From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

August 11th - St. Alexander, the Charcoal-Burner, Bishop, Martyr
(A.D. 275)

The Christian community of Comana in Pontus having grown to be
sufficiently large to require a bishop, St Gregory the Wonder-worker,
Bishop of Neocaesarea, went thither to preside at the election. He
rejected all the candidates put forward by the clergy and people,
especially one who was favoured because of his high birth and wealth,
reminding them that the Apostles were poor and common men.

St. Gregory of Nyssa, roughly a contemporary of St. Alexander, tells
us the charming story of this rather unusual churchman and saint.

Alexander lived at Comana, in the province of Pontus, Asia Minor.
Adherents to the Christian faith in that town had increased despite persecution. St. Gregory Thaumaturge (=E2=80=9Cthe WonderWorker=E2=80=9D) w=
as the
bishop of Neocaesarca and principal agent in his day for the
Christianization of Asia Minor. He decided that there were now enough Christians in Comana to be given a bishop of their own. (It is
important to know that in these early days, dioceses with a definite
territory were not yet being established. Bishops were rather put in
charge of cities, with a vaguer duty of spreading the faith into the
suburban and rural areas round about. That is why there were so many
bishops in the early centuries=E2=80=93one per city, (no matter how close t=
he
cities were to each other.)

When Gregory gathered the Christians of Comana to announce his
proposal, they nominated several likely candidates for the post of
bishop. Gregory did not think any of the nominees was sufficiently
qualified. One of them, for instance, was a popular choice because of
his high birth and great wealth. The bishop rejected him precisely
because he was noted and prosperous. He reminded the faithful that the
apostles picked by Christ were neither rich nor of the social elite.

=E2=80=9CAll right, then,=E2=80=9D replied one of the congregation sarcasti= cally, =E2=80=9Cwhy
not appoint Alexander the Charcoal-Burner?=E2=80=9D St. Gregory overlooked = the
sarcasm, for he realized that the Holy Spirit can communicate to us in
rather surprising ways. He summoned Alexander the Charcoal-Burner to
see whether he might indeed be God's candidate. Alexander came righ=
t
from work at his charcoal ovens. His clothing, face and hands were
blackened by the carbon. However, when the bishop took him aside for a
chat, he found that this charcoal-burner was a man of good birth and
education. He lived by charcoal-making simply because he had given
away all his property to the poor, choosing to earn his keep by manual
labor in order the better to follow Christ. Gregory, therefore, asked
him if he would accept the episcopate. Alexander consented, the people concurred, and Gregory ordained him a bishop and installed him in his
new see.

According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, Alexander did very well as a
bishop. He was a man of spiritual wisdom and proved to be an excellent
teacher of his flock. Eventually the Roman authorities apprehended him
because he was a Christian leader, and he was martyred. Death was by
burning alive- -a method perhaps suggested to the torturers as
appropriate for a charcoal maker.

St. James the Apostle had already warned against =E2=80=9Cfavoritism=E2=80= =9D: against
giving the seat of honor to a person well-dressed and bedecked with
rings, while showing scant hospitality to a poor man clad in shabby
clothes (James, II). St. Gregory was exercising a =E2=80=9Cdiscrimination= =E2=80=9D of
the right sort when he chose as bishop a man smudged of face but clean
of heart.

St Alexander was naturally revered as a patron of charcoal- burners.
See the Acta Sanctorum, August, vol. ii .
=E2=80=93Father bob


Saint Quote:
Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless
person who insults you for no reason at all. I have made a pact with
my tongue; not to speak when my heart is disturbed.
-- St. Francis de Sales

Bible Quote:
"set yourselves close to him, so that you, too, may be living stones
making a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer the spiritual
sacrifices made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." [1 Peter
2:5]


<><><><>
A prayer to be free from a sudden and unprovided death:
O most merciful Lord Jesus, by Thine agony and sweat of
Blood, by Thy precious death, deliver us, we beseech Thee,
from a sudden and unprovided death. O most kind Lord
Jesus, by Thy most sharp and ignominious scourging and
crowning with thorns, by Thy holy Cross and bitter Passion,
by Thy loving-kindness, we humbly pray that Thou wouldst
not suffer us to die unprovided with Thy holy Sacraments.
O dearly beloved Lord Jesus, by all Thy labors and sorrows,
by Thy Precious Blood and sacred Wounds, by those
Thy last words on the Cross: " My God, my God, why hast
Thou forsaken me?" and those other: "Father, into Thy hands
I commend my spirit," we most earnestly beseech Thee to
deliver us from a sudden death. Grant us, we pray, room for
repentance; grant us a happy passing in Thy grace, that so we
may be able to love Thee, praise Thee and bless Thee forever.
Amen.
Our Father... Hail Mary... Glory be...
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