"Prayer is an elevation of the mind to God"
St. John Damascene - De Fide Orthodoxa III;24
"Suppose a person entering a house were to feel heat on the porch, and going further, were to feel the heat increasing, the more they penetrated within. Doubtless, such a person would believe there was a fire in the house, even though they did not see the fire that must be causing all this heat. A similar thing will happen to anyone who considers this world in detail: one will observe that all things are arranged according to their degrees of beauty and excellence, and that the nearer they are to God, the more beautiful and better they are".
St. Thomas Aquinas - On the Creed of the Apostles, art. 1
Am I Really a Christian?
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COMMENTARY
The elder Tobias is the model of a good father. By word and example he brought up his son from his earliest youth in the fear of God. When the time came that he expected to die, he forcibly reiterated the, most important points of his teaching, and his exhortations must have made all the greater impression on the son, because the father preached nothing that he had not himself constantly practised. Tobias cared for the salvation of his son’s soul more than anything, and therefore he admonished him above all things to avoid sin and especially to cultivate the virtues of filial piety, the fear of God, justice, brotherly love, gentleness and a great confidence in God.
The younger Tobias is the model of a good son. He listened eagerly to his father’s beautiful exhortations, and made this promise: “I will do all these things, father, which thou hast commanded me.” He kept this promise most faithfully, as you will see by what follows. If a child does not receive his parents’ advice willingly, he sins against that obedience which he owes them.
The connexion between the First and Fourth Commandment. Tobias’ exhortation shows us how very important the observance of the Fourth Commandment is for children. Does it not strike you as strange that his first exhortation should be: “Honour thy mother &c.” and that he should only say afterwards: “Have God in thy mind &c.?” There is a reason for this, because reverence for parents is, so to speak, at the root of religion and of the fear of God. He who does not love and honour his parents, who are his visible benefactors, will not love and honour God, who is his invisible Father and Benefactor. The son who does not observe the Fourth Commandment is ungrateful and irreligious.
Defrauding of wages. Among his other exhortations Tobias said to his son: “If any man has done work for thee, pay him his hire.” This is a duty of justice. He who does not give his promised wages to the labourer, that lives by the work of his hands, commits one of the four sins which cry to heaven for vengeance.
Death is the separation of soul and body. Tobias said to his son: “When God shall take my soul, thou shalt bury my body.” By death the soul is parted from the body, and God calls it before Him to be judged. The body, meanwhile, returns to the earth, until God shall raise it up at the last day, and re-unite it for ever to the soul.
The enemies of our souls are all those things which lead to mortal sin. They who commit grievous sins are enemies not only of God and their neighbour, but also of their own soul; because they rob it of God’s grace, and plunge it into everlasting ruin.
The married state. We learn some good lessons from this history of Tobias. The Angel advised him to enter into the married state. Therefore that state is good and pleasing to God, and persons who intend to marry should not do so without consulting God by earnest prayer. We also learn that some marriages are bad and full of danger, like those of Sara with her previous seven husbands, who had no religion and no fear of God and no pure motives in their action. It is therefore necessary to prepare oneself by prayer and to purify one’s intention by the highest motives, both before and at the beginning of that holy and difficult state. These lessons have double force in the New Testament, where marriage has been raised by our Lord to the dignity of a Sacrament.
APPLICATION. Lay to heart the exhortations of old Tobias, just as if your own father had spoken them to you on his death-bed. Ask yourself every day whether you have acted up to his teaching.
Have you always gladly followed the advice of your father and mother? Are your parents obliged to find fault with you very often? Have you ever grieved or angered them? You cannot be a child of God if you do not honour and obey your parents. Whenever they bid you do anything, say to yourself, in the words of the young Tobias: “I will do all these things, father (or mother), which thou hast commanded me.”
148. The Virgin Mary most perfectly embodies the obedience of faith. By faith Mary welcomes the tidings and promise brought by the angel Gabriel, believing that "with God nothing will be impossible" and so giving her assent: "Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be [done] to me according to your word." Elizabeth greeted her: "Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord." It is for this faith that all generations have called Mary blessed.
149. Throughout her life and until her last ordeal when Jesus her son died on the cross, Mary's faith never wavered. She never ceased to believe in the fulfillment of God's word. And so the Church venerates in Mary the purest realization of faith.
(Catechism of the Catholic Church: 148-149)
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The soul is the life of the body (chapter III). As soon as the soul is separated from the body, the latter dies; and if the dead body is to be restored to life, the soul must return to it. It was thus therefore that Elias prayed: “Let the soul &c.”
The raising of the widow’s son by Elias is, according to St. Augustine, a type of the spiritual resurrection of the sinful world through Christ. The world lay dead in sin; but Jesus Christ has restored it to life by stretching Himself on the cross.
As Elias stretched himself three times on the body of the boy, breathing on his face, so, when administering holy Baptism, the priest bows himself three times over the person to be baptized and breathes upon him, as a sign that by sanctifying grace the soul is raised to a supernatural state of life.
APPLICATION. Do you pray willingly and devoutly? He who wishes to pray well, must accustom himself to pray diligently. Each time you pray, place yourself in the presence of God and say: “Lord, help me to pray.”
Could you not sometimes give an alms or do some service of love to your fellow-men, either to your comrades or to some sick or poor person? Make a resolution to do something of the sort to-day.
by providence i reached saint elias part in this comentary the same day as his saint day, Deo Gratias.
A Practical Commentary On Holy Scripture by Frederick Justus Knecht D.D.
CHAPTER LXII
GOD RAISES UP PROPHETS.—MISSION OF THE PROPHET ELIAS
[3 Kings 17]
IN order to bring back the kings and the people to better sentiments, God raised up, at different times, holy persons who are known as prophets. These prophets preached penance in a very impressive manner, and they proved the truth of their divine mission by working great miracles.
God revealed to them many future events. They predicted the principal circumstances of the birth, life, passion, death and glory of the Messias. One of the most celebrated of the prophets was Elias. He lived in the reign of Achab, king of Israel. This king was very wicked. None of his predecessors had committed so many crimes as he.
Fig. 47. God Moloch. Terracotta bust, found in Palestine. (After Vincent.)
He had married a Gentile woman named Jezabel; and he had built a temple to Baal and had consecrated to the service of that false god four hundred and fifty priests, whilst he had caused the priests of the Lord to be put to death. In a word, his intention seemed to be to destroy the true religion entirely among the ten tribes.
Elias, clad in a rough sheep’s skin and with a staff in his hand, presented himself before Achab and said: “As the Lord liveth, the God of Israel, in whose sight I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these three years, but according to the words of my mouth.” Achab was very angry to hear these words of the prophet, and secretly resolved to put Elias to death.
Then the Lord, knowing the evil intention of the king, commanded Elias to go and conceal himself near the brook Carith, in the vicinity of the Jordan. The prophet obeyed, and behold, the ravens brought him bread or flesh every morning and every evening for many days: and he drank of the torrent.
Some time after the brook ran dry, and the Lord commanded Elias to go to Sarepta (Fig. 48), a city of Sidon. Elias went accordingly, and when he drew near the gate of the city he saw a woman gathering sticks, and he called her and said: “Give me a little water in a vessel that I may drink.”
Fig. 48. Place where ancient Sarepta stood. (Phot. Bonfils.)
As the woman was going to fetch it he called after her: “Bring me also a morsel of bread.” She answered: “As the Lord thy God liveth, I have no bread, but only a handful of meal in a pot and a little oil in a cruse; I am gathering two sticks that I may go and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
The prophet assured her saying: “Fear not, but go and do as thou hast said; but first make for me of the same meal a little hearth-cake. For thus saith the Lord: ‘The pot of meal shall not waste nor the cruse of oil be diminished until the day wherein the Lord will give rain upon the earth.’ ”
The woman did as Elias had told her, and from that day forth she had meal in her pot and oil in her cruse and knew no want, neither Elias nor she nor her son. Now it happened some time after that the son of this poor woman of Sarepta fell sick and died. She said to the prophet: “What have I done to thee, thou man of God? Hast thou come to me that my iniquities should be remembered?” Thereupon Elias took the child and went into the upper chamber, and laid it upon his own bed. Then he cried to the Lord: “O Lord, hast Thou also afflicted the widow with whom I am after a sort maintained?” Then he stretched himself and measured himself three times upon the child; and the soul of the boy returned and he revived.
Elias took the child and brought him down to his mother and said: “Behold, thy son liveth.” Full of joy and gratitude the woman exclaimed: “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and the word of the Lord in thy mouth is true.”
COMMENTARY
The Mercy of God. Of His mercy He did not entirely reject the faithless Israelites, but sent His prophets to them from time to time to give them a chance of repentance and pardon.
A Practical Commentary On Holy Scripture by Frederick Justus Knecht D.D.
CHAPTER LXI
DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM
[3 Kings 12. 2 Paralip. 10]
AFTER the death of Solomon all the people of Israel came to Roboam, his son, and said: “Thy father laid a grievous yoke upon us, do thou take off a little of his most heavy yoke, and we will serve thee.” Roboam told them to come back on the third day, and he would give them his answer. He then took counsel with the ancients of the people who had stood before Solomon, his father, as to what course he should pursue. The ancients advised the king, saying: “If thou wilt yield to this people and speak gentle words to them, they will be thy servants always.” Roboam, not satisfied with this advice of the old men, betook himself to the young men who were his own companions, and asked what they would counsel him to do. The young men who had been brought up with him said: “Thus shalt thou speak to this people: My father put a heavy yoke upon you, but I will add to your yoke; my father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions.” When the people had returned on the third day for an answer, Roboam spoke to them as the young men had advised. Then, seeing that they had nothing to expect from their new king, ten of the tribes threw off his authority and chose for their king Jeroboam, who had been a servant of Solomon. Only the two tribes of Juda and Benjamin remained with Roboam. From that day forth the people of Israel were divided into two kingdoms, that of Juda and that of Israel.
Jerusalem continued to be the capital of Juda, while Samaria became the capital of Israel. But the effects of the separation went still further; for Jeroboam, king of Israel, thought within himself, that if the people continued to go up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifice to the Lord in His Temple, their hearts would turn again to Roboam, and the kingdom of Israel would surely return to the house of David.
To avoid this danger he made two golden calves, which he placed at the two extremities of his kingdom, one at Dan and the other at Bethel, and told the people that they should not go up to Jerusalem to worship, for that these were the gods which had brought them out of Egypt. In this way he led the people into idolatry, for they repaired to the places pointed out to them by their king, and worshipped the golden calves.
On the other hand Roboam, king of Juda, who had seen with grief the defection of the ten tribes, was all his life making war on Jeroboam. This state of continued warfare was kept up by their successors on both sides, and more than once the aid of foreign nations was called in by one or the other. In this way did these wicked kings cause much sin and misery among their people.
Even the kings of Juda soon fell into idolatry, and the people, following their example, forgot the worship of the true God and gave themselves up to all manner of wickedness. Thus it went on till destruction overtook both kingdoms.
COMMENTARY
The Faithfulness of God. See how the punishment threatened in chapter LX was now brought to pass! Roboam’s arrogance led to the accomplishment of God’s designs, by alienating the ten tribes. It was not that God willed the sin, but that He permitted it, in order that Solomon’s faithlessness should be punished as He had said.
Arrogance and flattery. Roboam’s conduct towards his subjects was very unwise; for it was his harsh answer to their appeal which drove them into rebellion. How could Roboam, the son of the wise Solomon, commit such a folly? He spoke and acted thus foolishly, firstly, because he was blinded by pride; secondly, because he would not take the advice of the wise, but followed instead that of his young companions, who took care to flatter his pride. You can see by this how passion makes a man blind, and how disastrous it is to listen to the voice of unscrupulous flatterers. “He that walketh with the wise, shall be wise: a friend of fools shall become like them” (Prov. 13:20).
True happiness. Towards the end of his life Solomon wrote these words in the Book of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. I made me great works, I built me houses and planted vineyards. I made gardens and orchards and set them with trees of all kinds. I heaped together for myself silver and gold. I made me singing men and singing women. I surpassed in riches all that were before me in Jerusalem; my wisdom also remained with me. Whatsoever my eyes desired, I refused them not; and I withheld not my heart from enjoying every pleasure. I saw in all things vanity and vexation of mind. Fear God and keep His Commandments, for this is all man.” By these words he meant to say: “All earthly possessions and joys are passing and cannot make a man really happy. Only the fear and love of God can bring happiness on earth and joy in eternity.” We should not therefore set our hearts on the good things of this earth, but should strive with all our hearts after those which are eternal.
Means of perseverance. He who desires to avoid grievous sin and to persevere to the end in what is right must, firstly, refrain from pleasure-seeking and laxity; secondly, he must avoid all intercourse with bad companions; thirdly, he must be humble and pray to God for the grace of final perseverance; for this most important of all graces can be obtained only by prayer.
APPLICATION. Solomon served God for many years and received the gift of wisdom from Him; and yet how deeply he fell!
Do you desire to stand fast in what is right? Then distrust yourself and be watchful. “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation.” Pray often for the grace of perseverance.
Nine days ago a friend received this:
Dear all! The time has come to take a leap of faith!!!! We firmly believe that Jimena is going to be cured and we would like to count on your help!!! Next Friday, July 28, we are going to start a novena to pray for her healing to Our Lady of the Snows, which is celebrated on August 5. It is 9 days of remembering her and asking for her healing. A novena is 9 days of special prayer for something or someone. It can consist of going to Mass every day, or praying the Rosary, or simply remembering her by saying a prayer. Everything is valid and wonderful to ask for a miracle. We enclose a prayer in case it helps you. And we thank you in advance for so much love and so many prayers for Jimena!!!
Today she received the following:
Faith moves mountains. Today at 12:00 noon Portugal time, after taking communion and in front of all her WYD group, Jimena saw again. 2 and a half years later without any possible cure. She was able to read the thanksgiving. She called us crying and with all her friends like crazy. We do not know much more at the moment. They are going to try to see the Pope to tell him. I will give you more details later, but it is a luxury to be able to share the end of this journey with you. Today everything starts all over again and Our Lady of the Snows is already an active part of our Faith. THANK YOU!!!!!!
"The inclination to seek the truth is safer than the presumption which regards unknown things as known".
St. Augustine - On the Trinity, bk 9, ch. 1
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This is why I love Pope Francis
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"If you are a Christian, no earthly city is yours. Of our City ‘the Builder and Maker is God.’ Though we may gain possession of the whole world, we are withal but strangers and sojourners in it all. We are enrolled in heaven: our citizenship is there! [...] If you suppose dignity to belong to a city, think how many persons must partake in this dignity, who are whoremongers, effeminate, depraved and full of ten thousand evil things, and at last despise such honour! But that City above is not of this kind; for it is impossible that he can be a partaker of it, who has not exhibited every virtue".
St. John Chrysostom - Homilies on statues, XVII
My beloved's grandfather passed away. Please pray for his soul.
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The Omniscience of God. The prophets were inspired by God, or else they would not have been able to foretell the future. The future is known only to God, with whom times and seasons are as nothing.
The Omnipresence of God. “As the Lord liveth in whose sight I stand,” said Elias to Achab. Wherever we are or go, God is with us. Elias lived in the constant recollection of God’s presence, and this it was that gave him courage and consolation under persecution and when in danger of death. He did not feel himself deserted even in the cave of Carith, because God was with him.
The Omnipotence of God. Winds and clouds, dew and rain obey Him, and by His command a terrible drought pervaded Israel for three years and a half. The unreasoning ravens did His will, and twice each day brought food to the prophet of God. “The most ravenous of birds”, says St. Basil, “were compelled to supply the prophet with food; and they, whose nature it was to seize the food of others, waited on the man of God. Completely forgetful of their nature, they obeyed the divine behest” It was by God’s almighty will that the meal in the widow’s pot and the oil in her cruse remained undiminished. And He who is Lord of life and death called the widow’s son back to life, commanding his soul to return to his dead body.
The Goodness of God. God lovingly provided for the safety of His persecuted servant, hid him from Achab’s bloodthirsty emissaries, and fed him by a continuous miracle in the desert. He protected him on his perilous journey to Sarepta, increased the meal and oil by a miracle for the sustenance of himself and the widow, and called the poor woman’s dead son back to life.
Justice and Mercy. The long drought which was sent by God at the prayer of Elias (James 5:17 &c.), was a miracle both of divine justice and of divine mercy. On the one hand it most justly punished the idolatrous king and people; on the other hand it proved to the Israelites that the fruits of the earth did not come from Baal, but from God, who is the Lord of heaven and earth. The famine was sent to them as a means of inducing them to return to the true faith.
Confidence in God. Elias showed admirable courage by fearlessly announcing the impending judgment. The prophet drew his courage from his great confidence in God, giving himself over entirely to His gracious guidance. When the brook dried up, he gave way neither to fear nor lamentation. He did not say: “Now I must die of thirst,” but on the contrary he said to himself: “God will help me.” When he was sent to the poor widow of Sarepta, a town in the kingdom of Sidon, he might naturally have thought: “Why am I to go among Jezabel’s people? Are they not sure to kill me? And why am I to go to a poor widow? How can she support me? Why should I not seek hospitality of some rich person?” But the holy man of God gave ear to no such doubts and obeyed God’s commands with simplicity and confidence. It is in this way that we ought always to trust in God.
Faith. Achab and his people would not believe Elias when he foretold the coming drought. On the other hand the Gentile woman did believe the promise which he made to her in God’s name. To find faith the prophet of God had to go into a heathen country. It was hard for the widow, herself dying of hunger, to be told to divide her last morsel of food with the prophet; but she did so, because she believed and obeyed a secret inspiration of God; and God rewarded her faith and charity by miraculously increasing her meal and oil, by restoring her dead son to life, and by confirming her in the true faith. Works of mercy draw down on us the grace of God.
The power of prayer. At Elias’s prayer the heavens were shut, so that no rain fell for a long time. By prayer he raised the dead boy to life. At the brook Carith he spent his days in prayer and contemplation. His prayer was efficacious, firstly, because he prayed with devotion, humility and confidence; and secondly because he was a just man, lived in the grace of God, and avoided sin.
Gentleness. If Roboam had returned a kind, friendly answer to the people, he would have conciliated them, and all the twelve tribes would have acknowledged him as their king. “A mild answer breaketh wrath: but a harsh word stirreth up fury” (Prov. 15:1). “Blessed are the meek.”
Schism. The ten tribes sinned by rebelling against the throne of David, and their sin was all the greater, because their defection from the house of David implied a defection from the future Messias and a renunciation of the promises of God.
Partaking in the guilt of others. His young advisers shared in the guilt of Roboam’s sin and in its evil consequences, by urging him to a hard and cruel course of action. Jeroboam committed a terrible sin when he incited the people to idolatry and induced them to apostatize from the true God. God punished him by the overthrow of his whole family. Jeroboam’s son, Nadab, only reigned two years. Then a rebellion against him broke out, and the whole house of Jeroboam was destroyed.
APPLICATION. Are you fond of being with giddy companions? Do you follow their advice in preference to the injunctions and exhortations of older and more prudent persons? Do you listen to the voice of your passions rather than to that of your conscience? Roboam lost the larger part of his kingdom, because he listened to the unprincipled advice of flatterers. So, if you like the company of those who are unprincipled, you will lose both faith and innocence, which are more valuable than a whole kingdom. Therefore avoid bad companions.
French satirical paper Charlie Hebdo has released a series of cartoons mocking a missing two year old
Their hatred for the child appears motivated in large part by his father's Catholicism
Hebdo fired one of their writers for anti Semitism in 2020, the only time that they have drawn the line on offensive material
https://www.catholicarena.com/latest/charliehebdo180723
COMMENTARY
The First Commandment: Sins against faith. It causes real pain to read that a man so gifted with grace as Solomon could have fallen so low. Look back and think what he was at the dedication of the Temple, and how he cast himself on his knees and prayed so beautifully to the ever present God; and then think of his becoming indifferent about the worship of the true God, of his building temples to the false gods of his wives, and of his tolerating idolatry! It is impossible for us to conceive that Solomon ever believed in and worshipped idols himself; but it is certain that, for the sake of his heathen wives and against his own convictions, he sanctioned idolatry and even enforced it! By so doing he denied his faith and offended his people. Thus he sinned both by being indifferent about the true faith and by denying it.
Worldliness and pride lead to religious indifference. But how was it possible that the wise and devout Solomon could offend God so grievously? He gave himself over to worldliness, led a sensual, luxurious life, and set his affections on the earthly riches with which God had endowed him. His love for God grew cold, his zeal for prayer and the service of God grew weak, and he became lax and indifferent about religion. Intercourse and friendship with the pagan kings of Tyre and Sidon and his unlawful intermarriage with pagan wives increased his religious indifference; and besides this the universal admiration of which he was the object made him proud, so that he became less and less worthy of divine grace. He lost the grace necessary for perseverance in good and sank so low that he denied the true faith and upheld idolatry!
Happiness and riches are dangerous. Trials are wholesome. Solomon’s sad fall shows us how difficult it is to fear God and persevere in good in the midst of happiness, riches, honours and pleasures. Those with whom everything goes well love the world and earthly possessions, forget the end for which they were made, cease to love God and often lose belief in Him and His revelation. This is why God, in His merciful wisdom, sends us sufferings, so as to prevent our being arrogant and forgetful of God and His holy Commandments. These sufferings sent are real benefits to us and are a proof of the love which God has for our immortal souls, and of the desire He has to draw us to heaven. “Whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth” (Hebr. 12:6).
Solomon, the thirteenth type of Jesus Christ. Solomon was also a type of Jesus Christ, but in a different way from the preceding ones. While for instance Abel, Noe, Isaac, Joseph, Job, Moses and David were typical of the suffering Redeemer, in Solomon we find a type of the glorified Redeemer. His very name, signifying peace, presents him to us as a type of Him who is the true Prince of Peace. By his wonderful wisdom Solomon was a faint type of Him “in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3). Likewise the riches of Solomon point to the immeasurable riches of grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon built the Temple of strong and well-hewn stones: Jesus Christ founded the spiritual temple, the Church, on the rock of Peter and on the Apostles, making it one united whole. The queen of Saba came to Solomon, to testify her reverence for him, and load him with presents: to our Lord came the three Magi from the East to adore Him and offer Him costly gifts. Solomon, seated in majesty on his lofty and magnificent throne, ruled over many nations. Jesus Christ, raised on the throne of heaven and sitting at the right hand of God the Father, rules with divine majesty over all the nations of the earth and over the whole host of heaven.
The conversion of Solomon. Most of the Fathers of the Church are of opinion that, when troubles overtook him towards the close of his life, Solomon was converted and did penance, and thus was not eternally lost.
Saint Therese of Lisieux is the 'greatest saint of modern times'
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