Claire Gallagher - Mass for Consecration of a Virgin Living in the World

[Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so good morning welcome to st louis cathedral as we celebrate with claire gallagher her consecration to a life of virginity living in the world please stand and join in singing our processional hymn which is found in your worship aid all creatures of our god and king [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] hey [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] um [Music] oh [Music] foreign [Music] thank you [Music] in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit peace be with you claire joins me in welcoming all of you to this celebration today it's a very important day for her and for us as the local church and for the church universally as she comes together to as we come together with her and she consecrates herself to a lifetime of virginity a sign of a radical commitment to christ and to his church we welcome obviously in a very special way her parents members of her family and all of you who are here friends clergy religious other consecrated virgins it's a day of great joy for all of us as we come to witness we also want to acknowledge and to thank those who are here today from other christian denominations of the christian faiths as well as other religions we thank you for your presence and for your support of claire as we begin in prayer my sisters and brothers we stand before the lord recognizing that for each of us our baptismal commitment is a commitment that is firm within our hearts a commitment that we desire to live out as the disciples of the lord jesus for the times that we go astray from what god calls us to do and to be we stand before the lord with a contrite heart and we ask for his gift of mercy lord jesus you came to gather the nations into the peace of god's kingdom lord have mercy lord jesus you came in word and sacrament to strengthen us in holiness christ have mercy r mercy lord jesus you will come in glory with salvation for your people lord have mercy lord have mercy and may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us for our sin and bring us to the kingdom of everlasting life let us pray grant we pray o lord to your servant claire in whom you have instilled the resolve to live in virginity that the work that you have begun in her may be brought to fulfillment and that she may be found worthy to complete what she now begins so as to bring you a full and perfect offering of herself through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever and ever a reading from the book of the prophet hosea thus says the lord i will allure her i will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart i will espouse you to me forever i will espouse you in right and in justice in love and in mercy i will espouse you in fidelity and you shall know the lord the word of the lord [Music] my soul is thirsting for you o lord thirsting for you my god my soul is thirsting for you lord thirsting for you my god thirsting for you my god my soul is [Music] my god [Music] oh god you are my god and i will always praise you in the shadow of your wings i cling to you and you hold me high my soul is [Music] my god [Music] through the day you walk with me all the night your love surrounds me to the glory of your name i lift my hands i sing your praises my soul is thirsting [Music] i will never be afraid for i will not be abandoned even when the road roars along and weary your love will rescue me my soul [Music] is soul is [Music] a reading from the book of revelation the amen the faithful and this behold i stand at the door and knock if anyone hears my voice and opens the door then i will enter his house and dine with him and he with me i will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne as i myself first won the victory and sit with my father on his throne whoever has ears ought to hear what the spirit says to the churches the word of the lord oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] the lord be with you a reading from the holy gospel according to matthew jesus told his disciples this parable the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom five of them were foolish and five were wise the foolish ones when taking their lamps brought no oil with them but the wise brought flask of oil with their lamps since the bridegroom was long delayed they all became drowsy and fell asleep at midnight there was a cry behold the bridegroom come out and meet him then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps the foolish ones said to the wise give us some of your oil for our lamps are going out but the wise ones replied no but may they may not be enough for us and you go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves while they went off to buy it the bride room came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him then the door was locked afterwards the other virgins came and said lord lord open the door for us but he said and replied amen i say to you i do not know you therefore stay awake for you know neither the day nor the hour the gospel of the lord be wise make ready your laps [Music] go out to meet him come listen to me my daughter i will teach you reverence for the lord [Music] now with all my hearts i follow you i reverence you and seek your peace [Music] lord fulfill my hope show me your loving kindness the greatness of your mercy it really all depends how you ask the question sometimes when people are thinking about their future and what it is they should do they ask what will i do with my life but that's not the real question the real question is god what are you calling me to do given the gifts that you have given to me given the personality that you have given to me what is it that you are calling me to do and sometimes god calls people to travel a road that is less traveled a road that is unique and not so many people are called to embark upon it perhaps my sisters and brothers that could be said of god's call to consecrated virginity as claire embraces today for each and every one of us as baptized christians our first call our first vocation is that of baptism it embraces within us a life of discipleship and invites us to live as true disciples of the lord beloved sons and beloved daughters of god but we come together today to remember and to celebrate that from among the baptized some are called to a consecrated way of life called consecrated virginity a road that is less traveled in our world but it is a call from god it is a vocation it is an intimate and personal call for claire it was through the last two years two years of prayer and spiritual direction a time of retreat and listening to god in the depths of her heart that she heard the call and she grasped that call though it remains a mystery for you even today claire you grasped a sense of that call and she has asked me specifically to acknowledge those who have helped her to know god's will and to know god's call those whom she calls those who have helped to form her in this way of life father luis rodriguez sister beth fitzpatrick dr tom neal lauren bordelon and katie abara she thanks you today and we as church thank you today for helping her to understand to grasp this mystery of god's call claire also wishes to thank today in a very very profound way those who have loved her and encouraged her and especially her parents lynn and bill thanks to you this day is possible because of you you have given her life you have given her love you have given her faith you have given her the example of family life and certainly during this time of discernment you have encouraged her and loved her we as the people of god as her friends as her co-workers thank you in a very particular way and also her brothers bill ryan eric and their families co-workers and friends so many of you here today have encouraged her have helped her to embrace the mystery of god's call and she claire is indeed profoundly grateful to all of you my sisters and brothers the call to live as a consecrated virgin though today may seem like a road less traveled dates back to the time of jesus and was very prevalent in the early church and it was seen as a sign of a radical dedication a radical commitment to christ it may be important to know that today worldwide there are over 5 000 consecrated virgins and in the united states over 400 consecrated virgins this is a lifetime commitment to christ and to his church that claire makes today and it's very important that we understand that such a vocation does not lessen the importance of marriage marriage is a vocation also it is a sacrament and many a call to marriage and family life as a very sacred way of life and yet at the same time god calls women like claire to consecrated virginity as a vocation to remain a virgin for the sake of christ and for the sake of his church in this liturgy today claire you become the bride of christ you have heard the call of god you have heard that called some of the words that were spoken through the prophet hosea who says to who said to you god said to you i will espouse you to be with me forever and you shall know the lord your response is the same as the virgins in today's gospel who say lord i will be a virgin espoused to you my lantern is lit for you and for you alone and i am forever ready to serve you today we come together as family and friends first of all to thank god for the invitation when he says i will espouse you to be with me forever you shall know the lord but we thank you for hearing that call and for saying yes and for doing so in a very sincere way of prayerful integrity you promise to live forever for christ which means that your earthly life will point to heaven not simply to what is here and what is passing claire will continue to live in the world she will not join a religious community she will not join a cloister but will continue to live in the world she will serve as in ministry at dominican high school as a professor of theology she will continue to serve as a youth minister at saint clement of rome and her desire in life and her call part of her vocation is to show pastoral care for the young church which is an important and unique call within itself claire your desire as you have expressed it is to call others to christ and especially the young church helping them to have the mind and the heart of christ himself you have said that both your prayer and your actions will specifically include the young church and those who doubt the existence of god or those who have not yet come to know god and that is what you devote your life to as a consecrated woman in this ritual in a few moments i will have the privilege to call down the gift of the holy spirit upon you that you may live faithfully the promise the vow that you make today as a part of that ritual in a few moments claire will receive a ring to symbolize that she is the bride of christ and will wear it as a wedding ring she will also receive a veil to symbolize that you are chosen yes claire you are chosen to be a humble servant of god and you will receive the book of the liturgy the hours that you promise to pray daily for the whole world for the church and especially for this local church of the archdiocese of new orleans and we are united with you in that i am united with you in that prayer like any vocations like any vocation there will be good days when the sun is bright and it will be those cloudy days when we have rain and storms as we know too well recently in this way of life your human desires are not taken away and you are well aware of that temptation remains a part of every human life yet you also know that in those moments when it's not sunny in those moments of weakness that it is the power of the holy spirit that you receive today that will be your strength and you can say from this day forward in a new way god you are my refuge and my strength and it is from him that you will gain all of the strength that you need the holy spirit the spirit of god that we call down upon you today will lead you to know the mind and the heart of christ himself in this vocation you well know that you will need love support and prayers a family continued of friends of co-workers you will need their love and support in order to fulfill the vocation that god gives you today claire we thank you today for saying yes god's call is one thing and it's a profound call but you have begun to see the mystery and you will unpack the mystery of that for the rest of your life for the rest of your human life we thank you for traveling a road that is less traveled than many other roads in life you do not wish to be noticed it is very clear from my coming to know you that you desire not to be singled out or given status but simply to live out the call of god to be a consecrated virgin for the sake of christ and his church and to live in the world in order to do that remember that it was not you who chose christ it was christ who chose you to travel this road with him and we are here today as family friends co-workers to promise you that you're in our prayers our prayers our love and our support are with you today but we promise those for the future as you consecrate yourself to christ and to his church in a new and very intimate way as a consecrated virgin we are a grateful church and we love you for who you are and for what you do today um um clear before you enter into this way of life we ask you the following questions to state your intention before christ and his people clara you resolve to persevere to the end of your days in the holy state of virginity and in the service of god and his church are you resolved to follow christ in the spirit of the gospel that your whole life may be a faithful witness to god's love and a convincing sign of the kingdom of heaven for you resolve to accept solemn consecration as a bride of our lord jesus christ the son of god let us bless the lord dearly beloved let us pray to god our almighty father through his son our lord jesus christ that by the intercession of the blessed virgin mary and all the saints he will pour out the holy spirit of his love on this servant of his clare whom he has chosen to be consecrated to his service please neil lord have mercy mercy [Music] holy mother of god [Music] holy angels of god saint john the baptist saint joseph saint peter and saint paul saint john saint mary magdalene [Music] saint stephen's [Music] felicity [Music] [Music] saint ambrose [Music] benedict saint francis and saint dominic saint macrina [Music] saint scholastica saint claire and saint catherine of cnn centuries are jesus [Music] saint margaret mary alicork [Music] [Music] all holy men and women saints of god lord be merciful [Music] from all evil [Music] [Music] death by your incarnation are you death and resurrection [Music] by the outpouring of the holy spirit [Music] be merciful to us sinners [Music] give to your servant pope francis and to all the other bishops the grace of growing daily in the likeness of christ bridegroom of the church [Music] maintain and foster in your church love for holy virginity [Music] strengthening christ's faithful people hope of a glorious resurrection and of the life of the world bring all peoples together in peace and true harmony [Music] increase in holiness and in number those who follow the councils of the gospel [Music] reward a hundred-fold the parents of your handmaids for the sacrifice they have made [Music] bless these handmaids make them holy and consecrate them to your services [Music] christ hear us [Music] [Music] [Music] lord hear the prayers of your church look with favor of your handmaid claire whom you have called in your love set her on the way of eternal salvation may she seek only what is pleasing to you and fulfill it with watchful care through christ our lord fish father receive my resolution to follow christ in a life of perfect chastity which with god's help i hear profess before you and god's holy people please stand loving father chaste bodies are your temple your delight in sinless hearts our nature was corrupted when the devil deceived our first parents but you have restored it in christ he is your word through whom all things were made he has made our nature whole again and made it possible for mortal people to reflect the life of angels lord look with favor on your handmaid she places in your hands are resolved to live in chastity you prompt her in this her intention now she gives you her heart you have poured out your grace upon all peoples you have adopted as heirs of the new covenant sons and daughters from every nation under heaven countless as the stars your children are born not of human birth but nor of man's desire but of your spirit among your many gifts you give to some the grace of virginity yet the honor of marriage is in no way lessened as it was in the beginning your first blessing still remains upon this holy union yet your loving wisdom chooses those who make sacrifices of this marriage for the sake of the love of which it is the sign they renounce the joys of human marriage but cherish all that it foreshadows lord we ask you to protect this woman claire who seeks your help she desires to be strengthened by your blessing and consecration defend her from the cunning and deceit of the enemy keep her vigilant and on her guard may nothing tarnish the glory of perfect virginity of the vocation of purity which is shared by those who are married through the gift of your spirit lord you give her modesty with right judgment kindness with true wisdom gentleness with strength of character freedom with the grace of chastity give her the warmth of love to you above all others make her life deserve our praise without seeking to be crazed herself may she give you glory by holiness of action and purity of heart may she love you and fear you may she love you and serve you be yourself her glory her joy her whole desire be her comfort and sorrow her wisdom and perplexity her protection in the midst of injustice her patience and adversity her riches and poverty her food and fasting a remedy in time of sickness lord she has chosen you above all things may she find all things in possessing you and we ask this through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit god forever and ever claire received this veil by which you are to show that you have been chosen from among other women to be dedicated to the service of christ and of his body which is the church i will raise my mind and heart to your lord that i may be in body and soul clear receive the ring that marks you as the bride of christ keep unstained your fidelity to the bridegroom that you may one day be admitted to the wedding feast of everlasting glory claire received the book of the liturgy of the hours the prayer of the church may the praise of our heavenly father be always on your lips pray without ceasing for the salvation of the whole world i am a spouse at his glory [Applause] [Music] and what greatness is [Music] please [Music] [Music] having wisdom [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] and the greatest [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] the greatest [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] so [Music] my sisters and brothers please pray that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to god the almighty father as we offer sacrificial gifts we pray o lord grant graciously to your servant claire perseverance and the resolve that she has made her own so that when the doors are opened at the coming of the most high king she may merit to enter with joy into the heavenly kingdom through christ our lord the lord be with you lift up your hearts let us give thanks to the lord our god is truly right and just our duty and our salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks lord holy father almighty and eternal god through christ the lord he is the unblemished flower who sprang from the root of the virgin and declared the pure of heart blessed teaching by his way of life the surpassing worth of chastity he chose always to hold fast to what is pleasing to you and becoming obedient for our sake even unto death he willingly offered himself to you as a perfect and fragrant sacrifice he consecrated to a full of service of your majesty those who for love of you leave all earthly things and promise that they would find treasure in heaven and so with the company of angels and saints we sing the hymn of your praise as without end we acclaim [Music] oh [Music] my god you are indeed holy o lord and all you have created rightly gives you praise for through your son our lord jesus christ by the power and working of the holy spirit you give life to all things and make them holy and you never cease to gather a people to yourself so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name therefore lord we humbly implore you by the same spirit graciously make holy these gifts we have brought to you for consecration that they may become the body and blood of your son our lord jesus christ at whose command we celebrate these mysteries from the night he was betrayed he himself took bread and giving you thanks he said the blessing broke the bread and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in some of the way when supper was ended he took the chalice and giving you thanks he said the blessing and gave the chalice to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me the mystery of faith [Music] again [Music] therefore oh lord as we celebrate the memorial of the saving passion of your son his wondrous resurrection and ascension into heaven and as we look forward to his second coming we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice look we pray upon the oblation of your church in recognizing the sacrificial victim by whose death you will to reconcile us to yourself grant that we who are nourished by the body and blood of your son and filled with his holy spirit may become one body one spirit in christ may he make of us an eternal offering to you so that we may obtain an inheritance with your elect especially with the most blessed virgin mary mother of god blessed joseph her spouse with your blessed apostles and glorious martyrs and with all the saints on whose constant intercession in your presence we rely for unfailing help may this sacrifice of our reconciliation we pray o lord advance the peace and salvation of all the world be pleased to confirm in faith and charity your pilgrim church on earth through servant francis our pope and gregory our bishop the order of bishops all the clergy and the entire people you've gained for your own strengthen in her holy resolve o lord this your servant who seeks to follow your christ in faithful devotion giving a witness of even evangelical life and of sisterly love listen graciously to the prayers of this family whom you have summoned before you and your compassionate merciful father gather to yourself all your children scattered throughout the world to our departed brothers and sisters and to all who are pleasing to you at their passing from this life give kind admittance to your kingdom there we hope to enjoy forever the fullness of your glory through christ our lord through whom you bestow on the world all that is good through him and with him and in him oh god almighty father in the unity of the holy spirit all glory and honor is yours [Music] oh [Music] at the savior's command and formed by divine teaching we dare to say our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom upon i will be done on earth as it is in heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil deliver us lord we pray from every evil graciously grant peace in our days that by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ lord jesus christ you said to your apostles a peace i leave you my peace i give you look not on our sins but on the faith of your church and graciously grant her peace and unity in accordance with your will who live and reign forever and ever may the peace of the lord be with you always let us offer each other the sign of peace [Music] is [Music] us [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] behold the lamb of god behold him who takes away the sins of the world and bless to those who are called to the supper of the lamb lord only say the word and my soul shall be healed um here we go [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] i received [Music] is [Music] jesus [Music] i received [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Music] [Music] so so [Music] so let us pray replenished by these sacred gifts oh lord we humbly pray that the way of life chosen by your servant claire may constantly benefit the advancement of human society and unceasingly profit the growth of our church through christ our lord claire will now process over to the blessed mother's altar and present flowers as a sign of her consecration to christ and also to marry his mother that she desires to live with that simplicity of life as mary did and with that total yes to god and she will go forth now to the blessed mother's altar [Music] oh my [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] [Music] god [Music] [Music] [Music] before the final blessing that we will offer first declare and then to the whole congregation before that moment i would like to express gratitude on behalf of all of us to you claire thank you for your yes to the lord thank you for inviting us to be a part of this celebration of consecrated virginity and please join me in thanking god for claire and for her vocation once again we express gratitude to her parents and family and to all of you and beyond who have supported her and those who have served in the various ministries of this celebration and i thank first of all our deacons our seminarians our servers those who proclaim the word of god for us the choir from saint clement of rome and all those who have worked and those who have proclaimed the word of god as well and all those who have prepared this celebration a special thank you to father nile gross who's the director of the office of worship and betty ann hickey who assists him all of the other masters of ceremony and those who have in any way prepared for this celebration please join me in thanking all of those people [Applause] let us pray the lord be with you may the almighty father by his protection keep intact the resolve that he has poured into your heart flare to live in blessed virginity may the lord jesus christ who unites to himself the hearts of sacred virgins and nuptial covenant make your heart fruitful by the word that is god's seed and may the holy spirit who came down upon the blessed virgin and descending today has consecrated your heart fire you with zeal for the service of god and of the church and may almighty god bless you the father and the son and the holy spirit go in peace glorifying the lord by your life [Music] foreign [Music] uh ah [Music] uh [Music] yes [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] thank you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] excuse me they're over there on the other on the other side

Channel: Archdiocese of New Orleans

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Id: lrUccxRA6gs

Length: 95min 16sec (5716 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 18 2021