By Fr. Antony Christy, SDB –
After a series of Icons from the Bible, we shall now start a series of Icons from the Church tradition – that is Saints from 15 to 25 years of age…who are young and who can inspire the young today!
ICON 1: TERESA OF CHILD JESUS (24)
Known as Teresa of Lisieux or simply as the Little Flower, St. Teresa is one of the most renowned saints of the 19th Century. She was born on 2nd January, 1873 to Louis and Zelie Martin, saintly parents both of whom wanted to be Religious but could not accomplish that will. But God willed that 5 of their children should be Religious because of their saintly upbringing. One Religious of the Order of Visitation and four others in the Carmelite Order.
Teresa Martin their 9th child was very special. She wanted to offer herself in totality to God following her others sisters, in the order of the Cloistered Carmelites. She wanted to join when she was just 14 but the rules did not permit her – she would not give up she appealed to the Bishop and later even to the Pope. She met Pope Leo XIII who recommended the case to the Superior of the Convent and left it to her discretion. And Teresa was admitted as an exception when she was just 15 years and the saintly girl excelled in her simple but profound love for the Lord. She experienced enormous suffering and difficulties, all with a sweetness in her heart.
In 1895 she offered herself as the sacrificial victim to the merciful love of God and the following year she was diagnosed with tuberculosis which brought an incredible amount of suffering to her which she took on herself as a sign of her love for the Lord. The sickness took her to her deathbed on 30th September, 1897. She was just 24. The little ways in which she remained so united in love of the Lord and the neighbour gained her the name ‘Little Saint of Simplicity’ and her life came to be known as ‘the Little Way’. When her body was exhumed in the year 1910, it seemed to have given out an extraordinary sweet fragrance, reminding us of the sweetness with which she accepted her sufferings.
Dear Young Friends,
– thinking of vocation and discernment today, how willing are you to offer yourself to the Lord?
– in your daily life, can you be simple, sweet and loving, after the Little Way taught by the Little Flower?
YOU CAT
HOW WE ARE TO HAVE LIFE IN CHRIST is the title of Part III of the YouCat, the first part being, ‘What we Believe’ and the second, ‘How we celebrate the Christian Mysteries’. The first section of this part deals with The Purpose of our Life, ie., why are we put on earth and what are we supposed to do it and how the Spirit of the Lord helps us to do it.
The very first chapter in this section, deals with the notion of THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON (Questions 279-321). We shall summarise this chapter in three parts, beginning with the first part (Questions 280-290) in this number – the foundation of Human Dignity is in the fact that it is God who willed, loved and commissioned every person into existence. And God has given the human beings God’s own image and likeness. Right from the womb where the person is knit together to all eternity a human person has a dignity that is inviolable.
Human beings are created with an infinite desire for happiness, something that can be satisfied only by God, hence we all yearn for happiness and it is sacred. The way to happiness is not the way of pleasure and possession but the way of the Beatitudes, which is the list of priorities given by Jesus. The priority therefore is not power and dominance but simplicity, mercy, peace and forgiveness and that is the sure way to heaven. This beatitude has to be chosen in Freedom – the God-given power to be able to act in favour of good, indeed, the greatest good. The more good one does, the more free one is.
Choosing to do evil is not freedom because in doing evil, one gradually sells his or her freedom to something else, becoming a slave. But in doing good, one becomes more and more free. A human person is responsible for everything one does consciously and voluntarily, without coercion or out of fear or ignorance. God has bestowed each one with free will and God wills that this free will should never be sacrificed.
– Do you feel you are gifted and blessed to be born a human person in this world?
KNOW YOUR CHURCH:
Are you aware of the Four Major Papal Basilicas of the Catholic Church?
We come to see the fourth of the Major Basilicas after those of Mary Major, of St. Peter and the Archbasilica of St. John at the Laterans. This basilica is called the BASILICA OF ST. PAUL OUTSIDE THE WALLS. This curious name is because the Basilica rests outside the so-called Aurelian Walls or the Walls of Rome built in 251; simply said the basilica is found outside the Old Rome, two miles from where St. Paul was beheaded.
The tradition goes that the disciples of the Apostle brought the body of Paul and buried it in a land owned by a Christian woman Lucina, and built a memorial on it immediately. The Emperor Constantine I built a basilica over it and it was consecrated in 324 by Pope Sylvester. This basilica was rebuilt already in 386 by Emperor Theodosius but as late as 2006, the archeologists have found the remains of the original Constantinian basilica underground, when they also found the marble container which was used to bury the remains of the beheaded Apostle.
Once in 9th century due to a political raid and then in 1823 due to a fire, the basilica was almost destroyed but both the times it was rebuilt to its glory. It was in 1840 that the final restitution was done and in 1855 it was reconsecrated by Pope Pius IX. Owing to its relatively recent renovations, the basilica stands out from the other three in its external appearance. Apart from the cella memoriale, that is the memorial of St. Paul, one thing you can look out for when you visit this basilica is the bust-portraits of all the Popes so far in the history of the Church from Peter right up to Pope Francis!
DO CAT
ONE WORLD – ONE HUMANITY (Questions 248 – 255) – Speaking of the International Community, reflecting on the issue of Migration becomes inevitable today. Migrants for real causes like any kind of deprivation in their land, migrants just for the sake of living in a different culture and illegal migrants who live without stay permit in a land – there are very many issues involved here, quite controversial.
But the Church simply affirms even an illegal migrant cannot be denied his or her fundamental right and dignity as a human person. Turning down migrants, or making them live in degrading conditions or refusing to even listen to their entire plight is unchristian, for they too belong to that One Human Family. Jesus’ preferential option for the poor and his identification with the marginalised forces the Church to stand by the migrants even if they are undocumented or illegal foreigners.
The right of individuals to migrate, the right of the nations to secure their frontiers, protection for refugees, respect for the human dignity and human rights of all human beings – these are principles that cannot be sacrificed one for another. They have to be taken together with the Gospel perspective.
Another issue that has to be addressed is that of Fair Trade – which means commerce that is conducted according to the definite principle of justice. Considering the well being of the disadvantaged producers, implementing socially just production methods, good work conditions, equal rights for men and women, are essential to ensure fair trade. Fair Trade is the first step to fight poverty, though it cannot do all.
– When you look at the refugees and migrants in your locality, what is your inner attitude towards them: despise or respect?
Fr Antony Christy is a Salesian Priest from 2005, who has a Masters in Philosophy (specialisation in Religion) and a Masters in Theology (Specialisation in Catechetics). He is currently pursuing his doctoral research in Theology at Salesian Pontifical University, Rome. Walking with the Young towards a World of Peace and Dialogue is the passion that fires him on.