Author: Capital Catholic Happenings

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Walking in the footsteps: Cooperating with God’s grace

This morning pilgrims continued their Lenten journey along a well trod path as they made their way to the Basilica Santi XII Apostoli, where relics of Sts. Philip and James the Lesser are housed beneath the high altar.  As the pilgrims walked and prayed they traversed the Piazza del Popolo, came behind the Pantheon and passed by the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, till finally arriving at Piazza Ss. Apostoli.   The church, located near both the Gregorian and Angelicum Universities, is one well known to the students of the North American College.  In fact, today’s walk is one that many seminarians make daily to go to and from school and the College.  This serves as a great reminder that our journey with the Lord plays itself out largely in our “regular” day-to-day lives.

Today’s readings invite us to a life of greater virtue.  From the prophet Ezekiel we hear, “He shall live because of the virtue he practiced,” and in the Gospel Jesus instructs us that we must strive for righteousness greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees.  They observed the externals of the Jewish laws but lacked a proper disposition of heart.  We are blessed to have the Lenten season each year because it gives us a chance to examine the dispositions of our own hearts.  Jesus makes it clear that we can’t just aim at fulfilling minimum obligations, but that we must strive for hearts and minds that, with God’s grace, are free from even harboring ill thoughts, feelings or intentions towards others.  This goal finds its practical fulfillment in our day-to-day lives.

The season of Lent with its call to greater prayer, fasting and almsgiving allows us a chance to examine our attitudes and intentions and to ask God’s grace to help us love more like Him.  By cooperating with His grace we’ll find our day-to-day path transformed.  It will gradually become more and more the path of Christ.  We’ll change too!  We’ll become a greater blessing to ourselves, our family, our friends, and everyone we encounter as we increasingly grow in resemblance to Christ, Our Lord.

Written by Francisco Aguirre

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber

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Walking in the Footsteps: With joy unto death

Gathering together the treasures of the Church

Today’s Station Church, San Lorenzo in Panisperna, marks the spot of one of the most famous martyrdom’s in Christian history.  Lawrence, one of the deacons in the Roman church, was arrested along with Pope Callixtus in August of the year 258, when Christianity was still illegal.  Soldiers demanded that Lawrence hand over the treasures of the church, and in response the witty deacon gathered not gold and silver but the poor whom the Church served.  Angered, the soldiers imprisoned Lawrence, who with his palpable Christian character soon managed to convert even the jailor.  The only option remaining for the soldiers was execution, so they tied Lawrence to a grill and lit a fire underneath.  Eventually, Lawrence would die as a witness to his faith in Christ, but not before getting in the last word: halfway through the ordeal, the saint mocked, “You can turn me over now… I’m done on this side!”

 Testimony to Hope

How do martyrs suffer for their belief in Christ in such a joyful and free way?  The answer boils down to the strength of the Christian’s faith, and the hope that results from such faith.  A Christian who has faith is one who believes that God has spoken through Jesus, and therefore believes Jesus’ words are true.  A Christian who has hope goes a step beyond, being able not only to believe Jesus’ words are true, but to trust God as delivering on all the promises Jesus has made.  The result of such faith and hope is thus an abiding joy, because such a believer sees behind every circumstance the loving providence of God.  The Father, revealed by Jesus, can bring good out of any situation, and someone who believes this is true and trusts the Father to act, cannot help but see life through the lens of joy.  Hence the wit of today’s saint, and the insightful comment of Pope Benedict, then Cardinal Ratzinger: “deep joy of the heart [is] the true prerequisite for a sense of humor, and thus humor is, in a certain sense, the measure of faith.” (p. 80, Principles of Catholic Theology, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987.)

Seek, knock, ask

Today’s Gospel, Matthew 7:7-12, invites us to practice the gifts of faith and hope.  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread or a snake when he asked for a fish?  If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”  Here we see the trust of Jesus in the Father, and Jesus’ invitation for us to live out of such a trust.  At Baptism, we were given the gifts of faith and hope, but today Jesus invites to act on these gifts.  Do we?  If not, reading the Scriptures daily can be a good remedy, because it will open our eyes to the God we profess and lead us to trust him in every circumstance.  Only then can we become the joyful saints we’re all called to be, and, hopefully, with a little bit of humor too.

Written by: Timothy Daniel

Photos by: Fr. Justin Huber

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Walking in the Footsteps:With Mary

In honor of Mary, Mother of God

Warm rain joined pilgrims this morning on their way to the oldest church in the West dedicated to Our Lady, St. Mary Major. Miraculous snow on 5 August 353 AD marked the spot where Our Lady desired this church to be erected on the Esquiline Hill. The title Our Lady of the Snow took. After the Council of Ephesus in 431, which named Mary as the Mother of God, Pope Sixtus III began construction. Relics of the original crib that held baby Christ are kept in a reliquary here. The remains of St. Jerome rest in the crypt.

Feeding our love for the Eucharist through Fasting

In today’s readings, Christ continues to call us to purify our desire for authentic conversion through fasting. May our fasting this Lent increase our love for the Eucharistic. We can apply the desire we have for things we are offering up to the Eucharist.  Transform the craving you have for food, into thirst for the Eucharist. May the pangs of hunger we feel, the sacrifice of abstaining from meat on Fridays, or coffee without sugar, or bread without butter, or fries without ketchup, be small but effective ways of increasing our appetite for the Eucharist, intensifying our desire to be united to Christ, to allow him to be more present to us than we are to ourselves, so that our days become either periods of thanksgiving after we have received Holy Communion or anticipation looking forward to the next time we will receive Christ. By converting our longing for material things into devotion for the Eucharist, may we allow Christ to reign in us.

Written by Fr. Charlie Gallagher

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber

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Walking in the footsteps… How to pray

The lifeblood of the church

Today, we continued our Lenten Station Masses at Sant’Anastasia.  On the way to this church, we walked past the Circus Maximus, a great field dedicated to sporting events in Ancient Rome.  Although Roman charioteers would have entertained the crowds in the Circus Maximus, this sight was also the place where many martyrs gave their lives for their faith in Christ.

St. Anastasia was martyred during the Diocletian Persecution in the late third century in what is today Serbia, making the location of this church very appropriate.  The church itself was built in the late fourth century and St. Jerome, who came from the same region as Anastasia, is said to have often celebrated Mass here.

While little is known about St. Anastasia herself, it is moving to know that this martyr’s name means “resurrection” and that her feast day was traditionally celebrated on December 25.  She therefore connects Christ’s birth, death, and resurrection and shows us the true purpose of our Lord’s coming.  It was a nice reminder for us as we entered the church that as we continue through Lent, we do so with the hope of Easter!

 Learning how to pray

During the homily, the priest encouraged us to remember the great gift Jesus has given us in teaching us how to pray.  We do not pray like the pagans do, hoping that the more we shout the better God will hear us.  Rather, we trust in the goodness of our Loving Father who has taken the initiative in meeting us.  As the Catechism so beautifully reminds us, “In prayer, the faithful God’s initiative of love always comes first; our own first step is always a response.”  In sending His own Son to Earth to suffer, die, and rise from the dead, God has taken the first step in our relationship with Him.  Now it’s our turn to accept His invitation and respond with all our hearts.

Written by:

Christopher Seith

Photos: Fr. Justin Huber

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Not your Grandmother’s Adoration

In the last six months, three different friends, two who were newly dating, and one whose relationship was getting more serious mentioned that recent dates had included a visit to Adoration!  And what is more interesting, Adoration was the suggestion of the guy.  Date night Adoration. Who knew? Just last week, Sarah Yaklic, the coordinator of young adult ministry was sharing with me that the number of young adults coming to our monthly Adoration is increasing. Two different generations of Catholics are rediscovering the grace of Adoration. Growing up I thought Adoration was strictly for grandmothers, then it seemed to have disappeared from parish life.  But it’s back!

At Home with the Lord

For me, Adoration is the experience of being “at home”with the Lord. My parents moved into the house in which I was raised a week before I was born and they lived in the house for 45 years. When they were ready to move, my brother and his wife bought the house and so today, it remains in my family. When I visit, I love to walk through each room, though different then when I was living there, it feels like “home” in a way no other place I have lived has felt.  For me, Adoration is the spiritual experience of home. Sitting in the presence of the Lord, feeling completely myself with the Lord, allowing that presence to fill me.

A few years back, I discovered a homily on the story of Jesus in the house of Martha and Mary, in which Augustine talks about the meaning of Mary choosing the better part. Augustine points out that Mary, sitting  at the feet of the Lord  prefigures the experience of heaven. In heaven there will be no more work or service in the name of the Lord, we will live in the presence of the Lord and we will “be”  rather than “do.” Augustine suggests that for many of us, this may come as a shock, that we  may need to learn how to be with Our Lord.  Augustine had my number! I decided that I needed to practice the prayer of being. Now, if  it has been awhile since I have made a visit, I miss it, the way I miss quality time with a good friend. Luckily, this Lent, all over the archdiocese, parishes are offering Adoration.

The Light is On for You

Beginning Wednesday, our annual The Light is On Campaign begins. In all of our churches, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Confession will be offered. In many of our churches, there will also be Adoration.  In the words of Pope Benedict XVI, The Lord is present, watching and waiting for us to come into his presence.  Adoration in an invitation to be with the Lord. For many of our parishes,  Adoration is also a regular part of parish life. If you would like to find a parish near where you live or work that has regular Adoration, contact my office at [email protected] and we will help you find one.

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"Release me from the chains that hold me back"

Entrusted to the Archdiocese of Washington

Today’s station church is significant for the Church of Washington. This past November, Pope Benedict XVI entrusted St. Peter in Chains, situated in the heart of Rome, to Cardinal Wuerl as his titular church. I had the great honor of being the acolyte at today’s Mass. Chris Seith, a Washington seminarian in his first year at the North American College, was the lector.

Two of the church’s treasures brought me to reflect on the meaning and importance of freedom in Christ. The statue of Moses and chains of Peter remind me to allow God to free me, helping me overcome the slavery of sin and self-centeredness in my heart this Lent.

A marble statue of Moses, a masterpiece by Michelangelo, sits prominently on the right side of church. The marble Moses sits majestically – powerfully muscular, bearded, and ready to take on any obstacle standing in the way of God’s people. Just as Moses led his people from the clutches of slavery, so we should follow Jesus who will lead us out of our slavery to sin.

Proclaim the Gospel of Christ

Secondly, hanging in a glass case below the high altar, one can see and venerate the chains that give the church its name. Peter, the first pope, was thrown into prison and locked in these chains. What was his crime? He was spreading the Gospel and its message of freedom in Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 12:7), we read about Peter’s miraculous rescue by an angel who released him from these chains. The passage says, “And behold an angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shined in the room. And he, striking Peter on the side, raised him up, saying: Arise quickly. And the chains fell off from his hands.” Peter was released so that he could boldly proclaim the message of Christ and continue to spread the Gospel throughout the Empire.

Looking upon those chains and reflecting on the heroism of Peter and Moses, I prayed that God would release me from the chains that hold me back from proclaiming his Word and following him in true freedom. I pray that you, reader, have that experience of freedom from the chains of sin this Lent. I ask that you pray that I receive the grace of this freedom as well.

Blog By: Patrick Lewis

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber

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Walking in the Footsteps: Persistent Prayer

Monica said, “There was indeed one thing for which I wished to stay a while in this life, and that was to see you a Catholic Christian.”

… And when we were at Ostia on the Tiber, my mother died.

                              (St. Augustine, Confessions, Book IX)

After pursuing her son, Augustine, from Africa to Italy and seeing him convert to Christianity in 386, it was almost as though Monica’s purpose in life had been fulfilled. Hardly a year later, she took ill in Ostia (a seaport outside of Rome)and died there, never returning to her home in Africa. Her remains were eventually laid to rest in the church of San Agostino here in Rome, and it is to this church – run, naturally, by the Augustinian fathers – that our Lenten pilgrimage takes us today.

As I watched many of our pilgrims cluster around Monica’s tomb to pray after Mass, I couldn’t help but admire her story and reflect how much her intercession is needed today. I would guess that many of the pilgrims were praying for someone they knew, some “Augustine-in-waiting”: a family member who had drifted away from, or even outright rejected, Christ and his Church.

Monica: A model of  Persistent Prayer

Monica watched her son’s spiritual wanderings in sadness and in frustration, but never in despair. She prayed constantly for his return to the faith – and of course, she was not shy in letting him know about it! So often did her prayers for Augustine end in weeping that her bishop once assured her, “It is not possible that the son of so many tears should perish.” And indeed, Augustine’s conversion to Christianity would give the Church not only a devout believer, but one of the most brilliant theologians that Christianity has ever known. Before Monica’s tomb, I offered a prayer for our families – yours and mine – and for all those spiritual wanderers whom God, this Lent, is lovingly seeking out in ways they do not yet know.

Pilgrim Profile

Among the 200-odd pilgrims at today’s station church was Mary Breed from Mclean, Virginia, visiting Rome for a few days with her husband Jerry. I caught her just outside St. Monica’s chapel. Mary heard about the station church devotions from a friend who had lived in Rome, and leaped at the chance to hear Mass in English rather than in Italian! She was very moved by the number of pilgrims and especially seminarians who were present at today’s Mass – “We are praying for you seminarians all the time,” she encouraged me. By coincidence (or providence?) Mary has a deep personal devotion to St. Monica and was grateful to be able to ask her, “in person” as it were, to intercede for family and friends, as well as for some girls Mary knows who share Monica’s name.

Post by Seminarian, Aaron Qureshi (pictured in photo)

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber

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In the footsteps…"It takes more than desire"

 Ss. Giovanni e Paola

Pilgrims in Rome celebrated Mass at the Church of Ss. Giovanni e Paola who were brothers who served as officers at the Imperial Court in the service of the daughter of Constantine, Constantia, where they held high positions. They returned to their home in Rome on the Coelian hill, where they were asked by the emperor Julian the Apostate, to retake their positions in his service. They were martyred in secret, in their own house, after they refused to take Julian’s trial of faith and renounce their Faith and profess belief in pagan deities. Eventually a Church was built over the remains of their house. Today, the Passionists run the Church, which contains the relics of the saints whose names it bears, as well as those of the Passionist’s founder, St. Paul of the Cross.

In the Quiet of the Church

It is a wonderful thing, during this Station Church season, to be able to arrive early to the Church, when it is not fully lit, it is still quiet and the crowd has not yet arrived. It is a time of  great peace and a perfect time for prayerfully preparing oneself for the Sacrifice of the Mass. It is especially wonderful in this Church, as you finish your morning prayers, to have all those bright Chandeliers come alight and really make you feel that, what you are preparing to participate in is truly something wonderful, to witness God’s glory.

Gathered as God’s People  

The Mass in English is sponsored by the North American College, yet looking around in the morning, you see that there are many English-speaking pilgrims who you have never seen before, that are drawn on this Lenten pilgrimage to draw deeper into the spirit of Lent. As Mass begins, one cannot help but feel the diversity of God’s people, and yet also the familiarity. We all gather around the Eucharist and are united together by it.

It takes more than desire

Today, the homilist preached that it is not enough to simply have a desire to be with God, but that we should seek a way to work for it. It is not simply a desire to be holy, but a desire to work at becoming more and more open to God’s will in our lives. The desire is from God, who puts it in our hearts. It is a reminder, “What am I doing, this Lent, to respond to God’s invitation? How can I grow closer to God, through my pilgrimage through Lent?”

Written by Mario Majano, Archdiocese of Washington

Photos by Fr. Justin Huber, Archdiocese of Washington