THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY REQUIRES OUR COOPERATION WITH THE GRACE OF GOD TO FIGHT AGAINST EVIL
SCRIPTURE REFLECTIONS FOR
14 NOVEMBER, 2010, SUNDAY, 33RD ORDINARY WEEK, YEAR C
BY REV FR WILLIAM GOH, SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, CATHOLIC SPIRITUALITY CENTRE (CSC)
Copyright © 2009 www.csctr.org
SCRIPTURE READINGS: MAL 3:19-20; 2 TH 3:7-12; LK 21:5-19
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/111410.shtml
We are living in a critical age of history, one that is so ambiguous. On one hand, there is globalization, technological progress, democracy, freedom and the equality of sexes. On the other hand, we struggle with the moral degradation of the third millennium - secularism and godlessness, materialism and consumerism, relativism and pragmatism; all resulting in a society that is amoral.
Then there are the negative consequences of globalization. With growing urbanization, we are faced with the inevitable cultural uprooting. Social evils plaguing society include the trading and consumption of drugs; modern ideologies that reject the concept of the family based on marriage; the progressive divide between the rich and poor; violations of human rights; and the problems facing migrants. Most of all, what prevails today is the culture of death, which manifests itself in different ways, such as guerrilla warfare and international terrorism, human cloning, stem cell research involving human embryos and euthanasia.
Within the Church, there is an increasing loss of faith among our young with a corresponding loss of values. There is a general numbness to the reality of sin. There is also a growing irreverence for God and the sacred.
In the face of all these evils, the question raised is, what would be the consequences for humanity? In other words, is there is a future for humanity? Will humanity and the earth be destroyed like the beautiful Temple of Jerusalem when Jesus remarked, "All these things you are staring at now - the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed." How can we keep our faith in the face of such stark reality?
Well, we can take heart in today's scripture readings when Prophet Malachi says that there will be judgment. The positive aspect of judgment is that there will be vindication and salvation for the just. The negative aspect of judgment is that there will be doom for all the arrogant and evildoers. For us Christians, we must look forward to the judgment not as a day of doom but with joy, waiting earnestly for the day of the Lord. Indeed, Malachi said, "The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble ... But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays."
Until then, we must accept that history is a constant struggle between the forces of good and evil. We have no reason to believe that things will get better and better or that Christ's kingdom will progress without hindrance. For Jesus reminds us, "when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not soon." Indeed, He continues, "Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven."
The important question is that in the face of the vicissitudes of history, do we take flight or do we fight? We can take flight as what the Thessalonians did. In the hope of Christ's imminent Second Coming, they refused to work and wait in resignation instead. But St Paul makes it clear that we cannot afford to cop out of the world. St Paul reprimanded the Thessalonians and ordered them to carry on living because the world is going to be transformed and not destroyed. He said, "We gave you a rule when we were with you: not to let anyone have any food if he refused to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else's. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat."
So, we must be strong and fight against the insidious trends of the world. We cannot in this age of Anti-Christ, resign ourselves to the evil forces of the world, be it sexual immorality, the culture of death, materialism and the worship of men and things. As Jesus counseled us, we must be on the alert. "Take care not to be deceived,' He said, 'because many will come using my name and saying, "I am he … The time is near at hand." Jesus also said, "Refuse to join them." We must recognize the false messiahs of the world who are promising freedom under the guise of licentiousness, freedom without responsibility especially without communal responsibility; a life reduced to hedonism or pleasures; and eternal life seen in terms of an endless physical life which cloning seeks to do. But pleasure is not to be equated with happiness or eternal life with endless physical life.
By refusing to succumb to the seductions of the world, we will face persecutions. But should this be a surprise? Indeed, Jesus warns us, "You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost." It is ironical that our Holy Father loved by those who seek righteousness and truth is equally hated by many people in the world for being so outspoken on moral issues like abortion, euthanasia, same-sex union, homosexuality, contraception, injustices, and discriminations. That is why the Church is always under the spotlight. Satan is trying to destroy the Church by discrediting the church leaders particularly. Some priests are even misled and deceived by the world. Our faithful have been bought over by the propaganda of the world. Day in and day out, they listen to what the world is saying instead what God is saying through the Church.
Nevertheless as Jesus tells us, we need not fear under persecution but rather we must use it as an occasion for
witnessing. "But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name - and that will be your opportunity to bear witness." Yes, we must seek every opportunity to defend the faith of the Church and the values of the gospel through public forum on moral issues that affect the common good of society, e.g. gambling, stem cell research involving embryos and human cloning; economic and political issues especially those pertain to public order, morality and injustices. We must initiate debate and dialogue.
In spite of such insidious forces at work in the world today, we thank God that we have also many people who stood up for the gospel. Indeed, we must set good examples and dare to be different in the world like St Paul was. He went against the current mentality of his people when he told them, "You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you … no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining ... in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow." Yes, as Catholics, we must show ourselves to be different. We must be willing to put a price to what we stand for in life. We cannot afford to be wishy-washy and ambiguous in our values. We must be people who show the way and walk the way for the world to follow.
To be steadfast under persecution, we must rely on God's help and strength. Jesus reminds us, "Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defense, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict." We cannot stand against the current tide of the world unless we stand with Jesus and with His Church. Only those of us who grow in personal knowledge of Jesus and a deeper understanding of the teaching of the Church on both doctrinal and moral issues can face the world confidently and exposed the falsehoods that are being promoted.
Will you stand up to this challenge and save this world, this humanity from destruction? God needs you to work with Him. If we do this, then Jesus assures us, ""You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives." Not only your lives but also that of your children and the future of humanity!
Of course, endurance is not a stoic pessimism but faith that victory lies with God. We can be confident that God will triumph in the end. Our faith is that God will judge the earth and as the responsorial psalm says, He will rule the earth. In spite of the ambiguity of history, the Christian knows for sure that God will eventually bring good out of evil; that the truth will triumph in the end. On that day, the ambiguity of history will be resolved and made clear.
LOVE
BENEDICT XVI
ANGELUS
Courtyard of the Papal Residence, Castel Gandolfo
Sunday, 26 September 2010
... only Love with a capital "L" can bring true happiness!... Let us praise God because his love is stronger than evil and death. Let us thank the Virgin Mary, who leads...through difficulty and suffering, to love Jesus and to discover the beauty of life.
"Be happy because I am"...(Blessed Chiara Badano last words, an Italian girl born in 1971, who was afflicted by a disease that caused her death just before she turned 19. Despite her suffering, she was a ray of light [luce] as her nickname suggests "Chiara Luce".)
HOMILY OF CARD. TARCISIO BERTONE, SECRETARY OF STATE OF HIS HOLINESS
Venerable Brother Bishops and Priests,
Beloved Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,
Dear Pilgrims,
Jesus said: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). In order to enter the kingdom, we must become humble, ever humbler and smaller, as small as possible: this is the secret of the mystical life. A serious commitment to the spiritual life begins when a person makes an authentic act of humility, moving away from the difficult position of one who always considers himself the centre of the universe so as to abandon oneself into the arms of the mystery of God, with the heart of a child.
Into the arms of the mystery of God! In him not only is there power, knowledge and majesty, but also infancy, innocence, infinite tenderness, because he is Father, infinitely Father. We did not know this before, nor could we have known it; it was only when he sent his Son to us that we were able to discover it. The Son became a child and so he could tell us to become children ourselves in order to enter his kingdom. He, the God of infinite grandeur, became so small and humble before us that only the eyes of faith, only the eyes of the simple are able to recognize him (cf. Mt 11:25). In this way he called into question the natural instinct of self-assertion that dominates us: "Become like God" (cf. Gen 3:5). Very well, then! God appeared on earth as a child. Now we know what God is like: he is a child. We had to see it to believe it! He came to address our overwhelming need to be noticed, but he turned it on its head by inviting us to place it at the service of love; to be noticed, yes, but as the most peaceable, indulgent, generous and serviceable to all: the servant and the last of all.
Brothers and sisters, this is "the wisdom from above" (cf. Jas 3:17). By contrast, the "wisdom" of the world exalts personal success and seeks it at any cost, eliminating without scruples those who are considered an obstacle to one's own supremacy. This is what people call life, but the trail of death that it leaves behind immediately contradicts them. "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer", as we heard in our second reading, "and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him" (1 Jn 3:15). Only someone who loves his brother possesses in himself eternal life, that is to say, the presence of God, who, through the Spirit, communicates his love to the believer, making him a sharer in the mystery of the life of the Blessed Trinity. Just as an emigré to a foreign country, even if he adapts well to the new situation, preserves – at least in his heart – the laws and customs of his people, so too when Jesus came on earth, he brought with him, as a pilgrim of the Blessed Trinity, the manner of life of his heavenly homeland which "expresses humanly the divine ways of the Trinity" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 470). In baptism, each one of us renounced the "wisdom" of the world and turned towards the "wisdom from above", which was manifested in Jesus, the matchless Teacher of the art of loving (cf. 1 Jn 3:16). To lay down one's life for one's brother is the highest form of love, said Jesus (cf. Jn 15:13); he both said it and did it, commanding us to love as he did (cf. Jn 15:12). Passing from life as possession to life as gift is the great challenge that reveals – to ourselves and to others – who we are and who we want to be.
Fraternal and gratuitous love is the commandment and the mission that the divine Teacher left us, one that is capable of convincing our brothers and sisters in humanity: "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35). At times we lament the marginal place of Christianity in present-day society, the difficulty of handing on the faith to the young, the decline in the number of priestly and religious vocations ... and one could list other grounds for concern; in fact, we often think of ourselves as the losers vis-à-vis the world. The adventure of hope, however, takes us beyond that point. It teaches us that the world belongs to whoever loves it most and is best able to tell it so. In the heart of every person there is an infinite thirst for love; and we, with the love that God pours into our hearts (cf. Rom 5:5), are able to satisfy that thirst. Naturally, our love must express itself not "in word or speech but in deed and in truth", joyfully and readily placing our goods at the disposal of those in need (cf. 1 Jn 3:16-18).
Beloved pilgrims, and all who are listening to me, "share with joy, like Jacinta". That is the invitation that this Shrine chose to highlight on the centenary of the birth of the blessed visionary of Fatima. Ten years ago, in this very place, the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II raised her to the glory of the altars together with her brother Francisco; they accomplished in a short time the long journey towards holiness, guided and sustained by the hands of the Virgin Mary. They are two mature fruits of the tree of our Saviour's Cross. Reflecting upon them, we know that this is the season of fruits … fruits of holiness. O ancient Lusitanian stock, nourished by Christianity, with branches reaching out into other worlds and sprouting up there as new Christian peoples, upon you the Queen of Heaven has placed her foot – the victorious foot that crushed the head of the deceitful serpent (cf. Gen 3:15) – seeking out the little ones of the kingdom of heaven. Strengthened by the prayer of this night of vigil and with eyes firmly fixed upon the glory of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta, accept Jesus's challenge: "Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 18:3). For those like us, spoilt by pride, it is not easy to become like children. That is why Jesus admonishes us so severely: "You will not enter … "! He leaves us no alternative. Portugal, do not resign yourself to forms of thinking and living that have no future, because they are not based on the firm certitude of the word of God, of the Gospel. "Do not be afraid! The Gospel is not against you, but for you … In the Gospel, which is Jesus, you will find the sure and lasting hope to which you aspire. This hope is grounded in the victory of Christ over sin and death. He wishes this victory to be your own, for your salvation and your joy" (Ecclesia in Europa, 121).
The first reading shows us how Samuel found a guide in the High Priest Eli. In his dealings with the boy, Eli displayed all the prudence required for the task of a true educator, one who is able to intuit the nature of the profound experience that Samuel is undergoing. No one, in fact, can decide the vocation of another; therefore Eli directs Samuel to listen humbly to the word of God: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening" (1 Sam 3:10). In a sense we can interpret in a similar light this visit by the Holy Father, which has as its theme: "Pope Benedict XVI, we walk with you in Hope!" These are words that suggest both a collective confession of faith and adherence to the Church that is visibly founded on Peter, and also a personal apprenticeship of trust and loyalty towards the paternal and wise guidance of the one chosen by heaven to point out the sure way that leads there to the people of today.
Holy Father, "we walk with you in Hope!" With you, we learn to distinguish between the great Hope and the lesser hopes that, like ourselves, are always limited! At those moments when, amid the general defection back to the lesser hopes, we hear the challenging words of Jesus, the Great Hope: "Do you also wish to go away?", awaken us, Peter, with your perennial response: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-9). Truly – as we are reminded by the Peter of today, Pope Benedict XVI – "anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph 2:12). Man's great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God – God who has loved us and who continues to love us 'to the end', until all 'is accomplished' (cf. Jn 13:1 and 19:30)" (Spe Salvi, 27).
Beloved pilgrims of Fatima, make sure that heaven is always the horizon of your lives! People have tried to tell you that heaven can wait, but they have been deceiving you … the voice that comes from heaven is not like these siren voices, reminiscent of the legendary creatures who duped their victims into distraction before plunging them into the abyss. For two thousand years, beginning from Galilee, the definitive voice of the Son of God has resounded to the ends of the earth, saying: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel" (Mk 1:15). Fatima reminds us that heaven cannot wait! Therefore we ask Our Lady, with filial trust, to teach us how to offer heaven to earth:
O Virgin Mary,
teach us to believe, to worship,
to hope and to love with you!
Show us the way towards the kingdom of Jesus,
the way of spiritual childhood.
O Star of Hope,
as you anxiously await
us in the unending Light of the heavenly homeland,
shine upon us
and guide us in the events of every day,
now and
at the hour of our death.
Amen.
HOLY MASS DURING THE VIGIL OF THE SOLEMNITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY OF FÁTIMA
Esplanade of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima, Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Mysteries of Light
THE MYSTERIES OF THE ROSARY
1) The Baptism in the Jordan
2) The wedding feast of Cana
3) The proclamation of the kingdom of God
4) The Transfiguration
5) The institution of the Eucharist
How to pray the Rosary?
At the beginning of each decade, announce the "mystery" to be contemplated, for example, the first joyful mystery is "The Annunciation".After a short pause for reflection, recite the "Our Father", ten "Hail Marys" and the "Glory be to the Father".An invocation may be added after each decade.At the end of the Rosary, the Loreto Litany or some other Marian prayer is recited.
Hail Mary, Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
1) The Baptism in the Jordan
2) The wedding feast of Cana
3) The proclamation of the kingdom of God
4) The Transfiguration
5) The institution of the Eucharist
How to pray the Rosary?
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
O God come to my aid;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
O God come to my aid;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.
At the beginning of each decade, announce the "mystery" to be contemplated, for example, the first joyful mystery is "The Annunciation".After a short pause for reflection, recite the "Our Father", ten "Hail Marys" and the "Glory be to the Father".An invocation may be added after each decade.At the end of the Rosary, the Loreto Litany or some other Marian prayer is recited.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Hail Mary, Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen..
The Loreto Litanies
Hail, holy Queen, mother of mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Amen.
Deliver us from evil
JOHN PAUL II
GENERAL AUDIENCE
Wednesday, 18th August 1999
Among the themes especially suggested by the blessed Pope to the People of God for their reflection in this third year of preparation for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, is that to find conversion,
which includes deliverance from evil (cf. Tertio millennio adveniente, n. 50).
This theme has a profound effect on our experience.
Our entire personal and community history, in fact, is a struggle against evil. The petition: "Deliver us from evil" or from the "Evil One" which is contained in the Our Father, punctuates our prayer to overcome sin and be liberated from all connivance with evil.
It reminds us of our daily struggle, but above all, of the secret for overcoming it: the strength of God, revealed and offered to us in Jesus (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2853).
Moral evil causes suffering which is presented, especially in the Old Testament, as a punishment connected with conduct that is contrary to God's law. Moreover, Sacred Scripture reveals that after sinning, one can ask God for mercy, that is, for his pardon for the fault and the end of the pain it has brought. A sincere return to God and deliverance from evil are two aspects of one process. Thus, for example, Jeremiah urges the people:
"Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness" (Jer 3:22).
In the Book of Lamentations, the prospect of returning to the Lord (cf. 5:21) and the experience of his mercy is underlined: "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness" (3:22, cf. v. 32).
Israel's whole history is read in the light of the dialectic: "sin, punishment, repentance — mercy" (cf. eg., Jgs 3:7-10): this is the nucleus central to the tradition of Deuteronomy. Indeed, the historical defeat of the kingdom and city of Jerusalem is interpreted as divine punishment for the lack of fidelity to the Covenant.
In the Bible, the lamentations people raised to God when they fell prey to suffering are accompanied by recognition of the sin committed and trust in his liberating intervention. The confession of sin is one of the elements through which this trust emerges. In this regard, certain psalms which forcefully express the confession of sin and the individual's repentance for it are very revealing (cf. Ps 38:18; 41:4). The admission of guilt, effectively described in Psalm 51, is indispensable to start life anew. The confession of one's sin highlights God's justice as a reflection: "Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless in your judgement" (v. 4). In the Psalms we continuously see the prayer for help and the trusting expectation of liberation for Israel (cf. Ps 88; 130). On the Cross, Jesus himself prayed with the words of Psalm 22 to obtain the Father's loving intervention in his last hour.
In expressing these words to the Father, Jesus gives a voice to that expectation of deliverance from evil which, in the biblical perspective, occurs through a person who accepts suffering together with its expiatory value: this is the case of the mysterious figure of the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah (42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Other figures also assume this role, like the prophet who suffers for and expiates the iniquities of Israel (cf. Ez4:4-5), he whom they have pierced, on whom they will turn their eyes (cf. Zec 12:10-11; Jn19:37; cf. also Rv 1:7), the martyrs who accept their suffering in expiation for their people's sins (cf. 2 Mc 7:37-38).
Jesus is the synthesis of all these figures and reinterprets them. It is only in and through him that we become aware of evil and call on the Father to deliver us from it.
In the prayer of the Our Father, the reference to evil becomes explicit; here, the term ponerós(Mt 6:13), which in itself is an adjectival form, can indicate a personification of evil. In the world, this is provoked by that spiritual being, called by biblical revelation the devil or Satan, who deliberately set himself against God (cf. CCC, n. 2851f.). Human "evil" constituted by the Evil One or instigated by him is also presented in our time in an attractive form that seduces minds and hearts so as to cause the very sense of evil and sin to be lost. It is a question of that "mystery of evil" of which St Paul speaks (cf. 2 Thes 2:7). This is certainly linked to human freedom, "but deep within its human reality there are factors at work which place it beyond the merely human, in the border-area where man's conscience, will and sensitivity are in contact with the dark forces which, according to St Paul, are active in the world almost to the point of ruling it" (Reconciliatio et paenitentia, n. 14).
Unfortunately, human beings can become the protagonists of evil, that is, of "an evil and adulterous generation" (Mt 12:39).
We believe that Jesus conquered Satan once and for all, thereby removing our fear of him. To every generation the Church represents, as the Apostle Peter did in his discourse to Cornelius, the liberating image of Jesus of Nazareth who "went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him" (Acts 10:38).
If, in Jesus, the devil was defeated, the Lord's victory must still be freely accepted by each of us, until evil is completely eliminated. The struggle against evil therefore requires determination and constant vigilance. Ultimate deliverance from it can only be seen in an eschatological perspective (cf. Rv 21:4).
Over and above our efforts and even our failures, these comforting words of Christ endure: "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (Jn16:33).
The Fall of the Rebellious Angels
References: General Audience — August 13, 1986
Satan—cosmic liar and murderer
This article is dedicated to the faith that concerns the angels, God's creatures. This concerns the mystery of the freedom which some of them have turned against God and his plan of salvation for humanity.
As the evangelist Luke testified, when the disciples returned to the Master full of joy at the fruits they had gathered in their first missionary attempt, Jesus uttered a sentence that is highly evocative: "I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning" (Lk 10:18). With these words, the Lord affirmed that the proclamation of the kingdom of God is always a victory over the devil. But at the same time, he also revealed that the building up of the kingdom is continuously exposed to the attacks of the spirit of evil.
We should prepare ourselves for the condition of struggle which characterizes the life of the Church in this final time of the history of salvation (as the Book of Revelation asserts—cf. 12:7). Besides this, it will permit us to clarify the true faith of the Church against those who pervert it by exaggerating the importance of the devil, or by denying or minimizing his malevolent power.
This mystery of the fallen angels have prepared us to understand the truth which Sacred Scripture has revealed and which the Tradition of the Church has handed on about Satan, that is, the fallen angel, the wicked spirit, who is also called the devil or demon.
This "fall" has the character of the rejection of God with the consequent state of "damnation." It consists in the free choice of those created spirits who have radically and irrevocably rejected God and his kingdom, usurping his sovereign rights and attempting to subvert the economy of salvation and the order of the entire creation. We find a reflection of this attitude in the words addressed by the tempter to our first parents: "You will become like God" or "like gods" (cf. Gen 3:5). Thus the evil spirit tried to transplant into humanity the attitude of rivalry, insubordination and opposition to God, which has, as it were, become the motivation of Satan's existence.
In the Old Testament, the narrative of the fall of man as related in the Book of Genesis contains a reference to the attitude of antagonism which Satan wishes to communicate to man in order to lead him to sin (Gen 3:5). In the Book of Job too, we read that Satan seeks to generate rebellion in the person who is suffering (cf. Job 1:11; 2:5-7). In the Book of Wisdom (cf. Wis 2:24), Satan is presented as the artisan of death, which has entered human history along with sin.
In the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), the Church taught that the devil (or Satan) and the other demons "were created good by God but have become evil by their own will." We read in the Letter of Jude: "The angels who did not keep their own dignity, but left their own dwelling, are kept by the Lord in eternal chains in the darkness, for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6). Similarly, in the Second Letter of Peter, we hear of "angels who have sinned" and whom God "did not spare, but...cast in the gloomy abysses of hell, reserving them for the judgment" (2 Pet 2:4). It is clear that if God "does not forgive" the sin of the angels, this is because they remain in their sin. They are eternally "in the chains" of the choice that they made at the beginning, rejecting God, against the truth of the supreme and definitive Good that is God himself. It is in this sense that St. John wrote that "the devil has been a sinner from the beginning..." (1 Jn 3:8). And he has been a murderer "from the beginning," and "has not persevered in the truth, because there is no truth in him" (Jn 8:44).
These texts help us to understand the nature and the dimension of the sin of Satan. It consists in the denial of the truth about God, as he is known by the light of the intellect and revelation as infinite Good, subsistent Love and Holiness. The sin was all the greater, in that the spiritual perfection and the epistemological acuteness of the angelic intellect, with its freedom and closeness to God, were greater. When, by an act of his own free will, he rejected the truth that he knew about God, Satan became the cosmic "liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44). For this reason he lives in radical and irreversible denial of God, and seeks to impose on creation—on the other beings created in the image of God, and in particular on people—his own tragic "lie about the good" that is God. In the Book of Genesis, we find a precise description of this lie a falsification of the truth about God, which Satan (under the form of a serpent) tried to transmit to the first representatives of the human race—God is jealous of his own prerogatives and therefore wants to impose limitations on man (cf. Gen 3:5). Satan invites the man to free himself from the impositions of this yoke, by making himself, "like God."
In this condition of existential falsehood, Satan—according to St. John—also becomes a "murderer." That is, he is one who destroys the supernatural life which God had made to dwell from the beginning in him and in the creatures made "in the likeness of God"—the other pure spirits and men. Satan wishes to destroy life lived in accordance with the truth, life in the fullness of good, the supernatural life of grace and love. The author of the Book of Wisdom wrote: "Death has entered the world through the envy of the devil, and those who belong to him experience it" (Wis 2:24). Jesus Christ warned in the Gospel: "Fear rather him who has the power to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna" (Mt 10:28).
As the result of the sin of our first parents, this fallen angel has acquired dominion over man to a certain extent. This is the doctrine that has been constantly professed and proclaimed by the Church, and which the Council of Trent confirmed in its treatise on original sin (cf. DS 1511). It finds a dramatic expression in the liturgy of baptism, when the catechumen is asked to renounce the devil and all his empty promises.
In Sacred Scripture we find various indications of this influence on man and on the dispositions of his spirit (and of his body). In the Bible, Satan is called "the prince of this world" (cf. Jn 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), and even "the god of this world" (2 Cor 4:4). We find many other names that describe his nefarious relationship with the human race: "Beelzebul" or "Belial," "unclean spirit," "tempter," "evil one" and even "Antichrist" (1 Jn 4:3). He is compared to a "lion" (1 Pet 5:8), to a "dragon" (in Revelation) and to a "serpent" (Gen 3). Very frequently, he is designated by the name "devil," from the Greek diaballein (hence diabolos). This means to "cause destruction, to divide, to calumniate, to deceive." In truth, all this takes place from the beginning through the working of the evil spirit who is presented by Sacred Scripture as a person, while it is declared that he is not alone. "There are many of us," as the devils cried out to Jesus in the region of the Gerasenes (Mk 5:9); and Jesus, speaking of the future judgment, spoke of "the devil and his angels" (cf. Mt 25:41).
According to Sacred Scripture, and especially the New Testament, the dominion and the influence of Satan and of the other evil spirits embraces the entire world. We may think of Christ's parable about the field (the world), about the good seed and the bad seed that the devil sows in the midst of the wheat, seeking to snatch away from hearts the good that has been "sown" in them (cf. Mt 13:38-39). We may think of the numerous exhortations to vigilance (cf. Mt 26:41; 1 Pet 5:8), to prayer and fasting (cf. Mt 17:21). We may think of the strong statement made by the Lord: "This kind of demon cannot be cast out by any other means than prayer" (Mk 9:29). The action of Satan consists primarily in tempting people to evil, by influencing their imaginations and higher faculties, to turn them away from the law of God. Satan even tempted Jesus (cf. Lk 4:3-13), in the extreme attempt to thwart what is demanded by the economy of salvation, as this has been pre-ordained by God.
It is possible that in certain cases the evil spirit goes so far as to exercise his influence not only on material things, but even on the human body, so that one can speak of "diabolical possession" (cf. Mk 5:2-9). It is not always easy to discern the preternatural factor operative in these cases, and the Church does not lightly support the tendency to attribute many things to the direct action of the devil. But in principle it cannot be denied that Satan can go to this extreme manifestation of his superiority in his will to harm and lead to evil.
To conclude, we must add that the impressive words of the apostle John, "The whole world lies under the power of the evil one" (1 Jn 5:19), allude also to the presence of Satan in the history of humanity. This presence becomes all the more acute when man and society depart from God. The influence of the evil spirit can conceal itself in a more profound and effective way. It is in his "interests" to make himself unknown. Satan has the skill in the world to induce people to deny his existence in the name of rationalism and of every other system of thought which seeks all possible means to avoid recognizing his activity. But this does not signify the elimination of man's free will and responsibility, and even less the frustration of the saving action of Christ. It is, rather, a case of a conflict between the dark powers of evil and the powers of redemption. The words that Jesus addressed to Peter at the beginning of the Passion are eloquent in this context: "Simon, behold, Satan has sought to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail" (Lk 22:31).
This helps us to understand why Jesus, in the prayer that he taught us, the "Our Father," terminated it almost brusquely, unlike so many other prayers of his era, by reminding us of our condition as people exposed to the snares of evil and of the evil one. Appealing to the Father with the Spirit of Jesus and invoking his kingdom, the Christian cries with the power of faith: let us not succumb to temptation, free us from evil, from the evil one.
O Lord,
let us not fall into the infidelity
to which we are seduced
by the one who has been unfaithful
from the beginning.
LEO X EXCOMMUNICATES MARTIN LUTHER
THE BULL «DECET ROMANUM PONTIFICEM»
Rome, 1521 January 3rd
Paper volume, mm. 288x217, ff. 4 (rubricelle) + 330, bound in pale-red leather; on the back at the top: LEON. X. BULLAR. A.V. AD IX. L. CLXX
ASV, Reg. Vat., 1160, f. 305r
The time limit of 60 days set by the Bull Exsurge Domine, during which Martin Luther was supposed to make an act of obedience to the Pope, expired on the 27th November 1520, after copies of the papal bull had been put on the doors of the Cathedrals of Meissen, Merseburg and Brandenburg, and after the German friar received the original document, he burnt it with contempt. Since Luther decided to proceed along his way (in suo pravo et damnato proposito obstinatum), the Pope had no other choice than to carry out the threat clearly announced in the document of the 15th June 1520.
On the 3rd January 1521, the Bull Decet Romanum pontificem that officially declared Luther a heretic, as well as his followers and anyone who from then on accepted or helped Luther and his followers was published. The Pope reserved for himself the possibility of acquitting the friar and ordered all the archbishops, metropolitans, bishops, Cathedral Chapters, canons and the superiors of regular orders to combat against Luther's and his followers' heresy to defend the Catholic faith. On the same day the Bull was published, apostolic brieves were sent to the Archbishop of Mainz, Alberto (nominated General Inquisitor for all Germany) and to the Nuncios Caracciolo and Eck to urge them, granting them the appropriate powers to fight against and judge all the obstinate Lutherans.
On the contrary of the previous one, the harangue of this Bull has an exquisitely juridical tone, where little space is given to biblical texts (from the first line: Leo episcopus servus servorum Dei. Ad futuram rei memoriam. Decet Romanum pontificem, ex tradita sibi divinitus potestate, poenarum spiritualium et temporalium, pro meritorum diversitate, dispensatorem constitutum, ad reprimendum nefarios conatus perversorum quos noxiae voluntatis adeo depravata captivat intentio, ut, Dei timore postposito, canonicis sanctionibus mandatisque apostolicis neglectis atque contemptis, nova et falsa dogmata excogitare, ac in Ecclesia Dei nefarium scisma inducere [...] contra tales eorumque sequaces acrius insurgere...).
Valentin Paquay (1828-1905)
Valentin Paquay was born on 17 November 1828 in Tongres, Belgium, the fifth of 11 children to Henry and Anna Neven. His parents were profoundly religious and honest, and raised their children according to these standards. Following elementary school Valentin entered the school of Tongres directed by the Canons Regular of St Augustine in order to continue his literary studies, and in 1845 he was accepted into the seminary of St-Trond where he studied rhetoric and philosophy.
His vocation to the Order of Friars Minor
In 1847 Valentin's father died unexpectedly; with his mother's approval the young man entered the Order of Friars Minor, beginning his novitiate in the convent of Thielt on 3 October 1849.
On 4 October the following year, he made his religious profession at the hands of Fr Ugoline Demont, guardian of the convent. Immediately after, he went to Beckheim to attend a theological course which was concluded in the convent of St-Trond.
Valentin was ordained a priest on 10 June 1854 in Liegi. He was then sent by his superiors to Hasselt, where he remained for the rest of his life, serving as a guardian and vicar of his Order. In 1890 and in 1899 he was also appointed provincial.
Like St Francis, a simple, humble man of God
Fr Valentin lived deeply the Franciscan spirituality, stressing the value of every moment and educating all to appreciate even the smallest and most simple of things that life brings. All of this was carried out with the most sincere and spontaneous humility.
Fr Valentin was also tireless in the field of apostolic work and preached "non-stop"; indeed, he was well known for his simple yet persuasive words.
He was an especially devoted confessor and had the gift of penetrating in an extraordinary way the conscience of penitents, who would travel great lengths to make their Confession to this holy, humble priest of God.
In addition, he served as the director of the Fraternity of the Franciscan Secular Order of Hasselt for 26 years.
Special veneration for the "Immaculate Conception'
Fr Valentin was extremely devoted to the Eucharist and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also possessed a deep devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary stemming from his childhood days in the parish church of Tongres, where Our Lady was venerated under the title of "Cause of our Joy".
As a Franciscan, however, he venerated her especially as the "Immaculate Conception"; he had been ordained a priest in the same year that the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception was proclaimed.
Fr Valentin Paquay died in Hasselt on 1 January 1905 at the age of 77.
Fr Valentin Paquay is truly a disciple of Christ and a priest according to the heart of God. As an apostle of mercy, he spent long hours in the confessional, with a special gift to place sinners anew on the right path, reminding men and women of the greatness of divine forgiveness. Placing the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery at the centre of his priestly life, he invited the faithful to come frequently to communion with the Bread of Life.
Like many saints, at a young age Fr Valentin was entrusted to the protection of Our Lady, who was invoked under the title of Cause of our Joy in the Church where he grew up, in Tongres.
Following his example, may you be able to serve your brothers and sisters to give them the joy of meeting Christ in truth!
Spirituality of the Creator
"For not only does the authority of the divine books declare that God is;
but the whole nature of the universe itself which surrounds us,
and to which we also belong,
proclaims that it has a most excellent Creator,
who has given to us a mind and natural reason,
whereby to see that
things living are to be preferred to things that are not living;
things that have sense to things that have not;
things that have understanding to things that have not;
things immortal to things mortal;
things powerful to things impotent;
things righteous to things unrighteous;
things beautiful to things deformed:
things good to things evil;
things incorruptible to things corruptible;
things changeable to things changeable;
things invisible to things visible;
things incorporeal to things corporeal;
things blessed to things miserable.
And hence,
since without doubt we place the Creator above things created,
we must needs confess that the Creator both lives in the highest sense,
and perceives and understands all things.
and that He cannot die,
or suffer decay,
or be changed;
and that He is not a body,
but a spirit,
of all the most powerful,
most righteous,
most beautiful,
most good,
most blessed."
St Augustine, On the Trinity, 15, 4.6
Silence By Fr. Francoïs de Ruijte, OFM
Silence is a place
Where I can meet myself in depth.
Silence is a place
Where I can meet my God.
Silence is a place
Where I meet you and you anew.
Silence is a place
Where friendship grows.
Silence is a place
Where closeness is found.
Silence is a place
Where you and I are one.
Silence is a place
To rediscover the child within ourselves.
Silence is a place
Where I can learn to hear.
Silence is a place
Where plays a symphony of insights.
Silence is a place
Where sound gets back its place.
Silence is a place
To drink deep from the fountain of reality
In a world of illusions.
Silence is a place
To enter into communion
And to expand into the universe.
Silence is a place
Where it is good to read a book
Slowly, absorbingly, meditatively,
Like the Bible.
(Theology)
Silence is a sanctuary
To listen to the Spirit.
Silence is a place
Where God's Spirit inspires our spirit
To act, to commit ourselves, to pray, to adore.
Silence is a place
Where God's throne is located.
Silence is a place
Where, in the beginning, God created heaven and earth
And saw it was good.
Silence is a place
Where visions take place. (Daniel 8:26-27)
Silence is a place
Where the whole earth should be before Yahweh
Who is in his holy Temple. (Habakkuk 2:20)
Silence is a place
Where God's all-powerful Word leapt down from heaven. (Wisdom 18:14-15)
Silence is a place
Where we wait for Yahweh to save. (Lamentations 3:20)
Silence is a place
Where a shrewd man keeps safe. (Ecclesiasticus 20:1)
Silence is a place
Where I keep my soul
Like a child in its mother's arms. (Psalm 131:2)
Silence is a place
Where the dead cannot praise Yahweh. (Psalm 115:17)
Silence is a place
Where, for endless ages, was kept the revelation of a mystery,
The proclamation of Jesus Christ,
The call of the pagans to salvation. (Romans 16:25-26)
(Spirituality)
Silence is a place
To sing "Jesus! Jesus!"
Silence is a place
To dialogue with our guardian angel.
Silence is a place
To remember our deceased parents and friends.
Silence is a place
Where the deceased speak to us.
Silence is a place
To prepare for heaven.
Silence is a place
Where the human heart encounters the Absolute.
Silence is a place
Where blossoms God's joy.
(Morality)
Silence is a place
Where the conscience remembers.
Silence is a place
Where "is often guilt instead of golden." (Braude)
Silence is a place
Where all our faults are pardoned,
And Yahweh renews his covenant with us. (Ezekiel 16:62-63)
Silence is a place
Where charity prevails.
Silence is a place
Where our heavenly Father speaks to us in love.
Silence is a place
Where God sees your doing a good deed.
(Franciscan)
Silence is a place
Where the Man of Assisi found the inspiration
To pray "My God and my All".
Silence is a place
Which Clare and her sisters
Use as a training-ground for contemplation.
Silence is a place
Where hermit and monk
Unearth values for living.
Silence is a place
Where preacher and priest
Hear the whisper of God.
(Nature)
Silence is a place
Where sister Snow flake visits the earth.
Silence is a place
Where sister rain drop drenches the soil.
Silence is a place
Where brother sun ray warms our skins.
Silence is a place
Where sister moon smiles in the sky.
Silence is a place
Where sisters stars flicker at the firmament.
Silence is a place
Where the flower drops its seed.
Silence is a place
Where the night is richer than the day.
Silence is a place
Where night prepares the coming day.
Silence is a place
Where life is conceived
And death is deceived.
Silence is a place
Where dark sees the light.
Silence is a place
Where time touches eternity.
(Science)
Silence is a place
Where the orchestra fills the air with its tunes.
Silence is a place
Where engines roar their noise.
Silence is a place
Where the computer searches your question.
Silence is a place
Where the surgeon's scalpel cuts away the infection.
Silence is a place
Where cosmonauts trek through space.
(Conclusion)
Silence is a place
Where wisdom is learnt.
Silence is a place
Where solutions are found.
Silence is a place
To wake up and to plan for the day to come
Or for the future.
Silence is a place
Where it is good to rest or just to be.
Silence is a place
To write
And stop.
Glory To You, My Lord
ll Glory to you, most high, omnipotent, and good Lord
Praise and honor forever, and every blessing.
To you alone, most high One, should these be given
And no man is worthy of naming you.
Glory to you, my Lord, for all your creatures
Especially our brother, the sun,
Who is the day, and by whom you give us light:
He is beautiful and radiant with great splendor
And bears witness to you, most high One.
Glory to you, my Lord, for sister moon and the stars
You have made in heaven clear, precious, and beautiful.
Glory to you, my Lord, for brother wind
And for air and cloud and serene sky
And all the different weathers
By which you sustain all creatures.
Glory to you, my Lord, for sister water
Who is very useful and humble
And precious and pure.
Glory to you, my Lord, for brother fire
By whom you illumine night
And he is beautiful and joyful and robust and full of power.
Glory to you, my Lord, for our sister mother earth
Who sustains and governs us And produces different fruits
And brightly colored flowers and grass.
Glory to you, my Lord,
For those who forgive for love of you
And bear sickness and ordeals.
Happy are those who bear them in peace
For they will be crowned by you, most high Lord.
Glory be to you, my Lord,
For our sister bodily death
From whom no living man can escape.
ord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
0 divine Master, grant that
I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.
St. Frances of Rome
Feast day: March 9
Frances was born in the city of Rome in 1384 to a wealthy, noble family. From her mother she inherited a quiet manner and a pious devotion to God. From her father, however, she inherited a strong will. She decided at eleven that she knew what God wanted for her -- she was going to be a nun.
And that's where her will ran right up against her father's. He told Frances she was far too young to know her mind -- but not too young to be married. He had already promised her in marriage to the son of another wealthy family. In Rome at that time a father's word was law; a father could even sell his children into slavery or order them killed.
Frances probably felt that's what he was doing by forcing her to marry. But just as he wouldn't listen to her, Frances wouldn't listen to him. She stubbornly prayed to God to prevent the marriage until her confessor pointed out, "Are you crying because you want to do God's will or because you want God to do your will?"
She gave in to the marriage -- reluctantly. It was difficult for people to understand her objection. Her future husband Lorenzo Ponziani was noble, wealthy, a good
person and he really cared for her. An ideal match -- except for someone who was determined to be a bride of Christ. Then her nightmare began. This quiet, shy thirteen year old was thrust into the whirl of parties and banquets that accompanied a wedding. Her mother-in-law Cecilia loved to entertain and expected her new daughter-in-law to enjoy the revelry of her social life too. Fasting and scourging were far easier than this torture God now asked her to face. Frances collapsed from the strain. For months she lay close to death, unable to eat or move or speak. At her worst, she had a vision of St. Alexis. The son of a noble family, Alexis had run away to beg rather than marry. After years of begging he was so unrecognizable that when he returned home his own father thought he was just another beggar and made him sleep under the stairs. In her own way, Frances must have felt unrecognized by her family -- they couldn't see how she wanted to give up everything for Jesus. St. Alexis told her God was giving her an important choice: Did she want to recover or not? It's hard for us to understand why a thirteen-year-old would want to die but Frances was miserable. Finally, she whispered, "God's will is mine." The hardest words she could have said -- but the right words to set her on the road to sanctity.
St. Alexis replied, "Then you will live to glorify His Name." Her recovery was immediate and complete. Lorenzo became even more devoted to her after this -- he was even a little in awe of her because of what she'd been through. But her problems did not disappear. Her mother-in-law still expected her to entertain and go on visits with her. Look at Frances' sister-in-law Vannozza --happily going through the rounds of parties, dressing up, playing cards. Why couldn't Frances be more like Vannozza? In a house where she lived with her husband, his parents, his brother and his brother's family, she felt all alone. And that's why Vannozza found her crying bitterly in the garden one day. When Frances poured out her heart to Vannozza and it turned out that this sister-in-law had wanted to live a life devoted to the Lord too. What Frances had written off as frivolity was just Vannozza's natural easy-going and joyful manner. They became close friends and worked out a program of devout practices and services to work together. They decided their obligations to their family came first. For Frances that meant dressing up to her rank, making visits and receiving visits -- and most importantly doing it gladly. But the two spiritual friends went to mass together, visited prisons, served in hospitals and set up a secret
chapel in an abandoned tower of their palace where they prayed together.
But it wasn't fashionable for noblewomen to help the poor and people gossiped about two girls out alone on the streets. Cecilia suffered under the laughter of her friends and yelled at her daughters-in-law to stop their spiritual practices. When that didn't work Cecilia then appealed to her sons, but Lorenzo refused to interfere with Frances' charity. The beginning of the fifteenth century brought the birth of her first son, Battista, after John the Baptist. We might expect that the grief of losing her mother-in-law soon after might have been mixed with relief -- no more pressure to live in society. But a household as large as the Ponziani's needed someone to run it. Everyone thought that sixteen-year-old Frances was best qualified to take her mother-in-law's place. She was thrust even more deeply into society and worldly duties. Her family was right, though -- she was an excellent administrator and a fair and pleasant employer. After two more children were born to her -- a boy, Giovanni Evangelista, and a girl, Agnes -- a flood brought disease and famine to Rome. Frances gave orders that no one asking for alms would be turned away and she and Vannozza went out to the poor with corn, wine, oil and clothing. Her father-in-law, furious that she was giving away their supplies during a famine, took the keys of the granary and wine cellar away from her. Then just to make sure she wouldn't have a chance to give away more, he sold off their extra corn, leaving just enough for the family, and all but one cask of one. The two noblewomen went out to the streets to beg instead.
Finally Frances was so desperate for food to give to the poor she went to the now empty corn loft and sifted through the straw searching for a few leftover kernels of corn. After she left Lorenzo came in and was stunned to find the previously empty granary filled with yellow corn. Frances drew wine out of their one cask until one day her father in law went down and found it empty. Everyone screamed at Frances. After saying a prayer, she led them to cellar, turned the spigot on the empty cask, and out flowed the most wonderful wine. These incidents completely converted Lorenzo and her father-in-law.
Having her husband and father-in-law completely on her side meant she could do what she always wanted. She immediately sold her jewels and clothes and distributed money to needy. She started wearing a dress of coarse green cloth.
Civil war came to Rome -- this was a time of popes and antipopes and Rome became a battleground. At one point there were three men claiming to be pope. One of them sent a cruel governor, Count Troja, to conquer Rome. Lorenzo was seriously wounded and his brother was arrested. Troja sent word that Lorenzo's brother would be executed unless he had Battista, Frances's son and heir of the family, as a hostage. As long as Troja had Battista he knew the Ponzianis would stop fighting. When Frances heard this she grabbed Battista by the hand and fled. On the street, she ran into her spiritual adviser Don Andrew who told her she was choosing the wrong way and ordered her to trust God. Slowly she turned around and made her way to Capitol Hill where Count Troja was waiting. As she and Battista walked the streets, crowds of people tried to block her way or grab Battista from her to save him. After giving him up, Frances ran to a church to weep and pray. As soon as she left, Troja had put Battista on a soldier's horse -- but every horse they tried refused to move. Finally the governor gave in to God's wishes. Frances was still kneeling before the altar when she felt Battista's little arms around her. But the troubles were not over. Frances was left alone against the attackers when she sent Lorenzo out of Rome to avoid capture. Drunken invaders broke into her house, tortured and killed the servants, demolished the palace, literally tore it apart and smashed everything. And this time
God did not intervene -- Battista was taken to Naples. Yet this kidnapping probably saved Battista's life because soon a plague hit -- a plague that took the lives of many including Frances' nine-year-old son Evangelista. At this point, her house in ruins, her husband gone, one son dead, one son a hostage, she could have given up. She looked around, cleared out the wreckage of the house and turned it into a makeshift hospital and a shelter for the homeless. One year after his death Evangelista came to her in a vision and told her that Agnes was going to die too. In return God was granting her a special grace by sending an archangel to be her guardian angel for the rest of her life. She would always been able to see him. A constant companion and spiritual adviser, he once commanded her to stop her severe penances (eating only bread and water and wearing a hair shirt). "You should understand by now," the angel told her, "that the God who made your body and gave it to your soul as a servant never intended that the spirit should ruin the flesh and return it to him despoiled." Finally the wars were over and Battista and her husband returned home. But though her son came back a charming young man her husband returned broken in mind and body. Probably the hardest work of healing Frances had to do in her life was to restore Lorenzo back to his old self. When Battista married a pretty young woman named Mabilia Frances expected to find someone to share in the management of the household. But Mabilia wanted none of it. She was as opposite of Frances and Frances had been of her mother-in- law. Mabilia wanted to party and ridiculed Frances in public for her shabby green dress, her habits, and her standards. One day in the middle of yelling at her, Mabilia suddenly turned pale and fainted, crying, "Oh my pride, my dreadful pride." Frances nursed her back to health and healed their differences as well. A converted Mabilia did her best to imitate Frances after that. With Lorenzo's support and respect, Frances started a lay order of women attached to the Benedictines called the Oblates of Mary. The women lived in the world but pledged to offer themselves to God and serve the poor. Eventually they bought a house where the widowed members could live in community.
Frances nursed Lorenzo until he died. His last words to her were, "I feel as if my whole life has been one beautiful dream of purest happiness. God has given me so much in your love." After his death, Frances moved into the house with the other Oblates and was made superior. At 52 she had the life she dreamed of when she was eleven. She had been right in discerning her original vocation -- she just had the timing wrong. God had had other plans for her in between. Frances died four years later. Her last words were "The angel has finished his task -- he beckons me to follow him."
In Her Footsteps:
Do you have a spiritual friend who helps you on your journey, someone to pray with and serve with? If you don't have one now, ask God to send you such a companion. Then look around you. This friend, like Frances' Vannozza, may be near you already. Try sharing some of your spiritual hopes and desires with those closest to you. You may be surprised at their reaction. (But don't force your opinions on others or get discouraged by lack of interest. Just keep asking God to lead you.)
Prayer:
Saint Frances of Rome, help us to see the difference between what we want to do and what God wants us to do. Help us to discern what comes from our will and what comes from God's desire.
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