Saint Raymund of Pennafort

From the bull of his canonization, by Clement VIII in 1601, and his life, written by several Spanish, Italian and French authors. See Fleury, b. 78, n. 55, 64, and chiefly Touron Hommes Illustres de l’Ordre de S. Domin. t. 1, p. I

The house of Pegnafort, or, as it is pronounced, Pennafort, was descended from the counts of Barcelona, and nearly allied to the kings of Aragon. Raymund was born in 1175, at Pennafort, a castle in Catalonia, which in the fifteenth century was changed into a convent of the order of St. Dominick. Such was his rapid progress in his studies, that at the age of twenty he taught philosophy at Barcelona, which he did gratis, and with so great reputation, that he began then to be consulted by the ablest masters. His principal care was to instil into his scholars the most perfect maxims of a solid piety and devotion, to compose all differences among the citizens, and to relieve the distressed. He was about thirty years of age when he went to Bologna, in Italy, to perfect himself in the study of the canon and civil law, commenced Doctor in that faculty, and taught with the same disinterestedness and charity as he had done in his own country. In 1219 Berengarius, bishop of Barcelona, who had been at Rome, took Raymund home with him, to the great regret of the university and senate of Bologna; and, not content with giving him a canonry in his church, made him his archdeacon, grand vicar, and official. He was a perfect model to the clergy, by his innocence, zeal, devotion, and boundless liberalities to the poor, whom he called his creditors. In 1222 he took the religious habit of St. Dominick at Barcelona, eight months after the death of the holy founder, and in the forty-seventh year of his age. No person was ever seen among the young novices more humble, more obedient, or more fervent. To imitate the obedience of a Man-God, who reduced himself to a state of subjection to his own creatures, to teach us the dangers and deep wound of self-will, and to point out to us the remedy, the saint would depend absolutely on the lights of his director in all things. And it was upon the most perfect self-denial that he laid the foundation of that high sanctity which he made the object of his most earnest desires. The grace of prayer perfected the work which mortification had begun. In a spirit of compunction he begged of his superiors that they would enjoin him some severe penance, to expiate the vain satisfaction and complacency which he said he had sometimes taken in teaching. They indeed imposed on him a penance, but not such a one as he expected. It was to write a collection of cases of conscience for the instruction and conveniency of confessors and moralists. This produced his Sum the first work of that kind. Had his method and decisions been better followed by some later authors of the like works, the holy maxims of Christian morality had been treated with more respect by some moderns than they have been, to our grief and confusion.

Raymund joined to the exercises of his solitude the functions of an apostolic life, by laboring without intermission in preaching, instructing, hearing confessions with wonderful fruit, and converting heretics, Jews, and Moors Among his penitents were James, king of Aragon, and St. Peter Nolasco, with whom he concerted the foundation of the Order of the B. Virgin of mercy for the redemption of captives. James, the young king of Aragon had married Eleonora of Castile within the prohibited degrees, without a dispensation. A legate was sent by Pope Gregory IX. to examine and judge the case. In a council of bishops of the two kingdoms, held at Tar rayon, he declared the marriage null, but that their son Don Alphonso should be reputed lawfully born, and heir to his father’s crown. The king had taken his confessor with him to the council, and the cardinal legate was so charmed with his talents and virtue, that he associated him in his legation and gave him a commission to preach the holy war against the Moors. The servant of God acquitted himself of that function with so much prudence, zeal, and charity, that he sowed the seeds of the total overthrow of those infidels in Spain. His labors were no less successful in the reformation of the manners of the Christians detained in servitude under the Moors which were extremely corrupted by their long slavery or commerce with these infidels. Raymund showed them, by words full of heavenly unction and fire, that, to triumph over their bodily, they must first conquer their spiritual enemies, and subdue sin in themselves, which made God their enemy. Inculcating these and the like spiritual lessons, he ran over Catalonia, Aragon, Castile, and other countries. So general a change was wrought hereby in the manners of the people, as seemed incredible to all but those who were witnesses of it. By their conversion the anger of God was appeased, and the arms of the faithful became terrible to their enemies. The kings of Castile and Leon freed many places from the Moorish yoke. Don James, king of Aragon, drove them out of the islands of Majorca and Minorca, and soon after, in 1237, out of the whole kingdom of Valentia. Pope Gregory IX. having called St. Raymund to Rome in 1230, nominated him his chaplain, (which was the title of the Auditor of the causes of the apostolic palace,) as also grand penitentiary. He made him likewise his own confessarius, and in difficult affairs came to no decision but by his advice. The saint still reserved himself for the poor, and was so solicitous for them that his Holiness called him their father. He enjoined the pope, for a penance, to receive, hear, and expedite immediately all petitions presented by them. The pope, who was well versed in the canon law, ordered the saint to gather into one body all the scattered decree of popes and councils, since the collection made by Gratian in 1150. Raymund compiled this work in three years, in five books, commonly called the Decretals, which the same pope Gregory confirmed in 1234. It is looked upon as the best finished part of the body of the canon law; on which account the canonists have usually chosen it for the texts of their comments. In 1235, the pope named St. Raymund to the archbishopric of Tarragon, the capital of Aragon: the humble religious man was not able to avert the storm, as he called it, by tears and entreaties; but at length fell sick through anxiety and fear. To restore him to his health, his Holiness was obliged to consent to excuse him, but required that he should recommend a proper person. The saint named a pious and learned canon of Gironne. He refused other dignities with the like constancy.

For the recovery of his health he returned to his native country, and was received with as much joy as if the safety of the whole kingdom. and of every particular person, had depended on his presence. Being restored again to his dear solitude at Barcelona, he continued his former exercises of contemplation, preaching, and administering the sacrament of penance. Except on Sundays, he never took more than one very small refection in the day. Amidst honors and applause he was ever little in his own eyes: he appeared in the schools like a scholar, and in his convent begged the superior to instruct him in the rules of religious perfection, with the humility and docility of a novice. Whether he sung the divine praises with his brethren, or prayed alone in his cell, or some corner of the church, ho poured forth an abundance of tears; and often was not able to contain within himself the ardor of his soul. His mildness and sweetness were unalterable. The incredible number of conversions of which he was the instrument, is known only to Him who, by his grace, was the author of them. He was employed frequently in most important commissions, both by the holy see and by the king. But he was thunderstruck by the arrival of four deputies from the general chapter of his order at Bologna, in 1238, with the news that he was chosen third general, Jordan of Saxony being lately dead. He wept and entreated, but at length acquiesced in obedience. He made the visitation of his order on foot, without discontinuing any of his penitential austerities, or rather exercises. He instilled into his spiritual children a love of regularity, solitude, mortification, prayer, sacred studies, and the apostolic functions, especially preaching. He reduced the constitutions of his order into a clearer method, with notes on the doubtful passages. This his code of rules was approved in three general chapters. In one held at Paris in 1239, he procured the establishment of this regulation, that a voluntary demission of a superior, founded upon just reasons, should be accepted. This he contrived in his own favor; for, to the extreme regret of the order, he in the year following resigned the generalship, which he had held only two years. He alleged for his reason his age of sixty-five years. Rejoicing to see himself again a private religious man, he applied himself with fresh vigor to the exercises and functions of an apostolic life, especially the conversion of the Saracens. Having this end in view he engaged St. Thomas to write his work ‘Against the Gentiles;’ procured the Arabic and Hebrew tongues to be taught in several convents of his order; and erected convents, one at Tunis, and another at Murcia, among the Moors. In 1256, he wrote to his general that ten thousand Saracens had received baptism. King James took him into the island of Majorca. The saint embraced that opportunity of cultivating that infant church. This prince was an accomplished soldier and statesman, and a sincere lover of religion, but his great qualities were sullied by a base passion for women. He received the admonitions of the saint with respect, and promised amendment of life, and a faithful compliance with the saint’s injunctions in every particular; but without effect. St. Raymund, upon discovering that he entertained a lady at his court with whom he was suspected to have criminal conversation, made the strongest instances to have her dismissed, which the king promised should be done, but postponed the execution. The saint, dissatisfied with the delay, begged leave to retire to his convent at Barcelona. The king not only refused him leave, but threatened to punish with death any person that should undertake to convey him out of the island. The saint, full of confidence in God, said to his companion, “A king of the earth endeavors to deprive us of the means of retiring; but the King of heaven will supply them.” He then walked boldly to the waters, spread his cloak upon them, tied up one corner of it to a staff for a sail, and having made the sign of the cross, stepped upon it without fear, while his timorous companion stood trembling and wondering on the shore. On this new kind of vessel the saint was wafted with such rapidity, that in six hours he reached the harbor of Barcelona, sixty leagues distant from Majorca. Those who saw him arrive in this manner met him with acclamations. But he, gathering up his cloak dry, put it on, stole through the crowd, and entered his monastery. A chapel and a tower, built on the place where he landed, have transmitted the memory of this miracle to posterity. This relation is taken from the bull of his canonization, and the earliest historians of his life. The king became a sincere convert, and governed his conscience, and even his kingdoms, by the advice of St. Raymund from that time till the death of the saint. The holy man prepared himself for his passage to eternity, by employing days and nights in penance and prayer. During his last illness, Alphonsus, king of Castile, with his queen, sons, and brother; and James, king of Aragon, with his court, visited him, and received his last benediction. He armed himself with the last sacraments; and, in languishing sighs of divine love, gave up his soul to God, on the 6th of January, in the year 1275, and the hundredth of his age. The two kings, with all the princes and princesses of their royal families, honored his funeral with their presence: but his tomb was rendered far more illustrious by miracles. Several are recorded in the bull of his canonization, published by Clement VIII. in 1601. Bollandus has filled fifteen pages in folio with an account of them. His office is fixed by Clement X. to the 23d of January.

The saints first learned in solitude to die to the world and themselves, to put on the spirit of Christ, and ground themselves in a habit of recollection and a relish only for heavenly things, before they entered upon the exterior functions even of a spiritual ministry. Amidst these weighty employments, not content with reserving always the time and means of frequent retirement for conversing with God and themselves, in their exterior functions by raising their minds to heaven with holy sighs and desires, they made all their actions in some measure an uninterrupted prayer and exercise of divine love and praise. St. Bonaventure reckons it among the general exercises of every religious or spiritual men, “that he keep his mind always raised, at least virtually, to God: hence, whensoever a servant of God has been distracted from attending to him for ever so short a space, he grieves and is afflicted, as if he was fallen into some misfortune, by having been deprived of the presence of such a friend who never forgets us. Seeing that our supreme felicity and glory consists in the eternal vision of God, the constant remembrance of him is a kind of imitation of that happy state: this the reward, that the virtue which entitles us to it. Till we are admitted to his presence, let us in our exile always bear him in mind: every one will behold him in heaven with so much the greater joy, and so much the more perfectly, as he shall more assiduously and more devoutly have remembered him on earth. Nor is it only in our repose, but also in the midst of our employments, that we ought to have him present to our minds, in imitation of the holy angels, who, when they are sent to attend on us, so acquit themselves of the functions of this exterior ministry as never to be drawn from their interior attention to God. As much as the heavens exceed the earth, so much larger is the field of spiritual meditation than that of all terrestrial concerns.”

(Taken from Vol. I of “The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints” by the Rev. Alban Butler, the 1864 edition published by D. & J. Sadlier, & Company)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Adversity to Sainthood: Elizabeth Ann Seton ~ The Very Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

 

R 1 :1 JN 3:7=10

R Psalm: PS 98:1, 7=8, 9

Holy Gospel: JN 1:35=42

Liturgical colour: White.

Today is the Memorial of my Order Name Saint, St. Elizabeth Anne Seton. I was given this Saint because my Bishop saw quite a lot of similarities between our lives. We both share overcoming many life traumas and adversities, but yet, both of us always remained strong of faith.

Mother Seton founded the first American religious community for women, the sisters of charity, and so was a keystone of the American Catholic church. Mother Seton also opened the first American parish school, and the first American Catholic orphanage. All this, she had accomplished by the age of 46, whilst raising her own five children.

Mother Seton is a true daughter of the American Revolution, born on Aug 28th 1774, only two years prior to the declaration of Independence.

By both birth and marriage, Mother Seton was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society, but this wasn’t to last.

Mother Seton suffered the early deaths of both her mother in 1777, and of her baby sister in 1778, but far from letting it get her down, she faced each new ‘holocaust’  as she called it, with a hopeful cheerfulness.

At only aged 19, she married a handsome wealthy businessman named William Magee Seton and they had five children together. But William’s business failed, and he died of Tuberculosis when Elizabeth was aged 30, leaving her widowed, penniless and with five young children to support. Many of her family and friends rejected her when she converted to the Catholic faith in March 1805.

As a means to support her children, mother Seton opened a school in Baltimore which always followed a religious community pathway and her religious order of the sisters of charity was officially founded in 1807.

The thousands of letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her Spiritual life from that of a person of Ordinary goodness, to one of heroic sanctity. She suffered many great trials within her life yet with her strong faith, she overcame them all. Trials of sickness, of misunderstanding, the deaths of her loved ones (mother, baby sister, husband, and even two of her own children), and the heartache of having a wayward son.

St Elizabeth Anne Seton died on January 4th 1821, she became the first American=born citizen to be beatified in 1963, then Canonized in 1975. She is buried in Emmitsburg in Maryland.

Let us pray:

O Father, the first rule of our dear Saviour’s life was to do your will. Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for it’s complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing your Will may be pleasing in your sight.

Amen.

Blessed Zedislava

Born of a warrior race to noble parents in the diocese of Litomerici, Bavaria , Zedislava lived in a fortified castle on the borders of Christendom, in an age when the fierce Mongol hordes were the world’s worst menace. Her whole life was spent surrounded by  the sounds of clashing arms, and the moans of the dying. The gentleness and purity of her life stand out in surprising beauty against the dark background of a warlike and materialistic people.

Zedislava learned Christian charity early in life from her mother, who taught her not only the secrets of preparing medicinal herbs but also the healing balm of prayer. Going each day to the castle gates with alms and medicines for the poor and the wretched who crowded there for help, she was soon well acquainted with human misery. Cheerful, prayerful, and alert to see the sorrows of others, the child became a light of hope to the miserable. Because of her sweetness and natural charm, she was able to teach many lessons to those about her.

As a child, she is said to have fled from her home for a time to live as a hermit, but she returned to live a more normal life that included an early marriage to a soldier, the duke of Lemmberk, who, like her own father, was a rich nobleman in command of a castle on the frontier. The couple produced four children. Zedislava cared judiciously for her own family and lavished great care on the poor, especially the fugitives and victims of the Tartar invasions.

Her husband was a good man, but a rough and battle-hardened soldier who liked nothing better than the clash of swords. He may have treated Zedislava badly and he certainly tried his young wife’s patience and obedience in a thousand ways. He insisted that she dress in her finest gowns and attend the long and barbarous banquets that pleased him so. (In return, she tried his patience because of her generosity towards the poor.)

Being of a retiring disposition and much given to prayer–and having a family and a large castle to care for–she found this a real sacrifice. However, obedience and patience had been an important part of her training, and she taught herself to spiritualize the endless trials that would beset the mother of four children in a medieval fortress.

The Polish missionaries, Saint Hyacinth and Blessed Ceslaus, brought Zedislava the first knowledge of the new religious order which had begun but a few years before. Saint Dominic, had met them in Italy, where he had gone to have his order approved. Zedislava was the first Slavic Tertiary of the Dominican Order.

Enchanted with the possibilities of an order that allowed her to share in its benefits and works while caring for her family, Zedislava threw herself into the new project with enviable zeal. She encouraged her husband to build a hostel for the many poor pilgrims who came homeless to the gate. She visited the prisoners in the frightful dungeons, and used her influence to obtain pardons from the severe sentences meted out to them. She fed and cared for the poor, taught catechism to the children of the servants, and showed all, by the sweetness of her life, just what it meant to be a Christian lady and a Dominican Tertiary. On the occasion of a Mongol (Tartar) attack, when homeless refugees poured into the castle stronghold, her calm, invincible charity was a bulwark of strength to all.

With her own funds, Zedislava determined to build a church (Priory of Saint Lawrence) where God might be fittingly worshipped. As an act of zeal and penance, she herself carried many of the heavy beams and materials that went into the building. She did this at night so that no one would know of her hard work. Zedislava experienced visions and ecstasies during this time. She also received Holy Communion nearly every day in an age when this was not customary.

Her death came soon after the completion of the church in 1252. The mourning people who knelt by her deathbed could see evidence of her strong Christian virtues in the monuments she had left: her children, her church, and the inspiration of a saintly wife and mother. She consoled her husband in life and appeared to him in glory after death, which strongly encouraged his desire for conversion. Numerous miracles are ascribed to Saint Zedislava, including the raising of the dead to life.  She was beatified in 1907 by Pope Pius X.

 

 

 

Blessed Stephanie of Quinzanis

Born to pious parents in 1457 in Soncino, Italy,  her father became a Dominican tertiary while Stephana was very young. She was taught the catechism by the stigmatic Blessed Matthew Carrieri who lived at the nearby Dominican convent. Even though she was too small to understand, he told her that she was to be his spiritual heiress.  She began receiving visions of Dominican saints from age seven, at which point she made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.  Carrieri died when Stephana was 14, and soon after he appeared to her in a vision and she received the stigmata.

She became a Dominican tertiary at Soncino at age 15, and was devoted to caring for the poor and sick. She founded a community of Third Order sisters in Soncino, and served as its first abbess. Her counsel was sought by many,  including Saint Angela Merici, Blessed Augustine of Biella, and Blessed Osanna of Mantua.

Although she had no formal theological training, she could discuss mystical theology at the most profound level. She could read the hearts and minds of the people around her, and had the gift of prophesy and healing. She lived in a nearly continuous fast, and inflicted severe penances on herself. Stephana accurately predicted the date of her own death.  She died of natural causes on 2 January 1530, and was beatified 14 December 1740 by Pope Benedict XIV.

 

 

 

The Feast of the Holy Family ~ The Rev. Dcn Brenden Humberdross, Novice

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be always acceptable in your sight our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

Today is one of those interesting days in the lectionary where there are a lot of choices regarding the readings for Mass. As usual my message this morning is going to be on the gospel however I had to make a choice. Both of the reading options today focus on the same event in the life of Christ and are in fact from the same section of the Gospel of Luke; the difference is that one is 18 verses long and the other 3. I have chosen the latter for today and whilst it may be easy to assume I have done this to make my job easier that’s not the case. Rather, I want to focus on the core of the message today as it relates to the Feast of the Holy Family and I today I think that is better served by the short reading.

For those of you who haven’t heard or read the Gospel for today I’d like to share it with you (Luke 2:22; 39,40):

When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord.

When they had fulfilled all the prescriptions
of the law of the Lord,
they returned to Galilee,
to their own town of Nazareth.
The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom;
and the favor of God was upon him.

As I already mentioned this is a very short reading, one of the shortest Gospel readings I’ve ever encountered for Mass; however in its short few verses it is full of such grace and a message that all of us with our own families should heed.

Throughout the history of the Church the Fathers and other believers have gone to a great effort to preserve for us the memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her role in the life of Christ, the Church and our Salvation. I have been asked many times by people outside of the Catholic faith why we do this, why we focus on the Blessed Virgin and why she is so important to us.  For me the answer is rather simple, the Blessed Virgin was the first Christian, she was the first person upon the face of the Earth to welcome the mission of the Messiah who would be born of her womb. As such, her yes and her entire life are the perfect model for what it is to be a Christian. If we, as individual followers of Christ were to model our lives on that of the Blessed Mother we could be assured that we would be following the path laid out by Christ that leads to eternal life within the beatific vision. However, today, I want to take this one step further.

Since the dawn of time God has highlighted for us that we are made to be social beings; we humans are made to exist in units called families. Adam was not created alone to walk the Earth but was rather given a companion and this expanded into family life after the fall and the birth of Cain and Abel. And so it is with us today, and just as God has given us a great witness in Mary of the life we should lead as followers of Christ, so he has given us an example of what our lives as families following the Gospel path should be; the very Holy Family themselves, Jesus, Joseph and Mary.

Now I’m sure some of you are wondering why on earth I chose the short reading to highlight how the Holy Family is a model for us in our own family lives, it says so little. You’re right, when it comes to sheer volume of words the Gospel reading today doesn’t seem to say much at all. However, if we stop and contemplate the meaning behind the events recorded we can see clear message for how our lives as Christian families should be.

Firstly, the reading begins with Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to the Temple to be dedicated and for Mary to be purified. This tradition is something that continued throughout many of the branches of Catholic Christianity but has somewhat fallen by the wayside in the West. Traditionally 40 days after the birth of a child mother and baby would come to Church and receive special blessings. Now to many this may seem archaic and may imply that the mother was not clean and worthy without the blessing; however, this is far from the truth. Rather, this event marks a special witness to the joy that the congregation feels over the birth of another Christian soul; it gives them the opportunity to welcome mother and child with open living arms and gives the family the chance to welcome the Church and Christ into their newly expanded family.

So what can we take from this? What message and model do we see in these actions for ourselves? The Holy Family, by following the precepts of the Law of Moses show us that if each and every one of us are going to be followers of Christ we need to ensure that He is at the centre of our family. It is not the Father or the Mother, or the Children who should stand as the focus of family life but rather the redeemer. If we place Jesus and his precepts within the centre of our family life our family will be a happier and stronger place. Now this doesn’t need to mean that our every thought and word is only about Church or Jesus; rather it means that we should always make Christ a part of our daily lives. As a family we should pray together often, we should attend Mass or other worship services together and above all we should always be comfortable talking of Christ and our faith with each other. If we as families can do this, just like the Holy Family, we will be blessed in the sight of God and I’m sure we will be happier and healthier individually and corporately.

To me, the second half of the reading is a curious thing; it tells us that the Holy Family went home and that Jesus become strong, wise and found favour with God. So, does this mean that Jesus wasn’t always wise, strong and in God’s favour?

This is an interesting question as it would be easy to entertain these thoughts from these words. However, I think the Gospel writer had a deeper meaning in mind here. Right now we are in the middle of the celebration of Christmas, those twelve days where we celebrate the incarnation, God becoming man. And I think it is this that the Gospel is hinting at. These words don’t indicate the Jesus was a simple human who through growth and development became our redeemer, rather, I think it is being highlighted for us that though God himself descended from heaven in total perfection He still emptied himself and subjected himself to normal growth and development to witness to us that in Jesus we have a something unique, that we have a redeemer who is at once both totally God and totally man; this is the beauty and mystery of the incarnation.

So this Christmas Season as we contemplate the birth of the Christ Child and the mystery that is the incarnation I want us all to remember the importance of our families and the role that we play in the Church, in society and in fostering love. It is my humble and constant prayer that all Christian family will but Christ at their centre and foster a life of faith and devotion so that all may return to our Heavenly Father when this mortal life is through.

Let us pray:

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendour of true love, to you we turn with trust.

Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families too may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel and small domestic Churches.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection and division: may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing.

Holy Family of Nazareth, may…[we ever be] mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family, and its beauty in God’s plan.

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen.

(Prayer written by Pope Francis)

 

Say Yes! Rejoice! Be Blessed! ~ Fr. Shawn Gisewhite, Novice

In today’s Gospel we read about the presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple. The Holy Family faithfully carried out all the requirements of the law as they were a devout Jewish family. For the Jews the spilling of blood was a source of uncleanness and so, after giving birth, there had to be a ceremony of purification after a designated number of days. Sometimes the husband too went through a similar ceremony. According to the Mosaic law (Leviticus 12:2-8), a woman who gave birth to a boy was not allowed to touch anything sacred for 40 days (in the case of a baby girl, the period was even longer) nor could she enter the Temple precincts because of her impurity. At the end of this period, as mentioned by Luke, she was required to offer a year-old lamb as a burnt offering and a turtle dove or a young pigeon as an offering for sin. Those who could not afford the lamb could offer two birds instead. The parents also presented their first-born son as an offering to the Lord, again in accordance with Jewish law (Exodus 13:2,12).

Two elderly people, Simeon and Anna, are mentioned in the reading. Simeon had received a promise that he would not die until he had laid eyes on the Messiah. Simeon was one of those known as “The Quiet in the Land”, Jews who did not look for a military Messiah, and had no dreams of armies or power, but believed in a life of constant watchfulness and prayer until God should come. Simeon was righteous and devout and the Holy Spirit rested on him. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon arrives at the temple and receives the infant Jesus in his arms.

How lucky was Simeon to receive the Son of God in his arms. But aren’t we luckier than him? We receive the body and blood of Jesus each and every time we celebrate the Eucharist. Still, do we feel the same ecstatic joy when we receive Jesus within us? For some, receiving communion has become almost a mechanical act without bringing about any inner joy and transformation. We should praise God in gratefulness. Praise is actually a joyful form of prayer. Aren’t there many things in our lives for which we should thank and praise God? The answer is Yes!  But sometimes we conveniently forget them.  Myself included.  There have been many times in my life where I have been pleased by the outcome of a particularly difficult situation and only later, sometimes much later, I remember to give God the glory and the thanks.  But thanking Him should not be an after thought!  We should remember to praise God at all times and in all places and to thank Him daily for the many blessings that he has bestowed upon us.  Even when those blessings may be hard for us to see.  As the song by Casting Crowns says, “I will praise you in this storm.”  Even when beaten down by the hardships of life, always remember to praise God.

Simeon then blessed Mary and Joseph and said, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed–and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” Mary and Joseph are astounded at what was being said about their child. But this prophesy of Simeon is not so sweet for them. Jesus bringing about the fall of people is a difficult and dangerous idea to come to terms with. We know what happened in history. To Mary he says a more painful prophesy: A sword will pierce your own soul.

The hardships began at the annunciation of Mary by the angel of God were not yet over. They continued and would reach the climax as she would take part in the sufferings of her beloved son. The true greatness of Mary is not in the privileges God bestowed on her, but in her readiness to accept unconditionally everything God asked of her.

How do we respond when God asks certain things of us in our lives? Many times our preoccupations make us say “No” or some conditional “Yes” to God.  A little over a year ago, my wife and I were dealing with something that I pray no one else ever has to go through.  At a time when I should have been strong in my faith and trusted fully in God, with the full knowledge that He would see me through the toughest time in my life, I found myself questioning my faith.  Now I never questioned the existence of God or the life-giving blood of Christ shed of Cavalry, but I did question whether or not He was there for me in my hour (or I should say my almost 5 years) of need.  In the midst of this lowest point in my life, God’s call for me to serve Him in His Holy Church became increasingly louder.  To the level of almost deafening!  I can not lie….I became pretty agitated.  No, I became down right mad!  Why?  Because there I was, begging God to take the pain away.  Begging for Him to use His power to take this chalice from me.  Begging Him to spare me the emotional suffering I had to endure by no fault of my own.  Yet, there He was….seemingly ignoring my cries for help.  Not only that, but having the nerve to ask something of me.  Did I answer “Yes?”  Sure, in the long run.  5 years later!  Instead of responding to God with a resounding “Yes,” trusting that all is in accordance with His plan, I gave a “No” followed by many conditional “Yeses.”  When I finally let go, when I finally did as our most blessed Mother did and said “Yes” to God, that is when His blessings rained down upon me.

When we see God’s great interventions in our lives our eyes should be open to them in thankful amazement and our hearts should be raised in gratitude to the Lord.  Just as Simeon was able to die after seeing the greatness and the Glory of God in the infant Jesus, so too was I able to die to my old sin nature after I beheld the Glory of the Lord.  Be as Simeon and praise the Lord for all He has done and will do in your lives.  Be as Mary and say “Yes” to God no matter how hard it may be to do so.  In the end we shall hear God say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Amen.

Feast of the Holy Innocents ~ The Rev. Dcn. Dollie Wilkinson, OPI

Imagine, if you will, that you are a young couple. Who, like most young people your age, find out that you are expecting your first child. Whether you have tried to have children, or this is an unexpected gift, doesn’t matter. Just the fact that you will soon welcome a blessed addition to your family, should fill you with joy. I have a niece who was told she would never have children, who now has not one, but two darling children. I can imagine the joy, and fear, this young mother must feel, watching her babies grow. All mothers feel joy when they have children, but there is also a pervasive fear. After the birth of my first daughter, I suffered a miscarriage. I was blessed to have another child, a daughter, just a couple years later. But I will always remember the loss of my second child, even if I never gazed upon his (or her) sweet face. This is a tragedy that wounds a mother deeply.

But there is another loss that is even more heart-breaking. I know my niece welcomes her children with gratitude and love. But sadly, one of these dear ones is a boy, who will be taken from her arms before his second birthday. Or he would have, if he had lived during the time of King Herod. Losing a child from miscarriage is hard. But to give birth to a child, then have this precious one snatched away from you, whether by illness, tragedy, or in the case of Jesus’ time, by the decree of a tyrannical king, is almost too terrible to imagine. Yet, it happened to many new parents of this time. Imagine my niece”s lil boy, instead of learning to walk and talk, is cruelly snatched from his home and sentenced to death.

Today, December 28, we celebrate the birthday of those children who were slaughtered, as the Gospel tells us, by the very cruel king, Herod. According to Mathew 2:1-18, Herod was “greatly troubled” when astrologers from the east came asking the whereabouts of “the newborn king of the Jews,” whose star they had seen. They were told that the Jewish Scriptures named Bethlehem as the place where the Messiah would be born. Herod cunningly told them to report back to him so that he could also “do him homage.” The Magi found Jesus, offered him their gifts but warned by an angel, avoided Herod on their way home. As detailed in Matthew 2:16, King Herod then ordered all young boys in Bethlehem, who were two years old and under, to be executed in an attempt to kill the baby Jesus. However, an angel warned Jesus’ parents and they fled to safety in Egypt. .

“Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.”

Some believe that the children who were killed were the first Christian martyrs. Today, the Feast of the Holy Innocents is celebrated in churches worldwide. It is also called The Innocents’ Day or Childermas or Children’s Mass. We offer prayer for those innocent children who were slaughtered. By no fault of their own, by the fact that they were born male, and because a cruel man decided this must be done, these young souls were taken from their parents way too soon. I am thankful every single day for the blessed gift of my daughters. To have a child, whether boy or girl, but to then have someone decree they must be put to death, well I cannot imagine the heart break their parents must have experienced. Let us today, and always, remember these young children, the Holy Innocents.

“Blessed are you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah! You suffered the inhumanity of King Herod in the murder of your babes and thereby have become worthy to offer to the Lord a pure host of infants. In full right do we celebrate the heavenly birthday of these children whom the world caused to be born unto an eternally blessed life rather than that from their mothers’ womb, for they attained the grace of everlasting life before the enjoyment of the present. The precious death of any martyr deserves high praise because of his heroic confession; the death of these children is precious in the sight of God because of the beatitude they gained so quickly. For already at the beginning of their lives they pass on. The end of the present life is for them the beginning of glory. These then, whom Herod’s cruelty tore as sucklings from their mothers’ bosom, are justly hailed as “infant martyr flowers”; they were the Church’s first blossoms, matured by the frost of persecution during the cold winter of unbelief.

St. Augustine

A Prayer To The Holy Innocents.

Holy Innocents, you died before you were old enough to know what life means, pray for all children who die young that God may gather them into His loving arms.


Holy Innocents, you were killed because one man was filled with hatred, pray for those who hate that God may touch their hearts and fill them with love.


Holy Innocents, you experienced a violent death, pray for all who are affected by violence that they may find peace and love.


Holy Innocents, your parents grieved for you with deep and lasting sorrow, pray for all parents who have lost young children that God may wrap a warm blanket of comfort around them.


Holy Innocents, those around you certainly felt helpless to prevent your deaths, pray for all who feel helpless in their circumstances that they may cling to God for courage and hope.


Holy Innocents, you who are now in Heaven, pray for all of us that one day we may join you there to bask in God’s love forever.

Amen.

Happy Easter….er….Merry Christmas? ~ The Feast of St. John ~ The Rev. Dcn. Brenden Humberdross

 

Open our ears, O Lord, to hear your word and know your voice. Speak to our hearts and strengthen our wills that we may serve you now and always. Amen.

First let me start by wishing you all a very Merry Christmas season!

Every year when Christmas rolls around I realise how very easy at this time of the year to get caught up in the hype, the presents, the food, and the times spent with family and friends and to lose sight of what Christmas is really all about and its place in our faith life.

I am sure that when many of you read or heard today’s Gospel there was hint of confusion in your minds. Here we are two days after celebrating the birth of our Saviour and we are hearing about Christ’s resurrection. It doesn’t really appear to make total sense at first glance. However, if we take a moment to contemplate Christmas and what it means for us, remembering Christ’s death and resurrection at this time of year is not that strange.

Most of us have known from an early age that Christmas is that time of year when we celebrate the birth of a very special baby, Jesus, who was born as God’s son through a special lady called Mary. As children though, the meaning of this message is somewhat lost on us, and rightly so. The birth of that baby in Bethlehem holds a potent significance in the life of the whole human family. Though we are of course, celebrating the birth of the Christ Child there is a much deeper significance to the event.

What we are celebrating at this time of year is theologically termed the incarnation; in Christ we do not simply have a baby born in peculiar circumstances, we in fact have God Himself coming to the earth to dwell and walk amongst us. Does God come clothed in glory to enact His will upon the human family? No He comes as a meek and humble babe, born in a stable to a carpenter and his wife. And it is here that we can begin to see the reason for remembering the resurrection today.

This miraculous birth leaves us with one big burning question; why? Why on earth did God in His power and majesty choose to come and walk amongst us mortals? Theologians have written many volumes on this topic, but I like to put it rather simply; God became incarnate as Jesus so that He could die. Take a moment to think about that; from the moment of His birth the babe in the manger was walking towards Easter.

I have to admit that I didn’t always look at Christmas in this light, for most of my life I’ve looked at it as the joyous birth of our saviour; and well we should. However, for me, this event has become tinged with a different shade as the story of Christmas is the beginning of the story of Easter. From here all of the life of this little babe was preparing humanity for His ultimate sacrifice for us. And so it is that today we are reminded of that fact by the Gospel reading. We are reminded that this little babe has laid the first foot on the path to Calvary and through His great sacrifice will come the miracle of the resurrection which will open the way for fallen humanity to enter into a restored relationship with God.

If there is one thing that we can take away from today I hope it’s the realisation that Christmas draws its significance from Easter. Christmas isn’t the penultimate celebration of Christ in our Calendar, rather it is the start of the path that leads to the greatest event in human history; the resurrection of Christ. It is my hope and prayer that we can all take a moment today in this busy Christmas season to remember the sacrifice of Christ and all it meant for us and to that God for loving us so much that He came to walk the earth as a simple child so that we could return to His loving embrace.

Let us pray:

Dear God, help us to focus on you today, remembering that the gift of Christ, Immanuel, is our most treasured gift for the whole year through. Fill us with your joy and the peace of your Spirit. Direct our hearts and minds towards you. Thank you for your reminder that both in seasons of celebration and in seasons of brokenness, you’re still with us. You never leave us. Thank you for your daily Presence in our lives, that we can be assured your heart is towards us, your eyes are over us, and your ears are open to our prayers. Thank you that your surround us with favour as with a shield, we are safe in your care. We choose to press in close to you today… In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

(prayer from http://www.crosswalk.com)

From Boxes to Forgiveness ~ The Feast of St. Stephen the Martyr ~ The Very Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

Liturgical colour: Red.

Reading 1: Acts 6:8=10, 7:54=59

R Psalm: PS 31:3CD=4, 6 And 8AB, 16BC And 17.

Holy Gospel: MT 10: 17=22

So now our Lord and Saviour is born! All the Turkey and trimmings have been eaten, and many people head to the stores, looking for the latest cheap bargains. Around the world, there will be people buying things in boxes. And so today we celebrate The Feast of St Stephen the Martyr, this also has the alternate name of ‘Boxing day’. Boxing day is not about shopping, it is a day where we give boxes of gifts and food to the poor and needy in our society. It is a day of showing the Lords love to the less fortunate. But what has all this talk about boxes got to do with today’s feast of St Stephen?

St. Stephen was called by the Apostles at the dawn of the church from among seven Greek men who were of good reputation, who were filled with Spirit and who had wisdom. They were the first Deacons of the Church. They oversaw the welfare of the members of the church, they gave care to the poor, for widows and for orphans. This is the link that I see with the true meaning of the alternative name of ‘Boxing day’, about giving care and welfare.

According to tradition, Stephen was a young man, most likely still in his teen years. He was full of grace and power. He performed many miracles amongst the people in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This however, did not go down well with those of senior rank in the temple court, and various synagogues would challenge Stephen with many debates and arguments, however, Stephen would always come out of them on top every time due to being filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. This led to anger and before much time had passed, Stephen was charged with blasphemy, taken to the Sanhedrin to defend his case, which he did with great eloquence.

Stephen began with the promises given to Abraham and went all the way to the building of the temple during Solomon’s reign, before then directing his sights on the Sanhedrin itself. ‘How stubborn you are, heathen still at heart and deaf to the truth! You always fight against the Holy Spirit. Like Fathers like sons! Was there ever a Prophet your fathers did not prosecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, and now you have betrayed him and murdered him, you who have received the law as God’s angels gave it to you, and yet have not kept it! ‘ (Acts 7:51=53).

This led to a fit of anger and fury and the council dragged Stephen to the edge of the city to stone him to death, he had no true trial nor verdict. But Stephen still kept his faith until the finish, having a vision of the heavens being torn open with Jesus standing there at Gods right hand.

Stephen’s last mortal words were pleas to God for the forgiveness for his persecutors, that those sin would not be held against them. St Stephen is the Proto=Martyr, This is because he was the first victim of persecution of the church that is mentioned after the ascension of Jesus into heaven.

Life’s fulfilment =the eternal heavenly banquet rests squarely in God’s hands. This leaves us as children of God to love our neighbour, to care for this world, and to seek those things which make for peace, for joy, and for salvation. Stephen is such an excellent example for us to follow in our daily Christian lives, both in the way he cared for the poor and needy, and also by the way he forgave his persecutors and even prayed for them. May we strive to imitate the values in the life of St Stephen, for the glory of God within our own lives.

Let us pray:

Grant, Lord, we pray that we imitate the truth of the Christian life we lead following the example of St Stephen the Martyr, who we celebrate today. Mav we, as he did, love and care for the needy in our society in your ever=loving name and to your glory, and that also like St, Stephen, we can forgive and pray for forgiveness for all who may harm us. Through the Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Believing Is Seeing ~ Br. Jake Vogel, Postulant

 

Some of you may remember a wonderful Tim Allen Christmas movie from the 90s called, The Santa Clause. I remember seeing it the first Christmas it came out and re-watching it as a Christmas staple several Christmases thereafter. The movie is a light-hearted comedy about the main character accidentally becoming the new Santa and all to the shock and delight of his child who, due to his mom’s new boyfriend, had lost his belief in Santa. From the very beginning of the movie the father, played by Tim Allen is questioned by the boy about all the different reasons why believing in Santa seemed irrational to him and the father’s response was, “Charlie, sometimes believing in something means… you just believe in it.” wanting to instill faith in his son that anything is possible if you believe.

Later on in the movie the fathers own faith is tested when he arrives to the north pole and realizes that he indeed will be the new Santa, he questions an elf saying, “I see it but I don’t believe it.” to which the elf Judy responds, “You’re missing the point. Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing. Kids don’t have to see this place to know that it’s here, they just know.”

The whole underlying theme of the movie is that sometimes we get so wrapped up in our lives and what society teaches us as a reality, that we start to lose our faith and need to, ‘see to believe’. In today’s gospel, “Joseph [Mary’s] husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose [Mary] to shame, decided to divorce her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”” like the elf Judy reminded Santa of his faith and duty to it, so did the angel of the lord to Joseph.

Often today not only in this season but in our lives of modernity, we forget that miracles are possible through faith if we are willing to believe and submit to God’s plan for us as Mary did so many years ago when she said to the angel Gabriel, “I am the Lord’s servant,… May it be to me as you have said.” Christmas is a time that we should remember and proclaim to others the awesome news that, “With man this [miracle] is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” and that our wonderful Father in heaven, “… God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This season is a time to reflect and be reminded of the literal birth of our salvation into the world.

On this wonderful vigil of the Nativity of our Lord, I ask that we not be like Charlie the questioning child or like Joseph the caring but doubting husband and rather that we chose this Christmas season to believe that Christmas miracles do exist and that we don’t have to see them to know that they exist. Sometimes we just have to trust in ourselves and in our faith and instead of questioning or trying to figure out the will of God, we should just submit to it, understanding that if we only believe he will provide for us what we need because he loved us enough to let his only son who was born on this very eve die to save us so that we can one day be reunited with him and all his saints in his heavenly kingdom. So as we embark into the Christmas celebrations just remember, “Seeing isn’t believing, believing is seeing.”

God, the one who loved us enough to give up your only son;

God the Holy Spirit who brought us the Word which became flesh and dwelt among us through your humble servant Mary,

and God the son who was born on this day to save us from our trespasses;

We ask that on this day of your nativity,

you grant us the hearts to believe without being witnesses to the event but knowing that it and its message is the truth of this season. May we each be witnesses to the Miracle of Christmas and bless others as you have blessed us.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

AMEN