My Franican Rosary

Tradition has it that St Francis and St Dominic met in Rome when they were both there to seek ratification for their new Orders from the Pope. The two Orders have regarded themselves as 'first cousins', even 'brothers', ever since. Where possible, Franciscans come to Dominican churches to preach on the feast of St Dominic and Dominicans go to Franciscan churches to preach on the feast of St Francis. Hence, I find it perfectly fitting, if not desirable, to count among my friends, Franciscan Friars, Franciscan Sisters, and Lay Franciscans. My Cardinal Archbishop, is a Capuchin Franciscan. We're all family.

Then when I met Brother Vito Martinez, OFM Cap, my world expanded to include Br. Vito, the rest of his Novitiate, and his world of formation. We are united in prayer.

When Fr. Vito undertook the apostolate of making rosaries. My interest was really piqued.

I make rosaries

. I've tried to make rosaries in the past. OK. I've made one. This one was for a friend making her final profession. I ordered a sterling silver cross with her name engraved. The beads were black and white. The medallion in the middle was Our Lady of Pompeii. It was very Dominican. I had Fr. Richard Fleck, OP, bless it.

The Rosary fell apart.

My craftsmanship was at fault, of course, not the Dominican blessing.

I fixed it for her. Then, again...and...again.... Every time I saw her, she handed me her Rosary to be repaired.

I went out and bought her, her own needle nosed pliers. :-/

I've never made another, although I fix people's rosaries, all the time. Since I do it for free, no one dares complain.

Anyway, I read on Br. Vito's blog that he was making a traditional 15 decade Dominican Rosary for a Dominican nun. Well, I wanted one. That's a lie. I coveted.

I asked; and I received. Br. Vito generously agreed to make a 15 decade traditional Dominican rosary. Imagine. This is great because we Lay Dominicans are buried in habit. We are not allowed to wear full habit, (we wear the scapular for ceremonies) unless it's our shroud. I have a habit. I have a belt. I was dreading making myself the Rosary. And I was going all the way, and making a 20 decade. But God had mercy on me, and brought Br. Vito in my life. Now, I have better.

Did you read what Pope Benedict XVI said about the Dominicans and Franciscans, just this year? He talked about the two Orders being intertwined in love. He spoke of their founders' zeal and apostolic mission. Their unique reading of the times and how this is carried forward today. As in a Franciscan making a Rosary for a Dominican. :-)

Did you know that until the promulgation of "Inter Oecumenici in 1964," the blessing of Rosaries was a reserved blessing, and only priests of the Dominican Order could bless them. That is why the older Roman Rituals did not contain a blessing for Rosaries. However, since Vatican II, any priest or deacon may bless a Rosary using formulas in use from 1964 to 1984 or the formula found in the new Liber Benedictionum of 1984 (LB 506):

May this Rosary and the one who uses it be blessed, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. That's why I had Father Reynold Rynda, OFM Cap bless my Rosary. See pix.

Having a Franciscan make and bless a Dominican Rosary is the best of both worlds. You can't get any better than that. Note that Franciscan historian Luke Wadding (1588-1657) dates the origin of the Franciscan Crown to the year 1422. He tells the story of a young novice in the Franciscan Order who, previously accustomed to express his devotion to the Blessed Virgin by adorning her statue with a wreath of fresh flowers, was prevented from continuing this practice in the novitiate. In distress, he considered leaving the Order. But the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and instructed him to recite a rosary of seven decades in honour of her seven joys; thus, he might weave a “crown” more pleasing to her than flowers on her statue.

From that time, the practice of reciting the “Crown of the Seven Joys“ became general in the order. Thus it became known as the Franciscan Crown—or the Seraphic Rosary.

Legend tells us that St. Dominic was taught the Rosary from the Blessed Mother. Legend tells us that St. Dominic prayed the Rosary before he preached. Legend tells us that St. Dominic said the Rosary was the best weapon against heretics.

It is fact that the Dominican Pope, Pius V, had his navy pray the Rosary before the Battle of Lepanto. It is fact the a Lay Dominican, Bartolo Longo used the Rosary effectively and built the Shrine of Pompeii. Miracles occur there, today. It is a fact that the Dominicans helped spread devotion to the Rosary.

And it is a fact, that the first time I use my Dominican Rosary, the first decade will be prayed for Fr. Reynold and his intentions, since he blessed my Rosary. The second decade will be for Br. Vito and his intentions. The rest of my rosary intentions are personal.

In Spiritu Patri Dominic et Francis

The Rosary Saga

All right. This is how I figure. I mail the check today. Br. Vito receives the check tomorrow. Fr. Reynold Rynda, OFM Cap blesses my Rosary, tomorrow. Br. Vito mails my Rosary to me Wed. I receive it Fri. Please God.

This is Br. Vito finishing up MY ROSARY.

Interfaith Dialogue

Mother Teresa once said that listening is the beginning of prayer. If that is true, then my "cloistered brothers" and I spent the afternoon praying. We faith shared.
Before our meeting we were told to bring a prayer with us. We Catholics also had read the Letter to Presidents of Bishops' Conferences on the Spirituality of Dialogue, 1999, in preparation for this meeting. We began by trying to sit next to someone of a different faith. This was hard to do, since there was an over abundance of Catholics. But we managed to make ten groups, and each group had a least one member of another faith.

For some reason, Protestants don't come to this. No one is sure why. It seems that they're always arguing among themselves. But they're always invited.

The Jews never come. Some said it's because they don't encourage interfaith dialogue. They don't actively seek converts, so they don't seek opportunities to share their faith. I don't know. But we always invite them, too.

And the strangest, but most wonderful thing happened. The Wiccan High Priest who came to our first interfaith dialogue, has converted. It seems that he went to a Cursillo a few weeks ago, and was zapped by the Holy Spirit. Yeah, my jaw dropped, too.

Anyway, the meeting began with the groups sharing our prayers. In explaining why we chose that certain prayer, we were explaining our faith. Questions were asked to understand, and this helped to open up the conversation. It went very well. Everyone was so kind and friendly to each other.

After a while, the ten small groups went back to their big circles and one spokesperson from each group shared what went on. One enlightened questioned was asked about the Muslim saying that we were created to submit to God. I didn't think anything wrong with this, but a discussion arose. I was thinking of the catechism question, "Why did God make us?" The answer, "God made us to love and serve Him." Isn't serve and submit the same?

So we had a majority of Catholics, then a few Muslims, and only two Buddhists. But it was enough to make the dialogue meaningful.

"Sam'i Allahu liman hamidah, Rabbana wa lakal hamd" (God hears those who call upon Him; Our Lord, praise be to You). --part of Islamic daily prayer

It's Coming!

Br. Vito is mailing it. Well, as soon as payment arrives, and it will. Then Fr. Reynold Rynda, OFM Cap will bless it.

Can't wait!
'

My Rosary is Finished!

Is it my birthday? Is it Christmas? Am I making Profession? No--it's just a special day that I am blessed! So very blessed. Br. Vito Martinez, O.F.M. Cap. made me a traditional 15 decade Rosary.

Br. Vito posted on my Face Book Wall that is was ready. Yeah! God is good.
Now, it's just the mammon details: price and shipping and handling and waiting for it.

What ever it costs will be worth it. Brother had to order more supplies than usual, and different ones than he was accustomed to. He even had to switch to a stronger metal because he must intuitively know, being a Capuchin Franciscan, that Dominicans pray the Rosary often and very earnestly. This Rosary will get plenty of use.

It took Br. Vito 2 1/2 hours just to make six decades. This is a 15 decade Rosary. Literally, this is a Labor of Love. See Br. John Nguyen,O.F.M.Cap., holding it up.

St. Catherine of Siena, patron of Lay Dominicans, ask your Beloved Jesus to bless Br. Vito Martinez, O.F.M. Cap., in a very special way, for being so kind and generous to make this 15 decade traditional Dominican Rosary. May Br. Vito persists in his vocation. May he be full of grace. May he fulfill all that he is meant to be. In Jesus' Name I beg that this be done according to God's will. Amen.

Telling the Pope Where to Go

St. Catherine of Siena is famous for telling the Pope, Gregory XI, to leave Avignon and return to Rome. In watching this You Tube Video of Fr. Thomas McDermott, OP talk about St. Catherine, I was struck how the times in which she lived, were even worse than our own. Talk about scandals! Not only were the politicians and priests corrupt, but the pope, too! War surrounded her. Diseases, immorality, death, family dysfunction... what else!

In the first place, she couldn't have done what she did, if she weren't a Lay Dominican. Really? Yeah, really. Think about it: fourteenth century woman, who's going to pay attention to her? She was a pious woman so you would think that she'd have become a nun. But then how could she have traveled around to make peace between warring Italian cities, never mind travel to Avignon? She would have had to obey her religious superior. She was attractive, not only in appearance, but also in personality (in and out)so she would have had plenty of suitors, if she wanted. But if she were married, she would have had to obey her husband. How could she have left her children? The perfect place for her was with the Lay Dominicans. There she has the religious spirituality, peace, community, that the Dominicans offer, combined with life on the outside. As a Lay Dominican, she was a contemplative in the market place.

Perfect. Well, this isn't heaven, so even saints run into the wall, especially when it's dark. I'm talking about Catherine's "dark night of the soul." Here's Catherine of Siena, confident of God's love; she converses with Jesus; she has such a personal, loving relationship with God; and one day she finds that its gone. You know how that is?

You don't?

Then thank God. It's depression. It's a sudden feeling of loneliness, abandonment, blackness, coldnes;, it's just an overall feeling that something happened. One minute is fine and then the next........ What happened? God dropped your hand? I can't explain it. It's a feeling of immense difference in your being.

Anyway, Catherine explains it by calling it a loss of consolation. She had such wonderful intimate personal experiences. Then they stopped. Nothing.

But she persisted in praying. Of course her prayer probably was "Why?" And God answers all prayers. God responded by explaining to her that she needed to know that her love should be for God, not the graces He gifted her with. God needed to purify her love. He wanted to be loved for Himself, not His gifts. He is always present through grace. She was to focus on the Giver, not the gifts.

She did. She taught the Truth. The Truth to Catherine was Magisterium. She never despaired. The church was corrupt, governments were corrupt, the whole world was going to hell in a hand basket, and how did she respond? She concentrated on God. She prayed and drew closer to Him. She loved the Church, and God used her to help the church. Contrast her response to her world, to Martin Luther's response. What's your response? How many people see the scandals in the Church and leave?

St. Catherine of Siena is a saint for our times. Fr. McDermott has a web site devoted to her. Catherine said that what is needed is a conversion of heart. Even if you're Pope and think your pious, your heart needs to be notched up. She calls this conversion "The Bridge." It's a bridge that leads you up to God. At first one enters because they're afraid of God's damnation. Spiritual growth teaches you to love. Then you're comfortable with the love relationship you have between the Father and yourself. But it's kind of mercenary, because you're getting something out of it. You're in it for what you can get. Think about it. Why do you go to church?

The final step up and over the bridge is your love for God, purified. That's what you aim for. That's the end of the journey. That's your goal.

See you there.
'

Prayer for People Who are Searching

A prayer for people who are searching...

God, I am not sure if you really exist.
Accept me with all my doubts and fears
And show yourself to me in such a way
that I can somehow move forward.

Show yourself to me as love,
Show yourself to me as forgiveness
Show yourself to me as new life,
As the promise of a new beginning.

If there is anything I have done or not done
Which prevents me from seeing you,
May I have the strength to turn away from it,
And find a wholenesss I have not known before.

Jesus, although I do not know who you really are,
I invite you to be the one who fills my inner emptiness,
Who lightens my darkness,
The one I can entrust myself to without reserve
As I go forward on this journey of exploration.

May I allow myself to be surprised by you, God of surprises,
Surprised by a new reality of freedom, joy and peace.
Help me in my weakness and doubt as I open my heart to you.
Let me know your love for me.

H/T Catholic Enquiry Office via H/T www.bigccatholics.com/