On Marian Devotion, Martyrs, and Pentecost
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In last week’s post, we featured information on six
popular Marian apparitions, and a book featuring saints
who “behaved badly” at first, but eventually turned
their lives over to God. For those who wish to
review these links, you can click here.
The current post for today shall feature again Mary, more
particularly, the wonderful effects a faithful devotion to
her can obtain for one’s spiritual life. These seven
spiritual benefits are given to those who follow the
devotion according to the teaching of St. Louis-Marie de
Montfort. Please check the links given below.
This post features:
- Polycarp and Other Famous Martyrs
of the Early Centuries - Seven Wonderful Effects of Devotion
to Mary - Lectionary: Pentecost Sunday,
Year C - On Joan of Arc, St. Camillus de Lellis,
and Padre Pio
Polycarp and Other Famous Martyrs
Before the drafting of the rescript of Milan in 313 A.D., many
Christians witnessed to the faith with their own blood. Church
historians divide these waves of persecutions in three periods.
All major executions of Christians however ended with the
proclamation of Constantine that made Christianity a major
religion of the Empire. The stories and pious legends of many
famous martyrs are very inspiring: stories like Perpetua and
Felicitas who bravely faced a bull in the arena before their death;
the story of St. Ignatius of Antioch who became a part of the Romans’
public games and was fed to the lions; and the courageous witness of
the virgin-martyrs Cecilia, Agatha, Lucy and Agnes, who were sent
to court and tortured brutally and at length, because they have
in one way or another rejected and refused the advances of their
pagan-suitors.
Seven Wonderful Effects of Marian Devotion
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort, preacher of Mary, teaches that if
devotion to her is practiced faithfully, we would obtain seven
wonderful effects in our spiritual lives. These are: a realization
of our unworthiness before God, having the same strength of faith
as Mary, obtaining the pure love of the Father, great trust and
confidence in God and Mary, obtaining the Holy Spirit to indwell in
us through the spirit of Mary, becoming more transformed in the
likeness of Jesus, and the ability to glorify and praise God with
the lowly and humble heart of Mary.
The Lectionary Readings
Pentecost Sunday reminds us of the birth of the Church. It is
in the accounts of the Acts of the Apostles where we find the
story of how the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostolic
community gathered in the Cenacle of Jerusalem. The reading
tells us that as the apostles where gathered together, there
suddenly came like a strong wind upon their dwelling and then
upon their heads alit tongues of fire. This coming of the Holy
Spirit drove them to go out of the house and witness to the
risen power of Jesus to many peoples in Jerusalem. Many people
were amazed for they spoke in different languages - in the native
languages of the many peoples who were in Jerusalem at the time.
Theologians teach us that the coming of the Holy Spirit takes
away the confusion and chaos that happened at Babel. And
true to the power of the Holy Spirit, all of Jesus’ apostles
and disciples became of one mind and of one heart and devoted
themselves to prayer and preaching.
On Joan of Arc, St. Camillus and Padre Pio
The lives of the saints have inspired many people from all walks
of life and for countless generations. Two saints from the middle
ages give witness to the gift of conversion and courage. These
are St. Joan of Arc and St. Camillus de Lellis. St. Joan of Arc
was called by the Lord to lead the armies that would establish
the King of France, who at that time did not have an army for
the country. St. Camillus de Lellis was a soldier who converted
to the faith and had the inspiration to found an order that will
help and assist the sick. Another saint that is close to our
generation is Padre Pio. Padre Pio lived until the 1960s, but
his spirituality goes way back to the original charism of their
order’s founder, St. Francis. Like St. Francis, he received the
gift of the stigmata, the sacred wounds of Jesus that are imprinted
on the person of the saint. Though he initially received much
doubt from the Church and others as regards his spiritual gifts,
eventually the Church learned of the genuineness of his gifts
and vocation and eventually promoted his cause.
