{"id":173,"date":"2007-09-13T08:32:15","date_gmt":"2007-09-13T08:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/viamedia\/2007\/09\/golden-mouth.html"},"modified":"2007-09-13T08:32:15","modified_gmt":"2007-09-13T08:32:15","slug":"golden-mouth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/viamedia\/2007\/09\/golden-mouth.html","title":{"rendered":"Golden Mouth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is the feast of St. John Chrysostom, about whom Mike Aquilina posts here.<\/a><\/p>\n

It was his fame as a preacher, however, that brought him to the attention of the wider Church, and especially the imperial court. Thus, when the patriarch of Constantinople died, the emperor unexpectedly summoned John from Antioch to the most powerful bishop\u2019s throne in the East. John declined the honor. But the emperor ordered that John be taken by force or subterfuge, if necessary, and so he was.
\nJohn\u2019s habitual honesty and integrity did not serve him well, by capital standards. He was a reformer and an ascetic, demanding much of others, but even more of himself. The clergy of Constantinople were not, however, eager to be reformed or to imitate John\u2019s spartan lifestyle. Nor was the imperial family \u2014 especially the empress \u2014 interested in John\u2019s advice about their use of cosmetics, their lavish expenses, and their self-aggrandizing monuments. John found it outrageous that the rich could relieve themselves in golden toilet bowls while the poor went hungry. He reached the limits of his patience when the empress went beyond the law to seize valuable lands from a widow, after the widow had refused to sell the property. (John did not miss the opportunity to cite relevant Old Testament passages, like 1 Kings 21.)
\nOrdinary people found inspiration, solace, and \u2014 no doubt \u2014 entertainment in the great man\u2019s preaching. But the powerful were not amused. They arranged a kangaroo court of bishops to depose John in 403. In fact, a military unit interrupted the liturgy on Easter Vigil, just as John was preparing to baptize a group of catechumens. Historians record that the baptismal waters ran red with blood.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also check out Chrysostom.org – a site with several articles and many links.<\/a>
\nOne of the links on that page is to a 1600th anniversary symposium\u00a0on John Chrysostom to be held later this month in St. Louis<\/a>, sponsored by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
\nFrom today’s Office of Readings:<\/a><\/p>\n

The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus.
\nWhat are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain<\/em>. Exile? \u2018The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord<\/em>. The confiscation of goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it<\/em>. I have only contempt for the world\u2019s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.
\nDo you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst<\/em>? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbour. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world<\/em>!
\nIf Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider\u2019s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say \u201cLord, your will be done\u201d; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But wherever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.
\nYet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.
\nYou are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun\u2019s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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The Catholicism comes from her side. Amy grew up in a number of places - Indiana - Washington, DC - Lubbock Texas - Arlington, Virginia - DeKalb, Illinois - Lawrence, Kansas - and Knoxville, Tennessee, where the family settled in 1973. She attended Knoxville Catholic High School, then the University of Tennessee where she majored in history. She received an MA in Church History from Vanderbilt University, where she wrote a thesis on the changing role of women in 19th century American Protestantism, and the ways Scripture was used to justify those changes. She worked as as a teacher in Catholic high schools and a Parish Director of Religious Education and started writing for the diocesan press - the Florida Catholic - in 1988. Amy has written columns for Our Sunday Visitor and Catholic News Service at times over the past twenty years. Her articles have been published in venues ranging from Our Sunday Visitor to the New York Times to Commonweal. She has written 17 books. 18, if you included the as yet tragically unpublished novel. Amy has five children, ranging in age from 26 to 4 and was married to Michael Dubruiel, who died unexpectedly in February 2009. 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