Thought of the Week

On this page you can read about the saints who are being celebrated this week at Glenstal Abbey.  By thinking and meditating on their lives and teachings you can grow in wisdom and find inspiration for your own life.  On some occasions instead we supply meditations on the readings of the day

22 June, St. Paulinus of Nola, Bishop. Optional Memorial.

Nola is a town in Campania, not a great distance north-west of Naples. There lie the remains of Bishop Paulinus who for twenty years or so exercised in an outstanding way the role of a Christian pastor. A man of culture, on easy terms with the great Church Fathers of this time - Ambrose, Augustine, Jerome and others - he remained very close to his people and was utterly dedicated to their welfare.

Paulinus came from a very wealthy patrician background. He was born at Bordeaux, France, about the middle of the fourth century. He inherited extensive property and held public office. Married to a Spanish lady, Therasia, the to were converted to Christianity and together resolved to give away their considerable wealth and to embrace a life of prayer and asceticism. Rather against his will, Paulinus was prevailed upon to accept ordination to the priesthood ; later, when he had settled in Nola, he was even more reluctant to accept the episcopacy, but again was prevailed upon, this time by the people. The vox populi proved to be correct for he turned out to be an altogether exemplary bishop. He shared his house with a group of priests who live a quasi-monastic life ; he also set aside rooms for pilgrims and other people needing shelter. Here he wrote his sermons, letters and poems, and ministered to his people. It seems that the faithful Therasia assisted in the running of this household.

Paulinus had a warm, outgoing personality which won him many friends. His initial generosity in giving away everything to follow Christ was followed by a more intimate and demanding kind of self-giving : he gave freely of himself, of his rich humanity and well-endowed mind. He extended hospitality to all, but especially to the needy. He gave hope to his people by speaking to them of God's love. He delighted them with his poems which, in their literary and spiritual quality, bear comparison with those of Prudentius.

The prayer speaks of his pastoral zeal and his charity. The first alternative reading (2 Cor 8:9-15) offers a rich reflection of sharing and almsgiving. For St. Paul our model is Christ : 'Although he was rich he became poor for your sake, so that you should become rich through his poverty'. That is the theological principle.From this it follow that it should be prepared to offer ourselves to the Lord and to share what we have with our brothers and sisters. In terms of money we may have little to give, but that little will be the measure of our love. 'You are rich in everything', says St. Paul, and here he is referring to spiritual resources, 'faith, eloquence, understanding'. We can be generous in our time, attention, understanding and support. Without this inner quality, our giving would be 'as cold as charity'. In his pastoral care St Paulinus gave 'not less than everything and so is an example for us all.

Let us pray -

for our spiritual leaders that they may be true shepherds of the flocks entrusted to them, and for ourselves that we may be generous in sharing with one another our gifts and resources.

Also 22 June, St. John Fisher, Bishop, and St. Thomas More, Martyrs. Optional Memorial. In England, Feast; in Wales, Memorial.

The Church celebrates together the memory of two great Englishmen who laid down their lives for the Catholic faith : John Fisher was beheaded on this day in 1535, Thomas More on July 6 of the same year.

John Fisher was  Yorkshire man, born in 1469, who studied at Cambridge and later was appointed Chancellor of that university. In time he became Bishop of Rochester. As a spiritual leader he was caring and conscientous. He was a man of deep faith and austere life. Where studies were concerned he was an enthusiastic supporter of the so-called 'new learning' of the time. He was a man of principle who was prepared to oppose King Henry V111 on the divorce issue and in regard to the Act of Supremecy. This opposition cost him his life.

Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He chose a legal career, married and had children by his first wife. A great favourite with the King, he was raised to a succession of important public offices culminating in that of Lord Chancellor in 1529. He was a prolific writer and as the author of Utopia, eh was known throughout Europe. Beneath all the success he was a humble and deeply religious man, and like the Bishop of Rochester he refused to support the King and his divorce suit, and would not recognise him as head of the English Church. As a result he was to follow Fisher to the Tower where he too was sentenced to death by beheading.

When he compare these two men, there are similarities and contrasts. Both were scholars and men letters. Both achieved high office, the one ecclesiastical, the other secular. Both were deeply religious and committed to the welfare of the Church. And while each of them sought to reach some accommodation with the King, neither was prepared to yield on matters of principle. But their personalities differed, and the two Thomas More is the more humanly attractive. He was a man of diverse interests and of a rich cultured life who loved his family and who easily made friends. He was a 'merry-in God' saint whose last words to his daughter Margaret were 'that we may merrily meet in heaven'.

Whatever human failings they had were obliterated by the sufferings they endured and their cheerful acceptance of martyrdom. They were tested as gold is tested in the fire. As the collect-prayer puts it : 'Almighty God, you set the perfection of true faith in martyrdom'. In their readiness to make the supreme sacrifice for what they believed in, their differences of character seem unimportant. John Fisher at the scaffold declared that he was dying for the faith of Christ's holy Catholic Church. When his turn came, Thomas More made the same declaration, adding with characteristic with that he was 'the King's good servant, but God's first'.

Reflecting on their lives one is particularly impressed by their integrity. The pressure to conform to the royal decree was enormous. For men in their station it is difficult not to make compromises even in matters of principle. But neither man was prepared to go down that path. Where there is a conflict between conscience and human expediency, we must come down on the side of conscience. These two men show us that it is possible to live and to die by our principles. For all of us, loyalty to Christ and to his Church is the 'bottom line'.

Let us pray -

for Church leaders and those in positions of authority, they they may be people of total integrity wholly committed to the welfare of those to whom they have been called to serve.

24 June, Birth of John the Baptist. Solemnity.

Apart from Christ himself we celebrate the nativities of only two saints, that of Mary (Sept. 8) and today that of John the Baptist. The Church accords him this singular honour for a number of reasons : he was sanctified while still in him mother's womb ; his live and destiny were intimately associated with the advent of the Messiah, and of him Jesus declared: 'In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist' (Mt 11:11).

John was the last and the greatest of the prophets. John marks the frontier between the Old and New Testaments', declares St. Augustine. He was the forerunner foretelling the coming of the Messiah and pointing him out when he came. He showed the world its redeemer and bore witness to him by his preaching, his life and his martyr's death. An austere figure who preached a stern message of repentance and who warned of the catastrophe to come. Yet in his own way he was a herald of joy : he leaped for joy while still in his mother's womb, he rejoiced at the approach of the Bridegroom, he directed the steps of his people into the way of peace.

John is essentially the one who shows the way. In art he is sometimes depicted pointing to the Lamb or Agnus Dei. He is an Advent figure preparing a way for the Lord. He points away from himself and preaches a Gospel not his own. It is he who declared : 'Look, there is the lamb of God' (Jn 1:36), and 'I baptise you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I, and I am not fit to carry his sandals' (Mt 3:11).

Such was John, always self-effacing, accepting his important but subordinate role of forerunner. And yet initially the roles of John and Jesus were reversed. It was to the austere Baptist that the crowds at first flocked; his followers included some of the future apostles, and Jesus himself was baptised by John the Jordan. But that all changed when John himself directed the crowds to one greater than himself. He did so not sadly but with joy : 'It is the bridegroom who has the bride, and yet the bridegroom's friend who stands there and listens to him is filled with joy at the bridegroom's voice' (Jn 3:29).

'He must grow greater, I must grow less'. That was the programme of his life and mission. At the level of nature this is symbolised by the date of the feast which corresponds with the summer solstice. From this day in summer the sun begins to decline, the days begin imperceptible to shorten. With Christmas we have reached the winter solstice and the sun, at its lowest ebb, begins to revive and the days to lengthen. 'He must grow greater, I must grow less'. Christ, the sun of justice, is born ; John, the precursor, gives way to Jesus. And so the world of nature reinforces the message of the Gospel and of the liturgy.

St. John has an important lesson for us all, but especially for priests and ministers of the Gospel. The important thing is to preach Christ and not ourselves. The subtle temptation of the successful preacher is to bask in his own reputation. Moreover we tend to compare ourselves with others and to resent their achievements. It is not easy to prefer others to oneself and to accept the role of 'second fiddle'. John's greatness lies in the acceptance of the truth about himself and to be always at the service for the truth revealed to him.

As followers of Christ it is also our task and privilege to go ahead of the Lord to prepare a way for him. Parents, teachers, preachers, pastors - all share in this prophetic role. Our lives should be transparent so that through us others may behold Christ. The Intercessions for Evening Prayer admirably express what our role is and what are the graces we need. Give us the faith to know Christ and to make him known. Through us let the world recognise Christ your Son. Give us the humility to let his light shine in the world. Grant that we may share his burning zeal for truth. May we like him announce the Kingdom of Christ to all people. And in a troubled, war-torn world we ask : 'Give you Church joy in the spirit and guide those who believe in you into the way of salvation and peace' (Collect, Missal).

Let us pray -

For married couples who rejoice that to them a child has been born. May they be always grateful for the gift of new life and seek to discern what is the will of God for their offspring.

For those who are endowed with the spirit of prophecy, that they may not fear to speak the truth with love and that their message may be received as God's word.

That God may renew in each of us the grace of baptism, fill us with the spirit of adoption and enable the life of Christ to grow in us.

June 25, St Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, Optional Memorial.

Born at Alexandria in 376, little is known of his early life. He became a monk and later was ordained priest. In the year 412 he was chosen as Bishop of Alexandria. He took his responsibility very seriously and was wholly committed to the spiritual welfare of his people. It must be admitted that his zeal for orthodoxy sometimes led him to excess : the harsh treatment he meted out to Jews, heretics and others whom he regarded as a threat to true religion, is not to his credit. We must not suppose that the saints were perfect; they were flawed human beings like ourselves. No doubt Cyril acted according to his lights, and whatever his motives were they were not self-interested.

Cyril holds and important place in the development of doctrine. He was a prolific writer, as witness the ten volumes of his writings that are extant. Not possessed of great originality of thought, he made good use of the writings of earlier Church Fathers and was most concerned about maintaining and expounding orthodox teaching. His own personal faith and piety show forth in his writings, a quality that makes them readable in our own day, and explains no doubt why not a few of his homilies are included in the Breviary. He has been called the 'Doctor of the Incarnation' because he constantly expounded the Church's doctrine that in Christ there is but one divine Person. Of the Eucharist he said that it is 'in truth the real and life-giving flesh of the Divine Word himself'.

In his conflict with Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, he was dealing with an opponent as intransigent as himself. Nestorius, from whom the heresy of Nestorianism is named, taught that there were two distinct Persons in Christ, joined by a merely moral union, and that therefore Mary cannot rightly be called the Mother of God. At the Council of Ephesus in 431,. at which Cyril presided and was the leading light, Nestorius was condemned and his teaching pronounced heretical. Henceforth the title Theotokos (God-bearer), applied to Mary, became a touchstone of orthodoxy.

The proper texts for today's feast highlight Cyril's contribution to mariology and to marian piety. If he did not originate the title Theotokos, he was undoubtedly its intrepid defender. His letters and homilies before, during and after the Council of Ephesus testify to his personal love for Mary and his belief in her prerogatives. This is grounded in his Christology. In his letter to the monks of Egypt, read at the Office of Readings; he goes to the heart of the matter with his question : 'If our Lord Jesus Christ is God, how can the holy Virgin who bore him not be the Mother of God'. the prayer of the day acknowledges his defence of her privileges : 'Almighty God and Father, you gave Saint Cyril of Alexandria the grace to defend vigorously the divine motherhood of the Virgin Mary'. Whatever Cyril did he did vigorously, excessively so at times; but his tender devotion to Mary revealed a gentler side to his character and helped to redeem his human faults.

Let us pray -

that from St Cyril we may learn to have a strong and tender devotion to Mary, Mother of the Incarnate Word and Mother of the Church.

28 June, St Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr. Optional Memorial.

With St. Irenaeus we reach back in time to the dawn of the Christian era. Born about 130 A.D. in Asia Minor, he was a disciple of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Symrna, who himself had been a disciple of the Apostle of St. John. Paradoxically, this most ancient of Church Fathers not only attracts us by personality but also commands out attention by the relevance of his message to the problems of out times.

Having studied for the priesthood at Rome, he went as a missionary to Gaul. He was chosen as Bishop of Lyons and fro twenty-five years ruled that important see. He wrote theological works such as Against the Heresies and the Demonstration of Apostolic Preaching. Although he refuted heresy, he was lenient towards those who were in error. On two missions to Rome he acted as peacemaker, seeking to reconcile the disputing factions with the Holy See. According to St. Jerome, he died as a martyr at Lyons.

Irenaeus has been described as the most ancient and the most contemporary of the Church Fathers. His attitude to the world and created things was positive and optimistic. Against the Gnosticism of his time, which saw matter and especially the flesh as intrinsically evil, he affirmed the goodness of all that God had made. He affirmed the reality of the Incarnation, and declared in a famous phrase: 'Caro Christi es cardo salutis - 'the flesh of Christ is the hinge of salvation'. Another famous saying of his is Gloria Dei vivens homo - 'The glory of God is man alive'. It is not in the diminishment of our humanity that we give glory to God but by living it to the full. It is little honour to our Creator if we go through life, as so many of us do, only half-alive.

The name Irenaeus means Peace, and the character of the man was in keeping with his name. Strictly orthodox in his teaching, a great lover of tradition, he was moderate and gentle in dealing with those who taught a different doctrine. He sought to win over his opponents by persuasion; he begged pardon for those condemned for heresy. It is these characteristics which have suggested the choice of first reading for the Mass (2 Tim 2:22-26). In this passage Paul reminds Timothy that the good teacher has to be 'gentle when he corrects people who dispute what he says, never forgetting that God may give them a change of mind so that they mar recognise the truth and come to their senses'. St Irenaeus remains an inspiration for all who labour for the reunification of the Church'. The prayer of the day acknowledges that God used his ministry and writings to establish the peace of the Church. We ask that through his intercession our own faith and charity may be renewed and that 'we may always work for unity and peace'.

Let us pray -

For the peacemakers of the world, for those who build bridges between divided communities, and in matters of religious dispute seek consensus through dialogue. May they not give up when meeting with misunderstanding and opposition, but persevere in their God-given mission.