Biography
In the quiet Belgian town of Diest, near the frontiers of Holland, there lived at the close of the sixteenth century an honest, hardworking shoemaker, by name, John Charles Berchmans. He dwelt with his wife and family in an ordinary two-story building, of the plainest kind, which is still standing.
Were you to visit this quaint town, still guarded by its double earthen ramparts with grassy mounds, you would not be alone as you passed through the trench-like gates that lead to the city; for daily many visitors go to Diest, to see the old house, which has become the chief attraction of the place.
But why do memories cluster round this old house? Because here a son was born to John Charles Berchmans and his wife Elizabeth, and that son is a saint.
The saint was born here on March 13, 1599. At Baptism he was named John in honor of St. John the Baptist. The child had a quick temper, but, under the careful religious training of his mother, grew up as gentle as a lamb. At a great sacrifice, his father placed him, when still very young, under the direction of Father Peter Emmerich, a monk of the Premonstratensian Order, who was in charge of the Church of Our Lady of Diest, and who had in his house a kind of seminary for the training of boys who wished to become priests.
During the three years Berchmans spent in this school he won the admiration of all by his mature judgment, good conduct and love of prayer. In fact, his whole time was taken up with study and prayers, which he knew well how to combine. He did not take part in the games in which boys of his age usually engaged, but it must not be imagined that he was therefore sad or disagreeable in disposition; on the contrary, he was always cheerful. He sacrificed the sports in order to have more time to study and to pray.
We are told by his teacher, Canon Emmerich, that he went to Communion twice a month which is now one of the recommendations in the St. John Berchmans Sanctuary Society as also on the feasts of our Lord and of the Blessed Virgin. He always prepared himself for this holy duty by many and fervent prayers. In his great love for the God of the Eucharist he resembled strikingly the angelic youth St. Aloysius. When in the act of receiving Holy Communion there was something heavenly in his countenance. His deep recollection, the modesty of his downcast eyes and his sweet devotion were subjects of admiration for all who chanced to see him. His love for our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament was remarkable even from his earliest years.
When only seven years of age, he worked hard to master the rudiments of learning. He was sometimes known to leave his bed before daybreak, and when his grandmother asked him why he did so, the little fellow answered with great simplicity: “I want to have the blessing of God on my lessons and so I serve two or three Masses before I go to school.” His greatest pleasure was to serve Mass. In priests, he saw the representatives of Jesus Christ and always conducted himself towards them with religious veneration. Even in the coldest winter weather he could hardly be induced to wear his hat in their presence.
Financial difficulties pressed upon John’s father, who felt that he could no longer afford to send the boy to school. The expense was considerable; besides, he needed John’s assistance. The family was growing and the mother was an invalid. This was a great trial to John, who begged to be per mitted to pursue his studies that he might accomplish his desire of becoming a priest. Just at this juncture news came from Melchin that one of the officials of the Cathedral wanted a servant boy to wait upon him and the boarders he had in his house; the boy was to have the privilege of attending school. At the age of fifteen John went to Mechlin to fill the position, and Canon Froymont soon discovered that he possessed a treasure in John.
In 1615, when the Fathers of the Society of Jesus opened a college in Mechlin, John was sent with the other boys from the Cathedral to attend the classes. John was admitted at once to the highest class, and soon distinguished himself by success in his studies, and much more by his unusual piety. He was enrolled among the members of the Sodality of our Lady and became a model Sodalist. Brought into contact with the Fathers or the Society of Jesus, he became acquainted with their mode of life, and found that it corresponded with all his own aspirations.
On reading the life of St. Aloysius, just published at the time, he felt a strong impulse to apply for admission into the Society. First, however, he had recourse to prayer, and asked the advice of his confessor. He had Masses said, and gave in alms, whatever little pocket-money he had, that he might receive light from Heaven to decide the important matter of his vocation. At length it was clear to him that God called him to the Society of Jesus, and he wrote a beautiful letter to his parents, in which he tells them “how for three or four months our Lord has been knocking at the door of my heart. At first I would not open to Him. But seeing that, at my studies and on my walks, no matter what I might be doing, I always have felt myself impelled to settle my future state of life, after many Communions and many good works, I have come to the conclusion yes, I am resolved to serve our dear Lord, with His grace, in the religious life. “It is not easy, I admit, for parents and friends to give up their children. But what would they do if our dear Lord long may He spare them were to call them to Himself ? Sometimes, too, I keep thinking in my heart, if I saw before me, on the one hand, father, mother, sister, etc., and, on the other, God our Lord, with His and as I trust, my own Blessed Mother, and the former were saying to me: Dear child, stay with us, we beg of you, by the weariness and fatigues we have borne for you, etc., and Jesus Christ, on His side, were to say to me: I have been born and scourged, and crowned with thorns; and, last of all, have died on a cross for you. See here My five holy wounds ! Have I not endured all this for you? Do you not know that I have fed your soul with My Sacred Body, and slaked its thirst with My Precious Blood? And now will you prove so un grateful to Me? When I think of this, my dear parents, my heart is set on fire, and were it possible, I would this very moment fly to religion. My heart and my soul will never be at rest till they have found their beloved Master. “But you will say: It is too soon. Wait till you have taken your degrees. I ask you, if a poor man were to come begging at your door, and you were quite willing to give him something, and he were to say, I will come for it in a year or two; he would not be sure you would give it to him then would you not think him a fool and a madman ? Are we not all beggars in God’s sight? He is pleased now, after much prayer, out of His goodness, to give me the best of alms, a vocation to religion and to the Society of Jesus, the hammer of all heresies, the vessel of virtue and perfection; and shall I tread under foot this grace of my dear Lord and condemn it? It is doubtful whether our Lord would allow it to last for two years more. And perhaps I should hear from Him: I know you not. “So now, with my whole heart, I offer myself to Jesus Christ to fight under His colors. I hope you will not be so unreasonable as to oppose Him; I have read in history that the Egyptians offered their children to the crocodile, which they looked on as a god, and that while it was eating them, the parents made high festival, in the same way, I hope, you will rejoice, and praise God, and thank Him that your son should be found worthy, not to be given to God, for he does not belong to you, but to be restored to Him. I commend myself to your good prayers, that our dear Lord may grant to me perseverance to the end of my life, and to you with me, hereafter, eternal life.”
John’s father went at once to Mechlin to dissuade him from entering religion. When the father failed to move John, he roundly rated John’s confessor for having put the idea into the boy’s head. The good priest answered the father so well that the latter seemed satisfied. The storm, however, was not yet over. John was sent to the Franciscan convent in Mechlin, where a Franciscan friar, a relative of John’s, was to do all he could to make the boy change his mind.
To all the objections against his vocation, John gave clear replies, and when his relative still persisted in repeated attacks, John finally one day took the friar by the arm and showed him politely to the door. His parents made a fresh appeal for delay, but John wrote his determination to go to the novitiate in two weeks time. As a last resort his father told him that he would not give him a penny to enable him to carry out his purpose. “See, father,” was John’s answer, &##8220;if the very clothes I have on kept me back, I would strip them off, and follow Christ like the young man who cast away his linen cloth.”
On the feast of Our Lady of Mercy, September 24, 1616, a good lay brother, who was busy working in the garden around the old palace of Charles V, which was now the noviceship for the Society of Jesus at Mechlin, was surprised to receive two youthful and voluntary assistants. They were Berchmans and his companion on their way to the novitiate. On seeing the good brother at work, John suggested that they could not better begin than by the practice of charity and humility, and so set to work with the brother until the Father Rector came out to welcome them.
In the novitiate Berchmans was a model for all; his progress, no doubt, being due to the principle which ruled his life and which he thus expressed: “Not so much the doing of great things, as doing well what one is told to do.” On September 25, 1618, he took the first vows of the Society of Jesus. During his novitiate his mother died and his father became a secular priest. It was now determined to send John to the Roman College to make his studies. Anxious to bid his father good-bye, he wrote, asking him to call and see him.
The answer he received was, that his father had died one week before. This was a severe trial, which he bore well. To reach Rome he set out in October and had to travel on foot a long journey through France and Italy. One incident in this journey was remembered with deep devotion by our Saint. On Christmas eve the pilgrim caught the first view of the dome and towers of Loretto, and it was his privilege to assist at the midnight Mass, beneath the same roof that sheltered Mary and the child Jesus. The recollection of the young religious, who knelt through the long service, deeply impressed the pilgrims, who were attracted by his devotion. On the last night of the year the pilgrims were welcomed at Rome by the Father General of the Society, and they were just in time to join in the Te Deum, which is sung at the close of each year in the Church of the Gesu’ in Rome.
On January 2, John took up his quarters in the Roman College, in a room once occupied by St. Aloysius, about 25 years before, and such was the life he led that many remarked that Aloysius had come again to live amongst them. In the college, as in the novitiate, he had the charge of preparing the lamps. He loved this occupation because the same task had been performed by St. Aloysius. He had a special devotion to the Mother of God, and vowed to defend her Immaculate Conception. This vow he signed with his blood. To him we owe the little Rosary of the Immaculate Conception, now approved and indulgenced by the Church. Here, as elsewhere, he showed his great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and his love of serving Mass. It was then the custom in the Roman College for the students of philosophy to serve a Mass every morning. The one which fell to Berchmans was unusually long, and occupied a great deal of the time which was valuable to him for study. Yet he never thought of asking to have it changed; and when, after some time, a change was made, it was only to have him serve the Mass of a Father whose infirmities made him un able to fix any special hour for the purpose; so that our Saint was liable to be called at any hour of the morning, a thing which seriously interfered with his time of study. The sacristan expressed his sorrow at the great inconvenience, but Berchmans only replied with his usual composure: “Obedience can never be troublesome, dear brother; especially when it gives one the privilege of serving at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”
Early in August, 1621, he was attacked by the insidious Roman fever and was obliged to go to the infirmary. On the feast of St. Lawrence, inflammation of the lungs set in and his strength rapidly gave way. He prepared most carefully for the reception of the last Sacraments. When the Rector came to give him Holy Communion he rose from his couch, dressed in his habit, and threw himself on his knees. Two lay brothers supported him, and as he knelt he made the following act of faith: “I declare that there is here really present the Son of God, the Father Almighty, and of the most Blessed Mary, ever Virgin; I protest that I wish to live and die a true son of our Holy Mother, the Catholic Apostolic, Roman Church, a true son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a son of the Society.” He then received Viaticum and Extreme Unction. At eight o clock on Friday morning, August 13, 1621, with his eyes on his crucifix and with the holy names of Jesus and Mary on his lips, he went to his reward.
His death was followed by an outburst of devotion in Rome, and an immense throng crowded around his remains and sought to secure some relic of the saint. Many miracles were wrought in Belgium and in Rome and crowned heads petitioned for his beatification. Pius IX published the decree on May 3, 1865. On the eleventh his relics were solemnly translated to their present resting place beneath the altar of our Lady in the Church of the Roman College, opposite the splendid shrine of St. Aloysius. On January 15, 1888, Leo XIII, amid the festivities of his Sacerdotal Jubilee, solemnly canonized the Belgian student.
One of the miracles used in the canonization of St. John Berchmans was wrought in the United States. On September 20, 1866, Miss Mary Wilson arrived at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Grand Coteau, La. Driven from her home in London, Canada, by her Protestant parents, who were displeased on account of her conversion, she sought refuge as a postulant in the convent at Grand Coteau. After a month of preparation, and on the eve of her reception among the novices, she was suddenly seized with a violent sickness.
At last it became evident that there was no hope of recovery by natural means. A novena was at once begun in honor of Bl. John Berchmans. On December 14, the last day of the novena, the condition of the patient was most pitiable. For 40 days she had not taken an ounce of food; she took only a little tea or coffee, and the last eight days she had not been able to take even this. She was expected to die at any moment. Her limbs were cold and contracted, her mouth and tongue were raw and covered with clots of black blood; with the greatest difficulty the Holy Viaticum was administered by giving her a small piece of the host. All the Sisters then retired to hear Mass except the infirmarian, who, seeing the patient calm, left her for a moment to attend the sick in the adjoining room. In less than one hour after the reception of the Viaticum, the patient was entirely cured, restored to health, as she said, by St. John Berchmans, who appeared to her. Every symptom of the disease had passed away, and the next day she was going through the ordinary duty of Community – life; she would have done so on the day of her cure, but the Mother Superior thought it more prudent for her to remain in bed. The two doctors who attended her attributed her cure to supernatural agency, for, they said, she was beyond the reach of natural remedies. The entire Community and many visitors who had seen and known the patient attested the truth of the cure, so that its authenticity is beyond the shadow of a doubt.
At the time of the Saint’s death at Rome in 1621, his heart was returned to his beloved province in Belgium, and it is kept in the church at Louvain. It is at a side altar, in a silver reliquary, and on his feast day, and at other times, is presented to the faithful for veneration. The case which contains it is heart-shaped, arranged so that all that remains of- the heart is visible. The stairs leading to the room which the Saint occupied at Diest are encased in a cover of wood. In the centre of each step is a diamond-shaped piece of glass, through which the wood of the original staircase is visible. In memory of the Saint who had so often mounted these stairs, pilgrims are wont to ascend these steps on their knees. The room in which the Saint lived is almost bare. There is in it an altar where Mass is said, and the little four-paned window has been enriched with stained glass.
St. John is called the “Saint of the Common Life,” but Pius IX gave him the title of “Patron of Altar-Boys.” He is the model the Church holds up to altar-boys. By following St. John Berchmans in his devotion to the altar and in the simple and faithful discharge of their ordinary duties at home, in school and in the church, they may be sure to obtain graces like to those which made him such a great Saint.
Propers & Readings Mass of St John Berchmans November 26
Litany to Saint John Berchmans
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
Response :Pray for us.
St. John Berchmans, whom the Lord preserved from evil,
St. John Berchmans, who did all things well,
St. John Berchmans, faithful in little things,
St. John Berchmans, devoted server at Holy Mass,
St. John Berchmans, obedient to your parents,
St. John Berchmans, submissive to your teachers,
St. John Berchmans, model for your companions,
St. John Berchmans, who from the earliest childhood chose the Blessed Virgin as guardian of your chastity,
St. John Berchmans, who so tenderly called Mary ‘Mother,’
St. John Berchmans, zealous promoter of devotion to Mary,
St. John Berchmans, mirror of the religious life,
St. John Berchmans, lover of the Blessed Sacrament,
St. John Berchmans, lover of the missions,
St. John Berchmans, lover of mortification,
St. John Berchmans, faithful to your holy Rule,
St. John Berchmans, faithful imitator of St. Aloysius,
St. John Berchmans, ornament of the Society of Jesus,
St. John Berchmans, model of students,
St. John Berchmans, patron of youth. …
Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may follow the example of innocence and fidelity by which the angelic St. John Berchmans consecrated his life and service to You, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
V. Pray for us, Saint John Berchmans,
R. That we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.
V: Let Us Pray Grant, we beseech You, O Lord God, that we Your servants may follow, in Your service, the example of innocence and fidelity by which the angelic St. John Berchmans consecrated to You the flower of his youth, through Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.
ST. JOHN BERCHMANS FEAST DAY
AUGUST 13 old calendar
NOVEMBER 26 new calendar
So many miracles were attributed to him after his death at the age of 22, that his cultus soon spread to his native Belgium, where 24,000 copies of his portrait were published within a few years of his death. He was known for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Our Lady, to whom he composed a Chaplet in honor of her Immaculate Conception.
Our true worth does not consist in what human beings think of us. What we really are consists in what God knows us to be. To merit the protection of Mary, the smallest act of veneration would be enough, provided that it is performed with constancy. If I do not become a Saint when I am young, I shall never become one. [In fact, he died at the early age of 22 and he had, without any doubt, reached his goal of sanctity.] As he was dying, he pressed to his heart his Crucifix, his Rosary, and the Book of Rules, saying: These are my three treasures; with these I shall gladly die.
To An Altar Boy
To be Christ’s page at the altar, To serve Him freely there. Where even the Angels falter, Bowed low in reverent prayer. To touch the throne most holy, To hand the gifts for the feast, To see Him meekly, lowly, Descend at the word of the priest. To hear man’s poor petition, To sound the silver bell, When He in sweet submission, Comes down with us to dwell. No grander mission surely Could Saints or men enjoy; No heart should love more purely, Than yours my altar boy. God bless you, lad, forever, And keep you in His care, And Guard you that you never Belie the robes you wear. For white bespeaks untainted A heart both tried and true; And red tolls love the sainted The holy martyrs knew. Throughout life, then, endeavor God’s graces to employ; And be in heart forever A holy altar boy. ——
by St. John Berchmans
St. John Berchmans, be my patron!
Prayers From the Raccolta
Saint John, angelic youth, sweet-scented flower of innocence, stalwart soldier of the Company of Jesus, ardent defender of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, whom the all-wise Providence of God hath set forth as a light and pattern, in order that He might reveal in thee the treasures of that holiness which consisteth in the devoted and holy fulfillment of the common duties of life, I earnestly beseech thee to make me ever constant and faithful in observing the duties of my state of life, pure in heart, fearless and strong against the enemies of my eternal salvation, and cheerfully obedient to the promptings of God’s holy will. By thy singular devotion to the loving Mother of Jesus Christ, who looked upon thee also as her dear son, obtain for me the grace of a fervent love for Jesus and Mary, together with the power of drawing many others to love them in like manner. Wherefore, dear Saint John, I choose thee as my special patron, humbly beseeching thee to make me zealous in the things that pertain to the praise of God, and to assist me by thy mighty help, to lead a life filled with good works. Finally, when the hour of death cometh, do thou, of thy loving kindness, cherish in me those motions of humble confidence, which at the moment of thy departure from this world to thy mansion in the skies, as thou didst lovingly clasp to thy breast the Image of Jesus Crucified, together with Mary’s Rosary and thy Book of Rules, impelled thee to utter these sweet words: “these three things are my dearest possessions; with these I am content to die.” Pray for us, Saint John, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Grant, we beseech Thee O Lord God, unto Thy faithful servants, to copy the pattern of innocence and faithfulness in Thy service, wherewith the angelic youth, John, did consecrate to Thee the very flower of his years. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Occasional Prayers
I. Most innocent St. John, I beseech thee, by thy wonderful purity of heart, to obtain for me the grace of imitating thee in so excellent a virtue. Oh, never allow me to lose it, but inspire me with a hatred for those faults which may in any way stain it. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory. II. Most modest St. John, by that most diligent guard which thou didst keep over thy senses, and which rendered thee so conspicuous in the eyes of the world, I beseech thee to obtain for me the grace of restraining my senses so that the poison of the accursed sin of impurity may never enter by them into my heart. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory. III. Most obedient St. John, by thine assiduous care in keeping the rules of thy Institute, I beseech thee to obtain for me the grace to keep the commandments of God, and at least to hold in high esteem and reverence the evangelical counsels. Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory. IV. Most devout St. John, by that love which thou didst have for the most blessed Virgin Mary as thy mother, and for St. Aloysius Gonzaga, as thy brother, I beg thee to obtain for me a special devotion to St. Aloysius, my protector and model, and such a tender affection for the Blessed Virgin, that I may always exclaim with thee: “I will never rest until I shall have obtained a tender love for my Mother Mary.” Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory. V. Most fervent St. John, by thy marvelous devotion to the adorable mystery of the altar and to Christ crucified, I beg thee to obtain for me so to reverence our Blessed Redeemer, that I shall be nowhere wanting, least of all in church, in due reverence to His Sacrament of Love, and that I may ever and everywhere glory in His Cross; that, having thus followed Him like a faithful disciple on earth I may deserve to enjoy Him forever with thee in Heaven Our Father. Hail Mary. Glory. PRAYER FOR GRACE. Prevent, we beseech Thee, O Lord, our actions by Thy inspiration, and further them with Thy continual help; that every prayer and work of ours may always begin from Thee, and through Thee be likewise ended. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Hymn to St. John Berchmans
By B. B., in the Irish Messenger, 1888. Sing our gentle hero’s greatness, Sing aloud his glorious praise, To his throne in Heaven’s mansions Let us hearts and hands upraise. He will aid us, midst the dangers Which beset our path through life, His example will sustain us In the ceaseless weary strife. Youth angelic, deign to help us, E’er to tread thy footsteps sure, Keep our minds and hearts unsullied, And our souls and bodies pure. Teach us steadfast, true devotion, To our peerless Heavenly Queen, May we to this Virgin Mother Ever be what thou hast been! Bright exemplar of perfection, With thine aid we’ll imitate Thy unswerving love of duty, Of each rule and grace of state. Like thee, faithful to the promptings Of God’s spirit in our soul, We shall strive with courage burning, To attain the Heavenly goal.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God, you invite us always to give you our love and you are pleased with a cheerful giver. Give us a youthful spirit, to be like St. John, always eager to seek you and to do your will. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Prayer Over the Gifts
Lord, fill our hearts with joy through the sacrifice of your Son. May we never lose our first fervor but hear and obey what the Spirit is saying to the Church. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Prayer After Communion
Lord God, in this Eucharistic meal you deepen our love for each other. Help us to imitate St. John, and bear witness to your goodness by being to one another friends in the Lord, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Readings at Mass
A Reading from the Letter of Paul to the Philippians (4:4-9)
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I shall say it again: rejoice!
Your kindness should be known to all.
The Lord is near.
Have no anxiety at all,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers,
whatever is true,
whatever is honorable,
whatever is just,
whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely,
whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
The Word of the Lord
A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (9:57-62)
As they were proceeding on their journey
someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
And to another Jesus said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But He answered him,
“Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
To him Jesus said,
“No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind
is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
sjbcathedral.org
NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
From: Daniel 7:2-14
Daniel's Vision
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[2] Daniel said, "I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. [3] And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. [4] The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand upon two feet like a man; and the mind of a man was given to it. [5] And behold, another beast, a second one, like a beat It was raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.' [6] After this I looked, and lo, another, like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. [7] After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong, and it had great iron teeth, it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped the residue with its feet It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. [8] I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things. [9] As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. [10] A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him;a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment,and the books were opened.
[11] I looked then because of the sound of the great words which the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. [12] As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. [13] I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. [14] And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
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Commentary:
7:1-12:13. Up to the end of chapter 6, Daniel has been the interpreter of kings' dreams; now his own dreams are interpreted for him by an angel or heavenly being: the interpreter explains dreams (chaps. 7-8), the meaning of Scripture (chap. 9), and a vision (chaps. 10-12); and Daniel himself notes it all down.
Daniel had announced to Nebuchadnezzar the end of time as part of the interpretation of his dream (cf. 2:28); now Daniel is told when it will happen (cf. 12:5-12); for him (cf. 2:28); he is given a more specific revelation in which the figure of the tyrannical Antiochus IV (described here symbolically) is depicted as the epitome of evil and his death will mark the end of the present age (cf. 11:45-12:1). Earlier, Daniel's wisdom was seen as a divine gift to be used for the benefit of foreign kings; now it is depicted as coming from a revelation in which God speaks to Daniel through heavenly messengers and tells him about the meaning of human history--a revelation that he must commit to writing, as a source of comfort and hope for the chosen people. "Revelation has set within history a point of reference which cannot be ignored if the mystery of human life is to be known. Yet this knowledge refers back constantly to the mystery of God which the human mind cannot exhaust but can only receive and embrace in faith. Between these two poles, reason has its own specific field in which it can enquire and understand, restricted only by its finiteness before the infinite mystery of God" (John Paul II, "Fides Et Ratio", 14).
7:1-28. This chapter marks the end of the part of the book written in Aramaic; in it we again find elements seen in chapter 2 (where the Aramaic part began); these include: the arrangement of history into four periods (symbolized there by metals, here by beasts) and the establishment of an everlasting kingdom at the end. Thus, the chapter closes the Aramaic section and acts as a kind of introduction to the chapters (in Hebrew) in which Daniel receives and writes down divine revelations. Chapter 8 is written in Hebrew and it explains chapter 7; and this pattern continues: chapter 9 is explained by chapter 10; and 11 by 12. Daniel first outlines his dream or vision, and it is then interpreted by an angelic being. In this chapter the content of the dream is given in vv. 1-14, and its interpretation in vv. 15-28. Vision and interpretation constitute a single event, an account of which Daniel writes down, as he mentions at start (cf. v. 1) and finish (cf. v. 28). Daniel's "signature" at beginning and end confirms the truth of his vision and the truthfulness of what he has written for the reader.
7:1-14. In chapter 5 the picture drawn of Belshazzar suggested that he stood figuratively for the sacrilegious King Antiochus IV. It is not surprising, then, that this dream of Daniel's is set in the first year of Belshazzar's reign, given that the climax of the prophecy (the little horn) concerns Antiochus IV. God is going to intervene definitively when irreligion is at its worst. There are two scenes in the vision--the beasts coming out of the sea (vv. 2-8) and the divine court and judgment (vv. 9-14).
7:2-8. The Great Sea (the Mediterranean: v. 2), out of which the beasts arise, stands for the world of gloom and chaos. Although earlier prophets did use animals as symbols for empires (a crocodile for Egypt, cf. Ezek 32; an eagle or a monster for Babylon, cf. Ezek 17:3; Jer 51:34), the winged beasts of Daniel's vision are reminiscent of Mesopotamian statues. The lion with eagle's wings stands for Nebuchadnezzar a proud man, he was brought low and later given back his reason (4:16, 34); the empire of the Medes is depicted as a bear ready to attack, and that of the Persians as a leopard, fleet of foot. The fourth beast resembles no animal, but its teeth of iron show it to be the Greek empire of Alexander the Great and his successors (cf. 2:40). Of those successors, (symbolized by the horns), attention is focused on Antiochus IV, the horn with eyes that speaks blasphemy (cf. vv. 8, 25). The gravity of those challenges to God's authority will be underlined in Revelation 13:5 in its description of the beast that is given power by the dragon. The worst sin of the powers of the world is their opposition to God and his laws. Interpreting the words of this passage as a prophecy in the strict sense, that is, as a prediction of something that will happen in the future, some Fathers read the last of the horns as being the Antichrist of whom the Revelation to John will have much to say (cf. Rev. 13:11-18; 17:16; 19: 19-21).
7:9-14. Divine judgment is passed on the kingdoms in this scene. God is depicted as being seated on a throne in heaven, his glory flashing out and angels all around. Judgment is about to take place, and it will be followed by execution of the sentence. The books (v. 10) contain all the actions of men (cf. Jer 17:1; Mal 3:16; Ps 56:8; Rev 20:12). The seer is shown history past (not laid out according to chronology:all the empires are included in one glance), and he notes that a more severe sentence is passed on the blasphemous horn than on the other beasts. They had their lives extended (v. 12), that is, their deprivation of power did not spell the end; but the little horn is destroyed forthwith. "Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last Day in his preaching (cf. Dan 7:10; Joel 3-4; Mal 3:19; Mt 3:7-42)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 678).
The one "like a son of man" who comes with the clouds of heaven and who, after the judgment, is given everlasting dominion over all the earth, is the very antithesis of the beasts. He has not risen from a turbulent sea like them; there is nothing ferocious about him. Rather, he has been raised up by God (he comes with the clouds of heaven) and he shares the human condition. The dignity of all mankind is restored through this son of man's triumph over the beasts. This figure, as we will discover later, stands for 'the people of the saints of the Most High' (7:27), that is, faithful Israel. However, he is also an individual (just as the winged lion was an individual, and the little horn), and insofar as he is given a kingdom, he is a king. What we have here is an individual who represents the people. In Jewish circles around the time of Christ, this "son of man" was interpreted as being the Messiah, a real person (cf. "Book of the Parables of Enoch"); but it was a title that became linked to the sufferings of the Messiah and to his resurrection from the dead only when Jesus Christ applied it to himself in the Gospel. "Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing the imminent Passion of the Son of Man (cf. Mt 16:23). He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man 'who came down from heaven' (Jn 3:13; cf. Jn 6:62; Dan 7:13), and in his redemptive mission as the suffering Servant: 'The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mt 20:28; cf. Is 53:10-12)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 440).
When the Church proclaims in the Creed that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, she is saying that it was to Christ that dominion was given; "Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfillment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man; 'To him was given domination and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed' (Dan 7:14). After this event the apostles became witnesses of the 'kingdom [that] will have no end' (Nicene Creed)" ("Catechism of the Catholic Church", 664).
The heart of St. John Berchmans