• =?UTF-8?Q?August_3rd_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Nicodemus?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Wed Aug 2 10:02:13 2017
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    August 3rd =E2=80=93 St. Nicodemus

    Nicodemus (Greek: ??) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin,
    who, according to the Gospel of John, showed favour to Jesus. He
    appears three times in the Gospel: the first is when he visits Jesus
    one night to listen to his teachings (3:1-21); the second is when he
    states the law concerning the arrest of Jesus during the Feast of
    Tabernacles (7:45-51); and the last follows the Crucifixion, when he
    assists Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the corpse of Jesus for
    burial (19:39-42).

    The discussion with Jesus is the source of several common expressions
    of contemporary Christianity, specifically, the descriptive phrase
    born again used to describe the experience of believing in Jesus as
    Saviour, and John 3:16, a commonly quoted verse used to describe God's
    plan of salvation.

    An apocryphal work under his name--the Gospel of Nicodemus--was
    produced at some point in the medieval era, and is mostly a reworking
    of the earlier Acts of Pilate, which recounts the harrowing of Hell.

    Though there is no clear source of information about this Nicodemus
    outside the Gospel of John, the Jewish Encyclopedia and many Biblical historians have theorized that he is identical to Nicodemus ben
    Gurion, mentioned in the Talmud as a wealthy and popular holy man
    reputed to have had miraculous powers.

    Christian tradition asserts that Nicodemus was martyred sometime in
    the first century. Nicodemus is venerated as a Saint by the Roman
    Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Roman Catholics celebrate his
    memorial on August 3. The Orthodox celebrate him either on the Sunday
    of the Myrhbearing Women (a variable date; the third Sunday of
    Pascha), or on August 2, the date when tradition states that his
    relics were found along with those of the Apostle Stephen, and
    Gamaliel, another member of the Sanhedrin who, according to a (now
    generally rejected) Christian tradition, converted to Christianity.


    Saint Quote:
    I am a Christian. It seemed a while ago as if God rejected me as a
    stone unfit to enter His building, but He has the goodness to take me
    now to be placed in it; I am ready to suffer all things for His name,
    that I may have a part in His kingdom with His Saints.
    --St. Serenus

    Bible Quote:
    This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved
    you. /13. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his
    life for his friends. /14. You are my friends, if you do the things
    that I command you. (John 15:12-14)


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    Prayer for Those in the Armed Servies

    O God, we implore Thee, watch over those exposed to the horrors of war
    and to the spiritual dangers of a soldier's, a sailor's or airman's
    life. Give them such a strong faith that no human respect may ever
    lead them to deny it, or fear to practice it. Do Thou by Thy grace,
    fortify them against the contagion of bad example, that, being
    preserved from vice, and serving Thee faithfully, they may be ready to
    meet death whenever it may happen, through Christ our Lord. O Sacred
    Heart, inspire them with sorrow for sin, and grant them pardon. Mother
    of God, be with them in battle, and, if they should be called to make
    the supreme sacrifice, obtain for them that they may die in the grace
    of thy Divine Son. May their guardian angels protect them. Amen
    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
    * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)