Today's Great Silence

(Intro: I really like the quote "My sleep will rouse you from your sleep" in the last paragraph. It really says what Jesus died on the cross and descended into Hell for. He died to give us sinners life.  Being perfect and being God He could have chosen not to die and could have stayed out of Hell, but He did this to save us from eternal suffering.

This would have been an excellent reading for Good Friday, which was yesterday, as well as for Holy Saturday, which is today.

It reminds me of the Apostles' Creed, where it said that Jesus "descended into Hell, On the third day He rose again, ascended into Heaven.

Yesterday was the day He "was crucified, died, and was buried." And He descended into Hell. Tomorrow is Easter, and we will celebrate His Resurrection from the dead. This will be the time that He returned to Heaven and took his seat at the right hand of the Father. Easter is a favorite holiday of mine because of that-not because of the candy, baskets, bunnies, and warmer weather as much as I like them too.)

Something strange is happening -- there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep.

The earth trembled and is still, because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh, and hell trembles with fear.

He has gone to search for our first parent, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow the captives Adam and Eve, he who is both God and the son of Eve.

The Lord approached them bearing the cross, the weapon that had won him the victory. At the sight of him, Adam -- the first man he had created -- struck his breast in terror and cried out to everyone, "My Lord be with you all."

Christ answered him: "And with your spirit." He took him by the hand and raised him up, saying, "Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light. I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. Out of love for you and for your descendants, I now by my own authority command all who are held in bondage to come forth, all who are in darkness to be enlightened, all who are sleeping to arise. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be held a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead. Rise up, work of my hands, you who were created in my image. Rise, let us leave this place, for you are in me, and I am in you; together we form only one person and we cannot be separated.

"For your sake I, your God, became your son; I, the Lord, took the form of a slave; I, whose home is above the heavens, descended to the earth and beneath the earth. For your sake, for the sake of man, I became like a man without help, free among the dead. For the sake of you who left a garden, I was betrayed in a garden, and I was crucified in a garden.

"See on my face the spit I received in order to restore to you the life I once breathed into you. See there the marks of the blows I received in order to refashion your warped nature in my image. On my back see the marks of the scourging I endured to removed the burden of sin that weighs upon your back. See my hands, nailed firmly to a tree, for you who once stretched out your hand to a tree.

"I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side for you who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side has healed the pain in yours. My sleep will rouse you from your sleep in hell. The sword that pierced me has sheathed the sword that was turned against you.

"Rise. Let us leave this place. The enemy led you out of the earthly paradise. I will not restore you to that paradise, but I will enthrone you in heaven. I forbade you the tree that was only a symbol of life, but see! I who am life itself am now one with you. I appointed cherubim to guard you as slaves are guarded, but now I make them worship you as God. The throne formed by cherubim awaits you, its bearers swift and eager. The bridal changer is adorned, the banquet is ready, the eternal dwelling places are prepared, the treasure houses of all good things lie open. The kingdom of heaven has been prepared for you from all eternity."

ascribed to Saint Epiphanios of Cyprus

circa 4th century

Fr. Robert Fromageot, FSSP to be on EWTN

By FSSP on October 29, 2009

Fr. Fromageot, FSSP of Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska will be appearing on EWTN’s Life on the Rock with Father Mark Mary and Doug Barry.

Father will be discussing Gregorian Chant and how it helps the liturgy fulfill its twofold end; namely, the worship of God and the sanctification of souls.

Channel: EWTN Global Catholic Network
Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009
Time: 8:00PM

About EWTN:
EWTN Global Catholic Network, in its 28th year, is available in over 150 million television households in more than 140 countries and territories. With its direct broadcast satellite television and radio services, AM & FM radio networks, worldwide short-wave radio station, Internet website www.ewtn.com and publishing arm, EWTN is the largest religious media network in the world.

For more information, go to:
http://www.ewtn.com/rock/index.asp

There is a DVD on how to say the Traditional Latin Mass (EF) available for priests and seminarians interested in learning how to say this Mass. Currently it is available in English and Spanish & will be available in additional languages.

http://www.fsspdvd.com/>

St. Elizabeth of Hungary

9 St. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231)

In her short life Elizabeth manifested such great love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order. The daughter of the King of Hungary, Elizabeth chose a life of penance and asceticism when a life of leisure and luxury could easily have been hers. This choice endeared her in the hearts of the common people throughout Europe. At the age of 14 Elizabeth was married to Louis of Thuringia (a German principality), whom she deeply loved; she bore three children. Under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan friar, she led a life of prayer, sacrifice and service to the poor and sick. Seeking to become one with the poor, she wore simple clothing. Daily she would take bread to hundreds of the poorest in the land, who came to her gate. After six years of marriage, her husband died in the Crusades, and she was grief-stricken. Her husband’s family looked upon her as squandering the royal purse, and mistreated her, finally throwing her out of the palace. The return of her husband’s allies from the Crusades resulted in her being reinstated, since her son was legal heir to the throne. In 1228 Elizabeth joined the Secular Franciscan Order, spending the remaining few years of her life caring for the poor in a hospital which she founded in honor of St. Francis. Elizabeth’s health declined, and she died before her 24th birthday in 1231. Her great popularity resulted in her canonization four years later. Comment: Elizabeth understood well the lesson Jesus taught when he washed his disciples' feet at the Last Supper: The Christian must be one who serves the humblest needs of others, even if one serves from an exalted position. Of royal blood, Elizabeth could have lorded it over her subjects. Yet she served them with such a loving heart that her brief life won for her a special place in the hearts of many. Elizabeth is also an example to us in her following the guidance of a spiritual director. Growth in the spiritual life is a difficult process. We can play games very easily if we don't have someone to challenge us or to share experiences so as to help us avoid pitfalls. Quote: "Today, there is an inescapable duty to make ourselves the neighbor of every individual, without exception, and to take positive steps to help a neighbor whom we encounter, whether that neighbor be an elderly person, abandoned by everyone, a foreign worker who suffers the injustice of being despised, a refugee, an illegitimate child wrongly suffering for a sin of which the child is innocent, or a starving human being who awakens our conscience by calling to mind the words of Christ: 'As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me' (Matthew 25:40)" (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 27, Austin Flannery translation).

(This entry appears in the print edition of Saint of the Day.) Elizabeth of Hungary has been a favorite Saint of mine since I was in college. I was considering becoming a Sister and sending away for information on different communities. The one which interested me the most was the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Elizabeth-or FSSE. And I was very curious which St. Elizabeth it was. I already knew about two Saints by that name-Mother Seton and the mother of John the Baptist. While dusting the bookshelves at the college library I found a book on a St. Elizabeth of Hungary. I wrote to the vocation director of the FSSE's to ask them which St. Elizabeth it was. It was Elizabeth of Hungary. Ever since I found out about her, I admired her for her life of voluntary poverty and caring for the poor and sick during her final years. The way she was treated by her husband's family reminded me of the way St. Francis was treated by his father for his generosity. I see a lot of St. Francis in her. During Father's Confirmation class I've heard him mention both a St. Elizabeth of Hungary and a St. Elizabeth of Portugal. I told him about my interest in religious life-especially this particular community. Since Father has the initials FSSP after his name I mentioned that I could have had a similar set of initials after mine. In fact, I've caught myself many times typing out "FSSE" instead of "FSSP" when referring to the priests of his community and having to hit the backspace bar to correct it. What a small world!

No Altar Girls ?

I found what was supposed to be a link to an article in ZENIT about why girls can't be "altar boys" at the Extraordinary Form of the Mass-or what I call the Tridentine or Traditional Latin Mass. But I couldn't find the article itself.

I noticed that there were always men and boys-no women or girls-at the altar-assisting Father at the Mass. Of course, it wasn't until the 80's or 90s that I've seen the girls serving-long after Vatican II.

But I have found another article on that site in favor of all male servers.

ZE04020323 - 2004-02-03
Permalink: http://www.zenit.org/article-9302?l=english

Female Altar Servers

ROME, FEB. 3, 2004 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.

Q: What is the Church's position on the use of female altar servers? May all of the servers be female, or must at least one be male? Do you feel that the use of female altar servers detracts from the building of vocations among young males? -- M.C.S.N., Catonsville, Maryland

A: Female altar servers are permitted in all but two U.S. dioceses. They are also common in most English-speaking countries, and in Western Europe. The situation is patchier in the rest of the world, going from total absence to the occasional diocese that allows them.

From the point of view of liturgical law, an official interpretation of Canon 230, Paragraph 2, of the Code of Canon law on the possibility of delegating certain liturgical offices led to a 1994 letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments clarifying that girls may serve at the altar. But bishops are not bound to permit them to do so, nor could the episcopal conference limit the bishop's faculty to decide for himself.

A further clarifying letter published in 2001 said priests are not compelled to have girls serve at the altar, even when their bishops grant permission.

The 1994 letter states: "It will always be very appropriate to follow the noble tradition of having boys serve at the altar. As is well known, this has led to a reassuring development of priestly vocations. Thus the obligation to support such groups of altar boys will always continue."

The letter also recommends to bishops to consider "among other things the sensibilities of the faithful, the reasons which would motivate such permission and the different liturgical settings and congregations which gather for the Holy Mass."

Therefore the Holy See's recommendation is to retain as far as possible the custom of having only boys as servers. But it leaves to the bishop the choice of permitting women and girls for a good reason and to the pastor of each parish the decision as to whether to act on the bishop's permission.

It is important not to focus this debate using political categories such as rights, equality, discrimination, etc., which only serves to fog the issue. We are dealing with the privilege of serving in an act of worship to which nobody has any inherent rights.

The question should be framed as to what is best for the good of souls in each diocese and parish. It is thus an eminently pastoral and not an administrative decision, and this is why it should be determined at the local level.

Among the pastoral factors to be weighed is the obvious yet often forgotten fact that boys and girls are different and require different motivational and formative methods.

This difference means that both boys and girls usually go through a stage when they tend to avoid common activities.

Preteen boys in particular are very attracted to activities that cater especially for them, and they tend to reject sharing activities with girls.

They also tend to have a greater need for such structured activities than girls who are usually more mature and responsible at this stage of life.

As a result, some parishes have found that the introduction of girl servers has led to a sharp drop-off of boys offering to serve. Once the boys have left and enter the years of puberty, it is difficult to bring them back.

Some pastors say this phenomenon is less marked where serving at Mass forms part of a wider Catholic structure, such as a school, or when siblings serve together.

It is also true that groups of boy servers have fostered vocations to the priesthood. But to be fair, this usually happens within a broader culture of openness to a vocation in which other elements come into play, such as the example and spiritual guidance given by good priests, and family support.

If, for example, a long-established program of boy servers has proved successful in promoting vocations or has been useful in helping boys avoid bad company and maintain the state of grace, then the good of souls obliges pastors to weigh heavily the spiritual risks involved in abandoning it.

When girls do serve, it is probably best to aim for a mixture of boys and girls -- if only to avoid giving the impression to the congregation that Catholicism is above all a female activity. On some occasions, however, it might be best to separate boys and girls into different groups.

It is very difficult to lay down precise rules in a matter like this since the situation may vary widely between parishes. And it is not unknown to have sharp differences among the faithful who assist at different Masses at the same parish.

+PAX


Lord, help us all as You know and will. God's will is best. All is mercy and
grace. God is never absent, praise Him! Thanks so much. JL

March 9, July 9, November 8
Chapter 31: What Kind of Man the Cellarer of the Monastery Should Be

Above all things let him have humility;
and if he has nothing else to give
let him give a good word in answer
for it is written,
"A good word is above the best gift" (Eccles. 18:17).

Let him have under his care
all that the Abbot has assigned to him,
but not presume to deal with what he has forbidden him.

Let him give the brethren their appointed allowance of food
without any arrogance or delay,
that they may not be scandalized,
mindful of the Word of God as to what he deserves
"who shall scandalize one of the little ones" (Matt 18:6).

If the community is a large one,
let helpers be given him,
that by their assistance
he may fulfill with a quiet mind the office committed to him.
The proper times should be observed
in giving the things that have to be given
and asking for the things that have to be asked for,
that no one may be troubled or vexed in the house of God.

REFLECTION

"A good word is above the best gift." This applies to us all and it
is so very true. I know we have bad days, I know that sometimes
emotions can all but overpower us, but for the most part, the self-
discipline to say something nice, or at least to refrain from saying
anything harsh, is available and ought to be employed.

One good word, one kind, caring phrase, can change a person's whole
day, whole outlook on a given matter, and sometimes even change another's
whole life. One word can be remembered for years, for decades, for a
lifetime. Unfortunately, this is equally true if the word was hurtful.

The power of the tongue, an awesome, wondrous power to foster growth
or stunt it, to expand or contract the heart of the hearer, this
power is not the cellarer's alone, it belongs to us all. The tongue
can figuratively kill, it can distance others from us, leaving us
finally alone with the predictable isolation of our crankiness.

It can ruin lives, others' and our own. Very often the harsh word is
the one never forgotten, the word whose hurt will surface years and
years after its speaker is off the scene. Think carefully of the harsh
words you recall being said to you, then think with double caution
about joining those "unforgettable" ranks by saying such hurtful
things to others.

Yet there is a further and even more treacherous trap of the hurtful
word: it is cyclical evil. It tempts the one hurt to rehearse all
kinds of comebacks, to hurt the one who hurt first. Never doubt that
when we provoke others to sin we share in their guilt.

Even if, by dint of grace, those hurtful replies are never uttered by the one
we have hurt, great harm is done to another's heart, another's peace,
another's life in the time wasted focusing on the hurt and plotting revenge.
It can also tempt another to throw in the towel, to quit altogether, to remove
oneself from whatever the situation of vulnerability to attack, whether that
be a job, a marriage or a monastery.

Those feelings of flee or fight are triggered by adrenalin, to be
sure, which makes them natural enough, but also very difficult to
combat. Our smart aleck mouths can place another in a painful morass
of flee/fight tortures that we may never know about at all. If they
triumph through grace, we never hear any more of what they suffered,
but their suffering is no less real and no less surely laid at our
own feet.

How many times are we surprised at what another remembers us having
said (even good stuff!) or the details about a shared day that stand
out in one mind and not in another? Be very, very careful of the
memories we give to others. Those memories will live in their minds,
continuing to potentially cause good or evil, long after we are gone.
Not for nothing did St. James assert that if we have religion and
bridle not our tongues, our "religion is in vain." Truly,
truly, "death and life are in the power of the tongue."

A last caution: if you are the recipient of harsh words, try hard to
make yourself a beneficiary, not a victim. Hurt can focus far too
much on our own imagined worth and importance. Learn the treasure
of a humility that can thrive on the correct management of such situations
and feelings. Don't obsess, don't focus on revenge or compose an
equally cruel comeback. We can waste hours rehearsing comeback
lines for situations that never arise. Time is too precious for that!

Face it, roles change. Some days we are the statue, others we are the
pigeons. Everything comes to us as a means for grace, but also as a
possible means for a fall. Choose grace. Minimize the situation rather than
magnify it. That can make a huge difference!

Love and prayers,

Jerome, OSB
http://www.stmarysmonastery. org
Petersham, MA

Should Monks Have Anything of Their Own?

+ Please pray the Divine Mercy will shine upon all those who have taken their own lives. +

Chapter 33: Whether Monks Ought to Have Anything of Their Own
Mar. 11 - July 11 - Nov. 10
This vice especially is to be cut out of the monastery by the roots. Let no one presume to give or receive anything without the Abbot's leave, or to have anything as his own-- anything whatever, whether book or tablets or pen or whatever it may be-- since they are not permitted to have even their bodies or wills at their own disposal; but for all their necessities let them look to the Father of the monastery. And let it be unlawful to have anything which the Abbot has not given or allowed. Let all things be common to all, as it is written (Acts 4:32), and let no one say or assume that anything is his own. But if anyone is caught indulging in this most wicked vice, let him be admonished once and a second time. If he fails to amend, let him undergo punishment.


A FEW THOUGHTS

As I quoted the other day, "Wantin' ain't needin!" Monastics with a good Abbot/ess may not have much of a problem with excessive consumerism although pride of ownership could possibly still become a problem. But it is the "excess" implied in both this instruction and in the Black Letter that is a little troublesome for me. Exactly how much can a soul use or waste before she/he becomes "excessive"?

I know a very saintly monk who spent a long time gazing at his towel
and thinking, "I'd like to have a new one". It wasn't a rag of a towel. No indeed, it showed a little wear but was certainly serviceable. But he'd had that particular towel for such a very long time! It had certainly fulfilled it duty well but the fact was that he had just grown tired of looking at that same old towel.

As he gazed at the towel hanging there, he was undecided exactly what he should do....so, as was his habit, he prayed about it. He thought and he prayed.... he thought and he prayed... and as he prayed he looked at the towel. The more he prayed and the more he thought, the more guilty he began to feel about the "wanting" of a new towel. "After all", he reasoned, "Some people have no towel at all! How selfish of me!"

Much to his credit he never progressed to the point of actually asking for a new towel because he said he finally realized, "It really is still a perfectly good towel and probably has a lot of service left in it. How greedy and silly of me to want a new one when so many have so little."

Isn't that beautiful! And every word is true. Now that is what anti-consumerism is all about. I like to think I do my part to be a faithful steward of God's stuff but if I had one tenth of that good monk's attitude I'd be a contented soul. We must all beware of the pride of ownership.

Granted Oblates must have stewardship over the things necessary to
get to work, clothe our families, provide nutritious food and all the
stuff we need to live in the world. But we are called to be *in* the
world not *of* the world. Serve and worship God or mammon; we can't
do both! Jesus told us that, Beloveds!

See... I don't think it's just being a little more careful with the water or the gas (both kinds) or the electricity or all the hundred and one disposable goods we use every day.

It's not starting from 100 and reducing by one or two. It's the attitude of starting from zero and keeping the count as close to zero as possible that I'm speaking of.

Perhaps Oblates, "living away from home", can't be quite that minimalist but you get the idea. It's all in the attitude and the commitment. Personally I think the idea of two pair of trousers our good Brother Jerome mentioned is right on the money and I did it myself for a very long time. The I cut the the choice in half..... sort of. I still have two pair of trousers. I have a black pair of trousers and I have... another black pair of trousers. I have more shirts than I have trousers though! They run the color spectrum from black to.....well, black.

I wasn't always like that. I had the closet packed at one time but, thank God, He blessed me with an appreciation for the "less is more" attitude quite some time ago. As far as clothes go, anyway. I would never deprive my wife or family of anything they think is necessary but, for myself, I keep life as simple as I can.

Well, I'm going to Mass now....time to change clothes....this is the week for my black trousers and shirt.

Conservation in the Community-The Tools and Property of the Monastery

Chapter 32: On the Tools and Property of the Monastery
Mar. 10 - July 10 - Nov. 9
For the care of the monastery's property in tools, clothing and other articles let the Abbess appoint sisters on whose manner of life and character she can rely; and let her, as she shall judge to be expedient, consign the various articles to them, to be looked after and to be collected again. The Abbess shall keep a list of these articles, so that as the sisters succeed one another in their assignments she may know what she gives and what she receives back.

If anyone treats the monastery's property in a slovenly or careless way, let her be corrected. If she fails to amend, let her undergo the discipline of the Rule.


A FEW THOUGHTS.... .

First, let's agree on the basic fact that all Creation belongs to His Majesty. He created it, keeps it in existence and, in the case of sentient beings, will be the Ultimate Judge of our use of it.

Second, that we are merely stewards of God's creation and not the owners of anything. Things in our sphere of influence we temporarily have the use of by God's Bounty.

Third, at the JUDGMENT (our own personal or the general) God will require an account of not only our every word, of how we treated others (practiced charity -- Matt 12: 36), but there will also be an accounting of how well we took care of His "stuff". See the similarity of returning things to the Abbot/less or Cellarer here? Except, of course, for the scope and the consequences of our judgment!

Two old sayings, the first by a tobacco chewing foreman on a dairy farm about 50 years: "Wantin' ain't needin' "; The other by an old Captain of ships in Maine, "Use it up or wear it out; make it do or do without." Both of these wise souls had the right idea about excessive, needless consumerism as far as I'm concerned. But that's a hard sell in a country where there is too much of everything. Where TV shopping channels build vast commercial empires by PUSHING consumerism.

A missionary once told me that a great many of the souls he served in India had never seen a bar of soap in their entire lives. Wouldn't know one if they saw one! There were many who were born, lived a long hard life and then died never having had a roof over their head for one moment.

Want to make a difference. It's pretty simple and you don't have to join the Peace Corp to accomplish it. Turn the water off in the sink while you brush your teeth. If you already do, let me congratulate you! Do you let clean water run from the tap while you are washing dishes instead of only when you are rinsing dishes? Millions of people waste thousands of gallons of potable water every day doing this out of habit. How about the "porcelain throne".... a very personal issue I know but do we really have to flush every single time if there is no solid waste .... okay 'nuf said on that subject.

Millions of souls go to sleep without food or water every night. Will the water you save help them? Probably not, directly. But you won't be guilty of wasting God's water, either. And, you will be contributing your effort to solving the problem. If we all contribute a little bit it will begin to add up. Who knows what affect we can make with something so simple. You know the oceans are composed of DROPS of water.

Most of us have way too much "stuff" already and a some of us spend
most of our time trying to get even more! Jesus asks,"Why build up treasure where thieves break in and steal. Rather build up treasure in your Father's kingdom." Being a faithful steward can build up heavenly treasure.

If you start in small ways and make it a habit, you will begin to discover more ways to conserve. How many sheets of paper do we throw away because of a single mistake at the top of the sheet? How much food do we waste or throw out without a thought? Do we plan trips to the stores where we shop so we don't waste more gas than necessary? It will save you time as well as gas! I worked around 18 wheelers for years and have always tried to persuade drivers to turn off their rigs rather than let them idle for HOURS. If we are truly God's people we must be aware of the unconscionable waste of resources we participate in every day.

Once while washing dishes I used the last drops of my bottle of Dawn,
closed the cap and set it aside to recycle after the dishes were finished. Since my hand were slippery I propped the bottle upside down in a corner of the counter and went about washing the dishes and cleaning the sink. Later when I went to recycle the empty bottle of Dawn I found that enough dish soap to wash two more loads had drained into the neck of what had looked like a totally empty bottle! And after that, you can run hot water into the empty bottle itself, shake it up and get enough soapy water to do few more cups or plates. If you haven't tried it, Beloveds, please do so. What a simple yet wonderfully effective way to conserve.

Please, don't waste HIS stuff! He will be asking for an accounting one of these days!


Our main function as Oblates is to pray for a world that has refused to pray for itself. (Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB, Rector, St. Meinrad School of Theology.)


To love is to labor, to detach and strip oneself for God's sake, of all that is not God. (SJC)


Much love and Many Prayers.....