CSVF Blog

A Memorial Day Prayer
offered by Pope Benedict XVI
at the Polish Military Cemetery
in Monte Cassino, Italy
May 24, 2009

O God, our Father,
endless source of life and peace,
welcome into Your merciful embrace
the fallen of the war that raged here,
the fallen of all wars that have bloodied the earth.

Grant that they may enjoy the light that does not fail,
which, in the reflection of Your splendor,
illumines the consciences of all men and women of good will.

You, Who in Your Son Jesus Christ gave suffering humanity
a glorious witness of Your love for us,
You, Who in our Lord Christ
gave us the sign of a suffering that is never in vain,
but fruitful in Your redeeming power,
grant those who yet suffer
for the blind violence of fratricidal wars
the strength of the hope that does not fade,
the dream of a definitive civilization of life,
the courage of a real and daily activity of peace.

Give us your Paraclete Spirit
so that the men of our time
may understand that the gift of peace
is much more precious than any corruptible treasure,
and that while awaiting the day that does not end
we are all called to be builders of peace for the future of Your children.

Make all Christians more convinced witnesses of life,
the inestimable gift of Your love,
You Who live and reign for ever and ever.

Amen.

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When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, she cried out and said:
Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

Eternal Father,
you inspired the Virgin Mary, mother of your Son,
to visit Elizabeth and assist her in her need.
Keep us open to the working of your Spirit,
and with Mary may we praise you for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

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Fr. Jones's Homily - May 30, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - May 30, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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The martyrs fixed their eyes on heaven, and cried out in their torments:
Come, Lord, be with us in this hour, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Among the eleven martyrs commemorated this day, three were Dominicans. They were part of a band of preachers whose success at Avignonet, to the southwest of Toulouse, induced a number of Albigensian heretics to ambush the group and treacherously murder them on May 29, 1242.  As they died they gave witness to the faith by singing the Te Deum.  The Dominicans in this group were: Blessed William Arnaud, one of the first Dominicans to be appointed an inquisitor in the diocese of Toulouse; Blessed Bernard of Rochefort, a Dominican priest; and Blessed Garcia d’Aure of Orense, a cooperator brother.

Click here for more on the life and death of Blessed William and his companions.

O God, strength of the faithful,
you led Blessed William and his companions
to offer their lives in the name of Christ
and in obedience to the Church.
By the help of their prayers
may we share with them in the chalice of Christ
and ever grow in your love.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Come, spouse of Christ,
receive the crown the Lord has prepared for you from all eternity, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi was born in Florence on August 15, 1514, and there received the habit of a Sister of Penance in 1547.  For forty-five years she was confined to her bed and with great courage bore the pains she suffered.  By her spirit of faith and acceptance of God’s will, she was able to encourage and console many who came to her.  She died on May 28, 1577, and was buried at the Carmelite monastery in Florence.

Click here for more on the life of Blessed Mary Bartholomew.

O God,
in Blessed Mary Bartholomew
you brought together steadfastness in suffering
and innocence of life.
As we endure many trials
may we be helped by your grace.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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My life is at the service of the Gospel;
God has given me this gift of his grace, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Andrew, a member of the noble Franchi Boccagni family, was born in Pistoia, Italy, in 1335 and at the age of fourteen entered the Order in Florence. He worked to restore regular observance after the plague of the Black Death. As bishop of Pistoia he was an active promoter of peace among the people and was known for his personal austerity and his preaching.  He had a special devotion to the Infant Jesus and his Mother.  He resigned his office in 1400 and retired to the priory of Pistoia where he died on May 26, 1401.

O God,
you made Blessed Andrew excel
in holiness and teaching
and in preaching your word as a good pastor.
By the help of his prayers
may we persevere in your service
and so come to eternal life.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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During yesterday’s General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI concluded his brief examination of the priest’s exercise of the tria munera Christi—the three offices of Christ—by focusing on the pastor’s duty to govern the portion of the Christian flock entrusted to him.  Like many of the texts he composes, the Pope’s reflection is worth a slow and deliberate reading.  His remarks yesterday offer the Church yet another penetrating reflection on priestly life and ministry that cuts through contemporary controversy and sees clearly to the essence of Christ’s priestly grace and its exercise in the Church.  Step by step, the Holy Father carefully leads his reader to a proper understanding of the reason and purpose of the Church’s hierarchical structure, a mystery too often misunderstood today.

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
May 26, 2010

Dear brothers and sisters,

The Year for Priests is coming to an end; that is why in the last catecheses I began to speak about the essential tasks of the priest, namely: to teach, to sanctify and to govern. I have already given two catecheses, one on the ministry of sanctification, above all the sacraments, and one on teaching. Hence, it remains for me today to speak about the mission of the priest to govern, to guide — with the authority of Christ, not his own — the portion of the people that God has entrusted to him.

In contemporary culture, how can such a dimension be understood, involving as it does the concept of authority and with its origin in the Lord’s own mandate to feed his flock? What is authority really for us Christians? The cultural, political and historical experiences of the recent past, above all the dictatorships in Eastern and Western Europe in the 20th century, made contemporary man suspicious in addressing this concept. A suspicion that, not rarely, is expressed in upholding as necessary an abandonment of all authority that does not come exclusively from men and is subject to them, controlled by them. But precisely a glance at the regimes that in the past century sowed terror and death, reminds us forcefully that authority, in every realm, if it is exercised without reference to the Transcendent, if it does away with the supreme Authority, which is God, ends inevitably by turning against man.

Hence, it is important to recognize that human authority is never an end, but always and only a means and that, necessarily and in every age, the end is always the person, created by God with his own intangible dignity and called to relationship with the Creator himself, in the earthly journey of existence and in eternal life. It is an authority exercised in responsibility before God, before the Creator. An authority thus understood, which has as its only objective to serve the true good of persons and to lucidity to the only Supreme Good that is God, not only is not foreign to men but, on the contrary, is a precious help in the journey toward full realization in Christ, toward salvation.

The Church is called and is committed to exercise this type of authority that is service, and she exercises it not in her own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ, who received from the Father all power in heaven and on earth (cf. Matthew 28:18). In fact, Christ feeds his flock through the pastors of the Church: It is he who guides it, protects it, corrects it, because he loves it profoundly.

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O Christ, Good Shepherd,
I thank you for leading me to glory;
I pray that the flock you have entrusted to my care
will share with me in your glory forever, alleluia.

The saint honored by the Church today held together in himself two aspects of the Church’s life that at first glance appear disparate.  As a monk, St. Augustine observed diligently the rigors of the regular life.  He belonged to, and eventually became superior of, St. Andrew’s Monastery in Rome, which had been established by St. Gregory the Great on his family’s estate.  Soon after the monastery’s foundation, Gregory was called from its prayerful silence when elected Bishop of Rome.  Despite the absence of its founder, the monastery continued to flourish, thanks in no small part to the wise leadership of Augustine.  A few years after Gregory’s election as pope, pressed to restore the Island of Britain to the practice of the faith, the saintly pontiff went to his friend, Augustine, and asked him to spearhead a missionary expedition to the Angles.  In so doing, Gregory drew on a truth he discovered in his own life, that the monastery can be an excellent training ground for pastoral activity.

Called therefore from the cloister, Augustine and his companions entered the Church’s mission fields in Britain, where maintaining their monastic disciplines while preaching they converted the Kingdom of Kent and restored southern England to the grace of Catholic faith.  For centuries afterwards, English Catholicism maintained the monastic traditions of its first apostles and thereby witnessed the complementarity of the cloister and the cathedra to the wider Church.

First tried by Gregory the Great, the papacy would employ this missionary strategy again in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by sending Cistercian monks to preach against the Albigensians in France.  As before, this pastoral plan would prove providential.  In the course of their preaching, these evangelical Cistercians were joined by a traveling Spanish canon, Dominic de Guzman, who, drawing from their witness and experience, founded the Order of Preachers in part to provide the Church a more fruitful and permanent experience of the union of contemplation and action in preaching.

For more on the life of St. Augustine of Canterbury and the fruits of his labors in England, click here and here.

Father,
by the preaching of Saint Augustine of Canterbury,
you led the people of England to the gospel.
May the fruits of his work continue in your Church.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works
and give glory to your Father, alleluia.

As a child, St. Philip Neri received his religious formation from the Dominicans of San Marco in his native Florence.  After settling in Rome as a young man, Philip discerned a priestly call from the Lord, and he obediently pursued Holy Orders. Years later, Philip’s fervent care of souls led to his founding of the Congregation of the Oratory.  A kind friend to sinners and saints alike—he was in close contact with Charles Borromeo and Ignatius of Loyola, among others—St. Philip’s long, fruitful, and incredibly joyful priestly life earned him the title “Second Apostle of Rome.”

Perhaps the most famous member of the Oratorians was the nineteenth-century English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman.  In The Idea of a University, Newman wrote admiringly of his spiritual father:

. . . he contemplated as the idea of his mission, not the propagation of the faith, nor the exposition of doctrine, nor the catechetical schools; whatever was exact and systematic pleased him not; he put from him monastic rule and authoritative speech, as David refused the armor of his king…. He came to the Eternal City and he sat himself down there, and his home and his family gradually grew up around him, by the spontaneous accession of materials from without. He did not so much seek his own as draw them to him. He sat in his small room, and they in their gay, worldly dresses, the rich and the wellborn, as well as the simple and the illiterate, crowded into it. In the mid-heats of summer, in the frosts of winter still was he in that low and narrow cell at San Girolamo, reading the hearts of those who came to him, and curing their souls’ maladies by the very touch of his hand…. And they who came remained gazing and listening till, at length, first one and then another threw off their bravery, and took his poor cassock and girdle instead; or, if they kept it, it was to put haircloth under it, or to take on them a rule of life, while to the world they looked as before. (Discourse IX, 9)

Cardinal Newman will be beatified on September 19.

For more on the life and virtue of St. Philip Neri, click here and here.

Father,
you continually raise up your faithful
to the glory of holiness.
In your love
kindle in us the fire of the Holy Spirit
who so filled the heart of Philip Neri.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Eucharistic adoration has been cancelled for Wednesday, May 26th.

The parish’s weekly holy hours will resume on Wednesday, June 2nd.

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Fr. Keitz's Homily - May 23, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Uphold me, Lord, according to your promise, and I shall live;
let my hope in you not be in vain, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Columba was born in Rieti, Italy, in 1467.  She was clothed with the habit of the Sisters of Penance of Rieti.  Following in the footsteps of Saint Catherine of Siena, she showed an admirable charity towards the poor, the sick and the dying.  In Perugia she founded a convent of sisters where she made profession and became prioress in 1490.  There she was noted for her work of reconciliation for which she received the name “Dove of Peace.”  She died there on the feast of the Ascension, May 20, 1501.

For more on the life of Blessed Columba, click here and here.

God of all mercy,
you made Blessed Columba
shine forth by the innocence of her life
and by her zeal for peace.
By the help of her teaching may we live together in unity
and serve you with pure minds.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Whoever welcomes you welcomes me,
and the one who welcomes me welcomes him who sent me, alleluia.

From Catholic Culture:

Born in 1380, St. Bernardine of Siena left the world at an early age in order to lead a hermit’s life. When he was twenty-two, he entered the Franciscan Order, one of whose glories he is. Having been made General of the Order, he resigned this charge in order to devote himself to preaching. He preached the name of Jesus with such love that it wrought the transformation of many souls. He was instrumental in effecting many conversions. He died at Aquilea, in the midst of his missionary labors, on May 20, 1444, and was canonized six years later.

For more on the life and preaching of St. Bernardine, the apostle of the Holy Name, click here and here.

Father,
you gave Saint Bernardine a special love
for the holy name of Jesus.
By the help of his prayers,
may we always be alive with the spirit of your love.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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At yesterday’s General Audience in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on his recent pilgrimage to Portugal.  Below is the full text of his remarks and a small collection of images from his trip.

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
May 19, 2010

Dear brothers and sisters,

Today I wish to go over with you the various stages of the apostolic journey I undertook in recent days to Portugal, moved especially by a sentiment of gratitude to the Virgin Mary, who in Fatima transmitted to her visionaries and to pilgrims an intense love for the Successor of Peter. I thank God who gave me the possibility to pay homage to that people, to its long and glorious history of faith and Christian witness. Hence, as I requested you to accompany me on this pastoral visit with prayer, I now ask you to join me in thanking the Lord for its happy development and conclusion. I entrust to him the fruits that it has brought and will bring to the Portuguese ecclesial community and to the whole population.

I renew the expression of my gratitude to the president of the republic, Mr. Aníbal Cavaco Silva, and to the other authorities of the state, who received me with so much courtesy and planned everything so that all would unfold in the best way. With intense affection, I think of my brother bishops of the Portuguese dioceses, whom I had the joy to embrace in their land and I thank them fraternally for all that they did for the spiritual and organizational preparation of my visit, and for a notable profuse diligence in its fulfillment. I direct a particular thought to the patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal José da Cruz Policarpo, to the bishops of Leiria-Fatima, António Augusto dos Santos Marto, and of Porto, Manuel Macário do Nascimento Clemente, and to their respective collaborators, as well as to the various organizations of the episcopal conference led by Archbishop Jorge Ortiga.

Throughout the whole trip, which occurred on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the beatification of the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco, I felt sustained spiritually by my beloved predecessor, the Venerable John Paul II, who went three times to Fatima, thanking that “invisible hand” that delivered him from death in the attack of the 13th of May, here in St. Peter’s Square.

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God’s word is alive; it strikes to the heart.
It pierces more surely than a two-edged sword, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Francis Coll was born at Gombreny in the Catalan Pyrenees in 1812 and, after studying at the diocesan seminary at Vich, entered the Order at the priory of Gerona in 1830.  In 1835 the anti-clerical government closed the house of studies at Gerona and dispersed the Dominican students.  From that day until his death he maintained a heroic fidelity to his Dominican vocation without the support offered by Dominican community life.  Eventually he was ordained at the diocesan seminary at Vich in 1836.  After several years of parish ministry he pursued itinerant preaching along with his friend Saint Anthony Claret.  He founded the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation to teach the children of the poor in the villages where he preached.  In December, 1869, Blessed Francis suffered a stroke which left him completely blind.  He died at Vich on April 2, 1875.

St. Francis was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009.  Click here for homily preached at the Mass of Canonization.

God of all truth,
you chose Blessed Francis
to make known the name of your Son
and to instruct Christian people in holiness.
By the help of his prayers
may true faith be continually sustained
and grow through the ministry of preaching.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.

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Fr. Jones's Homily - May 16, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - May 16, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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My life is at the service of the Gospel;
God has given me this gift of his grace, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Andrew was born in 1375 at Saint Maximin, France, and received the habit at the priory of St. Mary Magdalen there.  He was outstanding for his teaching, for his preaching throughout Provence, and for his zeal in restoring regular observance.  In addition he exercised his talents as an artist in many of the Dominican churches of southern France.  He died at Aix-en-Provence on May 15, 1450.

Click here for more on the life of Blessed Andrew.

God of all truth,
you chose Blessed Andrew to preach the gospel of peace
and to promote the regular life.
by the help of his prayers
may we devote ourselves to proclaiming the faith
and bearing the yoke of Christ with fidelty.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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God’s word is alive; it strikes to the heart.
It pierces more surely than a two-edged sword, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Giles was born at Vouzella, near Coimbra, Portugal, about the year 1184.  Although destined for a church career by his father, Giles was more attracted by medicine which he studied and taught through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin.  He entered the newly-founded Order of Preachers at Valencia around 1224 and became a celebrated preacher and an able superior. Noted for his humble service to his brethren, he died at Santarem on May 14, 1265.

Click here, here, and here for more on the life of Blessed Giles, including several rumors and legends that still cling to his name.

Merciful God,
you drew Blessed Giles back
to a life of justice and holiness.
Draw us away from our sins
and lead us to the fullness of freedom and life.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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We must choose someone who was with us
all the time that the Lord Jesus lived among us;
he will take his place with us
in giving witness to the Lord’s resurrection, alleluia.

Today we celebrate the feast of the successor of the traitor Judas—an unenviable role in the Church if ever there was one.  But not given to superstition, Matthias assumed his office with courage and complete confidence in the grace it communicated to him and to the world.

St. Augustine would later articulate the truth we witness in Matthias’s succession to Judas’s place among the Twelve.  The Church’s apostolic office, possessed by bishops and priests, functions and communicates Christ’s grace apart from the moral quality of its specific holder.  Of course, all clergy, like all Christians, should strive for perfection.  This is a demand of Baptism, which is further specified for priests by Holy Orders.  But the Church is not deprived of the priestly, prophetic, and kingly grace of Christ when those ordained to serve this grace fall into sin.  For example, Judas’s apostolic office was not obliterated by his treason.  The office survived, and another took his place.  This is good news. Established and preserved by Christ’s priestly power itself, apostolic teaching remains true and the sacraments remain efficacious every time they are preached and celebrated.  As a result, Christ remains ever active in his Church, even through those who also need his grace.  Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory popularizes this doctrine within our own historical context.

History has not preserved much of Matthias’s life, but click here, here, and here for summaries of his biography and legend.

Father,
you called Saint Matthias to share in the mission of the apostles.
By the help of his prayers
may we receive with joy the love you share with us
and be counted among those you have chosen.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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O Victor King, Lord of power and might,
today you have ascended in glory above the heavens.
Do not leave us orphans, but send us the Father’s promised gift,
the Spirit of truth, alleluia.

Long ago, St. Augustine’s contemplative gaze pierced the very heart of the mystery we celebrate today .  From today’s Office of Readings:

Today our Lord Jesus Christ ascended into heaven; let our hearts ascend with him.  Listen to the words of the Apostle: If you have risen with Christ, set your hearts on the things that are above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God; seek the things that are above, not the things that are on earth. For just as he remained with us even after his ascension, so we too are already in heaven with him, even though what is promised us has not yet been fulfilled in our bodies.  (Sermo de Ascensione Domini, 1)

As St. Augustine observed, heaven begins when the Word returns to the Father in our human nature.  With the ascension, the created finds a home in the uncreated. Furthermore, with our flesh seated at the Father’s right hand, we can say that we are already there, too, though we are still working out this mystery in our own flesh.

And thus begins tomorrow our novena to the Holy Spirit, under whose divine guidance we do work out and live this mystery.

God our Father,
make us joyful in the ascension of your Son Jesus Christ.
May we follow him into the new creation,
for his ascension is our glory and our hope.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Come, spouse of Christ,
receive the crown the Lord has prepared for you from all eternity, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Jane, the only daughter of Alphonso V of Portugal, was born in Lisbon in 1452.  For a time she served as regent of Portugal during her father’s absence, but had little taste for the life of the royal court.  She desired to embrace religious life and despite the violent opposition of her brother and father, she entered the Dominican monastery of Aveiro in 1472.  Dedicated to prayer and penance she lived for the conversion of sinners and the liberation of the Christian captives in Africa.  She lived a life of humility and simplicity and died at the monastery on May 12, 1490.

Click here for more on the intriguing political and religious life of Blessed Jane.

O God,
in the midst of the royal court
you strengthened Blessed Jane
with purity of heart.
By her prayers
may your faithful turn from the things of earth
and seek after the things of heaven.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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An invitation from the Gianna Center:

Hello Everyone,

Please join the physicians and staff of The Gianna Center for Women this Monday, May 17 at 6:30 pm for a special Mass, offered for the intentions of couples struggling with infertility and pregnancy-related miscarriages.

The Mass will be followed by a talk by Pierluigi Molla, the living son of St. Gianna Beretta and an opportunity to view and venerate her relics.

Location: St. Catherine of Sienna Church, 411 East 68th Street, NY (between 1st Ave and York)

Schedule of Events

6:30 PM Mass, offered for the intentions of couples suffering from infertility, recurrent miscarriage and difficult pregnancies

7:30 PM Talk by Pierluigi Molla, son of St. Gianna

8:15 PM Blessing with St. Gianna’s relics

8:30 PM Light reception and book signing

Physicians from The Gianna Center in midtown Manhattan, which offers a highly effective, ethically-sound approach to treating infertility, will also be present to answer questions and offer support.

Hope to see you there.

God bless,

Anne Mielnik, MD
Gianna — The Catholic Healthcare Center for Women
15 East 40th Street, Suite 101
New York, NY 10016
(212) 481-1219
www.giannahealth.org

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Fr. Keitz's Homily - May 9, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - May 9, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Jones's Homily - May 9, 2010 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What you say of me does not come from yourselves;
it is the spirit of my Father speaking in you, alleluia.

A contemporary of St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Antoninus of Florence was instrumental in reforming the Dominican Order in Italy before being elected Archbishop of Florence in 1446.  A zealous pastor of souls, St. Antoninus fulfilled his duties as a friar and a bishop with distinction.  Also a trained scholar, St. Antoninus wrote books in theology, law, and economics.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Antonino Fierozzi was born in Florence in 1389 and in 1405 was received into the Order “for the future priory of Fiesole” by Blessed John Dominic, who at the time was reforming the Dominican priories of the area according to the wishes of Blessed Raymond of Capua.  He served the friars in various prioris in Italy, often as local superior, and became a distinguished master of canon law.  In 1436 he founded the famous priory of San Marco in Florence and under his leadership Fra Angelico decorated the priory and an outstanding library was collected.  His wisdom and pastoral zeal made him a natural choice for Archbishop of Florence in 1446.  He was noted for his service to the poor and established a society under the patronage of Saint Martin to assist him in this work.  Among his writings the best known in his Summa moralis.  His whole life was mirrored in his last words, “to serve God is to reign.”  He died on May 2, 1459.

For more on the life of St. Antoninus, click here and here.  For an explanation of the window dedicated to St. Anoninus in the parish church, click here.

Eternal God,
you wonderfully blessed Saint Antoninus
with the gift of wisdom.
Pour out upon us, your servants,
the same spirit of understanding, truth and peace.
May we know in our hearts what pleases you
and pursue it with all our strength.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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Holy Mary, Mother of Christ, hear your humble servants, alleluia, alleluia.

As an Order of the Church dedicated in its very constitution to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Order of Preachers sets aside one day a year to renew its filial devotion to her.  According to the Dominican calendar, that day is today, May 8.

We ask, therefore, that you join us in honoring Our Lady today, and that you remember to her in a special way the Dominican Order worldwide, which owes the graces of its 800-year history to her maternal care and protection.

From the Dominican Ordo:

It has been customary for the Church to invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary under titles such as Mediatrix, thereby indicating the continuing saving role of her maternity in the order of grace, for “by her many acts of intercession she continues to gain for us gifts of eternal salvation” (Lumen Gentium, 62).

Blessed Humbert of Romans declares that “the Blessed Virgin was of great help in beginning the Order . . . and it is to be hoped that she will bring it to a good end” (Opera II, 70-71).  From its foundation the Order has not hesitated to acknowledge the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin, to continuously experience it and to commend it to the hearts of the brothers and sisters, so that encouraged by this maternal help they might adhere more closely to their Mediator and Redeemer as they labor to carry out their mission of salvation in the world (see Lumen Gentium, 62).

Until the recent restoration of the liturgical calendar, the Order celebrated the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary on December 22, the anniversary of the approval of the Order by Pope Honorius III (December 22, 1216).  Keeping in mind the special character of the weekdays of Advent which take precedence over all other memorials, it is suggested that the commemoration of this Patronage be celebrated on May 8 — during the month which is specially dedicated to the Blessed Virgin mary and on the day when she is honored under similar titles in other proper liturgical calendars.

Faithful God,
you willed that the Order of Preachers
be instituted for the salvation of souls
under the special patronage
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
and that it be filled with her unceasing favors.
Hear our prayers and bring us to the glory of heaven,
protected by her whose feast we celebrate today.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER DEDICATING THE ORDER OF PREACHERS
TO THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Virgin Mother Mary, with trust we approach you.  We, your preachers, fly to you who believed in the words sent from heaven and pondered them in your heart. We stand close around you, who are always present to the gathering of apostles.

In you the Word was made flesh, that same Word which we receive, contemplate, praise together and preach.  Therefore, under your guidance we today devote ourselves anew to the ministry of the Word.  Furthermore, we declare to you that, hearing with you the Word within ourselves and anointed by the Spirit, whose sacred vessel you preeminently are, we are consecrated in the name of Jesus Christ to the evangelization of the world.

With the eyes of your heart enlightened, you understood the mystery of the Word. Through you we, too, are able to perceive the presence of that same Word in the history of our time, so that we may finally contemplate him face to face.

Through you the Father sent his Son into the world that he might save it.  Through you we will be powerful in the sight of your people, becoming witnesses of that truth which frees and of that love which unites.

To this place we have brought our needs and here we ponder them.  Do you, Mother, give us strength and preserve the harmony of our family, so that what was begun by our profession may be brought to completion by our love for one another, for the salvation of the world and to the praise and glory of God.

Salve Regina (Dominican Chant) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord, alleluia.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Albert was born in Valle d’Ogna near Bergamo in 1214.  As a married man he was known for his generosity to the poor, a virtue for which his wife reproached him.  Upon the death of his wife, being childless, he left his father’s farm and went to Cremona where he lived in poverty.  His poverty was a witness to a group of heretics there who boasted of their own poverty. Attracted by the life of Saint Dominic he joined the Brothers of Penance, which later became the Order of Penance of Saint Dominic, and lived at the Dominican priory.  He died on May 7, 1279.

Click here for more on the holy life of Blessed Albert.

Almighty and ever-loving God,
you led Blessed Albert to shine forth in humility of life,
in zeal for the truth,
and in apostolic charity.
May we follow in his footsteps
and so obtain the same reward.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

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A PROCLAMATION

Throughout our history, whether in times of great joy and thanksgiving, or in times of great challenge and uncertainty, Americans have turned to prayer. In prayer, we have expressed gratitude and humility, sought guidance and forgiveness, and received inspiration and assistance, both in good times and in bad.

On this day, let us give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our Nation. Let us rejoice for the blessing of freedom both to believe and to live our beliefs, and for the many other freedoms and opportunities that bring us together as one Nation. Let us ask for wisdom, compassion, and discernment of justice as we address the great challenges of our time.

We are blessed to live in a Nation that counts freedom of conscience and free exercise of religion among its most fundamental principles, thereby ensuring that all people of goodwill may hold and practice their beliefs according to the dictates of their consciences. Prayer has been a sustaining way for many Americans of diverse faiths to express their most cherished beliefs, and thus we have long deemed it fitting and proper to publicly recognize the importance of prayer on this day across the Nation.

Let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those suffering from natural disasters in Haiti, Chile, and elsewhere, and the people from those countries and from around the world who have worked tirelessly and selflessly to render aid. Let us pray for the families of the West Virginia miners, and the people of Poland who so recently and unexpectedly lost many of their beloved leaders. Let us pray for the safety and success of those who have left home to serve in our Armed Forces, putting their lives at risk in order to make the world a safer place. As we remember them, let us not forget their families and the substantial sacrifices that they make every day. Let us remember the unsung heroes who struggle to build their communities, raise their families, and help their neighbors, for they are the wellspring of our greatness. Finally, let us remember in our thoughts and prayers those people everywhere who join us in the aspiration for a world that is just, peaceful, free, and respectful of the dignity of every human being.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2010, as a National Day of Prayer. I call upon the citizens of our Nation to pray, or otherwise give thanks, in accordance with their own faiths and consciences, for our many freedoms and blessings, and I invite all people of faith to join me in asking for God’s continued guidance, grace, and protection as we meet the challenges before us.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

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