Pictures of Churches in Prague from Fr Lew (Part 2): the Cathedral of St Vitus

Earlier this month, we shared two posts of images by our long-time contributor, photographer extraordinaire Fr Lawrence Lew, the first set related to one of the city's patron Saints, John Nepomuk, and the second a selection of images from several different churches. Today we return to the cathedral of St Vitus, where St John's relics are kept. The church was begun in 1344, the third on the site, but was not actually completed and consecrated until 1929. It is, of course, full of artworks and side-chapels, and could easily merit a blog of its own, but Fr Lew captures some of its most salient features very beautifully, as always.  

The external view of the apse.

A mosaic of the Last Judgment on the outside.

The main façade

Stained glass windows of the first part of the 20th century, showing the conversion of the early Bohemians, those who bordered the Germans, and were thus baptized by Latin rite bishops, as opposed to those converted by the early missions of Ss Cyril and Methodius.

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More Pictures of Churches in Prague from Fr Lew (Part 1)

Following up on yesterday’s post, here are some pictures of a few other churches in Prague taken by Fr Lawrence Lew, Dominican friar and photographer extraordinaire. We start with the Carmelite church, where the famous statue known as the Infant of Prague is kept. There will be a few more posts of this sort over the next couple of weeks; once again, we thank Fr Lew for sharing his beautiful work with us.

Carmelite Church of the Victorious Virgin

The shrine of the Infant of Prague

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The Feast of St John Nepomuk in Prague: Photos by Fr Lew

Our long-time contributor Fr Lawrence Lew has just visited Prague, which today celebrates the feast of one of its patrons, a priest of the archdiocese who was martyred in the year 1393. We are grateful to Father for sharing these pictures us; Prague is one of the loveliest cities in all of Europe, and really deserves to be captured by such a talented photographer.

St John’s family name is variously written Wölflein or Welfin, but he is generally called “Nepomuk” or “Nepomucene” after the town where he was born ca. 1345, about 65 miles to the southwest of Prague. As vicar general of the archdiocese, he fell afoul of the Bohemian king, Wenceslaus IV (1361-1419; reigned from 1378), on several accounts. The best known of these (though not as well attested as historians might like) is that John was the confessor of the queen, Sophia of Bavaria, of whom Wenceslaus, although continually unfaithful himself, was intensely jealous. In the midst of his other conflicts with the Saint and his archbishop, the king demanded that John reveal to him the contents of his wife’s sacramental confessions; when John refused, he was tortured, and then killed by being trussed up and thrown off the famous Charles Bridge into the Vltava River. On the night of his death, five stars were said to be seen hovering over the place where his body lay under the water, until it later washed up on the shore. Although his feast was never added to the general Calendar, it was kept in a great many places; statues of him may be seen on bridges all over Europe, especially within the lands of the former German and Austrian Empires. The first canonized bishop of a see in the United States, St John Neumann of Philadelphia, was named for him, his middle name being “Nepomucký” in Czech.

The Charles Bridge is named for Weceslaus’ predecessor, Charles IV, who began its construction in 1357. It is famous in part because of its impressive size, but also because of the 30 Baroque statues or statue groups on the parapets. Here are two particularly nice shots by Fr Lew of the statue of St. John with his halo of stars; the cathedral of St Vitus is in the background of the first.

The spot on the bridge from which St. John was thrown; the image of the Saint is worn away from continual touching and kissing.

Fr Lew was able to say Mass at the altar of his magnificent tomb in the cathedral of St Vitus; several more pictures of the church, inside and out, are given below. 

A processions with a relic of the Saint...

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“Reverence Is Not Enough: On the Importance of Tradition”

The text of the lecture I gave in Prague for the launch of the Czech translation of Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis is now available at Rorate. A few excerpts:

Prior to all arguments about which practice is better or worse is the overarching principle of the primacy of tradition, meaning the inherent claim that our religious inheritance, handed down from our forefathers, makes on us. We do not “own” this gift, much less “produce” it. Tradition comes to us from above, from God who providentially designed us as social animals who inherit our language, our culture, and our religion; it comes to us from our ancestors, who are called antecessores in Latin—literally, the ones who have gone before. They are ahead of us, not behind us; they have finished running the race, and we stand to benefit from their collective wisdom. St. Paul states the principle in 1 Thessalonians 4:1: “We pray and beseech you in the Lord Jesus, that as you have received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, so also you would walk, that you may abound the more.”

The rejection of tradition and the cult of change embodies a peculiarly modern attitude of “mastery over tradition,” which is the social equivalent of Baconian and Cartesian “mastery over nature.” The combination of capitalism and technology has allowed us to abuse the natural world, treating it as raw material for exploitation, in pursuit of the satisfaction of our selfish desires. In a similar way, the influence of rationalism and individualism has tempted us to treat Catholic tradition as if it were a collection of isolated facts from which we, who are autonomous and superior, can make whatever selection pleases us. In adopting this arrogant stance, we fail to recognize, with creaturely humility, that our rationality is socially constituted and tradition-dependent. By failing to honor our antecessores, we fail to live according to our political nature and our Christian dignity as recipients of a concrete historical revelation that endures and develops organically over time and space.[4] The Psalm verse comes to mind: “Know ye that the Lord, he is God: he made us, and not we ourselves” (Ps 99[100]:3). Ipse fecit nos et non ipsi nos. We do not make ourselves, nor do we make our religion or our liturgies; we receive our existence, we receive our faith, we receive our worship. Tradition comes to us from outside ourselves, before and beyond us. It unambiguously expresses our dependence on God—as creatures, as Christians, as coheirs with the saints. An heir is one who inherits, not the “self-made man” of capitalism. 

St. Paul states to the Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). Massively changing the liturgy to make it apparently more suited to “modern man” was, in fact, a form of yielding and conforming to the world rather than standing all the more firmly over against it with a supernatural alternative, holding fast what was already known to be “good and acceptable and perfect.”[8] While earlier ages of the Church witnessed the enrichment of the liturgy with elements from the cultures through which it passed, there had never been, prior to the twentieth century, a systematic attempt to reconfigure the liturgy according to the pattern of a certain epoch or worldview. There had been pruning and adjustment, but never wholesale reconstruction and whole-cloth invention. The very ambition to attempt such an audacious feat could have arisen only in an age bedazzled by the Myth of Progress—a myth that played upon the well-known gullibility of rationalists and romantics alike. The liturgical reformers for the most part surrendered to the temptation without resistance, like springtime lovers in Paris. We could adapt what St. Paul says elsewhere in the Epistle to the Romans: “they became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21).

The full text is here.

Sermon and Photos from Cardinal Burke's Pontifical Mass in Strahov Abbey, Prague

The country of the Czech Republic and the city of Prague was much blessed by the visit last week of His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke. His Eminence visited several places, giving public lectures in defense of Catholic doctrine on marriage and the family and celebrating pontifical liturgies in the usus antiquior. In this post, I will simply share photos from the Mass on Saturday, October 15, at Strahov Abbey, a house founded in 1143 as part of the Premonstratensian order and well known for housing the relics of St. Norbert himself.

This Mass was one of the most splendid I have ever had the privilege of attending. The capacious Baroque church was packed with faithful of all ages, including quite a few little children, which was heartening to see. A large number of clergy, including the abbot, the prior, and many of the Norbertine canons, assisted in choro. Ministers were provided by the Institute of Christ the King, whose founder and head, Msgr. Gilles Wach, was also present. The liturgy, for the feast of St. Teresa of Jesus, was conducted with the utmost beauty and reverence. The choir sang with great finesse Palestrina's Missa Papae Marcelli and a number of other Renaissance motets; the organist, for his part, was simply outstanding as an improviser. The final 10-minute improvisation on the popular hymn tune that had just been sung by the congregation was positively Brucknerian in scope.

His Eminence has graciously given NLM permission to publish his sermon for the feast of St. Teresa. It is a most beautiful meditation on this great Carmelite saint. A gallery of photos may be found at the end.

SERMON

Feast of Saint Teresa of Avila, Virgin
Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Premonstratensian Abbey of Strahov
Prague
15 October 2016

2 Cor 10, 17-18; 11, 1-2
Mt 25, 1-13

Praised be Jesus Christ! Now and for ever.

It brings me profound joy to offer the Pontifical Mass in this most beautiful church dedicated to Our Savior and to His Immaculate Mother under her title of the Assumption. I am grateful to almighty God Who has granted me to make pilgrimage to the historic Premonstratensian Abbey of Strahov and to pray at the tomb of Saint Norbert. I thank Father Abbot and all of the canons of the Abbey for their most warm hospitality, and I thank all who have prepared so well the celebration of the Pontifical Mass. In a particular way, I thank the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest for providing the assistance for the Pontifical Mass, even as I am deeply grateful for the presence of Monsignor Gilles Wach, the Founder of the Institute. With deepest esteem and gratitude, I acknowledge the presence of Knights and Dames of the Grand Priory of Bohemia of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, of which I am privileged to be the Cardinal Patron. I take the occasion to express once again my gratitude to Lucie Cekotova and to all who have worked with her to organize my visit to your beloved homeland, the Czech Republic. In deepest gratitude, I offer the Holy Mass for the intentions of the Church in the Czech Republic and the intentions of Strahov Abbey.

Today, we celebrate the feast of Saint Teresa of Avila, Virgin and Doctor of the Church. We recall the heroic sanctity of her life and its many fruits, including the reform of the Carmelite Order, which she carried out together with Saint John of the Cross, and her spiritual writings which continue to inspire and strengthen many souls to seek more perfect union with God. The life and death of Saint Teresa open our eyes to contemplate the mystery of Christ’s love, which is daily at work in our souls. Dom Prosper Guéranger, commenting on today’s feast, extolled the great gift of her spiritual writings:

Having arrived at the mountain of God, she described the road by which she had come, without any pretension but to obey him who commanded her in the name of the Lord. With exquisite simplicity and unconsciousness of self, she related the works accomplished for her Spouse; made over to her daughters the lessons of her own experience; and described the many mansions of that castle of the human soul, in the centre of which, he that can reach it will find the holy Trinity residing as in an anticipated heaven. No more was needed: withdrawn from speculative abstractions and restored to its sublime simplicity, Christian mysticism again attracted every mind; light reawakened love; the virtues flourished in the Church; and the baneful effects of heresy and its pretended reform were counteracted.[1]

Christ called Saint Teresa to give herself totally – in every fiber of her being – to Him, in order that she might bring His light and love to her brothers and sisters. From His glorious pierced Heart, Christ poured forth the sevenfold gift of the Holy Spirit into the heart of Saint Teresa, so that, she, as His bride through religious profession, could be the effective sign and instrument of His pure and selfless love.

Reflecting upon her life in Christ, we come to understand the words of Saint Paul in his Second Letter to the Corinthians. Addressing the members of the Church at Corinth, who had come to life in Christ through Saint Paul’s sacred ministry, Saint Paul declares: “[F]or I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God. For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor 11, 2). The grace of the Holy Spirit, which came into the life of Saint Teresa of Avila and comes into our lives through the Apostolic ministry, espouses the Church as His Bride to Christ, her one and only Bridegroom. The jealousy of Saint Paul for the members of the Church is the jealousy of Christ Who does not want anyone who has become one with Him through faith and baptism to stray from Him and, thus, lose the gift of eternal salvation in Him.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins helps us to understand the mystery of Christ’s life at work in the life of Saint Teresa and in each of our lives, producing a rich harvest of holiness of life (cf Mt 15, 1-13). At the same time, it makes clear that Christ’s life in us depends upon our free response, our response of love to His immeasurable and ceaseless love of us in the Church. The wise virgins treasure, most of all, their consecration to the bridegroom and, therefore, they take care that their lamps always burn brightly to receive the bridegroom at his coming. So, too, we who belong totally to Christ, by the works of His love, keep ourselves ready to meet Christ at His Coming, both in the circumstances of our daily Christian life but also on the Last Day, when He will return in glory to restore all creation to the Father. Like the wise virgins, we know that there is nothing more important than to be vigilant, at all times, in waiting for Christ and in welcoming Him into our lives. Our Lord speaks to us at the conclusion of the Parable of the Virgins: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Mt 25, 13).

The foolish virgins grow careless about the gift of their bond with the bridegroom. His coming, therefore, takes them by surprise, and they are not ready to welcome him. So, too, we are tempted to lose the sense of wonder at the great mystery of God’s love which rescues us from the snares of Satan and fills us with divine love. In little and big ways, we are tempted to be inattentive to daily communion with Christ through prayer, devotion, participation in the Holy Eucharist, the daily examination of conscience and act of contrition, and the regular meeting with Christ in the Sacrament of Penance. Instead of giving our hearts totally to Christ, as we are called to do, we begin to live more and more for ourselves and for certain earthly goods and pleasures which, at any given moment, can distract us from the true source of our freedom and joy, Christ, our one and only Bridegroom.

Saint Teresa is a powerful example of the heroic virginal love of Christ, to which we are all called. From her first intimation of Christ’s call to the religious life, she responded with all her heart. No matter how much resistance she encountered on the way of following Christ in the religious life, especially in the reform of the Carmelite Order, whether it came from her family, from her fellow religious in the Order, or from the society in which she was living, Christ was always first in her life. In a most wonderful way, her joy in spending hours in prayer, especially before the Most Blessed Sacrament, was a sign of her wisdom and fidelity as a bride of her Eucharistic Lord. As a wise virgin, she, through prayer and the life of the Sacraments, kept an abundance of oil for the lamp of her daily Christian living, so that she was always ready to meet our Lord, at His coming.

May Saint Teresa of Jesus teach us to persevere in trust, as she did in the face of much opposition and many trials. May she assist us in accepting with joy our suffering with Christ, so that we may enjoy with Him the unending joy of His Resurrection. Referring to Saint Teresa’s motto, “To suffer or to die,”[2] Dom Prosper Guéranger, citing the great preacher Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, reminds us of the timeliness of the spiritual doctrine of Saint Teresa, embodied in her life and death:

If we are true Christians, we must desire to be ever with Jesus Christ. Now, where are we to find this loving Saviour of our souls? In what place may we embrace Him? He is found in two places: in His glory and in His sufferings; on His throne and on His cross. We must, then, in order to be with Him, either embrace Him on His throne, which death enables us to do; or else share in His cross, and this we do by suffering; hence we must either suffer or die, if we would never be separated from our Lord. Let us suffer then, O Christians; let us suffer what it pleases God to send us: afflictions, sicknesses, the miseries of poverty, injuries, calumnies; let us try to carry, with steadfast courage, that portion of His cross, with which He is pleased to honour us.[3]

With Saint Teresa, we are certain that, if only we give our hearts to Christ, our one and only Bridegroom, the evils we encounter in our personal lives and in society will be overcome by the immeasurable and enduring truth, goodness and beauty of Christ, which is made visible to us in the Sacred Liturgy, above all, in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. May Saint Teresa teach us to imitate her in fidelity to prayer and devotion, and to the life of the Sacraments, above all the Holy Eucharist and Penance, so that Christ may transform us and our world, in accord with His unceasing desire that all men be one with Him, that all men be saved for eternal life.

Let us now lift up our hearts, one with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to the glorious pierced Heart of Jesus through His Eucharistic Sacrifice. Resting our hearts in His Most Sacred Heart, we will find the healing of our sins and the strength of divine love, in order to do God’s will in all things. Let us, with Mary Immaculate and Saint Teresa of Jesus, be confident that, from His Sacred Heart, there flows unceasingly and without measure the grace of the Holy Spirit, which overcomes sin in our lives and in the world, and prepares us and the world to welcome our Lord, at all times and at His Final Coming, with our lamps burning brightly.

Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, Foster-Father of Jesus and true Husband of the Virgin Mary, pray for us.
Saint Norbert, pray for us.
Saint Teresa of Jesus, pray for us.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

+ Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE

NOTES
[1] “Arrivée donc à la montagne de Dieu, elle fit le relevé des étapes de la route qu’elle avait parcourue, sans autre prétention que d’obéir à qui lui commandait au nom du Seigneur ; d’une plume exquise de limpidité, d’abandon, elle raconta les œuvres accomplies pour l’Époux ; avec non moins de charmes, elle consigna pour ses filles les leçons de son expérience, décrivit les multiples demeures de ce château de l’âme humaine au centre duquel, pour qui sait l’y trouver, réside en un ciel anticipé la Trinité sainte. Il n’en fallait pas plus ; soustraite aux abstractions spéculatives, rendue à sa sublime simplicité, la Mystique chrétienne attirait de nouveau toute intelligence ; la lumière réveillait l’amour ; et les plus suaves parfums s’exhalaient de toutes parts au jardin de la sainte Église, assainissant la terre, refoulant les miasmes souls lesquels l’hérésie d’alors et sa réforme prétendue menaçaient d’étouffer le monde.” Prosper Guéranger, L’année liturgique, Le temps après la Pentecôte, Tome V, 12ème éd. (Tours: Maison Alfred Mame et Fils, 1925), p. 457. [Guéranger]. English translation: Prosper Guéranger, The Liturgical Year, Time after Pentecost, Book V (Fitzwilliam, NH: Loreto Publications, 2000), pp. 396-397. [GuérangerEng].
[2] “Souffrir ou mourir!” Guéranger, p. 462. English translation : GuérangerEng, p. 401.
[3] “Si nous sommes de vrais chrétiens, nous devons désirer d’être toujours avec Jésus-Christ. Or, où le trouve-t-on, cet aimable Sauveur de nos âmes ? En quel lieu peut-on l’embrasser ? On ne le trouve qu’en ces deux lieux : dans sa gloire ou dans ses supplices, sur son trône ou bien sur sa croix. Nous devons donc, pour être avec lui, ou bien l’embrasser dans son trône, et c’est ce que nous donne la mort, ou bien nous unir à sa croix, et c’est ce que nous avons par les souffrances ; tellement qu’il faut souffrir ou mourir, afin de ne quitter jamais le Sauveur. Souffrons donc, souffrons, chrétiens, ce qu’il plaît à Dieu de nous envoyer : les afflictions et les maladies, les misères et la pauvreté, les injures et les calomnies ; tâchons de porter d’un courage ferme telle partie de sa croix dont il lui plaira de nous honorer.” Guéranger, pp. 468-469; GuérangerEng, pp. 406-407.

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St Vitus’ Cathedral in Prague

For the feast of St John Nepomucene, which I wrote about last year, here are some photographs of the cathedral of St Vitus in Prague, in which he is buried.

The chapel of St Sigismund, one of the Patron Saints of the city of Prague, designed by František Kanka in 1720

An altarpiece depicting the Visitation at the very back of the church. Prague was one of the very first places to celebrate the feast of the Visitation, at the behest of Archbishop Jan Jenstein in the 1390s.  

In many medieval cathedrals, the noble families who had paid for the building of various parts of a church would have their donation commemorated by the addition of their crest to some part of it.

The tomb of St John in the right side of the ambulatory.

The balcony of the royal oratory, where the King of Bohemia would stay while attend services.

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