First Sunday after Pentecost--Trinity Sunday

Photo of Prayer Card of the Holy Trinity licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Pentecost signals the end of the Easter Season. But there are more solemnities that occur throughout Ordinary Time; the first of these is Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is the most fundamental dogma of the Church because it is about God. The Church in the fourth-seventh centuries dealt with the Arian Heresy, which stated that Jesus was not the same substance as the Father, in other words, Jesus was not God. This resulted in much tribulation in the Church. St. Jerome once wrote: “The whole world groaned, and was astonished to find itself Arian.” The Council of Nicea in A.D. 325 and the Council of Constantinople in A.D. 381 brought forth the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, which is recited at every Sunday Mass. This contained the key word, homoousios, which is translated into English as “consubstantial.” God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are three persons in one God, a “triunity.”

The great defender of orthodoxy, St. Athanasius of Alexandria, taught: “We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  In this Trinity there is no intrusion of any alien element or of anything outside, nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being. It is a wholly creative and energizing reality, self-consistent and undivided in its active power, for the Father makes all things through the Word and in the Holy Spirit, and in this way the unity of the holy Trinity is preserved.”

At every Mass we have the great doxology before the Great Amen: “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours almighty Father, forever and ever Amen.” We are united in our faith in God, who created us and saves us.

 

December 11-St. Damasus I, Pope

Alekjds, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

He was pope, but he was opposed by a faction who elected another man pope, an anti-pope, which resulted in factional violence.  He was accused of murder and adultery, but eventually cleared himself in both civil court and a Church synod.  These are not particularly auspicious events in the life of a pope!

St. Damasus I, pope from A.D. 366-384, lived in the time of the Church when it was no longer officially persecuted.  Emperor Constantine I signed the Edict of Milan in A.D. 315, which allowed freedom of religion, thus finally legalizing Christianity.  The Catholic Church then enjoyed the privileges of peace!  During his papacy, the Catholic Church was named the state religion of the Roman Empire by Emperor Theodosius I in 380.  So, it fell to St. Damasus to make sure that the Catholic Church did not fall into error, condemning numerous heresies, especially Arianism, which taught that Jesus was not God!  He also commissioned St. Jerome, his personal secretary, to write an updated translation of the Bible into Latin, called the Vulgate.  He also called the Council of Rome in 382 to codify the official canon of Sacred Scripture, which was identical to that declared as dogma at the Council of Trent in the 16th century.

St. Damasus was quite a busy man, with controversies, successes, and setbacks.  How does his life reflect on today's situation?  One, popes are not universally liked.  Two, popes are not always appreciated for what they do and sometimes opposed.  Three, popes are given to us by God to do the hard work of shepherding Jesus' flock, which can be quite difficult.  Four, popes deserve our respect and prayers regardless of their popularity or ability to persuade us of God's ways for us.  May God give us holy men to shepherd us.

June 22--St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop

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What is a friend? A companion; someone to be with and share time with. Aristotle said a friend is “a single soul in two bodies.” Holy friendship is beyond that. It is a companionship in Christ. Our saint today was a holy friend to many saints, Augustine, Ambrose, Martin of Tours, Jerome, and more.

St. Paulinus of Nola was a political man, becoming Governor of Campania in Italy in the fourth century at a young age, serving the people. However, he lost favor with the political authorities and learned the limits of earthly ambition. He went to learn from St. Ambrose and then went to his native land of Bordeaux and was baptized. He found a new friend in his wife Therasia of Barcelona, with whom he had a son. But after their son died a week after birth they saw that God had another path for them. They gave up all their possessions and moved back to Nola in Campania, where they lived as brother and sister in a community. He had been ordained in Barcelona and took up priestly duties in Nola, eventually being chosen as bishop.

He writes about holy friendship: “It is not surprising if, despite being far apart, we are present to each other and, without being acquainted, know each other, because we are members of one body, we have one head, we are steeped in one grace, we live on one loaf, we walk on one road and we dwell in the same house” (Ep. VI, 2). Jesus said to his disciples: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you” (Jn. 15:13-14). Paulinus invites us to remember what true friendship is, life in Jesus Christ!

*https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Linz_Dom_Fenster_09_img03.jpg

September 30--St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

There may be no saint more cantankerous and objectionable than St. Jerome! He had such a bad temper that whenever someone opposed him he would tear that person down with fire and brimstone. He even went after saints, such as St. Augustine, accusing him of using his position as bishop to get what he wanted, as opposed to accepting St. Jerome’s scholarly insights and skills. And that was St. Jerome’s strength and Achilles’ heel. He was a brilliant scholar! He translated the Bible from the original languages, which he studied, into Latin. It was the most comprehensive effort attempted up to that time. This version is called the Vulgate, and in the Council of Trent, a new and corrected edition was declared the authentic text to be used in the Church. St. Jerome was also the secretary to the pope at one time. He also became a monk and lived in a cave in Bethlehem, where he died.

How do we reconcile his temper with being a saint? Because he was also remorseful about any errors and sins he committed. He loved Jesus and gave his life to counseling others and living an ascetic life. He is worthy of the honor of sainthood and is the patron of librarians and scholars.

We all have vices tying in with one or more of the seven capital sins: Pride, Envy, Avarice, Sloth, Wrath, Lust, and Gluttony. How do we respond to these temptations when they beset us? Do we give in to them or do we turn to God and ask for his grace to overcome them; for it is the grace of God that saves us and preserves us from our sins and failings. Humility, kindness, patience, diligence, charity, temperance, and chastity are the virtues we need to pray for. St. Jerome, pray for us.