photo courtesy of Kansas Catho After the Mass, Bishop Finn stands with the novices Sister Philomena, Sister Columba, newly professed Sister Maria Concordia of the Heart of Jesus, and novices Sister Assumpta and Sister Jean-Marie.

Dressed in bridal gowns, a symbol that they were brides of Christ, the postulants entered the nave of the old church at the head of the procession. Sister Maria Concordia followed carrying a lighted candle. Canon William Avis, rector of Old St. Patrick’s; Father Paul Scalia, archpriest; Deacon Jason Weber; Father Paul Check, serving as subdeacon; Msgr. Brad Offut, chancellor; Father Thomas Keller; Deacon Matthew Bartulica, and Deacon Ralph Wehner preceeded Bishop Finn, who entered the oratory in cappa magna, a Christmas gift from the Benedictines of Mary.

After blessing the congregation from the foot of the altar, the bishop went to the cathedra (his throne) at the left of the altar where Canon Avis, serving as Master of Ceremonies, and several other priests helped him remove the voluminous cappa magna and vest for Mass. In addition to the scarlet cassock, the bishop was garbed in the tunicle, the vestment of the subdeacon, and the dalmatic, the vestment of the deacon, to show that the bishop has the full powers of the sacrament of Holy Orders. His chasuble, in the liturgical colors for the Feast of the Epiphany, was worn over the tunicle and the dalmatic. Bishop Finn also wore his pectoral cross and mitre and carried his crozier.

Because it was a Pontifical Solemn High Mass, until the offertory the bishop celebrated the Mass at the cathedra. While he was seated at the cathedra, a gremial, a special silk cloth of the same colors and design as the chasuble, was placed in his lap. The prayers of the Mass were said quietly, in Latin, while Benedictine sisters sang softly in the choir loft.

In his homily, which was said in English, Bishop Finn likened the star that guided the Magi to the call to religious life. “How is that it they (the postulants and the novice) come here? They are responding to a beautiful interior call from God. Like the star that guided the Magi, this call is bright and real, but it remains mysterious. Within the expectations of their Benedictine Rule, these women must continue in what will be, at times, an arduous journey, with uncertainties. They cannot understand precisely what all God may ask of them. But they have been drawn to this holy vocation, as to a star shining in darkness, and they realize it is something powerful and good; something intended for them by God.”

In his Gospel, Saint John wrote, “And entering the house, they found the Child with Mary His Mother and falling down, they adored Him.”

Bishop Finn continued, “They adored him. Adoration here defines the first act in the relationship between man and God. In the presence of the Divine Majesty, we come to understand the right ordering of our lives: God first, God above all; and then all other things in proper order; love of neighbor for God’s sake. The common life of the Benedictines rests firmly on this orientation in prayerful adoration. When we allow ourselves to follow God’s call to repentance and holiness — the greatness of the mystery of his love poured out and made manifest to us brings us to our knees. It must engulf us, lift us, weigh upon us, sustain us. Nothing else can do so. What we do today, we dare to do because of the promise of His mercy and the reassurance of His love. For Him and for His glory, these women seek to be a New Creation.”

Like the Magi, the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles approach the child Jesus with “a greater calm and assurance because of Mary, Theotokos, Mother of God and of us all,” the bishop said. “She invites us to her Son. She gathers us under her mantle. She teaches us the way of faithful love. She is called ‘Star of the New Evangelization,’ and we ask her to provide a safe path for these her daughters and for us all.”

After the Creed, Bishop Finn went to the faldstool (a folding stool) which had been placed in front of the altar, faced the congregation and, with the mitre upon his head, called Sister Maria Concordia to him in Latin.

“Come, my daughter, listen to me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”

The oldest of three children, Crystal Nicole Wirth grew up in suburban Minneapolis. While attending Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, she discovered the beauty of her Catholic faith and its rich traditions. She found herself captivated by medieval theology, especially when it manifested itself in Marian art and literature. She became devoted to Mary, whom she credits for leading her to a more intimate knowledge of Christ. While pursuing a graduate degree in theology at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., she heard the call to the Benedictine life and joined the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles as soon as the school year ended.

As she knelt in the sanctuary, flanked by the Prioress and another Benedictine nun, still holding her lighted candle, Sister Maria Concordia was asked by the bishop, “My daughter, you have left the world and turned to God. What then do you ask?”

She replied: The mercy of God and the company of the Sisters serving in the monastery under the yoke of Christ.

After the singing of the Veni Creator and admonishment, Bishop Finn asked, “Do you then desire to persevere in your holy resolution?”

Sister Maria Concordia replied, “I do.”

The Bishop and the prioress were then seated and a minister took the novice’s candle and replaced it with the chart of profession. She approached the Prioress and read it aloud.

The chart of profession was signed on the Gospel side of the altar, marked with a cross and kissed. The newly professed Sister Maria Concordia showed the chart to Bishop Finn and then to the Prioress. The chart was then placed on the altar, where it remained for the rest of the Mass. Mother Therese embraced Sister Marie Concordia.

The minister presented the black veil, a symbol of death to the world, to the bishop, who removed his mitre and blessed the veil. The newly professed sister kissed the veil and Mother Therese placed it on her head.

The lighted candle was returned to her, and after the bishop blessed her, she returned to her seat and the Mass resumed.

After communion, the bishop was seated on the falsdtool while the postulants, accompanied by the prioress and her assistant, entered the sanctuary in their bridal gowns. After praying, the bishop assumed his mitre while the gremial was place on his lap. One by one, the postulants approached and knelt before the bishop. Mother Therese removed their veil and the bishop cut their hair. They then entered the sacristy to exchange their bridal gowns for the black tunics of the Benedictines.

When they returned to the sanctuary, each in turn approached the bishop, and knelt to receive the cincture, the scapular, the wimple and white veil of the novice. Mother Therese and her assistant placed each article on the new novices.

Each novice received a new name as a sign of their new life. Sister Christiana Black became Sister Assumpta. One of seven children, Sister Assumpta grew up in Ada, Mich. When she was 11, her family moved to a farm near a Carmelite monastery where they attended daily Mass and other liturgical events held by the nuns. She recalled “being open” to a religious vocation since she was a child, but didn’t take steps to discern if she was called to the religious life until just before college. A priest of the order of Miles Christi advised her to check out religious orders before attending college. She visited the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles and “God, in His goodness, made His will clear to me and gave me the grace to follow it.”

Sister Ada Kordiak became Sister Jean-Marie (honoring Saint John Vianney). The fourth of eight children, she always wanted to be a religious, though it had seemed religious orders no longer existed. When she got older, she discovered they did exist, “you just had to look for them.” Her aunt gave her information about the Benedictines of Mary, and she decided to visit them. “It was through this order that I decided to give my life to God.”

Sister Genevieve Miller became Sister Columba (honoring Blessed Columba Marmion).

One of seven children, she grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. At age 19, she realized she was being called to the religious life. “I had thought if you were called it was something you knew from the time you were very small. So this invitation from Christ came very unexpectedly to me …” A friend told her about the Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles and she visited the priory. “After visiting I knew this was where Christ had been trying to lead me for so long.”

Sister Leticia Marquez became Sister Philomena. She grew up in El Paso, Texas, the seventh of eight children. She felt a call to religious life early in her life, but had no guidance. It wasn’t until her parish was introduced to the Latin Rite Mass that she again felt the call. A friend took her visit a Benedictine order of monks and she felt drawn to the monastic life and the Rule of St. Benedict. Her pastor suggested she make a retreat with the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles. “When I visited two years ago I didn’t want to go back home, for I felt this was where Our Lord was calling me. To the silence, obedience, following the Rule of St. Benedict and praying for priests.”

The new novices were each given a lighted candle, “as a sign of interior light,” which they carried with them back to their pew.

After the Mass ended, Bishop Finn was de-vested of the chasuble, dalmatic and tunicle, and again wrapped in the cappa magna for his exit from the Oratory.

A reception followed the ceremony. For Sister Maria Concordia of the Heart of Jesus, another three years of intense study and formation follow her first profession of the “triennial” vows of Obedience, Stability and Conversion of Life.

Novice Sisters Assumpta, Columba, Philomena and Jean-Marie are commencing two years of study, prayer and formation before professing their first vows.

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