Blessing of new Icon

During Solemn Vespers on the Solemnity of Saint Vincent De Paul (our Patron), Father Archabbot Douglas blessed the newly added icon of the crucifixion which now hangs above the altar facing the monastic choir.  The icon was designed by our Fr. Vincent Crosby, OSB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Come and See Weekend" October 9 - 11 and October 30 - November 1

This free retreat allows Catholic, single men, who are 18-40 years of age, a hands-on experience of work, prayer and life within the first and largest Benedictine monastery in the United States.  to register for the retreat, please contact Fr. Fred at the St. Vincent vocation office(724) 532-6655 or via e-mail: fred.byrne@email.stvincent.edu

 

Come meet and chat with our Novice and Junior monks about the monastic life here at St. Vincent Archabbey.  The brothers will be available to answer your questions throughout the weekend.

The Little Flower

From: vatican.va

THÉRÈSE MARTIN was born at Alençon, France on 2 January 1873. Two days later, she was baptized Marie Frances Thérèse at Notre Dame Church. Her parents were Louis Martin and Zélie Guérin. After the death of her mother on 28 August 1877, Thérèse and her family moved to Lisieux.

Towards the end of 1879, she went to confession for the first time. On the Feast of Pentecost 1883, she received the singular grace of being healed from a serious illness through the intercession of Our Lady of Victories. Taught by the Benedictine Nuns of Lisieux and after an intense immediate preparation culminating in a vivid experience of intimate union with Christ, she received First Holy Communion on 8 May 1884. Some weeks later, on 14 June of the same year, she received the Sacrament of Confirmation, fully aware of accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit as a personal participation in the grace of Pentecost.

She wished to embrace the contemplative life, as her sisters Pauline and Marie had done in the Carmel of Lisieux, but was prevented from doing so by her young age. On a visit to Italy, after having visited the House of Loreto and the holy places of the Eternal City, during an audience granted by Pope Leo XIII to the pilgrims from Lisieux on 20 November 1887, she asked the Holy Father with childlike audacity to be able to enter the Carmel at the age of fifteen.

On 9 April 1888 she entered the Carmel of Lisieux. She received the habit on 10 January of the following year, and made her religious profession on 8 September 1890 on the Feast of the Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In Carmel she embraced the way of perfection outlined by the Foundress, Saint Teresa of Jesus, fulfilling with genuine fervour and fidelity the various community responsibilities entrusted to her. Her faith was tested by the sickness of her beloved father, Louis Martin, who died on 29 July 1894. Thérèse nevertheless grew in sanctity, enlightened by the Word of God and inspired by the Gospel to place love at the centre of everything. In her autobiographical manuscripts she left us not only her recollections of childhood and adolescence but also a portrait of her soul, the description of her most intimate experiences. She discovered the little way of spiritual childhood and taught it to the novices entrusted to her care. She considered it a special gift to receive the charge of accompanying two "missionary brothers" with prayer and sacrifice. Seized by the love of Christ, her only Spouse, she penetrated ever more deeply into the mystery of the Church and became increasingly aware of her apostolic and missionary vocation to draw everyone in her path.

On 9 June 1895, on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, she offered herself as a sacrificial victim to the merciful Love of God. At this time, she wrote her first autobiographical manuscript, which she presented to Mother Agnes for her birthday on 21 January 1896.

Several months later, on 3 April, in the night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, she suffered a haemoptysis, the first sign of the illness which would lead to her death; she welcomed this event as a mysterious visitation of the Divine Spouse. From this point forward, she entered a trial of faith which would last until her death; she gives overwhelming testimony to this in her writings. In September, she completed Manuscript B; this text gives striking evidence of the spiritual maturity which she had attained, particularly the discovery of her vocation in the heart of the Church.

While her health declined and the time of trial continued, she began work in the month of June on Manuscript C, dedicated to Mother Marie de Gonzague. New graces led her to higher perfection and she discovered fresh insights for the diffusion of her message in the Church, for the benefit of souls who would follow her way. She was transferred to the infirmary on 8 July. Her sisters and other religious women collected her sayings. Meanwhile her sufferings and trials intensified. She accepted them with patience up to the moment of her death in the afternoon of 30 September 1897. "I am not dying, I am entering life", she wrote to her missionary spiritual brother, Father M. Bellier. Her final words, "My God..., I love you!", seal a life which was extinguished on earth at the age of twenty-four; thus began, as was her desire, a new phase of apostolic presence on behalf of souls in the Communion of Saints, in order to shower a rain of roses upon the world.

She was canonized by Pope Pius XI on 17 May 1925. The same Pope proclaimed her Universal Patron of the Missions, alongside Saint Francis Xavier, on 14 December 1927.

Her teaching and example of holiness has been received with great enthusiasm by all sectors of the faithful during this century, as well as by people outside the Catholic Church and outside Christianity.

On the occasion of the centenary of her death, many Episcopal Conferences have asked the Pope to declare her a Doctor of the Church, in view of the soundness of her spiritual wisdom inspired by the Gospel, the originality of her theological intuitions filled with sublime teaching, and the universal acceptance of her spiritual message, which has been welcomed throughout the world and spread by the translation of her works into over fifty languages.

Mindful of these requests, His Holiness Pope John Paul II asked the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, which has competence in this area, in consultation with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith with regard to her exalted teaching, to study the suitability of proclaiming her a Doctor of the Church.

On 24 August, at the close of the Eucharistic Celebration at the Twelfth World Youth Day in Paris, in the presence of hundreds of bishops and before an immense crowd of young people from the whole world, Pope John Paul II announced his intention to proclaim Thérèse of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face a Doctor of the Universal Church on World Mission Sunday, 19 October 1997.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux’s Prayer for Priests

O Holy Father, may the torrents of love flowing from the sacred wounds of Thy Divine Son bring forth priests like unto the beloved disciple John who stood at the foot of the Cross; priests: who as a pledge of Thine own most tender love will lovingly give Thy Divine Son to the souls of men.

May Thy priests be faithful guardians of Thy Church, as John was of Mary, whom he received into his house. Taught by this loving Mother who suffered so much on Calvary, may they display a mother’s care and thoughtfulness towards Thy children. May they teach souls to enter into close union with Thee through Mary who, as the Gate of Heaven, is specially the guardian of the treasures of Thy Divine Heart.

Give us priests who are on fire, and who are true children of Mary, priests who will give Jesus to souls with the same tenderness and care with which Mary carried the Little Child of Bethlehem.

Mother of sorrows and of love, out of compassion for Thy beloved Son, open in our hearts deep wells of love, so that we may console Him and give Him a generation of priests formed in thy school and having all the tender thoughtfulness of thine own spotless love.

       

EWTN link to our Fr. Jacques Daley, OSB and his series on St. Therese

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, archangels

From:  www.saintvincentarchabbey.org

Rv 12:7-12; Ps 138:1-5; Jn 1:47-51

"In the sight of the angels."

In this feast of the archangels, Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, and Saint Raphael, we join our voices in the sight of all the angels to give wholehearted thanks to the LORD. In these great messengers from the holy temple of heaven we have received the protection of Saint Michael, whose very name asks the only question worth asking, "Who is like the LORD?" From Saint Gabriel we have received the good news of our salvation in the annunciation to the Virgin Mary and in the virginal conception of her son, Jesus the Savior of all. This archangel continues to pray for all who are engaged in the ministry of communication; he is their patron and guide as they seek to communicate the good news we all need to hear. In the ministry of Saint Raphael we have been healed, and we continue to be lead on a journey of faith by this archangel. Indeed, the names of these three heavenly messengers continue to reveal the faithful response of the LORD to our every prayer. Their ministry deepens our confidence in the LORD; through his archangels the LORD builds up strength within us. Indeed, all the powerful of the earth tremble in fear when these divine messengers appear among us. Their presence and their ministry enable the powerful and powerless in this world to hear words from the mouth of the Living God. We join with them and sing endlessly of the ways of the LORD. Indeed, we cry out, "Great is the glory of the LORD." The Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of the faithful heavenly warriors who take our part in the battle with the dragon and his angels. Without this glorious army, the battle would quickly be lost. The Lord's promise to Nathanael is his promise to us. We will see with eyes of faith how the angels of God travel to heaven with our urgent petitions and come down to earth with the Lord’s powerful response to our every need. At every Mass we gather with Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael, and all the heavenly hosts to proclaim the endless song of the Banquet of the Lamb, "Holy, holy, holy LORD God of hosts!"

The Book of Revelation tells the story of the ultimate war, indeed, the war to end all wars. The huge dragon, also known as Satan or the Devil, was quite successful in deceiving the whole world. Such duplicity means only one thing that he must be thrown down to earth along with all his dark angelic forces. This apocalyptic battle has been seen on screen, both film and television; it has been written about for centuries; it has captivated the imagination of generations. However, often we witness the battle, but fail to hear the loud voice in heaven crying out: "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed." This is the truly good news for all to hear, but Satan never hears it. He continues to abuse and accuse us daily before the throne of God. He may not have a place in the heavens with the other members of the heavenly court, but he continues to strut about the earth looking for someone to devour. The Devil has convenient hearing, and he does not want to hear the good news anyway. However, he cannot deter us from heaven if only we hear the good news and wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The victory has been accomplished in the outpouring of the precious blood of the Lamb. The ultimate victory belongs to God and to the Lamb, but the last one to hear this will be Satan and his minions. It's not that they can't hear; they do not want to hear. Sometimes that's our problem too.

The Lord Jesus finds no duplicity, no guile, in Nathanael, the true child of Israel. The true child of the one who struggled with divine and human beings, but he was victorious. We, too, are victorious when we are without guile and we have no duplicity. Indeed, we share with Nathanael the vision of the angels and archangels ascending and descending on the Son of Man. We see the stairway to heaven, the cross of Christ, crowded with those who have missions to us coming down from heaven and with those who are caught-up in the search for the One who has found us under our fig trees and called us to see greater things with Nathanael and all the saints in glory. What are these greater things? Perhaps these greater things are the mysteries of earthly goods, bread and wine, becoming the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus, the True Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. It is just such a vision that keeps us focused and moving through the cross into the glory.