Readings & Reflections: Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Jane Frances de Chantal, August 12,2019

Readings & Reflections: Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Jane Frances de Chantal, August 12,2019

The daughter of the president of the Burgundy parliament, Jane was born in Dijon, France in 1572 A.D. and married Baron de Chantal at the age of twenty. After of nine years of happy marriage, her husband died in a hunting accident. In the tradition of the holy widows, Jane folded her sufferings into prayer, devoting herself to her children’s education and serving her disagreeable father-in-law with kindness. Jane ably managed her husband’s estate to provide for the care of the poor and bereft. After the baron’s death, she embraced an austere life, caring for her children and her father-in-law. When she met Francis de Sales in 1604, she recognized him as the spiritual director God had chosen for her. Together they founded the Visitation Order in 1610 A.D. for women who did not have the stamina for the life of the traditional orders. In the place of physical mortification, the Visitation nuns devote themselves to total trust in humble and gentle service in the spirit of Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth. To her daughters in religion, Jane wrote many letters of reassuring directness: “Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to him. That is all the doing you have to worry about.” By the time of her death in 1641 A.D., she had founded over sixty-five convents.

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Lord Jesus, your death brought life and freedom. May I always walk in that freedom and be guided by your love and truth that I may be generous towards all and give each their due, never discriminating and partial.” In your Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

Reading I
Dt 10:12-22

Moses said to the people: “And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good? Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it.
Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them
as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done. Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him. So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky.”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Gospel
Mt 17:22-27

As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief.

When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt.

But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.
Give that to them for me and for you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Temple tax

Have you ever been in a situation which needed compliance from your end but found it not possible given the circumstances? Given a heart which wanted to conform to what was being asked of you, did you approach the throne of mercy and asked God for guidance and hoped in your heart something good will transpire so that compliance will be made possible?

In today’s gospel, we see Jesus and Peter being confronted with the issue paying the temple tax. “When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said.” Peter may not have possessed the capability of giving the required tax but wanted at that point to come across and pay it. But Jesus, knew what was in his heart. He led Peter’s submissive and obedient heart so that they may be able to pay. Jesus said: “But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”

God provides for every need that we have. All we need is to open our hearts to Him. In faith, we have to believe and claim that His will shall be upon us. Our calling to be God’s children requires that we are not only obedient to Him but to be open and submitted to His will. We are to be known as the beloved children of God by our faith in Him and the trust we give Him. Being a Christian is to be led by the Holy Spirit in our great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, abiding in His Word and cheerfully following it even amidst pain and difficulty.

This is the journey we have to take if we have to behold our Creator. This is the life of openness, faith and obedience to which we must recommit ourselves again and again. We are God’s children and in Christ have been made acceptable. We are destined to discover anew each day the love of God Who draws us to his heart. We need to trust our Lord for with Him all things are possible!

Direction

Open our hearts to God’s presence and live in complete trust and faith in Him.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me a submissive and obedient

Reflection 2 – Not to give offense

Who likes to pay taxes, especially when you think they might be unreasonable or unjust? Jesus and his disciples were confronted by tax collectors on the issue of tax evasion. When questioned about paying the temple tax, Jesus replied to his disciples: We must pay so as not to cause bad example. In fact, we must go beyond our duty in order that we may show others what they ought to do. The scriptural expression to give no offense doesn’t refer to insult or annoyance – rather it means to put no stumbling block in the way of another that would cause them to trip or fall. Jesus would not allow himself anything which might possibly be a bad example to someone else. Do you evade unpleasant responsibilities or obligations?

Jesus predicts his death and triumph over the grave
On three different occasions in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus predicted he would endure great suffering through betrayal, rejection, and the punishment of a cruel death (Matthew 16:21, 17:22-23, and 20:17-19). The Jews resorted to stoning for very serious offenses and the Romans to crucifixion – the most painful and humiliating death they could devise for criminals they wanted to eliminate. No wonder the apostles were greatly distressed at such a prediction! If Jesus their Master were put to death, then they would likely receive the same treatment by their enemies. Jesus called himself the “Son of Man” because this was a Jewish title for the Messiah which the prophet Daniel explained in his vision of the One whom God would send to establish his everlasting kingdom of power and righteousness over the earth (Daniel 7:13-14).

The Suffering Servant and Lamb of God
Why must the Messiah be rejected and killed? Did not God promise that his Anointed One (Messiah in Hebrew) would deliver his people from their oppression and establish a kingdom of peace and justice? The prophet Isaiah had foretold that it was God’s will that the “Suffering Servant” make atonement for sins through his suffering and death (Isaiah 53). John the Baptist described Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1: 29, Isaiah 53:6-7). When Jesus willing offered up his life for us on the cross he paid the price for our redemption with his blood.

Jesus offers freedom and victory over sin and death
Jesus came to rescue us from sin and its destructive forces and to restore us to fulness of life with our heavenly Father. Sin not only separates us from God – it leads us down the path to corruption and unending death. Slavery to sin is to want the wrong things and to be in bondage to hurtful desires and addictions. The ransom Jesus paid sets us free from the worst tyranny possible – the tyranny of sin, Satan, and death. Jesus’ victory did not end with his sacrificial death on the cross – he triumphed over the grave when he rose again on the third day. Jesus defeated the powers of death and Satan through his cross and resurrection. The Lord Jesus offers us true freedom and peace which no one can take from us. Do you want the greatest freedom possible, the freedom to live as God truly meant us to live as his sons and daughters?

“Lord Jesus, your death brought true life and freedom. May I always walk in the freedom and power of your love and truth and reject whatever is contrary to your will for my life.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/aug12.htm

Reflection 3 – Be an example

Here’s a story of a high school senior honored as one of the “Best and Brightest” in our community has provided a forceful demonstration of integrity. When his school team was given the word “auditorium” in a regional spelling bee, Brady Davis glanced down to ponder his response and noticed that the word was printed on the microphone stand. He called this to attention of the judges who responded with a more difficult word. Brady did what he knew was right whether others noticed or not.

We don’t know when our actions might become an example to others. But if we live each day to honor Jesus, our behavior will model his righteousness, no matter who is watching. Idealism and enthusiasm are often best expressed by the young. But uprightness and honor should be goals of Christians of every age. Paul told to Timothy: “Let no one despises your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Tim 4:12).

Brady Davis says his goal in life is to change the world around him while never compromising himself. We should do well to join him in that pursuit of life, integrity, and exemplary behavior.

“I would be true, for there are those who trust me;

I would be pure, for there are those who care.

I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;

I would be brave, for there is much to dare.”

A good example always makes a good sermon (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 4 – The Lord of unfair situations

The miracle in today’s Gospel — paying taxes with the help of a fish — is an example of how Jesus likes to deal with unfair situations. Did Jesus already have money for paying the temple tax? Maybe he did — how much was in that purse that Judas carried for the group? Perhaps it held only enough to buy the apostles food for that day, but this is not the explanation that Jesus gave for the miracle.

Jesus told Simon Peter to go fetch the tax payment from a fish because he wanted to teach a lesson. He addressed the unfairness of demanding from your own people what should have been asked of others.

Have you ever been called upon to do extra work because someone else didn’t do his or her job? Perhaps you’re over-involved in ministries at church because there are not enough other volunteers. Or maybe your kid is too lazy to take out the trash and you end up doing it yourself to prevent a stinky overflow.

How many unfair, extra demands do we have to deal with? A lot, sometimes every day, right? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us to go the extra mile and do what we shouldn’t have to do. He certainly practiced what he preached when he paid the temple tax. Why should God have to pay for his own worship? But he did. Why? To avoid “offending” or “disedifying” those who demanded the tax.

Jesus was (and is) just as concerned for those who are unfair as for those who are treated unfairly. He wants to build up (“edify”) — he never wants to tear down — anyone and everyone.

Note that the way he did it not only protected the tax collectors from being disedified, but he also protected himself from being disedified as well as his companions. The tax money did not come from his pocket, or Peter’s, or Judas’ purse. God supplied a miracle that met the needs of everyone.

Will he do the same for you today? Of course he will. He cares about you as much as he cared about Peter. Instead of trying to find a way out of an unfair situation, instead of demanding justice, turn to God. To be Christ-like, ask Jesus to provide a solution that will edify everyone. And then expect the unexpected.

This takes a great deal of trust. How did Peter feel on the way to the lake? Did he doubt Jesus while he was fishing? Knowing how easily he wavered at other times, I think he questioned the Lord’s sanity. Yet, he did as Jesus had directed him to do. That’s our example. We need to go fishing with God and be ready to find what does not belong in the fish’s mouth. That is the perfect and most loving way to deal with unfairness. – Read the source: https://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-08-12

Reflection 5 – Experiencing the glory of God

How often does the glory of the Lord reveal itself to you? If you were to describe God’s glory, how would you picture it? A reading from the Book of Ezekiel (Ez 1:2-5,24-28) is Ezekiel’s vision of that glory. It matched his fiery personality.

In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus pulls a rabbit out of a hat, or rather, a coin out of a fish. What a glorious way to pay taxes! Perhaps we could do that, too — but first we’d have to be as active in ministry as he was and as confident in the Father’s desire to supply everything that’s needed for doing it.

Today’s responsorial psalm reminds us that heaven and earth are filled with God’s glory. Is your life filled with it? Yes! But do you recognize it? It’s all around you, for earth truly is filled with his glory. The psalmist did not say, “Heaven and earth are filled with the glory of God except where Terry is” (replace my name with your own or the name of someone for whom you are praying).

So, since this is true, how does the glory of God reveal itself in your life?

I’m convinced that the biggest obstruction blocking our view of the glory of God is our self-satisfying materialism. In the culture where I live, we have every convenience we could possibly want and much more besides. Why do we need miracles if we can store up money in the bank (to pay our taxes with of course), negating the need to go fishing for a miracle? How can we see Jesus telling us where to cast our nets while we’re looking at the radar screen on our fish finders?

Let me tell you a true story about this. One day, I took my laptop computer to a small boat that I used to own. My husband and I had purchased this boat after discovering that being out on the water restores our energy rather quickly. For several years, it served as my personal “hermitage.” I could write more reflections in one day on this boat than two weeks at the office. However, boats require a lot of maintenance, and (long story shortened) we couldn’t keep up with it. After turning this problem over to God, three separate issues got fixed “all by themselves” — what was broken started working — glory be to God!

It’s not sinful to have material goods — some saints were very wealthy — but only if it’s used for the glory of God.

At every Mass in every Catholic church, the glory of the Lord reveals itself on the altar, right there in front of all of us, when the bread and wine becomes — miraculously — the actual Body and Blood of Christ. That’s a great reason to celebrate. Does it look to others like you’re celebrating? The glory of God that shines from you evangelizes the people around you.

When our belief in God’s glory affects our everyday life, we experience the joy of the Lord regardless of trials and difficulties. Others will want what we have, and so the glory grows. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2018-08-13

Reflection 6 – St. Jane Frances de Chantal (1562-1641 A.D.)

Jane Frances was wife, mother, nun and founder of a religious community. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old, and her father, head of parliament at Dijon, France, became the main influence on her education. She developed into a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament. At 21 she married Baron de Chantal, by whom she had six children, three of whom died in infancy. At her castle she restored the custom of daily Mass, and was seriously engaged in various charitable works.

Jane’s husband was killed after seven years of marriage, and she sank into deep dejection for four months at her family home. Her father-in-law threatened to disinherit her children if she did not return to his home. He was then 75, vain, fierce and extravagant. Jane Frances managed to remain cheerful in spite of him and his insolent housekeeper.

When she was 32, she met St. Francis de Sales who became her spiritual director, softening some of the severities imposed by her former director. She wanted to become a nun but he persuaded her to defer this decision. She took a vow to remain unmarried and to obey her director.

After three years Francis told her of his plan to found an institute of women which would be a haven for those whose health, age or other considerations barred them from entering the already established communities. There would be no cloister, and they would be free to undertake spiritual and corporal works of mercy. They were primarily intended to exemplify the virtues of Mary at the Visitation (hence their name, the Visitation nuns): humility and meekness.

The usual opposition to women in active ministry arose and Francis de Sales was obliged to make it a cloistered community following the Rule of St. Augustine. Francis wrote his famous Treatise on the Love of God for them. The congregation (three women) began when Jane Frances was 45. She underwent great sufferings: Francis de Sales died; her son was killed; a plague ravaged France; her daughter-in-law and son-in-law died. She encouraged the local authorities to make great efforts for the victims of the plague and she put all her convent’s resources at the disposal of the sick.

During a part of her religious life, she had to undergo great trials of the spirit—interior anguish, darkness and spiritual dryness. She died while on a visitation of convents of the community.

Comment:

It may strike some as unusual that a saint should be subject to spiritual dryness, darkness, interior anguish. We tend to think that such things are the usual condition of “ordinary” sinful people. Some of our lack of spiritual liveliness may indeed be our fault. But the life of faith is still one that is lived in trust, and sometimes the darkness is so great that trust is pressed to its limit.

Quote:

St. Vincent de Paul said of Jane Frances: “She was full of faith, yet all her life had been tormented by thoughts against it. While apparently enjoying the peace and easiness of mind of souls who have reached a high state of virtue, she suffered such interior trials that she often told me her mind was so filled with all sorts of temptations and abominations that she had to strive not to look within herself…But for all that suffering her face never lost its serenity, nor did she once relax in the fidelity God asked of her. And so I regard her as one of the holiest souls I have ever met on this earth” (Butler’s Lives of the Saints).

Read the source text: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1111

SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Frances_de_Chantal

JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL

FOUNDRESS
BORN	28 January 1572 Dijon, Burgundy, France
DIED	13 December 1641 (aged 69) Moulins, France
VENERATED IN	Roman Catholic Church
BEATIFIED	21 November 1751, Rome byPope Benedict XIV
CANONIZED	16 July 1767, Rome by Pope Clement XIII
MAJOR SHRINE	Annecy, Savoy
FEAST	12 August 21 August (General Roman Calendar 1769-1969) 12 December (General Roman Calendar 1970-2001)
PATRONAGE	forgotten people; in-law problems; loss of parents; parents separated from children;widows

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (Jeanne-Françoise Frémiot, Baronnede Chantal; 28 January 1572 – 13 December 1641) is a Roman Catholic Saint, who founded a religious order after the death of her husband.

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Life[edit]

Jane Frances de Chantal was born in Dijon, France, on 28 January 1572, the daughter of the royalist president of the Parliament of Burgundy. Her mother died when Jane was 18 months old. Her father became the main influence on her education. She developed into a woman of beauty and refinement, lively and cheerful in temperament.^[1] She married the Baron de Chantal when she was 21 and then lived in the feudal castle of Bourbilly. Baron de Chantal was accidentally killed by an arquebus while out shooting in 1601. Left a widow at 28, with four children, the broken-hearted baroness took a vow of chastity. Her mother, step mother, sister, first two children and now her husband had died.^[2] Chantal gained a reputation as an excellent manager of the estates of her husband, as well as of her difficult father-in-law, while also providing alms and nursing care to needy neighbors.

During Lent in 1604, the pious baroness met Saint Francis de Sales, the bishop of Geneva who was preaching at the Sainte Chapelle in Dijon. They became close friends and de Sales became her spiritual director. She wanted to become a nun but he persuaded her to defer this decision.^[1] Later, with his support, and that of her father and brother (the archbishop of Bourges), and after providing for her children, Chantal left for Annecy, to start the Congregation of the Visitation. The Congregation of the Visitation was canonically established at Annecy on Trinity Sunday, 6 June 1610.^[2]The order accepted women who were rejected by other orders because of poor health or age. During its first eight years, the new order also was unusual in its public outreach, in contrast to most female religious who remained cloistered and adopted strict ascetic practices. The usual opposition to women in active ministry arose and Francis de Sales was obliged to make it a cloistered community following the Rule of St. Augustine. He wrote his Treatise on the Love of God for them.^[1]When people criticized her for accepting women of poor health and old age, Chantal famously said, “What do you want me to do? I like sick people myself; I’m on their side.”

Her reputation for sanctity and sound management resulted in many visits by (and donations from) aristocratic women. The order had 13 houses by the time de Sales died, and 86 before Chantal herself died at the Visitation Convent in Moulins, aged 69. St. Vincent de Paul served as her spiritual director after de Sales’ death. Her favorite devotions involved the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Heart of Mary.^[3] Chantal was buried in the Annecy convent next to de Sales.^[2] The order had 164 houses by 1767, when she was canonized. Chantal outlived her son (who died fighting Huguenots and English on the Île de Ré during the century’s religious wars) and two of her three daughters, but left extensive correspondence. Her granddaughter also became a famous writer, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné.

Veneration[edit]

Francis de Sales meets Jane Frances de Chantal, cutout from a window in the cathedral of Annecy

She was beatified on 21 November 1751 by Pope Benedict XIV, and canonized on 16 July 1767 by Pope Clement XIII.

Saint Jane Frances’s feast day was included in the General Roman Calendar in 1769, two years after she was canonized. Her feast was set as 21 August. In the 1969 revision of the calendar, her feast was moved to 12 December, to be closer to the day of her death, which occurred on 13 December 1641, the feast of St. Lucy.^[4] In 2001, St. Pope John Paul II included in the General Roman Calendar the memorial of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December.^[5] Consequently, he moved the memorial of Saint Jane Frances to 12 August.^[6]

Writings of Saint Jane Frances[edit]

Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, medal 1867

Saint Jane Frances de Chantal wrote some exemplary letters of spiritual direction.^[7]

References[edit]

^ Jump up to:^a ^b ^c Foley O.F.M., Leonard. “St. Jane Frances de Chantal”, Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, (revised by Pat McCloskey O.F.M.), Franciscan Media
^ Jump up to:^a ^b ^c Pernin, Raphael. “St. Jane Frances de Chantal.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 2 Feb. 2013
Jump up^http://www.piercedhearts.org/theology_heart/life_saints/jane_chantal.htm
Jump up^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1969), p. 110
Jump up^ Decree 2492/01/L of 18 December 2001 of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Jump up^ Newsletter of the USCCB Committee on Divine Worship, May-June 2009, pg. 24
Jump up^ Francis de Sales, Jane De Chantal, Letters of Spiritual Direction (Classics of Western Spirituality), translated by Péronne Marie Thibert, V.H.M. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 1988.

Bibliography[edit]

Saint Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal (1988). Francis de Sales, Jane de Chantal: Letters of Spiritual Direction. Paulist Press.

PagadianDiocese.org