40. BITESIZE CATECHISM: ST. JUNIPERO SERRA & THE IMPORTANCE OF TRUTH IN SOCIETY

 

APPETIZER:  To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error. By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others.  The culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray. Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.  Within modern society the communications media play a major role in information, cultural promotion, and formation. This role is increasing, as a result of technological progress, the extent and diversity of the news transmitted, and the influence exercised on public opinion.The information provided by the media is at the service of the common good.  Society has a right to information based on truth, freedom, justice, and solidarity.  By the very nature of their profession, journalists have an obligation to serve the truth and not offend against charity in disseminating information. They should strive to respect, with equal care, the nature of the facts and the limits of critical judgment concerning individuals. They should not stoop to defamation. (See CCC #2475-2499)

MAIN COURSE:   As the Appetizer says quoting the Catechism, social lies lead to social violence and to the destruction of society. We see this happening as even journalists in our nation perpetuate lies about political and historical persons and events. There is so much misunderstanding and even outright lies told about St. Junipero Serra that I thought this letter which the Archbishop of Los Angeles sent to the people of his Archdiocese would be an excellent and short way for us to learnt he truth, the historical facts. 

I understand the deep pain being expressed by some native peoples in California. But I also believe Fray Junípero is a saint for our times, the spiritual founder of Los Angeles, a champion of human rights and this country’s first Hispanic saint. I was privileged to celebrate his canonization Mass with Pope Francis in 2015. I rely on his intercession in my ministry, and I am inspired by his desire to bring God’s tender mercy to every person.

The exploitation of America’s first peoples, the destruction of their ancient civilizations, is a historic tragedy. Crimes committed against their ancestors continue to shape the lives and futures of native peoples today. Generations have passed and our country still has not done enough to make things right.  Over the years, I have come to understand how the image of Father Serra and the missions evokes painful memories for some people. For that reason, I believe the protests over our history in California, and the broader protests that have started elsewhere in the country over historical monuments, are important.

Historical memory is the soul of every nation. What we remember about our past and how we remember it defines our national identity — the kind of people we want to be, the values and principles we want to live by.  But history is complicated. The facts matter, distinctions need to be made, and the truth counts. We cannot learn history’s lessons or heal old wounds unless we understand what really happened, how it happened, and why. 

Our society may reach a consensus not to honor St. Junípero or various other figures from our past. But elected officials cannot abdicate their responsibilities by turning these decisions over to small groups of protesters, allowing them to vandalize public monuments. This is not how a great democracy should function.  Allowing the free expression of public opinion is important. So is upholding the rule of law and ensuring that decisions we reach as a society are based on genuine dialogue and the search for truth and the common good.  It is clear that those attacking St. Junípero’s good name and vandalizing his memorials do not know his true character or the actual historical record.

The sad truth is that, beginning decades ago, activists started “revising” history to make St. Junípero the focus of all the abuses committed against California’s indigenous peoples.  But the crimes and abuses that our saint is blamed for — slanders that are spread widely today over the internet and sometimes repeated by public figures — actually happened long after his death.  It was California’s first governor who called for “a war of extermination” against the Indians and called in the U.S. Cavalry to help carry out his genocidal plans. That was in 1851. St. Junípero died in 1784.

The real St. Junípero fought a colonial system where natives were regarded as “barbarians” and “savages,” whose only value was to serve the appetites of the white man. For St. Junípero, this colonial ideology was a blasphemy against the God who has “created (all men and women) and redeemed them with the most precious blood of his Son.”  He lived and worked alongside native peoples and spent his whole career defending their humanity and protesting crimes and indignities committed against them. Among the injustices he struggled against, we find heartbreaking passages in his letters where he decries the daily sexual abuse of indigenous women by colonial soldiers.

For St. Junípero, the natives were not just powerless victims of colonial brutality. In his letters, he describes their “gentleness and peaceful dispositions,” he celebrates their creativity and knowledge; he remembers little acts of kindness and generosity, even the sweet sound of their voices as they sang. He learned their languages and their ancient customs and ways. St. Junípero came not to conquer, he came to be a brother. “We have all come here and remained here for the sole purpose of their well-being and salvation,” he once wrote. “And I believe everyone realizes we love them.”

St. Junípero became one of America’s first environmentalists. He documented California’s diverse habitats in diary entries and letters where he described mountains and plains, the blazing sun and the effects of drought, the overflow of brooks and rivers, cottonwood and willow trees, roses in bloom, the roar of a mountain lion that kept the missionaries awake at night. 

St. Junípero also understood that the souls of indigenous Americans had been darkened with bitterness and rage at their historic mistreatment and the atrocities committed against them.  In 1775, when Kumeyaay attackers burned down the mission in San Diego, torturing and murdering his dear friend, Father Luís Jayme, California’s first martyr, St. Junípero was not outraged. He was concerned for the killers’ souls. He pleaded with authorities to have mercy.  “As for the culprits, their offense should be forgiven after some slight punishment,” he said. “By doing so they would see we were putting into practice the rule we teach them — to return good for evil and to pardon our enemies.” This may be the first moral argument against the use of the death penalty in American history. And St. Junípero was arguing against its imposition on an oppressed minority.

St. Junípero was 60 years old when he traveled 2,000 miles from Carmel to Mexico City to protest the injustices of the colonial system and demand that authorities adopt a “bill of rights” that he had written for the native peoples.  That was in 1773, three years before America’s founders declared this nation’s independence with those beautiful words: “all men are created equal … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”  Pope Francis called St. Junípero “one of the founding fathers of the United States.” He recognized that the saint’s witness anticipated the great spirit of human equality and liberty under God that has come to define the American project.  Yet today we find St. Junípero compared to Adolf Hitler, his missions compared to concentration camps. No serious historian would accept this, and we should not allow these libels to be made in public arguments about our great saint.

Despite their many flaws, the California missions were similar to some of the other communes and “communitarian” societies we find in early American history.  The missions were multicultural communities of worship and work, with their own governments and a self-sustaining economy based on agriculture and handicrafts. Living and working together, Natives and Spaniards created a new, mestizo (“mixed”) culture reflected in the distinctive art, architecture, music, poetry, and prayers that came out of the missions.

It is sadly true that corporal punishment was sometimes used in the missions, as it was practiced throughout late 18th-century society. It is also true that some natives died of diseases in the missions.  But the tragic ruin of native populations occurred long after St. Junípero was gone and the missions were closed or “secularized.” Serious scholars conclude that St. Junípero himself was a gentle man and there were no physical abuses or forced conversions while he was president of the mission system.

St. Junípero did not impose Christianity, he proposed it. For him, the greatest gift he could offer was to bring people to the encounter with Jesus Christ. Living in the missions was always voluntary, and in the end just 1-20% of California’s native population ever joined him.  My brothers and sisters, this is the truth about St. Junípero.

Let us ask St. Junípero’s intercession for this nation that he helped to found. Let us pray with him for healing, reconciliation, an increase in empathy and understanding, an end to racial prejudice, and a new awareness of what it means that all men and women are created equal as children of God.  Every true reform begins in the human heart, and St. Junípero would tell us that only mercy and pardon and true contrition can move us forward at this moment in our history. (Most Reverend José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles)

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking...

Holy Quotes

"St. Junipero Serra had a motto which inspired his life and work: 'Keep moving forward!' For him, this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the Gospel, to keep his heart from growing numb, from being anesthetized. He kept moving forward, because the Lord was waiting. He kept going, because his brothers and sisters were waiting. He kept going forward to the end of his life. Today, like him, may we be able to say: Forward! Let’s keep moving forward!” (Pope Francis at the canonization of Junipero Serra)

Meditation on On the Mercy of God (by St. Junipero Serra)

O Lord, You are complete mercy, complete love, and complete tenderness toward all men and women, even toward the most ungrateful sinners. You wish all people to attain the ends or which You compassionately created us. You yearn that we might believe that You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and advance toward the salvation You will for us.

You are sweet and gentle, and You call us in the gentleness of Your divine voice, in the sweet and gentle tones of a Father addressing his favorite child. You extend the golden bonds of Your goodwill and love, You pardon us in your mercy.

 Father of all mercy and consolation, pour forth the abundance of Your love with mercy. By your mercy, conquer every type of malice. Help us to leave not only our faults, but the bad habits and situations in our lives which lead to these faults, that we might love You alone.

 Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening with a contrite heart. Help us to begin right now to realize the truth! To be entirely animated by love of You, Help us begin to live a holy life, with a burning love and zeal for the salvation of our neighbors. Make us more gentle, more calm, more nurturing and strong.

 Remind us of Your gentle goodwill, O Lord. May we never be severe or harsh. May we see in everyone, a child whom You have created and redeemed with the most precious blood of Your Son. Teach us to know that You value kindness, that love is the best way to attract people to You. May we always help others to taste and see the sweetness and gentleness of Your love.

 Let us bear every hardship for the love of You and the salvation of souls. In our trials, may we know that we are loved as Your own children. To a willing heart all is sweet, so grant us love and patience, and conform us always to Your will, O God.

39. BITESIZE CATECHISM: SAINT PHILIP HOWARD & CATHOLIC TEACHING ON THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

APPETIZER: "Human society can be neither well-ordered nor prosperous unless it has some people invested with legitimate authority to preserve its institutions and to devote themselves as far as is necessary to work and care for the good of all. Every human community needs an authority to govern it. The authority required by the moral order derives from God: "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment." (Romans 13:1-2) The duty of obedience requires all to give due honor to authority and to treat those who are charged to exercise it with respect, and, insofar as it is deserved, with gratitude and good-will. A human law has the character of law to the extent that it accords with right reason, and thus derives from the eternal law. Insofar as it falls short of right reason it is said to be an unjust law, and thus has not so much the nature of law as of a kind of violence. Authority is exercised legitimately only when it seeks the common good of the group concerned and if it employs morally licit means to attain it. If rulers were to enact unjust laws or take measures contrary to the moral order, such arrangements would not be binding in conscience. In such a case, authority breaks down completely and results in shameful abuse.” (see CCC #1897-1903)

MAIN COURSE: Thomas Howard, the Fourth Duke of Norfolk, and his wife, Lady Mary Fitzalan, gave birth to their only child, Philip Howard, on June 28, 1557. A bright future was predicted for young Philip, but his life began during a troubled time, and nothing could be taken for granted. Philip’s father, the Duke, decided he should strengthen the family position, so he arranged a marriage between Philip and  Anne Dacre when they were still children. They was married when Philip was 14. 

Soon after, Anne fell under the strong influence of her Catholic grandmother, Lady Mounteagle. Philip had been baptized Catholic but was raised in the  the Church of England (called the Episcopal Church in the USA).   This oppositon-church was begun by the Queen Elizabeth's father. Henry VIII, as an alterntive to the Catholic Church. This came about because Henry wanted to divorce and remarry for the sake of a male heir.  The Pope responded to the king's actions with a stinging reminder of the sanctity and lifelong union of matrimony. And so began the persecution of any Catholic in the UK who remained loyal to the Holy Father and who would not join this new church. 

Henry VII and Queen Elizabeth

It turned out that Queen Elizabeth was more fierce and retaliatory in persecuting the Catholic Church that her father had been. Under her reign it became punishable by death to simply attend Catholic Mass or give shelter to a priest. In 1571, Philip’s father, Duke Thomas, was involved in an uprising against the Queen and was sentenced to death. 

Official portrait of St. Phillip Howard, Earl of Arundel

At age 19, Philip then took the Oath of Supremacy to the Crown (which meant rejecting the Pope as leader of the Church) and was introduced to Court. His father had warned him not to get too involved in the Court and always to cherish his wife, but Philip, enamored with the glitz and pomp, was soon ignoring that wise advice. He fell right in with the young courtiers, spent money freely, and partied openly. He also neglected Anne and became a “ladies’ man”. The fact that he was married did not stop him from enjoying a playboy lifestyle. Anne heard of his unfaithfulness and went to live with Philip’s grandfather, the Earl of Arundel.

Philip's castle-home as the Earl of Arundel

In 1581, his grandfather died, and Philip succeeded him as the Earl of Arundel and the premier Earl of England. He was now a member of the House of Lords and began to get involved in public affairs. This required that he spend less time at Court, and slowly, he and Anne began to reconnect. Her gentle ways and kindness began to win him over. She also felt herself being pulled back to the Catholic Church. but was afraid that telling her husband might jeopardize their fragile relationship. She had no idea that Philip was feeling the same way about Catholicism. He had heard a debate a year earlier between Fr. (now Saint) Edmund Campion and some Church of England clergymen. He was very impressed by Campion’s arguments. However, the social and personal implications of taking up Catholicism in England were profound. Still, after hearing Father Campion and devoting himself to constant prayer, Philip reverted to the Catholic Church and reconciled with his wife.

However, Philip had become a favorite of Queen Elizabeth during his years at Court. The Queen became suspicious of his reconciliation with Anne after she heard that Anne had returned to Catholicism. She had Anne arrested, and her and Philip’s first child, a daughter, was born in prison. Elizabeth did not know that Philip had also become Catholic. His return to the Catholic Church meant a complete change of lifestyle for him. He had a priest staying in his home in London and had Mass said every day which was illegal and punishable by imprisonment or death. Prayer became a regular part of his life.

St. Philip Howard dressed for Royal Court Parties

Philip as Earl of Arundel continued to attend the House of Lords and the Court, but he avoided attending official Church of England services by making various excuses. He desperately wanted to serve the Catholic cause. Being suspicious of his absences from services in the government-sanctioned religion, Elizabeth had Philip under surveillance. Using a traitor-priest as a spy, the Queen sent a fake letter to Philip as if it came from a Catholic Cardinal. It recommended he go to Belgium for instruction in the Faith, even though it was illegal for Catholics to leave England. Philip took the bait and boarded a ship where he was immediately arrested. He was taken to the Tower of London on April 25, 1585.

The charges against him included being a Roman Catholic and sharing in “Jesuit plots.” He was fined and imprisoned at the Queen’s pleasure. He was offered his freedom if he would carry the Sword of State before the Queen to church which would be a form of rejecting the Catholic Faith. He refused. Queen Elizabeth sentenced Philip to death. However, she never signed his death warrant. So he was kept permanently in fear of execution and languished in prison for more than 10 years.  He was a great dog-lover and one favor granted him was that his pet dog was allowed to stay with him in prison.

Philip Howard died on a martyr on October 19, 1595, of dysentery brought on by ill treatment and neglect. His final prayer, while holding his rosary, was “Lord, Thou art my hope”. Philip Howard, Earl of Arundel, was canonized by Pope Paul VI on April 25, 1970. He is counted as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales and his feast day is October 19.

St. Philip Howard in his Tower of London prison with his pet dog.

The history of the Catholic Church has been marked in every century of its’ existence by persecution from abusive governments who seek power, prestige and position over the common good. St. Philip Howard’s life shows us that some corrupt governments do not try to eliminate religion but seek to manipulate and pervert it. They know that the spirit of religion is built-into the human person and so they attempt to make a church that is at the service of the government. Such is the case in our own times when the Chinese Communist Party established a rival organization called the Patriotic Catholic Church that declared its independence from the pope. The majority of Chinese Catholics have rejected this fake church and suffer much for this rejection. Sadly, such fidelity and heroism by the majority was not the case in Elizabethan England of the 16th century.

In our own nation we see the Church being ridiculed and persecuted in a different way than that experienced by St. Philip and the martyrs of England and Wales. In the USA and many Western nations that were once at least ostensibly Christian, an aggressive secular (that is, anti-religious) spirit pervades the media and had invaded a significant portion of the government. Laws are passed that make it difficult to impossible for the Church to carry out its works of service. These laws are worded so as to even override a Christian conscience. As God’s Word and the Catechism teach, in such cases these are not just laws, that is, laws that reflect the common good and the dignity of the human person. It is the duty of the believing Christian to engage in the social and political realm to advocate for just laws that respect the human person, the family, the poor and the vulnerable as well as the free practice of religion in places of worship and in a believer’s daily life. In the USA we do this through voting for worthy candidates for local, state and national office as well as becoming personally involved on some level in social justice and political action.

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking…

Holy Quotes…

“The more affliction we endure for Christ in this world, the more glory we shall obtain with Christ in the next.” (Inscription by St. Philip Howard on his prison wall)

“American Catholics are committed to building a society which is truly tolerant and inclusive, to safeguarding the rights of individuals and communities, and to rejecting every form of unjust discrimination. With countless other people of good will, they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and wisely ordered society respect their deepest concerns and their right to religious liberty. That freedom remains one of America’s most precious possessions. And, as my brothers, the United States Bishops, have reminded us, all are called to be vigilant, precisely as good citizens, to preserve and defend that freedom from everything that would threaten or compromise it.” (Pope Francis visit to USA, 2015)

Prayer for Religious Freedom

O God our Creator, from your provident hand we have received our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. You have called us as your people and given us the right and the duty to worship you, the only true God, and your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel to every corner of society. We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty. Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

A Prayer for Responsible Citizenship

Lord, keep this nation under your care. Bless the leaders of our land that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to the other nations of the earth. Grant that we may choose trustworthy leaders, contribute to wise decisions for the general welfare, and serve You faithfully in our generation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

A Guideline to Voting with a Catholic Christian Conscience

When preparing to vote on any election on any level, a Catholic conscience enlightened by the Word of God and the teaching of Christ's Church asks...

1. Does the candidate and his/her platform uphold and defend the inalienable right to life of the unborn, the mentally or physically challenged, and the sick elderly?

2. Does the candidate and his/her platform stand up for traditional marriage as created by God and the primacy of the human family as the most important unit in society?

3. Does the candidate and his/her platform assure the protection of basic human rights of all people, no matter who they are or where they come from, in food, housing, education, employment, and healthcare?

4. Does the candidate and his/her platform have a responsible approach to the environment that respects the primacy of human need and sustains the gift of creation?

38. BITESIZE CATECHISM: ST. GERARD MAJELLA & THE RIGHT TO LIFE

 St. Gerard Majella - Feast Day October 16

APPETIZER: "Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God and it remains for ever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end. God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can under any circumstance claim for himself the right directly to destroy an innocent human being." Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:  "You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish." (The Didache, ancient Christian document from the 2nd century) and "God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes." (Teaching of Vatican II). The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his or her origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death. (see CCC #2258-2273)

MAIN COURSE:  Our saint of the week is one who is not celebrated on the worldwide liturgical calendar but who has been extremely popular in private devotion in the USA: St. Gerard Majella. His nickname is "The Mother's Saint" because his special patronage seems to be on behalf of mothers, for those finding it difficult to conceive, for help in difficult pregnancies, and as an intercessor for the Pro-Life Movement. I myself have personally blessed many pregnant women with a first-class relic of St. Gerard and have seen amazing things. On of them even took place recently within our own parish.

It may seem odd that a male should be the saint for mothers, mothers-to-be and those wanting to become mothers. The origin comes from an incident that happened in the last months of his short life. As St. Gerard was leaving the home of his friends, the Pirofalo family, one of the daughters called after him because he had forgotten his handkerchief. In a moment of prophetic insight Gerard said: “Keep it. It will be useful to you some day.” The handkerchief was treasured as a precious souvenir of Gerard. Years later the girl to whom he had given it was in danger of death during childbirth. She remembered his words and called for the handkerchief. She began asking Gerard to pray for her from Heaven and  almost immediately the danger passed and she delivered a healthy child. This wonderful story was the beginning of devotion to and belief in the miraculous intercession of St. Gerard in favor of women who are soon to become mothers, who long to be mothers or who already are mothers.

Gerard was born the son of a tailor on April 6, 1726. He grew up about fifty miles south of Naples in Muro Lucano, Italy in a large, poor family. When St. Gerard was only 12, his father Dominic Majella passed away. Upon the death of his father, his mother, beholden to poverty, sent St. Gerard away to live with his uncle where he became an apprentice-tailor. After serving as a sewing apprentice for a couple years, he instead became a servant in the household of the bishop of Lacedonia, who was a cranky master. Upon the death of the bishop in 1745, Gerard returned home and eventually opened his own tailor shop.

Gerard discerned that God was calling him to religious life. So he entered the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (called the Redemptorists) in 1749 and professed of his vows under the order's founder, Saint Alphonsus Liguori, in 1751.  Gerard did not have a vocation to the priesthood but to the brotherhood. A Brother is a Christian man who, like a nun makes vows and remains single, so as to dedicate his life to the service Christ and his people through various good works.  Gerard served as tailor and care-giver for the sick and became known for his extraordinary supernatural gifts of bilocation, prophecy, ecstasies, visions, and infused knowledge. His spiritual direction and advice were sought by many among the clergy and communities of nuns, to which he also gave conferences. He was most successful in bringing spiritually alienated people to Christ, and was widely known for his sanctity and charity.

In 1754, he was falsely accused of sexual impropriety by a woman named Neria Caggiano. Caggiano later admitted her charge was a lie. Until her lie was exposed, Gerard's superiors put him under surveillance and excluded him from communion for months. As St. Gerard bore this calumny with such humility and patience, Saint Alphonsus said, "Brother Gerard is a saint."  Gerard was sent to Naples soon after, but when the house was inundated by visitors wanting to see him, he was sent to a different town where he served as the doorkeeper and ministered to the poor of the town. 

St. Gerard died of tuberculosis on October 16, 1755 at the age of 29 in Caposele, Italy. He was beatified by Pope Leo XIII on January 29, 1893, and was canonized a saint on December 11, 1904 by Pope Saint Pius X. He is the patron saint of mothers, motherhood, expectant mothers, childbirth, children, pregnant women, unborn children, the pro-life movement, the falsely accused, good confessions, and religious brothers.

St. Gerard’s life and example should lead us to value and protect the dignity of each and every human life, from the innocent unborn to the frail, elderly and dying and everyone in between. We must cherish each child and work to ensure that they have the physical, emotional and spiritual nourishment necessary to flourish in life. St. Gerard leads us to all those in need, to an all-embracing pro-life stance, regardless of character, age, gender, race, ethnicity, social status, economic ideology, political opinion or anything else that makes us different one from another. After a child is born, it still needs loving parents who are justly remunerated for their work in order to support their family. Once born, a child still needs clean air and water and adequate and affordable nourishment, decent housing, access to health care, clothing and educational opportunity. Life is to be protected and promoted from “womb to tomb.” This is the culture of life, the civilization of love, that every Christian is commanded by Christ to help build on planet Earth.

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking...

Quotes from St. Gerard Majella

"Who except God can give you peace? Has the world ever been able to satisfy your heart?"

"Consider the shortness of time, the length of eternity, and reflect how everything here below comes to an end and passes by. Of what use is it, then, to put your hopes in that which does not last?"

"The Most Blessed Sacrament is Christ made visible. The poor sick person is Christ again made visible. One and the same Christ to be loved and served."

A Couple's Prayer to St. Gerard for the Gift of Parenthood

Good St. Gerard, powerful intercessor and wonder-worker, we call on you and seek your help. You know that we have not been blessed with a child and how much we desire this gift. Please present our pleas to God, from whom all life and parenthood proceed, and beseech the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier of Life to bless us with a child whom we may raise as an heir of heaven. We make our prayer through the name and the power of Jesus who is Lord forever and ever. Amen

Here is a photo of my personal First Class Relic of St. Gerard Majella. A frist-class relic if a particle of the saint's body. A  second-class relic is an item they wore or used. A third-class relic is something that has been touched to a first or second class relic.

I do not think I can count the number of unborn (now born!) children that have been blessed with it! If anyone is in need of such relic blessings please do not hesitate to ask me.

For Biblical approval for the use of items that have been touched to saints to seek miracles see our Scripture Verse to Memorize (below). 

Scripture Verse to Memorize: "People would take handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s skin to those who were sick. Their sicknesses would be cured, and evil spirits would leave them." (Acts 9:12)

37. BITESIZE CATECHISM: OUR LADY OF THE ROSARY & CHRISTIAN PRAYER

APPETIZER:  Through his Word, God speaks to man. By words, mental or vocal, our prayer takes flesh. Yet it is most important that the heart should be present to him to whom we are speaking in prayer: Whether or not our prayer is heard depends not on the number of words, but on the fervor of our souls. Vocal prayer is an essential element of the Christian life. To his disciples, drawn by their Master's silent prayer, Jesus teaches a vocal prayer, the Our Father. He not only prayed aloud the liturgical prayers of the synagogue but, as the Gospels show, he raised his voice to express his personal prayer, from exultant blessing of the Father to the agony of Gesthemane.  The need to involve the senses in interior prayer corresponds to a requirement of our human nature. We are body and spirit, and we experience the need to translate our feelings externally. We must pray with our whole being to give all power possible to our supplication.  Meditation engages thought, imagination, emotion, and desire. This mobilization of faculties is necessary in order to deepen our convictions of faith, prompt the conversion of our heart, and strengthen our will to follow Christ. Christian prayer tries above all to meditate on the mysteries of Christ, as in the rosary. This form of prayerful reflection is of great value, but Christian prayer should go further: to the knowledge of the love of the Lord Jesus, to union with him. (CCC2700-2702) 

MAIN COURSE: The dedication of the month of October to the Rosary was officially established by Pope Leo XIII in 1884. The name “rosary” comes from the Latin “rosarium” which means “rose garden.” A rosary is spiritually considered a gift of mystical roses to Our Blessed Mother in heaven. The rosary has had a long history and gone through many stages of development. The use of prayer beads is a widespread practice found in several religions of the world. Hindus use them to help keep track of prayers said throughout the day. Muslims use them to recite the 99 Names of God. Buddhists use them for repetition of their individual mantras. 

In the Christian tradition, the seed of rosary-prayer can be traced back to ancient monks who would pray all 150 Psalms of the Old Testament daily. But books were rare to possess, and many could not read them anyway, so most monks memorized the Psalms and used 150 pebbles in a small pouch in order to keep track. This later developed into a string with 150 knots or a rope with 150 beads. Many lay people who did not know the Psalms by heart but wanted to have a comparable version of this practice, began substituting 150 “Our Fathers”, 1 for each Psalm. They used a string of knots or beads to keep track of their prayers just as the monks did. And so the physical form of the rosary began to take shape and spread. Over time, the words of the Archangel Gabriel and of St. Elizabeth to the Virgin Mary were either added to or substituted for the “Our Fathers”. And so, the popular “Hail Mary” prayer began to evolve. At first it was composed of just the two greetings found in Luke’s Gospel: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” (Luke 1:26,42). 

It is said that in the year 1214, Mary appeared to St. Dominic and encouraged him to spread devotion to the rosary. She promised him that if he did so, he would be successful in converting people alienated from the Church and that his religious order (the “Order of Preachers”, aka “Dominicans”) would prosper. He spent the rest of his life encouraging others to pray the Rosary and founded a Rosary Confraternity to aid in this task. One hundred years later, the Dominican priest, Blessed Alan de la Roche, picked up where Dominic’s left off. He divided the rosary into “decades” (groups of 10) of “Hail Marys” with each decade preceded by the “Our Father.” In the 16th century, Pope St. Pius V (also a Dominican) added the mysteries of the rosary to this devotion. This gave people an opportunity to reflect on Scripture while offering up their prayers. Also, at this time, the phrase, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death” was added giving us the form of this prayer that we are most familiar with today. However, Easter Rite Catholics still use a shorter version and anyone is free to use any form of the scriptural “Hail Mary” in private recitation of the rosary. 

The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary also came about in the 16th century. Europe and Christianity were threatened by the Ottoman Turks who were Muslims. After months of disagreements and bickering, Pope St. Pius V was able to unite Spain, Venice, and the States of the Church in a naval expedition to fight the Turks. The two navies fought each other in the Gulf of Lepanto in Greece on October 7, 1571. On the same day, the Rosary Confraternity of Rome was meeting at the Dominican headquarters there. The group recited the Rosary for the special protection and triumph of the far outnumbered Christian battle fleet. The Christians won a spectacular and unexpected victory. The Holy Father believed it was the intercessory power of the Blessed Virgin and so he dedicated the day as one of thanksgiving to Our Lady of Victory. Pope Gregory XIII later changed the name to the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary that we still celebrate today, almost 500 years later. 

The story of the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary focuses on the intercessory power of Mary by virtue of her role and mission as the Immaculate Mother of God and our spiritual mother. It shows that when Christians are in danger, we can go to Mary. When we are in pain, discouragement, or confusion, we can go to Mary. She will pray to her Son for us and for all who call upon her. 

Mary encouraged praying the Rosary in her apparitions. It is interesting to note that in all of the Church-approved apparitions of the 20th century, the Blessed Mother has encouraged the frequent recitation of the rosary and the her appearances were almost always preceded by or accompanied by the visionaries praying the rosary. This should make us really stop and think. It should move us to evaluate what place the rosary devotion has in our own personal prayer life.

It is important to realize that unlike the Liturgy and Sacraments which are the actions and worship of the Risen Christ through his Body which is the Church, the rosary is called a private devotion. This means that even if prayed aloud in a group, it is not an official function of the Church regulated by regulations of worship and ritual. As the modern popes have pointed out, this means that a person is free to pray the rosary in whatever form he or she wishes and find meaningful. And this can be especially helpful when choosing to make the rosary a part of one's spiritual exercises.

Most people probably take up the rosary devotion as it is, as we have come to know it. But both Pope St. Paul VI and Pope St. JohnPaul II taught that when we pray the rosary as individuals, we are free to make up and meditate upon our own sets of mysteries. We are also free to tailor the Hail Mary in a way that is meaningful to us. Some people add to it a clause that reminds them of what mystery they are pondering.  Others find that using the ancient shorter form of the Hail Mary (using just the verses from Luke's Gospel) enables them to pray it more frequently and meditatively.  The bottom line is this: how can you best embrace the devotion of the rosary in a form that speaks to who you are and how you pray?

DOGGIE-BAG: A little something to take with you for spiritual snacking...

Rosary Quotes...

“The Most Holy Virgin in these last times in which we live has given a new efficacy to the recitation of the rosary to such an extent that there is no problem, no matter how difficult it is, whether temporal or above all spiritual, in the personal life of each one of us, of our families…that cannot be solved by the Rosary. There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot resolve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary.” (Lucia do Santos, Fatima visionary)

"Your rosary is like a ladder that you climb together, step by step, drawing closer to our Lady, which means finding Christ. For the most important and beautiful feature of the rosary is that, through Mary, it leads us to Christ. Christ is the goal of this long, repeated invocation to Mary. We speak to Mary in order to reach Christ. She is our Lord’s mother and brought him into the world. And she brings us to him if we are devoted to her.” (Pope St. Paul VI) 

"Without contemplation, the Rosary is a body without a soul, and its recitation runs the risk of becoming a mechanical repetition of formulas, in violation of the admonition of Christ: In praying do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think they will be heard for their many words’ (Mt 6:7). By its nature the recitation of the Rosary calls for a quiet rhythm and a lingering pace, helping the individual to meditate on the mysteries of the Lord’s life as seen through the eyes of her who was closest to the Lord. In this way the unfathomable riches of these mysteries are disclosed.” (Pope St. Paul VI)

If you would like to learn more about the rosary, get books about its mysteries and meditations, or join the Rosary Confraternity of the Dominican Order,  go to: https://www.rosarycenter.org.

The rosary can be made in various sizes and styles as an aid to 

keeping track of our prayers. Here are 4 from my own collection.

From Left to Right: 10-decade rosary, 1-decade Irish Penal Rosary,

Traditional-style rosary & Eastern Orthodox rope rosary.