St Rita Peacemaker Winter 2018

Peacemaker The National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia

Winter 2018

We Are a Pilgrim People

Augustinian since 1907

SaintRitaShrine.org

2018 Fundraiser

Banners on Broad

Thousands Will Experience the Message of Saint Rita with Your Help.

Winter 2017

On Saint Rita’s Feast Day in Cascia, Italy, the faithful flock

to the town. They process through the streets with the statue of Saint Rita, waving roses and banners to proclaim her powerful intercession.

Here in the United States, our Banners on Broad will remind visitors and neighbors about the message of Saint Rita.

You can sponsor a new banner! Each sponsor’s name or intention will be displayed along the bottom of your banner.

This year, we are hoping to earn funds to cover our operating expenses and seed a preservation campaign to repair the beautiful church building. Our current project scope includes: u

u u

Repairs (repointing masonry, repairing copper and terra cotta elements) Stained glass window preservation General maintenance and utilities, including energy bills and water bills

Contact us if you are interested in sponsoring a banner.

Help us to promote Saint Rita to those who need to know her!

215.546.8333 development@SaintRitaShrine.org SaintRitaShrine.org

Our New Logo

Saint Rita was an Augustinian nun. Since 1907, the Augustinian Province of St. Thomas of Villanova has ministered here.

Our logo uses Augustinian symbols: the open book shows a love of knowledge; the cross of Christ is our focus; the restless heart is on fire with love of God. They are burgundy and rose like the Shrine, reminding us of Saint Rita’s rose of promise, and the passion of her love for Christ.

Peacemaker

Winter 2018 Publication of the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia Shrine Director & Editor Chesley Turner

Associate Editor Yuliana Saputro

Photography Director Fr. Dan McLaughlin, O.S.A.

Design accent communications, inc.

Features

Chesley Turner Shrine Director Fr. Michael Di Gregorio, O.S.A. Provincial

Jay Agnes

Dina DellaDucata

Ron Donatucci

Dominic Liberi

Angela Palmieri

Justin Serianni

Lisa Sweeney

Contact us: National Shrine of Saint Rita 1166 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19146 215.546.8333

SaintRitaShrine.org admin@SaintRitaShrine.org Facebook.com/SaintRitaShrine YouTube.com/SaintRitaShrine ©copyright 2017-2018

Make Peace. Find Peace.

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We Are a Pilgrim People

Amazing Holy Places of Lourdes

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Printer Gerald O’Neill

Shrine Board Members

CONTENTS

We Have Come to Do Him Homage

Fr. Bob Guessetto, O.S.A.

Inside 2 3 11 14 15 16 18 19 20

Letter from the Director Together We Pray Make a Shrine Pilgrimage Healing Mass Schedule Testimonial Villanova Day of Service Christmas Mass Schedule Spirit of Christmas Christmas in Prison

On the Cover

Candlelight Rosary Procession in Lourdes

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Oh Come to us, abide with us, our Lord, Emmanuel!

Letter from the Director

- Chesley Turner

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Welcome to the pages of the Peacemaker.

One of the most wonderful things about sitting down to write this letter is thinking of the wide diversity of readers across the United States who will have the Peacemaker on their coffee tables or kitchen tables or night stands this season. As you each celebrate in your own special ways, we at the Shrine are praying for all of you.

I’ve always loved the hushed quiet of the Advent season, like a candle of promise in the dark, whispering that something is coming. Maranatha! our souls say, anxious as a child on Christmas day. Come, Lord Jesus! To me, the joy of expectation carries me swiftly through the weeks (especially this year, when the fourth week of Advent is so abbreviated!).

The preparation of Advent gives way to the exuberance of Christmas Day. We come together as a community to share in the miracle of the incarnation, when Christ came to earth as a tiny child, the fulfillment of the promise that brought the world from darkness into light. It is a special time of year to share with loved ones, but also to remember those on the periphery, those who may not have a community of their own. As you attend Christmas Eve, Midnight, and Christmas Day Masses, join us in a prayer for the isolated, the imprisoned, the lonely.

Finally, our Christmas Novena starts at Midnight Mass, so know that you and your loved ones will be prayed for by our Augustinian priests and all the faithful who gather here at the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia.

Happy Advent, merry Christmas, and may God bless you with a joyful New Year.

Advent wreath in lower Shrine chapel

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Chesley Turner Shrine Director

This issue, we offer a familiar prayer for you to sing or pray with your family and friends. The lyrics remind us of what the Christmas season truly means.

Together We Pray

O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie.

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth The everlasting Light; The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above While mortals sleep, the angels keep Their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars together, Proclaim the holy birth, And praises sing to God the King, And Peace to men on earth.

The Adoration of the Shepherds

by Caravaggio (1609)

This popular Christmas hymn was written by Phillips Brooks, an Episcopal priest, in 1865. He was inspired by his visit to the village of Bethlehem, and three years later, he wrote the poem for his church in Philadelphia.

His organist, Lewis Redner, added the music.

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We Are a Pilgrim People

Amazing Holy Places of Lourdes

by Fr. Jim Spenard, O.S.A.

photography by Yuli Saputro

It was a motley crew of 24 that found each other at the Air France gate at JFK. Nine from Philly; six

from upstate New York; four sisters from NYC, Long Island and Connecticut; and new friends from New Hampshire, Jersey, Ohio and Indiana. We came together in laughing conviviality with a common purpose that made the pilgrimage joyful from start to finish. The common purpose, of course, was to put ourselves into the prayer and spirit of amazing holy places.

From Paris to the foothills of the Pyrenees by plane and then a bus ride into the mountains to the village of Our Lady and St. Bernadette. We dumped our bags at the magnificent old hotel and headed to the Chapel of St. Gabriel the Archangel to have Mass together. Each night there was the opportunity to participate in the candlelight rosary procession, an amazingly moving experience.

Though late in the season, there were three to four thousand participants each night. Glorious to see and hear – light, prayer, song. The apparition grotto, the house where Bernadette’s family lived, the baths of Our Lady’s spring water were all a part of day two. A chance encounter with Fr. Al MacPherson, OSA, there with a pilgrimage from Toronto, was a happy surprise.

As we bused toward the airport to return to Paris, one of our members who volunteers yearly at Lourdes shared insights of her 13-year experience.

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The plaza of the Rosary Basilica

Photo by Phyllis Fox

In Paris, we celebrated the Eucharist in the chapel of the Daughters of Charity, where St. Catherine Labouré received visits from Our Lady, and the image of the Miraculous Medal. Her body and the effigy of St. Louise de Marillac on either side of the sanctuary were a little

Saint Rita pilgrims at Grand Moderne Hotel, built by St. Bernadette’s uncle

intimidating for this priest, who benefitted from an allnun early education. We had Mass in the sanctuary of Notre Dame, and then to the winds; to Sacré-Coeur on the mount of martyrs where perpetual adoration has been carried for 130 years, to the Louvre or other museums, and to Sainte Chapelle, built by St. Louis IX to house the relics of Christ’s passion. A ride to Nevers included Mass and a tour of the convent where St. Bernadette lived out her quiet days in prayer, never to return to Lourdes. She was with us for Mass.

And then there was Lisieux, for a personal encounter with the Little Flower. Her basilica and a Mass with pilgrims from Vietnam, visits to the homes of Thérèse’s family, and insights into her spirituality were all benefits. We took the opportunity to make the act of personal consecration shown to us in 33 Days to Merciful Love. It will be with us always.

Fr. Jim celebrates Mass at St. Gabriel Chapel

A flight to Lyons brought us a new appreciation of the beauty of the French countryside on a daytrip to Ars. St. John Vianney, monsieur le cure, looked upon our Mass with kindness from his position right behind the altar. The little village isn’t changed much from his time.

Our last big expedition was way up into the Alps. La Salette and our Lady’s Shrine there hold a magnificent promontory on a mountaintop with breathtaking views in a light-aired atmosphere that is peaceful and quiet.

Though late in the season (the mountain is closed from November through St. Joseph’s Day) there were still many pilgrims.

The chapel featured huge glass walls opening on a panorama of mountain peaks and deep valleys.

It seemed like the infinite blessings of the Eucharist Pilgrims at the Grotto of the Apparitions were presenting themselves with a visible reminder of the infinity and beauty of God’s creation, the firmament proclaiming His handiwork.

We benefitted from delightful guides: Anne Candelon at Lourdes and Anne Chouraki in Paris and Lyons. And I benefitted from the thorough, thoughtful preparation that allowed us to celebrate Mass in each of the holy places we visited. I’ve been asked which part was the “best.” Every part, including sharing the trip with a wonderful group of people. But in terms of personal memories, being able to offer Mass in such remarkable places – from the altar of Notre Dame to the Cure’s resting place to the amazingly peaceful shrine of La Salette, each of our “celebration stops” from Lourdes to La Salette – this was the very best for me. w

Morning Mass at the Crypt

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We Are a Pilgrim People

What a Privilege to Serve Mary

by Joanne McGrath, pilgrim

My pilgrimages to Lourdes began many years ago. My dear friend Pat was planning to go to Lourdes in September of 2005 and asked if I would join. Pat is so filled with love and devotion to Mary, so I said yes. We made arrangements through Our Lady of Lourdes Hospitality, North American Lourdes Volunteers LTD, with Marlene Watkins, founder, out of Syracuse, New York.

My assignment that year was at the Accueil Mary Saint Frail, a hospital. We cleaned rooms, cleaned up after meals, and helped however we could, working as a team on three separate floors. When we finished our work, we would assist the others until all work was completed. Then, we all went to the Rosary procession.

One day, Marlene asked for volunteers at the Baths because they were short-handed. I said yes, and for two days, I was privileged to serve there. When you work in the Baths, you arrive early and change into uniform. As North American Lourdes Volunteers, we wear a nursing uniform.

Each morning and afternoon shift starts with the rosary and prayers. We welcome each pilgrim coming into the Baths as if we were serving Mary herself. Some ladies are nervous or scared, but we make each welcome. Some ladies come into the Baths in wheelchairs, Blessed Mother at Lourdes some on stretchers. Special care is given to each one. They come to ask Mary for favors or pray for themselves and their loved ones. What a privilege it is to serve Mary.

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Morning devotion at the Crypt of the Basilica

One day, we went to the Rosary procession early, standing on the steps of the Rosary Basilica and participating in the international choir. I was asked to say part of the rosary in English. What an honor! Later, a gentleman from our group asked me to stand before Our Blessed Lady in front of the Rosary Basilica. Legend says Mary will make it possible for a person who says three Hail Marys to return to serve her again. w

The bones of St. Bernadette at the Crypt

The first year’s memories have stayed with me. I was touched by the other volunteers’ commitment and love for their work. So many come from so many places to serve Mary. I was honored to serve with them.

Arriving home, I missed Lourdes. Always remembering that we walked where Mary appeared to Bernadette at the Grotto back on February 22, 1858; where we sat and prayed; where we walked along the path under the statue of Mary; where we prayed asking for assistance in honoring her in the service we were about to do or at the end of our day, thanking her for her assistance and hoping she was honored with our service.

While cleaning one day in April, I was thinking about Mary and Lourdes. I said, “Okay, Mary, it’s about that time. What do you want of me?” I walked into another room and my phone rang. It was my friend Chrissy, asking if I wanted to return to Lourdes with her. I felt t hat Mary was calling me. I had no idea how I was going to pay for another trip, but I said, “Yes, Chrissy.” Then I said to Mary, “If this is what you want, please help me pay for the trip!”

Well, this September was Chrissy’s and my thirteenth year traveling and volunteering in Lourdes. It is amazing all the pilgrims and volunteers who remember you from year to year. I am truly blessed. w

“Spending the last ten days with faithfilled people has been outstanding. The baths in Lourdes were spectacular. I loved it, and loved seeing the glow on the faces of other pilgrims that were experiencing it. I am enriched spiritually, and very proud to be Catholic.”

“The many faces of Our Dear Blessed Mother were wonderful.

Lourdes was very special to me; I loved being there – it felt like being HOME. The Miraculous Medal Shrine was great and La Salette was just beautiful – they really made me realize how much my mother LOVES me and the whole world.”

View from the dome of the Upper Basilica of Our Lady of Rosary at dusk

“It was a beautiful, spiritual ride the entire trip. I had the opportunity to share with my three sisters to the holiest of sites.”

“This pilgrimage brought me much needed peace. Also, it renewed my resolve to live my Catholic faith more fully, to love and serve God more each day, and to love others with a kinder and more generous spirit.”

Lourdes Testimonials 7

We Are a Pilgrim People

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It is she who reminds me most of the Lady I saw.

- St. Bernadette

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St. Bernadette’s favorite statue of Our Lady is in the garden of the St. Gildard Convent where St. Bernadette lived her religious life.

St. Bernadette said that she loved this statue better than any other because it most reminded her of Our Lady, who in her humility, appeared to Bernadette in the same short stature as she.

Our Lady of the Waters at St. Gildard Convent, Nevers

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After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth. I will raise up a mighty host of little saints.

My mission is to make God loved.

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Basilica of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

The beautiful basilica of St. Thérèse of Lisieux in France remained standing among the ruins, and the monastery wall remained intact during the bombardments in 1944. It is one of St. Thérèse’s significant miracles that shocked the world. The bombs that fell inside the monastery miraculously did not explode.

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Saint Rita pilgrims at basilica of St. Thérèse of Lisieux

- St. Thérèse

St. Thérèse of Lisieux kept her promise. After her death, many miracles happened through her intercession, followed by either roses that miraculously appeared or the fragrance of roses.

St. Catherine Laboure was a member of the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul and is a Marian visionary. She relayed the request from the Blessed Virgin Mary to create the famous Miraculous Medal of Our Lady of Graces.

Incorrupt body of Catherine Laboure

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Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to Him, Lord, here I am. Tell me what You would have me do.

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Altar of Miraculous Medal of Our Lady of Graces Shrine

- St. Catherine Laboure

Blessed Mother and Catherine Laboure

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We Are a Pilgrim People

The Journey Ends Our Lady of Salette (Marian apparition) where the Blessed Mother appeared to two children, Maximin Giraud and MĂŠlanie Calvat, in 1846.

Apparition statue

Stone where Our Lady was seated during her apparition

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Shrine of Our Lady of Salette

Make a Pilgrimage to Us

We invite you to the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia to experience the peace and serenity modeled by Saint Rita, a woman whose faith empowered her to overcome the horror of a murdered husband and the tragic death of her sons.

Her faith sustained her as a wife, mother, widow, and nun, meeting every challenge with firm trust in God's will. During your visit, we encourage you to take advantage of the many devotional options afforded by our beautiful Shrine. u u u u u u u

Mass Eucharistic Adoration Private Prayer Reconciliation Novena Prayers and Veneration of the Relic (on Wednesdays or by special arrangement) Shrine Tours Gift Shop visit

Contact us today at 215.546.8333 to arrange a pilgrimage visit to the Shrine for your group.

Dear devoted pilgrims,

St. Nicholas of Tolentine, Queens, New York

The saint of Cascia is at one and the same time the ‘strong woman’ and the ‘wise virgin’ presented to us by Holy Scripture who, in every state of life, indicates – and not just in words – what is the authentic way to sanctity as a faithful follower of Christ right up to the cross.

Rita offers her rose to each of you: in receiving it spiritually, strive to live as witnesses to a hope that never disappoints and as missionaries of a life that conquers death. Let it symbolize a life sustained by passionate love for the Lord Jesus, a life capable of responding to suffering and to thorns with forgiveness and the total gift of self, in order to spread everywhere the good odor of Christ through a consistently lived proclamation of the Gospel.

- Pope St. John Paul II

St. Joseph parish, Spring Valley, New York

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We Have Come to Do Him Homage

My grandmother Giuseppina lived for 92 years, and we were close. In her last days, I

by Fr. Bob Guessetto, O.S.A.

visited her as much as possible, though she spoke very little and when she did, it was mostly in Italian. Taking the suggestion of a friend, I went in one day and read from the Bible in Italian hoping it might bring some consolation.

There was another older woman in the next bed; the curtain was drawn and she was most certainly asleep. After reading a bit, I asked my grandmother, “ti piace?”... “Did you like that?”

She didn’t answer, but a moment later, from the bed behind me, a quiet voice said: “bello!”… “beautiful!”

The Word of God is indeed beautiful, and also powerful, inspiring and instructive. This is especially so with the scripture readings for the Epiphany. In a few words it offers a summary of our Christmas feast: We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.

The passage contains two important assertions. In the first place, Christ is a shining light that embraces every person who lets him- or herself be guided by the best desires of their heart.

St. Augustine wrote: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. We see this truth brought to life in the account of the magi who were led to Bethlehem by that unexpected yet welcome star. A “holy longing for God” wells up in the heart of believers even today, because they know that the Gospel “is not an event of the past, but of the present.” The Gospel leads us to the Lord who calms our restlessness.

The second assertion is that no one, from whatever nation or people, is excluded from having an intimate share in the events surrounding the birth of Christ. The magi weren’t Jewish and were from far away. In our faith language we say that Christ is the king of a universal kingdom.

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Christ is a shining light that embraces every person who lets him- or herself be guided by the best desires of their heart.

Christmas, Epiphany and the Baptism of Jesus are interrelated. They are manifestations, revelations of the Messiah, the Christ. Christmas, one writer explains, invites our contemplation of the incarnation: God became human in Jesus of Nazareth. With the feast of the Epiphany, the camera view widens to take in a range of human responses to the incarnation (Richard Gaillardetz). These epiphanies led the wise men, and the witnesses to Jesus’ baptism, to recognize that they need not escape the world to find God; God had come to them; God visits his people.

Our task as Christians in the world is to cultivate hearts that can recognize, in the midst of all the darkness in this world, those moments in which God visits his people. During this Christmas season, God makes every effort to convince us that faith has everything to do with life – all of life. That older woman in the bed next to my grandmother, even close to her own death, had known that.

The three magi symbolize the human heart that yearns for God, searches always for something greater than itself.

The life of St. Augustine speaks powerfully of the blessings that come from searching for God, as did the magi, and from recognizing how God “visits” or guides his people. Before his conversion, he was living a very disordered life; nonetheless, he had a restless heart looking for more. To advance his career he went to Milan after a lack of success in Rome. It was there that out of curiosity he went to listen to the Bishop, Ambrose. The preaching reached and opened his heart. Together with the witness of others who left all to follow Christ and the prayers of his saintly mother, this preaching led to his conversion and baptism. Years later he wrote: Lord, unknowingly I was led by you to Ambrose, so that through him I might be led, knowingly, to you. (Confessions V, 13).

Often, if we are reflective and look back on our lives, we will recognize moments and events that can only be signs of God’s guiding hand.

It might have been our recovery from a serious illness, finding satisfaction in our career that began shakily, finding the way back to God after having strayed, or meeting the person who became our wife or husband. These are times we realize that it was not what we alone had done that brought our peace, our healing or happiness. These are the moments when God has visited us!

The three magi symbolize the human heart that yearns for God, searches always for something greater than itself. Once found, it is only natural to adore Him and turn our life over to what our search has discovered. We heard that in the Gospel: They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures.

While we have no Christmas or Epiphany recollections from St. Rita, we know the depths of her meditation on the earthly passion of Jesus Christ, especially in the resurgent Christ of Holy Saturday. We can safely surmise, then, that meditation on the Christ child embraced by the loving care of Mary and Joseph enriched and moved Rita’s heart, as well, at this moment in the liturgical year. No doubt her reflection would have led to a prayer of heartfelt thanksgiving for the gift of her own two sons and for the way God had led her to the contemplative peace she found in the convent of St. Mary Magdalene. There, she certainly turned her heart over to the God for whom she searched and longed.

Pope Benedict the XVI once preached that the magi represent the movement of all peoples toward Christ. He explained that they were motivated not only by astrological curiosity.

Rather, they followed the star convinced that its light would lead them to something that would change history. And they were right. It changed their lives … and ours. u 13

Hear Us, Saint Rita.

Heal Us, O Lord.

Saint Rita Peace mural in lower Shrine

During her lifetime, Saint Rita worked as a peacemaker and healed relationships. Not only did she oversee the signing of a peace document between her husband’s family and the family that killed him, she also was a mediator in the community.

After her death, many faithful came to Saint Rita to ask for her powerful intercession as a healer, and many miracles of recovery and assistance were granted.

Today, we continue the tradition of coming to Saint Rita to ask for her healing intercession. Healing Masses feature an anointing of the Sick with the blessed oil of Saint Rita, and a recitation of the Novena to St. Rita

Healing Mass Schedule DATE

TIME

PRESIDER

February 18

2:00PM

Fr. Joe Narog, O.S.A.

April 15

2:00PM

January 21

March 18

May 20

2:00PM

2:00PM

2:00PM

Can’t Join the Healing Mass?

Fr. Michael Hughes, O.S.A.

Fr. Bill Waters, O.S.A.

Fr. Frank Caponi, O.S.A.

Fr. Rob Hagan, O.S.A.

Visit our website and visit the Devotions-Novena page to follow along and pray the Novena Prayer to Saint Rita of Cascia. You can also visit our YouTube Page and find the Novena Prayer to Saint Rita recited. Visit our Gift Shop or call us at 215.546.8335 to purchase a small bottle of blessed Saint Rita Holy Oil, as well!

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Testimonial We promise, if our petitions are granted, to make known your favor and to glorify God for his gift.

In 2005, my father was diagnosed with

heart failure and was told he had less than a 20% chance of living another year. He was not a candidate for transplant due to recent prostate cancer treatment, and was told cardiac bypass surgery was not an option due to the condition and unusual anatomy of his heart. No options. No hope.

When I heard the news, I was inconsolable.

I placed a call to the hospital where I worked and left a message for my boss that I would be unable to come in the next day. Then I prayed and prayed to Saint Rita for a miracle.

The Translation of Saint Rita of Cascia by Nicolas Poussin I went to a cathedral in my town and prayed more. Being in the healthcare field, I knew that there was no option besides bypass surgery or transplant, and since my father was not a candidate for either one, there was no way out of this. As I left the church, I received a phone call. It was a colleague from work who had relayed to my boss the message I had left. He told me that my boss would soon be interviewing one of the top cardiac surgeons in the world for a position at the hospital where I worked, and that if I could obtain my father’s medical records in time, I could meet with him.

When the day of the interview came, I showed the surgeon my dad's records and explained that other surgeons had already reviewed the information and felt he would not survive the bypass surgery. I will never forget the words that came out of his mouth next. He said, “I can fix this. Call my office and we’ll schedule him for surgery in the next two weeks.” This world-class cardiac surgeon told me he could perform a surgery that would have been impossible for others. The thought hadn't occurred to anyone in my family that even though all other surgeons said it would be impossible, there was someone in this world for whom it would be possible – and he showed up at the exact time we needed him. On the drive to the hospital the morning of the surgery, I saw a billboard with an image of a single red rose. No wording; just the rose – an image often associated with Saint Rita. I was overcome with a sense of peace about the risky surgery.

It is now almost 13 years later, and my dad goes to the gym and Mass every morning. He spends time teaching and playing with his grandkids, and he is one of the most active 76-year-olds I know. I still marvel at this miracle.

I have prayed for many things in my life. Sometimes God says “yes” and sometimes “no.” But I will never forget that in a case where there was no hope at all, St. Rita's intercession brought my family a “yes” that changed everything. Saint Rita is truly the Saint of Impossible Causes.

- Rita Sullivan Have you received a favor from Saint Rita? Share your experience with us in the Peacemaker. Contact us at 215.546.8333 or email us at admin@SaintRitaShrine.org to tell us how Saint Rita interceded for you.

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Villanova Day of Service

Service and Community: Remembering St. Thomas of Villanova at the National Shrine of Saint Rita

St. Thomas of Villanova was an Augustinian saint known for great charity to the poor and marginalized. Each year near his feast day, the students of Villanova University come together to commemorate him by emulating him. This year, over 5,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families performed works of service throughout Philadelphia.

Six students from the Villanova Ski and Snowboard Team came to serve at the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia. They were joined by three Villanova alumnae, (including our Shrine Director), and they weren’t afraid to get dirty! Together, the volunteers got to work, cleaning pews, painting walls, and laughing together as they served. The group also shared a reflection on the importance of service.

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Student group leader Kelly Oot, a senior, wrote a note to us after the students returned to Villanova. “We were so happy to be able to help out! On the ride home, we even talked about what a good time we had, and are very grateful having had the opportunity to volunteer and learn from you and Fr. Dan. We all felt like we had been touched by something special from spending time at the Shrine on Saturday. I hope Villanovans and the rest of the community continue to attend and support such a remarkable place.”

Mark your Calendar: Next year, we’ll participate in St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service again, in late September.

This event is open to all who are able to lend a hand!

“

We all felt like we had been touched by something special from spending time at the Shrine. I hope Villanovans and the rest of the community continue to attend and support such a remarkable place.

- Kelly Oot

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“

Christmas at the National Shrine of

Saint Rita of Cascia

Masses

4th Sunday of Advent - Sunday, December 24th 9am Mass in the Upper Shrine 11am Mass in the Upper Shrine Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24th 5pm Mass (vigil) in the Upper Shrine 11:15pm Musical Prelude and Carols in the Upper Shrine Midnight Mass Christmas Day, Monday, December 25th 10am Mass in the Upper Shrine

Photos: clockwise, rectory front, choir, altar in upper Shrine church

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Living the Spirit of Christmas Imagine

what it was like to hold a tiny baby boy in her arms, an infant so mild and tender. She must have prayed for him to know and love God, to live a life of faith that would make his father proud, a life of obedience and kindness. She must have prayed for strength to be obedient, to raise her child well. Imagine what Saint Rita felt at Christmastime when her boys were infants.

All her life, Saint Rita exemplified the spirit of giving, of caring, of trust, and of joy. St. Rita was obedient; she was passionate about her faith. She was also persistent in pursuit of God’s grace, and strong in her influence of her husband’s family and the family of his murderers. Saint Rita sought to bring God to the world in her life of faith.

Shrine stained glass Nativity

Living a life of faith is both personal and public. It includes reflection and private conversation with God, and it includes outreach and connection with community.

Through the pages of this issue, we explore some of the ways we experience a life of faith around us. We experience it through service, as when the Villanova students came to serve at the Shrine. We experience it through devotion, as when our intrepid group of pilgrims traveled to France to visit holy places dedicated to the Blessed Mother. We experience it through outreach, as in the prison ministries provided by this issue’s contributors. And we experience it through prayerful reflection, as in Fr. Bob Guessetto, O.S.A.’s piece on the Christmas spirit.

What is it that makes Christmas special to you?

Visit our Facebook page to read the Christmas memories of our staff, and to share your own!

Log into Facebook and go to @saintritashrine

Christmas Memories “When mom’s great-grandmother came down to Watervliet, NY, from Quebec, one of her prized possessions was a wooden creche that her father had made.”

- Fr. Jim Spenard, O.S.A. “As children, my brothers and I would receive shoes full of candy on St. Nicholas’s Day, along with a children’s book about Christmas that we would read together as a family.”

- Chesley Turner, Shrine Director

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It’s not something we often think about when we are gathered around the Christmas tree or joining our family at Mass, but it is experienced by millions of men and women in this country, every year.

Christmas in Prison; Christmas on the Outside

Mary, Mother of Captives

One of the corporal works of mercy is to visit those in prison, and many friends of the

National Shrine of Saint Rita work in this ministry. The Augustinians at ADROP host their weekly Adeodatus meeting with returning citizens at the Shrine office. (“Adeodatus” was the name of St. Augustine’s son. “Returning citizens” is what we call the men and women who are re-acclimating to society after their prison term is served.)

Here are two stories from longtime prison ministry volunteers John Killeen and George Munyan, affiliated O.S.A. and Adeodatus Prison Ministry Administrator. They offer a glimpse of what Christmas is like in prison, and what it can be like after prison, through the support of Adeodatus.

Christmas in Prison

by John Killeen

I had been visiting prison all year long and was so glad to be coming into the Christmas season. The lights, signs of both Santa and religious. Jubilant thoughts that the men would all be inside making decorations and adorning the chapel with colorful items from family and friends. Happy thoughts and a better demeanor amongst the men. A buildup to a great event.

Of course, I kept my euphoria in check. I had been warned about the dark side of Christmas.

A deeper depression is aroused in those suffering mental disease. I remained optimistic as I crossed 20

I was in prison, and you visited me.

- Matthew 25:36

the parking lot. As I passed through the gates into the bowels of the prison, a darkness came over me as I continued that long trek to the chapel.

As I walked, my feelings darkened; my elation was ebbing with each step I took. There were no religious symbols.

There were no Santas or reindeer. The walls were bare.

Peering out the windows as I walked, there were a few men working out in the yard; the underwear plant and

Christmas on the Outside

by George Munyan, affiliated O.S.A.

In the former rectory “great room,” the Christmas tree blazed with lights and displayed written prayer cards with anonymous hopes to God for the new year. Twinkling Christmas lights sparkled around tables filled with food.

shoe factory were busy, and the maintenance shop reeked of that sick chemical odor.

Gratefully, I arrived at the chapel. I entered the office.

Dark and Spartan, unadorned as usual. Then I realized I was in a state institution that “accommodates” religions.

The state does not encourage religion or religious activity.

It was quiet, dimly lit, and had the foul aroma of despair.

Men went about their weekly activities preparing for a special Mass in the same manner as every Saturday evening – even though Christmas would be on Monday!

Christmas in Prison – a Somber Event.

Finally, they processed to the great church lit only by candles. Rich, an addict, led the procession carrying the baby Jesus to the high altar.

His brother had recently died from a drug overdose, and Rich was now considering a vocation to the religious life.

Assembled around the altar, Adeodatus member we heard the gospel and sang with his daughter Silent Night. Then, the lights of the church exploded in brilliance and we hugged each other, realizing this was truly the way Jesus wanted His birth celebrated.

Adeodatus staff and volunteers

There were 65 of them at the party. Laughing, eating and rejoicing, they filled the room with the joy of the birth of Christ. Who were they? Former inmates, the homeless, suffering addicts, reformed addicts, concerned parents and friends of the afflicted, Augustinian Friars and Adeodatus volunteers that met this cold December night.

The Adeodatus members celebrate together

Adeodatus (Ah-day-oh-dat-us) is an outreach program from ADROP and St. Augustine’s Parish in Philadelphia

to minister to those in prison and to their families. Founded in 2007, it is a volunteer group of laity and ex-inmates committed to this ministry in the name of Christ. Learn more at: RightsOf ThePoor.org

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2018 Novenas 2

Mother’s Day Novena Saint Rita Solemn Feast Novena Father’s Day Novena Children’s Novena new for 2018 All Souls’ Novena Christmas Novena

Nativity in upper Shrine Church

May 13, 2018 – May 21, 2018 May 13, 2018 – May 22, 2018 June 17, 2018 – June 25, 2018 September 4, 2018 – September 12, 2018 November 2, 2018 – November 10, 2018 December 25, 2018 – January 2, 2019