Rogationtide

"Rogation" comes from the Latin "rogare," which means "to ask." The Sixth Sunday of Easter and the following three days leading up to the Solemnity of the Ascension are days during which we beg God's mercy for the avoidance of natural disasters, and it is a time to ask for His blessings, particularly with regard to farming, gardening, and all things related to agriculture.

Assist us mercifully, O Lord, in these our supplications and prayers: and dispose the way of thy servants towards the attainment of everlasting salvation; that, among all the changes and chances of this mortal life, they may ever be defended by thy most gracious and ready help; 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.

Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth: we humbly pray that thy gracious providence may give and preserve to our use the harvests of the land and of the seas, and may prosper all who labour to gather them; that we, who constantly receive good things from thy hand, may always give thee thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

O Almighty God who hast created the earth for man, and man for thy glory: mercifully hear the supplications of thy people, and be mindful of thy covenant; that both the earth may yield her increase, and the good seed of thy word may bring forth abundantly, to the glory of 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 Blessing of the Wheat in the Artois" 1857, by Jules Breton

Love: Keeping the Commandments

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you for ever."

- St. John 14:15, 16

As Jesus made this promise of the Holy Spirit, He made it with the requirement that we love Him. And as we learn what love is, we know it is an action and not primarily a feeling. Love is an act of the will, not the state of our mood. Love is an action of one toward another. We love by doing.

And when He says that we are to keep His commandments, He means that we are to guard them, and treasure them as what is most precious in this life. When we keep His commandments, it shows our love for Him. It’s in the keeping of His commandments – the treasuring of His word – that we establish and strengthen the most important relationship in our lives, the one we most need, that is, our relationship with God. And that relationship He seals with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

We were created for this – to know God and to love Him, and to be with Him forever. And it is in that relationship that we find the “peace which passeth all understanding.” Isn’t that what we want in the midst of this sometimes-crazy world? Peace? Of course it is. It is by having that peace that we can cope with anything that comes our way. It is when we keep Christ’s commandments, and so show our love for Him, that we can forgive when we have been wronged. It is by keeping Christ’s commandments, and so loving Him, that we can choose to do the right thing, the noble thing, which makes sense of St. Peter’s words when he writes in his First Epistle, “Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

Every one of us, at some time or another, has been treated badly by someone. Every one of us has experienced injustice. Sometimes it’s done to us by institutions. Sometimes it’s done to us by the very people who should be supporting and caring for us. And yet, if we are keeping Christ’s commandments – that is, if we’re doing what is right – St. Peter reminds us that “it is better to suffer for doing right, if that should be God’s will, than for doing wrong.”

It is difficult, isn’t it, to show love when we have been wronged, or slandered, or have been done real injury by someone. And yet, it is the command of Christ that we must love God by loving others – even those who hate us. So when opportunities of showing kindness, or being merciful, or of denying oneself for the sake of others – when any of those things occur, let’s not allow them to pass by, but rather make use of them. Our lives must be, insofar as possible, an imitation of the gracious, loving, tender, sympathizing, self-sacrificing life of Jesus Christ Himself.

We bear Christ within us. We have been marked with His cross. We live in the power of His resurrection. And Christ promises us the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness, and who will strengthen us with His gifts and supernatural virtues – gifts and virtues which enable us to live as holy and faithful disciples of Christ – choosing the right, not returning hatred for hatred, not seeking to destroy those who would try to destroy us.

The bottom line is this: the closer we are conformed to Christ – that is, the more we keep His commandments and the more we show His forgiveness - then the more we will be showing our love for Jesus Christ, our Lord.

When we do as Christ asks, we find that it works. Forgive others, even if it has to be an act of the will. And you will have that “peace of God, which passeth all understanding” which will keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God.

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Painting: "Christ Crowned with Thorns" by Carl Bloch (1834-1890)

Our Lady of Fatima

The apparitions of the Virgin Mary to the children of Fatima took place in the summer of 1917, during the time of the First World War. The little Portuguese village where this happened was made up mostly of poor people, many of them farmers, and the children of the village traditionally were given the job of taking the sheep out to graze on the hillsides.

The three children who received the apparitions were Lucia, who was ten years old, and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. Together they tended the sheep and, with Lucia in charge, they would often pass the day by praying the Rosary. It was in the summer of 1916 that an Angel appeared to them several times and taught them a prayer to the Blessed Trinity.

On Sunday, May 13, 1917, toward noon, a flash of lightning caught the attention of the children, and they saw a bright, radiant figure appearing over the trees of the Cova da Iria. They saw this figure only as “a Lady,” and the "Lady" asked them to pray for the conversion of sinners and for an end to the war. Also, they were told to come back every month, on the 13th.

Further apparitions took place on June 13 and July 13. This began to get the attention of large crowds of people, and the local government authorities did not like the idea of people gathering together like this, fearing that the people might just turn into a mob. So on August 13, when the children tried to go to the Cova da Iria, they were stopped by local authorities from going. Even though they were stopped on the 13th, they saw the apparition on the 19th. On September 13 the Lady requested that the Rosary be prayed for the intention of an end to the war. Finally, on October 13, the "Lady" identified herself as "Our Lady of the Rosary," and again she asked for prayer and penitence.

On that day, something strange also took place: the sun seemed to tumble from the sky and crash toward earth. The children had been forewarned of it as early as May 13, the first apparition. The large crowd, which was estimated to be at 30,000 by reporters who were there, saw this phenomenon and came away astounded.

Official recognition of these visions which the children had at the Cova da Iria came on October 13, 1930, when the local bishop - after long inquiry - authorized devotion to Our Lady of the Rosary at the site. The two younger children had died: Francisco in 1919, and his sister Jacinta in 1920. Sister Lucia died in 2005.

Even though people seem more interested in the apparitions themselves, and the miracle of the sun, the important thing is the message brought by the Blessed Virgin Mary – namely, that we should pray, that we should repent of our sins, and that we should dedicate ourselves to being like Mary herself – obedient, and willing to do whatever God tells us.

On this day in 1981 an attempt was made on the life of Pope St. John Paul II, when he was shot while moving through the crowds at the Wednesday audience. He credited Our Lady of Fatima with saving his life. "It was a mother's hand that guided the bullet's path," he said. He made a pilgrimage of thanksgiving to Fatima on this date in 2000, and presented one of the bullets which hit him. It is now incorporated into the crown of Our Lady.

O God, who didst choose the Mother of thy Son to be our Mother also: grant us that, persevering in penance and prayer for the salvation of the world, we may further more effectively each day the reign of Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Pancras, Martyr

St. Pancras, born of parents who were Roman citizens, was orphaned as a very young child. He was entrusted to the care of his uncle, and at that time they moved to Rome, living in a villa on the Caelian Hill. Both uncle and nephew converted to Christianity, and Pancras was particularly zealous in his faith.

 
During the persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian, in about the year 303 A.D., Pancras was fourteen years old. His faith was well-known even at that young age, and he was brought before the authorities and ordered to perform a sacrifice to the Roman gods. Pancras refused, but Diocletian was impressed with the boy's persistence in his refusal, and so to break him he promised him wealth and power. Pancras steadfastly refused, so the emperor ordered him to be decapitated on the Via Aurelia.

A Roman matron named Ottavilla recovered the body of Pancras, covered it with balsam, wrapped it in fine linens, and buried him in a sepulcher dug in the Catacombs of Rome. The head of St. Pancras eventually was placed in the reliquary that still exists today in the ancient Basilica of San Pancrazio in Rome, which marks the place of the young martyr’s burial.

Pope St. Gregory the Great helped spread devotion to St. Pancras, and he sent St. Augustine to England carrying relics of the young saint, resulting in several churches being dedicated to him there.

May thy Church rejoice, O God, confident in the intercession of the Martyr Saint Pancras: and by his glorious prayers may she persevere in devotion to thee and stand ever firm; 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.

Ss. Nereus and Achilleus, Martyrs

The story of the martyrdom of these two Christians begins with a young woman named Flavia Domitilla. She was the niece of the emperor, she was very beautiful, and she was engaged to be married to a young man named Aurelianus. The young man was very much a product of society at that time – he had little respect for Domitilla, and was marrying her mainly because she was the niece of the emperor. He had relationships with other women at the same time, and had no intention of breaking them off.

Nereus and Achilleus were Roman soldiers in the household of Flavia Domitilla. They were instructed and baptized by St. Peter. These two soldiers admired Domitilla, and began to tell her about the Christian faith. They helped her to understand her own human dignity, and she decided that she really wanted to give herself to Christ completely, and that she wouldn’t marry.  Upon learning this, Aurelianus reported all three to the Roman authorities as being Christians. They were beheaded, martyred out of hatred for the Christian faith.

Domitilla owned some property outside the city of Rome, and she had given this land to the Christians as a cemetery, and to this day it is the site of one of the major catacombs. Nereus, Achilleus, and Domitilla were buried there.

Grant, O Lord, that this holy festival of thy blessed Martyrs, Nereus and Achilleus, may ever assist us in thy service: and that we may thereby be rendered worthy to walk after thy commandments; 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. Damien of Molokai

In the year 1840, Joseph De Veuster was born in Belgium, to a large family of farmers and merchants.  This was the future Father Damien.  When his oldest brother entered the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts, his father planned that Joseph should take charge of the family business. Joseph, however, decided to become a religious.  When he was nineteen he entered the novitiate in the same house as his brother. It was there that he took the name of Damien.

In 1863, Damien’s brother was supposed to leave for the mission in the Hawaiian Islands, but he became seriously ill. Since preparations for the voyage had already been made, Damien obtained permission from the Superior General to take his brother's place. He arrived in Honolulu on March 19th, 1864, where he was ordained to the priesthood the following May 21st. He immediately devoted himself as a travelling missionary on the island of Hawaii.

At that time, the Hawaiian Government decided on a very harsh measure which they thought would stop the spread of the dreaded disease of leprosy, or Hansen’s disease. It was decided that anyone who contracted this disease would be taken to the neighboring island of Molokai, where they would have to stay for the rest of their lives. The Catholic Church was deeply concerned about these abandoned lepers and the Bishop spoke to the priests about the problem. He didn’t want to send anyone "in the name of obedience," because he knew that whoever went would probably contract the disease. Four of the priests volunteered, and they would take turns visiting and ministering to the lepers. Fr. Damien was the first to leave, and at his own request and that of the lepers, he remained permanently on Molokai.

He brought hope to this place of despair. He became a source of consolation and encouragement for the lepers.  He became their pastor, the doctor of their souls and of their bodies, without any distinction of race or religion. He gave a voice to the voiceless, he built a community where the joy of being together and openness to the love of God gave people new reasons for living.  He saw the beauty and dignity of each person, no matter how deformed and grotesque their outward appearance.

After Father Damien contracted the disease in 1885, he was able to identify completely with them.  He spoke of "we lepers…" Father Damien was, above all, a witness of the love of God for His people. He got his strength from the Eucharist: "It is at the foot of the altar that we find the strength we need in our isolation..." He said that he was "the happiest missionary in the world.”

Fr. Damian served for sixteen years among the lepers, and died on April 15^th 1889.

O Father of mercy, who gavest us in Saint Damien a shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned: grant that, by his intercession; as faithful witnesses of the heart of thy Son Jesus, we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected; 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 Way to Eternal Life

Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.

- St. John 14:6

There are many things in this life that offer the promise of life - new medicines, new diets, new products - and people are constantly chasing after things that offer a supposedly better, fuller life. But Jesus Christ came to turn our hearts away from putting our trust in those things that appear to promise life, and He claims our hearts entirely for Himself alone.

Jesus said plainly that He is the Way, that He is the Truth, and that He is the Life. He is the only Way from death to life, from hell to heaven, from the devil to God. He is the only Truth that overcomes the Lie that kills us. He is the only Life that is eternal life.

All other roads, in fact, do lead ultimately to the same place; namely, death and destruction. These other roads may try to provide nice scenery along the way, and they might be very broad and well-traveled, and they might be filled with crowds of very nice, unobjectionable people, but the Lord Jesus teaches us with His own lips and in His own words, that there is only one road that leads to eternal life with God, and that is Christ Himself, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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Image: "Christ in Majesty"

from a 12th century English illuminated manuscript

Martyrdom: Witness to Exclusive Truth

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is exclusive. That might not seem correct at first consideration, until we clarify what kind of exclusivity we mean.

First of all, the Gospel is not exclusive when it comes to people – indeed, the Gospel states without any question that it is for all people in all places and at all times. But it is exclusive when it comes to untruths or partial truths. It will not make room for errors or lies within its system of belief. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is exclusive in the sense that there is no other name on earth, other than the name of Jesus, in whom there is the certainty of life and salvation. There is only one sacrifice for sin, and that sacrifice is the body of Jesus crucified on the cross of Calvary – the sacrifice to which we have access in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This fact of our faith rules out all other gods and all other ways of salvation. There is only one God, the Triune God revealed by Jesus Christ. And there is only one salvation, the salvation which comes because of the sacrifice on the Cross.

The reality of the situation in our society today is that if you preach a generic god, or generic virtues, it is completely acceptable because you pose no threat, you offend no one, you challenge no cherished beliefs, you ruffle no feathers. You can talk about “being nice” and “respecting others” and “not being judgmental” - and certainly, those are good and important things. Few people would argue with you about those sorts of things.

But when we look at the witness which came from those in the early days of the Church, we see immediately that they were speaking about much more than just “nice things.” St. Stephen was not martyred because he was being “non-judgmental.” St. Peter and the other apostles were not beaten and thrown into prison because they thought that different religions were just different ways of salvation.

St. Paul caused riots for preaching the crucified and risen Jesus as the Christ of God. If St. Paul had subscribed to the indifferentism of this age, he would not have bothered going to the synagogue with his message. After all, the Jews were already religious people. They believed in God sincerely, and earnestly desired to please Him. If St. Paul had believed that all religious roads lead to the same end, he would not have made it his weekly Sabbath practice to go to the synagogues and debate from the Scriptures that this Jesus, who is Mary's Son and God's Son, is Christ, the Saviour.

When we consider the lives of the martyrs throughout the centuries, even in our own day, there is an overwhelming certainty in their witness – in their willingness to lay down their lives - that what God has revealed in Christ is the absolute and complete truth.

And for those of us who made the conscious decision to enter into full Catholic communion, why should any of us have bothered to become Catholics, if it really doesn’t matter in the end? But we were drawn – we were urged by God to seek His full Truth, as it is expressed in its completeness in the Catholic Church.

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And while the world teaches that there are many ways, many truths, many ways of living, Jesus teaches that there is only one. Jesus is not simply one way among many ways. He is not one truth among various truths. He is not one life, among many lives. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the only way to God the Father, the only Truth who guides us into the truth by His Word and Spirit, the only Life that conquers death and brings eternal life through His suffering, death, and resurrection.

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Painting: "Burial of Early Christian Martyrs" 

by Jules Eugene Lenepveu (1819-1898)

The English Martyrs

The English Martyrs include 284 men and women who gave their lives during the 16th and 17th centuries. They were martyred simply because they remained steadfast in their Catholic faith. What had happened?

King Henry VIII had proclaimed himself supreme head of the Church in England, claiming for himself and his successors power over his subjects not only in civil matters, but also in all things spiritual. He took to himself a spiritual power that can belong only to the Pope as the Vicar of Christ and Successor of St. Peter. The Catholics at that time wanted to be loyal subjects of the Crown, but their consciences could not allow them to grant the power of spiritual supremacy. It is as though, in the United States, the president and Congress took upon themselves the power to determine what we as Catholics believe, and how we worship. We could not allow Congress to pass laws that changed the Church’s teaching about the Mass, or what we believe about God. But this was what had happened in England, and it led many people to face death courageously rather than act against their consciences and deny their Catholic faith.

This firm attitude in defense of their freedom of conscience and of their faith in the truth of the Holy Catholic Church is identical in all these Martyrs, although they were a diverse group of people – priests, religious, laymen, housewives and mothers, some highly educated, some very simple labourers. But they all shared the same faith, and the same determination to keep that faith – and for that, they were put to death. And this persecution was not only under Henry VIII, but it continued under Elizabeth I and her successors, all the way into the Commonwealth under Cromwell.

The torments they endured were horrible. Most of them were killed in extremely violent ways – the priests, for instance, were hanged, drawn and quartered. Others were tortured for long periods of time before their deaths. But they all remained steadfast in their Catholic faith, and they died praying for their executioners, and even praying for the monarch who had ordered their deaths.

O Merciful God, who, when thy Church on earth was torn apart by the ravages of sin, didst raise up men and women in England who witnessed to their faith with courage and constancy: give unto thy Church that peace which is thy will, and grant that those who have been divided on earth may be reconciled in heaven and be partakers together in the vision of 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.

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Pictured: Stained glass in the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
and the English Martyrs, Cambridge. 

St. Philip and St. James, Apostles

St. Philip was born in Bethsaida, Galilee. He may have been a disciple of John the Baptist and is mentioned as one of the Apostles in the lists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and in Acts. Aside from the lists, he is mentioned only in John’s Gospel in the New Testament. He was called by Jesus Himself and brought Nathanael to Christ. Philip was present at the miracle of the loaves and fishes, when he engaged in a brief dialogue with the Lord, and was the Apostle approached by the Hellenistic Jews from Bethsaida to introduce them to Jesus. Just before the Passion, Jesus answered Philip's request to show them the Father, but no further mention of Philip is made in the New Testament beyond his listing among the Apostles awaiting the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room. According to tradition he preached in Greece and was crucified upside down at Hierapolis under Emperor Domitian.

St. James the Less (meaning "the younger), the author of the first catholic Epistle (that is, addressed to the Church generally), was the son of Alphaeus (also known as Cleophas). His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. The Apostle held a distinguished position in the early Christian community of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells us he was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ; he is also a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about the Gospel. According to tradition, he was the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and was at the Council of Jerusalem about the year 50. St. James was martyred for the Faith by the Jews in the Spring of the year 62. He was held in great respect by everyone, Jew and Gentile alike, which earned him the appellation of "James the Just."

O Almighty God, whom truly to know is everlasting life: grant us perfectly to know thy Son Jesus Christ to be the way, the truth and the life; that, following the steps of thy holy Apostles, Saint Philip and Saint James, we may steadfastly walk in the way that leadeth to eternal life; 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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Pictured: St. Philip and St. James the Less,
painted panels from the medieval rood screen
at St. Mary's, Worstead, in Norfolk, England

St. Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor

St. Athanasius, the great champion of the Catholic Faith, was born at Alexandria about the year 296, of Christian parents. Educated under Alexander, who became the bishop of Alexandria, Athanasius made great progress in learning and virtue, eventually going into the desert to spend some time in retreat with St. Anthony.

In 319, Athanasius became a deacon, and as a young cleric he was called upon to take an active part against the rising heresy being put forth by Arius, an ambitious priest of the Alexandrian Church, who denied the Divinity of Christ. This was to be the life struggle of St. Athanasius.

In 325, he assisted his bishop at the Council of Nicaea, where his influence began to be felt. Five months later Alexander died. On his death bed he recommended St. Athanasius as his successor. In consequence of this, Athanasius was unanimously elected Patriarch in 326.

His refusal to tolerate the Arian heresy was the cause of many trials and persecutions for St. Athanasius. He spent seventeen of the forty-six years of his episcopate in exile. After a life of virtue and suffering, this intrepid champion of the Catholic Faith, the greatest man of his time, died in peace on May 2, 373.

Everliving God, whose servant Saint Athanasius bore witness to the mystery of the Word made flesh for our salvation: give us grace, with all thy Saints, to contend for the truth and to grow into the likeness of 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.

St. Joseph the Worker

The commemoration of St. Joseph the Worker falls on the first day of the month that is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and was fixed in the calendar by Pope Pius XII in 1955. The pope expressed the hope that this feast would accentuate the dignity of labour and would bring a spiritual dimension to the work we do.

The teaching of the Church reaches back into the Old Testament, when we read in the Book of Genesis that God created man, and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend to it. From that time, God, who is the creator and ruler of the universe, has called men and women in every age to develop and use their talents for the good of others, and as a way of sharing in the creative work of God. In every kind of labour we are to remember that we are obeying the command of God to use our talents, and to receive the fruit of our labours. Our work allows us to provide for our own needs, and for the needs of those for whom we are responsible. It also allows us to show proper charity towards those who are in need.

The Church asks us to look to St. Joseph on this day, and follow his example of work, by which he showed his love and responsibility for the Blessed Virgin Mary and for the Child Jesus. St. Joseph shows the dignity of work – and whether it is manual work, or any other kind of work, we are to do it in a spirit of cooperation with God, and as an offering to Him. Any task, well done, is an offering to God. When we work, we should see it as a work done for God, and it is part of what shows that we are created in His image. In creation itself, God worked for six days, and rested the seventh. So in our own lives, we are to keep that balance between using our energy for work, and then out of respect for our minds and bodies, give a day for our spiritual and physical renewal.

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Holy Joseph, Intercessor

Unto thee God’s children sing;

Be our Patron and Protector,

To God’s throne our praises bring.

Faithful Spouse of faithful Virgin,

Lover of God’s purity;

From thy worthy place in heaven,

Pray that we may faithful be.

Guardian of the Word Incarnate,

Silent guide of God’s own Son;

Guard our hearts and lead us onward

To the life that Christ has won.

Humble man in lofty station,

God has poured His grace on thee;

Pray such grace to us be given,

That we live eternally.

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips, 1991
Music: "Stuttgart" adapted by C. F. Witt, 1715

O God, the Creator of all things, who hast appointed for mankind the law of labour: graciously grant that through the example and patronage of Saint Joseph we may accomplish the work that thou hast commanded, and attain unto the rewards that thou dost promise; 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: "Our Saviour Subject To His Parents At Nazareth"

by John Rogers Herbert 1810–1890

Jesus, the Shepherd of the Sheep

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 

– St. John 10:1, 2

One of the beautiful images we have of Jesus is as our Shepherd. Scripture says that we are “the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.” He is our crucified and risen Shepherd. He died as a Lamb to save the sheep, and He lives to guide His flock to eternal life.

The Lord Jesus is, in a special way, the incarnation of the twenty-third Psalm. He shepherds us, and we rest in the green pastures of His presence. He anoints our heads with the oil of His Spirit in the quiet waters of Holy Baptism. He prepares the table of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the presence of our fiercest enemies - sin, death, and the devil - and He feeds us with His own Body and Blood. He restores our souls by forgiving our sins. He guides us in the paths of righteousness by His Word, which is the rod of His Law, the staff of His Gospel. He leads us through the dark valley of death on to eternal life.

Jesus is the shepherd of the sheep, and He says that He is also the gate of the sheep pen, the “door of the sheep.” He uses a picture of how sheep were raised in that part of the world at that time. Sheep were kept in walled pens during the night for protection. The sheep pen had only one gate. Every morning the shepherd would stand at the gate and call out to his sheep. They would perk up at the sound of his voice and they would follow him through the gate out into the pasture. A devoted shepherd would even sleep on the ground across the opening of the sheep pen during the night to protect his flock. The shepherd literally became the “gate” for the sheep, and he would be willing to lay down his life for his sheep.

The opening to the sheep pen distinguished true and good shepherds from thieves and robbers. You could always tell if a person was a real shepherd by the way he got into the sheep pen. True shepherds entered through the gate in broad daylight in full view of the gatekeeper. False shepherds and thieves would sneak over the fence at night, in order to steal what wasn’t theirs. And so Jesus distinguishes true pastors from false ones. Those who preach Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the forgiveness of sins and who guide people through the waters of baptism on into the rich pasture land of the authentic Word of God, and into the Sacraments established by Christ, are true shepherds. But those who preach themselves and who guide people by their own self-invented methods and means are false shepherds.

Jesus warns us that there are plenty of thieves and robbers and false shepherds all around us. They promise life, but instead, they rob us of life. They teach falsely that Holy Baptism is something we do simply as a sign, instead of teaching that it’s something God does, in which He takes away the stain of sin and marks us as His own. They teach falsely that the Mass isn’t the sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood, but rather that it’s simply a symbolic meal in which we think fondly of what Jesus did a long time ago. These false shepherds try to turn people inward to their own beliefs, to their own piety, to their own feelings, to their own works, to their own selves, and away from Jesus and the truth which He reveals through His Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

These are the thieves and robbers that Jesus is talking about. They look for the isolated, scattered, solitary sheep. Sheep who are separated from the flock are easy pickings for the poachers. People who aren’t grounded in the Church, and in what Christ teaches us through His Church, tend to believe in a little bit of everything, and so they wind up believing in nothing at all. Sheep who don't learn the voice of their shepherd, soon will follow any voice that happens to call to them.

Jesus came that we might have life, and have it abundantly, and the greatest freedom we can have in this life is to be sheltered in His sheep pen, the Church, to live under Him in His kingdom, to be under the watchful gaze of the crucified and risen Shepherd and Guardian of our souls.

Jesus our Good Shepherd is the door to eternal life, the only door. His death and resurrection pave the only path that leads to eternal life. One day He will stand at the gate and call each of us again by name, as He has already called us in Baptism, as He continues to call us as members of His Body. On that day we will hear His voice and follow Him through His death and resurrection, and He will raise us up, clothed with His immortality, to eternal life in Him.

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Painting: "The Good Shepherd" by William Dyce (1806-1864)

St. Catherine of Siena

St. Catherine was born in Siena in the year 1347, and she was the last of 25 children born to her parents. Her father was a wealthy man in the business of dying wool. From her earliest life, Catherine was a different kind of child, spiritually sensitive, and being part of such a large family, she liked to find times when she could be alone with God. It was at the age of six that she had some sort of vision near the Church of San Domenico in Siena. From that moment onward, she followed an even stricter path of devotion, and when she was only seven, she dedicated herself to Christ, taking a private and internal vow that she would never marry, but would live only to serve God.

She wanted very much to dedicate herself to Religious life, and although her parents initially resisted the idea, eventually her father gave in and allowed Catherine to follow whatever she felt God was calling her to do. In 1363, when she was just 15 years old, Catherine became a Dominican Tertiary, and wore the black cloak which designated her as a Dominican sister. She began to increase her charitable work, and spent a great deal of her time in a nearby hospital, caring for the sick.

Throughout this time she became known as someone who gave excellent spiritual guidance, as more and more people came to her, or wrote to her, for spiritual advice. In fact, she became well-known throughout the Church as a devout and gifted spiritual guide, and even as a mystic. It was during a visit to the city of Pisa that she received the stigmata in the presence of a crucifix hanging in the Church of Santa Cristina. As her spiritual fame grew, she was even asked to travel to different countries to act as a mediator for the papacy, which was at that time in exile at Avignon in France. She was very strong in voicing her opinion to Pope Gregory that he needed to bring the Papal Court back to Rome, and unify the Church. When the terrible situation arose with the false election of a second Pope, leading the Church to the edge of schism, she was instrumental in restoring the true Pope to his rightful place.

In the year 1380, when she was just 33 years old, St. Catherine died. She was eventually proclaimed to be a saint, and along with St. Francis of Assisi, St Catherine of Siena was made patron saint of Italy. Pope Paul VI conferred on her the title of Doctor of the Universal Church, and in 1999 she was proclaimed co-patron saint of Europe by Pope St. John Paul II.

O Merciful God, who gavest to thy servant Saint Catherine of Siena a wondrous love of the Passion of Christ: grant that, through her prayers; we thy people may be united to him in his majesty and rejoice for ever in the revelation of his glory; 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 of Siena" by Baldassare Franceschini (1611-1689)

St. Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort, Priest

The life of St. Louis de Montfort is inextricably bound to his work of promoting genuine devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In fact, his personal motto was “Totus tuus” (“Completely yours”), the same motto later chosen by Pope St. John Paul II.

St. Louis was born in the Breton village of Montfort, close to Rennes, France, and in fact, came to identify himself by the adoption of his place of birth and baptism, in essence replacing his family name of Grignion.

After being educated by the Jesuits and the Sulpicians, he was ordained as a priest in 1700, and almost immediately he began preaching parish missions throughout western France. His years of ministering to the poor led him to travel and live in virtual poverty, sometimes even causing problems with his superiors, who did not understand the unique call God had given to St. Louis. Through his preaching, thousand of people who had lapsed in the Faith were called back to active life in the Church. In his preaching he recommended frequent, even daily, reception of Holy Communion, which was not the normal practice at that time. In all things he urged the Faithful to imitate the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary by practicing the daily acceptance of God’s divine Will in all things.

St. Louis founded the Missionaries of the Company of Mary for priests and brothers, and the Daughters of Wisdom, who cared especially for the sick. His book True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin has become a classic guide to Marian devotion.

St. Louis died in 1716 in Saint-Laurent-sur-Sèvre, where a basilica was erected in his honour and which contains his tomb. He was canonized in 1947.

O God, who didst will to direct the steps of thy Priest Saint Louis de Montfort along the way of salvation and of the love of Christ, in the company of the Blessed Virgin: grant us, by his example; that, meditating on the mysteries of thy love, we may strive tirelessly for the building up of thy 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.