Mary and the Most Holy Eucharist

This weekend 37 children celebrated their First Communion, receiving the most amazing and powerful gift they could ever receive in this world, a gift that was given by God to Our Blessed Mother, who, in turn, allowed Him into the world through Her womb. As a result, in both the months of May and October, for different reason respectively, it has become customary to honor Mary in a special way. Therefore, in her honor and the honor of those who made their First Holy Communion, I want to offer a little reflection on both the Most Holy Eucharist and Mary.

In the biblical days, after God had revealed to Moses the Ten Commandments, He had instructed Moses to build a special covering for those same Ten Commandments as well as other sacred Israelite texts. “They shall make an arc of acacia wood…” (Exodus 25:10-40). This Ark became known as the “Ark of the Covenant,” because it housed the Covenant established by Moses, on behalf of the people with God.

Therefore, this “Ark” became sacred and, because of its sacredness, a tent or “tabernacle” was created for it to be housed within, and only certain people, suited for the task could even enter that “Holy of Holies” (comparable to our sanctuary) and be able to even touch the Ark itself. Upon its completion, then, according to the Catholic biblical scholar Steven Ray: “The glory cloud of the Lord (the Shekinah Glory) covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle (Ex. 40:34–35; Num. 9:18, 22). The verb for ‘to cover’ or ‘to overshadow’ and the metaphor of a cloud are used in the Bible to represent the presence and glory of God.” Therefore, the Holy Spirit overshadowed the presence of the Ark making it a suitable dwelling place for the Word of God, which is the Covenant of the people.

In 586, when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple of Solomon (the place where the Ark was believed to be housed) the Ark went missing, there is debate as to whether the Babylonians took it, if it was hidden or if it was destroyed. Either way, the Ark disappeared and, to this day and has not been found.

This is why in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 11:19) when St. John mentions the Ark, it was big news: “Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” Yet, this is also the end of the chapter and chapter 12 begins by speaking about the “sign in the sky with a woman clothed with the sun.” However, Catholic scholars see this passage differently, for, if you recall, the books of the Bible were written as scrolls with no chapter breaks, the break is artificial and, instead, should be read as one. Therefore, what that means is that the old Ark, while lost, has given way to the “New Ark of the Covenant,” which is Mary.

In fact, in the Gospel of Luke, a New Ark was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and within that new Ark, dwelt the true Word of God, God Incarnate and the fulfillment of the Covenant to the people. As Steven Ray, quoting the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People says:

The Virgin Mary is the living shrine of the Word of God, the Ark of the New and Eternal Covenant. In fact, St. Luke’s account of the annunciation of the angel to Mary nicely incorporates the images of the tent of meeting with God in Sinai and of the temple of Zion. Just as the cloud covered the people of God marching in the desert (cf. Num. 10:34; Deut. 33:12; Ps. 91:4) and just as the same cloud, as a sign of the divine mystery present in the midst of Israel, hovered over the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Ex. 40:35), so now the shadow of the Most High envelops and penetrates the tabernacle of the New Covenant that is the womb of Mary (cf. Luke 1:35) (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, The Shrine: Memory, Presence and Prophecy of the Living God).

This is why Mary is seen as the New Ark of the Covenant, however, given this, we can also see how she is seen as the first and most beautiful tabernacle. St. Ephrem, an early Father of the Church puts it beautifully, he says: “Joseph and also John [The Evangelist] honored your mother’s womb as a symbol. It is the symbol of the Tabernacle the temporal Tabernacle in which Emmanuel was dwelling.”

For, within her, God Himself truly dwelt which is why when we go to her we immediately see Jesus as well, because just as we go to the tabernacle to spend time with Jesus, so too when we go to the first tabernacle we will find Him there as well, for the Son is never too far from His Mother.

This is why there is such a great link between Mary and the Eucharist, and why devotion to her can increase our love of Jesus, our love of her Son, because just as she held Him in her arms, so too do we when we receive the Eucharist. She shows us the proper way to hold Him, to receive Him, and to accept Him into our very hearts the way she did when He dwelt in her womb. This is why as the children celebrate their First Holy Communion we cannot but help to honor His mother as well, the New Ark of the Covenant, the first and, indeed, most beautiful Tabernacle of the world.

Marian Devotion Part I

This past week we celebrated the feast of St. Louis De Montfort, one of my favorite saints and the one whom, the late Pope John Paul II, credits to his great devotion to Mary.

De Montfort, has many great claims to fame, among them, being a great missionary and a powerful and effective preacher, to name just a few, however, his greatest claim to fame, as it were, and how he is best known, even today, is for his explanation of what he called true devotion to Mary, of which he wrote a book with the same name.

It is a book and a belief that spans the entire world, and it lays out a simple understanding and the proper way in which to approach Mary in prayer and how it is we need to ask her to intercede on our behalf. In fact, it is this book that the late Pope John Paul II would credit to his Marian devotion, stating that: “Reading this book (St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary) was to be a turning point in my life…. This Marian devotion …has since remained a part of me. It is an integral part of my interior life and of my spiritual theology.”

Therefore, seeing as his feast was this past week and May is a month dedicated to Mary, I thought it appropriate to introduce what is known as true devotion to Mary. A devotion that will hopefully help clear up some misconceptions about what Marian devotion is and isn’t, because there is a tendency to believe that belief in Mary is worship of Mary, when, in fact, that is not the case at all.

St. Louis De Montfort begins his book with a rather bold statement, that devotion to Mary is not just important, but necessary, and though he says Mary is nothing more than “a mere creature fashioned by the hands of God…[and] compared to his infinite majesty, less than an atom, or rather is simply nothing,” (I, 14) he also says that “God has decided to begin and accomplish his greatest works through the Blessed Virgin ever since he created her.” Furthermore, he notes that: “Whatever desires the patriarchs may have cherished, whatever entreaties the prophets and saints of the Old Law may have had for 4,000 years to obtain that treasure, it was Mary alone who merited it and found grace before God by the power of her prayers and the perfection of her virtues.” (I, 18)

So, that, in spite of who she was: “The Son of God became man for our salvation but only in Mary and through Mary. God the Holy Spirit formed Jesus Christ in Mary; but only after having asked her consent through one of the chief ministers of his court. God the Father imparted to Mary his fruitfulness as far as a mere creature was capable of receiving it, to enable her to bring forth his Son and all the members of his mystical body.” (I, 16-17) And, as De Montfort also points out: “If we examine closely the rest of our Blessed Lord’s life, we shall see that it was His will to begin His miracles by Mary,” (I, 19) citing, specifically the changing of water into wine at the Wedding Feast of Cana, among others.

In other words, then, Mary, though human, and just like us, was raised, by God alone, to become one of the greatest saints the world has ever known. Yet, given such an abundance of grace, we are always cautious in our approach of her, because, we never seem to know if we are venerating her “too much” or, if we would not be better off just bypassing this mere human and going directly to God.

Yet, it is De Montfort who puts it well, he says that just as “God the Father made an assemblage of all waters and He named it the sea (mare). He made an assemblage of all His graces and he called it Mary (Maria).” (I, 23) So that, in essence Mary is the treasury of grace and the “dispenser of all [that] He [God] possesses, in such wise that she distributes to whom she wills, as much as she wills, as she wills and when she wills, all His gifts and graces.” (I, 25) De Montfort explains this as a result of everything passing through her virginal hands, since the Father allowed the greatest gift of His very Son to enter the world through her womb. Of course, as De Montfort also points out: “We must take great pains not to conceive this…as any abasement or imperfection in Jesus Christ,” (I, 27) but, rather, as part of God’s Will and the grace that He has bestowed upon her, for all she is doing is fulfilling and acting on that Will as she did at the moment of the Annunciation.

It is with this in mind that De Montfort boldly states, therefore, that: “We must not confuse devotion to the Blessed Virgin with devotions to the other saints, as if devotion to her were not far more necessary than devotion to them, and as if devotion to her were a matter of supererogation.” (I, 39). [that is, something optional].
So, if Marian devotion is not an option, if Marian devotion, as the Church herself states, among other places, in Canon Law, that it is necessary to have devotion to avoid the daily spiritual pitfalls that can lead us away, then wouldn’t that be seen as improper devotion to Mary, almost taking away from the prayers that are due to God alone?

Again, St. Louis De Montfort answers this well: “If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to our Lord more perfectly, by providing a smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. If devotion to our Lady distracted us from our Lord, we would have to reject it as an illusion of the devil. But this is far from being the case.” (II, 62). In other words, true devotion to Mary does not mean we love her too much to the absence of Christ, but, rather, true devotion has the mother introducing us to the Son, so that in loving her we love Christ all the more, or, to put it another way, we go to Christ through Mary. Yet, I think it is Patrick Madrid who puts it well: “Praising the beauty of God’s creations is another form of rendering praise to God Himself. It never competes with our worship of God alone. Rather, it completes it.” (Why is that In Tradition, 88).

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The Question of Ghosts

In our Gospel, this weekend, the disciples are startled by Jesus’ sudden entrance in their midst because, as St. Luke, the author of the Gospel puts it they: “Thought they were seeing a ghost.” An interesting choice of words but even more interesting is that Jesus does not correct them but, instead, as if referring to what we call a “ghost” says that a “ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” Which only seems to reinforce the idea of the existence of ghosts. And, what’s more, is that now we cannot turn on the TV or watch a movie without seeing some supernatural occurrence, be it a haunting, a possession, or some other show out to prove the existence or non-existence of ghosts or other “paranormal” activity.

So, it raises a question, albeit a speculative question, but a question, nonetheless, what does the Church actually teach with regards to ghosts? Well, it turns out the Church itself doesn’t say much, however, there are many great Catholic writers and thinkers who have come up with certain ideas and theories throughout history, from priests to devout Catholics, to even some saints. Now, let me just stress that before going any further, these are ideas and theories, and this falls under the purview of what would be called “speculative theology,” but given the great and increasing interest in these types of things, I thought it necessary to, at least, talk about it from a Catholic perspective.

Do ghosts exist?

Jimmy Akin, a Catholic apologist and writer points out the term “ghost” is a German derivative of the Latin “spirit.” Now, we believe in spirits, those are what we call angels and demons, but there is more to it than just that. In fact, Akin and a priest by the name of Fr. John Hampsch, have cited other spiritual entities that can found in the Bible itself. They cite 7 in all:

1) We know that ghosts do not have flesh and bones. (Luke 24:39)

2) We know that the dead can communicate with the living. (1 Sam 28; Sirach 46:20)

3) We know that at least in some context allowed by God, the dead can be conjured in some fashion. (1 Sam 28)

4) We know that it is possible for the dead to appear on the earth (Matt 72; 1 Sam 28)

5) We know that is may be possible for the dead to not only appear on the earth, but appear to people and talk with them (Luke 16:27-31; 1 Sam 28)

6) We know that it is possible for the living to bi-locate (Rev. 17:3; 21:10; 2 Cor 12:2)

7) We know that it is possible for spirits to communicate in dreams and the person to have a bodily reaction to the visitation (Job 4:15)

Given this, there seems to be ample evidence that indeed ghosts do exist. However, there is a precaution here, and the biggest is how this works with Church teaching.

How does this work with Church teaching?

We know that when we depart from this world we are instantly judged and from there it is decided where we are to go, Heaven, Hell or Purgatory. Now, the first two places are quite definitive, however, Purgatory is less so, all we know is that it is a place of purgation, a time in which to make ourselves ready and worthy to enter Heaven. So, in this sense, there is no need of “crossing over,” as many Mediums are wont to say, because it has already occurred. However, as Jimmy Akin, Peter Kreeft, Fr. John Hampsch, and a guy by the name of Gerard Van Den Aardweg, author of Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warning from Purgatory have pointed out, God may allow a person to return to earth to complete that “purgation."

The reason for such a visit would be to solicit prayers, as many of the saints have explained and as the rich man begged Abraham to allow (Luke 16:27-28). In fact, St. Faustina relates how she had been praying for a deceased sister and, as she put it: "The first time I had seen her, she had been in great suffering, and then gradually these sufferings had diminished; this time she was radiant with happiness, and she told me she was already in heaven."Another reason, is because that person is still too attached to material goods and not ready to let them go or, another reason is simply because the person has not yet realized or come to terms with their own death and God in His mercy has allowed them the “time” to let go.

Now, granted, this is all conjecture, but also not outside of the realm of possibility. The difficulty, however, is how we reconcile that with malevolent spirits, those known as “poltergeists” which, in German means “noisy spirit.” That is where it gets “spiritually dangerous,” because then you are not dealing with someone who has gone before us, but a demon, and that is why the Church has not spoken much about the existence or non-existence of ghosts and the spirit world in general, because since we cannot see in the spiritual realm, we are not necessarily sure what type of spirit we are, in fact, dealing with.

If you would like to learn more, I highly recommend the books Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven and Angels and Demons by Peter Kreeft, Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warning from Purgatory by Gerard Van Den Aardweg and Poltergeists and 7 Types of Ghosts by Fr. John Hampsch.

Divine Mercy Sunday

In the early 1930’s a young Polish nun started to have visions of Jesus, they were so intense and demanded so much that her spiritual director instructed her to keep a diary of these visions, 600 pages later we have what has become known today as The Diary of St. Faustina. And, in it, there is a simple message, the message of God’s infinite love and His great and unfathomable mercy. It was a message so strong that Jesus made known to St. Faustina that He desired the second Sunday of Easter to be designated as Divine Mercy Sunday, and fairly recently, it was John Paul II who made what Jesus asked a reality.

This is why, this Sunday we will celebrate the feast of Divine Mercy. Jesus’ beautiful words to St. Faustina were clear, He said: “I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.”

Also, on that day, ideally, you will see that beautiful picture that St. Faustina herself painted, with red and blue rays, a sign of the blood and water that flowed from His side; the saving waters of our Baptism and the strength and grace from the Eucharist. Or, as Jesus explains: “The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the cross.”

And, because it is a day of mercy it is a day to gain a plenary indulgence, something we don’t speak much of anymore, but which, simply put, is “time off for good behavior.” Or, as www.catholic.org defines it: “A partial indulgence removes part of the temporal punishment due for sins. A plenary indulgence removes all of it. This punishment may come either in this life, in the form of various sufferings, or in the next life, in purgatory. What we don't get rid of here we suffer there.”

However, lest we think that this an easy way to Heaven, as it were, there is an addendum: “To acquire a plenary indulgence, it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent.” The last part, of course, is the difficult part, and that’s what makes the indulgence a challenge, but hey, then what’s the point of holiness if it doesn’t demand a complete change of heart?

In light of this though, that is why on Divine Mercy Sunday, confession is also offered, because that is the sacrament from which Divine mercy truly flows. In fact, Jesus told St. Faustina: “When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I Myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.”

Therefore, I would encourage everyone to take part in Divine Mercy Sunday and, at least, take some time to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. A chaplet that speaks to the heart of the outpouring of graces that Jesus wishes to bestow and a final plea on our part to appeal to Him that “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion,” He “have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Holy Week

Holy Week is one of the most solemn weeks in the entire Church calendar, because it is the last week of Lent and invites us to walk with Jesus on the road to Calvary, up the mountain to His cross. Beginning, as it does on Palm (Passion) Sunday and ending with Holy Saturday, it brings us into the heart of our redemption as it commemorates the Passion of Christ, becoming a composite of what we believe, and, ultimately proclaiming as we do at every Mass: “Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.” And, within this solemn week, there are three days that are highlighted above all else, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, also known as The Triduum, or “three days.” Since, many of us attend the Mass or services on this day, as the case may be, I thought it appropriate to explain the significance and a little history of each of these days.

What is Holy Thursday?

Holy Thursday is also known as “Maundy Thursday,” because from the Latin, Maundy is translated as mandatum, which is what we know as mandate: the mandate to “to love one another as I have loved you,” which Jesus demonstrates with the washing of the feet and which the priest imitates during the Mass. The Mass itself is significant because it starts in the evening, since that was when Passover occurred and the Gloria returns, since this marks the end of Lent. It commemorates both the institution of the Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper and, in a special way, the sacrament of the priesthood. Traditionally, this was also the day when the blessing of the holy oils would take place for the parishes of the diocese during what is known as the Chrism Mass, and when the priests would renew their commitment to priestly service.

What is most unique, however, about this Mass, is that it does not end with a final blessing, but, rather, a procession of the Eucharist to a place of reposition, the altar is then stripped and at midnight or a little later, the Eucharist is removed quietly, since it is the day of Christ’s death, Good Friday.

What is Good Friday?

Good Friday is the anniversary of Christ’s death and a day we keep solemn with fasting and abstinence. No Mass is offered, only a Communion Service, with the hosts from the previous night. It is a somber occasion, which begins with the priests and/or deacons prostrating themselves before the altar. “The priest and ministers make a reverence to the altar prostrating themselves. This act of prostration, which is proper to the rite of the day, should be strictly observed, for it signifies both the abasement of "earthly man", (68) and also the grief and sorrow of the Church.” (Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts) there is no sign of the cross, no “let us pray,” just the prayer and the readings, during which time we read and recall His Passion. We then offer intercessory prayers for the Church and the entire world and Venerate the Cross. Communion is simple and afterwards there is a prayer but no blessing, no dismissal, and it’s over, until Saturday night.

What is Holy Saturday?

Holy Saturday is the eve of Easter, and it remembers the day that Christ was in the tomb. No Mass is offered until the night and ideally it is meant to be a day spent in silence and prayer, in quiet expectation for the glory on the horizon. It recalls the tension between life and death and is often seen as the “transitional day” between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, underscoring the end of the world and the entrance of the new Heaven and the new earth. Yet, it is on Saturday night, the Easter Vigil, that everything changes.


What is the Easter Vigil?

We begin in darkness and in silence (ideally) and we light a bonfire, a symbol of the new fire and bless the Paschal candle (that tall candle). The candle, represents Christ himself, and so is blessed by the priest who then inscribes in it a cross, the first letters and last of the Greek alphabet, (Alpha and Omega `the beginning and the end') and the current year, as he then attaches the five grains of incense, a symbol of Christ’s wounds.

The Paschal candle is then lit and the flame is passed to others, who have their own candles, who, in turn, pass that same fire to others, symbolizing the passing on of the light of Christ. We enter the church is relative darkness, while “Christ our Light” is chanted three times. The Easter candle, the largest and most beautiful in the Church, is then placed in the sanctuary as a reminder of Risen Redeemer "who shining in light left the tomb." It will then be lit each day during Mass throughout the Paschal season until Ascension Thursday.

The Easter Proclamation is then chanted, the beautiful composite of our redemption, and then we have multiple readings which take us from the beginning to the end of salvation history, recalling for us the many events that occurred as a result. Then there are the celebration of the sacraments of initiation, that of Baptism and Confirmation and the first reception of the Eucharist. During the Baptismal Rite, the water is blessed and we collectively renew our baptismal promises. The priest then sprinkles the people with that same water and we then celebrate the liturgy of the Eucharist, something we were unable to do for almost two days.

When we end, there is a final blessing, because we have come to the triumphant end, and we cry out “Alleluia,” for He is Risen and we have collectively traveled with Him from the garden to this glorious day.

Incidentally, since this is the summit of all Liturgical celebrations, this is why we do not end with a final blessing on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, because traditionally, it was one long Mass for three days with its ultimate end on Easter Sunday, the day of the Resurrection.

Ashes

On Ash Wednesday, we begin our journey of Lent, and we mark this occasion with a well-known, but, seemingly strange symbol, we trace an ashen cross upon our foreheads. The question has always been why ashes and why not something else, something less noticeable?

Why Ashes?

In order to understand the reason for ashes, we have to go back to the days of the Bible, because within those pages, we see ashes constantly being mentioned, many times, alongside something called a “hair shirt” or “sackcloth.” In fact, in Jer 6:26, we hear: “O daughter of my people, gird on sackcloth, and roll in ashes; make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.” And, in Is. 58:5: “Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?” Or, the most well known from Jonah (3:6) when the king repents for the city of Nineveh after being told that if he did not the city would be destroyed: “Then tidings reached the king of Nin'eveh, and he arose from his throne, removed his robe, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.”

In every case, ashes and sackcloth were always associated with penance, repentance and in seeking forgiveness for a wrong that was committed. Furthermore, it was always seen as a way of appeasing God, by trying to visibly show one’s desire to right a wrong or to demonstrate true contrition for sins.

That is why in the days before confession if someone committed a sin they wouldn’t just get to confess and leave, they had to beg forgiveness from the bishop, who then gave them a penance. They were then considered part of what were called the Order of Penitents.

What were the Order of Penitents?

The Order of Penitents are most likely where the idea of ashes and sackcloth were renewed after the days of the Bible. They were considered to be grave sinners and so after a penance would be assigned, the bishop would bless hair shirts (comparable to sackcloth) and as part of their penance they were to wear these shirts for forty days.

The bishop would then sprinkle them with ashes used from the palms of the previous year and place them on their forehead, they would then be dismissed from the Church, as many explain it, the way Adam was dismissed from paradise and on Holy Thursday they were welcomed back into the Church where they received absolution and reconciliation

What Does That Have To Do With Us?

Since this whole thing was public and witnessed by the entire Christian community, all Christians, recognizing their own sinfulness eventually started to receive ashes as well. This became so popular that it became a universal and customary tradition starting in the 11th century the Wednesday before Lent, when Pope Urban II called for the use of ashes on this day, though some will say that it appeared in the Sacramentary as early as the 8th century.

Another Purpose for the Ashes?

When the priest or Eucharistic Minister will place ashes upon our forehead, they may say, one of two things: "Remember (O man) that you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Gen. 3:19) or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel" (Mk 1:15) While the repentance part should be evident, the whole idea of dust has other connotations. For, its purpose is to remind us that our Lenten journey is also, as many saints would put it, a “dying to ourselves,” because the sacrifices we make are not for themselves but for a greater reason, namely, to help us understand the true sacrifice Christ made for us. So, that the more we give up, the more we die to our own will for the sake of God’s Will.

Those words also recall those that are spoken at the graveside, that, as “The Order of Christian Funerals” reminds when we commit someone to the ground, “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is meant to remind us of how fragile we truly are, and what, ultimately, we are made of, so that we approach this solemn season asking ourselves if we had only 40 days to live, how would we live? What would we do different? How would we act? What type of relationship would we truly have with God?

Yet, as grim as that may sound, it also reminds us that it is from that same ground that Christ arose and from which we too will arise on the last day, for the purpose of Lent is to prepare us for Easter, for, as it is famously said, we cannot understand nor appreciate Good Friday without Easter Sunday.

St. Blaise and the Blessing of the Throats

The feast of St. Blaise commemorates probably the most well-known and most popular saint, not for what he has done, but for what happens on that day, the blessing of throats. For, as the story goes, a woman brought a boy to him who was choking on a fishbone, and was very close to death. However, inexplicably and miraculously he was healed at the hands of this saint, coughing up the bone.

One of the difficulties, in fact, the major difficulty about recounting the life of St. Blaise is that we know very little about him, and what we do know stems from stories and legends of the miraculous and the extraordinary, from something called the Acts of St. Blase written 400 years after his death. And, while this, indeed, does pose difficulties, it should be noted, that our lack of knowledge of him doesn’t mean that what he did wasn’t real, rather, it just means we are not sure that all of what he did can be definitively associated with him.

What we do know is that he was born of rich and noble parents and received a well-rounded Christian education. As a result, he was made bishop of Sebastea in Armenia, at a fairly young age. Not long after that, however, great persecutions broke out and God told him to escape to the hills, so he fled to a cave in the mountains and it was here that he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, making friends, it is believed, even with the wild animals.

In fact, it was believed that St. Blaise would heal those animals that were sick and wounded and that they would even come to him for a blessing. It is said that in one of the caves, hunters, were looking for animals for the amphitheater, that is, for the pagan games, when they saw a man, St. Blaise, walking amidst the animals unafraid or kneeling in prayer, surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears. The hunters were initially in shock and amazement over this, but then recognized that this, indeed, was St. Blaise, and so they took him back for trial.

On the way back, it is believed, they met a poor woman whose pig was carried off by a wolf, however, St. Blaise commanded the wolf to return the pig, which is what is believed to have happened, and the woman so grateful for this, would later, while St. Blaise was in his jail cell, bring him food even though there were orders for him to be starved as well as candles so that he could have light in his dark jail cell.

Also, on his journey back, the famous story of the child with the bone lodged in his throat is believed to have occurred, one of the reasons we bless throats today.

While St. Blaise was in jail, the governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade him to sacrifice to pagan idols. St. Blaise refused and was severely beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh was torn with iron combs or rakes. Incidentally, English wool combers, who used similar iron combs, understood the agony he underwent and became their patron as a result. Finally, when all was said and done, he was beheaded.

And, while a brutal and ruthless way in which to die a martyrs death, this is actually the reason we use two candles and place them in the form of an X for the blessing of throats, because, it is believed, two candles were brought to him while in jail, and that the cross of St. Andrew, an X cross, was a violent form of persecution and crucifixion.

By the sixth century, St. Blaise was being called upon for diseases of the throat in the East. As early as the eighth century, he was being venerated in Europe, and he became one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. In fact, the Abbey of St. Blaise in southern Germany claimed to even have some of his relics.

It is said, that one of the biggest reasons for St. Blaise's popularity was that he was a physician who could cure illness, which is why those who were sick, especially with throat ailments, would call upon his intercession, and why we bless throats on his feast day even now. This, too, is why we would do well, to ask him to intercede on our behalf, for any illness, knowing the healing power of God, which was so clearly manifested through him.

St. Blaise, patron of woolcombers, wild animals and, of course, those that suffer from afflictions of the throat, pray for us!