Thursday 3rd December 2020, 1st Week of Advent

St Francis Xavier (1506 – 1552)

He was born in the Basque country of Spain in 1506. He met Ignatius Loyola when he was a student in Paris, and he was ordained priest in 1537. In 1541 the Pope sent him as part of a mission to India, and he spent the rest of his life in the East, preaching the Gospel in Goa and Malacca. He made many converts and fought against the exploitation of the native population by the Europeans. He spent two years on a successful mission to Japan, laying the foundations of many Christian communities; and in 1552, after entering China secretly to preach the Gospel there, he died of fever and exhaustion on the Chinese island of Shangchwan.

What was different about St Francis Xavier’s message? Why was he so effective?

Available images of Francis Xavier, show him with a crucifix, a bible and (occasionally) a bell! In other words, the focus of his preaching and teaching was the Paschal Mystery and Scripture.

Faced with diverse mythologies, theologies, philosophies and religious practices, Francis presented a theology of monotheism – three persons, one God! He spoke of salvation ‘history’ – recorded events of how God’s promise to his people in the Old Testament through the prophets was brought to fulfilment in the New Testament through Jesus. He spoke of Jesus’ teachings – especially the commandment of ‘LOVE’ and his miracles that pointed to God’s love for humankind.

Francis’ teachings brought many to the belief in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection, the uniformity of prayer through the Sacraments. He also taught inclusiveness, removing social barriers between rich and poor, women and men, and those considered outcasts.

Francis was a fearless witness. Is my witness as true?

Wednesday 2nd December 2020, first Week of Advent.

“How many loaves do you have?’. They answered, ‘Seven, and a few small fish’”

Today we reflect on the multiplication of the bread and fish in the Gospel. Many people —Matthew states— «came to him» (Mt 15:30). Men and women who were in need of Christ: blind people, cripples and sick people of every kind, together with those who accompanied them. We are all in need of Christ. Of his tenderness, his forgiveness, his light, his mercy… In him, the fullness of all that is human can be found.

Today’s Gospel makes us aware of the need for men who will lead others to Christ. Those who bring Jesus the sick so that he can cure them are the image of all those who know that the greatest act of charity towards their fellow man is to get them close to Christ, the source of our life. A life of faith demands holiness and apostolate.

Saint Paul urges us (Phil 2:5) to have the same feelings as Christ. This story shows what Jesus’ heart is like: «I am filled with compassion for these people». He cannot leave them, because they are hungry and tired. Christ searches man out in his necessity and manages to be there for us to find. How good he is to us!; and how important we people are for him! Our hearts swell with gratitude, admiration and a sincere wish for conversion.

This God made man, all-powerful, who loves us passionately, and whom we need in everything and for everything —«apart from me you can do nothing» (Jn 15:5)— paradoxically requires something from us as well: this is the meaning of the seven loaves of bread and the few fish that he will use to feed a crowd. If we really realized how much Jesus counts on us, and of the value of all we do for him, as small as it is, we would try all the harder to correspond to him with all our being.

Tuesday 1st December 2020, First Week of Advent.

Blessed Clementine Anuarite

“I praise you, Father”

Today, we are reading an excerpt of Chapter 10, of the Gospel after St. Luke. The Lord had sent seventy-two disciples to the towns He intended to visit. And they came back exultant. While listening to the accounts of their doings and exploits, «Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth’» (Lk 10:21).

One of the aspects of humility is gratitude. The arrogant one feels he owes nothing to anybody. To feel grateful, we need first to discover our insignificance. “Thanks” is one of the first words we teach our children. «I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to the little ones» (Lk 10:21).

Benedict XVI, when speaking of the attitude of adoration, he affirms «that adoring God means recognizing his presence as Creator and Lord of the Universe. The hallmark of worship is, recognizing the greatness of God that arises from the depths of one’s heart and marks one’s whole being, (…) ensuring that God is the most important part of one’s life with the realization that with God at the centre of our lives the purpose of their existence will become clear».

A sensible soul feels the need to express its gratitude. It is the only way for us to reciprocate for the divine favors received. «What do you possess that you have not received?» (1Co 4:7). We must certainly «give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us He took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation» (St. Leo the Great).

Blessed Clementine Anuarite (1939 – 1964)

Nengepeta Anuarite was born in North Zaire on 29 November 1939. In 1955 she joined the Religious Institute of the “Holy Family” (Jamaa Takatifu) where she became known as Clementine. She trained as a primary school teacher and for a few years, was the matron of a boarding school. In 1964 she, and the whole community, were kidnapped by the Simba rebels. Anuarite was killed on 1 December 1964 having refused to be the wife of the Colonel.

Monday 30th November 2020, First Week of Advent

Saint Andrew, apostle

Today, we speak of Simon Peter’s brother, St. Andrew, who also was one of the twelve. He most certainly enjoyed great prestige within the early Christian communities. The kinship between Peter and Andrew, as well as the joint call Jesus addressed to them, are explicitly mentioned in the Gospels.

Andrew had been a disciple of John the Baptist; and one day he heard John the Baptist proclaiming Jesus as “the Lamb of God”. So, he was stirred and followed the Lord. The Byzantine Church honours him with the nickname “Protóklitos” which means the “first called”. He is considered as the Apostle to the Greeks in the years subsequent to Pentecost. Because of the fraternal relationship between Peter and Andrew, the Church of Rome and the Church of Constantinople regard themselves as sister Churches.

How do we respond like Andrew and become committed and enthusiastic evangelists? There are two necessary steps:

1. Formation or Training: Spending time with Jesus in prayer and His word. This enables you to become like Jesus. Before you can start acting like Jesus, you must spend time listening to Him and watching His every move.

2. Practicum: The student teacher or nurse needs to ground the theory she learned in the classroom in the real world. This is the Practicum.

The core mission of the Church is to evangelize. Pope St Paul VI writes that the Church exists in order to evangelize.

—St. Andrew, teach us to follow Jesus with promptness, to speak enthusiastically about Him to those we meet, and especially to cultivate a relationship of true familiarity with Him: in Him alone can we find the ultimate meaning of our live and death.

Martyred in Greece circa 60 AD. Patron saint of Greece, Russia and Scotland.

Sunday 29th November 2020,
First Sunday of Advent.
Fr. Imo Bassols.

“Advent”: memory of the coming of the Saviour and the hope of his glorious return. Today, in this first Sunday of Advent, the Church begins a new liturgic year. We are, therefore, entering some very especial days of foretaste, renewal and readying.

The invitation by the Lord to a vigilant attitude begins Advent, a very evocative religious season of great religious depth, because it is interwoven with hope and spiritual expectations: every time the Christian community prepares to commemorate the Redeemer’s birth, it feels a quiver of joy which to a certain extent it communicates to the whole of society.

In Advent, Christians relive a dual impulse of the spirit: on the one hand, they raise their eyes towards the final destination of their pilgrimage through history, which is the glorious return of the Lord Jesus; on the other, remembering with emotion His birth in Bethlehem, they kneel before the Crib. The hope for Christians is turned to the future, but remains firmly rooted in an event of the past which guides us in the present.

Jesus warns us that «you don’t know when the time will come» (Mk 13:33). Yes, in our life there will be a decisive moment. But, when will it be? We do not know. The Lord did not even want to reveal us when the time would come for the end of the world.

So, all this takes us towards an attitude of exasperation and conscientiousness: «If He comes suddenly, do not let him catch you asleep» (Mk 13:36). Time in this life is time of deliverance, of maturing our capacity to love; it is not a time of diversion. It is a time of “betrothal”, of preparation for our “wedding” time in afterlife, in communion with God and all the saints.

Yet, life is but a constant starting and restarting. The fact remains that we have to go through some definitive moments: perhaps, every day, every hour and every minute may become a crucial moment. Many or a few, but —in short— days, hours and minutes: it is here, on a concrete time, when the Lord is waiting for us. «In our life, in the life of Christians, our first conversion —that unique moment which each of us remembers, when we clearly understood everything the Lord was asking of us— is certainly very significant. But the later conversions are even more important, and they are increasingly demanding» (St. Josemaria).

In this liturgical time we are to get ready for the great “advent”: the coming of Our Master. “Christmas”, “Nativitas”: it would be great if each day of our existence could be a “nativity” to a life of love! Perhaps, making of our life a permanent “Nativity” might be the best way to stay awake. Saint Mary, Our Mother, watch over us!

November 28, 2020
Saturday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

STAY AWAKE

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.” Luke 21:34-35a

This is the last day of our liturgical year! And on this day, the Gospel reminds us of how easy it is to become lazy in our life of faith. It reminds us that our hearts can become drowsy from “carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life.” Let’s look at these temptations.

First, we are warned against carousing and drunkenness. This certainly applies on a literal level, meaning, we should obviously avoid abusing drugs and alcohol. But it also applies to numerous other ways that we are made “drowsy” through a lack of temperance. Abuse of alcohol is only one way of escaping from the burdens of life, but there are many ways we can do this. Any time we give in to an excess of one sort or another, we begin to let our hearts become drowsy on a spiritual level. Whenever we seek momentary escapes from life without turning to God, we allow ourselves to become spiritually drowsy.

Second, this passage identifies “the anxieties of daily life” as a source of becoming drowsy. So often we do face anxiety in life. We can feel overwhelmed and overly burdened by one thing or another. When we feel burdened by life, we tend to look for a way out. And far too often, the “way out” is something that makes us spiritually drowsy.

Jesus speaks this Gospel as a way of challenging us to remain awake and vigilant in our life of faith. This happens when we keep the truth in our minds and hearts and our eyes on the will of God. The moment we turn our eyes to the burdens of life and fail to see God in the midst of all things, we become spiritually drowsy and begin, in a sense, to fall asleep.

As the liturgical year comes to a close, today, reflect upon the fact that God is calling you to become wide awake. He wants your full attention and He wants you completely sober in your life of faith. Put your eyes on Him and let Him keep you continually prepared for His imminent return.

Friday 27th November 2020, 34th Week in Ordinary Time.

The infant Church distanced itself from the Temple and its sacrifices

Today, we admire the early Christians discerning the signs of their time: they had to get together and read the fragments —mysterious— of the words of Jesus Christ. This was no easy task, but it was begun on the day of Pentecost and, before the outward demise of the Temple, all the essential elements of the new synthesis had already been worked out in the Pauline theology.

For preaching and prayer, the infant Church met in the Temple, but “the breaking of bread” (the new “cultic” center, linked to the Last Supper, Death and Resurrection of the Lord) is celebrated in their houses. It began, therefore, to be outlined that an essential distinction had been drawn: the place of the sacrifices has now been taken by “the breaking of bread”.

—In the new theological synthesis there are two names that stand out. For Stephen something new had begun in which the cult’s original meaning is brought to fulfillment: with Jesus the era of the stone Temple has come to an end. But the life and the message of the “Protomartyr” —declaring before the Sanhedrin— were cut short by his stoning. It would be another, Saulo —later on St. Paul!— to complete this theological vision.

Wednesday 25th November 2020, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

“Through perseverance you will possess your own selves”

Today, we pay attention to this short but sharp sentence of our Lord, which sticks into our soul and makes us wonder: why perseverance is so important? why does Jesus tell us our salvation depends upon the exercise of this virtue?

Because the disciple is no more than his Master —«you will be hated by all for my name’s sake» (Lk 21:17)—, and if the Lord was a sign of contradiction, we, his disciples, must necessarily be one too. The belligerents will get hold of the Kingdom of God, those who fight against the enemies of the soul, those who energetically combat, as St. Josemaria Escriva liked to say, “this most beautiful war of peace and love”, which Christian life consists of. All roses have thorns, and the way to Heaven is not without difficulties and obstacles. This is why, without the cardinal virtue of fortitude, our good intentions would turn out unfruitful. And perseverance is part of fortitude. Perseverance, concretely, drives us to the strength we need to carry our contradictions with joy.

Perseverance, in its maximum degree, is accomplished at the Cross. This is why, perseverance confers freedom by granting the possession of oneself through love. Christ’s promise is indefectible: «Through perseverance you will possess your own selves!» (Lk 21:19), and this is so because what is saving us is the Cross. It is the strength of love that gives each one of us the patient and joyous acceptance of God’s will, when, in a first moment, it upsets —as it happens at the Cross— our poor human will.

Only in a first moment, because afterwards, the overflowing energy of perseverance is liberated to help us understand the difficult science of the Cross. This is why, perseverance engenders patience, which goes much beyond simple resignation. Even more so. It has nothing to do with stoical attitudes. Patience decisively contributes to understand that the Cross is, well before pain, essentially love.

Our Mother in Heaven, who understood better than anyone else this saving truth, will help us understanding it too.

Tuesday 24th November 2020, 34th Week in Ordinary Time

The feast of St Andrew Dung-Lac and his companions martyrs.

Eschatology is the knowledge of the last things. In the Scriptural context, it refers to the end times, the final judgement, and humankind’s destination – heaven or hell! The end is uncertain, which is what causes most to worry, as it did the disciples.

When Jesus spoke of the destruction of the magnificent and gigantic Temple of Jerusalem, the disciples understood it to be the end of the world, because for them the two were synonymous! And yet Jesus assures His disciples that they need not be anxious even in the midst of such conflict and destruction, and false prophecies that spoke of the end of the world, as long as they remain faithful to God.

In the first reading from Revelation, John’s vision of a cloud is symbolic of Jesus’ coming at the end of time; the crown symbolizes His coming as King; the sickle symbolizes His coming as harvester of the just.

Though both readings may paint fearful pictures of the end times, they are actually a reminder to live our lives fully and faithfully in the here and now, trusting in God’s providence.

Does the fact that I will be judged, after death, on my actions during my life, have a significant effect on them now?

Saints Andrew Dũng-Lạc and his Companions

The evangelization of Vietnam began in the 16th century and was formally established with the setting up of two Vicariates Apostolic in 1659. There are now about 6 million Catholics in Vietnam, some 10% of the population.
This growth comes partly from the fact that since the earliest times the seed of the Faith has been watered by the blood of the martyrs of Vietnam – the missionary clergy, the local clergy and the ordinary Christian people. They have all shared the labour of apostolic work and have together faced death to bear witness to the truth of the Gospel. In the course of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries no less than 53 decrees, signed by the lords and emperors of the country from 1625 to 1886, launched one persecution of Christians after another, each one more savage than the last. Over the whole territory of Vietnam about 130,000 Christians were killed in these persecutions. Over the centuries the names of most of them have been lost, but their memory is still alive in the Catholic community.
Since the beginning of the 20th century 117 of these heroes (those whose sufferings were cruellest and best documented) were beatified, in four groups. They were all canonized together by Pope John Paul II on 19 June 1988.
Each one of them was a soul individually created and loved by God, with a life and gifts uniquely his or her own; but with such a huge crowd one can only classify. By nationality, there were 96 Vietnamese, 11 Spanish and 10 French. By status, there were 8 bishops, 50 priests, and 59 laymen and women. By mode of death, 75 were beheaded, 22 strangled, 6 burned alive, 5 torn to pieces while still alive, and 9 died of torture in prison.