Saturday, February 16, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Devotion, Psalms 86:1-6, Isaiah 58:9-14, Luke 5:27-32, Saint Juliana of Nicomedia, Mater Delarosa, Mystical City of God Book 5:5, Catholic Catechism Part One Section 2 The Creeds Chapter 2 Article 3:3 The Mysteries of the Christ's Life
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: Saturday 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: devotion de·vo·tion [dih-voh-shuh
n]
Origin: 1150–1200; Middle English devocioun (< Anglo-French ) < Late Latin dēvōtiōn- (stem of dēvōtiō ), equivalent to Latin dēvōt ( us ) (see devote) + -iōn- -ion
noun
1. profound dedication; consecration.
2. earnest attachment to a cause, person, etc.
3. an assignment or appropriation to any purpose, cause, etc.: the devotion of one's wealth and time to scientific advancement.
4. Often, devotions. Ecclesiastical . religious observance or worship; a form of prayer or worship for special use.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 86:1-6
1 [Prayer Of David] Listen to me, Yahweh, answer me, for I am poor and needy.
2 Guard me, for I am faithful, save your servant who relies on you. You are my God,
3 take pity on me, Lord, for to you I cry all the day.
4 Fill your servant's heart with joy, Lord, for to you I raise up my heart.
5 Lord, you are kind and forgiving, rich in faithful love for all who call upon you.
6 Yahweh, hear my prayer, listen to the sound of my pleading.
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Today's Epistle - Isaiah 58:9-14
9 Then you will cry for help and Yahweh will answer; you will call and he will say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words,
10 if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light will rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour will be like noon.
11 Yahweh will always guide you, will satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he will give strength to your bones and you will be like a watered garden, like a flowing spring whose waters never run dry.
12 Your ancient ruins will be rebuilt; you will build on age -- old foundations. You will be called 'Breach-mender', 'Restorer of streets to be lived in'.
13 If you refrain from breaking the Sabbath, from taking your own pleasure on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath 'Delightful', and the day sacred to Yahweh 'Honourable', if you honour it by abstaining from travel, from seeking your own pleasure and from too much talk,
14 then you will find true happiness
in Yahweh, and I shall lead you in triumph over the heights of the
land. I shall feed you on the heritage of your father Jacob, for the
mouth of Yahweh has spoken.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Luke 5: 27-32
When he went out after this, he
noticed a tax collector, Levi by name, sitting at the tax office, and
said to him, 'Follow me.' And leaving everything Levi got up and
followed him. In his honour Levi held a great reception in his house,
and with them at table was a large gathering of tax collectors and
others. The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples
and said, 'Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?' Jesus
said to them in reply, 'It is not those that are well who need the
doctor, but the sick. I have come to call not the upright but sinners to
repentance.'
Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the same
theme on which we reflected in January in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 2,
13-17). But, this time it is only the Gospel of Luke which speaks and
the text is much shorter, concentrating its attention on the principal
supper which is the call and conversion of Levi and what the conversion
implies for us who are entering into the time of Lent.
• Jesus calls
a sinner to be his disciple. Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, and he,
immediately, left everything, follows Jesus and begins to form part of
the group of the disciples. Immediately, Luke says that Levi had
prepared a great banquet in his house. In the Gospel of Mark, it seemed
that the banquet was in Jesus’ house. What is important here is the
insistence on communion of Jesus with sinners, around the table, which
was a forbidden thing.
• Jesus did not come for the just, but for sinners. The gesture of Jesus causes great anger among the religious authority. It was forbidden to sit at table with tax collectors and sinners, because to sit at table with someone meant to treat him, consider him as a brother! With his way of doing things, Jesus was accepting the excluded and was treating them as brothers of the same family of God. Instead of speaking directly with Jesus, the Scribes of the Pharisees speak with the disciples: Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners? And Jesus answers: It is not those that are well who need the doctor; I have come to call not the upright, but sinners to repentance!” The consciousness of his mission helps Jesus to find the response and to indicate the way for the announcement of the Good News of God. He has come to unite the dispersed people, to reintegrate those who are excluded, to reveal that God is not a severe judge who condemns and expels, but rather he is Father/Mother who accepts and embraces.
Personal questions
• Jesus accepts and includes the persons. Which is my attitude?
• Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that he has of God the Father. Which is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my behaviour?
• Jesus’ gesture reveals the experience that he has of God the Father. Which is the image of God which I bear and express to others through my behaviour?
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 Juliana of Nicomedia
Feast Day: February 16
Patron Saint: sickness
Attributes: Represented in pictures with a winged devil whom she leads by a chain.
She is also shown enduring various tortures or fighting a dragon.
Saint Juliana of Nicomedia is said to have suffered Christian martyrdom during the Diocletian persecution in 304. She was popular in the Middle Ages, especially in the Netherlands, as the patron saint of sickness.
Historical background
Both the Latin and Greek Churches mention a holy martyr Juliana in their lists of saints. The oldest historical notice of her is found in the Martyrologium Hieronymianum for 16 February, her place of birth being given as Cumae in Campania ("In Campania Cumbas, natale Julianae").[1]It is true that the reference is contained only in the single chief manuscript of the above-named martyrology (the Codex Epternacensis). It is nevertheless clear that the notice is certainly authentic, from a letter of Saint Gregory the Great, which testifies to the special veneration of Saint Juliana in the neighbourhood of Naples. A pious matron named Januaria built a church on one of her estates, for the consecration of which she desired relics (sanctuaria, that is to say, objects which had been brought into contact with the graves) of Saints Severinus and Juliana. Gregory wrote to Fortunatus II, Bishop of Naples, telling him to accede to the wishes of Januaria ("Gregorii Magni epist.", lib. IX, ep. ####", in J. P. Migne's Patrologia Latina, LXXXVII, 1015).[1]
The legend
The Acts of Saint Juliana used by Bede in his "Martyrologium" are purely legendary.[1] According to this account, Saint Juliana, daughter of an illustrious pagan named Africanus, was born in Nicomedia; and as a child was betrothed to the Senator Eleusius, one of the emperor's advisors. Her father was hostile to the Christians. Juliana secretly accepted holy baptism. When the time of her wedding approached, Juliana refused to be married. Her father urged her not to break her engagement, but when she refused to obey him, he handed her over to the Governor, her former fiancé. Elusius again asked Juliana to marry him, but she again refused.[2]The holy Martyr Juliana was executed in the year 304,[2] during the persecution of Maximian. Juliana was beheaded after suffering torture. Another Christian named Barbara suffered the death of a martyr along with Juliana and was likewise sainted.
Soon after a noble lady, named Sephonia, came through Nicomedia and took the saint's body with her to Italy, and had it buried in Campania. Evidently it was this alleged translation that caused the martyred Juliana, honoured in Nicomedia, to be identified with the Saint Juliana of Cumae evidenced above, although they are quite distinct persons.
A more detailed biography-reference at martyrdom
Saint Juliana was the daughter of pagan parents, who were illustrious princes of Nicomedia when Diocletian ruled (286–305 A.D.). They betrothed her to a senator named Eleusius, who fell in love with her and was looking forward to their wedding. Juliana declined, as she wished to remain virginal. Assuming it was a girl's caprice, Eleusius sought the position of Roman governor of the capital of Bithynia. He had spent a lot of money and had his family and friends mediate for him at the court. In a fairly short amount of time he assumed the post and became governor of Nicomedia. He repeated then the marriage proposal to Juliana, but she revealed her faith to him. As a "bride of Christ", she said: "Unless you abandon the adoration of meaningless idols and you worship my Lord Christ I won't marry you, because it is impossible for our bodies to be unified if our hearts militate".Juliana stayed constant to her decision although her parents pleaded with her. She was then arrested and taken to the court in front of the Roman governor, as a follower of the religion which was then under persecution. Her fiancé became her judge, torturer and executioner. He ordered people under his authority to remove her clothing and submit her to a series of tortures. First, she was flogged, then she was hanged by her hair and afterward it was pulled from her scalp. In prison, the devil approached her in the guise of an angel of God and advised her to agree to offer sacrifice to the pagan idols. Juliana saw through the deception, and struck out and spit on the devil. After this event she gained new powers to continue her fight. She was taken from jail and interrogated. Eleusius pleaded with her to marry him in order to get rid of the tortures and at the same time he promised her to allow her to worship her God freely. She remained constant. She was taken before a cauldron of molten lead. Juliana touched the cauldron and it tumbled over and the molten lead injured the guards. Many of the pagans who were present, 500 men and 130 women, were ready to convert to Christianity. They were beheaded on the spot on the governor’s order. Finally, Juliana was beheaded. She was 18 years old.
Alternate account
Juliana’s parents were pagans and they wanted to betroth her with Eleusius, a prominent officer from Antioch, but Juliana denied strongly. Her denial left her parents surprised because until then she had never opposed them and she was an obedient daughter. Eleusius' ego was sorely injured and he sought revenge. He made some queries and found out that Juliana had converted to Christianity, though her parents knew nothing about this. Eleusius impeached her before the Roman governor and as a result she was arrested and put in jail. While she was in prison, efforts to make her the wife of Eleusius continued, in order to save her from execution, but Juliana preferred to die rather than have a pagan as a husband. Then Eleusius after being ordered by the Roman governor and filled with hate flogged her in a ruthless way. After that, he burned her face with a heated iron and said at her, "Go now at the mirror to see your beauty". Juliana answered him with a light smile: "At the resurrection of the righteous, there won’t exist burnings and wounds but only the soul. So Eleusius, I prefer to have now the wounds of the body which are temporary, rather than the wounds of the soul which torture eternal." After a while, Juliana was beheaded. Eleusius was later eaten by a lion, when he was shipwrecked on an unknown island.Later history
At the beginning of the 13th century her remains were transferred to Naples. The description of this translation by a contemporary writer is still extant. The feast of the saint is celebrated in the Latin Church on 16 February, in the Greek on 21 December.
Since her Acts describe the conflicts which she is said to have with the devil, she is represented in pictures with a winged devil whom she leads by a chain. She is also shown enduring various tortures or fighting a dragon.
St. Juliana is the subject of an Anglo-Saxon poem, believed to have been written by Cynewulf in the eighth century.[2]
References
- ^ Kirsch, Johann Peter. "St. Juliana." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 7 Feb. 2013
- ^ "Saint Juliana of Nicomedia", Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
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Today's Snippet I: Mater Dolorosa
The Seven Sorrows of Mary are a popular Roman Catholic devotion. There are devotional prayers which consist of meditation on her Seven Sorrows. Examples include the Servite rosary, or the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady and the Seven Joys of Mary. The term "Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary" refers to the combined devotion of both the Immaculate Heart and the Seven Sorrows of Mary as first used by the Franciscan Tertiary Berthe Petit.
The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art.[1]
It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily one Our Father and seven Hail Marys for each.
- The Prophecy of Simeon. (Luke 2:34-35) or the Circumcision of Christ
- The Flight into Egypt. (Matthew 2:13)
- The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43-45)
- Mary Meets Jesus on the Way to Calvary.
- Jesus Dies on the Cross. (John 19:25)
- Mary Receives the Body of Jesus in Her Arms. (Matthew 27:57-59)
- The Body of Jesus Is Placed in the Tomb. (John 19:40-42)
These Seven Sorrows should not be confused with the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.
Devotions to the Seven Sorrows
Western Christianity
The feast of the Our Lady of Sorrows was originated by a provincial synod of Cologne in 1413 as a response to the iconoclast Hussites. It was designated for the Friday after the third Sunday after Easter. It had the title: Commemoratio angustiae et doloris B. Mariae V.. Before the 16th century, the feast was celebrated only in parts of northern Europe.Earlier, in 1233, seven youths in Tuscany founded the Servite Order (also known as the "Servite Friars", or the "Order of the Servants of Mary"). Five years later, they took up the sorrows of Mary, standing under the Cross, as the principal devotion of their order.[2]
Over the centuries several devotions, and even orders, arose around meditation on Mary's Sorrows in particular. The Servites developed the two most common devotions to Our Lady's Sorrows, namely the Rosary of the Seven Sorrows and the Black Scapular of the Seven Dolours of Mary. The Black Scapular is a symbol of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows, which is associated with the Servite Order.[3] Most devotional scapulars have requirements regarding ornamentation or design. The devotion of the Black Scapular requires only that it be made of black woollen cloth.[4]
Eastern Christianity
It depicts the Virgin Mary at the moment that Simeon the Righteous says, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also...." (Luke 2:35) She stands with her hands upraised in prayer, and seven swords pierce her heart, indicative of the seven sorrows.[5] This is one of the few Orthodox icons of the Theotokos which do not depict the infant Jesus. The refrain "Rejoice, much-sorrowing Mother of God, turn our sorrows into joy and soften the hearts of evil men!" is also used.[6]
Liturgical feast
The first altar to the Mater Dolorosa was set up in 1221 at the monastery of Schönau. Especially in Mediterranean countries, parishioners traditionally carry statues of Our Lady of Sorrows in processions on the days leading to Good Friday. Malta - Our Lady of Sorrows. In Malta and Gozo there are also Two Servites of Mary – Third Order in two parishes . In Malta there is the Third Order of the Servites of Mary at the Parish of Stella Maris Sliema. The other Third Order of the Servites of Mary is at the Parish of San Lawrenz in San Lawrenz, Gozo.The Third Order of the Servites of Mary at the Parish of Stella Maris Parish in Sliema was previously known as the Pia Unjone di Maria Desolata. In 1872 this was blessed by Pope (Blessed) Pius IX and by the Bishop of Malta Mgr Carmelo Scicluna in1878.
On the 8 September 1892 the Pia Unione was alleviated to a Third Order by a Decree of the Prior General of the Order of the Servites of Mary and with another Decree by Bishop of Malta Mgr Pietro Pace on the 27 October 1896. (Source: Tas-Sliema – Il-Knisja u l-Parrocca ta’ Stella Maris. Source: (Sliema –The Church and the Parish of Stella Maris) Maurice Busietta - 1978
No feast in her honour was included in St Pius V's 1570 Tridentine Calendar. Vatican approval for the celebration of a feast in honor of Our Lady of Sorrows was first granted to the Servite order in 1667.
By inserting the feast into the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1814, Pope Pius VII extended the celebration to the whole of the Latin Church. It was assigned to the third Sunday in September. In 1913, Pope Pius X moved the feast to September 15, the day after the Feast of the Cross.[7] It is still observed on that date.
Another feast, originating in the seventeenth century, was extended to the whole of the Latin Church in 1727. It was originally celebrated on Friday in Passion Week, one week before Good Friday. In 1954, it still held the rank of major double (slightly lower than the rank of the September 15 feast) in the General Roman Calendar. In 1962, the feast was reduced to a commemoration. By 1969 the Vatican had come to consider it a duplication of the September 15 feast, and the Passion Week feast was omitted in that year's revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints, and took effect in 1970.
Each celebration was called a feast of "The Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary." The September 15 feast that now combines and continues both of them is known as the Feast of "Our Lady of Sorrows" (Beatae Mariae Virginis Perdolentis). The sequence known as Stabat Mater may be sung at mass on that day.
Artistic Representations
In this iconography, Our Lady of Seven Sorrows is at times simply represented in a sad and anguished mode by herself, her expression being that of tears and sadness. In other representations the Virgin Mary is depicted with seven swords in her heart, a reference to the prophecy of Simeon at the Presentation.
Dieric Bouts (born ca. 1415 – 6 May 1475) was an Early Netherlandish painter. According to Karel van Mander in his Het Schilderboeck of 1604, Bouts was born in Haarlem and was mainly active in Leuven (Louvain), where he was city painter from 1468. Van Mander confused the issue by writing biographies of both "Dieric of Haarlem" and "Dieric of Leuven," although he was referring to the same artist. The similarity of their last names also led to the confusion of Bouts with Hubrecht Stuerbout, a prominent sculptor in Leuven. Very little is actually known about Bouts' early life, but he was greatly influenced by Jan van Eyck and by Rogier van der Weyden, under whom he may have studied. He is first documented in Leuven in 1457 and worked there until his death in 1475.
Bouts was among the first northern painters to demonstrate the use of a single vanishing point (as illustrated in his Last Supper). His work has a certain primitive stiffness of drawing, and his figures are often disproportionately long and angular, but his pictures are highly expressive, well designed and rich in colour, with especially good landscape backgrounds.
Stabat Mater
Stabat Mater is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Pietà. In the Stabat Mater depictions the Virgin Mary is represented as an actor and spectator in the scene, a mystical emblem of faith in the Crucified Savior, an ideal figure at once the mother of Christ and the personified Church. The depictions generally reflect the first three lines of the Stabat Mater poem:
The concept is also present in other designs, e.g. the Miraculous Medal and the more general Marian Cross. The Miraculous Medal by Saint Catherine Labouré in the 19th century includes a letter M, representing the Virgin Mary under the Cross.
The Marian Cross is also used in the coat of arms of Pope John Paul II, about which the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano stated in 1978: "the large and majestic capital M recalls the presence of the Madonna under the Cross and Her exceptional participation in Redemption."
The Pieta
Context and development
Pietà is one of the three common artistic representations of a sorrowful Virgin Mary, the other two being Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) and Stabat Mater (here stands the mother). The other two representations are most commonly found in paintings, rather than sculpture, although combined forms exist.The Pietà developed in Germany (where it is called the "Vesperbild") about 1300, reached Italy about 1400, and was especially popular in Central European Andachtsbilder. Many German and Polish 15th-century examples in wood greatly emphasise Christ's wounds. The Deposition of Christ and the Lamentation or Pietà form the 13th of the Stations of the Cross, as well as one of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin.
Although the Pietà most often shows the Virgin Mary holding Jesus, there are other compositions, including those where God the Father participates in holding Jesus (see gallery below). In Spain the Virgin often holds up one or both hands, sometimes with Christ's body slumped to the floor.
Michelangelo
A famous example by Michelangelo is located in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. The body of Christ is different from most earlier pietà statues, which were usually smaller and in wood. The Virgin is also unusually youthful, and in repose, rather than the older, sorrowing Mary of most pietàs. She is shown as youthful for two reasons; God is the source of all beauty and she is one of the closest to God, also the exterior is thought as the revelation of the interior (the virgin is morally beautiful). The Pietà with the Virgin Mary is also unique among Michelangelo's sculptures, because it was the only one he ever signed, upon hearing that visitors thought it had been sculpted by Cristoforo Solari, a competitor. Michelangelo's signature is carved into the sash the Virgin wears on her breast. Michelangelo's last work was another Pietà, this one featuring not the Virgin Mary holding Christ, but rather Joseph of Arimathea, probably carved as a self-portrait. A generation later, the Spanish painter Luis de Morales painted a number of highly emotional Pietàs, with examples in the Louvre and Museo del Prado.References
- ^ Ball, Ann (2003). "Seven Sorrows of Mary". Encyclopedia of Catholic Devotions and Practices. Huntington IN: Our Sunday Visitor. p. 525. ISBN 0-87973-910-X.
- ^ Catholic encyclopedia
- ^ Order of Friar Servants of Mary: The Confraternity of Our Lady of Sorrows - retrieved on 22-Mar-2009
- ^ Francis de Zulueta, 2008, Early Steps In The Fold, Miller Press, ISBN 978-1-4086-6003-4, p. 301
- ^ Churchly joy: Orthodox devotions for the church year by Sergeĭ Nikolaevich Bulgakov, Boris Jakim 2008 ISBN 0-8028-4834-6 pages 10-11
- ^ Orthodox life, Volumes 54-55, Holy Trinity Monastery (Jordanville, N.Y.) page 7
- ^ "Calendarium Romanum", Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969, p. 103
- ^ Arthur de Bles, 2004 How to Distinguish the Saints in Art by Their Costumes, Symbols and Attributes ISBN 1-4179-0870-X page 35
- ^ "Miraculous' stone with image of Mary 'grows' in Bicol", gmanews.tv
- The Seven Sorrows of Mary, by Joel Giallanza, C.S.C. 2008, published by Ave Maria Press, ISBN 1-59471-176-3
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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 5, Chapter 5
THE BLESSED MOTHER OFFERS HER SON AS VICTIM TO THE
ETERNAL FATHER; JESUS DEPARTS FROM NAZARETH.
The love of our great Queen and Lady for her divine
Son must always remain the standard by which we must measure as well her actions
as all her emotions either of joy or sorrow during her earthly life. But we
cannot measure the greatness of her love itself, nor can the holy angels measure
it, except by the love which they see in God by the intuitive vision. All that
can ever be expressed by our inadequate words, similes and analogies, is but the
least portion of what this heavenly furnace of love really contained. For
She loved Jesus as the Son of the eternal Father, equal to Him in essence and in
all the divine attributes and perfections; She loved Him as her own natural Son,
Son to Her in as far as He was man, formed of her own flesh and blood; She loved
Him because as man He was the Saint of saints and the meritorious cause of all
other holiness (Dan. 11, 24). He was the most beautiful among the sons of
men (Ps. 44, 3). He was the most dutiful Son of his Mother, her most magnificent
Benefactor; since it was He, that by his sonship, had raised Her to the highest
dignity possible among creatures. He had exalted Her among all and above all by
the treasures of his Divinity and by conferring upon Her the dominion over all
creation together with favors, blessings and graces, such as were never to be
conferred upon any other being.
These motives and foundations of her love were established
and as it were, all comprehended in the wisdom of the heavenly Lady, together
with many others, which only her exalted knowledge could appreciate. In her
heart there was no hindrance of love, since it was the most innocent and pure;
She was not ungrateful, because her profoundest humility urged Her to a most
faithful correspondence; She was not remiss, because in Her the most abundant
grace wrought with all its efficacy; She was not slow or careless since She was
filled with most zealous and diligent fervor ; not forgetful, since her most
faithful memory was constantly fixed upon the blessings received and upon the
reasons and the precepts of deepest love. She moved in the sphere of the divine
love itself, since She remained in his visible presence and attended the school
of divine love of her Son, copying his works and his doings in his very company.
Nothing was wanting to this peerless One among lovers for entertaining love
without limitations of measure or manner. This most beautiful Moon then
being at its fullness, and looking into this Sun of justice just as it had risen
like a divine aurora from height to height and reached the noontide splendor of
the most clear light of grace; this Moon, Mary, detached from all material
creatures and entirely transformed by the light of this Sun, having experienced
on her part all the effects of his reciprocal love, favors and gifts, in the
height of her blessedness, at a time when the loss of all these blessings in her
Son made it most arduous, heard the voice of the eternal Father, calling Her as
once He called upon her prototype, Abraham, and demanding the deposit of all her
love and hope, her beloved Isaac (Gen. 22, 1).
The most prudent Mother was not unaware, the time of her
sacrifice was approaching; for her sweetest Son had already entered the
thirtieth year of his life and the time and place for satisfying the debt He had
assumed was at hand. But in the full possession of the Treasure, which
represented all her happiness, Mary was still considering its loss as far off,
not having as yet had its experience. The hour therefore drawing near, She was
wrapt in a most exalted vision and felt that She was being called and placed in
the presence of the throne of the most blessed Trinity. From it issued a voice
of wonderful power saying to Her: "Mary, my Daughter and Spouse,
offer to Me thy onlybegotten Son in sacrifice." By the living power of
these words came to Her the light and intelligence of the Almighty's will, and
in it the most blessed Mother understood the decree of the
Redemption of man through the Passion and Death of her most holy Son, together
with all that from now on would happen in the preaching and public life
of the Savior. As this knowledge was renewed and perfected in Her, She felt her
soul overpowered by sentiments of subjection, humility, love of God and
man, compassion and tenderest Sorrow for all that her Son was to suffer.
But with an undismayed and magnanimous heart She gave answer
to the Most High: "Eternal King and omnipotent God of infinite wisdom and
goodness, all that has being outside of Thee exists solely for thy mercy and
greatness, and Thou art undiminished Lord of all. How then dost Thou command me,
an insignificant wormlet of the earth, to sacrifice and deliver over to thy will
the Son, whom thy condescension has given me? He is thine, eternal
Father, since from all eternity before the morning star Thou hast
engendered Him (Ps. 109, 3), and Thou begettest Him and shalt beget Him through
all the eternities and if I have clothed Him in the form of servant (Philip 2,
7) in my womb and from my own blood, and if I have nourished his humanity at my
breast and ministered to it as a Mother: this most holy humanity is also thy
property, and so am I, since I have received from Thee all that I am and that I
could give Him. What then can I offer to Thee, that is not more thine than mine?
I confess, most high King, that thy magnificence and beneficence are so liberal
in heaping upon thy creatures thy infinite treasures, that in order to bind
Thyself to them Thou wishest to receive from them as a free gift, even thy own
onlybegotten Son, Him whom Thou begettest from thy own substance and from the
light of thy Divinity. With Him came to me all blessings together and from his
hands I received immense gifts and graces (Wis. 7, 11); He is the Virtue of my
virtue, the Substance of my spirit, Life of my soul and Soul of my life, the
Sustenance of all my joy of living. It would be a sweet sacrifice, indeed, to
yield Him up to Thee who alone knowest his value; but to yield Him for the
satisfaction of thy justice into the hands of his cruel enemies the cost of his
life, more precious than all the works of creation; this indeed, most high Lord,
is a great sacrifice which Thou askest of his Mother. However let not my will
but thine be done. Let the freedom of the human race be thus bought; let thy
justice and equity be satisfied; let thy infinite love become manifest; let thy
name be known and magnified before all creatures. I deliver Him over into thy
hands before all creatures. I deliver over into thy hands my beloved Isaac, that
He may be truly sacrificed; I offer my Son, the Fruit of my womb, in
order that, according to the unchangeable decree of thy Will, He may pay the
debt contracted not by his fault, but by the children of Adam, and in order that
in his Death He may fulfill all that thy holy Prophets, inspired by Thee, have
written and foretold."
This sacrifice with all that pertained to it, was the
greatest and the most acceptable that ever had been made to the eternal Father
since the creation of the world, or ever will be made to the end, outside of
that made by his own Son, the Redeemer; and hers was most intimately
connected with and like to that, which He offered. If the greatest charity
consists in offering one's life for the beloved, without a doubt most holy Mary
far surpassed this highest degree of love toward men, as She loved Her Son much
more than her own life. For in order to preserve the life of her Son, She would
have given the lives of all men, if She had possessed them, yea and countless
more. Among men there is no measure by which to estimate the love of that
heavenly Lady, and it can be estimated only by the love of the eternal
Father for his Son. As Christ says to Nikodemus (John 15, 7): so God loved the
world, that He gave his only Son in order that none of those who believed in him
might perish; so this might also be said in its degree of the love of the Mother
of mercy and in the same way do we owe to Her proportionately our salvation. For
She also loved us so much, that She gave her only Son for our salvation; and if
She had not given it in this manner, when it was asked of Her by the eternal
Father on this occasion, the salvation of men could not have been executed by
this same decree, since this decree was to be fulfilled on condition, that the
Mother's will should coincide with that of the eternal Father. Such is the
obligation which the children of Adam owe to most holy Mary.
Having accepted the offering of the great Lady, it was
fitting that the most Blessed Trinity should reward and immediately pay Her by
some favor, which would comfort Her in her sorrow and manifest more clearly the
will of the eternal Father and the reasons for his command. Therefore the
heavenly Lady, still in the same vision and raised to a more exalted ecstasy, in
which She was prepared and enlightened in the manner elsewhere described (I,
623), the Divinity manifested Itself to Her by an intuitive and direct vision.
In this vision, by the clear light of the essence of God, She comprehended the
inclination of the infinite Good to communicate his fathomless treasures to the
rational creatures by means of the works of the incarnate Word, and She saw the
glory, that would result from these wonders to the name of he Most High. Filled
with jubilation of her soul at the prospect of all these sacramental
mysteries, the heavenly Mother renewed the offering of her divine Son to
the Father; and God comforted Her with the life-giving bread of heavenly
understanding, in order that She might with invincible fortitude assist the
incarnate Word in the work of Redemption as Coadjutrix and Helper, according to
the disposition of infinite Wisdom and according as it really happened
afterwards in the rest of her life.
Then most holy Mary issued forth from this exalted rapture in
the description of which I will not further detain myself; for it was
accompanied by the same circumstances as the other intuitive visions already
mentioned. But by its effects and the strength imparted through it, She was now
prepared to separate from her divine Son, who had already resolved to enter upon
his fast in the desert in view of receiving his Baptism. He therefore called his
Mother and, speaking to Her with the tokens of sweetest love and compassion, He
said: "My Mother, my existence as man I derive entirely from thy substance
and blood, of which I have taken the form of a servant in thy virginal womb
(Phil. 2, 7). Thou also hast nursed Me at thy breast and taken care of Me by thy
labors and sweat. For this reason I account Me more thine own and as thy Son,
than any other ever acknowledged, or more than any ever will acknowledge himself
as the son of his mother. Give Me thy permission and consent toward
accomplishing the will of my eternal Father. Already the time has arrived, in
which I must leave thy sweet interaction and company and begin the work of the
Redemption of man. The time of rest has come to an end and the hour of
suffering for the rescue of the sons of Adam has arrived. But I wish to perform
this work of my Father with thy assistance, and Thou art to be my companion and
helper in preparing for my Passion and Death of the Cross. Although I must now
leave Thee alone, my blessing shall remain with Thee, and my loving and powerful
protection. I shall afterwards return to claim thy assistance and company in my
labors; for I am to undergo them in the form of man, which Thou hast given
Me."
With these words, while both Mother and Son were overflowing
with abundant tears, the Lord placed his arms around the neck of the most tender
Mother, yet Both maintaining a majestic composure such as befitted these Masters
in the art of suffering. The heavenly Lady fell at the feet of her divine Son
and, with ineffable sorrow and reverence, answered: "My Lord and eternal
God: Thou art indeed my Son and in Thee is fulfilled all the force of love,
which I have received of Thee: my inmost soul is laid open to the eyes of thy
divine wisdom. My life I would account but little, if I could thereby save thy
own, or if I could die for Thee many times. But the will of the eternal Father
and thy own must be fulfilled and I offer my own will as a sacrifice for this
fulfillment. Receive it, my Son and as Master of all my being; let it be an
acceptable offering, and let thy divine protection never be wanting to me. It
would be a much greater for me, not to be allowed to accompany Thee in thy
labors and in thy Cross. May I merit this favor, my Son, and I ask it of Thee as
thy true Mother in return for the human form, which Thou hast received of
me." The most loving Mother also besought Him to take along some food from
the house, or that He allow it to be sent to where He was to go. But the Savior
would not consent to anything of the sort, at the same enlightening his Mother
of what was befitting for the occasion. They went together to the door of their
house, where She again fell at his feet to ask his blessing and kiss his feet.
The divine Master gave Her his benediction and then began his journey to the
Jordan, issuing forth as the good Shepherd to seek his lost sheep and bring them
back on his shoulders to the way of eternal life, from which they had been
decayed by deceit (Luke 15, 5).
When our Redeemer sought saint John in order to be baptized,
He had already entered his thirtieth year, although not much of it had yet
passed; for He betook Himself directly to the banks of the Jordan, where saint
John was baptizing (Matth. 3, 13), and He received Baptism at his hands about
thirty days after He had finished the twenty-ninth year of his life on the same
day as is set aside for its celebration by the Church. I cannot worthily
describe the sorrow of most holy Mary at his departure, nor the compassion of
the Savior for Her. All words and description are far too inadequate to manifest
what passed in the heart of the Son and Mother. As this was to be part of their
meritorious sufferings, it was not befitting that the natural effects of their
mutual loves should be diminished. God permitted these effects to work in Them
to their full extent, and as far as was compatible with the holiness of both
Mother and Son. Our divine Teacher found no relief in hastening his steps toward
the goal of our Redemption, to which He was drawn by the force of his immense
charity; nor was the thought of what He intended a lessening of the sense of
loss, which She sustained at his departure; for all this only made more certain
and more conspicuous the torments which He was to undergo. O my dearest Love!
Why does not our ingratitude and hardness of heart allow us to meet Thee with a
responsive love? Why does not the perfect uselessness of man, and still more,
his ingratitude, influence Thee to desist? Without us, O my eternal Goodness and
Life, Thou wilt be just as happy without us as with us, just as infinite in
perfections, holiness and glory; we can add nothing to that which Thou hast in
Thyself, since Thou art entirely independent of creatures. Why then, O my Love,
dost Thou so anxiously seek us out and care for us? Why dost Thou, at the
cost of thy Passion and the Cross, purchase our happiness? Without doubt,
because thy incomprehensible love and goodness esteems it as thy own, and we
alone insist in treating our own happiness as alien to Thee and to ourselves.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN. (The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of
Agreda, Spain.)
My daughter, I wish that thou ponder and penetrate more and
more this mystery of which thou hast written, so fixing it in thy soul,
that thou wilt be drawn to imitate my example at least in some part of it.
Consider then, that in the vision of the Divinity which I had on this
occasion, I was made to comprehend the high value which the Lord sets upon the
labors, the Passion and Death of my Son, and upon all those who were to imitate
and follow Jesus in the way of the Cross. Knowing this, I not only offered to
deliver my Son over to Passion and Death, but I asked Him to make me his
companion and partaker of all his sorrows, sufferings and torments, which
request the eternal Father granted. Then, in order to begin following in the
footsteps of his bitterness, I besought my Son and Lord to deprive me of
interior delights; and this petition was inspired in me by the Lord himself,
because He wished it so, and because my own love taught me and urged me thereto.
This desire for suffering and the wishes of my divine Son led me on in the way
of suffering. He himself because He loved me so tenderly, granted me my desires;
for those whom He loves, He chastises and afflicts (Prov. 3, 12). I as his Mother
was not to be deprived of this blessed distinction of being entirely like unto
Him, which alone makes this life most estimable. Immediately this will the Most
High, this my earnest petition, began to be fulfilled: I began to feel the want
of his delightful caresses and He began to treat me with greater reserve. That
was one of the reasons, why He did not call me Mother, but Woman, at the
marriage-feast at Cana and at the foot of the Cross (John 2, 4, 19, 26);
and also on other occasions, when He abstained from words of tenderness. So far
was this from being a sign of a diminution of his love, that it was rather an
exquisite refinement of his affection to assimilate me to Him in the sufferings
which He chose Himself as his precious treasure and inheritance.
Hence thou wilt understand the ignorance and error of
mortals, and how far they drift from the way of light, when, as a rule, nearly
all of them strive to avoid labor and suffering and are frightened by the royal
and secure road of mortification and the Cross. Full of this deceitful
ignorance, they do not only abhor resemblance to Christ's suffering and my own,
and deprive themselves of the true and highest blessing of this life but they
make their recovery impossible, since all of them are weak and afflicted by many
sins, for which the only remedy is suffering. Sin is committed by base
indulgence and is repugnant to suffering sorrow, while tribulation earns pardon
of the just judge. By the bitterness of sorrow and affliction the vapors of sin
are allayed; the excesses of the concupiscible and irascible passions are
crushed; pride and haughtiness are humiliated; the flesh is subdued the
inclination to evil, to the sensible and earthly creatures is repressed; the
judgment is cleared; the will is brought within bounds and its desultory
movements at the call of the passions, are corrected; and, above all, divine
love and pity are drawn down upon the afflicted, who embrace suffering with
patience, or who seek it to imitate my most holy Son. In this science of
suffering are renewed all the blessed riches of the creatures; those that fly
from them are insane, those that know nothing of this science are foolish.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part One: Profession of Faith, Sect 2 The Creeds, Ch 2 Art 3:2
CHAPTER TWO
I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF
GOD
Article 3
"HE WAS CONCEIVED BY THE POWER OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT, AND WAS BORN OF THE VIRGIN MARY"
Paragraph 3. THE MYSTERIES OF CHRIST'S LIFE
512
Concerning Christ's life the Creed speaks only about the mysteries of the
Incarnation (conception and birth) and Paschal mystery (passion, crucifixion,
death, burial, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension). It says nothing
explicitly about the mysteries of Jesus' hidden or public life, but the
articles of faith concerning his Incarnation and Passover do shed light on the
whole of his earthly life. "All that Jesus did and taught, from the beginning
until the day when he was taken up to heaven" is to be seen in
the light of the mysteries of Christmas and Easter.
513
According to circumstances catechesis will make use of all the richness of the
mysteries of Jesus. Here it is enough merely to indicate some elements common
to all the mysteries of Christ's life (I), in order then to sketch the
principal mysteries of Jesus' hidden (II) and public (III) life.
I. CHRIST'S
WHOLE LIFE IS MYSTERY
514
Many things about Jesus of interest to human curiosity do not figure in the
Gospels. Almost nothing is said about his hidden life at Nazareth, and even a
great part of his public life is not recounted.Jn 20:30 What is written in
the Gospels was set down there "so that you may believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his
name."Jn 20:31
515
The Gospels were written by men who were among the first to have the
faithMk 1:1;
⇒ Jn 21:24 and wanted to share it with others. Having known in faith who
Jesus is, they could see and make others see the traces of his mystery in all
his earthly life. From the swaddling clothes of his birth to the vinegar of his
Passion and the shroud of his Resurrection, everything in Jesus' life was a
sign of his mystery. Lk 2:7;
⇒ Mt 27: 48; ⇒ Jn
20:7 His deeds, miracles and words all revealed that
"in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily."Col 2:9 His
humanity appeared as "sacrament", that is, the sign and instrument,
of his divinity and of the salvation he brings: what was visible in his earthly
life leads to the invisible mystery of his divine sonship and redemptive
mission
Characteristics
common to Jesus' mysteries
516
Christ's whole earthly life - his words and deeds, his silences and sufferings,
indeed his manner of being and speaking - is Revelation of the Father. Jesus
can say: "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father", and the Father
can say: "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"177Jn 14:9;
⇒ Lk 9:35; cf. ⇒ Mt 17:5;
⇒ Mk 9:7, "my beloved Son" Because
our Lord became man in order to do his Father's will, even the least
characteristics of his mysteries manifest "God's love. . . among
us".Jn 4:9
517
Christ's whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above
all through the blood of his cross,Eph 1:7;
⇒ Col 1:13-14; ⇒ 2 Pt
1:18-19 but this mystery is at work
throughout Christ's entire life: -already in his Incarnation through which by
becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;2 Cor 8:9 - in his hidden life
which by his submission atones for our disobedience;Lk
2:51 - in his word
which purifies its hearers;Jn 15:3- in his healings and exorcisms by which
"he took our infirmities and bore our diseases";Mt 8:17; cf.
⇒ Is 53:4 - and in
his Resurrection by which he justifies us.Rom 4:25
518
Christ's whole life is a mystery of recapitulation. All Jesus did, said and
suffered had for its aim restoring fallen man to his original vocation: When Christ became incarnate and was made man, he recapitulated in
himself the long history of mankind and procured for us a "short cut"
to salvation, so that what we had lost in Adam, that is, being in the image and
likeness of God, we might recover in Christ Jesus.St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 18, 1: PG 7/1, 932 For this reason
Christ experienced all the stages of life, thereby giving communion with God to
all men.St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 3, 18, 7: PG 7/1, 937; cf. 2, 22, 4
Our
communion in the mysteries of Jesus
519
All Christ's riches "are for every individual and are everybody's
property."John Paul II, RH II Christ did not live his life for himself but for us,
from his Incarnation "for us men and for our salvation" to his death
"for our sins" and Resurrection "for our
justification".I Cor 15:3; ⇒ Rom 4:25 He is still "our advocate with the
Father", who "always lives to make intercession" for us.I ⇒ Jn 2:1 ⇒ Heb
7:25
He remains ever "in the presence of God on our behalf, bringing before him
all that he lived and suffered for us."Heb 9:24
520
In all of his life Jesus presents himself as our model. He is "the perfect
man",GS 38; cf. Rom 1 5:5;
⇒ Phil 2:5 who invites us to become his disciples and follow him. In
humbling himself, he has given us an example to imitate, through his prayer he
draws us to pray, and by his poverty he calls us to accept freely the privation
and persecutions that may come our way.n 13:15;
⇒ Lk 11:1; ⇒ Mt
5:11-12
521
Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself lived, and he lives it in
us. "By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, has in a certain way united
himself with each man."GS 22 #
2 We are called only to become one with
him, for he enables us as the members of his Body to share in what he lived for
us in his flesh as our model:
We must continue to accomplish
in ourselves the stages of Jesus' life and his mysteries and often to beg him
to perfect and realize them in us and in his whole Church. . . For it is the
plan of the Son of God to make us and the whole Church partake in his mysteries
and to extend them to and continue them in us and in his whole Church. This is
his plan for fulfilling his mysteries in us.St. John Eudes: LH, week 33, Friday, OR
II. THE
MYSTERIES OF JESUS' INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE
The
preparations
522
The coming of God's Son to earth is an event of such immensity that God willed
to prepare for it over centuries. He makes everything converge on Christ: all
the rituals and sacrifices, figures and symbols of the "First
Covenant".Heb 9:15 He announces him through the mouths of the prophets
who succeeded one another in Israel. Moreover, he awakens in the hearts of the
pagans a dim expectation of this coming.
523
St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to
prepare his way.Acts 13:24;
⇒ Mt 3:3 "Prophet of the Most High", John
surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last.Lk 1:76; cf.
⇒ 7:26; ⇒ Mt
11:13 He inaugurates
the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the coming of Christ, and
rejoices in being "the friend of the bridegroom", whom he points out
as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world".Jn 1 29; cf.
⇒ Acts 1:22; ⇒ Lk
1:41; ⇒ 16:16;
⇒ Jn 3:29
Going before Jesus "in the spirit and power of Elijah", John bears
witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through
his martyrdom.Lk 1:17; cf.
⇒ Mk 6:17-29
524
When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present
this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation
for the Saviour's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his
second coming.Rev 22:17 By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom,
the Church unites herself to his desire: "He must increase, but I must
decrease."Jn 3:30
The
Christmas mystery
525
Jesus was born in a humble stable, into a poor family. Lk 2:61 Simple
shepherds were the first witnesses to this event. In this poverty heaven's
glory was made manifest.Lk 2:8-20 The Church never tires of singing the glory
of this night:
The Virgin today brings into
the world the Eternal
and the earth offers a cave to
the Inaccessible.
The angels and shepherds
praise him
and the magi advance with the
star,
For you are born for us,
Little Child, God
eternal!Kontakion
of Romanos the Melodist
526
To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the
kingdom.Mt 18:3-4. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even
more: to become "children of God" we must be "born from
above" or "born of God".Jn 3 7;
⇒ 1:13;
⇒ 1:12; cf. ⇒ Mt 23:12 Only when Christ is formed
in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us.Gal 4:19 Christmas is
the mystery of this "marvellous exchange": O marvellous exchange! Man's Creator has become man,
born of the Virgin. We have been made sharers in the divinity of Christ who
humbled himself to share our humanity.LH, 1 January, Antiphon I of Evening Prayer
The
mysteries of Jesus' infancy
527
Jesus' circumcision, on the eighth day after his birth,Lk 2:21 is the sign
of his incorporation into Abraham's descendants, into the people of the
covenant. It is the sign of his submission to the LawGal 4:4 and his
deputation to Israel's worship, in which he will participate throughout his
life. This sign prefigures that "circumcision of Christ" which is
Baptism. Col 2:11-13
528
The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and
Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of
Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the
Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.Mt 2:1; cf. LH, Epiphany, Evening Prayer II,
Antiphon at the Canticle of Mary In the magi,
representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the
first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the
Incarnation. the magi's coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king
of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star
of David, the one who will be king of the nations.Mt 2:2;
⇒ Num 24:17-19; ⇒ Rev
22:16 Their coming
means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour
of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the
messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.Jn 4 22;
⇒ Mt 2:4-6 The Epiphany
shows that "the full number of the nations" now takes its "place
in the family of the patriarchs", and acquires Israelitica
dignitasSt. Leo the Great, Sermo 3 in epiphania Domini 1-3, 5: PL 54,
242; LH, Epiphany, OR; Roman Missal, Easter Vigil 26, Prayer after the
third reading. (is made "worthy of the heritage of Israel").
529
The presentation of Jesus in the temple shows him to be the firstborn Son who
belongs to the Lord.Lk 2:22-39; EX 13:2, 12-13 With Simeon and Anna, all Israel awaits its
encounter with the Saviour - the name given to this event in the Byzantine
tradition. Jesus is recognized as the long-expected Messiah, the "light to
the nations" and the "glory of Israel", but also "a sign
that is spoken against". the sword of sorrow predicted for Mary announces
Christ's perfect and unique oblation on the cross that will impart the
salvation God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples".
530
The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocentsMt 2:13-18 make
manifest the opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own
home, and his own people received him not."Jn 1:11 Christ's whole life
was lived under the sign of persecution. His own share it with him.Jn 15:20
Jesus' departure from Egypt recalls the exodus and presents him as the
definitive liberator of God's people.Mt 2:15; ⇒ Hos
11:1
The
mysteries of Jesus' hidden life
531
During the greater part of his life Jesus shared the condition of the vast
majority of human beings: a daily life spent without evident greatness, a life
of manual labour. His religious life was that of a Jew obedient to the law of
God,Gal 4:4 a life in the community. From this whole period it is revealed
to us that Jesus was "obedient" to his parents and that he
"increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favour with God and
man."Lk 2:51-52
532
Jesus' obedience to his mother and legal father fulfils the fourth commandment
perfectly and was the temporal image of his filial obedience to his Father in
heaven. the everyday obedience of Jesus to Joseph and Mary both announced and
anticipated the obedience of Holy Thursday: "Not my will. .
."Lk 22:42 The obedience of Christ in the daily routine of his hidden life
was already inaugurating his work of restoring what the disobedience of Adam
had destroyed.Rom 5:19
533
The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone to enter into fellowship with Jesus
by the most ordinary events of daily life:
The home of Nazareth is the
school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus - the school of the
Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that
admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us. . . A lesson on
family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love,
its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character... A
lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the "Carpenter's Son", in you I
would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human
work. . . To conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up
to them their great pattern their brother who is God.Paul VI
at Nazareth, 5 January 1964:
LH, Feast of the Holy Family, OR
LH, Feast of the Holy Family, OR
534
The finding of Jesus in the temple is the only event that breaks the silence of
the Gospels about the hidden years of Jesus.Lk 2:41-52 Here Jesus lets us
catch a glimpse of the mystery of his total consecration to a mission that
flows from his divine sonship: "Did you not know that I must be about my
Father's work?"Lk 2:49 Mary and Joseph did not understand these words,
but they accepted them in faith. Mary "kept all these things in her
heart" during the years Jesus remained hidden in the silence of an
ordinary life.
III. THE
MYSTERIES OF JESUS' PUBLIC LIFE
The baptism
of Jesus
535
Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan.Lk 3:23;
⇒ Acts 1:22
John preaches "a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of
sins".Lk 3:3 A crowd of sinnersLk 3:10-14 - tax collectors and soldiers,
Pharisees and Sadducees, and prostitutes - come to be baptized by him.
"Then Jesus appears." the Baptist hesitates, but Jesus insists and
receives baptism. Then the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes upon Jesus
and a voice from heaven proclaims, "This is my beloved
Son."Mt 3:13-17 This is the manifestation ("Epiphany") of Jesus
as Messiah of Israel and Son of God.
536
The baptism of Jesus is on his part the acceptance and inauguration of his
mission as God's suffering Servant. He allows himself to be numbered among
sinners; he is already "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world".232 Already he is anticipating the "baptism" of
his bloody death.Jn 1:29; cf.
⇒ Is 53:12 Already he is coming to "fulfil all
righteousness", that is, he is submitting himself entirely to his Father's
will: out of love he consents to this baptism of death for the remission of our
sins.Mk 10:38 The Father's voice responds to the Son's acceptance,
proclaiming his entire delight in his Son.Lk 3:22 The Spirit whom Jesus
possessed in fullness from his conception comes to "rest on
him".Jn 1:32-33 Jesus will be the source of the Spirit for all mankind.
At his baptism "the heavens were opened"Mt 3:16 - the heavens
that Adam's sin had closed - and the waters were sanctified by the descent of
Jesus and the Spirit, a prelude to the new creation.
537
Through Baptism the Christian is sacramentally assimilated to Jesus, who in his
own baptism anticipates his death and resurrection. the Christian must enter
into this mystery of humble self-abasement and repentance, go down into the
water with Jesus in order to rise with him, be reborn of water and the Spirit
so as to become the Father's beloved son in the Son and "walk in newness
of life":Rom 6:4
Let us be buried with Christ
by Baptism to rise with him; let us go down with him to be raised with him; and
let us rise with him to be glorified with him.St.
Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 40, 9: PG 36, 369
Everything that happened to
Christ lets us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down
upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the Father's voice, we become
sons of God.St. Hilary of Poitiers, In Matth. 2, 5: PL 9, 927
Jesus'
temptations
538
The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after
his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there
for forty days without eating; he lives among wild beasts, and angels minister
to him.Mk 1:12-13 At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times,
seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these
attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel
in the desert, and the devil leaves him "until an opportune
time".Lk 4:13
539
The evangelists indicate the salvific meaning of this mysterious event: Jesus
is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to
temptation. Jesus fulfils Israel's vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who
had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself
as God's Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. In this, Jesus is the
devil's conqueror: he "binds the strong man" to take back his
plunder.Ps 95:10;
⇒ Mk 3:27 Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates
victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the
Father.
540
Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary
to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to
him.Mt 16:2
⇒ 1-23 This is why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: "For we
have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one
who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning."Heb 4:15
By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the
mystery of Jesus in the desert.
"The
kingdom of God is at hand"
541
"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the
gospel of God, and saying: 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.'"Mk 1:14-15 "To carry out
the will of the Father Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on
earth."LG 3 Now the Father's will is "to raise up men to share
in his own divine life".LG 2 He does this by gathering men around
his Son Jesus Christ. This gathering is the Church, "on earth the seed and
beginning of that kingdoms".LG 5
542
Christ stands at the heart of this gathering of men into the "family of
God". By his word, through signs that manifest the reign of God, and by
sending out his disciples, Jesus calls all people to come together around him.
But above all in the great Paschal mystery - his death on the cross and his
Resurrection - he would accomplish the coming of his kingdom. "and I, when
I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." Into this
union with Christ all men are called.Jn 12:32; cf. LG 3
The
proclamation of the kingdom of God
543
Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. First announced to the children of
Israel, this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all
nations.Mt 8:11
⇒ 10:5-7; ⇒ 28:19 To enter it, one must first accept Jesus' word:
The word of the Lord is
compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear it with faith and
are numbered among the little flock of Christ have truly received the kingdom.
Then, by its own power, the seed sprouts and grows until the
harvest.Mk 4:14,
⇒ 26-29; ⇒ Lk
12:32
544
The kingdom belongs to the poor and lowly, which means those who have accepted
it with humble hearts. Jesus is sent to "preach good news to the
poor";Lk 4:18; cf. ⇒ 7:22 he declares them blessed, for "theirs is the
kingdom of heaven."Mt 5:3To them - the "little ones" the Father
is pleased to reveal what remains hidden from the wise and the
learned. Mt 11:25 Jesus shares the life of the poor, from the cradle to the
cross; he experiences hunger, thirst and privation.Mt 21:18;
⇒ Mk 2:23-26; ⇒ Jn 4:6
1; ⇒ 19:28;
⇒ Lk 9:58 Jesus identifies
himself with the poor of every kind and makes active love toward them the
condition for entering his kingdom. Mt 25:31-46
545
Jesus invites sinners to the table of the kingdom: "I came not to call the
righteous, but sinners."Mk 2:17; cf. ⇒ l Tim
1:15 He invites them to that conversion
without which one cannot enter the kingdom, but shows them in word and deed his
Father's boundless mercy for them and the vast "joy in heaven over one
sinner who repents".Lk 15:7; cf.
⇒ 7:11-32 The supreme proof of his love will be the
sacrifice of his own life "for the forgiveness of sins".Mt 26:28
546
Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a
characteristic feature of his teaching.Mk 4:33-34 Through his parables he
invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical
choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. Mt 13:44-45;
⇒ 22:1-14 Words are not
enough, deeds are required.Mt 21:28-32 The parables are like mirrors for man:
will he be hard soil or good earth for the word?Mt 13:3-9 What use has he
made of the talents he has received?Mt 25:14-30 Jesus and the presence of the
kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter
the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to "know the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven".Mt 13:11 For those who stay
"outside", everything remains enigmatic.Mk 4:11; cf.
⇒ Mt 13:10-15
The signs
of the kingdom of God
547
Jesus accompanies his words with many "mighty works and wonders and
signs", which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that
he was the promised Messiah.Acts 2:22; cf. ⇒ Lk
7:18-23
548
The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite
belief in him.Jn 5:36;
⇒ 10:25, ⇒ 38 To those who turn to him in faith, he grants what
they ask.Mk 5:25-34 So miracles strengthen faith in the One who does his
Father's works; they bear witness that he is the Son of God. Jn 10:31-38 But his
miracles can also be occasions for "offence";Mt 11:6 they are not
intended to satisfy people's curiosity or desire for magic Despite his evident
miracles some people reject Jesus; he is even accused of acting by the power of
demons.Jn 11:47-48;
⇒ Mk 3:22
549
By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice,
illness and death,Jn 6:5-15;
⇒ Lk 19:8; ⇒ Mt
11:5 Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he
did not come to abolish all evils here below, Lk 12 13-14;
⇒ Jn 18:36 but to free men from
the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God's sons
and causes all forms of human bondage.Jn 8:34-36
550
The coming of God's kingdom means the defeat of Satan's: "If it is by the
Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon
you."Mt 12:26,
⇒ 28 Jesus' exorcisms free some individuals from the domination
of demons. They anticipate Jesus' great victory over "the ruler of this
world".Jn 12:31; cf.
⇒ Lk 8:26-39 The kingdom of God will be definitively established
through Christ's cross: "God reigned from the wood."LH, Lent, Holy Week, Evening Prayer, Hymn Vexilla Regis: Regnavit
a
ligno Deus
ligno Deus
"The
keys of the kingdom"
551
From the beginning of his public life Jesus chose certain men, twelve in
number, to be with him and to participate in his mission.Mk 3:13-19 He gives
the Twelve a share in his authority and 'sent them out to preach the kingdom of
God and to heal." Lk 9:2 They remain associated for ever with Christ's
kingdom, for through them he directs the Church:
As my Father appointed a
kingdom for me, so do I appoint for you that you may eat and drink at my table
in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.Lk 22:29-30
552
Simon Peter holds the first place in the college of the Twelve;Mk 3:16; 9:2;
⇒ Lk 24:34; I Cor 15:5.
Jesus entrusted a unique mission to him. Through a revelation from the Father,
Peter had confessed: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Our Lord then declared to him: "You are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my Church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against
it."Mt 16:18 Christ, the "living Stone",I Pt 2:4 thus
assures his Church, built on Peter, of victory over the powers of death.
Because of the faith he confessed Peter will remain the unshakeable rock of the
Church. His mission will be to keep this faith from every lapse and to
strengthen his brothers in it.Lk 22:32
553
Jesus entrusted a specific authority to Peter: "I will give you the keys
of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven."Mt 16:19 The "power of the keys" designates authority
to govern the house of God, which is the Church. Jesus, the Good Shepherd,
confirmed this mandate after his Resurrection: "Feed my
sheep."Jn 21:15-17 The power to "bind and loose" connotes the
authority to absolve sins, to pronounce doctrinal judgements, and to make
disciplinary decisions in the Church. Jesus entrusted this authority to the
Church through the ministry of the apostlesMt 18:18 and in particular
through the ministry of Peter, the only one to whom he specifically entrusted
the keys of the kingdom.
A foretaste
of the kingdom: the Transfiguration
554
From the day Peter confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living
God, the Master "began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem
and suffer many things. . . and be killed, and on the third day be
raised."Mt 16:21 Peter scorns this prediction, nor do the others
understand it any better than he. Mt 16:22-23 In this context the mysterious
episode of Jesus' Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain,Mt 17:1-8 and parallels;
⇒ 2 Pt 1:16-18
before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus' face
and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking
"of his departure, which he was to accomplish at
Jerusalem".Lk 9:31 A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says:
"This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"Lk 9:35
555
For a moment Jesus discloses his divine glory, confirming Peter's confession.
He also reveals that he will have to go by the way of the cross at Jerusalem in
order to "enter into his glory".Lk 24:26
Moses and Elijah had seen God's glory on the Mountain; the Law and the Prophets had announced the Messiah's sufferings.Lk 24:27 Christ's Passion is the will of the Father: the Son acts as God's servant;Is 42:1 The cloud indicates the presence of the Holy Spirit. "The whole Trinity appeared: the Father in the voice; the Son in the man; the Spirit in the shining cloud."St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 45, 4, ad 2
You were transfigured on the
mountain, and your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld your
glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you crucified they would
understand that your Passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the world that you
truly are the splendour of the Father.Byzantine Liturgy, Feast of the Transfiguration, Kontakion
556
On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; on the threshold of the
Passover: the Transfiguration. Jesus' baptism proclaimed "the mystery of
the first regeneration", namely, our Baptism; the Transfiguration "is
the sacrament of the second regeneration": our own
Resurrection.St. Thomas Aquinas, STh III, 45, 4, ad 2 From now on we share in the Lord's Resurrection
through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ. the
Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ's glorious coming, when he "will
change our lowly body to be like his glorious body."Phil 3:21 But it
also recalls that "it is through many persecutions that we must enter the
kingdom of God":Acts 14:22
Peter did not yet understand
this when he wanted to remain with Christ on the mountain. It has been reserved
for you, Peter, but for after death. For now, Jesus says: "Go down to toil
on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes
down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be
exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse
to suffer?"St. Augustine, Sermo 78, 6: PL 38, 492-493; cf.
⇒ Lk 9:33
Jesus'
ascent to Jerusalem
557
"When the days drew near for him to be taken up [Jesus] set his face to go
to Jerusalem."Lk 9:51; cf.
⇒ Jn 13:1 By this decision he indicated that he was going
up to Jerusalem prepared to die there. Three times he had announced his Passion
and Resurrection; now, heading toward Jerusalem, Jesus says: "It cannot be
that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem."Lk 13:33; cf.
⇒ Mk 8:31-33;
⇒ 9:31-32;
⇒ 10:32-34
558
Jesus recalls the martyrdom of the prophets who had been put to death in
Jerusalem. Nevertheless he persists in calling Jerusalem to gather around him:
"How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers
her brood under her wings, and you would not!"Mt 23:37 When Jerusalem
comes into view he weeps over her and expresses once again his heart's desire:
"Would that even today you knew the things that make for peace! But now
they are hid from your eyes."Lk 19:41-42
Jesus'
messianic entrance into Jerusalem
559
How will Jerusalem welcome her Messiah? Although Jesus had always refused
popular attempts to make him king, he chooses the time and prepares the details
for his messianic entry into the city of "his father
David".Lk 1:32; cf.
⇒ Mt 21:1-11; ⇒ Jn
6:15 Acclaimed as son of David, as the one who brings
salvation (Hosanna means "Save!" or "Give salvation!"), the
"King of glory" enters his City "riding on an ass".Ps 24:7-10;
⇒ Zech 9:9
Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his Church, neither by ruse
nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness to the
truth.Jn 18:37 and so the subjects of his kingdom on that day are children
and God's poor, who acclaim him as had the angels when they announced him to
the shepherds.Mt 21:15-16; cf.
⇒ Ps 8:3; ⇒ Lk
19:38; ⇒ 2:14 Their acclamation, "Blessed be he who comes in
the name of the Lord",Ps 118:26 is taken up by the Church in the Sanctus
of the Eucharistic liturgy that introduces the memorial of the Lord's Passover.
560
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem manifested the coming of the kingdom that the
King-Messiah was going to accomplish by the Passover of his Death and
Resurrection. It is with the celebration of that entry on Palm Sunday that the
Church's liturgy solemnly opens Holy Week.
IN BRIEF
561 "The whole of
Christ's life was a continual teaching: his silences, his miracles, his
gestures, his prayer, his love for people, his special affection for the little
and the poor, his acceptance of the total sacrifice on the Cross for the
redemption of the world, and his Resurrection are the actualization of his word
and the fulfilment of Revelation" John Paul II, CT 9).
562 Christ's disciples are to
conform themselves to him until he is formed in them (cf ⇒ Gal
4:19). "For this reason we, who have been made like to him, who
have died with him and risen with him, are taken up into the mysteries of his
life, until we reign together with him" (LG 7 # 4).
563 No one, whether shepherd
or wise man, can approach God here below except by kneeling before the manger
at Bethlehem and adoring him hidden in the weakness of a new-born child.
564 By his obedience to Mary
and Joseph, as well as by his humble work during the long years in Nazareth,
Jesus gives us the example of holiness in the daily life of family and work.
565 From the beginning of his
public life, at his baptism, Jesus is the "Servant", wholly
consecrated to the redemptive work that he will accomplish by the
"baptism" of his Passion.
566 The temptation in the
desert shows Jesus, the humble Messiah, who triumphs over Satan by his total
adherence to the plan of salvation willed by the Father.
567 The kingdom of heaven was
inaugurated on earth by Christ. "This kingdom shone out before men in the
word, in the works and in the presence of Christ" (LG 5). the Church is
the seed and beginning of this kingdom. Its keys are entrusted to Peter.
568 Christ's Transfiguration
aims at strengthening the apostles' faith in anticipation of his Passion: the
ascent on to the "high mountain" prepares for the ascent to Calvary.
Christ, Head of the Church, manifests what his Body contains and radiates in
the sacraments: "the hope of glory" (⇒ Col
1:27; cf.: St. Leo the Great, Sermo 51, 3: PL 54, 310C).
569 Jesus went up to
Jerusalem voluntarily, knowing well that there he would die a violent death because
of the opposition of sinners (cf ⇒ Heb 12:3).
570 Jesus' entry into
Jerusalem manifests the coming of the kingdom that the Messiah-King, welcomed
into his city by children and the humble of heart, is going to accomplish by
the Passover of his Death and Resurrection.
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