Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. Take some time today to click through the website from Lourdes, France, and specifically - read the messages. This page will take you to an account of each of the apparitions and messages. Use the sidebar to navigate the site. They have a provision for webcams too, so if you tune in later you may be able to watch the candlelight procession.
O ever-Immaculate Virgin, Mother of Mercy,
health of the sick, refuge of sinners,
comforter of the afflicted,
you know my wants, my troubles, my sufferings;
look with mercy on me.
By appearing in the Grotto of Lourdes,
you were pleased to make it a privileged sanctuary,
whence you dispense your favors;
and already many sufferers have obtained
the cure of their infirmities, both spiritual and corporal.
I come, therefore, with complete confidence
to implore your maternal intercession.
Obtain, O loving Mother, the grant of my requests.
Through gratitude for your favors,
I will endeavor to imitate your virtues,
that I may one day share your glory. Amen.
Today is also world day of the sick. Go to this page at the Vatican to read the Holy Father's message for 2012 in one of many languages. For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog
Update:Links added at bottom and, there is a Pontifical Solemn High Mass for the feast of Candlemas at the Church of the Ephiphany in Miami, Florida which will be carried live, online at 7:30 PM EST. More on this Mass at New Liturgical Movement, as well.
Assumption Grotto traditionally provides blessed candles after all Masses on this day.
From Scripture...
(Luke 2:22-35) When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples. And His father and His mother marveled at what was said about Him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed."
Here is what is in the Office of Readings for today. The second reading is from a sermon by Saint Sophronius, bishop
In honor of the divine mystery that we celebrate today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light.
Our lighted candles are a sign of the divine splendor of the one who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of his eternal light. Our candles also show how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.
The Mother of God, the most pure Virgin, carried the true light in her arms and brought him to those who lay in darkness. We too should carry a light for all to see and reflect the radiance of the true light as we hasten to meet him.
The light has come and has shone upon a world enveloped in shadows; the Dayspring from on high has visited us and given light to those who lived in darkness. This, then, is our feast, and we join in procession with lighted candles to reveal the light that has shone upon us and the glory that is yet to come to us through him. So let us hasten all together to meet our God.
The true light has come, the light that enlightens every man who is born into this world. Let all of us, my brethren, be enlightened and made radiant by this light. Let all of us share in its splendor, and be so filled with it that no one remains in the darkness. Let us be shining ourselves as we go together to meet and to receive with the aged Simeon the light whose brilliance is eternal. Rejoicing with Simeon, let us sing a hymn of thanksgiving to God, the Father of the light, who sent the true light to dispel the darkness and to give us all a share in his splendor.
Through Simeon’s eyes we too have seen the salvation of God which he prepared for all the nations and revealed as the glory of the new Israel, which is ourselves. As Simeon was released from the bonds of this life when he had seen Christ, so we too were at once freed from our old state of sinfulness.
By faith we too embraced Christ, the salvation of God the Father, as he came to us from Bethlehem. Gentiles before, we have now become the people of God. Our eyes have seen God incarnate, and because we have seen him present among us and have mentally received him into our arms, we are called the new Israel. Never shall we forget this presence; every year we keep a feast in his honor.
More to read on the Presentation (Candelmas) and the Feast of St. Blase:
Watch this page at Vatican.va for full text of the words of the Holy Father from the Solemn Vespers service for the Presentation
The catafalque is seen in the foreground. It is a structure much like a casket, used on All Souls in the Traditional Latin Mass
The pews at Assumption Grotto parish were about 2/3 full for the 7:00 pm All Souls Day Mass (Solemn High Mass; 1962 Misal), which featured an orchestra Mass, conducted by Fr. Perrone. It was the Faure Requiem.
Here are a few shots from the evening.
Sisters in deep prayer at the Mass
The celebrant listens to the Gospel
Elevation of the Body of Christ
Elevation of the Precious Blood
This young man sang a solo for the first time during Communion. He had good teachers in his family and in Fr. Perrone
The Mass ended, and the prayers at the catafalque began. The catafalque is basically a structure or empty casket which reminds us of the souls in purgatory.
An Angel Frees the Souls of Purgatory | Lodovico Carracci | c. 1610
Re-posting from the other day.
This Tuesday is All Saints, and it is a holy day of obligation. Mass times at Assumption Grotto will be as on Sundays (6:30 am, 9:30 am, Noon), and there will be a 7:00 pm, as well.
Also, Wednesday is All Souls. It is not a holy day of obligation, but in your charity for the suffering souls in purgatory, it is merciful to assist at holy Mass if you can. Fr. Perrone speaks about all of this in the bulletin for October 30, which is now online (and copied below).
Another point of interest for All Souls at Assumption Grotto is that the Assumption Grotto choir and small orchestra will sing the Faure Requiem. Fr. Perrone explains more below. From his column:
I made reference a couple weeks back to a book of Catholic piety from the nineteenth century, THE GOLDEN MANUAL, commending it and using it as a yardstick to indicate how limp we moderns have become in spiritual zeal.
As the month of November is now about to open with its theme of praying for the faithful departed (that is, not just all the dead, but for the Christian dead), I thought it opportune to quote from the brief entry it owns for All Souls Day, November 2.
“To pray for the dead is a pious duty which the Church authorizes and which she has always religiously practiced. Her intention on this day is that the faithful should offer up their prayers to God for the repose and happiness of all their departed brethren; that their supplications should be accompanied with alms-deeds, mortification, and other works of satisfaction which will make them more efficacious; and lastly, that they will reflect upon their own exit from the world, which will induce them to be more careful in avoiding sin and performing the duties of a Christian life.” (emphasis added).
In another place of this fine book there are found litanies pertaining to the dead: two litanies for the faithful departed and a Litany for the Souls in Purgatory. Too bad space does not permit me to reprint them for you. I will try to have some copies of at least one of them in the church for you on All Souls Day (about which more’s to follow).
First there is Tuesday, All Saints Day. You must hear Mass that day. Our parish Mass schedule will be as on a Sunday(6:30, 9:30; noon) with an evening Mass at 7:00 p.m.
Conquering the fear of redundancy, I specify for you once again this year some particulars on prayers for the faithful departed All Souls Day and on the first eight days of November. Here we go, beginning with the latter.
You may gain a plenary indulgence for the dead once a day on each of the days from November 1st through the 8th by visiting a Catholic cemetery. On such visits one needs only pray there for the faithful departed, if only mentally. (It would be well, of course, to pray some memorized prayers or special prayers for the dead found in a prayer book). Then the other conditions must also be met (see below). On any other days, such visits to a cemetery with prayers for the dead gain a partial indulgence for the dead.
On All Souls Day, November 2, a plenary indulgence may be gained for the faithful departed if one would visit the church on that day (Mass attendance would be ideal). The specified prayers in the church are an Our Father and a Creed (presumably either the Apostles Creed or the Sunday Nicene Creed are permitted).
For an indulgence to be Plenary (that is, complete), as opposed to Partial, these things must apply: the person performing the plenary indulgence must be in a state of grace and have no attachment even to a venial sin (for which an Act of Contrition would be the remedy); one must go to sacramental confession (within a span, before or after, of a few days); the reception of Holy Communion (preferably on the day the indulgence is gained); and some prayer(s) for the intentions of the Pope (also best done on the very day; for this an Our Father and Hail Mary suffices.
A catafalque at Ss. Trinita in Rome (Ss. Trinita in Rome - Image by John Sonnen)
If you are interestested in the CD of the Faure Requiem previously recorded and cannot make it to the Grotto gift shop after the 9:30 or Noon Mass, or during the week after most morning Masses, call the gift shop between 8:30 - 9:00 am. (313) 332-4432
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Today is the Feast of the Holy Rosary, and also a day in which we recall the Our Lady of Victory at the great battle of Lepanto. Fr. Angelo at Mary Victrix made an excellent post on this which I brought to you previously. If you read it before, read it again - today.
On this, the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi let us suspend for a moment thoughts about his interesting relationship with animals and learn from him, something about prayer and devotion.
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Many in our secular society cannot imagine why a man or a woman would enter consecrated life. It's even more unthinkable that they would enter a cloister or monastery with little or no chance of leaving their dwelling once they walk through the doors.
Many Catholics today cannot understand this concept of being locked away in prayer. They wonder what purpose it serves. They think that such people could be contributing something greater to society by helping the poor, for example. Through a worldly lens, a cloister makes no sense; however, through the lens of faith in God, it makes perfect sense. Any bishop worth his salt, would want such a prayer powerhouse in his diocese, and the people would do well to provide them with support.
But prayer - even contemplative prayer, is not something meant only for a cloister or monastery. People complained about how much time Mother Teresa spent in prayer, yet she probably did more to meet the corporal and spiritual needs of the poorest of the poor in a month than many do in a lifetime. She said,
"Jesus made Himself the bread of life to give us life. That's where we begin the day, with Mass. And we end the day with Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I don't think that I could do this work for even one week if I didn't have four hours of prayer every day."
People often think of the prayer as the time when we ask God for something. We call this the prayer of petition. However, few consider the prayer of adoration, where we love God with our being, adoring him, strictly for His sake. A small child will often express love for a parent spontaneously with a hug, or for an extended period of time, just content to snuggle. For those of you who are parents, you know how delightful this is, especially when the child looks for nothing, but wants only to express love for you. This is pure because it seeks nothing.
Reparation is a word which is rarely heard today. It needs to be taught. Learning what the Church teaches about reparation motivates us to make prayers and acts of reparation. Before I share a story about St. Francis and prayer, I want to offer this explanation from the Catholic Encyclopedia:
We are restored to grace through the merits of Christ's Death, and that grace enables us to add our prayers, labours, and trials to those of Our Lord "and fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ" (Colossians 1:24). We can thus make some sort of reparation to the justice of God for our own offences against Him, and by virtue of the Communion of the Saints, the oneness and solidarity of the mystical Body of Christ, we can also make satisfaction and reparation for the sins of others.
St. Francis loved to suffer because he understood the redemptive qualities it could have when prayers and sacrifices were humbly offered with this intention.
This story I am sharing comes from the Omnibus of the Sources for the Life of St. Francis, which is a collection of the most famous works by, and on, St. Francis, now bound in two volumes. It comes specifically from the Legend of Perugia, No. 71. While he is speaking about the religious brothers here, some of what he says applies to anyone, lay or religious. Read carefully, emphasis mine in bold:
Eloquence and Prayer
(71) He also said: "There are many brothers who day and night put all their energy and all their attention into the pursuit of knowledge, thereby abandoning prayer and their holy vocation. And when they have preached to a few men or to the people, and learn that certain ones were edified or converted to penance through their discourse, they are puffed up and pride themselves on the results and work of others. For, those whom they think they edified or converted to penance by their discourse were actually edified or converted by God through the prayers of the holy brothers who are completely ignorant of it; God wishes it this way for fear it should be grounds for pride for them. Behold my Knights of the Round Table: the brothers who hide in abandoned and secluded places to devote themselves with more fervor to prayer and meditation, to weep over their sins and those of others. Their holiness is known to God, but most often unknown to the brothers and to men. When their souls will be presented to the Lord by the angels, the Lord will reveal the effect and reward of their labors, that is to say, the host of souls saved by their prayrs. And he will say to them: 'My sons, see the souls saved by your prayers; since you were faithful in small things, I will trust you with greater.'"
I think there is much to reflect on here, especially with how we approach our chosen apostolates. While some can put too much into pursuing knowledge, to the near exclusion of prayer and silence before the Lord, we can also do the same with our "activism". No matter how noble the cause, the saints have shown us our human efforts are no match for what it takes to really save souls. It all must be coupled with prayer.
St. Francis of Assisi also had a great devotion to the holy angels. From the same "omnibus" (Celano, Second Life):
(197) Francis venerated with a very great affection the angels who are with us in our struggle and who walk in the midst of the shadow of death with us. Such companions who were everywhere with us, he used to say, are to be venerated, such are to be invoked as our guardians. He used to teach that their presence must not be offended, and that we must not presume to do before them what we would not do before men.
I leave you with Andrea Bocelli singing for the Holy Father... Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna
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A scene from the Noon Mass at the outdoor Grotto, which usually has the second-highest attendance for the day.
In this post, I am sharing about 50 of the nearly 200 photos taken. At the bottom is a link to my Smugmug page with the full set of photos.
I have opened the photos up for purchase online through Smugmug, which offers a very good online service. I have a modest markup added to the price and anything received from this will go towards my expenses to maintain that site, which is not free, purchase of additional lenses or replacement parts and equpiment maintenance. I do not recommend going beyond 8 x 10 and when you do choose 5 x 7 or 8 x 10, you will want to note how the photo will be cropped. I believe you have some flexibility here. Most pictures are set for 4 x 6 and some are cropped to other sizes.
Bloggers are free to use some pics on their sites. I ask for a courtesy link back to this post (you can click the title or the timestamp at the bottom for the url).
I normally go to one Mass without taking any pictures (usually the 6:30). But I did not make it there early enough so I went to the 9:30. Realizing it was Fr. Ludwig's first Assumption Day with us, I took three photos, one of which is below.
A photo of the Eucharistic Elevation at the 9:30 a.m. Mass (Ordinary Form in Latin)
The old chasuble (date unknown) is worn by the celebrant of each Mass for the day.
The grotto immediately after the 9:30 a.m. Mass
The Blessed Virgin Mary statue in the grotto, with the glass protector off for the day
The Noon Mass
Priest and altar boys process at the start of the Noon Mass (1962 Missal)
The Noon Mass in progress
The Elevation at the Noon Mass
Kneelers are placed at stations along the brick path.
The statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that will be used in the evening procession
In the mid-afternoon, the Eucharist is taken out to the grotto where Benediction will take place
Grotto's pastor, Fr. Eduard Perrone carrying the monstrance in the Eucharistic procession to the grotto
There were people hard throughout the day...
The spaghetti and meatball dinner always goes over well
A few members of the choir rehearsing before the evening Mass
Young people are always eager to help on Assumption Day at Grotto...
Two helpers
These guys are always doing something just to stay out of trouble
Some of these men of the altar have volunteered at multiple Masses and other devotions, and all the prep in bewteen
Some young people help by providing smiles
The evening Mass begins with the procession in...
Mass begins (Solemn High, 1962 Missal)
The sound had to be managed by someone
Fr. Perrone during his homily
After Mass was over, Fr. Perrone consecrated the parish to Mary
The candlelight procession begins as night falls with everyone singing the Lourdes Hymn, which is printed on the candle shields. On the refrain, all lift their candles for a series of "Ave's"
After the crowd returns to the grotto area, the Blessed Virgin Mary was serenaded in a multitude of languages including Latin, Polish, Italian and German.
, which is a collection of the most famous works by, and on, St. Francis, now bound in two volumes. It comes specifically from the Legend of Perugia, No. 71. While he is speaking about the religious brothers here, some of what he says applies to anyone, lay or religious. Read carefully, emphasis mine in bold:
