In the Norbertine Calendar, today is the feast of all the saints of our Order as well as all the saints who were Canons Regular of one kind or another.  The brothers placed images of our canonised saints around the chapel and lit candles before them. Our canonry is also lucky to have the relics of several Premonstratensian saints and beati, and these were placed on the gradines either side of the Blessed Sacrament.

In this way we are reminded, by the physical remains of the saints whom we honour, of that great multitude of saints in Heaven spoken of by St John in the Book of Revelation, those who stand before the throne of God, “who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” (Rev. 7:14) Surely this verse has a special resonance with us Norbertines who are privileged to wear a white habit; for we are all called to follow in their footsteps and be saints too – there is room in Heaven for all of us! There must be so many of our Order whose names are known only to God but who now number among the saints and intercede for us all. Today we thank God for their lives and their prayers, both those whose heroic virtue has been recognised by Holy Mother Church and those who are not canonised but who reign with Christ in Heaven. May they all pray for us!

 

3 November: Alberon was a son of Count Anulphs of Chiny and in 1131 was made bishop of Verdun. He was a companion of the holy founders Bernard and Norbert and in 1138 resolved, with the aid of religious from Prémontré to turn the Benedictine monastery of St. Paul in Verdun into a house of Premonstratensians. He resigned the episcopate in 1156 and became a Premonstratensian at St. Paul’s. He lived for two years in the utmost simplicity and humility as a devote follower of the Rule. As he had predicted as died on the 2nd November 1158 whilst reciting the psalms. He was immediately regarded as a saint. On hearing of Alberon’s death St. Bernard celebrated not a Requiem, but the High Mass of Confessors. He rests in Verdun Cathedral.

4 November: John Sausenthaler Abbot of Ursberg, elected in 1595. The records of the abbey show that he was an exemplary priest and a devoted abbot. He made his best efforts to preserve the canonical discipline in a time of great unrest and confusion amidst the wars of religion. He introduced the new ‘vita comunis’ in his circary and also forbade the ownership of private property. The Bishop of Augsberg put himself under the spiritual direction of John and spent some time each year making spiritual exercises in the abbey.

6 November: Berengar and his brother Konrad were knights of emperor Fredrick Barbarossa who established an abbey in Schussenried in 1183 from their own estates. Premonstratensians came to this abbey from Wessenau and Berengar lived there as a lay brother performing all the offices proper to a brother. After his death in 1188 he was buried in his grey habit in the same grave as the first provost, Fredrick. In Schussenried he is regarded as ‘Blessed’. When his tomb was opened in 1631 he was found incorrupt.

6 November: Martin Van den Hecke Abbot. Canon of Dieleghem near Brussels who was born in Tessenderlo. He lived in the restless times of the wars of religion and in 1586 the Protestants destroyed the abbey. Martin became a priest of koersel, a parish of Averbode. The good priest was taken hostage by the Protestants and tortured so severely that he was near death. Once the situation in Dieleghem has improved he was able to return to the abbey and was appointed priest of Wolvertem. In this brief period of calm he was elected abbot in 1603. He was a great leader of the community and regulated the canonical life within his abbey, taking care that each precept of the Order was carefully observed. He was full of humility and always to be found at the service of his brethren. He had a great love for ‘lectio divina’, read the Fathers of the Church and mediated upon and wrote of the Passion and Death of Our Lord. He often thought of the End Times, of the end of Man and the world to come. At midnight he regularly prayed for two hours, often he was found prostrate upon the simple grave he had dug for himself before his death. He was 78 years old when he died on 6 November 1623, having served as abbot for 20.

8 November: Aegidius de Marle and 26 Companions Martyrs. Norbertines of the Abbey at Acre. St John at Acre was the home to Premonstratensians who had fled the houses of St. Habbakuk and St. Samuel after attacks by Moslem forces which had killed the majority of religious. Those who fled came to Acre which itself fell at the hands of Saladin. On November 8th 1291 Abbot Aegidius was cut into pieces before the eyes of his brethren so as to induce them to renounce their faith, none did so and thus they went to their deaths as martyrs for the faith of Christ.

10 November: Diego of Mendieta The last abbot to be elected ‘for life’ of St. Saturninus, Medina del Campo in Spain. He resigned spontaneously from his office and thereafter decreed that abbots were to be elected for three year terms. He was elected abbot once more in 1591. He was a convinced follower of the reforms of Pope Saint Pius Vth and as General Visitor of the Order and Abbot for three year terms in other abbeys, he introduced reforms with mild determination. This saintly priest was a humble apostle, obedient and peaceable. At his death, aged 81, in 1588 his brethren and the people swamped his coffin to gather pieces of his habit as holy relics.

11 November: Daniel Van Campenhout Daniel was born in Ossel and became a Premonstratensian of Grimbergen. Abbot Van Wayenberge (1505-1540) desired to implement the new statues of 1505 but found he was without sufficient religious and therefore asked the religious of the Saxon Circary for aid. It was in Daniel that he found himself aided in this task by a man with exceptional talents. Daniel was appointed novice master and then Prior. There was such success that in time other enthusiastic members of the Order were attracted. Daniel was a man of God who loved interior silence and practices penance by harsh physical penances. His contemporaries reported that when he celebrated Mass they had seen him assisted by two angels. He was not of this world and frequently concourse with the angels and experienced many ecstasies. He died in the odour of sanctity on November 11th 1532 and was immediately regarded as a saint. Abbot Outers erected an effigy over his tomb with represents Daniel assisted at Mass by the angels. His likeness also appears at the choir stalls of the abbey where the saints of the order are represented.

11 November: John De Bevaye He was born in Maubeuge and became a canon of Vicogne where he was elected abbot in 1279. He was a model of the discipline of the Order in which he moulded his brethren exactly. In as far as his office allowed he performed all the works of the other canons. He was especially zealous of chastity and carefully avoided any deeds or bad conversation that could lead to danger. He regularly subjected himself to sever penances and at table often only took bread and water. His reputation grew to such stature that he was even able to resist the attacks on the freedom of the Church that were then being made by Count John of Avesnes. He died in 1290.

12 November: Fegeringus was a Premonstratensian of Wadgassen in Saargebiet and a student of the first Abbot, Wolfram. After Wolfram’s death in 1158 he himself was elected abbot. Fergeringus was especially known for his concern for the poor and he maintained a hospital where the needy and pilgrims were able to find accommodation. He died in 1169, having directed the abbey in goodness and modesty.

13 November: FEAST OF ALL THE SAINTS OF THE PREMONSTRATENSIAN ORDER AND ALL SAINTS OF THE ORDERS OF CANONS REGULAR

14 November: Today, in the Premonstratensian Missal, in the Feast of All the Relics of the Churches of the Order, but in the modern calendar of the Order it is observed as the memorial of St. Siard (17th November in the Premonstratensian missal). Saint Siard of Friesland (who died in 1230) was a holy abbot of the Norbertine Abbey in Mariëngaard by Hallum in Friesland. He was born to a noble Frisian family in the shadow of the abbey of Mariëngaard and there received the white habit at the hands of St. Frederick. During his first twenty years in the abbey Siard practised great penances and mortification and proved a model of edification for the brethren, to such an extent that Abbot John appointed Siard his successor on his death-bed. As Abbot his life was particularly marked by its austerity and benevolence. He was particularly fond of handing out bread to the poor personally and joined in with the manual labour of his brethren, particularly in the fields harvesting wheat. He was extremely open to those who sought his advice and ensured that the abbey became known as a place of refuge throughout the region. As a model of perfection, St. Siard had also given Blessed Dodo of Haskerland his Norbertine education. He also showed a true conciliatory spirit, settling disputes quickly and with the utmost gentleness and understanding. Furthermore the saint extended the lands of the abbey and guided the construction of various additions to the buildings. Once on a journey, the holy abbot came across a noisy celebration of music and dance. He stopped and turned to his brothers saying, “Just imagine what songs of joy the angel choirs must sing when they celebrate the conversion of a single sinner.” Known also for his miracles of healing, the monastery began to attract many in search of physical healing after Siard cured a man of blindness. Naturally the austere life that Siard had implemented was not popular with all of the canons and in 1290 one of their number attempted to murder the abbot. His loud cries brought the aid of the confreres and he escaped with only minor injuries. He died the same year, on November 13th. The relics of St. Siard were first kept in the sacristy of Mariëngaard abbey and latterly moved to the choir. When the abbey was destroyed by Calvinists, his relics were brought to Hildesheim by Siardus of Hensema, a Friesian nobleman. One reliquary (containing the skull and almost half the bones) came to the abbey of St. Feuillien in the town of Roeulx in Hannonia and after the French Revolution then rested in Strépy. On 24 February 1938 these relics were then solemnly transferred to the abbey of Leffe. A second reliquary was brought into the possession of Tongerlo Abbey in 1617. The transfer was preceded by a long journey, during which the relics were received and venerated at various Norbertine abbeys, finally resting at Tongerlo on 6 July 1617. In 1619 Prelate Stalpaerts built a beautiful shrine where the relics were houses. When Tongerlo also suffered under the Revolution, the relics were safely hidden and returned to the abbey in 1860.

18 November: Gerung was sent by St. Norbert first to Ursberg, then to Roggenburg in Swabia where he  founded an abbey in 1130. He overcame all his difficulties with his unswerving devotion to Our Lady. After 40 years under his leadership, the new foundation had experienced a steady growth, he died on 18 November 1170.

21 November: John O’Mulkerin, abbot of Lough Cé in Ireland. Arrested in 1580 together with a Cistercian abbot. Taken to Dublin Castle where he was imprisioned and tortured on account on his faith. At their trial they maintained their defence of the Catholic Faith and both were hanged on this day in 1580.

22 November: John D’Avesnes In 1544 he was elected abbot of Ninove. He was a good religious man, who was especially devoted to the poor. Children of poor families were given scholarships by him to study either at the College in Leuven, or in another institution. John was a humble priest content with common sense, he avoided all pomp and made do with normal food and basic clothing. After a 24-year-long reign, he resigned in 1567. He died on this day in 1571.

23 November: Detlev von Parkentin. Canon of Ratzeburg and from 1395 bishop thereof.

24 November: Johannes Geysler. Canon of Steingaden. Executed for his faith in 1642 by the Swedish armies then ravaging Bavaria.

24 November: Johannes Pecher. Abbot of Tepl from 1629. Tortured by the Swedish who dragged him across the country in chains. He died in 1647.

24 November: Norbert Hoecht. Canon of Windberg. Parish priest. When the Swedes invaded Bavaria he was killed whilst holding in his hands the cross of Christ.

26 November: Adam Rusdrig. Abbot of Tepl from 1598 and also provost of the canonesses at Chotieschau. He twice saved the sisters canonry from destruction by heretics and also stopped its buildings being seized by the Jesuits who wishes to fund their own foundations. When the Protestants attacked Chotieschau he saved the sisters but was himself caught. He underwent terrible tortures for his faith and received the crown of martyrdom in 1633.

26 November: Konrad. Canon and Bishop of Ratzeburg. He led his diocese with wisdom and devotion until his death on 26 November 1291.

Blessed James Kern, pray for us!

“The heroes of the Church can assist us in our lives. They were no ‘photocopied Christians’; rather, each one was original, irreplaceable and without parallel! The Church of today does not need part time Catholics. She needs full-blooded Christians!” (John Paul II, June 21, 1998, at the Beatification of James Kern).

Today marks the feast of Blessed James Kern; the gallant canon of Geras who offered his life in reparation for a schismatical priest.

The life of Blessed James has published by the canons of St. Michael’s, Orange and can be purchased from their web-site. The cause of this Norbertine blessed is promoted by the General Postulator of the Order, and by the abbey of Geras.

“Jakob Kern came from a humble Viennese family of workers. The First World War tore him abruptly from his studies at the minor seminary in Hollabrunn. A serious war injury made his brief earthly life in the major seminary and the Premonstratensian monastery of Geras – as he said himself – a “Holy Week”. For love of Christ he did not cling to life but consciously offered it to others. At first he wanted to become a diocesan priest. But one event made him change direction. When a Premonstratensian left the monastery to follow the Czech National Church formed after the separation from Rome which had just occurred, Jakob Kern discovered his vocation in this sad event. He wanted to atone for this religious. Jakob Kern joined the monastery of Geras in his place, and the Lord accepted his offering a “substitute”.

Bl. Jakob Kern stands before us as a witness of fidelity to the priesthood. At the beginning, it was a childhood desire that he expressed in imitating the priest at the altar. Later this desire matured. The purification of pain revealed the profound meaning of his priestly vocation: to unite his own life with the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross and to offer it vicariously for the salvation of others.

May Bl. Jakob Kern, who was a vivacious and enthusiastic student, encourage many young men generously to accept Christ’s call to the priesthood. The words he spoke then are addressed to us: “Today more than ever there is a need for authentic and holy priests. All the prayers, all the sacrifices, all the efforts and all the suffering united with a right intention become the divine seed which sooner or later will bear its fruit”.” – Homily of Pope John Paul II

Today marks the anniversary of the execution of the Premonstratensian priest and canon, Pierre-Adrien Toulorge. Peter-Adrian Toulorge was born on May 4, 1757 at Muneville-le-Bingard in Normandy, France. After his early education he entered the diocesan seminary at Coutances. He was ordained a priest and assigned as vicar of Doville in December, 1782, at age 25. There he experienced the great zeal of his 44-year-old Norbertine pastor, Father James-Francis Le Canut, for the 618 members of the parish, the majority of whom lived in poverty. In his sermons which have been conserved, the young Father Peter-Adrian exalted the mercifcul goodness of God, at the same time forcefully affirming His inexorable justice in regard to hardened sinners. During his time at Doville he was a frequent guest with his pastor at the Norbertine abbey of Blanchelande (founded in the twelfth century). Inspired by the ideals of St. Norbert, Peter-Adrian entered the Order at Blanchelande. However, since the abbey did not have a novitiate of its own, the young confrere was sent for two years to the abbey of Beauport. After the passage of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, Fr. Toulorge exercised his ministry in the surrounding parishes. When he heard about the law of August 26, 1792, which condemned to deportation all ecclesiastics who exercised a public office without taking the revolutionary oath, he falsely believed himself implicated and left for the English island of Jersey. No one took note of his error when he crossed the border on September 12th. It was only after arriving in Jersey that he discovered he was not at all affected by the law of deportation and could have remained in France without being bothered. At the first opportunity, he returned clandestinely and hid himself in an area of wild scrub.

One year later, in September 1793, Fr. Peter-Adrian was captured and sentenced. The tribunal was convinced about his stay in Jersey, but they had no proof to back up the story. After some hesitation he decided to tell the whole truth – even at the risk of his life – namely that he was being pursued because he was a Catholic priest. The night before his death he went to confession and, while all the other inmates slept, he wrote three deeply touching letters – to his brother, to a friend, and to an unknown woman – to which he added, “I wish you God’s blessing. October 12, 1793, the evening before my marytrdom.”

In the morning – it was a Sunday – he rose with good courage, ate breakfast as usual, prayed his breviary, before he asked one of his fellow prisoners to fix his hair and cut his beard. In the end he asked his confreres to sing Vespers with him. At the beginning of Compline, during the second to the last verse of the hymn GRATES PERACTO JAM DIE he closed his breviary and cried out full of joy,

“My dear friends, let us stop here, for I will soon be gratefully singing the end of this hymn in heaven… My dear brothers, I will not forget you; I ask God to watch over you. I am praying for all my benefactors, friends, and even my enemies.”

His confreres knelt down and asked for his blessing during which a heavenly joy shown from his face. According to an eyewitness, the guillotine was placed in front of the house of the mayor of Coutances. The crowd was speechless with emotion as they beheld this young priest who went to his death filled with such inner peace. Just before the execution Fr. Peter-Adrian said: “My God, I place my life in Your hands! I pray for the restoration and preservation of Your Holy Church. Forgive my enemies.” After the execution the hangman grabbed the bloody head by the hair and held it up to show the people. It was 4:30. His body was taken to the cemetery of St. Peter in a cart.

The process for the canonization, including 56 other priests of Normandy, was begun in 1922 but fell into oblivion during the years 1928-1930. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Abbot General Marcel van de Ven – in light of the cult of the faithful of that region – took up the Cause once again. The diocesan informative process was opened in Coutances on December 1, 1995 and closed on July 29, 1996. The splendid Positio regarding the martyrdom of Peter-Adrian, compiled by Fr. Bernard Ardura, OPraem, of Frigolet/Rome, was judged unanimously positive by the historical consultors of the Roman Congregation on December 5, 2000. We are now awaiting the judgment of the theologians and cardinals.

 Father Peter Adrian’s farewell letter:

My dear brother (Jean-Baptiste),

Rejoice, for tomorrow you will have another friend in Heaven watching over you – I hope – if God preserves me, as he has until now. Rejoice that God has deemed me fit to suffer not only prison, but even death for Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the greatest grace He could possibly give me; I will pray that He might give you a similar crown. We should not attach ourselves to perishable things. Turn therefore your gaze towards Heaven; live life as an honest man, and most importantly, as a good Christian; raise your children in the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman faith, outside of which there is no salvation. Always consider it the greatest honour to have had a brother in the family who has been called to suffer for God. Far from being sorrowful about my fate, rejoice instead and say with me: “Blessed be God!” I wish you a holy life, and paradise at the end of your days, not only to you but also to my sister, to my nephew and neice, and to all my family. I remain always, in perfect friendship, your brother, TOULORGE.

12th October 1793
I lovingly embrace you all.

PRAYER FOR HIS BEATIFICATION

O Lord, our God, You granted to Your Servant Peter-Adrian Toulorge the grace of fidelity to his beliefs, to the Church, the Pope, his Order and his homeland, in the midst of trials. Rather than preserving his life and prolonging his freedom through lies, he chose out of love for the truth to give himself up, in order to win that life which knows no end and to partake in Your glory. You showered him so much with Your love, that he was able to forgive his executioner before he gave his life back into Your hands.
Grant, Lord, that Your Servant may be glorified, and grant me through his intercession the grace …, which I confidently ask of You. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Our Lady of Walsingham

On Saturday our two parishes here in Chelmsford went on pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. In 1061 a Saxon noblewoman, Richeldis de Faverches, had a vision of the Virgin Mary in which she was instructed to build a replica of the house of the Holy Family in Nazareth in honour of the Annunciation. When it was built the Holy House in Walsingham was panelled with wood and contained a wooden statue of an enthroned Virgin Mary with the child Jesus seated on her lap.

In 1153 a priory was built for a community of Augustinian canons (our own order is part of the wider family of Augustinian canons) and the site became a major centre for pilgrims for all over England and beyond. Several kings of England also came to the shrine and even Henry VIII made a major benefaction to the priory.

With the coming of the new religion in England the priory was dissolved and the statue of Our Lady was taken to Chelsea and burnt in public. 

Weep Weep O Walsingam,
Whose dayes are nights,
Blessings turned to blasphemies,
Holy deeds to despites

 

 In the 19th century the shrine was happily revived and His Holiness Pope Leo XIII himself blessed the new statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.  Walsingham continues to be a centre of devotion for English Catholics, who continue to pray for the return of our country to the faith of its fathers. 

O blessed Virgin Mary,
Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother,
look down in mercy upon England thy “Dowry”
and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee.
By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world;
and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more.
Plead for us thy children,
whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother.
Intercede for our separated brethren,
that with us in the one true fold
they may be united to the supreme Shepherd,
the Vicar of thy Son.
Pray for us all, dear Mother,
that by faith fruitful in good works
we may all deserve to see and praise God,
together with thee, in our heavenly home.

The Slipper Chapel

 

The Slipper Chapel is so called because it is where pilgrims would remove their shoes before walking the Holy Mile to the priory

Walking the Holy Mile

 

Jesu, Angliam converte!
Augustine et Norberte
Intercedite pro me!

On 7th October we were able to commemorate the feast of St. Osyth by a short trip to the place that bears the name of this local saint. Saint Osyth was martyred in 653 AD by invading Danes. The wife of a king of Essex, she had later entered a convent which she ruled as abbess. The village of St. Osyth is also the site of the ruins of a priory of Augustinian canons (Black Canons) until the Dissolution.

St. Osyth meets her death

The Gatehouse of the Priory

We were also able to make a short visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Light, Spouse of the Holy Ghost in nearby Clacton. To find out more about the shrine please see the web-site.

Our Lady of Light

 

The 25th Annual National Rosary Crusade of Reparation takes place on Saturday 10th October. This year it will be led by Mgr Emmanuel-Marie de St Jean, Abbot of Sainte-Marie de Lagrasse, France. The community at Lagrasse is a community of pontifical rite, known as The Canons Regular of the Mother of God (web-site in French).

The community at Lagrasse is dedicated both to the solemn celebration of the liturgy and the apostolic life. They have been blessed with many vocations and also care for a community of Canonesses Regular of the Mother of God in Gap. 

 

2 October: Edmond Mclot was 15 years old when he entered the abbey of Pont-à-Mousson in 1656. He was philosophy professor and theology professor as well as prior in Nancy and Bucilly as well as Definitor of the congregation of Lorraine. In 1685 he was made abbot of Etanche. He life was marked by a great devotion to study and a keen piety, particularly devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

3 October: Gottschalk van Nieuwenhuyzen was a canon of Tongerlo. He was appointed parish priest in Diest and died after ministering to the victims of the plague in that town.

4 October: Robert Picavet – abbot of Saint Augustine’s in Thérouanne from 1546 to 1559. He guided the abbey through the difficult political struggles which caused great trial for the community and destruction of a large part of the buildings.

5 October: Eustachius von Lens, a doctor of theology and canon of Vicogne. In 1229 he became abbot of Valsery and Valchrétien, in 1240 he resigned this difficult post to devote himself once again to study. Two of his works are known to us: “In hymnos ab O. Praem. receptos” and “In regulam Sancti Augustini “, dedicated to Gervase, the then Abbot General.

6 October: Giselbert, founder of the abbey of Tongerlo.

7 October: Henry Friessen was born on 27 September 1672 in Cologne, and joined the Abbey of Steinfeld, where he  took his vows on 2 July 1692 . He became the master of novices. His whole appearance betrayed the purity of his conscience. He asked God to be allowed to suffer in this world, to escape purgatory, and his prayers seem to have been answered. Although he was plagued by many sufferings, he bore them all with constancy, he also wrote several small-scale works which were printed in Cologne. This holy Premonstratensians died on 7 October 1741.

9 October: Robert, the nephew of King Henry I of England  was a canon of St. Martin’s in Laon. With the founding of Marienweerd, Robert led a group of canons from Laon to colonise that abbey. A humble and simple canon who practiced severe penances, he was known especially for his ardent keeping of the Rule. He died on 9 October 1170.

12 October: Gottfried: When Count Ludwig von Arnstein and his wife Guda converted their castle into a canonry in 1139 they wished it to be colonised by Premonstratensians . Gottfried was at the head of those who came to Arnstein. Prior to his time as he was a canon at the Cathedral of Magdeburg, and a disciple of St. Norbert. He was a reliable and pious man. In 1151, he went to Prémontré to attend the General Chapter, but he died on the way there on 12  October 1151 at the Abbey of Wadgassen, where he was also interred. It was only much later that they transferred his remains to Arnstein.

The Sisters of Zukowo

12 October: Sisters of Zukowo: In 1209 Prince Mestevin I of Pomerania founded the church and monastery of Zukowo, colonised by the Premonstratensian canonesses of Strzelno. On October 12, 1224 the Prussians attacked. Ten sisters testified to their faith and their love for God, as they were killed by the invaders on the hill behind the river Radunia. Their names were: Miloslawa, Benedicta, Eva, Miroslawa, Cecilia, Sophia Euphemia Bogudaja, Euphrosyne and Elizabeth. They were buried at the place of martyrdom, where a chapel was also built, so that their memory would be preserved.

13 October: Peter Adrian Toulorge was a canon of Blancheland. Fled to Jersey at the outbreak of the French Revolution and thence returned to minister to souls. Arrest and tried for his Catholic faith. Martyred at the guillotine at Coutances on 13^th October 1793.

15 October: Joachim Gieteler was born in 1559 in Waldsee and attended the school of the canonry of Roth. He began his novitiate there in 1587. After various appointments he was elected prelate of his monastery. He was noted for his great devotion to the Blessed Vrigin and wrote a number of spiritual works. He died in 1631.

18 October: Francis Du Boullonay was abbot of Mondaye from 1587 to 1631. he revived the community both in financial and spiritual ways and restored the abbey church.

18 October: Raso Goetghebuer was a canon of Drongon where he made his vows in 1473 and was already prior by 1480. From 1485 until 1490 he was abbot. He then resigned to become master of novices at Steinfeld where he wrote a work on the life of St. Hermann Joseph. He died in 1509 from the plague and reassured a novice who was worry about his own death that he would live to pray at Raso’s grave.

18 October: Servatius De Lairvelz was born in 1580 in Soignies and entered the Abbey of St. Paul at Verdun, where his uncle was prior. Servatius accompanied Abbot General Loiseleur on his visitations almost everywhere. When he returned after his graduation to Verdun, it seemed as if he had led in Paris, where he had studied, a not exactly regulated and edifying life. Servatius was converted through a serious illness, his first concern now was the restoration of monastic discipline among the brethren. Because of their limited assent, he wanted to leave the Order – an idea that he dropped, on the advice of the Jesuit André Anselm. In 1596 he became adviser to Abbot General Longpré, who appointed him his vicar, and entrusted him with visitation trips to Eastern Europe. Slowly matured in him the conviction that a more radical reform and a return to the austerity of the first statutes would be necessary, so the reform of Lorraine was born. Servatius was appointed coadjutor bishop of St. Daniel Picart-Marie-au-Bois in 1600. In 1603 he published at the request of the Abbot General, “Optica Regulars,” an idealized image of community and religious life. It is probably right to say that Servatius was a great influence on the spiritual life of the Order and he was always faithful to the Premonstratensians traditions, but alsoincluded elements of Jesuit spirituality.
Serviatius De Laivelz died on 18 October 1631 at the age of 71 years.

20 October: Firmin D’Analet was a canon of the Abbey of St André au Bois. In 1595 Calvinists wrought much destruction in the region of Artois and the abbey was plundered and burnt. Firmin was captured by the heretics and endured many tortures heroically. He was tied upside down to a post whilst flames danced around him. Later he was brought half-dead to Dünkirchen where he was incarcerated together with James Lemarie where he was ruthlessly compelled to renounce his faith. He was ransomed by those loyal to church, though all his life suffered the pains of his tortures.

Blessed James Kern

20 October: Blessed James Kern was a canon and priest of the Norbertine Abbey in Geras, Austria. He had been training at a diocesan seminary at the outbreak of the First World War when he was drafted into the Army. during his time of active service Blessed James was badly wounded and his afflictions would cause his continuing physical pain throughout his life. Despite these sufferings James returned to the seminary at the end of the War and proceeded with his studies. At the same time a Norbertine canon, Bogumil Zahradnik had become a leader of the schismatical Czech National Church. James was moved to offer himself to the Norbertine Order in atonement for the sins of this priest and he was duly accepted as a novice at Geras. ordained priest in 1922 James continued to bear his pains with great courage and determination, all without a word of complaint. He entered into his priestly ministry with great enthusiasm, especially in hearing his confession and his work with young people. After many struggles, physical and spiritual, James went to his eternal reward on October 20th 1924. He was beatified by John Paul II on June 21st 1998.

21 October: Rose of Bonlieu, foundress of the Archconfraternity of the Mass of Reparation.

23 October: Luke of Montcornillon was recruited by Norbert from the school in Laon in 1120, Luke fast became one of Norbert’s first followers and disciples. In 1124 he was sent to Belgium from Floreff and established the community at Mont Cornillon where he was about for some thirty five years. He was the author of two works on the Song of Songs; a commentary and a reflection on the moral teaching of the book. These works were dedicated to Hugh of Fosse and Milo. Luke suffered very much from physical ailments which led him to a great devotion to the sufferings of Our Lady.

 

St. Gilbert

26 October: Saint Gilbert was a crusader knight who had survived the Second Crusade and upon his return to Europe resolved to consecrate his life to the service of God. He immediately distributed much of his personal wealth to the poor and needy and thence financed the construction of an abbey for Norbertine nuns. His wife Petronilla and his daughter Pontia both entered this abbey and Gilbert himself entered the Order at our abbey of Dilo. He later built the abbey of Neuffontaines in 1150 and became its first abbot, overseeing the construction of an infirmary that became famed for the miracles wrought there. Gilbert personally ministered to the sick who came to abbey for physical and spiritual healing and as a sign of his humility was buried in the part of the abbey cemetery reserved for the sick who died there. When his cult grew, his body was moved into the abbey and today’s feast marks the translation of his relics. Neuffontaintes abbey was suppressed in 1790, following certain Gallacian reforms, and his relics translated to a parish church for safekeeping. They were never found again.

26 October: John Pelgrim was a Premonstratensian of the Abbey of St. Nicholas in Veurne, Belgium. When, in 1578 a group of Protestant heretics held a group of canons from the abbey, John refused to be separated from his brethren and so offered himself to the leader of the cohort, ready to die for his brethren. He was thrown in prison and upon his release he went to the church of St. Walburga in the city of Veurne. At the age of 70 he returned to his abbey and was a model of obedience, leaving the monastery only when compelled to do so by his superiors. Despite physical sufferings he spent many hours kneeling in prayer and after leading an exemplary life died in 1620.

 

Blessed Ricura

29 October: Ricura: A woman of noble birth and marriage, Blessed Ricuera became the first Premonstratensian nun when in 1121 she received the veil at the hand of Our Holy Father Norbert. At Prémontré she laboured in that hospice established by Norbert to care for the sick and weary. Stopped a fire which would have otherwise destroyed the abbey by making a sign of the cross. Worn out by her labours she died in 1136 and at once her grave became the site of miracles, most notably for the miraculous flowers that grew there.

30 October: Norbert Marstaller. Abbot. Norbert, canon of Steingaden, received his ecclesiastical education in the abbey of Pont-à-Mousson under the direction of Servatius De Lairvelz. As a result he was appointed novice  master of the common novitiate of the Bavarian Circary – a function which he also exercised after his election as abbot of Steingaden in 1623. He took part in the translation of the relics of Our Holy Father Norbert from Magdeburg to Strahov. When in 1632 the Swedes raged in Bavaria, he remained with his brethren and supported them throughout the thirteen years of strife. He had a great devotion to the Immaculate Mother, whom he invoked as ‘Mother of Mercy’. He died in 1645.

31 October: Friedrich Herlet was born in Niederlauer, Friedrich was first a secular priest and a doctor of theology. At Wurzburg he was an advisor to the Bishop and oversaw the junior seminary. Inspired by god, at the age of forty he divested himself of all worldly affectations and embraced poverty in the Premonstratensian Order. He entered the abbey of Oberzell where he led such an edifying life that he was at once appointed Novice Master, Circator and Sup-Prior, later he was made provost of the Premonstratensian nuns at Unterzell. He wrote a number of works relating to the Order, most notably the Solitudo Norbertina; a work that contains spiritual exercises much influenced by those of the Jesuits but itself a synthesis between the Jesuit method and Norbertine spirituality. His other works were deeply pastoral and contained sound advice for religious. He died on 31^st October 1718, having faithfully served as Provost some ten years. 

Jesu, Angliam converte!
Augustine et Norberte
Intercedite pro me!
 
O Maria nunc tuorum
Audi preces filiorum:
Nos ab hoste protege!
 
Nostri Ordinis Corona
Gloriosa et Patrona
Nostra es dulcissima.
 
Tu refugium Anglorum
Et Regina clericorum
Dotem tuam respice!
 
Amen.

On 18th September we were delighted to visit the former Premonstratensian abbey of Beeleigh at the invitation of the present owners, Mr and Mrs Foyle.  Beeleigh was established in 1180 and was suppressed during the Dissolution, it is the closest former house to our home in Chelmsford.

The Foyles have worked extensively to restore Beeleigh and it was a great privilege to visit a place that was a home to our Order for so many years.

Some photo-graphs of the exterior of the abbey:

 

A modern window featuring the founders of Beeleigh, together with St. Roger of Beeleigh and St. Norbert:

 

Detail of the window: St. Norbert

 

The Chapter Room:

 

List of abbots:

 

Window from the original abbey church, now in the calefactory:

 

Statue of Robert Mantle, founder of Beeleigh:

 

Detail from the statue showing Beeleigh in the arm of its founder:

 

The arms of Beeleigh above the front door:

 

The community sang the ‘Salve’ at the spot on which the high altar and the shrine to St. Roger stood. It was a wonderful opportunity to pray for our brethren of Beeleigh.

Our profound thanks to the Foyle family.