Homily of St. Augustine: Explanation of Propositions from the Epistle to the Romans: Ch. 72

 

Homily of St. Augustine: Explanation of Propositions from the Epistle to the Romans: Ch. 72

 

Every soul must be submissive to its lawful superiors; authority comes from God only, and all authorities that hold sway are of his ordinance.  In speaking in this way the Apostle gives us a very necessary warning: if the Lord has called us to liberty and has made us Christians, no one should take occasion to be lifted up in pride, to think that in the course of his earthly journey he is not bound to fulfil the duties of his state, or to believe that he is dispensed from obeying the authorities placed over him, and who have been given the government of temporal affairs in this life.

 

We are made up of body and soul, and during our life on earth, temporal goods are necessary to maintain life; hence we should, in what relates to this present life, submit to authorities, that is to say, to the men raised to the government of human affairs. On the contrary, when faith is concerned, or vocation to the kingdom of God, it is a duty to refuse submission to anyone who wishes to destroy in us what God has given in view of eternal life. If then a Christian believes that he can empower himself, by virtue of his Christianity, not to pay taxes or tribute, or to give to the authorities here below the honors due to them, he is greatly deceived. But it is a much greater error, if a Christian believes that it is his duty to push his submission so far as to submit his faith to the men loaded with honors, who govern this world. On this point the just mean taught by our Lord himself must be observed: Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.

 

It is true that we are called to a kingdom where no temporal power can be exercised; but as long as we live, until the hour when we shall arrive at the world from which will be excluded all the pre-eminences and dignities of earth, we must put up with our condition as men with all it demands, without ever dissimulating, and thus not so much obeying man as obeying God, who has commanded this submission.

St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on the Psalms: 23

 

St. Thomas Aquinas: Commentary on the Psalms: 23

 

On the first day of the sabbath

 

This psalm On the first day of the sabbath commemorates those things which pertain to the first day of the week, that is to say, the Lord's day.

 

Now, three things were done on this day, namely the creation of the world, the production of light, and the resurrection of Christ, as (the latter) is related in the Gospel of Matthew 28. Consequently, the Psalmist treats of these things, namely of the power of the Creator, and the glory of he who rises from the grave.

 

Consequently, this psalm is divided into three parts. In the first, he sets down the whole of His dominion. In the second, he sets down or shows the way in which men come near to God, at, Who shall ascend. In the third, he proclaims the future worship of God.

 

Concerning the first part, he does two things. First, he shows that God's dominion is universal, and second, sets down a sign or cause, at, For he hath founded it upon the seas.

 

Or (this psalm could be considered) in the following fashion: (the Psalmist) treats of three things in this psalm (namely) of creation, illumination, at, Who shall ascend, and the resurrection, or of the glorification of the one who rises from the grave.

 

Concerning the first (of these), he does two things. First, he sets down the Creator's power, and second, supplies a reason, at, For he hath founded it upon the seas.

 

With respect to the first, there were some who (argued that) divine providence does not extend to corruptible things, but only to the heavens.  The Psalm (however) states (that) "You assume this falsely" because The earth is the Lord's, namely, the element itself over which He has power.

 

Or (it could be said that) The earth (refers to) the church, which is good earth that yields much fruit.

 

In the second way, the world is said to be of God, namely (as) our earthly dwelling place. And all they that dwell therein, namely all its inhabitants; Psalm 9: "He shall judge the world in equity, and the people in justice"; Isaiah 45: "Not in vain have I created it", namely the earth, "I formed it to be inhabited."

 

But some say that God's providence does not (extend to) earthly things.

 

Contrary to this (position is the fact that) the disposition of the waters to the earth is a sign of great providence, because light elements ought to be above (those which are) heavier. In a like manner, therefore, just as air surrounds water, so too ought water to surround earth. The philosophers assign many causes to this phenomenon. But the (true) cause is divine providence so that there be a habitation for man and the animals. Hence when Moses, at the beginning (of Scriptures, in "Genesis") sets down the creation of things, he described the earth first as formless. Hence, "The earth was void", that is formless, "and empty" of trees. In this way he describes it (the earth as) surrounded or covered by water, "And darkness", that is water, "was upon the face of the deep", that is upon the earth, "And the spirit of the Lord", that is air, moved over the waters.

 

Who shall ascend? as if to say,

 

The innocent he first shows in general, and second in particular, at, This is the generation. Concerning the former, he does two things. First, he sets forth their merit, and second, their reward, at, He shall receive.

 

With respect to merit, there is (that) one which pertains to the innocence of deed. Hence he says, The innocent in hands; Job 22: "The innocent shall be saved, and he shall be saved by the cleanness of his hands"; Psalm 25: "I have walked in my innocence." And then there is another (kind of merit) which pertains to the purity of heart. With respect to this, he states the a clear heart is kept from interior desires. Hence, he says And clean of heart: Matthew 5: "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God."

 

Again, from all desire of temporal things, Who hath not taken his soul in vain, that is, who has not poured his soul out upon vain things, or does not vainly boast concerning (his) powers (or abilities), or does not allow his sensuality to arrive at (the point of) the consent to sin.

 

Jerome has, "Who do not exalt in vain (things)," because from the cleanness of (their) heart, they take pride in some people; Psalm 130: "Lord, my heart is not exalted."

 

He shall receive. Here he describes the reward, which consists in two things, namely in the acquiring of good things - He shall receive a blessing, that is, good things from God; Proverbs 10: "The blessing of the Lord upon the head of the just"; 1 Peter 3: "Unto this are you called, that you may inherit a blessing." And second, in freedom from evil things. Hence he says, And mercy from God his savior, who he frees from misery.

 

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Saints Marcellinus and Peter

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

June 2: Saints Marcellinus and Peter, Martyrs—Optional Memorial

Quote:
Here lie the bodies of Saints Marcellinus the priest and Peter the exorcist, who by a marvelous inspiration, with the help of the Lord, have brought many unbelievers to the knowledge of the true faith, have taught them the commandments of the law, and at last, by the command of the impious tyrant, have deserved to be crowned with the palm of martyrdom. ~Epitaph written by Pope Saint Damasus I

Reflection: On February 23, 303, Roman Emperor Diocletian issued an edict that initiated a fierce persecution of Christians. The edict mandated the destruction of Christian churches and scriptures, revoked all legal rights of Christians, and called for the confiscation of their property. In 304, Diocletian ordered the arrest of clergy, forcing them to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods or face imprisonment, torture, and death. These abuses continued under Diocletian and his co-emperors until 311 when Galerius issued an edict of toleration toward Christians. The exact number of Christians who suffered martyrdom during this period is unknown, but it might have been in the thousands. Today’s saints were among the first Christians to receive the crown of martyrdom during that period.

There is very little information available about Marcellinus and Peter. It is believed that both were Roman clergy, with Marcellinus being a priest and Peter an exorcist. Both are included in the Roman Canon of the Mass, alongside other early martyrs and saints.

The little we know about these martyrs comes to us from Saint Damasus I, who served as pope from 366–384. As a child, Damasus heard the story of the martyrdom of Saints Marcellinus and Peter from the mouth of one of the executioners who later became a Christian. After their arrest, Marcellinus and Peter were likely given a sham trial, found guilty, and then offered the chance to gain their freedom by burning incense to the Roman gods. They refused. While in prison, the two men preached the Gospel to other prisoners and jailers. To put an end to their evangelization, orders were given to take them to a secret location in a nearby forest, where they were ordered to dig their graves. They did so joyfully, and were then beheaded and buried in that secret location to prevent other Christians from venerating their tombs.

After Marcellinus’ and Peter’s deaths, their stories became well known. Some time later, through divine providence, two holy women named Lucilla and Firmina were directed to the burial site. They took the saints’ bodies and buried them in what is today called the Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter. These catacombs hold thousands of graves, primarily of Christians, and once also served as a secret place of Christian worship.

In 313, Emperor Constantine the Great issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity and calling for benevolent treatment of Christians. As part of his efforts to help Christianity grow, Constantine sent his mother, Saint Helena, on a journey to the Holy Land to bring back relics of Christ’s Passion. Constantine also built many churches in various holy places. One of those churches is the Basilica of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, built over their catacombs. When Saint Helena died, Constantine built a mausoleum for her next to the basilica, which became her resting place for centuries. As a result, devotion to Saints Marcillinus and Peter became widespread.

At the start of the ninth century, a German monk named Eginhard, who had previously been a secretary to Emperor Charlemagne, requested relics of martyrs from Pope Gregory IV. In response, Pope Gregory sent the relics of Saints Marcellinus and Peter, and a monastery was constructed in their honor in Seligenstadt. After they were buried there, many miracles were said to have taken place.

Although we know little about the details of their lives, the veneration of these early saints has been widespread, and their names continue to be invoked today every time the Roman Canon is used in the Mass. What is certain is that the courage of these saints in the face of death has inspired countless Christians for many centuries. As Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). In many ways, everyone who has been inspired by the martyrdom of Saints Marcellinus and Peter can be considered their friends. Though they died long ago, the “friendship” of their witness endures.

As we honor these martyrs, ponder your own call to lay down your life selflessly for others. Dying to yourself—living sacrificially and selflessly—is no easy task. But when the grace of God is alive in your life, you will discover that you are given the courage you need to be a witness to Christ. Pray for the same courage that Marcellinus and Peter had, so that your sacrificial love will make you friends to others who need your witness.

Prayer: Saints Marcellinus and Peter, you bravely laid down your lives for the sake of the Gospel and, in doing so, spiritually befriended all those who would be inspired by your witness. Please pray for me, that I too may have the courage to bear witness to Christ by living selflessly and sacrificially for others, so that God’s grace and mercy may be poured out on them through my witness. Saints Marcellinus and Peter, pray for me. 

Margaret Clitherow

 

25Mar

Margaret Clitherow

Feast Day: March 25
Venerated: December 8, 1929
Beatified: December 15, 1929
Canonized: October 25, 1970

Margaret was born in 1555 in England. She was raised as a Protestant, a member of the Church of England, but after her marriage to John Clitherow, she made the decision to become Catholic. It was a brave decision, because Margaret lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, who wanted to rid England of all Catholics and the practice of the Catholic faith.

Margaret’s husband did not become Catholic, but he supported her decision. John even paid the fines Margaret was charged for not attending Protestant services in their local church. Margaret had two hiding places built in their home. One was a small room, large enough for several priests to hide from the authorities looking to arrest any members of the clergy. The other secret place in Margaret’s house was a small cupboard. In it she kept the sacred vessels, including a chalice and paten and vestments—anything a priest would need to celebrate the Eucharist.

Catholics came secretly to Margaret’s house for celebrations of the Mass and for the reception of the other Sacraments. We believe that Margaret and John’s three children were baptized there as infants. The home was searched often because the authorities suspected that Margaret was breaking the laws against Catholics.

Margaret made plans to send her oldest son to France so that he could receive a Catholic education. This, too, was a crime. Someone reported Margaret, and she was arrested in 1586 for harboring priests. She refused to admit that she had broken any laws. Margaret was found guilty and sentenced to death at the age of 30.

Margaret’s great faith was an inspiration to all three of her children. Her daughter, Anne, became a nun, and her two sons, Henry and William, both became priests.

In 1970 Pope Paul VI canonized St. Margaret as a saint for her courage and faith. She is sometimes referred to as the “Pearl of York.”

We can show our respect for her by thanking God that we are free to live openly as Catholics. We can also pray for anyone who is persecuted for their belief in Jesus and the Church.

Blessed Margaret Pole

 

Blessed Margaret Pole

Margaret was born into the ruling dynasty in 1473, at Farleigh Hungerford, in Somerset. Her father, the Duke of Clarence, was brother to both Edward IV and Richard III. This meant that all her life she was seen as a threat to the ruling monarchs, as she had a legitimate claim to the throne and was therefore a potential figurehead in any revolt against the crown. Indeed as soon as the Tudors came to power they imprisoned Margaret's brother, the Earl of Warwick, and eventually executed him. The Tudors sought to defuse her potential threat by keeping her close to them, marrying her to Sir Richard Pole, who was related to Henry VII, and keeping her close at court. Margaret became lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon, beginning a lifelong friendship, and she became governess to Princess Mary, the daughter of Henry VIII and Catherine. At first Henry favoured Margaret, restoring to her lost family lands and titles, but this came to an end at the time of his divorce from Catherine. Her loyalty to Catherine, and to Mary, as well as to her Catholic faith, brought her into conflict with the King at the time of his divorce and remarriage to Anne Boleyn. If her own opposition to Henry’s behaviour, and her position as a possible contender for the throne when the Tudor dynasty was looking shaky were not enough, her son Reginald Pole was needling the King from overseas and encouraging opposition to him. This made Margaret’s position very dangerous indeed. Although the King described her as ‘the holiest woman in England’ she was arrested on the grounds of treason, and imprisoned for some time at Cowdray in 1538-9, although she never faced trial and there was no credible evidence against her. In spite of this she was executed in 1541, at the age of 70. Reportedly the inexperienced executioner took ten blows to sever her head.

When her son Reginald Pole, now a cardinal, heard of his mother's death, he is reported to have said: "Hitherto I have thought myself indebted to the divine goodness for having received my birth from one of the most noble and virtuous women in England; but from henceforth my obligation will be much greater, for I understand that I am now the son of a martyr. May God be thanked and praised. We must rejoice, because now we have one more patron to intercede for us in Heaven." 

Margaret Pole was beatified with other martyrs of penal times in 1886.

In many ways Margaret’s world and life are very far from ours. But there is something about her that speaks to us still. She was a married woman, trying to be a faithful and supportive wife and mother. She was caught up in circumstances beyond her control, but she refused to go with the flow, refused to sell out for a quiet life. When so many people were turning their backs on the truth to gain the King’s favour, she refused to do so. Even in her old age, when she might have been tempted to succumb to ‘anything for a quiet life’ she declined to do so. When we are tempted not to speak the truth, to allow our silence to imply we agree with what people around us are saying, not to rock the boat, to go along with the culture of the day, however misguided and self-serving it may be, we should remember the quiet dignity of this elderly woman and call on her help:

Blessed Margaret Pole, Pray for us!

Hildebert of Lavardin

 

Hildebert of Lavardin ( * 1056 - † 1133 )

 

Archbishop of Tours

 

Hildebertus Cenomannensis, Hildebertus de Lavertino, Hildebert of Lavardin. Hildebert, one of the most distinguished Latin poets of the entire Middle Ages, saw the light of the world at the castle of Lavardin near Montoire-sur-Loire. His father, also called Hildebert, was the servant of Solomon of Lavardin, and his mother bore the name of Beresindis. Hildebert was made a student of Berengar of Tours, to whom he composed an epitaph; Unfortunately nothing is reported to us about Hildebert's literary career. He appears first (after 1085) as a scholar of the cathedral school of Le Mans; In 1091, he was promoted to Archidiakonus by Bishop Hoël, and after his death (July 1096), he was elected by the bishops of Le Mans in an ambivalent election. The lord of Le Mans, Élie de la Flèche, agreed, the feudal lord, William the Red of England, rejected them; It was not until Christmas that the consecration could take place. When, three years later, the king came to Le Mans after the second feud against Élie de la Flèche, he led Hildebert to England in a kind of captivity, because the bishop refused to settle the towers of his cathedral The king claimed that his troops had been shot. The death of William (August 2, 1100) gave Hildebert freedom. He used it for a trip to Rome, asked for his removal from Paschal II, but returned home with rich resources for the expansion of his cathedral (Pentecost, 1101).

 

Kupferstich des 18. Jh.

 

A fictitious representation of the frontispiece of issue 1708

In 1112 Hildebert was imprisoned in Nogent-le-Rotrou by Hubert, Truchess of Count Rotrou du Perche, and held in custody until March 1113. In 1116, in Le Mans, just as Hildebert took his second trip to Rome, Henry of Lausanne, asked for permission to preach in the diocese, and took the opportunity to stir it up against the absent bishop. When Hildebert returned for Pentecost, the fanatical sectarian escaped from the city to Saint-Calais and soon from the Sprengel, but the prelate had long to do until the waves which had excited him had softened.

 

On 25 April 1120, Hildebert experienced the pleasure of conjoining the essentially completed cathedral; In 1123 he traveled a third time to Rome to Calixt II, and in all likelihood lived according to the Laterankonzile of this year. Certainly his presence at the Council of Chartres in 1124. After the death of Gislebert of Tours, he was unanimously elected successor by the clergy and the people of the Archbishopric. For a long time he hesitated whether he should accept the election; An order of the pope and the recognition of the King of France put an end to his wavering. Even these last years of Hildebert were not without disturbances; They brought him into conflict with the king, who claimed the right to forgive the dignities of the parish; With the bishop of Dol, who raised claims on the Metropolitan dignity over the Breteno dioceses. In the Roman schism of 1130, Hildebert assumed a position to be awaited; In February he consecrated a chapel of the convent of Redon; On the eighteenth of December, he went to Tours, seventy-seven years old. See Hildebert's life Dieudonné, Hildebert de Lavardin, évèque du Mans, archévèque de Tours (1056 to 1133). Sa vie, ses lettres. Paris 1898.

 

From Hildebert's poetic works, we have only one complete (unfortunately, complete) edition, which was published by Beaugendre (1708), which was re-edited by Bourassé in 1854 (Migne EP, p. 171); Both editors have given Hildebert things which the author has never written without justification and proof, and often without the attempt of such a man. This led Hauréau to his exemplary investigations: Les Mélanges Poëtiques d'Hildebert de Lavardin, Paris, 1882. Only a few disappearing under Hildebert's lyric poems can be counted among the hymns (in a broad sense). This little is found in Anal. Hymn L, 408-422. If we have little in Hymns from Hildebert, then only a few whole books of hymns and poems will weigh up this. If he had only had the Oratio ad ss. Trinitatem, a poem with its theological depth in the first part and the depth of feeling in the last sections would suffice to count him forever to the best hymnos of all tongues. A German translation can be found in my book: The Church of the Latins in their Songs, Kempten, 1908, p. 86.

 

(Guido Maria Dreves, Clemens Blume, A Thousand Thousand Latin Hymn-poetry, Part One,

ST PETER DAMIAN’S THEOLOGY OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE: Gordon Mursell, Former Anglican Bishop of Stratford

 

TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE-DOWN: ST PETER DAMIAN’S THEOLOGY OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE: Gordon Mursell, Former Anglican Bishop of Stratford

 

 

 

There is a paradox at the heart of Peter Damian’s theology of the spiritual life, which is nowhere clearer than in his view of the world, and of the nature of human beings. On the one hand, he makes it clear that our existence in this world is transitory in the perspective of eternity: “if we were to compare the immense space of time in which God existed before the world was, and that in which he will continue to exist after its end, with the tiny amount of time from the beginning of the world to its end, it would be less than if you were to throw a handful of water into the sea.”  And he accepts St Paul’s sober view of human fallenness: all human beings have sinned, and Christ died for all. As a monk he persistently refers to himself as “Peter the monk and sinner (Petrus peccator monachus)”, even after being made bishop.  Yet, on the other hand, precisely in making this latter point he insists on the universal scope of Christ’s redeeming work: “the blood of Christ is the redemption of all the world (sanguis Christi redemptio totius est mundi).”  Note his wording: Christ died for all the world, not just for the Church, or even for all humanity. And here is one aspect of the paradox: this transitory world, a world from which Damian counsels his audience to flee to the spiritual safety of the monastery (or, better still, the hermitage), is precisely the world for which Christ gave his life. This paradox is not new: it informs the understanding of “the world” to be found in the Johannine writings in the New Testament: in them we find that, whilst Christ prays to the Father to deliver his disciples from the world and warns those disciples of the hostility the world will direct at them,  he also declares that “God so loved the world (not “the people of God”, or even “all humanity”) that he gave his only Son…God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him”; and Christ goes on to pray that his disciples may reproduce in their common life the mutual indwelling and love of the Father and the Son, “so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”

 

The world, then, in the sense of the created order, is (for Peter Damian as for the evangelist John) both transitory and hostile - and yet Christ died for it, not just for a small number of the elect or even just for all humanity.  And the paradox is further heightened by Damian’s understanding of the human person: each fragile, sinful individual is at the same time a microcosm of “the world”, in that each person contains the four fundamental elements believed to be constitutive of the created order – and he takes that classical Greek view of the human person further in maintaining that each Christian is a “little church” (quasi quaedam minor ecclesia), since each is capable of receiving all the sacraments by which Christ’s redemptive work becomes efficacious in individual human lives.  Elsewhere he writes of the human person as “a lesser world (minori mundo)”, reproducing within his or her interior life the conflict that Damian believes to exist at the heart of the created order.