Category: Catholicism

Polycarp – Something I didn’t initially notice…

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I was looking at my post from a couple of days ago and noticed something about the icon of Polycarp that I didn’t initially notice…

If you look carefully, you will see on the left the emblem of a bird, peaking out from underneath Polycarp’s robes. I believe this bird is the Phoenix. If you don’t know the mythology surrounding the Phoenix, it is described in the letter of St. Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (96 AD):

“Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years.

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You must become like children…

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There are many words of Jesus to which I find myself returning time and again, finding in them yet another dimension οr shade of meaning. Today I would like to share with you a little “God moment” I had last week related to a certain passage of Scripture.

Recently, I had a few days vacation in Las Vegas. A friend of mine from England was visiting Arizona and we agreed to meet in Las Vegas since it’s sort-of-but-not-really half way between Phoenix and San Diego. This was my first time visiting Las Vegas. Hopefully I’ll write about my impressions of that city sometime soon but, for now, I would just like to share something that happened on the last day.

Now, I’m pretty sure Hell will be hotter than Nevada, although I don’t exactly see how that’s possible! Man, it was baking! Since the weather was like an oven, we decided to take it easy on our final day and just hang out at the hotel’s pool for a little while…

While I was sunbathing I saw a father and his little girl playing in the pool. The child would climb out of the pool and, with a huge grin and cheeky laugh, she would jump into the pool, into the parent’s waiting arms.

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Parallel Consequences

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Unanswered Questions

Yesterday I outlined the various parallels which can be found between Jesus’ Passion and Polycarp’s Martyrdom. I ended the entry by asking:

“But what does this all mean? Why are there these similarities between the deaths of Jesus and Polycarp?”

The martyrdom account itself ascribes these similarities to the providence of God:

“By almost every step that led up to Polycarp’s martyrdom, the Lord intended to show us anew the type of martyrdom narrated in the Gospel…” – Mart. Pol., 1.1

But that then raises the question: why might God wish to present to His Church a death like that of Christ?

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Polycarp Parallels

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In the introduction to the Martyrdom of Polycarp, the author tells us that “By almost every step that led up to Polycarp’s martyrdom, the Lord intended to show us anew the type of martyrdom narrated in the Gospel” (Mart. Pol 2.1).

We’re currently working our way through this martyrdom account in the JP2 Group so I thought I’d put together a post highlighting all the parallels I’ve found between Jesus’ death and Polycarp’s witness (martyrdom) to his Lord.

The full text and audio of the Martyrdom is available here.

Some of these parallels are much stronger than others (I put a star rating next to each one of them). In many ways, the fact that there are many inexact parallels actually adds to the credibility of the martyrdom account. Were it fabricated, one would expect the parallels to be “tidied up” a bit more and closer to that of our account of Jesus’ Passion.

Both foretold their deaths (Rating: *****)
In the Martyrdom of Polycarp, after seeing a vision of his pillow aflame, Polycarp turns to his companions and states “I must be burnt alive” (Mart. Pol 5.2). Jesus, likewise, foretold his own death saying “We are going up to Jerusalem, and [I]  will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will…hand [me] over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified” (Matt 20:18-19).

Both were betrayed (Rating: **)
Jesus was betrayed, of course, by Judas (Matt. 26:15). The author of the Martyrdom points out that “those who betrayed [Polycarp] were of his own household” and directly compares the betrayer to Judas (Mart. Pol 6.2). Both betrayers accompany the arresting party. However, I can’t help but think that this comparison is a little unfair. Polycarp’s betrayal was neither malicious nor for profit. The slave didn’t reveal Polycarp’s location until he had suffered abuse at the hands of the policemen. In fact, you might call this a “tortured” parallel… 😉

Both begin in an upper room (Rating: *)
When the police arrive for Polycarp he’s in the “upper room of a certain little house” (Mart. Pol. 7.1). Jesus’ Passion was preceded by the Last Supper held also in an Upper Room (Luke 22:12).

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Saints and Sense Of Humour

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I spent the last few days in Vegas on vacation so I’ve been catching up with my blog reading and found that, a couple of days ago, Joe Heschmeyer from Shameless Popery wrote a great post entitled Preparing Ourselves as Tabernacles For The Lord. This is a subject related to my post below. I began writing this entry about a month ago and scheduled it for publishing today – I’m not copying you Joe, honest!

A couple of weeks ago it was the feast day of St. Philip Neri.

Philip was born in Florence in 1515. At about the age of eighteen he experienced a deep conversion of heart and moved to Rome with no money or plan, but simply trusted in God’s providence. He worked for two years as a live-in tutor, but otherwise led a simple life of solitude and prayer.

He studied Philosophy and Theology for about three years but then brought his studies to an abrupt close. He launched a mission to the people of Rome, which was fortunate since, at that time, both the people and the Church of Rome were in a particularly shabby spiritual state.

There are many praiseworthy aspects of Philip’s life which are worth sharing, but the episode I would like to recount here is one which demonstrates his rather cheeky sense of humour…

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Lila Rose’s Story

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I’m sure a lot of you have heard of Lila Rose, the young lady who has caused some real waves in the abortion debate and has become, I’m sure, a real thorn in the side of Planned Parenthood. However, not all of you may be aware of the story of her conversion. To hear it, please click on the link below…

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