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Martyrs

Who are the North American Martyrs?

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“The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.”  This maxim, credited to the second-century ecclesiastical writer Tertullian, was profoundly evidenced by eight Jesuit missionaries who brought Jesus to the…

“The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians.” 

This maxim, credited to the second-century ecclesiastical writer Tertullian, was profoundly evidenced by eight Jesuit missionaries who brought Jesus to the Indians of North America during the 17th century. In the face of extreme suffering and hardship, these brave Frenchmen met violent deaths while serving God and the Church in remote areas of eastern Canada and New York state. They became known as the North American Martyrs.

There were six priests and two oblate laymen, Jesuits all, who the Church raised to sainthood as a result of their heroic missionary efforts between the years 1625 and 1649. In an eight-year period (1642-1649), they were all murdered while spreading the Gospel to the North American Indians and as a group were canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1930. Their feast day is Oct. 19.

Although each of these missionaries had heard about the severe environment of the area called New France, none could fathom what the situation was actually like: disease, severe weather, lack of food, unsanitary living conditions, impassable forests, solitude and a hostile population. Travel was by canoe on treacherous waterways or walking for miles through dense insect-filled and uncharted forests. The Jesuit mission was to witness to a population of Indians who spoke a different language, were violent enemies and were not opposed to the use of torture.

Despite the anticipated hardships and often being urged not to go, the Jesuits sought out, some even begged for, missionary duties in North America.

Hurons and Iroquois

The Indians they sought to evangelize were primarily the Huron nation made up of between 20,000 to 30,000 people. The Hurons lived mostly in the interior of Canada, some more than 1,000 miles from the primary Jesuit mission center at Québec. While generally hospitable, the Indians were suspicious of the Black Robes (which the Indians called the Jesuits) and their religion. Among those who did eventually accept baptism, there was always an uncertainty as to whether or not the individual was totally or sincerely converted to Christianity. Many never completely gave up their old pagan traditions, and some even turned on the missionaries.

The Jesuits were mostly accepted by the Hurons, but that was not the case with the Iroquois, who hated both the Hurons and the French. The French were trade partners with the Hurons and, as such, sided with them against their longtime enemies, the Iroquois. Aggravating the situation was the fact that in 1613 the early French explorers had used muskets against the Iroquois’ bow and arrows, slaughtering many Indians. The Iroquois fostered their hatred for more than 100 years.

John de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant

Father Gabriel Lalemont

The first of these Jesuits, Father John de Brebeuf, arrived in New France in 1625. Father Brebeuf was destined to become the founder of the Huron mission and has been referred to as the Apostle of the Hurons. He spent 24 years among the Indians and witnessed thousands of baptisms. Father Brebeuf worked hard at understanding the Huron language and actually prepared an invaluable dictionary as well as a catechism in the language. He had a special connection to the Hurons: they listened to his message about Jesus, and because of him, they allowed the Jesuits to baptize their children.

On March 16, 1649, Father Brebeuf and his Jesuit colleague Father Gabriel Lalemant were captured, severely tortured and murdered by marauding Iroquois. Their skin was cut off, hot irons were placed on their bodies and scalding water, mocking baptism, was poured over them. Kept alive for additional torture they were eventually tomahawked to death one day apart. Father Brebeuf is said to have suffered with such bravery that after killing him the Indians drank his blood and ate parts of his body seeking to acquire his courage. Father Lalemant followed Brebuef into the splendor of God’s kingdom on March 17.

Isaac Jogues and René Goupil

Father Isaac Jogues

The story of Father Isaac Jogues, another of the Jesuit martyrs, is unique. Arriving in New France in 1635, he soon was dispatched to the mission headed by Father Brebeuf near Lake Huron. Seven years into his active and effective ministry, on Aug. 16, 1642, Jogues and René Goupil, an oblate and surgeon, were captured by the Iroquois. They were beaten with clubs and burned with hot coals. Some of their fingers were chewed off at the knuckle, and the thumb of Jogues was severed from his right hand. Despite the awful torture, they both initially survived and attempted to witness to their captors. During captivity, Goupil made the Sign of the Cross on the head of an Iroquois baby and was immediately murdered with a tomahawk. The child’s parents had been told of Goupil’s actions and believed that the Sign of the Cross was evil.

After being imprisoned and used as a slave for 13 months, Father Jogues escaped and made his way back to France where he was treated as a hero. Because of his mutilated fingers and lack of a thumb, he believed the Church would not allow him to distribute the Body and Blood of Christ. Pope Urban VIII, however, made an exception for the courageous priest, and in 1646 Father Jogues eagerly returned to New France where he met his martyrdom.

John Lalande

Father Jogues and an oblate missionary, John Lalande, were attempting to affect peace between the French, the Hurons and the Iroquois when they were accused of being the cause of a bad harvest. They were taken prisoner and brutally tortured by Mohawk Indians, who were part of the Iroquois nation. On Oct. 18, 1646, a Mohawk brave killed Father Jogues with a hatchet. The next day, the courageous Father Lalande met the same fate.

Anthony Daniel

Father Anthony Daniel spent several years tirelessly instructing Huron youths at a seminary near Québec. He also repeatedly braved the wilderness, teaching the Christian faith and baptizing native Canadians. On July 4, 1648, after returning from one of his many exhausting trips and just finishing Mass, his mission at St. Joseph was attacked by an Iroquois war party; Father Daniel was murdered. Some accounts say he was shot with a musket and while still alive crawled among other victims bringing comfort, baptizing and giving absolution. Eventually, he was killed by a hatchet to his head.

Charles Garnier

In the same year that Fathers Brebeuf and Lalemant were martyred, a fellow Jesuit priest, Father Charles Garnier, was also murdered. He served in Canada for 13 years and like his Jesuit comrades performed his sacred ministry despite hunger, insults, deplorable living conditions and the ever present threat of death. Reports are that he would walk 30 miles a day in either heat or cold to spread the Gospel, lived in squalor and filth with the natives while caring for their sick and never counted the cost. On Dec. 7, 1649, he was born to heaven after being struck by a tomahawk during an Iroquois attack.

Noël Chabanel

The next day, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Father Noël Chabanel was returning to the mission hub at Sainte Marie, Canada, when he was killed, allegedly by one of his Huron converts. Among the Jesuits, Father Chabanel had experienced the most difficulties with the assignment. He disliked the Indian culture, never mastered the language and was often depressed. Despite these problems, which would have caused a lesser man to return home, Father Chabanel took a vow to never forsake his missionary duties or to deny the martyrdom he anticipated. He was the last of the eight Jesuits to die.

Scholars and writers have long debated the impact of the Jesuits in the overall history of New France. What can’t be debated is the well-documented story of eight heroic and faith-filled Frenchmen who never doubted they were planting the seed of Christianity and bringing Jesus Christ into the world of the Indian. Their zeal, courage and willingness to sacrifice to the point where they laid down their lives to witness for Jesus is a shining star on the North American continent and in the Church.

D.D. Emmons writes from Mount Joy, Pa.

North American Martyrs

  • Father John de Brebeuf (1593-1649)
  • Father Noël Chabanel (1613-1649)
  • Father Antony Daniel (1601-1648)
  • Father Charles Garnier (1606-1649)
  • Oblate René Goupil (1608-1642)
  • Father Isaac Jogues (1607-1646)
  • Oblate John de Lalande (died 1646)
  • Father Gabriel Lalemant (1610-1649)
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Lent

Fasting and abstinence: More than laws of the Church

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The penitential season of Lent is upon us, and we Catholics, like Christians everywhere, begin preparing to commemorate the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Just a few short weeks…

The penitential season of Lent is upon us, and we Catholics, like Christians everywhere, begin preparing to commemorate the passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Just a few short weeks ago, we celebrated his birth, and now the Church begins our preparation to join him on his journey to Calvary. The church scene becomes somber, more intense, and such terms as contrition, conversion, penance, almsgiving, fasting and abstinence dominate the liturgy.

Benedictine Father Dom Prosper Gueranger wrote about Lent in “The Liturgical Year” (1887): “Lent, then, is a time consecrated, in a special manner, to penance, and this penance is mainly practiced by fasting. Fasting is an abstinence, which man voluntarily imposes upon himself, as expiation for sin, and which, during Lent, is practiced in obedience to the general laws of the Church.”

Why fast and abstain?

Pope Clement XIII in 1759 said that “penance also demands that we satisfy divine justice with fasting, almsgiving and prayer and other works of the spiritual.” The purpose of our fast is to not become physically weak or lose weight but to create a hunger, a spiritual void that only Christ can fill; in fasting from the heart, we express our love of God and acknowledge our sinfulness. Though unworthy, we pray our sacrifices will be acceptable to the one who suffered and gave his life blood for us.

Every Ash Wednesday we hear from the prophet Joel (2:12-14): “Yet even now — oracle of the Lord — return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” It is not our clothes but our hearts we need to rend in reflecting our sorrow. Our fast is not for man but for God.

Fasting and abstinence

Fasting and abstinence are Church-imposed penitential practices that deny us food and drink during certain seasons and on certain days. These acts of self-denial dispose us to free ourselves from worldly distractions, to express our longing for Jesus, to somehow imitate his suffering.

Abstinence traditionally has meant not eating meat and, for centuries but no longer, included meat by-products. Many may recall the calendar hanging in the kitchen that included a fish symbol on each Friday of the month. Catholics never have been compelled to eat fish on days of abstinence, but rather, to avoid meat. While abstinence refers to the kind or quality of food we eat, fasting refers to the amount or quantity of food consumed. It is contrary to the spirit of abstinence and fasting if we avoid steak but pile our plate high with fish.

Fasting in Scripture

In the Old Testament, God told Adam and Eve not to eat (abstain) from the Tree of Knowledge (Gn 2:17). Queen Esther (Est 4: 15), in a successful attempt to save the Jews, ordered a three-day fast for herself and her court. The Book of Jonah describes how the people of Nineveh fasted and were saved from God’s wrath (3:4-10).

Jesus set the example for our fasting when he went into the desert and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights (Mt 4:1-11). His entire life involved suffering and self-denial. In Mark 2:18-20, Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ accusation that his disciples do not fast: “As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.” Once Jesus was not with them, the Apostles did fast and advocated fasting to new Christians as evidenced in the books of Acts and the Epistles.

Evolution of practice

By the second century, fasting was integrated into Christian worship. Jews had long fasted on Mondays and Thursdays, but the Christians chose to fast on Wednesdays, because that was the day of Christ’s betrayal, and Fridays, the day he was crucified. By the fourth century, Saturday had replaced Wednesday as a day of fasting, and over the centuries every-Saturday fasting was dropped.

Fasting before Easter was practiced in those first centuries, but the times and extent varied. Until the ninth century, fasting meant one meal a day and then only enough food to sustain life. Those keeping a fast often would give the food not eaten to others in need.

St. John wrote in 1 Jn 3:17, “If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?” The philosopher Aristides, around the year 128, explaining how Christians lived, noted, “And if there is among them a man that is poor or needy … they fast two or three days that they may supply the needy with their necessary food” (Apologia, XV).

Hermes, a writer in the first and second centuries, said, “and having reckoned up the price of the dishes of that day which you intended to have eaten, you will give it to the widow or the orphan.”

Later, St. Augustine said, “What you deprive yourself by fasting, add to your almsgiving” (“Sermons on the Liturgical Seasons: Fathers of the Church,” 1959). Today we are often encouraged to calculate the funds not spent for food during Lent and put that amount in the “poor box.”

By the Middle Ages, the number of fast days during the liturgical year had increased and at times included 70 days. Sundays and solemnities have never been days of fast. Through the mid-20th century, Catholic missals identified fasting on weekdays of Lent, ember days, the vigils of Pentecost, All Saints, Immaculate Conception and Christmas. Abstinence was required on all Fridays, Ash Wednesday, the vigils of the Assumption and Christmas. This all would change.

In 1966, Blessed Pope Paul VI significantly amended the laws of fasting through his apostolic constitution Paenitemini, in which he affirmed some practices and gave certain authority to national conferences of bishops around the world. The changes by Pope Paul were incorporated into the 1983 Code of Canon Law.

Abstinence and fasting are required on both Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. On those days, one full meal is allowed along with two other smaller meals. Catholics bound by the law of abstinence include everyone age 14 and over; the law of fasting includes individuals age 18 through the beginning of their 60th year.

Canon Law, the Catechism, precepts of the Church and U.S. bishops’ document “Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholic” explain our fasting obligations. Before Lent, most every Catholic parish emphasizes the rules and rewards of fasting and abstinence. A one-hour fast is always required before receiving Communion.

In addition to Friday abstinence during Lent, every Friday is a day of penance (Canon Law, No. 1250). According to Canon 1253, the conference of bishops in each nation may “substitute other forms of penance … for abstinence and fast.” U.S. bishops have maintained the obligation to fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain on the Fridays of Lent. They have granted U.S. Catholics the option of doing another form of penance on Fridays outside Lent rather than abstaining from meat. The bishops focus us on Friday self-denial, along with works of charity and mercy while recalling Christ’s passion.

D.D. Emmons writes from Pennsylvania.

Pope St. Leo the Great on Fasting

“[E]nter upon the celebration of the solemn fast, not with barren abstinence from food … but in bountiful benevolence. … Let works of piety, therefore, be our delight, and let us be filled with those kinds of food which feed us for eternity. Let us rejoice in the replenishment of the poor, whom our bounty has satisfied. Let us delight in the clothing of those whose nakedness we have covered with needful raiment. Let our humaneness be felt by the sick in their illnesses, by the weakly in their infirmities, by the exiles in their hardships, by the orphans in their destitution and by solitary widows in their sadness: in the helping of whom there is no one that cannot carry out some amount of benevolence. For no one’s income is small, whose heart is big. …” (Excerpt from Sermon 40)

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Prayer

Where Did the Rosary Originate?

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Except for the Our Father, no Catholic prayer or devotion may be more revered than the Rosary. Many say the Rosary daily, reciting this prayer not only in church but…

Except for the Our Father, no Catholic prayer or devotion may be more revered than the Rosary.

Many say the Rosary daily, reciting this prayer not only in church but during special times and places we set aside. Many keep the beads in their pocket, hang them in cars, put them on bedposts. They may be part of the essentials carried every day, such as keys, wallets or purses. When lost or misplaced, many may feel incomplete until the beads are found or a new set is in their possession. But when did this whole idea of counting beads while praying begin? Where did the Rosary originate?

For centuries long before Christ, the faithful said prayers in a repetitive manner and found different methods of keeping count, often by using rocks or pebbles. By at least the ninth century, monks were reciting all 150 psalms, at first every day, but later every week as part of their prayers and devotions. One way they kept track was to count out 150 pebbles and then place one pebble in a container or pouch as they said each psalm. People living near the monks wanted to mimic this devotion, but due to lack of education couldn’t memorize all the psalms. Printed copies, even if individuals could read, were not available as the printing press was centuries away. So Christians began to pray 50 or 150 Our Fathers (or Paternosters) each week instead of the psalms. In order to keep count of the Our Fathers, they often used string with knots in it instead of counting on rocks. Later the knots gave way to small pieces of wood and eventually to the use of beads.

St. Dominic

There has long been a tradition in the Church that St. Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221) is the source of the Rosary. In the 12th century, the Albigenses heresy was widespread in Europe, especially in southern France and Italy. The Albigenses denied the mystery of the Incarnation, rejected Church sacraments and condoned many secular activities considered evil by the Catholic faith. Among the efforts by the Church to combat this heresy was the organization of the mendicant orders, including one led by St. Dominic. The Dominicans, as they became known, tried to reverse the vile teachings of the Albigenses by roaming the countryside preaching against the heresy, trying to influence the fallen away back into the Church. Tradition has it that St. Dominic’s efforts were most effective following a visit from the Blessed Virgin Mary in the year 1214. Neither Dominic nor his order ever made this claim.

The legend spread from an alleged dream of Blessed Alan de la Roche in the 15th century, more than 250 years after Dominic died. De la Roche was a respected writer and theologian of his time (c. 1428-1478) and instrumental in spreading the Rosary devotion throughout the Western Church. In his dream, Mary gave Dominic the Rosary and instructed the saint to preach the Rosary as part of his effort to thwart heresy. According to de la Roche, Mary said to Dominic, “If you want to reach these hardened souls and win them over to God, preach my Psalter.” The Psalter refers to the Angelic Prayer, the Hail Mary. Among those who related this beautiful story is St. Louis Marie de Montfort in the book “God Alone: The Collected Writings of Saint Louis Marie de Montfort.”

While many Church scholars do not give credence to de la Roche’s story, numerous popes have advocated Dominic as indeed the source of the Rosary. In the 18th century, the Bollandists, a religious community that researches and verifies Church facts and historical allegations, questioned the role of Dominic in the Rosary story. The future Pope Benedict XIV (r. 1740-58), at the time a member of the Vatican Sacred Congregation of Rites, responded to the Bollandists: “You ask whether St. Dominic was really the illustrator of the Rosary, you declare yourselves perplexed and full of doubt upon the subject. But what account do you make of the decisions of so many sovereign pontiffs — of Leo X, of St. Pius V, of Gregory XIII, of Sixtus V, of Clement VIII, of Alexander VII, of Innocent XI, of Clement XI, of Innocent XIII, of Benedict XIII, and of many others who are all unanimous in declaring the Rosary to have been instituted by St. Dominic himself?” (Augusta T. Drane, “The History of St Dominic, Founder of the Friars Preachers,” Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1891, p. 136, and other sources.)

Rosary Evolution

Notwithstanding papal advocacy for Dominic’s role, there are divergent views regarding the evolution of this most beautiful of Marian devotions. Many scholars and theologians conclude that it is the outgrowth from the early monks saying the psalms, but some differ in regard to the identity of individuals contributing to the growth throughout the centuries. Despite the different views, there is widespread agreement on certain facts.

The Rosary includes six of Catholicism’s most familiar prayers: the Apostles’ Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, the Glory Be, the Fátima Prayer (“O My Jesus”) and the Hail Holy Queen. The inclusion of these prayers in the Rosary did not happen overnight but was a lengthy evolution down through the centuries. Originally, the Our Father was said 150 times as a replacement for the psalms, saying the prayer on each bead of the Rosary string. A Glory Be was normally part of the prayer. During the 11th century, St. Peter Damian (d. 1072) suggested praying 150 Angelic Salutations, the Hail Mary, as an alternative prayer to the Our Father. The Hail Mary at that time consisted of Gabriel’s angelic salutation to Mary, “Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with you” (see Lk 1:28-31), and the exchange between Mary and Elizabeth during the visitation, “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb” (Lk 1:39-45). The name of Jesus (“blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus”) was included sometime later. In 1365, a Carthusian monk named Henry of Kalkar (1328-1408) divided the 150 Hail Marys into 15 groups of 10 beads each. He placed an Our Father between each group or decade (10 beads); the prayer was thus made up of 10 Hail Marys, repeated 15 times with an Our Father in between each set.

In the mid-15th century, another Carthusian monk, Dominic of Prussia (1382-1461), introduced a similar devotion that included 50 Hail Marys with 50 individual thoughts or phrases about Jesus and Mary. A different thought or phrase would accompany each Hail Mary.

Around 1480, the evolution continued when “an anonymous Dominican priest … retained the pattern of the decades that Henry of Kalkar suggested but focused them on fifteen episodes in the life and work of Mary and Jesus, not on fifty or one hundred and fifty of them. Instead of meditating on a Mystery for the space of a single Hail Mary, people could meditate more deeply for the time it took to recite ten Hail Marys devoutly; and instead of circling the Mystery by meditating on a myriad of details, they would approach the details by focusing on the heart of the Mystery itself.” (Kevin O. Johnson, “Rosary: Mysteries, Meditations and the Telling of the Beads,” Pangaeus Press, Dallas, 1997, p. 199). By now there were 15 groups of 10 beads, 15 decades. Each decade, instead of each bead, was accompanied by a meditation on the life of Christ and Mary.

Completion of the Hail Mary

By the first part of the 15th century the Hail Mary consisted of: “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” The third part, known as the petition (“Pray for us Holy Mother of God…”) is traced back to the Council of Ephesus in 431. At that council, Church leaders officially defined Mary as not only the Mother of Jesus but as Theotokos (God-bearer, the Mother of God).

On the night this proclamation was made, the citizens of Ephesus marched through the town joyfully chanting, “Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners.” This petition, including the words “now and at the hour of our death” would become part of the prayer by the time Pope St. Pius V (r. 1566-72) issued the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices in 1569 encouraging the universal use of the Rosary.

Since Pope Pius V issued that document, only the Fátima Prayer has been added to the Rosary. The Fátima prayer, given to the Portuguese children during the Fátima apparition in 1908, is widely used, but it is not universal. The Rosary made up of 150 beads, promoted by Pope Pius V, is still subscribed to by the Church but is, of course, different than the popular Rosary with 50 beads that many of us carry in our pockets.

From the 16th century until the 21st century there were three sets of mysteries: the Joyful, the Glorious and the Sorrowful. But in 2001 Pope St. John Paul II added the Mysteries of Light. The intent was to include meditations on the time in Jesus’ life between His incarnation (a Joyful Mystery) and His passion (a Sorrowful Mystery).

We Catholics instinctively turn to the Rosary in times of crises and life’s sorrows, in the midst of personal and even public tragedies.

How many soldiers have repeated the Hail Mary over and over on the battlefield? In our darkest hour, even the hour of our death, we plead for the intercession, the blessing and comfort of the Blessed Mother using this 700-year-old devotion which ends, in part, “Turn then most gracious advocate thine eyes of mercy toward us …”

D.D. Emmons writes from Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.

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Saints

St. Catherine of Siena: Patroness for a Church in crisis

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Born on the feast of the Annunciation in 1347, St. Catherine of Siena became a stalwart voice of the Church, a shining light in one of the darkest, most turbulent…

Born on the feast of the Annunciation in 1347, St. Catherine of Siena became a stalwart voice of the Church, a shining light in one of the darkest, most turbulent periods of Christian history. She gave her short 33 years of life in service to God during the chaos of the great Western Schism, of two duly elected popes, the bubonic plague, a papacy relocated to France, of great political upheaval and warring in her native Italy. Possessing God-inspired wisdom, she provided a sense of confidence and certainty that influenced popes, nobles and commoners alike.

Piety at a young age

At age 6, Catherine had a vision in which the Lord made the Sign of the Cross over her; from that time she was graced with unique gifts from God, and her spiritual journey was set. When she was 12, her parents urged her to start considering a suitable husband. But Catherine was already in love with and had given herself to Jesus. She avoided suitors and even cut off her hair to make herself less attractive.

In her early years, she sought out times of prayer, meditation and solitude; never a nun, she became a Third Order Dominican. In 1366, she received another vision in which Jesus put a ring on her finger, a ring that only she could see, a symbol binding her forever to Christ. Eventually she was called from her life of solitude and prayer to share her gifts of faith with others. Her holiness soon was well known not only in Siena but throughout Tuscany, and increasingly people looked to her for spiritual guidance.

Catherine had a special love for the Eucharist. In his book “Saint Catherine of Siena: Her Life and Times,” C.M. Antony describes this Eucharistic experience: “When Catherine advanced to receive holy Communion, her face was glowing with a deep color, and bathed in tears and drops of sweat. After receiving Our Lord, she fell into an ecstasy of great length, and when she recovered the use of her faculties, was unable to speak all that day.”

Later it was explained that “at the moment of Communion her senses had been rapt away entirely from material things which she interiorly perceived to be, together with all intellectual and natural pleasures; ‘nothing but emptiness and dust.’ That she had then implored her Divine Spouse that she might henceforth only please and possess him; that he would take away her will, and gave her his. This he had done immediately; promising her that from that moment no exterior event should trouble her heart, change her intention or disturb her peace.” Complete abandonment to the Eucharist sustained Catherine in all things.

Public life

When nearly 20, Catherine was called to intercede in the 14th-century crises brewing in Italy, in the Church and especially in the papacy. In 1309, Pope Clement V (r. 1305-14) decided to move from Rome to Avignon, France, where the Holy See remained for nearly 70 years. Not only were all the Avignon popes French, but so, too, were most of the College of Cardinals. This situation was not well received by many Catholics outside of France. Also, the papal absence from Rome contributed to the political and religious disorder throughout Italy, a situation prompting the popes to remain in France.

In Rome there was infighting among the nobility. Likewise in many papal states there were also conflicts between middle-class workers and their employers. In some instances, these groups hired mercenaries to attack others; the mercenaries worked for the highest bidder and, when not employed, assaulted people living in the countryside. Pope Gregory XI (r. 1371-78) tried to govern from France by sending legates, but these emissaries often aggravated the situation. Some Italians sided with the pope, and others were against him. The crisis in Florence was especially severe, and the pope eventually placed Florence under an interdict. Catherine used her influence to limit the hostility and was asked by the antipope resistance in Florence to intercede with the pope on their behalf.

It was then, in 1375, that Catherine received the holy stigmata. These marks of Christ’s suffering were not visible to others until her death: “But at her request, Our Lord made the marks visible only to herself, and … the marks became quite pronounced after her death, as verified by her incorrupt hands and feet” (“The Incorruptibles,” Joan Carroll Cruz).

Influence on the papacy

In 1376, Catherine went to Avignon and sought the attention of Pope Gregory XI. The Florentines now turned away from her; she was on her own trying to convince the Holy Father to bring peace to the papal states and, most importantly, to move the papacy back to Rome. While Catherine regarded the pope as the Vicar of Christ, she did not hesitate to point out his shortcomings. In a letter encouraging Gregory XI to return the papacy to Rome, she wrote: “The wolf is carrying away your sheep, and there is no one found to help them … the hungry sheep await your coming to hold and possess the place of your predecessor and champion, Apostle Paul. For you as Vicar of Christ should rest in your own place. Come, then, come and delay no more; and comfort you, and fear not for anything that might happen, since God will be with you” (“Saint Catherine of Siena, As Seen in Her Letters,” Vida D. Scudder).

Gregory saw several obstacles to such a move. His cardinals did not support the action; the pope feared an assassination attempt on the journey, and the chaos that was taking place not only in Rome but throughout Italy remained a serious concern. Catherine’s direct approach to the pope was not common practice, and only her well-known holiness made such an approach acceptable.

Pope Gregory, in 1377, and much because of Catherine’s influence, returned to Rome. Among his first acts was to dispatch Catherine to Florence in an effort to bring peace among all the warring factions. This mission of peace was not successful until Urban VI, an Italian, was elected pope in 1378. Unfortunately the end of one crisis was followed by another.

Defending the pope

The cardinals who elected Urban quickly regretted their decision. They found they had selected a zealous reformer, an overbearing man who eliminated the niceties that the cardinals had grown accustomed to. The cardinals left Rome and gathered at Anagni, Italy, where they asked Urban to resign, claiming they had chosen him under threats from the Roman populace to select an Italian pope. The duly-elected Urban refused, and the cardinals elected another pope, Clement VII, who returned to Avignon. The Church now had two popes. Catherine called the cardinals “incarnate demons” and supported Urban, whom she considered the legitimate pope. Urban summoned Catherine to Rome and asked her to help him find a way out of this dilemma, this schism. For the next year she prayed and fasted continuously while seeking a harmonious solution. But God had other plans; on April 29, 1380, she died of a stroke. Catherine had given her life to God and to the holy Catholic Church.

D.D. Emmons writes from Pennsylvania. This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor.

Honoring Catherine of Siena

The Church has conferred numerous honors on St. Catherine of Siena. Canonized in 1461 by Pope Pius II (r. 1458-64), the bull of canonization reads: “She assisted the unfortunate and the oppressed, counseled sinners and attracted them to penance by the mildness of her discourse; she gave counsel with joy. … She calmed disputes, appeased a great number of violent hatreds and terminated many bloody enmities. … Two Roman pontiffs esteemed her so highly that they charged her with several negotiations, and granted her a great number of spiritual favors.” Catherine is one of only four women named Doctor of the Church; her book “The Dialogue” is a spiritual classic. She is the co-patron of Rome, patroness of Italy and co-patron of Europe, plus there are thousands of Catholic Churches that bear her name.
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Sacraments

Eucharistic Worship Outside Mass

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For the devout Catholic, nothing we do is more intimate or more adoring than receiving the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, in holy Communion. In this beautiful Sacrament…

For the devout Catholic, nothing we do is more intimate or more adoring than receiving the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, in holy Communion.

In this beautiful Sacrament we experience and unite ourselves to Jesus. Holy Mother Church has long provided us with devotions that extend this miraculous event beyond the confines of the Mass. Such devotions are commonly known as Eucharistic Adoration.

During the first 300 years of Christianity, there were no organized, separate acts of Eucharistic Adoration outside Sunday worship services. After Emperor Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians in A.D. 313, construction of churches began and the reserved Eucharist for the sick was kept in the church and often secured in the sacristy. Over the next several centuries, the Eucharist was relocated out of the sacristy and stored in locations around and above the church altar. While not necessarily purposeful at the time, this encouraged personal prayer in the presence of the reserved Host.

“Gazing” Adoration

In the Middle Ages, the practice developed of people taking Communion less frequently, and the Church eventually decreed that everyone should receive holy Communion at least once a year. Further reflecting these changing attitudes, altars were moved away from the congregation and, in some churches, screens were placed between the sanctuary and the nave as if to separate the priest-celebrant from the people.

Being physically separated from the actions around the altar and infrequently receiving holy Communion gave rise to the phenomena of “adoration by seeing or gazing” — that is, people adored the Eucharist by looking at it as opposed to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. The fact that people did not receive Communion did not mean that they stopped believing in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Indeed, Mass attendees gave special attention to the moments when the priest elevated or lifted up the consecrated Host, and people came to Mass early seeking good locations for viewing the priest holding up the Host. Due to church structure and the use of Latin, it was often difficult to both see and understand what was happening around the altar. Thus the elevation was preceded by the ringing of a bell as an alert that the Host was being lifted up. Those in the congregation would excitedly move around to see this great event.

It was common for people to adore the elevated Host in one church and then rush to Mass at another location to again look at the Eucharist. Many Church historians point to this period, when the elevation was added to the Mass, as the beginning of Eucharistic exposition, prolonged adoration and the earliest contemplation of a monstrance.

Corpus Christi

The solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, what we refer to as Corpus Christi Sunday, began in the 13th century. About 1209, St. Juliana, a nun in a monastery near Liege, Belgium, had a series of visions in which our Lord Jesus asked her to promote the creation of a special feast day that would honor and adore His Eucharistic presence. Twenty years later, Juliana told the local bishop, Bishop Robert de Thorete (or Torote), of her visions.

Although the idea originally met with some hesitation, in 1246 Bishop Thorete ordered the feast of Corpus Christi be implemented throughout his diocese. In 1264, Pope Urban IV (r. 1261-1264) issued a papal bull instructing that the feast day be celebrated annually throughout the universal Church. Although Pope Urban died before the directions of the papal bull were instituted, the feast was eventually added to the worldwide Church calendar in 1317 during the reign of Pope John XXII (1316-1334).

Initially, a procession was not part of the feast day but soon became a fact. The laity was still receiving holy Communion on an infrequent basis, and the cult of adoration by gazing at the Eucharist continued.

One way to prolong the viewing and demonstrate their adoration was to carry the Eucharist in a Corpus Christi day procession. Some of these processions, which began in Europe during the 14th century, involved laity and clergy marching behind the bishop who carried a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. In the early 1300s, Corpus Christi processions were concluded with Benediction or a blessing of the people, and by 1600 the Church had issued detailed instructions for conducting Benediction. Today, most Eucharistic devotions typically end with Benediction. These public Corpus Christi processions, exposing the Blessed Sacrament outside the tabernacle, were the forerunner of the Forty Hours devotion.

Forty Hours

Church history indicates that 12th-century Christians were among the first to keep a 40-hour prayer vigil and did so during the Easter Triduum. Forty hours was the time Jesus lay in the tomb. It is less certain whether or not the Blessed Sacrament was exposed during the vigils. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament outside Mass, what today we commonly refer to as Eucharistic Adoration — that is, taking the Blessed Sacrament from the tabernacle and placing it on the altar for an extended period — can be traced to the 16th century. In 1537, the churches and faithful of Milan, Italy, began celebrating 40 hours of prayer at times other than during the Triduum.

People pray at the Pope John Paul II Chapel of Eucharistic Adoration at St. James the Greater Catholic Church, Sauk Village, Ill. Picture by Karen Callaway

When the devotion ended in one church, the Blessed Sacrament was carried to another church, where the Eucharist would be exposed on the altar during another 40 hours of prayer. It would then be carried to the next church and so on.

The anticipated invasion by a Turkish army into Italy in 1541 led Pope Paul III (r. 1534-1549) to issue an indulgence to the Diocese of Milan that reads, in part, “the Archbishop of Milan, at the prayer of the inhabitants of said city, in order to appease the anger of God provoked by the offences of Christians, and in order to bring to nought the efforts and machinations of the Turks who are pressing forward to the destruction of Christendom, amongst other pious practices, has established a round of prayers and supplications to be offered both by day and night by all the faithful of Christ, before our Lord’s Most Sacred Body, in all the churches of the said city, in such a manner that these prayers and supplications are made by the faithful themselves relieving each other in relays for forty hours continuously in each church in succession.”

The devotion, especially in light of the Protestant revolt in the 16th century, spread rapidly across Europe, including Rome, where in 1592 Pope Clement VIII issued a papal decree, Graves et diuturnae, which mandated the continuous observance of the Forty Hours devotion in the churches of Rome. Later, Popes Clement XI (r. 1700-1721) and Clement XII (1730-1740) issued instructions and rubrics, most still used, detailing the Forty Hours devotion.

In 1853, St. John Neumann introduced the devotion to the United States. The 1917 Code of Canon Law required all parishes to annually celebrate Forty Hours adoration, but in 1983 the law was changed, and today canon law only recommends annual exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. Holy hours of adoration and First Friday celebrations are products of Forty Hours.

Among the most practiced of our Eucharistic devotions is prayer before the tabernacle. As Catholics we can walk into any Catholic church, visually find the red light, then silently pray, honor and adore the Real Presence of Jesus in the most holy Sacrament.

Prior to every Mass, we give our thoughts to the Eucharistic Jesus veiled in the tabernacle, we stay after Mass to pray before the same Blessed Sacrament, and when exiting the confessional, our penitential prayers are often offered near the tabernacle. There is general agreement among Church experts that adoration of the reserved Eucharist in a tabernacle began at the end of the 11th or 12th centuries.

Perpetual Adoration

Perpetual adoration — that is, continuous prayer 24 hours a day — before the Blessed Sacrament can be traced in the Western Church to the sixth century. It was then referred to as “continuous praise” and found mostly in monasteries or religious communities. Among the earliest locations is the cathedral in Lugo, Spain, where prayer before the blessed Sacrament was continuous for over 1,000 years.

Father Miguel Martinez leads participants in prayer following a Eucharistic Procession at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Des Plaines, Ill. Picture by Karen Callaway

In 1226, King Louis VIII of France, at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Avignon, introduced continuous adoration as thanksgiving for his successful efforts to end the Albigensian heresy. This heretical group rejected Catholicism in general and the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist in particular. The people of Avignon continuously prayed night and day in the Holy Cross chapel for the next 500 years.

While Church history identifies several religious groups and locations where perpetual adoration was practiced, it wasn’t until some time between the 15th and 17th centuries that the devotion expanded on a universal basis.

Among the notable 19th-century Catholics advocating adoration of the Eucharist outside the Mass, especially perpetual adoration, was St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1869).

St. Peter, sometimes called the Apostle of the Eucharist, championed continuous Eucharistic Adoration and formed orders of both religious men and women dedicated to the worship and glorification of God through the Most Blessed Sacrament.

From these early efforts, perpetual adoration has expanded to Catholic parishes, chapels and oratories throughout the world.

D.D. Emmons writes from Pennsylvania.

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Sacramentals

Why Wear A Scapular?

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Many Catholics wear a scapular. In fact, those who wear it are rarely without it except perhaps when bathing. It is as much a part of us as a wedding…

Many Catholics wear a scapular. In fact, those who wear it are rarely without it except perhaps when bathing.

It is as much a part of us as a wedding band, a symbol that signifies our love or commitment to another; in this case to the Blessed Mother and through her to our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a story that when Pope St. John Paul II was shot during the 1981 attempt on his life, he asked the attending doctors not to remove his scapular. Anyone who wears it can relate. But why are we so devoted to this small cloth necklace?

The word scapular is from the Latin scapula, meaning shoulder blade. It is a garment first designed by monks during the Middle Ages as protective covering to be worn over their clothing when they did manual labor, such as in the fields or outside. It is similar to a poncho, placed over the head, sleeveless, and covers the wearer’s front and back down to below the knees.

As scapular popularity grew among religious communities, laypeople also wanted to wear such garments as they sought to imitate the pious, holy ways of the monks. They were allowed to form groups in association with the religious order, follow certain rules of the order and identify their alliance by wearing that order’s scapular. Among the laity, the overall, lengthy scapular later gave way to a much smaller version such as we wear today. Made up of narrow (necklace-shaped) cloth, about 24 inches in length, it normally has small blocks of engraved wool material just larger than a postage stamp at each end and is meant to slip over the head and hang equally down your back and front. While the Church has approved 18 different scapulars for wear, the most popular is the brown scapular of the Carmelite Order, more formally known as the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The brown scapular signals the Carmelites spiritual devotion to the Virgin Mother.

The history of the brown scapular dates back to the 13th century, but Carmelite history goes back to the Old Testament, some nine centuries before Christ. Near the city of Haifa in Palestine is the mountain range known as Carmel, and part of that range is Mount Carmel, where the prophets Elijah and Elisha were known to visit. A place of pilgrimage, contemplation and prayer, Mount Carmel has long been regarded as holy ground. Once Emperor Constantine ended religious persecutions in the fourth century, Christians began to increasingly populate various areas of the Middle East. Monks found their way to Mount Carmel where they grouped together, pledging themselves to the Virgin Mother and her Son. Eventually, they built an oratory dedicated to Mary and, in about 1206, were given permission to establish the Order of Mount Carmel. Later in the 13th century a number of these monks migrated to England where a local pious man was attracted to and eventually joined the group. That man was St. Simon Stock (1165-1265) who would later become the sixth general of the Carmelite Order and from whom the brown scapular developed.

St. Simon Stock and His Vision

Legend holds that on July 16, 1251, the Blessed Mother appeared in a vision to Simon, gave him the brown scapular and said: “Receive most beloved son, the scapular of thy Order, a sign of my confraternity, a privilege both to thee and to all Carmelites, in which he that dieth shall not suffer eternal fire; behold the sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, the covenant of peace and everlasting alliance.” (For information on this event read “A Short Treatise of the Antiquity, Institution, Excellency, Indulgences, Privileges, etc., of the Ancient Confraternity of Our Blessed Lady of Mount Carmel, Called the Scapular,” by R.J. Colgan, published in 1847.)

There are different versions of this legend, and some Church scholars have cast doubt on its authenticity. There is little doubt, however, as to the sincerity of Catholics who devotedly wear the brown scapular, which on one end has these words stitched on it: “Whosoever dies wearing this scapular will not suffer eternal fire.” On the other end: “Behold the Sign of Salvation.” The Church, for 800 years, has continued to appreciate and encourage the Carmelite’s efforts to bring believers closer to Jesus through the Mother of God. In the early 18th century, a feast day known as Our Lady of Mount Carmel was added to the Church’s universal liturgical calendar and is celebrated every July 16.

Wearing the Brown Scapular

The conditions under which a layperson may wear the brown scapular vary: an individual may join a formal association of the Carmelite order, such as a secular third order, or they may be ceremoniously enrolled in the order of the brown scapular without joining a formal group. Also, anyone may wear the brown scapular if it is blessed by a priest or deacon. Whether or not formally committed to the order, those who wear the scapular are considered part of the Carmelite order.

It is unthinkable that any member of the people of God would wear the scapular in a mindless or careless manner. Simply, the indiscriminate donning of the scapular without authentic devotion is like a soldier putting on a uniform but ignoring the code of conduct the uniform requires. There are purposeful, sincere commitments associated with the scapular, whether it is the brown scapular or any other.

When wearing the brown scapular we are expected to follow certain norms identified by the Carmelite order (using its Catechesis and Ritual manual) and as published by the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which, among other commitments, obliges the brown scapular wearer to imitate the praying Virgin who kept the word of God in her heart (see Lk 2:19,51), setting aside some time to meet God in prayer, meditating on the mysteries of salvation, taking part in faith in the liturgy of the Church (attending Mass), especially the Eucharist, reciting every day some liturgical hour or some psalms or the Rosary. (See the doctrinal statement on the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Nov. 29, 1996.) Thus, by dedication to these guiding principles, the scapular becomes the expression of our devotion to Mary, as we, along with millions of other faithful souls, seek her favor with full knowledge and belief that she is the Gate of Heaven. Mary, who knew both great joy and excruciating sorrow in life, will pray and intercede on our behalf before our Lord Jesus Christ. It is Jesus who cures us; it is Jesus who saves us.

Not a Magic Charm

The scapular is not a lucky charm; it is not a rabbit’s foot, horseshoe or magic lamp. Rather it becomes a sign of our salvation if we draw close to the Mother of God, open our hearts to the special heavenly graces that she offers and give ourselves to her protection from earthly sin and temptation. “From the moment we receive it, Mary has never ceased to follow us with her maternal gaze, to safeguard within us the life of grace. Each time we are converted and return to God or rise again after falling into sin — be it great or small — each time we increase in grace, all, everything, is effected through Mary’s mediation. The scapular, the little habit, that Our Lady of Mount Carmel offers us, is only the external symbol of her unceasing, maternal care: the symbol but also the sign, the pledge of salvation.… The Blessed Virgin gives the assurance of the supreme grace of final perseverance to all who wear worthily her little habit.” (See “Divine Intimacy,” by Father P. Gabriele of St Mary Magdalene, O.C.D., English translation from seventh Italian edition, 1996, Tan Books.)

Devoutly wearing the brown scapular, wearing it next to our heart, prompts us to follow the commandments of God, to live a life of heroic virtue in the manner of the saints, and it is a constant reminder of our commitment to the virtues of the Blessed Mother.

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