November 18 2020 - Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul

On June 29 every year we celebrate the feast of the martyrdoms of Saints Peter and Paul. Today’s feast commemorates the dedication of the Roman Basilicas built in their honor: the basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican in the year 350 and the dedication of the basilica of St. Paul in 390.  

Both of these edifices now stand very near the places where it is traditionally believed Saints Peter and Paul were martyred. Peter, we know, was said to have been crucified upside-down in the Circus of Nero, located on the mons Vaticanus, the Vatican Hill. Paul, was martyred outside the walls of the ancient city, at a place now called the abbazia delle tre fontane, the abbey of the three fountains, called such, because it is said, that when Paul was decapitated, his head bounced three times, from which, springs of water began to flow.

Each were buried near the place of their martyrdom. Again, Peter in a roman cemetery on Vatican Hill. And Paul, in a Roman Necropolis outside the ancient walls, in the tomb of a devout roman Noblewoman named Lucilla. 

When Christianity was eventually legalized in the Roman Empire, basilicas were built over the burial places of these two foundation stones for the Church. Though pilgrimage to their tombs was already occurring before the edict of Milan. Christians in fact risked imprisonment in order to make pilgrimage to pray at the tombs of Peter and Paul. 

Neither of the original basilicas still stand, in fact St. Paul’s has been subject to numerous fires. The new basilica of St. Paul’s was consecrated by Pius IX in 1854 and St. Peter’s Basillica was consecrated on this day, November 18 in 1626 by Pope Urban VIII—the altar of St. Peter’s basilica standing directly over the burial place of the apostle.

We can certainly see homages to these two great basilicas in the architecture of St. Ignatius, and yet, we aren’t really celebrated architectural achievement today, are we? Rather, the entire Catholic world today celebrates these two buildings in Rome,  in order to show our honor to the Apostles, and to remember that we belong to a Church that spans the entire globe, several millennia, which is built on the apostolic foundation. 

In an age where so many are tempted to sever themselves from the past and from authentic Church teaching, this feast is an important dimension of our Catholic faith. We unite ourselves to the great efforts of the apostles, to the millions of Catholics who have suffered persecution for our faith, for the efforts of missionaries and evangelists and teachers who have spent their lives passing on our faith, without whom we would not be here today. 

May our lives continue to be built upon the apostolic faith, courage and strength of Peter and Paul. May the love for the Lord which animated their lives animate ours, that we may serve him generously, if not heroically, like them, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the purification of Holy Church, that the Pope and Bishops and clergy may be filled with Apostolic Zeal, and that all the Christian faithful may discover and nurture their spiritual gifts for the building up of the Church.

For those who have left the Church, for those who have grown lukewarm, for those in mortal sin, for their conversion and the conversion of all hearts.

For the healing of all those afflicted with physical, mental, emotional illness, for those in hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care, those struggling with addictions, for those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and all the poor souls in purgatory, for deceased priests and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

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.

 

June 30 2020 - First Martyrs of Rome - Blessed are the Christian Persecuted

Yesterday, we celebrated the martyrdom of Peter and Paul, both martyred in Rome, perhaps even on the same day. Peter and Paul were martyred, likely in the year 67, but they were not the first martyrs of Rome.

There were Christians in Rome within a dozen or so years after the death of Jesus; it is to them that Paul wrote his great letter to the Romans.

Little can be said with certainty about the social and economic situation of those original Roman Christians; they probably represented a cross-section of Rome’s urban population. It was probably a congregation consisting mostly of folks from the middle and lower classes—artisans, merchants, manual laborers, slaves and former slaves, with perhaps a modest number of affluent citizens and perhaps a one or two politically influential persons. They were probably a combination of Jewish and Gentile—Paul even refers to a few of his relatives in his letter, Prisca and Aquila.

Rome was somewhat tolerant to its Jewish citizens. They were exempt from offering the pagan sacrifices. As a foreign religion, some Romans viewed Judaism with disdain. Cicero, for example, referred to Judaism as a barbarous superstition. He did not consider it dangerous, merely uncultured.

So, when some of those Roman Jews and a handful of Gentiles become Christian, it probably didn’t cause much concern, as it did in Jerusalem. Perhaps, as time went on, rumors of the Christians claim that Christ was King and true God began to cause some concern in the imperial palace.

In July of 64 A.D., more than half of Rome was destroyed by fire. Rumor blamed the tragedy on the Emperor Nero, who wanted to enlarge his palace. He, in turn, shifted the blame off of himself by accusing the Christians.  And so Nero ordered their arrest and execution.  Christians were rounded up, many were tortured, some were even crucified or thrown to wild beasts or burned at the stake.

The 1st century roman historian Tacitus wrote about the incident, “great multitudes of Christians were put to death”. Even Tacitus suggests that Nero made the Christians scapegoats for the fire.

Nero's was the first persecution by a Roman emperor, but certainly not the last.  But we celebrate and commemorate today those who were killed by that persecution, for their association with Christ. For their witness which must have impacted the early Church profoundly and continues to bolster our faith, 2000 years later.

“Blessed are those who are persecute you, and insult you, and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me, rejoice and be glad, for your reward is the kingdom of heaven.” As the world continues to oppose and conspire against Christ, against his Church, and against Christians, may we be counted among his friends, his disciples, his brothers and sisters. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.


 
That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That people of faith remain vigilant in defending their religious liberty and that Christ may govern the minds and hearts of those who govern us. We pray to the Lord.

That we may never allow the witness of the martyrs to be in vain, but live lives worthy of their sacrifice.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all Christians persecuted for their faith around the world, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, and for Richard Behlke & Catherine Strauss for whom this Mass is offered.

Heavenly Father, graciously hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church on this feast of the Roman Martyrs, through Christ, Our Lord.

Christ the King 2019 - Christus Vincit, Christus Regnat, Christus Imperat

In the middle of St Peter’s square in Rome, there stands a great obelisk. Standing over 80 feet tall and weighing over 325 Tons, this stone spear-like monolith originally stood in the temple of the sun in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis over four thousand years ago, representing the egyptians’ desire to communicate with the divine, like an antenna to the heavens. The obelisk was brought to Rome by the dreadful Emperor Caligula and set in the emperor’s gardens upon the mons Vaticanus, the Vatican Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. A decade later, the equally dreadful Emperor Nero erected a circus there, an open-air venue for public events, and it was in that circus that St Peter was martyred; the obelisk may well have been the last thing on this Earth that Peter saw.

The obelisk was moved about 1500 years later to its present location by Pope Sixtus V who engraved the following words upon the top of the obelisk, “Christus Vincit, regnat, imperat, ab omni malo plebem suam defendat: Christ conquers, He reigns, He commands; may He defend His people from all evil.” And it was topped with a bronze cross containing a fragment of the True Cross of Calvary.
These magnificent words are certainly part of the message resonating throughout this great feast of the Solemnity of Christ the King. “Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!” – “Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands”

Notice, that these words, are not in the past tense. Certainly, Christ conquered. He conquered death through his resurrection. He fought and won on the field of battle through his self-sacrifice. He conquered the false gods of the worlds and showed himself to be the true victor, the true God. And yes, he issued many commands. He commanded the apostles to teach and preach the gospel and to baptize all nations, he commanded sinners to repent, he commanded his followers to pick up and carry their own crosses, to eat his flesh and drink his blood, to follow him, to rejoice, to let their light shine, to honor god’s laws and to love god with your whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and your neighbor as yourself, to be reconciled with estranged brethren, to keep one’s word, to go the second mile to help one in need, to love one’s enemies, to pray, to seek the kingdom of God, to beware of false prophets, and to not be afraid of persecution, suffering, and death.

But those words, Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat! are not in the past tense. They are in the present tense. For Christ conquers now, he reigns now, he commands now.

Christ the King conquers now. He conquers our pride, he conquers our lusts, he conquers our self-centeredness, he conquers coldness and fear. He conquers through the light of his Gospel truth in our minds, he conquers through the working of sacramental grace in our souls, he conquers the dark parts of our world when Christians choose life over death, faith over disbelief, hope over despair, love over selfishness.

Christ the King reigns now. He reigns in hearts that love the things of God over the things of earth. He reigns when Christians make his Gospel the guiding principle of their lives over secular political philosophies. He reigns in the authentic teaching and governance of the Church. He reigns in the hearts of his saints on earth who leave their comfort to raise up the poor and down-trodden from their miseries. He reigns in families who make Him the center of their family life.

And Christ the King commands us now. Well, everything that he commanded his disciples 2000 years ago, he commands us now. For christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” Go and teach all nations, teaching them to keep all that I have commanded you.” “If you love me, keep my commandments” He commands us through the Deposit of Faith. He commands us through the legitimate authority of the Pope and Bishops in union with Him. He commands us to be faithful and to turn to him for strength when we are tempted and tried and tired.

On this great solemnity of Christ the King, may we unite our minds and wills and hearts to Christ Our King and allow him to conquer in us, reign in us, and command us. May he defend us his people from all evil, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Nov 23 2016 - Pope Clement I & Miguel Pro - Hated by all because of Christ

Jesus spoke today of the trials his followers are likely to endure, as they work for the spread of the Gospel.  Like Jesus himself, his followers will be “handed over” and suffer persecution by religious authorities and civil authorities.  The early Christians certainly suffered at the hands of religious authorities: St. Stephen the Deacon was put to death by stoning at the hands of religious authorities.  For the first three hundred years, Christians suffered severe persecution at the hands of the Roman government, by Roman provincial rulers like King Herod Agrippa, and the Roman Emperors, like Nero and Diocletian.

St. Clement, one of the saints we honor today was an early successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Rome, likely the 4th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church; he was ordained a priest by St. Peter himself.
It is said that St. Clement converted many high-ranking citizens of Rome, and because Emperor Trajan saw Clement as a rival to his power, had Clement exiled to Crimea. While in exile, he performed many miracles and converted several thousands to Christianity. Learning of this, Trajan condemned Clement to death by drowning into the sea with a marble anchor.

He is often represented as having a marble anchor by his side—an anchor as a symbol of Christian hope…that amidst the persecution, sufferings, and trials of life, we hope that what we suffer will bear fruit in eternal life. He is also the patron saint of marble-workers.

Like so many powerful men who came before and would come after, the Emperor Trajan saw the Pope as a rival to his power, and so the powerful often hate the Church because they think the Church wants earthly power. But they are confused. The Church seeks the salvation of men and preaches the truth of the Gospel no matter who is in power.

Jesus says in the Gospel “you will be hated by all because of my name”.  And we know that up and down the centuries the Church has been ridiculed and misunderstood.  In our own day, with so many attacks on religious liberty, anti-Catholicism in the media, attacks on the Catholic intellectual tradition in modern universities, we don’t have to look very far for proof of Jesus’ words.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that there aren’t 10 people in the world who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they think the Church is.”

Similarly, with Blessed Miguel Augustin Pro, also honored today; the martyred Jesuit novice of Mexico; because the Church was so hated in Mexico in the 20th Century; Father Miguel would clandestinely go about celebrating Mass, hearing confession, anointing the sick, comforting the poor. For this, he was arrested and killed by firing squad.

Saint John Paul II traveled to Mexico for Pro's beatification in Mexico on September 25, 1988, and said:

“Neither suffering nor serious illness, neither the exhausting ministerial activity, frequently carried out in difficult and dangerous circumstances, could stifle the radiating and contagious joy which he brought to his life for Christ and which nothing could take away. Indeed, the deepest root of self-sacrificing surrender for the lowly was his passionate love for Jesus Christ and his ardent desire to be conformed to him, even unto death.”

What enables us to endure the suffering, the hatred of the world for the sake of the Gospel? A passionate love for Jesus Christ! May that love fill our hearts and spurn us on in service of the Gospel for the glory of God and salvation of souls.