Friends in Christ, many of us know people who are Greek Orthodox, or Ukrainian Orthodox or other Orthodox Christians. These Churches, even though not Catholic, do have the Holy Eucharist and the 7 Sacraments. They are the closest to us of all other Faiths. In fact, if you are traveling, and can’t get to a Catholic Church, you may attend an Orthodox Mass.
.
The Orthodox Mass is a different style than ours. The sanctuary is covered with a wall of pictures of saints, and at the Consecration, the priest is inside an enclosure which represents heaven. Our Mass too, in ancient times, had a curtain pulled around the altar. We still require a sanctuary in a Church to be elevated, to signify that we are touching heaven. Still, at our Latin Mass, during the Consecration, the priest whispers the prayers, signifying that he has slipped into heaven, Christ enters heaven to offer his Blood for us.
.
In any case, the Orthodox DO have a valid Mass. But what are their Churches missing? They are lacking union with the Holy Father, the Pope. Now the Catholic Church has been working hard the last 20 years to restore our union with the Orthodox, and it may happen in our lifetime.
.
This brings us to the Saint of today, St. Josaphat. St. Josaphat was born in Lithuania, nearly 400 years ago (1580.) He was born Orthodox, but he converted to the Catholic Faith. Though he had a good job and the opportunity to marry a pretty girl, he decided to become a monk, and lived an ascetical life at a monastery. He went barefoot in the winter, and did not drink wine or eat meat – He was quite bright, and came to know many languages. Soon, he was elected Bishop, and later Archbishop.
.
He worked hard to bring union between the Catholics and the Orthodox. Josaphat brought millions of Orthodox into the Catholic Faith. Those who converted, retained their ancient Liturgy, and these are now called Eastern Rite Catholics. So there are other Rites within the Catholic Church, and one of them, which does celebrate this style of liturgy, is right down the street from us. They are just as much Catholic as we are, merely a different Rite.[i]
.
In the days of St. Josaphat many did not want reunion with the Catholic Church, so they planned to kill him. His enemies called him a Papist – ‘Kill the Papist!’, they yelled. They bashed in his head with a rock and shot him. His body was thrown into the river, but miraculously, it floated to the surface with rays of light coming from it. In the end, his murderers repented and became Catholics. St. Josaphat was the first saint of the Eastern Rite churches to be canonized by Rome.
.
[i] Sometimes Eastern Rite Catholics ask me to anoint them in the hospital, and that is no problem.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Martin of Tours.
St. Martin was born in the year 316 and although his parents were not Christians, the nurse that cared for him taught him about Jesus.[i]
.
At age 15, his father, who was a roman soldier, urged him to follow in his footsteps. Martin had a feeling that he was called to something else, but nevertheless he became a soldier. As he went about his duties, although he was not baptized, he found ways to teach others about Christ.
.
One day he saw a poor beggar in the cold; no one helped him. he felt that Jesus would want him to do something, so he took out his sword, and cut his cloak in two, giving half to the beggar. That night, Jesus appeared in a dream to Martin; he was wearing half of a cloak and said, ‘Martin, you have clothed me.’ Soon after this, he was baptized into the Faith.
.
When his army went to battle, Martin told the general that he preferred to serve Christ. “You’re a coward, they told him. So he was put into prison. But after serving time in prison, he founded a community of monks and sought a life of prayer. The people of the city liked him very much, and they insisted that he become their bishop, and so he was.
.
Martin possessed the gift of discerning spirits. Once the devil appeared to him in beautiful, royal clothes, and spoke as if he were Christ. But Martin, recognizing the deceit, replied, “The Lord Jesus Christ never prophesied that He would come in purple robes and royal crown.” The apparition immediately vanished.
.
St. Martin of Tours healed people by his prayers, and raised three dead persons to life; also while celebrating Mass a luminous sphere once appeared above his head.
.
In the cold November, of 397, St. Martin approached his death, but as he expired, the gloom of Autumn disappeared, and for three days it was as sunny and beautiful as summer. St. Martin is the patron saint of soldiers, which is very appropriate on this Veteran’s day.
.
[i] By age 10 he was a catechumen, that is, one who is preparing for baptism.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Bruno. St. Bruno was born near Cologne, Germany about 1030. As a young man, he was ordained a priest, and because of his great mind, was invited to be a professor of theology. His reputation for wisdom and intelligence spread far and wide.
.
As his life become one of honor and prestige, he slowly drifted into a life of comfort and ease. One day, he found himself with some friends in a garden, speaking of the vanity and false ambitions of the world, and on the joys of eternal life. He was strongly affected by this, and they agreed then and there to forsake the world.
.
They found a location in France near the alps, perfect for their needs: well into the mountains, with high craggy rocks, and covered with snow almost the whole year around. They built there a small chapel, surrounded by little cells in which to live in solitude. And so began a new religious order called the Carthusians.
.
No woman nor any hunters nor fishermen were allowed to go there. The monks came together twice a day to pray, otherwise they prayed and worked in their cells.
.
Blessed Peter of Cluny wrote: their dress is poorer than other monks; their clothes are so rough, that the very sight is frightening. They wear hair shirts next to their skin and fast almost perpetually. They never eat meat, but only bread, beans, and water. Water is supplied by a pipe, and food is cooked by each one in his own cell; Cheese and eggs are allowed on Sundays and Thursdays. but on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they take only bread and water. They eat only once a day. For these hermits, they spend their time praying, reading and doing manual work.
.
Now some might think that a Carthusian hermit might be melancholy, or sad, or harsh,. but St. Bruno has been described as having a real joyfulness about him.
As he died, he was surrounded by his brother monks; he made a confession publicly of his sins, and recited the Creed. St. Bruno has never been formally declared a saint – he is a saint by popular acclaim.
.
The Carthusians today are the only Religious Order to have never needed reform in the Church. They have never slackened on the rule in any way after nearly 1000 years.
.
We are not monks, but perhaps we can be inspired by St. Bruno, to bring some quiet time into our life, or at least 30 minutes a day, for a little ‘oasis,’ – time to speak, and listen to God.
Friends in the Lord, today, some parts of the world, especially Poland, are offering Mass in honor of a special saint: St. Faustina, and so even though she is not on our official calendar, we can remember her also.
.
Her given name was Helena Kowalska, and it was on this day in 1938, that St. Faustina died in the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, in Cracow, Poland. She came from a family of 10 children, a family that struggled on their farm during the terrible years of WWI. She had had only three years of a very simple education. When she was 15 years old, she quit school in order to work as a housemaid to help support her family.
.
By the time she was 18, she was sure that God was calling her to religious life, but her parents objected, so she tried to put it out of her mind. But one night, while polka music was playing at a village dance, she seemed to see Jesus, sad and suffering. The next day she packed a small bag and went to the capital city of Warsaw to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. There she received the name Sister Mary Faustina.
.
About 10 years later, she contracted tuberculosis. Soon she was too weak to manage the heavy gardening assigned to her. So she was given the job of gatekeeper. In this way, she was able to show mercy to the poor people who came to the convent looking for food.
.
On February 22, 1931, Our Lord appeared to her, bringing with Him a wonderful message of Mercy for mankind. Here is what she says in her diary: “In the evening, when I was in my cell, I became aware of the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment. One hand was raised in blessing, the other was touching the garment at the breast. From the opening of the garment there came forth two large rays, one red and the other pale. In silence I gazed at the Lord; my soul was overwhelmed with fear, but also with great joy. After a while Jesus said to me, ‘make an image according to the pattern you see, with the inscription: Jesus, I trust in You.'”
.
Some time later, Our Lord told her: “The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous; the red ray, for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender Mercy; Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold of him.”
.
Let us today remember St. Faustina, and also the message that she brings: That Jesus in his great mercy wants to forgive all our sins, and heal the wounds of our soul.
Today is the Feast of St. Jerome.
St. Jerome was born in present day Croatia about the year 345. He was very smart, and one day he met an old hermit named Malchus, who inspired him to live a life of penance; he therefore began to live in a bare cell and spent much time studying the Holy Scriptures.
.
Since the common language in those days was Latin, the Pope asked Jerome to translate the scriptures into Latin. He therefore set about becoming an expert in Greek and Hebrew. He learned Hebrew from a Jewish rabbi, and then translated the scriptures into the Latin Vulgate, which remains today the official translation of the Church.
.
Jerome also was very fiery and spoke his mind. When some of the clergy were not living right, he scolded them, and for this reason, he created many enemies who tried to humiliate him. They played tricks on him. For example, one time he was sleeping at a monastery, and while he slept, the others replaced his robe which was laid out, with that of a woman’s gown. When he got up early in the morning, still sleepy, he put on the woman’s gown thinking it was his own, and proceeded into the Church for prayers. His enemies had done this to make it appear that he had a woman in his room. But despite the trouble that others gave him, Jerome was not deterred.
.
When we see pictures of St. Jerome, there is often a lion there, and here is the reason for this. One day a lion limped into their monastery, and in fear, the other monks ran away, but Jerome greeted the lion as a guest. The lion showed him his wounded paw, which had a thorn. He removed the thorn and applying medicine, nursed the lion back to full health. In doing so, the lion became as tame as a house pet.
.
St. Jerome was an expert on the Holy Scriptures; he used to say, ‘Ignorance of scripture is ignorance of Christ.’ I ask young people if they can commit to reading the Sacred Scriptures for 3 minutes each day; it is a short time, but it does a lot over the years. A priest once said, ‘if at the end of the day you go to bed and turn out the light, but you realize that you have not read anything from scripture, turn on the light and read from the Sacred Book, and only then go to sleep.’
.
The bones of St. Jerome are inside the main altar at St. Mary Major in Rome; the altar is supported by carved paws of a lion.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine.
She was born in 332 in North Africa and raised in a Catholic home. An incident happened once when she was a little girl: she was often sent down to the cellar to draw wine for the family; but she fell into the habit of taking sips of wine. One day a servant told everyone about this – well, little Monica was so embarrassed that she gave up this habit, and from that day she became determined to live only a virtuous life.
.
Her parents arranged for her to marry a man named Patricius, who was a pagan. But in their marriage, he had a terrible temper and often treated her badly. Many today would say, ‘leave him,’ but no. She prayed for him and sought to quiet his anger. She suffered a great deal in that home. Other women would comment on the poor character of her husband; but she not once ever made a negative comment about him. Her example led many other women to have patience toward their husbands, and because of her kind way, Patricius was converted to the faith.
.
Her son Augustine was the ‘problem child.’ She prayed very hard for him, going often to Church. By age 29 he had joined a religion called Manichaeism, he was living with a woman, and had a child out of wedlock. But she patiently continued her prayers. A holy bishop once told her, ‘God’s time will come; a son of such tears, will certainly not be lost.’
.
Augustine wanted to go to Rome to become a professor. Monica begged him not to go, and so he said he would not. But he lied, and slipped away by night, on a boat for Rome.
.
Augustine would later write: ‘While she was weeping and praying for me, I deceived her with a lie. And what did she ask of you, my God, only that you would not let me sail away. But you Lord in your mercy, granted that I would set out on a path that would lead me to You, to grant her what she always wanted.’
.
Arriving in Rome, and then to Milan, Augustine met St. Ambrose. Ambrose began the conversion of his mind – – and God would complete the conversion of his heart.
.
Monica died in Ostia near Rome in the arms of her son. As she lay dying she said: ‘Son, all my hopes are complete. I only desired to see you become a Catholic, and a child of heaven. But God has done much more than even that. Lay my body anywhere, the only thing I ask is that you remember me at the altar of the Lord wherever you are.
.
Tomorrow we will celebrate the feast of St. Augustine, this wayward son, who became a priest and a bishop and a great saint –
all because of the patient prayers – of a mother.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Louis of France.
St. Louis became the king of France when he was only 22 years old. He had a lovable personality, and yet followed a life quite unusual for a king. He was well aware of the dangers of power, and so to please God and also to guard himself, he fasted a lot, and often did various acts of self-denial and mortification.
.
St. Louis was the father of 11 children, and he was a very good father, who saw to it that his kids were raised in the Christian life. He wrote this to his son: ‘My dearest son, keep yourself from everything that displeases God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul, and mind. If God permits you to have some trial, bear it willingly and with gratitude, considering that it has happened for your good. Pray to the Lord often with the interior prayer of the heart.’
.
Just as in our own work and decisions, our Catholic Faith should guide us, so it was for St. Louis, who governed his country according to Christian principles. His politics were grounded on justice. He insisted on fidelity in all things, and worked tirelessly for peace. He was not only interested in helping people in their material needs, but did whatever he could to cultivate the spiritual welfare of his subjects.
.
When the Christian world was being over-run by Islam, he faithfully undertook a crusade to liberate the Holy Land. At first he was successful, but with his men dying of the plague, they were captured by the Muslims. He was forced to pay a huge ransom to get his men released. On yet another crusade to recover the Holy Land he died of plague.
.
It was his mother’s desire that her son should be a virtuous ruler. She often told him: “Son, sin is the only evil in the world. I love you more than any mother could, but I would rather see you dead at my feet, than to know that you offended God by one mortal sin.”
.
These words, says St. Louis, remained indelibly impressed upon his mind.
Friends in Christ, today we are in our continuing Novena to St. John Vianney, and so, even though it is Sunday, it seems fitting to speak about our great patron saint today.
.
One fine day in 1818, a boy herding sheep in the Dombes region of France met a young priest walking towards him; the priest was pushing a rickety cart full of objects and some furniture. He asked the boy, ‘Is it much further to the town of Ars?’ The boy pointed to the tiny town that lay ahead. “How small it is!” said the priest. Then he knelt on the ground and prayed.
.
As he set out again with his cart, the boy was at his side. When they arrived at the poor church, the priest said to him: “Thank you for showing me the way to Ars… now I will show you the way to Heaven”.
.
It was a tiny parish, the town, a mere 230 people. John Vianney saw that the church was a dilapidated mess, and filthy. He began himself to clean it. He would clean the church, but he wished even more, to clean hearts – the souls of the people.
.
The people in Ars were not hostile to the Faith, he would have preferred that; what he found, was complete apathy and indifference. 19 years after the French Revolution, when ½ the priests in France had disappeared, and thousands of heads were cut off in the hatred of God – after all that, well, France was spiritually dead. Nobody except a handful of people cared at all whether a priest came to their village or said Mass.
.
The town’s fame for dances and drunkenness was widespread. People came from miles around to join in the carousing, and to go wild in the four taverns there. The people would say, ‘this village is too small to have a church,’ but yet – there were 4 saloons. People did not go to Mass on Sundays and they even worked on that day; John Vianney came upon a drunk man one time who was swearing. he said to him, ‘My child, you are an animal.’ And indeed, people without God become animals.
.
At the time of the village festival, came the parties, the dancing, and after hours, the expected mortal sins between men and women. But in the Sunday sermon, their new parish priest did not waste any time addressing these things: ‘The tavern is the devil’s shop, he said. ‘in the tavern, hell pours forth its doctrine, souls are put up for sale, and families are ruined. ‘At the dance club, a Christian leaves his guardian angel at the door, and a devil takes his place. Soon, there are as many devils in the room as dancers.’
.
As St. John preached, and prayed for his people, and fasted; little by little, people were no longer comfortable in their sins. A small group at first, wished to learn about God. Some youth came to pray the Rosary. Improving morals led to the two taverns nearest the Church closing for lack of business; although 7 new ones appeared, eventually each of them had to close as well.
.
Tirelessly the holy priest taught the people: ‘My children, we must love God above all.’ ‘We must not sin, or if we do, let us repent and make our souls clean.’
.
Miracles started to happen. John Vianney had a great devotion to St. Philomena; when miracles started to occur, he would blame them on St. Philomena. ‘She is the one doing this,’ he would say. A young girl was paralyzed on one side; although she was able to drag herself along, her left arm was quite useless. She was about to tell her troubles to St. John, when he said: ‘Go and talk about this to St. Philomena!’ So she made her way over to her statue: ‘Restore my arm to me,’ she pleaded.’ She was cured at that instant.
.
His preaching and miracles and – really it was his prayers: the love of God began to gain a foothold in Ars. In that little corner of France, the Word of God began to matter. Christianity was being lived again.
.
Men got into the habit of making a visit to the Church before going to their fields, leaving their tools and their flocks waiting outside on the road. No longer would anyone cheat his neighbor or steal even a penny. In a Christ-like atmosphere, people became polite, and even hired servants were cared for and treated like children.
.
The law of Sunday Mass and Sunday rest was carefully observed; on Sunday, there was a beautiful silence and peace in the town. Even clothes changed. The immodest fashions of Paris gave way to traditional and simple clothing. It was just a beginning, but it would be part of a renewal of families and the Christian faith that would blossom over the next century.
.
Friends, we will have our procession on Tuesday evening to conclude our Novena. We are praying to St. John for our so-many needs and hopes, but also asking him to change our hearts, and make us real Christians. Let us pray to our Patron, and let us pray to the Blessed Virgin as well. Mary, pray for us, that we will become worthy disciples of Jesus Christ.
.
[Entrusted to the prayers of St. John Vianney]
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola.
Ignatius was born in Spain, in Cantabria. Having been born into a wealthy family, he really wanted to excel and be successful in the world.
.
As a soldier, he became wounded at the battle of Pamplona, and then had to spend quite some time recovering in a hospital. It was there that he asked for some books to read; he wanted to read novels about chivalry and power and fame, but all they had to give him was a book about Jesus Christ and the lives of the saints.
.
Now he found that each time he read about Christ and the saints, he felt very happy and peaceful and inspired. But when he would daydream about fame and glory, with fantasies of winning the love of the ladies, he felt empty. He would say to himself, ‘if saint Lawrence can be a martyr for Christ, and if so many of the other saints can do such great things, why can I not do the same?’ It was the beginning of his conversion to the Lord.
.
He traveled to Montserrat, and there, before the altar of the Blessed Virgin, he gave up his weapons, and joined the army of Christ. Having given away his nice clothing to a beggar, he fasted and did shocking penances for one year.
.
During that time the Lord gave him wonderful lights, and it was during this period that he conceived of the Spiritual Exercises, a method for helping people grow in faith. From then on, he would often give these Spiritual Exercises to various people, including many he met while on a course of study.
.
Joined by 9 companions, he laid the foundation for the order which would be called the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. Ignatius sent St. Francis Xavier to preach the Gospel in Indies, and he sent others to various parts of the world.
.
With a strong formation program of character and intellect, the Jesuits for centuries were very successful in converting many to the faith, opposing Protestantism, and founding schools and universities. Hardly a Catholic has not met a Jesuit at some time or another.
.
In his conversion, St. Ignatius learned an important principle which he would often refer people to: ‘If an idea or one’s plan repeatedly gives one peace and closeness to God, it is likely from God; if it brings about unease and confusion and a lack of peace, it is likely from the Enemy. This principle can help us in understanding and discerning God’s will in our life and in our decisions.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. James the apostle, also called James the Greater. James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee, were very ambitious. They wanted Christ to give them places of honor in his kingdom.
.
In this regard, Thomas Aquinas asks an interesting question: Is it a sin to be ambitious? (Summa 129-131) He begins by saying that it is fine to desire honors, if these honors are for having become virtuous, after all, it takes sacrifice to be virtuous. But, he says, a person should not focus so much on the honors he would receive, but rather on doing virtuous things. And it is more important that a person does great things for the glory of God, not so much for his own glory or fame.
.
Also, if another person receives honors for achieving great things, rather than envy, we should rejoice for them. A great person has no use for flattery, he works hard for God’s glory, and cares little for the praises of others. He associates with important people as well as the unimportant, the rich as well as the poor, without distinction.
.
St. Thomas says that it is wrong if a person seeks honors without referring them to God, and he is especially blameworthy if he seeks honors for achievements he has not really accomplished. Now St. James and his brother were blameworthy in seeking honors for that which they had not yet accomplished. Our Lord says that honors in the Christian life are good, but true honor comes through the cross, not in empty shows of importance.
.
St. James however, would earn true honor – he DID meet the cross, and gave his life as a martyr for Christ. In fact, he was the first apostle martyred – we read in Acts of the Apostles, chapter 12: ‘About that time King Herod laid hands on some who belonged to the church. And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword.’
.
So then, let us be true Christians, and seek virtue, not so much for the honors or acclaim that they bring, but for the glory of God.
St. James is the patron saint of Spain, of pharmacists, knights, workers, soldiers, and veterinarians.
