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St Damasus - Pope

12/7/2014

SAINT DAMASUS
Pope
(†384)

Saint Damasus was born in Rome at the beginning of the fourth century. His father, a widower, had received Holy Orders there and served as parish priest in the church of St. Laurence. Damasus was archdeacon of the Roman Church in 355, when the Pope, Saint Liberius, was banished to Berda; he followed him into exile, but afterwards returned to Rome. On the death of Saint Liberius in 366, our Saint was chosen to succeed him, at the age of sixty-two. A certain Ursinus, jealous of his election and desiring for himself that high office, had himself proclaimed pope by his followers, inciting a revolt against Damasus in Rome, in which 137 persons died. The holy Pope did not choose to resort to armed defense, but the Emperor Valentinian, to defend him, drove the usurper from Rome for a time. Later he returned, and finding accomplices for his evil intentions, accused the holy Pontiff of adultery. Saint Damasus took only such action as was becoming to the common father of the faithful; he assembled a synod of forty-four bishops, in which he justified himself so well that the calumniators were excommunicated and banished.

Having freed the Church of this new schism, Saint Damasus turned his attention to the extirpation of Arianism in the West and of Apollinarianism in the East, and for this purpose convened several councils. He sent Saint Zenobius, later bishop of Florence, to Constantinople in 381 to console the faithful, cruelly persecuted by the Emperor Valens. He commanded Saint Jerome to prepare a correct Latin version of the Bible, since known as the Vulgate; he ordered the Psalms to be sung accordingly. He rebuilt and adorned the Church of Saint Laurence, still called Saint Laurence in Damaso. He caused to be drained all the springs of the Vatican, which were inundating the tombs of the holy persons buried there, and he decorated the sepulchres of a great number of martyrs in the cemeteries, adorning them with epitaphs in verse. Before his death, he consecrated sixty-two bishops.

Saint Damasus is praised by Theodoret as head of the famous doctors of divine grace of the Latin church; the General Council of Chalcedon calls him the honor and glory of Rome. Having reigned for eighteen years and two months, he died on the 10th of December in 384, when he was nearly eighty years old. In the eighth century, his relics were definitively placed in the church of Saint Laurence in Damaso, except for his head, conserved in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

Saint for Today - St Teresa

10/15/2014

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SAINT TERESA of AVILA
Virgin, Reformer of the Carmelite Order
(1515-1582)

"By their fruits you will know them," says Our Lord of those who claim to be His followers. The fruits which remain of the life, labors and prayer of Saint Teresa of Avila bear to her virtue a living and enduring testimony which none can refuse to admit. She herself wrote her life and many other celebrated spiritual works, and much more can still be said of this soul of predilection, whose writings and examples have led so many souls to high sanctity.

Born in 1515 in the kingdom of Castile in Spain, she was the youngest child of a virtuous nobleman. When she was seven years old, Teresa fled from her home with one of her young brothers, in the hope of going to Africa and receiving the palm of martyrdom. Brought back and asked the reason for her flight, she replied: "I want to see God, and I must die before I can see Him." She then began, with her same brother, Rodriguez, to build a hermitage in the garden, and was often heard repeating: "Forever, forever!" She lost her mother at the age of twelve years, and was led by worldly companions into various frivolities. Her father decided to place her in a boarding convent, and she obeyed without any inclination for this kind of life. Grace came to her assistance with the good guidance of the Sisters, and she decided to enter religion in the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation at Avila.

For a time frivolous conversations there, too, checked her progress toward perfection, but finally in her thirty-first year, she abandoned herself entirely to God. A vision showed her the very place in hell to which her apparently light faults would have led her, and she was told by Our Lord that all her conversation must be with heaven. Ever afterwards she lived in the deepest distrust of herself. When she was named Prioress against her will at the monastery of the Incarnation, she succeeded in conciliating even the most hostile hearts by placing a statue of Our Lady in the seat she would ordinarily have occupied, to preside over the Community.

God enlightened her to understand that He desired the reform of her Order, and her heart was pierced with divine love. The Superior General gave her full permission to found as many houses as might become feasible. She dreaded nothing so much as delusion in the decisions she would make in difficult situations; we can well understand this, knowing she founded seventeen convents for the Sisters, and that fifteen others for the Fathers of the Reform were established during her lifetime, with the aid of Saint John of the Cross. To the end of her life she acted only under obedience to her confessors, and this practice both made her strong and preserved her from error. Journeying in those days was far from comfortable and even perilous, but nothing could stop the Saint from accomplishing the holy Will of God. When the cart was overturned one day and she had a broken leg, her sense of humor became very evident by her remark: "Dear Lord, if this is how You treat Your friends, it is no wonder You have so few!" She died October 4, 1582, and was canonized in 1622.

The history of her mortal remains is as extraordinary as that of her life. After nine months in a wooden coffin, caved in from the excess weight above it, the body was perfectly conserved, though the clothing had rotted. A fine perfume it exuded spread throughout the entire monastery of the nuns, when they reclothed it. Parts of it were later removed as relics, including the heart showing the marks of the Transverberation, and her left arm. At the last exhumation in 1914, the body was found to remain in the same condition as when it was seen previously, still recognizable and very fragrant with the same intense perfume.

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Thought for the 17th Sunday after Pentecost

10/5/2014

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The Need Supernatural Charity

“On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets” (Matt., 22:40)

One of the most outstanding characteristics of Christ’s teaching is its great simplicity. In fact, He compressed His entire moral doctrine into two brief commandments, as today’s Gospel points out: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart and soul... Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”

We should realise however that in these words Our Lord was referring to supernatural charity-charity based on the goodness of God as made known to us through revelation. Moreover, we should also realise that true Christian charity requires that the love of God and the love of neighbour be bound together. Either one is impossible without the other. A person who would claim to love God and would not have love for his neighbour would not be truly loving God. In the words of St. John, “He who says that he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in the darkness still” (I John, 2:9). On the other hand, one who would love his fellowmen and not truly love God, might indeed be practising natural humanitarianism or philanthropy, but he would not be practising Christian charity.

If we practice Christian charity, we shall be living the supernatural life of grace. For all the commandments are rooted in charity. I£ we examine the commandments we shall find that they prescribe obligations toward God, ourselves, and our neighbour. But if we truly love God and our neighbour as ourselves, we shall fulfil all these obligations, not indeed from a merely natural motive, but from the highest of all motives, the desire to do the will of God, who is worthy of our love in the highest measure because He is the infinite good.

There are many persons who are kindly and generous toward their fellowmen, and willing to help them in their needs because they are naturally sympathetic. But this is not Christian charity. True Christian charity finds God Himself in our fellow men and out of love for Him strives to help them in their necessities. This virtue of Christian charity is sadly needed in the world today, because there is so much hatred, so much envy and personal ambition, that the love for others out of a truly supernatural motive is well nigh forgotten.

Practical Application

When you manifest kindness and generosity toward your fellowmen, be sure that the motive is supernatural. The people of the United States are deeply sympathetic toward those of other countries who are not so fortunate as themselves. It is doubtful that this is supernatural charity to any great extent, but Catholics at least should strive to make their assistance to those in need true Catholic charity.

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Thoughts for the 16th Sunday after Pentecost

9/28/2014

The Sin of Pride

“Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled” (Luke, 14:11)

We must not have the idea that only transgressions concerned with material things such as dishonesty, drunkenness, impurity, etc., are grave sins. One of the most dangerous and malicious sins pertains to the spiritual order, the sin of pride. It is this sin that Our Lord condemns so severely in today’s Gospel, saying that everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled.

To understand properly these words of Our Divine Redeemer we must have a correct concept of the sin of pride. Pride is an exaggerated esteem of one’s own excellence. It is not pride to recognise one’s abilities and gifts and to rejoice in them. The man who is a successful business administrator does not have to regard himself as stupid, if he would avoid pride. The woman who is favoured with beauty is not obliged to convince herself that she is ugly. But when a person claims qualifications which he knows he does not possess and in consequence acts arrogantly, he is guilty of pride.

Above all, it is a sign of pride to attribute our good qualities and our success to ourselves rather than to God. It sometimes happens that a person who is very fortunate in some field of human endeavour--in business or politics or scholarship-forgets that all his abilities come from God. People of this type become overbearing and harsh toward others. They exaggerate their own importance, they ridicule those who have not succeeded as well as themselves. In the designs of God such proud persons often have a rude awakening. The day may come when they encounter a situation that baffles their intelligence and ability, and then they meet a tragic failure.

It is a sad way for these persons to learn that their own cleverness and skill were indeed very limited, as are all human perfections. Sometimes such persons will recognise their fault and humbly acknowledge that they relied too much on themselves. Then God will readily forgive them. But frequently they spend the rest of their lives in bitterness and despair. In them the words of Christ are fulfilled, “Everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled.”

If we would avoid this sin of pride we must ever be deeply conscious that all that we are and all that we have come to us from God as gifts of His love and generosity. If He so wills, He can take away all that makes us esteemed and honoured in the eyes of our fellow-men. And when we do encounter some failure in life we should accept it as coming from God to give us the opportunity of practising the noble virtue of humility.

Practical Application

Frequently thank God for all the benefits, natural and supernatural, He has bestowed on you. This practice will remind you that you are entirely dependent on Him for all your good qualities and abilities.

Thoughts for the 15th Sunday after Pentecost

9/20/2014

The Resurrection of the Soul

“I say to thee, arise” (Luke, 7:14)

It must have produced a tremendous impression on the people of Naim to witness the miracle related in today’s Gospel. In a small town all the people are intimately acquainted with one another; the sorrows of one family are felt in all homes. So, there must have been deep sorrow in the hearts of all the kindly people of Naim when they heard that their neighbour, a poor widow, had lost her only son by death.

We can presume that practically all the inhabitants of the village attended the funeral, and consequently beheld the wondrous miracle that took place when Our Lord said, “Young man, I say to thee, arise,” and he that was dead sat up.

When we lose a dear one by death, to what lengths we would gladly go to have him restored to life If Jesus Christ were still on earth in visible form, we surely would approach Him and ask Him to use His miraculous power and restore this loved one to life, as He did the youth of Naim. And we know that the power of Christ is as great today as it was nineteen centuries ago; if He willed, He would bring this person back to life.

However, nowadays it is ordinarily not God’s plan to have miracles of this extraordinary nature take place, as it was when Christ was proving His divine mission. But there is a miracle of spiritual resurrection which Our Lord is ready to perform, not as something rare and extraordinary, but as an ordinary and frequent phase of the Christian life.

This takes place whenever a soul is freed from mortal sin. For when a person possessing the state of grace commits a mortal sin, death enters his soul. The bright and beautiful image of God conferred by sanctifying grace is obliterated; the soul becomes more hideous in the sight of God than a corrupted corpse. Only God’s power can restore that soul to life. But God’s power is at our disposal if we have recourse to Him.

The great and consoling means a our disposal to obtain this spiritual resurrection from sin is the sacrament of Penance. When the sinner, no matter how far he may have gone on the way of iniquity, makes a good confession with true contrition of heart, he is restored to the life of grace, and his spiritual mother, the Church, embraces him joyfully, as the widow of Naim embraced her son brought back from death by the power and mercy of Jesus Christ.

Practical Application

If you have the misfortune to commit a mortal sin, do not remain in that sad condition. Remember that while you are in mortal sin your soul is dead, unable to acquire heavenly merit, deserving of eternal punishment.

Come back to God by a good confession and in the meantime seek restoration to grace by an act of perfect contrition with the intention of receiving the sacrament of Penance.

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

9/12/2014

This feast was established by Pope Innocent XI in 1683, that the faithful may in a particular manner recommend to God on this day, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin, the necessities of His Church, and return Him thanks for His gracious protection and numberless mercies.

What gave occasion to the institution of this feast was the desire of all Christendom for a solemn thanksgiving which would commemorate the deliverance of Vienna, obtained through the intercession of Our Lady, when the city was besieged by the Turks in 1683. An army of 550,000 invaders had reached the city walls and was threatening all of Europe. John Sobieski, King of Poland, came with a much smaller army to assist the besieged city during the octave of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin, and made ready for a great battle. This religious prince began by having a Mass celebrated, which he himself desired to serve, his arms in a cross. After receiving Communion with fervor, he rose at the close of the sacrifice and cried out: "Let us march with confidence under the protection of Heaven and with the aid of the Most Holy Virgin!" His hope was not disappointed; the Turks were struck with a sudden panic and fled in disorder. From that time the feast day has been celebrated during the octave of the Nativity of Our Lady.

Saint for Today - St Stephen of Hungary

9/2/2014

SAINT STEPHEN
King of Hungary
(977-1038)

The fourth Duke of the Huns of Hungary, by the name of Geysa, was converted to the Faith and baptized with his wife and several ministers. With the Christian missionaries, he labored to convince his pagan subjects of the divinity of this religion. His wife saw in a vision the protomartyr Saint Stephen, who told her they would have a son who would perfect the work already begun. This son, born in the year 977, was given the name of Stephen.

The little prince was baptized by Saint Adalbert, bishop of Prague, who preached to the Hungarians for a time, and was educated under the care of that bishop and a pious count of Italy.

When he was fifteen years old, his father gave him the commandment of his armies, seeing his virtue and Christian ardor. Already Stephen was beginning to root out idolatry and transform the pagan customs still existing among the people. At twenty years of age, he succeeded his good father, who died in 997. He suppressed a rebellion of his pagan subjects, and founded monasteries and churches all over the land. He sent to Pope Sylvester, begging him to appoint bishops to the eleven sees he had endowed, and to bestow on him, for the greater success of his work, the title of king. The Pope granted his requests, and sent him a cross to be borne before him, saying that he regarded him as the true apostle of his people.

Saint Stephen's devotion was fervent. He placed his realms under the protection of our Blessed Lady, and kept the feast of Her Assumption with great affection. He established good laws, and saw to their execution. Throughout his life, we are told, he had Christ on his lips, Christ in his heart, and Christ in all he did. His only wars were wars of defense, and in them he was always successful. He married the sister of the Emperor Saint Henry, who was a worthy companion for him. God sent him many grievous trials amid his successes; one by one his children died.

He often went out in disguise to exercise his charities; and one day a troop of beggars, not satisfied with the alms they received, threw him down, tore out handfuls of his hair and beard, and took his purse. He prayed to the Lord and thanked Him for an insult he would not have suffered from enemies, but accepted gladly from the poor who, he said to Him, "are called Your own, and for whom I can have only indulgence and tenderness." He bore all reversals with perfect submission to the Will of God.

When Saint Stephen was about to die, he summoned the bishops and nobles, and told them to choose his successor. He urged them to nurture and cherish the Catholic Church, which was still a tender plant in Hungary, to follow justice, humility, and charity, to be obedient to the laws, and to show at all times a reverent submission to the Holy See. Then, raising his eyes towards heaven, he said: "O Queen of Heaven, August Restorer of a prostrate world, to Thy care I commend the Holy Church, my people, and my realm, and my own departing soul." It was on his favorite feast day, the Assumption, that he died in peace, in the year 1038.

Saint for Today - St Giles

9/1/2014

SAINT GILES
Abbot
(640-720)

Saint Giles, whose name has been held in great veneration for many centuries in France and England, was born in the year 640 in Athens, and was of noble extraction. Certain remarkable works of medicine and poetry are attributed to him, but his knowledge was primarily that of the Saints.

When as a young man he met a poor beggar who was sick and half-naked, he was moved with compassion and gave him his splendid tunic; the moment the beggar put it on, he found himself in perfect health. By this miracle, Giles understood how pleasing almsgiving is to God, and shortly afterwards, he distributed all his goods to the poor and entered upon a life of poverty, suffering and humility. But Jesus Christ did not let Himself be outdone in generosity, and soon miracles multiplied so greatly in his wake, that the admiration of the world surrounded him. It became impossible for him to profit in his own country from obscurity and retirement, which he desired above all else. He therefore went to France and chose for his hermitage the open spaces of the south, near the mouth of the Rhone.

Soon he was known there, too, by the miracles his kindness brought down from heaven. He moved again, and this time Providence brought him near a hermit of Greek origin like himself; then the two rejoiced in a common life of the love of God. For two years they remained together, until the invasion of their solitude caused Giles to migrate to a deep forest of southeastern France, in the diocese of Nimes.

He passed many years in this intense solitude, living on wild herbs or roots and clear water, and conversing only with God. He was nourished there by a doe of the forest. One day, being pursued by Visigoths hunting in the forests, she fled for refuge to the Saint and lay down at his feet. Moved to tears, he prayed God to spare the life of the innocent animal. An arrow the hunters had sent in her direction came and lodged in his hand, making a wound which would never heal. When the hunters found the animal there and saw the bleeding wound of the gentle hermit, they begged his pardon on their knees, and the chase was ended. The Visigoth king, hearing of this, came to visit this holy hermit, accompanied by the bishop, who afterwards ordained Giles a priest.

The reputation of the sanctity of Saint Giles increased constantly by his many miracles, which rendered his name famous throughout France. He was highly esteemed by the pious king, but could not be prevailed upon to leave his solitude. He accepted several disciples, however, and established excellent discipline in the monastery which the king built for them. Destroyed during the invasions of the Moslems who had entered Spain, it was rebuilt during the lifetime of the founder and his disciples, when they returned after the torment. In succeeding ages, it became a flourishing abbey of the Benedictine Order, which bore his name.

Thoughts for the 12th Sunday after Pentecost

8/30/2014

Charity Toward All Men

“Who is my neighbour” (Luke, 10:29)

The most important lesson taught by Jesus Christ was the commandment of love--love for God and love for our fellow men. In today's Gospel we hear Him repeating this commandment for the benefit of a lawyer, who doubtless thought he would make out very well in a debate with this simple carpenter from Nazareth. Our Lord not only proved to the lawyer that he was not so wise as he imagined, but also narrated a parable that will carry an inspiring lesson to mankind until the end of time, the parable of the good Samaritan.

To understand the full significance of this parable we must note the question of the lawyer which Our Lord answered —“Who is my neighbour?” By the parable of the good Samaritan Our Saviour intended not only to emphasise the excellence of charity but also to point out that true Christian charity must extend to all men without exception. This principle He made clear by stating that the generous traveller of the parable was a Samaritan; for between the Jews and the Samaritans there was a strong nationalistic antagonism. Consequently, Christ wished to teach us that we must be charitable to all human beings, even to those whom we naturally dislike.

The lesson of this parable is just as useful to the men and women of the twentieth century as it was to those who listened to it more than nineteen centuries ago. We may be tempted to dislike certain persons because of various reasons-perhaps because of racial or national difference, or perhaps because they lack courtesy or have been unkind to us personally. The inclination to show resentment toward such persons or to exclude them from our deeds of kindness is not sinful, as long as we do not deliberately yield to it.

If we possess the spirit of Christian charity, we shall overcome our natural feelings and show kindness and generosity toward such persons when the need for assistance arises. If we are tempted to be unkind or harsh, we should think of the parable of the good Samaritan and take to heart the words of Our Lord: “Go and do thou likewise.”

In a word, true Christian charity abstracts from the personal characteristics of our fellow men, however unpleasant they may be, and beholds in all human beings the beautiful image of God, reflected either actually or potentially, by sanctifying grace. Thus, when we help others in a spirit of true Christian charity, we are really expressing our love for God.

Practical Application

Strive to find opportunities in your daily life to do deeds of kindness for others. If you have the true spirit of Christian charity you will be kind to all persons, whether you naturally like them or not.

Thoughts for the 11th Sunday after Pentecost

8/24/2014

Doing Our Best

“He has done all things well” (Mark, 7:37)

When a person has done some piece of work efficiently, we praise him by saying: “Well done.” This praise was given to Our Lord by the people of Galilee almost two thousand years ago, not with reference to any particular task, but with reference to all His works. “He has done all things well,” they said. In a lesser degree these words should be applicable to every Catholic. Our faith tells us that we should try to do all things well, that we should put our best into everything we attempt to accomplish.

This means, in the first place, that we should try to perform each of our daily tasks in accordance with its particular standards, however lowly the task may be. The housewife should try to be a good cook and to keep the home clean and neat. The girl employed in an office should try to give her employer perfect service in the matter of typing and filing, etc., and should be careful to arrive on time in the morning and remain working as long as she is supposed to stay.

The carpenter and the stone-mason and the machinist should perform their tasks conscientiously, and avoid that spirit of carelessness and negligence that is so common among artisans today. The doctor and the nurse should do all within the scope of their professional skill to bring health and comfort to their patients. The man in public office should aim at promoting the welfare of the citizens in the most efficient manner. Thus we could go through every branch of human activity and point out the obligations of those engaged in this particular form of work to put their best efforts into their work, so that it could be said of each of them: “He has done all things well.”

For a Catholic the proper performance of a task means more than its efficient fulfilment. It means also that he should be actuated by a supernatural motive, the most perfect motive being love for God. Every day--at least once, and preferably several times-we should raise our hearts to God, offering to do all our actions out of love for Him. This supernatural motive--the good intention, as we call it--will inspire us to put our best efforts into all we do and if we are in the state of grace will make all our thoughts, words and deeds meritorious for eternal life.

Practical Application

Acquire the habit of making the good intention every morning, and renew it several times in the course of the day. This will elevate even the ordinary duties of daily life to the plane of supernatural merit.

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