The Faithfulness of Our Lady

In her life, the Virgin Mary gives us the perfect example of faithfulness. She unhesitatingly and completely accomplished the Will of God as it was manifested to her, by doing her ordinary, commonplace duties – caring for the Infant Jesus, making the home in Nazareth a welcoming place – and she was also faithful to the demands of charity and concern for those whom God placed in her path – such as going to assist her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant with St. John the Baptist, or her noticing the embarrassment of the young couple at the wedding feast at Cana, and then seeking to help them.

Mary obeyed the manifestations of the Will of God so faithfully that we cannot help but be filled with admiration, just from our human point of view. We cannot imagine her neglecting to follow the desires of God in any way, whether they were revealed to her by her duties, or the needs of her neighbour, or the message of an angel, or through the inner speaking of the Holy Spirit. Mary was like a leaf on a tree which is moved by the slightest breeze – she responded to His slightest urging and inspiration. Her soul was so attuned to the Spirit of God, that it was impossible for her not to take note of the smallest wish of the Most High God, and certainly she was always ready to respond to His greatest requests.

This is an important point: Mary’s faithfulness in the small things prepared her for faithfulness in great things. Her generous response to the demands of God’s Will throughout her early life strengthened her ready response at the time of the Annunciation. Her faithfulness made her completely worthy, completely ready, for God to work His Will in her in the accomplishment of the Incarnation and Redemption.

Her words “Be it done unto me according to thy word,” is our example of wholehearted surrender to the Holy Spirit – that is, her perfect acceptance of the Will of God exactly how and when and in what way He desired it to be accomplished. At every moment of her life – in all her joys and sorrows, in the wonder of Bethlehem and in the horror of Calvary – Mary was always accepting. She was always ready to let God’s Will be done. She was always perfectly conformed to it, and she was always ready to embrace it.

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Painting: "Madonna and Child"

by Marianne Stokes (1855-1927)

St. Peter Claver

A native of Spain, the young Jesuit priest Peter Claver left his homeland forever in 1610 to be a missionary in the colonies of the New World. He sailed into what is now Colombia, and he was ordained there in 1615.

By this time the slave trade had been established in the Americas for nearly 100 years, and Cartagena was a chief center for it. Ten thousand slaves poured into the port each year after crossing the Atlantic from West Africa under conditions so foul and inhuman that an estimated one-third of the passengers died in transit. Although the practice of slave-trading was condemned by Pope Paul III and later labeled "supreme villainy" by Pius IX, it continued to flourish.

Fr. Peter Claver's predecessor, Jesuit Father Alfonso de Sandoval, had devoted himself to the service of the slaves for 40 years before Fr. Claver arrived to continue his work, declaring himself "the slave of the Negroes forever."

As soon as a slave ship entered the port, Peter Claver moved into its infested hold to minister to the ill-treated and exhausted passengers. After the slaves were herded out of the ship like chained animals and shut up in nearby yards to be gazed at by the crowds, the young priest plunged in among them with medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons and tobacco. With the help of interpreters he gave basic instructions and assured his brothers and sisters of their human dignity and God's saving love. During the 40 years of his ministry, he instructed and baptized an estimated 300,000 slaves.

His apostolate extended beyond his care for slaves. He preached in the city square, gave missions to sailors and traders as well as country missions, during which he avoided, when possible, the hospitality of the planters and owners and lodged in the slave quarters instead.

After four years of sickness which forced the saint to remain inactive and largely neglected, he died on September 8, 1654. The city magistrates, who had previously frowned at his kindness toward the slaves, ordered that he should be buried at public expense and with great pomp.

He was canonized in 1888, and Pope Leo XIII declared him the worldwide patron of missionary work among those who are in slavery or any kind of forced servitude.

O God, who madest Saint Peter Claver a slave of slaves, and strengthened him with wonderful charity and patience as he came to their help: grant, through his intercession; that, seeking the things of Christ, we may love our neighbour in deeds and in truth; 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.

Ephphatha: Be Opened

At that time: Jesus returned from the region of Tyre, and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand upon him. And taking him aside from the multitude privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue; and looking up to heaven, he sighed, and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened." And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And he charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well; he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."

- St. Mark 7:31-37

After Jesus spent time in the Gentile country of Tyre and Sidon where he dealt with the Syro-Phoenecian woman who was pleading for the needs of her little daughter, He left that area and returned to the area around the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. This is a word which means “Ten Cities” and describes a group of cities which were a mixture of Greek and Roman cultures (so Gentile) but still very much in the midst of the Jewish people, and there was some crossing back and forth in their cultures. 

Ministering in this area was one of the ways our Lord emphasized that He had come “for all mankind” – not just for one nation, not just for one culture, but to bring the Gospel and the Kingdom of God to everyone. This time away from Galilee was about eight months altogether – an extended period of time away from the Pharisees and those who were always attacking Jesus, and so giving Him time to be with His apostles and to teach them without interruption.

When Jesus did arrive back in the region of Galilee, He came into the district of the Decapolis, and it was there that a man was brought to Him who was deaf and who had an impediment in his speech – two things that went together, since so often deafness results in difficult speech, because the deaf person cannot hear himself. We see in this healing an example of the very beautiful and personal way in which Jesus treated people.

He took the man aside from the crowd, all by himself. This was an act of great kindness and consideration. Deafness can be difficult and sometimes embarrassing, when a person is being spoken to, and yet cannot understand. So we see Jesus having a regard for what was a difficult situation for this man. And then the gospel describes how our Lord brought about the cure. It is as though what Jesus did in performing the cure included a kind of “acting it out” so that the man could understand. He put his fingers in the man’s ears, showing that He was going to heal his deafness. He touched his tongue, showing that He was going to deal with the speech impediment, too. Jesus then looked up to heaven to show that it was from God that the healing was coming. After all that, Jesus then spoke the word, and the man was healed.

One of the things that is evident in this is the great dignity which our Lord showed to this individual. The man had a special need and a special problem, and it was with tenderness and consideration that Jesus dealt with him, always in a way that considered the man’s feelings and also in a way that he could understand. That’s the way Jesus deals with each one of us. He knows us personally, and looks after our needs personally.

When the miracle was completed, the people said, “He has done all things well…” That reminds us of God’s statement when He had completed creation – “he saw that all things were good.” When Jesus came, bringing healing and salvation, in a sense He was engaged in the work of creation all over again. In the beginning everything had been good; however, man’s sin had spoiled it. Jesus brings back God's beauty to the world which sin had made ugly. Now all things are being restored in Christ.

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"Christ healing the deaf mute at Decapolis"

by Bartholomeus Breenbergh (1598-1657)

Hymn to the Divine Lamb

Jesus Christ, our Saviour King,

unto thee thy people sing;

hear the prayers we humbly make,

hear them for thy mercy's sake.

Lord Jesus Christ, O Lamb Divine,

fill our souls, and make us thine.

Give us eyes that we may see;

give us hearts to worship thee;

give us ears that we may hear;

in thy love, Lord, draw us near.

Lord Jesus Christ, O Lamb Divine,

fill our souls, and make us thine.

In our darkness, shed thy light;

lift us to thy heav'nly height;

may we be thy dwelling-place:

tabernacles of thy grace.

Lord Jesus Christ, O Lamb Divine,

fill our souls, and make us thine.

In thy Kingdom grant us rest,

in Jerusalem the blest;

with the saints our lips shall sing,

with the angels echoing:

Lord Jesus Christ, O Lamb Divine,

thou dost reign, and we are thine!

Text: Fr. Christopher G. Phillips, 1990

Music: "Lucerna Laudoniæ" by David Evans (1874-1948)

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Painting: "Agnus Dei" (Cordero mistico)

by José Campeche y Jordán (1751-1809)

St. Teresa of Calcutta

On August 26, 1910 a baby girl was born to a couple of Albanian heritage in Skopje, Macedonia. She was baptized with the name of Agnes, and she grew up in a loving and devoutly Catholic household. When she was eight years old, her father died, leaving her mother with the responsibility of supporting the family, which she did by opening a shop which dealt in embroidery and fabric.

Young Agnes helped her mother, and was also deeply involved in the life of their parish church, but when she was eighteen she felt the call to religious life. She left home in September of 1928, travelling to Dublin, Ireland, where she was admitted as a postulant at the Loreto Convent. It was there that she received the religious name of Teresa, after her patroness, St. Terese of Lisieux, and she was known as Sr. Mary Teresa.

After her postulancy in Ireland, Sr. Teresa was sent to India, where she was to spend her novitiate. She arrived in Calcutta on the Feast of the Epiphany, 1929, and went immediately into the Loreto convent in Darjeeling. It was on May 24, 1937, that she professed her final vows, and during the 1930’s and 1940’s she taught at a Catholic girls’ school in Calcutta, and came to be known as Mother Teresa.

It was on September 10, 1946 that she was on the train going from Calcutta to Darjeeling. As she later recalled it, it was during that journey that she was given what she termed a “call within a call.” This was when she received the inspiration which would lead to the founding of the Missionaries of Charity. Within her call to religious life she felt the call to establish a new religious institute which would have as its mission, “to quench the infinite thirst of Jesus on the cross for love of souls,” and this would be accomplished by “laboring for the salvation and sanctification of the poorest of the poor.” This came to fruition on October 7, 1950, when the new congregation of the Missionaries of charity was erected as a religious institute for the Archdiocese of Calcutta.

Her work had begun in a small way. She washed the sores of sick children; she nursed a woman dying of starvation and tuberculosis; she cared for a homeless man who was without any family, and near death. One by one, some of her former students joined her in the work. Their day would begin with Mass and Holy Communion, and then they would set out on the streets of Calcutta – they were recognizable by their white saris with blue borders – and they had the purpose of caring for the “poorest of the poor,” who had no one to care for them. They searched them out as though searching for Jesus Himself.

Throughout the 1950’s and into the 1960’s the work expanded, as did the number of those joining the Missionaries of Charity. They worked not only in Calcutta, but throughout India. Then, in 1965, Pope Paul VI raised the congregation from an archdiocesan institute to one of pontifical right, and they began to spread throughout the world, going first to Venezuela, then into Europe and Africa, eventually opening houses in Australia, the Middle East, and North America.

In 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and by that time there were 158 Missionaries of Charity foundations throughout the world, and its growth continued, until by 1997 there were nearly 4,000 Sisters in 600 foundations, in 123 countries of the world. In the summer of 1997, after an extensive trip to visit her sisters in Rome, New York, and Washington, Mother Teresa’s health was failing. She returned to Calcutta, and on September 5, 1997, she died at the Motherhouse, very near the Loreto convent where she had arrived some sixty-nine years earlier.

At her death she was mourned throughout the world. Hundreds of thousands came to Calcutta to pray and pay their respect to this remarkable woman. She was given a state funeral, and her body was taken in procession throughout the streets of Calcutta, where she herself had searched out the “poorest of the poor.” After only two years, in recognition of her sanctity, special permission was given to open her cause. She was beatified on October 19, 2003 and was canonized on September 4, 2016. In speaking of her, St. John Paul II called her “an icon of the Good Samaritan.”

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich: Deliver us, we pray thee, from an inordinate love of this world, that, inspired by the devotion of thy servant, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, we may serve thee with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

St. Cuthbert, Bishop and Confessor

St. Cuthbert, one of the great saints of Britain, was born in Northumbria in about the year 635, at about the same year in which St. Aidan founded the monastery on Lindisfarne. He was raised as a Christian, and in his youth he spent time in military service, and also seems to have spent time as a shepherd.

His life changed when he was about 17 years old. He was tending sheep out in the hills, and looking into the night sky he saw a great light descend to earth and then return, and he believed that a human soul was being taken to heaven at that moment. The date was August 31, 651, the night of the death of St. Aidan, who was the great bishop and monk of Lindisfarne. This became Cuthbert’s time of decision for the future of his life. He immediately went to one of the monasteries, Melrose monastery, which had been founded by St. Aidan, and requested admittance as a novice.

For the next 13 years he was with the Melrose monks. At that time Melrose was then given land to found a new monastery at Ripon, and Cuthbert went with the founding party and was made guestmaster of the new foundation. After serving in that capacity for a time, St. Cuthbert returned to his original monastery and was appointed as Prior of Melrose.

After a time, St. Cuthbert moved to Lindisfarne and settled into the life of the monastery. He became an active missionary, and he was very much in demand as a spiritual director. He was an outgoing, cheerful, compassionate person and no doubt became popular. But when he was about forty years old he believed that he was being called to be a hermit and to dedicate himself completely to prayer. He moved to a remote island, where he remained for another ten years.

He was not destined to remain in the life of a hermit. When he was about fifty years old, he was asked by the Church to leave his hermitage and become a bishop, and he very reluctantly agreed. For two years he was an active, travelling bishop, and he journey far and wide ministering to those under his spiritual care.

Finally, feeling that death was approaching, he retired to his old hermitage where, in the company of Lindisfarne monks, he died on March 20, 687.

St. Cuthbert is often depicted with otters because it is said that his practice was to pray while wading in the frigid North Sea, and when he emerged from the water he would be accompanied by otters that would dry his feet with their fur, and warm him.

The 4th of September is kept as a commemoration of St. Cuthbert in remembrance of the transference of his relics to Durham. With the invasion of the Vikings near the end of the 9th century, the body of St. Cuthbert was taken from Lindisfarne by the monks to a new location for safekeeping, until finally arriving at the place known as “Deer’s meadow,” or “Durham,” where a chapel was built for the relics, and this chapel marked the place where the great Durham Cathedral now stands.

Almighty God, who didst call St. Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that, as he sought in dangerous and remote places those who had erred and strayed from thy ways, so we may seek the indifferent and the lost, and lead them back to thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Pope St. Gregory the Great

St. Gregory, known as "the Great," served the Church as Supreme Pontiff from 590 until 604. Before this he had served the city of Rome as a senator and prefect, all by the age of thirty. He then dedicated himself to God by entering religious life as a Benedictine monk. It was during his time as abbot that a well-known incident took place. In about the year 573 A.D. the abbot Gregory, during a walk through the marketplace, saw some fair-skinned people being sold as slaves. When he asked about them he was told they were Angles. He responded, “Non Angli, sed angeli” (“Not Angles, but angels!”).

After he became the pope 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. But now the time had come to re-evangelize, and St. Gregory chose St. 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 bringing them back into the fullness of the Faith, and to convince the war-loving conquerors to become Christians themselves.

Pope St. Gregory also had a tremendous influence on the liturgical and musical life of the Church, and in an ancient account it says, “St. Gregory established at Rome two schools of song, that one beside the church of S. Peter, and that other by the church of S. John Lateran, where the place is yet, where he taught the scholars, and the rod with which he menaced them is yet there.”

Pope St. Gregory well-deserves to be called “the Great,” not just for his re-evangelization of England, but for his liturgical, musical, and spiritual influence upon the whole of the Western Church.

O God, the strength of them that put their trust in thee, who didst stablish thy blessed Confessor and Bishop Saint Gregory with the strength of constancy to defend the freedom of thy Church: grant, we pray thee, that by his prayers and good example, we may manfully conquer all things contrary to our salvation; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "St. Gregory the Great, Pope"

by Francisco José de Goya (1746–1828)

Labor Day

Labor Day, observed each year on the first Monday in September, has become synonymous with barbeques and bargains, and for most of us it marks the end of summer. It was instituted originally as a day to honour workers, and it has in the past featured the place of organized labour in our society. Labor unions have had an up-and-down place in the history of our nation, but whatever one's view of unions, nonetheless it is a good thing to honour workers and their labour.

The patron saint of labourers is St. Joseph the Worker. The actual commemoration of this title falls on the first day of May, but it is appropriate to remember him on Labor Day too, as a way of accentuating the dignity of labour and as a reminder of the spiritual dimension of work.

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 toward those who are in need.

As we celebrate Labor Day, we should look to St. Joseph 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.

O LORD Jesus Christ, who in thy earthly life didst share man’s toil, and thereby hallow the labour of his hands: prosper all those who maintain the industries of this land; and give them pride in their work, a just reward for their labour, and joy both in supplying the needs of others and in serving thee their Saviour; who with the Father and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "Christ in St. Joseph's Workshop" 

by Matteo Pagano (1515-1588)

Pure and Undefiled Religion

“Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

- from the Epistle of St. James

St. James wrote his brief epistle during a time when the Church was being greatly persecuted. It was addressed to followers of Christ who had grown discouraged. It just wasn’t easy to sustain their faith when everyone and everything around them was trying to lure them away. St. James addresses these words to encourage them, even though everything around them was discouraging. He is recalling them to the truth of Jesus Christ, which had excited them and attracted them at the time of their conversion. He is calling them from the distractions of the world, back to the true religion revealed by Jesus Christ Himself. He says to them: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

St. James makes clear that there is such a thing as pure and undefiled religion. Just as there were then, so there are those today who would deny this fact. “Look around you,” they would say. Someone who claims to be a follower of Christ, turns out to be insincere, and so there are those who are all too eager to claim that religion is a sham, a hypocrisy.

But we know this is not the case. For every Judas who betrays, there is a St. Paul who struggles to serve Christ. For every Simon the Magician who pretends to practice religion for what he can gain, there is a St. John who seeks only to love God. St. James is reminding us that there are those who truly walk with God, and have the desire to honor and please God. In the midst of the whirl of business, amidst the selfishness and malice and short tempers in the world, there are those who are struggling upward toward the light of Christ, fighting against sin, and looking forward to that time when all things will be brought to perfection in Christ.

So then, what are the marks of the “pure and undefiled” religion St. James is talking about? We need to know, because this is what we are trying to practice. So what defines its reality? First of all, this kind of religion comes from God. It is approved and accepted by God. James teaches us, “Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” In other words, there is nothing from man that is “pure and undefiled.” No one can say, “I have made my own heart clean. I have purified myself from my sin.” No, the best that man can bring forth out of his own power is bound to be stained. But pure religion comes down from above. Its origin is from above. It is sent by the Father to sanctify us and renew us.

But how does this pure and undefiled religion find its way into our corrupt and sinful hearts? Scripture gives the answer: “God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He has loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, has made us alive with Christ… We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has ordained that we should walk in…” We know through Scripture and the constant teaching of the Church, that God’s Holy Spirit renews the heart, and teaches us to think and feel and act in the right way. God has planted in us the spirit of repentance and of faith and of love. He has made us worthy and righteous through the worthiness and righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

St. James then goes on to speak of two “marks” of this pure religion: “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” In other words, true religion – real faith – leads to tender and kindly actions towards the desolate and afflicted. St. Paul put it this way in his epistle to the Galatians: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” No one can have true religion unless he has the Spirit of Christ, and he who has the Spirit of Christ will have something of the mind of Christ. And certainly Christ had a true pity and sympathy for all those who were touched by sorrow and affliction. Didn’t He say to the widow of Nain, “Do not weep,” and then gave back to her her only son who had died? Didn’t He carry in His heart the sorrows of His disciples when He was about to leave them as a flock of fatherless children in a cold and cruel world? And He give them encouragement with the promise, “I will not leave you comfortless.” Surely, every disciple, in the practice of pure and undefiled religion, must follow in the footsteps of the Master; and Christ has pleaded with every disciple to care for His poor, to care for His little ones, to comfort all those whom He Himself would comfort, and to speak His word to those who do not know His grace and love.

Remember Christ’s important lesson: “What you have done to the least of these my brethren, you have done to me.” And remember also, that it is the willing heart that Christ cares about. It is the desire and the readiness to visit the orphan and the widow, or to care for those who are living without God and without hope, when the opportunity presents itself, This is what is really pleasing to our Heavenly Father.

Now, of course there are times when it isn’t always possible to respond to every need we hear about. We can’t deal with every single person in need; we can’t alleviate every case of suffering throughout the world. There may be constraints of family responsibilities, and no one has unlimited resources. However, where there is true sincerity, and a honest effort to do what we really can do, God accepts desire as being like the deed. Remember in the Old Testament, King David truly wanted to build the Temple, but he was unable; and God told him, “You did well, David, because it was in your heart.” All God asks is that we have that desire in our hearts, and that we follow God’s guidance in doing what we can in showing real charity towards others.

But a second mark of true religion is mentioned by St. James. It is “to keep oneself unstained from the world.” We cannot overcome the world through our own strength. There is only one way to keep from being irreparably stained by the world, and that’s by the exercise of constant faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. As St. John tells us in his first epistle: “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith…” If we want to live a life which “overcomes the world,” we need to understand clearly what that means. It means that we are to have our affections set on things above; that our values come from God, and that our goal is eternal union with God. It means that we must let the love of God be supreme in our actions; that we allow no idol to share God’s throne in our hearts. It means that we must make everything we have, everything we are, to be in the service of God’s kingdom. It means that all that we have – our time, our money, our influence, our intellectual gifts, our position in life – all of that must be regarded as already belonging to God.

In our efforts to live a religion which is “pure and undefiled,” remember that it is a gift from God, and not a result of our own work. And when you are discouraged, when it seems that no matter how hard you try, you still fail, remember that others have gone before, and have known the same difficulties. St. Paul writes in his epistle to the Romans, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do…”

Surely, this is why God has given us the sacrament of penance, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is through the regular and faithful use of those gifts that we exercise constant faith in the Lord Jesus, and through them we have Christ’s power always with us. Through that power, even though we are not yet made perfect, by God’s grace others will see in us that “religion which is pure and undefiled before God…”

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Painting: "Christus heilt Kranke" 

by Gebhard Fugel c.1920

St Aidan, Bishop, and the Saints of Lindisfarne

The Holy Island of Lindisfarne has a recorded history from the 6th century AD. It was an important center of Christianity not only under St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, but also is known for its association with St. Finan, St. Eata, St. Colman, and St. Cuthbert, Northumberland's patron saint. Notable saints who were students at Lindisfarne include St. Chad, St. Cedd, and St. Wilfrid.

St. Aidan studied under St. Senan, one of the great Irish monk-saints, and he became a monk at Iona in about the year 630. His obvious virtues caused him to be selected as first Bishop of Lindisfarne in 635.

Lindisfarne is an island of about one thousand acres, and is off the northeast coast of England. It served as a home base for the evangelizing of the mainland, and in time St. Aidan became known as the "apostle of Northumbria," because the king of Northumbria, Oswald, asked him to come and spread the Christian faith among the people. St. Bede spoke highly of the spiritual care given by St. Aidan to his people. King Oswald had studied in Ireland and because of their common spiritual heritage he eventually became a close friend of St. Aidan, supporting him in his work to the end of his life.

St. Aidan died at Bamborough on 31 August 651, and his remains were taken to Lindisfarne. St. Bede writes that "he was a pontiff inspired with a passionate love of virtue, but at the same time full of a surpassing mildness and gentleness."

O Everlasting God, who didst send thy gentle Bishop Aidan to proclaim the Gospel in Britain: grant that, aided by his prayers, we may live after his teaching in simplicity, humility, and love for the poor; 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. Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line, and Margaret Ward, Martyrs

The three martyrs we commemorate on August 30th are numbered amongst the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, who suffered death for the Catholic faith which had been outlawed in the kingdom. These three women – St. Margaret Clitherow, St. Anne Line, and St. Margaret Ward – were all martyred because they protected Catholic priests from the Elizabethan authorities, who were seeking out all Catholic priests for execution. During this dark time in history, it was illegal for priests to be in the country, as it was illegal for Catholics to receive the Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

ST. MARGARET CLITHEROW was a convert to the faith. She became a Catholic when she was eighteen. Although her husband was not a Catholic, he supported her in the practice of her faith, along with their son Henry, who was studying for the priesthood. Margaret’s husband even went so far all to allow her to welcome priests into their home for the celebration of Mass, and 1586 she was arrested for giving shelter to a priest. She was condemned to the horrifying death of being slowly crushed to death, being made to lay upon a sharp stone with a door placed upon her while nearly eight hundred pounds of stone were gradually added on top of the door. This took place on Good Friday in 1586. She died with the name of Jesus upon her lips.

ST. ANNE LINE was also a convert, and was completely disowned by her family. In 1586 she married a man who was also a convert to the faith, but who was soon exiled from the country, leaving Anne by herself. She eventually managed two “safe houses” where travelling priests could hide, but was arrested on February 2, 1601, when she assisted a priest in escaping arrest. When she was brought to court, she fully admitted what she had done, and told the judge that her only regret was that she had not helped more priests. St. Anne Line was hanged in London, and before her death she repeated what she had said in court, stating clearly that she did not repent for her actions, but that she wished she could have done it a thousand times.

ST. MARGARET WARD was an unmarried woman, and so is a virgin-martyr. She helped a priest escape from the prison where he was being held by smuggling him a length of rope with which he could lower himself over the prison wall. She was eventually accused of giving assistance to the priest because it was known that she was the last person to have visited him, and therefore was the most obvious person to have given the rope to the prisoner. St. Margaret Ward was bound by chains, hung up by her hands, and was brutally scourged, as the authorities demanded to know where the priest had gone. She steadfastly refused, and was hanged publicly in London on August 30, 1588.

Although these three martyrs were canonized in 1970 among the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, they are commemorated on a separate day because of the particular reason for their deaths; namely, their deep respect for the priesthood, and their zealous protection of priests.

Steadfast God, as we honour the fidelity in life and constancy in death of thy holy Martyrs Margaret Clitherow, Anne Line, and Margaret Ward: we pray thee to raise up in our day women of courage and resource to care for thy household the 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.

The Passion of St. John the Baptist

The circumstances surrounding the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist are rather unsavoury. We have a drunken king who makes an oath because he doesn’t want to be embarrassed in front of others. We have a hateful queen who wants revenge. We have a young girl who is pushed into the situation by her mother, and made to do a seductive dance and then make a deal to have John murdered.

This Gospel account describes it for us:

Herod had sent and seized John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her. For John said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not, for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and kept him safe. When he heard him, he was much perplexed; and yet he heard him gladly. But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and the leading men of Galilee. For when Herodias' daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will grant it." And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom." And she went out, and said to her mother, "What shall I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the baptizer." And she came in immediately with haste to the king, and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." And the king was exceedingly sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. And immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard and gave orders to bring his head. He went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

- St. Mark 6:17-29

John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he was the first New Testament prophet. Of course, he was treated like most of the prophets were – he was hated for speaking the truth. Sent by God to prepare the people for the Messiah, his vocation was one of selfless giving. The only power he claimed was the Spirit of God. “I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Matthew 3:11).

Scripture tells us that many people followed John looking to him for hope, perhaps in anticipation of some great messianic power. John never allowed himself the false honour of receiving these people for his own glory. He knew his calling was one of preparation. When the time came, he led his disciples to Jesus: “The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’ The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus” (John 1:35-37), and so the life and death of St. John the Baptist had the great purpose of pointing the way to Christ.

Almighty God, by whose grace and power thy servant St. John the Baptist triumphed over suffering and despised death: Grant, we beseech thee, that we, enduring hardness and waxing valiant in fight, may with the noble army of martyrs receive the crown of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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"The Beheading of St. John the Baptist" ca. 1869

by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

St. Augustine of Hippo, Bishop and Doctor

St. Augustine was born in A.D. 354 in what is modern-day Algeria. His family was of some substance and highly respected. His father Patricius was a pagan, though he converted to Christianity on his deathbed. His mother St. Monica was a Christian and raised Augustine in the faith, though he was not baptized until he was an adult.

As a boy Augustine became conscious of sin in a special way when he participated in a pointless act of theft – an act which made a profound impression on him and he later wrote about and regretted it. He and some companions stole pears from a tree, not necessarily to eat, but just to steal for the fun of it. In his spiritual autobiography, the Confessions, he described the incident, and ended his account by writing, “Foul was the evil, and I loved it.”

When he was nineteen, Augustine began a long-term affair with a woman. We do not know her name, because Augustine deliberately didn’t record it. He never married her, but they did have a son. Despite his Christian upbringing, Augustine abandoned the Faith and became a Manichean, a gnostic sect, an act which crushed his mother.

So far it doesn’t sound much like the life of a saint, so how did he turn things around? He happened to take a position teaching rhetoric in Milan, Italy and, with the encouragement of his mother, began to have more contact with Christians and Christian literature, which brought him in contact with the great St. Ambrose, then the bishop of Milan.

One day, in the summer of 386, he heard a childlike voice chanting “Tolle, lege” (“Take, read”). He took this as a divine command and opened the Bible, randomly, to Romans 13:13-14, which reads: “Let us conduct ourselves becomingly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Applying this to his own life, Augustine was cut to the heart, and his conversion began in earnest. He was baptized, along with his son Adeodatus, at the next Easter Vigil by St. Ambrose. A few short years later his mother Monica and his son Adeodatus both died. Augustine returned to him home in North Africa, where he was alone on the family property. He sold almost all his possessions and gave the money to the poor and he turned the family home into a monastery. In 391, he was ordained a priest of the diocese of Hippo. In 395, he became the city’s coadjutor bishop and then its bishop. As bishop, he wrote extensively, and the value of his writings was such that he is considered to be a Church Father.

This great Doctor of the Church spent over 30 years working on his treatise De Trinitate [about the Holy Trinity], endeavouring to conceive an intelligible explanation for the mystery of the Trinity.

Augustine was walking by the seashore one day contemplating and trying to understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity when he saw a small boy running back and forth from the water to a spot on the seashore. The boy was using a sea shell to carry the water from the ocean and place it into a small hole in the sand.

The Bishop of Hippo approached him and asked, “My boy, what are doing?”

“I am trying to bring all the sea into this hole,” the boy replied with a sweet smile.

“But that is impossible, my dear child, the hole cannot contain all that water” said Augustine.

The boy paused in his work, stood up, looked into the eyes of the Saint, and replied, “It is no more impossible than what you are trying to do – comprehend the immensity of the mystery of the Holy Trinity with your small intelligence.”

The Saint was absorbed by such a keen response from that child, and turned his eyes from him for a short while. When he glanced down to ask him something else, the boy had vanished.

Some say that it was an Angel sent by God to teach Augustine a lesson on pride in learning. Others affirm it was the Christ Child Himself who appeared to the Saint to remind him of the limits of human understanding before the great mysteries of our Faith.

Augustine died on August 28, 430. He was canonized by popular acclaim and was subsequently proclaimed to be one of the four original Doctors of the Church.

O Merciful Lord, who didst turn Saint Augustine from his sins to be a faithful Bishop and teacher: grant that we may follow him in penitence and godly discipline; till our restless hearts find their rest in 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. Monica, Widow and Confessor

The circumstances of St. Monica's life could have made her a nagging wife, a bitter daughter-in-law and a despairing parent, yet she did not give way to any of those temptations. Although she was a Christian, her parents gave her in marriage to a pagan, Patricius, who lived in her hometown of Tagaste in North Africa. Patricius had some redeeming features, but he had a violent temper and lived an immoral life. Monica also had to put up with an ill-tempered mother-in-law who lived in her home. Patricius constantly criticized his wife because of her charity and piety, but he always respected her. Monica's prayers and example finally won her husband and mother-in-law over to Christianity. Her husband died in 371, one year after his Baptism.

Monica had at least three children who survived infancy. The oldest, Augustine, is the most famous. At the time of his father's death, Augustine was 17 and a student of rhetoric in Carthage. Monica was distressed to learn that her son had accepted the Manichean heresy – which was a combination of gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and various other elements, with the basic doctrine of a conflict between light and dark, with matter (physical things) being regarded as dark and evil. At this point, Augustine was living an immoral life. For a while, Monica refused to let him eat or sleep in her house. Then one night she had a vision that assured her Augustine would return to the faith. From that time on she stayed close to her son, praying and fasting for him. In fact, she often stayed much closer than Augustine wanted.

When he was 29, Augustine decided to go to Rome to teach rhetoric. Monica was determined to go along. One night he told his mother that he was going to the dock to say goodbye to a friend. Instead, he set sail for Rome. Monica was heartbroken when she learned of Augustine's trick, but she still followed him. She arrived in Rome only to find that he had left for Milan. Although travel was difficult, Monica pursued him to Milan.

In Milan Augustine came under the influence of the bishop, St. Ambrose, who also became Monica's spiritual director. She accepted his advice in everything and had the humility to give up some practices that had become second nature to her. Monica became a leader of the devout women in Milan, as she had been in Tagaste.

She continued her prayers for Augustine during his years of instruction. At Easter, 387, St. Ambrose baptized Augustine and several of his friends. Soon after, he and his friends left for Africa. Although no one else was aware of it, Monica knew her life was nearing the end. She told Augustine, "Son, nothing in this world now affords me delight. I do not know what there is now left for me to do or why I am still here, all my hopes in this world being now fulfilled." She became ill shortly after and suffered severely for nine days before her death.

O God, who art the Comforter of them that mourn, and the Salvation of them that hope in thee, who didst graciously regard the tearful pleading of blessed Monica for the conversion of her son Augustine: grant, we beseech thee, at their united intercession; that we may truly lament our sins and be made worthy to obtain thy gracious pardon; 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. Monica" from a fresco

by Benozzo Gozzoli,  c. 1465

Making Choices

Joshua said to all the people, “If you be unwilling to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

- Joshua 24:15

Jesus said to the twelve, “Will you also go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

- St. John 6:67,68

Every one of us, at some time in our life, has been in the position of having to make a difficult choice. The complexity of the choice usually increases as we get older, but for most of our lives we’re faced with making choices – sometimes between two perfectly legitimate alternatives, but more often than not we have to make choices between something that is good for us, and something that would be bad for us. So whether it be our choice of friends, or what we’re going to eat, or where we’re going to college, or our life’s vocation, or what to do in some moral dilemma, making choices is part of life.

We see it in the Book of Joshua, when he was challenging the people to reject all other gods and serve the one true God. He gathered the tribes of Israel together, and said to them, “If you’re unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” This was one of those times when the choice was stark, and a decision had to be made.

Another time we see a demanding choice crop up is in the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel. It was in the great “Bread of Life” discourse given by Jesus, where He called Himself the “true bread from heaven.” He told the crowd around Him that “my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him… he who eats this bread will live forever.” And when the people heard Christ’s words, their response was: “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”

So the crowds who had been following Jesus made a choice: they turned and left Him. His words were too hard for them, so they left. And what did He do? Did He run after them and say, “Wait! Let’s weigh the options here. I didn’t mean those things literally! I didn’t mean that you actually have to eat my flesh and drink my blood. I only meant it symbolically. I only meant you had to do it in a spiritual way.” No – Jesus didn’t do that. The choice to be made was a stark one, and He let the choice stand, even if it meant that the crowds left Him. And after they left, what did He do then? He turned to the twelve – those chosen to be His apostles – and He asked them “Will you also go away?” Another choice to be made – He was saying to them, “Choose, you apostles. Will you follow the crowd, or will you stand with me and with my words?”

Our belief about the Real Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar is a hallmark belief of the faithful Catholic. But there have been those throughout history who couldn’t accept this truth from Jesus, and the denial of this truth robs many otherwise faithful people of that direct communion our Saviour Jesus Christ. St. Peter summed it up: “To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” We must choose whether or not to believe what Christ has plainly and clearly said.

So often, people’s reactions to the words of Jesus – whether they be words about the sacraments, or words about our moral conduct, or words about salvation, or words about any number of things – so often, the reaction is like that of the crowd: “This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?” And when that question is asked, the next thing we see is what we saw in the Gospel account: people turn from Jesus, and go their own way, which is why there are thousands of protestant denominations and independent congregations today, all claiming to have the truth. And sadly, most everyone knows of someone who has left the Catholic Church because of one reason or another – perhaps because they didn’t like some teaching or other; or because the requirements of Catholic life were too difficult; or because the words of Christ spoken through the Church weren’t convenient, or their “lifestyle” was being cramped. And they think the answer is to walk away, as though by ignoring the truth they can somehow change it.

Imagine the sorrow Christ must have felt when some of His followers didn’t believe Him, and so left Him. And His sorrow is the same today, when someone leaves the Church, or when we ourselves reject something He has taught us. Imagine His sorrow as He looks upon our nation, and so many of our national leaders, who have rejected what would be considered a normal sense of morality. Surely, Christ weeps, and our nation really is facing yet another time of choice.

Look at what happened in the Gospel account. When the others left, He turned to His apostles and asked them if they were going to leave, too. Jesus turns to each and every one of us, every single day, and he asks, “Will you also go away?”

Our choices determine with whom we stand. So where do we stand? We need to stand with Peter and the other apostles, and give Jesus our answer: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” And we need to stand with Joshua – “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

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Fresco: "The Twelve Apostles"

by Enrico Reffo (1831-1917)