From www.catholic-pages.com
The names of the first martyrs are known only to God.
In July AD 64, during the tenth year of Nero's reign, a great fire engulfed the city of Rome. It was only stopped after six nights and seven days, when several buildings were demolished. Strangely, the fire restarted in the garden of Tigellinus the next day. It was rumoured Nero himself ordered the fires, since he seemed to have taken so much joy in them. Reports of strange men torching houses saying only that they had orders, fueled the idea Nero started them. It may serve to note that many fires had afflicted Rome over its history, but as with the others it is generally thought that this fire started accidentally as well.
Nero, nonetheless, sensing the growing suspicion, declared the "Christians" had started the fires. No one thought that they had, but they were rounded up anyway. Some were sewn up in wild beast skins and fed to wild dogs while still alive. Some were covered in pitch and wax and after being more or less impaled with stakes, set alight.
Though most were hardened to the utterly savage and barbaric life of the Roman empire, it is noted that many were horrified at the treatment of those first Christians.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
It is a Childish Faith to Oppose the Church Teaching on Life and Family
LifeSiteNews.com June 29, 2009:
Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."
"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
Benedict XVI continued: "Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world," said the Pope. "It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
For Paul, said Benedict XVI, "following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
See the full homily in Italian here: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24071.php?index=24071&po_date=28.06.2009&lang=en
Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."
"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
Benedict XVI continued: "Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world," said the Pope. "It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
For Paul, said Benedict XVI, "following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
See the full homily in Italian here: http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24071.php?index=24071&po_date=28.06.2009&lang=en
June 29th: Saints Peter and Paul
Taken from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints:
This feast day commemorates the martyrdom of the two great Apostles, assigned by tradition to the same day of June in the year 67. They had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword. Tomorrow the Church commemorates the Apostle of the Gentiles; today is dedicated primarily to Saint Peter.
The Chief of the Apostles was a native of Galilee like Our Lord. As he was fishing on its large lake he was called by Our Lord to be one of His apostles. Peter was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In his heart, first of all, his conviction grew, and then from his lips came the spontaneous confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Our Lord chose him and prepared him to be the Rock on which He would build His Church, His Vicar on earth, the Head and Prince of His Apostles, the center and indispensable bond of the Church’s unity, the unique channel of all spiritual powers, the guardian and unerring teacher of His truth.
All Scripture is alive with Saint Peter; his name appears no fewer than 160 times in the New Testament. But it is after Pentecost that he stands out in the full grandeur of his office. He sees to the replacement of the fallen disciple; he admits the Jews by thousands into the fold and in the person of Cornelius, opens it to the Gentiles; he founds and for a time rules the Church at Antioch.
Ten years after the Ascension Saint Peter transferred his apostolic capital to Rome, going in person to the center of the majestic Roman Empire, where were gathered the glories and riches of the earth, along with all the powers of evil. From there he sent Saint Mark, his valued secretary, to establish the Church of Alexandria in Egypt. In Rome Saint Peter’s Chair was placed; there for twenty-five years he labored at building up the great Roman Church. He was crucified by order of Nero and buried on the Vatican Hill, where now the Basilica stands which bears his name.
Reflection. Saint Peter is the author of two profoundly doctrinal epistles. He still lives on in his successors who maintain the same holy and immutable doctrine; he still rules and feeds the flock committed to him. The reality of our devotion to him is the surest test of the purity of our faith.
This feast day commemorates the martyrdom of the two great Apostles, assigned by tradition to the same day of June in the year 67. They had been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and both had foreseen their approaching death. Saint Peter was crucified; Saint Paul, a Roman citizen, was slain by the sword. Tomorrow the Church commemorates the Apostle of the Gentiles; today is dedicated primarily to Saint Peter.
The Chief of the Apostles was a native of Galilee like Our Lord. As he was fishing on its large lake he was called by Our Lord to be one of His apostles. Peter was poor and unlearned, but candid, eager, and loving. In his heart, first of all, his conviction grew, and then from his lips came the spontaneous confession: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!” Our Lord chose him and prepared him to be the Rock on which He would build His Church, His Vicar on earth, the Head and Prince of His Apostles, the center and indispensable bond of the Church’s unity, the unique channel of all spiritual powers, the guardian and unerring teacher of His truth.
All Scripture is alive with Saint Peter; his name appears no fewer than 160 times in the New Testament. But it is after Pentecost that he stands out in the full grandeur of his office. He sees to the replacement of the fallen disciple; he admits the Jews by thousands into the fold and in the person of Cornelius, opens it to the Gentiles; he founds and for a time rules the Church at Antioch.
Ten years after the Ascension Saint Peter transferred his apostolic capital to Rome, going in person to the center of the majestic Roman Empire, where were gathered the glories and riches of the earth, along with all the powers of evil. From there he sent Saint Mark, his valued secretary, to establish the Church of Alexandria in Egypt. In Rome Saint Peter’s Chair was placed; there for twenty-five years he labored at building up the great Roman Church. He was crucified by order of Nero and buried on the Vatican Hill, where now the Basilica stands which bears his name.
Reflection. Saint Peter is the author of two profoundly doctrinal epistles. He still lives on in his successors who maintain the same holy and immutable doctrine; he still rules and feeds the flock committed to him. The reality of our devotion to him is the surest test of the purity of our faith.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Vatican: Report raises questions about internal debate
From www.adnkronos.com
Vatican City, 25 June (AKI)
The Vatican is beset by a number of internal conflicts that risk paralysing the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a report in the Italian magazine Panorama. The weekly magazine, due to be published on Friday, says several cardinals in senior positions are divided over issues including dialogue with China, relations with the Jews and the beatification of former pope John Paul II.Inside the Vatican, the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Levada, is reported to be in conflict with the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Antonio Canizares. Former secretary of state Angelo Sodano and former personal secretary of Pope John Paul II, Stanislao Dziwisz, are also reported to be "duelling", while another cardinal Achille Silvestrini is accused of challenging the power of the Vatican's influential secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone. According to the article Pope Benedict has had positive medical tests in recent weeks, including a magnetic resonance test and his heart is said to be functioning well.However, the magazine article is suggesting that manoeuvres have already begun for the next papal conclave to determine his successor.
Vatican City, 25 June (AKI)
The Vatican is beset by a number of internal conflicts that risk paralysing the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI, according to a report in the Italian magazine Panorama. The weekly magazine, due to be published on Friday, says several cardinals in senior positions are divided over issues including dialogue with China, relations with the Jews and the beatification of former pope John Paul II.Inside the Vatican, the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Levada, is reported to be in conflict with the head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Antonio Canizares. Former secretary of state Angelo Sodano and former personal secretary of Pope John Paul II, Stanislao Dziwisz, are also reported to be "duelling", while another cardinal Achille Silvestrini is accused of challenging the power of the Vatican's influential secretary of state Tarcisio Bertone. According to the article Pope Benedict has had positive medical tests in recent weeks, including a magnetic resonance test and his heart is said to be functioning well.However, the magazine article is suggesting that manoeuvres have already begun for the next papal conclave to determine his successor.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
June 24: Nativity of St. John the Baptist
Taken from Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints:
The birth of Saint John was foretold by Saint Gabriel, Archangel of the Lord, to his father, Zachary, who was offering incense in the Temple. The son of Zachary was to be the prophesied Messenger, Zachary was told, whose mission would prepare the way for Christ. Before he was born into the world John had already begun to live for the Incarnate God; even in the womb he recognized the presence of Jesus and of Mary, and leaped with joy at the glad coming of the Son of man. Before Christ’s public life began, a divine impulse sent Saint John into the desert; there, with locusts for his food and wearing haircloth, in silence and in prayer, he chastened his soul. In his youth he remained hidden, because He for whom he waited was also hidden.Then, as crowds broke in upon his solitude, he warned them to flee from the wrath to come, and gave them the baptism of penance, while they confessed their sins. At last there stood in the crowd One whom Saint John did not know, until a voice within told him that it was his Lord. He affirmed: “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He upon whom thou wilt see the Spirit descending and abiding, He it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” With the baptism of Saint John, Christ began His voluntary abasement for the sins of His people; and Saint John indeed saw the Holy Ghost descend, under the visible form of a dove, indicating in the humble Jesus of Nazareth the divine Perfection of the peaceable Eternal King and High Priest. Then the Saint’s work was done. He had but to point his own disciples to the Lamb, he had only to decrease as Christ increased. He saw all men leave him and go after Christ. “I told you,” he said, “that I am not the Christ. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoices hearing the Bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, is fulfilled.”Saint John was cast into the fortress of Herod on the east coast of the Dead Sea by the tyrant whose crimes he had rebuked; he would remain there until beheaded at the will of a girl and her cruel mother. During this time of imprisonment, some of his disciples visited him. Saint John did not speak to them of himself, but sent them to Christ, that they might witness His miracles and hear His doctrine, proofs of His mission. After Saint John’s death, the Eternal Truth pronounced the panegyric of the Saint who had lived and breathed for Him alone: “Verily I say unto you, among those born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist.”
Reflection. Saint John was great before God because in complete forgetfulness of himself he lived only for Jesus Christ, who is the source of all greatness. Sacrifice every day some of your natural inclinations to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, and learn little by little to lose yourself in Him.
The birth of Saint John was foretold by Saint Gabriel, Archangel of the Lord, to his father, Zachary, who was offering incense in the Temple. The son of Zachary was to be the prophesied Messenger, Zachary was told, whose mission would prepare the way for Christ. Before he was born into the world John had already begun to live for the Incarnate God; even in the womb he recognized the presence of Jesus and of Mary, and leaped with joy at the glad coming of the Son of man. Before Christ’s public life began, a divine impulse sent Saint John into the desert; there, with locusts for his food and wearing haircloth, in silence and in prayer, he chastened his soul. In his youth he remained hidden, because He for whom he waited was also hidden.Then, as crowds broke in upon his solitude, he warned them to flee from the wrath to come, and gave them the baptism of penance, while they confessed their sins. At last there stood in the crowd One whom Saint John did not know, until a voice within told him that it was his Lord. He affirmed: “I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He upon whom thou wilt see the Spirit descending and abiding, He it is who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’” With the baptism of Saint John, Christ began His voluntary abasement for the sins of His people; and Saint John indeed saw the Holy Ghost descend, under the visible form of a dove, indicating in the humble Jesus of Nazareth the divine Perfection of the peaceable Eternal King and High Priest. Then the Saint’s work was done. He had but to point his own disciples to the Lamb, he had only to decrease as Christ increased. He saw all men leave him and go after Christ. “I told you,” he said, “that I am not the Christ. The friend of the Bridegroom rejoices hearing the Bridegroom’s voice. This, my joy, is fulfilled.”Saint John was cast into the fortress of Herod on the east coast of the Dead Sea by the tyrant whose crimes he had rebuked; he would remain there until beheaded at the will of a girl and her cruel mother. During this time of imprisonment, some of his disciples visited him. Saint John did not speak to them of himself, but sent them to Christ, that they might witness His miracles and hear His doctrine, proofs of His mission. After Saint John’s death, the Eternal Truth pronounced the panegyric of the Saint who had lived and breathed for Him alone: “Verily I say unto you, among those born of women there has not risen a greater than John the Baptist.”
Reflection. Saint John was great before God because in complete forgetfulness of himself he lived only for Jesus Christ, who is the source of all greatness. Sacrifice every day some of your natural inclinations to the Sacred Heart of Our Lord, and learn little by little to lose yourself in Him.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Pope’s visit to Padre Pio will inspire greater closeness to Christ
Rome, Italy, Jun 19, 2009 (Catholic News Agency)
Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace, where the Pope will celebrate Mass this Sunday, said his visit will encourage the faithful to imitate the saint from Pietrelcina and thus follow Christ with more devotion.In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the rector noted how “Padre Pio once said, ‘I will make more noise dead than alive.’ And in fact, the number of pilgrims is much higher compared to the end of 1968,” with some seven million visiting the shrine annually.
Speaking about the number of faithful who come to San Giovanni Rotondo to pray to the saint for a miracle, Brother Dileo said he receives an enormous amount of letters from people praying for Padre Pio’s intercession. The letters are directly addressed to Padre Pio, “as if he were still alive, to ask for some physical or spiritual healing,” the brother said.
“I am firmly convinced that the grace of God that touches the hearts of men and makes the faith blossom and be reborn continues to work in this place, even after the death of Padre Pio,” he said. “I think it is difficult to encounter the life of this saint without sensing a desire to renounce sin and change one’s conduct.”
Referring to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit this coming Sunday, Brother Dileo said, “The picture of Benedict XVI in prayer in front of the remains of our beloved brother saint will certainly be more eloquent than many words.”
Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace, where the Pope will celebrate Mass this Sunday, said his visit will encourage the faithful to imitate the saint from Pietrelcina and thus follow Christ with more devotion.In an interview with L’Osservatore Romano, the rector noted how “Padre Pio once said, ‘I will make more noise dead than alive.’ And in fact, the number of pilgrims is much higher compared to the end of 1968,” with some seven million visiting the shrine annually.
Speaking about the number of faithful who come to San Giovanni Rotondo to pray to the saint for a miracle, Brother Dileo said he receives an enormous amount of letters from people praying for Padre Pio’s intercession. The letters are directly addressed to Padre Pio, “as if he were still alive, to ask for some physical or spiritual healing,” the brother said.
“I am firmly convinced that the grace of God that touches the hearts of men and makes the faith blossom and be reborn continues to work in this place, even after the death of Padre Pio,” he said. “I think it is difficult to encounter the life of this saint without sensing a desire to renounce sin and change one’s conduct.”
Referring to Pope Benedict XVI’s visit this coming Sunday, Brother Dileo said, “The picture of Benedict XVI in prayer in front of the remains of our beloved brother saint will certainly be more eloquent than many words.”
Friday, June 19, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Christian man killed for drinking out of a Muslim cup
June 13, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC (MetroCatholic)
International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) has learned that radical Muslims running a tea stall beat a Christian man to death for using a cup designated for Muslims on May 9. The young man, Ishtiaq Masih, had ordered tea at a roadside stall in Machharkay village, Punjab, Pakistan, after his bus made a rest stop.
When Ishtiaq went to pay for his tea, the owner noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross and grabbed him, calling for his employees to bring anything available to beat him for violating a sign posted on the stall warning non-Muslims to declare their religion before being served. Ishtiaq had not noticed the warning sign before ordering his tea.
The owner and 14 of his employees beat Ishtiaq with stones, iron rods and clubs, and stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives as Ishtiaq pleaded for mercy.
The other bus passengers and other passers-by finally intervened and took Ishtiaq to the Rural Health Center in the village. The doctor who took Ishtiaq’s case told ICC that Ishtiaq had died due to excessive internal and external bleeding, a fractured skull, and brain injuries.
Makah Tea Stall is located on the Sukheki-Lahore highway and is owned by Mubarak Ali, a 42-year-old radical Muslim. ICC’s correspondent visited the tea stall and observed that a large red warning sign with a death’s head symbol was posted which read, “All non-Muslims should introduce their faith prior to ordering tea. This tea stall serves Muslims only.” The warning also threatened anyone who violated the rule with “dire consequences.”
A neighboring shopkeeper told ICC on condition of anonymity that all Ali’s employees are former students of radical Muslim madrassas (seminaries).
Ishtiaq’s family said that they immediately reported the incident to the police and filed a case against Ali. However, the murderers are still freely operating the tea stall.
When ICC asked the Pindi Bhatian Saddar police station about the murder, the police chief said that investigations were underway and they are treating it as a faith-based murder by biased Muslims. When asked about Ali’s warning sign, police chief Muhammad Iftikhar Bajwa claimed that he could not take it down. However, the constitution of Pakistan explicitly prohibits such discrimination.
WASHINGTON, DC (MetroCatholic)
International Christian Concern (www.persecution.org) has learned that radical Muslims running a tea stall beat a Christian man to death for using a cup designated for Muslims on May 9. The young man, Ishtiaq Masih, had ordered tea at a roadside stall in Machharkay village, Punjab, Pakistan, after his bus made a rest stop.
When Ishtiaq went to pay for his tea, the owner noticed that he was wearing a necklace with a cross and grabbed him, calling for his employees to bring anything available to beat him for violating a sign posted on the stall warning non-Muslims to declare their religion before being served. Ishtiaq had not noticed the warning sign before ordering his tea.
The owner and 14 of his employees beat Ishtiaq with stones, iron rods and clubs, and stabbed him multiple times with kitchen knives as Ishtiaq pleaded for mercy.
The other bus passengers and other passers-by finally intervened and took Ishtiaq to the Rural Health Center in the village. The doctor who took Ishtiaq’s case told ICC that Ishtiaq had died due to excessive internal and external bleeding, a fractured skull, and brain injuries.
Makah Tea Stall is located on the Sukheki-Lahore highway and is owned by Mubarak Ali, a 42-year-old radical Muslim. ICC’s correspondent visited the tea stall and observed that a large red warning sign with a death’s head symbol was posted which read, “All non-Muslims should introduce their faith prior to ordering tea. This tea stall serves Muslims only.” The warning also threatened anyone who violated the rule with “dire consequences.”
A neighboring shopkeeper told ICC on condition of anonymity that all Ali’s employees are former students of radical Muslim madrassas (seminaries).
Ishtiaq’s family said that they immediately reported the incident to the police and filed a case against Ali. However, the murderers are still freely operating the tea stall.
When ICC asked the Pindi Bhatian Saddar police station about the murder, the police chief said that investigations were underway and they are treating it as a faith-based murder by biased Muslims. When asked about Ali’s warning sign, police chief Muhammad Iftikhar Bajwa claimed that he could not take it down. However, the constitution of Pakistan explicitly prohibits such discrimination.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Indulgences for Year of Priests
Vatican City, May 12, 2009(Catholic News Agency).
The Vatican has announced that during the Year for Priests, which will run June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010, the Pope Benedict will grant plenary indulgences to priests and the faithful.
The year will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “a day of priestly sanctification,” according to a press release from the Vatican. On that day, the Holy Father “will celebrate Vespers before relics” of St. Jean Marie Vianney, patron saint of priests.
The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."
The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:
(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.
(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."
Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."
The Vatican has announced that during the Year for Priests, which will run June 19, 2009 – June 19, 2010, the Pope Benedict will grant plenary indulgences to priests and the faithful.
The year will begin with the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, “a day of priestly sanctification,” according to a press release from the Vatican. On that day, the Holy Father “will celebrate Vespers before relics” of St. Jean Marie Vianney, patron saint of priests.
The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."
The means to obtain the indulgence are as follows:
(A) All truly penitent priests who, on any day, devotedly pray Lauds or Vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle, and ... offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Penance, will be granted a Plenary Indulgence, which they can also apply to their deceased confreres, if in accordance with current norms they take Sacramental Confession and the Eucharist and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. Priests are furthermore granted a Partial Indulgence, also applicable to deceased confreres, every time they devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them.
(B) All truly penitent Christian faithful who, in church or oratory, devotedly attend Holy Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mold them to His Heart, are granted a Plenary Indulgence, on the condition that they have expiated their sins through Sacramental Confession and prayed in accordance with the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff. This may be done on the opening and closing days of the Year of Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.
The elderly, the sick and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes, may still obtain a plenary indulgence if, with the soul completely removed from attachment to any form of sin and with the intention of observing, as soon as they can, the usual three conditions, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."
Additionally, a partial indulgence will be offered to the faithful each time they pray five “Our Father,” “Hail Mary” and “Glory Be,” or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."
Thursday, June 11, 2009
An Unknown Martyr inspires a Bishop
Excerpt from an article "Let the SON shine out" by Rev. Martin Lucia
A couple of months before his death Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was interviewed on national television. One of the questions was this:
"Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world. Who inspired you? Was it a Pope?"
Bishop Sheen responded that it was not a Pope, a cardinal, another bishop, or even a priest or a nun. It was a little Chinese girl of eleven years of age. He explained that when the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church. After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts were in the ciborium: thirty-two.
When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn't pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened. That night the little girl came back. Slipping past the guard at the priest's house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred.
After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, (since it was not permissible for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.)
The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.
When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament everyday of his life. If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true, to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The little girl showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really is; how faith could overcome all fear, how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself. What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst. As the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love. The Blessed Sacrament is JESUS, the Light of the world.
A couple of months before his death Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was interviewed on national television. One of the questions was this:
"Bishop Sheen, you have inspired millions of people all over the world. Who inspired you? Was it a Pope?"
Bishop Sheen responded that it was not a Pope, a cardinal, another bishop, or even a priest or a nun. It was a little Chinese girl of eleven years of age. He explained that when the Communists took over China, they imprisoned a priest in his own rectory near the Church. After they locked him up in his own house, the priest was horrified to look out of his window and see the Communists proceed into the Church, where they went into the sanctuary and broke into the tabernacle. In an act of hateful desecration, they took the ciborium and threw it on the floor with all of the Sacred Hosts spilling out. The priest knew exactly how many Hosts were in the ciborium: thirty-two.
When the Communists left, they either did not notice, or didn't pay any attention to a small girl praying in the back of the Church who saw everything that had happened. That night the little girl came back. Slipping past the guard at the priest's house, she went inside the Church. There she made a holy hour of prayer, an act of love to make up for the act of hatred.
After her holy hour she went into the sanctuary, knelt down, bent over and with her tongue received Jesus in Holy Communion, (since it was not permissible for laymen to touch the Sacred Host with their hands.)
The little girl continued to come back each night to make her holy hour and receive Jesus in Holy Communion on her tongue. On the thirty-second night, after she had consumed the last and thirty-second host, she accidentally made a noise and woke the guard who was sleeping. He ran after her, caught her, and beat her to death with the butt of his rifle. This act of heroic martyrdom was witnessed by the priest as he watched grief-stricken from his bedroom window.
When Bishop Sheen heard the story he was so inspired that he promised God he would make a holy hour of prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament everyday of his life. If this frail, little child could give testimony and witness to the world concerning the real and wonderful Presence of her Savior in the Blessed Sacrament, then the Bishop was absolutely bound by all that was right and true, to do the same. His sole desire from then on was to bring the world to the burning Heart of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
The little girl showed the Bishop what true courage and zeal really is; how faith could overcome all fear, how true love for Jesus in the Eucharist must transcend life itself. What is hidden in the Sacred Host is the glory of His love. The sun in the sky is symbolic of the Son of God in the Blessed Sacrament. This is why most monstrances are in the form of a sunburst. As the sun is the natural source of all energy, the Blessed Sacrament is the supernatural source of all grace and love. The Blessed Sacrament is JESUS, the Light of the world.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
On Sanctity
Taken “The Faith of the Saints,” Imprimatur + Joseph Cardinal Ritter, Archbishop of St. Louis.
It is a well-known fact that Catholics, as a general rule, show honor to the “saints.” Who are saints and how they became saints are questions with which this pamphlet is chiefly concerned. Not everyone who leads a consistently holy life is called a “saint.” Even a more than normally holy or useful life is not sufficient qualification. The title is reserved only for those who have, during life, attained a heroic degree of Christian perfection and, after death, have been officially declared by the Catholic Church to be in heaven, enjoying the happiness of the vision of God.
The Catholic Church declares only Catholics to be saints since she has spiritual jurisdiction only over her own members. Human goodness may be found wherever men live; Christ-like perfection is to be looked for in the true Church of Jesus Christ. Christ’s Church was founded to make men holy. Within that Church the fullness of His design can be realized. That is why the heroic and integrally Christian life which makes a person a saint can be lived within the Catholic Church.
At the present time, the word “saint” in Catholic usage has come to have a very precise and technical meaning. The Bible uses it, too, but in a much broader sense. The book of Psalms has a hymn which begins “Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints” (Ps. 29:5). The saints spoken of in this passage were all the good Jews who came to pray.
St. Paul uses the word very often. He begins his Epistle to the Philippians with: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1).
That was the usual way in which he addressed all his converts. Now it must be granted that the earliest Christians were extraordinarily good people. But they were not all so good as to merit the name of “saint” in its present sense.
At Corinth St. Paul could see with his own eyes that the Church had in it scheming rascals, weak brethren, money-grabbers, and even an incestuous Christian. Yet he addressed them as “saints.” It was more in hope than in reality. Indeed, he himself makes that clear at the beginning of his first letter to them when he calls them not “saints,” but “you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2).
Paul’s labors
St. Paul, however, deserved the title in the fullness of its meaning. All Christian tradition has agreed to that. It will be found in all copies of the Bible. By examining his life and the lives of a few others, we shall soon discover the essential quality of sanctity.
There is no doubt that Paul of Tarsus was an outstanding man. He began his work when the Christian community was so small that it was considered just a sect of the Jews. Paul, himself a Jew, undertook to destroy this new “heresy” while it was still a little thing in Jerusalem and Damascus and a few other towns.
He ended his work some thirty years later in a dark Roman prison as the chief organizer of Christian communities. By that time the Christian Church was a worldwide religious movement. Paul could look to Corinth and Thessalonica, Philippi and Boerea, and indeed to all of Greece; to Ephesus, Antioch of Pisidia, and the whole hinterland of Asia Minor; probably also to Spain and to the Roman population itself and say, “There is my work.”
Today Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus and many of the other cities to which his Epistles were addressed lie in ruins. But Paul’s influence has been lasting even when his churches have not been. His instructions live on and shape men’s lives today. He treated of almost all those world-shaking ideas which Christianity brought to men, and he did it with such profundity that men still weigh his words with scholarly precision to estimate their ultimate meaning.
Even more is due to him. Organization of churches is important, explanations of Catholic doctrine are more son. But all would have soon been lost had not Paul’s own love of truth been the spark of ignition which set a world on fire.
He was, indeed, a great man, one of that handful of genuises whose work has shaped our world. For that reason we respect him. But it is not for that we call him “Saint” Paul.
He was a saint because he was a holy man, not because he was a great one. Almost half his life as a Christian was spent alone, perfecting his own character. After his conversion he retired into the desert of Arabia and for fourteen years gave himself up to contemplating the things of God. How deeply he penetrated those mysteries is evident from his own account.
“If I must boast–it is not indeed expedient to do so–but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows–that he was caught up into paradise and heard secret words that man may not repeat” (2 Cor. 12:1-4).
Paul is, of course, speaking of his own self, but his saintly humility will not permit him to mention himself directly. It was by such daily striving to empty himself and seek only God, that he became a saint.
Paul’s sufferings
Zealous as he was for his own sanctification, he was bound to become zealous for other men. Years later he was to count up what it cost him to labor for others.
“From the Jews five times I received forty lashes less one. Thrice I was scourged, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was adrift on the sea; in journeyings often, in perils from floods, in perils from robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren; in labor and hardships, in many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides these outer things, there is my daily pressing anxiety, the care of all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:24-28).
A genius might have said this boastfully; Paul was a saint. He recounted these heroic sufferings with a simple and absolute humility, conscious of his own place before God.
“By the grace of God I am what I am, an his grace in men has not been fruitless–in fact I have labored more than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).
Perhaps the most graphic description of the saint emerges from his Letter to the Philippians. It was written from a prison in Rome by an old man who faced the prospect of death. It has a simple, almost gay keynote–Rejoice! It was Paul who consoled the Philippians, not they him. He thoughtfully thanked them for their concern over him, told them of new conquests for Christ even in the prison, urged them to be humble, and rejoiced again that God’s will was being done. That cheerful martyr was a saint.
It is not for natural genius that we call Paul “saint.” It is for that altogether extraordinary combination of all Christian virtues in his life which rose from the grace of God within him.
The men and women whom the Catholic Church calls by the title of “saint” are legion. They come from every walk of life, and their lives were lived in every conceivable circumstance. But one thing is common to all. They were superhumanly good.
St. Vincent de Paul
Two of them will give some idea of the common denominator in the midst of the most elaborate diversity. The first of them was a man whom the world would certainly consider saintly. He was a seventeenth century French priest, Vincent de Paul. Of simple, peasant stock, he was methodical and plodding in his ways; but he had a genius for organization. He was among the first and possibly the greatest of those who have labored in modern times for social betterment of the poor and the underprivileged.
What he accomplished can hardly be told briefly. He began one Sunday by asking his congregation to bring food to a sick family. So effective was his plea that the needy parishioners were flooded with perishable food stuffs–only to be left again in want when the sudden abundance had been used or spoiled. Vincent de Paul set out to draw up a simple but workable plan of continued relief which was effective, but not impersonal.
The little crises which he met led him to crises on a broader scale which he determined to attack. Step by step he felt his way. The rich he attracted to himself, and then for the love of Go stripped them of their surplus wealth to feed the poor. The poor he fed; the orphans he housed and clothed; institutions were established for boys to learn a trade; young girls were provided with an honest livelihood and a chance to marry; fallen women were brought back to decency; hospitals were filled with volunteer workers. So great did his charitable work grown that at one time during a civil war in France, he fed and clothed a considerable part of the country. He became a national hero, and his statue stands among the immortals of his country in the Pantheon of Paris.
But Vincent de Paul was not just a man who felt sorry for his neighbors because they were badly fed and badly clothed. He felt most sorry for them because they led bad lives. He knew that many were not deliberately wicked; but they were ignorant, and they lacked that contact with religion which could make them better. So he organized his attack on ignorance and weakness. He sent out trained assistants to preach to the poor and abandoned people of the countryside. And he set forth to reform the most important people of all, the clergy who should have been the reformers.
Anyone with human sympathy, Catholic or not, would know Vincent de Paul for what he was–a very good man. Vincent de Paul thought of himself quite otherwise. He considered himself honestly and surprisingly as the greatest of sinners. Others might be surprised at all the good he accomplished; he was utterly astounded. And he kept saying that it was not he who did all these things, but the good God Who used the weakest and most despicable human agents he could find. That is why he was much more than a merely good man, and is honored as a saint.
St. Theresa
Now let us look at another side of sainthood. The Catholic Church honors as a saint another native of France, this time a young woman who lived in the past century. She did nothing to help her fellow man; nothing, anyway, that the unobserving could see. She died when she was only twenty-four. Almost all of her adult life she spent in utter obscurity behind the walls of a convent.
Undoubtedly, people would have admitted that she lived a good life behind her convent walls. And some would say that it was a quite useless life. So why does the Catholic Church honor her as a saint?
She was a genius in bringing one human being to the peak of perfection—herself. She was ardent in the love of God as others are ardent in the love of human beings. Day by day she strove to make herself more humble, more resigned to God’s will, more interested in the things which would suit her to live in heaven.
Of course, in doing this she did actually help others enormously. That, in fact, was her only real interest in wanting to get to heaven in a hurry. She said that she could do more good for people when she was there. And she was interested in doing all sorts of good for people; not just for some people whom she liked, but for everybody. Though she lived all her adult life within one building, her concerns were as wide as the world.
The way in which this worked out cannot be described so neatly as in the case of St. Vincent de Paul. The process was completely supernatural. Theresa helped others by praying for them. Now every human being prays, and God listens to them. Sometimes the results of prayer are quite amazing. But when Theresa prayed, the results were most startling. Missionaries in far-off countries suddenly found conversion possible. The weak and despairing at home found strength they had not suspected. All this came from the prayers of one “useless” woman in a convent.
Once again the common denominator is present. Theresa never pretended that this startling holiness and effectiveness at prayer was due to some special genius of her own. It was due to God who accomplished all. For herself she would have chosen complete nothingness.
Why the Church honors saints
Here, then, is a common note of the utmost importance in showing why the Catholic Church honors some of her sons and daughters as saints. Saints are certainly good persons and in one way or another do good for others. But that is not the precise reason why they are called saints.
There are many persons in this world who do wonders for their fellow men. Sometimes they have religious motives in mind; sometimes they have only their own publicity in mind. Some of them are thrown into work for their neighbor as a rather desperate justification for their life; they want to leave the world a little bit better place to live than they found it. And some few of them have no religion at all. The Catholic Church is certainly not cynical about those who are sincere in their efforts; but she does not ever imagine that they are saints. Sanctity is a startling kind of goodness, well-rounded and complete, overflowing in good works only because of the God-given grace that makes all this possible.
Sometimes it is said, “The life of a saint just isn’t natural.” The lives of those saints who have given themselves wholly to prayer, particularly the women saints among them, seem to strike some as abnormal and warped.
Indeed, their lives are not natural. That is the precise point of sainthood. The virtues of the saints are as much above human achievement as heaven is beyond the unaided grasp of natural men.
The lives of the saints were supernatural, not natural. Aided by God’s help, they made an effort each day to do His will, steadily increasing their friendship with Him. They were cheerful. They were quite happy. They had developed to the highest degree possible the powers of human nature. They had the richest personalities.
The finger of God
And that is the common denominator which we have pointed out in the stories of St. Paul, St. Vincent and St. Theresa. It was not that they were good people, or vastly successful people in religious matters. It was that they were so good that the only explanation was that the finger of God was doubtless upon them. They were supernaturally good.
But supernatural goodness is not all that is needed to be a saint. What is needed in addition is an official pronouncement upon the matter. Who shall tell when a man passes that borderline between striving to be good and supernatural holiness? Only an officially designated judge can do so. That judge for Catholics is the Catholic Church.
The method by which the Catholic Church judges whether a person is truly a saint is called “canonization.” This means that the person meets certain requirements and his name is worthy of being inscribed in the list (“canon”) of the saints.
Before this declaration, no one can be honored by public prayers. The private persuasion of individuals is another matter. If a Catholic is in heaven, then certainly he can help others here on earth by his influence with God. But for the Church at large, there must be certainty for all and that certainty can come only with the solemn declaration of sainthood by the Catholic Church.
It is a well-known fact that Catholics, as a general rule, show honor to the “saints.” Who are saints and how they became saints are questions with which this pamphlet is chiefly concerned. Not everyone who leads a consistently holy life is called a “saint.” Even a more than normally holy or useful life is not sufficient qualification. The title is reserved only for those who have, during life, attained a heroic degree of Christian perfection and, after death, have been officially declared by the Catholic Church to be in heaven, enjoying the happiness of the vision of God.
The Catholic Church declares only Catholics to be saints since she has spiritual jurisdiction only over her own members. Human goodness may be found wherever men live; Christ-like perfection is to be looked for in the true Church of Jesus Christ. Christ’s Church was founded to make men holy. Within that Church the fullness of His design can be realized. That is why the heroic and integrally Christian life which makes a person a saint can be lived within the Catholic Church.
At the present time, the word “saint” in Catholic usage has come to have a very precise and technical meaning. The Bible uses it, too, but in a much broader sense. The book of Psalms has a hymn which begins “Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints” (Ps. 29:5). The saints spoken of in this passage were all the good Jews who came to pray.
St. Paul uses the word very often. He begins his Epistle to the Philippians with: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus that are at Philippi” (Phil. 1:1).
That was the usual way in which he addressed all his converts. Now it must be granted that the earliest Christians were extraordinarily good people. But they were not all so good as to merit the name of “saint” in its present sense.
At Corinth St. Paul could see with his own eyes that the Church had in it scheming rascals, weak brethren, money-grabbers, and even an incestuous Christian. Yet he addressed them as “saints.” It was more in hope than in reality. Indeed, he himself makes that clear at the beginning of his first letter to them when he calls them not “saints,” but “you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be saints” (1 Cor. 1:2).
Paul’s labors
St. Paul, however, deserved the title in the fullness of its meaning. All Christian tradition has agreed to that. It will be found in all copies of the Bible. By examining his life and the lives of a few others, we shall soon discover the essential quality of sanctity.
There is no doubt that Paul of Tarsus was an outstanding man. He began his work when the Christian community was so small that it was considered just a sect of the Jews. Paul, himself a Jew, undertook to destroy this new “heresy” while it was still a little thing in Jerusalem and Damascus and a few other towns.
He ended his work some thirty years later in a dark Roman prison as the chief organizer of Christian communities. By that time the Christian Church was a worldwide religious movement. Paul could look to Corinth and Thessalonica, Philippi and Boerea, and indeed to all of Greece; to Ephesus, Antioch of Pisidia, and the whole hinterland of Asia Minor; probably also to Spain and to the Roman population itself and say, “There is my work.”
Today Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus and many of the other cities to which his Epistles were addressed lie in ruins. But Paul’s influence has been lasting even when his churches have not been. His instructions live on and shape men’s lives today. He treated of almost all those world-shaking ideas which Christianity brought to men, and he did it with such profundity that men still weigh his words with scholarly precision to estimate their ultimate meaning.
Even more is due to him. Organization of churches is important, explanations of Catholic doctrine are more son. But all would have soon been lost had not Paul’s own love of truth been the spark of ignition which set a world on fire.
He was, indeed, a great man, one of that handful of genuises whose work has shaped our world. For that reason we respect him. But it is not for that we call him “Saint” Paul.
He was a saint because he was a holy man, not because he was a great one. Almost half his life as a Christian was spent alone, perfecting his own character. After his conversion he retired into the desert of Arabia and for fourteen years gave himself up to contemplating the things of God. How deeply he penetrated those mysteries is evident from his own account.
“If I must boast–it is not indeed expedient to do so–but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago–whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows–such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man–whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows–that he was caught up into paradise and heard secret words that man may not repeat” (2 Cor. 12:1-4).
Paul is, of course, speaking of his own self, but his saintly humility will not permit him to mention himself directly. It was by such daily striving to empty himself and seek only God, that he became a saint.
Paul’s sufferings
Zealous as he was for his own sanctification, he was bound to become zealous for other men. Years later he was to count up what it cost him to labor for others.
“From the Jews five times I received forty lashes less one. Thrice I was scourged, once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I was adrift on the sea; in journeyings often, in perils from floods, in perils from robbers, in perils from my own nation, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils from false brethren; in labor and hardships, in many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Besides these outer things, there is my daily pressing anxiety, the care of all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:24-28).
A genius might have said this boastfully; Paul was a saint. He recounted these heroic sufferings with a simple and absolute humility, conscious of his own place before God.
“By the grace of God I am what I am, an his grace in men has not been fruitless–in fact I have labored more than any of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).
Perhaps the most graphic description of the saint emerges from his Letter to the Philippians. It was written from a prison in Rome by an old man who faced the prospect of death. It has a simple, almost gay keynote–Rejoice! It was Paul who consoled the Philippians, not they him. He thoughtfully thanked them for their concern over him, told them of new conquests for Christ even in the prison, urged them to be humble, and rejoiced again that God’s will was being done. That cheerful martyr was a saint.
It is not for natural genius that we call Paul “saint.” It is for that altogether extraordinary combination of all Christian virtues in his life which rose from the grace of God within him.
The men and women whom the Catholic Church calls by the title of “saint” are legion. They come from every walk of life, and their lives were lived in every conceivable circumstance. But one thing is common to all. They were superhumanly good.
St. Vincent de Paul
Two of them will give some idea of the common denominator in the midst of the most elaborate diversity. The first of them was a man whom the world would certainly consider saintly. He was a seventeenth century French priest, Vincent de Paul. Of simple, peasant stock, he was methodical and plodding in his ways; but he had a genius for organization. He was among the first and possibly the greatest of those who have labored in modern times for social betterment of the poor and the underprivileged.
What he accomplished can hardly be told briefly. He began one Sunday by asking his congregation to bring food to a sick family. So effective was his plea that the needy parishioners were flooded with perishable food stuffs–only to be left again in want when the sudden abundance had been used or spoiled. Vincent de Paul set out to draw up a simple but workable plan of continued relief which was effective, but not impersonal.
The little crises which he met led him to crises on a broader scale which he determined to attack. Step by step he felt his way. The rich he attracted to himself, and then for the love of Go stripped them of their surplus wealth to feed the poor. The poor he fed; the orphans he housed and clothed; institutions were established for boys to learn a trade; young girls were provided with an honest livelihood and a chance to marry; fallen women were brought back to decency; hospitals were filled with volunteer workers. So great did his charitable work grown that at one time during a civil war in France, he fed and clothed a considerable part of the country. He became a national hero, and his statue stands among the immortals of his country in the Pantheon of Paris.
But Vincent de Paul was not just a man who felt sorry for his neighbors because they were badly fed and badly clothed. He felt most sorry for them because they led bad lives. He knew that many were not deliberately wicked; but they were ignorant, and they lacked that contact with religion which could make them better. So he organized his attack on ignorance and weakness. He sent out trained assistants to preach to the poor and abandoned people of the countryside. And he set forth to reform the most important people of all, the clergy who should have been the reformers.
Anyone with human sympathy, Catholic or not, would know Vincent de Paul for what he was–a very good man. Vincent de Paul thought of himself quite otherwise. He considered himself honestly and surprisingly as the greatest of sinners. Others might be surprised at all the good he accomplished; he was utterly astounded. And he kept saying that it was not he who did all these things, but the good God Who used the weakest and most despicable human agents he could find. That is why he was much more than a merely good man, and is honored as a saint.
St. Theresa
Now let us look at another side of sainthood. The Catholic Church honors as a saint another native of France, this time a young woman who lived in the past century. She did nothing to help her fellow man; nothing, anyway, that the unobserving could see. She died when she was only twenty-four. Almost all of her adult life she spent in utter obscurity behind the walls of a convent.
Undoubtedly, people would have admitted that she lived a good life behind her convent walls. And some would say that it was a quite useless life. So why does the Catholic Church honor her as a saint?
She was a genius in bringing one human being to the peak of perfection—herself. She was ardent in the love of God as others are ardent in the love of human beings. Day by day she strove to make herself more humble, more resigned to God’s will, more interested in the things which would suit her to live in heaven.
Of course, in doing this she did actually help others enormously. That, in fact, was her only real interest in wanting to get to heaven in a hurry. She said that she could do more good for people when she was there. And she was interested in doing all sorts of good for people; not just for some people whom she liked, but for everybody. Though she lived all her adult life within one building, her concerns were as wide as the world.
The way in which this worked out cannot be described so neatly as in the case of St. Vincent de Paul. The process was completely supernatural. Theresa helped others by praying for them. Now every human being prays, and God listens to them. Sometimes the results of prayer are quite amazing. But when Theresa prayed, the results were most startling. Missionaries in far-off countries suddenly found conversion possible. The weak and despairing at home found strength they had not suspected. All this came from the prayers of one “useless” woman in a convent.
Once again the common denominator is present. Theresa never pretended that this startling holiness and effectiveness at prayer was due to some special genius of her own. It was due to God who accomplished all. For herself she would have chosen complete nothingness.
Why the Church honors saints
Here, then, is a common note of the utmost importance in showing why the Catholic Church honors some of her sons and daughters as saints. Saints are certainly good persons and in one way or another do good for others. But that is not the precise reason why they are called saints.
There are many persons in this world who do wonders for their fellow men. Sometimes they have religious motives in mind; sometimes they have only their own publicity in mind. Some of them are thrown into work for their neighbor as a rather desperate justification for their life; they want to leave the world a little bit better place to live than they found it. And some few of them have no religion at all. The Catholic Church is certainly not cynical about those who are sincere in their efforts; but she does not ever imagine that they are saints. Sanctity is a startling kind of goodness, well-rounded and complete, overflowing in good works only because of the God-given grace that makes all this possible.
Sometimes it is said, “The life of a saint just isn’t natural.” The lives of those saints who have given themselves wholly to prayer, particularly the women saints among them, seem to strike some as abnormal and warped.
Indeed, their lives are not natural. That is the precise point of sainthood. The virtues of the saints are as much above human achievement as heaven is beyond the unaided grasp of natural men.
The lives of the saints were supernatural, not natural. Aided by God’s help, they made an effort each day to do His will, steadily increasing their friendship with Him. They were cheerful. They were quite happy. They had developed to the highest degree possible the powers of human nature. They had the richest personalities.
The finger of God
And that is the common denominator which we have pointed out in the stories of St. Paul, St. Vincent and St. Theresa. It was not that they were good people, or vastly successful people in religious matters. It was that they were so good that the only explanation was that the finger of God was doubtless upon them. They were supernaturally good.
But supernatural goodness is not all that is needed to be a saint. What is needed in addition is an official pronouncement upon the matter. Who shall tell when a man passes that borderline between striving to be good and supernatural holiness? Only an officially designated judge can do so. That judge for Catholics is the Catholic Church.
The method by which the Catholic Church judges whether a person is truly a saint is called “canonization.” This means that the person meets certain requirements and his name is worthy of being inscribed in the list (“canon”) of the saints.
Before this declaration, no one can be honored by public prayers. The private persuasion of individuals is another matter. If a Catholic is in heaven, then certainly he can help others here on earth by his influence with God. But for the Church at large, there must be certainty for all and that certainty can come only with the solemn declaration of sainthood by the Catholic Church.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Pope 'very distressed' at Ryan briefing by top Irish clerics
From www.irishtimes.com
PADDY AGNEW in Rome
POPE BENEDICT XVI showed his distress at the Ryan report on child abuse at religious institutions in Ireland during a half-hour meeting in the Vatican yesterday evening with Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin.
Asked what had most disturbed the pope in the Ryan report, Archbishop Martin replied: “This is a different case from many others because it is about the institutionalisation of a problem.”
However, there was no comment from the pope or his officials last night. The Vatican has refrained from making any comment on the Ryan report, with official spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi commenting merely that this was “a matter for the local church”.
The church leaders told The Irish Times after their meeting that Pope Benedict had listened attentively to what they had to say.
“He listened very carefully, he was obviously very distressed about what we had to tell him. In fact, he allowed us to do most of the talking and he listened very sympathetically and attentively to what we said,” said Cardinal Brady. “He obviously has been informed about it ,” said Archbishop Martin, adding: “He didn’t read the entire thing, but he was aware of it and very distressed by it.”
Asked if the pope t was fully aware of the level of anger and outrage in Irish public opinion, both men underlined that they had made this very clear. “We told him what we feel and what we know and what we’re hearing as priests.
“We talked about the church in Ireland, where this came out of and what is the future. You could see that it was distressing for him, what we said and what he knew, there was no doubt about that,” said Archbishop Martin.
Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin were unwilling to go into greater detail on the nature of their audience with Pope Benedict, pointing out that they are due to report to a plenary session of the Irish Bishops’ Conference next Monday.
Both men said they had not travelled to Rome exclusively for the purpose of an audience with the pope since both had been here all week long and have had a series of meetings with various Vatican departments on a whole range of issues.
A church spokesman in Dublin last night said they had also met six senior members of the Curia, the central government body of the church including Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
But even if both Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin had other items on their Holy See agenda, however, clearly this meeting with the pope was their number one priority.
To some extent, it was similar to the infamous meetings convened in the Vatican in 2002, when the ailing Pope John Paul II summoned the North American cardinals in order to discuss the implications of the burgeoning US sex abuse scandal.
PADDY AGNEW in Rome
POPE BENEDICT XVI showed his distress at the Ryan report on child abuse at religious institutions in Ireland during a half-hour meeting in the Vatican yesterday evening with Archbishop of Armagh Cardinal Seán Brady and Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin.
Asked what had most disturbed the pope in the Ryan report, Archbishop Martin replied: “This is a different case from many others because it is about the institutionalisation of a problem.”
However, there was no comment from the pope or his officials last night. The Vatican has refrained from making any comment on the Ryan report, with official spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi commenting merely that this was “a matter for the local church”.
The church leaders told The Irish Times after their meeting that Pope Benedict had listened attentively to what they had to say.
“He listened very carefully, he was obviously very distressed about what we had to tell him. In fact, he allowed us to do most of the talking and he listened very sympathetically and attentively to what we said,” said Cardinal Brady. “He obviously has been informed about it ,” said Archbishop Martin, adding: “He didn’t read the entire thing, but he was aware of it and very distressed by it.”
Asked if the pope t was fully aware of the level of anger and outrage in Irish public opinion, both men underlined that they had made this very clear. “We told him what we feel and what we know and what we’re hearing as priests.
“We talked about the church in Ireland, where this came out of and what is the future. You could see that it was distressing for him, what we said and what he knew, there was no doubt about that,” said Archbishop Martin.
Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin were unwilling to go into greater detail on the nature of their audience with Pope Benedict, pointing out that they are due to report to a plenary session of the Irish Bishops’ Conference next Monday.
Both men said they had not travelled to Rome exclusively for the purpose of an audience with the pope since both had been here all week long and have had a series of meetings with various Vatican departments on a whole range of issues.
A church spokesman in Dublin last night said they had also met six senior members of the Curia, the central government body of the church including Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state.
But even if both Cardinal Brady and Archbishop Martin had other items on their Holy See agenda, however, clearly this meeting with the pope was their number one priority.
To some extent, it was similar to the infamous meetings convened in the Vatican in 2002, when the ailing Pope John Paul II summoned the North American cardinals in order to discuss the implications of the burgeoning US sex abuse scandal.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Paul Comtois: A Modern Day Politican who became a Martyr of the Eucharist
From http://catholicism.org/paul-comtois.html
"A Modern Catholic Hero: Paul Comtois
Posted By The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary On October 14, 2008 Compiled from Various Sources
Early in the morning of Monday, February 21st, 1966, with the outside temperature about 20 degrees below zero, the historic old mansion that served as Government House in Sillery, Quebec, Canada, caught fire and, as the Fire Chief on the scene later described, “… went up like matchwood.” Initial reports told of a man seen shepherding his wife, daughter, staff and guests from the house. Then that same man deliberately walked back into the blazing inferno that had been known as Bois de Coulonges Manor, official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec. He never walked out.
Who was that man? What could have been his reason for putting his life in such great danger?
The answer is simply this: Someone he loved more than life itself was still in the house!
Three days after the fire, a French priest in Quebec, Father J.M. Laplante, O.M.I., wrote an explanatory article for the Wanderer, which appeared in its issue dated March 10, 1966. We quote from his article:
No Greater Love
Wanderer readers may have heard that Lieutenant-Governor Paul Comtois, personal representative of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England, perished on Monday morning, February 21st, in the fire that destroyed the 105 year-old Bois de Coulonges Manor, at Sillery, Quebec.
For your American readers, permit me to explain the role of a governor or viceroy in the Canadian political system. As we all know, the Queen of the United Kingdom reigns, but does not govern. She is, rather, a figurehead, a moral authority. In Canada we still have the British system, and the Queen is officially represented in Ottawa by a Governor General, and, in each Province of the Confederation, by a Lieutenant-Governor. So, in the Province of Quebec, His Excellency Paul Comtois was holding that high office.
Mr. Comtois had been elected a Member of Parliament in Ottawa for Nicolet County in the fifties, and when the Conservative Party won the election in 1954, under the leadership of Honorable John Diefenbaker, he was chosen as a Cabinet Minister. Finally, he was selected to succeed Mr. Onesime Gagnon, as Lieutenant-Governor, when the latter died.
Paul Comtois was known to be a most personable man, a popular socialite, with an exquisite French courtesy, and most of all, a true Catholic, a faithful servant of the Church.
On the early morning of February 21st last, when the fire began in the Bois de Coulonge Manor, Mrs. Comtois was in bed. There were visitors in the castle, ten occupants in all. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to act. He took his wife in his arms and brought her outside. His daughter, Mireile, and all the other occupants were shepherded out by His Excellency himself. Then, as his daughter wanted to return to the house, he gave her explicit orders to STAY OUT. He himself went upstairs to his private chapel to rescue the Holy Species.
Unfortunately, whether he could not open the tabernacle because of the progress of the fire, or whether the smoke was too heavy, at any rate he was able to get hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. It was a sublime act of faith, a beautiful response to the recent encyclical, Mysterium Fidei, that a man laid down his life as a strong believer in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, a martyr of Jesus in the Host.
The news was first released that Monday morning by CTC, a National network. But afterwards, there was no mention of that incident. I wondered how the world conspirators, the modernist dictatorship, the Left-wing Catholics, who control vast segments of our news media, would handle the case. I did not have long to wait.
Last night, February 23rd, the CBF (French channel) timidly announced the truth, but warned that there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois. Because, as you know, the Left-wing elements - Catholic or otherwise - get along so well together -are against triumphalism, and maximalism in the display of our faith. The Church must confess its sins, deplore its bad and outmoded traditions, but never lapse into exaltation of its truths, or the holiness of its members.
So it is! The Left-wing press: LeDevoir, La Presse, of Montreal, Le Soleil of Quebec City, played down the wonderful deed. There was and is no editorial dedicated to it. It would be too Catholic, and Paul Comtois was a conservative Catholic at that.
In other times, that news would have covered the world with headlines. But nowadays? I doubt if La Croix and Les Informations Catholiques Internationales of Paris, or the U.S.A. Liberal Catholic weeklies will give much coverage or comment to that sublime act of faith.
But what an act of reparation, nonetheless, for the Left-wing priests who do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, or who throw away the consecrated hosts after the celebration of the Mass is over! The fact that, in 1966, a politician, a statesman, the Anglican Queen’s immediate representative in Quebec, imitated the gesture of St. Tarcisius should be shouted from the rooftops. Seldom before did we realize that conservative Catholics such as these are the true Church, that their belief is ABSOLUTE, that the privilege of having Christ as guest in the house implies the duty of attempting to SAVE HIM in His sacrament, even at the loss of His host’s life. Yes. His Excellency Paul Comtois, host of Christ in Bois de Coulonges Manor, gave up his life for the sake of Christ the Host! May his merits earn for the Province of Quebec the grace to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and in the tabernacle till the end of time!
But the Wanderer although read and much trusted in ROME has a relatively small circulation and the affirmation of Paul Comtois was not - in Father Laplante’s words - “shouted from the rooftops”. His imitation “of the gesture of St. Tarcisius” had been virtually suppressed, much to the relief of the Leftwing Establishment in the Catholic and secular world. After all, hadn’t they warned us “there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois.”
And they were true to their word. Except for a single reference to the incident, five years later, in the Church bulletin of the Canadian Armed Forces base in Cold Lake, Alberta, dated February 14th, 1971, it became a dead story. But then, quite suddenly, it came to life again.
In 1973, a gentleman by the name of Larry Henderson became Editor of The Catholic Register, the largest of all English language Catholic newspapers in the bilingual country of Canada. In the issue dated February 23, 1974, Mr. Henderson wrote this piece:
The Death of Paul Comtois
It is a truly extraordinary thing that I am going to tell you - but the most extraordinary thing about it is that you have probably never heard of it before. It concerns the holy death of a Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Paul Comtois.
The facts are quite straightforward. Just eight years ago, on Feb. 21st, 1966, fire destroyed the Lieutenant-Governor’s mansion at Silery, Quebec. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to notice smoke. There were ten occupants of the chateau including his wife and daughter. The Lieutenant-Governor brought them all outside to safety. Then he returned himself inside the blazing building to rescue the Blessed Sacrament in his private chapel.
Apparently, he was unable to open the tabernacle door. At any rate, he succeeded in getting hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. Such are the facts.
What is not so clear is why this extraordinary action went unreported at the time and has since remained virtually unknown. After checking the story out, I came to the conclusion that this act, which would have become a part of the history of mankind in any other time, has been deliberately overlooked today.
Of course, to the agnostic world, such an act is incomprehensible. Yet even so, the sheer sensationalism of it would seem to have warranted front page play in the secular press. It did not. Le Devoir and La Presse passed it over in silence. Furthermore, the Catholic press was not informed. What are we to conclude? Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
Mr. Henderson promptly ordered a full report. It was prepared by a very experienced Quebec newspaperman Myles O’Farrell and appeared in the Catholic Register March 2nd, 1974. In Mr. O’Farrell’s fuller investigation, it will be noticed that Paul Comtois had actually reached the pyx, which was found safely under his body. Yet Lt. Col. J.P. Martin, chief aide-de-camp, had reported, “The fire started as though it were in a matchbox. It was incredible to see with what speed the flames spread through the building.” The heat of the crackling flames was in acid contrast to the 20-degree-below-zero temperature in Quebec City. Despite the wintry weather, the firemen could not approach closer than 100 feet, and hoses were continually freezing. But Paul Comtois could - and did. Mr. O’Farrell’s full report in the Catholic Register, March 2nd, 1974 read:
How Comtois Died with Host In His Hands
Quebec City - There is little doubt left today that eight years ago - on February 21st, 1966 - Paul Comtois, 70, Quebec’s 21st Lieutenant-Governor, burned to death while trying to save the Holy Eucharist from the fire that destroyed the governor’s Bois de Coulonges residence at Sillery, Quebec.
Maurice Cardinal Roy, Primate of Canada and Archbishop of Quebec, said at the time: “Mr. Comtois, as a Christian, gave an example of wisdom and goodness, humility, and radiant faith.”
Still, Paul Comtois’s heroic sacrifice remains officially unrecognized and was very lightly passed over by the secular press.
However, it is now firmly established from eye-witness testimony, that, instead of escaping himself as he could have, Paul Comtois, like the captain of a sinking ship, refused to leave the burning building until all his guests, staff and family members had reached safety.
Then in a desperate attempt to fulfill his last obligation in saving the Holy Eucharist in the family chapel from the flames, he himself perished. The pyx, the sacred vessel in which the Host is kept after consecration, was found under his charred body as proof of his near-success.
His daughter, Mireille, told how: “As I was racing through the building to escape from the fire, I came upon my father in the chapel. As I was going to run to him, he firmly ordered me to jump from a nearby window and I did, wondering why he did not do likewise. The last I saw of him, he was standing under the sanctuary lamp in his pajamas and wearing around his neck the souvenir Rosary from his father which he said every night and wore to sleep.” “My father,” Mireille continued, “would visit the chapel each night before retiring to say his prayers.” His mother was a McCaffrey, right from Ireland, and even though he was a devout man, he held a certain disdain for death.
“My father once told me that he had difficulty in being granted the special permission from the Cardinal to permanently keep the Blessed Sacrament in the private chapel. When he finally was given this permission, it was on condition that he be personally responsible for its safe and proper keeping. And my father was a man who lived up to his obligations at all costs.”
“I was told,” she continued, ‘that when they found him, his body was badly burned and his arms were no longer intact; but my father was a big stocky man and under the upper part of his body they found the pyx used to carry the Holy Eucharist. His body had saved it from the flames . . . I can still picture him standing there in the light of the sanctuary lamp.”
Brian Turpin, a Quebec City fireman among the first to locate Mr. Comtois’s body, said: “We found him face down, his body badly burned amongst the sacred vestments scattered on the chapel floor. The small case for the Host was at his front. His arms had been burned off and were separated from his body on the floor.”
Mac Stearns, a Quebec industrialist and overnight guest of the Governor’s residence, commented: “I jumped to safety from a second story balcony, injuring my back in doing so and was hospitalized for some time after. My wife and I were good friends of the Comtois family. We were in the habit of visiting one another. I grew to be a close friend and admirer of Paul Comtois. He was a very sincere person, deeply concerned with the problems of humanity.”
“His tremendous religious faith impressed me greatly and was no doubt instrumental in my embracing the Catholic faith some time after his death. Knowing his great fervor for the Blessed Sacrament,” Mr. Stearns added, “I have no doubt whatsoever that Paul would do all in his power to rescue the Holy Eucharist from the fire.”
Paul Comtois was born in Pierreville, Quebec, on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, August 22nd, 1895. He first entered politics in 1930 and was defeated by one vote. In June, 1957, he entered the House of Commons as member for Nicolet-Yamaska. On Oct. 1st, 1961, he was appointed Quebec Lieutenant-Governor by John Diefenbaker, then Prime Minister.
This beautiful story of the noble death of Paul Comtois was published in booklet form in 1988 by a dear friend, Mr. John Cotter of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The booklet bore the title The Affirmation of Paul Comtois, and had an introduction written by another dear friend, Sister Maureen Peckham, R.S.C.J. With the permission of Mr. Cotter, we have presented the story in substantially the same manner as did he. With the permission of Sister Maureen, we will close this story of a true Catholic hero of our time with, but for one slight change, the exact words she wrote as an introduction:
Epilogue
Over twenty years have passed since, in an act of gallant generosity, a supernaturally splendid ‘beau geste’, Paul Comtois, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec, laid down his life for his Friend in the Blessed Sacrament. His story, far from making the headlines, was considered, by the secular press, not newsworthy, and, by the Catholic press, an embarrassment. The Church of the second half of the 20th century is, to its shame, not noted for its faith in the Blessed Sacrament, and, one can only deduce that it was fear of being considered foolish and old-womanish - or, worse still, old hat - by an unbelieving world that caused the leaders of the Church in Quebec to pass over, in blushing silence, Mr. Comtois’ noble deed.
Yet, Paul Comtois was a man of the world, a well-known socialite, one who had reached the heights of worldly glory; he was one whom the world could recognize as its own. Furthermore, his chivalrous and brave death should, even on the human and worldly level, have merited him the title of hero. That he, who had been honored by the world during his lifetime, should have been ignored by the world at the moment of his death, can only be explained by the fact that he died for One Whom the world does not recognize and has ever refused to acknowledge.
The glorious martyrdom of Paul Comtois, passed over as it was by an unbelieving world, and by an all too unbelieving Church, has, nonetheless, remained in the faithful memory of God’s true friends. That one of these should today be putting into print Mr. Comtois’ shining witness of charity, in its radical and essential loveliness, is indeed a welcome and joyous event. May this inspiring story enflame the hearts of all who read it with an undying love for the Lord of the Tabernacle."
"A Modern Catholic Hero: Paul Comtois
Posted By The Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary On October 14, 2008 Compiled from Various Sources
Early in the morning of Monday, February 21st, 1966, with the outside temperature about 20 degrees below zero, the historic old mansion that served as Government House in Sillery, Quebec, Canada, caught fire and, as the Fire Chief on the scene later described, “… went up like matchwood.” Initial reports told of a man seen shepherding his wife, daughter, staff and guests from the house. Then that same man deliberately walked back into the blazing inferno that had been known as Bois de Coulonges Manor, official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec. He never walked out.
Who was that man? What could have been his reason for putting his life in such great danger?
The answer is simply this: Someone he loved more than life itself was still in the house!
Three days after the fire, a French priest in Quebec, Father J.M. Laplante, O.M.I., wrote an explanatory article for the Wanderer, which appeared in its issue dated March 10, 1966. We quote from his article:
No Greater Love
Wanderer readers may have heard that Lieutenant-Governor Paul Comtois, personal representative of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of England, perished on Monday morning, February 21st, in the fire that destroyed the 105 year-old Bois de Coulonges Manor, at Sillery, Quebec.
For your American readers, permit me to explain the role of a governor or viceroy in the Canadian political system. As we all know, the Queen of the United Kingdom reigns, but does not govern. She is, rather, a figurehead, a moral authority. In Canada we still have the British system, and the Queen is officially represented in Ottawa by a Governor General, and, in each Province of the Confederation, by a Lieutenant-Governor. So, in the Province of Quebec, His Excellency Paul Comtois was holding that high office.
Mr. Comtois had been elected a Member of Parliament in Ottawa for Nicolet County in the fifties, and when the Conservative Party won the election in 1954, under the leadership of Honorable John Diefenbaker, he was chosen as a Cabinet Minister. Finally, he was selected to succeed Mr. Onesime Gagnon, as Lieutenant-Governor, when the latter died.
Paul Comtois was known to be a most personable man, a popular socialite, with an exquisite French courtesy, and most of all, a true Catholic, a faithful servant of the Church.
On the early morning of February 21st last, when the fire began in the Bois de Coulonge Manor, Mrs. Comtois was in bed. There were visitors in the castle, ten occupants in all. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to act. He took his wife in his arms and brought her outside. His daughter, Mireile, and all the other occupants were shepherded out by His Excellency himself. Then, as his daughter wanted to return to the house, he gave her explicit orders to STAY OUT. He himself went upstairs to his private chapel to rescue the Holy Species.
Unfortunately, whether he could not open the tabernacle because of the progress of the fire, or whether the smoke was too heavy, at any rate he was able to get hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. It was a sublime act of faith, a beautiful response to the recent encyclical, Mysterium Fidei, that a man laid down his life as a strong believer in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist, a martyr of Jesus in the Host.
The news was first released that Monday morning by CTC, a National network. But afterwards, there was no mention of that incident. I wondered how the world conspirators, the modernist dictatorship, the Left-wing Catholics, who control vast segments of our news media, would handle the case. I did not have long to wait.
Last night, February 23rd, the CBF (French channel) timidly announced the truth, but warned that there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois. Because, as you know, the Left-wing elements - Catholic or otherwise - get along so well together -are against triumphalism, and maximalism in the display of our faith. The Church must confess its sins, deplore its bad and outmoded traditions, but never lapse into exaltation of its truths, or the holiness of its members.
So it is! The Left-wing press: LeDevoir, La Presse, of Montreal, Le Soleil of Quebec City, played down the wonderful deed. There was and is no editorial dedicated to it. It would be too Catholic, and Paul Comtois was a conservative Catholic at that.
In other times, that news would have covered the world with headlines. But nowadays? I doubt if La Croix and Les Informations Catholiques Internationales of Paris, or the U.S.A. Liberal Catholic weeklies will give much coverage or comment to that sublime act of faith.
But what an act of reparation, nonetheless, for the Left-wing priests who do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, or who throw away the consecrated hosts after the celebration of the Mass is over! The fact that, in 1966, a politician, a statesman, the Anglican Queen’s immediate representative in Quebec, imitated the gesture of St. Tarcisius should be shouted from the rooftops. Seldom before did we realize that conservative Catholics such as these are the true Church, that their belief is ABSOLUTE, that the privilege of having Christ as guest in the house implies the duty of attempting to SAVE HIM in His sacrament, even at the loss of His host’s life. Yes. His Excellency Paul Comtois, host of Christ in Bois de Coulonges Manor, gave up his life for the sake of Christ the Host! May his merits earn for the Province of Quebec the grace to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist and in the tabernacle till the end of time!
But the Wanderer although read and much trusted in ROME has a relatively small circulation and the affirmation of Paul Comtois was not - in Father Laplante’s words - “shouted from the rooftops”. His imitation “of the gesture of St. Tarcisius” had been virtually suppressed, much to the relief of the Leftwing Establishment in the Catholic and secular world. After all, hadn’t they warned us “there was no question of dramatizing the already tragic death of Mr. Comtois.”
And they were true to their word. Except for a single reference to the incident, five years later, in the Church bulletin of the Canadian Armed Forces base in Cold Lake, Alberta, dated February 14th, 1971, it became a dead story. But then, quite suddenly, it came to life again.
In 1973, a gentleman by the name of Larry Henderson became Editor of The Catholic Register, the largest of all English language Catholic newspapers in the bilingual country of Canada. In the issue dated February 23, 1974, Mr. Henderson wrote this piece:
The Death of Paul Comtois
It is a truly extraordinary thing that I am going to tell you - but the most extraordinary thing about it is that you have probably never heard of it before. It concerns the holy death of a Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, Paul Comtois.
The facts are quite straightforward. Just eight years ago, on Feb. 21st, 1966, fire destroyed the Lieutenant-Governor’s mansion at Silery, Quebec. Mr. Comtois, 70 years old, was the first to notice smoke. There were ten occupants of the chateau including his wife and daughter. The Lieutenant-Governor brought them all outside to safety. Then he returned himself inside the blazing building to rescue the Blessed Sacrament in his private chapel.
Apparently, he was unable to open the tabernacle door. At any rate, he succeeded in getting hold of the paten and relic only. Then, as he came down, the stairs collapsed and he was burned alive in the holocaust. Such are the facts.
What is not so clear is why this extraordinary action went unreported at the time and has since remained virtually unknown. After checking the story out, I came to the conclusion that this act, which would have become a part of the history of mankind in any other time, has been deliberately overlooked today.
Of course, to the agnostic world, such an act is incomprehensible. Yet even so, the sheer sensationalism of it would seem to have warranted front page play in the secular press. It did not. Le Devoir and La Presse passed it over in silence. Furthermore, the Catholic press was not informed. What are we to conclude? Perhaps someone can enlighten me.
Mr. Henderson promptly ordered a full report. It was prepared by a very experienced Quebec newspaperman Myles O’Farrell and appeared in the Catholic Register March 2nd, 1974. In Mr. O’Farrell’s fuller investigation, it will be noticed that Paul Comtois had actually reached the pyx, which was found safely under his body. Yet Lt. Col. J.P. Martin, chief aide-de-camp, had reported, “The fire started as though it were in a matchbox. It was incredible to see with what speed the flames spread through the building.” The heat of the crackling flames was in acid contrast to the 20-degree-below-zero temperature in Quebec City. Despite the wintry weather, the firemen could not approach closer than 100 feet, and hoses were continually freezing. But Paul Comtois could - and did. Mr. O’Farrell’s full report in the Catholic Register, March 2nd, 1974 read:
How Comtois Died with Host In His Hands
Quebec City - There is little doubt left today that eight years ago - on February 21st, 1966 - Paul Comtois, 70, Quebec’s 21st Lieutenant-Governor, burned to death while trying to save the Holy Eucharist from the fire that destroyed the governor’s Bois de Coulonges residence at Sillery, Quebec.
Maurice Cardinal Roy, Primate of Canada and Archbishop of Quebec, said at the time: “Mr. Comtois, as a Christian, gave an example of wisdom and goodness, humility, and radiant faith.”
Still, Paul Comtois’s heroic sacrifice remains officially unrecognized and was very lightly passed over by the secular press.
However, it is now firmly established from eye-witness testimony, that, instead of escaping himself as he could have, Paul Comtois, like the captain of a sinking ship, refused to leave the burning building until all his guests, staff and family members had reached safety.
Then in a desperate attempt to fulfill his last obligation in saving the Holy Eucharist in the family chapel from the flames, he himself perished. The pyx, the sacred vessel in which the Host is kept after consecration, was found under his charred body as proof of his near-success.
His daughter, Mireille, told how: “As I was racing through the building to escape from the fire, I came upon my father in the chapel. As I was going to run to him, he firmly ordered me to jump from a nearby window and I did, wondering why he did not do likewise. The last I saw of him, he was standing under the sanctuary lamp in his pajamas and wearing around his neck the souvenir Rosary from his father which he said every night and wore to sleep.” “My father,” Mireille continued, “would visit the chapel each night before retiring to say his prayers.” His mother was a McCaffrey, right from Ireland, and even though he was a devout man, he held a certain disdain for death.
“My father once told me that he had difficulty in being granted the special permission from the Cardinal to permanently keep the Blessed Sacrament in the private chapel. When he finally was given this permission, it was on condition that he be personally responsible for its safe and proper keeping. And my father was a man who lived up to his obligations at all costs.”
“I was told,” she continued, ‘that when they found him, his body was badly burned and his arms were no longer intact; but my father was a big stocky man and under the upper part of his body they found the pyx used to carry the Holy Eucharist. His body had saved it from the flames . . . I can still picture him standing there in the light of the sanctuary lamp.”
Brian Turpin, a Quebec City fireman among the first to locate Mr. Comtois’s body, said: “We found him face down, his body badly burned amongst the sacred vestments scattered on the chapel floor. The small case for the Host was at his front. His arms had been burned off and were separated from his body on the floor.”
Mac Stearns, a Quebec industrialist and overnight guest of the Governor’s residence, commented: “I jumped to safety from a second story balcony, injuring my back in doing so and was hospitalized for some time after. My wife and I were good friends of the Comtois family. We were in the habit of visiting one another. I grew to be a close friend and admirer of Paul Comtois. He was a very sincere person, deeply concerned with the problems of humanity.”
“His tremendous religious faith impressed me greatly and was no doubt instrumental in my embracing the Catholic faith some time after his death. Knowing his great fervor for the Blessed Sacrament,” Mr. Stearns added, “I have no doubt whatsoever that Paul would do all in his power to rescue the Holy Eucharist from the fire.”
Paul Comtois was born in Pierreville, Quebec, on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, August 22nd, 1895. He first entered politics in 1930 and was defeated by one vote. In June, 1957, he entered the House of Commons as member for Nicolet-Yamaska. On Oct. 1st, 1961, he was appointed Quebec Lieutenant-Governor by John Diefenbaker, then Prime Minister.
This beautiful story of the noble death of Paul Comtois was published in booklet form in 1988 by a dear friend, Mr. John Cotter of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The booklet bore the title The Affirmation of Paul Comtois, and had an introduction written by another dear friend, Sister Maureen Peckham, R.S.C.J. With the permission of Mr. Cotter, we have presented the story in substantially the same manner as did he. With the permission of Sister Maureen, we will close this story of a true Catholic hero of our time with, but for one slight change, the exact words she wrote as an introduction:
Epilogue
Over twenty years have passed since, in an act of gallant generosity, a supernaturally splendid ‘beau geste’, Paul Comtois, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Quebec, laid down his life for his Friend in the Blessed Sacrament. His story, far from making the headlines, was considered, by the secular press, not newsworthy, and, by the Catholic press, an embarrassment. The Church of the second half of the 20th century is, to its shame, not noted for its faith in the Blessed Sacrament, and, one can only deduce that it was fear of being considered foolish and old-womanish - or, worse still, old hat - by an unbelieving world that caused the leaders of the Church in Quebec to pass over, in blushing silence, Mr. Comtois’ noble deed.
Yet, Paul Comtois was a man of the world, a well-known socialite, one who had reached the heights of worldly glory; he was one whom the world could recognize as its own. Furthermore, his chivalrous and brave death should, even on the human and worldly level, have merited him the title of hero. That he, who had been honored by the world during his lifetime, should have been ignored by the world at the moment of his death, can only be explained by the fact that he died for One Whom the world does not recognize and has ever refused to acknowledge.
The glorious martyrdom of Paul Comtois, passed over as it was by an unbelieving world, and by an all too unbelieving Church, has, nonetheless, remained in the faithful memory of God’s true friends. That one of these should today be putting into print Mr. Comtois’ shining witness of charity, in its radical and essential loveliness, is indeed a welcome and joyous event. May this inspiring story enflame the hearts of all who read it with an undying love for the Lord of the Tabernacle."
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
On Christian Charity
An excerpt from the book, Love One Another by Louis Colin, C.SS.R.
"Lastly, charity should be exercised even toward our worst enemies. Whether it be question of savage sectarians, persecutors of the Church, or invaders trampling down upon our country and torturing the population, of personal enemies, attacking our reputation, our property, our social position: the law promulgated by Christ, however hard it appears, remains sacred and untouchable: We must learn to forgive and to love. But, I say to you who listen to me: Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who calumniate you (Luke 6:27-28). We should love our enemies, not certainly in as much as they are unjust and wrongdoers toward us, but because they still remain, despite all, Christians and brothers and God’s creatures. Certainly we are obviously entitled to detest and condemn in others all those hideous feelings of wickedness, rancor, jealousy and brutality, of which we are the victims. Furthermore, we may defend ourselves, even attack, appeal to human justice, and in certain cases insist on reparation, but we must always avoid any spirit of hate or vengeance. Using that paradoxical turn of phrase which is habitual to Him, Jesus reminds us of our obligation, of not only forgiving–and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us (Matt. 6:12)–but even of acting as servants and doctors toward our enemies. You have heard that it hath been said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other: And if a man will contend with thee in judgment to take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him (Matt. 5:38-40). If we invoke the law of “an eye for an eye” against our neighbor, God will treat us in like manner. For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences (Matt. 6:14-15). “Christian love embraces every creature by right. If someone should be to us, I will not say a stranger, but hostile; if he should hate us to the point of wishing to nail us living to a cross, we should not drive that person away, under pain of seeing Jesus crucified in our own heart.” (Gay, Vertus chrétiennes, “De la charité envers le prochain,”Part II) Following the example set by Christ, who, from Calvary’s summit, prayed for His enemies: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, the true Christian knows no other form of vengeance than forgiveness and well-doing. Be not overcome by evil: but overcome evil by good (Rom. 12:21). Having proved ourselves a hundred, a thousand times ungrateful–criminals, perhaps–toward God; a hundred, a thousand times absolved and loaded with new graces, how can we show ourselves merciless toward our brothers who are less guilty than we? Remember the parable of the faithless servant whose debt the master had forgiven. When freed, he jumped at the throat of one of his own debtors and, turning a deaf ear to entreaties, commenced to strangle him. Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee. And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from our hearts (Matt. 18:32-35). Christian charity is so comprehensive that, transcending time and space, it descends to purgatory and mounts to Heaven. Love unites and fuses into a single wonderful fraternity the Church triumphant, militant and suffering. There is only one region to which charity does not extend: Hell, that cursed land whence charity is exiled forever; that sojourn of hate and despair. This time the break is total, the separation is final. There is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of predilection. This is the fiery abyss of those heartless beings who can no longer love, and who will never by loved by anyone. Does not this eternal absence of love constitute the worst punishment? The universality of charity neither excludes order nor variety. In the multitude of our feelings, there exists a hierarchy of values which must be respected. The principle of this hierarchy is derived from the very perfection of the beings whom we love, from the degree of their closeness to us, and from the measure of their physical and moral necessities. The more somebody, by his holiness, is God’s image, the friend of Jesus Christ, the more closely he is united to us by links of natural or supernatural relationship; the more piteous and miserable he is, the greater right he has by that very fact to our benevolence or to our mercy." (pp 48-50)
"Lastly, charity should be exercised even toward our worst enemies. Whether it be question of savage sectarians, persecutors of the Church, or invaders trampling down upon our country and torturing the population, of personal enemies, attacking our reputation, our property, our social position: the law promulgated by Christ, however hard it appears, remains sacred and untouchable: We must learn to forgive and to love. But, I say to you who listen to me: Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them who calumniate you (Luke 6:27-28). We should love our enemies, not certainly in as much as they are unjust and wrongdoers toward us, but because they still remain, despite all, Christians and brothers and God’s creatures. Certainly we are obviously entitled to detest and condemn in others all those hideous feelings of wickedness, rancor, jealousy and brutality, of which we are the victims. Furthermore, we may defend ourselves, even attack, appeal to human justice, and in certain cases insist on reparation, but we must always avoid any spirit of hate or vengeance. Using that paradoxical turn of phrase which is habitual to Him, Jesus reminds us of our obligation, of not only forgiving–and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us (Matt. 6:12)–but even of acting as servants and doctors toward our enemies. You have heard that it hath been said: an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other: And if a man will contend with thee in judgment to take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him (Matt. 5:38-40). If we invoke the law of “an eye for an eye” against our neighbor, God will treat us in like manner. For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences (Matt. 6:14-15). “Christian love embraces every creature by right. If someone should be to us, I will not say a stranger, but hostile; if he should hate us to the point of wishing to nail us living to a cross, we should not drive that person away, under pain of seeing Jesus crucified in our own heart.” (Gay, Vertus chrétiennes, “De la charité envers le prochain,”Part II) Following the example set by Christ, who, from Calvary’s summit, prayed for His enemies: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, the true Christian knows no other form of vengeance than forgiveness and well-doing. Be not overcome by evil: but overcome evil by good (Rom. 12:21). Having proved ourselves a hundred, a thousand times ungrateful–criminals, perhaps–toward God; a hundred, a thousand times absolved and loaded with new graces, how can we show ourselves merciless toward our brothers who are less guilty than we? Remember the parable of the faithless servant whose debt the master had forgiven. When freed, he jumped at the throat of one of his own debtors and, turning a deaf ear to entreaties, commenced to strangle him. Thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all the debt, because thou besoughtest me: shouldst not thou then have had compassion also on thy fellow servant, even as I had compassion on thee. And his lord being angry, delivered him to the torturers until he paid all the debt. So also shall my heavenly Father do to you, if you forgive not every one his brother from our hearts (Matt. 18:32-35). Christian charity is so comprehensive that, transcending time and space, it descends to purgatory and mounts to Heaven. Love unites and fuses into a single wonderful fraternity the Church triumphant, militant and suffering. There is only one region to which charity does not extend: Hell, that cursed land whence charity is exiled forever; that sojourn of hate and despair. This time the break is total, the separation is final. There is no possibility of returning to the kingdom of predilection. This is the fiery abyss of those heartless beings who can no longer love, and who will never by loved by anyone. Does not this eternal absence of love constitute the worst punishment? The universality of charity neither excludes order nor variety. In the multitude of our feelings, there exists a hierarchy of values which must be respected. The principle of this hierarchy is derived from the very perfection of the beings whom we love, from the degree of their closeness to us, and from the measure of their physical and moral necessities. The more somebody, by his holiness, is God’s image, the friend of Jesus Christ, the more closely he is united to us by links of natural or supernatural relationship; the more piteous and miserable he is, the greater right he has by that very fact to our benevolence or to our mercy." (pp 48-50)
Monday, June 1, 2009
Abortionist killed in USA
LifeSiteNews.com May 31, 2009:
Witnesses have confirmed that a man that was shot and killed in the lobby at a Wichita church this morning was Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller.
Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a congregation member. Police have reportedly apprehended a suspect - a white male who was seen fleeing the scene of the shooting in a blue Taurus.
The Kansas abortionist has long been a lightning rod for the abortion debate, partly on account of his emphasis on providing late-term abortions at his Wichita facility – a specialization that recently landed him in court on 19 counts of conducting illegal late-term abortions.
Last month, after a three day trial, a jury acquitted Tiller of all the charges. Immediately following the trial, however, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts stated that it was bringing 11 charges against Tiller’s license. The Board accused Tiller of “performing an abortion on a fetus that was viable without having a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with him; unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or professional incompetency; and commitment of acts likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public."
Pro-life organizations immediately denounced this morning’s killing. Operation Rescue, which has helped spearheaded the effort to bring the charges against the abortionist, issued a statement, saying:
“We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, who has also been closely involved in Tiller’s case, issued a brief statement saying simply that he and his coalition “condemn” the shooting.
Jim Hughes, the president of Canada’s Campaign Life Coalition, and vice president of International Right to Life, also reacted to the shooting with dismay. “Not only is this sort of violence seriously damaging to the pro-life cause, it is also deeply contrary to everything that is meant by the phrase pro-life,” he told LifeSiteNews.com. “Those of us in the pro-life movement do not want to see abortionists die, we want to see them convert.”
Hughes speculated that the shooter may be someone who has been personally affected by abortion and was seeking revenge against Tiller. “May God have mercy on his soul,” said Hughes of the abortionist.
Fr. Pavone, the head of priests for life, also issued a statement, saying:” I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it…
"But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions."
Witnesses have confirmed that a man that was shot and killed in the lobby at a Wichita church this morning was Kansas late-term abortionist George Tiller.
Tiller, 67, was shot just after 10 a.m. at Reformation Lutheran Church at 7601 E. 13th, where he was a congregation member. Police have reportedly apprehended a suspect - a white male who was seen fleeing the scene of the shooting in a blue Taurus.
The Kansas abortionist has long been a lightning rod for the abortion debate, partly on account of his emphasis on providing late-term abortions at his Wichita facility – a specialization that recently landed him in court on 19 counts of conducting illegal late-term abortions.
Last month, after a three day trial, a jury acquitted Tiller of all the charges. Immediately following the trial, however, the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts stated that it was bringing 11 charges against Tiller’s license. The Board accused Tiller of “performing an abortion on a fetus that was viable without having a documented referral from another physician not legally or financially affiliated with him; unprofessional or dishonorable conduct or professional incompetency; and commitment of acts likely to deceive, defraud or harm the public."
Pro-life organizations immediately denounced this morning’s killing. Operation Rescue, which has helped spearheaded the effort to bring the charges against the abortionist, issued a statement, saying:
“We are shocked at this morning’s disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning. We pray for Mr. Tiller’s family that they will find comfort and healing that can only be found in Jesus Christ.”
Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, who has also been closely involved in Tiller’s case, issued a brief statement saying simply that he and his coalition “condemn” the shooting.
Jim Hughes, the president of Canada’s Campaign Life Coalition, and vice president of International Right to Life, also reacted to the shooting with dismay. “Not only is this sort of violence seriously damaging to the pro-life cause, it is also deeply contrary to everything that is meant by the phrase pro-life,” he told LifeSiteNews.com. “Those of us in the pro-life movement do not want to see abortionists die, we want to see them convert.”
Hughes speculated that the shooter may be someone who has been personally affected by abortion and was seeking revenge against Tiller. “May God have mercy on his soul,” said Hughes of the abortionist.
Fr. Pavone, the head of priests for life, also issued a statement, saying:” I am saddened to hear of the killing of George Tiller this morning. At this point, we do not know the motives of this act, or who is behind it…
"But whatever the motives, we at Priests for Life continue to insist on a culture in which violence is never seen as the solution to any problem. Every life has to be protected, without regard to their age or views or actions."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)