January 1988 Print

by the Seminarians at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary

13 December 1987: Gaudete Sunday

This Sunday, we lit the third candle on the seminary advent wreath. Our four-week liturgical wait for Christ's birth is half over, and we were mindful that fallen man had waited, not mere weeks, but four thousand years, for the Savior who would take away the sins of the world. St. Thomas Aquinas is in the eye of a political-social-ecclesiastical storm, yet it is the tranquil environment which is giving us the priestly perspective that, eternally, there is one abiding reality, the knowledge, love and imitation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is soon to be born.

Our celebration of the Feast of Christ the King (October 28th) manifested our confidence in this vision. Visiting family members of several seminarians joined the chapel faithful and our community for a public procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an outdoor altar, punctuating the crisp, sunlit morning with Our Savior's anthem, "Christus Vincit," and other triumphant hymns proclaiming Our Lord's social Kingship. The seminary grounds had been well-groomed by our first-year men, including a crew of Paul Bunyans who cut down and removed a 60' tree, a backyard eye-sore but excellent stove fuel with which to keep the wood box filled. At our all-night vigil on the eve of the feast, Our Lord received an extra hour of adoration as a result of the change to Eastern Standard Time!

Our ears are bent Romewards, anticipating further news of the ongoing developments between the Vatican and the Society. In its historical context, the moment is critical. A survey of the world scene reveals Good and Evil locked in climactic combat; Lucifer writhes in deadly desperation beneath the crushing heel of the humble Virgin. Such thoughts have inspired some very straightforward comments from our priests during their regular spiritual conferences to us. From Father Bourmaud: "To be a priest in today's confused world is to have a double vocation: to be a priest and a hero!" "The priesthood is luminous, tiring, but happy," Father Rector counseled us recently, "but determine now to withstand the 'heat,' because you're headed for it . . . If you can't take it, get out of the kitchen!" Further, Father Williamson cautioned us against undue optimism regarding a possible normalization of relations between Rome and the Society. "The real crunch is what the Holy Father does when Cardinal Gagnon's report hits his desk . . . pray your rosaries; it's the one sure weapon we have—that Satan hates, and no one can take away from us."

November was especially sobering as we received news of the second recent death of a Society priest (Father Xavier Basire, November 8th). He was younger than many of us, and his death evoked within us a vivid picture of the Last Things during this month of the Holy Souls, motivating us to mortify ourselves and to meditate on the inevitability of our own appearance before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Our Lord in His open tabernacle has been recent witness to several religious covenants made by members of the seminary community. On the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (November 21st), Brother Bernard renewed his vows of poverty, chastity and obedience for another year. On the Feast of me Immaculate Conception (December 8th), eleven of us made our initial engagement into the Society of St. Pius X. After first having our written requests to do so approved by the Superior General, Father Schmidberger, our memberships in the Fraternity for the period of one year were certified by our formal oblations at the day's Solemn High Mass. ("…Lord, in the simplicity of my heart, I offer myself today as a servant forever, for a service and sacrifice of eternal praise…" We were joined by Professor Father Delaplace who made a lifetime engagement to the Society. Following Mass, we signed printed copies of the oblation, careful to impress upon our minds the gravity of our commitments and to note the necessity of supernatural help to uphold them. The engagement's concluding plea was significant in light of the day's feast of Our Lady: "O good Mother, save me, defend me, as thy property and possession." In addition, seventeen fellow seminarians renewed their promises of fidelity to the Society.

Thanksgiving (November 26th) was a seminary holiday. A fine feast was prepared by Chef Reiner Klein and admirably served by his kitchen wards. Afterwards, most of us played in "The Game," that is, our annual Thanksgiving football match. In the 28-7 contest, Father Gerspacher scored his team's only touchdown with a slashing, cutting sweep-right for a 20-yard scoring burst. On the opposition's next possession, Father Bourmaud answered for his side with a squirming, short-yardage blast for a touchdown. Father Gruen, courageous in his introductory game of American-style football (alternating position at kicker, receiver, and quarterback) exclaimed: "I like this game . . . maybe as much as soccer!"

"You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid" (Matthew 5:14). In the spirit of these, Our Lord's own words, the seminary accepted an invitation from the Waterbury, Connecticut deanery to participate in the Marian Year Celebration (December 6th) at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (a designated Marian Year Pilgrimage church) of nearby Waterbury. The invitation to attend had come through trustworthy priestly channels friendly to the Society, and Father Rector calculated our presence to have several attractive advantages alongside the fact that the event was in honor of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception. Our confidence that events reverencing her are uniquely (and mysteriously) successful was amply rewarded.

The edifying and quite spectacular tribute to the Mother of God was attended by over 2000 people, beginning with a candlelight procession around the public green of downtown Waterbury. Our contingent of 48, a striking and very visible presence in cassocks and wearing birettas, took its place near the front of the procession behind the cross bearer-led acolytes and flag bearers, and in front of the illuminated and flower-bedecked bier carrying a dignified likeness of Mary Immaculate holding forth her Infant-King whose hand was upraised in benediction. Processing together neatly four-by-four, we prayed a Latin Rosary, singing the Gloria Patri's with virile devotion and attracting the curiosity of interested onlookers. We came full-circle round the green, back to the stately facade of the church and entered its magnificent marble-and-mosaic nave. Ushers directed us to the front pews midst the whispers of the assembling crowd.

At the entrance of Our Lady into the church, a resonant brass ensemble led our collective voice in vibrant verses of "Immaculate Mary" and rosary-wrapped hands lofted more flowers to her from the pews as she was taken slowly past the communion rail and rested in the sanctuary near the majestic baldacchino sheltering the traditional main altar. Approximately two dozen clergy were gathered in the sanctuary with the Auxiliary Bishop of the Hartford Diocese.

But Our Eucharistic Lord was the Focus of the occasion and the largely traditional program continued with, first, a prayer of consecration to Mary, followed by an international Rosary prayed in seven languages (after the Holy Father's example in commencing the Marian Year). Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament observed the old prescriptions with incensations, bells and the Latin hymn, Tantum Ergo, succeeded by a recitation of "The Divine Praises" and the singing of Ave Maria, the recessional hymn.

At the end of the ceremony, a small group of us seminarians were stopped and invited by the curious Auxiliary Bishop to join him and his priests for a brief repast. Time constraints kept conversation "polite," but the Society, Archbishop Lefebvre and Cardinal Gagnon's fact-finding tour were discussed with frankness. In summary, the Bishop commented, "In times like these, we have to stick together…"

The whole evening's experience was of great mutual benefit; to the faithful, edified by so many vocations giving cause for hope, and to us seminarians, edified by the simple devotion of these many children of Mary and by the sheer grandness—a holy grandness, that is—of the celebration as an audio-visual testimony of Catholic Truth.

Twenty-two of us made a Friday afternoon trip (November 13th) into New York City to visit The Cloisters, a museum of medieval art housed in a structure incorporating sections from a chapter house, five monasteries, a Spanish apse, and a Romanesque chapel, from the 12th century. Also on the itinerary were visits to the Mother Frances Cabrini Shrine and St. Ignatius Catholic Church, where a kindly 90-year-old priest, thankful for our visit, offered us a personal tour.

Our own Chef Klein and his wife graciously invited fifteen of us for a Sunday afternoon meal at his New Milford mini-farm where he raises goats and veal. "Sehr gut, Herr Klein . . . You cook great in any kitchen! Danke!"

Brother Hilary, a native New Yorker, guided fifteen seminarians to the Big Apple's Metropolitan Museum of Art and St. Patrick's Cathedral (December 4th). The Museum's terra cotta creche display with hundreds of detailed figures grew much praise. On a return trip to the Museum on December 13th, a group of us were delighted by an exhibit of original art works by Fra Angelico, a 14th-century favorite of seminarians, and De Zurbaran, a Spanish artist of the 1500's.

For the musical among us, two public concerts have been very satisfying. Attending the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra's performance (October 17th), we heard Beethoven's "Fifth Symphony," and works of Rossini and Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" incorporates the Dies Irae, the Latin hymn we sing at Requiem Masses, to represent the evil spirit to which Paganini was meant to have sold his soul.) Also appearing in Ridgefield (November 7th) were the United States' Coast Guard and Military Bands, playing in a combined concert titled "Americana." The musical menu included the marches of John Philip Sousa and others, a tribute to American folk tunes through the works of Stephen Foster and the theme of "Elsa's Procession" from Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin." A program special featuring the Coast Guard Dixieland Jazz Band, complete with its own Louis Armstrong impersonator, had us all foot-tappin' and laughing.

So, the cassocks of St. Thomas Aquinas can be quite visible. And, that is good, for we are one with our founder that they are a silent, powerful symbol of virtue in a world that needs reminding of the ideals of its ostracized and forgotten Lord Jesus Christ. It is our work and by your faithful prayers that we do so. For your support, always, we thank you.