July 6 2020 - St. Maria Goretti - A holy life prepares us for trial

Maria Goretti was born of a poor family in the central Italian town of Corinaldo. Her father died when she was 10 years old, and one of the men who had worked with her father, 19 year old Alessandro Serenelli, had made several attempts to seduce the young girl. She told him that he could go to hell for what he wanted to do.  Her refusal and her words of faith so angered him that he stabbed her, 14 times.

It took Maria two days to die from those stab wounds.  And On her deathbed, Maria, not only pardoned Alessandro, but she said: “I hope that he too will join me in Paradise.”  Maria died in the hospital after forgiving her murderer.  Maria Goretti was scarcely twelve years old when she died on July 7, 1902. 

Alessandro remained unrepentant for his attempted rape and murder of the young girl, but several years into his prison sentence, Alessandro had a dream in which Maria presented him with a bouquet of lilies—lilies are of course a symbol of purity. Repentance filled his heart and he turned to the mercy of Christ.  After 27 years in prison, Alessandro was released, and visited Maria’s mother, Assunta, whom he asked forgiveness. “If my daughter can forgive him, who am I to withhold forgiveness?" she said. Alessandro spent his last years as a third-order Franciscan and died in 1970.

Maria Goretti was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950, and it is the first time in history that the mother of a saint was present at the canonization.  Alessandro was also there, also probably the first time that the saint’s murderer was present at the canonization, and thanks be to God, his soul was right with God. He had testified in her cause for canonization, speaking not only of her courageous protection of her purity, but the tremendous holiness the saint had cultivated over those short twelve years.

It is said that "even if she had not been a martyr, she would still have been a saint, so holy was her everyday life".  And this is such an important lesson for all of his: the holiness of her everyday life helped her at a crucial moment to remain courageous, to forgive and love her murderer with the heart of Christ. And her sanctity brought about the eventual conversion of a very evil man, who probably only died in communion with Christ because of her.

May St. Maria Goretti help us to cultivate a love of innocence, chastity, and forgiveness, and help all of us to remain steadfast in faith in the moment of trial, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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Through the intercession of the holy virgin-martyr St. Maria Goretti, for an increase of reverence for and practice of the virtues of chastity, purity, and modesty and for greater respect for the dignity of the human body and all human life.

That all of our young people on summer vacation may be kept safe from the poisonous errors and vices of our time and be kept in close friendship with the Lord Jesus through the faith of their families, daily prayer, attendance at Mass, and the practice of the virtues.

That the Holy Spirit may guide the selection of a new bishop for the diocese of Cleveland.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, for victims of abuse, especially children, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

February 5 2018 - St. Agatha, virgin-martyr - Reverencing the Temple (of the Body)

The Ark of the Covenant being brought into the newly constructed Temple was a momentous occasion for Israel. It marked that God was now being rightly worshipped by Israel, and that would bring tremendous favor upon his chosen people. And so the ark was processed in quite the majestic and solemn way. Countless sheep and oxen were sacrificed, trumpets were blown, the king marched along with the priests and his people. And it seemed God was quite pleased, for the cloud of God’s glory filled the Temple.

If you’ve ever attended the Easter Vigil, you might experience some similarities. We of course do not sacrifice sheep and oxen, for Christ has provided the worthy sacrifice of himself. But, there are processions, and clouds of incense, and trumpets on Easter, to celebrate the presence of the Risen Christ with His Church.

At the Great Vigil we also celebrate new Christians becoming Temples of God through the Sacrament of Baptism. And, all of us who are baptized are taught to reverence our bodies as Temples of the Spirit.

The dedication of Solomon's Temple was one of the great events in history. However, Jesus is greater than Solomon. And we who are baptized are greater than Solomon’s Temple.

So we need to have great reverence for our bodies, adorning them with virtue, using them to glorify God in all things. St. Paul urges the Romans, “brothers and sisters…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God…Do not conform yourself to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”

When we understand the reverence we are to have for ourselves, we begin to understand why people like St. Agnes, St. Anastasia, Susanna, St. Agatha, who we honor today, St. Lucy, St. Maria Goretti, they died to preserve their purity, their chastity, their consecrated virginity.

For resisting the advances of a degenerate civil official, for her faith, St. Agatha was arrested. To punish her for wishing to protect her chastity, she was sent to a brothel, a house of prostitution. When she persevered in protecting her chastity, her breasts were cut off, and she was sent to her martyrdom.

We do well to invoke St. Agatha and the virgin martyrs to help our culture reclaim the value of chastity and modesty and purity. May we all resist, especially our young people, conforming ourselves to this increasingly perverse and degenerate age, and come to reverence our bodies once again as Temples of God, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For the Holy Father’s prayer intention for the month of February, that those who have material, political or spiritual power may resist any lure of corruption. We pray to the Lord.

Through the intercession of St. Agatha and the holy virgin-martyrs, for an increase of reverence for the virtues of chastity, purity, and modesty and for greater respect for the dignity of the human body and all human life.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, 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 all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

Homily: Dec 13 2016 - St. Lucy - Beholding things eternal

The Church has honored Saint Lucy as a virgin martyr for almost fifteen hundred years. 

Like St. Cecilia, St. Agnes, and St. Agatha, we honor St. Lucy as a consecrated virgin.  Consecrated virginity was a counter-cultural sign in the Roman Empire when she lived, and it continues to be this way today. 

The virgins remind us that we are not to live for this world alone, and that all of us, whether priests, married, single are to dedicate our entire selves to God.  All of our gifts, physical, mental, spiritual, time , talent, and treasure, are to be given back to God for the building up of his kingdom.

Where our culture worships promiscuity—the virgins teach us of the great joy of purity and chastity, and remind us that happiness is found in embracing Christ. 

Where our culture worships physical beauty, the virgins teach us that physical beauty is inferior to spiritual beauty.  And that the human soul is made beautiful by imitating Christ, who himself was a virgin consecrated to His Father’s Will.

Our Catholic History is full of extraordinarily courageous women like St. Lucy, who teach us by their grace, their strength, and their love of Christ.  Her name, Lucy, in Latin, means "Light" and is regarded as the patron saint of the blind.  

The collect prayer for her feast asks for her help so that we may “behold things eternal.” We are so often distracted by temporal, passing things. Instead of nurturing our souls, growing in charity, we become enamored with the trivial and spiritually blind to that which matters most.

Perhaps we do well to identify this things and activities which vie for our attention, which distract us, which all too often draw our gaze away from Christ. Perhaps we would do well to fast from these things for the rest of Advent.

St. Lucy is another wonderful Advent saint, who helps us prepare to gaze upon the loveliness of Christ by focusing more intently upon Him.  May St. Lucy truly help us turn more deeply to behold things eternal for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Nov 25 2016 - St. Catherine of Alexandria - Virgin & Martyr

St. Catherine was one of the most revered saints of the early Church.  She lived at the end of the third century in the city of Alexandria in Egypt.  She was so beautiful and wise that she attracted the attention of the Emperor Maximian.  She however, would not marry the emperor because she had consecrated herself to Jesus.

The Emperor sent his 50 wisest philosophers to convince Saint Catherine to change her mind, but they proved no match for Catherine’s superior intellect; they were so impressed with her, and her explanation of the Gospel, that all 50 became Christian.

The Emperor had Catherine imprisoned; yet while imprisoned she converted the empress, the leader of the armed forces, over 200 soldiers, and other members of the emperor’s family,

The Emperor, infuriated that Catherine would not give up her faith and marry Him, ordered her to be tied to wheel affixed with sharp knives and spikes and tortured. From her lacerated body prayers ascended to heaven, and the wheel however was struck by ‘fire from heaven’ and was shattered.  This angered the emperor even more, so he had her beheaded. 

Neither political pressure, imprisonment, torture, or death could cause this great saint to compromise her faith.  Through her reception of the Eucharist, through prayer and study, Catherine was filled with tremendous faith and love of God which transformed the lives of others even as she suffered.

Yesterday, families gathered for the great thanksgiving meal.  It is a good and holy thing for families to put aside the worldly occupations in order to share a good meal with each other.  Yet, God calls us to gather as a family of faith every week, for the Eucharist.  Many would never dream of skipping thanksgiving dinner, but have no problem skipping Sunday Mass. 

Saint Catherine and so many thousands of martyrs, by their witness show us that the practicing our faith is more important than anything else; they reveal the urgency to form our minds and hearts through word and sacrament, study and charity; that we may be equipped for the building up of the kingdom.

Over the centuries Saint Catherine has been invoked as patron saint of Apologists; craftsmen who work with a wheel (potters; knife sharpeners, millers); archivists; attorneys; barristers; dying people; educators; girls; jurists; lawyers; librarians; libraries; maidens; mechanics; nurses; old maids; philosophers; potters; preachers; scholars; schoolchildren; scribes; secretaries; spinners; spinsters; stenographers; students; tanners; teachers; theologians; tire-repairmen; unmarried girls; wheel-makers.

Through her intercession and holy example may Saint Catherine help us to be strengthened in faith and constancy and spend ourselves without reserve for the unity of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.