Canons Regular of St John Cantius

Formerly known as the Society of St. John Cantius, the community of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius was founded in 1998 by Fr. C. Frank Phillips, C.R. as a Roman Catholic religious community of men dedicated to a restoration of the sacred in the context of parish ministry. Its mission is to help Catholics rediscover a profound sense of the sacred through solemn liturgies, devotions, sacred art, sacred music, as well as instruction in Church heritage, catechetics, and Catholic culture. This mission is reflected in the community's motto: Instaurare Sacra (Restoration of the Sacred).

The purpose of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius is the formation of a Roman Catholic men's diocesan institute, which shall form and train men to be priests and brothers. On December 23, 1999, the memorial of St. John of Kenty (Cantius), Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., Archbishop of Chicago, issued a "Decree approving the statutes and erecting the Society of St. John Cantius as a public diocesan association of the Christian faithful with juridic personality." On January 31, 2003, he gave his approval to the recently completed Spiritual Directory and Book of Customs as the local provisionary rule for the Society of St. John Cantius—the next step toward approval of constitutions for the Society as a diocesan institute. Now known as the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius the community's priests have full faculties to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and sacraments according to the normative liturgical books of the Roman Rite (in Latin and in the vernacular), as well as all of the 1962 liturgical books

Members of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius live in common according to the Rule of St. Augustine and their local Rule of Life. Members dedicate themselves to the recovery of the sacred in living the common life, striving for personal sanctity and by seeking the salvation and sanctification of all. In order to achieve these ends, special emphasis will be placed upon the study and implementation of the sacred rites of the Latin Church in their various approved manifestations.

The laity can also affiliate themselves with the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius as Associate Members. These may be men who are considering a religious vocation to the Society or individuals, male or female, married or single, who wish to help the advancement of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius in their capacity as a member of the laity.

The community's nineteen members include six priests, one deacon, three seminarians, three professed religious brothers and six members in formation. The Canons Regular administer the successful St John Cantius Parish in the Archdiocese of Chicago. St. John’s offers the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the Roman Rite in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms.

For more information about the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, contact:

• Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, 825 North Carpenter Street, Chicago, Illinois 60622
• email Fr Frank Phillips CR at pastor at cantius.org or
• visit the Canons Regular website at www.canons-regular.org.

The Society also runs a tutorial website for the Missale Romanum, Sancta Missa.

International Eucharistic Congress in Canada

International Eucharistic Congress in Québec, Canada (June 18-19-20, 2008):

None of us will ignore that the Juventutem logo depicts… a monstrance. Devotion of youths towards the Holy Eucharist is part and parcel of the Juventutem identity. Therefore Juventutem is glad to be able to partake in this important event. As members of the “Summorum Pontificum generation”, Juventutem youths will travel to Québec and partake in Eucharistic events (liturgical and doctrinal) as encouraged by Pope Benedict XVI: “young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them”(cf Letter to the Bishops on Summorum Pontificum, July 7th, 2007).

Juventutem is very grateful to the Rt. Rev. André-Mutien Léonard, Bishop of Namur (Belgium) for agreeing to offer a pontifical High Mass in the extraordinary form for Juventutem on this occasion with the approval of Congress authorities. You are invited to attend on Saturday 19th June 2008 in St Francis-of-Assisi Church at 10am in Québec City. The Congress lasts one whole week. During the final week-end (18-19-20 June) various Juventutem chaplains will give lectures on the Eucharist, offer Holy Masses and preside at Vespers, Complines and adoration.

It was announced yesterday that the homily for the Mass of the closing ceremony will be given live from Rome by Pope Benedict XVI.

For more information, please click here.

Pilgrimage to Trier

The New Liturgical Movement has posted a report about a pilgrimage organised by the FSSP, to St Paulin's Church in Trier, the oldest German Town, on April 12th. After Mass, there was a procession into the crypt, where the tombs of Bishop St. Paulin and the martyrs of Trier (Legio Thebaica) are located.

The pilgrims also attended Trier Cathedral and St Matthias Abbey.

Read more HERE.

Carmelites Monks of Wyoming

In a solitary monastery under the Rocky Mountains in northern Wyoming, the Carmelite Monks of Wyoming seek to perpetuate the charism of the Blessed Virgin Mary, living the Marian life as prescribed by the primitive Carmelite Rule and the ancient monastic observance. This new monastery of contemplative monks lives a life of faithful orthodoxy to the Magisterium, where joy and peace abound in a manly, agrarian way of life. The Carmelite Monks wear the Holy Habit faithfully, which includes the brown Carmelite scapular and white mantle of our Lady of Mount Carmel. These young Roman Catholic monks live a full, reverent, and traditional Carmelite liturgical life, with the Divine Office and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass being prayed in Latin with Gregorian Chant.

The following video is highlights of an interview on the EWTN show Life on the Rock:

Desiring to become great saints, this community of strictly cloistered contemplative men has a vehement longing to live the entirety of the customs and charism established by Ss. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila in the Discalced Carmelite Reform, namely: strict monastic enclosure, two hours of contemplative prayer daily, study and spiritual reading, and manual labor. The Carmelite monk may aspire to be a lay brother or a priest who celebrates the Sacraments, gives spiritual direction, and preaches retreats to the monastery retreatants. Once mature in the spiritual life, a Carmelite monk may aspire to become a solitary hermit in the mountains, alone with the Alone. With a burning love of God and a missionary zeal for souls, the Carmelite monk immolates his life in the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty for the Holy Roman Catholic Church and the entire world.

The Monastery also produces the Mystic Monk coffee brand.

Carmelite Monastery
P.O. Box 2747
Cody, WY 82414-2747
(the Monastery itself is actually in Powell, WY)
www.carmelitemonks.org

Canons Regular of the Mother of God

The Canons Regular are little known in France, but their form of community life - contemplative and apostolic at the same time - has attracted renewed interest nowadays, because it meets a real need. Split into several autonomous congregations and abbeys, they did not initially appear to be a single Order. Canons were numerous and extremely widespread but, after several centuries, they were dispersed by the Reform and then the French Revolution. In France, they almost completely disappeared.

The Canons Regular of the Mother of God are a young community founded in France only around 40 years ago but rich in the Augustinian tradition which dates back to St Augustine (who died in 430). The community reflects the movement to revive the spirit of Canons. The current community was established in 1997 as an abbey of pontifical right, answerable to the Holy See. For any apostolate outside its walls, it works in communion with the diocesan Church led by the local bishop.

The community was always in full communion with the Pope and always maintained cordial relations with the bishops of Gap. The former abbot of the community, Monsignor Wladimir, met Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in 1998. On several occasions, Mgr Wladimir had discussions with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI. By the transfer of their abbey, solemnised on July 27, 2004, the Canons became established in the diocese of Carcassonne in southern France, in full communion with the local bishop.


The life of a canon is also well-suited to women, and it was thought for a long time that St Augustine had written his Rule for a female monastery. Like their brother canons, the sisters also follow the Church's mission to pray the Divine Praises in their liturgical Office. They are now based in the Sacred Heart monastery in Gap, in the French Alps, where they took the place of their brother Canons who moved to Lagrasse. They are supported by a priory of priests who remained in the diocese.

The Holy See has officially approved a "consociatio", which joins the two monasteries under the authority of the Abbot, while maintaining real autonomy for the female community, though in a close spiritual and doctrinal union - truly an inseparable "canonial family". This association allows the Canons and the Canonesses to help one another by prayer, by formation and by work, through the complementary abilities of each group.

For further information, contact:

Canons Regular of the Mother of God
Abbaye Sainte-Marie
6, Rive Gauche
11220 Lagrasse
France
Phone: +33 (0)4 68 58 11 58
Fax: +33 (0)4 68 58 11 52
email: chanoines@chanoines-lagrasse.eu
web: www.lagrassecanons.com

Canonesses of the Mother of God
Abbaye du Saint-Coeur Notre-Dame
1, place Ladoucette
05000 Gap
France
Tel: +33(0)4 92 52 27 24
Fax: +33(0)4 92 52 26 10
Email: soeurs-abbaye@tiscali.fr
web: www.lagrassecanons.com

Papal Address at Rally with Seminarians and Young People

Approximately 25,000 young people and seminarians from around the United States participated in a youth rally with Pope Benedict XVI on the grounds of Saint Joseph Seminary in Yonkers, New York, on Saturday 19th.

The Holy Father personally greeted the seminarians, religious men and women, and others standing in the front row. Cardinal Egan welcomed the Holy Father and Pope Benedict gave him a chasuble as a remembrance of the visit. The Holy Father gave a brief address, an excerpt of which is given below:

Dear friends, the example of the saints invites us, then, to consider four essential aspects of the treasure of our faith: personal prayer and silence, liturgical prayer, charity in action, and vocations.

What matters most is that you develop your personal relationship with God. That relationship is expressed in prayer. God by his very nature speaks, hears, and replies. Indeed, Saint Paul reminds us: we can and should "pray constantly" (1 Thess 5:17). Far from turning in on ourselves or withdrawing from the ups and downs of life, by praying we turn towards God and through him to each other, including the marginalized and those following ways other than God's path (cf. Spe Salvi, 33). As the saints teach us so vividly, prayer becomes hope in action. Christ was their constant companion, with whom they conversed at every step of their journey for others.

There is another aspect of prayer which we need to remember: silent contemplation. Saint John, for example, tells us that to embrace God's revelation we must first listen, then respond by proclaiming what we have heard and seen (cf. 1 Jn 1:2-3; Dei Verbum, 1). Have we perhaps lost something of the art of listening? Do you leave space to hear God's whisper, calling you forth into goodness? Friends, do not be afraid of silence or stillness, listen to God, adore him in the Eucharist. Let his word shape your journey as an unfolding of holiness.

In the liturgy we find the whole Church at prayer. The word liturgy means the participation of God's people in "the work of Christ the Priest and of His Body which is the Church" (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7). What is that work? First of all it refers to Christ's Passion, his Death and Resurrection, and his Ascension -- what we call the Paschal Mystery. It also refers to the celebration of the liturgy itself. The two meanings are in fact inseparably linked because this "work of Jesus" is the real content of the liturgy. Through the liturgy, the "work of Jesus" is continually brought into contact with history; with our lives in order to shape them. Here we catch another glimpse of the grandeur of our Christian faith. Whenever you gather for Mass, when you go to Confession, whenever you celebrate any of the sacraments, Jesus is at work. Through the Holy Spirit, he draws you to himself, into his sacrificial love of the Father which becomes love for all. We see then that the Church's liturgy is a ministry of hope for humanity. Your faithful participation, is an active hope which helps to keep the world -- saints and sinners alike -- open to God; this is the truly human hope we offer everyone (cf. Spe Salvi, 34).

Your personal prayer, your times of silent contemplation, and your participation in the Church's liturgy, bring you closer to God and also prepare you to serve others. The saints accompanying us this evening show us that the life of faith and hope is also a life of charity. Contemplating Jesus on the Cross we see love in its most radical form. We can begin to imagine the path of love along which we must move (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 12). The opportunities to make this journey are abundant. Look about you with Christ's eyes, listen with his ears, feel and think with his heart and mind. Are you ready to give all as he did for truth and justice? Many of the examples of the suffering which our saints responded to with compassion are still found here in this city and beyond. And new injustices have arisen: some are complex and stem from the exploitation of the heart and manipulation of the mind; even our common habitat, the earth itself, groans under the weight of consumerist greed and irresponsible exploitation. We must listen deeply. We must respond with a renewed social action that stems from the universal love that knows no bounds. In this way, we ensure that our works of mercy and justice become hope in action for others.

Dear young people, finally I wish to share a word about vocations. First of all my thoughts go to your parents, grandparents and godparents. They have been your primary educators in the faith. By presenting you for baptism, they made it possible for you to receive the greatest gift of your life. On that day you entered into the holiness of God himself. You became adoptive sons and daughters of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ. You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit. Let us pray for mothers and fathers throughout the world, particularly those who may be struggling in any way -- socially, materially, spiritually. Let us honor the vocation of matrimony and the dignity of family life. Let us always appreciate that it is in families that vocations are given life.

...I urge you to deepen your friendship with Jesus the Good Shepherd. Talk heart to heart with him. Reject any temptation to ostentation, careerism, or conceit. Strive for a pattern of life truly marked by charity, chastity and humility, in imitation of Christ, the Eternal High Priest, of whom you are to become living icons (cf. Pastores Dabo Vobis, 33). Dear seminarians, I pray for you daily. Remember that what counts before the Lord is to dwell in his love and to make his love shine forth for others.

I would exhort you all to read the full text, available online here.

Holy Vocations, Batman!

Vocations video, 1962 style.

This video contains excerpts from "And the world looks at us", a 1964 Dominican Province of Saint Joseph vocation film written by Fr. Dominic Rover, O.P., and narrated by Dana Elcar. The original film was 28 min in length. The scenes included here were filmed at St. Stephen Priory in Dover, MA, the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., and St. Dominic Church, Washington, D.C.

From the archives of the Dominican Theological Library (www.dhs.edu) at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C.

Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrier video

by Fr Tim Finigan

Many thanks to Vocation Station for this video from Gloria TV, introducing the Fraternité St Vincent Ferrier, at the Priory of St Thomas-Aquinas, Chémeré-le-Roi, in Mayenne, France. The community follows the traditional Dominican liturgy and their doctrinal formation is "resolutely Thomist" according to the Una Voce summary. Although separate and distinct from the Order of Preachers, it has presented a request for affiliation with the Dominican family.

(reposted with permission from The Hermeneutic of Continuity)

Priestly Fraternity of St Peter

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical right, that is, a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission in the world. The mission of the Fraternity is two-fold: first, the formation and sanctification of priests in the cadre of the traditional liturgy of the Roman rite, and secondly, the pastoral deployment of the priests in the service of the Church.

The Fraternity was founded on July 18, 1988 at the Abbey of Hauterive (Switzerland) by a dozen priests and a score of seminarians. Shortly after the Fraternity's foundation and following upon a request by Cardinal Ratzinger, Bishop Joseph Stimpfle of Augsburg, Germany granted the Fraternity a home in Wigratzbad, a Marian shrine in Bavaria that now lodges the Fraternity's European seminary. In the same month of October there arrived a handful of priests and some thirty seminarians ready to start "from scratch". There are currently almost 200 priests and 110 seminarians in the Fraternity.

A website has been specifically prepared for Vocations to the FSSP.

Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

(Continuing our look at Traditional Communities, we turn now to the Benedictines of Mary, also known as the Oblates of Mary, in Massachusetts.)

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles is a traditional monastic community of women who desire to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary in the giving of herself to God to fulfill His Will, especially in her role of assistance by prayer and work to the Apostles, first priests of the Catholic Church.

Originally established in the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, the congregation now operates in that of Kansas City-St. Joseph in Missouri. The congregation is now eleven years old, and is dedicated to the imitation of Our Lady's retirement from the world in quiet seclusion, as well as her apostolic charity.

Unmarried Catholic women of sound mind and body with spiritual maturity, ages 16 through 30 may begin a correspondence with Mother Therese regarding a vocation to the religious life. She will send a series of questionnaires, and will possibly allow for the opportunity to spend at least a week's time experiencing our life of prayer and work within the enclosure.

Serious inquirers may write to:

• Priory of Our Lady of Ephesus
  Reverend Mother Therese
  1400 NE 42nd Terrace
  Kansas City, Missouri 64116
  www.benedictinesofmary.org
  

Chartres pilgrimage

Chartres has been a site of Christian pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The pilgrimage route was revived before the first world war, and since the 1980s, the association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté has organised an annual 100km (75 miles) pilgrimage from the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres, over three days. About 15,000 pilgrims, mostly young families from all over France, participate every year.

Pilgrims are organized into groups of 20-65 people, that are referred to as "chapters". Each chapter is accompanied by at least one chaplain, who hears confession and gives spiritual direction to each pilgrim who avails himself of the priest's presence.

Here is some footage of a Chartres pilgrimage, when they first see the towers of Chartres (Pentecost afternoon) (German language):

Aaccording to an old tradition, the anthem Salve regina strikes up at this point. Camp is made for the second night about 7:30pm, with the Eucharistic Lord in a specially decorated tent. There is also -- wisely -- a tent for the Order of Malta, who tend to those with feet problems. Eucharistic Adoration continues through the night (or so I think the video infers).

A plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions. Three further videos (German language) can be found here, here and here. For more information about this year's Chartres pilgrimage (10-12 May), please email: chartres@petrusbruderschaft.de

In related news, according to NLM, the Mass in the usus antiquior is now going to be ccelebrated each Sunday in the Church of St. Peter (Eglise Sainte-Pierre) in Chartres, as of Pentecost. This church, which is quite stunning, has been noted by some to be the second most important church in Chartres, following the Cathedral itself.

Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault

Abbaye Notre-Dame de Fontgombault is a Benedictine monastery of the Solesmes Congregation, founded in 1091, and located at Fontgombault in the département of Indre, France. They still celebrate the Classical Monastic Roman rites, and Tridentine Mass, and have foundations in France and in Oklahoma, USA.

This video consists of extracts from the DVD Documentary about Fontgombault, "Fons Amoris":

And from another video, "Visages de la Vie monastique":

The monastery was also host to an important liturgical conference in July 2001, which is the subject of the book Looking again at the Question of the Liturgy with Cardinal Ratzinger (ISBN 0-907077-42-0).

More information is available on Wikipedia, or on the Diocese of Bourges website (French language). Click HERE for a high quality photograph of the Abbey.