Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Boniface. St. Boniface was a Benedictine monk in England who lived in the 8th century. At age 30 he was ordained a priest, and soon it was seen that he had the gift of preaching.
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Now it is interesting that in those days, the monks often did missionary work, and Boniface was sent to Germany. Germany was composed mostly of pagan tribes, and this first missionary effort in 716 was not very successful. But Pope Gregory asked him to go again, and on this trip he was able to convert quite a number in Frisia, a Germanic region on the northwest coast of Germany.
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In 724 Boniface moved to the interior of Germany, bringing the gospel to the Hessians. Now many people in that region worshiped pagan gods, and at the village of Geismar there was a giant oak tree which was considered to be the sanctuary of the god Thor. Boniface called upon Thor to strike him dead if he were to cut down the “holy” tree. As Boniface started to chop the oak down, a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the massive oak over. When their so-called-god, Thor did not strike down Boniface, many of the people became open to the True Faith. With the wood from that tree, Boniface built a chapel dedicated to St. Peter.
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This moment is often considered the beginning of the Christianization of the Germanic peoples. From there Boniface pressed on, destroying many pagan shrines. Despite many, who were against his efforts, he continued to put his trust in God and to persevere. Conversions to the Faith were astoundingly numerous.
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Having been named a bishop, he proceeded to organize the Church of Germany. He installed worthy bishops, set up dioceses, promoted the spiritual life of clergy and laity, and founded the monastery of Fulda, which became a center of religious life in central Germany. Christianity was largely spread in Germany by the monasteries.
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At age 74, he then went on another missionary effort, but while administering Confirmation, a group of pagans overpowered him and put him to death.
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Many credit St. Boniface with the invention of the Christmas Tree.
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St. Boniface, when he was once facing so many difficulties, he wrote: ‘I am terrified when I think of all this. Fear comes upon me. I would gladly give up the task of guiding the Church if I could find this warranted by the fathers or the holy Scriptures. Let us therefore trust in the Lord with all our heart, and not rely on ourselves. He will guide our steps.’
St. Boniface is the patron saint of Germany, of tailors, and of brewers.
Beloved in the Lord, today is the Feast of St. Marcellinus and Peter, two saints who have been listed in Eucharistic Prayer I since ancient times. Marcellinus was a prominent priest in Rome during the reign of Emperor Diocletian; Peter, athough he was not a priest, was an exorcist. Well, they were arrested, and cast into prison because they had brought many to the Catholic faith.
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In jail, the guard of the prison was named Archemius. His daughter was possessed, so Peter the exorcist said to him, ‘If you believe in Christ, your daughter will be freed from the demon. Archemius answered: ‘How is it that your God will free my daughter, but he cannot free you?’ ‘My God HAS the power to free me if he wishes, said Peter, but it is only through suffering that we arrive at eternal glory.’ Archemius said, ‘if I clamp double chains on you and your God frees you and cures my daughter, I will believe in Christ immediately!’ At that, the power of God stirred, the chains fell free, the girl was cured; and so not only Archemius, but his whole family were baptized by Marcellinus, the priest. He also allowed the other prisoners to go free.
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The prefect hearing of this, and that even in prison these two were making more Christians, he ordered Archemius to sacrifice to the gods, but he refused, and so the judge ordered he and his wife to be strangled in an underground crypt. This order was not carried out however, but when the pagans heard that Archemius himself had become a Christian, he was beheaded, and his wife and daughter were buried alive under a pile of stones.
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Then Marcellinus was laid out naked on broken glass in his cell, and Peter was bound to a stake in his cell. In 304 AD, they were taken to the black forest and beheaded for the Faith. This account is given on the authority of Pope Damasus, who learned the details of the story when he was a boy, having heard them from the lips of the executioner himself. The executioner also became a Christian.
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Friends, as we live out our own lives in the paganizing culture around us, there are plenty of opportunities to witness to the Truth. We should do so, and like Sts. Marcellinus and Peter, we should always be ready to give our lives for the teachings of the Holy Faith.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Damien of Molokai He was born in Belgium in 1840, he followed his brother and entered the Congregation of the Sacred Heart; There he took the name of Damien. Now this was a missionary Order, and they had missions in the Hawaiian Islands, which were very poor in those days; His brother was supposed to leave for the missions, but he became ill, and since the preparations had been made for the trip, Damien asked to go in his brother’s place, which he did. Once he arrived in Hawaii, he began to prepare himself for his work, and a year later he was ordained a priest.
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At that time in Hawaii, there was a big problem with the disease of leprosy. The government wanted to stop the spread of the disease, so it resorted to a harsh plan: anyone with leprosy would be sent to the island of Molokai; this was a quarantine. Damien’s Congregation saw the great need of opening a mission there on Molokai, and so the Bishop spoke to the men about it; he would not order anyone to go, he only accepted volunteers; this was because those who went, would be in great danger of getting leprosy. Four men volunteered, they would take turns and rotate their time there, to limit their exposure. Damien was the first to leave on May 10th, 1873. Once he got there and began helping them, he chose to stay, the others need not come.
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In that place of disease, almost like a living hell, he brought hope. He gave encouragement to the sick; he was their pastor, the doctor of their souls and of their bodies. He was able to stir up the hope of Jesus Christ in the hearts of even the most pitiable of men. He told them about heaven, and that they should offer their sickness for others. He built a community where the joy of being together and the love of God, gave people new reasons for living.
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Ultimately Father Damien himself contracted the disease; then he was able to say, ‘I also am one of you!’ He got his strength from Holy Mass; “In our isolation here, far from those we love, we find the strength we need at the altar.’ It was often said that Father Damien was the happiest missionary in the world. He is the patron saint of lepers and the outcast.
Friends in the Lord, toward the end of the 3rd century a priest named Arius began to teach a heretical idea about Jesus: He taught that Christ is not Divine, that Our Lord, while very great, even greater than an angel, he is not the God-man. This was perhaps the worst heresy to ever hit the Christian world.
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The Church called the Council of Nicea in 325. It was at this Council that was put down the Nicaean Creed which we pray every Sunday, and affirm the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
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The strongest defender of the True Faith in those days was St. Athanasius, whose feast day it is today. Even as a young Deacon, he was a critical advisor in clarifying our theology at the council of Nicaea. He himself became bishop of Alexandria, and he continued to lead the faith against the false doctrines of the Arians. In those days, emperors of the Roman Empire were determined to promote Arianism. Many bishops even fell into this heresy, but Athanasius continued to teach the True Faith, even though he was five times sent into exile.
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Despite persecution and lies spread about him by his enemies, he was unwavering in his loyalty to the Holy Faith. ‘For five years he hid in a deep cistern, to be safe from the rage of the Arians. The place was known only to one trusted friend who secretly supplied him with food. One time he was on a ship being pursued by assassins. As it got dark, Athanasius ordered the ship to double-back and sail past the enemy. As the enemy ship came along, they asked, ‘Is the ship with Athanasius far ahead?’ Athanasius himself called out, ‘He is not far from here!!’ So they sailed on , while he made his escape.
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Though he lived a life-time of danger, he died peacefully in his bed in 373AD.
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Every Sunday when we recite the Creed, we say that Christ is ‘consubstantial’ with the Father. This means he is of the same substance as the Father: Divinity. Every word in that Creed has been carefully thought through, often under persecution. That Creed represents a century of courageous efforts by our forefathers. We owe a debt of gratitude to those who stood for the Truth, especially St. Athanasius.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Catherine of Sienna. Catherine was born in 1347, the youngest of 25 children. She was very smart and also very beautiful. As a child even then, she loved penance: when 5 years old, she would climb the stairs on her knees saying a ‘Hail Mary’ on each step.
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One day when she was 6, she was walking along with her brother, when suddenly, looking at the sky, she saw Jesus surrounded by light, he was smiling; he blessed her, then vanished. From then on, Catherine’s soul was on fire for God.
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When still quite young she made a vow to live only for the Lord and never marry. She denied herself many comforts in order to offer these to God. She ate mostly boiled vegetables and slept on the ground.
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Because Catherine was so beautiful and charming, her parents began to make plans for her to marry a respectable man. But she said that she wished to live only for God and be a Sister, but they would not hear of it; her mother said she was too pretty to be a sister! So Catherine prayed that she would be sick and ugly. Eventually however, her parents agreed, and when she was 18 she became a 3rd order Dominican sister.
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Jesus once appeared to her and offered her two crowns: one of gold, the other of thorns. Choose, he said. She took the crown of thorns and pushed it onto her head.
One day when the Sisters were feeing the poor, there was not enough bread for everyone; Catherine however, just kept handing it out and it multiplied to feed all.
Now in those days, the Popes had been living in France, not Rome, because Rome was dangerous. But everyone knew that the Pope should be in Rome; so Catherine wrote numerous letters to the Pope, telling him to return to Rome. She herself, finally went to France and told him, he must return to Rome. The French Bishops tried to tell the Holy Father that Catherine was not so smart and should not be heard. They called her before them and asked her all kinds of difficult theological questions, which she answered perfectly each time. Even though she never studied, the Holy Spirit gave her the Gift of Knowledge to answer. Catherine was so highly respected in those days, that the Pope DID listen to her and returned to Rome.
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She was given the miraculous stigmata, the wounds of Jesus on hands and feet, and she often ate nothing except the Holy Eucharist; There was a period of 85 days straight, when only Holy Communion sustained her. She died at the age of 33, a magnificent light for the Church, in her short life.
Friends in Christ, yesterday we saw the canonization of two great saints; today on the liturgical calendar there no less than 3 saints! We consider then today, a fairly recent saint, St. Gianna Molla.
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Gianna was a wife and mother, and – she was a medical doctor. Gianna was a doctor who cared especially for the poor and those in need. She had a profound reverence for the gift of life, and she even urged priests to preach and teach about the respect for innocent life in the womb, and on the important duty of people to care for the elderly. As a single person, she was very active in Catholic Action, and used her role as a physician to do much good. Gianna had a profound respect for the vocation of married life; regarding a person’s vocation, she once wrote: ‘we should enter onto the path that God wills for us, not by forcing the door, but when God wills and as God wills.’
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In 1955, she was married to Pietro Molla, who worked as an engineer. In a love letter she wrote to her future husband: ‘My dear Pietro, our wedding is just a few days away; soon we will be working with God in his creation, so to give Him children, who will love Him and serve Him.’ Gianna was so loved as a doctor and a Catholic woman, that the people applauded as she walked down the aisle at her wedding.
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Gianna and Pietro’s love for each other grew in marriage as they had children. Three lovely children came along which gave them great joy; but early in her pregnancy of their 4th child, it was discovered that Gianna had a developed a tumor on the wall of her uterus. The doctors recommended abortion or hysterectomy,[i] but Gianna, a doctor who knew well what she was asking, had them remove the tumor as best they could, but preserve the baby.
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She made her wishes quite clear: ‘If you must decided between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child – I insist on it.’ Despite all efforts and treatments to save both of them, on April 28 she died while repeating over and over: “Jesus, I love you;’ this 39 year-old mother died, but her baby lived.
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Upon her death, a devotion to her soon developed, because many knew of her heroic, Christian life. Graces came, miracles came. She was beatified during the year of the family, and was canonized a saint in 2004. She is the patron saint of doctors, mothers, and unborn children.
[i] The Catholic Church teaches that she could have had a hysterectomy by the moral principle of double-effect, but Gianna chose the highest virtue: risking her life to save her child.
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of St. Stanislaus of Poland. St. Stanislaus was born in 1030 and raised by pious parents. He was educated at Paris, and after his ordination to the priesthood he was made a canon of the cathedral at Cracow. The eloquence of the priest and his saintly example led to many conversions among his penitents, and even many priests flocked to him for advice. Upon the death of the bishop of Cracow, he himself was named bishop.
Stanislaus was a defender of the liberty of the Church and very importantly, he was a defender of the dignity of each human person; it was also true, that in him, there was no better advocate for the outcast and the poor.
Now the king at that time was Boleslaus II, and because he was a tyrant, Stanislaus opposed him. He once confronted him for his immoral behavior because Boleslaus had abducted the wife of a Polish nobleman and carried her off to his castle. No one seemed willing to stand up to the king, for fear of his rage, but Stanislaus boldly went to the king and threatened excommunication if he did not change his ways. Furious, the king promised revenge.
The king arranged for a false trial against Stanislaus, claiming that he had not paid for some land from a man who was now deceased. In a remarkable miracle, as the court was siding with the King, the dead man rose out of the grave and entered the courtroom, vindicating Stanislaus! Despite this remarkable miracle, the King condemned St. Stanislaus to death.
At first he commanded his soldiers to kill the bishop when he was celebrating Mass at St. Michael’s chapel in Cracow, but the soldiers refused, saying that they could not kill him because he was surrounded by a heavenly light. Calling them cowards, Boleslaus himself entered the church, drew his sword, and killed the bishop. He then had the body cut up and left for wild animals to eat, but a group of eagles gathered and protected his remains.
Pope Gregory VII placed the country under interdict. This is when the church suspends all sacraments in protest; the people rose up, and Boleslaus fell from power; fleeing to Hungary, he eventually entered a monastery and did penance for his crime. St. Stanislaus was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1253; he the patron saint of Poland.
Friends in Christ,
Today is the feast of St. John Baptist de Lasalle; St. John was born in Rheims, France, in 1641. He studied for the priesthood, and was ordained at age 37. Along the way, both of his parents died, and he was left caring for his 4 brothers and 2 sisters, which he did.
St. John was a man of refinement and culture, and was known for his kindness and affability. Somewhat tall, he had a commanding presence with large, blue eyes. Really without realizing it, little by little he got involved in the field of education. He had an association with a congregation of sisters, and through them he met a man who asked his help in establishing a school, which he did. Education gradually became St. John’s life work. Trying to guide a group of young men as teachers, he would invite them to his home for dinner, hoping to teach them not only Christian doctrine, but culture and manners. He soon realized that he would have to take a further step – he brought his teachers into his home to live with him.
Here was the beginning of a new type of religious congregation, which would grow into the Christian Brothers. At first such a group of consecrated lay brothers met with resistance from the Church. Nevertheless, they succeeded in creating a network of quality schools throughout France. His methods were new: schools were free for all, rich and poor. They taught in French, instead of Latin – a new idea at the time. Students were grouped according to their ability, and the Faith was integrated into all subjects. With the required involvement of parents, and with teachers who had a sense of vocation and mission, they met with great success.
If we say ‘yes’ to God at every moment, in even things that are difficult, the Lord can lead us, little by little, to achieve things we never dreamed of.
St. John Baptist LaSalle had no plan of working in education. He says that if he had known that formation of teachers meant that he would have to live with them in community, he would have dropped the whole project! But, as he says: God in his wisdom worked in an imperceptible way, so that one commitment led to another.
Little by little: this is how God can do great things in us – if we let him.
Friends in Christ,[i]
Today is the feast of St. Francis of Paola. He was born in 1416 at Paula, a small town in Calabria, Italy; if Italy is the ‘boot’, Calabria is the toe of Italy. His parents loved God very much, and for a long time could not have a child. But after earnest prayer, they had a son, whom they named after St. Francis of Assisis: Francis.
His early education was with the Franciscans, where he learned to read; more importantly, he developed a love for prayer and the spiritual life, and with his parents permission at age 14, he went to live an austere life as a hermit in a cave by the sea. Others eventually joined him, and they built cells for themselves to pray in. They chanted the Liturgy of the Hours, and a priest would come to offer Mass. As others joined them, a church and monastery were built; the people of the area loved them so much, that they themselves worked tirelessly to help built it.
Francis had a favorite expression, ‘out of love,’ he would say. ‘Out of love, the heaviest stone can be made light. ‘Out of love, a brother can be corrected. ‘Out of love, will you not help the poor.’ He would say this.
Francis worked many miracles. One time, in order to make a point, he lifted out of the fire burning coals which he held in his hand for some time while speaking. On another occasion he wanted to go from the shore of Italy over to Sicily. A boat was lying in the harbor. Francis asked the owner if he would take him and his companion along on the boat. “If you pay, monk,” “I will take you along, he said with a huff; “Out of love,” Francis pleaded; “for I have no money.” “Then I have no ship for you,” came the mocking reply. Francis walked a little down the shore, blessed the sea, and then, to the man’s surprise, he stepped out on the waves, and walked on top of the water all the way to Sicily.
Francis lived a very penitential life; his bed was a plank, a stone was his pillow. In addition to the 3 traditional vows, his order never ate meat, eggs, or anything with milk. So in this spirit of mortification, he is a real example for us during this Lenten season.
[i] Adapted from “The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch” and Butler’s lives of the Saints.
Friends in Christ,
Today is the Feast of St. Joseph, this ‘quiet man’ of the gospel. Through all the gospels, Joseph says not a word. He is there for Mary in her need; a protector of Jesus in danger; he quietly did God’s will in many difficult things.
We may wonder about the early life of Joseph; there are apocryphal writings which tell us some things, it is not certain, but could be. Some of the mystics, like St. Catherine Emmerich and others had visions of the early life of Mary and Joseph. I was looking at a book[i] which ‘stitched together’ the different legends and visions to give us a sort of picture. They tell us that when the time came for Mary to meet her husband, the high priest called to the temple the young men who were of the line of David. Mary was worried, because she had made a vow of virginity, but God reassured her about the choice of her husband.
It is said that Joseph was born near Bethlehem, the 3rd of 6 brothers. His parents lived in a large country home with a bubbling fountain in a court, and surrounded by lovely streams. At his birth, Joseph was a beautiful baby, and it is said that by age 3, he already knew God by faith. An elderly tutor instructed the children in their lessons on a porch, that went around the upper floor of the house. Joseph’s brothers used to tease him and often tried to hurt him. Each boy had a small garden, and his brothers sometimes went into Joseph’s, and tore up the plants that he liked best. When he was praying once on the porch, they snuck up behind him and pushed him over. But in such cases he did not get angry, he only continued his prayers.
His parents sometimes complained that he was too quiet and lacking ambition. They wanted him to be prosperous, but he sought only to do manual labor and have time to pray. When he was 20 he left home to earn his living in the country north of Jerusalem. He worked as an assistant to a carpenter, and did many odd jobs there; his family still scolded him for his simple ways, but he continued, and even moved to small house near the Sea of Galilee. Wherever he lived his sincerity and kindness were loved by all.
One day, his being a descendant of David, he was summoned to the temple. He appeared there with the other young men who were dressed in festive robes, seeking the hand of Mary; each was given a dry branch and told to pray. Joseph alone, did not feel himself worthy to be the husband of Mary, but as instructed, each came forward and laid their branch on the altar. When Joseph, the last in line, was about to place his branch, all of a sudden it blossomed into a beautiful lily-flower, and for a moment, a white dove sat on his head. The quiet Joseph was the perfect choice, because he would be not only the worthy protector of Mary and the Holy Family, but would come to be known as the faithful protector of the Universal Church.
Pray for us St. Joseph, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
[i] Life of Mary as seen by the Mystics, p. 63.
