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Colmcille (Columcille) was born on 7 December, 521, near Lough Gartan in County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland. On his father’s side he was a great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a high king of Ireland in the 5th century. His original name was Crimthann, meaning ‘fox’. He could have been called that because of his red hair. Colmcille (Dove of the Church) was the name given to him as a monk and he is also known as Columba, the Latin word for ‘dove’.

Already in his time in Ireland, there were many monastic settlements which were centres of learning and holiness. He began his studies at the monastery of Moville in County Down, which had been founded by St Finian. He later studied at the famous monastery of Clonard, near Kinnegad in County Meath, which was founded by another St Finian (no relation to the first). In the 540s, Clonard was regarded as one of the finest centres of learning in Europe. It is said that the average number of scholars under instruction at Clonard was about 3,000. Twelve students who studied under St Finian became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland and Colmcille was one of these. There he became a monk and was ordained as a priest. It was also there that he met St Ciaran, who later founded Clonmacnoise, another famous monastery on the banks of the River Shannon. From there, Colmcille moved to the monastery of Glasnevin (near Dublin), founded by St Mobhi, where he met many learned and holy people.

Legend has it that around the year 560, Colmcille became involved in a quarrel with St Finian of Moville over a book of the psalms. Colmcille copied the original at the scriptorium (the place in the monastery where texts were hand copied), intending to keep the copy for himself. Finian disputed Colmcille’s right to keep it. The dispute became so serious that it resulted in armed conflict, the Battle of Cul Dreimhne in 561, in which many lost their lives, but Colmcille was able to keep his copy. The book has since become known as the Cathach or ‘Battle Book’ of St Columba. Legend has it that a special shrine (Cumhdach) was made for the Cathach. Following the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, it was taken to France by the O’Donnell family (also from Donegal), but was brought back to Ireland in 1813. It is now in the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin and is the oldest surviving manuscript of the Psalms.

A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate Colmcille for the deaths in the battle, but St Brendan of Birr spoke up for him with the result that he was allowed to go into exile. Colmcille suggested that he would work as a missionary in Scotland to help convert as many people as had been killed in the battle. He left Ireland in 563 with 12 companions for the west coast of Scotland, “wishing to be a pilgrim for Christ”.

It is said that he first landed at the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, near Southend. However, as he was still in sight of Ireland, he moved further north up the west coast of Scotland. He was granted land on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland which became the centre of his evangelising mission to the Picts. But there were also many Irish emigres who had been in the area for a long time. He provided the only centre of literacy in the region, and his reputation for holiness led to his role as a peacemaker between the tribes. There are also many stories of miracles in his missionary work. He later played a major role in the politics of Scotland. He founded several churches in the Hebrides, and worked to turn his monastery at Iona into a school for missionaries. He wrote many hymns and is credited with transcribing 300 books. He seems to have returned to Ireland only once, towards the end of his life, to found the monastery at Durrow, a few kilometres north of Tullamore in the Irish midlands. The site at Durrow was given to him by the King of the southern Ui Neill kingdom of Tethbe. Durrow (Dearmach), means ‘Field of the Oaks’.

Other monasteries said to have been founded by him were at Raphoe and Kells. The latter was to rival and later surpass Durrow as a centre for piety and culture (both monasteries produced the famous manuscripts carrying their names). After this, he founded Clonmore in County Meath. Later he made a foundation on Lambay Island, off the coast of County Dublin. The site opposite Lambay had a well that was renowned for its clear water. Colmcille blessed the well, which was called sord an old word meaning ‘pure’. Because of this the monastery became known as Sord Colmcille, from which the present town of Swords in County Dublin gets its name.

Colmcille died on Iona in the abbey he had founded on 9 June, 597. Iona remains today a very popular place for pilgrimage.

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Commentary on Matthew 5:1-12

Today we begin reading from Matthew’s Gospel and will continue to do so for several weeks to come. We begin with chapter 5 and the Sermon on the Mount.

In reading Matthew’s Gospel, we need to remember that it was directed primarily at a readership with a Jewish background, and in this it differs greatly from Mark. One of Matthew’s aims is to present Jesus as the new Moses, transcending, but not putting aside the law given to the Israelites by the first Moses. And, as the law of Moses is contained in what we call the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), the law or teaching of Jesus is presented uniquely in this Gospel by five long discourses.

The first of these is the Sermon on the Mount and it consists mainly of the qualities which are expected of a follower of the new Law, and the new Moses – Jesus. It begins with what we call the Eight Beatitudes. It could be said that these have been greatly under-rated in the life of the Christian churches, Catholic and otherwise. Most people tend to see the centre of Christian living in the Ten Commandments, and yet they really belong to the Hebrew (Old) Testament; they are part of that Law which the coming of Jesus did not nullify, but transcended. They are, of course, still valid as moral guidelines but, in many ways, they fall far short of the expectations presented by Jesus in the Beatitudes.

It would seem, in fact, that Matthew is presenting the Beatitudes as taking over the role of the Commandments, and this is indicated by the prominent place they have in forming the opening of the first discourse. They are, as it were, a manifesto of Jesus’ message and his call to see the world in his way. They express the necessary attitudes of those who belong to the Kingdom. Those who have these attitudes already have entered that Kingdom.

Perhaps a few words about the ‘Kingdom’ are in order. In many ways, Matthew’s Gospel can be called ‘a Gospel of the Kingdom’. The phrase that Matthew consistently uses, however, is ‘Kingdom of heaven’. For many people this can be misleading because it causes them to think that Jesus is talking about the next life, our life in ‘heaven’. As a result, the Beatitudes are sometimes interpreted as conditions to be observed by those who want to go to heaven after they die.

This may be a serious misreading of the text. Matthew uses the term ‘Kingdom of heaven’ because, mindful of the Jewish background of his readers, he does not like to mention the name of God directly. He uses other circumlocutions in the course of his Gospel to get around using God’s name, as when he has Jesus say:

If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them…

By using the passive in the second half of the statement, he avoids mentioning the Doer, God. The other Gospels have no hesitation in talking about the ‘Kingdom of God’, and it is important to understand that is also what Matthew means.

What is this kingdom? It is not a place. The Greek word, basileia, is an abstract word which means ‘kingship’ or ‘reign’ rather than ‘kingdom’, which suggests a territory. ‘Kingship’ or ‘reign’, on the contrary, suggests power. To belong to the Kingdom or Kingship of God, then, is to put oneself fully, consciously and deliberately under the power of God – to experience that power and be empowered by it. That power is above all the power of agape – love.

When we say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Your Kingdom come”, we are not talking about a future life after death, but praying that people everywhere put themselves under the loving power of God in the here and now. That is made clear by the petition immediately following: “Your will be done on earth…” Our first call as Christians is to belong to, to enter that Kingdom, and not just to be a member of the Church.

The Church is, in so far as it is faithful to the call of Christ, part of the Kingdom, but the Kingdom extends far beyond the membership of the Church. The Church is, as it were, the sacrament or visible sign of the Kingdom. There are many examples in our present time of people, who are not even Christian, who are very much full of the spirit of the Kingdom, more so, perhaps than many who are baptised. An example from the past is Mahatma Gandhi, who was particularly fond of the Beatitudes and identified with them.

Today’s text begins with Jesus seeing the crowds and going up a hill. Moses, too, delivered God’s law from an elevated place, Mount Sinai. In neither case can we identify the actual mountain or hill, although traditionally, of course, there is a hill near the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee that has been called the Mount of the Beatitudes.

In the traditional way of a teacher, Jesus sits down to teach. We see him doing the same in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4:20). He is joined by his disciples, and it is not clear whether they were the primary object of his teaching, or that the crowds were also included. The teaching, of course, is directed to followers and, in particular, to those reading the Gospel.

Jesus begins the discourse with the wonderful words of the Beatitudes. There are eight of them, each one beginning with the words, “Blessed are those…” ‘Blessed is also translated as ‘Happy’ and is from the Greek adjective makarios which includes not only the idea of happiness, but also of good fortune, of being specially blessed. So we can also translate it as “Happy are those…” or “Fortunate are those…” It is important to realise that being a follower of Christ is intended to be a source of deep happiness and a realisation that one is truly fortunate to have discovered this vision of life.

At a first reading, the Beatitudes seem to fly in the face of commonly accepted ideals of the good life. It takes a deeper reading to see their inner truth.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
The Gospel in general shows great concern for the poor, that is, all those people who are deprived of what they rightfully need to lead a life of decent dignity. Why should the poor be particularly blessed? As people living in deprivation, obviously they are not. But in terms of the Kingdom, they are blessed because in the Kingdom, where love, compassion and justice prevail, there is no place for such inequality. The Kingdom is an environment of interlocking relationships where people take care of each other, and where the resources of all are shared according to the needs of all. The Kingdom is a place of blessings and happiness for the poor because it spells the end of their poverty. The poor are the “little ones” that Jesus speaks about as qualification for entering the Kingdom. They are the “last” who will be first. And, while ‘poverty’ in a wider sense can be applied to all, Jesus is thinking especially of the material simplicity that he expects from his disciples, a poverty which he himself experienced with “nowhere to lay his head”. Wealth can only mean depriving the needy of what they should have.

Matthew is unique in using the term “poor in spirit”. It is a significant addition. While the Gospel in speaking of the poor is mainly and rightly concerned with the materially poor, Matthew’s phrase can broaden the concept. Because, in reality, there are many other ways in which people can be deprived and regarded as poor. We are more sensitive to this in our own day with our deeper insights into psychological and sociological factors. People can, although materially well-off, be literally poor in spirit. That is, they have little spirit, very little happiness, lives of full of stress and anxiety and anger and resentment. These are all the result of our highly competitive, each-person-for-himself society which is everything that the Kingdom is not. Taken in that sense, the Beatitude applies to a very large number of people.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
The word “meek” is variously translated as ‘gentle’, ‘lowly’, ‘humble’. The Greek word comes from the noun prautes. The beatitude is reminiscent of a phrase in Psalm 37:

But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. (Ps 37:11)

Perhaps ‘gentle’ is the better rendering. It suggests someone who is kind and caring and not particularly assertive and dominating. In our rough and tumble society, such people normally get pushed aside and can thus be classed among the ‘lowly’ and the ‘humble’. But they are not necessarily ‘meek’, which suggests people who allow themselves to be trampled on. Rather, they belong to those who subscribe to active non-violence. That is, they will never resort to any form of violent behaviour to achieve their goals, but they are active and pro-active, not passive – or meek. We might think of a person like Martin Luther King, Jr. To be ‘gentle’ in this sense requires a great inner strength and, of course, in the Kingdom there is a very desirable need for such people. It is there that they will come into their own.

In some texts this Beatitude is interchanged with the following and sometimes it is presented as an addition to the first about the “poor in spirit”, where ‘gentle’ is understood as ‘lowly’. In this case there would only be seven Beatitudes, a more biblical number.

Blessed (Happy) are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Mourning and happiness would seem to be contradictory to each other. It does not say what the mourning might be about. It could be the death of a family member or a loved one, but it could be something quite different altogether.

Again we have to see the beatitude in the context of the Kingdom. There, those who mourn – for whatever reason – can be sure of experiencing the comfort and support of their brothers and sisters. That is something that they cannot be always sure of in a world where people are too busy taking care of their own immediate interests. Mourning by itself is never a happy experience, but it can become a blessing when surrounded by the right people as their love and concern are poured out.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘What is right’? ‘what is just’? Righteousness, meaning ‘being just’ or ‘being right’ (it is also synonymous with ‘justice’ in some translations) is when each person is accorded what ‘belongs’ to them. A just or righteous world is a world of right relationships; in the Kingdom that is realised. And so, those who truly hunger and thirst to see justice done in our world for every single person will see their dreams and hopes come to fruition.

It is a hunger and thirst which everyone of us should pray to have. Only when we all have that hunger and thirst will justice be achieved and the Kingdom become a reality. We have made progress over the years, but we still have a long, long way to go.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Mercy, compassion, the ability to forgive fully. The Kingdom is a world full of mercy and forgiveness. And just as we will be ready to forgive others, we will find that others will be ready to forgive us when we fail in our responsibilities towards others. In the Lord’s Prayer, which is a prayer of the Kingdom, this is what we ask for:

Forgive us our sins because we forgive the sins of those who have offended us.

In fact, it is impossible for those who belong to the Kingdom to be offended, and forgiveness comes easily to them. That does not mean, of course, that we condone every wrong. The question of justice always remains. But condemning wrong does not exclude healing wounds caused by the hurt which wrongdoing causes. And mercy understood as compassion is a particularly desirable quality in a Kingdom person. Such a person not only experiences pity for those who suffer, but knows how to enter into and empathise with what they are going through. This was a quality found again and again in Jesus himself.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Pure’ here is not referring primarily – or solely – to sexual purity, as is sometimes thought.* The pure in heart are those whose vision is totally free of any distortion or prejudice. They see things exactly as they are. As a result, they have little difficulty in recognising the presence and the action of God in the people and the environment around them. This purity of heart, this ability to be able to see with perfect clarity, is truly a gift. It requires a high level of integrity on our part, but the rewards are enormous.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Surely one of the most beautiful of the beatitudes and the one we would all love to have applied to ourselves. In a world so full of divisions and conflicts of all kinds, the role of the peacemaker is so much needed. It is something we can all do, starting in our own homes, then in our working places and the wider society. It is something we can do as individuals and in groups, as parishes and churches. And, how true that, as peacemakers, we can be called “children of God”! The Letter to the Ephesians speaks beautifully of Jesus as making peace and breaking down walls between people, by his death on the cross (see Eph 2:14).

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Most people would hardly regard being persecuted, which could involve prison, torture and death, as a source of blessedness in the context of ‘happiness’. But it is not the persecution that triggers the happiness, it is the reason why it is willingly undergone.

Right from the beginnings of the Church, as described in the Acts of the Apostles, Christians rejoiced to be found worthy to suffer with and like their Lord in the proclamation of his message and way of life. That way of life was so precious to them, such a source of meaning, that they were more than willing to give their lives to defend it.

In prison, they sang songs and prayed, as did many civil rights leaders (most of them committed Christians) in the United States who would sing “We shall overcome” as they rode the paddy wagons to jail. It is a much more painful experience to compromise with our deepest convictions in order to avoid criticism or physical suffering. They are indeed, as Jesus says, the successors to the great prophets of the Hebrew Testament. Truly happy are those, who with integrity, can stand by their convictions whatever the cost.

Some people have seen in these Beatitudes a portrait of Jesus himself, and certainly The Beatitudes should be the portrait of every Christian and of every Kingdom person. They are the charter people everywhere (and not just Christians) are called to follow. They go far beyond what is demanded of in the Ten Commandments. The Commandments are not so difficult to follow and, in so far as several of them are expressed in the negative (‘Thou shalt not…’), they can be observed by doing nothing! There is no way, however, that people can ever say they observe any Beatitude to the fullest. They always call us to a further and higher level.

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*From the Catechism of the Catholic Church #2518: “Pure in heart” refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God’s holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith.”

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Commentary on 2 Corinthians 1:1-7 Read Monday of Week 10 of Ordinary Time – First Reading »

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Boniface was born at Crediton in Devon, England, in 675 AD and baptised with the name Wynfrith (Winfred). The name means “Friend of Peace”, possibly because his father was a Saxon and his mother a Briton, to show that the two peoples had come together.

He entered a monastery at Nursling near Southampton and became a monk and a priest. He had a strong desire to become a missionary abroad. Finally his abbot let him go, and in 716, he set out for the land of the Frisians (in the Netherlands). Another English missionary, Willibrord, from Northumbria, had already preached the Gospel there for several years. But wars and the hostility of non-Christians were big obstacles for the young Wynfrith. Some months later, having failed in his mission, he returned to his monastery in England, to devote two more years preparing for his apostolic work.

In 718, Wynfrith once again left his monastery, this time for good. He would never return to England. He set off for Rome to ask the pope for his commissioning and blessing. On 14 May, 719, he threw himself at the feet of Pope Gregory II who gave him the new name “Boniface” (one who does good). He then went north across the Alps and embarked on 35 years of missionary work in various parts of Germany, which included a return visit to Frisia.

In 722, he was consecrated by the pope as bishop of the whole of Germany east of the Rhine. On his return to Germany as bishop, Boniface decided to tackle heathen superstitions head-on. At a place called Geismar in front of hostile tribesmen he chopped down a sacred oak tree, where they worshipped Thor, the god of thunder (after whom Thursday is named), and laid the foundations of a flourishing new church there.

According to tradition, when he chopped down the pagan Thor’s Oak, Boniface claimed a tiny fir tree growing in its roots as the new Christian symbol. He told the heathen tribes:

This humble tree’s wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households; its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light; its branches reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your comfort and your guide.

So the fir tree became a sign of Christ among the German peoples and eventually a world-wide symbol of Christmas.

Boniface went on to establish many new churches and monasteries and to reorganise the existing ones so that they were more effective Christian communities, and properly ‘equipped for mission’. After another six years, the pope made him archbishop of all Germany, based at Mainz.

As well as expanding the churches in Germany, Boniface was equally concerned to ensure that the political authorities and rulers became firmly committed to Christianity. He crowned Pepin as King of all the “Franks” (the people of France and Germany), whose son Charlemagne was to become the first “Holy Roman Emperor”—a title which continued for the next 1,000 years.

Boniface was constantly travelling, encouraging churches, appointing good leaders, and negotiating with political leaders. His journeys and letters indicate his energy and spirituality. Many of his fellow-workers came from his native England. Whenever he felt tired, he withdrew to the new abbey he had founded at Fulda, in central Germany, for rest and refreshment. But even in his late 70s he was not prepared to remain idle for long.

At the age of nearly 80, when most archbishops would have retired, he had other ideas. He still wanted to take the Gospel to Frisia, where his first efforts had failed nearly 40 years earlier. He set off with 52 companions on an evangelising mission. At Pentecost, on 5 June, 755, near the modern town of Dokkum in The Netherlands, the whole party was massacred by heathen brigands. Boniface was himself struck down by a sword which pierced the bible he had raised to shield his head. As requested in his will, his body was taken back to his monastery at Fulda, where a magnificent cathedral now encloses his tomb and where the Catholic bishops of Germany hold their meetings every year.

Boniface was the Patron of England for 300 years and is still Patron of Germany and The Netherlands. A historian has written of him:

“Everything which has developed afterwards (in Germany) in the realm of politics, the church and spirituality, is established on the foundation laid by Boniface, whose tomb should be more sacred for us than the tombs of the patriarchs were for the Jews, because he is truly the spiritual father of our people. Boniface has given us, as well as our successors, more than any of our great emperors and kings has been able to contribute.”

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Commentary on 2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14; Psalm 123; Matthew 5:1-12

The Gospel reading for today’s celebration comes from Matthew and contains the Beatitudes, which form the opening words of the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon, in general, is an outline of how the individual Christian should live his life. The prominent place given to the Beatitudes indicates that they take the place of the Ten Commandments which hold a similar prominence in the Law of Moses.

The Commandments are expressed in legal terms of ‘Do’ and ‘Do not’ and are relatively straightforward and, to some extent, not too difficult to observe. In fact, those expressed negatively can theoretically be kept by doing nothing at all!

The Beatitudes are quite different. They are not a list of Do’s and Don’t’s but are a list of values and attitudes which should be characteristic of a follower of Christ. They describe the kind of person the Christian should be. In fact, they can also be seen as a portrait of Christ himself.

And rather than listing activities that one should or should not do, they throw out a challenge, calling a person ever forward to a goal that can never be fully reached. They are also a recipe not just of good moral behaviour, but of happiness. Fortunate are those who can claim those qualities to be truly part of their lives and character.

We see Charles and his companions living out these qualities under very challenging circumstances. And certainly the last Beatitude applies to them:

Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven [i.e. in the sight of God], for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The First Reading is the famous scene from the Second Book of the Maccabees where seven brothers are executed for refusing to renounce their Jewish faith by eating pork. In today’s passage, we hear the second son, who has had the hair and skin of his head removed, refusing to give in. Just before dying he cried out:

You accursed wretch, you dismiss us from this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to a renewal of everlasting life…

This is a very similar call to that made by the Ugandan martyrs before their death.

On the death of the third son in Maccabees:

…the king himself and those with him were astonished at the young man’s spirit, for he regarded his sufferings as nothing.

It was similar to the reaction of those who put Charles and his companions to death.

None of us will likely be asked to make such sacrifices in remaining faithful the call of Jesus in the Gospel, but the courage of these young men should help us in facing the much smaller challenges we are likely to face.

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Note: In Ireland, because of the feast of St Kevin, this June 3 memorial for St Charles Lwanga and companions is celebrated on June 4.

Charles Lwanga at a very early age was sent to Buddu in the south west of Uganda to be brought up by Kaddu, whom some believe to be his biological father, but who may have been an uncle. Charles was a Ganda who belonged to the Bush-Buck clan. Members of this clan were traditionally banned from the royal court, so when Lwanga took service at court he passed as a member of the Colobus Monkey clan, to which his former master and patron belonged.

In 1878, Kaddu placed Lwanga (then aged about eighteen) in the service of Mawulugungu, the chief of Kirwanyi, mentioned by the explorer HM Stanley. The following year the chief was transferred to Ssingo County, accompanied by Lwanga. On a visit to the capital in 1880, Lwanga became interested in the teaching of the White Father missionaries and began taking instruction. When Mawugungu died in 1882, his court was dispersed and Lwanga joined a group of recently baptized Christians in Bulemezi County.

On the accession of King Mwanga in 1884, Lwanga entered the royal service. His personality was such that he was at once placed in charge of the royal pages in the great audience hall, immediately winning their confidence and affection. His immediate superior was Joseph Mukasa (Mkasa), chief steward of Mwanga’s court, a 25-year-old Catholic who was the leader of the small community of 200 Christians. He came to rely more and more completely on Lwanga for the instruction and guidance of the royal pages and for shielding them from the evil influences at court. King Mwanga was a violent ruler and a paedophile, who forced himself on the young boys and men who served in his court.

On 15 November, 1885, the day of Joseph Mukasa’s martyrdom, Lwanga and some other royal servants, whose lives were in danger because they were catechumens, went to the White Fathers’ Mission and were baptized by Fr Simeon Lourdel. The following day, the king assembled all the pages and demanded under pain of death that they confess their Christian allegiance. All of them, Catholic and Anglican, except for three, did so. Mwanga was baffled by the solidarity and constancy of the young Christians, but hesitated to carry out his threat to kill them all. On one occasion, Lwanga exclaimed that, far from helping the white men take over the kingdom, he was ready to lay down his life for the king.

After a fire in the royal palace on 22 February, 1886, Mwanga moved the court temporarily to his hunting lodge on the shore of Lake Victoria. Here Lwanga continued to protect the pages from the King’s sexual advances and to prepare them for possible martyrdom. By this time, Mwanga had obtained the consent of his chiefs for a massacre of the Christians. Meanwhile, Lwanga himself baptized five of the most promising catechumens.

On May 26, the pages entered the royal courtyard to receive judgement and were once again called upon to confess their faith. This they did, declaring that they were ready to die rather than deny it. Mwanga ordered them all, 16 Catholics and 10 Anglicans, to be burnt alive at Namugongo. The cruelly-bound prisoners passed the home of the White Fathers on their way to execution. Fr Lourdel almost fainted at the courage and joy these condemned converts, his friends, showed on their way to martyrdom. He noted how tightly they were bound, but more especially their calmness and even joyful disposition in the face of death.

The martyrs were taken to the execution place of Namugongo where they were kept in confinement for a week. Preparations for the execution pyre were not completed until June 2. During this time the martyrs prayed and sang together, while the missionaries, both Catholic and Anglican, paid fruitless visits to the king to appeal for the lives of their young converts.

On June 3, before killing the main body of prisoners, Charles Lwanga was put to death on a small pyre on the hill above the execution place. He was wrapped in a reed mat, with a slave yoke on his neck but, was allowed to arrange the pyre himself. To make him suffer more, the fire was first lit under his feet and legs. These were burnt to charred bones before the flames were allowed to reach the rest of his body. Taunted by the executioner, Charles replied: “You are burning me, but it is as if you are pouring water over my body.” He then remained quietly praying. Just before the end, he cried out in a loud voice Katonda! “My God!” After his death, the rest were incinerated further down the hill.

When the White Fathers were expelled from the country, the new Christians continued to practice their faith. Without priests, they kept the Catholic Church alive and growing in Uganda. When the White Fathers returned after King Mwanga’s death, they found 500 Christians and 1,000 catchumens waiting for them.

Charles Lwanga was beatified along with 21 other martyrs by Pope Benedict XV in 1920. All 22 were canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1964. In 1969, Paul VI laid the foundation stone of the Catholic shrine at Namugongo, Uganda on the place of Saint Charles Lwanga’s martyrdom. This shrine was dedicated on 3 June 1975, by a specially appointed papal legate, Cardinal Sergio Pignedoli.

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Kevin or Coemghen/Caoimhin (the Fair-begotten and Principal Patron of Dublin Archdiocese) is said to have been born in 498 into a family which belonged to the Dál Messe Corb, a noble Leinster people who lived in what is now West Wicklow. The story of his life is not felt to be reliable as there is little contemporary material available.

He is said to have been baptised by a St Crónán and educated by St Petroc, a Briton, during that saint’s stay in Ireland. He studied for the priesthood in Cell na Manach (Killnamanagh). After Bishop Lugidus ordained him priest he left Killnamanagh and set out to find his own hermitage. On arrival in Glendalough (Valley of Two Lakes), in County Wicklow, Kevin chose the area of the upper lake and settled on the south side of the foot of that lake in what is now known as St Kevin’s Bed, an artificial cave about 30 feet above the level of the lake and which was originally a Bronze Age tomb. Kevin lived the life of a hermit there with an extraordinary closeness to nature. His companions were the animals and birds all around him. He lived as a hermit for seven years wearing only animal skins, sleeping on stones and eating very sparingly.

Disciples were soon attracted to Kevin and a settlement was established enclosed by a wall, called Kevin’s Cell and Reefert Church, situated nearer the lakeshore. All this expansion probably would not have pleased Kevin who never really wanted to change his hermit’s life.

Subsequently he founded the famous monastery of Glendalough, the parent of several other monastic foundations. Eventually, Glendalough, with its seven churches, became one of the chief pilgrimage destinations in Ireland. In time it grew into a renowned seminary of saints and scholars.

By 540, Kevin’s fame as a teacher and holy man had spread far and wide. Many came to seek his help and guidance.

In 544, Kevin went to the Hill of Uisneach in Co. Westmeath to establish a league of brotherly friendship with other holy abbots—Sts Columba, Comgall, and Cannich. From there he proceeded to Clonmacnoise, where St Ciaran had died three days before. Having firmly established his community, he retired into solitude for four years and only returned to Glendalough at the earnest entreaty of his monks.

Until his death about 618, Kevin presided over his monastery in Glendalough, living his life by fasting, praying and teaching. Legend says he lived to the venerable age of 120.

So numerous were Kevin’s followers that Glendalough became a veritable city in the desert. Glendalough became an episcopal see, but is now incorporated with Dublin. And it is now a favourite visiting place for pilgrims and tourists. St Kevin is one of the patron saints of the Archdiocese of Dublin.

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Justin (100-165) was an early Christian apologist (i.e. a defender of the Christian faith against heresies and false beliefs). His works represent the earliest surviving Christian apologies of significance. Most of what we know about the life of Justin comes from his own writings, although it has to be read with some caution.

He was born at Flavia Neapolis (ancient Shechem in Judaea and now modern-day Nablus). He called himself a Samaritan, but his father and grandfather were probably Greek or Roman and he was brought up a non-believer. It seems that Justin had property, studied philosophy, converted to Christianity about the age of 30, and devoted the rest of his life to teaching what he considered the true philosophy, still wearing his philosopher’s gown to indicate that he had attained the truth. It is thought he travelled widely and, having spent some time in Ephesus, ultimately settled in Rome as a Christian teacher.

The earliest mention of Justin is found in the Oratio ad Graecos by Tatian, who calls him “the most admirable Justin”. Irenaeus speaks of his martyrdom and of Tatian as his disciple. He quotes him twice. Tertullian, in his Adversus Valentinianos, calls him a philosopher and martyr and the earliest antagonist of heretics. Hippolytus and Methodius of Olympus also mention or quote him. Eusebius of Caesarea deals with him at some length and gives a list of his writings. Among his writings are the apology [defence] Against Marcion and a Refutation of All Heresies. Both of these writings are now lost. Other writings are the Dialogue with Trypho, the First Apology and the Second Apology.

In the opening of the Dialogue, Justin relates his vain search among the Stoics, Peripatetics, and Pythagoreans for a satisfying knowledge of God; his finding in the ideas of Plato ways to attain the contemplation of the Godhead; and his meeting on the seashore with an elderly man who told him that only by divine revelation could blessedness be attained, that the prophets had conveyed this revelation to humanity, and that their words had been fulfilled. Through his own studies he became convinced of the truth of their teachings. And the daily life of Christians, and the courage of the martyrs, convinced him that the accusations thrown against them were false.

From him we have one of the earliest descriptions of how Baptism was administered and of the rite of the Eucharist. According to church tradition, Justin suffered martyrdom with six others – five men and one woman – in Rome under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, when Rusticus was prefect of the city (between 162 and 168).

His relics are said to be housed in the church of St John the Baptist in Sacrofano, a few kilometers north of Rome. Pope Leo XIII had a Mass and an Office composed in his honour and set his feast day on April 14. It is now celebrated on June 1.

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Commentary on Mark 11:27-33

Jesus has now come to Jerusalem.  It is the last phase of his public life.  Hostility is building up against him.  In today’s reading, while walking in the Temple area, he is confronted by a group of Jewish leaders, chief priests, scribes and elders.  These are the people who formed the supreme council which will later condemn him to death. They ask:

By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you this authority to do them?

The implication is that he is not doing it on their authority which they regard as supreme.  In his usual manner, Jesus counters with another question.  He asks them if the work of John the Baptist was of human or divine origin.

They immediately realise that answering Jesus’ question raises a serious dilemma. If they were to say John’s baptism was from God, then it could be asked why they did not take part in it (as large numbers of the ordinary people did – and as Jesus himself did).  The Gospel had described the leaders as simply coming to observe John as outsiders and judges.

On the other hand if they were to say they considered John’s baptism as merely a human thing, then it would offend all those people who had the highest respect for John and saw in him a prophet of God.

Weakly Jesus’ questioners reply: “We do not know.”  A strange and not very convincing reply from the spiritual leaders of the people! Jesus then refuses to answer the question they asked him.

But Jesus’ case was similar to that of John.  The people, who had heard Jesus speak (“Never has anyone spoken like this!”) and saw his cures (“God has visited his people”), had no doubts whatever about the source of Jesus’ authority:

They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. (Mark 1:22)

The leaders’ own question was a clear indication of their prejudice and wilful blindness in the face of overwhelming evidence.

We too, of course, can have a similar blindness.  We can refuse to see the presence and activity of God in situations where we do not want to see it – in people where we do not want to see it.  But God can use any person, any experience, good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, to communicate with us. We pray:

Help me, Lord, to seek and find and respond to you in every experience of my life.

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Commentary on Sirach 51:12-20

Today, we finish our selected readings from Sirach with a poem which is a quest for wisdom. It comes from the last chapter and closing pages of the book.

In the original Hebrew text it is an ‘alphabetical poem’ in which each verse begins with a consecutive letter of the alphabet. Sadly, the original version has not reached us in a good state of preservation. Our English-language reading follows the Greek. A good example of a similarly constructed poem can be found in Proverbs 31, which gives a picture of the perfect housewife, and which can be read on the feasts of ‘Holy Men and Women’.

The poem describes the approach to wisdom through prayer, persistent study and instruction, purification from sin, enlightenment and ardent desire. Ben Sira opens with words of praise and thanks to God and what follows is an autobiographical poem on Wisdom.

As a young man, before he set out on his travels, he was already praying for the gift of wisdom.

Outside the sanctuary I would pray for her, and to the last I will continue to seek her.

From the earliest stages to its maturation, “from her blossoming to the ripening of her grape”, he has delighted in her. Once again he personifies Wisdom as a ‘she’.

Now, since his young days he has been walking in her steps and so has been able to follow a straight path. By paying careful attention, he has learned much from her. And, because of her, he has made great progress.

Glory be to him who has given me wisdom!

God is the source of all Wisdom and it is perhaps the greatest gift that God can give to anyone. Wisdom gives vision, the ability to see and understand the meaning and direction of life. What could be more precious? When God asked the new king Solomon what he would most like as a gift from God, he asked for wisdom, a reply which greatly pleased God.

The writer says that from his youth he has sought wisdom and has continued to cultivate it.

I became resolutely devoted to her. It was the good I persistently strove for. I will not be put to shame.

In his struggle to possess her – like a lover pursuing the beloved – he has kept the Law scrupulously. He has reached to Heaven, to the God from which she comes, and bemoans his ignorance of her.

He has directed his whole being towards her and “in purity”, by a life of perfect integrity, has found her.

The search for wisdom is one we also should pursue. There is no greater treasure we can have in life because, more than anything it brings us closer to God and to the end for which we were made. Through wisdom, we understand how all things relate to each other, to God and to ourselves. It is based, not on knowledge, but on deep insight into what we know. As mentioned at the beginning, wisdom has to be worked for. It comes through prayer, through a constant effort to understand every experience in life, through freeing ourselves from everything which threatens our wholeness and integrity as persons, and through various forms of enlightenment and a deep desire that she be part of our being.

Let us repeat again and again the prayer of the blind man Bartimaeus in Mark’s gospel:

Lord, that I may see.

And, when Bartimaeus was able to see, he became a disciple of Christ and walked on the road with them to Jerusalem to share in Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection.

Wisdom consists in being able to see – seeing with great clarity. Without it, we grope in the darkness.