Therese in Philly!
Gerard Serafin
An article from this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer online may be of
interest to some WREOCs who read this newsgroup (and others too
perhaps):
Thousands of admirers view St. Therese relics
Known as "Little Flower," she was loved for her simple goodness.
By David O'Reilly
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
The walled Carmelite monastery at 66th Street and Old York Road, where
eight cloistered nuns live and pray beyond sight of the world, is a
place where Pat Hosgood never thought to set foot.
But yesterday, the mortal remains of St. Therese of Lisieux - one of the
world's most popular Roman Catholic saints - were on display in the
sanctuary of this North Philadelphia convent.
And Hosgood was among the thousands of area residents who could not let
this brief opportunity pass.
"I came because of my lifelong devotion to St. Therese," said Hosgood as
she exited the convent chapel yesterday afternoon. "I just thank God for
letting this happen."
She had stood for more than half an hour for the privilege of standing
for a few seconds before a vaulted, Plexiglas dome housing an ornate,
wood-and-gilt relic case containing the bones of St. Therese.
Known to her admirers as "the Little Flower," the French-born St.
Therese was a Carmelite nun known for her simple goodness and piety. She
died of tuberculosis in 1897 at age 24 and was canonized in 1925.
"She didn't do great things," Hosgood, of Northeast Philadelphia,
explained. "She did the little things we're all called to do: just being
kind to the other person when you don't really want to, doing for your
family."
Hosgood, 56, admitted that Catholic devotion to saints - and especially
the veneration of their bones, hair, and personal effects - is difficult
for many non-Catholics to comprehend.
"It's for our senses, really," she explained. "We know God is real, but
this is something you can touch and feel and see."
In truth, the bones cannot be seen inside the sealed, five-foot-long
reliquary. Nevertheless, yesterday, most of the pious visitors to this
strikingly beautiful convent chapel were touching or embracing the
Plexiglas dome, or touching to it their rosaries, prayer cards or other
devotional objects.
The relics have been on a world tour since 1995 and will be on display
at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter & Paul today. They arrived by car
Sunday afternoon from Baltimore and were given a police escort up Broad
Street to the monastery.
"There must have been 2,000 people waiting here, and everybody just went
silent when the car pulled up," said Harry Brecker, a longtime volunteer
at the convent and event coordinator of the relic presentation.
"I'm not normally a sentimental guy," said Brecker, a field engineer for
Xerox Corp., "but I just filled up. Everybody was crying."
Months in planning, St. Therese's 24-hour event thrust the normally
serene convent into what could be described as serene chaos.
"It's like nothing we've ever experienced!" declared a voice inside the
convent wall.
The voice was that of Mother Barbara, the convent's superior. Because
all the nuns here are cloistered, Mother Barbara - also known as Mother
Pia - does not meet in person with outsiders. She spoke instead through
an opaque screen from behind a barrel-shaped wooden concavity that
separates the cloister from the convent's public rooms.
Minutes earlier, another nun could be heard calling to lay volunteers
through the "barrel," as it is known, that "we've got no more medals,
only prayer cards" to sell to the throngs eager for a souvenir.
Seconds later, the "barrel" rotated shut, then reopened to reveal two
cartons of plastic-sealed St. Therese prayer cards, which the volunteers
scooped up and carried to the gift shop.
Mother Barbara described St. Therese as "a great saint, and Philadelphia
has always had a great devotion to her." The late Cardinal Dennis
Dougherty, Philadelphia's Catholic archbishop from 1918 to 1951, had
championed her cause for sainthood.
She ascribed St. Therese's worldwide popularity to her "simple, little
way to God. She didn't do anything extraordinary, but everything she did
- whether it was pick up a pin off the floor, or wash dishes - was for
God."
--
Gerard Serafin
Celebrating the Romance of Orthodoxy:
A Catholic Page for Lovers:
http://praiseofglory.alabanza.com
Praise of Glory BookCenter:
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http://praiseofglory.alabanza.com/books.htm
R. V. Gronoff
Gerard Serafin <jer...@home.com> a écrit dans le message :
3803397D...@home.com...
>
> An article from this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer online may be of
> interest to some WREOCs who read this newsgroup (and others too
> perhaps):
>
> Thousands of admirers view St. Therese relics
>
> Known as "Little Flower," she was loved for her simple goodness.
>
> By David O'Reilly
> INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
>
Not when she was alive ! She actually was treated like a dog by the mother
superior and when she died, the nuns said: "Another one we have nothing to
say about."
BTW, one of my grand-aunts became a Carmelitan hermitess in Normandy a few
months after Thérèse had passed. She was known to have the charism of
clairvoyance. Once, she came to visit my grand-mother during WW2 (she was
living in the forest near my mother's village). My grandma had another
little daughter, who was a bit ill. When the Sister (I can't remember her
name, unfortunately) entered, she saw the baby and cried, saying: "Oh,
Renée, you know: she is an angel ! Prepare a white dress and a bouquet of
white roses for her."
And a few days later, the little girl (my aunt) died of a meningitis.
VG
Gerard Serafin
"R. V. Gronoff" wrote:
> Gerard Serafin <jer...@home.com> a écrit dans le message :
> > An article from this morning's Philadelphia Inquirer online may be of
> > interest to some WREOCs who read this newsgroup (and others too
> > perhaps):
> > Thousands of admirers view St. Therese relics
> Not when she was alive ! She actually was treated like a dog by the mother
> superior and when she died, the nuns said: "Another one we have nothing to
> say about."
Not quite accurate; in fact, wrong!
> BTW, one of my grand-aunts became a Carmelitan hermitess in Normandy a few
> months after Thérèse had passed. She was known to have the charism of
> clairvoyance. Once, she came to visit my grand-mother during WW2 (she was
> living in the forest near my mother's village). My grandma had another
> little daughter, who was a bit ill. When the Sister (I can't remember her
> name, unfortunately) entered, she saw the baby and cried, saying: "Oh,
> Renée, you know: she is an angel ! Prepare a white dress and a bouquet of
> white roses for her."
> And a few days later, the little girl (my aunt) died of a meningitis.
Nice story. Thanks!