Prayer Request

For the mother of Fr. Augustine, a young Cistercian priest and friend of ours. She was in surgery for five hours on Monday and remains in the ICU today. This was all very sudden and scary for her and the family. I know that Fr. Augustine, his father and his two brothers would appreciate any and all prayers you could offer on his mother's behalf. Thank you!

St. Monica, patron of mothers, pray for her!
St. Peregrine, pray for her!

Portrait of a First Mass

A joyful tear or two trickled down my cheek as I watched them process. Quickly dabbed away and dealt with. "Understandable," I whispered to myself. People cry at Nuptial Masses all the time, it's the same thing, right? One little unconstrained tear is easily forgiven. After all, we were so delighted for him, for his family, for his community of brothers. He kept his eyes cast down, nervously perhaps, although those who have walked that aisle or stood at it's front waiting to receive the veiled love approaching can understand the multitude of feelings that keep the eyes cast down towards the carpet. Complete confidence emanated from those who have been down this road before, standing watchful behind him, the abbot on his left, the bishop on his right, and all of his brother priests encircling him. He beamed as he fulfilled his vocation on the altar before us, this transformed Alter Christus. We basked in the radiant glow.

...here I will dwell among the children of Israel forever. (Ezekiel 43: 7)

Fr. Bernard gave the homily, as per the young celebrant's request, and in it he noted some similarities between himself and the young man. Both Benjamins of the family, they understood the value of patiently waiting. Father's homily, which was thoughtful, instructive and engaging as always, concluded with a special request. He shared with us his memory of the last time he was in Vienna, standing over the grave in the monastery cemetery behind the apse where the priest who preached at his ordination waited below the cold earth for the Resurrection. He whispered a prayer for his soul and asked for the same consideration one day from this young man. All hope at modest tissue dabbing was lost. The dam breaks and freely flow the salty drops. Beauty such as this isn't just admired, it moves in the depths of your soul.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and justice shall look down from Heaven. (Psalm 85: 11)

Arrayed in white and gold he was positively gleaming. At his side stood the one ordained 13 years ago when my oldest leaped in the womb at his first blessing. He positioned himself close by, supportively pointing the next black line of text out to him, nudging him in the right direction of the red text and whispering encouragement and reassurance. On the other side, a younger brother wore the diagonal stole of a deacon newly on his shoulder, matching the radiant vestments of the one celebrating his first Mass; a foreshadowing that brought a smile to the corner of our mouths. From a junior brother to a senior brother to now a junior father.

...whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matt. 23: 12)

Afterwards, Father gave his first blessing to the bishop, his brother priests and everyone following in line behind them. Like a young groom at his wedding, sustenance was being forced at him from all directions so that he wouldn't pass out from exhaustion. His mother flitted so proudly sharing little details of his ordination that others hadn't witnessed. His papa stood chest out, grinning widely, eyes sparkling. We enjoyed every minute of this special occasion with our friends; disobedient tears of felicity and all.

 

Solemnity of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Memorare of St. Bernard 

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary,

that never was it known 

that any one who fled to thy protection,

implored thy help,

or sought thy intercession, was left unaided.

Inspired with this confidence, I fly unto thee, 

O Virgin of virgins, my Mother, 

to thee I come,

before thee I stand sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate! 

despise not my petitions,

but, in thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

*Today, two young men, who were ordained to the deaconate last year, will be ordained as Cistercian priests along with three more Cistercians ordained to the deaconate. We have had the pleasure of getting to know one of these young men as well as his family in town.

(BigBoy still has hopes to one day ride in the Abbey's elevator with Br. Augustine, when they are both Cistercians. : )

This is Br. Fr. Augustine! I think we're going to need to put a name tag on him to remind us that he is now Father Augustine or Padre Augustine (OW-goose-teen) as he joked. His specialty is languages!

Please join us in offering a prayer of thanksgiving for these humble servants. 

A Prayer for Priests

by the late John J. Cardinal Carberry

Keep them; I pray Thee, dearest Lord.

Keep them, for they are Thine

The priests whose lives burn out before

Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world,

Though from the world apart.

When earthly pleasures tempt, allure--

Shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them and comfort them in hours

Of loneliness and pain,

When all their life of sacrifice

For souls seems but in vain.

Keep them and remember, Lord,

they have no one but Thee.

Yet, they have only human hearts,

With human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host,

That daily they caress;

Their every thought and word and deed,

Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

* The feast of St. Bernard is celebrated as a Solemnity for the Cistercians since he is considered one of their founders.

Vandalism

The broken glass in the foyer made us scratch our heads and wonder at what kind of accident must have occurred. More broken glass behind a statue in the Church told us this was no accident. The lectern was cut in half, separated top from bottom. The three iconic images of the Holy Trinity were now only two. The statue of the Blessed Mother looked altered in her place. The giant stone candelabras on either side of the back altar were gone, smashed and retired to the patio until they could be repaired or replaced. You could see a blackened section of singed carpet where a fire was kindled but thankfully, quickly extinguished. Also thankfully, and most importantly, there was no desecration to the tabernacle or the Precious Body of Our Lord inside it.

At 2am a mad man who had escaped from a mental hospital decided to attack his God and vandalized the monastery chapel where we attend Mass. He broke the glass in the foyer, after first attempting to break into the back of the church and then gained entrance to the chapel. One elderly Cistercian sat alone in the darkened chapel praying through a battle with insomnia. He heard the intruder and rushed as fast as he could to the enclosure... the cloistered part of the monastery where only a special dispensation and a key card gains you access. There he alerted authorities. He was safe, thank you, Lord! The intruder was captured. The Cistercian monks ask for your prayers for this man that he might get the help he needs.  

St. Benedict, pray for them!

Here is a before picture of the back altar area. The statue of the Blessed Mother had been knocked down during the attack and then righted by the brothers in charge of cleaning up. We could tell she had shifted slightly from her usually spot. The two large stone candelabras were gone. The Crucifix hanging above the Blessed Mother was also gone.

You can see the lectern there with the microphone. The top of it was gone while the metal legs and one other board were all that remained. The Cistercians are preparing for an extraordinary 5 ordinations next month (2 priests and 3 deacons) and we hope they will have all the repairs accomplished by then although I am sure that a little vandalism will not sway them from their joyful celebrations!

Please pray...

For Fr. Robert, O. Cist. who is in surgery today and who we hope will be resting as comfortably as he can, back home tonight. Tomorrow is the feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the Cistercian founders and it will also be the day Br. Augustine, BigBoy's favorite brother, makes his final profession of vows. Could you spare a Hail Mary or two for some Cistercians? Thanks!

Firsts and Lasts

As we headed out for Mass yesterday morning, I carried in my heart the intention to pray for the repose of the soul of Ryan Barrett and also the comfort of his family. We arrived at Mass at the monastery at our usual time but were surprised to find both parking lots already overflowing. My usual inclination is to turn and run to find a less crowded Mass closer to home when I see crowds like this, usually assuming that there is something special happening at the Prep School or University across the street, but our hearts were full of intentions today and we had a meeting with our dear friend which could not be postponed so we parked in the grass and climbed the steep steps to the white limestone church at the top of the hill.

The unfamiliar missals in the entrance way explained the flood of vehicles down below. A new Cistercian priest was offering his first Mass in thanksgiving for his ordination and the fulfillment of his vocation. This was truly a special occasion to be shared with friends and family far and near. (And how exciting for Fr. Joseph to be celebrating this special day in the Year for Priests!)

As I realized how special this Mass was, I was reminded of the loving tributes written by Ryan's mother in the past and of his desire to be a priest. How much was his mother looking forward to this day for him? I couldn't help thinking of the simultaneous heartache and consolation to be found in the plans they were probably in the midst of making for celebrating their last Mass with Ryan here on earth.

I was also mentally transported back twelve years ago to the last First Mass this community celebrated for a young former Brother, now Father Paul who invited everyone to receive from him a special blessing. I remembered exactly what I was wearing and Husband's protective presence beside me thanks to the picture our dear friend, Fr. Placid, took of us on that day. However, I needed no photographic reminder to remember the leaps and jumps I felt inside my body when Fr. Paul stretched his hands over me and the tiny Professor inside me made his participation in this celebration known. Yesterday, these thoughts of grief and memories and feelings were too much to contain and so they overflowed down my cheeks in a much less orderly fashion than the cars in the parking lot.

I was able to speak with Fr. Joseph after Mass and ask for his special blessing, the absence of any leaps of joy painfully noticeable to this mother's heart. I also asked him to pray for Ryan's family and for this young man who would never know his own special day such as this one but who we hope will know of greater delights, will know the glory of holding Our Lord in his hands and of being held by Him, and will know the comfort of being in the presence of the Holy Trinity, always and forever.I know that his family has many good friends to support and strengthen them during this time of weakness and pain. I hope that in days to come, they will find even more comfort in the legacy Ryan left behind and the lives he touched.

Feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Yesterday, we were able to attend the profession of vows for some young men of the Cistercian Abbey. The professions are always held on the feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the order's founder. It was a last minute decision we made to go, but I am so glad the kids got to see these young men taking this step towards fulfilling their religious vocations. It gives us great hope for the future of this very special order.

I took some pictures, but they were from a very bad angle and done while trying to entertain a 4 year old during the 2 hour Mass. Yeah. Thank goodness for the cookies and fruit at the reception in the courtyard or I don't think he would have made it!

This was a group of four young men. The two on the outside (one of them can't really be seen in this shot) were making their first profession of vows. They also exchanged their white cintures and scapulars for black ones. The two young men in the middle were renewing their vows. The one without the glasses is BigBoy's favorite brother! Br. Augustine can speak Spanish, hates hissing cockroaches, loves cherry pie and can really rock out on the piano!

May God bring to completion the work he has begun in you.

This young man, Br. Joseph, was making his final profession of vows and will be ordained to the deaconate next month.

What do you ask?
The mercy of God and that of the Order.
What do you ask of God's mercy?
I ask for perseverance in God's service in this monastic community all the days of my life.

Father, pray for me.
Dominus custodiat introitum tuum et exitum tuum ex hoc nunc et usque in saeculum.
May the Lord guard your coming and going from this time forth and for evermore.

The newly professed approaches the Abbot, who clothes him with the white cuculla, the ancient symbol of the Order of Citeaux and the purity of its calling.

May the Lord clothe you with the new man, created in the image of God, in the justice and holiness of Truth. May the ministry which is exhibited outwardly by us be accomplished inwardly by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God bless you Brother Joseph!