• August 19th - St. Mochta of Louth

    From rich@1:15/0 to All on Fri Aug 18 10:03:52 2017
    From: rich <richarra@gmail.com>

    August 19th - St. Mochta of Louth, Abbot, Bishop
    ( Also known as Mocheteus, Mochteus, Mochuta)
    Died c. 534

    He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. Saint
    Mochta was an important saint in Ireland, as is evident by the number
    of stories that grew up around his name. He was a disciple of Saint
    Patrick, who was educated and consecrated bishop in Rome by Pope St.
    Leo I, but some scholars believe he was consecrated by Saint Patrick.

    When he returned to Ireland, he settled at a place in County Meath
    called Kell Mor Ydan (now unknown). Local opposition led him to move
    north to Louth in eastern Ireland. Louth was originally the site of a
    shrine to the Celtic god Lugh. With twelve companions Saint Mochta
    founded a large monastery that gained a nation wide reputation. Both
    monastery and village were burned and plundered frequently by the
    Danes in the period 829-968

    St. Mochta is claimed as the first bishop of Louth. Among the legends
    that arose, he and Patrick made a pact that each would care for the
    other's community after the founder's death. It is also claimed that
    Mochta numbered 200 bishops among his disciples and lived to be 300
    years old - a punishment because he doubted the ages of many of the
    patriarchs of the Old Testament. Scholars believe that he, the last of Patrick's disciples then alive, died at 90.

    Louth, the smallest county in Ireland, covers an area of only of only
    317 square miles. It runs northwards from the River Boyne to
    Carlingford Lough, consisting mainly of fertile undulating country
    with a coastline of wide sandy bays and occasional rocky headlands. In
    the north, however, between Dundalk Bay and Carlingford Lough, is the mountainous Cooley Peninsula. The territory now known as County Louth
    figures prominently in the epic tales of ancient Ireland. It was also
    the scene of important events, and many chapters of Ireland's history
    are illustrated by the county's numerous relics of the
    past(Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth).


    Saint Quote:
    The birds are the saints, who fly to heaven on the wings of
    contemplation, who are so removed from the world that they have no
    business on earth. They do not labour, but by contemplation alone they
    already live in heaven.
    --St. Anthony of Padua

    Psalm 34:4-7 (RSVCE)
    4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
    and delivered me from all my fears.
    5 Look to him, and be radiant;
    so your[a] faces shall never be ashamed.
    6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
    7 The angel of the Lord encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.



    <><><><>
    Few embrace humility

    "Many," says Saint Jerome, "embrace the shadow and appearance of humility,
    but few embrace humility itself." It is very easy to look down upon the
    ground, to speak in a humble tone, to fetch a sigh or two, now and then,
    and to own one's self a sinner and a miserable creature at every word; but,
    if you say any thing to these persons which may hurt their feelings in the least, you will see how far they are from true humility. "Let, therefore,"
    adds Saint Jerome, "all feigned and affected language be dropped; it is patience that shows a man to be truly humble"; it is that which is the touch-stone of humility.
    --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2
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