Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus

This has long been Saint Martha's feast day in the Roman rite, but Pope Francis made it a memorial for the whole family. I think that is simply wonderful because the traces of stories about Jesus with them shows a side of love, friendship, and familiarity with God that is priceless.

Jesus at the home of Martha and Mary by Tintoretto, 16th century
It is hard to find a painting of all three with Jesus
but I feel as if Lazarus is at the end of the table listening.

 

After Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, they gave a dinner in his honor at Bethany — and Martha served at table.

Mary took a pound of costly perfume and anointed the feet of Jesus.

cf. John 12:1-3

The Raising of Lazarus, c. 1517–1519, Sebastiano del Piombo
It is obvious who Lazarus is here, but I think maybe we see Mary and Martha
between him and Jesus, one kneeling, one standing.

There is a new liturgy written for this but it hasn't been translated into English yet. Here is the decree with which this memorial was created. It says it all quite well, of course!

DECREE
on the Celebration of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus
in the General Roman Calendar

In the household of Bethany the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the One who humiliated death.

The traditional uncertainty of the Latin Church about the identity of Mary - the Magdalene to whom Christ appeared after his resurrection, the sister of Martha, the sinner whose sins the Lord had forgiven - which resulted in the inclusion of Martha - alone on 29 July in the Roman Calendar, has been resolved in recent studies and times, as attested by the current Roman Martyrology, which also commemorates Mary and Lazarus on that day. Moreover, in some particular calendars the three siblings are already celebrated together.

Therefore, the Supreme Pontiff Pope FRANCIS, considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, in believing that he is the resurrection and the life, and accepting the proposal of this Dicastery, has decreed that 29 July be designated in the General Roman Calendar as the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

The Memorial must therefore appear under this title in all Calendars and Liturgical Books for the celebration of Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours; the variations and additions to be adopted in the liturgical texts, attached to the present decree, must be translated, approved and, after confirmation by this Dicastery, published by the Episcopal Conferences.

Anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

From the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 26 January 2021, Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, Bishops.

Robert Card. Sarah
Prefect

It never occurred to me to wonder why the whole family wasn't included with Saint Martha but the points about the uncertainty about Mary's identity having to be cleared up first are fascinating.

I have meditated upon my dear patron Martha's personal journey as shown through the gospels and you may read that here.

Please Allow Me to Bend Your Ear About St. Martha, My Patron

Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, Jan Vermeer

I wrote this some time ago when Saint Martha's feast day didn't include the whole family.  I still have not written anything I like better about her than this piece. Since she is my patron saint, I present this in loving tribute to my journey with her intercession and support.

It is no secret that Martha is my patron saint. I chose her because she is the patron saint of housewives but it soon became clear that it probably was God who chose to put us together. I relate to Martha in so many ways and her life stands as a measure of the person I work toward becoming ... a faithful servant who loves Jesus and is his good friend.

As they continued their journey he entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary (who) sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.

Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me."

The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

Luke 10:38-42

This is the story about Martha that springs to mind for most people and this is the first time (chronologically) that we hear her mentioned. We have all heard variations of the basic message about this passage of keeping your mind on Jesus no matter what else you may be doing and to listen before acting. I also recently heard Bishop Barron speak about N.T. Wright's comment that only men would normally act as Mary is doing, so Martha is also asking for a return to cultural norms. Which is a fascinating point also.

However, we also see the confidence Martha shows when approaching Jesus with her complaint. What good friends they were for her to feel so comfortable coming to him like that. Jesus' affection is clear as he answers her much more gently than he often does his disciples.

For us, it also is a lesson in the fact that there is nothing too small to go to Jesus about. He will always help us with anything, even if it is something like helping give the right perspective.

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and dried his feet with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.

So the sisters sent word to him, saying, "Master, the one you love is ill."

When Jesus heard this he said, "This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it."

Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus...

When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.

Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. (But) even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you."

Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise."

Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day."

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, "The teacher is here and is asking for you."

John 11:1-5, 20-28

Again, a familiar story featuring Martha though more often it is told from the point of view of the miraculous raising of Lazarus from the dead. First of all, we may wonder how Martha knew that Jesus had arrived when Mary didn't. What it may make us think of is someone who is attuned to all the little details even in the middle of her grief. Perhaps there was a flutter of unusual activity that clued her in, so she went to investigate.

When we examine Martha's conversation with Jesus, we see again how familiar and friendly she is with him. She doesn't hesitate to say that she is disappointed that he didn't save her brother. How can one not love the confidence and trust that shows?

Martha also shows her great faith and understanding in unmistakable terms: I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world. What an amazing moment that must have been between Jesus and Martha. Yet, after such a moment, she also doesn't forget her sister, Mary, who is still at home mourning. Martha is both loving and practical to the bone.

We have an unmistakable example of that practicality when Jesus is getting ready to raise Lazarus from the dead and we are told: Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him, "Lord, by now there will be a stench; he has been dead for four days" (John 11:39). Martha's unwavering, housewifely, detail-oriented common sense is used to emphasize the greatness of Jesus' miracle. The corpse is well into decay and yet he will still be brought back to life. How like God to use the mundane and practical moment to catch our attention and bring it to an even greater realization of His glory and love for us.

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus 2 and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

John 12:1-3

Through watching Martha's progression in the previous Scripture, this very simple mention speaks to the difference between the first time we saw her and now.

Martha served.

That is all that needs to be said. Nothing about needing help is brought up now or comparing another's service to her own. Mary serves Jesus in her way while Martha serves Jesus in hers. Together they complement each other as both have chosen the better part. A beautiful end to a beautiful journey of faith.

I pray that my own journey may prove as fruitful as my dear St. Martha's.

Saints Joachim and Anne

I love the point that is made by our focus on this married couple, these parents and grandparents. 

Here we celebrate Mary's parents, Jesus' grandparents — Joachim and Anne.

I am including the summary from Catholic Online because it was the best (and most succinct) I found. Also — I absolutely love the point made about the way they raised Mary that helped to form her faith and trust to become the Mother of God. It is a good way to recall that we can't foresee the ripples our own actions cause in our marriages and families.

Emphasis added is mine.

By tradition Joachim and Anne are considered to be the names of the parents of Mary, the Mother of God. We have no historical evidence, however, of any elements of their lives, including their names. Any stories about Mary's father and mother come to us through legend and tradition.

We get the oldest story from a document called the Gospel of James, though in no way should this document be trusted to be factual, historical, or the Word of God. The legend told in this document says that after years of childlessness, an angel appeared to tell Anne and Joachim that they would have a child. Anne promised to dedicate this child to God (much the way that Samuel was dedicated by his mother Hannah -- Anne -- in 1 Kings).

For those who wonder what we can learn from people we know nothing about and how we can honor them, we must focus on why they are honored by the church. Whatever their names or the facts of their lives, the truth is that it was the parents of Mary who nurtured Mary, taught her, brought her up to be a worthy Mother of God. It was their teaching that led her to respond to God's request with faith, "Let it be done to me as you will." It was their example of parenting that Mary must have followed as she brought up her own son, Jesus. It was their faith that laid the foundation of courage and strength that allowed her to stand by the cross as her son was crucified and still believe.

Optional Memorial: Saint Augustine Zhao Rong and his 119 companions

“St. Augustine Zhao Rong”
Artist and Date are unknown. Via Memorial Bench.

Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on China's relations with the outside world, Christianity over the centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly.

The 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Most of them (eighty-seven) were born in China and were children, parents, catechists or laborers, ranging from nine years of age to seventy-two. This group includes four Chinese diocesan priests.

The thirty-three foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious, especially from the Order of Preachers, the Paris Foreign Mission Society, the Friars Minor, Jesuits, Salesians and Franciscan Missionaries of Mary.

Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese soldier who accompanied Bishop John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse (Paris Foreign Mission Society) to his martyrdom in Beijing. Augustine was baptized and not long after was ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815.

Beatified in groups at various times, these 120 martyrs were canonized in Rome on October 1, 2000. ...

The fact that this considerable number of Chinese lay faithful offered their lives for Christ together with the missionaries who had proclaimed the Gospel to them and had been so devoted to them is evidence of the depth of the link that faith in Christ establishes. It gathers into a single family people of various races and cultures, strongly uniting them not for political motives but in virtue of a religion that preaches love, brotherhood, peace and justice.

Catholic Culture

I am not sure why but I have always been fascinated by the witness of these brave Catholics in China. Perhaps it is because I've always been interested in China anyway and so these saints naturally draw my attention. Their witness is just as important today as when they were martyred.

You may read more about the individual martyrs.

One of them who recently came to my attention is St. Mark Ji Tianxiang. He was highly respected until he treated himself for an illness with opium and became addicted. Sounds just like the morphine problem after WWII or today's opioid addiction crisis, doesn't it? As he continually struggled with his addiction, his confessor gradually became convinced that the repeated confessions meant that Tianxiang wasn't really trying. So he was banned from the sacraments ... for 30 years. But Tianxiang never turned away from the Church, instead praying that he could become a martyr. His entire family was martyred during the Boxer Rebellion.

Ji begged his captors to kill him last so that none of his family would have to die alone. He stood beside all nine of them as they were beheaded.

That is a beautiful bit of selflessness that I hope I would have the courage to emulate. Read his story here.

Feast Day: St. Thomas, Apostle

It's Friday and the feast day of one of my favorite saints — enjoy your meat everyone!

We know just how to celebrate this feast day, having come to know much more about the adopted land where St. Thomas carried the gospel and died — India! Yes, when the Portuguese landed in the 1600s and wanted to tell the southern Indians about the Faith, they were told, "Yes, we already know. St. Thomas the Apostle was here. Have one of his trademark crosses!"

So Indian cooking will be enjoyed in his honor. Possibly we'll watch an Indian movie, maybe set in South India since that is where a lot of Christians live.

I posted this in years past and have added some words from Pope Gregory the Great this year. Otherwise, I cannot improve on the basics it presents for my reflection and celebration of this apostle who spoke so forthrightly and acknowledged Truth as soon as he found it.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio.
Via Wikipedia.

Gospel JN 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

I became very attached to Thomas when reading A Doubter's Novena: Nine Steps to Trust with the Apostle Thomas. It's a little book that packs a big punch and I have read it three times. This is not because I especially needed a novena for doubting but because I was so fascinated by Thomas's story as told by tradition. Also, truth to tell, I could relate to many of Thomas's other various traits. Stubborn. A bit gloomy. You know ... the whole package!

And yet, Thomas's early insistence on proof made him one of the first witnesses for Christ. Ultimately he did marvelous things for God as he learned to trust and step out in faith. May we all do the same.

Here is the collect for today:

Grant, almighty God, that we may glory in the Feast of the blessed Apostle Thomas, so that we may always be sustained by his intercession and, believing, may have life in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Here is an excerpt from a truly wonderful homily by Pope Gregory the Great, featured in the readings from the Liturgy of the Hours. I especially love when he says, "Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. ... The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples." It never occurred to me that God had a hand in Thomas's actions, especially after the many homilies I've heard which guess at his character and reasons for not being present the first time around. As someone who is hard-headed in the same way that Thomas is, I hope that my own stubbornness will be used for God's glory.

From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope
(Hom. 26, 7-9: PL 76, 1201-1202)

My Lord and my God

Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. He was the only disciple absent; on his return he heard what had happened but refused to believe it. The Lord came a second time; he offered his side for the disbelieving disciple to touch, held out his hands, and showing the scars of his wounds, healed the wound of his disbelief.

Dearly beloved, what do you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed? It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvelous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief. The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So the disciple who doubted, then felt Christ’s wounds, becomes a witness to the reality of the resurrection.

Touching Christ, he cried out: My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed. Paul said: Faith is the guarantee of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen. It is clear, then, that faith is the proof of what can not be seen. What is seen gives knowledge, not faith. When Thomas saw and touched, why was he told: You have believed because you have seen me? Because what he saw and what he believed were different things. God cannot be seen by mortal man. Thomas saw a human being, whom he acknowledged to be God, and said: My Lord and my God. Seeing, he believed; looking at one who was true man, he cried out that this was God, the God he could not see.

What follows is reason for great joy: Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. There is here a particular reference to ourselves; we hold in our hearts one we have not seen in the flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our faith with good works. The true believer practices what he believes. But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say: They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works. Therefore James says: Faith without works is dead.

St. Thomas, pray for us.

Solemnity of the Birth of St. John the Baptist

This feast, a segment of Advent in the season of Ordinary Time, makes us aware of the wonderful inner relationship between the sacred mysteries; for we are still in the midst of one Church year and already a bridge is being erected to the coming year of grace.

The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch, via Catholic Culture

I've always respected John the Baptist's role in salvation history.

But I never really appreciated his role fully until reading this in Magnificat a few years ago.

I want to show you a sun that shone more brightly than all these, a soul that was truly free and detached, cleaving only to the will of God. I have often wondered who is the most mortified of the saints I know, and after some reflection I have come to the conclusion that it was Saint John the Baptist. He went into the desert when he was five years old and knew that our Savior and his came on earth in a place quite close by, one or two days' journey perhaps. How his heart, touched with love of his Savior from the time he was in his Mother's womb, must have longed to enjoy his presence! Yet he spends twenty-five years in the desert without coming to see our Lord even once; and leaving the desert he stays to catechize without visiting him but waiting till our Lord comes to seek him out. Then when he has baptized him he does not follow him but stays behind to do his appointed task. How truly mortified was his spirit! To be so near his Savior and not see him, to have him so close and not enjoy his presence! Is this not a completely detached spirit, detached even from God himself so as to do his will and serve him, to leave God for God, and not to love God in order to love him better? The example of this great saint overwhelms me with its grandeur.

St. Francis de Sales

Zechariah and his son, John the Baptist.
A medieval Georgian fresco from the Monastery of the Cross, Jerusalem.
Credit: National Parliamentary Library of Georgia/public domain. Via The Pillar.

I also really love this from a sermon by St. Augustine that is included in the Office of Readings from the Liturgy of Hours for this feast day. It shows so well the contrasts and parallels between John the forerunner and Jesus the Messiah in their earthly lives.

The Church observes the birth of John as in some way sacred; and you will not find any other of the great men of old whose birth we celebrate officially. We celebrate John’s, as we celebrate Christ’s. This point cannot be passed over in silence, and if I may not perhaps be able to explain it in the way that such an important matter deserves, it is still worth thinking about it a little more deeply and fruitfully than usual.

John is born of an old woman who is barren; Christ is born of a young woman who is a virgin. That John will be born is not believed, and his father is struck dumb; that Christ will be born is believed, and he is conceived by faith. ...

John, it seems, has been inserted as a kind of boundary between the two Testaments, the Old and the New. That he is somehow or other a boundary is something that the Lord himself indicates when he says, The Law and the prophets were until John. So he represents the old and heralds the new. Because he represents the old, he is born of an elderly couple; because he represents the new, he is revealed as a prophet in his mother’s womb. You will remember that, before he was born, at Mary’s arrival he leapt in his mother’s womb. Already he had been marked out there, designated before he was born; it was already shown whose forerunner he would be, even before he saw him. These are divine matters, and exceed the measure of human frailty. Finally, he is born, he receives a name, and his father’s tongue is loosed.

Zachary is struck dumb and loses his voice, until John, the Lord’s forerunner, is born and releases his voice for him. What does Zachary’s silence mean, but that prophecy was obscure and, before the proclamation of Christ, somehow concealed and shut up? It is released and opened up by his arrival, it becomes clear when the one who was being prophesied is about to come. The releasing of Zachary’s voice at the birth of John has the same significance as the tearing of the veil of the Temple at the crucifixion of Christ. If John were meant to proclaim himself, he would not be opening Zachary’s mouth. The tongue is released because a voice is being born – for when John was already heralding the Lord, he was asked, Who are you and he replied I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness.

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

In the midst of the second world war Pope Pius XII put the whole world under the special protection of our Savior's Mother by consecrating it to her Immaculate Heart, and in 1944 he decreed that in the future the whole Church should celebrate the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This is not a new devotion. In the seventeenth century, St. John Eudes preached it together with that of the Sacred Heart; in the nineteenth century, Pius VII and Pius IX allowed several churches to celebrate a feast of the Pure Heart of Mary. Pius XII instituted today's feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the whole Church, so as to obtain by her intercession "peace among nations, freedom for the Church, the conversion of sinners, the love of purity and the practice of virtue" (Decree of May 4, 1944).

Catholic Culture

As always you'll find a lot more information, prayers, and activities at Catholic Culture.

I particularly like this reflection which reminds me of why Mary was not only the first and best of Jesus' disciples, but why I should ask her for help in my own Christian journey.

The Preface of the Mass attributes a number of qualities to the Heart of Mary. It is wise, because she understood the meaning of the Scriptures as no other person had ever done, and she kept in it the memory of the words and things relating to the mystery of salvation. It is immaculate, that is, immune from any stain of sin. It is docile because she submitted so faithfully to God's will and to every one of his wishes. It is new, according to the ancient prophecy of Ezechiel  -- a new heart I will give you, and a new spirit -- clothed in the newness of grace merited by Christ. It is humble because she imitated the humility of Christ, who said Learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart. It is simple, free from any duplicity and full of the Spirit of truth. It is clean and thus able to see God according to the words of the Beatitude. It is firm in her acceptance of the Will of God when Simeon announced to her that a sword of sorrow would pierce her heart, when persecution broke out aginst her Son or when the moment of his death was at hand. It is ready, for whilst Christ slept in the sepulcher she kept watch in the expectation of his resurrection, just like the spouse in the Canticle of Canticles.

As we consider the splendor and holiness of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we can examine today the depths of our own soul: whether we are open and docile to the graces and inspirations of the Holy Spirit, whether we jealously guard our heart from anything that could separate it form God, whether we pull up by the roots our little feelings of resentment, of envy ... which tend to bed themselves down within it. We know that from our heart's richness or its poverty our words and deeds will speak. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things. (Matt. 12:35)

In Conversation with God, Vol. 6: Special Feasts: January to June

The Immaculate Heart, Józef Mehoffer

 

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

On the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, we give special honor to the source and symbol of the love Our Saviour has for us. Celebrated the Friday after the feast of Corpus Christi, the feast day celebrates the devotion to the Heart of Jesus; one of the oldest devotions of the Church, dating back in some form to the Patristic Era, the era of the early Church Fathers. Sr. Mary Jeremiah, O.P., S.T.D. Describes the importance and significance of the devotion:

“Jesus Christ is the center of the universe. His pierced Heart, as the symbol of His infinite and divine charity united to his human affections and love, is the focal point of all time. Those who lived during the long period before his incarnation and redemptive death and resurrection waited with yearning for the promised redeemer. Those who witnessed the piercing of his side, as well as all people who will live, are invited to gaze upon and contemplate this mystery. . . As Christians lovingly gaze upon his Heart, they are given the grace to believe in God's mercy and forgiveness.” - from the book The Secret of the Heart

Originally from an article on Aquinas and More, link dead

The Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a moveable feast, which means that it depends on the date of Easter Sunday. It is celebrated 19 days after Pentecost Sunday, which falls on the 50th day of Easter.

I personally have a special love for the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

O Lord Jesus Christ, to your most Sacred Heart I confide this intention. Only look upon me, then do what your love inspires. Let your Sacred Heart decide. I count on you. I trust in you. I throw myself on your mercy. Lord Jesus, you will not fail me.

(Mention your request)

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in your love for me.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, your kingdom come.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, I have asked you for many favors, but I earnestly implore this one. Take it, place it in your open heart. When the Eternal Father looks upon it, he will see it covered with your Precious Blood. It will no longer be my prayer, but yours, Jesus. Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you. Let me not be disappointed. Amen.

There is something about this part especially that gets to me: "When the Eternal Father looks upon it, he will see it covered with your Precious Blood. It will no longer be my prayer, but yours, Jesus."

I have also posted the Litany of the Sacred Heart which is very useful for prayerful meditation on the perfection that is Jesus' heart with which we try to bring our hearts in line daily.

Other Good Thoughts about The Sacred Heart of Jesus

"In the best apologetic manner the Catholic lady said, "Well, you know how you Baptists accept Jesus into your heart? We Catholics ask Jesus to accept us into his heart.

Father Dwight Longenecker

The Sacred Heart, Józef Mehoffer

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

I especially love that this solemnity is so important that it one of only five occasions in the year on which a diocesan bishop is not to be away from his diocese unless for a grave and urgent reason. It's that important.

Pope Leo, Corpus Christi procession 2025
(CNS Photo/Vatican Media, OSV)

This Solemnity goes back to the thirteenth century. It was first established in the diocese of Liége, and Pope Urban IV instituted it in 1264 for the whole Church. The meaning of this feast is the consideration of and devotion to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The center of the feast was to be, as Pope Urban IV described it, a popular devotion reflected in hymns and joy. In the same year Saint Thomas Aquinas, at the Pope's request, composed for this day two Offices which have nourished the piety of many Christians throughout the centuries. In many different places the procession with the Monstrance through specially bedecked streets gives testimony of the Christian people's faith and love for Christ, who once again passes through our cities and towns. The procession began in the same way as the feast itself.

For many years God fed manna to the people of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness. This was an image and symbol of the pilgrim church and of each individual who journeys towards his or her definitive homeland -- Heaven. That food given in the desert of Sinai is a figure of the true food, the Holy Eucharist. This is the sacrament of the human pilgrimage ... Precisely because of this, the annual feast of the Eucharist that the Church celebrates today contains within its liturgy so many references to the pilgrimage of the people of the Covenant in their wanderings through the wilderness (John Paul II)....

Today is a day of thanksgiving and of joy because God has wanted to remain with us in order to feed us and to strengthen us, so that we many never feel alone. The Holy Eucharist is the viaticum, the food for the long journey of our days on Earth towards the goal of true Life. Jesus accompanies us and strengthens us here in this world, where our life is like a shadow compared to the reality that awaits us. Earthly food is a pale image of the food we receive in Holy Communion. The Holy Eucharist opens up our hearts to a completely new reality.

In Conversation With God Vol 6
Daily Meditations, Special Feasts: January - June

The Feast of Corpus Christi is a moveable feast, which means that it depends on the date of Easter Sunday. Corpus Christi is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, which falls one week after Pentecost Sunday. As is often the case, many U.S. bishops have moved it to Sunday in their dioceses.

Some excellent historical information can be found in an old post at The Fathers of the Church where Mike Aquilina fills us in this feast and about the reality for the Church from the beginning.

One of the most telling pieces of evidence, to me, that this reality was the view of the early Christians on the Eucharist comes from St. Ignatius of Antioch's Letter to the Smyrnaeans (ca. AD 106) which was written about ten years after the death of the Apostle John. That means there wasn't time enough for him to have gotten "confused on this issue" (via John Bergsma, Word of the Lord, Year A).

But consider those who are of a different opinion with respect to the grace of Christ which has come unto us, how opposed they are to the will of God. ...

They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His greatness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. (emphasis added)

Feast of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions

St. Charles Lwanga and Companions
Source

Charles is #13 above and if you click on the photo to enlarge it you can see everyone much better. Look at how young some of these numbered images look. These young men are truly the same ages as royal pages we would think of it from European history which is more familiar to us.

Today, together with the whole Church, we honor twenty-two Ugandan martyrs. They are the first martyrs of Sub-Saharan Africa and true witnesses of the Christian faith. Charles Lwanga, a catechist and a young leader, was martyred in 1886 with a group of Catholic and Anglican royal pages, some of whom were not yet baptized. King Mwanga, who despised the Christian religion, gave orders that all the Christian pages in his service be laid upon a mat, bound, placed onto a pyre and burnt. This took place at Namugongo, just outside Kampala.

Catholic Culture

I am not sure where I first heard of St. Charles Lwanga and his companions but I think it may have been in My Life With the Saints by James Martin. (Martin supplies the reading in honor of the feast day.) This is a bit, but do go read it all because there is a good amount of background for context.

They were marched to Namugongo, where, bound with ropes, shackles, iron rings and slave yokes, they waited for one week. During that time the martyrs prayed and sang hymns; the Catholics among them recited morning and evening prayers, grace before and after meals, as well as the Angelus and the rosary, in preparation for their deaths. On June 3, before the execution of the rest of the young men, Charles Lwanga was put to death by the king's men. He was wrapped tightly in a reed mat, a yoke hung on his neck, and was thrown onto a pyre. As a taunt to his executioners, Charles is said to have shouted, "You are burning me, but it is as if you are pouring water over my body!" Before he died, he cried out, "Katonda" or "My God."

His companions were killed in the same gruesome fashion. Aylward Shorter writes, "As the flames rose, their voices could be heard praying and encouraging one another." The last words of the young Kizito were, "Goodbye friends, we are on our way." Forty-five Christians were martyred at Namugongo: 22 Catholics and 23 Anglicans.

I was really moved when I read of these young men who so bravely and honorably stood up for their faith until the end. Interestingly, I had completely forgotten the main reason they came under attack, which was that they rejected their king's sexual advances. In times when we have so many temptations to not respect our bodies or to turn away from chastity, these saints speak to our age.

I guess that is a good reason for revisiting these stories as we celebrate the saints every year. We never know what we have forgotten or not noticed until then.

More information can be found at Catholic Culture where there are also related activities and more reading suggestions.

Collect Prayer

O God, who have made the blood of Martyrs the seed of Christians,
mercifully grant that the field which is your Church,
watered by the blood shed by Saint Charles Lwanga and his companions,
may be fertile and always yield you an abundant harvest.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin

I love this celebration which always makes me meditate on the beauty of one good friend going to help another, carrying Christ with her to someone she loves. I also really love this icon below, which celebrates the unseen reality of this feast.

The Visitation of Virgin Mary to Elizabeth.
The photographer says: "14th century wall-painting in the Timios Stavros Church in Pelendri.
The unborn John the Baptist bows before the unborn Jesus. ..."

Today we learn once more that each encounter with Mary implies a new discovery of Jesus: If you seek Mary, you will find Jesus. And you will learn a bit more about what is in the heart of a God who humbles himself, who makes himself accessible in the midst of the routine of ordinary life. God's great gift to mankind whereby we can get to know and love Christ, had its beginning in Mary's faith, whose perfect fulfillment Elizabeth now openly reveals: The fullness of grace announced by the angel means the gift of God himself. Mary's faith, proclaimed by Elizabeth at the Visitation, indicates how the Virgin of Nazareth responded to this gift. The Virgin Mary, who had already pronounced her complete and unconditional fiat, presents herself at the threshold of Zachary's house as the Mother of the Son of God. This is Elizabeth's joyful discovery, *** and ours too; it is one we can never get used to.

In Conversation with God:
Special Feasts: January - June

* J. Escriva, Christ is Passing By
** John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater
*** cf ibid

Solemnity of the Blessed Trinity

Icon of the Old Testament Trinity, c. 1410, Andrei Rublev

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Blessed Trinity. This, the ineffable mystery of God's intimate life, is the central truth of our faith and the source of all gifts and graces. The liturgy of the Mass invites us to loving union with each of the Three Divine Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This feast was established for the Latin Church by Pope John XXII, to be celebrated on the Sunday after the coming of the Holy Spirit, which is the last of the mysteries of our salvation. Today we can say many times, savoring it, the prayer: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit...

[St. Teresa] writes: Once when I was reciting the "Quicumque vult," I was shown so clearly how it was possible for there to be one God alone and three Persons that it caused me both amazement and much comfort. It was of the greatest help to me in teaching me to know more of the greatness of God and of his marvels. When I think of the most Holy Trinity, or hear it spoken of, I seem to understand how there can be such a mystery, and it is a great joy to me.

The whole of a Christian's supernatural life is directed towards this knowledge of and intimate conversation with the Trinity, who become eventually the fruit and the end of our whole life (St. Thomas). It is for this end that we have been created and raised to the supernatural order: to know, to talk to and to love God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who dwell in the soul in grace.

In Conversation With God Vol 6
Special Feasts: January - June

I love this portion of Proverbs which is always read aloud during this Mass. It is one of my all time favorites as it conveys God's creativity, mastery, craftsmanship, delight, playfulness, and ... love.

Thus says the wisdom of God:
"The LORD possessed me, the beginning of his ways,
the forerunner of his prodigies of long ago;
from of old I was poured forth,
at the first, before the earth.
When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no fountains or springs of water;
before the mountains were settled into place,
before the hills, I was brought forth;
while as yet the earth and fields were not made,
nor the first clods of the world.

"When the Lord established the heavens I was there,
when he marked out the vault over the face of the deep;
when he made firm the skies above,
when he fixed fast the foundations of the earth;
when he set for the sea its limit,
so that the waters should not transgress his command;
then was I beside him as his craftsman,
and I was his delight day by day,
playing before him all the while,
playing on the surface of his earth;
and I found delight in the human race."
PRV 8:22-31

St. Philip Neri's Feast Day or "Did Laughing At Yourself Help At All?"

I have always been attracted to this saint without too much of a specific reason other than I knew that he loved to laugh. Then I read a bit more about him and saw that was reason enough. Joy and gaiety were so much a part of his normal disposition that Goethe, who esteemed him highly, called him the "humorous saint." It was his gay, blithe spirit that opened for him the hearts of children. "Philip Neri, learned and wise, by sharing the pranks of children himself became a child again" (epitaph). (from Catholic Culture.)

So it is no wonder that he appeals to me.

One of the stories that attracted me to him is this one from Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom. This is one of those classic saint tales that remind us no one is perfect ... so there is hope for each of us.

It is absolutely pointless to ask God for something which we ourselves are not prepared to do. If we say "O God, make me free from this or that temptation" while at the same time seeking every possible way of falling to just such a temptation, hoping now that God is in control, that He will get us out of it, then we do not stand much chance. God gives us strength but we must use it. When, in our prayers, we ask God to give us strength to do something in His Name, we are not asking Him to do it instead of us because we are too feeble to be willing to do it for ourselves.

The lives of the saints are enlightening in this respect, and in the life of St. Philip Neri just such an occasion is described. He was an irascible man who quarreled easily and had violent outbursts of anger and of course endured violent outbursts from his brothers. One day he felt that it could not go on. Whether it was virtue or whether he could no longer endure his brothers his Vita does not tell us. The fact is that he ran to the chapel, fell down before a statue of Christ and begged Him to free him of his anger. He then walked out full of hope. The first person he met was one of the brothers who had never aroused the slightest anger in him, but for the first time in his life this brother was offensive and unpleasant to him. So Philip burst out with anger and went on, full of rage, to meet another of his brothers, who had always been a source of consolation and happiness to him. Yet even this man answered him gruffly. So Philip ran back to the chapel, cast himself before the statue of Christ and said "O Lord have I not asked you to free me from this anger?" And the Lord answered "Yes, Philip, and for this reason I am multiplying the occasions for you to learn."

We need to remember to laugh. And then to ask ourselves, "did laughing at yourself help at all?"

It almost always does. A sense of the ridiculous, especially one's own ridiculousness, is extremely helpful in regaining perspective.

Jo Walton, St. Zenobius, and Me: Joyful and Triumphant

Rerunning this piece because the sentiments still apply no matter when my birthday falls in the liturgical calendar. I am delighted to have made St. Zenobius's acquaintance, especially via Jo Walton.

• Common attributes: Bishop
• Occasional attributes: Florentine red fleur de lis, flowering tree
• Patron saint of: Florence
• Patron of places: Florence
• Feast days: May 25
• Most often depicted: Standing around with other saints, resurrecting somebody
• Close relationships: St. Ambrose, St. Eugene and St. Crescentius
• Relics: Florence, Santa Reparata crypt

Saint Zenobius was the first bishop of Florence. He supported St. Ambrose in battling the Arian heresy. He brought several people back from the dead, and his relics resurrected a dead elm tree. He used to be buried in San Lorenzo in Florence, but was later moved to Santa Reparata/the Duomo.

Saint Zenobius is one of these cases of an early Christian who did a good job and was pious and therefore got to be a saint just for that, without getting martyred or founding a giant order or anything. I support this, but it means his primary role was in Christianizing Florence and putting it on the map, so he is not and never will be particularly beloved outside his native town.

Photo and text: Ex Urbe blog

(where there is much more about St. Zenobius ... and also St. Reparta!)

My road to St. Zenobius is a long and fascinating one. At least to me.

A long, long time ago (in 2015!), Scott and I had our first guest on A Good Story is Hard to Find. We were thrilled to talk with Br. Guy Consolmagno, Vatican Astronomer, about his book selection, Among Others by Jo Walton.

A few years ago Scott was at a local con and met Walton, telling her about our degree of connection and thoughtfully sending me a signed copy of her new short story collection, Starlings.

I've got to admit it is a bit off-putting to read an introduction where the author spends so much time talking about how everyone agrees she just can't write a decent short story. So I did put it off for a while. Finally I bravely flipped open Starlings and landed on the first page of Joyful and Triumphant: St. Zenobius and the Aliens. It is told by St. Zenobius and blew me away with how accurately it portrayed sainthood, God ... and the point of the whole thing. (You can read it here.) While I was reading her Brother Guy connection floated in the back of my mind. I figured that she'd just naturally get this right and she really, really did.

Interestingly, about the time I read this story I realized that my birthday this year will be on a Friday. And after Pentecost. So Easter will be officially ended and it will be back to meatless Fridays for us. I've been rueing this since we always go out to eat in celebration — so I looked up saints whose days are on my birthday, thus justifying fried chicken (my traditional birthday choice).

Now there are saints for every day of the year. But if I'm looking to get around the rules then I seriously study the saint I find. I've got to have a real connection otherwise I've just got to put up with those rules. No freebies.

Who did my eye fall on first out of the long, long list? Of course. St. Zenobius. Who I didn't really know was a real saint. Just thought Walton made him up.

I feel as if this was a long way to go for him to wrangle an introduction, but I also feel as if that is what he did.  Looking around recently I saw that there is a much better known saint on May 25, St. Bede. But that's not who stepped up and shook my hand, after using all the things I love to get my attention.

I love the saints who fought against the Arian heresy. It went on so long and was so pervasive that I feel as if it is like the waves of secularism that are battering faith these days. And that's what St. Zenobius did. He was close to St. Ambrose, who I admire so much. Any friend of St. Ambrose is a friend of mine.

Now when I lift that piece of chicken, it will be with true admiration for a great saint!

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church

This is not a holy day of obligation, but the faithful are encouraged to observe this day in devotions or private prayer. I wrote this some time ago but find it works well for my own reflection on this day.

Bohemian Master, The Pentecost

Christmas and Pentecost, Springing from the Womb

Nine days before Pentecost Mary, the apostles, and disciples gathered in prayer for the coming of the Spirit. Art always pictures Mary, the mother of Jesus, as seated in the center of this holy gathering. The setting is one of prayer and contemplation. Mary is the principal contemplative, the woman wrapped in the silence of prayer. The contemplative dimension, with Mary at the center, prevailed.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended on those gathered in the Upper Room. The Spirit manifested and revealed the Church publicly. Now Peter became the visible leader, the Shepherd and Pastor and Rock. Pope John Paul II, reflecting on these scenes, taught that the Marian dimension of the Church precedes the Petrine one. The environment of prayer is the womb from which the Body of Christ is born. Because of this, prayer, contemplation, and the adoration of God have the primacy in the Church.

Fr. McBride's Guide to the Bible by Alfred McBride

Reading this, my focus was brought to the word "womb" as a description of the Upper Room. Never having had considered this imagery before, I couldn't let it go. Inevitably, perhaps, with the images of Mary and womb before me, I also began to think about the parallels between Pentecost and Christmas. Both were preceded by an enforced period of waiting, with Mary as a central figure, with a previously unimaginable power and light being unleashed on the world as the climax.

It made me suddenly look at Christ's coming anew, at how that tiny baby held power and light that we still have a hard time comprehending, made me have just a bit more understanding of how he flashed on the world like a fire. Likewise I looked at the Upper Room anew, seeing it truly as the womb which sheltered and fed the apostles despite their lack of comprehension at what they were being prepared to become.

This probably is nothing new, but it surely was for me. It set forth a direct connection between the two which I will always think about when either Christmas or Pentecost comes to mind. All facilitated by Mary's willingness. Which is something else to consider. Especially in connection with myself. No big conclusions here ... just pondering and turning over these points.

Jean II Restout, Pentecôte

Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit

Missel Franciscain Colombe Du Saint Esprit

The coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was not an isolated event in the Church's life. The Paraclete sanctifies it continually as He also sanctifies every soul. This He does through all the innumerable inspirations which are all the attractions, motions, rebukes and interior compunctions, lights and intuitions which God works in us. So He strengthens our heart with his blessings, with his care and fatherly love, so as to arouse us, move us, impel us and draw us to holy virtues, to heavenly love, to good resolutions: in short, to all that leads us to our eternal life. (St. Francis de Sales) His action in the soul is gentle and mild ... He comes to save, to cure, to enlighten. (St. Cyril of Jerusalem)

In Conversation With God Vol 2: Lent and Eastertide

Our priest said once in a scripture study class that God loves us so much that He went to the trouble of plugging a translator right into our hearts. If we take the time and trouble to listen for that whisper, we hear the Holy Spirit there within us ... and He is there to help us speak to God in turn. What a fantastic image and it is one that I think of often. Talk about going the extra mile! God has done everything that one could imagine to help us get the point, to communicate, to talk to Him and be in relationship with Him.

I also like the way that same point was said by Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, "the only person allowed to preach to the Pope." He's served John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis in that capacity.

When the Holy Spirit takes possession of a heart, a change comes about. If before there was a "secret rancor against God" in the depths of a man's heart now the Spirit comes to him from God and attests that God is truly favorable and benign, that he is his ally and not his enemy. He opens his eyes to all that God has been capable of doing for him and to the fact that he did not spare his only Son for him. The Spirit puts "God's love" into man's heart (see Rom 5:5). In this way he makes him a new man who loves God and who willingly does what God asks of him. God, in fact, no longer limits himself to telling man what he should do or not do, but he himself does it with him and in him. The new law, the Spirit, is much more than an indication of a will; it is an action, a living and active principle. The new law is new life. That is why it is more often called grace than law: "You are not under law but under grace" (Rom 6:14).

Life in Christ: A Spiritual Commentary on the Letter to the Romans

Amen ... I can testify to that!

 Pentecost -- The Cry of Release from Meditations on the Passion
Under copyright by Iain McKillip and used by permission

Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord: Making Heaven Present Everywhere

The Ascension of Christ
Salvador Dali, 1958

Traditionally this is called Ascension Thursday and tradition puts it here in the liturgical calendar because Pentecost Sunday is nine days later. The U.S. Bishops often move this solemnity to the following Sunday for the convenience of the congregation. John Bergsma's commentary tells us that it is a shame because the 7th Sunday of Easter has some readings with a wonderful message leading to Pentecost — and most of the U.S. never gets to hear them. 

For more about the whys and wherefores of celebrating the Ascension on Thursday or Sunday, read this really good explanation from The Pillar.

I like to mention it on the traditional Thursday because those nine days between the Ascension and Pentecost are what lead to the word novena (derived from Latin for nine) which follows the disciples and Mary praying for nine days in the Upper Room. The first two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles talks about this.

I am struck by one thing over all others.

Christ's ascension to Heaven signals the beginning of the Holy Spirit's age on Earth. Not a day goes by that I don't call the Holy Spirit to me, asking for wisdom, leaning hard on His peace and calm. I am so grateful for Him in my life.

I am always left a bit giggly at the image of the dumbstruck followers looking up where Jesus disappeared into the clouds. And the sudden appearance of the two men in white who asked why they were standing there looking at the sky. I imagine everyone was overawed by the events that had just occurred, not to mention the sudden appearance of angels, but I always feel I'd have been the smart-mouth who said, "Maybe this happens every day where you come from, but for us this is something new."

The Ascension of the Lord marks the beginning of something brand new.  I give thanks.

UPDATED
Our priest's homily a few years ago made it clear that I missed a vital point about the ascension. I stand corrected and gladly enlightened.

(paraphrasing like crazy)

Christ's ascent raises humankind as well. Jesus is not only consubstantial with the Father. He is also consubstantial with us. Wholly God. Wholly man.

He killed death so we would not have to fear it any longer. He ascends to Heaven to take us there as well.

Amen.

Giotto di Bondone, Ascension of Christ, circa 1300.

Jesus seems almost to be breaking out of the top of the picture, but as he does so, he is not so much going away into heaven as making heaven present everywhere.

Jane Williams, Faces of Christ

I love that image. It looks as if Christ is opening a big package and that gift that will come in 9 days is the Holy Spirit.

The Feast of St. Joseph the Worker

St. Joseph with the Infant Jesus, Guido Reni
via WikiPaintings

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

There is much we wish we could know about Joseph -- where and when he was born, how he spent his days, when and how he died. But Scripture has left us with the most important knowledge: who he was -- "a righteous man" (Matthew 1:18).

Catholic Online

I love St. Joseph. He was the quiet man of action. Those are my kind of guys.

Feast Day — St. Mark the Evangelist

Mark the Evangelist by Il Pordenone

We can get a lot of information about Saint Mark simply by reading the gospels and the Acts of the Apostles.

The thing I'm most interested in is that the gospel he wrote actually comes from having been St. Peter's interpreter and going on the road with him. The people asked him to record St. Peter's teachings. No wonder there are such vivid details in it. This is as close as you can get to being straight from the horse's mouth.

.. we find Mark in Rome, this time helping Peter, who refers to him as my son Mark, thereby testifying to a long-standing close relationship. At that time Mark was acting as interpreter for the Prince of the Apostles, and this provided him with a privileged vantage-point which we see reflected in the Gospel he wrote a few years later. Although Saint Mark doesn't provide us with a record of the Master's great discourses, he makes up for it by giving us a particularly vivid description of the events of Jesus' life with his disciples. In his accounts we find ourselves once more in those little towns on the shores of the Sea of Galilee; we can sense the hubbub of the crowds of that follow Jesus, we can almost converse iwth the inhabitants of those places and can contemplate Christ's wonderful deeds and the spontaneous reactions of the Twelve. In a word, we find ourselves witnessing the events of the gospel as if we were actually there in the throng. Though his vivid descriptions the Evangelist manages to imprint on our souls something of the irresistible yet reassuring fascination that Jesus exercised on people, and which the Apostles themselves experienced in their life with the Master. Saint Mark in effect gives us a faithful account of Saint Peter's most intimate recollections of his Master: with the passage of the years his memories had not grown dim, but became ever more profound and perceptive, more penetrating and more fond. It can be said that Mark's message is the living mirror of Saint Peter's preaching.

Saint Jerome tells us that Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, wrote down his gospel at the request of the brethren living in Rome, according to what he had heard Peter preach. And Peter himself, having heard it, approved it with his authority to be read in the Church. This was without doubt Mark's principal mission in life — to transmit Peter's teachings faithfully.

In Conversation with God, Francis Fernandez,
Special Feasts: January - June

San Jacinto Day! Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!

Veterans of the Battle of San Jacinto at a meeting of the Texas Veterans' Association in Galveston circa 1880. Center row, third from left: Valentine Ignatius Burch of Tyler County, Texas. Center row, second from left: Valentine Burch. Front row, second from right: George Petty of Washington County.

Courtesy the Star of the Republic Museum via the Portal to Texas History.

Via Traces of Texas.

My friend Don never forgets this ... he's the one always reminding me it is San Jacinto Day He has told me many a time:

I try to remember all of these good Texas holidays. They really bring home how unique the state –and future Republic?—truly is. This one is a real holiday, not like Cinco de Mayo. I mean, if you have a holiday to celebrate beating the French, then every day would be a holiday!

Ha! No kidding!

Let's all lift a margarita high to the Texian heroes of the decisive battle of the Texas revolution!