Ethnic Catechists Bravely spread the Faith In Vietnamese Villages

Paul A Long has visitors at his home every day, quietly teaching them prayers and catechism.

"My visitors are those who want to embrace Catholicism, which is banned by the government," said Long, a yao phu or catechist, adding that he also opened his doors to atheists.

"Many villagers really want to embrace Catholicism, so they secretly ask me to teach them catechism," said the Sedang ethnic and father of seven. Now many of those families are Catholics too.

Long and his entire family, who are from Kon Plong district of Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands, were also secretly baptized by priests from other areas in 2015.

The 63-year-old catechist said village officials have banned local Catholics like him from evangelizing other villagers but that he had told them: "They themselves come to us and ask us to teach them the religion. I help them at their request."

Long said that although Catholics have to travel far to attend weekend Masses at churches away from their villages, the religion has brought happiness into their lives, as well as teaching them useful things.

"We try to set examples of how to lead good lives so new followers are loyal to their faith," said Long, who farms crops for a living.

Secretly embracing religion:

Paul A Dang, an ethnic Gie from Dak Glei district in the same province, said local authorities had tried to prevent yao phu from talking about Catholicism to villagers interested in taking up the religion.

"We quietly visit patients and give help to poor people as a way to approach them," he said.
Dang, 50, said his group helped build a new house for an elderly couple and now they wanted to follow Catholicism.

Another Sedang ethnic catechist, Joseph A Lim, said he and other catechists from his village were also banned from publicly preaching Catholic values to other villagers.

Lim, 31, said he converted to Catholicism in 2012 after being sent to learn vocational skills in Ho Chi Minh City by a local priest. He attended training courses in Kon Tum city and became a yao phu in 2013, albeit discreetly since priests and sisters were banned from evangelizing at his village.

"Villagers secretly embrace the religion and learn catechism from other Catholics, including me," said the father of two.

"We want to follow the shining examples of Saint Etienne-Théodore Cuenot to spread the Good News to our people in the Central Highlands."

Lim, Dang and Long were among 2,500 yao phu and ko khul (heads of Catholic ethnic communities) who attended the feast of St. Etienne-Théodore, their patron, at Kon Tum Cathedral on Nov. 14 when a special Mass was concelebrated by Bishop Aloisius Nguyen Hung Vi and many other priests.

St. Etienne-Théodore was a French bishop who sent the first missionaries to work with ethnic minority groups in the Central Highlands. He died in jail in Binh Dinh province on Nov. 15, 1861, and was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

Foreign missionaries established the Yao Phu School of Cuenot in 1908 in Kon Tum province to train ethnic youths. Hundreds of yao phu were trained at the school before it was confiscated by the government in 1975. Many of the students went on to become priests.

Bol Yao Phu — or the Yao Phu Association — was founded in 1915 to teach catechisim to ethnic groups in the diocese.

Yao phu took important roles in maintaining religious life in the villages during the three decades when local Catholics had no priests or churches.

Bishop Vi said yao phu and their families are sent to teach catechism to villagers and bring them back to the local church, which needs priests.

He said the diocese's 180 priests cannot fully serve 50,000 Catholics, including 250,000 people from the various ethnic groups. Each priest has to offer pastoral care to several parishes, each one covering many villages. Many villages have only a few Masses each year.

The bishop encourages yao phu to find good youths who have finished high school and send them to attend training courses. He said now 60 students are now attending three-year courses at the Bishop's House.

Teaching more than just catechism:

However, he said, even yao phu from remote villages need to devote more time to study catechism and the Bibles. To this end, they are given annual courses on evangelization skills and human values.

The bishop also counsels them on how to avoid alcoholic abuse and help others to give up alcohol.

Laurence Chum, a Banar ethnic yao phu from Mang Yang district, said all his villagers embraced Catholicism before 1975 but then moved to forests to avoid wars, suffered homelessness and lack of food and had no priests for decades.

Chum, 67, said Redemptorists had offered pastoral care to villagers in recent years, so "many of them have recently returned to the church." He and other yao phu have also visited villages and taught catechism.

John Baptist A Ker, the head of Plei Jodrap parish council, said one priest, two brothers and eight sisters had come out of his parish, which is home to the ethnic Ro Ngao group.

Ker, a father of nine, said he retired from working for the local commune to become a yao phu several years ago. Now one of his own daughters has joined a women's religious congregation.

He said villagers held yao phu in great respect because they gave people good advice and taught them about moral values and even how to cultivate crops.

The Holy Rosary A Weapon Of Prayer In The 21st Century

“The month of October each year is dedicated to the Most Holy Rosary. This is primarily due to the fact that the liturgical feast of Our Lady of the Rosary is celebrated annually on October 7th. It was instituted to honor the Blessed Virgin Mary in gratitude for the protection that she gives the Church in answer to the praying of the Rosary by the faithful.” (Rev. Matthew R. Mauriello, Source: Catholic.net)

According to Catholic tradition and history St. Dominic received the Holy Rosary directly from the Blessed Virgin in 1206. He had been praying and doing penances because of his failure to defeat the Albigensian heresy. Mary appeared and consoled and encouraged him. She also gave him a mighty weapon, the Rosary. Because this was a new way of praying, our Blessed Lady taught him how to say the rosary and asked him to preach this devotion and to teach others to pray it as well. Since that time many victories, both personal and public, have been credited to the recitation of and mediation on the Holy Rosary.

The power of the Rosary is not contested by most Catholics. We love this gift given to us by our Mother, Mary. Despite this, it is a prayer that sometimes gets lost in the shuffle or pushed to one side. We may tell ourselves that it takes too much time…but it really doesn’t, if we break it down. If five decades all at once is too difficult to fit into the day, maybe try praying one at a time. One decade of the rosary takes about 5-8 minutes to say reverently. Almost everyone can find 5-8 minutes and as one priest told us from the pulpit, “It’s not ideal, but if necessary, mute the sound during the commercials while you watch TV and say your rosary.”

Because the rosary is such a powerful prayer, obstacles will crop up to prevent us from saying it. It’s a beautiful, meditative prayer but because it is by design repetitious, we may find ourselves becoming distracted as we pray. We start out focusing on one of the mysteries only to be sidetracked by what we will make for dinner, how we’re going to pay this or that bill, or who will drive Susie or Billy to the dentist or choir practice. Sometimes our minds just wander in spite of our love for the devotion and for Our Lord and Our Lady.

We were discussing this while I was on retreat and a friend of mine suggested an interesting way to refocus wandering minds and attention while praying the Rosary. At first I was a little skeptical because I thought it would become rote, but then I tried it and it worked! This is what she does. Since our minds tend to wander when we reach the Hail Mary’s she would insert a reminder after “…of thy womb, Jesus.” For example, if she were saying the fourth sorrowful mystery and her mind wandered she would say something like:

“Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with Thee. Blessed art Thou among women and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus (carrying His cross). Holy Mary Mother of God …amen”

For the first Luminous mystery she might say something like: “…blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, Jesus (baptized in the River Jordan). Holy Mary…amen.”

I hope this will be of help to anyone who may find it difficult to concentrate or meditate on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary (and would love to hear other suggestions to help us say this wonderful prayer more attentively). It has proven to be a powerful weapon and aid in the past. I’m certain it can be again if we only make use of it.

The Solemnity Of Saints Peter and Paul --- June 29, 2020

On June 29 the Church celebrates the feast day of Sts. Peter & Paul. As early as the year 258, there is evidence of an already lengthy tradition of celebrating the solemnities of both Saint Peter and Saint Paul on the same day. Together, the two saints are the founders of the See of Rome, through their preaching, ministry and martyrdom there.

Peter, who was named Simon, was a fisherman of Galilee and was introduced to the Lord Jesus by his brother Andrew, also a fisherman. Jesus gave him the name Cephas (Petrus in Latin), which means ‘Rock,’ because he was to become the rock upon which Christ would build His Church.

Peter was a bold follower of the Lord. He was the first to recognize that Jesus was “the Messiah, the Son of the living God,” and eagerly pledged his fidelity until death. In his boldness, he also made many mistakes, however, such as losing faith when walking on water with Christ and betraying the Lord on the night of His passion.

Yet despite his human weaknesses, Peter was chosen to shepherd God's flock. The Acts of the Apostles illustrates his role as head of the Church after the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ. Peter led the Apostles as the first Pope and ensured that the disciples kept the true faith.

St. Peter spent his last years in Rome, leading the Church through persecution and eventually being martyred in the year 64. He was crucified upside-down at his own request, because he claimed he was not worthy to die as his Lord.

He was buried on Vatican hill, and St. Peter's Basilica is built over his tomb.

St. Paul was the Apostle of the Gentiles. His letters are included in the writings of the New Testament, and through them we learn much about his life and the faith of the early Church.
Before receiving the name Paul, he was Saul, a Jewish pharisee who zealously persecuted Christians in Jerusalem. Scripture records that Saul was present at the martyrdom of St. Stephen.

Saul's conversion took place as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute the Christian community there. As he was traveling along the road, he was suddenly surrounded by a great light from heaven. He was blinded and fell off his horse. He then heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He answered: “Who are you, Lord?” Christ said: “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

Saul continued to Damascus, where he was baptized and his sight was restored. He took the name

Paul and spent the remainder of his life preaching the Gospel tirelessly to the Gentiles of the Mediterranean world.

Paul was imprisoned and taken to Rome, where he was beheaded in the year 67.

He is buried in Rome in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In a sermon in the year 395, St. Augustine of Hippo said of Sts. Peter and Paul: “Both apostles share the same feast day, for these two were one; and even though they suffered on different days, they were as one. Peter went first, and Paul followed. And so we celebrate this day made holy for us by the apostles' blood. Let us embrace what they believed, their life, their labors, their sufferings, their preaching, and their confession of faith.”

Credits : Catholic News Agency 

The Holy Rosary Destroys Sin and Temptation

It is when I bring to mind the reality of my own fallenness and the shackling weight of sin that I am reminded of a secret weapon—one given to us as a loving gift from God. It is an old and powerful weapon forged in the fire of prayer. This essential spiritual weapon of our time is the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Rosary is a weapon of heaven’s ilk. It is the loving gaze of Heaven’s fair Maiden and at once that great “destroyer of vice” and “defeater of heresies.” It is a sinkiller. It is the battle armor against hell and all its wicked forces. And it is the end and doom of our habitual sins.

YOU MUST PRAY THE ROSARY EVERY DAY:

How do I tap into this ancient power, you ask? Simple. Pray the Rosary. Pray it every day! It will kill your sin because it will draw your gaze into the holy presence of Jesus where sin cannot maintain to dwell. A mind that is steeped in temptations is a mind quickly subdued by the beauties of God’s love. 

The Rosary is an endeavor of God’s love, if anything. While our sin clouds the mind and the senses with the dehumanizing darkness of wayward affections, the Rosary is a journey out of that darkness. “Say the Holy Rosary. Blessed be that monotony of Hail Mary’s which purifies the monotony of your sins!” — Saint Josemaria Escriva

With each bead, each Our Father and each Hail Mary, the monotony of our prayer turns the tide against the monotony of our sins and a brilliant light begins to fire out the darkness in a soul.

THE ROSARY IS A FAITHFUL PROMISE… BUT BE NOT PROUD:

According to pious tradition, Our Lady gave us fifteen promises when she gifted us the Rosary: signal graces, special protection, flourishing virtue, armor against hell, destruction of vice and the defeat of heresies, a soul that shall not perish—these are but a handful. But above all else, the Rosary is a promise of drawing near to the heart of Christ, by looking at His life through the eyes of His loving mother. 

When heaven makes a promise, it never does so lightly. The promises of heaven are always kept. This puts the power of heaven at your disposal to destroy the enemy of your soul.

Pride will kill your desire to pray the Rosary. Many will say that they do not need it. It is boring, too time consuming—the simple and affective instrument of God’s pious and lowly. Precisely! If the Rosary is a child’s prayer, then let yourself become a child—to such belongs the kingdom of God.

THE ROSARY MYSTERIES WILL SHAPE YOUR SOUL:

If you are burdened and confused by your own suffering or that which you see in the world, contemplate the passion of Our Lord in the sorrowful mysteries. If you are anxious about tomorrow and unsure of God’s power in your life, contemplate the resurrection power of God in the glorious mysteries. If you are sensing God’s call to follow Him faithfully, yet are too afraid to step out on that unknown journey, say “yes” to God with the Blessed Virgin Mary in the joyful mysteries. If you fret a great lack of inner fortitude to believe God’s words and the transforming power of the Son of Man, look to the life of Jesus in the luminous mysteries. 

Your soul will learn to exult in these wonderful scenes and your soul will begin to take the shape of it. This is the work of Our Lord and His most loving mother in the life of those who come to Him in prayer through the Rosary.

The Rosary is the book of the blind, where souls see and enact the greatest drama of love the world has ever known; it is the book of the simple, which initiates them into mysteries and knowledge more satisfying than the education of other men; it is the book of the aged, whose eyes close upon the shadow of this world, and open on the substance of the next. “The power of the rosary is beyond description.” — Archbishop Fulton Sheen

The Rosary is so often said in a flood of thoughts. It is hard to maintain the Gospel scenes at the forefront of the mind while one prays it. It is in this time of prayer that our worries and our joys come to the surface against the background of a holy meditation. It is the sweet background music to our lives, consoling us in times of great distress, and reminding us in times of great forgetfulness that we are never alone. The Rosary is an offering of us to holiness.

THE ROSARY IS A PATH TO VICTORY:

If a particular sin plagues you and steals your joy, strike a fateful first blow against it with a faithful recitation of the Rosary. Even if you are a skeptic, take a leap of faith! Commit to pray the Rosary daily. If you do it, you will witness the manifold power of God transforming your life. Do not worry whether or not the Rosary is your only path to victory: There are many paths and many tools that are given us by God. But the Rosary is a channel that runs deep and wide. 

It will lead you on a path to have your greatest needs fulfilled. It is a vessel that carries you to whatever miracle you may need for your soul to find Healing.

Here is an example to help you understand the efficacy of the Rosary: “Do you remember the story of David who vanquished Goliath? What steps did the young Israelite take to overthrow the giant? He struck him in the middle of the forehead with a pebble from his sling. 

If we regard the Philistine as representing evil and all its powers: heresy, impurity, pride—we can consider the little stones from the sling capable of overthrowing the enemy as symbolizing the Aves of the Rosary.” —Dom Columba Marmion, “Christ, the Ideal of the Priest”

Homily For The Feast Of Saint Peter Julian Eymard August 2020

On August 2, 2020, we celebrate the memory of Saint Peter Julian Eymard, founder of the Priests of the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

Pondering the life of Saint Peter Julian Eymard,we understand that it is through the Eucharistic Sacrifice that we are most fully alive in Christ, most perfectly inserted as living branches into the Vine Who is Christ. 

We also understand that it is from the fruit of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Holy Communion, that we receive the sustenance for our daily living in Christ along the way of our earthly pilgrimage. 

Throughout Saint Peter Julian Eymard’s some 57 years of priestly ministry, the Holy Eucharist was the center of his priestly life. He declared that “without [the Holy Eucharist] I should have been lost.”

In a profound mystical experience during the procession for Corpus Christi, he understood that in the Holy Eucharist is found the pattern for our daily living and the way to attain the common good and thus peace for the world. 

He described the experience with these words:My soul was flooded with faith and love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Those two hours seemed but a moment. I laid at the feet of our Lord the Church in France and throughout the world, everybody, myself. My eyes were filled with tears: it was as though my heart were under the wine-press. 

I longed at that moment for all hearts to have been within my own and to have been fired with the zeal of St. Paul.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard went on to found a religious institute devoted completely to fostering devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

He not only founded an institute of priest-adorers of the Most Blessed Sacrament and an institute of religious sisters devoted to continuous adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament, but he also organized the Arch confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament in order to foster an ever greater knowledge and more ardent love of Our Eucharistic Lord in all the faithful. 

In fact, at one time, canonical discipline required that the Arch confraternity of the Most Blessed Sacrament be established in every parish. 

The saintly Curé of Ars who knew personally Saint Peter Julian Eymard and his Eucharistic apostolate commended him highly, declaring: “Tell the good Father Eymard that I will pray for the work every day.”

 Imploring today the intercession of Saint Peter Julian Eymard, let us ask for the grace to view our service of the Church in the context of our participation in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. 

Let us ask for the grace to place ourselves and all whom we serve into the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus, asking that our apostolate of catechesis may destroy sin and double the growth in divine grace in ourselves and in those whom we catechize. 

 Saint Peter Julian Eymard, viewing his own sinfulness and all of the tragic situations in his homeland of France in the 19thcentury and in the entire world, was inspired to place all of his concerns into the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus, ever open to receive us and to impart to us without measure healing and strength. 

He desired to gather all hearts into his own and to offer them to Our Lord in the Eucharistic Sacrifice and in prayer before His Real Presence in the Sacred Host, whether reposed in the tabernacle or exposed in the monstrance for adoration.

Saint Anthony Of Padua ----- The Saint Who Treasured The Christ Child

On June 13, Catholics honor the memory of the Franciscan priest St. Anthony of Padua. Although he is popularly invoked today by those who have trouble finding lost objects, he was known in his own day as the “Hammer of Heretics” due to the powerful witness of his life and preaching.

The saint known to the Church as Anthony of Padua was not born in the Italian city of Padua, nor was he originally named Anthony. He was born as Ferdinand in Lisbon, Portugal during 1195, the son of an army officer named Martin and a virtuous woman named Mary. They had Ferdinand educated by a group of priests, and the young man made his own decision to enter religious life at age 15.

Ferdinand initially lived in a monastery of the Augustinian order outside of Lisbon. But he disliked the distraction of constant visits from his friends, and moved to a more remote house of the same order. There, he concentrated on reading the Bible and the Church Fathers, while living a life of asceticism and heartfelt devotion to God.

Eight years later, in 1220, Ferdinand learned the news about five Franciscan friars who had recently died for their faith in Morocco. When their bodies were brought to Portugal for veneration, Ferdinand developed a passionate desire to imitate their commitment to the Gospel. When a group of Franciscans visited his monastery, Ferdinand told them he wanted to adopt their poor and humble way of life.

Some of the Augustinian monks criticized and mocked Ferdinand's interest in the Franciscans, which had been established only recently, in 1209. But prayer confirmed his desire to follow the example of St. Francis, who was still living at the time.

He eventually obtained permission to leave the Augustinians and join a small Franciscan monastery in 1221. At that time he took the name Anthony, after the fourth-century desert monk St. Anthony of Egypt.

Anthony wanted to imitate the Franciscan martyrs who had died trying to convert the Muslims of Morocco. He traveled on a ship to Africa for this purpose, but became seriously ill and could not carry out his intention. The ship that was supposed to take him to Spain for treatment was blown off course, and ended up in Italy.

Through this series of mishaps, Anthony ended up near Assisi, where St. Francis was holding a major meeting for the members of his order. Despite his poor health, Anthony resolved to stay in Italy in order to be closer to St. Francis himself. He deliberately concealed his deep knowledge of theology and Scripture, and offered to serve in the kitchen among the brothers.

At the time, no one realized that the future “Hammer of Heretics” was anything other than a kitchen assistant and obedient Franciscan priest. Around 1224, however, Anthony was forced to deliver an improvised speech before an assembly of Dominicans and Franciscans, none of whom had prepared any remarks.

His eloquence stunned the crowd, and St. Francis himself soon learned what kind of man the dishwashing priest really was. In 1224 he gave Anthony permission to teach theology in the Franciscan order –  “provided, however, that as the Rule prescribes, the spirit of prayer and devotion may not be extinguished.”

Anthony taught theology in several French and Italian cities, while strictly following his Franciscan vows and preaching regularly to the people. Later, he dedicated himself entirely to the work of preaching as a missionary in France, Italy and Spain, teaching an authentic love for God to many people – whether peasants or princes – who had fallen away from Catholic faith and morality.
Known for his bold preaching and austere lifestyle, Anthony also had a reputation as a worker of miracles, which often came about in the course of his disputes with heretics.

His biographers mention a horse, which refused to eat for three days, and accepted food only after it had placed itself in adoration before the Eucharist that Anthony brought in his hands. Another miracle involved a poisoned meal, which Anthony ate without any harm after making the sign of the Cross over it. And a final often recounted miracle of St. Anthony’s involved a group of fish, who rose out of the sea to hear his preaching when heretical residents of a city refused to listen.

After Lent in 1231, Anthony's health was in decline. Following the example of his patron – the earlier St. Anthony, who had lived as a hermit – he retreated to a remote location, taking two companions to help him.

When his worsening health forced him to be carried back to the Franciscan monastery in Padua, crowds of people converged on the group in hopes of paying their homage to the holy priest.

The commotion surrounding his transport forced his attendants to stop short of their destination. After receiving the last rites, Anthony prayed the Church's seven traditional penitential psalms, sung a hymn to the Virgin Mary, and died on June 13 at the age of 36.

St. Anthony's well-established holiness, combined with the many miracles he had worked during his lifetime, moved Pope Gregory IX – who knew the saint personally – to canonize him one year after
his death.

“St. Anthony, residing now in heaven, is honored on earth by many miracles daily seen at his tomb, of which we are certified by authentic writings,” proclaimed the 13th-century Pope.

Credits : Catholic News Agency 

Saint Alphonsus Ligouri --- The Marian Apostle

It has been said that the story of each vocation is very different from one person to another, but all have one point in common: the gentle and decisive intervention of Mary. However, among the saints there are some for whom this relationship with Mary, the mother of Jesus, is lived much more intensely. There are some for whom their relationship with Mary is much more of a son or daughter with a mother. Among these ‘Marian saints’, we can certainly number St. Alphonsus. This in no way diminishes the absolute centrality of the person of Jesus Christ in his spirituality, theology, and morality. His very centre is distinctly ‘Christological’.

St. Alphonsus believed that since God has given us Jesus through Mary, then the surest way for us to come to Jesus is through Mary. In fact, Alphonsus is so thoroughly ‘Marian’ because he is so completely ‘Christological’. This is the first and fundamental basis on which we can speak of St. Alphonsus and Mary.

1.      The Family Life, Culture, Education of Alphonsus:

At the time of Alphonsus’ childhood and adolescence, there were 214 Sanctuaries dedicated to Mary in Naples. The co-patron of the City of Naples was Our Lady of Carmel, the “Brown Madonna”.

The parents of Alphonsus lived and breathed in this Marian culture – and it marked their son. Alphonsus was born at their ‘country’ residence of Marianella. He was baptized at Santa Maria delle Vergini at his mother’s insistence, and he was consecrated to Mary, receiving ‘Maria’ as his second of nine names.

Alphonsus was raised to pray before various statues and images of Mary, especially, to pray the rosary. Graduating in 1713 from the University in Naples, he professed the ‘blood oath’ to defend the Marian privilege of the Immaculate Conception. For him, this was not a mere formality. Years later, he renewed the oath he had taken so solemnly at the age of 16, and he wrote of the significance of this act in The Glories of Mary.

From 1715, he became a member of the pious Congregation of S. Maria della Misericordia, and also the Congregation of the Visitation. In August 1723, the ‘Year of his Conversion’, after losing the case concerning Amatrice, and after participating in both the Novena and then the Octave of the Assumption, he decided to abandon the ‘world’, and consecrate his life to God, leaving his sword, the sign of his nobility, at the altar in the church of the Madonna della Mercede. Again, years later, looking on the image of the Madonna della Mercede, he said that ‘It was she who took me from the world and made me enter the clerical state’.

As a young cleric, he became a member of the ‘Company of Santa Maria sucurre miseris’ – the help of the miserable. In 1729-1730, he came to the small shrine of Santa Maria dei Monti above Scala, where he could read the mysteries of the Redemption in the Madonna with the child in one arm and the bible in the other. Here he received the inspiration for his missionary project.

Of course, we also know of the many extraordinary experiences of Mary which marked his life: the appearances of Mary, and her words in the grotto at Scala; the experiences in Foggia, Amalfi, Castel S. Giorgio, Arienzo, and many other places.

In 1762, while in Rome to be ordained Bishop, he made a pilgrimage to Loreto – as far as we know, it was the only formal pilgrimage he made.

In 1787, as he was dying in Pagani, he held an image of Mary in his hands. At the sound of the Angelus, he breathed his last.

There can be no doubt of the love that Alphonsus bore for Mary, the mother of Jesus. His life was marked by her constant presence. He knew her as his own mother. If further proof of this relationship were required, we have only to look at his writings on Mary, his prayers, his paintings, his songs.

But always, this love for Mary was lived in the context of Jesus Christ as the absolute centre of his life. He believed and witnessed to the fact that there is no Marian theology or spirituality apart from Christology. It is Jesus who is central, and from whom Marian devotion takes its meaning.

2.      Marian devotion in the culture of the time:

It is important to remember that in the context of the popular piety of 18th century Naples, the Blessed Virgin Mary held a very important place – the 214 sanctuaries to her in the city itself testifies to this, as do the devotions, especially the rosary and the scapular, and the art and music. However, something was changing.

Among the educated classes, including certain ecclesiastical authorities and theologians, there was a growing anti-Marian sentiment. This was due to the impact of the enlightenment, the growing influence of the Jansenist spirit and theology, and what were perceived as the Marian excesses of the pre-reformation age which some maintained put Mary in the ‘place of Christ’.

The growing influence of Jansenist spirituality criticized the popular devotion to Mary for excessive sentimentalism, and an erroneous trust in Mary’s power to protect and save. Those influenced by the Jansenist theology were especially provoked by the ‘misguided and pernicious’ title of Mary as ‘our hope’. 

Another title that evoked the anger of the Jansenist or Rigorist school was Mary as the ‘Mother of Mercy’. This school of spirituality was also totally against the ‘dangerous’ doctrine of the Immaculate Conception as an affront to the divine justice faced with the common depravity of all human nature. It is in this climate that Alphonsus continued not only to practice his personal living and life-giving Marian spirituality, but he zealously promoted it for all people as a sure way to Jesus Christ, plentiful redemption, and a moral Christian life.

For Alphonsus, Marian devotion was not just a personal or aesthetic choice, but a clear option for an orthodox theology of mercy and grace, leading to communion with Jesus Christ the Redeemer.

3.      Mary in Art, Literature and Music:

In the Neapolitan culture at the time of Alphonsus, Mary was most often pictured as a regal, powerful and distant figure. She was placed on a pedestal. Certainly, she was a model to be emulated, especially by the upper classes, in her culture, beauty, chastity, etc. But she was presented as somewhat remote from the everyday experience of ordinary people, especially the poor. Images and statues of Mary were usually crowned, robed in splendour, even with a sceptre. This was the image of the Queen – like the ‘Infanta’ of the Spanish Royal Family, or the great Catholic Queen, Isabel.

Hymns were usually sung to her in Latin, and with complicated musical settings. We can think of some of the ‘Ave Marias’ which we continue to use in concerts today. As a model, the emphasis was placed on images of ‘courtly love’, chastity, obedience, passivity.

Alphonsus develops a very different approach to Mary. Consider his own paintings of her: she is portrayed as a young girl, in peasant dress, with a gentle smile. Not a court portrait for sure. Or the paintings he commissioned and used on the missions, like the Divina Pastora, a large copy of which hangs in the Monastery of Sant’Agata, his gift to the Nuns. In this painting, Mary is wearing a straw hat, as is her Son, the Redeemer. They are surrounded by sheep. She is a shepherd – exercising a mission and ministry – and she seems to be delighted that she is leading the sheep to her Son who is playing with them.

Think of the hymns that Alphonsus writes, in Neapolitan or Italian, and which could be and still are sung by ordinary people: lullabies for the baby, ‘Tu scendi dalle stelle’, really a hymn addressed to Jesus in which Mary plays a major part, ‘O Bella Mia Speranza’, which flies in the face of the Jansenist reservations about hope – and communicates to ordinary people a sense of hope-filled optimism.

The peasants and poor then, as now, often experienced that those who love them have no power to help them, and those who have power do not love them. Alphonsus presents Mary, and the Redeemer, as those who love them and have power to help them. This is revolutionary. A Madonna who is a shepherdess, close to the sheep, the smell of the sheep on her dress and apron – This is a powerful symbol of a woman in mission and ministry usually reserved to men. A mother who sings a lullaby to her son who shivers in the cold. A young girl who receives the Holy Spirit without full understanding of all that this will mean…

4.      Alphonsus and a theology and spirituality of Mary:

In this presentation, I cannot fully develop the theology and spirituality of Mary which Alphonsus presents in quite many books, sermons, treatises, as well as in his prayers and art. So, briefly, I would like to underline some elements of his Marian spirituality which I think are still relevant today. I’ll begin by examining the titles for Mary which he used most frequently.

a.      Preferred titles for Mary:

i.      Mother

Above all, Alphonsus relates to Mary as ‘Mother’. This is the word he uses whenever he addresses her. He was deeply aware that when Jesus entrusted Mary to the beloved disciple from the cross, he was first of all entrusting the disciple to his mother. Alphonsus realized that Jesus was mandating Mary with a mission – to become the mother of all believers. She is a missionary. And it is her maternal care which provides the framework for all Marian devotion.

This emphasis of Alphonsus finds an echo in Pope Francis. Fr. Majorano spoke of this similarity in an interview earlier this year. This particular emphasis on the mission entrusted to Mary from the cross finds explicit mention in Evangelii Gaudium (#285-286). Pope Francis affirms that there is a “Marian style to the Church’s work of evangelization. Whenever we look to Mary we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness.”(EG 288).

Is it any wonder that when he visited Naples, Francis made reference to The Glories of Mary with respect and affection.

 ii.      ‘Mother of Mercy’

After the simple name of ‘Mother’, and intimately connected with it, Alphonsus prays to Mary as ‘Mother of Mercy’. This title is found throughout his writing, on practically every page of The Glories of Mary, and in so many of his sermons and prayers. As a mother, it is not possible for Mary to be anything other than ‘mother of mercy’. Her one desire is to communicate God’s mercy and redemption to all. As some have written commenting on Alphonsus, in Mary, the justice of God and the compassion/mercy of God meet.

For Alphonsus, as Mother of Mercy, Mary is not only concerned for our souls – but she also points us to the corporal works of mercy, and care for whole persons – body and soul. Alphonsus belonged to the Misericordiella – a pious congregation to care for the poor, to visit the sick, to accompany those about condemned to die.

Alphonsus recounts many ‘esempi’, stories of the mercy of Mary for the abandoned poor. And he bases the first part of his Glories of Mary as a commentary on the Salve Regina, mater Misericordiae. The mercy of Mary flows from her mandate to be our Mother, the mother of all believers, a mission entrusted to her on the cross. As sons and daughters of such a mother, we are called to the works of Mercy ourselves.

iii.      ‘Mary, our Hope’

It seems that no other title for Mary could arouse the anger of the Jansenist and Rigorist School as much as this one – Mary, our Hope. With such a pessimistic view of human nature, and the conviction that only a few would be saved, for them it was heresy to speak of Mary as our hope. Christ is our only hope, and even then it is best not to be presumptuous as those who will be saved is already determined, and there is no hope for others.

For this reason, when Alphonsus chose the frontispiece for The Glories of Mary, a picture of Mary with the words ‘spes nostra’ – ‘our hope’, he was making a clear statement of his conviction that God’s redemption is plentiful, for everyone. And that God’s mercy has no limits. Mary becomes for us a sign of this hope – O bella mia speranza.

Alphonsus’ hope is not presumptuous, but he is convinced that God gives everyone the grace to pray, and that everyone who prays will receive the grace necessary for salvation. Just as a mother never despairs of her children, so God never closes the door to us. And Mary is a sign and guarantee of this hope for each one of us.

 iv.      Immaculate Conception

As you are all aware, Alphonsus dedicated his new Institute to the patronage of the Immaculate Conception. He was convinced of this unique privilege of Mary, granted to prepare her to be a fitting temple of the Holy Spirit and Mother of God. But he also believed that this privilege is granted to her as a sign of hope for us – what she has received from the beginning is what we also hope to receive – copiosa redemptio, plentiful redemption. For Mary, the grace of redemption prevented her from falling. For us, the grace of redemption can raise us up after the fall.

The Immaculate Conception clearly demonstrates what God can do with our fragile and wounded human nature. For Mary is redeemed as surely as we are. Again, the Jansenists and Rigorists cried out against the Immaculate Conception. Human nature is hopelessly depraved, and all are doomed. Alphonsus could not accept this pessimistic view of humanity, nor this limited notion of God’s grace and mercy.

In his spirited defense and treatment of the Immaculate Conception, Alphonsus defended two very important principles of Catholic orthodoxy – the sensus fidelium, the sense of the faithful; and the ever present action of the Holy Spirit guiding the Church in doctrine and worship. Revelation is not a static moment in time, long past. Rather, the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church, and the People of God, through faith and popular piety, doctrine and worship.

 v.      ‘Help of the Miserable’

In his writings, he often refers to Mary as the Help of the miserable and the poor. Was God providentially preparing us through this experience of Alphonsus to accept the Icon of Perpetual Help? Alphonsus never knew this devotion and Icon personally – unless he happened to visit St. Matthew’s while in Rome for his episcopal ordination. But the Icon of Perpetual Help certainly embodies all these mysteries of motherhood, mercy, redemption, hope, tenderness, and perpetual help.

vi.      Madonna of Ransom

We cannot forget that Alphonsus left his sword at the feet of the Madonna della mercede – the Madonna of Ransom, of Redemption, of Mercy. In this gesture, we catch up a glimpse of the project and promise of the Institute he would found. From the very beginning, Mary has marked his life, his dreams, his mission, and ours.

vii.      Queen of Apostles

Alphonsus did honour Mary as his queen, and he believed that she transformed what it means to be queen. After all, his commentary on the Salve Regina invoked her under this title. But he goes on to underline that true royal dignity is found in service. Mary is that queen who has the power to help the poor, and who knows and loves the poor. They are abandoned no longer. As Queen of Apostles she seeks them out, and accompanies every mission .

b.      Works of Alphonsus on Mary:

Alphonsus wrote many works addressed to Mary, or about Mary. As he writes in the preface to the Glories of Mary, and repeats on several occasions, “There are those who protest that they have a great love for the Blessed Mother, but they do not speak of her often, and they do not speak with her daily. Such shows little proof of love.” This could certainly not be said of Alphonsus! Even in those works which are not dedicated especially to Mary, there is scarcely a page without a prayer, a reference, or an example invoking her presence. However, the context in which Alphonsus speaks and writes about her is the context of his Christo-centric theology, spirituality, morality, and devotion. Jesus Christ always is at the centre.

Two good examples of this Christo-centric Mariology are the Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and to the Blessed Virgin, and The Glories of Mary. Both of these works, among the most popular writings of Alphonsus, are dedicated to Jesus Christ:

“My most loving Redeemer and Lord Jesus Christ, I, your unworthy servant, know how much pleasure anyone gives you who strives to praise and glorify your most holy Mother. You love her so tenderly. I know how much you desire to see her known and loved by everybody. And so I have resolved to publish this book which treats of her glories. I do not know to whom I could better dedicate it than to you, who have her glory so much at heart.”

Alphonsus intends his Marian prayers and writings to increase the confidence that his readers have in God’s copiosa redemptio, to deepen their love and devotion for the Mother of Jesus, to correct the errors and exaggerations of the Jansenists and Rigorists, and to provide preachers with thoughtful reflections to help them not only talk about Mary, but to speak to her, and so to move others to a greater love and confidence in her.

Among his most popular works about Mary are the following:

 i.      Prayers to the Blessed Virgin for every day of the week

ii.      Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary

iii.      The Glories of Mary

However, Alphonsus also wrote many other smaller treatises, sermons, letters, and articles in larger works. As well, he often writes a thought about Mary or a prayer to her in his works such as the Practice of the Love of Jesus Christ.

5.      Alphonsus and pastoral practice with Mary:

For Alphonsus, all his prayer, writing, devotion and practice is essentially missionary. So, it is no wonder that he understands Mary as the first and greatest missionary who must accompany his Redemptorists on every mission. 

He believes that she has the power to attract the most hardened sinners to God and God’s divine mercy. He compares her to Ruth, who gleans the fields of all the wheat that the harvesters have passed over. He believes that for Mary, no person can be overlooked – no matter how sinful, humble, poor, abandoned, uneducated or bitter.