St. Francis's Christmas Miracle

Living nativities–those church-produced (predominantly Protestant) programs that recreate the birth of Jesus with live actors, animals and elaborate props–are wildly popular during the Christmas season, often moving audiences to tears as the birth of the God-Man plays forth in a reverent, tender, and visually-satisfying 3D manner.

We Catholics, however, can take credit for the first living nativity (excluding, of course, the Actual Event), and we owe it all to St. Francis of Assisi.

In 1223, a generous and spiritual landowner by the name of John Vellita donated a piece of land to Francis and his followers. Located on a rocky and windswept mountainside on the outskirts of the town of Greccio, the land afforded Francis and his brothers a grand view of the town below.

Inspired in part by his new surroundings, Francis made an unusual request of John Vellita that December. He wished to recreate the original Nativity scene of Bethlehem for the townspeople. What better way, Francis felt, to welcome the Christ Child than to actually see, hear, and feel the harsh and poor conditions that He was born into. Sentimental stories and artists' renditions were fine, but this "reenactment" would help people understand how God used the ordinary to bring about the most extraordinary happening in human history.

John Vellita eagerly agreed, and soon a manger was set up in a cave on the hill, fresh hay was scattered around, and a donkey and ox were brought up to complete the scene. A simple altar was erected, beneath which lay a wax figure of the Holy Infant.

At midnight that Christmas, Francis celebrated Mass surrounded by the curious townspeople, who had made the trek up the dark mountain with lit torches and faith-filled hearts. As Francis spoke the words of the Mass, emotion overtook him to the point that tears rolled down his face. The onlookers were awestruck at the love and joy and piety that engulfed the humble man at the altar.

Then the miracle happened.

Francis picked up the wax figure of the Baby Jesus, and to the spectators' wondrous delight, the Infant appeared to come to life. He smiled at Francis and stroked his wet cheeks. Francis sighed deeply and was manifestly overcome with joy.

St. Bonaventure, in his biography of St. Francis, reports that the hay used in that "living nativity" cured all sorts of diseases and pestilence in the cattle that ate it over the ensuing months.

Today there is a church on the site where the "Miracle of Greccio" took place. It continues to be a popular place of pilgrimage, especially during the Christmas season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

Feast of the Immaculate Conception

"I am the Immaculate Conception."

Spoken by Our Lady to St. Bernadette at Lourdes in 1858.

Chesterton Talks Turkey

"A turkey is more occult and awful than all the angels and archangels. In so far as God has partly revealed to us an angelic world, he has partly told us what an angel means. But God has never told us what a turkey means. And if you go and stare at a live turkey for an hour or two, you will find by the end of it that the enigma has rather increased than diminished."  

All Things Considered (1908)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Angels and the Holy Souls

Catholic tradition has given us some fascinating teachings and thoughts on the role of our guardian angels after we leave this life for the soul-cleansing confines of purgatory. (Assuming, of course, that we make it there and not any lower.) 

According to early Church Fathers, the guardian angel leads the soul to purgatory and thereafter visits and consoles that soul until its release. The angel also helps the soul by inspiring friends and relatives left on earth to pray and offer Masses for their departed loved one.

Moreover, some spiritual writers believe that the angels reveal to the poor souls the identities of those who are praying for them on earth so that, in reciprocal fashion, the holy souls can pray for them. 

As St. Augustine tells us: “The departed may be informed by the angels of things happening in the world, insofar as this is permitted by Him to Whose judgment everything is subject.”

Some saints have even "visited" purgatory (via mystical experiences or spiritual bilocation) and witnessed for themselves the close relationship between the poor souls and their angels. St. Margaret Mary Alacoque wrote that during her experience she saw:

" . . . an immense space filled with flames and glowing coals and, amid these, a great number of poor souls in human form, raising their hands to Heaven and imploring mercy. But all the while their Guardian Angels were at their side, inspiring them with courage and comforting them in the most tender manner."  (The Guardian Angels, Our Heavenly Companions, 1956)

St. Lydwine was also shown purgatory, having "flown" there on several occasions in the accompaniment of her own guardian angel. On one of her visits she saw a sad-looking angel keeping company the soul of a man who had been languishing there for twelve years. When Lydwine "returned" to her earthly surroundings, she immediately offered her physical sufferings for the soul of that man. Several days later, the man's angel appeared to her. No longer sad-looking, the angel joyously declared that the man had been freed from purgatory, thanks to Lydwine's sacrificial acts.

And what about that last part? The "get out of jail" part? Well, the language in this passage is a little old-fashioned, but it gets the point across nicely:

"As soon as the hour of release has struck for one of the suffering souls, the Guardian Angel of that happy soul is commissioned by God to descend into Purgatory, to open the doors of its prison and to lead the delivered soul without delay into the eternal habitations of Paradise. The good Angel descends with the rapidity of lightning into the dismal prison of pain to carry out the work of release because his love for his cherished ward urges him to liberate the Poor Soul and to lead it to the sight and possession of God. The Guardian Angel is often accompanied by other Angels or by a whole multitude of Angels, and then the entrance of the released soul is truly a triumphant one."  (ibid)

It is worth remembering that our Tradition also teaches that those of us who had the most devotion to our guardian angels on earth will have the most assistance from them in purgatory.

St. Luke

St. Luke's gospel is my favorite among the four. I think it goes back to my childhood when my family converted to Catholicism and I remember being enchanted with stories about the Blessed Mother. Luke truly brings Mary to life in his gospel. In fact, he alone describes the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth, Mary's Magnificat, the Presentation in the temple, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is in Luke that we read the angel's words of greeting to Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace." And it is also only in Luke that we have the story of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. Lest we forget, St. Luke also wrote the Acts of the Apostles.

Spending a few minutes reading some of St. Luke's accounts in Scripture would be a prodigious way to honor his feast day today. Believed to be a physician by training (St. Paul refers to him as "Luke, the beloved physician" in Colossians 4:14), St. Luke is the patron saint of physicians and surgeons, as well as artists, butchers and students. In art he is often depicted with an ox, symbolizing the sacrifice Jesus made for all the world.

Angels and the Rosary

St. Alphonsus Liguori once said that each time we pray a Hail Mary we attract the angels and repel the devils. Now think about how many times we say the Hail Mary in the Rosary. Hmm. That’s a pretty effective pest repellent, I’d say.

As satisfying as it is to know we’re chasing away sulfurous little creeps when saying the Rosary, it might be more beneficial to focus on the real angels and unite our prayers with theirs, keeping in mind the important roles their kind played in the lives of Jesus and Mary. They were there for every event, major and minor, public and private. Indeed, the angels illuminate the very mysteries we meditate upon during this devotion.

In honor of this month's Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, I'd like to share this reflection from Pope Leo XIII:

The Angels revealed each of these mysteries [of the Rosary] in its due time; they played a great part in them; they were constantly present at them… Gabriel was sent to announce the Incarnation of the Eternal Word to the Virgin. In the cave of Bethlehem, Angels sang the glory of the new-born Savior. The Angel gave Joseph command to fly with the Child into Egypt. An Angel consoled, with his loving words, Jesus in His bloody sweat in the garden. Angels announced His resurrection, after He had triumphed over death, to the women. Angels carried Him up into Heaven; and foretold His second coming, surrounded by Angelic hosts . . .

What more divine, what more delightful, than to meditate and pray with the Angels? With what confidence may we not hope that those who on earth have united with the Angels in this ministry will one day enjoy their blessed company in Heaven?

(From the encyclical, On the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary, promulgated on Sept. 12, 1897)

Saint Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese had an intense devotion to her guardian angel. Following the examples and instructions of her parents and sisters, she spoke familiarly to her angel from earliest childhood. Throughout her short life she continued to have a deep and sweet love for her own angel and all the angels of God. Known as she was for her writings, it is only fitting that St. Therese penned a beautiful poem to her angel in 1897, the year that she died from tuberculosis.

Read more about "The Little Flower and the Holy Angels" on the Opus Sanctorum Angelorum website.

To My Angel Guardian

O glorious guardian of my frame!
In heaven’s high courts thou shinest bright,
As some most pure and holy flame,
Before the Lord of endless light.

Yet for my sake thou com’st to earth,
To be my brother, Angel dear;
My friend and keeper from my birth,
By day and night to me most near.

Knowing how weak a child am I,
By thy strong hand thou guidest me;
The stones that in my pathway lie,
I see thee move them carefully.

Ever thy heavenly tones invite
My soul to look to God alone;
And ever grows thy face more bright,
When I more meek and kind have grown.

O thou who speedest through all space
More swiftly than the lightnings fly!
Go very often, in my place,
To those I love most tenderly.

With thy soft touch, oh! dry their tears;
Tell them the cross is sweet to bear;
Speak my name softly in their ears,
And Jesu’s name, supremely fair.

Through all my life, though brief it be,
I fain would succor souls from sin.
Dear Angel, sent from heaven to me,
Kindle thy zeal my heart within!

Naught but my holy poverty,
And daily cross to give have I;
O Join them to thine ecstasy,
And offer them to God on high.

Thine are heaven’s glory and delight,
The riches of the King of kings;
The Host in our ciboriums bright
Is mine, and all the wealth pain brings.

So with the Cross, and with the Host,
And with thine aid, dear Angel Friend,
I wait in peace, on time’s dark coast,
Heaven’s happiness that knows no end.

(February, 1897)

Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows

Devotion to the sorrows of Mary can be traced back to the 12th century, when the newly formed Servite Order embraced it as their primary devotion. In 1817, Pope Pius VII declared the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows as a feast day for the worldwide Church (not just certain regions, as had been the practice); and in 1913, Pope Pius X fixed the date of the feast as September 15.

In remarks made in 1980, Pope John Paul II reminded us: "Mary Most Holy goes on being the loving consoler of those touched by the many physical and moral sorrows which afflict and torment humanity. She knows our sorrows and our pains, because she too suffered, from Bethlehem to Calvary . . . Mary is our Spiritual Mother, and the mother always understands her children and consoles them in their troubles."

The Seven Sorrows of Mary

1. The Prophecy of Simeon ("and your own soul a sword shall pierce . . .")
2. The Flight into Egypt
3. Loss of the Child Jesus in Jerusalem
4. Meeting Jesus on the Way of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
6. Jesus taken down from the Cross
7. Jesus wrapped and laid in the tomb

“Truly, O Blessed Mother, a sword has pierced your heart.... He died in body through a love greater than anyone had known. She died in spirit through a love unlike any other since His.”      (St. Bernard)

The Watchmaker: More About St. Josemaria Escriva and the Angels

Between the years 1928 and 1940, St. Josemaria owned a faulty alarm clock that he couldn't rely on. Not wanting to spend what little money he had on repairing it, he instead asked his angel to get him up at the appointed time. Not once in all those years did the angel fail him, which is why St. Josemaria often referred to his guardian angel as “mi relojerico” (“my dear watchmaker”).

My post a few weeks back on St. Josemaria Escriva and the angels inspired me to do a little further digging into the life of the man whom, I admit, I really only knew as the founder of Opus Dei. My searching came up with gems like the above anecdote (related in an article by Bishop Alvaro del Portillo), as well as much, much more.

The life and wisdom of St. Josemaria are way beyond the scope of this blog. (Read his book, The Way, to see what I mean. It contains 999 points of meditation and prayer. For many of us, enough for a lifetime.) But for my limited purposes here, I thought it appropriate and doable if I shared some of his specific wisdom about the angels. May St. Josemaria's thoughts inspire us all toward a greater love and devotion to our own holy guardians.

“Familiarity with, and devotion to, the holy guardian angels is at the heart of our work. It is a concrete manifestation of the supernatural mission of Opus Dei." (St. Josemaria founded Opus Dei in 1928 on October 2, the Feast of the Guardian Angels.)

"Have confidence in your guardian angel. Treat him as a very dear friend–that's what he is–and he will do a thousand services for you in the ordinary affairs of each day."
The Way, 562

'Win over the guardian angel of the one you want to draw to your apostolate. He is always a great 'accomplice'."
The Way, 563

"If you would remember the presence of your guardian angel and those of your neighbors, you would avoid many of the foolish things you let slip into your conversation."
The Way 564

"You seem amazed that your guardian angel has done so many obvious favors for you. But you shouldn't be: that's why our Lord has placed him at your side."
The Way, 565

"You say there are many occasions of going astray in such surroundings? That's true, but aren't there any guardian angels as well?"
The Way, 566

"Turn to your guardian angel at the moment of trial; he will protect you from the devil and bring you holy inspirations."
The Way, 567

St. Edith Stein

Today is the feast day of St. Edith Stein, also known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Edith Stein, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, was a Carmelite nun who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz in 1942. She is remembered for her intellectualism as well as for her unwavering faith and dedication to her fellow human beings, particularly in her last horrific days. Edith was canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 11, 1998.

Right before her canonization, I was privileged to write about Edith Stein and the miracle that confirmed her sainthood for the now defunct magazine Catholic Heritage. In honor of today's feast, I'm reprinting the article I wrote back then. Never having heard of Edith Stein when I started the assignment, I soon became awestruck and inspired by this brilliant woman who viewed her martyrdom as the fulfillment of her Jewish heritage.

Read on after the prayer if you'd like to learn more about the life of this amazing woman who is now our intercessor in Heaven.

Saint Edith Stein, holy martyr, philosopher of the truth, defender of the human person against the evils of this age, enlighten our minds, illumine our hearts, fill our lives with the passion of your love for the Cross. Amen.

 

THE STAR OF DAVID CARMELITE:  REMEMBERING EDITH STEIN

by

Melaine Ryther

(originally published in Catholic Heritage, Sept. 1998)

“Come Rosa, we go for our people.” Gently leading her sister to the waiting S.S. police car, Edith Stein headed toward Golgotha. It was a journey that had been heralded fifty years prior by a chillingly prophetic event—her birth into the world on the solemn Jewish holiday, the Day of Atonement.

Edith Stein was born on October 12, 1891, in Breslau, Germany. The youngest of eleven children in a devout Jewish household, she consistently impressed the adults around her with her razor-sharp intellect. Her father died when she was two, leaving the family’s lumber business to his widow. Although the young girl bore many of her mother’s positive traits, piety was not one of them. In fact, from the ages of 13 to 22, Edith could muster no faith in God at all.