Ad Dominum

Blaise was a physician before being appointed as Bishop of Sebastea, Arminia (modern day Sivas, Turkey) in the early fourth century. According to sources he was martyred for the faith by being beaten, raked with iron combs, and beheaded. His intercession has been sought as the patron of throat-related illnesses since his cult developed in the Middle Ages.

Because of Blaise’s intercession for maladies of the throat, the “Blessing of Throats” is traditionally performed on his feast day (today). The blessing consists of two (unlit) candles being placed around the front of the throat while the priest/deacon/lay minister prays:

Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

The blessing, while traditionally done on this feast day, is also often offered the following weekend in many parishes so that those who cannot attend daily Mass may receive it.

The message of salvation is more than our verbal proclamation of the gospel. We must redefine evangelism to include how we live and interact with people — what it means for us to call them into God’s family to become members of God’s household. This is as important as our ability to accurately quote scriptures.

- Brenda Salter McNeil,  A Credible Witness: Reflections on Power, Evangelism and Race

According to McNeil, and many other theologians and saints, I might add, including Francis, we must use more than our words to let our new lives in Christ be known. Francis is often quoted as saying, “Preach always; if necessary, use words,” which may or may not be a direct quote, but his life clearly demonstrates that he lived that philosophy.

This past Sunday’s second reading relates:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

Our lives are the key. One hundred million words cannot equal a life well-lived. McNeal says that our “evangelism,” our witness, must include our everyday, person to person interactions with people.

St. Blaise’s great witness is not his sermons; they have all disappeared. We have none of his writings. What we do have, however, is the record of a life well-lived, and freely given, for the sake of the love of God Incarnate.

This day we pray that Blaise will intercede for our health and our voices, remembering that we must follow his saintly example and let our whole lives be our voice.

Pax et bonum.