Wednesday in the Octave of Easter
feast of saint fidelis
1 Samuel, Chapter
15, Verse 24
Saul admitted to Samuel: “I have sinned,
for I have transgressed the command of the LORD and your instructions. I feared the people and obeyed them.
There are three
lessons we can learn from the life of King Saul. [1]
First, obey the Lord and seek to do His will. From the very start of his reign, Saul had the perfect
opportunity to be the benchmark by which all future kings could be measured.
All he had to do was to seek the Lord wholeheartedly, obey His commandments and
align his will with that of God’s, and his rule would have been a God-honoring
one. However, like so many others, Saul chose a different path and strayed away
from God. We find a perfect example of his disobedience in the incident where
God commanded him to kill all the Amalekites, but Saul kept the king and some
of the spoils of war. Saul compounded his troubles by lying to Samuel over the
incident. He claimed that it was the people that saved all of the animals (1
Samuel 15). This act, plus many others over the course of his rule, emphasized
the fact that he could not be trusted to be an instrument of God’s will.
The second lesson we learn is not to
misuse the power given to us.
There is no question that King Saul abused the power God had entrusted to him.
The over-riding reason for this is the pride often creeps into our hearts when
people are serving and honoring us. In time, this type of “star treatment” can
make us believe that we really are something special and worthy of praise. When
this happens, we forget that God is the one who is really in control and that
He alone rules over all. God may have chosen Saul because he was humble, but
over time that humility was replaced by a self-serving and destructive pride
that destroyed his rule.
The third lesson for us is to lead the
way God wants us to lead. First Peter
5:2-10 is the ultimate guide for leading the people that God has placed in our
charge: “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as
overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you
to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd
appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Young
men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe
yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's
mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him
because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him,
standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the
world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who
called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little
while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” How
much different Saul’s life would have turned out had he obeyed these
principles. King Saul would have had no shortage of wise counsel available to
him. By ignoring God and His wise counsel, Saul allowed the spiritual health of
his people to deteriorate further, alienating them from God.
"Come and breakfast!" That is the invitation Christ gave to Peter and John when they landed their great catch of fish, so mysteriously bestowed. They were elated and humbled and weary. It must have been a comfort to find a fire waiting on shore, a fish on it, and bread ready. To commemorate this Gospel of Easter Wednesday, why not a picnic breakfast in our home, or, better, out of it?
A party at this hour can be more fun than the usual afternoon-evening spreads, so hard on tired babies and so short on mothers' nerves. By now you can smell and feel spring throughout the land, even under the crusty layer of leftover snow. The voice of the turtle may not be heard, but all the mittens are lost, and nobody cares. In those sections of our country where spring has really arrived and the violets are lying in wait to be discovered, this can be a picnic of sudden beautiful surprises for everyone. Children who might never have noticed will be amazed that mother isn't as old as they thought. She even knows how to turn a jumprope. If you live where winter hasn't yet given up the ghost, or if the little ones are really too little to do more than curdle the atmosphere, a picnic on the back porch (or basement, if you have that kind of basement) will be just as exciting to the children. Scrambled eggs with hot ham or bacon in buns wrapped in aluminum foil, individual boxes of dry cereal with companion boxes of raisins, thermoses of cocoa or orange juice — whatever it is in your house that makes a special breakfast should be on the menu. If we mothers are to be catchers of (little) men, we must look to our lures! City families might breakfast in a nearby park, even if it does shock the squirrels and pigeons. They just have to learn we humans can be carefree too. And our explanations to passers-by, openly curious at our cavorting, may be, for all we know, a chance for spiritual seed-sowing. For apartment-dwellers, patio-less and too far from a park, breakfast on the rooftop can be just as exhilarating as a penthouse cocktail party. More so, since Christ is the Host and the small talk is never boring.
Saint
Fidelis who became a martyr and was murdered for his faith in 1622, while
traveling back to his home church after preaching in Seewis, Switzerland to
former Catholics who had converted to Calvinism. Saint Fidelis on the day of
his martyrdom preached with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to
constancy in the faith. After a Calvinist had discharged his musket at him in the Church, the Catholics
entreated him to leave the place. He answered that death was his gain and his
joy, and that he was ready to lay down his life in God's cause. On his road
back to Grüsch, he met twenty Calvinist soldiers with a minister at their head.
They called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He
answered: "I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The
Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I fear not death." One of them
beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his backsword. Fidelis
rose again on his knees and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross,
said with a feeble voice "Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion
they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!" Another sword stroke
clove his skull, and he fell to the ground and lay in a pool of his own blood.
The soldiers, not content with this, added many stab wounds to his
body with their long knives, and hacked-off his left leg, as they said, to
punish him for his many journeys into those parts to preach to them. How shall
we deal with truly evil people?
In
Judaism, the Amalekites came to represent the archetypal enemy of the Jews. In
the Jewish folklore the Amalekites are considered to be the symbol of evil.
This concept has been used by some Hassidic rabbis (particularly the Baal Shem
Tov) to represent atheism or the rejection of God. Elliot Horowitz and Josef
Stern suggest that Amalekites have come to represent an "eternally irreconcilable
enemy" that wants to murder Jews, and that Jews in post-biblical times
sometimes associate contemporary enemies with Haman or Amalekites, and that
some Jews believe that pre-emptive violence is acceptable against such enemies.[4]
The truly wicked are animals as the bible mentions
they are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Strong men and women whether laity or
religious have a duty to protect the flock; they are the shepherds of the
church that protect the weaker ones. Who are the Amalekites of our time; how shall
we recognize them.
According to Christian Counselor Lesie Vernick[5]there
are five indicators that you may be dealing with an evil heart rather than an
ordinary sinful heart.
·
Evil
hearts are experts at creating confusion and contention. They twist the facts,
mislead, lie, avoid taking responsibility, deny reality, make up stories, and
withhold information.
·
Evil
hearts are experts at fooling others with their smooth speech and flattering
words. But if you look at the fruit of their lives or the follow through of
their words, you will find no real evidence of godly growth or change. It’s all
smoke and mirrors.
·
Evil
hearts crave and demand control, and their highest authority is their own
self-reference. They reject feedback, real accountability, and make up their
own rules to live by. They use Scripture to
their own advantage but ignore and reject passages that might require
self-correction and repentance.
·
Evil
hearts play on the sympathies of good-willed people, often trumping the grace
card. They demand mercy but give none themselves. They demand warmth,
forgiveness, and intimacy from those they have harmed with no empathy for the
pain they have caused and no real intention of making amends or working hard to
rebuild broken trust.
·
Evil
hearts have no conscience, no remorse. They do not struggle against sin or
evil—they delight in it—all the while masquerading as someone of noble
character.
Hmm…sounds like politicians or Governors of
Infanticide States to me? I would like to finish with some thoughts of Saint
John Paul II on the subject.
I
once again address the leaders of nations and all men and women of good will,
who recognize the need to build peace in the world…"Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good" (12:21). Evil is never defeated by
evil; once that road is taken, rather than defeating evil, one will instead be
defeated by evil.[6]
God has created men by nature and vocation with a natural desire for Himself and men can only find happiness in God. But men become lost as they seek God due to ignorance and sin. Realizing real dangers in the world and the God-implanted understanding of the need for salvation, men aspire to heroic deeds and seek courageous heroes to protect and lead them through the challenges of life. The desire and need for true heroes is perennial in the hearts of men across time and cultures. From an early age, boys naturally seek heroes. They look up to their fathers, older boys and other men as role models and as defenders/protectors. Boys are intrigued by the heroic deeds of fictional characters (e.g. Superheroes in movies, TV and books, videogame heroes, sports heroes, etc.). Boys admire and seek those with heroic virtues. When grown, men continue to seek heroes. Some continue on with the fictional heroes of youth, trading comic books for the action/superheroes and celebrities in the media. Most men also look up to heroes in real life. Many follow and celebrate sports teams and athletes. Others admire and follow politicians, social activists or business leaders. Still others look up to and follow real life heroes in the military (Medal of Honor winners), religion (saints) and people who perform extraordinary deeds in the face of tough challenges (911 responders, those who battle life-challenging illnesses). All men, in some way, desire to be heroes and to associate themselves with heroic leaders.
27
The
desire for God is written in the human heart, because man is created by God and
for God; and God never ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find
the truth and happiness he never stops searching for:
The dignity of man
rests above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God. This
invitation to converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into
being. For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and
through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully according
to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts himself to his
creator.
397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness.
Men
fall for false heroes
The
Definition of “Hero”
Jesus –
The True Hero
·
Jesus
is infinitely higher above all other heroes – He is the Son of God; there can be no hero
that compares. Heroes come and go, but only Jesus is the long-awaited
Messiah. No hero, except Jesus, was anticipated for thousands of years
before His birth and remains a hero two millennia after His death (and Resurrection).
·
He
physically protects people on earth –
He saves the Disciples who are in fear of drowning. He stands up to the
bloodthirsty mob that is going to stone the adulterous woman. He protects the
disciples from the violent legion when He is taken in the Garden. He is
the ultimate protector.
·
Jesus
is the perfect demonstration of virtue – He demonstrates prudence, temperance, justice
and fortitude and charity with perfection that no man has met, or can ever,
match.
·
He
heals people from sickness, madness and death – Jesus healed the multitudes
of every illness and raises them from the dead.
·
He
stands for Truth against falsehood –
Repeatedly, He confronts the Pharisees and the Sadducees and corrects their
falsehoods, despite their collusion to kill Him. He refuses to yield to
Pilate, even as Pilate threatens Him with death. Jesus is Truth itself.
·
Jesus
defeats man’s greatest foe, Satan –
There is no greater enemy of man than Satan. Jesus defeats Satan when
tempted in the Wilderness, by casting out demons, and by using the
Satan-inspired evil of Judas for the Glory of the Cross and Resurrection (CCC
2853). He defeats Satan on his home turf (Hell) when Jesus descends to
offer His “redemptive works to all men of all times and all places…” (CCC
634). Only Jesus delivers us from evil.
634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead." The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.
·
He
defeats man’s greatest scourge, Sin –
He saves people from sin (CCC 2854). For example, He tells the sinful
woman at Simon the Pharisee’s house, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace”.
2854
When
we ask to be delivered from the Evil One, we pray as well to be freed from all
evils, present, past, and future, of which he is the author or instigator. In
this final petition, the Church brings before the Father all the distress of
the world. Along with deliverance from the evils that overwhelm humanity, she
implores the precious gift of peace and the grace of perseverance in
expectation of Christ's return By praying in this way, she anticipates in
humility of faith the gathering together of everyone and everything in him who
has "the keys of Death and Hades," who "is and who was and who
is to come, the Almighty."
·
Deliver
us, Lord, we beseech you, from every evil and grant us peace in our day, so
that aided by your mercy we might be ever free from sin and protected from all
anxiety, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus
Christ.
·
He
sacrifices Himself for others – Jesus makes an infinite sacrifice,
for His life is of infinite value and he gives it for the sins of all mankind.
He chooses a horrible death freely, saying, “Greater love has no man than this
that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
·
He
offers salvation for all mankind – His Name means “God saves” (CCC 430) and it is only
the name of Jesus that can actually save. “Christ’s whole life is a
mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all through the
blood of His cross…” (CCC 517). “He who believes and is baptized will
be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned”. “For the
Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” “For God so loved the
world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.”
517
Christ's
whole life is a mystery of redemption. Redemption comes to us above all
through the blood of his cross, but this mystery is at work throughout Christ's
entire life:
- Already in his Incarnation through which
by becoming poor he enriches us with his poverty;
- In his hidden life which by his
submission atones for our disobedience;
- In his word which purifies its hearers;
- In his healings and exorcisms by which
"he took our infirmities and bore our diseases";
- And in his Resurrection by which he
justifies us.
·
He
is recognized as a Savior during His life on earth – The Samaritans profess, “It
is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Sixth Day - Today Bring Me The Meek and Humble Souls and the Souls of
Little Children.
Most Merciful
Jesus, You Yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of
heart." Receive into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart all meek
and humble souls and the souls of little children. These souls send all heaven
into ecstasy, and they are the heavenly Father's favorites. They are a
sweet-smelling bouquet before the throne of God; God Himself takes delight in
their fragrance. These souls have a permanent abode in Your Most Compassionate
Heart, O Jesus, and they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy.
Eternal Father turn Your merciful gaze
upon meek and humble souls, and upon the souls of little children, who are
enfolded in the abode of the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. These souls
bear the closest resemblance to Your Son. Their fragrance rises from the earth
and reaches Your very throne. Father of mercy and of all goodness, I beg You by
the love You bear these souls and by the delight you take in them: bless the
whole world, that all souls together may sing out the praises of Your mercy for
endless ages. Amen.
Daily Devotions
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