This beautiful icon was commissioned by the Passionist Fathers as a part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the year their Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, received the charism to found their Congregation.
The figures in the main part of the triptych are Jesus, experiencing His death on the Cross, with the Blessed Virgin Mary on one side and St. Paul of the Cross on the other. Saint Paul has his hand over his heart, where on the Passionist habit is depicted the beautiful “Passionist Sign” or emblem (pictured above Jesus). Below the Cross is the devil, about to experience his final defeat.
Tot he left and right are two angels carrying instruments of the Passion – the spear and the reed of hyssop. The Passionist saints on the left are St. Gemma Galgani and Bl. Isadore de Loor. On the right are St. Gabriel Possenti, with the skull, and Bl. Dominic Barberi, who played such an instrumental role in the conversion of Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman.
For a detailed description and for more information on the Jubilee celebrations, visit the Passionist nuns’ website (PassionistNuns.org)
I pray to a merciful God to console you in the great trials you are presently experiencing. However, don’t stop placing them all in the Most Holy Wounds of Jesus. This will ease them for you. Also place them under the mantle of Mary’s Sorrows. She will bathe and soothe your heart with her tears. —St. Paul of the Cross
A Reflection by Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, servant mother of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston
During these very difficult times of dealing with the Coronavirus and its effects, people are struggling in so many ways, grief for the loss of loved ones, physical pain for those who are infected by this virus, emotional struggle living in this unknown situation and the fear of what comes next, financial challenges for all those whose businesses and jobs have already been jeopardized in recent weeks, the impact of which might be carried for months and years ahead for so many people.
In the midst of all this, people have mixed spiritual struggles as well. Some are relieved that the Church has been following the government restrictions regarding all the faith gatherings, including Sunday Masses, others are struggling from missing the essential part of their spiritual life, the Holy Eucharist, which is the summit of our Faith. Many are turning to God, the Saints, and spiritual devotions to look for hope, others are looking for an answer, “Where is God in the midst of all this?”
Throughout history, human tragedies have fallen upon humanity; epidemics, wars, recession etc. Across the centuries, the Church has been the source of comfort and aid when people suffer the most. During the Middle Ages, Monasteries and Convents were the key medical centers of Europe and the Church established an early version of a welfare state. During the Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919, Religious Sisters of numerous Religious Orders played an indispensable role in fighting the flu.
Just like the early Religious Communities in America, who are remembered as the pioneers for healthcare and human services in the history of our nation, Religious men and women today in the face of COVID-19 crisis serve as lighthouse keepers in the storm of this epidemic. Lighthouses are meant to be seen as a directive point at the shoreline. Today many people have been writing, calling, reaching out to Religious Men and Women for help, comfort, consolation and spiritual support.
Many Religious Communities have increased their prayer hours, started many novenas, increased other spiritual practices for the intentions of the world that has been shaken by so many lost lives because of this virus.
Just like lighthouse keepers, the light comes from within the lighthouse and the keeper of the lighthouse is there to serve the purpose of the lighthouse. We Religious Men and Women believe that Jesus is the ultimate lighthouse and we are only His instruments.
Power of Prayer: In these days and weeks of affliction, prayer has become like the air that helps people breathe, the hope that they desperately need; the hope of returning back to their parishes and their faith communities, the hope of going back to a secure job and financial stability for their loved ones, the hope to find comfort in being with one another, etc. Our life of prayer and hours of Adoration is what we have to offer to kindle this hope in the hearts of people around us and beyond.
Our community has been keeping daily Adoration from 12:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Our time in the Chapel adoring the Lord and interceding for people has become our daily offering for God and people. First, to console the Heart of Jesus Who is suffering with His Mystical Body, the Church. He longs to be one with His people in the Holy Eucharist, “How many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Lk 13:34). Second, to console hearts of people who long to be one with Him, “My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord (Ps 84:2).
Our Adoration time and daily intercessory prayers and devotions are like the two oars that we carry in the boat of “aid and support” to all who are in need. The aid we give is our supplication before the Lord to care for His people during these trying times. It is in silent Adoration and heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament that we pray for our people to receive comfort that our Lord is close to the brokenhearted and a “very present help in time of trouble” (Ps 46:1).
Sister Mary Ruth from the School Sisters of Christ the King in Lincoln, Nebraska shared, “During this global health crisis, we realize that we are called to fervent intercessory prayer, begging Our Merciful Lord to bestow healing and consolation upon all those suffering in any way. We are more aware than ever what an immense privilege it is to be able to assist at Mass each day in our chapel and to receive Holy Communion, offering this prayer for so many who are currently unable to do so. On the third Sunday of Lent, our chaplain led us in a Eucharistic procession around our Motherhouse grounds as we chanted the Litany of the Saints. We have continued to pray this Litany daily after mass for an end to the devastation caused by COVID-19. At 3:00 each afternoon, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed in our chapel and we gather to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.”
Outreach through service and social media: Some of the Religious Communities who have ministries within their own convent like Missionaries of Charity and the Little Sisters of the Poor continue their faithful and joyful dedication to the residents.
Join to the Little Sisters in saying a million rosaries to end the pandemic.
As Mother Margaret Charles from the Little Sisters of the Poor in Palatine, Illinois, wrote, “As Little Sisters of the Poor, we are exactly where we should be – in the midst of our elderly brothers and sisters, caring for them, doing our utmost to keep them safe and happy. Our elderly suffer from the sudden isolation, they miss their friends in the common dining areas and activity rooms. They miss their families. We try to help them reach out through Skype to their loved ones. We sing, celebrate birthdays, and call Bingo from hallways.”
The Franciscan Capuchins from Capuchin College in Washington, D.C. make lunch bags and deliver them to people who experience homelessness. They leave lunch bags for them on a table under a bridge so the homeless can come and pick up their food, even though the Brothers continue to follow the order of social distancing, they still wanted to reach out to those most in need around them. The Brothers also have many musical talents and have desired to sing outside the building of nursing homes across from their monastery to comfort the elderly and the staff as they watch them from the windows of their rooms, as Brother Michael Herlihey O.F.M. Cap. said, “We are hoping to bring to them the joy of music and the praise of God.”
In our community we have made a list of names of the seniors who live alone in their neighborhood to reach out to them on a regular basis to help them with their grocery shopping since the elderly feel vulnerable to be out in public places. Also, recently we made a delivery of flower arrangements to twenty-four locations around our city; post-office, CVS, three grocery stores, eight Fire Department stations, Police Department, two emergency rooms, one hospital, another urgent care center, etc. I wrote them a letter on behalf of the community titled “Hidden Heroes, Good Samaritans, and Next-Door Saints.” Each Sister wrote a personal note with each flower arrangement. It is our little way of expressing our gratitude with the assurance of our prayers for those who put their lives every day at risk for the people of our city and beyond.
Many Communities who are very active in social media have taken these tools of evangelization to be out there for people who are in need of words of encouragement and support. The Maronite Servants of Christ the Light from the Maronite Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn have created a special phone call line called “Need a prayer? We care and we are here for you.”
When we read the story of the Bible, the storms were never evidence of God’s absence. It was the opposite; the storms were the arena in which God moved to show us His presence. Jesus calmed the storm because He was there. That is true then and it is true now. In the book of Ecclesiastes 4:12, we read “The chord of three strands is not quickly broken.” As we continue to weather the storm of COVID-19, we journey together in prayer and service, placing our hope in the Lord Who said in the Gospel of John 14:27, “Peace I leave you; My peace I give you […] do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Let us keep our gaze on the Lord, our Lighthouse, trusting in His promise that no harm will overtake us, no disaster will come near our tent (Ps 91:10).
It does us all good to refresh, renew, and rediscover what it means to be human, to be a child of God. In this new book by Fr. John Henry Hanson, O.Praem., he shows you how to come “home” through a prayerful revitalization of your faith in God’s plan for you by recalling its incredible beauty and depth.
“…if people are still people, and the world operates according to all the patterns Ecclesiastes says it does, with sunrise and sunset, rivers flowing to the sea, and the birth and death of all living things (cf. Eccl 1, 3), we should look deeper for an inner renewal caused by grace. Change without grace, renovation without interior renewal, is spiritually worthless. The thing remodeled, so to speak, remains what it always was. The most important kind of regeneration isn’t outward or skin-deep but takes places in the hidden depths of the soul.”
Allow yourself to be reminded that God is a lover Whose very desires for you will lead you directly to fulfillment and everlasting joy. The author hopes for you to live the resounding cry:
Vocations Outreach, an outreach of Franciscan University of Steubenville, offers free graphic design to religious communities. Since Vocations Outreach has an ongoing partnership with the Institute on Religious Life, communities may request this service if they:
2. Are an Affiliate Community with the Institute on Religious Life
Vocations Outreach will assign one of their interns to work with your community to design brochures, flyers, social media posts, and other marketing materials as requested. This is an ongoing resource you can request at any time. If your community is interested in their graphic design services, then we recommend also requesting their photography services to receive new pictures their interns can use while designing. At this time, they are not able to help with website design or to print designed materials.
Please contact them if you are interested in receiving graphic design services.
Complete a digital resource application if your community is not an IRL Affiliate or if you would like to receive additional digital resources for your community.
This was sent to me by a Little Sister of the Poor. It came from a doctor who is on the front lines fighting the coronavirus.
“In this sign thou shalt conquer”
—A LIGHT IN A DOCTOR’S DARKEST NIGHTMARE—
Never in my darkest nightmares did I imagine that I would see and experience what has been going on in Italy in our hospital the past three weeks. The nightmare flows, and the river gets bigger and bigger. At first, a few patients came, then dozens, and then hundreds. Now, we are no longer doctors, but sorters who decide who should live and who should be sent home to die, though all these patients paid Italian health taxes throughout their lives.
Until two weeks ago, my colleagues and I were atheists. It was normal because we are doctors. We learned that science excludes the presence of God. I laughed at my parents going to church.
Nine days ago, a 75-year-old pastor was admitted into the hospital. He was a kind man. He had serious breathing problems. He had a Bible with him and impressed us by how he read it to the dying as he held their hand. We doctors were all tired, discouraged, psychologically and physically finished. When we had time, we listened to him.
We have reached our limits. We can do no more. People are dying every day. We are exhausted. We have two colleagues who have died, and others that have been infected. We realized that we needed to start asking God for help. We do this when we have a few free minutes. When we talk to each other, we cannot believe that, though we were once fierce atheists, we are now daily in search of peace, asking the Lord to help us continue so that we can take care of the sick.
Yesterday, the 75-year-old pastor died. Despite having had over 120 deaths here in 3 weeks, we were destroyed. He had managed, despite his condition and our difficulties, to bring us a PEACE that we no longer had hoped to find. The pastor went to the Lord, and soon we will follow him if matters continue like this.
I haven’t been home for 6 days. I don’t know when I ate last. I realize my worthlessness on this earth. I want to use my last breath to help others. I am happy to have returned to God while I am surrounded by the suffering and death of my fellow men.
Mercedarian friars proved their mettle years ago by stepping up to the plate to help victims of disease in a city overcome by despair.
Eight friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy heroically gave aid to the people of plague-stricken Palermo in 1625-26, and as a result died of contracting the disease, said Fr. Daniel Bowen, O. de M. Fr. Daniel is based at a Cleveland, OH parish and is the Order’s vocation director in the United States.
“These men generously offered their own lives to the people of Palermo,” he said, adding, “This shows that Christians have dealt with such troubles as the coronavirus before, and this will not keep us back from loving the Lord and one another.”
“Prompted by the demands of their fourth vow, these religious men centuries ago put themselves at the material and spiritual service of the plague-stricken people.”
The fourth vow of the Order of Mercy involves offering up one’s own life to ransom those Christians who are held captive because of their faith in Christ. The Order was founded in 1218 in Spain to redeem Christians held captive by Muslims.
“Other religious who had been infected went back after they recovered,” he added, “to serve those plague-stricken people without worrying about the risks.” He said that there was a ninth person in the effort who also died, a Mercedarian tertiary.
There were also three Mercedarian lay knights who voluntarily cared for victims of the plague during the 7th Crusade (13thC). Captured by Muslims and ordered to convert to Islam, they refused, were tortured and killed in Damietta, Egypt.
In response to the threat of the coronavirus, the Order’s Master General in Rome, Fr. Juan Carlos Saavedra Lucho, O. de M., wrote in a March 14 letter sympathizing with those suffering in a world that is “convulsed.” He asked that his friars around the world make a “Chain of Redemptive Love” dedicated to St. Joseph on March 19, his feast day.
This effort would be, he said, “…a sign of our concern for those most affected in the world. Together with all of you, I have the faith and hope that after testing, our faith increases and after the storm comes the calm; but we need to be signs of fraternal charity through the antidote of universal prayer in the Church. In this way, I invite you to make fraternal prayer among religious and the faithful in all Mercedarian communities be the footprints of our evangelizing mission.”
Thus, the Master General was asking his own Mercedarian friars to pray, and to pray together with their parishioners and those whom they serve in this effort.
His letter included a passage that could be used as a prayer:
“May this time of Lent en route towards Easter be a time of true fasting, conversion, and solidarity with what God wants from us. Let us follow the instructions provided by the various institutions concerned with the health of the world. Let us take care of our bodies with corporal hygiene and spiritual cleanliness. Let us help the new captives so that they can overcome the psychosis, the chaos, the anxiety and uncertainty of each day, showing that the Mercedarian is always at the side of the sick and needy.”
Friars of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy can be found in 22 countries, and mainly in the Americas, Italy and India. In the United States, they serve in parishes, hospitals and schools as well as marriage and prison ministry in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.
What a marvelous idea – to have two religious communities host a Come & See Retreat. The Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity and Cistercian Nuns are offering a silent Discernment of Spirits Retreat on March 14, 2020. You can experience both active and cloistered religious life at one event.
Franciscan Sister Jacqueline Spaniola, OSF, leads the retreat day. St. Ignatius’ inspired and practical discernment process will be introduced and reflective time provided to pray through the material.
The Sisters and the Nuns will be available for conversation and questions about their active and contemplative religious life. Join them for the tranquility of Valley of Our Lady Monastery near Prairie du Sac, WI.
For more information or to register, please click here. Call or text Sister Julie Ann at 920-323-9632.
Here is the 2020 VCI course schedule. As was true last year, there are electives for each session. Complete course descriptions are below.
VCI Course Descriptions 2020 – Christendom College, Front Royal
Session I begins June 29th (6/29-7/10)
SPIR 630 The Spiritual Life Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P.
This course covers the universal call to holiness, the stages of the spiritual life, the role of Christ and the Church in the spiritual life, the supernatural organism and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, personal vocation, and the four essential means to perfection, namely, the sacraments, the life of prayer, self- denial and asceticism, and charity working through the virtues. It also treats the secondary means to Christian perfection.
CONL 621 History of the Consecrated Life Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem.
An overview of the development of the consecrated life over the centuries showing the Apostolic origins and the growth of consecrated life under the guidance of the Holy Spirit working through founders, saints, and the Magisterium; includes examination of extra-biblical sources with special emphasis on early monastic and Patristic sources.
SPIR 803 Heart Speaks to Heart Fr. Alphonsus Hermes, O.Praem.
We know that “grace builds on nature.” So, if our spiritual life will flourish, our natural life must be made solid. This course will examine the formation of the heart according to human nature. Every consecrated person strives for the “perfection of charity.” The course will clarify what it means to “love your neighbor as yourself.” We will explore the impact of family dynamics on our understanding of “love,” and how our relationships – especially in communities – can help to heal and transform our hearts. You will learn about effective tools for healing the heart and have opportunities to practice using them!
Session II begins July 13th (7/13-7/24)
SPIR 631 Sacraments in the Spiritual Life Fr. William FitzGerald, O.Praem.
This course examines the Sacraments as essential means to Christian perfection, looking at each of the Sacraments of Christian Initiation and how they insert one into the Paschal Mystery of the Lord. Also treated are the Sacrament of Penance as a means of overcoming sin and attachments and growing in virtue, and the various Christian states of life as concrete ways of living the universal call to holiness.
SPIR 802 Philosophy of Man Fr. Anselm Rodriguez, O.Praem.
This course is an introduction to the philosophy of human nature, as found in the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Our systematic study will begin with a general introduction to Philosophy and end with an introduction to Christian Anthropology, but the bulk of our time will be spent answering the crucial question “What is man?”. We will dive into many important topics: e.g. man as a composite of body and soul; the unity of the human person; how man differs from angels, brute animals, and machines; the rational, sensitive, and vegetative powers of the human soul; a demonstration of the immortality of the human soul; and special emphasis on the passions. This course serves as a remedy for the intellectual formation lacking in many and is beneficial on both the natural and supernatural planes. For if grace builds upon and perfects nature, we can better understand how grace brings about our spiritual perfection if we grasp the underlying human nature. Hence my goal is not just to teach the truth about human nature, but also to communicate how a better philosophical understanding can be fruitful and helpful in our everyday lives as Christians and religious.
CONL 803 The “isms” Today, How They Affect Religious Life and Our Response To Them Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem.
This Course will describe the philosophy behind the various “isms” present in our culture today and how they affect religious life and what is our response to them as religious. We will begin with secularism and how that is contrary the Christian world view of transcendence which religious witness to in a radical way by renouncing the temporal goods of this world. Then we will launch into a study of communism vs capitalism and the Catholic teaching on economic goods and how religious witness to that in their vow of poverty in the midst of consumerism another “ism” we will look at. Then will turn our attention to hedonism and the Catholic teaching on bodily pleasure in the virtues of temperance and chastity. Individualism vs collectivism is the next “ism” and the Catholic balance between individual autonomy and communion as religious live fraternal life in community. Feminism leading to lesbianism will be looked at and the Catholic teaching on sexual identity and the importance of human formation in sexual identity in religious life. Relativism, today’s greatest enemy according to Pope Benedict, will be treated and its threat upon religious life who must be a counter witness to it. Lastly, we will look at how the Mass Media has affected religious life and what virtues we need to use it properly.
At the most recent Board of Directors meeting, the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn were welcomed as the IRL’s newest Affiliate Community. In talking to two religious in the New York area, I was amazed to discover that each one of them had been educated and formed by the Brothers. What a beautiful legacy to leave to the Church!
Formally known as the Congregation of the Religious Brothers of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, the community was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1858. They have been actively involved in the education of young men and women, primarily on Long Island, New York, serving the Diocese of Brooklyn (and later also the Diocese of Rockville Centre) since that time. They are the largest congregation of Religious Brothers founded in America. Formerly a diocesan congregation, in 1989, they became an Institute of Pontifical Right.
They pray the Liturgy of the Hours as a community at the Monastery, and each morning they attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They also pray the Franciscan Crown, glorifying God through the Blessed Virgin Mary, their patroness.
For those unfamiliar, the Franciscan Crown is a rosary consisting of seven decades commemorating the Seven Joys of Mary, namely: the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Finding in the Temple, the Appearance of Jesus to Mary after the Resurrection, and finally, the Assumption and Coronation of Mary.
The Brothers serve as teachers, administrators, campus ministers, coaches, spiritual directors, lawyers, college professors, and retreat masters. Their apostolates include St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, St. Anthony’s High School in South Huntington, and St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. They also staff residences for low-income elderly, substance abuse recovery centers, parishes, and soup kitchens.
Faithful to the Third Order Rule, they profess the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. With their motto as Deus Meus et Omnia (“My God and My All”) they strive to live the Gospel, in humility and in joy, affirming Christ’s Kingdom of Peace as did their Seraphic Father, St. Francis of Assisi.
The Lovers of the Holy Cross opened a Jubilee Year of celebration on September 14, 2019, with a Mass at Christ Cathedral in Orange, California, commemorating the 350th anniversary of their founding. Founded in Vietnam in 1670 by Bishop Pierre Marie Lambert de la Motte, a French missionary, the congregation has faithfully endured despite experiencing a turbulent history of persecutions, wars and religious suppression.
On September 9, 1659, Pope Alexander VII signed the edict Super Cathedram establishing two apostolic dioceses in Vietnam, appointing Bishop Lambert to be Apostolic Vicar of South Vietnam. This event marked the birth of the Vietnamese Catholic Church. He received the vows of the first two Lovers of the Holy Cross in 1670.
In the ensuring years, the congregation went through a painful history of bloody martyrdom, where convents were destroyed, sisters dispersed and others killed for their faith. Today, they number 30 congregations in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and the U.S., with over six thousand sisters serving the people of God.
The Lovers of the Holy Cross of Los Angeles, one of the autonomous and independent congregations that are part of the family, was established in 1992. Ministering in the Los Angeles area, they have 66 professed sisters, four novices, seven postulants and seven candidates in eight communities.
The spirituality of the Lovers of the Holy Cross is embodied in their love for Jesus Christ Crucified, believing that “in my flesh, I am filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of His body, which is the Church.” (Col 1:24)
“Since the beginning,” said Sr. Grace Duc Le, Superior General, “our spiritual patrimony continues to inspire us to offer ourselves generously in serving the poor and homeless in shelters and on the streets, assisting the sick and lonely, and teaching the youth faith and morals. May we passionately do everything for the sake of glorifying God and for the salvation of souls!”
This beautiful icon was commissioned by the Passionist Fathers as a part of the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the year their Founder, St. Paul of the Cross, received the charism to found their Congregation.
