Readings & Reflections: Friday of the Second Week of Easter & St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen, April 24,2020
Fidelis was born Mark Rey, of well-to-do parents in Sigmaringen (modern Germany). He excelled at philosophy and both civil and ecclesial law. In 1611 A.D., he took up practice as a “poor man’s lawyer.” Seeing the frequent bribes pressed into the hands of his colleagues convinced him to enter the Capuchins. Fidelis received a commission to preach in Prattingau (present-day Switzerland) among Catholics who had turned to Protestantism. In April 1622, residents of Seewis assaulted him, demanding his apostasy. When Fidelis refused, he was killed by a blow to the head. Fidelis is one of the patrons of the legal profession.
“A larged crowd followed” Jesus because “they saw the signs he was performing.” However, when the Sanhedrin members see similar signs in the Apostles who speak “in the name of Jesus,” it makes them want to “destroy” the Apostles. Thank God for the hunger in our life that moves us to proclaim of “Christ, Jesus:” “This is truly the Prophet.”
AMDG+
Opening Prayer
“Lord, you satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Ps 81:16). Fill us with gratitude and give us a generous heart that we may freely share with others what you have given to us.” In Jesus’ Mighty Name, we pray. Amen.
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Reading I
Acts 5:34-42
A Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel,
a teacher of the law, respected by all the people,
stood up, ordered the Apostles to be put outside for a short time,
and said to the Sanhedrin, “Fellow children of Israel,
be careful what you are about to do to these men.
Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be someone important,
and about four hundred men joined him, but he was killed,
and all those who were loyal to him
were disbanded and came to nothing.
After him came Judas the Galilean at the time of the census.
He also drew people after him,
but he too perished and all who were loyal to him were scattered.
So now I tell you,
have nothing to do with these men, and let them go.
For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin,
it will destroy itself.
But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them;
you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
They were persuaded by him.
After recalling the Apostles, they had them flogged,
ordered them to stop speaking in the name of Jesus,
and dismissed them.
So they left the presence of the Sanhedrin,
rejoicing that they had been found worthy
to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name.
And all day long, both at the temple and in their homes,
they did not stop teaching and proclaiming the Christ, Jesus.
The word of the Lord.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 27:1, 4, 13-14
R (see 4abc) One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
One thing I ask of the LORD
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R One thing I seek: to dwell in the house of the Lord.
or:
R Alleluia.
Gospel
Jn 6:1-15
Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection 1 – The saw the signs
If what one is doing is for God and His cause, then no one can stop him as everything works out for the good of those who love Him. As in today’s gospel, nothing could have stopped Jesus when He fed 5,000 men with five barley loaves and two fish, satisfied them and with more than enough fragments of left over. In our lives, I have only stood in awe of God’s power and authority over all the earth, having been witness to how God has worked on those who sought Him by using the most broken people.
“So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”
However as we meditate on the invincibility of God’s plan and of His will, what we should bear in our hearts is not how powerful and invincible we become as we allow God to use us in His mighty purpose but how pride, arrogance and complacency can cause us to lose our focus on Him and in time bring us to fail in our work for the Lord.
Even if one is acclaimed by God’s people as very much under the guidance of the Spirit and is considered God’s most anointed worker, one may lose God’s mighty anointing once focus is removed from God and placed on self and those within one’s inner circle. When this happens, what started off as a blessed undertaking for the Lord becomes one’s own personal struggle for power and control. Sad to say, one will find himself not doing God’s work but unknowingly fighting God Himself.
Today, as we endeavor to do God’s work, let us ask our hearts if we are truly working for God or for our own personal motivations and aspirations. Quite a number of churches established in the Name of Jesus have done great things for God and have geometrically grown in numbers, have ministered to great multitudes but as soon as their leaders start to see themselves and no longer our God, as soon as they failed to see Jesus in others, most of them failed in their work and are now gone in oblivion. Sad to say, some churches are suffering not because our Lord is not with His people, but because of they had to go through the effects of decisions forced upon them by a “leader” who thought he was serving God but was only truly serving himself.
Are we going to allow this to happen to our very own church? To do God’s work, we should be deeply rooted in Him as He is the very ground of our being. As long as our lives are founded on His works, we can, at every moment, draw from Him the life and sustenance, the strength and comfort we need to face and to triumph over whatever comes. With Jesus right on in our hearts, no one and nothing can stop us from doing our work for God and His people!
Direction
God has already given us the gift of His Hand. We only have to take it and never let go.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, never depart from my life as I endeavor to do my work for You and your people. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Reflection 2 – The Gospel Reflects the Mass
By the time St. John wrote his Gospel some sixty years after the death and resurrection of Jesus, the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday had been firmly established as an expression of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. St. John constructed his sixth chapter in such a way that his readers would be drawn to see their Sunday observance reflected in his Gospel. Almost twenty centuries later we do well to see the reality.
The sixth chapter opens with the marvelous narrative of how Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 barley loaves and a couple of fish. It was, in St. John’s words, a vast crowd. The Mass is not a private devotion or the privilege of a few. It is the celebration of the “vast crowd” throughout the world who are God’s people.
St. John remarks that the Jewish feast of Passover was near. That was not so much a designation of the time of the year as it was an indication of the meaning of the Eucharist. Eucharist is our Christian Passover, the celebration of the sacrifice which has given us the gift of freedom from sin and established us as God’s people. In the 4thEucharistic acclamation we cry out: “Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free; you are the Savior of the world.”
St. John goes on to observe that when it was time to feed the people, a lad came forward with five loaves of bread and a couple of fish and gave them to Jesus. It seemed like almost nothing compared to the need of so many people. In the same way at Mass some of the people bring forward bread and wine to begin the preparation of the gifts. They are that lad of the Gospel and the gifts they present to the priest seem insignificant in comparison with what they will become.
In the story about the loaves Jesus performed Eucharistic actions. Jesus took the loaves of bread and gave thanks (the word “Eucharist” means to give thanks). At this point St. Matthew (14:13-21) in his narrative helps us with an important detail. He says that after Jesus had looked up to heaven and give thanks, he broke the bread and gave the loaves to his disciples who distributed the bread among the people. That looks exactly like what happens at Mass when the priest is assisted by the special ministers of the Eucharist.
What about the fish? They are not part of our Eucharistic meal but a fish is an ancient, and still current, Christian symbol. The initial letters in Greek for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior form an acronym which spells out the Greek word for fish: “ICHTHUS.” For people alert to the meaning of symbols, any mention of a fish makes them remember that God loved us so much that he sent his only Son who became our Savior through the sacrificial offering of himself on the cross. The Eucharist is the living memorial of that sacrifice. During the celebration we exclaim to Christ: “Dying you destroyed our death; rising you restored our life.”
For the next four Sundays we will be hearing parts of this sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, and with each Sunday we will see more deeply into the meaning of the Holy Eucharist. (Source: Charles E. Miller, CM. Sunday Preaching. New York: Alba House, 1996, pp. 226-227)
Reflection 3 – There’s always enough
In today’s gospel, Jesus multiplies five barley loves and two fish so that they feed a crowd of over 5,000 people to satisfaction. But John tells us, “When they had their fill, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” One imagines the disciples may have wondered why they needed to go to all that effort when they had just witnessed Jesus creating bread out of almost nothing.
We forget in the good times about the need to save, to conserve, to avoid waste. Those who lived through the Great Depression have spent a lifetime saving things that their children and grandchildren think of as disposable. Ironically, some of those same children and grandchildren are now doing the same thing in the interest of being “green” and saving the planet from a mountain trash.
In the Our Father, we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It reminds us that if we have faith in God, there will always be enough. This is not an easy lesson to learn. Fear, insecurity, greed, envy – these things all work against a simple trust in God’s providence. Even in the idealized world of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles, we find disputes arising about whether the Greek-speaking widows are getting as much food as the Hebrew-speaking widows.
As we gather each day for Eucharist, we pray that as our spirits are fed by the Bread of Life, so our bodies will be nourished and will in turn nourish others. Conserving our resources, sharing what we have with those in need, and making sure that we waste neither our material goods nor our spiritual energy will move us closer to that heavenly banquet in the kingdom of God. (Source: Diane M. Houdek, Weekdaay Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, April 24, 2009).
Reflection 4 – This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world
When the crowd realized what Jesus had done in multiplying the loves, they thought he might be the messiah. They were an occupied nation, suffering under the yoke of a foreign power, and they looked for a deliverer sent by God to free them from oppression by Rome. They wanted to make him the leader of a popular liberation movement.
Not much later, another crowd was after him. They said to the Roman governor, “Crucify him!”
Why did the crowd love him so much at first? He had healed them and fed them. He gave them what they wanted, so they wanted him to be their leader. They were waiting for a messiah who would be a king and conqueror. They saw what he could do, and they realized that he had power, marvelous power. They thought that if they could harness him and his power to their dream, things could begin to happen. If they had been honest, they would have had to admit that they wanted to use him. When they found out that he did not share their dream and would not let them use him, they turned on him.
We like to think that we’re better than that crowd. Let’s hope so. But there are some disturbing resemblances between them and us.
When some people want comfort in sorrow, or strength in difficulties, or help in hard times, they turn to Jesus and open their hearts to him. But when he asks them for sacrifice, or offers them a cross, or just doesn’t give them what they asked for, they want to have nothing to do with him. Are we like that? When we pray to Christ, is it for strength to carry out our own ideas and plans, or for strength to accept his plans and wishes?
When we look back on our lives, we can see times when we didn’t get what we asked for, but it turned out for the best. Sometimes we were disappointed by events, but in the larger scheme of things we were better off. At the time, God appeared to disappoint us, but later on we looked back and saw that he had been watching over us. The same thing goes on between parents and children. Wise parents may have to say no: the children resent them, and much later, they thank them.
God loves us and wants us to pray to him. Often our prayer is, “Lord, give me the strength to do what I want to do.” That’s okay. But a better prayer is, “Lord, give the strength to do what you want me to do.”
Recall: A time when you didn’t get what you wanted and it turned out to be for the best. (Source: Rev. James DiGiacomo, SJ. Sundays with Jesus. Reflections for the Year of Mark. New York: Paulist Press, 2008, pp. 73-74).
Reflection 5 – Broken Loaves Broken Lives
Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost. –John 6:12
While I was leading a seminar, I passed around a loaf of unsliced bread and asked each person to respond to it. One squeezed it and said, “It’s fresh.” Another commented, “It smells delicious.” Still another noted, “It looks nourishing.”
Finally someone said, “That’s true, but I’m hungry!” With that, she broke off a piece and ate it. Her response said it all: Unbroken bread is useless.
One day Jesus faced 5,000 hungry people. Only by breaking the five loaves and two fish into pieces could He miraculously feed the multitude (Jn. 6:11), and He refused to waste any leftover fragments (v.12).
Not only did this miracle foreshadow Christ’s brokenness on the cross–a breaking that would make the Bread of Life available to all–but it also speaks to me of the brokenness that believers must experience if they are to be used by God.
Do you fear a loss of usefulness due to broken health, broken hopes, broken promises? Fear not! Although some things lose their usefulness once they’re broken, there are two things that become more useful: broken loaves and broken lives.
If you’ll yield the fragments of your life to God, He’ll not waste a crumb of what you’re going through. — Joanie Yoder
A broken heart can give to life
Great depth and beauty never known;
And when that heart yields all to Christ,
His love through it is clearly shown. –DJD
Broken things become useful in God’s hands (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).
Reflection 6 – The miraculous sign of Jesus
Can anything on this earth truly satisfy the deepest longing and hunger we experience for God? A great multitude had gathered to hear Jesus, no doubt because they were hungry for the word of life. Jesus’ disciples wanted to send them away at the end of the day because they did not have the resources to feed them. They even complained how much money it would take to feed such a large crowd – at least six month’s wages! Jesus, the Bread of Life, took the little they had – five loaves and two fish – and giving thanks to his heavenly Father, distributed to all until they were satisfied of their hunger.
Jesus is the true bread from heaven that gives us abundant life
The people of Israel had been waiting for the prophet whom Moses had promised: The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brethren – him shall you heed (Deuteronomy 18:15). The signs which Jesus did, including the miraculous feeding of the five thousand signified that God has indeed sent him as the anointed Prophet and King. Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand is the only miracle that is repeated in all four Gospel accounts. What is the significance of this particular miracle? The miraculous feeding of such a great multitude pointed to God’s provision of manna in the wilderness for the people of Israel under Moses’ leadership (Exodus 16). This daily provision of food in the barren wilderness foreshadowed the true heavenly bread which Jesus would offer his followers.
The food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ
Jesus makes a claim which only God can make: He is the true bread of heaven that can satisfy the deepest hunger we experience. The sign of the multiplication of the loaves when the Lord says the blessing, breaks, and distributes through his disciples prefigures the superabundance of the unique bread of his Eucharist or Lord’s Supper. When we receive from the Lord’s table we unite ourselves to Jesus Christ, who makes us sharers in his body and blood. Ignatius of Antioch (35-107 A.D.) calls it the “one bread that provides the medicine of immortality, the antidote for death, and the food that makes us live for ever in Jesus Christ” (Ad Eph. 20,2). This supernatural food is healing for both body and soul and strength for our journey heavenward.
When you approach the Table of the Lord, what do you expect to receive? Healing, pardon, comfort, and rest for your soul? The Lord has much more for us, more than we can ask or imagine. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist at the Lord’s Table is an intimate union with Jesus Christ, our Divine Healer and Savior. As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens us in charity and enables us to break with disordered attachments to creatures and to be more firmly rooted in the love of Christ. Do you hunger for the “bread of life”?
The Lord alone can satisfy the deepest longing of our heart
The feeding of the five thousand shows the remarkable generosity of God and his great kindness towards us. When God gives, he gives abundantly. He gives more than we need for ourselves so that we may have something to share with others, especially those who lack what they need. God takes the little we have and multiplies it for the good of others. Do you trust in God’s provision for you and do you share freely with others, especially those who are in need?
“Lord Jesus, you satisfy the deepest longing of our heart and you feed us with the finest of wheat (Psalm 81:16). Fill me with gratitude and give me a generous heart that I may freely share with others what you have given to me.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/apr24.htm
Reflection 7 – Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?
When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” He said this to test him, because he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little [bit].” One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”… Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
Today we begin the great chapter 6 of the Gospel of John. The entire chapter is dedicated to the teaching of Jesus about the Eucharist, the sacrament of His Body and Blood. It is introduced by the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, a story so important that it is reported in all four gospels.
What is quite noteworthy in the story is the fact that the miracle began with the act of generosity of an unknown boy. In the eyes of the world, his contribution is definitely insignificant. Five barley loaves and two fish is practically nothing considering the number of people to be fed. Andrew pointed this out to Jesus: “But what good are these for so many?”
But this is precisely the essence of a miracle: it is either against nature or beyond nature. How can five loaves and two fish feed five thousand men, not counting women and children? In the hands of man, these are nothing. But in the hands of Jesus, these are more than enough to feed the multitude. It all depends on whose hands they are in.
A wooden staff in my hands will keep away a stray dog; but in Moses’ hands it will part the Red Sea. A sling shot in my hands is a just toy, but in David’s hand it can slay a mighty giant. Nails in my hands can help make a chair; but nails in the hands of Jesus are His instruments in bringing about salvation for all mankind. What seems nothing or insignificant for man can be something of immense value when entrusted to the hands of God. For with God, nothing is impossible.
The lesson is unmistakably clear. A simple act of generosity can trigger an avalanche of graces, even great miracles, for God cannot be outdone in generosity. But such an act needs an even greater act of faith. Like the poor widow in the Temple, the boy was not afraid and did not hesitate to surrender his meal to the disciples, simply because he had firm faith in the power and providence of the Lord.
We hear it often said, “The more you give, the more you receive.” But for a lot of people this is just a hackneyed phrase, good to hear but easy to dismiss. This is because in the mind of a selfish and materialistic person, what really matters is to have and to acquire more. For them, giving and sharing mean losing or diminishing of what he has. What he does not realize is that “the tighter you squeeze, the less you have”, according to Thomas Merton.
Basically, the main reasons why many people find it so difficult to give and share is the lack of love and faith. And this is also the reason why the hands of God are tied, and as in the case of the townmates of Jesus in Nazareth, “And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith” (Mt 13:58).
Lest we fall into the temptation to be selfish and materialistic, let the words of St. Augustine give us some wisdom: “God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them.” In giving and sharing, especially with the needy, we do not lose anything. Rather, we open our hands to receive more blessings from God. And in effect, we are entrusting our meager resources to God. Again, St. Augustine tells us: “God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.” – (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Matandang Balara, Quezon City 1119).
Reflection 8 – Joy that lasts
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In today’s first reading and our Gospel reading for today, we see two different sources of joy. In the Gospel, the people witnessed a miracle and got their bellies filled free of charge. They were so happy that they wanted to make Jesus their king and live like this all the time.
When he rejected their nomination, how long do you think their joy lasted? Certainly, some lost it by the time they arrived back home, because the walk was too hot or too long. Or they complained about how the fish was cooked or what kind of bread should have been served. Or when they got home, they had to deal with some jerk who’d never met Jesus.
In the scene from the Book of Acts, the apostles were joyful, too, but not because something good had happened. They were not even rejoicing over the fact that they had been released from prison. They were joyful because they were suffering! It thrilled them to be judged worthy of ill-treatment for their ministry.
Were they deranged? Were they masochists? Of course not. Then how could suffering give them joy?
Today’s responsorial Psalm holds the key: The Lord is our refuge. Joy that lasts comes from being able to snuggle in the love of the Lord. Joy that fades comes from relying on life’s circumstances. No miracle provides lasting joy, but when we gaze on the loveliness of the Lord — keeping our focus on him — our joy can continue forever. No matter what the circumstances, we can remain joyful if we remain aware that we are loved passionately by the Lord.
Instead of focusing on our troubles, we look at Jesus and take refuge in his love. When we allow evil to snatch our attention, we feel hopeless and angry. But when we refocus on Jesus, we can joyfully praise God for the goodness he will resurrect from our sufferings.
Granted, this is not easy; I struggle to stay focused on Jesus, too! Our normal reaction to anything that causes suffering is to complain about it. While we complain, we’re looking squarely at it. We cannot see God’s hand blessing us.
How do we look at and see an invisible God? By scouring through the scriptures to find the promises that relate to our situation. By reading the lives of saints to absorb their view of God. By asking others to point out what they can see of God’s hand in our troubles.
Anything we do that puts Christ into the center of our vision — listening to Christian music, attending Mass, or joining a small faith-sharing community — frees us to experience the joy that lasts forever. – Read the source: https://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2020-04-24
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Reflection 9 – St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen (1577-1622 A.D.)
If a poor man needed some clothing, Fidelis would often give the man the clothes right off his back. Complete generosity to others characterized this saint’s life.
Born in 1577, Mark Rey (Fidelis was his religious name) became a lawyer who constantly upheld the causes of the poor and oppressed people. Nicknamed “the poor man’s lawyer,” Fidelis soon grew disgusted with the corruption and injustice he saw among his colleagues. He left his law career to become a priest, joining his brother George as a member of the Capuchin Order. His wealth was divided between needy seminarians and the poor.
As a follower of Francis, Fidelis continued his devotion to the weak and needy. During a severe epidemic in a city where he was guardian of a friary, Fidelis cared for and cured many sick soldiers.
He was appointed head of a group of Capuchins sent to preach against the Calvinists and Zwinglians in Switzerland. Almost certain violence threatened. Those who observed the mission felt that success was more attributable to the prayer of Fidelis during the night than to his sermons and instructions.
He was accused of opposing the peasants’ national aspirations for independence from Austria. While he was preaching at Seewis, to which he had gone against the advice of his friends, a gun was fired at him, but he escaped unharmed. A Protestant offered to shelter Fidelis, but he declined, saying his life was in God’s hands. On the road back, he was set upon by a group of armed men and killed.
He was canonized in 1746. Fifteen years later, the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, which was established in 1622, recognized him as its first martyr.
Comment:
Fidelis’s constant prayer was that he be kept completely faithful to God and not give in to any lukewarmness or apathy. He was often heard to exclaim, “Woe to me if I should prove myself but a halfhearted soldier in the service of my thorn-crowned Captain.” His prayer against apathy, and his concern for the poor and weak make him a saint whose example is valuable today. The modern Church is calling us to follow the example of “the poor man’s lawyer” by sharing ourselves and our talents with those less fortunate and by working for justice in the world.
Quote:
“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation” (“Justice in the World,” Synod of Bishops, 1971).
Read the source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1363
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.
| SAINT FIDELIS OF SIGMARINGEN, O.F.M. CAP. | |
|---|---|
 |
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| RELIGIOUS, PRIEST AND MARTYR | |
| BORN | 1577 Sigmaringen, Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen |
| DIED | April 24, 1622 Grüsch, Seewis im Prättigau, Free State of the Three Leagues |
| VENERATED IN | Catholic Church |
| BEATIFIED | March 24, 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII |
| CANONIZED | June 29, 1746, Rome by Pope Benedict XIV |
| MAJOR SHRINE | Capuchin friary of Weltkirchen (Feldkirch), Austria |
| FEAST | April 24 |
| ATTRIBUTES | sword; palm of martyrdom; heretics; the Morning Star; trampling on the word “heresy”; with a club set with spikes; with a whirlbat; with an angel carrying a palm of martyrdom; with Saint Joseph of Leonessa |
Fidelis of Sigmaringen, O.F.M. Cap. (1577 – 1622), was a Capuchinfriar who was a major figure in the Counter-Reformation, and was murdered by his opponents at Seewis im Prättigau, now part of Switzerland. Fidelis wascanonized in 1746.
Contents
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Early life[edit]
He was born Mark Roy or Rey in 1577,[1] in Sigmaringen, a town in modern-day Germany, then under the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. His father’s name was John Rey. He studied law and philosophy at the University of Freiburg.
Roy subsequently taught philosophy at this university, ultimately earning the degree of Doctor of Law. During his time as a student he did not drink wine, and wore a hair-shirt. He was known for his modesty, meekness and chastity.
In 1604, Roy accompanied, as preceptor (teacher-mentor), three young Swabian gentlemen on their travels through the principal parts of Europe. During six years of travel, he attended Mass very frequently. In every town they came to, he visited the hospitals and churches, passed several hours on his knees in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, and was generous to the poor, sometimes giving them the very clothes off his back.
Upon his return, he practiced law as a counselor or advocate, at Colmar, in Alsace[2] where he came to be known as the ‘poor man’s lawyer’. He scrupulously forbore all invectives, detractions, and whatever might affect the reputation of any adversary. Disenchanted with the evils associated with his profession, he was determined to enter the religious life as a member of the Capuchin friars.
Life as a friar[edit]
Upon entering the Capuchin order, the guardian gave him the religious name of Fidelis, the Latin word for “faithful,” alluding to that text from the Book of Revelation which promises a crown of life to him who shall continue faithful to the end. He finished his novitiateand studies for the priesthood, presiding over his first Mass at the Capuchin friary inFribourg (in present-day Switzerland), on October 4, 1612 (the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the order).
As soon as Fidelis finished his course of theology, he was immediately employed in preaching and in hearing confessions. After becoming guardian of the Capuchin friary in Weltkirchen, Feldkirch (in present-day Austria), many residents of the town and neighboring places were reformed by his zealous labors, and severalCalvinistswere converted. The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith commissioned Fidelis to preach in the Graubünden region of eastern Switzerland. Eight other Capuchin friars were to be his assistants, and they labored in this mission under his direction.
The Calvinists of that territory, being incensed at his success in converting their brethren, loudly threatened Fidelis’ life, and he prepared himself for martyrdom. Ralph de Salis and another Calvinist gentleman were both converted by his missionary efforts. Fidelis and his companions entered into Prättigau, a small district of Graubünden, in 1622, on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6. The effects of his ardent zeal, where the Bishop of Coire sent a lengthy and full account to theCongregation for the Propagation of the Faith, enraged the Calvinists in that province.
On April 24, 1622,[citation needed] Fidelis made his confession, celebrated Mass and then preached at Grüsch. At the end of his sermon, which he had delivered with more than ordinary zeal, he stood silent all of a sudden, with his eyes fixed upon Heaven, in ecstasy. He foretold his death to several persons in the clearest terms, and began signing his letters, “P. Fidelis, prope diem esca vermium” (“Father Fidelis, in days ahead to become food for worms”). After the service at Grüsch he and several companions traveled to Seewis. His companions noted that he was particularly cheerful.[3]
Death[edit]
St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen with St. Joseph of Leonessa (Tiepolo, 1752-1758).
On April 24, in a campaign organized by the Habsburgs, Fidelis was preaching under protection of some Austrian imperial soldiers in the Church at Seewis with the aim to reconvert the people of Seewis to Catholicism. During the sermon, his listeners were called “to arms” by the Calvinist agitators outside. Some of the people went to face the Austrian troops outside the church. Fidelis had been persuaded by the remaining Catholics to immediately flee with the Austrian troops out of Seewis, which he did, but then returned alone to Grüsch. On his way back he was confronted by 20 Calvinist soldiers who demanded unsuccessfully that he renounce the Catholic faith, and when he refused, they subsequently murdered him.[3]
A local account:
From Grüsch he went to preach at Seewis, where, with great energy, he exhorted the Catholics to constancy in the faith. After a Calvinist had discharged his musket at him in the Church, the Catholics entreated him to leave the place. He answered that death was his gain and his joy, and that he was ready to lay down his life in God’s cause. On his road back to Grüsch, he met twenty Calvinist soldiers with a minister at their head. They called him a false prophet, and urged him to embrace their sect. He answered: “I am sent to you to confute, not to embrace your heresy. The Catholic religion is the faith of all ages, I fear not death.” One of them beat him down to the ground by a stroke on the head with his backsword. Fidelis rose again on his knees, and stretching forth his arms in the form of a cross, said with a feeble voice “Pardon my enemies, O Lord: blinded by passion they know not what they do. Lord Jesus, have mercy on me. Mary, Mother of God, succor me!.” Another sword stroke clove his skull, and he fell to the ground and lay in a pool of his own blood. The soldiers, not content with this, added many stab wounds to his body with their long knives, and hacked-off his left leg, as they said, to punish him for his many journeys into those parts to preach to them.
Veneration[edit]
It is said that a Catholic woman lay concealed near the place of Fidelis’ martyrdom as the saint was slain. After the soldiers had left, she came out to assess the incident and found the martyr’s eyes open, fixed on the heavens. He was buried by Catholics the next day.
The rebels were soon after defeated by the imperial troops, an event which the martyr had foretold them. The Protestant minister who had participated in Fidelis’ martyrdom, was converted by this circumstance, made a public abjuration of Calvinism and was received into the Catholic Church.
After six months, the martyr’s body was found to be incorrupt, but his head and left arm were separated from his body. The body parts were then placed into tworeliquaries, one sent to the Cathedral of Coire, at the behest of the bishop, and laid under the High Altar; the other was placed in the Capuchin church at Weltkirchen,Feldkirch, Austria.
Saint Fidelis’ feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is celebrated on April 24.
References[edit]
- Jump up^ “Proper of Saints: 24 April”. Liturgy of the Hours II. New York: Catholic Book Publishing Co.
- ^ Jump up to:a b Butler, Alban, Vol. IV of “The Lives or the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints”. 1864 edition published by D. & J. Sadlier, & Company
- ^ Jump up to:a b
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). “St. Fidelis of Sigmaringen“. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.