The 'Apostle' of the "Rogate"

FR HANNIBAL: 'APOSTLE' OF THE ROGATE.
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"Pray the Lord of the harvest 

to send out laborers 

into his harvest" 

- Matthew 9:38

The above command of the Lord inspired Hannibal Mary Di Francia to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. 

As stated in his official Vatican Biography, 

He was only seventeen when, at prayer in front of the Blessed sacrament, he was given the "revelation of Rogate", that is, he deeply felt that vocations in the Church come only through prayer. Subsequently he found that such prayer is commanded by Jesus in the Gospel when He says, "Ask [Rogate] the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather his harvest" [Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2]. These words became the fundamental insight to which he dedicated his entire life.

So he worked hard to promote the prayer for vocations. The decision to zealously promote the Prayer for Vocations was born of his own experiences in serving the poor of Messina, Italy, particularly the ghetto of Avignone. This place became the start of his journey to the realization of his response to the mission to promote the Prayer or Vocations. It was before he was ordained priest that he discovered the sad situation in Avignone, having met an almost blind beggar who lived there named Francesco Zancone. Himself having lost his father while only fifteen months old, he understood the plight of orphans and also the poor. After his ordination and upon the encouragement of his bishop, Msgr Joseph Guarino, he made Avignine his home and there started the work of a shepherd for the people of Avignone seemed like sheep without a shepherd. He faced many trials and sufferings in his work but he saw those as opportunities to strengthen his faith and resolve to pursue his mission of helping the poor and the orphans. Having a deep devotion to St Anthony of Padua, he named the orphanages he established as Anthonian Orphanages.

But then he realized that there must be more places like Avignone in the world and that there are more people who are in need of shepherds. So he wrote,

"What are these few orphans we attend to, these few people we bring the good news to, compared to the millions who are lost and abandoned as sheep without a shepherd? ... I looked for an answer and I found a complete one in the words of Jesus: 'Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to gather his harvest'. I conclude then that I had found the secret key to all good works and to the salvation of all souls."

In order to carry out this mission more concretely, he founded the Daughters of Divine Zeal in 1887 and the Rogationists of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1897. The living out of the Rogate was added as a fourth vow of the Daughters and the Rogationists aside from the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. In August 16, 1926, the two congregations were canonically approved. He also initiated the Holy Alliance for the clergy and the Pious Union of the Evangelical Rogation for the lay faithful in order to promote the Prayer for Vocations.

Important thing that we must take note is that he prayed not only for priests but for holy priests for he believed that the world can only be saved through their work. That is why he emphasized the need for a lot of prayer and solid spiritual training. Part of the Prayer for Vocations also is the prayer that those who are undeserving may not be able to enter the priesthood. In order to be a good example of what he prays for, he did everything to live in accordance to the Sacred Heart of Lord Jesus Christ, that is, his charity was boundless and was directed to all.

Hence even while still alive, he was already considered saint by many that when he died on June 1, 1927, people would say, "Let us go to see the sleeping saint." Before his death, he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with whom he also had a very deep devotion. 

In his homily during the beatification of Fr Hannibal Mary Di Francia on October 7, 1990, Pope John Paul II called him the authentic forerunner and zealous master of the modern pastoral care for vocations.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI established the annual World Day of Prayer for Vocations which can be considered as a response to the efforts of St Hannibal Mary Di Francia.

On Corpus Christi

THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT OF THE ALTAR.
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It is Thursday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and it is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ or just Corpus Christi.

The universal Church celebrates today one of the important Holy Days of Obligation, that is, one has to attend the Holy Mass in honor of the celebration, and today it is the Feast of Corpus Christi. It is a celebration of one of the most important event in the history of our Christian Faith: the institution of the Holy Eucharist, which the Lord Jesus Christ himself established during the Last Supper, on Maundy Thursday, but which we cannot fully give much attention to due to the fact that our focus is on the great sacrifice which He also offered on Good Friday. 

So usually, Maundy or Holy Thursday, the night when the Lord gave us His body and blood by instituting the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, is mainly celebrated as some kind of a preparation for Good Friday without its own significance, except for the celebration of the Chrism Mass in memory of the institution of the Holy Orders which is directly connected with the institution of the Holy Eucharist for without priests, there would be no transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is why the Solemnity of Corpus Christi was established in 1246 in the Diocese of Belgina of Liege in Belgium after a synod called for the purpose by the Bishop, Robert de Thorete, at the suggestion of a nun, St Juliana of Liege.  who had a great veneration for the Blessed Sacrament ever since her childhood. In 1264, Pope Urban IV issued the Bull Transiturus which established the Feast of Corpus Christi as a universal feast of the Church to be celebrated on the Thursday after the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. However, at present, episcopal conferences are allowed to celebrate the Feast, which makes it already a Solemnity, on the Sunday after the Most Holy Trinity Sunday. [That's why our reflection for today was based on the Gospel reading of Ordinary Thursday and not on the Feast of Corpus Christi.]

What is the significance of this Feast-Solemnity for us Christians? It is a celebration of one of the most important and most fundamental articles of Christian Faith: the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist - the enduring memorial of His great love for us all. We are not celebrating mere bread and wine, we are celebrating the Lord's real presence in the bread and wine which retain their accidental forms but possess changed substantial realities. Celebrating Corpus Christi is indeed a proclamation of the Holy Eucharist, of the Lord's being the Bread of Life, a teaching so hard to understand for many of His disciples that they left Him but which made manifest the deepening faith of the Apostles [see John 6].

The Jews ate manna in the desert and through that food they were sustained for days during their sojourn in the desert. But the Holy Eucharist is far greater than manna for the Lord himself told the Jews that though their ancestors ate manna, they died in the desert, that is, they were not able to enter the Promised Land. But we who worthily partake of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Eucharist, have been assured by the Lord a place in the Father's house [John 6; 14: 2-3].

May we always remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is always present in the Holy Eucharist, in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the altar. Hence when we enter a church or a chapel, we must look for the twinkling lamp that signifies that the Blessed Sacrament is being prominently kept in the tabernacle somewhere around the altar, the table where the sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated, and is usually attached to the altarpiece, also called reredo, that is, the wall behind the altar. When we see that lamp, which also symbolizes the Lord Jesus Christ as the light of the world, we must offer our most solemn respect and adoration for we are in the presence of holy ground. But even if He is not presently kept there for some important reason, we must still give reverence to His temple. Usually, a single genuflection is required when the Blessed Sacrament is inside a closed tabernacle; while double genuflection is obligatory when the tabernacle is open or when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed through a monstance for public adoration. And when we go out of the church or chapel where adoration is taking place, it is irreverent to turn your back on the Lord! More about exposition of the Blessed Sacrament here.

So let us give the Lord who is present in the Holy Eucharist, the Most Blessed Sacrament, the fullest respect and honor for it is a great source of blessing to be present where He is present! If we give due honor and respect to others who are superior to us in some manner, how much more with the Lord, our God?

A blessed Feast of Corpus Christi to you all, dear friends.

All Generations will Call Me Blessed: The Feast of the Visitation

THE VISITATION OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY.
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"From this day 

all generations will call me blessed." 

- Luke 1:48b

On the Solemnity of the Annunciation we reflected on the FIAT of the Blessed Virgin Mary: her yes to the will of the Father, her obedience to the eternal design of God.

Today we shall reflect on her MAGNIFICAT: her song of praise for the Father who did wonderful things not only for her but also for her people, Israel. We shall focus our reflection on the words prophesying her being called blessed by all generations.

When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, Elizabeth declared, 

"Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb" [Luke 1:42].

Elizabeth considered it as a great honor to be visited by Mary, the mother of her Lord [v43] and told her cousin that the baby in her womb leaped upon her hearing of Mary's voice [v44] and once again she told Mary how blessed is she for having received the fulfillment of God's promise [v45]. And what follows was Mary's song of praise, also called the Canticle of Mary, the MAGNIFICAT, the first word of the Latin translation of the first line of the song, and which means GREATNESS.

And who would not be moved to be truly and sincerely grateful for the greatness of God? Of being singularly chosen to become the earthly mother of the only-begotten Son of the Father? Who is co-eternal with God and from beginning was with God and though whom God has created everything? Surely, for having been accorded with such singular honor for her simplicity, humility and obedience, she truly deserves to be called BLESSED by all the generations!

So when we call Mary BLESSED, we are not only acknowledging her important role as Mother of the Savior, who is also God and so making her the Mother of God too. We are also praising God and ultimately recognizing Him for the wonders that He did through someone like this humble young girl. And whenever we call Mary BLESSED, she doesn't keep to herself the honor but returns the praise to God and says, MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD!

Like Mary, we are all blessed, because we received God's grace upon baptism. We are further blessed when we receive the other Sacraments along our pilgrimage particularly the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation. We are blessed because the Holy Spirit has made our bodies His dwelling place, His temple. We are blessed when we obey the will of God in our lives. And so like Mary we should also proclaim the greatness of the Lord, we ought to give Him glory, magnify Him in our lives: in everything we do, say and think.

By the way, many people, especially anti-Catholics, abhor our way of giving honor and praise to the Blessed Virgin Mary. But if they only listen to their own words when they proclaim the so-called Sola Scriptura and repeatedly say, IT'S IN THE BIBLE, IT'S IN THE BIBLE, then they will surely see and read it in the Bible: Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, calls Mary blessed [vv 43, 45] and the Blessed Virgin Mary, rejoicing in God her savior, gives praise to the Father and prophesies that all generations will call her Blessed [v48] and we must not forget, during the Annunciation, the Angel Gabriel calls her full of grace [28] and that she had earned God's favor [v30]. Here's an inspiring story about a Protestant boy who became a Catholic priest later in life because of the Hail Mary, a prayer he heard from his Catholic friends. Initially prohibited by her mother from saying the prayer telling him that it's a superstitious prayer of Catholics and given the Holy Bible to read instead, he found out that said prayer was indeed IN THE BIBLE. 

We must also be true Catholics, Christians, in order to lead others to know more about the truths of our Faith, like the friends of this Protestant boy who recited the Hail Mary which moved the boy's soul to seek for the truth. For if we, Catholics, won't be faithful to the Blessed Virgin, how can we be exemplars to non-Catholics about giving her the proper honor in recognition of God's greatness? 

These people who doesn't understand how to properly honor her are afraid that she might take our attention off the Lord Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and man. In this case, rest assured that she doesn't take us away from the Lord; instead, she leads us to Him and tells us the right thing to do which is,

"Do whatever He tells you."

- John 2:5

On the Trinity

A SYMBOL OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY.
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"Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations; 

baptize them in the NAME 

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

- Matthew 28:19

"Christians are baptized in the NAME 

of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: 

not in their NAMES, 

for there is only God, 

the almighty Father, his only Son and the Holy Spirit, 

the Most Holy Trinity." 

- CCC 233

The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of the Christian faith and life and the whole of salvation history is the story of how God revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit [234]. 

Though God has been revered by many religions as Father for being the Creator and father of gods and man, it was only the Son who has revealed Him as the eternal "Father" in relation to His being the eternal Son, God's Word [John 1:1], Image [Colossians 1:15], and Radiance of His glory and the very stamp of His nature [Hebrews 1:3] [238-242]. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth [John 14:17], in turn reveals both the Father and the Son more fully for it is He who has spoken through the prophets before and now remains with the Church to be her Advocate [John 14:16], Teacher and Guide [John 14:26] [243-248].

This important article of Faith has been revealed to, believed, and clarified by the Church since the early days of Christianity both to deepen her own understanding of the faith and defend it against the errors that were deforming it [249-252]. Hence at Nicaea, the First Ecumenical Council that took place in 325, the Church affirmed the Faith that the Son is consubstantial, that is one in substance, essence or nature, with the Father and at the Second Ecumenical Council, the first of those held at Constantinople, in 381 reaffirmed this in the formulation of the Nicene Creed by stating that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God, eternally begotten by the Father, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father [242]. It was also at Constantinople in 381 that the Holy Spirit's consubstantiality with the Father and the Son has been clarified and affirmed through the words We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father ... with the Father and the Son, he is worshiped and glorified [245]. The Roman Catholic Church has inserted the term filioque, which means, and the Son, into the the formulation though it was not affirmed at Constantinople in 381 for as the Council of Florence explained in 1438, 

The Holy Spirit is eternally from Father and Son: He has his nature and subsistence at once [simul] from the Father and the Son. He proceeds eternally from both principle and through one spiration ... And since the Father has through generation given to the only-begotten Son everything that belongs to the Father, except being Father, the Son has also eternally from the Father, from whom He is eternally born, that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Son [246].

The Gospel records the Lord Jesus Christ giving the Holy Spirit by breathing upon the Apostles and disciples [John 20:22]. During the Last Supper, He tells His Apostles, that He will ask the Father to send to them an Advocate, the Holy Spirit [John 14:16] and then later, He says, that it was for the good of the Apostles that He should go because if He does not go, the Holy Spirit will not come and assures them that if I go, I will send Him to you [John 16:7]. Therefore the filioque also has Biblical bases: the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son. Isn't the Father in the Son and the Son also in the Father? [John 14: 10-11]. 

Now how about the NAME? The singular usage surely have a very important meaning and message. The Lord Jesus Christ did not tell His apostles to baptize in the NAMES of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, but just in the NAME. It is our faith that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are three distinct Persons, but the use of a singular identification for all of them, which is the NAME, signifies that they have something in common which make them not only equal with one another but also truly one with one another, and that is being the Only One God. Take note that the Lord did not say, in the NAME of GOD but clearly identified three Persons bearing the same ONE NAME, that is, One Identity, that of being God. The Apostles knew and understood very well the importance of the Name of God and if they didn't believe and understood the Lord, they would have shivered in hearing such a serious blasphemy. Remember how the Apostles remained believers of the Lord even if others left Him because of the Bread of Life issue? [John 6]. The Apostles have been prepared by the Lord Jesus to hear this declaration, of baptizing others in the NAME of the Father of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and they no longer have doubts about the truth of it. The Trinitarian formula has been introduced by the Lord to the Apostles already but deemed it proper for the Holy Spirit to fully reveal it for He says that they would not be able to bear everything [John 16:12] but that the Holy Spirit will lead them to all truth [John 16:13].

Hence since the very beginning, the Church already believed in the Most Holy Trinity and the formulations of the Creed came after just to affirm this Faith so that the Church would be freed from heresies, that is, false teachings. The belief in One God and Three Divine Persons have been a basic article of faith since the beginning: that there are no three Gods but just one but Three Divine Persons truly distinct from one another in relation of origin and it is such relations that they are distinct but by nature one and the same [253-255]. St Gregory of Nazianzus tells his catechumens before baptism this truth,

Above all guard for me this great deposit of faith for which I live and fight, which I want to take with me as a companion, and which makes me bear all evils and despise all pleasures: I mean the profession of faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I entrust it to you today. By it I am soon going to plunge you into water and raise you up from it. I give it to you as the companion and patron of your whole life. I give you but one divinity and power, existing one in three, and containing the three in a distinct way. Divinity without disparity of substance or nature, without superior degree that raises up or inferior degree that casts down ... the infinite co-naturality of three infinites. Each person consistent in himself as entirely God ... the three considered together ... I have not even begun to think of unity when the Trinity bathes me in its splendor. I have not even begun to think of the Trinity when unity grasps me ... [256]

God is One. The Persons are Three. There is also one Divine Plan but three Missions. This divine plan has been decreed by the Father before the creation in his Son and stems directly from Trinitarian love which unfolds in the work of creation, the whole history of salvation after the fall, and the missions of the Son and the Holy Spirit, which are continued in the mission of the Church. All things come from the Father, through the Son and are in the Holy Spirit. Though there is but only one and the same divine operation, the role of each Person is shown through each one's unique personal property and the whole Christian life is a communion with each of the divine persons without in any way separating them. It is through the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Trinity's distinct properties are shown. The ultimate end of creation is the creatures' taking part in this divine unity for as the Lord said if one loves Him, he will keep His word and the Father will love him and He and the Father will come to him and make their dwelling in him [John 14:23] [257-260].

In summary, the central mystery of Christian faith and life is the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity which God alone revealed to us by revealing himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Incarnation of the Son reveals the eternal Fatherhood of God and the Son's being one with the Father in divinity. The Holy Spirit's mission reveals His oneness with the Father, who sends Him, and the Son, in whose name He is has been sent, and that it is from both the Father, as the first principle, and the Son, by eternal gift, that He proceeds by spiration. By virtue of Baptism, we, Christians, are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity, here on earth and in the world to come [261-265].

As stated by St Athanasius,

Now this is the Catholic faith. We worship one God in the Trinity and the Trinity in unity, without confusing the persons or dividing the substance; for the person of the Father is one, the Son's is another, the Holy Spirit's another; but the Godhead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is one, their glory equal, their majesty coeternal [266].

The Catechism on the Trinity closes with these words,

Inseparable in what they are, the divine persons are also inseparable in what they do. But within the single divine operation each shows forth what is proper to him in the Trinity, especially in the divine missions of the Son's Incarnation and the gift of the Holy Spirit [267].

This is what we, Catholic Christians, believe, and as what the Bishops at the Council of Nicaea decreed against those who do not adhere to this, let them be anathema.

Reflection on the Feast of St Matthias

ST MATTHIAS: THE "TWELFTH" APOSTLE.
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St Matthias, we all know, was not among the original Apostles. He was chosen to fill in the vacated slot of Judas Iscariot. His ascent to be among the remaining Eleven Apostles took place after the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and before the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles and the disciples. His elevation into the body of the Apostles is recorded in Acts 1: 15-26.

This event could be considered as the very first act of the Church, that is, the community of the believers and followers of the Lord [see Acts 1: 13-14]. In selecting St Matthias, St Peter quoted Psalm 69:26 [Let his encampment become desolate and may no one dwell in it] and Psalm 109:8 [May another take his office]. He also laid down what could be the requirements to become a candidate to take the place of Judas among the Twelve:

"Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us as a witness to his resurrection." - Acts 1: 21-22

More importantly, they did not decide by themselves as to who should be the one to replace Judas between the two who have been considered worthy of being chosen: Joseph called Barsabbas, also known as Justus, and Matthias. They asked the Lord in prayer as to who between the two He chooses to be numbered among the Apostles. They drew lots after praying and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered among the Twelve.

What could have made St Matthias the chosen one to be numbered among the Apostles? The Catholic Online quotes Clement of Alexandria regarding his observation of the Apostle,

"Matthias, like all the other apostles, was not chosen by Jesus for what he already was, but for what Jesus foresaw he would become. He was elected not because he was worthy but because he would become worthy." [Stromateis vi. 13]

Through the election of St Matthias, the Lord shows us that He has truly given authority to His Church to do everything necessary for her to operate as a corporate body tasked to fulfill her mission of proclaiming the Gospel to the ends of the earth, of making disciples of all nations, of baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and of believing in His perpetual presence [see Matthew 28: 18-20]. 

This event also teaches us that when the Lord calls, it is based on what He wants one to become and not on what he already is. That is why He had made as requirements for being His disciple, first, to deny one's self, and second, to carry one's cross, and then that's when one could follow Him. For unless one denies one's self and carries one's cross, one could not truly and fully follow the Lord: there would be constant resistance for the self would permanently seek it's own satisfaction, comfort and convenience. 

St Matthias embraced everything about being an Apostle: to bear witness to the Lord, to proclaim the Gospel and to die for the Lord. We may not have the exact record of what happened to him but one thing is certain: he did not waste the ministry entrusted to him by the Lord.

Prayer [from the Catholic Online]:

Saint Matthias, pray that we may become worthy witnesses to the resurrection  of Jesus in the way we live the eternal life we have right now.

The Message of Peace at Fatima: Continuing Relevance

OUR LADY OF FATIMA.
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Without going into details about the apparitions and the entire message of Our Lady of Fatima which you could easily access through the Internet such as in this site and here, and many others, we are particularly concerned here about the significant message of peace in the world through the praying of the Holy Rosary and its continuing relevance in our time.

Right now our world is experiencing troubles almost everywhere. The war between the administration and the rebels in Syria has already caused the deaths of and serious injuries to millions; any time the tension between the two Koreas breaks out into full-scale war the world could go into another global war; Israel is continually threatened by her neighbors; tribal and sectarian fightings in Africa are also unabated; terrorism continue to threaten the free world; relativism, secularism and indifferentism cause misunderstanding among fellowmen and brethren; the fight for true rights and assumed rights cause division among peoples and countries also; economic uncertainties and extreme economic ideologies deprive millions of their rightful share in the produce of the world; many Christians are persecuted through various manners by those who cannot tolerate other religions, those who claim they practice the only true religion, and those who doesn't know religion at all; and many more.

Therefore the message of Fatima about the need to continue praying, especially the Holy Rosary, for peace is still very, very much relevant. Why the Rosary? For the Holy Rosary recounts the history of salvation, of the Lord's saving act from His incarnation to His glorification. It also gives humanity the greatest hope for one of its members, the Blessed Virgin Mary, has been given so much honor by the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for her being humble, simple and obedient. She is therefore an invaluable model, next to the Lord Jesus Christ, our dearest Friend and Master. Hence praying the Holy Rosary is remembering and proclaiming the Lord's life, passion, death, resurrection and glorification, and God's ever generous blessing to those who surrender to His will without reserve like the Blessed Virgin Mary.

As we commemorate the first of the many apparitions at Fatima today, let us offer our humble submission to the will of the Father and gratitude to Him, the Lord our God, for His great love, mercy and generosity. Surely, if we sustain our prayer for peace, we shall be helped by the Lord Jesus Christ, who has conquered the world through His humble obedience to the Father's will too.  

Let us include in our prayers the conversion of all those who do not yet know Christ, those who have known Him but still resist the call to follow Him, and those who have left the One Fold that they may retrace their steps back to Him. So that when everyone already belongs to the One Fold under One Shepherd, we shall already experience true peace in the world.

O Mary, our Mother Most Amiable, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Converted due to Christian Love

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The Lord Jesus Christ said that it is by loving one another that the world will know that we are Christians [see John 13:35]. Many of those who have been converted into the Faith were inspired by Christians who fulfilled the command of the Lord to love one another as the Lord loved us [see John 13:34; 15; 12-17], which was further concretely expressed as love of neighbors too.

One of those who became Christians because of the love that Christians had for one another and for their neighbors was St Pachomius, considered to be the Father of Cenobitic Monasticism and whose memorial we celebrate May 9.

His parents were pagan. At age twenty, he was conscripted into the army and was held in captivity along with others. Local Christians supplied them with food and cared for them. Such acts of kindness and love made a lasting impression on Pachomius that he vowed to learn more about Christianity when he finally gets free. So when he was finally free to fulfill his intention, he got converted and was baptized. More about his life here.

St Athanasius wanted to ordain him a priest but he escaped from him. He got St Athanasius's attention because St Pachomius also fought the Arian heresy defending the orthodox Faith. 

May we also show the world that we are Christians by our love so that many more would be inspired to belong to the Church. Perhaps there are more Pachomiuses out there who just need to see how we truly live out our Faith through the practice of Love.  

Reflection on the Feast of Saints Philip and James, Apostles

STS PHILIP AND JAMES THE LESS.
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"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? 

The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. 

The Father who dwells in me is doing his works." 

- John 14:10

It's the Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter! The readings for today is supposed to be the Gospel of Holy Friendship, John 15: 12-17. However, since the Feast of Sts Philip and James the Less, two of the Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, we take the reading proper to this Feast, John 14: 6-14. We have a reflection on John 14:6 and 14:14 in two earlier entries which you could review.

The passage we are going to reflect upon today was part of the Lord's answer to Philip who asked Him to show them the Father. 

Jesus told Philip and the others that it is the Father who is doing His work through Him. Does this mean that the Lord Jesus then is merely a passive instrument of the Father? No. Rather, He is an active implementor of the Father's will and works. It is the Father who wills, the Son fulfills. For the Son will never do anything against the Father's will [see Luke 22:42] for it is for the very purpose of doing the Father's will that the Son came into the world [see John 3:16].

Do we not demand the same request in many ways and formulation of words? We - and many others - also ask it in different manners but maybe one of the demands addressed to the Church which may somehow exactly fit the same request asked by Philip is this,

"Show us the Lord Jesus Christ and we will believe." Sounds like doubting Thomas? 

Yes. Even when we do not say a word, many times we demand that the Church should show us the Lord Jesus Christ to make sure that it is really Him who wants the Church to fight for life, family and marriage; speak against abortion, contraception, euthanasia, homosexuality and same sex marriage; or make a stand about other issues and concerns which others believe lie within the sphere of secular society and which the Church doesn't have anything to do with especially in view of the so-called separation of Church and State.

As we have mentioned in an earlier entry, this kind of questions are convenient excuses not to believe in the Church. For we know that we cannot force the Lord Jesus Christ to show Himself as He is. Challenging the Lord to show himself is like testing God. We must remember that it is a grave sin to test the Lord [see Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7; Luke 4:12]!

But the reply to such a demand is very clear. As the Lord replied to Philip that the they no longer look for the Father for He is in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can also say that those who wants to see the Lord doesn't have to look far. For the Lord Jesus Christ is present on this earth through His Church: for the Church is His Body [see 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31] and He promised to abide by the Church until the end of time [see Matthew 28:20] and the Church continues to do His work until He comes again in glory. Therefore when the Church declares a teaching which may not be exactly found in any passage of the Bible, it is still the Lord Jesus Christ who speaks. For one can hardly find, for example, any passage about stem cell research in the Bible and yet the principles against such research can be implied or deduced through related passages of the Bible. For it would be tantamount to making the Holy Spirit incapable if we won't believe that the Church has the authority to teach even though the Lord himself said that the Holy Spirit will lead her to all the truth and remind her of all that He has taught [see John 14:26].

The Lord Jesus Christ did not speak on His own. The Church also doesn't speak on her own. The Church speaks in behalf of the Lord and the Lord speaks in behalf of the Father. 

If you still doubt, ask the Holy Spirit's enlightenment for the Lord promised Him as the one who will lead us to all the truth.

Defender of the Divinity of Christ

ST ATHANASIUS. A FATHER OF THE CHURCH.
Image from catholic.org

"Jesus that I know as my Redeemer cannot be less than God." 

- St Athanasius

Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Today is the memorial of St Athanasius, a Bishop, Doctor of the Church, and considered one of the Fathers of the Church. His greatest contribution to the Church is his fight and defense of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We have to take note that when Christianity had finally became the State Religion of the vast Roman Empire through the Emperor Constantine, he became more acquainted with the beliefs of Arianism, a heresy which taught that the Lord Jesus Christ was not Divine and was just a creature that was given the status of God. Therefore, the Lord was not of the same essence of the One God. Arianism somehow relegated Him as some kind of an idol worshiped side by side with the true God. It started in Alexandria, one of the centers of Christianity in the East and when the priest Arius, its initial proponent, was anathematized by a Council called for by St Alexander, the Bishop of Alexandria at that time, in about 320, Arius went to Palestine and there got support from such Bishops as Eusebius of Caesarea, the Church historian, and Eusebius of Nicomedia, Arius' fellow in the Alexandrian school.

This heresy, which many Christian sects believe and teach today even if they have not known or deny having taken such tenet from Arianism, was believed, supported and taught by many in the Eastern part of the Roman Empire. Since Emperor Constantine transferred his residence from Rome to Constantinople because Rome did not appeal to him anymore, he therefore knew more about Arianism than the true Christian doctrine. So when the differences in doctrine started to create problems up to the level of the Bishops in the East, Constantine, who has just succeeded in defeating Licinius, his former co-Emperor in the East and wanting to also establish religious peace, called for the very first Ecumenical Council, the Council of Nicaea, in 325, to settle the problem and reconcile the beliefs. Rome was not affected by the heresy but the Pope, St Sylvester I, sent legates which made the Council a truly universal one. At that Council, Arianism was declared a heresy and Arius was exiled to Illyria. 

In that Council, St Alexander of Alexandria was accompanied by his deacon, St Athanasius who greatly contributed to the defense of the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the formulation of the proper doctrine. His presence in the Council would be the start of a life of conflict and of glory for being the defender of the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

When St Alexander died a few months after this Council, St Athanasius was elected to succeed him in the See of Alexandria. That was 326. His main objective after taking the chair was the implementation of the Council's decrees particularly about the doctrine of the Lord's divinity. Because of this, he was exiled five times during his reign by various Emperors who were adherents of Arianism. But he never gave in to these but remained steadfast in his fight for the right doctrine. His reign extended for 45 years but 17 of those were spent in exiles. He was exiled five times. 

The first one was under Emperor Constantine himself, who was initially content that at least having established political and military peace, religious peace was now also attained somehow after the result at the Council of Nicaea, but since he was more supportive of Arianism, exiled St Athanasius who tried to stamp out the heresy among his people, sending him to Trier, Germany for two and a half years. The second exile was under Emperor Constantius which lasted for seven and a half years during which the saint lived in Rome and the third time, still under the same emperor, which lasted for six years, was spent by the saint in the Egyptian desert. His fourth exile, about ten months of living in the Egyptian desert once again, was under Emperor Julian, the Apostate. His last exile was under Emperor Valens, which lasted only for four months and which the saint spent in his father's tomb. His many exiles and restoration gained for him the expression, Athanasius contra mundum, in English, Athanasius against the world. 

For his zeal in defending the true doctrine and his extraordinary virtues, a fellow doctor of the Church, St Gregory Nazianzen, wrote,

"When I praise Athanasius, virtue itself is my theme: for I name every virtue as often I mention him who was possessed of all virtues. he was the true pillar of the Church. His life and conduct were the rule of bishops, and his doctrine the rule of the orthodox faith."

St Athanasius truly defended the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ not only through the formulation of words but most especially by the example of life for even under pressure and threat he never gave in and never gave up. He wasn't only fighting ordinary enemies, he was against Emperors. Through this we could also see how great his faith is for he stood up and fought for the heavenly King and never feared earthly rulers.

We could also say that Emperor Constantine's inclination to Arianism would somehow clear the case against the Catholic Church having been established by the emperor. That the papacy was his invention as some anti-Catholics claim. For if the true Church really ceased to exist and was only revived by the emperor, then why didn't it embraced Arianism? Why did the Church remained Catholic instead of Arian? The answer is very clear: the Lord Jesus Christ truly kept His promise that not even the gates of hell could overcome His Church [see Matthew 16;18] and that the Holy Spirit will lead it into all the truth [see John 14:26].

Let us ask the intercession of St Athanasius that we may have greater and more steadfast faith in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ and that God may grant us the same zeal which he endowed St Athanasius with so that we may be able to give true and full account of what we believe in when asked to do so.

On the Feast of St Joseph: Work - Way to Salvation

THE CHILD JESUS HELPING ST JOSEPH.
Image from catholic culture via google.com

Today is the Feast day of St Joseph the Worker. This feast was established in order to provide workers with a model to look up to and whom they could ask for intercessions in praying to God and to counter the claims of Communism about the need for a worldwide revolution to free workers from the oppression of capitalists denying the role of the Savior our Lord Jesus Christ in our society. Deacon Keith Fournier states it this way,

"[The Church] also affirmed that there is a dignity to all human work precisely because of the dignity of every human worker engaged in it. That workers is created in the Image and Likeness of God. That dignity is elevated to an even greater height through the Incarnation of Jesus the Worker of Nazareth."

St Joseph was a carpenter. Through his honest work, he was able to provide for the needs of the Holy Family. Though God could possibly provide them with all the pleasures of life, He did not but allowed St Joseph to perform his duty as foster father, or custos, to His only-begotten Son and the as husband to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Since God the Father was the Creator, we could say that His choice of St Joseph as His only-begotten Son's foster father was truly part of His grand design; He being the greatest Carpenter of all. It did not only make the Lord Jesus Christ as a son of the carpenter [see Matthew 13:55; Luke 4:22] but also as the carpenter himself [see Mark 6:3]. Here we can see how God made all things possible and how He accomplished every event with great synchronization. 

Deacon Fournier writes,

"As a child, Jesus learned from Joseph the Worker how to work with wood. He would later climb upon a wooden cross in order to re-create all humanity in the culmination of His great work of redemption. All of the work undertaken by Jesus was joined to His Heavenly Father's work."

Moreover, choosing a worker as the foster father of the child Jesus, He sanctified labor which in its initial stage seemed to be a punishment for the sins of our first parents, Adam and Eve [see Genesis 3]. By sanctifying work, He made it a way to salvation, not a burden due to sin anymore. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, as we quote from Deacon Fournier's article, 

"Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ. In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in his nature. The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author and its beneficiaries."

As Blessed Pope John Paul II wrote in Laborem Exercens, which he wrote in 1981, as we quoted from Catholic Lane, which is a good site in itself,

"From the beginning therefore he [man] is called to work. Work is one of the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence on earth. Thus work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of a person operating within a community of persons. And this mark decides its interior characteristics; in a sense it constitutes its very nature." 

The Pope further wrote,

"Even by their secular activity, they must assist one another to live holier lives. In this way, the world will be permeated by the Spirit of Christ and more effectively achieve its purpsoe in justice, charity and peace ... Therefore, by their competence in secular fields and by their personal activity, elevated from within by the grace of Christ, let them work vigorously so that by human labor, technical skill, and civil culture created goods may be perfected according to the design of the creator and the light of his Word."

May we see the dignity in work and its important role in our salvation. 

A blessed Feast of St Joseph the Worker Day to all the workers of all the lands!

The Feast of Saint Mark, Evangelist

ST MARK, EVANGELIST.
Image from catholic.org

St Mark is the acclaimed writer of the Second Gospel. He is given the Lion as his symbol because he begins his account of the Lord's ministry with John the Baptizer's activity in the desert:

"The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It is written in the prophet Isaiah: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. A voice of one that cries in the desert: Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight. John the Baptizer was in the desert, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." 

- Mark 1: 1-4

The following are some important details about St Mark:

[1] He is identified with John Mark and the Mark who is the cousin of St Barnabas [see Colossians 4:10].

[2] He is considered to be among the Seventy Disciples whom the Lord appointed to go to the various villages of Judea [see Luke 10:1].

[2] He is identified with the young man who followed the Lord Jesus after He was arrested and when confronted by the guards escaped naked leaving behind his only covering, a linen cloth [see Mark 14: 51-52].

[3] He is believed to be the son of Mary, the owner of the house where the Christians meet together in Jerusalem [see Acts 12:12].

[4] He was brought along by St Paul and St Barnabas in their missionary journey [see Acts 12: 25] but left them at Perga in Pamphylia and went back to Jerusalem [see Acts 13:13]. This action of St Mark was disliked by St Paul and when he asked St Barnabas that they visit the places where they have established churches and St Barnabas suggested to bring along St Mark once again, St Paul objected because of what he did in Perga and when St Barnabas insisted, they had a sharp dispute and decided to part ways [see Acts 15: 36-39].

[5] He became St Peter's companion, disciple and interpreter. According to Patristic tradition, he was present during St Peter's preaching hence the Gospel he wrote was written through the eyes of the Prince of the Apostles. It also has the distinction of being written for a Roman audience, or to Western Christianity.

[6] He became reconciled with St Paul and during the latter's first imprisonment, he was with St Paul [see Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24] and even requested his presence during St Paul's second captivity [see 2 Timothy 4:11].

[7] He established the Church in Alexandria, which became one of the Patriarchal seats of Christianity. He was martyred there. The See of Alexandria is now part of the Coptic Orthodox Church. 

For more about St Mark, visit the following sites

[a] Catholic Online

[b] Catholic Culture