A Little Chronicle

Tulsa At Last

I arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma late on the evening of Tuesday, August 19th. Msgr. Patrick Brankin met me at the airport and drove me to Bishop Slattery's home. I remained as His Excellency's house guest for a week, while readying the little house provided for me in a quiet neighbourhood in mid-town Tulsa. I cannot say enough about my Bishop's warm and gracious hospitality. He presented me with a beautiful icon of the Mother of God; she now keeps watch at the door of the house, blessing those who enter and leave.

Wednesday, August 20th, the feast of Saint Bernard: my dear friend, Msgr. A.B. Calkins arrived from Pittsburgh in the morning. At noon, Msgr. Brankin, Msgr. Calkins, and I concelebrated Holy Mass with Bishop Slattery in the chapel of the Chancery. Msgr. Calkins, known to many as a world class Mariologist, also proved to be a valiant helper in unpacking things and in shelving what seemed like a thousand books.

Tour of the House

Msgr. Brankin took me to see my little house, the temporary "Cenacle of the Eucharistic Face of Jesus." One enters the house through a very nice screened porch. The parlour is the first room; it will have the icon of the Virgin Mother, Adorer of the Eucharistic Face of Christ, over the mantlepiece. My desk and computer are now in the corner. To the left is my room, and straight ahead is the refectory/library. Its hardwood floor goes nicely with the heirloom wooden table that once belonged to my County Cavan great-grandmother Mary Ann Smyth Gilbride. The table is over a hundred years old. The walls are lined with bookcases. It is comforting to be surrounded by familiar books, many of them read more than once.

To the left is doorway leading into a hall where a beautiful old German clock marks the time and rings the hour and the half-hour. At the end of the little hall is the oratory, where His Excellency has given me permission to reserve the Blessed Sacrament. My Bishop graciously provided both the altar and the tabernacle. The altar bears a telling inscription on the front: Quid retribuam Domino? (What shall I render to the Lord, for all the things he hath rendered unto me? Psalm 115, 12). The tabernacle has an image of the Lamb of God on the door. The icon of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, which I carried all the way from the Church of Sant'Alfonso on the Via Merulana in Rome, occupies a place of honour. There is a double-sided antique choir stand with the books necessary for the Divine Office in one corner. A spacious closet makes a fine little sacristy.

The kitchen and utility room (equipped with a new washer and dryer) are in the back of the house. Bishop Slattery gave me a very useful counter-top grill which I have already used with great success for salmon (with Katie's delicious yogurt dill sauce) and chicken breasts. I have some pots and pans dating from the 1940s: family heirlooms from the Italian side. And yes, I do enjoy cooking!

Thursday, August 21st

Readers of Vultus Christi know the mystical significance of Thursdays in my life: it is the day of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood, the commemoration of the natalis calicis, the "birthday of the chalice," and the entry into the weekly rememoration of the Paschal Mystery. August 21st beside being the feast of Pope Saint Pius X, is also the feast of Our Lady of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland. The Mother of God appeared there in 1879, accompanied by Saint Joseph and Saint John, all three bearing silent witness to the Immolated Lamb. For these reasons, Thursday, August 21st was chosen for the formal inauguration of my new life as a priest adorer of the Eucharistic Face of Jesus in the Diocese of Tulsa.

At 5:00 in the evening, His Excellency, Bishop Slattery offered Holy Mass in the private chapel of his residence, where a stained glass depiction of Christ the Priest overlooks the altar and tabernacle. Monsignors Brankin and Calkins, and I concelebrated with him. After the Gospel (John 21, 15-17), I knelt before the Bishop and, with my hands held in his, renewed my monastic profession according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, promising him "obedience and filial respect in all things." The Bishop replied, "May God who has begun this good work in you, bring it to fulfillment." Then, standing before the altar, I pronounced the formula by which I dedicated myself to the mandate received from Bishop Slattery, saying:

Most Reverend Father,
desiring to respond to the mandate you have given me
and to the invitation of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
while relying always upon his grace
I promise that for the next two years
I will live each day
in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament,
in a spirit of thanksgiving and intercession,
that I might make reparation before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus
for all my brothers in Holy Orders,
but especially for those who do not adore,
for those who are most wounded in their souls,
and for those who are exposed to the attacks of the powers of darkness.

For them and in their place,
I promise to abide before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus
drawing near to His Open Heart,
that in the ever-flowing streams of Blood and Water
all souls might be purified, healed, and sanctified,
but first of all the souls of His priests.

I ask you, Most Reverend Father,
to sustain me in this calling,
and by your prayers
present me to Our Lord Jesus Christ,
the eternal Priest and Lamb of Sacrifice,
that, by the action of his Holy Spirit,
I might live more closely united to Him as priest and victim.

I make these promises conscious of my weakness,
and resolved to live this grace
in total dependence on the Blessed Virgin Mary,
Advocate of Priests and Mediatrix of All Graces,
and in communion with Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse,
and Saint John, the Beloved Disciple who, in obedience to the word of Jesus
Crucified, took Our Lady into his keeping.

So I promise, so help me God
and those holy martyrs and saints
whose relics are here present.
Amen.

To be continued.