St. Vincent de Paul - image by Monastery Icons

St.Vincent de Paul is one of those saints whose mark on society has been so great that we often take their contributions for granted. Men and women through the centuries have been moved to serve the poor because of his example, as priests, nuns, and lay persons. Through the society which bears his name, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, members work across the United States and around the world, providing help both for those who face long term challenges and those who are ”down on their luck” for a short time. 

Last year, Randy wrote a biographical post for the feast of St. Vincent de Paul. Lots of good information is there, along with links to other sites. This year, I asked members of orders founded by St. Vincent de Paul and his associates for one thing they’d like the world to know about him. These were responses I received, in order received.

From Sr. Mary Frates, DC - Vocation Director, Daughters of Charity, DePaul Provincial House

Thank you for this opportunity.  St. Vincent De Paul is well known for making an impact on the society of his day through organizing service to the very poorest.  What I would like people to know about Vincent is that he paid attention to everything that was happening around him and it was this attention to the present moment that drew him to take action to help those in need.

From Fr. Ray Van Dorpe, C.M.  Assistant Provincial, Midwest Province of the Congregation of the Mission

I would like people to know that St. Vincent de Paul was a man far ahead of his time.  He was one of the first to organize the laity for charitable works of mercy that were not dependent on the support of the local pastor.  These “Confraternities of Charity” later became the Ladies of Charity, an international organization and part of the larger Vincentian Family, along with the Congregation of the Mission, the Daughters of Charity, and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, to name but a few.  St. Vincent was also ahead of his time in putting women to work outside the structures of cloistered life (the Daughters of Charity).  He also was one of those who revolutionized the formation of the clergy in France and other countries and developed a sophisticated ministry of preaching missions in poor rural parishes (the Congregation of the Mission).  But more important than all these accomplishments was his love for the poor and his deep desire to bring the Good News to the poorest of God’s people.

Thank you for sharing your insights. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry and that of Vincentians around the world.

Once again, the feast of St. Robert Bellarmine is upon us. Last year, Randy wrote a post about Bellarmine’s life and contributions. This year, I thought it would be interesting to hear what a few Jesuits might have to say about him. I wrote to several schools and other institutions named after Robert Bellarmine and to the Jesuit communities at several Jesuit universities. I received responses from people at many of them. Not all had comments they wanted to share, but these men did.  I offer their responses in order received, with my thanks to all those who took the time to respond.

From Alan Yost, SJ - Formerly of Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, now working in a parish in Yakima, WA.

I don’t necessarily WANT people to know this about Roberto Belarmino, but since it’s true, and in a spirit of transparency, he was one of the main protagonists in the whole Galileo affair, arguing for the Church and against Galileo regarding the earth-centered vs. sun-centered model of the universe. In retrospect, it’s a little embarrassing, but we have to remember that he was a man of his time and that he was ardent in defending his beliefs and the beliefs of the Church at the time. Recall that Pope John Paul II offered a public apology to Galileo about 400 years after the fact.

From Rev. Clyde F. Crews - University Historian, Bellarmine University

We have had as our university motto, from the very beginning of this institution, the words taken from the introit of the Feast of St. Robert Bellarmine:  In Veritatis Amore.  To be truly engaged “in the love of truth” in all its dimensions, joys, tasks, and responsibilities remains a central part of our mission.  We are also struck by the fact that St. Robert was widely known – in the context of his times – for his tolerance, fairness, kindness, and generosity – especially to those in need.

From Fred Mayovsky, SJ - Math teacher at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma

St. Robert Bellarmine defended Galileo.  OK, Bellarmine was the Pope’s man, but he handled GG with love and gentleness, guiding him (GG) as he (SRB) was telling him what he (GG) could and could NOT state.  SRB was a dove and not a hawk in bringing the Pope’s directives.  In that same vein, when I teach math and demand neatness and organized thought, I will explain HOW to do the homework and not merely expect my students to do what I “expect” but as I “direct”, so that they assimilate knowledge.

Yes, my reflections on Bellarmine, I teach at a school named after him, I teach in a spirit of which I think he would approve.  Sorry I do not have the time to ground and defend my reflections.  But they are MY reflections on a great man, and I have been trying to live by his spirit in HIS school.

From James Flaherty, SJ  Rector of the Jesuit Community at Marquette University

Bellarmine was probably the most important theologian of the Counter-Reformation era. You might check out the website of the Singapore Jesuits for further info. Just google them and look for their hagiographies on Jesuit saints.

My thanks to each of you for the insights you’ve shared. May the Lord richly bless your ministries.

Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo

The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows follows the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross by one day. On this day we remember the prophecy of Simeon when Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple for the first time. Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted; and you yourself a sword will pierce, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” (Lk 2:33-35)

This feast was not part of the official liturgical cycle of the Church until the mid-1600s, though it was celebrated in some locations as early as the 13th century. Sometimes it is known as the feast of the Seven Sorrows of Mary and includes mention of seven events from Jesus’ childhood and passion.

Our Lady of Sorrows is a title of Mary with which many women and men can identify. Bearing and raising a child is not an easy task, though it can be an extremely rewarding adventure. There are countless joys and sorrows along the way. And make no mistake about it - the commitment of parent to child is one that does not stop when the child reaches adulthood! It is a commitment for life and beyond. In our belief in the Communion of Saints and life after death, we recognize that those who went before us still care about us and look out for us. Parents who are with the Lord do not cease to be parents of those who still remain here. The relationship is just transformed.

In thinking about this feast, it came to me that surely Our Lady of Sorrows is especially close to mothers, fathers and family of those who are killed prematurely. I’m thinking of those who “disappeared” in Central and South America in recent years - victims of political violence and/or persecution for their actions in living and teaching the Gospel. I’m thinking of victims of terrorism in the Middle East - including those on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian question and those dying almost daily in Iraq. I’m thinking of those whose children were killed in wars - Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sudan, Ruwanda, Brundi and so many, many others. We see the pictures year after year and our hearts become numb. Yet for all of them, and with all of them, Our Lady of Sorrows weeps. And so should we all.

And then … we must commit ourselves to work for peace. So that those who have given their lives will not have died in vain. So that those who believe that “might makes right” will learn that only love makes right. So that we truly become a community where we live our belief that what we do to the least of Jesus’ sisters and brothers, we do to Him.   

May it be so.

Peter Claver was born in Catalonia in 1581. He attended the University of Barcelona before entering the Jesuits at the age of 20. During his study of philosophy in Majorca, he was encouraged by the porter, Br. Alphonsus Rodriguez, to travel as a missionary to the Americas. In 1610, Peter Claver arrived in Cartagena, in present day Colombia.

Cartagena was the center of the slave trade in the Americas at that time.

Slavery has had a long history in human relations. To this very day there are people enslaved in our world. Even within Christianity for most of its history, slavery was seen as one of those realities of life that are simply unquestioned until relatively recently. St. Paul, for example, wrote instructions on the proper behavior of slaves and sent an escaped slave who had become a Christian home to his master, with instructions to his Christian master to treat the slave well (Philemon). But there were no instructions to free him.

The West African slave trade that brought so many people to the Americas in chains had its roots in the Crusades. Pope Nicholas V, in a papal bull titled Dum Diversas (June 18, 1452), allowed the perpetual enslavement  of Saracens and pagans captured during the Crusades, because they were seen as enemies of God and Christianity. It seems ludicrous today, but that’s what people believed at the time. Later, on January 8, 1455, in Romanus Pontifex, he also authorized European dominion over newly discovered lands and the enslavement of non-Christian peoples living there. At that time, the Americas had not yet been “discovered” by Europeans, at least not by a Europe in any way ready or able to begin to colonize them.

Once Columbus and his crew brought word back of their findings, both Spain and Portugal, the foremost seafaring European peoples of the time, wanted to claim lands in America. Pope Alexander VI, on May 4, 1493, in Inter Caetera, divided the Americas between Spain and Portugal. He commanded Spain “to instruct the aforesaid inhabitants and residents and dwellers therein in the Catholic faith, and train them in good morals.” 

Despite the instructions of Alexander VI, military leaders and economic developers (colonists) had begun to enslave the native peoples whom they encountered in the Americas. Many had died of European diseases, against which they had no immunity. By May 29, 1537, Pope Paul III issued another papal bull dealing with the question of enslavement of peoples, Sublimus Dei. In this one, he specifically forbade the enslavement of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, based on the fact that they are rational beings with souls. He further extended this prohibition to the enslavement of all other previously unknown peoples. Unfortunately, the peoples of West Africa did not count as “previously unknown peoples” - at least it had been know there were people living there - so enslaving them was not strictly forbidden.

Into this context, Peter Claver entered as a young man, not yet a priest. There he met Fr. Alfonso de Sandoval, another Spanish Jesuit who had earlier dedicated his life to the care of African slaves. Working with Fr. Alfonso, Peter Claver dedicated his life as well to this ministry, declaring himself “the slave of the negroes forever.” For the next 44 years, he served the slaves of Cartagena, from the time the ships arrived bringing them chained in the holds through their time of bondage on the plantations and in the mines.

The work of caring for the slaves was not easy. It was not unopposed. It was not welcomed by “the powers that be” of Cartagena. It was not even always welcomed by his superiors or by members of local parishes.

Each month, as the slave bearing ships arrived, Peter Claver went out to meet them, taking food, medicines, and other supplies with him. He went into the holds of the ships and began to care for those who were nearest death, caring for people with diseases such as smallpox and leprosy (Hansen’s Disease). He organized a group of helpers who spoke the various languages of the peoples arriving. They went with him to the slave pens, speaking to the newly arrived and helping to care for them. As the new slaves recovered their health and strength, Peter, Alfonso, and their helpers began to teach them about Jesus and to baptize those who accepted the faith. Despite official Church instructions, many people still questioned the humanity of these captives and opposed teaching them the faith or accepting them into the Church. This opposition did not stop Peter Claver and those who worked with him. They simply worked and prayed harder.

Care for the slaves did not stop at the slave pens. As men, women and children were purchased and set to work in the mines and on plantations, Peter Claver continued to be their advocate. He visited them, celebrated the sacraments with them, admonished their owners to treat them justly, and continued to teach and care for them. He refused to stay with the owners of the plantations and mines. When he visited slaves, he stayed with them in their homes.

Over time, he gained some respect in Cartagena, if for no other reason than that he was consistent and persistent in following his calling. People began to believe that it was because of his work and his presence that they had escaped many potential disasters (think hurricanes, pirates, etc.).  The slave markets were not closed during his lifetime. But somewhere around 300,000 people received care, love, instruction in the faith and baptism through the ministry of St. Peter Claver. Not a bad record!

Mother Teresa was born in Albania in 1910. She went to India in 1929 to become a Sister of Loreto, an order of teaching nuns. She took her first vows in 1931 and began working as a teacher, work she deeply enjoyed. She chose the name Teresa in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux, patroness of the missions.

As the years passed, Mother Teresa became increasingly aware of the poverty and despair that were the lot of so many people in India, including around the school in Kolkata. On September 10, 1946, she received a “call” from the Lord to leave the work she was doing and go out to live among and serve the poorest of the poor. Her response to this call and the positive results of her service and witness are well documented.

From the streets of Kolkata, men and women who joined her in service as the Missionaries of Charity have moved throughout India and into the broader world. Today, as sisters, priests and brothers, they have schools, clinics and shelters in 120 countries, including the United States. My home parish, St. Patrick’s, in Spokane, WA is even blessed to have a group of sisters working in the community. They are quietly witnessing and bringing the Good News to the larger neighborhood and diocesan community through their service and I am grateful for their presence there.

Many words have been written about Mother Teresa, including a post in this blog last year. Some praise her. Some criticize her. Some mock her. Some don’t know what to think about her. None of this would come as a surprise to her. It was like that from the beginning of her work. In the decades of her “dark night of the soul,” many of these things may have been thoughts she had herself. 

But she was faithful to the calling she received and Pope John Paul II declared her Blessed. We’d do well to keep that in mind as we try to be faithful to the calls each of us have received. There are no guarantees of success or popularity. Most of us will never be praised by Kings, Queens and Presidents. Few will receive Nobel prizes. But we all can aspire to be faithful to the work set before us by our Lord.

If you’d like to send an e-card with words, prayers, and/or blessings from Mother Teresa, check out this link. http://www.catholicgreetings.org/Saints/motherteresa.asp

Blessed Teresa, pray for us.

St. Gregory the Great was born in Rome around 540 AD. This was a time when the Goths and Franks were invading Rome. The emperor was in Constantinople. The Senate had been disbanded. Italy was still one country, called Rome, and late classical Latin was the language of the people.

Gregory’s family were wealthy, owning homes and property in and around Rome and in Sicily. He was raised and educated for a career in public office. He had fresco portraits of his family painted at some point, and his biographer, John the Deacon, left a description of them 300 years later as they appeared in the portraits. Gregory’s father was tall and had a light eyes and a long face. He wore a beard. Gregory’s mother was also tall, but she had a round face and blue eyes. She appeared to be a cheerful person. A portrait of Gregory himself was done shortly after his death. Again, John the Deacon left a description of his appearance in the portrait. Gregory is described as being somewhat bald, with a tawny beard. The shape of his face was somewhere between that of his mother and his father. His remaining hair was worn long and curled carefully. He had a thin, straight, almost aquiline nose and a high forehead. His lips and chin were described as also attractive and it is said that his hands were beautiful.

St. Gregory lived in a time of great turmoil. Wars, floods, famines, political changes, and religious controversies swirled through Italy and the Empire. He left a career in public service to enter a monastery when he was around 30 years old, only to be drawn back into public life by the Pope, who sent him to Constantinople to request help from the Emperor in defending Rome. Following 6 years in Constantinople, he returned to Rome. Eventually he himself was elected Pope, an office he tried to decline.

As Pope, he is remembered for reforms of the liturgy, establishing rules of conduct for bishops, the wielding of political power in dealing with invading armies and natural disasters, his insistence on the supremacy of the papacy over the other patriarchs of the church and for the notion that the Pope is the “Servant of the Servants of God,” and for establishing the papacy in the form it would take during the Middle Ages. He insisted that the Church has a responsibility to care for the poor. When famine threatened even the wealthy in Rome, he arranged for food and other supplies to be delivered from properties in southern Italy that his family had given the Church and distributed in the city, cooking meals for the formerly wealthy himself to spare them the pain of having to ask for charity.

St. Gregory is also remembered for sending missionaries to England, the “end of the Earth” from the perspective of Rome. At that time, there was no knowledge of lands beyond the British Isles. In the rest of the Roman Empire, Christianity had been introduced. Even the Franks in Central Europe had been reached by missionaries. Given the turmoil and upheaval, it stands to reason that he might have thought, as many do today in times of natural disasters and social turmoil, that the end of the world must be near. The Gospels said that the end would not come until the Good News was preached to the ends of the Earth, however. So, perhaps with that in mind, and certainly with a fondness for the blond, blue-eyed people (the Angles) he had seen in Rome, he sent Anselm of Canterbury to preach the Good News in England.

The end of the world didn’t come in St. Gregory’s time. However, the works he did influenced the Christian community of his time and continue to play a role in even our beliefs and style of worship today.

St. Monica, mother of St. Augustine, was born in North Africa in 333 AD. She was raised a Christian but her parents arranged her marriage to a non-Christian. It was not a happy marriage for many years, but eventually both her husband and her mother-in-law became Christians as well.

Monica had three children, two boys and a girl. The oldest, Augustine, is the best known. He tells the tale in his Confessions of his nearly 20 year journey to faith. Monica struggled with his lack of faith, his lifestyle that included a mistress and child, his time as a supporter of Manichaeism and his travels. At one point she even drove him away from home, but invited him back after receiving a vision that reassured her that he would eventually turn out all right.

Monica followed Augustine from North Africa to Rome and Milan. When eventually he became a Christian, she believed that her prayers had been answered and she died not long afterward.

The story of St. Monica is one I find intriguing. As a mother I can understand her desire to share her faith with her children. I know my children, like hers, must find their own way to faith, building on what we their family and community have shared with them as children, but somehow making it their own. I’m not sure the idea of pursuing them across oceans to keep trying to bring them to faith is a good idea, at least not today. When all was said and done, it was St. Ambrose who reached Augustine and led him to faith.

It seems to me that as 21st Century Christians, we can take part of her example - that of praying unceasingly for our children. Then it’s important to remember that we are part of a much larger community, and trust the Holy Spirit to send the right person or circumstances to help them grow to an adult faith of their own.

When one time someone asked my father-in-law what the most difficult age in raising children was, in his experience, he replied, “Thirty-eight!” At that point they are grown up and making their own decisions. His input was not always requested or welcomed, and he didn’t always understand the world in which they lived and worked.

I’ve always thought he had a point. Mine aren’t that old yet, so I can’t say whether I agree with his opinion about the age, but I know that being a parent doesn’t end at age 18 or even 21. We continue to care deeply about our children and the choices they make. We remember the mistakes we made. We dream of what they can be and the wonderful things they can do if they choose. But we can’t live their lives for them. We can’t make their decisions for them. All we can do is pray with great hope for them and “be there” when they come for support, advice and loving care.

Although St. Monica is not generally presented as patroness of parents in general, I think she should be. All parents can benefit from her example of unceasing prayer. And we can hope and pray that, as in the case of Augustine, other members of the community will reach out to our children and help them as well as they grow to adult faith and participation in the mission of spreading the Good News.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal was born in France in 1582, the daughter of the president of the Parliment of Burgundy. She married Baron de Chantal and had 6 children, three of whom died shortly after birth. She became a widow at the age of 28 as the result of a shooting accident. She was heart-broken and vowed never to marry again. She lived with her children in the home of her father-in-law for seven years before she was allowed to visit her father in 1604.

On that visit, she met St. Francis de Sales and he became her spiritual director. By 1610, in collaboration with Francis de Sales, she founded the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, for widows and lay women who were not called to such strict forms of religious life as were common at the time. 

One description of the order states that its charism ”combines gentleness with a valiant spirit; initiative with communal support; dedication to prayer with presence in the world; a contemplative life with an apostolic dimension. The order’s motto is “Vive Jésus” (French for “Live Jesus”).”

Visitationist sisters work with widows and women in poor health. They also have some schools. Their life includes a strong contemplative element.

One of St. Jane Frances de Chantal’s teachings to her sisters is as follows:

Fidelity toward God consists in being perfectly resigned to his holy will, in enduring everything that his goodness allows in our lives, and in carrying out all our duties, especially that of prayer, with love and for love. In prayer we must converse very familiarly with our Lord, concerning our little needs, telling him what they are, and remaining submissive to anything he may wish to do with us…

We should go to prayer with deep humility and an awareness of our nothingness. We must invoke the help of the Holy Spirit and that of our good angel, and then remain still in God’s presence, full of faith that he is more in us than we are in ourselves.

There is no danger if our prayer is without words or reflection because the good success of prayer depends neither on words nor on study. It depends upon the simple raising of our minds to God, and the more simple and stripped of feeling it is, the surer it is.

We must never dwell on our sins during prayer. Regarding our offenses, a simple humbling of our soul before God, without a thought of this offense or that, is enough…such thoughts act as distractions.

Saint Jeanne de Chantal, from Wings to the Lord

The Assumption by Murillo

August 15th, the Feast of the Assumption, dates to the 6th and 7th centuries. The official proclamation of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII in Munificentisimus Deus as an article of faith for Catholics occurred recently, on November 1, 1950. Objections to this teaching cite the absence of support for it in Scripture and in the Fathers of the Church. These same arguments are also made against the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which states that Mary received the benefit of the redemption in advance from the moment of her conception. However, since the theological significance of Mary is intertwined with that of Christ, as mother and son, much of what we say about Mary (Mariology) derives from what we say about the identity and meaning of Christ (Christology).

For most Catholics, Orthodox, Coptics, and Anglicans, images and veneration of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, are part of the very fabric of their faith. This emotional and doctrinal emphasis on Miriam of Nazareth gives many in the Anabaptist and Calvinist traditions emotional and doctrinal heartburn. Some evangelicals are strident in their belief that Marian devotion - at best - detracts from the key act of salvation, which they formulate as “accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.”

The notion of salvation in the apostolic churches is centered on the church community. Christ’s death and resurrection has saved all and we enter into this paschal mystery embodied in the church. Our salvation is entering the faith community, the Body of Christ. From the earliest days, the Fathers of the Church identified Mary as the model of the Church. The following excerpt, taken from Wikipedia’s article on Roman Catholic Mariology, summarizes the position and importance of the Blessed Mother. Please note that the words in parentheses are my own.

Pope Benedict XVI addresses the issue, why Mariology is related to ecclesiology (the theology of the Church). On first sight, he argues, it may seem accidental, that the (Second Vatican) Council moved Mariology into ecclesiology. This relation helps to understand what “Church” really is. The theologian Hugo Rahner showed that Mariology was originally ecclesiology. The Church is like Mary.^[96]

The Church is virgin and mother, she is immaculate and carries the burdens of history. She suffers and she is assumed into heaven. Slowly she learns, that Mary is her mirror, that she is a person in Mary. Mary on the other hand is not an isolated individual, who rests in herself. She is carrying the mystery of the Church.^[97]

Pope Benedict XVI lamented that this unity of Church and Mary was overshadowed in later centuries, which overburdened Mary with privileges and removed her into a far away distance. Both Mariology and ecclesiology suffered under this. A Marian view of the Church and an ecclesiological view of Mary in salvation history lead directly to Christ. It brings to light what is meant by holiness and by God being human.^[98]

It is interesting to note that Pope Benedict XVI laments the removal of Mary “overburdened … with privileges.” This is also the image of Mary lamented by the reformation. However, the close identification of Mary with the Church, in the sense that “Mary is carrying the mystery of the Church,” represents a notion of church that many of the reformers rejected. Consequently, they rejected the image and role of Mary, and with it, the redemptive grace and power of the feminine.

St. Maximilian Kolbe, a Conventual Franciscan, is widely known as the saint of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz, where he voluntered to take the place of a young husband and father who was one of ten innocent men condemned to death by starvation as a reprisal. As courageous as this was, he is also considered a martyr because of the abuse and torture he endured when he affirmed his faith in Christ.

Born Rajmund Kolbe (1894 - 1941), to a working class family in what is now Poland, he took the name of Maximilian when he entered the Conventual Franciscans. He had doctorates in philosophy and theology and founded a thriving monastery at Niepokalanow near Warsaw. St. Maximilian Kolbe was also a missionary to Japan and is remembered for his respect for Japanese culture and tradition as he created a thriving center near Nagasaki.

He lived a life of true Franciscan poverty, often living in very difficult circumstances, but always depending on God for the resources he needed for his apostolate. St. Maximilian Kolbe used publishing and radio to promote the Gospel and to defend the Church. He landed in Japan with a couple of companions and no money. They began their work sleeping on the ground in an improvised hut. Within a month he had a press and was publishing a weekly newspaper. He ventured into India where he wanted to create another foundation, but his superiors recalled him to Poland because of his ill health.

In 1939 the Nazis invaded Poland. St. Maximilian Kolbe and his fellow Franciscans sheltered 3,000 refugees at Niepokalanow including 2,000 Jews. On February 17, 1941 he was arrested by the Gestapo after publishing a defense of truth in the face of Nazi propaganda. In May he was transferred to Auschwitz, where he continued his ministry despite inhuman conditions and beatings. It was in late July that a prisoner from his cell block disappeared and he volunteered to take the place of one of the ten men selected to be executed as a reprisal for the missing prisoner. After three weeks of hunger and thirst, during which he encouraged the other men and led them in prayer, he was murdered by a lethal injection on August 14.

St. Maximilian Kolbe had a powerful effect on a young Polish man, Carol Wotyla, who as Pope John Paul II would declare him a saint.

St. Maximilian Kolbe has also inspired Operation Kolbe, a group in Colombia, to offer themselves in exchange for those who have been kidnapped by rebels. They can be reached at: operacionkolbe@hotmail.com.