August 13--Sts. Pontian, Pope and Martyr, and Hippolytus, Priest and Martyr

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Two men, both Christian but opposed to each other; one a pope for only five years, the other an anti-pope for 18 years; both arrested and sent to Sardinia to die a “living death” in the mines around 235/236. However, both are saints. St. Pontian was pope from 230-235 and, when arrested to be exiled, resigned his office as pope, the first to do so. St. Hippolytus entered into schism with St. Pontian’s predecessors on the grounds that the pope did not condemn a heresy strongly enough. He was then elected pope by his followers, the first anti-pope. However, in Sardinia he became reconciled with the Church. St. Hippolytus is also known for his theological and liturgical writings. 

So what brings two such different men together to be celebrated as saints on the same day? St. Hippolytus was a “holier than the Church” sort of man and St. Pontian was a pope who had to make difficult decisions, including a resignation that led to the end of the schism St. Hippolytus began. Perhaps reconciliation is the key to the mystery!  

Reconciliation is the key to our relationship with God. Without our conversion, our repentance, our turning back, our metanoia, we cannot be reconciled with the God who made us, loves us, and saved us through his own passion, death, and resurrection. Jesus started his ministry proclaiming his Gospel in Galilee: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). He ended his ministry on the cross in Jerusalem: “Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’; and when he had said this he breathed his last” (Lk 23:46). He reconciled us to the Father and brought us into communion with our God.

*http://faith.nd.edu/s/1210/faith/interior.aspx?sitebuilder=1&pgid=15938&cid=32078&ecid=32078&ciid=104285&crid=0

**https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dieric_Bouts_%26_Hugo_van_der_Goes_-_Triptiek_van_de_Heilige_Hippolytus.jpg

August 2--St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop

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Where is your home? Where do you really belong? Is our home in heaven or in the world? St. Eusebius of Vercelli answered that very question throughout his life. He was born in Sardinia at the beginning of the fourth century and became a priest in Rome. He went to Vercelli and was elected bishop by the people. In 354, the pope asked him to request the emperor call another council to settle the issue between Arians and Catholics. The Arians did not accept the Trinity as three Persons in one God even though the Council of Nicaea condemned Arianism in 325. The emperor favored Arianism as Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “For him it was not truth that counted but rather political opportunism: he wanted to exploit religion as the bond of unity for the Empire.” Thus, the emperor exiled Eusebius where he was subjected to persecution. Eusebius was eventually freed and returned to Vercelli where he died peacefully in 371. All the time he preached the truth of the Nicene Creed.

Benedict also wrote: “Just like the Apostles, for whom Jesus prayed at his Last Supper, the Pastors and faithful of the Church ‘are of the world’ (Jn 17: 11), but not ‘in the world’. Therefore, Pastors, Eusebius said, must urge the faithful not to consider the cities of the world as their permanent dwelling place but to seek the future city, the definitive heavenly Jerusalem. This ‘eschatological reserve’ enables Pastors and faithful to preserve the proper scale of values without ever submitting to the fashions of the moment and the unjust claims of the current political power.” Our home is heaven, but we must try to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven here: “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven!”

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nuremberg_chronicles_f_128r_4..jpg

July 28--Blessed Maria Teresa Kowalska, Religious and Martyr

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What happens when someone sins? An injury has been committed. How does one repair the injury? By sorrow and reparation. Sorrow is the key to forgiveness; reparation is the key to reconciliation. Today’s saint offered herself and her life in reparation to God for the sins of her family. Bl. Maria Teresa Kowalska was born in Poland in 1902. After the Russian Revolution in 1917 “her father and other relatives had embraced atheistic Communism and enthusiastically supported the new Soviet Union.” She entered the Capuchin Poor Clares in Poland in 1923 making her Solemn Perpetual Profession in 1928. She became a model nun, respected by her community. In 1941 the Germans arrested the thirty-six nuns at the convent and sent them to a concentration camp. She had tuberculosis while in the monastery and her illness worsened in captivity. One day she said, “I will not leave here alive. I offer my life for the sisters so that they may return to the monastery.” She died on July 25, 1941. Her sisters were released by the Germans two weeks later on August 7. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in June 1999 with a group of 107 martyrs of WWII.

Reparation of sins is a holy purpose of prayer. Jesus made reparation for our sins through his death, but we can also make reparation for the sins of others through our prayers and sufferings.

The Morning Offering prayer states:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary,
I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day
for all the intentions of your Sacred Heart,
in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world,
for the salvation of souls, the reparation of sins, the reunion of all Christians,
and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father this month.
Amen.

*https://www.capdox.capuchin.org.au/saints-blesseds/maria-teresa-kowalska/

July 20—St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

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If at first, you don’t succeed… well you know the rest. But what about attempting the conversion of others? What about facing continued rejection, intimidation, and even threats of persecution and death? Are we required to share our faith with others who hate us and hate what we believe? Are we called to bring Christ to them, or should we leave them be? Afterall, Jesus did say, “Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet” (Mt. 10:14) and “When they persecute you in one town, flee to another” (Mt. 10:23).

This may have been in the mind of today’s saint, Apollinaris. According to legend, he was sent by St. Peter to the city of Ravenna, Italy. With the working of miracles, he attracted attention and converts, but also enemies, who beat him and drove him out. He was found and hidden by Christians, but then captured, compelled to walk on coals and again expelled. He stayed in the area and preached, but later returned a third time to Ravenna. “Again he was captured, hacked with knives, had scalding water poured over his wounds, was beaten in the mouth with stones, … was flung into a horrible dungeon to starve to death;” but then put on a ship to Greece. After four years he returned to Ravenna a fourth time, staying hidden, but was discovered and, again, savagely beaten, after which he died.

What compelled him to keep returning when he knew what would happen to him? It may be, that as bishop he wanted to be with his flock. Whatever his reasons, he faced death for the sake of the Gospel. We may not be called to die for the faith, but we are called to witness.

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/9326873330