St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

Very little is known with certainty about the life of St. Apollinaris, the first Bishop of Ravenna. St. Peter Chrysologus (see July 30), who was Bishop of Ravenna from 431 to 450, once preached a sermon (No. 128) about his predecessor. From this sermon, we learn that Apollinaris was the first bishop of that see, that he had labored there for many years, and on different occasions had suffered much and had often shed his blood, and though his was not a violent death, nevertheless, he should be considered a martyr. There is also the witness of St. Severus, who, as bishop of Ravenna, attended the Council of Sardica (342–43), and at which he mentioned that the first bishop of his see flourished around the middle of the second century.

When historical details are lacking, legend easily fills them in. In the seventh century, there appeared a Passion of St. Apollinaris, and according to this historically unreliable document, we are told that Apollinaris came from Antioch (today’s Antakya, Turkey), and arrived in Rome with St. Peter (see June 29), who then sent him to evangelize Ravenna. Because of his success in making converts, Apollinaris twice suffered mistreatment at the hands of nonbelievers and was forced to leave the city. He traveled to Corinth, Greece, and then preached in Thrace (part of today’s Balkan Peninsula). He once again suffered violence and was forced to leave. He returned to Ravenna at the time when Vespasian’s (emperor 69–79) persecution against the Christians was in effect. Apollinaris was subsequently arrested and placed under the care of a centurion. Because that centurion happened to be a Christian, he permitted the bishop to escape. He was then pursued by the raging populace, who attacked and severely wounded him and left him for dead. The bishop was later found by Christians and died seven days later (July 23) as a result of his wounds. Apollinaris had been bishop of Ravenna for about twenty years, and the year of his death is sometimes given as 70. However, the latest edition of the Martyrologium Romanum (2001) agrees with St. Severus and gives his death as occurring sometime in the second century. Ursicinus, the Bishop of Ravenna (532–36), began a church in his honor, which was later dedicated by his successor Maximian in 549. It was then that the saint’s body was translated there. That church, now known as San Apollinare in Classe, still stands and because of its magnificent sixth-century mosaics is one of the wonders of Ravenna.

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio
    Matthew 13:1–9

Meditatio

“And [Jesus] spoke to them at length in parables …”

    I picture the day in my mind’s eye: the blue sky, the rocky shore, the waves bobbing the boat that holds Jesus, the crowd of people hanging on his words. Jesus speaks, and his words float out over the crowd like a soft breeze of the Spirit.

    What refreshment the teaching of Jesus gives these people, whose lives are burdened with cares, sickness, financial worries, even the tragedies that can stop a person cold with heartbreak.… They feel as if Jesus is addressing them individually, and really, he is. Jesus’ Good News is miraculous in many ways. But the way it has penetrated to the hearts of people all over the world through the ages is a miracle that goes on continually.

    I think of the way my life was changed as I heard or read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount or his seven last words from the cross. For a moment, I feel a sense of connection with Jesus’ audience on that shore in Palestine.

    Jesus preferred parables when teaching the people, who could easily learn to use the book of nature as a springboard to the deep realities that he presented. I can do this, too. The Holy Spirit’s gift of understanding helps me to go in faith from created realities to their Creator.

    Then the “soil” of my soul will be fertile ground for the seed of the Good News that the Lord sows in my life.

Oratio

    Jesus, enlighten me with the wisdom of your Gospel, you who alone have the words of everlasting life. Help me to be good soil for the seed of your teaching. Nourish that seed with your grace, so that it will grow and flourish as I resolve to live for your kingdom.

Contemplatio

    “Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

Tuesday of the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary Time

Lectio
    Matthew 12:46–50

Meditatio

“… whoever does the will of my heavenly Father …”

    Have you ever found yourself admiring other persons for their strength, patience, noble character, or goodness of heart? “Wow, they are truly blessed,” we might think. “They certainly have it all together.” Admiration is appropriate when we witness the best in others, but looked at from another perspective, admiration lets us off the hook. The others are admirable for what they have chosen to do or be. Admiration often implies that others are far above us, doing something we could never aspire to. We might think we live in another realm, one that is mediocre and humdrum. So we can’t expect ourselves to be as great as the ones we admire.

    Like the woman in today’s Gospel who admired the mother of Jesus, we too might be tempted to only worship, adore, and admire the Son of this mother. While there is nothing wrong with that, Jesus quickly calls us to something deeper:

    I, Jesus says, am the yes of God. Spoken by the Father as the Word, I am one with the Father in obedience and complete, responsive love. Mary is the highest model in the human race of yes. Without hesitation, consideration, calculation of what it would cost or how she would perform, she simply surrendered her entire life, her body, her future to the Father, desiring that the will of God be completely fulfilled in her. You are most truly yourself when you become yes. And you can make this choice for yes.

    Jesus says, don’t admire those who had physical contact with me during my life on earth. That physical proximity does not give them an edge over you. You have the same possibility as they did to be yes. Open your heart, your life, your mind, your desires, your words, your actions to the Father, becoming an empty canvas upon which he draws. Become the “handmaiden of the Lord.” Allow the story of salvation to be accomplished in you and through you. Without hesitation, say yes to all that God wills in your life.

Oratio

    Jesus, yes of the Father, it is not as easy as it sounds to say yes. I’m afraid of the unknown. I want to control my life. I like adventures but not those that put my career or dreams at risk. Still, that is what makes this yes so powerful. The writings of the saints are full of this invitation to complete surrender to your Father … and mine. From this moment on, my Lord, I say yes.

Contemplatio

    From this moment on, my Lord, I say yes.

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)

St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest

St. Camillus de Lellis was born at Bucchianico, Italy, on May 25, 1550. As a young man, he thought of enrolling in the military, but an ulcer on his right foot kept him from fulfilling that desire. He went (1571) to Rome’s Hospital of San Giacomo for treatment, and after the wound healed, he found employment at the hospital as a servant. His service, however, did not last long because he was dismissed for gambling. He then served in the Venetian army for four years (1571–74), and when he gambled away all that he owned he got a job as a laborer at a Capuchin monastery in Manfredonia. Repenting his past life and undergoing a conversion, he joined (1575) the Capuchins as a coadjutor brother. Because the wound on his foot again became ulcerated, he left the Capuchins and returned to the hospital in Rome. Once healed, he remained at the hospital for almost three years working with the sick. He then reentered (1579) the Capuchins, but again his wound opened and he was forced to leave.

Camillus now decided to dedicate his life to the sick. He returned to San Giacomo, and there they asked him to serve as the hospital’s superintendent. Coming under the influence of St. Philip Neri (see May 26), Camillus began studies for the priesthood and was ordained in 1584. He gathered others about him who also wanted to share his work; they called themselves Servants of the Sick. They daily visited Rome’s Santo Spirito Hospital, and there they nursed the sick, offering them both physical and spiritual assistance, especially in cases near death. Camillus, who was renowned for his charity, died in Rome on July 14, 1614, and was canonized by Pope Benedict XIV in 1746. The congregation he founded is called the Order of the Servants of the Sick, but its members are more commonly known as Camillians. In 1886, Pope Leo XIII named St. Camillus de Lellis and St. John of God (see March 8) patrons of the sick and of hospitals; and in 1930, Pope Pius XI named St. Camillus patron of nurses. Today’s Mass prayer also mentions St. Camillus’s special love for the sick.

Monday of the Sixteenth Week of Ordinary

Lectio
    Matthew 12:38–42

Meditatio

“… and there is something greater … here.”

    As we follow Jesus’ ministry in Matthew’s Gospel, it may seem strange to us that the scribes and Pharisees are asking for a sign. In chapter 12 alone, Jesus has healed the man with the withered hand and cured a demoniac. He has been working many miracles. So why are they asking again for a sign?

    Based on the Pharisees’ assertion in Matthew 12:24 that Jesus is casting out demons through allegiance with the prince of demons, it seems likely that the Pharisees are asking Jesus to offer proof, or a sign, that he is really from God. In substance, they are saying, “Where does your power really come from? And if from God, then prove it.” Imagine the consternation of Jesus, who so deeply longs to reach each person’s heart. Here he is, preaching a Gospel of love and repentance, healing the sick, and casting out demons. If the reality of what he is doing doesn’t offer his audience proof that the power of God is in their midst, then what will?

    Yet aren’t our own hearts at times just as impregnable to God’s presence around us as those of the Pharisees? I know I can be blind to a God who defies my expectations, revealing himself in hidden, sometimes paradoxical ways. Yet God did not cease to dwell with us when Jesus died on the cross. That was only the beginning. The resurrected Lord continues to dwell with us and within us today. Do we believe this?

    “There is something greater … here.” Right here, today, we have access to something greater than the preaching of the prophets or the wisdom of the legendary King Solomon. There is something greater here, and that something is a Someone—it is the Christ, our Lord and our God!

Oratio

    Jesus, help me to grow ever more aware of your presence within and around me. Help me to see the ways that the power of God continues to work today, weaving a thread of the divine through every situation and person I encounter. You are rarely what I expect, yet you are more than I can imagine. Allow me to remain open to the mystery of who you are, and to the manifold and mysterious ways you choose to reveal yourself—especially those ways that may defy my expectations and hopes.

Contemplatio

    “My Lord and my God!”

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ORDINARY GRACE Weeks 1–17: Daily Gospel Reflections (By the Daughters of St. Paul)