Trump-Vance campaign launches Catholics for Trump coalition

Vatican City, Mar 19, 2021 / 12:00 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis on Friday encouraged Catholics to support and defend families by making an effort to be close to them in the struggles and joys of […]

The Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition cover the altar, just dedicated by the cardinal. The covering of the altar signifies that it is both the place of the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Lord’s table. / Credit: Photo courtesy of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

Jerusalem, Sep 12, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).

On Aug. 31, exactly 100 years after its dedication, the Church of Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant was reopened for worship on the hill of Kiryat Yearim, nine miles from Jerusalem. 

The church, which was closed for four years for restoration work, stands atop the hill overlooking the (Muslim) village of Abu Gosh. From the top, visitors can see Jerusalem.

The place, mentioned in the Bible as “Kiriath-Jearim,” has held an important role in the history of the Jewish people as it was here that the Ark of the Covenant rested after being recovered from the Philistines (see 1 Samuel 6). 

The ark contained the two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments — God’s covenant with the Jewish people — were inscribed and was the sign of God’s presence among his people.

According to the Bible, it was hosted in the house of Abinadab, where it remained for about 20 years (see 1 Samuel 7:1-2) until King David brought it to Jerusalem.

For this reason, even today, the site is visited by many groups of Jews.

A Byzantine basilica was built on the top hill around the fifth century. The current church, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1920, stands on the remains of that building. It was consecrated in 1924 by the then-Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Luigi Barlassina, and dedicated to Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the current Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, recently came to the basilica to dedicate its new altar on the occasion of the reopening of the church. 

“This reopening is a moment of trust in the future, a desire to start anew, and this is what we need most at this time, when everything around us speaks of death and endings,” he told CNA after the celebration on Aug. 31.

“Climbing this mountain, blessed by the presence of the Lord,” he added, “invites us to have a broad and farsighted perspective on events and not to close ourselves off in the dramatic present moment.”

Hosting the event were the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, a French congregation founded in 1832 by Mother Emilie De Vialar, which owns and operates the church and surrounding property.

The complete details of how the land came to be acquired by the sisters are lost to history, but it centers on one of the order’s sisters who died in 1927. Sister Josephine Rumèbe, who is buried in the church, was reportedly endowed with special mystical gifts and managed to acquire the land on behalf of the sisters. The story goes that she had 5,000 francs at her disposal and sought the help of a clergyman for the purchase. To prevent a competing buyer from acquiring it, the cleric secured the entire hill for 20,372 francs. Miraculously, when Sister Josephine counted the gold coins hidden in her room, the amount matched exactly what she needed.

The dedication of the new altar in the basilica took place after the recitation of the creed and chanting of the litanies. The cardinal placed relics in the altar, including that of Mother Emilie De Vialar, who was canonized a saint in 1951. This was followed by the anointing of the altar with chrism oil, the incensing of the altar, the covering of the altar, and the lighting of the altar.

“The covenant of God with his people finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is no longer just the sign of God’s presence but God himself among us. Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant because she carried Christ himself in her womb,” said the cardinal in his homily, inviting the faithful, following the example of the Virgin Mary, to renew their trust in God as the Lord of history and active within history.

Upon entering the church — whose iconographic elements were created by artists from the Ave Center of the Focolare Movement — the eye is drawn to the golden flame emanating from the center of the apse.

A special decoration that, on one hand, evokes the biblical significance of fire, symbolizing the presence of God, and on the other, is connected to the history of this place and particularly to Sister Josephine’s vision of a “mountain of fire,” holds significance here.

When she was still a young postulant in France, during Eucharistic adoration, Sister Josephine had a vision of flames forming a mountain with Jesus above them instead of the host. The vision then vanished, and only 50 years later, at the time of laying the foundation stone of the church, it was revealed to her that the “mountain of fire” was indeed Kiryat Yearim, which she used to call “the Holy Mountain.”

Sister Valentina Sala, the current provincial of the congregation for the Holy Land, immediately felt a strong connection to this place. She recounted to CNA: “The first time I came here for a few weeks, a sister took me to Kiryat Yearim. I knelt at Sister Josephine’s tomb and prayed to return if that was God’s will.”

On the centenary of the church’s dedication, Sister Valentina also emphasized the significance of this place for her congregation, whose charism is to serve the needs of people through works of charity. 

“What is charity work? What people need today is not just health care or education; there is a hunger and thirst for God. We must be able to recognize this need, helping those who come here to listen to his voice. We need places where people can pause and rest with God,” she said.

When the construction of the church was nearly complete, Sister Josephine had a vision of the Virgin Mary, at the top of the church, facing Jerusalem with outstretched arms in a gesture of dispensing grace. A statue now stands above the church to recall that vision, facing away from those entering and directed toward Jerusalem. 

“This place, which evokes the covenant, invites us to realign ourselves with God and to be under this blessing,” Sister Valentina concluded.

This is also the meaning of the words she addressed to those present — the vast majority of local faithful from Jerusalem as well as from Galilee — at the end of the Mass.

“Sister Josephine had already seen you in various visions: ‘I saw a crowd rushing toward the basilica. I saw priests, sisters of our order, and then men and women of the world who were even more pleasing to God than all the others, holy souls shining like stars.’”

She continued: “And what if we are that vision? What if we are that future? Of course, we are! From now on, you will be the ones to bring life to this hill, to this covenant between God and his people. Come, rush, stay, feel at home. There is not only a newly renovated church to see but a Presence to discover: Take the time to dwell with the Lord. What could be more beautiful… Many graces await to be dispensed from here!”

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Denver Newsroom, Dec 18, 2020 / 12:01 pm (CNA).- In a revival of an historic custom of the Church, Bishop Douglas Lucia of Syracuse has invited Catholics of his diocese to participate in the Ember Days, traditional days of fasting and prayer, for the intention of an increase in vocations.

The bishop established the Ember Days for a diocesan year of vocations, and granted a partial indulgence to their observance, in a Nov. 19 decree.

Fr. Christopher Seibt, the Diocese of Syracuse’s liturgy director, told CNA that the idea came about because the diocese is also observing a year of prayer for vocations, and Ember Days have traditionally been days of prayer for vocations.

“Ember Days are days of prayer and fasting that mark the changing of times and seasons in order to bring about deeper spiritual renewal,” Seibt told CNA.

“On these days, the Church ‘entreats the Lord for the various needs of humanity’ and gives thanks to God for various blessings received,’” he added, quoting the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year and the Calendar.

Ember Days were traditionally days of fast and abstinence. They are tied to the seasons of the year, and are held on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday of four weeks: the third week of September, the third week of Advent, the first week of Lent, and the octave of Pentecost.

The word “ember” is an English adaptation of the Latin name, “quattuor tempora” meaning four seasons.

The Ember Days were attested to as traditional by St. Leo I, and they were prescribed for the whole of the Latin rite by the time of St. Gregory VII.

The observance of the Ember Days stood in contrast to the pagan celebrations of Rome, which honored gods of nature at the change of the seasons. Catholics instead were encouraged to thank God for the gifts of creation, and to use those gifts according to his will.

Ordinations have traditionally been held on Ember Saturdays.

The Ember Days of this liturgical year fall Dec. 16, 18, and 19; Feb. 24, 26, 27, 2021; May 26, 28, 29, 2021; and Sept. 22, 24, 25, 2021.

On the Ember Days of Advent, Bishop Lucia has asked Catholics in Syracuse to pray for married couples and families. Each day Lucia has recommended a specific prayer, such as attending Mass or praying the Rosary, and a specific form of fasting, such as giving up social media for the day or eating one large meal and two small meals.

Lucia has dedicated the Lenten Ember Days to prayer and fasting for priests and deacons. For the Ember Days  of Pentecost, Lucia has asked Catholics to pray and fast for men and women in consecrated life, and the September Ember Days will be dedicated to prayer and fasting for single people.

Catholics in the Diocese of Syracuse who participate in the Ember Days and who have a detachment from sin can gain a partial indulgence, “that is, a partial remission before God of the temporal punishment for sin, whose guilt is forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance, provided they are in a state of grace at least at the time the indulgenced work is completed,” the diocese noted in its announcement.

A prayer to St. Joseph, who is the patron of Syracuse’s Year for Vocations, is also included in the indulged acts in the diocesan announcement. The diocese recommended the “Ad te, beate Joseph” or any other “duly approved prayer” to St. Joseph.

The observance of Ember Days has seen a resurgence in the Church in recent years.

In 2018, Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh announced a Year of Repentance for his diocese in the wake of clergy sex abuse scandals, and included the observance of Ember Days as part of that year.

Last December, Father Matthew Barzare of the Diocese of Lafayette blessed 100 gallons of water on the Ember Saturday of Advent, which was then loaded into a crop-duster and sprayed over fields and the town of Cow Island.

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