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2020 Year with the Saints: St. Michael

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 29

Church • Brattleboro

Although angels have been recognized throughout salvation history, St. Michael is one of the three archangels we know by name, the others being Raphael and Gabriel.

Michael appears in both the Old and New Testaments. He is mentioned in the Book of Daniel as well as the Letter of St. Jude; in the book of Revelation, he leads God’s armies in the final battle over evil. He also is invoked against the influence and power of Satan in the world.

The patron of soldiers, police and doctors, his feast, along with that of Gabriel and Raphael, is celebrated Sept. 29.

St. Michael Parish in Brattleboro takes its name from St. Michael the Archangel, who is well represented in art in the church, school and rectory. Among the works of art representing St. Michael are statues, an icon and a stained-glass window. “One of the coolest represen- tations of the saint is a bas relief that hangs in the rectory,” said Father Justin Baker, pastor, as he gestured to the plaster work.

The Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel is recited at each daily Mass, and the parish celebrates the patron’s feast day with a parish picnic on the church grounds on the Sunday closest to the Sept. 29 feast. Nearly 200 people usually attend the event which features food, music, games and “all-you-can-eat” ice cream.

Prayer to St. Michael

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle.

Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray;

And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host,

by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits

who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Edward the Confessor

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Oct. 13

Church • Derby Line

This English king was not the only saint in the family; his niece, who spent a great deal of her youth at his court, was St. Margaret of Scotland.

Ascending the throne in 1044, Edward’s reign was known as a largely peaceful one; he is remembered especially for his good rule and the repealing of particularly crushing taxes. Though caught up in the political intrigues that were inevitable in his position, he resolved them without armed conflict.

He built an abbey at the site of the present- day Westminster Abbey, where he is buried. His feast day is Oct. 13.

St. Edward the Confessor Church in Derby Line was completed in 1964. The natural light that streams in through the many clear glass windows adds to the open feeling of the semi-circle floorplan. This church is part of the Mater Dei Parish, which includes four churches and is served by a team of Vocationist Fathers. St. Edward’s has a notable collection of first-class relics. In the spring, Father Rijo Johnson, pastor, placed three significant relics (St. Edward the Confessor, St.  Faustina Kowalska and Blessed Father Justin M. Russolillo, SDV, the founder of the Vocationists) on the altar, to ask for their intercession to end the pandemic.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Charles Borromeo

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 4

Church • Bellows Falls

St. Charles Borromeo, whose feast day is celebrated on Nov. 4, probably is remembered best for the various reforms he helped institute in the Church during the Protestant Reformation. Though he worked behind the scenes, he was instrumental in seeing the Council of Trent through to its conclusion.

Ordained at 25 in 1563, he was made bishop of Milan soon after. His life’s work centered on reform; whether at Trent or in his Diocese, St. Charles always led by example, living a holy and simple life Worn out from hard and constant work, St. Charles died in 1584 at 46.

St. Charles Borromeo Church in Bellows Falls was completed in 1885 and still has many of its original features and adornments, such as the white reredos with plaster work and statues, late- Victorian stained-glass windows and plaster Stations of the Cross. A large pipe organ was added to the choir loft in 1937, gifted to the church from a private estate in Scarsdale, New York. The church has both a statue and a small stained-glass window featuring the patron saint, as well as a first-class relic.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: St. Andrew

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Nov. 30

Church • Waterbury

St. Andrew was St. Peter’s brother and was called to follow Jesus at the same time. Beginning as a disciple of John the Baptist, Andrew became one of The Twelve who stayed with Jesus throughout His ministry.

Like many of the apostles, we do not know much more about him. He does appear again in the Gospel of John as the one who finds the child with five barley loaves and two fish that Jesus then multiplies.

According to legend, Andrew preached the Gospel in modern day Greece and was martyred at Patras. His feast is Nov. 30.

The original St. Andrew Church in Waterbury dates back to 1857, but the current church was completed in 1916. The church has a particularly interesting history surrounding events that happened directly after the flood of 1927 which severely impacted Waterbury. When the church flooded, the statue of the Virgin Mother came off its pedestal and positioned itself 20 feet away facing the altar. This became known locally as Our Lady of the Flood, and people came from throughout the region to see the statue that had not been damaged. In 1929 an 8-year-old boy suffered extensive burns to his legs, and doctors wanted to amputate his legs. After much praying and several visits to the statue, the boy was healed and left his crutches at the altar in St. Andrew Church.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 8

Church • Swanton

While Scripture does not give an account of the event, the nativity or birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been celebrated since about the sixth century, although there are other, con-flicting accounts of when this particular feast came to be.

It likely originated in the Eastern Church in response to the Council of Ephesus, in which Mary was officially proclaimed “Mother of God” (Theotokos), and it is thought that the date of Sept. 8 was chosen because the Eastern Church year begins in September. Later, this feast would help determine the date of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Swanton is the third church to be built to serve the parish; it was built in 1925. The first church was destroyed by fire in 1858, and the second church was demolished in the 1930s. The hand-carved, wooden altar dates back to the original church. It was retrofitted with interior lighting in the 1970s. Father James Dodson has been pastor since 2019. He commented that the ceiling of the church reminds him of the hull of ship, an image often associated with the Church in the broader sense.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.

2020 Year with the Saints: Holy Cross

Posted on by Vermont Catholic

Feast • Sept. 14

Church • Colchester

More precisely known as the Exaltation of the Cross, this feast has been celebrated in the Church since the seventh century. It can trace its roots back to St. Helena, whose pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the early part of the fourth century uncovered what was believed to be the true cross of Christ, located under a dismantled second-century temple to Aphrodite.

St. Helena’s son, the Emperor Constantine, built the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher over the spot where the cross was discovered. Today, this feast is celebrated on Sept. 14, the anniversary of the basilica’s dedication.

Holy Cross Church in Colchester was completed in 1967 and is a prime example of early post- Vatican II church architecture. The church features stonework on both the exterior and interior, constructed of a native limestone, which prevails in the Malletts Bay ledges on nearby Lake Champlain. The main altar is made from one 30-foot ancient, hand-hewn beam felled in Colchester. The parish celebrates both its feast day and anniversary on Sept. 14 with a parish breakfast. The parish has a relic of the True Holy Cross and a first-class relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, to whom the parish’s chapel at the front of the church is dedicated.

—Originally published in the Fall 2020 issue of Vermont Catholic magazine.