SEASON AFTER PENTECOST
May 30, 2010
This season begins with the Feast of the Blessed Trinity and is the longest of the Liturgical Year. It may comprise from twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks and differs considerably from the other liturgical seasons...In the last part of the ecclesiastical year, the Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, continues the work of the Redemption, realized during the preceding part of the Liturgical Year. “The Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind whatsoever I shall have said to you.” The last season of the Liturgical Year is filled with feasts of major importance: those of the Blessed Trinity, Corpus Christi, the Sacred Heart, the Assumption and Nativity of our Lady, All Saints, and All Souls. “Blessed be the holy and undivided Trinity. Now and forevermore. Amen.” More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #12:
"ONE BODY, ONE SOUL"
May 23, 2010
Today, and for eight days following, Christians celebrate the liturgical feast of Pentecost (also called Whitsunday), which commemorates the descent of the Holy Ghost upon Mary and the Apostles and Disciples, who for nine successive days prayed in Jerusalem for the coming Paraclete promised to them by Our Lord Jesus Christ. Pentecost (which is Greek for “the fiftieth”) is celebrated each year on the fiftieth day after Easter, the tenth day after the feast of the Ascension. Where the Pasch (Passover, Easter) is the redemption of man by the victory of Christ, Pentecost is the Holy Ghost taking possession of man redeemed. The Ascension is the intermediate mystery consummating the Pasch, placing the Man-God--the Conqueror of death, our High Priest and King--at the right hand of the Father; and preparing the mission of the Holy Ghost to our earth. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #11:
"THE REIGN & TRIUMPH OF THE HEARTS OF JESUS & MARY"
May 13, 2010
This year 2010 we receive a double blessing on the liturgical day of May 13th: the feast of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. There is a providential correlation between these two feasts, which not only can increase our faith, strengthen our hope, and expand our love for God, Our Lady, and our neighbor, but also can elevate our lay monastic association and apostolate to new heights--no pun intended. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
RE-RELEASE!
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #8:
"DO YOU CALL THIS A FAST?"
February 17, 2010
We are now in the liturgical season of Lent. Lent is our participation in the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as a preparation for His resurrection at Easter. What the Christian should be doing at all times throughout the Liturgical Year is done with greater care and devotion during Lent, and in a certain sense, Lent is a microcosm of the monastic life. Lent is characterized by an austere and penitential style of life rooted in prayer and sacrifice––not simply by abstinence from certain foods and activities, but by a thorough examination of conscience, renunciation of sin, and a renewed commitment to ongoing conversion.
There are countless truths and lessons to expound upon and learn from the liturgical season of Lent. There is one in particular that has stood out to me this year. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the People of God saying, “Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” Was God criticizing their manner of fasting and penance? No. God rebukes them for their hypocrisy and vain religiosity––namely, because “your fast ends in quarreling and fighting.” More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #10:
"THE FRANCISCAN IDEAL & THE NEW MONASTICISM"
November 1, 2009
Profoundly saddened by the misfortunes that the Church was then passing through in his time (13th Century), St. Francis of Assisi conceived the incredible design of renewing everything conformably to the principles of Christian law––the Gospel. After having founded a double religious family, one of Brothers, the other of Sisters, who pledged themselves by solemn vows (poverty, celibacy, and obedience) to imitate the humility of the Cross, Francis, in the impossibility of opening the cloister (monastery, hermitage) to all whom the desire of being formed in his school drew to him, resolved to provide, even for souls living in the whirlpool of the world, the means to tend to Christian perfection. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
THE TRANSITUS OF ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI
& OBLATES OF THE LAST MARTYRDOM
October 3, 2009
Today is an exciting day for Transitus Oblates of the Last Martyrdom, as this evening we celebrate the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi - the passing of his soul from this life to eternity - on the eve of the feastday of our patron (October 4). It is also the occasion on which certain members are admitted into Transitus as well as an opportunity for all members to recommit themselves to the life of monks according the Transitus Rule and "School of Perfection" either as a Postulant, Novice, Guest, or fully admitted Oblate. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
OCTOBER 2009 BULLETIN
October 1, 2009
Today is the first day of October, the feast day of our co-patroness St. Therese, the “Little Flower” of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. St. Therese personified the life of an oblate––a “living sacrifice”, a spiritual martyr––to and through Divine Merciful Love.
Saturday, October 3rd is an exciting day for Transitus Oblates of the Last Martyrdom, as on that evening we will celebrate the Transitus of St. Francis of Assisi––the passing of his soul from this life to eternity––on the eve of the feastday of our patron (October 4). It is also the occasion on which certain members are admitted into Transitus as Oblates and an opportunity for ALL members to recommit themselves to the life of monks according the Transitus Rule and “school of perfection” either as a Postulant, Novice, Guest, or fully admitted Oblate More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #9:
"WHY IS THIS WEEK DIFFERENT?"
April 9, 2009
Dear Fellow Oblates and Friends of Transitus, This is Holy Week––the week of Our Lord’s Passion, the Transitus of Jesus Christ. Why is this week different than other weeks? Because once we were slaves and we are slaves no longer. Of all the days and weeks in the Liturgical Year, it is Holy Week––namely the Sacred Triduum––that has informed and that most explicitly demonstrates the nature and purpose of our lay monastic association Transitus Oblates of the Last Martyrdom. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #8:
"DO YOU CALL THIS A FAST?"
March 13, 2009
We are now in the liturgical season of Lent. Lent is our participation in the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ as a preparation for His resurrection at Easter. What the Christian should be doing at all times throughout the Liturgical Year is done with greater care and devotion during Lent, and in a certain sense, Lent is a microcosm of the monastic life. Lent is characterized by an austere and penitential style of life rooted in prayer and sacrifice––not simply by abstinence from certain foods and activities, but by a thorough examination of conscience, renunciation of sin, and a renewed commitment to ongoing conversion.
There are countless truths and lessons to expound upon and learn from the liturgical season of Lent. There is one in particular that has stood out to me this year. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the People of God saying, “Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?” Was God criticizing their manner of fasting and penance? No. God rebukes them for their hypocrisy and vain religiosity––namely, because “your fast ends in quarreling and fighting.” More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #7:
"ALL IN THE FAMILY"
February 2, 2009
Dear Fellow Oblates and Friends of Transitus, As we usher in the new civil year, we continue celebrating the new Liturgical Year, through which we participate in the Life of Christ and the Mysteries of Redemption and Salvation. The cycle of the liturgical seasons and feasts assists us in living life more closely in union with God and His Angels and Saints than merely living according to our secular calendars. It is through the Liturgical Year we become more attuned to God and His will and plan for our lives and for the world. If we would make one New Year’s resolution, it should be to live more faithfully and more intimately the Church’s Liturgical Year, through which we can most fully partake of the abundant life Our Lord came to give us. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #6:
"HAPPY NEW LITURGICAL YEAR!"
November 27, 2008
“Sing and play music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.” As we come to the end of this liturgical year, we are thankful to God our Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, for all things––pleasing and displeasing––receiving everything in a spirit of thanksgiving as coming directly from the hand of God. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION READY!
October 7, 2008
"I have seen a great multitude of people coming to us and wishing to associate with us in our habit of holy conduct and our rule for a blessed religious life. Why, there is still in my ears the sound of them going and coming at the order of holy obedience. I have seen the roads so as to say of every nation coming together hereabouts, filled with the multitude of them." - St. Francis of Assisi
More »
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #5:
"BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED"
October 3, 2008
On this date last year (2007), we made our intention of forming an association of lay monastics publicly known.2 “It is fitting that this is the day that we take this small but momentous step into such a fearful undertaking. For what we have embraced will require us to let go of so many things. Yet, what we seek to gain, in its smallest measure, is worth more than what the world could ever appraise. We sense we are entrusting ourselves to more of what we do not know than what we think we understand. Yet, we are fully aware of what we are attempting to do. We have a deep sense, though we could change our minds, that our bodies and our souls will forever remain changed. Even if this deep impression that imprints such an acute and lasting mark would fade or even disappear, its infliction will be forever felt. Yet, we not only want it to be felt, but to be operative and efficacious. Maybe this is a veiled glimpse of what our father Francis experienced on Mount Alverna.” More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #4:
"THE DESERT & WILDERNESS"
March 12, 2008
We have been led, by way of the Liturgical Year, into the “desert” (or “wilderness”) for the liturgical season of Lent, which is derived from the Latin word for 40. As we know, the desert is not only a geographical location, but it is a fearful spiritual journey into unknown territory, a divine encounter with the Almighty, and an unavoidable confrontation with the Enemy. Biblically speaking, the desert or wilderness is not what we would most likely imagine, such as the Sahara or the Daintree Rainforest. The desert or wilderness was known as a place of wandering, hiding, solitude and danger. The desert was also a crucible of trial, temptation, affliction, punishment and purification as a certain rite of passage lasting from 40 days to 40 years. With such an understanding, it is not difficult to see the desert or wilderness as a figure and type of the monastery, the monastic way, and the monk himself. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #3:
"HOLIDAYS & HOLY DAYS"
January 1, 2008
I am pleasantly surprised by the immediate interest. Throughout my recent travels as well as online, I have met numerous people from all over the country and even beyond the border who are interested in Transitus and the idea of lay monasticism––many, it seems, who have been seeking something like this for a long while. Some are simply seeking a way to increase their Christian devotion, their knowledge of the Faith, and their progress in the spiritual life, while others are ready to give “all” in exchange for the Cross and live “the life of monks” in a manner suitable and attainable for those living outside of the monastery. For all the many pure motives represented here, I can only assume the Holy Spirit has been preparing a lot of us for a long time. “Being confident of this very thing, that He, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.” More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE SUPERIOR GENERAL #2:
"PRESENTATION & PREPARATION"
November 21, 2007
This Advent, may we be impregnated with the Word of God––faithfully fulfilling all that is the Divine Will, and in doing so, give birth to Our Lord in the coming feast of the Nativity (Christmas) through our holiness and acts of charity. Likewise, may we adequately prepare ourselves for our initial stages of Inquiry (Candidacy), Initiation (Postulancy), and Formation (Novitiate) before our Admission into Transitus as Oblates of the Last Martyrdom. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay
LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER #1:
"TRANSITUS HAS GONE PUBLIC!"
September 17, 2007
It is fitting that this is the day we take our small but momentous step into such a fearful undertaking. What we have embraced will require us, over time, to let go of many things. What we are sure to gain, even in its smallest measure, is worth more than what the world could ever appraise. We sense we are entrusting ourselves to more of what we do not know than what we think we understand. However, we are fully aware of what we are attempting to do. We have a deep sense--though we could retract our decision--that our bodies and our souls will forever remain changed. Even if this deep impression that imprints such an acute and lasting mark would fade or even disappear, its infliction will be forever felt. Yet we not only want it to be felt, but to be operative and efficacious. Maybe this is a veiled glimpse of what St. Francis experienced on Mount Alverna. More »
by Kevin Francis Bernadette Clay