A Father Of Saints

Given the year that is in it, I cannot let this feast pass today: the feast of St John Bosco. This year marks the two hundredth anniversary of his birth, and there are great celebrations taking place throughout the year in Turin, including a special exposition of the Shroud of Turin (I'm bringing a group, are you interested in joining us? See here for details).

There are so many wonderful things to reflect on in the life and mission of Don Bosco. At the heart of his life was his service to the young, and surely the sign of this great work are those children, educated by him or his spiritual sons and daughters, who are now numbered among the Saints and Beati of the Church. One of the great legacies Don Bosco has left us is that of promoting sanctity - there are many Salesian Saints, Beati, Venerables and Servants of God. 

The message is clear - when we reach out to help others in this life, we must also seek to help them reach out for that life which is destined for them in God's kingdom. Don Bosco was certainly one to say "all this and heaven too". Social activism, service of the poor, education and all those wonderful and important works of charity must never lose sight of the importance of leading souls to God, most especially those souls that are wounded or lost. Don Bosco's genius lay in the fact that he was able to do both.

Another Martin Saint

Wonderful news! The Cause of Leonie Martin, sister of St Therese of Lisieux and daughter of Blesseds Louis and Zelie Martin has been opened in the Diocese of Bayeux-Lisieux. 

Leonie, or Sr Francoise-Therese in religion, had a difficult life but became one of the first disciples of her sister and a major exponent of the Little Way. She was restless for most of her early life, indeed she was a victim of abuse by one of the Martin family servants - the cause of Leonie's difficulties. She tried her vocation a number of times, but could never settle. After Therese's death she went to the Visitation Sisters in Caen and there she found a loving home and peace in her heart - I personally believe St Therese obtained many graces for her sister so she could settle. Leonie went on to live a holy life, and since her death in 1941 her cult has been steadily growing.

I remembering visiting her tomb in the crypt of the Visitation Sisters in Caen, it was a wonderful experience.  Her tomb was covered in letters, notes, flowers, photographs, testaments to the many people who had visited seeking Leonie's prayers.  Let's hope we will see her beatified very soon.

In terms of patronage, I think Leonie would be a powerful patron for the abused and those experiencing physiological and behavioural difficulties. If you are looking a good biography you should get Leonie Martin: A Difficult Life by Marie Baudouin-Croix, a wonderful book and a must for those parents who may have a difficult child.

Leonie's tomb in Caen

Our Newest New Saint (To Be)

Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified - Mariam

Like the buses in Dublin, canonise a couple of Carmelites and another one comes around the corner. Yesterday we heard, with great joy, that our Palestinian sister, Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified - or Blessed Mariam as we call her, is to be declared a Saint. The Holy Father has signed a decree approving a miracle through her intercession yesterday, and so she will be enrolled among the Saints next year. 

If you do not know about Blessed Mariam then you are in for a treat, she is one of the most personable of the Beati, a woman whose life was extraordinary in terms of her virtues (humility being foremost among them) and extraordinary in the phenomenon that surrounded her. She was a Discalced Sister who brought the Carmelite nuns back to the Holy Land, founding two monasteries there, one in Bethlehem -, her native town, and one in Nazareth. She was a lay sister, a hard worker and a mystic, possessing many charisms including levitation, prophecy and the stigmata. She was also a poet. Much misunderstood, she was asked to leave the first congregation of sisters she joined - the community of the convent couldn't cope with mystics, and so she arrived at the door of the Carmelites who accepted her: they had no problem with mystics - the more the merrier. 

Her early life was just as extraordinary ; she had the experience of being a martyr in her youth. Now you may think my saying that is strange, to be a martyr you have to be killed. Yes that is true, and in the strict sense she wasn't. But I shall explain. Mariam had a difficult childhood, she was orphaned and put into the care of relatives where she befriended a Muslim man, a servant of her uncle. He was very kind and she would often confide her sadness to him. One day while she was visiting him he suddenly demanded that she convert to Islam. 

Taken aback Mariam declined. Seizing a large knife he threatened her: if she did not convert he would kill her: she refused whereupon he grabbed her and began to behead her. She seemed to die, and even though the job was unfinished, he took her body and threw out into the street. She was not dead, a few days later she awoke to find herself in a cave being cared for by an extraordinary beautiful and luminous lady. She spent some time healing and eventually was able to leave the cave and return to her life. For the rest of her life she concealed the wound. After her death, as her body was being prepared the wound was discovered and a close examination by a doctor revealed that the vertebrae in her neck were so such a state it would have been impossible for her to survive, yet she did and seemingly without pain. The attack has been considered her "martyrdom" her survival miraculous. 

There are some good booklets about her life, you can order them from the Carmelite Book Service in Oxford. She is worth getting to know and praying to. May she intercede for all of us.

Blessed Mariam's tomb in the Carmel of Bethlehem

New Carmelite Saints

Today the Discalced Carmelite Order got two new Saints, the founder and a member of two of the Congregations aggregated to the Order and as Third Order.

The new Saints are St Kuriakose Elias Chavara, co-founder of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate and founder of the congregation of the Mother of Carmel of which St Euphrasia Eluvathingal was a member. Both are from Kerala in India and members of the Syro-Malabar Rite, and both reveal the richness of the charism of Teresian Carmel.

Among his many achievements (and sufferings), St Kuriakose worked to retain the unity of the Church in India, while among her achievements, the mystical St Euphrasia offered her prayer and sufferings for the Church and its mission. In these times we need both the prayers and example of these Saints. Like St Teresa they saw themselves as a faithful children of the Church, so let us commend our prayers, needs and concerns to them. 

Chesterton's Iceberg Floats Along

I know I have written a lot on Chesterton the last few days, but the debate presently going on about him is interesting: it provides us with an opportunity to explore the idea of virtue, what it means, how we live it and the part it plays in our sanctification. For one thing we might actually realize that virtue is not as rarefied as we may think it is and how it is actually meant to be a part of our basic human experience. In God's plan we were meant to be naturally virtuous, sin was to be an alien thing, sadly that was undone by the Fall, but our lives here on earth are meant to be a reversing of the unnatural dynamic and God gives us grace to help us in that process.

Anyway, a quick post to bring another article to your attention. Dale Ahlquist, that great Chestertonian, has written a response to Steven Drummel's piece on Chesterton's lack of temperance. It is a spirited defence of the man, well argued and informative. It is worth reading. I hope the priest conducting the preliminary investigations include this one in his file and takes note of what Ahlquist has to say.

Some interesting points of information in it. I didn't realise that St Pius X liked snuff, and I doubt Blessed Pier Giorgio was impressed when some Vatican official airbrushed his pipe out of the beatification picture. I heard somewhere that the Ven. Pius XII stopped a Cause when he heard the candidate liked to smoke - anyone hear that? If true that is ironic given that it is said that Pius like a cigarette himself. Other saints with habits: St John Paul II liked the odd cigar and he had a very sweet tooth which he liked to satisfy with very sweet Polish desserts. St John Kemble, the English martyr, was puffing his pipe when news of his execution arrived, he decided to have another pipe before preparing for his end. And in case you haven't heard St Therese of Lisieux asked for an eclair as she was dying and ate it and enjoyed it! Chesterton would approve. 

Chesterton, Babette And The Chocolate Eclair

I have been thinking about one of the subjects of my last post, G.K Chesterton's weight and his alleged lack of temperance. I've done a little reading around it and discover that we have here the tip of an iceberg which has been floating between two camps for years: those who like Chesterton and those who are uneasy with him, with others clinging in between on common ground between the two, and the issue of his weight/temperance/gluttony has been a subject of one of their heated debates. I'm not going to wade into the row, but I just hope that the priest conducting the initial investigation will find enough evidence to allow a Cause be opened.

However I have been thinking about Chesterton's love of food and drink and if we can jump what appears to be a hurdle, he will make an important contribution to the Church and our understanding of the Saints in the sense of their appreciating God's gifts. 

It is an established tradition that we venerate the ascetic in the Saints, and quite rightly. Hagiographies praise Saints for fasting and penance, and correctly so. We are astonished by the Saint who fasts for forty days, taking nothing but water, or who abstains from certain foodstuffs, like meat for example, and their practice is held up as a virtue, and indeed it is, if they do not go to extremes. However we have to careful when we praise such practices in these great men and women, that we do not fall into an Albigensian frame of mind and end up seeing food as bad and a barrier to growth in virtue - the virtue is temperance and too much denial can be intemperate. 

St Benedict in his Rule speaks of moderation and also generous hospitality. Our own Rule, that of St Albert, lays down that Carmelites should abstain from meat, but still requires hospitality to be shown to visitors by the Prior. True virtue, I think, lies in moderation, in abstaining when necessary but also enjoying food and drink as a gift from God. I am a real son of St Teresa in this regard as she tells us that there is a time for fasting and a time for partridge. I see St John Marie Vianney's regrets in later life as an indication of this: as an old man, with the wisdom age and sanctity brought, he regretted the extreme fasting of his youth as youthful indiscretions - he was not the only Saint with such regrets. I also see in one of St Therese's last requests another confirmation of this: as she was dying she fancied a chocolate eclair and asked for one - she was given it and she enjoyed it. It seems dying in an odor of sanctity does not necessarily exclude a treat.

Faith and food is one of the themes of that great Danish movie Babette's Feast. In the movie we have a great Parisian chef, now working as a cook in the household of extreme Puritans, who inherits a sum of money and who wants to spend it on a fine feast for her employers and their friends. It is an extraordinary feast of a movie and an exploration of the difference between Catholicism and Puritanism, As Babette praises God through her art of fine cooking, sharing her gifts and dishes most generously with her employers, they are in a tizzy as to how to respond - such sumptuousness goes against everything they believe and live. It is Babette who has chosen the better part here, food is God's gift and we must celebrate that.

Chesterton would be a real life Babette, a man who eschewed slim austerity in favour, I hope, of a more moderate and generous approach. His friend George Bernard Shaw, an unbeliever, was a vegetarian and a secular ascetic, as Chesterton sought to bring him to faith (he failed there, sadly), he also tried to bring to him to a different view of food (he failed there too).  Asceticism for the sake of asceticism is not good, it must be a vehicle to a greater good - to self-control, greater virtue and the ability to put things in their proper context in terms of our relationship with God. It is this latter end which urges us to see food and drink as wonderful gifts of the Lord to be appreciated and enjoyed. If sanctity consisted in complete abstinence from food or its enjoyment, then Jesus would not have eaten, yet if there is one thing that is clear from the Gospel Jesus loved a good meal and never refused an invitation to be fed. This led to his being accused of gluttony and drunkenness (cf. Luke 7:34). True virtue is to be found in the imitation of Christ, if we deny what Christ confirmed then we had better think again.

I hope the investigator into Chesterton's Cause will find enough evidence to recommend its initiation. He may find a man who struggled with food and drink, but that would not necessarily prevent a Cause, we would have to see how he dealt with it and it may provide the Church with a patron for those who themselves struggle with eating disorders. Anyway, we shall see. I will keep praying and hoping, and reading Gilbert. Today is a fast day, the Church's penitential day, so I observe that, as should we all, and Sunday is a feast day and we should all observe that. (Note to self: I wonder if I can pick up an eclair tomorrow for Sunday? Like Therese, I am partial to eclairs!)

Words of wisdom from G. K. Chesterton

Saints, Miracles And The Question Of Gilbert's Weight

The only known photograph of the Ven. Matt Talbot

It is not uncommon when waiting for a bus in Dublin that, after what seemed like an eternity standing at the bus stop (usually in the rain), more than one bus arrives at the same time. It is a phenomenon which may well be common in other cities too, but in Dublin it leads one to conclude that the city is so dangerous even the buses go around in packs. Anyway it seems this phenomenon may well be happening with regard to our candidates for Sainthood. Last week Fr John Sullivan was declared Venerable and work begins on getting a miracle approved for him, and now it seems there may well be a miracle for the Venerable Matt Talbot in the US (details here). Let's hope we see both Irishmen raised to the altars soon; we could do with some good news.  

Among the other Irish causes is that of the Forty-Two Martyrs, the Servant of God Richard Creagh and Companions, Ultimately martyr causes should be easy enough, do the work and submit it to the Congregation, no miracle is required for beatification just the decision that the candidates are genuine martyrs. I am told that as soon as these martyrs are beatified, they will be joined to the other Blessed Irish Martyrs and submitted as a single cause for canonisation. However, I sense the will is lacking in all of this and these Servants of God may well remain in limbo. 

I don't mean to be negative, but as you know I think Saints are important for the faithful and local Saints and Beati can help a local Church in a myriad of ways. I usually hear talk  of "priorities" in the "Irish Church" and these causes can be dealt with when other more important issues are dealt with (in that case they will never be dealt with because, it seems, there are always other, more pressing matters). We have plenty of ability and talent in the Church here in Ireland, most of it untapped, processing these causes need not interrupt Irish Church officials from dealing with other matters deemed to be more important. Anyway, I'll get off the soapbox, rant over.  

Regarding causes I note an article on G. K. Chesterton's cause and the difficulties it may face: in a nutshell - his weight. Steven Drummel at Catholic Household reflects on this and sees trouble ahead, the question of the virtue of temperance may well block the Cause, or at least that is what is being considered.  Jennifer Pierce over at Crisis Magazine is also considering the question and she situates the issue on whether or not Gilbert was a glutton. There will be a hot debate over this. Drummel cites the examples of two fat saints, Thomas Aquinas and John XXIII. He says that Aquinas was not as corpulent as images show him to be, one would wonder then why he was depicted as such and why the table had to be adapted for him in one of the priories (Note to self: consult Dominican friend on this). John XXIII is also excused, it seems, he ate very little Drummel tells us. I have heard that John XXIII liked his ice cream a lot, and even considered it a martyrdom to eat it - he found it difficult to give it up.

Anyway we shall see where it all goes. Saints are human, they have foibles and that makes them endearing and somehow more human to us. Such foibles can also offer a contrast in which we see the person's sanctity even clearer. I will continue to pray for Chesterton's cause and I would encourage you to do the same if you can. And read him!

Those Hardy Servants

Today's feast should remind us that the Saints are no shrinking violets wafting up in a continual fragrance of mystical surges. In fact they were rather hardy individuals who had to deal with a lot of issues, many of them personal issues, and fight their way through life, certainly with a smile, but most importantly with a good dose of faith, hope, charity and, in most cases, even a sense of humour which also kept them sane. 

St Monica is one of those Saints who speaks to those who are looking at the hard face of life and seem they cannot move anywhere. Those in situations similar to St Monica's may well come to think that there is little hope because they come up against the impenetrable wall of another's will and desires. We all know the story of Monica and her prayer for her son Augustine: yes, she converted him, eventually, but for most of that struggle it seemed as if it would not end as well as it did. That is why Monica is a great example of the virtue of hope. She hoped in God, and she allowed that hope inspire her prayer and her efforts to bring her wayward son to God. I personally believe that the great sanctity of St Augustine is due in a large part to his mother. He is the Doctor of grace, one of the world's greatest Christians with one of the world's greatest minds, and I think his mother had a lot to do with that.

Of course Augustine was not the only one who made life difficult for Monica, long before the eldest son started on his wayward journey Monica had to content with a difficult husband and a gorgon of a mother-in-law. In Ireland we have a saying that two women should never be in the same house: if a man marries let him set up a new home with his wife, bringing her home to live with the mother might not be for the best. Well Monica should have insisted on such a solution because life with Mummy-in-law was hell. For one thing Mummy controlled the son, and she became a real invader in the marriage: as bad as he was, poor Monica could not even have her husband to herself.

However, Monica's response was that of prayer, long-suffering endurance, hope and sacrifice. Rather than resorting to bitterness and becoming difficult herself, she allowed the charity of God to triumph in her and she was able to do what many of us would think impossible: be kind and loving. It was that very kindness and love which changed hearts and she not only tamed her mother-in-law and won her husband, she converted them to Christianity. What an example for all of us. Later Monica realised that her struggle with the two at home was a preparation for an even greater one with her son, no doubt she was able to draw on what she had learned, and the outcome of the first struggle helped her keep hope alive as she engaged in the second.

Monica is not unique among the Saints, they all had to struggle and fight, but they did so knowing that God was their ally, their strength and their counsellor.  They rise to the challenge calling on God to give them grace and they are generous enough to hand themselves over to him so he can guide them on the right path. The Saint is one who surrenders to God not  in desperation but in love, and they reap the rewards of such trust, but not without suffering, and not without hope. 

Another of the great teachers of this reality is St Therese of the Child Jesus. There is a very good article by Joe Sparks on the process of censoring Therese's writings which took place after her death - the editors wanted to show her virtues but in doing so left out a lot which they though might scandalise or frighten readers, but in reality they left out the bits which revealed the reality of Therese's struggle, those sufferings which make her truly great. I would recommend you read it. As you know I love Therese, not just because she is my sister in the Order, but also because she speaks to modern men and women about the reality of living our Christian faith in the midst of difficult times, comfortable Christianity, serious personal issues and human intrigue. Therese, for example, is one who can speak to a world immersed in atheism, where hope is gone because many have decided or felt that there is no God and they must face the harsh winds of life alone. Therese is also the Saint for the broken and the lost. One of her great devotees was Edith Piaf whose life was an utter mess. Therese seems to draw the strays to herself, probably because she has a special gift of touching their hearts and reminding them that they too are children of the Eternal Father.

Life is hard and can be harsh, and even though many may think the Saints were above it standing on their pedestals, in reality there down here with the rest of us battling on. What great teachers they are, what great allies and friends. So let us dump the pious biographies and look for the real story of the Saints: not only will we be impressed but we might also realise that we too are called to become Saints.

Another Sports Saint?

Following my last post on a sports theme, here is another of interest. There seems to be effort in the US to have a baseballer player declared a Saint. A Catholic filmmaker Richard Rossi feels a Cause should be started and he is gathering information for Church authorities.  Roberto Clemente, a baseball player who died in 1972 in an aviation accident, is said to have lived a holy life while being one of the US's great sportsmen. 

In the Church if a person or group of people are convinced of the holiness of an individual, they are free to try and work towards the opening of a Cause. They need the support of the local bishop who will examine the evidence to see if a Cause is possible. So Rossi is doing the right thing in compiling his evidence. 

In the article above I note a little misunderstanding. It was noted that "the chances of the Church canonizing a layperson are not great". That is unwarranted and misleading. Being a layperson does not exclude anyone from glorification in the Church. Causes for laypeople can be more difficult because they may not have a religious order behind them, but the the chances of the Church canonising a layperson are as good as any other member of the Church. 

Indeed sometimes it can be harder to get a Cause open for a priest or religious because even if people are convinced of the holiness of a person and the person's life confirms that belief, and even if miracles are being worked, if the bishop or superiors of the priest's/religious's diocese or congregation refuse to consider a Cause, there is little that can be done until the obstruction is removed. But then that might need to become another miracle for the candidate to work.

Not Your Average Saint

Is there such thing as an average Saint?  I suppose for many Saints are distant figures; people the Church has put on pedestals to intercede for us and to admire as those who achieve heroic virtue and sanctity in their lives on earth and now reap their reward in glory in heaven.  However, as I constantly remind my parishioners, they are not remote figures at all.  They were flesh and blood men and women like us, who faced many of the same difficulties that we do, but they often responded in ways that were more graced: graced, yes, but easier, no.  For them sin and temptation was as real as they are for us; the trials of life took their toll on them too.  Yet they abandoned themselves to God and strove hard to overcome these difficulties. 

In this Lenten season the prospect of Sainthood is put before all of us. The reason for this season is holiness - this is our annual retreat when we take stock of our lives in a more radical way and see that each one of us is called to heroic virtue, to great sanctity.  As Blessed John Paul II reminds us: holiness is God's plan for us, and the ordinary way of living for a Christian.  The trials and difficulties of life are the means through which we are sanctified, and we meet these with an ardent life of prayer, a radical renunciation of all that which hampers God's work in us and with a daily offering of ourselves to God so his will may be done in us. The road to holiness can often be a lonely road, but we do meet others along the way, some walking in the same direction, others trying to test us, and of course the ones whom we are meant to assist for Christ's sake, and for their own, so to perfect charity within us.

As we reflect on this we must also remember that those who have gone before us, the Saints, were all different and unique people, and sanctity manifests itself in different ways in each of them.  We have the obviously mystical and we have those who slogged their way through life with not such much as glimpse of a vision.  We have the gentle and patient, and then we have those who did not suffer fools gladly, like St Pio who was as famous for his gruff ways as his holiness.  We have people from every walk of life, and of every age; from those who lived long lives to those who lived very short ones. Many of these Saints lived in ordinary places doing apparently ordinary things and their heroism emerged there, others found themselves in the midst of turbulence, persecution and history's most traumatic moments and their holiness was formed in heroic deeds.  There is a Saint whose life mirrors yours.

For your Lenten reading today, I suggest an article from The Catholic Herald on G. K. Chesterton. There is an investigation going on at the moment to see if a Cause should opened for him.  Many of us are convinced that he should be canonised, but sometimes Mother Church and her leaders tend to take the long road on making decisions on whether to open a Cause or not.  Some would suggest they are taking the scenic route on this one.  Prudence, I suppose.  This article is good because it explains that Chesterton does not fit the mould of a conventional Saint (maybe that is why things are progressing slowly).  But then again, as I have said, there is no such thing as conventional holiness. If I may be Chestertonian for moment: holiness is wild, untamed, radical, unconventional - it is by its very nature heroic, and there is nothing common or conventional about heroism. Holiness breaks moulds, not fit into them, nor even make them.  Each Saint is unique in his or her holiness, they emerge from the crowd not slip behind it.  And let's face it, no one would ever accuse Chesterton of slipping quietly behind the crowd, he was no shrinking violet.  And perhaps it is for that reason, for his sheer (and perhaps even shocking) unconventionality that he is well placed to remind us all that we too are called to be Saints. 

So, as Chesterton would say, this Lent, let us begin the great adventure.

New Saints

   

Three future Saints:Blessed Jose de Anchieta, SJ, Blessed Marie de l'Incarnation 

and Blessed Francois de Laval

I see Pope Francis has decided to canonise three new Saints next month, bringing the number of those enrolled in the canon of Saints in that month to five.  While Blessed John Paul II and Blessed John XXIII will be canonised in a public Mass, the other three will be canonised in a simple ceremony in which the Pope will sign the decrees of canonisation.

The three new candidates are Blessed Jose de Anchieta, a Jesuit missionary considered to be the Apostle of Brazil; Blessed Marie de l'Incarnation, an Ursuline nun who went as a missionary to Canada; and Blessed Francois de Laval, the first Bishop of Quebec.  As far as I see all three are being exempted from the requirement for a miracle.  All three had also been exempted from miracles for their beatifications in 1980. 

A Pope can exercise his  prerogative to beatify and canonise individuals without the need for a miracle.  So far in his pontificate, the Holy Father has canonised two Saints without miracles, St Angela of Foligno and another Jesuit, St Peter Favre.  Blessed John XXIII is also being canonised without an approved miracle. 

A Witness to Hope In These Times

It is a known spiritual fact that in an age of darkness and even persecution, God raises up holy men and women to inspire the Church and to remind us that Good Friday will always give way to Easter Sunday, even if Holy Saturday seems long and relentless.  Though it may seem so, God is not silent, he is always speaking to us in the "still, small voice": if we cannot hear him, we must listen more intently.  In such a time of difficulty, St Gregory the Great, for example, wrote his Dialogues to offer to the people of his time recent examples of holiness to inspire them and to remind them that the Holy Spirit is still at work, and though surrounded by infidelity and craziness, there were men and women who heeded God's invitation, embraced the Gospel and made it their way of life.

In these times, God is raising up holy men and women, more than ever before.  During the pontificate of Blessed John Paul II an unprecedented number of Saints and Blesseds were declared.  Though his critics see this as John Paul indulging a personal interest in Saints, it was not so.  For every Saint canonised there was a miracle, for the non-martyr Blesseds there were miracles: the pontificate of Blessed John Paul was truly an age of miracles in which God communicated to the Church that it was his will that these numerous Servants should be raised to the altars.  Why?  To inspire us and assure us that the Holy Spirit is as busy now as he was in the past.  Note that many of those John Paul, Benedict and now Francis raised to the altars are recent models of holiness.

Why these thoughts?  Well, in the midst of our current difficulties, recent models of holiness are being raised up to help and inspire us, to encourage us, to keep the fire of hope burning in our hearts.  Over the weekend I read a new, short biography of one of these recent models of holiness: a new CTS pamphlet on Fr Willie Doyle.  Now, if you read this blog frequently you know I have mentioned Fr Willie a number of times and I have expressed my admiration of him.  That admiration is growing, particularly as I read more of his writings, as I read more of his war letters and diaries.

This little pamphlet is a very accessible work and I recommend it highly as an excellent introduction to Fr Willie's life.  In essence it consists of two parts, intermingled: there is the biography written by the author, K. V. Turley, which gives the bare facts of his life.  However it is the second part which is most valuable: extracts from Fr Willie's writings, and with respect to the author of the pamphlet, it is these which make the pamphlet such a little treasure.  Fr Willie was an extraordinary writer, one whose personality and spirituality jump out at you from the page.  Like St Teresa of Avila he emerges as a living and breathing person for the reader: to read his writings is to encounter him. 

What also emerges, quite unintended by Fr Willie, I'm sure, who sought to live a hidden life, is his tremendous sanctity. Reading his writings you are astonished by the work of grace in him and by the fruits of that grace.  Suffering the deprivations of the trenches, he fulfilled his priestly ministry as a military chaplain during the First World War in an extraordinarily heroic way, bringing joy to dying soldiers as he risked his own life to give them the Last Rites.  For any priests suffering in this time of trial, Fr Willie Doyle is an inspiration, a priest who reminds us that our priestly vocation truly comes to life in a dynamic way in the midst of persecution and suffering.  Fr Willie is certainly a witness to hope for us in these times: a witness for all Christians, but in particular for us priests.

As we in Ireland, and in other countries, face an uncertain future as, it seems, all hell has broken loose as anti-Christian elements have launched an all-out frontal attack, Fr Willie has much to teach us.  He threw himself into the battle of his time, relying on Christ.  He realised that the real battle is the one with ourselves, within, and if we fight that one, drawing on the grace God gives us, then the external battle will be seen as no more than a skirmish.   The victory within is the greater victory, and that victory will give us confidence to face the external battle and, in hope, know that there too we will be victorious, or rather Christ will be victorious.   So, as Julian of Norwich famously wrote: "All will be well, all manner of things will be well". Taking this as expression of hope, rather than a naive denial and delusion, we will keep our peace. 

The CTS pamphlet biography can be purchased online here. More information on Fr Willie's life can be be found at his website: www.fatherdoyle.com.   Please say a prayer than one day a Cause will be opened for Willie's beatification.  As you will discover the more you read about him, he is a great Saint, one who deserves to be venerated as such.  However, no Cause has been started, despite the fact that devotion to him is growing throughout the world.  

A New Venerable For Ireland



Great news for us here in Ireland.  One of our saintly women, Nano Nagle, the foundress of the Presentation Sisters, has been declared Venerable: the Holy Father has signed a decree recognising that she lived a life of heroic virtue.  A nice gift to us in Ireland in these difficult times.  We now await a bona fide miracle through her intercession so she may be beatified.  As far as I am aware, I'm afraid there is nothing on the horizon yet, so we will have to pray hard. 

 

We have a few Venerables here in Ireland for whom we are awaiting miracles, so far  nothing:  the Venerable Catherine McAuley, foundress of the Mercy Sisters; the Venerable Edel Quinn (whose Cause is actually under the jurisdiction of Nairobi), and the Venerable Matt Talbot.  I believe there is something for the Venerable Matt, but as far as I am aware there are no developments as of yet. 

Another Excuse For A Party!

One of our new Beati: Blessed Joan of Jesus, OCD

 

Today two great events are happening in the Church - opportunities to celebrate.  First the Holy Father is renewing the consecration of the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Rome - the statue of Our Lady of Fatima has been brought over from the Portugal for the event.  I hope this renewal will bring many blessings and graces.  Following the definitive consecration in 1984 we saw the gradual dismantling of the Iron Curtain and the fall of communism in many countries, most notably Russia.  It is to be noted that first real swipe was in Poland, Blessed John Paul II's home country - the first domino to fall. 

 

Also in Spain, 522 martyrs are to be beatified today, among them eleven of our friars: from Lleida four friars: the Venerables Joan of Jesus, Bartomeu of the Passion, Silveri of St Aloysius Gonzaga and Francesc of the Assumption, together with Francesc's brother, the Venerable Pau Segala Sole, a diocesan priest.  From Tarragona seven friars: the Venerables Vicente de la Cruz, Elipio of St Rose, Pedro of St Elias, Angel of St Joseph, Carlos of Jesus Maria, Jose Cecilio of Jesus Maria and Damian of the Most Holy Trinity.  Four Carmelite Brothers from a congregation founded by one of our friars, Blessed Francis Palau, the Tertiary Carmelites of Education, will also be beatified: the Venerables Julio Alameda Cameraro, Luis Domingo Oliva, Isidro Tarsa Guibets and Buenaventura Toldra.  That congregation has since been integrated into the Discalced friars.  Friars from the Carmelites Ancient Observance are also being beatified in the same group: the Venerable Alberto Maria Aleman, O Carm, priest and eight young Carmelite brothers in formation, and the Venerable Carmelo Moyano Linares, O Carm, priest and nine companions - Carmelite priests, clerics and postulants.  So both branches of the Carmeite Order have reason to celebrate today.

 

I also note that last week Pope Francis canonised the Franciscan Secular Order mystic, Angela of Foligno by equivalence. Another great Saint, so great news. The Holy Father is certain going at saint-making with hammer and tongs.  In his short pontificate so far he used Papal privilege twice, dispensing with the need for a miracle for canonisation in the case of Angela and John XXIII, and I believe he will also do so for his fellow Jesuit, Blessed Peter Fabre.  Benedict used the privilege once, I believe, to canonised St Hildegard, and I think Blessed John Paul also only used it once to canonise St Maximilian Kolbe.  There are rumours that Francis may use it again for Pius XII, dispensing with miracles and beatification and going straight to canonisation.  If he did so it could raise a rumpus, although I think he might be the one who would actually get away with it.  He certainly loves his Saints does our Holy Father!

 

While I love new Saints, as you all know, I do think equivalence and dispensations kept to a minimum and the norms and process adhered to strictly.  One of the accusations often thrown at the Church when it comes to Saints is that is a purely political process and popes canonise their own cronies for ideological reasons.  The requirement for bona fide miracles knocks that accusation on the head.  As regards the time taken to process a Cause, well the quicker the better.  I'm not one of these who thinks every Cause should  be left for fifty year before even looking at it: if the work is done quickly and it is done right and in accordance with the canonical legislation, and there is a miracle, why wait? 

 

All that said we delight in the canonisation of St Angela and offer congratulations to the Franciscans.  And if he is so inclined, I might have a few candidates for the Holy Father - our own Matt Talbot, Fr Willie Doyle (he would have to dispense with the need for process there since the Jesuits have not decided to open a Cause there yet) and we have a lady, a member of our Fraternity, who was known for her holiness; we'd be delighted if the Holy Father would give us our first Saint!

 

Have a good Sunday.

St Frediano's Lodgers

 

Following on from yesterday's post, I was looking at the Basilica of San Frediano and it seems there are other Saints buried and venerated there too.

 

St Zita

 

The first is perhaps the most famous - St Zita.  Her incorrupt body rests in an altar not far from St Frediano's.  Born around 1212 in a village not far from Lucca, she became a servant in a household in Lucca.  She had a pretty difficult time, mistreated by the other servants; however, a woman of faith, she dealt with it patiently and heroically and gradually converted her fellow servants. She carried out her duties faithfully while making time for daily Mass and prayer.  She died in 1272.  Devotion to her grew and she was eventually canonised in 1696.  Her remains were exhumed in 1580 and were found to be incorrupt.

 

The incorrupt body of St Zita preserved at San Frediano

 

The second Saint is St Richard of Wessex, an Englishman.  According to tradition, Richard was king of England (or perhaps that part of England known as Wessex) in the Seventh Century.  He was the father of St Willibald, St Winibald and St Walburga.  He was the brother-in-law of St Boniface, the Apostle of Germany.   It is recorded that in 721 he renounced his throne and estates and with his two sons set off on pilgrimage to Italy, stopping at various shrines along the way.  When in Lucca he fell ill with a fever and died there.  Given his royal status he was buried in the Church of St Frediano where miracles began to occur at this tomb.

 

St Richard of Wessex

 

Whether he was king of England of Wessex is unsure, probably not - St Bede in his history of England records that Ine was King of Wessex at that time.  Richard may have been a member of the royal family or a noble man - the Luccans may have embellished the story.  Richard is also known as St Richard the Pilgrim, and his tomb is still a place of pilgrimage in the Basilica of San Frediano.

 

St Richard of Wessex's Tomb

 

Finally there is a successor of St Frediano, honoured as a Blessed, and buried in the basilica: Blessed Giovanni.  He was bishop from 780 to 801.  A holy man, he is remembered for welcoming the famous statue of the Lord the "Volto Santo" into the city.

 

Blessed Giovanni, Bishop of Lucca, carries the 'Volto Santo' image of Jesus into the city

 

Of course if we are talking about Lucca we cannot forget one of the most famous Saints whose tomb is situated in the city, in the Passionist monastery: St Gemma Galgani (1878-1903).  St Gemma, a Third Order Passionist, is famous for her mystical life, her stigmata and her battles with the demons.  She is invoked by exorcists as a powerful ally in their work of liberation.  Gemma's remains lie under the main altar in the Passionist church.

 

St Gemma Galgani

 

Tomb of St Gemma Galgani, Passionist Monastery Church of St Gemma in Lucca



Bounding Into The Communion Of Saints

 

I know this is probably old news for many of you now, but the developments concerning a possible Cause for G.K. Chesterton are very positive and I hope they will eventually come to completion beneath the balcony of St Peter's in the not too distant future.  For those who may not have heard: the Bishop of Northampton is appointing a priest to begin an initial investigation into the life and virtues of Chesterton with the view to possibly opening the Cause for his beatification and canonisation. 

 

A Cause for Chesterton would be significant as it once again calls our attention to the fact that the once "traditional" "pious" view of Saints is not an accurate one, reminding us that holiness is an altogether stranger thing than comfortable piety - it is dynamic and variant and raises up the most unusual of people. 

 

Chesterton is certainly proof of this.  Large as life, keen for a debate, even wacky in ways, Chesterton was unique and certainly left an impression.  A keen intellectual, he wore his genius easily in a way which could only be pure Christian humility.  Child-like he was as sophisticated as any gentleman and yet there was nothing false or affected about him: what you saw was what you got.  He could beat any speaker in a contentious debate and be beaten by any child in a game of draughts all conducted in the same spirit of gracious joy and engagement.  In debate and controversy he was the epitome of charity - indeed I personally think he was more charitable in dealing with his opponents in controversy than Blessed John Henry Newman was.   He counted all sorts of characters among his friends, and his two closest were Hilaire Belloc and George Bernard Shaw - now there are two extremes!  Some of the funniest stories about Chesterton concerns his refereeing these two in controversy. 

 

And that brings me to what I think is the greatest element of Chesterton's sanctity - his joy manifested through his incorrigible sense of humour.  Chesterton is one of God's great comedians.  If you read any of Chesterton's books you will find yourself laughing even when he is arguing serious points.  Joy and humour permeated his life and work.  He was a believer, as I am myself, that despite even the greatest tragedies that ultimately life is a comedy, a black comedy at times, but a comedy nonetheless.  Why so?  Because, as Chesterton would teach us: God exists, he has a plan and redemption has been offered to us through the death of Jesus Christ.  In Christ everything can be changed, and even death, the greatest tragedy, must yield to life.   Julian of Norwich piously phrased it as "All will be well, all manner of things will be well", Chesterton phrased with his boisterous joy.  This is perhaps the greatest argument for Chesterton's heroic faith and hope.  And as for heroic love - well he had that in abundance for God and for his fellow man.  If ever there was a model of one who loved his enemy it was Chesterton.

 

I pray this initial investigation will indeed lead to beatification.  Some might not think this is important.  As some would say, with all the problems in the world the last thing we should be concerned with is making Saints.  Well Chesterton would say that it is because of all the problems in the world that we should be concerned with making Saints, because if we do not have models and inspirations for us in the midst of these problems then we'll lose hope and get bogged down in negativity and eventually lose our faith.  When the Church loses interest in the Saints, then she has problems, and we can see that particularly in Ireland: as candidates for Sainthood in Ireland languish through neglect and apathy we see the Church here has problems, one of them being an inability to see how important holiness is in the life of a disciple of Christ.  As I have said before, and firmly believe, successful Saint-making is a sign of the health of a diocese or local church.

 

So hearty thanks to the Bishop of Northampton and I encourage all of Chesterton's fans to get working: Chesterton's glorification will be a gift to the Church and another sign of hope.  And it will encourage all of us to strive for holiness.

More Joining The Ranks

The Venerable Alvaro del Portillo and the Venerable Nicholas d'Onofrio

 

While Blesseds John Paul II and John XXIII dominated the news yesterday, the Holy Father advanced the Causes of a number of others also.  For a quick look at these men and women who are on the way to beatification see the Vatican news service here.

 

But taking a few of them.  First of all the Holy Father signed the decrees of the miracle for the Venerable Alvaro del Portillo, Bishop and first successor of St Josemaria Escriva as leader of Opus Dei. Venerable Alvaro was one of St Josemaria's first companions and proved himself a humble servant.  He was renowned for his holiness, gentleness and zeal.  

 

Pope Francis has also recognised the martyrdom of various groups of men and women martyred in Spain during the Spanish Civil War: I presume all of these will be included in the large group being beatified in October.

 

Then the Holy Father signed a number of decrees of heroic virtue, raising some Servants of God to the rank of Venerable.  Among them is the young Camillian seminarian, Nicholas d'Onofrio.  Nicholas has been growing in popularity among the young. He died at the age of twenty-one as he was preparing for priesthood within the Camillians: he was never ordained, but like many young Saints before him he achieved great sanctity in the few shorts years that were allotted to him.  Now he needs a miracle if he is to be beatified.

On The Road....

The Servant of God, Sr Maria Margaretha of the Angels, OCD

 

I have not blogged on new Causes being opened for a while, and I think I must today since it gives us all a lift to see the processes of holy people being opened.  The announcement of new Causes usually takes place at the end of the month, and looking at the list for March, I see there are a couple of very well known people.

 

Focolaire have opened the Cause of their foundress, Chiara Lubich, it being five years since her death.  I could not believe it when I saw her name on the list - is it five years since we lost that beautiful woman?  Time flies when you get old!   Chiara Lubich is probably one of the most important Catholic women of the 20th century, not only in founding a major Catholic lay movement, but for her example of a modern woman who reveals through her life and teaching, that faith and the life of holiness are as important now as ever.  She was a Saint-maker herself: encouraging others to strive for sainthood and forming Saints through her wisdom and example.  Blessed Chiara Badano, Focolaire's first Blessed, was very much her spiritual daughter and the fruit of the charism Chiara Lubich was given by God.   We look forward to a successful conclusion to her Cause. 

The Servants of God, Chiara Lubich and Andrew Bertie

 

Another great layperson of the 20th century is also on the list: Fra Andrew Bertie, the former Grand Master of the Knights of Malta.  He too died in 2008.  He was the first Englishman to hold the office since the 13th century.  He never married and, in the style of the Knights of old, offered his life in the service of the Church and the mission of the Knights of Malta, taking perpetual vows.  In the secular world he served in the British army, and then became a teacher.  Interestingly he was a distant cousin of Elizabeth II of England.   Reflecting on the purpose of the Knights of Malta, Fra Andrew used to say that they existed to serve the poor and sick - that was their primary purpose on their foundation, and it is their purpose and mission today.

 

We Discalced Carmelites also rejoice as yet another of our sisters begins the path to sainthood (we hope):  Sr Maria Margaretha of the Angels.  Born in Antwerp in 1605, the daughter of Philip van Valkenisse, an official in the city, she entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery in Antwerp in 1624.  She embraced religious life with great enthusiasm and a desire for holiness, practicing mortification, gaining a reputation for sanctity.   She had a particular devotion to the Eucharist.    In 1644 she founded a new monastery in Oirschot and was elected prioress, governing her community with great wisdom and offering her sisters a dynamic example of the contemplative life.   She manifested a number of charismatic gifts, chief among them the stigmata which she received in 1654.   Witnesses have also claimed she had the gift of bilocation.  She died on the 6th February 1658.  After her death miraculous oil oozed from her body - what is referred to as the "manna of the saints"; it was collected and reports claim it was instrumental in many healings.  Her body was buried, then exhumed, stolen and eventually laid to rest in St John's Cathedral in 's-Hertogenbosch.  What is extraordinary is the length of time it has taken for Maria Margaretha's Cause to be opened.  

 

The Servants of God Cardinal Franjo Kuharic and Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery

 

Finally, I see the Causes of Cardinal Kuharic and Cardinal Dery have been opened.  Cardinal Franjo Kuharic, who died in 2002, was Archbishop of Zagreb in Croatia, and Cardinal Peter Poreku Dery, who died in 2008, was Archbishop of Tamale in Ghana.  Interestingly Cardinal Kuharic, as head of the Croatian Episcopal Conference's investigation into Medjugorje, designated the place a shrine.

Agnes, Vibiana And.......Christoph?

Today, as you know, is the feast of St Agnes, virgin and martyr, often associated with sheep since her name, Agnes is close to the word “agnus”, the Latin for lamb; in fact her name is derived from the Greek “hagia” “pure or holy”, from which we also get Saint.   The connection has led to her virtues, virginity and death being compared with those virtues of innocence and purity symbolised by the lamb; and of course we cannot forget the connection with the Lamb of God in whose passion she participated through her martyrdom. 

Agnes, like St Lucy, was young, and she is also associated with littleness – childlikeness.  It is believed that she was young when martyred, perhaps as young as twelve, and so we see in her that spiritual childhood Jesus often spoke about, but married with courage and determination to remain faithful to Christ.   She has been venerated as a patron of young people, particularly invoked to help the young live chaste lives.   Well, in an age when the young are being ensnared into promiscuity, Agnes is a worthy intercessor.  Young people struggle with their sexuality – their hormones are all over the place, so chastity can be difficult.  Unfortunately there are many distractions and temptations which assail them and many of our young fall.

A friend of mine was telling me about the sex classes his seven year old nephew is attending in school in England – already the child knows all about sex and how babies are made.  Soon enough he will be putting condoms on bananas and taught to chant the liberal secular mantras associated with the sexual revolution.  It is no wonder children begin to experiment and end up in trouble.  The number of young people suffering from STDs and STIs is increasing fast and at this stage, listening to some doctors and sexual health workers, it is expected that many teenagers will have some disease or infection – it is almost a norm.  Of course, contrary to what we are being told, and despite the wide availability of contraception, teenage pregnancies are on the increase and so many young girls resort to the abortion clinics.  One would almost think there was a conspiracy of promiscuity in order to keep these clinics in business.

Organisations like Pure In Heart are doing the best they can to help young people resist the temptations and to live fulfilled, chaste lives.  They are worth checking out and promoting.  Very much in the spirit of St Agnes, the members of Pure In Heart teach about true love, chaste love, seeing sexuality in the context, not only of purity of heart and life, but also in the context of commitment and life-long love – in marriage.  And far from being prudes, as some would paint them, members of the organisation are some of the happiest, joyful and serene teenagers you’ll meet.

As I’m on the subject of a virgin martyr, I would like to draw your attention to another Saint who is not as well known as Agnes – St Vibiana.   First of all here is an interesting article on her.  She is virgin martyrs whose body has been enshrined for last 120 years in the Cathedral in Los Angeles.  Originally in a glass casket above the altar in the old Cathedral which was dedicated to her, she now lies in a marble tomb in an alcove in the crypt of the new Cathedral. 

Little is known of St Vibiana, and she is sometimes confused with St Bibiana.   A martyr of the 3rd century, her remains were discovered in the catacombs on the Via Appia in 1853, together with an inscription which announced “To the soul of the innocent and pure Vibiana”.  As happened in the 19th century, her relics were entrusted to the bishop of Los Angeles as a gift from the Holy See to the people of the diocese, and so, like many Italians, she took the boat to America and is now a “native” of the Archdiocese.  I believe she is the patron saint of the diocese.   

The article reflects on the fact she is, for the most part, unknown, in a city where fame, and the desire to be famous, rules.  Los Angeles is the “spiritual home” of celebrity – Hollywood is there, and so are thousands of men and women eking out a living in the hope of one day “making it big” – few do.  St Vibiana offers us another value, a Christian virtue – hiddenness.   St Paul speaks of this in his Letter to the Colossians, of being “hidden with Christ in God”, and it is very much part of the virtue of humility.  Unknown on earth, Vibiana, like many others, is famous in heaven – known to God, and in comparison with Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame, it is a far better way of life. 

In a way this hiddenness allows us to be ourselves and to grow in holiness.  Those who seek fame realise that they need to offer the world an image, something that stands out from the ordinary, and so they may have to assume a mask, another personality, indeed at times another life, in order to catch the camera’s attention.  If fame is achieved they well have to live this new persona for life and while it may seem exciting at the start, soon it is a burden and eventually the person may not know who they are at all.  The greatest actors are those who are themselves in their ordinary lives – they do not seek fame, they just enjoy their work and go home to their families to live as normal a life as they can.   It is no coincidence that Vibiana is in the city of the stars.

The best fame is, of course, holiness – to be known for a saintly life and even a heroic death.  That fame tends to emerge from hiddenness, as St Paul explains in the Letter to the Colossians – those who are hidden with Christ in God are revealed when Christ is revealed.  Yesterday I found out that one of the members of the White Rose resistance movement in Munich had been canonised by the Orthodox Church.  Alexander Schmorrell, one of the leaders of the group and a member of the Orthodox Church, was recognised as a New Martyr last year.   Those young people certainly displayed great courage in their resistance to the Nazis, and that resistance had its source in the Christian faith. 

The two more famous members of the group, Sophie Scholl and her brother, Hans, were fans of Blessed John Henry Newman and other Catholic writers, though they were Lutheran. In fact evidence has emerged that they were intending to convert to Catholicism.  Indeed when they were in prison, they were making moves to be received into the Church, but a Lutheran minister persuaded them not to for their mother’s sake: as devout Lutheran it was bad enough for her to see her children executed, but to hear that they had become Catholics and left the Lutheran community would have destroyed her.  In charity they decided not to.  However I believe they died Catholics, and while they were already baptised in the Lutheran church, taking the theological cue from the concept of “baptism by desire”, I think they were Catholics already through desire.

That now raises an interesting question – could Sophie and Hans be considered for canonisation?  I have little doubt that certainly Sophie would have been put forward if she had formally been received: her life and courage is like that of many of our World War II martyrs.  She was a young woman of profound faith, innocence, goodness and joy: all marks of her holiness.  Now the Church has no authority to declare non-Catholics saints, but if the Church could prove martyrdom in their case, would it be possible to examine the evidence and see if Sophie and Hans were in communion with the Church by desire?  That’s an interesting one for the canon lawyers. 

There is another member, however, who offers us an easier task – their companion in death, Christoph Probst.  Christoph was a member of the movement, but at a remove since he was a married man with children and he had to provide for his family and be prudent so as not to expose them to any danger. Born in 1919, Christoph grew up in an artistic and academic family.  His father was married twice, his second wife being Jewish, and so Christoph was very much opposed to the Nazis anti-semitic agenda.  After compulsory military service, he began to study medicine in order to be of service to the sick.  When he was 21 he married Herta Dohrn, a young Catholic woman, and it was through her that he came to learn about Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.  She was a devout young woman, and soon he was being led to faith.  They had three children, the last being born just before his arrest.

As a member of the White Rose, Christoph did not write any of the letters but designed the format for the seventh, and when he was arrested he was found with a draft of this letter on him.  In his trial he pleaded for clemency for the sake of his family, but the judge sentenced him to death.  When in prison, Christoph asked to be baptised into the Catholic Church, and he was received the day before his execution.  He died, by guillotine, with Sophie and Hans on the 22nd February 1942.  His remains are buried beside theirs in Munich, outside the prison where they died.  

Given that he was a Catholic when he died, and already on the way to conversion in the months leading up to his arrest, Christoph poses no problems canonically.  If martyrdom could be proved in his case, then glorification would offer the Church a wonderful example of courage and prudence: Christoph was doing the right thing, resisting an evil regime, yet also conscious of his duties to his family, and so sought a virtuous balance between the two.  Too often martyrdom can be seen a foolhardy thing, where the martyr has, in a sense, to deny family in order to offer his or her life for Christ, as with St Thomas More, and that is the case.  Christoph offers us another example: he embraced his death but also sought to do what he could to provide for his family – his plea for clemency was not a cowardly act.

I think we should look at Christoph’s life and see if something can be done.  And if nothing comes of it, well what harm: he still remains one of the great heroes of the Church and one of Germany’s finest sons.

Saints, Saints?

Today is the feast of one of the Church’s most loved saints, one who is admired by people of many faiths and none: St Francis.  I grew up in a town where St Francis was very important – we have a monastery of Third Order Brothers who educated most of the town’s boys and made major contributions to our town’s religious and civil life.  When I was in school every year on this feast day there was a celebration – Mass certainly, and sometimes a half day off school.  I grew up with a Franciscan spirituality, though I still do not understand why I did not become a Franciscan, but rather veered to Carmel.  I was baptised on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, so perhaps my cards were already marked as far as heaven was concerned.  That said, Francis always did, and continues to, fascinate me. 

The celebration of St Francis by non-Catholics and an interesting article by Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith in the Herald has led me to ponder on non-Catholic saints – those canonised by the Orthodox churches.  In his article, Fr Alexander speaks about the Orthodox saint, Elizabeth of Russia, and the members of the Imperial family who were murdered by the Bolsheviks – they are honoured as martyrs and saints by many Orthodox.  Where does the Catholic Church stand on these and others who have been raised to the altars?  If the churches are finally reunited, will the Catholic Church recognise them officially, even those figures who displayed a hatred for Catholicism?

The question, I suppose, is academic in some sense, since the important thing here will be the formal reunion – and we pray for that!  Discussing the issue some time ago with a friend, he said that the Church would probably make no statement on these saints at all, but rather let things continue as they are.  Someone else said that we might look on them as if Beati with their cults in the East. 

Among these Orthodox saints are some most extraordinarily holy people who have a lot to teach us.  Seraphim of Sarov (c 1754-1833), who has devotees in the Catholic Church among them Blessed John Paul II, was unquestionably a Saint.  St Seraphim taught the people of his time that holiness was for everyone and encouraged them to seek it, teaching them the way of virtue and sanctity.   St Seraphim is a Saint who could be included in the Catholic General Calendar given his significance.

Seraphim of Sarov and Elizabeth Romanova



Elizabeth Romanova (1864-1918), or St Elizabeth of Russia, mentioned in Fr Alexander’s article, seems also to have been a most remarkable woman.  A granddaughter of Queen Victoria of England, she was married to a Russian Grand Duke and, following his murder in 1905 she became a nun and lived a holy life until the Bolshevik Revolution when she was murdered.  She was killed for her Christian faith, so she is a martyr.  Again here is a Saint who might well deserve inclusion on the General Calendar, the example of a noble woman who left all to serve Christ and then paid the ultimate price for her devotion to him.  Her maid, Varvara, who joined the same convent as Elizabeth and was known all her life for her deep piety, was also martyred by the Bolsheviks and was canonised. 

The Imperial family are in an interesting situation: are they martyrs at all?  Fr Alexander says that the sanctity of the children cannot be doubted; by this he seems to exclude Nicholas and Alexandra whose situation is not as clear.  Personally I would have doubts about the Tsar and his wife and I think they died for the same reason as Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette of France – it was political, not religious.  Besides, the Tsarina Alexandra, in particular, raises some serious questions given her devotion to Rasputin.  But were the children martyred too?  Were they murdered because of their adherence to the Christian faith, or simply because they were the children of the Tsar?  

The Orthodox Church struggled with this issue, in the end they canonised the Romanovs as “passion-bearers” – those who face death with resignation in a Christ-like way.  This category of saint exists in the Orthodox Church: I suppose the closest in the Catholic Church would be a Confessor, but that category describes one who suffered for the faith with serenity in life though was not killed: yet for the beatification of a Confessor heroic virtue is required.   We do not have a category of person who died with forbearance and we do not canonise them since, again, we look for either heroic virtue or genuine martyrdom.

An interesting snippet of information: killed with the Imperial family, and canonised with them, were a number of their servants including one who was a Catholic, their footman Alexei Trupp. Another murdered servant, also canonised, was a Lutheran.  In Catholic Church we cannot beatify or canonise non-Catholics but seems the Orthodox can.  That leads us to another interesting question: will the Orthodox recognise our Saints?   St Josaphat and Blessed Vincent Lewoniuk may prove problematic.  Anyway, at this point the issue is academic, but interesting.

In the meantime, we shall celebrate Francis today.  Mass, yes, but what about a half day off work?  Ah, how tempting!