St. Paul Miki and Martyrs of Japan

Nagasaki, Japan, is known in history as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped in 1945 during the last stages of World War II, killing hundreds of thousands. But some 350 years before that, twenty-six martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his church.

When Christianity first came to Japan, it was tolerated by the shoguns – the leaders – because they thought it would open up trade with the West. However, they soon decided that the Christian faith wasn’t helpful to them, so they outlawed it, and began the systematic destruction of the faith. The martyrs we celebrate today were rounded up and tortured, trying to get them to deny their faith. Each one of them had an ear cut off, and then they were marched for a thousand miles through the winter months, in the hope that they would denounce the faith, and cause others to do the same. All that accomplished was to make their faith grow stronger. The forced march ended at Nagasaki, where the Christians were then crucified on what came to be known as the Holy Mountain.

St. Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution. He forgave his persecutors and called people to love God and to obey Him. His final words were, "I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."

When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that even though there were no priests and no sacraments other than baptism, the people had secretly preserved the faith.

Almighty and everlasting God, who didst enkindle the flame of thy love in the hearts of St. Paul Miki and the Martyrs of Japan: Grant to us, thy humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in their triumph may profit by their example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

St. Agatha was born in Sicily, and is one of the many brave and faithful martyrs of the 3rd century. Her family was a wealthy and important one. Agatha was raised as a Christian, and when she was a very young girl she dedicated her life to God alone, and felt no vocation to be married. Because of her beauty and wealth, and because of the importance of her family, there were many men who sought to marry her. She resisted them all, desiring only a life of prayer and charitable service.

There was a man named Quintian, a Roman prefect, who thought his rank and power could force Agatha into a relationship with him. Knowing she was a Christian, and because this was in a time of persecution, he had her arrested and brought to trial. The judge was none other than himself. He expected Agatha to give in to him when she was faced with torture and death, but she simply rededicated herself to God.

Quintian imprisoned Agatha, locking her up with cruel and immoral women, in order to get her to change her mind. After she had suffered a month of being assaulted and humiliated she never wavered, saying that although they could physically lock her up, her real freedom came from Jesus. Quintian continued to have her tortured. He refused to allow her to have any medical care, but St. Agatha was given great comfort by God, who allowed her to have a vision of St. Peter, in which he encouraged and strengthened her.

Finally, because of the repeated torture and mutilation of her body, St. Agatha died in about the year 251, while whispering a prayer of thanks to God.

O God, who among the manifold works of thine almighty power hast bestowed even upon the gentleness of women strength to win the victory of martyrdom: grant, we beseech thee; that we, who on this day recall the heavenly birth of Saint Agatha, thy Virgin and Martyr, may so follow in her footsteps, that we may likewise attain unto thee; 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. Gilbert of Sempringham

Born in about the year 1083 in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family, St. Gilbert’s father was a Norman knight who had decided that his son would follow a different path, and so sent him to France to study and to prepare for ordination.

When St. Gilbert returned to England he was not yet ordained a priest. His father had died, and Gilbert inherited several estates. While many might have chosen a life of ease in such circumstances, St. Gilbert chose to live a simple life, putting himself at the service of the poor by sharing with them his considerable resources. He was ordained to the priesthood, and served as the parish priest at Sempringham, where he had grown up.

There were seven young women in the congregation who had expressed to him a desire to live in community as vowed religious. St. Gilbert took their vocation seriously, and had a house built for them near the parish church. Although their communal life was one of simplicity and austerity, the community grew in numbers. They worked on the land, providing for their own needs and for the needs of the poor. It was St. Gilbert’s hope that the Community would be able to become part of the Cistercians, or one of the other established orders, but that never happened. They became known as the Gilbertines, and they remained as their own order, which continued to grow until King Henry VIII ordered the suppression of all monasteries in 1538.

The Gilbertines developed a beautiful custom in their religious houses, of having what was called “the plate of the Lord Jesus.” On this plate they would place the very best portion of their meals, which would then be shared with the poor. This custom was a direct reflection of St. Gilbert’s own love for the poor, and it continued the charity he had always shown.

Although St. Gilbert came from great wealth, and through inheritance he himself was a man of means, nonetheless he lived the simple life of a devoted parish priest. He ate very little food, and spent many nights in prayer. He lived a life of hardship and sacrifice willingly, as a sign of his love for Christ and for the poor.  He died in the year 1190 at the age of 106.

O God, by whose grace thy servant St. Gilbert of Sempringham, enkindled with the fire of thy love, became a burning and a shining light in thy Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and may ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The conquering power of Christ

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the sea, to the country of Gerasenes. And when he had come out of the boat, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who lived among the tombs; and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out, and bruising himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me." For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!" And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many." And he begged him eagerly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside; and they begged him, "Send us to the swine, let us enter them." So he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus, and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the man who had the legion; and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their neighborhood. And as he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. But he refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and all men marveled.

-St. Mark 5:1-20

As we read in this passage from St. Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has just cast the demons out of the poor man who was the victim of demonic possession by “Legion, for we are many." This happened in the Decapolis, which literally means “The Ten Cities.” 

 Near the Jordan, and on its east side, there were ten cities that had a rather special character. They were essentially Greek cities, because of the conquests of Alexander the Great, which firmly established Greek culture in that area. This explains how there came to be large herds of swine there – something that would not be found in Jewish areas.

The cities were beautiful. They had their Greek gods and their Greek temples and their Greek amphitheaters. The people were devoted to the Greek way of life. And this is of interest to us. Why? Because with Jesus ministering in the Decapolis, it was a hint of things to come. Although there were Jews in the area, it was fundamentally a Greek area, and this is the first time we see Jesus moving His teaching from a purely Jewish setting out to Gentile territory.

With that in mind, we can see some reason, now, for Jesus not letting the man who had been possessed stay with Him. Jesus sent him back to stay in this area as a witness to the power of the one true God. This man, delivered from demonic possession, was probably a “seed” planted, which would grow into a harvest of people who would ultimately give themselves to Christ after His resurrection. 

This, then, was the first contact that Christianity had with Greek civilization, and it is a small, but dramatic picture of the future of the spread of the Church throughout the world by conquering evil and spreading the Gospel.

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Pictured: "Healing of the Possesed Man at Gerasa" 

From a Book of Hours, Dutch (Utrecht), c. 1430

St. Blaise, Bishop and Martyr

St. Blaise was a physician and Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia. He lived in a cave on Mount Argeus and was a healer of men and animals. According to legend, sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him at prayer.

Agricola, governor of Cappadocia, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians. His huntsmen went into the forests of Argeus to find wild animals for the arena games, and found many waiting outside Blaise's cave. Discovered in prayer, Blaise was arrested, and Agricola tried to get him to recant his faith. While in prison, Blaise ministered to and healed fellow prisoners, including saving a child who was choking on a fish bone; this led to the blessing of throats on Blaise's feast day.

Thrown into a lake to drown, Blaise stood on the surface and invited his persecutors to walk out and prove the power of their gods; they drowned. When he returned to land, he was martyred by being beaten, his flesh torn with wool combs (which led to his association with and patronage of those involved in the wool trade), and then beheading.

St. Blaise has been extremely popular for centuries in both the Eastern and Western Churches and many cures were attributed to him. In 1222 the Council of Oxford prohibited servile labour in England on his feast. He is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, and he is invoked especially for afflictions of the throat.

— Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

O God, who makest us glad with the yearly festival of blessed Blaise, thy Martyr and Bishop: mercifully grant that, as we now observe his heavenly birthday; so we may likewise rejoice in his protection; 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 Presentation of Our Lord

It is a good and just king who obeys his own laws. And at the time of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, God was doing just that. As the Incarnate Word, He conformed Himself to all those laws which were meant to honour Him. And it took place in the very Temple which was built to worship Him. Old Simeon had waited for years and he had seen countless infants brought into the Temple, but by the stirring of the Holy Ghost within him he knew this was the One. The veil was lifted from Simeon’s eyes, foreshadowing the future day when the Temple veil would be torn in two. The Infant in Simeon’s arms was an image of the Victim on the arms of the Cross. And the aged prophet’s words to the Virgin Mother would be fulfilled when she stood beneath the cross, entering into her Son’s suffering.

This is a continuing epiphany, an ongoing revelation of our Lord. It reminds us of the importance of obedience as we see Christ’s obedience. It reminds us of the importance of waiting upon God as we hear of the waiting of Simeon and Anna. And it reminds us of the importance of offering our best love to God as we witness Joseph and Mary offering back to God the Beloved Infant entrusted to them, giving us a foretaste of the Mass itself, in which Christ is offered to the Father.

There are three times in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ when a period of forty days figure in an important way: the feast of His Presentation in the Temple occurs forty days after His Nativity; the forty days in the wilderness, after which He was “presented” to the world and began His earthly ministry; and the forty days after His Resurrection, after which Christ was “presented” in heaven through His Ascension.

God “speaks His mysteries plain,” and His use of these periods of time tells us something of the nature of God; namely, that the Eternal Word has entered into time and space. At each “presentation” in the earthly life of Christ, it was not He alone who was presented, but He has taken our human nature through these things so that we might experience something similar.

And so we do. We have our own “presentation in the temple” in our baptism. As believing and active Catholics we have a “presentation to the world” as we seek to fulfill our vocation to work for the consecration of all creation in the name of Christ. And, God willing, we will have our “presentation in heaven” when God will say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter into the joy of thy Lord.”

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly beseech thy majesty: that, as thine Only Begotten Son was this day presented in the temple in substance of our flesh; so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts, by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Stilling the storm

On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other side." And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?" And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"

- St. Mark 4:35-41

In this passage from St. Mark’s Gospel we see Jesus and His disciples being caught out on the Sea of Galilee when a storm came up.  The disciples were fearful that they would drown. Although Jesus was sleeping, when they woke Him He rose up and commanded the wind and sea, and an immediate calm came.

What should we make of this scene? Did it really happen? Did the wind die down and the sea become calm simply at the word of Jesus? Yes. If we were there, that's what we would have experienced.

But there’s a further meaning in this account. When the Gospel writers speak of a boat, often they are also referring to the Church. In fact, this is one of the titles of the Church – the Barque, or Boat, of Peter - referring to the Catholic Church founded by Christ Himself.

And as the little boat referred to in the Gospel was being beaten by the storm and the waves, so the Church even today is being pounded by external forces and weakened by a few corrupt leaders. The Church, the Barque of Peter, is sailing in perilous waters. Like the disciples, there are many who are fearful. There are those who are tempted to believe that God has abandoned His people, and that because of our sins He has turned His back on us.

Yet we know that cannot be true. Though the gates of hell seem to stand against us, they cannot prevail. Our Lord promised it. Look back through the centuries at the number of times God’s promise has been fulfilled. And just as the disciples wondered, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him,” so we know exactly what sort of man our Saviour Christ is: He is God Incarnate, in complete control, and even though the storms around us seem very great, we need have no fear at all. At Christ’s Word, everything will be made calm.

St. John Bosco

St. John Bosco was born near Turin, Italy, in 1815. His father died when John was only two years old, but his mother made sure he received a good education. His early years were financially difficult but at the age of twenty he entered the major seminary, thanks to the financial help received from a benefactor. John Bosco was ordained a priest on June 5, 1846.

At that time the city of Turin was on the threshold of the industrial revolution and as a result there were many challenges and problems, especially for the young men who came there to work. Many of them had little or no education, and since they worked long hours, there were few opportunities to get an education. Gifted as he was as an educator and a leader, Don Bosco formulated a system of education based on "reason, religion and kindness." In spite of the criticism and violent attacks of the anti-clericals, he conducted workshops for the tradesmen and manual laborers, schools of arts and sciences for young workers, and schools of the liberal arts for those preparing for the priesthood. In 1868 there were 800 students involved in this educational system. To ensure the continuation of his work, Don Bosco founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales (Salesians), which was approved in 1869. Also, with the help of Sister Mary Dominic Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Auxiliatrix.

He also found time to write popular catechetical pamphlets, which were distributed throughout Italy, as was his Salesian Bulletin. This great apostle of youth died on January 31, 1888, and was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1934. Pope John Paul II named him "father and teacher to the young."

O God, who didst raise up Saint John Bosco thy Confessor to be a father and teacher of the young, and through him, with the aid of the Virgin Mary, didst will that new families should flourish in thy Church: grant, we beseech thee; that being kindled by the same fire of charity, we may have the strength to seek for souls, and to serve thee alone; 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.

Soil and Seeds

Jesus taught many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to the crowds: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty fold and sixty fold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

-St. Mark 4:2-9

The time came when Jesus was no longer teaching in the synagogue, but rather out in the open by the Sea of Galilee. The basis of Christ’s method of teaching was the use of the parable. A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Something on earth is compared with something in heaven, so that the heavenly truth may be better grasped in light of the earthly illustration.

So we see Jesus is sitting in a boat just off the edge of the shore of the Sea of Galilee. He begins with the “here and now” and moves to the “there and then.” In other words, He started from a thing that was happening at that moment before their eyes. They could see the fields. They knew how seeds were planted, and how they would grow, depending upon the soil.

This was the very essence of our Lord’s teaching, that He started with the simplest things that even a child could understand, and led people to truths they had never realized before, showing that there is a direct relationship between earth and heaven.

It isn’t just possible - but indeed it is necessary - to see the things of God in common and ordinary things. Life is filled with things which can lead us to God, if we will only look at them with eyes of faith. The soil before their eyes became for the people a picture of their own lives as they heard it in Christ’s parable. The seed in the parable became the Word of God. And through this parable we can learn how to cultivate God’s truth, and so grow in God’s Kingdom.

St. Thomas Aquinas, Angelic Doctor

One of the greatest Catholic teachers in the history of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas is honored with the titles Doctor of the Church and Angelic Doctor.

His parents had plans for him. In the year 1230, when he was only five years old, they took him to the Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, and it was their hope that he would choose to become a Benedictine there, and eventually become abbot. In 1239 he was sent to Naples to complete his studies. It was here that he was first attracted to philosophy of Aristotle, and he saw how that philosophy could be used in the service of Catholic theology.

Thomas abandoned his family's plans for him and he joined the Dominicans, much to his mother's dismay. In fact, she ordered one of her other sons to capture Thomas away from the Dominicans, and he was kept at home for over a year. Of course, that couldn’t last forever, and once he was free, he went to Paris and then to Cologne, where he finished his studies with St. Albert the Great. He eventually became a professor at the University of Paris, and was known throughout the Church as one of the great scholars of all time.

But along with his fame as a scholar, he remained modest, a perfect model of childlike simplicity and goodness. He was known for his mildness in speaking and for his great kindness. Whatever clothing or other items he could give away, he gladly did. He kept nothing superfluous in his efforts to alleviate the needs of others.

His great Summa – which was his last and, unfortunately, uncompleted work, is a compendium of the whole of Catholic theology. He stopped work on it after celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273. When asked why he stopped writing, he replied, "I cannot go on.... All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me." He died just a few months later.

Everlasting God, who didst enrich thy Church with the learning and holiness of thy servant Saint Thomas Aquinas: grant to all who seek thee a humble mind and a pure heart; that they may know thy Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth and the life; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Building God's Family

The mother of Jesus and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you." And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brethren?" And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brethren! Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother."  -St. Mark 3:31-35

In this brief passage from the Gospel we hear our Lord Jesus expanding the idea of kinship, of what it is to be part of a family, that it isn’t just a matter of flesh and blood. Now certainly, we should understand that Jesus wasn’t minimizing family ties. In fact, the teaching of the Church is very clear about the obligation that parents have to care for their children, and the obligation that children have to honour their parents. But here Jesus is developing and building upon this as He speaks about the larger family; namely, the family of God.

Our Lord teaches that true kinship is based upon a common obedience. He says, “...whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” His band of disciples was a mixed group, as is the Church today, but we are bound together because we choose to obey Jesus as our master. People can truly come to love one another when they share a common love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Christ's power over evil...

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebul, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin" - for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

- St. Mark 3:22-30

Those scribes weren’t questioning Christ’s power to exorcise demons. They fully accepted the fact that He had that power. What they got wrong was what they considered the source of that power to be. They were convinced that He had this power because He was in league with the head of all the demons, Satan himself. But they weren’t thinking logically, and Jesus had no difficulty in showing the fallacy in what they were saying.

The essence of exorcism is always that the exorcist calls upon a stronger power in order to drive out the weaker, and this is a basic premise of Catholic exorcism. So when those scribes said that Jesus was using the power of Satan to drive out demons, He makes the powerful point that if there is dissension in a kingdom, then that kingdom won’t last. If there are quarrels in a house, then that household won’t stand for long. So if Satan is making war with his own demons, then Satan would be undermining his own power.

He then goes on to emphasize His point: if you want to rob a strong man, you can’t do it until you subdue him. Once you’ve restrained him, then you can take his belongings. So it should be obvious to the scribes that Jesus certainly isn’t in league with Satan; rather, He was showing that Satan’s defenses were being destroyed. Indeed, someone stronger had arrived, and the conquest of Satan had begun in earnest. Jesus is showing us that there is a struggle between the power of evil and the power of God, and that the power of God will always win because it is definitely not a struggle between equals!

And then there are some very serious words about what has been called “the unforgivable sin.” Now to understand, it’s important to know the circumstances in which our Lord was speaking. When Jesus said, “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness…” it was when the scribes and Pharisees had claimed that the cures He had done were accomplished, not by the power of God, but by the power of the devil. They were religious leaders looking at at the incarnate love of God, and yet they were able to think that it was the power of Satan.

This, then, is the “unforgivable sin” - to call what is good, evil. To identify the source of good with the devil indicates a moral ruin which will not allow itself to be repaired. When an individual rejects the guidance of God, and loses the ability to recognize goodness when he sees it, having his moral values so reversed that to him evil is good and good is evil, he has made himself immune to being conscious of sin. In such a state, he cannot repent, and if he cannot repent then he cannot be forgiven. That is the “sin against the Holy Spirit,” and is “unforgivable,” not because God cannot forgive, but because such a person will not allow Him to forgive.

St. Angela Merici

St. Angela Merici was born in 1474 in Verona (in what is now Italy), and she founded the first teaching congregation of women in the Church, the community dedicated to St. Ursula, known as the Ursulines.

As a young woman she became a member of the Third Order of St. Francis, and lived a very simple life – in fact, a life that was so austere, that she wanted to live like St. Francis of Assisi. She wanted to own nothing of her own, so that she wouldn’t become attached to anything. Early in her life she was very concerned about the ignorance about the Faith among poorer children, whose parents could not or would not teach them even their basic catechism. She set out to provide simple lessons for those children who needed to be formed in their understanding of God, and also of basic things like reading.

St. Angela was a very attractive person – not only in the way she presented herself, but also through her very sweet personality and her ability to lead others. Soon, other young women joined her in giving regular instruction to the children in their neighborhood, and it developed into a place where girls who had no other opportunities to study could come to learn.

One day she received the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. This was an amazing thing for her – she had never traveled far from home, and she was very excited as she began the great journey with a group of her friends. When they had gotten as far as the island of Crete, she was struck with blindness. Her friends wanted to return home, but she insisted on going through with the pilgrimage, and she visited the sacred shrines with as much devotion and enthusiasm as if she had her sight. On the way back, while praying before a crucifix, her sight was restored at the very same place where it had been lost.

At the age of 57, she organized a group of twelve young women to help her in catechetical work. Four years later the group had increased to twenty-eight. She formed them into the Company of St. Ursula, who was the patroness of medieval universities and venerated as a leader of women. Their purpose was to re-build family life through the solid Christian education of future wives and mothers. The importance of the education of children was beginning to be seen as more and more essential, and we see it being developed through such people as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton and St. John Neumann, who were simply carrying on the work of people like St. Angela.

O God, who through thy blessed Saint Angela didst cause a new household of Virgins consecrated to thy service to be established in thy Church: grant us, we pray thee, by her intercession, so to live after the manner of thy holy Angels; that, putting aside all things earthly, we may be found worthy to rejoice in everlasting felicity; 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.

Third Sunday after Epiphany

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned." From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him. And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people.

- Matthew 4:12-23

When Jesus began to preach He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

This idea of the Kingdom is deeply rooted in the Old Testament, and it’s a central theme in the teaching of Jesus Christ; namely, that there is the “kingly rule,” the “sovereignty” of God, and that all things are to be made subject to this rule.

Now of course, the kingdom being proclaimed by Christ isn’t confined only to this world – it continues into eternity – but it begins here, and this portion of the Gospel shows us Jesus laying the foundation for the Kingdom with the calling of His first apostles. They were fishermen – simple men, ordinary men – called by our Lord while they were engaged in doing their day’s work.

And how did He call them? All He said was, “Follow me.” He didn’t outline any great theological system for them, or lay out a line of reasoning trying to convince them. He just said, “Follow me.” And they did. With that invitation He called them to a specific service. “I will make you fishers of men...” Of course, they couldn’t have known it then, but Jesus was calling them to a life which wasn’t going to be easy. They were being called to a life in which they would expend all their energy, and they were being called to a Faith for which they ultimately would give their lives.

There was no other assurance that He gave them. He didn’t outline the future for them. He didn’t give any guarantees. He was simply inviting them to put themselves under the sovereignty of God, to move into the kingdom which He had come to establish, and in that kingdom they would find their fulfillment and true purpose. They were being invited to put aside all their other interests and activities – all the other things they thought were important – and they would be required to do only one thing: to follow Christ.

In fact, the invitation He extended to them, He continues to extend down to our own day, to us. This invitation to place our lives under the rule of God is an open invitation to every one of us.

To live in God’s Kingdom means to follow Christ more closely. It often calls for a radical change in direction, and it always involves entrusting ourselves to God, realizing that God’s plan for us might not coincide with our own best-laid plans.

Conversion of St. Paul

St. Paul was a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, and was born in Tarsus, the capitol of Cilicia. Although he was a Roman citizen, he was brought up as a strict Jew, studied to be a rabbi, and later became a violent persecutor of the Christians.

While on his way to Damascus to arrest the Christians there, he was converted by a miraculous apparition of Our Lord. Was it a sudden conversion? It seemed so, and in a sense it was; however, it other ways it was the culmination of his many experiences with Christians, beginning with the martyrdom of St. Stephen. Paul was a young man, given the job of holding the cloaks of those who carried out the sentence of death on St. Stephen. In fact, even when Paul was arresting Christians, he could not help but be impressed by their deep faith, their innocency of life, and their willingness to die for Christ.

Eventually he became the great Apostle of the Gentiles, making three missionary journeys which brought him to the important centers of Asia Minor and southern Europe, making many converts as he travelled. He was beheaded in Rome in 66, and his relics are kept in the Basilica of St. Paul near the Ostian Way.

O God, who, by the preaching of thine apostle St. Paul, hast caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show forth our thankfulness unto thee for the same by following the holy doctrine which he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.