13 Jan – Memorial for St. Hilary, bishop and doctor of the Church
St. Hilary of Poitiers (315-368) was known as Athanasius of the West. He was born to wealthy polytheistic, pagan nobility. His early life was uneventful as he married, had children (one of whom was St. Abra), and studied on his own. Through his studies, he came to believe in salvation through good works, and then monotheism. As he studied the Bible for the first time, he literally read himself into the faith, and was converted by the end of the New Testament.
Hilary lived the faith so well that he was made Bishop of Poitiers from 353-368. He opposed the emperor’s attempt to run Church matters and was exiled; he used the time to write works explaining the faith. His teaching and writings converted many and, in an attempt to reduce his notoriety, he was returned to the small town of Poitiers, where his enemies hoped he would fade into obscurity. His writings nonetheless continued to convert pagans.
Hilary introduced Eastern theology to the Western Church, fought Arianism with the help of St. Viventius, and was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1851.
- Patron Saint Index
Heb 1:1-6
Mk 1:14-20
“Follow me…”
2024 was a tough year for me. It was stressful on so many levels and sometime in that year, I felt a strong stirring in my heart to go for a retreat. It is surprising, as I am not someone that would seek to go on a retreat. But the stirring in my heart was very insistent and my wife and I attended a 5-day silent retreat in the last week of 2024.
I didn’t know what to expect. All I knew was that Jesus was telling me to, “Follow me and come rest with me.” And rest was what was prescribed. My Spiritual Director said to me in the first session, make sure you rest. Take a nap. Because the Lord wants you to rest and remove yourself away from your worries and difficulties. Wow! What a great start.
I was telling my wife, after the retreat, that the Retreat Centre seemed to be infested with zombies. There were people shuffling along the paths, walking slowly, and just in a world of their own. But it’s all good! This just means that all of us are seeking the Lord’s voice, even while we are looking hungrily at the rabbits in their pen.
The Lord’s voice seems to be clearer when we remove ourselves from the noisy world and when we are rested, and when we want Him to speak to us into our hearts. It’s a choice that only we can make ourselves. We must want to hear the Lord — He will come to meet us in our need.
It is indeed wonderful that the Lord has planned my retreat experience. The daily readings and meditations that were given to me really spoke to me and they really touched my heart. The Lord showed me how my internal walls impact the way that I deal with the people in my life, the people that I work with, and the people that I love.
This retreat has been a revelation and the Lord has pointed out a direction for me to take that I am rather uncomfortable with. The key takeaways are — I always have a choice and need to make a conscious decision to be a child of God; I need to be comfortable at being in uncomfortable situations; and that I need to be humble and give thanks in everything.
As I embark on a new year, I ask you, brothers and sisters, to pray for me that I may have the strength and courage to do what the Lord has shown me, and to rely on Him whenever things become rocky. And also for the openness of mind and heart — that I am able to keep hearing His voice and to follow wherever He leads me.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Calvin Wee)
Prayer: Good and gracious Lord, You are so good and always come to meet us where we are. As we learn more about You, May You grant us the grace to be like Christ to others, as we seek to see Christ in others. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Loving Father, thank you for the opportunities where we are able to see you, hear you and experience you. You always know what’s best for us and we thank you for loving us, even at times when we cannot love ourselves. You are our loving God and we thank you for always being there. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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