Author: Paul Zalonski

Mass of Thanksgiving for Bartolo Longo’s canonization

The Connecticut Section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem gave thanks and praise for the canonization of Bartolo Longo.

Saint Bartolo Longo, a layman, husband, ex-priest of Satan, third Order Dominican and member of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

The biography of Longo shows us that he dedicated himself to justice concerns, founding schools, orphanages, and charitable institutions for the children of prisoners. His life, interestingly, reminds us of the Byzantine Saint Cyprian (October 2), who was also a demonic worshipper, who sent demons to seduce the holy virgin Justa. When the demons were repulsed by her faith, he repented, renounced the magical arts and burnt his books. He became a bishop and martyr.

A relic of Saint Bartolo was available for veneration.

Saint Bartolo Longo, pray for us.

Order of the Holy Sepulchre invests new members

On Friday and Saturday, October 10 and 11, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem invested new members into the Order particularly for the Connecticut Section. We have 7 new members who accepted a new vocation to serve God, Church, and our least brothers and sisters.

Congratulations and prayers for:

William H. Atwood, Diocese of Bridgeport
Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt, SEMV, Archdiocese of Hartford
Jorge Chevere, Archdiocese of Hartford
Father Michael J. Dolan, Archdiocese of Hartford
Bishop Richard F. Reidy, Diocese of Norwich (transferred to CT due to his appointment as bishop)
Robert Niedbala, Diocese of Norwich
Mona Ann Niedbala, Diocese of Norwich

Order of the Holy Sepulchre prays Vespers

Tonight the Connecticut Section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem –Eastern Lieutenancy sung Vespers for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at St John’s Chapel of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, Meriden. With Vespers we also had Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and veneration of the relic of the Holy Cross About 20 members attended.

Bishop Juan Miguel Betancourt, SEMV, presided and preached assisted by Deacon Confessol Rodriquez. Msgr John Bevins, Fr Peter J. Langevin, Fr John Mariano were present.

The Sisters were extraordinary in the preparation, their presence and friendship.
It was an extraordinary grace.

Photo credit: Luis Fuentes.

Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre

Today, July 15th is Dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

A day of importance to those of us who belong to the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The dedication of the original church happened in 1149.

We commemorate not merely the dedication burial place but a liturgical remembrance of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. It deepens the our understanding of the Paschal Mystery (the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus). In his homily today, Franciscan Father Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, said, “Today we celebrate a feast that is much more than a historical commemoration. It is a living, current celebration that speaks to us today, here, in the heart of our Holy Land.” Further, Faltas said, “This tomb is empty today. And that empty tomb cries out to the world: Christ is risen!”

Thus, the Holy Sepulchre is not only a place of memory, it is the symbol (read: reality) of Christ’s resurrection. Hence, it is a sign of hope.

St Bonaventure

Saint Bonaventure: Friar, theologian, bishop, cardinal and doctor of the Church.

St. Bonaventure, a close friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, was deeply committed to both theology and philosophy and became a leading scholar in the Franciscan tradition.

What follows is an excerpt from his famous work The Journey of the Mind to God:

Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the “throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant,” and “the mystery hidden from the ages.” A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation.

Then such a man will make with Christ a “pasch,” that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ “from this world to the Father,” so that, when the Father has shown himself to us, we can say with Philip: “It is enough.”

We may hear with Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you;” and we can rejoice with David, saying: “My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!”

St. Bonaventure, pray for us.

CT Order of Malta honors patron saint

Today, the Order of Malta – CT North East Area met to honor the memory of Saint John the Baptist with a meeting, Holy Mass and lunch.

We met at St. Thomas Seminary-Pastoral Center, Bloomfield, CT.

One the great joys of the day was to officially welcomed 4 as new Knights and Dames of the Order.

Besides the announcements of various ministries, Bishop Peter Rosazza and Bob O’Hara spoke of their recent pilgrimage to Lourdes.

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.

Archbishop visits for election of prioress

Today the Archbishop of Hartford, Christopher J. Coyne, was welcomed to the Monastery of Our Lady of Grace (North Guilford) to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit and then to preside over the election of a prioress for the community of contemplative Dominican Nuns. In this case, Sister Maria of the Angels was re-elected as a prioress for a term of three years.

May God grant Sr. Maria good and fruitful years as prioress.

Our Lady of Grace and St Dominic, pray for us.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Today is one of the “idea feasts” following the close of the Easter-Pentecost cycle in the Latin Church. The Church focuses our attention on the Holy Trinity. Many people are not well-versed in the theology of the Trinity. Given here is an Angelus address of Pope Benedict XVI, for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, 11 June 2006.

On this Sunday that follows Pentecost, we are celebrating the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand Jesus’ words and guides us to the whole truth (cf. Jn 14: 26; 16: 13), believers can experience, so to speak, the intimacy of God himself, discovering that he is not infinite solitude but communion of light and love, life given and received in an eternal dialogue between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit – Lover, Loved and Love, to echo St Augustine.

In this world no one can see God, but he has made himself known so that, with the Apostle John, we can affirm: “God is love” (I Jn 4: 8, 16), and “we have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us” (Encyclical Deus Caritas Est, n. 1; cf. I Jn 4: 16).

Those who encounter Christ and enter into a friendly relationship with him welcome into their hearts Trinitarian Communion itself, in accordance with Jesus’ promise to his disciples: “If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn 14: 23).

For those who have faith, the entire universe speaks of the Triune God. From the spaces between the stars to microscopic particles, all that exists refers to a Being who communicates himself in the multiplicity and variety of elements, as in an immense symphony.

All beings are ordered to a dynamic harmony that we can similarly call “love”. But only in the human person, who is free and can reason, does this dynamism become spiritual, does it become responsible love, in response to God and to one’s neighbour through a sincere gift of self. It is in this love that human beings find their truth and happiness.

Among the different analogies of the ineffable mystery of the Triune God that believers are able to discern, I would like to cite that of the family. It is called to be a community of love and life where differences must contribute to forming a “parable of communion”.

The Virgin Mary, among all creatures, is a masterpiece of the Most Holy Trinity. In her humble heart full of faith, God prepared a worthy dwelling place for himself in order to bring to completion the mystery of salvation. Divine Love found perfect correspondence in her, and in her womb the Only-begotten Son was made man.

Let us turn to Mary with filial trust, so that with her help we may progress in love and make our life a hymn of praise to the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

Ss. Peter and Paul and the bees

As we welcome a new Roman pontiff, we turn to some more images of Ss. Peter and Paul, the great patrons of Rome are worth recalling to mind. Their feast day is approaching on June 29.

(The arms shown between them are arguably the most famous and distinctive arms in all of baroque Rome; they are the arms of the Barberini family and the Barberini pope, Urban VIII). Notice the honey bees on the coat of arms.