Homily for the Mass for the 400th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint John Ogilvie

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia - homily

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Tuesday 10 March 2015

Pope Francis has sent a special envoy to Glasgow to mark the 400th anniversary of the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie, Scotland’s only post-reformation canonised Catholic martyr. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor – the former Archbishop of Westminster - has been asked by the Holy Father to be his special envoy at a Mass in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow at 7.30pm on March 10, St John Ogilvie’s feast day.
In his homily, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia will highlight attacks on religious freedom, which he will claim, is:
"fragile, not always recognised, not always respected, in some places denied, leading, as we know, to persecution, sectarianism and brutality. St John Ogilvie was a standard bearer for the right relationship between the state and the religious freedom of its citizens. It is important that churches, faith communities and religious bodies are in dialogue with government and civil authorities about what religious freedom and freedom of conscience mean in their circumstances."
Archbishop Tartaglia will also commend ecumenical engagement in Scotland, saying;
"Ecumenical relations between the churches teach us how to live and express our baptismal unity with prayer, dialogue, shared witness in the name of peace and justice, common service to the poor and needy, and with huge courtesy and friendship. If the goal of the ecumenical movement, full visible communion, escapes us still and seems as far away as ever, there is a very real and effective ecumenism of friendship, prayer, witness and service which is a great good and which keeps the hope alive. Oh – and an ecumenism of martyrdom too, because, as the Pope said, the martyrs belong to all Christians. So, even as the Catholic community rejoices for St John Ogilvie, I offer St John Ogilvie tonight as a martyr for all Scots Christians, so that we may together reap the rich harvest of faith and love which his blood has sowed in our land."

ENDS
Peter Kearney
Director
Catholic Media Office
07968 122291(M)
pk@scmo.org
www.scmo.org
Notes to Editors:
...
3. John Ogilvie was a convert to the Catholic faith from Banffshire he was educated on mainland Europe before being ordained a Jesuit priest. He returned to his native country to serve for a short time. He was hanged at Glasgow Cross on March 10 1615 after having been arrested for saying Mass and celebrating the sacraments with persecuted Catholics in and around the Glasgow area. He was canonised by Blessed Pope Paul VI in 1976 following the miraculous cure of Glasgow man John Fagan from cancer.

Homily for the Mass for the 400th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saint John Ogilvie

As we gather here in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Glasgow, to commemorate the 400th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St John Ogilvie, I want to offer you three reflections.
1.The first observation arises from the words of two Popes: Blessed Pope Paul VI and Pope Francis. First Blessed Paul VI: Together with many hundreds of pilgrims from Scotland, I was present as a young priest on that October day in 1976 in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome, when Pope Paul VI declared John Ogilvie to be a saint. “We have great joy”, declared Pope Paul VI at the start of his homily for the Mass of Canonisation, “in being able to announce to all of God’s pilgrim Church on earth the glorious name of a new Saint, that of John Ogilvie, who died a martyr in Glasgow on 10th March 1615.”
And coming forward nearly 40 years, Pope Francis: Pope Francis’, who last year declared Pope Paul VI to be Blessed, has sent us a message, which has been read for us by his Special Envoy Cardinal Murphy O’Connor. In his message, Pope Francis invites us to make sure that our thankful and joyful commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of St John Ogilvie will be an inspiration for us to follow Christ more faithfully, to observe his commandments more faithfully, and, in our present circumstances, to love the Gospel of Jesus and the Church of Christ with even greater ardour.
So a first level of response to this feast is one of thanksgiving and joy for St John Ogilvie. It was a day of thanksgiving and joy in Rome in 1976 when John Ogilvie was declared a saint. It is a day of thanksgiving and joy today when we commemorate the 400th Anniversary of his Martyrdom. John Ogilvie is our saint, our martyr, and we love him. We love him and honour him because he was a Scot, because he was one of our Catholic community, because he was a young Jesuit priest, because he was brave, because he suffered and died for his faith, his freedom and his religion, and because in him we see Jesus on the cross. In a time marked by relativism, by an aversion to speak the truth of faith, and by what sociologists call “low intensity religion”, St John Ogilvie and the martyrs remind us that there is a line that they will not cross and that faithfulness to Christ is non-negotiable even at the cost of their lives.
And along with thanksgiving, joy and pride, we should be moved, as Pope Francis says, to follow Jesus more faithfully, to love the church more ardently, to do God’s will more generously. Speaking of his own death, Jesus said to his disciples, “…unless a wheat grain falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” We are here today after 400 years. So a harvest there has been, and we praise God for this and we acknowledge the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, of St John Ogilvie and the Saints of Scotland.
But we really need that harvest to continue to grow, a harvest of faith and of prayer, of family life, of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, of service and of witness. These graces - people of faith, generious-hearted priests and religious, loving families, young people open to God’s presence and call- these are the spiritual gifts and graces on which we have always depended and on which rest the future of the Church and of Christian life. 
2. And that brings me to my second point – how Christians of different churches, communities and confessions live together. There is no getting away from it. St John Ogilvie was a victim of the spiritual and social and cultural storm of the Reformation in Scotland which very thoroughly purged almost all of this land of the Catholic Church, of Mass and the Sacraments, of bishops and priests and monks and nuns, of churches, of monasteries, of art and statues, and, with few exceptions, of almost every visible vestige of the pre-Reformation church. It is a miracle that the Catholic Church survived anywhere in Scotland in any form at all and an even greater miracle that it recovered to some extent. I don’t say this with anger or resentment or bitterness, but simply as a fact of history in which in some way God shows his hand, and we need constantly to discern God’s unfolding purpose.
During those turbulent times, Father John Ogilvie, a Scot from Banffshire, a young convert Catholic Jesuit priest had bravely returned from Europe to Scotland to minister to the beleaguered remnant of the Catholic community. Fr Ogilvie was arrested, imprisoned, tortured, convicted and hanged for treason at Glasgow Cross not far from here 400 years ago today. He was quickly venerated as a martyr throughout Europe. He was declared blessed in 1929 and canonised in 1976. We love St John Ogilvie, we honour him, we admire him, we strive to imitate his faith and his steadfastness.
To be honest, I have been wondering for months how to speak about the tumultuous events of that time in a positive and hopeful way which might promote growth and understanding among Christians here in Scotland. And I was amazed to look back at Blessed Paul VI’s canonisation homily and I realised that he had faced the same dilemma. And I was delighted and thrilled at how he solved it. He said that he did not want to turn praise and joy and thanksgiving for St John Ogilvie into any kind of polemic. And neither do I. And neither should we.
The reality is that Western Christianity has fragmented. We live with confessional divisions which appear more or less insurmountable, and do not look like changing any time soon. At the same time, we thank God that we do not treat each other any more like the way John Ogilvie was treated. And we should remember that at the time of the Reformation, there were Protestants who died for their faith too both in Scotland and elsewhere. Recently Pope Francis received in audience the Right Rev John Chalmers, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Together they reflected on the recent killing of the Coptic Christians in Libya, and Pope Francis uttered words which should make us all think: “The martyrs, he said, belong to all Christians.”
Ecumenical relations between the churches teach us how to live and express our baptismal unity with prayer, dialogue, shared witness in the name of peace and justice, common service to the poor and needy, and with huge courtesy and friendship. If the goal of the ecumenical movement, full visible communion, escapes us still and seems as far away as ever, there is a very real and effective ecumenism of friendship, prayer, witness and service which is a great good and which keeps the hope alive. Oh – and an ecumenism of martyrdom too, because, as the Pope said, the martyrs belong to all Christians. So, even as the Catholic community rejoices for St John Ogilvie, I offer St John Ogilvie tonight as a martyr for all Scots Christians, so that we may together reap the rich harvest of faith and love which his blood has sowed in our land.
3.And my final reflection perhaps will help us to share our saint more readily: John Ogilvie was convicted and executed for treason. By the time John was executed, his case was notorious and the King wanted to make an example of him. King James VI wanted John to acknowledge the divine right of kings in all matters both spiritual and temporal, such that John would have to repudiate the authority of the Successor of Peter in spiritual matters. John refused to do that despite imprisonment, torture, inducements and the fear of execution. So he was brought to the gibbet where he declared his loyalty to the King and at the same time he made it clear that he was dying for religion alone.
Back in 1976, at the Mass of Canonisation, Blessed Paul VI already saw the significance of this. Amazingly, the Pope’s words then are strikingly relevant for today. He said: “We can today credit St John Ogilvie, along with all the others who suffered for the same cause, with the merit of having heroically contributed with his sacrifice to the task of claiming religious freedom for civilisation….Therefore the saint whom we venerate, St John Ogilvie, far from being a symbol of civil or spiritual discord, softens our unhappy recollection of violence or of the abuse of authority towards religion. St John Ogilvie will help us to resolve religious disputes in the direction of mutual respect, serene study and of faithful adherence to the Truth so as to recover that longed-for unity of faith and love which Christ taught us as the highest expression of his Gospel.” And I think we can all say Amen to that!
Reliable reports and analyses show us that in today’s world, religious freedom – which some consider to be the first and most cherished human right – is fragile, not always recognised, not always respected, in some places denied, leading, as we know, to persecution, sectarianism and brutality. St John Ogilvie was a standard bearer for the right relationship between the state and the religious freedom of its citizens. It is important that churches, faith communities and religious bodies are in dialogue with government and civil authorities about what religious freedom and freedom of conscience mean in their circumstances. This is a harvest, a legacy, from St John Ogilvie that all Christians and all people of goodwill can share in and consider their own.
I am more than happy to make Blessed Paul VI’s concluding words at the Mass of Canonisation of St John Ogilvie in 1976 the concluding words of this homily for the 400th Anniversary Mass of his Martyrdom. Here are the words of Blessed Pope Paul VI to the Scottish pilgrims on that joyful occasion:
“We are happy to recognize in this sympathetic and heroic figure of a man, a saint and a martyr the symbol of your own religious, strong and generous land. And in Saint John Ogilvie we willingly greet a glorious champion of your people, an ideal exemplar of your past history, a magnificent inspiration for your happy future. We honour in Saint John Ogilvie an outstanding member of that Society of Jesus which has given so many other valiant soldiers like him to the cause of Christ and of civilization. In him we jubilantly greet a beloved son of the Catholic Church, a typical citizen of the world who is called to discover the light for its harmony, progress and peace in the faith of Christ….In Saint John Ogilvie, Scotland has given to humanity a great hero of freedom and of faith.”

Archbishop Tartaglia

St Andrews’s Cathedral, Glasgow
10th March 2015

400th Anniversary of Saint John Ogilvie 1615-2015

COMMENT:
Today the Night Office; A Reading about St John Ogilvie Adapted from Butlers Lives of the Saints (Thurston Edition, 1942) 

   400th Anniversary of
Saint John Ogilvie 1615-2015

Youtube:
   Dom Donald's Blog: National Shrine to Saint John Ogilvie, S.J: http://www.staloysius.rcglasgow.org.uk/stjohnogilvie St. John Ogilvie John Ogilvie 1579 - March 10, 1615 John Ogilvie was a S...  

National Shrine to Saint John Ogilvie, S.J

http://www.staloysius.rcglasgow.org.uk/stjohnogilvie

St. John Ogilvie

John Ogilvie

1579 - March 10, 1615

John Ogilvie was a Scottish Catholic martyr.

The son of a wealthy laird, he was born into a respected Calvinist family near Keith in Banffshire, Scotland and was educated in mainland Europe.

He attended a number of Catholic educational establishments, under the Benedictines at Regensburg in Germany and with the Jesuits at Olomouc and Brno in the present day Czech Republic. In the midst of the religious controversies and turmoil that engulfed the Europe of that era he decided to become a Catholic. In 1596, aged seventeen, he was received into the church at Leuven, Belgium. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1608 and was ordained a priest in Paris in 1610. After ordination he made repeated entreaties to be sent back to Scotland to minister to the few remaining Catholics in the Glasgow area (after the Scottish Reformation in 1560 it had become illegal to preach, proselytise for, or otherwise endorse Catholicism).

He returned to Scotland in November 1613 disguised as a soldier, and began to preach in secret, celebrating mass clandestinely in private homes. However, his ministry was to last less than a year. In 1614, he was betrayed and arrested in Glasgow and taken to jail in Paisley.

Martyrdom and Death

He suffered terrible tortures, including being kept awake for eight days and nine nights, in an attempt to make him divulge the identities of other Catholics. Nonetheless, Ogilvie did not relent; consequently, after a biased trial, he was convicted of high treason for refusing to accept the King's spiritual jurisdiction.

On 10th March 1615, aged 36 years, John Ogilvie was paraded through the streets of Glasgow and hanged at Glasgow Cross.

His last words were "If there be here any hidden Catholics, let them pray for me but the prayers of heretics I will not have". After he was pushed from the ladder, he threw his concealed rosary beads out into the crowd. The tale is told that one of his enemies caught them and subsequently became a lifelong devout Catholic. After his execution Ogilvie's followers were rounded up and put in jail. They suffered heavy fines, but none was to receive the death penalty.

As a martyr of the Counter-Reformation he was beatified in 1929 and canonised in 1976. He is the only post-Reformation saint from Scotland.

National Shrine to Saint John Ogilvie, S.J

The church also contains the National Shrine to Saint John Ogilvie, S.J., a Scottish Jesuit, who was canonised on 17th October, 1976 by His Holiness Pope Paul VI, having suffered martyrdom in Glasgow in 1615 during the Scottish Reformation

John Ogilvie _ March 10 1982

A Reading about St John Ogilvie

Adapted from Butlers Lives of the Saints (Thurston Edition, 1942) March, pp. 179-184.

John Ogilvie was born in 1579 near Keith in Banffshire. The Ogilvie family, like many Scottish families at that time, was partly Catholic and partly Presbyterian,

.

but John's father, though not unfriendly to the old faith, brought his eldest son up 

as a Calvinist, and as such sent him at the age of thirteen to be educated on the Continent. There John became interested in the religious controversies which were popular in France. The best Catholic and Calvinist protagonists took part in these disputations, which profoundly influenced the intellectual world. John Ogilvie became confused and uncertain, but he came to fasten on two texts of Scripture:

"God wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," and, "Come to me all you who suffer and are burdened, and I will refresh you." He began to see that the Catholic Church embraced all kinds of people and in her alone could be found men and women of every class. These reflections and the testimony of the martyrs decided him. To belong to the Church of the martyrs he became a Catholic and was received at the Scots College in Louvain in 1596, at the age of seventeen.

He spent the next three years in various educational establishments. Six months of this period was spent with the Scottish Benedictines at Ratisbon, studying the arts. Then at the age of twenty he went to a Jesuit college; he later joined the Society of Jesus, was ordained priest and eventually found his way, after repeated requests, back to his native Scotland. He set to work trying to win back his fellow countrymen to the Catholic faith. Most of his work was concentrated around Edinburgh, Glasgow and Renfrewshire. But his time was short. His missionary efforts lasted for less than a year. It was when he was attempting to meet someone who claimed to be interested in becoming a Catholic that he was betrayed to archbishop Spottiswoode, a former Presbyterian minister and who was now one of the King's most capable lieutenants.

For five months John Ogilvie was subjected to continual harassment, humiliation, interrogation and torture. He bore all of this with equanimity, courage and even humour. His spirit could not be broken, and he was able to hold his own in the involved religious and political questions they put to him in an attempt to trap him. After his second trial John Ogilvie seems to have been treated more kindly. The heroism he had shown in prison had been reported far and wide throughout the country, and even his keepers, including the archbishop, hoped that he would recant and accept the royal supremacy. Soon, however, a questionnaire was presented to him which came from King James himself, dealing with the relations between Church and State. To these John Ogilvie could only return answers which practically sealed his fate. Although his treatment in prison grew more rigorous, he continued to write an account of his arrest and experiences in prison which he had begun earlier, and he managed to smuggle the sheets of paper to friends outside.

John Ogilvie was eventually sentenced to death for high treason. But even on the gallows he was offered his freedom and honours ifhe would renounce his religion. "For that, he said, "1 am prepared to give even a hundred lives." On this day, therefore, the 10th of March, 1615, John Ogilvie was martyred for his faith. Cornelius a Lapide, the young professor who taught John Ogilvie in Louvain, wrote proudly in later years that Ogilvie had been his catechumen but became a martyr worthy to take his place with the martyrs of the early persecutions. 

Adapted from Butlers Lives of the Saints (Thurston Edition, 1942) March, pp. 179-184.

Dom Donald's Blog: Saint John Ogilvie

10 Mar 2010

St John Ogilvie, Priest and Martyr, SJ (Memorial) John Ogilvie, the son of a wealthy laird, Walter Ogilvie, was born into a respected Calvinist family at Drum-na-Keith in Banffshire, Scotland, in 1579. As a youth he studied on the ...

http://nunraw.blogspot.com/

Laetare Sunday Fourth Sunday of Lent St. John Ogilvie

10 Mar 2013

"Rejoice, Jerusalem! Be glad for her, you who love her; rejoice with her, you who mourned for her, and you will find contentment at her consoling breasts." This Sunday is known as Laetare Sunday and is a Sunday of joy.

http://nunraw.blogspot.com/

Dom Donald's Blog: John Ogilvie Martyr

10 Mar 2009

John Ogilvie (1579-1615) performed ministry in his native Scotland for only 11 months after he returned to his homeland following 22 years abroad. He is the only canonized Scottish martyr from the time of the Reformation, ...

http://nunraw.blogspot.com/

Mystics of the Church: Maria Valtorta and the Poem of the Man-God

   

Mystics of the Church: Maria Valtorta and the Poem of the Man-God: Maria Valtorta –The “Pen” of Jesus Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) was an extraordinary Italian laywoman and mystic who was given an series of...

Maria Valtorta and the Poem of the Man-God

Maria Valtorta –The “Pen” of Jesus

Maria Valtorta (1897-1961) was an extraordinary Italian laywoman and mystic who was given an series of visions of the life of our Lord, beginning prior to His birth, and ending with the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven.

Asked by our Lord to write down these visions, she lovingly complied, even though at the time (and until the end of her life) she was completely bedridden due to a spine injury, and was suffering intensely due to a combination of at least two other serious illnesses. She began writing the visions into notebooks beginning in the year 1943 and continued (even during the war) until 1953. When completed, the visions, covering the entire life of our Lord, consisted of about ten thousand hand written pages, which were compiled and published into a monumental work entitled “The Poem of the Man-God”, Centro Editoriale Valtortiano srl, 1989.

Along with the extraordinary work of The Poem of the Man-God, she was also given another five thousand pages of additional writings, which include commentaries on Biblical texts that her guardian Angel (named Azariah) gave to her, along with some extraordinary biographal information and histories of the first Christian martyrs (some of whose martyrdoms she saw in the visions that she was given), and some doctrinal lessons that she was given through a “interior voice” also known as an interior locution. Some of these other works have now been published under the title of “Maria Valtorta –Notebooks” which have been published in series, and also “The Book of Azariah” which contain the spiritual guidance and enlightening information that her guardian Angel gave her.

Maria had an extraordinary love for God and for souls. People often came to visit her, to be strengthened and encouraged by her kind words and her gentle smile. Having suffered deeply herself, she understood their pains and sufferings, and was able to guide and encourage them in accepting their daily crosses. This “spiritual apostolate” for souls was only a part of her life as a victim soul, which consisted primarily in the offering of her many sufferings in union with Jesus in reparation for sinners. In her visions, Jesus often called her “little John”, in reference to His beloved Apostle John, the great lover of Jesus. Her life may be divided into two stages: Firstly, from her birth to the paralysis of her legs, which disabled her at the age of 37; the secondly from the time of her paralysis, which left her completely bedridden until her death in 1961, 27 years later.

A few excerpts from The Poem of the Man-God
About ten years ago, over the course of about 6 months, I read all five volumes of “The Poem of the Man-God”. Since then, I have re-read certain parts a number of times. I cannot even begin to explain the spiritual impact that this work made upon me. What an extraordinary grace it was to have read them! One is literally “transported” to the time of Jesus, walking along with Him and the apostles through the roads and towns of Israel. Not only does one get to know Jesus in a most intimate way, but also one gets to know and see the personality of each Apostle, along with some of the other disciples. And then, there is our Blessed Mother and St Joseph! What an extraordinary grace it is to get to know them! And then also Mary Magdelene, Lazarus, Martha and the other women disciples, the shepherds…one can go on and on! But suffice it to say, The Poem of the Man-God is a most extraordinary work. Of course, it is not intended to supplant or replace the Holy Scriptures, but it does supplement them in a most wonderful way.
And so, here are a few excerpts of “The Poem of the Man-God” to give an idea of the spiritual treasure of this work:

Cure of a paralytic child
[Jesus has just finished speaking to a crowd] “….The crowd that had gathered utters cries of joy and applause for the Messiah. Then they become quiet and open out to let pass a mother, who is carrying in her arms a paralytic child, child, about ten years old. At the foot of the staircase, she holds him out, as if she were offering him to Jesus.
«She is one of my servants. Her boy last year fell from the terrace and broke his back. He will lie on his back all his life» explains the landlord.
«She has been hoping in You all these months ... » adds the landlady.
«Tell her to come to Me.»
But the poor woman is so excited, that she seems to be paralyzed.
She trembles all over and trips on her long dress while climbing up the high steps with her son in her arms.
Mary, compassionate, stands up and goes down to meet her. «Come. Do not be afraid. My Son loves you. Give Me your child. It will be easier for you to climb up. Come, My daughter. I am a Mother, too» and She takes the child, smiling kindly at him, and then goes up with Her piteous load weighing on Her arms. The boy's mother follows Her crying.
Mary is now before Jesus. She kneels down and says: «Son! For the sake of this mother!» Nothing else.
Jesus does not .even ask the usual question: «What do you want Me to do for you? Do you believe that I can do it?» No. Today He smiles and says: «Woman, come here.»
The woman goes beside Mary. Jesus lays His hand on her head and says only: «Be happy», and He has not yet finished saying the words, when the boy, who so far had been lying heavily on Mary's arms, with his legs hanging loose, sits up all of a sudden and with a cry of joy: «Mummy!», he runs to take refuge in his mother's lap.
The shouts of hosanna seem to be penetrating the sky now all red at sunset.
The woman, clasping her son to heart, does not know what to say and she asks: «What must I do to tell You that I am so grateful?» And Jesus, caressing her once again: «You must be good and love God and your neighbour and bring your son up in this love.» But the woman is not yet content. She would like to ... she would like to ... and at last she asks: «A kiss of Yours and of Your Mother's to my child.»
Jesus bends down and kisses him and Mary does likewise. And while the woman is going away happy, surrounded by cheering friends, Jesus explains to the landlord: «Nothing else was needed. He was in My Mother's arms. Even without any word I would have cured him, because She is happy when She can relieve distress and I want to make Her happy.»
And Jesus and Mary exchange one of those glances that only one who has seen them can understand, so deeply meaningful are they.”

Maria Valtorta

Cure of a blind man at Capernaum
The poor man is coming forward between James and John. He is holding a walking stick in his hand, but is not using it at present. He walks better, supported by the two men. «Here, man, the Master is in front of you.»
The blind man kneels down: «My Lord! Have mercy on me! 

«Do you want to see? Stand up. How long have you been blind?

The four apostles gather round the other two.
«Seven years, Lord. Before, when I could see well, I worked. I was a blacksmith at Caesarea on Sea. I was doing well. The harbour, the good trading, they always needed me for one job or another.
But while striking a piece of iron to make an anchor, and You can imagine how red hot it was to be pliable, a splinter came off it, and burnt my eye. My eyes were already sore because of the heat of the forge. I lost the wounded eye, and also the other one became blind after three months. I have finished all my savings, and now I live on charity ... »
«Are you alone?»
«I am married with three little children ... I have not even seen the face of one of them ... and I have an old mother. And yet she and my wife earn a little bread, and with what they earn and the alms! take home, we manage not to starve. If I were cured! ... I would go back to work. All I ask for is to be able to work like a good Israelite and thus feed those I love.»
«And you came to Me? Who told you?»
«A leper who was cured by You at the foot of Mount Tabor, when You were coming back to the lake after that beautiful speech of Yours.»
«What did he tell you?»
«That You can do everything. That You are the health of bodies and of souls. That You are a light for souls and bodies, because You are the Light of God. He, although a leper, had dared to mingle with the crowd, at the risk of being stoned, all enveloped in his mantle, because he had seen You passing by on the way to the mountain, and Your face had kindled hope in his heart. He said to me: "I saw something in that face that whispered to me: 'There is health there. Go!' And I went. Then he repeated Your speech to me and he told me that You cured him, touching him with Your hand, without any disgust. He was coming back from the priest after his purification. I knew him. I had done some work for him when he had a store at Caesarea. I came, asking for You in every town and village. Now I have found You! ... Have mercy on me!»
«Come. The light is still too bright for one coming out of darkness»
«Are you going to cure me, then?»
Jesus takes him to Peter's house, in the dim light of the kitchen garden, he places him in front of Himself, in such a position that his cured eyes may not see, as first sight, the lake still sparkling with light. The man looks like a very docile child, he obeys without asking questions.

«Father! Your Light to this son of Yours!» Jesus has stretched His hands over the head of the kneeling man. He remains in that attitude for a moment. He then moistens the tips of His fingers with saliva and with His right hand He touches lightly the open, but lifeless eyes.
A moment. Then the man blinks, rubs his eyelids as if he were awakening from sleep, and his eyes were dimmed.
«What do you see?»
«Oh!. .. oh! ... oh!. .. Eternal God! I think ... I think ... oh! that I can see ... I see Your mantle ... it's red, isn't it? And a white hand ... and a woollen belt... oh! Good Jesus ... I can see better and better, the more I get used to seeing ... There is the grass of the earth ... and that is certainly a well ... and there is a vine ... »
«Stand up, My friend.»
The man who is crying and laughing, stands up, and after a moment's hesitation between respect and desire, he lifts his face and meets Jesus' eyes: Jesus is smiling full of merciful love. It must be beautiful to recover your sight and see that face as the first thing! The man gives a scream and stretches his arms. It is an instinctive action. But he controls himself.

But Jesus opens His arms and draws to Himself the man who is much lower than He. «Go home, now, and be happy and just. Go with My peace.»
«Master, Master! Lord! Jesus! Holy! Blessed! The light... I see ... I see everything! ... There is the blue lake, the clear sky, the setting sun, and then the horns of the waxing moon ... But it is in Your eyes that I see the most beautiful and clear blue, and in You I see the beauty of the most real sun, and the pure light of the blessed moon. You are the Star of those who suffer, the Light of the blind, the living, active Mercy!»
«I am the Light of souls. Be a son of the Light.»
«Yes, Jesus, always. Every time I close my re-born eyes, I will renew my oath. May You and the Most High be blessed.»
«Blessed be the Most High Father! Go!»
And the man goes away, happy, sure of himself, while Jesus and His dumbfounded apostles get into two boats and begin their navigation manoeuvres.
And the vision ends.
______________________________________________

A summary of the life of Maria Valtorta
Maria Valtorta was born on March 14, 1897 at Caserta, Italy, where her father, Joseph, who was a staff officer in the military, was temporarily stationed. Her mother, Iside Fioravanzi, an educated and at times very cruel woman, reacted as though the child was not born to her, and she hired a wet-nurse to care for Maria. Soon after her birth, they moved to Faenza, and then in September 1901, the family relocated in Milan. There, Maria, a little over four, started attending a kindergarten run by Ursuline Sisters. There, she wrote: "I met the face of God and His love," (Autobiography, p.22) and "I never let go of Him" (ibid., p.24).
By the age of seven, in October 1904, Maria had entered the Institute of Marcelline Sisters to begin her elementary education. On May 30, 1905 she received the Sacrament of Confirmation at the hands of the Servant of God, Cardinal Ferrari. The Sacrament of Confirmation was, she said, "my Pentecost" (Ibid, p.25). A few years later, her family moved to Voghera where Maria made her First Communion, at age 10 ,on October 5, 1908. On that day, her fusion with Jesus became "perfect" (ibid., p.72).

She entered the College of the Sisters of St. Bartolomea Capitanio in Monza on May 1, 1909 at the age of twelve. She remained there four years (five school years), and was held up to all as a role model. During this time, she was received into the congregation of the Daughters of Mary. In 1911, she obtained her diploma in technical studies. During the next two years she did supplementary studies in literature and the history of various countries. The Valtortas again moved on March 1, 1913, this time to Florence; Maria was almost 16. Her lifestyle remained like that of college. Twice, in 1914 and 1919 respectively, her mother, for selfish reasons, mercilessly and brutally broke up Maria's engagements with two fine young men.

From early November 1917 until the summer of 1920, Maria generously sacrificed her time in war hospitals with the Samaritan nurses. There she caught a violent Spanish flu. After she had recovered from the flu, in September 1920, her cousin Belfanti invited her to Reggio in Calabria. Almost two years later, in 1922, she returned to Florence. In the spring of 1923, Maria Valtorta made an initial offering of herself to God.

By October of 1924, the Valtorta family had permanently established themselves in Viareggio, where Maria remained the rest of her life.. In Viareggio, on January 28, 1925, following the example of St. Teresa of Lisieux, Maria offered herself as a victim to Merciful Love. She renewed this offering daily for the rest of her life.

In December 1929, she joined Catholic Action and worked zealously for three years as a delegate for the culture of Catholic youth, giving numerous presentations and conferences. On July 1, 1930, Maria offered herself as a "victim to divine Justice." And, Divine Justice did not spare her: physical and spiritual suffering began to rain on her, and increased to the point where, by January 4, 1933, she could not leave her house. From April 1, 1934 until she died (that is, for 27 and a half years), she was forced to remain in bed.

In 1943, she began receiving extraordinary visions of the life our Lord, which she was asked to write down, which later became the remarkable and unforgettable series of books entitled “The Poem of the Man-God”. In the countless visions, she was placed amidst the vision, almost like a spectator, and she thus saw the sights and smelled the various smells that were occurring in the vision. Her descriptions of the 1st century Israel contain such extraordinary descriptions and details that they have been studied by Archeologists and experts of various other natural Sciences, and have surprisingly confirmed numerous facts that were only known within some very small circles of academic science.

As Jesus was nailed to the cross, so, for the last 27 and a half years of her life, Maria Valtorta was nailed to her bed by various diseases. She found effective spiritual support in Father Romualdo Migliorini, O.S.M. On March 25, 1944, he received her in the third order of the Servants of Mary. At that time she was already a secular Franciscan.

In the spring of 1949, Maria Valtorta, to complete her preceding offerings, generously gave to God everything which was "exclusively hers and which she had received from God: her intellect and the satisfaction to see her work approved" (Letter to Mother Teresa Maria of St. Joseph, Discalced Carmelite, April 18, 1949). God accepted Maria at her word. She saw the planned publication of her writings become hindered. Then from 1956 until her death, her mental faculties declined. She died in the morning of October 12, 1961, at the very moment Father Innocenzo M. Rovetti, the Examiner of the Third Order of the Servants of Mary, was pronouncing the words recommending her soul: "Depart from this world, o’ Christian soul."

Obeying, as she had always done, she left the earth for Heaven. People noticed that her right hand - with which she had written so many sublime texts - contrarily to her left hand, retained the color, suppleness and beauty of someone alive rather than dead. Thus in the end, the hand that became the “Pen of Jesus” was honored by God in a befitting testimony to the sacrifice of Maria, which was made with an extraordinary love and devotion.

Some words of Maria Valtorta from her Autobiography:

“Oh, I am so happy when I suffer very, very much! My mission is to suffer.”

“Everything, everything has its reason in Creation, and everything has its mission given to it by the Creator. And I have mine: to suffer, to expiate and to love. To suffer for those who are unable to suffer, to expiate for those who are unable to expiate, and to love for those who are unable to love. I do not think of myself. I say to the good Lord –‘I trust You’ and that is all that I say to Him."

“When we love God, the warmth flows from the center outwards, and in this way we love our neighbor, not for what he is worth, but for what he is: the work of God, redeemed by Christ, dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. We necessarily love him, for in having God in us- for whoever has charity has God- we have His mercy, which covers the base [sinful] actions of others, and clothes bodies, even if they are repellent with moral disease, in a supernatural robe.”


"…I do not become disheartened if I fall once more into new imperfections. These increase my humility and my gratitude when I see how merciful Jesus is to whoever trusts Him. He is the “Savior” and I present my faults to Him as I commit them so that He will annul them, and continue His work as Savior within me….The more I realize that I have been imperfect, the more I go to Him, crying ‘Jesus have mercy on me!’. If souls knew with what love Jesus loves them, not a single soul would be lost, for at every one of their errors, they would run to take refuge in His merciful Heart. The mistake is that people are instead not confident, but afraid of God and His punishment.” 

____________________________________________________

"The Poem of the Man-God" and Maria Valtorta's other writings are availible here:
http://valtorta.org
I would also highly recommend this excellent website on Maria Valtorta, located here:
http://www.bardstown.com/~brchrys/

~Maria Valtorta, pray for us!

“No fault is so great that it is not amenable to Redemption; no memory of past sins or blame should be an obstacle to our advancing in Goodness, and we must not offend the good Lord by thinking that He is so little a Father, as to be more of a Judge than a Saviour.” –Maria Valtorta

- See more at: http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2009/11/maria-valtorta-and-poem-of-man-god.html#sthash.q90hqAnO.dpuf

Doneword: Luisa Piccarreta 4. Stinginess in Blog. Jesus "Be ...

Doneword: Luisa Piccarreta 4. Stinginess in Blog. Jesus "Be ...: COMMENT: The extract below to the surprising stinginess of Luisa Piccarreta mystic. It is time to take up a Stingy Blogspot. Benedictio...

Gospel Third Sunday of Lent (B) March 8, 2015

 Published on 1 Mar 2015

Mid-way to our celebration of the Cross and Easter, we reflect on how we are like the animals, tables and vendors in the temple, interfering with others' finding the Lord. As individuals and as a community, we must repent. But, we are called to more than guilt feelings.

Sunday, 08 March 2015

Third Sunday of Lent - Year B

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 2:13-25.

Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
...
Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?"
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they came to believe the scripture and the word Jesus had spoken. .....

                                         

Commentary of the day : 

Origen (c.185-253), priest and theologian 
Commentary on St. John 10,20 


"He was speaking about the temple of his body"

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” … In my view, both the temple and Jesus’ body are a symbol of the Church… The temple will be rebuilt and the body will rise on the third day… For the third day will rise in a new heaven and a new earth (2 Pet 3,13) when the dry bones, that is to say the whole house of Israel (Ezek 37,11), will stand up on the great Day of the Lord and death will be vanquished…

Just as the body of Jesus, subject to our vulnerable human condition, was fastened to the cross and buried and then raised up, so the whole body of Christ’s faithful was “fastened to the cross with him” and “now no longer lives” (Gal 2,19). For, like Paul, not one of them glories in anything any longer but in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, which made of him one crucified for the world and made of the world one crucified for him (Gal 6,14)… “For we were buried with Christ,” Paul says, and adds, as if he had received some pledge of the resurrection: “And have been raised to life again with him” (Rom 6:4-9) Everyone is walking in a new life therefore, but this new life is not yet the happy and perfect resurrection… If anyone is now placed in the tomb, one day he will rise again. 

DGO The Daily Gospel

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The Station is in the basilica of St. Lawrence outside the walls. The name of this, the most celebrated of the martyrs of Rome, would remind the catechumens that the faith they were about to profess would require them to be ready for many sacrifices. In the primitive Church, the third Sunday in Lent was called Scrutiny Sunday, because it was on this day that they began to examine the catechumens, who were to be admitted to Baptism on Easter night.

Saint John Ogilvie - March 11 -1615 400th 2015

Saint John Ogilvie - March 11 - YouTube

▶ 1:47

www.youtube.com/watch?v=feCY3Bn_7-E

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Saint John Ogilvie Novena - Archdiocese of Glasgow
www.rcag.org.uk/...saint-john-ogilvie.../339-saint-john-ogilvie-novena



6 days ago - and through the prayers of St John Ogilvie to help us in all our needs. Lord Jesus ... 10th March: Let us pray for the sick and suffering. O God  ...
Saint John Ogilvie Novena
•    
  Monday, 02 March 2015 10:16





Opening Prayer 


 God our Father, fountain of all blessing,
We thank you for the countless graces that come to us
in answer to the prayers of your saints.
With great confidence we ask you in the name of your Son
and through the prayers of St John Ogilvie to help us in all our needs.


Lord Jesus, you chose your servant St John Ogilvie
to be your faithful witness to the spiritual leadership
of the chief shepherd of your flock.
Keep your people always one in mind and heart,
in communion with Francis our Pope, and all the bishops of your Church.


Holy Spirit, you gave St John Ogilvie light to know your Truth,
wisdom to defend it, and courage to die for it.
Through his prayers and example bring our country into the unity and peace of Christ’s Kingdom.
Amen.


Please pray for the following intentions each day of the Novena.
2nd March:  Let us pray for our Holy Father the Pope
O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful, look favourably on your servant Francis, whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd; grant, we pray, that by word and example he may be of service to those over whom he presides so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care, he may come to everlasting life.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


3rd March: Let us pray for forgiveness and reconciliation
Almighty and most gentle God, who brought forth from the rock a fountain of living water for your thirsty people, bring forth we pray from the hardness of our hearts, tears of sorrow, that we may lament our sins and merit forgiveness from your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


4th March: Let us pray for the persecuted Church
O God, who in your providence will that the Church be united to the sufferings of your Son, grant, we pray, to your faithful who suffer for your name’s sake a sprit of patience and charity, that they may be found true and faithful witnesses to the promises you have made. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


5th March: Let us pray for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life
Holy Father, who call at the faithful to perfect charity, prompt many to follow more closely in the footsteps of your Son as priests and religious. Grant, also, that those you have chosen for this special calling may, by their way of life, show to the Church and the world a clear sign of your Kingdom. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


6th March: Let us pray for Church Unity
We humbly ask you, Lord, lover of the human family, to pour out more fully upon us the grace of your Spirit, and grant that, walking worthily in the vocation to which you have called us, we may bear witness to the truth before others and seek with confidence the unity of all believers in the bond of peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.




7th March: Let us pray for Justice and Peace
O God, who have revealed that peacemakers are to be called your children, grant, we pray that we may work without ceasing to establish that justice which alone ensures true and lasting peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


8th March: Let us pray for Scotland
O God, who arranges all things according to a wonderful design, graciously receive the prayers we pour out to you for Scotland, that through the wisdom of its leaders and the integrity of its citizens, harmony and justice may be assured and lasting prosperity come with peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


9th March: Let us pray for our Families
O God, whose eternal design family life has its firm foundation, look with compassion on the prayers of your servants and grant that, following the example of the Holy Family of your Only Begotten Son in practising the virtues of family life and in the bond of charity, we may, in the joy of your house, delight one day in eternal rewards. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


10th March: Let us pray for the sick and suffering
O God, who willed that our infirmities be borne by your Only Begotten Son to show the value of human suffering, listen in kindness to our prayers for our brothers and sisters who are sick; grant that all who suffer pain and distress may know that they are chosen among those proclaimed blessed and are united in Christ in his suffering for the salvation of the world. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit one God, for ever and ever.


Conclusion
After a pause to recall our own personal intentions, pray the Our Father, Haily Mary and “Glory be”.