In the columns
of the Altar of the Confession in St. Peter's Basilica one finds bees among the
leaves and flowers. There is a text of St. John Chrysostom in which he wrote:
"The bee is more honored than other animals, not because it labors, but
because it labors for others" (12th Homily). So the bees, like the clergy and religious
men and women in the Church, work unceasingly for the common good of the hive
and obey without question their superiors, and above all their queen. The bee
is also a symbol of wisdom, for it collects nectar from many flowers and turns
it into nourishing and pleasing honey, which is the 'gold' of bees. We should
do the same, take whatever we can and transform it through our labor into a
superior element useful for us and our neighbor. The symbolism of bees also signifies the way
the Church generates her spiritual fruits because bees are virginal. As the
Church gives grace through the purity of her divine Sacraments, so the bees
give us honey and wax by the labor of their bodies. This is why their wax,
considered the fruit of a virgin labor, is worthy to burn in the candles on the
altar at the offering of the Holy Sacrifice. The honey, so agreeable to the
palate, is symbolic of spiritual sweetness and religious eloquence. For this
reason, the beehive is emblematic of St. Ambrose and of St. Bernard of
Clairvaux, two Doctors whom the Church calls mellifluus and mellificuus,
that is, with an eloquence as suave and “sweet as honey.” Like charitable
Catholics, bees produce good works for their neighbor at all times by
pollinating the plants for food, beauty and air quality, so necessary for the
survival of others. The symbolism goes
on regarding the Church. Indeed, the bees work without rest and give their
lives without hesitation for the good of the hive. They are instantly and
vigorously militant against enemies of the hive. Not only the hive, but the
honey, upon which their lives depend, is also vigorously protected. When
endangered by heat, they cling to the outside of the hive and beat their wings
relentlessly to cool the hive and keep the honey from melting. Many bees die
when this happens. This is a marvelous and unique natural phenomenon that
signifies other marvelous and unique phenomena of the Catholic Church: her
militant members, her apologists and her martyrs. They gave their lives for the
good of the Church, and their blood became the seed for vibrant growth, as happened
many times in History. The bees’ survival depends upon a queen and their
unquestioning obedience and loyalty to her, just as we are all absolutely
dependent upon Our Lady, the Queen of Heaven, for our eternal salvation and our
protection from the world, the flesh and the devil. Bees instinctively observe
such a tremendous reverence for their authority that none dare leave the hive
to swarm in other pastures unless the queen has gone forth in front of them and
claimed the first rank of flight for herself. The ever-vigilant bees guard
their queen and hive - as we should guard Our Queen and our Church - to the
ultimate price, and instinctively consider it a duty to die for them ■
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario