Monday Adoration: October 15, 2012

By Fr. Callistus Isara, MSP

The Passion and Martyrdom of John the Baptist

Preamble

The Church celebrates every year the birthday of John the Baptist on June 24 and his martyrdom on August 29. Thus John the Baptist is honoured twice every year in the Church’s Liturgical Calendar. This is quite understandable because John the Baptist was the forerunner to Christ both in birth and in death. John the Baptist plays a prominent and irreplaceable role in our salvation history. Our Lord himself speaks glowingly of John the Baptist: “In truth I tell you, of all the children born of women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist” (Matthew 11:11; Luke 7:28). I wish to focus on the arrest and martyrdom of John the Baptist at our adoration this evening.

The arrest of John the Baptist

John the Baptist was arrested and imprisoned because he rebuked Herod Antipas for marrying Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip. John the Baptist made it clear that it was against the Law for one to marry his brother’s wife. The Herod family was a complicated and diabolical family. Herod the Great, who killed innocent children at the birth of Jesus, had married as many as eight wives over a period of time and had many sons who bore the name Herod. Herod the Great was a wicked and diabolical King who murdered even members of his own family. Herod the Great had Herod Philip and Herod Antipas by two different women. Herod Philip married Herodias who was the daughter of his half-brother Aristobulus. Herod Philip essentially married his own niece Herodias. Herod Philip and Herodias had a daughter named Salome, the one who danced which led Herod Antipas to make her promise. Herod Philip did not inherit any of his father’s dominion. Instead, he lived a private life in Rome where he became wealthy. According to William Barclay, “Herod Antipas visited him [Herod Philip] in Rome. There he seduced Herodias and persuaded her to leave her husband and marry him” (The Daily Bible Series. The Gospel of Mark, p. 150). John the Baptist denounced Herod Antipas for seducing and marrying his brother’s wife. Despite his rebuke, Herod Antipas had great respect and admiration for John the Baptist and even feared him: “Herod was in awe of John, knowing him to be a good and upright man, and gave him his protection. When he heard him speak he was greatly perplexed, and yet he liked to listen to him” (Mark 6:20). But that was not the case with Herodias. She despised John the Baptist and was bent on eliminating him. Herodias was like Jezebel who was bent on killing the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 19:2-3) though Jezebel did not succeed in her evil plan.

The martyrdom of John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-30)

Herodias got her wish to eliminate John on the occasion of Herod’s birthday when her daughter danced provocatively to the admiration of Herod and his invited guests. This made Herod to promise Salome whatever she wanted including half of his kingdom. Herodias requested for the head of John the Baptist in a dish. Herod who was torn between sparing the life of John and keeping to his promise chose the latter. He had John beheaded in prison and his head given to Salome who in turn gave it to her mother.

This great man John the Baptist, the forerunner to Christ both in birth and death, the one who announced Christ to the world, an epitome of humility, who says that he was not worthy to undo the sandal strap of Jesus, this great ascetic who lived austere life by wearing a garment of carmel-hair and who ate locusts and wild honey, this great man of whom Jesus paid glowing tribute, the man who pointed Christ to his disciples, etc., was killed without hesitation in order to satisfy the wish of an evil and sadistic Herodias. Herod and Herodias typify the powerful in our society who kill with impunity. And Herodias shows us what an embittered woman can do. After his death, John’s disciples took his headless body and buried him thus bringing the ministry of John the Baptist to an end. The WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY draws a parallel between John the Baptist and Jesus Christ: “The curtain falls as John’s disciples take the beheaded ‘corpse and place it in a tomb.’ In a similar manner, Joseph of Arimathea will get Jesus’ corpse from Pilate and place it in a tomb. The role of the forerunner has ended” (WORD BIBLICAL COMMENTARY, p. 332).

John the Baptist died for the truth

Jesus declares, “I am the Way; I am Truth and Life” (John 14:6). Our Lord also says, “you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Jesus is the truth because he revealed the Father. John the Baptist died for Jesus because he died for the truth. John the Baptist was a man of truth who spoke the truth and died for the truth. John the Baptist was a courageous man. He knew that Herod had power to kill him; yet he spoke the truth and shed his blood for the truth. He endured the cruelty and chains of prison in order to bear witness to the truth. He could have been silent to the truth. But he chose to live for the truth, spoke the truth and died for the truth. He prefigured Christ not only in birth but in speaking the truth. Herod and Herodias may have won the battle but John the Baptist won the war; he was victories because the truth lives forever. Lies and falsehood can only last for a while but the truth lasts forever.

A call to live the truth

A Christian is called to live the truth always; a Christian is to further the cause of justice and truth in the society. Since Jesus is the truth, all Christians should live by the truth. Like John the Baptist, all Christians should live the truth, speak the truth, and be prepared to die for the truth. St. Ambrose of Milan notes: “Truth by whom ever spoken comes from the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. In our Christian lives, we should strive to uphold the truth and always stand on the side of truth. We should be willing to endure torments like John the Baptist for the sake of the truth. We live in a country and in world today in which the truth is a very expensive commodity; the truth is hard to come by. But thanks be to God, there are still countless men and women on the side of the truth. We should strive to be counted among those on the side of truth. Ultimately, it is the truth that will set us free.

Conclusion: I wish to end with a prayer from the Breviary on the martyrdom of John the Baptist: “God our Father, you appointed Saint John the Baptist to be the herald of the birth and death of Christ your Son. Grant that as he died a martyr for justice and truth, so we also may courageously bear witness to your word.” Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday Adoration: October 8, 2012

By Fr. Callistus Isara, MSP

Celebrating the two ‘Theresas’ in October

Preamble: The month of October is special for several reasons. First, it is a month that is traditionally devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Second, the Nigerian Church celebrates every October 1 the Solemnity of Our Lady, Queen and Patroness of Nigeria. Third, the Church honours two great Carmelite women saints: Teresa of Avila and Therese of Lisieux. I wish to reflect on these two remarkable saints at our Adoration.

Saint Teresa of Avila

Saint Teresa was born on March 28, 1515, at Avila in Spain, third of nine children to Don Alonzo Sanchez de Cepeda and Dona Beatriz de Ahumada. Teresa grew up to be a beautiful and attractive woman who was conscious of her beauty. Teresa lost her mother at the age of 13. Teresa became lonely and deeply afflicted because of her mother’s death that she prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary to be her mother. Seeing her daughter’s need for a mother, Teresa’s father entrusted her to the care of Augustinian nuns in 1531.

On November 2, 1535, Teresa entered the Carmelite monastery of the Incarnation at Avila against the consent of her father though he eventually resigned himself to this fact. Teresa became seriously ill shortly after profession. Her father took charge of ensuring that she received the best healthcare but all efforts to restore her to health proved abortive. Teresa fell into coma for four days in August 1539. After she came out of coma, Teresa’s legs were paralyzed for three years. But Teresa was eventually cured of her illness; she attributed her cure to the intercession of St. Joseph. From this moment onwards, Teresa struggled immensely with her spiritual life, experienced much dryness in prayer until she was 39 when she began to fully enjoy the presence of God. She endured having her religious experience being labeled as the work of the devil and had spiritual directors who could not help her to discern her religious and mystical experience.

Teresa was one of the greatest Spanish reformers. About 180 nuns lived in a convent with a relatively comfortable lifestyle. Teresa felt that the atmosphere was not conducive for deep spiritual life. She began to nurse the idea of a small size convent of about 12 nuns living in strict enclosures. Teresa opened her first Discalced Carmelite convent of St. Joseph in 1562. Teresa and three others received the habit of the Discalced Carmelite to the chagrin of the Carmelites of the Incarnation. The Father General of the Carmelite Order visited Teresa and her fellow Discalced Carmelites and was impressed with what he saw. He asked Teresa to found two new convents and Teresa later on founded more convents. With the help of St. John of the Cross, Teresa was able to institute reform with great improvement in the spiritual condition of the community. She would later travel round to implement reform in other communities of the Carmelite.

The Calced Carmelites are the ‘unreformed’ while the Discalced are the ‘reformed.’ In 1580, the Discalced Carmelites were given the status of a province. Teresa died in Alba, Spain, on October 4, 1582. She was beatified by Pope Paul V on April 24, 1614, and canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622. In 1970, Pope Paul VI declared Teresa a Doctor of the Church. Teresa’s feast day is on October 15.

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Therese of Lisieux was born in Alencon, France, on January 2, 1873, the youngest of five surviving children, to Louis Martin and Azelie-Marie Guerin. Therese mother died when she was only 4 years old. At 10 years old, Therese contracted a strange illness and suffered from convulsions, hallucinations, comas, etc., for 3 months. Theresa prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary and she was cured instantly. On December 25, 1886, Therese experienced what she called her ‘conversion.’ This consisted of a change within her and a deep longing for God. Therese desired to suffer for God and made plans to enter the Carmelite convent in Lisieux. At 14, Therese applied to join the Carmelite convent. Her two sisters Pauline and Marie had already joined the Carmelite convent at Lisieux. Therese’ application was turned down; she was told to wait until she turned 21. On a pilgrimage to Rome with her father and sister Celine, Therese asked Pope Leo XIII to allow her to enter the convent at the age of 15. Pope Leo XIII told her she would enter the convent at 15 if it was the will of God. On April 19, 1888, at 15, Therese entered the Carmelite convent where she spent the rest of her life.

St. Therese was famous for her spirituality of the ‘Little Way’ which she re-popularized. It comprised of that childlike attitude of relating and approaching God. As Pope Saint Pius XI defined the ‘Little Way,’ “it consists in feeling and acting under the discipline of virtue as a child feels and acts by nature” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 11, p. 78). Therese felt it was her mission to propagate the ‘Little way,’ which is the way of spiritual childhood, the way of confidence and total abandonment to God. Therese’ autobiography spread widely after her death and she was acclaimed for her sanctity and uniqueness. Therese was acclaimed to have achieved sanctity not through extraordinary things but through a simple lifestyle and did ordinary things to the greater glory of God. Therese points out in her autobiography that her vocation is to ‘love.’ She writes: “Beside myself with joy, I cried out: ‘Jesus, my love! I ‘ve found my vocation, and my vocation is love” (Divine Office, Vol. III, 305*). Therese wanted to go to the missions but could not due to her poor health. She devoted her time praying for those in the missions.

Therese died in Lisieux on September 30, 1897. She was beatified in 1923 by Pope Benedict XV and canonized on May 17, 1925, by Pope Pius XI who proclaimed her principal patron of all missionaries. Blessed Pope John Paul II declared Therese a Doctor of the Church in 1997 as part of the celebration marking the centenary of her death in 1897. Therese is known as the ‘Little Flower.’ She is often associated with roses but her life consisted of thorns because of the sufferings she endured.

Conclusion: These two great saints of different background have inspired the Church for centuries. Both are declared Doctors of the Church though with different intellectual capacity. It shows that each one of us can become a saint by being faithful to our Christian calling. Let us conclude with the prayer of Teresa of Avila: “Let nothing worry you; Nothing dismay you; Everything passes; God does not change. If you have patience you can do anything. Those who have God want for nothing; God alone is enough.”

Monday Adoration: October 29, 2012

By Fr. Callistus Isara, MSP

Deepening our Marian Devotion

Preamble

As our official Marian devotion in October gradually comes to an end, it does not mean that that is the end of our devotion to Mary. The Marian devotion of this month reminds us of what should be a regular part of our Christian faith, namely, cultivating a solid relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary and growing in devotion to her. Evidently, Jesus Christ is the focal point of the Christian life. However, our devotion to the Blessed Mother helps us to be become better disciples of Jesus Christ. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary does not obstruct our faith in Christ; instead, it enables us to foster a closer union with Christ.

Relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary

Just as a solid relationship with Jesus Christ is at the heart of the Christian life, relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary is an integral aspect of the Christian of life because of Mary’s pre-eminent role in our salvation history. A strong relationship with the Blessed Mother should lead to a solid relationship with the Lord Jesus because Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity. St. Paul captures this quite excellently in his first epistle to Timothy: “For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus, who offered himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tim 2:5). The Church always has a tradition of honour and reverence for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus, a relationship with Mary is a very important aspect of the Christian faith. The tradition of the Church has always upheld devotion to Mary. As Lumen Gentium points out, “From the earliest times the Blessed Virgin is honoured under the title of the Mother of God, whose protection the faithful take refuge together in prayer in all their perils and needs” (Lumen Gentium, no. 66).

Part of our Marian devotion is to strive to deepen our relationship with the Blessed Mother. Mary is very close to us as Christians. In our prayers, we should cultivate the habit of constantly invoking the intercession of Mary. In our prayer, we should meditate on the life of Mary and endeavour to emulate her fidelity to God and her vocation. Essentially, in addition to all the Marian prayers we pray, most notably, the Holy Rosary, we should strive to develop a close relationship with Mary. Let us relate to Mary in such a way that we can talk to her as our mother. As I noted in my adoration paper of three weeks ago, entitled, “Celebrating the two Theresas in October,” St. Teresa of Avila lost her mother at the tender age of 13. As a result of her mother’s death, “Teresa became lonely and deeply afflicted because of her mother’s death that she prayed to the Blessed Virgin Mary to be her mother.” St. Teresa of Avila became close to the Blessed Mother because of the tragedy of losing her mother. For our part, we should strive to be close to the Blessed Mother and always call upon her in our prayers both in good times and bad times.

Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary

I wish to echo what I pointed out in my book Understanding and Praying the Holy Rosary. With Other Reflections on the Blessed Virgin Mary (p. 74-75) with regard to devotion to Mary in the Church:

• “Devotion to Mary has always been an integral part of the Tradition of the Church. This devotion began in the New Testament, through the Fathers of the Church, and reached its climax in the medieval period and the post Reformation period till the present. The Tradition of the Church has always been that of honour and reverence of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The degree and intensity of this devotion varied from time to time. What is constant is the fact that the Catholic Tradition always honoured the Blessed Virgin Mary. Thus, “The cult of Mary is a response of the Christian people to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the mystery of Christ and His Church, the reaction of redeemed mankind toward the Mother of God, who is mother of Christ, and mother of men, particularly of the faithful” (New Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9, p. 365).”

• “Beginning from the second century, the Fathers of the Church proclaimed Mary as the new Eve. The Church has proclaimed her as the new Eve till today. In the second century, St. Justin the Martyr (d. 165 AD) and St. Ireneus (125-202 AD) described Mary as the new Eve. Hear St. Ireneus: “The knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience; for what Eve bound by her unbelief, Mary loosed by her faith.”

Reflecting on our October Marian Devotion

It is pertinent to ask: How has my October devotion been? Did I accomplish my goals for this October devotion? Do I feel closer to the Blessed Mother? Brothers and sisters, we might have set some tangible goals for ourselves during this October devotion. Even if we did not totally attain those goals, that should not make us to lose heart. However, we should endeavour to practice our Marian devotion on a daily basis so that the months of May and October can routinely fit into our regular pattern of fervent devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The months specifically set for Marian devotion are meant to enable us to practice our Marian devotion in a more consistent and insistent manner. Thus, it is incumbent on parents and guardians to introduce their children as early as possible to Marian devotion and to teach them to cultivate a personal relationship with Mary.

Conclusion

The Blessed Virgin Mary is a model of faith for all Christians. Mary continues to inspire us in our Christian commitment and fidelity to God. During this month that is traditionally dedicated to Marian devotion, it is my fervent hope that all Catholics will strive to grow in their devotion to Mary and enhance their faith and relationship with the Mother of God.

May the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us all both now and forever! Amen.