Today, we celebrate Blessed Gerard, founder and first Grand Master of the Sovereign Order of Malta.
Fra’ Gerard has embodied the motto Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum, which inspires over nine centuries of members and volunteers of the Order of Malta around the world.
Fra’ Gerard, pray for us.
Today, we had the investiture of new members of the Order of Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Five new members from Connecticut. Good people all of them.
The Tomb of Saint John XXIII….Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome
Let’s pray through good St John’s intercession for peace!
Today the Church commemorates the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, a celebration that has its origin not, as it would seem, in simply a prayer, but in a battle.
On October 7th, 1571 a fleet of ships assembled by the combined forces of Naples, Sardinia, Venice, the Papacy, Genoa, Savoy and the Knights Hospitallers fought an intense battle with the fleet of the Ottoman Empire. The battle took place in the Gulf of Patras located in western Greece. Though outnumbered by the Ottoman forces, the so-called “Holy League” possessed of superior firepower would win the day. This victory would severely curtail attempts by the Ottoman Empire to control the Mediterranean, causing a seismic shift in international relations from East to West. In some respects, and I do not want this claim to be overstated, the world that we know came into being with this victory. This event is known to history as the “Battle of Lepanto.”
Pope Pius V, whose treasury bankrolled part of this military endeavor, ordered the churches of Rome opened for prayer day and night, encouraging the faithful to petition the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary through the recitation of the Rosary. When word reached the Pope Pius of the victory of the Holy League, he added a new feast day to the Roman Liturgical Calendar- October 7th would henceforth be the feast of Our Lady of Victory. Pope Pius’ successor, Gregory XIII would change the name of this day to the feast of the Holy Rosary.
Our Lady of Victories, pray for us.
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Source: Fr. Steve Grunow
Today is the liturgical memory of Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926).
Blessed Bartolo is dear to the Knights and Dames of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. To date, he’s only lay member of the Order to be beatified. He’s an example for us because of his practice of constant prayer, active charity, and love for the most needy. From the Italian City of Pompeii, a city that he helped regenerate thanks to the grace of recitation of the Rosary, Blessed Bartolo continues to inspire initiatives of prayer and charity worldwide.
Let’s ask him to intercede for the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Blessed Bartolo Longo, pray for us.
Today, we liturgically recall the blessed memory of Blessed Hermann of Reichenau or he is known as Blessed Herman the Cripple, an 11th-century Benedictine monk and scholar who is most remembered for composing the Salve Regina.
Each time we pray the rosary and concluding it with the Salve, we ought to invoke Blessed Hermann.
On October 6, at 3pm, the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace (the Dominican Nuns) will host the annual Rosary Pilgrimage. The Pilgriimage will be preached by Father Gabriel Torretta, OP.
The Pilgrimage includes Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Rosary, and the presentation of the Rosary to our Blessed Mother at our Fatima Shrine.
Father Gabriel was recently assigned to teach at Providence College following doctoral studies at the University of Chicago.
Our Lady of Grace Monastery, 11 Race Hill Road, North Guilford.
https://www.dominicannuns.org
Earlier today while I was at the Lourdes in a Day –a spiritual encounter for those who senior, sick or in some way in need of healing– sponsored by the Order of Malta-CT North East Area– at St Peter Claver Church (West Hartford), I learned of a friend’s sudden death. Fr. Chris Ford and I were chatting about the day and I brought up that a friend, who had been at Lourdes in a Day last year, and benefitted from the experience, missed this year because he was to start a new chapter in his life at Thomas Aquinas College. Fr. Chris interrupted me to say that John died. His funeral was last week. I was –and continue to be– in shock and dismay: how could this happen?
John Kozak’s obit is here. It is a nicely composed biography of a young man whose life came to a tragic and unexpected end at 24 as a consequence of mental illness. He did not commit suicide. The death, as I understand it, was an accident. It was a struggle that encircled him, challenging is ability to find meaning and expression. John was a genius, he eager to have a conversation, he desired to be in relationship with the Lord. He was a good kid.
Pray for John’s eternal rest in the Lord’s arms. Pray for John’s family and friends who mourn him.
I am grateful for John’s friendship.
Earlier this evening I traveled to St Anthony of the Desert Maronite Church (Fall River, MA) where we served the Melkite Divine Liturgy served by Bishop François Beyrouti, Bishop of Diocese of Newton for the Melkite Catholic Church in the United States and the local Melkite clergy. The Liturgy highlighted the presence of a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis –soon to be canonized– who had the mission for Eucharistic revival. The organizers also curated 150 panels of the Eucharistic miracles around the world.
