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SIMPLY SHEEN: Respect must be earned

     They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but the words of Bishop Fulton J. Sheen have been known to launch a thousand images in one's mind, one of the ways this late luminary did so much to evangelize the faith. Because of the urgency of the times and because few there are today who possess the wisdom, simplicity and insight than the late Archbishop who touched millions, we are bringing you daily gems from his writings. The good bishop makes it so simple that we have dubbed this daily series: "SIMPLY SHEEN".

"St. Thomas Aquinas said, 'The respect that one has for the rule flows naturally from the respect that one has for the person who gave it.' Authority must always have behind it some value which elicits respect and reverence."

      On this day in 1073 the holy monk Hildebrand was elected the 157th successor of Peter, taking the name Pope Gregory VII which in later years he would be known as Pope Saint Gregory the Great like his namesake - the first Gregory the Great back in 590 who was the 64th successor of Peter and the Holy Father who instituted Gregorian Chant. For other pertinent events throughout the centuries that are memorable in Church history today, click on MILLENNIUM MILESTONES AND MEMORIES

Historical Events in Church Annals for April 22:

536 A.D.


Death of Pope Saint Agipitus, the 57th successor of Peter who was poisoned by the wife of the Emperor of the Goths Theodora who was of the eutician faith and hated the Roman faith of Agipitus who became a martyr on this date.

1073 A.D.


The great Hildebrand, who refused the papacy in the past, prays and this time accedes to ascend the papal throne as Pope Saint Gregory VII the Great as the 157th successor of Peter. He would calle a Council to issue a Dictatus Papae which decreed that only the Pope is universal and that no one can judge him other than God. It also decreed that the Pope alone could dispense one from vows. It would be a turning point in Church history for the papacy would take on a new prestige when the excommunicated Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV who had supported the antipope Honorius II bowed to Gregory by going humbly to Canossa in the bitter winter and, wearing only a rough habit, asked the holy Pontiff for forgiveness publicly.

1233 A.D.


The Dominicans are established in France as Inquisitors by the decree of Pope Gregory IX.

1418 A.D.


The closing of the Council of Constance, the sixteenth ecumenical council which ended the Great Schism and condemned Huss.

1451 A.D.


Birth of Isabella who would become Queen of Spain and commission Christopher Columbus to set out on his great voyage of discovery.

1509 A.D.


King Henry VII's death opens the door for King Henry VIII to gain the crown, beginning a succession of hills and valleys with Rome that would end in Schism and a complete break from Holy Mother Church.

1541 A.D.


The founder of the Jesuits Saint Ignatius of Loyola is elected First General of the Order founded for the express purpose of defending the Pope.

Peter and John must see for themselves

      In the first part of Chapter 11, "My Lord and my God!" we see, through interior vision, the optimistic skepticism of Peter and the undying loyalty of both he and John. They hope against hope that all the Magdalen has told them is true but they must see for themselves; a trait we all have a tendency to possess for we, too, would most probably react in the same way. These meditative lessons on the Glorious Mysteries were imparted by Our Lady to the Hidden Flower of the Immaculate Heart after Pentecost 1993. They are meant to inspire and prompt a greater understanding of the Glorious Mysteries. For part one of Chapter 11, click on "MY LORD AND MY GOD!"

      Dear Father, it is quite late. The day has been filled with many graces, but sorrows too, as I continue to recover from an illness which has baffled doctors and left me weak and bed-ridden for a month. God's Will be done. He alone is my life, and I trust Him totally, and love Him above all else. It is He Who prepares my poor soul for all He desires to give me, and daily He teaches me the joy of suffering for Him alone for He is my Lord and my God! The world does not understand; that is all right. He does, and that is sufficient.

      John and Peter have set off for Our Lord's burial place. Peter wants to run buy yet he doesn't want to call any attention to himself. He tries to blend into the scenery; just a common citizen about after the Passover ritual has ended.

      John is much different for even though his eyes have not seen the Master, his pure heart recognizes Truth. He is eager, spurred on by love. Yet, it is this very love, flowing from God, which makes John able to walk with Peter as they pass along the streets, recognizing that Peter is the head, and in deference does he keep step with him out of sublime charity.

      Their route is the same as the Magdalene's, except once upon the hard-packed road leading to the garden, Peter speaks.

      "Do you believe her?" he asks of John.

      "Yes, Peter, I believe her."

      "I…I wish…."

      "Yes?" John prompts.

      "You are His Beloved one, John. You knew His heart as He knew yours, while mine gets so cluttered, and confused. But I want to believe."

      "Then Her knows already what is in your heart. Did He not often tell us, when we sat at His feet and were taught by every word He uttered, that we must always remain open to Him? Of course, He meant our hearts. Do not be troubled. He will help us."

      "Yes, He said 'I am with you,' and I do feel it here…." Peter taps his chest. "But… O! How I have failed Him."

      "As we all have, Peter. Each of us. Only His Blessed Mother is without blame. Come, let us hurry. There is the gate."

      John moves forward now, his love no longer able to be restrained. He runs, and Peter, who is of shorter stature and more years, tries to keep up but is a good 100 feet behind at his best.

      The scene of the tranquil garden seems to me unchanged as I follow with John. He rounds the rock outcropping and pauses to look down. There are the perfumes, oils, spices, herbs that the Magdalene had worked so hard to prepare. He glances up. I follow his gaze. There is no one present that I can see. The Roman guards have all gone, to make up whatever story will satisfy their commander. I wonder where the other Marys have gone, and immediately am given to understand that having received, at length, permission from the lone Roman guard, they approached the tomb, satisfied of its emptiness, crying, as was the Magdalene, they took the side path she had taken, searching for their stalwart companion. I am given to understand that by now they have returned to the house of the Last Supper and have learned the rest of the Magdalene's account of her encounter with the Risen Lord.

      John looks back and Peter has closed the gap between them. "Come quickly, there is no one about. But it is as she said, the stone has been rolled away."

      Peter nods and keeps moving, but John, drawn as a magnet, hurries forward to the tomb's entrance. He places his right hand on the cold stone wall and pauses. In that instant he sees before him Our Lord's full Passion and Death. He sees again the mournful placement of the disfigured body in this tomb and the effort of Joseph, Nicodemus, and himself to lever the stone slab into place.

      Then with tentative footsteps he goes in, passing what appears to me to be a very small outer room, and then through a low archway into the interior chamber, or actual tomb where he had helped to place our Dear Lord's Most Sacred Body.

      At the moment when he crosses the threshold from the outside world into the sepulcher, I become aware, as does John, of a wonderful illumination which permeates the interior chamber. This light of unearthly quality is also a living, moving light which blends gold and silver, but also the shimmering colors of sunrise. I am also aware at the same time that the entire tomb has a fragrance, which is breathtakingly beautiful. Not flowery. More, I seem to understand, the scent of purest incense. Not man-made incense, but heavenly incense which is constantly given in praise to the Trinity by all the angels, and now that Heaven has been opened, by all the saints as well.

NEXT INSTALLMENT: Part two: "My Lord and my God!"

      Today is the Third Thursday of Easter while tomorrow we celebrate the Third Friday of Easter and the Feast of Saint George, martyr and the Feast of Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr. For the readings, liturgies, meditations and vignettes on these two saints, click on DAILY LITURGY.

Thursday, April 22: Easter Weekday

First Reading: Acts 8: 26-40
Psalms: Psalm 66: 1, 8-9, 16-17, 20
Gospel Reading: John 6: 44-51

Friday, April 23: Easter Weekday and
Feast of Saint George, Martyr and
Feast of Saint Adalbert, Bishop and Martyr

First Reading: Acts 9: 1-20
Psalms: Psalm 117: 1-2 and Mark 16: 15
Gospel Reading: John 6: 52-59

      Born near the end of the third century, Saint George became a great Roman soldier, being elevated to tribune for his bravery by the Roman Emperor Diocletian. Though he had been born of Christian parents, George did not become a Christian until he realized the atrocities being done to the Christians by his emperor. George openly rebuked Diocletian and begged the emperor to follow Jesus. For his efforts George was thrown into prison and eventually beheaded by the evil emperor around 303 AD. He became the icon for the Christian cause as his courage reinforced fortitude in every Christian. He has always been depicted as the great dragon-slayer - defeating the devil in the same vein as Saint Michael except George was upon a horse, garbed in Roman armor. Legend of his exploits spread throughout Europe and many miracles were attributed to his intercession after his death by those pilgrims who visited his tomb. Devotion to St. George was one of the most ancient and wide spread in the early Church. His fame prompted England to choose him as her patron saint and his feast was declared a national holiday there in the 13th Century. He is the patron saint of soldiers and Boy Scouts.

      Born during the dark ages and the great turmoil in Rome, Saint Adalbert of Magdeburg became a monk in the St. Maximin Monastery in Treves, Italy. With the demise of the Theophylact family influence, the Holy Roman Empire was resurrected with the election of Otto I who dispatched Adalbert to Russia to convert the Russian subjects of the newly-converted Russian princess Olga who had been baptized in Constantinople. However her pagan son Svyatoslav rejected his mother's faith and wrestled the crown from her in 961. He tried to kill the missionaries but most escaped including Adalbert who fled west toward Kiev where some were captured and killed, but Adalbert managed to elude his captors and returend to Mainz where he spent four years in Otto's court. In 962 the Emperor appointed him the first archbishop of Magdeburg in Saxony where Adalbert would have jurisdiction over the Slavs. For the next nineteen years Adalbert evangelized and baptized the Slavic people as well as reforming religious congregations in his diocese. While visiting Merseburg in 981, a group of pagans ganged up on the bishop and killed him, making Adalbert a martyr of the Church.

      Today we complete a short series of Responsory Prayers during Paschaltide adapted from the Byzantine Liturgy:

This day was made by the Lord, Alleluia. Let us rejoice and be glad in it, Alleluia. Shining in bright robes and waving palms, they acclaim their Good Shepherd. Alleluia.

Daily Dose of curious contents of the Church:

      On this date in 1418, Pope Martin V closed the Sixteenth Ecumenical Council - the Council of Constance which had been convened by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismond in which Martin's predecessor Pope Gregory XII renounced the papacy in order to bring order and harmony to the Church in an unselfish act in hopes that the antipopes Benedict XIII and John XXIII would also step down so that a new Pontiff could be elected that would unify the Church and end the Great Western Schism. Though Benedict balked, the man called John went along and the Schism was ended. The Council also enacted reforms and rejected the teachings of Wycliff as well as condemning the heresy of John Huss and his followers who came to be known as the "Hussites." The Council was attended by nearly 200 bishops as well as other dignitaries and experts. Between November 5, 1414 and April 22, 1418 there were 45 sessions held. One of the reforms enacted which would come back to haunt the Church and cause havoc during the rest of the century was conciliarism in which the ecumenical council had superiority over the Pope. This would be rescinded at the Seventeenth Ecumenical Council between 1431 and 1445 when many abandoned the Council at Basle to follow Pope Eugene IV to Ferrara and then finally at Florence where it was decreed that the Pope does have superiority over any consiliar body. For more on the Council of Constance, we recommend NEW ADVENT CATHOLIC SUPERSITE (sources: Cabinet of Catholic Information, Duggan Publishing Co.; 1999 Catholic Almanac, Our Sunday Visitor; Catholic Encyclopedia, Thomas Nelson Publishers).

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April 22, 1999 volume 10, no. 79   DAILY CATHOLIC