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Sunday, March 09, 2025

Lenten Reflection: The Prayers of St. Philip Howard and Elizabeth Leseur

Two spiritual leaders teach the meaning of Christian suffering through their own experience and prayers. They are St. Philip Howard and Elizabeth Leseur.

St. Philip Howard (ca. 1557-1595 A.D.) was baptized a Catholic but raised as a Protestant. He lived after the time England broke its relations with the Vatican in 1536 A.D. From a politically privileged family, he did not do much good during his time in the royal court. However, when he heard how St. Edmund Campion debated at London, Philip began to rethink and reform his life. He was reconciled with his neglected wife and returned to the Catholic Church in 1584 A.D. As a Catholic, he was accused of treason when it became a common belief that he worked with Mary Queen of Scots. The charge was not proven, but he was fined with an amount of money. He was again charged with treason during the time of the Spanish Armada and ordered executed. However, the sentence was never carried out. But he was imprisoned for a long time until he died on October 19. He was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales [1].

St. Philip Howard wrote a prayer that describes the context of the suffering he had to endure:

"O Christ my Lord, who for my sins did hang upon a tree, grant that your grace in me poor wretch, may still ingrafted be. Grant that your naked hanging there may kill in me all pride, and care of wealth since you did then in such poor state abide. Grant that your crown of prickling thorns, which you for me did wear, may make me willing for your sake all shame and pain to bear. Grant that your pierced hand, which did of nothing all things frame, may move me to lift up my hands and ever praise your name. Grant that your wounded feet, whose steps were perfect evermore, may learn my feet to tread those paths which you have gone before. Grant that your blessed grave wherein your body lay awhile, may bury all such vain delights as may my mind defile. Grant, Lord, that your ascending then may lift my mind to thee, that there my heart and joy rest, though here in flesh I be."

Another spiritual influence on the meaning of Christian suffering is Elizabeth Leseur. Elizabeth Leseur was a French mystic who was known for her diary and the conversion of her husband to the Christian faith. Because her husband was a medical doctor who was anti-clerical and part of the atheistic movement, Elizabeth suffered much in her married life before his conversion [2].

In her prayer, Elizabeth Leseur sees suffering as one with great use to others, if it is suffered with and for Jesus. She prays:

"Lord, make us realise that simply suffering for Jesus' sake and by bearing about our bodies the dying of Jesus, we can do more for him and for others than we can be being active. It is very hard to understand this, so please make us realise that our very helplessness can be of great use to others, if we suffer it with and for Jesus."

Those who are not in a state of suffering at present, may forget the value of human suffering if it is offered in union with Jesus who suffered on the Cross. They may even be adverse to its presence, in others and in themselves, seeking only what will bring comfort and ease. But once, like Elizabeth Leseur, one sees the meaning of any suffering and "graft" that suffering to the "dying of Jesus", it has much meaning in the Christian sense. In the prayer of St. Philip Howard mentioned above, it can even have a redemptive use.

It takes a certain level of suffering experienced by both St. Philip Howard and Elizabeth Leseur to pray as they did in the prayers written above. Some often view suffering from the outside, like the friends of Job, who present many theories for what Job had experienced in his suffering. This is when empathy and compassion weakens, leaving the soul open to pride and moralizing (as did the friends of Job).

Elizabeth Leseur, in another prayer, teach us about the meaning of Christian suffering:

"Our suffering works mysteriously, first in ourselves by a kind of renewal and also in others who are perhaps far away, without ever knowing what we are accomplishing. Christ on the cross has perhaps done more for humanity than Christ speaking and acting in Galilee or Jerusalem. Suffering creates life. It transforms everything it touches. Help us to understand this through Christ, our Lord."

It is in prayer and a deeper spiritual relationship with Christ crucified that the gift to understand Christian suffering is bathed in great light. Lent is therefore an opportunity to look at suffering not from secondary experiences, but within, in reflecting from the pain, burdens, and afflictions of our past. Much wisdom can be obtained from understanding why God "makes bad things happen to good people" at certain times in life. To penetrate the mystery of suffering and see the trials of this life as the passion of Christ will make one more according to His likeness and image: a man for others and in service to building God's Kingdom. Even at times when one has hurdled a "Job-like" suffering, Lent is a time to reflect on how suffering, seen in the context of Christ's suffering, can make us see hope and life beyond that suffering. Just as Elizabeth Leseur "bear about our bodies the dying of Jesus" in her life, and St. Philip Howard prays for the grace that will "bury all such vain delights as may [our] mind defile", we may be purified of pride and be led by the Spirit, who lifts us beyond all human suffering.

Related blog posts:

  • [1] Dictionary of Saints, by John J. Delaney
  • [2] AI Overview for search query "elizabeth leseur", March 9, 2025, Google.com

1st Sunday of Lent (C)

(Edited) Sunday Reflections (from) Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

1st Sunday of Lent (C), February 17, 2013

Liturgical readings
Deuteronomy 26:4-10
Psalm 91
Romans 10:8-13
Luke 4:1-13

"The devil left Jesus to await another opportunity."

In the gospel from Luke 4:1-13, the Lord was tempted by the devil in the desert when He was fasting for 40 days. If one reads the gospel story more intently, you can notice how the Lord defended Himself well by being consistently grounded in his following Scripture. The devil was not as consistent: he used bread in his first temptation, and used the Scripture only when the Lord defended Himself with Scripture. In the third temptation, the devil quoted from Scripture twice - with the gospel presenting it by the connective "and" or "and again". But the Lord was humble and wise. He replied "It also says," and with just one Scripture reference: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." His reply has a depth of meaning that can nullify the devil's first two temptations.

Jesus, by His example in this gospel story, shows us how we are to battle and stand our ground against temptation. Since He knew how human flesh and its mortal condition can be tempted by the devil, He will help us in any time of trial and adversity, so that we do not fall into temptation and sin. Lent is that season of grace by which He strengthens the spirit of the faithful. The means that Jesus took should also be one's means - prayer and fasting. And since the Lord practiced works of mercy during His public ministry, works of mercy and charity can be added also to prayer and fasting. If one examines the sermon of St. Peter Chrysologus for Ash Wednesday in the Christian breviary, you will learn how prayer, fasting and mercy are the three means that can make anyone's faith stand firm, a life of devotion constant, and the practice of virtue endure. The degree to which one consistently adheres to this spiritual principle during Lent will produce enough faith, devotion, and virtue to help hurdle the daily temptations and struggles of life.

Lent is also a liturgical season of healing, purification and vigilance. It heals and purifies from sin, especially when one makes an effort to go to Confession. It makes the spiritual vision of the soul sharper and its life in the Spirit stronger. It reminds us of human frailty and mortality - making us wiser and more contemplative in our attitudes in life. It leads to understand the wisdom hidden in the Cross of our Lord, and it provides meaning to all the pain and suffering experienced in life. The grace of Lent and its discipline makes us fear sin and avoid offending God by our words and actions. Without the discipline of Lent, the solemn respect and reverence we often lose during the rest of the Church's liturgical season, is restored. The Lord becomes again the force and center of our life. He, His sacrifice on the Cross, and His love calls all to be the Christians He wants each one of us to be: men and women restored in His likeness, in word and deed.

Saturday, March 08, 2025

Commemoration of Saints (March 9)

Solemnities, Feasts, Obligatory and Optional Memorials, and Traditional Dates of Commemoration

  • Frances of Rome, religious
  • Pacian, bishop
  • Gregory of Nyssa, bishop
  • Bosa, bishop
  • Catherine of Bologna, virgin
  • Dominic Savio [1]

The feast of St. Frances of Rome is commemorated today as an Optional Memorial.

St. Frances of Rome (1384-1440 A.D.) was married and also worked to minister to the poor of Rome. When her husband's mother died, she was required to assume the duties of the household of her husband. Despite this responsibility, Frances continued with her work with the poor, even helping those who suffered from a plague in the early 1400s A.D., and also with those who suffered in another pestilence which struck Rome around 1413 A.D. It is from these works with the poor that Frances was able to form a society of women, one without vows and living in the world. The members of the society pledged their lives to God and to the service of the poor. They became known as the Oblates of Tor de' Speechi. St. Frances of Rome died in the spring of 1440 A.D. She was canonized in the year 1608 A.D. [2] [3].

St. Gregory of Nyssa (ca. 330-395 A.D.) was the brother of St. Basil the Great. He was named bishop of Nyssa in 372 A.D. St. Gregory was active in 381 A.D. in the General Council of Constantinople, which fought against Arianism. He accomplished a lot of written works:

  • numerous theological treatises, such as
  • his Catechetical Discourse
  • treatises against Eunomius and Apollinaris
  • a book on virginity
  • commentaries on Scripture [4]

In the Catholic Church, he is commemorated on this day, March 9, but in the East, in the Byzantine Calendar, he is commemorated every 10th of January.

Saints in the Byzantine Calendar [March 9]

  • Sts. Forty Martyrs at Sebaste in Armenia [2]

The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste were Roman soldiers who were forced to stand naked on a frozen lake because they refused to abandon their Christian faith. They died from exposure to the cold. Sebaste, now in modern-day Turkey, was part of Lesser Armenia in the year 320 A.D. - the traditional date of the 40 Martyrs death [5].

References: Books, Websites & AI Search Results

  • [1] Pocket Catholic Dictionary, John A. Hardon
  • [2] Saints for Our Time, by Ed Ransom
  • [3] Lives of the Saints, Richard P. McBrien
  • [4] Dictionary of Saints, John J. Delaney
  • [5] AI Overview for the search query "forty martyrs of sebaste in armenia", Google.com