26th Sunday After Pentecost

Great Martyr Catherine

Afterfeast of Entry of Theotokos into the Temple

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ… today we have presented before us the examples of three remarkable women. Women whose lives provide illustrations for us of: 1) the condition of mankind and the restoration provided by Christ; 2) the seductions of the world and the courage of a martyr; and 3) the spiritual nourishment and formation provided for us in the Temple of both the Church and in the Temple of our soul.

We heard in today’s Gospel about a woman who bore her infirmity for eighteen years - a sickness which caused her to be stooped over so that she could not even straighten up, but was forced to live out her life bent over with her eyes fixed toward the ground.

Isn’t this a powerful metaphor for the spiritual condition of mankind? Through the influence and the weight of sin, our spiritual infirmities cause us to stoop over so that, after some time, we can hardly even raise our eyes toward heaven… we can only see the dirt below us and can no longer see the reality of the beauty that surrounds us and the heavens above. As long as our posture and our eyes are fixed downward, we become wholly preoccupied with the cares and concerns of this world and by the attractions and false promises of temptation and sin.

But, just as Christ had compassion upon the woman in today’s Gospel and called out to her: ‘Be loosed from your infirmity!’ – so too does He call out to us be healed and freed from our spiritual infirmities which distort us. His grace heals us and enables us to stand upright, to reach the full measure of what it means to be a child of God, to broaden our vision beyond just the things of this world and to see them in the perspective of the heavenly kingdom. May God grant us the humility and the wisdom to hear His healing voice calling us to be loosed from our infirmities!

            Our second example today is the wondrous great martyr Catherine of Alexandria. St Catherine lived in the latter part of the 3rd century. She was born into a wealthy pagan family and received the best education of that time. She was unsurpassed in both beauty and intelligence, and many suitors wished to take her hand in marriage. But Catherine refused them all… vowing that she would only have a man who exceeded her in all good traits. Her mother, who was a secret Christian, sent Catherine to her spiritual father for guidance. He immediately understood that the wise girl’s heart would be won over by Jesus Christ. He told her that he knew of a wondrous Youth Who surpassed her by far in all her talents and gifts. By birth He was higher than any emperor or king; His wisdom was above understanding; His wealth was spread throughout the world, and His beauty outshone the very sun. Catherine was delighted and intrigued. The wise elder gave Catherine an icon of the Mother of God holding the Christ Child and instructed her to take it home and to pray. After praying fervently that night, St. Catherine fell asleep and saw in her dream the Virgin and Child – however, the Child’s face was turned away from her and He declared that she must change her pagan ways. Catherine was deeply moved and sought instruction from the elder and was later baptized. Following her baptism, she again saw the Holy Virgin in a dream; this time the Christ Child was smiling at her with love and tenderness and said that He would now be ‘the Bridegroom of her soul.’ As a sign of His love and mercy, He placed a ring on the finger of her right hand. When St. Katherine awoke, she found the ring on her finger!

            Catherine became a fervent and devout Christian. Many, including the Emperor Maximian, continued to try to seduce her with promises of great wealth and prestige, if only she would bow down before the pagan gods – but Catherine was unshakable in her love for the Christ. Seizing her, they devised a means of torture which was truly demonically inspired. Catherine was to be strapped down between four huge, spiked wheels – two would turn to the right and two to the left, slowly tearing her body to shreds. It took three days to build. When St. Catherine was shown the monstrous construction, she turned to her tormentors and said: ‘Why do you waste your time? I have told you, I believe in Christ.’ She was immediately tied down between the wheels, but before they could be turned, an angel appeared and freed her bonds. The wheels shattered into bits, striking dead many unbelievers who were watching. Others, seeing this astonishing miracle, cried out: ‘Great is the God of the Christians!’

            Catherine’s faith could not be broken… she was finally beheaded, thus fully giving up her life for her beloved Bridegroom, Christ our Lord. Through the prayers of St Catherine, may we have even a fraction of her courage and determination to remain faithful to Christ our God!

            And finally, we have the example of she who is more honorable than the Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim – our most holy lady the Virgin Mother of God. We are celebrating the feast of her Entry into the Temple of the Lord.

When the blessed Virgin was just three years old, her parents Joachim and Anna brought her to the Temple in order to fulfill their vow of dedicating her in service to God. The young Mary was placed on the bottom step leading up to the Temple, and in a manner beyond her years, she confidently ascended the fifteen steps leading up to the Temple and presented herself to the High Priest. The High Priest, Zechariah, inspired by the grace of God, led her directly into the Holy of Holies – a place where only the High Priest could enter, and then, only once a year. The young Virgin remained in the Temple… living there and being protected and formed in that holy place, attended by angels, and communing with God Who watched over her purity and saw to her physical and spiritual maturation until she reached the age when she was taken into the care of her aged relative Joseph and awaited the announcement of Gabriel that she would give birth to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, this image of the Mother of God entering into the Temple is a powerful illustration for us of the importance for us to seek refuge in both the Temple of the Church and also in the Temple of our soul, wherein we may grow in spiritual maturity and wherein we may encounter the living God. Let us zealously seek to reverently stand before God in the beauty of His Holy Church as often as we can. And let us daily be conscious of the beauty of that interior Temple which God has promised to His Christian children… that Kingdom of Heaven within us. May we know it, may we work to adorn it with the gold and silver of virtues, and may we abide there in all reverence and piety – sheltered from the storms of life and of temptations, being formed there by God so that we may be loosed from our infirmities, standing tall and courageous as grateful brides of the Heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ our Lord.