St Vitalis of Gaza

Amazing what comes across the desk. Today, on International Human Trafficking Awareness Day, we liturgically recall St Vitalis of Gaza, who frequented brothels. I am aware of the work of countless people work for those trafficked, including our Florence.

St Vitalis biography, in part, reads,

“In the 600s, prostitution was a terribly exploitative profession. Often young peasant girls with no prospects would be sold into slavery or captured by pimps. They would then be taken to the poor areas of towns and live in terrible conditions while being forced to sell themselves for sex.

“St Vitalis could not tolerate this misery and so he set out to collect the name and address of every prostitute in the city. He then would work as a poor day laborer, which itself wasn’t much better than slavery, and would collect his wages at the end of the day and take it to a different brothel. He pretended to be a paying customer, which allowed him to enter without notice. Once he was alone with the woman he would give her his money, which she would use to escape, and tell her about her dignity and value as a woman, saying it was wrong for her to be abused and objectified by men. He would then leave and repeat this process every day.

“St Vitalis rescued countless women during his life, and ended up sacrificing his life in the process. He was killed one day entering a brothel, because he was recognized as a monk. Ironically, it was not a pimp who killed him for recognizing him as a rescuer. Rather, it was a Christian who killed him, believing him to be visiting the brothel to break his vow of chastity.

St Vitalis often said, “Do not judge your neighbor as a sinner.”

Blessing of Chalk

In the Latin Church there is a pious custom, at least in the churches of the Slavic and Germanic lands, where the priest blesses chalk. We chalk each house (or the room where one resides) with the initials CMB (which stand for “Christus mansionem benedicat”, which also commemorates the 3 Magi), crosses (which are to scare the demons), and numbers (which signify the number of years that have passed since the original three kings came to Bethlehem).
 
The chalk is blessed, there is a special exorcism over the chalk. Done correctly, the house is incensed and sprinkled with holy water.
 
May the Magi intercede for us.

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

Today, we honor the first native born saint of the United States of America, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, with a liturgical memorial. She arrived arrived in Baltimore on June 16, 1808 taking up residence on Paca Street. Saint Elizabeth Ann would also profess her first vows as a woman religious in the presence of Bishop John Carroll. Seton would go on to be one of the greatest saints of America and religious educators.

“Let your chief study be to acquaint yourself with God because there is nothing greater than God, and because it is the only knowledge which can fill the Heart with a Peace and joy, which nothing can disturb.” (St. Elizabeth Ann Seton)

Holy Name of Jesus

“You shall call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.”

The Latin Church has today as the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus; it is historically associated with the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus celebrated on the 8th Day of Christmas, January 1. Both the Latin and Eastern Churches have the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus. It is not only the shedding of skin but the giving of the name according to Jewish Law thus making the baby a member of God’s household committed to the Covenant.

We know that the name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God Saves’ and is the name that St. Joseph was instructed by an angel to name the Child. By Divine Will, it is the sacred name before which “every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11). The only name that saves.

Devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus was popularized by the Franciscan St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century, often symbolized by the monogram IHS (denoting the first three letters of the Greek spelling of Jesus’ name). The feast was given to the Order of Friars Minor by Clement VI.  But it is known by the Cistercians with the preaching of St. Bernard before this time; it is the same monogram that Loyola used for the Jesuits. By 1721, Innocent XII gave the feast of the Holy Name to the entire Church as the Emperor Charles VI.

Today the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated on January 3rd. And the month of January is dedicated to the Holy Name.

St Thomas Becket

For me, one of the key figures in English Catholic history is St. Thomas Becket, the famed martyr and archbishop of Canterbury. It is not to say that the other notable figures of Christian history are unimportant or second to Becket, they are not, but Becket is part of a narrative of faith that is eerily contemporary to the Catholic experience for every generation. While Becket’s early life may have been filled with questionable alliances and compromises, after his conversion to Christ and subsequent Church service as archbishop is notable. And that is the key for us: the journey to salvation, no matter at what point in life it is picked up, is significant. You pick your cross and you walk with with it. From the moment Christ enters your heart is THE moment of grace. The moment of conversion is the moment our discipleship with the Lord begins with great flourish. The past is prologue, as it is said.

One thing I learned today is that St. Thomas Becket was slaughtered between the altars of Our Lady and St. Benedict. Note, that the brutal killing of Becket was not at the hands of just a disgruntled person but at the the behest of his former friend and benefactor, King Henry II. It is meaning may be particular to each person but loving the Mother of God and St. Benedict speaks volumes. As Becket himself said, “The whole company of saints bears witness to the unfailing truth that without real effort no one wins the crown.”

So, 1170 will always be relevant. It is the year that Becket met his Savior; it is the year that we ought to reflect upon viz. our own era when Catholic life, for persons and the Christian body, is under assault from various sectors in society.

Let me recommend three books on Becket that come from a friend:

Frank Barlow’s Thomas Becket (1990) and Thomas Becket and His Clerks (1987)

John Butler’s Quest for Becket’s Bones: The Mystery of the Relics of St. Thomas Becket of Canterbury (1995).

Ordination and profession of vows in 2018

What follows is a general listing of various religious orders who admitted new members, professed vows and/or ordained. The purpose is to show how the Lord is working (or not) in many of the communities. Some communities are clearly alive and living the charism of their religious group; and it is equally clear that some groups are dying.

Alexian Brothers
3 clothed in the habit
6 renew temporary vows

Basilian Salvatorian Order, Methuen, MA
1 professed temporary vows

New Skete Monks, Cambridge, NY
1 clothed in the habit

New Skete Nuns, Cambridge, NY
1 clothed in the habit

Christ the Bridegroom Monastery, Burton, OH (Byzantine Catholic nuns)
1 professed life vows

Missionaries of the Holy Apostles, Cromwell, CT
1 admitted to postulancy
2 ordained deacon

Franciscan Handmaids of Mary
1 professed temporary

Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
8 admitted to postulancy
8 clothed in the habit
4 profess temporary vows
2 profess perpetual vows
1 ordained deacon
4 ordained priest

Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal
3 clothed with the habit

Capuchin Friars, St Mary Province, NY
6 men renew temporary vows

Cistercian Abbey of Our Lady of Dallas
2 clothed in the habit
1 professed temporary vows
1 solemn vows
1 ordained deacon

Holy Cross Abbey —OCSO, Berryville, VA
1 admitted postulancy

Christ in the Desert Abbey, Abiquiu, NM
7 clothed in the habit
2 professed simple vows
3 renewed vows
12 solemn vows
1 ordained deacon

Our Lady of the Desert, Blanco, NM
2 professed final vows
1 professed simple vows
1 admitted to postulancy

Mount Saviour Monastery, Pine City, NY
2 admitted to postulancy
1 clothed in the habit
1 professed simple vows

St Scholastica Priory, Petersham, MA
3 clothed in the habit

Monastery of the Holy Cross, Chicago
1 ordained to diaconate

St Meinrad Archabbey, St Meinrad, IN
1 clothed in the habit 
2 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows
1 ordained priest

Subiaco Abbey, Subiaco, AR
2 ordained priests

Marmion Abbey, Aurora, IL
1 clothed in the habit
2 professed simple vows
1 ordained priest

Mount Angel Abbey, Mt Angel, OR
2 clothed in the habit
4 professed simple vows
3 professed solemn vows

St Joseph Abbey, Covington, LA
2 clothed in the habit

Conception Abbey, Conception, MO
3 clothed in the habit

St Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
4 clothed in the habit
4 professed simple vows
2 professed solemn vows
2 ordained priest

St Bernard Abbey, Cullman, AL
3 clothed in the habit
3 professed solemn vows
1 ordained priest

Mary, Help of Christians Abbey, Belmont, NC
1 admitted to postulancy
1 clothed in the habit
1 professed solemn vows

Mary, Mother of the Church Abbey, Richmond, VA
1 admitted to postulancy

Assumption Abbey, Richardton, ND
1 professed simple vows

St Mary’s Abbey, Morristown, NJ
1 clothed in the habit 
1 professed simple vows

St Gregory’s Abbey, Shawnee, OK
1 admitted to postulancy

St Anselm Abbey, Manchester, NH
1 admitted to postulancy
3 clothed in the habit
1 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows

St Leo Abbey, St Leo, FL
1 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows

St Procopius Abbey, Lisle, IL
1 professed simple vows

St John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN
1 professed simple vows
1 clothed in the habit

St Andrew Abbey, Cleveland, OH
1 clothed in the habit
1 ordained deacon
1 ordained priest

St Benedict’s Abbey, Atchison, KS
2 admitted to postulancy
2 clothed in the habit
2 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows
2 ordained deacon

Newark Abbey, Newark, NJ
1 admitted to postulancy
1 professed simple vows

St Martin’s Abbey, Lacey, WA
1 admitted to postulancy

St Anselm Abbey, Washington, DC
1 ordained deacon

St Gregory the Great Abbey, Portsmouth, RI
1 professed simple vows

Abbey of Regina Laudis, Bethlehem, CT
1 clothed in the habit
others in formation
3 given the Consecration of Virgins

Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus, Gower, MO
10 in the novitiate
8 admitted to postulancy
5 junior professed

Immaculate Heart of Mary Monastery, Westfield, VT
1 professed simple vows (an extern sister)

Glencairn Abbey, Ireland (Trappistines)
2 postulants admitted
2 professed solemn vows

Tautra Mariakloster, Norway (Trappistines)
2 professed simple vows

Mount Saint Mary Abbey, Wrentham, MA (Trappistines)
3 admitted to postulancy
2 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows

Order of Preachers —Province of St. Joseph
16 clothed with the habit
9 professed simple vows
11 professed solemn vows
9 ordained priest
6 ordained deacon

Order of Preachers —Province of St. Albert the Great
1 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows

Our Lady of Grace Monastery —Order of Preachers, North Guilford, CT
1 admitted to postulancy, then novitiate
1 professed simple vows

Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, Hawthorne, NY
2 clothed in the habit
2 renewed their vows

Dominicans of the Immaculate Conception, Chicago, IL
1 admitted to postulancy

Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, Ann Arbor, MI
12 clothed in the habit
6 professed simple vows
7 professed perpetual vows

Dominican Missionaries for the Deaf Apostolate, New Britain, CT
3 admitted to postulancy
4 clothed in the habit
1 final profession
1 ordained priest

Society of Jesus
40 entered the Provinces in the USA, Canada, and Haiti
27 ordained priests for the States, Canada and Haiti
26 professed simple perpetual vows for the USA & Canada

Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hamden, CT
4 admitted to postulancy
1 clothed in the habit
3 professed simple vows
5 renew vows
1 professed perpetual vows

Sisters of Life
6 clothed in the habit
4 renewed vows
7 professed simple vows
8 professed perpetual vows

Maryknoll Sisters
4 professed perpetual vows

Congregation of Norbertine Sisters, California
2 admitted to postulancy
2 professed simple vows

Abbey of Santa Maria de la Vid –Norbertines
1 clothed in the habit

St Norbert Abbey, Norbertines, DePere, WI
1 clothed in the habit
2 professed simple vows
1 professed solemn vows
1 ordained deacon
1 ordained priest

Abbey of Saint Michael, Norbertines, CA
1 ordained priest
? enter the novitiate

Legion of Christ
7 professed simple vows
11 clothed with the habit
9 to be ordained to priesthood scheduled for May 4, 2019

Order of Virgins
several made their consecration as Virgins in particular dioceses in the USA

Holy Innocents

Today is the feast of Innocent Martyrs, the children who in Bethlehem of Judas were killed by the unholy King Herod. Their shed blood was for the Son of God and Savior, and for us.

The Holy Innocents have been honored by the Church as martyrs since the first centuries. Today, their import keeps us vigilant on threats to human life, from conception to natural death. The Innocents are the witnesses to the Pro-Life work we are engaged in. They bring us into relationship with Christ and humanity at a deeper level.

Let the final word be just as Saint Thérèse would have it: Nisi efficiamini sicut parvuli  (Unless you become like unto little children. Mt 18:3)

NB: The Byzantine Church (UGCC) this feast on December 29.

Christmas

Today we celebrate the Nativity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus. Son of God, Son of Mary. The Prince of Peace.

In an era of great confusion and unrest due to natural disasters, presence of refugees, political and religious distractions, our celebration of the birth of the Lord hopefully will re-focus our attention on the desire that God has for us: that His Divine Presence will change our lives. This is my hope.

Blessed Christmas!