French School of Spirituality

French School of Spirituality: A Catholic Reform Spirituality Implementing Reform Initiatives of the Council of Trent

Catholic Reform Spirituality - Tridentine Spirituality

French school of spirituality

A major infuence in Catholic spirituality were the Spanish medieval writers and spiritual masters like Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Ignatius of Loyola. But in the seventeenth century onward, it was the French school of spirituality that also became influential. The foundation and seedbed for this school of spirituality was not the monasteries or universities, but discussion groups. In these groups we find the Carmelite Mary of the Incarnation, Benedict of Canfield, and Pierre de Bérulle. They met in simple living rooms. Canfield's Exercise of the Will of God stressed holiness as accessible to all. Its central theme is the experience of God where the person participates in the self-emptying of Jesus in His passion. Bérulle likewise teaches this same participation in the mysteries of Christ. In his Grandeurs de Jesus, he writes that the goal of Christian life is to reproduce on earth the adoration and servitude of Christ in heaven.

Francis de Sales

The seventeenth century was also the era of Francis de Sales. His classic work, "Introduction to the Devout Life", is an important treatment of the lay faithful's pursuit of holiness in everyday life. His friend, Jane Frances de Chantal, foundress of the Visitation Order, was instrumental in making Francis de Sales' theory and practice of spiritual direction one with lasting influence.

The Council of Trent

The Church Council that influenced the French school of spirituality (and all schools of spirituality at the time) was the Council of Trent. The reforms implemented in the Council of Trent (1545-1563 A.D.) followed a decree on justification that stressed the importance of good works. Therefore, Tridentine Catholics would now conceive spiritual perfection as involving a high degree of personal activity - combining an active striving for self-control, the acquisition of virtue, and a zeal for works of mercy and charity. All these activities spring from a form of meditative prayer (which began in the fifteenth century). Foremost among the spiritual masters who followed this Tridentine spirituality or Catholic reform spirituality, in the context of the French school were Francis de Sales(1567-1622 A.D.), Vincent de Paul (1581-1660 A.D.), and Pierre de Bérulle (d. 1629 A.D.). These men were instrumental in developing the science of meditation that reformed both the clergy and the lay faithful.

Eucharistic piety

To balance the high degree of personal activity in the reformed spirituality of Trent, there was also an equal insistence on the truth that God is the One who really does it all. God's grace and the channels of this grace became important. Emphasis was thus placed on the sacraments. A Eucharistic piety developed and became the distinguishing feature of modern Catholicism: many priests and bishops now began the daily celebration of the Mass. This Eucharistic piety also extended to other nonliturgical practices like the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in benediction services. It is this Tridentine spirituality that began to place all prayer and activity in the context of the Eucharist.

Leading exponents of the French school

The new spirituality of Trent found its finest expression in a considerable number of men whose impact was strong enough to create distinct schools. In the French school of spirituality, an outstanding exponent of this spirituality is French author, cardinal, and leading statesman, Pierre Cardinal de Bérulle. P. de Bérulle founded the French Oratory for the sanctification of priests in 1611 A.D. Others who followed suit were Jean-Jacques Olier, who founded the Sulpicians for the formation of priests in 1657 A.D.; Jean Eudes, who founded the Eudists for the formation of priests for the popular missions in 1643 A.D.; Vincent de Paul, who founded the Lazarists for the mission in the countrysidein 1651 A.D.; Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, who founded the Christian Brothers for the education of the youth in 1680 A.D.; Claude Poullart des Places, who founded the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit for the missions abroad, in 1703 A.D.; and Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort, who founded the Missionaries of the Company of Mary.

Pastoral reforms of Trent

Pastoral reforms initiated by the Council of Trent and applied by the French school.

• preaching and giving the Word of God its rightful place
• bishops being domiciled in their own dioceses
• control on the clergy
• examination of knowledge in the faith
• the need to have something to live on
• a cassock or formal priestly attire
• a reformed liturgy
• seminaries for the formation of clerics

Historical role of the French school in Catholic America

The attention given to the priesthood proved beneficial to France to a high degree. The ascendance of France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries rested to a large degree on this Catholic reform spirituality. The new French clerics became ardent pastors and ministered zealously to the people in all their spiritual and human needs. Until the beginning of the twentieth century, the seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris was one of the most important schools of theology in France. It was also effective in England and America. Four French Sulpicians arrived in America in 1791 A.D. and opened the first seminary, St. Mary's, in Baltimore. The Sulpicians were among the first male religious orders which played an important role in laying the foundations of Catholic institutional life in the United States.

Edited from the following sources:

• The New Dictionary of Theology, by editors Komonchak, Collins and Lane
• A Concise History of the Catholic Church, by Thomas Bokenkotter
• A History of the Church, by Franzen and Dolan
• History of the Missionaries of the Company of Mary, by Bibeau and Courchesne

4th Sunday of the Year (A)

"Blest Are Those"

Human experience sees happiness in situations of joy, laughter, merriment and pleasant company. This is common in many cultures. But the call of today's is a call to discover true happiness in situations that initially are: poor in spirit, sorrowful, humbled, downhearted, hungry and thirsting for God, persecuted and insulted. To hope for true happiness in this gospel call is to believe in a faithful God-in-Jesus. This seed of hope implanted by prayer and works of mercy eventually blooms and re-blooms deep within every human soul perseveres in his faith in Christ. The happiness obtained in this context is more lasting and permanent - more than the happiness obtained from what is often superficial and temporary, and obtained through pleasures gained by external senses alone.

In the gospel, Jesus calls us to deeper happiness, the true and real happiness. This is a happiness rooted in following God's will: in humility, merciful acts, purity of intention, etc. All are called to live and seek this happiness, this "beatitude". Even when some sectors of society give more emphasis to fame, worldly success, money, and power, what is real often gets known and revealed. Temporal matters are not essentially evil, but if made more important than the values of the gospel, man can easily lose sight of God and the happiness he seeks for himself and others. If man were to use the temporal order without a Christian vision or an ecumenically universal hope, then it is no wonder why the evils that befall us cause despair, disillusionment, and destructive behavior. So Jesus offers the solution of the Beatitudes.

Perhaps the best source to learn more about this gospel and what the Beatitudes can give is found in the Catechism:

The Beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness. This desire is of divine origin: God has placed it in the human heart in order to draw man to the One who alone can fulfill it:

We all want to live happily; in the whole human race there is no one who does not assent to this proposition, even before it is fully articulated. (quote from St. Augustine of Hippo, De moribus eccl.)

How is it, then, that I seek you, Lord? Since in seeking you, my God, I seek a happy life, let me seek you so that my soul may live, for my body draws life from my soul and my soul draws life from you.(quote from St. Augustine of Hippo, Confessions)

God alone satisfies. (quote from St. Thomas Aquinas)

St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

St. Thomas of Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church

St. Thomas of Aquinas, 1225-1274 A.D.: considered the preeminent spokesperson for the Catholic tradition of reason and divine revelation, and the only doctor of the Church whose theology was recognized as the Church's official theology in 1880 A.D.

Biographical sketch

St. Thomas was born at Rocca Secca near Aquino. He was the son of Count Landulph of Aquino, a relative of the Emperor Barbarossa of the Roman Empire, and a relative of the king of France. At five years old, his parents sent him for education to Monte Cassino (a monastery founded by St. Benedict) with the hopes he will be an abbot of that Benedictine monastery. In 1239 A.D., the Benedictines sent Thomas to the University of Naples to complete his education. However, he decided to join the Dominicans at Naples in 1244 A.D. at 19 years of age. The family of St. Thomas was in opposition to this, and they forced him to live in the family castle to dissuade him from joining the Dominicans. However, St. Thomas persisted in his decision. After further studies in Paris and Cologne with St. Albert the Great [a Dominican], he was ordained a Dominican in ca. 1250 A.D. Thomas continued his studies with the Dominicans and became a very good theologian - teaching and writing in Paris, Naples, Rome, Orvieto, Anagni, and Viterbo. It was during these years of his life, from 1259-1268 A.D., that St. Thomas wrote his well-known Summa Theologiae, ca. 1266 A.D., a work which explains the whole of all Catholic theology.

St. Thomas died in March 7, 1274 A.D. at the Cistercian monastery of Fossa Nuova. He was then canonized as a saint in 1323 A.D., and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius V in 1567 A.D. He is the patron saint of students, schools, colleges, and universities. In 1879 A.D., Pope Leo XIII commanded all clergy to study the works and writings of St. Thomas. Then, in 1923 A.D., Pope Piux XI reemphasized the preeminence of St. Thomas among all scholars.

Teaching and spirituality

Though St. Thomas of Aquinas may have been noted for his highly scholastic theology, and considered an intellectual giant of the Church, there is still a place where affectivity and the heart dwell in his spirituality and writing. We see this in his language, and in some of his most fundamental theological insights. For St. Thomas, knowledge is imperfect without love. And the Holy Spirit, who is Love, is the strongest source of affective human love in spiritual growth. It is the Spirit that perfects the image of God in humanity, and unites all existentially to the infinite Good.

St. Thomas also welcomes the affective life of emotions and passions as part of human spiritual growth. Faith in God would indeed be impossible without that affective guidance in the human will. For St. Thomas, this faith, and the growth in the love of God begets wisdom - a gift of the Spirit that produces an experiential knowledge of God surpassing all studied knowledge. And it is wisdom and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, that guide all to live according to the law of the gospel. This gift of the Spirit helps all to recognize the Spirit as the source of life and unity of the Church.

St. Thomas of Aquinas further writes and teach that affectivity and the heart in spiritual life should be guided by the knowledge and wisdom associated with the Word. He is known for the quote: "the Word breathing forth Love" , translated in Latin as, Verbum spirans Amorem. And for St. Thomas, the Holy Spirit is the Love that is breathed forth by the Word. Therefore, the life and spirit of St. Thomas is a spirituality of the Word as well as a spirituality of the Holy Spirit of Love.

Excerpts from writings

St. Thomas of Aquinas wrote well-known tracts of teaching based on his theology and spirituality. Listed below are excerpts from his writings. You can learn about the teaching of St. Thomas of Aquinas through what he wrote about wisdom.

Uncreated Wisdom...unites herself to us first of all through the gift of charity, and as a result of this reveals mysteries to us, the knowledge of which is infused wisdom. Therefore, infused wisdom, which is a gift, is the effect rather than the cause of charity (Summa theologiae, 2-2.45.6 ad 2)

The study of wisdom is very sublime because through it we especially reach a likeness to God, who made all things in wisdom [Ps 103(104):24]. So, because love is caused by likeness, the study of wisdom especially joins us with God in friendship, which is why Wis 7:14 says that wisdom is an infinite treasure for human beings; those who use it become sharers in friendship with God (Summa contra Gentiles 1.2).

Edited from the following sources:

• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
• Doctors of the Church, by John F. Fink

St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal

St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious

St. Francis de Sales, 1567-1622, and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, 1572-1641, worked together to found the Congregation of the Visitation, a religious order of nuns that follows the teachings and spirituality of St. Francis de Sales.

St. Francis de Sales


St. Francis de Sales was born in August 21, 1567, the eldest of thirteen children at the Chateau de Sales in Savoy - in the south of France. He studied in Paris when he was 14 years old, and then went to the University of Padua where he obtained his doctorate in law at 24 years old. He decided to be a priest despite the opposition of his father, and even when he was offered a high government position. At the age of 26 years, he was ordained a priest on December 18, 1593.

The pope appointed St. Francis de Sales as the provost of the chapter of Geneva even if St. Francis de Sales was reluctant to take up its responsibilities. This and other duties engaged him in a very active life of teaching and preaching.

St. Francis de Sales had a lot of zeal in caring for the poor and preaching to many with much enthusiasm. His singular and effective style in preaching won a large following. At a certain point of his life, Francis volunteered to be in a dangerous mission to restore the Catholic faith to the people of Chablais. The people of Chablais converted to Calvinism. The efforts of St. Francis de Sales to bring Chablais back to the Catholic fold made him the target of two assassination attempts.

It was during this time that St. Francis de Sales also wrote tracts of writing which set the Church teachings in direct opposition to the faith of the Calvinists. Despite all this danger and opposition, Francis de Sales was able to firmly reestablish Catholicism among the people. It was his simple message of God's love that did the work of reconverting Chablais from Calvinism to Catholicism.

Claude de Granier, bishop of Geneva, proposed to the pope that Francis de Sales be appointed coadjutor of the see of Geneva. So Pope Clement VIII invited St. Francis de Sales to Rome to examine him for this appointment. After Francis proved himself knowledgeable before an illustrious panel, his appointment was confirmed, and the pope made St. Francis de Sales coadjutor of Geneva.

When Claude de Granier passed away in 1602 A.D., St. Francis de Sales was elevated from coadjutor to bishop of Geneva. He was 35 years old at the time. As bishop, he preached and heard many confessions. A well-known story says that while he was preaching in Dijon in 1604 A.D., St. Francis de Sales met the widow, Jane Frances de Chantal. This spiritual encounter led both of them to eventually found the order of the Visitation nuns in 1610 A.D.

St. Francis de Sales continued his writings. His famous work is the "Introduction to the Devout Life". On December 27, 1622 A.D., he unfortunately suffered a paralyzing stroke. He died the next day, December 28, 1622 A.D. at the age of 55.

St. Francis de Sales was beatified in 1661 A.D. at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Alexander VII. He was canonized by the same pope in 1665 A.D., and declared doctor of the Church in 1877 A.D.

St. Francis de Sales was made patron saint of journalists by Pope Pius XI. He is also the patron saint of authors, other writers, and the deaf.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal


Jeanne Françoise Fremyot, later to be known as St. Jane Frances de Chantal, was born of a rich family in Dijon, France in 1572 A.D. At the young age of 20, she married Christopher de Rabutin, (Baron de Chantal) - an officer of the French army. After her husband's death, she went back to her father's home, bringing her children with her.

In 1604 A.D., St. Jane Frances de Chantal met St. Francis de Sales, who became her spiritual director. In 1610 A.D., after providing for the welfare of her children, she founded a religious order together with Francis de Sales. This religious order is called the Congregation of the Visitation. Through her leadership, and also under the spiritual direction of St. Francis de Sales, the Visitation Order prospered in holiness and good works.

St. Jane Frances de Chantal died in 1641 A.D. and was buried at Annecy, France, beside the tomb of St. Francis de Sales.

Salesian spirituality


In the way of life and philosophy of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane Frances de Chantal, the human person was created by God and was made for Him. The root of this principle lies in the desire or insistence of the good. They believe that even if humans have been wounded by sin in the Fall, they affirm the teaching of the Church that God's image and likeness was not effaced by it. There is still that central impulse within each human person to return back to God. And it is in the heart (seen as the dynamic core of the person) that this God-directedness is located.

In Salesian spirituality, God is Love. And the heart of God is the Source and womb of that Love. The heart of God, which is filled with great love, is intent upon calling all of God's creation to Himself - yearning for union with all humankind.

To effect the union with humankind, the mediator between the heart of God and humanity, is the heart of Christ. For Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, Jesus is a living presence - a reality lived more deeply as one's life unfolds. Christ's presence comes to live in people's hearts so that all hearts may find union with the Lord.

Excerpts from writings


As soon as a person gives a little attention to divinity, a sweet feeling within the heart is experienced, which shows that God is God of the heart...If some misfortune strikes fear into our heart, it immediately turns to divinity...This pleasure, this confidence that the human heart naturally has in God certainly comes from nowhere else than the congruity between God's goodness and our soul...We are created in the image and likeness of God. (from Treatise on the Love of God)

'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.' Good God! How amorous the divine heart is of our love! Wouldn't it have been enough to give us permission to love Him as Laban permitted Jacob to love his fair Rachel and to gain her by services? But no! He makes a stronger declaration of His passionate love for us and commands us to love Him with all our power... (from Treatise on the Love of
God)

Edited from the following resources:

• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
• Doctors of the Church, by Fink
• Spiritualities of the Heart, various writers
• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press,
  Inc.

3rd Sunday of the Year (A)

References to the Sunday Readings & Reflection: Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

January 26, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 8:23 - 9:3
Psalm 27
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23

"Reform your lives. The kingdom of heaven is at hand."

After the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus continued John's prophetic mission: announcing reform, preparing the Way for the Kingdom, and teaching a baptism for that Kingdom. The first four followers whom Jesus selected, and called for this mission, were Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John. These four men were fishermen and as such, were in contact with the "markets" and the people who transacted there. Bible scholars have made studies that give evidence of these four hearing about Jesus from their kinsfolk or townmates (most probably when they transact the selling of their catch of fish). Thus, when the Lord Himself came personally to call them, since they have some familiarity to who Jesus is from what they hear, they immediately abandoned their nets and became His followers.

From that biblical time in the first century up to the present times, the prophetic mission of Jesus continues throughout the history of the Church. If we set our attention to the year 1609 A.D., there was a book written by St. Francis de Sales, entitled "Introduction to the Devout Life". The book is an inspiration to the Church - because it says that all people, especially the laity, can also bring the light of the gospel to the world. It is the lay people's concretization of the Lord's mission to the very secular spheres in which they work and live. St. Francis de Sales emphasizes in the book that following Jesus is intended not only for the Apostles, and the clergy, but for all: soldiers, craftsmen, princes, servants, widowed, married, and unmarried - all Christians in all walks and states of life. It was a "bestseller" in its time! Because it teaches to "find God wherever we are".

John the Baptist, Jesus and Francis de Sales. Three prophetic voices. Three voices that remind us what the basics of our faith involve: reforming and amending our life, caring for others as we care for our own, and doing our part in advancing the growth of God's Kingdom on earth. What was great about the book St. Francis de Sales wrote was that he was able to integrate the lay faithful into the mission of the Church (even before Vatican II in the 1960s), making the people an extension of the clergy's mission to bring the light of the gospel to all. Since the clergy cannot enter into the "details" of family life, business, or professional life, it is their mission to guide the people generally with the light of God's Word and Sacrament. The lay faithful, on the other hand, practice what they hear and receive into all the areas they work and live. The Church, through the clergy, reminds all the lay faithful always to put God in the center of everything. And in truth, the lay faithful will always discover God wherever they are.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone (Isaiah 8)
Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord (Psalm 27)
Let there be no factions; rather, be united in mind and judgment (1 Corinthians)
On those who inhabit a land overshadowed by death, a light has arisen (Matthew 4)

"With God all things are possible"

"With God all things are possible."


A rich man asked Jesus what he must do to share in everlasting life. Jesus answered him: "You know the commandments:

'you shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.'"

The man then said: "Teacher, I have observed all these since my childhood." And then Jesus replied: "There is one thing more you must do ... sell what you have, give to the poor ... after that, come and follow me."


Reflecting on this gospel passage in the context of discerning God's will is important for understanding the vocation to follow Jesus. St. Francis de Sales, who wrote the classic Introduction to the Devout Life, mentions in his writings that there are four options in life that need much prayer and discernment. The first and most important of these four, is choosing one's vocation in life. The rest are: when choosing to do something very costly, when moving on to a new house and neighborhood, and when choosing the friends you are called to have. The rich man in the gospel was given the option to choose something very important. He can follow Jesus where Jesus is and going, or he can obey God's commandments where he already is. Where Jesus is, is the direction to perfect charity; and where the man is, is the opportunity to sanctify the very realities wherein he can steward his riches responsibly and justly.


The man in the gospel was invited to a life of charity. And a charity that is truly radical. This is the vocation of the clergy and the religious. But St. Francis de Sales teaches that charity can be practiced in all walks of life: as soldiers, craftsmen, statesmen, and servants; as widows, or married, or unmarried. It is a very priceless privilege and gift to be called to following Christ in the priesthood, but there are situations and environments in which lay people can be more effective witnesses - especially in the very secular realities of marriage and work, a profession or business. Perfect charity is indeed a great ideal, but to practice charity in the midst of the world of family and work, as the Second Vatican teaches, is also a following of Jesus. The life of the lay faithful is also a vocation. The canonization of many lay saints during the pontificate of St. John Paul II attests to the fact that in truth, charity can be practiced in all states of life. And even in the lay state of life, God can also make all things possible.

Monastic Reform in the 10th Century

Monastic Reform in the 10th Century

Beginning with the founding of the monastery at Cluny, there arose and developed a spirit of reform in the Church. This reform movement was led by such serious reformers and leaders like St. Romuald and the Camaldolese, St. Bruno and the Carthusians, and St. Bernard of Clairvaux and the Cistercians.

The strong influence of Cluny
A strong reform spirit had been rising in the Catholic Church beginning in the end of the ninth century. The reform movement influenced the monastic spirituality started by St. Benedict of Nursia in the West, and St. Basil in the East. This religious tide continued to rise with the founding of the monastery of Cluny in France (908-910).

The Benedictines who began Cluny reformed monasticism and went back to the original spirit of the ideal monastery - one that is independent from worldly control and influence. Cluny characterized itself by strict adherence to the rule of St. Benedict: involving severe asceticism, absolute obedience to the abbot, and special attention to liturgical worship. Under the leadership of great abbots such as Berno (909-927), Odo (927-942), Aymard (942-954), Majolus (954-994), Odilo (994-1048), Hugh (1049-1109), and Peter (1122-1156), Cluny grew into the strongest religious force in the Western Church. It became a force for good that influenced many monasteries.

New forms of monasticism and ascetic life
Cluny increased the vitality of monastic life and intensified the desire for perfection in the Christian life. Religious men and women of all classes turned to monasticism in great numbers. Not all however were attracted to the Benedictine rule and so sought the ideal life known as vita apostolica - a guide to living in poverty and voluntary renunciation. These men and women who lived the vita apostolica either became hermits in the wilderness, (either isolated or in colonies), while others became wandering preachers and penitents.

St. Romuald (951-1027) and the Camaldolese Order
One of those who lived this new spirit of monasticism was St. Romuald of Ravenna, Italy. A biographer reports of St. Romuald wanting to inspire the world with his sense of contrition and "to change the world into nothing but a hermitage".

Beginning his life as a wild youth, St. Romuald converted and tried living in a monastery at Classe. Then he lived under the school of the hermit Marinus. After this training, he entered the monastery at Cuxa. Finally, he decided to return home to Ravenna, to find his own ideal life in imitation of the ancient desert fathers. His life of solitude, prayer, zealous ardor for God, the care of souls, and preaching penitence, would eventually spellbound many of the people. His way of life and prayer attracted even great leaders such as Emperor Otto III, Adalbert of Prague, and Bruno of Querfut.

As for the numerous young people who followed St. Romuald, he founded Fonte Avellana, Vallambrosa (1012), Camaldoli (1023), and other monastic establishments. These communities contained a mixture of hermits and cenobites. But it was the five hermitages St. Romuald built at Camaldoli that soon developed into the mother house of the Camaldolese Order - a monastic order with a spirituality combining eremitical and cenobitic life under a modified Benedictine Rule. From the monasteries that St. Romuald founded came the most ardent zealots for reform in the Church. One of these ardent zealots was St. Peter Damian (1007-1072), who eventually became a doctor of the Church. St. Peter Damian was a Camaldolese.

St. Nilus the Younger
Serious reformers in the Church continued to lead this reform movement in monasticism. In Calabria, Italy, it was St. Nilus the Younger (c. 910-1004) who led the reform in that part of Europe. St. Nilus secured a grant of land from Count Gregory of Tusculum to found a Basilian monastery at Monte Cavo (Grotta Ferrata) near Rome. St. Nilus had a reputation for holiness and spiritual wisdom that attracted many to ask his spiritual advice and consolation.

St. John Gualbert and the Vallambrosans
Another serious reformer was St. John Gualbert (d. 1073) of Florence, Italy. While St. John Gualbert was at the hermitage of Camaldoli, he decided to found a monastery of his own, which he did at Vallambrosa (Vallis Umbrosa), near Fiesole. His monastery followed the primitive rule of St. Benedict. His followers came to be known as the Vallambrosans. Their school of religious life stressed charity and poverty. The Vallambrosans spread all throughout Italy, particularly in Tuscany and Lombardy.

Blessed Robert of Abrissel and Blessed Vitalis of Savigny
In the north of the Alps, we find two more serious reformers in the persons of Blessed Robert of Abrissel (c. 1047-1117), and Blessed Vitalis of Savigny (c. 1063-1122). They too lived the vita apostolica as an example to the people to whom they preached penitence and religious revival.

Blessed Robert of Abrissel first became a hermit in the Craon Forest in 1095. In the following year, he founded the La Roé monastery for the many disciples he had attracted with his holiness. He was appointed "preacher" by Pope Urban II and in 1099 founded the double monastery at Fontvrault for the many postulants that could not be accommodated by the La Roé monastery.

Blessed Vitalis of Savigny was said to have been chaplain to William the Conqueror's half-brother Count Robert of Mortain. In 1095, he became a hermit. He too, like Blessed Robert of Abrissel, attracted numerous disciples and soon founded in 1112 the Savigny Abbey on the border between Normandy and Britanny. Blessed Vitalis became known and famous for his preaching.

St. Bruno of Cologne and the Carthusians
St. Bruno of Cologne (c. 1030-1101) was the founder of the Order of Carthusians (1084). After his ordination in 1055, St. Bruno became a canon at St. Cunibert's. Then he became a professor of theology in Rheims (1056). It was at Rheims that he soon received a chancellorship through an appointment given by the Rheims archbishop, Manasses. However, political disputes and strife led him to the decision to pursue an eremitical life. So he became a hermit under Abbot St. Robert of Molesmes (who later founded Citeaux), and then moved to Grenoble with six companions in 1084. At the Grand Chartreuse, a wild mountainous area near Grenoble, St. Bruno and his companions built an oratory and individual cells, and roughly followed the Rule of St. Benedict. This became the Carthusian Order. The fame of St. Bruno of Cologne and the Carthusians spread so greatly that in 1090, St. Bruno was brought to Rome against his wishes by Pope Urban II (who was St. Bruno's student at Rheims) and made papal adviser in the reform of the clergy. St. Bruno however persuaded Pope Urban II to allow him to resume his eremitical state.

St. Bruno and his silent Carthusians were few in number but they always preserved a spirit of genuine religiosity and inner strength through prayer and introspection. The Order survived the late Middle Ages and the Reformation without any loss.

St. Robert, St. Bernard and the Cistercians
Even within the ranks of the school of Benedictine monasticism, the penetrating spirit of reform also arose. It was the Order of the Cistercians who instigated this reform.

In 1098, St. Robert of Molesmes (c. 1024-1110), together with twenty companions, founded a strict Benedictine monastery in the wilderness of Citeaux, France. Emphasized in their school of monasticism was apostolic poverty, solitude for prayer, and regular manual labor. The Cistercians rejected the traditional feudal order in the monastic sphere because of the wealth that accompanied it. And the man who would be effecting all these ideals in its fullness was St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153).

St. Bernard in April 1112 brought 30 companions with him to Citeaux - many of whom were his relatives. St. Bernard's influence in the monastery gave impetus and strength to expand the ideals of Citeaux. In 1115, St. Bernard moved to Clairvaux with 12 companions and established a new community. He was so active that during his lifetime he founded about 68 monasteries. And at his death, the Cistercian Order had grown to 350 monasteries. Though St. Bernard of Clairvaux is noted as a great reformer, theologian, and doctor of the Church, he is best and fondly remembered as a monk, saint, and mystic.

Conclusion
The spirit of reform in monasticism was born because of the ecclesiastical decline happening between the ninth and tenth centuries. Monasteries were becoming dependent on both worldly and spiritual magnates. But it was the monastery founded at Cluny that began the foundation for the reform of this situation. After Cluny, many serious reformers and leaders followed in its spirit. It was the influence of these great spiritual reformers that the quality of monastic life was brought to a better level. Monastic spirituality is soon to be known not so much according to the number of visible achievements (such as the founding of many monasteries), but rather by the inwardness and depth in which the life of Christ is imitated.

St. Anthony of the Desert, Hermit and Abbot

St. Anthony of the Desert, feast January 17

The Age of the Hermits

Introduction

For the majority of saints in Church history, prayer is always the mainspring of action. All their actions follow from their way and life of prayer. In St. Anthony of the Desert, we find a way of life and prayer that began a movement of Christians to the desert. And for the first time, we meet a saint who is an unmixed contemplative - one absorbed in pure prayer and contemplation (the stage of prayer considered to be the highest: after lectio, meditatio, and oratio). We discover in St. Anthony, a movement from the city in Egypt into the solitude of wide empty spaces in the desert, and occupying an abandoned fort (or castle in some translations). Christian art often depicts him always in combat against the Evil One - the devil. However, the world of the eighteenth century, does not believe in the devil, and have often treated St. Anthony in secular history as a fanatic who gives up the joys of life to get in return nothing but a dream. Now in the modern world, where some do not believe in the devil, there is a gradual perception of some social significance to the life of St. Anthony and his monks (he also founded a community). Modern scholars know that most men stood in the mainstream of history. They got involved in the world, and have succeeded in diverting its direction. But there is a difference with St. Anthony Abbot and his followers. They stood outside the mainstream of history, uninvolved, and not even trying to influence the world. What is surprising is that with their noninvolvement, they still were able to unexpectedly divert civilization powerfully! For with St. Anthony and the movement to the desert that was increased after him, the institution of monasteries and religious life slowly and gradually evolved into a stable system in the history of spirituality in the Catholic Church.

The First Half-Century

Anthony's conversion
The Life of St. Anthony was first written by Athanasius the Bishop, that great saint who twice joined St. Anthony in his desert exile, and returned to Alexandria strengthened to fight against the Arian heresy. According to Athanasius and other sources who wrote his biography, St. Anthony was born in Egypt of Christian parents in the year 251 A.D. - the same year Origen the theologian died. St. Anthony passed most of his youth in a period of peace for the Church. There was persecution in the Church in his early childhood and again in his middle years, but not as he was growing up. Literacy was not universal in the Roman Empire and it seems unlikely that St. Anthony went to school. St. Anthony's parents passed away when he was only eighteen or twenty, leaving him the guardian of an only sister. St. Athanasius, who also is his biographer, describes how Anthony walked one day to church, with his mind on the calling of the Apostles and the way Christians had all things in common. As Anthony entered the Church, he heard this text of the gospel being read: "If thou wilt be perfect sell all thou hast and give to the poor and come, follow Me." From then on, Anthony gave away to the village the three hundred acres of fertile land that were his, sold all he had, and gave most of it to the poor, keeping back only a little for his sister. On his next visit to the Church, he heard the words, "Be not solicitous for the morrow". So, parting with the rest of his inheritance and patrimony, he put his sister in a convent to be educated. Anthony then started to practice the ascetic life in front of his own house, "for monasteries were not yet numerous in Egypt, nor did any monk yet know the wide desert". However, there were already men living a life of solitude, prayer, labour with their hands, and almsgiving in their own neighborhoods. Anthony visited them and in all humility studied the special excellence of each: the graciousness of one, the intensely prayerfulness of another, how others observed long vigils, and still others the eager love of reading, but in all he saw the reverent love for Christ and mutual affection for one another.

The temptations from the devil

As St. Anthony tried to carry out in his own life all that he had seen and learned from others, he worked steadily and prayed much. Of what he read, he forgot none of it, and his memory later served him in place of books. He always kept his mind steadily away from his inheritance and would not think about his relatives. As the devil saw Anthony pursuing this path to Christ and holiness, the devil soon began in his turn to advance upon St. Anthony. The first temptation of the devil was to tempt Anthony away from the ascetic life by bringing before him thoughts of his property, of anxiety about his sister, the companionship of his kind, greed for money and fame, the pleasure of rich and varied foods and the other delights of a luxurious life. The devil pressed on Anthony, disturbing him night and day. Anthony fought the devil by driving him away by prayer; by fortifying his body with faith and fastings. By these means Anthony was able to put out the flame of temptation. As Anthony won in the battles against the devil, all the more the devil re-furbished his weapons and prepared new attacks. Anthony however watched and prayed longer, often through the whole night. After some years spent in this fashion, Anthony, preparing for the supreme combat with Satan, left the village and went away to the tombs which lay at some distance. At the tombs, he asked a close friend to bring him bread at intervals, shut himself in and stayed there alone. And his prayer was always with a mighty shout, "Here am I, Anthony. I am not going to run away from your blows, for even if you beat me again nothing can separate me from the love of Christ."

Intensifying the severity of his life

After these first combats with Satan, Anthony intensified the severity of his life. He intensified his solitude, deciding to make his way into the desert. Athanasius describes to us the spot chosen by Anthony in which he dwelt for the next twenty years: "He found beyond the river a fort long unused and full of reptiles - he crossed over to it and there dwelt. The reptiles left at once, as if someone were chasing them. He closed up the entrance and laid in bread for six months (the Thebans of Egypt do this and the bread will keep unspoilt for a full year). There was water inside. Anthony went down as though into a shrine and there lived alone. He never went out nor would he see those who came to see him. There for a long time he worked at asceticism, twice a year only receiving bread that was lowered to him from above."

Many came to seek his counsel

Many came seeking Anthony in his solitude. Monasteries soon were growing up in the desert. The monks required the help of Anthony, and his friends could no longer be avoided. After all, twenty years is quite a period. It is a small wonder the world became impatient for the sight of this solitary. He had shut himself up a young man of thirty-five; he was now fifty-five years old. Few could have guessed he had another half-century of life before him. As his friends smashed the doors, Anthony came forth, like one initiated into the Mysteries of Christ, and breathed upon by the Godhead, coming from a shrine. As he was seen for the first time by those who sought him, they marvelled at how unchanged he was in body: neither grown fat through want of exercise, nor thin and gaunt from fasting and battling with devils. He looked exactly the same as before his retirement to the abandoned fort.

The Second Half-Century

Persecution upon the Church
After St. Anthony came forth from his solitude, persecution broke once more upon the Church and Anthony was seized with a great longing for martyrdom. Though he did not think it was right for him, he ministered instead to the confessors (those who suffer because of persecution) in the mines and the prisons. He accompanied those condemned to martyrdom and upheld them until the end. Together with other monks, they made their presence in the courts, and burned with divine courage in support of those to be martyred. As Roman law would think it not worth while to fill the prisons with these "ragged, starving fanatic monks", St. Anthony returned reluctantly to his desert. But he took back with him many who had, by seeing and hearing him, become inspired with the wish to lead the same life as his.

Dwelling in a monastery

The next period of St. Anthony's life was spent more in the eyes of the world. He dwelt in a monastery, visited other monasteries and was himself visited by great numbers. He was "guide and father" to many other monks and influenced many to take up a solitary life.

Longed for a deeper solitude
Anthony was longing for a deeper solitude. So he finally decided to go further into the desert, where he might once more be alone. Through the help of some Saracens (nomad Arabs) he found a very small patch of land that could be tilled. So he dug and sowed it, "having more than enough water for its cultivation". Later he added a few vegetables wherewith to refresh any visitors that might arrive weary with the journey. St. Anthony was ninety years old when there came the meeting so celebrated in medieval art, between him and the first hermit, Paul. St. Athanasius has no account of this meeting. It is St. Jerome who has an account of it but he wrote it in poetic style. What is piously told of the meeting is that a crow had settled on a branch of a tree, and softly flying down, deposited a whole loaf before the two hermits. Paul exclaimed how the Lord had a hand in this meeting since he always received a half loaf everyday of his solitary years.

A ripe old age and death

St. Anthony lived to the age of 105, seeing under the Emperor Constantine the beginnings of Arianism. It was finally in his old age that he won his coveted crown of martyrdom. The Arian Constantius had sent an officer to set out towards where St. Anthony was dwelling. A horse however turned on St. Anthony and tore up his thigh. When he knew he was dying, he left his monastery and returned to the stronghold in the inner desert where two monks lived with him. He bade them farewell and told them: "With every breath you breathe draw in Christ...And now God be with you, my children; for Anthony departs and is with you no more."

St. Hilary of Poitiers, Bishop and Doctor

St. Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers: ca. 315-368 A.D., feast January 13

Birth, family background, and baptism

St. Hilary was born in Poitiers, in western Gaul, about 50 miles southwest of Tours, in ca. 315 A.D. His parents were pagan, but they belonged to a wealthy and noble ancestry. Hilary's parents provided him with an excellent education, especially in the Latin classics, and even in Greek. Hilary got married and had a daughter by the name of Apra. He read the Bible, found an answer in his search for truth, and was baptized in his early thirties.

Bishop of Poitiers

Though he was a layman, St. Hilary was chosen by the people to become Bishop of Poitiers. Despite his objections, he was elected bishop ca. 350 or 353 A.D. The people's choice proved to be right because St. Hilary attracted the attention of the whole Church. Hilary distinguished himself well by his stand against Arianism. He became one of the most staunch defenders of the Divinity of Christ. In his stand on orthodoxy, St. Hilary became known as "the Hammerer of the Arians".

Struggle against Arianism led to his exile

Upon Emperor Constantine's death, his son Constantius ruled the Eastern empire from 337 to 350 A.D., and then both the East and West from 350 to 361 A.D. Constantius called a council at Beziers in 356 A.D. In this council, Bishop Saturninus of Arles spoke in favor of Arianism. A few bishops courageously took the position of the Council of Nicaea, and went against Bishop Saturninus. St. Hilary was one of those few bishops. Saturninus reported Hilary to Emperor Constantius, who then sent Hilary into exile. Hilary was escorted out of his see and exiled in Phrygia, in Asia Minor. It was here that Hilary remained for four years. But he took time to compose his masterpiece - the 12 "books" of De Trinitate, On the Trinity.

A final battle with Bishop Saturninus and the Arians

In 359 A.D., Emperor Constantius called a council at Seleucia in Isauria to counter the decrees of the council of Nicaea. St. Hilary was invited out of exile to attend the council. At Seleucia, St. Hilary was successful in refuting Arianism. He was able to encourage the clergy to resist the heresy. After this event, Hilary traveled to Constantinople to request the Emperor (through his Second Book to Constantius), to hold a public debate with Saturninus. In a synod that was convoked (through Hilary's action), Bishop Saturninus was deposed and excommunicated. Finally in 361 A.D., the death of Emperor Constantius ended the Arian persecution of Catholics.

A battle with Arian Bishop Auxentius before retirement

Back in his own diocese, Hilary had to contend with the final stronghold of Arianism in Milan, where the Arian bishop was Auxentius. In 364 A.D., Hilary traveled to Milan. He engaged Bishop Auxentius in a public debate and won Auxentius over to confess Christ to be true God. After all these battles with Arianism, St. Hilary settled down to a peaceful life. He resumed his writing on the Scriptures. He also wrote De synodis, and Opus historicum.

Death and proclamation of the title Doctor of the Church

St. Hilary died in Poitiers, probably in 368 A.D. He was both Latin Father of the Church and a Doctor of the church (proclaimed so by Pope Pius IX in 1851 A.D.)
note:Fathers of the Church are saintly writers of the early Christian centuries whom the Church recognizes as special witnesses of the faith. The Age of the Church Fathers ended between 636-749 A.D. On the other hand, the title Doctor of the Church is a title that only started to be conferred during the Middle Ages. The title was given to certain saints whose teaching is outstanding for guiding the faithful in all periods of the Church's history. St. Hilary of Poitiers is one of the few who is regarded as both Father of the Church and Doctor of the Church. His feast is celebrated every January 13.

Sources of this blog post:

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• A Year with the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.
• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
• The Doctors of the Church, volume one, by John F.
  Fink

The Sto. Niño, the Nazareno and Ina ng Laging Saklolo

(This blog post will feature Filipino popular devotions to Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary.)

Introduction

There are three popular devotions rooted in folk Catholicism in the Philippines: the Sto. Niño (devotion to the Infant Jesus), the Señor Nazareno (devotion to the image of the Black Nazarene), and Ina ng Laging Saklolo (devotion to Mary as Our Lady of Perpetual Help). The first two devotions are celebrated every year in the month of January, and the third is celebrated every month of June.

The Sto. Niño

The devotion to the Sto. Niño is celebrated all over the islands of the Philippines. The local Church in the Philippines sets aside the 2nd Sunday of the Year (after the feast of the Lord's Baptism), for the feast day of the Sto. Niño. The feast of the Sto. Niño is accompanied with great color, festivities, and parades with an infectious drum beat that can influence any passerby to dance along with the parade. Devotion to the Sto. Niño is so popular that even commercial establishments (micro, small, medium and big), reserve an altar in their workplace for the image of the Infant Jesus.

The Black Nazarene

Another devotion that characterizes the popular religiosity of the Filipino people is the devotion to the Black Nazarene. The celebration for Señor Nazareno is more localized - just within the vicinities and areas of Quiapo Church in Manila (where it is officially enshrined). Every year, the image is borne in a big procession by a great throng of devotees (wearing maroon and yellow attire - the colors associated with the image of the Black Nazarene). This devotion appeals greatly to the Filipino masses, who identify much with the suffering of Jesus carrying the Cross (the Black Nazarene is a life-size image of Jesus with a black face carrying the Cross).

Ina ng Laging Saklolo

Another devotion that appeals to Filipino popular religiosity is the devotion to Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Although the feast is celebrated every June, many people regularly flock every Wednesday to the shrine of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Parañaque City - south of Manila City proper. Introduced in the country by the Redemptorists, a novena Mass is celebrated every Wednesday in the afternoon. There are so many devotees that people are accustomed to experience heavy traffic every Wednesday afternoon until early evening.

Folk religiosity or folk Catholicism

Catholicism was brought to Philippine shores by the Spanish friars in the mid-16th century. It is from Spanish Catholicism that Filipinos inherited the festive celebration of religious feasts. Over the centuries, Catholicism has been rooted deeply into the Filipino spirituality that it eventually evolved into what Jesuit author Frank Lynch terms as "folk religiosity" or "folk Catholicism". By folk Catholicism, Fr. Frank Lynch refers to the common people's great trust in God and their "traditional year-round mixing of culture and religion". He conceptualizes folk Catholicism in the Philippines as a "unique blend of official Catholic ritual and belief, peninsular Spanish and Mexican cultural traits, and the preexistent Malay spirit of the Filipinos".

A tourist-drawer and attraction to crowds

Of the three examples of folk Catholicism mentioned above, the one that attracts the most tourists from all over the world, is the celebration of the feast of the Sto. Niño. This is due to the revelry, feasting, and joyful atmosphere that it creates. Christmas is also a joyful time in the Philippines with its tradition of Simbang Gabi (early morning novena Masses from December 16-24), but its joyful atmosphere is more solemn and prayerful in comparison to the feast of the Sto. Niño. It is the parade for the Sto. Niño that attracts tourists. The parade has a dance that is rooted in ancient tribal dancing - making it very interesting (because dancers paint themselves in many bright colors and wear a variety of tribal garbs).

The Doctors of the Church: Teachers of the Catholic Faith

A book review on The Doctors of the Church: An Introduction to the Church's Great Teachers

These two volumes on The Doctors of the Church is a spiritual treasure that all Catholics should read, study and seek to understand. Many of the writings of these great teachers of the Church are letters, sermons, and commentaries that reflect a brilliance of wisdom and insight inspired by God.

A brief introduction

There are two volumes in this book. The first volume lists down all the writings of the doctors of the first millenium. The second volume on the other hand, lists down the doctors of the second millenium. Both volumes total 33 who are entitled by the Church with the title "Doctors of the Church" - doctor, meaning "teacher", from the Latin docere, meaning "to teach". (note: there are 4 new doctors of the Church through the papacy of Benedict XVI and Francis)

A wisdom that applies to all time

In reading one of the first millenium doctors of the Church, St. Peter Chrysologus, the reader will see clearly that what they teach is meant to be practiced in one's Christian way of life. For instance, St. Peter Chrysologus, in one of his sermons on Lent, said that "prayer opens the door, fasting obtains, and mercy receives." He says that these three form a unity and one without the other will not be effective. Applying this spiritual practice and exercising it especially during Lent, will reap for the faithful the wisdom and truth that St. Peter Chrysologus sees and teaches. It is no wonder that Peter Chrysologus and the other "Doctors of the Church" have been noted as worthy of the title.

The list of the 33 doctors of the Church according to each volume of the books

• Volume One
• Saint Athanasius
• Saint Ephrem
• Saint Hilary of Poitiers
• Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
• Saint Basil the Great
• Saint Gregory Nazianzen
• Saint John Chrysostom
• Saint Ambrose
• Saint Jerome
• Saint Augustine
• Saint Cyril of Alexandria
• Saint Peter Chrysologus
• Saint Leo the Great
• Saint Gregory the Great
• Saint Isidore of Seville
• Saint Bede
• Saint John Damascene
• Volume Two
• Saint Peter Damian
• Saint Anselm
• Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
• Saint Anthony of Padua
• Saint Albert the Great
• Saint Thomas Aquinas
• Saint Bonaventure
• Saint Catherine of Siena
• Saint Teresa of Jesus (Avila)
• Saint John of the Cross
• Saint Peter Canisius
• Saint Robert Bellarmine
• Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
• Saint Francis de Sales
• Saint Alphonsus Liguori
• Saint Therese of Lisieux

Saint Therese of Lisieux added as the 33rd doctor of the Church


It was St. John Paul II who declared Saint Therese of the Child Jesus or Saint Therese of Lisieux, as the 33rd doctor of the Church on October 19, 1997. The spiritual doctrine of this great saint, the "Little Way", has inspired so many in our modern century. We can learn about her spirituality from her own autobiography, "The Story of a Soul".
note: There are four new doctors of the Church not included in this two-volume book. Two were declared by the late Pope emeritus Benedict XVI, and two also declared by Pope Francis. They are respectively, John of Avila and Hildegard of Bingen, and Gregory of Narek and Irenaeus of Lyons.

Summary

There is a lot to learn from the writings of all these doctors of the Church. Since their writings are classics, it is still applicable for our time. What they teach can balance our modern Catholic outlook so that we can again be rooted in Scripture and the Tradition which has guided us to present times.

2nd Sunday of the Year (A)

References to the Sunday Readings for Your Reflection: 2014 (A), 2015 (B) and 2016 (C)

January 19, 2014
Liturgical readings
Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Psalm 40
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34

"After me is to come a man who ranks ahead of me."

Humility is not an easy virtue to practice. We know this by experience. It is easier to be noisy than to remain in silence. It is easier to race to be the first in line, than to remain calm, and trust that we can be first, and will get what we need eventually through patience. And it is easier to burst in righteous anger, than to avoid the slightest annoyance or irritation that can enter and invade the heart. But even if humility may not be what the world expects of us, it can be practiced, integrated into in our work, and be used by God to influence the same on others. Evangelization by example can be produced, as long as we are aware of God's will and His grace as the source of humility.

St. John the Baptist is a good example of one who knows his place before God and those in authority. He lived and evangelized in humility. In the gospel, we read what he said:

After me is to come a man who ranks ahead of me, because He was before me.

John the Baptist had an important role in the plan of God. But He knew, like the prophets of the Old Testament, that someone is to come who will be a "light to the nations". John knew that through Jesus, "salvation will reach to the ends of the earth". He was completely grounded in the truth of his being only the herald of this Messiah.

In daily life, we may oftentimes get distracted and lose our grounding in God. When this happens, the call to be humble gets blurred, and we easily get tempted to make ourselves as the source of all right and wrong - without referring to a higher authority. There is a great temptation to be unkind to others if we are not humble and speak or act with discretion. But St. John's example in the gospel can teach us how to re-ground ourselves in what is truly the Source of Truth. When John caught sight of Jesus, he pointed out: "Look there! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John teaches us to be attentive to the presence of God, and to know where we stand amidst His presence.

Scripture quotes for reflection:
The Lord said to Israel: you are my servant, through whom I show my glory (Isaiah 49)
The Lord put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God (Psalm 40)

St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop of Nazianzus

St. Gregory Nazianzen, Bishop and Doctor of the Church:
ca. 329-389 A.D.

Feast day, January 2

Birth, family background and studies

St. Gregory was born at Nazianzus, Cappadocia, Turkey, in ca. 329 A.D., to St. Gregory Nazianzen the Elder and St. Nonna. Gregory's two other siblings were Caesarius and Gorgonia, and are also venerated as saints. St. Gregory studied first at Caesarea, Cappadocia (where he met St. Basil), then in the rhetorical school at Caesarea, Palestine. He studied further for ten years at Athens (where St. Basil and Julian the Apostate were also studying).

Gregory returns to Nazianzus

When he was about 30 years old, St. Gregory joined St. Basil at Pontus on the Iris River, where the two chose to live the contemplative life as hermits. This decision was short-lived for Gregory, because his father, who was about 80 years old, and bishop of Nazianzus, called for Gregory to return home so he can help manage the diocese and the estate. Gregory had to obey. Reluctantly, Gregory was ordained in ca. 362 A.D. by his father. Gregory worked with his father and managed the diocese to prevent a schism. His father however fell into heresy when he made compromises with Arianism. But Gregory brought his father back to orthodoxy. His father died in 374 A.D.

Consecrated as bishop of Sesima

Before Gregory's father passed away, in ca. 372 A.D., St. Basil, now metropolitan of Caesarea, named St. Gregory as bishop of Sesima. Sesima was a newly created see in the middle of territory beset by Arianism. Although St. Gregory was consecrated as bishop, he never went to Sesima, to the dismay of St. Basil, but rather remained as coadjutor to his father. This severely strained the friendship between the two, as Gregory chose to remain and help his father in Nazianzus.

Prevaling over Arianism at Constantinople

After the death of his father in 374 A.D., Gregory continued to administer the see until a new bishop was chosen. He however suffered a breakdown in 375 A.D., and spent the next five years retiring to a monastery in Seleucia, Isauria (near modern Baghdad, Iraq). Here, he lived in much prayer and study. While in Seleucia, in 379 A.D., Gregory was called to help the Church of Constantinople. That Church had been under Arian dominance during the reign of Emperor Valens. But with Valens now dead, a group of orthodox bishops wanted Gregory to revitalize orthodoxy in Constantinople. Gregory went and naturally met opposition. But he prevailed over the Arians, and in 380 A.D., the newly baptized Emperor Theodosius decreed that all his subjects must be orthodox. Theodosius ordered the Arian leaders to submit or leave, and then named Gregory archbishop of Constantinople.

Resigning as bishop, retirement and death

Just a few months after Gregory's installation as bishop of Constantinople, hostilities began anew and the validity of his election was questioned at the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. (at which St. Gregory also presided). Fearing then that this present unrest would lead to bloodshed, Gregory left the office of bishop in 382 A.D. and retired to a private life - living a quiet life of prayer, meditation, penance and great austerity at Nazianzus. He devoted the last years of his life to writing until his death in 389 A.D. He died on January 25, 389 at the age of fifty-nine years.

Cappadocian Father and Doctor of the Church

St. Gregory Nazianzen is ranked along with St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nyssa as one of the "three Cappadocian Fathers". Besides his sermons, his writings include: Five Theological Orations, a compilation of Origen's writings which he did with Basil, and a poem entitled De Vita Sua. Proclaimed a Doctor of the Church, St. Gregory is often surnamed "the Theologian" for his eloquent defense of orthodoxy and the decrees of the Council of Nicea in his sermons and treatises (notably his celebrated sermons on the Trinity). He shares the same feast with St. Basil the Great every 2nd of January.

References of this article

• Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
• Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
• The Doctors of the Church, by John F. Fink
• A Year With the Saints, by Don Bosco Press, Inc.

St. Basil the Great, Bishop and Doctor

St. Basil the Great, Bishop and Doctor,
329-379 A.D., feast January 2

St. Basil "the Great"

St. Basil shares the honorific title "the Great" with three other doctors of the Church: Pope Leo, Pope Gregory, and Albert. (The Church declares certain Saints as Doctors of the Church because their writings continue to uphold the Church's teachings for the universal Church). So great were Basil's accomplishments that he was already being called "the Great" during his lifetime. His spiritually influenced Eastern monasticism and the liturgy of the Eastern Church. He also defended orthodox Christianity in the East against the heresy of Arianism after St. Athanasius' death.

Born of a family of saints

St. Basil was one of ten children of St. Basil the Elder and St. Emmelia. His grandmother was St. Macrina the Elder, his brother was St. Gregory of Nyssa, and his eldest sister was St. Macrina the Younger. Basil was born in Caesarea of Cappadocia - in what is now southeastern Turkey. Educated first by his father and grandmother, he then studied further in Constantinople and Athens. There he met St. Gregory Nazianzen, who would become his close friend. He also met Julian - who would become the future emperor and apostate.

Pursuit of religious life

When his education was completed, St. Basil returned home, where he taught rhetoric and planned a career in teaching. However, St. Macrina the Younger, his eldest sister, influenced him to pursue religious life. Basil travelled to many monasteries in the East (in Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt) to learn about monastic life. Upon his return back in 358 A.D., he settled in a secluded spot by the Iris River in Pontus, and devoted himself to prayer and study. A group of disciples soon gathered around him. With these followers, he founded the first monastery in Asia Minor. It is them that St. Basil formulated the principles that would rule and regulate the lives of monks in the Eastern Church (including those of modern Orthodox Churches) up to the present age. It is this accomplishment that St. Basil came to be known as "the Father of Eastern Monasticism".

A priest in 363 A.D.

Basil consented to be ordained a priest and he immediately began to play a role in the administration of the diocese. After a dispute with his bishop Eusebius, he returned to his monastery. He was recalled to the diocese in 365 A.D. through the insistence of his friend, Gregory of Nazianzen. Upon his return, he became the power behind the episcopal throne for the next five years. When the bishop died in 370 A.D., St. Basil was chosen bishop. He then spent the next eight and one half years caring for his diocese.

Involvement against Arianism

Because orthodox Christians were being persecuted by Arian bishops, Basil was called upon to help defend the faith against Arianism (which claims that Christ is not divine). Valens, an Arian emperor, pressured Basil to allow Arians full communion with the Church. St. Basil firmly refused and the Emperor decided to exile him. Upon signing the order of banishment, Valens' pen broke in his hand three times. Astonished by this happening, the Emperor then backed down and never again interfered with ecclesial affairs.

The Basilade

St. Basil was known for his care of the poor. He devoted all of his income for the good of the people. He founded an immense charitable institution, later known as the Basilade. This institution included a hospital, a hospice for the homeless, an asylum for orphans, and a school for the young.

A great orator and a prolific writer

St. Basil was one of the great orators of the Church - preaching brilliant sermons twice a day. He was a prolific writer - writing four hundred letters that had tremendous influence on the Church. His other writings include a book On the Holy Spirit; three books against Arian bishop Enomius; and a compilation with Gregory Nazianzen of the works of Origen. It was his 42 written sermons, his writings, and his 400 letters that earned him the designation of Doctor of the Church.

Pain and illness

St. Basil was already suffering from a chest ailment when he was contending against Arian Emperor Valens. This chest pain and other infirmities brought about his death on January 1, 379 at age 49. Because he was so beloved, his funeral was attended by large numbers of Christians, Jews, and pagans.

Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord (A)

Reference & Gospel Reflection to the Sunday Readings : Years 2014 (A), 2015 (B), and 2016 (C)

January 5, 2013
Scripture References: Liturgical readings
Isaiah 60:1-6
Psalm 72
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

"On entering the house, they found the Child."

Jesus is the only Person pre-announced in the history of human civilization. The pre-announcements and prophecies pointing to His birth came from His own Jewish religion and also from prophets and wise men of other faiths. It is these prophetic references to His birth that the wise men, "three Kings", or Magi from the East, watched the skies for a sign of His birth. These men may have been astrologers since they knew about stars in their rising. So as they found the star, they followed it until they arrived in a manger. They entered the place, and found the Child wrapped in swaddling clothes. His mother Mary and St. Joseph were attending to Him. The Magi saw the light from the heavens that lit the way for them to see the brightest Light that is meant for all people.

In a sermon on the feast of the Epiphany, St. Peter Chrysologus (ca. 400-450 A.D.), one of the early Doctors of the Church, spoke and wrote about this mystery:

"Today the Magi gaze in deep wonder at what they see: heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, One whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body. As they look, they believe and do not question, as their symbolic gifts bear witness: incense for God, gold for a King, myrrh for One who is to die."

God, King and Martyr. This is how Jesus, the Messiah, will also reveal Himself to us in our time. He reveals Himself first to Mary and Joseph, to the Magi and to His people Israel. He is now revealing Himself to us, the new Israel, in the Church and her sacraments. How generous of the Father to reveal His Son incarnated in Jewish ancestry and culture, and with a human nature shared by all races. God reveals Himself in all simplicity - within a family. Something all cultures and races can related with. God manifests His glory clothed in humility: a truth consistent throughout the gospels. He is God from the womb of a Virgin and a manger in Bethlehem. He is King as He was condemned to die on a Cross. And He is a Martyr entombed in one owned by Joseph of Arimathea. All these are one in the light of the Resurrection.

Scripture quotes from the Sunday readings:
All from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of the Lord (Isaiah 60)
The kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute (Psalm 72)
In Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews (Ephesians 3)
The astrologers from the east opened their coffers and presented to the Lord gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2)

The Blessed Mother's Role in the "Latter Times"

The Role of the Virgin Mary in the "Latter Times

Introduction

One of the great contributions of St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort in Mariology (study on the Blessed Mother) is his writing about her role in "the latter times". A quote from his book, "The True Devotion to Mary", expresses well this role:

"The salvation of the world began through Mary and through her it must be accomplished." (True Devotion, #49)

Mary's role in the latter times

St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort explains in detail why God wishes Mary to have a role in the end times. He gives the reasons in his book, "The True Devotion":

• Keeping herself hidden by her great humility, Mary has obtained from God the favor of being made known


• God wishes to be glorified and praised by those who devoted themselves to Him through Mary


• Mary must be known and acknowledged so that Jesus may be known and acknowledged


• As Mary is the way by which Jesus first came to us, she will again be the way by which Jesus will again come to us, though not in the same manner


• Mary must be better known for the deeper understanding and the greater glory of the Blessed Trinity


• In the latter times, or end times, Mary is to shine forth: in mercy, to bring back sinners to God and the Church; in power, to combat the enemies of Christ; in grace, to inspire and support Christ's soldiers


• Mary must become as terrible as an army in battle array to the Evil One and his followers, especially in the end times [True Devotion, #50-54]

What are the latter times or end times?

Though St. Louis-Marie did not explain what he means by the "latter times", we can obtain what this can mean from the book, "The End Will Not Be At Once", by Fr. Herman Hendrickx. Fr. Hendrickx, a bible scholar, gives an idea of what the end times will be by his study of Mark 13:1-4 and Luke 21:5-36. These two passages recount what Jesus told his disciples about the end. Although the scriptural texts may appear frightening, all those fearful details must be understood within the context of the second coming of Jesus - when the redemption of all Christians comes, and all will stand with confidence before Christ.

Devotion to Mary is necessary in the latter times


It is in view of these end times where we will receive our redemption, that St. Louis-Marie de Montfort concludes that Mary's role is necessary. Devotees of Mary in the end times will have recourse to her as their advocate and mediatrix before Jesus. She will be the "safest, easiest, shortest, and most perfect way of approaching Jesus".


St. Louis-Marie foresaw that those who devote themselves to Mary in these end times will be the "true apostles of the latter times". The simplicity and self-sacrifice of Jesus will be reflected in the whole behavior of all who give themselves to Jesus through Mary in the end.

The latter times is a mystery

When the latter times or end times will be is beyond all human capacity to know. St. Louis-Marie says that: "Only God knows. For our part we must yearn and wait for it in silence and in prayer." (True Devotion, #55-59).

Why did St. Louis-Marie mention the "latter times"?

One reason in relation to his spiritual intuition on the mystery of the Incarnation. He shares his spiritual insight by saying that, "as she [Mary] was the way by which Jesus first came to us (through the mystery of the Incarnation), she will again be the way by which He [Jesus] will come to us the second time though not in the same manner." This spiritual intuition of Montfort can help us see the importance of Marian devotion for our times.

Montfort lived during the years 1673-1716 A.D. in France. But even before the apparitions at Fatima, St. Louis-Marie says that Mary is "to bring back and welcome lovingly the poor sinners and wanderers who are to be converted and return to the Catholic Church". (True Devotion #50-6). "...For Satan, knowing that he has little time - even less now than ever - to destroy souls, intensifies his efforts and his onslaughts every day. (True Devotion #50-7).

Montfort foresees that the Evil One will "stir up savage persecutions and set treacherous snares for Mary's faithful servants and children in the end times. (True Devotion #50-7).

Montfort writes that it is necessary to make Mary known during the end times. For it is by her that Jesus will come to us a second time, though not in the same manner [as the first coming]. In the "latter times", "the humble Mary will always triumph over Satan, the proud one, and so great will be her victory that she will crush his head, the very seat of his pride." (True Devotion #54).

Related resources:

• Six Popular Apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary


• Books on Mary and a Documentary on the Nativity, from
  Ignatius Press.com


• Method of Praying the Holy Rosary


• God Alone: The Collected Writings of St. Louis-Marie
  Grignion de Montfort


• The Jerusalem Bible


• "The End Will Not Be At Once", by Herman Hendrickx

Feasts of Saints Celebrated in the Month of January

Mary, Mother of God, (January 1)

also on January 1: Concordius, martyr; Felix of Bourger; Almachius or Telemachus, martyr; Euphrosyne, virgin; Eugendus or Oyend, abbot; William of Saint Benignus, abbot; Fulgentius, bishop; Clarus, abbot; Peter of Atroa, abbot; Odilo, abbot; Franchea, virgin; Guiseppe Maria Tomasi

Basil: (died 1 Jan. 379); hermit who became bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia: noted for his learning; foe of Arianism; wrote a rule on monasticism; source of Eucharistic Prayer IV; along with Gregory Nazianzen, Athanasius (2 May) and John Chrysostom (13 Sept), considered one of the four great doctors of the Eastern Church. (January 2)

Gregory Nazianzen: (died 25 Jan. 389 or 390); Patriarch of Constantinople; noted for his knowledge of Sacred Scripture and for his outstanding teaching abilities and eloquence. (January 2)

also on January 2: Macarius of Alexandria; Munchin, bishop; Vincentian; Adalhard or Adelard, abbot; Caspar del Bufalo

on January 3: Antherus, priest and martyr; Geneviève, virgin; Bertilia of Mereuil, widow

on January 4: Elizabeth Ann Seton; Gregory of Langres, bishop; Pharaïldis, virgin; Rigobert of Rheims, bishop

on January 5: John Neumann, bishop; Apollinaris Syncletica, virgin; Syncletica, virgin; Simeon Stylites; Convoyon, abbot; Dorotheus the Younger, abbot; Gerlac

on January 6: John of Ribera, bishop; Charles Melchior from Sezze, religious; Raphaela Maria Porras of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, virgin; Wiltrudis, widow; Erminold, abbot; Guarinus or Guérin, bishop

Raymond of Peñafort (died 1275 at age of 99); O.P.; second master general after St. Dominic; collator of canon law, esp. Decretales Gregorii IX; noted work on penance: Summa de casibus poenitentiae; patron of canonists and lawyers. (January 7)

also on January 7: Lucian of Antioch, martyr; Valentine, bishop; Tillo; Aldric, bishop; Reinold; Canute Lavard; Kentigerna, widow

on January 8: Apollinaris of Hierapolis, bishop; Lucian of Beauvais, martyr; Severinus of Noricum; Severinus of Septempeda, bishop; Erhard, bishop; Gudula, virgin; Pega, virgin; Wulsin, bishop; Thorfinn, bishop

on January 9: Marciana, virgin and martyr; Julian, Basilissa and Companions, martyrs; Peter of Sebaste, bishop; Waningus or Vaneng; Adrian of Canterbury, abbot; Berhtwald of Canterbury, abbot

on January 10: Marcian; John the Good, bishop; Agatho, priest; Peter Orseolo; William, bishop

on January 11: Theodosius the Cenobiarch; Salvius or Sauve, bishop

on January 12: Arcadius, martyr; Tigirius and Eutropius, martyrs; Caesaria, virgin; Victorian, abbot; Benedict or Benet Biscop, bishop; Antony Pucci, priest

Hilary of Poitiers: (died 367); married and convert from paganism; leading opponent of Arianism in the West; most noted work: De Trinitate (January 13)

also on January 13: Agrecius or Agritius, bishop; Berno, abbot

on January 14: Felix Nola, confessor; Macrina the Elder, widow; Barbasymas and Companions, martyrs; Datius, bishop; Kentigern or Mungo, bishop; Sava, bishop

on January 15: Paul the First Hermit, confessor; Maur, abbot; Macarius the Elder; Isidore of Alexandria; John Calybites; Ita, virgin; Bonet or Bonitus, bishop; Ceowulf

January 16: Marcellus I, priest; Priscilla, matron; Honoratus, bishop; Fursey, abbot; Henry of Cocket; Berard and Companions, martyrs

Anthony: (died 356 at the age of 105); born in Upper Egypt; hermit and early founder of religious life; called the "Patriarch of Monks"; aided Athanasius of Alexandria in combating Arianism; patron invoked against skin diseases. (January 17)

also on January 17: Speusippus, Eleusippus and Meleusippus, martyrs; Genulf or Genou, bishop; Julian Sabas, hermit; Sabinus of Piacenza, bishop; Richimir, abbot; Sulpicius II or Sulpice

on January 18: Prisca, virgin and martyr; Volusian, bishop; Deicolus or Desle, abbot

on January 19: Canute or Knute, king and martyr; Germanicus, martyr; Nathalan, bishop; Albert of Cashel, bishop; Fillan or Foelan, abbot; Wulstan, bishop; Henry of Uppsala, bishop and martyr

Fabian (died 250 under Decius; layman elected bishop of Rome in 236; an "incomparable man" (St. Cyprian to Pope St. Cornelius) (January 20)

Sebastian: (died 288? at Rome under Diocletian); Christian soldier whose acta tell of his being pierced by arrows, later being clubbed to death. (January 20)

also on January 20: Euthymius the Great, abbot; Fechin, abbot; Eustochia Calafato

Agnes: (died beginning of the 4th c.); martyred under Diocletian at the age of 12 (so Augustine and Ambrose report): patroness of Christian virtue confronted by political and social violence; represented with a martyr's palm and a lamb (her name in Latin, agnus=lamb); today, two lambs, whose wool is used to make the pallia presented to newly appointed Metropolitan archbishops on June 29, are blessed; named mentioned in the
Roman Canon. (January 21)

also on January 21: Fructuosus of Tarragona, bishop and martyr; Patroclus, martyr; Epiphanius of Pavia, bishop; Meinrad, martyr; Alban Roe, priest and martyr

Vincent: (died in early 4th c., at Valencia, Spain); deacon of the Church of Saragossa; protomartyr of Spain; patron of wine-producers. (January 22)

also on January 22: Anastasius, martyr; Blesilla, widow; Dominic of Sora, abbot; Berhtwald, bishop; Valerius of Saragossa; Vincent Pallotti, priest

on January 23: Emerentiana, virgin and martyr; Asclas, martyr; Agathangelus and Clement, martyrs; John the Almsgiver, patriarch; Ildephonsus, bishop; Bernard or Barnard, bishop; Lufthildis, virgin; Maimbod, martyr

Francis de Sales: (died 1622); bishop of Geneva; sought to bring many back to the Church through his personal life and writings, especially his Controversies and several devout treatises, including his Introduction to the Devout Life; founder with St. Jane Frances de Chantal (18 Aug.) of the Visitation Order; patron of writers, journalists and the deaf. (January 24)

also on January 24: Babylas, bishop and martyr; Felician, bishop and martyr; Messalina, martyr; Macedonius

on January 25: Conversion of Paul, apostle; Artemas, martyr; Juventinus and Maximinus, martyrs; Publius, abbot; Apollo, abbot; Praejectus or Prix, bishop and martyr; Poppo, abbot

Timothy: (died c. 97); First bishop of Ephesus, missionary, and companion of St. Paul. A native of Lystra, he was the son of a Jewish woman named Eunice and a Greek Gentile. Converted to the faith by St. Paul, he became a very valuable assistant and companion to him on several missions, such as those to the Corinthians and Thessalonians. (January 26)

Titus: (died c. 96); A disciple and companion of St. Paul to whom the great saint addressed one of his letters. He was left on the island of Crete to help organize the Church. According to Eusebius of Caesarea in the Ecclesiastical History, he served as the first bishop of Crete.
(January 26)

also on January 26: Paula, widow; Conan, bishop; Alberic, abbot; Eystein, bishop; Margaret of Hungary, virgin

Angela Merici: (died 1540 at Brescia); orphaned at 10; foundress of the Ursulines, the first teaching order especially for poor young girls; sought re-evangelization of families through education of future wives and mothers. (January 27)

also on January 27: Julian of Le Mans, bishop; Marius or May, abbot; Vitalian, priest

Thomas Aquinas: (died 1274); O.P.; the "Angelic Doctor" who wrote the Summa Theologiae and authored Adoro te devote, O salutaris, Tantum ergo, and Pange lingua; patron of Catholic schools, colleges and universities, of philosophers, theologians and booksellers. (January 28)

also on January 28: Peter Nolasco, confessor; John of Reomay, abbot; Paulinus of Aquileia, bishop; Charlemagne; Amadeus, bishop; Peter Thomas, bishop

on January 29: Sabinian, martyr; Gildas the Wise, abbot; Sulpicius "Severus", bishop

January 30: Martina, virgin and martyr; Barsimaeus, bishop; Bathildis, widow; Aldegundis, virgin; Adelelmus or Aleaume, abbot; Hyacintha Mariscotti, virgin; Mutien Marie Wiaux

John Bosco: (died 1888 at Turin); founded (1859) the Salesians, today numbering over 17,500; dedicated to educating youth; with St. Mary Mazzarello, founded the Salesian Sisters; a pioneer in vocational training; patron of editors.(January 31)

also on January 31: Cyrus and John, martyrs; Marcella, widow; Aidan or Maedoc of Ferns, bishop; Adamus of Coldingham; Ulphia, virgin; Eusebius, martyr; Nicetas of Novgorod, bishop; Francis Xavier Bianchi