January 26, 2016

The Memorial of Sts. Timothy and Titus ~ The Rev. Dcn. Scott Brown, OPI

What we know from the New Testament of Timothy’s life makes it sound like that of a modern harried bishop. He had the honor of being a fellow apostle with Paul, both sharing the privilege of preaching the gospel and suffering for it.

Timothy had a Greek father and a Jewish mother named Eunice. Being the product of a “mixed” marriage, he was considered illegitimate by the Jews. It was his grandmother, Lois, who first became Christian. Timothy was a convert of Paul around the year 47 and later joined him in his apostolic work. He was with Paul at the founding of the Church in Corinth. During the 15 years he worked with Paul, he became one of his most faithful and trusted friends. He was sent on difficult missions by Paul—often in the face of great disturbance in local churches which Paul had founded.

Timothy was with Paul in Rome during the latter’s house arrest. At some period, Timothy himself was in prison (Hebrews 13:23). Paul installed him as his representative at the Church of Ephesus.

Timothy was comparatively young for the work he was doing. (“Let no one have contempt for your youth,” Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:12a.) Several references seem to indicate that he was timid. And one of Paul’s most frequently quoted lines was addressed to him: “Stop drinking only water, but have a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent illnesses” (1 Timothy 5:23).

Titus has the distinction of being a close friend and disciple of Paul as well as a fellow missionary. He was Greek, apparently from Antioch. Even though Titus was a Gentile, Paul would not let him be forced to undergo circumcision at Jerusalem. Titus is seen as a peacemaker, administrator, great friend. Paul’s second letter to Corinth affords an insight into the depth of his friendship with Titus, and the great fellowship they had in preaching the gospel: “When I went to Troas…I had no relief in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia…. For even when we came into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted in every way—external conflicts, internal fears. But God, who encourages the downcast, encouraged us by the arrival of Titus…” (2 Corinthians 2:12a, 13; 7:5-6).

When Paul was having trouble with the community at Corinth, Titus was the bearer of Paul’s severe letter and was successful in smoothing things out. Paul writes he was strengthened not only by the arrival of Titus but also “by the encouragement with which he was encouraged in regard to you, as he told us of your yearning, your lament, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced even more…. And his heart goes out to you all the more, as he remembers the obedience of all of you, when you received him with fear and trembling” (2 Corinthians 7:7a, 15).

The Letter to Titus addresses him as the administrator of the Christian community on the island of Crete, charged with organizing it, correcting abuses and appointing presbyter-bishops.

January 24, 2016

Evangelism 101: Parts is Parts. ~ The Rev. Jay Van Lieshout, OPI

“Have you been saved?” “Are you born again?” “Have you found Jesus?” “Have you accepted Jesus as your personal savior?” I think we all have been addressed by such “evangelistic” greetings while we were at work or shopping or even at social gatherings. I may be alone in this, but I find these phrases to be cliché, disingenuous, annoying and counterproductive. It is not that I am embarrassed to be a follower of Christ, or to proclaim His Gospel out in the world (after all I do wear a habit as a sign of my faith and God has all but given me a tonsure), it is more that such phrases imply that you do not know Jesus or the good news. To my ears they are saying “I know Jesus better than you do, let me save you or you will go to hell”. Now, I know this is a bit crass, but conversations that begin with “Have you…” always seem to progress to stories of how great their church is, how Paul said this or that, how they are helping the lost sinners like homosexuals or how they helped bring some poor family over from a developing nation and let them cut their lawn or work on the church. And during these “conversations” I often wonder, “where is the good news? Where is the Gospel of God’s love for everyone, and our call to love each other?”

Jesus asked us to go out to the entire world and spread the good news, teach the Gospel to all people; this is the call to evangelize. But asking someone if they are “saved”, or “found Jesus”, this seems to miss the point. The Gospels tell us that God so loved us His children He sent the Son of Man to fulfill the old law, establish a new covenant based on altruism and forgiveness, to preach the truth and then to be sacrificed so that All HUMANITY should be saved. If the Gospels were a Hallmark card they would read “I love you, I forgive you, all I ask is you do the same to each other as a sign that you love Me too. Love, your Creator”.

There are many places throughout the Word of God where the faithful to whom the light of the word is given and are blind to it, while those “not chosen” see it as bright as day. This season of Epiphany exemplifies such realization of the Messiah to the “gentiles” amidst the ignorance of the chosen people. John so poetically tells us:

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:10-14) What a glorious message, the Son came not for those chosen by race, or by declaration of man nor even lineage (for we are all God’s children), but for all those who open their hearts to the truth and live the Word. In another example, Luke tells us that Jesus read from Isaiah in His home town synagogue:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” And said to those present: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4: 18-19, 21) Again what great news Jesus shared to those who proclaim to believe in the word, and how said such news fell on deaf ears and whose eyes had been blind to his light.

A few days ago, while shopping at the local big box grocery, a lady came up and inquired about my habit. She said “I know you are a man of God, please tell me what this means and about your church”. And so I shared about being a Dominican, about being an Old Catholic, about our church’s foundation being the Gospels, about how we strive to accept everyone and anyone just as Jesus did. She then asked “what about homosexuals?” I replied “We are all children of God, EVERYONE is accepted, especially those marginalized by the mainstream. We do not judge others as that is NOT our job, only God knows what is in a person’s heart and we trust that God will take care of His own.” She then asked “Do you believe that people who commit suicide go to hell?” I said “I believe in God’s grace and mercy, He knows what is in the heart of those suffering, those with mental illness, those in the dark depths of depression and pain, He would not forsake one of His own”. She finally smiled and told me her husband took his own life, she and her son were the ones who found him. She struggles with a rare neurological condition, she has tried to end it many times, her children are struggling with it all and she feels now that God is calling her to share her trials, her message to help others. I agreed and encouraged her to find a place, any place and to share her journey and her discoveries not only to help her heal, but to help others find a path to healing and that this is what God wants and this is why she is still here.

A moment of my time to listen, a few words exclaiming the good news to one who really needed it, an acknowledgement of her pain, suffering and stumbles in life with a reassuring it’s ok, that’s a lot for anyone to deal with, followed by the guarantee of God’s grace, forgiveness and love, and rounding it up with a firm “you matter, you have a gift and calling from God and you will make a difference in someone else’s life”. For me, this is evangelism as Jesus would have it done: to live s Paul says, we are all of one body, no single part is the body, but the body is made of all the parts, and if one part is sick, the body is sick; to heal the part is to heal the whole body. No body can be complete without all its parts and, therefore, no part is any greater or lesser than the other. Hence, evangelization is not saying “I am already part of a magnificent body, don’t you think you should join me and be great too”, but, instead the message is “Truly you are valued part of a magnificent and great body, we are blessed by you and hope that you too are blessed by us. Come; let us rejoice with all other parts so that none may ever be forgotten.”

January 24, 2016

Blessed Marcolinus of Forli

Born in at Forli, Italy in 1317, Marcolino Amanni entered the Dominicans at age 10. He occupies a place unique in Dominican annals because he was almost purely contemplative . There is outwardly little to record of Blessed Marcolino, except that for 70 years he kept the Dominican Rule in all its rigor. That is a claim to sanctity that can be made by very few, and is of itself enough to entitle him to canonization. He did accomplish the reform of several convents that had fallen from their primitive fervor, but this he did by his prayers and his example rather than by teaching or preaching.

It is said that Marcolino was most at home with the lay brothers, or with the neighborhood children who enjoyed talking to him. He seldom went out of his cell, and could not have engaged in any active works; neither did he leave any writings. His work was the unseen labor presided over by the Holy Spirit, the work of contemplation. “To give to others the fruits of contemplation,” is the Dominican motto and one might be curious to know how Blessed Marcolino accomplished this. In order to understand the need for just such a type of holiness, it is well to remember the state of the Church in the 14th century. Devastated by plague and schism, divided and held up to scorn, preyed upon by all manner of evils, the Church militant was in need, not only of brave and intelligent action, but also of prayer. Consistently through the centuries, God has raised up such saints as could best avert the disasters that threatened the world in their day, and Marcolino was one answer to the need for mystics who would plead ceaselessly for the Church.

The interior life of Marcolino was not recorded by himself or by others. He lived the mystical life with such intensity that he was nearly always in ecstasy and unconscious of the things around him. One of his brothers recorded that he seemed “a stranger on earth, concerned only with the things of heaven.” Most of his brethren thought him merely sleepy and inattentive, but actually he was, for long periods, lost in converse with God. Some had heard him talking earnestly to the statue of Our Lady in his cell; some fortunate few had heard Our Lady replying to his questions, with the same simplicity.

At the death of Marcolino, on 2 January, 1397, a beautiful child appeared in the streets, crying out the news to the little town that the saintly friar was dead. As the child disappeared when the message was delivered, he was thought to have been an angel. Many miracles were worked at the tomb of Marcolino. One was the miraculous cure of a woman who had been bedridden for 30 years. Hearing of the death of the blessed, she begged him to cure her so that she could visit his tomb.

He was confirmed as a saint in 1750 by Pope Benedict XIV.

January 23, 2016

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)

January 21, 2016

St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr ~ The Rev. Dcn Dollie Wilkinson, OPI

ST. AGNES, VIRGIN AND MARTYR

FEAST DAY – JANUARY 21
St. Agnes is one of the most glorious saints in the calendar of the Roman Church. The great Church Fathers vied with one another in sounding her praise and glory. St. Jerome writes: “All nations, especially their Christian communities, praise in word and writing the life of St. Agnes. She triumphed over her tender age as well as over the merciless tyrants. To the crown of spotless innocence she added the glory of martyrdom.” St. Agnes is said to have suffered martyrdom at age 12. The cruelty that did not spare so young a child was hateful, but the power of faith in the child was greater.

Our saint’s name should be traced to the Greek hagne – the pure, rather than to the Latin agna – lamb. But the Latin derivation prevailed in the early Church. The reason may have been that eight days after her death Agnes appeared to her parents with a train of virgins, and a lamb at her side. St. Augustine knew both derivations. “Agnes”, he writes, “means ‘lamb’ in Latin, but in Greek it denotes ‘the pure one’. The Latin interpretation occasioned the yearly blessing of the St. Agnes lambs; it takes place on this day in the Church of which she is patron, and the wool is used in weaving the palliums worn by archbishops and, through privilege, by some bishops. In the church built by the Emperor Constantine over the saint’s grave, Pope Gregory the Great preached a number of homilies. Reliable details concerning the life of St. Agnes are very few. The oldest material occurs in St. Ambrose’s De Virginibus, parts of which are read today at Matins.

From such liturgical sources we may construct the following “life of St. Agnes”. These legends tell that Agnes was a beautiful and soon-to-be-marriageable young woman. But the stories are rooted in actual events and convey kernels of truth about her. One day when Agnes, then thirteen years old, was returning home from school, she happened to meet Symphronius, a son of the city prefect. At once he became passionately attracted to her and tried to win her by precious gifts. Many eager young men pursued her, but she rebuffed them because she had consecrated her virginity to Christ. This spurned suitor took revenge by reporting to the authorities that Agnes was a Christian. She was brought before a judge who tried to persuade her to recant. He threatened her with fire and torture, but she did not flinch. Then he had her stripped at a brothel and urged young men to seduce her. “You may stain your sword with my blood,” she said, “but you will never profane my body that I have consecrated to Christ.” All were so stunned by her presence that only one boy tried to touch her. Legend says he was struck blind, and that Agnes healed him. Then a light enveloped her and blinded all who tried to approach. Another judge condemned her to the stake because the pagan priests accused her of sorcery.

“Surrounded by flames she prayed with outstretched arms: “I beseech You, Father almighty, most worthy of awe and adoration. Through Your most holy Son I escaped the threats of the impious tyrant and passed through Satan’s filth with feet unsullied. Behold, I now come to You, whom I have loved, whom I have sought, whom I have always desired.” She gave thanks as follows: “O You, the almighty One, who must be adored, worshiped, feared – I praise You because through Your only begotten Son I have escaped the threats of wicked men and have walked through the filth of sin with feet unsullied. I extol You with my lips, and I desire You with all my heart and strength.” After the flames died out, she continued: “I praise You, Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because by Your Son the fire around me was extinguished”. And now she longed for union with Christ: “Behold, what I yearned for, I already see; what I hoped for, I already hold in embrace; with Him I am united in heaven whom on earth I loved with all my heart”.”

—The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch.

Her wish was granted; the judge ordered her beheaded. Exasperated and egged on by her first accuser, the governor ordered her execution. Agnes was taken to the Stadium of Domitian, where she courageously faced a nervous soldier who hacked her to death with his sword. Was there room for a wound in that small body? The sword could barely strike her, yet she had the inner strength to strike back. Now girls her age usually can’t even bear a parent’s angry glance. Or they usually cry at the slightest wound or abrasion. Agnes, however, faced her persecutors fearlessly. She was not fazed by the heavy weight of the chains they wrapped around her. And she freely offered her body to the executioner’s sword.

St. Agnes’s death was “a new kind of martyrdom!” She taught us adults the meaning of valor while she was still a child. Agnes hurried to the place of her execution more joyfully than a bride goes to her wedding. And she was adorned not with plaited hair, but with Christ himself. Over the centuries the little virgin martyr became one of the most popular saints in Christian history.

St Agnes is the patron saint of: betrothed couples, chastity, crops, engaged couples, gardeners, Girl Scouts, girls, rape victims, and virgins.

January 21, 2016

Jesus,The Internet and The Devil ~ The Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

He said, “Go into the world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. (Mark 16:15 NABRE)

We as Christians are commanded by the Lord to spread his word around the world, and with today’s modern technology and the use of the internet, websites such as Facebook are a very useful ministry tool that helps enable us to do just that.

By today’s modern technology, we are able to use the internet to spread the true word and the good news of the Lord’s salvation to many people throughout the world who otherwise may not be in the position to receive this in their lives.

Using this technology, we as servants of God are able to preach the Holy Word, to offer prayer, to give advice, love and support to people around the world enabling us to better serve those who may live in countries or other places where we couldn’t possibly serve them in person.

So whilst posting online certainly has its positive advantages, as we are made clearly aware in 1 Peter 5:8, that the devil is always prowling around. Let us look again at what we are told:

“Be sober and vigilant. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for [someone] to devour. (1 Peter 5:8 NABRE).

We must be always on our guard as, like we as Christians can use online technology to spread the word and the true love and salvation of God, the devil can also use it to deceive and mislead us. Not all things that may appear to be Christian posted online is truly of holy nature, and may be merely a trick of the devil.

Posts such as the variety we see almost daily on pages such as Facebook, where blessings are supposedly given if we `like and share` are an example of such unholy works because God’s blessings are granted from his grace, and out of his love for us and this does not depend on whether we have liked and shared online postings.

We must also realise that posts offering blessings of money or other materialistic things are not true Christian works and are devil led.

The Lord our God is not our personal magician, or a magical Genie who is there to grant our earthy wishes and wants of materialism.

Our God and Father is there out of his pure and unconditional love for us and out of his grace and mercy as he wants to give us that true and full relationship with him that will lead to our salvation.

Be watchful online as well as in our daily lives for the deceit and lies of the devil and do not give him the foothold which he so desperately seeks.

January 19, 2016

Saint Margaret of Hungary

Margaret, the daughter of King Bela IV, and Queen Mary Lascaris of Hungary, was offered to God before her birth, in petition that the country would be delivered from the terrible scourge of the Tartars. The prayer having been answered in 1242, the king and queen made good their promise by placing the rich and beautiful three-year-old in the Dominican convent at Vesprim. Here, in company with other children of nobility, she was trained in the arts thought fitting for royalty.

Margaret was not content with simply living in the house of God; she demanded the religious habit–and received it–at the age of four. Furthermore, she took upon herself the austerities practiced by the other sisters–fasting, hairshirts, the discipline (scourge), and night vigils. She soon learned the Divine Office by heart and chanted it happily to herself as she went about her play. She chose the least attractive duties of the nuns for herself. She would starve herself to keep her spirit humble. No one but Margaret seemed to take seriously the idea that she would one day make profession and remain as a sister, for it would be of great advantage to her father if she were to make a wise marriage.

This question arose seriously when Margaret was 12. She responded in surprise. She said that she had been dedicated to God, even before her birth, and that she intended to remain faithful to that promise. Some years later her father built for her a convent on the island in the Danube between Buda and Pest. To settle the matter of her vocation, here she pronounced her vows to the master general of the order, Blessed Humbert of the Romans, in 1255, and took the veil in 1261.

Again, when Margaret was 18, her father made an attempt to sway her from her purpose, because King Ottokar of Bohemia, hearing of her beauty, had come seeking her hand. He even obtained a dispensation from the pope and approached Margaret with the permission. Margaret replied as she had previously, “I esteem infinitely more the King of Heaven and the inconceivable happiness of possessing Jesus Christ than the crown offered me by the King of Bohemia.” Having established that she was not interested in any throne but a heavenly one, she proceeded with great joy to live an even more fervent religious life than she had before.

Margaret’s royal parentage was, of course, a matter of discussion in the convent. But the princess managed to turn such conversation away from herself to the holy lives of the saints who were related to her by blood–King Saint Stephen, Saint Hedwig, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, and several others. She did not glory in her wealth or parentage, but strove to imitate the saints in their holiness. She took her turn in the kitchen and laundry, seeking by choice much heavy work that her rank might have excused her from doing. She was especially welcome in the infirmary, which proves that she was not a sad-faced saint, and she made it her special duty to care for those who were too disagreeable for anyone else to tend.

Margaret’s austerities seem excessive to us of a weaker age. The mysteries of the Passion were very real to her and gave reason for her long fasts, severe scourgings, and other mortifications detailed in the depositions of witnesses taken seven years after her death (of which records are still in existence). Throughout Lent she scarcely ate or slept. She not only imitated the poverty- stricken in their manual labor and hunger, but also in their lack of cleanliness–a form of penance at that time. Some of her acts of self-immolation have been described as “horrifying” and verging on fanaticism, and there seems to have been an element of willfulness in her mortifications.

She had a tender devotion to Our Lady, and on the eve of her feasts, Margaret said a thousand Hail Marys. Unable to make the long pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to Rome, or to any of the other famous shrines of Christendom, the saint developed a plan by which she could go in spirit: she counted the miles that lay between herself and the desired shrine, and then said an Ave Maria for every mile there and back. On Good Friday she was so overcome at the thoughts of Our Lord’s Passion that she wept all day. She was frequently in ecstasy, and very embarrassed if anyone found her so and remarked on her holiness.

A number of miracles were performed during Margaret’s lifetime and many more after her death because Margaret had an implicit faith in the power and efficacy of prayer. The princess nun was only 28 when she died. Most of the particulars of her life are recorded in existing depositions of witnesses taken in 1277. Her friends and acquaintances petitioned for her to be acclaimed a saint almost immediately after her death. Among them was her own servant, Agnes, who rightly observed that this daughter of a monarch showed far more humility than any of the monastery’s maids. Although their testimony expressed Margaret’s overpowering desire to allow nothing to stand between her and God, the process of canonization was not complete until 1943. The island where her convent stood, called first the “Blessed Virgin’s Isle,” was called “Isle of Margaret” after the saint. She died 18 January 1271 at Budapest, Hungary. Her remains were given to the Poor Clares at Pozsony when the Dominican Order was dissolved, and most of her relics were destroyed in 1789, but portions are still preserved at Gran, Gyor, Pannonhalma.

She was beatified on 28 July 1789 by Pope Pius XII.

January 17, 2016

An Address from the Presiding Bishop: Out of the Ashes ~ The Rt. Rev. Michael R. Beckett, OPI

In Greek mythology, a phoenix is a long-lived bird that is regenerated or reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the phoenix dies in a show of flames and combustion, and a young bird arises, new, strong, and vibrant from the ashes. The Phoenix is also an important Christian symbol which symbolizes the death of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. The following reference to the Phoenix as a symbol is in the Bible:

“Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days like the phoenix.’ ”
(Job 29:18)

Also, Clement of Alexandria uses the phoenix as a symbol of the resurrection of Christ in his First letter to the Corinthians when the church there was having difficulties. He told the Corinthian church that out of strife comes growth. I believe that this applies to The Unified Old Catholic Church.

Through many trials and tribulations, hurt and bewilderment, and out of the ashes of broken relationships, a year ago today The Unified Old Catholic Church emerged. In the course of the past year, we have experienced rebirth, resurrection if you will, and have become an example of what can happen when a group of people is truly focused on our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Because we are truly ‘unified’ in our purpose, we touch more lives that we can possibly imagine. According to the “End of Year Statistics Report for 2015,” our posts have reached over 14,000 people in 112 countries. We have members and clergy in 22 states and 13 countries. The message of Christ’s love is preached in English, Spanish, French, Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Swedish.

We have several active Facebook groups, each of whose posts touch lives daily, not to mention those posts of our individual members. Our Franciscan and Dominican Orders are actively involved in teaching, preaching, and seeking justice for all in the name of Christ, and we are blessed with both podcast and video ministries.

Our motto is “One Vision.” In that vision, we believe in the unity of all Christian believers and part of our vocation is to help others understand and grow in a direction that they may see the love that God has for all of us. We are a church where all of God’s children are welcome. Working together for our Lord, and keeping in mind that we pray ‘that we all may be one,’ we are in an intercommunion agreement with 4 other jurisdictions through Transfiguration Sacramental Community. We have signed a Concordat with The Self-Ruled Old Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland in the Americas, The Anglican Church of the Caribbean and Granada, and The United States Old Catholic Church. We have friends in many other jurisdictions, and we live as proof that jurisdictions in the Independent Catholic Movement can, indeed, work together.

While all of the above is certainly wonderful, and we have reached many milestones on our collective journeys, and it truly sounds as if we have a very successful church, we must ask ourselves, “Have we arrived? Have we ‘made it’ to where we need and want to be?” Hardly. While we have had our successes, we are certainly not where we need to be.

In our secular lives, most of the “milestones’ that one reaches in life are not signals of arrival, but signals of new beginnings: a baby’s first steps; entrance into Kindergarten or First Grade; a driver’s license; a first job; high school graduation and going to college. If our successes are seen as “having arrived,” and if this kind of thinking is mistaken as success as regards normal everyday life, it is even more mistaken when applied to the religious life. Religious life, to be lived to its fullest, is one of ongoing formation, no matter how old one may be, regardless of one’s experiences or education. There is never a time when we are fully formed. Milestones mark the roads that we have traveled in our lives on our journey. The journey to where? Why, to the next major milestone, of course! What then, is that “next major milestone?” For some of us, it will be ordination into Holy Orders, planting a church, becoming fully a professed religious, going into full time ministry, developing our own personal ministries. And then, will we have “arrived’? Hardly.

Living a life fully devoted to Christ, following Him in this gift of our vocation, our faith, this way of life that we have been given, is full of milestones. Do we ever “arrive?” No. The gift of this life is a gift that must be continually renewed and offered, again and again, daily, over the course of a lifetime. It is this constant renewal which brings us joy, for we are daily new creatures in Him.

Over the past year, we have made mistakes. Over the past year we have all learned much. We have learned to love more completely, to trust our Lord more fully, and have come to realize that we have much, much more to learn. We have come to learn that we have much, much more to do.

So where do we go from here? We continue to take this journey of milestones, praying for and with each other, holding each other’s hands along the way, and sharing our joys, sorrows, successes, and failures. We continue to build each other up, to help each other in our Christian walks of faith, and above all, continue learning from, leaning on, loving and trusting our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I close with the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

“As torrents in summer, Half dried in their channels, Suddenly rise, though the Sky is still cloudless,
For rain has been falling Far off at their fountains;

So hearts that are fainting Grow full to o’erflowing, And they that behold it Marvel, and know not
That God at their fountains Far off has been raining!

“Stronger than steel Is the sword of the Spirit; Swifter than arrows The light of the truth is,
Greater than anger Is love, and subdueth!

“The dawn is not distant, Nor is the night starless; Love is eternal! God is still God, and
His faith shall not fail us; Christ is eternal!” (As Torrents In Summer)

Thank you, my brothers and sisters, for taking this journey of milestones with me, for your prayers, your dedication, for holding my hand along the way, and for being a part of my world. I ask your continued prayers for me, for our church, and for each other. Amen.

January 15, 2016

Blessed Francis of Capillas

The 17th century was a period of great missionary activity. Many martyrs shed their blood on distant shores. Dominicans and Jesuits contributed a great share to the blood of martyrs. Among this glorious company, the Dominican Francis de Capillas has become the type and exemplar of them.

Francis was born in 1608 in Old Castile, Spain. Nothing is known of his childhood. He entered the Dominicans at Valladolid at age 17. The Spain of his youth was still ringing with the missionary zeal of Saints Louis Bertrand, Philip de las Casas, and Francis Xavier; the report of the martyrdom of Alphonsus Navarette (June 1), in Japan, was news at the time. Perhaps the bravery of these men helped to fire the young Francis with apostolic longing, for he volunteered for the Philippine mission while he was a deacon. In 1631 at the age of 23, he left Spain and was ordained in Manila. Here, at the gateway to the Orient, the Dominicans had founded a university in 1611, and the city teemed with missionaries traveling throughout the Orient.

The young priest labored for 10 years in the province of Cagayan, the Philippines, where heat, insects, disease, and paganism made life very hard. But it was not hard enough for Francis. He begged for a mission field that was really difficult; perhaps, like many of the eager young apostles of that time, he was hoping for an assignment in Japan, where the great persecution was raging. He was sent to Fukien, China, where he worked uneventfully for some years. Then a Tartar invasion put his life in jeopardy. He was captured by a band of Tartars and imprisoned as a spy.

Francis was subjected to a mock trial. Civil, military, and religious officials questioned him, and they accused him of everything from political intrigue to witchcraft. He was charged with disregarding ancestor worship, and, finally, since they could “find no cause in him,” he was turned over to the torturers.

He endured the cruel treatment of these men with great courage. Seeing his calmness, the magistrates became curious about his doctrines. They offered him wealth, power, and freedom, if he would renounce his faith, but he amazed and annoyed them by choosing to suffer instead. They varied the tortures with imprisonment, and he profitably used the time to convert his jailor and fellow prisoners. Even the mandarin visited him in prison, asking Francis if he would renounce his faith or would he prefer to suffer more. Being told that he was glad to suffer for Christ, the mandarin furiously ordered that he be scourged again “so he would have even more to be glad about.”

Francis was finally condemned, and was beheaded on 15 January 1640. He was beatified on 2 May 1919 by Pope Pius X.

January 14, 2016

Book Review: The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke ~ The Rev. Lady Sherwood, OPI

“The Other Wise Man,” a short story by Henry Van Dyke, is an interesting and worthwhile read.

Firstly, the various detailed and colourful descriptions used within its writing made it easy to mentally visualize the surroundings of each scene as the story unfolds.

Secondly, and most importantly, it takes us on the journey of this fourth magi, who desperately sought to pay homage to the newly born King of Kings.

Although this Magi may not have got to pay homage to the Christ Child in the way he had expected when he first set out on his journey, through the many acts of selfless love which he showed to the people in need that he encountered, he clearly met and paid homage to the heavenly King whom he was seeking. Van Dyke reinforces the belief that the Lord is there in every needy person, and when the “Other Wise Man” loved them in the love of the lord and helped them, he was giving that love and homage to the heavenly King he sought.

The actions of this Magi are a wonderful example of the way we as Christians should live our lives, by putting our own agenda to one side and following the Lord’s agenda and loving each other, helping those who are in need by showing them the true love of the Lord by our actions.