There's Nothing Quite Like Homemade!

I have only ever experienced pasta in its dried-out form, in a bag from the supermarket.  However, at Papa Stronsay we have recently been the recipients of a very kind gift: a pasta maker!  I was really taken by the whole process and thought that some of our readers might also fall into the same category as I do, of being ignorant of the process of making pasta, so I am posting some photos below of Br. Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. and postulant Mr. Esteban showing us how it's done:

Beating eggs for the dough.

 Kneading the dough.

The dough is repeatedly put through this roller.  Each time the setting is changed so that it rolls the dough a little thinner.

As this happens, the rolled dough gets longer…

...and longer!

Once completed the very thin strip of dough is laid out and the process begins again on a new piece.

The pasta-maker has several attachments for making different types of pasta.  Here the tagliatelle attachment is fitted.

With all the sheets of pasta dough prepared, the process of cutting can begin.

As the strips of tagliatelle emerge, they are hung to dry.

It dries for up to an hour, but by this time, it is not as dry as it would be in a packet or dried pasta, but has just become a little firmer.

Into the pot!

The finished product!  It is really incredible just how much better homemade pasta is than the pasta bought in the supermarket!

A big thank you to the kind donor of this equipment!

Because only She can help you! - We had better believe it!

This clip released last 7th May
was filmed before thousands of supporters of the now
President of Egypt
Dr. Mohamed Morsi Isa El-Ayyat
who assumed his office on 30 June.
Dr. Morsi (Mursi) is also present
and can be seen on stage here.



The content of this video
should motivate us to
pray the Holy Rosary with intensity.
The message of Our Lady of Fatima is a message for today:

“I want you ... to continue to
 pray the Rosary every day 
in honour of Our Lady of the Rosary, 
in order to obtain peace for the world 
and the end of the war, 
because only she can help you.”
(13 July, 1917).

Feast of the Seven Sorrows of Our Lady

It is part of our monastery devotions to recite one of our Lady's dolours everyday after the afternoon recreation. The image above was put together by one of the brothers.

St Alphonsus in the glories of Mary says that it was revealed to St. Elizabeth, that at the request of Our Lady, Our Lord promised four principal graces to those devoted to Her Sorrows:

1. That those who before death invoke the divine Mother in the name of Her Sorrows will obtain true repentance of all their sins;

2. That He will protect all who have this devotion in their tribulations, and will protect them especially at the hour of death;

3. That He will impress on their minds the remembrance of His Passion;

4. That He will place such devout servants in Mother Mary’s hands to do with them as She wishes and to obtain for them all the graces She desires.

In addition to these four graces there are also seven promises (revealed to St. Bridget) attached to the practice of daily praying seven Hail Mary’s while meditating on Our Lady’s Tears and Sorrows:

I will grant peace to their families.

They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.

I will console them in their pains and I will accompany them in their work.

I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.

I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.

I will visibly help them at the moment of their death, they will see the face of their Mother.

I have obtained (This Grace) from my Divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and sorrows, will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

Rain at Last!

As many of you will know, this summer has been really harsh in the United States, with drought conditions over much of the country.  This site can help to give you some idea of the situation: http://www.lawrencevilleweather.com/drought.html

Having just arrived back at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton Nebraska for the start of a new year, I have been able to see first-hand just how dry it has been, and it has been very dry!  But today, Our Good Lord sent us a little present!

Feast of the Holy Name of Mary

September 12th is the Feast day of the Most Holy Name of Mary. Countless graces have been obtained and victories been won over hell by the invocation of the Holy Name of Mary.  St. Alphonsus in the Glories of Mary tells us to listen to the beautiful advice from St. Bernard: "In danger of losing divine grace, in anguish, in doubtful things, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May the Name of Mary never disappear from your lips, nor ever disappear from your heart". Never separate the names of Jesus and Mary which are so sweet and powerful when invoked together, because these names will give us the strength and courage to never yield to temptations and to overcome them all. 

St. Bridget heard our Lord promise His Holy Mother three wonderful graces to those who have devotion to the Holy Name of Mary. Our Lord said: whoever invokes the name of Mary with confidence and intention of amendment, will receive these special graces:  first, that He would grant them perfect sorrow for their sins; secondly, that their crimes should be atoned for; and, thirdly, that He would give them strength to attain perfection, and at length the glory of paradise. Because, added the Our Holy Redeemer, your words are so dear and sweet to me, oh Mary, that I cannot deny whatever you request from me. 

Invocation: O Mary most pure!O Mary most Sweet! Let thy name henceforth be the breath of my life!

For Bishop Finn

Bishop Robert Finn

Bishop of Kansas City - St Joseph, 

Missouri, USA

Let us offer a Hail Mary now

and also

our rosary and prayers

for the successful outcome

of today's criminal trial.

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Hail Mary, full of grace the LORD is with Thee.

Blessed art Thou amongst women 

and blessed is the fruit of Thy womb, JESUS.

Holy Mary, Mother of God

pray for us sinners now

and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.

+

Ne despicias...

Despise not, O almighty God,

Thy people who cry out in their affliction,

but for the glory of Thy name be appeased

and help those in trouble.

Through Christ Our Lord. 

Amen. 

Mother of Perpetual Succour, 

pray for him.

St. Joseph,

pray for him.

Annual Papa Stronsay Bonfire

 Saturday 25th August saw the long awaited annual Papa Stronsay bonfire and BBQ.  It had been planned for earlier in the year, but due to bad weather it had to be postponed.  Thanks be to God, the weather turned out fine on the evening of the 25th!  We were glad to welcome a good number of the Stronsay community to Papa Stronsay for the occasion.

Br. Seelos celebrated his 21st birthday on the 22nd August.  Therefore he was given the honour of lighting the fire.

Blessing the fire:

 Domine Deus, Pater omnipotens, lumen indeficiens, qui es conditur omnium luminum: novum humc ignem sanctifica, et praesta; ut ad te, qui es lumen indeficiens, puris mentibus, post hujus saeculi caliginem, pervenire valeamus.  Per Christum Dominum Nostrum. Amen.

Lord God, Almighty Father, Maker of all light, and the light that never fails; hallow  this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this world we may come with pure hearts to Thee, our perpetual light; through Christ our Lord.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy!

Public Profession Video

The Public Profession of Vows

(video of the ceremony)

The sermon of his Lordship is at 00:32:15
The public profession of vows begins at 00:58:15
Litany of Loreto at 00:48:38
 Tantum Ergo at  01:27:19
 Divine Praises sung in English at 01:30:54
 Adoremus at 01:32:45
Hymn Our Lady of Good Succour to Our Lady of Aberdeen at 01:34:34

Our Public Religious Professions.

The Public Profession of Vows

of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.

The long awaited day arrived on the 

Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

22 August, 2012,

the day of

our individual incorporation into the 

canonically erected

Clerical Institute of Diocesan Right

under the title of the

Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.

We were canonically erected by the Right Reverend

Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B.

Here he is photographed in

Our Lady's Chapel, Stronsay,

during last night's public profession ceremony.

For this solemn occasion of
our union with the diocese and the Church

the episcopal throne was erected in the sanctuary.

Above the bishop is the Coat of Arms of the 

Diocese of Aberdeen

which can be seen in more detail  in the first image above.

May the monastic and missionary saints of our diocese
intercede for us.

In all, three Lessons from the Holy Scripture were chanted

followed by Tracts, 

then the Alleluia and Gospel of the Mass for 

the feast of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Brother Jean Marie chants the Second Lesson.

Following the chant of the Gospel the Bishop preached. 

Following the sermon the Litany of Loreto

completed the preparation for the public religious professions.

First Fr Michael Mary made public profession

into the hands of the Bishop.

This act was one of Ecclesial Communion through the Bishop 

to the Universal Church.

The vows are made to God

but the superior makes them through the Bishop to God.

Fr. Anthony Mary, F.SS.R. 
makes his public perpetual profession

into the hands of the appointed superior. 

The superior of the new religious order

having made his public profession into the hands of the Bishop

is then empowered to receive the public religious professions

of the members of the Congregation.

Br. Yousef Marie, F.SS.R. 
makes his public perpetual profession

into the hands of the Rector Major.

Br. Jean Marie, F.SS.R. 
makes his public perpetual profession of the 

vows of Poverty, Chastity, Obedience and Perseverance. 

Br. Magdala Maria, F.SS.R. 

makes public profession of the vows of religion.

The vow of Perseverance is attested with an oath.

Having made the oath of Perseverance

Br. Martin Mary, F.SS.R. 
kisses the Gospel.

 Having kissed the Gospel

Br. Nicodemus Mary, F.SS.R. 
is received into the Congregation

bound by his vows and oath

according to the 

Rules of St. Alphonsus

(which were approved by 

Pope Benedict XIV in 1749)

and the

Constitutions of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer

(which were approved by 

the Holy See in 2011).

Br. Gerardo Maria, F.SS.R.

makes temporary public profession for three years.

 The public professions were followed by

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

 The opening prayer of St. Alphonsus
in his Visits to the Blessed Sacrament,

the antiphon to Our Lady
and the 

Prayer for the Pope
all followed.
Then...

 The Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament
wass given by
Dom Hugh,
our Bishop of Aberdeen.

With full hearts and voices

the Divine Praises 

were chanted.

Blessed be God!

Blessed be His Holy Name!

Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man!

Bishop Guimarães, C.SS.R. in Campos

As part of the celebrations of tenth anniversary of the Episcopal consecration of Bishop Rifan, Bishop Fernando José Monteiro Guimarães, C.SS.R. visited the Apostolic Administration of St John Mary Vianney.  Bishop  Guimarães, C.SS.R.  is the bishop of Garanhuns in Brazil.  While on his visit he celebrated the Traditional Mass at the Church of the traditional Redemptoristines in Sao Fidelis.

Preparing for Mass

The prayers at the foot of the altar. These photos are taken from behind the Nuns' grill. 

Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas

I will wash my hands among the innocent

 Holy Communion.

Our Festive Thanksgiving.

Our Festive Day.

 Fr. Anthony Mary and Fr. Michael Mary

Feast of the Assumption, 2012.

Dear Friends and Families,

The words that spring immediately to my mind in writing a response to yesterday's Canonical Recognition of the Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, are words that the priest prays every day at Mass, from Psalm 115:

"Quid retribuam Domino 
pro omnibus quae retribuit mihi?" 

"What return shall I make to the Lord 
for all He hath given to me?"

This is the question that we ask when we realise that what we have received from Our Lord through His Church is far beyond what we merit; His Mercies can never be repaid. On one hand we cannot survive without these Mercies, on the other hand, we do not deserve them nor have the means of repaying them ever at all. Caught between the necessity of the having a canonical recognition and our own indigence and unworthiness of which we are very conscious, what can we do except repeat the prayer from the psalm and cast ourselves before Him while awaiting the moment of rescue from our plight. Only prayer can save us!

And praying, I said: O Lord God, destroy not thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed in thy greatness, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.  Remember thy servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: look not on the stubbornness of this people, nor on their wickedness and sin: Lest perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which thou hast brought us, say: The Lord could not bring them into the land that he promised them, and he hated them: therefore he brought them out, that he might kill them in the wilderness, Who are thy people and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out by thy great strength, and in thy stretched out arm. (Deut. 9: 26-29) The application of this text to our history is appropriate; but we did not have to wander for forty years, and we did not die in the wilderness: in any case, in monastic life, the wilderness is our chosen place of abode.

We are profoundly grateful to the many friends who have supported us over these last years; thank you! We have been mightily supported by our families and friends; holy prelates, priests and nuns.

On a personal note, I thank my own parents and family: For over twenty years they took the neighbourhood, clerical and other brunt of my commitment to the old Mass; and they lived through the 'wilderness of doubt' of the last five years. It  has all turned out fine in the end! But thank you Dad and Mum for bearing things that would have hurt you deeply. In the end all has been part of God's permissive Will. It has led to the canonical establishment of a Congregation of priests and monks, officially recognised by the Church to continue permanently offering the old Mass and to serve souls. You taught me that it is a good thing to have something to put up with and to offer to Our Lord and Our Lady! Quite right!   

We are equally grateful to the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, to Bishop Hugh of Aberdeen and Bishop Barry of Christchurch for their mercy and kindness towards us. The graces we needed flowed abundantly through them; they are our Fathers in God and each of them have had the right words and acts of solicitude for us. We come into Full Communion with the Church having a Pope who deeply cares for traditionalists and having been directed to two dioceses of choice by God's 'great strength and His stretched out arm'.

In fine, could we but rejoice? Of course not; and we do. Gaudeamus omnes in Domino, diem festum celebrantes sub honore beatae Mariae Virginis: Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival day in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary!   

Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R.

 

The Most Small Congregation

"Out of the Wilderness".

Gathered together about Our Lady's Funeral Couch

Feast of the Assumption, 2012.

(Absent are: Br. Paul Mary, Br. Dominic Mary, Br. Xavier Maria all in Christchurch

and Br. Alfonso Maria in the Philippines)

Decree of Erection

Text of the above Document.


Decree of erection
Of a
Religious institute of diocesan right



The Papa Stronsay community known as the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer was founded on 2nd August 1988 residing on the Isle of Sheppey in England.  In 1994 they moved to Joinville in France and from there in 1999 came to their present location on the Isle of Papa Stronsay within the archipelago of the Orkney Isles.

In 2008 in response to the Apostolic Letter, Summorum Pontificum, of his Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, given Motu Proprio at St Peter’s on 7th July 2007, three priests of the community sought regularisation of their situation and a majority of the community signed a Formula of Adherence, which ended the schismatic state and brought them into full communion with the Catholic Church.

In September 2011, I as Bishop of Aberdeen and accompanied by Rev. Stuart P. Chalmers, Vicar General of the Diocese, made a pastoral visit to the community.  After further consultation with the Holy See it was agreed to begin the course of action leading to the canonical recognition of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Beginning on 23rd April 2012 a Canonical Visitation took place undertaken by myself as Bishop of Aberdeen and accompanied by Dom Benedict Hardy, O.S.B. Prior of the Abbey of Pluscarden; the results of which were duly reported to Cardinal William Levada President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.  Consequently, in accord with the letter dated 12th June 2012, Prot. N. 27/2006, from Mons Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and after consulting the Council of Priests of the diocese of Aberdeen:

I, Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B, by the grace of God Bishop of Aberdeen, decree that the community known as the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, be erected as a Religious Institute of Diocesan right in accordance with c 579 of the Code of Canon Law 1983.  The Institute will be subject to all other applicable norms of the said code and governed by the statutes of the said community previously approved by the Holy See.

Given this day 15th August in the year of Our Lord 2012

................................................
Rt Rev. Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B.
Bishop of Aberdeen

Prot No. 01/2012 L.S.
............................................
Rev. Deacon John J. Wire
Chancellor

Official Statement

Official Statement

from the

Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer

On this festive solemnity of the Assumption of the Holy Mother of God body and soul into Heaven our spiritual joy and fraternal rejoicing is great indeed:

Beneath Her mantle and on this occasion of Her solemn feast, today, 15 August, 2012, our community, The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, has been granted canonical recognition as a Clerical Institute of Diocesan Right by His Lordship the Right Reverend Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B., Bishop of Aberdeen.

We invite you to rejoice with us on this solemn feast of Our Lady through Whose Perpetual Succour, we have received a great favour from Our Lord. 

We also announce the community’s public profession of vows that will take place in Our Lady’s Chapel (at the head of the pier) Stronsay, on 22 August, feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at 18.15 (6.15 p.m.). 

The profession will be celebrated by His Lordship, the Right Reverend Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B., Bishop of Aberdeen. 

(Limited overnight accommodation is available. The ferry leaves Kirkwall at 16.00 and arrives in Stronsay at 18.05).

Around Her funeral couch.

Yesterday the meditation from St. Alphonsus was on 

the Death of Most Holy Mary.

By today the beautiful funeral couch of the Mother of God

had been erected with a pall overhanging Her figure.

Memoria mea in generationes saeculorum.

My memory is unto everlasting generations.

Beata es, Virgo Maria, 

quae omnium portasti Creatorem:

genuisti qui te fecit, 

et in aeternum permanes virgo.

Blessed art Thou, O Virgin Mary, 

Who didst bear the Creator of all things:

didst bring forth Him who made Thee,

and for ever remainest a virgin.

At the funeral couch of our Mother let us pray:

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Tu es Sacerdos in Æternum!

Today Fr. Michael Mary celebrates 34 years of Holy Priesthood! What a great example of perseverance to us all. Please join us in thanking God for the many graces He has bestowed upon Father during these years!

Thank you Father for the many years you have given to the service of Holy Church as well as to us, your community - may our good God give you many more to come!

What Matilda won for her darling.

In preparation for the feast

of

The Assumption of Our Lady.

The holy death of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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How a mother prepared for the great feasts of Our Lady.

The Martyrdom of St. Thomas of Canterbury

29 December, 1170.

From his cradle was St Thomas à Becket taught 

to have devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

His mother, Matilda, used in her hallowed playfulness of heart, 

to put her boy, whilst he was yet a child, into a scale, 

and bestow his weight in food, clothing and money, on the poor 

that she might thereby win for her darling 

the prayers and protection of the blessed Mary.

She taught her son

devotion to the Blessed Virgin

that his life and acts would be protected by Her

Whom he fervently invoked and

held as his hope after Christ.