Saint Lucy - we celebrate her entrance into eternal glory, we ask to share her happiness in the life to come.

Santa Lucia Vergine e martire - Memoria

CONCLUDING PRAYER
Let us pray.

Lord,
give us courage through the prayers of Saint Lucy.
As we celebrate her entrance into eternal glory,
we ask to share her happiness in the life to come.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

iBreviary

Friday, 13 December 2013
SECOND READING

From the book On Virginity by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Cap 12, 74-75)

You light up your grace of body with the radiance of your mind

You are one of God’s people, of God’s family, a virgin among virgins; you light up your grace of body with your splendor of soul. More than others you can be compared to the Church. When you are in your room, then, at night, think always on Christ, and wait for his coming at every moment.

This is the person Christ has loved in loving you, the person he has chosen in choosing you. He enters by the open door; he has promised to come in, and he cannot deceive. Embrace him, the one you have sought; turn to him, and be enlightened; hold him fast, ask him not to go in haste, beg him not to leave you. The Word of God moves swiftly; he is not won by the lukewarm, nor held fast by the negligent. Let your soul be attentive to his word; follow carefully the path God tells you to take, for he is swift in his passing.

What does his bride say? I sought him, and did not find him; I called him, and he did not hear me. Do not imagine that you are displeasing to him although you have called him, asked him, opened the door to him, and that this is the reason why he has gone so quickly; no, for he allows us to be constantly tested. When the crowds pressed him to stay, what does he say in the Gospel? I must preach the word of God to other cities, because I have been sent for that. But even if it seems to you that he has left you, go out and seek him once more.

Who but holy Church is to teach you how to hold Christ fast? Indeed, she has already taught you, if you only understood her words in Scripture: How short a time it was when I left them before I found him whom my soul has loved. I held him fast, and I will not let him go.

How do we hold him fast? Not by restraining chains or knotted ropes but by bonds of love, by spiritual reins, by the longing of the soul.

If you also, like the bride, wish to hold him fast, seek him and be fearless of suffering. It is often easier to find him in the midst of bodily torments, in the very hands of persecutors.

His bride says: How short a time it was after I left them. In a little space, after a brief moment, when you have escaped from the hands of your persecutors without yielding to the powers of this world, Christ will come to you, and he will not allow you to be tested for long.

Whoever seeks Christ in this way, and finds him, can say: I held him fast, and I will not let him go before I bring him into my mother’s house, into the room of her who conceived me. What is this “house”, this “room”, but the deep and secret places of your heart?

Maintain this house, sweep out its secret recesses until it becomes immaculate and rises as a spiritual temple for a holy priesthood, firmly secured by Christ, the cornerstone, so that the Holy Spirit may dwell in it.

Whoever seeks Christ in this way, whoever prays to Christ in this way, is not abandoned by him; on the contrary, Christ comes again and again to visit such a person, for he is with us until the end of the world.

Hidden in The Heart 'Blessed Sacrament at the Night Office of the Cistercian Abbey' by William J. Wardle

From: William,

... My card includes a copy of a seasonal reflection which I have denoted as "conceived before the Blessed Sacrament at the Night Office of the Cistercian Abbey, Sancta Maria Abbey", my Christmas reflection - I attach an e-copy for you - it came to mind during the wonderful stillness before the Blessed Sacrament that follows after Vigils, the sanctuary light revealing hidden expressions of adoration.

Hidden in The Heart

In the silent hours of the night the sanctuary lamp glows continually, notifying of the very presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament;

just as the Star, shining over the stable in Bethlehem, announces His incarnation. The light of revelation shines through the darkness of faith, revealing His secret and mysterious indwelling, hidden in the heart.

Lk 17:21 for behold, the kingdom of God is within you

I love to dwell in the darkness before the glow of the sanctuary lamp

As one who keeps vigil beneath the Star that rises over Bethlehem

To behold the coming of the Son of Man in the visions of the night ^[1]

A shepherd boy watching for the Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord ^[2]

I gaze upon the tabernacle that hosts the presence of the Lord Jesus

Once cradled in a stable, Child of love divine dwelling in our midst ^[3]

For while gentle silence envelopes all things and night is half gone ^[4]

You come all-powerful Word, Son of God, from the realms of heaven

The flickering candle casts a golden halo around the heavenly Host

As the Star beams forth the radiance of eternal light upon the stable ^[5]

Shining out of darkness to announce the majesty and glory of God ^[6]

Revealed in the infant and manifest in the Person Jesus the Messiah

May the rays spread their illumination within the temple of my soul

That I may come to the knowledge of the secrets and mysteries ^[7]

The treasures of the darkness of faith and the riches concealed ^[8]

Within the sanctuary of Your indwelling, hidden in my heart

^[1]Dan 7:13 I was gazing into the visions of the night, when I saw, coming on the clouds of heaven, as it were a Son of Man

^[2]Lk 2:11 To you is born this day… a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord

^[3] Zec 2:10 for behold, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of you

^[4] Wis 18:14 for while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven

^[5]Wis 7:26 Wisdom is the glow that radiates from eternal light

^[6]2 Cor 4:6 For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as to beam forth the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah

^[7]Mt 13:11 To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

^[8]Is 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places  

    

conceived before the Blessed Sacrament

at the Night Office of the Cistercian monastery,

Sancta Maria Abbey, Nunraw, Edinburgh

William

The 82nd General Assembly of the Union of Superiors General

 

Dom Eamon Fitzgerald

The Abbot General, Dom Eamon Fitzgerald O.C.S.O.,
meets the Pope at the Salesianum.
  http://www.ocso.org/HTM/net/ocso-en.htm  

The 82nd General Assembly of the Union of Superiors General: meeting with the Pope

Saturday, 07 December 2013 17:18

Vatican City, 29 November 2013 (VIS) – The Union of Superiors General held its 82nd General Assembly in the Salesianum in Rome from 27 to 29 November. The story of three experiences provided the basis for reflections and encounters focusing on the challenges of leadership in the light of the Magisterium and following the example given by Pope Francis. The Holy Father chose to meet with the Superiors for three hours, rather than the short encounter envisaged: no address was prepared in advance, but instead a long, colloquial and fraternal discussion took place, composed of questions and answers.

82nd  USG

The first group of questions related to the identity and mission of consecrated life. A radical approach is required of all Christians, the Pope stated, but religious persons are called upon to follow the Lord in a special way: “They are men and woman who can awaken the world. Consecrated life is prophecy. God asks us to fly the nest and to be sent to the frontiers of the world, avoiding the temptation to 'domesticate' them. This is the most concrete way of imitating the Lord”.

When asked about the situation of vocations, the Pope emphasised that there are young Churches which are bearing new fruit. This naturally gives rise to a re-evaluation of the inculturation of charism. The Church must follow the example of Matteo Ricci in asking forgiveness for and looking with shame upon apostolic failures caused by misunderstandings in this field. Intercultural dialogue must press for the introduction persons of various cultures, expressing different ways of living charism, in the governance of religious institutes.

The Pope insisted upon the importance of formation, which he presented as founded upon four fundamental pillars: spiritual, intellectual, communitarian and apostolic. It is indispensable to avoid every form of hypocrisy and clericalism by means of a frank and open dialogue on all aspects of life: “formation is an artisanal craft, not a form of policing”, he commented; “its aim is to form religious persons with a tender heart, not acid, not like vinegar. We are all sinners, but not corrupt. Sinners are to be accepted, but not the corrupt”.

When asked about brotherhood, the Pope said that this has a great force of attraction, and presupposes the acceptance of differences and conflicts. At time it is difficult to live in fraternity, but without it no fruit may be borne. In any case, “we must never act like managers when faced with a brother's conflict: conflict instead must be caressed”, said the Pope.

A number of questions were asked regarding the relationships between religious persons and the particular Churches to which they belong. The Pope confirmed that he had experience of the possible problems: “We bishops must understand that consecrated persons are not helpers, but rather charisms which enrich dioceses”.

The final questions regarded the frontiers of the mission of consecrated persons. “They must be sought on the basis of the charisms”, answered the Pope. Situations of exclusion remain the first priorities. Alongside these challenges he mentioned the cultural and educational mission in schools and universities. For the Pope, the pillars of education are “transmitting knowledge, transmitting methods, transmitting values. By these means, faith is communicated. The educator must measure up to those he educates, and must give careful thought to how to proclaim Jesus Christ to a changing generation”.

Before taking leave of the 120 Superiors General present, the Pope announced that 2015 would be a year dedicated to consecrated life. He added, “Thank you for what you do and for your spirit of faith and your service. Thank you for your witness and also for the humiliations through which you have had to pass”.

(http://visnews-en.blogspot.it/2013/11/meeting-with-superiors-general-pope.html)

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