Transalpine Redemptorist Deacons

On 30th March our two Subdeacons, Br Martin Mary and Br Peter Mary we ordained to the Diaconate in a beautiful ceremony at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary where they have both been studying.  They were ordained along with seven other seminarians of the Fraternity of Saint Peter.

 The Ordinandi wait pensively for the procession into the church to begin.

 Fr Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. was present representing the Transalpine Redemptorists.  He was Deacon for the ceremony.

His excellency Bishop Joseph Perry conferred the Diaconate.  Fr Magdala Maria takes his place to the bishop's left.

 Having been called forward, the nine Subdeacons kneel and are addressed by the bishop.

They then prostrate themselves before the altar while the Litany of the Saints is chanted.

 Having risen, the bishop prays for them, and blesses them.

Accipe Spiritum sanctum...

Receive the Holy Ghost...

 The Matter of the Sacrament: Bishop Perry lays his right hand upon the head of each candidate...

Accipe Spiritum sanctum...

Receive the Holy Ghost...

Emitte in eos, quaesumus Domine, Spiritum sanctum...

Send forth the Holy Ghost upon them we beseech Thee O Lord...

...and he pronounces the Form of the Sacrament over all while extending his hand.  At this moment the Church was given nine new Deacons, and the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer got two of them!

 

Accipe stolam candidam de manu Dei...

Receive the shining stole from the hand of God... 

The newly ordained Deacon is presented his stole to kiss...

 ...and is then clothed in it by the bishop.

Induat te Dominus indumento salutis...

May the Lord cloth thee with the garment of salvation...

He receives the Dalmatic.

 Accipe stolam candidam de manu Dei...

Receive the shining stole from the hand of God...

 Induat te Dominus indumento salutis...

May the Lord cloth thee with the garment of salvation...

 

Accipe potestatem legendi Evangelium in Ecclesia Dei...

Receive the power of reading the Gospel in the Church of God...

Each Deacon in turn places his hand upon the Evangelarium, the book containing the Gospels of each Mass, from which it is now his duty to chant the Gospel and a solemn Mass.

 Br Peter Mary and Br Martin Mary offer their candles to Bishop Perry.

 Br Peter Mary receives the Pax from Bishop Perry during Mass.

 The ordination complete, our two new Deacons process out of the seminary chapel.

 Continuing the seminary custom, the newly ordained kneel before the image of Our Lady and chant the Salve Regina invoking her protection over their ministry.

Br Martin Mary and Br Peter Mary with Fr Magdala Maria following the ordination.

Thanks be to God for this, His gift for our Congregation.  May He protect our new Deacons, and our entire Congregation from all harm, and make our work fruitful for the salvation of souls. Amen.

Please help us bring Salvation! — Updated

The world needs priests — good and holy priests — and each of us individually need priests. When we were born, it was the priest who snatched us from the clutches of Satan, and immersed us in the life of grace, a gift infinitely superior to all the treasures of the universe. If we reject God and fall into sin, it is the priest who, with his hand raised in judgement, pronounces the words of absolution, and restores the friendship of God to us. It is the priest in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass who brings us the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ to be our food for the strengthening of our souls in the battle for our eternal salvation. The priest witnesses our marriage, if we receive this sacrament. Who else but the priest will be at our bedside as we prepare to quit this vale of tears, offering us words of encouragement and consolation, forgiving us our sins, giving us the Viaticum, and providing us with the final helps that our holy mother the Church has for us before we depart, worn-out with the labors of life, to stand before the judgement seat of God?

And how is it that this world has not already been destroyed by God, as in the time of Noe, for the many crimes which men daily commit against Him? Is it not because of the Sacrifice of Propitiation, offered daily upon so many altars throughout the world, crying out to Him: “Mercy! Mercy for this, Thy ungrateful world!” The many graces which we have received, not the least of which being that we have been blessed with the Catholic Faith, whilst so many around us have it not; can we not trace this, and the many other favors we have received, to the altars of so many Churches, where a priest stands between us and God, renewing once again the Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross and begging graces for the world? How very much we need our priests; how few of them there are: The harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few. (Matt. 9:37)

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have as one of their principal works, the preaching of parish Missions. Parish Missions are a time of immense grace for the faithful during which faith and fervor are immeasurably strengthened, sins — often of many years — are forgiven, and the life of a parish is invigorated. But for this work our most small and most unworthy Congregation needs priests.

We currently have three students studying at the seminary of the Fraternity of Saint Peter in Nebraska, USA: Br Martin Mary, Br Seelos Maria and Br Peter Mary. Please God, Brs Martin Mary and Peter Mary will be ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in 2020. The cost of educating each student is approximately US $20,000 per year. We are now in very great need of your help if we are to continue to be able to educate our Brothers and have them ordained so that they may be of service to you and the rest of God’s Church in the future. We very earnestly beg you to help in this holy endeavor for the glory of God, and for the bringing of Salvation to people throughout the world. God will not be blind to your generosity, and neither will we. Once Brs Martin Mary, Seelos Maria and Peter Mary reach the altar, they will not neglect to remember at every holy Mass all those who contribute to the cost of their priestly formation. The financial burden of the education of priests is substantial, and we cannot continue to bear it without your generous help. If you are able, please consider contributing to our seminary fund by clicking below:

Fr Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. first Solemn Mass

One of the great graces that we received during our ordination-pilgrimage to Rome, was Fr Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. celebrating his first Solemn Mass in the Borghese Chapel of St Mary Major basilica.  This chapel houses the icon of Our Lady titled Salus Populi Romani which holy tradition tells us was painted by St Luke himself.

 The altar with the image Salus Populi Romani enthroned above it.

 Fr Magdala's mother and father eagerly await for their son to ascend the altar steps.

 Crossing from the sacristy on the far side of the basilica, the procession enters the chapel.

 Holy Mass begins.

 We thank God for the grace of seeing two new priests in our Congregation.

 The deacon, Fr Yousef Marie, F.SS.R. chants the gospel.

 Father elevates the host which, by the power so recently given him through the Mercy of God, has now become the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 The elevation of the chalice.

 Preparing to distribute Holy Communion to the faithful.  Thank God for new and holy priests who are to minister to the spiritual needs of the Church.

 The beautiful cupula of the Borghese Chapel.

 Father gives the final blessing:

Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus. Amen

 At the end of Mass the hymn of thanksgiving, the Te Deum, was sung.

 The procession left the chapel as the tourists looked on.

Re-crossing the basilica and returning to the sacristy.

Ordinations Make the News

The following article appeared  on the Catholic News Agency concerning our recent ordinations in Rome.

[Source]

Group celebrates first ordinations since reunion with Rome

Ordination at the Fraternity of St. Peter's Roman Parish, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome, Italy. June 22, 2013. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA.

Rome, Italy, Jun 29, 2013 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For the first time since coming into clear union with the Pope, the religious institute the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer celebrated the priestly ordination of two of its members on June 22.

Father Magdala Maria and Father Yousef Marie were ordained alongside Fr. Massimo Botta of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter by Archbishop Guido Pozzo, head of the Office of Papal Charities, in Rome.

Both orders are dedicated to celebrating the liturgy in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite – as was done prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, also called the Transalpine Redemptorists, were founded in 1987 and were associated with the Society of St. Pius X.

After Benedict XVI issued a document affirming the value of the extraordinary form, also called the traditional Latin Mass, the Transalpine Redemptorists responded by petitioning the Vatican to regularize their situation.

On June 26, 2008, their petition was granted and they were no longer associated with the schismatic Society of St. Pius X. The group now enjoys “undisputed and peaceful possession of Communion with the Holy See.”

Fr. Botta, who was ordained for the Fraternity of St. Peter, told CNA that “my vocation to the priesthood came pretty quickly.”

“I was doing grad school in economics, and I found that economics was taking me the complete opposite direction of what I felt truth should be.”

“During that time I just felt a strong calling to be a priest, and I didn’t even know about the Fraternity of St. Peter.”

He explained that his brother introduced him to the Fraternity, and it appealed to him. “I applied and was accepted and that was it; it was very quick, a question of six months.”

The newly ordained priest noted, “it seems like God had prepared me since I was young for this.”

Fr. Botta, who studied seven years at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Nebraska, has been sent back to the Fraternity's Immaculate Conception parish in Omaha for his first assignment.

His mother, who is Roman, told CNA that he has been looking forward to it, that he is happy, and that she is sure he will work hard.

Gabriella Botta said that of her four children, Massimo was the one she least expected would ever become a priest.

“He was the naughtiest, he had a band, and loved Metallica music,” said Botta. “And suddenly he said, ‘Mom, I want to join the seminary,’ so it was a real big surprise.”

She described him as a shy boy who loved life, his school friends, music and “all of the things any young person loves.”

“I think for a mother it’s actually the greatest event, because I think that somewhere in my life I must have really done something good to have the honor of our Lord calling our son to the priesthood.”

“I think he has changed,” she said. “He has become a man now and after seven years of seminary life, it was just two days ago that he said ‘Mom, I’m beginning to be scared.'”

Fr. John Brancich, pastor at Omaha's Immaculate Conception parish, emphasized that it was a “great grace” for Fr. Botto to be ordained in his home area.

“It’s also a great grace for the Fraternity, because this is the first time that we’ve had ordinations in Rome.”

“This is a very special day for us because the order is so connected with Rome and St. Peter, and the Chair of St. Peter and the Pope. This is a very happy moment for both of our societies.”

Fr. Brancich explained that the traditional Latin Mass has found a “great resurgence” among young people and young clergy, as well as older people “who have rediscovered it.”

“One thing that they consistently comment on is the sense of reverence, the sense of sacredness that they feel when they attend the Mass,” which strongly conveys the worship of God.

He underscored that the goal of being at Mass is to pray, and that the definition of prayer is to “lift your mind and heart to God.”

The ordination took place at Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims, the Fraternity's Roman parish, and reflected the universality of the Church.

The Transalpine Redemptorists are based in a monastery on an island in the north of Scotland and also have a monastery in New Zealand. Fr. Magdala Maria is a New Zealander, and Fr. Yousef Marie is from Lebanon.

Ordination to the Sacred Priesthood

Thanks be to God, on Saturday 22nd June, Archbishop Pozzo ordained Fr Yousef Marie, F.SS.R. and Fr. Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. to the sacred priesthood in the Church of the Fraternity of St Peter, Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome.  It was a wonderful day and we are truly thankful to God and His Holy Mother, and to all of our friends and benefactors as well as to the Fraternity of St Peter.

 Our deacons had the privilege of joining Massimo Botta, F.S.S.P. for ordination.

 The deacons lie prostrate during the singing of the Litany of the Saints.

 The imposition of hands.

 Once the ordaining bishop has imposed hands upon those to be ordained, all the priests who are present do so also.

 Receiving the chasuble which, for the moment, remains folded at the back.

 The anointing of the hands.

 The hands of the priests, once anointed, are bound together.  The manutergium (Linen band) is kept by the priest, and used to join the hands of his mother after death when she is buried.

 The tradition of the instruments.

The chasuble is unfolded fully.

 After the ceremony. Left to Right the priests are: Fr Yousef Marie, F.SS.R., Fr Massimo Botta, F.S.S.P., Fr Magdala Maria, F.SS.R.

 Fr Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. gives his first blessing to his mother and Father who came all the way from Australia to be here for this great occasion.

 Father here gives his first blessing to Fr. Anthony Mary, F.SS.R.

The new priests of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer give each other their first blessing.

The newly ordained priests with members of their families.

First Mass photos to come.