Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

On Sunday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the first letter of the apostle Paul to the Galatians (1:1-12) entitled "Paul's preaching of the Gospel". Our treasure, which follows, is from an explanation of Paul's letter to the Galatians by Saint Augustine, bishop.

Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He was unsettled and restlessly searched for the truth until he was converted to the faith in Milan and baptized by Ambrose. Returning to his homeland, he embraced an ascetic life and subsequently was elected bishop of Hippo. For thirty-four years he guided his flock, instructing it with sermons and many writings. He fought bravely against the errors of his time and explained the Faith carefully and cogently through his writings. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His writings influenced the development of western philosophy and western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. He died in 430.

The Galatians to whom the letter is addressed were Paul's converts, most likely among the descendants of Celts who had invaded western and central Asia Minor in the third century B.C. and had settled in the territory around Ancyra (modern Ankara, Turkey). Paul had passed through this area on his second missionary journey and again on his third. It is less likely that the recipients of this letter were Paul's churches in the southern regions of Pisidia, Lycaonia, and Pamphylia where he had preached earlier in the Hellenized cities of Perge, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch, Lystra, and Derbe; this area was part of the Roman province of Galatia, and some scholars think that South Galatia was the destination of this letter.

On Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the second letter to the Thessalonians (3:1-18) entitled "Exhortations and counsels". Our treasure, which follows, is from the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world of the Second Vatican Council.

Gaudium et spes ("Joys and Hopes"), the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, is one of the four constitutions resulting from the Second Vatican Council in 1965. It was the last and longest published document from the council and is the first constitution published by a Catholic ecumenical council to address the entire world. Gaudium et spes clarified and reoriented the role of the church's mission to people outside of the Catholic faith. It was the first time that the church took explicit responsibility for its role in the larger world. The constitution's creation was necessitated by fear of the irrelevance in the modern era due to its ignorance on problems that plague the modern world. The document represents an inner examination of the church by the council and features a response to problems affecting the modern world.

The central message of Gaudium et Spes is that the Church stands in profound solidarity with all humanity—sharing its joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties—and is called to engage the modern world not with fear or withdrawal, but with compassionate dialogue, moral clarity, and humble service. It affirms the dignity of every human person, the social nature of humanity, and the Church's mission to illuminate contemporary issues such as culture, economics, politics, marriage, peace, and human rights with the light of Christ and the Gospel. Rather than opposing the modern world, the document teaches that the Church must read the "signs of the times" and work actively for justice, peace, and the common good, trusting that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of every authentic human longing.

Saint Paul arrived in Greece for the first time around 50 A.D. In making converts in Philippi and, soon afterwards, in Thessalonica, he was beset by persecution from Jews and Gentiles alike. Moving on to Beroea, he was again harassed by enemies from Thessalonica and hurriedly left for Athens. Silvanus and Timothy remained behind for a while. Paul soon sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to strengthen that community in its trials. Timothy and Silvanus finally returned to Paul when he reached Corinth, probably in the early summer of A.D. 51.

Saint Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians distinguishes itself by the detailed teaching it presents at the end times. False teachers had been presenting fake letters as if they were from Paul and telling the Thessalonian believers that the day of the Lord had already come. This would have been especially troubling to them because Paul had encouraged them in his previous letter that they would be raptured before the day of wrath came upon the earth.

So, Paul explained to them that this future time of tribulation had not yet come because a certain "man of lawlessness" had not yet been revealed. Comparisons with other passages in Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation reveal this man to be none other than the Antichrist. But Paul encouraged the Thessalonians not to worry, because the Antichrist would not come until a mysterious restrainer—the Thessalonians apparently knew his identity—was removed from earth. The identity of this restrainer has been heavily debated, though due to the nature of the work the restrainer does, He is likely the Spirit of God working redemptively through the church. When the believers leave the earth in the rapture, all who remain will experience the wrath of the tribulation.

Today, February 6th, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs, our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the first letter of Peter (2:1-17), entitled "We are built as living stones". Our treasure, which follows is from av account of the martyrdom of Saint Paul Miki and his companions, by a contemporary writer.

Nagasaki, Japan, is familiar to Americans as the city on which the second atomic bomb was dropped, immediately killing over 37,000 people. Three and a half centuries before, 26 martyrs of Japan were crucified on a hill, now known as the Holy Mountain, overlooking Nagasaki. Among them were priests, brothers, and laymen, Franciscans, Jesuits, and members of the Secular Franciscan Order; there were catechists, doctors, simple artisans, and servants, old men and innocent children—all united in a common faith and love for Jesus and his Church.

Saint Paul Miki, a Jesuit and a native of Japan, has become the best known among the martyrs of Japan. While hanging upon a cross, Paul Miki preached to the people gathered for the execution: "The sentence of judgment says these men came to Japan from the Philippines, but I did not come from any other country. I am a true Japanese. The only reason for my being killed is that I have taught the doctrine of Christ. I certainly did teach the doctrine of Christ. I thank God it is for this reason I die. I believe that I am telling only the truth before I die. I know you believe me, and I want to say to you all once again: Ask Christ to help you to become happy. I obey Christ. After Christ's example I forgive my persecutors. I do not hate them. I ask God to have pity on all, and I hope my blood will fall on my fellow men as a fruitful rain."

When missionaries returned to Japan in the 1860s, at first, they found no trace of Christianity. But after establishing themselves they found that thousands of Christians lived around Nagasaki and that they had secretly preserved the faith. Beatified in 1627, the martyrs of Japan were finally canonized in 1862.

The first letter of Saint Peter begins with an address by to Christian communities located in five provinces of Asia Minor, including areas evangelized by Paul. Christians there are encouraged to remain faithful to their standards of belief and conduct despite threats of persecution. Numerous allusions in the letter suggest that the churches addressed were largely of Gentile composition, though considerable use is made of the Old Testament.

The contents following the address both inspire and admonish these "chosen sojourners" who, in seeking to live as God's people, feel an alienation from their previous religious roots and the society around them. Appeal is made to Christ's resurrection and the future hope it provides and to the experience of baptism as new birth. The suffering and death of Christ serve as both source of salvation and example. What Christians are in Christ, as a people who have received mercy and are to proclaim and live according to God's call, is repeatedly spelled out for all sorts of situations in society, work (even as slaves, the home, and general conduct. But overall hangs the possibility of suffering as a Christian. Persecution is later described as already occurring, so that some have supposed the letter was addressed both to places where such a "trial by fire" was already present and to places where it might break out.

Today, February 5, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, we are invited to first read and reflect on a passage from the first letter of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians (7: 25-40), entitled "Christian chastity". Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily on Saint Agatha by Saint Methodius of Sicily, bishop.

St. Agatha is cited in the martyrology of St. Jerome. Although she was one of the most-venerated virgin martyrs of Christian antiquity, the traditional particulars of her martyrdom are of little historical value. Palermo and Catania are both mentioned as her possible birthplace, and tradition holds that she was born in 231 to wealthy and noble parents. Having consecrated her virginity to God at a young age, she resisted the advances of a Roman prefect sent by the emperor Decius to govern Sicily. Her profession of faith and rejection of the prefect resulted in her brutal torture, during which her breasts were cut off (a condition often reflected in her iconography). During her imprisonment, she famously had a vision of St. Peter the Apostle, who is said to have comforted her and healed her wounds with his prayers. She was sent to the stake, but, according to some accounts, as soon as the fire was lighted, an earthquake occurred, causing the people to insist upon her release; she then allegedly died in prison in 251.

Saint Methodius was born in Sicily in the late 8th century. Since his parents were prosperous, they were able to send him to the imperial city of Constantinople for further education. There Methodius responded to a vocation to monastic life. He suffered persecution at the hands of iconoclastic emperors but was ultimately elected bishop and patriarch of Constantinople. In 843 he presided over the formal restoration of icons, an event celebrated annually in Orthodox Churches and known as "the Triumph of Orthodoxy." Since Methodius died in Constantinople in 847, he is also known as Methodius of Constantinople and, since he is the first of several patriarchs by the same name, St. Methodius I.

In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul warns against divisions within the Church and emphasizes the importance of unity among Church members. He warns members against sexual immorality, teaches that the body is a temple for the Holy Spirit, and encourages self-discipline.

On Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the letter to the Thessalonians (5:1-28) entitled "The life of the children of light". Our treasure, which follows, is from a treatise On Spiritual Perfection by Diadochus of Photice, bishop. Saint Diadochus was a theologian, mystic, and bishop of Photice, Epirus, who was a staunch defender of orthodox Christological doctrine. His treaties on the ascetic life have influenced Eastern Orthodox and Western spirituality.

In On Spiritual Perfection, Diadochus of Photice teaches that true holiness is the gradual purification of the heart through grace, humility, and disciplined attention to God, rather than through external achievements alone. He emphasizes the importance of interior watchfulness over thoughts, the necessity of prayer—especially continual remembrance of God—as how the Holy Spirit illumines and heals the soul, and the danger of spiritual deception when a person trusts in feelings or visions rather than in obedience and humility. Diadochus also stresses that spiritual growth involves cooperation between divine grace and human effort, expressed through ascetic struggle, charity, and self-knowledge, so that the believer is slowly transformed into deeper love of God and freedom from the passions.

Saint Paul arrived in Greece for the first time around 50 A.D. In making converts in Philippi and, soon afterwards, in Thessalonica, he was beset by persecution from Jews and Gentiles alike. Moving on to Beroea, he was again harassed by enemies from Thessalonica and hurriedly left for Athens. Silvanus and Timothy remained behind for a while. Paul soon sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to strengthen that community in its trials. Timothy and Silvanus finally returned to Paul when he reached Corinth, probably in the early summer of A.D. 51. Timothy's return with a report on conditions at Thessalonica served as the occasion for Paul's first letter.

The letter begins with a brief address and concludes with a greeting. The body of the letter consists of two major parts. The first is a set of three sections of thanksgiving connected by two apologiae (defenses) dealing, respectively, with the missionaries' previous conduct and their current concerns. Paul's thankful optimism regarding the Thessalonians' spiritual welfare is tempered by his insistence on their recognition of the selfless love shown by the missionaries. In an age of itinerant peddlers of new religions, Paul found it necessary to emphasize not only the content of his gospel but also his manner of presenting it, for both attested to God's grace as freely bestowed and powerfully effected.

The second part of the letter is specifically hortatory or parenetic. The superabundant love for which Paul has just prayed is to be shown practically by living out the norms of conduct that he has communicated to them. Specific "imperatives" of Christian life, principles for acting morally, stem from the "indicative" of one's relationship to God through Christ by the sending of the holy Spirit. Thus, moral conduct is the practical, personal expression of one's Christian faith, love, and hope.

Today, February 3rd, as our church celebrates the optional Memorial of Blaise, bishop and martyr, we are invited to first reflect on a passage from the second letter of the apostle Paul of the Corinthians (4:7 – – 5:8) entitled "The power of Christ is made manifest in our suffering". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop.

We know more about the devotion to Saint Blaise by Christians around the world than we know about the saint himself. The Germans and Slavs hold him in special honor, and for decades many United States Catholics have sought the annual Saint Blaise blessing for their throats.

We know that Bishop Blaise was martyred in his episcopal city of Sebastea, Armenia, in 316. The legendary Acts of St. Blaise were written 400 years later. According to them Blaise was a good bishop, working hard to encourage the spiritual and physical health of his people. Although the Edict of Toleration (311), granting freedom of worship in the Roman Empire, was already five years old, persecution still raged in Armenia. Blaise was apparently forced to flee to the back country. There he lived as a hermit in solitude and prayer, but he made friends with the wild animals. One day a group of hunters seeking wild animals for the amphitheater stumbled upon Blaise's cave. They were first surprised and then frightened. The bishop was kneeling in prayer surrounded by patiently waiting wolves, lions and bears.

The legend has it that as the hunters hauled Blaise off to prison, a mother came with her young son who had a fish bone lodged in his throat. At Blaise's command the child was able to cough up the bone.

Agricolaus, governor of Cappadocia, tried to persuade Blaise to sacrifice to pagan idols. The first time Blaise refused; he was beaten. The next time he was suspended from a tree and his flesh torn with iron combs or rakes. Finally, he was beheaded.

Saint Augustine was a late fourth century, theologian and philosopher, and Bishop of Hippo, Roman North Africa. He is also a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His writings influenced the development of western philosophy and western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period.

The Second Letter to the Corinthians is the most personal of all of Paul's extant writings, and it reveals much about his character. In it he deals with one or more crises that have arisen in the Corinthian church. The confrontation with these problems caused him to reflect deeply on his relationship with the community and to speak about it frankly. One moment he is venting his feelings of frustration and uncertainty, the next he is pouring out his relief and affection. The importance of the issues at stake between them calls forth from him an enormous effort of personal persuasion, as well as doctrinal considerations that are of great value for us.

Today, February 2nd, as our church celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, our Church invites us to first read reflect on a passage from the book of Exodus (13: 1-3a, 11-16), entitled "The consecration of the first-born". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon by Saint Sophronius, bishop.

Born in Damascus, Syria, around the year 560, Saint Sophronius came from an esteemed family and received a deep philosophical education. His early devotion to God grew into an inclination toward monastic life, and while still young he entered a monastery in Palestine. He became a friend and student of John Moschus, his fellow monk who would become an important spiritual writer in the Eastern Christian tradition.

The second book of the Pentateuch is called Exodus, from the Greek word for "departure," because its central event was understood by the Septuagint's translators to be the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. Its Hebrew title, Shemoth ("Names"), is from the book's opening phrase, "These are the names…." Continuing the history of Israel from the point where the Book of Genesis leaves off, Exodus recounts the Egyptian oppression of Jacob's ever-increasing descendants and their miraculous deliverance by God through Moses, who led them across the Red Sea to Mount Sinai where they entered a covenant with the Lord. Covenantal laws and detailed prescriptions for the tabernacle (a portable sanctuary foreshadowing the Jerusalem Temple) and its service are followed by a dramatic episode of rebellion, repentance, and divine mercy. After the broken covenant is renewed, the tabernacle is constructed, and the cloud signifying God's glorious presence descends to cover it.

These events made Israel a nation and confirmed their unique relationship with God. The "law" (Hebrew torah) given by God through Moses to the Israelites at Mount Sinai constitutes the moral, civil, and ritual legislation by which they were to become a holy people. Many elements of it were fundamental to the teaching of Jesus as well as to New Testament and Christian moral teaching.

On Sunday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the first letter of the apostle Paul to the Thessalonians (1:1—2:12) entitled "Paul's solicitude for the church at Thessaloncia". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter to the Church of Smyrna by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr.

Saint Ignatius was a successor of Saint Peter as the bishop of Antioch. Condemned to death by being thrown to wild animals, he was brought to Rome for execution and was martyred there under the emperor Trajan in 107. On the journey to Rome he wrote seven letters to different churches. His letter to the Smyrnaeans was to defend the truth about Christ, protect the Eucharist, preserve unity under the bishop, and guard the Church from heresy in a manner at once wise and learned. At Antioch, this day was observed in his memory as early as the fourth century.

When Paul parted from Barnabas at the beginning of what is called his second missionary journey, he chose Silvanus (Silas) as his traveling companion. Soon afterwards he took Timothy along with him. Paul was now clearly at the head of his own missionary band. About A.D. 50, he arrived in Greece for the first time. In making converts in Philippi and, soon afterwards, in Thessalonica, he was beset by persecution from Jews and Gentiles alike. Moving on to Beroea, he was again harassed by enemies from Thessalonica and hurriedly left for Athens. Silvanus and Timothy remained behind for a while. Paul soon sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to strengthen that community in its trials. Timothy and Silvanus finally returned to Paul when he reached Corinth, probably in the early summer of A.D. 51. Timothy's return with a report on conditions at Thessalonica served as the occasion for Paul's first letter.

Today, January 31, as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint John Bosco, priest, we are first invited to reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Colossians (3;1-17), entitled "Your life is hidden with Christ in God". Our treasure, which follows, is from a letter by Saint John Bosco, priest.

Saint John Bosco's theory of education could well be used in today's schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one's work, study and play.

Saint John was born on August 16, 1815. Encouraged during his youth in Turin to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan in Turin and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism.

Saint John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ's love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that comes with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too.

Saint John died January 31, 1888, and was Canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI, who knew him as a young priest.

Saint Paul's letter is addressed to a congregation at Colossae in the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor, east of Ephesus. At the time of writing, Paul had not visited there, the letter says. The community had apparently been established by Epaphras of Colossae. Problems, however, had arisen, brought on by teachers who emphasized Christ's relation to the universe (cosmos). Their teachings stressed angels; "principalities and powers", which related to astral powers and cultic practices and rules about food and drink and ascetical disciplines. These teachings, Paul insists, detract from the person and work of Christ for salvation as set forth magnificently in a hymnic passage and reiterated throughout the letter. Such teachings are but "shadows"; Christ is "reality".

On Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to first read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy (31: 1-15, 23) entitled "The last words of Moses". Our treasure, which follows, is from a commentary on the psalms by John Fisher, bishop and martyr.

Saint John Fisher was an English Catholic bishop, Cardinal, and theologian. St. John Fisher was also an academic and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge. St. John was executed by Order of Henry VIII during the English Reformation for refusing to accept him as the supreme head of the Church of England and for upholding the Catholic Church's doctrine of papal supremacy. He is honored as a martyr and Saint by the Catholic Church. He was martyred on June 22, 1535

Saint John Fisher teaches through the Psalms that the faithful soul must cling to truth, endure suffering with Christ, and place all hope in the mercy of God rather than in the approval of the world.

The book of Deuteronomy ends the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch with a retrospective account of Israel's past—the exodus, the Sinai covenant, and the wilderness wanderings—and a look into Israel's future as they stand poised to enter the land of Canaan and begin their life as a people there.

The book consists of three long addresses by Moses. Each of these contains narrative, law, and exhortation, in varying proportions. In an expansion of the first commandment of the decalogue, Moses tells the Israelites how to make a success of their life as a people once they are settled in the land. The choice presented to Israel is to love the Lord and keep his commandments, or to serve "other gods." That choice will determine what kind of life they will make for themselves in the land. Whichever choice they make as a people carries consequences, which Deuteronomy terms "blessing" and "curse." Thus, the book can be seen as a kind of survival manual for Israel in their life as a people: how to live and what to avoid. This gives the book its hortatory style and tone of life-or-death urgency.