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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/7875773.stm

Published: 2009/02/07 04:24:06 GMT

© BBC MMIX

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