The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
by VP
Posted on Friday August 15, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Palma Vecchio: Assumption of Mary
Munificentissimus Deus: Defining the Dogma of the Assumption, Pope Pius XII,
"Queen of heaven, thy immense love for God maketh thee likewise love His Church. We pray thee, come to its help amidst the ills under which it is now suffering, rent asunder as she is by her own children. Thy prayers, being a mother’s, can obtain all from that God Who loveth Thee so well. Pray then, pray for the Church; ask for enlightenment for so many unbelievers who are persecuting it, and obtain for faithful souls the necessary strength to resist being caught in the snares of the unbelievers who would drag them down into their own ruin." Source: St. Alphonsusʼ Prayer Book (Father Edward Saint Omer, Redemptorist.1888)
The Assumption of the B. V Mary.
"THIS solemnity is in memory of the happy passage of the Blessed Virgin out of this life into the kingdom of her Son. Pray for a happy death; prepare for it, and be assured that the best preparation for it is a holy life.
It is to celebrate that happy privilege, which by a pious tradition we have received, of her being assumed into heaven, and glorified both in body and soul. Adore the wonderful goodness of God, and bless Him for all the privileges of grace and glory bestowed on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her soul magnified our Lord: join with her in giving praise to Him, who is the author of every good gift.
Though the general resurrection is the time appointed for our souls to be again united to our bodies, yet it is in the power of God to exempt some from this general decree. This power He has certainly manifested in those, who at Christ's resurrection took up their bodies, and appeared to their friends in Jerusalem. He dispensed with Enoch and Elias, as to the general sentence of death at the usual time; and these He dispensed with in the anticipation of the general resurrection. For it is easy for that power, which makes a decree, to privilege some with an exemption, and to do to some only, from particular motives, what He could have done to all, if He had so pleased. The power admits of no dispute; and that the Blessed Virgin had a part in this privilege may be easily allowed. For this is not so particular as those other privileges, which were granted to her, in being Mother of God, in being both mother and virgin. And this more especially since we know how great was her humility, who being raised to the highest dignity, considered herself the meanest of God's servants. We need not doubt that God has exalted her in proportion to her humility: and that as she reputed herself the lowest of all, so he, who regarded her humility, has raised her above all. This none of the faithful can question: but whether this has been as to her soul only, or both in body and soul, the Church has not positively declared. It is plain, however, that she inclines to the pious belief that the Blessed Virgin was assumed both body and soul; and will not the faithful do well to believe the same? But however this maybe, the joy of this festival is still the same. For as we honor world, so we have the departure of other saints out of this reason to honor and rejoice on this day, when the Blessed Virgin, who had been chosen Mother of Christ, left this world, and entered into the possession of those joys, which her divine son had prepared for her. It was a day of joy and glory to her; it ought to be a day of joy and thanksgiving to us. In these holy transports our souls ought to pour themselves forth before God; and then turning back our thoughts upon ourselves, we are to consider whether, as we are created for the same happiness, we are in so holy a disposition, as to hope that the day of our departure will be to us a day of joy, in opening us a passage into bliss.
This hope cannot be reasonable, except we discover in ourselves some proportion at least of those graces and virtues by which the soul of the Blessed Virgin was prepared for the happiness of this day. It is the love of God, humility, purity, patience, the spirit of adoration, praise and thanksgiving, that must be the ground of these hopes; these being the necessary dispositions, by which our souls must be prepared for the state of bliss. For that being a state, wherein the souls of the blessed are for ever magnifying and adoring our Lord, how can a Christian be prepared for this, but by the spirit of adoration here? That being a state of perfect union with God in love and submission, how can a Christian be prepared for this, but by loving Him here, and by perpetual endeavors to approve and embrace His will in all things? That being a state of infinite holiness and purity; what other preparation can there be for it, but by daily disengaging our souls from sin and impurity, and ever laboring to obtain clean hearts. It is certainly a great delusion to think of being translated to that life of infinite perfection, from a worldly and sinful life. There must be nuptial robes for as many as are to be admitted to the marriage of the Lamb. And if all others are to be cast forth into utter darkness, who come not thus vested, what hopes can they have, who in this life, when they should be making preparation, have their souls covered with no other garments but those of slaves, of the enemies of God, and of sin? The life of the just in heaven, and on earth, is the same, consisting in the knowledge and love of God; and the difference of one life from the other, is only in the different degrees of this knowledge and love. So that the qualifications which make up the justice of this life, being the same with those of the life eternal, there is nothing more necessary for the just on earth to become eternally blessed, but only the augmenting those very gifts, with which their souls are found enriched at the hour of their death; God then perfecting His work by glory, which was begun and carried on here by His grace. How then can those Christians, in reason, hope to have any part in this happiness, who have none of those graces in them, which are to be perfected by glory? Can the knowledge and love of God be perfected in those souls, which have neither the knowledge nor love of God in them? They have more reason to apprehend that those very affections and passions, with which their souls are disordered at the hour of their deaths, will then be augmented, their ingratitude, disobedience, aversion to God's law and will, their pride, self-love, and sensuality. Heaven being not accessible to these abominations, whither must they go, but to the place of eternal confusion, where being incapable of change, their souls will for all eternity lie under those very disorders, in which death found them?
Have not then all Christians great reason to be preparing their souls all their lives, and not to put off this work to the last
hour? For who knows if they shall then have that time, which they now
promise themselves? Who knows if their sickness will be such, as to give
them opportunity of then undertaking this work? And if they do undertake it, how very little hopes can they have of finishing it? Will the divine grace be then at their command, which they have neglected all their lives? Christ said to the Jews,
that they would seek Him, and yet die in their sins. These seek Christ
then, but not seeking Him as they ought, may not find Him, who has been
so often rejected by them. And though they come to confession, and find
their hearts then oppressed with grief, yet who can say that this may
not be more a natural trouble, than contrition for their sins? Who can
give hopes that this works now in a moment that effectual change in
their souls, of which they had so long before thought, but without any effect? This can be the effect of nothing
less than a miraculous grace: and are miracles to be expected by those
who have so long been obstinate against all ordinary helps? Truly there
appear so many difficulties in this case, that they must be
presumptuously mad, who expose their salvation to this hazard. This is
not the method of the saints whom we honor: it is not the lesson which we learn from our Master, who knowing the danger of the last
hour, commands us to be prepared against it: Be you also ready. Teach
us, O Jesus, this lesson, that when Thou callest, we may be found
watching. Deliver us from all the effects of sloth
and presumption; and since what we desire is to enjoy Thy presence, may
we never permit any disorder in our souls, which would exclude us from
this happiness." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord.
by VP
Posted on Wednesday August 06, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
The Transfiguration by James Tissot
"AN ancient festival of the Church, in memory of the glorious transfiguration of Christ on mount Thabor, in presence of three of his
apostles, when a voice was heard from heaven saying: "This is my
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him." Pray for a true
sense of this mystery; that as Christ's apostles, by this foretaste of glory, were prepared to suffer, and to regard all troubles of this life as inconsiderable, in comparison of the eternal weight of glory to be purchased by them; so you may conceive this day so true an idea of future happiness, as not to value all the difficulties of this life, so that you may but secure your portion with the blessed. Pray for this heartily; for if you had a true sense of the goods
to come, you would be more diligent in all duties, and less concerned
in all troubles. All your neglect, sloth, and impatience proceed from
this root: and you love this world, because you take no pains to know the next. Endeavor therefore to form a lively idea of that glorious state, which God has prepared for those that serve him, where souls shall be brought to the presence of their God, where they shall be filled with the glory of his majesty, penetrated with the sweetness of his adorable mercy, overflow with the transporting love of his goodness, and see themselves so encompassed with unspeakable comforts and joys on every side, as to be out of all danger of interruption, change or end. If your soul is penetrated with a vigorous and quickening faith of this goodness and mercy of God, and his love to man, this faith will so prepare you for the trials of this life, as to think no suffering hard, which is the way to this happiness. O God, when will the thoughts of future glory so possess our souls, as to make us despise all the goods and evils of this life? Thabor is our encouragement; but Calvary is the way of bliss. Offer yourself with indifference to both; and beseech God to confirm you in this spirit." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother
Priests' First Saturday
by VP
Posted on Saturday August 02, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Mary as Mother of Priests is in the Dominican Priory Church of the Holy Cross in Leicester. by Lawrence OP
"Listen to what our Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, says: " God in heaven and I on earth, we desire nothing more ardently than prayer and sacrifice for priests...Let us beg God that He may give holy priests! If we have this, all else will follow; but if this be wanting, all else will avail nothing." It was from this trend of thought that the idea of the Priest's Saturday" took its origin, which idea the Superior General of the Salvatorian Fathers placed before the Holy Father in special private audience on November 21, 1934. His Holiness was much pleased with the plan and said, in conclusion: "We heartily praise and bless the work....We repeat, the thing pleases Us, We praise and bless it heartily."
What is the plan?
The Priest's Saturday:
It is something quite simple and easy, yet immeasurable great in its results. You should make it a point to offer the Saturday after the First Friday of each month to your Savior, through the hands of Mary, the great mediatrix of all graces, for the sanctification of all the priests and students for the priesthood throughout the whole world. For this purpose you should give the Saturday wholly and entirely to Him, that is to say, Holy Mass, Holy Communion, all prayers, labors, sacrifices, joys and sorrows. Whatever you cannot do on this day (Holy Mass and Holy Communion) you ought to supply immediately on Sunday. So there is really nothing new for you to do. You merely offer up this Saturday (or even every Saturday or some other day) for the sanctification of priests. It is not a case of any sodality of fraternity or anything like that. Like the First Friday in honor of the Sacred Heart, the Priest's Saturday seeks to become something religiously observed by all the Catholics of the world.
(...) Concern about the holiness of priests is the concern of the Heart of the Divine Savior and of His blessed Mother. Therefore, you also should be sure to take part in this "apostolate to the apostles. " The Holy Father, all bishops, all priests, all students for the priesthood, and especially also your own pastor, earnestly beg of you thus to participate."
Source: Priest's Saturday Series, #2 Prayers and Devotions for Priest's Day. used with permission
Priests' First Saturday. Prayer:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who hast
entrusted the whole work of Thy redemption, the welfare and salvation of
the world, to priests as Thy representatives, through the hands of Thy
most holy Mother and for the sanctification of Thy priests and
candidates for the priesthood I offer Thee this present day wholly and
entirely, with all its prayers, works, sacrifices, joys, and sorrows.
Give truly holy priests who, inflamed with the fire of Thy divine love,
seek nothing but Thy greater glory and the salvation of our souls.
And thou, Mary, good Mother of priests, protect all priests in the
dangers of their holy vocation and, with the loving hand of a Mother,
also lead back to the Good Shepherd those poor priests who have become
unfaithful to their exalted vocation and have gone astray. Amen
In addition to the above make it a point also to recite frequently the following:
Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, Who Hast entrusted the weal and woes of
Thy Holy Church to priests, with all the fervor of my heart I recommend
to Thee the wants of my pastor and all priests. Enrich them more and
more with true priestly sanctity. Give them generous, all embracing,
apostolic hearts, full of love for Thee and for all Thy souls, so that
they, being themselves sanctified in Thee, may sanctify us who are
confided to their care, and may lead us safely to heaven. Bestow upon
them in rich abundance all Thy priestly graces!
Let them ever
give us a glowing example of love and fidelity towards Holy Mother
Church, towards the Pope, and bishops, and grant that by word and
example they may shine as models of every virtue.
Most loving
Jesus, bless all their priestly labors and sacrifices! Bless all their
prayers and words at the altar and in the confessional, in the pulpit,
and in school, in confraternities, and at the bedside of the sick!
Protect and preserve them in all dangers from within and from without.
Divine Savior, give to Thy Church priests who abound in true holiness!
Call many good boys and young men to the priestly and religious state!
Aid and sanctify all those who are to become Thy priests! And to the
souls of departed priests grant everlasting rest.
But to me
give a true spirit of faith and humble obedience, in order that in my
pastor I may ever behold the representative of God and willingly follow
all his teachings. Amen
Month of August
by VP
Posted on Friday August 01, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, St. Anthony of Padua NC
Devotion for the Month of August: Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Virtue for the month of August: Diligence
What is diligence? Diligence is a virtue which enables us to serve God readily and cheerfully, to promote His honor as much as lies in our power, and faithfully to perform all our duties.
Application: Unless you perseveringly struggle with your wicked inclinations, you will never acquire the Christian Virtues; therefore fight faithfully until death, and God will give you the crown of life. (Apoc.ii.10) A Full Catechism of the Catholic Faith by Fr. Joseph Deharbe SJ 1883
Sloth is a laziness of soul, by which persons neglect to begin, or to perform, such things as are necessary for salvation; for, as one of the deadly sins, it means spiritual sloth. The more this sloth is indulged, the more burdensome it becomes. The slothful Christian has indeed faith; but is is a dead faith; because he neglects to keep it alive by good works. We are sent into the world, not to live at our ease, but to work our our salvation; and to succeed in this work, we must bot only be resolute in "declining from evil;" but diligent also in "doing good." (example of the five foolish Virgins; and also of the slothful servant.)
Diligence or spiritual fervor is a virtue by which we are zealous in laboring for the service of God, and the salvation of our soul: it makes the duties of Religion appear, not burdensome or tedious, but easy and agreeable; - it keeps the lamp of our faith burning with the oil of good works; and so causes us to be always ready, like the give wise Virgins; and, having made us rich in good works, it will entitle us, at our entrance into eternity, to hear from our Lord these consoling words: "Well done, good and faithful servant; because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."
A full course of instructions for the use of Catechists, by Rev. Fr. John Perry 1852First Friday Devotion
by VP
Posted on Friday August 01, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
Sacred Heart, Holy Name Cathedral, Raleigh NC ©CAPG
Prayer for Priests: O
Jesus, eternal High Priest, divine Sacrificer, Thou who in an
unspeakable burst of love for men, Thy Brethren, didst cause the
Christian Priesthood to spring forth from Thy Sacred Heart, vouchsafe to pour forth upon Thy priests continual living streams of infinite love. Live
in them, transform them in to Thee; make them, by Thy Grace, fit
instruments of Thy mercy; do Thou act in them and through them, and
grant, that they may become wholly one with Thee by their faithful
imitation of Thy Virtues; and, in Thy name and by the strength of Thy
spirit, may they do the works which Thou didst accomplish for the
salvation of the world.
Divine
Redeemer of souls, behold how great is the multitude of those who still
sleep in the darkness of error; reckon up the number of those
unfaithful sheep who stray to the edge of the precipice; consider the
throngs of the poor, the hungry, the ignorant and the feeble who groan
in their abandoned condition.
Return
to us in the person of Thy priests; truly live again in them; act
through them and pass once more through the world, teaching, forgiving,
comforting, sacrificing and renewing the sacred bonds of love between the Heart of God and the heart of man. Amen. St. Pius X (Raccolta 1907, Prayer 614. Rescript in his own hand. March 3, 1905 )
An Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O adorable Heart of my God and Saviour, filled with a lively sorrow at the thought of the injuries which thou hast received, and art every day receiving, in the august Sacrament of the altar, I prostrate myself at thy feet, to make thee an act of humble reparation for all that thou hast suffered. Oh, that by my reverence, by my devotion, I could make amends to thy outraged majesty! Oh, that I could do so, even at the sacrifice of my life! Call to mind thy mercies, O Jesus! and grant me the pardon which I beg for so many impious, heretical, and slothful Christians who dishonour thee, and above all, for myself, who have so often offended thee. Remember not my ingratitude; but remember that thy divine Heart, bearing the burden of my sins, was afflicted even unto death. Let not thy sufferings and thy blood be in vain; destroy in me my sinful heart, and give me one according to thine own, a humble and a contrite heart; a heart that is pure, and full of horror for sin; a heart that henceforth may be as a victim wholly consecrated to thy glory, and inflamed with the sacred fire of thy love. And for my part, I promise thee, O most sweet Jesus, to endeavour for the future, as much as in me lies, by my devotion in church, by my diligence in visiting thee in the Sacrament of the altar, by my fervour in receiving thee in the holy Communion, to make reparation for the irreverences, the profanations, and the sacrileges which I deplore in the bitterness of my soul. Amen.
A Visit to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
O Heart of Jesus! who remainest day and night amongst us, inviting, expecting, receiving, all those who come to visit thee, I worship thee, and confess to thee my misery and my nothingness. I thank thee for all the mercies which thou hast bestowed upon me, especially for delivering me from the power of the devil; for restoring to me the dignity of a child of God, which I had lost by sin; for giving me blessed Mary for my advocate; and inspiring me with the desire to come into thy presence. I thank thee with all my heart, that thou vouchsafest to remain open for me; I desire to repair the injuries which I have had the misery to inflict upon thee, by my coldness and indifference to thy service. Oh, that I could honour thee as thou deservest to be honoured, in all places where now thou art the least honoured and the most neglected. Amen.
And thou, immaculate Mary, most holy and dear Mother of fair love, who so earnestly desirest that thy divine Son should be loved by all, obtain for me, by thy most powerful intercession, that he may receive and accept this solemn consecration, which I this day make of my whole self in thy presence; to the end that my name may be written indelibly in the number of those happy souls, who, faithful and constant in his service, shall never be separated from the most sweet love of thy dear and most amiable Son Jesus. Amen.
Source: The path to Heaven, a collection of all the devotions in general use, 1866
The Maccabees, Martyrs
by VP
Posted on Friday August 01, 2025 at 12:00AM in Tradition
The Courage of a Mother, one of Gustave Doré's illustrations for La Grande Bible de Tours, 1866.
The Collect: We beseech thee, O Lord, that the fraternal victory of thy Holy Martyrs may make us glad: that so our faith may receive an increase of strength; and our hearts be comforted by the prayers of so many intercessors. Through...
On the Solemnity of the Maccabee Martyrs, St. Augustine
(Sermon 300)
The people of God was Christian before Christ, in fact if not in name.
1. The glory of the Maccabees has made this day into a very special feast day for us; when the marvelous account of their sufferings was read to us, we not only heard about them, but could practically see them as spectators. These things happened a long time ago, before the incarnation, before the passion of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. These martyrs emerged in that first people, which produced the prophets who foretold these present realities. Nor should anyone suppose that before there was a Christian people, God had no people. On the contrary, if I may so put it, as is indeed really the case, though it’s not the usual way of talking, the people of that time too was Christian.
I mean, it wasn’t only after his passion that Christ began to have his people; his too was the people born of Abraham, to whom the Lord himself bore witness when he said, Abraham longed to see my day; he saw it and rejoiced (Jn 8:56). So it was from Abraham that that people was born, which was enslaved in Egypt, and which was delivered from the house of bondage with a mighty arm through Moses, God’s servant, was led through the Red Sea as the waves sank away, tried and tested in the desert, subjected to the law, established in the kingdom. From that people, as I said, arose the prophets, from there these martyrs blossomed. Christ indeed had not yet died; but Christ who was going to die made them martyrs, witnesses to himself.
These martyrs were Christians, though they suffered for the law of Moses in the way that the later martyrs suffered for the name of Christ.
2. So the first thing I must impress upon your graces is that when you are admiring these martyrs, you shouldn’t think they weren't Christians. They were Christians; but with their deeds they anticipated the name Christian that was publicized much later on. But yes, it’s true, as though it wasn’t Christ they were confessing, they were not being forced by the godless king and persecutor to deny Christ, which the later martyrs were forced to do, and didn’t, and so obtained a similar glory. Subsequent persecutors of the Christian people, you see, were compelling those they persecuted to deny the name of Christ; those who persisted most steadfastly in the name of Christ suffered the same sort of things as we heard that these did, when the account was read. So those more recent martyrs, by whose blood in their thousands the earth has been empurpled, were being commanded and told by the persecutors, “Deny Christ.” When they didn’t do it, they suffered the same sort of things as these did. These though were being told, “Deny the law of Moses.” They didn’t; they suffered for the law of Moses. Those for the name of Christ, these for the law of Moses.
The Old Testament is the veiling or concealing of the New,the New Testament is the unveiling or revealing of the Old .
3. Some Jew steps forward and says to us, “How can you reckon these people of ours to be your martyrs? How can you be so unwise’ as to celebrate their memory? Read their confessions; see whether they confessed Christ.”
To whom we reply, “It’s true, you are one of those who did not believe in Christ, and being broken off from the olive remained withered outside, when the wild olive took your place; what are you going to say, being one of those
faithless people? They weren’t openly confessing Christ, because the mystery of Christ was still concealed behind a veil. The Old Testament, you see, is the veiling of the New Testament, and the New Testament is the unveiling of the Old Testament. So about the unbelieving Jews, your ancestors, but in evil your brothers, about such as they see what the apostle Paul has to say: All the time Moses is read until now, a veil has been placed over their hearts. Now the same veil remains in the reading of the Old Testament, which is not being unveiled, since it is being made void in Christ. When you pass over, he says, to Christ, the veil will be taken away (2 Cor 3:14-16).”
The veil, he says, remains in the reading of the Old Testament, which is not being unveiled, since it is being made void in Christ; not the reading of the Old Testament, but the veil which has been placed there. The reading of the Old Testament, indeed, is not being made void, but is being fulfilled by the one who said, I did not come to abrogate the law, but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17). So the veil is being made void, in order that what was obscure might be understood. This, of course, was still shut away, a closed book, because the key of the cross was not yet available.’
How Christ in his passion deliberately fulfilled even minor points of Old Testament prophecy .
4. To clinch the matter, turn your attention to the Lord’s passion, set him before your eyes hanging on the tree, and lying down like a lion when he wished, and in order to slay death, dying not of necessity but as an act of power. Notice this very point; see how he said on the cross, Z thirst (Jn 19:28). And when the Jews,’ ignorant of what was being enacted by means of them, of what was being fulfilled by the hands of the ignorant, bound a sponge with vinegar in it to a reed and gave it to him to suck on, he sipped the vinegar and answered, It is accomplished. And bowing his head he gave up the spirit (Jn 19:30). Does anyone set out on a journey as calmly, as deliberately, as he departed this life? With as much straightforwardness, as much authority as this man who had said, I have the authority to lay down my life, and the authority to take it up again. Nobody can take it from me, but I myself lay it aside from myself, and take it up again (Jn 10:17-18)? Anyone who reflects worthily on his authority as he dies
will acknowledge his kingship and his kingdom as he lives.
Now he had already said this to the Jews themselves through the prophet: I myself went to sleep (Ps 3:5). As though to say, “Why do you people pride yourselves on my death? Why do you indulge in vain boasting, as though you had overcome me? J myself went to sleep. I myself have gone to sleep, because I wished to, not because you have raged against me. I myself have fulfilled what I wished; as for you, you have remained in your crime.”! So having received and sipped the vinegar, he said, It is accomplished.
What is accomplished?
“What has been written about me.”
What was written about him?
They gave me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink
(Ps 69:21).
So as he looked round at all the things that had been enacted in the course of his passion: those people had already wagged their heads in front of the cross, already given him gall, already counted his bones as he was hanging there, stretched out; his garments had already been divided up, and they had cast lots for his indivisible tunic; so having looked round and after a fashion counted up all the things that the prophets had foretold about his passion, he noticed that goodness knows what still remained, some lesser point: And in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. In order that this small point that remained might be added to the list, he said, I thirst. And on receiving this lesser thing, he answered, It is accomplished. Having said that, he bowed his head and gave up the spirit (Jn 19:28-30).
Then the foundations of the earth were shaken, then the rocks were split open and the secrets of the underworld laid bare, then the tombs gave up the dead; and, to state the point which everything I have said has been leading up to, because now was the time for everything that was veiled in the Old Testament to be unveiled and revealed in the mystery of the cross, the veil of the temple was torn away."
In dying for the law of Moses, these martyrs died for Christ
5. So from that moment Christ began to be proclaimed quite openly after the resurrection. The things that had been prophetically foretold began to be evidently fulfilled in him;'the martyrs began to confess him with the greatest
constancy. The martyrs confessed plainly the same one as the Maccabees at that earlier time confessed in a hidden manner; the former died for Christ unveiled in the gospel, while the latter died for the name of Christ veiled in the law. Christ possesses both, Christ came to the aid of both as they fought the good fight, Christ crowned both. Christ has them both in his service, like some Very Important Person traveling along with a troop of attendants, some going in front, others following behind. So fix your gaze on him rather, as he presides in the chariot of the flesh;'° both those who march ahead are attentive to him, and those who follow behind are devoted to him.
I mean, to show you, and to show you clearly, that those who died for the law of Moses died for Christ, listen to Christ himself, my dear Jew, listen; and may your heart at last be opened, may the veil be lifted from your eyes. If you believed Moses, you would also believe me. Listen to that, accept it if you can. “If the veil has been lifted by me, open your eyes and see.”!” If you believed Moses, he said, you would also believe me; for it was about me that he wrote (In 5:46). If it was about Christ that Moses wrote, those who truly died for the law of Moses laid down their lives for Christ. Jt was about me, he said, that he wrote. He was served by the tongues of those who confessed him, served also by the reed pen of those who wrote the truth about him. How will you people
be able to understand the reed Moses wrote with, seeing you put vinegar on a reed?'If only you would eventually drink the wine of the one, to whom as an insult you offered vinegar to drink!
A basilica very properly dedicated to the Maccabees in Antioch
6. So the Maccabees really are martyrs of Christ. That’s why it is not unsuitable, not in the least improper, but on the contrary absolutely right for their day and their solemnity to be celebrated especially by Christians. What do the Jews know about such a celebration? Word is going round” that there is a basilica of the Holy Maccabees in Antioch; in the very city, that is to say, which is called by the name of that persecuting king. They endured the persecution of the wicked king Antiochus, and the memory of their martyrdom is celebrated in Antioch, so that both the name of the one who persecuted and the memory of the one who crowned them are heard together.! This basilica is owned by Christians, was built by Christians. It’s we who keep, we who celebrate their memory; it’s among us that thousands of holy martyrs throughout the world have imitated their sufferings.
So nobody need hesitate, my brothers and sisters, to imitate the Maccabees, in case while imitating the Maccabees, you should think you weren’t imitating Christians. Of course, of course, we should cherish a fervent desire to imitate them in our hearts. Let men learn how to die for the sake of the truth. Let women learn from the extraordinary patience, the inexpressible courage of that mother; she really did know how to keep and preserve her sons.? She knew how to keep them, because she was not afraid of losing them. Each of them suffered by feeling pain in himself; she, by seeing what was done, suffered in all of them. Becoming the mother of seven martyrs, she was herself seven times a martyr; not separated from her sons as she watched, and added to her sons as she died.”
She watched them all dying, she loved them all; she endured in her eyes what they all endured in the flesh. Not only was she not terrorized, she even encouraged them.
The story of the mother's last son
7. The persecutor Antiochus thought of this woman as a mother like other mothers. “Persuade your son,” he said, “not to perish.” And she said,” “I will certainly persuade my son to live, by encouraging him to die; you, though, want to persuade him to die by sparing himself.” But what a little speech it was, how full of family feeling, how motherly, how evenly balanced between spiritual and carnal considerations! Son, take pity on me. Son, she said, take pity on me, who bore you for nine months in my womb; I gave you milk for three years, and brought you up to this age; take pity on me (2 Mac 7:27).
They were all expecting words like the following: “Give your consent to the king, don’t abandon your mother.” She on the contrary said, “Give your consent to God, don’t abandon your brothers. If you seem to abandon me, that’s when you don’t abandon me. I will find you there, where I will not have to fear losing you anymore. Christ will keep you for me there, and Antiochus won't take you away from me there.” He feared God, listened to his mother, answered the king, clung to his brothers, drew his mother after him.
Source: Saint Augustine - Sermons in 11 vols
