aeternus

It is a great grace to participate in the holy sacrifice of the mass and every day I am thankful for this blessing. I know that it is not possible for every soul to find time in their busy schedules to attend daily mass and for those souls who feel sadness because they must be in the “office” or at the “job site”.   Surely their daily obligations can be offered as a sacrifice and can be prayerfully placed upon the altar of their hearts in prayer through their work day. This is a special prayer as they make an offering to their family by working for a paycheck to look after the needs of those they love. Praise be Jesus Christ for their goodness!

Every mass is certainly a beautiful event. Where the mass is said, what the choir is singing (or not singing or how they are singing), the building, the light coming through the windows, the number of candles burning are really not as important as the disposition of the souls participating in prayer. However, when the prayerful disposition of souls meets the splendor of a most amazing architectural house of God and when this house is filled with the most talented musicians and a clergy who pay precise detail to rubric and measure, how can this liturgical experience be less than heaven on earth! An occasion such as this happened yesterday here in St. Louis.

To celebrate the feast of Christ the King as well as the 100th anniversary dedication of their church, a Pontifical high mass was offered at St. Francis de Sales Oratory. The Oratory is staffed by wonderful Priests from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest and they maintain and administer the sacraments according to the 1962 Missal.

For the Pontifical High Mass, St. Louis Bishop Robert Hermann was the main celebrant and he was accompanied by numerous priests, deacons and altar boys as well as The Centennial Choir who sung the Charles Gounod, Messe Solennell. The mass was complete with a full symphony orchestra (from timpanis to strings and the occasional harp interlude).  To hear the mass presented in song by the most glorious and prayer-filled voices was enough and yet this was accompanied by such amazing musicians all of whom were giving of their talents to praise His Majesty was incredible!  To not burst into tears at the beauty took great restraint!

The mass program began with the words, “Hic domus Dei est, et porta coeli: et vocabitur aula Dei. – This is the house of God, and the gate of heaven, and shall be called the court of God.” And truly, I say to you all, these words speak as to the truth and beauty of this mass and this most beautiful Gothic church it was celebrated in.  (When you look below at the photographs you will see what I mean!)

The mass was very well attended and there was standing room only for the folks who did not arrive in time. I must admit though, I don’t know if somehow this celebration was a secret or not because I can not explain why the whole entire city of St. Louis was not at this mass! My soul was so filled with happiness that after the mass I pretty much wanted to run up to the 300 foot steeple and shout to the entire city – “Oh you poor people who have not just witnessed this blessed event! Come, come, come now and visit our Lord in this house of His!” (O.K. well, I actually did not do this, but my heart wanted to!)

How blessed we are here in St. Louis. There are so many wonderful parishes and houses of God to visit and pray in. I do really feel sorry for those who do not have such a blessed selection to choose from. But I do tell you, His church does exist in beauty and splendor and there are places in this world were heaven does exist on earth.

May His name be praised!

Hope you enjoy the photos….

Bishop Robert Herman exits the mass to pray Aves in Our Lady’s chapel before leaving for the reception.

Standing room only at the mass.

After mass some very fine altar boys wait to undertake their final duties.

The crucifix on the High Altar.

There are so many beautiful statues in the Oratory.

This little fellow was so wonderful to see and a great example of goodness.

This, most beautiful and handsome woman, who I do not know, took my breath away.  When she turned and the light fell upon her face I could not help but click my shutter release.  I probably should have asked her name but she was lost to me moments after I took this photograph.  Bless her heart, she is a classicly beautiful woman and her Mary blue dress matches perfectly the blue of her eyes. I pray she does not mind my admiration in posting her photograph!

One final shot of the width of the altar.

Here is a classic prayer before bedtime….

“O Angel of God, to whose holy care I am committed by the divine Mercy, enlighten, defend and protect em this night from all sin and danger.

Amen.

Visit, we beseech Thee, O Lord, this habitation, and drive from it all the snares of the enemy. Let Thy holy Angels dwell herein to preserve us in peace; and my Thy blessing be upon us for ever, through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

God the Father, bless us; Jesus Christ, defend and keep us; the virtue of the Holy Ghost enlighten and sanctify us this night and forever; and may the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.

Amen.

Bless O Lord, the repose I am going to take in order to renew my strength, that I may be better able to serve Thee. O all ye Saints and Angels! but chiefly though, O Mother of God! intercede for me this night and during the rest of my life, but particularly at the hour of my death.

May the divine assistance remain always with us.

Amen.”

(Photo: The grass isn’t so green here anymore and most of the leaves have fallen… I’ll just have to remember this summer evening on a walkabout with my daughter.)

“We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater. It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love. In this context, I would like to quote a passage from a letter written by the Vietnamese martyr Paul Le-Bao-Tinh († 1857) which illustrates this transformation of suffering through the power of hope springing from faith. “I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises, for his mercy is for ever (Ps 136 [135]). The prison here is a true image of everlasting Hell: to cruel tortures of every kind—shackles, iron chains, manacles—are added hatred, vengeance, calumnies, obscene speech, quarrels, evil acts, swearing, curses, as well as anguish and grief. But the God who once freed the three children from the fiery furnace is with me always; he has delivered me from these tribulations and made them sweet, for his mercy is for ever. In the midst of these torments, which usually terrify others, I am, by the grace of God, full of joy and gladness, because I am not alone —Christ is with me … How am I to bear with the spectacle, as each day I see emperors, mandarins, and their retinue blaspheming your holy name, O Lord, who are enthroned above the Cherubim and Seraphim? (cf. Ps 80:1 [79:2]). Behold, the pagans have trodden your Cross underfoot! Where is your glory? As I see all this, I would, in the ardent love I have for you, prefer to be torn limb from limb and to die as a witness to your love. O Lord, show your power, save me, sustain me, that in my infirmity your power may be shown and may be glorified before the nations … Beloved brothers, as you hear all these things may you give endless thanks in joy to God, from whom every good proceeds; bless the Lord with me, for his mercy is for ever … I write these things to you in order that your faith and mine may be united. In the midst of this storm I cast my anchor towards the throne of God, the anchor that is the lively hope in my heart” 28. This is a letter from “Hell”. It lays bare all the horror of a concentration camp, where to the torments inflicted by tyrants upon their victims is added the outbreak of evil in the victims themselves, such that they in turn become further instruments of their persecutors’ cruelty. This is indeed a letter from Hell, but it also reveals the truth of the Psalm text: “If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the nether world, you are present there … If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall hide me, and night shall be my light’ —for you darkness itself is not dark, and night shines as the day; darkness and light are the same” (Ps 139 [138]:8-12; cf. also Ps 23 [22]:4). Christ descended into “Hell” and is therefore close to those cast into it, transforming their darkness into light. Suffering and torment is still terrible and well- nigh unbearable. Yet the star of hope has risen—the anchor of the heart reaches the very throne of God. Instead of evil being unleashed within man, the light shines victorious: suffering—without ceasing to be suffering—becomes, despite everything, a hymn of praise.

The true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society. A society unable to accept its suffering members and incapable of helping to share their suffering and to bear it inwardly through “com-passion” is a cruel and inhuman society. Yet society cannot accept its suffering members and support them in their trials unless individuals are capable of doing so themselves; moreover, the individual cannot accept another’s suffering unless he personally is able to find meaning in suffering, a path of purification and growth in maturity, a journey of hope. Indeed, to accept the “other” who suffers, means that I take up his suffering in such a way that it becomes mine also. Because it has now become a shared suffering, though, in which another person is present, this suffering is penetrated by the light of love. The Latin word con-solatio, “consolation”, expresses this beautifully. It suggests being with the other in his solitude, so that it ceases to be solitude. Furthermore, the capacity to accept suffering for the sake of goodness, truth and justice is an essential criterion of humanity, because if my own well-being and safety are ultimately more important than truth and justice, then the power of the stronger prevails, then violence and untruth reign supreme. Truth and justice must stand above my comfort and physical well-being, or else my life itself becomes a lie. In the end, even the “yes” to love is a source of suffering, because love always requires expropriations of my “I”, in which I allow myself to be pruned and wounded. Love simply cannot exist without this painful renunciation of myself, for otherwise it becomes pure selfishness and thereby ceases to be love.

To suffer with the other and for others; to suffer for the sake of truth and justice; to suffer out of love and in order to become a person who truly loves—these are fundamental elements of humanity, and to abandon them would destroy man himself. Yet once again the question arises: are we capable of this? Is the other important enough to warrant my becoming, on his account, a person who suffers? Does truth matter to me enough to make suffering worthwhile? Is the promise of love so great that it justifies the gift of myself? In the history of humanity, it was the Christian faith that had the particular merit of bringing forth within man a new and deeper capacity for these kinds of suffering that are decisive for his humanity. The Christian faith has shown us that truth, justice and love are not simply ideals, but enormously weighty realities. It has shown us that God —Truth and Love in person—desired to suffer for us and with us. Bernard of Clairvaux coined the marvellous expression: Impassibilis est Deus, sed non incompassibilis 29 —God cannot suffer, but he can suffer with. Man is worth so much to God that he himself became man in order to suffer with man in an utterly real way—in flesh and blood—as is revealed to us in the account of Jesus’s Passion. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by one who experiences and carries that suffering with us; hence con-solatio is present in all suffering, the consolation of God’s compassionate love—and so the star of hope rises. Certainly, in our many different sufferings and trials we always need the lesser and greater hopes too—a kind visit, the healing of internal and external wounds, a favourable resolution of a crisis, and so on. In our lesser trials these kinds of hope may even be sufficient. But in truly great trials, where I must make a definitive decision to place the truth before my own welfare, career and possessions, I need the certitude of that true, great hope of which we have spoken here. For this too we need witnesses—martyrs—who have given themselves totally, so as to show us the way—day after day. We need them if we are to prefer goodness to comfort, even in the little choices we face each day—knowing that this is how we live life to the full. Let us say it once again: the capacity to suffer for the sake of the truth is the measure of humanity. Yet this capacity to suffer depends on the type and extent of the hope that we bear within us and build upon. The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.

I would like to add here another brief comment with some relevance for everyday living. There used to be a form of devotion—perhaps less practised today but quite widespread not long ago—that included the idea of “offering up” the minor daily hardships that continually strike at us like irritating “jabs”, thereby giving them a meaning. Of course, there were some exaggerations and perhaps unhealthy applications of this devotion, but we need to ask ourselves whether there may not after all have been something essential and helpful contained within it. What does it mean to offer something up? Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ’s great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race. In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves.”

– Spe Salvi – Pope Benedict XVI

I found this litany online after a little searching. It is for “private” use only and was written by an OCDS member of Carmel. As it is the Carmelite Feast of All Saints, I thought to post it. Thank you to the author! Oh, an notice, there are more than just “Teresas” on this list!

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us.
Mother of Divine Grace, pray for us.
Most Fruitful Virgin, pray for us.
Saint Joseph,(etc.)
Chaste Spouse of the Virgin Mary,
Guardian of the Order of Carmel,
Saints Joachim and Anne,
Parents of the Virgin Mary,
Protectors of Carmel,
Saint Elijah,
Prophet of Fire,
Father of Carmel,
Saint Elisha,
Prophet of Carmel,
Heir of Elijah’s double spirit,
Saint Albert Avogadro,
Holy Patriarch of Jerusalem,
Lawgiver of Carmel,
Ye holy patrons of Carmel,
St. Angelus of Sicily,
St. Edith Stein,
Blessed Denis and Redemptus,
Blessed Jean-Baptiste, Michel-Louis, and Jacques,
Blessed Jacques Retouret,
Bl. Titus Brandsma,
Bl. Hilarion Januszewski,
Bl. Alphonsus Mary Mazurek and Companions,
Bl. Teresa of St. Augustine and Companions,
Bl. Maria Pilar, Teresa, and Maria Angeles,
Bl. Maria Mercedes Prat,
Bl. Maria Sagrario,
Bl. Isidore Bakanja,
All you holy martyrs of Carmel,
St. Teresa of Jesus,
St. Therese of the Child Jesus,
St. John of the Cross,
You holy doctors of Carmel,
St. Peter Thomas,
St. Andrew Corsini,
St. Simon Stock,
St. Albert of Trapani,
St. Henry de Osso y Cervello,
St. Raphael Kalinowski,
Bl. Nuno Alvares Pereira,
Bl. Angelus Augustine Mazzinghi,
Bl. John Soreth,
Bl. Aloysius Rabata,
Bl. Bartholomew Fanti,
Bl. Baptist Spagnoli,
Bl. Kuriakos Elias Chavara,
Bl. Francis Palau y Quer,
Bl. George Preca,
All you holy bishops and priests of Carmel,
St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi,
St. Teresa Margaret Redi,
St. Teresa de Los Andes,
St. Maria Maravillas,
St. Joachina de Vedruna de Mas,
Bl. Archangela Ghirlani,
Bl. Jane Scopelli,
Bl. Anne of St. Bartholomew,
Bl. Mary of Jesus,
Bl. Mary of the Angels,
Bl. Mary of Jesus Crucified,
Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity,
Bl. Teresa Manetti,
Bl. Maria Candida,
Bl. Frances d’Amboise,
Bl. Mary of the Incarnation,
All you holy nuns and virgins of Carmel,

Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world: spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world: graciously hear us,
O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, hav mercy on us.

Pray for us, all you Saints and Blessed of Carmel,
that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:
All-powerful and merciful God, You give us joy each year in the
commemoration of all of the holy men and women of the Order of the
Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Grant, we beseech you, that through
their example and merits, we may ever meditate upon your law and live
in perfect self-denial, and so become worthy to arrive at the
happiness of eternal life together with them; through Our Lord Jesus
Christ, your Son, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

On this wonderful feast day for the Carmelite Saints, this reading is a collection of writings from the works of St. Teresa of Jesus…

“All of us who wear this holy Carmelite habit are called to prayer and contemplation. This is what we were founded for. We are descended from those holy fathers of ours on Mt. Carmel, those who went in search of that treasure –the priceless pearl we are talking about –in such solitude and with such contempt for the world.

We must remember those holy fathers of ours who have gone before us, the hermits whose lives we are trying to imitate. We must remember our real founders, those holy fathers whose descendants we are. It was by way of poverty and humility, we know, that they came to the enjoyment of God.

On the subject of the beginnings of orders, I sometimes hear it said that the Lord gave greater graces to those saints who went before us because they were the foundations. Quite so, but we too must always bear in mind what it means to be the foundations for those who will come later. For if those of us who are alive now have not fallen away from what they did in the past, and those who come after us do the same, the building will always stand firm. What use is it to me for the saints of the past to have been what they were, if I come along after them and behave so badly that I leave the building in ruins because of my bad habits? For obviously those who come later don’t remember those who have died years before as they do the people they see around them. A fine state of affairs it is to insist that I am not one of the first, and do not realize what a difference there is between my life and virtues and the lives of those God has endowed with such graces!

Any of you who sees your Order falling away in any respect must try to be the kind of stone the building can be rebuilt with –the Lord will help to rebuild it.

For love of our Lord I beg them to remember how quickly everything comes to an end, and what a favor the Lord has done in bringing us to this Order, and what a punishment anyone who starts any kind of relaxation will deserve. They must always look at the race we are descended from–that race of holy prophets. What a num- ber of saints we have in heaven who have worn this habit of ours! We must have the holy audacity to aspire, with God’s help, to be like them. The struggle will not last long, but the outcome will be eternal.”

“A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me any more, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, he can help me. When I have been plunged into complete solitude …; if I pray I am never totally alone. The late Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, a prisoner for thirteen years, nine of them spent in solitary confinement, has left us a precious little book: Prayers of Hope. During thirteen years in jail, in a situation of seemingly utter hopelessness, the fact that he could listen and speak to God became for him an increasing power of hope, which enabled him, after his release, to become for people all over the world a witness to hope—to that great hope which does not wane even in the nights of solitude….

For prayer to develop this power of purification, it must on the one hand be something very personal, an encounter between my intimate self and God, the living God. On the other hand it must be constantly guided and enlightened by the great prayers of the Church and of the saints, by liturgical prayer, in which the Lord teaches us again and again how to pray properly. Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan, in his book of spiritual exercises, tells us that during his life there were long periods when he was unable to pray and that he would hold fast to the texts of the Church’s prayer: the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the prayers of the liturgy. Praying must always involve this intermingling of public and personal prayer. This is how we can speak to God and how God speaks to us. In this way we undergo those purifications by which we become open to God and are prepared for the service of our fellow human beings. We become capable of the great hope, and thus we become ministers of hope for others. Hope in a Christian sense is always hope for others as well. It is an active hope, in which we struggle to prevent things moving towards the “perverse end”. It is an active hope also in the sense that we keep the world open to God. Only in this way does it continue to be a truly human hope….”

– Spe Salve – Pope Benedict XVI

Here is a meditation for the day….

“VAIN is the man who puts his trust in men, in created things.

Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. Do not be self-sufficient but place your trust in God. Do what lies in your power and God will aid your good will. Put no trust in your own learning nor in the cunning of any man, but rather in the grace of God Who helps the humble and humbles the proud.

If you have wealth, do not glory in it, nor in friends because they are powerful, but in God Who gives all things and Who desires above all to give Himself. Do not boast of personal stature or of physical beauty, qualities which are marred and destroyed by a little sickness. Do not take pride in your talent or ability, lest you displease God to Whom belongs all the natural gifts that you have.

Do not think yourself better than others lest, perhaps, you be accounted worse before God Who knows what is in man. Do not take pride in your good deeds, for God’s judgments differ from those of men and what pleases them often displeases Him. If there is good in you, see more good in others, so that you may remain humble. It does no harm to esteem yourself less than anyone else, but it is very harmful to think yourself better than even one. The humble live in continuous peace, while in the hearts of the proud are envy and frequent anger.”

– Thomas Ë Kempis: THE IMITATION OF CHRIST

-- Above photo of morning light taken on Tuesday morning on the way to mass…