On March 6, Maria Bosonetto, grade seven, made her final promises as a member of the Sursum Corda Society. This sodality-like prayer group is run by Sister Marie Therese (our prioress and school principal) and Sister Maria Perpetua (the seventh and eighth grades’ teacher). The Society is for young ladies who wish to work and pray for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the lives of themselves, their families, and the religious and laity at Saint Benedict Center. Thank you, Maria! For pictures, please

The rainbow, the sign of God's promise and a symbol of hope, is also a type of Our Lady.

March 25 is the feast of the Annunciation, when Almighty God sent Saint Gabriel to ask Our Lady if she would be the Mother of God (and she said yes!). The Center follows an old tradition that March 25 is also the sixth day of Creation (the Creation of Adam) and the Redemption (Good Friday of 33 AD). Saint Louis Marie de Montfort recommends this feast day as the most important for Our Lady’s slaves of love because we are imitating Our Lord in the Incarnation by making ourselves entirely dependent upon the Virgin Mary. The religious, Brothers and Sisters, renew our consecration on this day — as do many of the lay people as well. Today two of our sixth graders, Lucia and Tavin, and well as the parents of one of our seventh graders, Mr. & Mrs. Baird, made their consecration to Jesus through Mary for the first time. Congratulations!

Another reason this feast day is a big one for us is that many of the Sisters (six out of eight) made our Profession of Vows on March 25. Here is a list of today’s anniversaries:

Sister Marie Therese, M.I.C.M. — Twenty-first Anniversary

Sister Maria Philomena, M.I.C.M. — Thirteenth Anniversary

Sister Maria Perpetua, M.I.C.M. — Fourth Anniversary (Seventh from Temporary Vows)

Sister Mary Joseph, M.I.C.M. — Fourth Anniversary (Seventh from Temporary Vows)

Sister Maria Rosaria, M.I.C.M. — Second Anniversary from Temporary Vows (one more year to Final Vows)

Sister Marie Gabrielle, M.I.C.M. — Second Anniversary from Temporary Vows (one more year to Final Vows)

Congratulations, Sisters! Happy Feast Day!

Father Jarecki (in 2001)

Father Michael Jarecki, a retired priest of the diocese of Ogdensburg, NY, who said Mass for us for more than thirty years, said his last public Mass on October 31, 2010 — the Feast of Christ the King. On the following Sunday, November 7, we held a “Father Jarecki Appreciation Day”. Each classroom made a presentation, and then individuals from the community shared stories and anecdotes  and expressed their gratitude for all that Father has done for us.

IHM High School 2010-2011

Our high school, knowing that Father’s favorite poem was Joyce Kilmer’s Trees, wrote their own poem in appreciation. To read that poem and see pictures from Father’s last public Mass, please keep reading.

PRIESTS

by the IHM High School Class 2010-2011

To Father Michael Jarecki

upon his retirement at the age of ninety-three

I think that I shall never see

A priest as child-like as he.

He baptized, married, and confessed

For sixty-six years without a rest.

As promised to our father* then,

[*Father Leonard Feeney]

For thirty years our priest he’s been.

Those twenty-seven thousand Masses

Were said to God for our trespasses.

For thirty years he gave us hope

And kept us praying for the Pope.

Remembered long by many persons

Will be his short and Marian sermons.

His love for Mary, as a devoted son,

He shared until his job was done.

In spite of sundry aches and pains,

His perseverance made great gains.

He fed us daily with Our Lord;

He taught us Math has its reward.

Through all our laughter and our tears,

He’s been our father for many years.

Poems are made by fools, at least,

But only God can make a priest.

Rose Marie Raphael Doucette

[Rose is the second oldest of eight children. She is a member of the National Society of High School Scholars and a recipient of a partial college scholarship from the Knights of Columbus. She missed graduating "cum laude" by only two points -- her cumulative GPA being 86.5 (3.3). Congratulations, Rose!]

Good Afternoon: Brother Andre, Sr. Marie Therese, Sr. Maria Philomena, Dr. Fahey, Mother, Father, Brothers, Sisters, Family, Friends, and Fellow IHM Students. Thank you all for coming! I am here to tell you about something that is very important to me, and to you as well, I hope.

However, before I tell you of that important something, I would first like to tell you of my plans for the future. After I graduate today, my parents and I will be hosting a party at the Winchester Veteran’s Hall. Everyone is cordially invited to attend and enjoy some of my grandmother’s lasagna and a slice or two of graduation cake. There’s also going to be some great music. I hope you can all come!

Now, I will tell you of my plans for my future. I was accepted by two colleges: Magdalen and Thomas More, and I plan to obtain a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts. After that, I’m going to try to get into a good Art college, where I can learn how to make children’s movies. I’ve seen a lot of children’s movies to date that are unfit for children’s psychological, religious, and moral growth. I don’t expect to stop the decline of movie morals by myself, but hopefully, if enough Catholic men and women learn the art of animation and other necessary skills [like script-writing and voice acting], we can see the day when better movies and books are circulated throughout American society. This is my most ardent desire, [after the triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart, of course] of which good entertainment will be an important part.

Graduate of the Class of 2010

Now, I would like to tell you a little bit about myself and my educational quest so far. I’ve lived here in New Hampshire seven – no – ten years: I have been here at IHM from seventh grade to twelfth grade and received honorable mentions only twice. This may seem odd, but even though my grades were, on average really good, I always managed to be deficient enough in one thing or another (like fiddle practice!) that I missed honorable mention. [Rose didn't know it until she got her diploma a few minutes later -- but she made Honor Roll in the fourth quarter of her senior year!]

I have been the winner of the High school division of the Spelling Bee three times. I won first place in the 2009 science fair. I have participated in the Richmond Blueberry Fiddle Festival as both a singer, and a fiddler. In the Blueberry Bake-off, I won three ribbons: one second place ribbon, and two third place ribbons.  But all these things that I have done, I could not have accomplished if it weren’t for the people at Immaculate Heart of Mary School. In fact, if it weren’t for them, there wouldn’t have been any science fairs, spelling bees, or blueberry bake-offs for me.

I mentioned earlier that I had something important to tell you, I am going to tell you about it now. When I moved here, to New Hampshire, ten years ago, I didn’t have any of the things that really matter: neither friends, nor a correct understanding of history; not even a good understanding of my Catholic faith.

Rose with the pumpkin she carved for the Keene Pumpkin Festival

It was a blessing that I wasn’t sent to public school, which my mother frequently reminds me, where I might have grown into quite a rebellious child with an unchecked temper, and a destroyed faith.

As it was, I was already headstrong and rebellious. But underneath my outward bravado, I was actually seeking a peaceful place where my heart and dreams could soar.

My lousy attitude was not my Mother’s fault, she did her best to teach me, but I didn’t want to listen. My mind and heart were so confused that I started shutting everyone out, including her.

You see, when you’re homeschooled, you have no real reasons to leave home; all your classes, learning, and activities take place right in your own house. I could sleep in until ten o’clock, and finish my homework by twelve. I accomplished this by learning to skim the books for only the information I needed to finish my homework. This might seem great to my fellow classmates, but I couldn’t quite retain what I was learning. I simply was not diligent or disciplined enough.

Rose's first science fair

Before long, all of us [except, perhaps, my father who could leave to go to work] — all of us were experiencing a severe case of cabin fever which would not go away. I remember the days when Mother would go shopping, we would all crowd at the door, hoping to be the one chosen to go with her on her trip. Sometimes she took half of us. Other times, she took none of us, needing instead to take some time away from us- and we all understand why!

Days go by so slowly when you don’t have anything truly important to do. I spent my time reading books, visiting exotic and action-packed lands where at least something somewhat important was happening.

An innkeeper (Christmas Pageant)

But I longed for some real friends who I could talk to and who would talk back to me.

I read my entire town library out, but, when the good books were gone, I didn’t have any new places to go, so I turned to the video section of the library.

I watched every movie that my mother would allow, trying to find a way to get to the peaceful land where my heart would be content and joyful. I imagined myself in those places that I found in the movies, speaking to the characters and having many strange and weird adventures, but I knew, even then, that the land of peace was not there.

What a penance - to decorate gingerbread trees during Advent (when you can't nibble)!

Well, one day I heard my parents talking about a small private school that was very close by. It was Catholic, and there was Mass every day. It was a new place to go with many new things to do! I finally pestered my parents into sending me to Immaculate Heart of Mary School, so that I could at least have more people to help me search for my mystical land.

I met many wonderful people here, my friends, my teachers, all the wonderful families; it almost seemed too good to be true. But I was still so very blind, and I was far from recognizing that the entrance-way into my desired mythical land was already opened and waiting. It was waiting for the time when I would find it. But first, I had to learn how to read the signs that would point me towards the entrance, and I had not learned how to recognize them yet.

The Seventh/Eight Grade (Rose and John are in front)

I really can’t tell you how being around good friends can change you, but it did. I found that this small private school was just what I needed. I only ever really got punished once or twice, and then I really deserved it. Of course, for a long time, I couldn’t see much past the new sleep schedule I had to keep: six o’clock sharp every morning.

Rose in the Blueberry Jammers (RBFF 2008)

This was especially difficult for me, because, as you remember, I was used to sleeping in until ten, or even twelve o’clock. The curriculum was difficult for me as well, because I had never juggled so many subjects at one time.

Fridays were a highlight in my week, because two subjects were set aside so that we could learn music and art. These were very enjoyable, fun and easy things to do that didn’t require as much effort on my part. But, gradually I began to realize something important that I had been missing and trying not to think about too much: my religion.

Rose's first Spelling Bee

Being around a group of sisters, I had my first real example of traditional Catholic living. I learned about my faith not only through religion classes where I had many difficult questions answered, but also through the Church’s history and traditions that I had never seen or heard before.

It’s funny how God waits until just the right moment before He lets you realize something wonderful. I began to measure my life to that of the sisters. They were so sure of themselves: so full of laughter and joy and such hope, that I felt ashamed. I tried to sort out why I wasn’t like them, why my life suddenly felt so empty and dull and fruitless, and theirs was full of joy and confidence, and peace.

Laughter is good for the soul

By then, I couldn’t take it anymore; I wanted that peace too, the tranquil, glassy, calm, and silent lake of peace that I saw in them. But I didn’t know how. I read my religion, but I still hadn’t realized its beautiful message yet, the light bulb wasn’t connected to the switch I was toggling, not yet. I knew that heaven was wonderful, but I hadn’t yet realized that it was the only land where there is true peace and happiness: the only land where my searching would be done.

Then, one day at Mass, it happened. I looked at the Host on the altar, and my heart almost broke. I knew that He was there, really and truly, but I didn’t know Him. He was a complete stranger to me.  Yet, my Catholic faith told me that this Stranger

Visiting the Relic Room at St. Benedict Abbey (Still River)

deserves all my love and devotion. How impossible it seemed! Millions of questions and doubts arose like a dark stormy cloud in my mind. Truth seemed to get even further off than ever.

But something inside of me took charge and rallied. I couldn’t see anything through that cloud, but, somehow, I knew that I was not alone. I felt a presence, watching me, waiting for me in expectancy. There was a battle raging in and around me, a battle for my heart and soul, and I was to be the one to decide how it ended. But, how could I? I was too inexperienced and ignorant to know what to do. I sent an ardent plea for help, and was answered almost immediately. The storm ended almost as instantly as it had come, and all my doubts were settled.

After the Auriesville Pilgrimage

Why did God make us? To know, love, and serve Him in this life so that we can be happy with Him in the next life. I had my whole life to get to know Him. What better time to start was there than as soon as possible? That day was the first of many happy days spent here at St. Benedict Center.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know why St. Benedict Center is important to me.  I am telling you about how your school, and by extension, your community has changed me from who I was to who I am. I want you to know how thankful I am, to all of you. This place has effected such a wonderful change in my life, that I almost consider it a second home.

This community has formed not just a school, but a family composed of all the wonderful people who work and support the Catholic faith.

Rose prepares to crown the statue of Our Lady in the chapel (May 2010)

I would like to thank everyone who made it possible for me to come here, and who’ve welcomed me into this family. I’d like to thank, first of all Father DiMascola, and Father Charles Higgins, as well as many of our benefactors who helped to pay for part of my schooling, and gave me another reason to work hard at my studies.

That's some make-up job!

A special thank my good friends: Clare Margand, and John McCann, whom I’ve known since I first came here. You really gave me that companionship I was looking for.

I would like to thank Sister Mary Peter, who was my first teacher, and to whom I apologize for all my antics, but from whom I learned many important things: like diligence. Well, I always meant to put my homework in my backpack, but it got lost somewhere in transit!

Next, I would like to thank Sr. Maria Perpetua, who taught me a lot of church history, and helped me to understand a little more about the way the Catholic Church works in the world. Gratias tibi ago, Soror!

On the USS Cassen Young

Thank you, Sr. Marie Therese, for starting the Sursum Corda Society. I am truly grateful for the books and the medal, and the spiritual help that this small group has given me. I am still trying to remember to return that book I borrowed!

I would like to thank my parents for letting me come to this school and for helping me to remember my homework. Hopefully, you won’t have to worry about the hole in my head for too much longer. And I would like to give a special thanks to my grandma who spent a lot of time and money to come out for my graduation.

On ice!

I would also like to thank Professor Grinstead for teaching me that math is not boring. That’s right, folks! Math is not boring!

I would also like to thank Sr. Maria Philomena, my high school teacher for four years, who was patient with me and my tomfoolery. Remember that one time when Cecilia said a word that supposedly melted wizards and I pretended to actually melt? First, I was dumped out of my seat, and then the desk fell on top of me! Well, at least it got a laugh. I know I couldn’t stop laughing for at least ten minutes after that.

Red & White Roses -- in honor of St. Philomena

{Here Rose presented flowers to Sister Marie Therese and Sister Maria Philomena.}

I would like to thank all my family and friends, and every member of Saint Benedict Center who have not only helped me, but also put up with my oddities and weaknesses. I am honored to graduate from this school!

Thank you!

May Procession 2010

We had a beautiful day yesterday with five First Holy Communions and our annual May Procession. The school children have central roles in the procession, during which four statues are crowned. Our Lady is truly the Queen of our Hearts! Keep “reading” for pictures from this event.

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

The Six Truths which all must know and believe to gain eternal salvation:

1)    There is but one God, who created, preserves and governs all things.

2)    God is a just Judge. He rewards the good and punishes the wicked.

3)    In God there are three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.

4)    The Son of God became man, and died on the Cross to save us.

5)    The soul of man is immortal.

6)     Grace is necessary to salvation.

The five Joyful Mysteries are to be said form the first Sunday in Advent, until the Feast of the Purification; the five Sorrowful Mysteries, from Ash-Wednesday until Easter Sunday; the five Glorious Mysteries, from Easter Sunday to Trinity Sunday. During the remaining part of the year, the Joyful Mysteries are said on Mondays and Thursdays, the Sorrowful Mysteries on Tuesdays and Fridays, and Glorious Mysteries on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

The Seven Sacraments were instituted by Jesus Christ, for the salvation of sinners, and the perseverance of the just. They are: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

The Baptismal Vows are fourfold:

I. I believe all that the Holy Catholic Church believes and teaches.

II. I renounce Satan.

III. I renounce all his works.

IV. I renounce all his pomps.

The three principal parts of the Mass are:

I.       The Offertory

II.     The Elevation

III.   The Communion of the Priest

I.   Devout prayer to the Holy Ghost.

II.  A careful examination of conscience.

III. A sincere contrition and a firm resolution.

IV. A sincere confession of, at least, all mortal sins with their number and any

circumstances that materially change their nature.

V. Satisfaction, or the performance of the penance imposed by the Confessor.

O Blessed Jesus, come to me!

O make me burn with love for Thee,

That I may live and die in Thee!

Act of Faith:

My God, I believe in Thee and in all that Thy Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed it, and Thy word is true.

Act of Hope:

My God, I hope in Thee for grace and for glory, because of Thy promises, Thy mercy, and Thy power.

Act of Love:

My God, because Thou art so good, I love Thee with all my heart, and for Thy sake I love my neighbor as myself.

Act of Contrition:

My God, because Thou art so good,

With sorrow I deplore

That I have ever offended Thee.

I’ll never offend Thee more.

The Corporal Works of Mercy

I.       To feed the hungry.

II.     To give drink to the thirsty.

III.   To clothe the naked.

IV.  To ransom the captive.

V.    To harbor the harborless.

VI.  To visit the sick.

VII. To bury the dead.

The Spiritual Works of Mercy

I.       To admonish the sinner.

II.     To instruct the ignorant.

III.   To counsel the doubtful.

IV.  To comfort the sorrowful.

V.    To bear wrongs patiently.

VI.  To forgive all injuries

VII.        To pray for the living and the dead.

The Eight Beatitudes (Matt. V):

I.   Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

II.  Blessed are the meek; for they shall possess the land.

III.  Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.

IV.  Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall be filled.

V.  Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.

VI. Blessed are the clean of heart; for they shall see God.

VII. Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.

VIII. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Charity, Joy, Peace, Patience, Benignity, Goodness, Long-Suffering, Meekness, Fidelity, Modesty, Continency, Chastity.

I.    To serve God, by keeping His commandments.

II.   To imitate Jesus Christ, by practicing the Christian virtues.

III.  To honor the angels and saints and invoke them.

IV.  To save his soul.

V.    To avoid hell.

VI.  To gain heaven.

VII. To despise the vanity of the world.

VIII. To atone for his sins.

IX.  To overcome evil inclinations.

X.  To perform good works.

XI. To edify his neighbor.

XII. To die, and to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ.

[I realize that the Christmas season just ended; but one of our Sisters gathered these quotes, and I don't wish to wait another year to share them with you. Sr. M. Ph.]

Dominus dixit ad me, Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te.  The Lord said to my Lord, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. That was taken from Psalm II. For one thousand years all the holy men and women repeated it. The royal, poetic prophet David, who was inspired to give us the 150 Psalms, was privileged to hear this sentence uttered in eternity. This is overhearing talk among the eternal Persons of the Trinity.

God the Father said to the Eternal Son, You are my Son; this day have I begotten Thee. Some people, like Saint Louis Marie de Montfort and our very beautiful eastern saint (who was long before him but had the same genius), Saint Ephrem, see Our Lady in everything.  Now this sounds like a sentence heard thundering in eternity. And you say, Where is Mary? Well I will show you where Mary is.

There is only one other person that could make that same sentence, and that was the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That same sentence, exactly as it was uttered by God the Father, thundering in eternity before the world was created, could be said by the Blessed Virgin Mary on the first Christmas. Thou art my Son; this day I have begotten Thee.

And don’t think that the Holy Ghost Who inspired that sentence to be there, to be chanted, to be repeated, to be meditated on for a thousand years before the first Christmas occurred, did not notice that that sentence was a common statement that could only be said by two Persons, God the Father in eternity, and the Blessed Virgin Mary in time.

Dominus dixit ad me, Filius meus es tu; ego hodie genui te. The Lord said to me, Thou art my Son; this day… This day (that’s the now of eternity; that’s the day of eternity) God the Father is saying it at this instant, because eternity over-arches all of time.

But the Blessed Virgin Mary is saying it on the first Christmas, on the first day in which Jesus was a baby in our world.  And somehow, because when time and eternity unite, eternity takes over, Our Lady can be saying it right now, as if it is the first Christmas.  (12/24/1978 Brother Francis Talks I # 11 unedited)

**************************************************

Viderunt omnes fines terrae salutare Dei nostri. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. All the ends of the earth. That, in a way, is a wonderful phrase in defense of our position. They pretend today that there are millions and millions and millions of people that don’t even know that a Savior was given to us.  And therefore, because they don’t know, you can’t blame them. And because you can’t blame them, they will all be canonized saints in Heaven. And we say that is not at all realistic. All the ends of the earth…

That is probably the greatest miracle that this world knows. Can you tell me, if you were  watching that little crib on the night of the first Christmas, with oxes and asses, little cats running around, very poor father and Mother, little Baby, can you say that they would be able to have a campaign of publicity, of advertisement, to announce what was happening there to all the ends of the earth? You say, “Where would they get the finances? Where would they find the billboard company that will spread the news” and so on?

How did the Faith of what is happening on Christmas come to you and me? How did it
survive? In one way, it’s terrible that there isn’t more realization that Jesus is God, that there are still hundreds of millions of people that have followed some other leader, as if they could find as much from him as they could find from our little Baby of Bethlehem. It’s terrible that that should be so!

But just imagine, to look at it now a little bit from an encouraging angle. Imagine with the frailty of every one of us, all the human problems, everyone of us could be discouraged, give up. Saint Francis every time he saw the worst criminal would say, There, but for the grace of God, go I. Any one of us looking to see the privilege by which we do have the Faith could see how we could easily have missed out on it…

With all that frailty, still on the face of this earth now, from Still River in Massachusetts (whoever would think that that’s the way to start?) to the remotest island, there is hardly a human being   old enough to know what time of the day it is, or what day of the week, that doesn’t know that tomorrow is Christmas, and doesn’t somehow know that Christmas is the Birthday of God.   (12/24/1978  Brother Francis Talks I # 11)

*********************************************

Just imagine the eternal God in swaddling clothes, the garments of helplessness!

*********************************************

Puer natus est nobis.  A Child is born to us.  Filius datus est nobis.   And a Son is given to us.  Cuius imperium super humerum eius.  Whose empire is on His shoulders. What does that mean?  It means that we don’t vote Him into office.  He comes with royalty vested right on His own Person.  We can ignore that authority, that royalty, only at the risk of our eternal salvation.  He is a KING, and He is NOT a king by any human institution.

Et vocabitur nomen eius, and His Name shall be called magni consilii Angelus, the Angel of great
counsel. Now what tremendous power is found in these few words!

First let me go to the two words, Child and Son. Our Lord is a Child. Our Lord is a Son. Child immediately makes us think of the Blessed Virgin Mary. A child is born, is mothered. A Son emphasizes more the Father.  When the Father’s voice spoke from Heaven to tell us Who Jesus Christ was, one of only three times that the voice of the Eternal Father was heard on this earth, He didn’t say, This is my Child. He said, This is my Son.

So Our Lady would say, This is my Child. God the Father would say, This is my Son. He is both at the same time.

Now it doesn’t mean that God the Father cannot, in some sense say, He is my Child. It does not mean that the Blessed Virgin Mary cannot say, in some sense, This is my Son. It just means that, this is where again we say, our motto at the Center, as Father used to say, We distinguish; we do not divide.

When you call Him Child you think first of Mary and, via Mary, of the Eternal Father.  When you think of Son you think first of the Eternal Father and, via the Eternal Father, of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  That’s where the greatest Supreme Being Who is God, and the greatest creature ever made, the masterpiece of creation, the source and fountain of the life of grace, the exemplar of all sanctity, that’s where They speak the same language.  That’s where They have something definitely and uniquely in common.  No other person in the world can enter in on it.

When God the Father sees His Son, and Mary sees Her Child in the crib of Bethlehem, that is the
salvation of the world.  All the issues of the world boil down to one question.  Every Catholic will have to answer it!  Every Protestant will have to answer it, all the different billions of varieties they have!  Every Jew will have to answer it!  Every Moslem will have to answer it!  Every Buddhist will have to answer it!  Who – is -  that – Child – in the crib of Bethlehem?

Don’t tell me that they haven’t heard about it.  Don’t tell me that there are millions of people that don’t know that at least some people say that this is the Birthday of God.  What’s that question?  Who – is – that – Baby – in – the – Crib? The Child of Mary, we all know, the Son of God, the same, one Person, two clear, different natures.  Every nature presupposes a birth. Born in eternity, born in time.

A Child was born to us.  Notice; a Son was given, the Child was born.  A Child was born, and a Son was given.  Born from the Virgin Mary, given by the Eternal Father.

His Kingdom, His Empire is on His shoulders.  We don’t vote Him into power.  He is there, our King.  Take Him or leave Him.  We leave Him only by going to hell, that’s it, by choosing to go to hell.  God intended, and we go along with it, every man is free to decide to go to hell; there is nothing you can do to stop them.  You are free to do it.  I am free to do it.  Every living man is free to do it.

If they want to go to Heaven, there is only one way to do it.  They have to come to this Savior and to the things He instituted for salvation.  That is the truth that Father taught us.  That is the truth that we promised Father that until they cut us in pieces we are not going to betray!

…We know very well that there is not going to be any revival of the strong Church, the great Church, the sacred Church, until they come back to this doctrine.

Puer natus est nobis et filius datus est nobis, cuius imperium super humerum eius, et vocabitur.  His Name shall be called the Angel of the great Counsel? What is the great counsel in this world?  Simply the counsel that lets us know that eternity is greater than time, that there is no success in this world unless it leads to salvation.  That is the great counsel.  That’s wisdom.  Everything else is nothing but folly.

A man could be the most learned man, the most educated man, the most sophisticated man, he could use big long words from the dictionary – he is a big fool if he thinks there is any other success on this earth short of
saving his own soul.  What good does it do him to be a professor at Harvard and spend his eternity in hell?  (12/31/1978  Brother Francis Talks I # 12 unedited)

*********************************************************

Let me see anybody invent a competition for Christmas.  Let me see them try it.  That is a great miracle.  We watch it every year happening.  The whole world is full with a joy, with a spirit, even the purity of the air, no other time of the year is capable of repeating it.  So, if Jesus is not God, try to explain how this came to be.

Now the Gloria IS a Christmas song.  And the Gloria is not a song that men started; it is a song that the angels started.  Some of the books I was reading the last couple of days, it says that while the angels knew, in some abstract, angelic way, that God loved men, and was going to go to live their life and be with them in order to bring them
salvation, while they knew that, they still couldn’t believe it when they saw it realized.

And that the song wasn’t something that some super angelic intellectual sat down and wrote, it was the way they exploded in sheer amazement to see God on the straw between an ox and an ass.  And they shouted-the whole choir of angels.  They say not one angel was left out of it.  Every angel in Heaven spontaneously shouted, Gloria to the Highest!

So that is Christmas, and if we have Gloria in the Mass, every time it is said it is Christmas put in the Mass again.  So Gloria is that great Christmas hymn.  (Brother Francis Talks I # 11   12/24/78)

Table of contents for Mother Love

1. The Christian Training of Children – Early Cares
2. The Christian Training of Children – New and more Difficult Cares
3. The Christian Training of Children – Admonition to Mother
4. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Flesh
5. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Concupiscence of the Eyes
6. The Christian Training of Children – Combating Pride
7. The Christian Training of Children – Rewards and Punishments
8. The Christian Training of Children – The Father’s Role
9. The Christian Training of Children – Prayers
10. The Christian Training of Children – Maxims and Sayings
11. The Christian Training of Children – Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher
12. The Christian Training of Children – Catechetical Instruction
13. The Christian Training of Children – Preparing a Child for Confession
14. The Christian Training of Children – Preparation for Holy Communion
15. The Christian Training of Children – Care of Young Adults
16. Mother Love

Little Book of Instructions for Christian Mothers [continued]
(from Mother Love – A Manual for Christian Mothers – by Rev. Pius Franciscus, O.M.Cap., 1926)

On the Christian Training of Children

A well-earned treat after climbing the 294 stairs of the Bunker Hill Monument

Chapter XI. – A Christian Mother’s Co-operation with Pastor and Teacher

The first aids of a mother in her arduous task of properly rearing her children are derived from the sacramental grace of matrimony. They come to her in the form of supernatural inspirations, interior counsels, admonitions and encouragements. Besides these there are also external aids, among which the father of her little ones holds the first place; then we may add older brothers and sisters and servants of the household. All of these, if good and virtuous, will at least exert a morally educative influence by their good example and by occasional admonitions. In a wider sense the whole environment of the child, made up of playmates, relatives, friends and school companions, collaborate with the mother in the moral and intellectual development of the child. Indeed, even such who speak unfavorably of the qualities of her boy or girl, may be considered as a help in this task, because through their seemingly unkind criticism the mother frequently becomes aware of some fault or faults in the children, which might never be detected by her. But by far the most powerful external aid she derives from the pastor of the parish and from the child’s teacher at school

Happy to be Our Lady's flower girls

Church and school are, indeed, powerful aids; but they cannot do the whole work, they can merely help. The principal work must be done at home, as well in the matter of instruction as particularly in the matter of discipline.

The education of the child should begin in mother’s arms. Mother should even at this early stage direct the child’s attention to the external objects, which may be perceived with the eyes, the ears or the touch, and thus inaugurate the development of the external senses. As the child grows older, she should assist it in expanding its circle of observation, with patient interest listen to its questioning, and be willing to satisfy its awakening curiosity by answering according to the truth and according to the child’s mental capacity. The words the child tries to enunciate, she should strive to have it pronounce as exactly and distinctly as possible, especially such as make up forms of prayer, even though the child does not understand them. The good God understands His little child of grace and the Holy Ghost gives it a modicum of perception, through which the child learns to love the holy words it speaks. Gradually the child will acquire through its associations and environment a knowledge of many visible things and conditions, and also a greater knowledge of God, of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin, of the saints, and of may truths of our Holy Faith. In this way the foundation is laid upon which the school will erect a still greater edifice of learning and knowledge. In this way the child’s interest has been roused and, when the schooldays arrive, the child listens eagerly, attentively and intelligently to the teachings of priest and teacher, and to the joy of its parents, it makes rapid progress in all its schoolwork.

Graduating Class of 2009 (in third grade)

During its years at school the child should be allowed sufficient time to study its lessons and perform its homework. The parents should carefully supervise these home-lessons, and urge the child to apply itself to all its studies. The parents should also examine the child in its memory-work and from time to time inquire from its teacher regarding its attention and deportment in school. According to these reports the parents should either praise or reprimand and even punish the child if milder means produce no improvement. The child should as far as possible never miss school. Indeed, parents should strive to teach the child to love attending the school by encouraging words and occasional rewards for faithful attendance. After the day’s work is done the child should be allowed to enjoy itself in innocent games and recreations. And just as the love for school must be instilled into the child so also the love of church attendance should be encouraged by every possible means; and it should be urged to attend [M]ass not only on school-days but also on free days, but especially on Sundays and feastdays of obligation.

The discipline which is demanded from the child at school, must be an object of attention at home also, and a mother should assist the pastor and teacher in upholding that discipline. Neither pastor nor teacher will accomplish very much, if children have not been taught a high regard for their authority. Hence a mother should inculcate a deep reverence for the priest and teacher in the hearts of her little ones. She should make it plain to them, that just as the parents represent the authority of God and in the name of God must exact reverence, love and obedience, so also the priest and the teacher, being in school and church the substitutes of the parents, are entitled to the same reverence, love and obedience. She should also in her own words and deeds manifest the esteem which she teaches them to have for priest and teacher; she should never tolerate from her children nor in their presence from any one else any kind of slurring remarks or reproaches against the priest or teacher. Just as there must be no discord between father and mother, so also there must be no apparent differences between the parents and the proper authorities in school and church.

Consultation . . .

Whenever differences do occur, they should be amicably settled and should never be argued in the presence of the children. Only by such mutual helpfulness, harmony and cooperation, will the best interests of the child be served and its temporal and eternal welfare by safeguarded.

Parents and children should pray for each other and for the priest and the teacher, just as priest and teacher will pray for them. Indeed, through earnest prayer for relief in each other’s needs mutual affection will be upheld, peace will be maintained and harmony will be promoted. Through prayer for each other we bring upon our efforts the blessings of God, the grace to conquer temptation and the fortitude to combat all obstacles. Briefly we may affirm that united prayers are the source of every spiritual success as well as the condition of the means to obtain the desired results according to the words of our Divine Teacher Himself who said: wherever two or three are united in prayer, they will obtain all they ask for.

A Christian mother must never send her children to a school where the belief in God and His commandments are not taught, where the doctrines of Christ are not accepted, nor Christ Himself is recognized as the Son of God, where Christian principles are made subservient to the principles of the world.

Graduate of 2007 with her grandparents

When you send your children to such a school, you are endangering the salvation of their souls, even though such a school may have otherwise the reputation of solid learning. The worldly advantages of such a neutral school may, indeed, be of great benefit to the future temporal well-being of your children, but the danger threatening their spiritual welfare should be the determining factor, and no truly Christian parents will let merely worldly consideration influence the choice of a school for their children. In the choice of a school mother and father should be determined by the words of Christ: “What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?”

Still circumstances may exist which practically force parents to send their children to a non-religious and neutral school. In this case the parents should investigate the spirit of that school. If it is not antagonistic to positive religion, if there need be no fear for faith or morality, and if the bishop or the pastor also approves the school under the existing conditions, parents may decide to send their children there; but they should also provide in some way for adequate instructions in religion, when they must send their boys and girls to such a school. If the school is downright irreligious or heretical, they should never send the children to it. If parents are at liberty to choose from different good schools, we would earnestly advise them to choose the school where religion and Christian disciple pervades the whole atmosphere, even though the children may not learn so much there as in another.

To be continued . . .

Sursum Corda Society in the Rosary Chapel in Saint Philomena's Convent

On Palm Sunday, Sister Marie Therese presided over a lovely little ceremony in the chapel of our new convent. Over a year ago, the Sisters started a prayer society for the young ladies in our community: the Sursum Corda Society. After a winnowing process, two young ladies renewed their promises, two more were re-instated, and a fifth was received for the first time. The purpose of the Society is simple: to bring about the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart, in the hearts of the girls themselves and those of their families, in the hearts of the religious, and then in the hearts of the laity at Saint Benedict Center. The girls, after making their Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, promise to say the Rosary (with meditations) and other prayers daily, make daily sacrifices, wear the Brown Scapular and Miraculous Medal, read certain books, and attend monthly meetings.

Each girl answered Sister's interrogation . . .

. . . Made a promise to Our Lady . . .

As members of the Society, they are given a large Miraculous Medal on a blue cord (which they are even allowed to wear with their school uniform!). We have seen so many blessings attend our community as a result of the prayers and faithfulness of these young ladies. Sursum corda! Habemus ad Dominum!

. . . Signed that promise . . . Received her medal . . .

After the ceremony, the girls were given the updated handbook.

With joy and laughter!

Brides of Christ

The Sisters in their new black veils after Holy Communion

Please rejoice with us over the first vows of two of our Sisters: Sister Maria Rosaria and Sister Marie Gabrielle. They made their professions on March 25 (Feast of the Annunciation), taking vows for three years as Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Semper Deo gratias et Mariae!

(A special thank you to Carolyn Kamuda for her lovely photography. She took many more pictures than these two. A link to the other images has been sent to our Friends and Benefactors. If you are not on our Friends & Benefactors email list and would like to be, please send me an email through the Contact Us link at right.)