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July 2004 |
Well...
The summer has come, and everybody is on vacation, so Josef gets to do the "What's New" update this month.
It's good to be back!!
First, a big toot of our own horn...
AugustinianCanons.org has become a HUGE international success!!
In the month of June, 2004, the AugustinianCanons.org website had 38,231 hits!!!
...with an average of 1318 hits per day!
In the month of June alone, we had visitors from the following countries:
US
Austria
Norway
United Kingdom
Italy
Germany
Netherlands
Brazil
Poland
Argentina
Canada
Czech Republic
Australia
Philippines
Hungary
Russian Federation
Switzerland
Venezuela
France
Romania
Sweden
Denmark
Portugal
Mexico
Spain
Luxembourg
Croatia
Finland
Greece
Japan
Ireland
Slovak Republic
Belgium
Mauritius
Lithuania
Estonia
Yugoslavia
Malaysia
Singapore
Israel
Thailand
Turkey
Malta
Saudi Arabia
Faroe Islands
New Zealand
Ukraine
and...
according to:
www.vita-religiosa.de/chorher.htm,
we are...
"Very Detailed! THE reference site for Canons Regular of St. Augustine."
Pretty impressive, eh??
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Reflections of the pilgrims:
In May of 2004, 15 pilgrims made their way here to Klosterneuburg. Here are some of their impressions of their trip...
Anna Ryu:
Thinking back to the pilgrimage to Hungary & Austria, there are so many happy memories that come to my mind. Each day was filled with lots of activities. We visited famous churches, landmarks and beautiful monasteries, which were rich in history. I was awe stricken by the beauty & grandeur of the architecture & arts.
Here are some of the highlights from our pilgrimage. Celebrating Mass at different churches or monasteries, sipping wine or coffee at each day’s end & sharing experiences with other pilgrims, crossing the border with ease despite the horror stories we had heard, eating Goulash at Budapest & eating Veal Schnitzel in Vienna, listening to the Gypsy band, praying the rosary and the Divine Mercy Chaplet on the bus, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, praying the intercessory prayer to St. Jude for a sunny day, and visiting Fr. Elias at his home and tasting wines at Vinothek. The list goes on. Well, you get the picture.
The most memorable event from this pilgrimage has to be the celebration of Mass with Fr. Elias, listening to his inspiring homilies, and spending time with each other. We became a family. We laughed a lot & truly enjoyed each others’ company. We did everything together so it was a great opportunity to get to know each other better. I think this is what makes everyone happy. We all love Jesus & wanted to come together to share His love among us. This certainly was one of the most memorable & beautiful pilgrimages I have experienced. May the risen Lord bless us always, especially Fr. Elias & the American Project!
Pat Johnsen
The trip was wonderful and the Carrs were great tour directors.
Memorable moments: Just being around Fr. Carr, mass, singing, and his sermons were very uplifting. The Verdun altar at the stift; visiting the stift and their residence. The wine tasting was interesting/fun. The small group was nice and very compatible. So many memories and not a bad one in the bunch.
Brigitte Portelle
The choice was a difficult one, since there were so many beautiful places to choose along our journey from Hungary to Austria but if I had to make a choice, these would be the ones: The small church in Hungary where Bishop William Apor is buried. He was one of the most heroic and courageous bishops of his time who hid a number of Jewish people from their ultimate demise of the concentration camps during World War II.
The painting of the Assumption at the Cathedral of Eztergom, showing Our Blessed Mother in all her splendor which took up the entire back wall behind the
altar. The Schonbrun Palace which is compared to the Chateaux de Versailles with its 1441 rooms and magnificent sculpted gardens (orangery), the French being proud of the fact that theirs is two feet longer. The grand ballroom at the palace, where I had
a flashback from the movie classic War and Peace where I pictured Audrey Hepburn waltzing the night away with the prince. The picturesque town of Durstein with its many vineyards and cobblestone streets which was the location of the Augustinian Blue Church overlooking the Danube, where Father Elias Carr celebrated mass.
The Melk abbey with its baroque architecture, splendid in its grandeur and numerous art treasures; The wooden library that contains 1,800 manuscripts, with the four wooden sculptures on either side of the doors that stand for the four faculties of the university
theology, philosophy, medicine, and law. The marble room and spiral staircase that made it seem endless in appearance with a mirror at the bottom. The church of the abbey was overwhelming with its ceiling frescoes and symphony of colors that were designed by the hand of an Italian, Antonio Beduzzi. The altar of the abbey is dedicated to the two patron saints of the church. St. Paul and St. Peter that are shown shaking hands in farewell before going to the last battle of there lives which symbolizes the battling and triumphant church.
This is where the legend of Klosterneuburg needs to be told, since this played an important role, as to the location of the abbey. This took place after the wedding of Margrave Leopold and Agnes, as they stepped onto the balcony, there was a gust of wind that blew her veil into the meadowlands. Leopold immediately sent a search party to retrieve this veil and promised he would build a monastery where it was found hence
came the Stift Klosterneuburg. These are some of my favorite rooms at the Stift; the wooden room with its many doors that held the beautiful vestments that was worn by St. Leopold, the monstrance that contains Agnes veil and the skull of her beloved husband. The wellhouse which houses the seven-branched bronze candelabrum that appears to be the Christian interpretation of the menorah, the structure represents the Tree of Jesse and the candles, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Verdun Altar which took ten years to complete with the winged altar that is a combination of 51 tablets depicting various scenes from the Bible and completed in the 1300s. This is also the dwelling place of St. Leopolds relic, where mass was celebrated in his honor by Fr. Elias Carr. The Cistercian Abbey at Hellingenkruz named for the Holy Cross that houses a relic that comes from the true cross. The abbey was beautiful with its gothic archways that surrounded a courtyard, along with the wooden sculptures, and stained glass
windows.
St. Jude became the patron saint of our pilgrimage, not only in helping us with the border crossing in which we were forewarned that it would take hours to cross and didnt experience any delays, to the inclement weather on our way towards Hellingenkruz.
Each one of these churches along our pilgrimage was unique in their style, architecture, ceiling frescoes, and paintings where I felt that God was present.
Amy Welsh
My favorite country was actually Hungary. It is where I got my first taste of dessert wine. The Hungarian food was fresh and tasty, I got some beautiful crystal earrings, and for some reason, Our Lady of Remete Church touched me more than all of the others. I liked it because it had a humble story and feeling, and I tried to remember everyone by name who I wanted to pray for there. I really loved my hotel room because it was Old World and I liked staring out my window and seeing the street. My room in Vienna was the Ikea showroom, and that just didn't do it for me...and there was no view to daydream over. My taste in classical music is mainly Slavic/Russian, and I had some tunes that were played by the Hungarian State Orchestra....so I spent the evening listening to that in Hungary. One of my cousins actually conducted an orchestra in Budapest, so there was that musical connection to ponder as well. I also liked the live gypsy music because that is not something you can usually get in the US. Dorothy was so sweet and beautiful...I think I'll always remember her.In Austria...seeing Beethoven's piano near the Naschmarket was astounding. Just strolling down the road and bam, there is Beethoven's piano! Ha ha. I also liked seeing the building where Strauss, "the first pop star," played. The Vienna Forest was lovely....and it was nice to see a river every place you turned! And although this may sound incredibly silly to people, I liked Americanizing my meals in Austria at the tail end of the trip. When I finally just said "the heck with it" and asked for French fries and a coke, I was happy...ha ha! I think those were the best fries and coke I ever had simply because it was not easy to get them. Overall, it was great being served such good meals constantly though.
I liked the Cistercian Abbey, particularly the painting at the front of the church that depicted a monk with his finger over his lips, saying "Shhhhh!!!!" I bought some beautiful hand made rosaries there that I intend to give away as gifts.
Ohhh, and Jim comparing me to Sisi (Empress of Austria...Elizabeth's nickname) was good...I ended up with a nice porcelain doll of her...ha ha. Going through the palace and pretending I was the Empress was great fun. I used to go through picture books of palaces when I was little and pretend I was the princess, and this was the first time I got in a real palace.
Hanging out at the Stift was obviously special because it's Fr. Elias' new home. Watching them open all of the doors and showing us the treasures was very interesting. And that is where I discovered my favorite regular wine...Chardonnay. Nothing else was quite hitting the spot with me. I was like "Finally!"
The worst part was saying goodbye to Fr. Elias, but I'm sure that is the same for most of us. I think that was even worse than trying to learn to operate my digital camera! Ha ha.
Jim Jenkins
Pilgrimages have intrigued me most of my life because of the aura of mystery associated with them since the time of Chaucer. All sorts of images have occurred to me but none were based on my experience because I had none. When I discovered that a pilgrimage was going to Vienna and Budapest in May and would be focused on churches of the middle European remnants of the Holy Roman Empire, plus lead spiritually by my friend, Fr. Elias Mathew Carr, I signed up on the spot. Matt Carr, the tour leader, asked me to give some reflections about the pilgrimage and thereby share some parts of it with those who could not make it. Here are the major points that come to mind...Faith plus fun: Everyone I met on the pilgrimage were faith-filled women and men, single or married, in their 20’s, 30’s and the more mature years. I experienced their faith in their heritage of deeply-held belief in the power of Jesus alive in the Hungarian and Austrian churches and in the Mother Church. We saw the tombs of martyrs, killed in our lifetime, the sources of devotion to miraculous images of the 17th Century, the dedication of the monastic life originating in he 11th Century and the heritage of faith these experiences made alive for us; and, it was emotional and intellectual fun, too. We celebrated Mass in cloisters and in cathedrals and the themes of resurrection in the Liturgy resonated with our hearts. Daily Mass became a high-point and we were doubly-blessed to have our own celebration each day.
At the same time, we went up and down Austrian hills, also called the Vienna Woods, trying to find an important church, Our Lady of Maria Taferi, which happened to be closed that day so we went on a Benedictine abbey which gave us a comparison with the Stift Klosterneuburg and took a shorted trip down the Danube, drank schnapps on the upper deck of the vessel and enjoyed the event. Wow! Faith plus fun!! We dined on prodigious quantities of pork presented in different styles and shapes as well as excellent wines and beers. Everyone became an expert in wines of the Stift during an afternoon wine tasting (reds, whites and dessert vintages). Many of us brought samples back home.
We became friends and sharers of personal trials and triumphs. No one was excluded from companionship and little adventures in our free time. For example, near our Vienna hotel was a four block open area called something like the “Noshmarket” where all sorts of cheap and expensive wares could be purchased from individual vendors. Farmers brought their produce there as well. All fifteen of us descended on the market and emerged in 30 minutes loaded with ‘Noshstuff’. We then compared our successful bargains but ten minutes later we gathered in awe at St. Stephen's cathedral in the heart of Vienna.
Did we have problems? Of course we did. Some arrangements did not pan out, other events were too short or too long and some hotel rooms were noisy. Such is life and I would not like to be a tour leader, like Matt Carr, but I appreciated his calm attitude in the midst of travail.
How about another pilgrimage to the great cathedrals of Scandinavia?