Sponsa Christi April 2nd, 2012
Here are some EXCELLENT meditations
on the spirituality and history of Holy Week.
These were posted on the blog last year.
Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
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Sponsa Christi March 12th, 2012
Well, greetings! Did you think I forgot you? Yes, I guess I took a short vacation from blogging.
We are in the midst of a novena to St. Joseph. Since our monastery is dedicated to this great Guardian of the Redeemer we have a solemn novena to him each year.
Today was our community solitude afternoon and I spent it with Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Redemptoris Custos. What a beautiful reflection on the life and virtues of St. Joseph!
Each Sister is reveling in the spring weather. Every day we can see more buds opening and the grass is just beginning to green – although, we seem to have more wild onions than grass and the wild onions are the first to pop up!
These beauties are in bloom…
I think I have “writer’s block”. 
I would be interested in hearing what YOU are interested in seeing more of on this blog. Any ideas?
Sponsa Christi February 4th, 2012
Just a reminder of our first Eucharistic Evening of Prayer for our Nation this Tuesday, February 7th at 6:30 p.m.
The next evening of prayer is scheduled for March 6th, 6:30—8 p.m.
Please pass this on to your friends and family who are local. For those of you at a distance, I invite you to join us in spirit, even if only for a few minutes.
Do not think the smallest prayer of your heart for our nation will go unheeded. Our Crucified Lord hears every prayer and desires to be King of our Nation once again. Let us implore His mercy!
The more the human conscience succumbs to secularization and moves away from God…the more the Church has the right and the duty to appeal to the God of mercy ‘with loud cries.’ These ‘loud cries’ should be the mark of the Church of our times, cries uttered to God to implore his mercy…
Blessed John Paul II: Rich in Mercy #15
Sponsa Christi April 19th, 2011
Continued Holy Week meditations by Mother Catherine Marie, C.P.
Holy Thursday
Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Today, the daytime hours are an immediate preparation for the Easter Triduum which begins during the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Lent is over. And those who have lived in the rhythm of the liturgy have been prepared during the long weeks of prayer and penance to celebrate the Paschal Mystery in deep faith and love. The daytime hours of Holy Thursday complete our spiritual preparation.
The Washing of the Feet
In our monastery, preserving the ancient monastic tradition even of women’s monasteries, the superior washes the feet of the community members during a Mandatum ceremony. Then at the evening Mass, the priest washes the feet of 12 men in the sanctuary.
This ancient practice of the washing of the feet gave Holy Thursday the name, “Maundy Thursday”. Maundy is a corruption of mandatum (command), referring to the words of Christ: “A new commandment I give you, that you love one another.”
The washing of the feet is a sign and symbol of servant love, the love Jesus told us to imitate: “If I washed your feet–I who am Teacher and Lord–then you must wash each other’s feet. What I just did was to give you an example. As I have done, so also you must do.” (John 13:14-15) The whole point of the washing is that the love of Christ for us should prompt our love for one another.
The custom of washing the feet was of Jewish origin, dictated by dusty roads and dirty streets. The early Church which developed outside of Palestine, did not continue this practice. It is recommended for the first time at the Council of Toledo in 694, and after this not again until the 9th century.
The practice came into the monasteries which observed it with solemnity from the 12th century on. Then it passed over into cathedrals and royal courts. In the reform of 1955 it was inserted for the first time into the Mass of Holy Thursday.
Historical Background of Holy Thursday
Although the celebration of Holy Thursday is very ancient, it did not originally form part of the Triduum. The original Triduum was Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. Together they made one feast, as St. Augustine referred to them. Holy Thursday was seen as a day of preparation, a day for the reconciliation of the penitents, so they could celebrate the Paschal mystery. And the holy chrism was consecrated on that day.
But very early in Church history this day was associated with the institution of the Eucharist. Already by the 4th century it was called “in coena Domini” – that is, the “Thursday of the Lord’s Supper”. An even older name in some places is: “Natale Calicis” – the “Birthday of the Chalice.”
The Lord, having loved those who were his own, loved them to the end. Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament.
(CCC #1337)
The custom of the solemn celebration of the Eucharist on the evening of Holy Thursday seems to originate in Jerusalem. St. Augustine himself speaks of celebrating such an evening Mass, at which all, even those who were not fasting, went to Communion.
By celebrating it in the evening we relive the Passover meal Our Lord shared with his disciples on the night when he was betrayed. It marks the final observance of the Pasch of the Old Testament, and the first celebration of the “new and eternal Covenant” in his blood, the blood of the true Passover Lamb.
Jesus chose the time of Passover to fulfill what he had announced at Capernaum: giving his disciples his Body and his Blood….By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus’ passing over to his Father by his death and resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom.
(CCC #1339-1340)
The Church, the Bride of Christ, lingers over these hours, gratefully honoring Our Lord as He leaves us the legacy of His love in the Holy Eucharist.
This sacrifice is so decisive for the salvation of the human race that Jesus Christ offered it and returned to the Father only after He had left us a means of sharing in it as if we had been present there. Each member of the faithful can thus take part in it and inexhaustibly gain its fruits. This is the faith from which generations of Christians down the ages have lived.
(EE #11)
The Paschal Triduum….
is gathered up, foreshadowed and concentrated forever in the gift of the Eucharist. In this gift, Jesus Christ entrusted to His Church the perennial making present of the Paschal Mystery. With it, He brought about a mysterious oneness in time between that Triduum and the passage of the centuries. This thought should lead us to profound amazement and gratitude. In the Paschal event and the Eucharist which makes it present throughout the centuries, there is a truly enormous capacity which embraces all of history as the recipient of the grace of the redemption. This amazement should always fill the Church assembled for the celebration of the Eucharist.
(EE #5)
Holy Thursday helps us realize that we receive the living Bread that has come down from heaven, from a table which is first of all an altar. Like the Israelites of old, we eat the Paschal Lamb. By eating this food, we are associated in Our Lord’s sacrifice and it becomes our own.
The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, the making present and the sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice in the liturgy of the Church which is his Body.
(CCC #1362)
Every Mass is the Paschal Mystery, the Lord’s Passover (transitus Domini). We are united with him in his dying in order to be united with him in his resurrection. This is why in this Mass, emphasis is placed on the cross: “Let us glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ….” Our recalling of him is the recalling of One whose life was poured out in a supreme gesture of love.
In the sense of Sacred Scripture the memorial is not merely the recollection of past events but the proclamation of the mighty works wrought by God for men. In the liturgical celebration of these events, they become in a certain way present and real. This is how Israel understands its liberation from Egypt: every time Passover is celebrated, the Exodus events are made present to the memory of believers so that they may conform their lives to them. In the New Testament, the memorial takes on new meaning.
When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ’s Passover, and it is made present: the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present. ‘As often as the sacrifice of the Cross by which Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried out.’ Because it is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice….The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit….The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice.
(CCC #1362–1367)
The Gospel introduces not just a foot washing, but the very work of redemption which is symbolized by the foot washing. Christ cleanses us of sin, and if he does not wash us through his Passion, we can have no part with him. (cf Titus 2:14 and I Peter 1:18-20) Holy Thursday’s great lesson is this: the fruit of the Eucharist is union with our neighbor.
Procession and Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament
Until after the year 1000, there was no worship of the reserved Sacrament nor any special symbolism attached to the transfer of the Holy Eucharist away from the altar. During the Middle Ages this transfer took on much importance and was conducted with an elaborate ritual. The Churches of Spain and France, under influence of the Church in Jerusalem, began the practice of the nocturnal vigil in honor of the Passion of Our Lord.
In Jerusalem the faithful could visit the places where the events of the Passion took place. In the West this was impossible, so they centered this nocturnal vigil around the reserved Blessed Sacrament instead. In true medieval fashion they imitated certain details of the Passion, so that St. Paul of the Cross will refer to the place of reservation as the “holy sepulchre,” the customary name in use in his time. The sacred Species was wrapped in what they called “the linen shroud” and so on.
Receiving Holy Communion on Good Friday became increasingly rare, and so only one large host was reserved for the celebrant, and this was placed in a chalice covered with a silken cloth.
The procession with lights and incense at the end of the Holy Thursday Mass began in France in the 11th century. In the late Middle Ages, the adornments proper to Corpus Christi became attached to Holy Thursday, and this is when the singing of the Pange Lingua came in during the procession. Also elaborate floral arrangements around the tabernacle became the rule. These practices, praiseworthy in themselves, tended to distract attention from Holy Week to what was secondary.
In the reformed rite, the solemn transfer of the Blessed Sacrament has been retained, and there is no question of returning to the austerity of the early Roman ordos. The Pange Lingua is retained, and it provides a commentary on the rite itself. The adoration is to be prolonged at least until midnight.
In our monastic practice, at midnight the flowers are removed and the candles extinguished, although our Sisters continue the adoration two by two until the hour of the community’s private prayer in early morning. In early morning, the altar itself is dismantled, and the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in a more discreet place.
Sponsa Christi April 16th, 2011
Holy Week! These blessed days have finally arrived – the culmination of our Lenten preparation. Holy Week in the monastery is a very special time. We seek to have more time for prayer and contemplating the great mysteries of our Faith. This week I hope to share with you some history and spirituality of Holy Week. This is by no means exhaustive but meant to spur you on to participate in these holy days with greater depth and understanding.
The reflections this week are compiled by our Mother Catherine Marie. Her resources are The Meaning of Holy Weekby Reverend William J. O’Shea, 1965 published by The Liturgical Press, The Catechism of the Catholic Church(referred to as CCC) and Ecclesia de Eucharistia by Pope John Paul II (soon-to-be “Blessed”!) This document will be referred to as EE
This may seem like a lot of reading but, believe me, if you desire to enter into this holiest of weeks well-prepared I think these meditations will be of much use to you. I hope you will return throughout the week for further articles.
Let us begin!
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Holy Week is at the heart of the entire Church year, the time when more than ever we celebrate the great mystery of our redemption in Christ. We have prepared for this greatest week of the Church Year by 40 days of prayer, fasting and works of mercy. During the first week of Lent, the Church placed this prayer on our lips:
Lord, may our observance of Lent help to renew us and prepare us to celebrate the death and resurrection of Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Friday, First Week of Lent)
And now, with the whole Church, we are standing on the threshold of Holy Week. We dedicate ourselves to prayerfulness, that we may live this week with Christ in union with the Heart of His Mother. The Catholic Catechism tells us that “all that Christ is—all that he did and suffered for all men—participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times.” (CCC #1085) This means that we can participate in Holy Week as if we had been present when the events first happened.
Historical Background
In the Latin (Western) Church, as early as the 4th century, this was known as “Paschal Week” because the high point of the week is the celebration of the Paschal Mystery, that is, the death and resurrection of the Lord. The early Christians took over the annual celebration of the Passover, and gave it its Christian meaning. Christ is the true Paschal Lamb, the fulfillment of the Old Testament type. “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.”
In the Eastern Church, this was called the “Great Week” because during it, great and mighty things were done by Our Lord (St. John Chrysostom). It was in this week that the redemption of the world was accomplished.
Our own term, “Holy Week” has also been in use since the 4th century, for this is the week made holy by the holiest of all actions, and also by the Holy One Himself, Jesus Christ.
St. Ambrose called Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday “the Sacred Triduum.” Our present day liturgy calls this the “Easter Triduum.”
The Church’s understanding is that the Triduum begins with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday evening. According to the Jewish reckoning of days–a new day begins at sunset, or with the appearance of the first star on the day before.
Therefore, Good Friday has already begun by the time we celebrate Mass on Holy Thursday. This demonstrates how the Last Supper and the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross are one and the same redemptive mystery.
From the earliest days of Christianity, the Church has always delighted in celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus that took place during this time of year. The Sacred Triduum was the first Christian celebration, solemnity or feast. Only later did the Church begin to celebrate the other events in the life of Jesus.
The annual commemoration of Holy Week was seen by the early Christians to be so intimately bound up with the Christian life itself, that no one was considered a true Christian who did not actively participate in it! Not to join with the Christian community and participate in this sacred celebration was considered to be a break with Christianity itself!
The early Church deeply understood that these sacred events concerned each and every Christian for the following reasons:
Theological Background
The celebration of Holy Week is not a mere rejoicing over past events. It is a true re-living with Jesus of these salvation-filled events. We relive “the unique event of history which does not pass away.” (CCC #1085)
This sacrifice is so decisive for the salvation of the human race that Jesus Christ offered it and returned to the Father only after He had left us a means of sharing in it as if we had been present there. Each member of the faithful can thus take part in it and inexhaustibly gain its fruits. This is the faith from which generations of Christians down the ages have lived.
EE #11
Pope John Paul II says that the Paschal Triduum
is gathered up, foreshadowed and concentrated forever in the gift of the Eucharist. In this gift, Jesus Christ entrusted to His Church the perennial making present of the Paschal Mystery. With it, He brought about a mysterious oneness in time between that Triduum and the passage of the centuries.
This thought should lead us to profound amazement and gratitude. In the Paschal event and the Eucharist which makes it present throughout the centuries, there is a truly enormous capacity which embraces all of history as the recipient of the grace of the redemption. This amazement should always fill the Church assembled for the celebration of the Eucharist.
EE 5
Yes, the liturgy of Holy Week is an external observance, but it should also be a true internal experience of what we celebrate, and particularly of the very Jesus whom we celebrate. The Paschal Mystery is meant to become our own. We are meant to take part in it as if we had personally been there. Jesus’ passing over to the Father, His death and resurrection, are communicated to us in a special way during this holiest week of the Church year.
The heart of the Christian life is the living of the Paschal Mystery in its entirety – that is: the mystery of continually dying and rising with Christ. (Mystical death and Divine Rebirth as St. Paul of the Cross would have termed it) It is only through immersion in this mystery by baptism, Eucharist and the other sacraments, as well as by prayer and union with Christ, that we can live the Christ-life at all.
When we take an active part in the celebration of Holy Week, we truly share in the experience of Jesus in His Passion, death and resurrection. We truly lay hold of this mystery, make it more and more our own, and further in ourselves and in the Church, the work of our salvation.
The liturgical rites of Holy Week not only have a unique dignity. They have a sacramental power and effectiveness to nourish the Christian life. No other devotion can substitute for them.
(Maxima Redemptionis Nostrae, Nov 17, 1955 – this was the document of the Church on the restoration of the Holy Week liturgy)
In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal Mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life, Jesus announced his Paschal Mystery by his teaching, and anticipated it by his actions. When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father once for all. His Paschal Mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. The Paschal Mystery of Christ by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is–all that he did and suffered for all men–participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.
CCC #1085
Easter is not simply one feast among others, but the “Feast of feasts,” the “Solemnity of solemnities,” just as the Eucharist is the “Sacrament of sacraments” (The Great Sacrament). St. Athanasius calls Easter “the Great Sunday” and the Eastern Churches call Holy Week “the Great Week.” The mystery of the Resurrection in which Christ crushed death, permeates with its powerful energy our old time, until all is subjected to him.”
CCC #1169
Sponsa Christi April 1st, 2011
Recently several of you have inquired about some good reading materials on St. Paul of the Cross. Our Passionist Fathers on the East Coast (Province of St. Paul of the Cross) have a helpful on-line shop of Passionist resources. Here are some of my favorites.
Here are two good biographies of St. Paul of the Cross
This book is a great resource on the spirituality of St. Paul of the Cross by the esteemed Fr. Bennet Kelley, C.P.
An excellent 30 minute DVD on the life and times of
St. Paul of the Cross
Three volume set of the Letters of St. Paul of the Cross. These are lovely hard-bound copies.
Don’t let this simple cover fool you. This is chock full of important Passionist stuff by the well-known
Fr. Jude Mead, C.P.
This book features…
Daily Devotional of excerpts from the letters of
St. Paul of the Cross - this book is a little gem!
Sponsa Christi March 11th, 2011
Today we begin our annual solemn novena to Saint Joseph – patron of our monastery! Two years ago I shared how our Foundress, Mother Mary Agnes, chose St. Joseph to be protector of our monastery.
This statue has been with us since the beginning of our foundation in this diocese in 1946. It was donated by the Steele family who have been wonderful friends of our community since those early days. A few years ago a friend of ours painted it. May the Lord bless all our benefactors who make our life of prayer and penance a possibility!
Perhaps you would like to join us as we make this novena. Each day we have a common reading from Guardian of the Redeemer by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II. Below is the prayer we are using. It is by Blessed Pope John XXIII.
Saint Joseph, guardian of Jesus and chaste husband of Mary, you passed your life in loving fulfillment of duty. You supported the holy family of Nazareth with the work of your hands. Kindly protect those who trustingly come to you. You know their aspirations, their hardships, their hopes. They look to you because they know you will understand and protect them. You too knew trial, labor, and weariness. But amid the worries of material life, your soul was full of deep peace and sang out in true joy through intimacy with God’s Son entrusted to you, and, with Mary, his tender Mother. Assure those you protect that they do not labor alone. Teach them to find Jesus near them and to watch over him faithfully as you have done. Amen.
During this novena we are especially reminding St. Joseph of your needs and intentions. Would you please pray for us? Especially for more young women to respond to God’s call to be a Passionist Nun. Two or three women will be here for a vocation visit on St. Joseph’s weekend!
Feast of St. Joseph – March 19th
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Thanks for your kind prayers for Liz. Her discernment with us was very graced and she returned home earlier this week. I’m sure she would appreciate a prayer or two as she re-adjusts to life outside the monastery and peacefully seeks the Lord’s plans for her future. God bless you Liz. We miss you!
Sponsa Christi May 8th, 2010
Mother’s Day is a big deal here in the monastery. Mass each year on this day is offered for our mothers living and deceased. Mother’s Day also reminds us of our privilege and duty of spiritual motherhood. This year our community’s annual May procession will be held on Mother’s Day.
Today I would like to share with you about our spiritual mother Mary and her presence in the life of our Founder and our Congregation.
The following article was gleaned from Bread on the Waters website and was written by Father Columkille Regan – Passionist priest.
There is a powerful and discreet presence of Mary in Scripture and Luturgy. We find it also in the history of the saints. Mary touched the life of St. Paul of the Cross from his early youth. Signs of her presence were many and clear, and all of them pointed toward her Son Jesus.
Paul was raised in a family of deep faith, where he learned to converse with Mary daily through the Rosary. As a young boy, he fell into the Olba River and was miraculously saved by Mary. During the intellectual visions of the summer of 1720, Mary showed Paul the habit of mourning and penance and the sign he and his companions were to wear, and explained the meaning of the habit in terms of their mourning for the Passion and Death of Jesus.
Paul had a very special devotion to the Mystery of Mary’s Presentation in the Temple. On that particular feastday “he said farewell to the world and desired to be clothed in the habit of the Passion, and thus offered himself in the flower of his years to the Divine Majesty, in imitation of that great queen, who, in offering herself in the temple, made of herself a sacrifice so agreeable to the heart of God.” (Strambi: Life of Paul of the Cross, p. 204)
On his first trip to Rome, the ship stopped at Monte Argentario, and Paul recalled the words he had heard in prayer before a statue of our Lady: “Paul come to Monte Argentario, for I am there alone.” On the feast of our Lady’s Presentation in 1721 or 1722, Paul received the gift of mystical marriage when Mary, holding the Divine Child, placed the ring (embossed with the signs of the Passion) on his finger.
In September, 1721 when he was refused audience with the Pope, Paul went immediately to the Church of St. Mary Major, and in the Borghese Chapel made a vow to promote devotion to the Passion of Christ in the hearts of the faithful.
Throughout his whole life, Paul was deeply united to Mary because of her intimate association in the Mystery of Redemption. On his deathbed, Paul pointed to his crucifix and said, “There are all my hopes, in the Passion of Jesus Christ and the Dolors of the Blessed Virgin Mary.” St. Vincent Mary Stambi related that “Mary came at the moment of death to assist Paul and lead his soul to paradise.”
On his deathbed, Paul left the Congregation in the hands of Jesus Crucified and our Sorrowful Mother. Mary — always associated with the person and work of her Son – continued to give her maternal presence and intercession to the Congregation. This Marian presence was a ‘constant’ in the Congregation, and took on special intensity in the Passionist saints such as St. Vincent Mary Strambi, Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God, St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Virgin, Venerable Mother Mary Crucified and St. Gemma Galgani.
When the Congregation was founded in the United States, that same, strong Marian presence was experienced. Many foundations bore her name. Devotion to our Mother of Sorrows was intimately linked to the memory of the Passion. Passionist missions, novenas and retreats all integrated the mystery of Mary with the mystery of Christ’s Passion and Death. The famous Monday Devotions always honored our Mother of Sorrows. The Confraternity of the Passion has done exceptional work in spreading devotion to our Sorrowful Mother. All our communication media have done the same. But the most powerful Marian experience goes on in the hearts of our men — known only to the Heart of God and His Mother.
The Passionist Constitutions (of the male branch) single out the Marian presence in prayer:
The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lord, is present in a special way in our life of prayer. Like her, we too ponder God’s Word in our hearts. We revere Mary as our Mother and seek to imitate her trustful, persevering prayer. In our love for her, we endeavor compassionately to share her sorrow in the mystery of the Cross, chiefly by contemplating the mysteries of the holy Rosary. Invoking her help, we are confident that her motherly intervention will win us the graces we need as sons making our way to the Father. (#53)
The Marian presence in our apostolate is perhaps best expressed by our Holy Father on the occasion of Brother Isidore’s beatification:
“I cannot but conclude with a sincere wish, which I have taken from a letter addressed by your founder to his confreres in 1751:
‘May this small congregation, a work of divine mercy, develop throughout the world
so that . . . everywhere there may be holy workers who, like loud trumpets animated by the Holy Spirit, may awaken souls sleeping in sin through the holy preaching of the most holy sufferings of the Son of God, Christ Jesus; so that, contrite, they may shed salutary tears of repentance and with constant devout meditation on the same most holy sufferings, they may become ever more inflamed with the holy love of God, living devoutly according to their proper state.’ (Letter IV, 229)“I entrust these wishes to the motherly heart of our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of your Congregation, and I commend to her each and every dear Passionist.” (Pope John Paul II, October 1, 1984)
Sponsa Christi May 1st, 2010
…to stand up for Truth and to follow God’s call.
Our community is currently watching this week’s The World Over (a Catholic news program on EWTN). Raymond Arroyo is interviewing Newt and Callista Gingrich about their new movie Nine Days that Changed the World which examines Pope John Paul II’s 1979 trip to Poland and his role in the fall of communism. WOW - many of us were brought to tears. We pray this movie will touch many hearts and open the minds of all our citizens to see where the American elite are leading our beloved nation – to be a nation of people who are not free to practice our faith.
Speaking of Pope John Paul II, I came across the following quote in some reading I did during our annual 8-day retreat and have been looking for an opportunity to share it with you. I think I just found that opportunity. This is an excerpt from a talk given by Fr. Thomas Rosica, C.S.B. during the Eucharistic Congress in Washington, DC last September.
With the on-going purification the Church is going through right now and the need to keep focused on the necesity and importance of ministry and consecrated life in the Church today, I thought you would appreciate these stirring words of Pope John Paul the Great at the concluding Mass of World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.
Even a tiny flame lifts the heavy lid of night. How much more light will you make, all together, if you bond as one in the communion of the Church! If you love Jesus, love the Church! Do not be discouraged by the sins and failings of some of her members. The harm done by some priests and religious to the young and vulnerable fills us with a deep sense of sadness and shame.
But think of the vast majority of dedicated and generous priests and religious whose only wish is to serve and do good! There are many priests, seminarians and consecrated persons here today; be close to them and support them! And if, in the depths of your hearts, you feel the same call to the priesthood or consecrated life, do not be afraid to follow Christ on the royal road of the Cross! At difficult moments in the Church’s life, the pursuit of holiness becomes even more urgent. And holiness is not a question of age; it is a matter of living in the Holy Spirit, just as Kateri Tekakwitha did here in America and so many other young people have done.
…Do not let that hope die! Stake your lives on it! We are not the sum of our weakneses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”
Sponsa Christi December 11th, 2009
That’s right…our aspirant, Ane Kirstine, (whom you can find out more about by visiting her blog: Quantitative Metathesis) has been accepted to enter the postulancy which means she will be officially entering the monastery in January! Currently she is home (in Washington State) with her parents and beloved sister Whitney, tying up loose ends and preparing to happily return to enter the cloister shortly after Christmas, to join us at the foot of the cross and spend her life in worship and intercession. Please keep her and all her dear family and friends in your prayers during this time of transition. God reward you! Ane Kirstine – Happy Anniversary on the Feast of St. Lucy! The anniversary of your entrance in the arms of Holy Mother Church!
Enjoying an intense game of croquet
on the Feast of Blessed Pius Campidelli, C.P.
Recently we had a professional video company film a one minute vocation ad for our community featuring Sr. Rose Marie. She did VERY well. Sometime you might see her pop up on your screen if you ever watch EWTN. Join us in praying EWTN will air this ad regularly as a filler so that more people can become aware of our existence in the Church. And of course, our main goal is to present Passionist life as a wonderful option for those young women who are discerning a religious vocation. By the way, I am in touch with several young women who are interested in Passionist life. Please pray in particular for Liz who we hope will be able to come for a visit in 2010. She, like Sr. Rose Marie, is from Texas! Please offer a prayer for her and for all the young women whom God is calling to join our monastic family.
December 12 is the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe! This year is the 10th anniversary of the entrustment of our continent and its future to our Lady of Guadalupe by Pope John Paul II. He called her the “Star of the New Evangelization” for God sent her to Mexico to end human sacrifice and to convert 9 million persons from pagan worship to Catholicism in 10 years! May He send her once again to our continent to conquer the culture of death and make us a continent of life with dignity and freedom for ALL. AMEN! Our Lady of Guadalupe, we love you; pray for us!
Scroll down to #626
Prayer for Vocations
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Ora pro nobis!
Venerable Mother Mary
Crucified of Jesus
First Superior of the Passionist Nuns
Ora pro nobis!
Servant of God
Mother Leonarda
Passionist Nun
Died in 1953
Ora pro nobis!
Servant of God
Sister Addolorata
Passionist Nun
Died in 1954
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Gabriel of our Lady of
Sorrows
Passionist seminarian
Feastday: February 27th
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Vincent Strambi
Bishop
Feastday: September 24th
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Charles of Mt. Argus
Gift of Healing
Feastday: January 5th
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Innocencio Canoura
Martyred in Asturias in 1934 with a group of Christian Brothers
Feastday: October 9th
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Eugene Bossilkov
Bishop during the communist persecution in Bulgaria ~ Falsely accused, imprisoned, tortured and martyred in 1952
Feastday: November 13
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Grimoaldo Santamaria
Passionist student died of acute meningitis in 1902
Feastday: November 18
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Dominic of the Mother of God
Most known for receiving Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman into the Church
Feastday: August 26
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Lawrence Salvi
Great devotion to the Child Jesus & an outstanding preacher
Feastday: June 12th
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Nicephorus and 26 Companions
Martyred in Spain in 1936
Feastday: July 24
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Isidore of St. Joseph
Passionist religious brother
Feastday: October 6
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Pius Campidelli
Passionist seminarian
Feastday: November 3
Ora pro nobis!
Blessed Bernard Mary Silvestrelli
Superior General
Feastday: December 9th
Ora pro nobis!
Venerable Galileo Nicolini
Passionist Novice
Died in 1897
Ora pro nobis!
Servant of God
Fr. Theodore Foley
Superior General
Died in 1974
Ora pro nobis!
Servant of God
Fr. Ignatius Spencer
Convert from Anglican Clergy
Famous preacher
Apostle of England
Distant relative of Princess Diana RIP
Died in 1864
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Gemma Galgani
Passionist lay woman
Feastday: May 16
Ora pro nobis!
Saint Maria Goretti
Martyr for purity
Prepared for First Holy Communion by a Passionist and the Passionist Congregation promoted her cause to sainthood.
Feastday: July 6
Ora pro nobis!
