Visiting Bethlehem: the Abbey of Regina Laudis

Abbey of Regina Laudis chapel int.jpgOne of the blessings in Connecticut is the presence of Abbey of Regina Laudis, a monastery of nearly 40 Benedictine nuns in the hills of Litchfield, County (in the Archdiocese of Hartford). Looking out in the choir there were 5 white veil novices and 1 postulant among the other professed nuns.

I went to the abbey with Father Ignacio today so that he could celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass for the nuns since they are without a resident chaplain. Father Ignacio is a newly ordained priest of the Bridgeport Diocese currently serving at Saint Rose of Lima Church (Newtown, CT). Mass at the abbey follows the Mass of Pope Paul VI, also called the Novus Ordo (the new Order [Mass]). Often Mass is celebrated using the Latin language except for the Scripture readings and homily. However, the Mass is often in English with the Latin chants.
Like a number of monasteries and convents the sisters are without a resident priest these days. And you can guess the reasons for this. The abbey’s past chaplain, a Benedictine monk, transfered his vow of stability from his abbey of profession to another. Thus, he had to move to his new abbey.
I was happy to be at Regina Laudis again after being away for 2 years. This time was especially happy because I was able to meet Mother Placid again after 9 years (I don’t usually call on the nuns for a visit when I stop in for a visit to the bookstore and chapel). Mother Placid is the first American vocation to stay at the Abbey with the foundress, Lady Abbess Benedict. As Providence would have it, I greeted the mother of a former student. And from a distance I saw a former classmate from the seminary. Amazing who one meets at a bucolic Benedictine monastery.
As a side note, the nuns are land based. Meaning, they farm the land by raising vegetables, tending the forest, raising a beef herd for local consumption and dairy cattle for the abbey’s use. Many of the nuns are professionally trained in the various sciences to assist in the proper use of the land. The good and proper use of the land is a particularly Benedictine characteristic. The nuns tend to the beauty of creation as a theological statement of belief in the Incarnation.
Dancing sheep ARL.jpgAdditionally, the abbey has through the years attracted women from all walks of life and pedigree: some have been lawyers, physicians, artists, poets, actresses, theologians, minor nobility and the like. Mother Foundress’ leadership and vision was the result of the integration of faith and reason. She knew deeply the Catholic tradition of the religious, artistic and intellectual life. Hers was a monastic life that is virtually unknown in the United States. Regina Laudis is likely one of 4 or 5 similar monasteries of women. Historically, Mother Benedict knew personally Popes Pius XII, John XXIII and Paul VI and all of them encouraged the Foundress to keep alive Benedictine culture, ecumenism, the Latin chants and the intellect (that is, if a woman came to the abbey is a professional credential, or later earned one, she was keep current in that field).
A good read is Antonette Bosco’s biography, Mother Benedict: Foundress of Regina Laudis

Meeting an icon: Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety

Abp Gerety & PAZ Aug 16 2009.jpgYou never know who will bless a house. Today, a friend’s house was blessed by his uncle, Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety, emeritus archbishop of Newark. The Gerety’s nephew, Phil, was a most gracious host today.

The archbishop is the sometime bishop of Portland in Maine and the once a upon a time founding pastor of Saint Martin de Porres Church, New Haven, CT. His parish work in New Haven is legendary given that his ministry was among the African American Catholics for 24 years (his only pastorate until he was nominated bishop in 1966). Archbishop Peter is a well-known prelate of the Church for his many years of service to the same in an era of great upheaval. At the moment he’s the oldest living bishop in the US (he turned 97 on July 19th) and the 12th oldest bishop in the world. His anniversary stats this year include being a priest for 70 years and a bishop for 43. In addition to his daily routine of prayer and living, Archbishop Peter reads about two books a week and periodically celebrates the sacrament of Confirmation but he does have to nurse a sore hip.

A delightful part of the afternoon was had over a delicious lunch talking about the archbishop’s seminary training with the Sulpician Fathers in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

Say a prayer for Archbishop Peter’s continued health of mind and body. He’s a very delightful person with a great heart and good humor.

Saint Roch (Roque, Rocco)

St Roch patron of Dogs.jpg

O blessed Saint Roch, patron of the sick, have pity on those who lie upon a bed of suffering. You power was so great when you were in this world, that by the sign of the cross, many were healed of their diseases. Now that you are in heaven, your power is not less. Offer, then to God our sighs and tears and obtain for us that health we seek through Christ our Lord.

A native of Montpellier (France) who after the death of his parents and giving his money to the poor, he went to Rome on pilgrimage. At the time of his stay in Italy (c. 1348) it was the time of the Black Plague. A mysterious mark on his chest in the formed of cross identified him and by the sign of the cross did Roch heal the sick. Having cared for the plague victims Roch caught the sickness himself. Thinking he’d retire alone to forest near Piacenza to prepare for his own death a dog became his companion, licking his wounds and providing food. The saint recovered his health. Returning to Montpellier he was not recognized and imprison as a spy. At his death in 1378, the mark of the cross on his chest alerted the people to Roch’s identity. Members of the Council of Constance asked Saint Roch to spare them from the plague and indeed it was lifted.

Saint Roch is a famous patron of those living with the severe sickness as he was called upon in his lifetime and after during the plague. The iconography associated with Saint Roch includes a dog, a pilgrim’s robe and staff.
Update (8/17): My friend Father Matthew Mauriello is the pastor of Saint Roch’s Church, Greenwich, CT. The Greenwich Times ran a story on the procession he led on the saint’s feast day. Read about it here and watch the slide show.

Mary leads us on the path to Christ

“Following Jesus from Bethlehem to exile in
Egypt, in the hidden life and public life, even to the foot of the Cross, Mary
lives her steady ascent to God in the spirit of the Magnificat, adhering in
full, even through moments of  ‘darkness and suffering’, to the project of
the love of God and nourishing in her heart her total abandonment to the hands
of the Lord, so as to be a paradigm for the faith of the Church (cf. Lumen
Gentium, 64-65). All of life is an ascent, all of life is meditation,
obedience, trust and hope even in darkness and all of life is this sacred haste
that knows that God is always the priority and nothing else should create haste
in our lives.


The Assumption reminds us that Mary’s life, like that of every
Christian is a journey to follow Jesus, a path that has a clearly defined goal,
a future already mapped out: the final victory over sin and death and full
communion with God.”


(Pope Benedict XVI Assumption 2009)

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

See the beauty of the daughter of Jerusalem, who ascended to
heaven like the rising sun at dawn.

The ark which God has sanctified,

OL Assumption ACastagno.jpg

Which He has filled with
grace,

Within the temple of the Lord

Has found a resting-place.

More glorious
than the seraphim,

This ark of love divine,

Corruption could not blemish her

Whom
death could not confine.

God-bearing Mother, Virgin chaste,

Who shines in
heaven’s sight;

She wears a royal crown of stars

Who is the door of Light.

To Father, Son and Spirit blest

may we give endless praise

With Mary, who is Queen of heaven,

Through everlasting days.

(from Stanbrook Abbey Hymnal)

Venerable Servant of God Michael J. McGivney

In 1890 on today’s date, Father Michael J. McGivney, a priest of the Hartford Diocese and founder of the Knights of Columbus, died at the age of 38.


The postulator and vice-postulator, with the Archdiocese of Hartford and the Congregation for Saints, have been studying the various claims of miracles attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Michael J. McGivney. The process for beatification and canonization continues on the temporal plane but it also requires divine intervention. The prayer for canonization follows.


Visit the McGivney Guild

Join the McGivney Guild

Prayer for the Canonization of

Father Michael J. McGivney

 

MJM mosaic.jpg

God, our Father, protector of the poor and defender of the widow and orphan, you called your priest, Father Michael J. McGivney, to be an apostle of Christian family life and to lead the young to the generous service of their neighbor.

 

Through the example of his life and virtue may we follow your Son, Jesus Christ, more closely, fulfilling his commandment of charity and building up his Body which is the Church. Let the inspiration of your servant prompt us to greater confidence in your love so that we may continue his work of caring for the needy and the outcast.

 

We humbly ask that you glorify your servant Father Michael J. McGivney on earth according to the design of your holy will.

 

Through his intercession, grant the favor I now present (here make your request).

 

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe

St Maximilian Kolbe.jpgWe know that we have passed out of death into life,
because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.


Gracious
God, you filled your priest and martyr, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, with zeal for
souls and love for his neighbor. Through the prayer of this devoted servant of
Mary Immaculate, grant that in our efforts to serve others for your glory we
too may become like Christ your Son, who loved his own in the world even to the
end, and now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever.


Militia Immaculata Prayer of Marian Consecration
(Composed by St.
Maximilian Kolbe)

O Immaculata, Queen of Heaven and earth, refuge of sinners
and our most loving Mother, God has willed to entrust the entire order of mercy
to you. I, (name), a repentant sinner, cast myself at your feet, humbly
imploring you to take me with all that I am and have, wholly to yourself as
your possession and property. Please make of me, of all my powers of soul and
body, of my whole life, death and eternity, whatever most pleases you. If it
pleases you, use all that I am and have without reserve, wholly to accomplish
what was said of you: “She will crush your head,” and “You alone
have destroyed all heresies in the whole world.”

Let me be a fit
instrument in your immaculate and merciful hands for introducing and increasing
your glory to the maximum in all the many strayed and indifferent souls, and
thus help extend as far as possible the blessed kingdom of the most Sacred
Heart of Jesus. For wherever you enter you obtain the grace of conversion and
growth in holiness, since it is through your hands that all graces come to us
from the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

V. Allow me to praise you, O sacred
Virgin 
R. Give me strength against
your enemies.

Herbs Blessing, Byzantine style

In an age old tradition of the Church, the faithful experience a blessing of herbs and  flowers on the Solemnity of the Assumption. Here is a blessing taken from the Byzantine ritual and so we ought to say the “Dormition”, this is the proper term in the East for what the Latins call the Assumption of Mary.

O almighty, eternal God, by your word alone You created out of nothing the heavens, earth, sea, and all things visible and invisible. You commanded that the earth give forth plants and trees for the needs of man and animal, each according to its need. In your infinite goodness You ordained that these plants serve not only as food for the animals but also as medicine for the sick body. We beseech you, bless these different plants and fruits and bestow upon them your blessing, and endow them with your power, so that they may serve man and animal like as a defense against all sickness and all that is impure: for You are our God and we give glory to You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever. Amen.

These flowers (or: plants) are blessed and sanctified by the sprinkling of this holy water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Herbs Blessing on the Assumption Solemnity, August 15

It is customary in the Western Church, since at least the 10th century, for the priest to bless herbs on the Solemnity of the Assumption. The Eastern Church likely had a similar formulary much earlier.

As a point of liturgical fact, the Church asks God to bless herbs and flowers –and thus us– to remind all of us of the gifts God has given us for our sustenance, healing and beauty. In many places the faithful had all their flowers blessed, especially those closely associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Herbs blessing, therefore, is another example of giving thanks, a key theological and liturgical point in our life of faith. While customary it is not likely to be used in many parishes. The collects for the herbs blessing rich and savory.

The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (2001) says of herbs blessing:

Thumbnail image for Herbs.jpg

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August) is deeply imbedded in popular piety. In many places the feast is synonymous with the person of Our Lady, and is simply referred to as “Our Lady’s Day” or as the “Immacolada” in Spain and Latin America.

In the Germanic countries, the custom of blessing herbs is associated with 15 August. This custom, received into the Rituale Romanum (200), represents a clear example of the genuine evangelization of pre-Christian rites and beliefs: one must turn to God, through whose word “the earth produced vegetation: plants bearing seeds in their several kinds, and trees bearing fruit with their seed inside in their several kinds” (Gen 1, 12) in order to obtain what was formerly obtained by magic rites; to stem the damages deriving from poisonous herbs, and benefit from the efficacy of curative herbs.

This ancient use came to be associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary, in part because of the biblical images applied to her such as vine, lavender, cypress and lily, partly from seeing her in terms of a sweet smelling flower because of her virtue, and most of all because of Isaiah 11, 1, and his reference to the “shoot springing
from the side of Jesse”, which would bear the blessed fruit of Jesus.

The Order of Blessing of Herbs is found here.