Vol 9 Issue 10 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier ~ March 5, 2016 ~ Lenten Feria

1. Baptism: Means of Salvation (58)
2. Fourth Sunday in Lent
3. Sts. Perpetua and Felicity
4. Christ in the Home (33)
5. Articles and notices

Dear Reader:

How far is the world going to go before it realizes it has no connection with Truth and Good? That the forces against Truth and Good are united throughout the world in the acceptance of pure evil? That all the gates of Hell (those plotting the destruction of the Church through the inspiration of Satan) believe they have prevailed as they toy with the Conciliar Church whose representative kowtows to whatever is agreeable to evil? They will not realize it because the world does not want to go to Calvary—it was willing to join Palm Sunday when the whole world was following him (cf. John 12:19), but not now when He is not found worthy of death yet when they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified; and their voices prevailed (cf. Luke 23:15, 23).

Catholics are living in sin if they are living in a marital relationship but are not married in the Church. If they have no impediments they are mocking God by refusing His Will and cannot obtain salvation in such a state. If there are impediments that deny them this possibility, they must realize that it is not God’s will and must separate if they wish to obtain salvation. Both cause grievous scandal to their children and to the weak of faith. As such, those in this condition cannot expect the Church to ignore their condition, knowing she must reprove, entreat and rebuke in all patience (cf. 2 Tim. 4:2). Not doing so would willingly send those in such a state to eternal reprobation. Of course, those who have been unfaithful to their vows by leaving their spouse and pretending to marry another are especially worthy not of compassion but of contempt for their Pharisaical life which unfortunately leads to spiritual blindness as these eventually call their present evil life good.

As always, enjoy the readings and commentaries provided for your benefit. —The Editor
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Baptism

Means of Salvation

Sacrament of Baptism

Saint Thomas Aquinas

After the first effect, the forgiveness of sin and the second, the removal of temporal punishment assigned to sin if one has expressed repentance, the next effect is what God bestows on man in baptism: Sanctifying Grace and the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. Baptism is instituted for the removal of sin, Original and actual. But the removal of sin is not the end, rather it is the means necessary for God to then bestow His grace on man, whom He has created to share His life. As opposed to Pelagians, who would claim that man obtains salvation by his own efforts and not as a grace from God or with His help, or those who would claim that human nature is left to its own (and why, as the Protestants would claim, it is impossible not to sin), Thomas instructs on whether grace and virtues are bestowed on man by Baptism that Paul does not see Baptism without the Gift of God: He saved us by the laver of regeneration and renovation of the Holy Ghost, Whom He hath poured forth upon us abundantly. (Titus 3:5-6) and he continues with the words of John 1:16: Of His fulness we all have received. Having spoken of being incorporated in Christ in the last article (S. Th. III, 69, 3), that it is fitting that what takes place in the Head should take place also in the member incorporated. Now, from the very beginning of His conception Christ was “full of grace and truth,” (cf. John 1:14), he adds to the first, the second effect here:As the baptismal water by its cleansing signifies the washing away of guilt, and by its refreshment the remission of punishment, so by its natural clearness it signifies the splendor of grace and virtues. (Art. 4) To those who would say the effect is not always apparent, he replies:

Difficulty in doing good and proneness to evil are in the baptized, not through their lacking the habits of the virtues, but through concupiscence which is not taken away in Baptism. But just as concupiscence is diminished by Baptism, so as not to enslave us, so also are both the aforesaid defects diminished, so that man be not overcome by them. (Ibid.)

The next article of this section by Saint Thomas tackles the question also of those who would see a contradiction in Faith and the Sacrament. If Faith is necessary, why Baptism? If Baptism is necessary, why Faith?  Thomas explains it in simplistic terms: Adults who already believe in Christ are incorporated in Him mentally. But afterwards, when they are baptized, they are incorporated in Him, corporally, as it were, i.e. by the visible sacrament; without the desire of which they could not have been incorporated in Him even mentally.(Art. 5) But this question of incorporation and the graces attached (enlightenment) with the resulting virtues (fruitfulness) are effects of Baptism are taken up by him in refers to Augustine, who says thatinfants require the same benefits of the Mediator, in order that, being washed by the sacrament and charity of the faithful, and thereby incorporated into the body of Christ, which is the Church, they may be reconciled to God, and so live in Him, and be saved, and delivered, and redeemed, and enlightened. (On Merit and the Forgiveness of Sins, 1, 26, 39). He further references Dionysius who speaks of enlightenment in the second section of his work, Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, obtained through Baptism:

Next, they throw garments, white as light, over the man initiated. For by his manly and Godlike insensibility to contrary passions, and by his persistent inclination towards the One, the unadorned is adorned, and the shapeless takes shape, being made brilliant by his luminous life. But the perfecting unction of the Muron (holy oils) makes the man initiated of good odour, for the holy perfecting of the Divine birth unites those who have been perfected to the supremely Divine Spirit. Now the overshadowing which makes intelligibly of a good savour, and perfect, as being most unutterable, I leave to the mental consciousness of those who are deemed worthy of the sacred and deifying participation of the Holy Spirit within their mind. (ii, 8)

He adds a comment on Psalm 22:2 (He hath brought me up on the water of refreshment), that the sinner’s soul, sterilized by drought, is made fruitful by Baptism. A quote he placed also in the Sentences (In IV Sententiarum Dis.4 Qu.1 Art.3), but seems to originate from Saint Augustine (Exposition on Psalms, XXII). The effect, then, of one cooperating with the Baptismal grace has God’s assistance to live a life for God, which is a virtuous or spiritual life:

By Baptism man is born again unto the spiritual life, which is proper to the faithful of Christ, as the Apostle says (Galatians 2:20): “And that I live now in the flesh; I live in the faith of the Son of God.” Now life is only in those members that are united to the head, from which they derive sense and movement. And therefore it follows of necessity that by Baptism man is incorporated in Christ, as one of His members. Again, just as the members derive sense and movement from the material head, so from their spiritual Head, i.e. Christ, do His members derive spiritual sense consisting in the knowledge of truth, and spiritual movement which results from the instinct of grace. Hence it is written (John 1:14-16): “We have seen Him . . . full of grace and truth; and of His fulness we all have received.” And it follows from this that the baptized are enlightened by Christ as to the knowledge of truth, and made fruitful by Him with the fruitfulness of good works by the infusion of grace. (S. Th., 69, 5.)

This grace already begins it work in children [One must not forget that the invisible workings of Grace cannot be denied or its supernatural character would be denied.] who also as children receive grace and virtue in Baptism. Saint Thomas instructs that one should not fall into error by equating grace with visible results:

Now the source of their error was that they did not recognize the distinction between habit and act. And so, seeing children to be incapable of acts of virtue, they thought that they had no virtues at all after Baptism. But this inability of children to act is not due to the absence of habits, but to an impediment on the part of the body: thus also when a man is asleep, though he may have the habits of virtue, yet is he hindered from virtuous acts through being asleep. (Art. 6)

And he refers to Augustine: 

Do you not know, he says, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death? If, then, the fact that we were baptized into the death of Christ proves that we are dead to sin, it follows that even infants who are baptized into Christ die to sin, being baptized into His death. For there is no exception made: So many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into His death. And this is said to prove that we are dead to sin. Now, to what sin do infants die in their regeneration but that sin which they bring with them at birth? And therefore to these also applies what follows: Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (Enchiridion lii)

In reading this passage of Augustine there is a complete rejection of Protestantism, be it the concept of sin, redemption or baptism, but here is considered the contesting of baptism of children—of Apostolic origin. The understanding the role faith plays has always been difficult to present and the denial of faith in children had and has been a common error. Here Thomas reminds that adults must cooperate with faith, i.e., accept it, whereas children are given faith through the Sacrament of baptism. Without the removal of the stain of original sin a child cannot enter heaven from which he is barred as a result of original sin. Protestants hold that it is not Original Sin that bars, but personal sin; and as children cannot commit personal sin they are not barred from heaven—thus solving for themselves the fate of children. [This has its effect on the Pro-Life movement today, for the Protestants consider that these aborted babies go to heaven and do not accept the tragedy that this is not true, but are deprived of being united with God. Unfortunately, too many Catholics have adopted their beliefs and also consider them “saved”.]

Again, Thomas turns to Augustine for an explanation of what is happening in the baptism of infants: Mother Church lends other feet to the little children that they may come; another heart that they may believe; another tongue that they may confess. (Serm. clxxvi) He then summarizes: So that children believe, not by their own act, but by the faith of the Church, which is applied to them: by the power of which faith, grace and virtues are bestowed on them. (Art. 6) In fact, Thomas sees the need to baptize infants so essential to assure their salvation that he once again invokes Augustine who, writing a fellow bishop, Boniface, encourages him to allow the baptism of infants—despite the bad faith of parents—if they bring them to be baptized:

Be not disturbed because some bring children to be baptized, not in the hope that they may be born again to eternal life by the spiritual grace, but because they think it to be a remedy whereby they may preserve or recover health. For they are not deprived of regeneration through not being brought for this intention. (Ep. xcviii, 5)

An interesting question is now put forward by Saint Thomas. It may be that he wants to remind his readers the purpose of Baptism is union with God, but union with God is not complete without the beatific vision, where the soul is able to see God as He is as far as possible for human nature, and this is possible only in heaven. Therefore, man is impelled to seek the means to obtain this union through Baptism. If baptism did not open the gates of the heavenly kingdom, what would be the use of baptizing infants? It would result in a mere removal of Original Sin which, being unconscious of its purpose, the infant would obtain no perceivable benefit. It also argues against those who would say that one could have God’s grace and still be deprived of heaven. Thomas accordingly asks, whether the effect of Baptism is to open the gates of the heavenly kingdom? Taking Venerable Bede’s commentary on Luke 3:21 (Heaven was opened) where he states: We see here the power of Baptism; from which when a man comes forth, the gates of the heavenly kingdom are opened unto him. (In Lucae, I, 3) And why?

To open the gates of the heavenly kingdom is to remove the obstacle that prevents one from entering therein. Now this obstacle is guilt and the debt of punishment. But it has been shown above (1,2) that all guilt and also all debt of punishment are taken away by Baptism. It follows, therefore, that the effect of Baptism is to open the gates of the heavenly kingdom. (Art. 7)

Taking this as the essential effect of Baptism, the remission of all sin, original and actual (cf. Rom. Cat., II, On the Sacrament of Baptism.) so the heavenly kingdom is opened, one can better understand the next question Saint Thomas proposes regarding the effects of Baptism:Whether Baptism has an equal effect in all? For, stating that the effect is the same, yet he then differentiates the accidental effects. He understands that there cannot be a difference in Baptism in a true sense without violating Ephesians 4:5: “One Faith, one Baptism.” His explanation:

The effect of Baptism is twofold, the essential effect, and the accidental. The essential effect of Baptism is that for which Baptism was instituted, namely, the begetting of men unto spiritual life. Therefore, since all children are equally disposed to Baptism, because they are baptized not in their own faith, but in that of the Church, they all receive an equal effect in Baptism. Whereas adults, who approach Baptism in their own faith, are not equally disposed to Baptism; for some approach thereto with greater, some with less, devotion. And therefore some receive a greater, some a smaller share of the grace of newness; just as from the same fire, he receives more heat who approaches nearest to it, although the fire, as far as it is concerned, sends forth its heat equally to all.

But the accidental effect of Baptism, is that to which Baptism is not ordained, but which the Divine power produces miraculously in Baptism: thus on Romans 6:6, “that we may serve sin no longer,” a gloss says: “this is not bestowed in Baptism, save by an ineffable miracle of the Creator, so that the law of sin, which is in our members, be absolutely destroyed.” And such like effects are not equally received by all the baptized, even if they approach with equal devotion: but they are bestowed according to the ordering of Divine providence. (Art. 9)

The dispositions, then, as also the sincerity of repentance does have an effect upon the sacramental graces bestowed along with the Sacrament and should motivate those preparing to receive the Sacrament to be properly disposed for this Sacrament. On the other hand, it may be asked whether insincerity hinders the effect of Baptism? Here Thomas is not speaking of intention, but repentance and preparation. The Sacrament is received, that is, Original Sin is removed, but the opening of the heavenly kingdom remains closed—for which this Sacrament was instituted, since baptismal grace (God’s Life) is not bestowed. Thomas expresses it in the words from the Book of Wisdom (1:5): The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful. If sanctification (justification) is from the Holy Ghost and one does not receive the Holy Ghost, then one is not justified. He continues to expound:

As Damascene says (De Fide Orth. ii), “God does not compel man to be righteous.” Consequently in order that a man be justified by Baptism, his will must needs embrace both Baptism and the baptismal effect. Now, a man is said to be insincere by reason of his will being in contradiction with either Baptism or its effect. For, according to Augustine (De Bapt. cont. Donat. vii), a man is said to be insincere, in four ways: first, because he does not believe, whereas Baptism is the sacrament of Faith; secondly, through scorning the sacrament itself; thirdly, through observing a rite which differs from that prescribed by the Church in conferring the sacrament; fourthly, through approaching the sacrament without devotion. Wherefore it is manifest that insincerity hinders the effect of Baptism.

. . . A man is said to be insincere who makes a show of willing what he wills not. Now whoever approaches Baptism, by that very fact makes a show of having right faith in Christ, of veneration for this sacrament, and of wishing to conform to the Church, and to renounce sin. Consequently, to whatever sin a man wishes to cleave, if he approach Baptism, he approaches insincerely, which is the same as to approach without devotion. But this must be understood of mortal sin, which is in opposition to grace: but not of venial sin. . . . (Art. 9)

If one is baptized, but does not receive justification and cannot be baptized again, how can he obtain justification? That is the essence of the next question, whether Baptism produces its effect when the insincerity ceases? Thomas turns to Augustine’s work, On Baptism Against the Donatists, in which Augustine is demonstrating that the Donatists, those who re-baptized persons they themselves did not baptize, were in error. Here are his words:

For, as in the case of him who had approached the sacrament in deceit there is no second baptism, but he is purged by faithful discipline and truthful confession, which he could not be without baptism, so that what was given before becomes then powerful to work his salvation, when the former deceit is done away by the truthful confession; so also in the case of the man who, while an enemy to the peace and love of Christ, received in any heresy or schism the baptism of Christ, which the schismatics in question had not lost from among them, though by his sacrilege his sins were not remitted, yet, when he corrects his error, and comes over to the communion and unity of the Church, he ought not to be again baptized: because by his very reconciliation to the peace of the Church he receives this benefit, that the sacrament now begins in unity to be of avail for the remission of his sins, which could not so avail him as received in schism. (I, 12, 18)

Thomas explains why:

Baptism is a spiritual regeneration. Now when a thing is generated, it receives together with the form, the form’s effect, unless there be an obstacle; and when this is removed, the form of the thing generated produces its effect: thus at the same time as a weighty body is generated, it has a downward movement, unless something prevent this; and when the obstacle is removed, it begins forthwith to move downwards. In like manner when a man is baptized, he receives the character, which is like a form; and he receives in consequence its proper effect, which is grace whereby all his sins are remitted. But this effect is sometimes hindered by insincerity. Wherefore, when this obstacle is removed by Penance, Baptism forthwith produces its effect.(S. Th. III, 69, 10)

It is easy, through pride, to believe one has control of God; but it is only through humility that one believes God has control. Both Augustine and Thomas Aquinas recognized the Sacraments, administered by man, have their source from Christ and are therefore not limited by the minister.

(To be continued)

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Week of Fourth Sunday in Lent

Benedict Baur, O.S.B. 

FRIDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

“I am the resurrection and the life”

1. Today in a festive spirit we assemble for Mass at the church of St. Eusebius. We are among the tombs where the ancient Romans used to bury their dead. In our midst is Christ, who is the Author of life, and who raises the dead to life. We offer Him our congratulations in the Introit of the Mass. “The meditation of my heart is always in Thy sight, O Lord, my helper and my Redeemer.” Thou hast raised me from the death of sin, and on the last day Thou wilt raise me again to eternal life. “The heavens show forth the glory of God, and the firmament declareth the work of Thy hands,” the miracles of the raising of the dead to life (Introit).
2. The raising of Lazarus to life was one of the most important miracles Christ performed during His lifetime. We are astonished at it. But St. Augustine teaches us: If we are astonished at Him who worked this miracle, still we should rather rejoice than be amazed. He who brought the dead man back to life is the same who created him, the Son of the Father. What miracle is that if one should be restored to life by Him through whom so many daily are called into life? If He wished, could He not in an instant raise all the dead? But He has reserved this event for the end of the world. The hour will come in which all shall hear His voice, as the dead Lazarus once heard it, and will come forth from their graves (John 5: 28). Through the miracle performed for Lazarus we should also be prepared for the great mystery of the general resurrection, so that we will rise to life and not to death.

Jesus is the one who raises the dead to life. What He does for Lazarus, He does for all of us spiritually in baptism and in the sacrament of penance. In Holy Communion He plants in our bodies the germ of a future resurrection so that the poor body may also live eternally and enjoy the happiness of heaven. “I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in Me, although he be dead, shall live” (John 11:25).

Jesus restores life to those who are spiritually dead. When Jesus saw the sister of Lazarus weeping, He was deeply moved and said, “Where have you laid him? They say to Him: Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. The Jews therefore said: Behold how He loved him” (Gospel). Why did the Lord weep, and why was He troubled? The liturgy shows us the meaning of this figure, through the mouth of St. Augustine: The dead man, who lay in the tomb already four days, is a figure of the sinner, whom the burden of sins weighs down. Thus he gives an indication how you, too, should be troubled when a grievous sin weighs you down. If you acknowledge your guilt, if you say: I have done this evil thing, and God has had mercy on me; I transgressed, and God has spared me; I am baptized, and yet have fallen again into sin; where should I begin? Where should I go? Where can I flee? If you confess contritely, then the Savior weeps with you in sympathy.

“Where have you laid him?” He knows all things. Why then, does He ask? He asks in order to teach us that, when we have sinned, we are strangers. Sin has so disfigured us that He no longer recognizes us. We are cast off as a rotting, decaying corpse. “Come and see.” He sees the misery of our sins and weeps over us. “Behold how He loved him.” Then Christ draws near to the sinner with the sacrament of baptism, or with the sacrament of penance, and commands with authority, “Come forth.” Break with death; leave behind all sin and corruption. “Come forth” to live the life of grace, the life of a child of God. Thus a resurrection from the dead occurs each time the sacrament of baptism or the sacrament of penance is administered.

3. Today we rejoice over the restoration of the dead; that is, over the precious graces of baptism and penance. It is a time of earnest petition for the catechumens and for the many unfortunate sinners who are dead in their sins. May they receive the grace to come forth from the darkness of sin, and henceforth to walk steadfastly in the light of faith. Our prayers and sacrifices can obtain this grace for them.

This is also a day for firm resolutions. “Let us also go that we may die with Him,” we resolve today with the apostle Thomas (Gospel). We shall have life if we die with Him. If we would achieve union with Christ, if we wish to devote ourselves entirely to the Father, then we must die to sin. The true Christian life and also the daily Mass demand that we die to sin. “So do you also reckon that you are dead to sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:11). Our program for Lent also demands that we die to sin.

PRAYER

O God, who dost renew the world with ineffable sacraments, grant, we beseech Thee, that Thy Church may profit by Thy eternal institutions and not be lacking in temporal assistance.

Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that being conscious of our own infirmity and confiding in Thy power, we may ever rejoice under Thy tender care. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SATURDAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF LENT

“Receive ye the light”

This is a day of holy exultation. The catechumens have assembled in the sanctuary of the holy bishop St. Nicholas. Here they are to undergo their examination before baptism. After this examination they hear the invitation: “All you that thirst, come to the waters [of baptism] . . . . Come and drink with joy” (Introit). What will they obtain in baptism, in Christianity, in the Church?

2. In the sacrament they will find the Lord, the shepherd of their soul. “Thus saith the Lord [the Messias, the Christ]: . . . In the day of salvation I have helped thee, and I have preserved thee and given thee to be a covenant of the people, that thou mightest raise up the earth, and possess the inheritances that were destroyed” (Epistle). The Father has delivered humanity, particularly the heathen world, to us and to His incarnate Son, not only that He may judge the world, but that He may also save it (John 3:16). The Savior thus sent by God calls all men to salvation. “Say to them that are bound: Come forth; and to them that are in darkness: Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be every plain. They shall not hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor the sun strike them; for He shall give them drink . . . . Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea, and these from the south country . . . . Because the Lord hath comforted His people and will have mercy on His poor ones” (Epistle). He has comforted us and has had mercy on us through the grace we received in baptism and which is now revived during Lent. May we make the proper use of these graces! Have we not good reason for rejoicing?

“I am the light of the world; he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (Gospel). How wretched those who have not received the grace of baptism. Unfortunate, too, are those who having received baptism, relapse into sin and separate themselves from Christ, the light. Like the Jews of today’s Gospel, they walk in the darkness of night, having turned away from the light. More and more each day the light was withdrawn from them. In a few days they will demand in their blindness the condemnation of their Savior from a heathen judge. They will reject the very one for whom their forefathers longed so eagerly, and whom their prophets had predicted so confidently. He in whom all their religious observance had been centered in the temple will be publicly ridiculed in the presence of a heathen judge.

When Pilate asks them whether he should release Jesus or Barabbas they will scream, “Away with him; and give us Barabbas.” When he asks them what is to be done with the “king of the Jews” they will cry out, “crucify him, his blood be upon us and upon our children.” “That which Israel sought [salvation] he hath not obtained; but the election hath obtained it; and the rest have been blinded, as it is written: God hath given them the spirit of insensibility; eyes that they should not see; ears that they should not hear until this present day” (Rom. 11:7).

Could anything be more tragic than for a nation or an individual to be overtaken by spiritual blindness? How many there are today who are spiritually blind! How thankful we should be that we have learned to know Christ. How zealous we should be in leading others to Him by walking in His light ourselves. We indeed are responsible for our neighbor.

3. “I am the light of the world.” Israel rejected this light. It was given to us who have been selected from among the Gentiles. Through holy baptism and through the Church, God “delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the remission of sins; Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature” (Col. 1:13 ff.), We have been incorporated into Him, and we live by Him. “I am the light of the world.”

Do we truly walk in the light? Merely being baptized is not enough. We must live according to our baptism. An unmistakable sign of whether we are walking in the light is our earnest practice of fraternal charity. “He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is no scandal in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness because the darkness hath blinded his eyes” (I John 2:9 ff.).

PRAYER

Vouchsafe, O Lord, by Thy grace to make fruitful the fervor of our devotion; for the fasts we have undertaken shall profit us only if they be pleasing to Thy goodness.

O God, who dost choose rather to have pity on them that hope in Thee than to be angry, grant that we may duly lament the evils we have done, that we may deserve to find the favor of Thy consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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MARCH 6

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs

203. Perpetua, of noble parentage, and Felicity, a slave girl, were condemned to death at Carthage, on March 7, in the year 202 or 203. These women had received baptism just before being led forth to death. Felicity had given birth to a daughter in prison. The graves of these Martyrs, as well as the ruins of the basilica built to honor them, have recently been discovered.
204. “Sinners went about to destroy me; Lord, I waited on thy will” (Introit). When Perpetua and Felicity were in prison, the former’s father visited her in order to induce her to deny her Faith. She put this question to him: “May a thing be called by a name that means something else?” When he answered negatively, she continued: “Then, neither may I call myself anything but what I am – a Christian.” Thereupon, her father struck her and left, not to return for several days. “In this interval,” Perpetua says, “we received baptism. The spirit inspired me to ask for nothing from the sacrament except strength for my body.” When her father visited her again, he threw himself, weeping, at her feet; she tried to console him by saying: “In the courtroom, the verdict will, without doubt, be according to God’s will.” She was taken before the judge, who commanded, “Make sacrifice for the welfare of the emperors.” “I will not do so.” “Are you a Christian?” “Yes, I am a Christian.” Then, Perpetua and her companion were condemned to be thrown to the wild beasts: “And we went joyfully back to prison.”

From the prison they later strode to the amphitheater with serene and happy faces, as if they were on their way to heaven. Perpetua walked into the arena slowly, like a bride of Christ, like one in whom God was well pleased. When she fearlessly looked at the spectators, all eyes were lowered. Likewise, Felicity gave evidence of joy and courage in her sacrifice. Having been scourged, they were exposed to the attacks of a wild cow and were gravely wounded. The execution was completed by stabbing. The author of the “Acts of Sts. Perpetua and Felicity,” from which the above details were taken, exclaims: “O heroic, O holy Martyrs! You were truly called, truly chosen for the glory of our Lord, Jesus Christ.” “Sinners went about to destroy me; Lord, I waited on thy will. Look where I may, all good things must end, only thy law is wide beyond measure” (Introit).

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field . . . like a trader . . . looking for rare pearls” (cf. Gospel). Perpetua and Felicity discovered a treasure, a rare pearl, in their faith in Christ and in His Word. This faith made the one strong enough to withstand firmly all the pleadings and threats of her father, when he tried to persuade her to give up Christ; it made the other strong enough to choose the love of Christ at the cost of her motherly love for her infant. “Vexed by the causeless malice of princes, my heart still dreads thy warning: victors rejoice not more over rich spoils than I in thy promise” (Communion). This is virile, living Christianity. May we, like these saints, rightly evaluate this treasure, this precious pearl, in order to gain Christ by our Christian faith! How deplorable is the weakness of many Catholics!

3. “There is Another in me who suffers for me because I also suffer for Him,” That was Felicity’s answer when a pagan taunted her: “How will you bear the pains of martyrdom, who now utter groans while giving birth to your child?” “Now it is I who suffer these pangs; in the arena, Another suffers in me.” She was conscious of her oneness with Christ, for it is Christ who suffers in the Christian, and He gives the strength for suffering. He, our head, continues His Passion in us, His members. He comes into our hearts every day during the celebration of Holy Mass in order to instill into us, through the Bread we eat, His own sacrificial spirit. “If thou didst but understand the Giftt that God gives thee!” (cf. John 4:10.)

Perpetua and Felicity, like the apostles, accepted their sentence joyfully, “rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer indignity for the sake of Jesus’ name” (Acts 5:41). This is true greatness!

Collect: Grant us, we pray Thee, Lord our God, never to fail in reverence for the triumphs of Thy holy martyrs Perpetua and Felicity, and let not our unworthiness prevent us from offering them a tribute of humble respect.  Amen.

CHRIST IN THE HOME

BY RAOUL PLUS, S.J.
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