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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.

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.

Saint for Today - St Jane Frances Chantal

8/21/2014

Jane Frances Frémiot de Chantal was born of parents of the highest rank, at Dijon in Burgundy. From her earliest childhood she gave no dark promise of a life of eminent holiness. It is said that when she was scarcely fifteen years of age she confuted with precocious acuteness a Presbyterian nobleman, and when he gave her a little present she put it in the fire, saying: That is how heretics will burn in hell for not believing Christ when he speaketh. On the death of her mother, she placed herself under the keeping of the Virgin Mother of God, and discharged a maid who strove to beguile her into loving the world. She had nothing youthful about her ways. She shrank from the pleasures of life. She had a strong wish that she might die a martyr. She devoted herself unweariedly to religion and godliness. Her father gave her in marriage to the Baron de Chantal, and she strove to excel in all the duties and graces of a wife. She made it her work to see that her children, her servants, and all others under her authority were taught the doctrines of the faith and the practice of good living. She relieved the sufferings of the poor by plentiful almsgiving, for which purposes God not unfrequently miraculously multiplied her money. And so it came to pass that no one ever asked her for food in Christ's name and was refused it.

Her husband was accidentally killed out shooting, and in her widowhood she determined to embrace the more excellent way, and took a vow not to marry again. She bore her bereavement with resignation to the Will of God, and so far overcame her horror of the gentleman who had fired the shot, that, to shew she attributed no blame to him, she stood godmother to his little boy. She was quite content with few servants and plain cookery and dress, and sold her rich wardrobe for the benefit of charities. She received offers of second marriage which would have been both politic and honourable, but never was induced to accept one of them, and to harden herself in her intention of remaining in her widowhood, she renewed her vow to that effect, and branded on her chest with a hot iron the most holy Name of Jesus Christ. Her love grew tenderer every day, and she had brought to her the starving, the abandoned, the diseased, and those who were afflicted with the most sickening disorders. Them she not only sheltered, comforted, and nursed, but washed, and mended their filthy and ragged garments, and shrank not from putting her mouth to their sores oozing with disgusting matter.

She used the services of St. Francis de Sales as her spiritual adviser, and when she learnt from him what was the will of God, she scrupled not to disregard the wishes of her own father, brother-in-law, and even of her son, whom she left with calm determination, went forth from her home, and founded the holy Institution of the Sisters of the Visitation of St. Mary. She most rigidly kept the rules of this Institute, and loved so well to be poor, that it made her glad to lack even the necessaries of life. She shewed herself a model of Christian lowliness, obedience, and all graces. Having settled in her heart still to go up higher and higher towards the Temple of the Lord, she bound herself by a most difficult vow always to do that which she should understand to be best. It was chiefly through her labour that the holy Institute of the Visitation became spread far and wide, and she stirred up the sisters to godliness and love by her words, by her example, and by writings full of Divine wisdom. She duly received the Sacraments before her death, and then, at Moulins, on the 13th day of December, in the year 1641, departed hence, to be for ever with the Lord. St. Vincent de Paul, who was far distant, in a vision beheld her soul borne to heaven, and St. Francis de Sales coming to meet it. Her body was afterwards taken to Annecy. She was famous for miracles both before and after her death, and Pope Benedict XIV enrolled her among the Blessed, and Pope Clement XIII among the Saints. Pope Clement XIV ordered her Feastday to be kept by the whole Church upon the twenty-first day of August.

Saint for Today - St John Eudes

8/19/2014

John was born in the year 1601, of pious and respectable parents, at a village commonly known as Ri, in the diocese of Seez. While still a boy, when he was fed with the bread of Angels, he cheerfully made a vow of perpetual chastity. Having been received at the College of Caen, directed by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus, he was conspicuous for a remarkable piety; and, committing himself to the protection of the Virgin Mary, when still a youth he signed with his own blood, the special covenant he had entered into with her. Having completed his courses of letters and of philosophy with great distinction, and having spurned opportunities of marriage which had been arranged for him, he enrolled himself with the Congregation of the Oratory de Bérulle, and was ordained priest at Paris. He was on fire with a marvellous love towards his neighbour: for he took the most constant pains in caring for both the souls and bodies of those smitten with the Asiatic plague, in many different places. He was made Rector of the Oratorian house at Caen, but since he had been thinking for a long time of educating suitable young men for the ministry of the Church, earnestly asking for the divine assistance, with a brave spirit he most regretfully departed from the associates with whom he had lived for twenty years.

Accordingly, associating five priests with himself, in the year 1643, on the feastday of the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary, he founded a Congregation of Priests, to whom he gave the most holy names of Jesus and Mary, and opened the first seminary at Caen; and a great many others followed immediately in Normandy and Brittany, also founded by him. For the recalling of sinful women to a Christian life, he founded the Order of Our Lady of Charity; of which most noble tree, the Congregation of the Good Shepherd of Angers is a branch. Furthermore, he founded the Society of the Admirable Heart of the Mother of God, and other charitable institutions. He was the author of many excellent treatises, and laboured as an Apostolic Missionary to the very end of his life, preaching the Gospel in very many villages, towns, and cities, and even in the royal court.

His matchless zeal was very conspicuous in promoting the salutary devotion towards the most sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, whose liturgical worship he was the first of all to devise, although not without some divine inspiration. He is therefore held to be the father, the teacher, and the apostle of that worship. Courageously withstanding the doctrines of the Jansenists, he preserved unalterable obedience towards the Chair of Peter, and he constantly prayed to God, both for his enemies as well as for his brethren. Broken by so many labours, rather than by years, desiring to be freed and to be with Christ, on the 19th day of August, 1680, frequently repeating the sweet names of Jesus and Mary, he died in peace. As he became illustrious by many miracles, Pope Pius X added him to the list of the Blessed, and as he still shone forth with new signs and wonders, Pope Pius XI, in the holy year and on the day of Pentecost, placed him among the Saints, and extended his Office and Mass to the universal Church.

Thoughts for the 10th Sunday after Pentecost

8/16/2014

The Virtue of Humility

“O God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (Luke, 18:13)

Humility is one of the most important moral virtues, which is unfortunately often misunderstood. There are some who believe that a humble person is a weak individual; but actually, true humility is rather the characteristic of one who is brave and strong. Humility means that a person recognises that all the good he has comes from God, and that whatever defects he may have are due to his failure to correspond to God’s grace. Hence, he is convinced that he needs God’s help for all his projects; but he knows full well that God helps those who seek His aid.

The publican described in today’s Gospel was a model of humility. He knew full well that he was a sinner, yet he turned to God in a spirit of contrition with the assurance that he would be pardoned. And Our Lord tells us that this man returned to his home justified, with his soul restored to the grace of God. On the other hand, the Pharisee is a deplorable example of pride.

Every practical and fervent Catholic will try to cultivate the virtue of humility, even though the surroundings in which we live are not favourable to this virtue. For our present-day world contains many persons who are filled with pride. They feel that the little success they have won in the world is due to their own abilities. They are very much offended when anyone contradicts them or says anything that might dim their glory. Even when they pray, instead of asking God for His Help in all humility, they rather imitate the Pharisee and extol their own good deeds.

The Catholic who wishes to imitate in his own life, as far as possible, the virtues of our Divine Model, Jesus Christ, will necessarily be humble, for humility was one of the outstanding characteristics of Our Blessed Lord when He dwelt on earth. He requires His followers to practice this virtue, for He said: “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart” (Matthew, 11:29). Although He was God, yet He lived a humble life, keeping in obscurity the supernatural gifts He enjoyed in full measure, so that we might be modest and reserved about any good qualities we think we possess.

Above all, He practised humility in the bitter hours of His passion, when He allowed Himself to be so gravely insulted, and yet uttered no remonstrance and inflicted no punishment on His persecutors.

Practical Application

Frequently remind yourself that all the success to which you have attained is really due to God’s goodness, and that He could, if He willed, withdraw it from you. Often thank God for the natural and supernatural favours He has bestowed on you. Thus you will cultivate humility.

Thoughts for the 9th Sunday after Pentecost

8/10/2014

Reverence the House of God

“My house is a house of prayer” (Luke, 19:46)

Our Blessed Lord always showed great reverence for the temple of Jerusalem. It was to this majestic edifice that He came at the age of twelve to manifest His reverence for His heavenly Father. Hence, when He found in the temple certain activities repugnant to the respect and the honour due to the house of God He showed justifiable anger in driving out those who were engaged in buying and selling and money-changing. St. John tells us that on this occasion Christ used a whip to put to flight those who were busy with this trafficking (John, 2:15).

If the temple of Jerusalem, where only symbolic sacrifices were offered, mere images of the sacrifice that was to be offered on Calvary, was so worthy of reverence, certainly much more deserving of honour is the Catholic church in which the holy sacrifice of the Mass is daily offered with Christ Himself as the principal Priest and Victim. The Catholic church is not a mere meeting-house where the congregation assembles to listen to a sermon, as is the case with Protestant churches. The Catholic church is the dwelling place of the Son of God, for Christ remains present on the altar night and day under the lowly appearances of bread, that He may give grace and consolation to those who come to kneel before Him.

This is the reason why Catholics manifest such great reverence in their churches. When a Catholic enters the church, his first thought should be that he is coming into the presence of Jesus Christ. His first act of homage should be to the Blessed Sacrament. Before he pays homage to any of the saints, or even to the Blessed Virgin, he should visit the altar on which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved-generally the high altar in our country--and there kneel in adoration. The Church grants an indulgence to those who, on entering a church, proceed immediately to the altar of the Blessed Sacrament and there make even a brief act of adoration (Raccolta, n. 147).

Because of the reverence due to the church, Catholics should not converse unnecessarily, and still less laugh and joke boisterously in church. Such conduct is likely to happen at weddings. Finally, when a Catholic man is passing before the church, he should tip his hat, and a woman should bow as an act of adoration to Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. This act is also indulgenced by the Church (Raccolta, n. 146).

Practical Application
If you were invited to visit a distinguished personage, you would manifest all the required marks of respect. When you enter a Catholic church you are in the presence of the Lord of heaven and earth. Show Him the reverence due to God Himself.

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