8th January – St. Apollinaris the Apologist
We, therefore, grossly deceive ourselves, in not allotting more time, to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them and let our thoughts, now and then, glance upon them. That knowledge, which shows us Heaven, will not bring us to the possession of it and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak and superficial. By serious and frequent meditation, it must be concocted, digested and turned into the nourishment of our affections, before it can be powerful and operative enough, to change them and produce the necessary fruit in our lives. For this, all the Saints, affected solitude and retreats from the noise and hurry of the world, as much as their circumstances allowed them - St. Apollinaris the Apologist.
