DOWN ON HIS KNEES

 

The Passion of Jesus was an experience which included every experience, except sin, of every member of the human race. The fourteen Stations of the Cross show not only the suffering but the psychology of Christ.  Above all they show His way of transforming suffering by love.  He shows us, step by step, how that plan of love can be carried out by all of us today, both in the loneliness of our lives and together in union with one another. In this day, when we all seem to be so separated, it is crucial that we see the suffering of our Savior as a way of placing our own sorrows in a context of salvation history. 

"At the very first step of the way to Calvary, Jesus stumbles and falls.  He is down on His knees in the dirt!   

What has happened to this man?  This man who had just now declared Himself to be king of a spiritual world with legions of angels at His command, who has been known to hold back the overwhelming force of the storm and still the raging seas by an act of His will, who by a mere touch of His hand caused a living fig tree to wither, and has fallen now under the purely material weight of the cross He so lately welcomed!

Only a few moments ago He held out His arms to receive it, seemingly with joy.  Now, at the very first shock of its weight on His shoulder, He has fallen!

The crowd thronging outside the judgment hall are laughing derisively.  Some of them remember Him say that – that any man who wanted to follow Him could only do so, carrying his cross.  Now it seems that He can’t even take the first step on the way to be marked out by His footprints without falling!"

"Yes, Christ is living through the experience of ordinary men, of each and every ordinary man in whom He will abide through all the ages to come.  He has not come into the world to indwell only exceptional men, or supermen.  He is not here and suffering His Passion in order to be glorified in those who succeed where others fail, or to make Himself an exception to ordinary men.  He has come to live out the life of every man, of any man who has any love for Him at all and tries to keep His word.  “If a man has any love for He, He will be true to my word; and then He will win My Father’s love, and we will both come to Him, and make our continual abode with Him,” (John 16:23)…

Because Christ identified Himself with us, because He suffers the humiliation of the first fall in us, His love transforms it.  The very wound can heal us.

The first fall is the first real self-knowledge.  Now we know our weakness, we know our helplessness before the difficulties of life, our total inability to shoulder our responsibilities.  We know that we cannot get up by ourselves, we cannot shoulder the burden for the second time by ourselves, we cannot face our own self-contempt or the derision of others, by ourselves.  We realize now that we are wholly dependent on Christ, dependent on Him to act in us, to lift Himself up in us and to lift us up in Him.  His weakness is our strength.

In the light of this new self-knowledge, in the realization and acceptance of our utter dependence on Him, the second start, look as it may before men, is infinitely better in the eyes of God than the first.  No longer do we seek to carry the burden with our own hands, but with His.  No longer do we try to walk in His footsteps, we tread the way with his feet."   (Caryll Houselander)

Art: Ang Kiukok- (1931-2005)  Philippines

YOUNG PATRON OF LAWYERS

 

We continue our theme of saints or saints to be who suffered from serius illness and died young. Our next young man could become a patron of young lawyers, helping them to make the right decisions in their own lives as they start out in their practice of law.

SERVANT of GOD MARCELO HENRIQUE CAMARA born in 1979 was a Brazilian lawyer , public prosecutor, and university professor who died at the age of 28 with a reputation for holiness. He was a supernumerary member of Opus Dei .

A devout Catholic, during his university years he actively participated in the Emmaus Movement and later applied for admission to Opus Dei as a supernumerary.  After a four-year battle with lymphoblastic lymphoma ( non-Hodgkin lymphoma ), he died in 2008. 

He was the eldest son of Julio Carlos Richard Câmara and Leatrice Pavan, from whom he received an excellent education. His father, being the son of a military man, instilled in him rules of good behavior and order. His mother, a teacher, had a direct influence on her son's upbringing. 

From a very young age he was interested in matters related to the common good (city government, the well-being of others), expressing idealistic thoughts and practicing small virtuous actions.

Marcelo lived with his parents until he was 10 years old, when they separated. The end of his parents' marriage in 1989 caused a major change in his personality. Marcelo, just 10 years old, went to live with his mother and his only brother, Murilo Eduardo, and began to act like a true adult in managing the family and feeling responsible for their future. 

 Despite the couple's separation, the father maintained frequent contact with his children, following their growth and encouraging their education. With the help of Marcelo's godmother, he tried to maintain in his children, at least, the commitment of attending Sunday Mass.

 Gifted with unparalleled intelligence and rare eloquence, striking characteristics of his personality, Marcelo's dedication to his studies earned him a remarkable education. He was considered an exemplary student in both primary and secondary school, even committing to being the class valedictorian at his 1st-grade graduation in 1993 at Alferes Tiradentes school, an obligation he only failed to fulfill because he fractured his leg playing soccer on graduation day.

 He passed the highly competitive entrance exam for the Federal University of Santa Catarina  on his first attempt, enrolling in the Law course in March 1997. He completed his studies in December 2001 and obtained his Bachelor's degree in February 2002, when he was again nominated to be the class speaker at the graduation ceremony.

 During his undergraduate studies, in 2000 and 2001, he interned at the Public Prosecutor's Office in the State of Santa Catarina, through a competitive examination. At the end of 2002, he participated in the selection process for the Master's program in Law at  Federal University of Santa Catarina, once again obtaining an excellent ranking. He began his studies in March 2003 and defended his dissertation within a short time frame, in July 2004.In 2003 and 2004, he worked as a substitute professor at UFSC in the Law and Economics courses. In 2004, he was hired by the Law course at the Instituto de Ensino Superior da Grande Florianópolis (IES) and Faculdade de Santa Catarina (FASC).

 A passion for knowledge and a pursuit of intense intellectual development were catalyzed by Marcelo's profound inner conversion process, which began in the second semester of college. At that time, at the invitation of Monsignor Francisco de Sales Bianchini (then spiritual director of the Emmaus Movement in Florianópolis), he participated in the Emmaus Course on Human and Christian Values.

 Thus, the 50th Emmaus Men's Course, held from August 28 to 31, 1997, provided him with a calling to give new meaning to his existence and his intellectual pursuit. During this encounter, he received the sacrament of Confirmation, with Monsignor Bianchini as his sponsor.

 In the year 2000, he was invited by Father Márcio Alexandre Vignoli to exercise the Extraordinary Ministry of Holy Communion at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Ingleses, where he resided. He assisted in catechesis work with young people and adults, and in the organization of liturgical events such as vigils to the Blessed Sacrament, the Jericho Siege, Christmas and Passion of Christ celebrations, acting as coordinator of the ministers until his departure due to illness.

 He considered a possible priestly vocation during his college years, but decided to pursue a career as a Public Prosecutor, along with his great passion, teaching.

 In 1998, he was invited by a friend from the Emmaus Movement to attend a lecture given by a member of Opus Dei. He began participating in the formation meetings offered. Marcelo began seeking spiritual and doctrinal formation in Opus Dei , and the lectures, which were previously held monthly in São José, began to take place in Florianópolis, in the hall of his paternal grandmother's building, Dona Mary.

Thus, while continuing his steadfast apostolate with the Emmaus Movement and assisting with pastoral work at the English Parish, he came to know the life of Saint Josemaría Escrivá and the spirit of Opus Dei through talks, formation sessions, spiritual retreats, and spiritual direction.

Marcelo deeply impacted the people who knew him, not only because of his uncommon knowledge, but also because he didn't mind "spending" time with family, colleagues, students, and friends. Thus, in addition to his complete dedication to his professional and religious work, his characteristic qualities included a welcoming word, an enchanting smile, companionship, a willingness to help, a richness of feelings in his heart, not to mention his living and unwavering faith, and his intense love for God.

He faced a difficult ordeal starting in September 2004, when he suddenly lost the use of his legs and needed to be hospitalized. At that time, he was diagnosed with lymphoblastic lymphoma (non-Hodgkin lymphoma), a type of cancer that originates in the lymphatic system , spreading tumors that develop mainly in the chest (a region called the mediastinum).

With the help of family and friends, and with  trust in Divine Providence, he faced the long struggle for life with surprising and contagious serenity. This struggle lasted about four years, involving numerous tests and blood draws, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, trying different medications and treatments, undergoing prolonged hospitalizations, and even an autologous bone marrow transplant in November 2007, when the disease had already spread to his bloodstream.

Between bouts of illness and improvements, whether in the hospital or at home, he was attended to weekly by a priest and a numerary member of Opus Dei. Marcelo did not allow himself to be shaken by the suffering and physical and emotional pain of seeing his loved ones suffer, transforming them, like everything in his life, into a place of profound encounter with the Lord. He never complained about anything during the long process of facing the illness.

He offered his illness and the suffering it brought him to God, uniting them to the Cross of Christ, for the conversion of relatives and friends, as well as for all vocations in the Church: priests, religious and lay people, fathers and mothers. He accepted the illness as a mysterious expression of God's will for his good and for the good of all.

Marcelo Câmara was already battling the disease in 2006, when he passed the XXXII Public Entrance Examination for the Career of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Santa Catarina. He took office at the Institution in March 2007. 

However, due to his deteriorating health, Marcelo was only able to serve as a Public Prosecutor for about 90 days, enough time to demonstrate his keen professional awareness (often working overtime to cope with the excessive workload), the optimism that kept him calm and confident in the face of the challenges and arduous daily routine of the São José Criminal Court (considered one of the busiest in the State), and, above all, his profound love for humanity, in whom he saw the image of the Lord.

In February 2008, Marcelinho was hospitalized for the last time. In his final days, while still conscious, he offered the sacrifice of excruciating pain by refusing doses of analgesic medication. On March 20, 2008, Holy Thursday, exactly one year after his appointment as Public Prosecutor, he passed away, being buried on Good Friday at the São Francisco de Assis Cemetery.

At the seventh-day Mass, Monsignor Francisco de Sales Bianchini (1925-2010) advised those present not to pray for Marcelo, but rather to ask for his intercession with God, because he was truly a saint. He is an example to all young people, of the holiness which can come to even youth. And he joins the ranks of Sts. Carlos and Pier Giorgio.

CONDEMNATION

 

We live a century after Caryll Houselander, and yet our times parallel hers. We know war, and we know a world of unrest, especially in our own country. I am sure if she were alive today, she would encourage us, plead with us, to enter into this Lent with the compassion of Jesus in His last hours.  

"There in Him are all the martyrs of all times; those of our own time with every detail of their martyrdom, including those which their persecutors try to hide, shown to the whole world: the trickery, the utter injustice, the faked evidence, the verdict decided before the trial; and the things that have been done in secret to prepare the victim – if possible to break Him! – the mental torture (a veritable crowning with thorns), the long nights without sleep; cruelest of all, the attempt to make Him a stumbling block to His own people."

"It is significant that everything contributing to that condemnation is parallel with everything that contributes to the passion of the martyrs of our own times: the intrigues and the fears of politicians, the hatred of fanatics, mass hysteria; the unstable crowds swayed by paid agitators, the popular craving for sensation – and those many Pilates of our day who wash their hands of the responsibility of knowing, “What is truth?”, who shut their eyes to Christ in man and try to escape from their own uneasiness by evasions: “I am innocent of the blood of this just man – look you to it!  In any case, there is nothing that I could do about it!”

"Neither is it by chance that those who will carry out the sentence will be the young and ignorant soldiers of an army of occupation, lads brought up like the soldiers of the Red Army, deprived of the knowledge of the one God, obeying their orders without question because they are conditioned to obey orders without questioning, or thinking." 

“Father, forgive them; they do not know what it is they are doing.”

“Behold the man.” 

 Yes, and behold in Him yourself.  Each one of us can recognize himself, a sinner, in the disfiguring, the bruising, the ugliness, hiding the beauty of the fairest of the sons of men.  And there can be few who do not recognize themselves, too, in the utter loneliness of this man in the midst of the crowd that lately spread their garments to be trodden by the little ass He rode on, and now clamor for His blood." 

“Behold we have seen Him disfigured and without beauty; His aspect is gone from Him; He has borne our sins, and suffers for us; and He was wounded for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed.”

Art: Ivanka Demchuk- Ukraine

LENT WITH CARYLL HOUSELANDER

 

 

In these troubled times in our country- our world- I find that the writings of the English mystic, Caryll Houselander, to be very relevant. She had much empathy for all suffering humanity, and at the same time saw Christ in everyone she encountered.  She had a great love of the sacraments, living a life transformed by the love of Jesus.

She has been called a “divine eccentric,” an “apostle of loneliness,” and a “prophet of Vatican II.” She suffered greatly during her own life, from poverty,  frail health, and from neuroses. She had a deep and tender bond with traumatized children, and loved teaching them how to draw, paint, and carve small animals out of wood.

In her book: “Guilt” (1951) she wrote:

The most striking characteristic of the age in which we are living is psychological suffering,” she begins. “I have named this ego-neurosis. Ego-neurosis is a disease of the soul, a spiritual rather than a psychological ailment.  This written 75 years ago, could not be more true for our day and age.

For this Lent we will focus on her "Stations of the Cross", as she leads us to Jesus' resurrection.

"The Stations of the Cross are not given to us only to remind us of the historical Passion of Christ, but to show us what is happening now, and happening to each one of us.  Jesus did not become man only to live His own short life on Earth,  but to live each of our lives.  He did not choose His Passion only to suffer it in His own human nature, but in order to suffer it in the suffering of each one of His members through all ages, until the end of time." 

May this be a Lent where we all can be aware of the suffering of others, especially those we do not know, that the love of Jesus may enter their hearts..

Icon: Joseph Malham

AT LAST- A NEW AMERICAN SAINT

 

VENERABLE FULTON J. SHEEN will finally be beatified. No date or location for the beatification has been given. His beatification had been postponed due to a public battle to relocate his remains from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York to its current location, the side chapel of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Peoria, Illinois. (See Blog March 22, 2012) 

There were also, concerns that as bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969, the prelate might have overlooked sexual abuse by at least one former diocesan priest there.

 Archbishop Fulton Sheen was one of the greatest voices of evangelization in the Church and the world in the 20th century using the media of television. He was once dubbed “God’s microphone”.  Countless people came into the Church due to his non-confrontational, yet no less life-giving, manner to untold millions through radio, print and television.

 

He was known to have a great devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. He said the key to his apostolic success was union with Jesus, a deep and growing friendship with Jesus in his Daily Holy Hour, that he called “The Hour of Power”. (See Blog September 9, 2018)

Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria said:

 “In his later years, particularly through his work for the Missions, Archbishop Sheen helped us recognize that the Church is meant for all people. He reminded us that as members of the Church, we are called to serve everyone, especially those most in need and those longing to hear and experience the Gospel, wherever they may be in the world.”

MISSING FEBRUARY

 

As we age, it is necessary to give up some of the things we have been passionate about in our earlier years.  For me, probably the hardest of these, was giving up the role of shepherdess in the monastery, something I did for over 30 years.  When I first came to Shaw Island, we had a mixed breed of sheep, but I was anxious to take on a breed in need of “saving”, and one that was more versatile, as well as providing the monastery with income. (See Blog 3/16/13 for information on the breeed).

 

Thanks to my father, we were able to acquire 2 pregnant Cotswold ewes, who gave us twins.  Next year we added three more ewes and a ram to the flock and it was probably divine intervention that led us to one of the finest flocks in North America. We were often told that we had sheep whose fiber equaled that of the British sheep and our flock provided stock all across the USA as well as Canada. We won many prizes for the wool and on several occasions we had the best ewe and ram at National shows. At one show our ewes even made local TV!

Recently I came across some photos I will share:

Photos: 

Top:  our first born lamb, Cordelia

Middle:  James with a curious  Ariela

Left:  Prize wool

Bottom two:  our Dutch intern Marijka with the last born twins: Effie & Gracie

Yes, I miss February lambing:  going out in the dark, cold starry nights, to the tune of peepers singing on the pond. But now all that is but a memory and I leave the joys to another generation of nuns.

 

WORLD BIRDING

 

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT is next weekend  Feb. 13-15. Last year’s global  count yielded 8,078* species of the world’s known species, that is 158 more than in 2024. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were birding during those four days in February.

Spend time in your favorite places watching birds in as little as 15 minutes. Identify them, count them, and submit your counts which will help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. If you already use eBird or Merlin, your submissions over the 4 days count toward GBBC.

Go to their website  (https://www.birdcount.org/participate/) for information and details.  Good birding!!!

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* There are generally considered to be over 11,000 species of birds, with major checklists like AviList recognizing around 11,131 species, though this number fluctuates as new species are described or split, and estimates vary depending on the classification system used. Some alternative definitions, looking at taxonomic variations, suggest the number could be closer to 20,000, but the most widely accepted count hovers around 11,000.