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February 26, 2009

Our Br. Benoit, O.S.B. serves as Deacon for the Holy Father's Ash Wednesday Mass


The Abbot Primate welcomes the Holy Father to San Anselmo
Br. Benoit (left) walking with the Holy Father
 
Br. Benoit holding the Chalice containing our Lord's Precious Blood.
 
Br. Benoit incenses the Holy Father at the Offertory
 
Br. Benoit kneeling during the Eucharistic prayer

February 25, 2009

ASH WEDNESDAY

From: EWTN.com

The liturgical use of ashes originated in the Old Testament times. Ashes symbolized mourning, mortality and penance. In the Book of Esther, Mordecai put on sackcloth and ashes when he heard of the decree of King Ahasuerus to kill all of the Jewish people in the Persian Empire (Esther 4:1). Job repented in sackcloth and ashes (Job 42:6). Prophesying the Babylonian captivity of Jerusalem, Daniel wrote, "I turned to the Lord God, pleading in earnest prayer, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes" (Daniel 9:3).
Jesus made reference to ashes, "If the miracles worked in you had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they would have reformed in sackcloth and ashes long ago" (Matthew 11:21).

In the Middle Ages, the priest would bless the dying person with holy water, saying, "Remember that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return."

The Church adapted the use of ashes to mark the beginning of the penitential season of Lent, when we remember our mortality and mourn for our sins. In our present liturgy for Ash Wednesday, we use ashes made from the burned palm branches distributed on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. The priest blesses the ashes and imposes them on the foreheads of the faithful, making the sign of the cross and saying, "Remember, man you are dust and to dust you shall return," or "Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel." As we begin this holy season of Lent in preparation for Easter, we must remember the significance of the ashes we have received: We mourn and do penance for our sins. We again convert our hearts to the Lord, who suffered, died, and rose for our salvation. We renew the promises made at our baptism, when we died to an old life and rose to a new life with Christ. Finally, mindful that the kingdom of this world passes away, we strive to live the kingdom of God now and look forward to its fulfillment in heaven.

February 24, 2009

Fasting - more than just fish!!!

As many of you know, a number of our monks function as bi-ritual priests (meaning they are able to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in both the Latin and some of the Eastern Rite Catholic Churches).  The following is a beautiful reflection on fasting from Archbishop Basil of the Ruthenian Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.  Within many of the Eastern Rites of our Holy Catholic Church, our fellow Catholics practice what is called "The Great Fast," maybe this year we all can learn a little from our Eastern brothers and sisters by reflecting and practicing this great tradition. 
From: Pittsburgh Archeparchy
 
Dear Bishops, Clergy, Monastics and Laity,

“While fasting bodily, O faithful, let us also fast in spirit; let us loosen every bond of injustice, let us tear apart the strong chains of violence; let us rip up all unjust assertions; let us give bread to the hungry and welcome the poor and homeless to our houses, that we may receive from Christ our God his great mercy.”

This beautiful prayer is from the vesper service during the first week of the Great Fast. It reminds us of all the myriad tasks that will help you and me journey across the Ocean of the Great Fast and reach the joyful shore of the Resurrection of the Lord. We are moved from the purely physical to the spiritual realm. The prayer contains implicitly the triptych of the Lenten Season: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Without these we are unable to loosen bonds, conquer violence, keep just our assertions, feed the hungry and invite the poor to our homes.

The Fathers of the Church: John Chrysostom, Clement of Alexandria and Basil the Great, tell us that prayer is: standing with our mind centered in our heart, a conversation with God raised to heaven, the raising of the mind to God and the asking for good things, nourishment for the soul with divine thoughts, centering the mind to a cheerful and calm state. During this Lenten season we need to strengthen our efforts during communal prayer in our parishes and families along with setting aside a specific time each day for personal prayer. We need to remember others in prayer, whether they are our friends or enemies. We need to read the scriptures and choose a verse to reflect on throughout the day. Without prayer, the Great Fast has no meaning. How will you pray during this special season?

Tertullian encourages us to feed prayer with fasting. Fasting is often understood as the refraining from food and indeed it is. There are the prescribed fasting regulations of the church for the faithful during the Great Fast. By the grace of God, some are able to fast beyond the required prescriptions of the Church and adhere to the more complete traditional fasting. However, we all must remember that fasting is not an absolute virtue but the foundation for other virtues. The holy men and women of the past warn us that unless fasting is followed by a temperate partaking of food, one will not be able to arrive at the goal of perfection.

We know that when we speak of fasting it includes more than just food. The true fast is one, which drives us away from sin, and our sinful passions. We need to fast from violence in words, thoughts and actions. We need to fast from falsehoods and all unjust assertions. When going to church during this special season we need to fast from saying negative comments – true or false – to anyone and about anyone. Fasting allows us to say the right thing at all times and refrain from saying the wrong thing at the extremely tempting moment. Sometimes we need to fast even from the past, especially when it takes us away from the present where God acts in our lives. Without fasting, the Great Fast has no meaning. How will you fast during this special season?

Saint Clement tell us that fasting is better than prayer, but almsgiving is better then both. Another way of saying almsgiving is to leave love as your footprint. The Great Fast is the time to be generous from our bounty and our need. It is the time to remember the widow’s mite in the gospel. It is the time to give to the poor and this is becoming more difficult during the present financial crisis of our country and in fact the world. Almsgiving is not only concerned with material things but also with emotional, psychological and spiritual realities of our lives. Even the person without a single penny can give the alms of a prayer, a compliment, a word of encouragement, a greeting, forgiveness, gratitude or just a smile. There is no reason for a Christian not to give alms whether material or spiritual. On the other hand, there is no reason for a Christian not to accept alms from another. Without almsgiving the Great Fast has no meaning. How will you give alms during this special season?

We, as Christians, are always called to be people of prayer, fasting and almsgiving but most especially during the Great Fast. However, the emphasis is on us and our obligations; we are not to bother ourselves about the actions of others. That is why, we pray in the prayer of St. Ephrem: O Lord and King, grant me the grace to be aware of my sins and not to judge my brothers and sisters; for you are blessed now and ever and forever. Amen.

Asking the Lord to send his blessings on each of you and your families during the Great Fast, I remain:


In the name of the Lord!

+Basil
Metropolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh

Lent 2009

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and thus the beginning of Lent.  As Catholics and as men and women discerning the monastic way of life it is important to reflect upon what our Holy Father St. Benedict has to say in the Holy Rule concerning Lent.  Here is the 1949 translation of Chapter  49 the Holy Rule from our daughter house's website: www.kansasmonks.org
 "Remember Man that you are made of dust and to dust you shall return"

+On the Keeping of Lent+
The life of a monk ought always to be a Lenten observance. However, since such virtue is that of few, we advise that during these days of Lent he guard his life with all purity and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the shortcomings of other times. This will then be worthily done, if we restrain ourselves from all vices. Let us devote ourselves to tearful prayers, to reading and compunction of heart, and to abstinence.
 During these days, therefore, let us add something to the usual amount of our service, special prayers, abstinence from food and drink, that each one offer to God "with the joy of the Holy Ghost" (1 Thes 1:6), of his own accord, something above his prescribed measure; namely, let him withdraw from his body somewhat of food, drink, sleep, speech, merriment, and with the gladness of spiritual desire await holy Easter.
Portrait of a Monk in Prayer - French Painter about 1500
Let each one, however, make known to his Abbot what he offereth and let it be done with his approval and blessing; because what is done without permission of the spiritual father will be imputed to presumption and vain glory, and not to merit. Therefore, let all be done with the approval of the Abbot.

February 23, 2009

The Sisters of Saint Benedict: Earnest in prayer and mighty in their labor of love

Here is some great St. Vincent History about the Benedictine Nuns who took care of both the monks and students of St. Vincent for many years.  The nuns now live, pray, and work at St. Emma Monastery in Greensburg, PA and are still very close sisters to their brother monks here at St. Vincent. The nuns will be holding a "Come and See" Weekend  (April 8-12) and (May 15-17) for single Catholic women ages (16-40) who are interested in Benedictine Monastic Life. The nuns also are open to vocation vists which fit ones schedule.  Please click here for more info.
    Back in the sixth century, Saint Scholastica, the sister of Saint Benedict, used to visit her brother once a year at a house located a short distance from his monastery. Saint Gregory the Great reports in his Dialogues that on Scholastica's very last visit she, her brother, and a few other monks "spent the whole day singing God's praises and conversing about the spiritual life." Although Scholastica wished to "keep on talking about the joys of heaven until morning," Abbot Benedict insisted that he had to return to his monastery. Subsequently, his sister resorted to "earnest prayer," which was followed by a sudden downpour of rain, so that Benedict could not depart. Saint Gregory concluded that "in this instance she proved mightier than her brother ... since hers was the greater love." Ever since that notable encounter over 1450 years ago, the sisters of Saint Benedict, spiritual heirs of Saint Scholastica, and the monks of Saint Benedict have enjoyed a very special relationship and mutual influence, as evidenced locally in the intertwining of their paths in Latrobe and Greensburg since 1931. Originally residing at Saint Vincent but now located at Saint Emma Monastery in Greensburg, the sisters persevere in their vocation to be earnest in prayer and mighty in the labor of love that profoundly touched the whole Saint Vincent Community for 56 years.

Early years at Saint Vincent

    On February 25, 1931, ten Benedictine sisters, led by Mother Leonarda Fritz, O.S.B., arrived at Saint Vincent Archabbey from Saint Walburga Abbey in Eichstaett, Bavaria. It was very appropriately the Feast of Saint Walburga, the patroness of their motherhouse in Germany. Archabbot Alfred Koch, O.S.B., had invited the sisters to live and work on the grounds of Saint Vincent. This arrangement provided for the needs of the Archabbey, which was suffering from severe financial problems and a decrease in the number of lay brothers, who for years had been the backbone of Saint Vincent's labor force. The sisters' work also assisted the community in Bavaria financially in the aftermath of World War I, when Germany experienced great economic difficulties. Prior Felix Fellner, O.S.B., met the sisters in New York City and accompanied them to the Archabbey, where they promptly took charge of the College's kitchen. Within a year six more sisters arrived from Saint Walburga, and in 1932 the monks built an annex to Bede Hall to provide the sisters with a five-story convent. After 11 more sisters came from Eichstaett in 1934, their numbers were large enough for the sisters at Saint Vincent to take on the responsibility of the monastery kitchen. Four of the newly arrived sisters plus two others who already were at Saint Vincent were sent to Holy Cross Abbey in Colorado to manage the kitchens of that monastery and its school. Two sisters from Eichstaett and one from Holy Cross became the founders of what later became Saint Walburga Abbey, now located in Virginia Dale, Colorado.
    By 1939 there were 40 Benedictine sisters at Saint Vincent living in rather crowded quarters. From 1931 until World War II, all the income they earned was sent back to the community in Germany. These funds enabled the monastery in Eichstaett to buy properties for the two foundations, in Boulder and in England, that it made in the 1930's. During the Depression years, in addition to the many demands that they were already fulfilling, the sisters stretched themselves to show charity to the homeless men who came daily to the Archabbey in search of food. The sisters prepared meals for as many as 40 needy men each day and also gave out care packages of food to impoverished families who came to the kitchens. Several of the lay brothers distributed the food to the destitute people.
    It was the sisters' life of prayer that enabled them to be so generous in their care-filled service. For many years at Saint Vincent, the sisters' daily schedule included rising at 4:00 A.M., gathering for Mass and for three sessions of common prayer in German, and working almost 14 hours before retiring at 9:00 P.M. As a symbol of their religious consecration, the sisters wore - and continue to wear - full black habits including veils with headpieces. During work periods they typically wore over their habits blue-and-white checkered aprons. The sisters themselves made both their habits and their aprons.

    Very soon after their arrival the German sisters gained the admiration and affection of collegians, prepsters, seminarians, and monks alike. A brochure written in 1988 to announce the creation of a "Benedictine Sisters Scholarship Fund" at Saint Vincent College reported, "Many Saint Vincent students and alumni delight in reminiscing about the sisters and their insistence to eat more while piling the students' plates high with generous portions of food. Although there was little time for conversation in the serving line, friendships between students and the sisters often developed." One sister was quoted as saying, "Oftentimes students would talk to the sisters in line and say, 'Pray for me, Sister, because this or that is going on.' We always made time to be close to our students, just like a family." Sister Monica Biller, O.S.B., the only sister both of the original group to arrive in 1931 and of the last group to leave Saint Vincent in 1987, recalled many years later, "I was very young, only 20 years old. My first job was in the serving line for the Prep School students; they were my favorites always. I was homesick at first, ... but I learned to love Saint Vincent very soon. I didn't speak English at all, but the young men taught me, and they were so good!" Mother Leonarda herself won the respect and affection of the students, who came to call her "Mother Bearcat."

    In April, 1934, Abbess Benedicta of Eichstaett crossed the ocean to visit her sisters at Saint Vincent. The whole community warmly received the superior of the sisters who had quickly become part of their lives. She delivered several addresses to the monks and students and was honored at a special reception at the College auditorium in Bede Hall.

    Until 1979, when the food-service management company hired in 1969 assumed many of the tasks that the sisters had performed in the kitchen, the sisters cooked and served about 3,000 meals a day for the Saint Vincent Community. From 1979 to 1987 the sisters continued to serve food in the College cafeteria and to direct the serving of monks, seminarians, and guests. Sisters also baked pastries for Saint Vincent until 1986.

The founding of Saint Emma Monastery

     When World War II prevented the sisters at Saint Vincent from sending their income back to Germany, their abbess in Eichstaett gave them orders to "look after themselves" and to find a more permanent residence. In 1943 Mother Leonarda, accompanied by Sister Agnes Regensburger, O.S.B., led the sisters in purchasing the John Robertshaw estate, consisting of a house and ten acres of land north of Greensburg. The next year they also acquired an adjoining 93-acre farm owned by the Robertshaws. Mother Leonarda's intention was to provide the sisters with a summer house and a place to which they could retire from their work at Saint Vincent, as indeed they did 44 years later. However, even while the property was being bought, groups of people asked to use the grounds for retreats and days of recollection.
    Under Mother Leonarda's wise leadership the development of Saint Emma responded to people's felt need for a retreat center. The first building project on the site consisted of the Fatima Chapel, constructed in 1950, which seated 120 people for retreat liturgies. In 1954 a retreat house with private rooms for 49 people was added. Recognizing the need to provide for future vocations, Mother Leonarda had a novitiate wing built in 1960 when she was 80 years old, and the first novitiate had its beginnings in February, 1961, when three American women entered as postulants. The 83-year-old superior was still actively planning for the future in 1963, when a second wing was added to the monastery in anticipation of the arrival of sisters who would no longer be at Saint Vincent. Mother Leonarda also perceived the need for a cemetery. As of 1964, five of the German-born sisters had died and had been buried at Saint Vincent; but since Saint Emma was the motherhouse, it seemed appropriate to provide a burial place there. In the fall of that year, a cemetery was laid out in the center of a large orchard, with stations of the cross leading up to a large, stone-carved scene of the crucifixion. Providentially, Mother Leonarda was the first of the sisters to be buried there after her death on May 8, 1965, at the age of 85. She was succeeded as superior by Mother Emmanuel Drey, O.S.B., who remained in that office until her own death on January 17, 1973. It was Mother Emmanuel who planned the building of the Saint Walburga Shrine at Saint Emma. The 12 stained-glass windows of the star-shaped structure came from the closed Saint Walburga Church in Pittsburgh and were graciously offered to the sisters by Bishop Vincent Leonard. The shrine was completed in 1974 under the direction of Mother Agnes.

Later days at Saint Vincent and the move to Saint Emma


     Despite increasing age and infirmity, the sisters continued to labor lovingly and faithfully at Saint Vincent until 1987. In 1967 the sisters took on the additional apostolate of serving the Pittsburgh Steelers when the football team began to hold its summer training camp on the College's football field. The Steelers soon came to relish the generous, gentle service that they received from the diminutive sisters, and they would look forward to renewing their acquaintances as summer approached. They would inquire specifically about Sister Pancratia Fruth, the only sister who actually served the Steelers on their food line. Mother Hedwig Scholz, the local superior at Saint Vincent from 1973 to 1987, remarked in an interview for the April 28, 1987, edition of The Pittsburgh Press, "Sister Pancratia was a great Steeler fan and knew all the Steelers by name. She'd often tell the Steelers that she'd pray for them before each game so that they wouldn't get hurt." When in 1970 the sisters moved to their new quarters in Placid Hall, Mother Hedwig noted that the sisters could then look through their windows to see the Steelers practicing and keep them in special prayer.
    As the sisters at Saint Vincent grew older, they had to adapt to many changing conditions. As of February 1, 1969, a commercial food service was hired to manage the ordering and planning of menus. In 1978 Sister Reinildis Fieger, who had been the head cook for some years, became seriously ill with cancer and was transferred in December, 1978, to Saint Emma, where she died three weeks later. Early in 1979 new dining facilities were opened for the collegians, and after Sister Aleydis Bauer left for Saint Emma in March, the food service took charge of the kitchen and lay people did all the cooking. The sisters had previously worked in kitchens in a rather dark basement area under Placid and Anselm halls and had pushed wagons of food through tunnels with low ceilings that were made even lower by mazes of pipes. The sisters now worked above ground alongside the food-service employees in their particular specialties. For example, Sisters Praxedes Lintner and Pudentiana Lintner, who were also blood sisters, continued to provide baked goods from the new second-floor bakery and were sometimes known as the "Bakery Sisters." Sister Ancilla Brunner, who staffed the salad area, acquired the nickname "Sister Bombardier" since she would slice sandwich buns and bread and then throw them down from the balcony to the cafeteria below, where a lay employee stood ready to catch the bags. Sister Maria Hausler, who worked in the College cafeteria from 1966 to 1987, became known as "Sister Soup," since she had served soup to collegians as long as many could remember; she also helped to keep the cafeteria spotless after meals. As time went on, however, the sisters grew fewer in number through infirmity and death; those sisters who could no longer handle the kitchen work at Saint Vincent were reassigned to Saint Emma.

    In December, 1986, Mother Franziska Kloos, O.S.B., the Abbess of Saint Walburga Abbey in Germany, visited her sisters at Saint Vincent and Saint Emma. Observing the difficulty with which the aging sisters labored at Saint Vincent, she recommended that these remaining 13 sisters join the 20 sisters then at Saint Emma. Such a move would also fulfill the ideal of all the sisters' living together in one place. The date for their move was set for May 22, 1987. Throughout 1987 the sisters received much publicity as they ended 56 years of faithful, loving service at Saint Vincent Archabbey, College, and Seminary. In April, 1987, the College's Student Government Association presented the sisters with a plaque in gratitude for their years of dedicated service to the students, and a Mass was celebrated in appreciation of the sisters, with Father John Murtha, O.S.B., President of the College, as the principal celebrant. As the sisters prepared to move, Mother Hedwig commented, according to a press release from the College, "It is our time to go. We have happy memories. It was a great privilege to live and work at Saint Vincent. It kept us young at heart." The day before the move a grand farewell was celebrated at Saint Vincent. Archabbot Paul Maher, O.S.B., and 84 other priests concelebrated a Mass at the Archabbey Basilica in honor of the sisters, and a festive meal and a reception followed. These events expressed the desires of both communities to continue to nurture the close bonds that had developed between them. 

    Indeed, there were many occasions to renew long-standing relationships. At the first Founders' Day celebration at Saint Vincent on December 8, 1987, the sisters were given front seats at the festive Mass and the dinner that followed. On the afternoon of December 24, 1987, 18 monks came to visit Saint Emma to sing Christmas carols, much as they had done previously at the convent at Saint Vincent and as they have continued to do each day before Christmas at Saint Emma. In future years contingents of collegians would also travel to Saint Emma in December to sing carols to the sisters. Groups of sisters would continue to attend festive events at the Archabbey, and monks would often travel to Saint Emma to direct retreats, to make retreats, and to join the sisters for celebrations of jubilees, professions of monastic vows, and funerals. In May, 1988, a festive Mass marked the silver jubilee of the first two American sisters to persevere in vows for 25 years. Since that time the sisters have regularly invited the monks of Saint Vincent to join them to celebrate many 25th, 50th, and 60th jubilees.

Life at Saint Emma since 1987

     Despite increasing age and infirmity, every sister at Saint Emma continued to offer whatever heartfelt loving service she could to the community and to the retreatants, even as the sisters had so faithfully served monks and students at Saint Vincent. Sisters Gaudentia Kaemmerle, Margareta Stephan, and Scholastica Ferstl, who had staffed the monastery dining room at the Archabbey, now worked together in the retreatants' dining room at Saint Emma. Sister Brigitta Heller, who had peeled thousands of potatoes in the kitchen at Saint Vincent, persevered in her humble service, too; by 1991, at the age of 90, she was nearly blind but, as reported in the sisters' newsletter, continued to "clean a rest room and a hall every day, help with the dishes after each meal in the convent and in the retreat house, and rake grass and leaves." Sister Aleydis Bauer, who had assisted the head cook at Saint Vincent, came to Saint Emma in March, 1979, to direct the cooking for the retreat house until she suffered a stroke on August 17, 1995; she died in March, 1998. Still active in baking bread as of her 90th birthday on October 16, 1998, Sister Boniface Wagner, who had come to Saint Emma from Boulder in 1964, suffered a heart attack three days later and required quadruple bypass surgery. By February, however, she was baking bread again, and on March 4, 1999, she shoveled the 10 to 12 inches of snow that had fallen on one of the walks at Saint Emma. In the summer of 1998, a newspaper photographer caught a view of Sister Bonfilia Faerber, who had come from Boulder in 1984 and who was in her 70's, riding a tractor to cut grass. The resulting photograph won a national award in the Catholic press. Sister Hermelinde Karl, who had cooked at Saint Vincent for 39 years until a severe heart attack brought her to Saint Emma in 1975, recuperated well enough to continue cooking for the sisters for 17 years until she was 90, and she lived to be 96. In reporting the death of Sister Liberata Hofmann on October 7, 1989, her 83rd birthday, the sisters' newsletter commented, "[She] had been the main cook at Saint Vincent Archabbey and College from 1953 to 1972, when she suffered a severe heart attack and came to Saint Emma's. As she gradually regained some strength, she ... cleaned the sinks in each room in the retreat house along with the Sisters' dining room plus halls. Her pace was slow but constant, and she helped wherever she could." 

    At the same time about 100 groups of retreatants and a total of 3500 people were coming to Saint Emma every year for retreats and days of recollection, and similar numbers continue to flock to the retreat house to this day. A dedicated staff of volunteers grew to meet the needs of retreatants and to compensate for the older sisters' lessened physical ability. Saint Emma can boast that even today there is not a single hired lay person on the grounds. The sisters firmly believe that God has provided and will continue to provide them with all the necessary help to keep the retreat house and gift shop running smoothly and gracefully. Various events at Saint Vincent kept alive fond memories of the Benedictine sisters' long years of service at the Archabbey. In December, 1989, the sisters were particularly honored at the annual Founders' Day. The art exhibit at the King Ludwig Gallery assembled for the occasion was entitled, "Saint Vincent's Gentle Touch: The Benedictine Sisters," and a special brochure issued on that occasion told the story of the sisters from the foundation of Saint Walburga Abbey in Eichstaett in 1035 A.D. At the commencement ceremonies on May 12, 1990, Saint Vincent College President Father John Murtha presented the first Presidential Medal of Honor to the Benedictine sisters. Sister Monica, the last surviving sister among those who had arrived in 1931, accepted the award. In October, 1990, Saint Vincent Seminary presented an award to Sister Seraphina Irlbeck, who had worked for over 50 years in the Seminary dining room. On February 25, 1991, the sisters celebrated the 60th anniversary of their arrival in the United States. Retired Archabbot Egbert Donovan, O.S.B., recollected on that occasion how, as a senior at the Prep School in 1931, he had seen the sisters "alight from the cars that brought them from the local train station."

    Mother Agnes Regensburger, O.S.B., was the superior of the sisters at Saint Emma from 1965 until 1993. She had arrived at Saint Emma from Saint Vincent back in 1952, when she was asked to care for Bishop Hugh Lamb, who had taken up residence at Saint Emma; he was the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of Greensburg. Little did she realize that her supposed assignment of "three weeks" would keep her at Saint Emma for 43 years! When Mother Leonarda died in 1965, Sister Agnes was appointed the superior at Saint Emma, and she was named Prioress in 1973. In the first election of a Prioress in 1988, Mother Agnes was chosen to continue to lead the community for a five-year term. On August 30, 1993, Sister Mary Anne Noll, O.S.B., was elected as Prioress to succeed Mother Agnes, who died on March 17, 1995, at the age of 83. The new superior became the first American-born sister to lead the community, and with Mother Mary Anne's election there began a new era in the life of the Saint Emma community.

    Already under Mother Agnes there had been significant new developments. In 1979 construction was completed on a three-story building used for a retreat dining room and kitchen; these facilities were blessed on February 25, 1979, the 1200th anniversary of the death of Saint Walburga. In 1986 a Blessed Sacrament Chapel was added to the Fatima Chapel. In 1990 an "elevette" was installed in the second monastery building. For years the sisters had used the kitchen door in the original Robertshaw house as an entrance for monastery guests and for business. Since there were 35 outside doors on the grounds, it was difficult for visitors to know where the monastery entrance was. Therefore, plans were made for the construction of a new monastery entrance. Work was begun in October, 1993, and the new entrance was blessed on June 29, 1994, by Archabbot Douglas Nowicki, O.S.B. The community also realized that it needed to intensify its efforts to attract new vocations. After a long period without new sisters entering the monastery, Toni Amorino of Apollo became a postulant on October 1, 1993, after three years as a volunteer. She took the name "Sister Mary Clare" when she made her first vows on April 14, 1996, and she professed solemn vows on July 1, 1999. Another volunteer, Betty Mintus, entered as a postulant on March 19, 1996, and later became "Sister Franziska" when she professed first vows on September 5, 1998. Julia Augustine entered the community on August 15, 1997, and professed her first vows as "Sister Renata" on May 27, 2000.

    Even with the arrival of younger sisters, the German-born sisters who once worked at Saint Vincent continue to play an important part in the community. Sister Gaudentia Kaemmerle, now 87 years old, serves as guest mistress and helps to clean the monastery dining room. At 88, Sister Wiltrud Ott still assists in the monastery kitchen. Sister Pancratia Fruth continues to do laundry and wash dishes. Sister Maria Hausler works in the monastery kitchen. Although Sisters Hedwig Scholz, Ancilla Brunner, and Gabriele Hausler now reside at Saint Anne Nursing Home, the sisters at Saint Emma maintain close contact with these infirm members of their community. Sister Ancilla, who had been the sisters' chauffeur at Saint Vincent, cooked at Saint Emma Retreat House until a stroke disabled her at the age of 85½. She and Sister Hedwig, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, both maintain a lively interest in events in the community and in the world. Also, Sister Corona Broich, who arrived from Boulder in 1976, became known to visitors at Saint Emma for her years of energetic service in the gift shop; at this time last year, at the age of 88, she was still scrubbing bathrooms in the retreat house, making wax angels, and directing customers to the store. 

Recent developments at Saint Emma Monastery
    The Benedictine sisters at Saint Emma have many reasons to look forward to a bright future. Even as the community's German-born sisters experience illness and depart in death, new life is being injected into both the community and the retreat apostolate. In the Advent, 2000, newsletter Mother Mary Anne reported, "Since the mid-90's, six women have entered [the community], including three this year. Since mid-February, 42 women have made an initial contact, and indeed eight of these women have already visited! We are experiencing the fruit of your prayer for our community." Also, the prayer life of the community continues to flourish. As of the First Sunday of Advent, 1999, Vigils were added to the schedule of community prayer, so that the sisters now pray the full Liturgy of the Hours six times every day in English, most of it sung according to simplified Gregorian chant melodies. As interest in retreats has expanded, so have the demands of the gift and book shop. Following renovations in 1997, the store began to serve the public on a daily basis with regular hours in November of that year. After a further extensive renovation, a celebration was held in November, 1999, to mark the grand reopening of the "Benedictine Sisters Catholic Gift and Book Shop," with a special selection of Benedictine books and another section with Benedictine religious articles. On July 1, 2000, about 210 people joined the sisters to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Fatima Chapel, which had also been extensively renovated in the fall of 1999. It was recalled on that occasion that in 50 years over 165,000 people had come to Saint Emma to grow closer to God by making retreats and days of recollection. On November 11, 2000, a newly-constructed monastic guest house received an official blessing. This accommodation is now available for individuals or small groups to make retreats, pursue sabbaticals, or take "monastic vacations." People are invited to "come and rest awhile" in a God-centered atmosphere and, if they wish, to join the sisters for Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours.

    Finally, as of this writing, the sisters have begun their first-ever capital campaign, named "Monastic Life: A Gift Received, A Gift Shared - The Campaign to Strengthen Essential Benedictine Values." The effort to raise $2,600,000, formally announced last July, includes plans to construct a monastic chapel with choir stalls for 30 nuns and seating for 80 guests, an office for the Prioress, spaces for conferences for the community, and a monastic library. These projects are meant to fulfill the sisters' vision, in Mother Mary Anne's words, to "express more fully in brick and mortar the primacy of God in our lives through a monastic chapel which is the heart of our monastery, the pre-eminence of the monastic superior as spiritual guide and the role of the community in Benedictine spirituality." As of late November, 2000, some $900,000 had been pledged and $500,000 received toward the goal of $2.6 million. Also, the sisters plan to extend the hospitality of the retreat house by making it handicap-accessible with a four-story elevator and by adding two conference rooms, one for 90 people above the present retreat dining room and another for 20 people in what is now storage space. Regarding all these building plans, it is hoped that Benedictine values will be expressed in the architecture to remind sisters, retreatants, and all guests of Saint Benedict's emphasis on strong community life, warm hospitality, and Christ-centeredness in every dimension of life.

Conclusion

    In the brochure which accompanied the Founders' Day art exhibit in 1989, Brother Nathan Cochran, O.S.B., aptly summarized the indelible mark that the sisters left on the communities at Saint Vincent:
"These quiet and humble sisters, who have done so much for those at Saint Vincent and for those who make retreats at Saint Emma, downplay their role in helping to build the kingdom of God. They do not see themselves as special. They see only how a Christian should live, and then they do it ….

    "Their lives are remarkable, for they left their families, both natural and monastic, to come to a foreign country. They served the monks, students, employees, and guests of Saint Vincent, and in the summer they served the Steelers. The sisters are remembered with fondness by all of them. For who can count the number of people they served? Who can count the number of meals, or hamburgers, or gallons of ox-tail soup? Who can count the number of monastic and priestly vocations that were saved by their prayers and gentle words of encouragement?

    "They came with the gifts of youth: vibrancy, enthusiasm, and first fervor. Time and grace matured these gifts into steadfastness, dedication, and true service. Whenever they dished out meat, poured coffee, baked cakes, washed dishes, dropped buns from balconies, or decorated Christmas cribs, they gave us the feeling of family, home, rootedness, and sisterly (and sometimes motherly) love. Their gentleness rubbed off on us so that we have become a little more gentle. Yet they also taught us perseverance, because who but dedicated and God-seeking individuals can smile and serve people for over fifty years?"

    The long-standing relationship between the community of sisters at Saint Emma and the constituent communities of Saint Vincent Archabbey has had varied expressions over the years but remains vibrant. The sisters continue to visit Saint Vincent for jubilees, funerals, and other special celebrations. The Benedictine monks continue to reciprocate such visits for the sisters' celebrations; they also use the retreat facilities and often serve as retreat masters at Saint Emma. Father Prior Earl Henry, O.S.B., currently serves as a member of the steering committee for the sisters' first capital campaign. The alumni of the College, Prep School, and Seminary continue to cherish memories of the sisters' loving service that they received as students at Saint Vincent. Our communities of sisters, monks, students, and alumni have reason to hope and pray that the intertwining of their paths may help us all to deepen our love for God, to stir up our earnestness and zeal for prayer, and to strengthen our commitments to serve one another with a mighty labor of love.

(To make a gift to the Benedictine sisters' capital fund-raising campaign or to obtain further information about the sisters' plans, contact Mother Mary Anne Noll, O.S.B., Saint Emma Monastery, 1001 Harvey Ave., Greensburg, PA 15601 (phone: (724) 834-3060). The sisters may also be contacted at their website (www.stemma.org) with e-mail address benedictinenuns@stemma.org.)

Fr. Donald S. Raila, O.S.B. is a monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey.

February 22, 2009

New Benedictine Saint!!!

 
Blessed Bernardo Tolomei, OSB (1272 - 1348)
VATICAN CITY, FEB. 16, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Church will soon have 10 more canonized saints.


The Holy See reported that a public consistory of cardinals will take place Saturday to determine dates for the canonization celebrations of the newly recognized saints. Among the group is Father Damián de Veuster, known as the apostle of the lepers of Molokai, Hawaii.

The 10 to be canonized are:

-- Blessed Zygmunt Szcesny Felinski, former Polish archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary.
-- Blessed Arcangelo Tadini, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Worker Sisters of the Holy House of Nazareth.
-- Blessed Francisco Coll y Guitart, Spanish Dominican priest and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

-- Blessed Jozef Damien de Veuster, Belgian priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The decree recognizing the miracle was approved July 3, 2008.
-- Blessed Bernardo Tolomei, Italian abbot and founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto. The decree recognizing the miracle was adopted on July 3, 2008.


-- Blessed Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Spanish oblate friar of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance.

-- Blessed Nuno de Santa Maria Álvares Pereira, Portuguese religious of the Order of Friars of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. The decree recognizing the miracle was adopted on July 3, 2008.
-- Blessed Gertrude Caterina Comensoli, Italian founder of the Institute of Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. The decree recognizing the miracle was adopted on March 17, 2008.

-- Blessed Marie de la Croix (born Jeanne) Jugan, French founder of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor.
-- Blessed Caterina Volpicelli, Italian foundress of the Institute of Handmaidens of the Sacred Heart.


More about the soon to be Saint:

Blessed Bernardo Tolomei (1272 - 1348) was an Italian theologian, the founder of the Roman Catholic Congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto. In the Roman Martyrology he is commemorated on August 20,[1] but in the Benedictine calendar his optional memorial is celebrated on the previous day. Blessed Bernardo Tolomei is due to be canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday, April 26, 2009.
Giovanni Tolomei was born at Siena in Tuscany. He took the name of "Bernard" (in its Italian form Bernardo) out of admiration for the saintly Abbot of Clairvaux. He was educated by his uncle, Christopher Tolomeo, a Dominican, and desired to enter the religious life, but his father's opposition prevented him from doing so, and he continued his studies in secular surroundings. After a course in philosophy and mathematics he devoted himself to the study of civil and canon law, and of theology. For a time Bernardo served in the armies of Rudolph I of Germany. After his return to Siena he was appointed by his fellow citizens to the highest positions in the town government. While thus occupied he was struck with blindness. Having recovered his sight, this being attributed to the intervention of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he retired (1313) to a solitary spot about ten miles from Siena, where he led a life of the greatest austerity.
The fame of his virtues soon attracted many visitors, and Bernardo was accused of heresy. He went to Avignon and cleared himself of this charge before Pope John XXII without difficulty. Upon his return he founded the congregation of the Blessed Virgin of Monte Oliveto (the Olivetans), giving it the Rule of St. Benedict. The purpose of the new religious institute was a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin. Guido, Bishop of Arezzo, within whose diocese the congregation was formed, confirmed its constitution in (1319), and many favours were granted by Popes John XXII, Clement VI (1344), and Gregory XI. Upon the appearance of the plague in the district of Arezzo, Bernardo and his monks devoted themselves to the care of the sick. As a result of this charitable act, Bernardo and a number of his Olivetian confreres themselves succumbed to the ravages of the plague.
After having ruled the religious body he had founded for 27 years Bernardo died, at the age of 76. His death was followed by many miracles and the congregation became a nursery of saints. In 1634 he was beatified by the Congregation of Rites, but is often referred to as Saint Bernardo.

February 19, 2009

Art Is Window To Monk's Soul

Here is a nice little article and video on assistant St. Vincent Archabbey Vocation Director: Br. Mark Floreanini, OSB which appeared in St. Vincent Archabbey's publication "Heart to Heart."

By Vanessa Shepherd


Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, once said "Art is the window to man's soul. Without it, he would never be able to see beyond his immediate world; nor could the world see the man within."
 
Brother Mark Floreanini's artwork epitomizes that statement in more ways that one-especially his work in creating stained glass windows.


He began working in stained glass in a friend's garage around the age of twenty. His friend made stained glass panel lamps and began to show Brother Mark how stained glass was done. So Brother Mark began to cut out a leaf for an apple pattern, put lead around it, and "in five minutes I had a stained glass apple."
With his first stained glass project complete, an apple sun-catcher, Brother Mark was determined to master the art of stained glass so he began working as an apprentice in a stained glass studio and eventually became manager of a stained glass shop. Then in 1987, Brother Mark moved to Derry to begin his own business with Albert Banocy, a graduate student in Dayton. Albert was an excellent salesman with admirable people skills; Brother Mark was a zealous artisan who loves the art of stained glass. Showing their windows at the Pittsburgh Art and Garden Show opened new opportunities by bringing them business from the Pittsburgh area.
Some of Br. Mark's beautiful work


In 1997, Brother Mark felt called to enter the religious life at Saint Vincent. He recalled his opening interview with the Archabbot, when he expressed his experience in stained glass. "I asked if the community would be in need of my expertise. Archabbot Douglas replied 'well, there are a lot of windows on campus'."


Since entering the monastery, Brother Mark earned his master of arts degree from Saint Vincent Seminary in 2003, and a master of fine arts degree from the Savannah College of Arts and Designs in 2005. In the same year he was appointed to the Saint Vincent College faculty.
 
Since then, as the Archabbot suggested, Brother Mark has installed many new windows on campus. This year, class members installed twelve stained glass windows around campus and donated two windows for auction at the Saint Vincent Alumni Easter Ball. And since "stained glass never goes out of style," he said, "the windows are installed as permanent fixtures on campus."

"It's not something everyone does and not many colleges offer." It's a way, he indicated, in which students can leave a legacy at Saint Vincent through a donation of talent. "Wouldn't it be nice to return to campus with your children or grandchildren and be able to say 'I did that?'"


In the future, Brother Mark hopes to offer classes in stained glass on a permanent basis for the department.


Putting together the puzzle of a stained glass piece is his way of building a permanent fixture for people to enjoy. And, Brother Mark adds, "you get the excitement of not knowing what the final project looks like until you lift it up and have the light come through it."


For more information on Brother Mark's Archabbey Stained Glass, you may contact him at 724-532-6733 or at mark.floreanini@email.stvincent.edu or see the Artisans Website.

February 17, 2009

Great New Book on our History

A select number of images from the new book Saint Vincent Past to Present: A Visual Journey, from restored photos in the Archabbey Glass Plate Negative Collection. Visit www.stvincentstore.com to order the book.

February 16, 2009

Importance of Confession

One of the most important parts of discernment is drawing closer to Christ through His Holy Catholic Church via the Sacraments He has given us.  Listen to what our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has to say about the Sacrament of Confession.

February 15, 2009

A monk's life... but just until Monday


By Yvonne Murray
BBC News

With Britain becoming an increasingly secular society, the number of people devoting themselves to the monastic life has been in freefall.

But now several monasteries and convents are fighting against the trend by offering taster weekends in the hope of bringing fresh members into the fold.

With little more than a crucifix on the wall and a Bible by the bed, the guestrooms at Worth Abbey are designed to resemble the monks' quarters.

"They have a comfortable bed, which they'll enjoy for the night," says the weekend co-ordinator, Fr Luke Jolly. "6:20am is our first monastic prayer," he says.

That is the first of five prayer services that visitors are asked to attend each day in the modern circular church, its interior bathed in natural light from the glass-domed ceiling.

At lunch the food is plentiful, with lasagne, tomato soup, cheese and salads.
No talking is allowed at any meals and instead the monks listen to a reading - today it is from a biography of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

But there is plenty of time for a chat afterwards, over coffee and chocolates or while taking a walk.

The quiet garden is set amongst the rolling hills with a bridge over a reflective pool, where weekenders go to contemplate life in a religious order.

The Monastic Taster Weekend is designed for men who want to explore whether a life of obedience, stability, poverty and chastity could be for them. Meanwhile, both young men and women can come on the Compass Project - a series of nine weekends. Neither has a specific charge to attend, although donations of up to £70 are accepted.

Worth Abbey is one of a number of monasteries and convents which have decided to address the decline in their members by advertising their way of life - in the religious press, on the internet and even in in-flight magazines - and by inviting potential recruits to try it for themselves.

In 1982, there were 217 novices in the Catholic Church in England and Wales but by 2007 that figure had dropped to 29.

"Britain's become really a secular society... we advertise because we are aware that there are lots of options offered, particularly to young people," Fr Luke explains, "and the voice of God can get drowned out. So we're putting that option back before them."

One of the weekend visitors, Lisa Paget, is a Catholic convert. With her highlighted hair and facial piercing she perhaps looks like an unlikely candidate for convent life.

In fact, she spent some years as an atheist, dabbled with Hinduism and at one point was engaged to be married.

"When I first started coming on the weekends," she laughs, "the services seemed really boring and I couldn't wait to get through the booklet!

"But over time I really got into the rhythm of it and the idea of consecrating time which is a gift from God."

"I came to a crossroads in my life," she adds, "and decided I needed to explore where God was calling me to. And coming here is making me think more about becoming a nun."

A former weekender, Brother Robert Verill, has already taken the plunge and become a Dominican friar.
For many years, he was interested in religious vocation but was not sure if he was quite ready to swap his career as a software engineer for a life in the church.

"I was rather frightened of approaching my parish priest," he says. "Somehow, I imagined he might present me with a form for me to sign on the dotted line and he'd snatch me up!"
Now he returns to Worth to talk to the new Compass members about the commitment he has made to a life of celibacy.

"It's try before you buy, isn't it?" says Ric Slatter, a recent media graduate who is wondering if the priesthood is his real calling.

"I still can't quite make my mind up," he says. "A lot of the preconceptions I had about how difficult obedience and celibacy would be are kind of being answered by these weekends. At the same time the idea of marriage and kids is still very attractive."

With the financial markets in turmoil and unemployment on the rise, Fr Luke wonders if they might see more inquiries from people considering religious vocation.

He says: "I think they will be looking for a way of life that is different from the one the world's been offering so far."

For many who are used to the fast pace of modern life, the prospect of years of quiet contemplation could seem a little boring.

But the Abbott of Worth, Christopher Jamison, strongly disagrees.

"This is a rivetingly exciting life," he says. "I put it this way: modern life often looks very exciting from the outside but like some glitzy magazines there's not much in it. Whereas here in the monastery it's the opposite - the outside is very calm but what's going on inside is pulsating with life."

People might be convinced of that, the monks believe, if they come to stay and that, they hope, will help to prevent this 1,500-year-old tradition dying out.
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February 10, 2009

Friends of the Monastery

Our Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB with Fr. Glenn Sudano, CFR (Novice Master of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and friend of the Archabbey) and Jessica Newman, director of the Missionaries of the Eucharist at the 2009 March for Life.

Feast of St. Scholastica

Book Two of the Dialogues: Life of Saint Benedict:

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: HOW BENEDICT SAW THE SOUL OF HIS SISTER ASCEND INTO HEAVEN.

GREGORY: The next day the venerable woman returned to her monastery, and the man of God to his abbey. Three days later, standing in his cell, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he beheld the soul of his sister (which was departed from her body) ascend into heaven in the likeness of a dove.


Rejoicing much to see her great glory, with hymns and praise he gave thanks to almighty God, and imparted the news of her death to his monks.  He sent them presently to bring her corpse to his Abbey, to have it buried in that grave which he had provided for himself. By this means it fell out that, as their souls were always one in God while they lived, so their bodies continued together after their deaths.
Deus, qui beátae Vírginis tuæ Scholásticæ ánimam ad ostendéndam [innocéntiæ viam in colúmbæ spécie cælum penetráre fecísti: da nobis eius méritis et précibus ita innocénter vivere; ut ad ætérna mereámur gáudia perveníre. Per Dóminum.] 

O God, to show us where innocence leads, you made the soul of your virgin Saint Scholastica soar to heaven like a dove in flight. Grant through her merits and her prayers that we may so live in innocence as to attain to joys everlasting. This we ask through our Lord.

February 5, 2009

Prayer Request

Please take a moment to pray for the young men who will be joining the monks this weekend for a"Come and See" Weekend.  This is an opportunity to for these young Catholics to learn more about Monastic life here at St. Vincent and ask the Lord if this may be the place where He may be calling them to live out their baptisimal calling more closely as Catholic Benedictine Monks.
 God of my life,
I give you thanks and praise that I have life,
and that my life is filled with touches of your love.

You have given me a heart that wants to be happy,
and You have placed in me a desire to make a difference.

Quiet the fears and distractions of my heart long enough
for me to listen to the movement of Your Spirit,
to hear your gentle invitation.

Reveal to me the choices that will make me happy.
Help me to discover my identity.

Let me understand how best to use the gifts
You have so lovingly lavished upon me
in preparation for our journey together.

And give me the courage to choose You
as You have chosen me.

Lord, let me know myself and let me know You.
In this is my happiness. 
(An Augustinian prayer for Discernment)

February 4, 2009

"In the footsteps of St. Benedict Pilgrimage"

This past December-January a number of young men discerning life here at St. Vincent as Benedictine Monks were guided on a tour of the life of our Holy Father St. Benedict by St. Vincent Archabbey Vocation Director, Fr. Fred Byrne, OSB. The Archabbey offers a variety of discernment opportunities for single Catholic men ages 18-40 throughout the year.  Please contact the vocation office for more information. 

February 3, 2009

"Come and See Weekend" this Weekend

This weekend (Febuary 6-8) there will be a "Come and See" Weekend at the Archabbey. There is still time to register but you must do so ASAP by contactig the vocation office at 724-532-6655.

February 2, 2009

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

Mal 3:1-4; Ps 24:7-10; Heb 2:14-18; Lk 2:22-40
"Lift up, O gates, your lintels."
Never has the city of Jerusalem been so open! The gates are flung wide open; the lintels are lifted high; the portals couldn't be more accessible. Why all the excitement? The King of Glory approaches; his brightness is at the gate. Suddenly he comes to the temple; the one for whom we have been waiting. He comes as a messenger of the LORD to prepare the way. He is coming, the messenger of the covenant, whom we desire, for whom we long, for whom we wait. Yes, his arrival is eminent. However, who will endure his coming? Who will stand tall when he arrives? This King of Glory is too bright for us to ignore. His glory shines into the depths of our dark and dreary hearts. This brightness burns. This glory purifies. The very fire of love that empties us of ourselves and our self-centeredness is the very fire of love that fills us with himself. As the Doctor of the Church, Saint John of the Cross, teaches us: God abhors a vacuum more than nature abhors a vacuum. His coming changes everything. No longer do we have any excuses. Finally and definitively our sacrifice is made pleasing. The sacrifice of our broken hearts and the desires of our dried up tears are purified by the light of his glory. Indeed, it is transformed and united to his broken body and poured out blood offered on the cross outside the gates of the city so that all who pass by might catch a glimpse of the glory. This is a glory that refines more than fire and purifies more than love. Such is the King of Glory in all the brightness of his glorious cross.
The Lord Jesus is the King of Glory, yet he himself was tested through what he suffered. This King on Calvary did not cling to his glory; he did not feel entitled; he did not grasp the glory; he refused to exploit the glory for his own benefit. He willingly sacrificed this glory; he emptied himself of glory, so that the children of blood and flesh might not be subject to slavery all their life. Christ, the Eternal Son of the Father, in becoming man became capable of suffering and death. This Divine Person took on our human nature so that he might be able to help those of us who are being tested even now. As the Letter to the Hebrews explains, the Lord Jesus came to help the descendants of Abraham not the angels. He became blood and flesh like his brothers and sisters; he became like us in every way but sin so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest. His human nature was not burdened with original sin nor was it tied to concupiscence. The human nature of Christ is a completely new creation, and even though he was tested he did not ever want anything other than the Father's will. In this he teaches us how to be a completely new human being. Indeed, our humanity is no longer defined by sin and the desire to sin. This priesthood is eternal like Melchizedek of old. In Christ, the New Melchizedek, we have a share in the one pure sacrifice that expiates the sins of all the people, in every generation, among all the nations. Indeed, we offer with Christ a pure sacrifice of praise and we offer to Christ a pure sacrifice of praise because his glory has touched and transformed us into a living sacrifice of praise by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of the Father, now and always and ever and forever!
When the days of our Christmas/Epiphany celebration were completed, we gathered with blessed candles burning bright. We lifted up our voices in praise and welcomed the King of Glory. In this feast of the Presentation of the Lord Jesus in the Temple the liturgy reminds us again that the mystery of the incarnation does not fade or get put in a closet like some Christmas decoration. This great mystery lights our way through Lent into Easter/Pentecost glory. At the gates of the New Jerusalem we meet the King of Glory who will become a sign that will be contradicted and is still contradicted. Indeed, not every heart is full of bright glory of the Incarnate One. Not every heart is open to the purifying love of the King of Glory. As it was true for the Theotokos, so it is true for us. Simeon spoke a word of prophecy to the God Bearer, and we who bear the mystery of the Christ will also benefit from his words. "Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted and you yourself a sword will pierce so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Indeed, it is the shattered, pierced and broken hearts that alone can be purified by the light of the King of Glory. This share in her suffering, which is a share in her son's suffering, is not a waste of time and energy. With the Great High Priest, who enters his temple today, we offer to the Father of Glory a living sacrifice of praise. Such is the true joy of our life and the only dignity of our love, pure and undefiled.

Pope calls for New Vocations to Religious Life

VATICAN CITY, 1 FEB 2009 (VIS) - Following the Angelus, the Pope recalled the fact that tomorrow marks the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. "Forty days after the birth of Jesus, Mary and Joseph took Him to Jerusalem, in accordance with the norms of the Law of Moses. Indeed, according to Scripture, each first born belonged to the Lord and had to be redeemed with a sacrifice.
"This event", he added, "makes manifest the consecration of Jesus to God the Father and - associated thereto - that of the Virgin Mary. For this reason my beloved predecessor John Paul II wished this day, on which many consecrated people pronounce or renew their vows, to be the World Day of Consecrated Life".

The Holy Father also indicated that tomorrow evening, following a Mass due to be celebrated in the Vatican Basilica by the prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, he will enter the basilica to greet the consecrated people gathered there.

"I invite everyone to thank the Lord for the precious gift of these brothers and sisters and to ask Him, through the intercession of Our Lady, for many new vocations in the many charisms which make the Church so rich".

Turning then to address Italian pilgrims, Benedict XVI expressed special greetings to members of "the Movement for Life, delegations from the faculty of medicine and surgery of the University of Rome, and everyone involved in the defence and promotion of the fundamental gift of life. I appreciate and encourage the commitment of the diocese of Rome in this field, and express my cordial best wishes for its 'Family Week', which begins today".

Pax et Gaudium

O.S.B. Vocation Awareness

O.S.B. Vocation Awareness