THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT

December 15, 2013

Based on: James 5:7-10

5:7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.  5:8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.  5:9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors!  5:10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

All of God’s children who dearly love, serve and obey the Heavenly Father yearn so much in their hearts for his return in Glory. The time IS coming.  He WILL return with all of his heavenly hosts in a blaze of Glory, but it will be at a time not when we  feel it to be the correct time, but when God our eternal and ever loving Father, who knows everything well before our birth decides the time is right. Sometimes we as humans want everything in a rush, and in this day and age especially, we tend to live our lives in one huge hurry.  We forget that all the plans for the Lord’s return were laid even before our creation. We have to learn to be patient, and learn to wait quietly, just as the farmer has to wait patiently for his crops to grow and ripen before he can harvest them. In the Holy Words of God in James 5:7-10 we are clearly told that to have patience is the only way, and that we must wait quietly without any fighting or hatred towards our earthly brothers and sisters. And while waiting show them the love and kindness because they are children of God.  This this pleases our Father in heaven.  If we love, care for, and respect each other, then we shall not be judged harshly, as we are each judged by our thoughts, words and deeds towards each other.  Meaning if we treat each other otherwise, we will therefore be judged by the same token.  And we are treating God in the same manner.  Also if our Father God is to love and have mercy and forgiveness towards our sins  and iniquities,  which he does tirelessly and eternally, then we most show these same qualities to our brothers and sisters in the same manner. We are taught to be as the prophets were in their lives

and we must be prepared to suffer and have vast patience and to follow their examples in the same way.  We are to live our lives s He would have us live them, until the Lord decides the time is right to return in Glory!!

Let us pray:  As we joyfully await the glorious coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, let us pray for the needs of the church,  of our community, and of the world. May we give Love where there is hate or hurt, and may we all learn to live in patience, with tolerance and forgiveness towards each other as Our Heavenly Father has taught us and  live our lives  by following the examples that the Saints and Prophets before us have shown us by the way they lived and served you to your Glory. God of joy and exultation,you strengthen what is weak; you enrich the poor, and you give hope to those who live in fear. Look upon all of our needs this day. Make us grateful for the Good news of your Salvation and keep us faithful in your service until the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives with You in the presence of The Holy Spirit for ever and ever.   Amen.

Blessed James Benefatti, James is known as the Father of the Poor.  He was a Dominican at Mantua, Italy in 1290, and was a  Doctor of theology and a priest. He was also a friend and brother friar of Nicholas Boccasino who later became Pope Benedict XI, and for whom James held several support offices including papal legate.  He was the Bishop of Mantua in 1303, and noted for his devotion to the poor. James rebuilt his cathedral and refurbished churches and was appointed Papal legate for Pope John XXII.  He died 19 November 1332 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes.  His body was found incorrupt when exhumed both in 1480 and 1604.  He was beatified in 1859 by Pope Pius IX.

Blessed Lucy of Narni was the eldest of eleven children of Bartolomeo Broccadelli and Gentilina Cassio. When she was only five years old, she had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Two years later, she had another vision, this time of the Virgin Mary accompanied by Saint Dominic. Dominic is said to have given her the scapular at this time. When she was twelve years old, Lucy made a private vow of chastity, and determined to become a Dominican nun.

Circumstances, however, changed to make doing so difficult.  The next year her father died, leaving her in the care of an uncle. This uncle determined that the best course of action he could take would be to get Lucy married as quickly as possible.

He made several attempts to do so. One of these included holding a large family party. He had invited the man he had chosen as Lucia’s husband to the party, with the intention of having the couple publicly betrothed. He however had not informed Lucia of his intentions. The suitor made an attempt to put a ring on Lucia’s finger, only to be slapped repeatedly for his efforts by Lucia.

A later attempt involved Count Pietro de Alessio of Milan, an acquaintance of the family. Lucia was actually quite fond of him, but felt her earlier vow to become a nun made the possibility of marriage impossible. The strain Lucia felt as a result of the conflicting feelings made her seriously ill. During this time, the Virgin Mary and Saint Dominic again appeared to her, this time accompanied by Catherine of Siena. They reportedly advised Lucia to contract a legal marriage to Pietro, but to explain that her vow of virginity would have to be respected and not violated. Pietro agreed to the terms, and the marriage was formalized.

In 1491 Lucia became Pietro’s legal wife and the mistress of his household, which included a number of servants and a busy social calendar. Despite her busy schedule, Lucia made great efforts to instruct the servants in Christianity and soon became well known locally for her charity to the poor.

Pietro observed Lucia’s behavior, and occasional quirks, quite indulgently. He never objected when she gave away clothing and food nor when she performed austere penances, which included regularly wearing a hair shirt under her garments and spending most of the night in prayer and acting to help the poor. He also seemed to have taken in stride the story he was told by the servants that Lucia was often visited in the evenings by Saint Catherine, Saint Agnes, and Saint Agnes of Montepulciano who helped her make bread for the poor.

However, when one of the servants came up to him one day and told him that Lucia was privately entertaining a handsome young man she appeared to be quite familiar with, he did react. He took up his sword and went to see who this person was. When he arrived, he found Lucia contemplating a large crucifix. The servant told him that the man he had seen Lucia with looked like the figure on the crucifix.

Lucia left one night for a local Franciscan monastic community, only to find it closed. She returned home the following day, stating that she had been led back by two saints. That was enough for Pietro. He had her locked away for the bulk of one Lenten season. She was only visited by servants who brought her food. When Easter arrived, however, she managed to escape from Pietro back to her mother’s house and on 1494 May 8 became a Dominican tertiary. Pietro expressed his disapproval of this in a rather dramatic form, by burning down the monastery of the prior who had given her the habit.

In 1495 Lucia went to Rome and joined a group of Third order Dominican tertiaries. The next year she was sent to Viterbo and here she found she was frequently the object of unwanted attention. It was here, on February 25, 1496 that she is reported to have received the stigmata. Lucia did her best to hide these marks, and was frequently in spiritual ecstasy. The house had a steady stream of visitors who came to speak to Lucia, and, often, just look at her. Even the other nuns were concerned about her, and at one point called in the local bishop who watched Lucia go through the drama of the Passion for twelve hours straight.

The bishop would not make a decision on Lucia, and called in the local inquisition. Reports here vary, some indicating that he referred the case directly to the Pope, who is said to have spoken with her and, with the assistance of Columba of Rieti, ultimately decided in her favor, telling her to go home and pray for him. Other sources question the accuracy of these reports.

At that time Pietro also came to her, making a final plea to persuade Lucia to return with him as his wife. She declined, and Pietro left alone. He would himself later become a Franciscan monk and a famous preacher.

When Lucy returned to the convent in Viterbo, she found that the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d’Este I, had determined to build a convent in Ferrara and that, having heard of her, he determined that she would be its prioress. In summer of 1497, he invited her to be the founder of this new monastery. Lucia herself, the Dominican order, and the Pope all agreed quickly to the new proposal. The municipal council of Viterbo, however, objected, not wanting to lose Lucy. Lucia had been praying for some time for a way to create a new convent of strict observance, and agreed to go to the new convent.

Lucia’s departure precipitated a conflict between Ferrara and Viterbo which would continue for two years. Viterbo wanted to keep the famous mystic for themselves, and the duke wanted her in Ferrara. After extensive correspondence between the parties, on April 15, 1499 Lucia escaped secretly from Viterbo and was officially received in Ferrara on May 7, 1499. Thirteen young girls immediately applied for admission to her new community; the construction of the monastery began in June and was completed two years later, in August 1501. It contained 140 cells for sisters and the novices, but to fill it with suitable vocations proved to be very difficult. Lucia expressed the wish to have there some of her former friends from Viterbo and Narni. Duke Ercole, in September 1501 sent his messenger to Rome asking for the help of the pope’s daughter Lucrezia Borgia, who was preparing to marry Duke’s son Alfonso. She collected all eleven candidates Lucia had indicated and sent them, as a special wedding present to Lucia and to the Duke, a few days ahead of her bridal party. She herself solemnly entered Ferrara on February 2, 1502.

The Duke petitioned the local bishop for some help for Lucia in governing her new community, and he sent ten nuns from another community to join Lucia’s convent. Unfortunately, these ten nuns were members of the Dominican second order, who were canonically permitted to wear black veils, something Lucia and the members of the Dominican third order community were not allowed to do.

Tensions were heightened when one of these veiled outsiders, Sister Maria da Parma, was made the prioress of the convent on September 2, 1503. When Duke Ercole died on January 24, 1505 the new prioress quickly found Lucia to be guilty of some unrecorded transgression, most probably of the support for the Savonarolan church reform, and placed her on a strict penance. Lucia was not allowed to speak to any person but her confessor, who was chosen by the prioress. The local provincial of the Dominican order would also not permit any member of the order to see Lucia. There are records that at least one Dominican, Catherine of Racconigi, did visit her, evidently by bilocation, and that Lucia’s earlier visitation by departed saints continued. In response to Lucia’s insistent prayer her stigmata eventually disappeared, which caused some of the other nuns to question whether they had ever been there at all. When Lucia finally died, in 1544, many people were surprised to find that she had not died years earlier.

Then suddenly everything changed. When her body was laid out for burial so many people wanted to pay their last respects that her funeral had to be delayed by three days. Her tomb in the monastery church was opened four years later and her perfectly preserved body was transferred to a glass case. When Napoleon in 1797 suppressed her monastery the body was transferred to the Cathedral of Ferrara; and on 1935 May 26 – to the Cathedral of Narni.

Lucia was beatified by Pope Clement XI on March 1, 1710

Saint Albert the Great was born sometime between 1193 and 1206, to the Count of Bollstädt in Lauingen in Bavaria.  Contemporaries such as Roger Bacon applied the term “Magnus” to Albertus during his own lifetime, referring to his immense reputation as a scholar and philosopher.  Albertus was educated principally at Padua, where he received instruction in Aristotle’s writings. A late account by Rudolph de Novamagia refers to Albertus’ encounter with the Blessed Virgin Mary, who convinced him to enter Holy Orders. In 1223 (or 1221) he became a member of the Dominican Order, against the wishes of his family, and studied theology at Bologna and elsewhere. Selected to fill the position of lecturer at Cologne, Germany, where the Dominicans had a house, he taught for several years there, at Regensburg, Freiburg, Strasbourg and Hildesheim. In 1245 he went to Paris, received his doctorate, and taught for some time as a master of theology with great success. During this time Thomas Aquinas began to study under Albertus.

In 1254, Albertus was made provincial of the Dominican Order, and fulfilled the arduous duties of the office with great care and efficiency. During his tenure he publicly defended the Dominicans against attacks by the secular and regular faculty of the University of Paris, commented on St. John, and answered what he perceived as errors of the Arabian philosopher Averroes.

In 1260, Pope Alexander IV made him Bishop of Regensburg, an office from which he resigned after three years. During the exercise of his duties he enhanced his reputation for humility by refusing to ride a horse—in accord with the dictates of the Dominican order—instead walking back and forth across his huge diocese. This earned him the affectionate sobriquet, “boots the bishop,” from his parishioners. After his stint as bishop, he spent the remainder of his life partly in retirement in the various houses of his order, yet often preaching throughout southern Germany. In 1270, he preached the eighth Crusade in Austria. Among the last of his labors was the defense of the orthodoxy of his former pupil, Thomas Aquinas, whose death in 1274 grieved Albertus. After suffering a collapse of health in 1278, he died on November 15, 1280, in Cologne, Germany. His tomb is in the crypt of the Dominican church of St. Andreas in Cologne, and his relics at the Cologne Cathedral.

Albertus was beatified in 1622. He was canonized and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. St Albert’s feast day is celebrated on November 15.

Blessed John Licci, born to a poor farmer, his mother died in childbirth. His life from then on, all 111 years, was a tale of miracles.  His father, who fed the baby on crushed pomegranates, had to work the fields, and was forced to leave the infant alone. The baby began crying, and a neighbor woman took him to her home to feed him. She laid the infant on the bed next to her paralyzed husband – and the man was instantly cured. The woman told John’s father of the miracle, but he was more concerned that she was meddling, and had taken his son without his permission. He took the child home to feed him more pomegranate pulp. As soon as the child was removed from the house, the neighbor’s paralysis returned; when John was brought back in, the man was healed. Even John’s father took this as a sign, and allowed the neighbors to care for John.

A precocious and emotional child, John began reciting the Daily Offices before age 10. While on a trip to Palermo, Italy at age 15, John went to Confession in the church of Saint Zita of Lucca where his confession was heard by Blessed Peter Geremia who suggested John consider a religious life. John considered himself unworthy, but Peter pressed the matter, John joined the Dominicans in 1415, and wore the habit for 96 years, the longest period known for anyone.

He founded the convent of Saint Zita in Caccamo, Italy. Lacking money for the construction, John prayed for guidance. During his prayer he had a vision of an angel who told him to “build on the foundations that were already built.” The next day in the nearby woods he found the foundation for a church called “Saint Mary of the Angels,” a church that had been started many years before, but had never been finished. John assumed this was the place indicated, and took over the site.

During the construction, workmen ran out of materials; the next day at dawn a large ox-drawn wagon arrived at the site. The driver unloaded a large quantity of stone, lime and sand – then promptly disappeared, leaving the oxen and wagon behind for the use of the convent. At another point a well got in the way of construction; John blessed it, and it immediately dried up; when construction was finished, he blessed it again, and the water began to flow. When roof beams were cut too short, John would pray over them, and they would stretch. There were days when John had to miraculously multiply bread and wine to feed the workers. Once a young boy came to the construction site to watch his uncle set stones; the boy fell from a wall, and was killed; John prayed over him, and restored him to life and health.

John and two brother Dominicans who were working on the convent were on the road near Caccamo when they were set upon by bandits. One of the thieves tried to stab John with a dagger; the man’s hand withered and became paralyzed. The gang let the brothers go, then decided to ask for their forgiveness. John made the Sign of the Cross at them, and the thief‘s hand was made whole.

One Christmas a nearby farmer offered to pasture the oxen that had come with the disappearing wagon-driver. John declined, saying the oxen had come far to be there, and there they should stay. Thinking he was doing good, the layman took them anyway. When he put them in the field with his own oxen, they promptly disappeared; he later found them at the construction site, contentedly munching dry grass near Father John.

While he did plenty of preaching in his 90+ years in the habit, usually on Christ’s Passion, he was not known as a great homilist. He was known, however, for his miracles and good works. His blessing caused the breadbox of a nearby widow to stay miraculously full, feeding her and her six children. His blessing prevented disease from coming to the cattle of his parishioners.  A noted healer, curing at least three people whose heads had been crushed in accidents, he was Provincial of Sicily, and Prior of the abbey on several occasions.

The General Council of the Order of Preachers, IOCC is thrilled to announce The Very Reverend Lady Sheila Tracey Sherwood has been admitted to the Novitiate of our Order.  Please continue to keep our dear sister in your prayers as she continues to develop her ministry in the UK, and as she begins the process of preparing for her life as a solemnly professed Dominican.

Luke 18:1-8

This parable was told in effort to comfort the disciples. Jesus knows when our hearts our troubled. A heavily troubled heart can lead to doubt,, and doubt can lead to sin.

Truth (trooth) n.  1. the thing that is a fact or reality;  2. something factual or so clearly stated that it is without need of an explanation;  3.  a position, concept or statement generally believed to be accepted or obvious, or a scientific accuracy or undisputed conclusion; 4.  to be faithful to a cause or person [i.q. true] and steadfast in that faith;  5. Honesty, or a sincerity of or toward honesty;  6. that which is not deceptive or wrong;  7. God.

A definition of truth, by Merriam Webster dictionary.  As a theologian, I can see where they key definition lies. Truth is honesty, steadfast faith to a cause or person not deceptive. Truth is God.

In scripture we are told: “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.'” [John 14:6].  Ipso facto, Jesus is truth. However it seems to be the weakness of man, that we do not know the truth, or recognize the truth or what is true. We are told from the outset of the Gospel; “… and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” [John 1:10-11]

Continually throughout scripture, Jesus seems to be convincing people- sometimes even his own disciples, who he is and was it the truth.  “He said to them, ‘Do you light a lamp to put it under a bowl or bed?  Instead don’t you put it on a stand? For whatever is hidden, is meant to be disclosed and whatever is concealed is meant to be found and brought out into the open.” [Mark 4:21-22]

If we are to find truth and believe in truth- in God, where are we to look?  Perhaps, since Christ is love and taught love, we are to look there.  It is a pillar of Dominican life that it is impossible to separate truth and love.  They become not only so dependent on each other and interchangeable that they indeed become almost the same word.  Try this- read scripture and replace the word “truth” for the word “love” wherever it is found.  The meaning is not lost.  It may even be more influential.  More powerful.

“Come before the Father, full of grace and truth.” [John 1:14]  “Worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth.” [John 4:23]  “The Lord is near to all who call him, to all who call on him in truth.” [Psalm 145:18]

From those few simple passages we can see, God desires to be worshipped and approached in love. This then , is truth. Because in love, we bare our souls and expose ourselves.  It is only then that we can truly be enlightened and holy. For together, “Love rejoices in truth.” [1 Corinthians 13:6]  For love and truth go hand in hand- the are the same thing.

All through the First Epistle of John, we are told time and time again- that if we are deceptive, lie or become like hypocrites we do not have the truth within us.  That being so, we do not have love within us.  For love opens us up. It is only through love, that we can ever hope to become true followers of Christ and practitioners of His word.

Recalling now the dictionary definition that began this, perhaps we need to amend and expand upon the defined meaning of truth.  Maybe we need to add an eighth definition of the word- that truth is love. I could take an editorial license here in my own essay and add that after the fact-  ” 8. Love.”

Oh wait, it is there already.  In the seventh definition-  ” 7. God.”

The Order of Preachers is thrilled to announce the acceptance of Igor Kalinski into the Dominican Order as a postulant.   Igor lives in the country of Macedonia, and is eager to please the Lord.

Please join us in our prayers for our newest member, that she continue to grow in service to Our God.

The Order of Preachers is thrilled to announce the acceptance of The Very Reverend Lady Sheila Sherwood into the Dominican Order. She is currently the International Old Catholic Churches’ Vicar General of the United Kingdom, an ordained priest, and is very experienced in serving Our Lord and His people.

Please join us in our prayers for our newest member, that she continue to grow in service to Our God.