Christ's Miracles on the Sabbath Day
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Sermons
James Tissot, 1886–1896.
"There was a very special motive in our Blessed Lord's acting contrary to the Jewish law, in working cures on the Sabbath day. It was a rebuke to that spirit of keeping the letter of the law in such a hard and uncharitable way. Moreover, it was to show for all time the love and mercy that mankind could hope to receive on Sabbath days in the Church that He was to establish.
There are no less than seven occasions recorded in the gospel on which our Savior worked miracles on the Sabbath. The first occurred in the synagogue at Capharnaum. "There was a man, who had an unclean devil, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying, Let us alone, what have we to do with Thee, Jesus of Nazareth? Art Thou come to destroy us? I know Thee, Who Thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace and go out of him; and he went out of him and hurt him not at all" (Luke iv. 33). And immediately Jesus went from the synagogue to Simon's house. "And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever, and they besought Him for her. And standing over her, He commanded the fever and it left her. And immediately rising, she ministered to them" (ibid. 38). And at sunset-that is, when the Sabbath was over-all that had any sick brought them to Him and He healed them.
The third event is thus recorded. "And there was a man, whose right hand was withered. And the Scribes and Pharisees watched Him if He would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might find an accusation against Him. But He knew their thoughts; and said to the man who had the withered hand: Arise, and stand forth in the midst. And rising he stood forth. And Jesus said to them: I ask you, if it be lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy? And looking round about on them all, He said to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth, and his hand was restored. And they were filled with madness, and they talked one to another, what they might do to Jesus" (Luke vi. 6). This miracle is also recorded by St. Matthew (xii. 10) and St. Mark (iii. 1).
The fourth cure is thus related by St. Luke. "And He was teaching in their synagogue on the Sabbath. And behold there was a woman, who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bowed together, neither could she look upwards at all. Whom, when Jesus saw, He called her unto Him, and said to her: Woman, thou art delivered from thy infirmity. And He laid His hands upon her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. And the ruler of the synagogue being angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, answering said to the multitude, Six days there are wherein you ought to work; on them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath.
And the Lord answering him said: Ye hypocrites, doth not every one of you, on the Sabbath day, loose his ox or his ass from the manger and lead them to water? And ought not this daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day? And when He had said these things all His adversaries were ashamed; and all the people rejoiced for all the things that were gloriously done by Him" (Luke xiii. 11-18).
The very next chapter of St. Luke's is chosen for this day's gospel. You remember we are told that Jesus went into the house of a certain Pharisee; and they watched Him. What an invitation, full of guile and deceit ! And behold there was a certain man before Him, who had the dropsy." Jesus asked them in the words of the text, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? But they held their peace. But He, taking him, healed him and sent him away" (Luke xiv. 1). And then our Lord rebuked them.
The six and seventh miracles are recorded by St. John. The scene is at the pool of Bethsaida, "where lay a great multitude of sick, of blind, of lame, of withered, waiting for the moving of the water. And an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond, and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond, after the motion of the water, was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under. And there was a certain man there, who had been eight and thirty years under his infirmity. Him when Jesus had seen lying, and knew that he had been there a long time, He saith to him, Wilt thou be made whole ? The infirm man answered, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pond, and whilst I am coming, another goeth down before me. And Jesus said to him: Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. And it was the Sabbath that day. Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus (John v. 2).
The seventh and last miracle took place immediately after the Jews had taken up stones to cast at Jesus. "But Jesus hid himself, and went out of the Temple." And passing by He saw a man blind from his birth. Persecuted, His life sought after, yet the Sacred Heart was heedful of the miseries of others. You remember our Lord said to him, "Go wash in the pool of Siloe." He went, he washed, he came back seeing! Now it was the Sabbath when Jesus opened his eyes. The Pharisees cross-questioned the man; rebuked him and cast him out of the synagogue because he spoke in defense of Jesus. Our Lord meeting him afterwards, revealed Himself to him as the Son of God," and falling down he adored Him " (John ix. 1).
In all this manifold revelation of the tender love of Christ is there no lesson for ourselves? Yes, indeed: Sunday after Sunday are we not here present before Him? His merciful eyes are looking down upon our souls; ah! if we saw the state of our souls as He sees them, should we not recognize ourselves amongst those sad cases whom He cured on the Sabbath day? What He mercifully did then, He is willing and longing to do now during Holy Mass. Let us humbly own our infirmities, and beg of Him to make us whole, strong to re-enter His service, strong to persevere."
16th Sunday after Pentecost. Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year by Dom Francis Paulinus Hickey, O.S.B. 1922
How to Persevere
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Sermons
HOW TO PERSEVERE
"And in doing good, let us not fail.”—GAL. vi. 9.
1. How often have we failed! and why?
2. We must not remain failures.
3. We are weak, indeed, but strength is offered us.
4. The secret of perseverance-begin again and again.
How often has not this been our resolution-to be good and not to fail again! But what does our past life show us? Ah! the retrospect is one that may daunt the bravest heart. Our confessions make the revelation. How many, many times have we confessed in sorrow those things, in which we have failed, in spite of all our resolutions to be manful and persevere. The past has been a bitter and repeated disappointment to the best of us.
And why? Because, though we are poor, weak, erring creatures, we have placed too much reliance on ourselves. We thought that if we made up our minds, if we were determined, then we could start afresh and surely persevere. We forgot that we can do nothing, not even invoke the most holy name Jesus, without the grace of God; and for this grace we have humbly and continually to pray. We have failed, because, again, we became negligent in little things, not heeding the warning of Scripture, that he that despiseth little things shall fall by little and little. For instance, by shortening, omitting, or carelessly performing our devotions, we have paved the way for a failure.
Because, again, we have ventured too near a dangerous occasion of sin; dallied with a temptation; forgot the all-seeing eye of God, and to cry out, like Joseph tempted in Egypt, "How can I do this wicked thing, and sin against my God?" (Gen. xxxix. 9).
But however often we have failed in the past, it is imperative, absolutely necessary for us, for our soul's sake, not to remain failures. We must not dare to give up the attempt to try again. How can we, then, do better for the future, and begin, with some chance of success, to do good and not to fail? First, when we find we have failed, we must begin again at once. It is only wounded pride that makes us lose heart and despond. If we humble ourselves and turn to God, He, in His mercy, will make that very fall a means of a new beginning, and give us fresh strength. A good life is simply a continuous good beginning. God wishes us to be good, therefore He is ready and pleased to help us.
Rising up and beginning again at once after failing, and earnestly turning to God for help, are the means of doing good and not failing. Our Blessed Lord complained, "You will not come to Me that you may have life" (John v. 40). We choose to trust to ourselves, whereas our only hope is from Him. "Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in Him, and He will do it " (Ps. xxxvi. 5). He will give us life; and what is life in a man, but strength of will, of purpose, and courage to make the endeavour to fulfill that purpose? We need not say that we cannot. That excuse will not hold at the Judgment-that we could not help failing when all the time the grace to will and to do was offered us. The patient Saviour was waiting to be asked to give it us, and complaining that we would not come.
We starve our soul and let it perish of want, and wonder why we fail, and have not the power manfully to persevere. We look for our daily bread to sustain our bodily strength; and can we be excused for the folly of neglecting the daily bread of our souls? Prayer is nourishment for our souls, but a far greater and stronger nourishment is the most holy Eucharist. Our Lord has said, "He that eateth this bread shall live for ever." Ah! if we wish really to do good and not to fail, let us have devotion to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. We gain strength, we prove our love for our Blessed Lord, and we give Him glory by receiving Holy Communion. Here is the strength that is offered us to enable us to persevere in doing good. We must not fear that we are trespassing on His kindness, as we are not fit or worthy to receive Him. No, we are not worthy: but our Blessed Lord "went about doing good to all," yea, even to those who He knew would fail Him many a time, and perhaps turn against Him. Come to Communion, to frequent, yea, daily Communion, and thus prove that you wish for His sake to have the good heart and strength to do good and not to fail. You will thus please our divine Lord; and be sure He will not fail you, but gladly will He give you the grace and strength that you may not fail Him.
So we see that the secret of perseverance is to begin again and again. And where shall we find the dispositions to wish to begin each day earnestly and zealously better than at the altar-rails? He comes to us there, who inspires us with the desire to be faithful and generous, and He comes to give us the strength to fulfill that desire, that purpose, that longing. Look back gratefully at the countless times that our Saviour has thus helped us to start afresh. Oh! what could have made us tire of Him, and wish to leave Him and abandon Him? Of ourselves we might despair, but never of His goodness. Our time is growing short: let us begin again at once, and pray to persevere. No more to trust to ourselves our good will or our strength-but wholeheartedly to trust to that good Lord, who would have us, for love of Him, to do good and not to fail. Source: Short Sermons on the Epistles & Gospels of the Sundays of the Year By Francis Paulinus Hickey
Prayer for the Church and for France to Saint Giles
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Prayers
Mass of St. Giles, public domain
Most powerful Saint Giles, whose cult shines with new splendor in these days of anxiety and anguish, we come to implore your help, O you whom our fathers, in their gratitude, loved to proclaim one of the fourteen saints the most helpful in heaven: Come to our aid. As you can see, the waves are about to overwhelm Peter's boat, and like the apostles, we cry to heaven: "Save us, we are going to perish!" You who by your prayers calm the storms, calm the tempest that rumbles over the Church, you who have loved its leader so much, preserve for us our glorious Pontiff, deign to obtain for him calm and happy days, by the defeat of his enemies and the humble submission of all his children.
Saint Giles, who wanted to come to France to edify and sanctify it with your humility, your penance, your love for the Holy Church and all your admirable virtues, protect our country, victim of pride, indifference and of human respect. Obtain from the Lord, by your powerful prayers, that France no longer be afraid to pray to her God, to abjure error, to affirm her faith and to protect the Church, Amen.
Source: Vie et culte de Saint Gilles, Jules de Kerval 1875 (Prayer translated by CAPG)
Month of September
by VP
Posted on Sunday September 01, 2024 at 01:00AM in Tradition
Our Lady of Sorrows, Sacred Heart, Dunn NC
Devotion for the month of September: Our Lady of Sorrows
"Our Lady, Mother of Sorrows pray for Priests, your special sons. Strengthen their faith and love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, so that they may turn to Him for the grace they need to live a life faithful to their calling. Bring comfort, consolation and courage to those who are suffering under the weight of the Cross. Give them the love of your Son and zeal for the honor and glory of God, and the salvation of souls. Amen"
Virtue for the month of September: Prayer
"One of the acts of the virtue of religion. All intelligent creatures are bound to thing about God and to hold converse with Him; in other words, to pray to Him.
Prayer in this wide sense may be defined to be the raising of our minds to God, "ascensus mentis ad Deum." It may be either purely mental or vocal, that is, expressed in language.
The four great acts of prayer are Adoration (the acknowledgment of God's supreme majesty, and our entire dependence upon Him.),Thanksgiving, Petition, and in the event of our having offended Him, Contrition.The third of these, Petition, is so important that the word prayer (precari) conveys this notion alone: and it is of that we shall here chiefly speak.
The objections to prayer arise from two entirely opposite errors, chance, and fate. If all that happens takes place without any kind of power to regulate it, or if everything is governed by rigid law which cannot be controlled, then of course it is useless to pray. But reason and revelation alike tell us that the world is ruled by the Providence of God. We firmly uphold the existence of law in the universe, but at the same time we maintain that God, the author of this law, can counteract, suspend or change it at His pleasure. Thus we pray for rain, fine weather, or health because we believe that God is the Lord of heaven and earth, "Who worketh all things according to the counsel of His will" (Eph. i. 11; Mt. v.45; Acts xiv. 14-16). How God brings about the answers to our prayers cannot be exactly determined. The late W. G. Ward discussed the subject in a pamphlet entitled, "Science, Prayer, Free Will, and miracles."
Prayer, being an act of religion, should be addressed to God. We pray to Him, not because He does not already know our needs, but because He wills that we should ourselves put them before Him and beg Him to grant them. Although our Lord said, "Your Father knoweth that you have need of these things" (Mt. vi. 32), yet He also told us "that we ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Lk. xviii.1). It is God alone Who can give us what we ask for. This, however, does not prevent us from praying to certain of God's creatures. We ask God directly to grant us our petitions; we ask the Blessed Virgin, the angels, and the saints to ask God to grant them, "And the smoke of the incense of the prayers of the saints ascended up before God from the hand of the angels" (Apoc. viii. 4.)
Should we specify our petitions, and, if so, what may we ask for? St. Thomas considers that the opinion of Socrates, that we should merely ask for what is good for us, is only partially true. Some things we know to be certainly good for us, and these we may specify: the Lord's Prayer contains a number of specific petitions. This being granted, the general rule is that laid down by St. Augustine: we may pray for whatever we may lawfully desire. Hence we may ask for even temporal blessings, not indeed for their own sake, but as aids to our spiritual welfare. According to the Apostle we should pray for all men. (1 Tim.ii.). Charity bids us help our neighbor on the road to salvation, and prayer is one of the most potent means of doing so (1 Jn. v. 16; James v. 16; Rom xv.). The order in which we should pray for others follows the order of Charity, and depends upon their nearness to us and their needs. With regard to enemies, we are bound to pray for them in general - not excluding them from the benefit of our prayers. To pray for them specially belongs not to precept but to counsel. (Mt. v. 44.)
It is obvious that as prayer is a thinking about God and speaking with him, it should be performed with great attention and devotion. Merely to utter the words is no prayer. "This people honoreth Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me" (Mt. xv. 7). St. Thomas distinguishes three kinds or degrees of attention: to the words, to the meaning of the words, and to the object of the prayer, that is, to God and what we pray for. It is the last kind that is required. To keep one's attention fixed on an unseen object is difficult, and consequently we are very liable to mind-wandering when we pray. But if our distractions are not wilful - if whenever we recollect ourselves we try once more to fix our attention to God - our prayer is not altogether unfruitful. To be willfully distracted would be sinful. The best plan is to collect our thoughts for a few moments before kneeling down. "Before prayer prepare thy soul, and be not as a man that tempteth God" (Ecclus. xviii. 23)"
