FEAST OF ST CASIMIR OF POLAND.
"Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the Lord had brought victory to Aram.
“But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife. “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,” she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”
Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said. “Go,” said the king of Aram. “I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”
“So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments. To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.”
When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”
When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: “Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel.”
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“But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the Lord his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left.
“But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” (2 Kings 5: 1 - 5).
Monday 4th March 2024, in 3rd Week in Lent is the feast of St Casimir (1458 - 1484).
Son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Lithuania. Casimir stayed away from the court life. His siblings, the princes and princesses were not interested in religion. His faith and piety shone out. Casimir had a great devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Casimir is the patron saint of Poland.
Our key Scripture for today touches on the profundity of how God works in the world otherwise called the Divine Providence or Divine Plan, Design, Blueprint. Naaman the the Syrian shows the operation of Divine Providence.
"Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram." 2 Kings 5: 1). Naaman was a top General and a very capable military leader, valued highly by his king.
His leprosy did not threaten his career. Yet he wanted to get rid of the accursed disease by any means. With the backing of his king, he traveled to Israel in search of healing. God's mercy smiled upon him and he was healed by the Prophet Elisha. Read of the gold, silver, expensive garments Naaman brought for thanksgiving.
As I reflect on the story of Naaman and the scripture from Isaiah 55: 10-11, my mind is taken to the seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Matrimony, Holy Orders and Anointing of the Sick. They are described as outward signs that convey inward grace. The more realistic description might be: “simplistic and ridiculous signs that claim to accomplish mighty things.
BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, EUCHARIST PENANCE, MATRIMONY, HOLY ORDERS AND ANOINTING OF THE SICK. THESE 7 SACRAMENTS ARE OUTWARD SIGNS THAT CONVEY INWARD GRACE.
THE HEALING OF NAAMAN THE LEPER FORESHADOWS THE SACRAMENTS. NAAMAN BATH IN THE RIVER JORDAN AT FIRST APPEARED A RIDICULOUS SIGN. BUT IT ACCOMPLISHED MIGHTY HEALING. OUR FAITH CONTAINS OUR OBEDIENCE.
St Joseph is the man chosen by God to be the foster father and guardian of Jesus.
Joseph is a man of high purity and chastity. God chose him to be the husband of Mary because God had fitted him with the appropriate graces to protect the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Church considers St Joseph the greatest Saint after the Blessed Virgin Mary. Joseph is so fittingly named the Patron of the Universal Church. Remember that he was the Guardian of Jesus and in his intercessory role, you can believe that Jesus will deny nothing to Joseph.
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