Aug
11
Blood of Martyrs, Seed of the Church in North America, too
August 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment
By Farley Clinton
During the second part of the nineteenth century, the bishops of the United States were perhaps more zealous, more persistent, more successful in promoting the canonization of the French Jesuit martyrs of North America than they would ever be in working for any other American canonization.
They encouraged devout Catholics to make pilgrimages to sites associated with these martyrs, and the laity in fairly large numbers did make such pilgrimages — and often reported striking answers to their prayers of petition.
One French nun, recently beatified by Venerable John Paul II, may well have played an important role in spreading the fame of the martyr Jean de Brebeuf, SJ. This was the Blessed Catherine of Saint Augustine. She was reportedly said by the first Bishop of Quebec — the Blessed Francois de Montmorency Laval — to be the holiest person in the whole diocese. Supposedly, he added that miracles confirmed his opinion of her great sanctity, though he had had no need of those miracles to feel sure of it.
Blessed Catherine had visions of Saint Jean de Brebeuf, in which the holy martyr assured her that God would make use of him to confer great blessings and benefits on “Canada,” which would seem likely to mean North American a general way, rather than the political unit, the modern nation, that later came into existence, which bears now the name. It was then still the colony built up by French Catholics, who labored seriously to evangelize the native peoples whom they met, but eventually were themselves defeated and conquered by English Protestants in 1763 — and, 13 years after that (in 1776) did not rebel against English rule in the fashion of the strongly Protestant colonies that had been founded by the English in the 17th century.
The priest Isaac Jogues and the two who were not priests, Goupil and de Lalande, died in what later became the state of New York in the USA, and on this account attracted special veneration there. Everywhere else St. Jean de Brebeuf seems always to have treated as the outstanding figure among all these martyrs. He had a great many visions and apparitions, and none of the other martyrs seems to have resembled him in this point.
In one of his visions, he saw a Jesuit who was slowly but horribly turned into a demon. Until the last sixty years and the wide circulation of Teilhard de Chardin’s writing denying the existence of God and specially calling for a revolt against the whole traditional understanding of many virtues, such as chastity, detachment, and resignation, no one seems to have professed to know what Saint Jean de Brebeuf’s vision of a devil-priest might predict.
Among the French in Quebec, it appears that the one great miracle-worker was Catherine Tekakwitha, while the Jesuit martyrs hardly had any comparable fame. Eventually, in 1925 the efforts of the United States bishops achieved the beatification of the eight Jesuit martyrs — helped by strong prodding from Pius XI. And it seems that no miracle was recognized as justifying their public veneration — nor was thought necessary, in view of their unquestioned fame as great martyrs. After their beatification two miracles — both cures of nuns evidently — were accepted by the Holy See to authorize their canonization in 1930. TIME — the Luce magazine — published a small article about them. Both took place in Canada.
To be continued.
Among innumerable works of mercy in a long-life of inestimably kind contributions to the Church’s new evangelization, Farley Clinton is an advisor to the 30+ year-old apostolate, NCCL.
Aug
4
Alms for Palms, or ‘Nobody Goes It Alone’
August 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Palmer — a pilgrim returning from the Holy Land, palm branches in hand.
Alms — money or goods given as an act of charity.
* * * * * * *
Dear Friend,
You might call it “alms for palms”.
For as long as Christians have been making pilgrimage, they have known that no one in the Church goes it alone — ever.
Some go by giving. Others give by going.
Every pilgrim who returns palm in hand, knows he has gone hand in hand with those who have supported him by prayers and alms.
Whether from home or highway, everyone can participate in the annual Pilgrimage for Restoration. Read more
Jul
7
Songs of Pilgrimage, with Free MP3s
July 7, 2010 | 2 Comments
The Pilgrimage is a prayerful, musical event. Hymns, songs, and story of the Pilgrimage are available, all on the official Pilgrimage for Restoration recording — on CD and cassette. Update: You can find a listing of the tracks here, and you can order the CD or audio tape here. You can listen to selected tracks as MP3 Files: Read more
Jul
6
Bulletin Announcements for the Pilgrimage
July 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Attention clergy, bulletin editors, and webmasters! We now have sample bulletin text available in three formats: the html text below, an MS Word document, and a PDF file. Feel free to cut and paste, and help us to get the word out about the pilgrimage. Read more
Jul
2
Adirondack Life Covers 2009 Pilgrimage
July 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Complete with great black and white photos, including the one below, the award-winning Adirondack Life magazine wrote up our spiritual journey through their part of the world. An excerpt follows.
Father Andreas Hellman rests in Mill Street Park, in Lake Luzerne, during a lunch break.
MOTORISTS slow at the sight of a long line of pedestrians—more than 270 of them—stretching single-file along the dirt shoulder of Route 9N south of Lake George. A few of the walkers, teenage girls, wave cheerfully at the passing cars, and the gesture is occasionally reciprocated, if with quizzical looks.
A long walk in the Adirondacks is a common enough endeavor. Even a 65-mile trek, like the one this group is undertaking, is barely notable—dozens of people hike the 133-mile Northville-Placid Trail each year—but most distance-walkers follow wooded trails, not two-lane highways.
Other details about this procession are bound to stoke the curiosity of passersby: Almost all of the females wear long skirts—hardly the usual hiking attire—and many cover their hair with lacy scarves. At the head of each group of 15 or so is a leader carrying a satin banner or flag proclaiming the name of the “brigade” it represents—Sainte Jeanne d’Arc, Our Lady of Fatima Scouts. Others hold up tall wooden crucifixes. If these hints don’t clue the drivers in to the fact that they are witnessing a religious pilgrimage, the smattering of nuns in habits and priests in black robes might clinch it.
The Pilgrimage for Restoration, organized by Pennsylvania-based National Coalition of Clergy and Laity, has brought hundreds of the faithful to the Adirondack Park each September since 1996 for four days of walking, prayer and fellowship. The route—from the village of Lake George to the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs, at Auriesville, 40 miles west of Albany on the Mohawk River—commemorates the life and martyrdom of the saint Isaac Jogues, a 17th-century French Jesuit missionary who was captured, tortured and eventually murdered by the Mohawks, one of the five original nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Jogues is believed to have been the first European to see the heart of the Adirondacks. Read more…
Jun
30
The Pilgrimage, as Seen On…
June 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Seattle Catholic (from 2004) and New Liturgical Movement (from 2009) have written up the Pilgrimage for Restoration. Below are a few pictures that those sites have featured:
Brigade on Pilgrimage
Banners at the Solemn Mass
See the Seattle Catholic and New Liturgical Movement sites for more photos.
Jun
30
What the Non Nobis is Supposed to Sound Like
June 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment
A little inspiration to pilgrims and potential pilgrims. This is one of our pilgrimage songs. Not to worry! We generally look better than these fellows at the pilgrimage’s end, although the walk is somewhat familiar!
(From Kenneth Branagh’s film version of Shakespeare’s Henry V)
Jun
29
Video Documentary on the Pilgrimage for Restoration
June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Note: this documentary suggests that the Pilgrimage for Restoration goes only from the Blessed Kateri Shrine in Fonda to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville. In fact, it goes all the way from Lake George (that it, the “Lake of the Blessed Sacrament,” as St. Isaac Jogues originally named it!) to Auriesville. The Saturday portion of the pilgrimage goes the roughly seven miles from Fonda to Auriesville.
Jun
29
Press Release: 2010 Pilgrimage Theme Concerns Our Lady and the Conversion of America
June 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Gregory Lloyd, director of the Pilgrimage for Restoration, has announced the theme for the fifteenth annual pilgrimage, which takes place September 22 to 25, 2010. This year’s theme is “Restoration of True Devotion to Mary, Queen of Missionaries and the Reconquest of America.”
The Pilgrimage for Restoration begins at the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament (a.k.a., “Lake George”), New York, and ends at the Shrine of Our Lady of the North American Martyrs, in Auriesville, New York. Pilgrims walk, sing, and pray along the paths traversed by the North American Martyrs — venerating as they go the places these heroes of God sanctified by their blood witness to Christ and His Church. High Mass in the traditional Roman Rite (forma extraordinaria) is offered daily, and priests are available for confession and spiritual guidance throughout the pilgrimage. The journey terminates in a beautiful Solemn Mass offered at the Shrine of the North American Martyrs on Saturday, September 25.
Pilgrims can go the entire distance — seventy miles over four days — or come for the last day’s seven-mile walk, which starts at the Shrine of Blessed Kateri in Fonda, and terminates at Auriesville. Transportation for weary pilgrims is provided throughout, as are a safety escort and trained medical personnel. In addition, there is a “modified pilgrimage” for seniors and parents with young children. This lends a Catholic family atmosphere to the pilgrimage.
Explaining the significance of this year’s theme, Gregory Lloyd said, “In view of the recent unmistakable collapses of our own inventions, Catholics in America are daily becoming more acutely aware of the wisdom of St. Paul’s teaching in the letter to the Romans: ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ The Jesuit and Native American missionaries and martyrs brought the Light of Faith to Huronia and other indigenous American Nations many moons ago. It is high time the new phase of evangelization called for by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI enlighten all Americans, not only those whose minds are eclipsed by life-long ignorance of Christ, but also many of the baptized.”
He concluded with a broad invitation to the Pilgrimage. “We invite all men of good will to pray with us to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Son of God, to obtain from her Son the grace of conversion and Catholic Faith for all Americans; to obtain for the Church in North America victory in the struggle against the tyranny of relativism, Satan’s latest futile tactic; and, finally, to expel again the forces of darkness from our Lands, and to resurrect the culture from death.”
To register online, or to obtain more information, interested parties are referred to the web site of the National Coalition of Clergy and Laity: www.national-coalition.org/pilgrim/. Inquiries may be directed to the Pilgrimage Director, Gregory Lloyd at lloydg@national-coalition.org, or:
National Coalition of Clergy & Laity
621 Jordan Circle
Whitehall, PA 18052-7119
Tel. 610-435-2634
Jun
28
Prayer During the Pilgrimage
June 28, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Pilgrims of all ages walk in `brigades’ (groups of 15 to 35), under a patron saint. Brigades are formed by laymen who sing hymns, direct meditations, recite the Holy Rosary and other prayers. Pilgrims live according to the mandate of Our Lord and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost – friendship & prayer sustaining each pilgrim on his spiritual way.
Priests & religious lead and accompany the pilgrims along the way, hear confessions, give private spiritual counsel, teach.
The sacred liturgy of the 1962 Roman missal is prayed each day in accord with Pope Benedict XVI’s motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum. Glorious instrument of prayer, the traditional Roman liturgy stresses the universal character of the Church. Holy Mass in the forma extraordinaria is celebrated in a most solemn manner at the Auriesville Coliseum Church on Saturday.
Can’t travel to make pilgrimage? Pilgrims will remember you in prayer en route, and you can pray for them while making pilgrimage from your home or parish.
Click here to download the prayer request form, to learn how to obtain a plenary indulgence from your home, and/or to sponsor a pilgrim.
Click here for the webform to make the same request online.
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This blog presents details of the annual "Pilgrimage for Restoration" to Auriesville, New York. The dates for this year's pilgrimage are September 22-25, 2010.
