September 12—Servant of God Thomas Frederick Price: Priest and Missionary

 

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Until 1908, the United States Catholic Church was a missionary church, in other words, supervised by the Propagation of the Faith headquartered in the Vatican. Three years later, today’s saint-candidate, Fr. Price and three other men founded The Catholic Foreign Missionary Society of America, to spread the Good News to other people, notably in China. Today, Maryknoll consists of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Maryknoll Sisters, and the Maryknoll Lay Missioners. The Maryknoll Affiliates are men and women who do educational mission service and immersion experiences within the Maryknoll Movement. 

 Fr. Price was from North Carolina and met Fr. James Walsh of Boston in 1910, as both were trying to promote a missionary society. They presented their plans to the American bishops and traveled to Rome where Pope St. Pius X gave approval in 1911. The four Maryknoll priests then went to Hong Kong, China in 1918 and began their efforts in Yangjiang on the South China Coast. Fr. Price suffered from physical ailments and developed appendicitis in 1919, dying on the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary, September 12, 1919. His body was exhumed and transferred to the cemetery at Maryknoll, New York. 

 Fr. Price had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He visited Lourdes, France and learned about the apparitions to St. Bernadette. He even renamed the location of the headquarters of the CFMSA from Sunset Hill to Mary’s Knoll, giving rise to the name Maryknoll Missioners. Our Blessed Mother guides us to her son, Jesus. She intercedes for us and gives us her motherly love and protection. Our Lord, Jesus gave her to us through his beloved disciple at the cross on Calvary when he said, “Woman, behold, your son” and “Behold, your mother” (Jn. 19:26-27). Let us pray for Fr. Price’s canonization.

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September 12--Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

                                        

"What's in a name.  That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet...."  At least that is what Shakespeare wrote.  But is he correct?  Is Jesus just another name?  It means, "God saves."  What about Yahweh?  It means, "I am who I am."  These are not just any names.  They are the names of God.  Mary's name is also revered by Christians.  The feast of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been a part of the Roman calendar since 1684.  It was suppressed in the 1969 reform of the Roman calendar, but reestablished in 2002 by Pope St. John Paul II, who was extremely devoted to the Blessed Mother.

The name Mary comes from the Hebrew word "Miryam", meaning "bitter".  Moses' sister was also named Miriam.  She is called a prophet.  The Song of Miriam is a part of the victory song after passing through the Red Sea (Ex.  15:21).  The Aramaic form of the word was "Maryam", which was eventually transformed into Greek "Mariam" or "Maria".  The origin of Mary's name does not give any indication as to her importance.  Rather, her name is important because she is the Mother of God!

Names indicate who we are.  They express our identity.  We are known by our names.  They show our relationships to oner another.  So, Mary is our Mother, the Mother of the Church, the Mother of God.  We give her name honor above every other name, save for God's.  Shakespeare was a brilliant poet, but an even greater poet wrote:  "A good name is more desirable than great riches, and high esteem, than gold and riches."  He happened to be inspired to write that line by God in Proverbs 22:1.