October 2006 Archives

"There is nothing that I will not do for sinners."

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of All Saints is also the Mother of Mercy and the Refuge of Sinners. There is nothing that she will not do to help a fallen sinner rise from his sin. There is nothing that she will not do to draw a sinner to the Heart of her Son.

Though sinless from the moment of her conception, Mary is not repulsed by sinners; on the contrary, she is drawn to sinners. God has given her a Heart full of pity for sinners. Mary will pursue a sinner to the very gates of hell, pleading for him and pleading with him to stretch out his hand to hers. Only in the light of glory will we see the immense number of sinners rescued by the Mother of God and brought, by the ministrations of her mercy, to great holiness.

There are, I think, certain sinners whom it pleases Our Lord to reserve for his Mother. In some way, He entrusts them to her Heart and leaves them in her hands. Sinners who accept this particular disposition of the Mercy and Wisdom of God will necessarily become saints. In heaven they will shine with a particular glory reflected from Mary's Immaculate Heart.

This perhaps is why Saint Bernard, Saint Alphonsus, the Curé of Ars and so many other saints, when confronted with hardened sinners, abandoned them into the hands of Mary as their final recourse. What no preacher can do, what no tears can obtain, Mary does and Mary obtains. While the Blessed Virgin Mary is the Queen of All Saints, she is even more the Queen of those whom she herself delivered from bondage to sin. There is nothing in the Virgin Mary that is not wholly at the service of the Mercy of God.

I preached this homily two years ago in 2004 for All Saints Day during the Year of the Eucharist. I would want to say the very same things again this year, so I thought of sharing the text with the readers of Vultus Christi.

Communion with the saints in this life means being poor in spirit, it means living with outstretched hands, confident that He who promises the kingdom of heaven will give it according to the measure of our emptiness, and of our desire. The Eucharist is the sacrament of the hospitality of God offered freely and without measure to the poor in spirit.

Communion with the saints means weeping as the saints wept, knowing that every tear of ours is counted in heaven, and seeking, even in the midst of tears, the face of Christ the Comforter. The Eucharist is the sacrament of our comfort, the unfailing consolation of the saints.

Communion with the saints means going gently through this life, trusting that more is gained through meekness than through might. The Eucharist is the power of those without power. The Eucharist is the strength of the gentle, the triumph of the meek, the inheritance of the humble.

Communion with the saints means suffering in one’s soul hunger and thirst for the true, the beautiful, and the good, hunger and thirst for the pure joy of a right relationship with God and with others. The Eucharist is the sacrament of justice, bringing justice to every place and to every heart. It is the wellspring of righteousness, the communication of all that is true, all that is beautiful, and all that is good to those who approach it hungering and thirsting for God alone.

I have fond memories of sitting in my parish church as a lad and reading the commentary on the liturgy of All Saints Day by Pius Parsch in The Church's Year of Grace, one of my favourite books at the time. Parsch described the glory of First Vespers of All Saints with reliquaries glistening on the altar amidst clouds of incense: a foretaste of the liturgy of heaven.

Later on, in Blessed Abbot Marmion's book, Christ in His Mysteries, I read the chapter entitled, "Christ the Crown of All the Saints." Listen to what Dom Marmion says: "When we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, we ought to repeat to ourselves the words that St. Augustine heard: Cur non poteris quod isti, quod istae? What reasons have we for not tending to holiness? Oh, I know well what each one is tempted to say: 'I have such or such a difficulty, I have such or such a trial to contend with, I cannot become saint.' But be sure that all the saints have met with such difficulties, such trials, and much greater ones than yours. Thus then none can say, 'Holiness is not for me.'"

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

GR
Let us all rejoice in the Lord,
celebrating a festival day in honour of all the Saints:
at whose solemnity the Angels rejoice,
and give praise to the Son of God.
V. Rejoice in the Lord, you just:
praise befits the upright (Ps 32:1).

TUESDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Ephesians 5:21–23
Psalm 127:1–2, 3, 4–5 (R. cf. 1a)
Luke 13:18–21

All Hallows Eve

Today is All Hallows Eve: this evening at First Vespers we will cross the threshold into the festival of Angels and Archangels; Thrones and Dominions; Principalities and Powers and heavenly Virtues; Cherubim and Seraphim; Patriarchs and Prophets and Holy Doctors of the Law; Apostles and Martyrs of Christ; Confessors and Virgins of the Lord; blessed Hermits and all other Saints of God.

The Liturgical Preview of Heaven

Do you remember the Angel who spoke to Saint John on Patmos, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the spouse of the Lamb” (Ap 21:9)? In the Spirit he carried the Apostle away to a great, high mountain, and showed him “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal (cf. Ap 21:10–11). This is exactly what the liturgy of All Saints Day will do for us in a mystical way, that is, by means of sacramental signs. All Saints Day is the liturgical preview of heaven.

Festival of the Bride of Christ

All Hallows is the festival of the Bride of Christ. Saint Paul describes the sacrificial love of the Bridegroom Christ for His Bride, the Church: “He loved her and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present the Church to Himself in splendour, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish” (Eph 5:25–27).

Tomorrow is the last day of this month of the Holy Rosary. What are the fruits of the Rosary in the life of one who perseveres in praying it? They are, I think, among others, the twelve fruits of the Holy Spirit enumerated in the Catechism: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self–control, and chastity.

The Rosary is a sure means of abiding in communion of mind and heart with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Where the Holy Mother of God is, there too is the Holy Spirit. One who, praying the Rosary, over and over again repeats Ave, Maria is, by the repetition of that greeting, imploring the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit.

It pleases the Holy Spirit to fashion the saints through the Blessed Virgin. Mary is the minister, the dispensatrix, the mediatrix of the Holy Spirit's gifts. It is a matter of record that where Mary is absent, there is nought but sterility and hardness of heart. Where Mary is present, on the other hand, there is spiritual fecundity and compunction. Where Mary is present, there the Holy Spirit is mysteriously and prodigiously active.

If you would open the door of your heart to Mary, pray her Rosary. She will enter in and with her will enter the Holy Spirit. "And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?'" (Lk 1:41–43).

MONDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Ephesians 4:32—5:8
Psalm 1:1–2, 3, 4 and 6 (R. cf. Eph 5:1)
Luke 13:10–17

I Want to Be a Saint

Saint Paul would have us be nothing less than “imitators of God” (Eph 5:1). This is the Apostle’s way of presenting the universal call to holiness. You will never become saint unless you want to be a saint. It is indispensable to say to oneself frequently, “I want to be a saint.” That is, after all, what God wants for each of us. One who says, “I want to be a saint” is simply aligning his own will with the glorious will of God. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Th 4:3).

Holy Resolve

If, at least once a day, you say to yourself, “I want to be saint,” a number of things will happen. You will begin to adjust your perspective on life. You will set your priorities in order. Things that you judged important will become unimportant, and things that you judged unimportant will become important.

Our Gaze Bent on Him

Say to yourself, “I want to be a saint,” and you will begin to see all the time and the energy you have wasted on the pursuit of trivial things. Saint Teresa of Jesus says, “O Lord, all our ills come from not fixing our eyes on Thee: if we looked at nothing else but where we are going we should soon arrive, but we fall a thousand times and stumble and go astray because we do not keep our gaze bent on Him Who is the ‘Way’” (The Way of Perfection, Chapter 16, 8).

THIRTIETH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B

Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 125: 1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Hebrews 5:1-6
Mark 10:46-52

God Is Light

When, in the beginning, our First Parents opened their eyes, they were bathed in the light of the Face of God. Adam and Eve were created in the most blessed of natural states: purity of heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” says Our Lord, “for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). Before the fall, which darkened their minds and clouded the vision of their souls, Adam and Eve knew an immense and perfect happiness in beholding the radiant beauty of the Face of God. “God is light,” says Saint John, “and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5).

Darkness

After having lived in the Light, Adam and Eve fell into the darkness; but the memory of the Light has left its traces in every human heart. In all of us there is a nostalgia for the Light which never fades, for the sun which never sets, an indescribable yearning for uncreated Light. You may experience it as an ache, as a sense of incompleteness.

The Gladsome Light of the Face of Christ

The darker the obscurity around us, the more deeply do we experience that there is within us a relentless straining toward the Light, the instinct to stretch the wings of our souls and, like the eagle, fly unblinking into the sun. Within the heart of each one of us, the finger of God’s right hand has inscribed an indelible, a sweet and painful longing for what Saint Peter calls his “wonderful light” (1 P 2:9): the gladsome light of the Father shining on the Face of the Son.

Quaerite Faciem Eius Semper

This is the very meaning of today’s poignant Introit: Laetetur cor quaerentium Dominum, “Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice: seek the Lord and He will strengthen you; constantly seek His Face” (Ps 104:3–4). Quaerite faciem eius semper! The chant melody soars and expands over the word eius: “His.” It is the liturgy’s way of signifying that abiding joy and unfailing strength shine from the Face of Christ and no other. It is the liturgy’s way of making us repeat again and again, “His Face, His Face.”

The Aves of the Rosary are a stream of living water that irrigate and purify the heart. One who perseveres in the prayer of the Rosary will begin to experience, through the intercession of the all–pure Mother of God, the beatitude pronounced by Our Lord: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Mt 5:8). The Rosary, a humble path of ceaseless prayer, is a sure means to purity of heart. It is a way of "hastening to the springs and of drawing from the wells."

Hasten to the springs, draw from the wells.
In God is the wellspring of life,
A spring that can never fail.
In his light is found a light that nothing can darken.
Desire that light which your eyes know not!
Your inward eye is preparing to see the light.
Your inward thirst burns to be quenched at the spring.

Saint Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 41:2

My very dear Poor Clares at Bethlehem Monastery in Barhamsville, Virginia have inaugurated a splendid website and blog. Mother Abbess is the keeper of the blog and I hope that she will continue to let her light shine.

The vocation of the Poor Clares is to reflect as in a mirror the radiance of the Face of Christ, the Poor One, the Crucified, the Beauty of Heaven and of Earth. This they do by seeking Him ceaselessly in the Scriptures, in the adorable mystery of the Eucharist,
and in the communion of life together.

The Barhamsville Poor Clares have a profound love of the sacred liturgy. Lectio divina and daily adoration of the Most Holy Eucharist are integral to their life. They hold a very special place in my priesthood and in my heart.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
Let the hearts that seek the Lord rejoice:
seek the Lord and he will strengthen you;
constantly seek his face.
V. Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name:
make known his deeds among the peoples (Ps 104: 3-4, 1).

COLLECT

Almighty and everlasting God,
give us the increase of faith, hope, and charity;
and, that we may worthily obtain what you promise,
make us love that which you command.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Today is the patronal feast of the Right Reverend Father Don Simone Maria Fioraso, O.Cist., Abbot of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome.

Don Simone a native of Milan, received the abbatial blessing on September 14, 2005. His abbatial arms bear the words of Saint Bernard, Respice stellam; voca Mariam, "Look to the star, call upon Mary."

O you, whoever you are,
who feel that in the tidal wave of this world
you are nearer to being tossed about among the squalls and gales
than treading on dry land:
if you do not want to founder in the tempest,
do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star.

When the wind of temptation blows up within you,
when you strike upon the rock of tribulation,
gaze up at this star,
call out to Mary.

I returned last night from the Heaven on Earth Conference held at the Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, Illinois. It was a wonderful experience. I rejoiced in the presence of priests zealous for the beauty of the House of the Lord and in the participation of brilliant young Catholic architects, many of them from the University of Notre Dame.

Before doing anything else today, I want to post the Propers for the feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles. The painting of Saint Jude is found in a votive chapel dedicated to the Apostle in the Kirche St. Judas Thaddäus in Heisterbacherrott, Germany

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
These are holy men
chosen by the Lord for their unfeigned charity;
to them he gave everlasting glory.

COLLECT

O God, who,
through your holy Apostles,
granted that we should come to the knowledge of your Name;
at the intercession of Saints Simon and Jude,
graciously give constant growth to your Church
by the increase of peoples who believe.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

I leave today for The Liturgical Institute in Mundelein, Illinois where I will be giving a conference on — Are you ready for this? — the "theology of church acoustics."

The conference is entitled: Heaven on Earth: Building or Renovating Your Church. The Institute describes it as "a theological and practical conference about envisioning the church building as a sacrament of heaven. Includes sessions on understanding traditional architecture, choosing a church architect, finding craftspeople, acoustics and music, the nature of the image, fundraising, and a beginning–to–end walkthrough of a completed church project."

I will not be posting anything on Vultus Christi while in Mundelein. Here, though, is a bit of my conference for those of you who are wondering what I am going to say

Ausculta

Is there a theology of church acoustics? Acoustics, derived from the Greek akouo, to hear, is not all that far removed from the very first word of the Rule of Saint Benedict, ausculta, “listen,” or “give heed.” “Listen, my son, to the instruction of your Master, turn the ear of your heart to the advice of a loving father” (RB Pro:1). The sacred liturgy, insofar as it springs from the mystery of the Word, calls for a unique quality of listening and engages at the deepest level man’s capacity for hearing. Could it be then that church acoustics have more to do with hearing than with speaking, more to do with listening to the word than with projecting it, more to do with enhancing silence than with enhancing sound?

The Sound of the Church

Being a theologian and not an acoustician, I will not venture into the more technical aspects of how a church might best be constructed for the transmission of sound. I must, however, argue straightaway that the acoustical quality of a church must figure into the very construction of the building, into its materials, size, dimensions, proportions, shape, and furnishings and not be left as an afterthought. “Now that we have constructed our church, let us look into fitting it with a good sound system.” Wrong! The church building is, in itself, the primary sound system with the living Church, hierarchically ordered, providing the sound.

Space for the Resonance of the Word

The Cistercian artisans of the twelfth century understood that a church building is, first of all, virginal space for the resonance of the Word. The abbatial churches of the Cistercian reform had a certain Marian quality about them; they were constructed to be indwelt sacramentally by the living Word. They were characterized by a certain noble austerity and by what, for want of a better term, I choose to call “spatial chastity.” One engaged in designing a church does well to meditate the mystery of the Annunciation. The suitability of a church building is measured, first of all, by its capacity to provide optimal resonance for the Word of God.

On Saturday the family gathered to celebrate the 25th birthday of my eldest nephew, Sean Patrick Cable. Sean, or Sean—o as I call him affectionately, is the first–born of my sister Donna and her husband Wayne.

Pizza (or Apizz' as we say in New Haven dialect) was Sean's choice for the evening. Sean's sister, Lauren Elizabeth, made a delicious cake for the occasion and the birthday boy himself baked cookies for his guests.

Sean attended my ordination twenty years ago, entertaining himself very well during the long celebration and presenting himself afterwards for a first priestly blessing.

Sean is a graduate of Quinnipiac University. He teaches little ones in a pre–school in Woodbridge, Connecticut. The munchkins love him. Happy Birthday, Sean—o! May the next quarter of a century be rich in blessings for you.

Benedictine/Cistercian Oblates are layfolk (and also diocesan priests) living their particular vocations to the single life, Holy Matrimony, or Holy Orders in communion with a particular monastery or monastic congregation. The Statutes of the Oblates of the Congregation of the Benedictines of Jesus Crucified explain the Oblate's vocation and articulate its exigencies. I am happy to present them here for the readers of Vultus Christi. My own monastery of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome has an active Oblateship.

STATUTES OF THE OBLATES OF THE CONGREGATION
OF THE BENEDICTINES OF JESUS CRUCIFIED

CHAPTER I: THE OBLATE

1. The Benedictine tradition sees Oblation as an act intimately tied to the altar of the monastery and to the mystery of the Eucharist (cf. RB 58:20-21; 59: 1-2). Oblation is a free act of self-offering to God, patterned after the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim, from the altar of the Cross. “I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1).

The Benedictine Oblate, drawn to the altar by the Holy Spirit, lives from the altar, in communion with a particular monastic community, for the sake of the whole Body of Christ, that is the Church.

The Church recognizes Oblation as a special bond expressing communion between individual Christians and a particular monastery or monastic Congregation (cf. CCL, can. 303; can. 677 §2).

When fatigue and melancholy and stress seem to leave one's soul prostrate, and when every other form of prayer seems impossible, one should pick up one's Rosary and very simply begin to tell one's beads. There is no need to produce pious ideas or reflections. It is enough to hold the beads and repeat the prayers, gently, gently recalling the mystery at the beginning of decade and leaving the rest to the Holy Spirit who "helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought" (Rm 8:26).

One who is faithful to the prayer of the Rosary knows that while the lips pronounce the names of Mary and of Jesus, over and over again, "the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words" (Rm 8:26). The Rosary is the small, low door by which little children enter into the immense prayer of the Spirit who "intercedes for the saints according to the will of God" (Rm 8:27).

I have come to love this photo of the children of Fatima holding their beads. In this, I can imitate them. Even when I am incapable of doing anything else, I can still reach for my beads and begin to say the words. The Holy Mother of God is quite content with such childlike efforts. Her response is magnificently disproportionate to this mere token of my desire to pray well.

Father Jean Lafrance wrote that one who cannot pray well can at least pray much. The Blessed Virgin's word for little Francisco, that he would have to pray "many Rosaries," continues to inspire me. One who prays "many Rosaries" is opening his soul to the all–powerful supplication of the Mother of God and to the sweet groanings of the Holy Spirit on his behalf. There is no surer or shorter way to the "adoration in spirit and in truth" (cf. Jn 4:24) that the Father desires.

Proud parents Michael and Kerry Guidone are Benedictine Oblates of the Monastery of the Glorious Cross in Branford, Connecticut. Before the birth of little Michael Mario, Michael and Kerry asked for the Blessing of Expectant Parents; after his birth, Kerry asked for the rite of the Churching of Woman After Childbirth, a sacramental dating back to the fourth century. Essentially, the rite is an office of thanksgiving. The new mother, returning to church forty days after giving birth, is greeting at the door of the church by the priest. Holding a lighted candle in one hand and the end of the priest's stole in the other, she is led to the altar where, kneeling, she receives a special blessing and offers thanksgiving to God for the birth of her child. The text of the rite, as given by Father Weller in his Roman Ritual, follows:

BLESSING OF A MOTHER AFTER CHILDBIRTH

1. After giving birth to a child a mother may wish to give thanks to God in church for a safe delivery, and to obtain the Church's blessing. This has long been a devout and praiseworthy practice. The priest, vested in surplice and white stole (assisted by a server who carries the aspersory), goes to the threshold of the church. The woman kneels there, holding a lighted candle.

The very fact that the priest goes to meet her and escort her into the church is in itself a mark of respect for the mother, and puts one in mind of a bishop who meets a royal personage or anyone of high rank when the latter comes to a cathedral to attend a solemn function. The rest of the rite speaks for itself; but it may be pointed out that Psalm 23, which the priest recites over the woman, is a psalm of majesty, praise, and gratitude.

The priest sprinkles her with holy water, saying:

P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.

He then says the following antiphon and begins Psalm 23 which is alternated with the assembly. In some places the Magnificat is recited in place of Psalm 23.

Antiphon: This woman shall receive a blessing from the Lord and mercy from God, her Savior; for she is one of the people who seek the Lord.

TWENTY–NINTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B

Isaiah 53:10-11
Psalm 32:4-5, 18-19, 20-22
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45

Good Friday Revisited

Today’s Liturgy of the Word is a flashback to that of Good Friday when we heard both the First Reading from the prophet Isaiah and the Second Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. Both texts are inexhaustible. Hearing them again today is an opportunity to encounter the mystery beneath the words, the mystery of the suffering Christ, image of the Father.

Saint Thérèse and Her Father

Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face, reflecting on Isaiah’s prophecy of the Servant, related it to the humiliation of her own father’s suffering. When Thérèse was seven years old she had a vision of a man in the garden, dressed like her father, but going about with his head veiled. Only later did she realize that this was a mysterious prophecy of her father’s mental illness. Profoundly affected by her father’s suffering, Thérèse lived it as an opportunity to deepen her understanding of the humiliation of Christ in His Passion. Thérèse made some profound connections: she related her father in his sufferings to the humiliation of Christ in His Passion, and related the humiliation of Christ in His Passion to the Fatherhood of God.

The Holy Face

The violence against the Face of Christ in His Passion was, at the deepest level, an attempt by the Evil One to disfigure the Fatherhood of God. Our Lord says, “He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father in me?” (Jn 14:9–10). From the beginning, the Evil One has sought to discredit the Fatherhood of God by sowing suspicion and doubt in the hearts of His children. The cruel disfiguration of the Face of Christ with blows, bruises, spittle, and thorns was the Evil One’s mad attempt to vilify the Father.

Our stblogs server was knocked out by a power failure last Friday evening. Take heart, we are back and running again! Father Jeff, I especially regret that I was unable to blog for the feast of your beloved founder, Saint Gaspar de Bufalo, on Saturday.

Much has happened in three days. On Saturday, my three year old nephew, Michael Colin Kirby, rode a two wheel bicycle for the first time. Yes, two wheels without training wheels! From the sidelines, little sister Mary (18 months) cried, "Me too! Me too!"

On Sunday, Benedictine Oblates Michael and Kerry Guidone received the blessing after childbirth — the Churching of a Woman traditionally given forty days after giving birth — in thanksgiving for their beautiful new son, Michael Mario. More on that later.

Today, the great–grand–niece of Blessed Columba Marmion came to Mass at the monastery and presented me with treasures from Dom Marmion's beatification: the Mass booklet, a green silk scarf with his image on it, a medallion, and several of his books. I have been devoted to Blessed Columba Marmion for many years and consider Mary Marmion's visit a sign of his continued intercession for me.

FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY–EIGHTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Ephesians 1:11–14
Psalm 32:1–2, 4–5, 12–13 (R. 12b)
Luke 12:1–7

Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite who died in 1906 at the age of twenty–six read the very same text from Saint Paul that we heard in today’s First Reading, and it transformed her life. She read it and knew beyond any doubt that although Saint Paul addressed his letter to the Church at Ephesus in the first century, it became, when she read it, a message addressed directly to her soul. Elizabeth understood that God had destined her to become “the praise of his glory.”

The young Carmelite discovered the text, through the liturgy. Elizabeth was no Latinist, but this she understood! Four words seemed to her written not in ink but in fire: in laudem gloriae eius, “to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:12, 14). These words jumped off the page and lodged themselves in her heart. Such was the impact of these words on Elizabeth of the Trinity that she began to call herself by a new name: Praise of Glory. This became her secret name of grace: the name that, for Elizabeth, summed up the will of God for her and his design on her relatively short life.

We are obliged, I think, to ask ourselves two very hard questions. Why is it that when the saints read the Sacred Scriptures, the words pierce their hearts and bring about a radical transformation of their lives? And why is it that when we read the same Sacred Scriptures, we are so often unmoved, indifferent, and unchanged by them? I leave it to each of you to reflect on these questions and find your own answers. For myself, I know that if Scripture leaves me unchanged — unconverted — it is because of the hardness of my heart. It is because I do not approach the Word of God with humility, compunction, and unconditional surrender to its transforming virtus, its divine power.

I told you that once, when I had to pass through a heavy storm, I found myself before my sacramental Love and my soul flew in spirit to embrace that Infinite Love exposed on the altar for the adoration of the people. Then I heard my Savior speak this sweet message: “My son, he who embraces me, embraces thorns.” Do you believe, my daughter, that my soul fails to understand that our Jesus is a sea of infinite sweetness? Certainly, I have understood that, but God made me understand something further with the words: “He who embraces me, embraces thorns.” Just as our good Jesus willed that his life on earth should be passed always in the midst of the thorns of pain, sufferings, fatigues, privation, agony, contempt, calumny, sorrow, nails, thorns, and a most bitter death on the cross, so he made me understand that in embracing him, I would have to live my life in the midst of pain. Oh! how my heart exulted and embraced every sort of pain. But I have been unfaithful.
(Saint Paul of the Cross, Letter 54, 29 August 1737)

Saint Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) has long been a favourite of mine. (I rather suspect that Terry over at Abbey–Roads feels the same way about him.) He is depicted in this painting just as Saint Bernard of Clairvaux is often shown: in the embrace of Jesus Crucified, with the instruments of the Passion round about him. Paul of the Cross frequently quotes Saint Bernard's writings on the Passion of the Lord.

The Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary are a contemplation of the Face of Christ in His sufferings. "There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness: and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of Him. Despised and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and His countenance was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed Him not" (Is 53:3–3).

One who prays the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary daily, or at least frequently, will grow in the spirit of compunction. Blessed Abbot Marmion says that compunction is "an habitual feeling of regret for having offended the divine goodness." He also says that, "While making us conscious of our offences, compunction gives us also a keen realization of the divine pardon. It is thus a source of peace and confidence — a source likewise of joy, humble but profound."

The Sorrow Mysteries are, in effect, a form of lectio—meditatio—oratio—and contemplatio on Isaiah's prophecy of the Passion of Christ. They are also a way of interiorizing the prayer of the suffering Christ given us in Psalms 21, 30, and 68.

We will be celebrating the Votive Mass of the Most Precious Blood today, without however forgetting Saint Paul of the Cross, founder of the Congregation of the Passion. In the following text, Saint Paul of the Cross is counseling a lady who, after having made her confession, was beset with doubts. He recommends confident recourse to the Blood of Christ over all else.

"You fear that you have not made good confessions because of lack of sorrow and purpose of amendment, and that you did not confess correctly. However, you tell me that you did what you could to confess your sins as they are in God’s sight. At least that was the way you wished to set them forth.

I have given you these words as examples. They will serve to cast out these fears that come from little confidence in God. Use them with a gentle spirit."

The painting depicts New Amsterdam (Manhattan) circa 1668.

David and Mary Ann went on pilgrimage last week to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, about three hours away from here. Auriesville is the site of the martyrdom of Saint René Goupil on September 29, 1642, of Saint Isaac Jogues on October 18, 1646, and of Saint John de La Lande on October 19, 1646. The New Haven Colony had been founded by John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton only eight years before, in the spring of 1638, two years after the ordination of Isaac Jogues to the priesthood.

Captured by the Mohawks in 1642, Isaac Jogues was forced to follow them to their winter hunting grounds, where he did the hard work of the squaws and slaves. After his labours, he wandered about the forest, chanting psalms or praying before the symbols he had carved into a tree: the Holy Name of Jesus and the sign of the Cross.

It was during this captivity that Saint Isaac wrote the following magnificent text. I thank David for having brought it to my attention.

Another joy today! My cousin Carlo de Lellis and Nora, his wife, called from Sepicciano (Piedimonte Matese, Provincia di Caserta) to inform me that their beautiful daughter Sissi will be graduating from Law School in Rome at the end of the month. This lovely photo of Sissi was taken on the occasion of a dinner in Sepicciano.

Sissi will practice penal law in Rome before beginning studies for the magistratura. The family is very proud of her.

Carlo and Nora have completely restored the main part of the Palazzo Onoratelli built by my enterprising ancestors in the 1600s. A wonderful house with smiling baroque angels adorning the facade!

I had two encounters today that made me very happy. The first took place after Mass. I was in the sacristy removing my vestments when a smiling lady entered and, with a delicious Irish brogue, introduced herself as Mary Marmion. Yes, Marmion — as in Blessed Columba Marmion, the Irish Benedictine Abbot whose writings have so influenced me for the past forty years . Mary Marmion Corden, a native of County Louth, Ireland, now living in Connecticut, is the great–great–grandniece of Blessed Abbot Marmion. Irish Sister Mary Marcella, O.S.B. joined us for a chat. I had the privilege of blessing Mrs. Corden, invoking the intercession of Blessed Columba Marmion, of course.

The second encounter took place in my favourite neighbourhood bakery, Bread and Chocolate on Whitney Avenue in Hamden, Connecticut. Bread and Chocolate is owned and operated by Jaime and Alejandra Zapata. I was standing at the counter talking with Jaime when a woman sitting in the restaurant heard me mention Rome. She identified herself as Jewish and said that she had visited Rome, seen Saint Peter's, the Vatican Museums, etc. Susan Berman then introduced me to her mother, an absolutely radiant older lady who immediately said to me, "I am a Holocaust Survivor."

She related something of her story. Until the Nazis forbade Jewish children to attend non–Jewish schools, her parents sent her to a Catholic Convent School. Later, she was obliged to attend an all–Jewish school at some distance from her home. She remembers seeing a great synagogue destroyed. After the Krystallnacht in 1938, she and her sister were sent to England as part of the famous Kindertransport. Her parents and youngest sister perished near the Polish border. I was astonished at the vivacity and wisdom of this lady: she said that world still had not learned its lesson, even after the Shoah, and spoke to me of the situation in Darfur. "The Lord bless her and keep her: the Lord make His Face to shine upon her, and be gracious to her: The Lord lift up his countenance upon her, and give her peace" (Num 6:24–26).

Saint Isaac Jogues was known for his long hours of quiet prayer while journeying and for the recitation of the Rosary with his companions. The Rosary is a prayer for our hours of solitude, for times of waiting, for moments of uncertainty and disquiet. In these circumstances the Rosary becomes an anchor of hope tossed into the depths of God's wisdom and providence.

The Rosary stills the tumult within and allows the soul to hear the "still, small voice" (1 K 19:12) of the Lord. "And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave" (1 K 19:13). The Rosary is an initiation into what Pope John Paul II called, "adoring silence."

We must confess that we all have need of this silence, filled with the presence of Him who is adored: in theology, so as to exploit fully its own sapiential and spiritual soul; in prayer, so that we may never forget that seeing God means coming down the mountain with a face so radiant that we are obliged to cover it with a veil (cf. Ex 34:33), and that our gatherings may make room for God's presence and avoid self–celebration; in preaching, so as not to delude ourselves that it is enough to heap word upon word to attract people to the experience of God; in commitment, so that we will refuse to be locked in a struggle without love and forgiveness. This is what man needs today; he is often unable to be silent for fear of meeting himself, of feeling the emptiness that asks itself about meaning; man who deafens himself with noise. All, believers and non - believers alike, need to learn a silence that allows the Other to speak when and how he wishes, and allows us to understand his words.

John Paul II, Orientale Lumen, art. 16

"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings" (from a letter of Isaac Jogues to a Jesuit friend in France, September 12, 1646, a month before he died).

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

GR
These are they who are come out of great tribulation
and have washed their robes
and have made them white in the Blood the Lamb (Ap 7:14).
V. Praise the Lord, all you nations:
praise Him all you peoples (Ps 116:1).

MR
The blood of the holy martyrs
was poured out upon the earth for Christ;
therefore they have won rewards everlasting.

COLLECT

O God, who, by the work
of Saints John, Isaac, and their companions,
and by the outpouring of their blood,
willed to manifest the blessed hope of your eternal kingdom,
mercifully grant through their intercession,
that, in our own day,
the faith of Christians may strengthened.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

The image of the North American Martyrs is by Catholic illustrator Ted Schluenderfritz.

OCTOBER 18
SAINT LUKE, EVANGELIST

2 Timothy 4: 10-17a
Psalm 144: 10-11, 12-13ab, 17-18 (R: cf. 12)
Luke 10:1-9

The Evangelist

Saint Luke comes to us today as the evangelist of the Holy Spirit, as the evangelist of the little and of the poor, the evangelist of the Virgin Mary, and of the holy angels. He comes to us as the iconographer of the healing Christ, the physician of our souls and bodies. He comes to us as the advocate and friend of the women disciples of the Lord, and as the witness of the Acts of the Apostles and of the life of the infant Church. He comes to us as the poet of the Magnificat, the Benedictus, and the Nunc Dimittis, as the evangelist of the sacred liturgy, the one who closes his Gospel with the radiant image of a joyful Church semper in templo benedicentes Deum, “continually in the temple blessing God” (Lk 24:52).

Iconographer of the Holy Mother of God

According to an old tradition, Saint Luke, in addition to being a physician (Col 4:14), was a painter. It is recounted that Saint Luke depicted the Virgin Mother with the Infant Christ in three icons. He showed them to her. The Mother of God looked at them with joy and then blessed them, saying, “May the grace of Him to Whom I gave birth be within them.” The iconography of Saint Luke himself makes for a fascinating study; he is nearly always portrayed painting the Blessed Virgin and her Son. Paintings of a saint painting!

I have always thought of the Rosary as a particularly Lukan prayer. So many of the mysteries are drawn from Saint Luke's Gospel. It is Saint Luke who gives us the Gospel of the Holy Spirit; the Gospel of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the Gospel of the liturgical canticles sung by the Church at morning, eventide, and nightfall; the Gospel of the Angels; the Gospel of mercy.

But there is more. According to tradition, Saint Luke was an iconographer. I very much like this painting of Luke painting! He seems to have just completed his image of the Virgin Mother with the Infant Christ. An Angel looks on approvingly. Could it be Saint Gabriel, the Archangel who figures so prominently in the first chapters of Saint Luke's Gospel? The Evangelist is showing us his painting and inviting us to contemplate the Mother and the Child. The Rosary is just that: a contemplation of the Face of Christ and of the Mother who presents Him to the eyes of the soul.

I was very happy to receive Steven's comment today on the Rosary and the difficulties it sometimes presents, even to folks who are well along in the ways of prayer. The Rosary grows with the one who prays it. It is like the manna in the desert that accomodated itself to the taste of each one. There are seasons in each man's life with God and one's way of praying the Rosary changes with these seasons. The Rosary is especially valuable in times of dryness; it becomes a way of inviting Mary into one's desert.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him
who publishes peace, who announces good,
who preaches salvation (Is 52:7).

COLLECT

Lord God, who chose Saint Luke
to reveal the mystery of your special love for the poor
by preaching and by writing,
grant, that those who, even now, glory in your name,
may continue to be of one heart and one mind,
and that all nations may come to see your salvation.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Padre Luca Maria Zecchetti, O.Cist. celebrates his onomastico today. Don Luca, a native of Milano, is the prior of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. He possesses seemingly boundless energy and needs it as the director of the famous children's singing group, Le Matite Colorate. He is gifted with a magnificent voice and uses it well for the glory of God and the joy of all who hear him. Don Luca also looks after the abbey's postulants and novices. Recently he undertook a journey to our new foundation, the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Guadalajara, Mexico. Join with me today in praying for him and in wishing him a happy feastday.

Does Don Luca look unhappy to you? If you are interested in an expression of Cistercian–Benedictine life that unites the traditional monastic observances with the service of the Church, write to me.

Frumentum Christi sum,
dentibus bestiarum molar,
ut panis mundus inveniar.

I actually sang part of my homily this morning. Yes, I did. I couldn't help myself! I opened my Graduale and sang today's incomparable Communion Antiphon, Frumentum Christi sum, for all to hear. The melody "grinds" the word molar, and then soars over the word panis. The chant melody is a mystical exegesis of the text. It is what I have been arguing for years: sung theology!

The image I chose today, an 18th century Latin American retable, does not depict Saint Ignatius of Antioch, but it does suggest something of his longing to become "purest bread" for Christ's Holy Oblation. Read below what I had to say about identification with Christ, Priest and Victim.

The power of the Rosary is utterly disproportionate to its simplicity. There is no grace that cannot be obtained, no Goliath that cannot be defeated, through the humble supplication of the Rosary.

We do not hesitate to affirm again publicly that We put great confidence in the Holy Rosary for the healing of evils which afflict our times. Not with force, not with arms, not with human power, but with Divine help obtained through the means of this prayer, strong like David with his sling, the Church undaunted shall be able to confront the infernal enemy, repeating to him the words of the young shepherd: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of armies . . . and all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear, for this is his battle, and he will deliver you into our hands" (I Kings 17, 45-47).

Pope Pius XII
Ingruentium Malorum
15 September, 1951

I feel now that I am beginning to be Christ's disciple;
I desire none of those things which are seen,
if so be I may find Christ Jesus.

Saint Ignatius of Antioch

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
With Christ I am nailed to the cross
and I live, now not I;
but Christ lives in me.
I live by faith in the Son of God
who loved me, and gave himself for me (Gal 2:19-20).

The approach of the liturgical memorial of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque confirms me in my belief that the humble repetition of the Rosary very effectively softens even the most hardened heart and wears away the sinner's resistance to the love of Christ.

There are situations in which a direct break with habitual sin is—or at least seems to be—beyond the strength of the one entrenched in it. This is especially true of sins that are bound up with patterns of addictive behaviour.

At times, a soul struggling with habitual sin so focuses on the sin and on the near occasions of sin that a kind of spiritual exhaustion occurs, sending one into depression and fits of self–loathing. What is the solution?

Curious as it may seem, the solution often is to ignore the sin and to preserve a certain "contrite equanimity," even after repeated falls while, at the same time, persevering in the humble prayer of supplication that is the Rosary. One begins, after a time, to look more at the Mysteries than at one's own miseries. Almost imperceptibly, the ugliness of habitual sin recedes before the beauty of the All–Pure Mother of God.

"Behold this Heart, which, not withstanding the burning love for man with which it is consumed and exhausted, meets with no other return from the generality of Christians than sacrilege, contempt, indifference, and ingratitude, even in the Sacrament of my Love. But what pierces my Heart most deeply is, that I am subjected to those insults by persons specially consecrated to my service."

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

GR
The thoughts of His Heart stand from generation to generation:
that He might deliver their souls from death,
and feed them in times of famine (Ps 32:11, 19).
V. Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous;
praise befits those who are upright (Ps 32:1).

In honour of Saint Margaret Mary whose liturgical memorial occurs on October 16th, I want to offer this Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. So few understand that reparation begins when we allow ourselves, shattered and deformed as we are by sin, to be "repaired," that is, restored to wholeness and beauty by the love of the Heart of Christ and by the virtue of His Precious Blood.

Lord Jesus, I desire today to open myself to the Love of Your Sacred Heart,
to the Love that others refuse or ignore.

By my attention to Your Heart,
I desire to make up for indifference to Your Love.

By my gratitude to Your Heart,
I desire to make up for ingratitude toward You
and toward the gifts of Your Heart,
especially that of the Most Holy Eucharist.

By my trust in Your Heart,
I desire to make up for those who do not trust You,
are afraid to trust You, or whose trust in Your Love
has been weakened by personal sin or by the sins of others.

By my hope in Your Heart, I desire to help, in some way,
those tempted to despair of Your Mercy.

Finally, in spite of my weakness and inconstancy,
I desire, by my love for Your Sacred Heart, to obtain for myself
and for all who yearn for the sweetness of divine friendship
something of what Your beloved disciple Saint John experienced
when he rested upon Your Heart at the Last Supper on the night before You suffered.

Let my desire to be open to the Love of Your Sacred Heart today
serve in some way to repair the brokenness
of the vulnerable, wounded, and fragile members of Your Mystical Body,
and, by the mysterious workings of Your Holy Spirit,
bring healing to those most in need of your mercy,
and especially to priests. Amen.

TWENTY–EIGHTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B

Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalm 89: 12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30

Sentire Cum Ecclesia

Allow me to ask a very pointed question. Just how Catholic are you? How does one measure the degree of one’s Catholicism? The wise old Latin aphorism, Sentire cum Ecclesia: to feel with the Church, to have the Church’s sensibility, remains a touchstone of Catholic identity.

One’s response to the canonization of new saints is, in effect, a very reliable spiritual thermometer. When, upon hearing the news of another canonization, one says, “Ho, hum,” and then yawns in jaded disinterest, one’s Catholicism is in peril. One is in grave danger of becoming, for all practical purposes, a kind of Protestant content to plod along in the narrow furrows of an individualistic and privatized piety, disconnected from the mystery of a Church that is universal, a Church that is astonishingly fruitful in every age, place, and culture.

Antipathy Toward the Saints?

I fear that sometimes we fall into a kind of neo–Jansenism. One of the hallmarks of the chilling Jansenist heresy was a certain antipathy toward the saints. The Jansenists, like some Catholics a few generations ago, were in favour of a very lean liturgical calendar quite shorn of the splendours of the saints. At some level, the Jansenists were resistant to the mystery of the Church as a family: a family bound together by the covenant made in the Blood of the Lamb, a family characterized by the mercy that shines on the faces of her saints.

It is impossible to conceive of our life, of the life of the Church, without the rosary, the Marian feasts, the Marian shrines, and the images of the Madonna. Pope John Paul I

The Rosary is a way of hearing the Word of God as Mary heard it, of repeating the Word as she repeated it, of praying the Word as she prayed it, and of allowing oneself to be indwelt by the Word as she was indwelt by it.

Perseverance in the blessed monotony of the Rosary makes of all of life a kind of lectio divina: a reading of the things of God and of the signs of His presence in the humble quotidian.

One who holds the Rosary in his hand holds the key to all of life's joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries.

The Rosary is a remedy for loneliness. The solitude of one who prays the Rosary is a solitude of presence, not of absence. The prayers of the Rosary are a balm spread on the heart's secret wounds; one who submits to the disarming simplicity of the treatment — the Rosary — will experience its healing effects.

The canonization in Rome today of Blessed Rafael Guízar Valencia, Bishop; Blessed Filippo Smaldone, Priest; Blessed Theodore Guérin, Virgin; and Blessed Rosa Venerini, Virgin is an immense joy for the whole Church. Each of them illustrates today's splendid Collect; the grace of God went before and followed after them, making them at every moment intent on all good works. The Marquess of Bute translates the Collect as follows:

Lord, we pray Thee
that Thy grace may always prevent and follow us,
and make us continually to be given to all good works.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
one God world without end.

From The Journals of Father Alexander Schmemann (+1983):

"Wednesday, October 3, 1979

The Pope of Rome is in New York. We watched him on television in Yankee Stadium. A mixed impression. On one hand, an unquestionably good man, and full of light. Wonderful smile. Very genuine—a man of God. But, on the other hand, there are some 'buts'!

First of all, the Mass itself. The first impression is how liturgically impoverished the Catholic Church has become. In 1965, I watched the service performed by Pope Paul VI in the same Yankee Stadium. Despite everything, it was the presence, the appearance on earth of the eternal, the 'super earthly.' Whereas yesterday, I had the feeling that the main thing was the 'message.' This message is, again and again, 'peace and justice,' 'human family,' 'social work,' etc.

An opportunity was given, a fantastic chance to tell millions and millions of people about God, to reveal to them that more than anything else they need God! But here, on the contrary, the whole goal, it seemed, consisted in proving that the Church also can speak the jargon of the United Nations.

All the symbols point the same way: the reading of the Scriptures by some lay people with bright ties, etc. And a horrible translation: I never suspected that a translation could be a heresy: Grace—'abiding love'!

Does one have to serve Mass in Yankee Stadium? But if it's possible and needed, shouldn't the Mass be, so to say, 'super earthly,' separated from the secular world, in order to show in the world—the Kingdom of God?"

The emphases are my own.

We take refuge under Thy protection,
O holy Mother of God!
Despise not our supplications in our need,
but deliver us always from all dangers,
O Virgin, glorious and blessed!

Here is yet another image of the Blessed Virgin Mary saving the little boy from the clutches of the devil while his mother, gazing up at the Madonna, prays with folded hands. One who perseveres in praying the Rosary will experience just such interventions of the Blessed Virgin in his life. Mary has been known to intervene in spectacular ways to save souls from sin; more often than not her interventions are subtle and hidden, albeit no less efficacious.

Fidelity to the humble monotony of the Rosary is precisely what makes it possible for Mary to intervene when we are most in need of her. The daily Rosary creates an intimate bond between the Mother of God and the one who prays it.

The Rosary, ceaselessly repeated by day and by night, allows one to live in the presence of Mary; it gives one the right to hide beneath her protecting mantle when the devil, like a lion seeking someone to devour, seems to be crouched at the door.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, Pillar of Faith, is celebrated in Spain and in other places on October 12th. It seemed fitting to celebrate on the Saturday nearest her feast the Mass given for that title in the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Honoured as the Pillar of Faith for having sustained the Apostle Saint James in a moment of weariness and discouragement at Saragossa in Spain, the Blessed Virgin Mary is also the Destroyer of All Heresies and the Succour of Christians in distress.

In this particular image of the Madonna del Soccorso di Sciacca the Blessed Virgin is shown brandishing a club to save a small boy from the clutches of the devil. The boy, filled with a surplus of energy, had driven his mother around the bend. In a moment of classic Mediterranean exasperation, the little one's mother had exclaimed, "Oh, let the devil take you!" To her horror, the devil showed up, set on doing just that. The poor mother cried out to the Madonna to save her little boy. Clobbering the devil over the head and driving him away, the Blessed Virgin welcomed the child under her mantle and then released him to his mother, saying, "Fear not, my children, for I shall never abandon you."

The Blessed Virgin offers a pillar of stability in our inconstancy and, when necessary, she comes to our rescue, brandishing a club against the powers of darkness.

Terry Nelson at Abbey–Roads, Father Zuhlsdorf at WDPRS, and Father Jim Tucker at Dappled Things discuss with serenity and good sense current speculation on unimpeded use of the traditional Missal.

FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY–SEVENTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Galatians 3:7–14
Psalm 110:1–2, 3–4, 5–6 (R. 5b)
Luke 11:15–26

The Finger of God

“If it is by the Finger of God that I cast out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you” (Lk 11:20). Today, the only–begotten Son speaks to us of the Holy Spirit. The Finger of God is none other than the Holy Spirit. It is by the Finger of God, the Holy Spirit Who alone can touch the soul’s most intimate wounds, that the Son liberates from evil, restores to wholeness, and sanctifies.

Dextrae Dei Digitus

The Church, ever attentive to the words of the Word, calls the Holy Spirit by this very name, the Finger of God’s Right Hand, Dextrae Dei Digitus, in the Veni, Creator Spiritus, the solemn hymn by which she invokes the Holy Spirit.

Thou Who art seven–fold in Thy grace,
Finger of God’s Right Hand,
His Promise, teaching little ones
To speak and understand!

Cézanne's painting of an old woman humbly telling her beads illustrates the kind of prayer recommended by Our Lord in today's Gospel. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (Lk 11:10). The prayer of the Rosary makes it possible to persevere in supplication. Supplication, expressed in the repetitive prayer of the little and the poor, softens the heart of the one praying and, at the same time, touches the Heart of God.

Our Lord Himself used a prayer of repetition during His agony in the garden of Gethsemane. Saint Mark says, "and again he went away and prayed, saying the same words" (Mk 14:39). It is good for us to pray using the same words over and over again. There is something about the repetition of the prayers of the Rosary that renders us capable of receiving the graces that God would give us or, at least, less recalcitrant, less resistant to the graces that render us capable of corresponding to His will.

The Rosary breaks down our resistance to the will of God. The Rosary clears the way for the "Yes" to Love that so often we are afraid to pronounce. By means of the Rosary we begin to learn to ask not for the many things we crave, or fancy, or may think we need, but for the One Thing Necessary, the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

The prayer of supplication that is the Holy Rosary becomes, almost imperceptibly, a ceaseless prayer, an uninterrupted prayer of the heart. The Rosary is, I think, for the West, what the Jesus Prayer is for the East. In the Rosary the same Holy Name of Jesus is repeated over and over again together with the Holy Name of Mary. The repetition of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary graces the prayer of the Rosary with an unmistakable sweetness and unction. Even when this sweetness is not felt, it is present, purifying the heart of the vestiges of bitterness left by sin.

The 2002 Editio Typica Tertia of the Roman Missal includes a Votive Mass of the Mercy of God. The Collect for this new Mass formulary is derived in part from the oration that traditionally follows the Te Deum, and in part from the Collect of the Second Sunday of Pascha. The Prayer Over the Offerings contains, in the phrase, Christo iugiter confidentes, a subtle but unmistakable allusion to the invocation of Saint Faustina, "Jesus, I trust in you." The Postcommunion expresses Saint Faustina's two fold message: confidence in the mercy of God, and the practice of mercy toward one another.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
God has loved us with an everlasting charity:
he sent his Only–begotten Son as the expiation for our sins,
and not for ours only
but also for the sins of the whole world (cf. Jer 31:3; 1 Jn 2:2).

Or:

The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever;
from generation to generation
my mouth will proclaim your truth (Ps 88:2).

O God, Who under a wonderful Sacrament,
hast left unto us whereby to show forth Thy Suffering Death,
grant unto us, we beseech Thee,
so reverently to handle the Sacred Mysteries of Thy Body and Thy Blood
that we may always feel within ourselves
the fruit of Thy Redeeming Work.
Who livest and reignest with God the Father,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end.

Translation of the Collect of Corpus Christi by the Marquess of Bute

Already in the mystical invasion of 17th century France, Catherine de Bar (Mère Mechthilde du Saint–Sacrement, 1614–1698), foundress of the Benedictines of the Most Holy Sacrament, initiated a weekly rememoration of both Maundy Thursday and the festival of Corpus Christi. Whenever the rubrics allowed, Thursdays were marked by a Votive Mass and Office of the Most Holy Eucharist and by adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed in the monstrance, a rare privilege at the time. The Cistercians too marked Thursdays in the same way; Cistercian liturgical books contain a Votive Office of the Blessed Sacrament.
During the Year of the Eucharist, I proposed a weekly Votive Mass of the Most Holy Eucharist whenever a free Thursday occurred in the calendar. It is a practice that I am continuing now that the Year of the Eucharist has come and gone, a way of recalling the Gift and Mystery of the Cenacle, and of stirring up that eucharistic amazement that Pope John Paul II so desired to revive in the Church.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
The Lord chose him to be a high priest unto Himself,
and opening His treasury,
made him abound in every good.

COLLECT

Almighty and eternal God,
who in the Pope Blessed John,
gave to the whole world
the shining example of a good shepherd,
grant that, through his intercession,
we may with joy spread abroad the fullness of Christian charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

October 11th is the liturgical memorial of Blessed John XXIII, Pope. Less than one year after his election, in his Encyclical Grata Recordatio, he recalled the impression made on him in his youth by the annual Rosary Encyclicals of Leo XIII He urged the Catholic faithful to recite the Rosary during the month of October and, with a wonderful candour, avowed that he prayed the Rosary each day in its entirety.

"Among the pleasant recollections of Our younger days are the Encyclicals which Pope Leo XIII used to write to the whole Catholic world as the month of October drew near, in order to urge the faithful to devout recitation of Mary's rosary during that month in particular.

These Encyclicals had varied contents, but they were all very wise, vibrant with fresh inspiration, and directly relevant to the practice of the Christian life. In strong and persuasive terms they exhorted Catholics to pray to God in a spirit of faith through the intercession of Mary, His Virgin Mother, by reciting the holy rosary. For the rosary is a very commendable form of prayer and meditation. In saying it we weave a mystic garland of Ave Maria's, Pater Noster's, and Gloria Patri's. And as we recite these vocal prayers, we meditate upon the principal mysteries of our religion; the Incarnation of Jesus Christ and the Redemption of the human race are proposed, one event after another, for our consideration.

These pleasant memories of Our younger days have not faded or vanished as the years of Our life have passed. On the contrary, We want to declare in complete frankness and simplicity that the years have made Mary's rosary all the dearer to Us. We never fail to recite it each day in its entirety and We intend to recite it with particular devotion during the coming month."

I am preaching today not on the Gospel (Luke 10:38–42), but on the Responsorial Psalm. All the same, I wanted to post this marvelous painting of Saint Martha in her kitchen (Vincenzo Campi, d. 1591). (Click on it to see it enlarged.) It looks exactly like a scene out of Babette's Feast. Through the kitchen window one sees Our Lord in intimate conversation with Mary who is seated next to him. Her feet are crossed: a lovely detail.

TUESDAY OF THE TWENTY–SEVENTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Galatians 1:13–24
Psalm 138:1–3, 13_14ab, 14c_15 (R. 24b)
Luke 10:38–42

From My Mother’s Womb

I wonder if in your lectio divina this morning you found the link between the First Reading and the Responsorial Psalm? Saint Paul, recounting the story of his conversion to Christ and apostleship, says: “He who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me” (Gal 1:15). There you have it! “From my mother’s womb. . . .” (Gal 1:15). Today, in the words of Psalm 138, it is the Apostle Paul who prays, “For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise thee, for I am fearfully, wonderfully made. Wonderful are thy works” (Ps 138:13-14).

The Prayer of Paul

The Holy Spirit has inspired the Church to sing Psalm 138, repeat it, and pray it in a variety of voices. On Easter Day, the liturgy places Psalm 138 in the mouth of the risen Christ; He sings it to the Father with accents of unparalleled tenderness. On June 24th, the liturgy places the same psalm in the mouth of the infant John the Baptist. In fact, today’s Responsorial Psalm is identical to that given for the Mass of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. Today, however, the psalm belongs to Saint Paul. He sings it for us to hear. Psalm 138 becomes for us a window into the soul of the Apostle. It allows us to hear something of his prayer; it allows us to enter into his prayer, to pray as he prays.

On May 18, 1874, the Carmelite Blessed Mary of Jesus Crucified (1846–1878) beheld a chalice streaming with light and a dove. From the light she heard a voice saying,

I ardently desire that priests say a Mass each month in honour of the Holy Spirit. Whoever will say it or hear it will be honoured by the Holy Spirit Himself. He will have light, he will have peace. He will cure the sick. He will awaken those who are asleep.

In June 1877, through the intermediary of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, she sent a message to Blessed Pope Pius IX, saying:

The world and religious communities are seeking novelties in devotions, and they are neglecting true devotion to the Paraclete. That is why there is error and disunion, and why there is no peace or light. They do not invoke the light as it should be invoked, and it is this light that gives knowledge of truth. It is neglected even in seminaries. . . .

I was told that each priest in the whole world should be required to say one Mass of the Holy Spirit each month, and all those who assist at it will receive very special grace and light.

I have tried, since my own ordination, to celebrate a Votive Mass of the Holy Spirit on the first available ferial day of each month. The Roman Missal contains a wealth of texts for the Mass of the Holy Spirit. See the Liturgical Texts archive.

When the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at Fatima in 1917 she said that little Francisco, then nine years old, would go to heaven but that first he would have to pray many Rosaries. After that the little boy was often seen praying the Rosary intently. What intrigues me is Our Lady's insistence on — I almost hesitate to say it — quantity! Many Rosaries!

There is something to be said for persevering in praying decade after decade, and Rosary after Rosary. When one cannot pray well, one should at least pray much. "And he told them a parable, to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart" (Lk 18:1). One who prays Rosary after Rosary is, in effect, offering God the raw material of prayer, trusting that He, in His own time, will set it ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

One who prays "many Rosaries" presents to God a touching sign of the burning desire to be made worthy of the inestimable grace of ceaseless prayer. At times, the best one can do is to pray much, asking the Mother of God, all–powerful in her supplication, to obtain that the sheer materiality of one's prayers may be changed by the Holy Spirit into the "adoration in spirit and in truth" (Jn 4:24) that the Father seeks.

Blessed John XXIII prayed all fifteen Mysteries of the Rosary daily. So too did the Servant of God, Father Marie–Joseph Lagrange, O.P., distinguished exegete and founder of the École Biblique of Jerusalem. Saint Pio of Pietrelcina prayed the Rosary ceaselessly, as did Saint Gaetano Catanoso, the humble Apostle of the Holy Face. The entire life of Pope John Paul II was imbued with the Holy Rosary.

The saints demolish our alibis: "I have no time; I am too busy." Are you then busier than John XXIII, Padre Pio, or John Paul II? There is a proven wisdom in beginning the first Rosary of the day before rising in the morning. That first waking rosary sets the tone for the rest of the day. The Rosary, prayed in free moments throughout the day and again at the day's end, becomes, almost imperceptibly, a form of ceaseless prayer.

One who "prays many Rosaries," as did Blessed Francisco of Fatima, will come quickly to live in Mary and with Mary. Mary will become for that soul, as Gerard Manley Hopkins says, "like the air we breathe." And where Mary is, the Holy Spirit descends mightily to heal, to deliver from sin, to glorify Christ, and to hide us with Christ and with His Mother in the bosom of the Father.

MONDAY OF THE TWENTY–SEVENTH WEEK OF THE YEAR II

Galatians 1:6–12
Psalm 110:1–2, 7–8, 9 and 10c (R. 5b)
Luke 10:25–37

Today’s Gospel, the parable of the Good Samaritan, is familiar to us. It is, perhaps, too familiar. That may be the problem. We assume that we have grasped its message when, in fact, its message may not yet have grasped our hearts. The Fathers of the Church discerned a mystery in the story of the Good Samaritan: the mystery of the healing mercy of God revealed in Christ.

The Good Samaritan is none other than Christ Himself. In the days of His flesh, as He journeyed in this world, Christ came to where we were (cf, Lk 10:33). And when He saw all of us, sinners, stripped, and beaten, and left for dead in a ditch, He had compassion (cf. Lk 10:33). The human Heart of God was moved. God, looking upon us through the eyes of His Christ, suffered at the sight of our suffering.

It would be altogether too facile to reduce the message of today’s gospel to its ethical demands alone, to hear it exclusively in terms of a social imperative. Be good. Be sensitive. Be caring. Show mercy. It is, of course, all of that. Saint Faustina reminded of us the imperative of mercy in action last week. Our Lord said to Faustina: “I demand of you deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for me. You are to show mercy to your neighbours always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to excuse or absolve yourself from it.” That being said, there is more to the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Today's memorial takes us to Montmartre, the Mount of Martyrs in Paris. Malouel's painting of the martyrdom of Saint Denis (1416) depicts the sacrifice of Christ, the King of Martyrs, at the center. The outstretched arms of the Eternal Father, partially hidden behind the cross, suggest that one can know the embrace of the Father only in the arms of the Crucified. At the same time, the arms of the Father receive the offering of the Son.

It is recounted that, after his martyrdom, Saint Denis continued to preach, holding his head in his hands. The martyrs do, in fact, continue to preach the mystery of the Cross so often as the Church remembers them in the liturgy.

Monday, October 9th, is my Mom and Dad's 58th Wedding Anniversary. They were married on Columbus Day 1948.

I didn't have a photo of them together to upload, so I had to use one of Mom with granddaughter Mary Elizabeth, and one of Dad with grandson Michael Colin. I am immensely proud of my parents and of the example of enduring, faithful love that they given over the years to all who know them.

Daniel Bernard Kirby and Emma Rose Barbato were both born in New Haven, Connecticut. Lucille Silvestro Zorena introduced them to each other more than sixty years ago at Saint Donato's Parish Festa. (They had probably gone for the fried dough and ended up with a lifetime of love.) Dan and Emma's marriage was the wedding of two cultures: Irish and Italian. A rich but sometimes challenging combination! They have five children: Mark Daniel, Daniel Joseph, Donna Marie, Michael Dennis (+ 1998), and Terence Gerard. They also have ten grandchildren . . . and one on the way.

Dad retired from the New Haven Fire Department as a Battalion Chief twenty years ago. Mom also retired from City of New Haven several years ago. They now live in Hamden, Connecticut with Dulcie, the sweetest pit bull in the world. They are members of Saint Mary's Parish in New Haven.

Feel free to leave anniversary greetings for them in Comments. Mom is a faithful reader of Vultus Christi and is always interested in seeing whatever comments are left by other readers.

TWENTY–SEVENTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B

Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 127:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16

Suscipe me, Domine, secundum eloquium tuum , et vivam;
et non confundas me ab expectatione mea.

Receive me, O Lord, according to thy word, and I shall live:
and let me not be ashamed of my hope.

Suscipe Me

The Word of God, even while it speaks today of marriage, speaks to all of us: to the married and the unmarried, to those living within monastic enclosure, and to those living in the countless others “enclosures” of parenthood, friendship, elected solitude, and professional responsibilities. To each one of us the Word of God speaks today of the mysterious covenant of love between man and woman, and of the mysterious covenant of love between Christ and His Bride, the Church. When we listen with the ear of the heart to the liturgy and to the sacred gift of life itself, we are drawn more deeply into the mystery of the covenant. The Suscipe (Psalm 118:116) of monastic profession — Receive me, O Lord, take me wholly to thyself — and the message today’s Gospel are related, the one helping us to enter more deeply into the other.

Today's Collect is, to my mind, one of the most beautiful of the whole liturgical year. What are "those things of which our conscience is afraid"? They have to do I think, with the bitter relics left behind by our sins, even when these sins have been forgiven. Long after a sin has been washed away in the pure water of sacramental absolution, the ghost of that sin lingers to haunt us and to taunt us with shameful memories, with fits of anxiety and remorse. The Collect we pray today makes us ask God to put away "those things of which our conscience is afraid," the things that paralyze us in prayer, the things that prevent us from being bold and confident in prayer.

COLLECT

Almighty and everlasting God,
who in the abundance of your fatherly love exceed all that we desire or deserve,
pour out your mercy upon us,
putting away those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and bestowing those which we are not worthy to ask.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

This morning I came upon this marvelous translation of the traditional Collect for the Feast of the Most Holy Rosary and simply had to share it. The translator was John, Marquess of Bute, and the text is found in Volume II of The Roman Breviary Reformed By Order of the Most Holy Oecumenical Council of Trent (William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London, 1879), p. 708.

O God, Whose Only–begotten Son,
by living, dying, and rising again,
hath purchased everlasting joy for us,
mercifully grant that by calling these things to mind
in the Blessed Virgin Mary's most holy Garden–of–Roses,
we may learn better both to follow what they set forth,
and to strive after what they promise.
Through the Same our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son,
Who liveth and reigneth with Thee,
in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end.

It is customary in some places to bless roses on October 7th in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary. I intend to buy roses tomorrow: five pink roses for the Joyful Mysteries, five white for the Luminous Mysteries, five red for the Sorrowful Mysteries, and five yellow for the Glorious Mysteries. They will be placed before the image of the Blessed Virgin during Holy Mass and blessed after the Postcommunion. The petals of these blessed roses may be given to the sick or kept in the home as a pledge of the intercession of the Mother of God and of divine protection.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
Hail , Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women,
and blessed is fruit of your womb (cf. Lk 1:28, 42).

COLLECT

Pour forth your grace into our hearts,
we beseech you, O Lord,
so that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ your Son
was made known by the message of an Angel,
may by his passion and cross
be brought to the glory of his resurrection.
Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

Mary, bearing Jesus in her arms, visits those who ceaselessly pray her Rosary, her Psalter.

When the Mother and Child enter a place, darkness is put to flight, loneliness becomes communion, fear gives way to confidence, and hope triumphs over despair.

To His All–Pure Mother has Jesus entrusted the mission of sweetening the bitter waters of loneliness.

"As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you" (Is 66:13).

One who prays the Rosary faithfully is, in some way, scanning the horizon for the arrival of the Mother of God, already certain of her visitation. "Who is this coming up from the desert, leaning on her beloved?" (Ct 8:5).

"Till the day break, and the shadows retire, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee. Come from Libanus, my spouse, come from Libanus, come; thou shalt be crowned" (Ct 4:6–8).

What is this crown if not the Rosary (la corona del Rosario) woven for the Mother of God by her servants while they keep vigil? "Blessed are they that keep vigil , day by day at my threshold, watching till I open my doors. The man who wins me wins life, drinks deep of Lord's favour" (Pr 8:34–35).

My niece Mary Elizabeth Kirby (18 months) knows the joy of letting go. This photo reminded me of a line from the lovely Prayer for the Heart of a Child of Father Léonce de Grandmaison.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
preserve in me the heart of a child,
pure and transparent as a spring.

I baptized both Mary and her brother Michael Colin (3 years old) in Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Church in Hampton, New Hampshire. This is not Mary's first appearance on Vultus Christi. You can be sure that it will not be her last.

The Collect formerly used for the feast of Saint Bruno breathes the spirit of compunction that animates all who seek the Face of God. I give it here for that reason:

May the prayers of Thy holy confessor Bruno
come to our aid, we pray Thee, Lord;
so that we who have grievously offended Thy majesty
by our transgressions
may obtain pardon through his merits and intercession.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

GR
Of you my heart has spoken: “Seek his face.”
It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;
hide not your face from me.
V. The Lord is my light and my salvation,
whom shall I fear? (Ps 26:8–9, 1)

COLLECT

O God who called Saint Bruno
to serve you in solitude,
grant, through his intercession,
that, amidst the changes of this world,
we may seek you always, and with all our heart.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

This is my 100th posting on Vultus Christi! At the beginning of October I promised to post something on the Holy Rosary each day until the end of the month. On this liturgical memorial of Blessed Bartolo Longo I can think of nothing more suitable than the conclusion of his own magnificent Supplication to Our Lady. Pope John Paul II used this very text at the end of Rosarium Virginis Mariae.

The image of Our Lady of the Rosary is the painting that Blessed Bartolo Longo obtained in Naples for the people of Pompei on November 13, 1875.

“O Blessed Rosary of Mary, sweet chain which unites us to God, bond of love which unites us to the angels, tower of salvation against the assaults of Hell, safe port in our universal shipwreck, we will never abandon you. You will be our comfort in the hour of death: yours our final kiss as life ebbs away. And the last word from our lips will be your sweet name, O Queen of the Rosary of Pompei, O dearest Mother, O Refuge of Sinners, O Sovereign Consoler of the Afflicted. May you be everywhere blessed, today and always, on earth and in heaven”.

MR
The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever;
from generation to generation
my mouth will proclaim your truth (Ps 88:2).

COLLECT

O God,
who in a wondrous manner
revealed the inexhaustible riches of your mercy
to Saint Maria Faustina,
grant, we beseech you,
that by looking with trust upon the pierced side of your Son
we may be strengthened to show mercy one to another
and, at length, sing forever of your mercy in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

October 5th is the liturgical memorial of Blessed Bartolo Longo, founder of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Rosary of Pompei. Pope John Paul II beatified the Italian layman in 1980, calling him the man of the Madonna. On October 7, 2003, Pope John Paul went in pilgrimage to Pompei. There he recited the Rosary and prayed Blessed Longo's touching "supplication" to the Madonna of the Rosary. The pilgrimage to Pompeii marked the close of Pope John Paul II's Year of the Rosary.

"What actually is the Rosary? A compendium of the Gospel. It brings us back again and again to the most important scenes of Christ's life, almost as if to let us "breathe" his mystery. The Rosary is the privileged path to contemplation. It is, so to speak, Mary's way. Is there anyone who knows and loves Christ better than she?

Bl. Bartolo Longo, Apostle of the Rosary, was convinced of this; he paid special attention to the contemplative and Christological character of the Rosary. Thanks to this Blessed, Pompei has become an international centre for the spirituality of the Rosary.

I wanted my pilgrimage to have the meaning of a plea for peace. We have meditated upon the Mysteries of Light as if to turn the beam of Christ's light on the conflicts, tensions and dramas of the five Continents. In my Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I explained why the Rosary is a prayer that by its very nature is oriented to peace. This is not only because it disposes us to pray for peace, strengthened by the intercession of Mary, but also because it enables us to assimilate Jesus' plan of peace, together with his mystery.

At the same time, with the tranquil rhythm of the repetition of the Hail Mary the Rosary calms our spirit and opens it to saving grace. Bl. Bartolo Longo had a prophetic intuition when he chose to add to the church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary this facade as a monument to peace. So it was that the cause of peace came to be part of what the Rosary itself proposes. It is an intuition whose timeliness does not escape us at the beginning of this millennium, already so battered by the winds of war and streaked with blood in so many parts of the world."

Pope John Paul II
October 7, 2003

There is no denying it: Saint Francis appeals to all sorts of people. Animal lovers, pacifists, environmentalists, non–Christians, secular humanists, and even atheists acknowledge that Francis — or, at least, their idea of Francis — has something to say today. Poor Saint Francis; he is more often portrayed in the middle of a birdbath than at the foot of the Cross. Francis, apart from Jesus Crucified, is completely unintelligible. A certain superficial and worldly iconography of the saint betrays the real Francis by presenting him as an amiable non-conformist; a gentle poet in love with the sun, the moon, the rain, and the earth; a magnet to birds and the tamer of a wolf.

The world shrinks from showing us the real Francis: a man drawn into the embrace of Crucified Love and marked by Love’s own wounds; a man who went about weeping uncontrollably and saying over and over, “Love is not loved! Love is not Loved!”

Francis was the first saint I came to know after Mary and Joseph. I grew up in Saint Francis of Assisi Parish in New Haven, Connecticut and, like my father and his mother before him, went to Saint Francis School. Our church’s statue of Saint Francis fascinated me. Flanked by Saint Patrick on one side of him and Saint Anthony on the other, he stood above a flaming bank of flickering red vigil lights. The statue showed him mysteriously wounded, dark eyed, with a human skull at his feet and the book of the Gospels in his pierced hands. We little boys were fascinated by the skull. It was a long time before we discovered that it wasn’t real; it was nonetheless a very convincing plaster imitation.

My friend Terry at Abbey–Roads has some brilliant posts for today's feast of Saint Francis of Assisi. He says, among other things, that "Francis, in his most authentic image, is an icon of Jesus Crucified. He is in a tattered habit, his side and limbs wounded with the stigmata, his body like gnarled roots, barefoot, trampling the globe representing the world underfoot. He holds a cross, and perhaps a skull, representing the brevity of life and our final end. The authentic image of St. Francis calls us to penance, while urging us to love - to love love, and make love loved."

Do pay Abbey–Roads a visit and be sure to scroll down to the entry for October 3rd on the Transitus of Saint Francis.

Vir Dei Franciscus reliquit domum suam,
dimisit hereditatem suam,
inops et pauper factus est;
Dominus autem assumpsit eum.

Consider, for a moment, today’s Entrance Antiphon in the Roman Missal. What richness in so few lines! “The man of God, Francis, left his home, and gave up his inheritance, becoming poor and needy; the Lord however took him up.” In the Old Testament, the phrase, “man of God,” most often designates a prophet, one upon whom the Spirit of God has descended in a mighty rush, one authorized and sent to speak in God’s name. The liturgy presents Saint Francis as a “man of God,” a prophet, one sent to us with a message. (Saint Gregory the Great uses the same expression, vir Dei, in his life of Holy Father Benedict.) The “man of God” is not merely a holy man; he is a man seized by the Spirit of God, one in whose very bones the Word of God burns like a raging fire (cf. Jer 20:9).

The Entrance Antiphon goes on to say that Francis left home and gave up his inheritance; this tells us that, like Saint Anthony of Egypt before him, Francis was apostolic as well as prophetic. Saint Luke, describing the call of the apostles, says: “They left everything and followed Him” (Lk 5:11). Francis’ rupture with home and loved ones was spectacularly radical. “Brought before the bishop . . . he did not wait for any words nor did he speak any, but immediately putting off his clothes and casting them aside, he gave them back to his father. Moreover, not even retaining his trousers, his stripped himself completely naked before all” (Celano, First Life, 15).

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
Francis, a man of God, left his home and gave away his wealth to become poor and in need. But the Lord cared for him.

GR
It is for us to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ
in whom is our health, life, and resurrection;
through whom we have been saved and set free (cf., Gal 6:14).
V. With all my voice I cry to the Lord,
with all my voice I entreat the Lord (Ps 141:1).

COLLECT

O God, who bestowed upon Saint Francis
the grace of being configured to Christ
in poverty and humility,
grant that by walking in the same path,
we may follow your Son,
and be joined to you in the joy of charity.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second millennium under the guidance of the Spirit of God, is a prayer loved by countless Saints and encouraged by the Magisterium. Simple yet profound, it still remains, at the dawn of this third millennium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a harvest of holiness. It blends easily into the spiritual journey of the Christian life, which, after two thousand years, has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels drawn by the Spirit of God to “set out into the deep” (Duc in altum!) in order once more to proclaim, and even cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and Saviour, “the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6), “the goal of human history and the point on which the desires of history and civilization turn”.(1)

The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the redemptive Incarnation which began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the Christian people sits at the school of Mary and is led to contemplate the beauty on the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.

Pope John Paul II
Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, October 2002

Blessed Abbot Marmion chose Rosary Sunday for his reception of the Abbatial Blessing in 1909, and commemorated this event each year with a procession in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Here is an example to help you understand the efficacy of the Rosary. You remember the story of David who vanquished Goliath. What steps did the young Israelite take to overthrow the giant? He struck him in the middle of the forehead with a pebble from his sling. If we regard the Philistine as representing evil and all its powers: heresy, impurity, pride, we can consider the little stones from the sling capable of overthrowing the enemy as symbolizing the Aves of the Rosary. The ways of God are entirely different from our ways. To us it seems necessary to employ powerful means in order to produce great effects. This is not God's method; quite the contrary. He likes to choose the weakest instruments that He may confound the strong: "God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong -- Infirma mundi elegit ut confundat fortia" (1 Cor 1:27).

Have you not often met poor old women who are most faithful to the pious recitation of the Rosary? You also must do all that you can to recite it with fervour. Get right down, at the feet of Jesus: it is a good thing to make onself small in the presence of so great a God.

Dom Columba Marmion, Christ, the Ideal of the Priest

"I owe more to Columba Marmion for initiating me into things spiritual than to any other spiritual writer."
Pope John Paul II

Abbot Columba Marmion, O.S.B. was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 3, 2000. His liturgical memorial was fixed on October 3rd, the anniversary of his Abbatial Blessing in 1909. Blessed Abbot Marmion is best known for his trilogy: Christ, the Life of the Soul, Christ, the Ideal of the Monk, and Christ in His Mysteries. A fourth volume, Christ, the Ideal of the Priest was published posthumously in 1952.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

MR
The Lord is my inheritance and my cup; he alone will give me my reward. The measuring line has marked a lovely place for me; my inheritance is my great delight (Ps 15:5-6).

Or GR, Caritas Dei, p. 248.

The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.
V. My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name (Rom 5:5; Ps 102:1).

COLLECT

O God, Almighty Father,
who called the blessed abbot Columba
to the monastic way of life
and willed to open to him
the secrets of the mysteries of Christ,
mercifully grant that
strengthened in the spirit of our adoption as sons
by his intercession,
we may become a dwelling place
worthy of your Wisdom.
Through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever

OCTOBER 2
THE HOLY GUARDIAN ANGELS

Exodus 23:20-23
Psalm 90: 1-2, 3-4ab, 4c-6, 10-11
Matthew 18:1-5, 10

October 2, 2006
Monastery of the Glorious Cross, O.S.B.
Branford, Connecticut

Sister Lucienne–Marie’s death this morning, on the feast of the Holy Guardian Angels, invites us to take up the splendid antiphon, In paradisum. Singing it, one seems to hear the whispering rush of angel wings and the joy of the saints coming out to welcome one greatly loved by Christ. I will invite you to sing it with me after Communion today.

May flights of angels convey you into paradise;
at your journey’s end may the army of martyrs shout your welcome
and escort you to the new and holy city Jerusalem.

We will remember Sister Lucienne–Marie for many things: for her irrepressible enthusiasm, for her childlike sense of wonder, for the smile that would light up her whole face, and for her contagious and passionate love of Sacred Scripture. Sister Lucienne–Marie was a born pedagogue; she taught not only with her sharp mind but her whole heart as well. Hers was a successful monastic life. In old age she was still “full of sap, still green” (Ps 91:14). She was full of joy and open to new discoveries, an inspiration to all the generations coming after her.

Sister Lucienne–Marie would agree that salvation history from Genesis to the Apocalypse is full of the angels. For the patriarchs of old, for the kings and prophets of Israel, the providence of God was personalized in angels sent to guide and watch over them.

An angel announced the advent of the Word and the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit to the Virgin Mary, and in humble reverence waited for her “Yes” to carry it back to heaven (cf. Lk 1:26-38). An angel revealed to Saint Joseph his mysterious and fearful role in the plan of God, enlightened him in his dark night, guided him to safety in Egypt and then back again to Galilee (cf. Mt 1: 20-24, 2:13-22). Angels attended Jesus in the mysteries of his birth, life, suffering, and resurrection. Jesus defended the innocence of the little ones by saying to those tempted to despise them that “in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Mt 18: 10).

On this feast of the Holy Guardian Angels my brother Terence and his wife Sandy celebrate their seventh wedding anniversary. Terence and Sandy have two amazing children: Michael Colin (3 years old) and Mary Elizabeth (18 months old). They own and operate My Dogs Mind, a comprehensive dog training service in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Let us pray.

Visit, we beseech thee, O Lord,
the home of Terence and Sandy,
and drive far from it all snares of the enemy:
let thy holy Angels dwell therein,
to preserve them in peace;
and let thy blessing be always upon them.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

These are the rosary beads I use. Note the beautiful cross depicting the Face of Christ. My wonderful friends over at the Rosary Workshop made this rosary for me. They understand that beauty and careful craftsmanship serve to lift the heart and mind to God. Do visit their site. It will delight your eyes and nourish your soul.

At the recitation of the Angelus today, Pope Benedict XVI said:

The seventh of the month, next Saturday, we will celebrate the feast of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary, and it is as if, each year, the Madonna invites us to rediscover the beauty of this prayer, so simple and so deep. The beloved John Paul II was a great apostle of the Rosary: we remember him on his knees with the rosary beads in his hands, immersed in the contemplation of Christ, just as he himself invited us to do with the Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae. The Rosary is a contemplative and Christocentric prayer, inseparable from the meditation of Sacred Scripture. It is the prayer of the christian who advances in the pilgrimage of faith, following Jesus, and preceded by Mary. I want to invite you, dear brothers and sisters, to recite the Rosary during this month in families, in community and in parishes for the intentions of the Pope, for the mission of the Church, and for peace in the world.

Cum Maria contemplemur Christi vultum!

I intend to post something on the Rosary each day during this month of October. To begin the month, I want to share an excerpt from Pope John Paul II's Message for the World Day of Missions in 2003. He presented the whole mission of the Church in relation to the Holy Face of Christ, and the Rosary as a contemplation of the Face of Christ with Mary.

A more contemplative Church: the face of Christ contemplated

3. Cum Maria contemplemur Christi vultum! These words often come to mind: contemplate the "face" of Christ with Mary. When we speak of the "face" of Christ, we refer to his human likeness in which the eternal glory of the Father's only Son shines out (cf. Jn 1,14): "The glory of the Godhead shines forth from the face of Christ" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, n. 21). Contemplating the face of Christ leads to a deeper, interior familiarity with his mystery. Contemplating Jesus with the eyes of faith impels one to penetrate the mystery of the Trinitarian God. Jesus says:"He who has seen me has seen the Father" (Jn 14,9). With the Rosary we advance on this mystical journey "in union with, and at the school of, his Most Holy Mother" (Rosarium Virginis Mariae, n. 3). Indeed, Mary makes herself our teacher and our guide. Under the action of the Holy Spirit, she helps us acquire that "serene boldness" which enables believers to pass on to others their experience of Jesus and the hope that motivates them (cf. Redemptoris missio, n. 24).

This is not, of course, a text found in any of the editiones typicae. It is merely the fruit of lectio divina shared in the literary form of the Preface of the Mass.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,
always and everywhere to give you thanks,
Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God,
through Christ our Lord.

In the beginning,
when you created the heavens and the earth,
your Spirit swept over the waters (Gen 1:1-2);
and when you formed man from the dust of the earth
you gave him life with the very Breath of your mouth (Gen 2:7).

In the fullness of time you sent your Son (Gal 4:4)
to restore the work of your hands to the splendour of holiness
by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When the hour came for him to be glorified by you (Jn 17:1),
he bowed his head and breathed forth his Spirit (Jn 19:30),
giving life to the Church.

On the first day of the week, the day of his resurrection,
he stood in the midst of his disciples,
breathed on them, and gave them the Holy Spirit (Jn 20:22).

Finally, when the day of Pentecost had come (Ac 2:1),
in the signs of a mighty wind and tongues of fire (Ac 2:2-3),
your Spirit descended upon the Church,
drawing her together in unity
and sending her forth to preach the Gospel.

Moved by the Holy Spirit,
we confess the lordship of Christ your Son (1 Cor 12:3),
we rejoice to call you Father (Rom 8:15),
and filled with the Spirit,
sing to you with all our hearts (Eph 5:18-19)
the song of the angels in heaven:

TWENTY–SIXTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR B

Numbers 11:25-29
Psalm 18: 8, 10, 12-13, 14 (R. 9a)
James 5:1-6
Mark 9:38-42, 44, 46-47

Come, Holy Spirit

Do you find the Holy Spirit disruptive? Does he not pose a threat to the routines of the established order? Look at history. The Holy Spirit always seems to get reformers into trouble with the authorities. Every so often the Holy Spirit blows through tidy little cloisters and upsets things, scattering the pages of precious customaries to the four winds. Just when we think we have it right, the Holy Spirit spoils it all by passing through in wind and fire.

I suppose that we would all prefer, at least some of time, an innocuous Holy Spirit, one who, perched on our shoulder, coos soothing nothings into our ears. But such a Holy Spirit is the product of our imaginations, the expression of an angst driven desire to manage and control all things. Face it. The Holy Spirit is always a little threatening, a little wild. Oh, we want the Holy Spirit, but we would prefer a pet Holy Spirit in a gilded cage, lest things get out of hand. That is precisely what happened in today’s reading from the book of Numbers and in the holy Gospel.