Happy Valentine's Day!

I bet you were expecting a post about St. Valentine... gotcha! 

SS. Cyril and Methodius may be two of the most important figures in the Christian history of Europe. Pope Bl. John Paul II did nothing without good reason, and that includes making them co-patrons of Europe (with St. Bernard of Clairvaux) at a time when the Gospel needs to be proclaimed again.

While the Apostles of the Slavs have a special place in the hearts of the Poles, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Czechs, Croats, etc., their legacy is of significance to all Christians. 

The second reading from the Office of Readings today:

From an Old Slavonic Life of Constantine

Build up your church and gather all into unity

Constantine, already burdened by many hardships, became ill. At one point during his extended illness, he experienced a vision of God and began to sing this verse: “My spirit rejoiced and my heart exulted because they told me we shall go into the house of the Lord.”

  Afterward he remained dressed in the vestments that were to be venerated later, and rejoiced for an entire day, saying: “From now on, I am not the servant of the emperor or of any man on earth, but of almighty God alone. Before, I was dead, now I am alive and I shall live for ever. Amen.”

  The following day, he assumed the monastic habit and took the religious name Cyril. He lived the life of a monk for fifty days.

  When the time came for him to set out from this world to the peace of his heavenly homeland, he prayed to God with his hands outstretched and his eyes filled with tears: “O Lord, my God, you have created the choirs of angels and spiritual powers; you have stretched forth the heavens and established the earth, creating all that exists from nothing. You hear those who obey your will and keep your commands in holy fear. Hear my prayer and protect your faithful people, for you have established me as their unsuitable and unworthy servant.

  “Keep them free from harm and the worldly cunning of those who blaspheme you. Build up your Church and gather all into unity. Make your people known for the unity and profession of their faith. Inspire the hearts of your people with your word and your teaching. You called us to preach the Gospel of your Christ and to encourage them to lives and works pleasing to you.

  “I now return to you, your people, your gift to me. Direct them with your powerful right hand, and protect them under the shadow of your wings. May all praise and glorify your name, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.”

  Once he had exchanged the gift of peace with everyone, he said: “Blessed be God, who did not hand us over to our invisible enemy, but freed us from his snare and delivered us from perdition.” He then fell asleep in the Lord at the age of forty-two.

  The Patriarch commanded all those in Rome, both the Greeks and Romans, to gather for his funeral. They were to chant over him together and carry candles; they were to celebrate his funeral as if he had been a pope. This they did.

Prayer:

Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius were your instruments, Lord,

  in bringing the light of the gospel to the Slavonic peoples.

May we take your word into our hearts

  and be at one in professing the true faith.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

New Year, New Theme

Well, after intending to resume posts for a few weeks (merry Christmas and happy new year, by the way) and postponing for everything that came up (and there was quite a bit), I finally have no excuses left not to mark the biggest day in Catholic "blogosphere" history.


But first, a short digression: 
this blog was originally intended to allow me to make short posts regularly and update everyone at once on happenings in postulant Nathan's life, but it sort of devolved into a day trip photo showcase; I intend to reclaim it for its original purpose, but resolutions being what they are I recommend using the subscribe-by-e-mail feature so you can get convenient notification of posts should they remain irregular.

A brief reflection on the news of the day:
(warning: there will be absolutely no speculation about papal succession or the end of the world)

The news hit the Vatican news feed ~6:15 am this morning and, as I live two rooms down from the provincial communications and media director, I heard buzz about something big 'in Roma' within a few minutes and the seminary rector made the announcement and read the Pope's statement to the cardinals at morning mass.
Once the initial suspense that a disaster might have occurred was lifted, we offered the morning mass for the well-being of His Holiness and I spent some time reflecting throughout the day as more information came to light, and a few thoughts may be worth sharing.
The last papal abdication (excluding antipopes and disputing claimants) was that of Pope St. Celestine V, a monk who reluctantly accepted the office after two years of vacancy (the last non-conclave election) and served from 5 July to 13 December 1294. (My Latin teacher knew this off the top of his head). Pope Benedict XVI is the only subsequent pontiff to visit his tomb and, on the first visit in 2009, he left his pallium (the vestment symbolic of patriarchal authority) at his tomb.

So although no one expected this and speculation is rampant, this would seem to be something that was considered for a while. I have heard before that he was somewhat reticent to accept his election and would rather live the end of his ministry in quiet prayer (and writing theology, of course), so I first assumed that might be the reason for his retirement. The reason he presented was that "due to an advanced age," he feels "no longer suited to an adequate exercise" of papal ministry, specifically citing health deterioration over the last few months.

Some, recalling that Bl. John Paul II gave a great witness to the dignity of human life through public suffering at the end of his life, have deemed this reason insufficient. To my mind, Benedict XVI in no way diminishes his predecessor's example that even extraordinary people experience weakness and are dependent, but it also does not mean that he must follow the same path. As an L1 tenderfoot in the spiritual life of discernment, I can affirm that the path to holiness is seldom the one we ourselves expect and should never be selected based on real or supposed expectations of other people. 

On a more personal note, Benedict XVI is the pope of my coming-of-age and a great personal inspiration. I knew from the outset when he was criticized for lacking the personal charisma of his predecessor and cast as being an un-relatable intellectual that he would be "my kind of guy." As if being a strong moral leader and producing a plethora of the most theologically detailed yet also readily intelligible papal documents in history are not enough, Benedict is also a believer in my generation, enough to call us out of complacency. 

        "The world offers you comfort; you were not made for comfort, but for greatness."

              

Le Visite au Quebec

Sorry it has taken so long, but I have finally sorted through most of my pictures from the Thanksgiving trip to Montreal and Quebec and selected some of the best to post.

St. Joseph's Oratory was the first place we visited. It is a massive basilica complex on the main hill in Montreal. You don't get a good sense of scale from this picture, but it is a gigantic structure.

St. Frere Andre is the Holy Cross brother who founded the Oratory. The lower part of the basilica contains his tomb and a second sanctuary that overlooks the city.  

The St. Lawrence- as the trip-long joke on Fr. Guy went, "It's not a river, it's a 'fleuve'"- a special designation for a sea-draining river and also fun to say.

St. Francis Xavier Mission Church in Trois-Riviers, halfway between Montreal and Quebec, contains the remains of St. Kateri Tekahkwitha.

Everything was bilingual in French and Mohawk in the church. It was one of my favorites among the many churches we visited. It is just a simple old mission church, but still very ornate and beautiful.

We also visited the grave of Fr. Braux, one of the Montreal Oblates, near Trois-Riviers.

We stayed in a lakeside chalet owned by a religious community near Quebec. It was very beautiful and it snowed our last night there, but unfortunately those pictures didn't get saved. I taught a couple of the guys Monopoly and managed to play on a French board.

We approached Quebec by the royal entrance- a ferry ride up to the gates of the Old City- which offered a spectacular view of the area, especially the Chateau Frontenac.

L'Eglise des Victoires- the Church of the Victories, names for two important battles won against the British in the sixteenth century, is one of the most famous landmarks.

Rue de le Petit Champlain is a famous shopping area in the Old City seen here from the top of the hill.

The hotel lobby in the Chateau Frontenac.

The Rose Room, where Roosevelt, Churchill, and McKenzie (the Canadian PM not even the Canadians could remember) met during WW II.

The cathedral basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec.

The tomb of Bl. Francois de Leval, the first bishop of Quebec, is to the right of the sanctuary.

The windows were light, almost pastelle colors- different from any I had seen before.

The remains of my tarte de canard (duck pie)- I forgot to take the picture before eating it.

Ste. Anne de Beaupre is huge mariners' church north of Quebec City. The current structure was completed in the 1950s. 

                  
 The exterior is undoubtably much more picturesque when the gardens are blooming or there is snow, but the structures are still very impressive: the fountain is about 30 feet tall and  all the exterior doors are solid bronze.

The back of the church has racks with hundreds of crutches and canes (as did the crypt at St. Joseph's Oratory) left by people who have been miraculously healed.

The reliquary containing the forearm of Bonne Ste. Anne

The crypt church is much simpler than the basilica and has many airbrush paintings that have been recently added.

       

Triptych depicting St. Anselm, St. Bernard, the Holy Family, St. Augustine, and St. Ambrose.

At night, beacons at the top of the spires are visible almost all the way to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Sampling the wares at a local microbrewery in Beaupre.