Mass was offered for the repose of the soul of Francesco Giaccobe (+) yesterday, and for the repose of the souls of Hazel and Andrew Nolan (++) this morning. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful departed rest in peace.
I often point out chapter fifteen of the Acts of the Apostles as vital to our understanding of the early Church. We quickly see that, although at this time the majority of Christians were Jewish, there was a growing number of non-Jewish, gentile Christians. And the Apostles decided very early on that the marks of Judaism - circumcision and the acute observance of the Law of Moses - would not apply equally to all Christians. Rather, the observance of non-Jewish Christians would be eased, to reduce the burden of the Law on them. This was formalised in Council by the Apostles and the bishop of Jerusalem, the Apostle Saint James, in chapter fifteen of Acts. That was the first reading yesterday, and this is the apostolic mandate:
"...It is the Holy Spirit’s pleasure and ours that no burden should be laid upon you beyond these, which cannot be avoided: you are to abstain from what is sacrificed to idols, from blood-meat and meat which has been strangled, and from fornication. If you keep away from such things, you will have done your part. Farewell." - Acts of the Apostles, 15: 28-29
This demonstrates the extent of the power of adjudication that Christ had given the Apostles and bishops, through the action of the Holy Spirit, that they could apply the Law partially for pastoral reasons. Eventually the number of Jewish Christians would be dwarfed by the growth of the Church in the rest of the Roman Empire, particularly in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Gaul, etc., and the exceptions made for gentile Christians would become more of a norm. Do read the whole of that chapter fifteen, it's short but very interesting, especially to see the authority that the bishop James seems to exert in his own See/diocese even over the Apostle Saint Peter.
-
Meanwhile, I've just discovered that today is a memorial day of the English Carmelite, Saint Simon Stock. He has a strong cult in the archdiocese of Southwark, and among the Carmelites, professed and lay. Let's learn something about him. The Carmelite communities began in the Holy Land, but were introduced into Europe from about the time of the Crusades, and they took the form of an Order of mendicant friars and cloistered Sisters. Simon was an early prior of one of the English houses, known for his personal holiness and for the miracles that have been attributed to his intercession. He lived at Aylesford, where his relics are still venerated, and at a house that hosted the first general chapter of the Carmelite Order outside the Holy Land, in 1247 [link]. Simon is honoured as founder of Religious houses at great university cities, at Oxford, Cambridge, Paris and Bologna, which demonstrates his respect for the intellectual formation of the members of the Order.
Simon is best known for his association with the Brown Scapular devotion. Tradition tells us that he saw a vision of the Blessed Virgin, from whom he had requested special favours for his Order. She gave him the Scapular of the Order - all Carmelites who wore that Scapular would be saved. The generous Carmelites later began offering the Scapular in an abbreviated form to lay affiliates of the Order, and it has become one of the most popular of the Marian devotions of the Latin Church.
No comments:
Post a Comment