Relics of St. John Fisher & St. Thomas More Visit Holy Family Residence
Sunday, June 26
If GOD is with us, it will be accomplished… St. Jeanne Jugan
Acting on an inspiration that came to her during meditation Mother Maria Francis called the chancery. She was given the phone number of Jason Atkin. Jason was helping to facilitate the Tour of relics of Saints John Fisher & Thomas More. Mother’s enthusiasm at the prospect of the relics stopping at the Little Sisters was contagious and it wasn’t long before Jason was on board.
If GOD is with us, it will be accomplished… St. Jeanne Jugan
And so Jason and Mother and many others set out to work out the detail, logistics, time and date. The relics would indeed stop at the Holy Family Residence as part of the campaign for religious freedom, fought earnestly and endlessly with the Little Sisters involvement in the HHS Mandate.
Jesus is waiting for you in the chapel… St. Jeanne Jugan
So at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Sunday June 26, 2016…. A definitely NOT ordinary Sunday for the Sisters and the Residents. The relics of Saints Thomas More and John Fisher made their stop at the Holy Family Residence giving the Sisters and Residents a priceless opportunity to venerate with grace and joy the relics, in continued prayer for the HHS Mandate and religious freedom as we join in Fortnight For Freedom, ending on July 4th our greatest National Holiday.
Jesus is waiting for you in the Chapel… St. Jeanne Jugan
Jason Atkin and Janet Graffius Curator of the collections at Stoneyhurst where the relics are on loan from, arrived at the Home and were led to the sacristy. There Jan took some time to remove and polish each silver and glass reliquary that held each relic. Both Saints were executed in the year 1535 during the reign of King Henry VIII. The relic of St. John Fisher is a ring of black and white cameo. The white carved image is of Aristotle a great influence on St. John Fisher and one of the few personal possessions that remain of the great scholar. The relic of St. Thomas More is a small fragment of bone from the Saint’s skull (part of the jawbone and part of a tooth) which was rescued from a spike on the London Bridge by the Saint’s daughter Margaret. The relics and the significance of these two remarkable Saints continue to inspire us and remind us the importance of religious conviction and freedom that all of us are called to witness and support.
Fr. Joseph Johnson from the Parish of Holy Family St. Louis Park, MN (an additional tie to the Sisters at the Holy Family Residence in St. Paul) celebrated Holy Hour. The chapel was filled with many in attendance…the Sisters, Residents, staff, parishioners of Holy Family Parish and members of our extended family in St. Paul.
Witness to Freedom