Sep 19 – Memorial for St. Januarius, Bishop and Martyr
St. Januarius (d. 305) was arrested on account of his profession of the Christian religion during persecution of Christians. He was cast into the fiery furnace, through which he passed wholly unharmed. On the following day, along with a number of fellow martyrs, he was exposed to the fury of wild beasts, which laid themselves down in tame submission at his feet.
Timotheus, the governor who pronounced the sentence of death upon Januarius, was struck with blindness but was immediately healed by the powerful intercession of the saint, a miracle which converted nearly five thousand men on the spot. The ungrateful judge, only roused to further fury by these occurrences, caused the execution of Januarius by the sword to be forthwith carried out. The body was ultimately removed by the inhabitants of Naples to that city, where the relic became very famous for its miracles.
- Patron Saint Index
1 Cor 15:1-11
Lk 7:36-50
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
There was a building which was on fire and flames were licking out of the apartment windows on the top floor. As a crowd gathered below to watch, a man hears the voice of a boy calling out from the rooftop. “Father, father, help me!”
The man runs to the foot of the building and looks up at the roof. Catching sight of his young son, he tells the son to jump. “Father, there is so much smoke. I cannot see you.” The man reassures his son by shouting back, “It is OK my son. Jump….I can see you.”
Brothers and sisters, have we found ourselves in a similar situation before? Where we need to put our faith in someone else and trust that he/she will be there for us? And in recalling those situations, what do you remember of the person or the feelings that rose up? The past few months have been a tad turbulent for me and very soon, I will be packing and moving most of my things into storage as we ‘right-size’ our lives to move into a smaller dwelling. Yup, after 40 years, I will be moving with my mum and uncle into a rented place.
Honestly, I had never expected to have to do this, especially with my mum and uncle (84 yrs old & 87 yrs old respectively) getting on in years. But the time came last year when a decision had to be made and, in May, the door opened. In faith, I trusted the Lord that it was what He wanted for us and in stepping through that door, I find myself feeling slightly liberated and looking forward to the flexibility of exploring a new living situation for the next few years.
On top of all that, this month has proven to be an ‘interesting’ one where my mettle is being tested in more than a few ways. I have had to sacrifice some ‘me’ time and find myself wondering, at times, if I have taken on a bit more than I can handle. But hey, as long as I keep my eyes focussed on Him, I should not be overthinking things. The phrase ‘Let go and let God’ has never been more applicable for me than now, when wave after wave of ‘things/issues’ keep battering me.
This month in particular, has been challenging on many fronts. If you know the song ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends’, that is precisely the feeling I have now. Indeed, saying ‘Yes’ to some activities has ensured that I have no Saturdays to relax.
Brothers and sisters, taking a leap of faith (sometimes more than one or two) entails having to trust that someone has your back covered. Over the years, I have tended not to rely on others (especially at work) and to just get things done on my own. In this season I find myself in, I have relied totally on God carrying me through while running from one thing to another. I liken it to being a ball in a pinball machine, but with padded flippers. Because He is there with me, helping me cushion any blows and watching over me. Life still goes on and I still am responsible for making the choices I did.
But I know that He has my back and is ready to catch me when I falls.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Desmond Soon)
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for all our life experiences and for those times that You held our hands to navigate through those difficult times. Help us to always search you out, even though we may be distracted with worldly things. Help us to always focus on you. Amen
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for those angels that You send our way. Thank you for loving me. Amen
OXYGEN 
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