July 9, 2015

Saint John of Cologne & Companions

The Reformation gained its foothold in the Netherlands in opposition to the Catholicism of the Spanish princes of the country–not primarily for religious, but rather for political reasons. Anti-Spanish and Calvinist soldiers banded together into lawless armies of pirates, and, unpaid and disillusioned, foraged for themselves in the seaports, looking for plunder.

Reproached by the clergy, they turned on the Church and one band of pirates led by the Gueux laid siege to the city of Gorkum, capturing it in June 26, 1572 after a struggle. For reprisal– because of the city’s determined defense–they gathered all members of the clergy in Gorkum into one miserable prison and set about taking revenge on the priests for their own grievances against the Spanish crown.

The priests were tortured, subjected to all kinds of indignities, and offered their freedom if they would abjure Catholic teaching on the Eucharist and the primacy of the pope. Angered by the endurance of the priests, the Calvinist increased their abuses. Some of the religious were very old and infirm, but one and all, even to an aged Augustinian who was so weak he could barely stand, they bore their martyrdom with patience and sweetness for ten terrible days.

They were repeatedly asked to deny the Real Presence, and just as repeatedly refused, which brought on more and more dreadful tortures. When they continued to refuse, despite a letter from Prince William of Orange ordering their release and protests from the magistrates of Gorkum, they were thrown half-naked into the hold of a ship on July 6, and taken to another city to be killed in the presence of a Protestant nobleman, Admiral Luney, a man noted for his hatred of Catholicism.

After being exhibited to the curious townspeople (who paid to see the spectacle) and subjected to every type of torture, the 19 priests and religious were hanged in an old barn at deserted Ruggen Monastery on the outskirts of Briel. Stripped of their habits and made, like their Master, “the reproach of men and the outcast of the people,” they benefited by their Christ-like sufferings and deaths. Their bodies, mutilated before or after death, were callously thrown into a ditch. The 19 martyrs included eleven Franciscans (called Recollects), two Premonstratensians, one Dominican, one canon regular of Saint Augustine, and four secular priests.

Two of those who died had led less than holy lives, but by their heroic constancy in the hour of trial blotted out the stains that might otherwise have kept them out of heaven. Sadly, there should have been 20 martyrs of Gorkum. One, who weakened and was released after he had denied the Real Presence, lived but 24 hours to enjoy his wretched freedom.

The other 19 gloriously went to heaven. The scene of the martyrdom soon became a place of pilgrimage, where all the Christian world reverenced the men who were so courageously obedient until death. Accounts of several miracles, performed by their intercession and relics, were used for their beatification and published by the Bollandists. Most of their relics are kept in the Franciscan church at Brussels to which they were secretly conveyed from Briel in 1616.

St. John’s companions were:

* Adrian Beanus, O. Praem.

* Adrian van Hilvarenbeek

* Fr. Andrew Wouters, OFM, was a priest at Heinot near Dortrecht. He led a scandalous life, but when the Calvinists tried to compel him to renounce the Catholic faith, he expiated his past by a brave confession, was imprisoned at Briel with the others and hanged.

* Fr. Antony van Hoornaer, OFM

* Fr. Antony van Weert, OFM

* Fr. Antony van Willehad, OFM, from Denmark

* Cornelius van Wyk (near Utrecht), OFM, was born at Dorestat near Utrecht. He took the Franciscan habit at Gorkum as a lay brother.

* Fr. Godefried of Mervel, OFM, was a painter and the custos of the Franciscan house at Gorkum.

* Fr. Godrey van Duynsen, native of Gorkum, was captured with Leonard Vechel and Nicholas Jannsen in Gorkum and sent to Briel, the Netherlands, where they were hanged. Previously, he had been the rector of a school in Paris.

James Lacops, O. Praem., was a native of Oudenarden, Flanders. He was a Norbertine at Middelburg and in 1566 apostatized, wrote, and preached against the Church. Then he repented, returned to his abbey, and was martyred by the Calvinists.

* Fr. Jerome Weerden, OFM, was born in Werden, the Netherlands, in 1522. He spent several years in Palestine as a Franciscan missionary. Jerome was a powerful preacher against Calvinism and at the time of his capture was the vicar of the friary of Gorkum under Saint Nicholas of Pieck.

* Fr. John van Hoornaer, OFM

* John van Oosterwyk, OSA, was a native of the Netherlands who joined the Augustinians at Briel. He was the director and confessor of a community of Augustinian nuns at Gorkum when the town was taken by the Calvinists.

* John of Cologne, OP, was a Dominican religious of his convent in Cologne, Germany who performed the duties of a parish priest in Horner, the Netherlands. When he heard of the plight of the poor priests captured in Gorkum, he left the relative safety of his parish and entered Gorkum in disguise to render whatever assistance he could. Several times he entered the city to dispense the sacraments, and to bring consolation to the priests who were being cruelly tortured. Eventually, he also was taken prisoner and subjected to torture.

* Leonard Vechel (Veehel, Wegel, Wichel), the elder pastor at Gorkum, was born in Bois-le-Duc, Holland. He studied in Louvain, where he earned a great reputation in his theological studies under the celebrated Ruard Tapper, was ordained, and became a parish priest at Gorkum known for his uncommon zeal, piety, eloquence, and learning. He had a remarkable ability to solve difficult problems. He tenderly cared for the poor, especially those that were sick, giving of himself as well as of his substance. He reproved vice without respect of persons, but his meekness and patience disarmed many who had been long deaf to remonstrations. He was in active opposition to Calvinism. He and his assistant Nicholas Jannsen Poppel of Welde, Belgium, were among those seized by a Calvinist mob at Gorkum.

* Fr. Nicholas Janssen Poppel (van Heeze), OFM, a native of Heeze, Brabant, from which he derived the name Nicasius van Heeze, was an associate pastor to Vechel. He was captured with his pastor, Leonard Vechel, and Godrey van Duynsen.

* Fr. Nicholas Pieck–Nicholas was the guardian of the Observant Franciscan house at Gorkum. This eminent, 38-year-old preacher was a native of the Netherlands who studied at Louvain and made missionary activities among the Calvinists his life’s work. He had an intense zeal for holy poverty and mortification, yet his constant cheerfulness rendered piety and penance itself amiable. He is known for repeating, “We must always serve God with cheerfulness.” Fr. Pieck had often expressed an earnest desire for martyrdom, but considered himself unworthy for that honor. He and four other priests were among the first seized when Calvinist forces opposed to the Spanish rule seized the town in June.

* Peter of Assche, OFM, from near Brussels, Belgium, was a Franciscan lay brother at Gorkum.

* Fr. Theodore van der Eem, OFM, from Amersfoort.

Born: Born in Germany in the 16th century

Died: burned, beaten, hanged and mutilated in 1572 at Gorkum, Holland

Canonized: Pope Pius IX canonized them in 1867.

Representation: elevating the Eucharist as he wears a rope around his neck

July 7, 2015

Blessed Pope Benedict XI

Nicholas Boccasini was born into a poor family of which we know little else, though there are several different traditions concerning it. One claims that his father was a poor shepherd. Another that he was an impoverished nobleman. Whichever he was, he died when Nicholas was very small, and the little boy was put in the care of an uncle, a priest at Treviso.

The child proved to be very intelligent, so his uncle had him trained in Latin and other clerical subjects. When Nicholas was ten, his uncle got him a position as tutor to some noble children. He followed this vocation until he was old enough to enter the Dominican community at Venice in 1254. Here, and in various parts of Italy, Nicholas spent the next 14 years, completing his education. It is quite probable that he had Saint Thomas Aquinas for one of his teachers.

Nicholas was pre-eminently a teacher at Venice and Bologna. He did his work well according to several sources, including a testimonial from Saint Antoninus, who said that he had “a vast store of knowledge, a prodigious memory, a penetrating genius, and (that) everything about him endeared him to all.” In 1295, he received the degree of master of theology.

The administrative career of Nicholas Boccasini began with his election as prior general of Lombardy and then as the ninth master general of the Order of Preachers in 1296. His work in this office came to the notice of the pope, who, after Nicholas had completed a delicate piece of diplomacy in Flanders, appointed him cardinal in 1298.

The Dominicans hurried to Rome to protest that he should not be given the dignity of a cardinal, only to receive from the pope the mystifying prophecy that God had reserved an even heavier burden for Nicholas. As papal legate Nicholas traveled to Hungary to try to settle a civil war there.

Boniface VIII did not always agree with the man he had appointed cardinal-bishop of Ostia and dean of the sacred college. But they respected one another, and in the tragic affair that was shaping up with Philip the Fair of France, Cardinal Boccasini was to be one of only two cardinals who defended the Holy Father, even to the point of offering his life.

Philip the Fair, like several other monarchs, discovered that his interests clashed with those of the papacy. His action was particularly odious in an age when the papal power had not yet been separated completely from temporal concerns.

The French monarch, who bitterly hated Boniface, besieged the pope in the Castle of Anagni, where he had taken refuge, and demanded that he resign the papacy. His soldiers even broke into the house and were met by the pope, dressed in full pontifical vestments and attended by two cardinals, one of whom was Cardinal Boccasini. For a short time it looked as though the soldiers, led by Philip’s councilor William Nogaret, might kill all three of them, but they refrained from such a terrible crime and finally withdrew after Nicholas rallied the papal forces and rescued Boniface from Anagni.

Cardinal Boccasini set about the difficult task of swinging public opinion to the favor of the pope. Successful at this, he stood sorrowfully by when the pontiff died, broken-hearted by his treatment at the hands of the French soldiers. On October 22, 1303, at the conclave following the death of Boniface, the prophesied burden fell upon the shoulders of the cardinal-bishop of Ostia, who took the name Benedict XI.

The reign of Benedict XI was too short to give him time to work out any of his excellent plans for settling the troubles of the Church. Most of his reign was taken up with undoing the damage done by Philip the Fair. He lifted the interdict on the French people that had been laid down by his predecessor and made an uneasy peace with Philip. He worked to reconcile warring parties in Europe and the Church and to increase spirituality. His reign, short though it was, was noted for its leniency and kindness.

There are few personal anecdotes regarding Benedict, but at least one worth telling. Once, during his pontificate, his mother came to the papal court to see him. The court attendants decided that she was too poorly dressed to appear in the presence of the Holy Father, so they dressed her up in unaccustomed finery before allowing her to see her son. Benedict, sensing what had happened, told them he did not recognize this wealthy woman, and he asked them where was the little widow, pious and poorly dressed, whom he loved so dearly.

Benedict XI died suddenly in 1304. He had continued to the end with his religious observances and penances. Some people believed that he had been poisoned, but there has never been any evidence that this was the case. Many miracles were performed at his tomb, and there were several cures even before his burial.

Born: Born in Treviso, Italy, 1240

Papal Ascension: 1303

Died: died in Perugia, Italy, April 25, 1304

Beatified: beatified by Pope Clement XII in 1736

Representation: In art, Pope Benedict wears a Dominican habit and papal tiara, while holding the keys. He is venerated in Perugia.

July 5, 2015

“Perfect in Weakness” ~ Sister Dollie Wilkinson, OPI

Our reading today comes from 2 Corinthians 12:2-10:
“I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows–was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.”

In this second letter to the Corinthians, Paul is at first trying to explain why the people should listen to him, and follow his lead, in becoming children of a loving Father. He starts at first by boasting, but quickly realizes that that is not the right way to go. In the process, he learns a couple of valuable lessons. A couple of crucial lessons that are still relevant today.

The Lesson of Humility:

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul had to learn two lessons. The first was the the lesson of humility. Paul had to learn that grace had to replace ego. This was difficult for Paul. We live in a culture that prizes strength. It was no different in Paul’s time. In spite of this fact, Paul said, “My authority comes because of my weakness.” Paul had revelations from God in which he was taken up into paradise. Paul could have said, “Look at all of these revelations I’ve had. These are my authority.” No, he said he would boast only of his weaknesses. He was a very learned man. He demonstrated great intellectual skills so God gave Paul an infirmity. He called it his thorn in the flesh. Scholars have expended a great deal of time, ink and paper speculating on the nature of the ailment but are not even close to an agreement. Some think it was an inflammation of his eyes that caused swelling, others contend that it was severe headaches or even malaria. While we do not know the precise infirmity we do know that Paul’s opponents used it against him. They argued that if he had enough faith or was truly called to be an apostle, God would have healed him.

Physical health is often used as a sign of God’s blessings. How many times have you heard someone remark, “Why doesn’t God heal me?” “What have I done to deserve this?” We assume that if we live a good life we will be free from chronic physical ailments or that spiritual maturity can be measured by good health. This argument may appear ridiculous to hear now, but how often do we think about this in moments of frustration. Or how often do we use some form of disability or physical ailment as a reason for not doing what we feel God has called us to do? I know, I do….for example, I have hand tremors. How many times have I let this neurological ailment prevent me from doing things? More often than I can count.

God had given Paul a vision so incredible that words could not describe it. Anyone who has had such a mystical experience would be tempted to brag about it. Paul’s thorn prevented that because the severe pain or the physical disfigurement reminded him each day that he was still just a mortal man. He had to rely on the grace of God, not on his good looks or skillful speaking to accomplish God’s work.

Sometimes, fear is what’s holding us back from becoming a better Christian, or from taking a more active role within the church. We are reluctant to try something new because we are afraid of failing. Or we are embarrassed by the quality of our work compared to someone elses. In the back of our mind we are saying that unless we can do an excellent job, then we will not risk doing the project. Of course there are some jobs that this attitude is indeed important. We do not want a NASA scientist doing a less than a precise job on the design and construction of the Space Station. We do not want our doctor saying when writing the prescription for our medication to make us feel better, “Now was that dosage 15mg or 150mg or 1500mg.” Nor do we want to hear the teller at the bank make a mistake in adding up our bank deposit. Those professions require an exactness. But God does not expect that every person will produce an award winning performance in every task, job, project or ministry.

Sometimes, its just showing up, and trying your best, that truly reveals how gifted you really are. You may not be able to teach Sunday School like a trained school teacher, but if you can share your love for Jesus who cares if you follow the lesson plan. You may not be able to heal the sick or say elegant prayers, but if you can just sit with someone who is sick and hold their hand no one will fault you. You may not be able to pound a nail in straight or climb onto the roof, but if you can mix up fruit drinks and serve sandwiches during a Habitat for Humanity project, then you will be just as important as the people doing the hard labor.

The Lesson of Weakness:

“my power is made perfect in weakness.”

We may consider ourselves inexperienced, unpolished, and unskilled. We may consider ourselves unqualified to serve God in the church because of our past or even a present that is not consistent with the teachings of Christ. We may consider ourselves unprepared because of a lack of education. We all have our weaknesses. We all have “flaws” but whatever we lack God can take it and make it into our source of strength.

Our weaknesses can lead to strength. Our weaknesses, struggles, and shortcomings, though they are painful and may be embarrassing, can keep us from that awful smugness and arrogance and open us to God. I myself have found that my own personal experiences and struggles, whether as a mom, wife, grandmother, and a Sister in the Church, have better allowed me to help others. If someone is talking to me on a matter with which they’re dealing, and if I can say, “Maybe I haven’t struggled with exactly that same thing, but, I have dealt with something similar”, then that recognition is my credential, not the college degree or formal training. A person can have all that and come off as pompous. I don’t think people are very helpful when they feel like they have not experienced the usual sufferings of life. When a person can say, “I understand that. I have experienced something similar”, a person may then go on to say, “My power really does come from God.” Paul is saying here that it is his personal weaknesses, including the thorn gifted to him by God, that reveals his greatest strengths. In this he feels justified in boasting, as should we all. For it is in being our most humble, and human, that brings us into a closer relationship with our heavenly Father.

June 29, 2015

Singin’ In the Rain: The Feasts of St. Peter and Paul ~ Br. Jarred Smith, Postulant

In today’s first two readings we find Peter and Paul in what looks to be in times of tribulation. They are both in prison, and in those days jail were not like the ones today. Most of the cells in those days were places where raw sewage would come in. There were no regular meals provided. There was no heat, no air conditioning. These were terrible conditions.

Peter is facing almost certain death. Paul is nearing the end of his race and his death takes place shortly after this passage was written.

What I find from these passages is that despite their surroundings and predicaments neither Peter nor Paul are complaining, or saying “why God?” But rather they are rejoicing!

Today on the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul I would like to refer to this message as “singing in the rain”.

We all go through trials, tribulations, and hard times in life. It is often easy to say, “Why, God, am I going through this?” I am as guilty of this.

I suffer from anxiety and depression. My brain doesn’t produce enough serotonin. This simply means my brain doesn’t produce enough happy juice to surge through my brain. I go through trials of depression which often not only affects my mental state, but also affects me physically.

Back in November I started a deep depression which lasted till January. The whole time thoughts of, “Why God did you make me like this? I’ll never be happy or content.” Thoughts of worthlessness, and failure flooded me.

I tell you this because in those moments I doubted and wallowed in my own self-pity. I was asking, “Why God? How could God have created me like this?” Toward the end of this time period, I actually began to wonder, “Did God make a mistake when making me?”

When I actually gave voice to that question, and realized what I was feeling, it hit me hard. I realized that in asking that question I fully gave into my humanity and questioned God in his plan and his being God.

You see, God doesn’t make mistakes. Allowing trials to happen is God’s way of strengthening our faith, our resolve, and our relationship with him. Often it also is to give hope and to strengthen us, and to bring others to him.

It is so tough during these down and low times to find joy, or to say it’s been great, or to thank God for the persecution. Sometimes it is hard to praise God for all that you’ve been through or are going through. But Peter and Paul both point out that if we place our trust in God, he will see us through, and then he will do as he has promised.

What are we to learn from these scriptures?

We are not to dwell on the injustices that had befall us. Instead, we are to trust that God has us right where He wants us. Like Peter and Paul, we are to turn our attention to others, the church, and to God. You see, if we step back from our situations we might just see that no matter the outcome, God has provided us an opportunity to grow, to learn, and given us a chance to become closer to him. Romans 8:28 says, “All things work for the good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” In Jeremiah 29:11 we hear, “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to give you hope and a future.” In John 16:33 Jesus Himself addressed this when he said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up! I have overcome the world!”

Cheer up! Jesus has this! Cheer up! God has you in His hand! Cheer up! Or, as the musical says “I’m singing in the rain! Oh, what a glorious feeling to be singing in the rain”.

June 28, 2015

Like Sands Through the Hourglass ~ The Rev. Deacon Scott Brown, OPI

Like sands through the hourglass:

So are the days of our lives.

As a kid I loved to watch Days of Our Lives with my grandmother. I didn’t really understand what the show was all about, but I loved the hourglass. As I got older I began to understand what the saying meant. Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives. Once the sand flows from the top portion of the hourglass to the bottom, it cannot get back to the top again without assistance. The hourglass must be turned over and restarted in order for the sand to flow again. Our lives are very much like that hourglass. We travel through life, getting chance after chance after chance to flow from the top of the hourglass to the bottom again. God flips us over time and time again, forgiving us for our sins, putting people in our lives to travel through the neck of the hourglass with us, giving us chance after chance. As we travel through the neck of the hourglass we should look around and see who is traveling with us. We should pay attention to the grains of sand that pass from top to bottom with us, and notice that when God flips the hourglass over each time we usually have the same people traveling with us. God puts these people in our lives for a reason. We should listen to what they have to say, discuss problems with them, open up to them about what is going on in our lives and see how we can influence them as they influence us. Open your hearts, open your minds, open your lives to the other sands that surround you. You may just find yourself free from the hourglass and on a beach, surrounded by sand for as far as the eye can see. Each grain of sand touches the other. Let’s use our lives to touch others. Matthew 5:16 says “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Let your light shine, let your grain of sand touch and mingle with the others around you. Do this because you truly want to spread the love of God, and not to draw attention to yourself but to spread the love of Christ. Matthew 6:1-34 says” Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward….Our Lord demonstrated this Himself when he told Jarius and his family to keep quiet about raising the little girl from the dead. Should we not do the same?

And what about those grains of sand touching and Jesus? How does that figure in? In both the stories in the Gospel this morning, we read how the mere touch of our Lord changed lives. Forever. Remember, everything that you do, everything that you say, has an impact on someone, somehow. Let your light shine. Let your grain of sand touch others. Show, spread, and live the Word of God. Amen.

June 24, 2015

The Nativity of John the Baptist ~ Br. Michael Marshall, Novice

Prepare ye, the way of the Lord
Prepare ye, the way of the Lord”

This is a song from the musical Godspell, which is John the Baptist foretelling the birth of Jesus. Some people thought John was the One, yet he knew he was not. The story of John’s birth is accounted for in all of the Gospels yet in today’s readings we read the story according to Luke:

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
“No. He will be called John.”
But they answered her,
“There is no one among your relatives who has this name.”
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,”
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
“What, then, will this child be?”
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel. (1:55-67, 80)

We can see a foretelling of John, even though John is not specifically stated in the first reading from Isaiah (49:1-6), so this is definitely a very important part of history for humanity. What we need to keep in mind is that if there had not been John the Baptist, there would have been no foretelling of Jesus coming to this world. This all is rather obvious for us. But how does this really apply to us today other than understanding the Scripture?

John was a herald, a messenger in his own way; trying to help others understand who was to come. We as Christians today are called to do the same thing, yet help others understand that Jesus will return. As much as some folks try to use a fear tactic of damnation to bring others to Christ, that really isn’t our purpose. Our purpose is to show love, the love of Christ through our actions and faith. We are to be heralds and messengers, and share the Good News!

June 22, 2015

Blessed Innocent V

Peter of Tarentaise was barely 10 years old when he was admitted to the Dominican Order by Blessed Jordan of Saxony as a boy-novice and sent to Paris to study. Like Saint Thomas Aquinas, Blessed Ambrose of Siena, and other luminaries of the 13th century, he fell under the masterly tutelage of Saint Albert the Great.
He received his master’s degree in theology in 1259, then he taught for some years in Paris, where he contributed a great deal to the order’s reputation for learning. He wrote a number of commentaries on Scripture and the Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard, but he devoted most of his time to the classroom. He soon became famous as a preacher and theologian, and in 1259, with a committee including his friend Thomas Aquinas, composed a plan of study that is still the basis of Dominican teaching.
At age 37, Peter began the long years of responsibility in the various offices he was to hold in his lifetime as prior provincial of France. He visited on foot all Dominican houses under his care, and was then sent to Paris to replace Thomas Aquinas at the University of Paris. Twice provincial, he was chosen archbishop of Lyons in 1272 and administered the affairs of the diocese for some time, though he was never actually consecrated for that see.
The next year Peter was appointed cardinal-archbishop of Ostia, Italy, while still administering the see of Lyons. With the great Franciscan, Saint Bonaventure, assumed much of the labor of the Council of Lyons to which Saint Thomas was hastening at the time of his death. To the problems of clerical reform and the healing of the Greek schism the two gifted friars devoted their finest talents. Before the council was over, Bonaventure died, and Peter of Tarentaise preached the funeral panegyric.
In January 1276, Peter was with Blessed Pope Gregory X when the latter died at Arezzo. The conclave was held in the following month. On January 21, 1276, Peter of Tarentaise received every vote except his own. With a sad heart, he left the seclusion of his religious home to ascend the Fisherman’s Throne as Pope Innocent V.
The reign of the new pope, which promised so much to a harassed people, was to be very brief. But, imbued with the spirit of the early apostles, he crowded a lifetime into the short space given him.
He instigated a new crusade against the Saracens and began reforms in the matter of regular observance. He actually succeeded in solving many of the questions of the Greek schism and in establishing a short-lived truce. He struggled to reconcile the Guelphs and Ghibellines, restored peace between Pisa and Lucca, and acted as mediator between Rudolph of Hapsburg and Charles of Anjou. He restored the custom of personally assisting at choral functions with the canons of the Lateran, and he inspired all with the love that animated his heart.
Had the measures begun by Innocent V had time to be fully realized, he might have accomplished great good for the Church; he did at least open the way for those who were to follow him. Death stopped the hand of the zealous pope when he had reigned only five months. Like his friends Saint Thomas and Saint Bonaventure, he was untouched by the honors and dignity with which he had been favored, and death found him exactly what he had been for more than 40 years–a simple, humble friar.
Born: 1245 at Tarentaise, Burgundy, France as Petrus a Tarentasia
Papal Ascension: 1276
Died: 1277 at Rome of natural causes
Beatified: cult was confirmed by Leo XIII in 1898

June 21, 2015

Stormy Weather ~ The Rt. Rev. Michael R. Beckett, OPI

Did you ever have one of those days? You know, one of THOSE days when you were tired, when you had had enuf, when you just wanted a break? When you wanted to get away? Me, too. And apparently Jesus and the disciples had them on occasion. In the Gospel reading for today, we find that Jesus wanted to ‘cross over to the other side’ of the Sea, so that he could have some time alone, away from the crowds, and with his disciples for some quality time, I would imagine. The disciples were all for it, and away they went. Jesus needed a break. He gets in the boat, and goes to sleep.

And then it stormed….. Not just your average run of the mill storm, but a STORM…..at sea even. Thunder. BOOM! Lightening. FLASH! Waves so high over the little boat that it was tossed about. CRASH! And to top it off, the boat started filling up with water. SLOSH…..Sink? And Jesus slept on. And on. And on.

And then it happened. The disciples, those stalwart fishermen, panicked; so much so that they wanted Jesus to panic, too. So, they woke him.

Now, I dunno about Jesus, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have a Keurig on that boat, but anyone who knows me well, knows, that no matter what, one does NOT speak to the Bishop when he first wakes up until after his (at least) second cup of coffee. Can you not see Jesus? He throws the blanket off and says, WHAT?

The disciples point out the storm, Jesus’s eyes focus, and then he gets it. He understands what all the fuss is about…..and then, like so many of us, he says,

“Really?”

I can just imagine him rolling his eyes. He quiets the storm, grumbles, and goes back to sleep…..and the disciples are tripped!

This past week, we have had a storm…a dreadful, dangerous, haunting storm. And we are still in the midst of that storm. This past week, the thunder of gunshots rang out at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC. This week, there have been torrents, waves of tears. This week there have been flashes of anger. This week, we have, many of us, felt that we were in danger of sinking. This week we have, all of us, felt the sense of being overwhelmed: with sadness; with grief; with disbelief; with horror. I am certain that this week there are those who wondered if God slept.

This week, we have seen evidence, proof, that God does not sleep. That God is very much awake, and involved, in our lives. This week we have seen the families of those martyred in Charleston demonstrate to the world what Love is all about: Forgiveness. Charity. Good will. Reaching out. Love. When we heard the victims’ families say to the young man who killed their family members things like, “I forgive you.” “We will pray for you,” we know that we have seen Christ in action. This week we have seen countless thousands come together to support each other, regardless of race, religion, creed, or any of the other differences that often divide us. This week we have seen, we pray, the beginning of the end of this storm of racial divide.

This storm is far from over. FAR from over. Before this storm ends, hearts will have to change, attitudes will have to change, laws, rules, regulations, the government, will have to change, society will have to change. And before any of that can happen, WE will have to change. We will, all of us, have to examine ourselves carefully, and honestly, to find the roots of our prejudice, our fears of those who are ‘other’ than ourselves. We will have to look with new eyes at all of those with whom we come into contact, ALL of them, EVERY ONE of them, and strive to find the Jesus in each of them. The Jesus in us must reach out to the Jesus in our brothers and sisters, regardless of race, creed, color, gender, gender identity, sexual preference, ability or disability, or any of the other million and one things we use to denigrate, disgrace, and damn our brothers and sisters.

Like the disciples, we will be afraid. Sometimes we may even panic. But I can assure you that, like the disciples, we can go to Jesus. And when we do, he will say to us, “Peace. Be still.” And in the calm and quiet that results from our trust in Him, we will be able, with full hearts, learn to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Amen.

June 20, 2015

Blessed Hosanna of Mantua

Osanna Andreassi was the daughter of the wealthy patrician Andreasio. She experienced visions from her early childhood, but kept the experiences to herself. At the age of six, she saw the Child Jesus carrying a cross and wearing a crown of thorns. He told her that He has a special love of children and purity. She was so impressed, as we all would be, that she immediately consecrated her entire life to God.

Osanna begged her father to allow her to learn to read so that she might be able to pray the Divine Office. He refused her request because it was a waste for a woman who was expected simply to raise a family. Osanna couldn’t explain why she wanted to learn; she couldn’t reveal her plans to him. When she was 14 and knew that he was arranging a marriage for her, she furtively went to the Dominican church and received the habit of its tertiaries. When she appeared at home in her religious garb, she explained that she had made a vow and must wear it until she had fulfilled her promise.

Now, this should not be understood as condoning deceit, but it served God’s purpose. Her pious father accepted her explanation for a time. As the months passed he began to suspect what had happened. He had already refused to give her permission to enter the convent, and he was displeased that she should try to live as a tertiary in his own home. Eventually, his father’s heart melted and he allowed Osanna to continue her routine of prayer, penance, and charity for the rest of her life. She was not professed until a few months before her death forty-two years later.

After the early death of both her parents, Osanna spent her fortune in the service of the poor. Her house became a center for people to discuss spiritual matters, for the needy and the sick, for the wealthy and the noble.

It is said that like Saint Catherine, she miraculously learned to read. One day she saw a piece of paper with two words and said, “Those words are ‘Jesus’ and ‘Mary.'” From that time she could read anything pertaining to spiritual matters. By the same sort of favor, she also learned to write.

At age 28 (1477), Osanna received the mark of the wound in Jesus’ side, caused by a long nail. For the next year various of the sacred wounds would appear, including the crown of thorns. Others saw them only on Wednesdays, Fridays, and during Holy Week, but it appears that they were visible to her and caused both pain and joy.

At this time Osanna felt the need for a spiritual director and prayed for one with wisdom, patience, and understanding. She found him during Mass when an interior voice said to her, “That’s the one you need, the one who is saying Mass.” Osanna thought he was too young, but, upon meeting him in the confessional a few days later, all doubts were erased.

Before her death, the soul of Blessed Columba of Rieti, another Dominican tertiary, appeared to her and told Osanna to prepare for death.

Born: January 17, 1449 at Mantua, Italy

Died: 1505 of natural causes

Beatified: November 24, 1694 Pope Innocent XII (cultus confirmed)

Representation: In art, Osanna is a Dominican tertiary wearing a crown of thorns, surrounded by rays of light (not the halo of a saint), a lily, a broken heart with a crucifix springing from it, the devil under her feet, two angels (one with a lily, one with a cross). This is similar to the image of Saint Catherine of Siena, who has a halo. Osanna is the patroness of school girls.

June 14, 2015

I’ve Got Confidence ~ Br. Igor Kalinski, Novice

This is what the Sovereign Lord says, “I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it, I will break off a tender spring from its top most shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it, it will produce branches and birds will nest in it, they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. All the trees of the field will know that I the Lord bring down of tall tree and make the low tree grow tall. I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish, I the Lord have spoken and I will do it.”

Dear brothers and sisters after all the troubles that we all of us face in our everyday lives, we need to remember that God does not stop encouraging us to persevere in spite of our troubles. Life on earth is full of temptations, and His encouragement is necessary so that we may attain salvation. He doesn’t want us to be discouraged but confident! Temptations, persecutions, death, exile, the sufferings of this world: we know they are of limited time. Because of this, we should feel confident that we can count on God’s help and love. We are to maintain our faith, and to persevere. God will give us the strength to do so.

“in the body we are away from the Lord” 2cor5:6

These words are not contradictory but reminding us that in time of living here on earth, man is more in touch to the earthly things than the things of heaven. So we are warned from the word of God, dont be so self-confident in ourselves and to not be involved with the earthly pleasures that separate us far from God.

But in case someone thinks that the body is the reason we are separated from God, is also written:

”We live by faith, not by sight” 2Cor5:6

This mean that we cant have knowledge of God through the human body´s senses that are limited, that mean for example: although through looking we discover partially the world, yet to come to real knowledge of God, its necessary faith that is beyond the human senses.

Dear brothers and sisters: we have eternal home in Heaven, let us stop what separate us daily from our Lord, pray one for another, this thing don’t distract from our courage in this limited time. Eternity is the best ,and all of this worlds evils will not last for long. We to be confident in His love, in his mercy, and in His strength to help us.