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On June 19, St. Ita held Corpus Christi processions after the 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM Masses. St. Gregory the Great held its procession after the 9:30 AM Mass. The tradition of processing with Jesus in the Consecrated Host began in Germany around the year 1275 and became widespread throughout the Church. Oh Sacrament most holy, oh Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment thine! El 19 de junio, St. Ita celebró las procesiones del Corpus Christi después de las Misas de las 10:30 AM y 12:30 PM. San Gregorio Magno tuvo su procesión después de la Misa de las 9:30 AM. La tradición de procesionar con Jesús en la Hostia Consagrada comenzó en Alemania alrededor del año 1275 y se generalizó en toda la Iglesia. Oh Sacramento santísimo, oh Sacramento divino, ¡toda la alabanza y toda la acción de gracias sean en todo momento tuyas! St. Gregory the Great St. Ita (10:30 and 12:30 Masses) In the late Medieval period, St. Thomas of Canterbury was the most famous martyr of the Church—murdered by King Henry III’s knights to “rid him of that meddlesome priest.” Because of this, St. Thomas of Canterbury church has several shrines to martyrs: The Martyrs of Vietnam, of Laos, of Korea, of Japan, San Lorenzo Ruiz of the Philippines, and Friar Casimir Cypher, the Conventual Franciscan priest from Wisconsin murdered in Honduras. To further honor the martyrs of the Church, a Shrine to the Martyrs of England and Wales has been created by Joe Malham of Trinity Icons. The center of the Shrine is a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, who appeared in England to Lady Richeldis in 1061. A shrine was built on the spot and it became the center of Marian devotion in England—Thomas of Canterbury himself visited on many occasions. As part of the Reformation, Henry VIII destroyed the shrine and statue. In 1897, Pope Leo XIII restored the shrine and had a statue made by the artists of Oberammergau, Germany, based upon images of the original statue. Our statue of Our Lady of Walsingham, also from Oberammergau, is seated upon a shelf supported by two Augustinian friars—the religious Order that served the original Walsingham shrine. A tapestry of St. Margaret’s Brocade (a design of the Tudor period) hangs between the two friars. Beneath Our Lady of Walsingham hangs a print by Daphne Pollen titled “The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales," commissioned as part of the celebration of the martyrs' canonization in 1970. Featured prominently at the center is St. Margaret Clitherow, who was pressed to death for hiding Catholic priests during the persecutions in England, which roughly spanned from 1535-1679. On either side of “The Forty Martyrs of England and Wales” are original paintings by Joe Malham. To the right one finds a portrait of St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher, executed by Henry VIII. They have been described as the “Peter and Paul” of English Catholicism. To the left, one finds St. John Jones (+1598) and St. John Wall (+1678), the two Franciscan friars among the forty martyrs. They were hung, drawn and quartered. Beneath the print and paintings, there is an altar with the risen lamb, bearing the flag of St. George. The wall is painted red to represent the blood of the martyrs, and is adorned with gold Canterbury crosses. Above the shrine are the words “Martyres Anglia et Cambria”—Latin for the Martyrs of England and Wales. Holy Martyrs, pray for us!  On June 18, we held our International Fashion Show and Fundraiser, with a cocktail reception afterward. Thank you to all our models, guests and the Fashion Committee for your hard work! El 18 de junio celebramos nuestro Desfile Internacional de Moda y Recaudación de Fondos, con un cóctel posterior. Gracias a todos nuestros modelos, invitados y al Comité de Moda por su arduo trabajo. On Friday, June 10, we will hold an Ecological Embertide prayer service at St. Gregory the Great Church, in the Our Lady of Consolation Chapel. The date is significant. As we close out the Easter season with the celebration of Pentecost, we come upon the Whit Emberdays, which occur in the week after Pentecost. Ember days are days at the beginning of each new season that were set aside by the Church as days of fasting, abstinence and prayer (Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5). These days are meant to thank God for the gifts of nature, teach men to use those gifts in moderation and help those in need. The Whit Emberdays are: -Wednesday, June 8 -Friday, June 10 -Saturday, June 11 Our prayer service, which will begin at 7:30, includes:
We hope you will join us! You can RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/events/435620921727795/   There is a centuries-old tradition — particularly in the churches of Great Britain and New England-- to paint church doors red. There are many possible reasons. Red symbolizes the Blood of Christ, through which we enter into the Church. Red also signifies the tongues of fire at Pentecost, a sign that the Holy Spirit is within the doors. Red doors also recall the sprinkling of the door lintels of the Israelites with the blood of lambs on the night of Passover. Beginning in the Middle Ages, red doors indicated a place of sanctuary which offered physical safety from outside evils.
Our parish’s former artist-in-residence, Joe Malham of Trinity Icons, chose the shade of red from the palette of Augustus Pugin, the master of 19th Century Gothic Revival design. Cardinal Mundelein, in designing St Thomas of Canterbury Church, based it on a Connecticut Meeting House to reference the New England roots of American Christianity. By painting the doors red, we honor Cardinal Mundelein’s inspiration. The Filipinos of St. Gregory hosted the parish Santacruzan on May 21. This celebration honors the Blessed Virgin Mary and commemorates the finding of the true Cross by St. Helena. The first Santacruzan hosted by the Filipinos of St. Gregory was in 1988! It was a joy to have this wonderful event restored after COVID-19 disrupted traditional celebrations in 2020 and 2021. After 4:30 PM Mass, there was a procession around the block to the gym for a reception. Thank you to the Filipinos of St. Gregory for all you have done for our parish! Mass & Procession Reyna Elena and Constantino 2022 |
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