Prayer of Saint Augustine to Saint Monica after her passing

Prayer of Saint Augustine to Saint Monica after her passing

My dear Mother, 

There are no words to describe the immense gratitude I have in my heart for you and who I am now is completely indebted to you. Your passing gives me great sorrow, but my consolation is that this physical separation is only temporal. The spiritual union however, never ceases; and we are especially united in the Eucharist. I am also consoled by the fact that after nine days of severe suffering, you can finally rest in peace. I know that you are now rejoicing with the one who you were closest too and the one you spoke to me so much about. This is why I do not despair. Having watched over me and interceded for me while still here on earth, how much more so will you intercede for me in paradise. 

The Lord was always present in your heart and those around you could see him in you. His gifts in you were also always apparent. You were a great peacemaker; always looking to settle disagreements. Acting as a mediator, you heard both sides of people who were quarrelling and helped them reconcile, always with the greatest discretion and confidentiality. You never spread rumors of others. However, nowhere are the gifts that God gave you more apparent than in your marriage. You had to endure a lot from my father in his infidelity and his ager. Despite all this, you were patient and never uttered an evil word against him. In prayer you discovered the best ways to deal with him and helped other women in their own marriage. You were an example, for my father, of the beauty and presence of God in a person. All this effort was rewarded when, at the end of his life, you gained his soul for the Lord; and you could never complain of all you had endured because the Lord had given you the recompense in his salvation. So, I thank and praise the Lord for his gifts within you and implore him to bestow the same gifts on me. 

From my earliest years you spoke to me about the Lord and all his great works. You sowed in me during those early years the seed of truth which dictated the search of my whole life. It was you that taught me the truth I was seeking for all those years, and it was always inside of me. As a seed needs water to grow, so did I need your prayers for the seed of the authentic truth to flourish within me. You spent your whole life praying for my conversion, and your prayer was not in vain. Through your own experience as a winebibber, you knew that God delivers his children; and you knew that just as God had delivered you, he could deliver me. 

I was around sixteen when I began to stray from the truth that you had taught me, pridefully seeking pleasures, riches, and knowledge. Slowly, but surely, I strayed away from my faith and sought the true elsewhere: not realizing that the truth I sought was already engraved deep within me. You warned me of this and asked me not to go down this road, but I was hardheaded and proud. When I joined the Manicheans, you forbade me from entering your house. I know how much pain this must have cost you. As you later revealed to me, you went to the Bishop and nagged him to confront me, to show me the error of my ways. In this way you remind me of the widow of which Jesus speaks about in Luke 18, who insistently begged for justice. The Bishop, driven desperate by your nagging, told you to have hope because God would surely answer the unceasing prayers and tears; and that someone of my learned and yearning for truth would eventually return to the truth. Your later dream of the angel furthered your hope but also increased your determination. 

When I tricked you and left you to go to Rome and later Milan, instead of abandoning me, you followed me. Through the dangerous voyage you comforted sailors and gave them hope. After finally arriving, you discovered that I had taken my first step towards conversion after listening to the preaching of Ambrose. Instead of rejoicing however, you assured me that the Lord had promised this to you and that you would not die before you saw me a Christian. In the privacy of your heart however, you wept and increased your prayers. My journey continued, though there were many stumbles and setbacks. Finally, when I was baptized and entered into full communion with the Church, you said to me: “Son, for myself, I have no longer any pleasure in anything in this life. What I want here further, and why I am here, I know not, now that my hopes in this world are satisfied. There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. My God has exceeded this abundantly, so that I see you despising all earthly felicity, made His servant — what do I here?” Soon after speaking these words, you fell ill, and after nine days of suffering, you went home to our Father, to the place where you now sought to be.  

You made me promise not to worry about the things of your burial, but to only take you with me to the altar. This is a promise I will always keep, and it brings me comfort to know that we can be together through the Eucharist. Although this temporary separation is difficult, I know that the difficulty is mine and not yours. For you are rejoicing with the one to whom you spoke the most during your time here on earth. While I know I still have much to do here on earth as reparation for my sins and to reach holiness, I long for the day that we can once again be together with each other and together with the one with whom both of us have fallen deeply in love with. 

Always keep me in your sights as you watch over me, 

Your son, 

Augustine

The Plague

Picture from Wiki Common https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Plague,_1898.jpg

The Plague or the Black Death hit Europe in 1347. It was very contagious and deadly. Doctors at the time had no idea how to contain it or treat it. Panic spread just as fast as the disease which is normal when something so deadly begins a rapid spread among communities. Between 2014 and 2017 eleven cases of Ebola were confirmed in the United States (1) which sent the country into a panic and that is because we have advanced quite a bit when it comes to medicine since the Middle Ages, so one can only imagine how much more panicked the people of 1347 were.

The plague caused boils that oozed all over the victim's body.  "The disease was also terrifyingly efficient. People who were perfectly healthy when they went to bed at night could be dead by morning.". (2) Other times, it took days for them to succumb to the disease. People who helped nurse the sick would end up sick themselves which made nursing others a dangerous job.

Scientists now know that the cause of The Plague is a bacteria known as bacillus and they " know that the bacillus travels from person to person pneumatically, or through the air, as well as through the bite of infected fleas and rats" (3), which were everywhere in ships which is where the plague first began. But at the time, people did not know what had caused this disease outbreak so some people had a theory that it was a punishment from God. Some of these religious people who thought that God sent the plague as a punishment decided to go around flagellating themselves through towns. This was not very sanitary since blood from their flagellating would fling on people watching, thus spreading the plague even more. 

The plague ran it's course by the 1350s but it showed up here and there later. (4) Even now in the United States, an average of seven cases of the plague are reported a year. (5) But nothing on the level of the outbreak in the Middle Ages has been seen again. 

1."2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa | History | Ebola (Ebola Virus Disease) | CDC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 11, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/history/2014-2016-outbreak/index.html.

2. Editors, History.com. "Black Death." History.com. September 17, 2010. Accessed July 11, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death.

3. Editors, History.com. "Black Death"

4. Editors, History.com. "Black Death"

5. "Maps and Statistics | Plague | CDC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed July 11, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/plague/maps/index.html.

Revelation of Divine Love: Book Review

 

Introduction

Julian of Norwich was a very popular Anchoress during her time, yet people know so little about her. The only way people knew about her existence is because of her Revelations that she received by God and would write later on in her life. Julian's writing is kind of difficult to understand because she never mentions her name or her life in the book, she just refers herself as "the Soul, the poor, simple, simple creature, or a mere wretch."^1^ It is understandable why Julian did this because she did not want to have peoples attention on her, but rather in Gods message. One interesting aspect about Julian is the day she recieved the Divine revelation of Love on May 13, 1373. Coinsidently the first apparation of Our Lady of Fatima would fall on May 13, 1917, this can be a way of affirming that Julian is not a hoax, and plus none of her  Revelations goes against Church teachings. Throughout the book, "Revelation of Divine Love" Julian persistently reminds the readers that this message was meant for all and not just to herself. "Thus Julian turns our eyes from looking on her to looking with her on the Revelation of Love."^2^ Julian wanted everyone to see what she saw and felt during her Revelations or what she called "Shewings". 

Julians First Revelation

Julians first Revelation was the passion of Christ, where Julain saw how Christ was crowned with thorns on His head. As Julian was watching Christ being crowned, she describes how suddenly she felt the Trinity fill her heart with immense joy. Through the Holy Trinity, Julian was able to better understand God and His goodness. Julian mentions how, she was able to see the importance of the Blessed Mother Mary. Julian desribes the Virgin Mary as full of virtues and graces, because of that yes she gave to God in accepting His will. Julian got 6 important points out of her first revelation, which was the passion of Christ, the humlness of our Lady, Gods imense power, God is creator, as maker God loves everything, and lastly God is pure goodness.^3^ Julians visions or revelation are described in depth and she wrote it down. This makes the reader want to imagine, what she felt and what she saw during the passion of Christ. 

Julians Second Revelation 

Julian's second revelation was very short and simple one. The three main and impotant points in this Revelation is that God desires His people to be willingly to follow Him, second is so people can seek Him with a firm faith and lastly to trust in God.^4^ God is calling people to seek Him diligently with an open heart and to trust in Him. Julians revelations are similar to Biblical accounts and to the Catechism of The Catholic Church. "The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if even one is wise, if even one seeks God"(Ps 14:2 NABRE). 

Julians Third-Seventh Revelation 

Julians third to seventh Revelations are short yet full of meaning and wisdom. Julian once again sees the passion of Christ, but this time she describes Gods body. In detail she describes Gods body "the fair skin was broken full deep into the tender flesh with sharp smiting all aboout the sweet body."^5^ The beautiful thing about Julian's writing is that after she saw how God sufferend and bled during His passion, she would explain what all this meant for her. For example when she describes how Jesus's blood was dripping off his body "the prescious plenty of His dearworthy blood overfloweth  all earth, and is ready to wash all creatures of sin."^6^ Julian reflects on what she saw during her revelations, which helps the reader better undertsand why God is revealing this to Julian. one beautiful thing Julian talks about is Gods reward for those who do His will. She describes it as a King who rewards his sevant for his good deeds and the king would make it known to all his kingdom.^7^ Just reading this, and thinking about what God has stored for those who seek God and who love. 

Julian's Eighth Revelation

Julian's eighth revelation is very graphic one by the way she describes it. It is the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Julian describes the Body as if Jesus was dead for couple days and that all his blood has dried out. When Julian saw Christ suffer and full of pain, she too began to feel his pain by just watching Him. Julian saw four manners of dryings that Jesus suffered. first was the dryness of his own blood, second was the pain of his blood drying up, third was how Jesus was hanging like cloths to dry and lastly was how Jesus's body desired liquid but could not satisfy his bodies desire.^8^ This brings  an imporatnt point in her revelations which is to meditate Gods passion, "for the highest point that may be seen in the passion is to think and know what He is that suffered."^9^ This is very important to understand how much God truly suffered for all of humanity, becaus ethat is how greatly God loves His creation. 

Julians Ninth- twelfth Revelations

Julian demonstrates this great Marian spirituality that God revealed to her. Mary suffered greatly by watching her own suffer an ddie durring the passion. God revealed Julian His mother to her and said "wilt thou see how I love her, that thou mightest joy with me in the love that I have in her an dshe in me?"^8^ God revealed Mary to Julian in three stages showing how precious the Virgin Mary is to Him. The first stage that was revealed was when Mary was with Child, second was the sorrows she suffered under the cross and lastly is that "she is now in pleasing, worship and Joy."^9^ The Virgin Mary is definitly is seen as an important saint who has shown humblness, and sets a great exampe for all human beings. 

Julians Thirteenth-Sixteenth Revelation 

The thriteenth revelation reveals what sin does to humans, and why the Church through teh Holy Spirit has recieved the sacrament of confession. Human soul desire God because they desire their creator because the "soul and body clad in the goodness of God."^10^ Julian talks about the mercy and forgiveness of God because, humans often fall into sin. Since the soul desires God, and "God is nearer to us than our own soul."^11^ It is only through God Man may receive forgiveness. Julian Revelations were not always about Christ passion but also about the enemy or what she refers to them as fiends.  Her description of there smell was physically painful to bare. Gods love is eternal and forgives all sins. This is one of the ways God shows His people His immense love for humanity. 

Conclusion 

Julian of Norwich wrote a very interesting book, not for herself but for all. Although this book might seem a bit confusing at first to read because of the different type of english it is written in. There are many references that help the readers better understand what Julian is trying to say. Julians Revelations are definitly quite interesting and therefore I recommend this book to readers. There are many good lessons in here, what got my attention was how Julian would humble herself and make her self selfless. all she desired was to comfort those who needed it. She showed compassion to all her brothers and sisters. She showed that same love that she saw in Christ to everyone else. What was Gods greatest commandment. " you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your soul and with all your mind."(Mt 22:37 NABRE) Julian got the Revelation of Divine Love which is one of the greatest commanment. God showed his immense love for all through the passion. 

^1^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" Translated from British Library MS, edited by Grace Warrack 1901. 10 

^2^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 13

^3^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 40

^4^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 43
^5^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love"  45
^6^Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love"  46
^7^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love"48
^8^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love"50
^7^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love"53
^8^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 58
^9^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 58
^10^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 10
^11^ Julian, Norwich,  "Revelations of Divine Love" 97

The Rise of Monasticism

 

The Beginning

 The Rise of Monasticism was due to the desire of imitating Christ and another way of imitating Christ was by dying as a martyr. Some of the ways Monks imitated Christ was by leaving into the desert and to become secluded, just like Christ when he went off into the desert for forty days and forty nights.^1^ Christian Monasticism would begin because of one Gospel passage on a Sunday morning.^2^ "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me"(Mt 19:21) Monasticism was believed to spread because of Antony, who was seeking to become a monk. monks main goal was to "meditate on the Lord with no distractions".^3^  During this time Monks practiced by themselves in seclusion, and there was no orderly structure. Monasticism was spreading quickly but there was no system in place until Poachomius came along. Poachomius would establish monasteries that would home up to 40 monks and have a superior. Monks would live a selfless life by giving up personal items and materialistic things. They would also make things, to sell them and the profit they made would go to the community. As Monasticism was becoming very popular, monasteries began to grow too big for the Abbot to take care of too many people. "The accumulation of property and wealth needed to run the monastery destroyed the ideal of poverty."^4^  Monasticism was growing too fast and would bring lots of attention and brought quite a crowd.  St Athanasius who was the bishop of Alexandria knew Antony and would write a book called "Life of Antony". This book would attract many westerners to monastic life.^5^ One unique aspect from monasticism in the west was that they would bring monks to the priesthood. 

Benedict of Nursia also known as The Father of Western Monastics because his rule in the western area was dominant.^6^ Benedict would establish three rules which are moderation, prayer/work, and socialization. The Benedictine monks are very dedicated to prayer and work, they have to wake up at 3pm and read the liturgy of the hours. The Benedictine monks took vows of poverty, conversion of life and to obedience. There is also great importance in the leaders of the monasteries because they are the ones responsible for the monks as spiritual Father.  The position as a superior was very important in the community, and one of the most important people in the dioceses. "Benedict sets scripture and insists upon silence as the space in which  God's fruitful word can be flourished."^7^ Benedict truly had a huge impact in the community especially by all the rules he set for one to receive holiness. Benedict never realized how much of an impact he would make on western civilizations. the monks would preserve the classical manuscripts. "They also developed art, architecture and invented the writing down of music."^8^ Monasticism would have a huge impact in history, for example in the future the Church Fathers would have a huge impact within the Catholic Church. Many saints and bishops were monks. 

^1^ Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages": A History. New York: Paulist Press, 2014.80
^2^ CHRYSSAVGIS, JOHN. “The Desert and the World: Learning from the Desert Fathers and Mothers.” Greek Orthodox Theological Review 53, no. 1–4 (Spring-Winter 2008): 141–54. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=59798658&authtype=cookie,cpid&custid=s9245834&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
^3^ Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" 81 
^4^ Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" 81
^5^ Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" 82
^6^  Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" 83
^7^ Heisey, Daniel J. “Verdi’s Requiem and Benedict’s Rule.” Sacred Music 137, no. 4 (Winter 2010): 32–38. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=59978097&authtype=cookie,cpid&custid=s9245834&site=ehost-live&scope=site. 
^8^ Vidmar, John. "The Catholic Church Through the Ages" 87

Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset Book Review

Catherine of Sienna by Sigrid Undset is the biography of St. Catherine of Siena. Unlike her own writing, this biography goes into depth about the political climate during the life of St. Catherine of Siena. It is part historical, part spiritual and part biography which makes it a very unique book.

Undset goes into detail about was happening with the papacy and also the Kings and Queens who ruled during the life of St. Catherine and how Jesus used this tiny woman to speak to these world leaders on His behalf. She did so always knowing that she was only the messenger and nothing more or less than the servant of God. Undset writes that St. Catherine said: "Let all do the work which God has given them, and not bury their talent, for that is also a sin deserving severe punishment" (1), which is how the Saint lived her life. She did what God asked of her and did not think of herself as special for doing so because she knew that everyone had the ability and freedom to do the same if they choose to. 

One of St. Catherine's missions was to get the papacy moved back to Rome from Avignon France after the election of Pope Clement. "when Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was chosen in 1303 as Pope under the name of Clement V, he refused to leave his native France to live in Italy"(2), writes Sigrid. She goes on to explain that the election of Pope Clement the V was helped by a murderous and sacrilegious King, King Philippe le Bel. This corruption and political influence on the Church was a theme of St. Catherine's time and God gave her the mission of being the voice of reason to the Vicar of Christ to move back to Rome. A mission she accomplished with Pope Urban VI who moved the Papacy back to Rome after his election as Pope. But that did not come without drama. Some french cardinals disputed that Pope Urban VI was the true pope saying they had elected him as Pope out of fear for their lives since the Romans has threatened to kill the Cardinals if they did not vote for a Roman to become the next Pope. This caused a schism where the French cardinals elected a rival Pope. 

St. Catherine of Siena spent the last part of her life trying to talk sense into everyone about the truth that Pope Urban VI was the true Pope. She also spent a lot of time counseling the new Pope on how to treat his people with mercy because he was known to be a strict ruler in weeding out corruption in the Church. 

The great thing about Undset's biography is that it gives us a look into the life of a saint during corruption in the Church and political chaos. The entire time all St. Catherine focused on was surrounding her self to God's will and His mission for her. She served where she was needed always working on telling everyone that God loved them and calling them to reconcile themselves to Him. She held no power in the eyes of the world but so many powerful people sought her out for advice and her advice to them was always rooted in God. 

This is a powerful book for our times as there are so many stories of corruption in the Church today as well as the complete chaos in our own political systems in the world. In this biography what we can see is how in the midst of so much instability what God needs are saints who are willing to surrender their wills to Him to use as He sees fit. It is not about the specifics of what St. Catherine went through such as the ecstasies or visions or the way she was called to do penance, but it is about the way she surrendered to God's will knowing exactly who she was, both a sinner and the beloved daughter of God, and doing what she was called to do without worrying about what God asked of anyone else. She was bold in speaking truth to power but did so out of obedience to God and not for her own sake. She also served the people in front of her with joy, love, and mercy asking God to put their punishment on her and save them. 

In a time when we are often struggling with where politics fits into our spiritual life, it is helpful to read Undset say "Catherine's opinion was that politics are never anything but the product of a person's religious life". (3) This is something that can be of help to each of us in our own time with our own specific political and religious issues which is why this book is such a great read and relevant for our time in History.

1. Sigrid Undset, Catherine of Siena. ( San Francisco: Ignatius, 2009). 176.

2. Undset, Catherine of Siena, 127.

3. Undset, Catherine of Siena, 299.