Posted on 12/31/2014 4:33:50 PM PST by NYer
Brass monstrance now placed in a chapel dedicated to vocations
A man fishing at a reservoir near Baltimore two decades ago was convinced he had snagged a big fish after his line hooked something substantial.
After reeling in his haul, the angler had no fish. He had, however, caught something even more remarkable: a large Gothic monstrance used by Catholics to hold the Eucharist for worship.
Unsure what the ornate object was, but thinking it looked “churchy”, the man took the monstrance to a local Catholic church. A priest examined the vessel, suggesting that the man take the beautiful brass finding to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, where it subsequently remained in storage for years.
During a joyous Mass that attracted hundreds of people to the historic basilica last month, Archbishop William Lori placed a consecrated host inside the restored monstrance fished from the water and carried it in a solemn procession to the church’s undercroft.
There, he placed the monstrance atop a gleaming altar inside a new adoration chapel that he dedicated to be used to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.
“Using a monstrance fished out of a lake, we will ask the Lord to send us new ‘fishers of men,'” Archbishop Lori said in his homily, prior to dedicating the new chapel, “both here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and in the whole Church.”
How the monstrance found its way into the reservoir is a mystery, Archbishop Lori said, “but how it found its way here to the basilica is a remarkable sign of God’s providence”.
Archbishop Lori announced that the new adoration chapel would be dedicated to the basilica’s 24th rector, Mgr Arthur Valenzano, in gratitude for his “goodness and priestly example”. The surprise announcement stirred the congregation to give the priest a prolonged standing ovation, during which Mgr Valenzano, who is battling cancer, smiled and placed a hand over his heart.
Mgr Valenzano established a small adoration chapel in the same spot as the new one in 2011. It is located near the tombs of several archbishops of Baltimore, including the nation’s first bishop, Archbishop John Carroll.
The new chapel features an altar inspired by the basilica’s side altars in the upper church. The adoration chapel altar includes an octagonal baldacchino, a canopy with metal shingles that Archbishop Lori said were set in a pattern inspired by the design of the dome of St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.
“The tiles of blue glass which cover the interior of the baldacchino and serve as a backdrop for the monstrance recall the water of the lake from which the monstrance emerged,” Archbishop Lori said, “and also the words of the Lord to the Apostles, the first fishers of men, to ‘put out into the deep.'”
Mgr Valenzano told the Catholic Review, Baltimore’s archdiocesan newspaper, he hopes people will visit the chapel frequently to pray and draw closer to Christ by making a Holy Hour before the Blessed Sacrament. The chapel seats eight.
“At first, a Holy Hour can seem like an obligation,” the rector said, “but eventually, it seems more like an opportunity. It’s a time when we communicate silently with God and God communicates with us.”
Among the priests present for the dedication Mass was Fr Joseph Marcello, a Connecticut clergyman and Archbishop Lori’s former priest-secretary in Baltimore, who was instrumental in the chapel’s design. Jim Sutton was the architect and CAM Construction was the builder. A grant from the Andreas Foundation helped make the chapel possible.
Mgr Valenzano noted that a display in honor of the women and men religious who have served the Archdiocese of Baltimore, previously housed in the alcove where the chapel is located, will be relocated to another spot in the basilica.
Fr Michael DeAscanis, vocations director for the archdiocese, said he believes prayer in the chapel will have a direct impact on vocations.
“Don’t just pray for vocations generically, but particularly,” he said. “Pray for the young people you know your children, grandchildren, godchildren simply that God’s will be done.”
An inscription above the side entryways of the chapel is a constant reminder of the power of prayer. Taken from the Gospel of Luke, it reads:
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
It is beautiful and I am glad it was found and restored. What a gift. The stripping of the inside of our once beautiful churches to entertain modernists and others who felt we were to opulent are going by the wayside, slowly but surely. Praise God. I got married in a pretty ugly church. It was modern but it was the parish closest to my home. The interior of the church may have been ugly, BUT! Jesus was directly behind the alter in his Tabernacle, we had the bells etc.
There was this horrible modern Humanistic "crucifix", that I hesitate to call a crucifix as it was more of a scary version of that risen Lord on the cross thing, whatever that is supposed to be. But anyway. The ugly utilitarianism of that parish in no way reflected the hearts of it members. It was the home schoolers choice parish and we had many young large and ever growing families, which also meant we were on the poor side when it came to money. That said, that will always remain my parish heart. Best parish I ever belonged to.
For many years we all gritted our teeth. See that ugly thing (Cross) had been commissioned and donated by a founding family with that parish. When there were finally none of that family around anymore we simply did not have the money, as the Rectory was in danger of sliding down the hill into the river and the mice out numbered the insulation. Our sister parish helped us build the rectory and so did the diocese as long as we made it big enough to house a retired priest or two. What to do, what to do! We prayed and prayed and had bake sales etc. Father needed a new car, the basement of the church kept flooding and so the years passed and that "crucifix" still hung there.
Then one sunny day, a decommissioned church called and said they had a Crucifix and would we like to have it? Praise God! It was beautiful! We hung it for Easter that year. So the rest of the church is still blah, but that Crucifix!
My point is, God's time is not our time. Perhaps that Monstrance was rediscovered at exactly the right time. At a time when it would be given a special place so that all that look at it can marvel at it's beauty? A time when people have begun to see the error of stripping our Church of their artwork and marble etc. A time when it would be appreciated.
Vladimir: No, you dont.
I'm not sure you answered the question or if you're just saying I didn't see it. Was it in the article? If so, could you post it?
Lol!
Yes, of course! Why didn’t I think of that! Lol!
What I meant to say was how did it get from the church to the surface of the lake?
I didn’t know about the throwing away of altar decorations after v2.
I learn so much on FR
Members of the Serra Club do.
Named after Blessed Junipero Serra who founded all the missions in CA.
Did you see it?
LOL!! At first glance I thought you wrote SIERRA Club!!!The Mission at Santa Barbara and especially at Carmel where Junipero Serra is buried are FABULOUS!!
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