St. Elizabeth of Hungary

So, did you hear the one about how holiness is only for priests and religious?

Yeah, I haven’t either, and today’s saint proves the point that holiness is open for all.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a princess, queen, wife, mother, widower, and saint.  She died in the year 1231 at the tender age of 23, and was declared a saint a scant 4 years later!

How to achieve such a remarkable run?  Easy!  She was married while still a teenager, which was rather common in those days, to a prince of Thuringia, within modern day Germany.  Her husband was assassinated, leaving her the widowed queen with three small children.  However, she did not let that stop her.  She became a Franciscan Tertiary (a lay person associated with the charisms of a particular order, her poverty.)  In iconography, she is always depicted holding loaves of bread as she gave away large stores of food the poor of her day and age, while she kept to a strict schedule of fasting and prayer.

For her life, she was declared patronness of widows and Catholic Charities.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary, Pray for us!

- Father Schnippel

St. Paul gets the Stick out!

Today’s First Reading at Mass is one of my favorites.  No soft-pedaling, here; St. Paul comes out and says it clearly:

O stupid Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?

Pretty clear, huh?

Why so strong, though?  St. Paul just doesn’t mean ’stupid’ as simple minded, or mistaken; he is trying to wake them up that their salvation is a jeopardy by what they are doing.  Hence, nothing is more important!  The Galatians are adding unnecessary things from the Mosaic Law code, and he is trying to get them to keep the practice of the faith pure, as he taught it to them.

What are the trappings of this world that get in the way of our practice of the faith?

Big Slap Coming!

If you have been following along with the Daily Mass readings, get ready, tomorrow’s the day!

This week, we have been hearing from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians as our First Reading at Mass.  The situation in Galatia was, um…., interesting.  St. Paul visited the area on three of his journeys (all but his trip to Rome, and we know how that ended), and seems to have been one of the first Christian missionaries to visit this area of Asia Minor, present day around Ankara, Turkey.

While he was the first, St. Paul was not the only missionary to traverse the hills and valleys here.  It seems pretty clear that others came after him and started to teach the Galatians that they had to add on to what Paul had given them, for he did not require them to embrace the Mosaic Law code, as these latter missionaries did.  (No bacon-cheeseburgers for them!)

In the intial two chapters of the Letter, we hear Paul’s defense of how he came to know and teach the faith: From Christ and confirmed by the Twelve, even so far as going (in today’s readings) against Peter for hypocrisy.

So, stay tuned for tomorrow, as the hammer gets dropped!

- Fr. Schnippel

Reliance on God

In the midst of the building financial crisis, where many, many folks have had retirement savings (not to mention their very livelihood!) go up in smoke; comes today’s Gospel Lection where Jesus sends forth the Twelve for the first time in Luke’s account:

He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.”

His words shuld provide us with a good reminder that He takes care of us in good times and bad, and that we should rely on Him above all else.

I know, easier said than done, but perhaps one good result from such a dire economic forecast.

- Fr. Schnippel

and ACT on them!

Today’s Gospel Lection is one of those curious passages that often give Catholics a head scratcher:

The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”

Ok, so is Jesus dissing his Blessed Mother here?  Why did she show up, anyway?

I think a couple things are at play here:

1) Mary is bringing Jesus’s relatives to Him so that they may also know what she knows.  Remember the whole Gospel according to Luke: this is the one where Mary ‘ponders all of these things, keeping them in her heart.’  She knows who her Son is, she is trying to help the others accept that as well.

2) The response that Jesus gives is not a dismissal of Mary, rather it praises her unique role in Salvation History.  When she received the invitation from the Angel, while she first ‘pondered what sort of greeting this might be,’ she also said yes, she acted upon that invitation.  As such, she is the first disciple of her Son, and the model for all other disciples to follow.

The lesson for today, we do not just read the Scripture, we do not just ponder the Eucharist (although there is a place for that in the Church in contemplative communities); we take what we hear and what we receive and put them into action.

Our relationship with Christ is foundational, but it plays out in the world.

You, Yourself, a sword shall pierce!

Today’s feast is Our Lady of Sorrows, and the Gospel reading for today’s Mass features the prophecy of Simeon to Mary as she (and Joseph!) bring forth the Child Jesus to be dedicated in the Temple: “You, yourself, a sword shall pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed.”

In Catholic Theology, Mary has a unique and special role to play in the working out of the salvation of the world.  Because she is the avenue through which Our Lord takes on humanity, she also becomes the avenue through which His graces, earned on the Cross, flow back to humanity.  But as is always the case, it is not one of triumphalism, but of an embrace of the Cross.  Mary becomes the living model of what St. Paul will say: “By my sufferings, I make up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.”

When we suffer and ‘offer it up,’ we become little channels of grace just as Mary is the channel of grace, par excellance.  We, too, are called to suffer so that others may see the folly of a world that shuns suffering as useless; for we know it brings about salvation.

Feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist

Today, we celebrate the first to overtly give his life for his testimony to Christ, His relative: John the Baptist.

The man sent to testify to the light coming into the world eventually gave the ultimate testimony: his own life; he took to the nth degree the statement he made earlier: “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Why did he earn such a dubious distinction?  Simply, he stood up for the truth against an oppressive regime.  He called all to repentance and conversion, he preached without considering the cost.

Hopefully, we can all follow his lead and also give our lives, especially when it is difficult or inconvenient.

Fr. Schnippel

Ezekiel

If you have been following along with the daily readings for Mass, you recognize that Ezekiel has something to say, which is not always nice, to say the least.  To give a bit of background, the introduction from the New American Bible can be found here.

I think it is important to put the prophets, especially, into the context of the historical time in which they write.  This is never more true than with Ezekiel, as his visions and statements are bold and dramatic.  As is mentioned in the Introduction above, Ezekiel is unique in that he receives the call to prophecy outside of the Holy Land, as his call some while the people are trapped in exile in Babylon, the lowest point in the Ancient History of the Jewish People.

Part of what is going on with the prophet here is the call to conversion (which is consistent throughout all the prophets!), but on a more personal level.  The People of Israel being contained in captivity were not taking personal responsibility for their fall away from God, yet rather blamed the Captivity on the sins of their forefathers.

Ezekiel wants them to recognize that their own sins also contributed to the situation in which they now found themselves.

This is a call that is just as relevant today as it was in 570 BC in Babylon.  We continue to hear talk of repayment for past sins, holding on to grudges that have happened eons ago, and ‘passing the buck’ of responsibility to The Man.  Rather, when we own up to the mistakes, forgiveness is granted and we are able to learn and grow closer to God as we admit we are weak and fallible, and need His strength to go through our days.

To make it hit home: what’s the difference, here in Cincinnati, between the reception that Josh Hamilton received versus what Chris Henry is getting now?

Be like Little Children

Today’s Gospel reading is another of those times where Jesus has to pound on His diciples.  They are getting closer to Jerusalem, Jesus has been tranfigured before Peter, James and John; He’s talked about how they are going to Jerusalem and the Kingdom will be established; and the disciples are starting to get a little too full of themselves.

So, as they walk along: ‘Hey, Lord, who’s the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?’ Surely, they are thinking he’s gonna name us!  But no, he takes a little child and places it in their midst and says: ‘Unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the Kingdom.’

Huh?  Did He just say what I think He did?

Yes, He did.

So, how do we ‘become like little children’?  Trust.  A small child, especially, trusts implicitly that its needs will be taken care of, and to find joys in the simple things of life.  (Who here has spent a good amount of change on the new toy, only to have the box be more interesting than the actual toy?)

Trust in God, rely on Him for all that you need, and enjoy the simple pleasures of life.  Then we will be like little children.

St. Clare

Today’s feast in the Church is of St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the Poor Clares, friend of St. Francis, and patron of those who work in television.  However, for today’s Daily Reflection, I’m sending you over to Chiara’s blog, as she holds St. Clare as her particular patron.