• =?UTF-8?Q?April_4th_=E2=80=93_St=2E_Zosimas?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Tue Apr 3 10:14:43 2018
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    April 4th =E2=80=93 St. Zosimas of Palestine
    (also called Zosima)
    Born c. 460, Palestine Died c. 560, Palestine

    Saint Zosimas was born in the 2nd half of the 5th century, during the
    reign of Emperor Theodosius the Younger. He became a monk in a
    monastery in Palestine at a very young age, gaining a reputation as a
    great elder and ascetic. At the age of 53, now a hieromonk, he moved
    to a very strict monastery located in the wilderness close to the
    Jordan River, where he spent the remainder of his life.

    He is best known for his encounter with St. Mary of Egypt
    (commemorated on April 1). It was the custom of that monastery for all
    of the brethren to go out into the desert for the forty days of Great
    Lent, spending the time in fasting and prayer, and not returning until
    Palm Sunday. While wandering in the desert he met Saint Mary, who told
    him her life story and asked him to meet her the next year on Holy
    Thursday on the banks of the Jordan, in order to bring her Holy
    Communion. He did so, and the third year came to her again in the
    desert, but he found that she had passed away and he buried her. St
    Zosimas is reputed to have lived to be almost one hundred years of
    age.

    All that we know of Zosimas' life comes from the Vita of St. Mary of
    Egypt,[1] recorded by St. Sophronius, who was the Patriarch of
    Jerusalem from 634 to 638. Sophronius based his work on oral tradition
    he had heard from Palestinian monks. This Vita is traditionally read
    as a part of the Matins of the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, on
    the fifth Thursday of Great Lent.

    A type of eucharistic miracle was recorded by St. Zosimus of Palestine
    in the sixth century. This miracle concerns St. Mary of Egypt, who
    left her parents at the age of 12 and became a prostitute. Seventeen
    years later, she found herself in Palestine. On the feast day of the
    Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Mary went to the church, looking for
    customers. At the door of the church, she saw an image of the Virgin
    Mary. She was overcome with remorse for the life she had led and asked
    for our Lady's guidance. A voice told her, "If you cross the Jordan
    River, you will find peace."

    The next day, Mary did so. There, she took up the life of a hermit and
    lived alone in the desert for forty-seven years. As the Virgin had
    promised, she found peace of soul. One day she saw a monk, St. Zosimus
    of Palestine, who had come to the desert for Lent. Although they had
    never met, Mary called him by his name. They spoke for a while, and at
    the end of the conversation, she asked Zosimus to come back the
    following year and bring the Eucharist for her.

    Zosimus did as she requested, but Mary was on the other side of the
    Jordan. There was no boat for him to cross to her, and Zosimus thought
    that it would be impossible to give her Communion. St. Mary made the
    sign of the cross and walked across the water to meet him, and he gave
    her Communion. She again asked him to return the following year, but
    when he did, he found that she had died. Next to her corpse was a note
    asking that he bury her. He reported that he was assisted by a lion in
    the digging of her grave.

    Notes
    1. ^ A Vita is the life of a saint, often the earliest formal
    hagiography of that particular individual.


    Saint Quote:
    "Whatever you do, think not of yourselves but of God."
    --Saint Vincent Ferrer.

    Bible Quote:
    It is written in the prophets, =E2=80=98And they shall all be taught by Go= d.'
    Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
    (John 6:45) RSVCE


    <><><><>
    Prayer for Healing of Mind

    O Jesus, come into my sorrows,
    anxieties, mental troubles
    and to every stages of my growth and formation.
    Deliver me from the painful memories of the past.
    Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
    I forgive all those who hurt me
    and fill all of them with your Holy Spirit.
    Thank you Jesus.
    Praise you Jesus.

    Amen
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