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THE VISIT

Ruth went to her mail box and
there was only one letter.

She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but
then she looked at the envelope again.

There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and
address.

She read the letter:

Dear Ruth:

I`m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday
afternoon and I'd like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always,
Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on
the table.
"Why would the Lord want to visit me?

I'm nobody special.
I don't have anything to offer."

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty
kitchen cabinets.

"Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to
offer.
I'll have to run down to the store and buy something
for dinner."

She reached for her purse and counted out its
contents. Five dollars and forty cents.

Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."

She threw on her coat and hurried out the door.

A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced
turkey, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand
total twelve cents to last her until Monday.

Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her
meager offerings tucked under her arm.
Hey lady, can you help us,lady?"

Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she
hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the
alleyway.

A man and a woman, both of them dressed in
little more than rags.

"Look lady, I ain't got a job, ya know, and my wife
and I have been living out here on the street, and,
well, now it's getting cold and we're getting kinda
hungry and, well, if you could help us Lady, we'd
really appreciate it."

Ruth looked at them both.

They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she
was certain that they could get some kind of work if
they really wanted to.

"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman
myself.
All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm
having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was
planning on serving that to Him."

"Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand Thanks anyway."

The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders,
turned and headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar
twinge in her heart.

"Sir, wait!"

The couple stopped and turned as she
ran down the alley after them.

"Look, why don't you take this food.
I'll figure out something else to serve my guest."

She handed the man her grocery bag.

"Thank you lady. Thank you very much!"

"Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth
could see now that she was shivering.

"You know, I've got another coat at home.

Here, why don't you take this one."
Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the
woman's shoulders.

Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the
street...without her coat and with nothing to serve
her guest.

"Thank you lady!

Thank you very much!"

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front
door, and worried too.

The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't
have anything to offer Him.

She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But
as she did, she noticed another envelope in her
mailbox.

"That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice
in one day."

Dear Ruth:

It was so good to see you again.

Thank you for the lovely meal.

And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always,
Jesus

The air was still cold, but even without her coat,
Ruth no longer noticed.

LIVES OF THE SAINTS

SEPTEMBER 1
ST. GILES
St. Giles was born in Athens, Greece, in early times. When his parents died, he used the large fortune they left him to help the poor.

SEPTEMBER 2
BLESSED JOHN DU LAU AND THE SEPTEMBER MARTYRS
Blessed John was the archbishop of Arles, France..

SEPTEMBER 3
ST. GREGORY THE GREAT
St. Gregory was born in 540 in Rome. His father was a senator. His mother is a saint, St. Celia.

SEPTEMBER 4
ST. ROSE OF VITERBO
St. Rose was born in 1235 in Viterbo, Italy. She lived at the time when Emperor Frederick had conquered land that belonged to the Church.

SEPTEMBER 5
ST. LAWRENCE JUSTINIAN
St. Lawrence Justinian was born in Venice, Italy, in 1381.

SEPTEMBER 6
BLESSED BERTRAND
Blessed Bertrand lived in the last half of the twelfth and first part of the thirteenth centuries.

SEPTEMBER 7
BLESSED JOHN DUCKETT AND BLESSED RALPH CORBY
Blessed James Duckett studied at the English college of Douay and became a priest in 1639.

SEPTEMBER 8
BIRTH OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
We do not usually celebrate the birthdays of the saints.

SEPTEMBER 9
ST. PETER CLAVER
St. Peter Claver, the Spanish priest of the Society of Jesus was born in 1580.

SEPTEMBER 10
ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
St. Nicholas was born in 1245 in Ancona, Italy. His parents had waited long and anxiously for a child.

SEPTEMBER 11
BLESSED LOUIS OF THURINGIA
Blessed Loius, the German prince, lived during the last part of the twelfth and first part of the thirteenth centuries.

SEPTEMBER 13
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
St. John Chrysostom was born in Antioch around 344.

SEPTEMBER 15
OUR LADY OF SORROWS
Our Lady had many great joys as the mother of Jesus, but she had much to suffer, too.

SEPTEMBER 16
ST. CORNELIUS AND ST. CYPRIAN
St. Cornelius, a holy priest of Rome, was elected Pope in 251. He accepted because he loved Christ.

SEPTEMBER 17
ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE
St. Robert Bellarmine was born in Italy in 1542.

SEPTEMBER 18
ST. JOSEPH OF CUPERTINO
St. Joseph was born on June 17, 1603, in a small Italian village to poor parents.

SEPTEMBER 19
ST. JANUARIUS
St. Januarius lived in the fourth century. He was born either in Benevento or Naples, Italy.

SEPTEMBER 20
ST. ANDREW KIM TAEGON AND ST. PAUL CHONG HASANG
St. Andrew Kim Taegon was a priest and St. Paul Chong Hasang was a lay person.

SEPTEMBER 21
ST. MATTHEW
St. Matthew was a tax collector in the city of Capernaum, where Jesus was living.

SEPTEMBER 22
ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA
St. Thomas was born in Spain in 1488.

SEPTEMBER 24
ST. PACIFICUS
St. Pacificus, a little Italian boy born in 1653 was named Charles Anthony. He was just five years old when his loving parents died.

SEPTEMBER 25
ST. SERGIUS
St. Serguis, the famous Russian saint lived in the fourteenth century.

SEPTEMBER 27
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
St. Vincent de Paul, the son of poor French peasants, was born in 1581.

SEPTEMBER 28
ST. LAWRENCE RUIZ AND COMPANIONS
St. Lawrence Ruiz, and his fifteen companions were killed for their faith in 1637, in Nagasaki, Japan.

SEPTEMBER 29
ST. MICHAEL, ST. GABRIEL, ST. RAPHAEL
Sts. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael are called "saints" because they are holy.

SEPTEMBER 30
ST. JEROME
St. Jerome was a Roman Christian who lived in the fourth century.

ABOUT ARCHANGELS

SAINT MICHAEL
St. Michael the Archangel Story
History of St. Michael the Archangel Prayer
St. Michael the Archangel Prayers
St. Michael the Archangel Apparitions
The Chaplet of St. Michael Archangel
Novena to St Micheal the Archangel
Litany of St. Michael the Archangel

SAINT GABRIEL
St. Gabriel Prayer

SAINT RAPHAEL
St. Raphael Prayer

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

Tour of the Relics of the Passion
(International Center for Holy Relics)
www.HolyRelics.org

REFLECTIONS

“Jesus’ Baptism”

Why did Jesus, the sinless one sent from the Father in heaven, submit himself to John’s baptism? John preached a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Luke 3:3). In this humble submission we see a foreshadowing of the “baptism” of Jesus bloody death upon the cross. Jesus’ baptism is the acceptance and the beginning of his mission as God’s suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12). He allowed himself to be numbered among sinners. Jesus submitted himself entirely to his Father’s will. Out of love he consented to this baptism of death for the remission of our sins. Do you know the joy of trust and submission to God?

NEWS ARCHIVE & ACTIVITIES

EVENTS
Holy Relics of Advent in Hawaii
Miles Christi Women's Retreat

NEWS
The Sacrament of Marriage
Bishops Shield Pope Against BBC Assault
Much Work Remains in Many Areas
Vatican Appeals for Least Developed Countries

MAINPAGE ARTICLE
Immaculate Conception of Mary
Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Feast of St Jude the Miraculous Saint
Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima