February 8th - St. John of Matha
St. John of Matha (1160-1213) was born of noble parents at Faucon in
Provence,
France. After a brilliant success in his studies at Paris, he became a
priest.
At his first Mass, he had an inspiration to dedicate his live to the
ransom of
Catholic warriors made slaves by the Muslims in the Crusades.
To prepare himself for this work, he went to visit a hermit, St. Felix of
Valois, to be instructed in the practice of perfection. When he revealed
his
plan, St. Felix was convinced that the design was from God, and offered
him to
help him. Together they founded the Order of the Holy Trinity to ransom
the
captives. Soon, countless vocations came to the Order. The Trinitarians
traveled
with the Crusaders, teaching the soldiers, taking care of the sick, and
dealing
with the redemption of the captives.
St. John of Matha managed to free a great number of Catholic slaves in
Morocco,
Tunis, and Spain. On his second trip to Tunis in 1210, he suffered much
from the
infidels, who were enraged at his zeal and his success in exhorting the
slaves
to remain constant in their faith.
On his return with the 120 Catholics whom he had ransomed, he found that
the
Muslims had damaged the rudder of his ****p and ripped its sails to prevent
its
safe arrival and cause the ****p to perish at sea. But St. John of Matha,
full of
confidence in God, begged Him to be their pilot. He sewed together the
cloaks of
his companions and made new sails. Then, with a crucifix in his hands, he
recited his Psalter as the ****p sailed. They had a successful voyage and
landed
safely in the ****t of Ostia, near the mouth of the Tiber.
Comments of the late Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: (died 1995)
The Order of the Trinitarians founded by St. John of Matha was an
extremely
useful apostolate to maintain the Crusades in the elevated spirit intended
by
the Church when she convoked them. It was a most noble apostolate that
indicates
the close solidarity of this Saint with the movement of the Crusades.
Today those who speak against the Crusades do a very bad thing. The true
saints
were cooperators with and enthusiasts of the Crusades. The main goal of
the
Trinitarians, which was to ransom the captives, also had a favorable
effect on
the Crusaders, who had less fear to be captured and remain slaves of the
Moors
for a long period of time, or even indefinitely. St. John of Matha and his
Order
gave them the hope to be ransomed and return to the fight. Therefore, the
work
of the Saint was a very im****tant sup****t for the Crusades.
All this is very beautiful, a crown of gold. But the precious stone inlaid
in
this crown was the last fact in the narration. St. John of Matha embarked
on a
journey to cross the Mediterranean with 120 men in a ****p with torn and
useless
sails. He improvised by making new sails, but they were insufficient. He
did
everything he could to restore the destroyed sails, but he knew his
efforts were
not enough. So, he had recourse to God. He prayed, he chanted the psalms
with a
crucifix in his hand as the ****p continued on its way.
You can imagine the varying sentiments of those liberated captives in the
****p.
At times, they experienced a movement of confidence and enthusiasm for the
Saint
and his bold faith; at other times, they would feel a real panic to be
lost at
sea and die. St. John of Matha had to preach to them to have confidence in
God.
It was an adventure based upon the faith of one man. When the episode was
told
and spread throughout Christendom, it generated a great surge of good
spirit and
desire to go to the Crusades.
The principle that inspired St. John of Matha was the same that St.
Ignatius of
Loyola would formulate centuries later: Do everything as if it depended
only on
your action, then recognize that everything relies on God and not on you.
St. John of Matha applied this principle perfectly. He repaired the sails
as
well as he could and ordered the trip to go forward. At the same time, he
prayed, recognizing that only God could make the voyage successful.
That vessel at sea, abandoned to its fate, reminds us of the fight to
which we
dedicate our lives. Our counter-revolutionary movement is also an
abandoned
****p, and the means we have to go ahead are nothing more than improvised
sails
in a small craft.
We should ask St. John of Matha and all saints who were in fights similar
to
ours, that they be spiritually present to help us in the dangers we will
face so
that we will do what we are supposed to do. As he did, we should to sing
prayers
at the feet of Our Lady asking her that our ****p arrive at a good ****t.
That is
to say, the complete defeat of the Revolution and the installation of the
Reign
of Mary on earth.
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Whoever humbleth himself shall be exalted. -Lk. 14:11
"Humility is necessary not only for the acquisition of virtues but even
for
salvation. For the gate of Heaven, as Christ testifies, is so narrow that
it
admits only little ones"
-St. Bernard
The Pharisee was separated by his condition in life from the rest of
the
people, as this sect formed a kind of religious order, in which they
prayed,
fasted, and performed many other good works; but he was, notwithstanding,
reproved by God. Why, then, was this? For no other reason than that he was
wanting in humility; for he felt much satisfaction in his good works, and
gloried in them as if they were the result of his own virtue.
William, Bishop of Lyons, tells in his Chronicles, of a monk who
often
violated the prescribed silence, but upon being admonished spiritually by
his
Abbot he amended, and became So recollected and so devout that he was
worthy to
receive from God many revelations. Now, it happened that the Father Abbot
was
sent for by a hermit, who, having reached the close of a virtuous life,
desired
to receive from him the last Sacraments. The Abbot went, and took with him
the
silent monk. On the road, a robber, hearing the little bell, accompanied
the
Blessed Sacrament as far as the cell of the dying man; but he stopped
outside,
considering himself unworthy to enter the abode of a saint. After the
hermit had
confessed and received Communion with humility, the robber kept repeating
at the
door, "Oh, Father, if I were but like you, oh, how happy should I be!" The
hermit hearing this, said in his heart, with presumption and complacency,
"You
are right to desire this; who can doubt it?" and immediately expired. Then
the
good Religious began to weep, and withdrew from the Abbot. The robber
followed
them, with tears and hatred for his sins, and the full purpose of
confessing and
doing penance for them, as soon as they should arrive at the monastery.
But he
was not able to reach it, for on the way he fell unexpectedly to the
ground and
died. At this accident, the Religious became joyous again and laughed; and
when
the Abbot asked him why he had been sad at the death of the hermit, and
joyful
at that of the robber, he replied: "Because the former is lost, in
punishment
for his presumption, and the latter saved, on account of his strong
resolution
to do fitting penance for his sins; and the sorrow he felt for them was so
great
that it has canceled even all their penalty"
(Taken from the book "A Year with the Saints". February - Humility)
Bible Quote:
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, he is the
greater in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4)
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Short prayers to the Holy Ghost:
O Holy Ghost, Spirit of truth, come into our hearts; shed the brightness
of
Thy light upon the nations, that they may please Thee in unity of faith.
Spiritus Sancte, Spiritus veritatis, veni in corda nostra; de populis
claritatem lucis tuae, ut in fidei unitate tibi complaceant.
May the graces of the Holy Ghost enlighten our senses and our hearts.
Spiritus Sancti gratia illuminet sensus et corda nostra.
May our hearts be cleansed, O Lord, by the inpouring of the Holy Ghost,
and
may He render them fruitful by watering them with His heavenly dew.
Sancti Spiritus, Domine, corda nostra mundet infusio, et sui roris intima
aspersione fecundet.
Imprimatur: Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, May 30,
1951.
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