#latin rite

[jameslmartello]

[jimmymartello1]

Mary, Mother of God, pray for us who have recourse to thee. Amen +

[till-the-soil]

“Authority and obedience, then, were soul and body to the infant church. Without them she could not have been born, much less lived and grown. She simply would never have existed at all. She would have been just one more school, with its scholars free to come and go at will. And its Master another Socrates or Plato, only much greater. But the Church is not a school. She is a Church. She does not teach only. She commands. Her doctrines are not opinions. They are revealed truths. Her members may not come and go. They must come and stay. If they leave, it is to their own ruin. And Christ is not another Socrates or Plato, but greater. Christ is God. If He were less than God, He would have failed. It is authority that makes the difference. He spoke as one having power. And that is why the Church will live forever. She has in her that which is Divine. Like her Founder, she speaks as one having power. Her voice is the voice of God.”

Tradition and the Church, Msgr. George Agius, D.D., J.C.D.

[paula-of-christ]

How was your trip to the convent? (If you previously posted about it, I can't find the posts.)

I haven't posted about it but now that I've been home for a month and a half, why don't I answer this ask lol.

So first off it was amazing, I am an Aspirant to the order now, and I am so so so blessed. I have gotten a mixed bag of support from my family, it's a hard one for them to accept but slowly they are becoming more and more accepting of it. I don't yet have a move-in date but fingers crossed that the day for me to become a Postulant will be Jan. 25th (2023), my favorite feast day!

I was nervous, barely able to eat the entire drive there! I drove nicely, and the scenes were beautiful. I mostly drove in silence, though I listened to "Called" by Fr. Casey Cole for half of it (10 hour drive ish, 5 hour audio book). I had tried to read the book a few years ago when I was an inquirer for the Daughters of St. Paul, but found it unrelateable at the time and now I realize it is because my calling wasn't with them as well as me not fully understanding the call to religious life. But, despite my nerves wracking me, as soon as I pulled up to the guest house where I would meet Sister, all of my fears and worries melted away. I sighed out and it felt like I had finally come home. I had no idea really what the sisters would be like, having never met a cloistered nun before. Most of the sisters I had met growing up didn't seem to be all that joyful (they were, meeting the same ones as I got older was different). And my experience with the Daughters of St. Paul was so.. not "wrong" but I was not fitting in. Even from that first day at Cor Iesu, I felt like I had taken my first breath of fresh air. It was as though I was a puzzle piece being slid into place after agonizingly checking every other possible spot. Cor Iesu, the Heart of Jesus, and of course, that is where I belong.

It was a very surreal experience to have Christ physically presence in every building. As of right now we have several buildings to live in around the property, since this property wasn't originally built as a monastery. But, every building has an Oratory, where we may go and Adore the Living God. I am still in awe of everything that was there. I had feared that some of the sisters wouldn't like me, or would object to my vocation, as I had experienced with my family and the FSP.

The monastery is out in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains. I don't currently live in an area with mountains but we do have some nice rolling hills and the beautiful Lake Michigan. However, when I say that the monastery is the most beautiful place I have ever seen I mean it. Every morning I would walk up the hill to get to the chapel after Matins and it was breathtaking. I would always have about 10-15 minutes that I could stay in the garden to watch the sun slowly trek above the mountains in the distance, though most of the time, everything but the immediate hilltop would be surrounded by mist and clouds. In this way, the sunlight would slowly start streaming through the mist to form little rainbows and streams of light that just barely touched the grass of the yard.

We would have Matins, Terce, and Benediction before Mass, and it was always done with the utmost care. The Office is chant-sung, in English, except for Compline on days we pray it after supper, and at that time we sing it. 13 of the most angelic voices, singing quietly together in praise to God. But most of all, the beautiful sound of silence as we all turn our minds and hearts to God once more in the Eucharist.

Having the day so structured and specific, having to ask permission for the little things, the silence. To most people that sounds like a world of stifled passions and boredom, but for me, it is the most free I have ever felt. It truly is heaven on Earth. I think I will finally get around to queueing up some of my stories from my time there, with names changed for the sake of anonymity of the sisters.

[warismenstrualenvy]

Santa Cruz Basilica, Kochi

[traddiemedic]

Choir of Pluscarden Abbey

[hospodipomiluj]

What rite are you currently in? What makes you consider Byzantine rite?

Hello friend!

I’m Latin Catholic, was baptized in that rite when my family converted when I was 7, and I had been a very strict “rad trad” for a few years. But then...I was exposed to the Byzantine (specifically Ruthenian) rite when I lived overseas for six years studying to get my Master’s in theology. I fell in love with it.

One of the first times I went to liturgy I was so...stunned by it. In absolute awe. The chanting, the prayers, the singing, the symbolism in the liturgy...it felt like a huge piece of my spirituality that I had been searching for my whole post-confirmation Catholic life. The Byzantine rite feels so ancient, like I could imagine hiding from Romans in the early Church in a crypt and singing to Our Lord. I felt connected to the ancient Church and felt so much more authentic than I had before in the Novus Ordo or even the Extraordinary Form. There was also something about the Divine Liturgy according to St. John Chrysostom that made me feel a....reverence that I had never felt before.

Also, I’m a weirdo and I love Lent. My favorite time of year? Holy Week. I love meditating on the Passion, I love and long to be at the foot of the Cross, and I also enjoy fasting. I told you, I’m a weirdo. Being away from my usual area (Washington DC), I had to figure out what to do for Lent and the Triduum overseas. So...I went to the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. It’s....it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever been to. I can’t put into words how spectacular it feels to me, there’s just simply no way to describe it. It gives me shivers to think of it now. In the Latin rite we bow our heads and bodies somewhat frequently, but...the Byzantine rite calls for prostrations. A lot of them. Full, on-the-face prostrations. I still do them during Lent when I pray the prayer of St. Ephrem.

One other thing that I just...adore about the Byzantine rite is their spiritual tradition. Have you ever heard of The Way of a Pilgrim? It’s a classical work of Russian spirituality that delves into the question of “how do I pray unceasingly”. It’s my absolute favorite work of spiritual literature and the only one to have truly touched me (thus far, anyway). It all revolves around the Jesus prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner”. You repeat that basically ad infinitum.

So I could go on and on and on about the Byzantine rite and why I’m so deeply in love with it, but to prevent myself from going nuts and making this waaaay longer than it needs to be, I’ll leave it there for now.

Finally, the question I’m sure everyone is asking, “if you love it so much why don’t you just change rites?”

I was going to, I had spoken to the Vicar General for Byzantines in Austria, I had a Byzantine spiritual director, I had met with his wife and four other Byzantine women and discussed the rite, traditions, processes of changing rites, etc. But I changed my mind about ever changing rites. Why? Because I fell in love with a man who was very deeply of the Latin rite and had no intentions of ever changing rites, and having a mixed rite household is extremely difficult, especially when it comes to administering the sacraments to your children. Plus, tradition dictates that the children are to be the same rite as their father, so my children would have to be Latin rite while I’m alone being Byzantine, which would just...not be great for a united household. So, for the sake of what I prayed would be my future husband, I decided to wait. And well...good thing I did, because I’m marrying the guy in like two months so...that would’ve been awkward haha.

Thanks so much for your question and giving me a reason to babble about the most important part of my personal spiritual life! May God bless you!

[jameslmartello]