The Portiuncula Indulgence

On a night in July 1216, St. Francis was at prayer in the little church of Portiuncula, devoured by love for God and a thirst to save souls. He prayed for the forgiveness of sins of mankind. Suddenly a brilliant light shone all around. In great splendor Jesus and Mary appeared in the midst of a dazzling cloud surrounded by a multitude of radiant angels. ...Then Jesus said to him: "Francis you are very zealous for the good souls. Ask me what you want for their salvation." St. Francis was rapt in ecstasy before Our Lord. When he regained his courage, he said, "Lord, I, a miserable sinner, beg you to concede an indulgence to all those who enter this church, who are truly contrite and have confessed their sins. And I beg Blessed Mary, your mother, intercessor of man, that she intercede on behalf of this grace."

The Merciful Virgin at once began to beseech her Son on behalf of Francis. Jesus answered: "It is a very great thing you ask me; but you are worthy of even greater things, Friar Francis, and greater things you will have. So I accept your request, but I want you to go to my Vicar, to whom I have given the power to bind and loose in heaven and on earth, to ask him on my behalf for this indulgence."

The Pope granted this petition, and this indulgence has been extended to all parish churches throughout the world for one day each year. The date has been set from noon on August 1 until midnight August 2, the feast of Our Lady of the Angels. It is said that St. Francis was given this day by Our Lord because of the feast of the Chains of St. Peter, celebrated on August 1, commemorating Peter's being released from prison, his chains removed. This is an extraordinary demonstration of God's mercy in removing the chains of sin from those who devoutly and faithfully seek to gain the indulgence by completing its requirements.

The conditions to obtain the Plenary Indulgence of the Forgiveness of Assisi (for oneself or for a departed soul) are as follows:

- Sacramental Confession (during eight days before or after).
- Participation in the Mass
- Recitation of the Apostle's Creed, Our Father, and a prayer for the pope's intentions.

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Pictured: The Portiuncula Chapel,

Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, Assisi

St. Alphonsus Liguori

Alphonsus Liguori, born in 1696, was the son of an ancient Neapolitan family. His father was an officer in the Royal Navy. At the age of sixteen, Alphonsus received his doctorate in both canon and civil law and for nearly ten years practiced law. When he found that one of the legal cases he was defending was not based on justice but on political intrigue, he gave up the practice of law and dedicated his life to God.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1726, St. Alphonsus Liguori joined a group of secular priests dedicated to missionary activities. He involved himself in many kinds of pastoral activities, giving missions and organizing workers, and had a part in the founding of an order of contemplative nuns.

In 1732, he founded the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers, to work especially among the country people of Italy who often lacked the opportunity for missions, religious instruction, and spiritual retreats. His first companions deserted him, but Alphonsus stood firm, and soon vocations multiplied and the congregation grew.

The Redemptorists were approved by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749, and St. Alphonsus was elected superior general. In 1762, he was appointed bishop of Sant' Agata near Naples, and as bishop he corrected abuses, restored churches, reformed seminaries, and promoted missions throughout his diocese. During the famine of 1763-64, his charity and generosity were boundless, and he also carried on a huge campaign of religious writing.

In 1768, he was stricken with a painful illness and resigned his bishopric. During the last years of his life, problems in his congregation caused him much sorrow and when he died on August 1, 1787, at Pagani, near Salerno, the Congregation of the Redemptorists was in a state of division. 

St. Alphonsus was beatified in 1816, canonized in 1839, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.

O God, who didst inflame blessed Alphonsus, thy Confessor and Bishop, with zeal for souls, and didst through him enrich thy Church with a new offspring: we beseech thee; that being taught by his wholesome precepts and strengthened by his example, we may be enabled to attain in gladness unto thee; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

A Brief Note from a Beloved Saint

News from the Vatican that St. John Henry Newman is to be declared a Doctor of the Church is of special meaning to the many of us whose conversion to the fulness of the Catholic Faith can be traced to his writings, his example, and his intercession.

For many years I have kept on my desk a copy of his Apologia Pro Vita Sua, which I first read during my undergraduate years, and which has been a spiritual companion ever since.

Cardinal Newman was a prodigious writer, and not only great theological works, but also letters and notes to countless people. I am privileged to have one of his brief thank-you notes, written to an Absolom Peers, in which acknowledgement is made of a thoughtful gesture. Sent from The Oratory and dated March 1, 1879, it reads as follows:

Dear Sir

I thank you for your kindness in sending me a cutting from the “Christian World.” It is very gratifying to me to find so much sympathy from those who, alas, are parted from me in religious views.

Very truly yours,
John H. Newman

I do not know what the article which he references said, nor do I know who Absolom Peers was, but it’s rather delightful to have this tiny glimpse into the daily life of so great a saint, and now prestigious Doctor of the Church.

May his prayers continue to bring many into the fulness of the Catholic Faith.

St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Shrine of St. Ignatius
at the Church of the Gesu in Rome.

St. Ignatius of Loyola was born at Loyola in the mountains of northern Spain in 1491. A member of the minor nobility, Ignatius spent his youth and early adulthood as a courtier and soldier. He occasionally vowed to dedicate himself more fully to God, but never quite followed through. It was only after he read the lives of the saints while convalescing from a leg wound incurred during a battle that he finally began his spiritual pilgrimage with real intent at the age of 30.

Soon after this, St. Ignatius began to experience ecstatic visions, but within a year suffered a period of intense spiritual dryness (what St. John of the Cross termed the “dark night of the soul”), which nearly drove him to despair. He persevered, however, and out of this was born Spiritual Exercises, one the most important Catholic spiritual works of all time. Ignatius was a true mystic. He centered his spiritual life on the essential foundations of the Faith - the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist. His spirituality is expressed in the Jesuit motto, Ad majorem Dei gloriam - “for the greater glory of God.” 

In spite of his noble origins, St. Ignatius lived an astonishingly humble lifestyle, which others often resented. Yet he attracted several followers (including St. Francis Xavier), and in 1540 received approval from Pope Paul III for his new order, The Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. In a very short time, this order would go on to become one of the best known of all Catholic religious orders, taking the Gospel to the four corners of the world.

O God, who for the greater glory of thy Name, didst endue thy Church militant with an increase of strength through the life and labours of blessed Ignatius: grant us, by his help and example, so to wage our earthly warfare; that with him we may be found worthy of a heavenly crown; 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.

Church of the Gesu, Rome.

St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor

In the fifth century it was Ravenna, and not Rome, which was the capital of the Roman Empire in the West, and Ravenna itself became a major metropolitan See. St. Peter Chrysologus was one of the most distinguished archbishops of that See.

Peter was born in Imola about the year 400 and studied under Cornelius, bishop of Imola, who ordained him deacon. In 433, the archbishop of Ravenna died, and when a successor had been chosen by the clergy and people of Ravenna, they asked Bishop Cornelius to obtain confirmation of their choice from Pope Sixtus III. On his trip to Rome, Cornelius took his deacon, Peter, as his companion for the journey to Rome. For some reason known only to God, when the Pope met Peter, he chose him for the See of Ravenna instead of the one who had been selected by the clergy and people of Ravenna.

Peter was consecrated and was accepted somewhat grudgingly at first by both the clergy and the people. Peter, however, soon became the favorite of Emperor Valentinian III, who resided at Ravenna and was also highly regarded by Pope St. Leo the Great, the successor of Pope Sixtus.

There were still traces of paganism in Peter's diocese, and his first effort was to establish the Catholic faith everywhere, rooting out abuses and carrying on a campaign of preaching and special care of the poor. Many of his sermons still survive, and it is on the basis of these that he came to be known as Chrysologus, or "the golden word." In his concern for the unity of the Church, Peter Chrysologus opposed heresy wherever he found it.

When he knew his death was near, Peter returned to his own city of Imola and after urging great care in the choice of his successor he died at Imola about the year 450 and was buried in the church of St. Cassian. In 1729, Pope Benedict XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.

O God, who madest the Bishop Saint Peter Chrysologus an illustrious preacher of thy incarnate Word: grant, through his intercession; that we may constantly ponder in our hearts the mysteries of thy salvation and faithfully manifest them in our lives; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Painting: "Saint Peter Chrysologus"

17th century, School of Guercino

Ss. Martha, Mary, and Lazarus

In a decree issued in 2021 by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, the liturgical calendar was changed to reflect the combining of veneration of the three saints of Bethany – Martha, Mary, and Lazarus – on the 29th of July.

In part, the decree states, "In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the one who humiliated death."

It is apparent from the Gospel accounts that Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were close friends of Jesus. He visited their home in Bethany frequently as a welcomed guest. The sisters felt free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though His return to Judea at that time was very dangerous.

Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death, when Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Martha replied to Him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world.” (John 11:25-27)

We know St. Martha to be an active person, most famously when she was preparing the meal for Jesus and wanted to know why her sister Mary wasn’t helping her. The Lord recognized that Martha was “anxious about many things,” after which He made the observation that Mary, who had spent the preparation time at His feet listening to His words “has chosen the better part.” In another place, St. John’s Gospel describes Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet at Bethany, which was an act He highly praised.

Immediately after we are told that the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus “because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” In fact, it was in the sight of many of these Jewish leaders that Jesus raised His friend Lazarus from the dead. They had witnessed Jesus weeping over the death of Lazarus, and they had said, “See how much he loved him.”

There are many legends about Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus, including an account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. It was held by some that he followed Peter into Syria, but there is also an account that he and his sisters were put into a leaking boat at Jaffa, but they were able to safely land in Cyprus, where he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years.

O ALMIGHTY God, who willest to be glorified in thy Saints, and didst raise up thy servants Martha, Mary, and Lazarus to shine as a light in the world: shine, we pray thee, in our hearts; that aided by their prayers we also in our generation may show forth thy praises, who hast called us out of darkness into thy marvellous light; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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Pictured: "Raising of Lazarus" by Giotto (1267-1337)

"Lord, teach us to pray..."

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he ceased, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples." And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive every one who is indebted to us; and lead us not into temptation." 

- Luke 11:1-4

It was an ordinary practice for a rabbi to teach his disciples a simple prayer which they could use on a regular basis, and it would be a prayer that encapsulated the teaching they had imparted to their followers. The prayer Jesus gives to his apostles teaches everything necessary to know about how to pray, and for what to pray.

It begins by addressing God as Father, indicating to us that in prayer we are not coming to someone from whom we must try and extract gifts, but we approach a Father who takes delight in supplying His children's needs.

In Hebrew thought the idea of “name” means more than just the name by which a person is called. The name means the whole character of the person as it is revealed and known to us, and this is why Jesus teaches that God’s Name is a holy name. Psalm 9:10 says, "Those who know thy name put their trust in thee." To know the name of God is to know the whole character and mind and heart of God, and makes us willingly put our trust in Him.

The order of the Lord's Prayer is important. Before we ask anything for ourselves, the first order of business is that of God and His glory, and the reverence which is due to Him. Only when we give God His proper place will other things fall into proper order.

Notice how this prayer covers everything in life. It covers our present need, in that it tells us to pray for our daily bread, and indeed it is bread for the day for which we ask, providing a link to the story of the manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16:11-21). Only enough for the needs of the day could be gathered. We are not to worry about the unknown future, but to live a day at a time, which is a reminder of our dependence on God.

The prayer refers to our sin. When we pray, all we can really do is pray for forgiveness, because even the best among us is a sinful man coming before the purity of God. And as we seek forgiveness, so we need to give forgiveness.

It covers future trials, asking that we not be brought to them. “Temptation” means any situation in which we are tested. It includes far more than seduction to sin. It covers every situation which is a challenge to us, and which tests a person's humanity and integrity and fidelity. We cannot escape it, but we can meet it with God. People have asked, “Why would God lead us into temptation?” That’s not really what the prayer is saying, and the Greek is better understood as saying “Let us not be led into temptation.” In other words, in this prayer we are asking God to protect us from going off into whatever direction temptation might take us.

The Lord's Prayer is a public prayer of the Church, with its proper place in the liturgy. But it also is a private prayer, which stirs up all manner of holy desires which lead us on into right ways, while at the same time it sums up all we ought to pray for in the presence of God.

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Image: French manuscript, c. 1200

St. Joachim and St. Anne

According to tradition, St. Joachim and St. Anne have come to us as being the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. They are not named in the canonical Scriptures, but this tradition dates back to the early years of the Church, as does the story which tells us that after many years of not having a child, an angel appeared to them and told them that God would be granting them this blessing.

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

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

St. Joachim and St. Anne returned to their home, but their daughter, the Handmaid of the Lord, remained in the Temple until her espousal, where she was prepared by God. As the grandparents of our Saviour Jesus Christ, they serve as examples and intercessors for all parents and grandparents.

O God, who didst choose blessed Joachim and holy Anne that of them might be born the Mother of thine Only Begotten Son: grant unto us, at their intercession, a place in the fellowship of thine elect, wherein for ever to praise thee for thy lovingkindness; through the same Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Christopher, Martyr

I would be remiss if I didn't remember St. Christopher today. He is my primary patron, and he is linked with St. George, whose name I was also given when I was baptized.

It is generally agreed that St. Christopher did live in the late third and early fourth century. He was taken prisoner in a war with the Romans in North Africa, in present day Libya. He was forced to travel a great distance back to Rome and was assigned as a Roman army officer during the reign of Emperor Diocletian.

A terrible persecution of Christians took place at the command of this emperor. It was one of Diocletian's own guards who refused to participate in the persecution and proclaimed himself a Christian. This guard was St. George. The emperor ordered that St. George be tortured and killed. St. Christopher, who was a soldier there at the time, watched the torture and killing of St. George, and shortly after declared himself also to be a Christian, an admission which caused him to be put to death.

It is thought that his name originally was Reprobus, but was changed to Christopher, meaning "Christ-bearer," because of the story which tells of a child approaching St. Christopher by a river, who asked to be helped across. St. Christopher obliged. However, as he entered midstream, the river rose and the child's weight grew and became extremely heavy. It was only by great exertion that St. Christopher safely delivered the child to the other side. When St. Christopher asked the child why He was so heavy, the child explained that He was the Christ and when St. Christopher carried Him, he also carried the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. The child then vanished.

Although St. Christopher is no longer included in the Church's general liturgical calendar, he is commemorated on July 25th in those places dedicated to him, as well as by those who bear his name. He continues to be invoked as a patron for travellers, and is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints known for their particularly powerful intercession.

This Collect is from the Sarum Missal:

Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens et misericors Deus, ut qui beati Christophori martyris tui memoriam agimus, ejus piis meritis et intercessionibus a morte perpetua, subitanea peste, fame, timore, paupertate, et ab omnibus insidiis inimicorum liberemur in terris; per te Jesu Christe, salvator mundi, rex gloriae, quem idem Christophorus meruit in suis humeris portare. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Patre, in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus: per omnia secula seculorum. Amen.

[Grant, we ask, almighty and merciful God, that we who keep the memory of Thy blessed martyr Christopher, by his pious merits and intercession may be delivered on earth from perpetual death, sudden plague, famine, fear, poverty, and from all the snares of our enemies; through Thee, Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, and King of glory, whom the same Christopher merited to bear upon his shoulders. Who livest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.]

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Painting: "St. Christopher Carrying the Infant Jesus" 

by Edmond Lechevallier-Chevignard (1825-1902)

St. James the Greater, Apostle

St. James the Greater (meaning the Elder) and his brother John were partners in the fishing business with two other brothers, Peter and Andrew. They all lived in Bethsaida, a village on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. His mother was a sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and he would have known Jesus from childhood. He is one of those that Jesus called Boanerges, "sons of thunder," the brother of St. John the Evangelist and the son of Zebedee the fisherman from Galilee.

Along with Peter and John, James was part of the inner circle of Jesus, the ones who witnessed the Transfiguration, and who were witnesses to certain of His miracles, such as the raising of the daughter of Jairus. Like his brother, James was active in the work of evangelization after the death of Jesus, and there is some evidence that he went to Spain after our Lord's resurrection. In fact, the great Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela witnesses to that probability.

St. James' prominence and his presence in Jerusalem was well known. Scarcely a dozen years after the Resurrection he was arrested and executed by King Herod Agrippa. This was followed by the arrest of Peter also, so his death must have been part of a purge of Christian leaders by Agrippa, who saw the new Christian movement as a threat.

Jesus had foretold this kind of fate when He prophesied that James and his brother John would "drink of the same chalice" of suffering as Himself. Along with their mother's request, the two brothers had asked to be seated at the right of Jesus and at His left in His kingdom, and Jesus told them that they would be with Him, but it turned out to be in a far different way than they expected.

Grant, O merciful God, that as thine holy Apostle Saint James, leaving his father and all that he had, without delay was obedient unto the calling of thy Son Jesus Christ, and followed him: so we, forsaking all worldly and carnal affections, may be evermore ready to follow thy holy commandments; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

The Lifting Up of Our Lord

Jesus said, “…and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”

- St. John 12:32

There has never been such a decisive event in the history of the world, as when our Lord Jesus Christ was brutally nailed to the cross, and then hoisted up for all the world to see. This “lifting up” has left its print upon even the most secular understanding of history. It has changed the course of human activity. It is a fact which cannot be escaped.

In being lifted up, Christ shows a love so profound that we can do nothing but be in wonder before a mercy which is so far-reaching, eternal, and deep. And there is nothing left for us to do but to drop to our knees before our Lord, lifted up upon His cross, and cry out to Him, “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Christ was born for the cross, and we were born to kneel before it. He hangs upon the cross to procure and to proclaim our forgiveness, and we live beneath the cross so that we may be forgiven.

As we receive the forgiveness and the wholeness which comes from Christ’s atoning work, so we have a responsibility to continue to lift Christ up in our own lives, by being dedicated to His truth, by giving ourselves to works of charity, and by showing ourselves to be His faithful servants. 

As He is lifted up, so He draws all men to Himself – and that is our vocation: to lift Him up in our own lives.

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Image: "Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John"

by Francesco di Vannuccio, c.1387

St. Sharbel Makhluf

St. Sharbel Makhluf is a Maronite saint, a member of the ancient Eastern Catholic Church of Antioch.  It was in Antioch that Christ's followers were first called Christians, and St. Peter ministered there before going to Rome.  The Maronites have their own liturgy and discipline, and have always been in full communion with the See of Peter.  They take their name from St. Maron, a fifth century monk and patriarch of Antioch.

Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village of Beka-Kafra where he was born, his influence has spread widely.

Joseph Zaroun Makhluf was raised by an uncle because his father, a mule driver, died when Joseph was only three. At the age of twenty-three, Joseph joined the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, and took the name Sharbel in honor of a second-century martyr. He professed his final vows in 1853, and was ordained six years later.

Following the example of the fifth-century Saint Maron, Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875, until his death. His reputation for holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.

He died in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. Christians and non-Christians soon made his tomb a place of pilgrimage and of cures. He was beatified in 1965, and canonized twelve years later.

O God, who didst call the Priest Saint Sharbel Makhluf to the solitary combat of the desert and imbued him with all manner of devotion: grant us, we pray thee; that, being made imitators of the Lord’s Passion, we may merit to be coheirs of his kingdom; 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. Bridget of Sweden

On July 23rd the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Bridget of Sweden, a mystic who received visions of Christ’s suffering many times throughout her life. 

She was born in 1303 and her parents were highly respected people, her father being a local governor and provincial judge.  When Bridget was only ten, it is recorded that she had a vision of Jesus on the cross and heard him say, “Look at me, my daughter,” to which she responded, "Who has treated you like this?" The answer she heard from Jesus was, "Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” From that moment on, Bridget perceived it as her mission to try and stop people from offending Jesus.

When she was 14, Bridget married an 18-year old man named Ulf. Like Bridget, Ulf had set his heart on serving God. They had eight children, and their marriage of twenty-eight years was a very happy one. Bridget and Ulf also served the Swedish court, Bridget as the queen's personal maid.

All her life, Bridget had marvelous visions and received special messages from God. In obedience to them, she visited many rulers and important people in the Church. She explained humbly what God expected of them.

After her husband died, Bridget put away her rich clothes and lived as a poor nun. Later, in 1346, she began the order of the Most Holy Saviour, also known as Bridgettines. She still kept up her own busy life, traveling about doing good everywhere she went.

Shortly before she died, Bridget went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At the shrines there, she had visions of what Jesus had said and done in each place, and all of her revelations on the suffering of Christ were published after her death.

St. Bridget died in Rome on July 23, 1373, and was proclaimed a saint by Pope Boniface IX just eighteen years later in 1391.

O God Most High, the Creator of all mankind: we bless thy holy Name for the virtue and grace which thou hast given unto holy women in all ages, especially Saint Bridget; and we pray that her intercession and the example of her faith and purity may inspire many souls in this generation to look unto thee, and to follow thy blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

St. Mary Magdalene

Mystery surrounds St. Mary Magdalene. Was she one and the same as Mary of Bethany? Had she been an immoral woman in her past life, or simply a woman from Magdala who was delivered from evil spirits? Whatever the case, we know she stood with the Blessed Mother and St. John at the foot of the cross; we know she was the first witness of the risen Lord Jesus Christ; and it was St. Mary Magdalene who ran to tell the apostles this Good News.

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought He had been taken away and so she told the disciples. After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: "The disciples went back home," and it adds: "but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb."

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ.  Even though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the One she had not found, and as she looked, she wept.  Burning with the fire of love, she longed for the One whom she thought had been taken away. The woman who stayed behind, was the only one to see Him. Perseverance is essential to any good act, as the Scriptures tell us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved.

At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. Even in our own lives, when our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger those feelings make us try even harder. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has had to burn with such a great love for the truth.

O Almighty God, whose blessed Son did call and sanctify Mary Magdalene to be a witness to his Resurrection: mercifully grant that by thy grace, and assisted by her prayers, we may be healed of all our infirmities, and always serve thee in the power of his endless life; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.

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 Painting: “The Sorrows of Mary Magdalene” 

by Jules Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911)

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor

Born on 22 July 1559, and dying on 22 July 1619, St. Lawrence of Brindisi lived exactly sixty years. In that time he became a brilliant scholar, a devout and holy priest, a renowned linguist, an outstanding diplomat – and for many of those years he served as the Minister General of the Franciscan Order of Capuchins.

His writings fill fifteen volumes, and his knowledge of Hebrew allowed him to preach so effectively to the Jewish people in Italy that the rabbis were certain that Lawrence must have been a Jew who had become a Christian. His skills in dealing with people meant that he served as a papal emissary to many countries, but he never forgot that he was first and foremost a priest.

There is a very special title accorded by the Church to certain saints, who are named “Doctor of the Church,” and this title indicates that the writings and preaching of such a person are useful to Christians "in any age of the Church." Such men and women are also particularly known for the depth of understanding and the orthodoxy of their theological teachings. St. Lawrence of Brindisi was given this title, and he is one of the thirty-six saints to be named “Doctor.”

For some reason, his father insisted that his baptismal name was to be Julius Caesar, and that was done shortly after his birth at Brindisi in the kingdom of Naples in 1559. Educated in Venice at the College of St. Mark, he entered the Capuchins, and it was upon entering the monastery that he was given the name Lawrence. During his studies at the University of Padua, he showed an aptitude for languages, mastering Hebrew, Greek, German, Bohemian, Spanish, and French, and he also showed an extraordinary knowledge of the text of the Bible.

While still a deacon, St. Lawrence of Brindisi became known as an excellent preacher and after his ordination captured the whole of northern Italy with his amazing sermons. He was sent into Germany by the pope to establish Capuchin houses. While there, he became chaplain to Emperor Rudolf II and had a remarkable influence on the Christian soldiers fighting the Muslims who were threatening Hungary in 1601. Through his efforts, the Catholic League was formed to unify Catholics for the purpose of strengthening the Catholic cause in Europe. Sent by the emperor to persuade Philip III of Spain to join the League, he established a Capuchin friary in Madrid. He also brought peace between Spain and the kingdom of Savoy.

His compassion for the poor, the needy, and the sick was legendary. Elected minister-general of his order in 1602, he made the Capuchins a major force in the Catholic Restoration, visiting every friary in the thirty-four provinces of the order and directing the work of nine thousand friars. He himself was a dominant figure in carrying out the work of the Council of Trent and was described by Pope Benedict XV as having earned "a truly distinguished place among the most outstanding men ever raised up by Divine Providence to assist the Church in time of distress."

St. Lawrence was canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1881 and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959.

O God, who didst bestow on blessed Lawrence of Brindisi, thy Confessor and Doctor, the spirit of wisdom and fortitude to endure every labour for the glory of thy Name and the salvation of souls: grant us, in the same spirit, both to perceive what we ought to do, and by his intercession to perform the same; 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.