Mary, The Cause of Our Joy! |
|
Congratulations to the newlyweds, Mr. and Mrs. Kellan and Dolores Loew! They were married on September 17th in Montana.
The happy couple have since settled in Wyoming.
|
|
Little Helena Felicity was baptized in September.
Here she is surrounded by her loving family,
gathered for the Holy Mass which preceded her Baptism.
May she be showered with blessings and grace all the days of her life.
|
|
Please Keep Matthew Sullivan in Your Prayers |
|
Please keep Matt Sullivan in your prayers.
He passed away unexpectedly, six days after his wedding. He was 26.
Above, his funeral in St. Marys, Kansas.
Below, Matt is on the left, pictured with his brother and sister.
|
|
Ireland!
First Stop - Holy Cross Abbey
|
|
Holy Cross Abbey is a medieval Cistercian monastery on the banks of the River Suir in County Tipperary. The monastery derived it's name from the relic of the True Cross, which drew pilgrims from far and wide since its foundation in 1182 by the then King of Limmerick, Dónal Mór Ó Briain.
It was dissolved by the Protestants about the year 1540.
|
|
Unfortunately, hand sanitizer stations have replaced many holy water fonts across Europe and the US!
|
|
|
Kilcooley Abbey is a Cistercian abbey near the village of Gortnahoe in County Tipperary, Ireland. The abbey is located within the grounds of the Kilcooley Estate. This abbey also dates from 1182 when the same king, Donal Mor O’Brien, granted lands to the Cistercians, to build an abbey here. The abbey is a sister house to both Jerpoint Abbey and Holy Cross Abbey (as seen above). Source
|
|
The Abbey is known for its two stone tombs and a stone altar. One of these tombs is that of the knight Piers Fitz Oge Butler. His tomb records his death as taking place in 1526, and has some carvings of 10 apostles on the side. This abbey too was not spared the ravages of the Protestant dissolution of the monasteries and is in ruins. Below, Mr. and Mrs. Massori's home stands across the street from these venerable ruins.
|
|
|
|
This lovely lady is Nula, a great fightress for the true Faith. A few years ago she stood up to Bishop Fellay and confronted him during a conference regarding the new direction of the SSPX. Fr. Paul Morgan personally escorted her from the conference at that point. (No dissension allowed!)
May the true Resistance be blessed with many more such courageous souls, who are not deterred from defending the traditional Faith!
|
|
A Few Lingering Vestiges of the Faith |
|
The Irish airline, Aer Lingus, still has each plane placed under the patronage of a particular saint. Father's plane back to London from Ireland was under
the special protection of St. Aoife!
|
|
UK Mass Circuits - York Cathedral |
|
York's breathtaking cathedral church is known as one of the finest medieval buildings in Europe. York Cathedral, also known as the York Minster (an old term referring to missionary chapels dating from the Anglo-Saxon period) is the largest cathedral in all of Europe. The Minster is also known as St Peter's, its full name being the
'Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York'.
The site of the magnificent medieval building has always been an important one for the city. The remains of the Basilica, the ceremonial center of the Roman fortress, have been found beneath the Minster building during renovations in 1972. The first church here was built as a wooden structure specifically for the baptism of King Edwin in 627 A.D. It was converted to a stone church shortly thereafter and King Edwin was buried there. This first stone church was badly burnt during the 'Harrying of the North' by William the Conqueror in 1069. In 1080, the Archbishop at the time ordered its reconstruction. In 1154, the Archbishop of York again ordered the complete replacement of the East End. In 1225, an expansion was again ordered and the present Gothic-style cathedral was slowly erected over next 250 years,
finally being completed in 1472.
The Cathedral, built by faithful Catholics, was later was ravaged and stolen by the Protestants. "The English Reformation led to the looting of much of the cathedral's treasures and the loss of much of the church lands. Under Elizabeth I there was a concerted effort to remove all traces of Roman Catholicism from the cathedral; there was much destruction of tombs, windows and altars" (source). The Anglicans tried to revive and restore the Cathedral in the aftermath of the Reformation, which have been carried out in varying stages since the 1800's.
|
|
A blending of the modern and medieval:
a modern roadway traverses one of York's historic medieval gates.
|
|
|
|
This is the house of St. Margaret Clitherow, who was known as the 'pearl of York.' She was martyred under Queen Elizabeth for harboring Catholic priests in 1586, while pregnant with her fourth child. |
|
On the left, a painting of her found in her home. On the right, a sketch of her martyrdom, where a door was placed over her and she was slowly crushed to death with heavy weights. |
|
The chapel later built inside her home. In the niche behind the altar on the left is a statue of the saint. In the niche on the right, a statue of Bl. Father Thomas Thwing, a priest she harbored. Fr. Thwing was later martyred at York. |
|
This is the Bar Convent in York, the oldest surviving Catholic convent in England, established in 1686. Masses were secretly offered for many years at this altar whose domed roof was concealed by the building's architecture. This chapel is known as the Lady Chapel. The convent also houses a relic of the hand of St. Margaret Clitherow. |
|
The reliquary containing the hand of St. Margaret Clitherow. |
|
|
This picture is taken looking down into the Priest's Hole, beneath the North transept. |
|
|
A Trip to Durham Cathedral |
|
|
|
The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham, commonly known as Durham Cathedral and home of the Shrine of St Cuthbert, is a cathedral in the city of Durham, County Durham, England.
|
|
Building of the present Norman-era cathedral started in 1093, replacing the city's previous 'White Church'. Durham Cathedral's relics include: Saint Cuthbert's, transported to Durham by Lindisfarne monks in the 800s; Saint Oswald's head and the Venerable Bede's remains.
The See of Durham takes its origins from the Diocese of Lindisfarne, founded by Saint Aidan at the behest of Oswald of Northumbria in about 635, which was translated to York in 664. The see was reinstated at Lindisfarne in 678 by the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among the many saints who originated at Lindisfarne Priory, the greatest was Saint Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne from 685 until his death in 687, who is central to the development of Durham Cathedral. Durham soon became a site of pilgrimage, encouraged by the growing cult of Saint Cuthbert. King Canute was one of the early pilgrims, and granted many privileges and estates to the Durham monks.
|
|
|
The present cathedral was designed and built under William de St-Calais (also known as William of St. Carilef) who in 1080 was appointed as the first Prince-Bishop by King William the Conqueror. In 1083 he founded the Benedictine Priory of St. Cuthbert at Durham. He demolished the old Saxon church, and on 11 August 1093, together with Prior Turgot of Durham (Aldwin's successor), he laid the foundation stone of the great new cathedral. The monks continued at their own expense to build the monastic buildings while the bishop took the responsibility for completing the building of the cathedral. Stone for the new buildings was cut from the cliffs below the walls and moved up using winches. The primary reason for the cathedral was to house the bodies of St. Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede. |
|
The younger members of the Starck family touring this once great Catholic cathedral, built to give glory to God and His Saints! |
|
Surrounding the main altar are the empty niches that once housed so many statues of the saints, victims to the iconoclasm of the English Reformation. |
|
During the dissolution of the monasteries Saint Cuthbert's tomb was destroyed
in 1538 by order of King Henry VIII. The monastery's wealth was then handed over to the king. The body of the saint was exhumed, and, according to the Rites of Durham, was discovered to be uncorrupted.
It was reburied under a plain stone slab now worn smooth by the knees of pilgrims, but the ancient paving around it remains intact. Two years later, on 31 December 1540, the Benedictine monastery at Durham was dissolved.
|
|
The tomb of St. Bede the Venerable in the Galilee Chapel of the Durham Cathedral. St. Bede's most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, gained him the title "The Father of English History". He also helped popularize the practice of dating forward from the birth of Christ (Anno Domini – in the year of our Lord), a practice which eventually became commonplace in medieval Europe. In 1899, Pope Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.
|
|
|
The magnificent Rood Screen of the Cathedral,
with the choir and organ partially seen in the background, to the right.
|
|
The large Celtic cross outside the Durham Cathedral. |
|
Back in US - A Baptism in North Carolina |
|
Sweet little Kateri was baptized in Charlotte, North Carolina
with a lovely outdoor celebration afterwards!
May this little one be showered with many blessings that remain with her all her life!
|
|
November - Canadian Mission Circuit |
|
Fr. Ruiz Visits Western Canada |
|
The faithful of Western Canada were immensely grateful for a visit from Fr. Ruiz. Many souls there have been waiting nearly two years
for Baptisms and the other Sacraments.
|
|
Fr. Hewko Begins His Travels to Canada |
|
But first, a few stops on the way!
Niagara Falls!
|
|
|
A Visit to the Basilica Built
to Honor Our Lady of Victory
|
|
Fr. Nelson Baker was a priest in Buffalo, NY during the late 1800's.
Most of his priesthood was spent caring for the poor and orphaned in Buffalo - an American St. John Bosco! But there was always one task he felt he had yet to fulfill...
"For many years, Father Baker had dreamed of a fitting tribute to his patroness, Our Lady of Victory. His parish had grown, and the church was unable to hold the thousands who flocked to his Masses. Each time he thought he could begin, some emergency arose or a new building project took precedence, and an expansion of the existing church was delayed.
At last, in 1921, when Father Baker was 79 years old, he felt he could begin. In August of that year, Bishop William Turner helped lay the cornerstone. The magnificent church was finally completed by May of 1926, and true to Father Baker's word, not a nickel was owed on it!
Upon the shrine's completion and dedication, the Holy Father, Pope Pius XI, elevated it to the dignity of a basilica in a ceremony held October 3, 1926." Source
"Fr. Baker was dubbed the "Padre of the Poor" by local newspapers. His health had deteriorated during the first part of 1936, but his mind remained alert until he finally lapsed into a coma on July 29. He breathed his last that morning while being blessed by Father Joseph A. Burke, an orphan raised by Father Baker himself, who would later go on to become bishop of Buffalo.
Father Baker's 60 years in the priesthood were spent sheltering the homeless, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and giving hope to the destitute. "
|
|
Our Lady of Victory serenely overlooking the beautiful altar where Her Son's Sacrifice on Calvary was daily renewed and offered again and again to the Eternal Father before Vatican II. |
|
One of the magnificent side altars at Our Lady of Victory dedicated to St. Joseph! |
|
The Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs
in Midland, Ontario
|
|
The Martyrs' Shrine, also known as Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs (French: Sanctuaire des martyrs canadiens) is located in Midland, Ontario, Canada, which is consecrated to the memory of the Canadian Martyrs, six Jesuit Martyrs and two lay persons from the mission of Sainte-Marie among the Hurons. It is one of nine national shrines in Canada, including, among others, Saint Joseph's Oratory in Montreal and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
The shrine houses the bones of St. Jean de Brébeuf, and two other Canadian Martyrs. In 1907, Dennis O'Connor, Archbishop of Toronto, consecrated a small chapel at Waubaushene, near the site where Sts. Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant were martyred. In 1925, Fr. John M. Filion, provincial superior of Jesuits in Canada, decided to pursue the construction of a larger church closer to the mission. He bought the Standin farm in Midland, across the road from Sainte-Marie.
Construction began that year, using some materials from the Waubaushene church and others donated by lumber companies in Northern Ontario. Pews, stained glass windows, Stations of the Cross and an altar were donated by churches in London and Toronto. The interior, shaped like an overturned canoe, was designed and built by Ildège Bourrie. Construction on the shrine was completed by the winter of 1925, and the shrine was formally consecrated on June 25, 1926 by Cardinal William Henry O'Connell of Boston, Massachusetts. The shrine houses the bones of St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalemant, and St. Charles Garnier. Due to cold temperature conditions, the shrine is closed in autumn and winter, because it was built without any insulation. During that period, the reliquaries are taken out of the church.
The martyrs were subsequently canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930.
|
|
Above, the reliquary that houses the skull of St. Jean de Brébeuf.
His effigy is seen in this reposing statue, below.
|
|
The crutches have been placed here in the Shrine as silent witnesses of those cured through the intercession of these holy martyrs. |
|
|
A Jesuit Settlement in New France: Saint-Louis |
|
In the town of Victoria Harbor in Ontatrio, the marker on this pillar states :
"Saint-Louis was the name given by Jesuit missionaries to the stockaded village of the Ataronchronon tribe of the Wendat, or Huron confederacy, which stood here in the 1640s. On the morning of the 16 March 1649 a large Iroquois war party stormed the neighbouring village of Taenhatentargon (Saint-Ignace), then fell on Saint-Louis.
Among those captured and carried off to be put to death amid the ruins of Saint-Ignace were Fathers Jean de Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalement, who had been conducting a mission at Saint-Louis. Within a year the Iroquois raid had devastated Huronia and dispersed its once numerous population. "
|
|
Another Town founded by the Jesuits:
Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons in Midland
|
|
Conor was Father's driver through this section of the country. He especially enjoyed the stop at the reconstructed Indian Village and it's surrounding palisade:
Sainte-Marie Among the Hurons in Midland.
"Ontario’s first European Community, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons was the headquarters for the French Jesuit Mission to the Huron Wendat people. In 1639, the Jesuits, along with French lay workers, began construction of a fenced community that included barracks, a church, workshops, residences, and a sheltered area for Indigenous visitors. By 1648, Sainte-Marie was a wilderness home to 66 French men, representing one-fifth of the entire population of New France. Sainte-Marie's brief history ended in 1649, when members of the mission community were forced to abandon and burn their home of nearly ten years." Source.
|
|
A Few Hours West of Ottawa |
|
The home chapel of a lovely Polish family, prepared for the first Holy Mass they've been able to attend for approximately three years. The candles on the altar are from the wax gathered from their own apiary. |
|
Little Klara and Aniela made their First Communions and the baby Anthony being held by Father was baptized. Indeed, many causes for celebration! |
|
|
|
The family took Father on a tour of the local St. Hedwig's Church built many decades ago by the families in the area.
On the grounds is a replica of the
Grotto of Lourdes. Many prayers have been answered through Our Lady of Lourdes intercession!
|
|
The family takes a little hike in the nearby forests.
There are many shrines built by the Polish who heavily settled this area.
The proofs of their love of the Faith are found everywhere.
|
|
|
|
The hike included a trip to a nearby lake, where young Ciprian scaled a large tree branch to get a bird's eye view of the mirrored lake! |
|
Way, Way up in the Canadian North |
|
Nearly seven hours drive north, in polar bear country on the Hudson Bay, is the home of young William's parents. William made his First Holy Communion the same day his younger brother, little Jerome Anthony, was finally able to be baptized. Little Jerome's and William's Guardian Angels were surely radiant with joy on these blessed occasions! |
|
Back in the US - Two More Baptisms
and a Visit to a local Catholic Publisher
|
|
Little Nico Joseph was baptized in the Saranac Lake area.
May Our Lord grant this little one all the blessings of His Most Sacred Heart!
|
|
Little Jude Anthony was baptized in St. Paul area.
Wishing the parents and their sweet little one many blessings on this holy occasion.
|
|
Northern New England Catholic Publishers |
|
Loreto Publications is located in Fitzwilliam, NH.
From their website:
Laudetur Jesus Christus!
Loreto Publications is a Catholic missionary apostolate specializing in the publication and distribution of Catholic books designed to aid Catholics in their efforts to convert America to the Catholic religion and to aid the ministers of the Church in their apostolic and ministerial duties and apostolates. We were founded in May 1999 and took our name from the famous Litany of Loreto, which is the Catholic Church's special prayer of homage to the Mother of God.
|
|
✠
Advent 2022
Dear Friends of The Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Cause of Our Joy!
The great and sublime dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary pierces through the lies of Evolution, the Pro-choice and the Eugenics crowd like a knife through an inflated balloon. Indeed, God’s words to Satan echo through the centuries, “She shall crush thy head” (Genesis 3:15). And He chose this most beautiful Virgin and tender Maiden to do it!
“Immaculate” literally means “in” which is “not” in Latin, and “maculatus”, that is, “stained.” “Immaculate” literally means “not stained”.
The Immaculate Conception therefore means that before Our Lady was conceived in the womb of Her mother, St. Anne, the Precious Blood of Jesus blocked the transmission of original sin that would have normally passed down through Her father St. Joachim, by the Preventative Redemption. The Precious Blood of Our Lord prevented Her from being conceived in original sin before the matter of conception joined, so that, at the precise moment of Her conception, Mary was miraculously freed from contracting any stain of the sin of Adam. Thus, “...The Most Blessed Virgin Mary, at the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God and in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved immune from all stain of original sin” (Definition of the Immaculate Conception, Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854).
How fitting then, that the feast of St. Andrew (November 30) and the holy day of obligation of the Immaculate Conception (December 8), both theologically prepare the way for the Infant Christ at Christmas! It was the very apostle, St. Andrew that praised the Immaculate Conception of Mary when he proclaimed, just before he was crucified: “As the first Adam was formed out of the earth before it was cursed by God, so the Second Adam was formed from the virginal flesh never sullied by the malediction of Heaven!” (cf. The Admirable Heart of Mary, by St. John Eudes, p. 202).
The perverse teaching of Calvin and a plethora of contemporary Protestant preachers have consistently attacked this dogma of the Immaculate Conception. But they who claim to adhere so strictly to the literal words of the Bible fail to believe what the Bible really teaches!
To deny the Immaculate Conception of Our Blessed Lady is to accuse the infallible Word of eternal Truth of error, Sacred Scripture, which calls Mary the one “dove” without sin or poison, the “all fair” and the “immaculate one” in whom “there is not a spot.” The Scriptures venerate Mary by posing the question: “What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, O thou most beautiful among women? What manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, that thou hast so adjured us? My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands” (Canticle of Canticles 4:7, 5:9,10 & 6:8).
To hold that Mary was not preserved from original sin is to oppose the divine pronouncements of the Holy Ghost, Who guides the great Councils of the Catholic Church, especially of Trent and the Infallible Definition of Pope Pius IX, which declare Mary never incurred the stain of original sin.
Another proof that such deniers prefer private opinion to the very teaching of the Apostles themselves, is taken not only from St. Andrew (as quoted above), but also from both Apostles St. James the Less and St. James the Greater! St. James the Less hails Mary as: “Most holy, immaculate, blessed above all creatures, more honorable than the Cherubim, more glorious than the Seraphim, always blessed and altogether irreproachable! (Liturg. S. Jacobi in Bibliotheca Patrum, tom. 1. & cf. The Admirable Heart of Mary, by St. John Eudes, ibid.).
St. James the Greater’s disciple, St. Thesiphon, who some called the “mouth” of St. James, has left us the doctrine taught by the Apostles themselves, who personally knew Our Lady, “This Virgin, this Mary, this holy one has been preserved from original sin from the first moment of Her conception. Never would the Angel have said to Mary, ‘Ave, gratia plena!’ (‘Hail, full of grace!’) if She had been conceived in original sin” (Cf. Vega, Theol. Mar. Paul. 3, cert. 5, no. 258 & cf. ibid.).
Besides, even before Pope Pius IX, many Popes taught Mary’s exemption from original sin: Popes Alexander IV, Julius II, Leo X, Paul V, and Gregory XV. These holy Popes instituted liturgical feasts and Breviary prayers to honor Her. Some of these Popes even went so far as to forbid under pain of excommunication any opposition to this teaching either by word of mouth or in writing, in public or in private!
Against the many errors of our day, the Immaculate Conception of Mary was reaffirmed in Lourdes, France, when She, Herself, appeared in 1858 to St. Bernadette, saying, “I am the Immaculate Conception!” Truly this dogma refutes the very errors of our age! Against Evolution, reaffirming that a soul is truly infused at the very moment of any man’s conception, that mankind didn’t evolve from some “primordial soup” into squids and monkeys. And against the pro-abortionists, it reaffirms the fact that the complete, living human soul and body are created at conception and fully encoded with all its information in the DNA. All that is packed into a newly conceived child at the instant of his/her conception! What a gift of God! Finally, against the mad-scientists of Eugenics, we are reminded of God’s command to Adam and Eve:
“And God blessed them, saying: Increase and multiply, and fill the earth!” (Genesis 1:28).
Whatever the Virgin Mary touches, colorfully flourishes and grows fruitful! All who approach Her confidently, necessarily increase in virtue, multiply grace in their souls and fill the earth with Her sweetness! Just take a drive in the countryside and see the obvious fact that there is plenty of space for growing families and for many more children, villages, small farms, and towns! God made more than enough room on His earth for billions of more people! Who are these assassins to assume the right to themselves, in the name of “economic sustainability,” to kill off human life, like a field of green grass? Read the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and it will all make sense! Even Henry Ford, the famous car manufacturer, admitted history proves
them true!
Don’t fall for the network of lies. Stay grounded in the Truth!
“O Blessed Virgin Mary, I humbly beseech thee, by thy Immaculate Conception and through thy Pure Heart, to take full possession of my heart. Give it completely to thy Divine Son and beg Him to banish from it all sin and to establish in it forever the perfect reign of His Divine Love” (Prayer of St. John Eudes).
In Christ the King,
Fr. David Hewko
|
|
- Correspondence mailing address and Mass Requests and Stipends: Rev. Fr. David Hewko, 16 Dogwood Road South, Hubbardston, MA 01452
-
Donations: Checks can be made out to Sorrowful Heart of Mary Inc., P.O. Box 366017, Atlanta, GA 30336 or electronic donations can be made via PayPal.
-
To subscribe to Fr. Hewko's newsletters, the Sorrowful Heart of Mary Newsletter, and the Mary, the Cause of Our Joy! Newsletter, contact: [email protected].
-
The Recusant website contains many erudite articles on the new direction of the SSPX of the last ten years.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
