Saint Paul of Latros, Hermit 956 A.D.
by VP
Posted on Monday December 15, 2025 at 12:00AM in Saints
TEMPTATIONS.-There are temptations which every one may avoid, and this is a positive duty; for "he who loves the danger shall perish therein," says the Holy Gospel. Some there are which no man can fly from, inasmuch as he bears them about him; neither the desert, nor the cloister, nor the solitary retreat shuts them out; fasting, prayer, and confidence in God are the only safeguards. St. Paul, the first hermit, St. Anthony, and St. Jerome, are cases in point. St. Paul, an anchorite of Bithynia, experienced temptations while on the arid rocks of Mount Latre, whither he had betaken himself. Although living merely on raw herbs, bitter acorns, and the water flowing near his grot, he had terrible conflicts to endure; but at length the spirit, or rather the power of grace, triumphed over the flesh. The outer world became aware of his virtues and admired him; he founded several retreats, or monasteries, for anchorites. Emperors, princes, pontiffs, and prelates sought the aid of his counsel and profited thereby, for holiness is a good counsellor. He died in 956.
MORAL REFLECTION.-"God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able, but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it."-(1 Cor. x. 13.). Source: Half-hour Pictorial Saints by Abbe Auguste Le Canu
"ST. PAUL, an anchorite of Bithynia, had betaken himself to Mount Latre in order to lead a life of greater seclusion and more perfect union with God. Here he gave himself to prayer and penance, subsisting solely upon roots, herbs, and nuts, and drinking only of the stream which flowed near his cave. But his Divine Master, seeing the generosity of His servant's soul, sent him many terrible temptations and trials in the midst of the solitude. Distrusting himself completely, and relying confidently on the power of God, St. Paul made use of the weapons of prayer, mortification, and continual vigilance, and by them triumphed over all the snares of the arch-enemy. After this severe conflict he became the founder of several monasteries. His counsel was sought by pontiffs and prelates; and even the highest princes of the age addressed themselves to him for advice. He died in 956."
My tears shall be my wine,
My bed a craggy rock;
My harmony the serpent's hiss,
The screeching owl my clock.
Source: Short Lives of the Saints By Eleanor Cecilia Donnelly
15. Rejoice Always. (Advent Meditations)
by VP
Posted on Monday December 15, 2025 at 12:00AM in Advent Sermons
"1. St. Paul goes beyond the mere command to rejoice, and to rejoice in the Lord ; he also bids us to rejoice always. Is this possible ? Yes, it is quite possible. If it were not, the Apostle would not have imposed it upon us. It is not easy, because our self-love and our selfishness destroy joy. But the saints, who had driven self-love out of their hearts, found it a pleasant and an easy task to be always joyful. If we desire the same, we must do our best to get rid of this hindrance to our joy.
2. How are we to accomplish this task? It must be a gradual one. It is to be arrived at by many acts of submission to the will of God, and to the will of others when opposed to our own ; and the submission must have for its motive, not the intellectual conviction that what we ourselves desire is in itself inferior, but the determination to submit for the sake of submission, and as an act of reverence to God. We must be willing to submit both will and intellect to those set over us, without complaining or questioning their commands. Do I do so?
3. When this painful process is over, and when at length we begin to learn the happiness of giving up our own will to the will of others, we soon begin to receive the reward of our self-conquest. We acquire by degrees an undisturbed calm of soul, and an increasing strength of will, as the fruits of our victory over self, and above all a happy consciousness that we have been learning the lesson of conforming our will to the will of God, in which the happiness of heaven consists. "
Meditations for Advent . By Rev. Richard F. Clarke S.J. The Catholic Truth Society, London 1891
Saint Andrew Christmas Novena:
Hail and blessed be the hour and moment In which the Son of God was born Of the most pure Virgin Mary, at midnight, in Bethlehem, in the piercing cold. In that hour vouchsafe, I beseech Thee, O my God, to hear my prayer and grant my desires, [here mention your request] through the merits of Our Savior Jesus Christ, and of His blessed Mother. Amen. (15 times)
Prayer to the Holy Infant for priestsJesus, Divine Infant, I bless and thank Thy most loving Heart for the institution of the priesthood. Priests are sent by Thee as Thou were sent by the Father. To them Thou entrusted the treasures of Thy doctrine, of Thy Law, of Thy Grace, and souls themselves.
Grant me the grace to love them, to listen to them, and to let myself be guided by them in Thy ways. Jesus, send good laborers into Thy harvest. May priests be the salt that purifies and preserves; may they be the light of the world; may they be the city placed on the mountain. May they all be formed after Thy own Heart. And in heaven may they be surrounded by a joyous throng of those they shepherded on earth. Amen.
Glory Be (three times).
Infant Jesus, make me love Thee more and more
