Father Gregory Havill O.S.B. I February 3, 2020

In the gospels, we have a number of quotes about Jesus casting out demons. This particular one (Mark 5:1-20) is unusual in that it very dramatically describes what this demoniac was doing: living in these ruins, the violence in his life, the grisly description of what kind of life this poor man had to live. When Jesus had cast out the demons, and there were many of them in this poor fellow, he begged to stay with Jesus… He barely remembered what had happened to him, other than from the wounds on his body. But he was obviously very taken with Christ… and his response was to plead to stay with Jesus… to keep the good things going. What Jesus said to him is quite unusual. When we have other accounts in the gospels of these healings, it is forbidden to people to say anything and to spread the news. But in this case, Jesus said: “No, don’t stay with me, but go home and tell the story of the good things God has done for you to all of your family and neighbors...” And it certainly happened; that is what he did, spreading the word. I often wonder what his story was… He was certainly sent by Jesus as a missionary of the word. I think the lesson here for us is how very often our tendency is to want to remain with Jesus as our personal property, something we can hang onto. But the way that we remain with Jesus is in fact to go home, to go to our own people, and to spread the good news of the gospel – through our own behavior, through our works and lives, and to represent Jesus to people in our own flesh...

Father Paschal Scotti O.S.B. I February 5, 2020

Today is the feast of Saint Agatha, an early Christian martyr. The fact that she is in early Christian martyr is the only true historical thing we are short of about Saint Agatha. Everything else was invented centuries later to fill in the gaps. Whatever she was, she is important in the Roman cannon, in the first Eucharistic prayer. Who was Saint Agatha? She probably was a very average, ordinary kind of person, at least palpably. Nothing special, nothing unique, nothing extraordinary – very average, maybe even less than average, in people’s estimation. Sometimes very average and ordinary people can rise to the occasion, when an opportunity should arise. For the most part, I think, if it is not there already it is not going to show itself. …Power and grace within you: it’s not going to happen by itself when the opportunity arises. I am sure that a great many people were astounded, shocked when she rose to the occasion and died for her faith. Our Agatha? ...That is our Agatha? It was always there and they did not see it. And that is true of Our Lord in today’s gospel. He goes back to his own home, his own place; people who supposedly know him, and they are stunned, they are surprised. Where did he get all this grace, this power, this eloquence, this miraculous reality? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son, the son of Mary? Are those not his brothers and sisters? What the hell is going on here? It is astounding, it surprises them –but it was always there. Our Lord was always the Son of God made man. He always was who he was. But they couldn’t see it. Perhaps they were too close, with a  lack of perspective. Perhaps they were too clueless, too limited. We may remember a famous reflection upon on that phrase: “No one is a hero to his valet.” The philosopher Hegel’s reply was: “A hero is still a hero, and a valet is still a valet.” In other words, some people’s thinking may be too small to see the greatness of the hero, but the hero is always a hero. Those who may not see it are those closest to him. So we should ask ourselves: is that true of us? Are we hidden saints? Are we hidden heroes? If we are not prepared when things happen, we will certainly fall. So, we should ask ourselves: are we ready every day, when the opportunity God gives us, to rise to the occasion, to be the heroes, the saints, the martyrs, etc. that God calls us to be.

Father Francis Hein O.S.B. I February 6, 2020

Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) was the preeminent daimyo, military leader, of Japan’s Sengoku period of the 15^th through 17^th Century, a period named after the constant warring between states. And Toyotomi become a great unifier of a divided Japan. His success was based on limiting the power of the Samurai class, unifying the nation by waging war on Korea, and restoring, building and supporting numerous Buddhist temples throughout the nation. He feared the growing influence of the Jesuits in the land where St. Francis had soon brought 200,000 into the Church. Toyotomi was worried about Western religion and thought it to be undermining his authority, so he greatly expanded the persecution of Catholics, and in the 16^th Century 50,000 Catholics were martyred.
            Paulo Miki was born into a noble military family in 1562 and baptized at the age of 5. Educated by the Jesuits, he joined the order in 1580’s and was studying for the priesthood, involved in the Catholic community which was more and more being forced underground. In 1597, he and 25 others which included both Jesuit and Franciscan clergy along with a few lay people were arrested in the capitol of Kyoto. Paul was 31. First, they each had one of their ears cut off, and then they were marched from Kyoto to Nagasaki, a journey of 966 kilometers or roughly 600 miles. During this month-long journey they were paraded through every town and village along the way in order to discourage the people from becoming Christian. However, the 26 would sing the Te Deum along the way, and constantly forgave their persecutors for all the suffering they inflicted. Arriving in Nagasaki they were taken up a hill where 26 crosses had been prepared. And, once again, the Japanese authorities were shocked at the prisoners’ reaction. They were joyful to be able to die in the same way as Jesus. They were tied to crosses with their necks held in place by iron rings. Beside each was an executioner with his spear ready to strike. An eyewitness gave this account:
 
'When the crosses were set up it was a wonderful thing to see the constancy of all of them. Our brother Paul Miki, seeing himself raised to the most honorable position that he had ever occupied, openly proclaimed that he was a Japanese and a member of the Society of Jesus. And that he was being put to death for having preached the gospel. He gave thanks to God for such a precious favor. He then added these words: “Having arrived at this moment of my existence, I believe that no one of you thinks I want to hide the truth. That is why I declare to you that there is no other way of salvation than the one followed by Christians. Since this way teaches me to forgive my enemies and all who have offended me, I willingly forgive the king and all those who have desired my death. And I pray that they will obtain the desire of Christian baptism.” At this point, he turned his eyes toward his companions and began to encourage them in their final struggle. The faces of them all shone with great gladness. Another Christian shouted to him that he would soon be in paradise. “Like my Master,” murmured Paul, “I shall die upon the cross. Like him, a lance will pierce my heart so that my blood and my love can flow out upon the land and sanctify it to his name.”'

In 1862 Pope Pius IX canonized them and in 1962 a monument was built to honor them.

Father Gregory Havill O.S.B. I February 7, 2020

This Gospel story of Herod beheading John the Baptist (Mk 6:14-29) is of course a familiar and grisly portrayal of bad kingship, evil kingship. The first reading, which I would like to direct your attention to for a moment, is a magnificent early masterpiece describing sacred kingship, holy kingship. It is from the book of Sirach (Sir 47:2-11). I highly recommend it to you for your own personal, devotional reading. At the center of this wonderful description of all the things that David was and did, and prayed, is this wonderful sentence: “With his whole being, he loved his Maker, and daily had His praises sung.” On either side of this sentence, there is a wonderful list of characteristics of a good king, a sacred king, a holy king. As we remember, kingship was a really exceptional thing as we see in Moses (and his anointing) …and in its prophetic role with Aaron… David is a descendant of Moses, as an anointed king. In Jesus, these two roles (king and prophet) will be put together again. But for our sake: I recommend that you go through this list of characteristics, actions and attitudes, comparing them to something similar in each case in our own lives. It is a wonderful exercise, and I highly recommend it. Again: Sirach 47:2-11.

Abbot Matthew Stark  O.S.B. I February 8, 2020

One of the great monasteries of Europe in the Middle Ages was the great Abbey of Cluny. It had three abbots who were canonized saints, and one who was a “Beatus”: Peter the Venerable. This is a prayer he wrote to Our Lady:
 
Hail Mary, Morningstar,
Healer of the sick,
Princess and queen of the world.
 
The only one to be worthy of the name virgin,
You stand up to the blows of the enemy,
And you erect the power of faith like a shield of salvation.
 
Hail, O root of Jesse, in whom God has begun to exist,
Hail, O sovereign branch of Aaron, who take away the scandal of the world.
 
Hail, O heir moist with rain, totally permeated with the dew of heaven,
While the fleece remains dry.
 
O you who take pity on us that are prisoners, come to our aid.
You are the chosen spouse of God, full of God’s grace.
Be for us a right way that leads to joys without end;
Preserve an attentive ear for us, O sweet Mary, and hear us always.
 
Our Lady, pray for us.
Blessed Peter the Venerable, pray for us.