March 30.

St. John Climacus. St. Zozimus, Bishop of Syracuse, A.D. 660. St. Regulus, or Rieal, Bishop of Senlis.

St. John Climacus, A.D. 605,

Was caverned as a hermit in a rock near Mount Sinai, in Syria, and became at seventy-five, abbot and superior-general of all the monks and hermits of the country. He admired one of the primcipal citizens of Alexandria in Egypt, who, petitioning to become a monk, was ordered to remain without the gate, and manifested his obedience by staying there for seven years, and begging prayers for his leprous soul of every passenger. St. John also admired a monkish cook, because he generally cried while he cooked, and assigned as a reason, that "the fire he always had before his eyes, reminded him of that fire which will burn souls for all eternity."* [1] It is related that a woman who had committed so enormous a sin that she dare not confess it, came to St. John, who bade her write it, and seal it, and give it to him, and he would pray for her; this she did, and shortly after St. John died. The woman sorely afraid that her written secret would be read, wept and prayed at St. John's tomb, and begged he would appear and tell her what he had done with the paper; on a sudden, St. John came forth habited like a bishop, with a bishop on each side of him, and he said to the woman, "Why troublest thou me so much, and these saints with me? thou sufferest us to have no rest: look here, our clothes are all wet with thy tears." Then he delivered to her the paper, sealed as she had given it to him, and said, "See here, look at the seal, open the writing, and read it." So she did; and she found all her sin "defaced clean out;" and instead thereof was written, "All thy sins are forgiven, and put away by the prayer of St. John, my servant." then she returned thanks, and St. John and his two bishops returned to their sepulchres.

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FLORAL DIRECTORY.

Rough Carameni. Cardemeni hirsuta.
Dedicated to St. John of Climacus.
Lesser Daffodil. Narcissus minor.
Dedicated to St. Zozimus.

Notes [all notes are Hone's unless otherwise indicated]:

1. Butler's Saints. [return]