BELMONT — Ancient Order of Hibernian (AOH) members and Belmont Abbey College students spent a spring evening April 12 learning about Ireland’s Catholic history under persecution at Belmont Abbey College.
Vincentian Father James H. Murphy, director of Irish Studies and the Center for Irish Programs at Boston College, was invited to speak on Ireland’s Catholic history under persecution from the 16th through the 19th centuries and reviewed the contributions of notable Catholics including St. Oliver Plunkett, Cardinal Paul Cullen, Blessed John Henry Newman, and Venerable Mother Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy.
Pictured are members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians along with Belmont Abbey College faculty, Dr. Farrell O’Gorman, chair and professor of English, and Dr. Patrick Wadden, assistant professor of history with Father Murphy (back row) after his talk.
The event was sponsored by the local AOH and the college’s St. Gregory the Great minor in Christianity and Culture. The AOH is a Catholic-Irish fraternal organization whose goals are to promote friendship, unity, and Christian charity; foster and perpetuate Irish history, culture and traditions and to protect and defend all life. For details, go to www.aohmeck2.org.
— Mike FitzGerald, correspondent
CHARLOTTE — More than 100 faithful including several lay Dominicans attended a rare Dominican rite Latin Mass at St. Ann Church April 18.
The Mass was offered by Dominican Father Raymund Snyder from Washington, D.C., and the Mass was possibly the first Dominican rite Mass offered in the Diocese of Charlotte’s history. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, certain religious orders including the Dominicans retained their own liturgical customs including a distinct Mass, which reflected the charism of the order.
After Vatican II, most orders including the Dominicans adopted the Mass of Pope Paul VI, now called the Ordinary Form Mass. The Dominican rite liturgy, which dates back to the 13th century, is similar to the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form Mass), but with a few variations.
Mass begins with a priest preparing the chalice (which normally occurs during the offertory), and after the consecration the priest extends his hands in a cruciform gesture. After Mass, Father Snyder provided a talk on cultivating a God-centered spiritual life through the indwelling of the Holy Trinity; and how God works deeper in a person’s soul, beyond an emotional level.
He also introduced the attendees to St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, who cultivated within herself the dwelling place of God amidst the busyness of life. The event was sponsored by St. Ann Parish.
— Markus Kuncoro and Mike FitzGerald | Catholic News Herald