St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Named Winfrith by his well-to-do English parents, Boniface was born near Exeter, Devon. As a boy, he studied in Benedictine monastery schools and became a monk himself in the process. For thirty years he lived in relative peace, studying, teaching, and praying. In his early forties he left the seclusion of the monastery to do missionary work on the Continent. Because his first efforts in Frisia (now the Netherlands) were unsuccessful, Winfrith went to Rome in search of direction. Pope Gregory II renamed him Boniface, "doer of good," and delegated him to spread the gospel message in Germany.

In 719 the missionary monk set out on what was to be a very fruitful venture. He made converts by the thousands. Once, the story goes, he hewed down the giant sacred oak at Geismar to convince the people of Hesse that there was no spiritual power in nature. In 722 the Pope consecrated him bishop for all of Germany. For thirty years Boniface worked to reform and organize the Church, linking the various local communities firmly with Rome. He enlisted the help of English monks and nuns to preach to the people, strengthen their Christian spirit, and assure their allegiance to the pope.  About 746 Boniface was appointed archbishop of Mainz, where he settled for several years as head of all the German churches.

Over the years he kept up an extensive correspondence, asking directives of the popes, giving information about the many Christian communities, and relaying to the people the popes' wishes. In 752, as the pope's emissary, he crowned Pepin king of the Franks. In his eighties and still filled with his characteristic zeal, Boniface went back to preach the gospel in Frisia. There, in 754 near the town of Dokkum, Boniface and several dozen companions were waylaid by a group of savage locals and put to death. His remains were later taken to Fulda, where he was revered as a martyr to the Christian faith.

O God, who raised up the holy Bishop and Martyr Saint Boniface from the English nation to enlighten many peoples with the Gospel of Christ: grant, we pray; that we may hold fast in our hearts that faith which he taught with his lips and sealed with his blood; 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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Image: Lithograph of the Martyrdom of St. Boniface, 1903

St. Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs

Charles was one of twenty-two Ugandan martyrs who had converted from paganism to the Catholic faith. He was baptized in November 1885, a year before his death, and became a moral and spiritual leader among the converts. He was the chief of the royal pages under the king, Mwanga, and was considered the strongest athlete of the court.

Mwanga was a wicked king, and very violent, using his power to try and force the young men into perverse and immoral acts. Charles was a catechist, and instructed the young men who were serving in the king's court in the Catholic Faith and he baptized them. He inspired and encouraged his companions to remain chaste and faithful.

Mwanga was a superstitious pagan king who originally was tolerant of Catholicism. However, his chief assistant, Katikiro, slowly convinced him that Christians were a threat to his rule. He convinced the king that if these Christians would not bow to him, nor make sacrifices to their pagan god, nor pillage, massacre, nor make war, what would happen if his whole kingdom converted to Catholicism?

When Charles was sentenced to death, he seemed very peaceful, even cheerful. He was to be executed by being burned to death. While the pyre was being prepared, he asked to be untied so that he could arrange the sticks. He then lay down upon them. When the executioner said that Charles would be burned slowly to death, Charles replied by saying that he was very glad to be dying for the True Faith. He made no cry of pain but just twisted and moaned, "Kotanda! (O my God!)." He was burned to death by Mwanga's order on June 3, 1886. The other young men were martyred in various ways, and together they were canonized by Pope St. Paul VI. In the ceremony canonizing the Catholic martyrs, Pope Paul mentioned also the Anglicans who suffered under the wicked King Mwanga, saying: "Nor, indeed, do we wish to forget the others who, belonging to the Anglican confession, confronted death in the name of Christ."

O God, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: Grant that we who remember before thee the blessed martyrs of Uganda, St. Charles Lwanga and his Companions, may, like them, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, to whom they gave obedience even unto death, and by their sacrifice brought forth a plentiful harvest; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ancient Mysteries Made New

Everything about the Solemnity of Corpus Christi draws our attention to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. This is the day when the Church gathers up ancient mysteries and makes them new. We look to the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, the king of Salem and high priest to Abram. We look to young Isaac carrying the wood upon which his father Abraham intended to offer him in sacrifice. We envision the children of Israel looking upon the bronze serpent lifted high upon the staff of Moses, and we marvel with the Israelites as they eat their fill of the manna. In all those things, and more, we see the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ our great High Priest who offers Himself for us in sacrifice.

All these things point to Jesus, about whom the scripture tells us, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”

This is the central mystery, brought before us on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi: that is, Jesus Christ humbling Himself, and coming to us, and remaining with us under the forms of bread and wine, all for the sake of His love for us. At the Annunciation He took upon Himself human flesh. At the Nativity the God of creation was cradled in the arms of a human mother. During His Passion the Lord was abused by the very ones He came to save. When He died, the eternal God breathed His last, and when He was buried, the God who is Light consecrated the darkness of the grave. God did this, and then left the Holy Mass as the continual and living Presence of it all.

What was His purpose? What was His plan, and how can we understand it? We should cast our minds back to our first parents, Adam and Eve. Created in the image and likeness of God, they were placed in a perfect communion with their Creator. They were told that all things were theirs, and that there was only one thing they could not do; namely, that they were not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That, of course, was the one thing they were tempted to do.

Remember the words of Satan as he tempted Eve. He said, “Surely you will not die... no... your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as God Himself, knowing good and evil...” That was their sin: through their disobedience, they grasped at equality with God, and in so doing, they lost their communion with God. St. Paul reminds us that our Lord Jesus “did not regard equality with God something to be grasped...” In other words, Jesus did not need to snatch at equality with God.... no, it is His by right. And also, it means that He did not clutch at equality with God as something to hold jealously to Himself. Rather, He laid it down willingly for the sake of our salvation.

The fact of all this – the laying down of His life, His sacrifice upon the Cross – are all spoken of by Christ as being a necessity, as something indispensable. The shadow of the Cross stretches over His life. He speaks of His blood as being shed for the remission of sins, and His body as being given for His disciples. He says that He has come to give His life as a ransom for many.

All this prepares us for what we find in the teaching of the apostles. We find in their teaching a great stress upon the death of Christ, and that the greatest blessings and highest gifts are always connected with His suffering and with the shedding of His blood. Throughout Scripture we read of forgiveness, of redemption, of healing, of cleansing, of sanctification - of atonement - all won for us by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. It all comes to us through the great fact of history, that He was lifted up upon the Cross, and there He died – and He has left us the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which gives us immediate and daily access to all His saving work.

Here is the point that Christ makes: that when He is lifted up upon the Cross, it is the Atonement which He accomplishes – “And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto myself...” He says. The great gulf is bridged, and mankind is once more made “at one” with God, just as we were before the Fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve. The gates of heaven are opened to us. It is all made possible through the lifting up of Christ, and His death upon the Cross.

He was lifted up upon the Cross so that we can be lifted up to heaven. He was broken so that we can be made whole. The only lesson we need to learn is to be learned at the foot of the Cross of Jesus Christ – that even though we are sinful and fall short of the glory of God, in spite of it all, God loves us with that yearning, passionate love which led Him to give Himself to be lifted up for us. Our hearts cannot help but be broken open to receive that Love which knows no rest and which never tires until it has found us, and has brought us to our true home in Christ’s kingdom.

So on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi we look to Jesus. We see Him humble Himself by taking upon Himself the outward forms of bread and wine, and we see Him lifted up resplendent in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

And He does it all for a reason. He does all this to be with us, and to allow us to be with Him. He does this so that we can spend time with Him. He does it because of His intense and eternal love for all of us, and He asks us to return that love by giving Him our worship and obedience, by living lives worthy of our calling to be members of His Body.

O God, who in a wonderful Sacrament hast left unto us a memorial of thy Passion: grant us, we beseech thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood; that we may ever know within ourselves the fruit of thy redemption; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Justin Martyr

St. Justin was an apologist and one of the most important Christian writers of the second century. He was a Greek born in Palestine. From the time of his childhood he loved to study, and by the time he was a young man he was so taken with the love of philosophy and the desire of truth that he became a serious student of philosophy and examined the teaching of all the great philosophers, looking for ultimate truth. He was disappointed in his search because he found they could go only a certain distance, but ultimately each philosophy contained a faulty reasoning, and each one contained error. 

One day he met a very old man who was a stranger to him. This old man opened the scriptures to Justin, and explained the Christian faith. Justin understood this as the truth he had been looking for – he saw that it completed all of the partial truths had had been studying up until that time. After that encounter he constantly studied the Scriptures, and he lived the Christian faith. Having come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, Justin devoted himself completely to the composition of many books explaining and propagating the Christian faith.

Among the most famous of the works of Justin are his two Apologies or Defenses of the Christian faith. He even presented these Apologies to the Roman Senate, in an attempt to stop the persecution of the Church. Some were convinced, and for a while the persecutions stopped, but eventually there were those in power who wanted to crush the Church because of their own wicked ways of living. 

Justin was brought before Rusticus, the Prefect of Rome, and he was questioned about the doctrine of the Christians. Justin gave a complete defense of the Christian faith, but Rusticus himself lived a cruel and wicked life and so would not listen. He made Justin choose whether he would sacrifice to the gods or suffer a cruel scourging. Justin answered that he had always wanted to suffer for the Lord Jesus Christ because he knew it would bring him to heaven. The prefect sentenced Justin to death. He was horribly scourged, and then beheaded.  This man who sought the truth and found it in Christ, became a great martyr for the faith.

O God, who through the foolishness of the Cross didst wondrously teach blessed Justin Martyr the excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ: grant to us by his intercession; that, driving away the errors that beset us, we may attain unto steadfastness of faith; 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.

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Feast of the Visitation honours the Blessed Virgin Mary, who bore in her womb Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. It shows her as the first missionary and evangelist, as she takes the Word to her cousin Elizabeth, whose unborn infant, St. John, was cleansed from original sin as the two expectant mothers embraced. St. Elizabeth addressed her as the "Mother of the Lord," and Mary responded with the great canticle of praise, the Magnificat:

"My soul doth magnify the Lord : and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded : the lowliness of his handmaiden.
For behold, from henceforth : all generations shall call me blessed.
For he that is mighty hath magnified me : and holy is his Name.
And his mercy is on them that fear him : throughout all generations.
He hath shewed strength with his arm : he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seat : and hath exalted the humble and meek.
He hath filled the hungry with good things : and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel : as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever."

O God, who didst lead the Blessed Virgin Mary to visit Elizabeth, to their exceeding joy and comfort: grant unto thy people; that as Mary did rejoice to be called the Mother of the Lord, so we may ever rejoice to believe the Incarnation of thine Only Begotten Son; 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 Visitation" 

by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834-1890)

Memorial 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. Augustine of Canterbury, Apostle to the English

At the end of the sixth century it looked like St. Augustine had found his place in life. He was the respected prior of St. Andrew’s monastery in Rome, and everyone thought he would spend his life there, instructing, governing, and settling into a satisfying and sedentary life.

But the pope had other ideas. The pope been a young monk under Augustine; but now that young monk was Pope Gregory, known to history as St. Gregory the Great. We all know the story of how Gregory had seen some fair-skinned people being sold as slaves, and when he asked about them, he was told they were Angles. “Not Angles, but angels!” he had responded, and he decided he needed to send missionaries to their people to bring them the knowledge of the Gospel. 

England had once known the faith, but the Angles and the Saxons had conquered the land, and had driven the Christians out. Now the time had come to re-evangelize, and Gregory chose Augustine and thirty monks to make the unexpected and dangerous trip to England. Augustine and his monks had the task of finding what few Christians there were, and to bring them back into the fullness of the Church, and also to convince their warring conquerors to become Christians themselves.

Every step of the way Augustine and his monks heard the horror stories of the cruelty and barbarity of the Anglo-Saxons. By the time they had reached France the stories became so frightening that the monks turned back to Rome. Gregory had heard encouraging news that England was far more ready for Christianity than the stories would indicate, including the marriage of King Ethelbert of Kent to a Christian princess, Bertha. He sent Augustine and the monks on their way again, fortified with his belief that the time was ripe for evangelization.

King Ethelbert was a good king and he was curious about his wife’s religion, so he went to hear what the missionaries had to say after they landed in England. Apparently he was just as afraid of them as they were of him! He was afraid that these missionaries would use magic on them, so he held the meeting in the open air. But he listened to what they had to say about Christianity. The king was baptized in 597, and unlike other kings who forced all subjects to be baptized as soon as they were converted, Ethelbert left religion to be a free choice. Nonetheless, during the following year many of his subjects were baptized.

Augustine was consecrated bishop for the English and more missionaries arrived from Rome to help with the new task. Augustine had to be very careful because although the English had embraced the new religion, they still respected the old pagan ways. St. Gregory the Great was very wise, and he urged Augustine not simply to destroy the things of the old pagan religion, but to consecrate the pagan temples for Christian worship and pagan festivals were transformed into feast days of martyrs. Canterbury itself was built on the site of an ancient church which had been built during the earlier days of Christianity.

St. Augustine was in England for only eight years before he died in 605, but he planted the seeds for the growth of the Christian faith in what had been a dark pagan land.

O God, who by the preaching and miracles of blessed Augustine thy Confessor and Bishop, hast enlightened the English people with the light of the true faith: mercifully grant that by his intercession the hearts of them that have gone astray may return to the unity of thy truth; 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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Image: St. Augustine, detail from an opus sectile work
in Westminster Cathedral, London.

St. Philip Neri, Priest and Confessor

If we had to choose the one saint who always had a funny story to tell, or a harmless practical joke to play, it would be St. Philip Neri, who lived in the 16th century. His sense of humor was for a reason – he said there were plenty of gloomy saints – he wanted to use laughter and good-natured fun as a way of growing closer to God.

Philip’s life wasn’t always easy. His father was a financial failure, and when he was a young man of eighteen, Philip was sent to work with an older cousin who was a successful businessman. During this time, Philip found a favorite place to pray up in the fissure of a mountain that had been turned into a chapel. We don't know anything specific about his conversion but during these hours of prayer he decided to leave worldly success behind and dedicate his life to God.

After thanking his cousin, he went to Rome in 1533 where he was the live-in tutor of the sons of a fellow Florentine. He studied philosophy and theology, but he really wanted to live a life of prayer. During one of his times of prayer, he felt as though a globe of light had entered into him. This experience gave him so much energy to serve God that he went out to work at the hospital of the incurables and starting speaking to others about God, everyone from beggars to bankers.

In 1548 Philip formed a kind of confraternity with other laymen to minister to pilgrims who came to Rome without food or shelter. The spiritual director of the confraternity convinced Philip that he could do even more work as a priest, so after completing his studies, Philip was ordained in 1551.

At his new home, the Church of San Girolamo, he learned to love to hear confessions. Young men especially found in him the wisdom and direction they needed to grow spiritually. But Philip began to realize that these young men also needed guidance during their daily lives. So Philip began to ask the young men to come by in the early afternoon when they would discuss spiritual readings and then stay for prayer in the evening. The numbers of the men who attended these meetings grew rapidly. In order to handle the growth, Philip and a fellow priest Buonsignore Cacciaguerra gave a more formal structure to the meetings and built a room called the Oratory to hold them in.

Philip understood that it wasn't enough to tell somebody not to do something – they had to have something to do in its place. So at Carnival time, when crowds were involved in all sorts of things that could lead to trouble, Philip organized a pilgrimage to the Seven Churches with a picnic accompanied by instrumental music for the mid-day break. After walking twelve miles in one day everyone was too tired to be tempted!

Eventually, Philip’s success with young people started to make some of the other priests jealous, and the good work he was doing was threatened. But eventually Philip and the others who worked with him were seen to be doing God’s work, so they were able to continue. In fact, St. Philip wouldn’t allow a single bad thing to be said about the people who had tried to destroy him. Eventually he and the others who worked with him realized they needed a center for their activities, and they were able to take up residence at what was known as “Chiesa Nuova,” or the “New Church.”

Humility was the most important virtue he tried to teach others and to learn himself. Some of his lessons in humility seem cruel, but they always had a humourous side. When one priest gave a beautiful sermon, Philip ordered him to give the same sermon six times in a row so people would think he only had one sermon. When one man asked Philip if he could wear a hair shirt, Philip gave him permission -- if he wore the hair shirt outside his clothes! The man obeyed and found humility in the jokes and name-calling he received.

And Philip carried out his own mortifications to learn humility. There are stories of him wearing ridiculous clothes or walking around with half his beard shaved off. The greater his reputation for holiness the sillier he wanted to seem. When some people came from Poland to see the great saint, they found him listening to another priest read to him from joke books.

But Philip was very serious about prayer, spending hours in prayer. He was so easily carried away that he refused to preach in public and could not celebrate Mass with others around. But he when asked how to pray his answer was, "Be humble and obedient and the Holy Spirit will teach you."

St. Philip Neri died in 1595 after a long illness, at the age of eighty years.

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Whenever I have led a pilgrimage to Rome, we always visit the magnificent but charming Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella, better known as the Chiesa Nuova, or New Church. This served as the center of operation for St. Philip Neri, the fun-loving saint who combined humour with holiness, and whose work resulted in the foundation of the Oratorians.




O God, who didst exalt thy blessed Confessor Philip to the glory of thy Saints: mercifully grant that we, who rejoice in his festival, may learn to follow rightly the example of his virtues; 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 Mystery of the Godhead Revealed

Even the most brilliant theologian would have to say that the doctrine of the Holy Trinity cannot truly and completely be understood. However, the mystery of the Trinity can be known, because our knowledge – and indeed, our experience – of the Holy Trinity has been revealed to us by God Himself, in and by our Lord Jesus Christ.

From Christ we have learned what nature alone could never show us about the Godhead. From Christ we have learned what our own human understanding could never fathom. If we were left to our own understanding, we would probably try to understand the Trinity from a mathematical point of view – one God; three Persons; three equals one, which is an impossibility; therefore God as Trinity is an impossibility.

But Christ has revealed this mystery to us in a completely different way. It’s not about mathematics; rather, it’s about the relationship of Persons within the one Godhead. From Christ we have learned to know God as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost – Three in One and One in Three – the Father sending the Son to redeem the world, the Holy Spirit being sent from the Father and the Son to dwell in us, and to make us holy, even as God is holy.

When we look back on all that we celebrate throughout the year, we see that the foundation of the Catholic Faith is the reality of the Holy Trinity. From the birth of our Saviour to His crucifixion; from His resurrection and ascension to the coming of the Holy Spirit in wind and fire, so we have had the revelation from God Himself that He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Of course, it is through Jesus Christ, and through Him alone, that we truly know Almighty God. Christ has explained and interpreted God to man. Christ has told us, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” The Father and the Son are one. The Father and the Son are so united in the majesty and perfect holiness of their divine nature that whoever saw the Son, even though in human flesh, saw the immortal and invisible Father. It was so strange and wonderful a thing, that even his Apostles were astonished and perplexed by it. Remember when St. Philip said to Christ, “Lord, show us the Father, and it will be enough.” And Jesus answered him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you do not know me? He who has seen me has seen the Father…” In Jesus Christ is the fullest and most perfect revelation of what God is, of what God loves, of what God does and of what God will do.

Only in Jesus Christ can we fully know God. Certainly, the world which He made tells us about Him. All around us is the evidence of His power, and in His creation we see His wisdom and His goodness. So whether we look to the stars and sky above, or to any part of creation, these things tell us of the God who created those things. But they tell us only that He “is,” not necessarily Who He is. It is Christ who has brought God close to us, so that we can actually know Him, and not simply know “about” Him.

Christ has shown us the image and holiness of the unseen God. In Christ we know who God is. We are able to comprehend Him. In the mind of Christ we read the mind of God. In the character of Christ we learn everything that we can know of the character of God. In the deeds of Christ we see the love and pity and tenderness and long-suffering of God. In the words of Christ we hear the judgements of God, and in Christ we can know the truth as it is revealed and upheld by God. We see in Christ the spotless goodness of God – and in the sacrifice of Christ on the cross we see what our thoughts and imagination could never have dreamed of, when it comes to the love of God for us. Namely this: that “God so loved the world, that He gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And so in Christ God is love Incarnate. And this love is meant to take root in our own hearts, because God can be known by no one except those who are like Him through the godly love in their hearts. And in this way, Christ teaches us not only of the Father, but of the Holy Spirit, too, who is that very love within us, and who makes us “ambassadors of Christ” in the world. Our vocation is to “incarnate” God’s mercy and love and forgiveness to others.

The mystery of the Holy Trinity – that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God – tells us that we can know God as He wants us to know Him. He is not only the unseen incomprehensible and divine power who can do as He wills with us, and whose ways we cannot see or even guess at – but God is the one who is the loving Father of us all, the God of truth and righteousness, the God whose eyes are upon all His works in merciful and loving wisdom, who pities the sinner and forgives the sin, who hears the prayer and fills the soul with grace and gladness, whose Spirit dwells in our hearts and whose Incarnation dwells in our tabernacles.

We can know Him as the God who, even though far above us, nonetheless has come down to us, and in fact, into us – giving us peace, speaking within us as that still, small voice – the voice we can always hear, whether in the silence of the soul, or in the busy noise of the world.

Because Christ has revealed the fulness of the God-head, we can know Him and fear Him and love Him, both here in this life, and in eternity when we have passed out of this world. It is God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who reaches out to us so that we can reach out to Him, and find in Him our true hope, and our true home.

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity: we beseech thee; that this holy faith may evermore be our defence against all adversities; who livest and reignest, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Image: The mystery of the Holy Trinity,

Stained glass in the Church of St. Etheldreda, 

London, England.

Hymn to the Most Holy Trinity

Almighty God, majestic King,

with joyful hearts thy people sing:

Alleluia, alleluia.

For all good gifts we offer praise,

and ask thy blessings all our days:

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Lord Jesus Christ, Eternal Son,

who on the cross salvation won:

Alleluia, alleluia.

Through thy great sacrifice of love

we join our song with saints above:

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

O Holy Spirit, Light divine,
dwell in these hearts and souls of thine:
Alleluia, alleluia.
Keep us in peace and unity
that with one voice our chant may be,
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips, 1996

Tune: LASST UNS ERFREUEN,
from Geistliche Kirchengesang, 1623

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Pictured: "The Mercy Seat" c.1475

from a Book of Hours

St. Bede the Venerable

Bede is one of the few saints honored as such even during his lifetime. His writings were filled with such faith and learning that even while he was still alive, a Church council ordered them to be read publicly in the churches.

Bede was born near the Monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul at Jarrow, England, and at an early age he was entrusted to the care of the abbot of the monastery. It was a happy combination of Bede’s genius and the instruction he received from scholarly, saintly monks which produced a saint and an extraordinary scholar, perhaps the most outstanding one of his day. He became very learned in all the sciences of his times: natural philosophy, the philosophical principles of Aristotle, astronomy, arithmetic, grammar, ecclesiastical history, the lives of the saints and, especially, Holy Scripture. He was the first one to date historical events using the designation “A.D.” – Anno Domini. He was ordained as a deacon at the age of nineteen, and then as a priest at the age of thirty. From the time of his ordination to the priesthood until his death, he spent all his time writing, teaching and living the prayerful life of a Benedictine monk. Besides the many books that he copied, he composed forty-five of his own, including thirty commentaries on books of the Bible.

His advice and spiritual guidance was sought out by kings and important leaders, including the Pope himself. Bede managed to remain in his own monastery till his death. Only once did he leave for a few months in order to teach in the school of the archbishop of York. Bede died in 735 praying his favorite prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be; world without end. Amen.”

O God, who hast caused thy Church to shine with the learning of blessed Bede thy Confessor and Doctor: mercifully grant that we thy servants may ever be enlightened by his wisdom, and holpen for his merits’ sake; 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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Image: Late 12th century, Durham

Ember Saturday in Whitsun Week

WE beseech thee, O Lord, graciously pour the Holy Spirit into our hearts: by whose wisdom we were created, and by whose providence we are governed; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

For those to be ordained:

ALMIGHTY God, the giver of all good gifts, who of thy divine providence hast appointed divers Orders in thy Church: give thy grace, we humbly beseech thee, to all those who are (now) called to any office and ministry for thy people; and so fill them with the truth of thy doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before thee, to the glory of thy great Name and for the benefit of thy holy 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.

For the choice of fit persons for the ordained ministry:

O GOD, who didst lead thy holy Apostles to ordain ministers in every place: grant that thy Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable men for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of thy kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

For all Christians in their vocation:

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of thy faithful people is governed and sanctified: receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before thee for all members of thy holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and godly serve thee; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

Ember Friday in Whitsun Week

MOST merciful God, we beseech thee: that thy Church, being gathered together in the Holy Spirit, may nevermore be disquieted by the assaults of her enemies; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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In the liturgical calendar of the Ordinariate, the Solemnity of Pentecost has a privileged Octave. Other memorials and optional memorials falling during the Octave of Pentecost, if observed at all, are commemorated with a collect only.

Thursday in Whitsun Week

ALMIGHTY God, who as at this time didst open the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of thy Holy Spirit: shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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In the liturgical calendar of the Ordinariate, the Solemnity of Pentecost has a privileged Octave. Other memorials and optional memorials falling during the Octave of Pentecost, if observed at all, are commemorated with a collect only.

St. Rita of Cascia

What a remarkable woman St. Rita was! She was born into a happy and faithful Catholic family, and from the time of her childhood she had a very deep desire to live a life pleasing to God. In fact, her parents gave her a little room in their home as an oratory, where she spent all her spare moments. At the age of twelve, however, she wanted to consecrate herself to God by joining a religious community. As pious as her parents were, they pleaded with Rita not to do that, and instead they arranged for her to be married, at the age of eighteen, to an impulsive, disagreeable young man, who was a great trial to young Rita. They had two sons who had both inherited their father's quarrelsome nature. Throughout that time, however, Rita continued in her devotional life, and eventually her holiness and prayers won her husband's heart, so that he was not only willing for her to continue her religious practices, but he himself began to turn towards God.

They had been married for eighteen years, when her husband was murdered. No sooner had that happened, than both of her sons died shortly after. Rita's former desire to consecrate herself to God in the religious life came back even more strongly. Three times she tried to join the Augustinian nuns in Cascia, but her request was refused each time, and each time she returned to her home. But God had plans for her. One night as Rita was praying in her home she heard herself called by name, while someone knocked at the door. In a miraculous way she found she was in the nuns’ enclosure, even though it was completely locked. Needless to say, the nuns were astonished at this miracle, and took her in as a member of the monastery.

St. Rita's hidden, simple life in religion was defined by her obedience and charity, and she lived a life filled with penances. One day, after hearing a sermon on the Passion of Christ she returned to her cell. Kneeling before the crucifix, she asked the Lord to let her share in His sufferings. Her prayer was answered. Suddenly one of the thorns detached from the image on the cross, and embedded itself in her forehead so deeply that she couldn’t remove it. The wound became worse, and it became horribly infected. Because of the foul odor coming from the wound, she wasn’t allowed to be near the other sisters, and this went on for fifteen years.

One day the Pope proclaimed a jubilee at Rome. Rita wanted nothing more than to attend. She was given permission, but only if the wound in her forehead had healed. Miraculously, it was healed, but only for as long as the pilgrimage lasted. When she returned to the monastery, the wound reappeared, and remained until her death.

As the time of her death approached, St. Rita asked for a rose from the garden of her old home. Although it wasn’t the season for roses, a rose was found in full bloom and it was brought to her. After St. Rita's death in 1457, her face took on a radiance, and the odor from her wound was as fragrant as that of the roses she loved so much. The smell of roses spread through the convent and into the church, where it has continued ever since. At the time of her death, witnesses saw her cell fill with light, and the bells in the tower rang by themselves. Immediately there were miracles of healing, and the world then knew that a saint had lived in their midst.

Bestow upon us, we pray, O Lord, the wisdom and strength of the Cross, with which thou wert pleased to endow Saint Rita: so that, suffering in every tribulation with Christ, we may participate ever more deeply in his Paschal Mystery; 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.