Quote of the Day – 22 December – Today’s Gospel Luke 1:46-56
“The exultation of the humble maiden of Galilee,
expressed in the Canticle of the Magnificat,
becomes the song of all humanity,
which sees with satisfaction,
the Lord stoop over all men and all women,
humble creatures and assume them with Him into heaven.”
Saint of the Day – 21 December – St Peter Canisius SJ. (1521-1597) The “Second Apostle of Germany” – Doctor of the Church
Catechesis of Pope Benedict XVI – 9 February 2011
He was born on 8 May 1521 in Wijmegen, Holland. His father was Burgomaster of the town. While he was a student at the University of Cologne he regularly visited the Carthusian monks of St Barbara, a driving force of Catholic life and other devout men who cultivated the spirituality of the so-called devotio moderna [modern devotion].
He entered the Society of Jesus on 8 May 1543 in Mainz (Rhineland — Palatinate), after taking a course of spiritual exercises under the guidance of Bl (now Saint) Pierre Favre, Petrus [Peter] Faber, one of St Ignatius of Loyola’s first companions. He was ordained a priest in Cologne. Already the following year, in June 1546, he attended the Council of Trent, as the theologian of Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, Bishop of Augsberg, where he worked with two confreres, Diego Laínez and Alfonso Salmerón. In 1548, St Ignatius had him complete his spiritual formation in Rome and then sent him to the College of Messina to carry out humble domestic duties.
He earned a doctorate in theology at Bologna on 4 October 1549 and St Ignatius assigned him to carry out the apostolate in Germany. On 2 September of that same year he visited Pope Paul III at Castel Gandolfo and then went to St Peter’s Basilica to pray. Here he implored the great Holy Apostles Peter and Paul for help to make the Apostolic Blessing permanently effective for the future of his important new mission. He noted several words of this prayer in his spiritual journal.
He said: “There I felt that a great consolation and the presence of grace had been granted to me through these intercessors [Peter and Paul]. They confirmed my mission in Germany and seemed to transmit to me, as an apostle of Germany, the support of their benevolence. You know, Lord, in how many ways and how often on that same day you entrusted Germany to me, which I was later to continue to be concerned about and for which I would have liked to live and die”.
We must bear in mind that we are dealing with the time of the Lutheran Reformation, at the moment when the Catholic faith in the German-speaking countries seemed to be dying out in the face of the fascination of the Reformation. The task of Canisius — charged with revitalising or renewing the Catholic faith in the Germanic countries — was almost impossible. It was possible only by virtue of prayer. It was possible only from the centre, namely, a profound personal friendship with Jesus Christ, a friendship with Christ in His Body, the Church, which must be nourished by the Eucharist, His Real Presence.
In obedience to the mission received from Ignatius and from Pope Paul III, Canisius left for Germany. He went first to the Duchy of Bavaria, which for several years was the place where he exercised his ministry. As dean, rector and vice chancellor of the University of Ingolstadt, he supervised the academic life of the Institute and the religious and moral reform of the people. In Vienna, where for a brief time he was diocesan administrator, he carried out his pastoral ministry in hospitals and prisons, both in the city and in the countryside and prepared the publication of his Catechism. In 1556 he founded the College of Prague and, until 1569, was the first superior of the Jesuit Province of Upper Germany. In this office he established a dense network of communities of his Order in the Germanic countries, especially colleges, that were starting points for the Catholic Reformation, for the renewal of the Catholic faith.
At that time he also took part in the Colloquy of Worms with Protestant divines, including Philip Melanchthon (1557); He served as Papal Nuncio in Poland (1558); he took part in the two Diets of Augsberg (1559 and 1565); he accompanied Cardinal Stanislaw Hozjusz, Legate of Pope Pius IV, to Emperor Ferdinand (1560); and he took part in the last session of the Council of Trent where he spoke on the issue of Communion under both Species and on the Index of Prohibited Books (1562).
In 1580 he withdrew to Fribourg, Switzerland, where he devoted himself entirely to preaching and writing. He died there on 21 December 1597. Bl Pius IX Beatified him in 1864 and in 1897 Pope Leo XIII proclaimed him the “Second Apostle of Germany”. Pope Pius XI Canonised him and proclaimed him a Doctor of the Church in 1925.
St Peter Canisius spent a large part of his life in touch with the most important people of his time and exercised a special influence with his writings. He edited the complete works of Cyril of Alexandria and of St Leo the Great, the Letters of St Jerome and the Orations of St Nicholas of Flüe. He published devotional books in various languages, biographies of several Swiss Saints and numerous homiletic texts.
However, his most widely disseminated writings were the three Catechisms he compiled between 1555 and 1558. The first Catechism was addressed to students who could grasp the elementary notions of theology; the second, to young people of the populace for an initial religious instruction; the third, to youth with a scholastic formation of middle and high school levels. He explained Catholic doctrine with questions and answers, concisely, in biblical terms, with great clarity and with no polemical overtones.
There were at least 200 editions of this Catechism in his lifetime alone! And hundreds of editions succeeded one another until the 20th century. So it was, that still in my father’s generation people in Germany were calling the Catechism simply “the Canisius”. He really was the Catechist of Germany for centuries, he formed people’s faith for centuries. This was a characteristic of St Peter Canisius – his ability to combine harmoniously fidelity to dogmatic principles with the respect that is due to every person. St Canisius distinguished between a conscious, blameworthy apostosy from faith and a blameless loss of faith through circumstances.
Moreover, he declared to Rome that the majority of Germans who switched to Protestantism were blameless. In a historical period of strong confessional differences, Canisius avoided — and this is something quite extraordinary — the harshness and rhetoric of anger — something rare, as I said, in the discussions between Christians in those times — and aimed only at presenting the spiritual roots and at reviving the faith in the Church. His vast and penetrating knowledge of Sacred Scripture and of the Fathers of the Church served this cause, the same knowledge that supported his personal relationship with God and the austere spirituality that he derived from the Devotio Moderna and Rhenish mysticism.
Characteristic of St Canisius’ spirituality was his profound personal friendship with Jesus. For example, on 4 September 1549 he wrote in his journal, speaking with the Lord: “In the end, as if You were opening to me the heart of the Most Sacred Body, which it seemed to me I saw before me, You commanded me to drink from that source, inviting me, as it were, to draw the waters of my salvation from Your founts, O my Saviour”.
Then he saw that the Saviour was giving him a garment with three pieces that were called peace, love and perseverance. And with this garment, made up of peace, love and perseverance, Canisius carried out his work of renewing Catholicism. His friendship with Jesus — which was the core of his personality — nourished by love of the Bible, by love of the Blessed Sacrament and by love of the Fathers, this friendship was clearly united with the awareness of being a perpetuator of the Apostles’ mission in the Church. And this reminds us that every genuine evangeliser is always an instrument united with Jesus and with His Church and is fruitful for this very reason.
Friendship with Jesus had been inculcated in St Peter Canisius in the spiritual environment of the Charterhouse of Cologne, in which he had been in close contact with two Carthusian mystics – Johannes Lansperger, whose name has been Latinized as “Lanspergius” and Nikolaus van Esche, Latinized as “Eschius”.
He subsequently deepened the experience of this friendship, familiaritas stupenda nimis, through contemplation of the mysteries of Jesus’ life, which form a large part of St Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises. This is the foundation of his intense devotion to the Heart of the Lord, which culminated in his consecration to the apostolic ministry in the Vatican Basilica.
The Christocentric spirituality of St Peter Canisius is rooted in a profound conviction – no soul anxious for perfection fails to practice prayer daily, mental prayer, an ordinary means that enables the disciple of Jesus to live in intimacy with the divine Teacher.
For this reason in his writings for the spiritual education of the people, our Saint insists on the importance of the Liturgy with his comments on the Gospels, on Feasts, on the Rite of Holy Mass and on the sacraments; yet, at the same time, he is careful to show the faithful the need for and beauty of personal daily prayer, which should accompany and permeate participation in the public worship of the Church. This exhortation and method have kept their value intact, especially after being authoritatively proposed anew by the Second Vatican Council in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, Christian life does not develop unless it is nourished by participation in the Liturgy — particularly at Sunday Mass — and by personal daily prayer, by personal contact with God.
Among the thousands of activities and multiple distractions that surround us, we must find moments for recollection before the Lord every day, in order to listen to Him and speak with Him.
At the same time, the example that St Peter Canisius has bequeathed to us, not only in his works but especially with his life, is ever timely and of lasting value. He teaches clearly that the apostolic ministry is effective and produces fruits of salvation in hearts only if the preacher is a personal witness of Jesus and an instrument at His disposal, bound to Him closely by faith in His Gospel and in His Church, by a morally consistent life and by prayer as ceaseless as love. And this is true for every Christian who wishes to live his adherence to Christ with commitment and fidelity.
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787))
18 December
Jesus made Himself a child to gain our confidence and our love.
“Consider that the Son of God has made Himself little in order to make us great. He has given Himself to us, that we might give ourselves to Him. He has come to show us His love, that we may respond to it by giving Him ours. Let us, therefore, receive Him with affection, let us love Him and call upon Him with all our needs.
“A child gives easily” says St Bernard. Children readily give whatever is asked of them. Jesus came into the world as a child to demonstrate that He was ready and willing to give all. If we wish for light, Jesus has come to enlighten us. If we desire strength, He will strengthen us. If we wish for pardon, He has come to pardon us. In short, He has come to give us all that we need.
O my Jesus, You have descended from heaven to give Yourself entirely to us. How can we turn our backs on You? I have been loved by You and I have also been ungrateful. O my Redeemer, forgive the injuries that I have committed against You.”
Scripture
“It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep….Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.”
Romans 13:11,12
Prayer
O LORD AND RULER
of the House of Israel,
who appeared to Moses in the flame of the burning bush
and gave him the law on Sinai:
Come and redeem us with outstretched arms.
Advent Action
Are we in the core group of Christians who embody and live the purest form of the Gospel? Or do we find ourselves among the masses that acknowledge Jesus, enjoy being Christian but don’t pursue it at any deep level? The two requirements in the Gospel are that we repent and believe. If we repent, we do no wrong and speak no lies. If we believe with all our hearts, we follow the Star to the Manger. Let these last few days be a time when we begin the journey to the Christmas core – to the Christ Child. “Let us make ourselves ready to celebrate Christmas by contemplating Mary and Joseph- Mary, the woman full of grace who had the courage to entrust herself totally to the Word of God; Joseph, the faithful and just man who chose to believe the Lord rather than listen to the voices of doubt and human pride. With them, let us walk together toward Bethlehem.” ...Pope Francis – Angelus, 22 December 2013
Gaudete Sunday – The Blessing of the Christ Child Figurine
This Sunday, the Third Sunday in the Season of Advent, is called “Gaudete Sunday”: “rejoice”, because the Entrance Antiphon of Holy Mass takes up St Paul’s words in the Letter to the Philippians where it says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice”. And immediately after he explains the reason, because “The Lord is at hand” (Phil 4: 4-5). This is the reason for joy. But what does “the Lord is at hand” mean? In what sense must we understand this “closeness” of God? The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christians of Philippi, is evidently thinking of Christ’s return and invites them to rejoice because it is certain. Yet, St Paul in his Letter to the Thessalonians, warns that no one can know the moment of the Lord’s coming (cf. 1 Thes 5: 1-2) and puts people on guard against any kind of alarmism, as if Christ’s return were imminent (cf. 2 Thes 2: 1-2).
Thus the Church, illumined by the Holy Spirit, already at that time understood increasingly better that God’s “closeness” is not a question of space and time but rather of love: love brings people together!
This coming Christmas will remind us of this fundamental truth of our faith and in front of the manger we shall be able to savour Christian joy contemplating in the newborn Jesus the Face of God who made Himself close to us out of love.
In this light, it gives me real pleasure to renew the beautiful tradition of the Blessing of the Christ Child figurines, the miniature statues of the Baby Jesus to be placed in the manger. I address you in particular, dear boys and girls of Rome, who have come this morning with your Baby Jesus figurines that I now bless. I invite you to join me, following attentively this prayer:
God, our Father
You so loved humankind
that You sent us Your only Son Jesus,
born of the Virgin Mary,
to save us and lead us back to You.
We pray that with Your Blessing
these images of Jesus,
who is about to come among us,
may be a sign of Your presence and
love in our homes.
Good Father,
give Your Blessing to us too,
to our parents, to our families and
to our friends.
Open our hearts,
so that we may be able to
receive Jesus in joy,
always do what He asks
and see Him in all those
who are in need of our love.
We ask you this in the name of Jesus,
Your beloved Son
who comes to give the world peace.
He lives and reigns forever and ever.
Amen.
Thought for the Day – 9 December – The Memorial of St Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474-1548) “The eagle who speaks”.
At the dawn of Mexican evangelisation Saint Juan Diego holds a place all by himself; according to tradition, his indigenous name was Cuauhtlatohuac, “The eagle who speaks”.
His lovable figure is inseparable from the Guadalupe event, the miraculous maternal manifestation of the Virgin, Mother of God, both in iconographic and literary memorials as well as in the centuries-old devotion which the Mexican Church has shown for this Indian so loved by Mary.
Similar to ancient Biblical personages who were collective representations of all the people, we could say that Juan Diego represents all the indigenous peoples who accepted the Gospel of Jesus, thanks to the maternal aid of Mary, who is always inseparable from the manifestation of her Son and the spread of the Church, as was her presence among the Apostles on the day of Pentecost.
The information about him that has reached us praises his Christian virtues – his simple faith, nourished by catechesis and open to the mysteries, his hope and trust in God and in the Virgin, his love, his moral coherence, his unselfishness and evangelical poverty. Living the life of a hermit here near Tepeyac, he was a model of humility.
The Virgin chose him from among the most humble as the one to receive that loving and gracious manifestation of hers which is the Guadalupe apparition. Her maternal face and her Saint image which she left us as a priceless gift is a permanent remembrance of this. In this manner she wanted to remain among you as a sign of the communion and unity of all those who were to live together in this land. The recognition of the cult which for centuries has been paid to the layman Juan Diego takes on a special importance. It is a strong call to all the lay faithful of this nation to assume all their responsibilities, for passing on the Gospel message and witnessing to one faith active and working in the sphere of Mexican society.
From this privileged spot of Guadalupe, ever-faithful heart of Mexico, I wish to call on all the Mexican laity, to commit themselves more actively to the re-evangelisation of society. The lay faithful share in the prophetic, priestly and royal role of Christ (cf. Lumen Gentium, 31) but they carry out this vocation in the ordinary situations of daily life. Their natural and immediate field of action extends to all the areas of human coexistence and to everything that constitutes culture in the widest and fullest sense of the term. As I wrote in the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici: “In order to achieve their task directed to the Christian animation of the temporal order, in the sense of serving persons and society, the lay faithful are never to relinquish their participation in public life, that is, in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good” (n. 42).
Catholic men and women of Mexico, your Christian vocation is, by its very nature, a vocation to the apostolate (cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 3). Therefore, you cannot remain indifferent before the suffering of your brothers and sisters, before the poverty, corruption and outrages committed against the truth and human rights. You must be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (cf. Matthew 5:13-14).
Thus the Lord says once more to us today: “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Juan Diego too shines before you, raised by the Church to the honours of the altar, we can invoke him as the protector and the advocate of the indigenous peoples.
Beloved Juan Diego, “the talking eagle”!
Show us the way,
that leads to the “Dark Virgin” of Tepeyac,
that she may receive us in the depths of her heart,
for she is the loving, compassionate Mother,
who guides us to the true God.
Pope John Paul II at the beatification of Saint Juan Diego, 6 May 1990
“Let not your heart be disturbed.
Do not fear that sickness,
nor any other sickness or anguish.
Am I not here, who is your Mother?
Are you not under my protection?
Am I not your health?
Are you not happily within my fold?
What else do you wish?
Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything.”
Today, 8 December, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. I wish you all a Blessed and Holy Feast Day!
Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus, 8 December 2012
“I would like to emphasise that Mary is Immaculate through a freely given gift of God’s grace, which, however, found perfect willingness and cooperation in her. It is in this sense that she is “blessed” because “she believed” (Lk 1:45) and because she had steadfast faith in God. Mary represents that “remnant of Israel”, that holy root which the Prophets proclaimed. The promises of the Old Covenant find a ready welcome in her. In Mary, the Word of God is met with listening, acceptance and a response, He encounters that “yes” which enables Him to take flesh and to come and dwell among us.
In Mary, humanity and history are truly opened to God, they welcome His grace and are prepared to do His will. Mary is a genuine expression of Grace. She represents the new Israel, which the Scriptures of the Old Testament describe with the symbol of the bride. And St Paul takes up this language in his Letter to the Ephesians where he speaks of marriage and says “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the Church to himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (5:25-27). The Fathers of the Church developed this image and thus the Doctrine of the Immaculate Virgin first came into being with reference to the Church virgin-mother and, subsequently, to Mary. Thus Ephraim the Syrian writes poetically: “Just as [it was] because these bodies themselves have sinned and are themselves dying, that the earth, their mother was also accursed (cf. Gen 3:7-19), because of this body which is the incorruptible Church, her land was blessed from the outset. This land is the body of Mary, a temple in which a seed was sown” (Diatessaron 4, 15: sc 121, 102).
The light that shines from the figure of Mary, also helps us to understand the true meaning of original sin. Indeed that relationship with God which sin truncates is fully alive and active in Mary. In her there is no opposition between God and her being, there is full communion, full understanding. There is a reciprocal “yes” – God to her and her to God. Mary is free from sin because she belongs entirely to God, she empties herself totally for Him. She is full of His Grace and of His Love.
To conclude, the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary expresses the certainty of faith that God’s promises have been fulfilled and that His Covenant does not fail but has produced a holy root from which came forth the blessed Fruit of the whole universe, Jesus the Saviour. The Immaculate Virgin shows that Grace can give rise to a response, that God’s fidelity can bring forth a true and good faith.”
Following the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception by Pius IX, which took place on 8 December 1854, the pontiff decide to celebrate the event with a cycle of frescoes.
The large room adjacent to the Raphael Rooms was chosen and the task was assigned to Francis Podesti (1800-1895), a painter originally from Ancona but rooted in the Roman artistic and academic panorama. The artist, along with his team of workers, worked on the commission from 1856 to 1865, planning it and following its execution in all its aspects – the wooden doors and window frames and the inlaid marble work, as well as the installation of the Roman mosaic from Ostia Antica, purchased specifically for this space.
The pictorial decoration proceeds from the ceiling, with allegorical scenes alluding to the virtues of the Virgin; it continues along the northern wall with the homage of the continents to the Church enthroned; it continues on the west wall, devoted to the Discussion of dogma in St Peter’s Basilica and concludes on the east wall, with the Coronation of the Image of Mary, an event following the Proclamation, which took place in St Peter’s. Podesti, who was present, included a self-portrait here.
Thought for the Day – 7 December – The Memorial of St Ambrose (c 340-397)- Father and Doctor of the Church
“Holy Bishop Ambrose – about whom I shall speak to you today – died in Milan in the night between 3 and 4 April 397. It was dawn on Holy Saturday. The day before, at about five o’clock in the afternoon, he had settled down to pray, lying on his bed with his arms wide open in the form of a cross. Thus, he took part in the solemn Easter Triduum, in the death and Resurrection of the Lord. “We saw his lips moving”, said Paulinus, the faithful deacon who wrote his Life at St Augustine’s suggestion, “but we could not hear his voice”. The situation suddenly became dramatic. Honoratus, Bishop of Vercelli, who was assisting Ambrose and was sleeping on the upper floor, was awoken by a voice saying again and again, “Get up quickly! Ambrose is dying…”. “Honoratus hurried downstairs”, Paulinus continues, “and offered the Saint the Body of the Lord. As soon as he had received and swallowed it, Ambrose gave up his spirit, taking the good Viaticum with him. His soul, thus refreshed by the virtue of that food, now enjoys the company of Angels” (Life, 47).
On that Holy Friday 397, the wide open arms of the dying Ambrose expressed his mystical participation in the death and Resurrection of the Lord. This was his last catechesis – in the silence of the words, he continued to speak with the witness of his life.
Like the Apostle John, Bishop Ambrose – who never tired of saying: “Omnia Christus est nobis! To us Christ is all!” – continues to be a genuine witness of the Lord. Let us thus conclude our Catechesis with his same words, full of love for Jesus: “Omnia Christus est nobis! If you have a wound to heal, He is the doctor; if you are parched by fever, He is the spring; if you are oppressed by injustice, He is justice; if you are in need of help, He is strength; if you fear death, He is life; if you desire Heaven, He is the way; if you are in the darkness, He is light…. Taste and see how good is the Lord, blessed is the man who hopes in Him!” (De Virginitate, 16, 99). Let us also hope in Christ. We shall thus be blessed and shall live in peace.”
Pope Benedict – Excerpt, General Audience, Catechesis on St Ambrose, 24 October 2007
Thought for the Day – 30 November – The Feast of St Andrew, Apostle of Christ
“This is what the Apostle is claimed to have said on that occasion, according to an ancient story (which dates back to the beginning of the sixth century), entitled The Passion of Andrew:
“Hail, O Cross, inaugurated by the Body of Christ and adorned with His limbs as though they were precious pearls. Before the Lord mounted you, you inspired an earthly fear. Now, instead, endowed with heavenly love, you are accepted as a gift.
Believers know of the great joy that you possess and of the multitude of gifts you have prepared. I come to you, therefore, confident and joyful, so that you too may receive me exultant as a disciple of the One who was hung upon you…. O blessed Cross, clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lord’s limbs!…
Take me, carry me far from men, and restore me to my Teacher, so that, through you, the one who redeemed me by you, may receive me.
Hail, O Cross; yes, hail indeed!”.
Here, as can be seen, is a very profound Christian spirituality. It does not view the Cross as an instrument of torture but rather as the incomparable means for perfect configuration to the Redeemer, to the grain of wheat that fell into the earth.
We have a very important lesson to learn, our own crosses acquire value if we consider them and accept them as a part of the Cross of Christ, if a reflection of His light illuminates them. It is by that Cross alone that our sufferings too are ennobled and acquire their true meaning.
The Apostle Andrew, therefore, teaches us to follow Jesus with promptness (cf. Mt 4: 20; Mk 1: 18), to speak enthusiastically about Him to those we meet and especially, to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with Him, acutely aware that in Him alone, can we find the ultimate meaning of our life and death.”
Saint of the Day – 30 November – St Andrew, Apostle of Christ, Martyr – Called the “First Called ” – born at Bethsaida, Galilee and was Martyred by crucifixion on a saltire (x-shaped) cross in Patras Greece (around the year 62) – Patronages: fishermen, fishmongers and rope-makers, textile workers, singers, miners, pregnant women, butchers, farm workers, protection against sore throats, protection against convulsions, protection against fever, protection against whooping cough, Scotland, Barbados, Georgia, Ukraine, Russia, Sicily, Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Patras, Burgundy, San Andrés (Tenerife), Diocese of Parañaque, Telhado, Amalfi, Luqa (Malta) and Prussia; Diocese of Victoria.
The first striking characteristic of Andrew is his name – it is not Hebrew, as might have been expected but Greek, indicative of a certain cultural openness in his family that cannot be ignored. We are in Galilee, where the Greek language and culture are quite present. Andrew comes second in the list of the Twelve, as in Matthew (10: 1-4) and in Luke (6: 13-16); or fourth, as in Mark (3: 13-18) and in the Acts (1: 13-14). In any case, he certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities. The kinship between Peter and Andrew, as well as the joint call that Jesus addressed to them, are explicitly mentioned in the Gospels. We read: “As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men'” (Mt 4: 18-19; Mk 1: 16-17).
From the Fourth Gospel we know another important detail: Andrew had previously been a disciple of John the Baptist and this shows us that he was a man who was searching, who shared in Israel’s hope, who wanted to know better the word of the Lord, the presence of the Lord. He was truly a man of faith and hope and one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as, “the Lamb of God” (Jn 1: 36), so he was stirred and with another unnamed disciple followed Jesus, the one whom John had called “the Lamb of God”. The Evangelist says that “they saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day…” (Jn 1: 37-39). Thus, Andrew enjoyed precious moments of intimacy with Jesus. The account continues with one important annotation: “One of the two who heard John speak and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah’ (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus” (Jn 1: 40-43), straightaway showing an unusual apostolic spirit.
Andrew, then, was the first of the Apostles to be called to follow Jesus. Exactly for this reason the liturgy of the Byzantine Church honours him with the nickname: “Protokletos”, [protoclete] which means, precisely, “the first called”.
The Gospel traditions mention Andrew’s name in particular on another three occasions that tell us something more about this man. The first is that of the multiplication of the loaves in Galilee. On that occasion, it was Andrew who pointed out to Jesus the presence of a young boy who had with him five barley loaves and two fish, not much, he remarked, for the multitudes who had gathered in that place (cf. Jn 6: 8-9). In this case, it is worth highlighting Andrew’s realism. He noticed the boy, that is, he had already asked the question: “but what good is that for so many?” (ibid) and recognised the insufficiency of his minimal resources. Jesus, however, knew how to make them sufficient for the multitude of people who had come to hear Him.
The second occasion was at Jerusalem. As He left the city, a disciple drew Jesus’ attention to the sight of the massive walls that supported the Temple. The Teacher’s response was surprising: He said that of those walls not one stone would be left upon another. Then Andrew, together with Peter, James and John, questionedHhim: “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign when these things are all to be accomplished?” (Mk 13: 1-4). In answer to this question Jesus gave an important discourse on the destruction of Jerusalem and on the end of the world, in which He asked His disciples to be wise in interpreting the signs of the times and to be constantly on their guard. From this event we can deduce that we should not be afraid to ask Jesus questions but at the same time that we must be ready to accept even the surprising and difficult teachings that He offers us.
Lastly, a third initiative of Andrew is recorded in the Gospels: the scene is still Jerusalem, shortly before the Passion. For the Feast of the Passover, John recounts, some Greeks had come to the city, probably proselytes or God-fearing men who had come up to worship the God of Israel at the Passover Feast. Andrew and Philip, the two Apostles with Greek names, served as interpreters and mediators of this small group of Greeks with Jesus. The Lord’s answer to their question – as so often in John’s Gospel – appears enigmatic but precisely in this way proves full of meaning. Jesus said to the two disciples and, through them, to the Greek world: “The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified. I solemnly assure you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (12: 23-24). Jesus wants to say: Yes, my meeting with the Greeks will take place but not as a simple, brief conversation between myself and a few others, motivated above all by curiosity. The hour of my glorification will come with my death, which can be compared with the falling into the earth of a grain of wheat. My death on the Cross will bring forth great fruitfulness, in the Resurrection the “dead grain of wheat” – a symbol of myself crucified – will become the bread of life for the world, it will be a light for the peoples and cultures. Yes, the encounter with the Greek soul, with the Greek world, will be achieved in that profundity to which the grain of wheat refers, which attracts to itself the forces of heaven and earth and becomes bread. In other words, Jesus was prophesying about the Church of the Greeks, the Church of the pagans, the Church of the world, as a fruit of His Pasch.
Some very ancient traditions not only see Andrew, who communicated these words to the Greeks, as the interpreter of some Greeks at the meeting with Jesus recalled here but consider him the Apostle to the Greeks in the years subsequent to Pentecost. They enable us to know that for the rest of his life he was the preacher and interpreter of Jesus for the Greek world.
Peter, his brother, travelled from Jerusalem through Antioch and reached Rome to exercise his universal mission, Andrew, instead, was the Apostle of the Greek world. So it is that in life and in death they appear as true brothers – a brotherhood that is symbolically expressed in the special reciprocal relations of the See of Rome and of Constantinople, which are truly Sister Churches.
A later tradition, as has been mentioned, tells of Andrew’s death at Patras, where he too suffered the torture of crucifixion. At that supreme moment, however, like his brother Peter, he asked to be nailed to a cross different from the Cross of Jesus. In his case it was a diagonal or X-shaped cross, which has thus come to be known as “St Andrew’s cross”….Pope Benedict XVI – 14 June 2006
Andrew is the patron saint of several countries and cities and is the patron saint of Prussia and of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He is considered the founder and the first bishop of the Church of Byzantium and is consequently the patron saint of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The flag of Scotland (and consequently the Union Flag and those of some of the former colonies of the British Empire) feature Saint Andrew’s saltire cross. The saltire is also the flag of Tenerife, the former flag of Galicia and the Russian Navy Ensign.
The feast of Andrew is observed on 30 November in both the Eastern and Western churches and is the national day of Scotland. In the traditional liturgical books of the Catholic Church, the feast of Saint Andrew is the first feast day in the Proper of Saints.
One Minute Reflection – 29 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:20–28, Thursday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Francesco Antonio Fasani OFM Conv (1681 – 1742)
“Now when these things begin to take place, look up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”...Luke 21:28
REFLECTION – “Babylon falls because of its corruption; Jerusalem because of its distraction; its failing to welcome the Lord who comes to her rescue. She did not feel the need of salvation. She had the writings of the prophets, Moses and this was enough. But sealed writings! She left no room for salvation, her door was closed to the Lord! The Lord was knocking at her door but there was no willingness to receive Him, to listen, to be rescued by Him. And so she falls…
Corruption gives you a sort of happiness, it gives you power and it also makes you feel self-satisfied, however, it doesn’t leave room for the Lord, for conversion. The word corruption speaks of many things today – of not only economic corruption but corruption with so many different sins. The worst kind of corruption is the spirit of worldliness.
When we think of the end of time, with all of our sins, with our history, let us think of the banquet which will be freely offered us and let us lift up our heads. Do not give way to depression: Hope! Reality is ugly. There are many, many people, cities and people, so many people who are suffering; many wars, so much hatred, so much envy, so much spiritual worldliness and so much corruption. Yes, it’s true! All of this will fall!
Let us ask the Lord for the grace to be prepared for the banquet that awaits us, always with our heads held high.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 27 November 2014
PRAYER – Lord God, creator of all Light and creator of all good, grant that we may look up to You always and know that by Your Light and your goodness we are safe in this world of corruption. May the Light of our Lord Jesus, make the path He has set out bright and clear and may the prayers of St Francesco Antonio Fasani be a help in our struggle. Lead us, Lord, in Your kindness and mercy to the banquet which awaits us. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 28 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:12–19, Wednesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Catherine Labouré DC (1806-1876)
“But not a hair of your head will perish.”...Luke 21:18
REFLECTION – ” In difficult times, one must believe that Jesus is before us and does not cease to accompany His disciples. Persecution is not in contradiction to the Gospel but rather is part of it. As if to say that none of man’s suffering, not even that which is most minute and hidden, is invisible to the eyes of God. God sees and certainly protects and He will give His redemption. There is in fact in our midst, Someone who is stronger than evil. Christians therefore, must always be found, on the “opposite side” of the world, that chosen by God – not persecutors but persecuted, not arrogant but meek, not charlatans but submissive to the truth, not imposters but honest men and women.”…Pope Francis General Audience, 28 June 2017
PRAYER – Shed Your clear light on our hearts O Lord, so that walking continually in the way of Your commandments, we may never be afraid, never be deceived or misled but by Your strength, stand firm in our faith. For Your Son, walks before us, beside us and behind us. The Holy Spirit of Your love fills us. Let nothing put us to shame . Grant that by the prayers of St Catherine Labouré and all Your saints, we may be strengthened for the journey. Through our Lord Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, God eternally and forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 27 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:5–11, Tuesday of the Thirty Fourth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Leonard of Port Maurice OFM (1676-1751)
“As for these things which you see, the days will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” …Luke 21:6
REFLECTION – ” Indeed, if each one of us is faithful to the Lord, when our death comes, as shall we say what St Francis said: ‘sister death, come’. It will not frighten us. And even on the day of judgement, we will look to the Lord and we can say: ‘Lord I have many sins but I tried to be faithful.’ And since the Lord is good, we will not be afraid.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 22 November 2016
PRAYER – True Light of the world, Lord Jesus Christ, as You enlighten all men for their salvation, give us grace, we pray, to herald Your coming, by preparing the ways of justice, love and peace. Grant us the assistance of the intercession of St Leonard of Port Maurice, who so diligently worked to bring Your good news to all. Let his example be an inspiration in our lives. Lord Jesus Christ who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 26 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 21:1-4 – Monday of the Thirty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time, Year B
He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury and he saw a poor widow, put in two copper coins. And he said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for they all contributed out of their abundance but she out of her poverty, put in all the living that she had.”…Luke 21:1-4
REFLECTION – “However, in the mystical sense, the woman who placed two small coins in the treasury, is not to be forgotten. Great indeed is that woman who was worthy to be preferred before everyone else according to the divine judgement! Might it not be she who has drawn the two Testaments out of her faith for the help of all humankind? Therefore, no one has done more than she and no one has been able to equal the greatness of her gift, since she joined faith to mercy. And you, too, whoever you are…, do not hesitate to bring to the treasury, two coins, full of faith and grace.”…St Ambrose (340-397) Father & Doctor
“In a certain sense the Church is a widow somewhat, because she is waiting for her Bridegroom to return… Of course, she has her Spouse in the Eucharist, in the Word of God, in the poor but she is waiting for Him to return. This woman wasn’t important, no one knew her. Nothing. She did not shine of her own light.
Likewise, the great virtue of the Church is not shining of her own light but rather reflecting the light that comes from her Spouse. Especially since over the centuries, when the Church wanted to have her own light, she was wrong. The Church receives light from there, from the Lord and all the services we do in the Church, help her to receive that light. When a service is lacking this light, it’s not good because it causes the Church to become rich, or powerful, or to seek power, or to lose her way, as has happened so many times in history, it happens in our life when we want to have another light – our own light, which is not really that of the Lord. When the Church is humble and poor and even when the Church confesses her misfortunes — we all have them — the Church is faithful.
Let us pray to this widow who is surely in heaven that she may teach us to be like the Church, renouncing all we have and keeping nothing for ourselves but instead giving all for the Lord and for our neighbour. Always humble and without boasting of having our own light but “always seeking the light which comes from the Lord.”…Pope Francis (Santa Marta, 24 November 2014)
PRAYER – God our Father, You give us a share in the one bread and the one cup and make us one in Christ. Help us to live as Your children and by our lives to bring Your salvation and joy to all the world. May the Holy Spirit fill us with all His gifts and virtues so that we may await the coming of Your Son, guided by His Light and may Mary, the blessed Virgin, accompany us, guarding and giving us her prayerful help. Through Christ our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
Thought for the Day – 25 November – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Jesus Christ
You have heard Him spoken of, indeed the greater part of you are already His – you are Christians.
So, to you Christians I repeat His name, to everyone I proclaim Him –
Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end,
the Alpha and the Omega.
He is the king of the new world.
He is the secret of history.
He is the key to our destiny
St Pope Paul VI (1897-1978)
Homily delivered in Manila, 29 November 1970
“Follow Me. I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Without the Way, there is no going.
Without the Truth, there is no knowing.
Without the Life, there is no living.
I am the Way, which you must follow,
the Truth, which you must believe,
the Life, for which you must hope.
I am the inviolable Way,
the infallible Truth,
the unending Life.
I am the Way that is straight,
the supreme Truth,
the Life that is true,
the blessed, the uncreated Life.
If you abide in My Way, you shall know the Truth
and the Truth shall make you free
and you shall attain life everlasting.”
One Minute Reflection – 25 November – Today’s Gospel: John 18:33–37 – The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
“You say that I am a king. For this I was born and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”...John 18:37
REFLECTION – “But what is the “truth” that Christ came into the world to witness to? The whole of His life reveals that God is love – so this is the truth to which He witnessed to the full, with the sacrifice of His own life on Calvary.
The Cross is the “throne” where He manifested His sublime kingship as God Love, by offering Himself in expiation for the sin of the world, He defeated the “ruler of this world” (Jn 12: 31) and established the Kingdom of God once and for all. It is a Kingdom that will be fully revealed at the end of time, after the destruction of every enemy and last of all, death (cf. I Cor 15: 25-26). The Son will then deliver the Kingdom to the Father and God will finally be “everything to everyone” (I Cor 15: 28).
The way to reach this goal is long and admits of no short cut, indeed, every person must freely accept the truth of God’s love. He is Love and Truth and neither Love nor Truth are ever imposed, they come knocking at the doors of the heart and the mind and where they can enter they bring peace and joy. This is how God reigns, this is His project of salvation, a “mystery” in the biblical sense of the word, a plan that is gradually revealed in history.”….Pope Benedict XVI 26 November 2006
“When did Jesus reveal Himself as king? In the event of the Cross! Those who look at the Cross cannot but see the astonishing gratuitousness of love. One of you could say, “Father, that was a failure!”. It is precisely in the failure of sin — sin is a failure — in the failure of human ambitions – the triumph of the Cross is there, the gratuitousness of love is there. In the failure of the Cross, love is seen, a love that is gratuitous, which Jesus gives us.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 22 November 2015
PRAYER – Lord God, You gave the peoples of the world as the inheritance of Your only Son; You crowned Him as King of Zion, Your holy city and gave Him Your Church to be His Bride. As He proclaims the law of Your eternal kingdom, may we serve Him faithfully and so share His royal power forever. We make our prayer, through Him and with Him and in Him, our King and our Redeemer, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 24 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 20:27–40 – Saturday of the Thirty Third Week in Ordinary Time, Year B – The Memorial of St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions, Vietnam Martyrs
“Now he is not God of the dead but of the living; for all live to him.”...Luke 20:38
REFLECTION – “ Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the earthly one. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man from heaven. ” If we thus act, beloved, then we shall nevermore die in time to come. Even though our bodies may decay, we shall be living in Christ as he himself affirmed: “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.” We are assured, on the witness of our Lord Himself, that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the saints are alive. For it was concerning them that our Lord said: “All are alive for him, for he is not God of the dead but of the living.” And the apostle Paul said, speaking of himself: “For me, life is Christ, death gain. I long to depart and be with Christ.” And again: “So long as we are in the body, we are away from the Lord . For indeed, we walk by faith, not by sight.” This is what we believe, my dearest brethren. Besides: “If we have placed our hope in this world only, we are the most pitiable people of all.”
Life in this world, as you yourselves can see, is just the same for animals, wild beasts, birds and ourselves and it can even be longer for them. But what is proper to humans is what Christ gives us through His Spirit, provided we sin no more – life without end…: “The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”…St Pacian, Father of the Church (c 310–391) (Biblical references: 1Cor 15:49.47; Jn 11:25; Phil 1:21.23; 2Cor 5:6-7; 1Cor 15:19; Rm 6:23)
“It is not this life that will serve as a reference point for eternity, for the other life that awaits us; rather, it is eternity — that life — which illumines and gives hope to the earthly life of each one of us! If we look at things from only a human perspective, we tend to say that man’s journey moves from life to death. This is what we see! But this is only so if we look at things from a human perspective. Jesus turns this perspective upside down and states that our pilgrimage goes from death to life – the fullness of life!” …Pope Francis – Angelus, 10 November 2013
PRAYER – O God, source and origin of all fatherhood, who kept the Martyrs Saint Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions faithful to the Cross of Your Son, even to the shedding of their blood, grant, through their intercession, that, spreading Your love among our brothers and sisters, we may be Your children both in name and in truth and thus come to our resurrection with Jesus Christ, Your Son. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
One Minute Reflection – 23 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 19:45–48 – Friday of the Thirty-third week in Ordinary Time and the Memorial of St Columban (543-615)
And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”…Luke 19:45-46
REFLECTION – “Have I learned to watch over myself, that the temple of my heart is only for the Holy Spirit? Purify the temple, the inner temple and watch. Be careful, be careful: what happens in the heart. Who comes in and who goes out, the feelings, the ideas… Do we speak to the Holy Spirit? Do we listen to the Holy Spirit? Watch out. Let us be attentive to what happens in our temple, in (us) ourselves.”…Pope Francis – Santa Marta, 24 November 2017
PRAYER – Lord God, in the life of St Columban you combined a zeal for mission and a love of the monastic life. May his prayer and example, prompt us to love You above all things, to listen and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who teaches us to be true ‘stones’ of the temple, building up the Body of Christ. May we always we aware, that our actions affect the whole building of Your Church. Grant us the grace, that by our lives, we may strengthen and increase the household of the Faith. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, one God, forever amen.
One Minute Reflection – 16 November – Today’s Gospel: Luke 17:26–37, Friday of the Thirty Second week in Ordinary Time, Year B and the memorial of St Margaret of Scotland (1045-1093) and St Gertrude the Great (1256-1302).
“Whoever seeks to gain his life, will lose it but whoever loses his life, will preserve it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.”…Luke 17:33-34
REFLECTION – “Today the Church, the Lord, with His goodness, tells each one of us, ‘Stop, stop, not every day will be so. Do not get used to this as if it were eternity. There will be one day that you will be taken, while the other one will remain, you will be taken, you will be removed.’ It means going with the Lord, thinking that our life will end.”…Pope Francis Santa Marta, 17 November 2017
“So you see, my brothers, that we have been given every inducement, to amend our lives. We have been called by God and now it is up to us to return to Him, while we still have time to One, who is ready to receive us. For if we renounce sinful pleasures and practice self-control, by refusing to yield to our evil desires, we shall share in the mercy of Jesus.
You must know, however, that the day of judgement, like a flaming furnace, is already approaching. Sun, moon and stars will be consumed and the whole earth will become like lead melting in the fire. All that each man has done, whether openly or in secret, will then be brought to light. Therefore, a very good way of atoning for our sins is by being generous to the poor. Fasting is better than prayer but almsgiving surpasses both, for love covers a multitude of sins. Nevertheless, prayer delivers the soul from death, if it proceeds from a good conscience. Happy the man who is found rich in these virtues; by relieving the poor, he himself will be relieved of his sins.
To make sure that none of us is lost, we must repent from the bottom of our hearts.”…Anonymous author, second century, An Ancient Christian Writer – An excerpt from A Homily
PRAYER – Lord God, grant to us that the power of Your protecting hand may keep us unshaken in the face of our ancient enemy and all his hidden snares. Lighten our way so that, through the prayers of intercession of St Gertrude and St Margaret of Scotland, we may experience the joy of Your presence in our hearts and courage at times of suffering. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God for all eternity, amen.
Thought for the Day – 10 November – Christian, Remember Your Dignity by St Pope Leo the Great
Today we celebrate the feast day of Pope Saint Leo the Great (c 400-461). St Leo is referred to by many names, including “Doctor of Doctrine” and “Doctor of Unity of the Church.” He is the first pope to be referred to by the title “Great” and the first pope made Doctor of the Church. His writings, unifying doctrine and peacemaking, continue to inspire and instruct us today in the ways of the faith. Below, an excerpt from a homily, encouraging Christians to take heed of the joy of Christ and exhorts them to live in freedom and dignity of the Incarnation!
Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born, let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.
No one is shut out from this joy, all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.
In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for Himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which He had overthrown mankind.
And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy – Glory to God in the highest and they proclaim peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvellous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?
Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through His Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in His great love for us He took pity on us and when we were dead in our sins He brought us to life with Christ, so that in Him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh.
Christian, remember your dignity and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.
Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.
Thought for the Day – 9 November – Pope Benedict on the Feast of the Dedication of St John Lateran
In a sense, St John Lateran is the parish church of all Catholics, because it is the pope’s cathedral. This church, is the spiritual home, of the people who are the Church.
“The Word of God during this Solemnity recalls an essential truth – the stone temple is the symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, that the Apostles Peter and Paul had, in their Letters, already understood as a “spiritual building”, constructed by God with the “living stones” that are the Christians, upon the one foundation that is Jesus Christ, who is in turn compared to the “cornerstone” cf. 1 Cor 3: 9-11, 16-17; 1 Pt 2: 4-8; Eph 2: 20-22). “Brethren,… you are God’s building”, St Paul writes and he adds, “God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3: 9c, 17).
The beauty and the harmony of churches, destined to render praise to God, invites us human beings too, though limited and sinful, to convert ourselves to form a “cosmos”, a well-ordered construction, in close communion with Jesus, who is the true Holy of Holies. This reaches its culmination in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the “ecclesia” that is, the community of baptised finds itself again united to listen to the Word of God and nourish itself on the Body and Blood of Christ. Gathered around this twofold table, the Church of living stones builds herself up in truth and in love and is moulded interiorly by the Holy Spirit, transforming herself into what she receives, conforming herself ever more to her Lord Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, thus becomes a spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God.
Dear friends, today’s feast celebrates an ever current mystery – that God desires to build himself a spiritual temple in the world, a community that adores Him in spirit and truth (cf. Jn 4: 23-24).
But this occasion reminds us also of the importance of the concrete buildings in which the community gathers together to celebrate God’s praises. Every communit,y therefore, has the duty to carefully guard their holy structures, which constitute a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we invoke the intercession of Mary Most Holy, so that she might help us to become, like her, a “house of God”, living temple of his love.”
Thought for the Day – 8 November – The Memorial of Blessed John Duns Scotus OFM (c 1265-1308)
This morning, after several Catecheses on various great theologians, I would like to present to you another important figure in the history of theology. He is Blessed John Duns Scotus, who lived at the end of the 13th century. An ancient epitaph on his tombstone sums up the geographical coordinates of his biography: “Scotland bore me, England received me, France taught me, Cologne in Germany holds me”. We cannot disregard this information, partly because we know very little about the life of Duns Scotus. He was probably born in 1266 in a village called, precisely, “Duns”, near Edinburgh.
Attracted by the charism of St Francis of Assisi, he entered the Family of the Friars Minor and was ordained a priest in 1291. He was endowed with a brilliant mind and a tendency for speculation, which earned him the traditional title of Doctor subtilis, “Subtle Doctor”.
Mary is the subject of the Doctor subtilis’ thought. In the times of Duns Scotus the majority of theologians countered with an objection that seemed insurmountable, the doctrine which holds that Mary Most Holy was exempt from original sin from the very first moment of her conception – in fact, at first sight the universality of the Redemption brought about by Christ might seem to be jeopardised by such a statement, as though Mary had had no need of Christ or His redemption. Therefore the theologians opposed this thesis. Thus, to enable people to understand this preservation from original sin Duns Scotus developed an argument that was later, in 1854, also to be used by Bl Pope Pius IX when he solemnly defined the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. And this argument is that of “preventive Redemption”, according to which the Immaculate Conception is the masterpiece of the Redemption brought about by Christ because the very power of His love and His mediation obtained, that the Mother be preserved from original sin. Therefore Mary is totally redeemed by Christ but already before her conception. Duns Scotus’ confreres, the Franciscans, accepted and spread this doctrine enthusiastically and other theologians, often with a solemn oath, strove to defend and perfect it.
In this regard I would like to highlight a fact that I consider relevant. Concerning the teaching on the Immaculate Conception, important theologians like Duns Scotus enriched what the People of God already spontaneously believed about the Blessed Virgin and expressed in acts of devotion, in the arts and in Christian life in general with the specific contribution of their thought. Thus faith both in the Immaculate Conception and in the bodily Assumption of the Virgin was already present in the People of God, while theology had not yet found the key to interpreting it in the totality of the doctrine of the faith. The People of God therefore precede theologians and this is all thanks to that supernatural sensus fidei, namely, that capacity infused by the Holy Spirit that qualifies us to embrace the reality of the faith with humility of heart and mind. In this sense, the People of God is the “teacher that goes first” and must then be more deeply examined and intellectually accepted by theology.
May theologians always be ready to listen to this source of faith and retain the humility and simplicity of children! I mentioned this a few months ago saying: “There have been great scholars, great experts, great theologians, teachers of faith who have taught us many things. They have gone into the details of Sacred Scripture… but have been unable to see the mystery itself, its central nucleus…. The essential has remained hidden!… On the other hand, in our time there have also been “little ones” who have understood this mystery. Let us think of St Bernadette Soubirous; of St Thérèse of Lisieux, with her new interpretation of the Bible that is “non-scientific’ but goes to the heart of Sacred Scripture”
Dear brothers and sisters, Bl Duns Scotus teaches us that in our life the essential is to believe that God is close to us and loves us in Jesus Christ and, therefor,e to cultivate a deep love for Him and for His Church. We on earth are witnesses of this love. May Mary Most Holy help us to receive this infinite love of God, which we will enjoy eternally to the full in Heaven, when our soul is at last united to God for ever in the Communion of Saints.
Quote/s of the Day – 5 November – Feast of All Saints and Blesseds of the Jesuits
“If our church is not marked by caring for the poor,
the oppressed, the hungry, we are guilty of heresy.”
“Be generous to the poor orphans and those in need.
The man to whom our Lord has been liberal
ought not to be stingy.
We shall one day find in Heaven as much rest and joy
as we ourselves have dispensed in this life.”
“Take care, take care, never to close your heart to anyone!”
“To do the will of God,
man must despise his own –
the more he dies to himself,
the more he will live to God.”
“God gave Himself to you:
give yourself to God.”
“Any friend of the poor, is a friend of God.”
“Take life in instalments.
This one day now.
At least let this be a good day.
Be always beginning.”
“I hold that every poor man,
every vagrant, every beggar,
is Christ carrying His cross.
And as Christ, we must love and help him.”
“Christ roams through our streets
in the person of so many
of the suffering poor, sick and dispossessed
and people thrown out of their miserable slums.
Christ huddled under bridges,
in the person of so many children
who lack someone to call father,
who have been deprived for many years,
without a mother’s kiss on their foreheads…
Christ is without a home!
Shouldn’t we want to give Him one,
those of us who have the joy of a comfortable home,
plenty of good food,
the means to educate
and assure the future of our children?”
” To serve Christ is to love this concrete Church
and to serve her with generosity
and with the spirit of obedience.”
“Ask for the grace of shame;
the shame that comes from the constant dialogue of mercy with Him;
the shame that makes us blush before Jesus Christ;
the shame that puts us in tune with the heart of Christ who is made sin for me;
the shame that harmonises our heart in tears and accompanies us in the daily following of “my Lord”.
One Minute Reflection – 4 November – Today’s Gospel: Mark 12:28b-34 -Thirty First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Memorial of St Charles Borromeo (1538-1584) and St Felix of Valois (1127-1212)
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”...Mark 12:30-31
REFLECTION – “You cannot love God without loving your neighbour and you cannot love your neighbour without loving God. In effect, the visible sign a Christian can show, in order to witness to his love for God to the world and to others, to his family, is the love he bears for his brothers, is the love of his people. The Commandment to love God and neighbour is the first, not because it is at the top of the list of Commandments. Jesus does not place it at the pinnacle but at the centre, because it is from the heart that everything must go out and to which everything must return and refer.
In the Old Testament, the requirement to be holy, in the image of God who is holy, included the duty to care for the most vulnerable people, such as the stranger, the orphan and the widow (cf. Ex 22:20-26). Jesus brings this Covenant law to fulfilment, He who unites in Himself, in His flesh, divinity and humanity, a single mystery of love.
Now, in the light of this Word of Jesus, love is the measure of faith and faith is the soul of love. We can no longer separate a religious life, a pious life, from service to brothers and sisters, to the real brothers and sisters that we encounter.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 26 October 2014)
PRAYER – God power and mercy, by whose grace, Your people give You praise and worthy service, help us to see Your face in our neighbour. To love them all as we love You. Save us from faltering on our way and grant us the joys You have promised . St Felix of Valois and St Charles Borromeo kindly assist our journey by your prayers. Through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, one God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 2 November – Today’s Gospel: Matthew 25:31–46- The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
‘Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…’…Matthew 25:34
REFLECTION – “Yesterday and today, many have been visiting cemeteries, which, as the word itself implies, is the “place of rest”, as we wait for the final awakening. It is lovely to think, that it will be Jesus Himself to awaken us. Jesus Himself revealed, that the death of the body is like a sleep from which He awakens us. But today we are called to remember everyone, even those who no one remembers. We remember the victims of war and violence, the many “little ones” of the world, crushed by hunger and poverty, we remember the anonymous who rest in the communal ossuary. We remember our brothers and sisters killed because they were Christian and those who sacrificed their lives to serve others.
PRAYER – Let us raise this prayer to God: “God of infinite mercy, we entrust to Your immense goodness all those who have left this world for eternity, where You wait for all humanity, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ Your Son, who died as a ransom for our sins. Look not, O Lord, on our poverty, our suffering, our human weakness, when we appear before You to be judged for joy or for condemnation. Look upon us with mercy, born of the tenderness of Your heart and help us to walk in the ways of complete purification.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 2 November 2014
Thought for the Day – 29 October – The Memorial of St Gaetano Errico (1791-1860), Founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
Day by day, city to city, village to village, among both the poorest and those of high esteem, he saw the hunger each possessed to know that sin was forgiven, that God’s mercy was infinite and that they were loved. Countless souls found a merciful listener, the embodiment of God’s promise of peace and renewal, in Fr Gaetano, in the Confessional.
“The priest, Gaetano Errico, dedicated himself to this sacrament with diligence, assiduity and patience, never refusing it nor counting the cost. He thus entered among the group of other extraordinary priests who tirelessly made the confessional a place to dispense God’s mercy, helping men to rediscover themselves, to fight against sin and make progress in the spiritual life.
The street and the confessional were the two particular places of Gaetano Errico’s pastoral work. The street was the place that permitted him to offer his customary invitation: “God loves you, when shall we meet?” and in the confession he made their encounter with the mercy of the heavenly Father possible. How many wounded souls did he heal in this way! How many people did he help to be reconciled with God through the sacrament of forgiveness!
In this way St. Gaetano Errico became an expert in the “science” of forgiveness, and concerned himself with teaching it to his missionaries: “God, who does not wish the death of the sinner, is always more merciful than his ministers; so be as merciful as you can and you will find mercy with God!”
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at Canonisation Mass, October 2008
He found his own encouragement on his knees in prayer . . . indeed it was prayer and the hours he spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament that strengthened and renewed him and kept the fire of his love for God ever burning.
Let us rediscover the great grace of the Confessional and the immense joy of Eucharistic Adoration for ourselves!
Sunday Reflection – 28 October – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B
Recognise in the bread, that same body that hung on the cross
and in the chalice, that same blood that gushed from His side.
Saint Augustine (354-430)
Transubstantiation
In the offering that Jesus makes of Himself we find all the novelty of Christian worship. In ancient times men offered in sacrifice to the divinity the animals or first fruits of the earth. Jesus, instead, offers Himself, His body and His whole existence – He Himself, in person, becomes the sacrifice that the liturgy offers in the Holy Mass.
In fact, with the consecration of the bread and wine they become His true body and blood.
Saint Augustine invited his faithful, not to pause on what appeared to their sight but to go beyond: “Recognise in the bread — he said — that same body that hung on the cross and in the chalice that same blood that gushed from His side” (Disc. 228 B, 2).
To explain this transformation, theology has coined the word “transubstantiation,” a word that resounded for the first time in this Basilica during the IV Lateran Council, of which in five years will be the 8th centenary. On that occasion the following expressions were inserted in the profession of faith: “his body and his blood are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar, under the species of bread and wine, because the bread is transubstantiated into the body and the wine into the blood by divine power” (DS, 802).
Therefore, it is essential to stress, in the itineraries of education of children in the faith, of adolescents and of young people, as well as in “centres of listening” to the Word of God, that in the sacrament of the Eucharist, Christ is truly, really and substantially present.
Sunday
And let us also keep present that the Eucharist, joined to the cross and resurrection of the Lord, has dictated a new structure to our time.
The Risen One was manifested the day after Saturday, the first day of the week, day of the sun and of creation. From the beginning, Christians have celebrated their encounter with the Risen One, the Eucharist, on this first day, on this new day of the true sun of history, the Risen Christ.
And thus time always begins again with the encounter with the Risen One and this encounter gives content and strength to everyday life. Because of this, it is very important for us Christians, to follow this new rhythm of time, to meet with the Risen One on Sunday and thus “to take” with us His presence, which transforms us and transforms our time.
Pope Benedict XVI – 17 June 2010
One Minute Reflection – 28 October – Today’s Gospel: Mark 10:46–52 – Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B and the Feast of Sts Simon and Jude, Apostles of Christ
And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.…Mark 10:52
REFLECTION – “We are always in need of salvation. And all of us should take this step everyday – from beggars to disciples. And thus, the blind man sets out behind the Lord, becoming part of His community. The one they wanted to silence, now witnesses aloud to his encounter with Jesus of Nazareth and “all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God”. Let us also allow ourselves to be called by Jesus and let us be healed by Jesus, forgiven by Jesus and let us follow Jesus, praising God. So be it!”…Pope Francis – General audience, 15 June 2016
PRAYER – Lord God, You taught us to call upon Your name, through the preaching of the Apostles. Open our eyes each day, grant that we may see Jesus Your Son at our side, open our ears that we may hear His voice, open our mouths that we may beg forgiveness and proclaim the good news as we follow the way Your Son carved out for us. At the intercession of Sts Simon and Jude, may Your Church continue to grow and to hope in Your love. We make our prayer through Jesus our Lord, with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 27 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 – Saturday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year B
And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down, why should it use up the ground?’…Luke 13:7
REFLECTION – “Unfortunately, each of us strongly resembles the tree that, over many years, has repeatedly shown that it’s infertile. But, fortunately for us, Jesus is like a farmer who, with limitless patience, still obtains a concession for the fruitless vine. “Let it alone this year” the invincible patience of Jesus! Have you thought about the patience of God? Have you ever thought as well of His limitless concern for sinners? How it should lead us to impatience with ourselves! It’s never too late to convert, never. God’s patience awaits us until the last moment.”…Pope Francis – Angelus, 28 February 2016
PRAYER – Come to help us in our weakness, God of mercy, forgive the sins of Your people and as nothing we can do is worthy in Your sight, save us through the intercession of the Mother of our Lord, Jesus Christ. We make our prayer through Jesus with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 24 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:39–48 – Wednesday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time. Year B and The Memorial of St Anthony Mary Claret CMF (1807-1870) and St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)
“But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into…”…Luke 12:39
REFLECTION – “There is need of living well but, there is even more need of dying well. A good death is everything, especially today, where people think only of things and enjoyment here on earth, rejecting eternity.” … St Luigi Guanella (1842-1915)
“The disciple is one, who awaits the Lord and His Kingdom. May the Virgin Mary help us, not to be people and communities dulled by the present, or worse, nostalgic for the past but striving toward the future of God, toward the encounter with Him, our life and our hope.”...Pope Francis – Angelus, 7 August 2016
PRAYER – Heavenly Father, help me to keep my death constantly before my eyes, for this is my final account. I pray You for a holy life that my death may be holy and that I may come to You and live for all eternity with You. When my hour is come, bid me come to You, Lord. Hear the prayers of your Saints, Anthony Mary Claret and Luigi Guanella, who lived each moment of their lives for the glory of Your Kingdom. We ask this through Christ, our Lord with the Holy Spirit, God forever, amen.
One Minute Reflection – 22 October – Today’s Gospel: Luke 12:13–21 – Monday of the Twenty Ninth week in Ordinary Time, Year B and The Memorial of St Pope John Paul II (1920-2005)
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’“…Luke 12:20
REFLECTION – “The fool in the Bible, the one who does not want to learn from the experience of visible things, that nothing lasts forever but that all things pass away, youth and physical strength, amenities and important roles. Making one’s life depend on such an ephemeral reality is therefore foolishness. The person who trusts in the Lord, on the other hand, does not fear the adversities of life, nor the inevitable reality of death, he is the person who has acquired a wise heart, like the Saints.”…Pope Benedict XVI – Angelus 1 August 2010
“The rich man, clinging to his immense fortune, is convinced that he will succeed in overcoming death….Indeed, like all other men and women, rich and poor, wise and foolish alike, he is doomed to end in the grave, as happens likewise to the powerful and he will have to leave behind on earth that gold so dear to him and those material possessions he so idolised.” – St Pope John Paul II 20 October 2004
PRAYER – Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to Yours and serve Your majesty in sincerity of heart. Teach us to lay up riches in heaven and may the prayers of St John Paul assist us in our daily struggles against the idols of the world. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, amen.
AnaStpaul 
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