ADVENT LANTERN (daily meditations)
December 11.

The thoughts of dr. Jakubinyi György Archbishop Emeritus

Pope Damasus I (366-384) was the one to put signs in the catacombs at the graves of the martyrs. Pope Honorius I (625-638) decided to bring the bones of the martyrs to the churches of Rome. The catacombs were rediscovered in the 18th, 19th centuries whent the cult of the saints was encouraged again. George Bernanos tells the story of a hero who gets up in the trenches and starts an attack. His comrades applaud him but noone dares follow him. In Bernanos’ opinion that is how we think about saints: we venerate them but dare not follow them. We resemble the stubborn children in the parable of Jesus: we do not want to play together with the others, if it is a wedding or a funeral. We venerate the great ascetic saints or the ones that are closer to ordinary people, and yet we do not follow any of them. Let the example of the saints and their true veneration lead us to Jesus.