<![CDATA[DAVID BELLUSCI - Catholic Pilgrim]]>

<![CDATA[DAVID BELLUSCI - Catholic Pilgrim]]>Mon, 08 Dec 2025 01:51:18 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Alter Christus]]>Thu, 25 May 2023 05:46:20 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/alter-christus

Mangalore is a city in India that I had never visited. But with the news of the Ordination to the Priesthood of a close friend of mine, I desired to be present at his Ordination. I needed to go to Mangalore.

I flew with Singapore Airlines; my first time on an almost sixteen hours nonstop flight from Vancouver to Singapore. Then, an evening departure on Singapore Airways to Mumbai, another five and half hours. The night at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, and finally, my morning departure on IndiGo airways, a domestic Indian carrier and a one hour flight to Mangalore. In Mumbai I could look forward to masala chai and samosas.

Gavin Rodrigues had been a student of mine in Goa where I have been teaching philosophy in July/August at the Dominican Institute of Philosophy. I got to know many of the Dominican Fathers and students over the years. In the case of Gavin, he accompanied me on a walk through rice fields to a town called Margau. What was meant to be a short afternoon outing turned out to be about four hours returning in the dark on time for Evening Prayer. I also learned about Gavin’s vocational discernment and his calling to Religious life.

On my way to Goa in 2018, I stopped in Nagpur to visit Gavin who was in the formation house. When I celebrated a private Mass in English, Gavin joined me and served the Mass. A prayerful silence filled the chapel.

Deacon Gavin is by nature very obedient; our chats or video calls never interfered with his religious formation/activities/schedule. Even when he returned home for vacations, his family plans always took precedence. I realised Deacon Gavin was close to his family and attached to his mother; he knew his mother loved him very much. I hoped one day to meet his family; they sounded like wonderful people, and perhaps taste his mother’s pizza.

With Konkani spoken in Mangalore among Catholics, the predominant language for Church services, I decided to celebrate private Masses in English (except Sundays); Gavin offered to serve as Deacon; he was at my side performing his diaconal ministry.

On May 16th a change took place: Deacon Gavin was configured to Christ, Priest, Teacher, and Pastor -- an indelible mark by a special grace of the Holy Spirit: Gavin was ordained to the Sacred Priesthood, an alter Christus. I watched Gavin postrate himself, kneel before the bishop when his hands were consecrated; then, we kissed Gavin’s hands, and lay our hands on his head. With the Bishop, Dominicans, Pallotines, Pilar Fathers, a Carmelite, and Father Gavin, we concelebrated Mass.

The next day, Father Gavin joined me once again at my private Mass in English. However, I asked him to preside; I would be at his side to concelebrate and assist him. I stood with him as we pronounced the words of consecration, Father Gavin being more audible, and my words softly spoken. As I heard Father Gavin’s voice, he slightly bowed, holding the bread, “This is my body...” then, holding the chalice, “This is my blood...” This powerful experience that the person beside me in front of the altar was not the Deacon of the other day, but Christ the priest, consecrating bread and wine, the alter Christus.

Regardless of what I felt at consecration, whether it was powerful or emotional, is not so relevant. Consecration of bread and wine to become the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ is an objective reality. I then asked myself why I should have this powerful and emotional experience of alter Christus from the Deacon to the Priest. After all, I’m a priest myself, I have been through the two Rites of Ordination, and I have never questioned the Roman Rite of the Sacrament of Holy Orders or any other Sacraments; my faith does not need reaffirmation.

A newly ordained priest – like all priests -- will have many challenges; battles against temptation and striving for holiness are ongoing. In this privileged context where I heard and observed Father Gavin celebrate his first Mass, God simply wanted me to taste his goodness, so abundantly expressed in the priesthood. That the Catholic priest continues the salvific mission of Christ, this truth, the alter Christus, Catholicism has taught and practised for two thousand years. Let us pray for Father Gavin, newly ordained priests, and all priests, that Christ may live in us. Amen.

]]><![CDATA[St. Gemma Galgani: mystic and stigmatist]]>Sun, 05 Sep 2021 00:34:54 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/st-gemma-galgani-mystic-and-stigmatist

The walled town of Lucca is not far from Rome. A three hour train journey from Rome takes you into Pisa where a transfer is made to a train going to Lucca, a short thirty-minute ride. The train runs across the Arno River. This is the Tuscany region of Italy, well-known for its Chianti wines and beautiful medieval Churches. Pisa, Siena, Florence, and Lucca are all situated in Tuscany. St. Gemma’s relics are found here, outside of the walled city not far from the railway station.

Gemma Galgani was born in 1878. The experience of trauma and death go back to Gemma’s childhood experience of her mother dying; she was seven years old when her mother Aurelia had died. Gemma was attached to her mother, and Gemma knew and felt her mother’s love being the eldest daughter. Gemma’s spiritual life was abruptly marked by the death of those whom she loved and strengthened her spiritually. When Gemma was sixteen years old she dealt with another death: that of her brother, Gino, a seminarian, only a few years older than her, barely eighteen years old. The death of her brother had a traumatic impact on Gemma because he was her brother and because of her spiritual affinity with Gino. She asked her father if she could discontinue her studies until she recovered from Gino’s death.

When Gemma was nineteen years old, her father Enrico died. The family was left with the father’s debits. Gemma and her siblings had no support whatsoever; they were left in the street when their home and the father’s pharmacy had been sequestered by authorities. Gemma was left to bring comfort to her brothers, sisters, and aunts. To support the family Gemma worked in a sewing school.

Gemma and her siblings moved to their paternal aunt’s home; during this time Gemma refused a series of marriage proposals responding that she had offered herself entirely to Jesus. On December 8, 1897, Gemma pronounced the Vow of Virginity.

In the early months of 1898 when Gemma was 20 years old, she experienced increased sufferings from an abscess in the lower back, ear infection, brain tumour, and paralysis of lower limbs. Gemma was miraculously healed by the intercession of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. Gemma received several locutions and apparitions of the Passionist, St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows who called Gemma, “my sister.” The young St. Gabriel was made known to Gemma by the writings of the Father, Germano Ruoppolo.

Gemma spent time with the cloistered Visitation Sisters and other cloistered congregations: the nuns were doubtful, perplexed, and rejected her vocation. On the 8th of June, 1899, Gemma received the grace of the Stigmata. The stigmata did not last but the marks of Christ were reproduced on Gemma’s flesh for two years on Thursdays, 8pm into Fridays until 3pm.

For the first time Gemma met the Passionist Missionaries July 1899 in the Cathedral of St. Martin preaching the Jubilee Year of 1900. She desired to join the Passionist Congregation. Father Gaetano Guidi permitted Gemma to make private vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty until September 8, 1899.

Gemma offered herself as a victim to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for the reparation of sin and conversion of sinners. She continued to offer herself for the foundation of a Passionist monastery of cloistered nuns in Lucca. Only after Gemma’s death was the Passionist monastery in Lucca approved. The first Passionist nuns arrived in March 1905.

Rescued by her Gaurdian Angel, Gemma’s mystical writings reveal her ongoing dialogue with Angels; fittingly, the Passionist monastery of cloistered nuns was approved on the memorial of the Gaurdian Angels, October 2nd.

Visiting this shrine in Lucca with the Passionist nuns praying and chanting behind the altar screen, the power intercessory presence of St. Gemma is overwhelming. One can only kneel -- in tears.

St. Gemma Galgani, pray for us.

]]><![CDATA[FIRST THREE THINGS TO DO IN ROME!]]>Sun, 08 Aug 2021 03:57:58 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/first-three-things-to-do-in-rome

FIRST: Visit a Marian shrine and pray before the Virgin Mary for her continued intercession; that Mary, the Mother of Our Saviour, will deepen your Communion with her Son, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Rome’s well-known Marian shrines Santa Maria Maggiore, La Madonna del Divino Amore, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Santa Maria del Popolo (Augustinians), la Madonna del Carmine (Carmelites) are waiting for you.

SECOND: Confess your sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation at one of the four major basilicas, Saint John Lateran (Franciscan confessors), Saint Paul outside the Walls (Benedictine confessors), Saint Peter Basilica (Franciscan confessors). Santa Maria Maggiore (Dominican confessors) is the closest to Rome’s Termini train station, a 5-10 minute walk. Ask about the conditions to receive a plenary indulgence. Dominicans have been confessors at Santa Maria Maggiore since the 16th century at the invitation of the Dominican Pope, St. Pope Pius V (1504-1572). Go to your preferred confessor and experience the your renewed spiritual state in the company of Roman martyrs and Saints.

THIRD: Celebrate with gelato (italian ice cream) at the Trevi Fountain where you can appreciate Rome, the the city of baptism and rebirth, expressed in the city’s Renaissance architecture and Baroque fountains. The Trevi Fountain itself was commissioned by Pope Urban VIII in 1629 and completed under Clement VIII in 1762. The beauty of Rome has as its source Catholic spirituality and some of our exceptional aesthetically-driven Popes believed Rome should reflect the capital of Christendom. Our five senses serve to encounter God in the goodness of His creation and in our sense-experience of worship.

This year the Dominican Order celebrates 800 years (1221-2021) of the birth into Heaven, dies natalis of St. Dominic; his love for Truth, his desire for the salvation of souls, his preaching of the Gospel, and his expression of Dominican prayer, the Holy Rosary. On a visit to Santa Sabina in Rome you will find the meditative Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary. This 5th century Basilica serves as the mother Church of the Order of Preachers.

Rome conveys more than the Dolce vita. She is Roma sacra, the city of Popes and martyrs, the centre of Christendom and has been for two thousand years.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Saint Dominic, pray for us.

]]><![CDATA[SAINT MARY MAJOR--our lady of the snows]]>Thu, 05 Aug 2021 19:31:11 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/saint-mary-major-our-lady-of-the-snows

Our Lady of the Snows. Saint Mary Major. Salus Populi Romani, “Salvation of the Roman people,” all point to the same solemnity in Rome celebrated August 5th. Yes, Our Lady of the Snows in August – in Rome!

The history of the basilica has its origins in the 4th century. A wealthy Roman Christian couple, Giovanni and his wife, wanted to offer their possessions to the Virgin Mary by dedicating a Church to her. In a dream one evening, between August 4-5 they couple dreamed the Virgin Mary would notify him where it was to be built.

They visited Pope Liberius to given an account of their intentions and the dream; the Pope had a similar dream. by the name of Giovanni and his The Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius (342-346) and they went to the site indicated by the Virgin Mary: the Esquiline Hill. Upon arriving, the hill was covered in snow.

And so, in the month of August snow on the Esquiline Hill; a sign from Mary. And so, the Church was dedicated to Saint Mary of the Snows, Sanctae Maria ad Nives. Planning and design of the basilica as the pilgrim experiences today was under the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440) – or even projected under Pope Celestine I (422-32). The basilica as early as the 4th century reflects the view of Rome as being the centre of the Christian world which can be traced to the presence and martyrdom of the early Apostles, Peter and Paul.

With the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD which proclaimed Mary as the Theotokos, “Mother of God,” Pope Sixtus III proclaimed this teaching in the Marian-themed mosaics of the basilica. St. Mary Major was built at a time of controversy when the divinity of Jesus was rejected by Arius, a 4th century heretic claiming that Jesus was subordinate to the Father, a creature, created by God the Father.

Arian false teachings are the worst doctrinal errors imaginable in Christianity, and sadly enough believed and taught by misled Christians in the early Church. In fact, Arianism was so widespread that if the Council of Ephesus did not affirm Mary’s title as “Mother of God,” we would most probably be following the error of Arius today. The Council made clear that Mary is the Mother of a divine person who has a human nature: Jesus is equally divine and human.

St. Mary Major celebrates this affirmation of the divinity of Jesus; a doctrine that was rejected, contested, and resolved through early Church Councils. Ironically, Arius used the Sacred Scriptures to justify his claims but clearly, he was not led by the Holy Spirit in his erroneous interpretation. Instead, it was the Church that resolved the matter at the Council of Ephesus -- even though the influence of the Arian heresy would continue to plague Christendom.

The celebration of this August miracle tells us that God intervenes when He finds it necessary or fitting; and He may defy human logic in His interventions. God is Creator and He orders nature. He reveals to us His majesty through nature, but also His power. Snowfall in August reminds us that God makes use of His creation to lead us to Truth. In this August event that reveals creation is subordinate to God, we discover Mary’s role in God’s plan for our salvation, Mary who is the Mother of God, Mary who is given to us as Mother. Our Lady of the Snows, pray for us.

]]><![CDATA[Confessions in the time of a pandemic]]>Sat, 01 Aug 2020 21:07:30 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/confessions-in-the-time-of-a-pandemic

Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore --

Europe’ first country to be dramatically hit with the Cronavirus was Italy which went into lockdown early-March. People could not leave their regions separating families – or even their homes. In Rome, like other parts of Italy, movement was only possible with a self-declaration form justifying reasons for going outdoors. Medicine, groceries, walking a dog were permitted. Government emergency acts meant Churches cancelled liturgical services and shockingly even the city of Rome fell into dead silence. As the world watched Italy from their screens, a mysterious virus would spread across soon implementing Italy’s lockdown laws.

On Friday March 27th, Pope Francis addressed the world from Rome, and held Eucharistic Adoration at St. Peter’s under the portico facing an empty rainy square. The surreal image was experienced for those who prayed with the Pope live-stream.

What about the Sacraments in the eternal city? Interdictions came from the Italian government with State of Emergency measures beginning in March. The closure of Churches which was determined by Bishops was controversial. When Cardinal Angelo De Donatis the Cardinal Vicar of Rome executed the order to close all of Rome’s Churches, Catholics reacted bitterly to the Cardinal's decision on social media -- a city not only with parishes, but shrines, monasteries, and religious institutes. Papal intervention offered hope some Churches would remain open, unlike the De Donatis decree where all Churches were to be closed.

At Santa Maria Maggiore Confessions has continued throughout the pandemic. How is that possible to go to a Church if self-declaration form permitted going outdoors only for food, medicine, and walking dogs? Well, people who were going out for essential services could continue their walk to another unofficial essential service: Confession.

Santa Maria Maggiore uses benches where people can sit two metres apart. Hand sanitizer at the entrance of the Basilica and the papal workers regularly santise the benches. The priests come down the aisle to give Communion as opposed to the people lining up for Communion. Eucharistic Adoration continues as well as the Rosary. As long as people have masks on and keep social distance, they may enter the Basilica.

What is surprising is the number of people who still go to Confession since this now excludes the large number of tourists coming from the US, Brazil and India with sizable Roman Catholic populations. So, the visitors/pilgrims are limited to Europe, the approved 14 nations, and of course, different regions of Italy. The temporary residents of Rome are made up of seminarians, religious, and priests, either studying or providing temporary ministry before they return to their countries of origin.

Rome is where people go to Confession as often as weekly if they live in Rome, but those coming from outside will come to Confession in Rome as part of a pilgrimage, a new start or even as a time of conversion. Santa Maria Maggiore, like all Papal Basilicas receiving pilgrims and visitors, is protected by the Italian Army, the Italian Police, and the Carabinieri, all at the entrance of the Basilica. Coming to Santa Maria Maggiore for the pilgrim means making that physical effort of journey that requires effort, time, and staying in Rome is also be costly. But this reflects the disposition of the heart: the sinner is contrite, seeks forgiveness, wants to make amends, and is given penance and absolution. Human nature needs to concretely express contrition.

This is why Roman Catholicism drawing from human nature is not couch potato spirituality. Human desire and supernatural grace get us off the couch and onto our knees to ask God for mercy. When a lock down has kept us from the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this mercy -- the experience of forgiveness and renewal -- we discover is truly what purifies our soul, heart and mind.

]]><![CDATA[Visiting the Fatebenefratelli hospital in Rome.]]>Sat, 11 Jul 2020 15:42:09 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/visiting-the-fatebenefratelli-hospital-in-romeRoma, July 10, 2020

I accompanied a fellow Dominican to the “Fatebenefratelli” hospital; it was my first experience at a Roman Catholic hospital in Rome. After the Covid fever scan at the hospital entrance, and the hand disinfectant procedures, the Dominican Brother I was accompanying withdrew to the doctor’s office.

I had a chance to explore the beautiful hospital in its spiritual setting, a health facility in a monastic environment. This well-known hospital in Rome is run by the Order of Hospitallers founded by St. John of God. The Order was originally established to care for the poor and infirm in the mid-1500s. The Roman hospital preserved the original monastic structure of the Order.

This historical preservation of ancient buildings whether the Classical, Medieaval, Renaissance or Baroque periods, is regulated by Italy’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities; old buildings or statues are not taken down, but preserved and restored.

In the human psyche history and culture are inseparable and this is especially true when pertaining to religious history, art and architecture. Not all governments intervene to protect historical edifices, or educate the people in the value of art, architecture and historical symbols. The Fatebenefratelli hospital registration/waiting area preserves a combination of the original cloister of the Order of St. John of God and contemporary facilities.

St. John of God, João Duarte Cidade, was born in 1495 in the Kingdom of Portugal. A soldier, dissatisfied with his life, he experienced a mental break down. He began to care for the poor and infirm, based on a vision he had of the Virgin Mary, relying on resources from his own begging in Grenada, Spain. Due to his mental illness and the reputation of mental instability, support was lacking in his charitable project; but he eventually obtained the assistance of priests and physicians. The name he had received by the Infant Jesus in a vision, “John of God,” was used and kept by the Bishop of Tui. The Order of Hospitallers (O.H.) was approved by the Holy See in 1571. Pope Alexander VIII canonised John of God in 1690.

“Fatebenefratelli” was the expression used by John of God in Grenada while he was begging for help, “Do good, brothers.” His followers as members of the Order of Hospitallers named the Roman hospital, “Do good brothers for the love of God.” Based on their Constitutions the Order forms the religious backbone to the Fatebenefratelli hospital. The values of the Order permeate the hospital especially bioethics and the humanisation of care.

Fatebenefratelli hospital is situated on the island of Tiberina in Rome surrounded by the Tiber River. The history of the hospital shows the transformation of hospital care. Originally built in the year 1000AD and run by Benedictine Sisters, the facility served as a refuge for the homeless, infirm, and poor. By the 16th century, rather than a shelter, the edifice was transformed into a hospital that served to restore health anticipating modern hospitals so that the ill were no longer simply “sheltered” but visited by nurses, physicians, and surgeons. Shortly after John of God founded the Order of Hospitallers, in the late 1500s, two members of the Order arrived on the hospital island of Tiberina to apply John’s of God’s religious philosophy of care. The building at the time included a monastery with an adjacent Church dating back to the tenth century dedicated to St. John Calibita. By the seventeenth century, a period known for its epidemics and pestilence, with the isolated position of the hospital on the island of Tiberina, a school was developed in the treatment of epidemics. From a shelter for the poor and infirm to a modern hospital that has developed out of John of God’s Christian principle of care, the hospital stands in Rome with a one thousand year history. It should not come as a surprise that in English the Latin-derived words “hostel,” “hospice,” and “hospital” are all interrelated (even hotel!). The Order of Hospitallers and Fatebenefratelli hospitals are now found in 49 countries.

]]><![CDATA[INTERVIEW with a Finnish Priest]]>Sat, 28 Dec 2019 05:52:14 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/interview-with-a-finish-priestFather Tuomas is a Finn and an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic Church. Father David Bellusci, a Dominican and friend of Father Tuomas, is unable to attend Father Tuomas's Ordination, but he travels to Finland to receive Father Tuomas's priestly blessing, and he interviews Father Tuomas on his faith journey to Catholicism and the Priesthood.

click to view the video

Click to view photos

]]><![CDATA[Christmas morning in Ross River, Yukon]]>Thu, 26 Dec 2019 15:41:42 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/christmas-morning-in-ross-river-yukonRoss River, December 25, 2019

The drive across the Yukon -- stretches of snow, tall trees fence the road, winding bends – point to Ross River Nation. I am with a seminarian from Toronto -- from Croatia -- accompanying me to serve solemn Mass… Christmas day.
The morning is still dark at 10am. The sun begins to break through clouds directly overhead. Our destination hidden somewhere behind the white hills, frozen lakes, and Pelly River. Daylight dispels morning darkness. Visibility. I identify fir and hemlock and pine.

Gas station, general store, the mission Church appears at a distance. Logs hold the sacred space, House of God, together. We are in Ross River Dene Nation. Jean-Claude sets the furnace toasty warm; a welcome from the freezing eastern Yukon cold. Mirko, the seminarian, prepares the incense and indicates the pages for the Roman Canon.

I meet members of the community; Dillan and his son, Theodore. Then, Irene, Jean-Claude’s wife, introduces me to Maggy, Theodore’s great-grandmother. Maggy transmitted her Catholic faith to the family, something of a matriarch. Gregg and Pamela sit in prayer, having driven from Faro to join us for the Christmas celebration.

In the sanctuary hangs a picture of St. Katheri Tekakwitha. Dillan holds his son, Theodore, sitting in the front of the Church directly in my line of vision. The three-year-old remains attentive throughout the entire liturgy: incense, homily, bells Consecration, capture the little boy’s attention -- and he comes up for a blessing.

One Faith, one Baptism (Dillan told me Theodore was baptised), one Spirit, one Body, adhering to the Catholic Church professing the same Gospel for two thousands; the Word that transforms our lives – the Word made flesh that saves us.

Together at the centre of Ross River, like the angels and shepherds, we worshipped our Saviour, the Christ Child.

]]><![CDATA[dominican Nuns of the Annunciation, Rome]]>Mon, 12 Aug 2019 16:08:22 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/dominican-nuns-of-the-annunciation-rome

Rome, August 8, 2019

Feast of St. Dominic.

At the Piazza of San Martino ai Monti where the medieval Capocci tower stands, beyond the tower is the monastery of the cloistered Dominican nuns of the Annunciation. The nuns moved to the San Martino location in the 1930s when Mussolini’s government acquired the Alessandrino district for excavation purposes and the construction of the Via dei Fori Imperiali. At the earlier location, a mural of the Annunciation remains visible on ‘Tor dei Conti.

A painting inside the sanctuary depicts Pope Pius V, a Dominican Saint associated with the Council of Trent, inviting another foundation of Dominican nuns to Rome September 7, 1562. In fact, the same Saint also called the Dominican Fathers to be Confessors at Santa Maria Maggiore and who remain the Confessors of the Papal Basilica to this day. The Counter-Reformation pontiff, St. Pius V, strengthened Rome’s spiritual life with the Dominican presence.

The nuns remain cloistered so that the monastic enclosure separates the nuns from the sanctuary with a grille -- only during Mass the gate is opened so the nuns can receive the Body and Blood of Christ from the Priest at Communion time.

In the sanctuary are frescoes with the theme of the Annunciation: over the altar the Angel Gabriel announces the news to Mary that she has been chosen to give birth to the Son of God; two side frescoes, et verbo caro factum est, “And the word was made flesh,” et habitavit in nobis, “and lived amongst us” serve to visibly enflesh the annunciation message.

The Dominicans preached an incarnational spirituality since the Medieval period due to the manichean-derived heresies associating the material world with evil. The Dominicans combated against these errors which had theological implications for the Sacraments extending to the material world of sacramentals, and were rejected by the different heretical movements due to the material content that cannot be good. The risk of the heresy is denying the humanity of Christ and thereby his salvific suffering.

The moral problem rejecting the material world as evil is to treat the body as matter, and therefore, evil, which leads to the moral degradation of the body; an instrument to be used. The moral disaster seems to have presently reached its apex -- or can it get worse?

And so the Dominican nuns the Annunciation give a fitting dedication of their monastery: the Annunciation where the sacredness of the body, Mary’s and Jesus’. But also all those who follow Christ and who are called to sanctity attained by the Grace of God.

The monastic choir contains a painting of the three great female Dominican Saints: Saint Catherine of Ricci, a Crucifix at her side, Saint Agnes of Montepulciano with the lamb, and Saint Catherine of Siena holding her diary.

After Mass as I walk into the square, Piazza di San Martino ai Monti, the sun appears to splash down the cobblestone road as I face east -- a foretaste of the Resurrection.

]]><![CDATA[Part III: Roman Catholic Finland -- Naantali]]>Wed, 24 Jul 2019 04:59:38 GMThttps://www.davidbellusci.com/catholic-pilgrim/part-iii-roman-catholic-finland-naantali

Naantali, July 17, 2019

The religious expression of Catholicism means that a person is called to flourish in their vocation, whether it’s married life, religious life, or the priesthood. And in each of these vocations, the person is called to live their full spiritual potential -- the perfection for which God has created them: holiness. Monastic life has flourished as centres of learning and sanctification. One such Order was founded by the Bridget of Sweden who founded the Order of the Most Holy Saviour also known as the Bridgettines in 1344. The Bridgettines received their approval by Pope Urban V in 1370. The Order flourished of monks and nuns attached to the same Abbess sharing monastic grounds separated by their cloisters. The Abbess elected by the nuns and monks governed the monastery. These abbesses were well-educated women and had the gift of courage to lead and govern. Bridgettine spirituality was embraced by the local people and penetrated their lives placing Christ at the center following the visions of Bridget. Monasteries opened across the Nordic countries and in her own lifetime Bridget was known for her communion with God; pilgrims visited her for prayers, intercession, guidance.

The Lutheran reformers, instead, viewed these independent monasteries as incompatible with the narrow reformist doctrines, but also as an opportunity to acquire significant monastic assets. Instructed by Genesis (1:28), and Luther’s De Votis Monasticis “On Monastic Vows,” the Lutheran reformers argued the woman’s God-given duty was to marry and bear children, supporting Luther’s position on the uselessness of religious life. With Lutheran teaching dominating the Swedish reformers who imposed themselves on devout Roman Catholics, Swedish or Finn, the Reformers were determined to bring an end to monastic life.

The cloistered Bridgettine nuns established an abbey at Naantali in Finland not far from Turku which included a separate monastery for monks, lost its property to the Swedish crown in 1544. The Lutheran Bishop, Mikael Agricola, pressured the monastic community to become Lutherans. The Bridgettines, however, lived according to their vows of obedience, poverty and chastity, a life detached from the world. The beautiful relief still present in the Naantali Abbey Church displays Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with the Coronation of Mary at the centre, the expression of the Roman Catholic faith lived out in monastic life, the Holy Spirit at work in their lives. For the Reformers it was in their political interest to eradicate Catholicism. But one prominent Lutheran, Queen Christina of Sweden, abdicated from her throne to become a Roman Catholic; she understood one cannot reduce the Scripture to Luther’s rigid interpretation. The former Queen of Sweden brilliantly grasped that in Catholicism not only was there a place for celibacy, but celibacy was valued because Jesus Christ was the model.

It was not until the 1923s that Catholicism finally enjoyed legal status in Finland although the law still prohibited monasteries; the earlier Roman Catholic faith of the Finns after four and half centuries was no longer prohibited. After fourth centuries the Bridgettine Sisters returned in 1986 establishing themselves in Turku with their guest house, and an adjacent parish, St. Bridget and Blessed Hemming. At the entrance of their convent are the words of the Swedish mystic, Saint Bridget, “Amor Meus Crucifixus est.” My love is the Crucified. In this Finnish city we arrived on time for Adoration.

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