August 5--St. Mary Major, Basilica

 

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore licensed under (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Catholic Church honors four church buildings in the liturgical calendar due to their roles as ancient churches in Rome: St. John Lateran, the mother church of the Catholic Church; St. Peter’s, which is above the burial site of St. Peter; St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, which is above the burial site of St. Paul; and St. Mary Major, to honor Mary as the Mother of God. These four churches were the original major basilicas of the Catholic Church. “Basilica” is a title given to a church by the pope to have special privileges due to its history or importance. The reason St. Mary Major has a feast is because it was built immediately after the Council of Ephesus in 431, which declared that Mary was not just the mother of Jesus, or the mother of the Messiah, but the Mother of God. It is the oldest church in the West dedicated to the honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

We can see that the understanding of Mary’s role in the Church goes back centuries, even to before the dedication of St. Mary Major. Mary’s role as Mother of God is foundational for God’s divine plan of salvation. We celebrate Mary, the Mother of God; the Annunciation, Mary’s fiat to being the Mother of God; the Immaculate Conception, God’s gift of freedom from Original Sin from the time of her existence; the Assumption of Mary body and soul into Heaven; the Most Holy Name of Mary; the Birth of Mary; the Queenship of Mary; Our Lady of Sorrows; Our Lady of the Rosary; Our Lady of Guadalupe; Our Lady of Lourdes; Our Lady of Fatima; and more! Why? Because she is the Mother of God! She is our Mother! She intercedes for us! She loves us! Thank God for Mary!

July 27–St. Titus Brandsma, Priest, Religious, and Martyr

Sculpture Titus Brandsma by Gerard Mathot, Pieter Bondamplein, Nijmegen, the Netherlands licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

We need martyrs! “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians” according to Tertullian and also to St. John Paul II. The twentieth century was filled with martyrs in Mexico, Spain, Nazi-occupied Europe, Communist-controlled countries, and anti-Catholic dictatorships and governments. This has spilled into the twenty-first century as well. “Martyrs are revered with particular devotion by the People of God who see in them a living portrayal of Christ's Passion.”

Today’s saint was a “witness” (the meaning of the word martyr) to Jesus’ Passion in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Born in 1881, St. Titus Brandsma grew up on a dairy farm and entered the Carmelite order in 1898. He was ordained a priest in 1905, received his doctorate, helped found the Catholic University of Nijmegen, and taught philosophy and history of mysticism there. He also became a journalist, which led to his arrest by the Nazis in 1942. He was hand-delivering a letter from the Dutch bishops to editors of Catholic newspaper editors to prohibit publishing official Nazi documents and was arrested and sent to Dachau where he was killed by an injection of carbolic acid. “In 1985, Pope St. John Paul II declared Titus Blessed, saying that he “‘answered hate with love.’"

We need martyrs to show that Jesus’ sacrifice of love is lived out in the lives and deaths of his faithful ones! We need martyrs to bolster the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ! We need martyrs to convert the hearts of those who oppose, harass, torture, persecute, arrest, unjustly convict, and unjustly imprison and kill! We need martyrs to proclaim the truths of faith, hope, and love in Christ Jesus! We need martyrs to be “a life-giving sap of unity for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.” St. Titus Brandsma, pray for us.

July 16--Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz, Holy Woman and Member of Opus Dei

 

https://catholicreadings.org/catholic-quotes/blessed-guadalupe-ortiz-de-landazuri-fernandez-de-heredia-saint-of-the-day-july-16/

Is there a conflict between science and religion? Many who believe science can answer every question (scientism) say yes and “that science alone can give us complete and reliable knowledge of reality.” Those who believe religion can give us truths say no because, as Pope St. John Paul II says: “Truth cannot contradict truth.” Truth can be found in both science and religion! Today’s saint is a witness to that truth!

Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz was both a scientist and a member of Opus Dei, a personal prelature composed of priests and laity who “spread the Christian message that every person is called to holiness and that every honest work can be sanctified.” She was born in Spain in 1916 and became a teacher in 1939. She met St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, who admitted her to the movement. She then moved to Mexico to share the message of Opus Dei and began her doctorate. She also helped found a school for girls and a mobile medical clinic for the poor. She then moved to Rome to help St. Josemaría and at the same time worked on a research project, for which she received an award, and completed her doctorate. She died in 1975 after years of heart problems and was declared Blessed in 2019.

Pope Francis wrote for her beatification: “With the joy that came from knowing she was a daughter of God, as she had learned from Saint Josemaría himself, Guadalupe Ortiz placed her many human and spiritual qualities at the service of others, helping in a particular way other women and families in need of education and development. She did all this not with a proselytizing attitude but simply through her prayer and witness.” Science and religion are both true as Bl. Guadalupe Ortiz demonstrated!