Diligent, First Peter 5:1-4, Psalms 23:1-6, Matthew 16:13-19, St Margaret of Cortona, Chair of St Peter, The Mystical City of God Book 6, Chapter 10, The Victory of Christ Over Hell, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 2 Article 5:1 He Descended into Hell
Good Day Bloggers! Wishing everyone a Blessed Week!
Year of Faith - October 11, 2012 - November 24, 2013
P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Serenity Happens). It has a remarkable way of producing solace, peace, patience and tranquility and of course resolution...God's always available 24/7.
The world begins and ends everyday for someone. We are all human. We all experience birth, life and death. We all have
flaws but we also all have the gift of knowledge and free will,
make the most of these gifts. Life on earth is a stepping stone to our eternal home in
Heaven. Its your choice whether to rise towards eternal light or lost to
eternal darkness. Material items, though needed for sustenance and
survival on earth are of earthly value only. The only thing that passes
from this earth to Purgatory and/or Heaven is our Soul, our Spirit...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
Heed the Solemnity of Lent! This Lent instead of "Giving Up" something, why not "Give" by volunteering time to a worthy cause, or extending a simple act of kindness!
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’(Matthew 25:34-40)
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Prayers for Today: Friday in Lent
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Prayer For the Holy Election of Our New Pope
May the Lord preserve the sanctity of the enclave as they embark on electing our new Holy Father, give him life, and make him blessed upon earth, and deliver him not to the will of his enemies.
LET US PRAY:
O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all the faithful, in Thy mercy look down upon Thy servant, (Our New Pope), whom Thou will appoint to preside over Thy Church, and grant we beseech Thee that both by word and example he may edify those who are under his charge; so that, with the flock entrusted to him, he may attain life everlasting. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
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February 2, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children, love is bringing me to you - the love which I desire to
teach you also - real love; the love which my Son showed you when He
died on the Cross out of love for you; the love which is always ready to
forgive and to ask for forgiveness. How great is your love? My motherly
heart is sorrowful as it searches for love in
your hearts. You are not ready to submit your will to God's will out of
love. You cannot help me to have those who have not come to know God's
love to come to know it, because you do not have real love. Consecrate
your hearts to me and I will lead you. I will teach you to forgive, to
love your enemies and to live according to my Son. Do not be afraid for
yourselves. In afflictions my Son does not forget those who love. I will
be beside you. I will implore the Heavenly Father for the light of
eternal truth and love to illuminate you. Pray for your shepherds so
that through your fasting and prayer they can lead you in love. Thank
you."
January 25, 2013 Message From Our Lady of Medjugorje to World:
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
"Dear children! Also today I call you to prayer. May your prayer be as strong as a living stone, until with your lives you become witnesses. Witness the beauty of your faith. I am with you and intercede before my Son for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call."
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Today's Word: diligent dil·i·gent [dil-i-juh
nt]
Origin: 1300–50; Middle English (< Anglo-French ) < Latin dīligent- (stem of dīligēns ), present participle of dīligere to choose, like, equivalent to dī- di-2 + -ligere (combining form of legere to choose, read); see -ent
adjective
1. constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and persistent in doing anything: a diligent student.
2. done or pursued with persevering attention; painstaking: a diligent search of the files.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 23:1-6
1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me
3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name.
4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as
dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your
staff and your crook are there to soothe me.
5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over.
6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come.
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Today's Epistle - First Peter 5:1-4
1 I urge the elders among you, as a fellow-elder myself and a witness to the sufferings of Christ, and as one who is to have a share in the glory that is to be revealed:
2 give a shepherd's care to the flock of God that is entrusted to you: watch over it, not simply as a duty but gladly, as God wants; not for sordid money, but because you are eager to do it.
3 Do not lord it over the group which is in your charge, but be an example for the flock.
4 When the chief shepherd appears, you will be given the unfading crown of glory.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 16: 13-19
When Jesus came to the
region of Caesarea Philippi he put this question to his
disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?' And they
said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I
am?' Then Simon Peter spoke up and said, 'You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus replied, 'Simon
son of Jonah, you are a blessed man! Because it was no
human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. So I
now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build
my community. And the gates of the underworld can never
overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven;
whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
Reflection
• Today’s
Gospel presents us three points: the opinion of the people concerning
Jesus (Mt 16, 13-14), the opinion of Peter regarding Jesus
(Mt 16, 15-16) and the response of Jesus to Peter (Mt 16,
17-19).
• Matthew 16, 13-14: The opinion of the people regarding Jesus. Jesus asks for the opinion of the people regarding his person. The responses are diverse: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Not one of them gives the right answer. Today, also, the opinion of the people regarding Jesus is very varied.
• Matthew 16, 15-16: The opinion of Peter regarding Jesus. Immediately, he asks the opinion of the disciples. Peter becomes the spokesperson and says: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!” The response is not new. Before, the disciples had already said the same thing (Mt 14, 33). In the Gospel of John, the same profession of faith is made by Martha (Jn 11, 27). It means that in Jesus the prophecies of the Old Testament are fulfilled.
• Matthew 16, 17-19: The response of Jesus to Peter. The responses come from several places: “Blessed are you, Simon. Jesus proclaims Peter “Blessed!” because he had received the revelation from the Father. Here, also, the response of Jesus is not new. Previously, he had praised the Father for having revealed the Son to little ones and not to the wise (Mt 11, 25-27) and had made the same proclamation of blessed to the disciples because they were seeing and hearing things that before nobody knew (Mt 13, 16).
- Peter is Rock (Pietra). Peter has to be Rock, that is, should be the stable foundation for the Church in such a way that it can resist against the gates of hell. With these words of Jesus, Matthew encourages the communities which were persecuted by Syria and Palestine. Even if weak and persecuted, the communities have a stable foundation, guaranteed by the words of Jesus. The rock as the basis of faith reminds the people the words of God to the People in exile: “Listen to me, you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock from which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your father and Sarah who gave you birth. When I called him he was the only one but I blessed him and made him numerous. (Is 51, 1-2). It indicates a new beginning.
- Peter, Rock. Jesus gives a name to Simon and calls him Rock (Peter). In two ways, Peter and Rock (Pietra), in two ways: he is rock-foundation, (Mt 16, 18) and is rock (pietra) a stumbling obstacle, (Mt 16, 23). In our Catholic Church we insist very much on Peter – rock-foundation and we forget Peter- stumbling rock or obstacle. On the one hand Peter was weak in his faith, doubtful, and tries to deviate or withdraw Jesus, he was afraid in the garden, he fell asleep and fled, he did not understood what Jesus was saying. On the other side, he was like the little ones whom Jesus called Blessed. Being one of the twelve, he became their spokesman. Later, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, his image grew and he became a symbol of the Community. Peter is firm in faith not because of his own merits, but because Jesus prays for him, in order that his faith would not fail (Lk 22, 31-34).
- Church, Assembly. The word Church, in Greek eklésia, appears 105 times in the New Testament, almost exclusively in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Epistles. In the Gospels it appears three times, only in Matthew. The word literally means “convoked” or “chosen”. It indicates the people who gather together, convoked by the Word of God and, who try to live the message of the Kingdom which Jesus brings. The Church or the community is not the Kingdom, but it is an instrument and a sign or indication of the Kingdom. The Kingdom is greater. In the Church, in the community, it should appear in the eyes of all what happens when a human group allows God to reign and allows him to take possession of our life.
- The keys of the Kingdom. Peter receives the keys of the Kingdom. This same power of uniting or binding and of separating or loosening is also given to the communities (Mt 18, 18) and to the other disciples (Jn 20, 23). One of the points in which the Gospel of Matthew insists the most is reconciliation and pardon or forgiveness. It is one of the more important tasks of the coordinators of the communities. Imitating Peter, they should bind and loose, that is, do in such a way that there be reconciliation, reciprocal acceptance, construction of the fraternal spirit.
Personal questions
• Which are
the opinions in our community regarding Jesus? These differences in
the way of living and of expressing faith, do they enrich the
community or do they make the journey and communion more
difficult? Why?
• Who is Jesus for me? Who am I for Jesus?
• Who is Jesus for me? Who am I for Jesus?
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item of the Day from Litany Lane
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Saint of the Day: Saint Margaret of Cortona
Feast Day: February 22
Patron Saint: falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill;
midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed prostitutes; stepchildren;
tramps.
Attributes: n/a
Saint Margaret of Cortona, T.O.S.F., (1247 – February 22, 1297) was an Italian penitent of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was born in Laviano, near Perugia, and died in Cortona. She was canonized in 1728.
She is the patron saint of the falsely accused; hoboes; homeless; insane; orphaned; mentally ill; midwives; penitents; single mothers; reformed prostitutes; stepchildren; tramps.
At the age of seven, Margaret's mother died and her father remarried.
Little love was shared between stepmother and stepdaughter.
At the age of 17 she met a young man, named Arsenio according to some
accounts, the son of Gugliemo di Pecora, lord of Valiano. She ran away
with him. For ten years she lived with him in his house near Montepulciano and bore him a son. She wanted to marry him as he had promised, but he refused.
When Arsenio failed to return home from a journey
one day, Margaret became worried. The unaccompanied return of his
favourite hound alarmed Margaret, and the hound led her to his murdered
body which was located deep in a forest. This crime shocked Margaret
into a life of prayer and penance, and Margaret returned all the gifts
he had given her and left his home. With her child, she returned to her
father's house but her stepmother would not have her. Margaret and son
then went to the Franciscan friars at Cortona, where she put herself in
their care at the Church of Saint Francis in the city. She fasted,
avoided meat, and subsisted on bread and vegetables.
After three years, Saint Margaret joined the Third Order of Saint Francis
(not without some resistance by the members of the Order, due to her
past) and chose to live in poverty. Following the example of St. Francis of Assisi, she begged for sustenance and bread.
In 1277, while in prayer, she heard the words: "What is your wish,
poverella (little poor one)?" and she replied: "I neither seek nor wish
for anything but You, my Lord Jesus." She began regular communications with God.
She asked the city of Cortona to found a hospital for the sick,
homeless and impoverished. To secure nurses for the hospital, she
instituted a congregation of Tertiary Sisters, known as "le poverelle". She also established a link to Our Lady of Mercy and the members bound themselves to support the hospital and to help the needy.
On several occasions, St. Margaret participated in public affairs. Twice following Divine command, she challenged the Bishop of Arezzo, Guglielmo Ubertini Pazzi, in whose diocese Cortona lay, because he lived like a prince. She moved to the ruined Church of St. Basil
and spent her remaining years there and it is there that she was
buried. After her death, the Church was rebuilt in her honor. St.
Margaret was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on May 16, 1728.
References
- Catholic encyclopedia: St. Margaret of Cortona
- Eternal Word Television Network, excerpt from "Saints for Sinners"
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Today's Snippet I: Chair of Saint Peter
 |
| Chair of St Peter |
The Chair of Saint Peter is a relic conserved in St. Peter's Basilica, enclosed in a gilt bronze casing that was designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed 1647-53.
The chair of a bishop is a cathedra. The cathedra in Saint Peter's Basilica was once used by the popes. It was therefore often thought to have been used by Saint Peter himself, but was in fact a gift from Charles the Bald to the Pope in 875.
Like many medieval reliquaries
it takes the form of the relic it protects, in this case a chair.
Symbolically, the chair Bernini designed had no earthly counterpart in
actual contemporary furnishings: it is formed entirely of scrolling
members, enclosing a coved panel where the upholstery pattern is
rendered as a low relief of Christ giving the keys to Peter. Large angelic figures flank an openwork panel beneath a highly realistic bronze seat cushion, vividly empty: the relic is encased within.[2] The cathedra is lofted on splayed scrolling bars that appear to be effortlessly supported by four over-lifesize bronze Doctors of the Church.
The cathedra appears to hover over the altar in the basilica's apse,
lit by a central tinted window through which light streams, illuminating
the gilded glory of sunrays and sculpted clouds that surrounds the
window. Like Bernini's Ecstasy of St Theresa, this is a definitive fusion[3] of the Baroque arts, unifying sculpture and richly polychrome architecture and manipulating effects of light.
Above, on the golden background of the frieze, is the Latin
inscription: "O Pastor Ecclesiae, tu omnes Christi pascis agnos et oves"
(O pastor of the Church, you feed all Christ's lambs and sheep). On the
right is the same writing in Greek.[4]
Behind the altar is placed Bernini's monument enclosing the wooden
chair, both of which are seen as symbolic of the authority of the Bishop of Rome as Vicar of Christ and successor of Saint Peter.
Early martyrologies indicate that two liturgical feasts were
celebrated in Rome, centuries before the time of Charles the Bald, in
honour of earlier chairs associated with Saint Peter, one of which was
kept in the baptismal chapel of Saint Peter's Basilica, the other at the
catacomb of Priscilla.[5]
The dates of these celebrations were January 18 and February 22. No
surviving chair has been identified with either of these chairs. The
feasts thus became associated with an abstract understanding of the
"Chair of Peter", which by synecdoche signifies the episcopal office of the Pope as Bishop of Rome, an office considered to have been first held by Saint Peter, and thus extended to the diocese, the See of Rome. Though both feasts were originally associated with Saint Peter's stay in Rome, the ninth-century form of the Martyrologium Hieronymianum associated the January 18 feast with his stay in Rome, and the February 22 feast with his stay at Antioch.
The two feasts were included in the Tridentine Calendar with the rank of Double, which Pope Clement VIII raised in 1604 to the newly invented rank of Greater Double. In 1960 Pope John XXIII
removed from the General Roman Calendar eight feast days that were
second feasts of a single saint or mystery: one of them was the January
18 feast of the Chair of Peter.[7] The February 22 celebration became a Second-Class Feast. This calendar was incorporated in the 1962 Roman Missal of Pope John XXIII, whose continued use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is authorized under the conditions indicated in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum
In the new classification introduced in 1969 the February 22
celebration appears in the Roman Calendar with the rank of Feast. Those traditionalist Catholics
who do not accept the changes made by Pope John XXIII continue to
celebrate both feast days: "St Peter's Chair at Rome" on January 18 and
the "Chair of St Peter at Antioch" on February 22.
References
- ^ Interior of St Peter's Basilica.
- ^ In late seventeenth-century Venice, Andrea Brustolon constructed a few grandiose armchairs that employ similar sculptural figures doing duty as front legs and armrest supports.
- ^ See Gesamtkunstwerk
- ^ The Tribune: Altar of the Chair of St. Peter
- ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: "Chair of Peter"
- ^ "Bernini's Cathedra Petri (Chair of St. Peter)". Smarthistory at Khan Academy. Retrieved December 20, 2012.
- ^ Variationes in Breviario et Missali Romano ad normam novi Codicis Rubricarum, I — Variationes in calendario, 8.
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Today's Snippet II: The Mystical City of God,
The Divine History and Life of The Virgin Mother of God
Book 6, Chapter 10,
THE VICTORY OF CHRIST OVER HELL.
The hidden and venerable mysteries of this chapter correspond
to many others scattered through the whole extent of this history. One of them
is, that Lucifer and his demons in the course of the life and miracles
our Savior, never could ascertain fully whether the Lord was true God and
Redeemer of the world, and consequently what was the dignity of the most holy
Mary. This was so disposed by divine Providence, in order that the whole mystery
of the Incarnation and the Redemption of the human race might be more fittingly
accomplished. Lucifer, although knowing that God was to assume human flesh,
nevertheless knew nothing of the manner and the circumstances of the
Incarnation. As he was permitted to form an opinion of this mystery in
accordance with his pride, he was full of hallucinations, sometimes believing
Christ to be God on account of his miracles, sometimes rejecting such an opinion
on account of seeing Him poor, humiliated, afflicted and fatigued. Harassed by
these contradicting evidences, he remained in doubt and continued his inquiries
until the predestined hour of Christ's Death on the Cross, where, in virtue of
the Passion and Death of the sacred humanity, which he had himself brought
about, he was to be undeceived and vanquished by the full solution of these
mysteries.
Lucifer and his demons, as soon as they saw the Lord taking
the Cross upon his sacred shoulders, wished to fly and cast themselves into
hell; for at that moment they began to feel with greater force the operations of
his divine power. By divine intervention this new torment made them aware that
the Death of this innocent Man, whose destruction they had plotted and who could
not be a mere man, threatened great ruin to themselves. They therefore desired
to withdraw and they ceased to incite the Jews and the executioners, as they had
done hitherto. But the command of the most blessed Mary, enforced by the divine
power, detained them and, enchained like fiercest dragons, compelled them to
accompany Christ to Calvary. The ends of the mysterious chain that bound them
were placed into the hands of Mary, the great Queen who, by the power of her
divine Son, held them all in subjection and bondage. Although they many times
sought to break away and raged in helpless fury, they could not overcome the
power of the heavenly Lady. She forced them to come to Calvary and stand around
the Cross, where She commanded them to remain motionless and witness the
end of the great mysteries there enacted for the salvation of men and the ruin
of themselves.
Lucifer and his infernal hosts were so overwhelmed with pains
and torments by the presence of the Lord and his blessed Mother, and with the
fear of their impending ruin, that they would have felt greatly relieved to be
allowed to cast themselves into the darkness of hell. As this was not
permitted them, they fell upon one another and furiously fought with each other
like hornets disturbed in their nest, or like a brood of vermin confusedly
seeking some dark shelter. But their rabid fury was not that of animals, but
that of demons more cruel than dragons.
The time had now come for this ancient dragon to be
vanquished by the Master of life. As this was to be the hour of his
disillusionment, and as this poisonous asp was not to escape it by stopping his
ears to the voice of the Enchanter (Ps. 57, 5), the Lord began to speak the
seven words from his Cross, at the same time providing that Lucifer and his
demons should understand the mysteries therein contained. For it was by this
disclosure that the Lord wished to triumph over them, over sin and death, and
despoil them of their tyrannous power over the human race. The Savior then
pronounced the first word: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what
they do!" (Luke 23, 34). By these words the princes of darkness came to the
full conviction, that Christ our Lord was speaking to the eternal Father, that
He was his natural Son and the true God with Him and the Holy Ghost, that He had
permitted death in his most sacred and perfect humanity, united to the Divinity
for the salvation of the whole human race; that now He offered his infinitely
precious merits for the pardon of the sins of all those children of Adam, who
should avail themselves thereof for their rescue, not excepting even the
wretches that crucified Him. At this discovery Lucifer and his demons were
thrown into such fury and despair that they instantly wished to hurl themselves
impetuously to the depths of hell and strained all their powers to accomplish it
in spite of the powerful Queen.
In the second word spoken by the Lord to the fortunate thief:
"Amen I say to thee, today thou shalt be with Me in paradise," the
demons understood that the fruits of the Redemption in the justification of
sinners ended in the glorification of the just. They were made aware that from
this hour the merits of Christ would commence to act with a new force and
strength, that through them should be opened the gates of Paradise, which had
been closed by the first sin, and that from now on men would enter upon
eternal happiness and occupy their destined heavenly seats, which until now had
been impossible for them. They perceived the power Christ to call sinners,
justify and beautify them, and they felt the triumphs gained over themselves by
the exalted virtues, the humility, patience, meekness and all the virtues of his
life. The confusion and torment of Lucifer at seeing this cannot be explained by
human tongue; but it was so great, that he humiliated himself so far as to beg
the most blessed Virgin to permit them descend into hell and be cast out from
her presence; but the great Queen would not consent, as the time had not yet
arrived.
At the third word spoken by the Lord to his Mother:
"Woman, behold thy son!" the demons discovered that this
heavenly Lady was the true Mother of the Godman, the same Woman whose likeness
and prophetic sign had been shown to them in the heavens at their creation, and
who was to crush their head as announced by the Lord in the terrestrial
paradise. They were informed of the dignity and excellence of this great Lady
over all creatures, and of her power which they were even now experiencing. As
they had from the beginning of the world and from the creation of the first
woman, used all their astuteness to find out who this great woman that was
announced in the heavens could be, and as they now discovered Her in Mary, whom
they had until now overlooked, these dragons were seized with inexpressible
fury; their having been thus mistaken crushed their arrogance beyond all their
other torments, and in their fury they raged against their own selves like
bloodthirsty lions, while their helpless wrath against the heavenly Lady was
increased a thousandfold. Moreover, they discerned that saint John was appointed
by Christ our Lord as the angel guardian of his Mother, endowed with the powers
of the priesthood. This they understood to be in the nature of a threat against
their own wrath, which was well known to saint John. Lucifer saw not only the
power of the Evangelist, but that given to all the priests in virtue of their
participation in the dignity and power of our Redeemer; and that the rest of the
just, even though no priests, were placed under the special protection of the
Lord and made powerful against hell. All this paralyzed the strength of Lucifer
and his demons.
The fourth word of Christ was addressed to the eternal
Father: "God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The evil spirits
discovered in these words that the charity of God toward men was boundless and
everlasting; that, in order to satisfy it, He had mysteriously suspended the
influence of the Divinity over his most sacred humanity, thus permitting his
sufferings to reach the highest degree and to draw from them the most abundant
fruits; that He was aware and lovingly complained of his being deprived of the
salvation of a part of the human race; how ready He was to suffer more,
if such would be ordained by the eternal Father. Man's good fortune in being so
beloved by God increased the envy of Lucifer and his demons, and they foresaw
the divine Omnipotence following out this immense love without limitation. This
knowledge crushed the haughty malice of the enemies and they were made well
aware of their own weakness and helplessness in opposing this love, if men
themselves should not choose to neglect its influence.
The fifth word of Christ, "I thirst," confirmed
Christ's triumph over the devil and his followers; they were filled with wrath
and fury because the Lord clearly let them see their total overthrow. By these
words they understood Him to say to them: If what I suffer for men my love for
them seem great to you, be assured that my love for them is still
unsatiated, that it continues to long for their eternal salvation, and that the
mighty waters of torments and sufferings have not extinguished it (Cant. 8, 7).
Much more would I suffer for them, if it were necessary, in order to
deliver them from your tyranny and make them powerful and strong against malice
and pride.
In the sixth word of the Lord: "It is consummated!"
Lucifer and his hordes were informed that the mystery of the Incarnation and
Redemption was now accomplished and entirely perfected according to the decree
of divine wisdom. For they were made to feel that Christ our Redeemer had
obediently fulfilled the will of the eternal Father; that He had accomplished
all the promises and prophecies made to the world by the ancient Fathers; that
his humility and obedience had compensated for their own pride and disobedience
in heaven in having not subjected themselves and acknowledged Him as their
Superior in human flesh; and that they were now through the wisdom of God justly
humbled and vanquished by the very Lord whom they despised. The great dignity
and the infinite merits of Christ demanded that in this very hour He should
exercise his office and power of Judge over angels and men, such as had been
conceded to him by the eternal Father. He now applied this power by hurling this
sentence at Lucifer and all his followers, that, being condemned to eternal
fire, they instantly depart into the deepest dungeons of hell. This very
sentence was included in the pronouncing of the seventh word: "Father, into
thy hands I commend my spirit!" (Luke 23, 46.) The mighty Queen and
Mother concurred with the will of her Son Jesus and united with his her
command that Lucifer and all demons depart to the infernal depths. In virtue of
these decree of the supreme King and of the Queen, the evil spirits were routed
from Calvary and precipitated to deepest hell more violently and suddenly than a
flash of light through the riven clouds.
The rout of Lucifer and his angels from Calvary to the abyss
of hell was more violent and disastrous than their first expulsion from heaven.
Though, as holy Job says (Job 10, 21), that place is a land of darkness, covered
with the shades of death, full of gloomy disorder, misery, torments and
confusion; yet on this occasion the chaos and disorder was a thousandfold
increased; because the damned were made to feel new horror and additional
punishments at the sudden meeting of the ferocious demons in their rabid fury.
It is certain that the devils have not the power of assigning the damned to a
place of greater or lesser torment; for all their torments are decreed by divine
justice according to the measure of the demerits of each of the condemned.
As soon as Lucifer was permitted to proceed in these matters
and arise from the consternation in which he remained for some time, he set
about proposing to his fellow-demons new plans of his pride. For this purpose he
called them all together and placing himself in an elevated position, he spoke
to them: "To you, who have for so many ages followed and still follow my
standards for the vengeance of my wrongs, is known the injury which I have now
sustained at the hands of this Mangod, and how for thirty-three years He has led
me about in deceit, hiding his Divinity and concealing the operations of his
soul, and how He has now triumphed over us by the very Death which we have
brought upon Him. Before He assumed flesh I hated Him and refused to acknowledge
Him as being more worthy than I to be adored by the rest of creation. Although
on account of this resistance I was cast out from heaven with you and was
degraded to this abominable condition so unworthy of my greatness and former
beauty, I am even more tormented to see myself thus vanquished and
oppressed by this Man and by his Mother. From the day on which the first man was
created I have sleeplessly sought to find Them and destroy Them; or if I should
not be able to destroy Them, I at least wished to bring destruction upon all his
creatures and induce them not to acknowledge Him as their God, and that none of
them should ever draw any benefit from his works. This has been my intent, to
this all my solicitude and efforts were directed. But in vain, since He has
overcome me by his humility and poverty, crushed me by his patience, and at last
has despoiled me of the sovereignty of the world by his Passion and frightful
Death. This causes me such an excruciating pain, that, even if I succeeded in
hurling Him from the right hand of his Father, where He sits triumphant, and if
I should draw all the souls redeemed down into this hell, my wrath would not be
satiated or my fury placated."
"Is it possible that the human nature, so inferior to my
own, shall be exalted above all the creatures! That it should be so loved and
favored, as to be united to the Creator in the person of the eternal Word! That
He should first make war upon me before executing this work, and afterwards
overwhelm me with such confusion! From the beginning I have held this humanity
as my greatest enemy; it has always filled me with intolerable abhorrence. O
men, so favored and gifted by your God whom I abhor, and so ardently loved by
Him! How shall I hinder your good fortune? How shall I bring upon you my
unhappiness, since I cannot destroy the existence you have received? What shall
we now begin, O my followers? How shall we restore our reign? How shall we
recover our power over men? How shall we overcome them? For if men from now on
shall not be most senseless and ungrateful, if they are not worse disposed than
we ourselves toward this Godman, who has redeemed them with so much love, it is
clear that all of them will eagerly follow Him; none will take notice of our
deceits; they will abhor the honors which we insidiously offer them, and will
love contempt; they will seek the mortification of the flesh and will discover
the danger of carnal pleasure and ease; they will despise riches and treasures,
and love the poverty so much honored by their Master; and all that we can offer
to their appetites they will abhor in imitation of their true Redeemer. Thus
will our reign be destroyed, since no one will be added to our number in this
place of confusion and torments; all will reach the happiness which we have
lost, all will humiliate themselves to the dust and suffer with patience; and my
wrath and haughtiness will avail me nothing."
"Ah, woe is me, what torment does this mistake cause me!
When I tempted Him in the desert, the only result was to afford him a chance to
leave the example of this victory, by following which men can overcome so much
the more easily. My persecutions only brought out more clearly his doctrine of
humility and patience. In persuading Judas to betray Him, and the Jews subject
Him to the deadly torture of the Cross, I merely hastened my ruin and the
salvation of men, while the doctrine I sought to blot out was only the more
firmly implanted. How could One who is God humiliate Himself to such an extent?
How could He bear so much from men who are evil? How could I myself have been
led to assist so much in making this salvation so copious and wonderful? O how
godlike is the power of that Man which could torment and weaken me so? And can
this Woman, his Mother and my Enemy, be so mighty and invincible in her
opposition to me? New is such power in a mere creature, and no doubt She derived
it from the divine Word, whom She clothed in human flesh. Through this Woman the
Almighty has ceaselessly waged war against me, though I have hated Her in my
pride from the moment I recognized Her in her image or heavenly sign. But if my
proud indignation is not to be assuaged, I benefit nothing by my perpetual war
against this Redeemer, against his Mother and against men. Now then, ye demons
who follow me, now is the time to give way to our wrath against God. Come all of
ye to take counsel what we are to do; for I desire to hear your opinions."
Some of the principal demons gave their answers to this
dreadful proposal, encouraging Lucifer by suggesting diverse schemes for
hindering the fruit of the Redemption among men. They all agreed that it was not
possible to injure the person of Christ, to diminish the immense value of his
merits, to destroy the efficacy of the Sacraments, to falsify or abolish the
doctrine which Christ had preached; yet they resolved that, in accordance with
the new order of assistance and favor established by God for the salvation of
men, they should now seek new ways of hindering and preventing the work of God
by much the greater deceits and temptations. In reference to these plans some of
the astute and malicious demons said "It is true, that men now have at
their disposal a new and very powerful doctrine and law, new and efficacious
Sacraments, a new Model and Instructor of virtues, a powerful Intercessor and
Advocate in this Woman; yet the natural inclinations and passions of the flesh
remain just the same, and the sensible and delectable creatures have not changed
their nature. Let us then, making use of this situation with increased
astuteness, foil as far as in us lies the effects of what this Godman has
wrought for men. Let us begin strenuous warfare against mankind by suggesting
new attractions, exciting them to follow their passions in forgetfulness of all
else. Thus men, being taken up with these dangerous things, cannot attend to the
contrary."
Acting upon this counsel they redistributed the spheres of
work among themselves, in order that each squadron of demons might, with a
specialized astuteness tempt men to different vices. They resolved to continue
to propagate idolatry in the world, so that men might not come to the
knowledge of the true God and the Redemption. Wherever idolatry would fail, they
concluded to establish sects and heresies, for which they would select the most
perverse and depraved of the human race as leaders and teachers of error. Then
and there was concocted among these malignant spirits the sect of Mahomet, the
heresies of Arius, Pelagius, Nestorius, and whatever other heresies have been
started in the world from the first ages of the Church until now, together with
those which they have in readiness, but which it is neither necessary nor proper
to mention here. Lucifer showed himself content with these infernal counsels as
being opposed to divine truth and destructive of the very foundation of man's
rescue, namely divine faith. He lavished flattering praise and high offices upon
those demons, who showed themselves willing and who undertook to find the
impious originators of these errors.
Some of the devils charged themselves with perverting the
inclinations of children at their conception and birth; others to induce parents
to be negligent in the education and instruction of their children, either
through an inordinate love or aversion, and to cause a hatred of parents among
the children. Some offered to create hatred between husbands and wives, to place
them in the way of adultery, or to think little of the fidelity promised to
their conjugal partners. All agreed to sow among men the seeds of discord,
hatred and vengeance, proud and sensual thoughts, desire of riches or honors,
and by suggesting sophistical reasons against all the virtues Christ has taught;
above all they intended to weaken the remembrance of his Passion and Death, of
the means of salvation, and of the eternal pains of hell. By these means
the demons hoped to burden all the powers and the faculties of men with
solicitude for earthly affairs and sensual pleasures, leaving them little time
for spiritual thoughts and their own salvation.
Lucifer heard these different suggestions of the demons, and
answering them, he said: "I am much beholden to you for your opinions: I
approve of them and adopt them all; it will be easy to put them into practice
with those, who do not profess the law given by this Redeemer to men, though
with those who accept and embrace these laws, it will be a difficult enterprise.
But against this law and against those that follow it, I intend to direct all my
wrath and fury and I shall most bitterly persecute those who hear the doctrine
of this Redeemer and become his disciples; against these must our most
relentless battle be waged to the end of the world. In this new Church I must
strive to sow my cockle (Matth. 14, 25), the ambitions, the avarice, the
sensuality, and the deadly hatreds, with all the other vices, of which I am the
head. For if once these sins multiply and increase among the faithful, they
will, with their concomitant malice and ingratitude, irritate God and justly
deprive men of the helps of grace left to them by the merits of the Redeemer. If
once they have thus despoiled themselves of these means of salvation, we shall
have assured victory over them. We must also exert ourselves to weaken piety and
all that is spiritual and divine; so that they do not realize the power the
Sacraments and receive them in mortal sin, or at least without fervor and
devotion. For since these Sacraments are spiritual, it is necessary to receive
them with well-disposed will, in order to reap their fruits. If once they
despise the medicine, they shall languish in their sickness and be less able to
withstand our temptations; they will not see through our deceits, they will let
the memory of their Redeemer and of the intercession of his Mother slip from
their minds. Thus will their foul ingratitude make them unworthy of grace and so
irritate their God and Savior, as to deprive them of his helps. In all this I
wish, that all of you assist me strenuously, losing neither time nor occasion
for executing my commands.''
It is not possible to rehearse all the schemes of this dragon
and his allies concocted at that time against the holy Church and her children,
in order that these waters of Jordan might be swallowed up in his throat (Job
40, 18). It is enough to state that they spent nearly a full year after the
Death of Christ conferring and considering among themselves the state of the
world up to that time and the changes wrought by Christ our God and Master
through his Death and after having manifested the light of his faith by so many
miracles, blessings and examples of holy men. If all these labors have not
sufficed to draw all men to the way of salvation, it can be easily understood,
that Lucifer should have prevailed and that his wrath should be so great, as to
cause us justly to say with saint John: "Woe to the earth, for satan is
come down to you full of wrath and fury!'' But alas! that truths so infallible
and so much to be dreaded and avoided by men, should in our days be blotted from
the minds of mortals to the irreparable danger of the whole world! Our enemy is
astute, cruel and watchful: we sleepy, lukewarm and careless! What wonder that
Lucifer has intrenched himself so firmly in the world, when so many listen to
him, accept and follow his deceits, so few resist him, and entirely forget the
eternal death, which he so furiously and maliciously seeks to draw upon them? I
beseech those, who read this, not to forget this dreadful danger. If they are
not convinced of this danger through the evil condition of the world and through
the evils each one experiences himself, let them at least learn this danger by
the vast and powerful remedies and helps, which the Savior thought it necessary
to leave behind in his Church. For He would not have provided such
antidotes if our ailment and danger of eternal death were not so great and
formidable.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN. (The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of
Agreda, Spain.)
This close imitation and living reproduction of Christ,
confronting the demons in the first children of the Church, they feared so much,
that they dared not approach and they precipitously fled from the Apostles and
the just ones imbued with the doctrines of my divine Son. In them were offered
up to the Almighty the first fruits of grace, and of Redemption. What is seen
in the saints and in perfect Christians in those times, would happen in the
present times with all the Catholics if they would accept grace and work with it
instead of permitting it to go to waste, and if they would seek the way of the
Cross; for Lucifer fears it as much now as in the times thou hast been writing
of. But soon the charity, zeal and devotion in many of faithful began to grow
cold and they forgot the blessings of the Redemption; they yielded to their
carnal inclinations and desires, they loved vanity and avarice and permitted
themselves to be fascinated and deceived by the false pretenses of Lucifer,
obscuring the glory of their Savior and inveigling them into the meshes of their
mortal enemies. This foul ingratitude has thrown the world into the present
state and has encouraged the demons to rise up in their pride against God,
audaciously presuming to possess themselves of all the children of Adam on
account of this forgetfulness and carelessness of Catholics. They presume to
plot the destruction the whole Church by the perversion of so many who have
fallen away from it; and by inducing those who are in it, to think little of it,
or by hindering them from producing the fruits of the blood and death of their
Redeemer. The greatest misfortune is, that many Catholics fail to recognize this
great damage and do not seriously think of a remedy, although they can presume
that the times, of which Jesus forewarned the women of Jerusalem, have arrived;
namely, those in which the sterile should be happy, and in which many would call
upon the mountains and the hills to cover and fall upon them, in order not to
see the devastation of wickedness cutting down the sons of perdition, the dried
trees, barren of all the fruits of virtue.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 2 Art 5:1
CHAPTER TWO
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF
GOD
Article 5
"HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY
HE ROSE AGAIN"
Paragraph 1. CHRIST DESCENDED INTO HELL
632
The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the
dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead
prior to his resurrection.Acts 3:15 This was the first meaning given in the
apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men,
experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead.
But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits
imprisoned there.I
Pt 3:18-19
633
Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down,
"hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are
there are deprived of the vision of God.Phil 2:10 Such is the case for all
the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does
not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the
poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":Ps 89:49
"It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's
bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into
hell."Roman Catechism
1, 6, 3 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned,
nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before
him.Council of Rome (745): DS 587; Benedict XII, Cum dudum (1341): DS 1011; Clement
VI, Super quibusdam (1351): DS 1077; Council of Toledo IV (625): DS 485; ⇒ Mt 27:52-53.
634
"The gospel was preached even to the dead."I Pt 4:6 The descent
into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This
is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in
time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work
to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made
sharers in the redemption.
635
Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the
voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."Jn 5:25 Jesus,
"the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power
of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of
death were subject to lifelong bondage."Heb
2:14-15 Henceforth the risen
Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name
of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."Rev 1:18
Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great
stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. the earth trembled and
is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all
who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam,
our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live
in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in
his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of
Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I
order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell.
Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday: PG 43, 440A, 452C; LH, Holy
Saturday, OR.
Saturday, OR.
IN BRIEF
636 By the expression
"He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus
did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil
"who has the power of death" (⇒ Heb 2:14).
637 In his human soul united
to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He
opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him.
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