Courage, Isaiah 55:6-9, Psalms 145:2-18, Philippians 1-:20-27, Matthew 20:1-16; Pope Francis's Angelus; Inspirational Hymns - Gregorian Chants; Our Lady of Medjugorje Message; Beatificaiton of Blessed Stanley Francis Rother; Feast of Padre Pio; History of Crusades - Fourth Crusade ; 54 Day Novena; Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary; Mystical City of God - Book 1 Chapter 8 - Most Holy Mother Mary's Childhood Years; Catholic Catechism - Part Four - The Christian Prayer - Section One - Prayer in the Christian Life, Chapter 1 The Revelation of Prayer Article 3 Prayer in The Age of the Curch; RECHARGE: Heaven Speaks to Young Adults
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU (Year of Mercy). "Always Trust in Jesus, He the beacon of light amongst the darkest clouds" ~ Zarya Parx 2016
JESUS I TRUST IN YOU (Year of Mercy). "Always Trust in Jesus, He the beacon of light amongst the darkest clouds" ~ Zarya Parx 2016
"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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Liturgical Cycle: A - Gospel of Matthew - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Daily Rosary
(MON, SAT) - Joyful Mysteries
(TUES, FRI) - Sorrowful Mysteries
(WED,SUN) - Glorious Mysteries
(THURS) - Luminous Mysteries
(MON, SAT) - Joyful Mysteries
(TUES, FRI) - Sorrowful Mysteries
(WED,SUN) - Glorious Mysteries
(THURS) - Luminous Mysteries
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Inspirational Hymns
Illumination: Peaceful Gregorian Chants
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Our Lady of Medjugorje Monthly Messages
September 2, 2017 message from Our Lady of Medjugorje:
Dear children,
Who could speak to you about the love and the pain of my Son better than I? I lived with Him; I suffered with Him. Living the earthly life I felt pain because I was a mother. My Son loved the thoughts and the works of the Heavenly Father, the true God. And, as He said to me, He came to redeem you. I hid my pain through love, but you, my children, you have numerous questions. You do not comprehend pain. You do not comprehend that through the love of God you need to accept pain and endure it. Every human being will experience it to a lesser or greater measure. But with peace in the soul and in a state of grace, hope exists; this is my Son, God, born of God. His words are the seed of eternal life. Sown in good souls it brings numerous fruits. My Son bore the pain because He took your sins upon Himself. Therefore, you, my children, apostles of my love, you who suffer, know that your pain will become light and glory. My children, while you are enduring pain, while you are suffering, Heaven enters in you and you give a piece of Heaven and much hope to all those around you. Thank you. ~ Blessed Mother Mary
August 25, 2017 message from Our Lady of Medjugorje:
"Dear children! Today I am calling you to be people of prayer. Pray until prayer becomes a joy for you and a meeting with the Most High. He will transform your hearts and you will become people of love and peace. Do not forget, little children, that Satan is strong and wants to draw you away from prayer. You, do not forget that prayer is the secret key of meeting with God. That is why I am with you to lead you. Do not give up on prayer. Thank you for having responded to my call." ~ Blessed Mother Mary
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Papam Franciscus
(Pope Francis)
Pope Francis Angelus
(Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis prayed the Angelus with pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday – the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time – focusing his remarks ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion on the Parable of the Landowner and the Wage-earners, proclaimed as the Gospel reading of the day (Mt. 20:1-16).
The Gospel at a glance
In that story, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a landowner, who hires day-labourers in the early morning, and again at successive hours of the day, at the end of which he instructs his paymaster to give the full day’s wage to all the workers, beginning with those hired at the 11th hour.
The labourers of the first hour complain of this treatment, to which the Landowner replies, “I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?”
Jesus then explains the lesson, “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Pope Francis reflects
Reflecting on the passage, Pope Francis said, “In reality, the ‘injustice’ of the Landowner serves to provoke, in those who hear the parable, an increase in understanding (It. salto di livello), because Jesus does not want to speak of the problem of labour and of just wages, but of the Kingdom of God.”
The Holy Father went on to say, “The message is this: in the Kingdom of God there are no idle hands, all are called to do their part; and for all, at the end, the recompense shall be what comes from divine justice – not human justice, happily – i.e. the salvation that Jesus Christ has acquired with His death and resurrection. This is a salvation that is not merited, but given, for which, ‘The last shall be first, and the first shall be last’.”
noun
Idioms
In that story, Jesus likens the Kingdom of God to a landowner, who hires day-labourers in the early morning, and again at successive hours of the day, at the end of which he instructs his paymaster to give the full day’s wage to all the workers, beginning with those hired at the 11th hour.
The labourers of the first hour complain of this treatment, to which the Landowner replies, “I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?”
Jesus then explains the lesson, “Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Pope Francis reflects
Reflecting on the passage, Pope Francis said, “In reality, the ‘injustice’ of the Landowner serves to provoke, in those who hear the parable, an increase in understanding (It. salto di livello), because Jesus does not want to speak of the problem of labour and of just wages, but of the Kingdom of God.”
The Holy Father went on to say, “The message is this: in the Kingdom of God there are no idle hands, all are called to do their part; and for all, at the end, the recompense shall be what comes from divine justice – not human justice, happily – i.e. the salvation that Jesus Christ has acquired with His death and resurrection. This is a salvation that is not merited, but given, for which, ‘The last shall be first, and the first shall be last’.”
Reference:
- Vatican News. From the Pope. © Copyright 2017 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Accessed - 09/24/2017
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Today's Word - courage [kuhr-ij]
Origin: 1250-1300; Middle English corage < Old French, equivalent to cuer heart (< Latin cor; see heart) + -age -age2
1. The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
2. Obsolete. the heart as the source of emotion.
3. Have the courage of one's convictions, to act in accordance with one's beliefs, especially in spite of criticism.
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Today's Old Testament Reading - Isaiah 55:6-9
6 Seek out Yahweh while he is still to be found, call to him while he is still near.7 Let the wicked abandon his way and the evil one his thoughts. Let him turn back to Yahweh who will take pity on him, to our God, for he is rich in forgiveness;
8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares Yahweh.
9 For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts.
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Today's Psalms - Psalms 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18
2 Day after day I shall bless you, I shall praise your name for ever and ever.3 Great is Yahweh and worthy of all praise, his greatness beyond all reckoning.
8 Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love.
9 Yahweh is generous to all, his tenderness embraces all his creatures.
17 Upright in all that he does, Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
18 He is close to all who call upon him, all who call on him from the heart.
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Today's New Testament Reading - Philippians 1:20-24, 27
20 all in accordance with my most confident hope and trust that I shall never have to admit defeat, but with complete fearlessness I shall go on, so that now, as always, Christ will be glorified in my body, whether by my life or my death.21 Life to me, of course, is Christ, but then death would be a positive gain.
22 On the other hand again, if to be alive in the body gives me an opportunity for fruitful work, I do not know which I should choose.
23 I am caught in this dilemma: I want to be gone and to be with Christ, and this is by far the stronger desire-
24 and yet for your sake to stay alive in this body is a more urgent need.
27 But you must always behave in a way that is worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come to you and see for myself or whether I only hear all about you from a distance, I shall find that you are standing firm and united in spirit, battling, as a team with a single aim, for the faith of the gospel.
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Today's Gospel Reading - Matthew 20: 1-16
Parable of the laborers sent to the vineyard
The absolute gratuitousness of the love of God
Matthew 20, 1-16
20, 1b-7: .... going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard. 3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place 4 and said to them, "You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage." 5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. 6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?" 7 "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You go into my vineyard too."
20, 8-15: 8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first." 9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. 10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. 11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying, 12 "The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat." 13 He answered one of them and said, "My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? 14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you. 15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?"
20, 16: 16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.'
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
The absolute gratuitousness of the love of God
Matthew 20, 1-16
1. Opening prayer
Oh Father, your Son Jesus, whom you have given to us, is our kingdom, our richness, our Heaven; He is the Master of the house and of the earth in which we live and He goes out continuously to search for us, because He desires to call us, to pronounce our name, to offer us His infinite love. We will never be able to pay Him back, never repay the superabundance of His compassion and mercy for us; we can only tell him our Yes, ours: “Here I am, I come”, or repeat with Isaiah: “Here I am Lord, send me!”. Lord, allow this word to enter into my heart, in my eyes, into my ears and that it changes me, transforms me, according to this surprising incomprehensible love that Jesus is offering me today also, even at this moment. Lead me to the last place, to mine, that which He has prepared for me, there where I can truly and fully be myself. Amen.
2. Reading
a) To insert the passage in its context:
This passage places us within the section of the Gospel of Matthew, which directly precedes the account of the Passion, death and Resurrection of Jesus. This section begins in 19, 1, where it is said that Jesus definitively leaves the territory of Galilee to go to Judea, beginning in this way the path to get close to Jerusalem and this is concluded in 25, 46, with the account on the coming and the judgment of the Son of God. More in particular, chapter 20 places us also along the road of Jesus towards the holy city and its temple, in a context of teaching and of polemics with the wise and the powerful of the time, which he carries out through parables and encounters.
b) To help in the reading of the passage:
20, 1a: with the first words of the parable, which are a formula of introduction, Jesus wants to accompany us into the most profound theme about which he intends to speak, he wants to open before us the doors of the kingdom, which is He himself and he presents himself as the Master of the vineyard, which needs to be cultivated.
20, 1b-7: These verses constitute the first part of the parable; in it Jesus tells about the initiative of the Master of the vineyard to employ the laborers, describing the four times he went out to look for laborers, in which he establishes a contract and the last time he goes out is at the end of the day.
29, 8-15: This second part includes, instead, the description of the payment to the workers, with the protest of the first one and the answer of the Master.
20, 16: At the end is given the conclusive sentence, which is included with 19, 30 and which reveals the key of the passage and the its application: those who in the community are considered the last ones, in the perspective of the Kingdom and of God’s judgment, will be the first ones.
20, 1b-7: These verses constitute the first part of the parable; in it Jesus tells about the initiative of the Master of the vineyard to employ the laborers, describing the four times he went out to look for laborers, in which he establishes a contract and the last time he goes out is at the end of the day.
29, 8-15: This second part includes, instead, the description of the payment to the workers, with the protest of the first one and the answer of the Master.
20, 16: At the end is given the conclusive sentence, which is included with 19, 30 and which reveals the key of the passage and the its application: those who in the community are considered the last ones, in the perspective of the Kingdom and of God’s judgment, will be the first ones.
c) Text of the Gospel:
20, 1°: 1 'Now the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner …..
20, 1b-7: .... going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard. 3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place 4 and said to them, "You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage." 5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. 6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?" 7 "Because no one has hired us," they answered. He said to them, "You go into my vineyard too."
20, 8-15: 8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first." 9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. 10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. 11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying, 12 "The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day's work in all the heat." 13 He answered one of them and said, "My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? 14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you. 15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?"
20, 16: 16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.'
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) The passage opens with a connecting particle, “in fact”, which is very important, because it sends us to the preceding verse (Mt 19, 30), where Jesus affirms that “the first will be the last and the last the first”, with the same words that he will repeat at the end of this parable. Therefore, words of utmost importance, fundamental, which indicate to me the direction which I should take. Jesus is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven; He is the new world, into which I am invited to enter. But his is an overturned world, where our logic of power, gain, reward, ability, effort, is defeat and substituted by another logic, that of absolute gratuitousness, of merciful and superabundant love. If I think that I am first, that I am strong and capable; if I have already placed myself in the first place at the table of the Lord, it is better that now I rise and go and take the last place. There the Lord will come to look for me and calling me, he will raise me and take me towards him.
b). Here, Jesus compares himself to a landowner, the Master of the house, using a particular figure, which he repeats several times in the Gospel. I try to follow it, being attentive to the characteristics which it presents and trying to verify which is my relationship with Him. The Master of the house is the owner of the vineyard, who takes care of it, surrounding it by a wall, digging a press there, cultivating it with love and fatigue (Mt 21, 33 ff), so that it can bear a better fruit. It is the Master of the house who offers a great supper, and invites many, calling to his table the most forlorn or forsaken, the cripple and the lame, the blind (Lk 14, 21ff). And the one who returns from the wedding and for whom we have to wait keeping watch, because we do not know the hour (Lk 12, 36); is the Master of the house who left on a trip, who has ordered us to keep watch, so as to be ready to open the door for him, as soon as he returns and knocks, in the evening, or at midnight, or at the rooster’s crow, or in the morning (Mk 13, 35). I understand then, that the Lord expects the good fruit from me; that he has chosen me as a guest to his table; that he will return and seek to look for me and will knock at my door... Am I ready to respond to him? To open the door for him? To offer to him the fruit of the love which He expects from me? Or rather, am I sleeping, weighed down by a thousand other interests, enslaved by other masters of the house, diverse and far away from him?
c) The Lord Jesus, the Master of the house and of the vineyard, repeatedly goes out to call and to send; at dawn, at nine o’clock, at noon, at three o’clock in the afternoon, at five, when the day is almost ended. He does not get tired: he comes to look for me, to offer me his love, his presence, to seal a pact with me. He desires to offer me his vineyard, its beauty. When we will meet, when he, looking at me fixedly, will love me (Mk 10, 21), What will I answer? Will I be sad because I have many other goods belonging to me (Lk 18, 23)? Will I ask him to consider me justified, because I have already taken on other commitments? (Lk 14, 18?). Will I flee, naked, losing also that small cloth of happiness that has remained in order to cover myself (Mk 14, 52)? Or, rather will I say: “Yes, yes”, and then I will not go (Mt 21, 29)? I feel that this word causes me to be in crisis, it peers into the depth of myself, it reveals to me who I am ... I remain dismayed, fearful for my freedom, but I decide, before the Lord who is speaking to me, to do as Mary did and also say: “Lord, may it be done to me according to your word”, with humble availability and abandonment.
d) Now the Gospel places me before my relationship with others, the brothers and sisters who share with me the journey of the following of Jesus. We are all convoked to Him, in the evening, after the work of the day: he opens his treasure of love and begins to distribute it, to give grace, mercy, compassion, friendship, himself totally. He does not stop, the Lord continues only to overflow, to pour out, to give himself to us, to each one. Matthew points out, at this point, that someone murmurs against the Master of the vineyard, against the Lord, Indignation springs up because he treats everyone equally, with the same intensity of love, with the same superabundance. Perhaps what is written in these lines also applies to me: the Gospel knows how to bring out and make evident my heart as it is, the most hidden part of myself. Perhaps the Lord is, precisely, addressing these words filled with sadness: “Perhaps you are jealous?” I should allow myself to be questioned, I have to allow him to enter within me and to look at me with his penetrating eyes, because only if he looks at me, I will be able to be healed. Now I pray as follows: “Lord, I ask you, come to me, put your word in my heart and let new life germinate, let love germinate”.
5. A key for the reading
The Vineyard
In the image of the vineyard, apparently very simple and ordinary, Scripture condenses a very rich and profound reality, always more dense in significance, gradually as the texts get closer to the full revelation of Jesus. In the first book of Kings, chapter 21, is narrated the violent attack against Naboth, a simple subject of the corrupt King Ahab, who possessed a vineyard, planted, unfortunately, precisely next the to palace of the King. This account makes us understand how important the vineyard was, an inviolable property: for nothing in the world Naboth would have given it up, as he says: “Yahweh forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage!” (I Kings 21, 3). Out of love for it, he lost his life. Therefore, the vineyard represents the most precious good, the family heritage, in a certain part, the identity itself of the person; he cannot sell it, cede it to others, barter or trade it for other goods, which would never succeed to equal it. It hides a vital, spiritual force.
Isaiah 5 tells us clearly that under the figure of the vineyard is signified the people of Israel, as it is written: “Now, the vineyard of Yahweh Sabaoth is the House of Israel; and the people of Judah the plant he cherished” (Is 5, 7). The Lord has loved these people with an infinite and eternal love, sealed by an inviolable covenant; He takes care of it, just as a vine-dresser would do with his vineyard, doing everything possible so that it can bear more beautiful fruit. Each one of us is Israel, the whole Church: the Father has found us as dry, arid land, devastated, filled with rocks, and he has cultivated it, he has dug around it, fertilized it, watered it always; he has planted us as a chosen vineyard, all with genuine vines (Jer 2, 21). What else could he have done for us, which he has not done? (Is, 5, 4). In his infinite lowering, the Lord has become vineyard Himself; He has become the true Vine (Jn 15, 1ff), of which we are the branches; He united himself to us, just as the vine is united to its branches. The Father, who is the vine-dresser, continues his work of love in us, so that we may bear fruit and he waits patiently. He prunes, He cultivates, but then he sends us to work, to collect the fruits to offer to him. We are sent to his people, to his sons, as sons that we are ourselves, as his disciples; we cannot draw back, refuse, because we have been created for this: that we may go and bear fruit and that our fruit may remain (Jn 15, 16). Lord, turn to us; look down from Heaven and visit your vineyard (Psalm 79, 15).
The promise: one denarius
The Master of the vineyard establishes as the payment for the work of the day a denarius; a good sum, which allowed to live with dignity. More or less it corresponds to the drachma agreed upon by the old Tobit with the one who accompanied his son Tobias towards the Media (Tb 5, 15).
But in the evangelical account this denarius is immediately called by another name; by the Master; in fact, he says: “that which is just I will give you” (v4). Our inheritance, our salary is what is just, what is good: the Lord Jesus. He, in fact, does not give, does not promise other than himself. Our reward is in Heaven (Mt 5, 12), with our Father (Mt 6, 1). It is not the money, the denarius which was used to pay the tax per-capita to the Romans, on which was the image and the inscription of King Tiberius Caesar (Mt 22, 20), but which is the face of Jesus, his name, his presence. He tells us: “I am with you not only today, but all days, until the end of the world. I myself will be your reward”.
The sending out
The text offers to our life a very strong energy, which springs from the verbs “to send, to order” to go”, repeated twice; both concern us, they touch us deeply, they call us and put us in movement. It is the Lord Jesus who sends us, making of us his disciples: “Behold, I send you” (Mt 10, 16). He calls us every day for his mission and repeats to us: “Go!” and our happiness is hidden precisely here, in the realization of this Word of his. Also where he sends us, in the way in which He indicates it, towards the reality and the persons whom He places before us.
The murmuring, the grumbling
Words of utmost importance, true and very much present in our experience of daily life; we cannot deny this: they dwell in our heart, in our thoughts, sometimes they torment us, disfigure us, get us terribly tired, drive us away from ourselves, from others, from the Lord. Yes, we are also among those workers who complain and grumble, murmuring against the Master. The rumor of the murmuring comes from very far away, but equally it succeeds to join us and to insinuate our heart. Israel in the desert murmured heavily against its Lord and we have received as inheritance those thoughts, those words: “The Lord hates us, that is why he brought us out of the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites and to destroy us” (Dt 1, 27) and we doubt concerning his capacity to nourish us, to lead us ahead, to protect us: “Can God make a banquet in the desert?” (Ps 78, 19). To murmur means not to listen to the voice of the Lord, not to believe anymore in his love for us: Therefore, we become scandalized, upset, strongly against the merciful Lord and we get angry against his way of acting and we wish to change it, to make it smaller according to our own schema: He went to the house of a sinner! He eats and drinks with tax collectors, with sinners!” (Lk 5, 30; 15, 2; 19, 7). If we listen well these is the secret murmuring of our heart. How to heal it? Saint Peter suggest this way: “Practice hospitality with one another, without murmuring” (I Pt 4, 9); only hospitality, that is acceptance can, little by little, change our heart and open it to be receptive, capable of bearing within it persons, situations, the reality which we find in life. “Accept one another” says Scripture. And it is precisely like that: we have to learn to accept, above all, the Lord Jesus, as He is, with his way of loving and of remaining, of speaking with us and of changing us, of waiting for us and of attracting us. To accept him is to accept the one who is at our side, who comes to meet us; it is only this movement which can overcome the harshness of murmuring.
Murmuring is born from jealousy, from envy, from our evil eye, as the Master of the vineyard says, Jesus himself. He knows how to keep us inside, he knows how to penetrate our look and reach our heart, in the spirit. He knows how we are, he knows us, loves us; And it is out of love that He brings out of us the evil within, takes off the veil from our evil eye, he helps us to become aware or conscious of how we are, of that which is within us. At the moment when he says: “Perhaps your eye is evil?” as he is doing today in this Gospel, He heals us, he takes the balm and spreads it, takes the clay made with his saliva and puts it on our eyes, to the very depth.
6. A moment of prayer: Psalm 135
Refrain: Your love for us is infinite!
Alleluia! Give thanks to Yahweh for he is good,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He alone works wonders,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He alone works wonders,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He struck down the first-born of Egypt,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from among them,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
With mighty hand and outstretched arm,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He split the Sea of Reeds in two,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Let Israel pass through the middle,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
And drowned Pharaoh and all his army,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He led his people through the desert,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He brought Israel out from among them,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
With mighty hand and outstretched arm,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He split the Sea of Reeds in two,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Let Israel pass through the middle,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
And drowned Pharaoh and all his army,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He led his people through the desert,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He kept us in mind when we were humbled,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
And rescued us from our enemies,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He provides food for all living creatures,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
for his faithful love endures for ever.
And rescued us from our enemies,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
He provides food for all living creatures,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his faithful love endures for ever.
7. Final Prayer
Thank you, Oh Father, for having revealed to me your Son and for having made me enter in his inheritance, in his vineyard. You have rendered me a branch, have rendered me a grape: now I only need to remain in Him, in you and allow myself to be taken as good fruit, ripe, to be placed in the press. Yes, Lord, I know it: this is the way, I am not afraid, because you are with me. I know that the only way to happiness is the gift of self to you, the gift to the brothers. That I may be a branch, that I may be good grapes, to be squeezed, as you wish! Amen.
Reference: Courtesy of Order of Carmelites, www.ocarm.org.
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Featured Item from Litany Lane
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Beatification: Blessed Stanley Francis Rother
Beatified: September 23, 2017Martyred: July 28, 1981
Patronage: Missionaries of Guatemala
On December 1, 2016, Pope Francis issued a decree confirming that he had been killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith) which would allow him to be beatified. Rother was beatified on September 23, 2017, during a Mass at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.[1][2][3] He is the first US-born priest and martyr to be beatified by the Catholic Church and the second person to be beatified on US soil following the 2014 beatification of New Jersey-born nun Miriam Teresa Demjanovich.[4]
Education and priesthood
Stanley Francis Rother was born on March 27, 1935, in Okarche, as one of five children of Franz Rother (August 8, 1911 – July 2, 2000) and Gertrude Smith (May 23, 1913 – October 24, 1987), who had a farm close to that town in Oklahoma; he had two sisters and two brothers and was baptized on March 29, 1935, in Okarche's Holy Trinity church by Father Zenon Steber.[5] His only surviving sibling is Marita Rother (b. 1937), a nun since 1956.[6]Stanley was strong and adept at farm tasks. Then after completing his high school studies at the Holy Trinity school he declared his calling to the priesthood to his parents. His parents were pleased with their son's decision though his father asked him: "Why didn't you take Latin instead of working so hard as a Future Farmer of America?" To prepare for this he was sent to the Saint John Seminary and then to Assumption Seminary in San Antonio in Texas. His talents gained working on the farm left him with other duties at the seminary, and his studies suffered; he struggled learning Latin.[6] He served as a sacristan, groundskeeper, bookbinder, plumber, and gardener. After almost six years the seminary staff advised him to withdraw.[5]
After consultation with his local bishop Victor Reed he then attended Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg in Maryland from which he graduated in 1963. Rother accompanied his father and the Okarche pastor Edmund von Elm to see Bishop Reed who asked him: "Do you want to be a priest, Stanley?" He replied: "Yes, but it's all over for me, isn't it?" Reed told him that he saw potential in him and would send him to another seminary to see what became of it. The rector of the Maryland seminary George Mulcahy sent a letter to Reed on February 14, 1963 in which he said: "Mister Rother has made excellent progress at this seminary and he should be a very valuable parish priest." Reed ordained him to the priesthood on May 25, 1963. Rother then served as an associate pastor in various parishes around Oklahoma: Saint William's in Durant, Saint Francis Xavier and the Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa, and Corpus Christi in Oklahoma City. In 1968 – at his own request – he was assigned to the mission of the archdiocese to the Tz'utujil people located in Santiago Atitlán in the rural highlands of southwest Guatemala. It was while he was at Corpus Christi that he had learned a priest was needed in Guatemala, and so applied and was accepted by Bishop Reed in 1968.
Guatemalan pastor
So that he could be in closer touch with his congregation, he set out to work to learn Spanish and the Tz’utujil language which was an unwritten and indigenous language that the missionary Ramón Carlín once recorded. He served in Santiago Atitlán from 1968 until his death. Rother lived with a native family for a while to get a better grasp of practical conversation, and worked with the locals to show them how to read and write. He supported a radio station located on the mission property which transmitted daily lessons in both language and mathematics. In 1973 he noted with pride in a letter: "I am now preaching in Tzutuhil."[6] During that time, in addition to his pastoral duties he translated the New Testament into Tz'utujil and began the regular celebration of the Mass in Tz'utujil. In the late 1960s Rother founded in Panabaj a small hospital, dubbed as the "Hospitalito"; Father Carlín served as a collaborator in this project.[7]By 1975, Rother had become the de facto leader of the Oklahoma-sponsored mission effort in Guatemala as other religious and lay supporters rotated out of the program.[8] He was a highly recognizable figure in the community, owing to his light complexion as well as his habit of smoking tobacco in a pipe.[5][6] Since there was not a Tzutuhil name equivalent to "Stanley," the people of Father Rother's mission affectionately called him "Padre A'Plas," translated as "Father Francis," a nod to his middle name.[5]
Rother put his farming skills to good use in Guatemala, on one occasion operating a bulldozer from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm to clear land on local farms, stopping just for Mass. His door was open to all people. There was one old man who appeared each day for lunch, and others came for advice on personal or financial affairs. Some even turned up to have their teeth extracted. On one occasion he accompanied a boy to Guatemala City to be treated for lip cancer, from which the boy was eventually cured.[6]
Final months and murder
Within the last year of his life Rother saw the radio station smashed and its director murdered. His catechists and parishioners would disappear and later be found dead, with their bodies showing signs of having been beaten and tortured. Rother knew all this when he returned to Guatemala in May 1981. In December 1980 he had addressed a letter to the faithful in Oklahoma and wrote about the violent situation: "This is one of the reasons I have for staying in the face of physical harm. The shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger."[5]At the beginning of 1981 he was warned that his name was on a death list (he was number eight on the list) and that he should leave Guatemala at once to remain alive. One parishioner warned him in January: "Father, you're in extreme danger. You must get out immediately."[9] Rother was reluctant but he nonetheless returned to Oklahoma in January, though he later asked the archbishop for permission to return: "My people need me. I can't stay away from them any longer." Another reason for returning was that he wanted to celebrate Easter with them.[5] His brother Tom said to him, upon hearing that Stanley wanted to return to Guatemala: "Why do you want to go back? They're waiting on you and they're gonna kill you." Rother said: "Well, a shepherd cannot run from his flock." Rother went back to Santiago Atitlán in April and knew that he was being watched.[6][9]
On the morning of July 28 just after midnight, gunmen broke into the rectory of his church and shot him twice in the head after a brief struggle. The killers forced the teenager Francisco Bocel (who was in the church at the time) to lead them to the bedroom of the "red-bearded Oklahoma-born missionary." The men threatened to kill Bocel if he did not show them Rother and so Bocel led them downstairs and knocked on a door near the staircase saying: "Father. They are looking for you."[6] Rother opened the door and a struggle ensued as Bocel ran upstairs hearing Rother yell: "Kill me here!" One shot pierced his jaw and the fatal shot struck the left temple; there were bruises on both hands. His father Franz – upon hearing the news of his son's death – rang his eldest daughter Marita in Kansas and told her: "They got him." She hung up the phone and wept. His brother Tom and his family were on a vacation in Memphis when they received the news.[6]
Father Rother was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala that year. His remains were flown back to Oklahoma and were buried in his hometown on August 3, 1981, in Holy Trinity Cemetery. At the request of his former Tzutuhil parishioners, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of the church where he had served.[6]
Three men were arrested on charges of murder within weeks of Rother's murder; another man and a women were sought for questioning at that stage as well. The three men arrested admitted to having entered the church in a robbery attempt, and also admitted to having shot Rother dead when the priest attempted to stop them.[10][11] Despite the confessions, many people familiar with the circumstances of the murder considered the three accused persons as innocent, and the prosecutions to be a cover-up of paramilitary involvement in the murder.[10][8] Convictions for all three men were later overturned by a Guatemalan appellate court, under pressure from U.S. authorities.[8] No other suspects have been prosecuted for the murder.
**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.
Beatification
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| Beatification September 23, 2017 |
On December 1, 2016 his beatification received approval from Pope Francis after the Pope confirmed that Rother had been killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith). On March 13, 2017 the date for his beatification was announced on the archdiocesan website. Rother was beatified on September 23, 2017 at the Cox Convention Center, with Cardinal Angelo Amato presiding over the beatification - as the Prefect of the Congregation of the Causes of the Saints on the pope's behalf at a mass attended by approximately 20,000 people.[1][2][4] The postulator for the cause was Dr. Andrea Ambrosi. Among the Bishops who assisted Amato included the Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, associate of Coakley, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Archbishop Emeritus Eusebius Beltran, who began Rother’s cause for canonization in 2007.[1]
References
- http://newsok.com/rother-ceremony-draws-estimated-crowd-of-20000-faithful/article/5565290
- http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/faithful-martyr-and-missionary-father-stanley-rother-beatified-in-oklahoma-13669/
- "Blessed Stanley Francis Rother". Saints SQPN. March 16, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- http://religionnews.com/2017/09/23/first-beatification-mass-for-u-s-born-priest-and-martyr-draws-thousands/
- Mason Beecroft (December 16, 2014). "Making the Case for Martyrdom". This Land. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- "Slain Okarche priest left his heart in parish". NewsOK. April 11, 2010. Retrieved May 13, 2010. "Volunteer in Guatemala". Vaops. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- Rosengren, John (July 2006). "Father Stan Rother: American Martyr in Guatemala". St. Anthony Messenger. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
- "Guatemala: Requiem for a Missionary". Time. August 10, 1981. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- "Guatemala: Guatemala: Case Not Closed". Time. August 24, 1981. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
- "Around the World; 3 Seized in Guatemala in Slaying of U.S. Priest". New York Times. August 5, 1981. Retrieved May 13, 2010.
- "Sainthood proposed for slain priest". Chicago Tribune. September 28, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2010."Vatican panel calls Fr. Stanley Rother a martyr". National Catholic Reporter. July 13, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
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Feast Day: St. Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio)
Feast Day: September 23
Patron Saint: Pietrelcina, Italy
Francesco Forgione was born to Grazio Mario Forgione (1860–1946) and Maria Giuseppa de Nunzio Forgione (1859–1929) on May 25, 1887, in Pietrelcina, a farming town in the southern Italian region of Campania. His parents made a living as peasant farmers He was baptized in the nearby Santa Anna Chapel, which stands upon the walls of a castle. He later served as an altar boy in this same chapel. Restoration work on this chapel was later undertaken by the Padre Pio Foundation of America based in Cromwell, Connecticut. His siblings were an older brother, Michele, and three younger sisters, Felicita, Pellegrina, and Grazia (who was later to become a Bridgettine nun). His parents had two other children who died in infancy. When he was baptized, he was given the name Francesco, which was the name of one of these two. He stated that by the time he was five years old he had already made the decision to dedicate his entire life to God. He also began inflicting penances on himself and was chided on one occasion by his mother for using a stone as a pillow and sleeping on the stone floor. He worked on the land up to the age of 10, looking after the small flock of sheep the family owned. This delayed his education to some extent.
Pietrelcina was a highly religious town (feast days of saints were celebrated throughout the year), and religion had a profound influence on the Forgione family. The members of the family attended daily Mass, prayed the Rosary nightly, and abstained from meat three days a week in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Although Francesco's parents and grandparents were illiterate, they memorized the Scriptures and narrated Bible stories to their children. It is asserted by his mother that Francesco was able to see and speak with Jesus, the Virgin Mary and his guardian angel, and that as a child, he assumed that all people could do so.
As a youth Francesco reported that he had experienced heavenly visions and ecstasies. In 1897, after he had completed three years at the public school, Francesco was drawn to the life of a friar after listening to a young Capuchin friar who was, at that time, seeking donations in the countryside. When he expressed his desire to his parents, they made a trip to Morcone, a community 13 miles (21 km) north of Pietrelcina, to find out if their son was eligible to enter the Capuchin Order. The Friars there informed them that they were interested in accepting Francesco into their community, but he needed more educational qualifications.
Francesco's father went to the United States in search of work to pay for private tutoring for his son, so that he might meet the academic requirements to enter the Capuchin Order. It was in this period that Francesco received the sacrament of Confirmation on 27 September 1899. He underwent private tutoring and passed the stipulated academic requirements. On January 6, 1903, at the age of 15, he entered the novitiate of the Capuchin Friars at Morcone where, on January 22nd, he took the Franciscan habit and the name of Fra (Friar) Pio, in honor of Pope St. Pius V, the patron saint of Pietrelcina. He took the simple vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
Priesthood
To commence his six-year study for priesthood and to grow in community life, he traveled to the friary of St. Francis of Assisi by oxcart. Three years later on January 27, 1907, he made his solemn profession. In 1910, Brother Pio was ordained a priest by Archbishop Paolo Schinosi at the Cathedral of Benevento. Four days later, he offered his first Mass at the parish church of Our Lady of the Angels. His health being precarious, he was permitted to remain with his family until early 1916 while still retaining the Capuchin habit.On September 4, 1916, Father Pio was ordered to return to his community life. Thus he was moved to an agricultural community, Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary, located in the Gargano Mountains in San Giovanni Rotondo in Foggia. At that time, with Father Pius the community numbered seven friars. He stayed at San Giovanni Rotondo until his death, except for his military service.
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| Bodgan, 2010 |
A strong believer in Christian meditation, Padre Pio stated: "Through the study of books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him".
Padre Pio then became a spiritual director, guiding many spiritually, considering them his spiritual daughters and sons. He had five rules for spiritual growth, namely, weekly confession, daily Communion, spiritual reading, meditation, and examination of conscience.
He compared weekly confession to dusting a room weekly, and recommended the performance of meditation and self-examination twice daily: once in the morning, as preparation to face the day, and once again in the evening, as retrospection. His advice on the practical application of theology he often summed up in his now famous quote, "Pray, Hope and Don’t Worry". He directed Christians to recognize God in all things and to desire above all things to do the will of God.
Poor health
According to the diary of Father Agostino da San Marco, his spiritual director in San Marco in Lamis, the young Francesco Forgione was afflicted with a number of illnesses. At six he suffered from a grave gastroenteritis, which kept him bedridden for a long time. At ten he caught typhoid fever. At 17, he suddenly fell ill, complaining of loss of appetite, insomnia, exhaustion, fainting spells, and terrible migraines. He vomited frequently and could absorb only milk and cheese.The hagiographers say that it was during this time, together with his physical illness, that inexplicable phenomena began to occur. According to their stories, one could hear strange noises coming from his room at night – sometimes screams or roars. During prayer, brother Pio remained in a stupor, as if he were absent. One of Pio's fellow friars claims to have seen him in ecstasy, levitating above the ground.
In June 1905, Padre Pio's health was so weak that his superiors decided to send him to a mountain convent, in the hope that the change of air would do him some good. His health got worse, however, and doctors advised that he return to his home town. But, even there, his health continued to worsen.
In addition to his childhood illnesses, throughout his life Padre Pio suffered from "asthmatic bronchitis". He also had a large kidney stone, with frequent abdominal pains. He further suffered from a chronic gastritis, which later turned into an ulcer. He also suffered from inflammations of the eye, of the nose, of the ear and of the throat, and eventually formed rhinitis and chronic otitis.
In the summer of 1915, in spite of poor health, he was drafted into the army. But after 30 days he was sent home on leave because of bad health. He returned to military service, and was put on leave again, this time for six months at a friary in a mountain village, San Giovanni Rotondo, where the weather was relatively cool, even in the summer. After six months in this friary he returned to military service, but was sent home again two months later. On his return he was declared fit for service, and sent to the Sales barracks in Naples, where he remained until March 1917, at which time he was found to have pulmonary tuberculosis, certified by a radiological exam. He was then discharged from the army.
In 1925, Padre Pio was operated on for an inguinal hernia, and shortly after this a large cyst formed on his neck and which had to be surgically removed. Another surgery was required to remove a malignant tumor on his ear. After this operation Padre Pio was subjected to radiological treatment, which was successful, it seems, after only two treatments.
In 1956, he came down with a serious case of "exudative pleuritis". The diagnosis was certified by Professor Cataldo Cassano, who personally extracted the serous liquid from the body of Padre Pio. He remained bedridden for four consecutive months. In his old age Padre Pio was tormented by arthritis.
Spiritual suffering
Padre Pio stated that he believed the love of God is inseparable from suffering and that suffering all things for the sake of God is the way for the soul to reach God. He felt that his soul was lost in a chaotic maze, plunged into total desolation, as if he were in the deepest pit of hell. During his period of spiritual suffering, his followers believe that Padre Pio was attacked by the Devil, both physically and spiritually. His followers also believe that the Devil used diabolical tricks in order to increase Padre Pio's torments. These included apparitions as an "angel of light" and the alteration or destruction of letters to and from his spiritual directors. Padre Augustine confirmed this when he said:The Devil appeared as young girls that danced naked without any clothes on, as Christ Crucified, as a young friend of the friars, as the Spiritual Father or as the Provincial Father; as Pope Pius X, a Guardian Angel, as St. Francis and as Our Lady.
Now, twenty-two days have passed since Jesus allowed the devils to vent their anger on me. My Father, my whole body is bruised from the beatings that I have received to the present time by our enemies. Several times, they have even torn off my shirt so that they could strike my exposed flesh.Fr. Gabriele Amorth, senior exorcist of Vatican City stated in an interview that Padre Pio was able to distinguish between real apparitions of Jesus, Mary and the Saints and the illusions created by the Devil by carefully analysing the state of his mind and the feelings produced in him during the apparitions. In one of Padre Pio's letters, he states that he remained patient in the midst of his trials because of his firm belief that Jesus, Mary, his Guardian Angel, St. Joseph and St. Francis were always with him and helped him always.
Transverberation and visible stigmata
Based on Padre Pio's correspondence, even early in his priesthood he experienced less obvious indications of the visible stigmata for which he would later become famous. In a 1911 letter, Padre Pio wrote to his spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis, describing something he had been experiencing for a year:Then last night something happened which I can neither explain nor understand. In the middle of the palms of my hands a red mark appeared, about the size of a penny, accompanied by acute pain in the middle of the red marks. The pain was more pronounced in the middle of the left hand, so much so that I can still feel it. Also under my feet I can feel some pain.His close friend Padre Agostino wrote to him in 1915, asking specific questions such as when he first experienced visions, whether he had been granted the stigmata, and whether he felt the pains of the Passion of Christ, namely the crowning of thorns and the scourging. Padre Pio replied that he had been favoured with visions since his novitiate period (1903 to 1904). He wrote that although he had been granted the stigmata, he had been so terrified by the phenomenon he begged the Lord to withdraw them. He did not wish the pain to be removed, only the visible wounds, since at the time he considered them to be an indescribable and almost unbearable humiliation. The visible wounds disappeared at that point, but reappeared in September 1918. He reported, however, that the pain remained and was more acute on specific days and under certain circumstances. He also said that he was indeed experiencing the pain of the crown of thorns and the scourging. He was not able to clearly indicate the frequency of this experience, but said that he had been suffering from them at least once weekly for some years.
These experiences are alleged to have caused his health to fail, for which reason he was permitted to stay at home. To maintain his religious life as a friar while away from the community, he said Mass daily and taught at school.
St. John of the Cross describes the phenomenon of transverberation as follows:
The soul being inflamed with the love of God which is interiorly attacked by a Seraph, who pierces it through with a fiery dart. This leaves the soul wounded, which causes it to suffer from the overflowing of divine love.World War I was still going on, and in July 1918, Pope Benedict XV, who had termed the World War "the suicide of Europe," appealed to all Christians urging them to pray for an end to the World War. On 27 July of the same year, Padre Pio offered himself as a victim for the end of the war. Days passed and between 5 August and 7 August, Padre Pio had a vision in which Christ appeared and pierced his side.[2][9] As a result of this experience, Padre Pio had a physical wound in his side. This occurrence is considered as a "transverberation" or piercing of the heart indicating the union of love with God.
As a side-note, a first-class relic of Padre Pio, which consists of a large framed square of linen bearing a bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart" in Padre Pio's side, is exposed for public veneration at the St. John Cantius Church in Chicago.
With his transverberation began another seven-week long period of spiritual unrest for Padre Pio. One of his Capuchin brothers said this of his state during that period:
During this time his entire appearance looked altered as if he had died. He was constantly weeping and sighing, saying that God had forsaken him.In a letter from Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, dated 21 August 1918, Padre Pio writes of his experiences during the transverberation:
While I was hearing the boys’ confessions on the evening of the 5th [August] I was suddenly terrorized by the sight of a celestial person who presented himself to my mind’s eye. He had in his hand a sort of weapon like a very long sharp-pointed steel blade which seemed to emit fire. At the very instant that I saw all this, I saw that person hurl the weapon into my soul with all his might. I cried out with difficulty and felt I was dying. I asked the boy to leave because I felt ill and no longer had the strength to continue. This agony lasted uninterruptedly until the morning of the 7th. I cannot tell you how much I suffered during this period of anguish. Even my entrails were torn and ruptured by the weapon, and nothing was spared. From that day on I have been mortally wounded. I feel in the depths of my soul a wound that is always open and which causes me continual agony.On 20 September 1918, accounts state that the pains of the transverberation had ceased and Padre Pio was in "profound peace." On that day, as Padre Pio was engaged in prayer in the choir loft in the Church of Our Lady of Grace, the same Being who had appeared to him and given him the transverberation, and who is believed to be the Wounded Christ, appeared again and Padre Pio had another experience of religious ecstasy. When the ecstasy ended, Padre Pio had received the Visible Stigmata, the five wounds of Christ. This time, however, the stigmata were permanent and would stay on him for the next fifty years of his life.
In a letter from St. Padre Pio to Padre Benedetto, his superior and spiritual advisor, Padre Benedetto from San Marco in Lamis dated October 22, 1918, Padre Pio describes his experience of receiving the Stigmata as follows:
On the morning of the 20th of last month, in the choir, after I had celebrated Mass I yielded to a drowsiness similar to a sweet sleep. I saw before me a mysterious person similar to the one I had seen on the evening of 5 August. The only difference was that his hands and feet and side were dripping blood. This sight terrified me and what I felt at that moment is indescribable. I thought I should have died if the Lord had not intervened and strengthened my heart which was about to burst out of my chest. The vision disappeared and I became aware that my hands, feet and side were dripping blood. Imagine the agony I experienced and continue to experience almost every day. The heart wound bleeds continually, especially from Thursday evening until Saturday. Dear Father, I am dying of pain because of the wounds and the resulting embarrassment I feel deep in my soul. I am afraid I shall bleed to death if the Lord does not hear my heartfelt supplication to relieve me of this condition. Will Jesus, who is so good, grant me this grace? Will he at least free me from the embarrassment caused by these outward signs? I will raise my voice and will not stop imploring him until in his mercy he takes away, not the wound or the pain, which is impossible since I wish to be inebriated with pain, but these outward signs which cause me such embarrassment and unbearable humiliation.He quoted, "the pain was so intense that I began to feel as if I were dying on the cross."
Though Padre Pio would have preferred to suffer in secret, by early 1919, news about the stigmatic friar began to spread in the secular world. Padre Pio’s wounds were examined by many people, including physicians.[2] People who had started rebuilding their lives after World War, began to see in Padre Pio a symbol of hope.[9] Those close to him attest that he began to manifest several spiritual gifts including the gifts of healing, bilocation, levitation, prophecy, miracles, extraordinary abstinence from both sleep and nourishment (one account states that Padre Agostino recorded one instance in which Padre Pio was able to subsist for at least 20 days at Verafeno on only the Eucharist without any other nourishment), the ability to read hearts, the gift of tongues, the gift of conversions, and the fragrance from his wounds.
Controversies
It is claimed that no more than Anecdotal evidence supports Pio’s alleged mystical abilities, some of his bilocations are consistent with hallucinations and the supposed odor of sanctity was purported to be Eau de Cologne. He was never watched continuously to ensure that chemicals like carbolic acid or iodine were not used to prevent wounds healing, as has been claimed. Pio over many years wore fingerless gloves which concealed his wounds or prevented him having to tend the wounds, yet near his death Pio avoided covering his hands and there was no sign of injury.The founder of Milan's Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, friar, physician and psychologist Agostino Gemelli, who met Padre Pio once, for a few minutes, but was unable to examine his stigmata, concluded Padre Pio was "an ignorant and self-mutilating psychopath who exploited people's credulity." In short, he was accused of infractions against all three of his monastic vows: poverty, chastity and obedience. Agostino Gemelli also speculated that Padre Pio kept his wounds open with carbolic acid. As a result of the Gemelli assessment, the wounds were wrapped in cloth. According to believers, the bleeding continued for some 50 years until they closed within hours of his death.
On 29 July 1960, an Italian monsignore, Carlo Maccari, later to become the archbishop of Ancona, began yet another investigation on behalf of Pope John XXIII and the Holy Office. The 200-page report he compiled, though never published in full, is said to be devastatingly critical. Vatican gossip long had it that the “Maccari dossier” was an insuperable obstacle to Padre Pio’s sainthood. According to official Capuchin literature, however, Maccari later recanted and prayed to Padre Pio on his deathbed.
In 1940, Padre Pio began plans to open a hospital in San Giovanni Rotondo, to be named the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza or "Home to Relieve Suffering"; the hospital opened in 1956. Barbara Ward, a British humanitarian and journalist on assignment in Italy, played a major role in obtaining for this project a grant of $325,000 from the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA). In order that Padre Pio might directly supervise this project, Pope Pius XII, in 1957 granted him dispensation from his vow of poverty. Padre Pio's detractors used this project as another weapon to attack him, charging him with misappropriation of funds.
Padre Pio was subject to numerous investigations. Fearing local riots, a plan to transfer Padre Pio to another friary was dropped and a second plan was aborted when a riot almost happened. In the period from 1924 to 1931 the Holy See made various statements denying that the happenings in the life of Padre Pio were due to any divine cause. At one point, he was prevented from publicly performing his priestly duties, such as hearing confessions and saying Mass.
By 1933, the tide began to turn, with Pope Pius XI ordering the Holy See to reverse its ban on Padre Pio’s public celebration of Mass. The Pope said, "I have not been badly disposed toward Padre Pio, but I have been badly informed." In 1934, he was again allowed to hear confessions. He was also given honorary permission to preach despite never having taken the exam for the preaching licence. Pope Pius XII, who assumed the papacy in 1939, encouraged devotees to visit Padre Pio. According to a recent book, Pope John XXIII (1958–1963) apparently did not espouse the outlook of his predecessors, and wrote in 1960 of Padre Pio’s “immense deception." However, it was John XXIII's successor, Pope Paul VI, who, in the mid-1960s, firmly dismissed all accusations against Padre Pio.
Alleged supernatural phenomena
Padre Pio celebrating mass. His Mass would often last hours, as the
mystic received visions and experienced sufferings. Note the coverings
worn on his hands to cover his stigmata.
In 1947, Father Karol Józef Wojtyła, a young Polish priest who would later go on to become Pope John Paul II, visited Padre Pio, who heard his confession. Austrian Cardinal Alfons Stickler reported that Wojtyła confided to him that during this meeting Padre Pio told him he would one day ascend to "the highest post in the Church though further confirmation is needed." Cardinal Stickler further went on to say that Wojtyła believed that the prophecy was fulfilled when he became a Cardinal, not Pope, as has been reported in works of piety. (John Paul's secretary, Stanisław Dziwisz, denies the prediction, while George Weigel's biography Witness to Hope, which contains an account of the same visit, does not mention it)
According to oral tradition Bishop Wojtyła wrote to Padre Pio in 1962 to ask him to pray for Dr. Wanda Poltawska, a friend in Poland who was thought to be suffering from cancer. Later, what was thought to be Dr. Poltawska's cancer was found to be in Spontaneous remission; medical professionals were unable to offer an explanation for the phenomenon (see frequency of spontaneous remission).
Because of the unusual abilities Padre Pio possessed, the Holy See twice instituted investigations of the stories surrounding him. However, the Church has since formally approved his veneration with his canonization by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
In the 1999 book, Padre Pio: The Wonder Worker, a segment by Irish priest Malachy Gerard Carroll describes the story of Gemma de Giorgi, a Sicilian girl whose alleged blindness some believe was corrected during a visit to the Capuchin priest. Gemma, who was brought to San Giovanni Rotondo in 1947 by her grandmother, was born without pupils. During her trip to see Padre Pio, the little girl reportedly began to see objects including a steamboat and the sea. Gemma's grandmother did not believe the child had been healed.[ After Gemma forgot to ask Padre Pio for Grace during her Confession, her grandmother reportedly implored the priest to ask God to restore her sight. Padre Pio, according to Carroll, told her, "The child must not weep and neither must you for the child sees and you know she sees." The section goes on to say that oculists were unable to determine how she gained vision.
Padre Pio is alleged to have waged physical combat with Satan and his minions, similar to incidents described concerning St. John Vianney, from which he is said to have sustained extensive bruising. He is said to communicate with angels and grant favors and healings before any written or verbal request.
On the day of his death, mystic and Servant of God Maria Esperanza de Bianchini from Caracas, Venezuela reported that Padre Pio appeared to her in a vision and stated "I have come to say good-bye. My time has come. It is your turn." It is reported that her husband then watched as his wife's face transfigured into that of Padre Pio. On the following day, they heard of the death of Padre Pio. Witnesses claim to have seen Esperanza herself levitating during Mass and engaging in bilocation Padre Domenico da Cese a fellow Capuchin stigmatist reported that on Sunday, September 22, 1968 he saw Padre Pio kneeling in prayer before the Holy Face of Manoppello, although it was known that Padre Pio hadn't left his room.
Stigmata
Padre Pio showing the stigmata
His stigmata, regarded by some as evidence of holiness, was studied by physicians whose independence from the Church is not known. The observations were reportedly unexplainable and the wounds never became infected. His wounds healed once but reappeared. They were examined by Luigi Romanelli, chief physician of the City Hospital of Barletta, for about one year. Dr. Giorgio Festa, a private practitioner also examined them in 1920 and 1925. Professor Giuseppe Bastianelli, physician to Pope Benedict XV agreed that the wounds existed but made no other comment. Pathologist Dr. Amico Bignami of the University of Rome also observed the wounds but could make no diagnosis. Both Bignami and Dr. Giuseppe Sala commented on the unusually smooth edges of the wounds and lack of edema. Dr. Alberto Caserta took X-rays of the hands in 1954 and found no abnormality in the bone structure.
It was reputed, however, that his condition caused him great embarrassment, and most photographs show him with red mittens or black coverings on his hands and feet where the bleedings occurred. At Padre Pio's death in 1968, his body appeared unwounded, with no sign of scarring. Allegedly, there was a report that doctors who examined his body found it empty of all blood.
Those who have accused Padre Pio of faking his stigmata, both religious and non-religious, such as historian Sergio Luzzatto and others, claim that Padre Pio used carbolic acid to self-inflict the wounds. The sole piece of evidence for this is a single document found in the Vatican's archive — the testimony of a pharmacist at the San Giovanni Rotondo, Maria De Vito, from whom he ordered 4 grams of the acid. This letter was amongst the material gathered by those who disputed Padre Pio's stigmata at the time. According to De Vito, Padre Pio asked her to keep the order secret, saying it was to sterilise needles (he also asked for other things, such as Valda pastilles). The document was examined but dismissed by the Catholic Church during Padre Pio's beatification process.
One commentator expressed the belief that the Church likely dismissed the claims based on witnesses that stated the acid was in fact used for sterilization: "The boys had needed injections to fight the Spanish Flu which was raging at that time. Due to a shortage of doctors, Padres Paolino and Pio administered the shots, using carbolic acid as a sterilizing agent.”
Death
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| St. Pio of Pietrelcina Chapel, San Giovanni Rontondo, Italy |
Early in the morning of 23 September 1968, Padre Pio made his last confession and renewed his Franciscan vows. As was customary, he had his rosary in his hands, though he did not have the strength to say the Hail Marys aloud. Till the end, he repeated the words "Gesù, Maria" (Jesus, Mary). At around 2:30am, he said, "I see two mothers" (taken to mean his mother and Mary). At 2:30 a.m. he breathed his last in his cell in San Giovanni Rotondo with his last breath whispering, "Maria!"
His body was buried on 26 September in a crypt in the Church of Our Lady of Grace. His Requiem Mass was attended by over 100,000 people. He was often heard to say, "After my death I will do more. My real mission will begin after my death." The accounts of those who stayed with Padre Pio till the end state that the stigmata had completely disappeared without even leaving a scar. Only a red mark "as if drawn by a red pencil" remained on his side which then disappeared.
St. Pio of Pietrelcina is currently known as the patron saint of civil defense volunteers, after a group of 160 of them petitioned the Italian Bishops’ conference. The Bishops forwarded the request to the Vatican, which gave its approval to the designation. He is also “less officially” known as the patron saint of stress relief and the “January blues,” after the Catholic Enquiry Office in London proclaimed him as such. They designated the most depressing day of the year, identified as January 22, as Don’t Worry Be Happy day, in honor of Padre Pio’s famous advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”
Sainthood and later recognition
In 1982, the Holy See authorized the Archbishop of Manfredonia to open an investigation to discover whether Padre Pio should be considered a saint. The investigation went on for seven years, and in 1990 Padre Pio was declared a Servant of God, the first step in the progression to canonization.Beginning in 1990, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints debated how heroically Padre Pio had lived his life, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared him venerable. A discussion of the effects of his life on others followed, including the cure of an Italian woman, Consiglia de Martino, which had been associated with Padre Pio's intercession. In 1999, on the advice of the Congregation, John Paul II declared Padre Pio blessed.
After further consideration of Padre Pio's virtues and ability to do good even after his death, including discussion of another healing attributed to his intercession, the Pope declared Padre Pio a saint on 16 June 2002. Three hundred thousand people were estimated to have attended the canonization ceremony.
Padre Pio is one of only two saints who were priests living after the Second Vatican Council; the other being Saint Josemaria Escriva. Both priests had permission from the Pope to offer the traditional Latin Mass without any of the liturgical reforms that stemmed from the Council.
On 1 July 2004, Pope John Paul II dedicated the Padre Pio Pilgrimage Church in San Giovanni Rotondo to the memory of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina. A statue of Saint Pio in Messina, Sicily attracted attention in 2002 when it reportedly wept tears of blood. Padre Pio has become one of the world's most popular saints. There are more than 3,000 "Padre Pio Prayer Groups" worldwide, with three million members. There are parishes dedicated to Padre Pio in Vineland and Lavallette, New Jersey and Sydney, Australia, and there is a St. Padre Pio Shrine in Buena, New Jersey. A 2006 survey by the magazine Famiglia Cristiana found that more Italian Catholics pray to Padre Pio than to any other figure. This prayer, more properly understood as a request, is not to be confused with worship which the Catholic Church teaches is due only to God himself.
A statue of Padre Pio will be built on a hill near the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in the southern province of Puglia, Italy, close to the town where he is commemorated. The project will cost several million pounds, with the money to be raised from his devotees around the world. The statue will be coated in a special photovoltaic paint which will enable it to trap the sun's heat and produce solar energy, making it an "ecological" religious icon.
On 3 March 2008, the body of Saint Pio was exhumed from his crypt, 40 years after his death, so that his remains could be prepared for display. A church statement described the body as being in "fair condition". Archbishop Domenico D'Ambrosio, Papal legate to the shrine in San Giovanni Rotondo, stated "the top part of the skull is partly skeletal but the chin is perfect and the rest of the body is well preserved". Archbishop D’Ambrosio also confirmed in a communiqué that “the stigmata are not visible.” He went on to say that St. Pio's hands "looked like they had just undergone a manicure". It was hoped that morticians would be able to restore the face so that it will be recognizable. However, because of its deterioration, his face was covered with a lifelike silicone mask.
Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, celebrated Mass for 15,000 devotees on 24 April at the Shrine of Holy Mary of Grace, San Giovanni Rotondo, before the body went on display in a crystal, marble, and silver sepulcher in the crypt of the monastery. Padre Pio is wearing his brown Capuchin habit with a white silk stole embroidered with crystals and gold thread. His hands hold a large wooden cross. 800,000 pilgrims worldwide, mostly from Italy, made reservations to view the body up to December 2008, but only 7,200 people a day were able to file past the crystal coffin. Officials extended the display through September, 2009.
Saint Pio's remains were placed in the church of Saint Pio, which is beside San Giovanni Rotondo. In April 2010 they were moved to a special golden "Cripta".
References
- Ruffin, Bernard C. (1991). Padre Pio: The True Story. Our Sunday Visitor. pp. 444. ISBN 978-0-87973-673-6
- Gerhold, Ryan (2007-02-20). "The Second St. Francis". The Angelus: 12–18."Padre Pio the Man Part 1". http://www.ewtn.com/padrepio/man/biography.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Peluso, Paul (2002-06-17). "Back to Pietrelcina". Padre Pio Foundation. http://www.padrepio.com/app19.html. Retrieved 2012-09-20
- olan, Geraldine. Padre Pio A living Crucifix. Our Lady of Grace Capuchin Friary Editions. http://www.padrepio.org.uk/padrepiointro.html#EarlyYears. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Pelletier, Joseph A (2007-02-20). "PADRE PIO, MARY, AND THE ROSARY". Garabandal. http://www.garabandal.us/padre_maryrosary.html. Retrieved 2012-09-19
- Michael Freze (1989). They Bore the Wounds of Christ: The Mystery of the Sacred Stigmata. OSV Publishing. pp. 283–285. ISBN 0-87973-422-1.
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Today's Snippet II: The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204)
The Fourth Crusade
(1202–1204) was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled
Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204,
the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and sacked the Christian
(Eastern Orthodox) city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman
Empire (Byzantine Empire). This is seen as one of the final acts in the
Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic
Church, and a key turning point in the decline of the Empire and of
Christianity in the Near East. The crusaders established the Latin
Empire (1204–1261) and other "Latin" states in the Byzantine lands they
conquered. Byzantine resistance in unconquered sections of the empire
such as Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus ultimately liberated the capital
and overthrew the crusader states.
Background
Ayyubid Sultan Saladin had conquered most of the Frankish Kingdom of Jerusalem,
including the ancient city itself, in 1187. The Kingdom had been
established 88 years before after the capture and sack of Jerusalem by
the First Crusade.
The city was sacred to both Christians and Muslims and returning it to
Christian hands had been the express purpose of the First Crusade.
Saladin's was a Muslim dynasty, and his incorporation of Jerusalem into
his domains shocked and dismayed the Catholic countries of Western Europe. Pope Urban III literally died of the shock. The Crusader states had been reduced to three cities along the sea coast, Tyre, Tripoli, Antioch.
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) reclaimed much land for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the key towns of Acre and Jaffa,
but had failed to take Jerusalem. The Crusade had also been marked by a
significant escalation in long standing tension between the Germanic
princes of western Catholicism and the Byzantine Empire still centered on Constantinople.
The experiences of the first two Crusades had thrown into stark relief
the vast cultural differences between the two Christian civilizations.
The Latins (as the Byzantines called them because of their adherence to
the Latin Rite)
viewed the Byzantine preference for diplomacy and trade over war, as
duplicitous and degenerate, and their policy of tolerance and
assimilation towards Muslims as a corrupt betrayal of the faith. For
their part, the educated and wealthy Byzantines saw the Latins as
lawless, impious, covetous, blood-thirsty, undisciplined, and (quite
literally) unwashed. The leader of the Third Crusade Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa
openly plotted with the Serbs, Bulgars, Byzantine traitors, and even
the Muslim Seljuqs against the Empire and at one point even sought Papal
support for a Crusade against the Orthodox Byzantines.
The Third Crusade had also seized the breakaway Byzantine province of
Cyprus. But rather than return it to the Empire, Richard I of England
sold the island to the Knights Templar.
Barbarossa's army had quickly disintegrated and took ship back to
Europe after his death, leaving the English and French, who had come by
sea, to fight Saladin. In 1195, Henry VI, son and heir of Barbarossa,
sought to efface this humiliation by declaring a new Crusade and in the
summer of 1197 a large number of German knights and nobles, including
two Archbishops, nine bishops, five dukes and numerous other nobles
sailed for Palestine.
There they captured Siddon and Beirut, but news of Henry's death along
the way, sent many of the leaders quickly back to their estates in
Europe. Deserted by their leaders, the rank and file Crusaders panicked
before an Egyptian army and fled to their ships in Tyre.
Also
in 1195 Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was deposed by his brother
in a palace coup. Ascending as Alexios III Angelos, the new emperor had
his brother blinded
(a traditional punishment for treason) and imprisoned. Ineffectual on
the battlefield, Isaac had been an incompetent ruler who had let the
treasury dwindle, outsourced the navy to the Venetians, and distributed
military weapons and supplies as gifts to loyalists, fatally undermining
the Empire's defense.
But the new Emperor was to prove even worse. Anxious to shore-up his
position, he bankrupted the treasury. His attempts to secure the support
of border commanders undermined central authority. He neglected defense
and diplomacy completely and was reduced to plundering Imperial tombs
to meet expenses. His chief admiral and brother-in-law of the Empress,
Michael Stryphnos, reportedly sold the fleet's equipment down to the
nails to enrich himself.
The Crusade Begins
Pope
Innocent III succeeded to the papacy in 1198, and the preaching of a
new crusade became the goal of his pontificate, expounded in his bull Post miserabile.
His call was largely ignored by the European monarchs: the Germans were
struggling against Papal power, and England and France were still
engaged in warfare against each other. However, due to the preaching of
Fulk of Neuilly, a crusading army was finally organised at a tournament
held at Écry by Count Thibaut of Champagne in 1199. Thibaut was elected
leader, but he died in 1201 and was replaced by an Italian count,
Boniface of Montferrat.
Boniface and the other leaders sent envoys to Venice, Genoa,
and other city-states to negotiate a contract for transport to Egypt,
the object of their crusade; one of the envoys was the future historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin.
Genoa was uninterested, but in March 1201 negotiations were opened with
Venice, which agreed to transport 33,500 crusaders, a very ambitious
number. This agreement required a full year of preparation on the part
of the Venetians to build numerous ships and train the sailors who would
man them, all the while curtailing the city's commercial activities.
The crusading army was expected to comprise 4,500 knights (as well as 4,500 horses), 9,000 squires, and 20,000 foot-soldiers.
The
majority of the crusading army that set out from Venice in October 1202
originated from areas within France. It included men from Blois,
Champagne, Amiens, Saint-Pol, the Ile-de-France and Burgundy. Several
other regions of Europe sent substantial contingents as well, such as
Flanders and Montferrat. Other notable groups came from the Holy Roman
Empire, including the men under Bishop Martin of the Pairis Abbey and
Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt, together in alliance with the Venetian
soldiers and sailors led by the doge Enrico Dandolo. The crusade was to
be ready to sail on June 24, 1202 and make directly for the Ayyubid
capital, Cairo. This agreement was ratified by Pope Innocent, with a
solemn ban on attacks on Christian states.
Attack on Zara
As there was no binding agreement among the crusaders that all should
sail from Venice, many chose to sail from other ports, particularly Flanders, Marseilles, and Genoa.
By 1201 the bulk of the crusader army was collected at Venice, though
with far fewer troops than expected: 12,000 instead of 33,500. About
4-5,000 knights and 8,000 foot soldiers showed up.
The Venetians had performed their part of the agreement: there lay 50
war galleys and 450 transports—enough for three times the assembled
army. The
Venetians, under their aged and blind Doge Dandolo, would not let the
crusaders leave without paying the full amount agreed to, originally
85,000 silver marks.
The crusaders could only pay some 51,000 silver marks, and that only by
reducing themselves to extreme poverty. This was disastrous to the
Venetians, who had halted their commerce for a great length of time to
prepare this expedition. In addition to this about 14,000 men or as many
as 20-30,000 men (out of Venice's population of 60-100,000 people) were
needed to man the entire fleet, placing further strain on the Venetian
economy.
Dandolo
and the Venetians considered what to do with the crusade, too
small to pay its fee but disbanding it would lead to great shame upon
Venice as well as the loss of significant money and trading activities.
Following the Massacre of the Latins of Constantinople in 1182, the
ruling Angelos dynasty had expelled the Venetian merchant population
with the support of the Greek population.
These events gave the Venetians a hostile attitude towards Byzantium
but it remains unclear if Constantinople was always intended to be the
target and the issue remains under fierce debate today. Dandolo, who
joined the crusade during a public ceremony in the church of San Marco
di Venezia,
proposed that the crusaders pay their debts by intimidating many of the
local ports and towns down the Adriatic which would culminate in the
attack of the port of Zara in Dalmatia.
The city had been dominated economically by Venice throughout the 12th
century, but had rebelled in 1181 and allied with King Emeric of Hungary and Croatia.
Subsequent Venetian attacks were repulsed, and by 1202 the city was
economically independent, under the protection of the King.
The
Hungarian king was Catholic and had himself agreed to join the
Crusade (though this was mostly for political reasons, and he had made
no actual preparations to leave). Many of the Crusaders were opposed to
attacking Zara, and some, including a force led by the elder Simon de
Montfort, refused to participate altogether and returned home. While the
Papal legate to the Crusade, Cardinal Peter of Capua endorsed the move
as necessary to prevent the crusade's complete failure, Pope Innocent
III was alarmed at this development and wrote a letter to the Crusading
leadership threatening excommunication.
Historian Geoffrey Hindley's The Crusades mentions that in 1202 Pope Innocent III
forbade the Crusaders of Western Christendom from committing any
atrocious acts against their Christian neighbours, despite wanting to
secure papal authority over Byzantium.
This letter was concealed from the bulk of the army and the attack
proceeded. The citizens of Zara made reference to the fact that they
were fellow Catholics by hanging banners marked with crosses from their
windows and the walls of the city, but nevertheless the city fell after a
brief siege. When Innocent III heard of the sack he sent a letter to
the crusaders excommunicating them, and ordered them to return to their
holy vows and head for Jerusalem. Out of fear that this would dissolve
the army the leaders of the crusade decided not to inform the army of
this. In any event, Innocent shortly reconsidered his decision.
Regarding the Crusaders as having been blackmailed by the Venetians, he
rescinded the excommunications against all non-Venetians in the
expedition.
Boniface
of Montferrat, meanwhile, had left the fleet before it sailed from
Venice, to visit his cousin Philip of Swabia.
The reasons for his visit are a matter of debate; he may have realized
the Venetians' plans and left to avoid excommunication, or he may have
wanted to meet with the Byzantine prince Alexios IV Angelos, Philip's
brother-in-law and the son of the recently deposed Byzantine emperor
Isaac II Angelos.
Alexios IV had recently fled to Philip in 1201 but it is unknown
whether or not Boniface knew he was at Philip's court. There, Alexios IV
offered to pay the entire debt owed to the Venetians, give 200,000
silver marks to the Crusaders, 10,000 Byzantine professional troops for
the Crusade, the maintenance of 500 knights in the Holy Land, the
service of the Byzantine navy to transport the Crusader Army to Egypt
and the placement of the Eastern Orthodox Church under the authority of
the Pope if they would sail to Byzantium and topple the reigning emperor
Alexios III Angelos,
brother of Isaac II. It was a tempting offer for an enterprise that was
short on funds. Doge Dandolo was a fierce supporter of the plan,
however in his earlier capacity as an ambassador to Byzantium and
someone who knew the finer details of how Byzantine politics worked, it
is likely he knew the promises were false and there was no hope of any
Byzantine emperor raising the money promised, let alone raising the
troops and giving the church to the Holy See. Count Boniface agreed and
Alexios IV returned with the Marquess to rejoin the fleet at Corfu after
it had sailed from Zara. Most of the rest of the Crusade's leaders,
encouraged by bribes from Dandolo,
eventually accepted the plan as well. However, there were dissenters;
led by Reynold of Montmirail, those who refused to take part in the
scheme to attack Christiandom's greatest city sailed on to Syria.
The remaining fleet of 60 war galleys, 100 horse transports, and 50
large transports (the entire fleet was manned by 10,000 Venetian oarsmen
and marines) sailed in late April 1203. In addition, 300 siege engines were brought along on board the fleet.
Hearing of their decision, the Pope hedged and issued an order against
any more attacks on Christians unless they were actively hindering the
Crusader cause, but failed to condemn the scheme outright.
When the Fourth Crusade arrived at Constantinople, the city had a
population of 400,000 people, a garrison of 15,000 men (including 5,000 Varangians), and a fleet of 20 galleys.
The main objective of the Crusaders was to place Alexios IV on the
Byzantine throne so that they could receive the rich payments he had
promised them. Conon of Bethune delivered this ultimatum to the Lombard envoy sent by the Emperor Alexios III Angelos,
who was the pretender's uncle and had seized the throne from the
pretenders father Isaac II. The citizens of Constantinople were not
concerned with the cause of the deposed emperor and his exiled son;
hereditary right of succession had never been adopted by the empire and a
palace coup between brothers wasn't considered illegitimate in the way
it would have been in the West. First the crusaders attacked and were
repulsed from the cities of Chalcedon and Chrysopolis,
suburbs of the great city. They won a cavalry skirmish in which they
were outnumbered, defeating 500 Byzantines with just 80 Frankish
knights.
Siege of July 1203
To
take the city by force, the crusaders first needed to cross the
Bosphorus.
About 200 ships, horse transports and galleys would undertake to
deliver the crusading army across the narrow strait, where Alexios III
had lined up the Byzantine army in battle formation along the shore,
north of the suburb of Galata. The Crusaders' knights charged straight
out of the horse transports, and the Byzantine army fled south. The
Crusaders followed south, and attacked the Tower of Galata, which held
the northern end of the massive chain that blocked access to the Golden
Horn.
As they laid siege to the Tower, the Byzantines counterattacked with
some initial success. However, when the Crusaders rallied and the
Byzantines retreated to the Tower, the Crusaders were able to follow the
soldiers through the Gate, and took the Tower. The Golden Horn now lay
open to the Crusaders, and the Venetian fleet entered. The Crusaders
sailed alongside Constantinople with 10 galleys to display the would-be
Alexios IV, but from the walls of the city
the Byzantines taunted the puzzled crusaders, who had been led to
believe that the citizens would rise up to welcome young pretender
Alexios as a liberator.
On
July 11, the Crusaders took positions opposite the Palace of Blachernae
on the northwest corner of the city. Their first attempts were
repulsed, but on July 17, with four divisions attacking the land walls,
while the Venetian fleet attacked the sea walls from the Golden Horn,
the Venetians took a section of the wall of about 25 towers, while the
Varangian guard held off the Crusaders on the land wall. The Varangians
shifted to meet the new threat, and the Venetians retreated under the
screen of fire. The fire destroyed about 120 acres (0.49 km2) of the city and left some 20,000 people homeless.
Alexios III finally took offensive action, and led 17 divisions from
the St. Romanus Gate, vastly outnumbering the crusaders. Alexios III's
army of about 8,500 men faced the Crusader's seven divisions (about
3,500 men), but his courage failed, and the Byzantine army returned to
the city without a fight.
The unforced retreat and the effects of the fire greatly damaged
morale, and the disgraced Alexios III abandoned his subjects, slipping
out of the city and fleeing to Mosynopolis in Thrace.
The Imperial officials quickly deposed their runaway emperor and
restored Isaac II, robbing the Crusaders of the pretext for attack.
The Crusaders were now in the quandary of having achieved their stated
aim, but being debarred from the actual objective, namely the reward
that the younger Alexios had (unbeknownst to the Byzantines) promised
them. The Crusaders insisted that they would only recognize Isaac II's
authority if his son was raised to co-emperor and on August 1, he was
crowned Alexius IV, co-emperor.
Further attacks on Constantinople
Alexios IV realised that his promises were hard to keep. Alexios III
had managed to flee with 1,000 pounds of gold and some priceless jewels,
leaving the imperial treasury short on funds. At that point the young
emperor ordered the destruction and melting of valuable Byzantine and
Roman icons in order to extract their gold and silver, but even then he
could only raise 100,000 silver marks. In the eyes of all Greeks who
knew of this decision, it was a shocking sign of desperation and weak
leadership, which deserved to be punished by God. The Byzantine
historian Nicetas Choniates characterized it as "the turning point towards the decline of the Roman state."
Forcing the populace to destroy their icons at the behest of an army
of foreign schismatics did not endear Alexios IV to the citizens of
Constantinople. In fear of his life, the co-emperor asked the Crusaders
to renew their contract for another six months, to end by April 1204.
There was, nevertheless, still fighting in the city. In August 1203 the
crusaders attacked a mosque
(Constantinople at this time had a sizable Muslim population), which
was defended by a combined Muslim and Byzantine opposition. Meanwhile,
Alexios IV had led 6,000 men from the Crusader army against his rival
Alexios III in Adrianople.
On
the second attempt of the Venetians to set up a wall of fire to
aid their escape, they instigated the "Great Fire", in which a large
part of Constantinople was burned down. Opposition to Alexios IV grew,
and one of his courtiers, Alexios Doukas (nicknamed 'Mourtzouphlos'
because of his thick eyebrows), soon overthrew him and had him strangled
to death in January 1204. Alexios Doukas took the throne himself as
Alexios V; Isaac also died in January 1204, probably of natural causes.
The crusaders and Venetians, incensed at the murder of their supposed
patron, demanded that Mourtzouphlos honour the contract which Alexios
IV had promised. When the Byzantine emperor refused, the Crusaders
assaulted the city once again. On April 8, Alexios V's army put up a
strong resistance which did much to discourage the crusaders.
The Byzantines hurled enormous projectiles onto the enemy siege
engines, shattering many of them. A serious hindrance to the crusaders
was bad weather conditions. Wind blew from the shore and prevented most
of the ships from drawing close enough to the walls to launch an
assault. Only five of the wall's towers were actually engaged and none
of these could be secured; by mid-afternoon it was evident that the
attack had failed.
The Latin clergy discussed the situation amongst themselves and
settled upon the message they wished to spread through the demoralised
army. They had to convince the men that the events of 9 April were not
God's judgment on a sinful enterprise: the campaign, they argued, was
righteous and with proper belief it would succeed. The concept of God
testing the determination of the Crusaders through temporary setbacks
was a familiar means for the clergy to explain failure in the course of a
campaign.
The clergy's message was designed to reassure and encourage the
Crusaders. Their argument that the attack on Constantinople was
spiritual revolved around two themes. First, the Greeks were traitors
and murderers since they had killed their rightful lord, Alexios IV.
The churchmen used inflammatory language and claimed that "the Greeks
were worse than the Jews", and they invoked the authority of God and the
pope to take action.
Although Innocent III had again demanded that they not attack, the
papal letter was suppressed by the clergy, and the Crusaders prepared
for their own attack, while the Venetians attacked from the sea; Alexios
V's army stayed in the city to fight, along with the imperial
bodyguard, the Varangians, but Alexios V himself fled during the night.
Sack of Constantinople
Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204
On April 12, 1204, the weather conditions finally favoured the
Crusaders. A strong northern wind aided the Venetian ships in coming
close to the walls. After a short battle, approximately seventy
Crusaders managed to enter the city. Some Crusaders were eventually able
to knock holes in the walls, large enough for only a few knights at a
time to crawl through; the Venetians were also successful at scaling the
walls from the sea, though there was extremely bloody fighting with the
Varangians. The crusaders captured the Blachernae
section of the city in the northwest and used it as a base to attack
the rest of the city, but while attempting to defend themselves with a
wall of fire, they ended up burning down even more of the city. This
second fire left 15,000 people homeless. The Crusaders completely took the city on April 13.
The crusaders inflicted a horrible and savage sacking on
Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient and medieval
Roman and Greek works were either stolen or destroyed. The magnificent Library of Constantinople
was destroyed. Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication,
the Crusaders ruthlessly and systematically violated the city's churches
and monasteries, destroying, defiling, or stealing all they could lay
hands on; nothing was spared. It was said that the total amount looted
from Constantinople was about 900,000 silver marks. The Venetians
received 150,000 silver marks that was their due, while the Crusaders
received 50,000 silver marks. A further 100,000 silver marks were
divided evenly up between the Crusaders and Venetians. The remaining
500,000 silver marks were secretly kept back by many Crusader knights.
Speros Vryonis in Byzantium and Europe gives a vivid account of the sack:
The Latin soldiery subjected the greatest city in Europe to an
indescribable sack. For three days they murdered, raped, looted and
destroyed on a scale which even the ancient Vandals and Goths would have
found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of
ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that
the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians
had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were
themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others
destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine,
violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented
their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the
greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver iconostasis,
the icons and the holy books of Hagia Sophia,
and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as
they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of
East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the
horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople. The
Greeks were convinced that even the Turks, had they taken the city,
would not have been as cruel as the Latin Christians. The defeat of
Byzantium, already in a state of decline, accelerated political
degeneration so that the Byzantines eventually became an easy prey to
the Turks. The Crusading movement thus resulted, ultimately, in the
victory of Islam, a result which was of course the exact opposite of its
original intention.
When
Innocent III heard of the conduct of his pilgrims he was filled with
shame and rage, and strongly rebuked them. According to a subsequent
treaty, the empire was apportioned between Venice and the crusade's
leaders, and the Latin Empire
of Constantinople was established. Boniface was not elected as the new
emperor, although the citizens seemed to consider him as such; the
Venetians thought he had too many connections with the former empire
because of his brother, Renier of Montferrat, who had been married to
Maria Komnene, empress in the 1170s and 80s. Instead they placed Baldwin
of Flanders on the throne. Boniface went on to found the Kingdom of
Thessalonica, a vassal state of the new Latin Empire. The Venetians also
founded the Duchy of the Archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Meanwhile,
Byzantine refugees founded their own successor states, the most notable
of these being the Empire of Nicaea under Theodore Laskaris (a relative
of Alexios III), the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus.
Outcome
Almost none of the crusaders ever made it to the Holy Land, and the unstable Latin Empire
siphoned off much of Europe's crusading energy. The legacy of the
Fourth Crusade was the deep sense of betrayal the Latins had instilled
in their Greek coreligionists. With the events of 1204, the schism
between the Church in the West and East was not just complete but also
solidified. As an epilogue to the event, Pope Innocent III, the man who
had unintentionally launched the ill-fated expedition, thundered against
the crusaders thus:
How, indeed, will the church of the Greeks, no matter how severely she is beset with afflictions and persecutions, return into ecclesiastical union and to a devotion for the Apostolic See, when she has seen in the Latins only an example of perdition and the works of darkness, so that she now, and with reason, detests the Latins more than dogs? As for those who were supposed to be seeking the ends of Jesus Christ, not their own ends, who made their swords, which they were supposed to use against the pagans, drip with Christian blood, they have spared neither religion, nor age, nor sex. They have committed incest, adultery, and fornication before the eyes of men. They have exposed both matrons and virgins, even those dedicated to God, to the sordid lusts of boys. Not satisfied with breaking open the imperial treasury and plundering the goods of princes and lesser men, they also laid their hands on the treasures of the churches and, what is more serious, on their very possessions. They have even ripped silver plates from the altars and have hacked them to pieces among themselves. They violated the holy places and have carried off crosses and relics.
Nevertheless, the Pope's negative reaction was short-lived. When the
crusaders took the piles of money, jewels, and gold that they had
captured in the sack of Constantinople back to Rome, Innocent III
welcomed the stolen items and agreed to let the crusaders back into the
Church. Furthermore at the Fourth Council of the Lateran
the Pope welcomed and recognised to it western (Catholic) prelates from
Sees established in the conquered lands—thus recognising their
legitimacy over formerly Orthodox areas.
The
Latin Empire was soon faced with a great number of enemies, which
the crusaders had not taken into account. Besides the individual
Byzantine Greek states in Epirus and Nicaea, the Empire received great
pressure from the Seljuk Sultanate and the Bulgarian Empire.
The Greek states were fighting for supremacy against both Latins and
each other. Almost every Greek and Latin protagonist of the event was
killed shortly after. Murtzuphlus' betrayal by Alexius III
led to his capture by the Latins and his execution at Constantinople in
1205. Not long after, Alexius III was himself captured by Boniface and
sent to exile in Southern Italy; he died in Nicaea in 1211. On 14 April
1205, one year after the conquest of the city, Emperor Baldwin was
decisively defeated and captured at the Battle of Adrianople by the
Bulgarians; he was executed by the Bulgarian Emperor Kaloyan
in 1205 or 1206. Two years after that, on 4 September 1207, Boniface
himself was killed in an ambush by the Bulgarians, and his head was sent
to Kaloyan. He was succeeded by his infant son Demetrius of Montferrat,
who ruled until he reached adulthood, but was eventually defeated by
Theodore I Ducas, the despot of Epirus and a relative of Murtzuphlus,
and thus the Kingdom of Thessalonica was restored to Byzantine rule in
1224.
Various Latin-French lordships throughout Greece—in particular, the duchy of Athens and the principality of the Morea—provided
cultural contacts with western Europe and promoted the study of Greek.
There was also a French cultural work, notably the production of a
collection of laws, the Assises de Romanie (Assizes of Greece).
The Chronicle of Morea appeared in both French and Greek (and later
Italian and Aragonese) versions. Impressive remains of crusader castles
and Gothic churches
can still be seen in Greece. Nevertheless, the Latin Empire always
rested on shaky foundations. The city was re-captured by the Nicaean
Greeks under Michael VIII Palaeologus in 1261, and commerce with Venice
was re-established.
In
an ironic series of events, during the middle of the 15th century, the
Latin Church (Roman Catholic Church)
tried to organise a new crusade which aimed at the restoration of the
Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire which was gradually being torn down by
the advancing Ottoman Turks. The attempt, however, failed, as the vast
majority of the Byzantine civilians and a growing part of their clergy
refused to recognize and accept the short-lived near Union of the
Churches of East and West signed at the Council of Florence and Ferrara
by the Ecumenical patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople.
The Greek population, inspired by aversion from the Latins and the
Western states, held that the Byzantine civilization which revolved
around the Orthodox faith would be more secure under Ottoman Islamic
rule. Overall, religious-observant Byzantines preferred to sacrifice
their political freedom and political independence in order to preserve
their faith's traditions and rituals in separation from the Roman See.
In the late 14th and early 15th century, two kinds of crusades were
finally organised by the Kingdoms of Hungary, Poland, Wallachia and
Serbia. Both of them were checked by the Ottoman Empire. During the
Ottoman siege of Constantinople in 1453, a significant band of Venetian
and Genoese knights died in the defence of the city.
Legacy
"O City, City, eye of all cities, universal boast, supramundane
wonder, nurse of churches, leader of the faith, guide of Orthodoxy,
beloved topic of orations, the abode of every good thing! Oh City, that
hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury! O City, consumed
by fire..."
Niketas Choniates laments the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders.
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| The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople |
The prominent medievalist Steven Runciman, writing in 1954, stated that "There was never a greater crime against humanity than the Fourth Crusade." The controversy that has surrounded the Fourth Crusade has led to diverging opinions in academia on whether its objective was indeed the capture of Constantinople. The traditional position, which holds that this was the case, was challenged by Thomas F. Madden and Donald E. Queller in 1977 in their book, The Fourth Crusade.
Constantinople was considered as a bastion of Christianity that
defended Europe from the advancing forces of Islam, and the Fourth
Crusade's sack of the city dealt a possibly fatal blow to this Eastern
bulwark. Although the Greeks would go on to retake Constantinople and
restore the Byzantine Empire, their power had been seriously weakened in
the chaos unleashed by the Crusade, leaving them easy prey for the
Ottoman Turks who conquered the city for good in 1453.
Eight
hundred years after the Fourth Crusade, Pope John Paul II twice
expressed sorrow for the events of the Fourth Crusade. In 2001, he wrote
to Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens,
saying, "It is tragic that the assailants, who set out to secure free
access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their brothers in
the faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics
with deep regret." In
2004, while Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople, was visiting the
Vatican, John Paul II asked, "How can we not share, at a distance of
eight centuries, the pain and disgust."
This has been regarded as an apology to the Greek Orthodox Church for
the terrible slaughter perpetrated by the warriors of the Fourth
Crusade.
In
April 2004, in a speech on the 800th anniversary of the city's
capture, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I formally accepted the
apology. "The spirit of reconciliation is stronger than hatred," he said
during a liturgy attended by Roman Catholic Archbishop Philippe
Barbarin
of Lyon, France. "We receive with gratitude and respect your cordial
gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade. It is a fact that a
crime was committed here in the city 800 years ago." Bartholomew said
his acceptance came in the spirit of Pascha. "The spirit of
reconciliation of the resurrection... incites us toward reconciliation
of our churches."
The
Fourth Crusade was one of the last of the major crusades to be
launched by the Papacy, though it quickly fell out of Papal control.
After bickering between laymen and the papal legate led to the collapse
of the Fifth Crusade, later crusades were directed by individual
monarchs, mostly against Egypt. Only one subsequent crusade, the Sixth,
succeeded in restoring Jerusalem to Christian rule, and then only for a
short time. The Crusades, as it seems, became politically and
economically expedient for Crusaders who were more inclined to follow an
ambitious, worldly conscience rather than a spiritual one.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Nicetas Choniates, The Sack of Constantinople
- Robert of Clari, The Conquest of Constantinople (see also excerpts from another translation)
- The Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders (excerpts from several contemporary accounts)
- The Fourth Crusade 1204: Collected Sources (excerpts from several contemporary accounts)
- Geoffrey de Villehardouin, Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople
- Pope Innocent III, Reprimand of Papal Legate
- Chronicle of Morea
Secondary sources
- "Crusades". Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.
- Angold, Michael, The Fourth Crusade, Harlow: Pearson, 2003
- Charles Brand. Byzantium Confronts the West, 1180–1204, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1968
- Godfrey, John. 1204: The Unholy Crusade. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980
- Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades, London: Hambledonm and London, 2003
- Harris, Jonathan, 'Collusion with the infidel as a pretext for military action against Byzantium', in Clash of Cultures: the Languages of Love and Hate, ed. S. Lambert and H. Nicholson, Turnhout: Brepols, 2012, pp. 99–117
- Hindley, Geoffrey. The Crusades: A History of Armed Pilgrimage and Holy War. New York, NY: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2003. New edition: The Crusades: Islam and Christianity in the Struggle for World Supremacy. New York, NY: Carroll and Graf Publishers, 2004.
- Lilie, Ralph-Johannes. Byzantium and the Crusader States, 1096–1204. Translated by J. C. Morris and Jean E. Ridings. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993; originally published in 1988.
- Madden, Thomas F. (2003). Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-7317-1.
- Madden, Thomas F., and Donald E. Queller. The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1997
- Marin, Serban. A Humanist Vision regarding the Fourth Crusade and the State of the Assenides. The Chronicle of Paul Ramusio (Paulus Rhamnusius), Annuario del Istituto Romano di Cultura e Ricerca Umanistica vol. 2 (2000), pp. 51–57.
- McNeal, Edgar, and Robert Lee Wolff. The Fourth Crusade, in A History of the Crusades (edited by Kenneth M. Setton and others), vol. 2, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1962
- Nicol, Donald M. Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
- Noble, Peter S. Eyewitnesses of the Fourth Crusade – the War against Alexius III, Reading Medieval Studies v.25, 1999.
- Phillips, Jonathan. The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople. New York: Viking, 2004. ISBN 978-0-14-303590-9.
- Queller, Donald E. The Latin Conquest of Constantinople. New York, NY; London, U.K.; Sydney, NSW; Toronto, ON: John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1971.
- Queller, Donald E., and Susan J. Stratton. "A Century of Controversy on the Fourth Crusade", in Studies in Medieval and Renaissance History v. 6 (1969): 237–277; reprinted in Donald E. Queller, Medieval Diplomacy and the Fourth Crusade. London: Variorum Reprints, 1980.
- Thomas F. Madden. Crusades: The Illustrated History
Further reading
- Angold, Michael. The Fourth Crusade: Event and Context. Harlow, NY: Longman, 2003.
- Bartlett, W. B. An Ungodly War: The Sack of Constantinople and the Fourth Crusade. Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2000.
- Harris, Jonathan Byzantium and the Crusades. London and New York: Hambledon and London, 2003. ISBN 978-1-85285-298-6.
- Harris, Jonathan, "The problem of supply and the sack of Constantinople", in The Fourth Crusade Revisited, ed. Pierantonio Piatti, Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2008, pp. 145–54. ISBN 978-88-209-8063-4.
- Kazdhan, Alexander “Latins and Franks in Byzantium”, in Angeliki E. Laiou and Roy Parviz Mottahedeh (eds.), The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2001: 83–100.
- Kolbaba, Tia M. “Byzantine Perceptions of Latin Religious ‘Errors’: Themes and Changes from 850 to 1350”, in Angeliki E. Laiou and Roy Parviz Mottahedeh (eds.), The Crusades from the Perspective of Byzantium and the Muslim World Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2001: 117–143.
- Nicolle, David. The Fourth Crusade 1202–04: The betrayal of Byzantium, Osprey Campaign Series #237. Osprey Publishing. 2011. ISBN 978-1-84908-319-5
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Today's Snippet III: The 54 Day Novena
Start: Monday August 15, 2016 - Feast of the Assumption
Finish: Friday, October 7, 2016 - the Feast of our Lady of the Rosary
Duration: 54 consectuvite days of 3 novenas of petition (27 days) followed by 3 novenas of thanksgiving (27 days). Only Joyful, Sorrowful, Glorious Mysteries are recited in order, daily as taught in original novena of 1884. NOTE: The Luminous mysteris are NOT included in this novena.
Intentions: Worldwide Conversion, Our Nation, and World Peace
Intentions: Worldwide Conversion, Our Nation, and World Peace
How to Recite the 54-Day Rosary Novena
Traditionally a novena is nine days. Thus, Our Lady’s words to young Fortuna, “make three novenas of the prayers of the Rosary in petition, and three novenas in thanksgiving.”
The novena consists of five decades of the Rosary (one set of mysteries) each day for twenty-seven days in petition; then immediately five decades each day for an additional twenty-seven days in thanksgiving, regardless of whether or not the request has been granted yet.
So began six novenas of Rosaries, which became known as the 54-day Rosary Novena.
To do the novena properly one must pray the Rosary for 54 consecutive days, without missing a day, and must pray the particular Mystery indicated for that day following the correct sequence.
That is, the first day of the novena always begins with the Joyful Mysteries (regardless of what day of the week the novena is started); the second day, the Sorrowful Mysteries are prayed; and the third day of the novena, the Glorious Mysteries are prayed. The fourth day of the novena begins again with the Joyful Mysteries and continues on in that sequence throughout the 54 days of the novena.
The 54 day novena starts on Monday, August 15, 2015 on the Feast of the Assumption with the Joyful Mysteries. Below are included the opening petition and thanksgiving prayers for each Mystery.
Opening prayer s for Joyful Mysteries
In petition:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses snow white buds to remind thee of thy joys each bud recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, Dispenser of God's graces. and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Opening Prayers for Sorrowful Mysteries
In petition:Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses blood red roses to remind thee of the passion of thy divine Son, with Whom thou didst so fully partake of its bitterness each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou hast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Opening Prayers for Glorious Mysteries
In petition:
Hail, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I humbly kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God's graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! Thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my petition; from thy bounty thou wilt give me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly seek. I despair of nothing that I ask of thee. Show thyself my Mother!
In thanksgiving:
Hail!, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, my Mother Mary, hail! At thy feet I gratefully kneel to offer thee a Crown of Roses full blown white roses, tinged with the red of the passion, to remind thee of thy glories, fruits of the sufferings of thy Son and thee each rose recalling to thee a holy mystery; each ten bound together with my petition for a particular grace. O Holy Queen, dispenser of God s graces, and Mother of all who invoke thee! thou canst not look upon my gift and fail to see its binding. As thou receivest my gift, so wilt thou receive my thanksgiving; from thy bounty thou bast given me the favor I so earnestly and trustingly sought. I despaired not of what I asked of thee, and thou hast truly shown thyself my Mother.
Indulgencies
Made by the Blessed Virgin to St. Dominic and Blessed Alan.
1. To all those who will recite my Rosary devoutly, I promise my special protection and very great
graces.
2. Those who will persevere in the recitation of my Rosary shall receive some signal grace.
3. The Rosary shall be a very powerful armor against hell; it shall destroy vice, deliver from sin, and shall dispel heresy.
4. The Rosary shall make virtue and good works flourish, and shall obtain for souls the most abundant divine mercies; it shall substitute in hearts love of God for love of the world, elevate them to desire heavenly and eternal goods. Oh, that souls would sanctify themselves by this means!
5. Those who trust themselves to me through the Rosary, shall not perish.
6. Those who will recite my Rosary piously, considering its Mysteries, shall not be overwhelmed
by misfortune nor die a bad death. The sinner shall be converted; the just shall grow in grace and
become worthy of eternal life.
7. Those truly devoted to my Rosary shall not die without the consolations of the Church, or without
grace.
8. Those who will recite my Rosary shall find during their life and at their death the light of God, the fullness of His grace, and shall share in the merits of the blessed.
9. I will deliver very promptly from purgatory the souls devoted to my Rosary.
10. The true children of my Rosary shall enjoy great glory in heaven.
11. What you ask through my Rosary, you shall obtain.
12. Those who propagate my Rosary shall obtain through me aid in all their necessities.
13. I have obtained from my Son that all the confrères of the Rosary shall have for their brethren in life and death the saints of heaven.
14. Those who recite my Rosary faithfully are all my beloved children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.
15. Devotion to my Rosary is a special sign of predestination.
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Snippet IV: Devotion to The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
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| Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Scapular |
The Sacred Heart (also known as Most Sacred Heart of Jesus) is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of his divine love for humanity.
This devotion is predominantly used in the Catholic Church and among some high-church Anglicans and Lutherans. The devotion especially emphasizes the unmitigated love, compassion, and long-suffering of the heart of Christ towards humanity. The origin of this devotion in its modern form is derived from a French Roman Catholic nun, Marguerite Marie Alacoque, who said she learned the devotion from Jesus during a mystical experience. Predecessors to the modern devotion arose unmistakably in the Middle Ages in various facets of Catholic mysticism.
In the Roman Catholic tradition, the Sacred Heart has been closely associated with Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ. In his encyclical Miserentissimus Redemptor, Pope Pius XI stated: "the spirit of expiation or reparation has always had the first and foremost place in the worship given to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus". The Golden Arrow Prayer directly refers to the Sacred Heart. Devotion to the Sacred Heart is sometimes seen in the Eastern Catholic Churches, where it remains a point of controversy and is seen as an example of Liturgical Latinisation.
The Sacred Heart is often depicted in Christian art as a flaming heart shining with divine light, pierced by the lance-wound, encircled by the crown of thorns, surmounted by a cross and bleeding. Sometimes the image shown shining within the bosom of Christ with his wounded hands pointing at the heart. The wounds and crown of thorns allude to the manner of Jesus' death, while the fire represents the transformative power of divine love.
The Feast of the Sacred Heart has been in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar since 1856, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.
History of Devotion
Early devotion
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| Sacred Heart of Jesus Ibarrará, 1896 |
From the time of John the Evangelist and Paul of Tarsus there has always been in the Church something like devotion to the love of God, but there is nothing to indicate that, during the first ten centuries of Christianity, any worship was rendered to the wounded Heart of Jesus. It is in the eleventh and twelfth centuries that the first indications of devotion to the Sacred Heart are found. It was in the fervent atmosphere of the Benedictine or Cistercian monasteries, in the world of Anselmian or Bernardine thought, that the devotion arose, although it is impossible to say positively what were its first texts or who were its first devotees. It was already well known to St. Gertrude, St. Mechtilde, and the author of the Vitis mystica (previously ascribed to St. Bernard, now attributed to St. Bonaventure).
From the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries, the devotion was propagated but it did not seem to have developed in itself. It was everywhere practised by individuals and by different religious congregations, such as the Franciscans, Dominicans, Carthusians, etc. It was, nevertheless, a private, individual devotion of the mystical order. Nothing of a general movement had been inaugurated, except for similarities found in the devotion to the Five Wounds by the Franciscans, in which the wound in Jesus's heart figured most prominently.
In the sixteenth century, the devotion passed from the domain of mysticism into that of Christian asceticism. It was established as a devotion with prayers already formulated and special exercises, found in the writings of Lanspergius (d. 1539) of the Carthusians of Cologne, the Louis of Blois (Blosius; 1566), a Benedictine and Abbot of Liessies in Hainaut, John of Avila (d. 1569) and St. Francis de Sales, the latter belonging to the seventeenth century.
The historical record from that time shows an early bringing to light of the devotion. Ascetic writers spoke of it, especially those of the Society of Jesus. The image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was everywhere in evidence, largely due to the Franciscan devotion to the Five Wounds and to the habit formed by the Jesuits of placing the image on their title-page of their books and the walls of their churches.
Nevertheless, the devotion remained an individual, or at least a private, devotion. Jean Eudes (1602–1680) made it public, gave it an Office, and established a feast for it. Père Eudes was the apostle of the Heart of Mary; but in his devotion to the Immaculate Heart there was a share for the Heart of Jesus. Little by little, the devotion to the Sacred Heart became a separate one, and on August 31, 1670, the first feast of the Sacred Heart was celebrated in the Grand Seminary of Rennes. Coutances followed suit on October 20, a day with which the Eudist feast was from then on to be connected. The feast soon spread to other dioceses, and the devotion was likewise adopted in various religious communities. It gradually came into contact with the devotion begun at Paray, and resulting in a fusion of the two.
Visions of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
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| St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Giaquinto 1765 |
The most significant source for the devotion to the Sacred Heart in the form it is known today was Visitandine Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647–1690), who claimed to have received visions of Jesus Christ. There is nothing to indicate that she had known the devotion prior to the revelations, or at least that she had paid any attention to it. The revelations were numerous, and the following apparitions are especially remarkable:
- On December 27, probably 1673, the feast of St. John, Margaret Mary reported that Jesus permitted her, as he had formerly allowed St. Gertrude, to rest her head upon his heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of his love, telling her that he desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of his goodness, and that he had chosen her for this work.
- In probably June or July, 1674, Margaret Mary claimed that Jesus requested to be honored under the figure of his heart, also claiming that, when he appeared radiant with love, he asked for a devotion of expiatory love: frequent reception of Communion, especially Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of the Holy Hour.
- During the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675, probably on June 16, the vision known as the "great apparition" reportedly took place, where Jesus said, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men ... instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude ...", and asked Margaret Mary for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult her confessor Father Claude de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray. Solemn homage was asked on the part of the king, and the mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the religious of the Visitation and to the priests of the Society of Jesus.
A few days after the "great apparition", Margaret Mary reported everything she saw to Father de la Colombière, and he, acknowledging the vision as an action of the Spirit of God, consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart and directed her to write an account of the apparition. He also made use of every available opportunity to circulate this account, discreetly, through France and England. Upon his death on February 15, 1682, there was found in his journal of spiritual retreats a copy in his own handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account and an "offering" to the Sacred Heart, in which the devotion was well explained, was published at Lyons in 1684. The little book was widely read, especially at Paray. Margaret Mary reported feeling "dreadful confusion" over the book's contents, but resolved to make the best of it, approving of the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Outside of the Visitandines, priests, religious, and laymen espoused the devotion, particularly the Capuchins, Margaret Mary's two brothers, and some Jesuits. The Jesuit Father Croiset wrote a book called The Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a book which Jesus is said to have told Margaret to tell Fr. Croiset to write, and Fr. Joseph de Gallifet, also a Jesuit, promoted the devotion.
Papal Approvals
The Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart was a nun from Sisters of the Good Shepherd Congregation who requested, in the name of Christ Himself, to Pope Leo XIII that he consecrate the entire World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The death of Margaret Mary Alacoque on October 17, 1690, did not dampen the zeal of those interested; on the contrary, a short account of her life published by Father Croiset in 1691, as an appendix to his book "De la Dévotion au Sacré Cœur", served only to increase it. In spite of all sorts of obstacles, and of the slowness of the Holy See, which in 1693 imparted indulgences to the Confraternities of the Sacred Heart and, in 1697, granted the feast to the Visitandines with the Mass of the Five Wounds, but refused a feast common to all, with special Mass and Office. The devotion spread, particularly in religious communities. The Marseilles plague, 1720, furnished perhaps the first occasion for a solemn consecration and public worship outside of religious communities. Other cities of the South followed the example of Marseilles, and thus the devotion became a popular one. In 1726 it was deemed advisable once more to importune Rome for a feast with a Mass and Office of its own, but, in 1729, Rome again refused. However, in 1765, it finally yielded and that same year, at the request of the queen, the feast was received quasi-officially by the episcopate of France. On all sides it was asked for and obtained, and finally, in 1856, at the urgent entreaties of the French bishops, Pope Pius IX extended the feast to the Roman Catholic Church under the rite of double major. In 1889 it was raised by the Roman Catholic Church to the double rite of first class.
After the letters of Mother Mary of the Divine Heart (1863–1899) requesting, in the name of Christ Himself, to Pope Leo XIII consecrate the entire World to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Holy Father commissions a group of theologians to examine the petition on the basis of revelation and sacred tradition. This investigation was positive. And so in the encyclical letter Annum Sacrum (on May 25, 1899) this same pope decreed that the consecration of the entire human race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus should take place on June 11, 1899. In this encyclical letter the Pope attached Later Pope Leo XIII encouraged the entire Roman Catholic episcopate to promote the devotion of the Nine First Fridays and he established June as the Month of the Sacred Heart. Leo XIII also composed the Prayer of Consecration to the Sacred Heart and included it in Annum Sacrum.
Pope Pius X decreed that the consecration of the human race, performed by Pope Leo XIII be renewed each year. Pope Pius XI in his encyclical letter Miserentissimus Redemptor (on May 8, 1928) affirmed the Church's position with respect to Saint Margaret Mary's visions of Jesus Christ by stating that Jesus had "manifested Himself" to Saint Margaret and had "promised her that all those who rendered this honor to His Heart would be endowed with an abundance of heavenly graces." The encyclical refers to the conversation between Jesus and Saint Margaret several times[2] and reaffirmed the importance of consecration and reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Finally, Venerable Pope Pius XII, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Pope Pius IX's institution of the Feast, instructed the entire Roman Catholic Church at length on the devotion to the Sacred Heart in his encyclical letter Haurietis aquas (on May 15, 1956). On May 15, 2006, also Pope Benedict XVI sent a letter to Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus, on the 50th Anniversary of the encyclical Haurietis Aquas, about the Sacred Heart, by Pope Pius XII. In his letter to Father Kolvenbach, Pope Benedict XVI reaffirmed the importance of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Worship and Devotion
The Roman Catholic acts of consecration, reparation and devotion were introduced when the feast of the Sacred Heart was declared. In his Papal Bull Auctorem Fidei, Pope Pius VI praised devotion to the Sacred Heart. Finally, by order of Leo XIII, in his encyclical Annum Sacrum (May 25, 1899), as well as on June 11, he consecrated every human to the Sacred Heart. The idea of this act, which Leo XIII called "the great act" of his pontificate, had been proposed to him by a religious woman of the Good Shepherd from Oporto (Portugal) who said that she had supernaturally received it from Jesus. Since c. 1850, groups, congregations, and States have consecrated themselves to the Sacred Heart. In 1873, by petition of president Gabriel García Moreno, Ecuador was the first country in the world to be consecrated to the Sacred Heart, fulfilling God's petition to Saint Margaret Mary over two hundred years later.
Peter Coudrin of France founded the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary on December 24, 1800. A religious order of the Roman Catholic Church, the order is best known for its missionary work in Hawaii. Mother Clelia Merloni from Forlì (Italy) founded the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Viareggio, Italy, May 30, 1894. Worship of the Sacred Heart mainly consists of several hymns, the Salutation of the Sacred Heart, and the Litany of the Sacred Heart. It is common in Roman Catholic services and occasionally is to be found in Anglican services. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is a solemnity in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, and is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. As Pentecost is always celebrated on Sunday, the Feast of the Sacred Heart always falls on a Friday.
The Enthronement of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic ceremony in which a priest or head of a household consecrates the members of the household to the Sacred Heart. A blessed image of the Sacred Heart, either a statue or a picture, is then "enthroned" in the home to serve as a constant reminder to those who dwell in the house of their consecration to the Sacred Heart. The practice of the Enthronement is based upon Pope Pius XII's declaration that devotion to the Sacred of Jesus is "the foundation on which to build the kingdom of God in the hearts of individuals, families, and nations..."
Alliance with the Immaculate Heart of Mary
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church, prior to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.
In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Labouré's Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, e.g. in the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximillian Kolbe and in the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.
Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged the joint devotion to the hearts. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart. In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.
The Miraculous Medal
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| The Miraculous Medal |
The Sacred Heart has also been involved in (and been depicted) in saintly apparitions such as those to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 and appears on the Miraculous Medal.
On the Miraculous Medal, the Sacred Heart is crowned with thorns. The Immaculate Heart of Mary also appears on the medal, next to the Sacred Heart, but is pierced by a sword, rather than being crowned with thorns. The M on the medal signifies the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified.
Religious imagery depicting the Sacred Heart is frequently featured in Roman Catholic, and sometimes Anglican and Lutheran homes. Sometimes images display beneath them a list of family members, indicating that the entire family is entrusted to the protection of Jesus in the Sacred Heart, from whom blessings on the home and the family members are sought. The prayer "O Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in Thee" is often used. One particular image has been used as part of a set, along with an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In that image, Mary too was shown pointing to her Immaculate Heart, expressing her love for the human race and for her Son, Jesus Christ. The mirror images reflect an eternal binding of the two hearts.
The Scapular of the Sacred Heart and the Scapular of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary are worn by Roman Catholics.
In Eastern Catholicism
Devotion to the Sacred Heart may be found in some Eastern Catholic Churches, but is a contentious issue. Those who favour purity of rite are opposed to the devotion, while those who are in favour of the devotion cite it as a point of commonality with their Latin Catholic brethren.
Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Jesus Christ, in his appearances to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, promised these blessings to those who practice devotion to his Sacred Heart. This tabular form of promises was not made by Saint Margaret Mary or her contemporaries. It first appeared at 1863. In 1882, an American businessman spread the tabular form of the promises profusely throughout the world, the twelve promises appearing in 238 languages. In 1890, Cardinal Adolph Perraud deplored this circulation of the promises in the tabular form which were different from the words and even from the meaning of the expressions used by St. Margaret Mary, and wanted the promises to be published in the full, authentic texts as found in the writings of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque:
- I will give them all the graces necessary for their state of life.
- I will give peace in their families.
- I will console them in all their troubles.
- I will be their refuge in life and especially in death.
- I will abundantly bless all their undertakings.
- Sinners shall find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Tepid souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall rise speedily to great perfection.
- I will bless those places wherein the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and venerated.
- I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
- Persons who propagate this devotion shall have their names eternally written in my Heart.
- In the excess of the mercy of my Heart, I promise you that my all powerful love will grant to all those who will receive Communion on the First Fridays, for nine consecutive months, the grace of final repentance: they will not die in my displeasure, nor without receiving the sacraments; and my Heart will be their secure refuge in that last hour.
The last promise has given rise to the pious Roman Catholic practice of making an effort to attend Mass and receive Communion on the first Friday of each month.
Great efficacy of converting people has been attached to the use of the image of the Sacred Heart.
"Even at the hour of death, incredulous, indifferent, hardened souls have been converted by simply showing them a picture of the Sacred Heart, which sufficed to restore these sinners to the life of hope and love, in a word, to touch the most hardened. It would, indeed, be a great misfortune to any apostolic man to neglect so powerful a means of conversion, and in proof of this I will mention a single fact which will need no comment. A religious of the Company of Jesus had been requested by the Blessed Margaret Mary to make a careful engraving of the Sacred Heart. Being often hindered by other occupations, there was much delay in preparing this plate. ' This good father,' writes the saint, 'is so much occupied by Mon- signor d'Autun in the conversion of heretics, that he has neither time nor leisure to give to the work so ardently desired by the Heart of our Divine Master. You cannot imagine, my much-loved mother, how greatly this delay afflicts and pains me. I must avow confidently to you my belief that it is the cause of his converting so few infidels in this town. I seem constantly to hear these words : ' That if this good father had acquitted himself at once of his promise to the Sacred Heart, Jesus would have changed and converted the hearts of these infidels, on account of the joy He would have felt at seeing Himself honoured in the picture He so much wishes for. As, however, he prefers other work, even though to the glory of God, to that of giving Him this satisfaction, He will harden the hearts of these infidels, and the labours of this mission will not be crowned with much fruit.'
Scapular of the Sacred Heart
The devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus also involve the Scapular of the Sacred Heart. It is a Roman Catholic devotional scapular that can be traced back to Saint Margaret Marie Alacoque who herself made and distributed badges similar to it. In 1872 Pope Pius IX granted an indulgence for the badge and the actual scapular was approved by the Congregation of Rites in 1900. It bears the representation of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on one side, and that of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Mother of Mercy on the other side. Prayer, Almighty and everlasting God, look upon the Heart of Thy well-beloved Son and upon the acts of praise and satisfaction which He renders unto Thee in the name of sinners; and do Thou, in Thy great goodness, grant pardon to them who seek Thy mercy, in the name of the same Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, world without end.
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Snippet V: Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
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| Immaculate heart of Mary Scapular |
The Immaculate Heart of Mary (also known as The Sacred Heart of Mary) is a devotional name used to refer to the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her joys and sorrows, her virtues and hidden perfections, and, above all, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all persons. The consideration of Mary's interior life and the beauties of her soul, without any thought of her physical heart, does not constitute the traditional devotion; still less does it consist in the consideration of the heart of Mary merely as a part of her pure body. In 1855 the Mass of the Most Pure Heart formally became a part of Catholic practice. The two elements are essential to the devotion, just as, according to Roman Catholic theology, soul and body are necessary to the constitution of man.
Eastern Catholic Churches occasionally utilize the image, devotion, and theology associated with the Immaculate Heart of Mary. However, this is a cause of some controversy, some seeing it as a form of liturgical instillation. The Roman Catholic view is based on Mariology, as exemplified by Pope John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae which builds on the total Marian devotion pioneered by Louis de Montfort.
Traditionally, the heart is pierced with seven wounds or swords, in homage to the seven dolors of Mary. Consequently, seven Hail Marys are said daily in honor of the devotion. Also, roses or another type of flower may be wrapped around the heart
Veneration and devotion
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| Immaculate Heart Mary, Seven Dolors |
Veneration of the Heart of Mary is analogous to worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is, however, necessary to indicate a few differences in this analogy, the better to explain the character of Roman Catholic devotion to the Heart of Mary. Some of these differences are very marked, whereas others are barely perceptible. The Devotion to the Heart of Jesus is especially directed to the "Divine Heart" as overflowing with love for humanity, presented as "despised and outraged". In the devotion to the Mary, on the other hand, the attraction is the love of this Heart for Jesus and for God. Its love for humans is not overlooked, but it is not so much in evidence nor so dominant.
A second difference is the nature of the devotion itself. In devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Roman Catholic venerates in a sense of love responding to love. In devotion to the Heart of Mary, study and imitation hold as important a place as love. Love is more the result than the object of the devotion, the object being rather to love God and Jesus better by uniting one's self to Mary for this purpose and by imitating her virtues. It would also seem that, although in the devotion to the Heart of Mary the heart has an essential part as symbol and sensible object, it does not stand out as prominently as in the devotion to the Heart of Jesus; devotion focuses rather on the thing symbolized, the love, virtues, and sentiments of Mary's interior life.
The Immaculate Heart has also been involved in (and been depicted) in saintly Marian apparitions such as those to Saint Catherine Labouré in 1830 and appears on the Miraculous Medal. On the Miraculous Medal, the Immaculate Heart is pierced by a sword. The Sacred Heart of Jesus also appears on the medal, next to the Immaculate Heart, but is crowned with thorns, rather than being pierced by a sword. The M on the medal signifies the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross when Jesus was being crucified.
Our Lady of Fatima asked that, in reparation for sins committed against her Immaculate Heart, on the first Saturday of five consecutive months the Catholic:
- Go to Confession (within 8 days before or after the first Saturday)
- Receive Holy Communion
- Recite five decades of the Rosary
- Keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary
She promised that, whoever would ever do this, would be given at the hour of his death, the graces necessary for salvation.
History of devotion
The history of the devotion to the Heart of Mary is connected on many points with that to the Heart of Jesus. The attention of Christians was early attracted by the love and virtues of the Heart of Mary. The gospels recount the prophecy delivered to her at Jesus' presentation at the temple: that her heart would be pierced with a sword. This image (the pierced heart) is the most popular representation of the Immaculate Heart. The St. John's Gospel further invited attention to Mary's heart with its depiction of Mary at the foot of the cross at Jesus' crucifixion. St. Augustine said of this that Mary was not merely passive at the foot of the cross; "she cooperated through charity in the work of our redemption".
Statue depicting the Immaculate Heart of Mary as described by Sister Lucia of Fátima.
Another Scriptural passage to help in bringing out the devotion was the twice-repeated saying of Saint Luke, that Mary kept all the sayings and doings of Jesus in her heart, that there she might ponder over them and live by them. A few of Mary's sayings, also recorded in the Gospel, particularly the Magnificat (the words Mary is reported to have said to describe the experience of being pregnant with Jesus), disclose new features in Marian psychology. Some of the Church Fathers also throw light upon the psychology of Mary, for instance, Saint Ambrose, when in his commentary on The Gospel of Luke he holds Mary up as the ideal of virginity, and Saint Ephrem, when he poetically sings of the coming of the Magi and the welcome accorded them by the humble mother. Some passages from other books in the Bible are interpreted as referring to Mary, in whom they personify wisdom and her gentle charms. Such are the texts in which wisdom is presented as the mother of lofty love, of fear, of knowledge, and of holy hope. In the New Testament Elizabeth proclaims Mary blessed because she has believed the words of the angel who announced that she would become pregnant with Jesus, although she was still a virgin; the Magnificat is an expression of her humility. In answering the woman of the people, who in order to exalt the son proclaimed the mother blessed, Jesus himself said: "Blessed rather are they that hear the word of God and keep it." The Church Fathers understood this as an invitation to seek in Mary that which had so endeared her to God and caused her to be selected as the mother of Jesus, and found in these words a new reason for praising Mary. St. Leo said that through faith and love she conceived her son spiritually, even before receiving him into her womb, and St. Augustine tells us that she was more blessed in having borne Christ in her heart than in having conceived him in the flesh.
It is only in the twelfth, or towards the end of the eleventh century, that slight indications of a regular devotion are perceived in a sermon by St. Bernard (De duodecim stellis), from which an extract has been taken by the Church and used in the Offices of the Compassion and of the Seven Dolours. Stronger evidences are discernible in the pious meditations on the Ave Maria and the Salve Regina, usually attributed either to St. Anselm of Lucca (d. 1080) or St. Bernard; and also in the large book "De laudibus B. Mariae Virginis" (Douai, 1625) by Richard de Saint-Laurent, Penitentiary of Rouen in the thirteenth century. In St. Mechtilde (d. 1298) and St. Gertrude (d. 1301) the devotion had two earnest adherents. A little earlier it had been included by St. Thomas Becket in the devotion to the joys and sorrows of Mary, by Blessed Hermann (d.1245), one of the first spiritual children of Saint Dominic, in his other devotions to Mary, and somewhat later it appeared in St. Bridget's "Book of Revelations". Johannes Tauler (d. 1361) beholds in Mary the model of a mystical soul, just as St. Ambrose perceived in her the model of a virginal soul. St. Bernardine of Siena (d.1444) was more absorbed in the contemplation of the virginal heart, and it is from him that the Church has borrowed the lessons of the second nocturn for the feast of the Heart of Mary. St. Francis de Sales speaks of the perfections of this heart, the model of love for God, and dedicated to it his "Theotimus."
During this same period one finds occasional mention of devotional practices to the Heart of Mary, e.g., in the "Antidotarium" of Nicolas du Saussay (d. 1488), in Julius II, and in the "Pharetra" of Lanspergius. In the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth, ascetic authors dwelt upon this devotion at greater length. It was, however, reserved to Saint Jean Eudes (d. 1681) to propagate the devotion, to make it public, and to have a feast celebrated in honor of the Heart of Mary, first at Autun in 1648 and afterwards in a number of French dioceses. He established several religious societies interested in upholding and promoting the devotion, of which his large book on the Coeur Admirable (Admirable Heart), published in 1681, resembles a summary. Jean Eudes' efforts to secure the approval of an office and feast failed at Rome, but, notwithstanding this disappointment, the devotion to the Heart of Mary progressed. In 1699 Father Pinamonti (d. 1703) published in Italian a short work on the Holy Heart of Mary, and in 1725, Joseph de Gallifet combined the cause of the Heart of Mary with that of the Heart of Jesus in order to obtain Rome's approbation of the two devotions and the institution of the two feasts. In 1729, his project was defeated, and in 1765, the two causes were separated, to assure the success of the principal one.
Alliance with the Sacred Heart
The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary is based on the historical, theological and spiritual links in Catholic devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The joint devotion to the hearts was first formalized in the 17th century by Saint Jean Eudes who organized the scriptural, theological and liturgical sources relating to the devotions and obtained the approbation of the Church, prior to the visions of Saint Marguerite Marie Alacoque.
In the 18th and 19th centuries the devotions grew, both jointly and individually through the efforts of figures such as Saint Louis de Montfort who promoted Catholic Mariology and Saint Catherine Labouré's Miraculous Medal depicting the Heart of Jesus thorn-crowned and the Heart of Mary pierced with a sword. The devotions, and the associated prayers, continued into the 20th century, e.g. in the Immaculata prayer of Saint Maximillian Kolbe and in the reported messages of Our Lady of Fatima which stated that the Heart of Jesus wishes to be honored together with the Heart of Mary.
Popes supported the individual and joint devotions to the hearts through the centuries. In the 1956 encyclical Haurietis Aquas, Pope Pius XII encouraged the joint devotion to the hearts. In the 1979 encyclical Redemptor Hominis Pope John Paul II explained the theme of unity of Mary's Immaculate Heart with the Sacred Heart. In his Angelus address on September 15, 1985 Pope John Paul II coined the term The Alliance of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and in 1986 addressed the international conference on that topic held at Fátima, Portugal.
Feast days
Fatima Statue of Pope Pius XII, who consecrated Russia and the World: Just as a few years ago We consecrated the entire human race to the Immaculate Heart of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, so today We consecrate and in a most special manner We entrust all the peoples of Russia to this Immaculate Heart...
In 1799 Pius VI, then in captivity at Florence, granted the Bishop of Palermo the feast of the Most Pure Heart of Mary for some of the churches in his diocese. In 1805 Pius VII made a new concession, thanks to which the feast was soon widely observed. Such was the existing condition when a twofold movement, started in Paris, gave fresh impetus to the devotion. The two factors of this movement were, first of all, the revelation of the "miraculous medal" in 1830 and all the prodigies that followed, and then the establishment at Notre-Dame-des-Victoires of the Archconfraternity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, which spread rapidly throughout the world and was the source of numberless alleged graces. On 21 July 1855, the Congregation of Rites finally approved the Office and Mass of the Most Pure Heart of Mary without, however, imposing them upon the Universal Church.
During the third apparition at Fátima, Portugal on 13 July 1917, the Virgin Mary allegedly said that "God wishes to establish in the world devotion to her Immaculate Heart" in order to save souls from going into the fires of hell and to bring about world peace, and also asked for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart. Pope Pius XII, in his Apostolic Letter of 7 July 1952, Sacro Vergente consecrated Russia to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary.
On 25 March 1984, Pope John Paul II fulfilled this request again, when he made the solemn act of consecration of the world, and implicitly Russia, to the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary of Fatima brought to Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican for the momentous occasion. Sister Lucia, OCD, then the only surviving visionary of Fatima, confirmed that the request of Mary for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was accepted by Heaven and therefore, was fulfilled. Again on 8 October 2000, Pope John Paul II made an act of entrustment of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the new millennium.
Roman Catholic feast days
Pope Pius XII instituted the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1944 to be celebrated on 22 August, coinciding with the traditional octave day of the Assumption. In 1969, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the day, Saturday, immediately after the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This means in practice that it is now held on the day before the third Sunday after Pentecost.
At the same time as he closely associated the celebrations of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Paul VI moved the celebration of the Queenship of Mary from 31 May to 22 August, bringing it into association with the feast of her Assumption.
Those who use the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal or an earlier one (but not more than 17 years before 1962) observe the day established by Pius XII.
References:
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.
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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 1, Chapter 8
MOST HOLY MOTHER MARY'S CHILDHOOD YEARS
The sovereign Child was treated like
other children of her age. Her nourishment was of the usual kind,
though less in quantity; and so was her sleep, although her parents
were solicitous that She take more sleep. She was not troublesome,
nor did She ever cry for mere annoyance, as is done by other
children, but She was most amiable and caused no trouble to anybody.
That She did not act in this regard as other children caused no
wonder; for She often wept and sighed (as far as her age and her
dignity of Queen and Mistress would permit) for the sins of the world
and for its Redemption through the coming of the Savior. Ordinarily
She maintained, even in her infancy, a pleasant countenance, yet
mixed with gravity and a peculiar Majesty, never showing any
childishness. She sometimes permitted Herself to be caressed, though,
by a secret influence and a certain outward austerity, She knew how
to repress the imperfections connected with such endearments. Her
prudent mother Anne treated her Child with incomparable solicitude
and caressing tenderness; also her father Joachim loved Her as a
father and as a saint, although he was ignorant of the mystery at
that time. The Child on its part showed a special love toward him, as
one whom She knew for her father and one much beloved of God.
Although She permitted more tender caresses from her father than from
others, yet God inspired the father as well as all others, with such
an extraordinary reverence and modesty towards Her whom He had chosen
for his Mother, that even his pure and fatherly affection was
outwardly manifested only with the greatest moderation and reserve.
In all things the infant Queen was
most gracious, perfect and admirable. Though She passed her infancy
subject to the common laws of nature, yet did this not hinder the
influx of grace. During her sleep her interior acts of love, and all
other exercises of her faculties which were not dependent on the
exterior senses, were never interrupted. This special privilege is
possible also in other creatures, if the divine power confers it on
them; but it is certain that in regard to Her whom He had chosen as
his Mother and the Queen of all creation, He extended this special
favor beyond all previous or subsequent measure in other creatures
and beyond the conception of any created mind.
The enforced silence of other
children in their first years, and the slow evolution of their
intellect and of their power of speech arising from natural weakness,
was heroic virtue in the infant Queen. For if speech is the product
of the intellect and as it were the result of its activity, and if
She was in perfect possession of all her faculties since her
Conception, then the fact of her not speaking as soon as She was
born, did not arise from the want of ability, but because She did not
wish to make use of her power. Other children are not furnished with
the natural forces, which are required to open their mouth and move
their tender tongue as required for speech, but in the child Mary
there was no defect; for as far as her natural powers were concerned
She was stronger than other children, and as She exercised
sovereignty and dominion over all creation, She certainly could
exercise it in regard to her own powers and faculties, if She had
chosen to do so. Her not speaking therefore was virtue and great
perfection, which opportunely concealed her science and grace, and
evaded the astonishment naturally caused by one speaking in infancy.
Besides, if it is wonderful that one should speak, who according to
the natural course ought to be incapable of speech, I do not know,
whether it is not more wonderful, that one, who is able to speak from
her birth should be silent for one year and a half.
It was ordained therefore by the Most
High, that the sovereign Child should voluntarily keep this silence
during the time in which ordinarily other children are unable to
speak. The only exception made was in regard to the conversation held
with the angels of her guard, or when She addressed Herself in vocal
prayer to the Lord. For in regard to interaction with God, the Author
of speech, and with the holy angels, his messengers, when they
treated in a visible manner with Her, this reason for maintaining
silence did not hold good: on the contrary it was befitting, that,
since there was no impediment, She should pray with her lips and her
tongue; for it would not be proper to keep them unemployed for so
long a time. But her mother never heard Her, nor did she know of her
being able to speak during that period; and from this it can be
better seen, what perfection it required in Her to pass that year and
a half of her infancy in total silence. But during that time,
whenever her mother freed her arms and hands, the child Mary
immediately grasped the hands of her parents and kissed them with
great submission and reverent humility, and in this practice She
continued as long as her parents lived. She also sought to make them
understand during that period of her age, that She desired their
blessing, speaking more by the affection of her heart than by word of
mouth. So great was her reverence for them, that never did She fail
in the least point concerning the honor and obedience to them. Nor
did She cause them any trouble or annoyance, since She knew
beforehand all their thoughts and was anxious to fulfill them before
they were made manifest.
When She reached the age of two years
She began to exercise her special pity and charity toward the poor.
She solicited alms for them of saint Anne, and both the kind–hearted
mother readily granted her petitions, both for the sake of the poor
and to satisfy the tender charity of her most holy Daughter, at the
same time encouraging Her who was the Mistress of mercy and charity,
to love and esteem the poor. Besides giving what She obtained
expressly for distribution among the poor, She reserved part of her
meals for the same purpose, in order that from her infancy it might
be said of Her more truly than of Job: from my infancy compassion
grew with me (Job 31, 18). She gave to the poor not as if conferring
a benefit upon them, but as paying a debt due in justice, saying in
her heart: this my brother and master deserves what he needs and what
I possess without desert. In giving alms She kissed the hands of the
poor, and whenever She was alone, She kissed their feet, or, if this
was impossible, She would kiss the ground over which they passed.
Never did She give an alms to the poor without conferring still
greater favors on their souls by interceding for them and thus
dismissing them relieved in body and soul.
Not less admirable were the humility
and obedience to the most holy Child in permitting Herself to be
taught to read and to do other things as other children in that time
of life. She was instructed in reading and other arts by her parents
and She submitted, though She had infused knowledge of all things
created. The angels were filled with admiration at the unparalleled
wisdom of this Child, who willingly listened to the teaching of all.
Her holy mother Anne, as far as her intuition and love permitted,
observed with rapture the heavenly Princess and blessed the Most High
in Her. But with her love, as the time for presenting Her in the
temple approached, grew also the dread of the approaching end of the
three years set by the Almighty and the consciousness, that the terms
of her vow must punctually be fulfilled. Therefore the child Mary
began to prepare and dispose her mother, manifesting to her, six
months before, her ardent desire of living in the temple. She
recounted the benefits, which they had received at the hands of the
Lord, how much they were obliged to seek his greater pleasure, and
how, when She should be dedicated to God in the temple, She would be
more her Daughter than in their own house.
The holy Anne heard the discreet arguments of her
child Mary; but though She was resigned to the divine will and wished
to fulfill her promise of offering up her beloved Daughter, yet the
natural force of her love toward such an unequalled and beloved
Treasure, joined with the full understanding of its inestimable
value, caused a mortal strife in her most faithful heart at the mere
thought of her departure, which was closely at hand. There is no
doubt, that she would have lost her life in this fierce and vivid
sorrow, if the hand of the Almighty had not comforted her: for the
grace and dignity of her heavenly Daughter was fully known to her and
had entirely ravished her heart, making the presence of Mary more
dear to her than life. Full of this grief she said to the Child: “My
beloved Daughter, for many years I have longed for Thee and only for
a few years do I merit to have thy company; but thus let the will of
God be fulfilled; I do not wish to be unfaithful to my promise of
sending Thee to the temple, but there is yet time left for fulfilling
it: have patience until the day arrives for the accomplishment of thy
wishes.”
A few days before most holy Mary reached the age
of three years, She was favored with an abstract vision of the
Divinity, in which it was made known to Her that the time of her
departure for the temple ordained by God, had arrived, and that there
She was to live dedicated and consecrated to his service. Her most
pure soul was filled with new joy and gratitude at this prospect and
speaking with the Lord, She gave Him thanks saying: “Most high
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, my eternal and highest Good, since I
cannot praise Thee worthily, let it be done in the name of this
humble slave by the angelic spirits; since Thou, immense Lord, who
hast need of none, dost look upon this lowly wormlet of the earth in
thy unbounded mercy. Whence this great benefit to me, that Thou
shouldst receive me into thy house and service, since I do not even
merit the most abject spot of the earth for my place of habitation?
But as Thou art urged thereto by thy own greatness, I beseech Thee to
inspire the hearts of my parents to fulfill thy holy will.”
At the same time saint Anne had a
vision, in which the Lord enjoined her to fulfill her promise by
presenting her Daughter in the temple on the very day, on which the
third year of her age should be complete. There is no doubt that this
command caused more grief in saint Anne, than that given to Abraham
to sacrifice his son Isaac. But the Lord consoled and comforted Her,
promising his grace and assistance in her loneliness during the
absence of her beloved Daughter.
Saint Joachim also had a vision of
the Lord at this time, receiving the same command as Anne. Having
conferred with each other and taking account of the will of the Lord,
they resolved to fulfill it with humble submission and appointed the
day on which the Child was to be brought to the temple. Great was
also the grief of this holy old man, though not quite as that of
saint Anne, for the high mystery of her being the future Mother of
God was yet concealed from him.
WORDS OF THE QUEEN
The Virgin Mary
speaks to Sister Mary of Agreda, Spain
My dearest daughter, keep in mind,
that all the living are born destined for death, but ignorant of the
time allowed them; this they know for certain however, that the term
of life is short, that eternity is without end, and that in this life
only they can harvest what will yield life or death eternal.
In this dangerous pilgrimage of life God has ordained, that no one shall know for certain, whether he is worthy (Eccles. 9, 1) of his love or hate; for if he uses his reason rightly, this uncertainty will urge him to seek with all his powers the friendship of that same Lord. God justifies his cause as soon as the soul acquires the use of reason; for from that time onward He enlightens and urges and guides man toward virtue and draws him away from sin, teaching him to distinguish between water and fire, to approve of the good and reject evil, to choose virtue and repel vice.
Moreover, God calls and rouses the soul by his holy inspirations and continual promptings, provides the help of the sacraments, doctrines and commandments, urges man onward through his angels, preachers, confessors, ministers and teachers, by special tribulations and favors, by the example of strangers, by trials, death and other happenings and dispositions of his Providence; He disposes the things of life so as to draw toward Him all men, for He wishes all to be saved.
Thus he places at the disposal of the creature a vast field of benevolent help and assistance, which it can and should use for its own advancement. Opposing all this are the tendencies of the inferior and sensitive nature, infected with the fomes peccati, the foment of sin, tending toward sensible objects and by the lower appetites and repugnances, disturbing the reason and enthralling the will in the false liberty of ungoverned desires. The demon also, by his fascinations and his deceitful and iniquitous suggestions obscures the interior light, and hides the deathly poison beneath the pleasant exterior. But the Most High does not immediately forsake his creatures; He renews his mercy and his assistance, recalling them again and again, and if they respond to his first call, He adds others according to his equity, increasing and multiplying them in proportion as the soul corresponds. As a reward of the victory, which the soul wins over itself, the force of his passions and concupiscences is diminished, the spirit is made free to soar higher and rise above its own inclinations and above the demons.
In this dangerous pilgrimage of life God has ordained, that no one shall know for certain, whether he is worthy (Eccles. 9, 1) of his love or hate; for if he uses his reason rightly, this uncertainty will urge him to seek with all his powers the friendship of that same Lord. God justifies his cause as soon as the soul acquires the use of reason; for from that time onward He enlightens and urges and guides man toward virtue and draws him away from sin, teaching him to distinguish between water and fire, to approve of the good and reject evil, to choose virtue and repel vice.
Moreover, God calls and rouses the soul by his holy inspirations and continual promptings, provides the help of the sacraments, doctrines and commandments, urges man onward through his angels, preachers, confessors, ministers and teachers, by special tribulations and favors, by the example of strangers, by trials, death and other happenings and dispositions of his Providence; He disposes the things of life so as to draw toward Him all men, for He wishes all to be saved.
Thus he places at the disposal of the creature a vast field of benevolent help and assistance, which it can and should use for its own advancement. Opposing all this are the tendencies of the inferior and sensitive nature, infected with the fomes peccati, the foment of sin, tending toward sensible objects and by the lower appetites and repugnances, disturbing the reason and enthralling the will in the false liberty of ungoverned desires. The demon also, by his fascinations and his deceitful and iniquitous suggestions obscures the interior light, and hides the deathly poison beneath the pleasant exterior. But the Most High does not immediately forsake his creatures; He renews his mercy and his assistance, recalling them again and again, and if they respond to his first call, He adds others according to his equity, increasing and multiplying them in proportion as the soul corresponds. As a reward of the victory, which the soul wins over itself, the force of his passions and concupiscences is diminished, the spirit is made free to soar higher and rise above its own inclinations and above the demons.
But if man neglects to rise above his
low desires and his forgetfulness, he yields to the enemy of God and
man. The more he alienates himself from the goodness of God, so much
the more unworthy does he become of the secret callings of the Most
High, and so much less does he appreciate his assistance, though it
be great. For the demon and the passions have obtained a greater
dominion and power over his intellect and have made him more unfit
and more incapable of the grace of the Almighty.
Thereon, my dear daughter, rests the whole salvation or condemnation of souls, that is, in commencing to admit or resist the advances of the Lord. I desire thee not to forget this doctrine, so that thou mayest respond to the many calls which thou receivest of the Most High. See thou be strong in resisting his enemies and punctually solicitous in fulfilling the pleasure of thy Lord, for thereby thou wilt gratify Him and attend to the commands made known to thee by divine light. I loved my parents dearly, and the tender words of my mother wounded my heart; but as I knew it to be the will of the Lord to leave them, I forgot her house and my people in order to follow my Spouse. The proper education and instruction of children will do much toward making them more free and habituated to the practice of virtue, since thus they will be accustomed to follow the sure and safe guiding star of reason from its first dawn.
Thereon, my dear daughter, rests the whole salvation or condemnation of souls, that is, in commencing to admit or resist the advances of the Lord. I desire thee not to forget this doctrine, so that thou mayest respond to the many calls which thou receivest of the Most High. See thou be strong in resisting his enemies and punctually solicitous in fulfilling the pleasure of thy Lord, for thereby thou wilt gratify Him and attend to the commands made known to thee by divine light. I loved my parents dearly, and the tender words of my mother wounded my heart; but as I knew it to be the will of the Lord to leave them, I forgot her house and my people in order to follow my Spouse. The proper education and instruction of children will do much toward making them more free and habituated to the practice of virtue, since thus they will be accustomed to follow the sure and safe guiding star of reason from its first dawn.
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Catholic Catechism
PART FOUR - CHRISTIAN PRAYER
SECTION ONE - PRAYER IN THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
CHAPTER ONE - THE REVELATION OF PRAYER
ARTICLE 3 - IN THE AGE OF THE CHURCH
2623 On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of the Promise was poured out on the disciples, gathered "together in one place."92 While awaiting the Spirit, "all these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer."93 The Spirit who teaches the Church and recalls for her everything that Jesus said94 was also to form her in the life of prayer.
2624 In the first community of Jerusalem, believers "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers."95 This sequence is characteristic of the Church's prayer: founded on the apostolic faith; authenticated by charity; nourished in the Eucharist.
2625 In the first place these are prayers that the faithful hear and read in the Scriptures, but also that they make their own - especially those of the Psalms, in view of their fulfillment in Christ.96 The Holy Spirit, who thus keeps the memory of Christ alive in his Church at prayer, also leads her toward the fullness of truth and inspires new formulations expressing the unfathomable mystery of Christ at work in his Church's life, sacraments, and mission. These formulations are developed in the great liturgical and spiritual traditions. The forms of prayer revealed in the apostolic and canonical Scriptures remain normative for Christian prayer.
I. BLESSING AND ADORATION
2626 Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God's gift and man's acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other. The prayer of blessing is man's response to God's gifts: because God blesses, the human heart can in return bless the One who is the source of every blessing.
2627 Two fundamental forms express this movement: our prayer ascends in the Holy Spirit through Christ to the Father - we bless him for having blessed us;97 it implores the grace of the Holy Spirit that descends through Christ from the Father - he blesses us.98
2628 Adoration is the first attitude of man acknowledging that he is a creature before his Creator. It exalts the greatness of the Lord who made us99 and the almighty power of the Savior who sets us free from evil. Adoration is homage of the spirit to the "King of Glory,"100 respectful silence in the presence of the "ever greater" God.101 Adoration of the thrice-holy and sovereign God of love blends with humility and gives assurance to our supplications.
II. PRAYER OF PETITION
2629 The vocabulary of supplication in the New Testament is rich in shades of meaning: ask, beseech, plead, invoke, entreat, cry out, even "struggle in prayer."102 Its most usual form, because the most spontaneous, is petition: by prayer of petition we express awareness of our relationship with God. We are creatures who are not our own beginning, not the masters of adversity, not our own last end. We are sinners who as Christians know that we have turned away from our Father. Our petition is already a turning back to him.
2630 The New Testament contains scarcely any prayers of lamentation, so frequent in the Old Testament. In the risen Christ the Church's petition is buoyed by hope, even if we still wait in a state of expectation and must be converted anew every day. Christian petition, what St. Paul calls {"groaning," arises from another depth, that of creation "in labor pains" and that of ourselves "as we wait for the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved."103 In the end, however, "with sighs too deep for words" the Holy Spirit "helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."104
2631 The first movement of the prayer of petition is asking forgiveness, like the tax collector in the parable: "God, be merciful to me a sinner!"105 It is a prerequisite for righteous and pure prayer. A trusting humility brings us back into the light of communion between the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and with one another, so that "we receive from him whatever we ask."106 Asking forgiveness is the prerequisite for both the Eucharistic liturgy and personal prayer.
2632 Christian petition is centered on the desire and search for the Kingdom to come, in keeping with the teaching of Christ.107 There is a hierarchy in these petitions: we pray first for the Kingdom, then for what is necessary to welcome it and cooperate with its coming. This collaboration with the mission of Christ and the Holy Spirit, which is now that of the Church, is the object of the prayer of the apostolic community.108 It is the prayer of Paul, the apostle par excellence, which reveals to us how the divine solicitude for all the churches ought to inspire Christian prayer.109 By prayer every baptized person works for the coming of the Kingdom.
2633 When we share in God's saving love, we understand that every need can become the object of petition. Christ, who assumed all things in order to redeem all things, is glorified by what we ask the Father in his name.110 It is with this confidence that St. James and St. Paul exhort us to pray at all times.111
III. PRAYER OF INTERCESSION
2634 Intercession is a prayer of petition which leads us to pray as Jesus did. He is the one intercessor with the Father on behalf of all men, especially sinners.112 He is "able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."113 The Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us . . . and intercedes for the saints according to the will of God."114
2635 Since Abraham, intercession - asking on behalf of another has been characteristic of a heart attuned to God's mercy. In the age of the Church, Christian intercession participates in Christ's, as an expression of the communion of saints. In intercession, he who prays looks "not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others," even to the point of praying for those who do him harm.115
2636 The first Christian communities lived this form of fellowship intensely.116 Thus the Apostle Paul gives them a share in his ministry of preaching the Gospel117 but also intercedes for them.118 The intercession of Christians recognizes no boundaries: "for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions," for persecutors, for the salvation of those who reject the Gospel.119
IV. PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
2637 Thanksgiving characterizes the prayer of the Church which, in celebrating the Eucharist, reveals and becomes more fully what she is. Indeed, in the work of salvation, Christ sets creation free from sin and death to consecrate it anew and make it return to the Father, for his glory. The thanksgiving of the members of the Body participates in that of their Head.
2638 As in the prayer of petition, every event and need can become an offering of thanksgiving. The letters of St. Paul often begin and end with thanksgiving, and the Lord Jesus is always present in it: "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you"; "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."120
V. PRAYER OF PRAISE
2639 Praise is the form of prayer which recognizes most immediately that God is God. It lauds God for his own sake and gives him glory, quite beyond what he does, but simply because HE IS. It shares in the blessed happiness of the pure of heart who love God in faith before seeing him in glory. By praise, the Spirit is joined to our spirits to bear witness that we are children of God,121 testifying to the only Son in whom we are adopted and by whom we glorify the Father. Praise embraces the other forms of prayer and carries them toward him who is its source and goal: the "one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist."122
2640 St. Luke in his gospel often expresses wonder and praise at the marvels of Christ and in his Acts of the Apostles stresses them as actions of the Holy Spirit: the community of Jerusalem, the invalid healed by Peter and John, the crowd that gives glory to God for that, and the pagans of Pisidia who "were glad and glorified the word of God."123
2641 "[Address] one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart."124 Like the inspired writers of the New Testament, the first Christian communities read the Book of Psalms in a new way, singing in it the mystery of Christ. In the newness of the Spirit, they also composed hymns and canticles in the light of the unheard-of event that God accomplished in his Son: his Incarnation, his death which conquered death, his Resurrection, and Ascension to the right hand of the Father.125 Doxology, the praise of God, arises from this "marvelous work" of the whole economy of salvation.126
2642 The Revelation of "what must soon take place," the Apocalypse, is borne along by the songs of the heavenly liturgy127 but also by the intercession of the "witnesses" (martyrs).128 The prophets and the saints, all those who were slain on earth for their witness to Jesus, the vast throng of those who, having come through the great tribulation, have gone before us into the Kingdom, all sing the praise and glory of him who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb.129 In communion with them, the Church on earth also sings these songs with faith in the midst of trial. By means of petition and intercession, faith hopes against all hope and gives thanks to the "Father of lights," from whom "every perfect gift" comes down.130 Thus faith is pure praise.
2643 The Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of prayer: it is "the pure offering" of the whole Body of Christ to the glory of God's name131 and, according to the traditions of East and West, it is the "sacrifice of praise."
IN BRIEF
2644 The Holy Spirit who teaches the Church and recalls to her all that Jesus said also instructs her in the life of prayer, inspiring new expressions of the same basic forms of prayer: blessing, petition, intercession, thanksgiving, and praise.
2645 Because God blesses the human heart, it can in return bless him who is the source of every blessing.
2646 Forgiveness, the quest for the Kingdom, and every true need are objects of the prayer of petition.
2647 Prayer of intercession consists in asking on behalf of another. It knows no boundaries and extends to one's enemies.
2648 Every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in that of Christ, should fill one's whole life: "Give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess 5:18).
2649 Prayer of praise is entirely disinterested and rises to God, lauds him, and gives him glory for his own sake, quite beyond what he has done, but simply because HE IS.
92 Acts 2:1.
93 Acts 1:14.
94 Cf. Jn 14:26.
95 Acts 2:42.
96 Cf. Lk 24:27,44.
97 Cf. Eph 1:3-14; 2 Cor 1:3-7; 1 Pet 1:3-9.
98 Cf. 2 Cor 13:14; Rom 15:5-6,13; Eph 6:23-24.
99 Cf. Ps 95:1-6.
100 Ps 24, 9-10.
101 Cf. St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 62,16:PL 36,757-758.
102 Cf. Rom 15:30; Col 4:12.
103 Rom 8:22-24.
104 Rom 8:26.
105 Lk 18:13.
106 1 Jn 3:22; cf. 1:7-2:2.
107 Cf. Mt 6:10,33; Lk 11:2,13.
108 Cf. Acts 6:6; 13:3.
109 Cf. Rom 10:1; Eph 1:16-23; Phil 1:9-11; Col 1:3-6; 4:3-4,12.
110 Cf. Jn 14:13.
111 Cf. Jas 1:5-8; Eph 5:20; Phil 4:6-7; Col 3:16-17; 1 Thess 5:17-18.
112 Cf. Rom 8:34; 1 Jn 2:1; 1 Tim 2:5-8.
113 Heb 7:25.
114 Rom 8:26-27.
115 Phil 2:4; cf. Acts 7:60; Lk 23:28,34.
116 Cf. Acts 12:5; 20:36; 21:5; 2 Cor 9:14.
117 Cf. Eph 6:18-20; Col 4:3-4; 1 Thess 5:25.
118 Cf. 2 Thess 1:11; Col 1:3; Phil 1:3-4.
119 2 Tim 2:1; cf. Rom 12:14; 10:1.
120 1 Thess 5:18; Col 4:2.
121 Cf. Rom 8:16.
122 1 Cor 8:6.
123 Acts 2:47; 3:9; 4:21; 13:48.
124 Eph 5:19; Col 3:16.
125 Cf. Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15-20; Eph 5:14; 1 Tim 3:16; 6:15-16; 2 Tim 2:11-13.
126 Cf. Eph 1:3-14; Rom 16:25-27; Eph 3:20-21; Jude 24-25.
127 Cf. Rev 4:8-11; 5:9-14; 7:10-12.
128 Rev 6:10.
129 Cf. Rev 18:24; 19:1-8.
130 Jas 1:17.
131 Cf. Mal 1:11.
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View more Inspirational Designs at Litany Lane.
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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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