From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

May 7th - St. Benedict II, Pope

Once again there was a long interval between the election and the
consecration of a pope, but this time something was done about it.
Benedict, a Roman, the son of John, was elected to succeed St. Leo II;
but he was not consecrated until June 26, 684. Churchmen were weary of
these long delays which were due to the necessity of waiting for
imperial confirmation of the papal election. Benedict obtained from
Emperor Constantine the Bearded a change in regulations which
permitted the exarch of Ravenna to make the confirmation. This
shortened considerably the interval between election and confirmation.

Benedict II was a man richly endowed with noble qualities. He had been
in the service of the Church from his youth. Humble, patient, and
generous, he was well-schooled in the Scriptures and sacred music. His pontificate, however, was too short to allow him much accomplishment.

Following his predecessors' example, Benedict wrote to Spain to hurry
the bishops along in sending in their adhesion to the Sixth General
Council. King Ervig then held a council at Toledo in November 684 to
discuss the matter. The council condemned the Monothelite* heresy, and
St. Julian, archbishop of Toledo, drew up a profession of faith which
he sent to the Pope. Benedict, though pleased, was not quite satisfied
with some of the expressions used in this profession and sent it back
with a request for some changes in terminology.

Like all the contemporary popes of this efficient emperor, Benedict
got along well with Constantine the Bearded. Indeed Constantine asked
the Pope to adopt his two sons, Justinian and Heraclius. As a token of
this adoption he sent Pope Benedict locks of the princes' hair.

The charity and kindness of St. Benedict II appears in the effort he
made to convert Macarius, ex-patriarch of Antioch. Macarius had been
condemned as a Monothelite and deposed by the Sixth General Council.

The Pope took the occasion of his orthodox successor's death to send
Macarius one of his special advisers to attempt to win him back. It
was no use; Macarius died a heretic.

Since Benedict was very good to his clergy, it was fitting that his
last big ceremony was the distribution of gifts and favors on Easter
Sunday, March 26, 685. At once after this ceremony the saintly Pope
fell sick and soon died. He was buried in St. Peter's on May 8.
Benedict is venerated as a saint

http://www.cfpeople.org/Books/Pope/POPEp81.htm

*As a counter reaction to Monophysitism, Monothelitism proposed to
conciliate the Monophysites to the Church's position, but in so doi=
ng,
created yet another heresy. In the expectation of ending the schism
with the Egyptians and the Syrians, the Patriarch of Constantinople,
Sergius, proposed to declare that Christ had two natures but only one
will. The Council of Constantinople in 680 A.D. rejected this view as
a heresy since the number of wills in Christ is a function of and is
directed toward the two natures in Christ. Hence, as there is a fully
human nature in Christ so too there is a fully human will in Christ,
which, although distinct from the divine will, is not opposed to it.


Saint Quote:
Try not to think of yourself when you love; love is ecstatic, it does
not leave to themselves those whom it possesses, but delivers them to
the One they love.
--St. Dionysius

Bible Quote
Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek,
and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to
the yoke. (Matthew 21:5)


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Prayer of One in Sorrow

1 How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;
4 my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:1-6
--- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
* Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4)