News Item: : Favourite Calvaries Part 3 of 3
(Category: Torch of The Faith News)
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Thursday 24 March 2016 - 11:40:27

We conclude this short series with the following examples of our favourite Calvaries:-

Pantasaph - North Wales

Between 2007 - 2009, we lived in a small village near to the Capuchin Franciscan Friary in North Wales. We moved there to be near to the monastic prayers and to take part in the evangelization team that was then operating from there.

The friary is remarkable in that its central church of St. David was not only designed by T.H. Wyatt and adapted by A.W.N. Pugin, but that it has a quite unique history.

In 1846, Lord Rudolph Fielding, later the 8th Earl of Denbigh, married Louisa Pennant. They were then Anglicans and commissioned the construction of St. David's church in honour of their marriage. When they converted to the Catholic Faith in 1850, the rising church converted with them!

Under Cardinal Wiseman, Lord Fielding took an active part in many charitable enterprises. In 1852, Lord and Lady Fielding established the community of Capuchin Franciscans next to St. David's church; their large friary was eventually completed in the 1860's.

During the 1870's, the monks developed the splendid Stations of the Cross, which still zig-zag up through the forested hillside behind the friary, to this day.

As the above images show, each station is marked by a small way-side shrine, containing a beautiful mosaic to aid contemplation.

In a clearing at the very top of the hill - affectionately known as ''the Mountain'' - is this large Calvary scene. When Lord and Lady Fielding converted, Bl. Pope Pius IX granted an Indulgence to those who devoutly visited this Calvary scene, made the Stations of the Cross, or looked from a distance to the Cross whilst praying a ''Hail Mary'' for the reconversion of England. 

His Holiness also gave the Fieldings the, then, newly re-discovered relics of St. Primitivus. These sacred relics still repose beneath the Lady Altar in St. David's church.

During the time that we lived in North Wales, we frequently made the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings in the spring, summer and autumn months. As with our visits to Union Cemetery in Steubenville, Ohio, these visits were often punctuated by visits from the local wildlife: rabbits would frequently dart across our path; and it was typical to witness a majestic Buzzard soaring high over the trees above us.

Most of the times we did those stations, we followed those written by St. Alphonsus de Liguori. These were times of deep peace that also challenged us to a deeper conversion. If you can get hold of, and pray, a set of St. Alphonsus' Stations of the Cross, then we highly recommend them.

Trelawnyd - North Wales 

During that blessed 18-months in Wales, we rented a wonderful little bungalow that was tucked into the edge of Trelawnyd village.

Trelawnyd means ''Newmarket'' and the village was given this name around 1700 by a local entrepreneur called John Wynne. He enlarged the village, started a weekly market and introduced new industries. Although his dream had been to develop Trelawnyd into a flourishing town, each of the new industries gradually fell away and it instead remains a peaceful little settlement to this day.

Trelawnyd's old St. Michael's churchyard contains the amazing ''Preachers' Cross'' which is seen in these two pictures. It is a medieval construction, dating back to at least the 14th-Century. The stone cross is reputed to have been used by itinerant preachers passing through the village in days gone by. Although St. Michael's is now an Anglican parish, it was originally founded (with an earlier building) as a Catholic church before 1291. In that time, a number of Welsh churches were named for St. Michael as a symbol of territory being won back for Christ from the devil.

Perhaps the Preachers' Cross also had some connection to the Cistercian Basingwerk Abbey, which was founded up the coast in 1131. The ruins of the abbey are still extant, five centuries after the rapacious Dissolution of the Monasteries by King Henry VIII. There is a small tea-room next to the site and we usually pop over there during the summer months for a cup of tea and a slice of cake!  

The reverse side of the Trelawnyd Preachers' Cross features an image of Our Lady, standing in prayer at the foot of the cross. It is amazing to stand in that churchyard, praying at the foot of that cross, and remember that it represents at least 7 centuries of Catholic history and faith in the Cross of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament - Hanceville, Alabama 

During the summer of 2005, we spent a few days on retreat at Mother Angelica's monastery and, then, newly-constructed Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama.

This life-size crucifix, complete with the marks of the scourging, is found in the open-sided cloistered walkways that surround the main church's central piazza.

It is a deeply moving crucifix to stand and contemplate. Since our visit, a kneeler has been set up to facilitate prayerful contemplation. 

We could not help but think that, if there were more crucifixes as brutally realistic as this - and these pictures do not do it justice at all - then we might all be a bit less inclined to sin. Surely, in this Year of Mercy, it is about time that we all had some mercy on Jesus.

Conclusion

In this series during Holy Week we have shared some of our favourite Calvary scenes: places that have helped us on the ongoing road of conversion, repentance and healing. As we were about to finish this concluding article, we reflected that, at the end of the day, there is no place like home.

As we said in January 2014, it is important to establish a special place in one's home for prayer. It is also essential to have a blessed crucifix in your main living room and over your bed. We also highly recommend, especially in these days, the wearing of a properly blessed Benedictine Crucifix.

When we got married, we were presented with a lovely Crucifix.

There is a tradition, in south-eastern Europe, for engaged couples to be presented with a blessed crucifix on their wedding day; and for this to become a focal point for family prayer in the home. 

It is essential for married couples to transcend themselves if their relationship is to survive, flourish and give life. This is especially so in the present cultural situation.

When we used to go around offering marriage preparation catechesis, we always encouraged the engaged couples to invite Jesus Christ into the very centre of their love and relationship.

When we got married in 2002, we found it helpful to give this some practical expression by setting up the little prayer altar, pictured above, in our spare room. The crucifix from our wedding gave us a daily reminder that true love is self-sacrificial. Our Lord on the Cross is the perfect model for both the husband and the bride; and for any children that they are subsequently blessed with. In good times and bad, in sickness and in old age, He will be there to remind them all of the value and meaning of suffering.

This can have a very practical impact on the marriage relationship.

A couple of days after returning from our honeymoon, we had our first row as a married couple. It happens! Not wanting to face each other, we went into different rooms. About 10 minutes later, we each headed to the prayer room to ask for Our Lord's help. That is where we found each other, at the foot of Christ's Cross, and we were reconciled.

It is Jesus Christ Who gives us the example, grace and help to overcome our selfishness, brokenness and sinfulness. Jesus raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament and He wants to be intimately involved in helping His children to live out this vocation.

As the months went by, we gradually began to spend more and more time in front of that family crucifix. Our prayer corner developed into a little oratory with relics, candlesticks, the Sacred Scriptures, icons and even a fablon roll-on stained-glass window! We began to meet there frequently to pray the Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and Novenas. We prepared for Confession in there on Saturday afternoons. In time, it supplanted the TV as the centre of our home. It was even in that place that we discerned the call to sell up and travel to America for a couple of years.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church highlights the importance of setting aside a place for personal prayer: ''For personal prayer, this can be a 'prayer corner' with the Sacred Scriptures and icons, in order to be there, in secret, before our Father. In a Christian family, this kind of little oratory fosters prayer in common'' (CCC 2691).

We highly recommend getting a crucifix blessed and set up in your home for encouragement, prayer and example. The prayer corner can start off small and grow into something more substantial.

Our original one may have been supplanted by this east-facing home altar today; but the central crucifix is still the same one that was presented to us when we got married!

This then, is our favourite Calvary!

May the Cross of Christ be the Royal Road that leads us all home to Heaven.

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This news item is from Torch of The Faith
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