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 St Justin Martyr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label St Justin Martyr. Show all posts
“Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river and the glory of
the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip, and bounced upon
her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will
comfort you; you shall be
comforted in Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:12-13, First Reading).
Readings(Jerusalem Bible:
Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand,
Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 10:1-12, 17-20 [or 10:1-9] (English
Standard Version Anglicised: India)
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where
he himself was about to go.And he said to them, “The
harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly
to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.Go your way; behold, I am sending
you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.Carry no money bag, no knapsack, no sandals,
and greet no one on the road.Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to
this house!’And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest
upon him. But if not, it will return to you.And remain in the same house, eating and
drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves his wages. Do not go
from house to house.Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what
is set before you.Heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom
of God has come near to you.’
["But whenever you
enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we
wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has
come near.’I tell you, it will be more bearable on that
day for Sodom than for that town.
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”And he said to them, “I saw
Satan fall like lightning from heaven.Behold, I have given you authority to
tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy,
and nothing shall hurt you.Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits
are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."]
I have just returned from a week in Lourdes, my first visit in twenty years. I was chaplain to pilgrims mostly from Ireland. They included a mother and daughter from Nigeria living in Dublin and three women originally from Hong Kong where they were at school together and were also members of the Legion of Mary there. Two of them live in England and the other in the USA. They have Zoom meetings regularly where they pray the prayers of the Legion of Mary.
I paid a couple of visits to the baths while in Lourdes. Due to government regulations it is now a different experience from what it used to be. Before, an individual was immersed in a bath, the water flowing from the spring that our Blessed Mother had asked St Bernadette to drink from, a spring that the young girl located only by digging the ground with her hands. There were volunteers from different countries, working in teams, helping those who had difficulties in immersing themselves.
Now there are two volunteers at each bath, only one pilgrim at a time going in. Pilgrims pray silently, then wash their hands with the spring water, drink from their cupped hands and wash their face, praying again before leaving.
While in the baths I recalled a pilgrimage I was on during Easter Week 1971. Our group, all from Ireland, included a number of persons with physical disabilities. One, Tony, also had brain damage, all his injuries the result of a car accident. I accompanied Tony to the baths. I still vividly remember one young Italian man who was part of the team on duty that day in the men's section. He had a smile that conveyed utter joy coming from within his very being, an expression of what Jesus had said to the Apostles the night before he died: These things I
have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full (John 15:11). The Italian and his companions showed the greatest respect to Tony as they lowered him into the water.
That young Italian's joy has remained with me for 31 years now, an abiding blessing or grace from God, as so many apparently insignificant events in our lives are.
The First Reading today is also used on the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes (11 February) and that of St Thérèse
of Lisieux (1 October). Discovering that after returning from Lourdes was for me a reminder of what I call the thoughtfulness of God. That reading speaks of joy: Rejoice with
Jerusalem, and be glad for her,all you who love her;rejoice with her in joy,all you who mourn over her . .
. You shall see, and your heart
shall rejoice. The Responsorial Psalm echoes this in its first line, which is also the response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth. And in the Opening Prayer we pray, fill your faithful with holy joy.
In the longer form of the Gospel we read: The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even
the demons are subject to us in your name!’ And he said to them . . . ‘Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this,
that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are
written in heaven.’
Three years ago the June or July issue of Magnificat, a
pocket-sized monthly magazine that is a prayer book and Missal that I highly
recommend, has this story of St Justin Martyr who died c.165. He was a
philosopher who attached himself to philosophical schools in different
places.
One day, while walking along the
beach in Ephesus, Justin met an old man who told him of the teachings of the
Hebrew prophets and their fufilment in the person of Jesus Christ. 'My spirit
was immediately set on fire,' Justin wrote later.
That young Italian in the baths in Lourdes was to me as the old man St Justin met was to him. But we don't have to go on a pilgrimage to meet such persons. We may meet them on the bus, in the supermarket, while walking in the park. If our hearts are attuned to God's will, especially by walking with our Blessed Mother. She was totally attuned to God's will and was chosen by God from all eternity to bring his Son to the world and to bring all of us to his Son. Guided by her we may find many occasions when we can say, My spirit was immediately set on fire.
+++
Just today, Thursday, The Catholic Thing published an article by Francis X. Maier that shows how someone can be a great blessing to others without being aware of it: Homage to a Good Man.
This Welsh hymn is sung on many occasions, including international Rugby matches in Wales. This video was made by BBC Cymru/Wales in the context of the 2014 Six Nations Championship.
And I think that only a pure heart can really Cry out to God with joy.
Traditional Latin Mass
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 7-3-2022 if necessary).
For thus says the Lord:
I will extend prosperity to her like a river,
and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing
stream;
and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm,
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so I will comfort you;
you shall be comforted in Jerusalem (Isaiah 66:12-13).
Readings(Jerusalem Bible: Australia,
England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan,
Scotland, South Africa)
GospelLuke 10:1-12, 17-20 [or Luke 10: 1-9] (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)
After this
the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them,
‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of
the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I
am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no
bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter,
first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in
peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to
you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide,
for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever
you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God
has come near to you.”
[But whenever you enter a town and
they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “Even the dust
of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet
know this: the kingdom of God has come near.”I tell you, on that day it will be more
tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the
demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven
like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on
snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will
hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to
you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’] Note: Some translations mention 70 disciples, others, such as the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible, 72.
The current issue of Magnificat, a pocket-sized monthly magazine that is a prayer book and Missal that I highly recommend, has this story of St Justin Martyr who died c.165. He was a philosopher who attached himself to philosophical schools in different places.
One day, while walking along the beach in Ephesus, Justin met an old man who told him of the teachings of the Hebrew prophets and their fufilment in the person of Jesus Christ. 'My spirit was immediately set on fire,' Justin wrote later.
I remember the late Columban Fr Cyril Hally, a New Zealander, pointing out to us in the seminary that when the Apostles went to their different mission fields they found some Christians there before them. Christians who travelled, such as merchants, spoke about Jesus Christ to those they met and many a spirit was immediately set on fire.
Columban Fr Joseph Hogan from Dublin, where the Legion of Mary was born, introduced the movement to China, where it later produced many martyrs. He died in Shanghai on 6 July 1946. And Columban Fr Seán Savage who died on 7 July 1994 is credited with introducing the Legion to Korea. May they both rest in peace.
During some summer vacations in my seminary years I went onPeregrinatio Pro Christo- Pilgrimage For Christ - with
theLegion of Mary.
'PPC', as Legionaries usually call it, was partly inspired by the spirit of
Irish monks such as St Columbanus (Columban) and St Columcille (Columba) who
left Ireland for other countries, Columban to the European mainland
and Columba to Iona, Scotland, in the modern Diocese of Argyll and the Isles
where I spent two months in parish work during the summer of 2013. I also spent
two short periods working there in the summer of 1997.
Legionaries
go to another country or to another region in their own country for at least a
week, usually at the invitation of a particular parish. In 1963 I was in a
parish near the centre of Liverpool, St Anthony's, I think, around the time The Beatles, from that
city, were becoming known throughout the world. Two years later I was in St Fergus' Parish, Ferguslie, Paisley, very near Glasgow, and in 1966 in Pewsey, a lovely village
in rural Wiltshire in England's beautiful West Country. I arrived there on the
day England won the World Cup in football against Germany and watched the game
in a cafe in Bristol.
On PPC most
of the Legionaries have never met each other before but they establish a close
bond very quickly. Instead of a weekly meeting, as they have in their own
praesidium, as a branch is called (the Legion takes its terminology from the
ancient Roman Legions), they meet daily. Each meeting includes prayers at the
beginning, the middle and the end, a reading from the Handbook, reporting on
work done, a short talk or allocutio from the spiritual
director, and assignments for the coming week, two hours for senior members.
On PPC this takes place every day, as
does the work. And it is usually much longer than two hours. Most of those
taking part give up part of their own vacations and pay their own way, though
they are usually hosted by local families, just like the 72 (or 70) in the gospel.
Just like the disciples in today's Gospel, Legionaries work in pairs.
They may never work alone. If one doesn't turn up the assigned work can't be done.
One of the central works of the Legion of Mary is to visit homes. In Liverpool
the parish priest asked us to do a parish census. This served two purposes. It
helped the parish update its list but, more importantly, it was an opportunity
for personal contact with parishioners, especially with those who had lapsed.
I remember one particular home that I visited with my assigned partner.
The parish index card noted that the family who lived there had become quite
bitter towards the Church, why, I didn't know. But I felt nervous when I
pressed the doorbell. A man opened the door and one of us said that we were from
the Legion of Mary and that we were visiting on behalf of the local parish.
Instead of speaking angry words or slamming the door in our faces, the man gave us a big smile and said, 'O, you're from Ireland!' He then told us of vacations that he and his family had spent there and that they had received a warm
welcome wherever they went.
I took this as a cue to speak of the hospitality and friendliness of the
Irish people as being an expression of their Catholic faith. We had a long chat
in which the man who had, as I recall, called his wife to meet us, expressed no
bitterness at all towards the Church and it was clear when we were leaving that
he was very grateful for the visit.
I don't know if he and his family went back to the Church but he had
experienced a welcoming Church through our visit. In a very real way we had
done what Jesus had asked the 72 (or 70) to do: Cure the sick who are there, and say
to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you' The sickness in question wasn't a
physical one but a spiritual one.
Our faith is a precious gift from God
that must be shared. Otherwise it will die. In the gospel the 72 (or 70) are
given a specific mission. That is what happens on PPC. But we're on mission all
the time and we may never know how we can lead others to the faith.
A
few years ago when visiting Canada I was invited to give a talk to a prayer
group. Afterwards over coffee I was chatting with one of the members, an immigrant
from Germany. She had been a Lutheran but for years had been thinking of
becoming a Catholic. However, she couldn't take the final step. One day she was
passing a Catholic church and felt drawn to go in. As she was trying to share
her hesitation with the Lord in prayer a group of teenage boys came in,
genuflected to the Blessed Sacrament, spent a couple of minutes in silent
prayer, got up, genuflected again and went on their way. This for her was the
moment of grace when she let go of her hesitations. She didn't know who the
boys were and they had no idea of the powerful impact their visit to the Lord
had made on this woman.
The
young future martyr Justin learned of Jesus Christ from an old man. The elderly
woman I met in Canada, who did know Jesus Christ, found her way to becoming a
Catholic Christian through the example of the teenage boys whom she didn't know
nor they her.
Whether
we're 'on duty' as missionaries, as the 72 (or 70) were and as I was on PPC, or
'off duty' the lives we lead can truly remind others that the kingdom
of God has come near to you. The people that the Liverpool family met in
Ireland, bus drivers, waiters, waitresses, newspaper vendors, so many
others, probably weren't aware that they were gentle reminders of God's love to
them. When we honestly try to follow Jesus despite our sinfulness and weakness
we can take heart in the words he spoke to the 72 (or 70) as they reported what
had happened during their mission, rejoice that your names are written
in heaven.
Antiphona
ad introitum
Entrance
Antiphon Cf. Ps 47[48]: 10-11
Suscepimus, Deus, misericordiam tuam in medio templi
tui.
Your merciful love, O God, we have recevied in the
midst of your temple.
Secundum nomen tuum, Deus, ita et laus tua in fines
terrae;
Your praise, O God, like your name, reaches the ends
of the earth;
iustitia plena est dextera tua. your right hand is filled with saving justice.
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Miraculous Draught of Fishes
