Day 9: Using The Present Moment

 

One of the Cure of Ars' most ardent desires was to enter a monastery.  A few times during his years as parish priest, St John Vianney expressed the desire to go and live a life of prayer in solitude and weep for his sins.  This holy man was all too aware of his sins and as he reflected on them there was always a tone of regret in his musings.

 

We find this regret also in Genesius.  As he is tortured, knowing he is to die he says: "I have come rather late to adore the true King".  We all know that regret - why did I leave it so late?  why did I do that?  People who mature in faith in the later years of their lives lament the wasted years when they could have done so much.  A priest I know regrets the Holy Hours he never made in the early years of his priesthood, but with confidence he says: "But now, some days I do two to make up for the ones I missed".

 

It is good to express such regret - it is part of conversion and repentance.  However, that regret must be balanced by faith and hope, knowing that the merciful God forgives and can still accomplish his work in us.  Like the workmen hired at the eleventh hour, the Lord will find work for the latecomers and they too can make a difference.  While we must not leave off conversion until we are older - we must follow now, those who come late must never despair, but rather make good use of the time they have.

 

And this is what Genesius did.  After his conversion, his task was to witness, to endure and to offer his life for Christ, and he did so wholeheartedly.  We may not be asked to do this, but what we have to do for Christ, let us do with the love, generosity and joy of a martyr.

 

Novena prayers to be found here

Day 8: Seeing Christ

 

One of the arguments Christian apologists use to defend the existence of Christ and the reality of the  resurrection is the martyrdom of the Apostles and other witnesses to the Lord's rising.  Surely, we are told, these people would not have died for a lie: they gave their lives in testimony to the fact that they saw the Risen Lord with their own eyes.

 

There is a similar claim made by St Genesius in his trial.  He says: "There is no other King other than he whom I saw; I adore and worship him".  This seems almost a Pauline moment - like St Paul, Genesius has seen the Lord and that has led him to believe and now he will die for that Lord. 

 

Central to our Christian faith is the person of Jesus Christ and to be a Christian is to be in a relationship with Christ, to be his disciples.  He is our King and our Lord to whom we owe ultimate allegiance in love.  Pope Benedict XVI once said that each successive generation must discover Christ for themselves and encounter him in a personal way: "see him", as St Genesius suggests.  In that "vision" we will come to know him, love him and be prepared to offer even our very lives for him.

 

Of course most of us will never have an actual vision of the Lord, but it is in a life of prayer, nourished by the Gospels and the Sacraments that we will come to "see" Christ, encounter him, and sense his presence.  This is why it is important for those who call themselves Christian to actually live the Gospel and foster an authentic spiritual life, one grounded in Christ and the Church.

 

Novena prayers to be found here.

Day 7: The Father's Merciful Hand

 

In an event which was mysterious, there is one in the conversion of St Genesius which stands out.  He describes it here himself:

But when the water touched my naked body, and when I replied to the question that I believed, I saw a hand coming over me from heaven, and radiant angels standing above me who read from a book all the sins which I had committed from my infancy; but then they washed them in the very water in which I was bathed in your sight, and afterwards showed it to me whiter than snow.

 

Is he describing a vision?  There is an element of the Book of Revelation here particularly in his describing what seems to be the book of his own life.  In this vision he sees the effects of Baptism - our sins washed away in the waters of life and the soul made pure.  But it is the hand coming from heaven which is most intriguing and constitutes our meditation for this "moment".

 

Here I believe is the merciful hand of God the Father, the "Father of mercies", who in his love reaches out to his children to impart forgiveness and grace, and to hold our hands and lead us into his kingdom.  All of us live under the merciful hand of God.  Some may fear it, but in reality we must rejoice in it for it is the tender hand of a loving Father who wishes to caress and heal.  St Therese of the Child Jesus explores this vision of the Father's hand and sees that it lifts her up to heaven, up into his lap.

 

To realise that we are the children of God is the greatest insight.  To take hold of his merciful hand and walk with him is the best way to live. 

 

 

Novena prayers are to be found here

Day 6: Proclaiming Faith

 

In his Letter, St Peter advises us to be ready to give a reason for our hope (1 Peter 3:15) - to be prepared to explain our faith and why it makes a difference in our lives.  Scripted into his play, Genesius has such a moment.  The author tells us: "When they had completed the sacramental mysteries, and when he had put on white garments, the play seemed to continue with his being taken off by soldiers, and brought before the Emperor to be interrogated about being Christian".  Though pagans, Genesius and his troupe understood that being a Christian was no mere private opinion or state, it is public, and even in time of persecution Christians take their place in the public square and proclaim their faith.

 

This is an insight many Christians seem to have forgotten.  Living in such a secularised world, and an aggressive one at that, we may be tempted to keep our faith to ourselves be out of fear or a misplaced sense of being tolerant or indeed a genuine desire not to offend anyone. But we must not fall for that temptation.  For one thing secularism, like other movements opposed to Christianity, will soon tire of certain citizens holding personal opinions opposed to the accepted view.  The experience of St Thomas More and Catholics under Elizabeth I of England is a case in point: though told the monarch would not intrude into their conscience, they soon found that that monarch would and did.  The concept of "thought crime" is not new.

 

We are called to proclaim the faith without fear, and to explain what we believe and why we believe it.  In the world there are many who are tired of a purely materialist and consumerist view of existence, they are looking for meaning.  It is for their sake that we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ even if it means offending those who are opposed to us.  Our example in this is the Lord Jesus himself, and we should reflect on how he continued to preach in the face of the anger of those who wanted to silence him: he will inspire us and guide us.  Of course we do so in charity, but also with zeal and with joy.

 

Novena prayers are to be found here

Day 5: Embracing A Graced Life

 

‘I desire to receive the grace of Christ, through which I may be reborn and freed from the ruin of my iniquities.’  These words are some of the most famous from the Acts of St Genesius, and they invite much prayer and meditation.  At this point in his drama at first reading we may not be sure if this is his acting or an actual expression of Genesius's desire: has the Holy Spirit already struck?  Have those lessons in the catechism class where he was doing his "research" produced unexpected fruit?  The author of the Acts is sure the conversion has occurred for he writes: "Genesius replied, no longer pretending or making it up, but from a pure heart".

 

These words of Genesius bring us to reflect in the sacrament of Baptism - the most life changing event in our lives when we become the children of God, incorporated into Christ and into his Church.  Genesius offers us some insights into the sacrament.  It is, first of all, an encounter within which we receive the grace of Christ.  Too often we lament how hard it is to be Christian - to live the moral teaching of the Church.  We are all too familiar with Christians and even Christian ministers telling us that we cannot live to such high ideals: we have to compromise, we have to lower the bar, we are told.  Such an attitude serves as a practical denial, in part, of grace: of that supernatural help which God gives us through the sacraments in general and Baptism in particular.  Grace is offered to help us not only reach these standards and live these ideal; we need only accept it.

 

It is in this context - the context of grace, that we are reborn and freed from "the ruin of [our] iniquities".  Baptism is an act of rebirth, born to a new life, a stronger life, a graced life, a Christian life in which God confers on us the help we need to overcome Original Sin and human weakness.  Conquering it will take time, and it may be a struggle, but we have a mighty hero to help us - Christ, and powerful weapons to defend us - grace.  We need only realise this, embrace grace and live.

 

Novena prayers are to be found here

Day 4: Lightening The Load

 

"Ah, my friends, I feel heavy, I want to become light".  According to the Acts, it is with these words that Genesius, acting, expressed his desire to be baptised.  Reading the Acts at this point there is a interesting ambiguity- is Genesius acting or, in his acting, is he expressing a deeper desire?  Actors will tell you that they draw on their own experiences to help them interpret a role and in doing this not only is the distinction between actor and character a little blurred, but in the context of art reflecting life/ imitating life, there is a poignant authenticity.

 

In expressing "heaviness" Genesius the actor reveals a burden which many people experience in life.  On a basic existentialist level we do find at times that there is a weight upon us, and life can certainly add to that weight.  How many of us experience the desire to be free, just to throw everything off and run away?  And some have a real reason to ponder such an action as various situations and circumstances impose suffering and many other difficulties. 

 

In requesting baptism, though he may not have known it at the time, Genesius is pointing to the One who can help us with the heaviness, the load, the suffering.  The Lord Jesus became man and offered his life for us in order to lift the existentialist burden we carry - that imposed by Original Sin.  In him, in the salvation he offers, we find the freedom we desire.  The cross may not be taken away from us, but with Christ we learn how to carry it and we see its significance, and that in itself can lighten the load.

 

Novena prayers can be found here.

Day 3: Building Communion

 

There is a well known saying that we can all identify with: "You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your relations".  That is meant to console us in the midst of familial difficulties.  We might also hang on to the suggestion that we are called to love our neighbour not necessarily like them for other problematic relationships.  And yet is not the greatest scandal among Christians their lack of unity, not just in terms of denominational relationships, but even within the communion of the Church?

 

One of the more intriguing tit-bits of information gleaned from the Acts of St Genesius is that which reveals he had a difficult relationship with his parents.  That is not unique.  But Genesius's estrangement was based on faith: his parents had become Christians and this led to his rejecting them.  Again this is not unusual - Our Lord tells us in the Gospel that he came to bring division - division between those who believe and those who do not, and that division would even enter into families.

 

Some of the interesting questions which emerge in relation to this are: was Genesius reconciled with his believing parents when he became a believer himself?  When he was in the catechism class, under false pretences, was there a "reconciliation"?  When he revealed his true colours was there another estrangement?  And when he finally accepted faith and proclaimed himself a disciple of Christ knowing he would suffer for it, was there a final reunion?

 

We will only know the answers to these questions in heaven, but we do know that those who truly embrace Christ and seek to live his way faithfully open the door to reconciliation and communion.  When brothers and sisters live in the unity of faith, as the psalm tells us, then there is communion and joy. 

 

In these difficult times one of our priorities as orthodox Christians is to nurture and strengthen our communion with each other.  Ultimately we are one family and we must learn to love each other.  There may be difficulties - we all have faults and bad habits: in one way or another we are all difficult to live with.  But at the end of the day our communion with each other must transcend our human failings and frustrations with each other. In the end we must always remember and act upon the love we should have for each other.  It may seem difficult, we may well have to swallow our pride, but if we remember God gives us his grace to keep us united to each other, then we can let go and be reconciled with our brothers and sisters.

 

Remember, it is said that blood is thicker than water, but for us baptised, the waters of baptism is thicker than blood!

 

Novena prayers are to be found here.

Day 2: The Seed On The Ground

 

The Lord's parable of the sower going out to sow seed is interesting.  The parable is clear, yet its application may not be as clear as we may think.  Instead of only describing categories of people in their response to the Word of God, it is perhaps even more accurate to describe the varying responses to the Word of God in each one of us.

 

In the Acts of St Genesius we are told that the actor Genesius inveigled his way into the Christian community and her catechetical programme.  There he was instructed in the teaching of Christ, we would say the Word of God was poured over him.  He was there only to do research - was he theatre's first "method actor"?   And if we dare put him in the parable we might be tempted to think he was the path where the seed fell and had no hope to germinate.

 

Yet we see later that that is not so.  A seed was indeed planted and it was beginning to grow and it would eventually produce a great harvest of faith and sanctity as we see as he lays down his life for Christ.  Even Genesius was, no doubt, surprised at that as he struggled with faith, trying to resist it. 

 

The lesson is clear: the Word of God has a way of finding its way into the human heart, and so we should never despair of those who struggle with faith or even reject it.  Like St Monica and so many other Saints, we keep the flame of hope alive, we pray and we open our hearts to God's initiative so to help Him bring others to Himself.   It is probably because of this that St Genesius is honoured as one of the patrons of conversion. 

 

Novena prayers are to be found here.

Day 1: The Way Of Earthly Success

 

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta once wrote: "God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful".  So much today is orientated towards "success" in a worldly sense, and even Christians and the Church herself at times, tends to think in terms of worldly success: of numbers and projects, of progress and image.  Yet when we look at the life of Jesus it might best be understood as a failure in worldly terms.

 

In the Acts of St Genesius we see a man who was obsessed with worldly success.  A renowned actor and comedian, his success rather than satisfying his desires only intensified them and in order to do better, to become more famous, to have more money, he was prepared to mock and use a persecuted people, and yet he was still not happy.  There is nothing sinful in success, it may well come, but if it is what we crave above all then we will not be satisfied, not in the depths of our being.    

 

As Christians we must seek to be faithful to Christ.  In this secular age that may well mean we are not a worldly success, but we will be precious in the eyes of God and that is more important that all the riches and honour the world can confer.  After all, the world is already passing away, only God and the eternal things remain forever. 

 

Novena Prayers are to be found here.

Novena 2013: Nine Moments

Our annual on-line Novena to St Genesius begins tomorrow, to bring us to the feast of the saint which this year we celebrate on Monday 26th August, transferred from the 25th which is a Sunday.

 

This year's theme is "Nine Moments" in which nine moments are taken from the Acts of St Genesius for our meditation.   We would like to invite you to log on each day to my blog where for each day a short reflection will be offered, and then we can pray the novena prayers together.  We will offer the novena for the intentions of all participating, and on the feast itself Holy Mass will be offered for those intentions.

 

Please note the feast day Mass will take place in St Mary's Church, James Street, Drogheda on Monday 26th August at 7.30pm.  If you can make it, you are most welcome.