• =?UTF-8?Q?October_23rd_=E2=80=93_Bl=2E_Severinus_Bo=C3=ABthius?=

    From rich@1:396/4 to All on Tue Oct 22 08:59:55 2019
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    October 23rd =E2=80=93 Bl. Severinus Bo=C3=ABthius M (RM)

    Born at Rome c. 480; died at Pavia, 524; Beatified by Pope Leo XIII in
    1883 (cultus confirmed).

    =C2 =C2 =C2 "In other living creatures the ignorance of themselves =
    is nature,
    =C2 =C2 =C2 but in men it is vice."
    =C2 =C2 =C2 --Severinus Bo=C3=ABthius

    Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Bo=C3=ABthius was the scion of an illustrious and Christian Roman family. His father Flavius Manlius Bo=C3=ABthius, who was consul in 487, died and left Bo=C3=ABthius a young orphan. He became the ward and then friend of the noble Aurelius
    Symmachus, whose daughter Rusticiana he eventually married.

    By the age of 30, the man who is best known as Bo=C3=ABthius was renowned
    for his learning, and he is recognized as one of the makers of the
    Christian West. This is partly through his translation from the Greek
    of the works of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras the musician, Euclid,
    Ptolemy the astronomer, but also his own contributions to theology,
    logic, music, mathematics, and even applied scientific engineering as
    in his designs for improved timepieces.

    Under the Ostrogoth Emperor Theodoric in the West, Severinus Bo=C3=ABthius became a consul, and in due course his two sons were elevated into the consulship. But so high and influential a position in public and
    political life was not to be maintained. Suspicion, whether rightly or
    wrongly, that some of the Roman senators were conspiring with Justin,
    the Eastern emperor at Constantinople, the aged Theodoric charged an
    ex-consul named Albinus. Bo=C3=ABthius publicly defended him in court, and
    for this quite proper proceeding in Roman law, he was thrown into
    prison at Ticinum (Pavia). (Delaney says that Bo=C3=ABthius himself was
    charged with treason and sacrilege for allegedly using astronomy for
    impious purposes. Bentley states that he was accused of being a
    magician and of writing letters subversive of good order.)

    During his 9-month imprisonment, he wrote his most famous work, =E2=80=9CTh=
    e
    Consolation of Philosophy=E2=80=9D. Only his father-in-law Symmachus was br= ave
    enough to speak for him and, after torture, he was brutally beheaded.

    Theodoric was an Arian, and this, combined with St. Severinus's stand
    for justice in public life, led to his acclaim as a martyr. His relics
    are enshrined in the church of St. Peter in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia. His
    feast is also kept at the church of Santa Maria in Portico, Rome.

    His extant writings include the notable =E2=80=9Cde sancta Trinitate=E2=80= =9D, a
    treatise attacking the heresies of Eutyches and Nestorius, and three
    other theological works. He also wrote on arithmetic and music. He
    translated books by Aristotle and Porphyry, as well as writing
    commentaries on Aristotle and Cicero.

    But his loved and revered =E2=80=9CConsolation of Philosophy=E2=80=9D (whic=
    h has had
    many translators, including King Alfred the Great, Geoffrey Chaucer,
    and Queen Elizabeth I), remains his masterpiece. Its five books are
    filled with snatches of poetry.

    He recounts how suffering has brought him to a premature old age. But
    that he takes comfort that God rules the world. He begins to learn the
    true nature of himself. Evil, philosophy tells him, can have no real
    existence, since the all-powerful God does not wish it. Vice never
    goes ultimately unpunished. Virtue in the end is rewarded. And true
    happiness can be found only in God Himself.

    Fairly recent attempts to show that this could not have been composed
    by a 'practicing' Christian have proven ephemeral (Attwater, Bentley,
    Delaney, Encyclopedia).


    Saint Quote
    Remember the devil never sleeps, but seeks our ruin in a thousand ways.
    --St. Angela Merici

    Bible Quote:
    And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to me in
    heaven and in earth. 19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations;
    baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
    Holy Ghost. 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have
    commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the
    consummation of the world.=C2 (Matthew 28:18-20)


    <><><><>
    Prayer for the Helpless Unborn

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Heavenly Father, in your love for=
    us,
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 protect against the wickedness of=
    the
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 devil, those helpless little ones=
    to
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 whom you have give the gift of li=
    fe.

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Touch with pity the hearts of tho=
    se
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 women pregnant in our world today
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 who are not thinking of motherhoo=
    d.

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Help them to see that the child t=
    hey
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 carry is made in your image- as w=
    ell
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 as theirs- made for eternal life.

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Dispel their fear and selfishness=
    and
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 give them for womanly hearts to l=
    ove
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 their babies and give them birth =
    and
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 all the needed care that a mother
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 alone can give.

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 We ask this through Jesus Christ,
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 your Son, our Lord, who lives and
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 reigns in the Holy Spirit, one Go=
    d,
    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 forever and ever.

    =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 =C2 Amen.

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