Recently in Friends Category

This may be something that happens somewhere between middle and old age but, increasingly, I find myself recalling things read when I was in my teens. Thinking about Saint Mary Magdalene today, I remembered how much this passage impressed me when I came upon it in William T. Walsh's Life of Saint Teresa of Avila.

"I had a very great devotion to the glorious Magdalene, and very frequently used to think of her conversion--especially when I went to Communion. As I knew for certain that our Lord was then within me, I used to place myself at His feet, thinking that my tears would not be despised. I did not know what I was saying; only He did great things for me, in that He was pleased I should shed those tears, seeing that I so soon forgot that impression. I used to recommend myself to that glorious Saint, that she might obtain my pardon." (Autobiography of Saint Teresa of Jesus, Chapter IX)

My friend from long ago, Trappist Father Bernard Bonowitz, may not remember this, but back in the 1960s we both delighted in this passage. In some way it kindled a fire in our hearts.

For The Reverend Monsignor Arthur B. Calkins on the 38th Anniversary of His Ordination to the Holy Priesthood:

"The Holy Spirit will honour Mary and, through Mary, the Holy Spirit will be honoured, beginning from the heart of priests. Two new glories are held in reserve for the world: the reign of the Holy Spirit through Mary and a new awareness stirred up by the Holy Spirit in the spiritual and Christian world of the sorrowful and loving years of Mary's solitude. In these two things, I too will be honoured together with my Father from whom I never separate myself, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.

And so, if my priests want to make progress in virtue they must do it by means of Mary; if they want to grow in knowledge and in love for the Holy Spirit, they must become ever more hers. More and more then let them make known and glorify these years of her solitude.

There is nothing surer than to avail themselves of the Holy Spirit and of Mary for their transformation into Me and, even more, for the perfection (insofar as this is possible on earth) of the union of the members of the Church among themselves, and the perfect Unity in the Trinity that I am seeking in a thousand ways."

The text is from Sacerdoti di Cristo by Conchita Cabrera de Armida, p. 387. The translation is my own.

Father Jacob Restrick, O.P., Mother Mary Gemma, O.P., and the community of the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary in Buffalo, New York were most gracious hosts during the Paschal Triduum. My friendship with Father Jacob goes back thirty years. It was a joy to see him again and to serve at the altar with him.

The Dominican Nuns of the Buffalo monastery sing Gregorian Chant, using both the Roman Gradual and the chant books proper to the Order of Preachers. I was invited to sing the Exultet in Latin, using the distinctive Dominican melody with its glorious melisms over key words, such as haec.

This was, by far, the most restful Sacred Triduum I have had in over three decades. Father Jacob and I were able to share the preaching and the officiating. Paul Z. acted as Master of Ceremonies with his customary competency. The community took care of the chant. It was lovely to be able to take a more quiet approach to the heart of the liturgical year!

On Holy Saturday morning, I was very happy to meet young Brendan Y., a Vultus Christi reader in Buffalo. In the afternoon, Father Jacob drove us to Lackawanna to visit the magnificent Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Victory, built by Father Nelson Baker in 1925.

Easter Sunday Mass was at 8:30. After a festive breakfast, Father Jacob drove Paul Z. and me to the airport to catch our flight back to Connecticut. Deo gratias, alleluia, alleluia.

Monsignor Patrick Brankin was kind enough to remind me that the Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Zapopan in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of the Expectation. The same Little Virgin is venerated at the Shrine of Saint Thérèse in Collinsville, Oklahoma.

Santa Croce in Gerusalemme has a small monastic foundation in Guadalajara. One of the three solemnly professed monks there is my very dear friend, Fra Leone Maria. Fra Leone has a personal devotion to Nuestra Señora de la Expectacíon of Zapopan; his family has their own precious image of the diminutive and much loved Virgin. He had a picture of her in his cell at Santa Croce in Rome.

Shortly after the conquistador Francisco de Bobadilla founded Tzapopa (later called Zapopan) in 1541, Franciscan friars arrived to evangelize the native population. Fray Antonio of Segovia arrived carrying in one hand a crucifix and, in the other, a little statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The statue gave off sparks of heavenly light. The Indians, fascinated and subjugated by the Virgin Mother of Jesus, ceased their resistance and accepted the Gospel.

The Little Virgin won the hearts of the people of Zapopan by granting them abundant graces and miracles. In the mid-1600s, the bishop fixed her feast on December 18th, conferring on the statue the title of Nuestra Señora de la O or de la Expectacíon. It became customary to transfer the statue to Guadalajara in times of special need or crisis. Even today, the Little Virgin spends part of the year, from June 13th to October 5th in Guadalajara. Our Lady of Zapopan is the patroness of the state of Jalisco. On January 18, 1921 she was solemnly crowned.

The statue, made of wood, is very small: just a little over 13 inches tall. Our Lady's tunic is an earthy red and her mantle is blue. She stands on the crescent moon, just as she does at Guadalupe, and her hands are folded in prayer, just as they are at Guadalupe. It is customary to dress the statue in gorgeous clothes. The Little Virgin wears a wig and a golden crown set with jewels. A little reliquary containing an image of the Child Jesus is suspended below her breast. This is reminiscent of the Byzantine icons of Our Lady of the Sign.

Join with me in wishing Fra Leone and the community of the monastery of Santa Cruz of Guadalajara a very blessed feast of Nuestra Señora de la Expectacíon.

What do these Catholic bloggers do when they meet? Pray. Sing. Talk. Eat. Pray. Sing. Talk. Eat. Did I mention the singing? This photo of Father Jeffrey Keyes, C.PP.S. of Rifugio San Gaspare, Richard Chonak of Catholic Light, and myself was taken in the entrance garden of the little church of the Monastery of the Glorious Cross, O.S.B. in Branford, Connecticut.

Yesterday we sang the beautiful Ordinary XII (Pater cuncta), together with the Introit Salus autem and the Alleluia Te martyrum from the Mass of SS. Pontian and Hippolytus. Mass at the Monastery of the Glorious Cross is at 11:50 on weekdays and at 11:00 on Sundays and Solemnities. When I am not serving as chaplain the times of Mass may vary, so call ahead.

The monastery church had to be designed in an existing space. The building is the former Connecticut Hospice. The low ceiling posed real problems. We opened it up with two light wells: one directly over the altar, and another directly over the place where Holy Communion is distributed. The low walls surrounding the sanctuary were another challenge. They contain all sorts of pipes and wiring and could not be removed. We integrated them into the design to form a very effective delineation of the the sanctuary. The Benedictine nuns are in two choirs to the right and left of the sanctuary. The lay faithful have chairs and kneelers facing the sanctuary.

The crucifix came from the workshops of the Nuns of Bethlehem and of the Assumption. The icons of the Saviour and of the Mother of God are by a Benedictine of Jesus Crucified in France.

We are presently holding a Novena of Masses for the happy repose of the souls of all those who died in the monastery building while it was The Connecticut Hospice.

Yes, I do celebrate Holy Mass ad orientem. The wrought iron gates in front of the tabernacle are closed during the Holy Sacrifice and remain open outside of Mass. The conical chasuble of red wool is the work of Vincent Crosby. He explains the conical form of the chasuble:

The chasuble originated in the everyday dress of the Roman citizen at the beginning of the Christian era. It was known as the paenula, the outer garment that entirely enveloped the figure and hung in radiating folds. It had a cone-like or conical shape. To free the hands it was necessary to gather up the material into graceful folds across the forearms.

For the artist, it is a more interesting garment to design because unlike the more static “gothic” chasuble, the conical chasuble changes as it responds to the human body. It is also a more rewarding garment to wear because of the beauty of its folds.

. . . Having completed His sacrifice, and giving up His spirit, the side of Christ is pierced and out flowed blood and water. It is as if this heart of Christ, having spent itself totally in compassion for sinful man, has one last treasure to give in death. This is the final act, the completion of Christ’s total gift to us and to the Father.

Be sure to visit Rationabile Obsequium, the splendid new blog of a recently ordained priest whom I am privileged to count among my friends. Don't miss the homily of Father B's First Mass of Thanksgiving on the mystery of the pierced Heart of Christ. Bravo, dear Father!

Terry's commentary on Jacob's struggle is magnificent. Read the whole text at Abbey–Roads2.

This wrestling in the night can also suggest the spiritual combat involved in overcoming temptation and sin - perhaps even our unconscious resistance to God’s grace.

It is something few of us ever realize, this intimate contact with God amidst our greatest struggles; in the experience of our deepest, darkest, and most painful moments. Oftentimes we cannot perceive His presence, much less His plan for us - while our human nature seeks desperately to repel the experience. And our Lord seems reluctant to give us any evidence of His love during these times, except that which Jacob received, the painful dislocation of his hip. Again, for me, this image suggests that in and through our woundedness, we thus enter into a deeper humility, with less confidence in our own devices and a greater dependence and confidence in the mercy and love of God.

Let Thy gracious favour,
we beseech Thee, O Lord,
sustain Thy faithful,
that those whom Thou hast instructed
by the example of the virtues of Blessed Anna Maria,
may, by her intercession,
be strengthed in holy works on earth
so as to deserve to be crowned with her in heaven.

Women I Admire

June 9th is the feast of Blessed Anna Maria Taigi (1769-1837). She is dear to me because she reminds me of certain friends of mine — married women with children — who, like her, bear their crosses with generosity, dignity, and prayer. Blessed Anna Maria was gifted with a globe of light floating above her heads in which she could see the needs of the Church and of the world. In this “television” of spiritual energy she saw answers to her questions and solutions to her difficulties; from it she received direction for herself and for those who recommended themselves to her prayers. My friends do not have globes of light floating above their heads. They do have constancy in prayer, patience in tribulation, and love for their families.

Making a Home Catholic

Anna Maria arranged a little domestic oratory in her home: a crucifix, an image of the Blessed Mother and one of Saint Philomena, and a lamp, the oil of which was instrumental in working miracles. Her family prayed the rosary together every evening, followed by the reading of life of the saint of the day. They used Holy Water in their comings and goings, observed Sunday as a day of worship and of rest, and visited the sick in Rome’s hospitals. Early in her married life Anna Maria joined the Trinitarian Third Order and wore their distinctive white scapular with the blue and red cross on it. Once when Our Lord was about to ravish her into a mystical ecstasy, she said to Him, “Leave me alone. Be off with you. I have work to do. I am the mother of a family.”

Patience

She bore patiently with her husband’s roughness and outbursts of temper; he once sent the table set for dinner flying into the air and, another time, threw an upholstered chair out the window, aiming it at the head of his son running away in the street below. Anna Maria also cared for her aged parents — embittered, demanding people — with gentleness and calm.

Detachment

Cardinals, bishops, princes and noble ladies heard of Anna Maria’s mystical gifts and sought her counsel. She helped them with simplicity and never accepted money or gifts in exchange, even when these would have benefited her family. “One must not,” she said, “mix up money with the works of God.”

The Heavenly Patroness of Housewives and Mothers

On Friday 2 June 1837 she took to bed with a violent fever. A barbaric medical treatment exhausted her. She died on Friday, 9 February, at sixty–four years of age. Anna Maria left a reputation of holiness and good works. Her husband Domenico lived to give witness to her virtues at the canonical process in view of her beatification. After eighteen years, her coffin was opened: her body was like that of a person who had just fallen asleep. On 18 August 1865 her body was transferred to the Church of San Crisogono in Trastevere where it remains to the present day, still incorrupt. Pope Benedict XV beatified Anna Maria Taigi, wife and mother, on 30 May 1920.

Cast into the furnace of love, the Heart of Jesus,
all your anxieties,
your trials, your fears,
so that He may burn them away.
— Mother Clelia Merloni

Mother Clelia Merloni founded the Congregation of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Viareggio, Italy on May 30, 1894, 113 years ago today. The photo is not of Mother Clelia but of one of the first Sisters sent from Italy to America. With one little orphan in her arms and another holding her hand, she is the perfect image of the Apostle called to be a spouse of Jesus Christ and a mother to those dearest to His Sacred Heart: the little, the vulnerable, the poor.

The daughters of Mother Clelia make reparation to the Sacred Heart by means of their life of adoration and apostolic service to the Church. For every "No" to the love and mercy of the pierced Heart of Christ, the Sister Apostle offers her own unconditional "Yes."

The Generalate of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is located within the parish confines of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, a mere five minutes from the basilica.

"And it shall come to pass after this, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy: your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Moreover upon my servants and handmaids in those days I will pour forth my spirit" (Joel 2:28–29).

Brian Geraghty visited Santa Croce in Gerusalemme May 25 and 26, joining us in the choir and refectory. Brian also came to the novitiate Rosary in the chapel of the Madonna di Buon Aiuto on Saturday afternoon, leading a decade in English.

Brian left Rome for Poland on the Vigil of Pentecost after First Vespers. Fra Ryan Maria was kind enough to drive him and his enormous backpack to the train station. Brian's plans were to stop in Vienna for the Pentecost Mass in Saint Stephen's Cathedral and then continue on to Wadowice, Jasna Gora, and Auschwitz.