John of Wildeshausen: 4th Dominican Master

Continuing my articles on the Masters of the Dominican Order, we arrive at the 4th Dominican Master: John of Wildeshausen, who like Blessed Jordan of Saxony, came from Saxony.  John governed the order from 1241 - 1252 AD.

To recap, the first three Masters of the Order of Preachers were:

1. Our Holy Father St. Dominic
2. Blessed Jordan of Saxony
3. St. Raymond of Penafort 

After the resignation of St. Raymond of Penafort from the rank as Master of the Order to pursue parish work, John of  Wildeshausen shortly thereafter succeeded the saint.

John was born in Wildeshausen in modern-day Germany in 1180. At a young age, it was soon clear that John had an astute mind, so he went to Bologna to advance in his studies.  It was during this time that John forged a friendship with Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire, who was then just a teenager.  John entered the imperial court but not long thereafter left and returned to Bologna.  It was here through Divine Providence that he came to know of the Order of Preachers.

In late 1220, John received the habit of the Order from the hands of St. Dominic himself.  Almost immediately after, John was sent out to preach throughout northern Italy, France, Germany, and Austria.  In much the same fashion as the Apostles, he preached the Gospel everywhere he went on foot and did not cease of spreading the truth of the universality of the Catholic Faith.

In 1233, after having preached a crusade to the Holy Land in southern Germany and then serving as Prior Provincial, John of Wildeshausen was named Bishop of Bosnia.  Yet, he did not leave his missionary zeal and would travel throughout his Diocese on foot preaching the Gospel.  He would journey with a small donkey who carried his books and vestments.  John never ceased of preaching or doing charity, and used the revenues of the diocese for the care of the poor and for their souls.  In 1237, he retired from the office and renounced his pension.  He return to his monastery in Strasbourg.

But the will of God was not for John to have completed his work.  From 1238 to 1240, John was able to carefully negotiate between Emperor Frederick and the Prior Provincial of Lombardy, without angering each side.

Then in 1240 when St. Raymond of Penyafort resigned the role of Master Generate, a General Chapter of the Order met in Paris on May 19, 1241.  It was then that John was chosen as the new Master General.  As Master General, he continued his preaching on foot throughout Europe while maintaining good relations with the Papal Curia.  Under his time as Master General, the Order completed a number of liturgical texts as well.  It was John that provided for the standardization of the Dominican Liturgy.

John of Wildeshausen passed from this world to the next on November 4, 1252. While not canonized, John was considered a saint during and after his life.  Documents were drawn up by his successor, Blessed Humbert of Romans, with the goal of seeking his canonization. His cause however did not advance and in the 16th century, in the course of the Protestant Revolution, the Priory Church of St. Bartholomew where he was entombed was seized by French Huguenots, and the interior was gutted by their vicious attacks against the Church of God.

Let us pray that at long last this holy man will be canonized a saint.  John of Wildeshausen, pray for us!

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St. Andrew Avellino

Double (1954 Calendar): November 10

November 10th is the Feast of St. Andrew Avellino, the patron saint against Apoplexy.  The following is taken from Father Hugo Hoever's "Live of the Saints:

St. Andrew was born in the Kingdom of Naples, in 1520.  After a youth spent in virtue and good works, he received his doctorate in law and was ordained a priest.  His occupation for some time consisted in pleading causes in the ecclesiastical court.  Once a lie escaped him and he was so filled with remorse that he resolved to renounce his profession and give himself up to the care of souls.  After exercising the ministry for some time at Naples, he joined the Theatines, in 1556, and changed his name of Lancelot to that of Andrew.

Such was his desire for perfection that he bound himself by vow aways to combat his own will and to advance to the utmost of his power in Christian perfection.  He founded several convents of his Order, and God honored him with the gifts of prophecy and miracles. He practiced the greatest mortifications, and gave an admirable example of that Christian charity which consists in doing good to those who do harm to us.  All his spare moments he devoted to prayer and contemplation.  The souls committed to his care made great progress in perfection.  As superior of his Order, he laboured hard to promoted religious discipline, setting the example himself.

St. Andre enjoyed the friendship of St. Charles Borromeo, who loved to consult him on affairs of importance.  He was seized with an attack of apoplexy at the foot of the altar when about to being Mass, and having received the sacraments of the Church, he calmly expired at the venerable age of eighty-eight, in 1608.  

His final words were "Introibo ad altare Dei."  May we all possess St. Andrew's devotion to the truth and good works and persevere in grace as he did.  St. Andrew Avellino, pray for us!

Prayer to Saint Andrew Avelino Against Sudden Death
(This prayer can be said as a Novena for nine consecutive days)

I. O most glorious saint, whom God has made our protector against apoplexy, seeing that thou thyself didst die of that disease, we earnestly pray thee to preserve us from an evil so dangerous and so common. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

V. By the intercession of St Andrew, stricken with apoplexy.
R. From a sudden and unprovided death deliver us, O Lord.

II. O most glorious saint, if ever by the just judgment of God we should be stricken with apoplexy, we earnestly beseech thee to obtain for us time enough to receive the Last Sacraments and die in the grace of God. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

V. By the intercession of St Andrew, stricken with apoplexy.
R. From a sudden and unprovided death deliver us, O Lord.

III. O most glorious saint, who didst endure, before dying, a terrible agony, through the assaults of the devil, from which the Blessed Virgin and St. Michael delivered thee, we earnestly beseech thee to assist us in the tremendous moment of our death. Pater, Ave, Gloria.

V. By the intercession of St Andrew, stricken with apoplexy.
R. From a sudden and unprovided death deliver us, O Lord.

(Indulgence: 300 days)

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Pope St. Soter

Continuing my series of posts on the History of the Sovereign Pontiffs, I pick up with the 12th Pope: St. Soter.  Of St. Soter, Fr. Alban Butler writes of him in his "The Lives of the Saints" (1866 Version):

ST. SOTER was raised to the papacy upon the death of St. Anicetus, in 173. By the sweetness of his discourses, he comforted all persons with the tenderness of a father, and assisted the indigent with liberal alms, especially those who suffered for the faith. He liberally extended his charities, according to the custom of his predecessors, to remote churches, particularly to that of Corinth, to which he addressed an excellent letter, as St. Dionysius of Corinth testifies in his letter of thanks, who adds that his letter was found worthy to be read for their edification on Sundays at their assemblies to celebrate the divine mysteries, together with the letter of St. Clement, pope. St. Soter vigorously opposed the heresy of Montanus, and governed the church to the year 177.

One of Saint Soter’s ordinances required all Christians except those in public penance to receive Communion on Holy Thursday. It would be good for us to reflect if we make an effort to go to Mass now on Holy Thursday - even if it is not presently a Holy Day of Obligation.

He was martyred on April 22, 170, under the emperor Marcus Aurelius and is buried on the Appian Way in the cemetery of Callixtus. His feastday is April 22.  For more information on St. Soter and St Caius who is also celebrated on April 22nd, see my post on his feast day.

May all the Holy Popes pray for us!

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Commemoration of the Four Crowned Martyrs

 The Four Crowned Saints, Nanni di Banco, Orsanmichele, Florence, ca. 1415.

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): November 8

Besides the traditional Octave Day of All Saints, November 8th is the Commemoration of the Four Crowned Martyrs.  According to the Golden Legend, the names of these four saints were not known at the time of their death “but were learned through the Lord’s revelation after many years had passed." They were called the "Four Crowned Martyrs" because their names were unknown ("crown" referring to the crown of martyrdom).

This group of saints includes actually two groups.  The First group of Ss. Severus, Severian, Carpophorus, and Victorinus.  According to the Passion of St. Sebastian, the four saints were soldiers who refused to sacrifice to Aesculapius, and therefore were killed by order of Emperor Diocletian, two years after the death of the five sculptors [mentioned next]. The bodies of the martyrs were buried in the cemetery of Santi Marcellino e Pietro on the fourth mile of the via Labicana by Pope Miltiades and St. Sebastian (whose skull is preserved in the church).

The second group is composed of the five sculptors: Ss. Claudius, Castorius, Symphorian, Nicostratus, and Simplicius.  The second group was killed in Pannonia. They refused to fashion a pagan statue for Emperor Diocletian or to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods. The Emperor ordered them to be placed alive in lead coffins and thrown into the sea in about 287. Simplicius was killed with them. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia:

[T]he Acts of these martyrs, written by a revenue officer named Porphyrius probably in the fourth century, relates of the five sculptors that, although they raised no objections to executing such profane images as Victoria, Cupid, and the Chariot of the Sun, they refused to make a statue of Æsculapius for a heathen temple. For this they were condemned to death as Christians. They were put into leaden caskets and drowned in the River Save. This happened towards the end of 305.

Regardless of their exact names, let us pray for the intercession of these martyrs and all who died for the Faith.  May they - and all the saints on this Octave Day - intercede for us and our world, which is so in need of God.  Kyrie Eleison!

Collect:

O Almighty God, we pay honor to the bravery of Your glorious martyrs in bearing witness to You. Grant that we may feel the power of their intercession with You. Through Our Lord . . .

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Relics on Display at St. John Cantius

In honor of today's Feast of the Sacred Relics, here are some photos from St. John Cantius during this time of year.  On All Saints Day over 1,000 relics were put on display for veneration. 

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All Souls Day

Double (1954 Calendar): November 2

[In years when November 2nd falls on a Sunday, the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (i.e. All Souls Day) is moved to November 3rd]

Today is the day after the All Saints Day and is hence the day we observe the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day). This feast, dating back to the 11th Century in the Universal Church, is a time to remember all of the faithful (i.e., baptized) departed and pray that they are now in Heaven. God certainly is Love and He is mercy. The only thing we can do is trust in Him and pray for our loved ones.

In 998 AD, St. Odilo, the abbot of Cluny in France, said that all Cluniac monasteries were to offer special prayers and sing the Office for the Dead on November 2, the day after the feast of All Saints. The custom spread from Cluny and was adopted throughout the entire Roman Catholic Church. Now the entire Church observes November 2nd as All Soul's Day. This is the basis for the Dia De Los Muertos observed in Mexico.

Priests typically, Sunday and Christmas aside, may only say Mass once a day. Howver, during the First World War, Pope Benedict XV on August 10, 1915, allowed all priests everywhere to say three Masses on All Souls' Day. The two extra Masses were in no way to benefit the priest himself: one was to be offered for all the faithful departed, the other for the Pope's intentions, which at that time were presumed to be for all the victims of that war. The permission remains. So today, find a Traditional Latin Mass parish and attend all 3 Masses offered this day for the Souls.

It has and always will be a pious and holy practice to pray for the repose of the souls who have passed on to the next life.  However, in the past few decades, the occurrence of prayers said for the souls in purgatory and their blessed repose has fallen into such disuse that such a lack of charity for their souls is an atrocity.  For generations, Catholics would pray for the souls of the faithful who have gone before them in the sleep of death and hope in the future resurrection.

It is a traditional and pious practice with references not only in the Magisterium of the Church but also through the Holy Scriptures.  As stated in the holy book of Maccabees: "It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." (2 Maccabees 12:46).  In 230 A.D., Tertullian writes, "The widow who does not pray for her dead husband has as good as divorced him."

Courtesy of Bridegroom Press:

Grant #29.1.1

For the Souls in Purgatory

Plenary Indulgence A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted each and every day from Nov 1 to Nov 8, who devoutly visit a cemetery and there pray, if only mentally, for the departed.

Grant #29.1.2

All Souls’ Day – Plenary Indulgence A plenary indulgence is granted the faithful who, on All Souls’ Day (or according to the judgment of the bishop, on the Sunday preceding or following it, or on the solemnity of All Saints), devoutly visits a church or an oratory and recites an Our Father and the Creed. This is known as the “Toties Quoties” Indulgence.

[…]

Requirements for obtaining a plenary indulgence:

•  Do the work while in a state of grace,
•  Receive Sacramental confession within 20 days of the work (several plenary indulgences may be earned per reception),
•  Receive Eucharistic communion (one plenary indulgence may be earned per reception),
•  Pray for the pope’s intentions (Our Father and Hail Mary, or other appropriate prayer, is sufficient),
•  Have no attachment to sin (even venial) – i.e., it is sufficient that the Christian makes an act of the will to love God and despise sin.

Requirements for a partial indulgence: The work must be done while in a state of grace and with the general intention of earning an indulgence.

Notes:

• Only baptized persons in a state of grace who generally intend to do so may earn indulgences.
• Indulgences cannot be applied to the living, but only to the one doing the work or to the dead.
• Only one plenary indulgence per day can be earned (except for prayer at the hour of one’s own death).
• Several partial indulgences can be earned during the same day.
• If only part of a work with plenary indulgence attached is completed, a partial indulgence still obtains.
• If the penance assigned in confession has indulgences attached, the one work can satisfy both penance and indulgence.
• Confessors may commute the work or the conditions if the penitent cannot perform them due to legitimate obstacles.
• In groups, indulgenced prayer must be recited by at least one member while the others at least mentally follow the prayer.
• If speech/hearing impairments make recitation impossible, mental expression or reading of the prayer is sufficient.
• For an indulgence attached to a particular day requiring a church visit, the day begins at noon the day before and ends at midnight.

See more indulgences for the faithful departed by clicking here. Note, on years when All Souls is transferred to November 3rd, the “Toties Quoties” is also transferred.

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Cupich: Rotten Fruit for the Church

Let us pray for an end of this scourge on the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Chicago before Chicago - home to the most Latin Masses of any American city - sees the Ancient Liturgy removed steadily from the Faithful.  Kyrie eleison!

From the SSPX website:

Archbishop Blase Cupich has been one of the rising figures in the Catholic Church, and will be made even more prominent this fall.

Chicago Archbishop and Cardinal-elect Blase Cupich encouraged his fellow bishops to respond with courage and vigor “for what the Church is called to be!” The following statement was reported by Vatican Insider (Oct. 12, 2012):

The Holy Father’s visit a year ago [in USA] provided him with an opportunity to see first-hand the vitality and vibrancy of the Church in the US. At the same time, he offered a challenging vision of what the Church is called to be and so it is now up to all of us, the bishops of the US, to respond with courage and vigor."

Chosen by the Pope himself to participate to the 2015 Synod on the Family, Cupich supported the proposal of Cardinal Walter Kasper to provide a path for civilly remarried persons to receive Holy Communion while respecting the decision that such persons, along with homosexuals in relationships, “make about their spiritual lives” (Chicago Tribune, Oct. 17, 2015). Cupich was one of the bishops scandalizing the world by endorsing Kasper’s proposal during the Synod and highlighting the importance of conscience.

It comes therefore to no surprise that Cupich reiterated his support for giving Communion to divorced remarried in an interview last week. But this time, he presents himself as faithful to the Pope’s position!

My position is the same as that of Pope Francis, who has indicated that the proper interpretation of 'Amoris Laetitia' was given by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and then again by the bishops of Argentina, for which the Pope noted ‘no further interpretation is needed.’ So if people want to know what I think, they should refer to those sources.”

Cupich is well-known for his liberal stance on numerous issues.

On Prolife Issues

Despite reminders on the sacredness of life, Cupich has a history of downplaying the urgency of the question by calling for balance, dialogue, and respect or other approaches.

As Sandro Magister put it in the Chiesa News (Sept. 30, 2014):

Cupich’s voice - as noted both by conservative Catholics, with distress, and by progressives, with satisfaction - always rings out loud and clear when the talk is of immigration or the death penalty, but he seems to get laryngitis every time there is a discussion of abortion, euthanasia, and religious freedom, or criticism of the Obama administration over health care reform."

In August 2015, in the wake of the Center for Medical Progress videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s baby body parts trafficking scandal, Cupich wrote on in the Chicago Tribune (Oct. 26, 2015) that unemployment and hunger are just as appalling as killing children in the womb.

Cupich has been constant in requesting that priests and seminarians of his successive dioceses (Spokane, WA and Rapid City, SD) not participate in 40 Days for Life prayer vigils outside of abortion facilities.

Back in November 2014, Cupich stated that giving Holy Communion to pro-abortion politicians was a positive move. Asked on CBS’s Face the Nation if he would give Communion to pro-abortion politicians, the archbishop said he hoped the grace that comes to people from the Eucharist would bring them to the truth.

Ten years before, during the 2004 presidential election, he refused to join those bishops condemning pro-abortion Catholic politicians and holding that they should not receive Communion. "We cannot cherry-pick particular issues. We have to be willing to talk about all issues. Our position begins with protecting the unborn, but it doesn't end there," he told the Rapid City Journal (May 2, 2004).

When most bishops refused to let Catholic Charities employees serve as navigators for the Affordable Care Act, Cupich bucked the trend: whatever problems the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) had with “Obamacare” and its contraception mandate, he was committed to using the infrastructure of the Church to help poor people access health insurance. He was the second-to-last bishop to join the fight against the contraceptive mandate.

As voters faced a November 2012 referendum on the legalization of same-sex marriage in Washington state, Cupich wrote a pastoral letter calling for "a substantial public debate . . . carried on with respect, honesty and conviction" and asked for "careful consideration" of the church's position on the referendum. In that referendum, voters approved the law by a 54%-46% margin.

On the Liturgy

Cupich has a constant record of hostility toward the traditional liturgy. It is said that in his first Mass as pastor of St. Mary in Omaha, NE his hometown, he reprimanded a young parishioner for attempting to receive the Communion on her knees.

In 2002, as Bishop of Rapid City, SD, Cupich prohibited children to make the first Communion or to be confirmed in the traditional Latin Rite. That same year, according to the Rapid City Journal (May 27, 2002), he prohibited a traditional Latin Mass community from celebrating the Paschal Triduum liturgies according to the 1962 Missal by locking the doors of Immaculate Conception Church during the Easter Triduum. The Good Friday liturgies took place on the sidewalk.

In 2011, then still Bishop in Spokane, WA, Cupich wrote The New Roman Missal: A Time of Renewal, a historical overview on liturgical renewal to introduce the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

Cupich’s vision is the same one which caused the liturgical revolution of the 1970s. Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio had no effect on him. He considers the traditional Latin Mass as dreadful and incomprehensible to the people. Its rites, according to Cupich, inspires church architecture such as altar rails which he claims have kept people far from the altar and impeded "full and active participation." By Cupich’s logic, the “old” Mass definitely belongs to a time long ago to which today’s Catholics are unable to relate. Lamenting those who did not accept the changes of the Novus Ordo Missae, Cupich holds that Catholics have to understand that the reform of the Second Vatican Council was, in fact, an improvement. And so he praises Communion under both species, Mass in the vernacular, lay participation in the liturgy, and the simplification of the rubrics.

Role of the women in the Church

For his Installation Mass on the Archdiocese of Chicago on November 2015, Bishop Cupich specifically requested both men and women altar servers. There were therefore four women and four seminarians.

Here is his vision of the role of the woman in the Church, as reported in Origin (Sept. 2013):

It would be a very great mistake to reduce the whole issue of women to the question of ordination. The church must engage the larger issue of women and begin by listening to women themselves. The failure of the church to attend to the concerns of women themselves is a very serious problem. . . . This is a very big knot that needs attention and it will not be untied lec­turing women, and it will not be solved unless men in authority in the church clearly and deeply understand that there is a very great difference between the way women approach things and the way men approach things."

Ecumenism

In 2011, Cupich started a new annual ecumenical service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cathedral of Spokane by inviting Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Methodist ministers on Good Friday.

In April 2012, he supported the decision of Roman Catholic Gonzaga University of Spokane to invite Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu to speak at its graduation ceremony and receive an honorary degree.

Beginning January 2017, Archbishop Blase J. Cupich of Chicago is supposed to serve as the first Catholic co-chair of a new National Catholic-Muslim Dialogue, sponsored by the Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs of the USCCB.

Summary

Cupich is clearly a favorite of Pope Francis. In a two-year period, he has been the Pope’s personal candidate—against numerous objections—for four crucial roles: Archbishop of Chicago, participating in the 2015 Synod on the Family, becoming a member of the Congregation for Bishops, and now being elevated to the College of Cardinals. Cupich will now exercise one of the most prominent roles in deciding who to appoint as new bishops in the United States.

It stands to reason that Cupich will use his new-found influence and power to impose his liberal vision on the Church. Let us pray fervently for the Church and our pastors!

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The Basilica of St. Benedict...is Destroyed

Another earthquake has occurred in Norcia and the Basilica of St. Benedict has been destroyed.  The monks of Norcia write:

Dear friends,

Around 7:40 AM, a powerful earthquake struck close to Norcia. The monks are all safe, but our hearts go immediately to those affected, and the priests of the monastery are searching for any who may need the Last Rites.

The Basilica of St. Benedict, the historic church built atop the birthplace of St. Benedict, was flattened by this most recent quake. May this image serve to illustrate the power of this earthquake, and the urgency we monks feel to seek out those who need the Sacraments on this difficult day for Italy.

Relying, as ever, on your prayers and support,

Fr. Benedict
Subprior

Note: If you want to help the rebuilding process, you can give to the monks by clicking here.

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Blessed Jordan of Saxony: 2nd Dominican Master

As a Third Order Dominican, I was surprised with the lack of information on many of the Masters of the Order of Preachers, founded by St. Dominic in 1216.  I have written before on the holiness of our Father Dominic and you may read my full post by clicking here.  Also, I have written a CatechismClass.com lesson on St. Dominic that I also recommend for those wishing to learn much more on the life of St. Dominic.

But what happened to the Order of Preachers after the death of St. Dominic in 1221?

I was surprised that even Wikipedia lacked articles on many of the Masters of the Order.  As a result, I will be starting a series of posts exploring the lives of the Masters of the Order.

After St. Dominic's death in 1221, the Dominicans were led by Blessed Jordan of Saxony who ruled the Order from 1222 until 1237.  A good resource on the life of Blessed Jordan is the Libellus of Blessed Jordan of Saxony, and Saint Dominic's Successor: The Life of Blessed Jordan of Saxony by Marguerite Aron is also a worthy read, for those who can find book, which was written in 1955.

Written to fellow Dominicans, Fr. Joret in "Our Dominican Life" writes of Blessed Jordan's encounter with St. Dominic:

Jordan of Saxony had been studying in Paris for ten years when St. Dominic arrived in that city. The young man sought him out and received an impression which was never effaced. Not till much later did he receive the habit actually at the hands of Blessed Reginald. Only once more, and then for a very short time, did he see St. Dominic. Nevertheless, he used always to speak of him with emotion as " the father of his soul."

And yet we still feel his impact in our lives since he is the reason why the Salve Regina is sung after Compline.  Fr. Joret continues later in his text:

" Jordan of Saxony, who succeeded St. Dominic, recognizing," says Gerard de Frachet, " the interest taken by Our Lady the Blessed Virgin Mary in the progress and preservation of the Order, was determined to rule only with her assistance." History has preserved for us some touching traits of his devotion to Mary. " He was wont to spend the night in prayer before her altar," says the same chronicler, " repeating the Ave Maria often and very slowly. Brother Berthold was anxious to know his methocl of prayer. In reply to his disciple's inquiry, the Master told him, among other things, that he was in the habit of honouring the Virgin by reciting five psalms, each one of which began with a different letter of her name. " That is just an example, my son," he added. Would that he had given a few more examples, simpler ones ! We should then have known exactly what the Rosary was at that period. It was Jordan of Saxony who instituted the solemn procession to the altar of Our Lady which we make every evening as we sing the Salve Regina. We all know how the diabolical assaults upon the Friars in Paris and Bologna were ended through this prayer, proffered by all to her who had crushed the serpent's head. The diabolical machinations were succeeded by glorious manifestations of the Blessed Virgin who thus consecrated the practice that had been established in her honour.

...

The custom of singing this anthem goes back, as has been already said, to the very early days of the Order. A truly diabolical persecution was raging against the Friars, especially at Bologna and in Paris. BlessedJordan of Saxony, St. Dominic's successor, gave orders for the singing of the Salve every night after Compline. The persecution immediately ceased, but its very cessation  served to establish the practice, which became general. The faithful, especially the Tertiaries, crowded into the churches of the Preachers to see the Friars leave the choir and come into the nave, singing the Salve Regina. The chant is a melancholy one, plaintive yet unaffected. A solemn procession of souls who pass mourning through this vale of tears, but who are upheld and comforted by a celestial hope. Is not the Queen of Heaven also a Mother of mercy ? She looks down from above upon her exiled sons, and she makes herself their advocate with God. One day she will show them her Son. And the thought of that vision which will constitute their eternal bliss already gives them a sense of exquisite sweetness. Upon arriving at the Lady Altar, the Friars kneel to sing Eia ergo, advocata nostra. Then one of them comes out to sprinkle the rest with holy water, one by one, in memory of the time when the Holy Virgin was seen by St. Dominic to go the round of the cells, sprinkling each brother as he lay asleep. clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria. When they utter that beloved name, the Friars bow deeply, as though a great gust of wind were bending them all at the same moment. Those Tertiaries who cannot have the advantage and the joy of taking part in this conventual ceremony may like to think of it at night, as they recite the Salve, or as they take a little holy water with which to bless themselves before going to bed.

 Fr. Joret further writes in "Our Dominican Life":

In letters addressed to Blessed Diana and her daughters of the convent at Bologna, Blessed Jordan of Saxony called upon them in all confidence to pray for the Order that the brethren might increase in numbers and in virtue. Shortly afterwards he congratulated them upon the magnificent result of their prayers. " Rejoice and give thanks a thousandfold to the Father of all Goodness. . . . Disappointed at realizing that I had been preaching for a long time with little or no result to the students of the University, I was contemplating departure when suddenly God deigned to stir the hearts of a considerable number of them, and to fertilize the ministry of my word by the outpouring of His grace. Ten have already taken the habit." At a later date he writes : " Your prayers and those of the sisters have been wonderfully answered : our friars are multiplying throughout the world and increase in number and in merit."

From these letters we see the great concern for the Order in Blessed Jordan and the odor of sanctity that seemed to emanate from him.A final worthy meditation is this letter from Blessed Jordan to Blessed Diana of Andalo.  This letter was written shortly before both of their deaths.  May they intercede for us in Heaven and soon be declared saints!

"To his dearest daughter Diana, at Bologna: Brother Jordan, useless servant of the Order of Preachers: salvation and the continual friendship of Jesus Christ.

Since, my dearest Sister, it is not possible, as we should both wish, to visit you with my bodily presence and to console myself in your company, I yet find some refreshment and relief for my heart's desire when I can visit you by means of a letter, writing to let you know how things are with me, as I would like to know concerning you, for your progress and your joy are sweet nourishment for my spirit. But you do not know with any certainty to what ends of the earth it may fall to my lot to journey, and if you did know, you would not find messengers who would bring me your letters. Yet what we have written to each other, my beloved Sister, is a very small thing; the ardent love with which we love each other in the Lord is in our inmost hearts; and in this intimate affection of charity you speak with me and I with you continually, things which no tongue can worthily express or letter contain.

O Diana, the present condition of our life which we have to bear is wretched, since in this life we cannot love each other without pain or think of one another without anxiety. For you are pained and troubled because it is not granted to you to see me continually, and I suffer because [the joy of ] your presence is too seldom granted to me. Who will lead us into the Strong City, into the city of the Lord of Hosts which the Most High himself founded, where we shall suffer no more from longing either for him or for one another? Here we are wounded daily and the very fibres of our being wrenched asunder, and each day these very miseries of ours make us cry out: 'Who will deliver us from the body of this death?' Yet we must patiently bear with this life and, as far as our daily poverty will allow us, fix our mind solely on him who alone is able to deliver us from our necessities, in whom alone is rest found, and apart from whom, whatever we contemplate, we shall find only tribulation and abundance of sorrow. Meanwhile, let us accept with joy whatever share of sadness falls to our lot; for in the same measure that tribulations have been meted out to us will joy be measured to us, poured into us by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, to whom is honour, glory, power and empire for ever and ever. Amen.

Pray for me, as I know you do. Greet the Prioress for me, and Galiana. Greet our special friends outside the convent and very specially those who are in the house with you, if they happen to come and see you, and recommend me to their prayers.

Farewell, beloved daughter, in Jesus Christ the Son of God."

Blessed Jordan was shipwrecked and drowned on February 13, 1237. He was beatified in 1825 by Pope Leo XII. Let us pray for the canonization of this holy Master of the Dominican Order.  St. Jordan pray for us!

Prayer:

O God, who didst make Blessed Jordan wonderful for his zeal in saving souls and enriching religious life, grant by his merits and intercession that we may proclaim the way of salvation and ever live in the same spirit and find glory awaiting us in Heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer Source: Little Office According to the Dominican Order. Feastday February 15th.

Note: Those who would like a PDF copy of "Our Dominican Life," please send me an email and I will send it to you.

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To The U.S. Catholic Bishops

Guest Post by David Martin


To The U.S. Catholic Bishops:


As you may recall, fifty-five percent of America's Catholics voted for Barack Obama in 2012, knowing full well that he was radically pro-abortion. This happened because very few Catholics were admonished that a vote for Obama would make them complicit in the murder of the unborn and would place their immortal souls in jeopardy. A unanimous pro-life vote from the Church would have more than swung the vote away from Obama, but fears of progressivist ridicule and the prospect of losing tax-exempt status prevented the Church from being an effective voice in the election.

This time around circumstances make it much easier for the Church to witness for life, because there is no question as to who the pro-life and pro-death candidates are. And too, one candidate is a woman, so it makes it easy to identify the candidates without mentioning their names.

We urge you to mandate that all priests remind their parishioners at the Sunday Masses before elections that they cannot vote for the pro-abortion candidate and be Catholic at the same time. Remind them that they have it within their power to halt the pro-death bureaucracy in D.C. if they will simply act with one mind to dissuade support for the candidate who aims to make "reproductive rights" the focus of her administration.

May we recommend that priests read the attached letter to their congregation if you are not able to provide them with a statement of your own. The bottom line is that the Church in America has an obligation to witness for life at this time, without which we could cease to exist as a free nation. Christ's injunction to "let your light shine before men" applies now more than ever. More than ever the Church must make its influence felt, for we stand at a historic crossroads, and without faith and charity guiding our actions on November 8, the religious liberty we have enjoyed since 1776 will likely become a thing of the past.

May the Church Militant live up to its title by giving it its best shot for life! We beseech you, spur the troops!



Sincerely in Christ and His Holy Mother,



David Martin

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