; just as those which God gives are free
both from this and from pride.
--St. Teresa of Jesus

Bible Quote
That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that
they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast
sent me.  (John 17:21)  DRB


<><><><>
A Prayer For The Gift Of Understanding

Lord Jesus Christ,
grant me the gift of understanding.
Help me to understand the feelings of others,
the desires of others,
the goals of others.
At the same time,
help me to understand myself
in my actions and reactions.
Widen my vision beyond my own small world
to embrace with knowledge and love the worlds of others.

Help me, Lord, to always see you at work in my own life
and in the lives of others.
Bless me with insight,
acceptance and love
that is tempered by you
who are all things to all men.
Help me to understand, Lord. Amen.