All that is known of Dismas is that he is the Good Thief crucified with Christ on Calvary. The other thief is known as Gestas. Dismas enjoyed great popularity in the West during the Middle Ages. The two thieves held up the Holy Family on the way to Egypt. Dismas bought off Gestas with forty drachmas to leave the family unmolested. The infant Jesus predicted that the two thieves would be crucified with Him in Jerusalem and that Dismas would accompany Him to Paradise.
Dismas has spent his life being a thief and running with a bad crowd. He is a sinner when he encounters the Holy Family and when he is crucified alongside Jesus. Grace is acting on him when they encounter the Holy Family because he does not want to harm them. He even goes as far as paying off his partner in crime to advert his hostility towards the poor family. This sinner is not doing what sinners normally do. I wonder if Gestas took the bribe because he was confounded by his associate. God has stepped into his life and changed him. Without a better crowd to run with, Dismas’ seed of faith will be choked by the thorns of the world. Fast forward thirty years, Dismas’ seed of faith blossoms as he is recognizing Jesus’ divinity in His passion. Dismas is professing his assent to faith in Jesus. This was an important profession of faith in the early church. The penitent sinner receives salvation through the crucified Jesus. It is important for us today as well because Jesus’ words to the penitent thief show that the destiny of the Christian is “to be with Jesus.” We all have available to us salvation by faith in Jesus. We all have a common destiny to be with Jesus forever.
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[Pastoral Note: The feast of St. Benedict had been celebrated on the date of his death, March 21, for many years, however since 1970 it has been celebrated on July 11. For purposes of having a reflection during Lent of a saint with such a profound spiritual impact, we note St. Benedict here, on his traditional date. But, fear not, he will be observed at Mass on July 11, on his regularly observed feast day.]
St. Benedict was born around 480, the son of a Roman noble of Nursia, along with his twin sister, Scholastica, whose feast we had a few weeks ago. His boyhood was spent in Rome, where he lived with his parents and attended school until he had reached his higher studies. Benedict watched in horror as vice unraveled the lives and ethics of his companions. So, giving over his books, and forsaking his father's house and wealth, with a mind only to serve God, he sought for some place where he might attain the desire of a holy life. He lived in a small village with his nurse. When God called him beyond this quiet life to an even deeper solitude, he went to the mountains of Subiaco. One of the best practices of Christianity is taking an annual retreat. A day or two away from the world can help us to refocus that God is calling us to love Him and our neighbor. This can be at a Benedictine monastery or other retreat house. One day, during his time living in a cave above a lake as a hermit, the Devil presented Benedict's imagination with a beautiful, tempting woman. Benedict resisted by rolling his body into a thorn bush until it was covered in scrapes. It is said through these body wounds, he cured the wounds of his soul. After years of prayer, word of his holiness brought nearby monks to ask for his leadership. He warned them he would be too strict for them, but they insisted -- then tried to poison him when his warning proved true. The story goes, the monks attempted to poison Benedict's drink, but when he prayed a blessing over the cup - it shattered. Benedict’s struggle for virtue and a persistent prayer life helped him develop a closer relationship and trust in God. The next set of followers were more sincere, and he set up twelve monasteries in Subiaco where monks lived in separate communities. He left these monasteries abruptly when the envious attacks of another hermit made it impossible to continue the spiritual leadership he had taken. In Monte Cassino, he founded the monastery that became the roots of the Church's monastic system. Instead of founding small separate communities, he gathered his disciples into one whole community. His own sister, Saint Scholastica, settled nearby to live a religious life. Many people are looking for the freedom that comes with knowing and serving God, but they have not found God yet. We have the good news of salvation and it needs to be shared with the world. No one had ever set up communities like his before or directed them with a rule. Benedict had the holiness and the ability to take this step. His beliefs and instructions on religious life were collected in what is now known as the Rule of Saint Benedict -- still directing religious life after 15 centuries. He died on March 21st, 543, not long after his sister. St Benedict, pray for us. Ss. Perpetua and Felicity were Christian martyrs who lived during the early persecution of the Church in Africa by the Emperor Severus. With details concerning the lives of many early martyrs unclear and often based on legend, we are fortunate to have the actual record of the courage of Perpetua and Felicity from the hand of Perpetua herself, her teacher Saturus, and others who knew them. This account is known as "The Passion of St. Perpetua, St. Felicitas, and their Companions."
In the year 203, Vivia Perpetua, a well-educated noblewoman, made the decision to follow the path of her mother and become a Christian, although she knew it could mean her death during the persecutions ordered by the Emperor Severus. Her surviving brother followed her leadership and became a catechumen as well, meaning he would receive instruction from a catechist and be prepared for Baptism. Perpetua was arrested with four other catechumens, including two slaves, Felicity and Revocatus, and Saturninus and Secundulus. Their instructor in the faith, Saturus, chose to share their punishment and was also imprisoned. Perpetua was baptized before taken to prison. The prison was so crowded with people that the heat was suffocating. There was no light anywhere and Perpetua "had never known such darkness." Perpetua had no trouble admitting she was very afraid, but during all this horror, her most excruciating pain came from being separated from her baby. The young slave, Felicity was even worse off, for Felicity suffered the stifling heat, overcrowding, and rough handling while being eight months pregnant. When she received permission for her baby to stay with her, she recalled, "my prison suddenly became a palace for me." Consider how God loves us so much that he desires us to return to him like Perpetua desired her baby back. Her father came to her, begging her to give in, kissing her hands, and throwing himself at her feet. She told him, "We lie not in our own power but in the power of God." When she and the others were taken to be examined and sentenced, her father followed, pleading with her and the judge. The judge tried to get Perpetua to change her mind, but when she stood fast, she was sentenced with the others to be thrown to the wild beasts in the arena. She desired nothing else than to be called a Christian. During Lent, we die to the things of the world as an act of love for God. Consider what you have taken up for lent and recognize God is working in you for His greater glory. Felicity was also in torment. It was against the law for pregnant women to be executed. To kill a child in the womb was shedding innocent and sacred blood. Felicity was afraid that she would not give birth before the day set for their martyrdom and her companions would go on their journey without her. Two days before the execution, Felicity went into a painful labor. The guards made fun of her, insulting her by saying, "If you think you suffer now, how will stand it when you face the wild beasts?" Felicity answered them calmly, "Now I'm the one who is suffering, but in the arena, another will be in me suffering for me because I will be suffering for him." She gave birth to a healthy girl who was adopted and raised by one of the Christian women of Carthage. The man Felicity is suffering for is Jesus. Our Lenten suffering is oriented towards Jesus and is in preparation to join Him in Easter glory. Felicity is looking on towards heaven, are we looking past our sacrifice towards Easter? The four new Christians and their teacher went to the arena (the fifth, Secundulus, had died in prison) with joy and calm. Perpetua in usual high spirits met the eyes of everyone along the way. We are told she walked with "shining steps as the true wife of Christ, the darling of God." Perpetua called out to her brother and other Christians, "Stand fast in the faith, and love one another. Do not let our sufferings be a stumbling block to you." Perpetua and Felicity stood side by side and were killed by sword at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. These martyrs are our example for our Lenten sacrifices. Consider this week where you have been succeeding in your Lenten offering to God. Thank God for the grace of success and ask Him for the grace to persevere to the end. Ss. Perpetua and Felicity, Pray for us! |
Saints of LentThis is a column to recall and venerate the saints whom celebrate during the Season of Lent in 2021.. ArchivesCategories
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