CHICLAYO AGAIN

 

 

Once again the unknown (outside of Peru) city of CHICLAYO is in the news. It is not because of the Holy Father, who was bishop there from 2015 to 2023, when he was called to Rome.

Because Chiclayo, on Peru’s northern coast, is located in a typically warm region, it has been chosen to host the international solemn celebration of the 34th World Day of the Sick, which will take place there Feb. 9–11.

 In February, during the Southern Hemisphere summer, temperatures can range from 66 to 86 degrees. Both times I was there, it never got too hot for me (November/December).

Cardinal Michael Czerny explained the reasons for choosing the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace in Chiclayo: “We needed a place where, given the climate in February, it would be less likely that the celebration would be affected by bad weather,”

Needless to say, the Holy Father was most pleased with this choice, as the Peruvian people are dear to his heart. Cardinal Czerny will attend as the pope’s envoy and prays the World Day of the Sick observance will reflect both the spiritual dimension of care for the ill and the active participation of the entire local community.

 The Vatican prefect added that during the celebration in Chiclayo — which he said he— it will be possible to perceive “the importance of the theme of compassion and care for the sick, combined with the joy that the pope comes from this region.”

The World Day of the Sick is an awareness day, or observance, in the Church intended for "prayer and sharing, of offering one's suffering for the good of the Church and of reminding everyone to see in his sick brother or sister the face of Christ". The day was instituted on 13 May 1992 by Pope St. John Paul II and is celebrated on 11 February,  the feast of Our Ladyof Lourdes.

Cardinal Michael Felix Czerny, CMG SJ is a Czech-born Canadian Catholic prelate who has served as prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development since 2022. After a career spanning Canada, El Salvador, Africa, and Rome, and after founding the African Jesuit AIDS Network, he started working at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 2010.

In 2016, he became the undersecretary of the migrants and refugees section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. Pope Francis named Michael Czerny a cardinal in 2019 and prefect of the dicastery in 2022.

NEXT MILLENNIAL SAINT?

 

Our next saint to be, another young man to hopefully one day join the ranks with Sts. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlos Acuti, is JOE WILSON, a young Scotsman who expressed his profound relationship with the Lord in his personal diary and whose sudden death at the age of 17 in 2011 has inspired many people around the world.

Joe was born in 1994 in the village of Carfin in Lanarkshire, Scotland (a county between Glasgow and Edinburgh).  His parents, Alan and Veronica Wilson, had raised him in the faith along with his younger sister, Angela, for whom Joe had felt a special affection. 

 Joe was known to be a humble and kind young man with a great longing for holiness. In his last year at his Catholic high school, the teacher was giving a religion class about the saints and asked the students: ‘What do you think a saint would be like today?’”

The whole class turned around and pointed to Joe, saying ‘There he is.’

 The strong faith of St. Thérèse of Lisieux  inspired Joe, who found in this saint the strength he needed to serve others, becoming an example of generosity and dedication for his family and all those around him.

A short distance from his house was Carfin Grotto, a place of pilgrimage and shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes, which Joe frequently visited to find the peace he longed for.

This enclave, known as “the Lourdes of Scotland,” witnessed the spiritual growth of the young man, whose friendship with the Lord deepened during his final years. When Joe fell into a coma due to a heart condition, hundreds of people gathered at the shrine to pray for his recovery, holding a candlelight pilgrimage.

Joe died on Dec. 20, 2011, at Wishaw General Hospital, just five days after his 17th birthday, from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital heart condition that can particularly affect young athletes. His sudden death was a huge shock to his family.

 Among his personal belongings, his father found a diary in which Joe had recorded, since the age of 14, the most intimate details of his spiritual life, with reflections on faith and his search for God that reflected an unusual maturity for his age. “I will always be close to God, because he is the most important thing in my life.”

 The young man expressed his enthusiasm for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Scotland in 2010: “I prayed the rosary on Sunday so that everything would go well and there would be many conversions. Jesus will be on the altar! Or at least, as close to Jesus as we can be on earth, on the altar.”

 “I know the world won’t be perfect, and that’s why I love having faith. Think of all the people who are starving, in wars, in famines; who were excluded, tortured, who weren’t loved in the world. All these people who were unfortunate on earth are, I’m sure, sitting on the highest thrones in heaven. How reassuring is that?” he wrote shortly before his death.

Joe’s life is an example e to all young people, who see it is possible to be a normal person, and, at the same time, become holy.

Will Joe be another millennial saint? While Scotland has a rich heritage of Celtic saints, the last Scottish-born person to be canonized was St. John Ogilvie, a Jesuit priest martyred in Glasgow in 1615 and canonized by Paul VI in 1976.

DOCTOR TO THE POOR

 

The next posts about saints or those being considered for canonization were either in the field of medicine or suffered  and died from an illness.

BL. LADISLAUS BATTHYANY-STRATTMANN, a layman, doctor and father of a family,  was born in 1870 in Dunakiliti, Hungary, into an ancient noble family. He was the sixth of 10 brothers. In 1876 the family moved to Austria. When Ladislaus was 12 years old his mother died. He was already convinced at an early age that when he grew up he would be a "doctor of the poor". He often said:  "When I grow up, I will be a doctor and give free treatment to the sick and the poor".

 When he was preparing for his university studies, Ladislaus's father wanted him to receive the education he would need to look after the family property. Ladislaus therefore enrolled in the faculty of agriculture at the University of Vienna, where he also studied chemistry, physics, philosophy, literature and music. It was not until 1896 that he began to study medicine in which he obtained a degree in 1900.

In 1898, he married Countess Maria Teresa Coreth, a deeply religious woman. Their marriage was a happy one and God blessed them with 13 children. The whole family took part in Holy Mass every day. After Mass Ladislaus would give the children a catechism lesson and assign to each one a concrete act of charity for that day. Every evening after they prayed the Rosary they would review the day and the assigned act of charity.

In 1902, Ladislaus opened a private hospital in Kittsee with beds for 25 patients. Here he began working as a general practitioner, later specializing as a surgeon and oculist. During the First World War, the hospital was enlarged to admit 120 wounded soldiers for treatment.

On the death of his uncle, Ödön Batthyány-Strattmann, in 1915, Ladislaus inherited the Castle of Körmend, in Hungary. He also inherited the title "Prince" and the name "Strattmann". In 1920 his family moved from Kittsee to Körmend. They turned one wing of the castle into a hospital that specialized in ophthalmology.

Dr. Ladislaus became a well-known specialist in this field, both in Hungary and abroad. He was also known as a "doctor of the poor", and the poor flocked to him for assistance and advice. He treated them free of charge; as the "fee" for their medical treatment and hospital stay, he would ask them to pray an "Our Father" for him. The prescriptions for medicines were also free of charge and, in addition to providing them with medical treatment, he often gave them financial assistance.

As well as the physical health of his patients, Ladislaus was also concerned with their spiritual health. Before operating he would ask God to bless the operation. He was convinced that as the medical surgery was his domain, he was still an instrument in God's hands, and that the healing itself was a gift of God. Before his patients were discharged from hospital, he would present them with an image of Our Lord and a spiritual book entitled:  "Open your eyes and see". This was a way to give them guidance in their spiritual life. He was considered a "saint" by his patients and even by his own family.

When Ladislaus was 60 years old, he was diagnosed with a tumor of the bladder. He was admitted to the Löw Sanatorium in Vienna. This was to be the greatest trial of his life, yet his patience and charity were unfailing. From the sanatorium he wrote the following words to his daughter, Lilli:  "I do not know how long the good Lord will make me suffer. He has given me so much joy in my life and now, at the age of 60, I must also accept the difficult moments with gratitude".

 To his sister he said: "I am happy. I am suffering atrociously, but I love my sufferings and am consoled in knowing that I support them for Christ".

 Dr. Ladislaus died in Vienna on 22 January 1931 after 14 months of intense suffering. He was buried in the family tomb in Güssing. His lifelong motto had been:  "In fidelity and charity".

WIFE OF A VENERABLE

 

It is time that we get back to our saints or saints to be.  Starting off the New Year is a woman who has been known mostly through her husband, but was a  "go-getter for God", in her own right. Recently in the news we learned that Enrique Ernesto Shaw was made Venerable, but not much is known about his wife, who is also hopefully on the road to canonization.

SERVANT OF GOD CECILIA BUNGE de SHAW was born on May 13, 1921, in the city of Buenos Aires. She was the only child of Jorge Bunge and Cecilia Fourvel Rigolleau. She completed her secondary studies at the Jesús María School and attended the Higher School of Fine Arts to perfect her passion: painting.

 She married Enrique Ernesto Shaw, with whom she had 9 children, 32 grandchildren, and 51 great-grandchildren. With her husband, she raised a large family and accompanied the Venerable Servant of God Enrique Shaw, a business leader and figure in Catholic organizations, on his path to sainthood.

 After becoming a widower and losing her father within a few months, she took charge of Pinamar SA, following in the footsteps of her father who founded the seaside resort city of Pinamar.

 She raised her family while also dedicating herself to her professional life. An enterprising and determined woman, with a commanding presence without being ostentatious, she served as president of the company's board of directors for 35 years. She brought about significant changes in the city, requiring her to dedicate herself fully to the task.

 Beyond her intense business activity, Cecilia Bunge developed a charitable profile that led her to be president and member of the Fleni Foundation (for neurological diseases), national president of the League of Mothers of Families, member of Caritas Argentina, and Catholic Action.

In addition, she chaired the Elsa Shaw de Pearson Foundation, was director of Casa FOA, and a lifetime member of the Christian Association of Business Leaders. She represented the Argentine government at the Congress of the Laity in Rome.

She directed the magazine Vivir en familia and was responsible for managing the Plaza Hotel. For her extensive business work and contributions to numerous charitable institutions, she received many awards, including the Konex Award in 1998.

She strongly advocated for balanced urban development, respecting the ecological environment and thus achieving a healthy and high-quality life for the population, satisfying the needs of the time without compromising the capacity of future generations.

Enrique Shaw and Cecilia Bunge accompanied each other on their paths towards holiness, both accomplishing much in this life in the name of Christ.

 Their granddaughter, Sara Critto de Eiras, selected excerpts from the letters between her grandparents, publishing them in a book titled “ Enrique and Cecilia: Love Letters .”

Cecilia dedicated a poem about love to Enrique in one of her letters:

To be in love is to feel a bird in your heart.
It's to live in a heaven shared by two.
It's to feel the Virgin's mantle.
It's to finally understand the communion of souls.
It's to know the exact value of every minute.
It's to want to capture the fleeting time.
It's to have reached the fullness of life.
It's to find the perfect being you've always searched for.
It's to laugh for no reason and cry for nothing.
It's to forgive.
It's to rejoice in the simple things and forget about difficulties.
It's to close your eyes and see him, to look at the moon and long for him.
It's loving you, Enrique, and that's all.

BAPTISM

 

THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST

Beginning here we glimpse the Three-in-one;
The river runs, the clouds are torn apart,
The Father speaks, the Spirit and the Son
Reveal to us the single loving heart
That beats behind the being of all things
And calls and keeps and kindles us to light.
The dove descends, the spirit soars and sings
'You are belovèd, you are my delight!'
In that swift light and life, as water spills
And streams around the Man like quickening rain,
The voice that made the universe reveals
The God in Man who makes it new again.
He calls us too, to step into that river,
To die and rise and live and love forever.                      

                                      Malcolm Guite,Anglican priest, poet  

Icon by Ulyana Tomkevych (Ukrainian, 1981–)

 

EPIPHANY

 

.

THE MAGI

It might have been just someone else's story;
Some chosen people get a special king,
We leave them to their own peculiar glory, 
We don't belong, it doesn't mean a thing.
But when these three arrive they bring us with them,
Gentiles like us, their wisdom might be ours; 
A steady step that finds an inner rhythm,
A pilgrim's eye that sees beyond the stars.
They did not know his name but still they sought him
They came from otherwhere but still they found;
In palaces they found those who sold and bought him,
But in the filthy stable, hallowed ground.
Their courage gives our questing hearts a voice
To seek, to find, to worship, to rejoice

                        Malcolm Guite, Anglican priest, poet

ART:Christmas in the Air Raid Shelter.  With Russia still deploying cruise missiles and suicide drones against Ukraine, Olya Kravchenko constructed a three-dimensional painting that shows the Holy Family huddled in the basement of an apartment complex, hiding out from air raids. A large, bright star hovers overhead, showing the three magi to the spot where Jesus lies. (2024)

THE MOTHER OF OUR GOD

 

We start a new year and as the war in Ukraine continues, we pray the beautful prayers to Theotokos:

Rejoice, Virgin Birthgiver-of-God, Mary, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have given birth to the Saviour of our souls.

 It is right, in truth, to call you Blessed, Birthgiver of God, Ever-Blessed, Most Pure and the MOTHER OF OUR GOD. More honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the Seraphim, in virginity you gave birth to God the Word. True Birthgiver-of-God, we magnify you. Amen.

 Beneath your tender mercy we flee, Birthgiver-of-God. Reject not our prayer in our trouble, but deliver us from harm, Only Pure and Blessed Lady. Amen

Mykola Rybenchuk, is a monumental artist and icon painter. Since the war between his country and Russia, he has painted many pieces depicting war, but this very gentle icon, I think, depicts the love of Mary for her Child and nature at peace.

He is an Honored artist of the arts of Ukraine, awarded the gold medal "For sacrifice and love of Ukraine" by Metropolitan Epiphany. He has painted many Christian Churches in Ukraine.  His paintings show the beauty of nature through the effect of color. He uses pure colors, without mixing more than two colors, depicts volume and perspective with beautiful colors, which gives his paintings additional exceptional imagery and makes the paints himself, using natural organic pigments, wax, and linseed oil.

Recently, the artist paints pictures on the theme of war. The pictures depict children who survived the war. The artist's paintings are in museums and private collections of various countries around the world. He is married to the artist Lyudmila Rybenchuk, also an icon painter.