Sep 17 - Homily for Today

+ Born at Montepulciano, Italy, on October 4, 1542, St. Robert Bellarmine was the third of ten children. His mother, a niece of Pope Marcellus II was dedicated to almsgiving, prayer, meditation, fasting, and mortification.

Robert entered the newly formed Society of Jesus in 1560 and after his ordination went on to teach at Louvain, where he became famous for his Latin sermons.

In 1576, the Saint was appointed to the chair of Controversial Theology at the Roman College, becoming rector in 1592; he went on to become Provincial of Naples in 1594, and Cardinal in 1598.

He defended the Apostolic See against the anti-clericals in Venice and against the political tenets of James I of England. He composed an exhaustive apologetic work against the prevailing heresies of his day. In the field of Church-State relations, he took a position based on principles now regarded as fundamentally democratic – authority originates with God, but is vested in people, who entrust it to fit rulers.

This Saint was the spiritual father of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, helped St. Francis de Sales obtain formal approval of the Visitation Order, and in his prudence opposed severe action in the case of Galileo. He has left many important writings, including works of devotion and instruction, as well as controversy. He died in 1621, was canonized in 1930 by Pope Pius XI and name a Doctor in 1931 by the same pontiff.

The gospel passage today fits the feast: St. Robert was a prime example of one who took in the Word of God and his words – guarded, protected, and celebrated them, pondered on them and devised ways for himself and others to put them into practice. He bore fruit – from his labors – a hundred-fold.

And that fruit – the genius of his rhetoric and persuasive preaching was a dominating force in the Catholic Counter-Reformation that was in full play at the time.

He believed, as we are invited to, that knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom, can be granted to those who seek it, ask for it – and open the doors of their hearts to let it in.

May we hear the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance!