Novena to Our Lady Undoer of Knots
Unfailing Novena To The Virgin Mary Untier of Knots

How this devotion started?
To show us the mission granted to the Virgin Mary by Her Son, an artist Johann Melchior Georg Schmittdner painted Mary Undoer of Knots with great grace. Since 1700, His painting has been venerated in the Church of St. Peter in Perlack, Augsburg, Germany. It was originally inspired by a meditation of Saint Irenaeus (Bishop of Lyon and martyred in 202) based on the parallel made by Saint Paul between Adam and Christ. Saint Irenaeus, in turn, made a comparison between Eve and Mary, saying:“Eve, by her disobedience, tied the knot of disgrace for the human race; whereas Mary, by her obedience, undid it”.
But what are these knots?
There are the problems and struggles we face for which we do not see any solution … knots of discord in your family, lack of understanding between parents and children, disrespect, violence, the knots of deep hurts between husband and wife, the absence of peace and joy at home. There are also the knots of anguish and despair of separated couples, the dissolution of the family, the knots of a drug addict son or daughter, sick or separated from home or God, knots of alcoholism, the practice of abortion, depression, unemployment, fear, solitude…Ah, the knots of our life! How they suffocate the soul, beat us down and betray the heart’s joy and separate us from God.
Day after day, more and more Christians kneel to pray to Her as soon as they meet the Mother of the Fair Love. Many families have become reconciled! Many diseases have been healed! Many spouses have returned to the Church! Many jobs have been given! Many conversions have taken place! Many Catholics have been on their knees praying and giving thanks for graces received from our sweet Mother. For that reason, Mary Who undoes the knots, Who was chosen by God to crush the evil with Her feet, comes to us to reveal Herself. She comes to provide jobs, good health, to reconcile families, because She wants to undo the knots of our sins which dominate our lives, so that – as sons of the King – we can receive the promises reserved for us from eternity. She comes with promises of victory, peace, blessings and reconciliation.
Then, free from our knots – filled with happiness, we can be a testimony of the Divine Power in this world, like pieces of God’s heart or small bottles of perfume exhaling mercy and love to our neighbor. Like ambassador of Jesus Christ and the Virgin of the fair love, we can rescue those who cry without any consolation, those who are lonely, tied with knots, who have no God, no Father nor Mother.
Mother of the Rising Sun, Immaculate, our Advocate, Helper in moments of affliction, Mother of God and made by Him our Mother, this is how Mary, Undoer of Knots is presented. Above all, She comes as the Queen of Mercy, the one who knows all about us, who has compassion for us and hurries to rescue us, praying for each one of us to Her beloved Jesus.
(source: http://www.maryundoerofknots.com/history.htm)

The Novena has the Cardinal ecclesiastical approval, receiving the “NIHIL OBSTAT and IMPRIMATUR
Imprimatur Paris Archdiocese

Newsletter from the official WebSite.

“My Will is light, and has transformed that soul into light”

In memory of don John Olin Brown. after a month from his death
9/20/2016

Monday, September 19 at 19.30 in the Mother Church of Corato the Archbishop of Trani Mons. Giovan Battista Pichierri, presided over the Requiem Mass for don John Olin Brown on the thirtieth day after his death.
Present were Msgr. Savino Giannotti, Vicar general, the Vicar of Corato. don Giuseppe Lobascio, don Sergio Pellegrini, ecclesiastical assistant of the Association “Luisa Piccarreta Little Children of the Divine Will” and some priests of the clergy of Corato.
In his homily, the Archbishop, commenting on the liturgy of the Word of the Mass, highlighted that Don John’s priestly ministry, born and matured in the Diocese of Trani, was an expression of the light of God’s love among men. He was a priest at the service of God’s people and always lived with generosity and love, also when he returned to the United States where he became a spiritual guide for many people who had embarked on the path of living in the Divine Will.
Msgr. Pichierri then continued, retracing the story of the last years of Father John’s life, that is, when he expressed his desire to return to Corato, especially after the Fourth International Conference, held in April 2015, that Father John followed in the United State. The theme of the Conference (“Church in the Divine Will”) meant to highlight the importance of being Church, community on the way to the Divine Will, and this aroused in don John the desire to return to the land of Luisa to set forth on the path and work for the knowledge and dissemination of the Divine Will.
Just when all this was taking place here is don John’s sickness and death.
Don Sergio Pellegrini, at the end of the Mass, through a passage taken from Luisa’s Diary, wanted to answer to a question that more or less all of us wondered. It was June 1, 1927, the day of the death of Father Annibale Maria di Francia, who had been close to Luisa, and was preparing the publication of the first volumes of her diary. Saint Annibale was important for Luisa, She entrusted herself to him because he had very much comprehended all the value of what Jesus had told her about the Divine Will.. Luisa too, wondered why Jesus, after allowing that he would take all the writings with himself in order to publish them, right then, Jesus took him to Heaven..
And then Jesus answered her by saying that everything that Father Hannibal did, all the knowledge he learned about the Divine Will had caused him to enclose as much light within his soul, and then he had to put them into practice.
So, as long as he remained on earth, his body, more than wall, walled up that light; but as soon as his soul went out of his body, he found himself invested with the light he possessed. And he began to feel the beginning of the life of true beatitudes and diving into the Eternal Light of his Creator, he found himself in the Celestial Fatherland, in which he will continue his mission about the Divine Will,
It would be good to think of don John in this way. The Lord always surprises us. Perhaps the “good giant” thought he got ready to live the last part of his ministry in the land of Luisa, and instead, the Lord had planned something great and wonderful: to live the Divine Will in Heaven with Him and Luisa.

“My Will is light, and has transformed that soul into light;
It is beautiful, and has given him all the tints of perfect beauty;
It possesses all sciences, and his soul has been invested
by Divine science. There is nothing that My Will has not
given to him. O! if all understood what Divine Will means,
they would put everything aside, they would care about
doing nothing else, and their whole commitment would
 be to do My Will alone.”

(Jesus to Luisa)

Affectionate Salutations to Mary

I greet thee, Mary,
Daughter of God the Father.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother of the Son of God.
I greet thee, Mary,
Spouse of the Holy Spirit.

I greet thee, Mary,
Temple of the Blessed Trinity.
I greet thee, Mary,
White Lily of the resplendent Trinity.
I greet thee, Mary,
Fragrant Rose of the heavenly court.
I greet thee, Mary,
Virgin full of meekness and humility, of whom the
King of Heaven willed to be born and nourished by thy milk.
I greet thee, Mary,
Virgin of virgins.
I greet thee, Mary,
Queen of Martyrs, whose soul was pierced by the sword of sorrows.
I greet thee, Mary,
Lady and Mistress, to whom all power has been given in Heaven and on earth.
I greet thee, Mary,
Queen of my heart, my sweetness, my life and all my hope.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother most amiable.
I greet thee, Mary,
Mother most admirable.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Mother of beautiful love.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Conceived without sin.
I greet thee, Mary ,
Full of grace, the Lord is with thee,
blessed art thou among women,
and blessed be the Fruit of thy womb.

Blessed be thy spouse,
Saint Joseph.
Blessed be thy father,
Saint Joachim.
Blessed be thy mother,
Saint Anne.
Blessed be thy Angel,
Saint Gabriel.
Blessed be the Eternal Father,
Who has chosen thee.
Blessed be thy Son,
Who has loved thee.
Blessed be the Holy Ghost,
Who has espoused thee.
May all those who love thee bless thee.

O Blessed Virgin, bless us all in the
name of thy dear Son. Amen.

The “Affectionate Salutations to Mary” were promoted in this version by the Servant of God, Father Paul of Moll [1824.1896]. The venerable Father Paul assured one of his friends that those who devoutly venerate Mary with these affectionate salutations may rely on her powerful protection and blessing. Once while giving a copy of these Salutations to a girl, Father Paul said to her, “These Salutations are so beautiful! Say them every morning. From on high, in Heaven, the Blessed Virgin will then give you her blessing. Yes, yes, would to God that you could see her! The Blessed Virgin blesses you then; I know it quite well.” He said further that it is impossible not to be heard favorably when we recite these Salutations to Mary for the conversion of sinners.

“Let us be crystal clear that “Catholics for Choice “ is absurd.
The Murder of an unborn child is a sin that no Catholic can justly choose.”
A full page ad placed in the San Antonio Express-News, the Houston Chronicle and the Dallas Morning News on Monday, September 12, by so-called “Catholics for Choice” attempted to mis-lead the public by claiming that they are a legitimate voice of the Catholic Church. I applaud my brother bishops in those dioceses who quickly and clearly disavowed this group and made it crystal clear that they do not speak for Catholics in any legitimate way.
Although I am thankful that this group did not deem the Tyler market to be one that was worth their effort, I still felt I should speak out.
The teaching of the Catholic Church regarding the sanctity of life in the womb is ancient and clear. Certainly not every Catholic embraces this truth as fully as I would hope. But it is truly absurd and diabolical for a group which embraces the pro-choice, pro-death agenda, and denies life to countless human beings simply because they haven’t yet been born, to attempt to co-opt the term Catholic. As a Catholic Bishop, I often find myself ranting at the television in response to the latest statement of a politician, actor or other public figure, but I must remind myself that ranting at the television does no good.
As the November election approaches, let us all reflect deeply on the ills of our society and how we can find our way back to the truth. I believe we must start with the basics. When we choose a candidate for whatever level of public office, we MUST inquire as to their stand with regard to the life of the unborn. Of course it is not the only question, but the questions don’t get more basic than that. Our vote is very often the only voice we have and we MUST VOTE NO to abortion, to the selling of the body parts of aborted children, to the further erosion of the moral teachings that flow from the Gospel and to all the threats to the “Sanctity of Life” that our society faces.
I am well aware that very often we are unable to find a candidate who upholds the Sanctity of Life in all of its dimensions, but I believe we must begin with the most basic issues If a candidate for whatever office callously demands the slaughter of unborn children as a so-called right and vigorously supports organizations that profit from the multi-billion dollar abortion industry, then how can any other human right they may champion be truly meaningful?
Our beautiful Catholic faith, guided by the Holy Spirit teaches the world that human life begins at conception. In order to re-build our fractured human family, we must return to that precious beginning and stand tall for the Sanctity of Life. Let us pray that we may re-learn the beautiful truth that the conception of a child through the sexual union of a man and woman in Holy Matrimony is our most wondrous human act and that the child conceived is God’s most precious gift to the world.

Bishop Strickland

September 13, 2016

[pdf-embedder url=”http://luisapiccarreta.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/9f8e2b_b68505df72a24291962e315d0a8bbf98.pdf”]

[pdf-embedder url=”http://luisapiccarreta.me/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Corpus-Christi-Procession-in-a-Concentration-Camp-004.pdf” title=”Corpus Christi Procession in a Concentration Camp (004)”]

Sr. Claire Ferchaud, Loublande / France:

Jesus said that; “His Heart was broken and slashed by the sins of mankind.  But He had an even deeper wound, that people do not believe in God.”

The following are the Promises of Our Merciful Savior to Sister Claire Ferchaud, of Loublande, France:

“I come not to bring terror among you; I am the God of love, the God who forgives and wants to save you all.”

“My grace will work with great power on sinners who, without contrition, kneel before the picture of My broken Heart, so that they will arise converted.”

“I will forgive their sins, even before the absolution, to those who with a true love kiss the picture of My broken Heart.”

“My glance will touch the hearts of the indifferent and will inflame them with favor so that they will practice goodness.”

” Only an act of love with the plea for forgiveness towards this picture will be enough for Me to open heaven to the soul which in the last hour must appear before Me.”

“When some refuse to believe in the truths of religion, one can put the picture of My broken Heart in their room (dwelling) without their knowledge. It will bring, through the wonder of graces, sudden and supernatural conversions.”

This is what is said to have transpired when Jesus appeared to Claire.  “He bared his sacred heart, and told her that God was on the side of France, and would lead the country to victory – so long as the country confessed its sins and rediscovered its true faith. Jesus pointed towards the wound on his heart, and explained “This signifies the official atheism of France.” Since the revolution, the French had denied their faith and substituted secular laws for the Gospel.”

Pope Francis pronounce the official Formula of Canonization, raising Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the honours of the altar:

Ad honorem Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis,
ad exaltationem Fidei Catholicae
et vitae christianae incrementum
auctoritate Domini nostri Iesu Christi,
beatorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra,
matura deliberatione praehabita
et divina ope saepius implorata,
ac de plurimorum Fratrum Nostrorum consilio,
Beatam Teresiam de Calcutta
Sanctam esse decernimus et definimus,
ac Sanctorum Catalogo adscribimus,
statuentes eam in universa Ecclesia
inter Sanctos pia devotione recoli debere.
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.
Amen.

English translation:
To the honour of the holy and undivided Trinity,
for the exaltation of the Catholic faith
and the increase of the Christian life,
by the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of Ourselves,
after mature deliberation
and frequent prayer for the Divine assistance,
with the advice of Our venerable brethren,
We decree and define
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a saint,
and We place her name in the catalogue of Saints,
decreeing that in the universal Church
she is to be venerated among the Saints with pious devotion.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, celebrated the Mass of Thanksgiving on Monday for the canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
In his homily for the Mass in St. Peter’s Square, Cardinal Parolin recalled several key moments of her life and the thirst for God which drove her every action:

‘Caritas Christi urget nos: the love of Christ compels us’ was the recurring theme of Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s homily for the Thanksgiving Mass.
These words, he said, summed up the flame of love which compelled the now-St. Teresa of Calcutta during her life and which compel us to follow her example.
Cardinal Parolin revisited several of the key events of Mother Teresa’s life, including her self-definition as ‘a little pencil in God’s hands’.
‘Mother Teresa,’ he said, ‘was a clear mirror of the love of God and an admirable example of service to our neighbor, especially to the poorest, most derelict, and most abandoned of people.’
He also recalled her constant fight for the rights of the unborn, which he said grew out of her recognition that the worst form of poverty is ‘to feel unloved, unwanted, scorned’.
He said, ‘This recognition brought her to identify unborn children whose very existence is threatened as the “poorest of the poor”. Each of them depends, more than any other human being, on the love and care of the mother and on the protection of society.’
Cardinal Parolin went on the recall Mother Teresa’s acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize in 1979, in which she said, ‘It is very important to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. It hurt Jesus to love us, it hurt him.’
He said these words ‘are like a doorway through which we enter into the abyss, which surrounded the life of the Saint.’
Cardinal Parolin concluded his homily remembering the two simple words she had posted in every house of the Missionaries of Charity: ‘I thirst’.
‘I thirst,’ he said, ‘a thirst for fresh, clean water, a thirst for souls to console and to redeem from their ugliness to make them beautiful and pleasing in the eyes of God, a thirst for God, for His vital and luminous presence. I thirst; this is the thirst which burned in Mother Teresa: her cross and exaltation, her torment and her glory.’
‘St. Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!’

Official Association Luisa Piccarreta

 Official Website News

XXIII Sunday in Ordinary Time

Evangelical consistency
9/2/2016

Dear brothers and sisters, Fiat!
The Gospel of Luke, in the passage of Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem, presents to us some messages that mean to descend into peoples’ heart. Jesus sees a lot of people who follow Him and therefore He turns back and explains what Christianity involves. Jesus is achieving a great fame and many people are attracted to Him but, as it often happens, the amount of people does not correspond to the quality and transparency of the life style. Jesus speaks openly and says that whoever does not carry his cross and follow Him cannot be His disciple.

Then He piles it on when He says to hate loves one because of the Gospel. The context makes us understand that to hate must not be interpreted in the sense of going against the fourth commandment, but it actually means “to love less than” or “to put behind”.

Jesus says that it is not easy to follow Him because you have put Him in first place always, so not even family links can impede God’s lordship over man.

Then Jesus mentions two parables taken from the Jewish context, but they refer to all times.

The first parable concerns a builder and the second a king, with a similar message: before starting any endeavour, you have to pause and reflect and to consider whether you are able to complete the work. The architect and the king accomplish this kind of effort, why doesn’t the Christian work in this perspective?

Jesus, at the end, reiterates the saying of being peoples capable of giving up all our possessions to gain eternal life.

Sometimes we take these passages lightly, or we say that they are too challenging.

But if we go down deep, we can see that we must grow and that it is important to make choices consistent with our belief. The radicality of the evangelical choice invites us not only to assert some ideas, but to accomplish them, even if we are aware of the cost of that choice. If we are called to choose between Jesus and money, pleasure or a career lived in such a way to destroy other people, we must undoubtedly choose Jesus. He invites us to meditate and consider if we want to become Christians or not , avoiding the risk of being tepid people or keeping a foot in both camps.

The Gospel seems to tell us to empty ourselves of all that is human, so that our will may rise up to Heaven and the Divine Will descend upon earth

Nothing enters into Heaven to live communal life with God, if it not completely divinized and transformed completely into Him; nor can His Divine Will descend upon earth and carry out Its Life as within Its own center if It does not find the human will emptied of everything, so as to fill it with all the goods which God’s Will contains.

So the human will be nothing other than a most thin veil, which will serve Him to cover Himself and to dwell inside of it, almost like a consecrated host, in which God forms His Life, He does all the good He wants, He prays, He suffers, He enjoys. And the host does not oppose – it leaves Him free; its office is to be there to keep Him hidden, and to comply in mute silence to preserve His Sacramental Life.

This is the point we are at: our will entering Heaven, and God’s Will descending upon earth. Therefore, our will must no longer have life – it must have no reason to exist.

The same happened to Jesus’ Humanity: though It had a human will, this will was all intent on giving life to the Divine Will. It never arbitrated itself, not even to breathe on its own, but its breath also it would take and give in the Divine Will. This is why the Eternal Will reigned in His Humanity on earth as It does in Heaven, It lived Its terrestrial Life in It, and Jesus’ human will, fully sacrificed to the Divine, impetrated that, at the appropriate time, the Divine would descend upon earth to live in the midst of creatures, just as It lives in Heaven.

Jesus entrusts Luisa an important task – to live in the midst of the Most Holy Trinity and to make all that is theirs hers own, and to give it to Them on behalf of her brothers; so that, drawn by what is Theirs, They may be bound to the human generations, and give them, once again, the supreme kiss of the union of their will with God’s Will, which He gave man in Creation.”

Today we have changed the order of values, so what is necessary has become superfluous; having, appearances and power have become the criteria of our life, and we have lost the sense of simplicity, of listening, of dialogue, of silence, of reflection.

We are full of things, but empty of meaning and hope. This is the greatest poverty that we are experiencing today. May the Lord grant us the strength to put into practice these teachings through clear choices to be lived in faith, even at the cost of paying personally.

Fiat!
don Marco

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The spiritual works of mercy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Luisa in the world

The last farewell to Don John Olin Brown

Monday, August 22, 2016, in the Parish of Mater Gratiae, Oasis of Nazareth in Corato the last farewell was given to don John Olin Brown.

His funeral rite was presided by His Excellency Archbishop Giovan Battista Pichierri, with the presence of Mons. Savino Giannotti, Vicar General of the Archdiocese and part of the diocesan clergy.

John Olin Brown was ordained a priest in Trani on November19, 1994. It was the deacon Vincenzo Dileccedi who traced his memory, by reading some of don John’s autobiographical thoughts:

He was born in 1952 in a small town near Dallas, Texas. He graduated in philosophy in 1974. He came from a family that was rooted in the Evangelical Church. He had a brother and an aunt who were Pastors of the Methodist Church. His family was considered sufficiently religious. In his country there was not even a Catholic Church, and he never supposed he could to convert to Catholicism.

He received a very rigid moral education from his father. Since he was a child, he felt a special attraction to the Lord, however his vocation, developed over time. After being admitted to the university, he began to feel more strongly the vocational problem and he tried to focus on the philosophical study thinking that in the future he could become involved in the Methodist Church. Meanwhile, he postponed his choice and went back to the “ranch” to work with his father as a cowboy.

After his father’s death he felt free to go back to that “fixed idea” of a God that was tormenting him. During a vacation in Minnesota he met a Jesuit priest who fascinated him with his speech on the Catholic Church, he remained with him for a long period of time, after which he converted to Catholicism. Since he was attracted by the monastic life he lived for a year at a Trappist monastery in Iowa. At that time he learned about the writings of Luisa Piccarreta well known in America, Canada and Mexico,  and they were as a completion of his conversion.

Therefore, he came to Italy, he arrived in Corato to visit the Association of Luisa, where he was welcomed by President Sister Assunta Marigliano and the Ordinary of the place, Mons.. Giuseppe Carata who suggested he finish his theological studies he had begun in Rome. The writings of Luisa, full of high spirituality, managed to give him an existential response that he was unable to find either in philosophy or in several Catholic spiritual currents. His stay in Corato coincided with the period in which the association got, thanks to His Excellency Archbishop Mons. Carmelo Cassati the “non obstare” from the Sacred Congregation for the Causes of Saints to open the process of the Cause for the Beatification of the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta..

At Corato, he was amazed at the lack of knowledge by people about the figure of Luisa that instead was well known abroad and, at the same time, he was impressed by the generosity and affection of the people of Corato. He considered himself fortunate to have been formed in the priesthood in the spirituality of Luisa, because what the Servant of God did in her life, embraced and embraces the spirituality of all priests: sanctify themselves for the Kingdom of God. This was also the yearning that Don John always had.

After the proclamation of the Word of God, His Excellency Mons. Pichierri further described the figure of father John: after an absence of about twenty years, he returned to our diocese, where he had become a priest and in which he had exercised the first steps of his ministry, celebrating his first solemn Mass right in the sanctuary of Madonna delle Grazie, on November 20 1994 ( the day when the diocesan inquiry on the servant of God Luisa Piccarreta opened)

The archbishop recalled that during a talk he had this year with Don John on his return, he felt in his heart Don John’s great desire not to “fly” over and to stay forever in the land of Luisa Piccarreta, the little creature, the littlest among all people of Corato, towards whom he felt a deep gratitude. Due to a severe lung infection he was hospitalized at first in the hospital of Corato and then in Trani, in intensive care, where he died.

He became a priest in Trani, and he died in Trani on August 20.

The Archbishop pointed out that for our Diocese, welcoming the mortal remains of father John is to be considered a special grace because it allows us to accomplish one of the corporal works of mercy: to bury the dead.

The archbishop also reiterated that the Diocese undertook to establish contacts with his native land, speaking with some of his relatives who immediately expressed their wish to have him there, but given the bureaucratic hurdles and Don John’s desire to stay in the land of Luisa, it was decided to bury him in the cemetery of Corato.

The Archbishop stated: “For me, Father John is a beautiful testimony on the Servant of God Luisa Piccarreta, we must therefore be able to preserve the memory of this priest  non only as priests,  but also as people.”

Don John was no longer the handsome giant of the early days, now he appeared meek as a lamb, always able to say thanks to all those  people who approached him to help him.

His conversion is the fruit of the love of God, a God that John had found in the Catholic Church, he served as a priest the Church and announced the Kingdom. Then, the Archbishop exhorted the brothers priests to serve with joy the people that Christ has entrusted to them to walk together towards the eternal Kingdom, that Kingdom where the first creature who was assumed into Heaven has become the Queen of Heaven and earth with our King Jesus Christ.

Don Jon felt this intensely, since he had begun to follow the little daughter of the Divine Will.

Let’s pray that he will be received by the Father and could be considered a small son of the Divine Will.

Jesus says ”the children of the Kingdom of the Divine Will will be those that will render Her the honors of Queen and transforming themselves into suns they will form for Her the most beautiful crown” , may also Don John offer his life turned into sun as a proof of honor and glory.

It is very remarkable that his funeral was celebrated on the day in which the liturgical calendar of the Church commemorates the Blessed Virgin Mary, invoked under the title of Queen.

As each soul enters into Heaven through Mary and by virtue of her motherhood and her pain, we hope that the Blessed Virgin welcomed him and handed over to her Son.

After the Mass, in an atmosphere of sadness and feelings shared by all, the coffin, which was carried on the shoulders by some brothers priests was placed in the hearse.