A Pleasing Sacrifice To God

This morning we remember Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, who was martyred on this day in 1928 and beatified by Saint John Paul II in 1997. Padre Nieves defied an order from the Mexican government to leave his town of ministry. After spending 14 months living in a cave and ministering by night, he was arrested and shot. 

Before Padre Nieves died, his murderer said, “Let’s see if dying is anything like saying Mass.” To this, the martyr answered, “You are speaking the truth. To die for our religion is a pleasing sacrifice to God.”

In his homily for the beatification of this holy man, St. John Paul II said:

The life and martyrdom of Fr. Nieves, who did not want to abandon his faithful despite the risks he was taking, are in themselves an invitation to renew faith in God who can do everything. He faced death with fortitude, blessing his executioners and witnessing to his faith in Christ. The Church in Mexico today has a new and a powerful intercessor who will help her to renew her Christian life; his Augustinian brothers have one more example to imitate in their constant search for God in fraternity and in service to the People of God; for the whole Church he is an eloquent example of the fruits of holiness which the power of God’s grace produced in him.

Blessed Elías del Socorro Nieves, you were a man filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these gifts prepared you for martyrdom. Please pray for us today, that we might be like you in imitating God’s perfect sacrifice.

The Guadalupe Event

Saint John Paul II's trips to Mexico are featured in our exhibit. 

With the celebration of the feast of Saint Juan Diego yesterday, and the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Friday, this is a big week for the Church in Mexico.

Saint John Paul II canonized Juan Diego when he was on his 2002 pilgrimage to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City. In his homily for the canonization, the Holy Father said:

“The Guadalupe Event,” as the Mexican Episcopate has pointed out, “meant the beginning of evangelization with a vitality that surpassed all expectations. Christ's message, through his Mother, took up the central elements of the indigenous culture, purified them and gave them the definitive sense of salvation.” Consequently Guadalupe and Juan Diego have a deep ecclesial and missionary meaning and are a model of perfectly inculturated evangelization. 

Let us pray with St. John Paul II, that “The Guadalupe Event” continues to feed the New Evangelization in Mexico.

St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us!

St. Cristóbal Magallanes And Companions, Pray For Us!

Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Cristóbal Magallanes and his companions, all martyrs to persecution in Mexico during the early 20^th century. In his homily for their canonization, St. John Paul II said: 

They did not stop courageously exercising their ministry when religious persecution intensified in the beloved land of Mexico, unleashing hatred of the Catholic religion. They all freely and calmly accepted martyrdom as a witness to their faith, explicitly forgiving their persecutors. Faithful to God and to the Catholic faith so deeply rooted in the ecclesial communities which they served by also promoting their material well-being, today they are an example to the whole Church and to Mexican society in particular.

After the harsh trials that the Church endured in Mexico during those turbulent years, today Mexican Christians, encouraged by the witness of these witnesses to the faith, can live in peace and harmony, contributing the wealth of Gospel values to society. The Church grows and advances, since she is the crucible in which many priestly and religious vocations are born, where families are formed according to God's plan, and where young people, a substantial part of the Mexican population, can grow up with the hope of a better future. May the shining example of Cristóbal Magallanes and his companion martyrs help you to make a renewed commitment of fidelity to God, which can continue to transform Mexican society so that justice, fraternity and harmony will prevail among all.

St. Cristóbal Magallanes and companions, please pray for us on this day of your feast, that we might also have the courage to die to ourselves in order to live the Gospel. 

Total Dedication To The Service of God

After celebrating the feast of St. Maria de Jesus Sacramentado Venegas de la Torre, let us reflect on the words of Blessed John Paul II at her canonization:

St. María de Jesús Sacramentado Venegas, the first Mexican woman to be canonized, knew how to remain united to Christ during her long earthly life and thus she bore abundant fruits of eternal life. Her spirituality was marked by an exceptional Eucharistic piety, since it is clear that an excellent way to union with the Lord is to seek him, to adore him, to love him in the most holy mystery of his real presence in the Sacrament of the Altar.

She wanted to continue his work by founding the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who today in the Church follow her charism of charity to the poor and the sick. Indeed, the love of God is universal; it is meant for all human beings and for this reason the new saint understood that it was her duty to spread it, generously caring for everyone until the end of her days, even when her physical energy was declining and the heavy trials that she had to endure throughout her life had sapped her strength. Very faithful in her observance of the Constitutions, respectful to Bishops and priests, attentive to seminarians, St. María de Jesús Sacramentado is an eloquent example of total dedication to the service of God and to suffering humanity.

St. Maria, during this week of your feast, please pray for us and most especially for the Church in Mexico.

Defend the Real Kingdom

Last week, the Archbishop of Mexico City, Cardinal Norberto Rivera, encouraged fellow Christians to be strong in defending the faith in the public square. He said:

Knowledge of Christ the King will help us to avoid confusing his kingdom with any social regime, and it will also help us to be aware of our dignity and our commitments as living members of that Kingdom that Christ Jesus came to establish two thousand years ago.

…As subjects of Christ the King, we should take up the torch of the Gospel in our hands and witness with our lives to the truth proclaimed by Jesus.

But we Christians should be listeners of the Gospel before becoming its spokesmen, as Jesus Himself reminds us: 'He who is of the truth hears my voice.'

As the Church prepares for the coming of Christ, let us join together in our search for Christ’s truth and let us be strong for each other in defending it.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pray for Us!

The Role of the Laity

Last week, the Vatican released a message Pope Benedict XVI sent to the 6^th Assembly of the International Catholic Action Forum. In this message, he reminded the laity that they are “co-responsible” for the Church’s mission, not merely “collaborators” with the clergy.  Lay people are therefore called to work in communion with Church leaders, and they are called to take formation very seriously. He said:

Feel the commitment to work for the Church’s mission to be your own…through prayer, through study, through active participation in ecclesial life, through an attentive and positive gaze at the world, in the continual search for the signs of the times.

Society needs courageous witnesses, he went on to say, so that people in darkness may see the light of the Gospel and find hope.

An example of this courageous witness can be seen in St. Juan Diego, who was canonized by Blessed John Paul II in 2002. Juan Diego was the poor, native of Mexico who reported the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe—an apparition that significantly inspired hope and the spread of Catholicism in Mexico, and one that still inspires people today.

In an address given to the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders (CALL) last week, Supreme Knight of the Knight of Columbus, Carl Anderson, encouraged his listeners to be like Juan Diego: