February 8--St. Josephine Bakhita, Virgin

 

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Slavery has been outlawed in the United Sates since the 13th amendment was ratified in 1865.  It was abolished in 1888 in Brazil and in 1926 by the League of Nations.  In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including the article:  "No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms."

So what does this have to do with today's saint?  She was a slave.  Bakhita, which means "fortunate", was born about 1869 in southern Sudan, kidnapped at the age of seven, and sold several times as a slave.  In 1883 she was sold to the Italian consul in Sudan and two years later "given" to his friend from Italy.  She then became a babysitter  to the friend's daughter, joining the Church in 1890, taking the name Josephine.  When the friend wanted to take his daughter and Josephine back to Africa, Josephine refused, and the case went to court.  The Patriarch of Venice and the Canossian sisters intervened and the judge concluded that since slavery was illegal in Italy, Josephine had been free since 1885!  She joined the Canossian Sisters in 1893 and remained with them as a gatekeeper for a compound that included a kindergarten, orphanage, recreational center, and school until her death in 1947.

St. Josephine Bakhita had many owners, but only one Master.  She wrote, "Seeing the sun, the moon, and the stars, I said to myself: who could be the Master of these beautiful things?  And I felt a real desire to see hi, to know him and to pay him homage."  God is our master, but one who has set us completely free by saving us from sin through Jesus Christ.  We are blessed beyond all telling!

*https://nunspeak.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/bakhita-01.jpg

February 4—St. Joan of Valois, Holy Woman

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Today's saint was, for a time, Queen of France.  However, as is the case with all saints, suffering beset her throughout her life.  Jeanne de Valois was born in 1464, the second daughter of King Louis XI of France.  She was afflicted with a physical handicap, possibly curvature of the spine, which allowed others to disparage her.  She was forced into marriage with her cousin Louis, who also treated her poorly.  Nonetheless,  when Louis was rebelling against her brother, King Charles VIII and was captured by him, Joan pleaded for his life and administered the duchy.  Eventually Duke Louis was released and became King Louis XII after the death of his brother-in-law.  One would think things would get better for Joan, but Louis wanted more territory and so appealed to the pope for an annulment from his marriage to her, citing lack of consent and her deformity as a cause for lack of consummation of the marriage.  St. Joan objected but the pope granted the annulment for political reasons.

St. Joan became the Duchess of Berry and formed a community dedicated to the Annunciation in 1500.  She and her spiritual director wrote the rule, and the community was established as a branch of the Poor Clares in 1504.  She renounced her title and possession and became a nun on Pentecost, 1504.  She died less than a year later.  The nuns still have monasteries in Europe and Costa Rica and religious sisters serve in Europe, Africa, and Guatemala.

St. Joan's treatment was unjust!  She did step aside and prayed for her husband.  St. Joan accepted her annulment ordeal in the spirit of the Annunciation, saying:  "Be it done to me and her own if so it is to be."  May we be as forgiving when mistreated!  St. Joan, pray for us.

*By Jean Perréal - http://www.anuncjatki.pl/assets/images/mniszki/jeanne.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16021386

Sunday after Epiphany: The Baptism of the Lord

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Merry Christmas!  This is the last day of the Christmas season, but it celebrates the first day of Jesus' public ministry.  Thus, the Church connects the birth of Jesus, the beginning, with the Paschal Mystery, the end!  Each Gospel has the Baptism of Jesus in it with variations.  Mark's version is the shortest with a statement of the baptism followed by a theophany, or the visible manifestation of God, with the Holy Spirit represented as a dove, and God the Father speaking from the heavens approving of God the Son.  Matthew adds John's objection to baptizing Jesus because John is not worthy.  Luke adds a historical element by naming the political leaders of the time as well as some of John's teachings.  The Gospel of John has John the Baptist giving testimony to Jesus' Baptism as though he were in a court of law.  He also calls Jesus the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29).

The Baptism of Jesus is also important for the post-Ascension Christian community when they chose a replacement for Judas:  "Therefore, it is necessary that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a witness to his resurrection" (Acts 1:21-22).

We are baptizes so that we may fulfill the command of Jesus:  "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt. 28:19-20).  As we share in the life of Christ, we call others to share in Christ's life, his life of love. 

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-w-scott/7420840650