Saint Charles of Sezze’s Story (October 19, 1613 – January 6, 1670)
Charles thought that God was calling him to be a missionary in India, but he never got there. God had something better for this 17th-century successor to Brother Juniper.
Born in Sezze, southeast of Rome, Charles was inspired by the lives of Salvator Horta and Paschal Baylon to become a Franciscan; he did that in 1635. Charles tells us in his autobiography, “Our Lord put in my heart a determination to become a lay brother with a great desire to be poor and to beg alms for his love.”
Charles served as cook, porter, sacristan, gardener and beggar at various friaries in Italy. In some ways, he was “an accident waiting to happen.” He once started a huge fire in the kitchen when the oil in which he was frying onions burst into flames.
One story shows how thoroughly Charles adopted the spirit of Saint Francis. The superior ordered Charles—then porter—to give food only to traveling friars who came to the door. Charles obeyed this direction; simultaneously the alms to the friars decreased. Charles convinced the superior the two facts were related. When the friars resumed giving goods to all who asked at the door, alms to the friars increased also.
At the direction of his confessor, Charles wrote his autobiography, The Grandeurs of the Mercies of God. He also wrote several other spiritual books. He made good use of his various spiritual directors throughout the years; they helped him discern which of Charles’ ideas or ambitions were from God. Charles himself was sought out for spiritual advice. The dying Pope Clement IX called Charles to his bedside for a blessing.
Charles had a firm sense of God’s providence. Father Severino Gori has said, “By word and example he recalled in all the need of pursuing only that which is eternal” (Leonard Perotti, St. Charles of Sezze: An Autobiography, page 215).
He died at San Francesco a Ripa in Rome and was buried there. Pope John XXIII canonized him in 1959.
Reflection
The drama in the lives of the saints is mostly interior. Charles’ life was spectacular only in his cooperation with God’s grace. He was captivated by God’s majesty and great mercy to all of us.
16 So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. 17 When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, 18 and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds said to them. 19 As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as they had been told. 21 When the eighth day came and the child was to be circumcised, they gave him the name Jesus, the name the angel had given him before his conception.
In a few moments we will recite the Nicene Creed which is one of the statements of belief in the Church. We have many creeds including the Apostles Creed and the Athanasian Creed. The Nicene Creed was formulated by the Council Fathers, the Bishops, under the leadership of the Pope at the Council of Nicea in the fourth century. The Nicene Creed was a response to heresy by a priest named Arius who challenged our beliefs. Arius thought he was brighter than the average bear and that he had knowledge that nobody else had. So, he, in his exalted wisdom, sought to redefine who Christ is. He denied the true nature of Christ. This caused a bloody revolt within the empire. The Church went through great strife., and there was martyrdom all over the world. It was terrible. But that is what evil does. So, the bishops of the Church gathered in council along with the Holy Father and made a declaration about who Christ is and where He came from.
Remember, Christ is a person. He is a “Who.” He is not an “it” or a “what.” And that is affirmed in the Nicene Creed. In philosophy, you learn that a person is a “Who.” Inside that “who” is a “what” which is their nature. We have a human nature…some of us just barely. Animals have an animal nature. Christ is a “Who” with two “what’s”. He has a divine nature which is Himself, and He had the human nature He took from the Blessed Mother. If you watch closely during the Mass, you see that I put one drop of water into the chalice of wine. The amount of wine and water in the chalice cannot be equal parts. The drop of water is not to cut the effect of the wine. It is to symbolize the human nature assumed and lost within the divinity. And unless I put that drop of water into the chalice of wine, the Mass is invalid because no Precious Blood has been consecrated. The mixture of wine and water in the chalice must be very precise because it is expressing the theological and ontological real meaning of who Christ is.
The Blessed Mother is fittingly called the mother of God so that each year God is made visible. Why is she called the mother of God? Because that is what scripture said. The Council Fathers declared that Mary, the Blessed Mother, was the mother of God. To some, this was a novel idea, but it really wasn’t because members of the Council knew scripture. And scripture said that Mary was the mother of God. Mary had just conceived when she went to visit Elizabeth, her kinswoman. And when Elizabeth said, “Who am I that the mother of our Lord should come unto me,” she was saying that Mary is the mother of God. Remember, when you read scripture, you have to read it as a First Century Jew coming from a Jewish culture. “Oh, I studied under so-and-so.” Do you know how to study the Old Testament? Study it under a rabbi. I did. Then you discover what things really mean. “Oh, that’s what that means.” Bingo! You have to consider the culture.
First Century Jews would never use our word for “God.” Even now, the Orthodox leave letters out and use hyphens. They don’t use the word “God.” When Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby, John, leapt in her womb. Again, you have to read scripture in the original language. John didn’t “leap in the womb.” The original word was “danced.” It’s the same word that David used to describe what King David did before the Arc of the Covenant as the Arc was coming into Jerusalem. John the Baptist danced before the Arc of the New Covenant. Mary is referred to as the mother of our Lord throughout scripture. Mariology is a subset of Christology because if you study Christ, you have to study Mary. This is why, as Catholics, we have a great devotion to our Lady. “Oh, but we don’t want to neglect Christ.” I’m the wrong ethnicity, I’m French Canadian, but there’s a great Italian phrase that I love to repeat, “Hey Father, you take care of my mother, I remember your name.”
In praising the mother of God, aren’t you also praising Him who is the source and author of all virtue? However, it was not enough for Mary to be the mother of Christ. She also had a secondary vocation. Read the scriptures. When some people read them, they become like jailhouse lawyers …they read stuff and say, “Oh yeah! It says this.” Well, not quite. Mary is also our mother. At the wedding in Cana at Galilee, she said, “Son, they have no more wine.” Any man knows that when a woman says that it’s an implied task and you better get to work and fix it. She stated the problem and now it’s your problem. Fix it. Yes, Mom. Yes, Dear. What did Christ say? The English translation is not a good one. He didn’t call her “mother.” He said, “Woman what are thee to me?” This sounds very harsh. Say that to your mother and let me know how it works for you. Not well I bet. Even saying that to Bea Morton would result in a less than optimal outcome. There would be a lot of tears and crying on your part. But that was the beginning of Mary’s second vocation as our Lord began His ministry which was fulfilled three years later at the foot of the Cross. “Son, behold your mother. Woman, behold your son.” He said “woman” and not “mother.” She was to be the spiritual mother of all men. Christ works through her. Christ works through her to become present in this world. He works through her to open the gates of Heaven and help us with our salvation. Remember the words of Saint Bernard:
Remember, Oh gracious Sweet Virgin Mary, never has it been heard that you left unaided anyone who ran to you for protection, implored your help or sought for your intercessions. With this inspired confidence I fly to you my mother, Oh Sweet virgin of virgins, I come to you and before you I stand sinful and sorrowful. Oh Mother of The Word Incarnate, do not despise my petitions but listen, hear and answer them with your utmost love. Amen
Now is that a great prayer? Darn right. I say it every morning. Does it always work? Um, yes. However, I’m not a monsignor. The forecast looks really bleak on that front. But my prayers are never denied. I always receive strength, consolation, and affirmation. It always comes because Mom knows best. We use that phrase in our physical life how much more so is it true in our spiritual life? We know the mother of God. As Teresa Cuthrone might say, “Hey, I know a girl.”
When we pray the Rosary, we pray scripture. There is nothing contrary or adverse to Christ in that. Otherwise, she would have dropped out of scripture like Joseph. She is our mother too and wants to take care of us. She wants us to be with her Son. So always ask for help. Nobody has been sent to hell for asking for intercession.
Father’s Reflections… I had an appointment with my cardiologist on Wednesday. He said I was fine. Okay. But because I’m a cautious man, I kept the receipt.
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
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Saint John Neumann’s Story (March 28, 1811 – January 5, 1860)
Perhaps because the United States got a later start in the history of the world, it has relatively few canonized saints, but their number is increasing.
John Neumann was born in what is now the Czech Republic. After studying in Prague, he came to New York at 25 and was ordained a priest. He did missionary work in New York until he was 29, when he joined the Redemptorists and became its first member to profess vows in the United States. He continued missionary work in Maryland, Virginia and Ohio, where he became popular with the Germans.
At 41, as bishop of Philadelphia, he organized the parochial school system into a diocesan one, increasing the number of pupils almost twentyfold within a short time.
Gifted with outstanding organizing ability, he drew into the city many teaching communities of sisters and the Christian Brothers. During his brief assignment as vice provincial for the Redemptorists, he placed them in the forefront of the parochial movement.
Well-known for his holiness and learning, spiritual writing and preaching, on October 13, 1963, John Neumann became the first American bishop to be beatified. Canonized in 1977, he is buried in St. Peter the Apostle Church in Philadelphia.
Reflection
Neumann took seriously our Lord’s words, “Go and teach all nations.” From Christ he received his instructions and the power to carry them out. For Christ does not give a mission without supplying the means to accomplish it. The Father’s gift in Christ to John Neumann was his exceptional organizing ability, which he used to spread the Good News. Today the Church is in dire need of men and women to continue in our times the teaching of the Good News. The obstacles and inconveniences are real and costly. Yet when Christians approach Christ, he supplies the necessary talents to answer today’s needs. The Spirit of Christ continues his work through the instrumentality of generous Christians.
Mother Seton is one of the keystones of the American Catholic Church. She founded the first American religious community for women, the Sisters of Charity. She opened the first American parish school and established the first American Catholic orphanage. All this she did in the span of 46 years while raising her five children.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is a true daughter of the American Revolution, born August 28, 1774, just two years before the Declaration of Independence. By birth and marriage, she was linked to the first families of New York and enjoyed the fruits of high society. Reared a staunch Episcopalian, she learned the value of prayer, Scripture and a nightly examination of conscience. Her father, Dr. Richard Bayley, did not have much use for churches but was a great humanitarian, teaching his daughter to love and serve others.
The early deaths of her mother in 1777 and her baby sister in 1778 gave Elizabeth a feel for eternity and the temporariness of the pilgrim life on earth. Far from being brooding and sullen, she faced each new “holocaust,” as she put it, with hopeful cheerfulness.
At 19, Elizabeth was the belle of New York and married a handsome, wealthy businessman, William Magee Seton. They had five children before his business failed and he died of tuberculosis. At 30, Elizabeth was widowed and penniless, with five small children to support.
While in Italy with her dying husband, Elizabeth witnessed Catholicity in action through family friends. Three basic points led her to become a Catholic: belief in the Real Presence, devotion to the Blessed Mother and conviction that the Catholic Church led back to the apostles and to Christ. Many of her family and friends rejected her when she became a Catholic in March 1805.
To support her children, she opened a school in Baltimore. From the beginning, her group followed the lines of a religious community, which was officially founded in 1809.
The thousand or more letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her spiritual life from ordinary goodness to heroic sanctity. She suffered great trials of sickness, misunderstanding, the death of loved ones (her husband and two young daughters) and the heartache of a wayward son. She died January 4, 1821, and became the first American-born citizen to be beatified (1963) and then canonized (1975). She is buried in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Reflection
Elizabeth Ann Seton had no extraordinary gifts. She was not a mystic or stigmatic. She did not prophesy or speak in tongues. She had two great devotions: abandonment to the will of God and an ardent love for the Blessed Sacrament. She wrote to a friend, Julia Scott, that she would prefer to exchange the world for a “cave or a desert.” “But God has given me a great deal to do, and I have always and hope always to prefer his will to every wish of my own.” Her brand of sanctity is open to everyone if we love God and do his will.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is a Patron Saint of:
Catholic Schools Educators/Teachers Loss of Parents Widows
What can we know about God? The Catechism tells us three important things: 1) We can know God with our human reason, but 2) that knowledge will always be limited, and 3) we rely on God to reveal himself to us. Fr. Mike warns us that learning who God is requires self-surrender and abnegation, for the human heart struggles to recognize the infinite gap between Creator and created. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 36-43.
The Catechism begins to explore what it means “to believe” by examining our innate desire for God and all the ways we can come to know him. Fr. Mike grounds us in a refrain he promises to repeat throughout the year—God loves you. Not in an abstract way, but in a concrete, unique way. God knows you, and he wants you to know him. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 26-35.
The Karate Kid didn’t know waxing a car would teach him karate, but Miyagi knew. In a similar way the Church, in her wisdom, teaches us certain motions—kneeling at Mass, making the sign of the Cross, etcetera—so we may learn the deeper virtues that will lead us to holiness. In this video, Fr. Mike encourages us to keep going through the motions, if that’s all it feels like we’re doing at Mass, because it’s in times of desolation that our faith grows the most.
