The Order of Preachers, Old Catholic extends to our dear and beloved Fr. Terry Elkington all good wishes and blessings on the anniversary of his Ordination to the priesthood and the completion of his first year as a Solemnly Professed Dominican!!
We love you, Terry! God bless and keep you always!!!!!!!
On this the second Sunday of Advent we learn of how our preparation, or lack of preparation, for the coming of Jesus is reflected in our daily lives. Advent is a pretty special time for me. Today, 2 Advent, marks the first year of my ordination to the priesthood. My birthday is also during our Advent season. Growing up I always prepared myself for my birthday and Christmas, but as I matured the Advent season became even more important to me.
We must always remember that as we enter the busy Christmas season, it remains Advent inside the church. Outside, the decorative colors have been red and green since before Thanksgiving. Inside the church, the color of the Advent season is a deep and rich purple and we are preparing for the birth of Christ. We will hear hauntingly beautiful Advent hymns with the themes of getting ready, preparing, and waiting. Outside Christmas music is playing already, and at full blast everywhere you go. But that’s a very different mood from the Advent tone of quiet meditative worship. Out at the malls you are supposed to be preparing for Christmas by shopping. In the church you are supposed to be preparing spiritually so that when we celebrate Christ’s birth on Christmas Eve, God can really do something, because your heart will be ready. I’m not saying that the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparation is awful. After all, I love Christmas and all the fun of preparing for it, from the cookies to the music. I even like doing a little Christmas shopping. But the key is to balance all that cultural Christmas hoopla with the quiet spirituality of Advent. This is why regular worship in this season is so vitally important. We need to be reminded that the real preparation for Christmas is not all about cooking, or shopping or wrapping gifts. The real preparation for Christmas is the challenge of Advent, about asking the hard questions of our spirits.
Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to apologize to? Is God calling you into service or into a new work in his name? Is there someone you should invite to church in a season when many people are searching? Is there someone in your life who needs you to pray for them? What about your relationship with God? Are you the Christian you are called to be?
You don’t have to choose between Christmas and Advent. Just make sure you pay attention to both. This is what happens to us, not only when one becomes ordained, but also to all of us when we become Christians….As a priest I relate to Matthew 11:2 The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
I have no fear of the LORD, but understand that Advent calls us to fill our December days with – prayer, attention to the state of our souls, and acts of kindness, mercy and justice.
We say these things in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Pax et Bonum
Msgr Terry E Elkington OPoc
It’s that time of year again. We hear Christmas Carols on the radio, and in stores, and in shopping malls. And there is that ONE carol that virtually ALL good Christians should hate, Bing Crosby’s “Happy Holidays.” THAT song is the origin of the greatest Christian controversy since the Reformation, and begins the time for all and sundry to argue the finer points of holiday greetings: Merry Christmas versus Happy Holidays. At the risk of being seen as a non-Christian priest, or a politically correct one, and abandoning or at least not defending my faith and my Lord, I feel compelled for some odd reason, to offer a treatise on the use of Happy Holidays. So here goes….
“Happy Holidays.” Now really, what’s wrong with that? It’s a pleasant wish that encompasses good wishes for an entire month and a half long season. Granted, that “season” is usually meant to be the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, and is usually understood to include only Christmas and New Year’s Day. However, in that time period, what other holidays are there? “Happy Holidays” is a collective and inclusive wish for the period encompassing Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Winter solstice, Christmas Day (The Nativity of the Lord), Boxing Day, and St. Stephen’s Day, St. John’s Day, the Epiphany, and it would take me forever to get through the list, if I could remember the list at all, just to give a pleasant hello to someone! “Happy Holidays” is just easier! Most of the aforementioned holidays ARE Christian holidays, though, so what’s wrong with “Happy Holidays?”
Leaving those “Happy Holidays” that are in the Christian calendar for a few minutes; let’s look at the ones that aren’t Christian holidays. Granted, I don’t really consider the Winter solstice a holiday and don’t think I know any Wiccans personally, so I can omit that one altogether and not feel too bad about it. Kwanzaa is celebrated by our African American brothers and sisters and is not a substitute for Christmas, nor is it a religious holiday. Wishing someone a happy Kwanzaa does nothing to deny Christianity, but it’s a holiday that I personally don’t celebrate, since I’m not African American. I DO have many African American friends, however, and most certainly wish them all a happy and joyous Kwanzaa, as well as Merry Christmas!
Hanukkah is a Jewish festival, celebrating a miracle that occurred way back in the 2nd century BCE. Also known as the Festival of Lights, it is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt. The story of Hanukkah is alluded to in the book of 1 Maccabees, but Hanukkah is not specially mentioned; rather, a story similar in character, and obviously older in date, is the one alluded to in 2 Maccabees 1:18, according to which the relighting of the altar fire by a miracle which occurred on the 25th of Kislev, and which appears to be given as the reason for the selection of the same date for the rededication of the altar by Judah Maccabee. Now, 1 and 2 Maccabees are not considered canonical books by most Protestants, but are included in the Apocrypha, which IS in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. So while Hanukkah is not a Christian holiday, per se, it can be considered Biblical. And since it celebrates the lighting of the rededication of the Temple and is celebrated with lights, and Christ is “the Light of the World,” and the fact that Christianity has its roots in Judaism, Happy Hanukkah to my Jewish friends!
The day after Christmas is Boxing Day, which is celebrated in the Commonwealth countries. The tradition of Boxing Day has long included giving money and other gifts to those who are needy and in service positions, and this European tradition has been dated to the Middle Ages. Shouldn’t we, as Christians, do this year round, and not just during the “holidays”?
New Years Day: Now, there’s a pagan holiday for you! The Romans dedicated this day to honor Janus, the god of gates, doors, and beginnings. The month of January was named after Janus, who had two faces, one looking forward and the other looking backward. It is from this Roman custom that we get the making of New Year’s resolutions: looking backward, we resolve to not do something or other, and looking forward, we resolve TO do something or other. Among the 7th century pagans, it was the custom to exchange gifts at the New Year. So, I guess I’m asking, should we as Christians NOT celebrate the new year and not wish everyone a “Happy New Year”? If this is the case, then we should certainly avoid making New Year’s resolutions, too. (Especially those that include diets and exercise!)
And then, there are the religious holidays that most Christians don’t really celebrate, and some don’t even know about. The Feast of Saint Stephen, who was the first Christian martyr on 26 December, the Feast of St. John who was the “Beloved Disciple” on 27 December, the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 8 December, and the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on 12 December have already been mentioned.
Finally, there is Epiphany, which is perhaps one of the most important holidays of the liturgical or church year. It is the last day of the Twelve Days of Christmas of which we sing in the (often-denigrated) Christmas carol, and which is overlooked by most non-liturgical churches. Epiphany, which falls on January 6, is a Christian Feast day that celebrates the revelation of “God the Son” as a human being. Western Christians commemorate principally (but not solely) the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles. The early Christian Fathers fixed the date of the feast on January 6. Ancient litergies noted Matthew 3:13–17, Luke 3:22, and John 2:1–11; where the Baptism and the Marriage at Cana were dwelt upon. Western Christians have traditionally emphasized the “Revelation to the Gentiles” mentioned in Luke, where the term “Gentile” means all non-Jewish peoples. The , who represented the non-Jewish peoples of the world, paid homage to the infant Jesus in stark contrast to Herod the Great, a King of Judea, who sought to kill him. In this event, Christian writers also inferred a revelation to the Children of Israel. Saint John Chrysostom identified the significance of the meeting between the Magi and Herod’s court: “The star had been hidden from them so that, on finding themselves without their guide, they would have no alternative but to consult the Jews. In this way, the birth of Jesus would be made known to all.” The earliest surviving, recorded reference to Epiphany as a Christian feast was made in A.D. 361, by Ammianus Marcellinus. Epiphanius of Salamis says that January 6 is Christ’s “Birthday; that is, His Epiphany”. He also asserts that the Miracle at Cana occurred on the same calendar day, and it was on this day, too, that John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. So on 6 January, after all the Christmas trimmings have been put away, the gifts exchanged, New Years resolutions have been made (and some broken already), and the kids are back in school, we can still say, with all feeling, “Happy Holidays.”
Honestly, don’t you think “Happy Holidays” is so much easier? And besides, I really like Bing Crosby’s Christmas carol, “Happy Holidays!”
Blessed John of Vercelli, C.O.P.
1 December John Garbella was born early in the 13th century, somewhere near Vercelli. He studied at Paris and was ordained priest before 1229. He taught canon law at the University of Paris. While he was professor there, Jordan of Saxony (who was a friend of Saint Albert the Great) came to Paris, and John saw one after another of his best pupils desert their careers to join the Dominicans. He seems to have considered them quite objectively, without reference to himself, until one day he had an interior voice that spoke to him that it was God’s will for him to join the Dominicans. No one can say that John did not respond with alacrity; he dropped everything and ran down the street. (“Let me go; I am on my way to God!”) Jordan received him happily and gave him the habit.
In 1232, John was sent to Vercelli to establish a convent there. He built this and several other convents in Lombardy as houses of regular observance. While provincial of Lombardy, he also became inquisitor. It was a particularly difficult moment. His brother in religion, Peter of Verona, had just been killed by the heretics in Como. The entire countryside was in a state of war, with roving bands of heretics and robbers. It was the task of the new inquisitor to try to bring order out of this chaos, and what John did was remarkable, considering the situation. In spite of his heavy labors, which included the supervision of 600 friars in 28 different cities (he reached them only by walking), John of Vercelli established the ideals of study and regular observance in all of his houses.
It was the good fortune of John of Vercelli to live in an age that was well peopled by saints. He formed a close friendship with Saint Louis, the king of France. Several of his tasks in the order, particularly the Commission on the Program of Studies, he shared with Saint Albert the Great, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Peter of Tarentaise (the future Pope Innocent V). In such company one would need to have a superior set of talents; John did.
In 1264 the chapter of the order met at Paris. Blessed Humbert had resigned as master general of the order. John went to the chapter hoping that he could resign as provincial of Lombardy. Instead of escaping one office, he fell heir to a still more difficult one. He was elected master general in 1264 and served in that capacity until 1283. John was then a man in his sixties and was, moreover, handicapped by a crippled leg. However, he accepted the office which would require him to walk, not only all over Lombardy, but all over Europe. It took a brand of courage and obedience that was little short of heroic.
During the generalate of John of Vercelli, the relics of Saint Dominic were transferred to the new tomb that had been prepared for it by Nicholas of Pisa. When the transfer was made, John of Vercelli fixed his seal on the tomb; the seals were still intact on their examination in 1946. During the translation of the relics, according to the account in the Vitae Fratrum, when the body of Saint Dominic was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn towards John of Vercelli. John, embarrassed, moved to another part of the church and gave his place to a cardinal. Whereupon, the head of Saint Dominic was seen by all to turn again in John’s direction.
On the death of Clement IV, John of Vercelli was very nearly elected pope. Being warned of the possibility, he fled in fright. However, his good friend Cardinal Visconti, was elected and took the name Gregory X. He appointed John as legate on several different missions.
He was commissioned by the pope to draw up the Schema for the second ecumenical council of Lyons in 1274–that council to which Saint Thomas Aquinas was hurrying when death found him on the road. At the council John distinguished himself for his assistance by offering to the council the talents of his best men. At the council, he accepted for the Dominican Order the special commission of promoting reverence for the Holy Name of Jesus and fighting blasphemy, which was, in that day as in ours, a prevalent vice. He can thus be considered the founder of the Holy Name Society, even though the Confraternity was not formed until 1432.
Several precious relics were suitably enshrined by John of Vercelli. These included several thorns from the Crown of Our Lord, which had been given him by Saint Louis of France. The cord of Saint Thomas, with which he had been guided by the angels and which he had worn until death, was given into the care of the master general, who gave it to the convent of Vercelli for safe keeping.
John’s career was rapidly reaching its end. In 1279, he presided over the famous chapter of Paris at which the order made the doctrine of Saint Thomas officially its own. The following year he laid the foundations of the Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. One of his last official acts was to provide for a work on the instruction of novices (Benedictines, Dorcy).
Born: 1205 at Mosso Santa Maria, Italy as John Garbella
Died: September 1283 at Montpelier, France of natural causes; buried at the Dominican convent at Montpelier; his tomb was desecrated by Calvinists in 1562, and his body disappeared.
Beatified: 1903 by Pope Pius X (cultus confirmed), 1909 elevated him to the honors of the altar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh98X_XlKdk&feature=youtube_gdata
Within the calendar year, there is another year: the great cycle of the liturgical year, revolving around the life and ministry Christ. Each season of the liturgical year has its own particular focus, feasts, words, and colors, giving us an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the coming of Jesus, his life, and his commission to His people to be a light to the world. Since the 900s, Advent has marked the beginning of the church year, and is a season of great anticipation, preparation, and excitement, traditionally focusing on the Nativity of the Christ Child, when Jesus came as our Savior. During Advent, we as Christians also direct our thoughts to His second coming as judge.
The word Advent is from the Latin adventus, meaning “coming,” and is celebrated during the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent always contains four Sundays, beginning on the Sunday nearest the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle, (November 30) and continuing until December 24. It blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the Bethlehem event. Thus, Advent is far more than simply marking a 2,000 year old event in history. It is celebrating a truth about God, the revelation of God in Christ whereby all of creation might be reconciled to God. That is a process in which we participate, and the consummation of which we anticipate. Scripture readings for Advent reflect this emphasis on the Second Advent, including themes of accountability for faithfulness at His coming, judgment of sin, and the hope of eternal life.
In this double focus on past and future, Advent also symbolizes the spiritual journey of individuals and a congregation, as they affirm that Christ has come, that He is present in the world today, and that He will come again in power. That acknowledgment provides a basis for holy living, arising from a profound sense that we live “between the times” and are called to be faithful stewards of what is entrusted to us as God’s people. As the church celebrates God’s Incarnation in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, and anticipates a future consummation to that history for which “all creation is groaning , awaiting its redemption,” it also confesses its own responsibility as a people commissioned to “love the Lord your God with all your heart” and to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
We celebrate with gladness the great promise of Advent, yet knowing that there is also a somber tone as the theme of final judgment is added to the theme of promise. This is reflected in some of the Scripture readings for Advent, in which there is a strong prophetic tone of accountability and judgment of sin. This is also faithful to the role of the Coming King who comes to rule, save, and judge, the world.
Because of the dual themes of judgment and promise, Advent is a time of preparation that is marked by prayer. While Lent is characterized by fasting and a spirit of penitence, Advent’s prayers are prayers of humble devotion and commitment, prayers of submission, prayers for deliverance, prayers from those walking in darkness who are awaiting and anticipating a great light (Isaiah 9).
Historically, the primary color of Advent is Purple. This is the color of penitence and fasting as well as the color of royalty to welcome the Advent of the King. The purple of Advent is also the color of suffering used during Lent and Holy Week. This points to an important connection between Jesus’ birth and death. The nativity, the Incarnation, cannot be separated from the crucifixion. The purpose of Jesus’ coming into the world, of the “Word made flesh” and dwelling among us, is to reveal God and His grace to the world through Jesus’ life and teaching, but also through his suffering, death, and resurrection. To reflect this emphasis, originally Advent was a time of penitence and fasting, much as the Season of Lent, and so shared the color of Lent.
In the four weeks of Advent ,the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for “rejoice”). The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday reflected this lessening emphasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season.
In recent times, however, Advent has undergone a shift in emphasis, reflected in a change of colors used in many churches. The penitential aspect of the Season has been almost totally replaced by an emphasis on hope and anticipation. Many churches now use blue to distinguish the Season of Advent from Lent. Royal Blue is sometimes used as a symbol of royalty. Some churches use Bright Blue to symbolize the night sky, the anticipation of the impending announcement of the King’s coming, or to symbolize the waters of Genesis 1, the beginning of a new creation. Some churches, including some Catholic churches, use bluish violet to preserve the traditional use of purple while providing a visual distinction between the purple or red violet of Lent.
The Advent wreath is a popular symbol of the beginning of the Church year in many churches. It is a circular evergreen wreath with five candles, four around the wreath and one in the center. The circle of the wreath itself reminds us of God, His eternal being and endless mercy, which has no beginning or end. The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that we have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life.
The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolize the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Christ. The center candle is white and is called the Christ Candle. It is traditionally lighted on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. The central location of the Christ Candle reminds us that the incarnation is the heart of the season, giving light to the world.
The light of the candles becomes an important symbol of the season. The light reminds us that Jesus is the light of the world that comes into the darkness of our lives to bring newness, life, and hope. It also reminds us that we are called to be a light to the world as we reflect the light of God’s grace to others (Isa 42:6). The progression in the lighting of the candles symbolizes the various aspects of our waiting experience. As the candles are lighted over the four week period, it also symbolizes the darkness of fear and hopelessness receding and the shadows of sin falling away as more and more light is shed into the world. The flame of each new candle reminds the worshippers that something is happening, and that more is yet to come. Finally, the light that has come into the world is plainly visible as the Christ candle is lighted at Christmas, and worshippers rejoice over the fact that the promise of long ago has been realized.
As we enter this holy time of the year, we ask you to join with us in preparing for the coming of the Christ with joy, with anticipation, with prayer, and with love for all mankind. Amen.
We wish you a blessed and holy Advent.
The Order of Preachers, International Old Catholic Churches
Blessed James Benefatti, James is known as the Father of the Poor. He was a Dominican at Mantua, Italy in 1290, and was a Doctor of theology and a priest. He was also a friend and brother friar of Nicholas Boccasino who later became Pope Benedict XI, and for whom James held several support offices including papal legate. He was the Bishop of Mantua in 1303, and noted for his devotion to the poor. James rebuilt his cathedral and refurbished churches and was appointed Papal legate for Pope John XXII. He died 19 November 1332 at Mantua, Italy of natural causes. His body was found incorrupt when exhumed both in 1480 and 1604. He was beatified in 1859 by Pope Pius IX.
It is with great joy that the Order of Preachers, OC, the Dominican Order of the International Old Catholic Churches, announce that our dear Brother Igor Kalinski has completed all of the requirement of the Postulancy, and has been advanced to the Novitiate. We ask that you keep our Brother in your thoughts and prayers as he begins this new chapter in his life of service to the Order, and to Our Lord. God bless you, Dearest Brother! Welcome home!
Saint Catherine of Alexandria. According to the traditional story, Catherine was the daughter of Costus, a pagan governor of Alexandria, where she was born. She is said to have announced to her parents that she would only marry someone who surpassed her in beauty, intelligence, wealth, and social status. This has been interpreted as an early foreshadowing of her eventual discovery of Christ. “His beauty was more radiant than the shining of the sun, His wisdom governed all creation, His riches were spread throughout all the world.” Though raised a pagan, she converted to Christianity in her late teens. It is said that she visited her contemporary, the Roman Emperor Maximinus Daia, and attempted to convince him of the moral error in persecuting Christians. She succeeded in converting his wife, the Empress, and many pagan philosophers whom the Emperor sent to dispute with her, all of whom were subsequently martyred. Upon the failure of the Emperor to win Catherine over, he ordered her to be put in prison; and when the people who visited her converted, she was condemned to death on the breaking wheel, an instrument of torture. According to legend, the wheel itself broke when she touched it, so she was beheaded.
According to Christian tradition, angels carried her body to Mount Sinai, where, in the 6th century, the Eastern Emperor Justinian established Saint Catherine’s Monastery, Mount Sinai, the church being built between 548 and 565 in Saint Catherine, Egypt, on the Sinai peninsula. Saint Catherine’s Monastery survives, a famous repository of early Christian art, architecture and illuminated manuscripts that is still open to visiting scholars. The historian Harold T. Davis says that Catherine’s story dates only from the 10th century AD, and that “assiduous research has failed to identify Catherine with any historical personage”; Davis suggests that the invention of Catherine may have been inspired by the story of the martyred pagan philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria. She did certainly form an exemplary counterpart to Hypatia in the medieval mindset; and it has been suggestedthat she was invented specifically for that purpose. Like Hypatia, she is said to have been highly learned (in philosophy and theology), very beautiful, sexually pure, and to have been brutally murdered for publicly stating her beliefs. The story of Catherine is placed a hundred years before Hypatia’s death, but there are no contemporary sources for her life.
Because of the fabulous character of the account of her martyrdom and the lack of reliable documentation, the Roman Catholic Church in 1969 removed her feast day from the Calendar. But she continued to be commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on November 25. In 2002, her feast was restored to the General Roman Calendar as an optional memorial.
The 1908 Catholic Encyclopedia describes the historical importance of the belief in her as follows:
Ranked with St Margaret and St Barbara as one of the fourteen most helpful saints in heaven, she was unceasingly praised by preachers and sung by poets. It is believed that Jacques-Benigne Bossuet dedicated to her one of his most beautiful panegyrics and that Adam of St. Victor wrote a magnificent poem in her honour: Vox Sonora nostri chori, etc. In many places her feast was celebrated with the utmost solemnity, servile work being suppressed and the devotions being attended by great numbers of people. In several dioceses of France it was observed as a Holy Day of Obligation up to the beginning of the seventeenth century, the splendor of its ceremonial eclipsing that of the feasts of some of the Apostles. Numberless chapels were placed under her patronage and her statue was found in nearly all churches, representing her according to medieval iconography with a wheel, her instrument of torture. Meanwhile, owing to several circumstances in his life, Saint Nicholas of Myra was considered the patron of young bachelors and students, and Saint Catherine became the patroness of young maidens and female students. Looked upon as the holiest and most illustrious of the virgins of Christ after the Blessed Virgin Mary, it was natural that she, of all others, should be worthy to watch over the virgins of the cloister and the young women of the world. The spiked wheel having become emblematic of the saint, wheelwrights and mechanics placed themselves under her patronage. Finally, as according to tradition, she not only remained a virgin by governing her passions and conquered her executioners by wearying their patience, but triumphed in science by closing the mouths of sophists, her intercession was implored by theologians, apologists, pulpit orators, and philosophers. Before studying, writing, or preaching, they besought her to illumine their minds, guide their pens, and impart eloquence to their words. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, it was rumored that she had spoken to Joan of Arc
As most of you know from my writings, I am not one to adhere to closely to the Liturgical Calendar for referencing my submissions. If I did, we would know that today- November 24, 2013- is the last Sunday of the year. The following Sunday begins Advent- the joyous expectation and anticipation of the coming of the Christ child and the new year to follow. This Sunday is also referred sometimes as, the Sunday of Christ the King. When we can be called to reflect on the past year and what differences and changes can be made in the upcoming year.
Always a procrastinator, I wait until the last-minute to do things. This is comically reflected in my always selecting the last Sunday of the month to write my submission to our Father General. This was even more true this time around, when personal issues on the home front distracted me. Minor as they are (were), they always seem at the moment to be pressing and overwhelming. Though I was a police sergeant for nearly thirty years and well-drilled to handle anything, when something unexpected happens at home- I too, can become a “drama queen”.
Needless to say, there comes a moment in all the unexpected when I must pause. I begin to take stock of myself in the situation and question myself in others. In hurried moments like this, I find myself wondering if I have taken the time to be a good priest? A good Christian? Especially now, as I have undertaken a temporary full-time assignment at my “per diem retired” job. There seems to be so much going on. So many errands to run and things to catch up on. My time seems all to suddenly, limited. Things that need to be done, or at least things I thought were important, begin to back up. Returning to my police roots, I prioritize or at least, try too.
In all of these presumedly pressing personal matters, I now add my clerical obligations into the mix. Mass to pray, letters to write, visitations to make, a wedding to work on, a meeting to schedule, and the humble honor of to providing a soul with his Last Sacramental Rites. Hereto, I question myself- did I pray enough? Was I meditative and reflective? Was scripture read? In short- in the fast pace of my life, did I give to God- the Creator of my life, “his time”?
Then the Spirit spoke to me, in the liturgical calendar I seldom, if ever refer, to. For listed as a consideration for today, the last Sunday of the Liturgical year- was my most favorite Biblical line ever- “Be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10) I smile to myself. How well my Lord knows me. Reassures me. Embraces me. Forgives me.
For no matter how complicated our lives or how hectic the world seems to be, there is always- always, the silent wonder of the world and the presence and reassurance that our Lord is with us. A beautiful sunset or the soft glow of sunrise. The sound and sight of Canadian geese as they begin their winter journey south. The wind as it dances amongst the blaze of autumn leaves that applaud in rustling. The thunder of the waves upon a beach, now empty of its summer throng. The laugh of a seagull. The laugh of a child. The sight of the puppy that makes the child laugh or the sight of my loved one who makes me happy.
There are many- many, daily things- everday things, where God reminds us. God is present. In the beauty, wonder and majesty of His creation. In the music of life and nature that draws us from our distractions back to God. God is present. In the company and love of family and friends. We should become like Job, finding God not in the spectacular but in the simple. God is present. In the smile of a stranger. In the tone of Taps at a solider’s funeral or in the refrain of a church bell above the traffic. God is present. In the hymn raised up in loud adoration or in the hushed whispers between lovers. In the bark of an excited dog at the sight of its owner or in the mournful cry of a hawk as it circles overhead. God is present. In the babbling of a brook or the song of a bird. In the tranquil drumbeat of a steady rain. In the beauty of a winter’s night snowfall where it seems the stars themselves are falling from the sky. In all these things- and in everything, God is present.
So when we find ourselves overwhelmed- overworked, we need to pause. When we question whether we have prayed or been good Christians, we need to pause. When life and the world just seem to have got the better of us, we need to pause. God is present. Not distant or unforgotten, but here now with us- always. We should be mindful. God is present. To remember this, we should do as God suggests- “Be still, and know that I am God.”
“For in Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible… all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17) Surprisingly, also a scriptural reading from our liturgical lectionary for today. Two in one of my writings. The Spirit is indeed at work. But of course! God is present! A joyous and blessed Advent season to you all!
Blessed Lucy of Narni was the eldest of eleven children of Bartolomeo Broccadelli and Gentilina Cassio. When she was only five years old, she had a vision of the Virgin Mary. Two years later, she had another vision, this time of the Virgin Mary accompanied by Saint Dominic. Dominic is said to have given her the scapular at this time. When she was twelve years old, Lucy made a private vow of chastity, and determined to become a Dominican nun.
Circumstances, however, changed to make doing so difficult. The next year her father died, leaving her in the care of an uncle. This uncle determined that the best course of action he could take would be to get Lucy married as quickly as possible.
He made several attempts to do so. One of these included holding a large family party. He had invited the man he had chosen as Lucia’s husband to the party, with the intention of having the couple publicly betrothed. He however had not informed Lucia of his intentions. The suitor made an attempt to put a ring on Lucia’s finger, only to be slapped repeatedly for his efforts by Lucia.
A later attempt involved Count Pietro de Alessio of Milan, an acquaintance of the family. Lucia was actually quite fond of him, but felt her earlier vow to become a nun made the possibility of marriage impossible. The strain Lucia felt as a result of the conflicting feelings made her seriously ill. During this time, the Virgin Mary and Saint Dominic again appeared to her, this time accompanied by Catherine of Siena. They reportedly advised Lucia to contract a legal marriage to Pietro, but to explain that her vow of virginity would have to be respected and not violated. Pietro agreed to the terms, and the marriage was formalized.
In 1491 Lucia became Pietro’s legal wife and the mistress of his household, which included a number of servants and a busy social calendar. Despite her busy schedule, Lucia made great efforts to instruct the servants in Christianity and soon became well known locally for her charity to the poor.
Pietro observed Lucia’s behavior, and occasional quirks, quite indulgently. He never objected when she gave away clothing and food nor when she performed austere penances, which included regularly wearing a hair shirt under her garments and spending most of the night in prayer and acting to help the poor. He also seemed to have taken in stride the story he was told by the servants that Lucia was often visited in the evenings by Saint Catherine, Saint Agnes, and Saint Agnes of Montepulciano who helped her make bread for the poor.
However, when one of the servants came up to him one day and told him that Lucia was privately entertaining a handsome young man she appeared to be quite familiar with, he did react. He took up his sword and went to see who this person was. When he arrived, he found Lucia contemplating a large crucifix. The servant told him that the man he had seen Lucia with looked like the figure on the crucifix.
Lucia left one night for a local Franciscan monastic community, only to find it closed. She returned home the following day, stating that she had been led back by two saints. That was enough for Pietro. He had her locked away for the bulk of one Lenten season. She was only visited by servants who brought her food. When Easter arrived, however, she managed to escape from Pietro back to her mother’s house and on 1494 May 8 became a Dominican tertiary. Pietro expressed his disapproval of this in a rather dramatic form, by burning down the monastery of the prior who had given her the habit.
In 1495 Lucia went to Rome and joined a group of Third order Dominican tertiaries. The next year she was sent to Viterbo and here she found she was frequently the object of unwanted attention. It was here, on February 25, 1496 that she is reported to have received the stigmata. Lucia did her best to hide these marks, and was frequently in spiritual ecstasy. The house had a steady stream of visitors who came to speak to Lucia, and, often, just look at her. Even the other nuns were concerned about her, and at one point called in the local bishop who watched Lucia go through the drama of the Passion for twelve hours straight.
The bishop would not make a decision on Lucia, and called in the local inquisition. Reports here vary, some indicating that he referred the case directly to the Pope, who is said to have spoken with her and, with the assistance of Columba of Rieti, ultimately decided in her favor, telling her to go home and pray for him. Other sources question the accuracy of these reports.
At that time Pietro also came to her, making a final plea to persuade Lucia to return with him as his wife. She declined, and Pietro left alone. He would himself later become a Franciscan monk and a famous preacher.
When Lucy returned to the convent in Viterbo, she found that the Duke of Ferrara, Ercole d’Este I, had determined to build a convent in Ferrara and that, having heard of her, he determined that she would be its prioress. In summer of 1497, he invited her to be the founder of this new monastery. Lucia herself, the Dominican order, and the Pope all agreed quickly to the new proposal. The municipal council of Viterbo, however, objected, not wanting to lose Lucy. Lucia had been praying for some time for a way to create a new convent of strict observance, and agreed to go to the new convent.
Lucia’s departure precipitated a conflict between Ferrara and Viterbo which would continue for two years. Viterbo wanted to keep the famous mystic for themselves, and the duke wanted her in Ferrara. After extensive correspondence between the parties, on April 15, 1499 Lucia escaped secretly from Viterbo and was officially received in Ferrara on May 7, 1499. Thirteen young girls immediately applied for admission to her new community; the construction of the monastery began in June and was completed two years later, in August 1501. It contained 140 cells for sisters and the novices, but to fill it with suitable vocations proved to be very difficult. Lucia expressed the wish to have there some of her former friends from Viterbo and Narni. Duke Ercole, in September 1501 sent his messenger to Rome asking for the help of the pope’s daughter Lucrezia Borgia, who was preparing to marry Duke’s son Alfonso. She collected all eleven candidates Lucia had indicated and sent them, as a special wedding present to Lucia and to the Duke, a few days ahead of her bridal party. She herself solemnly entered Ferrara on February 2, 1502.
The Duke petitioned the local bishop for some help for Lucia in governing her new community, and he sent ten nuns from another community to join Lucia’s convent. Unfortunately, these ten nuns were members of the Dominican second order, who were canonically permitted to wear black veils, something Lucia and the members of the Dominican third order community were not allowed to do.
Tensions were heightened when one of these veiled outsiders, Sister Maria da Parma, was made the prioress of the convent on September 2, 1503. When Duke Ercole died on January 24, 1505 the new prioress quickly found Lucia to be guilty of some unrecorded transgression, most probably of the support for the Savonarolan church reform, and placed her on a strict penance. Lucia was not allowed to speak to any person but her confessor, who was chosen by the prioress. The local provincial of the Dominican order would also not permit any member of the order to see Lucia. There are records that at least one Dominican, Catherine of Racconigi, did visit her, evidently by bilocation, and that Lucia’s earlier visitation by departed saints continued. In response to Lucia’s insistent prayer her stigmata eventually disappeared, which caused some of the other nuns to question whether they had ever been there at all. When Lucia finally died, in 1544, many people were surprised to find that she had not died years earlier.
Then suddenly everything changed. When her body was laid out for burial so many people wanted to pay their last respects that her funeral had to be delayed by three days. Her tomb in the monastery church was opened four years later and her perfectly preserved body was transferred to a glass case. When Napoleon in 1797 suppressed her monastery the body was transferred to the Cathedral of Ferrara; and on 1935 May 26 – to the Cathedral of Narni.
Lucia was beatified by Pope Clement XI on March 1, 1710
The Order of Preachers, Independent 
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