Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:00:06 Well touring his kingdom as a close of a century, Charlemagne found himself in the town of apt to the South of France. He was there during the dedication of the church. He had one of his notaries describe the remarkable events that day in the letter, which still exists that he addressed to Pope Saint Leo. The third, the church had been built on the side of an ancient chapel besides Charlemagne and his party. There was a huge crowd of Nova man. There were clergy people they're all present there for the rededication of the church. And this included a 14 year old boy named John. Could've been deaf, dumb and blind since birth. He's a son of a local nobleman during the ceremonies. John suddenly got up, walked up onto the altar with his walking stick. He began to bang his stick over and over and over again on one of the steps of the altar.
Speaker 1 00:01:08 Obviously whacking a step during the ceremonies caused quite a disturbance during such a song thing. They tried to drag John off. As soon as it get him seated down, he'd come back up and keep laughing that same step and they can sign that they should dig. There was Charlemagne ponder. Daddy's pretty amazed and impressed by the action of it's young, deaf, dumb, and blind man. It kept going to the same place and doing the same thing over and over again. So much so that after mass, he commanded that the step that John had been lacking, he lifted up to see what might be beneath him. So work when soon lifted up the author step, as well as the huge stones that lay immediately underneath it. And everyone's amazement as they started moving these huge stones, they began to uncover a door.
Speaker 1 00:01:58 And where did the door lead? When they opened it up? There was an ancient stairway descending down before their eyes. Where did the stairway go down to the crypt of the ancient church in which mass had been sin said centuries before, during the times of the Roman persecution, it led down into that underground church. When the door was open, John who by this time was hanging on to Charlemagne his hand could barely have yours changed. He started pulling forward as if he could see where he was going. In spite of the fact he's deaf, dumb and blind. He's pulling him and Charlemagne gave voices to the crowd should be held back. And then he allowed John to lead him down the stairs, John Mudd shone and gone into the crypt and then over to a wall. And he began whacking on that wall with his stick again, over and over against the Charlene, got the work in there and they pulled away that section of wall.
Speaker 1 00:02:52 And when they did uncover a long dark passageway, here's this narrow passageway that had been hidden behind that wall. So John might Charlemagne his companions down that passageway. And at the end of that passage way, they came to another crypt where there's a Walden niche into their greatest garnishment in front of this niche was a burning vigil lamp. Now think about that. You can imagine how Scottish that is. You just uplifted up the author. Step removed. All these stones, uncovered the door, gone down into it, taken out another wall, and then you get back there here's a candle burning in the underground like that. Burning vigilant. You've had a deaf dumb and blind boy lead you and uncovered. I took Barry door to a buried crypt through a wall and back to his Walden niche with the Bernie vigil app. And the whole crypt is filled with this honor, if we heavenly glow.
Speaker 1 00:03:52 So they're standing there pondering all these things. When all of a sudden the vigil lamp went out at the very moment, the lamp went out, John racks, they received his sight, his hearing and the gift of speech. This boy that had been deaf, dumb and blind since birth could suddenly see, you could hear him speak. And his very first words were, and she did. She Charlemagne didn't have the slice notion what he was talking about, but he started repeating the words and the people repeating them down the tunnel. And then all the way up above and everybody fell to their knees. What was going on? Everyone's saying it is she, but who is she? Locals actually knew who she was. They knew she was somewhere under the church. They knew that after the Roman persecution, when the barbarians had began to swarm over that region, she'd been carefully hidden for safekeeping for many, many centuries, but they hadn't known where she was.
Speaker 1 00:05:00 We'll find father, but who is she with? Charlemagne had the workers open up this little walled in niche. And as soon as he began opening it, the air filled with this beautiful smell, like an Oriental incense, this sweet smell. And they could see laying there in the recess, a wooden casket, a Cypress casket was laying there. They took out the casket and they opened it up. Here's this beautiful Oriental cloth wrapped around relics. And then the relics, there's an inscription. Okay. Inscription read here lies the body of Saint Anne. The mother of the glorious Virgin Mary, the relics of Saint Anne had been there. Actually we discovered that's the relics of the mother of the mother of God. That's the relics of God's grandma, the woman and whose womb iNaCA conception had been immaculately conceived, Saint Anne, whose feast day. We celebrate this past Tuesday to Charlotte.
Speaker 1 00:06:07 All those present spent a long time and its knees in prayer and venerated, the Holy relics, which had been still amazingly discovered for three days. The people that who were struck by the great mercy that God has shown him. And he's miracles kept a reverential silence, which to me in itself is as great a miracle as the rest. If you can imagine a town being very quiet and only speaking when necessary, and then only in whispers Charlemagne had an exact narrative of these events drawn up by one of his notaries and a copy sent the Pope Saint Leo, the third with the Royal seal and this letter and the pulse reply still exist. Okay, fine. There's a part of the story missing here. It's just, how did st. Anne's relics end up in Southern France in the first place after all? It's not exactly a hop, skip, and a jump from the Holy land to the South of France.
Speaker 1 00:07:02 How did they end up there? They were shipped there. How did that happen? That, and also it's an interesting story. We know it from tradition as well as divine liturgy. In fact, pretty just read about this on Friday and their Breviary. There's a brief version of the story in the Roman Breviary, it's also scattered throughout the road martyrology and we know it from stories from sacred tradition. What happened was this after sanction of our Lord and st. Stephen's martyrdom in about the year 47 during the persecution of the Catholics, by the Jews, the Jews captured a whole group of Catholics, well known prominent Catholics and stuffed down into a boat without sales or oars or Rutter had pushed it out to see a Tammy of course, that everyone on board would die. But instead, this crippled death boat were actually landed with everybody safe and healthy all the way on the other end of the Mediterranean sea in the South of France, everybody climbs out healthy and safe on board.
Speaker 1 00:08:04 They had the relics of st Anne's. So that's how I've seen it and got to Southern France. As you can easily imagine the rival of LA Salle, this rudderless or less boat from the far stretches of the ocean with a cargo of healthy people on board made quite an impression of the local population of pigs as a pretty, very for July 29th States, quote, by means of this miracle and the preaching of the Catholics. The people of Marsay, the surrounding regions were converted to Christ close quote. So besides the relics of st Anne, who else was on the ship while on the desk belt was st maximin news. He's one of the 72 disciples of our Lord. Remember, after our Lord chose to call apostles, then he chose the 72 disciples. He sent him before him two by two anyway, st. Maximina. So as a Bishop and one of the 72 disciples, and he was stuffed a boat, he wound up being the first Bishop of what's not I friends along with the <inaudible>, who is the man born?
Speaker 1 00:09:02 Brian from Perth. We read about him at st. John's gospel and chapter nine. It's the Lord where Lord does a miracle very much like the miracle he did today in st. Mark's gospel. He gives him side by making mud with spitting and lining his eyes with it. Okay. And then remember he is reporting to the priest and then you're, you know, this man does center. How could that happen? Okay. That just takes it audience. After the session States Udonis was baptized by the apostles. And he's the companion seat next to Indians say to Donius was the coagulative Bishop of st. Max Natus deny and wound up buried next to him in the South of France. Okay. Who else is on that boat? Another Saint whose feast we celebrated last week on the 22nd of July notorious center, but seven devils to monocular, which stayed at the foot of the cross guy Lord's passion, death.
Speaker 1 00:09:50 And who was the first public witness of our Lord's resurrection, Saint Mary Magdalene, st. Peter had entrusted st. Mary Macklin to st. Maxine minutes. He was supposed to take care of her. So she wound on board, this test ship as well, the father's state, but after reaching Southern France, Marsay and miss Ronnie whole province was converted from paganism. By the force of Saint Mary Magdalene's preachy. She spent the rest of her life as it contemplative. She lived for 30 years in a cave in the mountains, praying and doing pennants like Saint Catherine of San and st go <inaudible>. Her only food was the most blessed sacrament. What the Holy angels would bring to her every day. That's what she lived on. Jessica before she died, the Holy angels brought her to st. Maxine's chapel. God takes care of his friends. And st. Maxine is gave her the last rights, buried her there.
Speaker 1 00:10:44 And you're seven 10. When the Saracens invaded, her relics were hidden away by the monks. And they remained hidden until the rediscovery of in the 13th century. They're confirmed to be authentic relative relics of st. Mary Magdalen, by Pope Boniface, the eighth, they'd taken a part of her job on incentive to the ladder. And then after it came, they rediscovered them to make sure they took the ladder in trouble. They fit in exact, you know, the piece of missing Joe and whatnot. So they knew it was st. Mary Madeline. Okay. So who else was on a desk boat? Saint Mary Magdalene's brother, Saint Lazarus. Saint Lazarus became the first Bishop of Marsay. And after the conversion of his people from paganism, he ruled the church at peace, his feast day, which is the same as saying that day of his death is December 17th as the Roman martyrology says for that day.
Speaker 1 00:11:30 And the Roman mythology is this liturgical book that we read every day during prime. It contains a list of the martyrs and the saints for that particular day of the calendar year, December 17th, it says, quote Marsanne France. Bless it. Lazarus, Bishop, brother of Saint Mary Magdalen, and Martha of whom we read in the gospel that our Lord called him his friend, and raised him from the dead close quote, the Roman martyrology. Okay. So who else was on the Tesco? Another Saint whose feast? We celebrated just two days ago on Friday. It's the sister of Saint Lazarus in st. Mary Magdalene, the Holy Virgin Saint Marsa. After getting permission from st. Max news, Saint Monica devoted herself to life of fasting and prayer. Eventually she gathered a large congregation of other women around her to sing the Psalms and fast and pray what we would nowadays call a convent.
Speaker 1 00:12:21 And her relics are found Kara Scott in Southern France. So, anyway, today we've learned a little bit more about Marston Mary Magdalen Lazarus and how God brought the toothpaste and the rocks and stain, and just said in France about how God brought about the rediscovery of the relics of his grandma. Going back to that story, it's a perfect example of how God uses the weak things of the world to confound the wise. God wanted to rekindle devotion to his grandma by uncovering her relics once more. So how did he do it right in the presence of the Holy Roman emperor, the greatest military leader in the world and the presence, all the great warriors, all these noble men, all these big shots, the bishops and the clergy and the priests and the religious, all these faithful men and women in the face, all the high and mighty the world who did God choose a 14 year old. Who's been deaf, dumb, and blind from birth. All right, those are physical problems, but we can all say that about ourselves in different ways, certainly spiritually. That's the whole great thing about our religion is God will use us in spite of our different problems. If we just let him, if we dispose of herself properly, at the very least he'll do with us is make us saints. If we let him, that's why we're Catholic. He doesn't give that to everybody.
Speaker 0 00:13:54 But again, anyway,
Speaker 1 00:14:00 Since that day, some 1200 years ago, that Saint Anne got her grandson to give the gifts of sight and hearing and speech to John. She hasn't let out for a minute interceding for those who turned or when the very first chapel of Saint Anne to pray was being built in Quebec in 1658, Lukey ma who was a crippled man, while I'm expressing his devotion to Saint Anne, he wanted to get down on building this chap. All he could do is pack three small rocks to put in the foundation. So he goes hobbling up there. It takes him quite a while. He gets three small rocks. He puts him in the foundation right before everybody's eyes. He's miraculously healed just like that. Right now. There's a great Basilica in that place. And inside that Basilica, a number of miracle working relics of Saint that came from France, including part of a,
Speaker 1 00:14:56 I was a crutch. It wasn't bandages that have been left at the bottom Basilica by pilgrims. Who've been cured to the incredibly powerful intercession of God's grandma. I personally know a woman who could no longer have children. So she made a pilgrimage there, prayed for America, made it to you. Now there's three more people in the world. And the girl's name is Dan st. Anne is powerful. That's great saints and doctors of the church, Santa Gustin, st. John Donelson, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Teresa of Avila all had big devotions to st. Anne Saint Teresa Apple used to say, quote, we know and are convinced that a good mother, Saint Anne helps in all needs dangers and tribulations, close quote, among other things. She's a patroness of the childless. She used the help of the pregnant. She's said protection of widows. She's the mother of the poor, and she's the patroness of laborers.
Speaker 1 00:15:57 And that's a statue of her right there. The course was a little girl. That's our lady. When, when she's young, it's Saint Anne who we see that what she point that is his scriptures. It's a skull. Sometimes. Sometimes it's a book that traditionally, I obviously haven't climbed up there. Look, it has Isaiah 11, one, which is a prophecy about our lady on it. And she's traditionally pointing at that. So I presume that's, what's painted on there, but anyway, you can look that up on your own time. But when we see that, we ought to think about what our lady once said about Goodstein and those who honor Saint Anne will take, will receive aid in every need, especially at the hour of death. So we ought to turn to Saint Anne and bigger for help. And all our needs is God going to turn down.
Speaker 1 00:16:40 His grandma is our lady. Could, it turned down her mom piles it crushes. Give, answer to that question. What caused it? The words of Holy Abbot, who had a great devotion to st. Anne quote to Saint Anne, God has given the power to aid in every necessity because Jesus divine grandchild, according to the flesh, refuse her notification and married her glorious totter supports through every request. Those who venerate good sane and show up for nothing, either in this life or the next, believe me, if you love and venerate the Saint you esteem, how highly God esteems, you experienced her high. We got esteems her, he grants all she asks. It would be impossible to enumerate. And then he creates this. She obtains daily for her servants, close quote to Saint Anne. God has given the power to in every necessity because Jesus refused her. No petition. And Mary supports, whoever you request. Those who've been right. Good. Saint Anne shall want for nothing, either in this life or in the next, if you love him then right? The same you'll experience. How highly God esteemed, sir. Good saying pray for us.
