Bethlehem Monastery of Poor Clares
Summer,2009
“Holy God, we praise thy Name!”
Dear Friends,
Yes, the praise of God’s holy Name could indeed be said to have been the themesong of all that has been happening here at Bethlehem Monastery since we last wrote you. We knew that for certain on June 20th, when Monsignor Michael D. McCarron intoned the above hymn during the toccata played by our organist, Sister Mary Joseph, following Holy Mass on her third Jubilee Day. As the entire congregation burst into song, joining our voices to that “loud celestial hymn” of the angel choirs surrounding us, it formed indeed a Grand Finale to a wondrous celebration.The day itself marked the summit of a month of rejoicing with Bridegroom and Bride, beginning on June 4th, the first day of celebration and the actual anniversary date of Sister Joseph’s Profession of First Vows fifty years ago in 1959. It was beautiful to see our Bishop Francis DiLorenzo surrounded by four priests and three seminarians at our altar that day. Beautiful, too, to have so many of you come to rejoice with us. As Father Scott Duarte pointed out in his homily, the whole Church of Richmond, indeed the whole of the Church Universal, was present in our monastic church united around the Table of the Lord. We could not help but remember all of you, our friends and benefactors, also present in spirit, and sharing so very much in all the graces and blessings of that special time.
Our dear Bishop gave us yet another special gift that June 4th when he let us knowthat he had designated our monastery church as one of the Eucharistic Shrines the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy had requested be set up in each diocese. The Sacred Congregation envisaged such shrines or cenacles as places “in which priests, religious and lay people, united among themselves in a spirit of true communion, might devote themselves to prayer, in the form of continual Eucharistic Adoration” offered especially for the sanctification of our priests. We considered this a very special call for us, since, following the example of our Mother St. Clare, we have always made Jesus present in the tabernacle and on the altar the center of our lives. And so, when our Holy Father inaugurated the year for priests, wishing to give them a special importance, to tell them how much he loves them and how muchhe wants to help them to live their vocation and mission with joy and fervor, we set about making it possible that you, too, could share this call.
Perhaps some of you have seen posters in your local parishes about the Holy Hours we are hosting here at the monastery. Since you are a dear and important part of our monastic family and since there is such a tremendous grace and spiritual power in gathering together as one before the Lord in prayer, as He Himself said on several different occasions, we wanted to invite you to join us in a common effort to give glory to God, to uphold our priests, and to support one another in our life of faith. Thanks to the generosity of several of our priests, we are able to conclude each of our Holy Hours with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. It promises to be a most fruitful year of grace for all.
Surely concern for the clergy of her day was uppermost in the mind of our Mother St. Clare as she wove and embroidered altar linens for the many little churches and chapels in the area around San Damiano. As we begin to prepare for her August feastday, we invite you to send us your petitions which we will be entrusting to her care during the Novena in her honor which will begin August 2. Because many of our evenings this year are being devoted particularly to our prayers for priests, we have decided to pray the prayers of our Novena after Holy Mass so that more of you can be with us. You will be especially close to us in our Solemn Masses on August 11 – yes, we will have two. As last year, there will be one Mass at our usual time: 8:00 in the morning. Then, in the evening, there will be another, celebrated at 7:00. At each the traditional blessed breads will be distributed. Whether you are able to be with us that day or only share the feast in spirit, we know the measure of blessings and graces you will all surely receive through our Holy Mother’s intercession will be full and abundant.
Holy Mass is celebrated here at Bethlehem Monastery at 8:00 every morning, including Saturdays and Sundays. Our chapel is open for private prayer from 7:00 a.m. -- 7:00 p.m. every day. Most days you will find Jesus exposed for your veneration on our altar, either in our large monstrance, or in a smaller standing pyx. But on days when He is enclosed in His tabernacle, He is no less present to you and will be there to give you His grace when you visit.
On Sundays at 3:40 p.m., we have a Holy Hour which includes the singing of Vespers and recitation of the Rosary, concluding with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
On Thursdays at 5 p.m. we also have a Holy Hour of adoration for the benefit of our priests which ends with special prayers and Benediction.