'"The sons of men are false, and cheat with their scales" (Ps. 62:9. LXX), but God assigns to each what is just.'

St. Mark the Ascetic

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 25
1.	THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride.	Tunc simile erit regnum cælorum decem virginibus : quæ accipientes lampades suas exierunt obviam sponso et sponsæ.	τοτε ομοιωθησεται η βασιλεια των ουρανων δεκα παρθενοις αιτινες λαβουσαι τας λαμπαδας αυτων εξηλθον εις απαντησιν του νυμφιου
2.	And five of them were foolish, and five wise.	Quinque autem ex eis erant fatuæ, et quinque prudentes :	πεντε δε ησαν εξ αυτων φρονιμοι και αι πεντε μωραι
3.	But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them:	sed quinque fatuæ, acceptis lampadibus, non sumpserunt oleum secum :	αιτινες μωραι λαβουσαι τας λαμπαδας αυτων ουκ ελαβον μεθ εαυτων ελαιον
4.	But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps.	prudentes vero acceperunt oleum in vasis suis cum lampadibus.	αι δε φρονιμοι ελαβον ελαιον εν τοις αγγειοις αυτων μετα των λαμπαδων αυτων
5.	And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept.	Moram autem faciente sponso, dormitaverunt omnes et dormierunt.	χρονιζοντος δε του νυμφιου ενυσταξαν πασαι και εκαθευδον
6.	And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him.	Media autem nocte clamor factus est : Ecce sponsus venit, exite obviam ei.	μεσης δε νυκτος κραυγη γεγονεν ιδου ο νυμφιος ερχεται εξερχεσθε εις απαντησιν αυτου
7.	Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.	Tunc surrexerunt omnes virgines illæ, et ornaverunt lampades suas.	τοτε ηγερθησαν πασαι αι παρθενοι εκειναι και εκοσμησαν τας λαμπαδας αυτων
8.	And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.	Fatuæ autem sapientibus dixerunt : Date nobis de oleo vestro, quia lampades nostræ extinguuntur.	αι δε μωραι ταις φρονιμοις ειπον δοτε ημιν εκ του ελαιου υμων οτι αι λαμπαδες ημων σβεννυνται
9.	The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.	Responderunt prudentes, dicentes : Ne forte non sufficiat nobis, et vobis, ite potius ad vendentes, et emite vobis.	απεκριθησαν δε αι φρονιμοι λεγουσαι μηποτε ουκ αρκεση ημιν και υμιν πορευεσθε δε μαλλον προς τους πωλουντας και αγορασατε εαυταις
10.	Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.	Dum autem irent emere, venit sponsus : et quæ paratæ erant, intraverunt cum eo ad nuptias, et clausa est janua.	απερχομενων δε αυτων αγορασαι ηλθεν ο νυμφιος και αι ετοιμοι εισηλθον μετ αυτου εις τους γαμους και εκλεισθη η θυρα
11.	But at last come also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us.	Novissime vero veniunt et reliquæ virgines, dicentes : Domine, domine, aperi nobis.	υστερον δε ερχονται και αι λοιπαι παρθενοι λεγουσαι κυριε κυριε ανοιξον ημιν
12.	But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I know you not.	At ille respondens, ait : Amen dico vobis, nescio vos.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αμην λεγω υμιν ουκ οιδα υμας
13.	Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.	Vigilate itaque, quia nescitis diem, neque horam.	γρηγορειτε ουν οτι ουκ οιδατε την ημεραν ουδε την ωραν εν η ο υιος του ανθρωπου ερχεται

1. Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened to ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
2. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
4. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom comes; go you out to meet him.
7. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
9. But the wise answered saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you: but go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
10. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
11. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
12. But he answered and said, Verily I say to you, I know you not.
13. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man comes.

CHRYS. In the foregoing parable the Lord set forth the punishment of the man who boat. and was drunk, and wasted his Lord's goods; in this He declares his punishment who profits not, and does not prepare for himself abundantly the things of which he has need; for the foolish virgins had oil, but not enough.

HILARY; Then, because all this discourse is concerning the great day of the Lord, concerning which He had been speaking before.

GREG. By the kingdom of heaven is meant the present Church, as in that, The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend.

JEROME; This parable of the ten foolish and the ten wise virgins, some interpret literally of virgins, of whom there are according to the Apostle some who are virgins both in body and in thought, others who have preserved indeed their bodies virgin, but have not the other deeds of virgins, or have only been preserved by the guardianship of parents, but have wedded in their hearts. But from what has gone before, I think the meaning to be different, and that the parable has reference not to virgins only, but to the whole human race.

GREG. For in each of the five senses of the body there is a double instrument, and the number five doubled makes ten. And because the company of the faithful is gathered out of both sexes, the Holy Church is described as being like to ten virgins, where as bad are mixed with good, and reprobate with elect, it is like a mixture of wise and foolish virgins.

CHRYS. And He employs the character virgins in this parable to show, that though virginity be a great thing, yet if it be not accompanied by works of mercy, it shall be cast out with the adulterers.

ORIGEN; Or, The understandings of all who have received the word of God are virgins. For such is the word of God, that of its purity it imparts to all, who by its teaching have departed from the worship of idols, and have through rough Christ drawn near to the worship of God; and have took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom and the bride. They take their lamps, i.e. their natural faculties and go forth out of the world and its errors, and go faculties, meet the Savior, who is ever ready to come to enter with them that are worthy to His blessed bride the Church.

HILARY. Or, The bridegroom and the bride represent Church and Lord.

HILARY; in the body, for the flesh is the 'bride of the spirit. The lamps are the light of bright souls which shine forth in the sacrament of baptism.

AUG. Or, The lamps which they carry in their hands are their works, of which it was said above, Let your works shine before men.

ORIGEN; They that believe rightly, and live righteously, are likened to the five wise; they that profess the faith of Jesus, but prepare themselves not by good works to salvation, are likened to the five foolish.

JEROME; For there are five senses which hasten towards heavenly things, and seek after things above. Of sight, healing, and touch, it is specially said, That which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled. Of taste, Taste and see that the Lord is good. Of smell Because of the savor of your good ointments. There are also other five senses which gape after earthly husks.

AUG. Or, by the five virgins, is denoted a five-fold continence from the allurements of the flesh; for our appetite must be held from gratification of the eyes, ears, smell, taste, and touch. And as this continence may be done before God, to please Him in inward joy of the conscience, or before men only to gain applause of men, five are called wise, and five foolish. Both are virgins, because both these men exercise continence, though from different motives.

ORIGEN; And because the virtues are so linked together, that he who has one has all, so all the senses so follow one another, that all must be wise, or all foolish.

HILARY; Or, The five wise and five foolish are an absolute distinction between believers and unbelievers.

GREG. It is to be observed, that all have lamps, but all have not oil.

HILARY; The oil is the fruit of good works, the vessels are the human bodies in whose inward parts the treasure of a good conscience is to be laid up.

JEROME; The virgins that have oil are they, that besides their faith, have the ornament of good works; they that have not oil, are they that seem to confess with like faith, but neglect the works of virtue.

AUG. Or, The oil denotes joy, according to that, God has anointed you with the oil of gladness. He then whose Joy springs not from this that he is inwardly pleasing to God, has no oil with him; for they have no gladness in their continent lives, save in the praises of men. But the wise took oil with their lamps, that is, the gladness of good works, i.e. their vessels, that is, they stored it in their heart and conscience, as the Apostle speaks, Let every man prove himself, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself, and not in another.

CHRYS. Or, The oil denotes charity, alms, and every aid rendered to the needy; the lamps denote the gifts of virginity; and He calls them foolish, because after having gone through the greater toil, they lost all for the sake of a less; for it is greater labor to overcome the desires of the flesh than of money.

ORIGEN; Or, The oil is the word of teaching, with which the vessels of souls are filled; for what gives so great content as moral discourse, which is called the oil of light. The wise took with them of this oil, as much as would suffice, though the Word should tarry long, and be slack to come to their consummation. The foolish took lamps, alight indeed at the first, but not supplied with so much oil as should suffice even to the end, being careless respecting the provision of doctrine which comforts faith, and enlightens the lamp of good deeds.

AUG. For there die of both kinds of men in this interval of time before the resurrection of the dead, and the Lord's coming shall be.

GREG. To sleep its to die, to slumber before sleep is to faint from salvation before death, because, by the burden of sickness we come to the sleep of death.

JEROME; Or, They slumbered, i.e. they were dead. And then follows, And slept, because they were to be afterwards wakened. While the bridegroom tarried, shows that no little time intervened between the Lord's first and second coming.

ORIGEN; Or, Whilst the bridegroom tarried, and the Word comes not speedily to the consummation of this life, the senses suffer, slumbering and moving in the night of the world; and sleep, as energizing feebly, and with no quick sense. Yet did those wise virgins not quit their lamps, nor despair of hoarding their oil.

JEROME; The Jews have a tradition that Christ will come at midnight, in like manner as in that visitation of Egypt, when the Paschal feast is celebrated, and the destroyer comes, and the Lord passes over our dwellings, and the door posts of each man's countenance are hallowed by the blood of the Lamb. Hence, I suppose, has continued among us that apostolic tradition, that on the vigil of Easter the people should not be dismissed before midnight, in expectation of Christ's coming; but when that hour has past over, they may celebrate the feast in security; whence also the Psalmist says, At midnight did I rise to praise you.

AUG. Or, At midnight, that is, when none knew or looked for it.

JEROME; Suddenly thus, as on a stormy night, and when all think themselves secure, at the hour when sleep is the deepest, the coming of Christ shall be proclaimed by the shout of Angels, and the trumpets of the Powers that go before Him. This is meant when it says, Lo, the bridegroom comes, go you out to meet him.

HILARY; At the trumpet signal they go forth to meet the bridegroom alone, for then shall the two be one, that is, the flesh and God, when the lowliness of the flesh shall be transformed into spiritual glory.

AUG. Or, that the virgins go forth to meet the bridegroom alone, I think is to be understood stood that the virgins themselves constitute her who is called the bride; as we speak of the Christians flocking to the Church as children running to their mother, and yet this same mother consists only of the children who are gathered together. For now the Church is betrothed, and is to be led forth as a virgin to the marriage, which takes place then when all her mortal part having past away, she may be held in an eternal union.

ORIGEN; Or, At midnight, that is, at the time of their most abandoned carelessness, there was a great cry, of the Angels, I suppose, desiring to arouse all men, those ministering spirits crying within in the senses of all that sleep, Behold, the bridegroom comes, go you out to meet him. All heard this summons, and arose, but all were not able to trim their lamps fitly. The lamps of the senses are trimmed by evangelical and right use of them; and they that use their senses amiss have their lamps untrimmed.

GREG. Or, All the virgins arose, that is, both elect and reprobate are roused from the sleep of death; they trimmed their lamps, that is, they reckon up to themselves their works for which they look to receive eternal blessedness.

AUG. They trimmed their lamps, that is, prepared to give an account of their deeds.

HILARY; Or, the trimming their lamps is the return of their souls into their bodies, and their light is the consciousness of good works that shines forth, which is contained in the vessels of the body.

GREG. The lamps of the foolish virgins go out, because the works which appeared outwardly to men to be blight, are dimmed within at the coming of the Judge. That they then beg oil of the wise virgins, what is it but that at the coming of the Judge, when they find themselves empty within, they seek for witness from without? As though deceived by their own self-confidence, they say to their neighbors, Whereas you e see us rejected as living without works, do you witness to our works that you have seen.

AUG. From habit, the mind seeks that which uses to give it pleasure. And these now seek from men, who see not the heart, witness to God, who sees the heart. But their lamps go out, because those, whose good works rest upon the testimony of others, when that is withdrawn, sink into nothing.

JEROME; Or, These virgins who complain that their lamps are gone out, show that they are partially alight, yet have they not an unfailing light, nor enduring works. Whoever then has a virgin soul, and is a lover of chastity, ought not to rest content with such virtues as quickly fade, and are withered away when the heat comes upon them, but should follow after perfect virtues, that he may have an enduring light.

CHRYS. Or otherwise; These virgins were foolish, not only because they departed hence, lacking store of mercy, but because they deemed to receive it from those of whom they importunately begged it. For though nothing could be more merciful than those wise virgins, who for this very mercifulness were approved, yet would they not grant the prayer of the foolish virgins. But the wise answered, saying, Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; hence we learn that none of us shall be able in that day to stand forth as patron of those who are betrayed by their own works, not because he will not, but because he cannot.

JEROME; For these wise virgins do not answer thus out of covetousness, but out of fear. Wherefore, each man shall receive the recompense of his own works, and the virtues of one cannot atone for the vices of another in the day of judgment. The wise admonish them not to go to meet the bridegroom without oil, Go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

HILARY; They that sell are the poor, who needing the alms of the faithful, made them that recompense which they desire, selling in return for the relief afforded to their wants, a consciousness of good works. This is the abundant fuel of an undying light which may be bought and stored up for the fruits of mercy.

CHRYS. You see then how great merchants the poor are to us; but the poor are not there, but here, and therefore we must store up oil here, that we may have it to use there when occasion shall require.

JEROME; And this oil is sold, and at a high cost, nor is it to be got without much toil; so that we understand it not of alms only, but of all virtues and counsels of the teachers.

ORIGEN; Otherwise; Notwithstanding they were foolish, they yet understood that they must have light to go and meet the bridegroom, that all the lights of their senses might be burning. This also they discerned, that because they had little of the spiritual oil, their lamps would burn dim as darkness drew on. But the wise send the foolish to those that sell, seeing that they had not stored up so much oil, that is, word of doctrine, as would suffice both for themselves to live by, and to teach others, Go you rather to them that sell, i.e. to the doctors, and buy, i.e. take of them; the price is perseverance, the love of learning, industry, and toil of all who are willing to learn.

AUG. Or we may suppose it; Dot meant as advice what they should do, but as an indirect allusion to their fault. For flatterers sell oil, who by praising things false, and things unknown, lead souls astray, recommending to them, as foolish, empty joys, and receiving, in return some temporal benefit. Go you rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves, yes, i.e. Let us now see what they can profit you who have used to sell you their praise. Lest there be not enough for us and you, because no man is profited in God's sight by the testimony of others, because God sees the heart, and each man is scarce able to give testimony concerning his own conscience. Jerome; But because the season for buying was now past, and the day of judgment was coming on, so that there was no room for penitence, they must not now lay up new works, but give an account of the old.

HILARY; The marriage is the putting on of immortality, and the joining together corruption and incorruption in a new union.

CHRYS. That, While they went to buy, shows that even, if we should become merciful after death, it will avail us nothing to escape punishment, as it was no profit to the rich man, that he became merciful and careful about those who belonged to him.

ORIGEN; Or, He says, While they went to buy, because there are men to be found who have neglected to learn any thing useful, till when, in the very end of their life, when they set themselves to learn, they are overtaken by death.

AUG. Or otherwise; While they went to buy, that is, while they turned themselves to things without, and sought to find pleasure in things they had been accustomed to, because they knew not inward joys, came He that judges; and they that were ready, i.e. they whose conscience bore witness to them before God, went in with him to the wedding, i.e. to where the pure soul is united prolific to the pure and perfect word of God.

JEROME; After the day of judgment, there is no more opportunity for good works, or for righteousness, and therefore it follows, And the door was shut.

AUG. When they have been taken in who have been changed into angelic befog, all entrance into the kingdom of heaven is closed; after the judgment, there is no more place for prayers or merit.

HILARY; Yet though the season of repentance is now past, the foolish virgins come and beg that entrance may be granted to them.

JEROME; Their worthy confession calling Him, Lord, Lord, is a mark of faith. But what avails it to confess with the mouth Him whom you deny with your works?

GLOSS. Grief at their exclusion extorts from them a repetition of this title of Lord; they call not Him Father, whose mercy they despised in their lifetime.

AUG. It is not said that they bought any oil, and therefore we must suppose that all their delight in the praise of men being gone, they return in distress and affliction to implore God. But His severity, after judgment, is as great as His mercy was unspeakable before. But He answered and said, Verily I say to you, I know you not; by that rule, namely, that the art of God, that is, His wisdom, does not admit that those should enter into His joy who have sought to do in any thing according to His commandments, not as before God, but that they may please men.

JEROME; For the Lord knows them that are his, and he that knows not shall not be known, and though they be virgins in purity of body, or in confession of the true faith, yet forasmuch as they have no oil, they are unknown by the bridegroom. When He adds, Watch therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour, He means that all that has been said points to this, namely, that seeing we know not the day of judgment, we should be careful in providing the light of good works.

AUG. For indeed we know the day and the hour neither of that future time when the Bridegroom will come, nor of our own falling asleep each of us; if then we be prepared for this latter, we shall also be prepared when that voice shall sound, which shall arouse us all.

ID. There have not been wanting those who would refer these ten virgins to that coming of Christ, which takes place now in the Church; but this is not to be hastily held out, lest any thing should occur contradictory of it.

Catena Aurea Matthew 25

Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

Hieronymus Francken II

c. 1616
Oil on canvas, 111 x 172 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Information: St. Zephyrinus

Feast Day: August 26

Died: 20 December 247

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

St. Elizabeth Bichier

Feast Day: August 26
Born: 1773 :: Died: 1838

Elizabeth was born in France and came from a very good family. Then during the time of the French Revolution, Elizabeth's family lost everything they owned. This was because the republicans were taking property from the nobility.

But this intelligent young woman of nineteen studied law so she could fight her family's case in court. Being a good lawyer, she won the case and was able to save her family. The village shoemaker exclaimed: "All you have to do now is marry a good republican!"

But Elizabeth had no intention of marrying anyone republican or noble. On the back of a picture of Our Lady, she had written: "I dedicate and consecrate myself to Jesus and Mary forever."

Elizabeth soon joined the convent and became a nun, with the help of St. Andrew Fournet, she started a new religious order called the Daughters of the Cross.

As a little girl, her favorite game was building castles in the sand. Many years later, this holy French woman had to take charge of building many convents for the Daughters of the Cross. "I guess building was meant to be my business," she joked, "since I started it so young!"

This new order taught children and cared for the sick. Elizabeth would face any danger to help people. Once she found a tramp lying sick in a barn. She brought him to the convent hospital and did all she could for him until he died. The next morning the police chief came to tell her she could be arrested for sheltering a man who was a criminal.

Elizabeth was unafraid. "I only did what you yourself would have done, sir," she said. "I found this poor sick man, and took care of him until he died. I am ready to tell the judge just what happened."

` Of course, the saint's honesty and charity won her great respect. People admired her straight, clear answers. By 1830, Elizabeth had opened over sixty convents.

The order's co-founder, St. Andrew Fournet, died in 1834. St. Elizabeth wrote to the sisters, "This is our greatest and most sad loss." Then four years later St. Elizabeth died on August 26, 1838.

Friday

August 26, 2016

Yours Are...

“Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion is to look out to the earth, yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.” — St. Teresa of Avila

Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: Fast from secular music today.

Not official yet -- maybe next year.

The Stories of Our Lady of Czestochowa [Catholic Caucus]
Our Lady of Czestochowa [Catholic Caucus]
Catholic Word of the Day: CZESTOCHOWA, 06-02-10
3,000 Priests Pilgrimage in Czestochowa (Recall Clergy Killed During Wars, Communist Regime)
The Siege of Czestochowa
What a glorious trip! – Pilgrimage to Czestochowa (they have just arrived!)

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Friday, August 26

Liturgical Color: Green

Today the Church honors
Irenaeus and Abundius, martyrs
of the Valerian persecution.
Influenced by fellow politicians,
the Roman emperor ordered all
Christians to renounce their faith
and offer pagan sacrifice. Those
who refused were executed.

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: August 26th

Friday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

August 26, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who cause the minds of the faithful to unite in a single purpose, grant your people to love what you command and to desire what you promise, that, amid the uncertainties of this world, our hearts may be fixed on that place where true gladness is found. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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Recipes (1)

Paczki (Polish Doughnuts)

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Activities (2)

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Prayers (2)

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Library (1)

The Black Madonna of Czestochowa | Zsolt Aradi

Old Calendar: St. Zephyrinus, pope and martyr; Our Lady of Czestochowa (Hist)

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of St. Zephyrinus whose long pontificate was a period marked by the persecution of Septimus Severus, the struggle against heresy and the organization of the Christian community in Rome. In the person of the Pope the Roman Church asserted her claim as the appointed guardian of the true faith.

Today is also the feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa. According to tradition, the icon of Jasna Góra was painted by Luke the Evangelist on a tabletop built by Jesus himself, and the icon was discovered by St. Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine and collector of Christian relics in the Holy Land. The icon was then enshrined in the imperial city of Constantinople, according to the legend, where it remained for the next 500 years.

St. Zephyrinus
Commodus, looked favorably on the Christians at the onset of his reign. His son Caracalla had been raised by a Christian nurse, and the emperor himself had been cured of some ailment by a Christian. However, Severus later reversed his position toward the Christians, probably due to their unpopularity with the Roman pagans, and he issued a decree forbidding any person to become either a Jew or a Christian. The persecution commenced once again.

Zephyrinus was a Roman and the son of Habundius. Some sources indicate that his strength did not lie in leadership, but that he depended greatly on the more capable and practiced Calixtus, who, since his release from the labor mines, had been rehabilitated and devoted himself to the Church. Consequently, he was appointed archdeacon. Not only did he direct the lower clergy for Zephyrinus but he was also entrusted with the administration of the official cemetery which the Church now owned.

Heresy stormed the Church from all sides, but Zephyrinus adhered firmly to the doctrine set forth by the apostles. The excommunicated tanner Theodotus continued to teach that Christ was not the true Son of God. He had even gone so far as to set up his own church and place a paid bishop in residence. This bishop, called Natalius, had previously been tortured for confessing the true faith. According to legend, angels were sent to Natalius in visions to rebuke him for joining Theodotus, since Jesus did not want anyone who had suffered for Him to be cast out of the Church. Natalius appeared to have seen the light; he threw himself upon the mercy of Zephyrinus and begged to be pardoned. Natalius was readmitted to communion by the bishop of Rome after considerable penance.

Zephyrinus decreed that all ordinations, even those of mere clerics, be performed before the assembled clergy and laity.

Another heresy, called Modalism, taught by Praxeas, Noetus, and Sabellius, was brought to the attention of Zephyrinus. Followers of this theory obliterated the distinctions between the entities of the Trinity. Zephyrinus immediately condemned this, again citing the original teachings of the apostles.

Zephyrinus was said to have been martyred and was buried in his own cemetery on the Appian Way.

The Popes: A Papal History, J.V. Bartlett

Symbols: Monstrance; triple cross.

Our Lady of Czestochowa (The Black Madonna)
The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also known as the Black Madonna, was traditionally believed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a cypress wood panel from a table used by the Holy Family in Nazareth. It was said to have been brought from Jerusalem by St. Helen and was enshrined in Constantinople for 500 years. It was given to a Greek princess married to a Ruthenian nobleman and it was housed in the royal palace at Belz in the Ukraine for the next 600 years. Art historians believe it is a Byzantine icon of the Hodigitria type dating from the 6th - 9th Century.

The image was brought to Poland in 1382 by Ladislaus of Opole who rescued the painting from Belz while escaping an attack by the Tartars who had damaged the painting with an arrow. On his way to Silesia, Ladislaus stopped to rest in the town of Czestochowa near the church on Jasna Góra (Bright Hill). He believed that it was Our Lady’s desire for her image to remain in Czestochowa so he left the image at the church and invited the Pauline monks from Hungary to be its guardians.

On April 14, 1430, robbers, sometimes associated with the Hussites of Bohemia, looted the monastery and made three slashes on the face of Our Lady in an attempt to remove valuable stones, finally smashing the image into three pieces. In order to repair the icon, the original paint was removed and the icon was repainted. Although the icon was restored, the slashes in Our Lady’s face remain visible today.

The image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is associated with several miraculous events. One of the most spectacular occurred in 1655 during the height of the Protestant Revolution. The Swedish Lutheran army invaded Poland winning victories over the city after city including Cracow and Warsaw. The Polish King fled the country. When the Swedish army came to Jasna Góra hoping to plunder the sacred site, the monks refused to surrender although they were greatly outnumbered. The following account is from the Polish historian Norman Davies as quoted in Warren Carroll’s series on Christianity.

“When negotiations brought no result the Swedes began a violent bombardment of the walls. Then, in order to spread fear among the defenders, they started to hurl blazing firebrands, setting the monastery’s barn alight together with a great quantity of corn. Next, all around the monastery, they set up a camp with wooden palisades and gun emplacements…But their attack had little effect. The walls were banked with earth on the inside, and only the cannon displaced a few bricks. Before long, the defenders opened fire in reply. The aim of their gunners was so accurate that after three hours the Swedes were obliged to pull back with great loss. Meanwhile, the inhabitants of houses adjacent to the monastery, where the enemy had found shelter, set their homes on fire, not counting the cost...

The Swedes renewed their attack on the 19th of November, the day of the Transfiguration of the Virgin…the official printed a description of this siege, which records that bullets and missiles fell so thick on the church and tower that they seemed to be in flames. But…the cannon balls bounced off the walls and tiles or flew over the church roof, causing no damage….Muller (the Swedish commander) was most angered by the monks, who would climb to the top of the tower and in full choir pour down pious hymns on his soldiers…

Jasna Góra was not saved by men…A thick mist screened the monastery from attack…Muller himself saw a Lady in a shining robe on the walls, priming the cannon and tossing shells back in the direction from which they came…He (General Muller) launched this last attack on Christmas Day, firing off all his guns in one salvo, and sending his entire army to storm the walls…But at that very moment, he suffered a fatal accident. He was eating breakfast in a fairly distant house, and cursing Jasna Góra with blasphemies, when suddenly an iron shot penetrated the wall, knocked down all the plates, bottles and glasses from the table, scattered the guests, and struck him in the arm…At last, in the night before St. Stephen’s Day, the Swedes started to drag the guns from their emplacements, to collect their equipment, and to direct their wagons in the direction of Klobuck…Of course, no heretic will believe that cannon balls were repulsed from the walls of Jasna Góra by supernatural means…but all that I have described is true.”

The victory of Our Lady of Czestochowa at Jasna Góra turned the tide of the war. In 1656, the Polish King Jan Casimir proclaimed the Mother of God the “Queen of the Polish Crown” and the shrine at Jasna Góra, the “Mount of Victory” and the spiritual capital of Poland. In recognition of the miraculous image, Pope Clement XI donated a crown to be placed on the image in 1717. Thieves stole the bejeweled crown in 1909. Pope St. Pius X replaced the 1717 crown with a crown of gold.

Our Lady intervened again in 1920 when the Russian army was about to invade Warsaw. As they were about to cross the Vistula River on September 15th, the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa appeared in the clouds over Warsaw and the Russian Army retreated. Shortly after this Miracle of the Vistula, in 1925, Pope Pius XI designated May 3rd as the feast day of Our Lady of Czestochowa.

After the liberation of Poland from Nazi occupation, 1.5 million people gathered at Jasna Góra in 1945 to rededicate the nation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Pope John Paul II visited the image of Our Lady of Czestochowa four times during his pontificate. Our Lady’s intercession is credited with the liberation of Poland from Communist rule.

The holy painting enshrined at Czestochowa has been a lighthouse of hope during centuries of hardship and defeat. Today, the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa attracts millions of who love and honor Our Lady’s intercession.

Excerpted from St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish

Why is She Black?

There have been reports for centuries of miraculous events such as spontaneous healings occuring to those who made a pilgrimage to the portrait. It is known as the “Black Madonna” because of the soot residue that discolors the painting. The soot is the result of centuries of votive lights and candles burning in front of the painting. With the decline of communism in Poland, pilgrimages to the Black Madonna have increased dramatically.

Excerpted from The Mary Page

The Word Among Us

Meditation: 1 Corinthians 1:17-25

21st Week in Ordinary Time

The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

What’s the most absurd thing you’ve ever heard?

Perhaps it’s a joke told by a five-year-old who laughs so hard he can’t even deliver the punch line—yet gets everyone laughing with him. Perhaps it’s a YouTube video of an animal acting like a human being or vice versa. Perhaps it’s something in the natural world: fish with brilliant colors that are invisible in deep water or a hard-to-classify animal like the platypus. Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor?

When the philosophers of Athens heard St. Paul’s story about Jesus, they just couldn’t make any sense of it either.

Think about this for a moment. If you had never heard the story before, could you imagine it? Think about the good Creator of the universe. How does he react when his creatures turn away from him and decide they can improve on the way he has made them? Instead of giving up, destroying them, and starting over, he intervenes again and again on their behalf. When all else fails, he takes an enormous risk. The immaterial, invisible God is born as a human child. The omnipotent Creator becomes helpless and dependent. Misunderstood and rejected by those he has come to rescue, he accepts a shameful death. And then, three days later, he returns, vibrantly, indisputably alive.

Could anything be more ridiculous from a human, “practical” point of view? Nothing can explain it except God’s unconditional love for us and his willingness to go to any extreme to win us back to himself. Nothing, that is, but the logic of divine love.

For Pope Francis, as well as for all of us who believe, the gospel story makes perfect sense. That’s because it follows what the Holy Father has called “the logic of the cross, which is not primarily that of suffering and death, but rather that of love and of the gift of self which brings life.”

If we “get” this divine joke, the only appropriate response is gratitude and celebration.

“Father, I revel in your love for me. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to share every aspect of my life. Holy Spirit, your wisdom is beyond my imagining. Blessed Trinity, I rejoice in the ‘surprise ending’ of the resurrection!”

Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11
Matthew 25:1-13

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 26, 2016:

Enjoy dancing? Look up instructional videos on YouTube or consider taking lessons with your spouse. Plus, it’s great exercise!

Regnum Christi

August 26, 2016 – Ready or Not!

26 Aug 2016

Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time

Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I come to you again in prayer. Even though I cannot see you, I know through faith that you are present in my life. I hope in your promise to be with me. I love you, and I know you love me. Accept this prayer as a token of my love.

Petition: Lord, make me long for and strive to enter the kingdom of heaven.

1. A Severe Oil Shortage: The Gospel invites us to have oil for our lamps, that is, to be always ready for the coming of the Lord. He appears in moments and ways we do not expect and at all times throughout our day. The foolish virgins failed to anticipate when and how the Lord would come to them, and they were not prepared. So often we, too, get caught up in a thousand affairs and worries, and we can miss what is essential. We miss the presence of Christ in the people around us, in the circumstances in which we are living. Sometimes, Christ comes to us through some sacrifice or suffering; but we do not recognize him in it, and we reject it. We need to strengthen our faith and see how the Lord may appear in our lives.

2. The Door Closes: Over and over in the New Testament, Jesus makes clear that there is a real possibility some people, due to their own choices, may not be saved. The most terrible thing that could happen to any person would be to hear those words from the Lord who created us and died to save us: “I do not know you.” The Lord takes our freedom to choose very seriously. He never forces our will. He never imposes himself on us. Rather he invites us to make a free response of love and obedience to him and the way of life he taught us. We must choose to remain steadfast in the way of the Christian life. God cannot save us without our cooperation.

3. Stay Awake: Saint Augustine said, “Beware of the grace of God that passes and does not return.” We need to perceive God’s presence in the little things of each day and never let the opportunity to love and serve him pass us by. Our faith must be ready and watching for him. If we take him for granted, or presume that we are already saved, we can miss our chance to be with him.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, thank you for teaching us so clearly about the seriousness of our choices. How terrible it would be to opt for death instead of eternal life with you! I want to choose you and your ways, but I am weak. Make me watch and wait always, ready to see you in all things and do your will.

Resolution: I will actively look for signs of Christ in others today.

One Bread, One Body

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All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 5

<< Friday, August 26, 2016 >>

1 Corinthians 1:17-25
View Readings

Psalm 33:1-2, 4-5, 10-11

Matthew 25:1-13
Similar Reflections

FAITH-FIGHT

"It pleased God to save those who believe through the absurdity of the preaching of the gospel." �1 Corinthians 1:21

Pope St. John Paul II maintained that the western world, especially, Europe, Canada, and the USA, was in a crisis of faith. The lack of priestly and religious vocations in our part of the world is a symptom of a lack of faith. Our problems are not superficial, but critical. Satan is not just trying to break the windows of western civilization; he's trying to take out our foundation.

Because "all depends on faith" (Rm 4:16), we need faith. However, Satan has worked over so many people that some Christians no longer believe in Jesus' cross or in His final coming. The cross of forgiving enemies, the cross of letting ourselves be persecuted, the cross of sexual purity, the cross of a simple lifestyle, and the cross of submission to authority are a few of the crosses which many Christians stumble over and consider absurd (1 Cor 1:23). Moreover, some Christians have lost their faith in Jesus' Second Coming. They are therefore among the foolish bridesmaids who were not ready for the Master's return (see Mt 25:2). Jesus' final coming is rarely on many Christians' minds and has no practical effects on their lives.

Faith in the foundational revelations of Christianity is eroding. Repent, believe, and "fight hard for the faith" (Jude 3).

Prayer: Jesus, when You return may You find me with a strong faith (see Lk 18:8).

Promise: "Keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour." �Mt 25:13

Praise: Matt chose a life of sexual purity, a simple lifestyle, and submission to authority as his way to follow Jesus daily.