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| Monastery of the Precious Blood, Borough Park, Brooklyn |
Simple women living a hidden life of prayer & sacrifice were correctly understood by the Revolutionaries to be the greatest threat. When you make God your enemy, servants of prayer are dangerous, they can achieve a counterrevolution through oblation. Remember that, friends: pray! ~ Fr. John S. Hogan, ocds
Inspired by a tweet by Fr. John S. Hogan, I made a round trip pilgrimage Friday afternoon in honor of the Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne, sixteen nuns executed on July 17, 1794 during the Reign of Terror in France. Starting from the Monastery of the Precious Blood (5400 Fort Hamilton Pkwy.) in Borough Park, Brooklyn, I made my way to Visitation Monastery (8902 Ridge Blvd.) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, then back again. It was approximately five miles long.
Armed with scapular and Rosary, I chose to start and end the pilgrimage at Precious Blood Monastery because the month of July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord. Additionally, it is also home to the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood and the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará, a contemplative community under the patronage of St. Edith Stein (1891-1942), a discalced Carmelite nun and Martyr.
Seeing as it was the second day of the Novena, I thought it would be appropriate to begin the pilgrimage with a prayer to San Giacomo.
St. James, We come to you in eager pilgrimage. We come as part of a great throng of pilgrims who through the centuries have come to this place, where you are pilgrim and host, apostle and patron. We come to you today because we are on a common journey. Place yourself, patron of pilgrims, at the head of our pilgrimage. Teach us, apostle and friend of the Lord, the Way which leads to him. Open us, preacher of the Gospel, to the Truth you learned from your Master’s lips. Give us, witness of the faith, the strength always to love the Life Christ gives. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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| McKinley Park, Dyker Heights, Brooklyn |
Briefly stopping for shade and prayer at McKinley Park, St. Ephrem RC Church (929 Bay Ridge Pkwy.), and St. Anselm RC Church (356 82nd St.), the plan was to pray the traditional fifteen decades of the Holy Rosary, a few private devotions (e.g. novena to the Infant of Prague), and special intentions for our brethren under siege in St. Louis, California, and elsewhere. Having made good time, I decided to extend the penitential excursion an additional half-mile to include nearby St. Patrick RC Church (9511 4th Ave.) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
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| Crucifix outside St. Anselm RC Church, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn |
Unfortunately, due to the spontaneity of the walk, none of my confratelli were able to join me. Though interested, they understandably wished I gave them a little more notice. Depending on what happens in the coming months with the pandemic and the inane politics surrounding it, they just may get their wish because I plan on doing a second pilgrimage on Wednesday, November 18th for the Feast of the Seven Martyrs of Madrid who were executed by anarchists in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. This time however, I will reverse the route, beginning and ending at Visitation Monastery, because the martyrs were members of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary and an image of the seven nuns is on display inside the church.
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| Visitation Monastery, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn |
A time of upheaval and confusion, the recent spate of anti-Catholic attacks around the country has inspired me to step-up my daily prayer routine and do more. While we cannot sit idly bye and tolerate the desecration of sacred images, church arson, and the increasing violent assaults against catholics, we must be mindful not to stoop to the level of the enemy. Reminiscent of Joseph de Maistre’s (1753-1821) often quoted maxim, “What is needed is not a revolution in the opposite direction, but the opposite of a revolution,” Fr. Hogan has wisely pointed out, the enemy fears and hates us, and the best way to achieve counterrevolution is through oblation.
~ Giovanni di Napoli, July 18, Feast of St. Camillus de Lellis
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| Image of the Seven Martyrs of Madrid inside Visitation Monastery |
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| Our Lady of Lourdes shrine outside St. Patrick Church |
