Readings & Reflections: Wednesday of the Second Week of Easter & St. Adalbert of Prague, April 22,2020
“Whoever lives the truth comes to the light.” This happens literally to Peter when the angel of the Lord leads Peter out of the darkness of the jail into the morning light of the Temple area. “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son.” “Look to him.”
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Opening Prayer
“Lord Jesus Christ, your love is better than life itself. May your love consume and transform my life that I may desire you above all else. Help me to love what you love, to desire what you desire, and to reject what you reject”. In Your Name, I pray. Amen
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Reading 1
Acts 5:17-26
The high priest rose up and all his companions,
that is, the party of the Sadducees,
and, filled with jealousy,
laid hands upon the Apostles and put them in the public jail.
But during the night, the angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison,
led them out, and said,
“Go and take your place in the temple area,
and tell the people everything about this life.”
When they heard this,
they went to the temple early in the morning and taught.
When the high priest and his companions arrived,
they convened the Sanhedrin,
the full senate of the children of Israel,
and sent to the jail to have them brought in.
But the court officers who went did not find them in the prison,
so they came back and reported,
“We found the jail securely locked
and the guards stationed outside the doors,
but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this report,
they were at a loss about them,
as to what this would come to.
Then someone came in and reported to them,
“The men whom you put in prison are in the temple area
and are teaching the people.”
Then the captain and the court officers went and brought them,
but without force,
because they were afraid of being stoned by the people.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 3:16-21
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him will not be condemned,
but whoever does not believe has already been condemned,
because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
And this is the verdict,
that the light came into the world,
but people preferred darkness to light,
because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light
and does not come toward the light,
so that his works might not be exposed.
But whoever lives the truth comes to the light,
so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection 1 – The truth comes to the light
“Whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God.”
It is springtime and quietly the plant world, starts to have life as their roots slowly hold firm the underground. Just a soon as they break out in the surface, they start to grow toward the light. They live on light by turning light into food, roots are fed and young leaves nourished. In time, stems pop up and more leaves sprout and they blossom into one of nature’s full-grown beauties.
Just like a plant, every man who lives in the Truth and by the Truth always comes to the Light for like the nubs of shoots which have the desire to have light, we too have the inner fiber that seeks the Light for what is right and morally acceptable in life. Even if we are deep in darkness, even if we cannot see the glimmer of light, man’s in-born goodness seeks the Light that guides and brings joy, peace and most importantly, life.
However, no matter how much man tries to always live in the Light, sin may run one’s life and man may hide from the Light for fear of being exposed. When it appears that God is nowhere to be found, it is “us” in the turmoil of our lives of our passion, who turn away from God’s light.
But we all know that God’s love for us, which He brought to all of us through the Light that flows from knowing Jesus and accepting Him as our Lord and Savior, nourishes our being, our hearts and our lives even those that are so sorely hidden.
Just as green stems in spring time stay connected to their darker roots, just as the roots grow when stems do, a man’s life, no matter how dark, will be transformed and will grow deeper in the ways of the Lord; will mature into the creation God has planned from the very beginning, if we seek the Light and open our lives to the Light.
The Light of Christ that we take into our lives will keep the very roots of our souls alive and will heal the rest of our woundedness and brokenness. A man who is truly sincere in his relationship with God, and is honest before God, brings his life to the Light of Christ so in time he is made whole and through His faith is given a new life. His light becomes one with the Light of Christ so that his works are seen clearly as done in God!
Direction
Seek Jesus in every facet of life and receive His Light.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I need your Light amidst the darkness and turmoil of my sinful heart. In Jesus, I hope and pray. Amen.
Reflection 2 – Disciples bring truth about evil into the light
Maryknoll Sister Janice McLaughlin remembers well what her bishop advised her when she went to work for the CatholicCommission for Justice and Peace in the war-torn African country of Rhodesia, “Never be afraid to speak the truth, no matter the consequences,” he said. While investigating the murder of seven Catholic missionaries, Sister Janice knew that she was leaving herself open to repercussions from the secret service. But she helped bring the military assassins to justice. Then she was arrested, detained and deported. Sister Janice noted that by trying to suppress the truth, the authorities had helped to bring it to light.
Before going to his own death, Jesus told his friends that “the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” He knew full well that his enemies were working behind the scenes to entrap him. He was certain that they would do everything in their power to get rid of him. Yet he continued by his outspoken preaching and his courageous example to be the Light of the World. He prayed that his persecutors would come out of the darkness of hatred and fear.
When word of the apostles’ success in converting and healing people reached the high priest, he was overcome with jealousy of their power. He had them thrown into prison. But worldly authorities could not contend with the angel who freed the miracle workers from behind bars. Those who had embraced the light could not be stopped.
Bringing the truth to light is a ministry that belongs to all who have been baptized into the body of Christ. We must never be afraid to speak the truth, whatever the consequences. If we discern evil inclination in our own hearts, we must be willing to bring them out of the darkness into the light of contrition and reconciliation. If we discern evil in the world, we are called to pray and do all that we can to correct unjust systems and convert those who practice injustice. As Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel says, “To remain silent and indifferent is the greatest sin of all.” (Source: Gloria Hutchinson. Weekday Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, April 14, 2010).
Reflection 3 – Peace On Earth
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. –John 3:16
Perhaps you remember the newspaper photograph in December 1991 that showed eight members of a police SWAT team looking for a sniper in a small Missouri town. Stretched across the road over their heads was a Christmas banner that read “Peace On Earth.” The headline above the photo said: Four Killed, One Wounded in Attacks.
Events that hardly faze us the rest of the year seem tragic and out of place as we approach Christmas. The message of the angels is mocked by angry shouts and endless violence.
Every Christmas I remind myself that the world into which Jesus was born was not draped with pine boughs and soft glowing lights. Families were gathering to sign the tax rolls of a tyrannical Roman government, not to sing carols and exchange gifts.
John 3:16 states, “God so loved the world”–the givers and takers, movers and shakers, snipers and SWAT teams–“that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever”–the haves and have-nots, frightened children and anxious parents–“believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
The offer still stands. People everywhere can have peace on earth if they’ll look for it in Jesus. — David C. McCasland
The angels said at Jesus’ birth
That He was bringing peace on earth;
God’s inner peace we can receive
If in His Son we will believe. –Sper
No God, no peace; know God, know peace (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).
Reflection 4 – The Greatest
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. –John 3:16
Someone sent me an excellent outline of John 3:16, a verse that is often referred to as “God’s miniature Bible.” Here it is:
God—the greatest lover
so loved —the greatest degree
the world —the greatest company
that He gave —the greatest act
His only begotten Son —the greatest gift
that whoever believes —the greatest simplicity
in Him —the greatest person
should not perish —the greatest promise
but—the greatest difference
have—the greatest certainty
everlasting life —the greatest possession
I heard about a young girl whose mother was reading to her the third chapter of John. Pausing after verse 16, the mother exclaimed, “Don’t you think that verse is amazing, dear?” The child thought and then said, “No.” The mother thought the youngster must have misunderstood, so she repeated the question. But again the girl shook her head, saying, “No. It would be amazing if it were anyone else, Mother. But it’s really just like God!” Indeed, the child with her simple faith had understood that the great gift of salvation could naturally be expected from a great God.
With reverent adoration, let us recognize that God, His love, and His eternal gift are naturally “the greatest.” — Henry G. Bosch
God loved the world of sinners, lost
And ruined by the fall;
Salvation, full, at highest cost,
He offers free to all. —Stockton
Salvation is a gift to be received, not a goal to be achieved (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).
Reflection 5 – God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
Do you know the love which surpasses the greatest joy and happiness which one could ever hope to find in this life? Greater love is manifested in the cost and sacrifice of the giver. True lovers hold nothing back but give the best that can be offered to their beloved, including all they possess, even their very lives. God proved his love for each and every one of us by giving us the best he had to offer – his only begotten Son who freely offered up his life for our sake as the atoning sacrifice for our sins and the sin of the world.
God loves each of us uniquely and personally
Abraham’s willing sacrifice of his only son, Isaac, prefigures the perfect offering and sacrifice of God’s beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This passage in the Gospel of John tells us of the great breadth and width of God’s love. Not an excluding love for just a few or for a single nation, but a redemptive love that embraces the whole world, and a personal love for each and every individual whom God has created in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26,27). God is the eternal Father of Love who cannot rest until his wandering children have returned home to him. Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) said, God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.God gives us the freedom to choose whom and what we will love.
Truth, goodness, and beauty are made perfect in the love of Christ
Jesus shows us the paradox of love and judgment. We can love the darkness of sin and unbelief or we can love the light of God’s truth, goodness, and beauty. If our love is guided by what is true, and good, and beautiful then we will choose for God and love him above all else. What we love shows what we prefer and value most. Do you love God above all else? Does he take first place in your life, in your thoughts, affections, and actions?
“Lord Jesus Christ, your love is better than life itself. May your love consume and transform my heart with all of its yearnings, aspirations, fears, hurts, and concerns, that I may freely desire you above all else and love all others generously for your sake and for your glory. Make me to love what you love, desire what you desire, and give generously as you have been so generous towards me”. –Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2019/may1.htm
Reflection 6 – Whoever believes in him will not be condemned
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
The dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus continues. In these verses, however, it is not easy to determine whether these are the words of Jesus or of the evangelist, the Apostle John. Being the Pneumatic Writer, John’s Gospel is replete with symbolisms and profound theological reflections, such as in these particular verses.
The Gospel reading today contains the most fundamental synthesis of the entire Good News proclaimed by the Lord. God’s first and only instinct is to love us and for us to experience that love: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And later, in his First Letter, St. John gives the reason for this when he categorically declares: “God is love” (1Jn 4:16).
Unfortunately, the world is full of people who are suffering and in pain. This is caused by man’s unbridled selfishness and insatiable obsession for material things, turning persons into mere objects of pleasure and cheap commodity. This is the sad reality in the world. The story below is one such example:
“Norma Jean turned into a very pretty young girl and people began to notice. Boys whistled at her and she began to enjoy that, but she always wished they would notice she was a person too – not just a body, or a pretty face – but a person.
“Then Norma Jean went to Hollywood and took a new name, Marilyn Monroe. The publicity people told her, ‘We are going to create a modern sex symbol out of you.’ And this was her reaction, ‘A symbol? Aren’t symbols things people hit together?’ They said, ‘Honey, it doesn’t matter, because we are going to make you the most smoldering sex symbol that ever hit the celluloid.’
“She was an overnight smash success, but everyone hated her. She was regarded as a selfish prima donna. She would keep her crews waiting for two hours on the set. What they didn’t know was that she was in her dressing room vomiting because she was so terrified.
“She kept saying, ‘Will someone please notice I am a person? Please.’ They refused to notice. They wouldn’t take her seriously. “She went through three marriages – always pleading, ‘Take me seriously as a person.’ Everyone kept saying, ‘But you are a sex symbol. You can’t be other than that.’ “Marilyn kept saying ‘I want to be a person. I want to be a serious actress.’ And so on that Saturday night, at the age of 35 when all beautiful women are supposed to be on the arms of a handsome escort, Marilyn Monroe took her own life. She killed herself.
“When her maid found her body the next morning, she noticed the telephone was off the hook. It was dangling there beside her. Later investigation revealed that in the last moments of her life she had called a Hollywood actor and told him she had taken enough sleeping pills to kill herself. “He answered with the famous line of the movie character Rhett Butler, ‘Frankly, my dear, I don’t care!’ Those were the last words she heard. She dropped the phone – left it dangling.
“An American author and politician, Claire Booth Luce, in a very sensitive article, asked, ‘What really killed Marilyn Monroe, love goddess who never found any love?’ She said she thought the dangling telephone was the symbol of Marilyn Monroe’s whole life. She died because she never got through to anyone who understood.” (James Heffington, Faithlife Sermons)
God so loved the world. His love is total and unconditional for every one of His creatures. In His eyes, all of us – good or bad, sinners or saints – without exception, are loveable. And the visible proof of His love is the cross on which hang His only Son Jesus. He died that we may be saved. He gave up His life that we may have eternal life.
But there are so many people who, like Marilyn Monroe, are hurting deep inside and frantically looking for love. We may be surprised to find that some of them are members of our family. But most people around them, and even those closest to them, seem not to care. The sad conclusion of the true story above continues to haunt us each day: “She died because she never got through to anyone who understood.”
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He gave this all-important instruction to all His disciples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations… And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:19, 20). Jesus has already done His share. He has already offered His life as proof of His love for us. It is now the turn of His disciples – all of us – to continue what He did. So, John the Apostle exhorts us all: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another” (1Jn 4:11).
In our own little way, through our kind words, listening ears and even just a little of our precious time, may we “Tell the world of His love; the greatest love the world has known.” – (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Matandang Balara, Quezon City 1119).
Reflection 7 – Living free of condemnation
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Our Gospel reading today makes very clear a truth that many of us don’t fully believe: Jesus did not come here to condemn anyone. Yet we feel condemned whenever we feel guilty about a sin. Why is that?
It’s because we are harder on ourselves than we are on others. On the surface, it seems that we’re supposed to do that. To be easy on ourselves (e.g.: “I’m okay, I’m not really sinning.”) would be self-indulgent, which is rooted in the sin of pride, right? Yes, but usually the reason why people rationalize that their sins are really not sins is because they’re afraid of feeling condemned, which translates to feeling unloved, which translates as proof that they are unlovable.
Have you been unable to forgive yourself? Are you trying to find your happiness in how others treat you because you don’t feel happy about yourself? Do you feel like you don’t get enough affirmation, but when you do get it, you feel embarrassed and unworthy?
These are typical results from failing to grasp the full meaning of this scripture. They are the normal consequences of believing that we’re not good enough no matter what we do.
When we sin, guilt confirms that we deserve to be condemned. When we innocently make a mistake, this too seems to confirm that we deserve to be condemned, and so we condemn ourselves for making the mistake instead of seeing it as just another learning tool. And every unjust, unfair, unkind situation that happens to us also triggers this feeling of being condemned.
The truth is: You were freed from condemnation when you accepted the idea that Christ sacrificed his life on the cross for you.
When we sin, we are guilty of doing something evil, and when we repent, we return to the freedom gained by Christ. But too often guilt becomes shame, i.e., the feeling that we are evil, not to be confused with “regret”, which motivates us to avoid committing the same evil again.
Guilt informs us that we have done evil, regret motivates us to avoid evil, but shame tells us that we are evil. Shame continues to condemn us long after we’ve been forgiven by Jesus. Guilt tells us the truth about ourselves, regret invites us to grow from it, but shame lies to us and paralyzes our growth.
The truth is: There is no shame in realizing that we’ve sinned, because facing it frees us to become who we really are. Who are you really? Thanks to your baptism and the presence of Christ’s Holy Spirit within you, you are holy!
The good we do is the earthly ministry of Christ as he serves today’s world through us. As repentant Christians, we live in his light and our works are seen as done in God. Therefore, God delights in you. Don’t let shame hide this truth. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-05-01
Reflection 8 – Trusting in the light of Christ in an imperfect Church
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The institutional Church is not perfect. We know it. The secular media like to point it out whenever they have the opportunity. And many Catholics no longer go to Mass because of it.
Whether it’s the very disturbing scandals of the molestation of children and other abuses by priests, or bullying by parish managers, or the judgmentalism of lay persons whose sharp words condemn, or unpastoral bishops, it’s all scandalous, because it’s all anti-evangelization — it’s not Christ-like.
However, there’s good news in this! The pain of doing something to stop what’s bad, and the embarrassment of facing the need for change, and even the pain of negative media attention, are a cross that leads to resurrection.
The Church — the imperfect representation of Christ — can always be resurrected into a better Servant. It starts with you and me. It includes how well we love abusers in addition to caring for the abused and how well we affirm the holy priests we do have so that they become visible role models. It includes standing up to bullies while finding a way to do it with mercy. It includes silencing judgmentalism while extending a hand of love to the judgmental, while also supporting the judged.
Any form of abuse or unloving response to abuse by a Christian is a grave sin, because it harms the whole Body of Christ as it turns away the unbelievers who are watching. How far should we go to stop this? What are we willing to sacrifice to heal the Body of Christ?
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus points out that those who do evil prefer darkness so that their wickedness can continue unnoticed. Most of us, however, tend to contribute to this darkness. When we witness abuses, we’re afraid to speak up for fear of reprisal, or we’re afraid that it’s a sin to take action because it will make the Church look bad, or we’re afraid that there aren’t enough priests and it’s better to have a bad one than none at all, or we’re afraid of seeing more than we’re comfortable seeing.
The good news is: Jesus has overcome the darkness! We are an Easter people. The Lord can bring to light what has been hidden. Sins need be exposed so they can lead to repentance, and how it’s handled needs to be exposed so the world sees what real love is like, and holiness needs to be exposed so that others are inspired to embrace the faith.
What we see in the light is sometimes very ugly, repulsive, shocking, and dismaying, but isn’t that what Jesus looked like on the cross? If we truly prefer the light, we thank God for the cross of exposed sins and we trust his Holy Spirit while looking forward to the inevitable resurrection. Although bringing sin into the light is painful, it really is the way of Christ. The New Testament is full of such stories.
The cross is the only way to redemption. Jesus redeems scandals by raising up much good from them. – Read the source: https://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2020-04-22
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Reflection 9 – St. Adalbert of Prague (956-997 A.D.)
Opposition to the Good News of Jesus did not discourage Adalbert, who is now remembered with great honor in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Germany.
Born to a noble family in Bohemia, he received part of his education from St. Adalbert of Magdeburg. At the age of 27 he was chosen as bishop of Prague. Those who resisted his program of clerical reform forced him into exile eight years later.
In time, the people of Prague requested his return as their bishop. Within a short time, however, he was exiled again after excommunicating those who violated the right of sanctuary by dragging a woman accused of adultery from a church and murdering her.
After a short ministry in Hungary, he went to preach the Good News to people living near the Baltic Sea. He and two companions were martyred by pagan priests in that region. Adalbert’s body was immediately ransomed and buried in Gniezno cathedral (Poland). In the mid-11th century his relics were moved to St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Comment:
Preaching the Good News can be dangerous work whether the audience is already baptized or not. Adalbert fearlessly preached Jesus’ gospel and received a martyr’s crown for his efforts. Similar zeal has created modern martyrs in many places, especially in Central and South America. Some of those martyrs grew up in areas once evangelized by Adalbert.
Quote:
“O God, [you] bestowed the crown of martyrdom on the Bishop St. Adalbert, as he burned with zeal for for souls, grant, we pray, by his prayers, that the obedience of his flock may never fail the shephered, nor the care of the shepherd be ever lacking to the flock.” (Roman Missal, Common of a Martyr in the Easter season).
Read the source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1910
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. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.
| ST. ADALBERT OF PRAGUE | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| BISHOP AND MARTYR | |
| BORN | c. 956 Libice nad Cidlinou, Bohemia |
| DIED | 23 April 997 Truso (Elbląg, Poland), Prussiaor Kaliningrad Oblast |
| VENERATED IN | Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| CANONIZED | 999, Rome by Pope Sylvester II |
| MAJOR SHRINE | Gniezno, Prague |
| FEAST | 23 April |
| PATRONAGE | Poland, Bohemia, Hungary |
St. Adalbert of Prague (Czech: 
Vojtěch (help·info), Polish: Wojciech, Latin: Adalbertus, Voitecus; c. 956 – 23 April 997), was a Bohemian missionary and Christian saint. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, and Prussians, who was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians to Christianity. He is the composer of Bogurodzica, the oldest known Polish hymn.[1] St. Adalbert was later declared the patron saint ofBohemia, Poland, Hungary and the former polity of Prussia.
Contents
[hide]
Life[edit]
Early Years[edit]
Adalbert, named Vojtěch at birth, was born into a noble Czech family, to Prince Slavník and his wife Střezislava inLibice nad Cidlinou, Bohemia. His father was the rich and independent ruler of the Zličanprincipality that rivaled Prague(see Slavník’s dynasty). Adalbert had five natural brothers: Soběslav (Slavnik’s heir; died 1004), Spytimír, Pobraslav, Pořej, and Čáslav, and a half-brother named Radim of his father’s liaison with another woman. Radim chose a clerical career as did Adalbert, and took the name Gaudentius. Having survived a grave illness in childhood, his parents decided to dedicate Vojtěch to the service of God.[2] Adalbert was well educated, having studied for approximately ten years (970-80) in Magdeburg under the tutelage of St. Adalbert of Magdeburg.[3] The young Vojtěch took his tutor’s name “Adalbert” at his Confirmation.
Episcopacy[edit]
Monument to St. Adalbert and his brother Gaudentius, Libice nad Cidlinou, Czech Republic.
In 981 St. Adalbert of Magdeburg died, and his young protege Adalbert returned to Bohemia. Later Bishop Dietmar of Pragueordained him a Roman Catholic priest. In 982, Bishop Dietmar died, and Adalbert, despite being under canonical age, was chosen to succeed him as Bishop of Prague.[3] Amiable and somewhat worldly, he was not expected to trouble the secular powers by making excessive claims for the Church.[4] Although Adalbert was from a wealthy family, he avoided comfort and luxury, and was noted for his charity and austerity. After six years of prayer and preaching, he had made little headway in evangelizing the Bohemians, who maintained deeply embedded pagan beliefs.
Adalbert opposed the participation of Christians in the slave trade and complained of polygamy and idolatry, which were common among the people. Once he started to propose reforms he was met with opposition from both the secular powers and the clergy. His family refused to support Duke Boleslaus in an unsuccessful war against Poland. Adalbert was no longer welcome and eventually forced into exile.[3] In 990 he went to Rome. He lived as a hermit at the Benedictine monastery of Saint Alexis. Five years later, Boleslaus requested that the Pope send Adalbert back to Prague, in hopes of securing his family’s support. Pope John XV agreed, with the understanding that Adalbert was free to leave Prague if he continued to encounter entrenched resistance.[2] Adalbert returned as bishop of Prague, where he was initially received with demonstrations of apparent joy.[5] and founded a monastery in Břevnov near the City, it being the first monastery in the Czech territory.
In 995, the Slavniks‘ former rivalry with the Přemyslids, who were allied with the powerful Bohemian clan of the Vršovcis, resulted in the storming of the Slavnik town of Libice nad Cidlinou, led by the Přemyslid Boleslaus II the Pious. During the struggle four or five of Adalbert’s brothers were killed. The Zličan principality became part of the Přemyslids’ estate. Adalbert unsuccessfully attempted to protect a noblewoman caught in adultery. She had fled to a convent, where she was killed. In upholding the right of sanctuary, Bishop Adalbert responded by excommunicating the murderers.[2] Butler suggests that the incident was orchestrated by enemies of his family.[4]
After this, Adalbert could not safely stay in Bohemia and escaped from Prague. Strachkvas was eventually appointed to be his successor. However, Strachkvas suddenly died during the liturgy at which he was to accede to his episcopal office in Prague. The cause of his death are still ambiguous. The Pope directed Adalbert to resume his see, but believing that he would not be allowed back, he requested a brief as an itinerant missionary.[4]
Adalbert then traveled to Hungary and probably baptized Géza of Hungary and his son Stephen in Esztergom. Then he went to Polandwhere he was cordially welcomed by then-Duke Boleslaus I and installed as Bishop of Gniezno.[5]
Mission and Martyrdom in Prussia[edit]
The execution of St. Adalbert by the pagan Prussians, Gniezno Doorspanel
Adalbert again relinquished his diocese, namely that of Gniezno, and set out as a missionary to preach to the inhabitants nearPrussia.[6]Bolesław I, Duke (and, later, King) of Poland, sent soldiers with Adalbert on his mission to the Prussians. The Bishop and his companions, including his half-brother Radim (Gaudentius), entered Prussian territory and traveled along the coast of the Baltic Sea to Gdańsk.
Success attended his efforts at first, but his imperious manner in commanding the people to abandon paganism irritated them, and at the instigation of one of the pagan priests he was murdered on 23 April 997[5] on the Baltic Sea coast east of Truso(currently the city of Elbląg) or near Tenkitten and Fischhausen. It is recorded that his body was bought back for its weight ingold by King Boleslaus I of Poland.
Veneration and Relics[edit]
Silver coffin of St. Adalbert, Cathedral inGniezno
A few years after his martyrdom, Adalbert was canonized as St. Adalbert of Prague. His life was written in Vita Sancti Adalberti Pragensis by various authors, the earliest being traced to imperial Aachen and the Bishop of Liège, Notger von Lüttich, although it was previously assumed that the Roman monk John Canaparius wrote the first Vita in 999. Another famous biographer of St. Adalbert was St. Bruno of Querfurt who wrote a hagiography of him in 1001-4.
Notably, the Přemyslid rulers of Bohemia initially refused to ransom St. Adalbert’s body from the Prussians who murdered him, and therefore it was purchased by Poles. This fact may be explained by the Saint belonging to the Slavniks family which was rival to the Přemyslids. Thus St. Adalbert’s bones were preserved in Gniezno, which assisted Boleslaus I of Poland in increasing Polish political and diplomatic power in Europe.
According to Bohemian accounts, in 1039 the Bohemian Duke Břetislav I looted the bones of St. Adalbert from Gniezno in a raid and translated them to Prague. According to Polish accounts, however, he stole the wrong relics, namely those of St. Gaudentius, while the Poles concealed St. Adalbert’s relics, and consequently remain in Gniezno. In 1127 his severed head, which was not in the original purchase according to Roczniki Polskie, was discovered and translated to Gniezno. In 1928, one of the arms of St. Adalbert, which Bolesław I had given to Holy Roman Emperor Otto III in 1000, was added to the bones preserved in Gniezno. Therefore, today St. Adalbert has two elaborate shrines in the Prague Cathedral and Royal Cathedral of Gniezno, each of which claims to possess his relics, but which of their bones are his authentic relics is unknown. For example, pursuant to both claims the Saint has two skulls. The one in Gniezno was stolen in 1923.
The massive bronze doors of Gniezno Cathedral, dating from around 1175, are decorated with eighteen reliefs of scenes from the Saint’s life. They are the onlyRomanesque ecclesiastical doors in Europe depicting a cycle illustrating the life of a saint and therefore are a precious relic documenting Adalbert’s martyrdom.
23 April 1997 was the one thousandth anniversary of St. Adalbert’s martyrdom. It was commemorated in Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia, and other nations. Representatives of Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Evangelical churches traveled on a pilgrimage to the Saint’s tomb located in Gniezno. Pope St. John Paul II visited the cathedral and celebrated a liturgy there in which heads of seven European nations and approximately one million faithful participated.
A ten-meter cross was erected near the village of Beregovoe (formerly Tenkitten), Kaliningrad Oblast where St. Adalbert is thought to have been martyred by the Prussians.
Places Named for Him in the United States[edit]
- St. Adalbert Roman Catholic Church, Chicago
- Minor Basilica of St. Adalbert, Grand Rapids, Michigan
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church and its attached school, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Two cemeteries in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- St. Adalbert School, Port Richmond, Staten Island, New York
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church and The Academy of Saint Adalbert, Berea, Ohio
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church in Schenectady, New York[7]
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church and School, Cleveland, Ohio
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church and School, South Bend, Indiana[8]
- St. Adalbert Catholic Church, Providence, Rhode Island
- St. Adalbert National Catholic Church, Dickson City, Pennsylvania
See also[edit]
- History of the Czech lands in the Middle Ages
- History of Poland (966–1385)
- Congress of Gniezno
- Gniezno Doors
- St. Adalbert of Magdeburg
References[edit]
- Jump up^ A.P.Vlasto (1970). The Entry of the Slavs Into Christendom: An Introduction to the Medieval History of the Slavs. Church History. p. 123.
- ^ Jump up to:a b c “St. Adalbert of Prague”, Catholic News Agency
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Leonard Foley, OFM, “St. Adalbert of Prague”, Saint of the Day, Lives, Lessons and Feast, revised by Pat McCloskey, OFM, Franciscan Media
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Butler, Alban. “St. Adalbert of Prague”, Butler’s Lives of the Saints, Liturgical Press, 2003, ISBN 9780814629031
- ^ Jump up to:a b c Thomas Campbell, “St. Adalbert”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907), accessed 7 December 2014.
- Jump up^ Monks of Ramsgate. “Adalbert”, Book of Saints (1921)
- Jump up^ http://www.rcda.org/churches/stadalbert/
- Jump up^