Celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in New Orleans

By kind invitation of the Pastor Fr. Garret O'Brian, the Southern Sub-Delegation of the Order held its mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Saturday, September 14th at St. Patricks Church on Camp Street, New Orleans. Chaplain Fr. William Farge SJ Ecclesiastical Knight of Grace was the celebrant in the Extraordinary form rite. 

The banner of the Order was displayed for the occasion and prospective members were invited to sit with members in our designated section. The members present, in addition to Fr. Farge, were Cav. Timothy Pickles, Vice Delegate for the South; Cav. Carlo Caomazza Marchese di Campolitaro (Knight of Justice); Cav. John Dana, Knight of Merit; and Dama Katherine de Montluzun, Dame of Merit. After mass all were invited to brunch at the Caffe on the Park restaurant. IHSV

Happy Feast of St. Padre Pio!

Prayer to St. Padre Pio

Gracious God, you generously blessed your servant, Padre Pio, with the gifts of the Spirit. You marked his body with the five wounds of Christ Crucified, as a powerful witness to the saving Passion and Death of your Son, and as a stirring inspiration to many people of your infinite mercy, forgiveness and love. In the confessional, Padre Pio labored endlessly for the salvation of souls. Through his powerful intercession, many who suffered were healed of sickness and disease. Endowed with the gift of discernment, he could read people’s hearts. From the blood of his wounds came a perfumed fragrance, a special sign of your Holy Presence. With dignity and intense devotion, he celebrated daily Mass, inviting countless men and women to a greater union with Jesus Christ, in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Through the intercession of Saint Pio, I confidently beseech you to to grant me the grace of (state your petition here). Help me to imitate his example of prayerful holiness and compassion, so that I, too, may faithfully follow the Risen Lord, and one day rejoice in the Kingdom, where you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.

Feast of Our Lady of La Salette

A Prayer in Honor of Our Lady of La Salette

Remember, dear Lady of La Salette, true Mother of Sorrows, the tears which thou didst shed for me on Calvary; be mindful also of the unceasing care which thou dost exercise to shield me from the justice of God; and consider whether thou canst now abandon thy child, for whom thou hast done so much. Inspired by this consoling thought, I come to cast myself at thy feet, in spite of my infidelity and ingratitude. Reject not my prayer, O Virgin of reconciliation, convert me, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus Christ above all things and to console thee too by living a holy life, in order that one day I may be able to see thee in Heaven. Amen.

Happy Feast of San Gennaro!

Prayer to San Gennaro

Oh Gennaro, brave of faith in Jesus Christ, glorious patron of Catholic Naples, looks upon us benignly and accepts our vows, that today we lie at your feet with total confidence in your powerful patronage. How many times have you run to help your fellow citizens, now stopping in the path of the destructive lava of Vesuvius, and now saving us from plague, earthquakes, famine and many other divine punishments that terrify us. The perpetual miracle of the liquefaction of your blood is a sure and extremely eloquent sign that you live among us, that you know our needs and that you protect us in a singular way. Oh, we pray you to pray for us, sure that we will be answered; and saved from all the evils that oppress us from all directions. Save us from unbelief, and you will see that the faith, by which you have generously sacrificed your life, always, always produces fertile fruits of saints made among us. Amen.

Missa Cantata in New York City for the Persecuted Church in the Middle East

Feast of the Madonna Addolorata

Prayer to Our Lady of Sorrows

Our Mother of Sorrows, with strength from above you stood by the Cross, sharing in the sufferings of Jesus, and with tender care you bore Him in your arms, mourning and weeping. We praise you for your faith, which accepted the life God planned for you. We praise you for your hope, which trusted that God would do great things in you. We praise you for your love in bearing with Jesus the sorrows of His passion. Holy Mary, may we follow your example, and stand by all your children who need comfort and love. Mother of God, stand by us in our trials and care for us in our many needs. Pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen!

Columbus Day Dinner Honoring Fr. Carmine Rizzi in Nutley, New Jersey

Celebrating the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Little Italy, New York

Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George
Photos courtesy of Il Regno

Saturday, September 14th — Members of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of St. George celebrated Solemn High Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at the Shrine Church of the Most Precious Blood in Little Italy, New York. The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was sung by Celebrant and Homilist Fr. Richard G. Cipolla, Knight Chaplain of Ecclesiastical Grace. Fr. Tim Iannacone was the Deacon and Fr. Michaels was the subdeacon. The sacred ministers were dutifully assisted by several servers and the Schola St. Hugh under the direction of David J. Hughes.

Led by our esteemed Delegate HE Cav. John M. Viola, Cavalieri John Napoli, Anthony Schembri, Andrew Portelli, and Dame Catherine Stevenson and Jeanne Abate Allen were in attendance.

Thank you Fr. Graebe, Pastor of Most Precious Blood and the Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral, and members of the parish family for your warmth and hospitality. God bless the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny, especially Stuart and Jill Chessman, for sponsoring the Mass and their tireless efforts to promote the Tridentine Mass. As always, it was a great joy to celebrate our faith together.

Celebrant and Homilist Fr. Richard G. Cipolla 

(Above and below) Celebrating Solemn High Mass

After Mass, devotees venerate the relic of the True Cross

Devotees also had the opportunity to venerate the relic of San Gennaro

Relic of the True Cross

Relic of San Gennaro

Clergy, knights and servers take a commemorative photo 

Missalettes were generously provided by the Society of St. Hugh of Cluny

Happy Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross!

Prayer for the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Lord Jesus, You do not represent the Father’s wrath, but His infinite mercy. Only through You might we have been saved, and through Your grace and majesty we find salvation from the fires of Gehenna. You have ascended to the heavens from whence You came, and shall come again when time has run its course. Amen.

Our Lady of Pompeii in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn

Our Order has been invited by the Holy Name Society of the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette to serve as honor guard and process the restored painting of Our Lady of Pompeii into the church.

Those vesting in church mantles are asked to arrive at 10:30 AM. Please contact John Napoli with any questions: jnapoli@smocsg.org

Masses for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Dear Confratelli and Consorelle,

Saturday, September 14th, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, is a feast of precept, one of the foremost feasts in the life of our Sacred Order and a holy day of obligation for our Order.  

Below are a few Masses to choose from that have been shared with our Delegation:

New Orleans:

Location: St. Patrick's Church, 721 Camp Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130 on Saturday the 14th September said by regional Chaplain, Fr. William Farge S.J. 

Mass will commence at 9:15 am and will be combined with the regular mass at that time members should arrive about 9:00 am to ensure all are in place for the start of Mass. Members will wear church robes, but we will not process and will have a reserved pew on the front right hand side. We will have several guests and please feel free to invite anyone you would care to.

We have not planned a meal afterwards but should attendees wish to do so we will organize an impromptu brunch on the day.

Please contact Timothy Pickles with any questions: 

Timothy Pickles Grand Officer

Vice Delegate for the South

(504) 236-7130

New Jersey:

Our Order has been invited by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, Eastern Lieutenancy, to come together and celebrate this shared titular feast of the Triumph of the Holy Cross.

The Mass with veneration of the relic of the Cross of Our Lord will take place:

St. Augustine of Canterbury R.C. Church

45 Henderson Rd

Kendall Park, NJ 08824

2 PM in the afternoon

Those vesting in church mantles are asked to arrive at 1:30 PM and vest in the daily Mass chapel. The pastor of St. Augustine of Canterbury, Rev. Canon Robert Lynam, is hosting at cocktail reception following the 2 pm Mass and RSVPs are required to be sent to Rev. Fr. Edmund Luciano (EALucianoiii@gmail.com) by September 6th. Clergy who are concelebrating must also RSVP to Rev. Fr. Luciano to ensure proper planning and to bring a copy of their certification of good standing to be left on file with the parish.

New York:

Our Order has been invited to participate in the September 14th Mass at the Church of the Most Precious Blood in New York City's Little Italy (113 Baxter Street) in conjunction with the Feast of San Gennaro.  The Mass will begin promptly at 10:00 AM.  Members are invited to attend in church robes and process into the Mass.

IHSV

Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian

Thank you to this month's volunteers.

Thursday, September 5th, members of the Constantinian Auxiliary prepared and distributed food to the homeless in Chinatown and Two Bridges, New York on the Feast of St. Lawrence Justinian. Meeting at the Church of the Transfiguration (29 Mott St.), volunteers prepared 30 care packages replete with toiletries and ready to eat food, including containers of freshly cooked penne marinara generously donated by our dear friends at Caffé Napoli (191 Hestor Street) in Little Italy.

Once again, we want to thank Antonio, Anna and Konstantinos Mavrianos-Cesare of the St. Rocco Society for their hard work and dedication. You are an inspiration to us all. Thank you Louis Fontana of Caffé Napoli; Robert Michael Surella of the East Harlem Giglio Society; Raymond Guarini of the Italian Enclaves Historical Society; Dama Luisa Cristofano and her son Charles; and Cav. John Napoli for your continued assistance. Your heartfelt generosity and selflessness is greatly appreciated. And as always, special thanks to Pastor Lo for your support and blessings. It is an honor to serve with such an outstanding group of people. God Bless you all. IHSV

The next walk will be on Thursday, October 3rd—the Feast of St. Therese of the Child Jesus—at 7:00 PM. Anyone interested in supporting this charitable endeavor can contact Cav. John Napoli at jnapoli@smocsg.org or Anna Mavrianos-Cesare at MsAnnaNY@aol.com.

Before heading to the church, we picked up the food from Caffé Napoli.

Raymond led our group in prayer

Participants said a prayer for the homeless and prayed the Rosary

Everybody pitched in.

Luisa and Charles help pack the bags 

Our friends at Caffé Napoli donated a heaping tray of penne marinara. 

Above and below: Some alms from anonymous donors. 

Also see:

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Norbert of Xanten

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of Sant'Atanasio il Grande

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of San Benedetto da San Fratello

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas 

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of San Lorenzo Maiorano

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on the Feast of St. Genevieve

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on St. Nicholas Day

• Distributing Food to the Homeless on All Saints' Day

• Constantinian Auxiliary Hit the Streets of Lower Manhattan for Inaugural Homeless Food Walk

Happy Feast of Santa Rosalia!

Prayer to Santa Rosalia

O God, our Father, mercifully look upon Your people who come to You and grant through the intercession of St. Rosalia, who turned away from earthly delights to the joys of contemplation, that we may be delivered from all harm here on earth and one day be welcomed into the Kingdom of Heaven.

St. Rosalia, confessor and virgin, we pray to God for our families and friends. Through your powerful prayers, may we obtain health, life, and eternal salvation. I also pray today for this special need and intention (make your intention known). O glorious virgin and confessor, St. Rosalia, I promise henceforth to remember and follow your example of faith and love. Pray for me and mine. Amen.