Travels: May 2007 Archives

I took a few minutes this evening to translate the Litanies de Notre-Dame-du-Chêne. Some of the invocations are quite beautiful. I especially like the allusion to Colossians 3:3 in the Oration. Do read through the litanies and let me know if you have a favourite invocation!

Thérèse Dussud offered me a lovely reproduction of the statue in the actual size of the original. I burned a candle in front of it all day yesterday and until this morning for a special intention. The Mother of God does not disdain our little gestures of confidence and love; she welcomes them and delights in them.

The Litanies of Notre-Dame-du-Chêne

Lord, have mercy upon us.
Christ, have mercy upon us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Heavenly Father who art God, have mercy upon us.
Son, Redeemer of the world who art God, have mercy upon us.
Holy Spirit who art God, have mercy upon us.
Holy Trinity who art one God, have mercy upon us.

Our Lady of the Oak, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak who revealed thyself by means of miraculous apparitions, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, Virgin most humble, hidden for so long in the tree of Grand-Champ, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, whose sweet image was revealed in the branches of an age-old tree, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, whose goodness is ever displayed by precious favours, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, who hast fixed thine abode in the valley there to spread abroad thy maternal gifts, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, glory and honour of the region, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, all-powerful protectress, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, open refuge in all of life’s necessities, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, evergreen palm of holy hope, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, sweet rest of the afflicted soul, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, hope of downcast souls, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, safe haven in the tempest, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, friend of the lowly of heart, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, arm of victory, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, mystic ladder, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, magnet of hearts, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, mother of mercy, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, fountain of graces, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, refuge of sinners, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, health of the sick, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, peace and bond of families, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, joy and hope in exile, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, shelter of hearts that are pure, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, way that leads to Jesus, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, mother most devoted to those who implore thee, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Oak, who art never invoked in vain, pray for us.

A Little Known Manifestation of the Blessed Virgin

One of the joys of my recent trip to France was a visit with Thérèse Dussud to the shrine of Notre–Dame–du-Chêne (Our Lady of the Oak) in the diocese of Besançon in eastern France. The miraculous events occurred in 1803, well before the Marian apparitions at rue du Bac, la Salette, Lourdes, and Pontmain.

In the Radiance of the Eucharist

The restoration of Catholic worship that followed the Concordat in 1802 made it possible for the little parish of Maisières at Scey-en-Varais to organize a solemn celebration of First Holy Communion, the first such celebration in twelve years. Thirteen year old Cécile Mille was among the First Communicants.

A Lady Dressed in White

Returning home from the First Communion Mass together with a friend, Cécile saw a beautiful Lady clothed in white surrounded by maidens bearing candles. She assumed it was a procession of First Communicants. Then the Lady stopped in front of an oak tree and the attendants disappeared. Against the trunk of the tree, at the parting of the branches, Cécile saw a statue with lighted candles on both sides. Cécile's friend, however, saw nothing.

Incredulity at Home

As soon as Cécile arrived home, she recounted the apparition to her parents. Her father, having consulted the parish priest and a gentleman of some learning, dismissed Cécile's story as the product of a pious imagination stimulated by the solemnities of the First Holy Communion.

These are my petits amis who came to Mass with their parents at the monastery in Nans–sous–Sainte–Anne.

No, it is the view from my window at the Monastère Saint Benoît in Nans–sous–Sainte–Anne in the Doubs in eastern France

I was walking along this little passage between the Monastery of the Incarnation and Subiaco (the novitiate) at Saint–Loup–sur–Aujon when I saw these roses and thought of Plunkett's poem.

I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows,
His tears fall from the skies.

I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice—and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.

All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined with every thorn,
His cross is every tree.

Joseph Mary Plunkett
Executed During The 1916 Uprising
(b. Nov. 21, 1887 - d. May 4, 1916)