St. Margaret Mary

It's the feast of one of my favorite saints today so I'm celebrating with a picture and a poem that I love....

St. Margaret Mary

There were so many thorns

about his brow, 

so many red lips 

to prove the reality 

of His love, 

so little fertility 

in the soil of

His creature's affections,

so much of winter everywhere:

need we be surprised that

when the Gardener

found a rose

fragrant with remembrance

He should lift it

to His Heart?

~Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP 

Paths from Bethlehem

Thrice Bereft

"Lift your soul off the earth; lift it up, bravely, calmly. Do not let its fragrant petals drag in the soil; do not let selfish hands pluck you. Be not afraid that you will be crushed under foot. A Divine Gardener watches with jealous love over your growth, refreshing you with the gentle dew of His Heart's Blood, while he warms the Golden Mantle of His grace. It is true that we are on earth, but our souls are made to be lifted up, up from the earth to God."
 ~Letters from Fr. Page by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP

the altar at St. Joseph's Church, Baraboo, Wisconsin

the twelfth station, Jesus dies on the cross, St. Joseph's Church, Baraboo, WI

St. Joseph's Church, Baraboo, WI

Each year when my family and I enjoy our annual camping vacation, we attend Sunday morning Mass at St. Joseph's Church in Baraboo, Wisconsin.  It's one of my favorite churches, full of beautiful statues and stained glass. Mass at St. Joseph's is always reverent despite the faint scent of campfire that hovers about my family and I while we worship.

This year something caught my eye that I had never noticed before.  While looking at the altar, I was struck by the image of St. Mary Magdalene, bereft, upon her knees in grief, at the foot of the cross. In many churches it's common to see the Blessed Mother and St. John standing at the foot of the cross, but here, they were absent, and Mary Magdalene alone was portrayed in her sorrow. Glancing to my side at the stations of the cross, I saw that once again, there was the Magdalene on her knees, this time joined by Our Lady and the disciple that Jesus loved.  And finally, as I turned to leave the church after Mass, I saw yet another image in stained glass, of the saint who loved much, on her knees before our crucified Lord.

I thought of the three times that our Lord asked St. Peter if he loved Him after His resurrection, and St. Peter affirmed his love with three verbalizations.  In contrast, Mary Magdalene gave three obvious, yet wordless, displays of love for Jesus, not just as seen in the artwork at St. Joseph's Church, but also in scripture.  She knelt at His feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee, with her alabaster jar of ointment, broken open and spilling love for the Lord with abandon.  She knelt at the foot of the cross on Good Friday in utter despair.  She knelt at the entrance of the tomb not realizing the glory of the resurrection that was just beyond that tearful moment.  In each situation, her love was evident without requiring any questioning from the Lord.   She is a fragrant flower, blooming at the stem of Love and Mercy. 

And the Lord blessed her for her openness, for her inability to hold back her feelings, for her willingness to release her sins and accept the forgiveness of God, and then to go forth to proclaim His love to the world.   He accepted her passionate grief, knowing that her own love, watered by her tears, nourished by her compassion, would blossom into a witness for the world on how we, too, are to love the Lord; that is, fully, wholly, unreservedly, through our sorrows and joys, our sufferings and our triumphs, our losses and our gains.

Then, in the end, sweet Mary Magdalene is rewarded for her love with a magnificent entrance into the heavenly gates, carefully holding her jar of fragrant oil, now standing tall, no longer kneeling in sorrow, blissfully entering into the eternal arms of her Savior.

St. Mary Magdalene by Christi Jentz

The beautiful painting above is an original creation of Christi Jentz and is available for purchase in small giclee (pronounced zhee-klay) reproductions and cardstock.  Please visit her fabulous and informative website,  Lumen Christi Art, for more details on how to order her artwork or to simply enjoy the art and background information that she offers.  You'll want to check back frequently to read her fascinating blog updates.   

Secret Sorrows/Prayers for Priests

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  ~Ian MacLaren

Each day on my lunch break, I walk a few short blocks from the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Clinic where I work, to the Marquette University Campus, while praying the rosary.  The campus setting is so park-like and beautiful, and as I pass all of the college students cheerfully talking to each other, or texting on their cell phones, or slumped under the weight of their backpacks, it occurs to me that despite their carefree outward appearance, each and every person I pass is carrying a hidden sorrow in their heart.  I pray the sorrowful mysteries of the rosary and I think about how each of these students re-live our Lord's sorrows in their own mysterious ways of which others may never know.  We all have our secret sorrow.

Today I was carrying my own sorrow, deep within my heart.  It was announced at Sunday Mass that a local priest, Fr. Quintin Heck, had taken his own life.  My heart broke right open upon hearing this tragic news, and I could not keep from crying during the remainder of the Mass no matter how much I tried to remain stoic.  I didn't know Fr. Quintin, but my heart grieves for him as if he were my closest friend.

"In strengthening the priest, you strengthen the whole Church...Strengthen the priest and you strengthen the whole foundation, you strengthen everything in the Church."  
~Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, Founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood

It's unfathomable to me how a priest, beloved by God and by the Church, his family, a man who promotes the Catholic value of dignity and sanctity for all life, a man who transforms an ordinary piece of bread into the very Body of our Lord within his very hands, a man whose life is committed to saving souls, could take his very own life, that indescribably precious gift from God. Depression is a dark, tormenting and deadly disease, to be sure, and it does not care whose life it takes.  But it seems that beyond the disease of depression, there is an evil that is lurking within the Church, wreaking havoc and causing distress beyond measure.  Considering that Fr. Quintin is the second priest in Milwaukee who has taken his own life in the past month, it appears that our Church, and especially our priests, are under attack and we are all suffering victims in this battle.

"This kind can only come out by prayer and fasting."  Mark 9:29

For me, as an Oblate of the Precious Blood and the organizer of the Monthly Prayer Request for Priests calendar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, I take this tragic news very personally and easily become discouraged, as if the many hours I spend in prayer for priests has been for naught.  But deep down I know that all prayer is fruitful, that my words uttered to the Lord within the silence of my heart on behalf of the priests of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee do somehow help them to cope and to thrive, as they tremulously balance upon the straight and narrow path, duty-bound to God despite the tremendous difficulties that they may encounter in the spiritual battle for heaven.  God always wins, after all, and the demons of depression and suicide are not the end of the story.  It's vital that we remain strong, especially on behalf of our priests whose shoulders are burdened with not only their own crosses, but also those of all the Catholics who depend upon them to be a witness of strong faith, as well as the source of the Sacraments in which we meet Christ.

Handmaid of the Precious Blood

Today I implore you to please visit the Monthly Prayer Request for Priests website and bookmark the page or print out the calendars, keeping our Milwaukee priests in your daily prayers.  If you do not have a Monthly Prayer Request for Priests within your own diocese, please consider starting one.  I will gladly help you get started-it's not terribly difficult or time-consuming.  If you feel called to do even more, visit the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and spiritually adopt a priest, or prayerfully consider whether or not God might be calling you to look into becoming an Oblate of the Precious Blood, or to a religious vocation as a Handmaid of the Precious Blood.

"Be close to your priests with your affection and with your prayers that they may always be shepherds according to God's heart."  ~Pope Francis

Our priests deserve our attention, encouragement, gratitude, support, love and prayers.  Let's give them our heartfelt and faithful daily prayers which, through the grace of God, will hold them up when they grow weak and weary.  And please, remember the souls of our deceased priests within your prayers as well.

Eternal rest grant unto Fr. Quintin Heck, and all of our deceased priests, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

A PRAYER FOR PRIESTS

By the late John J Cardinal Carberry

Keep them; I pray Thee, dearest Lord.

Keep them, for they are Thine 

The priests whose lives burn out before

Thy consecrated shrine.

Keep them, for they are in the world,

Though from the world apart.

When earthly pleasures tempt, allure --

Shelter them in Thy heart.

Keep them and comfort them in hours

Of loneliness and pain,

When all their life of sacrifice

For souls seems but in vain.

Keep them and  remember, Lord,

they have no one but Thee.

Yet, they have only human hearts,

With human frailty.

Keep them as spotless as the Host,

That daily they caress;

Their every thought and word and deed,

Deign, dearest Lord, to bless.

Daily Prayer For Priests (St. Therese of Lisieux)

O Jesus,
I pray for your faithful and fervent priests;
for your unfaithful and tepid priests;
for your priests laboring at home or abroad in distant mission fields.
for your tempted priests;
for your lonely and desolate priests;
For your young priests;
for your dying priests;
for the souls of your priests in Purgatory.
But above all, I recommend to you the priests dearest to me:
the priest who baptized me;
the priests who absolved me from my sins;
the priests at whose Masses I assisted and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy Communion;
the priests who taught and instructed me;
all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way
(especially …).
O Jesus, keep them all close to your heart,
and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.
Amen

Myrrh-Bearing Women

"On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”  Then they remembered his words."  ~Luke 24:1-8

Myrrh-Bearing Women by C.J.

 I have a friend who is an extremely talented artist. She uses her gift to prayerfully paint icons, and more than that, she shares her vast knowledge of prayerful art with me, increasing my appreciation for the gifts of beauty which are inspired by the very breath of God, the Holy Spirit. When she was working on the above icon, she brought it to my house and invited me to add gold to the halo of one of the three women standing outside of the tomb at the Resurrection of our Lord. I chose the woman that I thought would be Mary Magdalene.  She is depicted as the woman in red, representing her sin, covered by green representing her new life in Christ. I carefully applied the gold by first holding a prayer in my heart and then breathing upon the image. They say that every stroke and motion of icon painting is a prayer. So on that not so distant day I breathed a prayer to one of my favorite saints who always holds a favored place in my heart because she loved much and I long to emulate that quality in my own life. I want to cast my soul at the feet of our Lord and breathe continuous prayers of love to His Most Sacred Heart. I want to carry an alabaster jar of fragrant oil into the world and spread His love to others. I want to love much.

The following poem was written by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood.  It's one of my favorites.  Wishing you a joyous Easter as we glory in our own redemption from our sins and cast our sorrow aside while rejoicing in the beauty of our own new life in our Risen Lord!

To Saint Mary Magdalene

You claimed
the false
until you found
the True;
your beauty
wounded
until Beauty
wounded you,
and plunged your soul
into a spring so sweet
your tears
fell as chaste pearls
at Mercy's
feet.

(a partial re-post from the archives)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIV-Jesus is laid in the tomb

(The fourteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Calm as a summer evening when no breezes are abroad, quiet as a noonday wood when all birds are songless, the Face of Jesus rests in death.  The Holy Countenance breathes by its very silence its last and final message:  "it is Consummated."  Not the malice of men, nor their ingratitude, is consummated, but the atonement for all human malice and ingratitude by the Sacrifice of that fair but now broken Humanity of God's Son.  With thoughtfulness too deep for words, with grief too deep for tears, the faithful disciples carry in tender haste the body of their Master to Joseph's tomb.

Jesus, because You were born in a cave and laid to rest in another man's tomb, I find courage to ask You to rest in this poor soul of mine.  It must have value in Your eyes, for You paid so readily a great price for its possession.  Take then, Jesus, what You have bought, and give me in return Your forgiveness and Your love.

Sorrowful Mother, rejoice with Jesus; He shall not have died in vain for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XIII-Jesus is taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms

(The thirteenth  in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is the gentle majesty of Holiness, something suggestive of the calm sleep of innocent childhood, on the Face of Jesus taken down from the cross and placed in His Mother's arms.  It would seem as if the years had been suddenly turned back and the peace of a Nazareth eventide had settled with the lips of Mary upon the Face of God.

Jesus, whatever the cost, and I have surely cost You much, do not let me die without heartfelt repentance for my sins, without the absolution of Your priest, the blessing of Your vicar, the Unction of the Holy Oils, and Your Kiss of Peace in Holy Viaticum.

Blessed Mother, as you stood by Jesus dying, stand by me and those I love, in that dread hour when into fearful darkness the Light of Justice reaches, to fall with fearful brightness on our souls.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XII-Jesus dies on the cross

(The twelfth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this twelfth station the hatred of men and the love of Jesus reach flood-tide, and then His ebbing Blood leaves at last His Sacred Body lifeless on the Cross.  Greater love than this no man hath-than that a man lay down his life for his friends.  Jesus laid down His for His enemies.

Jesus, no one can deny the grandeur of Your sacrifice, even though he fail to comprehend its widest extension and its fullest meaning.  Have mercy on me, my Jesus, that turning from the world like the penitent thief, I may claim the heaven of Your love.

Mother of God, Refuge of sinners, pray for me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross XI-Jesus is nailed to the cross

(The eleventh in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is a calm expectance on the Face of Jesus upturned upon the wood of the Cross.  He is waiting for the iron nails of man's ingratitude to confirm for all time the limitations of man's comprehension of God and the limitlessness of God's comprehension of man.  Only God-or the God-sustained-could bear with a prayer of forgiveness the torture of the nails.

Jesus, remembering your great pain, the Precious Blood pouring from Your hands and feet, let me be patient with all men, even with myself; let me be confident of the adequacy of Your redemption, and use that confidence not as a license for sinful indulgence but as an inspiration to more God-like living.

Blessed Mother, the hammer-blows on Calvary beat upon your heart; let me hear them, too.


(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross X-Jesus is stripped of His garments

(The tenth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

The mental suffering of Jesus is indicated in His Face in this, the tenth station.  Men drop their eyes in Christian modesty, which in the pure and humble is but instinctive shame for the stains of original sin.  Jesus lifts His eyes, because He is unsullied by any sin and stands clothed in Innocence and in His own Blood, symbolizing our poor, torn humanity restored to innocence and grace by this Most Holy Victim.

Jesus, when death strips me of all things else, let my soul appear for judgment clothed in the red mantle of Your Blood.

Mother Most Pure, pray for me to Jesus, the Holy Lamb of God.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VIII-Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem

(The eighth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

There is dignity that no indignity can destroy manifest in the Face of Jesus as He turns towards the daughters of Jerusalem in recognition of their sympathy.  A light suggestive of surprise lingers in His eyes.

Jesus, even in this moment, when these think of You with the ready sympathy of true women, Your thoughts are not of Your sorrows but of the sufferings of others, and more especially the loss of souls immortal.  Master, teach me to weigh all things, even as You do, in the scales of salvation.  Make me ready, even as You, to purchase at any price my own and my neighbor's eternal well-being.

Blessed Mother, surely your prayer, your example, stirred the quick sympathy of the daughters of Jerusalem.  Secure for me, if not tears for the suffering of Jesus, at least repentance for my sins.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

 The above picture is the original one used in Fr. Fitzgerald's version of The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross but the Columban Fathers used the picture at the beginning of this post in their version.  Considering the words, "A light suggestive of surprise lingers in his eyes", this picture makes more sense, don't you agree?

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross VI-A holy woman wipes the Face of Jesus

(The sixth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

 

No less a symbol than Simon of Cyrene, as well as more admirable, is the holy woman whom we call Veronica.  Breaking through the crowd of morbid, curious people, unmindful of rabble jeers or soldier brawn, this holy woman-representative of the more generous lovers of Jesus-threw herself at the feet of the suffering Master and rising, offered her veil to wipe from His Sacred Face the Blood of Divine Love and the spittle of human hate.

Jesus, How swift, how gracious Your recognition of Veronica's heroic action!  Upon her veil You left an image of Your outraged Face, and thus sanctioned for all time devotion thereto.

Sorrowful Mother, lift my soul as a Veronica's veil to the outraged Face of Jesus.  Beg him to leave thereon the image of His Holiness and Beauty so clearly impressed that the beauty of creatures may not draw me from my allegiance to the beauty of Christ.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross V-Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry His cross

(The fifth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Simon of Cyrene is more than an historic figure; he is as well a symbol of untold millions of Christians.  He did not choose the Cross, it was thrust upon him.  He embraced it because there seemed no other possible course of action, yet before he finished his forced journey, there had come to him the initial grace of realizing his privilege of sharing with the Saviour the road to Calvary.

Jesus, look upon me as You did upon Simon of Cyrene, with a love comprehensive of my limitations.  Grant me the grace You gave to him.  In so far as is necessary, force me to carry the cross, and as I bear it, awaken by Your grace in the depth of my soul appreciation of the privilege of even the most insignificant part in Your Saving Passion.

Mother of Sorrows, you who participated so perfectly in the sufferings of Jesus, secure for me the grace of a deepening love of Jesus, like that granted to Simon of Cyrene.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross IV-Jesus Meets His Blessed Mother

(The fourth in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

It would be hard to conceive a moment at once of deeper anguish and of higher exaltation than that moment when the eyes of Jesus met the eyes of His Mother, as the Son passed by on the way to Calvary.  In that brief instant two worlds, two suns of burning love, fused into one universe, mutually attracting and balancing each other, with their love for each other as the attracting, and their love for men as the repulsing force.  In that moment the perfection of their mutual love revealed itself, as so often must our loves on earth, not by retarding but by encouraging each other in sacrifice.

Jesus, You could not have given me more striking proof of love than this: for me and for my salvation You passed Your sinless Mother by.  For human love it is written that a man shall leave his father and mother, and yet on the way to Calvary I witness a mystical yet no less real manifestation of that mysterious love which has drawn me out of the womb of nothingness and destines me by Your saving grace for life eternal.

Dearest Mother, on the way to Calvary, you gave up Your Son-the Bridegroom of souls-to me; that I may be less unworthy of that sacrifice, help me this day to give up some small thing for you.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's FathersForeign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross III-Jesus Falls Under the Weight of the Cross

(The third in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

Moral failure, moral weakness, was not possible to Jesus, the All-Holy Son of God; but He knew how often in us moral and physical infirmities are allied; how often, as a result of original sin, man's corporeal being drags upon his spirit.  Therefore, Jesus willed to accept as much of our weakness as was compatible with the perfection of moral integrity.  He willed to suffer fatigue even to the exhaustion of His body and then by lifting Himself by His Divine Power, He taught us how in our weakness we might rise by His Strength and go forward to ultimate victory, salvation and sanctification.

Jesus, You have known the agony of exhaustion; how close that brings You to me!  Never am I more aware of the completeness of Your love than when I behold You crushed and exhausted beneath the weight of the Cross.

Sorrowful Mother, you were not permitted to help Jesus, but I am also your child; he permits you-as your love ever wills-to help me.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross II-Jesus is Laden with the Cross

(The second in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...begin here and then follow along each day.)

In this second Station we see the Face of Christ uplifted in anticipation of oblation.  Before Pilate, Jesus is the Lamb of God; before the Cross, He is the Lion of the House of Juda, on whose countenance gleams the light of sacrifice.

Beloved Master, You have made of the instrument of Your suffering a symbol of sublimest sacrifice; Your Cross has given to every cross a hidden value that can sustain me when my own grows heavy.  In that hour, Jesus, let me glimpse the exaltation of Your Face as You embraced the Cross.

Mother, who in spirit so perfectly accompanied and shared the Cross of Jesus, assist me also to bear mine. Teach me that crosses have many disguises.  Help me to remember Jesus, that however my cross be disguised, I may recognize and accept it for love of Him.

(from The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP,  founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood published by  St. Columban's Foreign Mission Society)

The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross I-Jesus Before Pilate

(The first in a series of posts praying the Stations of the Cross...come back daily during the next fourteen days to pray along.)

The Stations of the Cross have always been my favorite devotion.  Today I had the great joy of attending a Living Stations of the Cross that was held at the school where my two youngest children attend.  It was so beautiful that I was actually moved to tears at the fourth station and thirteenth station by how tenderly the girl who portrayed the Blessed Mother treated Jesus.  It was the first time that they have held a Living Stations at the school and I do hope it will become an annual tradition!

I have always been particularly fond of the Stations of the Cross version that was written by St. Alphonsus Liguori.  His words of prayer- "I love you,  Jesus my love, with all my heart; I am sorry for ever having offended You.  Never permit me to offend You again.  Grant that I may love You always and then do with me as You will"- are deeply moving.  But last year I came across The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross written by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and it has become my new favorite form of the stations.

Fr. Fitzgerald's version was written as a reflection on the artwork of Hippolyte Lazerges and he wrote under the pseudonym of Fr. Page, C.S.C.  The prayer book was published by the St. Columban's Foreign Mission Society in 1940.  I believe that I had the good fortune to purchase one of the last available original books which is now out of print, but facsimile copies are available here.

My friend Patricia, who writes at I Want to See God, has recently written a blog post about the Stations of the Cross and after reading her words, I was inspired to share Fr. Fitzgerald's version here in a 14 part series, sharing one station to meditate upon each day for the next two weeks.  Won't you pray along with me?  I was happy to stumble across the Columban Father's webpage where all of the images for the Holy Face can be found.  They also have a revised version of the Holy Face in the Way of the Cross available with meditations by Columban Father Patrick Sayles which can be found here.

Fr. Fitzgerald's Forword:

Hippolyte Lazerges' magnificent studies of the Holy Face in the Way of the Cross appeared first in this country in 1939 in The Far East, the missionary magazine of the St. Columban Fathers.  These little known etchings speak with an eloquence beyond the reach of words.  Yet they move one to words, to a grateful and humble attempt to express the meaning of their beauty, to interpret them in the light of that mystical extension of the Passion of Christ in which each true Christian shares.

The Stations of the Cross, richly endowed with spiritual favors by Mother Church and promoting as they do, so readily, interior recollection and the remembrance of Christ's Passion, are admirably suited for private devotion.  In these trying times what will prove of greater profit to souls than that they learn to follow daily in the footsteps of the Master, and seeking, Veronica-like, to make reparation to Christ, receive like her consolation from His Holy Face?

Finally, I desire to dedicate this task of love to one who has followed the Master quietly and bravely these many years-my mother.  ~Father Page, C.S.C.

The Face of Jesus as He stands before Pilate is the Face of the Lamb, of the Lamb of God who takes upon Himself the sins of all mankind.  Gentleness and forbearance, thoughtful acceptance of a sentence unjust....and yet not unjust if we remember, as Jesus did, His loving Will of vicarious suffering.  His Will to take upon Himself the weight of our sins; the penalty of our guilt.

O Gentle Saviour, impress upon my soul the image of Your Sacred Countenance and teach me to deepen that likeness by the quiet acceptance of the daily injustices with which men afflict men.  Let me strive to be very just to others even in my interior judgments; give me courage not to compromise my convictions and to accept, in union with Your silence before Pilate, all injustices that fall to my lot today.

Sorrowful Mother, commend my prayer to Your Son.

(From The Holy Face in the Way of the Cross with etchings by Hippolyte Lazerges and reflections by  Father Page, C.S.C. aka Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, published by the St. Columban's Fathers Foreign Mission Society)

Oblate Joy!

On October 27, the day that I was to become enrolled as an Oblate Candidate of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood I ran over to Gesu Church on my lunch break for a quick confession and I met Friar Paul Schneider in the confession line. It was a chance meeting with someone that I had recognized from activities at St. Francis de Sales Seminary but had not known personally. I introduced myself and then he told me that he had two more years before he would be ordained to the priesthood and he asked me to pray for him. I took his words as a confirmation that God was pleased with my plans to work toward becoming an Oblate of the Precious Blood. But by the grace of God, that meeting wasn't the end of the story...

During the week before Christmas, I received a newsletter from the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and within it I found a picture of none other than Friar Paul Schneider! The caption read: "In August, Oblate of the Precious Blood and long time friend of our community, Friar Paul Schneider made his Solemn Vows as a Conventual Franciscan at Marytown. We all rejoiced in spirit over this important milestone in his life as he makes his way toward priestly ordination in 2013. Please pray for him." Chills, that's what I had; chills and goosebumps to find his picture there and to learn that he is also an Oblate of the Precious Blood! Surely this was a providential sign from God!

There are only 420 Oblates of the Precious Blood throughout the world, so to find that there is an Oblate living in the very same city in which I live is quite extraordinary! Friar Paul and I have now been in contact and have plans to meet at the end of January, and when we meet I will have something very special to share with him before I send it on to the Handmaids of the Precious Blood at Cor Jesu Monastery in New Mexico, because...

When I first began to discern whether or not to apply for candidacy for the Oblates, I had discovered several books written by Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, the founder of the Handmaids of the Precious Blood, at the Salzmann Library at St. Francis de Sales Seminary. I found his books of poetry, Paths from Bethlehem and Streets in Nazareth and his book of spiritually uplifting words written in letter style, Letters of Father Page, to be beautiful, and I have shared some of his words and poems from these books in previous posts. I decided that I should purchase these books so that I could return to them again and again as a spiritual resource and so I ordered some used copies online and on Christmas Eve they were delivered to my house.

I found that Paths from Bethlehem was autographed with the words: "Asking our Lady to bless you" and Streets in Nazareth was also an autographed copy with the words: "With Mary's blessing." But even more impressive was what I found tucked just under the cover of Paths from Bethlehem. Upon opening the book I found several historical papers, including the Christmas bookmark that graces this post. One of the documents was a biographical sketch of Fr. Fitzgerald that read as follows:

"The author was born on October 29th, 1894, in South Framingham, Massachusetts. He was educated at Weymouth High School, Boston College and St. John's Ecclesiastical Seminary and was ordained a priest of the Boston archdiocese in 1921. After twelve years service as curate of Our Lady of the Presentation parish, he entered the Novitiate of the Congregation of the Holy Cross and was professed in 1934. He is now Rector of Our Lady of Holy Cross Seminary in North Easton, Massachusetts, and devotes his spare time to retreat work. His Letters, written under the pseudonyms "Father Page" and "A. Page," have appeared in Columbia and The Far East. Father Fitzgerald's previous works include Juxta Crucem, Paths from Bethlehem and God's Rainbow."

Also within the book I found a newspaper clipping of a poem written by Fr. Fitzgerald and the following typed poem of which the source is not named with a handwritten note on the bottom. The poem follows:

"I saw the Face of God these last days three
Mirrored in a soul so pure
The vision came clearly back to me.
His eyes, the dwelling-place of the Holy Ghost
Blazoned with an aureole alight with Love from His Host
Yet now and then, his brow furrowed with grief
Remembering the Thorn-Crowned Head,
the nail-pierced Hands and Feet.
In another moment his face was wreathed in a smile
Beatific, golden radiance all absent from trace of guile
It was brushed thereon by the lips of His mother
Joyous because her earthly son so loved His Brother.
This little page ever listing for heavenly commands
Walks daily with these Loved Ones, hand in hands.
And the cherished grace I hope from my retreat
Is to find my hand in theirs some day
When I clasp their little page's close in friendship pure and sweet.

And it was signed:

"As to the first, I cannot say, but to the last, I'll be always-Humbly at Our Mother's feet and in His Heart-A. Page C.S.C ."

What a treasure to find these antique papers from Fr. Fitzgerald, the Handmaids of the Precious Blood founder, all for the pittance of $3.00 plus shipping! It's too good for me to keep to myself, so after I show them to Friar Paul Schneider, I will send them to the Handmaids so that they may enjoy them as well. And all of this good fortune only intensifies the joy I feel whenever I contemplate the wonder of the priesthood and the great gift that all priests bring to the Catholic Church.

We've all had experiences in our lives, haven't we, where a priest has been there for us in a special way and through his kindness, we were given a glimpse, a foretaste, of the goodness of God and His love for us? Whether an illness brought a priest to anoint us, our sinfulness brought us to the confessional for the gift of absolution or our desire to receive the very Body and Blood of our Lord carried us to the communion line where the hands of a priest presented our Eucharistic Lord to us for our consumption; our priests have been God's instruments of grace in our lives. When our world turns upside down and we long to bare our soul to someone who can guide us in the ways that please the Lord, it is to the priest that we turn for assistance and direction. When ordinary and Sacramental joys bring cause for celebration in our lives, it is the priest that we invite to celebrate with us. Where would we be without a beloved priest in our midst to be Christ for us though every moment of our lives?

Recently, when my son Joe was ill and spent five days in the hospital, he was visited by Fr. Peter and Fr. Dave who both anointed him, Fr. Matthew and Fr. Jim who visited and prayed with him and Bishop Hying who also prayed and visited with him. I was deeply moved and marveled over how wonderful it is to receive the gift of the presence of holy and humble priests who give of their time so generously to bring prayer and the Sacraments to all of those in need, including my son. What a blessing it is to have priests who love and care for you and your family and what a blessing it is to love and care for those priests in return! And how best to love and care for them? With prayer!

I feel tremendously blessed to be called to pray for all priests, for those who have touched my life through their offering of the Sacraments and through their many kindnesses to me, for those whom I don't know personally but may meet in the future through God's providence, for those men who are discerning a call to the priesthood and studying in the seminary and for those who have spent their entire lives being Christ for others and are now called to rest in the Lord for all eternity. But most of all, I am blessed to pray for the one special priest who has been assigned to me through the Handmaids of the Precious Blood. Through my prayers I am able to lift the hands of the men who lift Christ up for the world.

Prayer is a gift, the most beautiful and precious gift that we can give to others and it is this gift that I offer in joy for God's chosen men, His holy priests, through the loving sacrifice of every moment of my days. I will forever be grateful for the Handmaids of the Precious Blood and for the guidance of the soul of Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, sP for the opportunity to humbly join them at our Mother's feet and in His Heart in prayer for priests as an Oblate Candidate and please God, soon as an Oblate of the Precious Blood.

More Poetry from Fr. Gerald Fitzgerald, SP

Words of Fr. Fitzgerald, SP that move my soul...

St. Margaret Mary












There were so many thorns
about his brow,
so many red lips
to prove the reality
of His love,
so little fertility
in the soil of
His creature's affections,
so much of Winter everywhere:
need we be surprised that
when the Gardener
found a rose
fragrant with remembrance
He should lift it
to His Heart?

~Paths from Bethlehem

Snowdrops

The lesson of the snowdrops is this: Listen, for I am going to let them speak to you.


Dear little one, you love us, do you not? And why do you love us? Because you see that we are sweet and fair; and we are sweet and white and fair because we have lifted our white heads up and hold them up bravely above the damp clay of Mother Earth's dark breast. Do you want to be loved, too? Do you want God and His Blessed Mother and His angels and saints to look on your soul and smile with pleasure upon it? You do; of course you do. Then you have only to imitate us. Lift your soul off the earth; lift it up, bravely, calmly. Do not let its fragrant petals drag in the soil; do not let selfish hands pluck you. Be not afraid that you will be crushed under foot. A Divine Gardener watches with jealous love over your growth, refreshing you with the gentle dew of His Heart's Blood, while he warms the Golden Mantle of His grace. It is true that we are on earth, but our souls are made to be lifted up, up from the earth to God. If you lift your soul up to God, He will use your life even as he has used ours; only yours in a nobler manner, to bring happiness to other lives and the fragrance of God's Love and the sweetness of God's beauty into the cloistered garden of a Christian home.

~Letters of Father Page