The joys and hardships of a missionary

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Today, 22 Feb 2012, is the anniversary of death of Blessed Diego (or Didacus) Carvalho and his companions in Japan. These holy ones met their deaths in icy waters in 1624, and astounded onlookers with their heroism, courage and mutual encouragement. Until you read of holy missionary martyrs like Blessed Diego it is so easy to take access to the Sacraments for granted. 

We are fortunate that the Jesuits kept records, letters and personal accounts of the events surounding Blessed Diego’s holy life and martyrdom. From them Fr Hubert Cieslik SJ wrote up a most inspiring article. To read it, go to http://pweb.sophia.ac.jp/britto/xavier/cieslik/ciejmj09.pdf. Treat these few words as an appetizer for the main course.

Blessed Diego Carvalho was born in 1578 in Coimbra, Portugal. By the age of 16 God had captured his heart so strongly that he entered the Jesuits as a scholastic and volunteered to go to India as a missionary. Following the first part of his Jesuit initiation and studies Diego landed in Goa, India, in 1600 and was soon on his way to Macao to complete his studies and prepare for missionary life in Japan by studying the language and culture. In Macao he was ordained to the priesthood. With the groundwork laid, all Diego needed now was time in Japan to perfect his grasp of the language and to adjust to local conditions. This happened in 1609. Things were already dangerous for missionaries and the first waves of persecution that led to martyrdoms broke out in 1613.

To be a missionary priest in Japan at that time was to be constantly on the move, going from one small outpost of Christianity to another. Often the Christian communities only received a priest once a year. Late in 1614, Diego and other missionaries were deported to Macao and Diego spent a year ministering in southern Vietnam before an opportunity arose to return to Japan, which he jumped at. Since a good number of Christians had fled to northern parts of Japan to escape persecution, Diego as part of a small band of priests was sent to minister to them.

Escaping detection was the order of the day. Priests like Diego went about disguised as merchants or miners. At times they had to hide under the floor or between walls. It is one thing to get yourself past a check-point and quite another to get yourself, your vestments and your mass-kit through a check-point. Relying on God’s power and help proved successful and many stories are told about how miracles happened at check-points. Diego had the privilege of celebrating the first Mass on the island of Hokkaido. Wherever he went he spent days at a time hearing confessions. The locals were in tears of gratitude for the gift of the sacraments and Diego was constantly inspired by the way the locals approached the sacraments with fervour. He baptised those awaiting baptism and offered Mass as often as he could.

For some time the missionary work of the priests in northern Japan continued without incident because they were so far away from the Japanese centres of power. Around 1622 the local authorities started to feel the pressure to enforce the edicts of persecution in their provinces. This intensified in late 1623, causing Diego and the Christians to take of to a remote village of Orose. Spies knew where they were, and Diego and his companions were arrested in the second week of February 1624. They were taken to Mizusawa for trial, and despite torture held firm. From Mizusawa they were taken to Sendai and put in prison. Following the Japanese New Year celebrations the captives were made an example of and forced to stand naked in icy cold river water for several hours. No complaints were heard, only prayers praising God and calling upon His help and the help of His Saints. As they stood there insults were hurled at them and many requests that they forsake faith in Jesus. They held firm.

This was only the beginning. Back to prison they were sent for a day or so. On 22 February they were all marched back to the icy river, and with their clothes removed they were each bound to stakes and stood in the water up to their knees. When their captors tired on this, thet forced them to sit, so that now the icy water reached breast height. Still they praised God and reminded each other of the wonders that God had done in their lives. All the time Diego never stopped encouraging his companions and seeking the grace to persevere for each one. One by one the martyrs succumbed to the icy cold, until around midnight only Diego was left, and he too gave his life for Jesus.

So many hardships Diego endured, and yet at every step there were joys. Joys of seeing souls converted. Joys at seeing the transformative power of the Sacraments at work. Joys at witnessing God’s power to get him to the souls that needed him. We thank God for the witness of such fervent missionary love, and we seek Diego’s intercession for the conversion of the peoples among whom he ministered – particularly those of northern Japan.

Blessed Diego Carvalho and companions, pray for us.

 

God’s instrument for positive reform

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Today, 21 Feb 2012, is the feast day of St Peter Damian, Benedictine monk, Doctor and Cardinal of the Church. In the 11th century, when he lived, the Church was in need of reform. To get reform happening, the good Lord raised up men like St Peter Damian, men of outstanding holiness and intellect who were not afraid to call people -especially clergy -to repentance.

St Peter Damian was born in 1007 in Italy and was orphaned at a young age. His life was bleak until an older brother decided to take care of his education and upbringing. With a hunger for learning, Peter Damian excelled at study and became a professor at Parma at the age of 21. This hunger for learning morphed into a hunger for God, and led to Peter Damian turning away from the wealth that teaching brought and in 1035 entering a Benedictine monastery at Fonte Avellana which sought to live a very austere interpretation of the Rule of St Benedict. With all his energy Peter Damian now sought to grow in holiness, fervour and in knowledge of the Scriptures and theology.

He succeeded. By 1043 the other monks had such regard for him that they constrained him by obedience to accept roles of leadership. It wasn’t long before those outside the monastery recognised Peter Damian’s gifts. Partly this came about through Peter Damian’s letter writing to Popes and others. Against simony (the selling of clerical appointments for money) and against the lack of priestly chastity (in both heterosexual and homosexual forms) and other evils of that time in history Peter Damian preached. As a result a positive change in the moral climate of Europe began. In 1057 Pope Stephen IX revailed upon his to accept the ministry of Cardinal Bishop of Ostia. This was the beginning of many years in Papal service and diplomatic missions. Taking ill at Faenza in 1072 he entered into his eternal reward.

Let’s look now at some short excerpts from his Letters:

From Letter 27. ‘Bread dipped in oil is the understanding of Sacred Scripture, seasoned with the sweetness of the Holy Spirit. May this Spirit, my dear brother, come to you; may He rid you, along with Samson, of the bonds of idleness and torpor, and incite you to engage the enemy eagerly and bravely.’

From Letter 28. ‘Although holy Church is divided into the great number of people involved, She is fused into one by the fire of the Holy Spirit… By the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in each and at the same time fills all, our solitude is at once plural and our community singular.’

In a letter to a nephew he wrote, ‘If I may speak figuratively, drive out the roaring beasts from your domain; do not cease from protecting yourself daily by receiving the Flesh and Blood of the Lord. Let your secret foe see your lips reddened with the Blood of Christ. He will shudder, cower back, and flee to his dark, dank retreat.’

This next part comes from the Office of Readings for his feast day : “It is a great consolation to His chosen ones when God strikes them. For, by means of the passing blows that they endure, they are strengthened to walk firm in hope to take possession of the glory of heavenly happiness. The craftsman beats gold with his hammer to get rid of the dross. He assiduously scrapes away with his file so that the vein of glittering metal may gleam more brightly….. They who suffer here and now on account of their evil deeds rightly rejoice when there is an eternal reward for their good deeds laid up for them. For this reason, my dearest brother, when you feel the lash, when you are chastised by the rod of heavenly discipline, do not let despair crush your spirit. Do not break into grumbling complaints or brood in gloom and sadness. Not must you lose heart and give way to impatience….God’s way of working is admirable. He chastises His own in this world to save them from eternal punishment. He lays low in order to raise up. He cuts in order to heal. He casts down in order to exalt… Wait gladly for the joy that follows sadness.’

How I wish there was more, but very little of his writings have been made available online and not much written about him in books contains quotations.

May the intercession of St Peter Damian assist all of the ordained to live out their vocations in true holiness and free from sin and error.

St Peter Damian, pray for us.

 

A role model for Lent

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Today, 20 Feb 2012, is the memorial day for St Amata of Assisi, one of the early members of the Poor Clares. As we look towards the start of Lent on Wednesday, the life of St Amata gives us ideas about how to live these days of grace and renewal.

Although not a great deal of information about St Amata has survived the centuries between the 13th century and today, yet each scap of information can help us to live this Lenten opportunity with faith and confidence in God’s mercy.

St Amata was the niece of St Clare of Asssi. As most of us know from experience, helping family members come closer to God is much harder than helping anyone else. It was Clare’s intercession for her family and the attractiveness of her life of radical holiness that brought Amata and other women members of her family to join her. In this we can see a pledge from God that if we take Lent seriously, using it to grow in holiness, and offer our Lenten penances for family members, then He will work marvels in their lives.

St Amata was a friend of St Dominic, the founder of the Dominicans. True friends help each other to grow closer to Jesus. Never under estimate the power of a holy friend in your life to help you on your way to God. So this Lent, make some holy friends. Make at least one new friend in heaven by reading a good biography of a Saint and/or praying his/her litany or other prayers seeking his/her intercession. Make at least one new holy friend on earth. As you look around the pews on Sundays there will be someone who stands out as a believer. Get to know him or her. Having someone to talk about spiritual things with is a really big help. They inspire us, they challenge us to be better (without uttering words) and God often speaks to us through ordinary conversation with them.

St Amata had a misspent youth. As such she knows the pain and dedication needed to turn a life around. She knows what it is to be tempted back into old ways. She also knows the great joy of belonging to Jesus and being freed from the sinful patterns in her life. Perhaps our youthful years were not quite as misspent as Amata’s, but we have all done far less good with the lives God has given us than we could have. The grace of God turned her around. The grace of God has the power to turn us around, too, during these 40 holy days of penance. Whenever the going gets tough during Lent, remind yourself of her example and call upon her prayers. Hers was probably an uncomfortable return to the Sacrament of Penance, but it ended in joy. Seek her help to make a really good Lenten confession.

St Amata was miraculously healed through the prayers of St Clare. The good God wants to heal us, too, spiritually and emotionally as well as physically. Even on earth it is hard to get better physically unless you visit some kind of doctor. In the same way it is hard for God to heal us unless we make a commitment to spend more time with Him daily, and to admit to Him all of our worries, cares, problems, weaknesses, addictions, sins and shortcomings. He is waiting to be gracious to you.

Of St Amata we know very little. We know that she persevered in the grace of her conversion, so we know that she can help us persevere in our Lenten practices. Her life reminds us that to be holy we don’t have to be a celebrity. Living out her life in hiddeness before God was pleasing to Him – so pleasing that after seven centuries women religious are still taking her name and being called Sister Amata. For the majority of us, we won’t hit the limelight either, but as long as we take her example and set about pleasing God as our first priority our lives will be luminous in heaven – where it really counts.

St Amata lived out her days as a Poor Clare, in simplicity, silence and great devotion to Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. Those are three keys to a fruiful Lent. To grow in simplicity we can undertake to make only essential purchases this Lent, and to pass on much of the savings to those in need. To grow in that inner silence so needed to sense God in our lives we can forsake the computer games, give the social media websites a miss for a while and cut down drastically on the number of times we check our emails and voicemail messages a day. To grow in love for the presence of Jesus, we need to take the time to taste and see how good it is to linger in His sacramental presence. Even in a busy life it is possible to find an hour a week to spend with Him, if not all at once, in smaller amounts of time spread over a few days.

Thank you, Lord God, for the depths of Your grace and mercy that acted so powerfully in the life of St Amata. May she intercede for each one of us on our Lenten journeys.

St Amata of Assisi, pray for us

Gleanings from Ven. Bede

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Something a little different: Last week I finished reading Venerable Bede’s ‘Lives of the Abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow’. (Anything written by Venerable Bede is worth reading.) So to honour these holy and wise men of God I’ll reflect upon what I have learned from them.

The version I have been reading was published by Penguin Classics under the title , ‘The Age of Bede’, and the translation of this particular work of Bede’s was done by D.H. Farmer.

The first thing that strikes me is the profound veneration of St Peter and St Paul, Princes of the Apostles, that runs through the early faith life of England. Of the twin monasteries, the one at Wearmouth was dedicated to St Peter and the one at Jarrow dedicated to St Paul. Both places are near the far north-east coast line of England.

The second thing that strikes me is their close relationship with Rome and with the Pope. Each abbot seems to have made the long and arduous pilgrimage to Rome at least once, and in St Benedict Biscop’s case several times. With each long pilgrimage to Rome the abbots and their companions brought back with them relics, sacred books- liturgical, theological and others useful in teaching, holy pictures, vestments and sacred vessels. Sometimes they brought back with them builders and craftsmen to build churches in the Roman style. Even more they brought back with them Catholic culture, hymns and chants, knowledge of how liturgy and rites were conducted in Rome, awakening in all the other monks the desire to visit the shrines of the holy apostles in the eternal city.

The final strking thing is the wisdom of these holy abbots in governing and in preparing for death. From the Popes of the time the holy abbots obtained permission to elect successors without outside interference. To preserve unity between the two monasteries, an abbbot was chosen to govern both, and chosen only from within their own membership. In his final years St Benedict Biscop suffered from insomnia and increasing frailty, so it was arranged that a brother monk would read to him from the Book of Job and small groups of monks would chant the psalms at his bedside, so that he could still join in the regular praise of God mentally as his powers of speech deteriorated. What wise men they were ! 

May the holy abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow intercede for us so that we, too, may gladly take our cues from the successors of St Peter in living out a life pleasing to God.

All holy abbots of Wearmouth and Jarrow, pray for us.

A long wait

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Today, 18 Feb 2012, is the anniversary of the death of Blessed John Pibush, an English priest and martyr. As with the majority of priests who were martyred in the very late 16th century, early 17th century, John seems to have spent more time in prison than in active priestly ministry. Because he was beatified in 1929, he is less well known than those beatified and canonised by Pope Paul VI and Blessed Pope John Paul II.

We seem to have been pondering a string of martyrs recently. Looking at their lives and the ordeals they endured really puts into sharp perspective those small plans we have for extra prayer, self-denial and generosity in Lent. If we were faced with similar ordeals, would we be able to stay faithful until the very end?

Sadly we know (online) just about nothing of John’s life prior to the beginning of his seminary training. All we know is that he was born in Thirsk, Yorkshire in 1567, and the names of his parents, Thomas and Jane. To enter seminary at all is an act of great faith and commitment to God. To have to leave your own country to study for the priesthood raises that up a level. Knowing that the mere act of accepting ordination places an execution threat on your head in your home country raises that even further. It took guts and a huge degree of trust in God’s Will to start on this path to ordination, and even more to complete those studies and return home.

John left for France as a teenager, beginning at Douai and transferring to Rheims. After six years of study he was ordained in March 1857 at the age of 20. Within 2 years he was assisting souls back in England. For a little while he was successfully using disguises and aliases. That came to a close when John was arrested in Gloucestershire in 1593. Sent to London for trial he was returned to Gloucester jail before being sentenced. Here he stayed until there was a break out of a number of prisoners – John included – in early 1595. After one day of freedom he was arrested again.

John, now 28, is sent back to London and condemned to death. The sentence, either through administrative bungling, a friend in high places, or God’s holy Will (or a combination of these), is not carried out and John begins a lengthy stay in prison. Prison is not a happy place. For John, it is an exile from all that he holds dear. He is without the sacraments. He is without friends. He is without the means to study. He is badly treated by those in prison with him as well as by the prison guards. He is without freedom of body. He contracts tuberculosis and is so emaciated that he becomes almost unrecognisable. It is as though John’s life was paralleling that of Job, and John was beng tested to see if he would keep faith with God in this destitute situation.

It seems – perhaps – that someone efficient started going through the trial and prison records in 1601 and started asking why John was still breathing. He is now 34 years old. Given a brief chance to tell the authorities that he had been imprisoned by mistake, John chooses instead to freely admit that he is a priest and quite willing to die for being a Catholic priest, but not conscious of having done anything else to warrant the death penalty. The time of privation in prison had not weakened his faith, but strengthened it. With his answer given, John is led out for execution the very next day. Because being a priest was considered an act of high treason, there was no simple hanging or beheading for John. To be hung until almost dead, drawn (disembowled) and then quartered (dismembered) was his fate. After such a long wait, Blessed John Pibush entered into eternity with the glory of a martyr.

May the memory of his holy life inspire us all when difficulties come our way.

Blessed John Pibush, pray for us.

This is his story

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Today, 17 Feb 2012, is the day the Church honours one of the Saints in the banner picture at the top of the blog : St Julian (or Julianus) of Caesarea, catechumen and martyr. He is the one standing second to the right of Our Lady (between St Lawrence and St Anthony of Egypt), the one with a white garment over his left shoulder. This is his story….

But before we get to that. It is rather encouraging when the good Lord reminds us that He arranges everything. For the past week or so I have been wondering more than usual when the feast day of St Julian of Caesarea would come up. It surprised me that the Lord’s direction was to write about Saints Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel yesterday. It doesn’t anymore. As I learned tonight, the story of St Julian comes from exactly the same chapter in St Eusebius’ writings as yesterday. Only one day separated their martyrdoms.  To read the whole account go to www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_martyrs.htm , and look for the passage that begins ‘The confession of Pamphilus, and Vales…’

Eusebius tells us that Julian came from Cappadocia, who was in ‘full vigour of mind and body’. By deduction, Julian was a catechumen ; someone who believed in Jesus but had not yet received baptism. Eusebius after naming some of the martyrs then says, ‘the remainder of the others … were hearers and receivers ( how the ancients referred to catechumens).’ The other thing Eusebius tells us is that Julian almost didn’t receive the grace of martyrdom. He wasn’t arrested with the others of the group, and only because he was in the right place at the right time did he join them.

The Egyptians had been killed the day before. When Julian arrived back from a journey and entered people told him about the death of the martyrs. Most of us if we had heard such news would have fled into hiding – not Julian. He wished to see and to venerate the bodies of these holy martyrs. Already that day the rest of the group of martyrs had given their witness and had passed into a happy eternity. As soon as Julian arrived at the place where the bodies still lay, he went and embraced each one and honoured them with a kiss of peace. The non-Egyptians he must have known very well in the local Christian community, and it is probable that he had received instruction from St Pamphilus the priest and St Vales the deacon. Julian rejoiced at their victorious combat and yet was saddened because he was not one of their number.

Such a display of Christian fervour attracted the attention of the officials, and Julian was duly arrested and taken before the judge. Did Julian kick, scream and squirm? No! He praised God wholeheartedly for having counted him worthy of suffering for the sake of Jesus. Over a slow fire Julian was roasted until death and his eternal reward came. 

Following the account of Julian’s death, Eusebius makes a point of saying that Julian’s actions were entirely consistent with his life. Julian was a ‘quiet and religious man’, someone who took God seriously in his life and who worked steadily and constantly at living in a manner pleasing to Him – full of virtue and the saltiness of the Holy Spirit (Matt 5:13).

The story didn’t end there. Having left the bodies of the martyrs out in the open, the judge-governor and everyone else fully expected that the wild animals would have a feast on the remains. After four days, no animal had touched the bodies at all. Seeing this as a great sign from God, the Christians took the bodies – without permission – and buried them with honour inside the local churches.

May the Lord God be praised for reminding us of the great Christian witness of these martyrs of 310 A.D. and of the story of St Julian in particular.

St Julian of Caesarea, pray for us.

Citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem

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Today, 16 Feb 2012, marks the anniversary of death of five Egyptian martyrs a little over 1700 years ago. There names were Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel and Daniel. From their witness we learn what it means to be citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem.

What we know of these five martyrs of Caesarea comes from ‘The History of the Martyrs in Palestine’ by St Eusebius, translated by William Cureton. A copy can be viewed online at www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_martyrs.htm . Without people like St Eusebius who treasured the memories of those who laid down their lives in witness for Jesus – and wrote them down for us – we would be deeply impoverished. The story of each martyr reminds us that heaven is real and well worth the battle to attain. Within the account of the martyrs Pamphilus, Vales and companions you will find the account of Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and Samuel. 

The ages of these five martyrs has not come down to us, but they were all old enough to make a long and arduous journey. Christians they knew had been sent to do hard labout in the mines of Cilicia. These five who had not been condemned went with them to the mines, and then travelled home. What great Christian love these five had to leave whatever livelihoods they had to accompany these prisoners! The prisoners themselves must have been very important to the Christian community in Egypt.

On their way home they broke their journey at Caesarea. The political situation in Caesaria must have been rather tense for those keeping watch at the gates to pounce on any foreigners and seek their country of origin. Only a tense situation would have those in power on the lookout for potential spies and traitors. When questioned they responded that they were Christians. Admitting membership with Christ got them all arrested. These five had also changed their names when they became Christian, taking on the names of the old testament prophets. What a profound statement about their new life in Christ and their desire to leave everything, even their names, to follow Him! To the authorities, even the name changes were suspicious. All were tortured. Some were tortured with combs; some with fire; at least one had his feet twisted in the stocks; at least one was scourged. All maintained that their city was the Jerusalem that belonged to the Christians only. The judge quite worried that the Christians had set up their own city, and anxious to eradicate it, increased the tortures to find out more about it. They said it was in the east, on the side of the light of the sun. One by one as each of the five gave the same answers they were beheaded.

Their martyrdoms took place on 16 February 310. What valour they showed! They were not ashamed to accompany prisoners. They were inspired by the heroism of those Christians at the mines. They were not ashamed to publicly proclaim that they belonged to Jesus Christ, even though this proclaimation brought with it a high probability of execution. They persevered and endured despite torture and interrogation.

These are the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. To such as these does the kingdom of God belong. May the good Lord, in His mercy, make us worthy to greet them in heaven.

Saints Elias, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Daniel and Samuel; holy martyrs of Caesarea, pray for us. 

 

 

Perfect friend

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Today, 15 Feb 2012, is the happy feast day of St Claude de la Colombiere, Jesuit priest and apostle of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. During one of the many revelations of Jesus to St Margaret Mary Alacoque, He told her, ‘Father Claude is my perfect friend and servant. His gift is to lead souls to God.’ The good Jesus never leads us astray – each and every time I read St Claude’s writings I receive help.

So a little about St Claude first, and then a selection of quotations from his writings… St Claude was born near Lyons, France in 1641. After entering the Jesuits he was sent to teach grammar and humanities at a college in Avignon. Granted the gift of preaching, Claude used it well to combat the prevailing Jansenist views about predestination. Since the Jesuits have a special bond with the Visitation Order co-founded by St Francis de Sales and St Jane Frances de Chantal, Claude was often sent to convents of the Order to preach and to act as chaplain. Thus it came about that a few weeks after he had made a personal consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that he was sent to Paray-le-Monial. God obviously wanted him to meet St Margaret Mary Alacoque and to hear from her, first hand, the burning desires of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His stay at Paray-le-Monial was short. From then on, everywhere he was sent, Claude drew people to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Appointed as chaplain to the Duchess of York, he went to England, spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at every opportunity, seeing in this devotion an antidote and reparation for Protestantism. When news of the Titus Oates plot came to the ears of the king, those obviously Catholic like Claude were accused of being a part of the plot. Into prison he went. Reprieved from execution, but suffering broken health, Claude was exiled back to France. Over the next three years his health declined until he was sent south to Paray le Monial. In that holy place the good Lord arranged for him to enter eternity on 15 February 1682, and to be buried. How many have prayed there at his tomb and have received the grace to become Apostles of the Sacred Heart!

The following is my all time favourite quotation from St Claude, from the ‘On Holy Mass’ chapter of ‘The Spiritual Direction of Saint Claude de la Colombiere’, translated by Mother M. Philip I.B.V.M. :

‘When I hear Mass, when I offer the holy sacrifice as priest or as a member of the Church, I can with full courage and confidence defy heaven to do anything that pleases God more. Then I can ask for pardon and be sure of obtaining it no matter how great or numberless my sins. Whatever I hope for and desire I can pray for confidently. I can ask for great graces of every kind for myself, my friends, and my enemies, and far from being ashamed at asking for so much I shall know it is little in comparison with what I offer. My only fear is that I shall ask too little and not have a firm, unshakeable hope of obtaining not only what I ask but far more. If we only knew the treasure we hold in our hands! Happy a thousand times those who know how to profit by the Mass!’

From the same book, in the chapter ‘On Zeal’ comes this retreat note of his for 1674: ‘What a wonderful thought it is that Jesus Christ, Who was able to convert the whole world by Himself, should have chosen to do it through His disciples. He spent His whole life training them. Jesus took for Himself what was difficult: an ignominious death, and left the renown to His disciples. What love Christ showed in allowing others to help Him in work He could have done alone.’

This next excerpt comes from section 3 of St Claude’s ‘Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence’ translated by Prof. Paul Garvin. It is of great consolation to those who have been praying a long time for the conversion of a loved one.

‘If you want all your prayers to be answered without fail and oblige God to meet all your wishes,the first thing is never to stop praying. Those who get tired after praying for a time are lacking either humility or confidence, and so do not deserve to be heard. You would think that they expected their requests to be obeyed at once as if they were orders. Surely we know that God resists the proud and shows favour to the humble. Won’t our pride allow us to ask more than once for the same thing? It shows very little trust in God’s goodness to give up so soon and take delay for an absolute refusal. Once we have really understood just how far God’s goodness extends we can never believe that we have been refused or that He wishes to deprive us of hope. Rather, the more He makes us keep on asking for something we want, the more confident we should feel that we shall eventually obtain it. We can begin to doubt that our prayer has been heard only when we notice we have stopped praying. If after a year we find that our prayer is as fervent as it was at the beginning, then we need not doubt about the success of our efforts, and instead of losing courage after so long a delay, we should rejoice because we can be certain that our desires will be all the more fully satisfied for the length of time we have prayed. If our first attempts had been quite useless we would not have repeated them so often and we would have lost hope; but as we have kept on in spite of this, there is good reason to believe we shall be liberally rewarded. In fact it took St. Monica sixteen years to obtain the conversion of Augustine, but the conversion was entire and far beyond what she had prayed for.’

The last excerpt comes from Section 2 of the same publication, and is of great help to anyone going through a difficult trial.

‘When I see a Christian grief-stricken at the trials God sends him I say to myself : Here is a man who is grieved at his own happiness. He is asking God to be delivered from something he ought to be thanking Him for. I am quite sure that nothing more advantageous could happen to him than what causes him so much grief. I have a hundred unanswerable reasons for saying so. But if I could read into the future and see the happy outcome of his present misfortune, how greatly strengthened I would be in my judgment! If we could discover the designs of Providence it is certain we would ardently long for the evils we are now so unwilling to suffer. We would rush forward to accept them with the utmost gratitude if we had a little faith and realised how much God loves us and has our interests at heart. What profit can come to me from this illness which ties me down and obliges me to give up all the good I was doing, you may ask. What advantage can I expect from this ruin of my life which leaves me desperate and hopeless? It is true that sudden great misfortune at the moment it comes may appear to overwhelm you and not allow you the opportunity there and then of profiting by it. But wait a while and you will see that by it God is preparing you to receive the greatest marks of His favour. But for this accident you would not perhaps become less good than you are, but you would not have become holy. Isn’t it true that since you have been trying to lead a good Christian life there has been something you have been unwilling to surrender to God? Some worldly ambition, some pride in your attainments, some indulgence of the body, some blameworthy habit, some company that is the occasion of sin for you? It was only this final step that prevented you from attaining the perfect freedom of the love of God. It wasn’t really very much, but you could not bring yourself to make this last sacrifice. It wasn’t very much, but there is nothing harder for a Christian than to break the last tie that binds him to the world or to his own self. He knows he ought to do it, and until he does it there is something wrong with his life. But the very thought of the remedy terrifies him, for the malady has taken such a hold on him that it cannot be cured without the help of a serious and painful operation. So it was necessary to take you unawares, to cut deep into the flesh with skilful hand when you were least expecting it and remove the ulcer concealed within, or otherwise you would never be well. The misfortune which has befallen you will soon do what all your exercises of piety would never have been able to do.’

I am so very sure that anyone who reads St Claude’s words profits from them. So every time you happen to come across something written by him, make sure you obtain a copy for yourself and refer to it regularly.

St Claude de la Colombiere, perfect friend of God, pray for us.

Spiritual patriarch

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Today, 14 Feb 2012, is the feast day of St Maro (Maron, Maroun) according to Butler’s Lives of the Saints. St Maro was a holy hermit of the late fourth and early fifth centuries in whom the Maronite Church, an Easter Catholic Church in full communion with Rome, takes it’s name and heritage. Living his whole life radically for God, he became – through the work of his disciples – the spiritual father of a whole branch of Catholic Christianity.

Sydney is the headquarters of the Maronite diocese in Australia. I have had the happy opportunity of being deeply impressed by the faith of the local Maronite communities on at least two occasions. Graciously the Cathedral at Redfern opened its doors to a walking pilgrimage from St Mary’s Cathedral Sydney to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Waterloo some years ago. It was a time to rest, to pray, and to be refreshed with time before the Blessed Sacrament before continuing the journey. Later the Maronite parish of Parramatta/Harris Park hosted the relics of St Charbel, St Rafqa and St Nemetallah some years ago. The liturgy, faith and devotion of the Maronite commmunity was truly inspiring.

So let’s learn a little about St Maro. Nothing is known about his life before he became a hermit near the city of Cyrrhus in northern Syria. Living towards the end of the time of the Desert Fathers, there was an extensive tradition of eremitical life for Maro to draw upon. Choosing to live almost exclusively in the open mountain air, Maro rarely slept in his goat-skin covered hut. Here he grew in prayer and in self-discipline, attuning his whole being to God’s infinite love.

As soon as someone takes the lead in giving their all to God, others are inspired to follow them. Accordingly people from all over came to learn how to take God seriously in their lives. He preached with brevity, and lived out what he preached. Union with God was paramount for him, and the less time spent away from God in prayer the better. Often at night he would pray standing for several hours. Many of those who came remained as his disciples. St Paul’s advice ’Take me for your model, as I take Christ’ ( 1 Cor 11:1) was what drew the disciples to Maro. They could see that Maro was following Jesus closely, and making the path to holiness observable and achieveable.

When Maro preached, people were converted to Jesus. When he prayed, people were healed of their infirmities of body and soul. When he gave spiritual advice, it worked.   

In time, Maro found the ruins of a pagan temple and tranformed it into a place for intense prayer. Maro and St John Crysostom corresponded with each other and admired each other. Some place the year of his natural death at 410, others at 423 or 433.

Throughout the long centuries since Maro’s death, the Maronites preserved the liturgy in Aramaic, the language that Jesus used on earth. They also remained loyal to the successor of St Peter. The monastic quality of their spiritual heritage enabled them to preserve the treasures of their ancient liturgy through thick and thin, especially during periods of persecution.

St Maro, pray for all those of the Maronite rite that they may serve God wholeheartedly.

St Maro, pray for us.

On this day (Valentine’s day) when we are reminded to give thanks to God for the gift of love that leads to the total donation of self in marriage, and to show our appreciation for those who have loved us in this way – let us not forget to tell Jesus, on fire with infinite love for each one of us, that we love Him…. 

Jesus, I love You, because You first loved me.

Jesus, I love You, because You chose to become incarnate for me.

Jesus, I love You, because You showed such mercy for my sins.

Jesus, I love You, because You suffered that I might be pardoned.

Jesus, I love You, because You always tell me the full truth.

Jesus, I love You, because You have revealed the Father to me.

Jesus, I love You, because You fill me with Your Spirit.

Jesus, I love You, because You feed me with Your Body and Blood.

Jesus, I love You, because You remain in the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesus, I love You, help me love You better, so as to console Your Sacred Heart.

 

 

Magnet of the Holy Spirit

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Today, 13 Feb 2012, is the 775th aniversary of the death of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the man appointed to lead the Dominican Order after the death of St Dominic. The good Lord used each and every one of Blessed Jordan’s natural gifts and spiritual gifts to bring good to souls. So powerfully did he attract men, especially intellectually gifted men, to the Dominican Order that he is still invoked as an intercesor for new vocations.

Not much is known with certainty about the life of Jordan before he was a student at the University of Paris. To have been studying there implies that his family had wealth and importance. In 1219 St Dominic came to the University and fired within Jordan a desire to become a member of this relatively new Order. Jordan continued along the road to priesthood and then entered the Dominicans on Ash Wednesday 1220. Extremely quickly his learning and depth of conversion marked him out as a remarkable leader. By 1221 he was elected the the prior provincial for Lombardy, and upon the death of St Dominic in 1222 Jordan was appointed master general of the Order. In this capacity he served wisely and well for nigh on 15 years, overseeing an explosion of new vocations to the Order in that time.

We are indebted to Jordan for putting together a Life of St Dominic and a Handbook on the Origins of the Order of Preachers. As anyone who has tried to put together a parish history for publication knows, such work takes a lot of time, dedication and trouble, and rarely receives praise at the time. People only tend to point out perceived errors. Nonetheless these works helped all future generations of Dominicans catch the fire and vision of the early members of the Order.

At that time Bologna was the place to be if you wanted to become a civil or a canon lawyer. So it was to Bologna that Jordan went, there to found a Dominican house and to attract new vocations. With faith Jordan had many new habits made in advance, and still seemed to always have too few for the numbers of men who wished to take on the yoke of wearing them. Between here and Paris and other places of learning on the way, Jordan preached and drew men to follow Jesus along the path that St Dominic had traced. Since such victories of grace stir up the ire of the evil one, Jordan sought to aid his brothers in the spiritual battle by beginning the practice of singing the Hail Holy Queen (Salve Regina) at the conclusion of night prayer. 

St Dominc had wanted to begin a convent for women at Bologna, but it just hadn’t happened. In Bologna there was a young woman who had experienced conversion through the preaching of the Dominicans and who wanted to give her whole life to God. Her name was Diana. In Diana, Jordan found the right person to found a Dominican convent for women. Together they worked fruitfully for the extension of the kingdom of God, and  exchanged many letters on spiritual matters.

Jordan’s work continued, building friaries, establishing new foundations, preaching Lenten sermons, converting souls, inspiring and encouraging his Dominican brothers and sisters. Contending at times with bouts of malaria, and with blindness in one eye, he soldiered on. His travels and preaching took him as far away as Italy, Germany, France and England.

When Pope Gregory IX announced a Crusade for the Holy Land, Jordan worked to set up a missionary province there, and in other far-flung parts of Europe. It was on his way to the Holy Land in 1237 that his ship was caught in a storm, and he died near Acre. Sadly his relics did not survive the sacking of Acre by the Turks.

These few words don’t do Blessed Jordan justice. To get a true idea about what a powerful instrument of the Holy Spirit he was, read about him at www.domcentral.org/trad/brethren/breth04.htm#0419 ‘The Legend of Blessed Jordan of Saxony’. Many signs and wonders occurred after his death. If Jordan had died in Central Europe and his remains were able to be venerated, I’m sure that he would have been canonized centuries ago. That he is still actively interceding for all those who ask his prayers is without question. May the good Lord move and inspire those who can bring his cause for canonisation to a happy conclusion to work diligently for this outcome.

Blessed Jordan of Saxony, pray for us.