Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - Litany Lane Blog:
Charism, Psalms 99:5-9, Second Corinthians 3:4-11, Matthew 5:17-19 , Pope Francis Daily Homily - True progress is in trusting the Holy Spirit, St. John of Sahagún, Kingdom of Castile Spain, Catholic Catechism Part Three: Life In Christ Section 1 The Dignity of the Human Person Article 3:2 Human Freedom - Economy of Salvation and In Brief
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. The Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, wonder and awe (fear of the
Lord) , counsel, knowledge, fortitude, and piety (reverence) and shun
the seven Deadly sins: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and
gluttony...Its your choice whether to embrace the Gifts of the Holy Spirit rising towards eternal light or succumb to the Seven deadly sins and 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 the Darkness, Purgatory or Heaven is our Soul...it's God's perpetual
gift to us...Embrace it, treasure it, nurture it, protect it...~ Zarya Parx 2013
"Raise not a hand to another unless it is to offer in peace and goodwill." ~ Zarya Parx 2012
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Prayers for Today: Wednesday in Ordinary Time
Rosary - Glorious Mysteries
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis June 12 General Audience Address :
True progress is in trusting the Holy Spirit
(2013-06-12 Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis addressed the two extremes that threaten the progress of
the Church at mass Wednesday morning: Fear of any change to the status
quo which stops the Church moving forward and a tendency to follow every
change dictated by today’s culture, which he described as an
‘adolescent progressivism’ that risks ‘de-railing’ believers.
Instead, the way forward for the Church, as indicated by the Holy Spirit, is that of "freedom," in continuously discerning God’s will and, he added, rules which kill charisms should not be imposed. The problem and temptation, said Pope Francis, is that we cannot control the Holy Spirit.
The Pope’s homily centered around Jesus’ words in the Gospel of the day, (MT 5:17) " Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets." He said this Gospel passage which follows the Beatitudes is "an expression of the new law" which is more demanding than that of Moses. This law, the Pope added, is "the fruit of the Covenant" and cannot be understood without it. "This Alliance, this law is sacred because it brought the people to God." Pope Francis likened the "maturity of this law" to a " bursting bud that reveals a flower." Jesus "is the expression of the maturity of the law". The Pope noted that Paul speaks of two times "without breaking continuity" between the law of history and the law of the Spirit:
"The hour of the law’s fulfillment, is when the law reaches its maturity when it becomes the law of the Spirit. Moving forward on this road is somewhat risky, but it is the only road to maturity, to leave behind the times in which we are not mature. Part of the law’s journey to maturity, which comes with preaching Jesus, always involves fear; fear of the freedom that the Spirit gives us. The law of the Spirit makes us free! This freedom frightens us a little, because we are afraid we will confuse the freedom of the Spirit with human freedom. "
Pope Francis continued, the law of the Spirit, "takes us on a path of continuous discernment to do the will of God” and this can frighten us. The Pope warned that this fear "brings two temptations with it." The first, is to "go backwards" to say that "it’s possible up to this point, but impossible beyond this point" which ends up becoming "let’s stay here". This, he warned, "is the temptation of fear of freedom, fear of the Holy Spirit." A fear that "it is better to play it safe." Pope Francis then told a story about a superior general who, in the 1930’s, went around compiling a list of regulations for his religious, "a work that took years." Then he travelled to Rome to meet a Benedictine abbot, who, upon hearing all he had done, replied that in doing so he "had killed his Congregation’s charism", "he had killed its freedom" since "this charism bears fruit in freedom and he had stopped the charism”.
"This is the temptation to go backwards, because we are 'safer' going back: but total security is in the Holy Spirit that brings you forward, which gives us this trust - as Paul says - which is more demanding because Jesus tells us: “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law”. It is more demanding! But it does not give us that human security. We cannot control the Holy Spirit: that is the problem! This is a temptation. "
Pope Francis noted that there is another temptation: that of “adolescent progressivism”, that de-rails us. This temptation lies in seeing a culture and “not detaching ourselves from it”.
"We take the values of this culture a little bit from here, a little bit from there , ... They want to make this law? Alright let’s go ahead and make this law. Let’s broaden the boundaries here a little. In the end, let me tell you, this is not true progress. It is adolescent progressivism: just like teenagers who in their enthusiasm want to have everything and in the end? You slip up ... It’s like when the road is covered in ice and the car slips and go off track... This is the other temptation at the moment! We, at this moment in the history of the Church, we cannot go backwards or go off the track! "
Pope Francis concluded : the track "is that of freedom in the Holy Spirit that makes us free, in continuous discernment of God's will to move forward on this path, without going back and without going off-track". Let us ask the Lord for "the grace that the Holy Spirit gives us to go forward."
Instead, the way forward for the Church, as indicated by the Holy Spirit, is that of "freedom," in continuously discerning God’s will and, he added, rules which kill charisms should not be imposed. The problem and temptation, said Pope Francis, is that we cannot control the Holy Spirit.
The Pope’s homily centered around Jesus’ words in the Gospel of the day, (MT 5:17) " Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets." He said this Gospel passage which follows the Beatitudes is "an expression of the new law" which is more demanding than that of Moses. This law, the Pope added, is "the fruit of the Covenant" and cannot be understood without it. "This Alliance, this law is sacred because it brought the people to God." Pope Francis likened the "maturity of this law" to a " bursting bud that reveals a flower." Jesus "is the expression of the maturity of the law". The Pope noted that Paul speaks of two times "without breaking continuity" between the law of history and the law of the Spirit:
"The hour of the law’s fulfillment, is when the law reaches its maturity when it becomes the law of the Spirit. Moving forward on this road is somewhat risky, but it is the only road to maturity, to leave behind the times in which we are not mature. Part of the law’s journey to maturity, which comes with preaching Jesus, always involves fear; fear of the freedom that the Spirit gives us. The law of the Spirit makes us free! This freedom frightens us a little, because we are afraid we will confuse the freedom of the Spirit with human freedom. "
Pope Francis continued, the law of the Spirit, "takes us on a path of continuous discernment to do the will of God” and this can frighten us. The Pope warned that this fear "brings two temptations with it." The first, is to "go backwards" to say that "it’s possible up to this point, but impossible beyond this point" which ends up becoming "let’s stay here". This, he warned, "is the temptation of fear of freedom, fear of the Holy Spirit." A fear that "it is better to play it safe." Pope Francis then told a story about a superior general who, in the 1930’s, went around compiling a list of regulations for his religious, "a work that took years." Then he travelled to Rome to meet a Benedictine abbot, who, upon hearing all he had done, replied that in doing so he "had killed his Congregation’s charism", "he had killed its freedom" since "this charism bears fruit in freedom and he had stopped the charism”.
"This is the temptation to go backwards, because we are 'safer' going back: but total security is in the Holy Spirit that brings you forward, which gives us this trust - as Paul says - which is more demanding because Jesus tells us: “Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law”. It is more demanding! But it does not give us that human security. We cannot control the Holy Spirit: that is the problem! This is a temptation. "
Pope Francis noted that there is another temptation: that of “adolescent progressivism”, that de-rails us. This temptation lies in seeing a culture and “not detaching ourselves from it”.
"We take the values of this culture a little bit from here, a little bit from there , ... They want to make this law? Alright let’s go ahead and make this law. Let’s broaden the boundaries here a little. In the end, let me tell you, this is not true progress. It is adolescent progressivism: just like teenagers who in their enthusiasm want to have everything and in the end? You slip up ... It’s like when the road is covered in ice and the car slips and go off track... This is the other temptation at the moment! We, at this moment in the history of the Church, we cannot go backwards or go off the track! "
Pope Francis concluded : the track "is that of freedom in the Holy Spirit that makes us free, in continuous discernment of God's will to move forward on this path, without going back and without going off-track". Let us ask the Lord for "the grace that the Holy Spirit gives us to go forward."
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: Summer
Vatican City, Summer2013 (VIS)
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father for the Summer of 2013:
JUNE
16 June, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 10:30am, Mass for “Evangelium Vitae” Day in St. Peter's Square.
29 Saturday, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul: 9:30am, Mass and imposition of the pallium upon new metropolitans in the papal chapel.
JULY
June 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, in this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father, "Father". To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphasis.
May 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World:“Dear children! Today I call you to be strong and resolute in faith and prayer, until your prayers are so strong so as to open the Heart of my beloved Son Jesus. Pray little children, pray without ceasing until your heart opens to God’s love. I am with you and I intercede for all of you and I pray for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
Following is the calendar of celebrations scheduled to be presided over by the Holy Father for the Summer of 2013:
JUNE
16 June, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 10:30am, Mass for “Evangelium Vitae” Day in St. Peter's Square.
29 Saturday, Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul: 9:30am, Mass and imposition of the pallium upon new metropolitans in the papal chapel.
JULY
The Prefecture of the Papal Household has released Pope Francis' agenda
for the summer period, from July through to the end of August. Briefing
journalists, Holy See Press Office director, Fr. Federico Lombardi
confirmed that the Pope will remain 'based ' at the Casa Santa Marta
residence in Vatican City State for the duration of the summer.
As per tradition, all private and special audiences are suspended for the duration of the summer. The Holy Father's private Masses with employees will end July 7 and resume in September. The Wednesday general audiences are suspended for the month of July to resume August 7 at the Vatican.
7 July, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 9:30am, Mass with seminarians and novices in the Vatican Basilica.
14 July Sunday , Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer from the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis will travel to Brazil for the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro from Monday July 22 to Monday July 29.
As per tradition, all private and special audiences are suspended for the duration of the summer. The Holy Father's private Masses with employees will end July 7 and resume in September. The Wednesday general audiences are suspended for the month of July to resume August 7 at the Vatican.
7 July, 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 9:30am, Mass with seminarians and novices in the Vatican Basilica.
14 July Sunday , Pope Francis will lead the Angelus prayer from the Apostolic Palace of Castel Gandolfo.
Pope Francis will travel to Brazil for the 28th World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro from Monday July 22 to Monday July 29.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 06/12/2013.
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June 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children, in this restless time, anew I am calling you to set out after my Son - to follow Him. I know of the pain, suffering and difficulties, but in my Son you will find rest; in Him you will find peace and salvation. My children, do not forget that my Son redeemed you by His Cross and enabled you, anew, to be children of God; to be able to, anew, call the Heavenly Father, "Father". To be worthy of the Father, love and forgive, because your Father is love and forgiveness. Pray and fast, because that is the way to your purification, it is the way of coming to know and becoming cognizant of the Heavenly Father. When you become cognizant of the Father, you will comprehend that He is all you need. I, as a mother, desire my children to be in a community of one single people where the Word of God is listened to and carried out.* Therefore, my children, set out after my Son. Be one with Him. Be God's children. Love your shepherds as my Son loved them when He called them to serve you. Thank you." *Our Lady said this resolutely and with emphasis.
May 25, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World:“Dear children! Today I call you to be strong and resolute in faith and prayer, until your prayers are so strong so as to open the Heart of my beloved Son Jesus. Pray little children, pray without ceasing until your heart opens to God’s love. I am with you and I intercede for all of you and I pray for your conversion. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
May 2, 2013 Our Lady of Medjugorje Message to the World: "Dear children; Anew, I am calling you to love and not to judge. My Son, according to the will of the Heavenly Father, was among you to show you the way of salvation, to save you and not to judge you. If you desire to follow my Son, you will not judge but love like your Heavenly Father loves you. And when it is the most difficult for you, when you are falling under the weight of the cross do not despair, do not judge, instead remember that you are loved and praise the Heavenly Father because of His love. My children, do not deviate from the way on which I am leading you. Do not recklessly walk into perdition. May prayer and fasting strengthen you so that you can live as the Heavenly Father would desire; that you may be my apostles of faith and love; that your life may bless those whom you meet; that you may be one with the Heavenly Father and my Son. My children, that is the only truth, the truth that leads to your conversion, and then to the conversion of all those whom you meet - those who have not come to know my Son - all those who do not know what it means to love. My children, my Son gave you a gift of the shepherds. Take good care of them. Pray for them. Thank you."
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Today's Word: charism char·ism [kuh-riz-muh]
Origin: 1635–45; < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to char- (base of cháris favor, charízesthai to favor; akin to yearn, exhort) + -isma -ism
noun
1. Theology . a divinely conferred gift or power.
2. a spiritual power or personal quality that gives an individual influence or authority over large numbers of people.
3. the special virtue of an office, function, position, etc., that confers or is thought to confer on the person holding it an unusual ability for leadership, worthiness of veneration, or the like.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 99:5-9
5 Exalt Yahweh our God, bow down at his footstool; holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron are among his priests, and Samuel, calling on his name; they called on Yahweh and he answered them.
7 He spoke with them in the pillar of fire, they obeyed his decrees, the Law he gave them.
8 Yahweh our God, you answered them, you were a God of forgiveness to them, but punished them for their sins.
9 Exalt Yahweh our God, bow down at his holy mountain; holy is Yahweh our God!
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Today's Epistle - Second Corinthians 3:4-11
4 Such is the confidence we have through Christ in facing God;
5 it is not that we are so competent that we can claim any credit for ourselves; all our competence comes from God.
6 He has given us the competence to be
ministers of a new covenant, a covenant which is not of written letters,
but of the Spirit; for the written letters kill, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the administering of death, engraved in letters on stone, occurred in such glory that the Israelites could not look Moses steadily in the face, because of its glory, transitory though this glory was,
8 how much more will the ministry of the Spirit occur in glory!
9 For if it is glorious to administer condemnation, to administer saving justice is far richer in glory.
10 Indeed, what was once considered glorious has lost all claim to glory, by contrast with the glory which transcends it.
11 For if what was transitory had any glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts for ever.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 5:17-19
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5, 17-19) teaches
how to observe the law of God in such a way that its practice indicates
in what its complete fulfilment consists (Mt 5, 17-19). Matthew writes
in order to help the communities of the converted Jews to overcome the
criticism of the brothers of their own race who accused them saying: You
are unfaithful to the Law of Moses”. Jesus himself had been accused of
infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has the clarifying response of
Jesus concerning his accusers. Thus, he gives some light to help the
communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
Personal questions
• How do I see and live the law of God: as a growing horizon of light or as an imposition which limits my freedom?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
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: St John of Sahagun
Feast Day: June 12
Patron Saint:
Attributes: holding a Chalice and the Holy Host surrounded by rays of light
John of Sahagún (1419 – 11 June 1479), also known as Saint John of San Facondo, was a Spanish priest who belonged to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine.[1] Pope Paul VI set 11 June as his feastday, which had been on 12 June in the Roman Calendar from 1729 to 1969.
Saint John was born in the year 1419, at Sahagún (or San Facondo) in the Province of Leon, in the Kingdom of Castile. He was the oldest of seven children of John Gonzalez de Castrillo and Sancia Martinez, both pious and respected parents.
John received his early education from the Benedictines of his native city. After receiving ecclesiastical tonsure, according to the custom of the times, his father procured for him the benefice of the neighboring parish of Dornillos. He was later introduced to Monsignor Alfonso de Cartagena, Bishop of Burgos (1435–1456), who took a fancy to the bright, high-spirited boy. Bishop de Cartagena had him educated at his own residence, gave him several prebends, ordained him a priest in the year 1445, and made him a canon at the Cathedral of Burgos. All of this caused John many qualms of conscience.
Moved by Divine grace and out of respect for the laws of the Church, John resigned all and retained only the chaplaincy of St Agatha, where he said Mass, preached and catechized the ignorant.[2] He now began to lead a life of strict poverty and mortification.[3]
With his Bishop's consent, he obtained permission to enter the University of Salamanca, where for four years he applied himself to the study of theology. During this time he exercised the sacred ministry at the chapel of the College of St Bartholomew (in the parish of St Sebastian), and held that position for nine years. He devoted himself to the care of souls. Owing to illness, he was obliged to undergo an operation for the removal of stones. He vowed that if his life were spared, he would become a Religious.
Upon his recovery in the year 1463, he applied for admission to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, at the Church of St Peter, in Salamanca. In the following year, on August 28, 1464, John made his solemn profession.[4]
By the command of his superiors, he gave himself wholeheartedly to the salvation of souls, and with the best results, to preaching the "Word of God." By his zeal he was able to effect the entire reformation of the city of Salamanca.[5]
John made such progress in religious perfection that he was soon appointed master of novices, and later in the year 1471, prior of the community. He conducted the Religious under his rule more by example than by his words.
Great was St John's devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, that at the celebration of Mass he frequently saw the Sacred Host resplendent in glory. He was gifted with a special power to penetrate the secrets of conscience, so that it was not easy to deceive him, and sinners were almost always forced to make good confessions. He was able to obtain wonderful results in doing away with enmities and feuds.
In many ways, St John was like a fellow Religious who lived nearly 500 years later, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who also had the uncanny ability to discern the secrets of conscience.
In his sermons Saint John, like St. John the Baptist, fearlessly preached the Word of God and scourged the crimes and vices of the day, by which the rich and noble were offended. He soon made many enemies, who went so far as to hire assassins, but these, awed by the serenity and angelic sweetness of his countenance, lost courage. Some women of Salamanca, embittered by the saint's strong sermon against extravagance in dress, openly insulted him in the streets and pelted him with stones until stopped by a patrol of guards.
St John's scathing words on the "sins of impurity" produced salutary effects in a certain nobleman who had been living in open concubinage, but the woman swore vengeance. It was popularly believed that she had caused the saint's death by poison (this statement is found only in later biographies).
Saint John died on June 11, 1479, in Salamanca at the Convent of the Augustinian Hermits.
The process of beatification began in the year 1525 under Pope Clement VII, and in 1601 he was declared "Blessed" by Pope Clement VIII.
New miracles were wrought through his intercession, and on 16 October 1690 Pope Alexander VIII entered his name in the list of canonized saints. In 1729 Pope Benedict XIII inscribed his liturgical feast day in the Roman Calendar for 12 June, since 11 June, the anniversary of his death was occupied by the feast of Saint Barnabas. In the 1969 revision of the Roman liturgical celebration was left to local calendars because of the limited importance attributed to him on a universal level.[6] In the Roman Martyrology, the official list of saints of the Catholkic Church, his feast day is 11 June the date of his birth to heaven.[7]
St John's relics are found in Spain, Belgium and Peru.
St John's life written by John of Seville towards the end of the fifteenth century with additions in 1605 and 1619, is the one used by the Bollandists in "Acta SS.", June, III, 112.
In art, St John is represented holding a chalice and Holy host surrounded by rays of light.
Saint John was born in the year 1419, at Sahagún (or San Facondo) in the Province of Leon, in the Kingdom of Castile. He was the oldest of seven children of John Gonzalez de Castrillo and Sancia Martinez, both pious and respected parents.
John received his early education from the Benedictines of his native city. After receiving ecclesiastical tonsure, according to the custom of the times, his father procured for him the benefice of the neighboring parish of Dornillos. He was later introduced to Monsignor Alfonso de Cartagena, Bishop of Burgos (1435–1456), who took a fancy to the bright, high-spirited boy. Bishop de Cartagena had him educated at his own residence, gave him several prebends, ordained him a priest in the year 1445, and made him a canon at the Cathedral of Burgos. All of this caused John many qualms of conscience.
Moved by Divine grace and out of respect for the laws of the Church, John resigned all and retained only the chaplaincy of St Agatha, where he said Mass, preached and catechized the ignorant.[2] He now began to lead a life of strict poverty and mortification.[3]
With his Bishop's consent, he obtained permission to enter the University of Salamanca, where for four years he applied himself to the study of theology. During this time he exercised the sacred ministry at the chapel of the College of St Bartholomew (in the parish of St Sebastian), and held that position for nine years. He devoted himself to the care of souls. Owing to illness, he was obliged to undergo an operation for the removal of stones. He vowed that if his life were spared, he would become a Religious.
Upon his recovery in the year 1463, he applied for admission to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine, at the Church of St Peter, in Salamanca. In the following year, on August 28, 1464, John made his solemn profession.[4]
By the command of his superiors, he gave himself wholeheartedly to the salvation of souls, and with the best results, to preaching the "Word of God." By his zeal he was able to effect the entire reformation of the city of Salamanca.[5]
John made such progress in religious perfection that he was soon appointed master of novices, and later in the year 1471, prior of the community. He conducted the Religious under his rule more by example than by his words.
Great was St John's devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, that at the celebration of Mass he frequently saw the Sacred Host resplendent in glory. He was gifted with a special power to penetrate the secrets of conscience, so that it was not easy to deceive him, and sinners were almost always forced to make good confessions. He was able to obtain wonderful results in doing away with enmities and feuds.
In many ways, St John was like a fellow Religious who lived nearly 500 years later, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, who also had the uncanny ability to discern the secrets of conscience.
In his sermons Saint John, like St. John the Baptist, fearlessly preached the Word of God and scourged the crimes and vices of the day, by which the rich and noble were offended. He soon made many enemies, who went so far as to hire assassins, but these, awed by the serenity and angelic sweetness of his countenance, lost courage. Some women of Salamanca, embittered by the saint's strong sermon against extravagance in dress, openly insulted him in the streets and pelted him with stones until stopped by a patrol of guards.
St John's scathing words on the "sins of impurity" produced salutary effects in a certain nobleman who had been living in open concubinage, but the woman swore vengeance. It was popularly believed that she had caused the saint's death by poison (this statement is found only in later biographies).
Saint John died on June 11, 1479, in Salamanca at the Convent of the Augustinian Hermits.
Veneration
Soon after St John's death, his "cult" spread throughout Spain.The process of beatification began in the year 1525 under Pope Clement VII, and in 1601 he was declared "Blessed" by Pope Clement VIII.
New miracles were wrought through his intercession, and on 16 October 1690 Pope Alexander VIII entered his name in the list of canonized saints. In 1729 Pope Benedict XIII inscribed his liturgical feast day in the Roman Calendar for 12 June, since 11 June, the anniversary of his death was occupied by the feast of Saint Barnabas. In the 1969 revision of the Roman liturgical celebration was left to local calendars because of the limited importance attributed to him on a universal level.[6] In the Roman Martyrology, the official list of saints of the Catholkic Church, his feast day is 11 June the date of his birth to heaven.[7]
St John's relics are found in Spain, Belgium and Peru.
St John's life written by John of Seville towards the end of the fifteenth century with additions in 1605 and 1619, is the one used by the Bollandists in "Acta SS.", June, III, 112.
In art, St John is represented holding a chalice and Holy host surrounded by rays of light.
References
- ^ "Lives of the Saints" by Omer Englebert, New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1994, p. 228, ISBN 1-56619-516-0 (casebound)
- ^ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," edited by Rev. Hugo Hoever, S.O.Cist., Ph.D., New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co., 1955, p. 223
- ^ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p. 223
- ^ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p. 223
- ^ "Lives of the Saints, For Every Day of the Year," p.223
- ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969, p. 126)
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana ISBN 88-209-7210-7)
-
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company
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Today's Snippet I: Kingdom of Castile, Spain
Kingdom of Castile (Spanish: Reino de Castilla, Latin: Regnum Castellae)
was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged
as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called
County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León.
Its
name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It was
one of the kingdoms that founded the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom
of Spain.
History
9th to 11th centuries: The beginnings
According to the chronicles of Alfonso III of Asturias;
the first reference to the name "Castile" (Castilla) can be found in a
document written during AD 800. The name reflects its origin as a march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias, protected by castles, towers or castra.
The County of Castile, bordered in the south by the Montes de Toledo, was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabria, Asturias, Vasconia and Visigothic and Mozarab origins. It had its own Romance dialect and laws. The first Count of Castile was Rodrigo in 850, under Ordoño I of Asturias and Alfonso III of Asturias. Subsequently, the region was subdivided, separate counts being named to Alava, Burgos, Cerezo & Lantarón, and a reduced Castile. In 931 the County was reunified by Count Fernán González, who rose in rebellion against the Kingdom of León, successor state to Asturias, and achieved an autonomous status, allowing the county to be inherited by his family instead of being subject to appointment by the Leonese king.
Kingdom of Castile (Castilla) in 1037
The minority of Count García Sánchez led Castile to accept Sancho III of Navarre,
married to the sister of Count García, as feudal overlord. García was
assassinated in 1028 while in León to marry the princess Sancha, sister
of Bermudo III of León. Sancho III, acting as feudal overlord, appointed his younger son (García's nephew) Ferdinand
as Count of Castile, marrying him to his uncle's intended bride, Sancha
of León. Following Sancho's 1035 death, Castile returned to the nominal
control of León, but Ferdinand, allying himself with his brother García Sánchez III of Navarre, began a war with his brother-in-law Bermudo. At the Battle of Tamarón Bermudo was killed, leaving no surviving offspring.[1]
In right of his wife, Ferdinand then assumed the royal title as king of
León and Castile, for the first time associating the royal title with
the rule of Castile.[2]
When Ferdinand I died in 1065, the territories were divided among his children. Sancho II became King of Castile,[3] Alfonso VI, King of León and García, King of Galicia,[4] while his daughters were given towns, Urraca, Zamora, and Elvira, Toro.
Sancho II allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and together they conquered, then divided Galicia. Sancho later attacked Alfonso VI and invaded León with the help of El Cid, and drove his brother into exile, thereby reuniting the three kingdoms. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora. Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. The Castilian troops then withdrew.
As a result Alfonso VI recovered all his original territory of León, and now also became the king of Castile and Galicia. This was the second union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct entities joined only in a personal union. The sworn oath taken by El Cid before Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of Alfonso in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known.
Under Alfonso VI, there was an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, including France. He gave his daughters, Elvira, Urraca and Theresa, in marriage to Raymond of Toulouse, Raymond of Burgundy and Henry of Burgundy respectively. In the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabic rite was replaced by the Roman one. Upon his death, Alfonso VI was succeeded by his daughter the widowed Urraca, who then married Alfonso I of Aragon, but they almost immediately fell out, and Alfonso tried unsuccessfully to conquer Urraca's lands, before he repudiated her in 1114. Urraca also had to contend with attempts by her son (offspring of her first marriage), the king of Galicia, to assert his rights. When Urraca died, this son became king of León and Castile as Alfonso VII. During his reign, Alfonso VII managed to annex parts of the weaker kingdoms of Navarre and Aragón which fought to secede after the death of Alfonso I of Aragon. Alfonso VII refused his right to conquer the Mediterranean coast for the new union of Aragón with the County of Barcelona (Petronila and Ramón Berenguer IV).
During the 12th century, Europe enjoyed a great advance in intellectual achievements sparked in part by the kingdom of Castile's conquest of the great cultural center of Toledo (1085). There Islamic classics were discovered, and contacts established with the knowledge and works of Muslim scientists. In the first half of the century a program of translations, traditionally called the "School of Toledo", was undertaken which rendered many philosophical and scientific works from the classical Greek and the Islamic worlds into Latin. Many European scholars, including Daniel of Morley and Gerard of Cremona travelled to Toledo to gain further education.
The Way of St. James further enhanced the cultural exchange between the kingdoms of Castile and León; and the rest of Europe.
The 12th century saw the establishment of many new religious orders, after the European fashion, such as Calatrava, Alcántara and Santiago; and the foundation of many Cistercian abbeys.
The rivalry between both kingdoms continued until 1230 when Ferdinand III of Castile received the Kingdom of León from his father Alfonso IX, having previously received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother Berenguela of Castile in 1217. In addition, he took advantage of the decline of the Almohad empire to conquer the Guadalquivir Valley whilst his son Alfonso took the taifa of Murcia.
The Courts from León and Castile merged, an event considered as the foundation of the Crown of Castile, consisting of the kingdoms of Castile, León, taifas and other domains conquered from the Moors, including the taifa of Córdoba, taifa of Murcia, taifa of Jaén and taifa of Seville.
Its name was taken from the Count (or Duke) of Trastámara.[6] This title was used by Henry II of Castile, of the Mercedes, before coming to the throne in 1369, during the civil war with his legitimate brother, King Peter of Castile.
John II of Aragón ruled from 1458 to 1479 and upon his death, his daughter became Queen Eleanor of Navarre and his son became King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Crown of Castile trough the years.
The marriage of Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I of Castile, in 1469 at the Palacio de los Vivero in Valladolid, began a familial union of the two kingdoms. They became known as the Catholic Monarchs (los Reyes Católicos). Isabella succeeded her brother as Queen of Castile and Ferdinand became jure uxoris
King of Castile in 1474. When Ferdinand succeeded his father as King of
Aragon in 1479, the Crown of Castile and the various territories of the
Crown of Aragon were united in a personal union creating for the first
time since the 8th century a single political unit referred to as España (Spain).
'Los Reyes Católicos' started policies to diminish the power of the
bourgeoisie and nobility in Castile, and greatly reduced the powers of
the Cortes (General Courts) to the point where they ' rubberstamped ' the monarch's acts, and brought the nobility to their side.
Due to the increasing power of the municipal councils and the need for communication between these and the King, cortes were established in the Kingdom of León in 1188, and in Castile in 1250. In the earliest Leonese and Castilian Cortes, the inhabitants of the cities (known as "laboratores") formed a small group of the representatives and had no legislative powers, but they were a link between the king and the general population, something that was pioneered by the kingdoms of Castile and León. Eventually the representatives of the cities gained the right to vote in the Cortes, often allying with the monarchs against the great noble lords.
The County of Castile, bordered in the south by the Montes de Toledo, was re-populated by inhabitants of Cantabria, Asturias, Vasconia and Visigothic and Mozarab origins. It had its own Romance dialect and laws. The first Count of Castile was Rodrigo in 850, under Ordoño I of Asturias and Alfonso III of Asturias. Subsequently, the region was subdivided, separate counts being named to Alava, Burgos, Cerezo & Lantarón, and a reduced Castile. In 931 the County was reunified by Count Fernán González, who rose in rebellion against the Kingdom of León, successor state to Asturias, and achieved an autonomous status, allowing the county to be inherited by his family instead of being subject to appointment by the Leonese king.
11th and 12th centuries: Expansion and union with the Kingdom of León
When Ferdinand I died in 1065, the territories were divided among his children. Sancho II became King of Castile,[3] Alfonso VI, King of León and García, King of Galicia,[4] while his daughters were given towns, Urraca, Zamora, and Elvira, Toro.
Sancho II allied himself with Alfonso VI of León and together they conquered, then divided Galicia. Sancho later attacked Alfonso VI and invaded León with the help of El Cid, and drove his brother into exile, thereby reuniting the three kingdoms. Urraca permitted the greater part of the Leonese army to take refuge in the town of Zamora. Sancho laid siege to the town, but the Castilian king was assassinated in 1072 by Bellido Dolfos, a Galician nobleman. The Castilian troops then withdrew.
As a result Alfonso VI recovered all his original territory of León, and now also became the king of Castile and Galicia. This was the second union of León and Castile, although the two kingdoms remained distinct entities joined only in a personal union. The sworn oath taken by El Cid before Alfonso VI in Santa Gadea de Burgos regarding the innocence of Alfonso in the matter of the murder of his brother is well known.
Under Alfonso VI, there was an approach to the rest of Europeans kingdoms, including France. He gave his daughters, Elvira, Urraca and Theresa, in marriage to Raymond of Toulouse, Raymond of Burgundy and Henry of Burgundy respectively. In the Council of Burgos in 1080 the traditional Mozarabic rite was replaced by the Roman one. Upon his death, Alfonso VI was succeeded by his daughter the widowed Urraca, who then married Alfonso I of Aragon, but they almost immediately fell out, and Alfonso tried unsuccessfully to conquer Urraca's lands, before he repudiated her in 1114. Urraca also had to contend with attempts by her son (offspring of her first marriage), the king of Galicia, to assert his rights. When Urraca died, this son became king of León and Castile as Alfonso VII. During his reign, Alfonso VII managed to annex parts of the weaker kingdoms of Navarre and Aragón which fought to secede after the death of Alfonso I of Aragon. Alfonso VII refused his right to conquer the Mediterranean coast for the new union of Aragón with the County of Barcelona (Petronila and Ramón Berenguer IV).
12th century: A link between Christianity and Islam
The centuries of Moorish rule had confirmed the high central tableland of Castile as a vast sheep pasturage; the fact that the greater part of Spanish sheep-rearing terminology was drawn from Arabic underscores the debt.[5]During the 12th century, Europe enjoyed a great advance in intellectual achievements sparked in part by the kingdom of Castile's conquest of the great cultural center of Toledo (1085). There Islamic classics were discovered, and contacts established with the knowledge and works of Muslim scientists. In the first half of the century a program of translations, traditionally called the "School of Toledo", was undertaken which rendered many philosophical and scientific works from the classical Greek and the Islamic worlds into Latin. Many European scholars, including Daniel of Morley and Gerard of Cremona travelled to Toledo to gain further education.
The Way of St. James further enhanced the cultural exchange between the kingdoms of Castile and León; and the rest of Europe.
The 12th century saw the establishment of many new religious orders, after the European fashion, such as Calatrava, Alcántara and Santiago; and the foundation of many Cistercian abbeys.
13th century: Definitive union with the Kingdom of León
Alfonso VII restored the royal tradition of dividing his kingdom among his children. Sancho III became King of Castile and Ferdinand II, King of León.The rivalry between both kingdoms continued until 1230 when Ferdinand III of Castile received the Kingdom of León from his father Alfonso IX, having previously received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother Berenguela of Castile in 1217. In addition, he took advantage of the decline of the Almohad empire to conquer the Guadalquivir Valley whilst his son Alfonso took the taifa of Murcia.
The Courts from León and Castile merged, an event considered as the foundation of the Crown of Castile, consisting of the kingdoms of Castile, León, taifas and other domains conquered from the Moors, including the taifa of Córdoba, taifa of Murcia, taifa of Jaén and taifa of Seville.
14th and 15th centuries: The House of Trastámara
The House of Trastámara was a lineage that ruled Castile from 1369 to 1504, Aragón from 1412 to 1516, Navarre from 1425 to 1479, and Naples from 1442 to 1501.Its name was taken from the Count (or Duke) of Trastámara.[6] This title was used by Henry II of Castile, of the Mercedes, before coming to the throne in 1369, during the civil war with his legitimate brother, King Peter of Castile.
John II of Aragón ruled from 1458 to 1479 and upon his death, his daughter became Queen Eleanor of Navarre and his son became King Ferdinand II of Aragon.
Union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon
16th century
On Isabella's death in 1504 her daughter, Joanna I, became Queen (in name) with her husband Philip I as King (in authority). After his death Joanna's father was regent, due to her perceived mental illness, as her son Charles I was only six years old. On Ferdinand II's death in 1516, Charles I was proclaimed as king of Castile and of Aragon (in authority) jointly with his mother Joanna I as the Queen of Aragon (in name).[7] He became known as Charles V. As the first royal to reign over both Castile and Aragon he may be considered as the first operational King of Spain. Charles I also became Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1519.Government: Municipal councils and parliaments
As with all medieval kingdoms, supreme power was understood to reside in the monarch "by the grace of God", as the legal formula explained. Nevertheless, rural and urban communities began to form assemblies to issue regulations to deal with everyday problems. Over time, these assemblies evolved into municipal councils, known as variously as ayuntamientos or cabildos, in which some of the inhabitants, the property-owning heads of households (vecinos), represented the rest. By the fourteenth century these councils had gained more powers, such as the right to elect municipal magistrates and officers (alcaldes, speakers, clerks, etc.) and representatives to the parliaments (Cortes).Due to the increasing power of the municipal councils and the need for communication between these and the King, cortes were established in the Kingdom of León in 1188, and in Castile in 1250. In the earliest Leonese and Castilian Cortes, the inhabitants of the cities (known as "laboratores") formed a small group of the representatives and had no legislative powers, but they were a link between the king and the general population, something that was pioneered by the kingdoms of Castile and León. Eventually the representatives of the cities gained the right to vote in the Cortes, often allying with the monarchs against the great noble lords.
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Castile
References
- ^ Bernard F. Reilly, The Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain, (Blackwell Publishers, 1995), 27.
- ^ Bernard F. Reilly, 27.
- ^ Bernard F. Reilly, 39.
- ^ Bernard F. Reilly, 39
- ^ H.C. Darby, "The face of Europe on the eve of the great discoveries", in The New Cambridge Modern History vol. I, 1957:23.
- ^ Ruiz, Teofilo F. (2007). Spain's Centuries of Crisis: 1300-1474. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4051-2789-9.
- ^ Estudio documental de la moneda castellana de Carlos I fabricada en los Países Bajos (1517); José María de Francisco Olmos, pp. 139-140
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
Part Three: Life in Christ
Section One: Man's Vocation Life in The Spirit
CHAPTER ONE : THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Article 3:2 Human Freedom Economy of Salvation
SECTION ONE
ONE MAN'S VOCATION LIFE IN THE SPIRIT
1699 Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three).
1699 Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man (chapter one). This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity (chapter two). It is graciously offered as salvation (chapter three).
CHAPTER ONE
THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
1700
The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness
of God (article 1); it is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude
(article 2). It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this
fulfillment (article 3). By his deliberate actions (article 4), the human
person does, or does not, conform to the good promised by God and attested by
moral conscience (article 5). Human beings make their own contribution to their
interior growth; they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means
of this growth (article 6). With the help of grace they grow in virtue (article
7), avoid sin, and if they sin they entrust themselves as did the prodigal
son Lk 15:11-32 to the mercy of our Father in heaven (article 8). In this way they
attain to the perfection of charity.
Article 3
MAN'S FREEDOM
1730
God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who
can initiate and control his own actions. "God willed that man should be
'left in the hand of his own counsel,' so that he might of his own accord seek
his Creator and freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to
him."GS 17; ⇒ Sir 15:14
Man is rational and therefore
like God; he is created with free will and is master over his acts.St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 4, 3: PG 7/1, 983
II. Human Freedom in the
Economy of Salvation
1739
Freedom and sin. Man's freedom is limited and fallible. In fact, man failed. He
freely sinned. By refusing God's plan of love, he deceived himself and became a
slave to sin. This first alienation engendered a multitude of others. From its
outset, human history attests the wretchedness and oppression born of the human
heart in consequence of the abuse of freedom.
1740
Threats to freedom. the exercise of freedom does not imply a right to say or do
everything. It is false to maintain that man, "the subject of this
freedom," is "an individual who is fully self-sufficient and whose
finality is the satisfaction of his own interests in the enjoyment of earthly
goods."CDF, instruction, Libertatis conscientia 13 Moreover, the economic, social, political, and cultural
conditions that are needed for a just exercise of freedom are too often
disregarded or violated. Such situations of blindness and injustice injure the
moral life and involve the strong as well as the weak in the temptation to sin
against charity. By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes
imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against
divine truth.
1741
Liberation and salvation. By his glorious Cross Christ has won salvation for
all men. He redeemed them from the sin that held them in bondage. "For
freedom Christ has set us free."Gal 5: 1 In him we have communion with
the "truth that makes us free."Cf. In 8:32 The Holy Spirit has been
given to us and, as the Apostle teaches, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is freedom."2 Cor 17 Already we glory in the "liberty of the
children of God."Rom 8:21
1742
Freedom and grace. the grace of Christ is not in the slightest way a rival of
our freedom when this freedom accords with the sense of the true and the good
that God has put in the human heart. On the contrary, as Christian experience
attests especially in prayer, the more docile we are to the promptings of
grace, the more we grow in inner freedom and confidence during trials, such as
those we face in the pressures and constraints of the outer world. By the
working of grace the Holy Spirit educates us in spiritual freedom in order to
make us free collaborators in his work in the Church and in the world:
Almighty and merciful God,
in your goodness take away
from us all that is harmful,
so that, made ready both in
mind and body,
we may freely accomplish your
will.Roman Missal, 32nd Sunday, Opening Prayer: Omnipotens et
misericors Deus, universa nobis adversantia propitiatus exclude, ut, mente et
corpore pariter expediti, quae tua sunt liberis mentibus exsequamur.
IN BRIEF
1743 "God willed that man
should be left in the hand of his own counsel (cf ⇒ Sir
15:14), so that he might of his own accord seek his creator and
freely attain his full and blessed perfection by cleaving to him" (GS 17 #
1).
1744 Freedom is the power to
act or not to act, and so to perform deliberate acts of one's own. Freedom
attains perfection in its acts when directed toward God, the sovereign Good.
1745 Freedom characterizes
properly human acts. It makes the human being responsible for acts of which he
is the voluntary agent. His deliberate acts properly belong to him.
1746 The imputability or
responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified by ignorance,
duress, fear, and other psychological or social factors.
1747 The right to the
exercise of freedom, especially in religious and moral matters, is an
inalienable requirement of the dignity of man. But the exercise of freedom does
not entail the putative right to say or do anything.
1748 "For freedom Christ
has set us free" (⇒ Gal 5:1).
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