St Cyril is known mainly for his Catecheses which remain relevant, conclusively showing that Catholic doctrine is the same then (+386) and now. (Fr James Socias et al [Eds], Daily Roman Missal, p1493)
Jesus accused by his people before Pilate
“Pilate therefore went out to them, and said, ‘What accusation bring you against this man?’ They answered and said to him ‘If he were not a criminal, we would not have delivered him to you’.” (Jn 18:29-30)
We cannot help becoming greatly indignant at the rulers of the Jews who instigated the crowd to accuse Jesus of a crime and to hate their Messiah who had never harmed anyone; but who had blessed them all.
This frightful picture is reproduced daily. Our Lord and his doctrine are still hated, calumniated; and often by those who received his best gifts. Those whose rank and talents are used to mislead their inferiors, and incite them up against our Lord and his Church.
“Pilate said to them, ‘Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law’. The Jews replied, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death’.” (Jn 18:31-2)
The Scribes and Pharisees were the accusers of our Lord, but they would not pass sentence on him, even after Pilate authorized them. They wanted Jesus to appear more guilty by being condemned by the chief magistrate. To avert the stigma of his death from themselves; and to be crucified, the most shameful and most cruel mode of death commonly used by the Romans. Crucifixion is not found in any of the Jewish laws.
Under a pretence of justice, the Jews hypocritically masked their wickedness. Unknowingly, they were fulfilling prophecy. Jesus had foretold the manner of his death; and for love of us was willing to drink the cup of suffering and humiliation to the last drop.
Let us never waver in our faith when we see the wicked succeed in their evil designs. God, who in his infinite wisdom orders the whole course of events, will turn all things to his glory and the good of his Church.
Jesus was accused of three crimes-- perverting the people, refusing to pay tribute, and assuming the name of Christ the King. The first two were obviously false. He had preached and practised the contrary. The third was in the sense of a kingdom opposed to Caesar’s.
Our Lord willed to be calumniated without even being disturbed by it. Should we not ignore men’s wrongful judgment when our conscience tells us we have acted rightly?
Ref: cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp121-3
A life close to the Cross
To be a disciple of Our Lord means to follow his advice: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” (Mt 16:24) It is not possible to follow Our Lord without the Cross. Jesus’ words are relevant in all ages, since they are directed to each and every man.
To take up the cross -- acceptance of the contradictions God permits, the costly fulfilment of our duties, Christian mortification voluntarily accepted -- is the indispensable condition for following the Master.
“What would become of a Gospel, of a Christianity, without the Cross, without pain, the sacrifice of pain? It would be a Gospel, a Christianity without Redemption, with no Salvation; a Redemption and Salvation of which, and we ought to recognise with unmitigated sincerity, we stand in absolute need. The Lord has saved us with the Cross; with his death. He has given us hope again, the right to life. ...” (cf Paul VI, “Address”, 24 Mar 1967)
It would be a valueless Christianity, useless in reaching Heaven, for “the world cannot be saved except with the Cross of Christ”. (St Leo the Great, “Sermon 51”)United to the Lord, mortifications, voluntary or passive, acquire their deepest meaning. They are a ‘participation’ in the mystery of the Redemption.
To some, mortification can signify madness or stupidity, some kind of relic carried over from earlier eras which is inappropriate to the progress and cultural development of the twenty-first century. But none of this should surprise us. St Paul had already written that “it is a stumbling block to the Jews and folly to the Gentiles” (1 Cor 1:23).
Christians who lose sight of the supernatural meaning of their lives fail to understand that we can only follow Christ through a life of sacrifice, beside the Cross. “If you don’t deny yourself, you never will be a soul of prayer." (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 172)
“To suppose that He would admit to his close friendship pleasure-loving people who want to be free from all trials is ridiculous.” (St Theresa, “The Way of Perfection”, 18, 2)
Ref: cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:113-5
In Christ we contemplate the sorrows of mankind
In him led publicly to execution and exposed to a humiliating death -- the Man of sorrow -- predicted by Isaiah, is summed up and sanctified every human sorrow.
Servant of the Father, Firstborn among many brothers, the Head of humanity, he transforms man’s suffering into an offering that pleases God, a redeeming sacrifice. The Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, the faithful Witness who sums up in himself, and ennobles, every martyrdom.
On the ‘Via Dolorosa’ and on Golgotha is his Mother, the first Martyr. And with the heart of his Mother, to whom he consigned as his testament from the Cross every disciple and every man, we contemplate, with emotion, Christ’s sufferings, learning from him obedience until death, even death on the Cross; learning from her to accept every man as our brother, to be with her near the innumerable crosses to which the Lord of glory is still unjustly nailed, not his glorious Body but the suffering limbs of his mystical Body.
Ref: cf “The Private Prayers of Pope John Paul II”, 1993, p69
In the year 1586, Our Lady of Loretto was erected into a cathedral by Sixtus V, having been previously a collegiate church. — Tursellini, Historia Lauretana, v. 10. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com); (http://www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html); (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
Our Lady of Loreto. (House where Mary and Joseph raised Jesus.) Cathedral built by Pope Sixtus V. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) 1586
Marian apparitions in Savona, including the event in 1536 which this feast commemorates. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
Our Lady of Mercy. Patroness of Savona, Italy. [Connection to Our Lady of Mercy, September 24.] (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm); (http://www/divinewill.org/feastofourlady.htm); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
Daughters of Our Lady of Mercy, saves Ajaccio, France from black death, 1656. (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
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