Posted on 09/09/2005 8:12:12 AM PDT by Salvation
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From: 1 Timothy 1:1-2; 12-14
Greeting
From: Luke 6:39-42
Integrity
Friday, September 9, 2005 St. Peter Claver, Priest (Memorial) |
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Recipes:
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September 09, 2005 St. Peter Claver, priest Old Calendar: St. Gorgonius, Martyr; St. Maria de la Cabeza (wife of St. Isidore the Farmer)
Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. Gorgonius. Two martyrs named Gorgonius suffered during Diocletian's persecution. One, a Roman, is buried on the Via Labicana; the other, a high court functionary at Nicomedia in Asia Minor, was one of Diocletian's first victims. Later the two were confused and the name Gorgonius occurs only once in the Roman Martyrology.
St. Peter Claver Peter was born of a distinguished family in Catalonia, Spain in 1581. He joined the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and after his novitiate in Taragona was sent to the college of Montesione, at Palma in Majorca. There he met Brother Alphonse Rodriguez (also a saint), the humble porter of the convent. Alphonse set Peter's soul on fire to save the souls of the African slaves -- thousands being lost because there was no one to minister to them. His superiors finally sent Peter to New Granada in April of 1610. He was never to return to his native Spain. By 1615 Peter finished his studies and was ordained a priest in Cartagena. When he made his final vows, he added a personal one: Peter, slave of the slaves for ever. Here in this busy seaport city, in a hot, humid, tropical climate, Father Claver spent most of his priestly life. Cartegena was the principal slave market for the New World. Thousands of blacks were brought there, herded into warehouses and auctioned to the highest bidder. Captured in Africa, these slaves were chained in groups of six and crammed into the lower holds of ships designed to hold 100-200, but holding 600-800 humans. Their treatment was so inhumane that 1/3 of the slaves died in the sea journey. It was to these people that Peter would minister. He would meet each slave ship as it arrived. Peter would go to the warehouses and bring them food, water, medicine and clothing, for, as he said "We must speak to them with our hands, before we try to speak to them with our lips". But most of all, he brought them God. While nursing them back to health, he would teach them of Christ, explain to them that they were loved by God more than they were abused by man, and that evil outraged God. He offered their only consolation: hope in the promises of God. Nearly three hundred thousand of them received baptism at his hands. After twenty-seven years of devotion to the black slaves, St. Peter Claver died at Cartagena on September 8, 1654. Leo XIII canonized him on January 15, 1888, proclaiming him special patron and protector of the negroes. St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, porter of the college, who inspired Peter to become a missionary for the slaves was canonized at the same time. Patron: against slavery; foreign missions; black people; race relations; Colombia; diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana; diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana. Symbols: ship; cockle shell used for baptizing; usually pictured baptizing a black slave. Things to Do:
St. Gorgonius There are two martyrs with this name, a source of considerable confusion. The one was born in Nicomedia and was martyred under Diocletian. Concerning him is the following legendary account: "Gorgonius, a native of Nicomedia, served as a treasurer to Emperor Diocletian. Aided by one of his colleagues, Dorotheus, he converted his fellow officials to the Christian faith. On one occasion, upon witnessing the cruel torturing of a martyr in Diocletian's presence, both Gorgonius and Dorotheus were moved to become martyrs themselves. Fearlessly they addressed the Emperor: 'O Caesar, why do you restrict your punishments to this one witness? Both of us profess the same faith against which you inflict so dire a judgment. See, we are ready to undergo the same suffering.' Without delay the Emperor had them put into irons; he ordered their wounds to be washed with salt and vinegar before tying them to a heated grill. After further torture, they were hanged, about the year 303." The other Gorgonius to whom we referred above was a Roman martyr. His first burial place was on the Via Lavicana in the cemetery between the two laurels; during the pontificate of Gregory IV (827-844) his remains were transferred to St. Peter's. Actually it was the Roman Gorgonius whose feast was kept today, and who was confused with the better known Nicomedian. The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch Things to Do:
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1 Tim 1:1-2,12-14 / Lk 6:39-42 Have you ever noticed the breadth of expertise, virtue, and wisdom on every topic under the sun that seems to congregate at a cocktail party and most other gatherings? It's amazing how much we think we know, and how sinless we seem to think we are! If only we were given the reigns of government, or absolute control over our workplace, or full power to administer our local parish, all things would soon approach the conditions of the Garden of Eden. Jesus has a quick response to such illusions: "Get your own house in order before you try to handle anyone else's business." How sensible that advice is, and how hard it is to follow. It's so much easier to take potshots at what's out there than to attend to what's inside our own lives, especially if we don't have the habit of looking within. Jesus' admonition to attend to the plank in our own eyes before attacking the splinter in our neighbor's eye is surely graphic, and it gives a good indication of the relative scale of the issues involved: Major lumber vs. a piece of sawdust. The issue is blindness: "I think I'm just perfect and therefore I have the right to focus on your faults." Whereas the reality is that I have big problems that I haven't even seen. And that brings us to our task for the day: Forget everybody else's sins and mistakes, and instead take a good look at your own. Face yourself in the presence of the Lord. See yourself as He sees you. And then ask His help to do what is needed. He never says "no" to anyone who asks with an honest heart. And when you finally get your own life together, you'll be ready to be the compassionate friend and fellow pilgrim we all hope to find. |
Faith-sharing bump.
Prayers offered up for the return of civility to our political discourse, that the Bush-bashing by the MSM and Democratic Party operatives CEASE IMMEDIATELY.
St. Peter Claver Church and School in Pascagoula MS was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. My sister in law in Jackson MS told me last Friday, that she'd heard that the Parish had been 'adopted' by the Memphis Diocese, and that it would help rebuild the Church and School.
I'll second that!
Thanks for the info, SuziQ. I just linked it to the Catholic Landmarks thread.
Friday September 9, 2005 Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Reading (1 Timothy 1:1-2, 12-14) Gospel (St. Luke 6:39-42)
Our Lord in the Gospel reading today gets directly to a point of human weakness that is in most all of us, that is, we like to be able to notice everybody elses problems while trying our best to ignore our own. We stand in judgment oftentimes of others. We like to point out their weaknesses. If we really stop and think about it, it is not usually done out of charity at all. Most often, it is done out of a sense of arrogance and also out of a sense of self-defense. That is, if we can point out somebody elses fault and put them on the defensive then they cannot point out ours; it is a matter of trying to beat them to the punch. But Our Lord points out to us that what we are pointing out in someone else tends to be pretty tiny, whereas what we have within our own selves tends to be quite huge, and that we really do not stand in any kind of position to point out the faults in everyone else until we can get rid of the beam in our own eye first.
So we see the example of Saint Paul. He tells us that he was once a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an arrogant man. Then he says that he has been treated mercifully because he acted out of ignorance, but that the grace of Christ has been abundant in his life. So it is with each of us. If, like Saint Paul, we are willing to humble ourselves, to acknowledge who we really are, to acknowledge our sinfulness, to acknowledge our weakness, to allow the Lord to work within us so that He can point out all of the beams (as well as the splinters) that are in our own eyes, then we will be able to see clearly, then we can actually point things out to others and it will be done not in an arrogant way, not in a way that is intended to keep the focus off of us, but rather it will be done out of charity and with a focus on Christ.
We see the entire difference in the manner in which things are done. Jesus needs to be the focal point. Our charity in pointing out anothers fault is done to help the person, not for any selfish reason, but purely out of charity. Once again, if that is the case, then Our Lord is the one who is the center point. It is not me and this other person, but rather it is about the Lord and helping the other person to be able to draw closer to the Lord and to become more Christ-like. That is the way we have to be. But, of course, in order to do that, we have to make sure that our focus is on Christ. It is very, very easy to be able to pick apart somebody else, but it is not so easy to be able to be truly charitable because when we pick them apart it is really about our own selves. That says something about where our focus is. But if our focus is on Christ in prayer then there is an entire difference in the manner and the way that we do things. So that is what we have to be about.
Certainly, within our own states in life, it may be incumbent upon us to point out other peoples faults, but we need to do it in charity; not because we think we are better than they are, not because we want to pick on them so they cannot pick on us, but rather so that they can grow closer to Christ. That has to begin with the acknowledgment of our own faults, that we are the greatest of sinners. Read any of the saints and they all say the exact same thing: I am the worst of all. And this is coming from some people who have never committed a mortal sin in their lives! Yet they will tell us that they are the worst sinner of all. It kind of puts it in perspective for the rest of us, then, doesnt it?
So we recognize that we cannot stand in judgment of anyone, we cannot stand arrogantly before anyone to point things out, we can only stand humbly before the Lord, acknowledging our own faults, our own sinfulness, our own extreme weakness. It is only out of that kind of humility, and following from that, out of charity, that we are able to point things out in others; not because we are anything great or because we are some sort of expert that can do it, but rather if we are looking at Jesus, and out of charity for another we want them to grow in perfection and virtue and holiness, and to become closer to the Lord, that is the reason why we would do the things that we would do: so that we will grow closer, that they will grow closer, that the grace of Christ will abound abundantly in each, so that the love of God will be greater.
* This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.
September 9, 2005
St. Peter Claver
(1581-1654)
A native of Spain, young Jesuit Peter Claver left his homeland forever in 1610 to be a missionary in the colonies of the New World. He sailed into Cartagena (now in Colombia), a rich port city washed by the Caribbean. He was ordained there in 1615. By this time the slave trade had been established in the Americas for nearly 100 years, and Cartagena was a chief center for it. Ten thousand slaves poured into the port each year after crossing the Atlantic from West Africa under conditions so foul and inhuman that an estimated one-third of the passengers died in transit. Although the practice of slave-trading was condemned by Pope Paul III and later labeled "supreme villainy" by Pius IX, it continued to flourish. Peter Claver's predecessor, Jesuit Father Alfonso de Sandoval, had devoted himself to the service of the slaves for 40 years before Claver arrived to continue his work, declaring himself "the slave of the Negroes forever." As soon as a slave ship entered the port, Peter Claver moved into its infested hold to minister to the ill-treated and miserable passengers. After the slaves were herded out of the ship like chained animals and shut up in nearby yards to be gazed at by the crowds, Claver plunged in among them with medicines, food, bread, brandy, lemons and tobacco. With the help of interpreters he gave basic instructions and assured his brothers and sisters of their human dignity and God's saving love. During the 40 years of his ministry, Claver instructed and baptized an estimated 300,000 slaves. His apostolate extended beyond his care for slaves. He became a moral force, indeed, the apostle of Cartagena. He preached in the city square, gave missions to sailors and traders as well as country missions, during which he avoided, when possible, the hospitality of the planters and owners and lodged in the slave quarters instead. After four years of sickness which forced the saint to remain inactive and largely neglected, he died on September 8, 1654. The city magistrates, who had previously frowned at his solicitude for the black outcasts, ordered that he should be buried at public expense and with great pomp. He was canonized in 1888, and Pope Leo XIII declared him the worldwide patron of missionary work among black slaves. Quote:
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**As Peter Claver often said, "We must speak to them with our hands before we try to speak to them with our lips."**
Sort of what you were talking about above, correct?
**Our actions have a tongue of their own; they have an eloquence of their own, even when the tongue is silent. For deeds prove the lover more than words.
-- St. Cyril of Jerusalem**
Certainly true of St. Peter Claver!
Friday, September 09, 2005 Meditation Luke 6:39-42 Ever since Adam pointed the finger at Eve, humans have struggled with the all-too-common tendency to criticize, blame, and judge one another. Since we all struggle at times with being critical of others, lets use todays gospel to examine ourselves and get right with the Lord. Take a sheet of paper and try to answer the following questions as honestly as you can: Am I too critical of others? Are my critical thoughts aimed at a particular group of peoplesuch as my spouse and children, my co-workers, or my friends and neighbors? Do I find myself categorizing others according to their looks, their talents, their intelligence, or their financial situation? Now take a few moments to review your answers, and then continue: Do I use negative humor to raise myself and lower others in my mind? Do I blame others for my problems? Am I hard to please? Do I think my life would be so much easier if certain people would just change their bad habits? Look honestly at your answers and see if the Holy Spirit shows you any ways that you have been pointing out specks in eyes of others, all the while remaining blind to the plank in your own eye. This kind of examination can be very freeing. Rather than causing guilt, an open and honest dialogue with yourself and with the Holy Spirit can help you see how you have wronged a loved one by your critical judgmentsand it can give you great hope in the Spirits promise of transformation. You will find yourself inspired to stop these critical thoughts, and you may even feel led to seek out that person and ask his or her forgiveness. Such an act of humility can bring a world of healing to strained relationships and can restore unity to our homes, communities, and workplaces. You also may go a long way toward freeing the other person to change, because our negative thoughts about others can be like a chain holding them bound in the patterns we are critical of. Jesus, please forgive me for any ways I have been critical and judgmental toward othersespecially those who are closest to me. Teach me to love others as you have loved me. Help me to remove the plank from my own eyes, so that my words will be uplifting and kind to everyone I meet today. 1 Timothy 1:1-2,12-14; Psalm 16:1-2,5,7-8,11 |
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