~Father General of the Carthusian Order.

From a sermon about St. Bruno given by the Father General of the
Carthusian Order at their General Chapter in 1983. It was given in
conjunction in with the celebration of the ninth centenary of the
founding of the Order in 1083. The sermon can be found on pages 13-15
of “The Wound of Love”.

One of the first things a Postulant learns in the Charterhouse is the Carthusian Sign of the Cross: following the most ancient custom of the Church, the little finger and ring finger of the right hand are joined together and bent down to touch the thumb, leaving the index finger and the pointer finger joined together in an outstretched upright position. (This forms the ancient Christogram IX XC with the fingers: the little “pinkie” finger being the I, the ring finger and thumb being the C, and the index and pointer fingers forming the X.)

When tracing the cross on the body, the hand in this finger position first strikes the above the forehead, then drops slowly and solemnly below the navel, then strikes the outside of the left shoulder, and finishes by striking as close to the outside of the right shoulder as possible. This make a rather large cross on the mass of the body, expressing the total involvement of the body in the blessing, protection and work of the Holy and Life-giving Cross, through which Joy has come into the world.

Sr. Fitzgerald described one manifestation of this experience as a ‘prayer of no experience.’ This phenomenon, which she has observed in persons who have sustained immense spiritual discipline over a long period of time, occurs when after years of faithful and attentive prayer, one arrives at a state where nothing is experienced in prayer. A state beyond any normal spiritual ‘dryness,’ it has been described as an experience of a ‘darkness of God.’ However, it is during this precise state of darkness that the self is ‘being worked on,’ that ‘God is working on us from the inside out.’ Contrary to modern understandings of depression, in which the goal for treatment is the restoration or the rediscovery of self, the prayer of no experience seeks the dismantling of self with no hope of reconstructing the self of memory. Indeed, theological hope lies in the understanding that the lost self will never be recovered. In this way, apart from self and expectation, we can yield to God’s future and its possibility.”

~ excerpt from an article by Terrence Zecha

“Deeply saddened to learn of the recent devastating earthquakes affecting Indonesia”, reads the English language telegram, “His Holiness Benedict XVI prays for the victims and their grieving families, invoking eternal rest upon the deceased and divine strength and consolation on all who are suffering, His Holiness likewise encourages the rescue workers, and all involved in providing emergency assistance to the victims of this disaster, to persevere in their efforts to bring relief, comfort and support”. – VIS

The five future saints are: Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), Polish former archbishop of Warsaw and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Family of Mary; Francesc Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Friars Preachers and founder of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary; Jozef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889), Belgian professed priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, and of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar (PICPUS); Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), Spanish oblate friar of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, and Mary of the Cross Jugan (nee Jeanne) (1792-1879), French virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Little Sisters of the Poor. – VIS

- Bishop Bernard Longley, auxiliary of Westminster, England, as metropolitan archbishop of Birmingham (area 9,936 , population 5,333,791, Catholics 275,621, priests 391, permanent deacons 76, religious 669), England. The archbishop-elect was born in Manchester, England in 1955, he was ordained a priest in 1981 and consecrated a bishop in 2003.

- Bishop Felipe Padilla Cardona of Tehuantepec, Mexico, as bishop of Ciudad Obregon (area 88,350, population 1,051,000, Catholics 906,000, priests 124, permanent deacons 1, religious 182), Mexico.

- Bishop Joel Zamudio Baylon of Masbate, Philippines, as bishop of Legazpi (area 2,552, population 1,263,000, Catholics 1,176,000, priests 133, religious 153), Philippines.

His mission intention is: “That the entire People of God, to whom Christ entrusted the mandate to go and preach the Gospel to every creature, may eagerly assume their own missionary responsibility and consider it the highest service they can offer humanity”.