4th Week of Lent 2021 (EF) - Monday - Wisdom of Solomon and the Whip of Cords

 I remember exactly where I was when I first heard the story from today’s epistle of King Solomon and the two women. I was in second grade catechism class, sitting on the carpeted floor of my home parishes church basement. 

And I remember being so impressed with the clever way King Solomon determined who the true mother was, with his wisdom. I wondered just how many other wise solutions to problems he devised. I could imagine myself in Solomon’s place dispensing wise advice.

As a young boy, I think this story inspired a love of scripture as a source of wisdom—wisdom to live one’s life by, wisdom to help you know the difference between right and wrong—truth and deception.

Kind of a strange story to hear right in the middle of Lent, especially when coupled with the Gospel story of Our Lord fashioning a whip out of cords and driving the money changers out of the temple and predicting how he will be put to death.

And yet, in a sense, had the Jews of the Lord’s day exercised the wisdom of Solomon, they never would have sullied the temple with their corrupt business practices.

We are certainly meant to be impressed with the Wisdom of King Solomon and recognize the folly of the moneychangers, and yet, during Lent, I think we are also to meant to recognize the times where we have been like the deceitful harlot, those times where we have conducted our earthly business in competition with God, where we have sullied his temple. They would have known that the Temple was to be a house of prayer, not a den of thieves.

It’s easy to imagine ourselves giving wise advice like Solomon, maybe even imagining ourselves imitating the Lord’s great righteous fury, fashioning our own whip out of cords to drive the thieves out of the Lord’s temple. And yet, It’s quite another thing, isn’t it to humbly admit how unlike Solomon we have been. How rather than Solomon, we’ve acted more like the deceitful harlot, willing to compromise the truth at the expense of another’s happiness to achieve our ends. It’s one thing to express righteous zeal at the thieves in the house of the Lord, it’s another to humbly admit that we’re the ones that have so often deserved to be on the receiving end of that whip of cords.

Mea culpa, Right?

May our Lenten observances continue to instill in us deep contrition for our sins, open us up to wisdom from on High, and that we might come to know the joy of the heavenly Jerusalem, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

November 25 2020 - St. Catherine of Alexandria - Sharing the faith with patience and love

 In the Gospel the Lord foretold how his followers would be seized, persecuted, brought before kings and imprisoned because of his name. This was certainly true for St. Catherine of Alexandria who was one of the most revered saints of the early Church and middle ages. That her feast is now an optional memorial would baffle our forebearers—in several dioceses in France her feast was observed as a Holy Day of Obligation, devotion to St. Catherine was so great. She is one of the 14 holy helpers whose intercession is sought especially during times of plagues.

The story of her martyrdom is still inspiring: the beautiful and wise Catherine of Alexandria had attracted the attention of the Emperor Maximiam. Having consecrated herself to Jesus, she refused the emperor’s advances. So the emperor sent his 50 wisest philosophers to convince Saint Catherine to change her mind. They however proved no match for Catherine’s superior intellect, and were so impressed with her that all 50 converted to Christ. Furious, the Emperor had her imprisoned, and whilst in prison, Catherine continued to convert members of the emperor’s family, including his wife, and many soldiers—over 200 converts—before she was condemned to martyrdom on a spiked-wheel. 

For her competency in explaining and sharing the faith, Catherine of Alexandria is invoked as Patron saint of Apologists, philosophers, scholars, students, theologians, and wheel-makers. 

The Old Mass for St. Catherine referred to a legend in which at the time of her death, angels carried her body aloft to Mt. Sinai, where God gave the law to Moses. During the middle ages, Christians would make pilgrimage to Sinai where a constant stream of healing oil was said to have flowed from Catherine’s relics. 

Tomorrow at the thanksgiving meal, we may find ourselves engaged in theological discussion, like St. Catherine, with those who do not share our faith. May we, like St. Catherine, always explain and share our faith competently and patiently, absolutely rooted in the truth of Christ and the love of Christ. As Augustine would say, “nothing conquers but truth, and the victory of truth is love.” Truth needs to be shared patiently and with understanding, even when it feels we are being tortured on spiked-wheel. 

May St. Catherine’s example guide us, and her heavenly intercession help us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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May St. Catherine help all clergy and all catechists teach the truth with clarity and conviction and help us all share the faith patiently with non-believers.

May St. Catherine, heavenly helper and patron against plagues, help deliver us from the current plagues which afflict us. 

For peace and refreshment to all who prepare to gather for the Thanksgiving Holiday, bring safety to travelers, and protection from all disease.

For comfort to the sick and suffering, charity and care to the destitute and down-trodden, and courage to the fearful. 

That the Lord welcome into his kingdom all the faithful departed, especially members of our families, friends, and parish, all clergy and religious, and N. for whom this mass is offered.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

October 19 2020 (EF) - St. Peter of Alcantara - Where your treasure is

 “Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”

By the mere fact that we honor him as a Saint, we know that Peter of Alcantara, who we commemorate today, treasured Christ above all things.

Peter of Alcantara was of noble birth, but gave up his earthly treasures, his earthly inheritance, to pursue Christ as a Franciscan of Strict Observance. Treasuring sanctity above earthly comfort, he lived out his vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience to such an extent that his holiness was quite evident during his life.

“Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”

St. Peter certainly treasured prayer, as well. He is the patron saint of nocturnal eucharistic adoration, as he was known to keep prayer vigils throughout the night before the Blessed Sacrament, treasuring prayer even more than sleep. And yet, he discovered the secret to great joy, for, in prayer, he was frequently experienced prayerful ecstasy--he would be consumed with the warmth and light of the Holy Spirit. His heart was on heaven and this love would even cause him to levitate. 

He also drew others up to heaven too. He was renowned for his preaching, setting hearts on fire  with love for God. He brought reform to his own Franciscan order, and also to other religious orders as well. He corresponded with St. Theresa of Avila and encouraged her to work for reform among the Carmelites.  

When he was close to death, when he was offered water he refused it saying, "Even my Lord Jesus Christ thirsted on the Cross." He valued imitation of Christ even over the quenching of thirst. 

“Where your treasure is, there your heart is also.”

What do I treasure? It is probably overly simplistic to say that you can tell what someone treasures by how they spend their time. Two people working the same job and the same number of hours might treasure two entirely different things: one might treasure the money he will earn because it will enable him to pursue earthly pleasures, and another can grow in real sanctity through his occupation because he treats it as a way for providing well for his family, the needs of the poor, and work of the Church. 

Because the second treasured heaven over earth, he is able to store up treasure in heaven as he engages in earthly activity. Prayer, mortification and good works, help to keep our hearts set on heaven as we engage in earthly work--—earthly activity is even transformed into work for God.

May St. Peter of Alcantara help us to treasure Christ above all things, and help us to work for what truly lasts, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

April 03 2020 - Seven Sorrows of BVM (EF) & Quarantine

A few weeks ago I was thinking that my office needed a bit more sacred art. A priest friend of mine recommended a website (FineArtAmerica) where I could find some beautiful art, and I decided to purchase a print of this beautiful image by William Bouguereau titled "Pieta" (1886).

Today, on the Extraordinary Form liturgical calendar is the Commoration of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which I had the honor to celebrate. I couldn't think of a more appropriate day for the print to arrive via FedEx.

In the image, Our Lady, the Sorrowful Mother, holds the lifeless body of her Son, the Savior of the World. Sorrow pierces her heart, as was foretold by Simeon.

The Collect for this morning's Mass speaks of this event: "O God, in Whose Passion the sword, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, pierced through the soul of Mary, the glorious Virgin and Mother, mercifully grant that we, who reverently commemorate her piercing-through and her suffering, may, by the interceding glorious merits of all the saints faithfully standing by the cross, obtain the abundant fruit of Your Passion".

As I hung the print on my office wall, I thought of how this image speaks powerfully of our current sadness, the sorrow of so many good Catholic faithful who long for the Eucharist, but cannot attend mass because of the COVID-19 quarantine. We long to receive not a lifeless body, but the living Body of Christ--a living Body that gives life.

Our Lady knows the grief of the Church during this time, for she has felt it more deeply than we can possibly imagine. The Collect for the Mass certainly resonates not only with our grief, but also with the hope--a hope to receive once again the abundant fruit of the Lord's Passion--the fruit of His Body and Blood offered for us--which we receive in the Eucharist.

As we continue to experience the grief of not being able to receive the Eucharist as often as we would like, we certainly are united with those Catholics in the missionary territories, who only have a priest to celebrate mass for them a few times or only once a year, sometimes less. They are certainly our teachers, that during the desert of Eucharistic fasting, we can practice the precepts of our faith well, study our faith, and pass on our faith.

We also unite are grief with our Lady, who teaches us to trust and submit to God every moment of our life, especially in our grief, in hopes and trust that the Lord God is at work for the greatest good, the salvation of souls.