Monastic reflection

Picture from the Monastery of Philotheou on Mount Athos
"In this Jerusalem [the monastery], the Church is the center of the monk's love. The abbatial church is truly for him the building where all is sacred to God, the cherished dwelling echoing with the harmony of his praises and jubilation and proclaiming to all the fervor of his faith in the one thrice holy Lord. There, several times a day, with all the members of the cenobitcal family, the monk extends his suppliant arms, like Moses on the mountain, for the intention of his brethren fighting in the plain; he knows that he can obtain, through the ardor and constancy of his prayer, the victory for the armies of Israel over the enemies of God and of His people. Therefore his gaze, enlightened by faith, reaches out to all that touches God's Kingdom; his charity stirs up the flame of his devotion, it would reach all the souls who are struggling in ignorance, error, doubt, misery, temptation, suffering, sin; all who are spending themselves in promoting Christ's reign upon earth; all those too who are filled with the intense desire for being nearer our Lord. To render his intercession more efficacious, he joins his prayer to the all powerful and ever-answered prayer of the Divine Victim with arms stretched out upon the new Calvary which is the high altar ..."
-Blessed Dom Columba Marmion, OSB
Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in the early 20th century

(Please pray for me as I enter the monastery in early June of this year.)

RS

Pope's Address to the Benedictines

From Pope Benedict XVI's homily at Monte Cassino, May 24th, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the great Benedictine Family!

Almost at the end of my visit today, I am particularly pleased to pause in this sacred place, in this abbey, four times destroyed and rebuilt, the last time after the bombings of World War II, 65 years ago. "Succiso virescit" [in defeat we are strengthened]: the words of its new coat of arms represent well its history. Monte Cassino, just as the secular oak tree planted by St. Benedict, was "pruned" by the violence of war, but has risen more vigorous. More than once I also have had the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the monks, and in this abbey I spent many unforgettable hours of quiet and prayer. This evening we entered singing "Laudes Regiae" together to celebrate the Vespers of the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus. To each of you I express the joy of sharing this moment of prayer, greeting everyone with affection, grateful for the welcome that you have reserved for me and those who accompany me in this apostolic pilgrimage.

In particular, I greet Abbot Dom Vittorelli Peter, who has made himself the spokesman of your common sentiments. I extend my greetings to the abbots, the abbesses, and to the Benedictine communities present here. Today the liturgy invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Ascension of the Lord. In the brief reading taken from the first letter of Peter, we were urged to fix our gaze on our Redeemer, who died "once and for all for sins" in order to lead us back to God, at whose right hand he sits "after having ascended to heaven and having obtained sovereignty over the angels and the principalities and the powers" (cf. 1 Pt 3, 18.22). "Raised on high" and made invisible to the eyes of his disciples, Jesus has not however abandoned them, but was: in fact, "put to death in the body, but made to live in the spirit" (1 Pt 3:18). He is now present in a new way, inside the believers, and in him salvation is offered to every human being without distinction of people, language, or culture. The first letter of Peter contains specific references to the fundamental Christological events of the Christian faith. The Apostle's intention is to highlight the universal scope of salvation in Christ. A similar desire we find in St. Paul, of whom we are celebrating the two thousandth anniversary of his birth, who to the community of Corinth, writes: "He (Christ) died for all, so that those who live, live no longer for themselves but for him, who has died and is risen for them." (2 Cor 5, 15).

To live no longer for themselves but for Christ: this is what gives full meaning to the lives of those that let themselves be conquered by him. The human and spiritual journey of St. Benedict attests to this clearly, he who, leaving all things behind, dedicated himself to the faithful following of Jesus. Embodying in his own life the reality of the Gospel, he has become the founder of a vast movement of spiritual and cultural renaissance in the West. I would now like to refer to an extraordinary event of his life, which the biographer St. Gregory the Great relates, and with which you are certainly well acquainted. One could almost say that the holy patriarch was "lifted up" in an indescribable mystical experience. On the night of October 29 of the year 540 -- reads the biography -- and, facing the window, "with his eyes fixed on the stars he recollected himself in divine contemplation, the saint felt that his heart was inflamed ... For him, the star filled firmament was like the embroidered curtain that revealed the Holy of Holies. At one point, he felt his soul felt itself carried to the other side of the veil, to contemplate the revealed face of him who dwells in inaccessible light" (cf. AI Schuster, History of Saint Benedict and his time, Ed Abbey Viboldone, Milan, 1965, p. 11 et seq.). Of course, similar to what happened to Paul after his heavenly rapture, St. Benedict, following this extraordinary spiritual experience, also found it necessary to start a new life. If the vision was transient, the effects were lasting, his very character -- the biographers say -- was changed, his appearance always remained calm and his behavior angelic, and even while he was living on earth, he understood that in his heart he was already in heaven.

St. Benedict received this gift of God not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity, but rather because the charism with which God had endowed him had the ability to reproduce in the monastery the very life of heaven and reestablish the harmony of creation through contemplation and work. Rightly, therefore, the Church venerates him as an "eminent teacher of the monastic life" and "doctor of spiritual wisdom in the love of prayer and work; shining guide of people in the light of the Gospel" who, "raised to heaven by a luminous road" teaches people of all ages to seek God and the eternal riches prepared by him (cf. Preface of the Holy in the monastery to the MR, 1980, 153).

Yes, Benedict was a shining example of holiness and pointed the monks to Christ as their only great ideal; he was a master of civility, who proposed a balanced and adequate vision of the demands of God and of the final ends of man; he also always kept well in mind the needs and the reasons of the heart, in order to teach and inspire a genuine and constant brotherhood, so that in the complexity of social relationships the unity of spirit capable of always building and maintaining peace was never lost sight of. It is not by chance that the word Pax [peace] is the word that welcomes pilgrims and visitors at the gates of the abbey, rebuilt after the terrible disaster of the Second World War, which stands as a silent reminder to reject all forms of violence in order to build peace: in families, within communities, between peoples and all of humanity. St. Benedict invites every person that climbs this mount to seek peace and follow it: "inquire pacem et sequere eam" [seek peace and follow it.] (Ps. 33,14-15) (Rule, Prologue, 17).

By its example, monasteries have become, over the centuries, centers of fervent dialogue, encounter and beneficial union of diverse peoples, unified by the evangelical culture of peace. The monks have known how to teach by word and example the art of peace, implementing in a concrete way the three "ties" that Benedict identifies as necessary to maintain the unity of the Spirit among men: the cross, which is the very law of Christ, the book which is culture, and the plow, which indicates work, the lordship over matter and time. Thanks to the activity of the monastery, articulated in the three-fold daily commitments of prayer, study and work, entire populations of Europe have experienced a genuine redemption and a beneficial moral, spiritual and cultural development, learning in the spirit of continuity with the past, of concrete action for the common good, and of openness to God and the transcendent aspect of the world. We pray that Europe always exploit this wealth of principles and Christian ideals, which constitutes an immense cultural and spiritual wealth.

This is possible but only if the constant teaching of St. Benedict is embraced, the "quaerere Deum," to seek God, as the fundamental commitment of man. Human beings cannot achieve full self-realization or ever be truly happy without God. It is your special responsibility, dear monks, to be living examples of this interior and profound relationship with him, implementing without compromise the program that your founder summarized in the "nihil amori Christi praeponere" [put nothing before the love of Christ.] (Rule 4.21). In this holiness consists, a valid proposal for every Christian, more than ever in our time, in which the need to anchor life and history to solid spiritual principles is felt. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, your vocation is as timely as ever, and your mission as monks is indispensable.

From this place, where his mortal remains rest, the patron saint of Europe continues to urge everyone to continue his work of evangelization and human promotion. I encourage you in the first place, dear brethren, to remain faithful to the spirit of your origins and to be authentic interpreters of this program of social and spiritual rebirth. The Lord grants you this gift, through the intercession of your holy founder, of his holy sister St. Scholastica, and of the saints of your order. And may the heavenly Mother of the Lord, who today we invoke as "Help of Christians," watch over you and protect this abbey and all your monasteries, as well as the diocesan community that lives around Monte Cassino. Amen!

RS

Happy Feast of Saint Eutitius, Saint Spes, and Saint Florentius

"Saint Spes and Saint Eutizio with Christ"

Saint Fiorenzo of Preci

Happy feast day of the "Grandfathers" of Western Monasticism.

BTW I am referring to them in both their Italian and Latin names:

Eutizio = Eutitius (sometimes seen Eutychius, which I don't think is really correct)
Spes = Spes
Fiorenzo = Florentius

More info on them here and here.

RS

Elder Paisios of Mount Athos
Here’s a good analogy of the monastic life by an Eastern Orthodox monk of Mount Athos.

The monk departs far from the world not because he hates it, but because he loves it. In this way he will, through his prayer, help the world more in those matters that are, being humanly impossible, only possible by God’s intervention. This is how God saves the world. The monk never says: “I will save the world.” Instead, he prays for the salvation of the whole world, along with his own soul. When the Good God hears his prayer and helps the world, he does not say: “I saved the world,” but “God saved the world.”

In a few words, monks are the “radio operators” of Mother Church, and therefore, if they depart far from the world, they do it out of love, departing from the distractions of this world in order to be in better contact with God and help people more effectively.

Of course, when their unit is in danger, some mindless soldiers also share the irrational demand of certain clergymen (i.e. that monks should return to the world). They say that the radio operator should leave the radio aside and grab his rifle, as if by adding one more gun to the two hundred others he will salvage the situation. While the radio operator clamors to make contact, yelling “calling headquarters, come in, come in” etc., the others think that he calls pointlessly to the wind. However, astute radio operators pay no attention, even if they are reviled. They struggle until they make contact and then ask for immediate help from Headquarters and the air forces arrive, as well as the armed forces, the navy, etc. Thus, in this way, and not with their meager rifles, the unit is saved. The same applies to monks who advance with divine power, with their prayer, and not with their negligible individual powers. It is especially the case in our age, when evil is so widespread, that we are in need of God’s intervention.

(Before becoming a monk, Elder Paisios was himself a radio operator in the army during the Greek civil war which went from 1945-1949)

From Epistles by Elder Paisios of Mount Athos

Although not a Catholic book, it has the common link between the East and the West which is monasticism.

RS

Video about the Monastery in Norcia

Thought people might be interested in this video.

Sorry, the video was pulled off of youtube for some reason, so you'll have to go to the website and click on the "Video" link near the top of the page.

Website of Monastero di San Benedetto in Norcia, Italy

RS

Rejoice! The Lord is risen! Alleluia!

"The Resurrection" by Titian
Happy Easter! After the Easter Vigil I am always reminded of the phrase I would hear my Hungarian Cistercian friends say after their Easter Vigil: "Rejoice! The Lord is risen! Alleluia!" Part of it was in the delivery, which was what made it so amusing.

Anyway, I want to thank all of you readers who have been praying for me. Not only has the Lord been resurrected, but also "Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum" the "resurrection" of my vocation. The three months of intense vocational discernment was spent at the Benedictine Monastery in Norcia, Italy as an "observer." I am happy to say that I will be returning there this summer to enter the monastery.

Basilica and Monastery of Saint Benedict in Norcia, Italy.
So, I would ask for continued prayers as I try to get things taken care of so I can return. I feel a bit overwhelmed with all things to get done, but I guess I'll just need to chip away at it with God's grace.

I was also thrilled to see that the monks have been posting the audio and pictures from their Tenebrae services this year on their website at http://www.osbnorcia.org

So, once again, happy Easter.

RS

Benedictine All Souls

"Saint Gregory Delivers the Soul of a Monk"
by Giovanni Battista Crespi
Today is the Commemoration of all the faithful departed of the Benedictine Order.
Please pray for the repose of the souls of all faithful departed Monks, Nuns, and Oblates of the Benedictines.

RS

Benedictine All Saints

"The Glory of Saint Benedict" by Pietro Annigoni
at Monte Cassino
It's not my favorite picture of Saint Benedict, but it is good for today's feast, since it shows Saint Benedict in Heaven surrounded by Benedictine Saints.

Today is the Feast of All the Saints of the Benedictine Order. It's like All Saints but specifically for the Benedictine Order, thus all canonized and uncanonized Benedictines who are in Heaven are honored today. Traditionally, most of the older Orders have an All Saints and All Souls days for their Order. I know the Franciscans have their own, and I'm pretty sure the Cistercians do too.

I've never actually seen it listed in the new calendar, but it is still observed and was given a rank of a Class II feast in the old calendar (which usually translates into a Feast in the new calendar).

So, happy feast day to all my fellow Benedictines.

RS

Tomb of Saint Josaphat

Today is the feast of Saint Josaphat. I've had a devotion to him for awhile, and have tried to visit him every time I go to Rome. He's another Saint who is difficult to get to in Saint Peter's. His remains, as seen above, are in an altar which is in the area reserved for Confessions, and they usually won't let you in unless you are going to confession. I can usually muster up enough Italian to ask to go pray at his tomb, and they usually let me in, I think mainly because I have a beard and they think I am Eastern rite (that defintely was the case once).

On my last trip a month ago I had the great priviledge of learning how to serve the Tridentine Mass. The awesome part was that the second Tridentine Mass I helped serve was a low Tridentine Mass ... in Saint Peter's ... at the altar of Saint Josaphat. It worked out rather Providentially. Father had made arrangements to say Mass, but when we got there, they had not assigned him any altar. They just said to take any altar that was open. So after walking all around and finding every altar taken, we finally ended up at Saint Josaphat, and the priest there was just finishing up his Mass. So, I gently prodded Father in that direction, and that's where we had Mass.

I thought it was pretty appropriate that with Saint Josaphat being a Ruthenian Rite Catholic Bishop that we would say the Tridentine which is much closer to the Eastern Rites (and Tradition) than the Novus Ordo. It was also appropriate that Father Benedict being a monk would say the Mass at the relics of a Martyr who was a monk. Saint Josaphat was also a Martyr for unity between East and West in the Church, and here we had a very beautiful union of East and West and Heaven and earth. You can see the reason they put Saint Josaphat's relics in one of the altars closest to Saint Peter. Definitely a memory I will treasure.

You can read more about Saint Josaphat at Catholic Encyclopedia:

St. Josaphat Kuncevyc at Catholic Encyclopedia

RS

Mass of Fr Benedict in the US

I was just notified of a post about a Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict (who was just recently ordained) on his trip here in the US at Church of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, CT with the Society of Saint Hugh of Cluny. The Mass was in the Extraordinary Form. Father Cassian, the prior of the monastery in Norcia, is in the 5th picture giving the homily. The photos are beautiful.

Thanksgiving Mass of Father Benedict Nivakoff, OSB

As a side note, on the first picture in the above link, a monk's hood replaces the biretta, so whenever a priest would wear his biretta, a monk would wear his hood up.

RS

Officially an Oblate

Seal of Monastero di San Benedetto in Norcia
Last night I became an oblate of Monastero di San Benedetto in Norcia. It's basically like being a 3rd Order Benedictine. An oblate makes promises to the abbot (or in this case the prior) to live a life in the spirit of the Rule of Saint Benedict as his own situation allows in the world.

Basilica and Monastery of Saint Benedict in Norcia, Italy.
For more information on the monastery, please visit their website:

The Monastery of San Benedetto, Norcia, Italy.

The town of Norcia, Italy
Some general information on Benedictine Oblates:

Oblates at osb.org

RS

Habemus Sacerdotem

AVE O CRUX SPES UNICA

Pater Maria Benedictus Nivakoff, O.S.B.
monachus Monasterii Sancti Benedicti, Nursiae

sacerdos in aeternum

die 11 Octobris 2008

orate pro eo

-Holy card for the Ordination of Father Benedict

HAIL O CROSS OUR ONE HOPE

Father Mary Benedict Nivakoff, O.S.B.
monk of the Monastery of Saint Benedict, Norcia

a priest forever

on the 11th of October 2008

pray for him

The Church now has a new priest. Let us rejoice and be glad!

The Mass was one of great joy as the Archbishop of Spoleto-Noricia, His Excellency Ricardo Fontana, ordained the now Father Benedict to the priesthood.

I regret that I do not have any personal pictures, but that was because I was able to help serve in the Mass. However, the experience was great. There were many priests and seminarians who had come for the ordination. I met several young men from the North American College, one of whom is a seminarian from my own diocese! And all of whom are solid guys. I must say it was really amazing over the past 24 hours as priests, seminarians, and young men and women who were friends of Father Benedict came to Norcia, and in all the liturgies where we used Latin we were all united in prayer and worship even though there were people from several different countries and languages.

It has been a rather amazing experience, and it has been impressive in how many people have been in contact not only with the monastery but with Father Benedict in his studies. There were people from the United States, people who studied in Rome with him at Santa Croce, and students from the theological institute in Gamming, Austria (I probably didn't spell that right), as well as other friends and family.

It's also been great to help out the monks and get to know the newer members of the community.

Well, I need to get ready for Compline, and then help out Brother Sacristan in setting up for Masses tomorrow. The main Mass will be Father Benedict's thanksgiving Mass.

So, please say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for providing another laborer for the harvest ... one who is solid in the Faith and zealous for liturgy.

Deo gratias!

RS

Tomb of Saint Gregory the Great

Here's a few new photos which I took on my pilgrimage a year ago. Pope Saint Gregory the Great holds a place in my heart, not just because I am a Benedictine Novice Oblate and he was a Benedictine monk, but also because of the Masses I have heard at his altar in Saint Peter's. Pope Saint Gregory the Great's relics are in an altar very near the sacristy of Saint Peter's.

An interesting thing, if you ever visit Rome, is that if you can go to Saint Peter's right when the doors open in the early morning, you can attend a Mass of any number of the priests who say Mass at any of the side altars. What is nice about these Masses is that they are practically a private Mass. Usually, it is just the priest and the altar boy, however, the altar boy will sort of ask you if you are going to receive Communion [quizzical looks and a nodding of the head work well in spite of the language barrier, LOL], and give the priest an extra host at the offertory if you are. Anyway, the Mass, although a simple, low Novus Ordo Mass, is very beautiful and reverent if you get a good priest (as I did).

Since I had a devotion to Pope Saint Gregory the Great, I made it a point everyday I was in Rome, to get up early and go to the Mass at his altar.


Providentially, the priest who regularly said Mass at that altar spoke English. But it gets even better. Usually, the the priests say Mass in Italian. However, the second day I went, when the priest came to the altar and saw me again, he went up to the altar, took the Italian Missal, went over to the little cabinet next to the altar, put the Italian Missal in, and pulled a Latin Roman Missal out!


At that point, I was on a spiritual high. And the rest of my pilgrimage he used the Latin Roman Missal when he saw me. I made it a point to thank him, and he told me that since I was obviously not Italian, he figured I would have an easier time with the Latin. Indeed it was true. Being obedient to Vatican II, I know in Latin the parts of the Mass which pertain to me.*

I also love Pope Saint Gregory the Great because of his "Dialogues" which is the best source of information on the life of Saint Benedict, and which gave me information about some other Saints whom I love, Sant'Eutizio, San Fiorenzo, and San Spes.

His name is also attached to the chant of the Roman Rite (Gregorian Chant).


Sancte Gregori, ora pro nobis.

*Sacrosanctum Concilium
"36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites."
"54. "... steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them. "

RS

I may have a vocation to this order

"The Dormition of the Virgin" by Andreas Ritzos
As I was digging around on the internet, I came across this order which I had never heard of before:

The Canons Regular of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary (O.Dorm.) are that rarity, an enclosed, purely contemplative order of men. While they naturally hide from the world, some description of their unique vocation, according to the Regula Patrum Soporificum, may be of interest.

(The Order ought not be confused with the Assumptionist Fathers, who follow the Augustinian Rule, and are named for Our Lady's transferral body and soul into heavenly bliss. The Falling Asleep (dormitio, koimêsis) of the Blessed Virgin is the older name, common to East and West, for Holy Mary's sacred and everlasting repose in the Lord.)

The full article has much more detail about their life.

The Dormitionists

I think they might be a natural fit for my temperment and activity level. I'm going to go write to the vocations direcetor right after my nap!

RS

Saint Charbel Makhlouf

Today is the feast of Saint Charbel. A note is that a friend of mine who was born and raised in Lebanon said it is pronounced SHAR-bel with the emphasis on the first syllable.

Anyway, from a Latin Church perspective, Saint Charbel is probably the best known Saint of the Maronite Church. This is the Church around the area of Lebanon, whose rite comes from Saint Maron. It is the only Eastern Church that did not go into schism in all the conflicts between the East and West, and remained in union with Rome. It should be noted that his feast day was added to universal calendar as an optional memorial in the 2002 Missale Romanum.

Saint Charbel was Maronite monk who lived in the early to mid 19th century. I think what draws me to him is the fact that he led a simple monastic and heremetical life. He lived in community for about 19 years, then as a hermit for 23 years. Prayer, penance, and work were what made him a Saint.

His monastery now has a website (if the music gets to be too much, go to the lower left corner of the page and click on the moving vertical bars):

Saint Maron-Annaya Monastery

Biography


RS

Happy Feast of St Benedict

Statue of Saint Benedict in the piazza in Norcia, (aka Nursia) Italy

RS

Sant'Eutizio Monastery and Church

Today, May 23rd, is the Feast of Saint's Eutizio, Spes, and Fiorenzo. I affectionately refer to these three as the Grandfathers of Western Monasticism since they would have had an influence on Saint Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism, and Saint Scholastica. You can read about Sant'Eutizio, San Spes, and San Fiorenzo in my post from last year, here:

Feast of Saint Eutizio, Saint Fiorenzo, and Saint Spes

As I noted at the end of that post, I was disappointed that I did not have any pictures of my own from the monastery of Sant'Eutizio. Thankfully, that has changed. Last year, when I went to Norcia, Father Clement (who is now the pastor at Sant'Eutizio, which is now a parish) was kind enough to drive me there. It was a beautiful day and thankfully the church was open.

As a small historical note, the monastery of Sant'Eutizio was a rather important monastery back in the Middle Ages. It was related to the Monastery in Norcia, but apparently, Sant'Eutizio also had a lot of power back then. From what I was told, it controlled monasteries all the way to the western coast of Italy. Eventually it was abandoned when Napoleon came through Italy and kicked all the religious out of their monasteries and religious houses. This is why so many churches and monasteries in Italy are controlled or owned by the state.

Fortunately the diocese, and not the state, actually owns this land. The monastery has been used as a retreat center and the church is now a parish for the surrounding area. However, last year, the archbishop appropriately assigned one of the monks of Norcia as the pastor of the parish there.

I do love the place. A great memory was the first time I went to Norcia in 2000, Fr. Cassian, Fr. (then Br.) Clement, and I went to Sant'Eutizio and chanted the traditional Benedictine Vepsers in the choir in the church. It was a rather amazing experience.

Now back to last year's trip. First we had to get to Sant'Eutizio from Norcia. The drive there is about 15 minutes of amazing scenery around Norcia. You end up going over a pass "behind" Norcia and then into a valley area. There are about three or four little towns on the way to Sant'Eutizio. I'm always amazed at how some of the towns are just stuck on the side of a hill or mountain. Here's an example. I believe this is the small town of Piedivalle.

Eventually we leave the main road in the valley and head up to the monastery. Just above the monastery, again stuck to the side of the mountain, is Preci. I'm not sure if this is Preci proper, or just a small "upper part" of it. This is the view of it from the monastery.


Turning around we see the entrance to the monastery.


Which opens into the inner courtyard with the church to the right.


Inside the church, you can see an amazingly beautiful design where the high altar and choir are placed above the main level of the church.


Here we see the main altar, the crucifix and two busts of Sant'Eutizio and San Spes.


Going behind the altar we come into the choir and on the backside of the high altar area we see the reliquary.


The signs tells us (one in Italian and one in English) "Here rests the bodies of Sant'Eutizio and San Spes, Abbots, whose acts were written about by Pope Saint Gregory [the Great]."


Here's the choir I mentioned above. It's all woodwork, and although it's a bit hard to tell, there are actually two levels of choir stalls there.


Going outside we can see the bell tower built into the cliffside.


Turning to the right, we are looking at the facade of the church with a beautiful Romanesque rose window.


Just to get your bearings, here's the facade of the church and you can see the entrance to the monastery which we came through to the right.


Turning around and going up the side of the hill, we come to the cave where Sant'Eutizio lived.


And finally, after we leave and drive back towards Norcia, we come up over the pass and are able to look out upon Norcia itself.


So, I hope you enjoyed this little virtual tour of Sant'Eutizio and hope you feel a bit closer to them. They may be unknown, but in God's Providence, they have actually had a huge influence upon religious life in the West. If you don't know much about them, please read last year's post.

"Saint Spes and Saint Eutizio with Christ"

Saint Fiorenzo of Preci

I'm hoping that my friends at Norcia can help me learn more about these Saints.

RS

Photos of Dom Gerard's Funeral

The New Liturgical Movement provided a link to pictures from the Funeral Mass of Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB, the eventual founder of the Traditional Monastery of Le Barroux in southern France.

As usual the liturgy is beautiful, and shows the detail and theology of the older liturgical form.

Here are some pictures, and the rest can be viewed here:

"Funeral" album of Le Barroux.






More albums can be viewed here:

Le Barroux albums

Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB
1927-2008
Requiescat in pace.
RS

Summer Vocational Discerment Program, Norcia, Italy

Basilica and Monastery of Saint Benedict in Norcia, Italy.
The monastery of which I am a novice oblate is having it's annual summer vocational discernment program for young men considering monastic life. The subprior just sent me this notice, asking to spread the word.

The Monastery of San Benedetto in Norcia will hold its 10th annual summer vocational discernment program in 2008 from July 1 – July 31.

The purpose of the program is to offer young men (usually age 18-30) a time to discern God’s will for their life in a more concentrated way than normal worldly circumstances permit.

Attendees will be invited to participate in the life of the monks as a way to guide their decision. The program also includes the following aspects:

Readings and discussions on vocational discernment based on texts from Scripture, the Church Fathers, and the Magisterium.
All the states of life (i.e. marriage, priesthood and religious life) are considered.
Spiritual direction with the monks
Weekly outings to important places in St. Benedict’s life (Subiaco, Monte Cassino)
Weekly hikes in the mountains surrounding Norcia.

Requirements:
Open to men ages 18-30.
A letter of recommendation from a priest.
A $300 donation would be helpful but is not essential.

Participants should try to arrive a few days early to get over the jet lag. For more information please visit the monastery website: www.osbnorcia.org. To apply please write to the Subprior, Br Benedict at benedict@osbnorcia.org.

The community is mostly made up of monks from the United States, however, it is intended to be an international community. It would be ideal if candidates can speak either English or Italian, however, for any questions contact Br. Benedict at the address above.

Having gone through the program I can say it is well worth it and gives you a very good and extended experience of monastic life. The community is solid in it's doctrine, liturgy, and monastic observance. I would highly encourage any men who are even slightly interested.

RS

Requéscat in pace Dom Gerard Calvet

I am a couple of days late on this only because I just found out.

Please pray for the soul of Dom Gerard Calvet, OSB. He is the founder of the community that is now Le Barroux in France.

Dom Gerard during the Canon of his jubilee Mass
I had the opportunity to meet him while on retreat at Le Barroux during Lent of 2002. He was an extremely warm and humble man, very devout and traditional, but never "rigid" or cold as many people tend to stereotype traditional Catholics.

He was also very involved in the pro-life movement in France, as evidenced here:

Renowned French Pro-Life Abbott Dies at Age 80

He has definitely been a great instrument of God's grace. Please remember him in your prayers.

Requéscat in pace.

RS