🕊️Anthony Mary Claret was born in Sallent, near Barcelona, on December 23, 1807. Initially a textile worker at his father's request, he felt the Lord's call to a higher life and was ordained in 1835. Believing he had a vocation for the apostolate among the infidels, he went to Rome, but Divine Providence led him back to his homeland to be a missionary preacher. With ardent zeal, he traveled throughout Catalonia and the Canary Islands, converting countless souls through his powerful words and deep piety, while also writing many books of spiritual edification. In 1849, he founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians). In the same year, he was appointed Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, where, amidst intense pastoral work, he also founded the Institute of the Teaching Sisters of Mary Immaculate. He returned to Spain in 1857 to be the confessor to Queen Isabella II, whom he accompanied into exile. He actively participated in the First Vatican Council, defending papal infallibility. He died in the Cistercian monastery of Fontfroide, France, on October 24, 1870, leaving a legacy of immense devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Holy Rosary. He was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950.
📜Epistle (Heb 7:23-27)
Brethren: And the others indeed were made many priests, because by reason of death they were not suffered to continue: But Jesus, for that he continueth for ever, hath an everlasting priesthood. Whereby he is able also to save for ever them that come to God by him; always living to make intercession for us. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who needeth not daily, as the other priests, to offer sacrifices first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, in offering himself, Jesus Christ our Lord.
📖Gospel (Mt 24:42-47)
At that time, Jesus said to his disciples: Watch ye, therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come. But this know ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come. Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing. Amen I say to you, he shall place him over all his goods.
✝️Reflections
🕯️Today's Gospel presents us with a direct and inescapable imperative: "Watch." This vigilance is not a passive or anxious waiting, but an active readiness, a disposition of the soul that shapes every action. The "faithful and wise servant" is one who neither postpones his conversion nor neglects his duties, for he knows that the Lord may arrive at any moment. St. Anthony Mary Claret embodied this virtue in an extraordinary way. His life was an incessant vigil, not out of fear, but out of love. Every sermon, every missionary journey, every page written, and every congregation founded was his way of "giving them meat in due season" to God's family, using every moment for the Master's glory. He understood that time is the field where eternity is sown, and he did not allow a single moment to be barren.
⛪The source of this tireless apostolic activity is revealed in the Epistle. St. Anthony did not act on his own strength but as an instrument participating in the eternal Priesthood of Christ. The reading to the Hebrews contrasts the priests of the Old Testament, whose work was interrupted by death, with Christ, the High Priest who "continueth for ever" and is "always living to make intercession for us." A bishop like Claret, a successor of the Apostles, is keenly aware that his ministry is a participation in the one Priesthood that truly saves. This truth infuses urgency and purpose into every act. St. Augustine, reflecting on the weight of the episcopate, expresses this duality of a pastor's life: "For you I am a bishop, but with you I am a Christian. The first is an office, the second a grace; the first a danger, the second salvation." (Sermon 340, 1). Claret fully lived this tension, using the danger of his office to secure his salvation and that of many, supported by the grace of being, first and foremost, a Christian redeemed by Christ.
✍️Today's liturgy, therefore, weaves an indissoluble link between the priesthood of Christ, Christian vigilance, and lived holiness. The watchfulness demanded in the Gospel is the practical response to the theological truth of the Epistle. Because we have a High Priest who offered Himself "once for all," our lives must be a continuous offering of service. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that, through Baptism, all the faithful participate in the priesthood of Christ, the so-called "common priesthood" (CCC 1268). We are called to make our lives a "spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God" (1 Peter 2:5). St. Anthony Mary Claret, with his ministerial priesthood, is a shining example for all. Whether in the ministerial or the common priesthood, the lesson is the same: to be found "so doing," faithfully administering the gifts God has entrusted to us, so that at the Lord's coming, He may find us distributing the bread of charity, truth, and hope to His family.
🔗See English version of the critical articles here.
