>> A READING FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM. THE WICKED SAY, LET US BESET THE JUST ONE, BECAUSE HE IS OBNOXIOUS TO US. HE SETS HIMSELF AGAINST OUR DOINGS, REPROACHES US FOR TRANSGRESSIONS OF THE LAW AND CHARGES US WITH VIOLATIONS OF OUR TRAINING. LET US SEE WHETHER HIS WORDS BE TRUE. LET US FIND OUT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO HIM. FOR IF THE JUST ONE BE THE SON OF GOD, GOD WILL DEFEND HIM AND DELIVER HIM FROM THE HAND OF HIS FOES. WITH REVILEMENT AND TORTURE LET US PUT THE JUST ONE TO THE TEST THAT WE MAY HAVE PROOF OF HIS GENTLENESS AND TRY HIS PATIENCE. LET US CONDEMN HIM TO A SHAMEFUL DEATH, FOR ACCORDING TO HIS OWN WORDS, GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF HIM. THE WORD OF THE LORD. >> THANKS BE TO GOD. >> ♪ THE LORD UPHOLDS MY LIFE ♪ >> ♪ THE LORD UPHOLDS MY LIFE ♪ >> ♪ O GOD, BY YOUR NAME SAVE ME, AND BY YOUR MIGHT DEFEND MY CAUSE ♪ ♪ O GOD, HEAR MY PRAYER, HEARKEN TO THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH ♪ >> ♪ THE LORD UPHOLDS MY LIFE ♪ >> ♪ FOR THE HAUGHTY HAVE RISEN UP AGAINST ME, THE RUTHLESS SEEK MY LIFE ♪ ♪ THEY SET NOT GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES ♪ >> ♪ THE LORD UPHOLDS MY LIFE ♪ >> ♪ BEHOLD, GOD IS MY HELPER, THE LORD SUSTAINS MY LIFE ♪ ♪ FREELY WILL I OFFER YOU SACRIFICE, I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, O LORD, FOR ITS GOODNESS ♪ >> ♪ THE LORD UPHOLDS MY LIFE ♪ >> A READING FROM THE LETTER OF JAMES. BELOVED, WHERE JEALOUSY AND SELFISH AMBITION EXIST, THERE IS DISORDER AND EVERY FOUL PRACTICE. BUT THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE IS FIRST OF ALL PURE, THEN PEACEABLE, GENTLE, COMPLIANT, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS, WITHOUT INCONSTANCY OR INSINCERITY. AND THE FRUIT OF RIGHTEOUSNESS IS SOWN IN PEACE FOR THOSE WHO CULTIVATE PEACE. WHERE DO THE WARS AND WHERE DO THE CONFLICTS AMONG YOU COME FROM? IS IT NOT FROM YOUR PASSIONS THAT MAKE WAR WITHIN YOUR MEMBERS? YOU COVET BUT DO NOT POSSESS. YOU KILL AND ENVY BUT YOU CANNOT OBTAIN, YOU FIGHT AND WAGE WAR. YOU DO NOT POSSESS BECAUSE YOU DO NOT ASK. YOU ASK BUT DO NOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE YOU ASK WRONGLY, TO SPEND IT ON YOUR PASSIONS. THE WORD OF THE LORD. >> THANKS BE TO GOD. (ORGAN) >> ♪ ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ♪ >> ♪ ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ♪ >> ♪ ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ♪ >> ♪ GOD HAS CALLED US THROUGH THE GOSPEL TO POSSESS THE GLORY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ♪ >> ♪ ALLELUIA, ALLELUIA ALLELUIA ♪ >> FATHER: ♪ DOMINUS VOBISCUM ♪ >> ♪ ET CUM SPIRITU TUO ♪ >> FATHER: ♪ LECTIO SANCTI EVANGELII SECUNDUM MARCUM ♪ >> ♪ GLORIA TIBI, DOMINE ♪ >> FATHER: JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES LEFT FROM THERE AND BEGAN A JOURNEY THROUGH GALILEE, BUT HE DID NOT WISH ANYONE TO KNOW ABOUT IT. HE WAS TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES AND TELLING THEM, "THE SON OF MAN IS TO BE HANDED OVER TO MEN AND THEY WILL KILL HIM, AND THREE DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH THE SON OF MAN WILL RISE." BUT THEY DID NOT UNDERSTAND THE SAYING, AND THEY WERE AFRAID TO QUESTION HIM. THEY CAME TO CAPERNAUM AND, ONCE INSIDE THE HOUSE, HE BEGAN TO ASK THEM, "WHAT WERE YOU ARGUING ABOUT ON THE WAY?" BUT THEY REMAINED SILENT. THEY HAD BEEN DISCUSSING AMONG THEMSELVES ON THE WAY WHO WAS THE GREATEST. THEN HE SAT DOWN, CALLED THE 12, AND SAID TO THEM, "IF ANYONE WISHES TO BE FIRST, HE SHALL BE THE LAST OF ALL AND THE SERVANT OF ALL." TAKING A CHILD, HE PLACED IT IN THE THEIR MIDST, AND PUTTING HIS ARMS AROUND IT. HE SAID TO THEM, “WHOEVER RECEIVES ONE CHILD SUCH AS THIS IN MY NAME, RECEIVES ME; AND WHOEVER RECEIVES ME, RECEIVES NOT ME BUT THE ONE WHO SENT ME" ♪ VERBUM DOMINI ♪ >> ♪ LAUS TIBI, CHRISTE ♪ >> Father: DO YOU KNOW WHAT AN EQUIPOLLENT CANONIZATION IS? I DIDN'T, UNTIL YESTERDAY. THIS IS ONE WHERE THE POPE CAN WAIVE THE NEED FOR A RECENT MIRACLE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF A PERSON. BUT THERE MUST BE THREE CONDITIONS TO IT. AND FIRST, THAT THERE MUST BE A LONG-STANDING DEVOTION TO THE PERSON. SECOND, THEY MUST HAVE A SOLID AND ENDURING REPUTATION FOR VIRTUE. AND THIRD, THEY MUST HAVE A LONG ASSOCIATION WITH MIRACLES ATTRIBUTED TO THEIR INTERCESSION. SO, IT WAS ON APRIL 24, EARLIER THIS YEAR, THAT POPE FRANCIS CANONIZED A VERY POPULAR SAINT AMONGST MANY. THERE ARE SCHOOLS THAT ARE DEVOTED TO HER. A SHRINE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO TO SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO. AND THEN WHEN THE POPE MAKES THE STATEMENT FOR THE CANONIZATION, THEN IT HAPPENS RIGHT THERE. AND IN CASTELLO, WHERE HER BODY LAYS AT SAINT DOMINO CHURCH. BUT ALSO, SHE IS SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO. AND EWTN PREPARED -- AWARE OF THIS HAS PREPARED A DOCU-DRAMA. AND IT'S RUNNING TONIGHT. I HAVE THE TV SET UP TO RECORD IT. I DIDN'T WANT TO MISS IT. THIS DOCU-DRAMA WAS PRODUCED AT THE LOCATIONS OF SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO'S LIFE. AND IT'S AIRING 1:30 EASTERN TIME, 12:30 CENTRAL TIME. AND THEN, TONIGHT, AGAIN, AT 8:30PM EASTERN TIME AND 7:30PM CENTRAL TIME. AND THE TITLE OF IT IS SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO, SEEING THROUGH GOD'S EYES. JUST A FEW WORDS ABOUT SAINT MARGARET OF CASTELLO BECAUSE I THINK IT'S RELATED TO THE GOSPEL TODAY. I WOULD LIKE TO RELATE THAT AT LEAST TO OUR LORD'S WORDS. SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO WAS BORN WITH A NUMBER OF DISABILITIES. SHE WAS BLIND. SHE HAD SEVERE CURVATURE OF HER SPINE. SHE WAS VERY SMALL. SHE WAS CALLED LITTLE MARGARET OF CASTELLO. AND SHE HAD A NUMBER OF OTHER DISABILITIES. SHE COULD HARDLY WALK. AND THIS HAPPENED AT HER BIRTH. SHE WAS BORN WITH THESE BIRTH DEFECTS. AND HER PARENTS WHO HAD SOME PEOPLE OF MEANS, PEOPLE OF MEANS AND NOBILITY. THEY WERE ASHAMED OF THIS FACT AND THEY HID THEIR DAUGHTER FROM THE PUBLIC. THAT WAS KIND OF THE SENSE AT THE TIME. THAT WAS IN THE LATE 12 HUNDREDS. SO, EVENTUALLY, SHE WAS PUT IN THIS ROOM NEXT TO A CHAPEL AT THE AGE OF 6. LATER, WHEN SHE WAS A TEENAGER, THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD TAKE HER TO CASTELLO TO A SHRINE AND PRAY FOR A MIRACULOUS HEALING. SO, THEY WENT THERE, AND THEY PRAYED HOPING FOR THIS MIRACULOUS HEALING. WHEN IT DIDN'T HAPPEN, THEY JUST ABANDONED HER ON THE STREETS. SO, WE CAN'T IMAGINE THAT KIND OF COLDNESS TOWARD ONE'S CHILD, EVEN WITH THEIR PARTICULAR DISABILITIES. IN FACT, OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH TEACHES US SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT. IT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING. WHEN I REMEMBER SEEING THE EYES OF THE LITTLE CHILD UP AT THE BLESSED SACRAMENT SHRINE. AND SHE WAS IN A WHEELCHAIR, MOTHER ANGELICA, WITH A TRACHE TUBE. AND THESE PARENTS HAD THE CARE OF THEIR LITTLE DAUGHTER, LOVING CARE, I'M GUESSING SHE WAS FIVE OR SIX-YEARS-OLD AND MOTHER SAW THEM IN THE PARLOR. AND AT THAT TIME, MOTHER WAS SEVERELY DISABLED BECAUSE OF THE STROKES AND CEREBRAL HEMORRHAGE THAT SHE HAD. AND THE MOTHER AND MOTHER ANGELICA TOOK THEIR HANDS AND THEY DIDN'T SAY A WORD, THEY JUST LOOKED AT EACH OTHER IN THAT UNDERSTANDING, SUFFERING, AND LOVE. AND I REMEMBER SEEING THE LITTLE GIRL AFTERWARDS. AND I REMEMBER SEEING HER EYES, JUST LIKE A BRILLIANT LIGHT OF CHRIST. SHE WAS INDEED SUFFERING, YET THERE WAS SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL IN THAT SOUL. SOMETHING RARELY SEEN IN THE EYES OF THAT CHILD. SO, MARGARET OF CASTELLO WAS ABANDONED ON THE STREETS IN CASTELLO. BUT THE LOCAL PEOPLE SEEING HER THERE BROUGHT HER INTO THEIR HOMES, CARED FOR HER, HELPED HER. EVENTUALLY, SHE CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THE DOMINICAN FRIARS WHICH HAD JUST BEGUN AND SHE BECAME A THIRD ORDER MEMBER OF THE DOMINICANS. AND SHE WAS KNOWN, NOT FOR, WHY BUT RATHER, SHE WAS KNOWN FOR HER CHARITY, HER CARE FOR PEOPLE, SHE TAUGHT CHILDREN, SHE MEMORIZED THE PSALMS. SHE WAS BLIND. BUT SHE MEMORIZED ALL 150 OF THE PSALMS. SHE WOULD TEACH THEM ABOUT THE FAITH. AND SHE WOULD DO DIFFERENT WORKS OF CHARITY. EVEN WITH HER DISABILITIES, SHE WAS ABLE TO GATHER FOOD FOR THE POOR AND DO SUCH THINGS. AND THERE WAS A STORY IN ONE OF HER BIOGRAPHIES. THIS DOCU-DRAMA IS BASED ON A CONTEMPORARY AUTHOR AT THE TIME WHO WROTE ABOUT SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO, AND HIS NAME IS FRANCISCAN AUTHOR UBERTINO DA CASALE. HE WROTE THE BIOGRAPHY ABOUT SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO, AND THIS DOCU-DRAMA WAS BASED ON THAT AT THE TIME. HE WAS A CONTEMPORARY OF HERS AT THE TIME. AND SHE DIED AT THE AGE 33, APRIL 12, 1320. AND SHE WAS CANONIZED 701 YEARS LATER. HER FEAST DAY IS APRIL 13. SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO. AND ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THE POPE DID THIS, THERE WAS A POSTULATOR FOR THE CAUSE OF ST. MARGARET AND HE RECEIVED A LETTER FROM 20 MOTHERS IN OHIO. PERHAPS, THEY HAD CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT DISABILITIES. BUT HE HAD RECEIVED THIS LETTER ASKING FOR THIS EQUIPOLLENT CANONIZATION FOR HER. AND WHEN HE LOOKED INTO IT, HE RECEIVED THAT HE HAD RECEIVED OTHER LETTERS, INSTITUTES IN PHILIPPINES NAMED AFTER ST. MARGARET CASTELLO. AND IN OHIO, I MENTIONED THERE WAS ONE WITH A RELIC OF ST. MARGARET'S HEART. AND THAT LED TO THIS PROCLAMATION ON APRIL 24. NOW, PERHAPS YOU WANT TO TUNE INTO THE DOCU-DRAMA TODAY, SEPTEMBER 19 AT 12:30 CENTRAL TIME. NOW, IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE HAVE THE SECOND OF OUR THREE PASSION PREDICTIONS OF OUR LORD. THREE TIMES, CHRIST TELLS THE APOSTLES WHAT HE IS GOING TO UNDERGO. THE SON OF MAN IS TO BE HANDED OVER TO MEN AND THEY WILL KILL HIM. IT'S NOT JUST A PASSION PREDICTION. THAT'S AN IMPORTANT POINT. THERE WERE NOT JUST PASSION PREDICTIONS. HE CONTINUED, THE SON OF MAN WILL BE HANDED OVER TO MEN AND THEY WILL KILL HIM. THREE DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH, THE SON OF MAN WILL RISE. IT WAS ALSO A FORETELLING OF HIS RESURRECTION, OF THE VICTORY OVER DEATH. AND THAT'S WHY SOMEBODY LIKE SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO COULD HAVE A HEART IN HER OWN CROSS. THE LORD UNDERWENT HIS PASSION AND HE KNEW IN HIS HEART, THAT HE WAS GOING TO UNDERGO THIS AND HE WAS GOING TO BE KILLED. BUT HE ALSO KNEW THAT AFTER THREE DAYS, HE WOULD RISE AGAIN FROM THE DEAD. AND YOU AND I IN OUR OWN SUFFERINGS, I KNOW THAT SOME OF US DO HAVE DIFFICULT SUFFERINGS IN THEIR LIVES, EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL, AND BE DIFFERENT DISABILITIES THAT THEY STRUGGLE WITH THEIR WHOLE LIFELONG. AND THERE'S A STORY IN SAINT MARGARET CASTELLO'S LIFE WHERE THIS WOMAN HAD A TUMOR ON HER EYE. AND SHE SAID TO SAINT MARGARET, THE DOCTOR SAID I'M GOING TO GO BLIND. AND I DON'T WANT TO GO BLIND, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SEE MY CHILDREN. AND MARGARET SAID, WE MUST BELIEVE, YOU KNOW, THAT GOD IS GOING TO TURN IT TO GOOD. YOU SHOULD PRAISE HIM, EVEN IN THIS CROSS. AND THAT THIS IS GOING TO LAST FOR A SHORT TIME. BUT YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE ALL OF ETERNITY TO BE REWARDED FOR THE SUFFERINGS THAT YOU ARE ENDURING IN THIS LIFE. AND SHE SAID, NO, NO, I CAN'T, I CAN'T GO THROUGH THIS. AND MARGARET WHO WAS BLIND, SHE SAID, WELL, PLACE MY HAND ON YOUR EYE. AND SO, SHE DID. AND THAT WOMAN WAS HEALED. AND WHERE OTHER MIRACLES HAPPENED BEFORE, MARGARET'S DEATH AND MIRACLES AT HER TOMB. THAT'S ONE REASON WHY THIS EQUIPOLLENT CANONIZATION TOOK PLACE. AND OUR SUFFERINGS FOR THIS LIFE ARE REAL, YES, THEY ARE REAL AND THEY ARE PAINFUL. YET, THERE'S GOING TO BE A REWARD THAT'S GOING TO BE MUCH GREATER THAN WHATEVER WE SUFFER IN THIS LIFE. SO, WE CAN HAVE HEART AND HOPE. YOU KNOW, TODAY, IN THE FIRST READING, FROM THE BOOK OF WISDOM 2, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO READ ALL OF CHAPTER 2, MAYBE IT'S JUST A PAGE. AND THEN CONTINUE WITH CHAPTER 3, A PASSAGE THAT WE OFTEN HEAR AT FUNERALS AND RIGHTLY SO. I JUST WANT TO READ A SHORT SECTION OF CHAPTER 2, OTHER THAN THE VERSES THAT WE HEARD. THESE ARE THE WORDS OF THE WICKED. SO, THE WICKED SAY, THEY REASONED UNSOUNDLY SAYING TO THEMSELVES, SHORT AND SORROWFUL IS OUR LIFE AND THERE IS NO REMEDY WHEN A MAN COMES TO HIS END AND NO ONE HAS BEEN KNOWN TO RETURN FROM HADES, FROM THE UNDERWORLD. BECAUSE WE WERE BORN BY MERE CHANCE, AND HERE AFTER WE SHALL BE AS THOUGH WE HAD NEVER BEEN, BECAUSE THE BREATH IN OUR NOSTRILS IS SMOKE. AND REASON IS A SPARK, KINDLED BY THE BEATING OF OUR HEARTS. WHEN IT IS EXTINGUISHED, THE BODY WILL TURN TO ASHES AND THE SPIRIT WILL DISSOLVE LIKE EMPTY AIR. THIS IS WHAT THE WICKED ARE SAYING. YOUR LIFE IS MEANINGLESS, THERE'S NO PURPOSE. WE WERE BORN BY MERE CHANCE. SOUND FAMILIAR? BUT THEN, WHAT DOES THE BOOK OF WISDOM SAY? VERSES, AGAIN, THAT WE OFTEN HEAR AT FUNERALS FROM CHAPTER 3. BUT THE SOULS OF THE RIGHTEOUS ARE IN THE HAND OF GOD! NO TORMENT WILL EVER TOUCH THEM. AND THE EYES OF THE FOOLISH, THEY SEEM TO HAVE DIED AND THEIR DEPARTURE WAS THOUGHT TO BE AN AFFLICTION, AND THEY ARE GOING FROM US TO BE THEIR DESTRUCTION. BUT THEY ARE AT PEACE. FOR THOUGH, IN THE SIGHT OF MEN THEY WERE PUNISHED, THEIR HOPE IS FULL OF IMMORTALITY. AND HAVING RECEIVED DISCIPLINE, THEY WILL RECEIVE GREAT GOOD BECAUSE GOD TESTED THEM AND FOUND THEM WORTHY OF HIMSELF. WE'RE BEING TESTED. LET US PERSEVERE IN LOVE. LETTER OF ST. JAMES, HE TALKS ABOUT, WHAT ARE THE FRUITS OF WISDOM FROM ABOVE? SOMEONE LIKE ST. MARGARET OF CASTELLO, WE SEE SOMETHING VERY BEAUTIFUL. THIS LITTLE GIRL TERESA, WHOSE EYES RADIATED THE LIGHT OF CHRIST. WE SEE THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE THAT ST. JAMES TALKED ABOUT. WHERE JEALOUSLY AND SELFISH AMBITION EXIST, THERE'S DISORDER. BUT WISDOM FROM ABOVE IS PURE, PEACEABLE, GENTLE, COMPLIANT, FULL OF MERCY AND GOOD FRUITS, WITHOUT INCONSTANCY OR INSINCERITY. AND HE SPEAKS OF CULTIVATING PEACE. THIS IS WISDOM FROM ABOVE. YOU SEE, THERE'S MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE. WE'RE NOT JUST BORN BY MERE CHANCE, AS POPE BENEDICT SAID, EACH OF US IN GOD'S PLAN IS NECESSARY. HE WANTED US TO EXIST! HE HAS A PARTICULAR MISSION FOR EACH OF US IN THIS LIFE. THERE ARE SUFFERINGS THAT WE WILL UNDERGO WITH CHRIST, HE HIMSELF DID, BUT WHAT DID JESUS SAY? HE WILL BE KILLED BUT ON THE THIRD DAY, HE WILL RISE! WITH EVERY DEATH, THERE'S A RESURRECTION. DEATH DOESN'T HAVE THE FINAL WORD NOR DOES EVIL HAVE THE FINAL WORD. NO, THERE IS A RESURRECTION AND THE LORD HAS THE FINAL WORD. THAT'S THE END OF THE STORY, THERE IS GLORY. THERE IS A TIME THAT THE CROSS IS MADE OF WOOD, THE CROWN IS MADE OF GLORY, IT LASTS FOREVER. SO, BE HEARTENED. I THINK WE'RE ALL HEARTENED BY THE WITNESS OF THESE SIMPLE SOULS, THIS LITTLE MARGARET OF CASTELLO. SEVERE CURVATURE OF THE SPINE, BLIND, AND PRETTY MUCH LAME, COULD HARDLY GET AROUND. THIS SIMPLE LITTLE SOUL REJECTED BY HER PARENTS. AND YET, GOD COULD DO SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL THROUGH THIS LITTLE MARGARET OF CASTELLO. LET US BE ENCOURAGED IN OUR OWN HARDSHIPS BY HER SERENE EXAMPLE AND GUIDED BY THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE. LET US BE THOSE COMPASSIONATE PEOPLE WHO SPREAD PEACE, AS ST. JAMES SAYS.
