December 24, 2019

Celebrating the Fourth Faith-Filled Weekend of Advent

Mother Cabrini's precious remains rest in a glass coffin beneath the altar
Photos by Andrew Giordano and New York Scugnizzo
For the fourth straight weekend of Advent, Members of the Fratelli della Santa Fede (Brothers of the Holy Faith) partook in the spiritually edifying devotions and Masses celebrated throughout the solemn liturgical season by Fr. James L.P. Miara, M. Div., Pastor of the Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 West 37th St.) in Manhattan.


Detail of the 3-story stained glass window
Saturday, December 21st — Votive Mass of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini with the Commemoration of Ember Saturday
Orémus: Dómine Jesu Christie, qui sanctam Virginem Francíscam Xavériam, sacratíssimi Cordis tui inge succénsam, per amplíssimas mundi plagas ad ánimas tibi lucrándas deduxísti, et per eam novam in Ecclésia tua vírginum famíliam suscitásti: concéde, quǽsumas; ut, ipsa intercedénte, ejúsdem Cordis tui virtútibus induámur atque ad ætérnum beatitúdnis portum perveníre mereámur: Qui vivis et regnas. 1
Saturday afternoon, we joined some seventy devotees on the Traditional Latin Mass Pilgrimage to the St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine (701 Fort Washington Avenue) in Washington Heights, New York and attended a Votive Mass on the vigil of the 102nd anniversary of the death of Mother Cabrini. Arriving early, visitors had the opportunity to explore the shrine and recite the Holy Rosary.
Crucifix and statue of Mother Cabrini
Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite was sung by Fr. Miara. Fr. Christopher Salvatori, SAC, Parochial Vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in East Harlem, New York, was the Subdeacon and Fr. Peter M. Stravinskas was the homilist. MC Eddy Toribio, a slew of servers, and the very talented Schola Cantorum of Holy Innocents dutifully assisted the Sacred Ministers.

The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was followed by the solemn Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament, devotions to Mother Cabrini, and veneration of her First-Class Relic.

After Mass, we tagged along with a group of aesthetes and took a short excursion to the Cloisters Museum (99 Margaret Corbin Dr.) at nearby Fort Tryon Park. A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the museum possesses an impressive collection of sacred art from medieval Europe.

Altar, ca. 1225, Catalonia, Spain
(L) Adoration of the Magi (1470-1480), Upper Rhine, Germany.
(R) The Lamentation, ca. 1480, Castile-La Mancha, Spain 
The Death of the Virgin (The Dormition), late 15th century,
workshop of Tilman Heysacker, Cologne, Germany
(L) Early 16th cen. statue of St. Roch from Normandy, France. (R) St. Anthony Abbot, ca. 1500, attributed to Nikolaus von Hagenau, Strasbourg, Alsace.
A view of the Hudson River from the museum's West Terrace
Sunday, December 22nd — Celebrating the Fourth Sunday of Advent
Roráte cæli, désuper, et nubes pluant justum: aperiátur terra, et gérminet Salvatórem. Ps. 18. 2 Cæli enárrant glóriam Dei: et ópera mánuum ejus annúntiat fírmaméntum. V. Glória Patri. Roráte, Cæli. 2
Holy Innocents' high altar and famed
Crucifixion mural by Constantino Brumidi
Returning to Holy Innocents Church Sunday morning, the Sanfedisti went to Holy Confession and attended both the 9:00am Tridentine Low Mass celebrated by Fr. Michael C. Barone, Chaplain for the Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey and the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George; and the 10:30am Tridentine High Mass, sung by Fr. Miara.

Later on, we joined our fellow parishioners in the parish hall for coffee hour and helped set up for the festive reception to follow Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

Having fasted on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday for our combined Ember Days and Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel devotions, we were really looking forward to our regular group luncheon. However, since it is an extremely busy time of year and we all have last minute errands to run before Christmas, we decided to cut short the festivities and reschedule our group celebration.

As always, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith and culture together. God bless our brethren, kith and kin, and our supporters; we wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Buon Natale!

~ Giovanni di Napoli, December 23, Feast of Venerable Therese of St. Augustine

We acquired a few religious goods over the weekend
Notes:
1) Let us pray: O Lord, Jesus Christ, you enkindled the fire of your Sacred Heart in the holy virgin Frances Xavier so that she might win souls for You in many lands, and establish a new religious congregation of women in Your Church. Grant that we too may imitate the virtues of Your Sacred Heart through her intercession, so that we may be worthy of the haven of eternal happiness: Who livest and reignest. ~ Collect

2) Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the just: let the earth be opened and bud forth a Savior. Ps. 18. 2 The heavens show forth the glory of God: and the firmament declareth the work of His hands. V. Glory be to the Fathers. Drop down dew. ~ Introit