Homily #130807b ( 08min) Play – Fr. Elias on the lives of the Franciscans Bls. Agathangelus and Cassian who went to the Copts, the Christian Egyptians, who are still schismatic to this day. They gave there lives for the cause of reuniting them, giving witness to the importance of Christian unity.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Bls. Agathangelus and Cassian – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Wednesday 18th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: num 13:1-2, 25-14:1, 26-29, 34-35
Resp: psa 106:6-7, 13-14, 21-22, 23
Gsp: mat 15:21-28

Audio (MP3)

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Ave Maria!  Pope Tawadros II has just celebrated the 50th anniversary Mass commemorating the Virgin Mary’s appearance over an Orthodox church in Zeitoun, Cairo, an apparition approved both by the Coptic Church and by the local Syrian Catholic Patriarch.

This apparition of the Virgin Mary is to this date the most public apparition in history, as over a million people of all religious backgrounds saw her at Zeitoun over the course of two years.  She was filmed and photographed by the international press, and stories ran about the apparition even in secular papers worldwide.

In his homily, Pope Tawadros II interpreted Mary’s appearance as a consolation to Egyptians on account of their recent defeat at the hands of Israel in 1967.  Other Copts have interpreted the apparition as a preparation for the fierce persecutions Christians have endured in Egypt in subsequent decades.  The Virgin Mary herself was completely silent throughout each of her mysterious but extremely public appearances at Zeitoun.

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the great apparition of Virgin Mary in in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria said that the historical event was a message of love from God to Egyptians.

The apparition of the Virgin in Egypt in 1968 was a message of condolence to all Egyptians following the defeat of the Egyptian army to Israel in June 1967, Pope Tawadros said during his speech on Thursday. “The country was in a difficult situation, but God bestowed his love on all Egyptians,” he added.

Pope Twadros illustrated that the holy virgin kept on appearing intermittingly over a period of two years, adding that her appearance in Egypt was accompanied by several miracles that were hailed and witnessed by millions around the world.

The Pope continued: “The Egyptian government then decided to allocate the land facing the church at which Virgin Mary appeared to establish a great cathedral named after her.”

Al-Zaitoun district was one of the key stops of the Holy Family’s journey.

“There are people living among us who witnessed the apparition of Virgin Mary; the church is still one of the most important and most visited places for Egyptians and tourists,” the pope concluded.

In 2011, Egypt also witnessed another remarkable sighting of the Virgin at a Coptic Orthodox Church in Warraq Island, Cairo, which came following a bomb attack that targeted the Alexandria-based Saints Church of St. Mark & Pope Peter on Christmas eve; the attack killed about 21 Copts.

Source: Egypt celebrates 50th anniversary of Virgin Mary apparition – Egypt Today

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Ave Maria!  In Egypt, high ranking Muslim government leaders joined Coptic clergy and the laity in an event honoring the Holy Family’s journey through Egypt.  This reminds me of how earlier this year, in Jordan, many Muslim government leaders joined Christian clergy at the celebration of the Feast of the Annunciation, to show solidarity and try to bring increased harmony between Christians and Muslims.

When Constantine became the Emperor of Rome, he knew a divided Christendom was against his political interest, for a divided Empire would be more unstable, so he called for the Council of Nicaea to bring unity.  The efforts of these Muslim governments to increase unity may well be motivated by a similar political interest.  In Egypt, acts of unity and solidarity like this have potential to increase peace, which of course is better for tourism, a cornerstone of the Egyptian economy.  Egypt and Jordan also are deeply involved in battling against Islamist terrorists within their own borders, and public acts showing solidarity between Christians and Muslims may help these governments to erode radical militants’ support groups.

Muslim officials’ public acts of participation in Marian Christian religious celebrations are very interesting to me, and may in part be a fruit of the prayers so many people are making for peace.

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark celebrated on Sunday the Holy Family Journey at Virgin Mary Church in Maadi district, Southern Cairo.

The national anthem was played and documentaries featuring the Holy Family Journey in Egypt were displayed.

The event was attended by the ministers of antiquities, tourism, and culture and a raft of officials, statesmen as well as ambassadors.

In his speech, Pope Tawadros II said the Holy Family settled at the location where the Virgin Mary Monastery and church were later built by the Nile, before they continued their journey in Upper Egypt passing by Assiut and Minya.

Pope Tawadros II stressed that Egypt is beautiful for its people and monuments, praising the concert and the documentary film presented by the church.

“This is a purely Egyptian celebration, which shows the richness of the country’s history, nature and culture,” he said, expressing his happiness at raising awareness among Egyptians about the journey of the Holy Family.

Source: Pope Tawadros II marks Holy Family Journey at Virgin Mary Church – Egypt Today

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Fr John Lawrence gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Aug 07, 2023, on the lives of Bls. Agathangelus and Cassian, who worked to unify Coptic Christians with Rome, and won the crown of martyrdom.

Blessed Agathangelus and Cassian, Capuchin martyrs, endeavored to unite the Ethiopian Church with the Pope. Agathangelus, born 1598 in Vendôme, France, got acquainted with Capuchins early and became a priest in 1625. He worked in Aleppo, Lebanon, to foster Catholic unity and was known as the Apostle of Lebanon. In 1633, he was sent to Egypt for a new mission.

Blessed Cassian, born in Nantes, France, aspired for martyrdom. After serving plague victims in Rennes, he joined Agathangelus in 1633 in Egypt. They aimed to merge the Copts with the Catholic Church, addressing the Monophysitism that was declared a heresy by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, when it definitively proclaimed that Christ has two natures.

Their main task was to unite the Ethiopian segment of the Coptic Church to Rome, continuing the Jesuits’ endeavors. In 1636, with endorsements from the Coptic Patriarch, they proceeded to Ethiopia. However, in 1637 they were imprisoned in Gondar due to the influence of Pierre Léon, a deceitful Lutheran monk. St. Cassian declared their Catholic faith in Amharic. Without proper tools for execution, the missionaries offered their waist cords for hanging. As they dangled, they were pelted with stones until they fell and were buried beneath. That night, a luminous column arose from the pile of stones.

Their martyrdom’s legacy persisted until the 1800s when another Capuchin, Venerable Guglielmo Massaia, uncovered their story, leading to their beatification in 1905.

00:00 – Introduction: Bls. Agathangelus & Cassian’s Mission
00:19– Life of Bl. Agathangelus
02:34 – Bl. Cassian’s Background and Calling
03:46 – The Capuchin Mission in Egypt and Ethiopia
05:19 – Journey to Ethiopia and Unexpected Captivity
06:28 – Accusations, Trial, and Martyrdom

Ave Maria!

Mass: Bls. Agathangelus and Cassian – Opt Mem – https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-agathangel-and-cassian.html
Readings: Monday 18th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/080723.cfm
1st: num 11:4-15
Resp: psa 81:12-17
Gsp: mat 14:13-21

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=692&r=1462

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