"The Witness of Mercy" to be presented by Michael McGlinn

Feast of St. Andre Bessette, CSC

St. Andre Bessette, whose feast we celebrate, as St. Joseph interceded for you so may you intercede for us to the glory of God.

Solemnity of All Saints....

Sacred Music Colloquium at Notre Dame...

This colloquium poses tremendously interesting questions which whirl around points of theology and beauty, between personal taste and communal beliefs.   As I research the concept of formation and specifically liturgical formation, I wonder what is it about music that is formative?  Style is less important, substance is essential.  Can all styles hold and convey the depth of substance which is the Faith?  I look forward to this colloquium and wish it great success.

More from the organizers:

What constitutes great sacred music? Should we prefer the historical repertories of chant, polyphony  and baroque cantatas that have been recognized for their beauty and spiritual refinement? Or do we embrace the music of the people and of the times?  Do we judge the quality of sacred music on the basis of its intrinsic beauty or for its capacity to promote congregational participation? Should liturgical music have a separate style than music for everyday life?  Can we question the role of contemporary popular styles and of publishers' anthologies if they appeal to the congregation?

 

A distinguished group of composers, scholars and conductors will examine these topics from their individual perspectives, to ascertain if the beauty and spiritual inspiration of sacred music can emerge from different models, practices and performance contexts.

The discussions will be complemented by readings of new works of sacred music proposed by emerging composers and conductors registered in the colloquium. Young composers will be able to discuss their scores privately with the master composers of the conference.

Aquinas on Feast Days...

O my Jesus, I beg You on behalf of the whole Church:

Grant it love and the light of Your Spirit,

and give power to the words of Priests

so that hardened hearts might be brought to repentance and return to You, O Lord.

Lord, give us holy Priests;

You yourself maintain them in holiness.

O Divine and Great High Priest,

may the power of Your mercy

accompany them everywhere and protect them

from the devil's traps and snares

which are continually being set for the soul of Priests.

May the power of Your mercy,

O Lord, shatter and bring to naught

all that might tarnish the sanctity of Priests,

for You can do all things.

My beloved Jesus,

I pray to you for the triumph of the Church,

that you may bless the Holy Father and all the clergy;

I beg you to grant the grace of conversion

to sinners whose hearts have been hardened by sin,

and a special blessing and light to priests,

to whom I shall confess for all of my life.

-- Saint Faustina Kowalska

The University of Portland will host the delegates to the 2012 Chapter of the United States Province of Priests and Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross. 

Let us keep the delegates and their deliberations in our prayers as they meet from June 10 - 22.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of our delegates to the Chapter and kindle in them the fire of your love.  Inspire them with Your sevenfold gifts;

The gift of wisdom that they might desire all that is right and good;

The gift of understanding that they might penetrate deeply into the mysteries You have revealed;

The gift of counsel that they might hear and be guided by Your voice as spoken through Chapter;

The gift of knowledge that they might discern Your truth;

The gift of fortitude that they might be ever faithful and vigilant to the needs of the Church and the works of the Province;

The gift of piety that they might witness true holiness of heart;

And the gift of fear of the Lord that they might trust in Divine Providence and grow always stronger in virtue.

Guide the discernment of our delegates as they consider our vowed life and mission.  Fill them with zeal for the apostolates.  May their decisions further strengthen our brotherhood in Holy Cross as together we shape a future faithful to Your will.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray  for us!

Saint Joseph, pray for us!

Blessed Basil Moreau, pray for us!

Saint Andre Bessette, pray for us!

May: The Month of Mary

MAY is Mary’s month, and I

Muse at that and wonder why:

   Her feasts follow reason,

   Dated due to season—

Candlemas, Lady Day;

But the Lady Month, May,

   Why fasten that upon her,

   With a feasting in her honour?

Is it only its being brighter

Than the most are must delight her?

   Is it opportunest

   And flowers finds soonest?

Ask of her, the mighty mother:

Her reply puts this other

   Question: What is Spring?—

   Growth in every thing—

Flesh and fleece, fur and feather,

Grass and greenworld all together;

   Star-eyed strawberry-breasted

   Throstle above her nested

Cluster of bugle blue eggs thin

Forms and warms the life within;

   And bird and blossom swell

   In sod or sheath or shell.

All things rising, all things sizing

Mary sees, sympathising

   With that world of good,

   Nature’s motherhood.

Their magnifying of each its kind

With delight calls to mind

   How she did in her stored

   Magnify the Lord.

Well but there was more than this:

Spring’s universal bliss

   Much, had much to say

   To offering Mary May.

When drop-of-blood-and-foam-dapple

Bloom lights the orchard-apple

   And thicket and thorp are merry

   With silver-surfèd cherry

And azuring-over greybell makes

Wood banks and brakes wash wet like lakes

   And magic cuckoocall

   Caps, clears, and clinches all—

This ecstasy all through mothering earth

Tells Mary her mirth till Christ’s birth

   To remember and exultation

   In God who was her salvation.

--- The May Magnificat by Gerard Manley Hopkins

49th World Day of Prayer for Vocations

The Congregation of Holy Cross and the Universal Church invite you to pray this day in particular for the gift of discernment of Christian vocations.

God our Father,

we thank you for having called us to be your son and daughters,

to work together as brothers and sisters for the mission of Christ.

Transform our minds and hearts,

and guide us along the pathways of Truth.

Lord Jesus,

let us experience the peace and joy

of your presence in our midst.

Make us faithful disciples,

educators in the faith,

servants who are sensitive to the poor and needy.

Holy Spirit of God,

enlighten and strengthen us

in living and proclaiming the good news of salvation,

so that the witness of our lives as disciples

may inspire young men and women today

to lay down their lives in service of you

especially as priests, brothers, and sisters in Holy Cross.

Hear this prayer,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

one God, forever and ever.

Amen.