From Season to Season

During the Last Supper, Jesus gave his Apostles a very specific instruction: “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another” (John 13:34). These words, spoken to his closest companions on the night before he was to offer his life for them, are not just a pious admonition. Instead, they are an indication that Jesus’ sacrifice was itself an act of love (cf. Jn 13:1 ), and an example of the way they should love one another: “In this way, all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn. 13:35).   Crucifixion by Rembrandt     Reflecting on this love, Father Romano Guardini wrote: Love proceeded from Him everywhere. We encounter love all about Him. But we want to seek it out in the flaming, radiant center. Love is what He showed toward the delicate blossoming of His Father’s creation, when He speaks of the lilies of the field, and how God has clothed them more magnificently than Solom...

The man who is kindly, modest, merciful and just will not keep his good works to himself but will see to it that these admirable fountains send out their streams for the good of others. ~ Saint John Chrysostom  Saint Mark the Evangelist by Tzanes Emmanuel  in the Benaki Museum, Athens   The Acts of the Apostles and ancient tradition tell us about Saint Mark, who is often identified with John Mark, the companion of Paul and Barnabas. Originally a disciple of Saint Peter (cf. Acts 12:12 ), Mark became a collaborator of Saint Paul in his mission to the Gentiles, and he seems to have been with Paul during his imprisonment in Rome (cf. Colossians 4:10 ; 2 Timothy4:11 ). Eusebius of Caesarea , the famed Church historian, tells us that Mark spent the final years of his life serving as the bishop of Alexandria in Egypt.      Mark is most especially celebrated as the author of the Gospel that bears his name. While he himself was not an eyewitn...

For several years, a story has circulated about a text said to be inscribed on the tomb of a bishop buried in Westminster Abbey. It is supposed to read:   When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older, and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now, as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realized: If I had only changed myself first, then by example, I would have changed my family From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world. For those in ministry, especially for those entrusted with the care of souls, there is a tendency...

In his Easter Homily , Archbishop Joseph Harris of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) reflected that the celebration of Easter “puts before us Life or death. We have all experienced moments of hatred and betrayal; we have all experienced jealousy and intrigue, at times at the hands of family members, at times even within the church community. At times we have been the perpetrators, at times we have been at the receiving end. That, my friends, is the old life which could not conquer and does not conquer. It may appear to win but in the long run always loses.” He continued, “My friends, today more than ever, our Church needs the witness of New Life… let us choose LIFE.” This Easter Life places demands upon us that far outweigh the rigors of Lent. In fact, what we are celebrating during these graced days is so grand that the Church has set aside a week of weeks (50 days) to rejoice and remember. But how do we let Easter in? Unlike Lent, which most of us observe ...

In Les Misérables , Victor Hugo wrote, “The eye of the spirit can nowhere find more dazzling brilliance and more shadow than in man; it can fix itself on no other thing which is more formidable, more complicated, more mysterious, and more infinite. There is a spectacle more grand than the sea: it is heaven; there is a spectacle more grand than heaven: it is the inmost recesses of the soul.” The highly symbolic and theologically charged Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter invite us to reflect on how grace works within the inmost recesses of a soul open to the light of the Risen Lord.   Christ and Peter at the Sea of Tiberius by Raphael, 1515 (Vatican Museums)   Saint Peter, whose faith and love are highlighted in this Sunday’s Readings, had followed Jesus with enthusiasm. His faith was generous and open, but also subject to the limits of human weakness: “he overcame the trial of faith, abandoning himself to Christ. The moment comes, however, when he gives i...

George Gervase was born in Sussex, England, in 1569. After serving as a soldier in Flanders and with the Spanish army, he entered the English College at Douai, France, to study for the priesthood. Ordained a secular priest at Cambrai in 1603, he was sent to serve as a missionary to England’s persecuted Catholic communities the following year.   Banished from England after two years of ministry, he made a pilgrimage to Rome, where he decided to become a religious. George entered the newly established Benedictine Priory of Saint Gregory at Douai and, following his novitiate, he returned to England. He was arrested after only two months of ministry and imprisoned in the Gatehouse at Westminster and tried at the “Old Bailey.”   Blessed George freely admitted he was a priest, for which reason he was condemned to death. It is likely that he solemnly professed as a Benedictine monk shortly before being hanged, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on April 11, 1608. Blessed George...

Let us rejoice! Mary hears the word of the angel, and replies in her own wonderful words: “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). - Saint AlphonsusLiguori   The Annunciation by Blessed John of Fiesole (Fra Angelico), 1440 The story of the Annunciation is a simple one: There is God’s choice, the intervention of the Holy Spirit, Mary’s faith-inspired acceptance, and the conception of God’s Son by a teenage girl. (cf. Adrian Nocent, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany ). In the Annunciation, however, Mary did not understand everything that was happening to her. She had to accept God’s mysterious ways. But she trusted. “The Annunciation exemplifies the dynamics of Mary’s faith… She is conscious that what is growing within her womb is somehow divine. She does not doubt this interior illumination that has been granted to her; she asks only how it will come about. She accepts unseen realities, an...

Following Jesus’ death and burial, the Apostles were left adrift—the One who had been their focus and point of reference through years of travel and trials was gone: “God, it seemed had become silent, he no longer spoke to them, and his help to understand the unfolding of history was no longer forthcoming… they no longer had the ability to see things from the perspective of the future; they could see no escape from the catastrophic situation in which all their illusions had come tumbling down” (Cardinal Carlo Martini, OurLady of Holy Saturday ). The disappointment and disillusionment of Good Friday had not yet been transformed  by the light of Easter. Should it be any wonder that Thomas, who had been absent at the time of Jesus’ first appearance to the Apostles, would still be beleaguered by Holy Saturday sadness? Can we really fault him for wanting to verify in a personal, concrete way the fantastic tale of resurrection being told by Mary Magdalene and the others?  With th...