Christ Our Saviour and Our Judge

Advent begins a new liturgical year. This is a time of preparation so that our hearts can be made ready for the two advents of our Lord Jesus Christ; namely, His first advent, when He came "to visit us in great humility," and His second advent, when He will come "in a cloud with power and great glory."

As Christ came once as Saviour, so He will come again as Judge. How will we receive Him? The answer depends upon how we are receiving Him now, while He is still out of our sight. If we do not accord Him first place in our lives now, do we really think we will be able to welcome Him when He comes again?

Our time in this world is an opportunity which God has given us, a time for us to decide what and who Christ truly is for us. Either He is to be our Lord and Saviour, the King of our lives, and the One whom we seek to serve; or He is little more than a picture-book baby decorating Christmas cards. Either we will greet Him with joy as our long-awaited King, or we will tremble to hear that He has come again, and we will not be able to help shrinking away from His presence, afraid of what He will find in us.

As we stand at the beginning of another Christian year, this is the time to decide. If you have been holding back part of your life from Christ, now is the time to give it; if you have neglected any of the sacraments, now is the time to examine your soul and return through the confessional; if you have been drawing back from entering fully into the life of Christ's Body, the Church, now is the time to take that place He has made for you; if you have offended God or man, now is the time to seek forgiveness; if you have neglected your prayers, now is the time to sink to your knees; if you have ignored those who are in need, now is the time to be open-handed and generous; if your life has been empty, now is the time to let Christ fill it.

And when that day comes, as it surely will, that the Son of God, our Saviour Jesus Christ, comes "in a cloud with power and great glory," we can know that the crown of righteousness awaits us, which the Lord, the just Judge, will award to us on that day – and not only to us, but to all who have longed for His appearing.

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Pictured: "Christ Enthroned"

by Giovanni Battista Cima Da Conegliano (1459-1517)

St. Andrew, Apostle

Andrew, like his brother Simon Peter, was a fisherman. He became a disciple of the great St. John the Baptist, but when John pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God!" Andrew understood that Jesus was greater. At once he left John to follow the Divine Master.

Jesus knew that Andrew was walking behind him, and turning back, he asked, "What do you seek?" When Andrew answered that he would like to know where Jesus lived, Our Lord replied, "Come and see." Andrew had been only a little time with Jesus when he realized that this was truly the Messiah.

From then on, he chose to follow Jesus, and became the first disciple of Christ. Next, Andrew brought his brother Simon (St. Peter) to Jesus and Jesus received him, too, as His disciple. At first the two brothers continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good.

It is believed that after Our Lord ascended into Heaven, St. Andrew went to Greece to preach the gospel. He is said to have been put to death on an X-shaped cross, to which he was tied, not nailed. He lived two days, still preaching the Gospel to those who gathered around him in his last hours.

Almighty God, who didst give such grace unto thy holy Apostle Saint Andrew, that he readily obeyed the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him without delay: grant unto us all; that we, being called by thy holy Word, may forthwith give up ourselves obediently to fulfil thy holy commandments; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "The Crucifixion of St. Andrew"

by Mattia Preti (1613-1699)

Thanksgiving Day

Our Lord teaches us that “a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” So in giving thanks for the blessings of this life we should not unduly concern ourselves with the things of this world.

We should remember that we do not control life; rather, God does. No matter what our best-laid plans might be, they will be defeated unless they are in harmony with God’s plan for us. If God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, we can certainly know that He cares for us. The birds are fed, the flowers are clothed, because all these things fulfill their nature – the purpose for which they were created.

So then, if man fulfills his nature – not in idleness, but in trustful work; not in selfishly gathering things to himself, but in caring for those around him – God certainly will not fail in providing what we truly need to fulfill the purpose He has given us.

We are created in God’s image, and our lives are to reflect the mystical life of the Holy Trinity. As God created all things, it is part of our proper nature to cooperate with God through our daily work. As God cares for us, so it is part of our proper nature to care for others, sharing in what God has given us.

So on this Thanksgiving Day let us be patient and forgiving, being thankful for what we have been given by God in this life. And because what we have can never become an end in itself, be generous in sharing with others. With all we have to be thankful for, we should give thanks most of all for the love of our Heavenly Father, Who has provided for our needs, and Who has opened the way for our eternal salvation through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

May God give us all a happy, joyful, and holy Thanksgiving Day.

O ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who crownest the year with thy goodness, and hast given unto us the fruits of the earth in their season: give us grateful hearts, that we may unfeignedly thank thee for all thy loving-kindness, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Pictured: "The Gleaners"

by Jean-Francois Millet (1814-1875)

St. Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin and Martyr

The account of the life and death of St. Catherine of Alexandria was recorded by Eusebius in about the year 320, just a few years after her martyrdom. Eusebius was the Bishop of Caesarea and is known as the "father of Church history."

Catherine was born into a noble family of Alexandria, and from childhood she had devoted herself to study. Through her reading she had learned a great deal about Christianity, and was subsequently converted after being given a vision of Our Lady and the Holy Child Jesus.

When the Emperor Maxentius began his persecution against the Church, Catherine went to him and gave him a firm rebuke for his cruelty, after which she told him about Christ and the Gospel. The emperor could not answer her arguments against his pagan gods, so he gathered together fifty philosophers to argue against her. Quite the opposite happened, and they were won over by her reasoning. When the emperor learned that they all had become Christians, he had them burned to death.

He then tried to seduce Catherine with an offer to be his consort. She refused him, so he had her beaten and imprisoned. The Emperor went off to inspect his military forces, but when he returned he discovered that his wife Faustina and one of his high officials had been visiting Catherine and had been converted, along with the soldiers of the guard. They too were put to death, and Catherine was sentenced to be killed on a spiked wheel. As soon as her body touched the instrument of torture, the wheel broke into pieces. That did not stop her martyrdom, however, because the emperor ordered that she be taken to a place of execution, where she was beheaded.

St. Catherine of Alexandria could just as well be called St. Catherine the Brilliant because of her intellect and wisdom, along with her ability to explain the Catholic faith with great conviction. As many in her day discovered, to hear her expound upon the Gospel meant almost certainly that those who listened would be converted to follow Christ.

O GOD, whose dwelling-place is in the pure of heart: grant we beseech thee; that we who venerate the memory of the martyr Catherine, thy faithful bride, may have grace to follow the example of her holiness and courage; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "St. Catherine" 

by Michael Pacher (c. 1435–1498) 

The King of the Universe

Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice."

- St. John 18:37

Our Lord Jesus Christ, was dragged before Pilate, a minor earthly ruler, and was asked the question, “Are you a king, then?”

It was a simple question, and yet a fertile one. Just as a seed bursting with the beginning of life when it falls into good soil is able to produce a harvest beyond imagining, so Christ’s answer to Pilate's question (if it had been met with some glimmer of grace, some hint of human charity) might have lifted the life of that petty potentate into the upper reaches of God’s glory, when our Lord told him “My kingdom is not of this world...”

But that was something Pilate could not grasp, and so instead he has been immortalized with the phrase, “...suffered under Pontius Pilate...” which describes the death of the King he could never understand.

We, however, have been given to know that kingdom “not of this world,” and so have been spared the blindness which afflicted Pilate. In the cross we see a throne; in the thorns we see a crown; in the wounded side we see a gateway to Christ’s kingdom, which is eternal.

Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all things in thy well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords: mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Pope St. Clement I, Martyr

St. Clement I of Rome (92-101) was one of the first popes. According to St. Ireneus, he was the third after Peter, following Pope Linus and Pope Cletus. Clement died as a martyr, but otherwise we know little about his life. He may be the one Paul mentions as his companion in Phil. 4:3. St. Clement wrote a letter to the Corinthians, and we have the text of that, in which he intervenes as the Pope to that community, which had a number of troubles going on – showing us very early the place of the successor of St. Peter in the Church.

Because of his zeal for souls, Pope Clement was banished from Rome to a distant place, where he found two-thousand Christians who had also been banished. When he came to these exiles he comforted them. "They all cried with one voice: Pray for us, blessed Clement, that we may become worthy of the promises of Christ. He replied: Without any merit of my own, the Lord sent me to you to share in your crowns." When they complained because they had to carry the water six miles, he encouraged them, "Let us all pray to the Lord Jesus Christ that He may open to His witnesses a fountain of water." "While blessed Clement was praying, the Lamb of God appeared to him; and at His feet a bubbling fountain of fresh water was flowing." Seeing the miracle, "All the pagans of the neighborhood began to believe."

When the Emperor Trajan heard of these marvels, he ordered Clement to be drowned with an iron anchor around his neck. "While he was making his way to the sea, the people cried with a loud voice: Lord Jesus Christ, save him! But Clement prayed in tears: Father, receive my spirit." At the shore the Christians asked God to give them the body. The sea receded for three miles and there they found the body of the saint in a stone coffin within a small marble chapel; alongside lay the anchor. The body was taken to Rome by Sts. Cyril and Methodius and placed in a church dedicated to his honor (San Clemente). This is one of the most venerable of the churches in Rome because it retains all the liturgical arrangements of ancient times.

O Everlasting Shepherd, favourably look upon thy flock: and keep it with perpetual protection, through the intercession of blessed Clement thy Pope and Martyr, whom thou didst appoint to be shepherd of the whole Church; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "The Martyrdom of St. Clement" 

by Bernardino Fungai (1460–c. 1516)

Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, Priest and Martyr

A little over a century ago in Mexico an evil and militantly anti-Catholic government instituted and enforced laws against the Church in an attempt to completely erase the Catholic faith in that country. Baptisms were declared illegal; celebrating Mass was illegal; training men for the priesthood was illegal.

Resistance to this took different forms. Some were militant in their protests, taking up arms; others resisted peacefully. Huge numbers, both clergy and laity, were martyred. On November 23 we commemorate one of them – a priest, Fr. Miguel Augustin Pro.

He was born in 1891, and from his childhood he was known for his happiness and his wonderful sense of humour. He was raised in a devoutly Catholic family, and at the age of twenty he became a Jesuit novice. He soon went into exile because of the Mexican revolution. He traveled to the United States, to Spain, to Nicaragua, and then to Belgium, where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1925.

He suffered greatly from a severe stomach problem which required several operations, but when his health did not improve, in 1926 his superiors allowed him to return to Mexico in spite of the religious persecution in the country.

The churches were closed and the priests ministered quietly and always in great danger. Father Pro spent the rest of his life in a secret ministry to the Faithful. In addition to fulfilling their spiritual needs, he also carried out the works of mercy by assisting the poor of Mexico City with their temporal needs. Many times he adopted disguises so that he could pass unnoticed.

The day came when he was betrayed to the police, being falsely accused of a bombing attempt. He was sentenced to death with no trial. On November 23rd, 1927, the day of his death, Father Pro forgave his executioners, he prayed, he refused the blindfold, and he died proclaiming “¡Viva Cristo Rey!,” (“Long live Christ the King!”).

The faith was not destroyed in Mexico. In fact, the Church continued to grow. The lively faith among the Catholics in Mexico today was purchased by the blood of brave souls like Blessed Miguel Pro, who would rather die than deny their faith in God.

Our God and Father, who didst confer upon thy servant Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro the grace of ardently seeking thy greater glory and the salvation of others: grant, through his intercession and example; that by faithfully and joyfully performing our daily duties and charitably assisting those around us, we may serve thee with zeal and ever seek thy glory; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Columban, Abbot

During his General Audience on 11 June 2008, Pope Benedict XVI gave an extended talk on the life, teaching, and importance of the great St. Columban, who lived from 543 to 615. The Holy Father then offered brief remarks in various languages, and this was his message to the English-speaking pilgrims:

“In today's catechesis we turn to Saint Columban, one of the many Irish monks who contributed to the re-evangelization of Europe in the early Middle Ages. Columban made his monastic profession in Bangor and was ordained a priest. At the age of fifty, he left the monastery to begin missionary work in Europe, where entire regions had lapsed into paganism. Beginning in Brittany, Columban and his companions established monasteries at Annegray and Luxeuil. These became centers for the spread of the monastic and missionary ideals brought by the monks from their native Ireland. Columban introduced to Europe the Irish penitential discipline, including private confession. His stern moral teachings led to conflict with the local Bishops and the Frankish court, resulting in the exile of the Irish monks, first to the Rhineland and then to Italy. At Bobbio, where he established a great monastic center, Columban worked for the conversion of the Arian Lombards and the restoration of unity with the Bishop of Rome. It was there that he died, leaving behind not only the example of an austere monastic life, but also a corpus of writings which shaped the monastic culture of the Middle Ages and thus nourished the Christian roots of Europe.”

O God, who in Saint Columban wonderfully didst join the work of evangelization to zeal for the monastic life: grant, we pray, that through his intercession and example, we may strive to seek thee above all things, and to bring increase to thy faithful people; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr

St. Cecilia is one of several martyrs in the early Church who were young girls, and very serious about their faith. Cecilia was born into a noble family, and at an early age, she dedicated her life to God with a vow that she would not marry, but would give herself completely to Christ. However, her family wanted her to marry, and so she was engaged to a young nobleman named Valerian.

On her wedding day, she prayed to the Lord and asked Him to help Valerian to understand that she could not live with him as his wife. History records, "The day on which the wedding was to be held arrived and while musical instruments were playing she was singing in her heart to God alone saying: Make my heart and my body pure that I may not be confounded."

St. Cecilia's prayers were answered, and Valerian understood the importance of her vow to God. In fact, not only did he accept it, but he and his brother Tiburtius were both converted to the Christian faith, and were baptized.

At this time, Christianity was illegal in Rome. Both Valerian and his brother Tiburtius were soon discovered to be Christians, and they were martyred. Cecilia was discovered soon after, and she was condemned to death. It required two attempts, however, before the death of Cecilia was successful. She was first locked in a bath in her own home to be suffocated by the steam. When she emerged from the bath unharmed, she was then beheaded. The stroke of the axe failed to sever her head from her body, however, and she lived for three days. During this time, she saw to the disbursment of her assets to help the poor, and she donated her home to be used as a church. There is a great church on that site to this day, which bears her name.

When Cecilia finally died, she was buried in the Catacombs of Callixtus. In the 9th century Pope Paschal I had St. Cecilia's remains unearthed from the catacombs and reported that her body was incorrupt and that her hands signaled the Trinity, with one extending three fingers and the other a single finger.

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly festival of blessed Cecilia thy Virgin and Martyr: grant that we who venerate her in our service, may also follow the example of her godly life; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Pictured: "Evensong, St. Cecilia" 

by John Melhuish Strudwick (1849-1937)

Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Joachim and St. Anne, the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, had prayed for a child, and part of their prayer was the promise that they would dedicate their child to the service of God. Little did they know at that time what great service would be given by their infant daughter.

When Mary reached the age of three, her parents fulfilled their vow. Together with their family and friends, they took her to the Temple. The High Priest and other Temple priests greeted the procession, and tradition says that the child was brought before the fifteen high steps which led to the sanctuary. It is said that the child Mary made her way to the stairs and, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, ascended all fifteen steps, coming to the Holy of Holies where only the High Priest could enter. Tradition then says that the High Priest, acting outside every rule he knew, led the Holy Virgin into the Holy of Holies, astonishing everyone present in the Temple. So it was that she, whose own womb would become the Holy of Holies, came into the presence of the God Whom she would bear.

St. Joachim and St. Anne returned to their home, but the Handmaid of the Lord remained in the Temple until her espousal, where she was prepared by God and protected by angels.

O God, who on this day didst vouchsafe that blessed Mary Ever-Virgin, the dwelling-place of the Holy Ghost, should be presented in the Temple: Grant, we beseech thee; that by her intercession we may be found worthy to be presented unto thee in the temple of thy glory; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Edmund, King and Martyr

On November 20th we commemorate St. Edmund, King and Martyr, who lived in the 9th century. He was the king of East Anglia, an independent kingdom within the confederation of kingdoms which comprised England at that time. His name, Edmund, meant “noble protection,” and as an earthly king he certainly lived up to his name. He had a reputation for compassion and the protection of the weak, of widows and of orphans. His greatest challenge, however, was the invasion of his kingdom by the Danish Vikings. They weren’t complete foreigners to the people of East Anglia. They were of the same race, and in fact, their languages were so similar that they were able to understand one another. No, there was only one essential difference between the Danish Vikings and the English - the Vikings were heathens, and the English were Christians.

The Vikings attacked and destroyed churches and monasteries, homes and villages, all throughout the kingdom. King Edmund fought side by side with the great Christian King Alfred. Edmund did his best, but he was finally overwhelmed by the huge numbers of Danes. At Hoxne in the north of Suffolk, King Edmund was captured. The Danes made him an offer: he could renounce his faith and become a puppet-king under them, or he could die. For King Edmund that was no choice at all. He would never renounce his Catholic faith, and so he chose death. There is an eyewitness report from that time, and it tells how he was scourged and bound, then tied to an oak-tree where the Danes fired arrows at him as for target practice. Finally, after suffering immensely from his many wounds, King Edmund was beheaded.

His body was thrown to the wild beasts, but his loyal subjects secretly found his body, entombed him in a small chapel, and there he rested among his people. As they sought his heavenly intercession, God sent blessings upon them, and Edmund continued to be king in their hearts, as their faith in Christ the King grew stronger and stronger.

O God of ineffable mercy, thou didst give grace and fortitude to St. Edmund the king to triumph over the enemy of his people by nobly dying for thy Name: Bestow on us thy servants, we beseech thee, the shield of faith, wherewith we may withstand the assaults of our ancient enemy; through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

St. Rose Philippine Duchesne

Rose Philippine Duchesne was born in Grenoble, France in 1769. After preparing for her first communion at the Visitation convent nearby, her desire to give her life to God led her to join the Visitation community, a cloistered, contemplative order, despite her longing to serve God in missionary lands. In the aftermath of the French revolution, her convent was closed by the government. For ten years Philippine served the destitute of Grenoble as she searched for God’s desires for her.

In 1804 Madeleine Sophie Barat was told about Philippine Duchesne, a woman of uncommon gifts and grace. Their first meeting led to an immediate soul friendship. Philippine joined the Society of the Sacred Heart and her desire to bring God to distant lands was realized in 1818 when she and four companions sailed to the New World. Here she longed to work among the Native Americans but it would be 23 years before she went to live among the Potawatomi. Before realizing her heart’s desire Philippine established the first Catholic schools west of the Mississippi and oversaw the growth of the Society of the Sacred Heart in the United States.

Frontier life exacted an enormous toll both physical (hunger, cold, poverty, sickness) and psychological (the difficulties of distance and communication, letters sometimes delayed six months or more). Philippine never believed she had the gift of leadership and died in 1852 thinking herself a failure. History reveals otherwise: Native Americans saw in her a woman “who prays always”; the schools she founded became part of a network of Sacred Heart Schools around the world; and the Society of the Sacred Heart remains an international community, bound together across six continents as much by relationships as by a common spirituality and mission.

Rose Philippine Duchesne was named a saint of the Church in 1988.

- from rscjinternational.org

Almighty God, who didst fill the heart of Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne with charity and missionary zeal, and gave her the desire to make thee known among all peoples: grant us to follow her way, and fill us with that same love and zeal to extend thy kingdom to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Dedication of the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul

We commemorate the Dedication of the Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul because the Church wants us to remember the importance of consecrated places in which the worship of God takes place. It is a testimony to the importance of the consecration of every Catholic Church throughout the world. It is a reminder to us of the incarnational principle on which our faith is based – that God extends His spiritual blessings to us through the use of physical things. He took human flesh upon Himself. He has instituted seven sacraments which use outward forms to communicate inward grace. He has established a hierarchical Church, with a physical presence in the world, to be a sign of His own presence with us.

Defend thy Church, O Lord, by the protection of the holy Apostles: that, as she received from them the beginnings of her knowledge of things divine; so through them she may receive, even to the end of the world, an increase in heavenly grace; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

"He shall come again, with glory..."

Jesus said to his disciples, “In those days, after that great tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory."

- St. Mark 13:24-26

St. Mark reports to us words of Christ when He speaks about His return on the last day. It’s a reminder to us that the season of Advent is but a few weeks away, when we are bidden by the Church to prepare for the coming of Christ. There are two aspects to our preparation; first, that of preparing for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, and second, reminding us that we need to be spiritually prepared for the day when Christ will return in glory.

The message of this Gospel reading has an urgency about it, felt by Christians from the earliest days of the Church. There is, running throughout our faith, what is known as the “messianic hope” which is expressed in this Gospel. It is the expectation we profess every time we say the Creed, that the exalted Lord Jesus will return in glory. Throughout the New Testament there is the eager note sounded again and again about “waiting for the coming our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Some of the very earliest Christians made the mistake of trying to pin down the time of Christ’s return, as there have been those throughout history who have made the same mistake, forgetting that our Lord taught us that “no man knows the day or the hour” of His return. But we do believe that Christ will return to us; we believe “that he shall come again in glory to judge both the quick and the dead.”

We live in the “last days,” and those last days began with the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. At the time of His ascension into heaven, the promise was given to the apostles that “this Jesus, whom you have seen taken from your sight, will return in the same way as you have seen Him go.” The second coming of Christ is a doctrine of our faith.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “In those days, after that great tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in clouds with great power and glory. And then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven...” And so when considering the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there are four main features which call for our attention:

First, He will come in truth and with an unmistakable reality. Christ tells us, “They will see the Son of Man coming...” In other words, there won’t be any doubt about who He is. Up until the moment of His return, deception is possible. There were many false prophets in the Old Testament; we’re warned about false Christs in the New Testament. In fact, people were so accustomed to false Messiahs and false prophets, that even on the day of the Resurrection, two of the disciples said sadly on the way to Emmaus, “But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel...” thinking that Jesus was just one more in a long line of men who gave false hope. The rising up of false leaders giving false hopes is part of the common history of mankind. Certainly, we can understand that for those who don’t believe that Christ has come, they might be prepared to accept a self-styled Christ with the right credentials; but for those who believe that Christ has already come, it’s harder to understand how they could be fooled; however, Jesus warned of this very possibility, when He said, “For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” These false prophets will work on the fears and prejudices and doubts of the faithful, and there will be any number of movements and false apparitions and empty promises to fool even those who belong to Christ. We’ve seen these things come and go, even in our own lifetime, with people chasing after some charismatic speaker, or some supposed apparition, even some smooth-talking world leader. But at His true second coming, Christ will stand before the whole world, unmistakable as the one and only Saviour and Lord.

Secondly, Christ will be manifested universally. He tells us that He will be seen “from the far ends of the earth to the far ends of the heavens.” That’s what will happen. But for now, it is our responsibility to carry the message of Christ throughout the world. Dark corners need the Light of Christ so that we can help bring about the day when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord.” But the coming of Christ, when it happens for the second time, will not be so gradual, and it won’t depend upon our efforts. Rather, it will be like the flash of lighting which races across the dark sky. Lightning seems to follow no law. It penetrates everywhere with a frightening beauty, and there’s a split-second silence before the roar of the thunder is heard. Here’s a way to distinguish false Christs from true: the whole world will, all at once, know that He has come, just as the bolt of lightning illumines the whole sky.

Thirdly, Christ will come with “great power and glory.” This will be manifested first in the changes that will come over the material heavens. The sun will be darkened, the moon will no longer shine with the sun’s reflected light; the stars will appear to fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will shake, in preparation for their demise. And then, there will be the appearance of the Son of man. What will be His sign? Perhaps a fiery Cross, remembering the sign of our salvation; or maybe a new sign, corresponding to the new heavens and the new earth. We don’t know. But there will be some signal so that everyone will know of this glory which will surround Christ in His second coming. We can scarcely imagine such a thing, and we cannot really put it into words before it happens.

And finally, when Christ comes again, He will search out those who belong to Him. “He will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds...” Scripture records the words which tell us that the first time Christ came, He came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” When He did that it was more modest, and more quietly done. Nicodemus came to him “by night.” Joseph of Arimathea was a disciple, “but secretly, for fear of the Jews.” Many of the rulers “believed in Him, but did not confess Him.” But how different it will be when He returns! All His elect will be gathered, openly and conspicuously, in the face of the billions of people in the world. Then those who have been cleansed of their sins through His blood, will be openly gathered around Him, to be with Him forever.

This is the Scriptural teaching which the Church confesses about the Second coming of Jesus Christ. It reminds us, once again, that God is the God of history. He acts in history, and just as He began history, so He will end history by coming in glory at the end times. We catch a glimpse of this at every Mass, when Christ comes to us under the forms of bread and wine which have been changed into His Body and Blood. For that moment, history stands still, as God makes our Altar His throne, just like the earth will be His throne on the Last Day.

Advent will soon begin, that time when we consider the coming of Christ - not just His coming as a baby in Bethlehem, but also His triumphant coming in the final days as well. It reminds us that we must, at all times, be ready. Our hope must be in God; it must not be misplaced in man – and that’s important to remember, especially if we are discouraged about recent events in the life of our own nation.

We must wait for the return of Jesus the Lord, not for some new discovery which will supposedly transform our lives. We must place our faith in the blood of Christ, and not in the technology of men. The world would want us to make a trade-off, but it would be a bad one. It would want us to give up heaven for earth, to give up God for gadgets, to give up the coming of Christ for the coming of some man-made paradise. But that we cannot do, if we take the truth of our faith seriously.

The Son of man will come with great power and glory. When Jesus speaks of the passing away of heaven and earth He says that it is known only by the Father – that even He, Jesus, by His own consent chooses to remain ignorant of the exact time… and He wants us to get the message: we’re not supposed to work out dates and timetables as to the end of things. It is enough for us to know that the time will come. Day by day we need to simply do our duty to God and to others, and live in such a way that it does not matter when Christ returns, because we will be ready for it – whenever it happens.

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Pictured: The medieval Doom Painting in the Church of St. Thomas Becket, Salisbury, is the largest and best preserved in the United Kingdom. Painted c.1470, it was covered with lime whitewash at the time of the protestant reformation and not seen again until 1819. It was restored in 2019, bringing it back to its vibrant, detailed glory.

St. Margaret of Scotland

St. Margaret lived in the 11th century, and she was the great-niece of St. Edward the Confessor. She was a Saxon princess, but she was raised in Hungary in exile. Eventually, she and her parents returned to England, but she was forced to flee once again after the Battle of Hastings. She went to the court of Malcolm, who was the King of Scotland.

Malcolm was an unrefined man, and Scotland was a wild place – but Margaret and Malcolm came to love one another, and they were married. Margaret, in her gentle way and through her exemplary life, lived her Catholic faith in such a way that Malcolm and the people of Scotland gradually changed their ways to be more conformed to Christ’s teaching.

Margaret was a model mother and queen who brought up her eight children in an atmosphere of great devotion and she continued to work hard to improve the lives of the people of Scotland. She had a particular love for the poor, and provided for them out of her own resources, very often serving them herself.

O God, who didst call thy servant Margaret to an earthly throne that she might advance thy heavenly kingdom, and didst endue her with zeal for thy Church and charity towards thy people: mercifully grant that we who ask her prayers and commemorate her example may be fruitful in good works, and attain to the glorious fellowship of thy Saints; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Gertrude the Great

At the General Audience in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, 6 October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI offered this reflection on the life and witness of St. Gertrude:

“St Gertrude the Great, of whom I would like to talk to you today, brings us once again this week to the Monastery of Helfta, where several of the Latin-German masterpieces of religious literature were written by women. Gertrude belonged to this world. She is one of the most famous mystics, the only German woman to be called “Great”, because of her cultural and evangelical stature: her life and her thought had a unique impact on Christian spirituality. She was an exceptional woman, endowed with special natural talents and extraordinary gifts of grace, the most profound humility and ardent zeal for her neighbor’s salvation. She was in close communion with God both in contemplation and in her readiness to go to the help of those in need.

Gertrude was born on 6 January 1256, on the Feast of the Epiphany, but nothing is known of her parents nor of the place of her birth. Gertrude wrote that the Lord himself revealed to her the meaning of this first uprooting: 'I have chosen you for my abode because I am pleased that all that is lovable in you is my work…. For this very reason I have distanced you from all your relatives, so that no one may love you for reasons of kinship and that I may be the sole cause of the affection you receive' (The Revelations, I, 16, Siena 1994, pp. 76-77).

Gertrude was an extraordinary student, she learned everything that can be learned of the sciences of the trivium and quadrivium, the education of that time; she was fascinated by knowledge and threw herself into profane studies with zeal and tenacity, achieving scholastic successes beyond every expectation. If we know nothing of her origins, she herself tells us about her youthful passions: literature, music and song and the art of miniature painting captivated her. She had a strong, determined, ready and impulsive temperament. She often says that she was negligent; she recognizes her shortcomings and humbly asks forgiveness for them. She also humbly asks for advice and prayers for her conversion. Some features of her temperament and faults were to accompany her to the end of her life, so as to amaze certain people who wondered why the Lord had favoured her with such a special love.

On 27 January 1281, a few days before the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin, towards the hour of Compline in the evening, the Lord with his illumination dispelled her deep anxiety. She had a vision of a young man who, in order to guide her through the tangle of thorns that surrounded her soul, took her by the hand. In that hand Gertrude recognized 'the precious traces of the wounds that abrogated all the acts of accusation of our enemies' (ibid., II, 1, p. 89), and thus recognized the One who saved us with his Blood on the Cross: Jesus.

Looking forward to never-ending communion, she ended her earthly life on 17 November 1301 or 1302, at the age of about 46.”

O God, who didst prepare a delightful dwelling for thyself in the heart of the Virgin Saint Gertrude: graciously bring light, through her intercession, to the darkness of our hearts; that we may joyfully experience thee present and at work within us; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Albert the Great

The life of St. Albert covered almost all of the 13th century. His father was a very wealthy German nobleman, and Albert was able to receive an excellent education at the best universities of his day. He was a philosopher, a bishop, a prolific writer, and one of the most influential scientists of the Middle Ages. We are familiar with the phrase, “a know-it-all” – but St. Albert really was, and in the best sense. 

He was able to compile a complete system of all the knowledge of his day. The subjects he encompassed included astronomy, mathematics, economics, logic, rhetoric, ethics, politics, metaphysics and all branches of natural science. It would take him more than 20 years to complete this phenomenal presentation.

St. Albert taught that there is no discrepancy between theology and science; rather, they are simply different aspects of a harmonious whole. Among his most important contributions to the development of scientific thought in the Middle Ages was helping the scholarly community to recognize the value of Aristotle’s philosophy, and he had as one of his chief students, St. Thomas Aquinas. It was Thomas who carried St. Albert’s teaching out to its logical conclusions.

St. Albert was appointed by Pope Alexander IV to be the bishop of Regensburg and he was installed in January 1260, but he found life as a bishop to be unsuitable and after the death of the pope in 1261, Albert was able to resign his episcopal see and return to the life he loved most - that of being a scholar and teacher.

St. Albert is the only scholar of his time to have earned the title "Great" - a title that was applied to him even during his lifetime.

O God, who gavest grace unto blessed Albert, thy Bishop and Doctor, to become truly great in the subjection of human wisdom to divine faith: grant us, we beseech thee, so to follow in the footsteps of his teaching; that we may enjoy the perfect light in heaven; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, the first American citizen to be canonized, was a naturalized citizen, having been born in Italy in 1850. Her parents were simple farmers, accustomed to hard work and little money, but always ready to welcome another child. In fact, St. Frances was the thirteenth child, and her mother was fifty-two years old when she was born. It was a devout Catholic family in which she was raised, and at night after the day’s work was done, the children would listen to their father read them stories of the saints. Young Frances was especially fascinated by the saints who went on missions to foreign countries.

St. Frances had a great desire to help others, and after she finished school she assisted in the local parish by teaching catechism, and visiting the sick and the poor. She also taught school, and supervised the running of an orphanage, where she was assisted by a group of young women. Their work became so well-known that the bishop in a neighboring diocese heard of their work, and he asked Frances to establish a missionary institute to work in the area of education. Frances did as the bishop requested, and she called this new community the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. They opened an academy for girls, and before long the work spread with the establishment of new houses.

One day Frances was contacted by Bishop Scalabrini, an Italian bishop who had a great concern for the many immigrants who were leaving Italy for a new life in the United States. It was not easy for these immigrants, and upon their arrival in America they would endure tremendous hardships, and were not being given adequate spiritual care. As Bishop Scalabrini described the situation to Frances, she was very moved by what he said, but it did not occur to her that she might have a part in the solution. It was not until she had an audience with Pope Leo XIII about the future of her religious foundation that she changed her plans. It was her intention to receive papal permission to go to the missions of the orient, but the Holy Father had another suggestion. “Not to the East, but go to the West,” he said to her. “Go to America.”

Now known as Mother Cabrini, she had no hesitation when she heard the Pope’s words. To America she went, and she landed in New York in 1889, immediately establishing an orphanage, and then set about her life’s work – that of seeing a need, and then working for a solution. She built schools, places for child care, medical clinics, orphanages, and homes for abandoned babies. The poor had no place to go when they became seriously ill, so she built a number of hospitals for the needy. At the time of her death, there were more than five thousand children receiving care in the various institutions she built, and her religious community had grown to five hundred members in seventy houses throughout North and South America, France, Spain, and England.

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini was a frail woman, of a very small stature, but she amazed others with her energy and imagination. She was constantly traveling, sailing the Atlantic twenty-five times to visit her various religious houses and institutions. It was in 1909 that she adopted the United States as her country and formally became a citizen.

As she reached the end of her life, she had given thirty-seven years to the works of charity she loved so much. In her final illness she was admitted to a hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She died while making dolls to be given to orphans at an upcoming Christmas party, her last activity being a simple act of charity. Mother Cabrini was beatified in 1938, and canonized in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.

God our Father, who didst call Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini from Italy to serve the immigrants of America: by her example, teach us to care for the stranger, the sick, and all those in need; and by her prayers help us to see Christ in all whom we meet; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr

St. Josaphat was born about the year 1580 in what was the Polish province of Lithuania and was raised as an Eastern Rite Catholic. He had a deep devotion to the suffering of Christ, and looked at the schism between East and West as a wound in the Church as the Sacred Body of our Lord. As a young man in his mid-twenties he entered religious life, joining the Ukrainian Order of Saint Basil (known as the Basilians), and as a monk he gave himself over to penance and mortification, going barefoot even in winter, and eating only the poorest food.

In 1618, after living as a monk for nearly fifteen years, he was appointed to be archbishop of the Eastern Rite Diocese of Polotzk, and he devoted his energies to work for the reunion of the Church, all the while deepening the faith of his people through his preaching and his example. There were those in the Orthodox Church, not in union with Rome, who were very much against his work towards unity, and a group of them decided he must be stopped, making plans to assassinate him. In fact, St. Josaphat knew there were many who did not want unity, and he knew his life was in danger; however, he pressed forward in his work to heal the rift between East and West.

One day when he was visiting part of his diocese in territory which is now in Russia, his enemies made an attack on the place where he was staying, and many of those who were traveling with St. Josaphat were killed. Quietly and with humility, St. Josaphat went toward the attackers and asked them why they had done such a thing, saying to them, “If you have something against me, see, here I am.” The crowd screamed at him saying, “Kill the papist!” They ran towards him with their weapons, killing him with an axe-blow to his head.

St. Josaphat's body was thrown into the river, but it remained on the surface of the water, surrounded by rays of light, and was recovered. Those who had murdered him, when they were sentenced to death, repented of what they had done. Through the gentle example of St. Josaphat and helped by his heavenly intercession, through the grace of God they became Catholics.

Stir up in thy Church, we pray, O Lord, the Spirit that filled Saint Josaphat: that, as he laid down his life for the sheep; so through his intercession we, too, may be strengthened by the same Spirit and not fear to lay down our life for our brethren; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

- John McCrae (1872-1918)

November 11th

NOVEMBER 11th, known originally as Armistice Day, marked the end of World War I at "the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" in 1918. Known as VETERANS DAY in the United States, it is a day on which we honour all military veterans. Throughout the Commonwealth nations it is known as REMEMBRANCE DAY, honouring armed forces members who have died in the line of duty.

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In the United States of America, for those who serve or have served in the Armed Forces:

O LORD God of Hosts, stretch forth, we pray thee, thine almighty arm to strengthen and protect those who serve in the armed forces of our country. Support them in the day of battle, and at the time of peace keep them safe from all evil; endue them with courage and loyalty; and grant that in all things they may serve without reproach; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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In the Commonwealth nations, for Remembrance Day:

O LORD our God, whose Name only is excellent and thy praise above heaven and earth: we thank thee for all those who counted not their lives dear unto themselves but laid them down for their friends; grant us, we beseech thee, that having them always in remembrance we may imitate their faithfulness and sacrifice; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Martin of Tours

When he was merely a boy, Martin became a Christian catechumen against his parents' wishes, and at the age of fifteen he was forced by his father, a pagan soldier, to be enrolled in the army.

It was on a winter's day, while stationed at Amiens, that Martin met a beggar almost naked and frozen with cold. Having nothing to give him, Martin cut his cloak in two and gave poor man half.

That night in a dream Martin saw Our Lord clothed in the half cloak, and heard Him say to surrounding angels: "Martin, yet only a catechumen, has wrapped Me in this garment." He decided to be baptized, and shortly after this he left the army.

Martin succeeded in converting his mother, but he was driven from his home by the Arian heretics who were powerful in that place, and he took shelter with the bishop, St. Hilary. Near Poitiers they founded first monastery in France, and in the year 372 St. Martin was made Bishop of Tours. The people of that area, though Christian in name, were mostly still pagan in their hearts and in their daily practice. Unarmed and attended only by his monks, St. Martin destroyed the heathen temples and groves, and then completed this courageous act by preaching the Gospel.

After witnessing many miracles at the hand of their bishop St. Martin, there was a complete conversion of the people. St. Martin’s last eleven years were spent in the humble work of travelling throughout Gaul, preaching and manifesting the power of God through his works and by the purity of his life.

O God, who seest that we are not able to stand in our own strength: mercifully grant that, through the prayers of blessed Martin thy Confessor and Bishop, we may be defended from all adversities; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Widow's Offering

[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came, and put in two copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living.”

- St. Mark 12:41-44

We know exactly where Jesus was when he said this. In the Temple there were the various Courts – the Court of the Gentiles, the Court of the Women, the Court of the Israelites, the Court of the Priests – each one leading closer to the Holy of Holies. A person would go through these various Courts to get to the next one, as far as he was allowed. In this particular passage, Jesus was speaking in the Court of the Women. Men could be there, but women could go no further. Located there were thirteen trumpet-shaped receptacles, each one assigned to receive offerings for a different purpose – for the wood that was used to burn the sacrifice, for the incense that was burned on the altar, for the upkeep of the golden vessels, and so on. It was near these receptacles that Jesus was sitting.

He looked up and saw several people making their offerings, including a poor widow. She had two small copper coins to give, worth only a fraction of a penny, but Jesus said her offering far out-valued all the other offerings, because it was everything she had.

When it comes to a gift, there is the spirit in which it is given. A gift which is given unwillingly, a gift which is given with a grudge, a gift given for the sake of prestige or of self-display loses a lot of its value. The only real gift is that which flows out of a loving heart, something given out of a deep desire of the one giving it.

And there also is the sacrifice which the gift involves. Something which is virtually nothing to one person may be a huge amount to someone else. That day in the Temple, the gifts of the rich, as they flung in their offerings, didn’t really cost them very much; but the two coins of the widow cost her everything she had. The rich had probably calculated how much they could afford; she gave with a kind of reckless generosity which could give no more.

Giving does not begin to be sacrificial giving until it hurts. A gift shows our love only when we have had to do without something or have had to work doubly hard in order to give it. No gift, if given in love, is too small. Nothing escapes the notice of God, from whom no secrets are hid.

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Painting: "The Widows Mite" [O óbolo da viúva]

by João Zeferino da Costa (1840-1915)

Dedication of St. John Lateran

On November 9th the Catholic Church throughout the world celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the Archbasilica of the Most Holy Saviour in the city of Rome, known also as St. John Lateran. On the façade is carved the proud title “Omnium Urbis et Orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput” – “The Mother and Head of all Churches of the City and of the World.” It is the cathedral of Rome – it is the Pope’s Cathedral, and so is, in a sense, the Cathedral of the world – senior in dignity even to St. Peter’s Basilica.

One of the reasons we celebrate this Feast is because the Church wants us to remember the importance of consecrated places in which the worship of God takes place. It reminds us of the importance of the consecration of every Catholic Church throughout the world. It is a reminder to us of the Incarnational principle on which our faith is based – that God extends His spiritual blessings to us through the use of physical things. He took human flesh upon Himself. He has instituted seven sacraments which use outward forms to communicate inward grace. He has established a hierarchical Church, with a physical presence in the world, to be a sign of His own presence with us.

O Most blessed Saviour, who didst vouchsafe thy gracious presence at the Feast of Dedication: be present with us at this time by thy Holy Spirit, and so possess our souls by thy grace; that we may be living temples, holy and acceptable unto thee; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

A Prayer for Our President-Elect

Almighty and eternal God, we beseech thee to bless our President-elect, Donald Trump. Protect him from all danger, grant him wisdom and grace in the exercise of his duties, and give him courage in leading us, that there may be peace in our nation and throughout the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

St. Charles Borromeo, Bishop

Charles Borromeo was born into an aristocratic, very wealthy Italian family. The family lived in a beautiful castle and lived lavishly, with an extravagant life of entertaining a court of noblemen. Charles was very good at athletics, music, art, and he enjoyed all the fine things that went along with the life of a rich and famous family. His mother was one of the Medici family, and one of his uncles was the pope. As was usual in those days, his uncle the pope made Charles a cardinal when he was only twenty-three and gave him many honours and titles. He was appointed papal legate to Bologna, the Low Countries, the cantons of Switzerland, and to the religious orders of St. Francis, the Carmelites, the Knights of Malta, and others.

When Charles’ father died, everyone thought that Charles would give up his ecclesiastical positions, and that he would marry some young noblewoman, and become the head of the Borromeo family. But Charles didn’t do that. Instead, he discerned a vocation to ordination, and he became a priest. Not long after, he was appointed bishop of Milan, a city that had not had a resident bishop for over eighty years.

Although he had been accustomed to a rich and extravagant life, when Charles was ordained and then became the Bishop of Milan, he spent much of his time dealing with hardship and suffering. There was a terrible famine in the year 1570 and he took on the responsibility of providing food to feed 3,000 people a day for three months. Six years later, another plague swept through the region. Bishop Borromeo organized his priests, religious, and lay volunteers to feed and care for the almost 70,000 people living in part of his diocese. He personally cared for many who were sick and dying, and he spent all his money doing it. In fact, he even ran up huge debts so that he could feed, clothe, and provide medical care, as well as build shelters for thousands of plague-stricken people.

He once ordered an atonement procession and led it with a rope about his neck, with bare and bloody feet, a cross upon his shoulder, thus presenting himself as an expiatory sacrifice for his people to ward off divine punishment. He died in 1584 at the age of forty-six, dressed in sackcloth and ashes, holding a picture of Jesus Crucified in his hands. His last words were, "See, Lord, I am coming, I am coming soon."

Keep, O Lord, thy Church by the continual protection of Saint Charles Borromeo: that as his zeal for thy flock did render him glorious; so his intercession may ever make us fervent in thy love; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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"St. Charles Borromeo Ministering to the Plague-Infected"

by Caspar Franz Sambach (1715-1795)

Love: The Fulfilling of the Law

One of the scribes came up to Jesus and asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these. "

- St. Mark 12:28-31

A question comes to our Lord from an expert in the Law, a Scribe. "Which commandment is the first of all?" In other words, “If you could summarize everything that Moses taught in one simple commandment, what would that commandment be?”

In fact, this was a question to which the scribes really did want to have an answer. They were the experts in the Law who drew out from the Torah rules and regulations for every possible situation. They knew God expected His law to be obeyed, and they were always interested in what the Law required. There were certain “schools of Pharisees” who wanted to know “what is the minimum, the bottom line, the summary?” The rabbis were searching for “the Torah in a nutshell,” a least common denominator, kind of “bumper-sticker-sized” slogan that would fully capture the Law of God. So far, all they had managed to do was multiply the commandments. In fact, God had summed things up pretty neatly in what we call the "Ten Commandments," but the Jewish religious leaders had managed to expand things to 613 “do's and don'ts,” and they were still counting!

Of course, there have always been religious people, including some religious leaders, who do their best to render religion non-demanding and harmless, looking for a minimum – a religion that asks “What's the least that I have to do?” “How often do I really have to go to church?” “How much do I really have to give God?” “How often do I really need to pray?” “How much do I really need to know?” “What's the bottom line?” This kind of “minimal religion” tries to keep things practical and painless. It delights in loopholes, and bargains with God to keep standards low. It tries to pare the Law down to a more manageable size. It substitutes niceness for perfection, morality for holiness. But God didn't say "Put in a little bit of effort to be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." He said, "Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."

The scribe in today’s Gospel may well have started out by trying to set a trap for Jesus. He may have been wondering, “How far would this rabbi from Nazareth be willing to dilute the Law?” So he tries to get Jesus to single out one law as being “most important.” Jesus knew the trap, and so He replies with not one, but with two great commandments – because there is always more with Jesus, always more than you are asking for. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” To list “heart, soul, mind and strength” is the Hebrew way of saying “all of you,” every last bit of you, with nothing held back from God. Love God with every fiber of your being. That is the first and great commandment.

Jesus goes on, “the second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The two go side by side, hand in hand. The love of God and the love of our neighbor are inseparable. We cannot claim to love God if we don't love our neighbor. On these two commandments - the love of God and the love of neighbor - the entire Law and the Prophets hang. They’re like twin hooks that hold up the entire Law of God. So Jesus teaches that the entire law of God can be boiled down to two simple commandments: Love God with your whole being; and love whomever God puts in your path as much as you love yourself.

In fact, Jesus distilled the Law down to one word: Love. St. Paul wrote to the Romans: "He who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law… Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."

And yet, there are those who have trouble with the word "love." They think it's a feeling, something you “fall into,” a warm fuzzy feeling on the inside. But love, as Jesus is teaching us, is not primarily a feeling; rather, love is an orientation of the will in action toward another. To love God and to love our neighbor doesn’t mean that we have particular feelings about God or our neighbor. That's not to say that love doesn't have feelings associated with it: certainly, it does. But love itself, in its essence, is not a feeling.

There was a priest who always asked couples when they came to him for marriage preparation, why they wanted to get married. Invariably, they would say, "Because we love each other." And he would usually say something like, "That's very nice, now come up with a good reason why you want to get married!" His point was that love doesn't define or shape marriage; rather, marriage defines and shapes love. It is an orientation between husband and wife because they are husband and wife. The same could also be applied in the other direction, when couples want to end their marriage because they “don't love each other any more.” What should be said to them is, “That’s not good enough. Come up with a legitimate reason for separating."

We should understand that love isn't something that you “fall into.” We fall into holes and ditches, not into love. It's a curious expression, "to fall in love." Falling means losing your balance, losing your control. Falling is an “out of control” experience. But instead of a “falling” experience, love is really a deliberate action of the will. To love means deliberately to turn ourselves toward another, to give away something of ourselves to someone else without any regard for what we might get in return. The Scriptures describe love in self-sacrificing terms: "Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." To love is to be turned inside out, toward someone outside of yourself - whether toward God or toward your neighbor.

As Jesus taught in the parable of the Good Samaritan - our neighbor – the one who is to be the object of our love - is anyone whom God has put in our path, anyone who has need of us at any particular moment. That may be someone with whom we have a brief encounter on the street or while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store or at the doctor's office. It may be the person who is in the hospital bed next to us. Our neighbor is a member of our household, it’s your husband or wife, it’s your children, it’s your in-laws. Your neighbor is the person who lives next door, or two and three doors down the street. Your neighbor is your fellow Christian, your coworker, or your classmate at school, or perhaps someone you’ve never met personally.

We have lots of neighbors, often more than we realize. Think of all the people with whom you come into contact each day. Those are the people whom the Law says we are to love, whether they’re kind to us or not, whether we like them or not, whether we feel like it or not. And if we don’t love our neighbor whom we see, how can we claim to love God whom we do not see?

Jesus links the love of our neighbor with our love of God. We love God by loving our neighbor. The cup of water we give to someone who is thirsty, we’ve given to God. The food we give to the hungry, we’ve given to God. The comfort we give to someone who is suffering, we’ve given to God. The time we spend enriching the lives of others is time offered to God.

And what it comes down to is this: our love flows from God's love. When we love, it’s because we have first been loved by God in Jesus Christ. Christ’s death and resurrection free us to love God and to love our neighbor. We no longer have to love; rather, we are allowed to love. We don't love in order to get to heaven; we love because heaven is already ours in Christ. We don't love in order to win God's favor; we love because we already have God's favor in Christ. We don't love so that God will love us; we love because God has loved us in Christ with the greatest love we will ever know, the crucified love of Jesus Christ.

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Painting: "Les pharisiens questionnent Jésus"

by Jacques Joseph Tissot (1836-1902)