Of God and Men. Anniversary of Monks of Our Lady of Atlas

----- Forwarded Message -----

Sent: Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 15:42
Subject: Atlas Martyrs

To Daisy,

Dear Daisy,

Thank you.

Your painting tells more than a 1000 of words.

It is no wonder that your prayer was inspired in the Memorial Grove of the monks of Algeria.

Yours,

fr. Donald. 

To: Fathers ...  

and the Community at

Sancta Maria Abbey.

Remembering the Atlas Martyrs

on May 21st 1996

with love and prayers,

Daisy.

 

Monks of OUR LADY OF ATLAS

----- Forwarded Message -----

Atlas Monks
memorial seat

From: William ...
To: Donald ...
Sent: Friday, 10 May 2013, 19:28
Subject: Re: Monks of Our Lady of Tibhirine

Dear Father Donald,

...

It is such a delight to see the daffodils surmounting the scene of the Atlas memorial seat. On Monday I will be ordering the Seven Red Roses (always allowing a week for Erica's to order in the blooms, delivery on 20th), and my card for the commemoration is ready to hand to you! I was intending to email the images of the card when I returned, but my heart quickens at the sight of your photos from the memorial garden! Please see attachments ('front' and 'inside'). I hope you may approve of the text I have chosen, rather thoughtful, and challenging, from a tractate by St Augustine on St John's Gospel (Tractate LXXXIV. Chapter XV.13, which captured me during the Office of Readings for Wednesday in Holy Week). ....

William

 PS.

Your quotation from Wordsworth's poem has me smiling happily - and into my mind, following your lovely welcome, the poem by Shelley so aptly entitled

 "The Invitation"... "Away, away, from men and towns, To the wild wood and the downs — To the silent wilderness  Where the soul need not repress    Its music lest it should not find An echo in another's mind

 for Atlas monks 7 red roses

             IN LOVING

            COMMEMORATION

            OF THE MARTYRS OF

            OUR LADY OF ATLAS

The Fullness of Love

 In so far as the martyrs shed their blood for their brothers, what they showed was such as they received from the Lord’s table.

 St. Augustine

 Dearly beloved, that fullness of love with which we must love one another, the Lord defined when he said, “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends”.

Doubtless this is what one reads in the Proverbs of Solomon: “If you sit down to eat at a ruler’s table, observe carefully what is before you; and know that you must prepare a similar meal.” For what is the ruler’s table, if not where there is taken the body and blood of him who laid down his life for us? And what is ‘to sit at’, if not to approach humbly? What is ‘to observe carefully what is before you’, if not to ponder so great a favour? What does it mean ‘know that you must prepare a similar meal,’ if not that as Christ laid down his life for us, so we too ought to lay down our lives for our brethren.   

In the words of the apostle Peter: ‘Christ suffered for us, leaving an example, that we should follow in his steps.’ This is ‘to prepare a similar meal’. This the blessed martyrs did with burning love. If our celebration of their memory is not an empty one, and if we approach the Lord’s table in the banquet in which they too ate and had their fill, then as they prepared such a meal, so should we also.

So in fact at this table we do not commemorate them in the same way as we commemorate others who rest in peace, in order to pray for them also. We commemorate them rather so that they may pray for us, that we may follow closely in their footsteps; for they have reached the fullness of that love than which the Lord said there could be none greater. What they showed to their brothers was such as they equally received from the Lord’s table.   

(St. Augustine - Tractate LXXXIV. Chapter XV. 13.)

Pentecost place in Jerusalem

Pentecost near Jerusalem, Israel 

Google ... 

St. Mark's Church 

Jerusalem, Israel

3 reviews ·

"As Pentecost happened here, this place is admired as the first Church in the world. Currently it is administered by the Jerusalem Archbishop of Syriac ..." -  

Abraham Oommen reviewed 9 months ago

Quality Excellent

Had been blessed to be here on 2008 April. This place has witnessed some of the most important events of early Christianity- including Jesus' last supper, Jesus' appearance to disciples after his resurrection- 2 times, Pentecost, selection of St.Mathias, the place where St.Peter went after angel released him from jail, St.Mary got baptized etc. As Pentecost happened here, this place is admired as the first Church in the world. Currently it is administered by the Jerusalem Archbishop of Syriac Orthodox Church. Still so many miracles happen in this hard- to-find monastery in the old city.  

Cenacle 

Jerusalem, Israel

+972 2-565-5330 ‎

2 reviews ·

"the disciples after the Ascension of Jesus; the election of Saint Matthias as apostle; the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost" - wikipedia.org  

Photo of Last Supper Room  On Mount Zion in Jerusalem

Saint Mark's Syrian Orthodox Church

The Syrian Orthodox Church of St. Mark is located in northeast corner of the Armenian Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem—on Ararat Street.

This church is said to have been built on the site of the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, to which Peter went after having been released from prison by an angel (Acts 12:12).  Syrian Orthodox Christians also believe that this was the site of the Upper Room of the Last Supper, the site of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and the place where Mary, the mother of Jesus, was baptized!

It is also the church where an icon of the Virgin Mary and Child is reverently displayed.  This icon is said to have been painted by Luke, the physician/evangelist, and that it is the first icon ever to have been produced.

To view a 10 minute video featuring the Archbishop and the Church Click Here.

Pentecost - Jean II Restout - Pentecôte

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/8-things-to-know-and-share-about-pentecost/

8 things to know and share about Pentecost

by Jimmy Akin Saturday, May 18, 2013 6:34 PM Comments (6)

Where did the feast of Pentecost come from? What happened on it? And what does it mean for us today? Here are 8 things to know and share . . .

The original day of Pentecost saw dramatic events that are important to the life of the Church.

But where did the feast of Pentecost come from?

How can we understand what happened on it?

And what does it mean for us today?

Here are 8 things to know and share about it . . .

1. What does the name "Pentecost" mean?

It comes from the Greek word for "fiftieth" (pentecoste). The reason is that Pentecost is the fiftieth day (Greek, pentecoste hemera) after Easter Sunday (on the Christian calendar).

This name came into use in the late Old Testament period and was inherited by the authors of the New Testament.

2. What else is this feast known as?

In the Old Testament, it is referred to by several names:

• The feast of weeks
• The feast of harvest
• The day of first-fruits

Today in Jewish circles it is known as Shavu`ot (Hebrew, "weeks").

It goes by various names in different languages.

In England (and English), it has also been known as "Whitsunday" (white Sunday). This name is presumably derived from the white baptismal garments of those recently baptized.

3. What kind of feast was Pentecost in the Old Testament?

It was a harvest festival, signifying the end of the grain harvest. Deuteronomy 16 states:

You shall count seven weeks; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain.

Then you shall keep the feast of weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give as the Lord your God blesses you; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God [Dt. 16:9-11a].

4. What does Pentecost represent in the New Testament?

It represents the fulfillment of Christ's promise from the end of Luke's Gospel:

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” [Lk. 24:46-49].

This "clothing with power" comes with the bestowal of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.

5. How is the Holy Spirit symbolized in the events of the day of Pentecost?

Acts 2 records:

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This contains two notable symbols of the Holy Spirit and his activity: the elements of wind and fire.

Wind is a basic symbol of the Holy Spirit, as the Greek word for "Spirit" (Pneuma) also means "wind" and "breath."

Although the term used for "wind" in this passage is pnoe (a term related to pneuma), the reader is meant to understand the connection between the mighty wind and the Holy Spirit.

Concerning the symbol of fire, the Catechism notes:

While water signifies birth and the fruitfulness of life given in the Holy Spirit, fire symbolizes the transforming energy of the Holy Spirit's actions.

The prayer of the prophet Elijah, who "arose like fire" and whose "word burned like a torch," brought down fire from heaven on the sacrifice on Mount Carmel.

This event was a "figure" of the fire of the Holy Spirit, who transforms what he touches. John the Baptist, who goes "before [the Lord] in the spirit and power of Elijah," proclaims Christ as the one who "will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." Jesus will say of the Spirit: "I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!"

In the form of tongues "as of fire," the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. The spiritual tradition has retained this symbolism of fire as one of the most expressive images of the Holy Spirit's actions. "Do not quench the Spirit" [CCC 696].

6. Is there a connection between the "tongues" of fire and the speaking in other "tongues" in this passage?

Yes. In both cases, the Greek word for "tongues" is the same (glossai), and the reader is meant to understand the connection.

The word "tongue" is used to signify both an individual flame and an individual language.

The "tongues as of fire" (i.e., individual flames) are distributed to and rest on the disciples, thus empowering them to miraculously speak in "other tongues" (i.e., languages).

This is a result of the action of the Holy Spirit, signified by fire.

7. Who is the Holy Spirit?

Here is a video I made on that subject . . .

8. What does the feast of Pentecost mean to us?

As one of the most important solemnities on the Church's calendar, it has a rich depth of meaning, but here is how Pope Benedict summarized it in 2012:

This Solemnity makes us remember and relive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles and the other disciples gathered in prayer with the Virgin Mary in the Upper Room (cf. Acts 2:1-11). Jesus, risen and ascended into Heaven, sent his Spirit to the Church so that every Christian might participate in his own divine life and become his valid witness in the world. The Holy Spirit, breaking into history, defeats aridity, opens hearts to hope, stimulates and fosters in us an interior maturity in our relationship with God and with our neighbour.

What Now?

If you like the information I've presented here, you should join my Secret Information Club.

If you're not familiar with it, the Secret Information Club is a free service that I operate by email.

I send out information on a variety of fascinating topics connected with the Catholic faith.

In fact, the very first thing you’ll get if you sign up is information about what Pope Benedict said about the book of Revelation.

He has a lot of interesting things to say!

If you’d like to find out what they are, just sign up at www.SecretInfoClub.com or use this handy sign-up form:

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/8-things-to-know-and-share-about-pentecost/#ixzz2TlOJn8XD

The Wind and Fire of Pentecost by Fr. Edward o.p.

Dear Fr. Edward,

Thank you
for the breathing of this Pentecost.
Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)    
Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk |

domdonald.org.uk 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Fr. Edward
To: Donald
Sent: Saturday, 18 May 2013, 23:13
Subject: More lines

Dear Donald,

A poem for tomorrow and a poem for next Sunday!

Blessings from

fr Edward 

--
Father Edward Booth O.P.

Iceland.

The Wind and Fire of Pentecost

The wind and the fire were more than terrestrial:

they disturbed nothing, burnt nothing.

The wind was mighty but damaged the house not at all;

the fire did not burn those on whose heads it settled.

The fire was more firelike than fire

and the wind more windlike than wind.

For fire is dangerous when not limited

especially when its tongues come to dance in the grate,

and the wind shares more of the power of the Spirit than still air.

The fire's ultimate source was light itself:

it could burn, but here it illuminated powerfully mind and heart,

sealing those in Spirit on whom it appeared.

Wind needs a moveable object to show its power,

but this wind was rushing and powerful,

signifying the great force of its source,

yet it moved nothing.

How it had hovered, bird-like, protectively over creation:

merekapheth: protectingly, shieldingly,

transforming creation to homeliness -

all for its two viewers and their stock.

But they were too impatient, too self-aware  

when the Creator himself said,

"Do not experiment with what you contemplate;

possess it by knowledge and

savour it in your mind¨!

Real fire is warming, nature's wind is cooling:

elemental presences for

elemental people.

The angels had fire and invisible wind within themselves

marking the limits of allowed experience.

The pair wanted the warmth of the fire and the cool of the wind.

They wanted the fire as protection and warmth

for what it suggested of homeliness,

a place of rest and remission from their waking hours.

Their spiritual progeny returned at Pentecost

to make the world homely under the Spirit and found the Earth not too cold:

"See it, regard it; it will always remain with you ... !"

The protection of fire and its ambiance returned with the freshness of Spirit

from deep sources as soul-meant and indifferent.

Oh, keep those eyes sharp!

Put your skin in the wind -

to stimulate the blood vessels without ordering the times

but more to keep mind and senses awake to their Source.

Do not seek to possess them

but savour their presence,

and be savoured yourselves

from the great range of gifts

accompanying the Messiah

both manly-wise and womanly-wise.

Accept those gifts to play on your mind and heart

and ascend to the peak of a new Creation:

the gifts of the Lord are given without repentance! (Rom 11,29)

Fr. Edward O.P.

Stykkishólmur

For the Eve of Pentecost 2013

Ascension Thursday - Sr. Jo. Holy Land Journal

Summit of Mount of Olives.
Tallest belfry of Russian Orthodox Sisters,
to right, Church of PATER NOSTER

Dear Jo,
It is a wonderful experience of the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord being celebrated  at the Mount of Olives in the Imbomon (aidicule)  Chapel or the Mosque. 

As in the pilgrimage in May 2004, I recall neither or Cross or Crescent showing,as the Muslims recognise  Jesus' Ascension but not His Crucifixion.

Maybe there are more of the pictures from the countless Pilgrim/Tourist Websites. 

You obviously had exciting negotiating  access to Mount of Olives.
ICN, Independent Cathilc News had the worrying report, "

Holy Land: Church leaders denounce violence against Christians at Easter service Church leaders in the Holy Land have issued a statement protesting after Israeli armed forces were deployed at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City last Saturday as Orthodox Christians celebrated Easter. Israeli police set up check points and deployed heavily in the Old City, said Dimitri Diliani, head of the National Christian Coalition in the Holy Land. Diliani said Israeli security forces were also present in the church and on its roof... He said Israel was trying to stop Christians from performing rituals that they have carried out for centuries

The surprising good coverage  of is from the Malta Franciscan Website  

difficulties of the Franciscans being allowed in and out of the Old City, and had to find a solution.
 Feast of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives

May 13th, 2010 @ 10:04 |

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN THE HOLY LAND

On Thursday 13 May the Franciscans of the Holy Land Custody celebrated the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord on the Mount of Olives. The celebrations were conducted by Fr. Artemio Vítores ofm, Custodial Vicar, at the “Imbomon”, or small dome-like structure in the form of an Aedicula, that marks the spot from where Jesus ascended into heaven. 
Happily you were next to the bus terminal in Nablus Road.  
Your Email is so reassring and all goes well.
Yours... ... Donald.   

http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/mount-olives.html 

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Jo McG...
...

Sent: Sunday, 12 May 2013
Subject: Ascension

Dear Sisters and Brothers, We celebrated  THE  ASCENSION  last Thursday and I was delighted to hear that the Franciscans would be celebrating the Eucharist at 9.30am on the site where the Ascension took place. When our group had visited the PATER NOSTER CHURCH high up on the   Mount of Olives, the Sister had told us that the actual site was a little way up the hill but we could not go there as the Moslems have possession and don't allow pilgrims to enter! So Christians today remember the Ascension at the Pater Noster Church. We were all a bit disappointed!   However, there is one day in the year when the Moslems allow the Christians to enter and celebrate which, of course, is Ascension Thursday. What a blessing to be here for this special feast!  So, two of our student Srs. and myself left at 7.45 to catch the local bus up to the summit which today is quite a built-up area. Fortunately, I had read up about it so I didn't get a shock when we entered into a very plain circular courtyard with a simple wall around it. In the centre was a smallish, circular "chapel" with a solid, grey dome on top.  On closer inspection, I saw that the lower half was actually octagonal in shape and had eight beautiful marble columns and arches.  This is all that is left of the beautiful Church of the Ascension built by the Crusaders. They had left the roof open to the skies but the Moslems had built the dome over it.  About ten of us entered at one time Imbomon, Ascension Mass   and the first thing I saw was the Ascension Rock (part of the floor) with a small railing around it. Some kissed it, others touched it with one or both hands while praying and others touched it with holy objects or clothing.  There was no time to reflect inside as many were waiting to come in but we had a good hour, sitting in the courtyard,to reflect on the momentous event which had taken place here when Jesus returned to His Father. Wall around Chapel of the Ascension, Jerusalem The Franciscans had had Sung Vespers here at 4.30pm on the eve and were allowed to have an all-night vigil but none of the Srs. went for that! Twenty priests, mostly OFM's, concelebrated the 9.30am Eucharist inside the "Chapel" while the congregation stood around outside. How they and the various servers managed to fit in is a mystery! It was a Latin Mass with the choir, again many OFM's, so I felt "at home". It was another very memorable and prayerful experience! Deo Gratias! I wonder what the Lord has in store for PENTECOST! May it be a very special feast for all of you! Love, Jo.  fmm