Maria Bambina

Tuesday,September 8, is the Feast of the Birth of Mary. A little-known devotion in the USA is "Maria Bambina" or the baby Mary, a statue or image of her as an infant.

The Catholic liturgical tradition honors the birth of only three people: Jesus, Mary and John the Baptist. I came across an interesting fact recently that in the early Church, the deaths of martyrs and saints were celebrated as their "birthday into heaven", but there was controversy about celebrating even the births of Jesus and Mary. Origen thought that because the pagans celebrated their births (and especially since it was a birthday celebration that Herod agreed to cut off the head of Saint John the Baptist), Christians should not celebrate the birth of even our Saviour.
Well, he evidently got over-ruled!

The celebration of our Lady's birth is most important in this day and age. We not only honor her Immaculate Conception and her Assumption into heaven, but also the day when she began her earthly life borne from the womb of Saint Anne.


Devotion to Maria Bambina is a manifestation of the "culture of life": an appreciation of God's wondrous gift of life and the mission of our Lady to be the "Ark of the Covenant" that would hold the Son of God. She is the Mother who brought up the Lord of All with Saint Joseph. She is the Mother who stood beneath the Cross and received all of us as her children. She is the Spouse of the Holy Spirit who prayed with the Apostles in the upper room as Mother of the Church.


Honoring our Lady as an infant is not just sentimental.
It is a way of affirming that God, indeed, is in our midst; that He loves us so much that He sent His only Son to redeem us.


Maria Bambina, pray for us, pray for our families, pray for the unborn and all those who are vulnerable to the evil so present in this "culture of death." Amen.

Cor Jesu, Caritatis Victima, Venite Adoremus

Come let us adore the Heart of Jesus, victim of charity!

We sing this each Friday when we are able to have the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The picture is from Cor Jesu Oratory, our future home.

The verses of this responsory are as follows:
Greater love than this no one has, that one would lay down his soul [life] for his friends.
Christ has layed down His life for us, and has washed us from our sins in His own Blood.

May the Heart of Jesus, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, be praised, loved, and adored, at every moment in all the tabernacles throughout the world, even to the end of time. Amen.

On a Lighter Note: "The Guardians of the Cloister"

Most enclosed communities have a wall, grilles, partitions, what have you.

We're not quite at that stage.

But we have a formidable means of protection and guardianship.

It's the canine crew.

The one on the left is a Jack Russell "Terror" (Kieran); the one on the right is a Sheltie who has "herding issues"(Tessa).

As my brother-in-law has said, "Nobody is going to get into this house without you knowing about it!"

Yes, the barking can be, well, annoying, to use a decent term.

But they are "cloister dogs".

We have to work to socialize them, because they are not used to strangers. But do they ever love anyone in black or grey (the color of our habits)!

Kieran, the "Terror", is a typical Jack Russell. He is affectionate, very intelligent, extremely strong-willed, a bit temperamental (after 6 PM he "shuts down" and is not amused to be bothered) and loves to jump and do obstacle courses (like in the living room).

Tessa, the black and white Sheltie, is also affectionate, loyal and obedient although she is very shy with strangers and does NOT like to be picked up (she is known to have been muzzled at the vet's). And she barks at any noise, which sets off Kieran, which causes general mayhem. She is very fond of "herding" Br. Joseph when he wants to leave a room; so far, we have not been able to cure her of this, despite viewing numerous episodes of "It's Me or the Dog" with Victoria Stillwell on Animal Planet.

And yet, these dogs are a part of our life; they give us opportunities to laugh, to be patient, to persevere, to have the ancient companionship of the canine.

How could you resist this?

Or this?

Yeah, I know, it's getting kinda "doggy" here.

But I'm glad we have them here; they have been a wonderful source of companionship for Br. Joseph, especially when I was gone to the seminary and then teaching in Connecticut last year. And they give us an opportunity to care for something other than ourselves; to look beyond our own immediate needs. That is why I believe God provided us with the pleasure of our pets.

Not to replace children. But to augment something in our lives.

Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation

One of the favorite prayers of Blessed Jacinta of Fatima was "Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation."

To many, this may sound a bit extreme, in fact, it may look like Jesus is being completely overlooked.

And yet...

The Immaculate Heart of Mary is the most perfect response to the Word of God that any mortal may make. Her response, "Fiat" at the Annunciation, which continued to the Cross and beyond, to the very day of Pentecost (events linked so beautifully in Pope John Paul II's encyclical, Redemptoris Mater) is the same response of the Heart that "contemplated" all that took place during Jesus' infancy, hidden life at Nazareth, public ministry, Passion and Death.

The First Saturdays were requested by our Lady to Sister Lucia in order to make reparation for the insults and indignities to Her Immaculate Heart. If someone despises the Mother, they cannot love the Son. The Two Hearts are in complete communion.

And so, to honor the "Sweet Heart of Mary" we are honoring the Son. She is the Immaculate vessel that made His Incarnation, Life, Passion, Death and Resurrection possible.

She truly shares in His mission to save the world.

First Friday of September 2009

The venerable tradition of keeping the First Fridays of each month, in honor of the Sacred Heart, is the response to Jesus' desire for the faithful to make reparation for those who do not love Him. In fact, it is a Eucharistic reparation, because He has asked for reception of Holy Communion, His Precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, and that time be spent in making reparation for the neglect, indifference, and contempt of His Love in the Sacrament of the Altar.

Saint Margaret Mary Alocoque, the blessed mediator of the messages of Jesus of this devotion, was drawn not only to adoration, but to reparation in not only accepting, but desiring suffering.

At first glance, I was "put off", as the English might say.

And yet, the beautiful spirituality that this woman of God gave to the Church was one of identification with the Suffering Servant, the Jesus Who was abandoned, mistreated, tortured, hated, despised and rejected. The Suffering Servant of Isaiah.

Don't we all have suffering to bear?

And yet to "love sufffering" in order to be made in the imitation of Jesus, as Saint Margaret Mary so faithfully and beautifully exemplifies, is a great grace, a touch of the divine that we must urgently petition Jesus to give us. It is not in our human capacity to do. Only the love of a Saviour that went to the depths of suffering, of hell even, can give us the ability to love suffering as means to belong to Him, to witness to Him, to atone for those who, in the words of the Angel of Fatima, "do believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You."

First Thursday, Pray for Priests

During the Year of the Priest we are offering Holy Mass on the First Thursday for all priests, living and deceased, that are enrolled in our Masses.

We have Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament directly after Holy Mass each Thursday and use the "Litany of Jesus Christ, Priest and Victim" to intercede for all priests.
(A beautiful pamphlet of this litany is available from the Institute on Religious Life, Tele: 847-573-8975; www.religouslife.com).

To obtain the indulgence the faithful must attend Mass in an oratory or Church and offer prayers to "Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to his heart" during this blessed time and fulfilling the other requirements of Confession (within eight days before or after), Holy Communion, prayer for the Holy Father and being free of attachment to venial sin.

What a wonderful grace!

It would be a wonderful gift to gain this indulgence for a deceased priest who baptized, administered First Holy Communion, granted absolution, witnessed marriage or anointed one.

Jesus, Victim and Priest, have mercy on us and upon all your priests!

The Joy of Summer's Bounty

We have been enjoying the produce of this summer's bountiful harvest: zuchinni, cucumbers, green peppers, sweet corn, egg plant, potatoes, red beets, and best of all, tomatoes.

There is a great joy and thanksgiving in being able to savour the taste of home-grown vegetables, especially the sweet taste of tomatoes fresh from the vine.

There is a tradition of blessing the produce of the summer on our Lady's Assumption Day, August 15th, as well as herbs, as a sign of the fruitfulness of the earth being linked to the fruitful virginal motherhood and discipleship of our Lady, who did not suffer the decay of death because of Her Immaculate Conception and "Fiat" to the Word of God throughout her life. Her fruitfulness is eternal. The fruits of the earth point us to the spiritual fruitfulness we are to imitate in the Blessed Virgin Mother of God.