Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus

In the Benedictine Ordo, Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus are commemorated together and recalled for their gift of friendship and hospitality shown to the Lord. The familiar setting of their Bethany home shows us the priority of welcoming the guest, while remembering the need to be attentive to prayer and work. This portion of the biblical narrative gave rise to Saint Benedict writing in his Holy Rule that guest’s ought to be welcomed as Christ. Martha’s word of faith to Jesus is key for us too, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Let us pray through the intercession of Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus that we be hospitable to the stranger, not only to family and friends.

O, Martha, Mary, Lazarus,
Most joyfully we sing your praise;
You often welcomed Christ as guest,
To hear him, on his face to to gaze.
You, Martha we as Christ once said,
“Solicitous in many things”
Yet it was love for him that caused
The Anxious care that such love brings.
For, while you gladly served the guest,
The others could at ease partake
Of those great words of life and grace
From Jesus, made man for our sake.
Now came a farewell meal for him
Who must for us in death’s pains share,
So Mary’s nard anoints his feet,
Which she wipes dry with her own hair.
Lord Jesus, give our hearts this grace,
That in your saving word believe,
To welcome guests at any time
And with a heartfelt warmth receive.
To Father, Son and Spirit true
May we eternal glory sing
And may at last your kindly prayer
Bring us to God’s great welcoming.

Text trans. Kenneth Tomkins, OSB, 1992, Quarr Abbey, Ryde, Isle of Wight

Oratorian Father Edoardo Aldo Cerrato nominated bishop

Father Cerrato CO.jpgOratorian Father Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, 62, until now Procurator General of the Confederation of the Oratory, has been nominated bishop of Ivrea, Italy. This is a diocese founded sometime in the 5th century and is the Province of Turin. The new bishop will be ordained on September 8 and will be installed on October 7.

As a member of the Biella Oratory (northern Italy), he was ordained on June 28, 1975. He was elected the Provost (religious superior) of the Biella Oratory from 1984-2005. And since 1994 he’s been Procurator General. In his time as the Procurator General, the Oratorian life has seen growth of 20 new houses around the world.

Father Cerrato was due to step down from his work as the Procurator General in September at the General Congress.
Many may not know of the Oratory of Saint Philip Neri but that’s because there are few them in the USA. The most known are the Oratories in Rock Hill, SC, Brooklyn, NY and Pittsburgh, PA. An Oratory-in-formation was established recently in Cincinnati. 
You may read more about this gem of the Church here.
I have met Father Cerrato a few times and always found him a fine man and priest, one who cares for the souls in front of him. The Diocese of Ivrea is blessed to have him. Cerrato is one of three Oratorian bishops in the world (2 of whom live in Mexico).

May Saint Philip Neri and Blessed John Henry Newman, intercede for Bishop-Elect Cerrato, CO.

Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of the Lord

Let us praise Joachim and Anne, to whom, in their generation, the Lord gave him

who was a blessing for all the nations. (entr. ant.)


St Joachim and Ann.jpg

Since the sixth century the Eastern Church has venerated the memory of Saints Joachim and Anne; it was in the tenth century that the Western Church entered Anne’s name into the martyrology and only recently have both been acknowledged together as the grandparents of Jesus.


Let’s pray for grandparents, living and deceased through the intercession of Saints Joachim and Anne.


On grandparents, the Pope has said in 2008,


As regards the family, grandparents continue to be witnesses of unity, of solid values of faithfulness and that singular love from which faith and the joy of living flow…. In the face of the crisis of the family could it not be time to draw even more upon the presence and testimony of those — grandparents — who have a greater richness of values and experience? We couldn’t, in fact, plan the future without recalling a past characterized by significant experiences and spiritual and moral points of reference. Thinking of grandparents, of their witness of love and faith to live, there come to mind the biblical figures of Abraham and Sara, Elizabeth and Zechariah, of Joachim and Anne, just like the elderly Simeon and Anna, or even Nicodemus: in every age, all of these recall for us how the Lord asks each to bring their own talents.

Gerhard Müller talks to the press about SSPX, etc

muller and pope.JPGThe new and quickly noted CDF Prefect, German Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller, 64, is talking to the press about various things, particularly of the recent talks the Holy See’s been having with the SSPX. With all the interviews and loose translations of the same, it’s going to be an interesting time with the new Prefect. 

Archbishop Müller no doubt has good credentials and gives the impression that he supports the Holy Father’s work in theology, but one wonders if he can withstand the criticism, severe at times, for his intellectual interests in other fields of theology that appear to be at odds with the magisterium. Having said this, I think it is way too early to render a judgment on the man. The complexities he faces in the Church are many. When in doubt, give the plus-sign.

Here are some of the things people are saying….

Catholic News Agency posted this article on Muller’s thoughts…

Today’s interview written up by Cindy Wooden of CNS is posted here.
Archbishop Müller’s biography is posted here.

Saint James

St james AdiVanni.jpg

As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother mending their nets and he called them. (entr. ant.)

Almighty ever-living God, who consecrated the first fruits of your Apostles by the blood of Saint James, grant, we pray, that your Church may be strengthened by his confession of faith and constantly sustained by his protection.

Today, we pray for the Church in Spain as they venerate this great Apostle James (this site has a lot on the saint) who is buried in Compostella.

We pray for those who need deeper conversion in Christ, as James did.

Difficulty with beauty

I met a man this afternoon doing some business with us on marketing and the question of beauty came to the fore. He remarked on how we are among the few clients he has who have concern for beauty, simple sophistication, not foppishness. I recalled for him that beauty is a theological datum; it is such a principled piece of Catholicism that it is shameful of what passes for beauty.

Several years ago I came across a couple of lines of Cardinal Ratzinger’s that speaks of beauty as really, really important. He said, “A theologian who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they necessarily are reflected in his theology.” In other words, don’t trust a theologian who has no regard for beauty.

Then on FB I noted this quote and image on beauty.


new beauty.jpg

It is one of the notable sadnesses of our time that so many are incapable of fascination with the deeper levels of human beauty, especially those rooted in the spirit, levels that far transcend physical attractiveness.  Before lofty human traits some people are more or less apathetic, listless, unmoved, even hardened. And many seem to die as they live. 


Thomas Dubay. S.M., The Evidential Power of Beauty, p.64-65.

Are you living in Christ now?


Saint Benedict has a special place in his Rule for eternity.
The eternal life is usually a subject that many people run away from because in
order to fully enjoy eternity one needs to confront death. Well, that’s what
many think. The Lord’s promise of eternal life and many of benefits can be
enjoyed before one dies. In fact, that’s what the sacraments give us: a
foretaste of eternity. Baptism opens the door, washes away sin, imparts grace,
and makes one an adopted child of God; the Eucharist nourishes our spiritual
life, and builds communion with the Trinity; Confirmation imparts the Gifts of
the Holy Spirit and Beatitude, etc. Sacraments give the faithful a share in
Beatitude if lived in a state of grace and according to the Eight Beatitudes. 

The
question really is what the Apostle Paul said, and what is adhered to by true Christians, particularly saints, “To
me to live is Christ,” (Mihi Vivere Christus)” (Phil: 1, 21). Living means being closely united, in communion, with Christ. Catholics live in Christ by living the sacraments and according to Scripture but the teaching of the saints also illumine our path.

A verse in
the Prologue to Saint Benedict’s Rule refocuses us:

“If we wish to reach eternal
life, even as we avoid the torments of hell, then – while there is still time,
while we are in this body and have time to accomplish all these things by the
light of life – we must run and do now what will profit us for all eternity.” (Prologue
42 – 44,RB).

The teaching, some have said, can be interpreted to mean that Saint
Benedict is urging his disciples to put into daily practice right now what we will
be doing for all eternity: that is, giving glory and praise to God. How we give
God glory and praise is done through our daily lives of personal and communal prayer,
in faithfulness and obedience to the Divine Majesty. This was the source of someone
who knows God: a lifelong fidelity, joyfulness, and an openness to Wonder. The
position of wonder speaks to our youthful spirit and joy was keeping our eyes,
our mind and our heart fixed on Jesus Christ and the promise of the Hundredfold.

Do you wish to reach your ultimate destiny, eternal life? What will you do to run along the path?

Saint Sharbel Makhūf

Saint Charbel.jpgO God, who called the Priest Saint Sharbel Makhūf to the solitary combat of the desert and imbued him with all manner of devotion, grant us, we pray, that, being made imitators of the Lord’s Passion, we may merit to be co-heirs of his Kingdom.

The saint proposed by the Church is a relatively unknown hermit. Saint Sharbel (1828-1898) was a man who fought with the devil in the desert and lived according to tradition given by the Maronite Church. He’s known as the wonder-worker of the Middle East. When Church officials opened the grave of Sharbel they found an intact body with sweet aroma.
A hermit may not be a recognized value for the laity but if you look at the Mass prayer above it notes what we all are after: to be imitators of the Lord’s Passion. The Christian always orients his or her life to the Paschal Mystery (the Life, Death, Resurrection & Ascension of the Lord).