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)