Sunday Meditation: The Healer

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is still on the Sea of Galilee, and now crosses back to the other side.  While in last week’s reading Jesus admonishes for lack of faith, in today’s Gospel He praises for having faith.  First He comes across a man in moment of crises, the dying of his daughter.  As He goes across town to the man’s house to cure the girl, He comes across a woman who is in her own crises, a woman with a twelve year hemorrhage.  The woman does something that is astonishing, she touches Jesus in the hope of being healed.  She is healed.  Jesus then continues on to the sick girl when it is announced that she has died.  But Jesus undisturbed goes to the home and raises her up.  These two stories are interlocked.

 

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat

to the other side,

a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea.

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.

Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,

"My daughter is at the point of death.

Please, come lay your hands on her

that she may get well and live."

He went off with him,

and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

 

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.

She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors

and had spent all that she had.

Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.

She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd

and touched his cloak.

She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."

Immediately her flow of blood dried up.

She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,

turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?"

But his disciples said to Jesus,

"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,

and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

And he looked around to see who had done it.

The woman, realizing what had happened to her,

approached in fear and trembling.

She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.

He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.

Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."

 

While he was still speaking,

people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said,

"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"

Disregarding the message that was reported,

Jesus said to the synagogue official,

"Do not be afraid; just have faith."

He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside

except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,

he caught sight of a commotion,

people weeping and wailing loudly.

So he went in and said to them,

"Why this commotion and weeping?

The child is not dead but asleep."

And they ridiculed him.

Then he put them all out.

He took along the child's father and mother

and those who were with him

and entered the room where the child was.

He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"

which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"

The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

At that they were utterly astounded.

He gave strict orders that no one should know this

and said that she should be given something to eat.

~Mk 5:21-43 

There are so many similarities and parallels between the two stories.  A couple of weeks ago I mentioned the story-telling technique of interlocking stories that Mark seems to love as the Markan Sandwich.  

Fr. Geoffrey Plant again this Sunday explains the passage superbly. 

Sunday Meditation: "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."

 

Instead of a hymn this Sunday, I will provide the wonderful dramatization of this passage as performed in the series, The Chosen.

I find that very gripping.  It captures Jesus’s lack of concern for what I will call Pharisaic reverence for what is more important to Him, mercy.

Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero by Henryk Sienkiewicz, Part 11

This is the eleventh and final post of Henryk Sienkiewicz’s historical novel, Quo Vadis.

You can find Post #1 here.  

Post #2 here. 

Post #3 here.  

Post #4 here. 

Post #5 here. 

Post #6 here.  

Post #7 here. 

Post #8 here. 

Post #9 here.  

Post #10 here.  

 

 

Chapters 72, 73, & Epilogue

Summary

Vinicius from Sicily writes a letter to Petronius.  Months have past since those climatic events in Rome.  He and Lygia are happy in their domestic life.  He writes on how his Christian religion has changed life for the better, how love as a principle transforms life.  If only Caesar and Rome could convert, the world would be so much better.  He hopes that Petronius could convert.  Petronius in the southern Italian city of Cumae, where he and the other Roman aristocracy will be departing for Greece, reads the letter knowing that his life is near its end.  He is no longer in Nero’s favor, especially since he is associated with the conspirators, and this trip to Greece is a means of isolating him for the end.  Petronius writes back expressing joy in Vinicius’s happiness, but Petronius is still philosophically a skeptic and an epicurean and so has no use for Christ.  He tells Vinicius that Tigellinus has won their struggle and he intends to die on his terms rather than allow them to take his life.  He passes on his farewell to him and to Lygia.

Petronius, still at Cumae, receives word that Nero has called for his death.  He receives the news with calm, and even sends Nero a gift.  He laughs at a plan he conceives for his final acts.  He has his servants prepare a feast at his villa and invites all the nobles.  He sits to write a letter and prepares for a banquet.  He tells Eunice that she can have his villa, and she realizes what he is going to do.  That night at the banquet, the aristocracy enjoy themselves as only at a feast that Petronius, the elegant arbiter of taste, can arrange.  Toward the end, Petronius stands, tells of his decision to end his life, and reads the letter he has composed to Nero.  In the letter he tells of Nero’s abuses, the murders, the burning of Rome, and the persecution of the innocent Christians who he used to cover his crimes.  He speaks of Nero’s terrible poetry, his horrible dancing, and atrocious singing.  He tells Nero he can no longer stand Nero’s wretched art and so he has decided to take his life.  The guests are shocked, more for their lives since associating with this letter will put them on Nero’s death list.  Petronius calls the physician over to open the vein in his arm to bleed out.  Eunice comes over and gives her arm as well to die along with her beloved.  They die together.

Nero now in Rome ignores the revolt forming against his rule.  He does not believe the rebels, led by the Gallic general Vindex, can overcome his divine authority.  He continues to sing and compose while the legions make their way toward Rome.  In his delusion he thinks he can defeat the legions with his song.  When he hears that the Spanish general Galba has joined Vindex, he goes into a rage.  He realizes the end but it is too late.  Many of his servants have abandoned him.  Several of his remaining servants push him to escape and rush him out in disguise.  Outside of Rome he hears the shouts of joy from the pretorian soldiers that Galba has been declared emperor.  He knows it is over and gives orders for his servants to kill him.  “What an artist is perishing” are his last words.  Nero tries to thrust a knife to his neck but needs help from his servant for the final thrust.

###

My Comment:

So what should we make of Petronius? His skepticism leads him to give up hope and then end his life. Obviously this is not Christian, but it's something that many non Christian views endorse. We see it today. If you're going to die, assisted suicide turns out to be an easy answer. Was he noble? I think his helping out Vinicius and Lygia was certainly noble and that was at the root of his disfavor with Nero. I assume he could have fled, but then he would no longer live as a nobleman, and Nero might have been able to track him down. As it turns out he probably could have held out until Nero was deposed, but he had no foreknowledge that would happen.

 

Was Petronius the central character? Look back at the first chapter. The book starts with him and ends with him. Nero's death is presented as an epilogue, so the novel proper ends with the deaths of Petronius and Eunice. If Petronius is the central character, does this make the novel a tragedy? Could the deaths of Petronius symbolize the future death of the Roman pagan world? The epilogue does end with a projected Christian triumphalism.

###

For this final excerpt I will quote the passage where Petronius reads his letter to Nero and then has his and Eunice’s veins opened.

 

He took from beneath the purple cushion a paper, and read as follows:—

 

"I know, O Cæsar, that thou art awaiting my arrival with impatience, that thy true heart of a friend is yearning day and night for me. I know that thou art ready to cover me with gifts, make me prefect of the pretorian guards, and command Tigellinus to be that which the gods made him, a mule-driver in those lands which thou didst inherit after poisoning Domitius. Pardon me, however, for I swear to thee by Hades, and by the shades of thy mother, thy wife, thy brother, and Seneca, that I cannot go to thee. Life is a great treasure. I have taken the most precious jewels from that treasure, but in life there are many things which I cannot endure any longer. Do not suppose, I pray, that I am offended because thou didst kill thy mother, thy wife, and thy brother; that thou didst burn Rome and send to Erebus all the honest men in thy dominions. No, grandson of Chronos. Death is the inheritance of man; from thee other deeds could not have been expected. But to destroy one's ear for whole years with thy poetry, to see thy belly of a Domitius on slim legs whirled about in Pyrrhic dance; to hear thy music, thy declamation, thy doggerel verses, wretched poet of the suburbs,—is a thing surpassing my power, and it has roused in me the wish to die. Rome stuffs its ears when it hears thee; the world reviles thee. I can blush for thee no longer, and I have no wish to do so. The howls of Cerberus, though resembling thy music, will be less offensive to me, for I have never been the friend of Cerberus, and I need not be ashamed of his howling. Farewell, but make no music; commit murder, but write no verses; poison people, but dance not; be an incendiary, but play not on a cithara. This is the wish and the last friendly counsel sent thee by the—Arbiter Elegantiæ."

 

The guests were terrified, for they knew that the loss of dominion would have been less cruel to Nero than this blow. They understood, too, that the man who had written that paper must die; and at the same time pale fear flew over them because they had heard such a paper.

 

But Petronius laughed with sincere and gladsome joy, as if it were a question of the most innocent joke; then he cast his eyes on all present, and said,—

 

"Be joyous, and drive away fear. No one need boast that he heard this letter. I will boast of it only to Charon when I am crossing in the boat with him."

 

He beckoned then to the Greek physician, and stretched out his arm. The skilled Greek in the twinkle of an eye opened the vein at the bend of the arm. Blood spurted on the cushion, and covered Eunice, who, supporting the head of Petronius, bent over him and said,—

 

"Didst thou think that I would leave thee? If the gods gave me immortality, and Cæsar gave me power over the earth, I would follow thee still."

 

Petronius smiled, raised himself a little, touched her lips with his, and said,—

 

"Come with me."

 

She stretched her rosy arm to the physician, and after a while her blood began to mingle and be lost in his blood.

 

Then he gave a signal to the leader of the music, and again the voices and cithariæ were heard. They sang "Harmodius"; next the song of Anacreon resounded,—that song in which he complained that on a time he had found Aphrodite's boy chilled and weeping under trees; that he brought him in, warmed him, dried his wings, and the ungrateful child pierced his heart with an arrow,—from that moment peace had deserted the poet.

 

Petronius and Eunice, resting against each other, beautiful as two divinities, listened, smiling and growing pale. At the end of the song Petronius gave directions to serve more wine and food; then he conversed with the guests sitting near him of trifling but pleasant things, such as are mentioned usually at feasts. Finally, he called to the Greek to bind his arm for a moment; for he said that sleep was tormenting him, and he wanted to yield himself to Hypnos before Thanatos put him to sleep forever.

###

My Goodreads Review

Five stars!  This is a classic, and a classic that entertains and delivers.  Published in 1895, it is a grand historical novel of the 19^th century style, large, lots of characters, a complicated plot, and precise realism that captures the psychological dimensions of the major characters.  This novel captures the worldviews of the first century pagan Romans with that of the newly founded Christians.

Here are some observations about the novel with the hope I do not spoil it for others.    

The novel is observed from the point of view of the pagan Romans.  Sienkiewicz’s decision is both surprising and masterful, perhaps for several reasons.  It narrates from the inside the psychological shift of the central character starting from a pagan worldview and then evolving to a conversion.  That conversion is made much more interesting and believable than if it were told from a Christian’s perspective.  Second it builds the Roman world much more credibly if told from the inside.  Third it projects the future conversion of the Roman world from pagan to Christian.  In order to write from the Roman perspective, Sienkiewicz had to learn so many details of the Roman culture, and by my estimate he did it exceptionally well.

Another observation is how well Sienkiewicz integrated real historical people with the fictional.  Though the central Roman character, Vinicius is fictional, most of the major Roman characters are historical.  Petronius, a key character, is the author of the ancient Roman novel, Satyricon, and of course Nero is the actual emperor.  There are others.  On the Christian side, saints Peter and Paul are integrated into the novel in a major way.  Historical figures project their philosophies, and it was quite interesting to see Petronius, an exponent of Epicureanism, discuss philosophy with St. Paul and his Christianity. 

The realism of the narrative is extraordinary.  Sienkiewicz remarkably recreates first century Roman life.  You do need to look up some Latin terms of common living practices, but it made for greater precision in the depictions.  The realism of the great fire of Rome—started on the command of Nero and blamed on the Christian population—was breathtaking.  The persecutions of the Christians in the amphitheater was repulsive in its recreated narrative.  The mania of Nero was captured well.  The execution of the two apostles was done off stage I believe to give them due reverence, but the narration leading up to their executions is captured well.  As far as I can tell, all historical events are true to known history.

The mark of a good novel is that you don’t want it to end.  I did not want this to end.  I was engaged with the depictions of the various Romans, engaged with the depictions of the various Christians, engaged with the love between Vinicius and the Christian Lygia, and engaged in the subtle transformation of Vinicius’ worldview from pagan to Christian. 

The title of the book comes from the words, "Quo vadis, Domine?" St. Peter was supposed to have said them as he was escaping Rome during the final persecutions and saw Christ going toward Rome.  It means, “Where are you going Lord?”  That scene is dramatized in the novel and brings a lump to one’s throat as St. Peter turns around and goes back to face his martyrdom. 

If you’re a Christian and you want to have insight into the early Christians, this book is a good place to go, and it will entertain you.  If you’re such a Christian and an ancient Roman history buff as well, such as I am, this novel is a must.  The novel is way better than the movies.  I highly recommend it. 

Sunday Meditation: Through the Storm

As someone who gets bad seasickness, I can really identify with today’s Gospel.  In fact it happened to us about ten years ago.  We were on a ferry from Martha’s Vineyard (or it might have been Nantucket, I can remember which) back to mainland on a Massachusetts vacation.  I think I asked someone if I should take a seasick pill, and I was told that there was no need since it was a really stable ferry ship.  It had been very smooth on the trip over.  OK, so I didn’t take it.  The ferry ride was supposed to be a couple of hours but less than an hour in forced everyone to go inside.  There was some sort of squall.  We sat at a table and as the ferry started to pitch and yaw, I started to pray.  I knew what this would do to me.  It wasn’t very long before I started to sweat, feel nauseous, heave, and then it came up and out.  It was terrible.  It lasted the whole ride back.  Poor Matthew, who could not have been more than four, had to see his father incapacitated.  Where was Jesus?  I know exactly how the Apostles felt in today’s Gospel.

On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples:

“Let us cross to the other side.”

Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was.

And other boats were with him.

A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat,

so that it was already filling up.

Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.

They woke him and said to him,

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

He woke up,

rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet!  Be still!”

The wind ceased and there was great calm.

Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified?

Do you not yet have faith?”

They were filled with great awe and said to one another,

“Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

~Mk 4:35-41

Oh, if only Jesus had been there to say “Quiet!  Be still!”  Maybe it wouldn’t have been so hard on my stomach.

Fr. Geoffrey Plant explains the context of the situation, location, and significance extremely well.    

Sunday Meditation: “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

I will answer that question by answering it as the same person who died but resurrected, of which this passage bears some analogy.

The storm reminds me of the beautiful hymn, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” performed here by jazz singer, Jimmy Scott.

Jimmy Scott had an unusually high voice for a male singer, which made his renditions unique.  I think Jimmy Scott's rendition of this beautiful hymn is my all-time favorite.  There is such suffering in his voice.  It feels so honest.

Matthew Monday: Father’s Day 2024

Yesterday was Father’s Day and like every year Matthew and I go on a “Father’s Day Adventure.”  As those who may follow my blog should know, this “adventure” is something Matthew and I have done since we adopted him.  The first that I noted this Father’s Day Adventure on the blog was Father’s Day in 2014, which was the first Father’s Day I had the blog.  I explained it all then and described the previous ones.  If you are really interested in reading all the adventures through the years, you can click the “Father’s Day” tag at the bottom of the page. 

This year we had wanted to drive up to Kingston, NY, an Old Dutch town that was attacked and burned by the British during the Revolutionary War.  There are a number of historical sites to see (including the oldest existing intersection in the US!) and has a panoramic view of the Hudson River.  Alas, we didn’t get there.  By the time we got out of Mass, it was almost midday, and it’s about two hours drive one way.  That would have put us on the road for four hours, and Matthew had to get home to study for two finals the next day. 

We changed our minds when we got home from Church and quickly pivoted to plan B, that is, we went to a minor league baseball game.  I know, not much of an adventure, but it couldn’t be helped.  We quickly got tickets to the Staten Island FerryHawks game.  The FerryHawks took over the stadium when the Yankees killed their Staten Island single A team that was situated here. It’s an Independent League team comprised of teams not tied to any major league affiliates.  They probably play at the same level as single A or maybe a little bit better. Independent League teams get players who are not signed by major league teams with the hope of catching a scout’s eye and getting signed. 

There were two ex-major leaguers (at least two, I didn’t recognize anyone else) playing on the FerryHawks.

One was Alejandro de Aza. I remembered him.  He played a couple of years with the Orioles. He’s 40 years old now and still playing. I guess for the love of the game. I can’t see him being picked up by anyone at that age. He did get a couple of hits that day.

The other ex was Pablo Sandoval. He was actually a star third baseman for the San Francisco Giants when he was in his early twenties.  If I remember correctly injuries and a weight problem drove his career into the ground.  He last played in the majors in 2021.  He’s now 37 and I guess hopes to get picked up. He got at least one hit that I remember. I think he was DH. He was not at third.

FerryHawks beat the York Revolution 6-4.

I can’t say it was a big adventure but it was a lot of fun.  I took a few pictures. 

The ballpark overlooks the NYC harbor, and beyond the left field fence, you can see the Manhattan skyline.

Over the right field fence you have a more unobstructed view of the harbor, and here you can see the orange Staten Island ferry going out. 

Finally a picture of Matthew.

I love spending time with my son and nothing better than spending time with him at a baseball game.

Happy Father’s Day!

Sunday Meditation: The Seed Parables

In today’s Gospel readings, Jesus is seen preaching in Galilee, and on what does He preach?  He preaches on the kingdom of God.  How does He illustrate what the kingdom of God is like?  He uses two parables that together are referred to as “the seed parables.”    

 

Jesus said to the crowds:

“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;

it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land

and would sleep and rise night and day

and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,

he knows not how.

Of its own accord the land yields fruit,

first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,

for the harvest has come.”

 

He said,

“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,

or what parable can we use for it?

It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,

is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.

But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants

and puts forth large branches,

so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

With many such parables

he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.

Without parables he did not speak to them,

but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

~Mk 4:26-34

In Galilee Jesus must be speaking to agricultural workers.  As a gardener, this resonates with me, and I assume it resonated with Jesus’s audience.

Dr. Brant Pitre explains them well.  First on the Parable of the Growing Seed. 

 

Second on the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

 

Isn’t that fascinating?  Dr. Pitre always seems to enlighten in an unexpected way. 

 

Sunday Meditation: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God.”

 

Our Sunday John Michael Talbot hymn, “Behold the Kingdom.”

 

Sunday Meditation: His Brothers and Mother

We are now fully back in Ordinary Time, and the Gospel reading picks where we left Jesus before Lent and Easter entered the liturgical season.  Jesus had been preaching in Galilee with His disciples and now this Sunday returns home.  This passage is an example of what some scholars call a Markan Sandwich, that is, a technique that Mark likes to use in telling a story.  A Markan Sandwich is one where Mark starts with one story, transitions to another, and then returns—thereby creating the sandwich—to complete the original story. 

 

Jesus came home with his disciples.

Again the crowd gathered,

making it impossible for them even to eat.

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him,

for they said, "He is out of his mind."

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said,

"He is possessed by Beelzebul,"

and "By the prince of demons he drives out demons."

 

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables,

"How can Satan drive out Satan?

If a kingdom is divided against itself,

that kingdom cannot stand.

And if a house is divided against itself,

that house will not be able to stand.

And if Satan has risen up against himself

and is divided, he cannot stand;

that is the end of him.

But no one can enter a strong man's house to plunder his property

unless he first ties up the strong man.

Then he can plunder the house.

Amen, I say to you,

all sins and all blasphemies that people utter will be

forgiven them.

But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

will never have forgiveness,

but is guilty of an everlasting sin."

For they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

His mother and his brothers arrived.

Standing outside they sent word to him and called him.

A crowd seated around him told him,

"Your mother and your brothers and your sisters

are outside asking for you."

But he said to them in reply,

"Who are my mother and my brothers?"

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,

"Here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of God

is my brother and sister and mother."

~Mk 3:20-35

So the first story is that of Jesus’ family thinking He’s gone insane.  The middle part of the story is the conflict with the Scribes and His answers to their claims.  And finally He returns to conclude with a resolution to the first story.

Fr, Joseph Mary of the Capuchin Franciscans offers a pertinent homily.

 

Now some may be shocked by the verse about the unforgivable sin.  Jesus says, “But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”  What is this unforgivable sin, because I want to make sure I never commit it?  An old favorite of mine, Fr. John Corapi explains, taken from St. Augustine I might add.

 

 

Got that?  The unforgivable sin is refusing final repentance.  

 

Sunday Meditation: “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

 

Let’s end with a hymn from John Michael Talbot, “One Faith.”