As our Lenten journey continues, our Lord shows us in the Gospel, yet again, that He gives sinners (in other words, all of us) a second chance, if we are willing to cooperate with Jesus, who says to the woman: “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” In the 1st reading, God, speaking through Isaiah, says: “In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.” The way of the Lord is a one way path to heaven!

Congratulations to the Kennedy Catholic Girls High School basketball team! They were Region 1 Champs, District 10 Champs, and made it to the Elite 8. Coach Justin Magestro and the girls have a great work ethic and it was amazing to see them play!

Here is a continuation of a beautiful monastic story that is unfolding in Norway. It was published on Jan. 13, 2024, in the National Catholic Register, by Bénédicte Cedergren. Last week was the first part of the article, & now, here is the other part of a beautiful monastic article:

Return of the Monks: The Trappists Go Back to Norway

More than 500 years after most abbeys and monasteries in Norway were dissolved and destroyed in the Protestant Reformation, the northernmost Trappist monastery church in the world was consecrated Dec. 5 by Trappist Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim.

Recovering Norwegian Catholic Roots

Thanks to generous donations from friends of the Abbey of Cîteaux, the construction of the Munkeby monastery was able to begin. Help from the Bonifatiuswerk, a Catholic charity in Germany, also proved essential, Father Joël noted.

Founded 175 years ago in Regensburg, the Bonifatiuswerk supports Catholics in countries and areas where they are in a minority, especially in largely Protestant areas, in order to “pass on the faith that St. Boniface brought to Germany,” Msgr. Georg Austen, secretary-general of the Bonifatiuswerk, told the Register.

In addition to financially supporting the clergy in Northern Europe, the aid organization also supports projects that include the construction and maintenance of churches and monasteries in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and the Baltic states.

While acknowledging the challenges of the Munkeby project, and having questioned the sustainability of such a small monastic community, Msgr. Austen admitted that, “in Germany, we are now encouraged by what is happening here.”

“I believe it’s a good thing that the old roots are coming back to life and that the monks have now gained a strong foothold here, especially among the local population, for that is our mission: to give people a taste of the Gospel even in secular landscapes,” Msgr. Austen explained, highlighting the importance of having sa-cred places in non-religious environments where people can go with their questions about life and faith.

The deep Catholic roots of the location, Father Joël said, point to a past and heritage that cannot be erased and, ultimately, connects the Cistercian monastery to the Norwegian people in a unique and indisputable way.

“Bishop Bernt Eidsvig of Oslo usually refers to this region of Norway as Norvegia Sacra,” Bishop Varden commented. Indeed, the monastery’s proximity to St. Olav’s shrine — which was of major religious importance to both Norway and to the other Nordic countries and other parts of Northern Europe — must not be overlooked, the bishop added.

Retelling the story of how a blind man regained his sight after rubbing his eyes with hands stained with King Olav’s blood, Bishop Varden explained that “here once lived and died a man of flesh and blood, and his dead body became, in a paradoxical and marvelous way, a source of life,” asserting that St. Olav, just as he was more than 1,000 years ago, continues to be a source of life and faith today.

The Monastery as a Sacramental Reality

“The liturgy for the consecration of a church is grandiose, sensual,” Bishop Varden stressed in his homily during the consecration of the monastery church of Munkeby Mariakloster on Dec. 5. “It is also pedagogical. By means of texts and symbols the Church, our Mother, lets us see what a church really is.”

Indeed, the bishop explained, everything can easily become very abstract when speaking generally about “community” and “communion.” By contrast, the visible symbols and concrete gestures performed during a church consecration, such as the exorcism of the church, the blessing of the faithful with holy water, and the anointing of the altar and the walls of the church, remind us of a reality.

The monastic church, the bishop added, “is no longer, then, a mere building. It will have become a sacramental reality, the tabernacle of divine presence, a concrete epiclesis.”

In contrast to the fleeting sunlight hours of the Norwegian winter, the new monastery now perpetually shines as a beacon of hope and sign of faith in a country characterized by strong secularization and growing irreligiosity.

Several young men have already come to visit the monks to discern religious life with them, Father Joël shared, and others, “especially elders, have changed their view on the Catholic Church.” Locals also have approached them to ask for prayers, to seek refuge in times of need, or simply to tell them that “they like the sound of the bells ringing throughout the day.”

Frøydis and Louis de Damas have known the monks at Munkeby Mariakloster for 10 years, “and in many ways our journey towards a common Catholic faith began with them,” Frøydis said.

The couple, who now have many friends at both Munkeby Mariakloster and Tautra Mariakloster, explained to the Register that it is important for them and their three young children to have close relationships with religious, whether it is asking them for prayers, attending Mass with them, praying the Liturgy of the Hours with them or simply have good conversations with them.

‘A Heaven’s Gate’

Reflecting upon the distinctiveness of the place and the historicity of the event, Bishop Varden, in his comments to the Register, emphasized that “in a way, there is nothing special about this monastery,” explaining that Cistercians usually seek withdrawal, rather than to be seen or heard. The very constitution of the order itself reads that the monks are called to persevere in a “life that is ordinary, obscure and laborious.”

“In that sense,” the bishop continued, “this monastery is as normal as any other. But at the same time, every abbey is a heaven’s gate and, in that sense, something absolutely extraordinary.” [end of 2nd and final part of article]

Saint Teresa of Los Andes (d. 1920 during Holy Week), Carmelite Nun known as the “Flower of the An-des,” who died at age 20 of typhus, and who was canonized in 1993 by Pope John Paul II as Chile’s first saint, pray for us. Father Miller