- St. Boniface of Tarsus (306). Martyr. (Traditional)
- St. Matthias (65). Apostle, Martyr. (Current) replaced Judas
IN the beginning of the fourth century, great levies of troops were made throughout Egypt for the service of the Roman emperor. Among the recruits was Pachomius, a young heathen, then in his twenty-first year. On his way down the Nile, he passed a village, whose inhabitants gave him food and money. Marvelling at this kindness, Pachomius was told they were Christians, and hoped for a reward in the life to come. He then prayed God to show him the truth, and promised to devote his life to His service. On being discharged, he returned to a Christian village in Egypt, where he was instructed and baptized. Instead of going home, he sought Palemon, an aged solitary, to learn from him a perfect life, and with great joy embraced the most severe austerities. Their food was bread and water, once a day in summer, and once in two days in winter; sometimes they added herbs, but mixed ashes with them. They only slept one hour each night, and this short repose Pachomius took sitting upright without support. Three times God revealed to him that he was to found a religious order at Tabenna; and an angel gave him a rule of life. Trusting in God, he built a monastery, although he had no disciples; but vast multitudes soon flocked to him, and he trained them in perfect detachment from creatures and from self. One day a monk, by dint of great exertions, contrived to make two mats instead of the one which was the usual daily task, and set them both out in front of his cell, that Pachomius might see how diligent he had been. But the Saint, perceiving the vainglory which had prompted the act, said, “This brother has taken a great deal of pains from morning till night to give his work to the devil. Then, to cure him of his delusion, Pachomius imposed on him as a penance to keep his cell for five months and to taste no food but bread and water. His visions and miracles were innumerable, and he read all hearts. His holy death occurred in 348.
REFLECTION: “To live in great simplicity,” said St. Pachomius, “and in a wise ignorance, is exceeding wise.”
WORD OF THE DAY
BODILY RESURRECTION. The reunion of the soul of each human being with his own body on the last day. Christ taught the resurrection from the dead (Matthew 22:29-32; Luke 14:14; John 5:29, 6:39-40, 11:25), and the Apostles preached the doctrine as a cardinal mystery of the Christian faith (I Corinthians 15:20; Revelation 20:12). Belief in the resurrection is professed in all the ancient creeds. "The human beings that rise again are the identical persons who lived before, though their vital processes are performed in a different way. Now their life is mortal, then it will be immortal. . . [But] they still are of the same kind and are still the same individuals as before . . . They do not assume a heavenly or ghostly kind of body. Their bodies remain truly human, though they are invested with an immortality coming from a divine strength which enables them so to dominate the body that corruption cannot enter" (St. Thomas, Compendium Theologiae, 155).
Modern Catholic Dictionary, Fr. John Hardon SJ (Get the real one at Eternal Life — don’t accept an abridged or edited version of this masterpiece!)
May, Month of the Immaculate Heart
Maria Magnificata. Short Meditations for May, the Month on Our Lady’s Life. 14th Day — The Nativity.
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https://bellarmineforum.org/may-14-2024-st-pachomius-abbot/
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