Feb 3 Blaise

John and Thommy


Good morning
I love you

Saturday morning prayer with you through the feasts…. Written for us, for me, for later as well [bloggable too.]

February 3 St Blaise d. 4th c.

Two candles are blessed, crossed, pressed against our throat, and the priest says the blessing [nowadays we even have a line of lay ministers across the front of the sanctuary instead of the two or three or five priests of the parish. I do not remember a year when my throat has not been blessed. Before grammar school I remember my mother’s taking me with her. Of course in grammar school – a couple of times the priest would come around the school and do it in our classrooms; other times, we’d go to Mass. Time, how we use our time. The message of our use of time. [maybe that 8 hr drive is meaningless. I don’t think so.]
Nowadays, the blessing is even done on the Sunday when people come to mass – make it convenient, of course; don’t expect a sacrifice?.... farbeit from me to judge….

Blaise.
The proximate story of Blaise’s life is an 8th c. version. Blaise was born into a rich, noble family. He was raised a Christian. [in 8th c. Christian = Catholic; and, in Armenia, not the popular religion, especially of the nobility. To be a family of Catholics in Greensboro, noble or not, is to be in a minority – to be a Catholic in a not Catholic house is to be a greater minority; much greater.]

Blaise priest and bishop. A boy was brought to him who had a fishbone stuck in his throat – see, bishops were also healers [are?]. the boy was about to die when Blaise healed him…. Imagine what that did to attendance at Mass 

Blaise was elected bishop of Sebasta. Soon thereafter a persecution began. Blaise escaped the persecution – to live and serve another day as well as by survival witnessing to the persistence of God’s love for us and the righteousness of our faith and religion.

Hunters found a cave surrounded by sick wild animals. Blaise walked among the animals curing them. There’s the succinctness of the miracles and the legend of holiness of the man of God. Of course, we can give a non-miraculous version which in the life of Blaise and the impact of the story would be no less miraculous.

The Hunters recognized the fugitive bishop, captured him, and brought him back to trial. On the way, Blaize persuaded a wolf to release a pig that belonged to a poor woman. When Blaise was sentenced to be starved to death… the woman sneaked into the prison with food and candles. The governor changed his mind. He decided not to wait for the starvation to work; he executed Blaise – because he was Catholic, because he professed a faith that was anathema to the governor. When your governors are threatened by your faith and religion they will first try to get you to reject it, to stop living it [that seems to have worked for them for now]; when your faith rejuvenates, they will try to suppress it again and again, not because the faith is wrong or your choice bad but because the message to them of your living the faith is a repudiation of their way of life…. Return strengthen in and with faith.

I love you
dad