A friend has kindly lent me his shorter breviary and encouraged me to say the traditional morning and evening prayers. I find it difficult to sort through all the options and cycles of prayers, so I have cheated somewhat and used the Laudate app and the Universalis web site.
One immediate benefit if this is to be more aware of the liturgical cycle of feasts and saints' days. This Friday, 9th August is the feast day of St Teresa Benedict of the Cross, otherwise known as Edith Stein.
Her biography is one of the extraordinary stories of the 20th Century. Her feast day commemorates her death in an Auschwitz gas chamber on 9th August 1942, but it includes her Jewish background, her enquiring mind, philosophy studies and her desire to become a Carmelite nun. This desire was delayed for a while because she was persuaded of the importance of action prompted by prayer.
I have the Universalis App on my iPhone. It was about $15 if I remember rightly but it's very good. You can switch from Australian feast days and readings to European, American etc. It even includes the office of readings, and a short bio of the saint. Once you've installed it you don't need a mobile data connection.
ReplyDeleteI've never used it at Mass but there is a 'Mass Today' option that acts like a Missal. It gives you the Entrance Antiphon, the readings and also the Gloria, the Creed etc. There is also a basic Order of the Mass (no readings) in English with other languages alongside (French, Spanish, Italian or Latin).
Another prominent Catholic of Jewish background is former Cardinal Archbishop of Paris Jean-Marie Lustiger who resigned in 2005. Another famous Catholic convert of Jewish birth was late Romantic composer, Gustav Mahler, although the politics of the day almost certainly played a part in that. I also knew a Jewish convert to Catholicism from my years in Toastmasters. She is still currently very active and prominent in a nearby parish. I believe I once read that well-known nominal Catholics, former Premier of NSW, Nick Greiner, and journalist, Ita Buttrose, have a portion of Jewish ancestry in their family trees. Rather like a convict ancestor, or an Aboriginal ancestor, it would be a proud moment to discover a Jewish ancestor, one of the Chosen People of the Old Testament, in one's family tree. Perhaps Edith Stein could be a patron saint to such people, as well as a patron of Europe. Regards Chris.
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