Saturday, July 4, 2015
Bl. Catherine Jarrige and the Underground Priest
One of my favorite stories is about Bl. Catherine Jarrige, whose feast day is July 4. She lived during the French Revolution and the accompanying supression of the Catholic Church and demonstrated a level of inspired chuztpah that takes your breath away.
Priests who not declare their first allegience to the revolutionary government were known as "non-juring" priests and in November of 1791, they were suspect and to be arrested. Most were arrested and the majority were kept in prison ships where the majority died within a few months from the appalling conditions.
Persecution evolved into active "de-Christianization" by 1793. In October of 1793, a law was passed sentencing non-juring priests and those who harbored them to instant death. Less than a month later, the Goddess Reason was installed on the high altar of Notre Dame Cathedral.
It was in this climate that Catherine, a lacemaker and professed third order Dominican, who was known for her great generosity to the poor "showed her quality". Catherine created a priest underground that slipped clergy in and out of her area successfully, ensured priests were fed and safe, and that the sacramental needs of the community were still met. No baby went unbaptized, no one died without confession. She only lost one priest, whom she accompanied fearlessly to the guillotine. After his execution, Catherine took some of the martyr's blood and smeared it on the eyes of a blind child who was instantly healed. At seeing the miracle, the executioner began to cry "I'm lost, I'm lost. I've killed a saint!"
One particularly amusing story about her exploits comes down to us. Catherine was guiding a priest, disguised as a revolutionary peasant, out of the area. To prevent discovery, Catherine has doused the disguised priest with wine and told him to walk as though he were drunk and let her do the talking. As they walked along, they encountered a revolutionary soldier. Thinking quickly, Catherine began to yell at her walking companion loudly as though she were scolding her husband. The soldier sympathized with Catherine's 'husband': "Citizen, if I had a wife like that, I'd drown her in the nearest river." The undercover priest is said to have passionately agreed. "Citizen, so would I!"
Catherine was instrumental in re-establishing the life of the Catholic community after the revolution and lived to be 82. It was said that as a young woman, she loved to dance the Bouree - a local country dance but gave it up after she was professed as a Dominican to focus upon her ministry to the poor.
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati: A commentary by Fr. Barron
When the covering was removed from the image of Pier Giorgio Frassati draped on the facade of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome as he was newly proclaimed Blessed by Pope John Paul II on May 20, 1990, what became visible to those present was not the classic portrait of a saint. Surprisingly, it was the photo of a strong, young man wearing the gear of a mountain climber, leaning on a long ice-axe, with one foot resting sturdily on a rock.
"Toward The Top"
A month before his death at the age of 24, Pier Giorgio Frassati and some of his friends had been climbing in the Val di Lanzo, where some difficult points had to be overcome by climbing or by using a double rope. On the photo which shows him holding onto the rock gazing up toward his goal, he later wrote the words, "Verso l'alto"; in English, "toward the top." It is a short phrase which was the synthesis of his way of life: always seeking what enhances, that which carries us beyond ourselves, toward the best we can be as people, toward the best of ourselves. It is to strive toward perfection of life; in other words, toward sainthood. It means to strive toward the source of life: God.
Rugged Mountaineer
The mountains were Pier Giorgio's favorite place: "With every passing day, " he wrote to a friend, " I fall madly in love with the mountains; their fascination attracts me." From his youth, he was accustomed to climbing the highest peaks. He was a member of the Italian Alpine Club and climbed the Gran Tournalin (3379m), the Grivola in the Val d'Aosta (3969m), Mon Viso (3841m), the Ciamarella (3676m), the Bessanese (3532m) and a large number of lower mountain peaks. He also lived through some critical situations, such as a sleepless night spent in a hole dug in the snow and a descent in a snow storm. For him, the mountains represented the pleasure of testing his athletic body, filling his lungs before the strain of a skiing competition or a difficult climb. He experienced the spirit of emulation always tinged with contagious joy.
The Joy of Friendship
The mountains for him also meant the joy shared with his companions: either his dearest friends or perhaps more improvised companions for whom he expressed all his kindheartedness and generosity. He took upon himself the burden of those who were a bit slower or tired. At times, he would say his foot hurt and he needed to stop and rest, so as not to humiliate those who really needed to do so. Or he would go back and forth between the mountains and the plain in order to lighten the backpacks of those who were a little weaker. He did all this with a good spirit that nothing could destroy, not even fatigue. With a rather offkey voice he would start singing a song for the group or, in the silence of the camp, he would invite everyone to pray before going to sleep.
Everyone can draw some inspiration from the way in which Pier Giorgio Frassati lived. The mountains, his mountains, can be a school, a temple, a gymnasium to help each of us strive ever always toward the top.
Friday, July 3, 2015
Saint of the day: Thomas the Apostle
Today is the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. The following comes from the Catholic Online site:
St. Thomas was a Jew, called to be one of the twelve Apostles. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities. At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. But St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master. Thomas' unwillingness to believe that the other Apostles had seen their risen Lord on the first Easter Sunday merited for him the title of "doubting Thomas." Eight days later, on Christ's second apparition, Thomas was gently rebuked for his scepticism and furnished with the evidence he had demanded - seeing in Christ's hands the point of the nails and putting his fingers in the place of the nails and his hand into His side. At this, St. Thomas became convinced of thetruth of the Resurrection and exclaimed: "My Lord and My God," thus making a public Profession of Faith in the Divinity of Jesus. St. Thomas is also mentioned as being present at another Resurrection appearance of Jesus - at Lake Tiberias when a miraculous catch of fish occurred. This is all that we know about St. Thomas from the New Testament. Tradition says that at the dispersal of the Apostles after Pentecost this saint was sent to evangelize the Parthians, Medes, and Persians; he ultimately reached India, carrying the Faith to the Malabar coast, which still boasts a large native population calling themselves "Christians of St. Thomas." He capped his left by shedding his blood for his Master, speared to death at a place called Calamine. His feast day is July 3rd and he is the patron of architects.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
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