May 25--St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, Virgin

 

Ecstasy of St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi by Allesandro Rossi

Mystics are a special breed of saint. They receive amazing visions and ecstasies that most people cannot even imagine. Some famous mystics are St. Catherine of Siena, St. Teresa of Avila, and in the 20th century, St. Faustina Kowalska and St. Pio of Pietralcina. Today’s saint, St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, was blessed with ecstatic visions on a daily basis for numerous years. Her confessor required them to be transcribed and preserved as a safeguard against deception. For six years five volumes were transcribed. However, she not only experienced great love for God, but also great trials. One was five years long!

St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi was born to a noble and wealthy Florence family during the Italian Renaissance in 1566. She made her first communion at the early age of ten, vowed virginity that same year, and at the age of twelve experienced her first ecstasy. She was allowed to enter a Carmelite convent at seventeen. It was during her novitiate that she became critically ill and thus allowed to take religious vows, after which she went into ecstasy for about two hours and then the following 40 days after receiving communion. She died in 1607 at the age of 41 and canonized a saint in 1669.

“Intimate union, God’s gift to mystics, is a reminder to all of us of the eternal happiness of union he wishes to give us. The cause of mystical ecstasy in this life is the Holy Spirit, working through spiritual gifts.” We may not have the gift of ecstasy, but we can meet Jesus in every person as Jesus tells us: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Mt. 25:40). St. Mary Magdalene dé Pazzi, pray for us!

May 25--St. Bede the Venerable, Monk and Doctor of the Church

“History is more or less bunk,” according to Henry Ford. On the other hand, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,” said George Santayana. So, which is it? Do we need history, or can we skip it? St. Bede the Venerable would probably disagree with both statements. St. Bede was the author of the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, a book about how the Church was established in England. This work established his claim to the title, “The Father of English History”. 

St. Bede, who became known as the Venerable Bede for his holiness, was educated in a monastery in the north of England, in the 7th century. He became a monk and then a deacon and priest. He wrote volumes on theology, including commentaries on the Old and New Testaments, as well as educational works and poetry. He knew science, philosophy, astronomy, arithmetic, and more. He is patron of scholars. He died in 735 and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1899 by Pope Leo XIII.

History is more than just a remembrance of things past. For Christians, history is about remembering where we came from and why. We came from men and women who followed Jesus. During the Mass, we respond to the Mystery of Faith: “We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection, until you come again.” Or, “When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.” Or finally, “Save us, Savior of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection, you have set us free.” Each of these is an “anamnesis”, which means “remembering” of the mystery of our faith. History is a good thing. We remember that Jesus saved us and continues to save us each day because he loves us.

May 25--St. Gregory VII, Pope

What happens when a ruler wants to take over the Church?  Our saint today had that problem back in the  eleventh century.  Pope St. Gregory VII was pope at a time when the emperor was trying to control the Church through his investing of authority to bishops.  If Emperor Henry IV could "hire" the bishops, then he could control them and rule them, and the Church, the way he ruled the empire.  This corrupt use of power was called lay investiture, giving authority to leaders of  the Church by lay rulers.

Pope St. Gregory VII was a reforming pope.  Before he became pope he was an advisor to popes in their efforts to help the Church retain their religious rights and liberties against local rulers who wanted to make those bishops and abbots another part of the government.  Gregory excommunicated Henry at one point, but Henry repented and Gregory lifted the excommunication.  Whereupon, Henry consolidated his power, gathered his forces, arrested Gregory, and exiled him, where Gregory died.

The Church as the right to minister as she sees fit without restriction by the government.  She has the right to teach the faith.  She has the right to choose who may teach the faith and the right to require those teachers to be faithful to her teachings. She as the right to serve the poor without being required to follow the latest government dogmas on a new and unjust standard of equality.  She has the right to speak out against injustices perpetrated by the government.  Pope St. Gregory VII would recognize ours as a time of struggle between Church and State.  Pope St. Gregory VII, pray for us.