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| Devotional prayers for Sant'Antonio da Padova Photos by New York Scugnizzo |
Tuesday, March 20th, saw the convergence of three of my devotions: Tuesday Stations of the Cross with the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George; the first of 13 Tuesdays of prayer for Sant’Antonio da Padova; and the 3rd Tuesday of the Month food walk for the homeless with the Knights of Malta.
Each Tuesday during Lent, my fellow Knights and I meet at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood (113 Baxter St.) in New York City’s historic Little Italy to pray the Rosary and meditate on the Stations of the Cross. We pray for our sick, our ancestors, and our Royal Family, among others.
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| (L) Thirteenth Station: The Body of Jesus is taken down from the Cross and given to Mary. (R) The St. Anthony of Giovinazzo Society statue of Sant'Antonio |
Being the first of the 13 Tuesdays of prayer leading up to the Feast of Sant’Antonio da Padova on June 13th, we added those prayers and meditations to our weekly practice.
We hope to keep the prayer meetings going after Lent, but I heard through the grapevine there is a possibility the church will no longer be staying open late on Tuesdays. We will keep you posted.
Finishing our prayers, we made our way up Mulberry Street to the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral rectory (263 Mulberry Street) to join Dama Francesca Tempesta and the Knights of Malta Auxiliary for their monthly food walk.
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| Francesca Tempesta, DM (second from right), and the Order of Malta Auxiliary |
Each month, volunteers put together care packages with food and toiletries, and distribute them to the homeless. Due to the inclement weather the turnout was a little bit smaller than usual, but the dedication and drive of those who were able to make it more than made up for the loss of manpower.
On top of everything, I had the privilege of leading the group in saying the Daily Prayer of Order before hitting the pavement.
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| Volunteers received spiffy new tote bags to help carry the food |
Anyone interested in supporting this noble endeavor can contact the Order of Malta Auxiliary at nycaux@orderofmaltaamerican.org or call 917-566-3937. For additional information, the Order can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/maltaauxiliarynyc.
