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BULLETIN OF THE HOLY CROSS
Nº 56 - MARCH 2023
Dear friends and benefactors,
Providence has deprived us of Rev. Fr. Joaquim, member of the community founded by Rev. Fr. Jahir Britto, in Candeias, Bahia.
Fr. Joaquim studied in Avrillé. He was in charge of many missions in Brazil and Paraguay. He was a highly valued and sought after spiritual director. He was a History professor at the Holy Cross Monastery (Santa Cruz) and he was getting prepared to teach at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary (near the monastery). He set a fine example of conforming to God's will during his illness, by posting on the wall of his room in the hospital words similar to those of Saint Gerard Majella, saying that only the will of God was done there.
May our gratitude and that of all those who received graces through his apostolate joins our prayers for the repose of his soul.
Almost at the same time, by the grace of God, a new priest was given to the Holy Church. Reverend Father Elias Tortio Guiao was ordained for the Congregation of Rev. Fr. Chazal. He is Filipino and he will work on his apostolate in the Philippines.
The day of ordination was the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes. "A big sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, the moon at her feet and, over her head, a crown of twelve stars.” Here is salvation: It comes through Our Lady. Priesthood must be placed in the hands of Our Lady. The priest must let be led by Our Lady. Letting yourself be guided by Our Lady is to let yourself be guided by the Holy Ghost.
May Rev. Fr. Elias be faithful, may he be prudent, may he be paternal and maternal towards the souls, as Fr. Chazal in the sermon of Fr. Elias’s First Mass. The priest must be a mother who engenders souls to Heaven; he must know how to lose his rest and give his life for the salvation of souls.
+ Thomas Aquinas, OSB
DOCTRINE
The Purpose of the Priesthood
“The words which the priest pronounces over the Holy Eucharist contain both a re-actualizing of the sacrifice of Our Lord, and at the same time this extraordinary, admirable, mysterious divine Sacrament of the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, to be given to us for our nourishment.
There, ultimately, is the heart, the essence, the very goal of ordination: the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. That is the teaching of the Council of Trent. The goal of the priesthood is to consecrate, to offer, to administer, to consecrate the Eucharist and make Jesus, Who is God, come down on our altars; to offer Him anew to God His Father for the salvation of souls and then to give Him to souls. What a tremendous thing, so simple and so sublime!
When he pronounces the words of consecration, the priest makes our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, descend onto the altar. Poor creature, little insignificant creature, he has the power by his words to bring down to the altar Him Who is the Creator of all things, the Redeemer of the universe, Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As the Blessed Virgin by her fiat was able to bring the Son of God into her womb, so the priest, every time he pronounces the words of consecration, brings down upon our altars Our Lord Jesus Christ in His body, His blood, His soul, and His divinity. That is the power of a priest, an incredible, inconceivable power.
That Our Lord should have given this power to creatures is an act of His omnipotence and of His great charity toward us, in order that His Redemption might be applied to us.”
Archbishop Lefebvre
May these words make us consider the great gift that was given to the world by the ordination of Rev. Fr. Elias, as well as the great loss we have suffered due to the death of Rev. Fr. Joaquim FBVM. May God have Fr. Joaquim in His glory and help Fr. Elias in the fulfilment of his priestly role.
CHRONICLES
2022
- October 7: Vesting of Sisters Maria Madalena and Maria Emanuel. the ceremony took place in the monastery of the sisters, presided over by Bishop Thomas Aquinas, OSB. The new novices’ relatives, who came a long way, were present.
- December 8: Vesting of our Bro. Dionísio.
2023
- January 3: His Excellency the Prior's journey in the company of Bro. Bernardo to Candeias, BA, to visit Fr. Joaquim FBMV, who was seriously ill with cancer. Our Prior took advantage of the occasion to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on the many faithful who attend the Holy Mass at the Monastery of Our Lady of Faith.
- January 8th to 18th: Camp for boys, under the direction of our Secular Oblate, Bro. Rafael.
- January 16th to 30th: Fr. André's missionary journey to Manaus.
- February 8th to 15th: visit of Rev. Fr. Chazal, founder and superior of Mary’s Company, to which Father Elias belongs, who has also been with us for about a year.
- February 10th to 14th: Fr. André's missionary journey to the States of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where he works with Mary’s Slaves Sisters.
- February 11: Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes: priestly ordination of Rev. Fr. Elias Guiao, from the Philippines. He will still spend some time in Brazil, after which he will go back to his ordinary field of apostolate, which is Austrasia, under the direction of Rev. Fr. Chazal.
- February 16: death of Rev. Fr. Joaquim FBMV. It was such a deep sorrow to lose such a good priest who was as pious as he was well formed and apostolic. Let us pray for his soul and let us hope that, from Heaven, he will help us in these difficult times the Holy Church and the world have endured.
On that same day, we received benches for our warehouse from a generous benefactor, which is used as a church for Masses with a bigger audience of people.
- February 18th to 20th: Carnival retreat, organized by Rev. Fr. David Nass, in our little school.
CELLARER’S NOTE
Dear friends and benefactors,
Various measures have been taken lately in order that we can get some financial help from the land of our monastery: a small, very well structured vegetable garden was made by Fr. Elias, Filipino, for our consumption needs; a lease of a large piece of land to a neighbor, a supporter of the Resistance, to plant some types of fruits to be marketed; cutting down of almost all of our Eucalyptus trees for sale; leasing of a small area for another vegetable garden, to be made by a another neighbor of ours, a Canadian. In addition, our school has gotten several benefactors exclusively to cover its various expenses.
However, these entries still fall short of what is needed to maintain the set of things that we must move ahead, which obliges us to resort to the generosity and charity of more benefactors.
For this reason, we ask you for your help so that we can keep our monastic existence alive, whose supernatural value, for the whole world, exceeds whatever we can imagine. May God repay all of you a hundredfold.
Fr. John the Baptist, OSB +
SUPPORT OUR WORKS
- our contemplative life and the apostolate of our priests;
- our Benedictine sisters;
- our school for children and adolescents;
- the seminary of secular priests next to the monastery.
Pray for them in your rosary and, if possible, send us a donation specifying (if you wish) the work you would like to help.
ACCOUNT IN UNITED STATES
Make a check payable to “Holy Cross Brazil” and send it to the following address:
Holy Cross Brazil
PO Box 796
Cumberland, WI 54829-0796
Or send an ACH payment to this account:
Beneficiary: HOLY CROSS BRAZIL
Address: 211 190th Ave, Comstock, WI 54826 - U.S.
ABA Routing Number: 091311229
ACH Account number: 202274328465
Account type: Checking
Bank: Choice Financial Group
4501 23rd Avenue S, Fargo, ND 58104 - U.S.
Note: Holy Cross Brazil is a DBA of Mosteiro da Santa Cruz, Brazil, Inc., an American charity that supports the Holy Cross Monastery in Nova Friburgo, Brazil. This is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. If you need, ask us for a receipt to claim a deduction on your federal taxes: mostsantacruz@gmail.com.
ACCOUNT IN UNITED KINGDOM
Bank: Wise
Currency: POUND
Beneficiary: Miguel Ferreira da Costa [Bp. Thomas Aquinas]
Sort code: 23-14-70
Account number: 72567798
IBAN: GB94 TRWI 2314 7072 5677 98
BIC/SWIFT: TRWIGB2L
Wise's address: 56 Shoreditch High Street London E1 6 J J United Kingdom
ACCOUNT IN FRANCE
Beneficiary: ASSOCIATION SANTA CRUZ
6 ALLÉE SAINT DOMINIQUE
49240 AVRILLE
IBAN: FR76 1027 8394 0500 0213 7800 180
BIC/SWIFT: CMCIFR2A
Currency: EURO
Bank: CRÉDIT MUTUEL
Domiciliation: CM ANGERS SAINT LAUD
6 PLACE DE LA VISITATION
49100 ANGERS - 0241257424
ACCOUNT IN CANADA
Beneficiary: MIGUEL FERREIRA DA COSTA [Bp. Thomas Aquinas]
Institution number: 621
Account number: 200110436304
Agency number (transit number): 16001
Currency: CAD
Bank: WISE - Address: 99 Bank Street, Suite 1420
Ottawa ON K1P 1H4, Canada
PAYPAL AND OTHER ACCOUNTS
santacruzpaypal@gmail.com
CONTACT US
Mosteiro da Santa Cruz – Secretariado
Caixa Postal 96582
Nova Friburgo - RJ
28610-974
BRASIL
mostsantacruz@gmail.com
UT IN OMNIBUS GLORIFICETUR DEUS