Abbey-Roads2

The Medal of the Immaculate Conception. 

I woke up this morning thinking, “Yes, it’s today, the apparitions to St. Catherine Labore began on this date in 1830!”  Actually they began on July 18, and two weeks later on this date, another of the revolutions in France, foretold by Our Lady errupted.  Interestingly enough, St. Catherine Labore was also canonized on this date in 1948.  Here is a narrative of the initial message from the events at Rue De Bac, Paris:

“The Lady continued, “The times are evil. Sorrows will come upon France; the throne will be overthrown. The Cross will be thrown down and trampled. The Archbishop will be stripped of his clothes. Blood will flow in the streets. The side of Our Lord will be pierced anew. The whole world will be afflicted with tribulations.” The Virgin appeared sad and could hardly speak as she said this. But as if giving a remedy, she pointed toward the foot of the altar and said, “Come to the foot of the altar. Here graces will be shed on all who ask for them. Graces will be shed especially on those who ask for them.”

Our Lady specified other sorrows and tribulations that were to come: There will be victims in other Religious Communities and among the clergy. The Archbishop of Paris will be killed. The whole world will be in sadness. And she gave Catherine to understand that some of these things would take place soon, and others in forty years.

Our Lady’s predictions came true. The following week, on July 27, 1830, a revolution broke out in Paris. The King, Charles X, was dethroned. The mobs desecrated churches, destroyed statues and threw down crucifixes and trampled them. Bishops and Priests were imprisoned, beaten and killed. Archbishop Hyacinth de Quelen of Paris had to flee into hiding twice to save his life.

In another revolution, that of 1848, King Louis Philippe was dethroned and went into exile. Archbishop Affre of Paris was shot while trying to plead for peace at the barricades.

Then forty years later, in September of 1870, yet another French Monarch was toppled, Emperor Louis Napoleon III, through the Franco-Prussian War. Six months later a revolution broke out in Paris. It lasted only two months; but before it was over, the sorrows and tribulations that had been predicted by Our Lady would be a matter of history. Many churches in Paris were desecrated, including the venerable church of Our Lady of Victories. Sacred things were publicly profaned. Even the graves and bodies of the dead were not spared. Many priests, both Diocesan and Religious were arrested; and finally thirty of them were executed, including Archbishop Darboy. True to the promise of the Blessed Virgin, the Vincentian Communities were saved, although the Sisters went through some very frightful moments.

After having revealed these events to Catherine in 1830, the Blessed Virgin spoke to her about many other things which were for Catherine alone. Then Our Lady disappeared. The Angel, after having led Catherine back to the dormitory, also disappeared, just as the clock struck two in the morning. The groundwork for Catherine’s mission was now laid.” - http://www.marys-touch.com/Saints/medal/medal.htm

The Enclosure of Nuns. 

The above photo is a Visitation Monastery speakroom from the 1960’s.  Since the Second Vatican Council, several monasteries have taken down their enclosure grilles, while not a few have ceased to observe strict enclosure or wear traditional habits.  Although there remain many monasteries that continue to do so; one of these is the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of Our Lady of Divine Providence, at Lake Elmo,  Minnesota.

Since the Council, many of the cloistered orders that retain grilles, have modified them somewhat, while they remain more a decorative symbol of cloister, than a “protecting” fortification.  The Council of Trent had imposed severe reforms concerning woman religious, requiring strict norms of enclosure.  Grilles within most monasteries had to be double, and the openings small enough to prevent a woman’s hand extending through.  In addition, the nun had to be accompanied by another nun when meeting outsiders, except in confession, and she had to wear an enclosure veil covering her face, unless the grille itself was curtained.

Feminists like to cite the regulations imposed by the Council of Trent as an example of the patriarchal supression of women, although grilles and walls of separation have always been intended to foster the contemplative life.  (It should be noted that at the time, woman were considered the weaker sex, not only requiring protection from outsiders, but, as others have suggested, to prevent them from exercising their seductive, feminine wiles over men.)   Nevertheless, these barriers were decidedly practical fortifications for the protection and safety of the nuns.  Interestingly enough, the decrees and strictures of Tridentine Papal Enclosure eventually led to the formation of more “active” religious orders of women, known as semi-cloistered “sisters” - not “nuns” in the strict monastic sense.

Anyway - that’s about all I know about monastic grilles and veils.  If you have ever lived in a cloistered monastery, it is not at all as mysterious or exotic as it appears to outsiders.

For those desiring a deeper understanding of the true meaning of cloistered life, you may want to read Verbi Sponsa, the Apostolic Instruction on the Contemplative Life and the Enclosure of Nuns. 

Carmel.

Today I was invited to Carmel for the Siver Jubilee of one of the nuns.   Guests may visit with Sister in the speakroom of the monastery during the time permitted for the reception.  Such events are limited to the day of a nun’s clothing and profession, only to be repeated on special occasions, such as a Jubilee - meaning the anniversary of vows.

Prior to entering monastic life, I was permitted to visit with the entire Community once or twice, and I have met with the Prioress several times in the speakroom over the years.  I prefer not to do so however.  I like it that Carmel is strictly enclosed and I don’t like to “get to know” the nuns in this way.  I respect the nun’s solitude, and even though I am invited to Jubilees and professions, I always decline the invitation.  So many other people thrill to meet with the nuns anyway, and the speakroom gets crowded, that it all becomes a distraction.

Whenever I met with the nuns, I never knew what to say anyway.  One Prioress, who has since left, often sent for me - I never liked that.  (My friend David enjoyed it more than I did.)  Successive Prioresses were much more disciplined, and I prefer that.  The hidden aspect of a Carmelite’s life is what I find so edifying.  Their anonymity, silence, and austerity of life, inspires my prayer much more than meeting or speaking with them.

“I am a pilgrim on the earth” - Ps 119

I used to spend hours and days at the Monastery, before the Hermits came along.  (Near the Monastery is a community of male Carmelite hermits, who also act as chaplains to the nuns.)  Locally, with the increase of Secular Carmelite vocations, the solitude of the extern Chapel is somewhat diminished, so I rarely go to the Monastery these days.  I miss those days when I was there, all alone - with the nuns on the other side of the grille. 

St. John of the Cross writes about specific places of prayer and how sometimes God detaches the soul from the spiritual delight the soul once used to find in these locations:

“There are different kinds of places, I find, by which God usually moves the will.  [One] kind of place in which God moves the will to devotion is more particular.  It includes those localities, whether wildernesses or not, in which God usually grants some very delightful spiritual favors to particular individuals.  He so grants His favor that the recipient will have a more natural inclination toward that place, and will sometimes experience immense desires and longings to return there.  But when he returns he discovers that the place is not to him what it was before, because these favors do not lie within his power.  God bestows these graces when and how He wills, without being bound to place, or time, or to the free will of the recipient.” - The Ascent, Bk III: 42, 3

That is not to say I never visit, but now I only do so “secretly”.  I invite you to pray with me for Sr. Ann of the Immaculate Conception, OCD, on her feat day and Jubilee.

(Photo: “Carmelite Nuns” - Courtesy of Hallowed Ground.) 

Two indispensable prayers.

For me, two indispensible prayers that I recite daily happen to be the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and the Rosary of Our Lady.  Why?  Aside from the fact that the prayers are so efficacious in obtaining grace, both were requested by Heaven.  Most Catholics know that at Fatima,  Our Lady asked everyone to pray the Rosary every day.  Yet Our Lord also requested that the Chaplet of Divine Mercy be recited as well, attaching many promises to those who recite it.  He asked St. Faustina to recite it incessantly.  (When I am gardening, I pray it as one would pray the Jesus prayer.)

Today at Adoration, a really nice “Church lady” came over to me with a little pamphlet on the devotion to the Divine Mercy with prayers for the sick and the dying.  I told her I pray the chaplet everyday, but she explained the efficacy of praying for the sick and the dying during Adoration, and encouraged me to read about it and recite the prayers.  It was such a grace for me that she came over with the pamphlet.

Dorothy (that is the lady’s name) had no idea how providential her “interference” into my prayer was.  (She apologized for interfering and I assured her she had not.)  I’m very familiar with St. Faustina’s Diary and the message of Divine Mercy, yet it was so beneficial for me to again read this excerpt from Faustina’s writings regarding Our Lord’s request that we pray the chaplet for the sick and the dying.

The Divine Chaplet is such an important prayer - and not just another devotion.  It unites us immediately and intimately with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being celebrated throughout the world, becoming for us a continuous Spiritual Communion, an aqueduct of Divine Love and Mercy, transforming our hearts and those we pray for.  Like St. Faustina, I too have had many signal graces associated with this prayer, especially when prayed for the dying.

From The Diary of St. Faustina:

Saint Faustina was often given the grace to know when a certain dying person desired or needed prayer; she would be alerted to the moment, by her Guardian Angel or by Our Lord Himself. At those times she would pray until she no longer felt the need to pray, or a sense of peace came upon her, or she learned that the person had died, or heard the soul say, “Thank You!” She wrote: “Oh, dying souls are in such great need of prayer! O Jesus, inspire souls to pray often for the dying” (Diary, 1015).  

Today is the feast of St. James the Apostle, my baptismal patron.  His relics are enshrined at Compostela, Spain, a pilgrimage destination for centuries.  The early Franciscans walked from Assisi to Compostela, as did all medieval pilgrims, and as many contemporary pilgrims continue to do.

While living in Assisi in 1976, I decided to imitate the early Franciscans, resolving to go to Compostela in poverty, although I had enough money to take the train to Lourdes, and I walked or hitch-hiked the rest of the way to Compostela.  (I wasn’t concerned as to how I got there, since it was on my way to Fatima and Avila.) 

I stopped at Garabandal on the way, staying a couple of nights with a family there.  I think I met one of the seers, but I can’t recall her name.  I have always been open to the apparitions at Garabandal, although, as at Medjugorje, there were troubling aspects associated with the claims.  Nevertheless, Fatima has always been enough for me - I never thought Our Lady needed to “continue” her messages from Fatima - at least for me.

When I arrived at Compostela, the Friar in charge of the poor pilgrims refused to believe I was an American without funds, yet reluctantly gave me hospitality.  It was truly a Franciscan experience, similar to what St. Francis describes as “perfect joy”, because the Friar treated me with contempt and mocked me as a “poor American” in front of other pilgrims every chance he got.  I didn’t mind, as I had come only to venerate the relics of St. James, and I would have been happy to sleep out doors if I had to - in fact, I did so at other places on occasion.  I never asked or begged for money, yet kind pilgrims often gave me money, or invited me to share their family meals.

At Compostela, I met a lovely French family who insisted on driving me to Ponteverda, at the Spanish/Portugese frontier, where Sr. Lucia once lived as a Dorothean sister.  They had taken their son on pilgrimage as he prepared to enter seminary that fall.  They were monarchists, and ultra-traditional Catholics.

They shocked me with some of their “conspiracy” theories concerning Vatican II.  (I suspect they would be SSPX people today.)  The father believed in the “Secret of LaSalette”, a dubious, dire prophecy concerning our times.  At the time, this family impressed me as “pre-Vatican II”, yet today, they would seem rather normal.  It was my first close experience with die-hard trads, and it was all rather disturbing - the father was always negative - the son let me know that he thought his parents were a bit extreme, which made the trip more bearable.  (The family liked me, claiming I looked exactly like their eldest son, who had been killed in a car accident.  They were very sweet people.)

Anyway - that was my “walking” pilgrimage to Compostela - and I did not receive a certificate.

Today is the memorial of the great Lebanese monk, St Sharbel Makhluf.  He celebrated his Mass at mid-day so that he could spend the morning in preparation for the Holy Mysteries.  He would spend the afternoon in thanksgiving - thus being a living example of what vatican II taught, that being “the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith”.  He prepared for Mass through the prayers of the Most Holy Rosary of Our Lady, which he prayed incessantly before the Blessed Sacrament. 

In the little book, “Secret of the Rosary” St. Louis De Montfort writes: 

One day Our Lady revealed to Blessed Alan that, after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the most important as well as the living memorial of Our Blessed Lord’s passion there could not possibly be a finer devotion or one of greater merit than that of the Holy Rosary, which is like a second memorial and representation of the life and passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. - Secret; Twenty-Eighth Rose.

Lindsay Lohan  was just arrested - again - after recently leaving rehab for the second time in her 21 year old life.  Robert Downey Jr. went through this up and down process as well, although now he seems to have found some stability in his life.

The success of rehab is of course, recognizing one has a problem, along with some real motivation to change one’s life.  But nothing works without humility, which usually comes when someone reaches absolute bottom - but not always.  My brother felt that rehab was filled with a bunch of losers, and he sure wasn’t going to attend any support group after he left rehab, with the same low-lifes he had to be nice to in the treatment center.   My brother died of alcohol related disease at the age of 45, he never got over his addiction.

One cannot make any progress without humility - no matter what the sins or faults, diseases or addiction one suffers from.

I think I’m beginning to see similarities between the two…

Presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton is beginning to remind me of Jiang Qing, known as Madame Mao, Chairman Mao’s wife who played a prominent role in the Cultural Revolution of China.  Clinton, ever famous for her book,  ”It Takes a Village” - detailing her vision for the children of America - continues to promote her thinly veiled socialist agenda as she campaigns for the Democratic Party Presidential nomination.

Mitt Romney takes a jab at Ms. Clinton’s recent statement concerning her views for economic reform:

“Hillary Clinton just gave a speech the other day about her view on the economy. She said we have been an on-your-own society. She said it’s time to get rid of that and replace that with shared responsibility and we’re-in-it-together society,” Romney told the crowd. “That’s out with Adam Smith and in with Karl Marx.” - Romney Continues Assault on Democrats

Wasn’t it on Bill Clinton’s watch that nuclear secrets were being leaked to the Chinese?  What if this couple lived during the McCarthy era?  I wonder if they would have been hanged?

What have I been saying about the workplace, church basements, blogs and those Gen-X, and Y-ers?  Narcissists all of them.  Check this out:

Blame it on narcissism
One psychologist blames the influx of the overshare on an increase in individualism — and with that comes a hike in narcissism. We’re oversharing more now because we’re pretty pleased with ourselves, says Jean Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State University.

“We just assume they’re going to be interested because it’s about me. Of course it’s interesting!” says Twenge, who is currently working on a book about narcissism among teens and twenty-somethings. -Beware the overshare in everyday conversations. 

Aren’t I just the social anthropologist though!  (No, that wasn’t a question.)