I’m sure there have been more than three great popes in our history – but there are only three which history has given the title “the Great”: Leo I, Gregory I and Nicholas I (somehow, Nicholas I is always forgotten in that list). Today is the feast day of St. Gregory the Great, and patristic scholar extraordinaire Mike Aquilla gives us a nice summary of his life:

St. Gregory the Great, whose feast is today, Sept. 3, was the first monk ever chosen as Pope. He had grown up in one of the few remaining old aristocratic families in Rome. Before taking his vows, he had been an important politician in the city, so he had some experience with administration. Nevertheless, he hadn’t intended to become the most important politician of his age. Things just turned out that way. There was work to be done, and only Gregory could do it.

Rome was in bad shape when Gregory became her bishop. The plague that had killed Pope Pelagius was still raging. The city had been kicked around like a football between Goths and Vandals, with Greeks from the Eastern Roman Empire periodically stepping in to inflict even more damage. Fires and disastrously bad weather added to the catastrophes. And the constant threat of invasion from the north by the horrible Lombards kept the survivors in terror.

These Lombards were a particularly vicious sort of barbarian, at least to their enemies. They massacred everyone in their path, except for the few who might be useful as slaves. The Lombards who weren’t pagans were Arians, so they had no qualms about plundering the orthodox churches and slaughtering the clergy. Cities emptied as they approached, and soon Rome and Ravenna were the only substantial cities left in the northern half of Italy.

In theory, Italy was governed by the Roman Emperor in Constantinople, through his exarch in Ravenna. In practice, the exarch was nearly powerless, and the Eastern Empire had enough problems of its own to worry about. The exarch might be able to hold onto Ravenna, with its naturally impenetrable defenses, but he couldn’t do much about it when the Lombards decided to march on Rome. No one was left to defend the once-proud city but Gregory. It was lucky for Rome that Gregory had both experience in government and a deep and sincere faith. It took both qualities to save the city.

Continue reading…

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!

Today it is common for “sophisticated” Catholics as well as non-Catholics to scoff at pious practices of the past, such as asking St. Anthony’s intercession in finding lost objects. But I for one think such practices are completely legitimate and well within our Faith.

Yesterday I was trying to find our checkbook before Mass. My wife and I had looked everywhere for it during the past week, but could not find it anywhere. I was about to give up and break into a new set of checks when I remembered St. Anthony. I said a quick prayer asking him to help me find it before Mass. A few minutes later I was talking to my wife and she remembered then that the checkbook was in the pool bag. Thank you St. Anthony!

Then I figured I had his attention, so I asked him for help in finding my son’s belt. It had been missing for over a month. I walk into his room, look under his bed (which I had looked under numerous times in the past month), and voila! there it was! St. Anthony was on a roll!

I might be unsophisticated, but at least I don’t lose things for very long.

St. Anthony, pray for us!

Last month my family went on vacation in New York and while there we took a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs. I wrote an article about this trip for the latest issue of OSV Newsweekly:

My family descended into the ravine, following the footsteps of one martyr-saint who had searched there for the bones of another. As we traced the downhill path alongside a small stream, we read the words of St. Isaac Jogues describing his search for the body of his Jesuit companion, René.

Killed at the hands of the Iroquois Indians, St. René Goupil would become the first canonized martyr of the United States. We were passing over the holiest ground in our country, we realized, in this out-of-the-way valley in New York.

Continue reading…

If you are able to get a copy of the print version of this issue, be sure to check out the photographs which accompanied my article – they were taken by my daughter Lucy!

Today is the feast of the first martyrs of Rome, commemorating those Christians who died during the persecution of Nero around 64AD. One cannot overestimate the impact of martyrdom on the early Church, as until the 4th century, the Church was the Church of Martyrs.

During this time there was no formal process of canonization; most of those raised to the altars took a simple, if painful, path: they died for the faith. We can see the central place of martyrdom in Christianity with the account of St. Stephen, the first martyr of the Church, in the Acts of the Apostles. That account is a turning point in that book’s story of the early Church. Fourth century St. Ephrem the Syrian sings the praise of the martyrs in his Hymns on Paradise:

Those who have been crowned for our Lord’s sake
with the martyr’s death by the sword
shine out in glory there
with their crowns
because their bodies despised
the persecutors’ fire.
Like stars do they blossom
in Paradise

We who live our faith in comfort and safety can easily forget the sacrifice others have made to pass on that faith. It is unlikely that any of us will face a “red martyrdom” but we must remember that all of us are called to “white martyrdom,” in which we continually die to self in order to “live in Christ.” This can be done by the mother who does the same tasks every day joyfully in order to serve her family or the businessman who gives up professional advancement or more money in order to spend more time with his family. Every day presents opportunities to die to self – we just need to recognize them and, by the grace of God, unite them to our Lord on the Cross.

Holy martyrs of Rome, pray for us!

Other than Jesus there is no figure more richly drawn in the New Testament than St. Peter, the leader of the apostles whose feast we celebrate today (along with St. Paul). Reading the Gospels and Acts, one really gets a sense of this loyal, impulsive, courageous and flawed man. Much of his personality comes out in the many declarations of his that Scripture records. Thus, I have decided to list here my 10 favorite St. Peter quotes (I would have also done the same for St. Paul, but I’m afraid I would just end up listing his entire epistles).

Favorite St. Peter Quotes

10) “We believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11)

9) “We have given up everything and followed you.” (Mark 10:28)

8 ) “I have neither silver nor gold, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, (rise and) walk.” (Acts 3:6)

7) “Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20)

6) “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38)

5) “Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:15, 16, 17)

4) “Get up. I am only a man myself.” (Acts 10:26)

3) “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Luke 5:8)

2) “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

1) “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Mt. 16:16)

Sts. Peter and Paul, pray for us!

Baseball fans throughout the Roman Empire are excited about this year’s hot team, the Jerusalem Apostles. After a slow start, the Apostles have caught fire and are dominating the league. Here is tonight’s starting lineup:

1: John Zebedee, centerfield
Clearly the fastest man on the team (he once smoked Simon Peter in a foot race), young John has put up some impressive numbers this year in the leadoff spot. And his amazing eyesight (earning him the nickname, “Eagle Eyes”) has helped him in the field as well, as it seems that he catches everything hit his way.

2:Matthew, right field
Another speedster, Matthew has a gun for an arm, which serves him well in right field. Usually overshadowed by the flashier John, Matthew still produces respectable numbers.

3: Thomas, left field
Probably the most underrated player on the team, he still is trying to live down the infamous scene in the ‘33 Series when he questioned his manager’s presence in the clubhouse. But he has always been a strong hitter and proclaims that he would “die” for his team.

4: Simon Peter, 1st base
Team captain Simon Peter has been plagued with inconsistency throughout his career, but management has stuck with him throughout. Although he has a high number of strikeouts, it seems that whenever Peter puts his bat on the ball, it leaves the ballpark for a round-tripper, making him the clear choice for the cleanup role.

5: Andrew, 3rd base
Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, excels at bringing people to home. An RBI machine, he loves to be in the background and allow others, especially his brother, to shine.

6: Philip, 2nd base
Not very well-known outside of a base of hard-core fans, Philip year after year puts up solid, if unspectacular, numbers. Little known fact: Philip actually recruited Nathaniel to play for the Apostles, extolling Jerusalem’s famous manager.

7: Nathaniel, shortstop
Another little-known player, Nathaniel can be counted on to play the game fair. During the sad Steroid Era, no one suspected this player of any shenanigans.

8: Simon the Zealot, catcher
No one, I mean no one, plays with the intensity of Simon. There is fear in the eyes of opposing players when they round third base for a close play at home, and Simon zealously protects the plate like no other catcher. At least three players have gone on the DL after a run-in with Simon.

9: James Zebedee, pitcher
James has been the bulwark of the staff this year. His only weakness is that sometimes he enjoys the limelight too much. He also has a tendency to be sent to the showers early in games.

Bullpen:
Long relief: James Alphaeus, Jude Thaddaeus and Matthias
These guys toil in anonymity, but no team is complete without players like this who are willing to do the grunt work necessary to make a team successful. People are still talking about the game that Jude entered in the 3rd inning down ten runs. Everyone thought it was a lost cause, but behind his strong pitching, the Apostles were able to climb back into it and win in extra innings.

Closer: Paul of Tarsus
A newcomer to the team (replacing the ill-fated Judas Iscariot, who gave up the winning runs in last year’s Series), Paul has been sensational in the closer role. He seems made for building on the foundation of others, and he is a remarkable 33 for 33 in save opportunities this year. There have been reports of friction between Paul and team captain Simon Peter, but both deny it is anything substantial.

Many observers felt that last year’s crushing Series defeat would hang over the Apostles’ heads, but their manager has managed to turn that defeat into the driving force for this year’s success. Combined with the announcement of their manager’s retirement at the end of this year, the Apostles’ inspired play in the first half of the season has resurrected dreams of a championship. But they have a small window in which to work: rumors abound that small-market Jerusalem won’t be able to hang onto all their players hitting the free agent market this winter. There is already talk that superstars Simon Peter and Paul are being wooed by the big-market Rome Imperials to play for them next year. But for now, it seems to be Jerusalem’s year.

Go Apostles!

Tomorrow, June 26th, is the feast of St. Josemaría Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei. St. Josemaría died on June 26th, 1975 (thus making him the most recently deceased canonized saint) and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2002.

St. Josemaría is of course best known for founding Opus Dei, but paradoxically that fact has in some ways worked to make him less well-known among “ordinary” Catholics, the very people he was most trying to reach. In my experience, many Catholics seem to think that you have to be a member of Opus Dei to have a devotion to St. Josemaría, or that you have to support every single thing Opus Dei has ever done. But the truth is that St. Josemaría is a wonderful teacher for all Catholics, and his teachings and spirituality are perfectly suited for Catholics of all stripes.

The reason St. Josemaría is a great saint for today is that he calls us to strive for holiness in the midst of the modern world. Forty years before Vatican II declared a universal call to holiness, St. Josemaría was preaching this belief throughout Spain, insisting that every man and woman can become holy in – and through – everyday, ordinary life. I am not a member of Opus Dei, but I have found his teachings and spirituality to be quite helpful in my own pursuit of holiness and I encourage everyone to learn more about this great modern Saint.

I am currently in the preliminary stages of writing a book about St. Josemaría and his spirituality that is intended to be directed towards non-Opus Dei members. Until that project is completed, let me give some resources for learning more about St. Josemaría Escriva:

The writings of St. Josemaría

Information about St. Josemaría

Opus Dei website

St. Josemaría, pray for us!

An awesome discovery (along with some of my comments):

Art restorers in Italy have discovered what are believed to be the oldest paintings of some of Jesus Christ’s apostles.

The faces of Apostles Andrew, John, Peter and Paul were uncovered using new laser technology in a catacomb in Rome.

The paintings date from the second half of the 4th Century or the early 5th Century, the restorers and Vatican officials believe.

The images may have influenced later depictions of Christ’s early followers. [I think it more likely that these images reflected what had been handed on; they didn't "invent" what the apostles looked like.]

“These are the first images that we know of the faces of these four apostles,” said Fabrizio Bisconti, head of archaeology for Rome’s numerous Vatican-owned catacombs.

The frescoes in a tomb of a Roman noblewoman in the Santa Tecla catacomb were known about but their details came to light during a two-year restoration project funded by the Vatican.

The images were uncovered using new laser technology that allowed the restorers to burn off thick white calcium carbonate deposits caused by extreme humidity and lack of air. [That is pretty cool.]

“The laser created a sort of mini-explosion of steam when it interacted with the calcium carbonate to make it detach from the surface,” said Barbara Mazzei, who was in charge of the project.

“It was very, very emotional to discover this,” she added.

Andrew, Peter and John were among Jesus’ original 12 apostles.

Paul was an influential early Christian who travelled widely in the Mediterranean area in the 1st Century. [Isn't it sad that they felt the need to include the previous two sentences in formerly 'Christian' Britain?] His letters to the early churches, found in the Bible’s New Testament, are arguably some of the most influential on Christian thinking. [Arguably? I don't think that word is needed in this sentence.]

This past weekend a fellow convert asked me why I became Catholic. I quickly answered, “Because it is true.” Of course that didn’t really answer his question, as he wanted to know the specific things that drew me to Catholicism. So I gave him an abbreviated form of my conversion story.

But the answer “because it is true” is the fundamental reason why I became Catholic. And there is no better patron saint for this reason for conversion than today’s saint, St. Justin Martyr. Justin was a pagan philosopher who jumped from one philosophy to another in pursuit of the truth. This fundamental longing for truth is something that has been missing from much of modern philosophical studies, and in modern society in general. At the beginning of C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, the senior demon Screwtape writes,

MY DEAR WORMWOOD,

I note what you say about guiding our patient’s reading and taking care that he sees a good deal of his materialist friend. But are you not being a trifle naïf? It sounds as if you supposed that argument was the way to keep him out of the Enemy’s clutches. That might have been so if he had lived a few centuries earlier. At that time the humans still knew pretty well when a thing was proved and when it was not; and if it was proved they really believed it. They still connected thinking with doing and were prepared to alter their way of life as the result of a chain of reasoning. But what with the weekly press and other such weapons we have largely altered that. Your man has been accustomed, ever since he was a boy, to have a dozen incompatible philosophies dancing about together inside his head. He doesn’t think of doctrines as primarily “true” of “false”, but as “academic” or “practical”, “outworn” or “contemporary”, “conventional” or “ruthless”. Jargon, not argument, is your best ally in keeping him from the Church. Don’t waste time trying to make him think that materialism is true! Make him think it is strong, or stark, or courageous—that it is the philosophy of the future. That’s the sort of thing he cares about.

The trouble about argument is that it moves the whole struggle onto the Enemy’s own ground. He can argue too; whereas in really practical propaganda of the kind I am suggesting He has been shown for centuries to be greatly the inferior of Our Father Below. By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient’s reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result? Even if a particular train of thought can be twisted so as to end in our favour, you will find that you have been strengthening in your patient the fatal habit of attending to universal issues and withdrawing his attention from the stream of immediate sense experiences. Your business is to fix his attention on the stream. Teach him to call it “real life” and don’t let him ask what he means by “real”.

It seems like the work of Hell has been largely successful today: the pursuit of objective truth has become unfashionable in most circles, as whatever someone believes is “true for them” and not really relevant to daily life anyway.

Yet St. Justin lived in a different era, and he was a passionate about pursuing the truth, wherever it might lead him. When he eventually encountered the “philosophy” of Christianity, he recognized that the truth was not a concept or philosophy, but a person: Jesus Christ. And although he was a philosopher, he was not drawn to Christianity merely by intellectual arguments, but also by the witness of the martyrs, whose love of the Truth led to their heroic deaths. St. Justin himself ended up following their witness, which is why he is remembered as St. Justin Martyr.

St. Justin Martyr, pray for us!

Do you smell that? It is that new-saint smell. Today, for the first time in history, we celebrate the feast day of St. Damien of Molokai, who was canonized just last year. I think it is quite an honor to be able to celebrate a saint’s feast day for the first time.

St. Damien of course is best known for his work among the lepers in Hawaii. He lived among these outcasts for years, ministering to both their physical and spiritual needs. But most importantly, he identified with them, becoming an outcast for the sake of outcasts. He took this identification to the greatest extreme: he contracted leprosy himself and eventually died of the disease.

We see the same type of identification through suffering in Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. She sought out those who felt abandoned and wished to identify with them. She prayed fervently to God that He would grant her desire to be like them in love. And He granted her request in an unfathomable way: He allowed her to feel abandoned even by Him. She knew what it was like to feel that no one loved her – not even God – and thus was able to fully love and identify with those she served.

And of course both St. Damien and Blessed Teresa were imitating their master, our Lord Jesus Christ. The incarnation is the most radical identification of them all: the Almighty Son of God became man out of love. And this identification went to the furthest extreme: suffering and ignominious death. This is the Christian answer to suffering: that God Himself joins us in our suffering; He can truly identify with everything we suffer. And in this identification through suffering, He lifts us up to Him in love.

Like St. Damien, we are called to identify with those who suffer: this is the path of true love. May we never turn our backs to the poor and suffering, but instead always join with them and bring them to our suffering God, who will lift them out of their suffering and into His loving embrace.

St. Damien, pray for us!

No New Testament figures cause more confusion than today’s two saints, the apostles Philip and James. There are two prominent men named Philip and possibly three named James in the early Church and they have been confused with each other for almost 2,000 years. It can be helpful to try to sort them all out.

Philip the apostle was from Bethsaida (John 1:44) and was one of Christ’s first apostles. He was the one who brought Nathanial to Jesus (John 1:45), who was asked by Jesus how they could feed the multitude (John 6:5), who the Greeks came to inquire about Christ (John 12:21), and who asked Christ to show them the Father (John 14:8). After Christ’s ascension, however, there is very little we know about his life, other than that he was a martyr. His feast day is today, May 3rd.

But there is another Philip in the New Testament: Philip the deacon. He was one of the seven chosen to help in the daily distribution of the food (Acts 6:5). Like his fellow deacon Stephen, however, he also had a powerful preaching ministry. After Stephen’s martyrdom, he went to Samaria and preached the Gospel (Acts 8:4-8), and he also was responsible for the baptism of Simon Magus (Acts 8:9-13) and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40). Many people confuse this Philip with the apostle but they are different men. Philip the deacon’s feast day is June 6th.

The situation gets even more confusing with James. In fact, there is no agreement whether there are two or three men named James who were leaders in the early Church.

The first James is James the Greater, the brother of John the Apostle. Fortunately, there is no confusion about his identity. He was a member of the “inner circle” of apostles along with Peter and John, and he was the first apostle to be martyred (Acts 12:2). His feast day is July 25th.

James the Less, who is celebrated today along with Philip the apostle, is called the “son of Alphaeus,” and was one of the original 12 apostles. There is also James the Just, the “brother of the Lord” who was the well-respected bishop of Jerusalem and one of the “pillars” of the early Church along with Peter and John (Galatians 2:9). This James is also considered the author of the epistle which bears his name.

But the question that has been debated for centuries is: are these two men named James – the son of Alphaeus and the “brother of the Lord” – the same person? For centuries many people have believed so, but today most scholars would say that they are different men. I tend to go against the conventional Catholic theory that they are the same man and believe that they are actually two different people. But of course in the end it does not matter. We know that two men named James were made apostles, and that a man named James who was related to Christ was a major leader in the early Church. Whether this describes two or three men does not change the witness of their lives for us today.

Sts. Philip and James (all of them), pray for us!

Today is the feast of St. George, who is very popular among Eastern Christians as well as school-age boys everywhere. We know little about St. George, who was an early Church martyr, but of course he is best known for the mythical tale of his slaying of a dragon.

Although the stories surrounding St. George are the stuff of legend, as a martyr he truly did slay a dragon, for he overcame the Evil One who is the prince of this world. By giving his entire life for Christ, he was able to defeat the power of Satan, the great dragon.

We too have dragons in our lives. The persistent sins that we can’t seem to overcome, the fear that keeps us from boldly proclaiming Christ, and the disordered sexuality that surrounds us are all dragons that we must slay. Fortunately for us we do not fight alone nor are we to fight our dragons unarmed:

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:11-17)

St. George, pray for us!

Yesterday I wrote that the Catholic’s proper response to the scandals is to become a saint. Someone then emailed me and reasonably asked, “How do you become a saint?”

I have always taken a very practical view of this question. I don’t see sainthood as something mysterious or ethereal. I see it as something every person can obtain if they take concrete steps to do it. Here are five steps I would recommend:

1) Ask God to make you a saint. Frankly, without His help, it’s a losing battle, so you better begin with this. The good news is that He is more than willing to help you in your battle for sanctity.

2) Frequent the Sacraments. Frequently. Most spiritual directors advise attending Mass daily if possible, and confession at least monthly. I would recommend going to confession even more frequently, for it prevents our little sins from growing into big ones.

3) Pray. Try to spend at least 30 minutes a day in private prayer. You can’t know what God wants from you unless you talk to Him a lot.

4) Practice the virtues. This is the least flashy of all the recommendations, but it is vital in the battle for sanctity. One cannot be a saint without being patient with your spouse and kids, kind to your co-workers and loving to your parents. The first step to being a saint is being human.

5) Read the Bible and the lives of the saints. If you want to be a professional baseball player, you are going to read about those who have already achieved that level to see how it is done. Likewise with sainthood: reading the Bible and the lives of the saints gives great guidance for becoming a saint yourself.

Obviously, there are many other things you can do on the path to sanctity, but if you just follow the five steps above, you will be well on your way. And don’t be discouraged when you fall in your attempts to practice these steps. A distinguishing mark of the saints is that when they fall, they always get back up.

With all the troubles that are afflicting the Church right now, many self-inflicted, faithful Catholics are asking themselves, what can I do? What can I do to help the Church, to overcome the evil that seems to be both inside and right outside the doors of the Church?

The answer is simple: become a saint.

I don’t say that flippantly. I really mean it. There is one way, and one way only, for each of us to help the Church. Become a saint. One of my favorite all-time quotes is from St. Josemaría Escrivá: “These world crises are crises of saints”. All crises that occur in the world are due to a lack of saints, and the only person we can make a saint is ourselves. And the great thing is that the Almighty God wants nothing more than for each of us to be saints, so we have Him on our side in our battle for sanctity.

So what are you waiting for? If you want to help the Church, become a saint. Today.

Pietro Molla passed away on Holy Saturday, the liturgical anniversary of the childbirth which led to St. Gianna’s heroic death.

I imagine he has been looking forward to his reunion with his wife for over 40 years.