Vol 15 Issue 15 ~ Editor: Rev. Fr. Courtney Edward Krier
April 9, 2022 ~ Saturday in Passion Week, opn!
1. Sacrament of Penance
2. Palm Sunday
3. Saint Bademus; The Martyrs under the Danes
4. Family and Marriage
5. Articles and notices
Dear Reader:
The same night in which he was betrayed, [Jesus Christ] took bread; and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. (1 Cor. 11:23-25) These words may be read in Matthew, Mark and Luke. Saint John sufficiently speaks of the Love of God that it may not be needed more than to state his oft quoted words: For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting. (John 3:16) One may miss, though it is often expressed by the Saints in speaking of the Blessed Sacrament, God’s love for us. The difficulty with the concept of love is that humans make it sensual, something that releases hormones, brings pleasure and satisfaction and is dependent on feelings—sentient or perceptible to the body. Taking this as one’s understanding, it becomes a disregard for God’s love for us—because, how can He know what love is (experience it) if God does not have a body? Because love, essentially, has nothing to do corporally, for it is a complete giving of one’s self to the other in the knowledge that the other has also given one’s self in reciprocation. This is the divine life within the Holy Trinity, the nature of God, and therefore God experiences true love because He is Love. Saint Paul expresses this love in this passage to the Ephesians:
For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by his Spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: to know also the charity of Christ, which surpasseth all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fulness of God. Now to him who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us; to him be glory in the church, and in Christ Jesus unto all generations, world without end. Amen. (Eph. 3: 14-21)
And this love that God has is unfathomable as Saint Paul reminds the Romans: O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? (Rom. 11:33-34) But, if one admits that God’s love for humanity is such, then it is reasonable to believe God will do whatever is possible to give Himself to those who reciprocate love. One cannot place any motive in the mind of God other than He chose to love.
I will continue on this theme next week as we reflect on the Blessed Sacrament this month.
As always, enjoy the readings provided for your benefit.—The Editor
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WHAT IS THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE
SECTION 2
The Church’s Forgiveness of Sins as a Sacrament
§ 8. The Sacramental Nature of the Church’s Forgiveness of Sins
1. Reality of the Sacrament
The forgiveness of sins which takes place in the Tribunal of Penance is a true and proper Sacrament, which is distinct from the Sacrament of Baptism. (De fide.)
The Council of Trent defined against the Reformers: Si quis dixerit, in catholica Ecclesia poenitentiam non esse vere et proprie sacramentum. A.S. D 911; cf. 912.
In the act of the Church’s forgiveness of sins the three elements requisite for a Sacrament are present: a) An outward sensible sign of grace; b) An inward invisible operation of grace; c) Institution by Christ.
2. The Physical Essence of the Sacrament
Since the Council of Trent, the ordinary doctrine of the Church accepts the Thomistic teaching that the physical essence of the Sacrament of Penance consists on the one hand in the acts of the penitent (sorrow, confession of sins, atonement, or desire for atonement), which form the quasi-matter (D 699, 896, 914) and on the other hand in the absolution of the priest, which is the form. The acts of the penitent are related to the absolution as matter is to form, and together they compose the sacramental sign which confers grace.
As against this the Scotists teach that the physical essence of the Sacrament of Penance lies in the absolution of the priest alone, and that the acts of the penitent are merely necessary pre-conditions of the worthy reception.
a) The following are the arguments in favour of the Thomistic view:
α) According to the teaching of the Council of Trent (D 896), the power of the Sacrament of Penance lies “pre-eminently” (praecipue) in the absolution, consequently not exclusively. But as the power of a Sacrament can only lie in that which appertains to the essence of the Sacrament, the three acts of the penitent, which are characterised as quasi materia sacramenti and as partes
poenitentiae, together with the absolution, which is designated form, constitute the essence of the Sacrament.
β) The analogy with the other Sacraments (with the exception of Matrimony) makes it likely that the sacramental sign of the Sacrament of Penance is composed of two constituent parts which are really distinct from each other. The acts of the penitent are correctly considered as the matter, because they are subjected to the absolution and are informed as it were by this. On account of the lack of a material substance one speaks of a quasi-matter (cf. Cat. Rom. II 5, 13). /425/
γ) As the forgiveness of sins is exercised in a juridical process, the essential constituent parts of the juridical process must also be essential parts of the Sacrament. But a juridical process involves not only a juridical sentence, but also the ascertaining and defining of the facts of the case. In the tribunal of penance this occurs through the self-accusation of the sinner. As the tribunal of penance aims at the forgiveness of sins, the confession of guilt must be accompanied by the disposition of sorrow and of the desire for atonement.
3) St. Thomas regards the acts of the penitent as the matter of the Sacrament of Penance appertaining to the essence of the Sacrament. Cf. S. th. III 84, 2.
b) The Scotists make the point that the Council of Trent designates the acts of the Penitent as quasi materia, by which they understand matter not properly so-called. In this view the Council merely says that they are necessary for the completeness of the Sacrament (ad integritatem sacramenti), but not that they pertain to the essence of the Sacrament. They understand the expression partes poenitentiae in the sense of integrating parts. In addition, the Scotists submit the following reasons for their view: The acts of the penitent are not appropriate signs of the
sacramental operation of grace, and for this reason not its cause; the priest, as the sole dispenser of the Sacrament, must determine and make the whole sacramental sign; the practice of the Church of giving the Sacrament to unconsciousness persons, presupposes that the sacramental sign of Penance consists exclusively in the activity of the priest.
(To be continued)
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The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers
M. F. Toal
THE GOSPEL OF THE SUNDAY
MATTHEW xxi. 1-9
At that time when they drew nigh to Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto Mount Olivet, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them: Go ye into the village that is over against you, and immediately you shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them and bring them to me. And if any man shall say anything to you, say ye, that the Lord hath need of them: and forthwith he shall let them go.
Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: Tell ye the daughter of Sion: Behold thy king cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of her that is used to the yoke. And the disciples going, did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their garments upon them, and made him sit thereon.
And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way: and others cut boughs from the trees, and strewed them in the way: and the multitudes that went before and that followed, cried, saying: Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
ORIGEN, PRIEST AND CONFESSOR
Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem
He came to Jerusalem and to Sion, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and upon a young colt, as we have already declared to you; visiting Israel, destroying the chariots of Ephraim, which are likened to the chariots of Pharaoh, when He overthrew tlie chariots of Pharaoh, and all his host into the sea (Ex. xv. 5; Ps. cxxxv. 15). Again He came, destroying the beast of war, the horse out of Jerusalem, that He might prepare peace for Israel, restoring the sheep which were lost; and, that He might obtain peace for Jerusalem, to bring back her children who had been driven forth. And how could this not be an event worthy of great rejoicing, that the King, the meek, the just and Saviour, was thus to come to Jerusalem? When every bow of war was to be broken, so that no more should the wicked bend their bows, and have prepared their arrows in the quiver: to shoot in the dark the upright of heart (Ps. x. 3). Then shall there be peace and great numbers among those that believe and win salvation from among the Gentiles, the Saviour ruling from sea to sea, and from the rivers even unto the end of the earth.
Should anyone wish to interpret Sion and the Daughter of Jerusalem as meaning simply the people to whom the Saviour came, he can say that the Word bids the Daughter of Sion rejoice, and the Daughter of Jerusalem to proclaim. And if some do not comply with the command of His wishes, not doing the things that are worthy of joy, not accepting the command to proclaim Him, they have themselves given cause why they should suffer what they have suffered; so that it may truly be said of them: To you the Gospel ought to be announced: but since you judge yourselves unworthy, behold we turn to the Gentiles (Acts xiii. 46).
It should be known also that the five editions of Zachary we have seen, together with the Septuagint
and Aquila, have: He is meek, and riding upon an ass (beast of burthen), and a young colt; or, upon an ass (asinam), and an ass colt. In Theodosius however we find: He is obedient and riding upon an ass (asinam), and a colt the son of an ass. In Symmachus: He is poor, and riding upon an ass (asinam), and a colt the son of the ass. In the fifth edition: He is poor riding upon a yoked ass (subjugalem), and a colt the son of asses. Someone may be able to adapt these variations to the narrative by a study of this portion of the Gospel; since gentle, and obedient, and poor the Saviour was as He entered Jerusalem. For while being rich yet was He poor, so that those who listen to Him, Who hears us, may through His poverty become rich (cf II Cor. viii. 9).
We note that Matthew speaks of Bethphage, Mark of Bethania, and Luke of Bethphage and Bethania, These events took place upon a mount which is called Olivet. Bethphage, which means the House of Jawbones, was a villa belonging to the priests. Bethania means House of Obedience. They are brought to the House of Obedience who were loosed from their bonds, that there Jesus might sit upon them, and to the House of Jawbones; which name is taken from the Book of Judges, in which the Spring of the Jawbone is mentioned (Judges xv. 19) in which Samson quenched his thirst, or perhaps it represents the mystery of patience in which our Lord enjoins on us that if a man strike thee on thy right cheek you should then tum to him the other (Mt. v. 39). Bethphage then is, we may say, a symbol of their patience who attain to salvation; hence Jesus seated himself upon those whom the Disciples, at His command, had delivered from bonds. The mount is the Mount of Olives, the Church, where those within it, because they are fertile and fruit-bearing, declare: But I, as a fruitful olive tree in the House of God, have hoped in the mercy of God. And they who have been taught the beginnings of the Faith are, as olive plants, around about thy table, as His sons and children (Ps. cxxvii. 3).
If we turn to the consideration of the Two Disciples whom Jesus sent to bring the ass that was tied, and the colt with her, so that untied they might bring them to Him, may we not say that these stand for the two Disciples Peter and Paul, who gave to each other the right hand of fellowship (Gal. ii. 9), that Peter should go unto the Circumcision: to those bound to the yoke of the Law: and Paul to the colt that was unbroken: the Gentiles. Before Jesus came both the ass and the colt were in the village where they were tied: not in the City. And the Disciples loosed both and brought them to Jesus. Again, if you regard the two Disciples allegorically you will then say that one of them is of the order of those who minister to the Circumcision, the other to the Gentiles, and between them (those bidden by Jesus to loose who were to be loosed) is a fellowship of work and mind. So to anyone saying to them as they loosed, Why loose you the colt, or anything, they reply: we declare to you that the Lord has need of those who till now were in bonds. He has need of them that He may be seated upon them who are loosed from their sins, and have obtained forgiveness. For upon those who are still tied, and fast bound with the ropes of their sins (Prov. v. 22), upon these Jesus does not sit.
Now according to Mark and Luke we read: You shall find a colt tied, upon which no man yet hath sat. For nothing based on reason, or conformable to man’s nature, had penetrated and taken firm hold of the colt of the Gentiles. And happy was he upon whom till now nothing based on reason had been established that God should come to rest upon him: the Word, the Son of God, so that guided by His Hand upon the reins he might reach to the Jerusalem of God. Let us dwell upon these things here put before us. And let he who is endowed with more understanding, and who receives more grace, bring to light more and better considerations upon it, and such as are more adapted to the ears of those who thirst for the clear truth of the Gospel.
And the Disciples going did as Jesus commanded them. And they brought the ass and the colt, and laid their garments upon them etc. Mark however relates the event in these words: And going their way they found the colt tied before the gate without, in the meeting of the two ways: and they loose them, and then he continues on till the words: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David that cometh: peace (Vulgate, Hosanna) in the highest. Luke however has: And they that were sent, went their way, and found the colt standing, as he had said unto them, and the rest which follows until the words: If these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out (V. 40).
After what we have already said regarding the Two Disciples who were sent to loose the ass, and the colt that was with it, and after what we have added on this passage, we shall here expound that which is now before us, where it is related that His two Disciples going and doing as the Saviour had told them bring to Him the ass and the colt. And these they did not leave uncovered, but clothed and adorned them with the garments which were their own covering, so that the Word of God alone might be placed and take His rest upon the ass and the colt, now adorned with the clothing of those who taught them truth, guiding as with a rein the animals which were now freed of their bonds, and bearing Him.
And Jesus sat upon the garments of those who by their preaching instructed both the ass and the colt (the Circumcision and the Gentiles), and since it was fitting that every one should offer some thing to the meek King Who came riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, a very great multitude entered with Jesus into Jerusalem, who also manifested the fruit of their acceptance of the Saviour, when they spread their garments and every adornment they possessed before the ass and the colt on which He sat.
Along the way the ass and the colt followed to Jerusalem the great multitude placed their garments, so that the ass and the colt might go up to Jerusalem through places that were free of earth and earthly things, and unstained by its dust. And besides the two Disciples, and the great multitude, who spread their garments in the way, a third group is mentioned. Others adorned the way along which Jesus ascended to Jerusalem mounted upon these animals. This adorning was made with branches cut from trees, and spread on the ground on either side of the garments. Unless this is in fact a fourth group. For one was the group of Disciples who freed the animals. Another was the ass and the colt. A third was the very great crowd. And the fourth then was composed of those who cut boughs from the trees, and strewed them in the way. Besides these you may see here a fifth and a sixth group, from those that went before Jesus, and those that followed after.
But they who went before Him you may say are drawn from the saints and prophets who lived before His Coming; they who follow, from the Apostles and from the Just who joined Him after the Coming of the Word. And they who went before Him, and they who followed, proclaimed the same thing, for all together in one united voice they cry, proclaiming the humanity of the Saviour: Hosanna to the son of David; and His Second Coming in this canticle: Blessed is lie that cometh in the name of the Lord; and His complete restoration to the House of God in the greeting: Hosanna in the highest. Amen.
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APRIL 10: ST BADEMUS, ABBOT (A.D. 376)
ONE of the victims of the persecution under King Sapor II of Persia was a holy abbot whose name is latinized as Bademus. He was a citizen of Bethlapat, who had founded near the city a monastery over which he ruled with great repute for sanctity. He was apprehended with seven of his monks, condemned to be beaten daily, loaded with chains, and imprisoned in a dungeon. About the same time a Christian at the Persian court, Nersan, was also apprehended because he refused to worship the sun. At first he showed constancy, but at the sight of torture his resolution failed and he promised to conform. To test his sincerity Sapor suggested that he should kill Bademus, promising that he should be restored to favour and to his former possessions if he would comply. Nersan consented; a sword was placed in his hand and the abbot was brought into his cell. As Nersan advanced to plunge the weapon into his victim’s body, terror seized upon him and he stood for a time motionless, unable to raise his arm. Bademus remained calm, and fixing his eyes upon his would-be assailant he said, “Nersan! To what depths of wickedness you must have sunk when you can not only deny God but can also kill His servants. Willingly do I give myself to be a martyr for Christ, but I could have wished that it might have been by some other hand than yours!” Nersan, however, hardened his heart and made a thrust at the saint, but his arm was so unsteady that he struck several times before he inflicted a mortal wound.
THE MARTYRS UNDER THE DANES (c. A.D. 870)
IN one of their numerous descents upon Anglo-Saxon England, the Danes made their way up the Thames as far as the abbey of Chertsey, where they massacred Beocca the abbot, a priest called Hethor, and a number of monks. There are said to have been as many as ninety victims. They are reckoned as martyrs because the Danes showed special ferocity towards those whom they regarded as the representatives of Christianity. At about the same period similar massacres occurred in different parts of England. At Medeshamstede, the site of the modern Peterlorough, Abbot Hedda was slain with all his community, to the number of eighty-four. There were also raids made into the fen country, and at Bardney, Ely and probably at Croyland all the religious were exterminated. In the abbey church of Thomey in Cambridgeshire were venerated the relics of three anchorets of whom tradition declared that they had suffered martyrdom in the same year, 870, at the hands of the Danes. The very lack of details in our chronicles is probably due to the desolation almost everywhere created among those who alone could make any pretence to scholarship.
(Butler’s Lives of the Saints)
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CANA IS FOREVER
COUNSELS FOR BEFORE AND AFTER MARRIAGE
By Charles Hugo Doyle (1949)
Chapter Four: PROXIMATE PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE
Here are a few important “don’ts” for first dates:
Don’t try to be the life of the party.
Don’t forget to introduce the new dates to your parents.
Don’t overdress.
Don’t talk too much—be a good listener.
Don’t drink.
Don’t forget to serve a nice lunch prepared by your own hands.
Don’t neglect to learn to dance well. Your date has a right to expect this.
Don’t “neck or pet.” This shows lack of control and selfishness.
Don’t park. Keep out of dark streets and country lanes and don’t allow yourself to be led into temptation. Any time you can’t answer “yes” to the question: “Would Christ or His Blessed Mother stay in this room or car?” it’s time to move.
Don’t be openly affectionate in public.
Don’t write gushing, sloppy letters.
Don’t waste your time on a person who is:
domineering
bad-tempered
boastful
jealous: (Holy Scripture says: “A jealous man or woman is the grief and mourning of the heart.”)
overaggressive
lacking in consideration.
Remember marriage is not a reform school! A young woman must make a careful study of the person she intends to marry. It is important that she look for signs of selfishness, such as the honking of a car horn to summon her from the house. She must beware of the sulky young man, the fellow who boasts of his female conquests, the one who grabs the best chair in the house to rest his love-torn frame in, and the fellow who always wants things his way—all of these denote selfishness.
A young man ought to study the way in which his girl friend gets along with her parents and the others of her household. Beware of the street angel and house devil. Is she cheerful? Has she good judgment? Is she economical? Can she cook? Is she possessive?
Hearken to the words of Holy Scripture: “A virtuous woman rejoices her husband, and he shall fulfill the years of his life in peace.”
Someone has said that personality is like an iceberg—two-thirds of it is hidden. Now this is not quite true. If you are observant you can determine quite definitely the hidden characteristics of others by noting their common traits. For instance, a person who bites his fingernails is usually an introvert and is self-centered. The chain smoker is usually a deeply nervous person. The cigar-chewer is an aggressive person. The person who spends long periods gazing into the mirror is usually affected with infantilism. And the bushes are full of border-line screw-balls. Albert Deutsch asserts that there are 450,000 New Yorkers alone who need psychiatric treatment. By their fruits you should know them.
Here are a few characters you ought to give a wide berth:
They are usually psycho.
The hard-boiled variety. These are invariably insensitive, heartless, ruthless, and cruel.
The grouchy variety. These growl at everything and everybody.
The suspicious variety. These think everyone is against them. They feel people talk about them.
The moody variety. One day on top of the world—the next down in the depths. These pout for days.
The neurotic variety. These frequently display hysteria. They complain of physical ailments on little or no medical basis. They love to talk about their ills.
The perverse personalities. These are always getting into trouble—at home, in the office, the plant, or in school.
Girls should beware of the following types of suitors:
Sugar daddy
Philandering
Paternal
Domineering
Possessive
Men ought to avoid the following types of girls:
Baby doll
Over-romantic
Masculine
Frigid
Domineering
Matriarchal
Possessive
Gold-digger
In choosing a mate for marriage remember that the happiest unions are those wherein both parties are socially and intellectually equal; both have the same high ideals; both are in good physical health; both are of the same faith; both have the approval of their parents; and both have a good attitude toward sex.
Here is an example of how tragic the absence of even one of these essentials for marriage can be.
A year or so ago I was fishing from a dock at a nearby yacht club when an elderly gentleman joined me. As we fished, a boat headed in for the dock and my companion said: “Father, there’s a queer duck. He was once married to a school teacher, although he himself had only a grammar school education. The marriage ended in divorce because he could not stand his wife eternally correcting his English. That woman in the boat is his second wife. She is Spanish and can hardly speak English at all.”
That conversation supplied concrete proof of the fact that social and intellectual inequality can wreck marriage.
The Holy Ghost very wisely warns that there are three things that disturb the earth: (1) a slave when he reigneth; (2) a fool when he is filled with meat, and (3) an odious woman when she is married.
Persevering prayer for guidance
So important is the matter of the choice of a mate that prayer for guidance and enlightenment is most essential. An old Russian proverb runs like this:
Before embarking on a journey, pray once;
Before leaving for war, pray twice;
Before you marry, pray three times.
And His Holiness Pope Pius XI, in his Encyclical letter “On Marriage,” warns suitors in these words:
“To the proximate preparation of a good married life belongs very specially the care in choosing a partner; on that depends a great deal whether the forthcoming marriage will be happy or not, since one may be to the other either a great help in leading a Christian life, or on the other hand, a great danger and hindrance. And, so that they will not deplore for the rest of their lives the sorrows arising from an indiscreet marriage, those about to enter into wedlock should carefully deliberate in choosing the person with whom henceforward they must live continually. They should in so deliberating keep before their minds the thought first of God and of the true religion of Christ, then of themselves, of their partner, of the children to come, as also of home and civil society, for which wedlock is as a fountain head. Let them diligently pray for Divine help, so that they will make their choice in accordance with Christian prudence, not indeed led by the blind and unchecked impulse of lust, nor by any desire of riches or other base influence, but by a true and noble love and by a sincere affection towards the future partner; and then let them strive in their married life toward those ends for which this state was constituted by God.”
(To be continued.)
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Father Krier will be in Eureka, Nevada, on April 21.
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