This week we turn to the third and final point of reflection inspired by Pope Francis and Pope St. John Paul II.  Having looked to the past with gratitude and having recommitted ourselves to living the present with passion, we now embrace the future with hope.

To aid in our reflection for this week, we can turn to the Pope who served in between the two already mentioned, Pope Benedict XVI.  Pope Benedict wrote a very beautiful reflection on the topic of Christian hope in his second encyclical, Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope).  At the conclusion of the first section, the Holy Father writes about the day-to-day hopes that we have, none of which are bad.  But they are limited.  He then provides the following key understanding of Christian hope:

[W]e need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God, who encompasses the whole of reality and who can bestow upon us what we, by ourselves, cannot attain. The fact that it comes to us as a gift is actually part of hope. God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety. His Kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; his Kingdom is present wherever he is loved and wherever his love reaches us. His love alone gives us the possibility of soberly persevering day by day, without ceasing to be spurred on by hope, in a world which by its very nature is imperfect. His love is at the same time our guarantee of the existence of what we only vaguely sense and which nevertheless, in our deepest self, we await: a life that is “truly” life. (31)

It can be an interesting exercise to notice how often we use the word “hope” in our daily vocabulary.  We have so many hopes that help to keep us moving forward.  We must, however, not fall into the trap of thinking that the fulfillment of these hopes will ever be enough.  Only in God can our deepest hope be fulfilled, and only in Him can we truly live.  When we embrace that truth, our future becomes so much brighter.

Look back at the quote above and notice the following sentence: “God is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end, each one of us and humanity in its entirety.”  It is this mystery of God who has a human face that we celebrate at Christmas.  God, the source of our hope and life, has come down into our human condition to become one of us, such that we can look upon Him face to face.  This is truly remarkable!  Many of us will be setting up our nativity sets in our homes soon, and I encourage you to practice the custom of keeping the baby Jesus hidden away until Christmas.  In the days leading up to Christmas, as you look at the scene, let your hearts be filled with hope as you look forward to finally seeing Him lay in the manger on Christmas morning.  Let that be the driving hope in these final days, surpassing other hopes such as what you might get for Christmas presents, or being able to see family members.  All of those are good, but they all fall short of the hope that we have in seeing our God face to face.  When you finally are able to place Christ in the scene, why not give Him some sign of your affection, for in doing so, you are embracing the one who is the fulfillment of our hope.  May that embrace spur us on to persevere on this journey with joy as we look forward to the final goal of our hope, seeing Him face to face in Heaven.

Father Alford    

Feast Day: December 7^th  

Last week, we were able to recount the dramatic shift that happened in the life of Theodosius and Ambrose when, between the years of 374 AD and 381 AD, they both went from being young, popular Roman civil servants to becoming Emperor and Bishop respectively. But climbing the social ladder-of-power was not the most substantial change that occurred in their lives during those years.  Nor was the political promotion they each received the shift that would have the greatest consequences for later history.  The most impactful event in either of their lives during those years was that they each were baptized.  They were set free from original sin; they were made sons of God; and they were given the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love. 

This month we are investigating the topic of the virtues, and so we look to these men as examples of how the theological virtues can operate in someone’s life.  (We will save the other virtues, specifically the cardinal ones, for next week).  Both Ambrose and Theodosius, in an age that was debating whether Jesus was God, and with all the pressures of the world on their shoulders, chose to be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and with that interior transformation complete, they then began to practice in their actions and demeaner the exterior transformation that befits a Christian. 

I don’t mean to argue that both of them suddenly were perfect, and yet in the months after receiving this first sacrament, what do we see them doing: upholding the fullness of the faith and responding to the horrors of their day with an exceptional amount of vision, patience, even mercy.  (Theodosius convenes the council of Constantinople, and promulgates the Codex Theodosianus, calling for faith in the Trinity.  Ambrose convokes the synod of Aquileia, and writes De Fide defending the orthodox faith).  In the moment, neither man could have quantified how much grace had changed them, and yet their actions – in retrospect – depict individuals who had allowed themselves to be redirected by those theological virtues. The question would be whether they stayed true to those virtues in times of testing that would come.

In 383, Gratian (the emperor of the West) was killed by Magnus Maximus, placing Gratian’s 12 year old heir, Valentinian II, on the throne.  The boy, and his mother (who acted as his regent), were Arian, and within two years were attempting to takeover Catholic Churches for the use of the Arians.  (She, Justina, still hated Ambrose for his helping to appoint an orthodox bishop to Sirmium, whom they had clashed with years before, and couldn’t stand his strident defense of Jesus’ divinity and all the corollaries from that).  Ambrose stubbornly barricaded himself inside the Church, and sent this scathing reply to the Emperor who had soldiers at his door:

“If you demand my person, I am ready to submit: carry me to prison or to death, I will not resist; but I will never betray the church of Christ. I will not call upon the people to succour me; I will die at the foot of the altar rather than desert it. The tumult of the people I will not encourage: but God alone can appease it.”

Valentinian backed down and Ambrose continued to teach his congregation the simple songs that upheld the full-faith he had so boldly defended.  The political situation being what it was, Valentinian and Justina’s schemes were derailed further by Maximus coming for them with an army.  They fled, and were only rescued by the happily orthodox Theodosius sweeping in from the East. This year, 388, seems to also be the time when our two characters first meet in person!  It was not the last. 

In 390, after a riot took place in Thessalonica (in which, it seems one of his military leaders was killed), Theodosius sent in troops to punish the city, and they brutally murdered thousands of the Thessalonians as they were gathered in their town circus.  This, just as much as Valentinian’s heresy, was contrary to the Catholic faith, and so we now find Theodosius outside Ambrose’s Cathedral, not with an army threatening to storm the altar, but humble and contrite for his sins.  Ambrose forced the Emperor to wait 6 months before accepting his contrition as forthright and allowing him to return to Holy Communion.

Theodosius would eventually become the last single person to rule the entire Roman Empire, dying in 395, in Milan, repentant and faithful to the end.  Ambrose would die 2 years later, still archbishop of that same city, where so many of the crises and characters of the previous decades had crossed.  Both men were sorely tried in the virtues of their baptism, we should expect the same for ourselves.  Regardless of the trials we face, God will provide the courage, and clemency, we need to remain faithful.

– Fr. Dominic Rankin’s favorite songs are Advent hymns.  There is something so gentle and powerful in their heralding the coming of Christ.  Ambrose composed one of the greatest of these hymns, Veni Redemptor Gentium.  Here are the final 3 stanzas (translated into English).  The divinity of the Christ child has not been forgotten here!

5. From God the Father He proceeds,
To God the Father back He speeds;
His course He runs to death and hell,
Returning on God’s throne to dwell.

6. O equal to the Father, Thou!
Gird on Thy fleshly mantle now;
The weakness of our mortal state
With deathless might invigorate.

7. Thy cradle here shall glitter bright
And darkness breathe a newer light,
Where endless faith shall shine serene,
And twilight never intervene.

In last week’s bulletin article, I introduced a threefold theme proposed by both Pope Francis and Pope St. John Paul II, that we as Christians are encouraged to: 1) Look to the past with gratitude; 2) Live the present with passion; and 3) Embrace the future with hope.  In this second reflection in the series, we will reflect on how to live the present with passion.

As I mentioned last week, it can be easy for us to get stuck in the past, remembering our faults and failures, those missed opportunities for doing good.  Our focusing on the past is not always remembering our failures, though.  Sometimes we focus on the good memories of the past, what we were once able to do, the opportunities we had, and we can get struck wishing those days were back.  The same can apply to the future.  We can become paralyzed thinking about what might or might not happen in the days, months, and years ahead.  The uncertainty of the future might frighten us, causing us to tun in on ourselves and so do nothing.  Or, the future might excite us, causing us to want to get to what lies ahead as soon as possible, ignoring our present obligations and needs.  By focusing too much on the past or the future, we have little energy to dedicate to the present, and it is only in the present that we are able to actually do anything.  When considering this tension, I am often reminded of the following anecdote: “Why worry about the past which you cannot change, and the future which may never come.  Live in the present!”  This is very good advice, and very much rooted in our Christian outlook.

The overarching theme for the end of Ordinary Time and the beginning of Advent is the necessity of being prepared, not so much for the celebration of Christmas, but for the Second Coming of Christ which will come at an unknown day and unknown hour.  With that in mind, the best thing to do to be prepared is to be attentive to how we are living our lives in the here are now.  Tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year should never be something we say when it comes to living our Catholic faith.  None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, so now is the time to live as disciples of Jesus.  And not just live as His followers in name only, but to live our lives intentionally and passionately.

There is a line from the Prophet Isaiah that is used on the First Sunday of Advent in the Year B Cycle of Readings which applies to this very well: “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we might be mindful of you in our ways” (Is 64:4).  To adapt this line to match our theme, we can say something similar to the Lord: “Would that you might find us living our faith passionately when you come to us, whenever and however that might be”

During this Advent season, this can be a good topic on which to reflect.  Are we too focused on the past or the future, such that we are not living the present well?  It does not have to be this way.  We can make the conscious decision now to live in the present by making our faith the foundation for all of our thoughts, words, and actions, letting the love of Christ enflame our hearts so that we will in turn love Him and our neighbor with charity and mercy, and so to be truly prepared to meet Him when He comes.

Father Alford     

Feast Day: December 7^th  

The year was 374 AD, and our story begins with two eminent men who have recently received minor positions of authority in the Roman Empire.  Flavius Theodosius, just now turning 37 years old, recently received his own independent command in the Roman army, stepping out from under the shadow of his father, Theodosius the Elder, a high-ranking general in the western Roman Empire.  He quickly wins victories over the Sarmatians (East of Rome, in modern day Serbia; not to be confused with the Samaritans, the remnant of Jews left behind after the Exile who did not worship in Jerusalem and instead settled 25 miles north of Jerusalem on Mt. Gerizim).  Higher up in the empire chaos reigns as various men grapple for command, clearing out opponents (including the Elder Theodosius by 375), though shortly thereafter Gratian comes out on top and becomes Emperor of the Western Empire and the Theodosian family again falls under imperial favor.  It is at this same junction that, north of Rome, the 35 year old Aurelius Ambrosius, also a popular, well-educated young man, is entering into his second year as governor of the province of Aemilia-Liguria.  His headquarters is the city of Milan, just 9 decades prior chosen as the capital of the Western Roman Empire by Diocletian.  

But God had different plans for these two up and coming Roman civil servants.

Let’s stay with Ambrose for the next stage in our story.  Later in 374, the bishop of Milan (an Arian, he preached that Jesus was not Divine!) died, holding onto his See until the bitter end, and throwing the city into tumult as the Christian factions fought over who would become their shepherd.  Governor Ambrose steps into the fray to calm the crowds and somewhere above the din two words were heard: “Ambrose, bishop!”  The upright civil servant blanched at the thought – his family was Christian, but he had not even been baptized – and yet, despite his attempt to avoid the crowd’s acclaim, all were convinced he would make a good successor to the apostles and within a week he was baptized, ordained, and consecrated the next bishop of Milan.  We can presume that the holy water and oils upon the new Bishop Ambrose had dried somewhat by the time 379 came around, for that was the year that another death sent ripples through history.  This time it was Valens, the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, and uncle of Gratian, who was still emperor in the West.  Valens, even more than the heretical Archbishop Auxentius, died surrounded by enemies.  His army was overwhelmed in battle with the Goths and his body was lost amidst the carnage. Theodosius, a popular and proven general, was named joint-emperor with Gratian, and sent to the Eastern Empire to hold back the Visigoth hordes.  One twist to his story, which is now eerily similar to Ambrose: Theodosius falls deathly ill shortly thereafter and chooses to be baptized a Christian.

And so we come to the 380s.  Theodosius is slowly brokering peace with the Goths, winning them over by his justice and generosity and incorporating many of their tribes within the empire rather than decimating the roman legions to try and defeat them.  He, along with Gratian (and Gratian’s second-in-command, Valentinian II) issue in 380 the Edict of Thessalonica professing and protecting Nicene Catholic Christianity, against the various heresies which were bubbling up around the Empire alongside of Arianism, and so the Roman empire receives this text from their emperor(s), who many still consider as part of the pagan pantheon:

It is our desire that all the various nations which are subject to our Clemency and Moderation, should continue to profess that religion which was delivered to the Romans by the divine Apostle Peter, as it has been preserved by faithful tradition, and which is now professed by the PontiffDamasus and by Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, a man of apostolic holiness. According to the apostolic teaching and the doctrine of the Gospel, let us believe in the one deity of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and in a holy Trinity. [Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, Codex Theodosianus, XVI.1.2, 380AD]

If the emperors could be faulted for heavy-handedly enforcing Christian doctrine by imperial decree over the coming years, perhaps our parallel character this week, Ambrose, offers us the Church’s reaction to this changing scene.  There, in Milan, the good bishop is patiently preaching the Arians back into the fullness of the Christian faith, convicting them by his humility, charity, and piety (and, sidenote: he also introduces popular musical :  

Let us likewise deal kindly, let us persuade our adversaries of that which is to their profit, “let us worship and lament before the Lord our Maker.” For we would not overthrow, but rather heal; we lay no ambush for them, but warn them as in duty bound. Kindliness often bends those whom neither force nor argument will avail to overcome. [Ambrose, De Fide, II.XI.89, 380AD)

Notice that both men, after following a secular career for years, chose baptism and to offer for God’s purposes their energy and skill.  Notice too that the gift they received of faith, hope, and love, does not automatically transform them into saints.  The years to come will give them chance to follow the path of Christ, or not.  We will return to their story next week!

– Fr. Dominic Rankin bit off more than he could chew this week.  Even just sticking with history and the theological virtues, we ran out of space.  Still, Ambrose remains our saint and friend, and won’t mind if more of his story waits until the next time!