aeternus

You know, every once and awhile a soul can get a little confused by all the distractions of the world.  Living in our day it is difficult to “stay hidden in Christ” and keep our hearts united to His in the midst of our own turmoil and daily mundane struggles.  I think I can say with certainty that we all feel a bit trodden upon at times.  We may do our best to “offer it up” but a soul can get weary!

In the middle of one of my own wearisome battles a certain grace came to me in the form of a comment to this little blog.  Its message of hope in the beauty of a peaceful eternity of love and fellowship with our God and all His holy Angels and Saints came at just the right time.  It was like a loving smack on my tired brain to say, “Hey Lady, stay the course, be strong, never fear, I AM with you!”   Well, it may have been even more than a smack because it produced in me a good old long cry which has invigorated my soul once again.  I thank the sender immensely and will always pray for him!!!  AMEN! AMEN!

Here is the quotation I am passing along.  It is from a sermon by  St. Venerable Bede and is currently prayed in the traditional breviary at II Nocturns.  (I think it was that Nocturn part which inspired me to post the photo above which I took a few weeks ago.  It is of two Great Horned Owls at sunset who happen to be our neighbors.  You may have to play “Where’s Waldo” to spot the 2nd owl.)  I hope the quote will inspire your soul…

“Never shall there be discord anywhere there, but all things in harmony.  For everywhere there, things are in such concord that all the Saints are at unity with each other in one peace and joy.  Everywhere there, all things are tranquil and quiet.  Perpetual is the splendour there ; not like unto the sunlight which we know here, but a light which is the brighter, as it is the more blessed.  For that city, as saith Scripture, needeth not the light of the sun, because the Lord Almighty doth enlighten it by the Lamb which is the Light thereof.  There the Saints shall shine like as the brightness of the firmament, and they that have turned many to righteousness, as the stars, for ever and ever.

And so there is no night there, no darkness, no gathering of clouds, no asperity of heat or cold.  But such is the nature of things there as no eye hath seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, except of those only who have been found worthy to enjoy it, whose names are written in the book of life ; and who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and are before the throne of God, serving him day and night.  There is no old age anywhere there, nor misery of old age, for all are come to perfect manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.

But far above all these things is the fellowship there.  That is, to enjoy the companionship of the heavenly citizens : to look upon the choirs of Angels and Archangels, of Thrones and Dominions, Principalities, Powers, and all the heavenly Virtues on high : and to behold the army of the Saints shining more gloriously than the stars ; of the Patriarchs glowing with faith ; of the Prophets rejoicing in hope ; of the Apostles judging the world reformed into twelve tribes of the new Israel ; of the Martyrs resplendent in their ruddy crowns of victory ; and of the Virgins wearing garlands of the purest white.”

“In external matters. In times of great heat, cold or rain; in times of famine, epidemics and similar occasions we should refrain from expressions like these: “What unbearable heat!” “What piercing cold!” “What a tragedy!” In these instances we should avoid expressions indicating opposition to God’s will. We should want things to be just as they are, because it is God who thus disposes them. An incident in point would be this one: Late one night St. Francis Borgia arrived unexpectedly at a Jesuit house, in a snowstorm. He knocked and knocked on the door, but all to no purpose because the community being asleep, no one heard him. When morning came all were embarrassed for the discomfort he had experienced by having had to spend the night in the open. The saint, however, said he had enjoyed the greatest consolation during those long hours of the night by imagining that he saw our Lord up in the sky dropping the snowflakes down upon him.”

– St. Alphonsus de Liguori — Special Practices of Uniformity

I was alerted many months ago to a new translation of Dante’s Purgatory by Anthony Esolen.  I am fairly sure many of you have already read this classic tale (of the trilogy) in which a fictional Virgil navigates his way through the  7 terraced provinces of Purgatory as he is led there to discover and write about the souls who populate the landscape and witness their particular sins and sufferings.

There are many quotations in this poetic masterpiece which speak to the heart of the reader but there is within an  anagogical interpretation which is to be mystically discovered by a soul who prayerfully reads its prose.  It is for this prayerful purpose and as we ourselves are in the midst of traveling through our own novena for the souls who endure sufferings as they penitentially wait in hope, that I will share  quotations from this section of the Divine Comedy.

As Dante leads his reader from the remorseless gates of the inferno and crosses over the threshold of the lands of atonement.  Here a soul must learn to trust in the ultimate power of divine justice and remove from his intellect  his past ways of  knowing in the earthly world he once lived.  A soul here says:

“..I surrendered, yielding to Him who pardoned willingly.

My sins were horrible, but endless grace

has arms of generous goodness thrown so wide

they take in all who turn to them…

No man loses, by their curse’s power,

eternal love, that love cannot return

so long as hope shows any green in flower…

For we can gain

Much profit from what prayers on earth obtain.”

Ah, my friends, should the witness of the afflictions about to be endured by  these heroic trusting souls be unobserved through our daily prayers?  Shall we allow their apology through affliction be had in secret?  Oh, how it is our duty to pray for them and to offer up little mortifications for them daily.  For in truth, their future is known and their ultimate destiny secured.  One day there souls will reach the summit of love and in a blaze of beauty become a heavenly soul of praise which witnesses the eternal glory of our creator.  How awesome a destiny!

I will offer one more quote here as to me it speaks further to the grace of hope for souls. It comes from Canto Fifteen in the poem in which our traveler reaches a ring of pride-filled souls who appreciated too greatly their esteem on earth.  In this district of Purgatory these souls will learn the meaning of the beatitude “beati  misericordes” or “blessed are the merciful”.  As Virgil travels through this land he sees reflections of the heavenly lights from far above…

“So a reflected radiance seemed to come

striking from something on the road ahead,

making my dazzled vision quick to flee…

“Don’t be amazed if you are dazzled still

by Heaven’s family, for he is sent

a herald summoning men to climb the hill.

Soon it shall not oppress you anymore,

but you will look upon these things with joy -

all the delight your nature formed you for.”

And when we’d come before that angel blest,

with a glad voice he said, “Come here and enter

upon a stairway gentler than the rest.”

Climbing, we left him within we heart a voice

singing, “Blest are the merdiful,” behind us,

and, “You who have the victory, rejoice!”

But if love for the highest heavenly sphere

had wrung your yearnings, turning them above,

your breast wouldn’t be troubled by such fear,

For there, the more who say, “This joy is ours,”

the more joy is possessed by every soul,

the more that cloister burns in charity.”…

That Good, ineffable and infinite -

as beams of light stream to a light-filled body -

turns to whoever turn in love to It,

And give according to the warmth It finds,

so that, the greater love you spread abroad,

the more will the eternal Worth reward.

And the more souls that burn in Heaven above,

as mirrors flashing light on one another,

the more there is for all of them to love.”

Oh what a glorious “burning cloister of love” will the final destination be!  Amen!

** photo above from  St Michael’s cemetery in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.  A view of a grave marker looking Northward towards Southside row houses and the now defunct Bethlehem Steel Mill Plant furnaces.  This cemetery was photographed by Walker Evans for the Farm Security Administration in 1935.

Thanks once again to my very dear friend who is becoming my Novena secretary (ie. she is always letting me know when to begin all the most important Novenas! God Reward Her!!) I am now passing this notification on to all you great prayer warriors!Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory composed by the great Saint, St. Alphonsus Ligouri.

Day 1

Jesus, my Savior I have so often deserved to be cast into hell how great would be my suffering if I were now cast away and obliged to think that I myself had caused my damnation. I thank Thee for the patience with which Thou hast endured me. My God, I love Thee above all things and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee because Thou art infinite goodness. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of perseverance. Have pity on me and at the same time on those blessed souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession. Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 2

Woe to me, unhappy being, so many years have I already spent on earth and have earned naught but hell! I give Thee thanks, O Lord, for granting me time even now to atone for my sins. My good God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. Send me Thy assistance, that I may apply the time yet remaining to me for Thy love and service; have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 3

My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I love Thee above all things, and repent with my whole heart of my offenses against Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. And thou, Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 4

My God! because Thou art infinite goodness, I am sorry with my whole heart for having offended Thee. I promise to die rather than ever offend Thee more. Give me holy perseverance; have pity on me, and have pity on those holy souls that burn in the cleansing fire and love Thee with all their hearts. O Mary, Mother of God, assist them by thy powerful prayers.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 5

Woe to me, unhappy being, if Thou, O Lord, hadst cast me into hell; for from that dungeon of eternal pain there is no deliverance. I love Thee above all things, O infinite God and I am sincerely sorry for having offended Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. O Mary, Mother of God, come to their assistance with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 6

My Divine Redeemer, Thou didst die for me on the Cross, and hast so often united Thyself with me in Holy Communion, and I have repaid Thee only with ingratitude. Now, however, I love Thee above all things, O supreme God; and I am more grieved at my offences against Thee than at any other evil. I will rather die than offend Thee again. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me, and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 7

God, Father of Mercy, satisfy this their ardent desire! Send them Thy holy Angel to announce to them that Thou, their Father, are now reconciled with them through the suffering and death of Jesus, and that the moment of their deliverance has arrived.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 8

Oh my God! I also am one of these ungrateful beings, having received so much grace, and yet despised Thy love and deserved to be cast by Thee into hell. But Thy infinite goodness has spared me until now. Therefore, I now love Thee above all things, and I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I will rather die than ever offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance. Have compassion on me and, at the same time, on the holy souls suffering in Purgatory. Mary, Mother of God, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Day 9

My God! How was it possible that I, for so many years, have borne tranquilly the separation from Thee and Thy holy grace! O infinite Goodness, how long-suffering hast Thou shown Thyself to me! Henceforth, I shall love Thee above all things. I am deeply sorry for having offended Thee; I promise rather to die than to again offend Thee. Grant me the grace of holy perseverance, and do not permit that I should ever again fall into sin. Have compassion on the holy souls in Purgatory. I pray Thee, moderate their sufferings; shorten the time of their misery; call them soon unto Thee in heaven, that they may behold Thee face to face, and forever love Thee. Mary, Mother of Mercy, come to their aid with thy powerful intercession, and pray for us also who are still in danger of eternal damnation.

Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary,

and the Prayer to Our Suffering Savior

for the Holy Souls in Purgatory .

Prayer to Our Suffering Savior for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

O most sweet Jesus, through the bloody sweat which Thou didst suffer in the Garden of Gethsemane, have mercy on these Blessed Souls. Have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel scourging, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most painful crowning with thorns, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in carrying Thy cross to Calvary, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer during Thy most cruel Crucifixion, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the pains which Thou didst suffer in Thy most bitter agony on the Cross, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

O most sweet Jesus, through the immense pain which Thou didst suffer in breathing forth Thy Blessed Soul, have mercy on them.

R. Have mercy on them, O Lord.

(Recommend yourself to the Souls in Purgatory and mention your intentions here)

Blessed Souls, I have prayed for thee; I entreat thee, who are so dear to God, and who are secure of never losing Him, to pray for me a miserable sinner, who is in danger of being damned, and of losing God forever. Amen.

“I thought of the soul as resembling a castle, formed of a single diamond or a very transparent crystal, and containing many rooms, just as in heaven there are many mansions. If we reflect, sisters, we shall see that the soul of the just man is but a paradise, in which, God tells us, He takes His delight. What, do you imagine, must that dwelling be in which a King so mighty, so wise, and so pure, containing in Himself all good, can delight to rest? Nothing can be compared to the great beauty and capabilities of a soul; however keen our intellects may be, they are as unable to comprehend them as to comprehend God, for, as He has told us, He created us in His own image and likeness.

As this is so, we need not tire ourselves by trying to realize all the beauty of this castle, although, being His creature, there is all the difference between the soul and God that there is between the creature and the Creator; the fact that it is made in God’s image teaches us how great are its dignity and loveliness. It is no small misfortune and disgrace that, through our own fault, we neither understand our nature nor our origin. Would it not be gross ignorance, my daughters, if, when a man was questioned about his name, or country, or parents, he could not answer? Stupid as this would be, it is unspeakably more foolish to care to learn nothing of our nature except that we possess bodies, and only to realize vaguely that we have souls, because people say so and it is a doctrine of faith. Rarely do we reflect upon what gifts our souls may possess, Who dwells within them, or how extremely precious they are. Therefore we do little to preserve their beauty; all our care is concentrated on our bodies, which are but the coarse setting of the diamond, or the outer walls of the castle.

Let us imagine, as I said, that there are many rooms in this castle, of which some are above, some below, others at the side; in the centre, in the very midst of them all, is the principal chamber in which God and the soul hold their most secret intercourse. Think over this comparison very carefully; God grant it may enlighten you about the different kinds of graces He is pleased to bestow upon the soul. No one can know all about them, much less a person so ignorant as I am. The knowledge that such things are possible will console you greatly should our Lord ever grant you any of these favours; people themselves deprived of them can then at least praise Him for His great goodness in bestowing them on others. The thought of heaven and the happiness of the saints does us no harm, but cheers and urges us to win this joy for ourselves, nor will it injure us to know that during this exile God can communicate Himself to us loathsome worms; it will rather make us love Him for such immense goodness and infinite mercy.”

– Teresa of Avila, The Interior Castle

** read more.

“We pray that we may come unto this Darkness which is beyond light, and, without seeing and without knowing, to see and to know that which is above vision and knowledge through the realization that by not-seeing and by unknowing we attain to true vision and knowledge; and thus praise, superessentially, it that issuperessential, by the transcendence of all things; even as those who, carving a statue out of marble, abstract or remove all the surrounding material that hinders the vision which the marble conceals and, by that abstraction, bring to light the hidden beauty… without veil, we may know that Unknowing which is enshrouded under all that is known and all that can be known, and that we may begin to contemplate the superessential Darkness which is hidden by all the light that is in existing things.”

- Mystical Theology, Dionysius the Areopagite

** The Missouri River at Washington, Missouri

I was going to post a meditation of historical and spiritual value for Our Lady today as it is her most Holy Feast Day as Our Lady of the Rosary but, well, instead I am going to post a praise to her in answer to her help in my intercessory prayer.

I have been so very blessed lately to be visually documenting Catholic life in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and in His most generous graces Our Lord shows me so many beautiful things.  I take Him along with me on each assignment and rely on Him showing me what He wants me to photograph.  So far this trust has been without regret as He ALWAYS shows me something beautiful.  Today, I want to share something even more outstandingly beautiful than usual…

As Catholics we are familiar with devotions such as the Rosary, Stations of the Cross and Eucharistic Adoration.  We practice personal devotions such as Divine Mercy or First Fridays.  If we are feeling burnt out we might seek refuge in a Spiritual Retreat or Pilgrimage to a holy site in order to “charge our spiritual batteries”.  Our Church is quite wonderful in giving us such extra spiritual fruits which compliment our liturgical and Eucharistic life which is centered around formal sacramental worship and prayer.  How blessed it is to have such a wealth of treasuries to seek, explore and discover through prayer.  Amen!

Last week, I was privileged to discover yet another wonderful way to invigorate one’s soul in love of God and His Son and through the goodness of the Holy Spirit.  It was an event who’s spiritual brawn had such efficacy that it brought 3 Christian Churches (who normally pass over each other’s contributions to His Kingdom) together  in an effort to build bridges between them and their similar missions of social welfare for their inner city communities.  Together Catholics from St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Church along with Washington Metropolitan AME Zion Church and Rhema Baptist Assembly celebrated three nights of prayerful praise and worship an ecumenical Revival.

The Revival was the first meeting in what the churches hope to become many more in an effort to learn about each other and to forge community relationships built around Jesus Christ.  The Churches recognize their similar missions to the poor, to the elderly and to building up society through acts of charity and love.  They want to explore how each of them practices these missions and see how they may help one another in them.

As for Ecumenism surrounding the three Church Revival Father Vomund, the Pastor of St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Church perceives it being a way to take away roadblocks between the Christian Faiths. “It is such a structural way to remove roadblocks which are presuppositions and our prejudices and bigotry.  And nobody has cornered the market on those bigotries. I have my people even say that we’re not Baptists.  But I say I don’t know what that means?  “I don’t know what it means to not be Baptist but I know what it means to be in prayer.  I know what it means to be in worship.”  The Church Revival will physically remove those roadblocks of prejudices.  “The road is free.  You can go on in and hold hands together.  You can lift your arms together.  Its O.K.!”

For the Revival a choir was formed through the combination of each church’s singers and talented musicans.  While each church is blessed with gorgeous voices, together their song could not have been more strong or glorious than if they had sung alone.  I think that was the strongest testament to the unique productive prayer of the three nights of praise.  Together these churches showed how working together helps to make a difference in their shared communities.

I’d like to invite you to visit the multi-media presentation on the Revival which is now showing on the St. Louis Review newspaper on-line edition.  I would hope you might like to share it with whomever you think may enjoy it.  I am so thankful that this story was able to be told in such a format.  I love the media presentation because is great to see and hear at the same time.

I want to thank the generosity of these churches and especially those beautiful souls I was privileged to come to know through praise of His name!

Peace to you this day!

Happy Feast day Carmel!

“I often asked myself why God had preferences, why all souls did not receive an equal measure of grace. I was filled with wonder when I saw extraordinary favours showered on great sinners like St. Paul, St. Augustine, St. Mary Magdalen, and many others, whom He forced, so to speak, to receive His grace. In reading the lives of the Saints I was surprised to see that there were certain privileged souls, whom Our Lord favoured from the cradle to the grave, allowing no obstacle in their path which might keep them from mounting towards Him, permitting no sin to soil the spotless brightness of their baptismal robe. And again it puzzled me why so many poor savages should die without having even heard the name of God.

Our Lord has deigned to explain this mystery to me. He showed me the book of nature, and I understood that every flower created by Him is beautiful, that the brilliance of the rose and the whiteness of the lily do not lessen the perfume of the violet or the sweet simplicity of the daisy. I understood that if all the lowly flowers wished to be roses, nature would lose its springtide beauty, and the fields would no longer be enamelled with lovely hues. And so it is in the world of souls, Our Lord’s living garden. He has been pleased to create great Saints who may be compared to the lily and the rose, but He has also created lesser ones, who must be content to be daisies or simple violets flowering at His Feet, and whose mission it is to gladden His Divine Eyes when He deigns to look down on them. And the more gladly they do His Will the greater is their perfection.

I understood this also, that God’s Love is made manifest as well in a simple soul which does not resist His grace as in one more highly endowed. In fact, the characteristic of love being self-abasement, if all souls resembled the holy Doctors who have illuminated the Church, it seems that God in coming to them would not stoop low enough. But He has created the little child, who knows nothing and can but utter feeble cries, and the poor savage who has only the natural law to guide him, and it is to their hearts that He deigns to stoop. These are the field flowers whose simplicity charms Him; and by His condescension to them Our Saviour shows His infinite greatness. As the sun shines both on the cedar and on the floweret, so the Divine Sun illumines every soul, great and small, and all correspond to His care—just as in nature the seasons are so disposed that on the appointed day the humblest daisy shall unfold its petals.”

– St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.  The Story of a Soul.

** photo from the St. Therese Chapel at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis, Missouri

“In order to pray well, then, we must acknowledge that we  are poor, and we must greatly humble ourselves; for do you not see how a  marksman with a crossbow, when he wishes to discharge a large arrow, draws  the string of his bow lower the higher he wants it to go? Thus must we do  when we wish our prayer to reach Heaven; we must lower ourselves by the  awareness of our nothingness. David admonishes us to do so by these words:  When you wish to pray, plunge yourself profoundly into the abyss of your  nothingness that you may be able afterward, without difficulty, to let your  prayer fly like an arrow even up to the heavens. [Cf. Ps. 130:1-2; Sir.  35:21].

…if you ask how it is that prayer  can rise to Heaven, you will be told that it rises there through the descent of humility. The spouse in the Song of Songs’ astonishes the angels  and makes them say: Who is this who comes from the desert, and who rises  like a column of smoke, laden with myrrh and frankincense and with every  perfume known, and who is leaning upon her Lover? [Cf. Song 3:6; 8:5].  Humility in its beginning is a desert, although in the end it may be very  fruitful, and the soul that is humble thinks itself as being in a desert  where neither birds nor even savage beasts dwell, and where there is no  fruit tree at all.”

** St. Francis de Sales THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER March 29, 1615

** another bee photo from me.

“To do God’s will—this was the goal upon which the saints constantly fixed their gaze. They were fully persuaded that in this consists the entire perfection of the soul. Blessed Henry Suso used to say: “It is not God’s will that we should abound in spiritual delights, but that in all things we should submit to his holy will.”

“Those who give themselves to prayer,” says St. Teresa, “should concentrate solely on this: the conformity of their wills with the divine will. They should be convinced that this constitutes their highest perfection. The more fully they practice this, the greater the gifts they will receive from God, and the greater the progress they will make in the interior life.” A certain Dominican nun was vouchsafed a vision of heaven one day. She recognized there some persons she had known during their mortal life on earth. It was told her these souls were raised to the sublime heights of the seraphs on account of the uniformity of their wills with that of God’s during their lifetime here on earth. Blessed Henry Suso, mentioned above, said of himself: “I would rather be the vilest worm on earth by God’s will, than be a seraph by my own.”

During our sojourn in this world, we should learn from the saints now in heaven, how to love God. The pure and perfect love of God they enjoy there, consists in uniting themselves perfectly to his will. It would be the greatest delight of the seraphs to pile up sand on the seashore or to pull weeds in a garden for all eternity, if they found out such was God’s will.”

** Uniformity with God’s Will by St. Alphonsus de Ligori

** photo of the Mississippi River just south of St. Louis at Cliff Caves.

A wonderful short biography on our dear Traditional Calendar saint for the day…

“Joseph was born of pious parents at Cupertino, a town of the Salentines in the diocese of Nardo in the year of salvation one thousand six hundred and three. Prevented with the love of God, he spent his boyhood and youth in the greatest simplicity and innocence. The Virgin Mother of God delivered him from a long and painful malady, which he had borne with the greatest patience; whereupon he devoted himself entirely to works of piety and the practice of virtue. But God called him to something higher; and in order to attain to closer union with him, Joseph determined to enter the Seraphic Order. After several trials he obtained his desire, and was admitted among the Minor Conventuals in the convent called Grotella, first as a lay-brother, oil account of his lack of learning; but afterwards, God so disposing, he was raised to the rank of a cleric. After making his solemn Vows he was ordained Priest, and began a new life of greater perfection. Utterly renouncing all earthly affections and everything of this world almost to the very necessaries of life, he afflicted his body with hairshirts, chains, disciplines, and every kind of austerity and penance; while he assiduously nourished his spirit with the sweetness of holy prayer, and the highest contemplation. By this means, the love of God, which had been poured out in his heart from his childhood, daily increased in a most wonderful manner.

His burning charity shone forth most remarkably in the sweet ecstasies which raised his soul to God, and the wonderful raptures he frequently experienced. Yet, marvellous to tell, however rapt he was in God, obedience would immediately recal him to the use of his senses. He was exceedingly zealous in the practice of obedience ; and used to say that he was led by it like a blind man, and that he would rather die than disobey. He emulated the poverty of the seraphic patriarch to such a degree, that on his deathbed he could truthfully tell his superior he had nothing which, according to custom, he could relinquish. Thus dead to the world and to himself Joseph showed forth in his flesh the life of Jesus. While in others he perceived the vice of impurity by an evil odour, his own body exhaled a most sweet fragrance, a sign of the spotless purity which he preserved unsullied in spite of long and violent temptations from the devil. This victory he gained by strict custody of his senses, by continual mortification of the body, and especially by the protection of the most pure Virgin Mary, whom he called his Mother, and whom he venerated with tenderest affection as the sweetest of mothers, desiring to see her venerated by others, that they might, said he, together with her patronage all good things.

Blessed Joseph’s solicitude in this respect sprang from his love for his neighbour, for he was consumed with zeal for souls, urging him to seek the salvation of all. His love embraced the poor, the sick, and all in affliction, whom he comforted as far as lay in his power, not excluding those who pursued him with reproaches and insults, and every kind of injury. He bore all this with the same patience, sweetness, and cheerfulness of countenance as were remarked in him when he was obliged frequently to change his residence, by the command of the Superiors of his Order, or of the holy Inquisition. People and princes admired his wonderful holiness and heavenly gifts; yet, such was his humility, that, thinking himself a great sinner, he earnestly besought God to remove from him his admirable gifts ; while he bogged men to cast his body after death in a place where his memory might utterly perish. But God, who exalts the humble, and who had richly adorned his servant during life with heavenly wisdom, prophecy, the reading of hearts, the grace of healing, and other gifts, also rendered his death precious and his sepulchre glorious. Joseph died at the place and time he had foretold, namely, at Osimo in Picenum, in the sixty-first year of his age. He was famous for miracles after his death; and was enrolled among the Blessed by Benedicte XIV and among the Saints by Clement XII. Clement XIV who was of the same Order extended his Office and Mass to the Universal church.

While praising God for the marvellous gifts he bestowed on thee, we acknowledge that thy virtues were yet more wonderful. Otherwise thy ecstasies would be regarded with suspicion by the Church, who usually withholds her judgment until long after the world has begun to admire and applaud. Obedience, patience, and charity, increasing under trial, were incontestable guarantees for the divine authorship of these marvels, which the enemy is sometimes permitted to mimic to a certain extent. Satan may raise a Simon Magus into the air: he cannot make a humble man. O worthy son of the seraph of Assisi, may we, after thy example, be raised up, not into the air, but into those regions of true light, where far above the earth and its passions, our life, like thine, may be hidden with Christ in God!”

** the Liturgical Year by the R.R. Dom Prosper Gueranger Abbot of Solesmes. Fifth Volume of the Continuation. Translated from the French by the Benedictines of Stanbrook. Time After Pentecost Vol. V Stanbrook Abbey, Worcester. 1903.

It was many years ago that it happened but the first thing this morning I thought of.  (In fact I didn’t even have my eyes open yet or have made my morning offering.) I was remembering how I was at an appointment and speaking with a Receptionist.  She noticed the crucifix I was wearing on my necklace and decided to say this to me…

“You know, I know a woman who refuses to wear a cross around her neck and gets very angry at folks who do.  She says they might as wear a riffle, a noose or even an electric chair charm around their necks for the cross as a symbol stands besides these three forms of torturous death with equality of stigma and disgrace.”

I was kind of taken back at this statement, shocked in fact that it was just spoken to me.  The receptionist said it to me as if she was starting a conversation about the weather outside or how the St. Louis Cardinals played at their game the night before.  The comment caught me off guard and I was so insulted for love of our Lord and the greatest sacrifice ever known on this earth which He performed with humility and obedience to the Father.  Sure, at the time the cross was the apex of human cruelty and humiliation.  It is valid to acknowledge that fact.  But how He who hung upon that wooden cross to redeem mankind and open the gates of Heaven which were closed before all souls transformed that symbol of ignominy and disgrace.  Through His love for all the cross now triumphs as a symbol of Love and hope and the joy of redemption!

I tried my best to convert the heart of the soul who spoke those harsh words to me but I feel I failed.  He could not see past the embarrassment of the cross and I feel this sticking point interfered with His whole attitude toward Christ.  Today I pray for this soul and others like him.  That the glorious cross is somehow a symbol of disgrace is just so far from my mind that I am so astonished at such a viewpoint.  Well, I always have been quite naive about what the other team thinks.  It troubles my heart that all souls can not yet know the love of Christ but I am confident that they will one day receive the grace and have the opportunity to know this love!

So on this feast day of the Triumph of the Cross here is a little discourse from the Office of Readings from Saint Andrew of Crete.  He writes about this triumph better than I…

We are celebrating the feast of the cross which drove away darkness and brought in the light. As we keep this feast, we are lifted up with the crucified Christ, leaving behind us earth and sin so that we may gain the things above. So great and outstanding a possession is the cross that he who wins it has won a treasure. Rightly could I call this treasure the fairest of all fair things and the costliest, in fact as well as in name, for on it and through it and for its sake the riches of salvation that had been lost were restored to us.

Had there been no cross, Christ could not have been crucified. Had there been no cross, life itself could not have been nailed to the tree. And if life had not been nailed to it, there would be no streams of immortality pouring from Christ’s side, blood and water for the world’s cleansing. The legal bond of our sin would not be cancelled, we should not have attained our freedom, we should not have enjoyed the fruit of the tree of life and the gates of paradise would not stand open. Had there been no cross, death would not have been trodden underfoot, nor hell despoiled.

Therefore, the cross is something wonderfully great and honourable. It is great because through the cross the many noble acts of Christ found their consummation – very many indeed, for both his miracles and his sufferings were fully rewarded with victory. The cross is honourable because it is both the sign of God’s suffering and the trophy of his victory. It stands for his suffering because on it he freely suffered unto death. But it is also his trophy because it was the means by which the devil was wounded and death conquered; the barred gates of hell were smashed, and the cross became the one common salvation of the whole world.

“There is no other secret about becoming a saint that fidelity to the grace of the present moment, that gives us peace and true happiness… You will become more pleasing to Jesus each day by seeing Him in all things and always making your will His own.”

– Little Counsels of Mother Agnes of Jesus, OCD

INTO a temple vast and dim,

Solemn and vast and dim,

Just when the last sweet Vesper Hymn

Was floating far away

With eyes that tabernacled tears

Her heart the home of tears

And cheeks wan with the woes of years,

A woman went one day.

And, one by one, adown the aisles

Adown the long, lone aisles

Their faces bright with holy smiles

That follow after Prayer

The worshipers in silence passed

In silence slowly passed away;

The woman knelt until the last

Had left her lonely there.

A holy hush came o er the place

O er the holy place

The shadows kissed her woe-worn face,

Her forehead touched the floor;

The wreck that drifted thro the years

Sin-driven thro the years

Was floating o er the tide of tears,

To mercy s golden shore.

Her lips were sealed, they could not pray

They sighed, but could not pray

All words of Prayer had died away

From them long years ago;

But ah! from out her eyes there rose

Sad from her eyes there rose

The prayer of tears, which swiftest goes

To Heaven winged with woe.

With weary tears, her weary eyes

Her joyless, weary eyes

Wailed forth a Rosary and her sighs

And sobs strung all the Beads;

The while before her spirit s gaze

Her contrite spirit’s gaze

Moved all the mysteries of her days

And histories of her deeds.

Still as a shadow, while she wept

So desolately wept

Up thro’ the long, lone aisle she crept

Unto an altar fair;

Mother!” – her pale lips said no more

Could say no more

The wreck, at last, reached Mercy’s shore

For Mary’s shrine was there.

- Fr. Abram Ryan

On this day celebrating the daily labor for the goodness of society, here is a short poetic meditation…

“Through the merit of your intercession

caused our guilt to melt away,

keep at a distance from us all infection

from sin and drive away life’s weariness.

The bonds of your dedicated body are now undone.

Do you undo us from the bond of the world

by the grace of the God of heaven.”

– excerpt from a hymn in the 1962 Office for one martyr.

Szia!

There is another “American melting pot nationality” which I may claim as heritage and that is as a daughter of Hungary.  Both my paternal great-grandparents were from there and I believe even somewhere around the Transylvania area (shiver-me-timbers!  – Actually, I hear those Carpathian Mountains are breathtaking! And, also, another little fact, is that in Medieval translation Transylvania means “beyond the forrest”.  That’s not so creepy as thinking that it may mean… hmm…, well…, let’s say, Dracula’s castle!)

When I was little I have fond memories of my father taking us children to family gatherings in which not a word of English was ever spoken.  I recall these adventures being in wooded areas.  There were great pavilions which housed many Polka dancing Hungarians and their delicious home-made peach wine.  How do I recall it being peach?  Well, hmmm… I guess they didn’t mind children having a glass way back in those times!  (No wonder I recall things as being festive!) There was also much eating of very delicious foods which relied heavily on cabbage, potatoes and butter.  Those were days you wished went on forever playing with lots of other children and everyone having so much fun.  Oh, it seems like a million years ago…

Now I’ll tell you that my first brother is named after my Grandfather whose name is Stephen.  And, the reason for my story today is that it is the traditional feast day of Saint (Szent) Stephen (Istvan) [Pronounce I as E and a as a short a] King of Hungary   He was, of course, a good King and in the latter years of his life he begat many deep troubles of ill health and family woes.  On September 2, 1031 Stephen’s only son Emeric (also a saint!) lost his life hunting boars.  This was certainly a tragedy and marked a heavy burden of the heart of the King. You can read about Stephen quite easily with a few quick google searches but I thought to use this piece of his writing as today’s meditation.  It is a letter he wrote to his beloved Emeric.

“My beloved son, delight of my heart, hope of your posterity, I pray, I command, that at every time and in everything, strengthened by your devotion to me, you may show favor not only to relations and kin, or to the most eminent, be they leaders or rich men or neighbors or fellow countrymen, but also to foreigners and to all who come to you. By fulfilling your duty in this way you will reach the highest state of happiness. Be merciful to all who are suffering violence, keeping always in your heart the example of the Lord who said, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Be patient with everyone, not only with the powerful, but also with the weak.

Finally be strong lest prosperity lift you up too much or adversity cast you down. Be humble in this life, that God may raise you up in the next. Be truly moderate and do not punish or condemn anyone immoderately. Be gentle so that you may never oppose justice. Be honorable so that you may never voluntarily bring disgrace upon anyone. Be chaste so that you may avoid all the foulness of lust like the pangs of death.

All these virtues I have noted above make up the royal crown, and without them no one is fit to rule here on earth or attain to the heavenly kingdom.”

** Excerpt from Saint Stephen’s admonitions to his son Emeric.

** photo above from St. Michael’s Cemetery which is adjacent to the First Hungarian Lutheran Church in Bethlehem, Pa.

“O God, You Who are the truth, make me one with You in love everlasting. I am often wearied by the many things I hear and read, but in You is all that I long for. Let the learned be still, let all creatures be silent before You; You alone speak to me.

The more recollected a man is, and the more simple of heart he becomes, the easier he understands sublime things, for he receives the light of knowledge from above. The pure, simple, and steadfast spirit is not distracted by many labors, for he does them all for the honor of God. And since he enjoys interior peace he seeks no selfish end in anything.”

** Thomas a Kempis – The Imitation of Christ

“Who is this who comes from the desert, and who rises  like a column of smoke, laden with myrrh and frankincense and with every  perfume known, and who is leaning upon her Lover? [Song 3:6; 8:5].  Humility in its beginning is a desert, although in the end it may be very  fruitful, and the soul that is humble thinks itself as being in a desert  where neither birds nor even savage beasts dwell, and where there is no  fruit tree at all.

The spouse coming up from the desert rises like a shoot or  column of smoke, laden with myrrh. This represents hope, for even though  myrrh gives off a pleasant odor, it is nevertheless bitter to the taste.  Likewise, hope is pleasant since it promises that we shall one day possess  what we long for, but it is bitter because we are not now enjoying what we  love. Incense is far more appropriate as the symbol of hope, because, being  placed upon fire, it always sends its smoke upward; likewise, it is  necessary that hope be placed upon charity, otherwise it would no longer be  hope, but rather presumption. Hope, like an arrow, darts up even to the  gate of Heaven, but it cannot enter there because it is a virtue wholly of  earth. If we want our prayer to penetrate Heaven we must whet the arrow  with the grindstone of love.”

– sermon on the Spirit of Prayer.  St. Francis de Sales

When my husband was finishing his studies at Lehigh University and was looking for his first appointment afterwards, he interviewed at a company in St. Louis. We were young and eager to come explore the city (even though we had never considered it a place even to visit let alone live in!) Getting off the airplane and driving downtown we headed straight down to the Gateway Arch monument on the banks of the Mississippi River. The giant arch was almost swimming in the muddy waters as this was just after the big floods back in the early 1990s.  We found our way into an old historic district called Lafayette Square and instantly fell in love with its beautiful French inspired architecture and wonderfully designed urban community.  When we knocked on the door of a “for rent” house and OLD, OLD man answered the door.  He was at first a little scary but as we spoke to him and explained that we were moving from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania  he gasped.  The old man took a long pause, squirreled his face and then smiled widely as he said he had graduated from Lehigh University some 65 years earlier. Imagine that.  Its a small world.  This little bit of collegiate history was an instant bond and our life in St. Louis began.

As an life long East Coast girl why did this isolated Midwestern city attract me/us so greatly I can only imagine. I think it may have had something to do with visiting the St. Louis Cathedral that first Sunday. What a beautiful and amazing Basilica we have and after praying just one mass there I was in deep love!  Gradually this city helped me to develop that love of the Church I had known so fiercely when I was a young girl.  My imagination was once again fascinated with the mystery of God and the yearning in my soul grew to know a new life of prayer and joy (and suffering) which was contained within my small little being.  I have a lot to thank this city commonly known here as the “Rome of the West” and this city has lots to thank in its patron saint, the ninth King of France, Louis.

As we celebrate the feast of St. Louis King of France this year I thought I might try to find some new facts out about him. If you happen to pray the Divine Office you would already be familiar with Louis’s letter to his son Philip. I posted that bit of beautiful writing last year. Today, however, I found a short bit of writing to his daughter, Isabel.

“Faith was the foundation of St. Louis’s moral and intellectual life, but love was the foundation of his sanctity. He was strict as to the obedience which he considered that his children owed him in his double character of father and of king. The love of God was his primary teaching to his son Philip and his daughter Isabel. He had, however, greatly desired that his daughter Isabella should become a nun, and had even especially exhorted her to do so. He poured out his heart more fully to the latter, since he was aware of her more fervent piety:

“Beloved daughter, I enjoin you to love our Lord God with all your heart and all your might; for without such love every one is of little worth, and nothing else can be loved so profitably. He is the Lord, to Whom every creature may say: ‘Lord, Thou art my God, Who hast no need of any good thing of mine.’ He is the Lord, Who sent His blessed Son on earth, and who offered Him up to death so as to deliver us from the pains of hell. Beloved daughter, if you love Him, the profit will be yours. That creature has gone far astray whose heart’s love is bestowed elsewhere than on Him, or in submission to Him. Beloved daughter, the measure of the love which we should give to God is to love Him without measure. He is indeed fully entitled to our love, since He first loved us.”

Dear daughter, obey humbly your husband, and your father and mother, in such things as are agreeable to God ; you must willingly render unto each one of them that which is due, because of the love which you must feel for them ; and, more- over, you must do it still more for the love of our Lord who has so ordered it ; but against God you must obey no one. Dear daughter, take such pains to become perfect in all good things that you may be an example to those who see you and hear about you. Me seems it good that you should not have too great a number of robes and jewels, in accordance with the position you occupy, but I think it would be better used for giving alms, at any rate with that which would be superfluous ; and I think it would be good for you not to spend too much time on decking and adorning yourself; and be careful not to be extravagant in your dress, but in that be rather inclined to do too little than too much.”

One may glimpse through this letter how “Isabella of France, queen of Navarre, Thibaut’s wife, was St Louis’s favorite daughter. He could not prevail on her to embrace the monastic life, but in the high rank assured by her marriage she retained the sentiments and gave herself up to the practice of most fervent piety. The saintly king, who knew her spirit of faith and penitence, did not hesitate on one occasion to give her a present which, even then, would doubtless not have been appreciated by all princesses. “The pious king,” says Queen Margaret’s confessor, “sent to his daughter of Navarre two or three ivory boxes, and at the bottom of those boxes there was a little iron nail, to which he had attached small iron chains of an ell long or thereabouts; these chains were enclosed in each of the boxes, and the said Queen of Navarre would discipline and scourge herself with them sometimes, as she told her confessor when she was nearing death. And the pious king sent moreover to his same daughter a horsehair belt as wide as the palm of a man’s hand, with which she girded herself occasionally, as she told her confessor at the same time. And with all that the pious king sent to the said queen a letter written with his own hand, in which it was stated that he was sending her by Brother John of Mons, of the order of Friars Minor (then the confessor of that queen and sometimes of the pious king), a discipline contained in each of the boxes, as is said above, and he begged her in that letter often to use these disciplines for her own sins and for the sins of her poor father.”

– from Saint Louis IX King of France by Marius Sepet

Happy Feast day!  Isn’t great we get to celebrate a feast every day!

Below is a short biography of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux I found in an old Breviary.  I thought it was a great little write up for him.  It is followed by a meditation from him…

Bernard was born (in the year of salvation 1091) at a decent place in Burgundy called Fontaines. On account of extraordinary good looks, he was as a boy very much sought after by women, but he could never be turned aside from his resolution to keep chaste. To fly from these temptations of the devil, he determined at two-and-twenty years of age to enter the Monastery of Citeaux, whence the Cistercian Order took its rise. When this resolution of Bernard’s became known, his brothers did all their diligence to change his purpose, but he only became the more eloquent and happy about it. Them and others he so brought over to his mind, that thirty young men entered the same Order along with him. As a monk he was so given to fasting, that as often as he had to eat, so often he seemed to be in pain. He exercised himself wonderfully in watching and prayer, and was a great lover of Christian poverty. Thus he led on earth an heavenly life, purged of all care and desire for transitory things.

He was a burning and shining light of lowliness, mercifulness, and kindness. His concentration of thought was such, that he hardly used his senses except to do good works, in which latter he acted with admirable wisdom. Thus occupied, he refused the Bishoprics of Genoa, Milan, and others, which were offered to him, declaring that he was unworthy of so high a sphere of duty. Being made Abbat of Clairvaux in 1115, he built monasteries in many places, wherein the excellent rules and discipline of Bernard long flourished. When Pope Innocent II., in 1138, restored the monastery of St Vincent and St Anastasius at Rome, Bernard set over it the Abbat who was afterwards the Supreme Pontiff Eugene III., and who is also the same to whom he addressed his book upon Consideration.

He was the author of many writings, in which it is manifest that his teaching was rather given him of God, than gained by hard work. In consequence of his high reputation for excellence, he was called by the most exalted Princes to act as arbiter of their disputes, and for this end, and to settle affairs of the Church, he often went to Italy. He was an eminent helper to Pope Innocent II., in putting down the schism of Peter Leoni, and worked to this end, both at the Courts of the Emperor and of Henry King of England, and in the Council of Pisa. He fell asleep in the Lord, (at Clairvaux, on the 20th day of August,) in the year 1153, the sixty-third year of his age. He was famous for miracles, and Pope Alexander III. numbered him among the Saints. Pope Pius VIII., acting on the advice of the Congregation of Sacred Rites, declared and confirmed St Bernard a Doctor of the Universal Church. He also commanded that all should use the Mass and Office for him as for a Doctor, and granted perpetual yearly plenary indulgences to all who should visit Churches of the Cistercian Order upon the Feastday of this Saint.

“Ah, if you wish to attain to the consummation of all desire, so that nothing unfulfilled will be left, why weary yourself with fruitless efforts, running hither and thither, only to die long before the goal is reached?

It is so that these impious ones wander in a circle, longing after something to gratify their yearnings, yet madly rejecting that which alone can bring them to their desired end, not by exhaustion but by attainment. They wear themselves out in vain travail, without reaching their blessed consummation, because they delight in creatures, not in the Creator. They want to traverse creation, trying all things one by one, rather than think of coming to Him who is Lord of all. And if their utmost longing were realized, so that they should have all the world for their own, yet without possessing Him who is the Author of all being, then the same law of their desires would make them contemn what they had and restlessly seek Him whom they still lacked, that is, God Himself. Rest is in Him alone. Man knows no peace in the world; but he has no disturbance when he is with God.” — On Loving God, St. Bernard of Clairvaux

“Our catechism teaches us, my children, that prayer is an elevation, an application of our mind and of our heart to God, to make known to Him our wants and to ask for His assistance.

We do not see the good God, my children; but He sees us, He hears us, He wills that we should raise towards Him what is most noble in us—our mind and our heart. When we pray with attention, with humility of mind and of heart, we quit the earth, we rise to heaven, we penetrate into the Bosom of God, we go and converse with the angels and the saints.

It was by prayer that the saints reached heaven; and by prayer we too shall reach it. Yes, my children, prayer is the source of all graces, the mother of all virtues, the efficacious and universal way by which God wills that we should come to Him.

He says to us : ” Ask, and you shall receive.” None but God could make such promises and keep them. See, the good God does not say to us, ” Ask such and such a thing, and I will grant it ;” but He says in general : ” If you ask the Father any thing in My name, He will give it you.”

O my children! ought not this promise to fill us with confidence, and to make us pray fervently all the days of our poor life? Ought we not to be ashamed of our idleness, of our indifference to prayer, when our Divine Saviour, the Dispenser of all graces, has given us such touching examples of it? for you know that the Gospel tells us He prayed often, and even passed the night in prayer? Are we as just, as holy, as this Divine Saviour? Have we no graces to ask for? Let us enter into ourselves ; let us consider. Do not the continual needs of our soul and of our body warn us to have recourse to Him who alone can supply them ? How many enemies to vanquish!—the devil, the world, and ourselves. How many bad habits to overcome, how many passions to subdue, how many sins to efface ! In so frightful and painful a situation, what remains to us, my children ? The armour of the saints : prayer, that necessary virtue, indispensable to good as well as to bad Christians. . . Within the reach of the ignorant as well as the learned, enjoined to the simple and to the enlightened, it is the virtue of all mankind; it is the science of all the faithful! Every one on the earth who has a heart, every one who has the uee of reason, ought to love and pray to God; to have recourse to Him when He is irritated ; to thank Him when He confers favours; to humble themselves when He strikes.

See, my children, we are poor people, who have been taught to beg spiritually, and we do not know how to beg. We are sick people, to whom a cure has been promised, and we do not know how to ask for it. The good God does not require of us fine prayers, but prayers which come from the bottom of our heart.

St. Ignatius was once travelling with several of his companions; they each carried on their shoulders a little bag, containing what was most necessary for them on the journey. A good Christian, seeing that they were fatigued, was interiorly excited to relieve them ; he asked them as a favour to let him help them to carry their burdens. They yielded to his entreaties. When they had arrived at the inn, this man who had followed them, seeing that the Fathers knelt down at a little distance from each other to pray, knelt down also. When the Fathers rose again, they were astonished to see that this man had remained prostrate all the time they were praying; they expressed to him their surprise, and asked him what he had been doing. His answer edified them very much, for he said: “I did nothing but say, Those who pray so devoutly are saints; I am their beast of burden; O Lord! I have the intention of doing what they do; I say to Thee whatever they say.” These were afterwards his ordinary words, and he arrived by means of this at a sublime degree of prayer. Thus, my children, you see that there is no one who cannot pray,—and pray at all times, and in all places ; by night or by day ; amid the most severe labours, or in repose ; in the country, at home, in travelling. The good God is every where ready to hear your prayers, provided you address them to Him with faith and humility.”

– Translated from Esprit du Cure d’Ars from the exhortations of St. Jean Vianney

** photo above from a recent trip to Iowa.

Another happy time of year comes when we can honor Our Heavenly Mother under her title of Our Lady of Czestochowa. This is a short novena prayer found on the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Boy, I wish I could be there (especially so I could get some delicious pierogi and cabbage noodles!)

Novena of Masses in honor of our Lady of Czetochowa

(Nowenna Mszy Świętych do Matki Bożej Częstochowskiej)

O Mother of God and Queen of Poland!

I kneel before you, I cry out to you, I invoke your help. From of old you are the Merciful Queen of Poland. Plead with your Son, Jesus Christ, on my behalf, I beg you. Through your powerful intercession I pray for God’s mercy and salvation for myself, my family and for my country. Preserve the gift of faith intact with me. Come to my rescue in my battle with the powers of darkness. The Almighty has chosen you to be for us a sure sign of victory over the evil enemy. O Mother of the wondrous transformation, we ask you to come to us, we beg you to intercede for us. O Mother who stood at the foot of the Cross of your dying Son keep our faith alive. O Mother of fortitude and perseverance, pray for us.

Our Lady of Czestochowa, pray for us!

Bogarodzico, Królowo Polski!

Przed Tobą klęczę, do Ciebie wołam, wzywam Twojej pomocy, Maryjo. Z dawna Polski Tyś Królowa. Uproś u Syna Swojego Jezusa Chrystusa miłosierdzie i ratunek dla mnie, dla mojej rodziny i dla mojego narodu. Zachowaj mnie w wierze i przybądź z pomocą w walce z mocami ciemności. Ciebie Bóg ustanowił, abyś była dla nas zwycięskim znakiem.

Matko cudownej przemiany, Ciebie na ratunek wzywamy; przybądź nam z pomocą.

Matko stojąca pod krzyżem Jezusa konającego;

Matko pełna wiary w zmartwychwstanie Chrystusa;

Matko wytrwania i męstwa.

Módl się za nami!

Daily Prayer Our Lady of Czestochowa (To be said upon arising in the morning.)

Holy Mother of Czestochowa, Thou art full of grace, goodness and mercy,

I consecrate to thee all my thoughts, words and actions-my soul and body.

I beseech Thy blessings and especially prayers for my salvation.

Today I consecrate myself to Thee, Good Mother,

totally with body and soul amid joy and sufferings

To obtain for myself and others Thy blessings on this earth and eternal life in Heaven.

Amen

** Imprimatur: Cardinal O’ Boyle, Washington, DC

I walk down the Valley of Silence,
Down the dim, voiceless valley alone!
And I hear not the fall of a footstep
Around me save God s and my own;
And the hush of my heart is as holy
As hovers where angels have flown!

Long ago was I weary of voices
Whose music my heart could not win;
Long ago I was weary of noises
That fretted my soul with their din;
Long ago was I weary of places
Where I met but the human and sin.

I walked in the world with the worldly;.
I crayed what the world never gave;.
And I said: “In the world each Ideal,
That shines like a star on life’s wave;
Is wrecked on the shores of the Real,
And sleeps like a dream in a grave”;

And still did I pine for the Perfect,
And still found the False with the True;
I sought mid the Human for Heaven,
But caught a mere glimpse of its Blue:
And I wept when the clouds of the mortal
Veiled even that glimpse from my view.

And I toiled on heart-tired of the Human;
And I moaned mid the mazes of men;
Till I knelt long ago at an altar
And heard a voice call me: since then
I walk down the Valley of Silence
That lies far beyond mortal ken.

Do you ask what I found in the Valley?
“Tis my Trysting Place with the Divine.
And I fell at the feet of the Holy,
And above me a voice said: “Be mine”
And there arose from the depths of my spirit
An echo “My heart shall be thine”.

Do you ask how I live in the Valley?
I weep and I dream and I pray.
But my tears are as sweet as the dewdrops
That fall on the roses in May;
and my prayer, like a perfume from Censers,
Ascendeth to God night and day.

In the hush of the Valley of Silence
I dream all the songs that I sing;
And the music floats down the dim Valley,
Till each finds a word for a wing,
That to hearts, like the Dove of the Deluge,
A message of Peace they may bring.

But far on the deep there are billows
That never shall break on the beach;
And I have heard songs in the Silence
That never shall float into speech;
And I have had dreams in the Valley
Too lofty for language to reach.

And I have seen Thoughts in the Valley,
Ah me! how my spirit was stirred!
And they wear holy veils on their faces,
Their footsteps can scarcely be heard:
They pass through the Valley, like Virgins
Too pure for the touch of a word!

Do you ask me the place of the Valley?
Ye hearts that are harrowed by Care!
It lieth afar between mountains
And God and his angels are there:
And one is the dark mount of Sorrow,
And one, – the bright mountain of Prayer!

– Song of the Mystic – Fr. Abram Ryan

** The photo above is of my friend’s tomato which I shot yesterday.  I wouldn’t call it a “miracle tomato” but its pretty cool just the same.  I think it’s not just the cruciform shape which is neat but the apparent “crown of thorns” circling it.  Funnily enough, my friend called me just now as I am typing this blog entry.  I told her to keep the tomato so I can photograph it again but she told me she and her husband ate it for dinner last night (along with some kohlrabi they grew in their garden).  I bet the tomato tasted heavenly!

Also, I can’t help but laugh at the timing of this tomato incident.  It is pretty funny when you compare it with my last post which featured the “St. Clare miracle cross bread”!

Happy feast of dear Saint Clare!

I was privilidged to have spent last evening with my family at the final night of the Novena to dear Clare at the Poor Clare monastery in Illinois.  Father spoke so well of Clare’s fourth letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague in his homily that I thought I might read the entire letter today and post here its beautiful content.  (You can read that letter below.)

After mass the Poor Clares distributed to the faithful a sacramental bread they bake for the celebration of their Seraphic Mother’s day. This tradition comes from the miracle of the bread associated with Pope Gregory IX’s visit to Clare’s monastery in Assisi.  It is said the Pope dined with the sisters and he asked Clare to bless the bread. After her prayer, crosses miraculously appeared on the tops of all the loaves.  The photo above is one of those fine little breads…

Now here is Clare:

“Happy, indeed, is the one permitted to share in this sacred banquet so as to be joined with all the feelings of her heart to him

Whose beauty all the blessed hosts

of the heavens unceasingly admire,

Whose affection moves,

whose contemplation invigorates,

Whose generosity fills,

Whose sweetness replenishes,

Whose remembrance pleasantly brings light,

Whose fragrance will revive the dead,

And whose glorious vision will bless

All the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem,

Because the vision of him is the

splendor of everlasting glory,

The radiance of everlasting light,

and a mirror without tarnish.

Look into this mirror every day,

O queen, spouse of Jesus Christ,

And continually examine your face in it,

So that in this way you may adorn yourself

completely, Inwardly and outwardly,

Clothed and covered in multicolored apparel,

Adorned in the same manner with

flowers and garments

Made of all the virtues as is proper,

Dearest daughter and spouse of the most high King.

Moreover, in this mirror shine blessed poverty, holy humility, and charity beyond words, as you will be able, with God’s grace, to contemplate throughout the entire mirror. Look closely, I say, to the beginning of the life of this admired one, indeed at the poverty of him who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger.

O marvelous humility!

O astonishing poverty!

The King of the angels,

The Lord of heaven and earth is

Laid to rest in a manger!

Consider also the midst of his life, his humility, or at least his blessed poverty, the countless hardships, and the punishments that he endured for the redemption of the human race. Indeed, ponder the final days of this mirrored one, contemplate the ineffable love with which he was willing to suffer on the tree of the cross and to die there a kind of death that is more shameful than any other. That mirror suspended upon the wood of the cross from there kept urging those passing by of what must be considered, saying: O all you who pass by this way, look and see if there is any suffering like my suffering. In response let us with one voice and in one spirit answer him who is crying out and lamenting: I will remember this over and over and my soul will sink within me. Therefore, seeing this, O queen of the heavenly King, you must burn ever more strongly with the fervor of charity! Furthermore, as you contemplate his indescribable delights, riches, and everlasting honors, and heaving a sigh because of your heart’s immeasurable desire and love may you exclaim:

Draw me after you, Heavenly Spouse, we shall run in the fragrance of your perfumes! I shall run and not grow weary until you bring me into the wine cellar, until your left hand is under my head and your right arm blissfully embraces me; and you kiss me with the most blissful kiss of your mouth.”

– St. Clare of Assisi letter to Agnes.

“All good works together are not of equal value with the sacrifice of the Mass, because they are the works of men, and the holy Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison ; it is the sacrifice that man makes of his life to God; the Mass is the sacrifice that God makes to man of His Body and of His Blood. Oh, how great is a priest! if he understood himself, he would die.. . . God obeys him; he speaks two words, and our Lord comes down from heaven at his voice, and shuts himself up in a little Host. God looks upon the Altar. ” That is My well-beloved Son,” He says, ” in Whom I am well pleased.”

He can refuse nothing to the merits of the offering of this Victim. If we had faith, we should see God hidden in the priest like a light behind a glass, like wine mingled with water.

After the Consecration, when I hold in my hands the most holy Body of our Lord, and when I am in discouragement, seeing myself worthy of nothing but hell, I say to myself, “Ah, if I could at least-take Him with me! Hell would be sweet with Him; I could be content to remain suffering there for all eternity, if we were together. But then there would be no’ more hell; the flames of love would extinguish those of justice.”