January 21 2025 - St. Agnes - The Virgin Martyr: A corrective force for humanity

 Listen again to our Collect prayer this morning for the feast of St. Agnes: “Almighty ever-living God, who choose what is weak in the world to confound the strong, mercifully grant, that we, who celebrate the heavenly birthday of your Martyr Saint Agnes, may follow her constancy in the faith.”

Whenever we celebrate a liturgical feast, the collect prayer contains themes corresponding to the particular feast. Today’s collect prayer mentions how God chooses the weak to confound the strong.

No doubt, the collect is alluding to the line from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians from which we read today: “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something,”.

When she was martyred, St. Agnes was a thirteen-year-old consecrated virgin. In the eyes of the world, she was foolish, poor, weak, powerless and irrelevant. And yet, those with eyes of faith can see her wisdom, her spiritual wealth and power. She is not only relevant, but also a corrective force to the fallenness of the world, and an inspiration to Christians.

Agnes embodies the spiritual truth that hat true strength comes not from physical might or political influence but from God, true wealth lies in virtue and the ability to stand against evil, and true wisdom is found in living not just for worldly success but for eternity. 

For her martyrdom, she won the heavenly crown, reminding us that fidelity to God in the face of earthly threat is the fulfillment of our faith. 

When she refused the advances of the governor’s son, she was threatened with death. But she held firm to her consecration to her true Beloved, Our Blessed Lord, reminding us that there is a deeper love than earthly romantic love. 

The fallen world, which often idolizes romance, physical beauty, self-interest, and compromise, is confronted by her unwavering pure love of God. And she challenges us to examine whether we are conforming to the world or living as citizens of heaven.

Agnes’ constancy in the face of persecution invites us to live with the same clarity of purpose, courage, and love for Christ. When we face ridicule or pressure to abandon our faith, Agnes’ witness encourages us to remain steadfast.

Her life invites us to learn to rely on God’s strength, especially in moments of weakness, and to remember that, like her, we are called to be witnesses of faith, even in a world that may mock or reject us for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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To God the Father almighty, dear brothers and sisters, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for his will it is that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.

That during this season of Ordinary Time, Church leaders and all Christians may grow in the practice of the virtues and make use of their spiritual gifts in service to God. 

That as he begins his term of office, our nation’s new president will be assisted and protected by God’s grace and conduct his administration in righteousness. May he labor always for peace, justice, and the common good with respect to God’s laws and the dignity of every human person. 

For all those preparing for baptism and full initiation: that they may be open to the grace of conversion and the joy of the followers of Christ.  

For those who struggle because of addiction, mental illness, chronic sickness, unemployment, or ongoing trials of any kind: that they may be healed and strengthened in Christ. And for the victims of the fires in California. 

For the repose of the souls of our departed loved ones…

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain.  Through Christ our Lord.

August 2 2022 - St. Eusebius of Vercelli - Constancy to affirm the Lord's divinity

 The time was the third century, the challenge facing the Church was the heresy of Arianism which denied the Divinity of Christ.

A synod was called by Pope Liberius in 355 to help settle the growing split between loyal Catholics and the Arians, and the Pope’s delegate was the first bishop of Vercelli, Bishop Eusebius.

During the Council, the Arians were vicious in arguing that the Son of God did not always exist, that he was inferior in divinity to God the Father.  The Arians wanted their opponents to condemn the writings and teachings of St. Athanasius who defended the true faith at the First Council of Nicaea.

Eusebius and other bishops loyal to Rome refused to go along with the condemnation of Athanasius.  Instead, Eusebius laid the Nicene Creed on the table and insisted that all sign it before taking up any other matter.  The Roman Emperor, himself an Arian Heretic, began to put pressure on Eusebius and the loyal bishops.  But Eusebius did not relent, in fact he confronted the Emperor for attempting to use secular force to influence Church decisions.

And you’d like to think Eusebius’ courage and constancy changed the Emperor’s mind and converted the Arians…well, no. Eusebius, like Athanasius before him, was condemned to exile for not supporting the Emperor’s will and heretical beliefs. And In exile, the Arians continued to harass the faithful bishop, even dragging him through the streets and imprisoning him. 

This reminds me of a line of Mother Theresa: “God doesn’t call us to be successful, only to be faithful.” We might not always be successful in converting the heretical emperor or fallen away family member. But we are called to be faithful to trying.  We are to uphold Catholic teaching, when faced with pressure from the secular world; maybe some will be converted…God willing…when they witness our constancy and fortitude and patience and willingness to suffer for the truth. 

As you know, I like to use the proper readings for the saints on their memorials. I like to preach on the virtues of the saints, and those proper readings are chosen by the Church because there is some confluence between God’s word and the life of the saint, the saint in some way exemplifies and illustrates God’s word by their life. And I find it pretty noteworthy that the Gospel reading for St. Eusebius is the beatitudes. 

It's almost as if the Church is saying, take note of this saint, he exemplifies the beatitudes of Jesus Christ. He was meek as Jesus was meek, he was pure of heart as Jesus was pure of heart, he was insulted and persecuted and had every evil uttered against him because he was faithful to God, and for this, for his faithfulness, he is counting among the blessed and his honored by the Church, but also held up as an example, of what it means to be a holy bishop, and faithful Catholic.

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That the pope, bishops, and clergy may be filled with constancy in teaching and living out the Gospel, and that our parish may bear witness with great confidence to our life-giving faith in word and deed.

For Bishop-elect Michael Woost who will be consecrated bishop this week, for blessings upon his ministry as auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Cleveland.

That politicians and government officials may protect religious freedom, promote virtue, and look to the law of Christ to guide their work for the good of nations and the human race

For all those who experience persecution for the sake of the Gospel, that they may be sustained in their faith, and bear fruit for the salvation of souls.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection, especially 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 desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.