Category Archives: Saints

St. Maximilian Kolbe speaking about us today

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The second reading from today’s Office of Readings comes from of St. Maximilian Kolbe’s letters. At the beginning, he wrote:

It is sad for us to see in our own time that indifferentism in its many forms is spreading like an epidemic not only among the laity but also among religious. But God is worthy of glory beyond measure, and therefore it is of absolute and supreme importance to seek that glory with all the power of our feeble resources. Since we are mere creatures we can never return to him all that is his due.

Sounds a lot like our world today, doesn’t it? Mind you, he wrote this only within the past century, so he’s not too far off from our time today. However, I think it shows that we humans really don’t change all that much over the years, despite the frequent protestations that we’re more “evolved” and “enlightened” than those who have come before us. Human nature is the same now as it was in St. Maximilian’s time, and as it was in Our Lord’s time.

St. Maximilian, pray for us that we may have your zeal to be missionaries proclaiming the Gospel, and that we may be willing to follow your lead to martyrdom if we are so called.

Descent of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands

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Today, at daily Mass, I meant to talk about St. Anthony Mary Claret. I always enjoy talking about the saints on their feast days, and trying to find some connection between this saint and our lives today. So, I printed up a bio of the saint from SQPN, and headed over for Mass.

Well, I think the Holy Spirit had other ideas. As I was proclaiming the Gospel, I was struck by this passage:

He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. (Luke 13:13)

At all the celebrations of the Sacraments, with the exception of Marriage, the priest or bishop lays his hands on someone or holds his hands over the matter of the Sacrament. Part of the blessing Holy Water includes the priest holding his hands over the water. At the Epiclesis (calling down of the Holy Spirit) of the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest holds his hands over the bread and wine which has been offered to become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The bishop lays hands on those who are to be Confirmed (can be done by holding hands over them), and also lays hands on those who are to be ordained to Holy Orders. Part of the Rite of Anointing includes the priest silently laying his hands on those receiving the Sacrament of Anointing.

It was the Sacrament of Anointing that really caught me. I had always wondered why the rite called for the priest to lay hands on them. Yes, I knew that the Sacrament worked through the power of the Holy Spirit, symbolized by the anointing with the Oil of Infirm. Yes, I knew that laying on of hands symbolized the descent of the Holy Spirit, but I had never made the full connection until this morning. I admit, I’m not always the brightest bulb in the box. It took me until today to realize consciously that nearly every time Our Lord healed, he touched them or was touched by them.

When the priest lays hands on those receiving the Sacrament of Anointing, it is a prayer for healing by the Holy Spirit. Realize, of course, that the healing we pray for may not always be a physical healing, but any time we pray for healing, healing will occur if the recipient is open to the Holy Spirit. The healing they receive may be spiritual, with a greater openness to the spiritual benefits of the suffering they have to endure. The healing may be a preparation for the final journey into eternal life, which is why Anointing is part of the Last Rites. Any time the Sacrament of Anointing is received, healing will occur.

I truly meant to talk about St. Anthony Mary Claret this morning, but I don’t think he’ll mind that Someone else wanted to be the focus. Come, Holy Spirit!

A Blessed Solemnity of All Saints to you all!

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On this Solemnity of All Saints, Rocco Palmo of the Whispers in the Loggia blog has a wonderful quote from Pope Benedict XVI on becoming saints. It’s not a long quote, only about 6 paragraphs, and well worth reading. As Mother Angelica put it on the introduction to her Mother Angelica Live program: “We’re all called to be great saints. Don’t miss the opportunity!”

Homily for the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary

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As Christians, we have the luxury of hindsight when we read the Old Testament. We can see how the promises of God the Father are fulfilled in the person and actions of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Likewise, we can see how important figures, events and objects in the Old Covenant foreshadow the establishment of the New Covenant through Our Lord. Today, as we celebrate the Assumption of Our Lady into Heaven, this hindsight makes Mary’s role in salvation clear and shows why we need to emulate Her in our lives.

When we look back at the Old Covenant, one major object stands out: the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was the holiest object for the Israelite people, as it represented the presence of God with them. It also carried three of the holiest articles given to the Israelites: the tablets containing the 10 Commandments; Aaron’s staff which budded to show the call of the Levite tribe as the priesthood of Israel; and the manna in the desert which sustained the Israelite people for 40 years.

Each of these objects foreshadow some aspect of Our Lord’s role in salvation of humanity. The tablets with the 10 Commandments are fulfilled in the commandments Our Lord gave through His teaching. The staff shows that Our Lord is the High Priest of the New Covenant which He established through His blood. The manna, the bread from Heaven, is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist, which is the true and eternal Bread from Heaven.

Even the Ark itself foreshadows an important figure in the New Covenant. Just as the Ark held objects which foreshadowed Our Lord, Mary held in her womb the fulfillment of those objects as the mother of Jesus. Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the fulfillment of the Ark of the Covenant, and is rightfully called the Ark of the New Covenant.

With this understanding, it’s not a coincidence that the first reading, which comes from the Book of Revelation, begins with the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant. If you look this passage up in your Bible, you’ll find that the first sentence of the reading has been placed in the chapter prior to the rest of the text. Some might argue that this division of the text means that the Ark is not linked to the remainder of the passage, but with the understanding of Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant, it’s obvious that the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant fits with the imagery of the woman immediately following.

This image of the “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” has been the most popular image of Our Lady almost from the very beginning of Christianity itself. In fact, devotion to Mary as the Mother of God has existed from the earliest times of the Church, and has only gotten stronger over the years. Marian devotion is popular within the Church because we can see Mary as the example for our lives as Christians. In the words of her cousin Elizabeth, this humble young woman “believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” She believed in the promise of salvation for Israel, and believed the message of the Archangel Gabriel that she was to become the mother of the one who was foretold to be the savior of not only Israel, but all humanity.

Are we willing to believe in the promises of Our Lord and respond with a “yes” as Mary did? Mary responded to God’s invitation with faithful submission and God was able to do great things for and through her. When we respond to the invitation to follow Our Lord with our whole lives, God will also do great things for and through us. To this day, Mary is called “blessed” for her openness to God’s will. The question is: do we want to follow her example and be called blessed?

Memorial of St. Bruno

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Today is the feast of St. Bruno, founder of the Carthusians. The Carthusians are said to be one of the most ascetical monastic orders, with much of the monks’ lives spent under the Grand Silence. Chanting the Divine Office is a very important part of their daily life, as well as daily celebration of the Holy Mass. They live a simple life, filled with prayer and work (ora et labora, as St. Benedict put it).

A good way to celebrate St. Bruno’s life and work might be to watch Into Great Silence, a documentary about life in the Grande Chartreuse, St. Bruno’s original monastery. It was very highly regarded when it first came out, and even won several awards. I’ve not yet had the opportunity to watch it, but I plan on doing so this afternoon in honor of St. Bruno and his Carthusian monks.