16 March 2013 4th Week of Lent -- Saturday 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 Our Lady of Glastonbury To the Christian, Glastonbury, on the Somerset plain is the cradle of the faith in England. Modern archaeologists show conclusively that it was the site of a Celtic monastery since the fifth century. There are tales that connect King Arthur to Glastonbury; and evidence this ancient ruler did in fact exist. Among the most fascinating is he is probably buried there. A few old legends connect Joseph of Arimathea with Glastonbury. A tradition since the eighth century relates St Patrick with Glastonbury. Some stories claim it is his burial place. Great numbers of Irish pilgrims made the difficult journey to visit what they believed to be his tomb. The Celtic monastery such pilgrims visited was built of wattle and twigs, a collection of huts and tiny chapels, with one larger chapel dedicated to Our Lady. Hermits lived there. Inside the old church had stood a statue of Our Lady that survived a fire. Mary was pictured on the abbey coat of arms and on its seal. In one representation she is seated holding the child Jesus; in the other, Our Lady holds the child Jesus on one arm and in her other hand, a flowering bush (the Glastonbury thorn), which is symbolic of Mary, Virgin and Mother. A sprig of this bush was thrust into the ground, according to legend, by Joseph of Arimathea. Glastonbury today includes St Mary’s Chapel, the Benedictine Abbey Church, St Patrick’s Chapel, and the Abbot’s Kitchen. The ruined shell of St Mary’s Chapel stands in silent beauty. It dates from 1186, rebuilt on the original place of the old wattle-and-twig church, the spot held holy as far back as can be determined. The Abbey Church is from the 13th century. The altar site and King Arthur’s tomb are marked. An authenticated story relates Queen Philippa, wife of King Edward III presenting a rosary with beads of gold and silver to adorn the statue during her pilgrimage. Glastonbury also developed a special devotion to Joseph, an unusual interest in that time and place. St Mary’s Church and the Shrine of Our Lady of Glastonbury are modern and were consecrated in 1941. No one knows what became of the statue of Our Lady of Glastonbury after 1539 [Reformation], but St Mary’s has a beautiful image as represented in the abbey seal. Ref: Cf Gerald E Sherry, “The Catholic Shrines of Europe”, pp38-41 Sincerity against deliberate venial sin “The restoration of ‘a proper sense of sin’ is the first step that must be taken in facing the grave spiritual crisis looming over man today.” (cf John Paul II, “Reconciliatio et Poenitentia”, 18) In a determined fight against venial sin, one must recognize it as an offence against God which delays and can prevent union with him. We must call it by its name, ... without reducing its transcendental importance for a soul truly wishing to go to God. Flashes of anger, promptings of envy or sensuality not immediately rejected; a desire to be the centre of attention; not being concerned with anyone but oneself; acts of piety routinely performed are ‘venial sins’. We ought to ask the Holy Spirit to help us sincerely recognize our faults and sins, to have a sensitive conscience which seeks pardon and does not look for ways to justify our errors. The saints have clearly understood, in the light of love and of faith, that a single sin -- especially mortal, but venial, too -- is a disorder greater than any natural catastrophe “for the goodness of grace in one single person is greater than the material good of the entire universe”. (St Thomas, “Summa Theologiae”, I-II, q113, a) A committed fight to banish all sin from our lives demands that we show Our Lord love and readiness to correspond with his grace. “How sad you make me feel when you are not sorry for your venial sins! For until you are, you will not begin to live a real interior life. (St Josemaria Escrivá, “The Way”, 330) “However small the sins you confess may be, always have sincere sorrow for them with a firm resolution to correct them in the future. Many who confess their venial sins out of custom and concern for order, but without thought of amendment, remain burdened with them for their whole lives and thus lose many spiritual benefits and advantages.” (St Francis de Sales, Introduction to the Devout Life, II, 19) The Virgin Mary, ‘Refuge of sinners’, will help us to have a refined conscience, to love Christ and all men, to be sincere with ourselves: in Confession, to recount our weaknesses and to be prompt in repenting for them. Ref: Cf Francis Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 2:103-6 • Our Lady of the Fountain, at Constantinople, built by the Emperor Leo, in the year 460, in thanksgiving for the apparition of the Blessed Virgin to him, near a spring, to which he was charitable leading a blind man, when he was merely a common soldier, and the fact that she foretold that he would be emperor.—Nicephorus, lib. xv., c. 15.) “Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar (http://www.bethlehemobserver.com) • Our Lady of the Fountain. (Panaghia Krena, Panayia tis Vrysis, Kyra-Vrysiani. La Virgen de la Fuente, Notre-Dame de la Fontaine). Constantinople. 460. Church on Greek Island of Chios. Monastary on Greek Island of Sifnos. Hermitage in Aragon, Spain. Pope John Paul II speech at shrine in Caravaggio, Italy, 1992; shrine was built as a result of a woman's vision of Mary on May 16, 1432; pilgrim's visit. In Robin Hood story. Story of pilgrim's 1494 visit to chapel in Jersusalem. Chapel in Chièvres, France: (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) "Legend has it that a miraculous statue of the Virgin Mary was tied to a tree near this fountain. A chapel was built on that spot by Eve de Chièvres, and became a 'sanctuary of grace' where still-born babies were presented in the hope a last breath of life would allow them to enter heaven. The chapel was torn down and rebuilt several times, the last being in the 1890s in a neo-gothic style popular at the time." (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm) • Our Lady of the Fountain, Constantinople (460) (http://www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html) • Our Lady of the Fountain (Constantinople). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)