FEBRUARY 18TH 2003
St.SIMEON
BISHOP MARTYR ( c,8 B.C--c,112 A..D.)
LIFE:
St.Simeon, the son of Cleophas, is called a brother of our Lord in
the gospels of St.Mathew and Mark,that possibly a first cousin. As one of
the 72 disciples he was present at Christ`s Ascention and at the Descent
of the Holy spirit at Pentecost; he is also thought to have been one of
the two men whom Christ joined on the road to Emmaus after his
Resurrection.
At Easter in the year 62, his brother St.James the Less, the
first Bishop of Jerusalem, was killed by the jews, at St.Simon , who had
not hesitated to reproach fearlessly the Jews for their action, was
thereupon elected to succeed him.
In the year 66 God warned St Simeon of the impending destruction
of Jerusalem, and the Bishop accordingly moved his faithful to Pella, some
65 miles away, on the opposite shore of Jordan. Four years later Titus`
army enetered Judea in order to suppress the jewish uprisings & laid siege
to Jerusalem for five months before taking & destroying it inthe year 70.At
that time 600,000 Jews lost their lives; but the Cenacle, which had been
the scene of the Last supper & the descent of the Holy spirit,
providentially escaped the general destruction and later became dedicated as
a church. the christian community & thier Bishop were believed to have
returned to the ruined city & to have lived ther until Hardian in 134 razed
it completely to the ground.
St Simeon was able to survive the persecutions of Vespasian and
Domitian, when every descendant of the house of David was supposed to
have been put to daeth, but in the yaer 112 when Trajan took up the
persecution of the church, some Jewish heretics denounced St.Simeon as a
relative of our Lord and a christian. As a result he was imprisoned, most
atrociously tortured for several days and in the end crucified.
He had attained the venerable age of about 120 years. With his
death we arrive at the close of the so called apostolic age, for he is
believed to have been the last survivor of the disciples who had actually
seen & conversed with our Lord.
REFLECTION:
When you practice your " apostolate of discretion and confidence, "
dont tell me that you dont know what to say. For with the Psalmist , I
will remind you; "Dominus dabit verbum evangelizantibus virtute multa"--"the
Lord placed on his apostles` lips words filled with efficacy"
----St.Josemaria Escriva
Oh! sweet Eucharist ! & beloved Mother keep me as thy own.....
S.THOMAS
NOTTINGHAM
ENGLAND
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