Saturday, November 11, 2023
FEAST OF SAINT MARTIN/VETERANS DAY
2 Maccabees, Chapter 7, Verse 29
People
of virtue are often a stumbling block for the rich and the powerful yet know
that they, the rich and the powerful, are only the physical workers of the
devil and his cohort, while we are the children of God. Take courage therefore
and wrap yourself in the virtues our Lord may give you. For some are martyrs
and some are priests and religious and some are holy hermits, and some are holy
spouses and parents. In Maccabees the progressives now push for the abolition
of Judaism. Today we also realize the same push from the progressive tools of
the devil. Will there ever come a time when in our society virtuous people are
treated like the mother with her seven martyred sons. We report—you decide!
Martyrdom of a mother and Her Seven
Sons[1]
HANNAH AND HER SEVEN SONS, a story told in II Maccabees, Chapter 7, of seven brothers who were seized along with their mother by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, presumably shortly after the beginning of the religious persecutions in 167/166 B.C.E., and commanded to prove their obedience to the king by partaking of swine's flesh. The brothers defiantly refused to do so. Encouraged in their resolve by their mother, they were executed after being put to frightful tortures. When the mother was appealed to by the king to spare the youngest child's life by prevailing upon him to comply, she urged the child instead to follow in the path of his brothers, and she herself died shortly thereafter.
St. Martin[2]
MARTIN was born in the year 316
in Pannonia, or Hungary, of pagan parents, but he received secret instructions
in the Christian religion, and in his tenth year was received into the number
of the catechumens, that is, of those who are preparing themselves to receive
holy Baptism. At the age of fifteen he became a soldier, being, as is probable,
forced to do so by his father, to whom the religion of the boy had become
known.
Out of love of God he
not only kept himself aloof from the excesses so common in this state of life,
but he took advantage of it to practice love for man, by dividing his pay among
the poor. Being one day solicited for alms by a beggar, and having nothing but
his arms and his cloak, he gave him half his cloak.
The following night
Christ appeared to him, wearing that half of the cloak, and said to him:
Martin, who is yet a catechumen, has clothed Me with this garment. Moved by
this comforting apparition, he received holy Baptism, gave up the life
of a soldier, and betook himself to St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, in
France. As he was careful about his own salvation, so also was he careful of
the salvation of others, particularly of his parents and relatives, for the
sake of whose conversion he undertook a journey to his native land.
On his return he
built, not far from Poitiers, the first convent in France, into which he
received twenty-four monks, with whom he led a strict and virtuous life. His
great faith made him like the apostles in regard to miracles, and the fame
thereof spread abroad to that degree that, in spite of his refusals, he was
chosen Bishop of Tours. This high dignity made no change in his manner of
living; rather it increased his humility, his patience under the greatest
persecutions, his zeal for the glory of God, his love for his neighbor, and
particularly for his enemies.
After he had in such
manner ruled over his diocese for twenty-six years, being then over eighty
years old, the strength of life left him. He thereupon collected his disciples
about him, and said: Children, I am dying. They wept and mourned. Moved by their
tears, he in his prayers professed himself willing to labor longer if it were
God's will. But he had labored for heaven enough, and God desired to place
upon him the long-merited crown. With his eyes raised to heaven, he prayed
incessantly, allowing himself no relief. At his last moments the enemy sought
to confound him by a horrible apparition, but, full of confidence in God, the
saint cried out: What do you seek, cruel monster? In me you will find nothing
that is yours; and soon after his spirit gently sank to rest. Would that we
might learn from this saint truly to love God, and to care not only for our own
salvation, but for the welfare of our fellow men in body and soul! Then we,
too, might have nothing to fear in death.
Prayer.
O God, Who seest that we cannot
subsist by any strength of our own, mercifully grant that by the intercession
of blessed Martin, Thy confessor and bishop, we may be protected against all
adversity.
EPISTLE. Ecclus. xliv., xlv.
Behold a great priest, who in his days
pleased God and was found just, and in the time of wrath he was made a
reconciliation. There was not found the like to him who kept the law of the
Most High. Therefore, by an oath the Lord gave him glory in his posterity. He
gave him the blessing of all nations and confirmed His covenant upon his head.
He acknowledged him in his blessings, He preserved for him His mercy: and he
found grace before the eyes of the Lord. He glorified him in the sight of kings
and gave him a crown of glory. He made an everlasting covenant with him, and
gave him a great priesthood, and made him blessed in glory. To execute the
office of the priesthood, and to have praise in His name, and to offer Him due
incense for an odor of sweetness.
GOSPEL. Luke xi. 33-36.
At that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: No
man lighteth a candle, and putteth it in a hidden place, nor under a bushel:
but upon a candlestick, that they that come in may see the light. The light of
thy body is thy eye. If thy eye be single, thy whole body will be lightsome:
but if it be evil, thy body also will be darksome. Take heed therefore that the
light which is in thee be not darkness. If then thy whole body be lightsome,
having no part of darkness, the whole shall be lightsome, and as a bright lamp
shall enlighten thee.
What does this gospel teach us?
1. The same that it once taught the Jews:
thus, Jesus is always the light of the world, and He has not left Himself
without witness that He is so. This light is ever shining upon the world in His
doctrines, His life, His acts, in His Church and in the mysteries of grace laid
up therein, in the growth and preservation of that Church, and in the miracles
which to this hour continue to be wrought within it. Hence, if we do not know
Him, if we do not obey and reverence His Church, it is but blindness and obduracy
on our part; there is wanting to us a pure, sincere mind, that loves only the
truth. This gospel accordingly admonishes us:
2. That we should acquire such a mind;
for, says Jesus, as a sound, clear eye keeps the whole body always in the right
direction, and guides it in all its movements, while an eye that is awry, or
otherwise defective, causes the body to fall, in like manner a heart that is
pure and always turned towards God gives the right direction to our thoughts,
wishes, and actions, and causes us to see the light of truth, whereas a heart
fixed upon the various goods of the world, but blinded to God, fills our thoughts,
wishes, and actions with corruption and sin. How great in that case must be the
darkness, the depravity, the misery!
3. This gospel contains the emblem of that
which, all superiors, masters, heads of families, parents and particularly
priests should be, namely, lights, like Jesus Himself. For this they are set
upon the candlestick. They are, accordingly, to give light by their teaching
and life, by their avoidance of scandals; of that which every Christian should
be a light, by his faith, his good works. Finally, of the temper with which the
faithful and all inferiors should meet those who are set over them, with
believing and trusting minds.
Prayer to St. Martin,
O St. Martin, precious heart of the priesthood, loving
father of the poor, bright example of the religious, who, out of zeal for the
glory of God, couldst neither be overcome by labor nor by death itself, at
whose departure hence the angels therefore rejoiced, I implore thee, through
thy powerful intercession, to obtain for me a heart full of compassion for the
needy, for the apostolic pastors of the Church, true zeal, and for all, on the
bed of death, the grace by which, after this life of misery, we may together
enter into that joy of the Lord which thou, as a good and faithful servant,
already possessest.
In honor of St. Martin today would be
a good day to go through our closets and cut our cloaks in half to donate to
the poor. While serving in Germany myself I have a fond memory of St. Martin
Day in which my children participated in the nighttime St. Martins Day Parade
in the small town of Gersbach, Germany. On St. Martin's Day, children
in Flanders, the southern and north-western parts of the Netherlands,
and the Catholic areas of Germany and Austria still participate
in paper lantern processions. Often, a man dressed as St. Martin
rides on a horse in front of the procession. The children sing songs about St.
Martin and about their lanterns. The food traditionally eaten on the day
is goose, a rich bird. According to legend, Martin was reluctant to become
bishop, which is why he hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by
the geese betrayed his location to the people who were looking for him.
Things
to do[3]
- Recite
the Iste
Confessor in honor of St. Martin.
- Cook
a special dinner of roast goose or duck in honor of St. Martin. Bake some
horseshoe cookies.
- In
Europe this day is traditionally known as Martinmas. Many foods and
traditions are connected with this day. See also Women
for Faith and Family for more Catholic traditions.
- St.
Martin is patron saint of wine growers, wine makers and vintners. In
France, the tasting of the new wine is done today. Have a Martinmas
gathering, serving this year's Noveau Beaujolais wine from France.
- Read
Painting
Angels, Saints and Their Symbols for a discussion about St. Martin's
symbols in art.
- For
more biographies and other information on St. Martin, read Patron
Saints Index.
- See
the Life of St Martin as depicted in the stained glass of Chartres
Cathedral (c.1220) here.
- The
children will enjoy this dessert St.
Martin's Horseshoes and you can learn more about customs for this
feast.
CHRISTIAN
TRADITIONS[4]
In the Christian era the custom of
celebrating a thanksgiving harvest festival began in the High Middle Ages. For
lack of any definite liturgical day or ceremony prescribed by the Church,
various practices came to be observed locally. In many places, as in Hungary,
the Feast of the Assumption included great thanksgiving solemnities for the
grain harvest. Delegates from all parts of the country came for the solemn
procession to Budapest, carrying the best samples of their produce. A similar
ceremony was observed in Poland, where harvest wreaths brought to Warsaw from
all sections were bestowed on the president in a colorful pageant. These
wreaths (wieniec), made up of the straw of the last sheaf (broda),
were beautifully decorated with flowers, apples, nuts, and ribbons, and blessed
in churches by the priests.
The most common, and almost universal,
harvest and thanksgiving celebration in medieval times was held on the Feast of
Saint Martin of Tours (Martinmas) on November 11. It was a holiday in Germany,
France, Holland, England, and in central Europe. People first went to Mass and
observed the rest of the day with games, dances, parades, and a festive dinner,
the main feature of the meal being the traditional roast goose (Martin's
goose). With the goose dinner they drank "Saint Martin's wine," which
was the first lot of wine made from the grapes of the recent harvest. Martinmas
was the festival commemorating filled barns and stocked larders, the actual
Thanksgiving Day of the Middle Ages. Even today it is still kept in rural
sections of Europe, and dinner on Martin's Day would be unthinkable without the
golden-brown, luscious Martin's goose.
Today
is Veterans Day. Let us remember to pray today for both our military and
veterans. Also ask today's Holy Saint Martin of Tours to intercede for our
military and veterans who have born the yoke of service to this nation.
Catechism of the Catholic
Church
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN
MYSTERY
SECTION TWO-THE SEVEN
SACRAMENTS OF THE CHURCH
CHAPTER THREE-THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF
COMMUNION
ARTICLE 6-THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS
III. The Three Degrees of
the Sacrament of Holy Orders
1554 "The divinely instituted
ecclesiastical ministry is exercised in different degrees by those who even
from ancient times have been called bishops, priests, and deacons." Catholic
doctrine, expressed in the liturgy, the Magisterium, and the constant practice
of the Church, recognizes that there are two degrees of ministerial
participation in the priesthood of Christ: the episcopacy and the presbyterate
. The diaconate is intended to help and serve them. For this reason the term
sacerdos in current usage denotes bishops and priests but not deacons. Yet
Catholic doctrine teaches that the degrees of priestly participation
(episcopate and presbyterate) and the degree of service (diaconate) are all
three conferred by a sacramental act called "ordination," that is, by
the sacrament of Holy Orders:
Let everyone revere the deacons as
Jesus Christ, the bishop as the image of the Father, and the presbyters as the
senate of God and the assembly of the apostles. For without them one cannot
speak of the Church.
Episcopal ordination - fullness of
the sacrament of Holy Orders
1555 "Amongst those various
offices which have been exercised in the Church from the earliest times the
chief place, according to the witness of tradition, is held by the function of
those who, through their appointment to the dignity and responsibility of
bishop, and in virtue consequently of the unbroken succession going back to the
beginning, are regarded as transmitters of the apostolic line."
1556 To fulfil their exalted
mission, "the apostles were endowed by Christ with a special outpouring of
the Holy Spirit coming upon them, and by the imposition of hands they passed on
to their auxiliaries the gift of the Spirit, which is transmitted down to our
day through episcopal consecration."
1557 The Second Vatican Council
"teaches . . . that the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders is
conferred by episcopal consecration, that fullness namely which, both in the
liturgical tradition of the Church and the language of the Fathers of the
Church, is called the high priesthood, the acme (summa) of the sacred
ministry."
1558 "Episcopal consecration
confers, together with the office of sanctifying, also the offices of teaching
and ruling.... In fact ... by the imposition of hands and through the words of
the consecration, the grace of the Holy Spirit is given, and a sacred character
is impressed in such wise that bishops, in an eminent and visible manner, take
the place of Christ himself, teacher, shepherd, and priest, and act as his
representative (in Eius persona agant)." "By virtue, therefore,
of the Holy Spirit who has been given to them, bishops have been constituted
true and authentic teachers of the faith and have been made pontiffs and
pastors."
1559 "One is constituted a
member of the episcopal body in virtue of the sacramental consecration and by
the hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college." The
character and collegial nature of the episcopal order are evidenced among other
ways by the Church's ancient practice which calls for several bishops to
participate in the consecration of a new bishop. In our day, the lawful
ordination of a bishop requires a special intervention of the Bishop of Rome,
because he is the supreme visible bond of the communion of the particular
Churches in the one Church and the guarantor of their freedom.
1560 As Christ's vicar, each bishop
has the pastoral care of the particular Church entrusted to him, but at the
same time he bears collegially with all his brothers in the episcopacy the
solicitude for all the Churches: "Though each bishop is the lawful pastor
only of the portion of the flock entrusted to his care, as a legitimate
successor of the apostles he is, by divine institution and precept, responsible
with the other bishops for the apostolic mission of the Church."
1561 The above considerations
explain why the Eucharist celebrated by the bishop has a quite special
significance as an expression of the Church gathered around the altar, with the
one who represents Christ, the Good Shepherd and Head of his Church, presiding.
The ordination of priests -
co-workers of the bishops
1562 "Christ, whom the Father
hallowed and sent into the world, has, through his apostles, made their
successors, the bishops namely, sharers in his consecration and mission; and
these, in their turn, duly entrusted in varying degrees various members of the
Church with the office of their ministry." "The function of the
bishops' ministry was handed over in a subordinate degree to priests so that
they might be appointed in the order of the priesthood and be co-workers of the
episcapal order for the proper fulfillment of the apostolic mission that had
been entrusted to it by Christ."
1563 "Because it is joined
with the episcopal order the office of priests shares in the authority by which
Christ himself builds up and sanctifies and rules his Body. Hence the
priesthood of priests, while presupposing the sacraments of initiation, is
nevertheless conferred by its own particular sacrament. Through that sacrament
priests by the anointing of the Holy Spirit are signed with a special character
and so are configured to Christ the priest in such a way that they are able to
act in the person of Christ the head."
1564 "Whilst not having the
supreme degree of the pontifical office, and notwithstanding the fact that they
depend on the bishops in the exercise of their own proper power, the priests
are for all that associated with them by reason of their sacerdotal dignity;
and in virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, after the image of Christ, the
supreme and eternal priest, they are consecrated in order to preach the Gospel
and shepherd the faithful as well as to celebrate divine worship as true
priests of the New Testament."
1565 Through the sacrament of Holy
Orders priests share in the universal dimensions of the mission that Christ
entrusted to the apostles. the spiritual gift they have received in ordination
prepares them, not for a limited and restricted mission, "but for the
fullest, in fact the universal mission of salvation 'to the end of the
earth,"' "prepared in spirit to preach the Gospel
everywhere."
1566 "It is in the Eucharistic
cult or in the Eucharistic assembly of the faithful (synaxis) that they
exercise in a supreme degree their sacred office; there, acting in the person
of Christ and proclaiming his mystery, they unite the votive offerings of the
faithful to the sacrifice of Christ their head, and in the sacrifice of the
Mass they make present again and apply, until the coming of the Lord, the
unique sacrifice of the New Testament, that namely of Christ offering himself
once for all a spotless victim to the Father." From this unique
sacrifice their whole priestly ministry draws its strength.
1567 "The priests, prudent
cooperators of the episcopal college and its support and instrument, called to
the service of the People of God, constitute, together with their bishop, a
unique sacerdotal college (presbyterium) dedicated, it is, true to a variety of
distinct duties. In each local assembly of the faithful they represent, in a
certain sense, the bishop, with whom they are associated in all trust and
generosity; in part they take upon themselves his duties and solicitude and in
their daily toils discharge them." priests can exercise their
ministry only in dependence on the bishop and in communion with him. the
promise of obedience they make to the bishop at the moment of ordination and
the kiss of peace from him at the end of the ordination liturgy mean that the
bishop considers them his co-workers, his sons, his brothers and his friends,
and that they in return owe him love and obedience.
1568 "All priests, who are
constituted in the order of priesthood by the sacrament of Order, are bound
together by an intimate sacramental brotherhood, but in a special way they form
one priestly body in the diocese to which they are attached under their own
bishop. . ;" The unity of the presbyterium finds liturgical
expression in the custom of the presbyters' imposing hands, after the bishop,
during the Ate of ordination.
The ordination of deacons -
"in order to serve."
1569 "At a lower level of the
hierarchy are to be found deacons, who receive the imposition of hands 'not
unto the priesthood, but unto the ministry."' At an ordination to the
diaconate only the bishop lays hands on the candidate, thus signifying the
deacon's special attachment to the bishop in the tasks of his
"diakonia."
1570 Deacons share in Christ's
mission and grace in a special way. The sacrament of Holy Orders marks
them with an imprint (“character") which cannot be removed and which
configures them to Christ, who made himself the "deacon" or servant
of all. Among other tasks, it is the task of deacons to assist the bishop
and priests in the celebration of the divine mysteries, above all the
Eucharist, in the distribution of Holy Communion, in assisting at and blessing
marriages, in the proclamation of the Gospel and preaching, in presiding over
funerals, and in dedicating themselves to the various ministries of charity.
1571 Since the Second Vatican
Council the Latin Church has restored the diaconate "as a proper and
permanent rank of the hierarchy," while the Churches of the East had
always maintained it. This permanent diaconate, which can be conferred on
married men, constitutes an important enrichment for the Church's mission.
Indeed it is appropriate and useful that men who carry out a truly diaconal
ministry in the Church, whether in its liturgical and pastoral life or whether
in its social and charitable works, should "be strengthened by the
imposition of hands which has come down from the apostles. They would be more
closely bound to the altar and their ministry would be made more fruitful
through the sacramental grace of the diaconate."
Daily
Devotions
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Today's Fast: End
Sex Trafficking Slavery
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[2]Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
[3]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2020-11-11
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