St. Dionysius the Areopagite, Bishop of Athens, Martyr

THE GREAT apostle of the Gentiles, esteeming himself equally a debtor to the learned and to the unlearned, arrived at Athens about the year 51, seventeen years after our Lord’s crucifixion, and boldly preached the faith in that city, which had been for many ages the chief seat of the muses, where the chief studies of philosophy, oratory, and polite literature flourished.

All matters belonging to religion were, by an ancient law of that state, to be determined by the great council of the Areopagites, which was still observed; for, though the Athenians were fallen under the Roman yoke, yet, out of regard to their learning, and to the ancient dignity of their republic, the Romans restored to them many of their ancient privileges, with the name and title at least of their liberty.

St. Paul therefore was summoned to give an account of his doctrine in the Areopagus.* The apostle appeared undaunted in that august and severe assembly of proud sages, though Plato so much dreaded a like examination at this tribunal, that he on no other account dissembled his sentiments of the unity of God, and other like truths, of which he was himself perfectly satisfied, especially after his travels into Egypt, as St. Justin Martyr testifies.

St. Paul explained before these learned senators the Christian maxims of repentance, purity of manners, the unity and omnipresence of God, his judgments, and the resurrection of the dead. The divine unction with which he delivered these great truths was an eloquence with which these masters of philosophy and oratory were unacquainted.

The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead shocked many, and was a great stumbling-block, though Plato and other eminent philosophers among them had established many sublime sentiments with regard to the immortality of the soul, and the rewards and punishments of a life to come; but that our flesh, which putrefies in the earth, and perishes to all our senses, shall, by the power of God, be raised again the same that dies, was what many of these wise men of the world looked upon as a dream, rather than a certain truth. Many, however, among them were exceedingly moved with the sanctity and sublimity of this new doctrine, and with the marks of a divine mission with which the preacher delivered himself; and they said to him they would hear him again upon that subject on some other day.

Some whose hearts were touched by a powerful grace, and who with simplicity sought after the truth, not the idle gratification of curiosity, pride, or vanity, without delay addressed themselves to the apostle, and received from him full satisfaction of the evidence of the divine revelation which he preached to them.

Among these there was a woman named Damaris; but the most remarkable among these converts was Dionysius, one of the honourable members or judges of this most venerable and illustrious senate.

We are assured by the testimony of St. Dionysius of Corinth, that St. Dionysius the Areopagite was afterwards constituted bishop of Athens; and that this was done by St. Paul himself we are informed by the Apostolical Constitutions, by Aristides cited by Usuard, and by several ancient martyrologists.

Aristides, quoted by Usuard, and St. Sophronius of Jerusalem, styled him a martyr. The Greeks, in their menologies, tell us that he was burnt alive for the faith at Athens.

His name occurs in ancient calendars on the 3rd of October. The cathedral of Soissons is in possession of his head, which was brought thither from Constantinople, in 1205. Pope Innocent III. Sent to the abbey of St. Denis, near Paris, the body of this saint, which had been translated from Greece to Rome.
We admire in this glorious saint, and other illustrious primitive converts, the wonderful change which faith produced in their souls. It not only enlightened their understandings, discovering to them new fields of the most sublime and important knowledge, and opening to their meditation the boundless range of eternity, and of the infinite riches of the divine goodness, justice, and mercy; but it also exerted the most powerful influence upon their wills.

A spirit of the most sincere and profound compunction and humility was created in them, with a perfect contempt of the world, and all earthly things, and an entire disengagement of their hearts from all inordinate attachment to creatures.
The fire of pure and ardent charity was also kindled in their hearts, which consumed all the rust of their passions, and purged their affections. From these virtues of humility and charity, which Christ declares to be the foundation of his spirit in a soul, arose an unalterable meekness, peace, fortitude, and constancy, with the whole train of virtues.

Thus, by their conversion to the faith, they were interiorly changed, and became quite new men, endued with a temper truly heavenly, and animated with the spirit of Christ. The light of faith spreads its beams upon our souls. Why then has it not produced the same reformation and change in our wills and affections? This it cannot do whilst we refuse to open our hearts to this grace, and earnestly set not ourselves to remove all obstacles of self-love and the passions.

Yet, till this change be wrought in our affections, we are earthly, strangers to the spirit of Christ, and want the mark of meekness and charity, by which those are to be known that belong to him. A Christian is not a mere name, or empty profession; it is a great and noble work; a work of difficulty which requires assiduous application, and continual pains; and in which the greater our endeavours and advances have been, with the greater ardour do we continually strive to advance higher towards perfection, saying with St. Paul, “Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after. I count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Since thou hadst been instructed in uprightness thoroughly and wast vigilant in all things, thou wast clothed with a good conscience as befitteth one holy. Thou didst draw from the Chosen Vessel ineffable mysteries; and having kept the Faith, thou didst finish a like course, O Hieromartyr Dionysios. Intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone
In spirit, thou dist pass through Heaven’s gates, instructed by the great Apostle who attained to the third Heaven’s heights, and wast made rich in all knowledge of things beyond speech; and then thou, O Dionysios, didst illuminate them that slumbered in the darkness of their ignorance. Hence we all cry out: Rejoice, O universal Father.

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*The Areopagus was so called from The Hill of Mars, [Greek], without the walls of Athens, where it stood. This council is thought to have been as ancient as the Athenian nation, though Solon gave it a new form and dignity. The number of the members or judges was not determined, but was sometimes two or three hundred, though at first only seven. For some time no one was admitted among them who had not been archon, that is, the supreme yearly magistrate of the commonwealth, by whose name the year was counted, as at Rome by the consuls.

Nor was any one to be adopted into it who was not of the strictest morals, and his conduct without reproach. The assemblies of this court were always held in the night, and the severity of its proceedings made its sentence extremely dreaded. The reputation of the integrity of its judges procured it the highest respect and veneration, so that its decisions were received as oracles.
Click here for a Map of the Areopagus

Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ

A commentary on Isaiah by St Jerome: Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ

I interpret as I should, following the command of Christ: Search the Scriptures, and Seek and you shall find. Christ will not say to me what he said to the Jews: You erred, not knowing the Scriptures and not knowing the power of God. For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.

Therefore, I will imitate the head of a household who brings out of his storehouse things both new and old, and says to his spouse in the Song of Songs: I have kept for you things new and old, my beloved. In this way permit me to explain Isaiah, showing that he was not only a prophet, but an evangelist and an apostle as well. For he says about himself and the other evangelists: How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news, of those who announce peace. And God speaks to him as if he were an apostle: Whom shall I send, who will go to my people? And he answers: Here I am; send me.

No one should think that I mean to explain the entire subject matter of this great book of Scripture in one brief sermon, since it contains all the mysteries of the Lord. It prophesies that Emmanuel is to be born of a virgin and accomplish marvellous works and signs. It predicts his death, burial and resurrection from the dead as the Saviour of all men. I need say nothing about the natural sciences, ethics and logic. Whatever is proper to Holy Scripture, whatever can be expressed in human language and understood by the human mind, is contained in the book of Isaiah. Of these mysteries the author himself testifies when he writes: You will be given a vision of all things, like words in a sealed scroll. When they give the writings to a wise man, they will say: Read this. And he will reply: I cannot, for it is sealed. And when the scroll is given to an uneducated man and he is told: Read this, he will reply: I do not know how to read.

Should this argument appear weak to anyone, let him listen to the Apostle: Let two or three prophets speak, and let others interpret; if, however, a revelation should come to one of those who are seated there, let the first one be quiet. How can they be silent, since it depends on the Spirit who speaks through his prophets whether they remain silent or speak? If they understood what they were saying, all things would be full of wisdom and knowledge. But it was not the air vibrating with the human voice that reached their ears, but rather it was God speaking within the soul of the prophets, just as another prophet says: It is an angel who spoke in me; and again, Crying out in our hearts, Abba, Father’, and I shall listen to what the Lord God says within me.

Saint Cyriacus the Anchorite

Saint Cyriacus the Anchorite (also known as ‘Cyriacus the Hermit’) (Greek: Ὅσιος Κυριάκος ὁ Ἀναχωρητής, Hosios Kyriakos ho Anachōrētēs) was born in Corinth in the year 448.

Life

His father was a priest named John and his mother’s name was Eudoxia. Cyriacus had Bishop Peter of Corinth for a relative, who made Cyriacus a reader in church.

Cyriacus’s studies of the Scriptures encouraged him to want what the culture deemed a pure and saintly life. Cyriacus, before turning 18, attended a church service on Matthew 16:24 (“Whosoever would to come after Me, let him deny himself and raise up his cross and follow Me”) that so deeply moved him he immediately he went to the harbour, got onto a ship, and set off to Jerusalem instead of going home.

After visiting holy places of Christianity, Cyriacus dwelt for several months at a monastery not far from Sion. This placed him in obedience to Hegumenos Abba Eustorgius. With his support he made his way to the wilderness Lavra of St. Euthymius the Great (January 20). St. Euthymius was impressed by him and tonsured him into the monastic schema and placed him under the guidance of St. Gerasimus (March 4). He then pursued asceticism at the Jordan in the monastery of St. Theoctistus.

Gerasimus, seeing that Cyriacus was still quite young, ordered him to live in the community with the brethren. Gerasimus became something of a mentor to the young man and each Sunday imparted the Holy Mysteries of his faith to his disciple. The young monk took to monastic obediences: he prayed fervently, he slept little, he ate food only every other day, and nourished himself with bread and water.

After the death of Gerasimos, the twenty-seven-year-old Cyriacus intended to return to the Lavra of Euthymios, but he had since died. Therefore Cyriacus asked for a solitary cell where he pursued asceticism in silence. During this period he communicated only with the monk Thomas. Later even that ended as Thomas was sent to Alexandria where he was consecrated bishop. This meant Cyriacus spent ten years in total silence. At 37 years of age he was ordained to the diaconate.

When a split occurred between the monasteries of Euthymius and Theoctistus, Cyriacus withdrew to the Souka monastery of St. Chariton (September 28). At this monastery they received even tonsured monks as novices, and so was Cyriacus received. He toiled at the regular monastic obediences. After several years, Cyriacus was ordained priest and chosen canonarch and did this obedience for eighteen years. He would spend thirty years at the monastery of St. Chariton.

Strict fasting and devotion distinguished Cyriacus even among the ascetics of the Lavra. In his cell each night he read the Psalter, interrupting the reading only to go to church at midnight. The ascetic slept very little. When the monk reached seventy years of age, he went to the Natoufa wilderness taking with him his disciple John.

In the desert the hermits fed themselves only with bitter herbs, which hagiographical accounts say were rendered edible. After five years one of the inhabitants found out about the ascetics and brought to them his son and Cyriacus reportedly healed him. From that time many people began to approach the monk with their needs, but he sought complete solitude and fled to the Rouva wilderness, where he dwelt five years more. But the sick still came for him so he helped who he could.

Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II

At his 80th year of life Cyriacus fled to the hidden Sousakim wilderness, where two dried up streams passed by. The brethren of the Souka monastery came to him seven years after his arrival, beseeching his spiritual help during the time of debilitating hunger and illness. After his intervention seemed to improve the situation they wished him to return to the monastery. Therefore he settled in a cave which St. Chariton had once lived.

Cyriacus worked against the religious movement Origenism. By prayer and by word, he led many to abandon it for a strengthened Orthodox faith. According to Eastern Orthodox tradition the Theotokos appeared to him to strengthen him in his efforts against Origenism. After the deaths of Nonnus and Leontius, which it is said he predicted, the movement ceased to spread.

At the age of ninety-nine, Cyriacus again went off to Susakim and lived there with his disciple John. This period is full of several legends involving him saving people from lions or his prayers causing rain to fall.

For the two years before his death Cyriacus returned to the monastery and again settled into the cave of Chariton. Until the end of his life he was never idle in prayer or work. Before his death Cyriacus summoned the brethren and blessed them all. He quietly fell asleep in the Lord, having lived 109 years. He died in the year 557.

Apolytikion in the First Tone

Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Cyriacus, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

The sacred lavra doth at all times rightly honour thee as a sure helper and support and mighty champion, and it annually observeth thy holy mem’ry. And since thou, O righteous Cyriacus, dost possess boldness with the Lord, protect us from our enemies, that we may cry to thee: Rejoice, O thrice-blessed Father.

Source

The Prophet Baruch

The Biblical Prophet Baruch lived in Jerusalem prior to its siege in 587 BC. Baruch was the scribe and devoted friend of the Prophet Jeremiah. Baruch wrote down the first scroll of prophesies about the defeat of the Babylonians that were dictated to him by Jeremiah in prison (Jeremiah 36: 4).

A year later, in 604, when “a time of fasting before the Lord was proclaimed”, Baruch read the scroll to all people in the temple and later to royal officials (Jeremiah 36:11–18). When the scroll was read out to king Jehoiakim, he threw it into a firepot.

Baruch and Jeremiah managed to hide from the king’s anger; then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah to dictate a new scroll to Baruch, containing prophesies of the coming end of the Kingdom of Judah (Jeremiah 36: 32). After having written the first scroll, Jeremiah prophesied that Baruch would survive the war but the people of Judah would be doomed (Jeremiah 45).

Baruch lived through the destruction of Jerusalem; he and Jeremiah were freed by the Babylonians and allowed to stay in Jerusalem. Baruch and Jeremiah kept communicating with each other even after the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah and Baruch fled to Egypt and settled in Tahpanhes with other refugees (Jeremiah 43: 1–7). After Jeremiah’s death Baruch didn’t live long and died in Egypt in the 4^th century BC.

The book of Baruch consists of five chapters in which he says that all evils – the Babylonian exile and the destruction of Jerusalem – were sent by the Lord for the sins of Hebrews and the need for penance. The Prophet Baruch predicted the coming of the Son of God, his prophesy begins with the following words: “This is our God, and there shall no other be accounted of in comparison of him” (Baruch 3: 36–38).

The Prophet Baruch is traditionally depicted as an old man in a blue chiton, an ochrous himation, wearing sandals, and holding a scroll in his hands. In iconography Baruch is represented in the prophets’ row of iconostases, such as at the Cathedral of the Nativity of the St. Therapont Monastery (1502, Dionysius, Kirillo-Belozersk Museum).

Troparion

You were worthy of the light of prophecy, Becoming a companion to Jeremiah, You foretold the self-emptying of God the Word, Which he wrought for the salvation of the world, Now all heirs of his kingdom honour you, O holy Prophet Baruch!

Source

Saint Lorenzo Ruiz

On September 29,1637, San Lorenzo Ruiz professed his faith by martyrdom. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II in Manila and later canonized on October 28,1987. San Lorenzo Ruiz holds the distinction of being the first person beatified outside the Vatican. He also holds the honor of being the first Filipino saint, the “most improbable of saints,” as Pope John Paul II described him during the canonization ceremony.

Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, was the kind of man who could die for God and religion a thousand times if he had to.  Lorenzo Ruiz was was a layman who worked as a calligrapher for the Dominican parish of Binondo, Manila. As an “escriba,” he was exceptionally gifted, and the Dominican friars relied on him to transcribe baptismal, confirmation and marriage documents into the church’s official books. He was also an active member of the Marian confraternity, a man the Dominicans described as someone “they could trust.”

The son of a Chinese father and Tagala mother who lived in the Parian district outside the city walls of Manila, Lorenzo Ruiz married a Tagala like his mother and had three children — two sons and a daughter — whose descendants are currently residents of the same area where the original Ruiz family lived.In 1636, Ruiz was implicated in a murder. He sought help from his Dominican superiors who believed in his innocence. In order to escape what they believed would have been an unjust prosecution for their protege, the Spanish friars immediately sent Ruiz on a missionary expedition outside of the Philippines. Initially, Ruiz thought he was being sent to Taiwan, where he believed his Chinese roots would enable him to start a new life. Little did he know that he and the missionary expedition led by Fray Domingo Ibanez was actually headed for Nagasaki, Japan, where feudalism was fanning the flames of Christian persecution. Lorenzo Ruiz was headed straight into the arms of death.

He was arrested almost immediately upon his arrival in Japan in 1636, and subjected to torture by his Japanese captors for more than a year. Tied upside down by his feet and dropped into a well where sharp stakes lined the bottom, his torturers would stop just before he would be impaled, and thereupon try to convince him to renounce his faith.

“Deny your faith and we will spare your life,” his persecutors said.

To which Lorenzo Ruiz answered, “I will never do it. I am a Catholic and happy to die for God. If I have a thousand lives to offer, I will offer them to God.”

Existing documents attest that the Japanese promised him a safe trip back home where he could be reunited with his loved ones, but Ruiz staunchly chose to remain faithful to his religion.

On September 22, 1637, Ruiz, Fray Domingo and their 14 companions were led up a hill overlooking the bay of Nagasaki. There they were hung upside down with their heads inside the well. Their temples were slit open to let blood drip slowly until they died either from loss of blood or asphyxiation. Many died after several days. Ruiz died last, on September 29,1637.

“The Lord gives us saints at the right time and God waited 350 years to give us this saint,” the Holy Father then said. “It is the heroism which he demonstrated as a lay witness to the faith… which is very important in today’s world. The witness of San Lorenzo is the testimony we need of courage without measure to show us that it is possible. Faith and life for Lorenzo was synonymous and inseparable. Life without faith would have been without value…he proved that sanctity and heroism are there for anybody and the final victory is made to size for each one of us.”

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PRAYER TO SAN LORENZO RUIZ de MANILA

Beloved SAN LORENZO RUIZ DE MANILA, confronted with death, you proclaimed your readiness to die a thousand times for your Christian faith. Today the whole world admires your courage. We feel particularly proud of you as our brother. And we pray: You, a family man, protect our families. Keep them united in love. You, who bore your sufferings with patience and resignation, intercede for the sick of mind and body; help them to receive the grace of God’s miraculous healing. You, who died in a foreign country, take care of Filipinos living and working in this country and in other parts of the world. You, an example of Christian fortitude, sustain our faith and make it spread and grow strong all around us. You, the Philippines’ first saint, be the country’s special protector. Unite us as one people; help us to work in harmony for development and progress; and give us peace. AMEN.

(State your intentions). San Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.

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PRAYER IN TIMES OF ADVERSITY
Beloved SAN LORENZO RUIZ DE MANILA and Companion Martyrs: You, who experienced the supreme sacrifice of martyrdom for the proclamation of the Christian faith, inspire us with your strength and firmness of conviction to withstand the adversities of our lives and the difficulties of our existence. Teach us with your marvellous example and saintly wisdom to turn trials into blessings, by showing us the glory that comes from discovering the redemptive power of God’s love. When times are full of grief, when moments are suffused with worry, let us feel your presence in our midst, so that we will be aware that you are by our side, strengthening us and interceding for us before Almighty God that we may have patience in our sufferings and consolation in our hardships. Help us realize that only in knowing our weakness can we be strong, only in undergoing sadness can we find real happiness, and only in passing through trials and distress can we find peace, encouragement and spiritual joy.AMEN. (State your intentions). San Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us.

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PRAYER FOR THE SICK
Beloved SAN LORENZO RUIZ DE MANILA and Martyr Companions, to you do we come for help.Help us to have the same faith and love that you had for God. We call upon you today on behalf of our ailing beloved ones. By your prayers and intercession obtain for them, not only comfort and peace for their souls, but also vigor, strength and health for their bodies.  We place our entire confidence in you because we know that God loves you and that you care for us. We earnestly pray that our sick ones be purified and revitalized in every cell, tissue, nerve and organ, so that the bodily limbs may function effectively again.  Through your powerful intercession help our sick to receive the grace of God’s miraculous compassion, so that they will be completely whole again, and thereby be able to continue serving God faithfully in this life to the best of their strength and to attain the salvation to which you arrived.  AMEN.

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I dedicate this to my loving wife Rosalinda who is from the Philippines.

Hat tip

The Falling Asleep of Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian

 

This Apostle was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the elder. First a fisherman by trade, he became an Apostle and the beloved Disciple of Christ. Only he of all the Disciples followed Him even to the Cross, and was entrusted with the care of our Saviour’s Mother, as it were another son to her, and a brother of Christ the Teacher. After this, he preached throughout Asia Minor, especially in Ephesus. When the second persecution against the Christians began in the year 96 during the reign of Domitian, he was taken in bonds to Rome, and there was cast into a vat filled to the brim with boiling oil. Coming forth therefrom unharmed, he was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Returning again to Ephesus after the death of the tyrant, he wrote his Gospel (after the other Evangelists had already written theirs) and his three Catholic Epistles. In all, he lived ninety-five years and fell asleep in the Lord during the reign of Trajan in the year 100. He was called Theologian because he loftily expounded in his Gospel the theology of the inexpressible and eternal birth of the Son and Word of God the Father. It is for this cause that an eagle-a symbol of the Holy Spirit, as Saint Irenaeus says-is depicted in his icon, for this was one of the four symbolic living creatures that the Prophet Ezekiel saw (Ezek. 1:10).

 

There is an Akathist to Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian click here

 

Tags: Saint+John, Orthodox, Eastern+Catholic

If you read the Bible without the Church…

Out of Egypt..

Today we celebrate and remember the first ecumenical council. This council was summoned on May 20th in the year 325 ad in the city of Nicaea by the emperor St. Constantine to deal with the first great controversy that had overtaken the Christian world. Some people think that speaking and writing about theology is unnecessary but in today’s gospel we hear the Lord praying for unity. Unity is only possible when we agree on truth. If truth is a matter of debate, unity is the first victim.

The council was attended by 318 bishops who met to discuss and resolve questions arising from an Alexandrian priest named Arius. Arius preached and taught that Jesus Christ was a creation of God the Father. He believed this to be true from his study of the Bible (a good indicator that reading the Bible alone is not sufficient to instruct one in the…

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Humility

 

Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee

 

Open to me the gates of repentance, O Giver of Life,
For my spirit rises early to pray towards thy holy temple.
Bearing the temple of my body all defiled;
But in Thy compassion, purify me by the loving kindness of Thy mercy.

Lead me on the paths of salvation, O Mother of God,
For I have profaned my soul with shameful sins,
and have wasted my life in laziness.
But by your intercessions, deliver me from all impurity.

When I think of the many evil things I have done, wretch that I am,
I tremble at the fearful day of judgement.
But trusting in Thy living kindness, like David I cry to Thee:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

Orthodox worship

 

“Let us not forget that Unorthodox worship can pollute our being, leading to forgetfulness. It can cause one’s mind to drift quite far, rendering him unable to value the Traditional Orthodox melodies and style of Church Worship.[…] Orthodox worship is distinct in its constant reminder of the real presence of Christ and his Saints in our lives. We must be careful to ensure that the worship songs we use are Orthodox in their origin, lyrics, melodies and in their spirit. Communion and unity with Christ ought to be embedded within their meaning.”
HH Pope Tawadrous II
The 118th Patriarch of Alexandria

God closes doors no man can open and God opens doors no man can close

Good morning, said a woman as she walked up to the man sitting on ground.

The man slowly looked up.

This was a woman clearly accustomed to the finer things of life. Her coat was new. She looked like she had never missed a meal in her life.
His first thought was that she wanted to make fun of him, like so many others had done before.

Leave me alone, he growled…
To his amazement, the woman continued standing.
She was smiling, her even white teeth displayed in dazzling rows.

Are you hungry? She asked.

No, he answered sarcastically. I’ve just come from dining with the president. Now go away.

The woman’s smile became even broader. Suddenly the man felt a gentle hand under his arm.
What are you doing, lady? The man asked angrily. I said to leave me alone.
Just then a policeman came up. Is there any problem, Ma’am? He asked.
No problem here, officer, the woman answered.

I’m just trying to get this man to his feet. Will you help me?
The officer scratched his head.

That’s old Jack. He’s been a fixture around here for a couple of years. What do you want with him?
See that cafeteria over there? she asked. I’m going to get him something to eat and get him out of the cold for a while.
Are you crazy, lady? the homeless man resisted. I don’t want to go in there! Then he felt strong hands grab his other arm and lift him up. Let me go, officer. I didn’t do anything.
This is a good deal for you, Jack the officer answered. Don’t blow it.
Finally, and with some difficulty, the woman and the police officer got Jack into the cafeteria and sat him at a table in a remote corner.

It was the middle of the morning, so most of the breakfast crowd had already left and the lunch bunch had not yet
arrived.
The manager strode across the cafeteria and stood by his table. What’s going on here, Officer? He asked. What is all this, is this man in trouble?
This lady brought this man in here to be fed, the policeman answered.
Not in here! The manager replied angrily. Having a person like that here is bad for business.

Old Jack smiled a toothless grin. See, Lady. I told you so. Now if you’ll let me go. I didn’t want to come here in the first place.

The woman turned to the cafeteria manager and smiled…Sir, are you familiar with Eddy and Associates, the banking firm down the street?

Of course I am, the manager answered impatiently. They hold their weekly meetings in one of my banquet rooms.
And do you make a goodly amount of money providing food at these weekly meetings?
What business is that of yours?
I, sir, am Penelope Eddy, president and CEO of the company.
Oh.
The woman smiled again. I thought that might make a difference. She glanced at the cop who was busy stifling a chuckle. Would you like to join us in a cup of coffee and a meal, officer?
No thanks, Ma’am, the officer replied. I’m on duty.

Then, perhaps, a cup of coffee to go?

Yes, Ma’am. That would be very nice.

The cafeteria manager turned on his heel, I’ll get your coffee for you right away, Officer.

The officer watched him walk away. You certainly put him in his place, he said.
That was not my intent. Believe it or not, I have a reason for all this. She sat down at the table across from her amazed dinner guest. She stared at him intently. Jack, do you remember me?

Old Jack searched her face with his old, rheumy eyes. I think so¦ I mean you do look familiar.

I’m a little older perhaps, she said. Maybe I’ve even filled out more than in my younger days when you worked here, and I came through that very door, cold and hungry.
Ma’am? The officer said questioningly. He couldn’t believe that such a magnificently turned out woman could ever have been hungry.

I was just out of college, the woman began. I had come to the city looking for a job, but I couldn’t find anything. Finally I was down to my last few cents and had been kicked out of my apartment. I walked the streets for days. It was February and I was cold and nearly starving. I saw this place and walked in on the off chance that I could get something to eat.

Jack lit up with a smile. Now I remember, he said. I was behind the serving counter. You came up and asked me if you could work for something to eat. I said that it was against company policy.

I know, the woman continued. Then you made me the biggest roast beef sandwich that I had ever seen, gave me a cup of coffee, and told me to go over to a corner table and enjoy it. I was afraid that you would get into trouble… Then, when I looked over and saw you put the price of my food in the cash register, I knew then that everything would be all right.

So you started your own business? Old Jack said.

I got a job that very afternoon. I worked my way up. Eventually I started my own business that, with the help of God, prospered. She opened her purse and pulled out a business card. When you are finished here, I want you to pay a visit to a Mr Lyons. He’s the personnel director of my company. I’ll go talk to him now and I’m certain he’ll find something for you to do around the office. She smiled. I think he might even find the funds to give you a little advance so that you can buy some clothes and get a place to live until you get on your feet… If you ever need anything, my door is always opened to you.

There were tears in the old man’s eyes. How can I ever thank you? He said.
Don’t thank me, the woman answered. To God goes the glory. Thank God… He led me to you.
Outside the cafeteria, the officer and the woman paused at the entrance before going their separate ways.
Thank you for all your help, Officer, she said.

On the contrary, Ms. Eddy, he answered. Thank you. I saw a miracle today, something that I will never forget. And¦ and thank you for the coffee!