Since we are travellers and pilgrims in the world, let us ever ponder on the end of the road, that is of our life, for the end of our roadway is our home (St Columban, 8th sermon).
Showing posts with label All Saints' Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label All Saints' Day. Show all posts
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart (Deuteronomy 6:4-6). [First Reading; quoted by Jesus in the Gospel].
GospelMark 12:28-34(English Standard Version Anglicised: India)
One
of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing
that Jesus answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most
important of all?”Jesus answered, “The most
important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.And you shall love the Lord your God with
all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your
strength.’The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour
as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”And the scribe said to him, “You are right,
Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other
besides him.And to love him with all the heart and with all the
understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbour as
oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely,
he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom
of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him
any more questions.
Solemnity
of All Saints [England and Wales]
This year the Solemnity of All Saints is
observed in England and Wales on Sunday. Elsewhere it is observed on Monday on
its traditional date, the First of November.
The first reading today is one the most important in the
whole Bible for people of the Jewish faith. There is only one God. Only the
Hebrews in the ancient Mediterranean world believed that. Jesus quotes
Deuteronomy 6:4-6 in his response to the scribe. These words are at the heart
of Jewish prayer and are prayed by or spoken to a Jew when he is dying,
reminding him of the most important reality of all, that God is God. The Hebrew
for Hear, O Israel is Shema Yisrael, שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵלin Hebrew. Believing Jews pray or sing the Shema
Yisrael, or Shema, just as Christians pray or sing the Our
Father, the opening words giving their name to the whole prayer. Jews pray it twice a day and before sleeping.
The setting of the Shema in the
video above is modern and joyful. Jesus would have prayed the Shema everyday
and perhaps chanted it first as a child when St Joseph took him to the Temple
and later when he went there as an adult.
And at the wedding in Cana Jesus would have danced
with the other men in a style like that of the man in the video. The Shema is
a profoundly joyful proclamation of faith in the one God.
Often enough I've heard people creating a gap between the two great commandments, which are a summary of the Ten Commandments. There is no such gap. You shall love your neighbor as yourself is a consequence of you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . just as in God’s plan being a father or mother is a consequence of being first of all a husband or wife.
In his homily at the opening of the Year of Faith on 11 October 2012 Pope Benedict said, Jesus is the centre of the Christian faith. The Christian believes in God whose face was revealed by Jesus Christ. He is the fulfilment of the Scriptures and their definitive interpreter.
The testimony of the saints shows us men and women, young and old, even children, whose lives were focused on Jesus the Lord, God who became Man, and because of this gave themselves in the service of others. It is impossible to live the first great commandment without wanting to live the second. It is impossible to live the second without wanting to live the first.
On 21 October 2012 when he canonised seven new saints including St Pedro Calungsod, the young catechist-martyr from the central Philippines and St Kateri Tekakwitha, the first native North American saint, Pope Benedict underlined the mission of the saints: The tenacious profession of faith of these seven generous disciples of Christ, their configuration to the Son of Man shines out brightly today in the whole Church. He used a term that St John Paul used many times in his apostolic exhortation of 1992, Pastores Dabo vobis, configuration to the Son of Man.
St John Paul's document was about the ordained priesthood and he reminded priests in it a number of times that they were called to be configured to Christ. But here Pope Benedict is calling all of us to be such, that is to become, with God's grace, so like Jesus Christ that others will see him in us.
Jesus, as he quotes the ShemaYisrael in
today's gospel, is not calling us to be 'nice' to others, but to be configured
to him. He is calling us to be able to say with St Paul in Philippians 1:18, What
then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is
proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
This song from Nigeria echoes the words of the Shema in today's First Reading and quoted by Jesus in today's Gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love
your neighbour as yourself.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelMatthew 5:1-12a (English
Standard Version Anglicised)
Seeing
the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples
came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed
are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed
are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
“Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
“Blessed
are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
great in heaven.”
To activate the English subtitles click on the 6th icon from the right at the bottom of the screen.
I asked a friend, a teacher, to look at the video above and to share her comments with me. Her first comment was, He is so ordinary! She added that she wanted to look at it again and to reflect on it more deeply. My friend's reaction was similar to what Fr Will Conquer MEP, the young French priest in the video, said: Carlo is really an ordinary saint.
Technically, Blessed Carlo, who was born in London, England, but grew up in Milan, Italy, is not yet a saint in the sense of one who has been canonised. But on the Solemnity of All Saints the Church honours all those who are in the presence of God, that great multitude of 'ordinary saints', some of whom, most likely, each of us knew personally. Father Will quotes St Teresa of Kolkata, Mother Teresa: Not
all of us can do great things but we can do small things with great love. All Saints' Day is when the Church honours all those now with God who have done such.
I had read a little about Carlo before his beatification but it was only when a local parish priest here spoke enthusiastically about him in a Zoom meeting that I decided to learn more about him.
The most striking thing for me watching the video is Blessed Carlo's deep personal relationship with Jesus, especially through the Blessed Sacrament. Father Will notes: First
Communion was a real encounter with Christ. Carlo was nourished by the
Eucharist every day and it is this friendship with Christ in the Eucharist that
would nourish his life. His mother Antonia says, For
him his day was to meet Jesus at Mass . . . For him, it was obvious that Jesus is really present wherever there is a tabernacle. She quotes her son, We
have the Real Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle and no one is queuing up. His strong sense of this and his desire to be with Jesus in adoration before the tabernacle reminds me of his French namesake Blessed Charles de Foucauld, the French hermit-priest who lived in the Sahara among Muslim nomads and who will be canonised some time in 2021. Through his daily hours of adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament in his hermitage he discovered himself as 'the little brother' of the Muslims among whom he lived knocking on his door for help.
Young Carlo used to say, The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.
Another striking thing about Blessed Carlo, who was an only child of wealthy parents, was his respect for others, especially those who were poor. His school friends recalled his friendliness with persons such as the school caretaker. He brought meals to homeless people with Capuchin brothers and, with his pocket money, bought sleeping bags for some of them. This for me came from the deep relationship he had with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. In this he reminds me of another handsome young Italian born years before Carlo and who died suddenly at the age of 24, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati whom St John Paul II called 'A Man of the Beatitudes'.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati shortly before his death in 1925
The young Carlo - and he never became old enough to be anything but 'the young Carlo' - had and continues to have a profound influence on adults. He mother says that he was like 'a little Saviour' to her and helped her and her husband Andrea to become active Catholics again. The family's parish priest had great wisdom too when, after Carlo's First Holy Communion, he asked Antonia to become a catechist.
Most striking of all for me is how Rajesh, the immigrant from India who worked with the family, speaks about Carlo. His best friend was Jesus, he says. He used to accompany Carlo to kindergarten and often went to the local park, sometimes with the family dog, Carlo bringing a frisbee to throw for the dog. Sometimes they went to McDonalds. Rajesh shares that the only person who treated him with respect was this young child. (I'm sure Carlo's parents did too). This reminds me of the story I mentioned last week of the homeless Dublin alcoholic who testified that the only person who ever looked up to him was Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary.
Rajesh goes on to say, I
valued him more than my teacher because everything he said was really joyful
and touched my heart . . . Such a young child could be a role model in my life.He
was a true teacher for me which is why I converted from Hinduism to
Christianity.
Carlo was a 'geek', as Father Will describes him, the first saint in heaven with an email address. He was a missionary 'geek' who asked himself, How
can I share my greatest passion with my friends? Father will says, His greatest passion was Jesus in the Eucharist. In order to share this passion he set up a website about all the Eucharistic miracles he could find out about. He used Google and Wikipedia for research. His work is now being carried on by others.
Father Will says in the video, For
me Carlo is a new kind of missionary of this unknown continent, the sixth continent
that needs to be evangelized. Carlo is part of a pioneer generation. This echoes the message of Pope Benedict XVI for World Communications Day 2009, the title of which was New Technologies, New Relationships. Promoting a Culture of Respect, Dialogue and Friendship. I'm not sure if Pope Benedict had heard of Carlo at that time. Yet the last paragraph of the Pope's message could have been written with Carlo in mind. I've emphasised some parts.
I would like to conclude this message by addressing myself, in particular, to young Catholic believers: to encourage them to bring the witness of their faith to the digital world. Dear Brothers and Sisters, I ask you to introduce into the culture of this new environment of communications and information technology the values on which you have built your lives. In the early life of the Church, the great Apostles and their disciples brought the Good News of Jesus to the Greek and Roman world. Just as, at that time, a fruitful evangelization required that careful attention be given to understanding the culture and customs of those pagan peoples so that the truth of the gospel would touch their hearts and minds, so also today, the proclamation of Christ in the world of new technologies requires a profound knowledge of this world if the technologies are to serve our mission adequately. It falls, in particular, to young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication, to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this 'digital continent'. Be sure to announce the Gospel to your contemporaries with enthusiasm. You know their fears and their hopes, their aspirations and their disappointments: the greatest gift you can give to them is to share with them the 'Good News' of a God who became man, who suffered, died and rose again to save all people. Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. Our faith can respond to these expectations: may you become its heralds! The Pope accompanies you with his prayers and his blessing.
Pope Benedict was not telling young people that they were the 'future' of the Church but rather they were its now, with a special responsibility to bring the Good News to others because of their knowledge and skills as citizens of 'this digital continent'.
A young woman towards the end of the video says, Carlo
told us: 'The goal of my life is to always be united with Jesus.' And this
touches me a lot because it reminds me of what is essential: always being in a
heart-to-heart [relationship] with Jesus. This echoes the recently-canonised St John Henry Newman whose motto as a cardinal was, Cor ad cor loquitur - Heart speaks to heart.
Blessed Carlo, who died at 15, reminds me of a saint long before the time of the internet and who died at 105, St Anthony the Abbot. St Athanasius writes of him: And so all the people of the village, and the good men with who he associated saw what kind of man he was, and they called him 'The friend of God'. Some loved him as a son, and others as though he were a brother.
The life of this young man who was so joyful because of his closeness to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament embodies the sixth beatitude in today's Gospel and the Communion Antiphon: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He understood the opening words to today's Second Reading (1 John 3;1-3): See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
Blessed Carlo invites us to thank God for the saintly people who have crossed our path. And I would suggest using the video above for prayer. I do believe that God is speaking to us through Blessed Carlo and especially through this video. And with lockdowns in so many countries we have time to reflect and to pray - and to discover for ourselves how the internet can be a tool to bring Jesus to others and to see is as a tool that can bring us closer to one another in these strange time.
Extraordinary Form of the Mass
Traditional Latin Mass (TLM)
This Sunday, 1 November, is also the Feast of All Saints in the calendar that uses the TLM.
The complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 11-01-2020, if necessary).
Epistle: Revelations (Apocalypse) 7:2-12; Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12.
Authentic Beauty
Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.
When Jesussaw the crowds, he went up the
mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.Then he
began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for
they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are
persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people
revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falselyon my account.Rejoice and
be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
When I go home to my native Dublin I use public transport all the time. I often find God's presence in in those around me, passengers and drivers. So does Columban Sr Mary Nolan, now based in Dublin, who worked for many years in Peru and also served a term as Congregational Leader of the Missionary Sisters of St Columban. Here she shares such a moment on the 150 bus - and by chance Wikipedia has a photo of a 150 bus!
Coming from the city on the 150 bus recently I shared a seat with a woman whom I had never met before. Her name is Breda. She told me she has been a widow for the past 29 years; her Dad suffers from Alzheimer’s and her Mom cares for him down in their home near Carlow. Breda’s daughter Ashling was 11 years old when her father died. There was another little girl four years younger who died of hepatitis at 7 months. Ashling was traumatized but gradually came through it and did well at her studies. She is a churchgoer, and a turning point for her was when she attended YOUTH 2000. At that youth celebration Ashling met her future husband, a young man who is spina bifida. They’re happily married since last year.
By the time I had heard that story my bus had arrived at St Agnes’ Road, where our convent is, and it was time to part from Breda. I was amazed that such a happy faith-filled woman could have come through so much suffering.
The Solemnity of All Saints celebrates the countless saints whom the Church has never canonized and never will, people who have gone before us who in their lifetime, like Breda on the 150 bus in Dublin, accepted whatever life brought, sadness and joy, believing in the love of the Lord Jesus Christ for them and in doing so being an inspiration to those around them.
I think that Ashling, Breda's daughter, attended one of the four-day faith festivals organised each summer by YOUTH 2000. The video above is a promo for this year's.
Songs for All Saints' Day
Here is a rousing version of For All the Saints, words by Anglican Bishop William Walsham How and music by Ralph Vaughan Williams. The video is taken from an edition of the BBC's weekly progamme Songs of Praise, which has been running since 1961.
I don't know much about the faith of Scottish poet Norman MacCaig (1910 - 1996). Wikipedia tells us that he described it as 'Zen Calvinism' - 'a comment typical of his half-humorous, half-serious approach to life'.
A favourite poem of mine is Country Postman. It expresses for me something of the reality of the Communion of Saints that we celebrate and remember in a special way on these two days. I've no idea if Norman MacCaig was thinking of the Communion of Saints when he wrote it. But it captures something of what holds us all together as a community. With email, Facebook and all the ways of communicating in 'this digital continent', as Pope Benedict calls it, perhaps the role of the postman has changed, though he is still vital in rural communities, not only to deliver the mail but to keep an eye on older persons living on their own, some of whom perhaps are reclusive but who still welcome him.
The poem too catches something of the fragility in all of us, especially in those who serve the broader community quietly and generously for so many years. And could Jesus, who turned water into wine at a wedding for people like those whom this mail deliverer served, turn away this poor man who died after probably celebrating a little too much?
It is persons such as MacCaig's Country Postman whom we remember on All Souls' Day and it is our prayers that help them move from being numbered among All Souls to being numbered among All Saints.
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales,
India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South
Africa)
In England and Wales this year the Solemnity of All Saints will be
celebrated on Sunday 2 November and All Souls’ Day will be observed on Monday 3
November.
Readingsfor
All Saints’ Day (England and Wales, Jerusalem Bible)
Fr Edward McNamara LC of Zenit responds here to a reader's query about the celebration this year of The Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed. One can truthfully say that there are reasons for confusion!
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he
sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began
to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.“Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.“Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all
kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you.
The video above is a production of Jesuit Communications, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City, Philippines. The speaker is Luis Antionio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila.
Antiphona ad communionem Communion Antiphon Cf. 4 Esdras [Ezra] 2:34-35
Lux ætérna lúceat eis, Dómine,
Let perpetual light shine upon them
cum Sanctis tuis in ætérnum, quia pius es.
with your Saints for ever, for you are merciful.
Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine,
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
et lux perpétua lúceat eis,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
cum Sanctis tuis in ætérnum, quia pius es.
with your Siants for ever for you are merciful.
The first part above is the Communion Antiphon in the second Mass formulary for All Souls's Day. The whole is used as the Communion Antiphon in the first formularu for funeral Masses outside Easter time.
