Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene has been called the 2nd most significant woman in the New Testament, 2nd only to the Blessed Mother. She was present at the two important events: Jesus’ crucifixion, and his resurrection. In the Holy Gospels she is named at least 12 times, more than most of the apostles. St. John and St. Mark mention Mary Magdalene as the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection, and she brought the news to the Apostles. For this reason St. Augustine calls her the ‘Apostle to the Apostles’.
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For some periods in the Church, Mary Magdalene was one of the most popular saints, this is because she was a great sinner who had become a disciple and therefore a real hope for us.
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For most of the history of the Faith, for important reasons, it was believed that Mary Magdalene was the sinful woman who came and anointed Jesus’ feet, whom he forgave. Today, among so-called intellectuals, it has become fashionable to claim that she was not that woman, that she was not a penitent prostitute, but I myself am not beholden to the latest fads, I prefer to trust the saints.
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It has been said that St Mary Magdalene is one of the sweetest of the saints, because her love was so great. After her having washed Christ’s feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair, Jesus praised her love and said: ‘Much is forgiven her, because she loves so much.’ Mary Magdalene had in her heart, since the day Jesus forgave her – she had in her heart, gratitude.
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She was from Magdala, a small fishing town on the Sea of Galilee, between Capernaum and Tiberias. Fr. Cliff Stevens says, ‘She was known to be a “great sinner,” a woman of the streets, who heard Jesus speak of the mercy and forgiveness of God, and changed her life completely.’ It was meeting God’s mercy, and thankful for a whole new, life, that explains Mary’s behavior at the tomb that Easter morn. Having thought Christ was the gardener, she asked what they have done with Jesus, and the Lord suddenly said to her: ‘Mary!’
‘O Raboni!, she said. And then she threw her arms around her Savior.
It was because she was full of gratitude.
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She is the patron saint of pharmacists, converts, glove makers, hairdressers, penitent sinners, people ridiculed for their piety; perfume makers, and reformed prostitutes.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Bonaventure. St. Bonaventure was born in 1221 in Bagnorea, Italy. When he was young he became very sick, and it is said that St. Francis cured him and gave him the name ‘Bonaventure.
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At about 20 years old he became a Franciscan, and with his brilliant mind, he went on to teach theology at the University of Paris. Bonaventure worked tirelessly to reform and improve the Franciscan Order, in fact he is called the Second Founder of the Franciscans because of all he did. He also wrote the official biography of St. Francis.
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At the University of Paris, the greatest center of learning of the time, two different and complimentary schools of theology were at work in those years. Thomas Aquinas was there, teaching a new approach to theology based on Aristotle. At the same time, at the same University, Bonaventure led another approach, a system which leaned heavily on St. Augustine. St. Bonaventure wrote a famous treatise called ‘The Journey of the Mind to God’ There, he calls us to find God in prayer.
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‘To find God, he says, we must surrender ourselves to him. We must seek the Lord by grace, not by doctrine. By the longing of the heart, not in the mind; in the sighs of prayer, not in research. Seek the Bridegroom, not the teacher. Look for the raging fire that carries the soul to God, he says. The fire is God, and the furnace is Christ’s Passion.
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St. Bonaventure was a mystic, and his approach to theology emphasized the heart more than the mind.
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Historians sometimes try to pit Thomas Aquinas against Bonaventure as rivals, but in reality they were great friends who merely taught different ways of knowing God. They both received their doctorate in theology on the same day, and they both would die the same year, 1274. Thomas Aquinas is called the ‘Angelic Doctor,’ Bonaventure is called the Seraphic Doctor.’
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St. Bonaventure was an intellectual giant, but he is a saint because of his holiness. When Pope Gregory decided to make him a Cardinal, he sent his ambassador to present Bonaventure with a red miter. When they arrived with the red hat of honor from the Pope, they found this simple Franciscan washing the dishes outside. He said to them, ‘My hands are wet just now, if you would kindly hang that hat on the tree over there.’
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The symbol for St. Bonaventure is the Red Cardinal’s Hat.
Beloved in Christ, today we honor St. Augustine Zhao Rong, and 120 others who were martyred in China.
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The Catholic Faith arrived in China as early as the 600’s, but it remained very small for centuries. Then, in 1601, the Jesuits established a mission there. They demonstrated western knowledge to the leaders, teaching them about astronomy and technology. Their efforts began an opening, and so the leaders could be introduced to Christ. The Jesuits came to be connected with the leadership of China. The ruling families had Jesuit astronomers, painters, musicians, instrument makers, and mechanics. It was an interesting missionary effort.
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Now the Dominicans were also trying to make efforts in China, and as too often happens in the Church, internal debates between the Jesuits and the Dominicans saw a diminishment in this missionary effort. Influence of the Faith waned, and for centuries persecution was not uncommon – many gave their lives for Christ.
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Today we honor 120 martyrs who died there between 1648 and 1930. 87 of these martyrs were Chinese by birth, the others, missionaries. Children, catechists, and parents, ranging in age from 9 years old to 72 gave their life for Christ.
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Augustine Zhao was a Chinese soldier, who accompanied Bishop Dufresse to his martyrdom in Beijing. Augustine was baptized, and not long after, was ordained a priest. He was martyred in 1815.
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In China today, there is the True Church, loyal to Rome, which operates in secret, and there is also the Government-Sponsored Catholic Church, controlled and manipulated by the Communist Government. It is estimated that there are 8 million Catholics following the underground church, risking their lives in loyalty to the True Faith.
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People say, we have good relations with China. I know a business man who will tell you that everything is great in China when he goes there. He’s treated like a king. But has he gone to Mass in the True Church there? No. He does not want to risk his neck. He is pretending that everything is ok. The Roman Catholic Church is illegal in China today. Priests, bishops, and others loyal to the Pope are in jail.
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We should reflect on the commitment so many have had to the Faith. At the time of those 120 martyrs, there was an 18 year old Catholic boy, named Chi Zhuzi. When his tormenters cut off his right arm, and were preparing to flay him alive, he said: “Every piece of my flesh and every drop of my blood will tell you that I am Christian.”
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This is what we must be able to say: That our whole life is Christian, that we belong entirely to Jesus Christ.
Friends in the Lord, today is the feast of St. Maria Goretti. Maria Goretti was born near Ancona (Italy) in 1890. She came from a poor, peasant family, and she spent a difficult childhood assisting her mother in domestic chores. Despite the hard times, Maria was well known to her neighbors for her cheerfulness and piety.
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When she was 12 years old, a man named Alexander threatened to take her virginity. Choosing rather to die than give up her virginity, Maria told him ‘no,’ and in his passion he killed her. As she lay dying, she forgave him.
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Some time later, while Alexander was in prison, Maria appeared to him in a dream. He saw her gathering flowers, and she presented them to him. He felt that she had really forgiven him and was praying for him. Mercy had made him a changed man, and he sought out Maria’s mother, to ask for her forgiveness.
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When Maria Goretti was canonized a saint, sitting there together at Mass were Maria’s mother and Alexander. That day, Pope Pius XII said this: ‘With splendid courage Maria surrendered herself to God’s grace and gave her life to protect her virginity. ‘People today can look upon her life with admiration. Parents can learn how to raise their children in courage, so that when put to the test, they will come through undefeated. ‘From Maria’s story he said, young people can learn not to be led astray by empty pleasures, but instead, can fix their sights on achieving Christian moral perfection.’ So said Pope Pius XII.
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A while back, a lady complained to me about many Church teachings, she was very bitter; then she added: ‘I remember some saint being honored for choosing to die rather than consent to sin. I thought that was ludicrous.
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Is it ludicrous? Is there nothing worth dying for? Purity is thrown away today as if it is worthless, but purity is a wonderful pearl of great price, and regardless of what some say, some things are still worth dying for.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Thomas, the Apostle. If you ask a Catholic from India, they will tell you that the Faith was brought to their land by St. Thomas. Many Indian Catholics are Syro-Malabar Catholics, and the feast of St. Thomas is an enormously important day for them.
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It is written in a very old book, that after the Ascension of Our Lord, Thomas was one day in the city of Caesarea, when Christ appeared to him. He said, ‘Thomas, the king of India is seeking a man skilled in architecture. I will send you to him.’ Thomas answered: ‘Lord, send me anywhere you wish, but not India. But the Lord replied: ‘Go in safety, and when you have converted India, you shall win the crown of martyrdom.’ Thomas said, ‘You are my Lord, your will be done.’
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They say, ‘Tell God all your plans, and then….. then he will show you his plan! Well, this was Thomas. No sooner then Christ said this to him, than he met a man in the marketplace who was from India. He said: ‘My master sent me to bring a man learned in architecture, to build a palace.’ So – the two went by ship and came to India.
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Meeting the king, Thomas drew up the plans for a magnificent palace and the king was very pleased. Now while the king was away for two years, Thomas preached the gospel to the people, and brought many to the faith. He gathered together the sick and the lame and the blind; he prayed over them, and a great light knocked them down and flashed over them for half and hour. Thomas said: ‘Stand up! My Lord has come and cured you all!’ So everyone stood up, whole and healthy, and they glorified God.
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But when the king returned and learned what Thomas had done, he threw him into a dungeon. He sent for iron plates fired to red hot, and ordered the apostle to stand barefoot on them, but instantly a spring rose up from the ground and cooled the iron. Then he brought an idol and commanded him to sacrifice to it, but Thomas said, ‘I do not worship this metal, but my Lord Jesus Christ; I command you demons inside, to destroy this idol.’ At once the image melted as if it were made of wax. At this the pagan priest drove a sword through Thomas, and as foretold to him by Christ, he won the crown of martyrdom.
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According to tradition, Thomas preached as far as Muziris, India in 52AD. He is the patron saint of blind people, of architects, and of India.
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St. Thomas is an inspiration for us. Because of his doubts in the Lord’s resurrection, our Faith is made stronger. When he saw the Lord he exclaimed: ‘My Lord and my God.’ We whisper the same thing at the elevation of the Host at Mass: ‘My Lord and my God.’
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of Blessed Junipero Serra. He was born in Spain, and entered the Franciscan order, taking the name of St. Francis’ companion, Brother Juniper. Up until age 35, he spent his life in the classroom, a professor of theology and well-known for his preaching.
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Suddenly however, he gave it all up and followed a desire he had had for missionary work. He wished to go to the New World, to bring the faith to the Native peoples.
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Arriving by ship in Mexico, he walked 250 miles to Mexcio City. On the way, his leg became infected from an insect bite, and this leg would be a trouble and cross for him the rest of his life. For 18 years he worked in central Mexico and the Baja Peninsula, he became president of the Missions there.
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Now because it seemed that Russia might invade from Alaska – which they owned at the time – and sweep down the west cost of the United States, Spain ordered an expedition into what is today California.
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Along the way of this secular expedition, Junipero went with, to bring Christ to the peoples. The first mission founded was called ‘San Diego,’ which we know well. Others included Monterey, San Antonio, San Francisco, and Santa Clara.
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Friction was occurring between the military leaders and the rights of the Indians, and so Junipero made the long trip to Mexico city to meet the military commander. Even near death, he was able to obtain an agreement protecting the Indians and the missions from unjust treatment.
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Junipero’s life in the missions was heroic; battles with cold and hunger and sickness and continually at odds with the military – his zeal was unrelenting. He often prayed all the night; he baptized over 6000 people. It is said that the distances he traveled would have circled the globe.
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Not only did he put the Catholic faith onto the west coast of the united States, but his zeal and care won the love of the Native Americans for whom he gave his life. This fall, Blessed Junipero will be canonized a saint.
Friends in Christ, today is the feast of these two great saints, St. Peter and St. Paul, pillars of the Church.
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We read of the great promise Our Lord made: ‘The gates of hell shall not prevail against the Church.’ Talking to people these days, they feel like the gates of hell are opened, and the Enemy is upon us.
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There has always been sin and evil, but in these latter days, it seems that those institutions that we thought would stand for goodness are calling evil good, and good evil. Of course the laws of God can never be superseded by the laws of Man, but it is really stunning to see venerable institutions such as the Supreme Court, and other leaders of stature saying what they are saying in these days.
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But the Gospel today tells us that we have first of all, the promise from the Lord, that the Enemy will never ultimately prevail over his Church. And so this should let us lift up our heads, and proceed to live holy lives, be undaunted witnesses for goodness and truth, and not count the costs. When we think of what St. Peter went through, and his ultimate martyrdom; when we consider all the travails of St. Paul and he too, giving his life – well, we are standing on the shoulders of these giants.
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The world today is proving to be very similar to the world of the early Church, and so our vocation as Christians in it, is to joyfully live the Faith, undaunted.
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Christ the Lord, today, gives us not only the promise of protection, but he gives us the solution also.
‘I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ‘Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them,’ he will later say. Jesus gives the power to the Church alone, to heal the world.
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The world of the apostles was a pagan one, without light. It was the message of mercy that changed everything; that no matter what kind of lifestyle or sin or debauchery they had been living, the Son of God was calling them to repent and begin again, with the hope of Eternal Life. This will be the message that our world more and more will be needing. Perhaps it isn’t time yet, but it will be; when this adolescent world will realize the disaster of their own plan, and turn to the hope of Christ’s plan.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Josemaría Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei.
St. Josemaría was born in Spain in 1902. Of 5 children in their family, 3 died quite young, but Josemaria and his sister Carmen survived.
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One day as a teenager, he saw in the snow the footprints of a barefoot monk; he thought about those cold feet walking on the snow; the idea of a sacrificial life dedicated to God made him think the Lord was asking something of him also. He felt called to be a priest, and something else too that God was asking.
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As a priest he worked in a small, rural parish for a while, attending to the poor and the sick. It was during a retreat, that he saw what it was God was asking of him: to found Opus Dei, a way of holiness for every Christian, by offering one’s daily work. In olden days, people would often say that holiness was just for priests or sisters. Some girl was trying to live a good Christian life: ‘Oh, you should be a nun.’ Some boy was trying to love Christ with his whole heart: ‘You should be a priest.’ no. St. Josemaria began a movement which would help people see that holiness is for everyone.
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But then the horrible Civil War broke out in Spain and persecution of the Church was fierce. Many priests were being killed and churches destroyed. Fr. Josemaría had to offer Mass and hear confessions secretly, moving from house to house. Nevertheless, he continued giving retreats and spiritual direction, guiding the growing members of Opus Dei. His spiritual sons and daughters began to spread across the world, bringing the message that everyone is called to holiness in their ordinary work.
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Opus Dei is comprised of ordinary people who try to sanctify their daily work. Some make a commitment to remain unmarried. Others are married men and women raising their families, trying to be good sons and daughters of God. The goal is to sanctify the ordinary, daily things of life, offering everything to God.
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St. Josemaria once said of a young woman who was peeling potatoes for dinner: ‘Before, she only peeled potatoes, but now she is sanctifying herself as she peels potatoes. (The Furrow, #498)
– offering ordinary work to God –
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St. Josemaria has written many things; his most famous book is simply called ‘The Way.’ He wrote it while he was still a young priest, yet it has sold more than five million copies in 50 languages. The first thing he says in that book is this: ‘Don’t let your life be sterile….blaze a trail!…light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart.
Beloved in Christ, today is the Birth of St. John the Baptist, and how can we understand the significance of John the Baptist?
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As we know, the entire Old Testament and the events and persons found there, are ‘types,’ that is symbols and prophecies which point to one thing: the coming of Jesus Christ. The Old Law was a preparation for the New, and everything in the Old was taught in figures, in symbol, and in shadows, until the Savior would come. For this reason we say, that the Old Testament is fulfilled in the New, and the New Testament reveals the Old.
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John the Baptist is therefore the boundary between the Old and New. John represents the time past, yet he herald’s the future, as St. Augustine says.
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Elizabeth was old and barren – just like the Old Law. John’s Father, Zechariah, was a priest of the Old Law, while Christ is the priest of the New Law. John was born of a woman too old for childbirth, Jesus was born of a youthful virgin. John’s birth was not at first believed, but Jesus’ birth was received with Faith.
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The father of John, Zechariah lost his voice and could not speak, and in this he represents the Old Testament prophets whose meaning was hidden and obscure. But finally his tongue is loosened with the birth of John, and he speaks. His tongue is loosed because John is the prophet who will herald the coming salvation.
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St. Augustine says that the birth of John the Baptist is at the time of the summer solstice; days now become shorter, and daylight fades. Christ will be born at the winter solstice, when light begins to grow.
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‘I must decrease, he must increase,’ said John. Today is the fading of the Old Law which was lifeless, and the coming of the New Law, which will give light, and eternal life.
Friends in Christ, today is the Feast of St. Romuald. St. Romuald was born about the year 950, and in his youth he lived a rather sinful life, and became a complete slave to his passions; yet sometimes, while he was hunting in the woods, he would stop and pray, and say, ‘How happy were the ancient hermits who served God.’
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Then something happened which would change his life. When he was 20 he heard that his father had an argument with a relative about some family property; his father challenged this relative to a duel: basically, a sword fight to the death. Forced to be present at this event, Romuald watched in horror as his father killed the man; he was so sicked by it, that he felt the need to do penance for his family. He fled to a nearby monastery, and there lived a life of prayer and austerity which even surprised the monks. Romuald’s example had such an influence on his father, that his father entered another monastery to atone for his sins, and stayed there the rest of his life.
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Romuald was graced with many gifts from God; he was often able to foretell future events, nevertheless he fought a life-long battle against temptation and the devil. More than once, people tried to kill him, and in another instance, out of envy, a man accused him of a scandalous crime. For a long time, many believed the story which he endured with patience, until he was ultimately vindicated.
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St. Romuald founded a number of very austere monasteries, the most famous of which is that of Camaldoli in northern Italy. It lies beyond a mountain very difficult to get to, the descent from which is a sheer precipice, looking down upon a pleasant valley. In this place Romuald built a monastery, which gave birth to a new, very strict order called the Camaldolese.
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A visitor said, ‘The very sight of this solitude in the midst of the forest helps to fill the mind with the love of God. The monk’s cells are built of stone, each having a little garden and a chapel for Mass.
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Romuald once passed 7 years in solitude and complete silence. While on a long trip, he died at a different monastery; 25 years earlier, he had predicted that he would die in that manner, in that place, on that day. When we think of the bad start St. Romuald had, living a life far from God in sin, we are inspired with the hope that it is never too late to begin again, and that penance is part of beginning again.
