October 7—Our Lady of the Rosary

The entire month of October is dedicated to Our Lady and also to the rosary.  On this feast day we celebrate both together!  This memorial was originally founded in 1573 to commemorate a victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, which was credited to praying the rosary.  The rosary itself is an ancient custom in which 150 Hail Marys were substituted for praying the 150 psalms, which the monks and nuns sang weekly in the monasteries.

The use of the rosary as a means of prayer is an excellent devotion.  There are 20 mysteries focusing on the childhood, ministry, passion, and exultation of Jesus.  Pope John Paul the Great added the five Luminous Mysteries in 2002 dedicated to the ministry of Jesus including:  The Baptism of Christ; The Wedding Feast at Cana; The Proclamation of the Gospel; The Transfiguration; and The Institution of the Eucharist.  

The rosary contains the essential elements of the Gospel message of Good News.  By meditating on the mysteries and praying the Hail Mary, the Our Father, and the Glory Be we are uniting ourselves to God’s will.  We are praying for the intercession of Mary in our lives and the lives of our loved ones.  We are also giving praise to God, the Trinity.  The prayers are scriptural; the first part of the Hail Mary comes from the Gospel of Luke and the Our Father is from the Gospel of Matthew.  The repetition of the prayers helps focus our entire being on Jesus.  It is a Marian prayer in that we go to Jesus through Mary, Our Mother.  What better prayer to share with our children than the prayer that unites our hearts to Mary’s Immaculate Heart to Jesus’ Sacred Heart!

October 4—St. Francis of Assisi, Deacon and Religious

 

What would happen if you took the Gospel literally?  Would you “sell all that you have and distribute it to the poor” (Lk. 18:22)?  You might argue that Jesus does not call all of us to that state and you would be right.  But there are some who are called to living a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  St. Francis of Assisi was called to that life and he embraced it with wide open arms, even to the point of giving up the clothes that he received from his earthly father.  

St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and ecology.  He founded three Franciscan orders; one for men, one for women, and one for the laity.  He was a deacon.  He was a stigmatist.  He tried to become a martyr when he went to Egypt during the Fifth Crusade and even spoke to the Caliph, but that grace was denied to him.  Instead, he ended up doing what he heard a voice telling him:  “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.”  He originally thought that meant for him to put stones and mortar together to build up a church building that had fallen into ruins.  Rather, he ended up building up the whole Church in the 13^th century with his orders and his example of loving Lady Poverty.

St. Francis embraced poverty as his role in the Body of Christ.  We each need to embrace our role.  It may not be poverty, but it may mean donating food, clothing, time, talent, and treasure for the sake of the poor.  There are homeless shelters we can serve at.  There are thrift stores we can contribute to.  There are scholarship funds we can donate to so we can help families provide their children with a better education.  There are single mothers we can befriend, encourage, and assist so they don’t have abortions.  Though we are not always called to follow the Gospel literally, we can take one line at its word:  “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt. 16:24).

September 23—St. Pius of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest & Religious

Padre Pio is one of the more amazing saints of the 20^th century.  He levitated when he was in intense prayer; he bilocated, that is, he could be in two far separated places at about the same time; he had the gift of prophecy; he could read hearts; he could bring about conversions.  However, he is most famous for the gift of the stigmata, the wounds of Christ visible on his hands, feet, and side. 

Padre Pio received much acclamation and much criticism for these spiritual gifts.  But he only wanted to love God and bring about the salvation of souls.  He would spend hours each day in the confessional listening to words of sorrow; challenging those who needed to express true penitence; forgiving with the words of absolution:  “God the father of mercies through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins through the ministry of the church.  May God give you pardon and peace and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

We are called to forgive and be forgiven:  “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  We are called to the confessional so that the priest, who is our spiritual doctor, may bring us to spiritual health through the sacrament.  Some say that we don’t need a priest; God forgives us anyway.  The purpose of the priest is to help us, not judge us.  The priest is “in the person of Christ” forgiving us in the name of God as Jesus said to his apostles:  “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn. 20:23).  Who, in suffering in serious illness or injury, would refuse to go to a doctor?  Why do we refuse to go to Christ’s doctors, his priests?  Padre Pio gave his life to bring about salvation for others.  Every priest shares in that desire.  When was the last time you went to confession?

September 20—St. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, St. Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, Holy Man, and Companions—Martyrs

The Church in Korea had no priests to celebrate the sacraments for twelve years!  Yet, when the first priest arrived there were 4,000 Catholics.  The Korean saints were martyred from 1839 to 1867; Pope John Paul II canonized 98 Koreans and three French missionaries in 1984 when he visited Korea.  Of those, 47 were laywomen and 45 were laymen.  Today there are almost 5.1 million Catholics.

The New Evangelization preached and promoted by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis depends not just on the hierarchy but on all of us, especially the laity.  We are called to re-propose “the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith” due to the secularization of the culture.  Most, if not all of us, know of friends, relatives, colleagues who have given up on Christ and his Church; who have fallen to the siren song of the modern rejection of God:  “Where is your God?”  Even Jesus was taunted on the cross:  “He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he wants him” (Mt. 27:43).  We are called, as the laity, to share our faith in the living God, in the Christ who saves us from sin and death and despair.

How do we do that?  By loving and being willing to stand up for the faith, for the Church, for God.  The Korean martyrs faced physical torture and death.  We need to face the emotional and social torture that will come.  We need to pray for our society, for our persecutors, for those who revile the truth.  We need to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist frequently.  And thus, we will be willing to be the Body of Christ for our world.  Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

If you are interested in reading more about the saints, go to Mr. Mueting’s Saint Weblog at http://mrmuetingsaints.blogspot.com/.