CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS: FRI. AUG. 13, 2010: HEADLINES:
VATICAN: POPE TO CELEBRATE MASS IN CASTEL GANDOLFO ON ASSUMPTION-
INTERNATIONAL: SPANISH WORLD CUP SOCCER TEAM OFFERS CUP TO OUR LADY-
AMERICA: USA: WASHINGTON BASILICA HOSTS SACRED MUSIC CONCERT-
ASIA: PAKISTAN DEACON SHOT AND 2 PRIESTS BEATEN TRYING TO STOP WATERS-
AFRICA: UGANDA OVER 700 PEOPLE ABDUCTED FOR ARMY-
EUROPE: AUSTRIA: MISSIO SENDS AID TO PAKISTAN & ELSEWHERE-
AUSTRALIA: HISTORY CHANNEL MAKES DOCUMENTARY ON MACKILLOP-
VATICAN
POPE TO CELEBRATE MASS IN CASTEL GANDOLFO ON ASSUMPTION
Fr. Waldemar Niedziolka, the parish priest and resident director of the Salesians of Don Bosco community told CNA that the church will be full to its 200-person capacity when the Holy Father arrives at 8 a.m. for the Eucharistic Celebration.
Fr. Niedziolka said that the Mass will take place in an intimate atmosphere to which the parish choir will contribute.
Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, a member of the Salesian Order, will be there to concelebrate along with local Bishop Marcello Semeraro and major rector of Don Bosco's order, Fr. Pascual Chavez, in addition to Fr. Niedziolka himself.
As it is a parish Mass, said Fr. Niedziolka, the majority of the attendees will be members of St. Thomas of Villanova, including those chosen to participate in the liturgy. For example, he said, a family, a couple celebrating 25 years of marriage, two newly-confirmed young people and a pair of first communicants will deliver the gifts to the Holy Father at the offertory. Also attending will be civil, military and religious authorities from the area, including representatives from the Sisters of St. Martha and a Filipino teaching order.
Only a small fraction of the 4,000 members of the parish will be inside the church for the celebration, but a big screen placed in the square will allow those who remain outside to follow the Mass as it takes place. They will also enjoy the possibility of greeting the Pope as he passes by, heading back to his summer residence to recite the Angelus at noon.
This year's Mass, Fr. Niedziolka concluded, will not be unlike those of past years, but next year, he said, with the 50th anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's ordination to the priesthood and the completion of restoration efforts in the church, the parish will be putting together "something special."
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/castel-gandolfo-parish-prepares-for-popes-mass-on-sunday/
INTERNATIONAL: SPANISH WORLD CUP SOCCER TEAM OFFERS CUP TO OUR LADY FULFILLING PROMISE
JESUSCARITASEST.ORG REPORT: The Spainish World Cup soccer team is visiting Mexico. This is to fulfill the promise made by the President of the Spainish Soccer Federation. Angel Maria Villar had prayed to Our Lady in order to win. He had visited a shrine of Mary before to pray for victory and made this promise.The players were also wearing "Miraculous Medals" from a convent during the final winning game. These are medals depicting Mary and the cross on the back. The players wanted to thank the Mother of God for this miraculous win. SOURCES:
AMERICA
USA: WASHINGTON BASILICA HOSTS SACRED MUSIC CONCERT
CNA report - A new variant of the Ave Maria and six award-winning works of sacred music will be performed in a free concert at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception this coming Saturday.
The Foundation for Sacred Arts explained to CNA that the winning works “sound both refreshingly new while being comfortingly familiar.”
Performing the pieces will be the Choir Basilica under the direction of Peter Latona. The composers, who are from around the United States, will attend the premieres and will be available for conversation after the concert.
The Foundation for Sacred Arts said it “eagerly” invites attendees to “what will doubtless be a historical evening, and hopes that you will be among the first to hear seven beautiful new contributions to the Catholic musical tradition.”
The Foundation’s website is at http://thesacredarts.org/
SOURCE http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/dc-basilica-to-host-concert-performance-of-new-works-of-sacred-music/
ASIA
PAKISTAN DEACON SHOT AND 2 PRIESTS BEATEN TRYING TO STOP WATERS
UCAN report: Catholic Church authorities have filed a police report after a deacon was shot and two priests beaten for trying to prevent floodwaters from entering their church in Faisalabad.
The women said, “water from overflowing drain pipes needed to flow into the church compound otherwise it would enter their homes,” he recounted.
Four Catholic youths later jumped over the church gate, assaulted two priests from the church and shot the deacon, fracturing his elbow, said Father Paulus.
Deacon Arif is presently recovering at the parish after spending a day in hospital. Those responsible for the violence are still at large despite a formal complaint by parish officials with the local police station. Parishioners remain divided over the violence with some, stirred up by local Christian politicians, justifying the violence and others condemning it as they felt drain water flooding the church would have desecrated it, said Father Paulus.
“We understand the psychological impact of the most devastating flood in the country. People are desperate,” he said. “We forgive the culprits but want to discourage the trend of targeting Church workers.”
Father Paulus said the area was severely flooded after more than 10 hours of rain that day. The church is located near a Christian-majority slum.
“People are under stress and frustrated due to the flood situation. This reason led to violence,” Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad told ucanews.com on Aug. 12. “This shows the extent of psychological trauma people suffer because of the devastating flood,” he added.
More than 1,600 people have died from the floods, which have disrupted the lives of about 14 million people, according to media reports.
Doctors and paramedics at medical camps have also reported post-traumatic stress disorders among people, mainly women.
SOURCE http://www.ucanews.com/2010/08/13/pakistan-deacon-shot-at-amid-flood-panic/
AFRICA
UGANDA OVER 700 PEOPLE ABDUCTED FOR ARMY
Agenzia Fides REPORT– More than 700 adults and children have been abducted in a largely unreported massive abduction campaign started by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Central African Republic (CAR) and the neighboring Bas Uele district of northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), denounces Human Rights Watch (HRW).
Nearly one-third of those abducted have been children, many of whom are being forced to serve as soldiers or are being used for sex by the group’s fighters, the report says.
During the abduction campaign, the LRA is alleged to have brutally killed adults and children who tried to escape, walked too slowly, or were unable to bear the heavy loads they were forced to carry, Human Rights Watch found in its investigations in the region.
Overall, the report says, the LRA has killed at least 255 adults and children, often by crushing their skulls with clubs. In dozens of cases, the LRA reportedly forced captive children to kill other children and adults.
"The LRA continues its horrific campaign to replenish its ranks by brutally tearing children from their villages and forcing them to fight," Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior Africa researcher at HRW, said.
Th report is fruit of a research mission to the Central African Republic (CAR) and the Bas Uele district of northern Congo, which found that the LRA’s abduction campaign was similar in both countries and is having a devastating impact on affected communities.
In southeastern CAR, the LRA reportedly began large-scale abductions on July 21, 2009, and to date has abducted 304 people, including many children.
The rebels first attacked the villages surrounding Obo, before moving west toward Rafai, Guérékindo, Gouyanga, Kitessa and Mboki, along the Congolese border, and north toward Djema, Baroua, and Derbissaka.
Meanwhile, a similar LRA abduction campaign is reportedly under way in the remote Bas Uele district of Congo. On March 15, 2009, the LRA allegedly attacked the town of Banda, abducting some 80 people.
Already, tens of thousands of people are said to have fled the area. In southeastern CAR, for instance, an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people have sought refuge in the main towns, leaving entire villages abandoned, while about 54,000 civilians have been displaced in the district of Bas Uele or have sought refuge across the border in CAR.
Currently, the UN peace-keeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, reportedly has 19,000 peacekeepers across the country, of which only 1,000 are in the LRA-affected areas of northeastern Congo - far too few for the scale and geographical breadth of the problem. In fact, there are no peacekeepers based in the Bas Uele district of northern DRC.
"The protection of civilians under LRA attack across central Africa is woefully inadequate, with some communities receiving no protection or humanitarian aid at all," the HRW researcher commented.
SOURCE: http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27243&lan=eng
EUROPE
AUSTRIA: MISSIO SENDS AID TO PAKISTAN & ELSEWHERE
Agenzia Fides REPORT - For over 20 years, the organization for the fight against leprosy (Aussätzigen-Hilfswerk) of the national leadership of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Austria (Missio Austria) has been organizing a fundraising campaign and a collection of medicines to help the disadvantaged of the world's poorest regions.
In 2009, 72 projects were promoted to combat leprosy and to further the development of health systems. In addition to donations totaling 1.3 million euros, medicines and medical equipment worth a total of 5.7 million euros were also donated. Doctors, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and clinics throughout Austria took advantage of the celebration of the harvest to offer first aid kits, sterile gloves, disposable syringes, and many other materials.
During July and August, medicines are sorted and packaged for delivery according to demand. This year, so far, 2,800 boxes have been prepared to send missionaries in 26 hospitals in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. There are approximately 5 million patients who will benefit from this aid. "For us, this is a huge help," said Austrian missionary Fr. Georg Nigsch, who in his clinic in Guadalupe (Ecuador) received 148 boxes of medical supplies.
The aid office of the Pontifical Mission Societies, in recent days, has provided emergency assistance amounting to 30,000 euros for people affected by floods in Pakistan. In collaboration with two Austrian doctors in the country, Doctors Ruth Pfau and Christine Schmotzer, and with the help of local staff, emergency clinics were also set up to distribute food and medicines.
SOURCE:
http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27244&lan=eng
AUSTRALIA
HISTORY CHANNEL MAKES DOCUMENTARY ON MACKILLOP
Cath News report: The History Channel has commissioned a new documentary called Blessed Mary: A Saint for All Australians to commemorate her canonisation.
A DVD with special extras, including a full interview between Alan Jones and Cardinal Pell will be released on October 13.
The comprehensive docu-drama will detail the incredible life of Mary MacKillop, from her humble and often troubled childhood in Melbourne, to the establishment of a school in Penola, through to her vocation as co-founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
Featuring dramatised scenes of the pivotal moments in Mary's life, the documentary is also supported by an enormous resource of correspondence to, from and about Mary, including thousands of letters written by Mary herself.
"Mary MacKillop lived a remarkable, inspired life and I'm delighted that The History Channel is able to honour her memory with the screening of this world premiere documentary, to coincide with her historic canonisation," said Jim Buchan, Group Channel Manager, Factual Channels.
SOURCE http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=22826
TODAY'S SAINTS
St. Pontian
POPE
Feast: August 13
Information: Feast Day: August 13
Dates of birth and death unknown. The "Liber Pontificalis" (ed. Duchesne, I, 145) gives Rome as his native city and calls his father Calpurnius. With him begins the brief chronicle of the Roman bishops of the third century, of which the author of the Liberian Catalogue of the popes made use in the fourth century and which gives more exact data for the lives of the popes. According to this account Pontian was made pope 21 July, 230, and reigned until 235. The schism of Hippolytus continued during his episcopate; towards the end of his pontificate there was a reconciliation between the schismatic party and its leader with the Roman bishop. After the condemnation of Origen at Alexandria (231-2), a synod was held at Rome, according to Jerome (Epist. XXXII, iv) and Rufinus (Apol. contra Hieron., II, xx), which concurred in the decisions of the Alexandrian synod against Origen; without doubt this synod was held by Pontian (Hefele, Konziliengeschichte, 2nd ed., I, 106 sq.). In 235 in the reign of Maximinus the Thracian began a persecution directed chiefly against the heads of the Church. One of its first victims was Pontian, who with Hippolytus was banished to the unhealthy island of Sardinia. To make the election of a new pope possible, Pontian resigned 28 Sept., 235, the Liberian Catalogue says "discinctus est". Consequently Anteros was elected in his stead. Shortly before this or soon afterwards Hippolytus, who had been banished with Pontian, became reconciled to the Roman Church, and with this the schism he had caused came to an end. How much longer Pontian endured the sufferings of exile and harsh treatment in the Sardinian mines is unknown. According to old and no longer existing Acts of martyrs, used by the author of the "Liber Pontificalis", he died in consequence of the privations and inhuman treatment he had to bear. Pope Fabian (236-50) had the remains of Pontian and Hippolytus brought to Rome at a later date and Pontian was buried on 13 August in the papal crypt of the Catacomb of Callistus. In 1909 the original epitaph was found in the crypt of St. Cecilia, near the papal crypt. The epitaph, agreeing with the other known epitaphs of the papal crypt, reads: PONTIANOS, EPISK. MARTUR (Pontianus, Bishop, Martyr). The word mártur was added later and is written in ligature [cf. Wilpert, "Die Papstgräber und die Cäciliengruft in der Katakombe des hl. Kalixtus" (Freiburg, 1909), 1 sq., 17 sq., Plate III]. He is placed under 13 Aug. in the list of the "Depositiones martyrum" in the chronographia of 354. TheRoman Martyrology gives his feast on 19 Nov.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/P/stpontian.asp
St. Hippolytus
MARTYR
Feast: August 13
Died: 236, Sardinia
Patron of: horses; prison guards; prison officers; prison workers
Martyr, presbyter and antipope; date of birth unknown; d. about 236. Until the publication in 1851 of the recently discovered "Philosophumena", it was impossible to obtain anydefinite authentic facts concerning Hippolytus of Rome and his life from the conflicting statements about him, as follows:
* Eusebius says that he was bishop of a church somewhere and enumerates several of his writings (Hist. eccl., VI, xx, 22).
* St. Jerome likewise describes him as the bishop of an unknown see, gives a longer list of his writings, and says of one of his homilies that he delivered it in the presence of Origen, to whom he made direct reference (De viris illustribus, cap. 1xi).
* The Chronography of 354, in the list of popes, mentions Bishop Pontianus and the presbyter Hippolytus as being banished to the island of Sardinia in the year 235; the Roman Calendar in the same collection records under 13 August the feast of Hippolytus on the Via Tiburtina and Pontianus in the catacomb of Callistus (ed. Mommsen in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: auctores antiquissimi", IX, 72, 74).
* According to the inscription over the grave of Hippolytus composed by Pope Damasus, he was a follower of the Novatian schism while a presbyter, but before his death exhorted his followers to become reconciled with the Catholic Church (Ihm, "Damasi epigrammata", Leipzig, 1895, 42, n.37).
* Prudentius wrote a hymn on the martyr Hippolytus ("Peristephanon", hymn XI, in P.L., LX, 530 sqq.), in which he places the scene of the martyrdom at Ostia or Porto, and describes Hippolytus as being torn to pieces by wild horses, evidently a reminiscence of the ancient Hippolytus, son of Theseus.
* Later Greek authors (e.g. Georgius Syncellus., ed. Bonn, 1829, 674 sqq.; Nicephorus Callistus, "Hist. eccl.", IV, xxxi) do not give much more information than Eusebius and Jerome; some of them call him Bishop of Rome, others Bishop of Porto. According to Photius (Bibliotheca, codex 121), he was a disciple of St. Irenæus. Oriental writers, as well as Pope Gelasius, place the See of Hippolytus at Bostra, the chief city of the Arabs.
* Several later legends of martyrs speak of Hippolytus in various connections. That of St. Laurence refers to him as the officer appointed to guard the blessed deacon, who was converted, together with his entire household, and killed by wild horses (Acta SS., August, III, 13-14; Surius, "De probatis Sanctorum historiis", IV, Cologne, 1573, 581 sqq.). A legend of Porto identifies him with the martyr Nonnus and gives an account of his martyrdom with others of the same city (Acta SS., August, IV, 506; P.G., X, 545-48).
* A monument of importance is the large fragment of a marble statue of the saint discovered in 1551 which underwent restoration (the upper part of the body and the head being new), and is now preserved in theLateran museum; the paschal cycle computed by Hippolytus and a list of his writings are engraved on the sides of the chair on which the figure of Hippolytus is seated; the monument dates from the third century (Kraus, "Realencyklopädie der christlichen Altertumer", 661 sqq.).
* The topographies of the graves of the Roman martyrs place the grave of Hippolytus in the cemetery on the Via Tiburtina named after him, mention the basilica erected there, and give some legendary details concerning him. (De Rossi, "Roma sotterranea", I, 178-79); the burial vault of the sainted confessor was unearthed by De Rossi (Bullettino di archeologia cristiana, 1882, 9-76).
The discovery of the "Philosophumean" has now made it possible to clear up the most important period of the life of St. Hippolytus through his own evidence, and at the same time to test and correct the conflicting accounts contained in the old authorities. We proceed on the assumption that Hippolytus was really the author of the aforesaid work, an hypothesis almost universally accepted by investigators today.
Hippolytus was a presbyter of the Church of Rome at the beginning of the third century. There is no difficulty in admitting that he could have been a disciple of St. Irenæus either in Rome or Lyons. It is equally possible that Origen heard a homily by Hippolytus when he went to Rome about the year 212. In the reigh of Pope Zephyrinus (198-217) he came into conflict with that pontiff and with the majority of the Church of Rome, primarily on account of the christological opinions which for some time had been causing controversies in Rome. Hippolytus had combated the heresy of Theodotion and the Alogi; in like fashion he opposed the false doctrines of Noetus, of Epigonus, of Cleomenes, and of Sabellius, who emphasized the unity of God too one-sidedly (Monarchians) and saw in the concepts of the Father and the Son merely manifestations (modi) of the Divine Nature (Modalism, Sabellianism). Hippolytus, on the contrary, stood uncompromisingly for a real difference between the Son (Logos) and the Father, but so as to represent the Former as a Divine Person almost completely separate from God (Ditheism) and at the same time altogether subordinate to the Father (Subordinationism). As the heresy in the doctrine of the Modalists was not at first clearly apparent, Pope Zephyrinus declined to give a decision. For this Hippolytus gravely censured him, representing him as an incompetent man, unworthy to rule the Church of Rome and as a tool in the hands of the ambitious and intriguing deacon Callistus, whose early life is maliciously depicted (Philosophumena, IX, xi-xii). Consequently when Callistus was elected pope (217-218) on the death of Zephyrinus, Hippolytus immediately left the communion of the Roman Church and had himself elected antipope by his small band of followers. These he calls the Catholic Church and himself successor to the Apostles, terming the great majority of Roman Christians the School of Callistus. He accuses Callistus of having fallen first into the heresy of Theodotus, then into that of Sabellius; also of having through avarice degraded ecclesiastical, and especially the penitential, discipline to a disgraceful laxity. These reproaches were altogether unjustified. Hippolytus himself advocated an excessive rigorism. He continued in opposition as antipope throughout the reigns of the two immediate successors of Callistus, Urban (222 or 223 to 230) and Pontius (230-35), and during this period, probably during the pontificate of Pontianus, he wrote the "Philosophumena". He was banished to the unhealthful island (insula nociva) of Sardinia at the same time as Pontianus; and shortly before this, or soon afterward, he became reconciled with the legitimate bishop and the Church of Rome. For, after both exiles had died on the island of Sardinia, their mortal remains were brought back to Rome on the same day, 13 August (either 236 or one of the following years), and solemnly interred, Pontianus in the papal vault in the catacomb of Callistus and Hippolytus in a spot on the Via Tiburtina. Both were equally revered as martyrs by the Roman Church: certain proof that Hippolytus had made his peace with that Church before his death. With his death the schism must have come to a speedy end, which accounts for its identification with the Novatian schism at the end of the fourth century, as we learn from the inscription by Damasus. The fact that Hippolytus was a schismatic Bishop of Rome and yet was held in high honour afterwards both as martyr and theologian, explains why as early as the fourth century nothing was known as to his see, for he was not on the list of the Roman bishops. The theory championed by Lightfoot (see below), that he was actually Bishop of Porto but with his official residence in Rome, is untenable.
This statement, made by a few authorities, results from a confusion with a martyr of Porto, due perhaps to a legendary account of his martyrdom. Moreover De Rossi's hypothesis, based on the inscription by Damasus, that Hippolytus returned from exile, and subsequently became an adherent of Novatian, his reconciliation with the Roman Church not being effected until just before his martyrdom under the Emperor Valerian (253-60), is incompatible with the supposition that he is the author of the "Philosophumena." The feast of St. Hippolytus is kept on 13 August, a date assigned in accordance with the legend of St. Laurence; that of Hippolytus of Porto is celebrated on 22 August.
Hippolytus was the most important theologian and the most prolific religious writer of the Roman Church in the pre-Constantinian era. Nevertheless the fate of his copious literary remains has been unfortunate. Most of his works have been lost or are known only through scattered fragments, while much has survived only in old translations into Oriental and Slavic languages; other writings are freely interpolated. The fact that the author wrote in Greek made it inevitable that later, when that language was no longer understood in Rome, the Romans lost interest in his writings, while in the East they were read long after and made the author famous. His works deal with several branches of theology, as appears from the aforementioned list on the statue, from Eusebius, St. Jerome, and from Oriental authors. His exegetical treatises were numerous: he wrote commentaries on several books of the Old and New Testaments. Most of these are extant only in fragments. The commentary on the Canticle of Canticles, however, has probably been preserved in its entirety ("Werke des Hippolytus", ed. Bonwetsch, 1897, 343 sqq.); likewise the fullest extant commentary on the Book of Daniel in 4 books (ibid., 2 sqq.). Eight of his works, known by their titles, dealt with dogmatic and apologetic subjects, but only one has come down entire in the original Greek. This is the work on Christ and Antichrist ("De Antichristo", ed. Achelis, op. cit., I, II, 1 sqq.); fragments of a few others have been preserved. Of his polemics against heretics the most important is the "Philosophumena", the original title of which is kata pason aireseon elegchos (A Refutation of All Heresies). The first book had long been known; books IV to X, which had been discovered a short time previously, were published in 1851. But the first chapters of the fourth and the whole of the second and third books are still missing. The first four books treat of the Hellenic philosophers; books V to IX are taken up with the exposition and refutation of Christian heresies, and the last book contains a recapitulation. The work is one of the most important sources for the history of the heresies which disturbed the early Church. Origen is cited in some manuscripts as the author of the first book. Photius attributes it to the Roman author Caius, while by others it has been ascribed also to Tertullian and Novatian. But most modern scholars hold for weighty reasons that Hippolytus is undoubtedly its author. A shorter treatise agains heresies (Syntagma), and written by Hippolytus at an earlier date, may be restored in outline from later adaptations (Libellus adversus omnes haereses; Epiphanius, "Panarion"; Philastrius, "De haeresibus"). He wrote a third antiheretical work which was universal in character, called the "Small Labyrinth". Besides these Hippolytus wrote special monographs against Marcion, the Montanists, the Alogi, and Caius. Of these writings only a few fragments are extant. Hippolytus also produced an Easter cycle, as well as a chronicle of the world which was made use of by later chroniclers. And finally St. Jerome mentions a work by him on Church laws. Three treatises on canon law have been preserved under the name of Hippolytus: the "Constitutiones per Hippolytum" (which are parallel with the eighth book of the Apostolic Constitutions), the Egyptian Church Ordinance, in Coptic, and the "Canones Hippolyti". Of these works the first two are spurious beyond doubt, and the last, the authenticity of which was upheld even by Achelis (Die Canones Hippolyti, Leipzig, 1891), belongs in all probability to the fifth or sixth century.
The works of Hippolytus have been edited by Fabricius, "S. Hippolyti episcopi et mart. opera" (2 vols., Hamburg, 1716-18); by Gallandi in "Bibliotheca veterum patrum", II, 1766; in Migne, P.G., X; by Lagarde (Leipzig and London, 1858); and by Bonwetsch and Achelis, "Hippolytus" I, pts. I and II (Leipzig, 1897), in "Die gr. chr. Schriftsteller", a series published by the Berlin Academy. The "Philosophumena" was edited by Miller, as the work of Origen (Oxford, 1851); by Duncker and Schneidewin as the work of Hippolytus (Göttingen, 1859), and in P.G., XVI. The "Canones Hippolyti" were edited by Haneberg (Munich, 1870); by Achelis, "Die altesten Quellen des orientalischen Kirchenrechts:, I, in "Texte und Untersuchungen", VI (Leipzig, 1891), 4.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/H/sthippolytus.asp
St. John Berchmans
JESUIT CONFESSOR AND PATRON OF ALTAR BOYS
Born: 13 March 1599 at Driest, Brabant, Belgium
Died: 12 August 1621 at Rome, Italy
Canonized: 1888 by Pope Leo XIII
Major Shrine: Sant'Ignazio
Patron of: altar boys, Oblate novices, young people
This young saint of the Society of Jesus was born in Flanders, the oldest of five children. He grew up in an atmosphere of political turmoil caused by a religious war between the Catholic and Protestant sections of the Netherlands. He studied at the Gymnasium at Diest and worked as a servant in the household of Canon John Froymont at Malines in order to continue his studies.
In 1615, the Jesuits opened a college at Malines, and St. John Berchmans was one of the first to enter. He was an energetic student and was a leader among the students. In 1616, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Malines and came under the influence of Father Antoine Sucquet. The young Berchmans developed a strong and deep spirituality based on the loving practice of fidelity. St. Aloysius of Gonzaga was his spiritual model, and he was influenced as well by the example of the Jesuit English martyrs.
It was his realistic appreciation for the value of ordinary things, a characteristic of the Flemish mystical tradition, that constituted his holiness. He was affable, kind, and endowed with an outgoing personality that endeared him to everyone. In 1618, he was sent to Rome to study philosophy and was an exceptional student. He requested after ordination to become a chaplain in the army, hoping to be martyred on the battlefield.
In the summer of 1619, the intense heat of Rome started to affect his health and he began progressively to get weaker. The doctors could not determine what was wrong, and for two years he was continually sick, requiring medical care, and as the summer of 1621 came, it was clear that he would not last long. He died peacefully on August 13, 1621, and numerous miracles were attributed to him at the time of his funeral.
He was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1865 and canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. His body lies in the church of St. Ignatius in Rome, where Aloysius of Gonzaga is also buried.
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjohnberchmans.asp
TODAY'S GOSPEL
Matthew 19: 3 - 12
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3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
4 He answered, "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female,
5 and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder."
7 They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"
8 He said to them, "For your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another, commits adultery."
10 The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."
11 But he said to them, "Not all men can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."
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