Our Lady of the Cenacle

Chasuble of Our Lady used for this past Friday's and Saturday's Masses.

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings during this beautiful time of grace that is the Cenacle: the Church's oldest novena where the apostles and the Virgin Mary gathered in the upper room for prayer between the Ascension and Pentecost. It has been already been a very grace-filled few days for me, including the wonderful blessing of giving first Holy Communion yesterday, which I hope to have pictures to share with you next week! For those of you reading this in Texas, you will recognize a familiar face... in the meantime, I'll share a photo at the bottom of this post.

I'm currently in France for a week of studies, and did not have access to the internet last night--hence this delayed posting. The week promises to be quite interesting because the two topics are: 1) marriage in Aquinas and 2) the supernatural virtue of faith. But I wanted to share with you two beautiful feasts that we celebrated at the convent this weekend.

Friday was the Feast of Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Graces. In the Mass we invoked Our Lady's intercession that the Holy Ghost might be poured out in abundance. Then Saturday morning was a votive Mass of Our Lady of the Cenacle, once again asking for a greater outpouring of the Holy Ghost and our docility to His guidance. At the heart of both feasts is a prayer from the 1912 Novena to the Holy Ghost by the Holy Ghost Fathers--still posted prominently on EWTN's website. The daily consecration to the Holy Ghost concludes by prayer "...Give me grace, O Holy Ghost, Spirit of the Father and the Son, Speak Lord, to say to You always and everywhere, 'Speak Lord for Your servant is listening.' "

This prayer expresses the very heart of the Catholic moral life--as so many have heard me say, according to the teaching of Aquinas, etc.: docility to the Holy Ghost's action in our lives. There is also a particular connection with this novena and the Latin Mass. The Holy Ghost Fathers is the congregation that Marcel Lefebvre entered shortly after this novena was written and in use (note, I am not here going into an analysis of his actions, but simply remarking that he played a very particular role in preserving and promoting the Latin Mass). Fundamentally, there is a profound link between the silent adoration and humility that the Latin Mass seeks to foster in our souls and a listening heart to the Holy Ghost. Sometimes people see these two things as opposed, but the Virgin Mary surely would have found Herself very much at home kneeling in silent adoration during a Latin Mass and also being docile and attentive to the Holy Ghost throughout Her daily life.

If you haven't already done so, I'd encourage you to begin the novena to the Holy Ghost for Pentecost, which can be found on EWTN's website. I have to get back to studies now.... will try to post more photos next week. In the meantime, here is one.

In Cordibus Iesu et Mariae,
Fr. Pillari