Celebrating the Feast of the Holy Family

Stained glass window depicting St. Joseph
the carpenter teaching Jesus his trade
with Our Lady, St. Ann, and St. Joachim

Dómine Jesu Christe, qui Mariæ et Joseph súbditus, domésticam vitam ineffabílibus virtútibus consecrásti: fac nos, utriúsque auxílio, Famíliæ sanctæ tuæ exémplis ínstrui; et consórtium cónsequi sempitérnum: Qui vivas.1

As much as I try to ignore the real-life Idiocracy 2 coming to fruition around us, having to commute regularly into Manhattan and not living in a bunker unfortunately keeps me abreast with some of the city’s more inane cultural fads and fashion trends (e.g. the Santa Crawl). On my way to church Sunday morning, a handful of trouserless straphangers quickly alerted me that No Pants Subway Ride is still a thing in NYC. Thankfully, except for a couple of pale pimply bums, I didn’t see anything too gross.

Reaching my destination with only slightly more agita than usual, I joined my Fratelli della Santa Fede (Brothers of the Holy Faith) brethren at the Shrine Church of the Holy Innocents (128 West 37th St.) for the Feast of the Holy Family. Just missing the early Tridentine Low Mass, we late comers decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and congregate outside, so as not to disturb the more punctual churchgoers and get ourselves in the right state of mind, before going in for the 10:30 am Latin High Mass.

Our Pastor Fr. James Miara, who was dutifully assisted by MC Eddie Toribio, several servers, and the Schola Cantorum of Holy Innocents, sang the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. During his sermon, Fr. Miara spoke at length about the Virtue of Obedience and the importance of freely submitting ourselves to God’s Will. Father also shared a heartwarming story about a man from Staten Island whose cancer miraculously went into remission after attending the procession of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our Lady Fatima back in November.

After Mass, we visited the various statues of the saints, lit some candles, and said our prayers for the poor and forgotten Souls in Purgatory. Briefly poking around the Church's bookshop, we picked up some new reading material before joining our fellow parishioners in Holy Innocents Hall for coffee and refreshments. Mingling with friends, we made arrangements to meet up with the church contingent at the Annual March for Life on Friday, January 24th in Washington D.C.

Returning to Brooklyn, we went to Joe’s of Avenue U (287 Avenue U) for another gratifying Sanfedisti luncheon. Warmly welcomed by Paolo’s crack wait-staff, our party was treated to a hearty feast with healthy servings of lasagna con polpette, pollo alla Milanese, and cavolfiore e salsiccia. It was the perfect ending to an all around great day, and we didn’t even have to take off our pants.

~ Giovanni di Napoli, January 13th, Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Lasagna con polpette 

Cavolfiore e salsiccia

Pollo alla Milanese

Notes:
(1) O Lord Jesus Christ, who being subject to Mary and Joseph, didst sanctify home life with unspeakable virtues: grant, that, by the aid of both, we may be taught by the example of Thy Holy Family, and attain to eternal fellowship with it: Who livest. ~ Collect

(2) Director Mike Judge’s Idiocracy (2006) is a dark comedy about a foreseeable dystopian future resulting from dysgenic breeding.