The Shrine and Parish Church of the Holy Innocents. The Little Catholic Church Around the Corner at the crossroads of the world

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1 Founded 1866 Rev. Fr. James L. P. Miara, M. Div., Pastor Rev. Fr. Louis Van Thanh, Senior Priest Rev. Fr. Oliver Chanama, In Residence Rev. Fr. Daniel Sabatos, Visiting Celebrant The Shrine and Parish Church of the Holy Innocents The Little Catholic Church Around the Corner at the crossroads of the world 128 West 37 th St. (Just West of Broadway) New York City Schedule Perpetual Novenas Weekdays following the 7:30 a.m. and 12:15 & 1:15 p.m. Masses and at 5:50 p.m. and on Saturday following the 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. Masses. Tel: (212) / Holy Sacrifice of the Mass Weekdays: 7:00 & 7:30 a.m.; 8:00 a.m. (Tridentine Latin only during Lent) 12:15 & 1:15 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. (Tridentine Latin) 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. (Tridentine Latin) and 4:00 p.m. Vigil/Shopper s Mass 9:00 a.m. (Tridentine Low Mass), 10:30 a.m. (Tridentine High Mass), 12:30 p.m. Holy Days of Obligation: Vigil at 5:15 p.m. 7:00 & 7:30 a.m.; 8:00 a.m. (Tridentine Latin); 11:15 a.m.; 12:15, 1:15 & 5:15 p.m.; 6:00 p.m. (Tridentine Latin High Mass) Confessions Weekdays: 7:30-8:30 a.m.; 12 noon-1:30 p.m.; 5:15-5:35 p.m. 12 noon-1:00 p.m. and 3:15-3:45 p.m. 9:45-10:30 a.m. and 12 noon-12:30 p.m. And anytime upon request or by appointment Exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament Weekdays from 2:00 p.m.-5:45 p.m. Benediction Monday: Miraculous Medal Tuesday: St. Anthony and St. Anne Wednesday: Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Joseph Thursday: Infant of Prague, St. Rita and St. Therese Friday: The Return Crucifix and the Passion Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Fatima Holy Innocents (at Vespers) Devotions Vespers and Benediction: Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (Tridentine Latin) Holy Rosary: Weekdays at 11:55 a.m. and 5:20 p.m. Saturday at 12:35 p.m. Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet: Weekdays at 3:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross (during Lent): Fridays at 12:45 p.m. and after 6:00 p.m. Mass All-Night Vigil: First Friday of the month from 7:00 p.m.- Saturday 5:00 a.m. Mass (Tridentine Latin) First Saturday Devotions: Rosary, 15 minute meditation, prayers & Benediction following 1:00 p.m. Mass 2000 Hail Marys: Second Saturday of the month from 6:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Church Hours Monday-Friday: 6:30 a.m. 7:30 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. 8:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m. Parish Office/Gift Shop Hours Monday-Friday: 8:00 a.m. 6:00 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. 9:00 a.m. 2:30 p.m.

2 SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 - St. Hilary, Bishop & Doctor 04:00 - Shawn Medlock (L) SUNDAY, JAUARY 14 Week of January 14, 2018 Mass Intentions SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 09:00 - Pro populo 10:30 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (15) 12:30 - Purgatorial Society MONDAY, JANUARY 15 - Weekday 07:00 - Antonio Cotoia (d) 07:30 - William J. Haugh (d) 12:15 - Dr. Jesus Yap, Jr. (d) 01:15 - In Thanksgiving to Our Lady of Perpetual Help 06:00 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (16) TUESDAY, JANUARY 16 - Weekday 07:00 - Luca Guerron (d) 07:30 - Leonardo & Rosa Mendoza (d) 12:15 - St. Anthony 01:15 - In thanksgiving to Our Lady of Fatima 06:00 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (17) WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17 - St. Anthony, abbot 7:00 - Liola Leith (d) 07:30 - Frank De Stefano (d) 12:15 - Gesner Limage and Henri Armand Saintvil (d) 01:15 - In Thanksgiving to the Immaculate Conception 06:00 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (18) THURSDAY, JANUARY 18 - Weekday 07:00 - Kathleen Golden (L) 07:30 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (19) 12:15 - Justin Joseph Laguna (L) 01:15 - In Thanksgiving to St. Jude 06:00 - Roy Joseph Mirro (d) 6th Anniversary FRIDAY, JANUARY 19 - Weekday 7:00 - Colin Boatwright (L) 07:30 - Alice Sullivan (d) 12:15 - Sharon Degnan (d) 01:15 - Carmine & Wife Lena Salerno (d) 06:00 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (20) SATURDAY, JANUARY 20 - Ss. Fabian, Pope & Sebastian, Martyrs 12:00 - Ruben Benitez (d) 01:00 - Maria Libia Florez - Gregorian (21) 04:00 - Servant of God Mary Grace Bellotti NEXT SUNDAY S MASS INTENTIONS 09:00 - Pro Populo 10:30 - Maria Libia Florez, Gregorian (22) 12:30 - Judith Llewellyn (L) LATIN TRIDENTINE MASS CORNER Calendar January 14-2 nd Sunday after Epiphany 2 nd Class January 15 - St. Paul, First Hermit & Confessor with Commemoration of St. Maurus January 16 - St. Marcellus, Pope & Martyr January 17 - St. Anthony, Abbot January 18 - Votive Mass of the Chair of St. Peter with Commemoration of St. Paul & St. Prisca 4 th Class - Low Mass January 19 - Ss. Marius, Martha, Audifax & Abachum, Martyrs with Commemoration of St. Canute 4 th Class - Low Mass January 20 - Ss. Fabian, Pope & Sebastian, Martyrs Next Sunday January 21-3 rd Sunday after Epiphany 2 nd Class PRAYER TO BE ALWAYS FAITHFUL Holy Father, I want to be faithful in my devotion to you. Help me to find what is really important in my life and give me strength to attain these goals. Help me decide to be faithful to the Christian ideals that give meaning to my life. Through Christ our Lord, Amen. CHURCH UNITY OCTAVE NOVENA The Church Unity Octave from January 18 to 25 is a special time of prayer for the unity of the Catholic Church. Devotional prayers for this purpose will be prayed following each Latin Mass on those days. Please join is in praying for the conversion of those outside the fold of the Holy Roman Catholic Church! EPIPHANY HOME BLESSINGS It is customary in the time after the Epiphany until the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple on February 2 to have one s home blessed with the Epiphany Water. If you would like this done, please contact the Rectory Office and arrange for an appointment with Fr. Miara. Altar Offerings The Sanctuary Candle Intentions of Leith, Moore & Gerber Families

3 You are invited to join a 10-Day Pilgrimage to Poland with the Shrine and Parish Church of the Holy Innocents with Rev. James Miara, Pastor The Life and Legacy of St. John Paul II May 6 15, 2018 Warsaw * Niepokalanow * Lichen * Kalisz * Czestochowa * Zakopane Krakow * Wadowice All-Inclusive Package: $3, Contact: Peter s Way Tours CELL PHONES Silence does good to the soul. - St. Therese of Lisieux The use of a cell phone in church for texting, reading s and talking is a sign of disrespect for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Please turn all cell phones off or place on silent mode when entering the House of God! BETHLEHEM O HANDICRAFTS From the birthplace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Christian community is seeking your love and support through obtaining their handmade olive wood religious articles. These items will be displayed at the church after all masses next weekend January 20 th and 21 st. Your help can and will make a difference in the lives of your brothers and sisters in Bethlehem. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY Monday, January 15 is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a federal holiday. Holy Innocents will observe its regular weekday schedule of Masses, Confessions, Devotions and Eucharistic Adoration. The Parish Office will be open. COLLECTION REPORT Regular Collection 01/07/18 $5, Shrines and Candles $2, Regular Collection - 01/08/17 $4, Shrines and Candles $3, Your continued and generous support to your Parish is greatly appreciated! Venerable Marthe Robin ( ) - French Mystic, Stigmatic, Victim Soul and Foundress of the Foyer de Charite Marthe Robin was born on March 13, 1902 in Chateauneuf de Galaure, France in a region known as the Plain. She was one of six children. Her father Joseph, was a good natured farmer, not very religious in that he only went to Mass on Easter and big Feast days, although towards the end of his life, due to Marthe s extraordinary example and virtue, he had a deep conversion and died a saint according to a statement made by Marthe. Her mother, Amelie-Celeste Chosson, was happy and gracious housewife and mother, and like her husband, was not initially devout in religious practice, however she too had a deep conversion towards the end of her life, once again presume bly through the holy influence and example of Marthe. For you, it will be suffering -First illness Beginning in May, 1918 at age 16, Marthe began experiencing painful headaches. On November 25th she collapsed in her kitchen and was unable to get up without assistance. The Doctor was sent for and it was thought that she had encephalitis. At times she would often cry out in pain. During this time she had her first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary; her sister Alice who was in the bedroom with her, saw a great light that surrounded the room, but she herself did not see the Blessed Mother. Offering herself to the Love and Will of God From her childhood, Marthe always had conspicuous religious devotion and tendency; conspicuous in that her parents and family were not very devout Catholics; only going to Mass on major feast days. As her illness and suffering progressed, her legs weakened, and she was confined to a chair more and more. During this time her spiritual life blossomed and she was very inspired and edified by the life of the Little Flower, Therese of Lisieux, who was canonized on May 17, 1925 by Pope Pius XI. Later that year, on October 15, 1925, the Feast of St Teresa of Avila, she felt inspired to make a Act of Abandonment to the Love and the Will of God, composing the text of the Act of Abandonment herself. Another Serious Illness Barely a year after having made her act of abandonment to the will of God, Marthe again fell gravely ill. It was on October 3, 1926, the day of the first celebration of the feast of Saint Therese of Lisieux, who had been canonized the preceding year. Dr. Aristide Sallier, of Saint-Uze came to The Plain and found Marthe in a coma. "There is nothing more that can be done," was all he said. The Parish Priest, Fr. Faure could only replace the doctor at the bedside to administer the Sacra ment of the Sick to "his parishioner," as he called her. It was the second time that she had received it. Everyone expected that each day would bring her death. The coma lasted three weeks. Apparitions of Saint Therese of Lisieux But while death seemed to be imminent, Marthe experienced three apparitions of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. The Carmelite of Lisieux revealed to her that she would not die yet, that she would recover, and that she would extend her mission throughout the entire world! That is what Marthe confided to Fr. Finet, even adding, laughingly, "Oh

4 that rascal, in the end, she's left it all to me!" Behind the suffering and the mysticism, this sense of humor is the best indication of Marthe's mental health. Love for God and suffering After her death, some pages of a notebook were discovered in which she described the sufferings she endured during 1927:...it was impossible to make the least movement without the assistance of my very devoted mama, not that I did not retain at least partial use of my arms and my hands, but that they had become very clumsy. Nevertheless, I thank the Good God for everything that He sends me, and particularly for His having left me at least this last mobility, as some consolation to my dear parents, and so that I may perform a few light tasks for them. Oh, that I may never work except with Him and for Him! Still, I feel that I am crushed, both physically and mentally. Everything causes me anguish and overwhelms me... I no longer know how to react. But so be it! But too much-too much about my poor self, and it seems it would be better for me to dwell more upon all that God is doing in my soul, and for my soul, every minute..." "My soul is plunged into and, as it were, swept away toward that Jerusalem of Love, by the powerful allurements and inspirations of God Himself, who now and then seems to desire to absorb me wholly into Himself. I am afraid of all this!... I am so alone, spiritually and mentally, and meanwhile I understand that I must abandon myself to Him without any reservations. So be it! I have so much need to say this "Fiat" often, which unites me with Jesus, and with Mary, my most beloved Mama, and consum mates my immolation. "It seems to me that I am no more than a very tiny thing in the arms of God, and that I will remain so until I die... I do not know what He wants to do with me, but I desire it all. Everything is good that comes from God and that He wants of us. Yes, all is good to me... All is infinitely dear and sweet to my soul because it is He who wishes it so, He who manages it all. I take refuge in His heart, united with Mary my Mother whom I love so much, and I shall not leave it any more... I know that He will not expel me." (March 2, 1927). Fifteen days later, she added: "I test how sweet it is to love, even in suffering, and I shall say above all in suffering; for suffering is an unsurpassed school of true love... It is the living language of Love, and the great teacher of humankind. One learns to love, and one does not really love except in and by suffering, for true suffering instructs us, not through human delights, but through the stripping away and renouncing of self on the Cross. Further Paralysis: Marthe Ceases to Eat and Sleep As of March 25, 1928 (Feast of the Annunciation) Marthe's legs became completely paralyzed. Hence forth she was bedridden for life. She lay in the room next to the kitchen and which faces onto the courtyard. Her legs had contracted and twisted out of shape. We leave it to the reader to contemplate such a experience. This time of her paralization also coincided with an extraordinary grace of total abstinence from all food and drink. This extraordinary phenomenon may be incredi ble, but it has also been known in the cases of other mystics. From 1928 to 1981, the year of her death, Marthe did not consume anything except the Eucharist that was brought to her once or twice a week. The host, entering into her, instantly disappeared without any normal ingestion. Marthe could not swallow anything else. As far back as the beginning of that year, when her mother had brought her a cup of coffee, it had immediately flowed back out of her mouth. Mrs. Robin groaned, "Look at my poor little one, in what a state she is!" And Marthe's father wept, "But she has done nothing bad!" He was pitiful, a childhood friend of Marthe's told me. Thenceforth, Marthe had no ingestive or digestive processes whatever, and, in addition, she entirely ceased to sleep; she was completely stripped. According to medical men, a total loss of sleep is even more extraordinary than not taking any food or drink. We can assume that one does not enter into such a state without agony. It appears that at this time Fr. Netton began to come to visit and console Marthe. And it was at this point that the Blessed Virgin began to increase the frequency of her apparitions. The Devil Breaks Two of Her Teeth Late in the year 1928, two Capuchin Priests who were preaching a Mission in her hometown were visiting all the sick in their free time. When they met Marthe they were quickly impressed by her devotion and her resignation and acceptance to her paralysis. When they returned that day to the Rectory of the Church, they said to the Pastor that is a Saint that you have there! Encouraged by these holy Priests she felt called to join their number by entering into the Third Order of St Francis on November 2, But the Enemy, of whom the Evangelists speak, began to harass her. The Lord had said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant, Job, and that there is no one on earth like him?" We can wager that he would have been able to say the same of Marthe. Satan was so enraged after her entry into the Third Order of Saint Francis, that on the very night after the ceremony Marthe ex perienced her first manifestation of the devil. Mrs. Robin, who slept in a bed just beside her daughter's, said, "I don't know what happened, but she uttered a frightful scream!" "Satan," a confidant of Marthe's reported, "had struck her a blow with his fist, breaking two teeth. It was she who told me." "Did you see the broken teeth?" "Yes, yes." This same episode was related by Fr. Perrier. Marthe Loses the Use of Her Hands The paralysis of her legs occurred on the feast of the Annunciation, On Candlemas Day, February 2, 1929, Marthe lost the use of her hands. She had offered them to the Lord, and he had taken her at her word! Goodbye to letter writing and to embroidery! "I kept my thimble on my finger for about a week, and finally I said to mama, 'You know, you must take off my thimble, now!' " Undefeated by this new paralysis, Marthe learned to write with a pencil in her mouth. Thus, at age 27, this is the state to which she was reduced: her arms and legs held her down in her bed; her legs were partly bent; she was twisted, with a pillow under her back, and a stiff cushion to support her knees; her right arm lay

5 across her chest and her left arm was stretched out along her body. She could not move. When Mrs. Bernard (the daughter of Mrs. Ferdinand Robin) went to help Mrs. Robin to change the bed linen, Marthe endured torments as soon as she was lifted. In this uncomfortable and unchangeable position Marthe remained, without drinking, without eating, and without sleeping, for more than fifty years. "Oh Jesus, you have made me your little victim," she said on July 12, 1929, "as you have wished to be mine, and that of all mankind. All my life, oh my God, is yours... oh Cross, Cross of my Savior... oh divine ladder that joins earth to heaven, you are the altar upon which I must consume my sacrifice and consume my life in immolation and love. " The Stigmata of Marthe Robin Towards the end of September, 1930, Jesus appeared to Marthe and asked her Do you wish to be like Me? She did not know exactly what our Lord meant by this, but recalling that she had offered herself completely to Him five years earlier, she wanted everything that He wanted. She at once made her fiat with all the love and devotion of her heart. Sometime during the early part of October (possibly on the 4th, the feast of Saint Francis, the stigmatized saint), Jesus Crucified appeared before the eyes of Marthe. At once he took her paralyzed arms, rigid since February 2, 1929, and opened them wide. At that moment a tongue of flame leapt from his side, separated in two, and struck both of her feet and both of her hands; a third tongue of flame struck Marthe on the heart. She bled from her hands, her feet, and her heart. Later, whether it was the same day is not known, Jesus imprinted his crown of thorns on Marthe's head. The marks extended down to her eyes and bled freely. This crown appeared on her forehead "like purple veins"; several months afterward (at Marthe's request, as an act of humility) they completely disappeared. Still later, Jesus intervened again, imposing upon Marthe the wood of the Cross; Marthe felt crushed-dislocated be cause of the burden of the Cross with its enormous weight. Her parents saw their daughter covered with blood, and were overwhelmed. According to Marthe, her mother "understood that this condition had come from God with Marthe's abandonment to the Divine will." Her parents nevertheless called for Dr. Aristide Sallier of Saint-Uze. His medical studies had obviously not prepared him to cope with such a phenomenon. Right away, he tried to have his patient drink something. It was impossible; the liquid came out through her nose. The doctor recognized that he had come to the end of his resources. One day he acknowledged his helplessness, and said to Marthe. "Mademoiselle. pray for me!" On the Friday following her stigmatization, Marthe began to relive the Passion of Jesus. People come from all over to visit Marthe Rumors of these events did not take long to circulate throughout the neighboring countryside. and soon a number of people were "ascending to The Plain" to see Marthe and to pray with her, uniting themselves through her with the Passion of Christ. This apostolate of welcoming visitors for the good of souls continued for 50 years, that is, until the end of her life. Fr. Faure and Fr. Perrier were the first to organize such visits for the edification of the souls of the parish ioners entrusted to them. The visitors so increased that, beginning in 1931 or 1932, the permission of Fr. Faure was needed to "ascend to The Plain." Why Fr. Faure's permis sion? Simply because the Robin family would have been too embarrassed to refuse any one admittance to their home. Already, a ritual had spontaneously come about: one awaited one's turn in the kitchen in the company of Marthe's mother, whose patience was touching. Finally one entered Marthe's room, chatted with her, and showed her the gifts one had brought, not only the oranges that people habitually gave (for the sick, since Marthe neither ate nor drank), but all sorts of things that Marthe then had the pleasure of sending to the poor and to missionaries. This was the origin of what todays re treatants at Chateauneuf call "Marthe's basket." gifts that Marthe sent to the poor and missionaries. The death struggles of her own will "Here is the end of the year 1930," she said on the night of December 31st, My whole being has undergone a transformation as mysterious as it is profound. A year of trials, a year of pain. A year of graces and of love. My real joy on my sickbed is profound, lasting because it is divine... I reflect upon the road I have traveled since the beginning of my illness, and from this reflection emerges only Love, and gratitude towards God who is so merciful and so good. What a labor! What growth God has wrought in me! But what leapings of the heart, what death-struggles of the will it takes to die to self!" A Passion That Recurs Every Week The ever increasing number of visitors, the glimpses of glory (' 'It was so beautiful up there") must not make us forget that Marthe continued to suffer every day, unceasingly and more and more painfully. Right up until One can scarcely imagine that this Calvary lasted fifty years. Marthe suffered in her body. Even when the bed linen had to be changed it was necessary to take all sorts of precautions; despite them, Mrs. Robin and Mrs. Ferdinand Robin (who came to help) knew well enough that they caused her great agony. Marthe suffered also in not being able to eat or drink, not because she had taken some vow, as is sometimes said, but because she had no salivation and no power of normal ingestion. Her sole nourishment was the Eucharist. For fifty years Marthe lived by means of it. Marthe suffered in her heart to see that her parents were tormented by not being able to do anything for her. Above all, she suffered in her soul because the sin of the world is hateful and because Love is not loved. And this spiritual suffering was at its greatest every Friday when Marthe relived the crucifixion for so many years. Later, the agony of Christ began for her on Thursday evenings. "He desires to relive in me His Passion up until his last breath and His descent into hell, and even his resurrection, although I remain on the cross so as to continue this life of crucifixion that is His will for me; that He wills for me for his glory and for the redemption of souls all over the world. " To be continued on the next issue of the bulletin

6 The Shrine to the Unborn Blessed by Cardinal O Connor on December 28, 1993 Often children who have died before birth have no grave or headstone, and sometimes not even a name. At The Church of The Holy Innocents, we invite you to name your child(ren) and to have the opportunity to have your baby's name inscribed in our "BOOK OF LIFE". Here, a candle is always lit in their memory. All day long people stop to pray. On the first Monday of every month, our 12:15pm Mass is celebrated in honor of these children and for the comfort of their families. We pray that you will find peace in knowing that your child(ren) will be remembered at the Shrine and honored by all who pray here. We will inscribe the names of babies who have died before and at birth in our Book of Life, and as always, we invite you to visit the Shrine if you are in New York City. SUBWAY ROSARY The Shrine is dedicated in Memory of the Children Who Have Died Unborn We invite you to name your child(ren) and provide the opportunity to have your babyʹs name inscribed in our Book of Lifeʺ. Our Regina Mundi Praesidium of the Legion of Mary conducts a Subway Rosary on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month. All are invited to join in this evangelization effort to spread devotion to Our Lady. Anyone interested in joining is asked to gather at Holy Innocents by 10:00 a.m. The group will then proceed to either Herald Square, Duffy Square, or a subway station for the recitation of the 20 decades of the Holy Rosary and return back to Holy Innocents around 12:30 p.m. Come for all or part of the Subway Rosary! Upcoming Subway Rosaries January 27 February 10 LEGION OF MARY Weekly Meeting of the Legion of Mary will be in the Parish Hall at 7:00pm every Monday, following the 6:00pm Latin Mass BIBLE STUDY led by Fr. Louis Thursdays following the 6:00 p.m. Mass Takes place in the lower Church Hall More info: CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAS Regina Angelorum Court Looking for a way to be of service to God and community? Come check out this group of dynamic, Catholic women! We meet on the 2nd Wednesday of the month, at 7:15pm in the Parish Hall. Bring a friend! More info: VOLUNTEER SINGERS NEEDED "Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, always and for everything giving thanks..." - Ephesians Ch 5. The Shrine & Parish Church of Holy Innocents Volunteer choir needs your voice! All ages welcome. We meet on Sundays at 9:30am in the Church Hall. ease Rachel Aldridge at Aldridge.r.a@gmail.com if you are interested in joining. No prior experience necessary. Compliments of LESLIE STUART, INC. 149 West 36th Street 8th Floor, New York, NY Tel : x 102 / Fax: