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This weekend's missalettes and Holy Hour of Reparation booklet
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Celebrating First Friday and the Feast of San Pio X
O God, who to safeguard the Catholic faith and to restore all things in Christ, filled Pope Saint Pius the Tenth with heavenly wisdom and apostolic fortitude, graciously grant that, following his teaching and example, we may gain an eternal prize. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. ~ Collect
Our faith-filled Labor Day Weekend began Friday evening at the packed Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 West 37th St.) in Midtown Manhattan for the Feast of San Pio X, the “Hammer of Modernist,” and First Friday devotion.
Arriving early for Holy Confession and Eucharistic Adoration, we lit candles and prayed for the intentions of our sick family and friends. Ever devoted to our ancestors, we also prayed for the remission of the poor and forgotten Souls in Purgatory.
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| "The Return Crucifix" and statue of San Pio X in the sacristy |
After Adoration and the Benediction, the congregation recited the Holy Rosary, the Friday perpetual Novenas to “The Return Crucifix” and the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as the Angelus at 6pm. Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form was celebrated by our Pastor Fr. James Miara.Mass was followed by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and all night Eucharistic Adoration.Normally we would stay overnight, but mixing up our routine this month we decided to attend First Saturday at Most Holy Redeemer Church (173 E. 3rd St.) in New York City's East Village, so we only stayed for the Holy Hour of Reparation. |
Statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Holy Innocents Church and the
Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Most Holy Redeemer Church |
Celebrating First Saturday and the Feasts of Santa Rosalia and Santa Candida la Vecchia
Omnípotens sempitérne Deus, qui in Corde beátæ Mariæ Vírginis dignum Spíritus Sancti habitáculum præparásti: concéde propítius; ut ejúsdem immaculáti Cordis festivitátem devóta mente recoléntes, secúndum cor tuum vívere valeámus. Per Dóminum nostrum.
Almighty everlasting God, who in the heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary didst prepare aa dwelling worthy of the Holy Spirit; grant in Thy mercy, that we who with devout minds celebrate the festival of that immaculate heart, may be able to live according to Thine own Heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Collect
Saturday afternoon we joined over one hundred parishioners at Most Holy Redeemer Church in the East Village for the First Saturday devotion in honor of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart. The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (usus antiquior) was sung by Celebrant and Homilist Fr. Seán Connolly. Fr. Donald Kloster was the Deacon and Fr. Evans Julce was the Subdeacon. The sacred ministers were dutifully assisted by several servers and the very talented Schola Cantorum. A handful of seminarians sat in choir.
Hail Refuge of sinners! Hail, Star of the Sea! Hail, Queen of Creation! Our hope is in thee! ~ verse from the Fatima Hymn
After Mass, Fr. Connolly led us in praying the Holy Rosary and singing of the Fatima Hymn with traditional waving of white handkerchiefs. We completed the First Saturday devotion with Holy Confession and fifteen minutes of meditation.
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| Madonna di Fatima, ora pro nobis |
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| Statues of Sant'Alfonso Maria di Liguori and St. Clement Mary Hofbauer |
Taking advantage of the beautiful weather, Fr. Connolly invited everyone to partake in some coffee, delicious Portuguese pastries and fellowship in the verdant church gardens. Warmly welcomed, we mingled with parishioners and other guests, including our friends from the WestChestertons, a Westchester County Chapter of the American Chesterton Society.
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Special thanks to our friend Jackie who did a spectacular job
setting up coffee hour and for bringing the Portuguese pastries |
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| Fr. Connolly warmly welcomed everyone in the church gardens |
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| Jackie and John with St. Joseph and Our Blessed Mother |
Before leaving, we visited the rectory and Father graciously gifted us a few books. I received a copy of Alphonsus Liguori: The Redeeming Love of Christ edited and introduced by Joseph Oppitz (New City Press, 1995) and Saint Gerard Majella: His Writings and Spirituality translated by Peter Heinegg (Liguori, 2002). They will make great additions to my library; I can't wait to tackle them.
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| Greatly appreciated gifts from Fr. Connolly |
Back in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, we continued our celebration in honor of Our Lady, la Santuzza, and Santa Candida la Vecchia at our favorite Sicilian culinary hotspot, Amunì Ristorante (7217 3rd Avenue). As always, Chef Dardanello outdid himself and treated our convivial party to a sumptuous repast replete with delicious Sicilian fare and chef specials.
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| Carciofi fritti |
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| Classic meat and peas, and meatless arancini |
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| Crocchè di patate |
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| Pasta with peas |
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| Grilled swordfish |
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| We enjoyed some Nero d'Avola and limoncello |
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| Affogoto |
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| Tartufo |
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| Sated partygoers with Chef Dardanello |
Celebrating the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost & the Feasts of San Lorenzo Giustiniani & the Madonna Nera del Sacro Monte di Viggiano
Ecclésiam tuam, Dómine, miserátio continuáta mundet et múniat: et quia te non potest salva consistere; tuo semper múnere gubernétur. Per Dóminum.
Let Thy continued pity, O Lord, cleanse and defend Thy Church: and because it cannot continue in safety without Thee, may it ever be governed by Thy goodness. Through our Lord. ~ Collect
We returned to Holy Innocents Sunday morning for both the 9:00 am Tridentine Low Mass and the 10:30 am Tridentine High Mass for the Fifteenth Sunday After Pentecost and the Feasts of San Lorenzo Giustiniani and the Madonna Nera del Sacro Monte di Viggiano, Regina della Lucania. Fr. Miara was the Celebrant at both. |
| (Above & below) Great to see so much young blood at the Tridentine Masses |
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| Our buddy Max with li'l brother Logan and Jasper |
Briefly catching up with friends at coffee hour, we left a little early to meet up with our brethren in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for our celebratory luncheon at Paneantico Caffe (9123 3rd Avenue), a popular Calabrese eatery specializing in profuse sandwiches on a choice of brick oven or Neapolitan style breads. More than just a sandwich shop, they also have plenty of hot and cold dishes, daily specials, and an impressive assortment of desserts. |
| Steak with mozzarella and broccoli rabe |
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| Spicy soppressata with mozzarella and grilled eggplant |
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| Grilled chicken with tomato, lemon and arugala |
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| Mortadella with mozzarella and grilled eggplant |
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| Hot capicola with mozzarella and fried eggplant |
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| Steak with mozzarella and grilled onions |
Always fun and filling, our lighthearted celebration concluded with a surprise raffle. The prize was a set of three Salernitana pins.
Since most of us are Napoli fans, winning the badges of newly promoted Campanian rivals could have been disappointing or awkward. However, since I root for all the southern Italian teams, I was very happy to win the prize despite the intense rivalry between the two clubs. Keeping one for myself, naturally I gave the others to the Salerno fans among us. Forza Granata e Forza Napoli Sempre! |
| Yours truly won a set of three Salernitana 1919 pins |
An Uneventful Labor Day
The rest from labor is not to be understood as mere giving way to idleness; much less must it be an occasion for spending money and for vicious indulgence, as many would have it to be; but it should be rest from labor, hallowed by religion. Rest (combined with religious observances) disposes man to forget for a while the business of his everyday life, to turn his thoughts to things heavenly, and to the worship which he so strictly owes to the eternal Godhead. ~ Excerpt from Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, The Leonine Encyclicals, 1878-1902 (Agnus Dei Publishing, 2014)
Since Sunday is our weekly day of rest, the yearly secular Labor Day holiday seems a bit mundane and prosaic in comparison. As a working stiff myself, I would much rather have equitable co-operation between capital and labor (à la Rerum Novarum) or a Holy Day of Obligation off than some meaningless Monday. Having said that, I made the most of the day running errands, visiting family, and saying my daily prayers. We did not celebrate as a group. Semper in Christo.
