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Loving Jesus Above All Things (3)
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Rich
Sep 5, 2023, 4:17:42 AM9/5/23
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Loving Jesus Above All Things (3)
Love Him, then; keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as
others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will
or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to
Jesus in life and death; trust yourself to the glory of Him who alone
can help you when all others fail.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 7
<<>><<>><<>>
September 5th - St. Stephen Pongracz
Also Melchior Grodziecki, Priests, SJ, and Mark Krizevcanin, Canon of
Estergom (memorial)
Today we remember three priests who died heroically for their faith,
two of whom--Stephen Pongracz and Melchior Grodziecki--were Jesuits
and one--Mark Krizevcanin--a diocesan priest.
Stephen was born in Transylvania, in central Romania, about the year
1582 and entered the Jesuits in 1602.
Melchior was born into the Polish aristocracy in Grodiec, near Cieszyn
in Silesia, Poland, about 1584 and entered the Jesuits in 1603. He met
his companion, Stephen Pongrácz, in the Jesuit novitiate at Brno in
1603. Stephen could have lived an honourable pleasant life in his
native Transylvania, but chose to
preach the Gospel in Prague, eastern Slovakia.
Mark was born in Krizevci in Croatia and did his studies in Graz and
in Rome at the Germanicum and Hungaricum. After his ordination he
returned to his homeland and served in the Zagreb diocese until he was
put in charge of the seminary Trnava, Slovakia. Later, his former
professor, Cardinal Pazmany, invited him to the Esztergom Archdiocese
in Hungary and entrusted him with the very responsible task of the
administration of the seminary and the training of future priests.
In 1619 both Jesuits were sent to the Kosice region (then in Hungary)
to care for the religious needs of Catholics living in that
Calvinist-dominated region. The king of Hungary had requested the
services of Jesuits to care for Roman Catholics neglected during the
30 Years War of the early 17th century. At that time Kosice was a
stronghold of Hungarian Calvinists, and the few Catholics who lived in
the city and its outlying districts had been without a priest for some
time. Pongracz worked with Hungarians, while Grodziecki evangelised
Slavic-and German-speaking peoples. Their ministries were so
successful that they became targets of Calvinist antagonism.
Wanting to take advantage of Hungary's involvement in the Thirty Years
War, Gabriel Bethlen, a Calvinist prince in Transylvania tried to
expand his own territory. When the Calvinist Minister heard the
Jesuits had arrived in Kosice, he sent his soldiers to arrest them. On
news that the Protestant army was marching on the city, the two
Jesuits who had been working in small towns returned to Kosice, where
they were joined by the diocesan priest Mark Krizevcanin, who was then
administrator of the nearby Szeplak Abbey and a canon in Kosice
Cathedral.
In July 1619 the Catholics were accused of intentionally causing a
fire. The commander of the Calvinist Armed Guard, Juraj Rakoczy,
entered the city with the army on 5 September 1619 and on 7 September
had all three Catholic priests thrown into a dungeon. They were urged
to repudiate their faith in the Successor of St. Peter, stop being
"papists" and become Calvinists.
When the priests refused to do so, the soldiers began beating Mark,
stabbing him, crushing his fingers and rubbing flaming torches into
his side. Finally they beheaded him.
Stephen Pongrácz was tortured next, with the soldiers twisting a rope
around his head and almost crushing it. They hung him from the ceiling
and cut him deeply before finally turning to Melchior Grodziecki who
was beaten and beheaded. The soldiers threw the three bodies into a
sewer ditch outside the house but Stephen Pongrácz did not die for
another 20 hours.
The news of their martyrdom spread with the speed of lightning but
Prince Bethlen did not want to allow the martyrs to be buried with
dignity. Only after six months was the Countess Katarina Palffy
allowed to bury them with his permission. Today, their graves are in
the Ursuline church in Trnava.
Cardinal Pazmany conducted a canonical investigation into the
martyrdom. He collected the necessary documentation and asked Pope
Urban VIII to proclaim them as saints. However, the procedure was
prolonged. Not until 1 January 1905 did Pope Pius X beatify all three
martyrs. On 2 September 1995, Pope John Paul II canonized them in
Košice during a pastoral visit to Slovakia. These saints are
remembered for their unflagging faithfulness to Christ and his Church
that led them to choose martyrdom rather than apostasy.
Mark served all as if he were among his own people. He was a genuine
European. To him, Zagreb, Rome, Esztergom and Trnava were a single
field of apostolic activity and pastoral work. He did not classify
people according to nations, or even according to religious
convictions. There is testimony that he was on good terms with the
Calvinists. Many of them were horrified by his death. He did not see
Calvinists as enemies but as brothers in Christ, with whom it is
necessary to live together in Christ's love. Love and dialogue were
the messages of Mark, truly a man for our time.
Saint Quote:
Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your
heart the example of the Lord who said, "I desire mercy and not
sacrifice."
-- Saint Stephen of Hungary
Bible Quote:
"The hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the
winds, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm; and a
smoke which is scattered abroad by the wind." (Wis. 5:15).
REFLECTION
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with
great love…..God doesn’t require us to succeed, He only requires that
we try….I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot;
together we can do great things.” …St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
St Mother Teresa’s Prayer
“Radiating Christ”
Dear Jesus, help us to spread
Your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel Your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see,
no longer us but only Jesus.
Stay with us
and then we shall begin to shine
as You shine,
so to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You.
None of it will be ours.
It will be You shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise You in the way You love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach You,
without preaching,
not by words but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love
our hearts bear to You. Amen
Love Him, then; keep Him as a friend. He will not leave you as
others do, or let you suffer lasting death. Sometime, whether you will
or not, you will have to part with everything. Cling, therefore, to
Jesus in life and death; trust yourself to the glory of Him who alone
can help you when all others fail.
--Thomas à Kempis --Imitation of Christ Book 2, Chapter 7
<<>><<>><<>>
September 5th - St. Stephen Pongracz
Also Melchior Grodziecki, Priests, SJ, and Mark Krizevcanin, Canon of
Estergom (memorial)
Today we remember three priests who died heroically for their faith,
two of whom--Stephen Pongracz and Melchior Grodziecki--were Jesuits
and one--Mark Krizevcanin--a diocesan priest.
Stephen was born in Transylvania, in central Romania, about the year
1582 and entered the Jesuits in 1602.
Melchior was born into the Polish aristocracy in Grodiec, near Cieszyn
in Silesia, Poland, about 1584 and entered the Jesuits in 1603. He met
his companion, Stephen Pongrácz, in the Jesuit novitiate at Brno in
1603. Stephen could have lived an honourable pleasant life in his
native Transylvania, but chose to
preach the Gospel in Prague, eastern Slovakia.
Mark was born in Krizevci in Croatia and did his studies in Graz and
in Rome at the Germanicum and Hungaricum. After his ordination he
returned to his homeland and served in the Zagreb diocese until he was
put in charge of the seminary Trnava, Slovakia. Later, his former
professor, Cardinal Pazmany, invited him to the Esztergom Archdiocese
in Hungary and entrusted him with the very responsible task of the
administration of the seminary and the training of future priests.
In 1619 both Jesuits were sent to the Kosice region (then in Hungary)
to care for the religious needs of Catholics living in that
Calvinist-dominated region. The king of Hungary had requested the
services of Jesuits to care for Roman Catholics neglected during the
30 Years War of the early 17th century. At that time Kosice was a
stronghold of Hungarian Calvinists, and the few Catholics who lived in
the city and its outlying districts had been without a priest for some
time. Pongracz worked with Hungarians, while Grodziecki evangelised
Slavic-and German-speaking peoples. Their ministries were so
successful that they became targets of Calvinist antagonism.
Wanting to take advantage of Hungary's involvement in the Thirty Years
War, Gabriel Bethlen, a Calvinist prince in Transylvania tried to
expand his own territory. When the Calvinist Minister heard the
Jesuits had arrived in Kosice, he sent his soldiers to arrest them. On
news that the Protestant army was marching on the city, the two
Jesuits who had been working in small towns returned to Kosice, where
they were joined by the diocesan priest Mark Krizevcanin, who was then
administrator of the nearby Szeplak Abbey and a canon in Kosice
Cathedral.
In July 1619 the Catholics were accused of intentionally causing a
fire. The commander of the Calvinist Armed Guard, Juraj Rakoczy,
entered the city with the army on 5 September 1619 and on 7 September
had all three Catholic priests thrown into a dungeon. They were urged
to repudiate their faith in the Successor of St. Peter, stop being
"papists" and become Calvinists.
When the priests refused to do so, the soldiers began beating Mark,
stabbing him, crushing his fingers and rubbing flaming torches into
his side. Finally they beheaded him.
Stephen Pongrácz was tortured next, with the soldiers twisting a rope
around his head and almost crushing it. They hung him from the ceiling
and cut him deeply before finally turning to Melchior Grodziecki who
was beaten and beheaded. The soldiers threw the three bodies into a
sewer ditch outside the house but Stephen Pongrácz did not die for
another 20 hours.
The news of their martyrdom spread with the speed of lightning but
Prince Bethlen did not want to allow the martyrs to be buried with
dignity. Only after six months was the Countess Katarina Palffy
allowed to bury them with his permission. Today, their graves are in
the Ursuline church in Trnava.
Cardinal Pazmany conducted a canonical investigation into the
martyrdom. He collected the necessary documentation and asked Pope
Urban VIII to proclaim them as saints. However, the procedure was
prolonged. Not until 1 January 1905 did Pope Pius X beatify all three
martyrs. On 2 September 1995, Pope John Paul II canonized them in
Košice during a pastoral visit to Slovakia. These saints are
remembered for their unflagging faithfulness to Christ and his Church
that led them to choose martyrdom rather than apostasy.
Mark served all as if he were among his own people. He was a genuine
European. To him, Zagreb, Rome, Esztergom and Trnava were a single
field of apostolic activity and pastoral work. He did not classify
people according to nations, or even according to religious
convictions. There is testimony that he was on good terms with the
Calvinists. Many of them were horrified by his death. He did not see
Calvinists as enemies but as brothers in Christ, with whom it is
necessary to live together in Christ's love. Love and dialogue were
the messages of Mark, truly a man for our time.
Saint Quote:
Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your
heart the example of the Lord who said, "I desire mercy and not
sacrifice."
-- Saint Stephen of Hungary
Bible Quote:
"The hope of the wicked is as dust, which is blown away with the
winds, and as a thin froth which is dispersed by the storm; and a
smoke which is scattered abroad by the wind." (Wis. 5:15).
REFLECTION
“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with
great love…..God doesn’t require us to succeed, He only requires that
we try….I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot;
together we can do great things.” …St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
St Mother Teresa’s Prayer
“Radiating Christ”
Dear Jesus, help us to spread
Your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being so utterly
that our lives may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through us and be so in us
that every soul we come in contact with
may feel Your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see,
no longer us but only Jesus.
Stay with us
and then we shall begin to shine
as You shine,
so to shine as to be light to others.
The light, O Jesus, will be all from You.
None of it will be ours.
It will be You shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise You in the way You love best
by shining on those around us.
Let us preach You,
without preaching,
not by words but by our example;
by the catching force –
the sympathetic influence of what we do,
the evident fullness of the love
our hearts bear to You. Amen
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