Fr. Peter Fehlner, requiescat in pace

I am sending this email with the intention of reaching all those who know and love Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner. He has been declining in recent years and more rapidly in the past months. Last week he had a stroke and now is not long for this world. He has been prepared with all the sacraments and the apostolic pardon and I know many are already praying for him. Please join in lifting him up if you are just hearing about this.

Fr. Peter is now a knight at the foot of the Cross in his last conflict. He has been a faithful son and defender of Our Lady. May the consecration of which he has been so great an example be brought to perfection.

...

I am sorry to inform you that Fr. Peter Damian Felhner passed away at Baystate Medical Center, this morning, at about 4:30 AM.  He will be waked this Thursday at 8:00 PM in St. Stanislaus Church in Chicopee, Massachusetts with the funeral the next morning at 11:00 AM.

Fr. Peter Fehlner has left the Friars of the Immaculate to rejoin the Conventual Franciscans

Fr. Peter Fehlner was a prominent member of the Franciscans of the Immaculate and former rector of the Guadalupe Shrine in LSE.  Since I've been asked about it I thought I would post the information I had.  It's worth noting the state of the FFI (sorry for an aside, but I laughed out loud, everybody in that article's comments called me Steve for some reason), and that Father Peter was one of the signees of the request for papal intervention, along with Fr. Angelo Geiger (whom remains in the FFI and as I understand pursuing doctoral studies).  It seems that there had been individual FFI friars that had expressed frustration to him over the visitation.

Back around October the FFI US Provincial superior was notified by Fr. Peter that he was returning to the Conventual Franciscans.  Fr. Peter is currently stationed at the Shrine of St. Anthony in Ellicott City, MD, still staying busy and keeping in touch with many of the FFI friars quite regularly.

The FFI provided me with some of the details with this in conclusion:

We greatly miss Fr. Peter, no doubt, and trust that he was acting according to his conscience with such a difficult move, desirous only of doing God's Will.

Profession of Religious Vows of Peter Damian Fehlner, OFM Conv.: The candidate approaches the Minister Provincial (the Very Reverend Fr. James McCurry, OFM Conv.), kneels before him, folds his hands between the Minister’s palms resting on the book of the Gospels, and recites the formula of profession. Witnesses: Friar Jim Moore, OFM Conv. (Guardian of the St. Bonaventure Friary Post Novitiate) and Fr. Michael Heine, OFM Conv. (Guardian of the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary, in which Friar Peter Damian resides) {Novice, friar Emmanuel Wenke, OFM Conv. kneeling at center}

On Saturday, September 17, 2016, Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, OFM Conv. professed Solemn Vows in the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary Chapel (Ellicott City, MD), in the company of many of his confreres, as well as some visiting seminarians from the Diocese of Savannah. Friar Peter began his life as a Franciscan as a member of our community. For the past few decades, he has been a member of another Order but on Saturday returned “home” to us and is assigned to the St. Joseph Cupertino Friary which serves the needs of the pilgrims to the Shrine of St. Anthony. We welcome him home and ask for you to keep him and all of our friars in your continued prayers. For more pictures from the day, please visit our Province Facebook page.

Our Lady of the Angels Province

Franciscan Friars swap at Guadalupe Shrine

LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (September 1, 2015) – The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe announces that Father Louis Maximilian M. Smith, General Delegate of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate in the United States, recently informed His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke that Father Peter M. Fehlner and Friar Joseph M. Schmitzer will soon be transferred away from the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Both Father Peter and Friar Joseph will be transferred to a friary in Griswald, Connecticut, where they will assume new duties. “We are greatly saddened by this news. These beloved friars have faithfully served at the Shrine since the time of the Dedication of the Shrine Church in July 2008, and they will be sorely missed,” said Leif E. Arvidson, Executive Director.

continue at Guadalupe Shrine

Both have been at the Shrine since its foundation.  Two friars are coming to take their places.  This move has been made by the FFI.  Sad news for us in La Crosse, I think we are all very attached to both Fr. Peter and Br. Joseph, they will certainly be missed.

Guadalupe Shrine's Fr. Peter Fehlner FI receives Card. John J. Wright Mariological Award

Ave Maria!

We wish to give our hearty congratulations to our very own Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner as we announce that he has been accorded the prestigious Cardinal John J. Wright Award of the Mariological Society of America for his outstanding contributions to Mariology.

The Mariological Society of America (MSA) is a Catholic theological association dedicated to studying and making known the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the mystery of Christ and in the Church and in the history of salvation. Through its annual meeting and in its publication, Marian Studies, the Society seeks to promote original research in Marian doctrine and devotion.

The Cardinal John J. Wright Mariological Award is conferred in memory of Cardinal Wright, long-time member of the MSA and its Episcopal chairman from 1951 until his death in 1979. As defined by the Board of Directors in 1991, the award is given, upon recommendation of a designated three-member committee, to recognize and encourage significant publications on the Virgin Mary. Its recipient need not be a member of the MSA.

Air Maria

HT LA

Prayers for former rector of Guadalupe Shrine in La Crosse

Fr. Peter Fehlner

As you may know, Father Peter is practically blind in his right eye following cataract surgery and is seeking a physical miracle through the intercession of Blessed John Duns Scotus.

Please join in praying for this intention with the following prayer.

Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed John Duns Scotus:

O Most High, Almighty and gracious Lord, Who exalts the humble and confounds the proud of heart, grant us the great joy of seeing Blessed John Duns Scotus canonized. He honored Your Son with the most sublime praises; he was the first to successfully defend the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary; he lived in heroic obedience to the Holy Father, to the Church and to the Seraphic Order. O most holy Father, God of infinite love, hear, we beseech You, our humble prayer, through the merits of Your Only-Begotten Son and His Mother, the Gate of Heaven and Spouse of the Holy Spirit. And if be Your holy Will, please grant the favor of a physical cure from blindness for Father Peter through the intercession of Blessed John Duns Scotus, so that his sanctity may be recognized in the whole Church. Amen.

 I happened to run across this awesome image of Fr. Peter with Mother Angelica.

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 7

On AirMaria

Consider a donation if you found these meditations helpful and are able.

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 6

Getting closer.....

Rev 12:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:

And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered.

And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems:

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne.

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 5

They keep getting better. Start the novena late if you need to.

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 4

video at AirMaria

I repeat, these are very well done!

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 3

Ave Maria!
Please join Fr. Peter  in a Novena in honor of  the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Each day, from the 6th up to the 14th, he gives a short reflection on Our Lady followed by a prayer. Perhaps you can suggest some intentions (for family, for loved ones, for World Youth Day, end to abortion, contraception, etc.).

AirMaria Assumption Novena Day 3

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 2

View at AirMaria

These are well done!

AirMaria: Assumption Novena - Day 1

Sorry for the late notice. It snuck up on us but it starts today - Saturday. If you miss it by a few days, don't worry about it. Start it when you start it.

Here's a link to the video on AirMaria. The novena prayer is part of the video, which is only about 6 minutes; meditation + prayer(the prayer shows up on screen). I can't embed it cause I cant figure out how to embed their videos without autoplaying them.

Here's the text of the prayer.  

Priest: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.

People: O Immaculate Virgin, Mother of God and Mother of men, we believe with all the fervor of our faith in Your Triumphal Assumption into heaven, where You are acclaimed as Queen by all the choirs of angels and legion of saints. We unite with them to praise and bless the Lord who has exalted You above all other pure creatures, and to offer You the tribute of our devotion and our love.

From the shadows of this valley of tears, we seek Your heavenly assistance and tender mercy, to comfort our aching hearts and to help in the trials of the Church and of our country. Accept the intentions we offer you in this novena, and be pleased to grant them according to our need and according to the good pleasure of Your Son, for we are confident that in the glory where You reign, You continue Your manifold intercession to bring us celestial gifts. In the glory which you possess in body and soul in heaven is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Until the day of the Lord shall come, continue to shine forth on earth as a sign of certain hope and comfort for all your children, O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.

Priest: Let us pray. Almighty everlasting God, who assumed to celestial glory the body and soul of your Son’s Mother, the Immaculate Virgin Mary, grant, we beg You, that , being ever intent upon heavenly things, we may merit to share in her glory. We ask through Christ our Lord.
People: Amen.

Priest: Queen assumed into heaven.

People: Pray for us.

Fr. Peter Fehlner, FI on The Drew Mariani Show today at 3:15 pm

Today Father Peter Fehlner, FI, will be on The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio at 3:15 p.m. to talk about the plenary indulgence pilgrims will now be able to obtain by visiting the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Yesterday Cardinal Burke spoke in his homily about the affiliation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe with the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major that will now allow for the granting of this indulgence.

To listen to The Drew Mariani Show live, visit Relevant Radio and click the “Listen Live” at the top of the website.

Guadalupe Shrine

Fr. Peter Fehlner is the rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse.

Assumption novena begins August 6th with reflections from the Friars of the Immaculate

Source

The Assumption Novena begins August 6th. and ends August 14th. The Franciscans of the Immaculate filmed a nine-day short series for the Novena. In five minutes Father Peter Damian Fehlner, Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe and a distinguished Marian theologian, gives a quick little talk about an aspect of the Assumption and then recites the Novena prayer. It is fast and accessible way to learn a bit more theology and to make a devotion to Our Blessed Mother. Everyday a new exhortation is done by Father Peter. It is a very good series that would capture the attention and heart of the young.

There is so much need for prayer, for God’s grace and blessing in these difficult times; for family, for loved ones, for World Youth Days, end to abortion, contraception, etc..  Let us take this powerful opportunity to implore Our Mother to help us in our greatest needs.

I put a pdf of the Novena prayer here.

I'm not exactly sure where the videos will be posted but I'll post Day 1 once it's available.

HT LC

It ain't just me and Jesus

 

Happy All Hallowmas!

All ye holy Saints of God, ora pro nobis!

Litany of the Saints

As Fr. Peter Fehlner said in the homily yesterday, it is precisely by uniting our will to the will of Christ the King(yesterday's traditional feast) who has sovereignty over heaven and earth, that we ourselves become saints of God.

Procession at Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Robinsonville, WI

TOWN OF GREEN BAY — Area Catholics celebrated a tradition that dates back more than a century Sunday, gathering for an annual pilgrimage at the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Robinsonville.

More than 1,000 Catholics attended an outdoor Mass and rosary procession to mark the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The event celebrates the belief that upon the end of her earthly life, Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven, said the Rev. John Doerfler, rector of the Shrine.

"This stands as a sign of hope for us," Doerfler said, "because we have that hope that what God has already done for Mary, he will do for us at the end of time."

The feast is one of the oldest and most solemn Marian feasts, dating back at least to the seventh century when its celebration already was established in Jerusalem and Rome, according to the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay. Catholicism reveres Mary because she was the mother of Jesus Christ.

The pilgrimage tradition at the shrine also is steeped in history, dating back to the 1870s following the infamous Peshtigo fire. The story goes that the 1871 fire spread to the Robinsonville area, and people took refuge in the shrine to pray. After the fire left the shrine unscathed, shrine founder Adele Brise — to whom the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared at the site in 1859 — began the pilgrimages to commemorate the assumption, Doerfler said.

Sunday's celebration began with a Mass, followed by a procession around the grounds of the shrine during which the rosary was prayed and a statue of the Virgin Mary carried. A special benediction followed to conclude the morning event.

Other major annual celebrations at the shrine commemorate the Peshtigo fire with an all-night prayer vigil each year on Oct. 8, as well as the 1859 Marian apparition with a Mass each year on Oct. 9. The assumption pilgrimage is the shrine's longest-running celebration.

"There are many people who come every year," Doerfler said. "It's an opportunity for us to really profess our belief and celebrate our hope in the redemption that Jesus Christ has won for us."

GBPressGazette

I found this interesting tidbit from the Shrine's website:

Father John Harden, S.J. (sic) once called the gathering of Mary and the Apostles in the upper room on Pentecost, "the first retreat." Under this light, we can see Our Lady as the first retreat director and a great guide in helping us to spend quality time with her Divine Son.

Coming this October, Fr. Peter Damian Fehlner, F.I., Rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, WI, will give a one day Marian retreat entitled “Mary’s Maternal Mediation, the Spiritual Crisis of our time and the Month of the Holy Rosary." Click the following link for full program information.

Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help

I have never heard of this Shrine before but obviously it sounds solid.

To the right, a photo from the interior of the church.

The Compass has another really nice set on Flickr. Check out the young men dressed in some kind of Marian honor guard.

Running this blog has given me a chance to find the treasures of the state!  I know there's many more that I can hopefully visit and bring to you.

They have a great website(except for one of the images of our lady which apparently had a woman posing as her), and the history page is fascinating.