Navarre Bible Commentary:Friday, 26th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 10:13–16

13 “Woe to you, Chorazin! woe to you, Beth-saida! for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Caperna-um, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Catholic Exegesis:

The Second Vatican Council teaches  that if we are to derive the true meaning from the sacred texts,  attention must be devoted “not only to their content but to the unity of the whole of Scripture, the living tradition of the entire Church, and the analogy of faith. […] Everything to do with the interpretation of Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church, which exercises the divinely conferred communion and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God” (Dei Verbum, 12).

St. John Paul II, when he promulgated the Catechism of the Catholic Church,  explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum).

Cited in the Catechism:

Passages from this Gospel reading are  cited in the Catechism, paragraphs 87 and 858.

Commentary:

Jesus reproaches cities for their unbelief

10:16. On the evening of the day of his resurrection, our Lord entrusts his apostles with the mission he received from the Father, endowing them with powers similar to his own (Jn 20:21). Some days later he will confer on Peter the primacy he had already promised him (Jn 21:15–17). The Pope is the successor of Peter, and the bishops the successors of the apostles (cf. Lumen gentium, 20). Therefore, “Bishops who teach in communion with the Roman Pontiff are to be revered by all as witnesses of divine and Catholic truth […]. This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given, in a special way, to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra” (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 25).

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome  

Navarre Bible Commentary:Tuesday, 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

25th Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 8:19-21

The True Kinsmen of Jesus

[19] Then His (Jesus') mother and His brethren came to Him, but they could not reach Him for the crowd. [20] And He was told, "Your mother and your brethren are standing outside, desiring to see You." [21] But He said to them, "My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and do it."

Cited in the Catechism:  In declaring the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Blessed John Paul II explained that the Catechism "is a statement of the Church's faith and of catholic doctrine, attested to or illumined by Sacred Scripture, the Apostolic Tradition and the Church's Magisterium."  He went on to "declare it to be a sure norm for teaching the faith and thus a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion" (Fidei Depositum). Passages from Matthew 12:48-50, which parallel this Gospel reading are cited and explained in the Catechism in paragraphs 764 and 2233. Additionally, passages from Mark 3:31- 35, which also parallel this Gospel reading are cited and explained in the Catechism in paragraph 500.

Commentary:

19-21. These words of our Lord show us that fulfillment of the Will of God is more important than kinship and that, therefore, our Lady is more united to her Son by virtue of her perfect fulfillment of what God asked of her, than by the Holy Spirit's using her to make Christ's body (cf. notes on Matthew 12:48-50 and Mark 3:31- 35).

[Notes on Matthew 12:48-50 states:

48-50. Jesus obviously loved His Mother and St. Joseph. He uses this episode to teach us that in His Kingdom human ties do not take precedence. In Luke 8:19 the same teaching is to be found. Jesus regards the person who does the will of His Heavenly Father as a member of His own family. Therefore, even though it means going against natural family feelings, a person should do just that when needs be in order to perform the mission the Father has entrusted to him (cf. Luke 2:49).

We can say that Jesus loved Mary more because of the bonds between them created by grace than because He was her son by natural generation: Mary's divine motherhood is the source of all our Lady's other prerogatives; but this very motherhood is, in its turn, the first and greatest of the graces with which Mary was endowed.]

[Notes on Mark 3:31-35 states:

31-35. In Aramaic, the language used by the Jews, the word "brethren" is a broad term indicating kinship: nephews, first cousins, and relatives in general are called 'brethren' (for further explanation cf. note on Mark 6:1-3). "Jesus did not say this to disown His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor not only account of having given birth to Jesus, but also because she has all the virtues" (Theoplylact, Enarratio In Evangelium Marci, in loc.).

Therefore, the Church reminds us that the Blessed Virgin "in the course of her Son's preaching received the words whereby, in extolling a kingdom beyond the concerns and ties of flesh and blood, He declared blessed those who heard and kept the word of God as she was faithfully doing" (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 58).

Our Lord, then, is also telling us that if we follow Him we will share His life more intimately than if were a member of His family. St. Thomas explains this by saying that Christ "had an eternal generation and a generation in time, and gave preference to the former. Those who do the will of the Father reach Him by heavenly generation [...]. Everyone who does the will of the Father, that is to say, who obeys Him, is a brother or sister of Christ, because he is like Him who fulfilled the will of His Father. But he who not only obeys but converts others, be- gets Christ in them, and thus becomes like the Mother of Christ" (Commentary on St. Matthew, 12, 49-50.)]

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." St Jerome

Navarre Bible Commentary:Wednesday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

The Beatitudes Sermon by James Tissot

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
23rd Week in Ordinary Time

Luke 6:20-26

The Beatitudes and the Curses
[20] And He (Jesus) lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said: "Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God. [21] Blessed are you that hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you that weep now, for you shall laugh. [22] Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you and revile you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! [23] Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in Heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets. [24] But woe to you that are rich, for you have received your consolation. [25] Woe to you that are full now, for you shall hunger. Woe to you that laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. [26] Woe to you, when all men speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets."

Cited in Catechism: This Gospel passage is cited and explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church in paragraphs 2444 and  2546-2547.

Commentary:
20-49. These thirty verses of St. Luke correspond to some extent to the Sermon on the Mount, an extensive account of which St. Matthew gives us in Chapters 5 to 7 in his Gospel. It is very likely that in the course of His public ministry in different regions and towns of Israel Jesus preached the same things, using different words on different occasions. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit each evangelist would have chosen to report those things which he considered most useful for the instruction of his immediate readers--Christians of Jewish origin in the case of Matthew, Gentile converts in the case of Luke. There is no reason why one evangelist should not have selected certain items and other different ones, depending on his readership, or why one should not have laid special stress on some subjects and shortened or omitted accounts of others.

In this present discourse, we might distinguish three parts--the Beatitudes and the curses (6:20-26); love of one's enemies (6:27-38); and teaching on upright- ness of heart (6:39-49).

Some Christians may find it difficult to grasp the need of practising the moral teaching of the Gospel so radically, in particular Christ's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is very demanding in what He says, but He is saying it to everyone, and not just to His Apostles or to those disciples who followed Him closely. We are told expressly that "when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at His teaching" (Matthew 7:28). It is quite clear that the Master calls everyone to holiness, making no distinction of state-in-life, race or personal circumstances. This teaching on the universal call to holiness was a central point of the teaching of St. Escriva. The Second Vatican Council expressed the same teaching with the full weight of its authority: everyone is called to Christian holiness; consider, for example, just one reference it makes, in Lumen Gentium, 11: "Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the faithful, whatever their condition or state -- though each in his or her own way--are called by the Lord to that perfection of sanctity by which the Father Himself is perfect."

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not proposing an unattainable ideal, useful though that might be to make us feel humble in the light of our inability to reach it. No. Christian teaching in this regard is quite clear: what Christ commands, He commands in order to have us do what He says. Along with His commandment comes grace to enable us to fulfill it. Therefore, every Christian is capable of practising the moral teaching of Christ and of attaining the full height of his calling --holiness--not by his own efforts alone but by means of the grace which Christ has won for us, and with the abiding help of the means of sanctification which He left to His Church. "If anyone plead human weakness to excuse Himself for not loving God, it should be explained that He who demands our love pours into our hearts by the Holy Spirit the fervor of His love, and this good Spirit our Heavenly Father gives to those that ask Him. With reason, therefore, did St. Augustine pray: 'Give Me what Thou command, and command what You please.' As, then, God is ever ready to help us, especially since the death of Christ our Lord, by which the prince of this world was cast out, there is no reason why anyone should be disheartened by the difficulty of the undertaking. To him who loves, nothing is difficult" (St. Pius V Catechism, III, 1, 7).

20-26. The eight Beatitudes which St. Matthew gives (5:3-12) are summed up in four by St. Luke, but with four opposite curses. We can say, with St. Ambrose, that Matthew's eight are included in Luke's four (cf. Expositio Evangelii Sec. Lucam, in loc.). In St. Luke they are in some cases stated in a more incisive, more direct form than in the First Gospel, where they are given with more explanation: for example, the first beatitude says simply "Blessed are you poor", whereas in Matthew we read, "Blessed are the poor in spirit", which contains a brief explanation of the virtue of poverty.

20. "The ordinary Christian has to reconcile two aspects of this life that can at first seem contradictory. There is on the one hand "true poverty", which is obvious and tangible and made up of definite things. This poverty should be an expression of faith in God and a sign that the heart is not satisfied with created things and aspires to the Creator; that it wants to be filled with love of God so as to be able to give this same love to everyone. On the other hand, an ordinary Christian is and wants to be "one more among his fellow men", sharing their way of life, their joys and happiness; working with them, loving the world and all the good things that exist in it; using all created things to solve the problems of human life and to establish a spiritual and material environment which will foster personal and social development [...].

"To my way of thinking the best examples of poverty are those mothers and fathers of large and poor families who spend their lives for their children and who with their effort and constancy--often without complaining of their needs--bring up their family, creating a cheerful home in which everyone learns to love, to serve and to work" (St. J. Escriva, Conversations, 110f).

24-26. Our Lord here condemns four things: avarice and attachment to the things of the world; excessive care of the body, gluttony; empty-headed joy and general self-indulgence; flattery, and disordered desire for human glory--four very common vices which a Christian needs to be on guard against.

24. In the same kind of way as in verse 20, which refers to the poor in the sense of those who love poverty, seeking to please God better, so in this verse the "rich" are to be understood as those who strive to accumulate possessions heedless of whether or not they are doing so lawfully, and who seek their happiness in those possessions, as if they were their ultimate goal. But people who inherit wealth or acquire it through honest work can be really poor provided they are detached from these things and are led by that detachment to use them to help others, as God inspires them. We can find in Sacred Scriptures a number of people to whom the beatitude of the poor can be applied although they possessed considerable wealth--Abraham, Isaac, Moses, David, Job, for example.

As early as St. Augustine's time there were people who failed to understand poverty and riches properly: they reasoned as follows: The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to the poor, the Lazaruses of this world, the hungry; all the rich are bad, like this rich man here. This sort of thinking led St. Augustine to explain the deep meaning of wealth and poverty according to the spirit of the Gospel: "Listen, poor man, to my comments on your words. When you refer to yourself as Lazarus, that holy man covered with wounds, I am afraid your pride makes you describe yourself incorrectly. Do not despise rich men who are merciful, who are humble: or, to put it briefly, do not despise poor rich men. Oh, poor man, be poor yourself; poor, that is, humble [...].

Listen to me, then. Be truly poor, be devout, be humble; if you glory in your rag- ged and ulcerous poverty, if you glory in likening yourself to that beggar lying outside the rich man's house, then you are only noticing his poverty, and nothing else. What should I notice you ask? Read the Scriptures and you will understand what I mean. Lazarus was poor, but he to whose bosom he was brought was rich. 'It came to pass, it is written, that the poor man died and he was brought by the angels to Abraham's bosom.' To where? To Abraham's bosom, or let us say, to that mysterious place where Abraham was resting. Read [...] and remember that Abraham was a very wealthy man when he was on earth: he had abundance of money, a large family, flocks, land; yet that rich man was poor, because he was humble. 'Abraham believed God and he was reckoned righteous.' [...] He was faithful, he did good, received the commandment to offer his son in sacrifice, and he did not refuse to offer what he had received to Him from whom he had received it. He was approved in God's sight and set before us as an example of faith" (Sermon, 14).

To sum up: poverty does not consist in something purely external, in having or not having material goods, but in something that goes far deeper, affecting a person's heart and soul; it consists in having a humble attitude to God, in being devout, in having total faith. If a Christian has these virtues and also has an abundance of material possessions, he should be detached from his wealth and act charitably towards others and thus be pleasing to God. On the other hand, if someone is not well-off he is not justified in God's sight on that account, if he fails to strive to acquire those virtues in which true poverty consists.

Source: The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries. Biblical text from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St Jerome

St. Lawrence:Deacon, Martyr and Patron Saint of Comedians

Source: Catholic Memes

Martyr for the Faith

Little is known about St. Lawrence, but most accounts indicate he was martyred in 258AD and celebration of his feast day spread rapidly. St. Lawrence "has been one of the most honoured martyrs of the Roman Church" since the 4th Century (Catholic Encyclopedia).

Burned Alive on a Grill
Lawrence was a Roman deacon who served under Pope Sixtus II. According to New Advent's Catholic Encyclopedia, Sixtus and later Lawrence were victims of the persecution of Valerian. St. Ambrose of Milan wrote an account of St. Lawrence's martyrdom and described him being burned on a gridiron.

Patron of Comedians
St. Lawrence is that he is considered the patron of comedians. The reason is that according to St. Ambrose's account, Lawrence was executed by being placed on a gridiron over coals of fire. While he was literally being cooked alive, he called to his persecutors, "I'm done on that side. Flip me over." This account is confirmed in several early painting depicting his martyrdom. One other funny note - St. Lawrence is also the patron of grilling and Bar-B-Q'ing.

Proof of Love
St. Lawrence teaches us a valuable lesson that in times of adversity we too should trust so much in God's love for us that we can face anything with cheerfulness. Pope Gregory the Great wrote that fire that burned within Lawrence's heart was great than that from the outside burning his flesh. The Second Vatican Council in discussing the universal call to holiness, highlighted martyrdom as the "fullest proof of love." In Lumen Gentium the Council exhorted:

The Church, then, considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love. By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world—as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood. Though few are presented such an opportunity, nevertheless all must be prepared to confess Christ before men. They must be prepared to make this profession of faith even in the midst of persecutions, which will never be lacking to the Church, in following the way of the cross (LG, 42).

 Video - Apostleship of Prayer

Answer the Call to Holiness

Universal Call to Holiness at National Shrine

The Laity
The laity makes up the largest group of the Church and its members are defined as those not ordained (CCC, 897; LG, 31). Many lay Catholics today have heard of “the universal call to holiness,” yet few know what this phrase means, let alone how to rightly pursue it in their daily lives. This is evident in the current mindset that says, “I love Jesus, but I just can’t buy into the teachings of the Church.” Mindful of this crisis of faith, Pope Benedict XVI instituted a Year of Faith, in which we have been instructed, among other things, to spend time reading the documents of Vatican II (Porta fidei, 5). In so doing we can discover what this call to holiness demands and what role the Church serves in helping us become sanctified, for indeed we are all “called to be saints” (Rom 1:7).

Pray, Pay and Obey

Ask a regular Joe fifty years ago what the role the laity served in the Catholic Church and you were likely to get an answer similar to this: "To pray, to pay and to obey." The fact is that many still fill that way, but Vatican II emphasized that we are ALL called to holiness – ordained and laity alike (LG, 40).

Holiness Defined
Holiness means to belong to God, to be in union with Him for holiness is an attribute of God. To be perfect, as God the Father is (Matt 5:48), requires that one be in unity with God. This is precisely what John the Baptist was articulating when he said “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). This means enjoining one’s will with the will of God. Thus the ultimate expression of one’s gift of free will is freely returning it to the Father. Then and only then can we say that it is not us who lives, but Christ Jesus who lives (Gal. 2:20). Put another way, holiness is the process of ongoing conversion towards this union with the Father, this relationship with the Holy Spirit, this friendship with Christ.

God Calls Us
God initiates this call to holiness, which is essentially a call to a relationship with him. Since God calls us, it must be possible to answer. In his love for us, God provides man with the tools for sanctification. Primary among these are the sacraments which all draw us closer to him by availing us to his grace. He also gives us the liturgy so that me might learn how to pray, the essential tool to develop our relationship with the Lord. He provides the faithful with role models to follow in the lives of the saints. Their lives provide evidence that answering the call to holiness is possible for all.

JP2 on Holiness...In His Own Words

Receiving the Eucharist in an Unworthy Manner

Image from LifeTeen

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. (1 Cor 11:27-29, RSV-CE)

Overview
St. Paul instructs the Church in Corinth to discern the body of Christ with respect when they received the body and blood of Our Lord in the Eucharist (1 Cor. 11:29). This passage can rightly be interpreted to mean that we need to be mindful of being properly disposed to receive the Eucharist, but it contains additional meanings. [Note: All of these scenarios, assume the person is a Catholic who has received the sacraments.]

Spiritual Disposition
Prior to receiving the Eucharist, one should be properly disposed. This happens in a couples of ways. First, we should approach the Eucharist in a prayerful and reflective manner. Additionally, we should examine our consciences to insure that we are in a state of grace – that we are free from mortal sin. If we are in a state of mortal sin, we should not receive Communion and immediately seek the sacrament of Reconciliation.  See Can. 916 and Can. 988 for a more extensive discussion of the elements.

The Eucharistic Fast
We are now required to abstain from food and drink one hour before the reception of Communion (Can. 919).  Note that the requirement is one hour before COMMUNION, not the start of Mass. We shouldn't make a habit of this minimalistic approach, but it is good to know if you are in a pinch. The fast does not include water or medication. Chewing gum prior to mass is NOT a violation of the fast (EWTN), but chewing gum during Mass is disrespectful. If you wouldn't (and you can't) chew gum in a court room, why would you do it in the Lord's house?

Discerning the Body of Christ
St. Paul is also teaching us (in 1 Cor. 11:29) to discern Christ in all those who make up his body and to treat them with the dignity they should be accorded. In other words, respect for Christ in the Eucharist has to be coupled with a respect for all mankind. The commentary from The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament supports this claim: 

Probably a word play on the term "body", which refers to the Eucharistic Body of Christ and to the ecclesial Body of Christ made up of believers united to him (10:16-17; 12:12). Recognizing Jesus in the Sacrament is thus coupled with recognizing him in our spiritual brothers and sisters (Mt 25:34-40). (The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament, 302). 

This lesson is supported by the teaching of the Second Vatican Council that asserted “by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man” (Gaudim et spes, 22). Christ further teaches us that we are to follow in His footsteps of humility. We too are called to live lives of humility. Christ not only humbled Himself to become human and dying on the cross, but he also humbled Himself by taking on the form of bread. We must open ourselves to union with Christ in the Eucharist, allowing Him to transform us. “Sharing in the body and blood of Christ has no other effect than to accomplish our transformation into that which we receive” (Lumen Gentium, 26). As my mother used to say, “you are what you eat.” 

Eucharistic Prayer
I recall reading the following prayer. It sums up how we should be disposed to receiving our Lord in the Eucharist.

Lord, May I receive you like this is the first time, the last time and the only time I will receive you.

Year of Faith - Midway Checkpoint

Half-Way Point
We've long passed the half way point of the Year of Faith. What have you done either personally or through your parish to learn more about your Catholic faith?

If the answer is nothing or very little, there is still time to set out to consciously learn more about our rich Catholic faith. Here are some suggestions.

The Catechism
It is not too late for you to register to get the daily emails to read the Catechism in a year. Granted, you aren't going to be able to accomplish the complete reading without going back and reading archived posts, but you could start today. You can register to receive the daily emails at Flocknote. If reading the Catechism through the emails isn't to your liking, you could pick one of the main sections of the Catechism and read it. I would recommend reading Part One, The Profession of Faith.

Documents of Vatican II
You still have time to read some of the documents of Vatican II. I recommend the following:

• Lumen Gentium - Dogmatic Constitution on the Church
• Dei Verbum - Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation
• Apostolicam Actuositatem - Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
• Gaudium et Spes - Pastoral Consitution on the Church in the Modern World
• Sacrosanctum Concilium - Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Despite what you may have heard or assumed, these are wonderful documents. One theologian described them as the "Christmas gift that has gone unopened." If you need a little help understanding them, you can listen to Father John Trigilio's EWTN show, Council of Faith: the Documents of Vatican II. 

Holy Trinity: Central Mystery of Faith

Holy Trinity, Hendrick van Balen

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity. It seems fitting that this celebration should follow immediately after the Church's celebration of Pentecost.

Central Mystery
Belief in the Holy Trinity is the central mystery of our Catholic faith (CCC, 261). This is reflected in the sacramental form of Baptism: "In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit" (CCC, 232) One should note that the formula uses the singular of "name" to accentuate the belief that the Trinity is one God (CCC, 233). This is revealed as early as the creation story in Genesis (1:26): Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” [Emphasis added.]

The Baptism of Jesus

The Blessed Trinity is most explicitly revealed in scripture during the Baptism of Jesus:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:13-17).

St. Augustine & the Trinity
There is a pious legend that holds that St. Augustine was walking on the beach near Hippo, where he was bishop, contemplating the mystery of the Trinity. As he walked, he saw a boy in front of him who had dug a hole in the sand and was going out to the sea again and again and bringing some water in a bucket to pour into the hole. St. Augustine asked him, “What are you doing?” “I’m going to pour the entire ocean into this hole.” St. Augustine replied, “That is impossible, the whole ocean will not fit in the hole you have made.” The boy answered back, “And you cannot fit the Trinity in your tiny little brain.” Reflecting on this story, Archbishop Chaput concluded the following:

Augustine didn't stop thinking about the Trinity. In fact, he gave the Church her single most important Christian reflection on the Trinity, called De Trinitate, which is as profound and powerful today as it was 1,600 years ago.  But Augustine did learn to be humble. He learned that no matter how hard he thought about mysteries like the Trinity, he would never fully understand them. The same is true for us. We'll always need faith to guide us in our lives. In all our searching for God, we need to remember what Pope John Paul the Great taught us: Our minds need to fly on two wings — faith and reason. We need both. They're meant to go together.  

Creedal Claim
If we reflect closely as we pray the Nicene Creed during Mass or the Apostle's Creed when we pray the Rosary, we will more fully discover their Trinitarian character. When he proclaimed this a Year of Faith, Pope Benedict recommended we PRAY the Creed daily.

Marian Dimension
Our Blessed Mother Mary has the distinction of having a unique relationship with the Holy Trinity. She is the the Mother of God, the Son. She is the favored daughter of the Father who is full of His grace (Luke 1:28). Finally, she is the "temple of the Holy Spirit" (Lumen Gentium, 53).

Signs and Prayers
When we make the Sign of the Cross we are invoking the Holy Trinity. When we pray the Glory Be we are professing our faith and praising the Holy Trinity.

800+ Canonized Today

Largest Canonization
Pope Francis in one weekend has canonized more saints than any other Pope in history and the single most in one day. By the time this is posted, Pope Francis will have canonized the 813 Martyrs of Otranto. I just learned about this group yesterday morning during one of my IPT classes.

800 > 300
The events surrounding the martyrdom of Antonio Primaldo and the other 800+ men is fascinating and relevant to events of today. On August 14, 1480, the northern Italian town of Otranto was besieged by a massive invading army of Ottoman Turks. Their leader, offered the men of Otranto the choice of converting to Islam or death. If you are having trouble visualizing this, think of the soldiers in 300 only these were just regular guys from the town, not soldiers. Primaldo, who is the only member of the martyrs whose name is known, is recorded as saying in :

My brothers, until today we have fought in defense of our country, to save our lives, and for our lords; now it is time that we fight to save our souls for our Lord, so that having died on the cross for us, it is good that we should die for him, standing firm and constant in the faith, and with this earthly death we shall win eternal life and the glory of martyrs. (Obtained from Catholic Answers)

Last Man Standing
Primaldo was the first to be beheaded, but his body would not fall. This is portrayed in the painting above. One after another, each of the men of Otranto was told to convert to Islam and each declined All suffered the same fate as Primaldo of being beheaded, yet only his headless body remained standing despite the Turks' efforts to knock him over. Finally, when the last man from the city was slain, Primaldo's body fell to ground with his fellow martyrs. Some of the Muslim soldiers were so moved by the faith of the men that they converted to Catholicism.

Proof of Love
The Second Vatican Council in discussing the universal call to holiness, highlighted martyrdom as the "fullest proof of love." In Lumen Gentium they exhorted:

The Church, then, considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the fullest proof of love. By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his Master by freely accepting death for the salvation of the world—as well as his conformity to Christ in the shedding of his blood. Though few are presented such an opportunity, nevertheless all must be prepared to confess Christ before men. They must be prepared to make this profession of faith even in the midst of persecutions, which will never be lacking to the Church, in following the way of the cross (LG, 42).

Relics of the Martyrs
The remains of the men were collected and placed in various churches in the area. Many are encased in the walls of the Cathedral of Otranto.

Otranto Cathedral with Relics of the Martyrs

Video From the Canonizations

What is the Role of the Laity?

The role of the laity, outlined primarily in Apostolicam Actuositatem, may seem ordinary to Catholics today, but it was a radical concept when introduced by the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Christ commissioned the Church to spread the Gospel to all the nations (Matt 28:19-20) and the Council defined the role of the laity within the context of this apostolic mission. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (863) directly explains that “all members of the Church share in this mission.” Hence the Council defined “all activity of the Mystical Body directed to the attainment of this goal” of evangelization and sanctification as the apostolate (AA, 2).

Sacrosanctum Concilium

According to Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC), the Church prepares the laity for the apostolate by instructing them to follow the teachings of Christ. The Church invites the faithful to participate in “the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate.” These acts demonstrate that Christ’s followers “though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Father before men” (SC, 9).

Lumen Gentium

Lumen Gentium (LG) lays the foundational understanding of the role of the faithful in works of the apostolate. The laity, as members of the Body of Christ, is called to use their entire well being for the growth and continued sanctification of the Church (LG, 33). The lay apostolate “is a participation in the salvific mission of the Church itself.” Through the sacraments of initiation, the faithful are called directly by God to answer this vocation. The “soul of the apostolate is communicated and nourished” through the Eucharist. Fortified by the sacraments, the laity are called “to make the Church present and operative” in all walks of life (LG, 35). 

Apostolicam Actuositatem

Apostolicam Actuositatem (AA), viewed in conjunction with Lumen Gentium (LM, 4 & 5), can be called a practical handbook to the universal call to holiness. The Council explains that the lay apostolate stems from the general Christian vocation and is vital to the Church (AA, 1). The lay faithful “share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ” and therefore share in the mission to evangelize all the nations (AA, 2). They are essential precisely because they possess the ability to enter into all aspects of life and address the needs of a changing world. 

Each member participates in the apostolate through “the faith, hope, and charity which the Holy Spirit diffuses in the hearts of all members of the Church.” This participation is forged through the gifts of the Holy Spirit in each (AA, 3). Furthermore, it is formed and influenced by one’s particular state of life (LG, V, 42). Moreover, “the success of the lay apostolate depends upon the laity’s living union with Christ” (AA, 4). This means by sanctifying their ordinary lives they witness to the Gospel truth, announcing it to non-believers and fortifying the faith of believers (AA, 5). The sacred synod spurs the laity to use their particular gifts “to explain, defend, and properly apply Christian principles to the problems of our era in accordance with the mind of the Church” (AA, 6). The function of the apostolate is to influence the temporal order and cultural milieu into conformity with Christian ideals (AA, 7).

It's A Wonderful Life

My favorite Christmas movie is It's a Wonderful Life, starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed.  This 1946 classic, I believe, portrays an essential element of the laity's call to universal holiness.

The movie chronicles the life of George Bailey as he faces a life crisis. While on the edge of contemplating suicide, George makes a simple prayer asking God to help. His prayer is answered in the form of an angel in training named Clarence. Clarence, through God's intervention, grants George the opportunity to see the lives of his friends and family if he had never lived. George gets to see how he impacted the lives of many people by simply being a caring and loving friend. These encounters make him realize that his life had meaning.

I believe this goes to the heart of what we, the lay faithful, are called to do in our everyday ordinary lives. We are called to live our lives as living examples of Christ's love (see Lumen gentium, Chapter 4). In this way others will know we are followers of Christ (John 13:35).

What's your favorite Christmas movie and why?  Enjoy the movie trailer below.