JULY 11'S PATRON SAINT IS ST BENEDICT.

Today is the feast day of St Benedict of Nurcia. Patron saint of Europe and venerated by several Christian denominations beside the Catholic Church. That includes the Eastern and Western Orthodox Churches, The Anglican Communion and Old Catholic Churches.

You can see his bio at: Saint Benedict

Why is this Saint particularly relevent to us? Might you ask....




While St Benedict lived at the end of the 5th and the beginning of the 6th century, there are a lot of similarities in the challenges facing a Catholic.
When he first arrived in Rome, he was so struck by the decadence and the evil of the life in that city, that he left his studies and went to live as an hermit, for a life of prayer and reflection, rather than be confronted by that decadence.

Many today are discouraged and frankly repulsed by some of the scandals, within and outside our Church. St Benedict, shows us that devotion to God and his message, even when it is not popular.
Keeping your faith in the face of adversity, ridicule and persecution is what saves your soul.

Combating false prophets, and organized evil is what is expected of us.

Personally I find it very resourceful to study the lives of saints, and find inspirations to live our lives in this complex and contradictory world.
We have our choice of false prophets, they abound in our Church, they are certainly bountiful outside of it.

• At a time when Marriage is under siege from all side. There are many entities, trying to destroy the sanctity of the family, and are not afraid to do it for some personal gains.
• At a time when servants of the faithful seem to be betraying the trust put in them.
• At a time when some inside our Church try to destroy the most sacred of all, the Eucharist.
• At a time when mass medias spread so many lies, that you need to become very astute to see what is real and what is not.
• At a time when true faith, is found to be retrograde and against the modern ways.
• At a time when killing your child in the womb is called a woman's right.

I  find the message of St Benedict to be refreshing and very modern, even though it is 1500 years old.
The truth, we find, is ageless.

That leads me to the great ladies of LFM who for 54 weeks demonstrated in front of the Cathedral/Basilica, despite the weather, despite the ridicule and the hate. They continued to march on.
Yet some people dare ask what is their legacy? What is the fruit of their labor?

I guess if you cannot see, the devotion to truth and justice. If you cannot see the selflessness, if you cannot see the love of our Church, if you cannot see the thirst for truth and moral , if you cannot see the example for the new generations, then such a person is either voluntary blind and deaf to the message of God, or simply blinded by so much hate that they really cannot see.

Viva LFM!   LIV