DAILY GOSPEL: 07/02/2011
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Monday of the Fifth week in Ordinary Time
Book of Genesis 1:1-19.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day.
Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day.
Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed--the third day.
Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened:
God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed--the fourth day.
Psalms 104(103):1-2.5-6.10.12.24.35.
Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent;
You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be moved.
The ocean covered it like a garment; above the mountains stood the waters.
You made springs flow into channels that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven nest; among the branches they sing.
How varied are your works, LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
May sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:53-56.
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth,
the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters.
Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness.
God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed--the first day.
Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened:
God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it.
God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed--the second day.
Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared.
God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was.
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened:
the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed--the third day.
Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years,
and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened:
God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars.
God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth,
to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was.
Evening came, and morning followed--the fourth day.
Psalms 104(103):1-2.5-6.10.12.24.35.
Bless the LORD, my soul! LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory,
robed in light as with a cloak. You spread out the heavens like a tent;
You fixed the earth on its foundation, never to be moved.
The ocean covered it like a garment; above the mountains stood the waters.
You made springs flow into channels that wind among the mountains.
Beside them the birds of heaven nest; among the branches they sing.
How varied are your works, LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all; the earth is full of your creatures.
May sinners vanish from the earth, and the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:53-56.
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there.
As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him.
They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.
Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.
Mc 6,53-56
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 306, passim
"As many as touched the tassel on his cloak were healed"
Everyone wants to be happy; there is no one who doesn't - and so strongly do they do so that they want it more than anything else. Even more: whatever they want in addition, they only want for this reason. People pursue different enthusiasms, one this and another that; there are, too, many ways of earning one's living in the world: each one chooses their profession and practices it. But whether someone is occupied in one form of life or another, all act in this life to be happy. So what is it about this life able to give a happiness that all would like but none have? Let us see...
If I were to ask anyone: «Do you want to live?», none would be tempted to answer: «No, I don't»... In the same way, if I were to ask: «Do you want to live in good health?», none would answer: «No, I don't.» Good health is a precious blessing in the eyes of the rich, and for the poor it is often the only blessing they have... All alike agree in loving life and health. But can someone who enjoys life and health be content with that?...
A rich young man asked the Lord: «Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?» (Mk 10,17). He feared to die and was constrained to die... He knew that a life of sorrow and misery is no kind of life and one ought rather to call it by the name of death... Eternal life alone can be happy. Health and life here below give no assurance of it, you have too much fear of losing it: call it «always fearing» not «always living»... If our lives are not eternal, if they do not eternally satisfy our desires, they cannot be happy ones, they are no longer even a life... When we enter the life to come we shall be certain of remaining there for ever. We shall have the certainty of eternally possessing true life without any fear because we shall be in the Kingdom of which it is said: «And his kingdom will have no end» (Lk 1,33).
If I were to ask anyone: «Do you want to live?», none would be tempted to answer: «No, I don't»... In the same way, if I were to ask: «Do you want to live in good health?», none would answer: «No, I don't.» Good health is a precious blessing in the eyes of the rich, and for the poor it is often the only blessing they have... All alike agree in loving life and health. But can someone who enjoys life and health be content with that?...
A rich young man asked the Lord: «Good teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?» (Mk 10,17). He feared to die and was constrained to die... He knew that a life of sorrow and misery is no kind of life and one ought rather to call it by the name of death... Eternal life alone can be happy. Health and life here below give no assurance of it, you have too much fear of losing it: call it «always fearing» not «always living»... If our lives are not eternal, if they do not eternally satisfy our desires, they cannot be happy ones, they are no longer even a life... When we enter the life to come we shall be certain of remaining there for ever. We shall have the certainty of eternally possessing true life without any fear because we shall be in the Kingdom of which it is said: «And his kingdom will have no end» (Lk 1,33).
 Bl. Rosalie Rendu, Daughter of Charity (1786-1856)Blessed Rosalie Rendu Daughter of Charity (1786-1856) Jeanne Marie Rendu was born 9 September 1786 at Confort, a district of Gex in the Jura Mountains. She was the eldest of four girls. Her parents, simple living mountain people and small property owners, enjoyed a certain affluence and true respect throughout the area. Jeanne Marie was baptized the day she was born in the parish church of Lancrans. Her Godfather by proxy was Jacques Emery, a family friend and future Superior General of the Sulpicians in Paris. Jeanne Marie Rendu was three years old when the Revolution broke out in France. From 1790 it was compulsory for the clergy to take an oath of support for the civil Constitution. Numerous priests, faithful to the Church, refused to take this oath. They were chased from their parishes, some were put to death and others had to hide to escape their pursuers. The Rendu family home became a refuge for these priests. The Bishop of Annecy found asylum under the assumed name of Pierre. Jeanne Marie was fascinated by this hired hand who was treated better than the others. One night, she discovered that he was celebrating Mass. She was offended that she had not been told the truth. Later, in a discussion with her mother, she blurted out: "Be careful or I will tell that Pierre is not really Pierre." In order to avoid any indiscretion on the part of her daughter, Madame Rendu told her the truth of the situation. It was in this atmosphere of solid faith, always exposed to the dangers of denunciation, that Jeanne Marie was educated. She would make her first communion one night by candlelight in the basement of her home. This exceptional environment forged her character. The death of her father, 12 May 1796, and that of her youngest sister, at four months of age, on 19 July of the same year, shook the entire family. Jeanne Marie, aware of her responsibility as the eldest, helped her mother, especially in caring for her younger sisters. In the days following the Terror, people calmed down little by little and life resumed its normality. Madame Rendu, concerned about the education of her eldest daughter, sent her to the Ursuline Sisters in Gex. Jeanne Marie stayed two years in this boarding school. During her walks in town, she discovered the hospital where the Daughters of Charity cared for the sick. She had only one desire, to go and join them. Her mother gave her consent that Jeanne Marie, in spite of her young age, might spend some time at this hospital. God's call, which she had sensed for many years, made itself clear: she would become a Daughter of Charity. In 1802, Armande Jacquinot, from the village of Lancrans, confided to her friend that she was preparing to leave for Paris to enter the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Jeanne Marie leaped at the opportunity and begged her mother to allow her to leave. Having consulted with Fr. de Varicourt, the senior priest at Gex, Madame Rendu, happy, but very emotional at her daughter's vocation, consented to her request. On 25 May 1802, Jeanne Marie arrived at the Motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity, rue du Vieux Colombier in Paris. She was nearly 17 years old! The reopening of the Seminary, (novitiate suppressed by the Revolutionaries) took place in December 1800. On their arrival, the travelers were welcomed by 50 young women in formation. Jeanne Marie was very anxious to give her very best in this new life. Her health was weakened by the sustained mental effort this demanded and by a lack of physical exercise. On the advice of her physician and that of her Godfather, Fr. Emery, Jeanne Marie was sent to the house of the Daughters of Charity in the Mouffetard District for the service of the poor. She would remain there 54 years! The thirst for action, devotion and service that burned within Jeanne Marie could not have found a better place to be quenched than this district of Paris. At the time, it was the most impoverished district of the quickly expanding capital: poverty in all its forms, psychological and spiritual. There disease, unhealthy slums, and destitution were the daily lot of the people who were trying to survive. Jeanne Marie, who received the name Sr. Rosalie, made her "apprenticeship" accompanying Sisters visiting the sick and the poor. Between times, she taught catechism and reading to little girls accepted at the free school. In 1807, Sr. Rosalie, surrounded by the Sisters of her Community, made vows for the first time to serve God and the poor. She made these vows with great emotion and joy. In 1815 Sr. Rosalie became Superior of the Community at rue des Francs Bourgeois. Two years later the Community would move to rue de l'Epée de Bois for reasons of space and convenience. All her qualities of devotedness, natural authority, humility, compassion and her organizational abilities would be revealed. "Her poor," as she would call them, became more and more numerous during this troubled time. The ravages of a triumphant economic liberalism accentuated the destitution of those most rejected. She sent her Sisters into all the hidden recesses of St. Médard Parish in order to bring supplies, clothing, care and a comforting word. To assist all the suffering, Sr. Rosalie opened a free clinic, a pharmacy, a school, an orphanage, a child‑care center, a youth club for young workers and a home for the elderly without resources. Soon a whole network of charitable services would be established to counter poverty. Her example encouraged her Sisters. She often told them: "Be a milestone where all those who are tired have the right to lay down their load." She was so simple, and lived so poorly, as to let the presence of God shine through her. Her faith, solid as a rock and clear as a spring, revealed Jesus Christ in all circumstances. She daily experienced this conviction of St. Vincent: "You will go and visit the poor ten times a day, and ten times a day you will find God there ... you go into their poor homes, but you find God there." Her prayer life was intense, as a Sister affirmed, "... she continually lived in the presence of God. Even if she had a difficult mission to fulfill, we were always assured of seeing her go to the chapel or finding her on her knees in her office." She was attentive to assuring that her companions had time for prayer, but sometimes there was a need to "leave God for God" as Vincent de Paul taught his Daughters. Once, while accompanying a Sister on a charitable visit, she said to her: "Sister, let's begin our meditation!" She suggested the plan, the outline, in a few simple, clear words and entered into prayer. Like a monk in the cloister, Sr. Rosalie walked with her God. She would speak to God of this family in distress as the father no longer had any work, of this elderly person who risked dying alone in an attic: "Never have I prayed so well as in the streets," she would say. One of her companions remarked that, "the poor themselves noted her way of praying and acting." "Humble in her authority, Sr. Rosalie would correct us with great sensitivity and had the gift of consoling. Her advice, spoken justly and given with all her affection, penetrated souls." She was very attentive to the manner of receiving the poor. Her spirit of faith saw in them our "lords and masters." "The poor will insult you. The ruder they are; the more dignified you must be," she said. "Remember, Our Lord hides behind those rags." Superiors sent her postulants and young Sisters to be formed. They put in her house, for a period of time, Sisters who were somewhat difficult or fragile. To one of her Sisters in crisis, she gave this advice one day, which is the secret of her life: "If you want someone to love you, you must be the first to love; and if you have nothing to give, give yourself." As the number of Sisters increased, the charity office became a house of charity, with a clinic and a school. She saw in that the Providence of God. Her reputation quickly grew in all the districts of the capital and also beyond to the towns in the region. Sr. Rosalie knew how to surround herself with many efficient and dedicated collaborators. The donations flowed in quickly as the rich were unable to resist this persuasive woman. Even the former royalty did not forget her in their generosity: The Ladies of Charity helped in the home visits. Bishops, priests, the Ambassador of Spain (Donoso Cortéz), Carlo X, General Cavaignac, and the most distinguished men of state and culture, even the Emperor Napoleon III with his wife, were often seen in her parlor. Students of law, medicine, science, technology, engineering, teacher‑training, and all the other important schools came seeking from Sr. Rosalie information and recommendations. Or, before performing a good work, they asked her at which door they should knock. Among these, Blessed Frederick Ozanam, co‑founder of the "Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul," and the Venerable Jean Léon Le Prevost, future founder of the Religious of St. Vincent de Paul, knew well the road to her office. They came, with their other friends, to Sr. Rosalie seeking advice for undertaking their projects. She was the center of a charitable movement that characterized Paris and France in the first half of the 19th century. Sr. Rosalie's experience was priceless for these young people. She directed their apostolate, guided their coming and going in the suburbs, and gave them addresses of families in need, choosing them with care. She also formed a relationship with the Superioress of Bon Saveur in Caen and requested that she too welcome those in need. She was particularly attentive to priests and religious suffering from psychiatric difficulties. Her correspondence is short but touching, considerate, patient and respectful towards all. Hardships were not lacking in the Mouffetard District. Epidemics of cholera followed one after another. Lack of hygiene and poverty fostered its virulence. Most particularly in 1832 and 1846, the dedication shown and risks taken by Sr. Rosalie and her Sisters were beyond imagination. She herself was seen picking up dead bodies in the streets. During the uprisings of July 1830 and February 1848, barricades and bloody battles were the marks of the opposition of the working class stirred up against the powerful. Archbishop Affre, Archbishop of Paris, was killed trying to intervene between the fighting factions. Sr. Rosalie was deeply grieved. She herself climbed the barricades to try and help the wounded fighters irrespective of the side they were fighting on. Without any fear, she risked her life in these confrontations. Her courage and sense of freedom commanded the admiration of all. When order was reestablished, she tried to save a number of these people she knew and who were victims of fierce repression. She was helped a great deal by the mayor of the district, Dr. Ulysse Trélat, a true republican, who was also very popular. In 1852, Napoleon III decided to give her the Cross of the Legion of Honor. She was ready to refuse this individual honor but Fr. Etienne, Superior General of the Priests of the Mission and the Daughters of Charity, made her accept it. Always in fragile health, Sr. Rosalie never took a moment of rest, always managing to overcome fatigue and fevers. However, age, increasing infirmity, and the amount of work needing to be done eventually broke her strong resistance and equally strong will. During the last two years of her life she became progressively blind. She died on 7 February 1856 after a brief acute illness. Emotions ran high in the district and at all levels of society in both Paris and the countryside. After the funeral rite at St. Médard Church, her parish, a large and emotional crowd followed her remains to the Montparnasse Cemetery. They came to show their respect for the works she had accomplished and show their affection for this "out of the ordinary" Sister. Numerous newspaper articles witnessed to the admiration and even veneration that Sr. Rosalie received. Newspapers from all sides echoed the sentiments of the people. L'Univers,the principal Catholic newspaper of the time, edited by Louis Veuillot, wrote as early as 8 February: "Our readers understand the significance of the sadness that has come upon the poor of Paris. They join their sufferings with the tears and prayers of the unfortunate." Il Consitutionnel,the newspaper of the anticlerical left, did not hesitate to announce the death of this Daughter of Charity: "The unfortunate people of the 12th district have just experienced a regrettable loss. Sr. Rosalie, Superior of the Community at rue de l'Epée de Bois died yesterday after a long illness. For many years this respectable woman was the salvation of the numerous needy in this district." The official newspaper of the Empire, le Moniteur, praised the kindly actions of this Sister: "Funeral honors were given to Sr. Rosalie with unusual splendor. For more than fifty years this holy woman was a friend to others in a district where there are many unfortunate people to care for and all these grateful people accompanied her remains to the church and to the cemetery. A guard of honor was part of the cortege." Numerous visitors flocked to the Montparnasse Cemetery. They went to meditate at the tomb of the one who was their salvation. But it was difficult to find the gravesite reserved for the Daughters of Charity. The body was then moved to a more accessible site, close to the entrance of the cemetery. On the simple tomb surmounted by a large Cross are engraved these words: "To Sister Rosalie, from her grateful friends, the rich and the poor." Anonymous hands brought flowers and continue to bring flowers to this gravesite: a lasting yet discreet homage to this humble Daughter of St. Vincent de Paul. | |
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