Sunday, September 20, 2015 - Litany Lane Blog:Canonize, Wisdom 2:17-20, Psalms 54 , Mark 9:30-41, Pope Francis's Catchesis - Serve Rather than be Served, Papal visit to Cuba and USA, Hymn of the Week - Jesu Dulcis Memoria, Our Lady of Medjugorje's Monthly Message, Canonization of Blessed Junípero Serra Ferrer , Mystical City of God Book 5 Chapter 1 & 2 Jesus in the Temple, Catholic Catechism - The Profession of Faith Chapter 3 Article 9, Paragraph 6 Mary - Mother of Christ, RECHARGE: Heaven Speaks to Young Adults
"Where there is a Will, With God, There is a Way", "There is always a ray of sunshine amongst the darkest Clouds, the name of that ray is Jesus" ~ Zarya Parx 2014
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, reason 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: 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Hymn of the Week
Jesu Dulcis Memoria is a Christian hymn often attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The name can refer either to the entire poem, which, depending on the manuscript, ranges from forty-two to fifty-three stanzas, or only the first part.
Three sections of it are used as hymns in the Liturgy of the Hours of the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus: "Iesu dulcis memoria" (Vespers), "Iesu rex admirabilis" (Office of Readings), "Iesu decus angelicum" (Lauds).
**Copyright Disclaimer - Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research under the term "fair use", which is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational, and personal use also tips the balance in favor of fair use.
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Our Lady of Medjugorje Monthly Messages
September 2, 2015 message form our Lady of Medjugorje:
Dear children,
My dear apostles of love, my carriers of truth, again I am calling you and gathering you around me to help me, to help all of my children who thirst for love and truth—who thirst for my Son. I am a grace from the Heavenly Father, sent to help you to live the word of my Son. Love one another. I lived your earthly life. I know that it is not always easy, but if you will love each other, you will pray with the heart, you will reach spiritual heights and the way to heaven will be opened for you. I, your mother, am waiting for you there because I am there. Be faithful to my Son and teach others faithfulness. I am with you. I will help you. I will teach you faith that you may know how to transmit it to others in the right way. I will teach you truth that you may know how to discern. I will teach you love that you may come to know what real love is. My children, my Son will make it so as to speak through your words and your actions. Thank you. ~ Blessed Mother Mary
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis Daily Catechesis:
September 20, 2015
Serve Rather Than Be Served
(2015-09-20 Vatican Radio)
(Vatican Radio) On the first full day of his Apostolic Journey to Cuba, Pope Francis celebrated the Sunday Mass in Havana's Plaza de la Revolución, focusing on the theme of service.As the Holy Father arrived in the Plaza, he stopped along the way to bless and embrace several young people with special needs, a gesture to which he gave voice in his homily: "Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability."
The Pope also praised the Cuban people’s love of beauty, saying “God’s holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for parties, for friendship, for beautiful things."
Below please find the full text of Pope Francis’ prepared homily for the Holy Mass celebrated in Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Cuba:
Homily of Pope Francis
Holy Mass, Havana, Plaza de la Revolución
Sunday, 20 September 2015
The Gospel shows us Jesus asking a seemingly indiscreet question of his disciples: “What were you discussing along the way?” It is a question which he could also ask each of us today: “What do you talk about every day?” “What are your aspirations?” The Gospel tells us that the disciples “did not answer because on the way they had been arguing about who was the most important”. The disciples were ashamed to tell Jesus what they were talking about. As with the disciples then, we too can be caught up in these same arguments: who is the most important?
Jesus does not press the question. He does not force them to tell him what they were talking about on the way. But the question lingers, not only in the minds of the disciples, but also in their hearts.
Who is the most important? This is a life-long question to which, at different times, we must give an answer. We cannot escape the question; it is written on our hearts. I remember more than once, at family gatherings, children being asked: “Who do you love more, Mommy or Daddy”? It’s like asking them: “Who is the most important for you?” But is this only a game we play with children? The history of humanity has been marked by the answer we give to this question.
Jesus is not afraid of people’s questions; he is not afraid of our humanity or the different things we are looking for. On the contrary, he knows the “twists and turns” of the human heart, and, as a good teacher, he is always ready to encourage and support us. As usual, he takes up our searching, our aspirations, and he gives them a new horizon. As usual, he somehow finds an the answer which can pose a new challenge, setting aside the “right answers”, the standard replies we are expected to give. As usual, Jesus sets before us the “logic” of love. A mindset, an approach to life, which is capable of being lived out by all, because it is meant for all.
Far from any kind of elitism, the horizon to which Jesus points us is not for those few privileged souls capable of attaining the heights of knowledge or different levels of spirituality. The horizon to which Jesus points us always has to do with daily life, also here on “our island”, something which can season our daily lives with eternity.
Who is the most important? Jesus is straightforward in his reply: “Whoever wishes to be the first among you must be the last of all, and the servant of all”. Whoever wishes to be great must serve others, not be served by others.
Here lies the great paradox of Jesus. The disciples were arguing about who would have the highest place, who would be chosen for privileges, who would be above the common law, the general norm, in order to stand out in the quest for superiority over others. Who would climb the ladder most quickly to take the jobs which carry certain benefits.
Jesus upsets their “logic”, their mindset, simply by telling them that life is lived authentically in a concrete commitment to our neighbor.
The call to serve involves something special, to which we must be attentive. Serving others chiefly means caring for their vulnerability. Caring for the vulnerable of our families, our society, our people. Theirs are the suffering, fragile and downcast faces which Jesus tells us specifically to look at and which he asks us to love. With a love which takes shape in our actions and decisions. With a love which finds expression in whatever tasks we, as citizens, are called to perform. People of flesh and blood, people with individual lives and stories, and with all their frailty: these are those whom Jesus asks us to protect, to care for, to serve. Being a Christian entails promoting the dignity of our brothers and sisters, fighting for it, living for it. That is why Christians are constantly called to set aside their own wishes and desires, their pursuit of power, and to look instead to those who are most vulnerable.
There is a kind of “service” which truly “serves”, yet we need to be careful not to be tempted by another kind of service, a “service” which is “self-serving”. There is a way to go about serving which is interested in only helping “my people”, “our people”. This service always leaves “your people” outside, and gives rise to a process of exclusion.
All of us are called by virtue of our Christian vocation to that service which truly serves, and to help one another not to be tempted by a “service” which is really “self-serving”. All of us are asked, indeed urged, by Jesus to care for one another out of love. Without looking to one side or the other to see what our neighbor is doing or not doing. Jesus tells us: Whoever would be first among you must be the last, and the servant of all”. He does not say: if your neighbor wants to be first, let him be the servant! We have to be careful to avoid judgmental looks and renew our belief in the transforming look to which Jesus invites us.
This caring for others out of love is not about being servile. Rather, it means putting our brothers and sisters at the center. Service always looks to their faces, touches their flesh, senses their closeness and even, in some cases, “suffers” in trying to help. Service is never ideological, for we do not serve ideas, we serve people.
God’s holy and faithful people in Cuba is a people with a taste for parties, for friendship, for beautiful things. It is a people which marches with songs of praise. It is a people which has its wounds, like every other people, yet knows how to stand up with open arms, to keep walking in hope, because it has a vocation of grandeur. Today I ask you to care for this vocation of yours, to care for these gifts which God has given you, but above all I invite you to care for and be at the service of the frailty of your brothers and sisters. Do not neglect them for plans which can be seductive, but are unconcerned about the face of the person beside you. We know, we are witnesses of the incomparable power of the resurrection, which “everywhere calls forth the seeds of a new world” (cf. Evangelii Gaudium, 276, 278).
Let us not forget the Good News we have heard today: the importance of a people, a nation, and the importance of individuals, which is always based on how they seek to serve their vulnerable brothers and sisters. Here we encounter one of the fruits of a true humanity. “Whoever does not live to serve, does not ‘serve’ to live”.
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APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
TO CUBA, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND VISIT TO THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION HEADQUARTERS
on the occasion of his participation at the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia
TO CUBA, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND VISIT TO THE UNITED NATIONS ORGANIZATION HEADQUARTERS
on the occasion of his participation at the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia
(19-28 SEPTEMBER 2015)
Live video transmission by CTV
(Vatican Television Center)
(Vatican Television Center)
Saturday, 19 September 2015
| 10:15 | Departure from Rome's Fiumicino airport for Havana Greeting to journalists during the flight Rome-Havana [Italian] | |
| 16:00 | Arrival at “José Martí” International Airport of Havana | |
| 16:05 | Welcoming ceremony at the International Airport of Havana [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] |
Sunday, 20 September 2015
| 09:00 | Holy Mass at Plaza de la Revolución in Havana [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| Angelus [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | ||
| 16:00 | Courtesy Visit to the President of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers of the Republic at Palacio de la Revolución in Havana | |
| 17:15 | Celebrations of Vespers with Priests, Men and Women Religious and Seminarians at the Cathedral of Havana [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 18:30 | Greeting to the young people of the "Centro Cultural Padre Félix Varela" in Havana [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] |
Monday, 21 September 2015
| 08:00 | Departure by plane from Havana for Holguín | |
| 09:20 | Arrival at “Frank Pais” International Airport of Holguín | |
| 10:30 | Holy Mass at Plaza de la Revolución in Holguín [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 15:45 | Blessing of the city from Loma de la Cruz in Holguín | |
| 16:40 | Departure by plane for Santiago | |
| 17:30 | Arrival at “Antonio Maceo” International Airport of Santiago | |
| 19:00 | Meeting with the Bishops at St Basil The Great Seminary in Santiago | |
| 19:45 | Prayer to the Virgen de la Caridad with the Bishops and the Papal Entourage at the Minor Basilica of the Shrine “Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” in Santiago |
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
| 08:00 | Holy Mass at the Minor Basilica of the Shrine “Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre” in Santiago [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 11:00 | Meeting with families at Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral in Santiago [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| Blessing of the city from the square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago | ||
| 12:15 | Farewell ceremony at the Airport | |
| 12:30 | Departure by plane from the Airport of Santiago for Washington, D.C. | |
| 16:00 | Arrival at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. | |
| Official welcoming ceremony at the Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. |
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
| 9:15 | Welcoming ceremony at the South Lawn of the White House [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| Courtesy Visit to the President of the United States of America | ||
| 11:30 | Meeting with the Bishops of the United States of America at St Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C. [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 16:15 | Holy Mass and Canonization of Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
Thursday, 24 September 2015
| 9:20 | Visit to the Congress of the United States of America [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 11:15 | Visit to the Charitable Center of St. Patrick Parish and meeting with the homeless in Washington, D.C. [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 16:00 | Departure by plane for New York | |
| 17:00 | Arrival at JFK Airport in New York | |
| 18:45 | Vespers with the Clergy, Men and Women Religious at St Patrick's Cathedral in New York [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] |
Friday, 25 September 2015
| 08:30 | Visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 11:30 | Interreligious encounter at the Ground Zero memorial in New York [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 16:00 | Visit to "Our Lady, Queen of the Angels" School and meeting with children and families of migrants in New York (Harlem) | |
| 18:00 | Holy Mass at the Madison Square Garden in New York [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] |
Saturday, 26 September 2015
| 08:40 | Departure by plane for Philadelphia | |
| 09:30 | Arrival at the International Airport of Philadelphia | |
| 10:30 | Holy Mass with the Bishops, Clergy, Men and Women Religious of Pennsylvania gathered at the Cathedral of Sts Peter and Paul in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 16:45 | Meeting for Religious Freedom with the Hispanic community and other immigrants at the Independence Mall in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | |
| 19:30 | Festival of families and vigil of prayer at the B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] |
Sunday, 27 September 2015
| 09:15 | Meeting with bishops taking part in the World Meeting of Families gathered at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | ||
| 11:00 | Visit to detainees at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | ||
| 16:00 | Holy Mass concluding the World Meeting of Families at B. Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia [Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish] | ||
| 19:00 | Greeting to the organizing committee, volunteers and benefactors at the International Airport of Philadelphia | ||
| 19:45 | Farewell ceremony | ||
| 20:00 | Departure by plane from Philadelphia for Rome/Ciampino |
Monday, 28 September 2015
| 10:00 | Arrival at Ciampino Airport in Rome |
Time lag:
Rome: +2h UTC
La Habana / Holguín / Santiago: -4h UTC
Washington / New York / Philadelphia: -4h UTC
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2015 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed - 09/20/2015
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Liturgical Celebrations to be presided over by Pope: 2015
Vatican City, Spring 2015 (VIS)
The following is the English text of the intentions – both universal and for evangelization – that, as is customary, the Pope entrusted to the Apostleship of Prayer for 2015.
September
Universal: That opportunities for education and employment may increase for all young people.
Evangelization: That catechists may give witness by living in a way consistent with the faith they proclaim.
October
Universal: That human trafficking, the modern form of slavery, may be eradicated.
Evangelization: That with a missionary spirit the Christian communities of Asia may announce the Gospel to those who are still awaiting it.
November
Universal: That we may be open to personal encounter and dialogue with all, even those whose convictions differ from our own.
Evangelization: That pastors of the Church, with profound love for their flocks, may accompany them and enliven their hope.
December
Universal: That all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving.
Evangelization: That families, especially those who suffer, may find in the birth of Jesus a sign of certain hope.
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2015 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed 09/20/2015.
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Today's Word: canonize [kan-uh-nahyz]
Origin: 1350-1400; Middle English. See canon1, -ize1. Ecclesiastical. to place in the canon of saints.
2. to glorify.
3. to make canonical; place or include within a canon, especially of scriptural works: They canonized the Song of Solomon after much controversy.
4. to consider or treat as sacrosanct or holy: They canonized his many verbal foibles and made them gospel.
5. to sanction or approve authoritatively, especially ecclesiastically.
6. Archaic. to deify.
verb (transitive)
1. (Roman Catholic Church) to declare (a person) to be a saint and thus admit to the canon of saints
2. to regard as holy or as a saint
3. to sanction by canon law; pronounce valid
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Psalms 54:3-4, 5, 6-8
3 Arrogant men are attacking me, bullies hounding me to death, no room in their thoughts for God.
4 But now God is coming to my help, the Lord, among those who sustain me.
5 May their wickedness recoil on those who lie in wait for me. Yahweh, in your constancy destroy them.
6 How gladly will I offer you sacrifice, and praise your name, for it is good,
7 for it has rescued me from all my troubles, and my eye has feasted on my enemies.
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Today's Epistle - Wisdom 2:17-20
17 Let us see if what he says is true, and test him to see what sort of end he will have.18 For if the upright man is God's son, God will help him and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
19 Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his patience to the test.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death since God will rescue him -- or so he claims.'
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Today's Gospel Reading - Mark 9:30-41
The greatest in the Kingdom
Mark 9:30-41
Mark 9:30-41
1. Opening prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
2. Reading
a) A key to the reading:
The text of the Gospel for the liturgy of this Sunday presents us with the second foretelling of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. As in the first foretelling (Mk 8:31-33), the disciples are scared and overcome by fear. They do not understand anything about the cross, because they are not capable of understanding nor of accepting a Messiah who becomes the servant of his brethren. They still dream of a glorious messiah (Mt 16:21-22). There is a great discrepancy among the disciples. While Jesus proclaims his Passion and Death, they discuss who will be the greatest among them (Mk 9:34). Jesus wishes to serve, they only think of ruling! Ambition makes them want to take a place next to Jesus. What is it that stands out in my life: competitiveness and the desire to rule or the desire to serve and encourage others?
The text of the Gospel for the liturgy of this Sunday presents us with the second foretelling of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. As in the first foretelling (Mk 8:31-33), the disciples are scared and overcome by fear. They do not understand anything about the cross, because they are not capable of understanding nor of accepting a Messiah who becomes the servant of his brethren. They still dream of a glorious messiah (Mt 16:21-22). There is a great discrepancy among the disciples. While Jesus proclaims his Passion and Death, they discuss who will be the greatest among them (Mk 9:34). Jesus wishes to serve, they only think of ruling! Ambition makes them want to take a place next to Jesus. What is it that stands out in my life: competitiveness and the desire to rule or the desire to serve and encourage others?
Jesus’ reaction to the demands of the disciples helps us understand a little concerning the fraternal pedagogy used by him to form his disciples. It shows us how he helped them to overcome “the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod” (Mk 8:15). Such leaven has deep roots. It springs up again and again! But Jesus does not give up! He constantly fights against and criticises the wrong kind of “leaven”. Today too we have a leaven of the dominant ideology: the spread of the neo-liberal system, of commerce, of consumerism, of novels, of games, all deeply influencing our way of thinking and acting. Today too we have the leaven of the dominant ideology. Like the disciples of Jesus, we too are not always capable of keeping up a critical attitude towards the invasion of this leaven. Jesus’ attitude of formator continues to help us.
b) A division of the text to help us in our reading:
Mark 9:30-32: the proclamation of the Passion
Mark 9:33-37: a discussion on who is the greatest
Mark 9:38-40: the use of the name of Jesus
Mark 9:41: the reward for a cup of water
Mark 9:30-32: the proclamation of the Passion
Mark 9:33-37: a discussion on who is the greatest
Mark 9:38-40: the use of the name of Jesus
Mark 9:41: the reward for a cup of water
c) The Gospel:
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.
30 They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he would not have any one know it; 31 for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, "The Son of man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him; and when he is killed, after three days he will rise." 32 But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to ask him.
33 And they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?" 34 But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with one another who was the greatest. 35 And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them, "If any one would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." 36 And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me."
38 John said to him, "Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us." 39 But Jesus said, "Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. 40 For he that is not against us is for us. 41 For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.
3. A moment of prayerful silence so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.
4. Some questions to help us in our personal reflection.
a) Which words pleased you most or drew your attention?
b) What attitude did the disciples take in each of the passages: vv 30-32; vv 33-37; vv 38-40? Is it the same attitude in the three passages?
c) What is Jesus’ teaching in each episode?
d) What does the phrase “Anyone who is not against us is for us” mean for us today?
b) What attitude did the disciples take in each of the passages: vv 30-32; vv 33-37; vv 38-40? Is it the same attitude in the three passages?
c) What is Jesus’ teaching in each episode?
d) What does the phrase “Anyone who is not against us is for us” mean for us today?
5. A key to the reading for those who wish to go deeper into the text.
a) Comment
Mark 9:30-32: The proclamation of the Cross.
Jesus was going across Galilee, but he did not want the people to know this, because he was concerned with the formation of his disciples. He talks to them about “The Son of Man” who must be handed over. Jesus draws his teaching from the prophecies. In the formation of his disciples he uses the Bible. The disciples listen, but they do not understand. Yet they do not ask for explanations. Perhaps they are afraid to show their ignorance!
Jesus was going across Galilee, but he did not want the people to know this, because he was concerned with the formation of his disciples. He talks to them about “The Son of Man” who must be handed over. Jesus draws his teaching from the prophecies. In the formation of his disciples he uses the Bible. The disciples listen, but they do not understand. Yet they do not ask for explanations. Perhaps they are afraid to show their ignorance!
Mark 9:33-34: A competitive mentality.
When they return home, Jesus asks: What were you arguing about on the road? They do not reply. It is the silence of those who feel guilty, because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. The “leaven” of competitiveness and prestige, which characterised the society of the Roman Empire, had infiltrated among the small community still in its beginnings! Here we see the contrast! While Jesus is thinking of being the Messiah-Servant, they were thinking about which of them was the greatest. Jesus tries to descend while they try to ascend!
When they return home, Jesus asks: What were you arguing about on the road? They do not reply. It is the silence of those who feel guilty, because they had been arguing which of them was the greatest. The “leaven” of competitiveness and prestige, which characterised the society of the Roman Empire, had infiltrated among the small community still in its beginnings! Here we see the contrast! While Jesus is thinking of being the Messiah-Servant, they were thinking about which of them was the greatest. Jesus tries to descend while they try to ascend!
Mark 9:35-37: To serve and not to rule.
Jesus’ reply is a resume of the witness he had given from the very beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all! And the last gains nothing. He is a useless servant (cf. Lk 17:10). The use of power is not to ascend or rule, but to descend and serve. This is the point that Jesus stresses most and on which he bases his witness (cf. Mk 10:45; Mt 20:28; Jn 13:1-16). Jesus takes a little child. Someone who only thinks of ascending and ruling has no time for the little ones, for children. But Jesus turns everything upside down! He says: Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me! He identifies himself with the children. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God himself!
Jesus’ reply is a resume of the witness he had given from the very beginning: If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all! And the last gains nothing. He is a useless servant (cf. Lk 17:10). The use of power is not to ascend or rule, but to descend and serve. This is the point that Jesus stresses most and on which he bases his witness (cf. Mk 10:45; Mt 20:28; Jn 13:1-16). Jesus takes a little child. Someone who only thinks of ascending and ruling has no time for the little ones, for children. But Jesus turns everything upside down! He says: Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me! He identifies himself with the children. Anyone who welcomes the little ones in the name of Jesus welcomes God himself!
Mark 9:38-40: A restricted mentality.
Someone who did not belong to the community was using the name of Jesus to cast out devils. John, the disciple, sees him and stops him: Because he was not one of us we tried to stop him. John stops a good action in the name of the community. He thought he owned Jesus and wanted to stop others from using Jesus’ name to do good. This was the restricted and old mentality of the “Elect, the separate People!” Jesus replies: You must not stop him! Anyone who is not against us is for us! (Mk 9:40). What is important for Jesus is not whether the person is or is not part of the community, but whether the person does or does not do the good deeds that the community should be doing.
Someone who did not belong to the community was using the name of Jesus to cast out devils. John, the disciple, sees him and stops him: Because he was not one of us we tried to stop him. John stops a good action in the name of the community. He thought he owned Jesus and wanted to stop others from using Jesus’ name to do good. This was the restricted and old mentality of the “Elect, the separate People!” Jesus replies: You must not stop him! Anyone who is not against us is for us! (Mk 9:40). What is important for Jesus is not whether the person is or is not part of the community, but whether the person does or does not do the good deeds that the community should be doing.
Mark 9:41: A cup of water deserves a reward.
Here we have an inserted phrase used by Jesus: If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. Let us consider two thoughts: 1) If anyone gives you a cup of water: Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to give his life. The gesture of a grand gift! But he does not despise small gestures of gifts in daily life: a cup of water, a welcome, a word, so many other gestures. Even the smallest gesture is appreciated. 2) Just because you belong to Christ: Jesus identifies himself with us who wish to belong to him. This means that for him we are of great worth.
Here we have an inserted phrase used by Jesus: If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward. Let us consider two thoughts: 1) If anyone gives you a cup of water: Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to give his life. The gesture of a grand gift! But he does not despise small gestures of gifts in daily life: a cup of water, a welcome, a word, so many other gestures. Even the smallest gesture is appreciated. 2) Just because you belong to Christ: Jesus identifies himself with us who wish to belong to him. This means that for him we are of great worth.
b) Further explanations in order to better understand the text
• Jesus, the “Son of Man”
This is Jesus’ favourite name. It appears quite frequently in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 2:10-28; 8:31-38; 9:9-12.31; 10:33-45; 13:26; 14:21.41.62). This title comes from the Old Testament. In the book of Ezekiel, he presents the human condition of the prophet (Ez 3:1.10.17; 4:1 etc.). In the book of Daniel, the same title appears in an apocalyptic vision (Dn 7:1-28), where Daniel describes the empires of the Babylonians, the Medians, the Persians and the Greeks. In the prophet’s vision, these four empires appear as “monstrous animals” (cf. Dn 7:3-8). They are beastly empires, brutal, inhuman, that persecute and kill (Dn 7:21-25). In the prophet’s vision, after two inhuman reigns the Kingdom of God appears in the form not of an animal but that of a human figure, the Son of man. It is a kingdom with the appearance of people, a human kingdom, that promotes life and that humanises (Dn 7:13-14).
In Daniel’s prophecy, the figure of the Son of Man represents, not an individual, but as he says, the “people of the Saints of the Most High” (Dn 7:27; cf Dn 7:18). It is the people of God that will not allow itself to be cheated or manipulated by the dominant ideology of the beastly empires. The mission of the Son of Man, that is, of the people of God, consists in realising the Kingdom of God as a human kingdom. A kingdom that does not destroy life, but rather builds it up! It humanises people.
When Jesus presents himself to his disciples as the Son of Man, he assumes as his the mission that is the mission of the whole People of God. It is as though he were saying to them and to us: “Come with me! This mission is not only mine, but of all of us! Together, let us accomplish the mission that God has entrusted to us: to build the human and humanising Kingdom of his dream! Let us do what he did and lived throughout his life, above all, in the last three years of his life. Pope Leo the Great used to say: “Jesus was so human, so human, as only God can be!” The more human it is, the more divine it becomes. The more we are “son of man” so much more will we be “son of God”. Everything that makes people less human draws people away from God, even in religious life, even in Carmelite life! This is what Jesus condemned and he placed the good of the human person above the law and the Sabbath (Mk 2:27).
In Daniel’s prophecy, the figure of the Son of Man represents, not an individual, but as he says, the “people of the Saints of the Most High” (Dn 7:27; cf Dn 7:18). It is the people of God that will not allow itself to be cheated or manipulated by the dominant ideology of the beastly empires. The mission of the Son of Man, that is, of the people of God, consists in realising the Kingdom of God as a human kingdom. A kingdom that does not destroy life, but rather builds it up! It humanises people.
When Jesus presents himself to his disciples as the Son of Man, he assumes as his the mission that is the mission of the whole People of God. It is as though he were saying to them and to us: “Come with me! This mission is not only mine, but of all of us! Together, let us accomplish the mission that God has entrusted to us: to build the human and humanising Kingdom of his dream! Let us do what he did and lived throughout his life, above all, in the last three years of his life. Pope Leo the Great used to say: “Jesus was so human, so human, as only God can be!” The more human it is, the more divine it becomes. The more we are “son of man” so much more will we be “son of God”. Everything that makes people less human draws people away from God, even in religious life, even in Carmelite life! This is what Jesus condemned and he placed the good of the human person above the law and the Sabbath (Mk 2:27).
• Jesus, the Formator
“To follow” was a term that was part of the system of education at that time. It was used to indicate the relationship between disciple and master. The relationship between disciple and master is different from that of teacher and student. Students follow the lessons of the teacher on some particular subject. Disciples “follow” the master and live with him all the time.
It is during this period of “living together” for three years that the disciples will receive their formation. A formation in the “following of Jesus” was not just the passing on of some decorative truths, but the communication of a new experience of God and of the life that shone from Jesus for the disciples. The very community that grew around Jesus was the expression of this new experience. This formation led people to see things differently, to different attitudes. It created in them a new awareness concerning the mission and respect for self. It made them take the side of the excluded. It produced a “conversion”, the consequence of having accepted the Good News (Mk 1:15).
Jesus is the axle, the centre, the model, the point of reference of the community. He shows the road to follow, he is “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). His attitude is proof and an exposition of the Kingdom: he makes the love of the Father transparent and incarnates and reveals it (Mk 6:31; Mt 10:30; Lk 15:11-32). Jesus is a “meaningful person” for them, who will leave on them a permanent mark. Many small gestures mirror this witness of life that Jesus gave by his presence in the life of the disciples. It was his way of giving human form to the experience he had of the Father. In this way of being and sharing, of relating to people, of leading the people and of listening to those who came to him, Jesus is seen:
* as the person of peace, who inspires and reconciles: “Peace be with you!” (Jn. 20:19; Mt 10:26-33; Mt 18:22; Jn 20:23; Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18);
* as a free person and one who liberates, who awakens freedom and liberation: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27; 2:18-23);
* as a person of prayer, whom we see praying at all important moments of his life and who inspires others to prayer: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Lk 11:1-4; Lk 4:1-13; 6:12-13; Jn 11:41-42; Mt 11:25; Jn 17:1-26; Lk 23:46; Mk 15:34);
* as a loving person who arouses reactions full of love (Lk 7:37-38; 8:2-3; Jn 21:15-17; Mk 14:3-9; Jn 13:1);
*as a welcoming person who is always present in the lives of the disciples and who welcomes them when they come back from the mission (Lk 10:7);
* as a realistic and observing person who arouses the attention of the disciples in matters of life by teaching them in Parables (Lk 8:4-8);
* as a caring person always paying attention to the disciples (Jn 21:9), who looks after their rest and who wishes to stay with them so that the may rest (Mk 6:31);
* as someone preoccupied with the situation even to forgetting that his tiredness and his rest when he sees people who are looking for him (Mt 9:36-38);
* as a friend who shares everything, even the secrets of his Father (Jn 15:15);
* as an understanding person who accepts the disciples just as they are, even when they flee from him, in spite of their denial and their betrayal of him, without ever breaking with them (Mk 14:27-28; Jn 6:67);
* as a committed person who defends his friends when they are criticised by their adversaries (Mk 2:18-19; 7:5-13);
* as a wise person who knows the fragility of human beings, knows what happens in the heart of a person, and thus insists on vigilance and teaches them to pray (Lk 11:1-13; Mt 6:5-15).
In a word, Jesus shows himself to be a human person, very human, so human as only God can know to be human! Son of Man.
It is during this period of “living together” for three years that the disciples will receive their formation. A formation in the “following of Jesus” was not just the passing on of some decorative truths, but the communication of a new experience of God and of the life that shone from Jesus for the disciples. The very community that grew around Jesus was the expression of this new experience. This formation led people to see things differently, to different attitudes. It created in them a new awareness concerning the mission and respect for self. It made them take the side of the excluded. It produced a “conversion”, the consequence of having accepted the Good News (Mk 1:15).
Jesus is the axle, the centre, the model, the point of reference of the community. He shows the road to follow, he is “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6). His attitude is proof and an exposition of the Kingdom: he makes the love of the Father transparent and incarnates and reveals it (Mk 6:31; Mt 10:30; Lk 15:11-32). Jesus is a “meaningful person” for them, who will leave on them a permanent mark. Many small gestures mirror this witness of life that Jesus gave by his presence in the life of the disciples. It was his way of giving human form to the experience he had of the Father. In this way of being and sharing, of relating to people, of leading the people and of listening to those who came to him, Jesus is seen:
* as the person of peace, who inspires and reconciles: “Peace be with you!” (Jn. 20:19; Mt 10:26-33; Mt 18:22; Jn 20:23; Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18);
* as a free person and one who liberates, who awakens freedom and liberation: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27; 2:18-23);
* as a person of prayer, whom we see praying at all important moments of his life and who inspires others to prayer: “Lord, teach us to pray!” (Lk 11:1-4; Lk 4:1-13; 6:12-13; Jn 11:41-42; Mt 11:25; Jn 17:1-26; Lk 23:46; Mk 15:34);
* as a loving person who arouses reactions full of love (Lk 7:37-38; 8:2-3; Jn 21:15-17; Mk 14:3-9; Jn 13:1);
*as a welcoming person who is always present in the lives of the disciples and who welcomes them when they come back from the mission (Lk 10:7);
* as a realistic and observing person who arouses the attention of the disciples in matters of life by teaching them in Parables (Lk 8:4-8);
* as a caring person always paying attention to the disciples (Jn 21:9), who looks after their rest and who wishes to stay with them so that the may rest (Mk 6:31);
* as someone preoccupied with the situation even to forgetting that his tiredness and his rest when he sees people who are looking for him (Mt 9:36-38);
* as a friend who shares everything, even the secrets of his Father (Jn 15:15);
* as an understanding person who accepts the disciples just as they are, even when they flee from him, in spite of their denial and their betrayal of him, without ever breaking with them (Mk 14:27-28; Jn 6:67);
* as a committed person who defends his friends when they are criticised by their adversaries (Mk 2:18-19; 7:5-13);
* as a wise person who knows the fragility of human beings, knows what happens in the heart of a person, and thus insists on vigilance and teaches them to pray (Lk 11:1-13; Mt 6:5-15).
In a word, Jesus shows himself to be a human person, very human, so human as only God can know to be human! Son of Man.
6. Psalm 30 (29)
Thanksgiving after some mortal danger
I will extol thee, O Lord,
for thou hast drawn me up,
and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to thee for help,
and thou hast healed me.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
for thou hast drawn me up,
and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
O Lord my God, I cried to thee for help,
and thou hast healed me.
O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
and his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may tarry for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
By thy favour, O Lord,
thou hadst established me as a strong mountain;
thou didst hide thy face, I was dismayed.
"I shall never be moved."
By thy favour, O Lord,
thou hadst established me as a strong mountain;
thou didst hide thy face, I was dismayed.
To thee, O Lord,
I cried; and to the Lord I made supplication:
"What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise thee?
Will it tell of thy faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be thou my helper!"
I cried; and to the Lord I made supplication:
"What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise thee?
Will it tell of thy faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!
O Lord, be thou my helper!"
Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing;
thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.
thou hast loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,
that my soul may praise thee and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to thee for ever.
7. Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only listen to but also practise the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Saint of the Day: Blessed Junípero Serra Ferrer
Feast Day: September 23, 2015 the Canonization of Blessed Fr. Junipero Serra at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.Died: August 28, 1874
Patron Saint of : Vocaitons
The missions were primarily designed to bring the Catholic Christian faith to the native peoples. Other aims were to integrate the neophytes into Spanish society, and to train them to take over ownership and management of the land. As head of the order in California, Serra not only dealt with church officials, but also with Spanish officials in Mexico City and with the local military officers who commanded the nearby presidio (garrison). Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988, and Pope Francis expects to canonize him in September 23, 2015 during his first visit to the United States. HistoryEarly lifeSerra was born into a family of humble farmers and devout Catholics, in the village of Petra on the island of Majorca (Mallorca) off the Mediterranean coast of Spain. A few hours after birth, he was baptized in the village church. His baptismal record states his name as Miquel Joseph Serre (Catalan: Miquel Josep Serra; Castilian Spanish: Miguel José Sierra). His mother, Margarita Rosa Ferrer, had lost her first two children in their infancy. His father was Antonio Nadal Serra. Both parents spoke the Majorcan dialect of Catalan, which became Miquel's native language; he acquired Castilian Spanish as his second language.By age seven, Miquel was working the fields with his parents, helping cultivate wheat and beans, and tending the cattle. But he showed a special interest in visiting the local Franciscan friary. The friars taught him reading, writing, mathematics, religion and liturgical song. At age 15, his parents enrolled him in a Franciscan school in the capital city, Palma de Majorca, where he studied philosophy. A year later, he became a novice in the Franciscan order. The slight and frail Miquel now embarked on the novitiate, his rigorous year of preparation to become a full member of the Franciscan order. His daily routine at the convent followed a rigid schedule: prayers, meditation, choir singing, physical chores, spiritual readings, and instruction. He had to wake up every midnight for another round of chants. His superiors discouraged letters and visits. In his free time, Miquel avidly read stories about Franciscan friars roaming the provinces of Spain and around the world to win new souls for the church, often suffering martyrdom in the process. He followed the news of famous missionaries winning beatification and sainthood. Takes the name Junípero, becomes a FranciscanOn November 14, 1730 — just shy of his 17th birthday — Miquel entered the Alcantarine Franciscans, a reform movement in the Order, and took the name "Junipero" in honor of Brother Juniper, who had also been a Franciscan and a companion of Saint Francis. The young Junípero, along with his fellow novices, vowed to scorn property and comfort, and to remain chaste. He still had seven years to go to become an ordained priest. He immersed himself in rigorous studies of logic, metaphysics, cosmology, and theology.In 1737, Serra became a priest, and three years later earned a professorial commission to teach philosophy at the Convento de San Francisco. His philosophy course, including over 60 students, lasted three years. Among his students were fellow future missionaries Francisco Palóu and Juan Crespí. When the course ended in 1743, Serra told his students: "I desire nothing more from you than this, that when the news of my death shall have reached your ears, I ask you to say for the benefit of my soul: 'May he rest in peace.' Nor shall I omit to do the same for you so that all of us will attain the goal for which we have been created." Serra was considered intellectually brilliant by his peers. He received a doctorate in theology from the Lullian University in Palma de Majorca, where he also occupied the Duns Scotus chair of philosophy until he joined the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico in 1749. During Serra's last five years on the island of Majorca, drought and plague afflicted his home village of Petra. Serra sometimes went home from Palma for brief visits to his parents — now separated — and gave them some financial support. On one occasion he was called home to anoint his seriously ill father with the sacraments of the dying. In one of his final visits to Petra, Serra found his younger sister near death. In 1748, Serra and Palóu confided to each other their secret desires to become missionaries. Serra, now 35, was assured a prestigious career as priest and scholar if he stayed in Majorca; but he set his sights firmly on pagan lands. Applying to the colonial bureaucracy in Madrid, Serra requested that both he and Palóu embark on a foreign mission. After weathering some administrative obstacles, Serra and Palóu got permission and set sail for Cádiz, the Spanish port of departure for America. While waiting to set sail for America, Serra wrote a long letter to a colleague back in Majorca, urging him to console Serra's parents — now in their 70's — over their only son's pending departure. "They [my parents] will learn to see how sweet is His yoke," Serra wrote, "and that He will change for them the sorrow they may now experience into great happiness. Now is not the time to muse or fret over the happenings of life but rather to be conformed entirely to the will of God, striving to prepare themselves for that happy death which of all the things of life is our principal concern." Arrives in New Spain (Mexico)In 1749, Serra and the Franciscan missionary team landed in Veracruz, on the Gulf coast of Mexico (New Spain). Refusing to ride by carriage from Veracruz into Mexico City, Serra trekked up the steep mountain trail through tropical forests into the capital. On the way, he suffered a leg infection, breaking out into sores which caused him much pain in his future journeys by foot.In Mexico City, Serra and his companions entered the college of San Fernando, a specialized training center and regional headquarters for Franciscan missionaries. Serra humbly asked to do his novitiate year again — despite his academic prestige, and the fact that the college's novices were far younger men. Though his request was declined, Serra insisted on living as a novice at San Fernando: "This learned university professor…would often eat more sparingly in order to replace the student whose turn it was to read to the community. Or he would humbly carry trays and wait on tables with the lay brothers… Besides the routine of prayers, hymns and meditations, daily life at the secluded college included classes on the languages of Mexico's Indian peoples, mission administration, and theology. Before completing his required year of training, Serra volunteered for a mission in the rugged Sierra Gorda, to help replace friars who had recently died there. He was accepted as mission superior. His fellow volunteer Francisco Palóu became Serra's assistant in his first mission. Mission in the Sierra Gorda, MexicoThe Sierra Gorda Indian mission, some 90 miles north of Santiago de Querétaro, was nestled in a vast region of jagged mountains, home of the Pame Indians and a scattering of Spanish colonists. The Pames — who, centuries earlier, had built a civilization with temples, idols and priests — lived mainly by gathering and hunting, but also pursued agriculture. Many groups among them, adopting mobile guerrilla tactics, had eluded conquest by the Spanish military.Serra and Palóu, arriving at the village of Jalpan, found the mission in disarray: The parishioners, numbering fewer than a thousand, were attending neither confession nor holy communion. The two missionaries set about learning the Pame language from a Mexican who had lived among the Pames. But the claim by Francisco Palóu that Serra translated the catechism into the Pame language is questionable, as Serra himself later admitted he had great difficulties learning indigenous languages. Serra involved Pames parishioners in the ritual reenactment of Jesus' forced death march. Erecting 14 stations, Serra led the procession himself, heaving a dreadfully heavy cross. At each station, the procession paused for a prayer, and at the end Serra sermonized on the sufferings and death of Jesus. During holy week, 12 elder Pames played the roles of the disciples. Serra, in the role of Jesus, humbly washed their feet and then dined with them. Serra also tackled the practical side of mission administration. Working with the college of San Fernando, he had cattle, goats, sheep, and farming tools brought to the Sierra Gorda mission. Palóu supervised the farm labor of mission Indian men; the women learned spinning, sewing and knitting. Their products were collected and rationed to the mission residents, according to personal needs. Christian Pames sold their surplus products in nearby trading centers, under the friars' supervision to protect them from cheaters. Pames who adapted successfully to mission life received their own parcels of land to raise corn, beans and pumpkins, and sometimes received oxen and seeds as well. Within two years, Serra had made inroads against the Pames' traditional belief system. On his 1752 visit from the Sierra Gorda mission to the college of San Fernando in Mexico City, Serra joyfully carried a goddess statue presented to him by Christian Pames. The statue, showing the face of Cachum, mother of the sun, had been erected on a hilltop shrine where some Pame chiefs lay buried. Back in the Sierra Gorda, Serra faced a conflict between Spanish soldiers, settlers, and mission Indians. Following a Spanish military victory over the Pames in 1743, Spanish authorities had sent not only Franciscan missionaries, but also Spanish/Mexican soldiers and their families into the Sierra Gorda. The soldiers had the job of pursuing runaway mission Indians and securing the region for the Spanish crown. But the soldiers' land claims clashed with mission lands that Christian Pames were working. Some of the soldiers' families tried to establish a town, and the officer in charge of their deployment approved their plan. The Pames objected, threatening to defend their lands by force if necessary. Soldiers and settlers let their cattle graze on Christian Pames' farmlands and bullied Pames into working for them. Serra and the college of San Fernando sided with the Pames — citing the Laws of the Indies, which banned colonial settlements in mission territories. The viceroy, Spain's highest official in Mexico, suspended the intrusive colony. But the townspeople protested and stayed put. The government set up commissions and looked into alternative sites for the colony. It ordered the settlers to keep their cattle out of the Pames' fields, and to pay the Pames fairly for their labor (with the friars supervising payment). After a protracted legal struggle, the settlers moved out, and in 1755 the Pames and friars reclaimed their land. Crowning his Sierra Gorda mission, Serra oversaw the construction of a splendid church in Jalpan. Gathering masons, carpenters, and other skilled craftsmen from Mexico City, Serra employed Christian Pames in seasonal construction work over the course of seven years to complete the church. Serra pitched in himself, carrying wooden beams and applying mortar between the stones forming the church walls. Serra's work for the InquisitionDuring his 1752 visit to Mexico City, Serra sent a request from the college of San Fernando to the local headquarters of the Spanish Inquisition. He asked that an inquisitor be appointed to preside over the Sierra Gorda. The next day, Inquisition officials appointed Serra himself as inquisitor for the whole region — adding that he could exercise his powers anywhere he did missionary work in New Spain, as long as there was no regular Inquisition official in the region.In September 1752, Serra filed a report to the Inquisition in Mexico City from Jalpan, on "evidences of witchcraft in the Sierra Gorda missions." He denounced several Christian non-Indians who lived in and around the mission for "the most detestable and horrible crimes of sorcery, witchcraft and devil worship…If it is necessary to specify one of the persons guilty of such crimes, I accuse by name a certain Melchora de los Reyes Acosta, a married mulattress, an inhabitant of the said mission… In these last days a certain Cayetana, a very clever Mexican woman of said mission, married to one Pérez, a mulatto, has confessed — she, being observed and accused of similar crimes, having been held under arrest by us for some days past — that in the mission there is a large congregation of [Christian non-Indians], although some Indians also join them, and that these persons,…flying through the air at night, are in the habit of meeting in a cave on a hill near a ranch called El Saucillo, in the center of said missions, where they worship and make sacrifice to the demons who appear visibly there in the guise of young goats and various other things of that nature… If such evil is not attacked, the horrible corruption will spread among these poor [Indian] neophytes who are in our charge." According to modern Franciscan historians, this report by Serra to the Inquisition is the only letter of his that has survived from eight years of mission work in the Sierra Gorda. Serra's first biographer, Francisco Palóu, wrote that Serra, in his role of inquisitor, had to work in many parts of Mexico and travel long distances. Yet the Archivo General de la Nación in Mexico City, with over a thousand volumes of indexed documents on the Inquisition, apparently contains only two references to Serra's work for the Inquisition following his 1752 appointment: his preaching in Oaxaca in 1764, and his partial handling of the case of a Sierra Gorda mulatto accused of sorcery in 1766. In 1758, Serra returned to the college of San Fernando in Mexico City. Over the next nine years he worked in the college's administrative offices, and as a missionary and inquisitor in the dioceses of Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca, Valladolid, and Guadalajara. In his missionary wanderings, Serra often kept traveling on foot, despite painful leg and foot sores. Physical self-punishmentEmulating saint Francisco Solano, Serra made a habit of punishing himself physically, to purify his spirit. He wore a sackcloth spiked with bristles, or a coat interwoven with broken pieces of wire, under his gray friar's outer garment. In his austere cell, Serra kept a chain of sharp pointed iron links hanging on the wall beside his bed, to whip himself at night when sinful thoughts ran through his mind. His nightly self-flagellations at the college of San Fernando caught the ears of some of his fellow friars. In his letters to his Franciscan companions, Serra often referred to himself as a "sinner" and a "most unworthy priest."In one of his sermons in Mexico City, while exhorting his listeners to repent their sins, Serra took out his chain, bared his shoulders and started whipping himself. Many parishioners, roused by the spectacle, began sobbing. Finally, a man climbed to the pulpit, took the chain from Serra's hand and began whipping himself, declaring: "I am the sinner who is ungrateful to God who ought to do penance for my many sins, and not the padre [Serra], who is a saint." The man kept whipping himself until he collapsed. After receiving the last sacraments, he later died from the ordeal. During other sermons on the theme of repentance, Serra would hoist a large stone in one hand and, while clutching a crucifix in the other, smash the stone against his chest. Many of his listeners feared that he would strike himself dead. Later, Serra suffered chest pains and shortness of breath; Palóu suggests that Serra's self-inflicted bruises were the cause. While preaching of hell and damnation, Serra would sear his flesh with a four-pronged candle flame — emulating saint John of Capistrano. Palóu described this as "quite violent, painful, and dangerous towards wounding his chest." Serra did not stand alone among Catholic missionaries in displaying self-punishment at the pulpit. The more zealous Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries did likewise. But few took it to the extremes that Serra did. The regulations of the college of San Fernando said that self-punishment should never be carried to the point of physically incapacitating oneself. Some of Serra's colleagues admonished him for going too far. King Carlos expels the JesuitsOn June 24, 1767, the viceroy of New Spain, Carlos Francisco de Croix, read a Spanish royal decree to Mexico's archbishop and assembled church officials: "Repair with an armed force to the houses of the Jesuits. Seize the persons of all of them and, within 24 hours, transport them as prisoners to the port of Veracruz. Cause to be sealed the records of said houses and records of such persons without allowing them to remove anything but their breviaries and such garments as are absolutely necessary for their journey. If after the embarkation there should be found one Jesuit in that district, even if ill or dying, you shall suffer the penalty of death."Spain's king Carlos III had plotted the expulsion of Jesuits throughout his empire five months earlier. Within days of his viceroy reading the expulsion decree to Mexico's top Catholic officials, Spanish soldiers removed the Jesuits — who offered no resistance — from their 16 missions and 32 stations throughout Mexico. Many Jesuit priests died along the rugged mountain trail to Veracruz, where overloaded ships waited to carry the survivors across the Atlantic to the Papal States on the Italian peninsula. Franciscans move into Baja California missionsInto the vacuum created by the Jesuits' expulsion from Mexico, stepped Franciscan and Dominican missionaries. In 1768, Serra was appointed president of the missions of Baja California, heading a group of 15 Franciscan friars; Francisco Palóu served as his second in command. Jesuit priests had developed 13 missions on that long and arid peninsula over several decades. Two Jesuits had died at the hands of Indians in the revolt of 1734-6.In March 1768, Serra and his missionary team boarded a Spanish sloop at San Blas, on Mexico's Pacific coast. Sailing over 200 miles up the Gulf of California, they landed at Loreto two weeks later. Gaspar de Portolá, governor of Las Californias, welcomed them at the Loreto mission, founded by Jesuits in 1697. While handing over the church to Serra, Portolá controlled the living quarters and rationed out food to the friars. Serra and Palóu found — to their unpleasant surprise — that they ruled only on spiritual matters: Everyday management of the mission stayed in the hands of the military, who had occupied the Baja missions since evicting the Jesuits. In August 1768, New Spain's inspector general José de Gálvez, displeased with the sloppy military administration of the Baja missions, ordered them turned over fully to the Franciscan friars. Serra started assigning his fellow friars to the missions strewn up the length of the Baja peninsula, with its scarce water and food sources. He stayed over a year at the Loreto mission while his colleagues tried to convert Indians in the nearby mountains and deserts. Where mission workers could dam small streams, they managed to grow wheat, corn, beans, fruits and cotton — always depending on the availability of water. The Franciscans found that the Indian population in the Baja California mission territories had dwindled to about 7,150. By the time the Franciscans had moved north and turned the missions over to Dominican friars in 1772, the Indian population had decreased to about 5,000. "If it goes on at this rate," wrote Palóu, "in a short time Baja California will come to an end." Epidemics, especially syphilis introduced by Spanish troops, were wasting the Indians. But Palóu attributed the ravages of syphilis to God's retribution for the Indians' murder of the two Jesuit priests over 30 years earlier. Journey through Baja, destination San DiegoIn 1768 José de Gálvez, inspector general of New Spain, decided to explore and found missions in Alta (upper) California. Gálvez aimed both to Christianize the extensive Indian populations and serve Spain's strategic interest by preventing Russian explorations and possible claims to North America's Pacific coast. Gálvez chose Serra to head the missionary team in the California expedition. Serra, now 55, eagerly seized the chance to harvest thousands of pagan souls in lands previously untouched by the church.But as the expedition gathered in Loreto, Serra's foot and leg infections had become almost crippling. The commander, Gaspar de Portolá, tried to dissuade him from joining the expedition, and wrote to Gálvez about Serra's condition. Serra's fellow friar and former student Francisco Palóu also became concerned, gently suggesting to Serra that he stay in Baja California and let the younger and stronger Palóu make the journey to San Diego in his place. Serra rebuked both Portolá's and Palóu's doubts. He chided Palóu for his suggestion: "Let us not speak of that. I have placed all my confidence in God, of whose goodness I hope that He will grant me to reach not only San Diego to raise the standard of the Holy Cross in that port, but also Monterey." Serra suggested that the Portolá party set off without him; he would follow and meet up with them on the way to Alta California. He then assigned friar Miguel de la Campa as chaplain to the Portolá expedition, which set out from Loreto on March 9, 1769. Spending holy week at mission Loreto, Serra set out on March 28. "From my mission of Loreto," wrote Serra, "I took along no more provisions for so long a journey than a loaf of bread and a piece of cheese. For I was there [at mission Loreto] a whole year, in economic matters, as a mere guest to receive the crumbs of the royal soldier commissioner, whose liberality at my departure did not extend beyond the aforementioned articles." The two servants assigned to accompany Serra had to lift him onto his sick and aging mule. Along the way, his leg pains became so excruciating that he called the mule driver for help: "Imagine I am one of your mules with a sore on his leg. Give me the same treatment." Shrugging, the mule driver applied his usual remedy of tallow mixed with herbs. The next day, Serra joyfully declared his leg much improved, and resumed the journey at full pace. On April 28, 1769, Serra arrived at mission San Borja, where he received a warm welcome from friar Fermín Lasuén. Founded just seven years before by the Jesuit Wenceslaus Linck, mission San Borja sat in an unusually arid region of Baja California. Continuing north, Serra stopped on May 5 to recite a mass celebrating the feast of the Ascension in the deserted church at Calamajué, scarcely more than a ruined hut. The next morning he arrived at Santa María, where he met up with Portolá, friar Miguel de la Campa and several members of their party. In this arid region, whose alkaline land resisted cultivation, lived the "poorest of all" the Indians Serra had encountered in Mexico. On Sunday May 7, Serra sang high mass and preached a sermon at the mission church on the frontier of Spanish Catholicism. Missions Junipero Serra moved to the area that is now Monterey in 1770, and founded Mission San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo. He remained there as "Father Presidente" of the Alta California missions. In 1771, Serra relocated the mission to Carmel, which became known as "Mission Carmel" and served as his headquarters. Under his presidency were founded:
Serra was also present at the founding of the Presidio of Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, California) on April 21, 1782, but was prevented from locating the mission there because of the animosity of Governor Felipe de Neve. In 1773, difficulties with Pedro Fages, the military commander, compelled Serra to travel to Mexico City to argue before Viceroy Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa for the removal of Fages as the Governor of California Nueva. At the capital of Mexico, by order of Viceroy Bucareli, he printed up Representación in 32 articles. Bucareli ruled in Serra's favor on 30 of the 32 charges brought against Fages, and removed him from office in 1774, after which time Serra returned to California. In 1778, Serra, although not a bishop, was given dispensation to administer the sacrament of confirmation for the faithful in California. After he had exercised his privilege for a year, Governor Felipe de Neve directed him to suspend administering the sacrament until he could present the papal brief. For nearly two years Serra refrained, and then Viceroy Majorga gave instructions to the effect that Serra was within his rights. Franciscans saw the Indians as children of God who deserved the opportunity for salvation, and would make good Christians. Converted Indians were segregated from Indians who had not yet embraced Christianity, lest there be a relapse. Discipline was strict, and the converts were not allowed to come and go at will. Serra successfully resisted the efforts of Governor Felipe de Neve to bring Enlightenment policies to missionary work, because those policies would have subverted the economic and religious goals of the Franciscans. Serra wielded this kind of influence because his missions served economic and political purposes as well as religious ends. The number of civilian colonists in Alta California never exceeded 3,200, and the missions with their Indian populations were critical to keeping the region within Spain's political orbit. Economically, the missions produced all of the colony's cattle and grain, and by the 1780s were even producing surpluses sufficient to trade with Mexico for luxury goods. During the American Revolutionary War (1775–83), Serra took up a collection from his mission parishes throughout California. The total money collected amounted to roughly $137, but the money was sent to General George Washington . Serra also received the title Founder of Spanish California. Relationship with Native CaliforniansAs summarized by The New York Times, "Indian historians and authors blame Father Serra for the suppression of their culture and the premature deaths at the missions of thousands of their ancestors.According to George Tinker, himself an Osage/Cherokee and professor at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado, Serra's legacy included forced labor of converted Indians in order to support the missions. Overwhelming evidence suggests that "native peoples resisted the Spanish intrusion from the beginning". Tinker also states that Serra's intentions in evangelizing were honest and genuine. Serra's own views are documented. In 1780, Serra wrote: "that spiritual fathers should punish their sons, the Indians, with blows appears to be as old as the conquest of the Americas; so general in fact that the saints do not seem to be any exception to the rule." Serra pushed for a system of laws to protect natives from some abuses by Spanish soldiers, whose practices were in conflict with his. Mark A. Noll, a professor at Wheaton College in Illinois, has noted that this reflected an attitude, common at the time, that missionaries could, and should, treat their wards like children, including the use of corporal punishment. On the other hand, Tinker argues that it is more appropriate to judge the beatings and whippings administered by Serra by 18th-century Native American standards (since they were the recipients of the violence) and notes, for instance, that Native Americans were unaccustomed to punishing their children. Salvatore J. Cordileone, the current archbishop of San Francisco, acknowledges Native American concerns about Serra's whippings and coercive treatment, but argues that missionaries were also teaching school and farming. Iris Engstrand, professor and chair of the Department of History at the University of San Diego, described him as much nicer to the Indians, really, than even to the governors. He didn't get along too well with some of the military people, you know. His attitude was, 'Stay away from the Indians'. I think you really come up with a benevolent, hard-working person who was strict in a lot of his doctrinal leanings and things like that, but not a person who was enslaving Indians, or beating them, ever....He was a very caring person and forgiving. Even after the burning of the mission in San Diego, he did not want those Indians punished. He wanted to be sure that they were treated fairly... Deborah A. Miranda, a professor of American literature at Washington and Lee University and Native American, stated that "Serra did not just bring us Christianity. He imposed it, giving us no choice in the matter. He did incalculable damage to a whole culture". Death and burial He suffered intensely from his crippled leg and from his chest, yet he would use no remedies. He confirmed 5,309 people, who, with but few exceptions, were Indian neophytes converted during the 14 years from 1770. On August 28, 1784, at the age of 70, Junípero Serra died at Mission San Carlos Borromeo. He is buried there under the sanctuary floor. Following Serra's death, leadership of the Franciscan missionary effort in Alta California passed to Fermín Lasuén. VenerationJunípero Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988, this being the next-to-last step towards canonization, or recognition of sainthood, in the Catholic Church. The pope spoke before a crowd of 20,000 in a beatification ceremony for six; according to the pope's address in English, "He sowed the seeds of Christian faith amid the momentous changes wrought by the arrival of European settlers in the New World. It was a field of missionary endeavor that required patience, perseverance, and humility, as well as vision and courage."During Serra's beatification, questions were raised about how Indians were treated while Serra was in charge. The question of Franciscan treatment of Indians first arose in 1783. The famous historian of missions Herbert Eugene Bolton gave evidence favorable to the case in 1948, and the testimony of five other historians was solicited in 1986. On January 15, 2015, Pope Francis announced that in September, he hopes to canonize the 18th-century Spanish Franciscan as a part of his first visit to the United States. He will be the first native saint of the Balearic Islands. He will be canonized on 23 September 2015 in Washington D.C. by Pope Francis. Serra's feast day is celebrated on July 1 and he is considered to be the patron of vocations. The Mission in Carmel, California containing Serra's remains has continued as a place of public veneration. The burial location of Serra is southeast of the altar and is marked with an inscription in the floor of the sanctuary. Other relics are remnants of the wood from Serra's coffin on display next to the sanctuary, and personal items belonging to Serra on display in the mission museums. A bronze and marble sarcophagus depicting Serra's life was completed in 1924 by Catalan sculptor Joseph A. Mora. Serra's remains have not been transferred to the sarcophagus. LegacyMany of Serra's letters and other documentation are extant, the principal ones being his "Diario" of the journey from Loreto to San Diego, which was published in Out West (March to June 1902) along with Serra's "Representación."'The Junípero Serra Collection (1713-1947) at the Santa Barbara Mission Archive-Library are their earliest archival materials. The Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library is part of the building complex of the Mission Santa Barbara, but is now a separate non-profit, independent educational and research institution. The Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library continues to have ties to the Franciscans and the legacy of Padre Serra. The chapel at Mission San Juan Capistrano, built in 1782, is thought to be the oldest standing building in California. Known as "Father Serra's Church," it is the only remaining church in which Serra is known to have celebrated the rites of the Roman Catholic Church (he presided over the confirmations of 213 people on October 12 and October 13, 1783). In 1884, the Legislature of California passed a concurrent resolution making August 29 of that year, the centennial of Serra's burial, a legal holiday. Among the many schools named after Serra are Junípero Serra High School in the San Diego community of Tierrasanta, Junípero Serra Elementary School in Ventura, J Serra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Serra Catholic School (Grades JK-8) in Rancho Santa Margarita, Junípero Serra High School in Gardena, California, and Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo. Both Spain and the United States have honored Serra with postage stamps. Serra International, a global lay organization that promotes religious vocations to the Catholic Church, was named in his honor. The group, founded in 1935, currently numbers a membership of about 20,000 worldwide. It also boasts over 1,000 chapters in 44 countries. Serra's legacy towards Native Americans has been a topic of discussion in the Los Angeles area in recent years. An indigenous rights group called the Mexica Movement protested Serra's canonization at the Los Angeles Cathedral in February 2015. The Huntington Library announcement of its 2013 exhibition on Serra made it clear that Serra's treatment of Native Americans would be part of the comprehensive coverage of his legacy. Statuary and monuments
Points of interestMany cities in California have streets, trails, and other features named after Serra. Examples include Santa Barbara, which contains Alameda Padre Serra ("Father Serra's Street"), running from Mission Santa Barbara along the base of the Riviera, the hill overlooking the city; Serra Cross Park in Ventura, site of the cross Serra erected at Mission San Buenaventura's founding; and San Diego, in which Father Junipero Serra Trail runs through the Mission Trails Regional Park to Santee.References
Primary sources
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Today's Snippet I: Carmel Mission, California
The mission was the headquarters of the Alta California missions headed by Father Junípero Serra from 1770 until his death in 1784. It was also the seat of the second presidente, Father Fermin Francisco de Lasuen.
The mission buildings had fallen into disrepair by the mid-19th century, after the Mexican secularization act of 1833, but were restored beginning in 1884. It remains a parish church today. It is the only one of the California Missions to have its original bell tower dome.
History
Mission Carmel is the second mission built by Franciscan missionaries in Upper California. It was first established as Mission San Carlos Borromeo in Monterey, California near the native village of Tamo on June 3, 1770. It was named for Carlo Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, Italy. It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California. When the mission moved, the original building continued to operate as the Royal Presidio chapel and later became the current Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo.
In May 1771, Spain's viceroy approved Serra's petition to relocate the mission to its current location near the Carmel River. The relocated mission was renamed Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo. Serra wanted to put some distance between the mission's neophytes and the Presidio of Monterey, the headquarters of Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, and with whom Serra was engaged in a heated power struggle. Serra also did not want the Indian neophytes to be influenced by the bad behavior of the Spanish soldiers and the agricultural land was better around the new mission. By the end of 1771, the population of mission was 15 with an additional 22 baptized Indians, out of a total population of northern California of 60. Farming was not very productive and for several years the mission was dependent upon the arrival of supply ships. Historian Jame Culleton wrote in 1950, "The summer of '73 came without bringing the supply ship. Neither Carmel nor Monterey was anything like self-supporting."
"Mission Carmel", as it came to be known, was Serra's favorite and, being close to Alta California's capital of Monterey served as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784, he was interred beneath the chapel floor.
The Esselen and Ohlone Indians who lived near the mission were taken in and trained as plowmen, shepherds, cattle herders, blacksmiths, and carpenters. They made the adobe bricks, roof tiles and tools needed to build the mission. In the beginning, the mission relied on bear meat from Mission San Antonio de Padua and supplies brought by ship from Mission San Diego de Alcalá. In 1794, the population reached its peak of 927, but by 1823 the total had dwindled to 381.
On November 20, 1818, French privateer Hipólito Bouchard raided the nearby Monterey Presidio before moving on to other Spanish installations in the south.
The mission was in ruins when the Roman Catholic Church regained control of it in 1863 . In 1884 Father Angel Casanova began some restoration. In 1931 Monsignor Philip Scher appointed Harry Downie to be curator in charge of mission restoration. Two years later, the church transferred from the Franciscans to the local diocese and became a regular parish church. In 1960, the mission was designated as a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the mission as part of his U.S. tour.
Today
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| The basilica nave. |
In addition to its activity as a place of worship, Mission Carmel also hosts concerts, art exhibits, lectures and numerous other community events. In 1986, then-pastor Monsignor Eamon MacMahon acquired a magnificent Casavant Frères organ complete with horizontal trumpets. Its hand-painted casework is decorated with elaborate carvings and statuary reflecting the Spanish decorative style seen on the main altar.
The mission also serves as a museum, preserving its own history and the history of the area. There are four specific museum galleries: the Harry Downie Museum, describing restoration efforts; the Munras Family Heritage Museum, describing the history of one of the most important area families; the Jo Mora Chapel Gallery, hosting a cenotaph sculpted by Jo Mora as well as rotating art exhibits; and the Convento Museum, which holds the cell Serra lived and died in, as well as interpretive exhibits. At one end of the museum is a special chapel room containing some of the vestments used by Serra.
The mission grounds are also the location of the Junipero Serra School, a private Catholic school for kindergartners through 8th grade.
Notable interments
Several notable people are buried in the church and churchyard.- Juan Crespí (1721–1782), Spanish missionary and explorer
- Fermín Lasuén (1736–1803), Spanish missionary
- José Antonio Roméu, (1742? – 1792) Spanish governor of California
- Junípero Serra (1713–1784), founder of the mission
References
- Forbes, Alexander (1839). California: A History of Upper and Lower California. Smith, Elder and Co., Cornhill, London.
- Jones, Terry L. and Kathryn A. Klar (eds.) (2007). California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity. AltaMira Press, Landham, MD. ISBN 0-7591-0872-2.
- Krell, Dorothy (ed.) (1979). The California Missions: A Pictorial History. Sunset Publishing Corporation, Menlo Park, CA. ISBN 0-376-05172-8.
- Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios: The History & Beauty of the Spanish Missions. Voyageur Press, Stillwater, MN. ISBN 0-89658-492-5.
- Paddison, Joshua (ed.) (1999). A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush. Heyday Books, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 1-890771-13-9.
- Ruscin, Terry (1999). Mission Memoirs. Sunbelt Publications, San Diego, CA. ISBN 0-932653-30-8.
- Smith, Frances Rand (1921). The Architectural History of Mission San Carlos Borromeo, California. California Historical Survey Commission, Berkeley, CA.
- Vancouver, George (1801). A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean and Round the World, Volume III. Printed for John Stockdale, Piccadilly, London.
- Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Advantage Publishers Group, San Diego, CA. ISBN 978-0811836944.
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St Anne and St Joachim Education of Mary Notebooks
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FEATURED BOOK
THE MYSTICAL CITY OF GOD
Mystical City of God, the miracle of His omnipotence and the abyss of His grace the divine history and life of the Virgin Mother of God our Queen and our Lady, most holy Mary expiatrix of the fault of eve and mediatrix of grace. Manifested to Sister Mary of Jesus, Prioress of the convent of the Immaculate Conception in Agreda, Spain. For new enlightenment of the world, for rejoicing of the Catholic Church, and encouragement of men. Completed in 1665.
THE DIVINE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD
Venerable Mary of Agreda
Translated from the Spanish by Reverend George J. Blatter
1914, So. Chicago, Ill., The Theopolitan; Hammond, Ind., W.B. Conkey Co., US..
IMPRIMATUR: +H.J. Alerding Bishop of Fort Wayne
Translation from the Original Authorized Spanish Edition by Fiscar Marison (George J. Blatter). Begun on the Feast of the Assumption 1902, completed 1912.
This work is published for the greater Glory of Jesus Christ through His most Holy Mother Mary and for the sanctification of the Church and her members.
Book 5, Chapter 1
INTERIOR TRIALS OF MARY; JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
Concerning the Perfection with which the most Holy Mary copied and Imitated the Activity of the Soul of Christ; how the Incarnate Word Instructed Her in the Laws of grace, the Articles of Faith, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments; and with what Alacrity and Noble Promptitude She Corresponded. Also concerning the Death of Saint Joseph, the Preaching of Saint John, the call of the First Disciples and the Baptism Of the Virgin Mary, our Blessed Lady.
Already Jesus, Mary and Joseph had settled in Nazareth and thus changed their poor and humble dwelling into a heaven. In order to describe the mysteries and sacraments which passed between the divine Child and his purest Mother before his twelfth year and later on, until his public preaching, many chapters and many books would be required; and in them all, I would be able to relate but the smallest part in view of the vastness of the subject and the insignificance of such an ignorant woman as I am. Even with the light given me by this great Lady I can speak of only a few incidents and must leave the greater part unsaid. It is not possible or befitting to us mortals to comprehend all these mysteries in this life, since they are reserved for future life.
Shortly after their return from Egypt to Nazareth the Lord resolved to try his most holy Mother in the same manner as He had tried her in her childhood as the first–born Daughter of the new Law of grace, the most perfect copy of his ideals and the most pliant material, upon which, as on liquid wax, should be set the seal of his doctrine of holiness, so that the Son and the Mother might be the two true tablets of the new law of the world (Exod. 31, 18). For this purpose of the infinite wisdom He manifested to Her all the mysteries of the evangelical law and of his doctrine; and this was the subject of his instructions from the time of their return from Egypt until his public preaching, as we shall see in the course of this history. In these hidden sacraments the incarnate Word and his holy Mother occupied themselves during the twenty–three years of their stay in Nazareth. As all this concerned the heavenly Mother alone (whose life the holy Evangelists did not profess to narrate), the writers of the Gospel made no mention of it, excepting that which was related of the Child Jesus, when, in his twelfth year, he was lost in Jerusalem. During all those years Mary alone was the disciple of Christ.
In order to rear in the heart of the purest Virgin this edifice of holiness to a height beyond all that is not God, the Lord laid its foundations accordingly, trying the strength of her love and of all her other virtues. For this purpose the Lord withdrew Himself, causing Her to lose Him from her sight, which until then had caused Her to revel in continual joy and delight. I do not wish to say, that the Lord left her bodily; but, still remaining with Her and in Her by an ineffable presence and grace, He hid himself from her interior sight and suspended the tokens of his most sweet affection. The heavenly Lady in the meanwhile knew not the inward cause of this behavior, as the Lord gave Her no explanation. Moreover her divine Son, without any forewarning showed Himself very reserved and withdrew from her society. Many times He retired and spoke but few words to Her, and even these with great earnestness and majesty.
This unannounced and unexpected change was the crucible in which the purest gold of the love of our Queen was cleansed and assayed. Surprised at what was happening, She immediately took refuge in the humble opinion She had of Herself, deeming Herself unworthy of the vision of the Lord, who now had hidden Himself. She attributed it all to her want of correspondence and to her ingratitude for the blessings She had obtained from the most generous and exalted Father of mercies. The most prudent Queen did not feel so much the privation of his delightful caresses, as the dread of having displeased him and of having fallen short in his service. This was the arrow that pierced Her heart with grief. One filled with such true and noble love could not feel less; for all delight of love is founded in the pleasure and satisfaction given by the lover to the one beloved, and therefore He cannot rest, when he suspects that the beloved is not contented or pleased. The loving sighs of his Mother were highly pleasing to her most holy Son. He was enamored with Her anew and the tender affection of his only and chosen One wounded his heart (Cant. 4, 9). But whenever the sweet Mother sought Him out in order to hold converse with Him He continued to show exterior reserve. Just as the flame of a forge or a conflagration is intensified by the application of insufficient water, so the flame of love in the heart of the sweetest Mother was fanned to an intenser blaze by this adversity.
The single–hearted Dove exercised Herself in heroic acts of all the virtues. She humbled Herself below the dust; She reverenced Her Son in deepest adoration; She blessed the Father, thanking Him for his admirable works and blessings and conforming Herself to his wishes and pleasure; She sought to know his will in order to fulfill it in all things; She unceasingly renewed her acts of faith, hope and burning love; and in all her actions and in all circumstances this most fragrant spikenard gave forth the odor of sweetness for Him, the King of kings, who rested in her heart as in his flowery and perfumed couch (Cant. 1, 11). She persevered in her tearful prayers, with continual sighing and longing from her inmost heart; She poured forth her prayers in the presence of the Lord and recounted her tribulation before the throne of the God (Ps. 141, 3).
Upon the request of the loving Mother saint Joseph had made a couch, which She covered with a single blanket and upon which the Child Jesus rested and took his sleep; for from the time in which He had left the cradle, when they were yet in Egypt, He would not accept of any other bed or of more covering. Although He did not stretch Himself out on this couch, nor even always made use of it, He sometimes reclined in a sitting posture upon it, resting upon a poor pillow made of wool by the same Lady. When She spoke of preparing for him a better resting–place, her most holy Son answered, that the only couch upon which He was to be stretched out, was that of his Cross, in order to teach men by his example (I Pet. 2, 21), that no one can enter eternal rest by things beloved of Babylon and that to suffer is our true relief in mortal life.
Thenceforward the heavenly Lady imitated him in this manner of taking rest with new earnestness and attention. Thirty days passed in this conflict; and they equalled many ages in the estimation of Her, who deemed it impossible to live even one moment without the love and without the Beloved of her soul. After such delay (according to our way of speaking), the heart of the Child Jesus could no longer contain itself or resist further the immense force of his love for his sweetest Mother; for also the Lord suffered a delightful and wonderful violence in thus holding Her in such a suspense and affliction. It happened that the humble and sovereign Queen one day approached her Son Jesus, and, throwing Herself at his feet, with tears and sighs coming from her inmost heart, spoke to Him as follows: “My sweetest Love and highest Good, of what account am I, the insignificant dust and ashes, before thy vast power? What is the misery of a creature in comparison with thy endless affluence? In all things Thou excellest our lowliness and thy immense sea of mercy overwhelms our imperfections and defects. If I have not been zealous in serving Thee, as I am constrained to confess, do Thou chastise my negligence and pardon it. But let me, my Son and Lord, see the gladness of thy countenance, which is my salvation and the wished–for light of my life and being. Here at thy feet I lay my poverty, mingling it with the dust, and I shall not rise from it until I can again look into the mirror, which reflects my soul.”
These and other pleadings, full of wisdom and ardent love, the great Queen poured humbly forth before her most holy Son. And as his longings to restore her to his delights were even greater than those of the blessed Lady, He pronounced with great sweetness these few words “My Mother, arise.” As these words were pronounced by Him, who is Himself the Word of the eternal Father, it had such an effect, that the heavenly Mother was instantly transformed and elevated into a most exalted ecstasy, in which She saw the Divinity by an abstractive vision. In it the Lord received Her with sweetest welcome and embraces of a Father and Spouse, changing Her tears into rejoicing, her sufferings into delight and her bitterness into highest sweetness. The Lord manifested to Her great secrets of the scope of his new evangelical law. Wishing to write it entirely into her purest heart, the most holy Trinity appointed and destined Her as his first–born Daughter and the first disciple of the incarnate Word and set Her up as the model and pattern for all the holy Apostles, Martyrs, Doctors, Confessors, Virgins and other just of the new Church and of the law of grace, which the incarnate Word was to establish for the Redemption of man.
Some days after our Queen and Lady with her most holy Son and saint Joseph had settled in Nazareth, the time of the year in which the Jews were obliged to present themselves before the Lord in the temple of Jerusalem, was at hand. This commandment obliged the Jews to this duty three times each year, as can be seen in Exodus and Deuteronomy. But it obliged only the men, not the women (Exod. 23, 17); therefore the women could go or not, according to their devotion; for it was neither commanded nor prohibited to them. The heavenly Lady and her spouse conferred with each other as to what they should do in this regard. The holy husband much desired the company of the great Queen, his wife, and of her most holy Son; for he wished to offer Him anew to the eternal Father in the temple. The most pure Mother also was drawn by her piety to worship the Lord in the temple; but as in things of that kind She did not permit Herself to decide without the counsel and direction of the incarnate Word, her Teacher, She asked his advice upon this matter. They finally arranged, that two times a year saint Joseph was to go to Jerusalem by himself, while on the third occasion They would go together. The Israelites visited the temple on the feast of the Tabernacles (Deut. 16, 5), the feast of the Weeks, or Pentecost, and the feast of the unleavened Breads or the Pasch of the preparation. To this latter the sweetest Jesus, most pure Mary, and Joseph went up together. It lasted seven days and during that time happened what I shall relate in the next chapter. For the other solemnities saint Joseph went alone, leaving the Child and the Mother at home.
As I have said, Mary and Joseph repeated their visit to the temple at the feast of the unleavened Bread every year. Also when the divine Child was twelve years old and when it was time to allow the splendors his inaccessible and divine light to shine forth, They went to the temple for this feast (Luke 2, 42). This festival of the unleavened Bread lasted seven days, according to the command of the divine law; and the more solemn days were the first and the last. On this account heavenly Pilgrims remained in Jerusalem during the whole week, spending their time in acts of worship and devotion as the rest of the Jews, although on account the sacraments connected with each of Them their worship and devotion was entirely different and greatly above that of the others. The blessed Mother and holy Joseph received during these days favors and blessings beyond the conception of the human mind.
Having thus spent all the seven days of the feast. They betook themselves on their way home to Nazareth. When his parents departed from Jerusalem and were pursuing their way homeward, the Child Jesus withdrew from them without their knowledge. For this purpose the Lord availed Himself of the separation of the men and women, which had become customary among the pilgrims for reasons of decency as well as for greater recollection during their return homeward. The children which accompanied their parents were taken in charge promiscuously either by the men or the women, since their company with either was a matter of indifference. Thus it happened that saint Joseph could easily suppose that the Child Jesus had remained with his most holy Mother, with whom He generally remained. The thought that She would go without Him was far from his mind, since the heavenly Queen loved and delighted in Him more than any other creature human or angelic. The great Lady did not have so many reasons for supposing that her most holy Son was in the company of saint Joseph: but the Lord himself so diverted her thoughts by holy and divine contemplations, that She did not notice his absence at first. When afterwards She became aware of her not being accompanied by her sweetest and beloved Son, She supposed that the blessed Joseph had taken Him along and that the Lord accompanied his foster–father for his consolation.
Thus assured, holy Mary and Joseph pursued their home journey for an entire day, as saint Luke tells us. As the pilgrims proceeded onwards they gradually thinned out, each taking his own direction and joining again with his wife or family. The most holy Mary and saint Joseph found themselves at length in the place where they had agreed to meet on the first evening after leaving Jerusalem. When the great Lady saw that the Child was not with saint Joseph and when the holy Patriarch found that He was not with his Mother, the two were struck dumb with amazement and surprise for quite a while. Both, governed in their judgment by their most profound humility, felt overwhelmed with self–reproach at their remissness in watching over their most holy Son and thus blamed themselves for his absence; for neither of them had any suspicion of the mysterious manner in which He had been able to elude their vigilance. After a time they recovered somewhat from their astonishment and with deepest sorrow took counsel with each other as to what was to be done (Luke 2, 45). The loving Mother said to saint Joseph: “My Spouse and my master, my heart cannot rest, unless we return with all haste to Jerusalem in order to seek my most holy Son.” This they proceeded to do, beginning their search among their relations and friends, of whom, however, none could give them any information or any comfort in their sorrow; on the contrary their answers only increased their anxiety, since none of them had so much as seen their Son since their departure from Jerusalem.
Thus this sincerest Dove persevered in her tears and groans without cessation or rest, without sleeping or eating anything for three whole days. Although the thousand angels accompanied Her in corporeal forms and witnessed her affliction and sorrow, yet they gave Her no clue to find her lost Child. On the third day the great Queen resolved to seek Him in the desert where saint John was; for since She saw no indications that Archelaus had taken Him prisoner, She began to believe more firmly, that her most holy Son was with saint John. When She was about to execute her resolve and was on the point of departing for the desert, the holy angels detained Her, urging Her not to undertake the journey, since the divine Word was not there. She wanted also to go to Bethlehem, in the hope of finding Him in the cave of the Nativity; but this the holy angels likewise prevented, telling Her that He was not so far off. Although the blessed Mother heard these answers and well perceived that the holy angels knew the whereabouts of the Child Jesus, She was so considerate and reserved in her humility and prudence, that She gave no response, nor asked where She could find Him; for She understood that they withheld this information by command of the Lord. With such magnanimous reverence did the Queen of the angels treat the sacraments of the Most High and of his ministers and ambassadors (II Mach. 2, 9). This was one of the occasions in which the greatness of her queenly and magnanimous heart was made manifest.
Not all the sorrows suffered by all the martyrs ever reached the height of the sorrows of most holy Mary in this trial; nor will the patience, resignation and tolerance of this Lady ever be equalled, nor can they; for the loss of Jesus was greater to Her than the loss of anything created, while her love and appreciation of Him exceeded all that can be conceived by any other creature. Since She did not know the cause of the loss, her anxiety was beyond all measure, as I have already said. Moreover, during these three days the Lord left Her to her natural resources of nature and of grace, deprived of special privileges and favors; for, with the exception of the company and companionship of the angels, He suspended all the other consolations and blessings so constantly vouchsafed to her most holy soul. From all this we can surmise what sorrow filled the loving heart of the heavenly Mother. But, O prodigy of holiness, prudence, fortitude and perfection! In such unheard of affliction and sorrow She was not disturbed, nor lost her interior or exterior peace, nor did She entertain a thought of anger or indignation, nor allowed Herself any improper movement or expression, nor fell into any excess of grief or annoyance, as is so common in great affliction with other children of Adam, who allow all their passions and faculties to be disarranged, yea even in small difficulties! The Mistress of all virtue held all Her powers in heavenly order and harmony; though her sorrow was without comparison great and had pierced her inmost heart, She failed not in reverence and in the praise of the Lord, nor ceased in her prayers and petitions for the human race, and for the finding of her most holy Son.
With this heavenly wisdom and with greatest diligence She sought Him for three successive days, roaming through the streets of the city, asking different persons and describing to the daughters of Jerusalem the marks of her Beloved, searching the byways and the open squares of the city and thereby fulfilling what was recorded in the Canticles of Solomon (Cant. 5, 10). Some of the women asked Her what were the distinctive marks of her lost and only Son; and She answered in the words of the Spouse: “My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.” One of the women, hearing Her thus describing Him, said: “This Child, with those same marks, came yesterday to my door to ask for alms, and I gave some to Him; and his grace and beauty have ravished my heart. And when I gave Him alms, I felt myself overcome by compassion to see a Child so gracious in poverty and want.” These were the first news the sorrowful Mother heard of her Onlybegotten in Jerusalem. A little respited in her sorrow, She pursued her quest and met other persons, who spoke of Him in like manner. Guided by this information She directed her steps to the hospital of the city, thinking that among the afflicted She would find the Spouse and the Originator of patient poverty among his own legitimate brethren and friends (Matth. 5, 40). Inquiring at that place, She was informed that a Child of that description had paid his visits to the inmates, leaving some alms and speaking words of much consolation to the afflicted.
The report of these doings of her Beloved caused sentiments of sweetest and most tender affection in the heart of the heavenly Lady, which She sent forth from her inmost heart as messengers to her lost and absent Son. Then the thought struck Her, that, since He was not with the poor, He no doubt tarried in the temple, as in the house of God and of prayer. The holy angels encouraged Her and said: “Our Queen and Lady, the hour of thy consolation is at hand: soon wilt Thou see the Light of thy eyes; hasten thy footsteps and go to the temple.” The glorious patriarch saint Joseph at this moment again met his Spouse, for, in order to increase their chance of finding the divine Child, they had separated in different directions. By another angel he had now been likewise ordered to proceed to the temple. During all these three days he had suffered unspeakable sorrow and affliction, hastening from one place to another, sometimes without his heavenly Spouse, sometimes with Her. He was in serious danger of losing his life during this time, if the hand of the Lord had not strengthened Him and if the most prudent Lady had not consoled him and forced him to take some food and rest. His sincere and exquisite love for the divine Child made him so anxious and solicitous to find Him, that he would have allowed himself no time or care to take nourishment for the support of nature.
It was very near to the gate of the city, that the divine Child turned and hastened back through the streets. Foreseeing in his divine fore–knowledge all that was to happen, He offered it up to his eternal Father for the benefit of souls. He asked for alms during these three days in order to ennoble from that time on humble mendicity as the first–born of holy poverty. He visited the hospitals of the poor, consoling them and giving them the alms which He had received; secretly He restored bodily health to some and spiritual health to many, enlightening them interiorly and leading them back to the way of salvation. On some of the benefactors, who gave Him alms, He performed these wonders with greater abundance of grace and light; thus fulfilling from that time on the promise, which He was afterwards to make to his Church; that he who gives to the just and to the prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of the just (Matth. 10, 41).
Having thus busied Himself with these and other works of his Father, He betook Himself to the temple. On the day which the Evangelist mentions it happened that also the rabbis, who were the learned and the teachers of the temple, met in a certain part of the buildings in order to confer among themselves concerning some doubtful points of holy Scriptures. On this occasion the coming of the Messias was discussed; for on account of the report of the wonderful events, which had spread about since the birth of the Baptist and the visit of the Kings of the east, the rumor of the coming of the Redeemer and of his being already in the world, though yet unknown, had gained ground among the Jews. They were all seated in their places filled with the sense of authority customary to those who are teachers and considered as learned. The Child Jesus came to the meeting of these distinguished men; and He that was the King of kings, and Lord of lords (Apoc. 19, 16), the infinite Wisdom itself (I Cor. 1, 24), and who corrects the wise (Wis. 7, 15), presented Himself before the teachers of this world as an humble disciple, giving them to understand that He had come to hear the discussion and inform Himself on the question treated of, namely: whether the Messias was already come, or, if not, concerning the time in which He should come into the world. Therefore the divine Child presented Himself to the disputants, manifesting the grace poured out over his lips (Ps. 44, 3). He stepped into their midst with exceeding majesty and grace, as one who would propose some doubt or solution. By his pleasing appearance He awakened in the hearts of these learned men a desire to hear Him attentively.
The scribes and learned men who heard Him were all dumbfounded. Convinced by his arguments they looked at each other and in great astonishment asked: “What miracle is this? And what prodigy of a boy! Whence has He come and who is the Child?” But though thus astonished, they did not recognize or suspect who it was, that thus taught and enlightened them concerning such an important truth. During this time and before Jesus had finished his argument, his most holy Mother and saint Joseph her most chaste spouse arrived, just in time to hear him advance his last arguments. When He had finished, all the teachers of the law arose with stupendous amazement. The heavenly Lady, absorbed in joy, approached her most loving Son and in the presence of the whole assembly, spoke to Him the words recorded by saint Luke: “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Behold thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing” (Luke 2, 48). This loving complaint the heavenly Mother uttered with equal reverence and affection, adoring Him as God and manifesting her maternal affliction. The Lord answered: “Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?”
The Evangelist says that they did not understand the mystery of these words (Luke 2, 50); for it was hidden at the time to most holy Mary and saint Joseph. And for two reasons; on the one hand, the interior joy now reaping what they had sown in so much sorrow, and the visible presence of their precious Treasure, entirely filled the faculties of their souls; and on the other hand, the time for the full comprehension of what had just been treated of in this discussion had not yet arrived for them. Moreover, for the most solicitous Queen there was another hindrance just at that time, and it was, that the veil, concealing the interior of her most holy Son had again intervened and was not removed until some time later. The learned men departed, commenting in their amazement upon the wonderful event, by which they had been privileged to hear the teaching of eternal Wisdom though they did not recognize it. Being thus left almost alone, the blessed Mother, embracing Him with maternal affection, said to Him: “Permit my longing heart, my son, to give expression to its sorrow and pain; so that it may not die of grief as long as it can be of use to Thee. Do not cast me off from thy sight; but accept me as thy slave. If it was my negligence, which deprived me of thy presence, pardon me and make me worthy of thy company, and do not punish me with thy absence.” The divine Child received Her with signs of pleasure and offered Himself as her Teacher and Companion until the proper time should arrive.
Thus was the dove–like and affectionate heart of the great Lady appeased, and They departed for Nazareth.
They arrived at Nazareth, where they occupied themselves in what I shall record later on. The evangelist Luke compendiously mentions all the mysteries in few words, saying the Child Jesus was subject to his parents, namely most holy Mary and saint Joseph, and that his heavenly Mother noted and preserved within her heart all these events; and that Jesus advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men (Luke 2, 52), of which, as far as my understanding goes, I will speak later on. Just now I wish only to mention, that the humility and obedience of our God and Master toward his parents were the admiration of the angels. But so was also the dignity and excellence of his most blessed Mother, who thus merited that the incarnate God should subject himself and resign Himself to her care; so much so, that She, with the assistance of saint Joseph, governed Him and disposed of Him as her own.
To the obedience and subjection of her most holy Son the great Lady on her part responded by heroic works. Among her other excellences She conceived as it were an incomprehensible humility and a most heartfelt gratitude for having regained the companionship of her Son. This blessing, of which the heavenly Queen deemed Herself unworthy, vastly increased in her most pure heart her love and her anxiety to serve her divine Son. And She was so constant in showing her gratitude, so punctual and solicitous to serve Him, kneeling before Him and lowering Herself to the dust, that it excited the admiration of the highest seraphim. Moreover, She sought with the closest attention to imitate Him in all his actions as they became known to Her and exerted Herself most anxiously to copy them and reproduce them in her own life. The plenitude of her perfection wounded the heart of our Christ and Lord, and, according to our way of speaking, held him bound to Her with chains of invincible love (Osee 11, 4). His being thus bound as God and as Son to this heavenly Princess, gave rise to such an interchange and divine reciprocity of love, as surpasses all created understanding. For into the ocean of Mary’s soul entered all the vast floods of the graces and blessings of the incarnate Word; and this ocean did not overflow (Eccles. 1, 7), because it mined the depth and expanse necessary to receive them.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My daughter, all the works of my most holy Son and my own actions are full of mysterious instruction and doctrine for the mortals who contemplate them diligently and reverently. The Lord absented Himself from me in order that, seeking Him in sorrow and tears, I might find Him again in joy and with abundant fruits for my soul. I desire that thou imitate me in this mystery and seek Him with such earnestness, as to be consumed with a continual longing without ever in thy whole life coming to any rest until thou holdst him and canst lose Him no more (Can. 5, 4). In order that thou mayest understand better this sacrament of the Lord, remember, the infinite Wisdom made men capable of his eternal felicity and placed them on the way to this happiness, but left them in doubt of its attainment, as long as they have not yet acquired it and thus filled them with joyful hope and sorrowful fear of its final acquisition. This anxiety engenders in men a lifelong fear and abhorrence of sin, by which alone they can be deprived of beatitude and thus prevent them from being ensnared and misled by the corporeal and visible things of this earth. This anxiety the Creator assists by adding to the natural reasoning powers, faith and hope, which are the spurs of their love toward seeking and finding their last end. Besides these virtues and others infused at Baptism He sends his inspirations and helps to keep awake the soul in the absence of its Lord and to prevent forgetfulness of Him and of itself while deprived of his amiable presence. Thus it pursues the right course until it finds the great goal, where all its inclinations and longing shall be satiated.
Hence thou canst estimate the listless ignorance of mortals and how few stop to consider the mysterious order of the creation and justification and all the works of the Almighty tending toward this exalted end. From this forgetfulness flow so many evils endured by men while they appropriate so many earthly goods and deceitful delights, as if they could ever find in them their ultimate end. The height of perversity opposed to the order of the Creator, is that mortals in this transitory and short life rejoice in visible things as if they were their last end, while they ought, on the contrary, to make use of creatures to gain, not to lose, the highest Good. Do thou, therefore, my dearest, be mindful of this dangerous human folly. Consider all delights and joys of the world as insanity, its laughing as sorrow, sensible enjoyment as self deceit, as the source of foolishness, which intoxicates the heart and hinders and destroys all true wisdom. Live in constant and holy fear of losing eternal life and rejoice in nothing except in the Lord until thou obtainest full possession of Him.
Book 5, Chapter 2
JESUS INSTRUCTS HIS MOTHER IN THE LAW OF GRACE
I have already said in former chapters, that our Lady was the first and specially privileged Disciple of her most holy Son, chosen among all creatures as the model of the new evangelical law and its Author, according to which He was to mould all the saints of the new evangelical law and judge of all the results of the Redemption. In regard to Her the incarnate Word proceeded like a most skillful artist, who understands the art of painting and that pertains to it most thoroughly; who, throwing all powers into one chosen work, seeks to gain from it alone renown and fame as from the full exposition of his art. It is certain that all the holiness and glory of the saints was the result of the love and merits of Christ: (Eph. 2, 3) but in comparison with the excellence of Mary they seem insignificant and as it were only rough sketches; for in all the saints are found defects (I John 1, 8). But this living image of the Onlybegotten was free from all imperfections; and the first strokes of his pencil in Her were of greater beauty than the last touches in the highest angels and saints. She is the model for all the perfection of holiness and virtues of all his elect, and the utmost limit to which the love of Christ can proceed in mere creatures. No one received any grace or glory that most holy Mary could not receive, and She received all that others were incapable of receiving; and her most blessed Son gave to Her all that She could receive and that He could communicate.
The multitude and variety of the saints silently enhance the Artificer of their great sanctity, and the greatness of the highest is made more conspicuous by the beauty of the lowest: but all of them together are a glorification of most holy Mary. For by her incomparable holiness they are all surpassed and they all partake of so much the greater felicity as they imitate Her, whose holiness redounds over all. If the most pure Mary has reached the highest pinnacle in the ranks of the just, She may also on this very account be considered as the instrument or the motive power through which the saints themselves have reached their station. As we must judge of her excellence (even if only from afar), by the labor which Christ the Lord applied for her formation, let us consider what labor He spent upon Her and how much upon the whole Church. To establish and to enrich his Church He deemed it sufficient to spend only three years in preaching, selecting the Apostles, teaching the people, and inculcating the evangelical law by his public life; and this was amply sufficient to accomplish the work enjoined upon Him by the eternal Father and to justify and sanctify all the true believers. But in order to stamp upon his most holy Mother the image of his holiness, He consumed not three years, but ten times three years, engaging in this work with all the power of his divine love, without ever ceasing hour after hour to add grace to grace, gifts to gifts, blessings to blessings, and holiness to holiness. And at the end of all this He still left Her in a state, in which He could continue to add excellence after his Ascension to his eternal Father as I will describe in the third part. Our reason is unbalanced, our words fail at the greatness of this incomparable Lady; for She is elect as the sun (Cant. 6, 9); and her effulgence cannot be borne by terrestrial eyes, nor comprehended by any earthly creatures.
Christ our Redeemer began to manifest his designs in regard to his heavenly Mother after they had come back from Egypt to Nazareth, as I have already mentioned; from that time on He continued to follow up his purpose in his quality as Teacher and as the divine Enlightener in all the mysteries of the Incarnation and Redemption. After they returned from Jerusalem in his twelfth year, the great Queen had a vision of the Divinity, not an intuitive vision, but one consisting of intellectual images; one very exalted and full of the new influences of the Divinity and of the secrets of the Most High. She was especially enlightened in regard to the decrees of the divine Will concerning the law of grace, which was now established by the incarnate Word, and concerning the power, which was given to Him in the consistory of the most blessed Trinity. At the same time She saw for this purpose the eternal Father consigned to His Son the seven–sealed book, of which saint John speaks (Apoc. 5, 1), and how none could be found either in heaven or on earth, who could unseal and open it, until the Lamb broke its seals by his Passion and Death and by his doctrines and merits. For in this figure God wished to intimate, that the secret of this book was nothing else than the new law of the Gospel and the Church founded upon it in this world.
Then the heavenly Queen saw in spirit that, by decree of the most blessed Trinity, She was to be the first one to read and understand this book; that her Onlybegotten was to open it for Her and manifest it all to Her, while She was to put it perfectly into practice; that She was the first one, who was to accompany the Word, and who was to occupy the first place next to Him on the way to heaven, which He had opened up for mortals and traced out in this book. In Her, as his true Mother, was to be deposited this new Testament. She saw how the Son of the eternal Father and of Herself accepted this decree with great pleasure; and how his sacred humanity obeyed it with ineffable joy on her account.
She issued from this ecstatic vision and betook Herself to her most holy Son, prostrating Herself at his feet and saying: “My Lord, my Light and my Teacher, behold thy unworthy Mother prepared for the fulfillment of thy wishes admit me anew as thy disciple and servant and make use of me as the instrument of thy wisdom and power. Execute in me thy pleasure and that of thy eternal Father.” Her most holy Son received Her with the majesty and authority of a divine Teacher and instructed Her in most exalted mysteries. In most persuasive and powerful words He explained to Her the profoundest meanings of the works enjoined upon Him by the eternal Father in regard to the Redemption of man, the founding of the Church and the establishment of the new evangelical law. He declared and reaffirmed, that in the execution of these high and hidden mysteries She was to be his Companion and Coadjutrix, receiving and enjoying the first–fruits of grace; and that therefore She, the most pure Lady, was to follow Him in his labors until his death on the Cross with a magnanimous and well prepared heart in invincible and unhesitating constancy. He added heavenly instruction such as enabled Her to prepare for the reception of the whole evangelical Law, the understanding and practice of all its precepts and counsels in their highest perfection. Other sacramental secrets concerning his works in this world the Child Jesus manifested to his most blessed Mother on this occasion. And the heavenly Lady met all his words and intentions with profound humility, obedience, reverence, thanksgiving and most ardent love.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
The Most High who in sheer goodness and bounty given existence to all creatures and denies his providential care to none, faithfully supplies all souls with light by which they can enter into the knowledge of Him and of eternal life provided they do not of their own prevent and obscure this light by sin or give up the quest of the kingdom of heaven. To the souls whom according to his secret judgments, He calls to his Church, He shows himself still more liberal. For with the grace of Baptism He infuses into them not only those virtues, which are called essentially infused and which the created cannot merit by its own labors and efforts; but also those, which are accidentally infused and which it can merit by its own labors and efforts. These the Lord gives freely beforehand, in order that the soul may be more prepared zealous in the observance of his holy Law. In other souls, in addition to the common light of faith, the Lord, in his clemency grants supernatural gifts of knowledge and virtue for the better understanding of the evangelical mysteries and for the more zealous practice of good works. In this kind of gifts He has been more liberal with thee than with many generations; obliging thee thereby to distinguish thyself in loving correspondence due to Him and to humble thyself before Him to the very dust.
In order that thou mayest be well instructed and informed, I wish to warn thee as a solicitous and loving Mother of the cunning of satan for the destruction of these works of the Lord. From the very moment in which mortals begin to have the use of their reason, each one of them is followed by many watchful and relentless demons. For as soon as the souls are in a position to raise their thoughts to the knowledge of their God and commence the practice of the virtues infused by Baptism, these demons, with incredible fury and astuteness, seek to root out the divine seed; and if they cannot succeed in this, they try to hinder its growth, and prevent it from bringing forth fruit by engaging men in vicious, useless, or trifling things. Thus they divert their thoughts from faith and hope and from the pursuit of other virtues, leading them to forget that they are Christians and diverting their attention from the knowledge of God and from the mysteries of the Redemption and of life eternal. Moreover the same enemy instills into the parents a base neglectfulness and carnal love for their offspring; and he incites the teachers to carelessness, so that the children find no support against evil in their education, but become depraved and spoiled by many bad habits, losing sight of virtue and of their good inclinations and going the way of perdition.
But the most kind Lord does not forget them in this danger and He renews in them his holy inspirations and special helps. He supplies them with the holy teachings of the Church by his preachers and ministers. He holds out to them the aid of the Sacraments and many other inducements to keep them on the path of life. That those who walk in the way of salvation are the smaller number, is due to the vice and depraved habits imbibed in youth and nourished in childhood. For that saying of Deuteronomy is very true: “As the days of thy youth, so also shall thy old age be” (Deut. 33, 25). Hence the demons gain courage and increase their tyrannical influence over souls in the early years of man’s life, hoping that they will be able to induce men to commit so much the greater and the more frequent sins in later years, the more they have succeeded in drawing them into small insignificant faults in their childhood. By these they draw them on to a state of blind presumption; for with each sin the soul loses more and more the power of resistance, subjects itself to the demon, and falls under the sway of its tyrannical enemies. The miserable yoke of wickedness is more and more firmly fastened upon it; it is trodden underfoot by its own iniquity and urged onward under the sway of the devil from one precipice to another, from abyss to abyss (Ps. 41, 8): a chastisement merited by all those, that allow themselves to be overcome by evil–doing in the beginning. By these means Lucifer has hurled into hell so great a number of souls and continues so to hurl them every day, rising up in his pride against the Almighty. In this manner has he been able to introduce into the world his tyrannical power, spreading among men forgetfulness of death, judgment, heaven and hell, and casting so many nations from abyss to abyss of darkness and bestial errors, such are contained in the heresies and false sects of the infidels. Do thou therefore beware of this terrible danger, my daughter, and let not the memory of the law of thy God, his precepts and commands, and the truths of the Catholic Church and the doctrines of the Gospels ever fail in thy mind. Let not a day pass in which thou dost not spend much time in meditating upon all these; and exhort thy religious and all those who listen to thee the same. For thy enemy and adversary is laboring with ceaseless vigilance to obscure thy understanding in forgetfulness of the divine law, seeking to withdraw thy will, which is a blind faculty, from the practice of justification. This, thou knowest, consists in acts of living faith, trustful hope, ardent love, all coming from a contrite and humble heart (Ps. 50, 19).
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Catholic Catechism
PART ONE - THE PROFESSION OF FAITH
SECTION TWO -THE PROFESSION OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
CHAPTER THREE - I BELIEVE IN HOLY SPIRIT
ARTICLE 9 - "I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH"
Paragraph 6. Mary - Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church
963 Since the Virgin Mary's role in the mystery of Christ and the Spirit has been treated, it is fitting now to consider her place in the mystery of the Church. "The Virgin Mary . . . is acknowledged and honored as being truly the Mother of God and of the redeemer. . . . She is 'clearly the mother of the members of Christ' . . . since she has by her charity joined in bringing about the birth of believers in the Church, who are members of its head."502 "Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of the Church."503
I. MARY'S MOTHERHOOD WITH REGARD TO THE CHURCH
Wholly united with her Son . . .
964 Mary's role in the Church is inseparable from her union with Christ and flows directly from it. "This union of the mother with the Son in the work of salvation is made manifest from the time of Christ's virginal conception up to his death";504 it is made manifest above all at the hour of his Passion:
- Thus the Blessed Virgin advanced in her pilgrimage of faith, and faithfully persevered in her union with her Son unto the cross. There she stood, in keeping with the divine plan, enduring with her only begotten Son the intensity of his suffering, joining herself with his sacrifice in her mother's heart, and lovingly consenting to the immolation of this victim, born of her: to be given, by the same Christ Jesus dying on the cross, as a mother to his disciple, with these words: "Woman, behold your son."505
. . . also in her Assumption
966 "Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death."508 The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:
- In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.509
967 By her complete adherence to the Father's will, to his Son's redemptive work, and to every prompting of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mary is the Church's model of faith and charity. Thus she is a "preeminent and . . . wholly unique member of the Church"; indeed, she is the "exemplary realization" (typus)510 of the Church.
968 Her role in relation to the Church and to all humanity goes still further. "In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior's work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace."511
969 "This motherhood of Mary in the order of grace continues uninterruptedly from the consent which she loyally gave at the Annunciation and which she sustained without wavering beneath the cross, until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this saving office but by her manifold intercession continues to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation . . . . Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress, and Mediatrix."512
970 "Mary's function as mother of men in no way obscures or diminishes this unique mediation of Christ, but rather shows its power. But the Blessed Virgin's salutary influence on men . . . flows forth from the superabundance of the merits of Christ, rests on his mediation, depends entirely on it, and draws all its power from it."513 "No creature could ever be counted along with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer; but just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by his ministers and the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is radiated in different ways among his creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source."514
* II. DEVOTION TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN
971 "All generations will call me blessed": "The Church's devotion to the Blessed Virgin is intrinsic to Christian worship."515 The Church rightly honors "the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times the Blessed Virgin has been honored with the title of 'Mother of God,' to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs. . . . This very special devotion . . . differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate Word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit, and greatly fosters this adoration."516 The liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, an "epitome of the whole Gospel," express this devotion to the Virgin Mary.517
III. MARY - ESCHATOLOGICAL ICON OF THE CHURCH
972 After speaking of the Church, her origin, mission, and destiny, we can find no better way to conclude than by looking to Mary. In her we contemplate what the Church already is in her mystery on her own "pilgrimage of faith," and what she will be in the homeland at the end of her journey. There, "in the glory of the Most Holy and Undivided Trinity," "in the communion of all the saints,"518 the Church is awaited by the one she venerates as Mother of her Lord and as her own mother.
- In the meantime the Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.519
973 By pronouncing her "fiat" at the Annunciation and giving her consent to the Incarnation, Mary was already collaborating with the whole work her Son was to accomplish. She is mother wherever he is Savior and head of the Mystical Body.
974 The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, when the course of her earthly life was completed, was taken up body and soul into the glory of heaven, where she already shares in the glory of her Son's Resurrection, anticipating the resurrection of all members of his Body.
975 "We believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, Mother of the Church, continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of Christ" (Paul VI, CPG § 15).
502 LG 53; cf. St. Augustine, De virg. 6:PL 40,399.
503 Paul VI, Discourse, November 21, 1964.
504 LG 57.
505 LG 58; cf. Jn 19:26-27.
506 LG 69.
507 LG 59.
508 LG 59; cf. Pius XII, Munificentissimus Deus (1950):DS 3903; cf. Rev 19:16.
509 Byzantine Liturgy, Troparion, Feast of the Dormition, August 15th.
510 LG 53; 63.
511 LG 61.
512 LG 62.
513 LG 60.
514 LG 62.
515 Lk 1:48; Paul VI, MC 56.
516 LG 66.
517 Cf. Paul VI, MC 42; SC 103.
518 LG 69.
519 LG 68; Cf. 2 Pet 3 10.
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RE-CHARGE: Heaven Speaks to Young Adults
To all tween, teens and young adults, A Message from Jesus: "Through you I will flow powerful conversion graces to draw other young souls from darkness. My plan for young men and women is immense. Truly, the renewal will leap forward with the assistance of these individuals. Am I calling you? Yes. I am calling you. You feel the stirring in your soul as you read these words. I am with you. I will never leave you. Join My band of young apostles and I will give you joy and peace that you have never known. All courage, all strength will be yours. Together, we will reclaim this world for the Father. I will bless your families and all of your relationships. I will lead you to your place in the Kingdom. Only you can complete the tasks I have set out for you. Do not reject Me. I am your Jesus. I love you...Read this book, upload to your phones/ipads.computers and read a few pages everyday...and then Pay It Forward...
Reference
- Recharge: Directions For Our Times. Heaven Speaks to Young Adults. recharge.cc.
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