Posted on 02/23/2006 6:59:12 AM PST by Salvation
Memorial of Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr
Reading I
Jas 5:1-6
Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten,
your gold and silver have corroded,
and that corrosion will be a testimony against you;
it will devour your flesh like a fire.
You have stored up treasure for the last days.
Behold, the wages you withheld from the workers
who harvested your fields are crying aloud;
and the cries of the harvesters
have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.
You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure;
you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.
You have condemned;
you have murdered the righteous one;
he offers you no resistance.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 49:14-15ab, 15cd-16, 17-18, 19-20
R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
This is the way of those whose trust is folly,
the end of those contented with their lot:
Like sheep they are herded into the nether world;
death is their shepherd and the upright rule over them.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Quickly their form is consumed;
the nether world is their palace.
But God will redeem me
from the power of the nether world by receiving me.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Fear not when a man grows rich,
when the wealth of his house becomes great,
For when he dies, he shall take none of it;
his wealth shall not follow him down.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Though in his lifetime he counted himself blessed,
“They will praise you for doing well for yourself,”
He shall join the circle of his forebears
who shall never more see light.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Gospel
Mk 9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
“Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”
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From: James 5:1-6
A Warning for the Rich
From: Mark 9:41-50
Scandal
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[41] "For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to
drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose his
reward.
[42] "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin
it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his
neck and he were thrown into the sea. [43] And if your hand causes you
to sin cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with
two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. [45] And if your
foot causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life
lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. [47] And if your eye
causes you to sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the
kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
[48] where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
[49] For every one will be salted with fire. [50] Salt is good; but if
the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you season it? Have salt in
yourselves, and be at peace with one another."
BFL
O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 88 (89) |
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| A lament at the ruin of the house of David |
| But you have spurned and rejected him; you are enraged against your anointed. You have repudiated the covenant of your servant, you have trampled his crown in the dust. You have demolished his walls and laid his fortifications in ruins. Anyone who passes can despoil him; he is a mockery among his neighbours. You have strengthened the arm of those who oppress him, you have gladdened the hearts of his enemies. You have turned back the sharp edge of his sword; you have deprived him of your help in battle. You have put an end to his splendour, and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him from head to foot in shame. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 88 (89) |
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| How long, O Lord, will you hide yourself? For ever? Will your anger always burn like fire? Remember how short is my time. Was it truly so pointless, your creation of man? Who is the man who can live and not die, who can save his life from the grasp of the underworld? Where are the kindnesses you showed us of old? Where is the truth of your oath to David? Remember, Lord, how your servants are taunted, the taunts I bear in my bosom, the taunts of the nations – the insults of your enemies, Lord, the insults that follow the steps of your anointed! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Psalm 89 (90) |
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| Let the Lord's glory shine upon us |
| Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains were born, before earth and heaven were conceived, from all time to all time, you are God. You turn men into dust, you say to them “go back, children of men”. A thousand years in your sight are like yesterday, that has passed; like a short watch in the night. When you take them away, they will be nothing but a dream; like the grass that sprouts in the morning: in the morning it grows and flowers, in the evening it withers and dries. For we are made weak by your anger, thrown into confusion by your wrath. You have gazed upon our transgressions; the light of your face illuminates our secrets. All our days vanish in your anger, we use up our years in a single breath. Seventy years are what we have, or eighty for the stronger ones; and most of that is labour and sadness – quickly they pass, and we are gone. Who can comprehend the power of your wrath? Who can behold the violence of your anger? Teach us to reckon our days like this, so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom. Turn to us, Lord, how long must we wait? Let your servants call on you and be answered. Fill us with your kindness in the morning, and we shall rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. Give us joy for as long as you afflicted us, for all the years when we suffered. Let your servants see your great works, and let their children see your glory. Let the glory of the Lord God be upon us: make firm the work of your hands. Make firm the work of your hands. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Reading | Ecclesiastes 6:11 - 7:28 © |
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| The more words, the greater the vanity of it all; and what does man get from it? Who knows what is good for man in his lifetime, in those few days he lives so vainly, days that like a shadow he spends? Who can tell a man what will happen under the sun after his time? Better a good name than costly oil, the day of death than the day of birth. Better go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting; for to this end all men come, let the living take this to heart. Better sadness than laughter, a severe face confers some benefit. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, the heart of fools in the house of gaiety. Better attend to a wise man’s reprimand than listen to a song sung by a fool. For like the crackling of thorns under the cauldron is the laughter of fools: this is vanity, too. For laughter makes a fool of the wise man and merriment corrupts the heart. Better the end of a matter than its beginning, better patience than pride. Do not be hasty with your resentment, for resentment is found in the heart of fools. Do not ask why earlier days were better than these, for that is not a question prompted by wisdom. Wisdom is a precious legacy, a boon for those on whom the sun shines. For as money gives protection, so does wisdom; and the good that knowledge imparts is this: its possessor finds that wisdom keeps him safe. Consider the work of God; who can set straight what he has made crooked? When times are prosperous, enjoy your happiness; when times are bad, consider this: the one is God’s doing, as is the other, in order that man may know nothing of his destiny. In this fleeting life of mine I have seen so much: the virtuous man perishing for all his virtue, for all his godlessness the godless living on. Do not be over-virtuous nor play too much the sage; why drive yourself too hard? Do not be wicked to excess, and do not be a fool; why die before your time? The best thing is to hold the one and not let go the other, for both of these will happen to the God-fearing man. Wisdom lends more strength to the wise than ten rulers in a city. There is no virtuous man on earth who, doing good, is ever free of sin. Another thing: pay no attention to telltales; you may hear that your servant has reviled you; your own heart knows how often you have reviled others. I have put all this to the test by wisdom, claiming to be wise; but wisdom has been beyond my reach. Reality lies beyond my grasp; and deep, so deep, who can discover it? Once again I was at pains to study wisdom and retribution, to see wickedness as folly, and foolishness as madness. I find woman more bitter than death; she is a snare, her heart a net, her arms are chains; He who is pleasing to God eludes her, but the sinner is her captive. This then you must know, says Qoheleth, is the sum of my investigation, putting this and that together. I have made other researches too, without result. One man in a thousand I may find, but never a woman better than the rest. |
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| Reading | From a letter on the martyrdom of Saint Polycarp by the Church of Smyrna |
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| A rich and pleasing sacrifice | |
| When the pyre was ready, Polycarp took off all his clothes and loosened his under-garment. He made an effort also to remove his shoes, though he had been unaccustomed to this, for the faithful always vied with each other in their haste to touch his body. Even before his martyrdom he had received every mark of honour in tribute to his holiness of life. There and then he was surrounded by the material for the pyre. When they tried to fasten him also with nails, he said: “Leave me as I am. The one who gives me strength to endure the fire will also give me strength to stay quite still on the pyre, even without the precaution of your nails”. So they did not fix him to the pyre with nails but only fastened him instead. Bound as he was, with hands behind his back, he stood like a mighty ram, chosen out for sacrifice from a great flock, a worthy victim made ready to be offered to God. Looking up to heaven, he said: “Lord, almighty God, Father of your beloved and blessed Son Jesus Christ, through whom we have come to the knowledge of yourself, God of angels, of powers, of all creation, of all the race of saints who live in your sight, I bless you for judging me worthy of this day, this hour, so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ, your anointed one, and so rise again to eternal life in soul and body, immortal through the power of the Holy Spirit. May I be received among the martyrs in your presence today as a rich and pleasing sacrifice. God of truth, stranger to falsehood, you have prepared this and revealed it to me and now you have fulfilled your promise. “I praise you for all things, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal priest of heaven, Jesus Christ, your beloved Son. Through him be glory to you, together with him and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen”. When he had said “Amen” and finished the prayer, the officials at the pyre lit it. But, when a great flame burst out, those of us privileged to see it witnessed a strange and wonderful thing. Indeed, we have been spared in order to tell the story to others. Like a ship’s sail swelling in the wind, the flame became as it were a dome encircling the martyr’s body. Surrounded by the fire, his body was like bread that is baked, or gold and silver white-hot in a furnace, not like flesh that has been burnt. So sweet a fragrance came to us that it was like that of burning incense or some other costly and sweet-smelling gum. |
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| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| Thursday, February 23, 2006 St. Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial) |
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February 23, 2006
 St. Polycarp
(d. 156)
Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), disciple of St. John the Apostle and friend of St. Ignatius of Antioch was a revered Christian leader during the first half of the second century. St. Ignatius, on his way to Rome to be martyred, visited Polycarp at Smyrna, and later at Troas wrote him a personal letter. The Asia Minor Churches recognized Polycarp’s leadership by choosing him as a representative to discuss with Pope Anicetus the date of the Easter celebration in Rome—quite a controversy in the early Church. Only one of the many letters written by Polycarp has been preserved, the one he wrote to the Church of Philippi, Macedonia. At 86, Polycarp was led into the crowded Smyrna stadium to be burned alive. The flames did not harm him and he was finally killed by a dagger. The centurion ordered the saint’s body burned. The “Acts” of Polycarp’s martyrdom are the earliest preserved, fully reliable account of a Christian martyr’s death. He died in 156. Quote:
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O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.
A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.
| Psalm 86 (87) |
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| Jerusalem, mother of all nations |
| Its foundations are set on the sacred mountains – the Lord loves the gates of Sion more than all the tents of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, city of God! I shall count Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. The Philistines, Tyrians, Ethiopians – all have their birthplace here. Of Sion it will be said “Here is the birthplace of all people: the Most High himself has set it firm”. The Lord shall write in the book of the nations: “Here is their birthplace”. They will sing as in joyful processions: “All my being springs from you”. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| Canticle | Isaiah 40 |
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| The good shepherd is God, the Most High | |
| Behold, the Lord God comes in strength, and his right arm triumphs. Behold, his reward is with him, his prize is before him. Like a shepherd he feeds his flock, he gathers the lambs in his arms and lifts them to his breast; he carries the pregnant ewes. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and arranged the heavens with his palms? Who has measured the dust of the earth, weighed out the mountains, weighed the hills on the balance? Who directed the spirit of the Lord? Who gave him advice in his task? With whom did he consult? Who taught him? Who led him in the paths of justice, gave him knowledge, showed him the way of understanding? Behold, the Gentiles are like a drop in a bucket, a piece of fluff on the scales. All the islands are a handful of dust. What burnt-offering could be worthy of the Lord? The forests of Lebanon could not feed that fire; all the animals of Lebanon would not be enough for that sacrifice. All the nations count for nothing before him: for him, they are nothingness and emptiness. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Psalm 98 (99) |
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| The Lord our God is holy |
| The Lord reigns! let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned on the cherubim: let the earth shake. The Lord is great in Sion, he is high above all the peoples. Let them proclaim his name – great and terrible it is, let them proclaim his holy name, the powerful king, who loves justice. The laws you establish are just: you have given Jacob uprightness and right judgement. Praise the Lord, our God, worship at his footstool, for he is holy. Moses and Aaron were among his prophets, Samuel one of those who called on him. They called on the Lord and he listened, and from the pillar of cloud he spoke to them. They kept his decrees and the commands he gave them. Lord our God, you listened to them; O God, you were gracious to them, but you punished their wrongdoing. Praise the Lord, our God, worship on his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
| A short Bible reading and responsory may follow here. |
| Canticle | Benedictus |
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| The Messiah and his forerunner | |
| Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. |
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| Some short prayers may follow here, to offer up the day's work to God. |
| Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. |
| A concluding prayer may follow here. |
| May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life. |
| A M E N |
Recipes:
Activities:
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February 23, 2006    Memorial of St. Polycarp of Smyrna, bishop and martyr Old Calendar: St. Peter Damian, bishop and doctor
The feast of St. Peter Damian, which was celebrated on this date before the reform of the General Roman Calendar, is now observed on February 21. Previously St. Polycarp's feast was observed on January 26.
St. Polycarp of Smyrna  Polycarp had known those who had known Jesus, and was a disciple of St. John the Apostle, who had converted him around the year 80 AD. He taught, says his own pupil Irenaeus of Lyons, the things that he learned from the Apostles, which the Church hands down, which are true. Irenaeus, who as a young boy knew Polycarp, praised his gravity, holiness, and majesty of countenance. He had lived near Jerusalem and was proud of his early associations with the Apostles. Polycarp became bishop of Smyrna and held the see for about 70 years. He was a staunch defender of orthodoxy and an energetic opponent of heresy, especially Marcionism and Valentinianism (the most influential of the Gnostic sects). Toward the end of his life he visited Pope St. Anicetus in Rome and, when they could not agree on a date for Easter, decided each would observe his own date. To testify his respect and ensure that the bonds of charity were unbroken, Anicetus invited Polycarp to celebrate the Eucharist in the papal chapel on this occasion. Polycarp suffered martyrdom with 12 others of his flock around the year 156. Excerpted from St. Polycarp, Bishop and Martyr by Fr. Paul Haffner (Inside the Vatican, February 2004) Among the select few from apostolic times about whom we have some historical information is Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna and one of the most glorious martyrs of Christian antiquity. His life and death are attested by the authentic "Acts" of his martyrdom (no similar account is older), as well as by other contemporary writings. It moves us deeply when, for example, we find in St. Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, the passage in which he reminisces:
On the day of his death (February 23) the Martyrology recounts with deep reverence:
"At Smyrna, the death of St. Polycarp. He was a disciple of the holy apostle John, who consecrated him bishop of that city; and there he acted as the primate of all Asia Minor. Later, under Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, he was brought before the tribunal of the proconsul; and when all the people in the amphitheater cried out against him, he was handed over to be burned to death. But since the fire caused him no harm, he was put to death by the sword. Thus he gained the crown of martyrdom. With him, twelve other Christians, who came from Philadelphia, met death by martyrdom in the same city." Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch. Patron: Against ear ache, dysentery. Things to Do:
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A Call to Good Example Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr Mark 9:41-50 Introductory Prayer: Lord God, you reveal to us that those who reach out to help others in your name will be rewarded, and to give scandal is a terrible thing. Help me understand that as your baptized follower I must always be a beacon of light to lead others to your truth and goodness, rather than a stumbling block to hinder their access to you. Petition: Grant me the gift of docility to you, God. 1. Scandal. “Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2284). Some of Christ’s harshest words in the Gospel are directed towards those who cause scandal: “better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” Scandal is grave when it is given by those who, by office or nature, are obliged to teach or educate others, especially children. Instead of a healing “cup of water” they give the venom of scandal. Christ’s answer reflects his love for the innocent. If we loved more we would be less inclined to give bad example. Have I given scandal? What types of scandal have I given? Do I recognize the gravity of my actions that don’t go along with my Catholic faith? Do I realize the distance that scandal places between me and God? 2. Responsibility for My Neighbor’s Salvation. God reminds us that we are responsible for helping our brothers and sisters attain eternal salvation. God answers the age-old question posed to Cain about being his brother’s keeper: “He who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.” As baptized Christians, we have been given the mission to go and preach to the world. We share in the responsibility for the salvation of others even though it is they who must make the decision to follow Christ or not. Our role is in preaching in word and by example. Christ taught us by word and example, and we should do likewise. 3. Let the Father Prune Your Soul. A saint once said that when God loves a soul he purifies it of anything that is not God himself. Christ brings this to light when he talks about sacrificing parts of one’s body to avoid falling into sin or into Gehenna. In a very graphic way he tells us that nothing is worse than sin. When he allows temptation, it is an opportunity to “cut off” my attachments, those things that get in the way between me and him. God tries us with fire to purify us and bring us to a higher level in our surrender to him. Let us pray and offer up ourselves to this purification. It is hard to follow God’s will, trusting him, and trusting that the happiness he has in store for us is much more than those things I give up in order to be faithful to him. Lord, grant me the simplicity and docility I need to be docile to you, to your commandments and your holy inspirations today and always. Dialogue with Christ: Father, you want nothing less than our happiness. Help me to find my happiness in fulfilling your most holy will. Help me to overcome the temptations that come to lead me away from your will. I trust in you and the power of your grace. Resolution: Today I will visit Christ in the Eucharist and examine the depth of my love. I will take all bad example out of my life. |
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Jas 5:1-6 / Mk 9:41-50 Very early in most standard ethics or philosophy courses there’s usually a discussion of the self-evident proposition that we human beings are social beings, and inescapably so. We need to live in the company of others if we are to survive and thrive. And when we are deprived of that continuous contact and exchange, we wither and die from within, as happens so often among small children and the elderly who have been abandoned. We surely do need one another if we are to thrive. The gift of friendship, the willingness to share our company and our selves with others is indeed a golden gift, but it can have its dark side too, as today’s gospel reminds us. Just as our love and good example can lift up and carry along the people around us, our bad example can drag our neighbors down and can lead them into terrible paths they never would have found without our active or passive urgings. It’s not only our children who watch and imitate what we do. To a surprising extent, our peers and often even our elders are influenced and moved by what we say and do. It’s an immense power that we have in our hands, and we must use it wisely and circumspectly as Jesus did at every moment. You have a wonderful gift to give in the form of a life well and rightly lived. Give that gift as truly as you can, and know the joy of living without regrets. |
There have been miraculous images of Mary since the beginning of the Catholic Church. St. Luke the Evangelist painted one of the very first miraculous images of Mary. It is the painting of the Virgin Mary we now call, Our Lady of Czestochowa, in Poland. The Evangelist painted a portrait of Mary on the top of a table, which the holy family had often used in their house.
Since the time of St. Luke, thousands of pictures and statues of the Blessed Virgin Mary have been carved, painted, or fashioned in some way, by all kinds of different people around the world.
A very famous picture I would like to tell you about is titled, "Our Lady of the Bowed Head," from Vienna, Austria. It was found one night in 1610, by a Carmelite Monk, Venerable Dominic of Jesus and Mary. He was looking over an old, broken down house which he wanted to change into a Carmelite Monastery. Fr. Dominic walked around the outside of the house and passed by a pile of garbage, but paid no attention to it. Then he entered the house and started looking over the rooms, when suddenly he felt the urge to go back to the pile of garbage. Lighting his lantern, the good priest took a closer look at the heap of garbage.
Suddenly his eyes fell upon an old oil painting of the Blessed Virgin Mary!
He was shocked! "Who would throw a beautiful picture of Our Lady in the garbage," he wondered. Then Fr. Dominic apologized to Mary, "I am sorry dear Mother that someone has treated your image in such a terrible manner. I will take it back to the monastery with me and fix it up, and I will give you the homage, which you so rightly deserve."
After returning to the monastery, Dominic cleaned the picture and repainted the damaged parts. Now he could hang the picture up in his cell and give Mary the devotion and attention, which she deserved. He prayed to the Madonna with great confidence, asking her for many graces and blessings.
One evening when he had just finished sweeping his cell, Fr. Dominic noticed that the picture of Our Lady had some dust on it. He was crushed, "Oh, I'm terribly sorry my dearest Mother! He exclaimed. "I humbly beg your pardon for forgetting to dust your picture." Then taking out his handkerchief he began to dust the picture saying, "O purest and holiest of Virgins, nothing in the whole world is worthy to touch your holy face. Dear Mother, I only have this coarse, old handkerchief and I beg of you to please accept my good will in dusting your image."
Fr. Dominic continued dusting the picture of Mary, when suddenly the face of Our Lady came to life! She smiled at the holy priest and nodded her head as a sign of thanksgiving. Dominic was afraid that what he was seeing was a trick of the devil. But Our Lady cleared up his doubts saying, "Fear not, my son, for your request is granted! Your prayer will be answered and will be part of the reward, which you will receive for the love that you have for my Son Jesus and myself. Now Dominic I want you to ask me with all confidence, what favour you would like me to give you."
The holy monk then fell upon his knees. "O my dear Mother, I offer myself entirely to thee and to thy dear Son Jesus, and I desire to do anything you and Jesus will ask of me. O my Lady, I know that the soul of a benefactor is suffering in Purgatory. Would you please be so kind as to deliver this soul from the fires of Purgatory?"
"Dominic my son, Our Lady encouraged, "I will deliver this soul from Purgatory if you will make many sacrifices, and will have many Masses offered for this soul." Then the apparition of Mary faded away.
The good monk hurried to do as Our Lady had asked. Some time later, when all had been completed, he again knelt before the miraculous painting of Our Lady. Suddenly Mary appeared to him again, but this time she appeared with the soul of the special benefactor, which she had delivered from Purgatory. The benefactor was grateful, "Thank-you Fr. Dominic for helping to release my soul from the fires of Purgatory, with your prayers and sacrifices."
"Dominic,” Our Lady encouraged, "I would like you to ask me for more favours and blessings. I am the Mother of God and I delight in helping my children to obtain graces for their salvation."
Fr. Dominic thought for a moment and then spoke, "Dear Mother would you please be so kind as to listen mercifully to the prayers of al those who will honour your image and ask for your help."
Our Lady replied, "All those who ask for my protection and honour this picture with devotion will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces." And I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."
The vision of Our Lady soon disappeared and Fr. Dominic thought about what he should do, "Our Lady made her promises to all who would honour and pray to her, before this miraculous image. Therefore, I can no longer keep this holy picture in my cell. I must have it put in a church, where the people can honour it. "
He then took the picture and had it placed in the Oratory of St. Charles, which was attached to the Church of Santa Maria de la Scale. Many people came to pray before the picture of Our Lady and it became a source of many graces and blessings. The holy image remained at the Oratory until Fr. Dominic's death, which occurred in Vienna, on February 16, 1630. Some copies of the miraculous picture were painted and soon they were honoured in many places.
Maximilian, the Duke of Bavaria, had been one of Dominic's good friends, and also a friend of the Carmelites. One day he asked Fr. Nicholas, the Vicar General of the Carmelite Order, if he could borrow the miraculous image of Mary. The priest said he could borrow the picture and the Duke was overjoyed.
Arrangements were made, and Br. Anastasius of St. Francis was chosen to take the holy picture to Munich, Germany. He had been Fr. Dominic's travelling companion for many years, and was most worthy of this honour. On August 7, 1631, Br. Anastasius also wrote and signed a special document telling about all the things, which Dominic had told him about the miraculous picture, and all the miracles related to it.
The Duke of Bavaria took the miraculous picture when it arrived in Munich, and kept it for a while. He then gave it to the Carmelite Priests in Munich, who received it with great joy.
Some time later, in 1631, the Carmelites loaned it to Emperor Ferdinand II. He was a very generous man, who founded the Carmelite Monasteries in Prague, Czechoslovakia, and Vienna, Austria. The Emperor and his wife, Empress Eleanor, were delighted when the picture of Our Lady arrived at the palace. They placed it in the palace chapel, and richly decorated the miraculous picture, in a splendid fashion. Thus, they honoured the Queen of Heaven in a most glorious manner, a manner that she so much deserved.
The Emperor had great confidence in "Our Lady of the Bowed Head," and always begged her to help him with all his difficulties. Ferdinand loved the Most Blessed Virgin very much and he is even supposed to have taken the picture with him, every time he had to travel somewhere.
Time passed, and one day the good Emperor died. Empress Eleanor then joined the convent of Carmelite Nuns, which she and her husband had founded in Vienna. The miraculous picture of Our Lady was also transferred to the convent, and Eleanor placed it in the chapel, over the main altar.
When the Empress died in June 1655, the picture was given back to the Carmelite Fathers. Now the picture was back in a public church where people could pray before the miraculous image of Our Lady. Soon crowds of people were coming to pray before the holy picture of Mary. Our Lady did not for get her promise that "All those who ask for my protection and honour this picture with devotion, will obtain an answer to their prayers and will receive many graces." I will pay special attention to the prayers which are offered to me, for the relief of the souls in Purgatory."
When people prayed to Our Lady of the Bowed Head, she heard their prayers and granted them special favours and graces; souls were comforted or released from Purgatory, people were cured and sinners were converted.
In time a new Church and Monastery was built, and on December 14, 1901, the miraculous image of Our Lady was transferred to its new place of honour. Benefactors had built a beautiful altar in honour of Our Lady of the Bowed Head and the holy picture of Mary was placed by this altar. From here it can still be venerated by loving devotees and pilgrims.
Fr. Dominic was declared Venerable by St. Pius X, in 1907. Let us beg Our Lady of the Bowed Head to obtain for her servant the title of Saint.
http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:eRnKlBWgXcMJ:groups.msn.com/PrayTheRosary/general.msnw%3Faction%3Dget_message%26mview%3D1%26ID_Message%3D24121+Our+Lady+of+the+bowed+head++Dominic&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=2
Thursday February 23, 2006 Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Reading (James 5:1-6) Gospel (St. Mark 9:41-50)
In the readings today, we see once again a great contrast. In the first reading, we hear from Saint James that those who are storing up riches for themselves are to weep and wail over their impending miseries when Judgment Day comes. As we heard in the responsorial psalm, there are those who would say to these wealthy people, “How blessed you are because you have stored up all kinds of riches for yourselves,” but then God is going to condemn them. What good are all the riches? They do not follow you below, as the Psalmist says.
Saint James tells us that all of these things we tend to store up selfishly are actually going to be used as a testimony against us, that these are the kinds of things that speak against us, because so often when we start storing things up selfishly what we tend to do is violate other people in the process. For instance, Saint James says, “You withheld wages from your workers.” That is one of the four sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance. God will avenge the poor. If someone has treated them unjustly, God will deal with it. Even if it does not seem that God takes care of them in this life, He will take care of it all in the next. Now we might think that a bit unjust. Why would God not do something for the poor now? He is – He is making them saints. By their poverty and learning how to trust in God, they are becoming extraordinarily holy. Therefore, God is giving to them a great good. They are not storing up treasures for themselves so that they can have corroded silver and gold and moth-eaten vestments, but rather they have treasure in heaven and they will be richly rewarded for eternity.
When we look at the contrast between the people who store up treasures for themselves and those who do not, the Lord says, Anyone who gives you a cup of water because you are a follower of Christ will not want for his reward. That is all it takes. You see with God how simple things are. It is just a matter of charity. But the opposite of charity is selfishness. So we can ask ourselves how many selfish things we do and how many selfless things we do. The latter most of us can probably count on one hand (even if we did not have fingers), and the former we are not going to be able to count because for most of us almost every single thing we do is selfish. Look at the motives for why we do what we do. Even the kind things that we do for others, most often it is because we want something for ourselves. We want to impress somebody, we want them to think well of us, or whatever it might be. So to have the kind of charity that the Lord is seeking is not an easy task for any of us. We are too concerned about the things of this world to be concerned about the things of the next. That is the contrast. Where is our focus? Is our focus on this world, or is it on the next? Is our focus on ourselves, or is our focus on loving God and loving neighbor?
These are the kinds of things the Lord is challenging us with, and He tells us what is going to happen. He says that all of us are going to be salted with fire. It is a necessity, and we can see why it is a necessity: We need to be purified of all the selfishness. He said, Salt is good. Well, what did salt do in the ancient world? It preserved things. So that is what God wants. And we can see the two types of fire that are there. He talks about the fire of Gehenna and then talks about us being salted with fire, which is the fire of the Holy Spirit so that we can be purified. We need it. Otherwise, the fire of Gehenna is what we are going to get. This is why the Lord in His mercy allows difficult things to happen in our lives, to purify us so that we can no longer be selfish, so that we can truly learn how to love, so that we would have so much charity that we would actually give a cup of water to a follower of Christ simply for that reason and for no other reason. That sounds so simple. But let us just ask ourselves: How often have we done it? We do not. As simple as it is, most of us have not achieved the level of charity that we can even give a cup of water to a follower of Christ. We have a long way to go.
That is what Saint James is challenging us with, and that is what Our Lord is challenging us with. One way or the other, we need a fire. We can receive the fire of the Holy Spirit in this life and be purified, or we can enter into the fires of Gehenna for eternity. Obviously, we know which one to choose. We need to pray and ask, and we need to try to cooperate. Listen to what Saint James says with regard to these unjust people; he says, You have condemned and you have murdered the righteous one, but he shows you no resistance. We resist the Holy Spirit. Jesus did not even resist the people who unjustly condemned Him, and we resist God. Once again, we see how far we have to go. This is why we need to pray and this is why God is going to purify things – because it is a necessity. It is because He wants people to go to heaven, and if we are not cooperating with the fire of the Holy Spirit to purify us, we are not going to be able to get there. This is why when things happen in our lives it is not because God hates us, and it is not because He is trying to get even with us. If He wanted to get even, we would not be here, so we need to realize what He is doing. He is loving us. He is purifying us and He is preserving us for life eternal.
* This text was transcribed from the audio recording with minimal editing.
I have never heard of this picture. Wonderful link.
I have a book with a Feast Day of Our Lady for every day of the year.I found it there and used it on the air today:)
Faith-sharing bump.
Prayers offered up for the volatile situation in Iraq. Lord, please keep our soldiers safe.
**Lord, please keep our soldiers safe.**
Amen!
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"The memory of that time when as a youth I was with Polycarp in Asia Minor is as fresh in my mind as the present. Even now I could point to the place where he sat and taught, and describe his coming and going, his every action, his outward appearance, and his manner of discourse to the people. It seems as though I still heard him tell of his association with the apostle John and with others who saw the Lord, and as though he were still relating to me their words and what he heard from them about the Lord and His miracles. . . ."