Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 05-31-14, FEAST, Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Why Our Lady of the Cenacle?

Saturday, 31 May 2014 07:02

The Cenacle

Silverstream Priory was, at its conception, placed under patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Cenacle. The Cenacle is the upper room in which Our Divine Lord instituted the adorable Sacrament of His Most Holy Body and Blood, making His Apostles the first priests of the Church, and humbling Himself to wash their feet. In the splendour of His Resurrection, Our Lord appeared to His Apostles, again in the Cenacle. It was in the same Cenacle that the Apostles, assembled around the Virgin Mother of Jesus, awaited the promised Gift of the Holy Ghost, by persevering together in prayer. When, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost descended upon them in tongues of fire and in a mighty wind, this too took place in the Cenacle.

Marked by this mystery of the Cenacle, the ecclesial mandate of the Benedictine Monks of Perpetual Adoration is to adore the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar in a spirit of reparation, and to intercede for the sanctification of priests by “persevering with one mind in prayer with Mary, the Mother of Jesus” (Acts 1. 14).

Vultus Christi

In Cenaculi Solitudine

Saturday, 31 May 2014 08:18

Our Lady of the Cenacle

Many years ago and long before I had any idea that I would one day play a role in establishing a monastery under the patronage of Our Lady of the Cenacle, I was searching out the treasures of my missal, and discovered, among the Masses for Certain Places, the Mass of Our Lady of the Cenacle for the Saturday within the Octave of the Ascension. The Proper texts of the Mass stirred my heart.

The Mass for today’s feast was composed and approved in 1886 at the request of Mother Marie-Aimée Lautier, Superior General of the Congregation of the Cenacle. The humble foundress of the Society of Our Lady of the Cenacle, Saint Thérèse Couderc, died in 1885. It is a pity that, with Ascension Thursday being observed in so many places on the following Sunday, both the Pentecost Novena and the feast of Our Lady of the Cenacle are adversely affected.

Collect
Deus, qui beatam Mariam semper Virginem matrem tuam
in Cenaculi solitudine cum discipulis orantem
Sancti Spiritus donis cumulasti:
fac nos, quaesumus, cordis recessum diligere;
ut sic rectius orantes
Spiritus Sancti gratiis repleri mereamur.

O God, who, in the solitude of the Cenacle, didst fill with the gifts of the Holy Ghost
Blessed Mary ever Virgin, Thy mother, united in prayer with Thy disciples;
grant that we may so withdraw into the secret places of the heart
that by praying aright,
we may be made worthy to be filled with these graces in abundance.
Who with God the Father livest and reignest
in the unity of the same Holy Ghost,
one God, world without end.

Secret or Prayer Over the Oblations

Haec sacra, Domine, tibi in honorem beatae Mariae Virginis Matris tuae litantes.
humiliter petimus,
ut sicut ipsa verba tua sancta in corde suo sollicite servavit,
nobis quoque ejus intercessione concedas,
ita in lege tua assidue meditari,
ut fidelius opere implere eam valeamus.

Offering Thee, O Lord,
these sacred gifts in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary Thy mother,
we humbly ask that,
by the example and intercession of her
who carefully kept Thy holy words in her heart,
we too may meditate Thy law assiduously,
so as to put it into practice more faithfully.

Postcommunion

Deus, qui fideles tuos in Cenaculi recessu cum Maria Matre tua sacratissima
perseverantes et unanimes in oratione effecisti:
praesta, quaesumus;
ut his quoque donis ornati et a saeculi strepitu segregati,
tibi soli in caritate perfecta vivamus.

O God, who to thy faithful withdrawn in the Cenacle,
didst grant perseverance in prayer in oneness of heart
with Mary, Thy most holy Mother,
grant, we beseech Thee, that we also,
graced with the same gift
and separated from the noise of the world,
may live for Thee alone in perfect charity.

Vultus Christi

Seven Mysteries of the Holy Ghost

Saturday, 31 May 2014 11:29

Drawing upon the traditional mysteries of the rosary — Joyful, Sorrowful and Glorious, and the mysteries of Light proposed by Pope Saint John Paul II — it becomes possible to pray through seven mysteries that, in a special way, reveal the presence and work of the Holy Ghost. I find it practical to use my Seven Dolours Rosary, with its “seven times seven” series of beads for this persevering invocation of the Holy Ghost through Mary.

1. The Annunciation, the “Proto-Pentecost” in which the Virgin is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit (cf. Lk 1:35). Ask for the Gift of Wisdom.

2. The Visitation in which Elizabeth, “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Lk 1:42), greets the Mother of her Lord. Ask for the Gift of Understanding.

3. The Baptism of Jesus, at which the Holy Ghost descended upon him “in bodily form, as a dove” (Lk 3:22). Ask for the Gift of Counsel.

4. The Wedding Feast at Cana (Jn 2:1-11) at which, in response to the intervention of his Mother, Jesus provides wine in abundance prefiguring the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. Ask for the Gift of Fortitude.

5. The Death of Jesus Crucified who, “bowing his head, handed over his spirit” (Jn 19:30). Ask for the Gift of Knowledge.

6. The Resurrection of Jesus who, appearing to the disciples “on the evening of that day, the first day of the week” (Jn 20:19), “breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’” (Jn 20:22). Ask for the Gift of Piety.

7. The Descent of the Holy Ghost “when the day of Pentecost had come” (Ac 2:1). Ask for the Gift of Holy Fear.

Regnum Christi

Pentecost Anticipated

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

Luke 1:39-56

Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary´s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid´s lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him. He has shown might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly. The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy, according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in your supreme goodness and love. I entrust my entire self to you with all of my hopes, fears and joys. Thank you for giving us the gift of yourself in the Eucharist. Thank you, too, for giving us your own mother to be our mother during our exile on this earth and journey home to you in heaven. Here I am, like her, to do your will.

Petition: Mary, help me to grow in humility.

1. Prompt and Joyful Charity: What has impelled Mary to undertake her perilous journey not only alone, but also in haste? An irresistible force was acting within Mary: the presence of the Holy Spirit overshadowed and filled her since the moment of the Annunciation. This same Holy Spirit has filled the heart of Elizabeth at Mary’s greeting and moved the infant within her womb. What is the first fruit of the fullness of the Holy Spirit? Joy. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI comments on the relationship of joy to the truth who is Christ himself: “Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of truth, attracts to himself the heart of every man, dilates it, and fills it with joy. Only the truth is capable of invading the mind and making it fully joyful. This joy expands the dimensions of the human spirit, raising it from the anxieties of egoism, making it capable of authentic love” (Discourse to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 10, 2005).

2. Elizabeth – The Unworthy Host: Elizabeth’s moving question reflects the one virtue necessary for a person to be invaded by the Holy Spirit: humility. Elizabeth is profoundly aware of her own lowliness in the face of a visit from the mother of her Lord. Mary herself echoes these sentiments of deep humility throughout her Magnificat. What is the reason her Creator has done great things for her, so much so that all generations will call her blessed? It is not due to any talent or quality she might possess of herself. There is no magnificent grandeur by which she has captivated the Almighty. God has simply “looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness.” Do I rejoice in my own littleness, knowing that it enables the Holy Spirit to make his dwelling within me and do great things for Christ with my life?

3. The Hymn of God’s Praise: Mary is so filled with the Holy Spirit that her whole being bursts forth in a hymn of joy and praise to the Almighty. Pope Emeritus Benedict reflects on Mary’s joy at the infant Lord’s presence within her womb: “This is the joy the heart feels when we kneel to adore Jesus in faith” (Discourse to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, February 10, 2005). The joy of Christ, the joy of the Holy Spirit, gratitude to God for the great things he has done in us, impels us to bring Our Lord to others, just as Mary brought him to Elizabeth even before his birth. As she sings her Magnificat, Mary does not remain closed within herself, but reflects on what God has done for her in light of his saving plan for all his people. May the joy of the Holy Spirit bring about a new Pentecost that radiates from our lives.

Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord! The great gift of your Holy Spirit fills our lives with the unspeakable joy of your own presence within us. Help me to respond with haste -- as Mary did -- to the impulses of charity from the Holy Spirit.

Resolution: I will look for occasions to speak about Christ with others and do acts of charity for them with joy and haste, just as Mary did in the Gospel.

Homily of the Day

May 31, 2014

Did you know that the Canticle of Mary (or Song of Mary) is more popularly known as the Magnificat? Magnificat is a Latin term meaning “magnifies,” specifically it is also a hymn. Now, a hymn is literally a song of praise; and in this case, it is a song of praise to God as sung by Mary, our Blessed Mother. Then again what else is there about the Magnificat that is even worth mentioning? A quick overview consists of Mary praising our Lord and rejoicing in the Savior. It is a prayer of a lowly handmaiden who, by the grace of God, has exalted her so that people shall call her blessed thenceforth. It is a prayer where Mary extols the greatness of God’s strength, mercy and great love for, not only his beloved handmaiden but also for all those who fear Him.

So why do people sing the Song of Mary? If you think about it, maybe it has something to do with the sincerity and the elation that Mary felt when she sang these words during her visit with Elizabeth. Maybe we have a need to feel that same elation and utter love for our God, and feel it in the very depths of our soul — or in this case, in our spirit.

Consider the following: Have you ever felt such euphoric joy towards God that made you wanted to sing a praise song or two out loud? Have you ever wondered how you could become more Mary-like in your love and service to the Lord? If not, where or how would you start to get to that point of making you want to break out into song for the Lord? Lastly, have you started?

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