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 Christ, today our reading from Genesis shows us this strange wrestling match between Jacob and a mysterious figure. It says that they wrestled until the break of dawn. Jacob would become wounded, but it seems that he was winning, because this person said to Jacob, ‘Let me go.’ He replied, ‘I will not let you go until you bless me.’ Jacob named the place Peniel, which means ‘I have seen God face to face.’
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God is pure spirit – you can’t see God. In order for Jacob to see him, and to wrestle with him, this means that either God put on flesh at that time, or that an angel as God’s messenger, temporarily assumed a human form. The fathers of the Church have wondered about this strange event. Was it an angel that Jacob wrestled with, or what?
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St. Justin and St. Ambrose think that this was the Son of God, the Word, who made an early appearance in the world. St. Leo the Great says that this appearance was a type, a sign, that beautifully foretold the coming of Christ, who would take a true human nature.
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This event which lies often unnoticed in the Old Testament captures very well, in it’s essence, the wrestling that we do with God sometimes in life. People of faith often experience this ‘wrestling match’ with God. ‘I got mad at God,’ someone will say in confession. ‘I was angry and I told God that I wasn’t going to pray to him anymore, because he won’t help me.’ ‘I felt that God was not with me, I asked him where he was.’
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These are very human feelings, feelings we can have out of frustration or anger because we feel that the Lord could help us in the way that we need, but nothing is changing. But then we go back and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ ‘I didn’t trust you.’ This is to wrestle with God, like Jacob. Asking the Lord’s help, crying to him, shouting – contending with God all day in conversation and aspirations – this is a good kind of wrestling with the Lord.
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The Son of God DID come in the flesh, so that he is not distant, but so that we can really ‘wrestle’ with him in our problems. But the Good News is, that if we hang in there and don’t give up, even if we are wounded, like Jacob, we will win. And in the end, he will bless us.
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.
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Beloved in Christ, in the Book of Genesis, we read of how the descendants of Noah multiplied and became very wicked. Their sins darkened their heart, and so they fell into idolatry. They built this Tower of Babel: They said, ‘Come, let us build a tower, that the top of it would reach up even to heaven.’ In their arrogance and pride, they believed they could build a tower to heaven, to challenge God.
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Friends in Christ, the world shakes it’s fist at God. The world makes it’s laws, thinking that man’s laws can supersede God’s laws. This is pride. We see the same attitude in the first reading. God sends Ezekiel his prophet, saying: ‘I am sending you to the Israelites, they are rebels who have rebelled against me.’ The world is in rebellion against God. Open rebellion.
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I’ve heard a lot from people of faith lately: ‘Father, I’m angry at the Supreme Court,’ ‘I’m upset about how the world is going and what is being taught to my kids.’
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We all know that our nation has plenty of failings, but what is perhaps most painful, is to think that we are now a nation that stands for sin, legalizing evil in complete contradiction to Christian religion. I’d like to speak today about the response that we might have to all of this insanity.
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One response might be that we must work to elect different public officials who will defend marriage and innocent life and decency – and who will put God-fearing decent people on the Supreme Court. And we certainly should be part of such an effort.
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But this would not be the highest sort of response for us. What is needed most, that we can and must do is: we must make Reparation.
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We don’t speak much these days about Reparation.[i] To ‘Repair,’ is to restore something to good condition again. When a house is falling apart, it has to be repaired. In the moral realm, the repair of a sin or evil is done by Reparation, meaning an oblation of one’s self. Moral order is restored by some penalty being inflicted on the wrong-doer or else it is self-imposed.
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When Tommy, in anger throws a rock at Mr. Smith’s window, the boy must pay to replace it. Reparation. But if he can’t pay, his older brother may step in and say ‘I’ll pay it for him.’ Or it could be that Tommy is unrepentant and refuses to pay; in which case, to repair the damage, his older brother still might pay it for him, to repair the damage.
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This is the case with our world. Those who are stomping on the moral law and shaking their fist at God are not repentant. Evil is being done. But the moral order is being badly disrupted. Someone has to do reparation.
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Now our Protestant friends may not understand this; they may say, ‘Jesus paid the price for all sins.’
Jesus Christ has come to this earth for one purpose: To make Reparation. To repair what has been ruined through sin, and restore our relationship to God. From the moment he was shivering in that stable, ridiculed in his life, crucified, and still mocked and wounded every day of human history – Christ has been expiating the sins against God, manifested continually in the Mass.
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The Catholic Church teaches that the person of Christ who walked the earth and is now in heaven, does not constitute the whole Christ. The whole Christ consists of himself plus ourselves, his mystical body. And so he wishes to make each of us another Christ, and that means that we must do what he does; we must participate in the expiation of sins, and in the redemption of the world.
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At the offertory of Mass, a drop of water is placed in the chalice with the wine. If the wine represents Christ, then the drop of water is us. The wine alone would be adequate for the consecration, but the Church insists that the drop of water be placed there also. In the end, the water, mixed with wine, becomes Divine Blood. So our offerings – ourselves – we become one with Christ’s offering.
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St. Paul offered his sufferings; he says to us: ‘I rejoice in what I am suffering, I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in the sufferings of Christ.’ What could be lacking in Christ’s sufferings? Our part. Ourselves.
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Jesus Christ expects his followers to take up the cross, and participate in his work of Redemption; for this reason, when St. John Vianney saw all the sins of his parish, he immediately began Reparation: fasting, eating only boiled potatoes, sleeping on the floor, scourging himself.
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St. Rose of Lima was determined to offer her life in reparation for sin and the corruption of her society. So, she inflicted penances on herself; while yet a child, she fasted 3 days a week on bread and water. She ate bitter herbs and during Lent she existed on five lemon seeds a day. Ready to offer any pain, one time when her mother put a beautiful garland of flowers on her head, she unknowingly stuck it to Rose’s head with a pin so deep, that there was great trouble that night prying it out of Rose’s head. She said nothing.
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Friends, we must become true Christians who offer ourselves in sacrifice to God – in reparation for the sins of our world. Jesus wants us to become great, like him. And so we must become a victim. ‘I beseech you brethren,’ says St. Paul, ‘that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, and pleasing unto God.’ (Rom 12:1)
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How can we Christians who know all this – how can we waltz through life on easy street while the world destroys itself morally? We have to make reparation, it’s our vocation.
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What are the sacrifices that we are to offer? The best way, is the ‘little way;’ St. Teresa tells us. We can make reparation in a hundred little ways, for our sins and those of the world. Choose a food that is not our first choice; don’t turn on the air, take water instead of soda, or giving up the nap. Little things.
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St. Josemaria says that spiritual sacrifices are even better: ‘the mean word that you left unsaid, the bad joke you didn’t tell; the cheerful smile for those who bother you, silence when unjustly accused; your kind conversation with those who are boring.’ (The Way, #173)
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‘But a life of sacrifice takes all the fun out of life,’ you say. Not at all. Haven’t we noticed that those who live a life of indulgence are often empty and discontent? Far from ‘taking the fun out of life,’ sacrifices give us joy. It is true. Because in so doing, we are helping Jesus repair the wrongs of this world.
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When Mary appeared at Fatima, she asked: ‘Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear the sufferings He sends, as reparation for sinners?’
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Let us answer Mary’s challenge. Let us be other Christ’s, and answer the evil of the world with reparation;
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[Entrusted to the prayers of Blessed Bartolo Longo]
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[i] See article ‘Reparation is Fundamental Obligation of Christianity, Raoul Plus, 1921.
Friends in Christ, today is Independence Day. We point to this day as the founding of our country. Compared to many other countries, ours is young. As a Democracy, it has been viewed as an experiment.
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The French Revolution of 1789, was an attempt at some kind of democracy, but it’s violence and instability resulted in failure. A different kind of experiment was taking place across the ocean however, started in 1776, and it seemed to have promise: the United States.
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For this reason, the Frenchman, Alex de Toqueville, a political historian, made his famous travels to the United States to study us. He recorded his observations in his book ‘Democracy in America.’ In his writings, he makes many astute observations about our country, as it was in the early 1800’s. He analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of everything. It is obvious, that in the back of his mind, is the question: can this Democracy last. He says some things that might be a bit disturbing to us.
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For example, he says that no nation has ever constituted so great a Judicial power as the Americans; the very existence of the Union is vested in the hands of 7 Federal Judges. (now there are 9) ‘This appears to me to be the most serious attack upon the independence of the States. The President may err without causing great mischief; congress may decide amiss without destroying the Union; but if the Supreme Court is ever composed of imprudent or bad men, the Union may be plunged into anarchy or civil war.
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De Toqueville has a number of warnings in his book, which seem quite timely, but today I’d like to address something else he says; it is regarding religion. He says that although there are many different religious groups here, and all worship in their own way, they all preach the same moral law in the name of God. Although no religion makes the laws or controls politics, he says that there is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains greater influence over the souls of men than in America.
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For example, he says, there is certainly no country in the world where marriage is more respected than in America. In Europe, almost all the disturbances of society arise from the irregularities of domestic life. But when the American retires from the turmoil of public life to the bosom of his family, he finds in it the image of order and of peace.
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Because of the influence of Christianity, he says that no one has dared to advance the idea that ‘everything is permissible.’ De Toqueville says that he was in a courtroom, and when the witness admitted that he did not believe in God, the judge refused to admit his evidence on the ground that he had lost the confidence of the court. And the newspapers reported this without any comment.
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Friends in Christ, it is obvious that there has been a drastic change in the last 150 years; we have a vital role to play in the fight for the soul of America; but it must begin with ourselves. We must live like true Christians, and teach others to do the same.
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.
Beloved in the Lord, a priest went to the house of a dying man, who was very rich. The man was surrounded by his assistants and maids, and in a luxurious house, but he thought little of religion and saw no need for the priest. He died in a bad state.
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But soon thereafter, the priest was called to a different home. The home of an old woman, quiet and poor, who had faith; and she also had a devotion to Mary in her life. There the priest found, in that poor place, no servants or maids, no fancy furniture or riches. But what does he see? He sees in that cottage a great light, and near the bed of the dying person, Mary the mother of God, who was consoling her, and with a cloth was wiping the sweat from her brow.
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The priest seeing Mary, had not the courage to enter, but she made a motion to him to approach. He entered, Mary pointed to a seat, that he might sit down and hear the confession of her daughter. The woman then made her confession, received Holy Communion, and at last expired happily in the arms of Mary.
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Friends in Christ, On this Saturday of Our Lady, let us consider this: Let us think of how much the saints loved their neighbor, because of their love of God. We can think of St Francis Xavier, and all that he did for the people of the Indies and the lands that he visited. The dangers that he went through, in the mountains and in caves, traversing the ocean in boats and storms, out of love of God and neighbor.
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Francis de Sales, who in order to convert the heretics of Chablais, risked his life every morning crawling on his hands and knees over a frozen beam in order that he might preach to them on the other side of the river. St. Paulinus became a slave in order to obtain freedom for the son of a poor widow. So many saints, because they so much loved God, did this much for their neighbor.
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But as St. Alphonsus says, who ever loved God more than Mary? She loved him more than all the saints and angels ever did. And therefore, how much does she love her neighbor?
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If we concentrate all the love of mothers for their children, husbands and wives for one another, all the love of angels and saints, it does not equal the love of Mary toward a single person. Mary is called the Mother of Beautiful love. Beautiful love, is to love God and our neighbor for his sake. And beyond all the angels and saints, Mary loves us most, and wishes to bring us safely to Jesus.
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.
