November 2017 – Brigade of St. Ambrose

Smoke of Satan in The Church Part 3

Smoke of Satan in the Church – Part 2

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20)

On the evening of Thursday, 29 June 1972, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in the presence of a considerable multitude of the faithful coming from every part of the world, the Holy Father celebrated the Mass and the beginning of the tenth year of his Pontificate as the successor of Saint Peter.

In His Homily referring to the situation of the Church today, the Holy Father affirms that he has a sense that “from some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.”

The Smoke of the Satan is distorting the teachings of the Church.

One God, two Gods or one God with two personalities?

In the past, people were naturally drowned by necessity and the challenges of everyday life to God. During times of need, God, not 911, was the first thought on the people’s minds. They were learning how to read and write using the Bible or other religious books. The best source of reliable information and knowledge was their priest. Today we are bombarded through mass media, radio, television, internet, various forms of entertainment, and schools and universities with faithless confusing messages. In many self-proclaimed “scientific” films there are inserts intended to weaken our faith and undermine the authority of the Catholic Church, films proving that David defeating Goliath didn’t required divine intervention, that an identical copy, in every aspect, of the Shrine of Turin can be made by man, or proclaiming Pope Saint Gregory the Great was a brilliant manipulator who created the story of Mary Magdalen to benefit the institution of the Catholic Church. Those are just three examples of manipulation, and indoctrination we are subjected to through “greed free” Public Television.

Simplicity is slowly replaced by “sophistication,” and action by discussion. People are picking what they like and rejecting what they don’t like, starting with clothing and ending with the Bible and teachings of the Catholic Church. There is no more one God. Everybody has his own version of God.

God of Old Testament vs God of New Testament. – Divide and Conquer

In the Nicene Creed, we pray, “We believe in one God.” At the same time for many Catholics, the God of the Old Testament is different from the God of the New Testament. God of the First Covenant is powerful, terrifying, and punishes people for misbehaving. On the other hand, the God of the New Testament is loving, forgiving and merciful.

This may happen only if we neglect our duty to study Holy Scripture and teachings of the Catholic Church.

In Matthew 5;38-42 it is written:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

If we compare it with the opening of the Smoke of Satan in the Church – Part 3, the fragment from Matthew 5:17-20 seems like Our Lord is contradicting Himself. Only 18 verses later He says that old law is wrong. Is it possible?

To bring some clarity and understanding we should step back, like a painter who, after working for a while on a detail, steps back to see the bigger picture.

From the Book of Numbers, we learn that in the second year after the departure from Egypt, Moses was leading a group of over six hundred thousand men over twenty years of age with their families. Even if these families were following the modern European model of two adults with one child, this would give us almost two million people. Anyone who has seen a traditional Jewish family would say a crowd no smaller than three million. At the time Moses was not just the one who was guiding the Israelites through the deserts on the behalf of God, but was also the only authority solving disputes and conflicts by acting on the behalf of God, until his father-in-law came up and told him: “You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. The task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now, listen to me, and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. Act as the people’s representative before God, and bring their disputes to God. Enlighten them in regard to the statutes and instructions, showing them how they are to conduct themselves and what they are to do. But you should also look among all the people for able and God-fearing men, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain, and set them over the people as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” (Exodus 18:18-21)

In the Book of Exodus Part VI Covenant and the legislation at Mount Sinai, God gives Moses the laws for the Israelites to follow. From chapter 21 verse 24 comes the famous line: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

If we take the law passed from God through Moses as a part of what we would call today’s judicial guide lines used by authority to solve disputes, and to keep order in society, then it is consistent with what St. Thomas Aquinas writes in Summa Theologiae Question 108. Vengeance Article 1. Whether vengeance is lawful? In Reply to Objection 1, St. Thomas writes, “He who takes vengeance on the wicked in keeping with his rank and position does not usurp what belongs to God but makes use of the power granted him by God. For it is written (Romans 13:4) of the earthly prince that “he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” And he continues, “If, however, a man takes vengeance outside the order of divine appointment, he usurps what is God’s and therefore sins.” We can easily recognize that Our Lord is talking about personal vengeance in Matthew 5:38-42. On many other occasions Our Lord is addressing abuses of the law and clarifying misunderstandings.

St. Thomas Aquinas explain that lawfulness of individual vengeance is limited too: “If, however, the avenger’s intention be directed chiefly to some good, to be obtained by means of the punishment of the person who has sinned (for instance that the sinner may amend, or at least that he may be restrained and others be not disturbed, that justice may be upheld, and God honored), then vengeance may be lawful, provided other due circumstances be observed.”

We may reach the conclusion that the Old Testament at this point is more oriented at God’s children as a group, a society, the offspring of Abraham, the twelve tribes of Israel. The Gospel on the other hand seems more like a guide for an individual.

In the second part of the teachings of Our Lord, in Matthew 5:38-42, it is written:

“When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

If we compare it with God’s teachings in Exodus, Chapter 23; 3-5: “When you come upon your enemy’s ox or donkey going astray, you must see to it that it is returned. When you notice the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you should not desert him; you must help him with it.”

We will easily recognize that both of those directives are showing different ways to break barriers and bring peace and love to adversaries. In Luke 10:25-28 (The Greatest Commandment) we are reminded that commandment of love of God and neighbor is a law of both the Old and New Testament.

Both the Old and New Testament together are the ultimate guide in spiritual struggles, the struggle between good and evil, where real enemies are not people, but the one who is creating hate and division: the devil.

Do it, or do it not?

In Holy Scripture we can find many more so call “contradictions” which evil forces use to weaken our faith and trust in God, create confusion and influence our actions. Many of us in our conversations and arguments, fell in to the trap of using, in support of our point of view, one excerpt of the Holy Scripture against another.

For example, the two passages:

When I say to the wicked, “You wicked, you must die,” and you do not speak up to warn the wicked about their ways, they shall die in their sins, but I will hold you responsible for their blood. If, however, you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, but they do not, then they shall die in their sins, but you shall save your life. (Ezekiel 33:8-9)

and

A Brother Who Sins. “If your brother sins, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15-17)

These passages remind us about our duty to care for the salvation of other people. The second most precious object in the world, after the body of Our Lord in the Holy Sacrament, is the human soul. To instruct the ignorant and admonish the sinners are two spiritual works of mercy listed in Book of Tobias, part of the Catholic and Orthodox biblical canon, pronounced canonical by the Council of Hippo (in 393), Councils of Carthage (in 397 and 417), Council of Florence (in 1442) and confirmed for Roman Catholics by the Council of Trent (in 1546).

Then why do so many Christians in response to first two quotes, will almost automatically bring up the verse from Matthew 7:2-5.

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”

Is it possible that Matthew 7:2-5 cancels the obligation from Ezekiel 33:8-9 and Matthew 18:15-17?

Do we have to be free of sin, like some would suggest, to be suitable to instruct ignorant and admonish the sinners?

Imagine walking down the street, and seeing a man who stepped in dog dung. According to the first two passages from the Scripture and teaching of Catholic Church our duty is to tell the man, “brother you stepped in dog dung”, and maybe offer him a napkin or other form of assistance in taking care of the problem.

Then imagine walking down the street and stepping in dog dung, and then seeing a man about to walk in to one too, or maybe he already stepped in it. Isn’t the right thing to say: “brother be careful, there is dog dung on the sidewalk. I already stepped in some.”

“Stop judging” is an extremely important warning in Matthew 7:2, but recognizing the wrong-doing of others is not necessarily judging, and there is nothing wrong with a humble warning, if motivated by a love of God and neighbor. Catholics should follow the example of the saints, and on the top of the warning offer some form of reparation to God, understanding that we daily lose battle after battle in our spiritual war, and are far from being perfect.

The problem starts when, in contrary to the teachings of our Lord from Luke 18:10-14 (The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector) pride will find the place in heart and open it to the influence of the evil one. The truth is that using one passage from Holy Scripture against another comes from the devil, it is a smoke of the devil creating confusion, and in this way stifling our actions.

The truth is that we must struggle to fulfill both mandates, watch our own steps and warn others, because doing the will of our Father in heaven is the way to salvation.

To be continued.

Saint Leonard of Noblac

Hermit, Patron of prisoners (496-559)

Saint Leonard was born towards the end of the fifth century to illustrious parents, residing in the part of the province of Gaul which was then beginning to be called France. Several historians believe that with his brother was Saint Lifard. Saint Leonard’s origins can be traced to the castle of Vendome in the region of Orleans. He belonged to the nation of the Franks, and at the court of Clovis his relatives were dignitaries, baptized at the same time as the king, at Christmas 496, by Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims. That monarch himself stood as sponsor in Baptism for this child of predilection.

As Leonard grew he was so moved by the holy examples of the bishop of Rheims that he renounced the world in order to lead a more perfect life. Leonard began a life of austerity and sanctification.

Ordained priest by St. Remigius, began to preach the word of God. He first preached At Orleans after which he travel through the whole of Gascony. His holy conduct gave great power to his words to move the hearts. There was hardly any one whom he did not succeed in converting. He decided to enter the monastery at Orleans, France. His brother, Saint Lifard, followed his example and left the royal court, built a monastery at Meun, and lived there.

Saint Leonard recognized that his role was not to remain always in the monastery, he desired further seclusion and departed to preach to the pagans of the province of Limoges. He found on a nearby mountain a forested solitude where he decided to remain, and there he built a cell of branches and considered himself rich in the possession of God, joyous in his freedom to devote himself to meditation, prayer and mortification. God bestowed on him the gift of miracles. He freed the possessed, made the blind see, the deaf hear, and restored health to the sick.

It happened one day that the king was hunting with his queen in a forest. The latter, who was with child, was suddenly taken sick, and her life and that of her child were in great danger. Leonard, not knowing anything of this, was at the same time traversing the forest, on his way to a neighboring village, where he was going to preach. Lead by Providence, he came to the place where the queen lay ill. Having been informed of the sad circumstances, he sank upon his knees and prayed, and when he arose, the queen was happily delivered. The King expressed his warmest thanks to the servant of the Lord, and offered him some valuable presents, which the Saint refused, telling the king to give them to the poor. The king promised to follow the charitable request, but insisted that Leonard should accept as a gift the forest in which the miracle had happened. The Saint, however, was satisfied with a portion of it, large enough to build a chapel in honor of the Blessed Virgin, and a hut for himself and his companions. The king had both buildings erected.

The fame of his holiness caused many to come to him who desired to serve the Almighty under his guidance. He received them kindly, and instructed them in virtue and piety. Seven families of persons who were his relatives in the north heard of his reputation and decided to come to him and remain with him. He was surprised but encouraged their good resolutions, saying: “A fare of dry bread, eaten in the joy of a pure conscience, is of more worth than a house abundantly furnished, where quarrels and divisions prevail.” Some of these were grieved that there was no water in the neighborhood, and that they had to bring it from the distance. Leonard offered a prayer to the Almighty, and immediately there gushed forth, near chapel, a spring of the purest water, which exists to this day. This and other miracles spread the fame of the Saint to distant countries, so that his assistance was often requested by people who lived afar off.

God bestowed upon him peculiar power to help the unfortunate, as several prisoners especially experienced. It is attested that many who were languishing in dungeons were miraculously restored to liberty when they had heard of the great holiness of St. Leonard and had begged of God to be merciful to them for his sake. The same happened to others who regarded Leonard, though still living and far away, as if he had been already one of the Saints reigning in heaven, and who requested him with the greatest confidence to intercede for them. Many of these brought to the Saint the chains and irons, with which they had been fettered, and thanked him for having released them by his prayers. This gave him opportunity to admonish them to free themselves, by true repentance, from the chains of sin, and to make their lives such that they would not one day be imprisoned in that dungeon from which there is no escape.

Similar admonitions he gave to others who visited him in his solitude. The inhabitants of the neighboring villages and hamlets he sought to lead to piety and fear of God by his sermons. After having thus lived a holy life for many years, he longed to be relieved from the fetters of life and admitted to the liberty of the children of God. His prayer was accepted; for God called him to heaven by happy death, in 549. The miraculous deliverance of prisoners, however, ended not at the death of St. Leonard. A great many chains were brought to the tomb of the Saint, by different persons, who said that, by calling on St. Leonard, they had been most miraculously led out of prison. For example, The Count of Limoges had chained an innocent man in heavy irons and in such a manner that he could not move without pain. Calling with great confidence on St. Leonard, he was immediately released by the Saint who appeared to him, struck of the chain and told him to take it along. The man obeyed, took the heavy chain upon his shoulder with the greatest ease, and followed his guide, who led him away into the church where the body of the Saint was buried. There the Saint disappeared, and he, who had been so miraculously delivered, related what had happened. A similar miracle was performed in favor of a prisoner of war, who against justice, had been cast into a deep pit in the earth, by his captor, who mockingly said, that St. Leonard could open the doors of the prisons, but it had never been heard that he had freed any one of a pit under the earth. The prisoner was not discouraged, but called the more fervently on the Saint, who appeared to him and led him from his subterranean vault to the gates of the monastery of Nouaille.

A considerable number wished to remain with him, and he often gave them part of his vast forest to clear and make ready for the labors of the fields, that they might have the means to live an honest life. He continued to be their guardian and father and preached the religion of our Savior to them; and those who had once been malefactors were transformed by prayer and labor.

After increasing in holiness until his last days, he died on the 6th of November 559 in the oratory he had dedicated to Our Lady, after having himself transported there.

Miracles on behalf of prisoners and the sick continued as they had preceding his death.

Pilgrims flocked to his tomb, and in one small town in Bavaria there are records of 4,000 favors granted through Saint Leonard’s intercession.

Saint Leonard’s cult spread through all of Western Europe, churches were dedicated to him in France, England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Bohemia, Poland and other countries. In England, with its cultural connections to the region, no fewer than 177 churches are dedicated to him. In Italy almost 225 places are dedicated to saint Léonard. The various places named Saint Leonard or St Leonards refer to this saint. Notable among these is the town of St Leonards-on-Sea in East Sussex. Sussex is also home to St Leonard’s Forest. This part of England has a significant number of dedications to St Leonard. One of the best-known is the Parish church of St Leonard in Hythe, Kent, with its famous ossuary in the ambulatory situated beneath its chancel.

Bohemond, a charismatic leader of the First Crusade, subsequently visited the Abbey of Noblac, where he made an offering in gratitude for his release. Bohemond’s example inspired many similar gifts, enabling the Romanesque church and its prominent landmark belltower to be constructed.

He became one of the most venerated saints of the late Middle Ages, patron of political prisoners, imprisoned people, prisoners of war, and captives, women in labour, as well as horses.

[1.]R. F. X. Weninger, Lives of the Saints Compiled from Authentic Sources.
[2.]“Leonard of Noblac,” Wikipedia, [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_of_Noblac. [Accessed 4 November 2017].
[3.]“Saint Leonard – Lives of the Saints,” Magnificat, 24 February 2016. [Online]. Available: http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_leonard.html. [Accessed 4 November 2017].
[4.]“Saint Leonard of Noblac,” Catholic Saints Info, 13 August 2017. [Online]. Available: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-leonard-of-noblac/. [Accessed 4 November 2017].