Today is the Feast of the Dedication of the Holy Sepulchre Church in AD 1149. For obvious reasons, to is a special day for the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Prayers for the Order and for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Category: Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Meeting to worship the Lord in friendship
On Thursday, May 30, the traditional day for the feast of Corpus Domini, in some quarters, Corpus Christi, four members of the Eastern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem met at the Georgetown Oratory in Redding, CT, for a solemn Mass and procession for Corpus Domini. It was a beautiful Mass: sacred music, preaching, ars celebrandi, servers and the faithful.
The Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem assembled as possible to give witness to the reality of the Eucharistic Lord, his friendship with us and our friendship with each other. The witness to our salvation is Eucharistic and crucial to our living faith today as it demonstrates what we hold to be true and what we hold to be real.
The principal celebrant and homilist Father Michael Clark preached using one of Flannery O’Connor‘s reflections on the Eucharist, where she responds to a friend claiming to be a Catholic and that the Eucharist was a “pretty good symbol.” O’Connor said, “If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.”
This sentiment remains today among many Catholics: the Eucharist is a pretty good symbol. Well, I should say O’Connor’s response remains clear and correct. Reduction of the Eucharist to an aesthetic or worse, to ethics, makes the Eucharist a mere subjective experience renouncing the objectivity of what Jesus did on Holy Thursday, and what the churches have taught based on experience and the reality of revelation and Tradition. Symbolic presence alone is weak and irritating.
We were also reminded that O’Connor was a communicant of this Georgetown Oratory for a brief period in her life.
The picture has Charles, Ruth and PAZ. Missing was Oratorian Brother Paul. A few more members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre were slated to be there but circumstances of life changed their plans.
National Eucharistic Pilgrimage begins in New Haven
Members of the CT – North East Area represented the Order of Malta in New Haven CT with members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem at the launch of the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Procession for the National Eucharistic Revival Pilgrimage. Archbishop Christopher J. Coyne, Archbishop of Hartford, celebrated the sacred Liturgy. Following Mass the congregation formed a procession in the Church’s neighborhood.
The group photo was taken in the basement of St. Mary’s Church, the founding location of the Knights of Columbus, with Father Peter J. Langevin, KHS, Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich, and Father Joseph MacNeil, Parochial Vicar at Blessed McGivney Parish (New Haven, CT).
This fourth route will journey through the major cities of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the Mid-Atlantic states to the Indianapolis Convention on July 17. One of the traveling Pilgrimage vans, which was parked at the Blessed MIchael McGivney Pilgrimage Center, contains the Tabernacle to securely transport the Blessed Sacrament for travelling Adoration .
Order of Holy Sepulchre meets in Waterbury
Today, members of Connecticut’s Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem met at the historic Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Waterbury, CT) for Sunday Mass and then for a festive dinner given by Msgr. John Bevins. It was a beautiful time to gather and share friendship. (more were able to make to dinner than to Mass due to other commitments.)
Our Lady of Palestine: Queen of the Land and of our hearts
Today is a solemn feast for those of us who are members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, and for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Today is a perfect day to pray for peace in the Holy Land through Mary’s intercession. Prayers for the ministry of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre throughout the world.
Because we follow the Lex Orandi tradition, the following prayer is the opening collect for the Mass.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father,
we humbly ask you, through the
intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine, to help us overcome all the difficulties
which face us in this Holy Land,
the land which your Son has made Holy;
for it is in this land where our Savior took flesh
and brought the entire world to Redemption.
We beseech you Father,
strengthen us in faith, service, and perseverance so that we may be witnesses
to that unending act of love,
you who live and reign forever and ever.
A cardinal’s oblation
The red that a cardinal wears is supposed to point to a willingness to shed their blood. The ritual used to create new cardinals of the Roman Church refers to the wearing of the color red as a sign of the blood of the martyrs.
Pope Saint John Paul II taught; “Red is a sign of the dignity of the office of a cardinal, signifying that you are ready to act with fortitude, even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith” (1998).
Cardinal Pizzaballa’s words of availability are impactful. Read the article.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, pray for us.
This deeply moves me.
Prayer for peace in the Holy Land
Queen of peace, Chosen daughter of a land still devastated by wars, hatred and violence.
We confidently address our plea to you: Do not allow Jesus to cry at the sight of the Holy City which did not understand the gift of peace may, once again, fall into indifference and political calculation. Look at the afflictions of so many mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, victims of destructive energies that are blind and without a future. Inspire ways of dialogue, a vigorous will in solving problems and a collaboration of certain hope. Don’t let us ever to get used to oppression, to consider the struggles as inevitable and the victims they produce as collateral.
Make sure that the logic of aggression does not prevail over good will and that the solution of many problems is not considered impossible. Just like with Your prayer in the midst of the Disciples on Pentecost, obtain from the Almighty that situations, even if apparently insurmountable in the Holy Land, find ways of happy solution.
AMEN.
Fernando Cardinal Filoni
Grand Master of the Holv Sepulchre of Jerusalem
Blessed Bartolo Longo
Memory of Bartolo Longo is liturgically honored today. Blessed Bartolo Longo (1841-1926) has been so far the only lay person of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem to be lifted to the altar. He quite dear to the Knights and Dames of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, and to me both as a devotee to the Rosary and to the Order.
Longo is an example for our members of constant prayer, active charity, and love for the most needy. From Pompeii, a city that he helped regenerate thanks to the grace of recitation of the Rosary, the Blessed continues to inspire initiatives of prayer and charity worldwide.
Since my baptismal parish is named for Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii, Blessed Bartolo’s relic hangs in a stairwell (not an ideal place) but at least we remember him.
Prayer to Blessed Bartolo Longo
Blessed Bartolo Longo, you who dedicated your life to Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us and intercede for our needs. You who have known despair and suffering, help us to find hope and peace in difficult times.
You who have spread the devotion to the Rosary around the world, teach us to love this prayer and meditate on the mysteries of the life of Jesus and Mary. You who founded the city of Pompeii as a center of Marian devotion, protect and bless it always.
Blessed Bartolo Longo, you who lived your life in the service of others, help us imitate your example of charity and dedication. You who have been raised to the honours of the altars, pray for us and obtain the grace we need. Amen.
A new cardinal among us
Earlier today the Pope created 21 new cardinals. Among the new cardinals is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, O.F.M.,the first time a residential Patriarch has been given the title of Cardinal of the Roman Church. This is significant for several reasons and in my mind chief among them is that Jerusalem is the Mother, the heart of the Christian faith. Catholics around the world ought to be proud that Mother Church is so represented.
His Beatitude, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, serves the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem as its Grand Prior, serving with the Grand Master, Fernando Cardinal Filoni.
The Order was represented by the Cardinal Grand Master and the Governor General and a large international delegation.
Among the new cardinals and in addition to Cardinal Pizzaballa are members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre: Cardinal Stephen Brislin, Archbishop of Cape Town and Grand Priore for South Africa, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, Archbishop of Bogota and Grand Priore to Colombia, Cardinal America Manuel Alves Aguiar Bishop of Setúbal (Portugal) and Cardinal Augustine Marchetto, Apostolic Nuncio and Archbishop of Astigi.
Holy Child Program: healing the brokenness of children in the Holy Land
Healing the wounds of the venerable and broken –body, mind and spirit– of children. A beautiful and much need program for the flourishing of children in the Holy Land is The Holy Child Program founded by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist (Meriden, CT). This charitable work is supported by many generous benefactors not least the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Sister Naomi writes about the mission of the HCP:
The mission of the Holy Child Program has always been to instill hope through healing. It is a safe place for those who manifest emotional behavioral problems resulting in difficulties at home, at school and in the community. While the attitude in this region is slowly changing toward those who have a disability, these children are still seen as outcasts in their society. Like St. Francis kissing the leper, these children and their families are given the time, attention and love necessary to heal. And not only to heal, but to become integrated and giving members of society. Graduating students are followed and supported for a minimum of two years after graduation.
Here’s the website for The Holy Child Program where you can make a sacrificial gift to support the mission.
An introductory word on the The Holy Child Program by Sister Naomi Zimmermann, FSE is helpful: “A time for healing“