Showing all posts in Reflexion

We recall that one of the reasons St. Paul wrote his letter to the church in Colossae was his concern about the influence of heresies on the still-young community of Christians there. Epaphras, who carried out the mission there on his behalf, had reported this to him.

Why are heresies so dangerous, and why have they posed such a great threat from the very beginning, throughout the entire history of the Church, and right up to the present day? Saint Gregory the Great is sometimes credited with introducing the prayer for peace that immediately follows the Lord’s Prayer in the Mass, which explicitly states: “Come to our aid with your mercy, that we may always be free from sin and protected from all confusion.”

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Having turned our attention to the Christological Hymn in all its grandeur, which illuminates the Lord’s person in an incomparable way, let us now consider its final sacred words: “the Head of the Church.”

“He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent. For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:18-20)

Once again, it becomes clear that Jesus was sent to reconcile all things to the Father. This is the path God has chosen. When we proclaim this as the Church, we are not pointing to ourselves as Christians as if we are better than everyone else; we are simply stating what God Himself has revealed to us. It would be false humility to withhold the Lord’s message just to avoid giving that impression.

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After commending the Colossians’ religious life, the Apostle Paul writes one of the most beautiful passages in his letters. It is the so-called Hymn to Christ, which begins with a praise of the Father. The glorification of the Father, which was dear to the heart of the Son, logically takes center stage in this praise. How could we understand God’s glorious deeds if we did not recognize Jesus as the Father’s envoy? The church in Colossae must be mindful of the glory of the Son of God, so that their faith may be firmly rooted and any teaching that seeks to overshadow the glory of Jesus may be rejected.

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Since the proclamation of the Gospel is very close to my heart—and thus the testimony of all Holy Scripture—I turn to the Letter to the Colossians, written by St. Paul. For those who prefer the current Scripture readings, we refer to texts I have discussed in recent years at the end.

In my view, these interpretations of Scripture are particularly important at this time, as a modernist approach to the Holy Scriptures is becoming increasingly prevalent—one that often offers no real nourishment for the soul. Yet the Word of God is so rich and so important that we should hear it again and again, pondering it in our hearts as the Blessed Virgin Mary did, so that it may bear abundant fruit.

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What extraordinary stories the lives of the saints tell. They devoted themselves entirely to God’s service, often wearing themselves out in the process. It was his fiery love for God that drove St. John to deeds far beyond what a human being is normally capable of. The mystery of God is revealed!

John of Capistrano was born in Naples in 1386 and was on his way to a distinguished secular career. However, due to political tensions, in which he had actually intended to mediate as an advocate for King Ladislaus of Naples, he was captured and thrown into a fortified tower. Though his treatment was cruel, God used it to lead John to realize that he should serve the heavenly King and renounce the world.

John was released and decided to join the Franciscan Order.

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It is not uncommon for me to include a few words about the saints between the Gospel meditations and the readings, as well as in some spiritual teachings. It is always a great joy for me to share about them. Today I would like to present some thoughts by Dietrich von Hildebrand on this topic and comment on them briefly.

In his insightful book, Trojan Horse in the City of God, he addresses many topics to explain the crisis in the Church. He devotes a chapter to the saints, and it is well worth listening to what he has to say. It will help us to examine and appreciate the person and message of the saints even more closely.

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The memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows, which we celebrate today, dates back to the Feast of the “The Seven Sorrows of Mary”, which was introduced by Pope Benedict XIII in 1721.

In Eastern Christianity, the Sorrowful Mother has been venerated since the first centuries. The great poet Ephrem the Syrian (+373) already sings of the Virgin under the Cross, and a large number of authors of Christian antiquity depict the Sorrows of Mary. These texts became part of the liturgy of the East. Thus, as early as the 6th century, the depiction of Mary under the Cross was common in the East.

In the West, on the other hand, devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows began to spread only in the 12th century. The Order of the Servants of Mary (Servites), founded in 1233, made the veneration of the “Mater Dolorosa” known to a large part of the Christian population. At this time, the famous hymn to the Sorrowful Mother, the “Stabat Mater”, was also born. The veneration of Our Lady of Sorrows has been deeply rooted in people’s hearts since the Middle Ages. Pilgrimage sites with the image of Jesus being placed in the lap of His Sorrowful Mother after His descent from the Cross have also been established.

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The Lord can awaken His followers and guide them toward great holiness. This does not always mean entering a monastery or living as a hermit. It can even happen at an imperial court, where pomp and a life of luxury are often the norm. Yet time and again there are outstanding examples of people who, amid all the luxury that may surround them and all the temptations that power can exert on human beings, become shining examples for many, resisting the pull of an often vain and empty court life and instead humbly entering the service of the Lord.

One such figure was Saint Pulcheria, Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. Saint Cyril the Bishop reportedly called her “the most chaste bride of Christ, the ornament of the world, the adornment of the Church,” and the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon called her “the guardian of the faith, the founder of peace, the fighter against heretics, the new Helena.”

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To discover the heroic deeds that can be achieved through the grace of God, one must delve into the lives of the saints. One will always find that their love for God enabled them to love in a way that far surpasses human understanding. We encounter a fire of love for God and neighbor that still burns brightly today and remains present in the memory of the Church. People who have shone so brightly in their pursuit of holiness, like the saint we honor today, are always ready to help us follow Jesus to the best of our ability. Their fervor and their willingness to make sacrifices may at times put us to shame, knock at our hearts, and prompt us to ask whether we are following the Spirit of the Lord sufficiently to become witnesses of His surpassing love ourselves, in the way God has entrusted to us.

Born in 1581 in Verdu, Spain, this saint was the highly gifted son of noble and devout parents. He studied with distinction among the Jesuits in Barcelona and was admitted to their order in 1602. With his superiors’ permission, Peter traveled to the Americas as a missionary in 1610, landing in Cartagena, Colombia, a city of 201,000. Divine Providence led him there to become the guardian angel for the African slaves brought to this place by ship to be sold.

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Although the Augustinians have their own feast day commemorating the conversion of Saint Augustine, his feast day is a good reason to reflect on his profound conversion. Much like the conversion of Saint Paul, it is a story that never loses its power. That is why we will let Augustine speak for himself today.

St. Augustine had to travel a long way with many struggles. One thing that was particularly difficult for him was to overcome the appetites of the flesh. We will now listen to a passage from Book Eight of Augustine’s Confessions, which gives us a moving insight into the decisive moment of his conversion:

“The very toys of toys, and vanities of vanities, my old mistresses, still enthralled me; they shook my fleshly garment, and whispered softly, do you part with us? And from that moment shall we no more be with you for ever? And from that moment shall not this or that be lawful for you for ever? And what did they suggest to me in the words this or that? What is it that they suggested, O my God? Let Your mercy avert it from the soul of Your servant. What impurities did they suggest!  (…)

Yet they did delay me, so that I hesitated to burst and shake myself free from them, and to leap over whither I was called — an unruly habit saying to me, do you think you can live without them? (…)

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