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The Order That Should Have Failed

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Today’s gospel recounts the final moments before Jesus’ arrest in John’s gospel. He offered up his approaching crucifixion and pleads God the Father for the preservation of his disciples. In the next chapter, Peter will deny him and rock the very newly formed priesthood mere hours after it was created.

We are currently in the midst of ordination season. Men in diocese across the world are anointed by their bishops, prostrated before the altar and take the vows of celibacy and obedience. It’s an incredible, grace-filled mass with tradition that began with the ministry of Christ and passed down through the apostles and bishops.

They spend years in seminary in prayer and preparation for this moment. While it is the end of their time as seminarians, it is the beginning of one of the most beautiful, difficult lives a man can live.

The devil hates priests. Not only do they minister to the people of God, but they bring Christ in the flesh to them through the Eucharist. Masses cannot be celebrated without priests; sins are not forgiven in the confessional without priests in persona Christi.

Because of this, we need to pray for our parish priests. The spiritual attacks that they must endure can only be overcome by means of the grace of God. We should be regularly praying and fasting for our priests. Pope Francis is always asking the faithful to pray for him because he knows that without prayer, he would fail as our shepherd.

The priesthood was made by a perfect God for imperfect men. Jesus knew that and it’s why he was praying so fervently for his newly ordained disciples leading up to his arrest. All of them fled but one. The priesthood seemed to have failed in its first moments of existence.

But by the blood of Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit, it survived and continues to despite the attacks on the order of the priesthood today.

Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the gift of our priests.
Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation.
Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel.
Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace.

We ask this through Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns as our Eternal Priest. Amen.

(From the USCCB http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/prayers-and-devotions/prayers/prayer-for-priests.cfm)

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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St Rita: Teacher of Forgiveness

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“Let me, my Jesus share in Thy suffering, at least one of Thy thorns.” – Saint Rita of Cascia

Jesus’ words in today’s gospel seem near impossible for any regular man to act. He tells us to love our enemies, stop judging, be merciful; we are still sinful and fallen. Alone, we cannot live a life of virtue that allows us to be kind and forgive those who do wrong.

However, Jesus gives us the gift of His saints whose virtuous lives can serve as a witness to us. For instance, He gives us St. Rita, whose feast we celebrate today.

St. Rita is the patron saint of impossible causes with St. Jude. Her life is a reflection of what Christ speaks about in the gospel. St. Rita was born in 14th century Italy. She had a deep desire to love the Lord and become a nun. As a child, she showed extraordinary piety and deep love for prayer.

But instead, her family married her off to a harsh and cruel man, named Paolo Mancini, whom she was married to for 18 years. She bore him two sons. Paolo was well known for his bad temper. He was often abusive, and Rita watched helplessly as her sons fell to their father’s influence.

She prayed unceasingly that the Lord speak to Paolo’s conscience and spare her sons from inheriting her husband’s rage. Eventually, Paolo had a change of heart and begged forgiveness from those whose suffering he caused.

However, Paolo had many enemies and one day, he was ambushed and killed. St. Rita’s sons vowed to avenge their father’s death through killing the men who killed him, but Rita prayed for them not to destroy their souls by taking another life. She gave the Lord permission to even kill them himself if it meant that their souls would be saved.

Her sons died of natural causes when they were teenagers not long after their father’s death. St. Rita nursed them, and they asked for forgiveness. She went on to also forgive the men who murdered her husband by going out and mending the hostility between her husband’s killers and his remaining family.

After losing her husband and sons, Rita joined the Augustinian nuns.

She meditated frequently on Christ’s passion, uniting her sufferings to His on the Cross. One day, she prayed so fervently and begged the Lord to share with her some of His pain. One of the thorns from the crucifix she prayed before loosened and implanted itself deep into her forehead.

During her time in the convent, she prayed for the souls of her husband and sons, as well as for those who did her wrong.

St. Rita died, and her body has remained incorrupt and is venerated today.

She is the patron saint of impossible causes, difficult marriages, infertility, and parenthood.

St. Rita is a teacher on how to love your enemies. Not only did she forgive their wrongs, but desired heaven for them. She looked to Jesus’ example from the cross when he asked God the Father to forgive those who crucified him.

When we are angered by what we see on our social media feeds, or see injustice in the world, let us remember to pray like St. Rita did and trust that God will be victorious in the end.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Food for the Journey

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In today’s gospel reading, Jesus continues his bread of life discourse where he tells his followers that without the bread of life he speaks of, we have no life. Jesus promises that those who take the bread will never be hungry, and those who believe in him will never thirst.

So often we make promises that we can’t keep. As a kid, I promised my mom that I would make my bed every morning, but as an adult, I’m shocked if my bed is made more than twice a week. But we can look at the promises of Christ and understand that when he makes a promise, he always keeps it.

But wait. If Jesus promises I’ll never go hungry again, why does my stomach growl and mouth water every time I drive past a Chipotle?

Jesus, of course, is not talking about literal, bodily hunger. He is talking about hunger and thirst for a full life in him. He is talking about the Eucharist, which is food for our journey.

When the Israelites wandered the desert during the Exodus, they complained to God and longed to go back to Egypt where they were enslaved and in chains. But God delivered Manna, bread from heaven, for them to eat every day until they stepped foot in the promised land.

This bread nourished them and gave them life. It fed the mouths of hungry children and gave them sustenance for the journey.

Similarly, the Eucharist gives us life. Christ literally fills us with himself, giving us nutrients, energy, and strength until we are ready to enter the promised land of Heaven. The Eucharist allows us to be strong in our resilience against a culture of death that wishes to enslave us. Without it, our faith in him dies.

It’s why we consume it during every mass. It’s why we should attend mass every Sunday.

So next time you prepare to receive Christ in the form of the Eucharist, be intentional about your “Amen” as you accept him into your body. Think of the Israelites as they woke up each morning to find new manna ready to feed them and thank the Lord for your escape from captivity and eventual reward in heaven.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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St. Catherine of Siena: Christ’s Beloved Laborer

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Today, the Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, whose life reflects today’s gospel,  where Jesus invites us to find rest in him. St. Catherine serves as a model of this. She was a woman of action, but the heart of everything she did was for the sake of Christ and his Church.

St. Catherine was born in Siena, Italy on the Solemnity of the Annunciation. She was the twenty-third of twenty-five children, however, many of her siblings did not survive to adulthood.

Catherine’s family lived in the midst of the Black Plague, which killed up to one-third of the population of Europe. She grew up in a time where Europe was losing faith in Christ, in part because of the crisis that surrounded it. The pope resided in Avignon, France, although he was still the bishop of Rome.

Regardless, Catherine grew up intensely religious, often protesting against her parent’s efforts to marry her off. She loved Christ and wanted to give her life to him.

At age 18, she entered the Third Order (lay) Dominicans, an order typically reserved for widows and elderly. She lived a secluded, contemplative life, but wrote letters to men, women, priest, and religious, offering them spiritual guidance and advice. Eventually, people began gathering around her, seeking her counsel. Her influence spread up the ranks of the Vatican to the pope himself.

She eventually began to travel, calling for reform in the broken church, and urging people to pray and fast for healing and love God totally.

Catherine played a key role in stabilizing the papacy after the Avignon Papacy. Through letters and visits, she convinced Pope Gregory XI to return from Avignon to Rome.

She wrote over 380 letters to church leaders and lay people. Because of her writings, she was named one of three female doctors of the Church. She is also the only lay Doctor of the Church.

Like Christ, Catherine died when she was 33 years old.

Catherine was a woman of action. When she saw an injustice, especially surrounding her beloved church, she acted, consecrating her work to Christ and letting him heal his broken church through her.

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Avoiding Hypocrisy during Holy Week

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We are now in the midst of the most important week of the year. The entirety of Jesus’ life and mission leads to this week, which ends with him dying on the cross and rising from the dead. The events of our readings this week will ultimately lead to the cross; the climax of all of salvation history.

Today’s gospel takes place not long after Jesus miraculously raises Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, from the dead. As Martha serves the meal, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with costly perfume that cost an almost entire years income.

In a culture which women were unable to support themselves or own property, their brother was likely the only one who could support them. When Lazarus died, Martha and Mary were likely to become poor beggars when whatever was saved ran out. But Christ came and raised her brother from the dead, saving them from such a cruel fate.

Mary was filled with overwhelming gratitude to Jesus for giving her back her brother and wanted to acknowledge his Lordship. The perfume was likely the most valuable thing in the house.

Judas, the disciple who would betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, exercising false piety, complains that the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. He, of course, did not care for the poor. St. John makes it clear that Judas was the group’s treasure and was laundering contributions to satisfy his greed.

It is ironic that Judas complains about the loss of a year’s wage when he was willing to betray Jesus for a value significantly less than the perfume.

Jesus dismisses Judas, commanding her to let Mary be. He says the poor will always be among their presence and there will always be an opportunity to serve him through serving them, but they have only a few more days with him before he is to suffer and die.

As we prepare to wrap up Lent this week, take a long and hard look at your Lenten resolutions. Using the example of Mary as she blesses Christ with her most valued possession and dries his feet with her hair, look beyond where you have fallen short and exercise them with greater devotion and love this week as she did.

Ask the Lord to unveil to you where you act as a hypocrite as Judas did, and ask his help to change your heart to better serve him as he approaches his passion and death.

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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St. Joseph: A Model of Humility

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Today, the Church celebrates one of the most celebrated saints in all of tradition: St. Joseph. Not much is known about St. Joseph outside of what we hear in the gospels of St. Luke and St. Matthew. We know he was a humble man who was of the house of David. He was betrothed to the Blessed Virgin Mary who miraculously became pregnant before they lived in the same house.

Because he was a just man and didn’t want to put Mary to shame, he decided to divorce her quietly. Many theologians have debated where St. Joseph’s mind was in the midst of the situation. Most believe that he was stupefied by the situation—he knew that Mary was faithful but couldn’t understand how she was pregnant. Others say that he knew that the child in Mary’s womb was the Messiah, so out of humility, he wanted to bow out.

The incredible mystery surrounding St. Joseph, is that he was explicitly chosen by God to be the Father of himself. He was trusted to be the protector and leader of the Holy Family. The Lord allowed himself to be subject to Joseph’s care and protection. St. Joseph rose up to the challenge—he loved and protected the Christ Child devoutly.

Our Blessed Mother and St. Joseph have a perfect marriage that we are called to imitate and find hope in. Mary loved St. Joseph and was fiercely loyal and trusting in him. Venerable Fulton Sheen said of the couple, “No husband and wife ever loved one another so much as Joseph and Mary.”

St. Joseph was obedient to the will of God. Each time an angel appeared to him in a dream—whether it be to take Mary into his home, flee to Egypt, or return to Nazareth—he acted without a question and without fear. He obeys immediately imitating Mary’s obedience in the gospel of St. Luke following the Annunciation. They are together a couple who conformed wholly to the will of God both as a couple and individuals.

And so today, we ought to set aside time to thank God for the gift of St. Joseph. May we allow St. Joseph to become our father, friend, and spiritual guide, just like he was for Christ, whom we can rely on and imitate.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

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Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Free Will and Responsibility

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“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes.” – Mark 9:47

Jesus’ words in today’s gospel seem intense and are meant to make us uncomfortable. But they need to be taken very seriously. He is giving us insight into what we need to bar ourselves from in order to enter the Kingdom of God. It’s a sort of road map to heaven, where we should all desire to go.

The Lord gave us the gift of free will from the moment we were created. He is not a puppeteer controlling our every move. Because he loves us so much, he wanted to give us the freedom to make our own choices and encounter him out of true desire.

The beautiful thing about free will is that we have a choice to work towards heaven or hell. Our decisions in this life affect that. It may seem like a lot of responsibility. Eternity is a very long time and there is a lot riding on the things we do today.

Luckily, we don’t have to make those choices on our own. We can have an intimate and personal relationship with Christ who is our guide. He presents us with teachings like lessons in today’s gospel, as well as the opportunity to receive him in the most intimate way humanly possible through the Eucharist, so we can go out and be imitators of him. We have been given other Christian brothers who can keep us accountable and help us on our journey. And when we mess up, we can be forgiven through the priesthood he established to be in persona Christi.

In short, nothing is so important that it should keep us from following the way of Christ and entering the kingdom of God. We are called to be so rooted in Christ, that we have to have detachment not only from sin but from our very selves. It’s better to strip away the things that are not in alignment with God than keep them. It is better to chop off our own hand, as Jesus says than to allow it to keep us from him.

But separating ourselves from those things that lead us to sin is hard. We have worldly desires. We desire things that pollute our bodies, our families, and our relationship with God. We like how sin makes us feel.

With Lent beginning very, very soon, we have an opportunity to reflect on this gospel call from Christ to make an examination of conscious and commit to following through on removing those things during the 40 days.

What gets in between you and following Jesus? What are the things that you need to cut out of your life? Is it a toxic relationship? Is it a bad habit? Is it a particular prayer that you have brought up in confession on numerous occasions?

In prayer, ask Jesus to be a divine surgeon for you as you sift through what needs to be amputated from your life and for the courage to follow through. Tell Jesus how much you desire to enter the kingdom of God and recognize that you will not be able to embark on the journey by yourself. Ask him to be your strength and your guide. And thank him when those near temptations come your way but overcome them regardless.

Contact the author at hannah.m.crites@gmail.com.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and a graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Do Whatever He Tells You

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Today, the Church celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, when in 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared to a 14-year-old girl in Lourdes, France. Now, over 160 years later, millions of people travel to the very place where Mary appeared seeking comfort and healing. It has also become a place for renewal of faith and conversion, which is a central part of Mary’s ministry.

She appeared 18 times from February 11 to July 16, 1858 to St. Bernadette, a peasant girl who flunked her catechetics exam. Her message was simple; she sought to heal the sick by the Lord’s Grace and remind us to pray for the conversion of sinners.

In today’s gospel, we hear the story of the Wedding at Cana when Christ performs his first public miracle—turning water into wine after the Blessed Mothers direct intercession when she realizes that there is no wine—a staple of the ancient world. Mary notices that the wine is out and turns to her son for help. She recognizes a need among her children and acts.

Christ responds, “Quid tibi mihi?”— “Woman, how does your concern affect me? My hour has not yet come.” These may seem like disrespectful words coming from Jesus, especially to his mother. But he is speaking to Mary, the New Eve, as the New Adam. In the gospel of John, when Jesus refers to his “hour”, he is referring to Calvary. In essence, he is telling Mary, “Woman, if I do this, we are on the fast track to Calvary. Are you ready for that?”

Mary seeks the servants at the wedding, which can also be translated as slaves—the lowest of all the classes at the wedding. Then we hear the last words from the Blessed Mother recorded in Scripture. “Do whatever he tells you.” It’s a central theme in all of her apparitions—a call to conversion and to know Christ. And how beautiful is it that these are her final recorded words!

They speak perfectly to the role of Mary in our lives. She’s not meant to be a distraction from our worship of Christ, she’s meant to point us to him. She gives advice as a good mother does to ensure that her children are on the correct path.

She especially has the heart for what society may consider the lowliest of all—a small, sickly peasant girl in France and the servants at a wedding who have the blessed opportunity to know the wine came from God himself.

Her message at Lourdes and her final message in Scripture are challenging. They are meant to change hearts, but it is only the humble of hearts who can receive her words and act. How are you embracing the witness of Saint Bernadette and the servants at Cana?  Turn to Mary and pray for her intercession, that you too may call upon the help of the Lord and “do whatever he tells you.”

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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Touched by the Messiah

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This Thanksgiving, I was at my grandmother’s house with 12 other members when my family and my little sister arrived and announced that she had pink eye. We were cautioned to make sure we constantly washed our hands and not touch our eyes because pink eye is very contagious.

She had a spot at the end of the table where she was less likely to spread. In the days after Thanksgiving, I was paranoid, waiting for symptoms to appear.

I was thinking about this as I reflected on today’s gospel.

In this reading, our central figure next to Christ is one of the most dejected members of biblical times, lepers. Life for lepers was hard. It’s a highly contagious disease with no cure, is terribly painful, and they were completely isolated.

Lepers had to live outside of town and announce themselves as “Unclean!” if anyone approached them (Lev. 13:45). They were banned from temple worship and they were despised by society, condemned to a life of solitude and loneliness.

It makes pink eye look like a walk in the park.

Despite this, the leper in today’s gospel approached Jesus with radical faith, calling him Lord, and asking him to make him clean. He recognized Christ as a healer and had the eyes of faith to know that the Lord could make him clean and transform his life. The leper put himself at incredible risk to do this. He could have been further ridiculed, he could have gotten in trouble with the law for approaching Christ. But he did it anyway.

And Jesus touched the man. This would have shocked the leper, the disciples, the crowd, the people of the town, and the rabbis and priests who adhered strictly to Mosaic Law. He reached with compassion into this man’s darkness and uncleanliness and touched him. That leper probably had not been touched in years, but it was Christ that broke the cycle and made him clean.

What Jesus does in today’s reading is not for the sake of his glory, but for the sake of the man, his beloved child whom he wanted to alleviate suffering from. He does it purely out of love for the man.

The leper was healed for two reasons: because of his incredible faith in Christ and because of Christ’s merciful love for him. In his story, we are reminded to have a strong faith in him and to be unafraid to break the barriers that keep us from serving those in need, especially the marginalized, the sick, and the poor.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannhcrites.com/.

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St. Stephen’s Martyrdom

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After celebrating the glorious day of Christ’s birth, the liturgical calendar remembers Saint Stephen, one of the first converts to the Catholic faith and first of many to give their lives in the name of Christ. It’s a sudden and stark contrast between the two feasts, but in that, we see the divine power of Christ and his ability to transform even the hardest of hearts. In the narrative of St. Stephen’s martyrdom, we are introduced to Saul, a ruthless persecutor on a mission to destroy the young church.

However, a few chapters later, we see Saul’s dramatic conversion on the road to Damasus, which was a launching point for him to eventually become one of the most influential saints in all of Christianity. There is no question that Saint Stephen’s Martyrdom had a profound impact on Paul, not only in the fact that he witnessed his death first hand but because of the grace and forgiveness that Stephen asked of God for his executioners.

Saint Stephen is a perfect imitation of Christ. He, like Christ, died praying for his executioners. He did not compromise his faith out of fear of being rebuked and killed. He stood firm in his faith and shared the gospel until his last breath. He didn’t do it because he knew that Saul’s heart would change; he didn’t do it because he knew that his name would forever be known by generations of Christians after him. He did it because he had a profound and deep love for Christ and understood in the depths of his soul that Christ is where salvation is found.

We are fortunate to live in a time and place where we are not killed for proclaiming the name of Christ, but how often are we hesitant to even mention his name for fear of social martyrdom? How often do we fear our family and friends turning their backs towards us because we spoke the truth of the gospel and our culture’s failure to live it?

We know the church’s teaching on marriage, sexuality, life, immigration, and more, but we avoid telling those we interact with about the truth of these issues for fear of being called “intolerant” and “judgmental.” Little do we know that even when we stand firm in our beliefs, God could be working in the hearts of our persecutors just like he worked in the heart of Saul.

Pray today for the intercession of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Let him be your guide as we approach the new year to stand firm and true to the teaching of Christ and the Church and remember to continually pray for those who persecute you because you stood firm in the name of the Lord.

Saints Stephen and Paul, pray for us.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannahcrites.wordpress.com/.

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Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

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Today, our blessed mother Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the greatest Marian feasts of the year, but also one of the most widely misunderstood.

In the gospel today, we read about the angel Gabriel coming to Mary to deliver the blessed news that she will be the mother of God. Because of this, there may be confusion as to whose conception we are talking about, Jesus or Mary.

The Immaculate Conception refers to Mary’s conception in her mother’s womb. Nine months from today, we will celebrate her birthday. But, if we are celebrating Mary’s conception, why are we reading about the Annunciation today?

The church in her wisdom assigns these readings to the mass in part because of the way that St. Gabriel greets Mary, “Hail, full of Grace, the Lord is with you!” This, of course, is the first part of the Hail Mary, which we pray often as Catholics.

But what does that mean?

The Greek translation for “full of grace” that Luke writes in his gospel is kecharitomene and it is the only time that this word is used in the New Testament. The full translation refers to an action that was completed in the past that has relevance to the present. The angel is literally saying in his greeting, “Hail you who have been perfected in grace (or transformed in grace) as an action completed in the past but with relevance to now.”

Understandably, we can’t fit that whole translation into the Hail Mary. But what action is the angel referring to?

Obviously, the immaculate conception; Mary’s total and complete immunity from sin from the moment of her creation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that in order for Mary to accept her vocation as the Mother of God, “it was necessary that she be wholly borne by God’s grace” (CCC 490). Mary was saved by the merits of Jesus Christ on the cross. She was given a preventative medicine of sorts which saved her from sin, unlike the rest of us who are forgiven from our sins by virtue of the crucifixion and our baptism.

We have to understand what sin is and the Lord’s declaration in our first reading in order to understand why it was necessary for Mary to be immaculately conceived.

“Immaculate” means without stain and sin stains, especially original sin, which we read about in our first reading. Sin separates us from God and is a failure on our part to love God. It sets us against him. Therefore, it would make no sense for his mother to be separated from God, especially because there is nothing more intimate and united than a mother and her child in utero. In order for God to come and rescue us from ourselves, it is fitting for him to be born of a woman removed from all sin, including that original stain. She is the new Eve in Christ’s new creation.

We see this in our first readings. In Genesis 3:15, God is speaking to Satan following Adam and Eve’s disobedience. He says, “I will put enmity between you and the woman and your seed and her seed. He will crust your head and you shall lie in wait for his heel.”

Satan’s seed is sin. The woman (although initially Eve) must be Mary. Mary alone gives birth to the seed who is Jesus, no one else does that. Biologically speaking, a woman doesn’t carry a seed, only a man does, which he gives to a woman in the marital embrace. So, when the Lord says a woman’s seed, we can assume that he’s referring to the miraculous conception that is Christ in Mary’s womb.

The Lord also declares a radical, absolute, and complete separation (enmity) between Satan and Mary. Pope Pius IX said that if Mary had any sin, her enmity with Satan would not be absolute.

On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, remember the Lord’s saving power and enduring love. Give thanks for the miracle of Mary’s conception, which reminds us that with God, nothing is impossible.

 O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written at https://hannahcrites.wordpress.com/

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Fishers of Men

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Today, we celebrate the Feast of Saint Andrew, an apostle of Christ. In the readings, we see Saint Andrew called from his father’s boat along with his more celebrated brother, Saint Peter, and the sons of Thunder, Saints James and John.

Though his role is seemingly insignificant compared to his brother, according to the Gospel of St. John, St. Andrew is one of the first evangelists, and without his witness, the gospels would have played out very differently. As a follower of St. John the Baptist, St. Andrew met Jesus early in his public ministry and led a very important convert to him:

“John was standing with two of his disciples. He looked at Jesus as he walked and said, ‘Behold the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus… One of the two who heard John speak, and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah.’” (John 1:35-37, 40-41)

St. Andrew’s witness touched St. Peter so deeply, that when Christ came to their boats and invited them to follow him in the Gospel of St. Matthew, they dropped their nets without hesitation. Once that decision was made, there was no turning back. Their faith is admirable and it’s all thanks to St. Andrew’s initial witness.

The passage is very simple, but there is incredible beauty in their obedience and trust in the Lord when he tells them, “Come after me.”

God’s transforming power is on full display in the calling of Saints Andrew, Peter, James, and John. They started as simple, humble fishermen who toiled every day on the Sea of Galilee as their fathers did, and likely as their fathers did before them. But the Lord called them to a deeper purpose and made them a promise that they will become, “fishers of men.” He called them to become instruments through which God would gather people into himself.

It was a call that Saint Andrew carried with him through present day Turkey and Russia. In the end, like Saint Peter, he was arrested and crucified, but refused to die in the same way that the Lord had died. Saint Peter was crucified upside down. Saint Andrew was crucified on an X- shaped cross.

Let’s ponder Saint Andrew’s life and how we can imitate him. As a Christian, you know in the depths of your soul that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who comes to save. Who has given you a profound witness to the power of Christ that left you inspired to follow him? How willing are you to share the truth of Christ with those whom you love?

Saint Andrew, the Apostle. Pray for us.

Hannah Crites is a native to Denver Colorado and graduate of Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has written for numerous publications and blogs including the Chastity Project, Washington Times, Faith & Culture: The Journal of the Augustine Institute, and Franciscan Magazine. She is currently working in content and digital marketing for a small web development and digital marketing agency. Connect with her through Twitter (@hannah_crites) and Facebook. Check out more of what she has written here.