Category Archives: News

Liturgical Year, News

Am I Not Here, Who Am Your Mother?

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Today, 12/12/12, is the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Patroness of the Americas. The beautiful image of Our Lady on the tilma (cactus fiber cloak) that can be seen in Mexico City still resonates with people today, just as it did 500 or so years ago with the Aztecs and all the native peoples of South America. The conversions to Catholicism and belief in the Triune God were astounding. As was mentioned in our homily today, as the Reformation drew people out of the Church in Europe, Our Lady gathered them into the embrace of the Church in Mexico.

The image is on a rough fabric that should have deteriorated many centuries ago. The black sash around her waist indicated to the Aztecs that she was with child yet her hair was loose indicating that she was a maiden/virgin.  “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).

Because she appeared as a pregnant young women, she has been adopted by the pro-life community as their patroness.

Her hands, as a newsletter from the Sisters Minor of Mary Immaculate says, are clasped in prayer indicating that “she was not God for she was praying to God.” The newsletter contains detailed descriptions of the images on the tilma and their symbolism for the Aztecs then and for us today.

There are many other signs and wonders in the tilma which are endlessly, and in  fascinating way, discussed on various websites. Here is one video talking about the miraculously aspects of the tilma.

May Our Lady of Guadalupe intercede for our country, especially for those who defend and protect the lives of innocent children in the womb.

 

News

The Real Spirit of Santa Claus

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Recently, a friend of the IRL paid us a call and told us all about his special vocation as a real-life Santa Claus. Fr. Joseph Marquis is a priest of the Byzantine-Rite and serves as Pastor of Sacred Heart Byzantine Catholic Church in Livonia, Michigan. He has been “playing” Santa Claus for decades now and had asked the Lord in prayer to give him a sign if he should continue in this ministry. And it truly is a ministry. When he went back to his room and listened to his voice mails, he had one that said, “Congratulations! You have been inducted into the Santa Claus Hall of Fame!” He took that as a big sign!

Fr. Marquis uses this ministry to spread the true meaning behind Santa Claus who actually is Saint Nicholas, the great saint and bishop from the 4th century who was known for giving gifts. The most notable was anonymous gifts to a father who was thinking of selling his three daughters into prostitution because he couldn’t provide a dowry for them. St. Nicholas, according to tradition, provided it for them.

Father founded the Saint Nicholas Institute which gives “Santas” training in the true meaning of Christmas. “Two Baptist men who came knew about Saint Nicholas in a sketchy way, but for the first time in their lives, they realized what they were entrusted with,” said Father Marquis. Unlike Saint Nicholas, they are not shepherding a large flock  but they are shepherding little children “and that’s a very serious obligation. They got all choked up. It’s funny how St. Nicholas can read into the hearts of people.” Of course, as Father reminded us, the candy cane is really a symbol of the shepherd’s crook.

One beautiful story: Father once visited a dying little girl in a pediatric ward in a hospital. Despite the fact that it was July, the whole unit was decked out for Christmas because the little girl had expressed the wish that Christmas could go on forever. When she saw Father Marquis/Santa Claus, her face lit up for joy. He talked with her and at the end of the visit, they sang Silent Night together. Father says, “All of a sudden in dawned on me that everything I had done before and after this minute was irrelevant.” She died 2 weeks later and was buried with the guardian angel doll that Father had given her and pinned to her dress was a button that said, “Santa says I was a good girl!”

Read the whole article in Our Sunday Visitor (12/2/12). And Happy St. Nicholas’ Day!

 

Cloistered life, Liturgical Year, News, Women's Communities

Top of the Charts

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The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, in Gower, Missouri,  have recently released a new CD for Advent which is currently #4 on Billboard’s Classical Traditional Albums chart. According to Vatican Radio, “All of the music was conducted and arranged by the order’s prioress, Mother Cecilia, a professionally-trained musician who performed in the Columbus Symphony Orchestra of Ohio for three years before entering religious life. ”

According to Monica Fitzgibbons , co-founder of De Montfort Music along with her husband Kevin, the nuns “chose all the music, and in doing so they chose these beautiful pieces across the ages from different countries.” There are 16 songs on the album including an original piece composed by the sisters.

A good proportion of the proceeds go to the sisters themselves. It will allow them to pay down the debt of the guesthouse where they live and hopefully garner extra money to assist them on their way towards their goal – the building of a new, permanent monastery.

To order Advent at Ephesus, click here. The CD cost is $20.00 plus $2.00 shipping.

So many have even forgotten what Advent is! More importantly, however, we have seen the hand of God as using us, very poor instruments,
to make Him better known in this increasingly hostile and Godless culture. Please spread the word as best as you can, and better still, please pray for the success of this venture. The greatest benefit for our community will come through orders made directly through our website,
www.benedictinesofmary.org.

News, Women's Communities

Healing the Heart of Jesus

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On November 21, 2012, the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus will be celebrating 100 years in America. They came to this country from Germany in 1912 and settled in Milwaukee at the invitation of the Archbishop. In honor of this special event and to honor their foundress Bl. Maria Teresa of St. Joseph (Anna Maria Tauscher), the sisters in Wauwatosa, WI, will be hosting an open house, rosary and reception along with Mass celebrated by Archbishop Jerome Listecki.

The sisters are very happy that their Mother Foundress founded the Wauwatosa house personally. Sr. Immaculata says, “She walked the grounds, saw the staircase that was in her dream (still standing!), and because they had no money, the sisters all worked together to build a high cloister fence that surrounded the entire property.” Their Mother General from Europe will also be in attendance to share in the festivities.

The sisters now have homes throughout the US but in this particular province they have the provincial Motherhouse in Wauwatosa, homes for the elderly in Kenosha, WI, and Grand Rapids, MI, a Residential treatment center for boys in Wauwatosa, a Residential treatment center for girls in East Chicago, IN,  and Emergency shelter care for infants and small children in East Chicago, IN. The Order’s newest foundation is in Russia.

Their coat of arms beautifully symbolizes their spirit of humility and penance. The silver star in the center stands for the sisters who are striving to practice these virtues. The other stars represent the saints of Carmel of the old law, the saints of Carmel of the new law and the shining virtues of the Mother of God. The arm and hand is that of the prophet Elias, the “Father of all Carmelites.” The sword signifies his ardor: “With zeal, I am zealous for the Lord God of Hosts”. The wreath of thorns represents the sufferings that the Church must endure because of the sins of her members.

The Carmel of the Divine Heart of Jesus should be ignited with fervor and ready to offer itself as a victim in order to atone for all those who have been “torn from the Heart of Jesus.” A Carmelite Sister D.C.J. must engrave the Coat of Arms on her heart and become, through its meaning, a “heroic victim soul.” Our goal is to transform our “silver star” in this life into the golden star in heaven. There as saints, we may give praise to God for all eternity!

See the Archdiocese of Milwaukee’s Catholic Herald for more information.

 

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Visitation Musings

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Within the last year, the Sisters of the Visitation of Toledo, Ohio, have had many reasons to celebrate. In February, Sr. Josefa Maria made her Solemn Profession and Sister Marie was received into the Novitiate, and in March, Sister Susan pronounced first vows.

And the sisters were able to experience “Hollywood” firsthand! With the permission of their Bishop, Holy Trinity Apostolate came to film some scenes for the movie “Leonie!” The film is based on the life of Leonie Martin, one of the sisters of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Leonie had a difficult childhood and after several attempts was professed a Visitandine at the monastery in Caen, France. The movie still needs a distributor but the sisters were able to see the finished product in July.

The Visitation community around the world encourages everyone to explore on foot or via the internet the Visitandine museum, Musée de la Visitation, in Moulins, France where  chalices, chasubles and silk liturgical items that have been produced and acquired by the Sisters of the Visitation are on display.  A new 5 minute video with music by Vivaldi and English text, gives people a glimpse into these liturgical treasures.

The theme is “Sacred Silk.” Unique in all of France, these artifacts illustrate the genius and creativity of the weavers in the production of silk, interwoven with gold and silver, from the late sixteenth century. Ten thousand objects have been assembled,many of them on loan from Visitation monasteries from 19 countries throughout the world.

On the occasion of the feast of St. Jane de Chantal in 2010, the museum lent His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI jewelry and vestments for the celebration of the Mass.

News, Women's Communities

Embraced by Our Mother, the Church

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This evening, Friday, November 6, 2012, six Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Church, will pronounce perpetual vows at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes in Spokane, Washington. The congregation will also witness the temporary profession of three sisters.

This was no ordinary journey for the sisters.

In 2007, 15 nuns from a schismatic convent in Washington State rejoined the Catholic Church by formally renouncing their state of schism and making a profession of the Catholic faith. Their former order holds to the position that popes elected since John XXIII are invalid and that Vatican II was a heretical council.

The new order’s title reflects its pilgrimage to full communion with Rome. “Mary is our guide. With a title so ancient and yet so popular today, ‘Mother of the Church’ she understands the need for unity in the Church,” explains Sister Mary Eucharista.

It all began in 2002 when a parish priest and his parishioners began a prayer campaign to bring the sisters back into the fold. They enlisted the help of the Missionaries of Charity who came to Spokane in 2006 in part to address the spiritual poverty of the sisters on “the Mount” (a former Jesuit scholasticate).

To a sister, they credit the witness of the Missionaries of Charity as their strongest motivation to return to Rome. They saw in the MC sisters “so much charity, so much love, so much goodness;” says Sister Kathryn Joseph. “They won us over with their prayer and charity.”

News

Our Source of Hope

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Fr. George Rutler in a recent homily quoted the late Edward Gibbon who wrote about the decline of once-great civilizations.

“In the end, more than freedom, they wanted security. They wanted a comfortable life, and they lost it all — security, comfort, and freedom. When the Athenians finally wanted not to give to society but for society to give to them, when the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.”

Fr. Rutler notes that the only people who have the selfless energy that builds noble societies are those like the saints in the picture (right). “The real leaders are not those who hypnotize naïve people into thinking that they are the source of hope. Those who can rescue nations from servility to selfishness are not on slick campaign posters, but in stark black and white photographs like that taken on Molokai in 1889.”

The picture (Father thinks it is the first ever taken of two saints together) is of St. Damien of Molokai and St. Marianne Cope.

Let us pray for holy vocations to the priesthood and religious life on this election day!

News, Saints

Mother Cabrini Shrine Reopens

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On September 30, 2012, the chapel that was once part of Columbus Hospital in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood was rededicated by Cardinal Francis George as the Mother Cabrini Shrine. Closed for 10 years, the shrine was once the chapel for the hospital which was torn down to make way for a luxury condominium tower. The shrine is located on the site where St. Frances Xavier Cabrini died in 1917.

Mother was the first American citizen to be declared a saint and the foundress of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As an immigrant from Italy, she knew what it was like to arrive in a foreign country and be unwelcome.  But she carried out the Holy Father’s wishes and built hospitals, orphanages and schools in the New World – 67 foundations in her lifetime! Her motto came from Philippians 3:14: I can do all things in Him who strengthens me!”

Pope John Paul II said, “Her extraordinary activity drew its strength from prayer, especially from long periods before the tabernacle. Christ was everything to her.” In keeping with her spirit of prayer, the shrine is open for Eucharistic Adoration every Friday. If there are enough adorers, the hours will increase. When I was there, I was impressed by the steady stream of people who came and prayed.

The shrine itself is incredibly beautiful, a dazzling array of gold mosaics, carrera marble, frescoes and Florentine stained glass. In addition to the chapel, there is a small museum where you can see the bed where Mother died and other mementos of her life. There are also rooms available for meetings which the shrine staff will be using to introduce children along with their parents to the power of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.

The shrine is nestled among high rise condos, vintage brownstones, brick apartments and busy Lincoln Park on Lake Michigan. As more people discover this oasis in the desert, perhaps it will become a center for spiritual renewal in the heart of the big city. As we pray for religious freedom in our country, Mother reminds us that “we make a serious mistake …if the foundation stone of our moral edifice be other than Christ and His Church.”