OXYGEN

08 Feb – Memorial for St Jerome Emilani; Memorial for St Josephine Bakhita, Virgin

Jerome (1481–1537) was born wealthy, the son of Angelo and Eleanor Mauroceni Emiliani. His father died when Jerome was a teenager, and he ran away from home at age 15. After a dissolute youth, he became a soldier in Venice in 1506. He commanded the League of Cambrai forces at the fortress of Castelnuovo near Trevso. He was captured by Venetian forces on Aug 27, 1511, and was chained in a dungeon. Here, he prayed to Our Lady for help and was miraculously freed by an apparition. He hung his chains on a church wall as an offering. He became Mayor of Treviso while studying for the priesthood, and was ordained in the spotted-fever plague year of 1518.

He cared for the sick, and housed orphans in his own home. At night he roamed the streets, burying those who had collapsed and died unattended. He contracted the fever himself, but survived. He founded six orphanages, a shelter for penitent prostitutes, and a hospital.

He founded the Order of Somaschi (Company of Servants of the Poor, or Samascan Fathers) in 1532. It is a congregation of clerks regular vowed to the care of orphans, and named after the town of Somasca where they started, and where they founded a seminary. The society was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540 and it continues its work today in a dozen countries. Jerome is believed to have developed the question-and-answer catechism technique for teaching children religion.

In 1928, Pope Pius XI declared him the patron saint of orphans and abandoned children.

- Patron Saint Index

Josephine (1868–1947) was born to a wealthy Sudanese family. At age 9, she was kidnapped by slave-traders who gave her the name Bakhita. She was sold and resold in the markets at El Obeid and Khartoum, finally purchased in 1883 by Callisto Legnani, an Italian consul who planned to free her. She accompanied Legnani to Italy in 1885, and worked for the family of Augusto Michieli as nanny. She was treated well in Italy and grew to love the country. She joined the Church as an adult convert on Jan 9, 1890, taking the name Josephine as a symbol of her new life.

She entered the Institute of Canossian Daughters of Charity in Venice, Italy, in 1893, taking her vows on Dec 8, 1896 in Verona, and served as a Canossian Sister for the next 50 years. Her gentle presence, her warm, amiable voice, and her willingness to help with any menial task were a comfort to the poor and suffering people who came to the door of the Institute. After a biography of her was published in 1930, she became a noted and sought-after speaker, raising funds to support missions.

She was canonized on Oct 1, 2000 by Pope John Paul II, and is thought to be the only saint originally from Sudan.

- Patron Saint Index
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1 Kings 8:1-7.9-13

Solomon called the elders of Israel together in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord up from the Citadel of David, which is Zion. All the men of Israel assembled round King Solomon in the month of Ethanim, at the time of the feast (that is, the seventh month), and the priests took up the ark and the Tent of Meeting with all the sacred vessels that were in it. In the presence of the ark, King Solomon and all Israel sacrificed sheep and oxen, countless, innumerable. The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the Debir of the Temple, that is, in the Holy of Holies, under the cherubs’ wings. For there where the ark was placed the cherubs spread out their wings and sheltered the ark and its shafts. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets Moses had placed in it at Horeb, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord had made with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt; they are still there today.

Now when the priests came out of the sanctuary, the cloud filled the Temple of the Lord, and because of the cloud the priests could no longer perform their duties: the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s Temple.

Then Solomon said:
‘The Lord has chosen to dwell in the thick cloud.
Yes, I have built you a dwelling,
a place for you to live in for ever.’
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Mark 6:53-56

Having made the crossing, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up. No sooner had they stepped out of the boat than people recognised him, and started hurrying all through the countryside and brought the sick on stretchers to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, to village, or town, or farm, they laid down the sick in the open spaces, begging him to let them touch even the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched him were cured.
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And all those who touched him were cured

I have had the privilege of witnessing the dedication of a church and one of the rites involves placing the relic of a saint into the altar. I could see the joy on the faces of the congregation as this process was taking place. As one person remarked after the Mass, it seemed that the altar was now complete. Whilst the theology of this lay person is highly doubtful, the readings of today do share with us a similar thread of the joy of having God’s presence in the Temple.

The joy of having God in our midst is sometimes overlooked and neglected especially among adult Christians. There are times where discussions are filled with much negativity and cynicism about the people and activities in church.

However, I would ask that we take a moment to pause and think of the joy we experienced when we received our First Holy Communion. Having Jesus in our soul for the very first time allows us to communicate in the most intimate way with God. He has entered our lives to hear us and listen to us. What a great privilege it is to have a God so close to our bodies and being able to share with Him our joys and sorrows! In this process, our wounded souls are once again made whole and we leave the church ready to share the joy of God that we have encountered in our hearts.

The world yearns for the presence of a person who can restore hope and joy amidst all the negativity that its inhabitants constantly experience. The Christian is asked to do this in as his mission and we should view it as a happy task because we have experienced Jesus. Let us pause and think about how we can take steps to change our actions so that we can bring God to all those around us.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Nicholas Chia)
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Prayer: Lord, we pray that we will keep You in the centre of our lives.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks for all who hold the Christian faith.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 09 Feb – 1 Kings 8:22-23.27-30; Mark 7:1-13
Wed, 10 Feb – 1 Kings 10:1-10; Mark 7:14-23; Memorial of St Scholastica, Virgin
Thu, 11 Feb – 1 Kings 11:4-13; Mark 7:24-30; Memorial for Our Lady of Lourdes; World Day of Prayer for the Sick
Fri, 12 Feb – 1 Kings 11:29-32;12:19; Mark 7: 31-37
Sat, 13 Feb – 1 Kings 12:26-32;13:33-34; Mark 8:1-10
Sun, 14 Feb – 1 Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians 15:12.16-20; Luke 6:20-26; Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time; Chinese New Year