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Being an apostle means being a conduit, a teacher not about one's self but about the subject one is announcing. One does not point to oneself as the message and for that reason apostles are often remembered not for who they are but for what they did. In the synoptic Gospels, Andrew is merely the brother of Peter (except in Luke where he does not even get a mention though he makes up for that in Acts), a fellow fisherman with (depending on the Gospel) the partners of Peter who have the pleasure of being Zebedee's sons. So, much like most of the Twelve, as important as he is as one of the Twelve, Andrew does not have much said about him. Perhaps it is the nature of apostleship and the communities of the Gospels affected by specific apostles as they went on their way teaching about Jesus. But, we get glimpses. He is close enough to Jesus (and enough like his brother Peter) to question Jesus when he sits before the hungry crowd and invites the Apostles to feed the them, and to ask Jesus about his teachings on the destruction of Jerusalem. But in John, it is different. In John it is Andrew who follows John the Baptist and to whom John points out Jesus. It is Andrew who introduces Peter to Jesus; later Andrew brings Greeks to see Jesus (though it never says they met him - I wonder if they are still standing by the door waiting...). John shows him as the perfect apostle - he points others to Jesus. He does not lord it over others, is not caught in a self-centered, smug knowledge. He is wrapped up in a joy that bursts forth and seeks out others to share it. May we too be apostles, humble enough to put Jesus first and selfless enough to be eager to share him with others. As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew, casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen. He said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him. He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat, with their father Zebedee, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him. -- Matthew 4:18-22
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Even saints are human. The fight between Vigilius and Boniface, while well known, did not stop either from being considered saints. Popes stood behind each when they were right and had Vigilius succeed Boniface after his martyrdom. Popes also rebuked them when wrong. Fergal was a well traveled monk and an astronomer. Like many of his Irish compatriots, he set out to claim the world for Christ. He seems to have been a bit more accepting of things than Boniface liked but that did not hinder his ability to pastor and bring others to Christ. Language and thought can be a tricky thing, especially at times and places when orthodoxy is prized for its ability to bring stability and souls to Christ but the language can be foreign to its hearers and speakers. So at times heterodoxy and diversity are just as important. Both of these saints embody them and were both successful in their own right. If we have any complaint with Vigilius it is with his more human side. His zeal or perhaps laxity allowed for the forced conversion of Jews under his care, a fault towards politics that was pointed out to him by Gregory the Great. Our faults do not keep us from becoming saints; it is our ridged adherence to those faults which damn us. Theology and pastoral care go hand in hand. Theological doctrine that doesn’t let itself be directed and formed by its evangelizing purpose and by the Church’s pastoral concerns is no less unthinkable than pastoral activity that doesn’t know how to use Revelation and Tradition to better understand the Faith and preach it as Jesus commands.
-- Pope Francis, Oct. 27, 2016 Address to John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family Devotions and Sacraments. One should really not have one without the other; without both the meaning of both is lost. Blindly practicing one without the other means that you are missing the big picture - that is, what we do any of these things for. Leonard helped to establish the popular devotion to the Stations of the Cross, putting them in many churches and places like the Colosseum in Rome. He also championed the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The devotion to Christ's journey to the Cross and the gift of reconciliation that it affords us is certainly a balance worthy of our consideration. Leonard reminds us to keep our sinfulness before us but to avoid scrupulosity by merely focusing on our own sinfulness, and instead focus on the salvific journey to perfection of Jesus and the journey to perfection of each one of us through devotions the Sacraments. God has done what He can do to pour grace into our lives; our acceptance of that salvation is in our hands. But let us lay our stupor aside, and instead of flattering ourselves, let us try to draw some profit from our fear. Is it not true that there are two roads which lead to heaven: innocence and repentance? Now, if I show you that very few take either one of these two roads, as rational people you will conclude that very few are saved. And to mention proofs: in what age, employment or condition will you find that the number of the wicked is not a hundred times greater than that of the good, and about which one might say, "The good are so rare and the wicked are so great in number"? We could say of our times what Salvianus said of his: it is easier to find a countless multitude of sinners immersed in all sorts of iniquities than a few innocent men. ...that one could say what David said of his times: "All have gone astray... there is not even one who does good, not even one."
...So what must we do, we who know that the greater number is going to be damned, and not only out of all Catholics? What must we do? Take the resolution to belong to the little number of those who are saved. You say: If Christ wanted to damn me, then why did He create me? Silence, rash tongue! God did not create anyone to damn him; but whoever is damned, is damned because he wants to be. Therefore, I will now strive to defend the goodness of my God and acquit it of all blame.... ...I want to send all of you away comforted today. So if you ask me my sentiment on the number of those who are saved, here it is: Whether there are many or few that are saved, I say that whoever wants to be saved, will be saved; and that no one can be damned if he does not want to be. And if it is true that few are saved, it is because there are few who live well. As for the rest, compare these two opinions: the first one states that the greater number of Catholics are condemned; the second one, on the contrary, pretends that the greater number of Catholics are saved. Imagine an Angel sent by God to confirm the first opinion, coming to tell you that not only are most Catholics damned, but that of all this assembly present here, one alone will be saved. If you obey the Commandments of God, if you detest the corruption of this world, if you embrace the Cross of Jesus Christ in a spirit of penance, you will be that one alone who is saved. -- From the sermon titled The Little Number of Those Who Are Saved If you follow philosophy or run in philosophical circles, you may have heard of Hypatia of Alexandria who, for whatever reason, was martyred by a crowd. This is often used as an argument against the Church for suppressing ideas, especially those of women. The truth is probably much more complex than that, but it certainly serves as fodder for refutation of the Faith. I do not want to be seen as callous or patronizing here about Hypatia's death, which for whatever reason was wrong and unnecessary. What I do want to point out is that she and Catherine were two people who lived at approximately the same time (Catherine was born about 50 years earlier and died about 30 years before Hypatia was born). The story seems similar for both. Brilliant, they both appear to challenge the intellectual authority around them and paid the ultimate price for it. Catherine, it is said, went to challenge the emperor Maxentius about his persecution of Christians and he was so impressed with her abilities that he set her to debate with a cadre of philosophers. She apparently not only stumped them but, it is reported, caused soldiers, philosophers, and even members of the emperor's family to convert - all of whom were eventually killed for it. Thus unable to defeat her rhetorically or to intimidate her into giving up her belief, the emperor ordered her to be tortured and imprisoned, eventually beheading her. I think that the lesson today is not that the patriarchy kills uppity-women, but that, whether for secular or religious reasons, those who challenge authority often end up on the short end of the stick. No one deserves to die for their intelligence but we know that despotic rulers go for the intelligentsia first. Those of conscience, of conviction, of deep belief often go against the status quo, doing so in honesty and well within their rights, both intellectually and spiritually. Only those who do not know the truth are challenged by it or fear it and consequentially seek to destroy it. Jesus certainly teaches us that. So the Church recognizes and honors women of virtue, intelligence, and deep spirituality - not every time, but with the understanding that women and men both stand well before God for using the gifts they are given. We are not "male or female" as Paul reminds us, and must each use the gifts God has endowed us with to further the Kingdom, speaking truth to power whenever necessary, unafraid of the consequences. The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain, to bring in some of the children of Israel of royal blood and of the nobility, young men without any defect, handsome, intelligent and wise, quick to learn, and prudent in judgment, such as could take their place in the king's palace; they were to be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans; after three years' training they were to enter the king's service. The king allotted them a daily portion of food and wine from the royal table. Among these were men of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself with the king's food or wine; so he begged the chief chamberlain to spare him this defilement. Though God had given Daniel the favor and sympathy of the chief chamberlain, he nevertheless said to Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king; it is he who allotted your food and drink. If he sees that you look wretched by comparison with the other young men of your age, you will endanger my life with the king." Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief chamberlain had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men who eat from the royal table, and treat your servants according to what you see." He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days; after ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate from the royal table. So the steward continued to take away the food and wine they were to receive, and gave them vegetables. To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency in all literature and wisdom, and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams. At the end of the time the king had specified for their preparation, the chief chamberlain brought them before Nebuchadnezzar. When the king had spoken with all of them, none was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; and so they entered the king’s service. In any question of wisdom or understanding which the king put to them, he found them ten times better than any of the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom. Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. -- Daniel 1:1-6. 8-21 (This is the First Reading that can fall on today. The story continues for several chapters, contains the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to worship anything or god other than God, and the jealousy that got Daniel thrown into the lions' den; I thought it fitting but decided not to copy several chapters into the blog, so look up and read the stories!) Peter, Linus, Cletus, Clement: the line of the First Century popes; you might recognize them from Eucharistic Prayer I. Possibly mentioned in Philippians 4:3 and later by Jerome and Origien, there is little that we know of Clement except for his letter to the Corinthians which has survived as the earliest Patristic (non-Scriptural) writing that we have. What we can know is that it does show a concern for the larger Church by the bishop of Rome, if anyone wants to be part of that fight. We speak about a Roman Catholic Church, or a Greek Orthodox Church, or any number or 'Rites' Churches, but Clement shows us the catholic nature of the Church that we speak of in our shared Creed. What he tells the Corinthians is nothing surprising or new and sounds very Pauline to me. What the letter does do is continue the Apostolic leadership that we speak of, whether talking about a bishop, a metropolitan, a patriarch, or a pope within a catholic Church. We each, in our own traditions, have much to share and teach one another...all we have to do is start listening in the love that Clement so eloquently speaks about. Let him who has love in Christ keep the commandments of Christ. Who can describe the [blessed] bond of the love of God? What man is able to tell the excellence of its beauty, as it ought to be told? The height to which love exalts is unspeakable. Love unites us to God. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love bears all things, is long-suffering in all things. There is nothing base, nothing arrogant in love. Love admits of no schisms: love gives rise to no seditions: love does all things in harmony. By love have all the elect of God been made perfect; without love nothing is well-pleasing to God. In love has the Lord taken us to Himself. On account of the love He bore us, Jesus Christ our Lord gave His blood for us by the will of God; His flesh for our flesh, and His soul for our souls.
You see, beloved, how great and wonderful a thing is love, and that there is no declaring its perfection. Who is fit to be found in it, except such as God has vouchsafed to render so? Let us pray, therefore, and implore of His mercy, that we may live blameless in love, free from all human partialities for one above another. All the generations from Adam even unto this day have passed away; but those who, through the grace of God, have been made perfect in love, now possess a place among the godly, and shall be made manifest at the revelation of the kingdom of Christ. For it is written, "Enter into your secret chambers for a little time, until my wrath and fury pass away; and I will remember a propitious day, and will raise you up out of your graves." [Isaiah 26:20] Blessed are we, beloved, if we keep the commandments of God in the harmony of love; that so through love our sins may be forgiven us. For it is written, Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not impute to him, and in whose mouth there is no guile. This blessedness comes upon those who have been chosen by God through Jesus Christ our Lord; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. -- Letter to the Corinthians 49-50 It is not everyday that being in a romance novel gets you on the Roman Canon of Saints. The cult of Cecilia really does not begin until the late 5th century but it is then that she is added to the Roman Sacramentary by Pope Gelasius. We still recall her name today in that same Eucharistic Prayer, and like all the unknown martyrs of the early Roman Church she reminds us of the cost of discipleship. We might question the accuracy of her narrative or Chaucer's retelling, if we accept it, and even the wisdom of her actions within it. Again though, it is the nature of her devotion to Christ that we remember, the tacit hope of Christ's imminent return, and the miracles that we will witness and participate in if we but give ourselves over so completely to Christ. This mayden bright Cecilie, as hir lif seith, Was comen of Romayns and of noble kynde, And from hir cradel up fostred in the feith Of Crist, and bar his gospel in hir mynde. She nevere cessed, as I writen fynde, Of hir preyere and God to love and drede, Bisekynge hym to kepe hir maydenhede. And whan this mayden sholde unto a man Ywedded be, that was ful yong of age, Which that ycleped was Valerian...
-- Chaucer, The Second Nun's Tale What happened in Mary's life to shape her into being the person she was? How do we know that Mary was so holy? How do we know that she was able to present herself as worthy of being the Theotokos, the God bearer? Simple answer is: we do not. We do know from Scripture that she "had found favor with God" (Luke 1:30b), a powerful statement to her disposition. Most of our traditions of Mary's early life come to us from stories in sources like the apocryphal Proto-gospel of James. There the story goes that her parents, Anne and Joachim, we so excited to have the blessing of a child in their old age that they gave (presented) her to the Temple where she subsequently lived, studied, and grew in holiness until such an age that she was presented in marriage to Joseph. What we are probably celebrating today is the dedication of a Marian church that was located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem but subsequently destroyed. Let us present ourselves to the Lord in His temple and be ourselves dedicated to service, consecrated to God, able to present ourselves as worthy of being God bearers to the world. Mary help us to find favor with God as well. My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my savior, for He has looked with favor on His lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is His Name. He has mercy on those who fear Him in every generation. He has shown the strength of His arm, He has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. He has come to the help of His servant Israel, for He has remembered His promise of mercy, the promise He made to our fathers, to Abraham and His children for ever.
Luke 1:46-55 The Church has, throughout its history, been often cast as a usurper. Within our thinking we see ourselves as blessed, righteous, champions, savior of souls; but to those around us we can seem to be bullies or pawns of the State and in fact can be both in our blindness and sinfulness. Roque and his companions were martyred because they championed Christ among the tribes of Brazil and championed the human rights of these tribes against the ruling States that wanted to control them(one of which was his own brother - who apparently reneged after Roque's harsh words to him). The Jesuits of the time were assailed from all sided, mainly by the jealous both in European and tribal leaders. At the time the Spanish conquistadors were brutalizing and enslaving the local indigenous people of South America, even though the pope had declared them off-limits. Similar to attempts by missionaries in California, Roque and his companions successfully worked to make them self-sufficient and free by gathering them into groups. Though I could find no source for it, it is said that years later, even Voltaire - a true hater of Jesuits - praised them for their effort (he does have Candid go and "fight for the Jesuits" (Chapter 14) before killing one). Another thing to keep in mind at this time is the celebration of the lives of the Jesuits, their housekeeper, and her daughter brutally murdered by state-sponsored death-squads in El Salvador on Nov 16, 1989. We have to keep all that in mind, even though we are in every corner of the world. Missionary work is not about winning territory, but about winning souls for Christ and bringing Christ's dignity to all, regardless of religious or political affiliation. We must speak truth to power for the sake of the Kingdom. I have received your letter and understand from it and other letters the strong feeling and complaints you have regarding the Indians and especially the feelings you have against us.
This is nothing new nor anything that started yesterday. The encomendero gentlemen and soldiers have long complained and even gone further by stirring up strong opposition to the Society of Jesus. This is, in fact, a great honor to us. I say this because the cause of the Indians is so just and because they have and have had a right to be free from the harsh slavery and forced labor called personal service. Indeed, they are exempt from this by natural law, both divine and human. These complaints grew even more serious after members of the Society fulfilled their obligation as faithful ministers of God and vassals of his majesty the King and supported what he order most justly through his visitor that the Indians should be free from servitude in which they were kept. -- From a letter to his brother Francesco, lieutenant governor of Asuncion We do not celebrate buildings but the saints that inspire us to build them, the saints who inspire us to seek God out and gather to Him. God builds the house from bricks of humans. Christ is the foundation and we rest on him. After the king had taken up residence in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent!” Nathan answered the king, “Whatever is in your heart, go and do, for the LORD is with you.” But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: Go and tell David my servant, Thus says the LORD: Is it you who would build me a house to dwell in? I have never dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up from Egypt to this day, but I have been going about in a tent or a tabernacle. As long as I have wandered about among the Israelites, did I ever say a word to any of the judges whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel: Why have you not built me a house of cedar?
Now then, speak thus to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to become ruler over my people Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your enemies before you. And I will make your name like that of the greatest on earth. I will assign a place for my people Israel and I will plant them in it to dwell there; they will never again be disturbed, nor shall the wicked ever again oppress them, as they did at the beginning, and from the day when I appointed judges over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you: when your days have been completed and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, sprung from your loins, and I will establish his kingdom. He it is who shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. If he does wrong, I will reprove him with a human rod and with human punishments; but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from Saul who was before you. Your house and your kingdom are firm forever before me; your throne shall be firmly established forever. -- 2 Samuel 7:1-16 While we are all subject to being influenced by the saints we are also each capable of bringing ourselves to the table because we are all sancti - holy ones. Elizabeth was greatly inspired by Francis of Assisi but made the love of the poor her own. She brought her own brand of Francis to those around her, not content to stand only in his shadow. In holiness, we must each seek to reach it not just through the grace of God but through our personal efforts to live that grace. As in heaven Your will is punctually performed, so may it be done on earth by all creatures, particularly in me and by me. Elizabeth was a lifelong friend of the poor and gave herself entirely to relieving the hungry. She ordered that one of her castles should be converted into a hospital in which she gathered many of the weak and feeble. She generously gave alms to all who were in need, not only in that place but in all the territories of her husband's empire. She spent all her own revenue from her husband's four principalities, and finally she sold her luxurious possessions and rich clothes for the sake of the poor.
Twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, Elizabeth went to visit the sick. She personally cared for those who were particularly repulsive; to some she gave food, to others clothing; some she carried on her own shoulders, and performed many other kindly services. Her husband, of happy memory, gladly approved of these charitable works. Finally, when her husband died, she sought the highest perfection; filled with tears, she implored me to let her beg for alms from door to door. Good Friday of that year, when the altars had been stripped, she laid her hands on the altar in a chapel in her own town, where she had established the Friars Minor, and before witnesses she voluntarily renounced all worldly display and everything that our Savior in the gospel advises us to abandon. Even then she saw that she could still be distracted by the cares and worldly glory which had surrounded her while her husband was alive. Against my will she followed me to Marburg. Here in the town she built a hospice where she gathered together the weak and the feeble. There she attended the most wretched and contemptible at her own table. Apart from those active good works, I declare before God that I have seldom seen a more contemplative woman. Before her death I heard her confession. When I asked what should be done about her goods and possessions, she replied that anything which seemed to be hers belonged to the poor. She asked me to distribute everything except one worn-out dress in which she wished to be buried. When all this had been decided, she received the body of our Lord. Afterward, until vespers, she spoke often of the holiest things she had heard in sermons. Then, she devoutly commended to God all who were sitting near her, and as if falling into a gentle sleep, she died. -- Conrad of Marburg If we think about the influence our lives have in the world we may (vainly?) wonder as to the effectivity of that influence. Sometimes our lives are a mystery, sometimes they are clear. Albert is perhaps one of the greatest thinkers of the Medieval Church, and yet he championed not his own thought but that of his student Thomas, even after the Thomas' death. I wonder about the devotion and the self-awareness that he exhibited in placing himself second to that of his student. Did learning the living-for-Christ attitude color his actions? Teaching was his thing, and as any good teacher knows it is the success of our students that makes the difference. I already understand what I teach and that is part of the zeal I have for sharing it; it is seeing truth become part of someone else's life, watching them make it their own and further it that rewards. So I also say that Albert was also one of the greatest teachers of the Church, not just theologically but spiritually. He may be known as "the Great" but for him it was that his student was greater. It recalls the words of John: "I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire." (Matthew 3:11) Now it must be asked if we can comprehend why comets signify the death of magnates and coming wars, for writers of philosophy say so. The reason is not apparent, since vapor no more rises in a land where a pauper lives than where a rich man resides, whether he be king or someone else. Furthermore, it is evident that a comet has a natural cause not dependent on anything else; so it seems that it has no relation to someone’s death or to war. For if it be said that it does relate to war or someone’s death, either it does so as a cause or effect or sign.
— De Cometis It is something during this month of November that we do readily - remember those who have lived lives worth remembering, from All Saints, All Souls, to the secular Memorial Day - whether we know who they are or not. Or to perhaps put it another way, to remember every life - period. Someone knew them; someone benefited from their life. We remember those who no one is left to remember as well as those who are on the calendar. So many orders celebrate their brothers and sisters this way - celebrating those who surround the glassy sea and praying for those who may be waiting to enter the gates. If we think about it we may say it on All Souls Day, but take a moment often in your life to say a blessing and a prayer for all those who have brought you to where you are. Jesus said: "Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, ’Come and have your meal at once?’ Would he not be more likely to say, ’Get my supper ready. Fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards’? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say ’We are useless servants. We have done no more than our duty.’”
-- Luke 17:7-10 My first introduction to the young Polish Jesuit Stanislaus Kostka was through the Mass my great-grandfather wrote for him - possibly for the young men he taught as Spring Hill, perhaps for his roommate at the Freiborg conservatory Ignacy Paderewski. Stanislaus was only 17 when he died, and barely in the novitiate, but he truly impressed his superiors in that short time. When we think of impressive lives determined to be lived for Christ then Mother Francis Xavier Cabrini immediately jumps to mind as well - considered too ill to join two convents, she created her own, dedicated to those marginalized like her. This is the reason that we hold up the saints for our edification and inspiration. It does not matter the length of our lives or the 'quality'. We cannot forget that in the Communion of Saints they are with us now, hoping through prayer in eternal life to continue the work that they started in earthly life. We too can live these lives of quiet love. Consider how hard it is for a person to be separated from any place he has loved deeply. How much harder the soul will find it when the time comes to leave the mortal body, its companion so dear. And the great fear it will experience in that moment because its salvation is at stake and it must stand in the presence of the one it has so offended. If the just man will scarcely be saved, what about me a sinner?
But think of the great joy the good will feel at the thought of the service they’ve paid to God. They will be glad because they’ve suffered something for love of him back there and didn’t fix their hope and attention on the things of this world that we leave so soon. Think of the joy that the soul will feel in its escape from the prison of this body. So long has it lived in perpetual exile, expelled from its own heavenly home. How much greater its uncontainable joy and complete satisfaction when it arrives in its own country to enjoy the vision of God with the angels and the blessed. I am so ashamed and confused because I see how many have been lost on account of a single mortal sin, and how many times I have deserved eternal damnation. I shall reflect on myself and ask: “What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What ought I do for Christ?” -- From the Journal of Stanislaus Kostka How often on a trip does it not go as we expected? You plan routes, call ahead, build expectations only to have them crumble around you: delays, mix-ups, miscommunications, detours, weather - you name it. Even with contingency plans things do not always go smoothly. So often it is in life. Our aspirations, our dreams, our stubbornness, our private appetites and will can get in the way of God's will for us. But in the end, and to this I can attest, He always puts me where He needs me and in the end what is best for me. Mother Cabrini wanted to serve in the missions, and she did - just not in the way she expected or desired. She wanted to do so within a specific order but she had to found her own to accomplish it. She wanted to go East, even taking the name Frances Xavier because of his life, but the pope sent her West, and we, in America, benefited from that. Who knows what good she would have done in other places but that was not the place where God needed her - even then things did not always go smoothly. So it is in our lives. We must strive to serve God no matter what the circumstances, no matter what are our desires, no matter what the obstacles. God will put us where we are needed because we are needed there. Your letter has given me incredible joy, and done my soul immense good, because it tells me that you are very happy in your mission and are visited by God with wonderful consolations. And now that you have had experience that God remembers you, do not let yourself ever forget Him. Beware of growing weary of your work, however ungrateful it may be, and don't let any kind of disgust weaken you so as to relax your keen and unconquerable perseverance in the good which you have begun. Keep always a humble and lowly spirit before God, with a meek feeling of internal thankfulness that He has chosen you for so lofty an office as that which you are discharging.
Francis Xavier: Letter to Francis Mancias The seeds of unity and the seeds of division can often flower in the same garden. But what does unity mean? Sameness or diversity? Orthodoxy or Heterodoxy? Josaphat sought to show the means of unity in diversity. There are a lot of hard feelings between the East and the West built over centuries, and the struggles of the late 16th, early 17th centuries in the West did not make it seem like a port in the storm either. Many, both Orthodox and Roman, resisted any effort at reconciliation. Trying to reconcile much less unify would be an enormous effort. But Josaphat was willing to try. In the end, it cost him his life. The Roman Church sought out his much abused remains and brought them to be buried in St. Peter's. Though not Roman they added him to the Roman canon and sanctoral calendar. Some may find this an affront, a usurping of the correct judgement on such a heretic. But I see it as the recognition, not that he saw the light and came to the "right side" (he never did that) but that he worked to make us one as Christ calls us to be one. As Pius XI noted: "He felt, in fact, that God had inspired him to restore world-wide unity to the Church and he realized that his greatest chance of success lay in preserving the Slavonic rite and Saint Basil’s rule of monastic life within the one universal Church." (Ecclesiam Dei) Many want us all to be one or the other, Catholic or Orthodox - but that is not as Paul describes the Church: "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:27-28) Josaphat, pray that we may be one Body, one Body in Christ. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.
I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. -- John 17:16-23 See: https://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1965/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19651207_common-declaration.html http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19671028_athenagoras-i-paul-vi_en.html Martin reminds that everyone has been created by God and that we are are all God's children. Good or evil, Christian or not, there is not one faction or another, nor that one group is human and another is not. We are all God's creation and worthy of His love. "[God] makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5:45b) Why else should we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us? (cf. all of Matthew chapter 5) And so it is. While still not baptized and still beholden to the traditions of the Roman gods, his simple act of giving a beggar part of his cloak earned him the approval of Jesus. There are many who either have not heard the Good News or because of hurt or pain from the human Church do not recognize or acknowledge Christ but who still do the will of the Father. Fortunately for them and us God's salvation is open to all God's children. Jesus appears in forms to us all, no matter how deeply we believe or not. Jesus is not interested only in those who follow him, but is here for all to bring all to the Father. "I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." (Luke 15:7) Martin help us to be more Christ-like, especially with those we do not agree with or who we see as not worthy of God's love. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
-- Matthew 7:21-23 As Jesus passed on from there,d he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” -- Matthew 9:9-13 Once again he went out along the sea. All the crowd came to him and he taught them. As he passed by, he saw Levi, son of Alphaeus, sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners sat with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many who followed him. Some scribes who were Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors and said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus heard this and said to them [that], “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” -- Mark 2:13-17 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.” -- Luke 5:27-32 The Lateran is the oldest established Basilica, built by the command of Constantine soon after the legalization of Christianity. Constantine gave the ancient palace of the Laterani family to Pope Miltiades. Pope Sylvester dedicated the basilica around 324 as Most Holy Savior; only after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist used. While many home churches existed before that time this marks the beginning of something special, and reflects the many churches throughout the world from small to large, open wooden structures to massive stone edifices. The beauty and harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints. This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.
Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the “house of God,” living temple of his love. — Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, November 9, 2008 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Jesus warns us about going to the front of the table just in case someone else more important comes in (Luke 14:7-11). Elizabeth seems to be the inspiration for the correct behavior that Jesus speaks about. She immediately defers to Mary. Certainly it usually would have been her, the older woman, who would have come to the aid of the younger woman in her pregnancy, and yet as the one further along, Mary rushes to aid her. Elizabeth experiences only joy; her own infant leaps in her womb. Both her and John within her defer to Mary and Jesus within her. Elizabeth does not boast about her late in life pregnancy, does not make herself and her child the center of attention - does not take the seat at the head of the table. She is not embarrassed when Mary arrives. I am certain that her pride would have swelled when she was eventually with child, to no longer feel the shame of being thought to be barren. The women of the time must have fawned over her and made her feel important. But it seems she is much more demure and much more willing to not have everything be about her. This understanding she must have instilled in her son John. His actions and words show that while wildly popular and spiritually powerful he did not sit at the head of the table but took his proper place such that when Jesus arrived he could say: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” (John 1:29b-31) When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed* that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”
-- Luke 1:41-45 A true reformer and practitioner of several of the the Beatitudes, Charles truly lived in the world without being part of it. One of the residence halls at St. Joseph Seminary is dedicated to Charles. Let us remember to keep seminarians and priests in our prayers this day, offering them up to the protection and guidance of this saint. If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.
-- Sermon Martin is the patron of, among other things, mixed-race people. I think even after all this time that and the last lines of John XXII's homily say everything we need to learn from this saint today. He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: ‘Martin of Charity.’
It is remarkable how even today his influence can still move us toward the things of heaven. Sad to say, not all of us understand these spiritual values as well as we should, nor do we give them a proper place in our lives. Many of us, in fact, strongly attracted by sin, may look upon these values as of little moment, even something of a nuisance, or we ignore them altogether. It is deeply rewarding for men striving for salvation to follow in Christ’s footsteps and to obey God’s commandments. If only everyone could learn this lesson from the example that Martin gave us. -- Homily on the Canonization of Martin de Porres, John XXIII We are reminded of all those who have gone before us, recognized in the Canon or not. Here lie the saints and the sinners, those in Heaven and those in Purgatory. We are all part of a communion of saints, a great gathering of all who live and sleep in Christ. Today is also a good day to tell family stories, especially to the young, of those who have and continue to inspire us by their lives. Let us pray: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin.
-- 2 Macabees 12: 43-46 For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self.
Trees and animals have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them, and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We are at liberty to be real, or to be unreal. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. We may wear now one mask and now another, and never, if we so desire, appear with our own true face. But we cannot make these choices with impunity. Causes have effects, and if we lie to ourselves and to others, then we cannot expect to find truth and reality whenever we happen to want them. If we have chosen the way of falsity we must not be surprised that truth eludes us when we finally come to need it! Our vocation is not simply to be, but to work together with God in the creation of our own life, our own identity, our own destiny.... -- New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton |
Truth to Ponder
I decided to spend a year thinking about the Faith celebrated in the sanctoral calendar. There are also just some events, Scriptural, and other quotes that strike me on random days; or randomly on days, as the case may be. Saint's Days by Month
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Days by Entry
July 2018
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