OM: Pope St. Sylvester - The Pope's 2013 Prayer Intentions (January)

Saint Sylvestre eut Rome pour patrie. Quand il fut en âge de disposer de sa fortune, il se plaisait à donner l'hospitalité aux chrétiens étrangers qui passaient à Rome; il les menait à sa demeure, lavait leurs pieds, leur servait à manger, enfin leur donnait, au nom de Jésus-Christ, tous les soins de la plus sincère charité.

Il vint, un jour, à Rome, un illustre confesseur de la foi, nommé Timothée d'Antioche. Personne n'osait le recevoir; Sylvestre s'en fit un honneur, et, pendant un an, Timothée prêchant Jésus-Christ avec un zèle incroyable, recevait chez lui la plus généreuse hospitalité. Cet homme héroïque ayant conquis la palme du martyre, Sylvestre déroba ses précieux restes et les ensevelit à la faveur de la nuit. Mais lui-même fut bientôt traduit devant le tribunal du préfet, comme recélant les trésors du martyr: "Timothée, répondit-il, ne m'a laissé que l'héritage de sa foi et de son courage."

Le préfet le menaça de la mort et le fit jeter en prison; mais Sylvestre, en le quittant, lui dit: "Insensé, c'est toi-même qui, cette nuit, vas rendre compte à Dieu." Le persécuteur avala une arête de poisson et mourut, en effet, dans la nuit. La crainte des châtiments célestes adoucit les bourreaux et l'héroïque jeune homme fut rendu à la liberté. Cette belle conduite de Sylvestre le fit appeler au diaconat par le Pape saint Melchiade, dont il devait être l'éminent successeur.

Son long pontificat de vingt et un ans, célèbre à divers titres, l'est surtout par le concile de Nicée, le Baptême de Constantin et le triomphe de l'Église. Le Baptême de Constantin est reporté à une époque plus tardive par de nombreux auteurs; mais des témoignages non moins nombreux et non moins sérieux placent le Baptême de ce grand empereur sous le règne de saint Sylvestre, et le Bréviaire romain confirme cette opinion.

Constantin, encore païen et peu favorable aux chrétiens, dont il ignorait complètement la doctrine, fut atteint d'une sorte de lèpre qui lui couvrit tout le corps. Une nuit, saint Pierre et saint Paul, éclatants de lumière, lui apparurent et lui ordonnèrent d'appeler le Pape Sylvestre, qui le guérirait en lui donnant le Baptême. Le Pape, en effet, instruisit le royal néophyte et le baptisa. Le règne social de Jésus-Christ commençait; la conversion de Constantin allait avoir pour heureuse conséquence celle de l'univers. [Abbé L. Jaud, Vie des Saints pour tous les jours de l'année, Tours, Mame, 1950]

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Pope St. Sylvester I was born in Rome to Rufinus and Justa in the late 200's.

He was educated by a priest named Charitius or Carinus in literature and theology and was ordained a priest by Pope St. Marcellinus.

He witnessed Constantine's triumph in 312 and upon the death of Pope St. Melchiades was elevated to the papacy in 314. The same year he sent four legates to the Western Council held at Arles. The Donatist schism and the Quartodeciman heresy were condemned at this council and Pope Sylvester approved the canons written at the council for the whole Church.

He was responsible for the building of the original Basilica of St. Peter's and St. John Lateran and may also have been responsible for creating the first martyrology.

In 325 the General Council of Nicea was convened to deal with the Arian Heresy. The Arians professed that Christ was not truly God and this heresy became so prevalent that for a time most of the Christian world accepted the teachings. The Pope was not able to attend the council because of his age but sent three priests, Osius, Vito and Vincentius to act in his stead. Showing the importance of the pope's representatives, these three priests are listed ahead of the Eastern patriarchs in the list of those attending the council. The council condemned Arianism and drew up the Nicene Creed which is recited at every Mass.

Pope Sylvester died in 335 after being pope for 21 years. He was buried in the cemetery of Priscilla but Pope Sergius II had his body moved beneath an altar in the church attached to the cemetery in the 800's.

In 1227 Pope Gregory IX made his feast universal for the Church. The Western Church commemorates the feast on December 31st. The Eastern Church commemorates it on January 10th.

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Come, O Lord, to the help of your people, sustained by the intercession of Pope Saint Sylvester, so that, running the course of this present life under your guidance we may happily attain life without end. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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January 2013

General Intention - The Faith of Christians: "That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him".

Pope Benedict doesn’t want us to lose track of this time of grace so he asks us to pray this month that our knowledge of Christ may deepen, that our faith in him might be more joyful and attract people to him.

In announcing the Year of Faith, the Pope wrote about “a profound crisis of faith that has affected many.” He said, “We want this Year to arouse in every believer the aspiration to profess the faith in fullness and with renewed conviction, with confidence and hope.”

We can do this, first, by making “a concerted effort to rediscover the fundamental content of the faith,” especially through the Catechism of the Catholic Church. But we know that at its deepest level our faith is in a person. This year each of us can seek an encounter with that Person, Jesus. The Pope wrote: “We will need to keep our gaze fixed upon Jesus Christ, the ‘pioneer and perfecter of our faith’ (Hebrews 12:2).” For, “in him, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfillment.”

The Pope reminds us that “Faith grows when it is lived as an experience of love received and when it is communicated as an experience of grace and joy.” Our prayer this month should lead us to that great “experience of love” which we won’t be able to keep to ourselves but will joyfully share with everyone. This love in us is the love in the Heart of Jesus.

Reflection: What are some of the signs of the “crisis of faith”? How can our faith help the Church respond to that crisis?

Scripture: 1 Peter 3:13-17 Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for the reason for your hope.

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Mission Intention - Middle Eastern Christians: "That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance."

This month Pope Benedict asks us to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. There Christians are caught amid conflicts between peoples and religions. Many Middle Eastern Christians have fled their homelands. We pray that those who remain may find strength through the Holy Spirit, who draws Christians into communion. The unity of Christians in the Middle East can be an effective witness for reconciliation.

Last September Pope Benedict travelled to the Middle East to show his support for Christians there. He issued his Apostolic Exhortation after the Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, which had met in October 2010.

In his Exhortation Pope Benedict reminded Middle Eastern Christians of their origin. “The example of the first community in Jerusalem,” he wrote, “can serve as a model for renewing the present Christian community and making it a place of communion for witness. The Acts of the Apostles give us a simple yet touching early description of this community born on the day of Pentecost: a company of believers who were of one heart and soul. Communion is not the result of our own human efforts. It comes about, above all else, by the power of the Holy Spirit, who creates in us the faith which works through love.”

“May Christ’s followers in the Middle East, Catholics and other Christians as well, be one in courageously bearing this difficult yet exhilarating witness to Christ! May they know the encouragement and support of the Christian world as a whole.”

In that Spirit, let us offer ourselves this month for Christians in the Middle East.

Reflection: How are charity and unity in my own parish community a witness to the wider world that peace will only come through reconciliation?

Scripture: Luke 12: 2-12 Do not be afraid … the Holy Spirit will teach you what you should say. [www.apostleshipofprayer.org]

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La sainte Famille de Jésus, Marie et Joseph / The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph - Return to Halifax and CCO's Rise Up!

LA CULTURE DE LA VOCATION :

UN PROJET À RÉALISER EN COLLABORATION

Textes du dimanche 30 décembre: La sainte famille de Jésus, Marie et Joseph

Parole de Dieu: Je l’ai demandé au Seigneur… et le Seigneur me l’a donné en réponse à ma demande. À mon tour je le donne au Seigneur. (1 S 1,20.27-28) Le Père a voulu que nous soyons appelés enfants de Dieu, – et nous le sommes – (1 Jn 3,1) Comment se fait-il que vous m’ayez cherché ? Ne le saviez-vous pas ? C’est chez mon Père que je dois être. (Lc 2,49)

Intention de prière qu’on peut ajouter à la prière universelle : Pour tous les parents chrétiens ; qu’ils aient à cœur d’offrir leurs enfants au Seigneur et de les aider à découvrir ce à quoi Dieu les appelle, Seigneur, nous te prions.

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O God, who were pleased to give us the shining example of the Holy Family, graciously grant that we may imitate them in practicing the virtues of family life and in the bonds of charity, and so, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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RETURN TO HALIFAX

CCO'S RISE UP! EAST

Friday evening, I flew to Halifax and was picked up by Father Craig Cameron, who is the first priest ordained for the new Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth. We headed to St. Mary's Glebe (rectory) which has recently been refurbished and where Father Paul Morris had prepared a most delicious supper.

Yesterday morning, I presided at the Opening Mass, concelebrated by Emeritus Archbishop James Hayes, one of my predecessors as archbishop of Halifax. I went out for lunch with long-time friends (from my time as a teacher at AST 1975-81 and again from my service between 1998 and 2007 and all the years in between and since) the Driscolls.

After visiting John Sr. in hospital, I meandered through town admiring some of the changes that have taken place these past five years: a skateboard park and the skating oval and new layers of coloured paint on wooden houses that so typify older homes in the Atlantic Region. 

A selection of photos taken on a bright sunny day before the arrival of snow which was expected to arrive overnight:

Something in common with Ottawa!

St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica (a landmark since 1820)

Left to right: Fr. Craig Cameron, Fr. Paul Morris, Mr. David MacPhee, omi

Fifth Day of Christmas - Optional Memorial of St. Thomas a Becket

A strong man who wavered for a moment, but then learned one cannot come to terms with evil and so became a strong churchman, a martyr and a saint—that was Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, murdered in his cathedral on December 29, 1170.

His career had been a stormy one. While archdeacon of Canterbury, he was made chancellor of England at the age of 36 by his friend King Henry II. When Henry felt it advantageous to make his chancellor the archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas gave him fair warning: he might not accept all of Henry’s intrusions into Church affairs. Nevertheless, he was made archbishop (1162), resigned his chancellorship and reformed his whole way of life!

Troubles began. Henry insisted upon usurping Church rights. At one time, supposing some conciliatory action possible, Thomas came close to compromise. He momentarily approved the Constitutions of Clarendon, which would have denied the clergy the right of trial by a Church court and prevented them from making direct appeal to Rome. But Thomas rejected the Constitutions, fled to France for safety and remained in exile for seven years. When he returned to England, he suspected it would mean certain death. Because Thomas refused to remit censures he had placed upon bishops favored by the king, Henry cried out in a rage, “Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest!” Four knights, taking his words as his wish, slew Thomas in the Canterbury cathedral.

Thomas Becket remains a hero-saint down to our own times. Comment: No one becomes a saint without struggle, especially with himself. Thomas knew he must stand firm in defense of truth and right, even at the cost of his life. We also must take a stand in the face of pressures—against dishonesty, deceit, destruction of life—at the cost of popularity, convenience, promotion and even greater goods.

Quote: In T.S. Eliot's powerful drama, Murder in the Cathedral, Becket faces a final temptation to seek martyrdom for earthly glory and revenge. With real insight into his life situation, Thomas responds: "The last temptation is the greatest treason: To do the right deed for the wrong reason."

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O God, who gave the Martyr Saint Thomas Becket the courage to give up his life for the sake of justice, grant, through his intercession, that, renouncing our life for the sake of Christ in this world, we may find it in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Saint Thomas Becket

Archevêque de Cantorbéry, Martyr (+ 1170)

Saint Thomas de Cantorbéry, par son courage indomptable à défendre les droits de l’Église, est devenu l’un des plus célèbres évêques honorés du nom de saints et de martyrs. Dès sa jeunesse, il fut élevé aux plus hautes charges de la magistrature ; mais l’injustice des hommes détacha du monde ce coeur plein de droiture et de sincérité, et il entra dans l’état ecclésiastique. Là encore, son mérite l’éleva aux honneurs, et le roi Henri II le nomma son chancelier. Il ne fit que croître en vertu, donnant le jour aux affaires et passant la meilleure partie de la nuit en oraison. Il n’était que le distributeur de ses immenses revenus : les familles ruinées, les malades abandonnés, les prisonniers, les monastères pauvres, en avaient la meilleure part.

Le roi l’obligea d’accepter l’archevêché de Cantorbéry. Thomas eut beau dire au prince, pour le dissuader, qu’il s’en repentirait bientôt : celui-ci persista, et le chancelier reçut le sacerdoce (car il n’était encore que diacre) et l’onction épiscopale. Sa sainteté s’accrut en raison de la sublimité de ses fonctions. On ne le voyait jamais dire la Sainte Messe, sinon les yeux baignés de larmes ; en récitant le Confiteor, il poussait autant de soupirs qu’il prononçait de mots. Il servait les pauvres à table trois fois par jour ; à la première table, il y avait treize pauvres ; à la seconde, douze ; à la troisième, cent.

Thomas avait bien prévu : les exigences injustes du roi obligèrent l’archevêque à défendre avec fermeté les droits et les privilèges de l’Église. Henri II, mal conseillé et furieux de voir un évêque lui résister, exerça contre Thomas une persécution à outrance. Le pontife, abandonné par les évêques d’Angleterre, chercha un refuge en France. Il rentra bientôt en son pays, avec la conviction arrêtée qu’il allait y chercher la mort ; mais il était prêt.

Un jour les émissaires du roi se présentèrent dans l’église où Thomas priait ; il refusa de fuir, et fut assommé si brutalement, que sa tête se brisa et que sa cervelle se répandit sur le pavé du sanctuaire. C’est à genoux qu’il reçut le coup de la mort. Il employa ce qui lui restait de force pour dire : "Je meurs volontiers pour le nom de Jésus et pour la défense de l’Église."

Fourth Day of Christmas: The Holy Innocents - Les saints Innocents

Joseph being warned in a dream to take the Child Jesus and his Mother to Egypt
(with the slaughter of the Holy Innocents in the background)

The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the innocents make manifest the opposition of darkness to the light: "He came to his own home, and his own people received him not." Christ's whole life was lived under the sign of persecution. His own share it with him. Jesus' departure from Egypt recalls the exodus and presents him as the definitive liberator of God's people (CCC #530)

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O God, whom the Holy Innocents confessed and proclaimed on this day, not by speaking but by dying, grant, we pray, that the faith in your which we confess with our lips may also speak through our manner of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Une version contemporaine des Saints Innocents

Le massacre des saints Innocents, acrylique sur papier, 17 x 12 cm, 2010-2011.

Le Massacre des saints Innocents d’après le livre d'Heures ms.109 de l’Université McGill: Bien que le massacre des Innocents ait eu lieu à Bethléem, l'enlumineur du livre d'Heures ms. 109 conservé à l'Université McGill a placé cette tragédie dans la rue d’une ville européenne du XVe siècle. En effet, à la fin du Moyen Âge, il était courant de représenter les faits bibliques comme s’ils s'étaient passés dans l’entourage urbain et immédiat des artistes.

Reprenons maintenant cette pratique pour faire entrer le récit sacré dans notre cosmos habituel : dans une ruelle d’un quartier populaire de Montréal, les soldats du roi Hérode viennent de tuer les enfants de moins de deux ans.

Cette scène conserve, au premier plan, la figure principale de l’image d’origine. Il s'agit d'une mère s'arrachant les cheveux, terrifiée par la barbarie à la vue de son fils mort et jeté par terre. À droite, une autre femme est assise sur le porche d’un immeuble et pleure avec son enfant entre les bras. On voit aussi d'autres petits emmaillotés et inertes sur le trottoir.

Plus loin, quelques figures indifférentes aux événements, comme dans l'image d'origine, se promènent devant des constructions en brique. Dans la partie basse d'une des maisons, on distingue un « dépanneur » ou petit magasin de quartier, servant à trouver des aliments frais à tout moment.

La bordure de cette image représente des animaux bien connus, comme le castor et l'écureuil. Nous pouvons observer aussi une mouche appelée Syrphidé ou Syrphe, qui peut souvent être vue dans les beaux parcs de Montréal. L'image montre, également, quelques fleurs pouvant se trouver dans les jardins de la ville, comme l'anémone du Canada, l'orchidée papillon Phalaenopsis ou encore une fleur de joubarbe. Quant au crâne sur la bordure, sa présence s'explique d'elle-même.

Gracieuseté de Dimo Leonardo García Camargo (Bogotá, 1975—), un peintre qui travaille a Montréal [http://exposiciondedimo.blogspot.ca/]

St. John, Apostle and Evangelist - THE SOLEMNITY OF THE HOLY FAMILY ("C")

O God, who through the blessed Apostle John have unlocked for us the secrets of your Word, grant, we pray, that we may grasp with proper understanding what he has so marvelously brought to our ears. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Holy Family (Year “C”)—December 30, 2012

GOD'S SON OBEYS HIS HUMAN PARENTS

[Texts: 1 Samuel 1.11, 20-22, 24-28 [Psalm 84]; 1 John 3.1-2, 21-24; Luke 2.41-52]

An American study showed the crucial role parents have in helping their children escape harmful, even destructive, experiences as they grow up.

Children were found to be less likely to experiment with alcohol, drugs, or premarital sexual activity if their parents were with them at key points in the day: when they awoke, on their return from school, at meal and bed times.

Thus, the role of parents in assisting their children in making a healthy and— Christians maintain—a holy, transition from childhood to adulthood cannot be underestimated.

The added stress placed on families in which both parents work long hours or in households where a single parent has to shoulder alone the financial and emotional support of one or more children shows the importance of today's Holy Family feast.

Recently I was given a copy of an icon of the Holy Family that had been presented to Pope John Paul II at a celebration of the family. It depicts a scene from today's gospel reading, the return of Mary, Joseph and the adolescent child Jesus from Jerusalem after his parents had found him in the Temple.

The sacred painting represents Joseph as carrying the 12-year old Holy Child on his shoulders. That the adolescent Jesus is carried on Joseph's shoulder indicates that it was the task of his foster-father to introduce Jesus to adulthood. It points to the irreplaceable role played by the father of a family in helping his children become adults.

In this iconic representation, Jesus looks to Mary, who is handing him a scroll on which are written the opening words of Isaiah 61.1, “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me”.

This indicates Mary's maternal function of sharing with Jesus God's will in his regard.

Mary's reply at the Annunciation—“Here am I the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word”—had made obedience to God's will her priority in life. Even so, she would not escape having to struggle to sort out the events God's providence would bring into her life and that of her remarkable Son.

Saint Luke tells us that Mary “treasured all these things in her heart”—what had happened to Jesus; the anxiety she and Joseph had shared as for days they sought their lost boy; the puzzling words he had said to them, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house; and most of all that afterwards Jesus “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them”.

It is a rare family even today that cannot identify with the confusion and shock of Jesus' parents at his words which placed a deep gap between the devotion he owed them in filial piety and the powerful attraction He felt towards a higher vocation.

From the story, we learn also of the piety that drew Jesus' family to make the long and arduous pilgrimage every year to Jerusalem for the Passover.

Children's religious dispositions, we know from catechists, are profoundly shaped by the level of devotion shown by their parents. Unfortunately, the good work done by Catholic schools or in parish catechetical programs in opening youngsters to the practice of the faith often founders when parents are unable or unwilling to bring their children to share in the Sunday Eucharist.

The sense of Jesus' words about having to be “in his Father's house” is probably more correctly shown if we translate them as meaning “having to be about my Father's affairs”—namely discoursing with the Jewish teachers. For the crowd was “amazed at his understanding and his answers”, in effect teaching the teachers! This is precisely the feature of Jesus' Jerusalem ministry that Luke would stress later on (19.47; 21.37; 22.53).

Readers must realize that they, like Jesus, Mary and Joseph must increase in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favour” during their journeys in faith.

As St. John put it, Christians are already by adoption what Jesus was by nature, God's children (“we are God's children now”). Their future at the end of time will be glorious (“when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is”).

Saint Stephen, the Protomartyr - Saint Etienne le protomartyre - The Second Day of Christmas

Saint Étienne : Diacre et premier martyr (+ 35)

Étienne qui porte un nom grec (stephanos, le couronné) apparaît parmi les disciples des apôtres dans la première communauté chrétienne de Jérusalem. Quand des disputes (ce sont les premières mais, hélas pas les dernières dans l'histoire de l'Église) s'élèvent au sujet des veuves hellénistes et des veuves juives, on pense tout de suite à lui et il devient le premier des sept diacres chargés du service des tables. Il s'en acquitte à merveille sans pour autant se trouver exclu du service de la Parole. Ce n'est pas en effet pour son service de charité qu'il est arrêté mais bien pour avoir, devant des représentants de la "synagogue des Affranchis", proclamé avec sagesse l'Évangile de Jésus, le Christ. On le conduit devant le sanhédrin. Il parle. On l'écoute longuement sans l'interrompre. Toute la prédication des apôtres défile dans son discours qui se termine par une vision divine: "Je vois les cieux ouverts et le Fils de l'Homme debout à la droite de Dieu." C'en est trop. On se saisit de lui, on l'entraîne, on le lapide sous les yeux d'un certain Saul. Étienne meurt comme son Maître, pardonnant et s'abandonnant entre les mains du Père. Il est le premier martyr et, de ce grain tombé en terre, le premier fruit sera la conversion de Saul sur le chemin de Damas, pour qui le ciel s'est ouvert aussi. Paul en fut aveuglé parce qu'il n'avait pas encore reçu la grâce du Baptême.

Saint Étienne, témoin courageux:

Le 26 décembre 2009, le Pape a dit que "celui qui se trouve dans la mangeoire, est le Fils de Dieu fait homme, qui nous demande de témoigner avec courage de son Évangile, comme l'a fait saint Étienne".

Premier martyr chrétien "rempli de l'Esprit Saint, il n'a pas hésité à donner sa vie par amour de son Seigneur. Il meurt, comme son maître, en pardonnant ses persécuteurs et nous fait comprendre comment la venue du Fils de Dieu dans le monde donne naissance à une nouvelle civilisation, la civilisation de l'amour, qui ne se rend pas devant le mal et la violence et qui abat les barrières entre les hommes en les rendant frères dans la grande famille des fils de Dieu".

"Le témoignage d'Étienne, comme celui des martyrs chrétiens, montre à nos contemporains souvent distraits et désorientés, sur qui doit reposer leur confiance pour donner un sens à leur vie. Le martyr, en effet, est celui qui meurt avec la certitude de se savoir aimé de Dieu, et, sans rien faire passer avant l'amour du Christ, sait qu'il a choisi la meilleure part". Benoît XVI a ajouté que "l'Église, en nous présentant le diacre saint Étienne comme modèle, nous montre aussi, dans l'accueil et dans l'amour envers les plus pauvres, un des chemins privilégiés pour vivre l'Évangile et témoigner aux hommes de façon crédible du Règne de Dieu qui vient".

Après avoir souligné que la fête de saint Étienne "nous rappelle aussi tous ces croyants qui, à travers le monde, sont mis à l'épreuve et souffrent à cause de leur foi", le Pape a demandé de s'engager "à les soutenir par la prière et à être fidèles à notre vocation chrétienne, en mettant toujours au centre de notre vie Jésus-Christ que nous contemplons, en ces jours, dans la simplicité et l'humilité de la crèche".

Les Églises orientales ont fêté Marie, en son mystère d'être la "Theotokos", la Mère de Dieu, la toujours Vierge, le 26 décembre, au lendemain de la Nativité. Elles reportent la célébration de saint Étienne au 27 décembre.

St. Stephen

The deacon Stephen, stoned in Jerusalem two years after the death of Christ, has always been the object of very special veneration by the faithful. He is the first martyr. The account in the Acts of the Apostles relating his arrest and the accusations brought against him emphasize the parallel with our Saviour's trial; he was stoned outside the city wall and died, like his Master, praying for his executioners.

Stephen belongs to the group of seven deacons whom the Apostles associated with their work in order to lighten their load. He was "filled with faith and with the Holy Spirit," "full of grace and strength" he showed himself as a man of God, radiating divine grace and apostolic zeal. As the first witness to Christ he confronted his opponents with quiet courage and the promise made by Jesus (Mark 13.11) was fulfilled: ". . .Disputing with Stephen they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit that spoke."

In St. Stephen, the first martyr, the liturgy emphasizes the imitator of Christ even to the extent of the complete gift of self, to the extent of that great charity which made him pray in his suffering for his executioners. By establishing the feast on the day after Christmas the Church draws an even closer comparison between the disciple and the Master and thus extends his witness to the whole mission of the redeeming Messiah.

Professing the Christian Faith Demands the Heroism of the Martyrs:

On the day after the solemnity of Christmas, we celebrate today the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr. At first glance, to join the memory of the "protomartyr" and the birth of the Redeemer might seem surprising because of the contrast between the peace and joy of Bethlehem and the tragedy of St. Stephen, stoned in Jerusalem during the first persecution against the nascent Church.

In reality, this apparent opposition is surmounted if we analyze in greater depth the mystery of Christmas. The Child Jesus, lying in the cave, is the only-begotten Son of God who became man. He will save humanity by dying on the cross.

Now we see Him in swaddling clothes in the manger; after His crucifixion, He will again be wrapped in bandages and placed in the sepulcher. It is no accident that the Christmas iconography sometimes represents the divine newborn Child lying in a small sarcophagus, to indicate that the Redeemer was born to die, He was born to give His life in ransom for all.

St. Stephen was the first to follow in the steps of Christ with martyrdom: like the divine Master, he died forgiving and praying for his executioners (cf. Acts 7:60). During the first four centuries of Christianity all the saints venerated by the Church were martyrs.

They are a countless multitude, which the liturgy calls "the white army of martyrs," (martyrum candidatus exercitus). Their death was not a reason for fear and sadness, but of spiritual enthusiasm, which always gave rise to new Christians. For believers, the day of death, and even more so, the day of martyrdom, is not the end of everything, but rather the "passage" to immortal life, it is the day of the final birth, the "dies natalis." Thus is understood the link that exists between the "dies natalis" of Christ and the "dies natalis" of St. Stephen. If Jesus had not been born on earth, men would not have been able to be born for heaven. Precisely because Christ was born, we are able to be "reborn."

Also Mary, who took the Redeemer in her arms in Bethlehem, suffered an interior martyrdom. She shared His Passion and had to take Him, once again, in her arms when they took Him down from the cross. To this Mother, who felt the joy of the birth and the anguish of the death of her divine Son, we entrust those who are persecuted and those who are suffering, in different ways, for witnessing and serving the Gospel.

With special spiritual closeness, I am also thinking of the Catholics who maintain their fidelity to the See of Peter without giving in to compromises, at times even at the cost of grave sufferings. The whole Church admires their example and prays that they will have the strength to persevere, knowing that their tribulations are a source of victory, though for the moment they might seem to be a failure. (Angelus Message, Pope Benedict XVI, December 26, 2006)

St. Stephen is a patron of Casket makers; coffin makers; deacons; headaches; horses; stone masons; some symbols of Stephen are a deacon carrying a pile of rocks; deacon with rocks gathered in his vestments; deacon with rocks on his head; deacon with rocks or a book at hand; stones; palm of martyrdom.

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Grant, Lord, we pray, that we may imitate what we worship, and so learn to love even our enemies, for we celebrate the heavenly birthday of a man who know how to pray even for his persecutors. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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This evening, I fly to Timmins for the ordination tomorrow afternoon of its new bishop, Mgr Serge Patrick Poitras. On Christmas Day, following the 10:30 Mass at the Cathedral, I took a good long walk in the snow-covered pathways that border the Ottawa River, then joined a few members of the household, friends and several Jesuit confreres for dinner in the dining-room, a festive feast done up by chef Gerry Tighe.  Some photos:

Christmas Greetings - Joyeux Noel

O God, who gladden us year by year as we wait in hope for our redemption grant that, just as we joyfully welcome your Only Begotten Son as our Redeemer, we may also merit to face him confidently when he comes again as our Judge. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Christmas Eve Gospel: Benedictus - My Visits to Montreal and Russell

"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;

he has come to his people and set them free.

He has raised up for us a mighty savior,

Born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old

that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all who hate us.

He promised to show mercy to our fathers

and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

to give his people knowledge of salvation

by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace."

[Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.]

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COLLECT PRAYER

FOR CHRISTMAS EVE

MASS DURING THE DAY

 

Come quickly, we pray, Lord Jesus, and do not delay, that those who find trust in your compassion may find solace and relief in your coming. Who live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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VISITS TO FAMILY IN MONTREAL

TO THE KERRS IN RUSSELL

Because of commitments in Timmins and Halifax after Christmas (the ordination of Mgr Serge Poitras on December 27 and attendance at CCO's Rise Up! from December 28-January 1), I slipped away for a couple of days in Montreal to visit with family, Jesuits and friends.

Saturday evening, my brother John and his family (Sonia, Clara and Paul) hosted a supper meal.  Here are some pictures taken there (mostly of my nieces); a few pix:

Clara, Paul & the Christmas tree

Cousins Gillian and Clara (my nieces) chatting with...

... my niece, Alison

On my return to Ottawa Sunday morning, I visited with the Kerr Family in Russell (they moved there this year from Barry's Bay).  As Father Paul Nwaeze was under the weather, I presided at the 10:45 Sunday Mass at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal church and accepted, on his behalf, a generous cheque from the Knights of Columbus (the results of a Keep Christ in Christmas fund-raising campaign) to assist with the renewal of the church's windows.

Herewith a few more photos:

The Kerrs (left to right): Lauren, Sarah-Grace, Stephen,Annmarie, Rebecca, Isaiah, Colin

The Parish's outdoor creche

The cheque...

Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year C) - Understanding the Incarnation



Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son was made known by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of his Resurrection. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen.

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THE TRUE MEANING

OF THE INCARNATION

One of this week's installments of Reading the Catechism in a Year (which has now reached 100,000 followers) explained the Incarnation, how it has been misunderstood and how it should be understood.

Here is the selection from the Catechism of the Catholic Church (#464-469) that explains the Church's coming to grips with the truths about Jesus Christ over the centuries. 

To subscribe (you can always make up the days missed in the New Year), go to www.flocknotes.org.

TRUE GOD AND TRUE MAN

464 The unique and altogether singular event of the Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and the human. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man.

During the first centuries, the Church had to defend and clarify this truth of faith against the heresies that falsified it.

465 The first heresies denied not so much Christ's divinity as his true humanity (Gnostic Docetism). From apostolic times the Christian faith has insisted on the true incarnation of God's Son "come in the flesh". But already in the third century, the Church in a council at Antioch had to affirm against Paul of Samosata that Jesus Christ is Son of God by nature and not by adoption. The first ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 confessed in its Creed that the Son of God is "begotten, not made, of the same substance (homoousios) as the Father", and condemned Arius, who had affirmed that the Son of God "came to be from things that were not" and that he was "from another substance" than that of the Father.

466 The Nestorian heresy regarded Christ as a human person joined to the divine person of God's Son. Opposing this heresy, St. Cyril of Alexandria and the third ecumenical council, at Ephesus in 431, confessed "that the Word, uniting to himself in his person the flesh animated by a rational soul, became man." Christ's humanity has no other subject than the divine person of the Son of God, who assumed it and made it his own, from his conception. For this reason the Council of Ephesus proclaimed in 431 that Mary truly became the Mother of God by the human conception of the Son of God in her womb: "Mother of God, not that the nature of the Word or his divinity received the beginning of its existence from the holy Virgin, but that, since the holy body, animated by a rational soul, which the Word of God united to himself according to the hypostasis, was born from her, the Word is said to be born according to the flesh."

467 The Monophysites affirmed that the human nature had ceased to exist as such in Christ when the divine person of God's Son assumed it. Faced with this heresy, the fourth ecumenical council, at Chalcedon in 451, confessed:

Following the holy Fathers, we unanimously teach and confess one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: the same perfect in divinity and perfect in humanity, the same truly God and truly man, composed of rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father as to his divinity and consubstantial with us as to his humanity; "like us in all things but sin". He was begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, was born as to his humanity of the virgin Mary, the Mother of God.

We confess that one and the same Christ, Lord, and only-begotten Son, is to be acknowledged in two natures without confusion, change, division or separation. The distinction between the natures was never abolished by their union, but rather the character proper to each of the two natures was preserved as they came together in one person (prosopon) and one hypostasis.

468 After the Council of Chalcedon, some made of Christ's human nature a kind of personal subject. Against them, the fifth ecumenical council, at Constantinople in 553, confessed that "there is but one hypostasis [or person], which is our Lord Jesus Christ, one of the Trinity." Thus everything in Christ's human nature is to be attributed to his divine person as its proper subject, not only his miracles but also his sufferings and even his death: "He who was crucified in the flesh, our Lord Jesus Christ, is true God, Lord of glory, and one of the Holy Trinity."

469 The Church thus confesses that Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother:

"What he was, he remained and what he was not, he assumed", sings the Roman Liturgy. And the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom proclaims and sings: "O only-begotten Son and Word of God, immortal being, you who deigned for our salvation to become incarnate of the holy Mother of God and ever-virgin Mary, you who without change became man and were crucified, O Christ our God, you who by your death have crushed death, you who are one of the Holy Trinity, glorified with the Father and the Holy Spirit, save us!"

Today's Gospel: The "Magnificat" - Pope Publishes in Financial Times


O God, who, seeing the human race fallen into death, willed to redeem it by the coming of your Only Begotten Son, grant, we pray, that those who confess his Incarnation with Humble fervour may merit his company as their Redeemer. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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A Time for Christians to Engage with the World

This is the article Pope Benedict XVI had published in the Financial Times of London a few days ago. The invitation to a reigning Pontiff and the publication itself are quite exceptional.  The text was also made available by the Holy See Press Office for wider distribution. The Holy Father's message of financiers, buisness-people, et al:

"Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God," was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely he would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud.

Jesus’ answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicization of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As he told Pontius Pilate, "My kingship is not of this world."

The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a "census of the whole world" taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time.

Jesus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation he brought to his people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.

The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?

Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in whom we recognize God made Man.

It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.

Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.

Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.

In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth.