Liturgical Aids for the Memorial of Saint Frederick

Suggestions for introducing the H. Mass:

• An Early Calling
  “In the beginning it was a child’s dream: already as a little boy he played the role of priest. And in the course of his life this desire continued to ripen.” These words of Pope John Paul II referring to Blessed James Kern are also a perfect fit for today’s Saint, Abbot Frederick of Mariengaarde. He was the son of a poor widow of Hallum in Friesland. Already at an early age his vocation to the priesthood was evident. As a little boy he built altars and churches out of mud. His pastor gave him his first lessons in Latin. Later Frederick became a zealous pastor of souls and a truly solicitous superior for whom the spiritual life and the studies of the younger confreres were uppermost in his heart. – Let us pray today for new vocations for the Church and let us ask for the grace to be faithful to the path in which God wishes us to walk with Him.
  
  
• A Zealous Student
  St. Frederick, whose memory we celebrate today, did not have it easy in his youth. He was born into a poor family at Hallum in Friesland around the beginning of the twelfth century. He lost his father when he was still just a boy, and his mother, with no visible means of support, sent him to tend the sheep. Soon he was learning Latin from the Pastor of the village and then went to Münster where he studied especially Sacred Scripture. Later as teacher, pastor, abbot and provost, he continually cultivated in the hearts of his young charges devotion to the Word of God and the Mother of God. – Let us celebrate today with grateful hearts the Word of God, made flesh in the womb of the holy Virgin Mary.
  
  
  
• Enthusiastic for Others
  There is a lot of discussion in our day about new ways of recruiting vocations; projects are initiated and use is made of the internet. But do these activities actually reach the young people they are intended for? Today we are celebrating a Norbertine saint of the 12th century who had a special connection to young people: St. Frederick of Mariengaarde. After receiving permission to build a new monastery, he went through cities and towns to gather new disciples, and he was very successful. In today’s language we would probably say that he “met these young people where they were” and then set them on fire for his monastic ideal. – Do we also have this openness to approach the young men and women of our time and speak to them about the possibility of a religious vocation?
  
  
  
• Mass for Children: To Help Build the Church
  Maybe when you were young you liked to play with sand and mud? You can build some very nice things… Today we celebrate a saint who lost his father as a young boy and was sent by his mother to tend the sheep. His name was Frederick. When he got bored watching the sheep, he built altars and even little churches out of mud. Later on he built two real monasteries and even became the abbot. St. Frederick spent his whole life building up the Church of Jesus. We also want to help with the building, so that our Church does not fall into ruins, but is always renewed in strength through our singing and praying here at St. N.’s and outside this place through our love of God and neighbor.