By their fruits you will know them.

What kind of a day was it?

The Gospel Reading was Saint Matthew 7,15-20.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.

The very familiar words made me think that any commentaries must sound very thin and worn out in any reflection. An experiment taught me a different lesson. I did a quick Google search on the simple words “by their fruits you will know them”. The Result displayed 133,000,000 hits.

The first three Random Results on this cue fastened on some searing issues.

1. President Bush, relegated lamentably on the fruits of his performance, according to one view.

2. President Mugabe pilloried for the criminal fruits of injustice towards the people of Zimbabwe.

3. Fr. Thomas Reese S.J., in a feature in the New York Times, takes up the opening, “Beware of false prophets”, and applies them to the fruits of popular visionaries and pilgrimages. He is a bit too cavalier in his dismissive-ness, but his orthodoxy is bracing for its sound theology of true Revelation.

Fr. Reese's premise is a clear statement.
By Their Fruits You Will Know Them
The Catholic Church approaches visionaries with a great deal of skepticism. Belief in visions or any post-apostolic revelations is not required of churchgoers. In most cases, the church actively discourages the faithful from getting involved in them.
He takes for example, the “revelations” of Anne Catherine Emmerich, used by Mel Gibson in “The Passion of the Christ,” were found to be “devout fiction or, to put it more harshly, as well-intentioned frauds” created by Clemens Brentano, a German Romantic poet. The revelations were not used by the church in judging her sanctity.
And for the summer time Pilgrimage jet-setters he has this good advice. My response to Catholics who are caught up in private revelations and apparitions is to ask them a series of questions.

• “Do you believe the Bible is God’s revelation?” They of course have to say yes. Then I ask, “Have you read it?” Sadly, the answer is usually no. “Why are you chasing after questionable revelations when you have God’s Word sitting at home?”

• “Do you believe that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament?” Again, they have to say yes if they are Catholic. “Have you visited him recently?” Sadly again the answer is often no. “Why are you running around the country when you can visit Jesus in any Catholic church?”

Sometimes it is the simplest words of Jesus that forever serve as some kind of depth charge in the sea. The explosion throws up all sorts of flotsam and jetsam to the surface of our lives. The fruits that Jesus refers to can be those of the Holy Spirit but in fact he is reminding us to beware of the possibility of the dead fish, the rotten fruit under the surface. 'Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit'.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Immediately after the Mass for the Residents at the Guesthouse the phone began to ring from the Media. The Edinburgh Evening News, following up on stories of fraud and scams perpetrated against older people took up the story of my own experience of cyber criminals on the Internet. The story has taken wings again, possibly because of the summer gap in News stories.

Local Radio was next on-line, and was happy to have a sound bite for their chat ‘Talk Talk 107’.

This was followed by a Journalist and his photographer for further coverage.

The Edinburgh Evening News article can be found on its Website.

Pilgrimage to 'inner space'

I am inserting some pictures of the good people of the Parish of St. Aloysius, Springburn, Glasgow. It was the feast of Aloysius the patron Saint of the Parish – and also my own second patron. The parish priest, Fr. John McGrath, added an appropriate festive touch to the refreshments at the Guesthouse at Nunraw.

Part of the days Pilgrimage was the processional making of the Way of the Cross marked by the Crosses on the drive between the Guesthouse and the Abbey. The very elderly people were undaunted by the challenge on this uphill trek. It took them longer than expected but they attained the goal of getting to the Abbey for the Mass.

Applying the experience of coming apart in this monastic setting, Fr. John McGrath used the example of Henri Neuwen who suffered from the consequences of overwork, burnout, and needed to find his “inner space”. He went to a monastery and describes his experience of his stay at the Abbey of the Genesee, in “The Genesee Diary”.

Fr. John drew the parallel of the search for that “inner space” which we have to find in our own Pilgrimage in Life. His thoughts are well illustrated in the following entries from Fr. Neuwen’s Diary.

September Monday, 23

Often I have said to people, "I will pray for you" but how often did I really enter into the full reality of what that means? I now see how indeed I can enter deeply into the other and pray to God from his centre. When I really bring my friends and the many I pray for into my innermost being and feel their pains, their struggles, their cries in my own soul, then I leave myself, so to speak, and become them, then I have compassion. Compassion lies at the heart of our prayer for our fellow human beings. When I pray for the world, I become the world; when I pray for the endless needs of the millions, my soul expands and wants to embrace them all and bring them into the presence of God. But in the midst of that experience I realize that compassion is not mine but God's gift to me. I cannot embrace the world, but God can. I cannot pray, but God can pray in me. When God became as we are, that is, when God allowed all of us to enter into his intimate life, it became possible for us to share in his infinite compassion.
In praying for others, I lose myself and become the other, only to be found by the divine love which holds the whole of humanity in a compassionate embrace.

Wednesday, 25

Today I imagined my inner self as a place crowded with pins and needles. How could I receive anyone in my prayer when there is no real place for them to be free and relaxed? When I am still so full of preoccupations, jealousies, angry feelings, anyone who enters will get hurt. I had a very vivid realization that I must create some free space in my innermost self so that I may indeed invite others to enter and be healed. To pray for others means to offer others a hospitable place where I can really listen to their needs and pains. Compassion, therefore, calls for a self-scrutiny that can lead to inner gentleness.

If I could have a gentle "interiority" -a heart of flesh and not of stone, a room with some spots on which one might walk barefooted-then God and my fellow humans could meet each other there. Then the centre of my heart can become the place where God can hear the prayer for my neighbours and embrace them with his love.

Joseph Cassant

A Cistercian Menology

Blessed Marie-Joseph Cassant 1878-1903

As a child, he was deeply impressed by the ceremonies of the liturgy and greatly desired to become a priest. As he had no aptitude for studies, he, upon the advice of his pastor, entered the monastery of Our Lady of the Desert. Physically weak and lacking the ability for work, he was prone to temptations to sadness and discouragement; but with the support of prayer and obedience, he overcame them and was never wanting in courage, always with a smile on his face. He rejoiced in the accomplishment of Jesus' will alone; he wished to have Jesus ever present to him and living within him. He died at the age of twenty-five after much suffering. His cause for beatification has been introduced at Rome.

DONE: The beatification was celebrated on October 3, 2004, Saint Peter's Square, Rome.

At the Nigh Office for Bl. Joseph Cassant we listened to the one of the documents on the ocso.org Web-sight. It was the Letter of Blessed Joseph-Marie Cassant to his parents. 23 December 1902 / 24 May 1903). “Everything for the Heart of Jesus!”

In that short personal letter he refers to the Heart of Jesus seven times, to priest/priesthood three times, and to Mass/Sacrifice of the Mass twice.

In his last letter to his family, he wrote, “For such a long time we hoped against hope to be able to have the whole family together after my ordination so as to share the joy of being present and receiving Communion together at my first Mass. The good Lord heard our deepest wishes. It now remains to us to thank him and to enter more and more deeply into the greatness of the priesthood. Let us never dare to equate the Sacrifice of the Mass with earthly things.”

The same thoughts in his own personal act of consecration give indicate the clear focus of his understanding and dedication.

As a member of the Association of Victim Souls, Father Marie–Joseph prayed, and signed, an Act of Oblation that the rest of his life was to illustrate and consummate.

Ecce venio! Behold, I come, O good and gentlest Jesus, Divine Lamb perpetually immolated upon our altars for the salvation of the world. I want to unite myself to Thee, suffer with Thee, and immolate myself like Thee, in union with the Daughters of the Heart of Jesus. To this end I offer Thee the sorrows, humiliations, bitternesses, and crosses that Thy Providence hath sown beneath my feet. I offer them to Thee for the intentions for which Thy most sweet Heart offereth and immolateth Itself. May my feeble sacrifice return in a shower of blessings upon the Church, the Priesthood, my homeland, and poor sinners, my brethren! Deign Thou accept it by the hands of Mary Mediatrix and in union with the immolations of her Immaculate Heart. Amen.

A fresh look at Blessed Joseph Cassant OCSO.
A recent account of Joseph Cassant is to be found in the Vultus Christi Blogspot vultus.stblogs.org /2007/06/blessed_mariejoseph_cassant.html

Here Fr. Mark has done his homework. He succeeds in capturing the spirit of the period and spirituality and fervour of the Catholic Church in an ever more hostile political secular society.

The letter of Joseph Cassant to his parents, and the text of his act of consecration to the Sacred Heart, reveal the distinctive character of the faith and dedication he shared with, e.g., Saint Therese of Liseaux and so many others.

Two Quotes from Fr. Mark’s Vultus Christi Post of June 16, 2007

Quote: An Intercessor

Since 1903 more than 2200 persons from thirty different countries have attested to favours received through the intercession of Father Marie-Joseph. The catalogue of graces attributed to the young monk is impressive: conversions, reconciliations, cures, and comfort in uncertainties and doubts. My friend Father Jacob and I went in pilgrimage to his tomb in 1982 and prayed that both of us might become priests. I was ordained four years later.

Quote: A Victim–Priest

It is significant that Father Marie–Joseph belonged to the “Association of Victim Souls,” a movement of identification with the oblation of the Heart of Jesus, Priest and Victim. Saint Pius X (1835–1914), Blessed Charles de Foucauld (1858–1916), Blessed Columba Marmion (1858–1923), Blessed Jacob Kern (1897–1924), and Blessed Ildefonso Cardinal Schuster (1880–1954), were all members of the same Association. It was established by the Filles du Coeur de Jésus (Daughters of the Heart of Jesus) following the wishes of their foundress, Blessed Marie de Jésus Deluil–Martiny, after her death. As a member of the Association of Victim Souls, Father Marie–Joseph prayed, and signed, an Act of Oblation that the rest of his life was to illustrate and consummate.

Day Out Barrhead Neilston

Sancta Maria, Nunraw Sat 7 June 2008.
A DAY OUT (three coaches) from St.John’s, Barrhead, and St. Thomas’, Neilston, Paisley Diocese

Note to Fr. Stephen,

It was a lovely celebration of the lovely people from Barrhead-Neilson.

I thought a wee descriptive Note would be appropriate but this collection of pictures of the sunny Nunraw scene tells the story better.

The day was an event saved for brilliant sunshine.

From the south face of Nunraw Guesthouse the lawn fills the space over to the ancient Lebanon Cedar tree. And that is where the outdoor Mass was celebrated.

Fr. Stephen Baillie choose this natural ‘sanctuary’ in the grounds rather than go inside the Church at the Abbey. He celebrated a very moving Mass. The young people did the sun bathed gathering proud with the Readings and Offering Procession.

It could be called a day of Retreat and it certainly was a time to celebrate community building.. The older members could relax beside the trees. The activities the younger ones relieved them of their surplus energy. And, keeping the show running smoothly, the helpers were not quite unnoticed in the background, making sure that chairs or tables were moved and in the end that the lawn was left immaculately tidied .

As on previous years we thank God for a day of sunshine and the joy of the Nunraw Day’s Sojourn.

Fr. Donald (Guestmaster) says, “Haste ye back!”

Pictures will be found in the Nunraw Blogspot, www.nunraw.org.uk.

Quote
St. John Climacus (The Ladder of Divine Ascent, Step 27: On Prayer;
Paulist Press pg. 281):

"You cannot learn to see just because someone tells you to do so. For that, you require your own natural power of sight. In the same way, you
cannot discover from the teaching of others the beauty of prayer.
Prayer has its own special teacher in God, who 'teaches man knowledge' (Ps. 93:10). He grants the prayer of him who prays. And He blesses the years of the just."

Anger

This morning, when I came to the Gospel, Matt. 5:20-26, saying it was displeasing to God when we are angry and call someone ‘You idiot!’ or ‘You stupid fool!’ or worse, I have to confess that I often use the words. But it is usually to myself I say, ‘You idiot!’ because I have done something foolish. Jesus is very severe on such language regarding others.

The thought comes to me to stop it. If is not for us to rob others of their dignity or to question their intelligence, then equally it is not for me to insult God who has endowed me with the wonder of my being. There is no place for letting one’s own frustration or anger cloud the goodness of God.

St. John Climacus, in The Ladder of Divine Ascent, speaks of
Holy Spirit Abiding in Peace Not Anger

“If the Holy Spirit is peace of soul, as He is said to be and as He is in reality, and if anger is disturbance of heart, as it actually is and as it is said to be, then nothing so prevents His presence in us as anger. (Quotes from the Church Father)

Step 8: On Freedom From Anger and On Meekness

-- The beginning of freedom from anger is silence of the lips when the heart is agitated; the middle is silence of the thoughts when there is a mere disturbance of soul; and the end is an imperturbable calm under the breath of unclean winds. (Full text - questia.com).

Knights Templar

Just a word on the celebration of the Knights Templar,

District Grand Priory of the South of Scotland

at Nunraw Abbey

for their Annual Divine Service,

31 May 2008.

The Knights mustered on the lawns and formed a procession through the front archway and up to the Chapel.

The historic painted ceiling (1606) provided a telling background for the Celebration and featured the Heraldic Shields of the Holy Roman Empire.

Heraldry was also to the fore in the Banners displayed later in front of the Vision of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the Patron Saint of the Templars. In the centre of banners is the Black and White Cistercian Banner. The Service Booklet was decorated with the medallion of the Agnus Dei carrying the Cistercian Emblem.

I have inserted captions in the pictures to save a long story.

The encounter with these representatives of the long history of the Knights Templar is like opening the first page of a vast history, for and aft, of the pre-suppression and the ever growing traditions of the Knights.

An enthralling story that continues to unfold.

Catholic by the Mass

The Catholic Herald serves up a mixed dish at times,
On this occasion it came up with a brilliant spotlight on one man's discovery of Faith through the Eucharist.

Becoming a Catholic without illusions

The historian Christopher Lee is familiar with Catholicism's patchy historical record. So why was he received into the Church earlier this month?

The Catholic Herald 10 June 2008

I find the words of Christopher Lee have a ringing authenticity in their unencumbered focus on the Mass, a simple faith in the Mystery of the Eucharist.
He writes:

Do I need to be a Roman Catholic? . . .
So what does bring me to Rome? First, I feel at home in its structure, its ritual, its devotion to Our Lady and the Sacrament of Confession.

But above all, I am brought to Rome by one simple celebration of Faith: the Mass.

I am welcomed by the unswerving devotion in the Liturgy of the Eucharist. It is a devout and profoundly personal moment when that wafer is indeed the Body.

It is a moment that has no need for the debate between a philosophical and anthropological approach to the Eucharist.

The Dominican Edward Schillebeeckx wrote that "the basis of the entire Eucharist event is Christ's personal gift of himself to his fellow-men and, within this, to the Father".

For me, it is a moment of almost mediaeval simplicity transcending a Tridentine and post-Tridentine perception of faith. It is a personal experience that is both frightening and a blessed excitement.

Did I not find it elsewhere? No, no I did not.

Yet, I have no evangelic message, certainly no sense of ecumenism. To my mind, one is one and the other is the other. There is no reason for wishy-washy diplomatic compromise and certainly not reconciliation.

Moreover, the Church of Rome is not a refuge of downtrodden worshippers. It is the true home of the expression of the Trinity and the Liturgy of the Mass. That is an awesome responsibility and one that it must with much louder voice more publicly celebrate.

On May 11 the Church of Rome welcomed me home - mucky taps and all. Thanks be to the Trinity.

Matthew in Art

Following previous Post, 'St. Matthew', 8 June 08,
illustrations of Matthew and the Angel appear to be very popular.
Guido RENI's painting appears on the front cover of Eamon Duffy, "The Creed in the Catechism". (It explores the first and longest section of the Catechism of the Catholic. Duffy's Introduction makes clear his essential cue from Paul VI, "Pope Paul VI describes the documents if Vatican II as 'the great Catechism of our age', and they of course remain normative for all interpretations of the Catechism). A very helpful Catechism of a Catechism of a Catechism of a . . .

A second reproduction of Guido Reni's painting is being used by the Canadian Bible Society, - 300,000 copies of the Gospel of Matthew will be given to young Catholics attending World Youth Day. Front cover of the Gospel depicts a painting by Guido Reni, St. Matthew and The Angel, oil on canvas.
It is interesting to read some comments on the work of art.

. . . it's often wise to completely ignore anything art historians have to say that isn't factual. "Art history" is a story. Sure, some characters and forces should loom large in any version, but you could tell the story in any number of ways. Frequently, the only story told in college classrooms is the "progressive" one, i.e. the liberation of art from the clutches of the repressive Church. . .

... it's amazing! Matthew's gnarled hands, tired posture, and intent expression are a great contrast to the angel's childish, heavenly air. There are so many things to evaluate in this painting ...

St. Matthew

Matthew twixt Youth & Age

The Guesthouse Chapel was overflowing with families for the Sunday Mass. It was the 10^th Sunday of Year A. I asked the young ones if any were called Matthew. One or two nodded and we were off with, “As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, ‘Follow Me’. And he got up and followed him”. Here we discover Matthew turning to autobiography. He was writing about his own experience and the life shaking it was when Jesus encountered him. To unfold the story takes a good painting whic can tell more than a thousand words.

There are two famous paintings of St. Matthew,

1. The call of Matthew

2. St. Mathew and the Angel.

With more accuracy than the pious commentator was capable of, Caravaggio’s ‘Call of Matthew’ shows surprise and disbelief on Matthew's face when he realised that it was indeed him that Jesus was calling. ‘

St. Matthew and the Angel’ is a painting by Rembrant. It shows the evangelist sitting at his desk with his pen poised above the manuscript of the Gospel which he is in the process of writing. He is gazing ahead, waiting for guidance, but behind him at his shoulder there is an angel whispering into his ear and giving him the inspired words.

This is an imaginative way of illustrating St. Paul’s teaching that, “All Scripture is inspired by God”, (“Tim 3:16).

We can think of the Two Matthews.: The young Matthew of Caravaggio, telling the the story of the meeting with Christ that changed his life. The older Matthew inspired the writing of the Good News.
His words, like all the inspired Scriptures, are as the imaginative beam of light on our own life story.
Matthew’s story begins with his call and attains to his great contribution to the Church. Taking an affectionate look at the course of his life we might ponder all that happened between the beginning an the end. And then ask how the template of out own life follows a like path.

Every life is the story of what happens in between, the time betwixt and between. We need to go to the point of the Holy Spirit – the place where “the Go Between God” guides us. As the Spirit goes between the Father and the Son, he guides us in the in-between of life. We might think we know the will of God. We can only be sure when we pray in silence. Like the Angel whispering in Matthew’s ear, we need to listen to the whisper of the Go-Between-God.

One of the listeners found that thought quite moving, the thought of the “GLOW” of the Holy Spirit. That is word she heard from the words of the preacher, although the preacher had not used the word. But how very apt of the Holy Spirit to whisper that word of inspiration.

During this Liturgical Year we will be guided by the Gospel of Matthew. Thank you, Matthew also called Levi. How much poorer our knowledge of Christ would be without you!

Robert of Newminster + 1159

South of Nunraw Abbey, our nearest Cistercian neighbour in Northumberland is the ancient monastic site of Newminster.

In 2002 George Thornton wrote the story of “The Abbey of Newsminster and the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Robert of Newminster”. Following this interest, George is on the point of publishing a book on the Northern Saints, i.e. the Saints linked with Lindisfarne, Holy Island.

For JUNE 7 The Cistercian Menology has this note:

St Robert of Newminster + 1159

Born in Yorkshire. After studying in Paris, he returned to England, became a parish priest and then a Benedictine at the abbey of Whitby. In 1132 he joined the monks of St Mary's, York, and participated with them in the founding of Fountains. Seven years later he founded New Minster near Morpeth, Northumberland and became its first abbot. Under his administration, the house prospered so much that it was able to establish three daughterhouses: Pipewell, Roche and Sawley. Robert wrote a commentary on the Psalms and a book of meditations no longer extant. He "was strict with himself, kind and merciful to others, learned and yet simple."

St. Robert of Newminster June 7th. Night Office Reading
Robert was a contemporary of St Bernard and was born near Skipton in the diocese of York. He went to school with the Benedictines, and after ordination as a diocesan priest completed his studies in Paris. Soon after his return to England he became rector of his native village of Gargrave, and sometime afterwards joined the Cluniac community at Whitby.

In the winter of 1132 the monastery of Fountains was founded by monks from the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary in York, and Robert was allowed by his Abbot to join them. When the winter was over, the Community decided to send messengers to Clairvaux asking to be received into the Cistercian Order. St Bernard welcomed them with great kindness and sympathy, and sent them a monk to teach them tile Cistercian way of life.

Their poverty was extreme, and as there was also a famine in the country they were reduced to eating wild roots and the leaves of trees mixed with a little meal. Nevertheless, the monks of Fountains were always known for their generosity to the poor.

Conditions gradually improved, and after a year buildings were erected and they were asked to make a foundation at Morpeth in Northumberland. Five years after the foundation of Fountains, 12 brethren with Robert as their leader settled at Newminster. It was a beautiful spot, well provided with water and sheltered by woods. There they built their first monastery only to have it destroyed by the King of Scotland a year after its completion.

Robert ; at this time was strong and active, a man of great simplicity, possessing the gifts of wisdom and discernment. The fact that he was chosen from among so many capable men to make the first foundation is a sign of his character and of the esteem in which he was held. The chronicler notes in particular his spirit of compunction, his austerity, his humility, and his care and concern for the welfare of his monks. During the next 10 years Robert founded Pipewell, Sawley and Roche Abbeys.

About 1142 Robert was the object of malicious accusations, but when the complaints came to the ears of St Bernard he gave Robert his full support. On his return from Clairvaux, Robert had no words of reproof for his detractors. He died in 1159. and along with his countrymen Stephen Harding, Aelred and William of Rievaux, is venerated as a saint.

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ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER (c.1100-59), Cistercian abbot. He was born at Gargrave (North Yorkshire), studied at Paris (where he wrote a lost treat­ise on the Psalms), was ordained priest, and became the rector in his home town. He then joined the Benedictines at Whitby, but became one of the founders of Fountains Abbey in 1132. In 1138 Robert was chosen as abbot of Newminster (Northumberland), a new foundation on land given by Ralph of Merly, Lord of Morpeth. Newminster grew rapidly and founded dependencies at Pipewell (Northants.) in 1143, Roche (S. Yorkshire) in 1147, and Sawley (N. Yorkshire) in 1148.

Little is known of Robert: his biographer praised his singleness of purpose and his zeal for poverty and prayer; his collection of prayers and meditations survived him in the monastic library. Visions and diabolical encounters were also related of him. In 1147 some of his monks accused him of excessive familiarity with a pious woman; he cleared himself of the charge at Citeaux and Bernard, in token of his recognition of Robert's innocence, gave him a girdle, which was kept at Newminster for healing the sick. Robert also met Pope Eugenius Ill, who asked the bishop of Durham to give Newminster some land at Wolsingham. Robert was also a friend of Godric of Finchale, who saw a vision of Robert's soul going up to heaven like a sphere of fire.

This was on the day of Robert's death, 7 June. He was buried in the chapter-house at Newminster, but was later translated to the church. Miracles reported at his tomb included one of a monk who fell to the ground from a ladder unharmed, while whitewashing the dormitory. The cult was Cistercian and local. Feast: 7 June.

AA.SS. lun. II (1698), 47-9: P. Grosjean, 'Vita S. Roberti No vi Monasteri abbatis', Anal. Boll., Ivi (1936), 334-60; Reginald of Durham, Vita S.Godrici (ed. J. Stevenson, S.S. 1845); W. Williams, 'St. Robert of Newminster', Downside Review, Ivii (1939), 137-49·

Oxford Dict. of Saints, D.V. Farmer, 1988

Resurrected cloister a rcades at Newminster

There are several examples of Newminster seals in the Treasury at Durham.
No. 2 is of a later period and shows much more detail. The Virgin is holding an apple to the Divine Infant, perhaps a reference to the Fall. Ave Maria appears above the head of the adoring abbot. Fleurs-de~lys, crescents and stars refer to the Virgin Mary.

The details illustrate well the affection which Cistercians had for the Virgin Mary, to whom all their houses were dedicated.

Vocations

Vocations to the Priesthood

In union with the other Christian Martyrs of Algeria
we commemorate the Seven Atlas Martyrs
on their anniversary 21 May 2008.

In our Post for the 21^st May our prayer extended beyond our seven Cistercian Brothers. That extension was dramatically underlined for us by the account of the 40 Young Seminarians martyred in Burundi.

Abbot Hugh Gilbert OSB has drawn my attention to the moving article in

Pluscarden Benedictines

No. 145. Spring 2008

As the author points out, the story is scarcely known in English speaking countries.
I hope the following Links and References will make this example of young men aspiring to the priesthood an inspiration, and may promote and strengthen the faith of those attracted to the priestly vocation.

Excerpts from article, “The Seminarians of Buta Martyrs of Christian Brotherhood, 30 April 1997”.
It is against the background of the early years of this Civil War of Burundi that the story of Buta belongs. . . . . . . . . . .

Providential Preparations
In 1965, in the southern province of Bururi, a junior seminary was established. The students - more than a hundred of them, in their teens and early twenties - were ethnically both Hutu and Tutsi. It is worth mentioning that attendance at a junior seminary does not necessarily imply an intention for priesthood, and that in Africa students will often be older than they would in any European or North American equivalents. In 1986, a diocesan priest, P. Zacharie Bukuru, was made Rector.

Shortly after, the seminary was secularised by the government, and then in 1988 returned to the Church.

Looking back on the years prior to the tragedy of 1997 and on his own ministry, Fr. Zacharie was able to see the guiding, preparing hand of Providence. It is also clear to others that he was an inspired pedagogue and spiritual father for these youngsters. From the beginning of his service there the Rector was haunted by a premonition of death. Its immediate cause was the overloaded state of the dormitory. To reassure himself he would quietly visit it each night after the boys were asleep. Standing there in the dark listening to their peaceful breathing he felt the beginning of a deep friendship with them. More importantly, he knew it was part of his task to educate them to Christian brotherhood, beyond their ethnic identities. After the political events of 1993-1994 this became even more imperative. The racial tensions tended to affect schools very seriously, with often one or other group attacking the other, or deserting the school for fear of being massacred, or expelling the staff and taking the school over. P. Zacharie noticed how the youngsters were already tending to recreate more and more in ethnic groups. At one point a group of young Hutu students planned to desert the seminary, saying that they were in peril from their Tutsi companions. The staff managed to prevent this, though shortly after six such seminarians did leave. They were to join a rebel group and be the ones who later would guide it in the attack on their former confreres.

The Rector then began holding regular meetings with all the students. They would study together the news that was coming in, study and 're-read' the history of the conflict, especially the events of 1972 in which their parents had been involved. This allowed things hitherto kept under to surface. The boys began to express their fears, their sometimes one-sided or distorted understanding of events, and their ethnic prejudic:es. The only rule in these exchanges was that if one youngster insulted another, he was told that he was insulting everyone, bidden to leave the room for a time, and then return and apologise. Gradually the students discovered how worthwhile it was to search for the objective truth about their country's history. They learned to respect other perspectives and distance themselves from extremism. Gradually a culture of peace emerged. There grew a desire to disengage from the inherited conflicts and to move towards a better, reconciled future.

At the same time - another stroke of pedagogical genius - the Rector realised how worthwhile it would be to teach the boys the traditional Burundian dances. These were in any case in danger of being forgotten. He got the best dancers in the country to teach both students and professors. The effect was marked. Dancing bonds. This too, and sport (lots of it!), and the encouragement of societies began to create an extraordinary sense of brotherhood in the place. The students themselves founded an association to help local people cope with Aids, another to promote the environment. As the economic situation worsened, they began more manual work, which proved another bond, uniting staff and students as well as the students themselves. Various Youth and Catholic Movements also took root in the seminary: Scouts, Focolari, Schoenstatt etc., all of which helped. There was communal study of the Sermon on the Mount. And not least there was prayer, especially at the weekends, with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament all through the night. All this was happening when so much education in the country was in crisis. The seminary began to become well known as a happy exception. The Prime Minister himself came to affirm all this. But those in the country who preferred to foment division were not pleased.

So we come to 1997. Easter itself seemed to be special, with many of the students saying afterwards how moved they had been by the liturgy of Good Friday. Then two weeks after Easter they had their communal retreat, animated by members of a local Foyer de Charite. This too seems to have been a time of unusual grace. At the final Mass everyone rose as if at the bidding of an electric current and danced, and were transported by joy, including the Rector. Then afterwards, after their days of silence, the boys began to speak. "I'm going to be a priest," said one, and immediately others burst out laughing because that's what they had decided too .. And others said, "In this retreat I've really met God face to face." One said to the Rector, memorably in view of what was to come: "Father, why have you never talked to us about Paradise?" And they began to speak of peace, justice, love, the priesthood, the Church in a way the Rector had never heard them do before. He realised something unique had happened, and that some of them had been given a glimpse of paradise. "Never in my life had I experienced such a depth of brotherly communion, or so manifest a presence of the Holy Spirit." This was the 24^th April. Six days later, forty of them would be dead.

It's also worth mentioning an experience of the Rector's, which he dates to 5 April. He was praying, and there came to him a strong sense that something very good and very wonderful was about to happen to him, and that all he had to do to prepare for it was pray. He did thereafter find himself praying with greater ease.

By a strange Providence, in 1997 the Church in Burundi as celebrating its centenary, and by another the late Cardinal Lustiger, whose own Jewish parents had been "ethnically cleansed" in Auschwitz, was the Pope's representative at the closing ceremonies later that year. In their course, he said this to the people ofBurundi:

"Remember what happened at dawn on 30^th April, in the dormitory of the seminary at Buta: forty of your own children - of different ethnic origins - remained united as brothers and preferred to die together rather than betray each other. Some of them gave up their lives praying for their murderers with the words, 'Lord forgive them; they know not what they do.' This is the highest example of human greatness and of love of neighbour which it is possible to give on this earth as followers of Jesus. In France we have heard tell of many other no less admirable examples given by many Christians of your country. Together we thank God for this testimony which your children, parents and friends have given to the power of the love of Christ. Keep the memory of them as something precious ... They are martyrs of charity and offaith; they are an example for the Christians of the whole world and for the whole of humanity. With the Virgin Mary and all the saints, they too are praying for you. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the name of the whole Church, I say thank you to the Church of Burundi for having given birth to them."

The cause for the beatification of these young men has been opened.

LES QUARANTE JEUNE MARTYRS DE BUTA, BURUNDI 1997: Frere a la Vie, a la Mort
Bukuru, Zacharie

A biographical account of the author's experiences of the violence between Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi during the 1990s, and the murder of 40 young seminarians who refused to acknowledge segregation based on ethnicity. The author reflects on the dialectic between history and memory and the necessity of remembrance and understanding. Text in French. BNS, 248pp, FRANCE. KARTHALA.

2004 2845865384 Paperback

Translations pending, “The Forty young Martyrs of Buta, Burundi: Brothers in Life and in Death”.

Web: africabookcentre.com

The Martyrs of the Christian Fraternity, BURUNDI

WEB: acb.org/stories/burundi/martyrs_burundi.html

Dictionary of African Christian Biography

God is good and we have met Him. --The Martyrs of the Christian Fraternity d. 30 April 1997

The isolated, mountainous country of Burundi, often called "the Switzerland of Africa," has been the scene of some of Africa's bitterest ethnic violence, a spillover from the genocide in neighboring Rwanda. At about 5:30 in the morning of April 30, 1997, armed invaders allegedly from the Hutu rebel group CNDD (the National Council for the Defence of Democracy) attacked the Roman Catholic Seminary at Buta, killing forty young seminarians between the ages of fifteen and twenty. Since the beginning of the country's most recent civil war in October 1993, the seminary in the country's south had been a tranquil refuge for members of the two warring ethnic groups. The pastoral Hutu and more nomadic Tutsi have been locked in deadly genocidal war since 1972.

The seminarians themselves had made a special point of living in a Christian fraternity, where love of Christ was more important than ethnic origins. They had just completed an Easter season retreat before their massacre. Fr. Nicolas Niyungeko, rector of the Sanctuary of Buta in the Diocese of Bururi, wrote of the seminarians:

At the end of the retreat, this class was enlivened by a new kind of spirit, which seemed to be a preparation for the holy death of these innocents. Full of rejoicing and joy, the word in their mouths was "God is good and we have met Him." They spoke of heaven as if they had just come from it, and of the priesthood as if they had just been ordained .... One realized that something very strong had happened in their heart, without knowing exactly what it was. From that day on, they prayed, they sang, they danced to church, happy to discover, as it were, the treasure of Heaven.

The following day, when the murderers surprised them in bed, the seminarians were ordered to separate into two groups, the Hutus on one hand, the Tutsi on the other. They wanted to kill some of them, but the seminarians refused, preferring to die together. Their evil scheme having failed, the killers rushed on the children and slaughtered them with rifles and grenades. At that point some of the seminarians were heard singing psalms of praise and others were saying "Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do." Others, instead of fighting or trying to run away, preferred helping their distressed brothers, knowing exactly what was going to happen to them

Their death was like a soft and light path from their dormitory to another resting place, without pain, without noise, nor fear. They died like Martyrs of the Fraternity, thus honouring the Church of Burundi, where many sons and daughters were led astray by hatred and ethnic vengeance.[1]

Forty days after the massacre, the small seminary dedicated its church to Mary, Queen of Peace, and it has since, according to Fr. Niyungeko, "become a place of pilgrimage where Burundians come to pray for the reconciliation of their people, for peace, conversion, and hope for all. May their testimony of faith, unity, and fraternity send a message for humankind and their blood become a seed for peace in our country and the world."

Almighty God, you call your witnesses from every nation and reveal your glory in their lives. Make us thankful for the example of the Martyrs of the Christian Fraternity of Burundi, and strengthen us by their example, that we, like them, may be faithful in the service of your kingdom, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. --Celebrating Common Prayer, 489.
Frederick Quinn
Notes: 1. Nicholas Niyungeko, "What's New in Burundi!" e-mail from Servane Ronin-Vermauwt to Frederick Quinn, January 10, 2001.

See: African Saints: Saints, Martyrs, and Holy People from the Continent of Africa, copyright © 2002 by Frederick Quinn, Crossroads Publishing Company, New York, New York. All rights reserved.