A Modern Day Saint

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martyr, monastery, St. Maximilian Kolbe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Maximilian Kolbe, whom the Catholic Church celebrates today as a saint, is well-known for his willingness to take the place of another man in a death camp during World War II. Maximilian, a Franciscan friar, stepped forward to save the life of a married man with children and consequently died of starvation and – in the end – a lethal injection of poison. This ultimate sacrifice for the good of another is, of course, worthy of sainthood but the entirety of this saint’s life is worthy and prepared him with the courage needed to give his life in martyrdom.

Here are a few of the facts about this saint who was dedicated to God and Mary Immaculate throughout his life. In 1927 he founded and led a monastery that grew to house 700 men – the largest monastery in the world. He supervised the publication of religious magazines, including The Knight of the Immaculata, that had a press run of 750,000 copies a month, part of an endeavor that ran to about 60 million copies annually. In addition to his devotion to Mary Immaculate, he has become known as the patron of families, those recovering from drug addiction, prisoners, amateur radio operators, journalists, political prisoners and the pro-life movement. He died at the age of 47 years.

A Modern Martyr

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addiction, Auschwitz, martyr, St. Maximilian Kolbe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I had just started teaching in high school when Maximilian Kolbe, a Franciscan priest from Poland was beatified in 1971 and I remember the pride and joy of the Polish people when he was declared a saint eleven years later in 1982, just 41 years after his death. Modern saints were still few and far between and modern martyrs, even more rare in the Church. Father Kolbe swiftly became known the world over for his courage and generosity in taking the place of a young married man with children in a starvation group at Auschwitz. That man, Sargeant Francis Gajowniczek, lived to tell the story as a witness to the selflessness of Fr. Kolbe.

One thing I did not know about St. Maximilian was that by August 14, 1941 four of the ten men in the group were still alive. To “finish them off,” they were injected with carbolic acid, causing their death. Because of this, I presume, Fr. Kolbe has been named as the patron of drug addicts. How fitting that this title should be given to one who was so brave, since courage is the quality so necessary to those afflicted with drug addiction.

Let us be grateful for St. Maximilian Kolbe and all those who suffered like him, and let us pray for the end of the epidemic of drug addiction in our country and the world, especially in families that we know as victims of this terrible affliction.

St. Lawrence

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alms, courage, martyr, poor, selflessness, St. Lawrence, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasure

When I went to high school, my first homeroom teacher was Sister Lawrence Joseph. I was used to the masculine names of religious Sisters; in those days most of the more prestigious saints were men. Sister Lawrence wasn’t the best math teacher I ever had but I always remembered that her feast day was August 10th – the feast on the liturgical calendar of Saint Lawrence, Martyr – because of the way legend says he lived and died.

Lawrence was a deacon in the Church at Rome during the third century, the time when Christians were still being persecuted for their faith. As such, he was in the inner circle of the Pope so that when the Pope was assassinated, he knew it was likely that he would be next. As deacon of the Roman church, Lawrence had the responsibility for the material goods of the Church and the distribution of alms to the poor. He had been giving all the money on hand to the poor and even selling sacred vessels of the altar to increase the sum. When the prefect of Rome heard of this, he demanded that Lawrence bring all the treasure of the Church to him, “rendering to Caesar what was due.” Lawrence was given three days to assemble all the riches of the Church. When the prefect arrived, Lawrence had gathered all the poor, blind, lame maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed people and said to the prefect, “These are the treasure of the Church.”

The fury of the prefect was known by the cruelty of the kind of death Lawrence was to die and the heroism of the saint was sealed by his response. The prefect had a large gridiron prepared with hot coals beneath it and Lawrence’s body placed on it. After he had suffered the pain for a long time, legend says, the saint made his famous cheerful remark, “It is well-done. Turn me over.” (http://www.franciscanmedia.com) Lawrence was said to be 33 years old at the time of his death.

In a moment of such violence in our own country and such courage seen in the lives of many young people speaking out and caring for their elders, St. Lawrence shines as an example of selflessness and ingenuity. Let our prayer today be for the end of senseless cruelty and a willingness to stand for those most in need of our courage and care.

Where Is the Love?

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antidote, Auschwitz, distress, inhumanity, loss, love, martyr, St. Maximilian Kolbe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems as if we, like Noah, will soon have to begin building an ark to survive the rain that seems destined to go on forever taking lives, swallowing up cars and filling homes with muddy destruction. Would that we could gather it up and send it West to smother some of the wildfires that are devastating so many homes and lives on the other side of our country. Such environmental distress and human loss is difficult to take in as pictures on the news bring it all to the fore each evening.

Add to that the story of St. Maximilian Kolbe, whom we remember today as holy man and martyr, one who gave his life at Auschwitz in place of a man who had a wife and children. Kolbe died as a 47-year-old Franciscan priest who had chosen to be a martyr. You can read his story at www.franciscanmedia.org. 

We are not separate, it seems, from the groaning of nature and the inhumanity born of hatred in individuals and nations. War, whether worldwide or contained in one country – or in our hearts – continues to overshadow our days. The only antidote is love. Offered with generosity to each person we pass on the street, those we embrace as friend and those we thank God for every day as essential to our lives, leaving no one out of our circle of care, love will ultimately save us. This, I believe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Living for God

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connectedness, grace, holiness, Jan Phillips, live for God, martyr, No Ordinary Time, No Time For Ordinary, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

It seems a very long time since I finally asked Jan Phillips to come to my hometown to share her creativity and thoughts about evolutionary consciousness. I worried that there would not be enough people to “fill the house.” She’s rather famous now. Recently, however, when I raised that concern in an e-mail message to her (having already committed to bringing her all the way from California), it was the Jan that I have known for almost 50 years that responded. Whatever number we have will be perfect, she said. The fewer there are, the deeper we can go. I’m okay with any size.

So this is it: the week we’ve been waiting for. If there are any “last minute” folks out there who are close enough geographically to join us for a concert and/or a workshop entitled, No Time for Ordinary, check out the Sophia Center for Spirituality website for more information. For those of you too far away to be with us, see below for a little taste of Jan’s thought – from her book, No Ordinary Time.

When I was young, I prayed to be a martyr. I wanted to show God and everyone else that I loved Him enough to die for Him. I wanted to go into battle for Him, be another Joan of Arc, a hero for God’s sake.

Now all that’s changed. I wouldn’t think of dying for God, but am doing my best to live for God – not God as person, but God as Goodness, Justice, Mercy. There are no more lines of separation, only strands of connectedness. My eyes find holiness everywhere, in every living thing, person, in every act of kindness, act of nature, act of grace. Everywhere I look, there God is, looking back. (p. 12)

Cecilia’s Gift

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Dancing with the Stars, martyr, music, persecution, sing, St. Cecelia, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today is the feast of St. Cecilia, a person remarkable for her holiness, her steadfastness and her love of music. It is always amazing to me that people in the 21st century are inspired by someone who lived in Rome in the second century of the Christian era. The story of Cecilia’s life is sketchy but heroic. She lived in the era of persecution of Christians and she and her husband Valerian spent themselves before their own martyrdom in burying those who had been murdered for their faith. In the 16th century, her body was exhumed and was found to be incorrupt. There’s much more to say but my interest today was in the number of musical compositions that have been named for her – from Handel’s Ode to St. Cecilia to Paul Simon’s popular “Cecilia” in the 1960s!

There isn’t much in life that I consider to be more important than music. We can learn much about culture from the vocal and instrumental works of a country or region and historical events are often remembered by the songs that tell their stories. Liturgical life is enhanced by the music of ritual and folk artists can carry us away on the emotions of life stories recounted in what they have written. Cecilia’s patronage of musicians comes from her wedding, in a rather ironic way. Having previously dedicated her life to God in a pledge of virginity, she was nevertheless forced to marry the pagan Valerian. All reports say that during the wedding ceremony she “heard heavenly music inside her heart” and subsequently was the cause of her husband’s conversion when he saw an angel by her side.

I am grateful today for the gift of music and will sing my way to work and home in homage to Cecilia. And for all of us who celebrate what music does for the urge to dance, don’t forget that tonight is the season finale of Dancing with the Stars!

The Cheerful Giver

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charity, cheerful giver, Corinthians, feed the poor, justice, martyr, St. Lawrence, St. Paul, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, treasures, valuable

The 2,000 years of Christianity have been punctuated with reminders of our duty toward “the poor among us.” The verse that begins today’s readings is clear. Paul says: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 COR 9:6) We would do well to meditate on the actions of St. Lawrence, whose feast is today, as we consider this Scripture text. He was a deacon in Rome during the early days of Christian persecution about whom almost all of the little that is known is legend. There is no birth date and a question mark follows the printed date of his death (d. 258?). He is remembered, however, as the story goes, for his actions when he was commanded to bring all the holy vessels that comprised the riches of the Church to the prefect (governor). He agreed but asked for three days to put together an inventory of what was valuable. When the prefect returned, Lawrence had gathered “a great number of blind, lame, maimed, leprous, orphaned and widowed persons and put them in rows…[and] simply said, ‘These are the treasures of the Church.'” (http://www.americancatholic.org) As you might imagine, St. Lawrence became a martyr shortly thereafter.

I am left after those readings with the same questions that come to me each time I am reminded of this issue of justice in the world. What can I do to help the people in my own community to be fed? Where are the children in our area who go to bed hungry? Why, in one of the riches countries in the world are there so many people who have to make a choice between rent and food or medicine and food or any other need and food? There are many questions about issues both individual and systemic. I find myself most often in the population that is charitable but not so involved in justice work. Today, when rain and mundane tasks will keep me inside, is a good day to take one more step across that line toward the difficult work of justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Unlikely Pair

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bring your own gifts, coat of many colors, feast day, fidelity, Jesus, martyr, Paul, Peter, Pope Francis, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Word of God

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Today is the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, clearly the most well-known and important figures of the early days of Christianity. They prove the truth of the adage, “Variety is the spice of life” however. As we recall, Peter was chosen by Jesus as the leader of his motley band of followers. He was the only one that had an answer when Jesus asked, “Who do you say that I am?” Good answer: “You are the Christ, Son of God,” put him at the head of the class, but his missteps were many along the way. One commentary suggests that he could have used a public relations director. He said and did lots of things along the way that directly contradicted previous statements and actions, e.g. the opposite of the above-mentioned proclamation when he said “I do not know the man,” in fear during the trial of Jesus. But Jesus never lost faith in Peter; he chose and supported him because he loved him and was faithful to that love and in the end, Peter grew into his best self, giving everything including his life in the manner of Christ.

Paul was also transformed by the love of Christ. Unlike Peter, however, Paul never met Jesus in the flesh but came to know him “in a flash of light” and was forever changed. Also unlike Peter, once Paul had been converted to Christ, he never wavered; he was tireless in his preaching and traveled the known world as a missionary to the growing communities of those who were coming to believe in this new “Word of God.” Christ clearly loved Paul too, making a way for him in all trials during his ministry until Paul himself declared, “I have run the race; I have kept the faith…” and he too was martyred for the cause of Christ.

I read a quote this morning from a general audience of Pope Francis that speaks to me about these two great men. It said in part, “the Church is like a great orchestra in which there is great variety. We are not all the same, and we do not have to be all the same. We are all different, varied, and each of us brings our own special qualities. This is the beauty of the Church: everyone brings their own gifts which God has given for the sake of enriching others.”

All of this says to me that fidelity is like a coat of many colors fitting us how and when we are ready. God is totally in love with each of us and all of us and waits for us to grow into the person we already are in God’s eyes. Peter came to know that, Paul knew that, just as Pope Francis knows it and asks us to consider it as well. This is my prayer for today.

Universality

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catholic, Charles Lwanga, energy of love, martyr, Teilhard de Chardin, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unity

I was young when I learned that the Roman Catholic Church (into which I was born) is “one, holy, catholic and apostolic.” That is not to say that I understood what those terms meant and it took a very long time for me to even consider the question. Thus, I remember distinctly hearing in 1964 when I was in high school that Pope Paul VI had named a group of 22 young Africans from Uganda as “official” saints of the Church.  (d. 1886) and his companions, whom we celebrate today, were jailed and later murdered for refusal to renounce their faith. Perhaps I need to brush up on my church history and martyrology, but the reason I remember this announcement was my surprise that we now had the first African saints. Embarrassing as that seems, I was living at that time in the cocoon of an Irish ghetto on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts where only four years before we had celebrated the fact that John F. Kennedy had done the impossible – become President of the United States as a Roman Catholic. We heard all the news in those days from newspapers and radio, as well as increasingly on television – but not instantaneously as we do today.

The word catholic means universal but it took centuries for our church to look outside of Europe for examples of ordinary believers – never mind saints! Today I think of my privileged experience of a beautiful Sri Lankan Mass on a Sunday at Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and a video of African children dancing in an offertory procession to a Mass in their village as examples of this new consciousness. It is true, as Catholics sometimes say in defining themselves, that we can go to church in any country in the world and find the same ritual – not in the same language, obviously, but with the same core, the same heart. In the past ten years, I have also come to know that this is true in a broader sense when I gather with Christians of many denominations for wisdom studies. In these moments, the rituals differ but what holds us together is the peace, the growing love, between us.

Unity in diversity is growing in our world. I look forward to a day when our hearts will be so open that we will recognize the vision of Teilhard de Chardin who said: Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

Back to Business

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Acts of the Apostles, Christ, Luke, martyr, spirit, St. Stephen, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Since Christmas occurred on Friday this year, many people who work Monday-Friday have another day off, but the majority of laborers are back at their posts today (in addition to those who did not have a holiday yesterday). The lectionary readings don’t give us such relaxation, however, as they take us immediately from rejoicing to a consideration of what it means to be a disciple in a rather stark way. Today we celebrate the feast of St. Stephen, known as one of the first seven deacons to serve the needs of the growing Christian community (Acts 6). He is also the first martyr spoken of to die as a witness to faith in Christ. The lesson for me in this rather sobering feast is about consistency in reflection and practice as it leads to witness of faith. The Acts of the Apostles speaks of Stephen as a young man filled with the Spirit who “was working great wonders and signs among the people.” His detractors “could not withstand the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke” so they became enraged and ended by stoning him to death. Stephen is compared to Christ as an innocent who was put to death for speaking the truth. That courage does not come at a moment’s notice but must be developed from a deep inner knowing. I have often wondered if I would have the stability to witness even unto death were I to be challenged in such a radical way. I am lucky to live in a land and an era where freedom of religion is a right of all inhabitants so such courage would most likely not be demanded of me. If it were to happen, however, I hope that I could count on the words of Luke’s gospel this morning for my strength. Do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking within you.