Daily Gospel for Monday, 10 March 2014
"Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to
whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68
Monday of the First week of Lent
Saint(s) of the day:
THE FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTE
(† c. 320)
The forty martyrs were soldiers quartered
at Sebaste in Armenia, about the year 320. When their legion was ordered to
offer sacrifice they separated themselves from the rest and formed a company of
martyrs. After they had been torn by scourges and iron hooks they were chained
together and led to a lingering death.
It was a cruel winter, and they were
condemned to lie naked on the icy surface of a pond in the open air till they
were frozen to death. But they ran undismayed to the place of their combat,
joyfully stripped off their garments, and with one voice besought God to keep
their Tanks unbroken. "Forty," they cried, "we have come to
combat: grant that forty may be crowned." There were warm baths hard by,
ready for any one amongst them who would deny Christ.
The soldiers who watched saw angels
descending with thirty-nine crowns, and, while he wondered at the deficiency in
the number, one of the confessors lost heart, renounced his faith, and,
crawling to the fire, died body and soul at the spot where he expected relief.
But the soldier was inspired to confess Christ and take his place, and again
the number of forty was complete.
They remained steadfast while their limbs
grew stiff and frozen, and died one by one. Among the Forty there was a young
soldier who held nut longest against the cold, and when the officers came to
cart away the dead bodies they found him still breathing. They were moved with
pity, and wanted to leave him alive in the hope that he would still change his
mind. But his mother stood by, and 'this valiant woman could not bear to see
her son separated from the band of martyrs. She exhorted him to persevere, and
lifted his frozen body into the cart. He was just able to make a sign of
recognition, and was borne away, to be thrown into the flames with the dead bodies
of his brethren.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler,
Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saint Marie Eugenie of Jesus
Foundress of the Religious of the
Assumption
(1817 - 1898)
Anne Marie Eugenie was born in 1817 in
Metz after Napoleon's complete defeat and the restoration of the Monarchy. She
belonged to a non-believing and financially comfortable family and it seemed
unlikely that she would trace a new spiritual path across the Church of France.
Her father, follower of Voltaire and a
liberal, was making his fortune in the banking world and in politics. Eugenie's
mother provided the sensitive Eugenie with an education, which strengthened her
character and gave her a strong sense of duty. Family life developed her
intellectual curiosity and a romantic spirit, an interest in social questions
and a broad world view.
Like her contemporary, George Sand, Anne
Eugenie went to Mass on feast days and received the Sacraments of initiation,
as was the custom but without any real commitment. However, her First Communion
was a great mystical experience that foretold the secret of her future. She did
not grasp its prophetic meaning until much later when she recognized it as her
path towards total belonging to Jesus Christ and the Church.
Her youth was happy but not without
suffering. She was affected when still a child by the death of an elder brother
and a baby sister. Her health was delicate and a fall from a horse left serious
consequences. Eugenie was mature for her age and learnt how to hide her
feelings and to face up to events. Later, after a prosperous period for her
father, she experienced the failure of his banks, the misunderstanding and
eventual separation of her parents and the loss of all security. She had to
leave her family home and go to Paris while Louis, closest to her in age and
faithful companion went to live with their father. Eugenie went to Paris with
the mother she adored, only to see her die from cholera after a few hours of
illness, leaving her alone at the age of fifteen in a society that was worldly
and superficial. Searching in anguish and almost desperate for the truth, she
arrived at her conversion thirsty for the Absolute and open to the
Transcendent.
When she was nineteen, Anne Eugenie
attended the Lenten Conferences at Notre Dame in Paris, preached by the young
Abbe Lacordaire, already well-known for his talent as orator. Lacordaire was a
former disciple of Lamennais - haunted by the vision of a renewed Church with
a special place in the world. He understood his time and wanted to change it.
He understood young people, their questions and their desires, their idealism
and their ignorance of both Christ and the Church. His words touched Eugenie's
heart, answered her many questions, and aroused her generosity. Eugenie
envisaged Christ as the universal liberator and his kingdom on earth
established as a peaceful and just society. I was truly converted, she wrote,
and I was seized by a longing to devote all my strength or rather all my
weakness to the Church which, from that moment, I saw as alone holding the key
to the knowledge and achievement of all that is good.
Just at this time, another preacher, also
a former disciple of Lamennais, appeared on the scene. In the confessional,
Father Combalot recognized that he had encountered a chosen soul who was
designated to be the foundress of the Congregation he had dreamt of for a long
time. He persuaded Eugenie to undertake his work by insisting that this
Congregation was willed by God who had chosen her to establish it. He convinced
her that only by education could she evangelize minds, make families truly
Christian and thus transform the society of her time. Anne Eugenie accepted the
project as God's will for her and allowed herself to be guided by the Abbe
Combalot.
At twenty-two, Marie Eugenie became
foundress of the Religious of the Assumption, dedicated to consecrate their
whole life and strength to extending the Kingdom of Christ in themselves and in
the world. In 1839, Mademoiselle Eugenie Milleret, with two other young women,
began a life of prayer and study in a flat at rue Ferou near the church of St.
Sulpice in Paris. In 1841, under the patronage of Madame de Chateaubriand,
Lacordaire, Montalembert and their friends, the sisters opened their first
school. In a relatively short time there were sixteen sisters of four
nationalities in the community.
Marie Eugenie and the first sisters
wanted to link the ancient and the new - to unite the past treasures of the
Church's spirituality and wisdom with a type of religious life and education
able to satisfy the demands of modern minds. It was a matter of respecting the
values of the period and at the same time, making the Gospel values penetrate
the rising culture of a new industrial and scientific era. The spirituality of
the Congregation, centered on Christ and the Incarnation, was both deeply
contemplative and dedicated to apostolic action. It was a life given to the
search for God and the love and service of others.
Marie Eugenie's long life covered almost
the whole of the 19th century. She loved her times passionately and took an
active part in their history. Progressively, she channeled all her energy and
gifts in tending and extending the Congregation, which became her life work.
God gave her sisters and many friends. One of the first sisters was Irish, a
mystic and her intimate friend whom she called at the end of her life,
"half of myself." Kate O'Neill, called Mother Therese Emmanuel in
religion, is considered as a co-foundress. Father Emmanuel d'Alzon, became
Marie Eugenie's spiritual director soon after the foundation, was a father,
brother or friend according to the seasons. In 1845, he founded the
Augustinians of the Assumption and the two founders helped each other in a
multitude of ways over a period of forty years. Both had a gift for friendship
and they inspired many lay people to work with them and the Church. Together,
as they followed Christ and labored with him, the religious and laity traced
the path of the Assumption and took their place in the great cloud of
witnesses.
In the last years of her life, Mother
Marie Eugenie experienced a progressive physical weakening, which she lived in
silence and humility - a life totally centered on Christ. She received the
Eucharist for the last time on March 9, 1898 and on the 10th, she gently passed
over to the Lord. She was beatified by Pope Paul VI on February 9, 1975 and
canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on June 3, 2007 in Rome. - Copyright © Libreria
Editrice Vaticana
Saint Macarius
Feastday: January 15
300 – 391
Egyptian hermit also called
"Macarius of Egypt or the Elder. He was born in Upper Egypt, and went to
the desert of Skete, where he was falsely accused of assaulting a woman, but
was proven innocent. He was ordained and served as a counselor for thousands.
An enemy of Arianism, Macanus was exiled to a small island in the Nile with
Macarus the Younger by Lucius of Alexandria. a heretic of the era. Eventually
he returned to the desert, and Macanus, considered the pioneering hermit, spent
six decades in the wilderness.
Monday of the First week of Lent
Leviticus 19:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses,
saying, 2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell
them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Yahweh your God, am holy.
11 “‘You shall not steal.
“‘You shall not lie.
“‘You shall not deceive one another.
12 “‘You shall not swear by my name
falsely, and profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.
13 “‘You shall not oppress your neighbor,
nor rob him.
“‘The wages of a hired servant shall not
remain with you all night until the morning.
14 “‘You shall not curse the deaf, nor
put a stumbling block before the blind; but you shall fear your God. I am
Yahweh.
15 “‘You shall do no injustice in
judgment. You shall not be partial to the poor, nor show favoritism to the
great; but you shall judge your neighbor in righteousness.
16 “‘You shall not go up and down as a
slanderer among your people.
“‘You shall not endanger the life[a] of your
neighbor. I am Yahweh.
17 “‘You shall not hate your brother in
your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of
him.
18 “‘You shall not take vengeance, nor
bear any grudge against the children of your people; but you shall love your
neighbor as yourself. I am Yahweh.
Footnotes:
a. Leviticus 19:16 literally, “blood”
Psalm 19: 8 Yahweh’s precepts are right,
rejoicing the heart.
Yahweh’s commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring
forever.
Yahweh’s ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
yes, than much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.
15 Let the words of my mouth be
acceptable,
the thoughts of my heart before you,
LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint
Matthew 25: 31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his
glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his
glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate
them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He
will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the
King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit
the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was
hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I
was a stranger, and you took me in. 36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was
sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him,
saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give
you a drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked,
and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most
certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my
brothers[a] , you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say also to those on the left
hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for
the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to
eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you
didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and
you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or
sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying,
‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of
these, you didn’t do it to me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life.”
Footnotes:
a. Matthew 25:40 The word for “brothers”
here may be also correctly translated “brothers and sisters” or “siblings.”
Monday of the First week of Lent
Commentary of the Day:
Saint Caesarius of Arles (470-543), monk
and Bishop
Sermons to the people, no.24 ; SC 243
"You did it for me"
Reflect, my brethren, and regard the
example of our Lord, who has made travelers of us and commanded us to come to
the heavenly city by running along the road of charity... Though he is seated
in heaven, out of compassion for its striving members (since he is the head of
both members and body throughout the world (Col 2,19)), he has said: “What you
did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me”... When he transformed
Paul the persecutor into Paul the preacher he said to him from heaven on high:
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9,4)... Saul was persecuting
christians: was he persecuting Christ who was seated in heaven? But Christ was
himself within the christians, suffering with all his members, that in him this
saying might be true: “If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it” (1Cor
12,26)...
Let us then bear each others' burdens
(Gal 6,2); where the head has gone before, the members are destined to
follow... If our Lord and Savior, who is without sin, condescends to love us
sinners with so great a love that he declares he is suffering what we are
suffering, how is that we, who are not without sin and who can redeem our sins
through charity, how is that we do not love each other with a love so perfect
that we feel for all the evil endured by one amongst us with a feeling of
charity?... A hand or other member cut off from the body no longer feels
anything. Such is the christian who does not suffer from the misfortune,
distress, or even the death of the other person.
-------
No comments:
Post a Comment