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Holy Thursday Seven Churches Visitation devotion

The Visitation to Seven Churches is a Holy Thursday devotion primarily practiced in Latin America, Italy, Poland, and the Philippines — though it is also practiced in many other places.

The devotion involves traveling to seven local churches after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday. These visits recall the final seven places Jesus went from his arrest on Holy Thursday to His death on Good Friday.

In each church, the pilgrim kneels before the altar of repose, meditates on the appropriate scripture, and offers prayers and adoration. In this way, pilgrims seek to spiritually accompany Christ as He enters His passion.

The first church recalls Jesus going from the Cenacle, where He celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples, to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He earnestly prayed and sweat blood in His agony over what was about to take place (see Luke 22:39-46).

In the second church, the pilgrim meditates on Jesus being taken from the Garden of Gethsemane by the armed crowd to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas the high priest, where He was interrogated and slapped in the face (see John 18:19-22).

In the third church, the prayer focuses on Jesus being brought to the house of Caiaphas, where He was beaten, spat upon, insulted, and endured a painful night in captivity (see Matthew 26:63-68).

The focus of the reflection for the fourth church is the first time Jesus was brought before Pilate, the Roman governor of the region. There Jesus was accused by the Jewish religious authorities of being a rival king to Caesar (see John 18:35-37).

In the fifth church, the pilgrim follows the Lord as He is taken to King Herod, who along with his guards mock Him (see Luke 23:8-9; 11).

The sixth church recalls Jesus being taken from Herod and brought before Pilate for the second time and then scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, and condemned to death (see Matthew 27:22-26).

The last church commemorates Christ carrying the cross on His shoulders from the Praetorium, where Pilate yielded to the crowd’s demand for His crucifixion, to Mount Calvary where He suffered excruciating pain, died, and was laid to rest in a nearby tomb until His resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday (see Matthew 27:27-31).

This article was originally published on April 1, 2021, and has been updated.

 

St. Augustine Soup Kitchen

Neither pandemic nor flood could shut down the St. Augustine Soup Kitchen in Montpelier, though flooding in the church basement — where the operation had been located — has caused it to be relocated temporarily.

Weekly meals have been served at the Christ Church Episcopal hall on Fridays, as parishioners of St. Augustine’s continue to provide hot meals to eat in or take out.

Adapting to circumstances beyond their control, they are currently teaming up with Feed Every Need, a non-profit organization helping to supply prepared meals to people in need.

Lisa Burr, one of the founders of the non-profit, said free prepared meals are an integral part of fighting hunger. “We have a problem in Vermont with food insecurity. A prepared food option is vital.”

With a donation of cheese from Cabot Cheese, donations from parishioners, and a good price from Woods Lodge in Northfield (that makes the mac and cheese with the donated cheese), the meals are continuing.

And a $3,000 grant from the Vermont Catholic Community Foundation helps keep the meals available.

The St. Augustine Soup Kitchen operation serves 60 meals a week at the Episcopal church; any left overs go to group homes, street outreach or shelters.

“The people are thrilled to get the food,” said Deb McCormick, co-coordinator with Bonnie Giuliani.

During the disastrous flooding in the capital city earlier this year, St. Augustine volunteers handed out the meals outdoors. “People have really pulled together through everything,” McCormick said.

Parishioner Charles Pelletier began volunteering at the soup kitchen one Lent as a charity, and just stayed on. His wife, Kathy, volunteers because she likes helping people.

As the houses of worship that had been running meal programs determine how they will proceed in the future when post-flood decisions are put into place, there is a consideration for there to be a central kitchen for all to use for their programs, McCormick reported. But she plans that her group will return to serving meals at the Catholic church once renovations are complete.

“God keeps providing,” McCormick said.

—Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

 

 

Archbishop Coyne celebrates Chrism Mass in Burlington

Hartford, Connecticut, Archbishop Christopher Coyne, former bishop of Burlington, returned to Vermont to celebrate the Chrism Mass March 25 at the Cathedral of St. Joseph.

Hundreds of people — including most of the priests of the diocese — attended the Mass at which the priests renewed their priestly promises, and the holy oils that will be used in the sacramental life of the Church in the coming year were blessed and distributed to parishes.

The diocese has been without a bishop since last year when the archbishop was installed in Hartford as coadjutor.

“It’s always wonderful to be with you again,” he told the congregation.

In his homily, Archbishop Coyne emphasized that although the cathedra — the bishop’s seat — has not yet been filled, the diocese still is united with the Chair of St. Peter and the Church of Rome. The Church in Vermont is still united as symbolized by the priests of the diocese celebrating Mass together.

“Today we are renewed in our faith and called to share the Good News,” he said.

The priests of the diocese stood before the archbishop and renewed the promises they made at their ordination. They resolved to be “faithful stewards of the mysteries of God in the Holy Eucharist” and “discharge the sacred office of teaching … not seeking any gain, but moved only by zeal for souls.”

During the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the sacred oils were blessed. Containers holding the three oils – Oil of the Sick, Oil of the Catechumens, and the Sacred Chrism – as well as the perfume that is mixed into the Sacred Chrism to give it its rich aroma – were presented by deacons serving in the diocese.

The Oil of the Sick was blessed for the healing of body, mind, and spirit. The Oil of Catechumens was blessed for the anointing of those preparing for baptism. Through this anointing, they are strengthened by Christ to resist the power of evil in all its forms. The Holy Chrism was consecrated by the archbishop and priests of the diocese to anoint infants after baptism, those who are to be confirmed, and bishops and priests at their ordination. It is also used to anoint altars and churches at the time of their dedication.

After the Mass, the oils were distributed and brought back to all the churches in the diocese.

“This annual Mass traditionally is celebrated on the morning of Holy Thursday but (as is done in most dioceses in the United States) can be moved to another time around Easter,” explained Josh Perry, director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Burlington.

Among those at the Chrism Mass was Susan Buonincontro of St. Ambrose Parish in Bristol. “It was lovely, very meaningful” she said of the Mass. “I loved the ritual of it. It was heartwarming to see all the priests together.”

Among those in attendance was a Knights of Columbus Honor Guard representing assemblies of Burlington, Milton, South Burlington, and St. Albans.

 

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Catholic Migrant Ministry of Addison County

A $3,000 Vermont Catholic Community Foundation grant will support the primary mission of Catholic Migrant Ministry of Addison County to provide Masses and sacraments in Spanish for the local migrant community.

One Mass per month is currently scheduled with an occasional extra service for sacraments, particularly baptisms, to accommodate family schedules.

The grant funds support the Spanish-speaking priest’s travel cost, musicians, and a Mexican communal meal for all who come to the Mass. The ministry also has purchased a Spanish lectionary and Spanish Bibles for families.

A secondary mission of this ministry is to provide material needs — such as food, clothing, or furniture — but grant funds are not used for this purpose. “We rely on private donations and collaboration with agencies such as The Women’s Center in Middlebury, Have A Heart Food Shelf in Bristol, and Vermont FoodBank to help meet these needs,” explained Patty Lewis,  chair migrant ministry.

Spanish Masses had been celebrated intermittently in Addison County for 18 years but were discontinued when the Spanish-speaking priest became ill. In response to Diocesan Synod discussions, the parishes of St. Ambrose in Bristol and St. Peter in Vergennes realized that ministry to the migrant workers was an important need. The Vermont Migrant Outreach Team was organized by then-pastor Father Yvon Royer in 2019 with Spanish Mass for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe as the first formal event at St. Peter’s.

The current administrator of the parishes, Father Steven Marchand, became the ministry’s leader following Father Royer’s transfer to St. Francis Xavier Parish in Winooski.

For the past year, the Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Middlebury has joined St. Ambrose and St. Peter parishes in providing Spanish Masses, most especially for big celebrations of the Day of the Dead in collaboration with Middlebury College and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

“The Mexican people celebrate the sacraments with such joy. … Indeed, I am uplifted and renewed with each service,” Lewis said. “Who wouldn’t want to go to Spanish Mass? We are all humbly grateful for the VCCF grant.”

—Originally published in the Winter 2023 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

 

 

Musings from Monsignor McDermott

Holy Week provides time to consider more deeply the love shown to us by God

My dear family in Christ,

It has become a bit of a tradition at The Catholic Center at the University of Vermont to begin our entry into Holy Week by inviting our students to participate in all-night Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament from Friday into Saturday just before Palm Sunday. With that in mind, I am writing this week’s musing sometime around 3:45 a.m. in the presence of our Eucharistic Lord.  It is quiet, peaceful and a beautiful opportunity to simply let Jesus speak to my heart. It is also an inspirational time as I think about the students who are taking time on a very secular university campus to forego the usual weekend college activities to spend an hour or more with Jesus in prayer.  It inspires and challenges my own faith.

While we may not all have the opportunity to participate in all-night adoration, we are all given the invitation to participate in the holiest days of the Church’s liturgical year. Holy Week provides us all the chance to be more intentional in our life of faith and worship to considering those events which led to our salvation and offer worship to the God who has saved us. Each of the liturgies of Holy Week provide the chance to consider more deeply the love shown to us by God in offering His Son to be the price of our redemption.

I remember as a child I sometimes wondered why the liturgies of Holy Week had to be so much different and sometimes so much longer than a regular Sunday Mass. However, as I matured in faith and began to pay attention more and more to what we were doing as a church in these liturgies, I began to see the beauty and wonder of each of them.

Passion/Palm Sunday gives us the opportunity to be part of the crowd that welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem but also to consider how quickly some of these people turned against Him. We are challenged to ask ourselves if our faith is so fickle that we turn away from Him when challenged or rejected for our faith.

Holy Thursday allows us to rejoice in the gift of the Eucharist, the priesthood and the universal call to serve others and to ask if we really have embraced the call to “serve, not to be served.”

Good Friday invites us to consider Our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, the shedding of His blood and His willingness to give His life to set us free. Venerating the object of our salvation and listening to St. John’s Passion should cause us to consider somberly how much our God loves us.

Finally, the great Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday renew our spirit and faith with the promise that we are invited to share in the Lord’s victory over sin and death and to live a truly new life.

Does participating in these liturgies take time? Yes. Is it time well spent? Definitely. So, I invite us all to take the time this week to embrace the invitation to walk with the Lord — with Him who gave His life for our salvation — to ponder the mystery of His love and to allow the new life He promises to transform our lives.

In Christ the Lord,

Monsignor John J. McDermott

Diocesan Administrator

 

A global vocation of peace

Sister Barbara Cline wanted to be a missionary, and when she learned that the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration had a mission in China, she knew that was the order in which she wanted to live her vocation to religious life.

But before she could get to the point of being missioned to China, that mission was closed because the sisters had been killed, tortured or expelled.

It was years before she undertook her first mission assignment — in the Middle East.

In the meantime, she taught, something she also wanted to do.

Most of her educational ministry was with persons — mostly children — with disabilities both in the United States and abroad. She liked how responsive they were to being taught to walk, play and feed themselves. “They were so responsive to me,” she recalled during an interview at the Catholic Center at the University of Vermont in Burlington where she lives. “When I’d show them something they’d want to do it, like throw a ball. One thing about that is they began to throw more than they should have,” she added with a smile.

With a reputation for never complaining, Sister Cline, 82, — who grew up in Spencer, Iowa —entered religious life as a postulant in 1959. After Vatican II, she was among 55 members who formed the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, the order to which she now belongs.

Her love for persons with disabilities grew, and she earned a master’s degree from Michigan State University in 1974 in developmental psychology with an infant/toddler specialization and a doctorate from that university in 1977 in special education administration and developmental psychology.

Through the years she has also taught at the University of New Hampshire, Bethlehem University, Arab College of Nursing in Ramallah, The Nutrition Institute in Cairo and at Michigan State and Grand Valley State universities.

Among the awards she has received is The Salma Friberg Award for outstanding achievement in working with the mental health issues of families with young children presented by the Michigan Association of Infant Mental Health and the Faith in Action Award presented by Guardian Angel Homes.

Sister Cline’s first experience working with children with disabilities began in 1968 at Misericordia Home in Chicago and later included work in the Middle East and West Africa.

She laments that some people see persons who are not physically “perfect” as somehow less important. But those with special needs “were created by God as all of us were,” she said. “Every one of us is created in such a way in Christ to become a saint and be in heaven.”

An extraordinary minister of Holy Communion at St. Mark Church in Burlington and director of religious education at Holy Cross Church in Colchester, Sister Cline is far removed from the war and unrest in areas where she once ministered to children with disabilities, places like Cameroon, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Gaza.

When she worked with traumatized children as director of the Near East Regional Office for Catholic Relief Services serving the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon, Israel bombed the airport in Beirut so she was not able to get into the country. And “in the West Bank, there was always violence of some kind,” she said. “It was everyday life.”

Working in the West Bank and Gaza, she had to get permission from an Israeli military officer for many of the things she needed to do, but she was grateful to have had a good rapport with the officer who called her “Baba” instead of Barbara.

She witnessed many horrors during those times, especially results of bombings, human suffering and violence. “If a child threw a stone at an Israeli military officer, they would destroy the child’s house. I found that really difficult,” she said.

Sister Cline always has worn her long brown habit and short black veil as she ministered in various places in the world, and in the Middle East, she was considered a “woman of the cloth,”
she said. “So I was respected.”

There was tension in what she was doing, but she accepted it. “I knew the people I was working with had more tension than I could ever think of,” she said. “I had to be upbeat for them.”

During those times, she found peace living in community with three other sisters, talking and praying together and attending daily Mass in the church on their compound. Still, prayer helps her find peace.

When war broke out in Gaze last year, Sister Cline was heartsick. “I knew those towns and people that lived there,” she said, and as television news showed more and more destruction, she had to limit her consumption of that coverage and follow it online instead.

“I understand their anger [Israel’s], but the civilians of Gaza are not a warring people. They’re a gentle people,” she said. “The war needs to stop.”

She prays it will.

For more information about the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, go to fsecommunity.org.

—Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.