St. Damien of Molokai
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.
The Real Presence
Good morning students! Last Saturday, a number of our students made their 1st Holy Communion, and it was a beautiful day. For the first time, they came up, and received Jesus, and now they can whenever they attend Mass. At 1st Communion there was a little quiz, right? We asked questions like, when does the bread and wine change into the Body of Christ, and they said at the Consecration; when the priest says: ‘This is my Body,’ This is my Blood.’ The students even remembered the big word, which means the substance of bread and wine is changed, and that is Transubstantiation: there is a real change in substance. I asked them how long one must fast before Communion, and that is 1 hour: no food or drink. Except water.
.
We read in the gospel today, Jesus tells us that the Holy Eucharist is truly himself; it is really he, living, alive, and loving us. In those days, there were some people who said: ‘This is a hard saying, I cannot believe it!’ Those people stopped walking with Jesus. But his disciples believed, they trusted him.
.
You know, at Mass, there are often extra Hosts consecrated, these too are the Body of Christ – so where do we keep these, so that these hosts can be given to someone, or taken to the sick? In the Tabernacle. At St. John’s we always keep a veil on it, that shows that it is very holy, because it is the Body of Christ in there.
.
One time, Pope John Paul II, who is now a saint, he was visiting the United States, and when the Pope visited St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore – a seminary is where young men go to prepare to become priests – well, before the Pope went in, there was a special security team who went in first to check the building – remember, the Pope was once shot, and so they had to be careful that no bad people were hiding in there.
The police used specially trained dogs to sniff out the building looking for any persons that might be hiding in there. These dogs are trained to find people in disasters and under collapsed buildings, or anywhere a person might be hiding.
.
The dogs moved up and down the hallways, sniffing around; sniffing in the library, and in the dinning room, looking for any hidden persons. Then the dogs were taken into the chapel; they sniffed around all the pews, and under them – no persons. But then the dogs went up to the front, and they started whining and barking and starring at – the tabernacle! Because they had found a Person there. Who? Jesus.
.
But Jesus is not a dangerous Person, he is a loving Person. And so the Pope entered the building and with the seminarians, he knelt down before the tabernacle, and they prayed and spoke to Jesus.
.
We ourselves adore Jesus who is there, that’s why we genuflect on our right knee upon entering a church or leaving. And we love this dear Jesus very much, especially when we receive him at Holy Communion.
The Early Church believed as we do
Friends in Christ, this week we’re reading in the gospel, John chapt. 6: The famous Bread of Life Discourse. It is here, in which Our Lord really teaches us about the Holy Eucharist. Having miraculously multiplied the loaves, to feed thousands, he then begins to speak of another kind of miraculous bread, which will also feed the multitudes. ‘I am the living bread come down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever.’
.
He will tell the people that they must eat his flesh; that if they do, they will live forever. Many left him, because of this teaching. ‘This is a hard saying,’ they said. And they left. But the apostles, though not understanding this mystery, they trusted. And he would show them what he meant at the Last Supper.
.
This belief in the Holy Eucharist therefore, goes back to the very beginning, it is part of the True Faith. Around the year 180AD, St. Irenaeus of Lyon would himself write about this ‘Bread from heaven.'[i] Irenaeus, who learned from Polycarp who knew John the Apostle – he says: ‘When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake receive the word of God, the Eucharistic elements become the Body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies live and grow.’
.
He says, since our flesh is nourished by the Lord’s own body and blood, we too are capable of receiving the gift of eternal life. St. Irenaeus then beautifully adds: ‘The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays, only to be raised up again by the Spirit of God’ – into wheat. Then, when the wheat-made-into-bread receives the word of God (at Holy Mass), it becomes the Eucharist which is the body and blood of Christ.
.
So too our bodies, which have been nourished by the Eucharist, will be buried in the earth and decay; but they will rise again, for the Word of God will raise them up in glory.
[i] The following is adapted from Irenaeus’ treatise against heresies found in the Office of the Roman Breviary, Thursday, the 3rd Week of Easter.
The world presses us
Friends in Christ, in a study published in Psychological Science, it was shown that men often judge a woman as more attractive when they believe that their peers find that woman attractive. According to the study’s author, this theory of conformity shows that people are not concealing their own preferences, they have actually aligned their minds with the others.'[i]
.
To us who are not psychologists, it is surprising how easily people will follow the crowd. People who do not base their life on firm convictions and beliefs, will easily follow whatever is the “in thing.” Today, many people who grew up Catholic, easily go along with whatever the latest trend is, even if it is against the teachings of the Church.
.
A stunning example of this is the almost over-night conformity to the supposed ‘gay-marriage’ idea. But there are many other examples. The devil often uses this power of ‘group think’, to lead many astray. It is explained probably best by this psychological theory of conformity. It’s not that people hide their true idea on the subject just to get along; it is that they have literally been convinced, not by logic, but merely because their friends and the media tell them.
.
We read today in the Acts of the Apostles, of the first persecution against the Church. ‘There broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.’ The teachings of those first Christians did not fit in with the ideas of the majority: ‘What you believe is not acceptable!’, they said. ‘And entering house after house they dragged out men and women, and handed them over for imprisonment.’
.
Since the very beginning of the Church, this has been the reality. Many people will accept whatever the world says for today, but those who live for Christ, who actually have convictions and Faith – they will never go along with the latest trend of the day.
.
At times, the ideas of the world are not far off from ours, and this is when society is somewhat Christian. We had that for a while – then it was easy to coast along as a Catholic. But those days are over. To be a follower of Jesus means being different. But we must have a merciful heart toward the weak, who easily fall for the latest trends. As St. Paul said, we must help those who are weak in faith.[ii]
[i] Scientific American, Aug 25, 2011
[ii] See Romans 14:1
Pleasures of today are soon gone
Friends in Christ, in the 1st century AD, the luxurious living of ancient Roman society was unparalleled. Roman banquets featured a selection of anything you wanted, wild boar, oysters, pheasant, deer; and they included exquisite and expensive delicacies such as peacock brains and nightingale tongues. Guests would often eat while reclining, while slaves swept away discarded bones and olive pits. It was commonplace for the rich to spend 10’s of thousands of dollars on these banquets.
.
Pliny the Elder, in his writings from that period, describes the excessive lavishness of the people, but he believed that the terrible fires that occurred in Rome were punishment for this lifestyle. ‘In great buildings and in everything else, he says, the rest of the world has been outdone by us Romans. It was reported that a Roman lady who was married at that time, wore a robe so richly jeweled that it would cost today the equivalent of 17million dollars.
.
‘There was a reason for all of this, and the reason was dissatisfaction; a hunger that nothing could satisfy.’ So says William Barclay, in his commentary on John. People who are hungry inside, who can’t find meaning to life, they seek out anything that can give a thrill or a new pleasure in life. But it’s always for earthly things, things that are temporary.
.
Today in the Gospel, the crowd seeks out Jesus, trying to find out where he went. Why? Because he had multiplied a few loaves to feed 5000 families. ‘You are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled,’ he says. They wanted a bread king, who could produce food for them, so that they wouldn’t have to work, but that’s not why he came. Our Lord wants the people to see that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. ‘Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.’
.
There are two kinds of hunger: there is a physical hunger, but there is also a spiritual hunger, which the pleasures of this world will never satisfy. A person can be a billionaire, but still have an unsatisfied longing, an incompleteness in this life. Not only Jesus’ miracle of the loaves should convince us, but his resurrection from the dead should convince us. No THING, nothing – can save us from death. But Jesus has proven that he is the WAY. He is the way to a New Life, which is stronger than death.
The Road to Emmaus
3rd Sunday of Easter
Beloved in Jesus Christ, today we read of Jesus meeting those two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They are walking along in sadness on the road, these two, unnamed disciples. But another traveler joins them, it is Jesus, but they are not able to recognize him. They are discouraged over the Passion and death of their Master; they have forgotten all that he had taught them, that he would be raised up.
St. Athanasius
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
Though he lived a life-time of danger, he died peacefully in his bed in 373AD.
.
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.
St. Catherine of Sienna
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
St. Gianna Molla
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.
.
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.’
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
.
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.
