Youtube Interviews
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright interviews guest Father Peregrine Fletcher, a member of the Norbertines. Father Peregrine shares his personal journey and vocation discernment process, shedding light on the Norbertine order. He also discusses his book, My Name is Philomena, which is about the inspiring life of Saint Philomena.
Father Peregrine starts by highlighting the challenges of living in a “culture of death” and the need for encouragement in remaining joyful amidst societal pressures. He believes that the evil spirits that influenced Emperor Diocletian in ancient times are still at work in the world today.
Father Peregrine discusses his book about Saint Philomena, highlighting her story, relics, and symbols found in her tomb. The book’s aim is to provide a consoling perspective on martyrdom, showcasing the presence of the Lord supporting Saint Philomena throughout her life. The book aims to remind readers that Christ is present in all suffering.
Father Peregrine delves into his own journey, starting from his time in seminary in St. Louis. Feeling that something was missing from his vocation, he discussed his concerns with his superiors and priests and was given permission to discern further. Through retreats and ultimately a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin, Father Peregrine discovered a connection to Saint Peregrine, which played a significant role in his vocational discernment.
Father Peregrine explains the process of taking on a new name in monastic life and how he was given the name Peregrine by Father Abbot on Christmas Eve. He emphasizes the significance of the new name representing a fresh start and a new life in Christ while maintaining the baptismal name as the middle name.
Father Peregrine shares insights into the Norbertine order, founded by Saint Norbert with the goal of reforming the clergy and promoting clerical holiness. He explains the different stages of formation within the order, starting as a postulant and eventually making solemn vows, becoming married to God and the community. Father Peregrine himself is a member of Saint Michael’s Abbey in Southern California, where he joined 10 years ago and has since been ordained.
The episode concludes with a reflection on vocations and a call to listeners who may be discerning their own calling. Father Peregrine encourages them to explore further and seek guidance, acknowledging that the call to the priesthood and the call to religious life can be distinct but interconnected.
Overall, this episode of Roadmap to Heaven highlights the inspirational life of Saint Philomena, provides a deep dive into the Norbertines, and offers valuable insights into vocational discernment and the pursuit of holiness in a challenging world.
Adam Wright:
There’s very rarely a week that goes by here on the show without me talking about my kids. And with back to school, one of the things I try to be cognizant of is the question what are my children reading? I like to supplement what they read at school with good books at home, and I’m happy to have had this book come across my desk. It’s called My Name is Philomena. It’s by Father Peregrine Fletcher, who is a Norbertine Father out of California, but a native St. Louisan, and Father is on a home visit and was kind enough to drop by our studio and sit down with us today for Roadmap to Heaven. Father, it’s great to be with you.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Thank you so much for the invite. It’s always great to be back in my hometown of St. Louis. I’m happy to be here with you today.
Adam Wright:
Well, I have to tell you, I love this book. Saint Philomena has a beautiful story of a martyr’s death, and it’s one of those things that as my kids, “Oh, Dad, can we get this book? Can we get that book?” You know, they just see good pictures and they say, “Well, that’s the book I want”, and this is a beautifully illustrated book as well. And rather than the story of — When I was growing up, we had the big red dog. And no disrespect to Clifford. He was a good big red dog. I enjoyed Clifford. But this is a wonderful story about an actual saint that can inspire children, and I think the parents reading to them, everywhere. Before we dive in, I’d love to ask this question for our listeners. Who was Saint Philomena?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Well, that is a great question. Saint Philomena is a very unique saint. She is a virgin martyr from the early church around the third and fourth century. She was a saint who vowed her life to Christ, and she decided to become a consecrated virgin, married to the Lord and Him only. And she got in big trouble for that because in the Roman Empire, the emperor Diocletian, when he fell in love with her, asked her to compromise her vow, and she wouldn’t do that. So she had a very epic life story of great suffering and great trial, but great victory in martyrdom. So she’s an early saint whose relics and tomb really wasn’t discovered until the 19th century in 1802, when excavators were excavating in the catacombs of Saint Priscilla, and they discovered among the tombs of the martyrs, a tomb with a nameplate in terracotta tiles. “Philomena Pax Te Cum Philomena” the terracotta tiles read. And so they searched the archives for a saint by this name, and they couldn’t really find anything. So they realized that this Saint Philomena, this martyr, has been unknown for many, many years.
So she’s a unique saint, in so many ways. The few details that we know about her story, you can glean from the images that were engraved on her tombstone: an anchor, and arrows, a lily for purity, a palm for martyrdom. You see that the ancient Christians inscribed in her very tomb, the images that we so associate with her now. And then later on as history develops in the coming decades, we see a few private revelations, which later on, the church approves for spreading and for telling the details of her story. So the details in this book are drawn from the historical discovery of her relics, her tomb, the symbols found there, the few details we’ve gleaned from the private revelations. All of which culminate in an amazing story really, of a saint who, through her intercession, has brought many miracles of healing, many graces into the church, which have been documented, especially in and around her shrine in southern Italy.
Adam Wright:
Now spoiler alert, for those who are going to read the book, but I’ll tell you what. You’ll still love the book when you read it. You’ve heard the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, or the three men, (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) in the furnace. That’s a good start when we’re talking about Philomena. They each endured those trials and were delivered from those trials. But as I was going through the book, I’m expecting her to suffer. I am not expecting each of these things, you’ve alluded to some of them, the anchor and the arrows. What an amazing tradition that’s handed down about the ways she suffered at the hands of Diocletian and then the way the Lord delivered her.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. And the way that she suffered, in a way, it’s obviously very striking to us, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the ancient Christians in the time of Diocletian. And if you look through history, you’ll see that Diocletian was known to have tied anchors around the necks of Christians and thrown them into the Tiber River. He was known to shoot arrows at them or shoot flaming arrows at times, at these Christians, or he ordered his soldiers to do so. So the Saint Philomena story, we look at it and it’s astonishing to us that this little girl endured all of this. But back in the time of those early persecutions, these stories would have been fairly normal, unfortunately. But also, it was, I guess, fortunate in the light of grace where God raised these heroes and they became martyrs and saints we’re still talking about today.
Adam Wright:
And normally, when Diocletian would have an anchor tied around the neck of a Christian and have them thrown into the Tiber, that would be the end of their earthly life, they would pass on to, God willing, Heaven as a martyr’s death, but not for Philomena.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yes. The Lord seemed to choose her, as He has done with many saints through history. He has allowed miracles to occur to save these martyrs in their trials. Now eventually, another spoiler, but not really a spoiler, one of the the tortures does finally kill Saint Philomena. And she’s murdered and she’s martyred. But the Lord sustained her through many of the trials so that she could be an example for Christians today. And really, if you look at even your own life, the lives of those you know, you see the Lord sustaining people in their trials. So what she received, those graces she received are also graces that the Lord is giving us every day. Even if we don’t even notice them, the Lord is constantly sustaining us in our trials, and Saint Philomena is a superb example of that in the ancient world.
Adam Wright:
Now that comes to the lesson I want to get to about this book, because as I think of bedtime stories for the kids, usually, if there are arrows being flung, it’s at the mighty dragon by the handsome knight. Or if there are supernatural things, it’s superheroes coming in to save the day. A martyr’s death usually is not what we think of for a fine bedtime story. But, really, this helps lay a foundation with our children that as they grow up and they endure trials, probably less terrible, shall we say, than arrows or anchors or whatnot. They’ve already got that foundation now that God is with them in their sufferings and that He is sending His grace and He’s sending His angels to be with us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yeah. Adam, you nailed the main theme of the book. What I want children and parents, anyone who reads this book to take away from this is that there really is no suffering, there is no trial that you endure, that the Lord is not there with you. And I hope that as you flip through the pages of this book and you see the illustrations, you’ll see that Christ is there at every step, in each stage of her life. And that there’s no point in which He’s not actively with Saint Philomena. And so I tried to illustrate her story with also sensitivity. So, there’s a lot of metaphorical images or the sufferings that are depicted are either just before the suffering or after, with a couple of exceptions. But I think people will find that there are ways in which you can introduce children to the reality of martyrdom that is actually consoling to them. And it’s not frightening as much as you see how beautiful and how amazing it is and how consoling it is that the Lord is there supporting Saint Philomena.
Adam Wright:
I thought to myself as I was reading this book, am I ready to stand up in today’s culture? You know, we don’t have Diocletian, but we certainly have what Pope Benedict called “the dictatorship of relativism”. Just as bad but in a different way. Am I ready to endure sufferings as Philomena did, to stand up and not compromise my promises to the Lord, to live a life of holiness, to witness to the gospel and to live that life of faith?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yeah. I think this whole culture that we live in is really, as it’s been called, a culture of death. So this is not, in a way, to discourage us. This is a reality we live in, and the saints give us encouragement. How to be joyful when you live surrounded by a culture of death and this dictatorship of relativism. Yes, the evil spirits which were influencing the Emperor Diocletian are still very much at work in this world. It’s all of the evil. The source is the same. So we can take great courage from these stories. The ancient martyrs are so relevant, and not everyone believes that people often kind of look for saints or heroes that are in today’s day and age, but we are not really separated by the saints of the ancient world as much as we might think. Maybe by time, okay. But by grace, their stories are still relevant and still show us the example that we need and encourage us to be joyful martyrs ourselves, if God calls us to be that, one way or another.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful to talk about Saint Philomena. We’ve gone a little bit longer than we normally do here on the show, so what I’d like to do is take a break. And then when we come back, love to ask you about the Norbertines, because we don’t have Norbertines here in St. Louis, but we do have them in our listening area up in Springfield at the Evermode Institute. But I always love to talk about vocations on the show. So if that’s alright with you, we’re going to take a break here. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back with Father Peregrine Fletcher after this.
Hello, podcast listeners. This is Adam Wright for Covenant Network. If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to hit like and subscribe. And while you’re at it, share it with your friends. And now back to the Roadmap to Heaven podcast.
We are back. And if you’re just joining us today, we’re honored to have Father Peregrine Fletcher drop by the studio. He was sharing with us before the break about his book, My Name is Philomena, but I’d like to talk about vocations here for a moment. Father, you wear a very distinct habit, and you have a notation after your name on the cover of the book, “O. Praem”. That’s not one we see all of the time and not what I was expecting because, normally, I hear your order referred to as the Norbertines. So when we talk about Norbertine Fathers, I think the big questions we always want to ask: Who are the Norbertines? What’s your charism? What is O. Praem? And how do you all live that out in your apostolates?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
That’s a really good question. The Norbertine order is a 900 year old order, 900 plus years, now. So we’ve been around for a very long time. Saint Norbert, 900 years ago, founded our order, somewhat reluctantly. He didn’t set out to found an order, but especially the ecclesiastical authorities of his day in age, the popes and other leaders in the church encouraged Saint Norbert to form this community to help reform the clergy. Saint Norbert was a great reformer of the clergy, and he really wanted his order to be a place in which clerics could live a life of holiness in community, do penance, and live according to a specific rule of life, which is the rule of Saint Augustine. It’s the rule that we read from every day at the Abbey, every weekday, I should say. And so it was this idea of really clerical reform and clerical holiness. And I would say that that’s also still very relevant today. We need an ever increasing holiness in our priests. And a monastery, like a Norbertine Monastery, is precisely one of the locations where, God willing, you should be able to find that. And Saint Michael’s Abbey in Southern California, when I was discerning my vocation and when I found the Abbey, which is so far from my beloved hometown of St. Louis. But I felt such a call when I discovered Saint Norbert, when I discovered this community of brothers who are really from all over North America and Mexico, too. So, it was a very inspiring place, and I immediately knew that — I didn’t know if I was called to be there, but I knew that this was a place that I needed to give a try, and now it’s been 10 years. I entered in 2013. I made my solemn profession of vows in 2019, and I was also ordained a deacon that year, and in the following very memorable year of 2020, I was ordained to the priesthood.
Adam Wright:
Wow. Now, when we talk about religious orders, you said Norbertines. So we think of the Franciscans named after Saint Francis, the Dominicans named after Saint Dominic, and then we look at the letters after the names. You know, with the Franciscans, probably the most regular, you have “OFM”, “Order of Friars Minor” or “Order of Friars Major”. With the Dominicans, “OP”, which has nothing to do with the name Dominic, but everything to do with what his order did, the “Order of Preachers”, and what they still do to this day. Then we come to the Norbertines and we see “O Praem” usually as the abbreviation after everything. What are we reading when we read that?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Right. Well, as you alluded to, Saint Norbert did not name his early followers as Norbertines. That was something that the later disciples would have called themselves after their beloved founder. But the designation of “O Praem” after our name refers to the Latin title “Ordinis Praemonstratensis”, or in English, the “Order of Prémontré”. Prémontré is a small valley, now a little town there, in Northern France. And that was the location that Saint Norbert decided to establish his community. So Saint Norbert and those who followed him in religion were called the Order of Prémontré after the place in which they lived. And then later on, as history unfolds, they start to become the Norbertines.
Adam Wright:
Similar to if perhaps someone was called to start a religious order here in St. Louis, and they didn’t have a name at first and said, well, that’s the order from St. Louis. Right? The order of St. Louisans.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Exactly. Exactly.
Adam Wright:
Now you mentioned this, that you are from St. Louis. And in fact, you and I met many years ago, I believe at a Christ Power retreat over at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. We probably have several mutual friends from your time in seminary there. How did you go from studying for the Diocesan priesthood to Southern California to the Norbertine Abbey? And it’s Abbey or Monastery?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
It’s both, really, but Abbey is our formal name. We’re an Abbey now.
Adam Wright:
Yeah. So how does one go from seminary in St. Louis to the Norbertine Abbey?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Gosh. That is such a good question. Only the eyes of our Lord saw this coming for me. I did not. But my time at the seminary here in St. Louis was so good, and we have so many wonderful seminarians and priests. And I certainly didn’t leave because things were bad. Actually, things were good. But I had this internal sense that somehow, there was something else. There was a component of my vocation that I didn’t have access to or I wasn’t quite fulfilling. It was a mystery to me. So I talked to my superiors and the priests at the seminary and explained to them the predicament that I’m actually doing really well. I feel happy. I could see myself doing this, but I also have a deep sense that there’s something missing. And I do feel like it’s worthwhile figuring that out. So maybe I should leave the seminary and just discern what’s going on here. They were very kind to me and gave me their blessing and permission to do so with the idea, which gave me consolation that if I take a step out and discern, I could come back. Long story short, in spiritual direction, I decided, or I should say my spiritual director recommended that while I’m away from the seminary, I should really look into religious life after explaining my own spiritual life, my desire, this idea that something’s missing. He said it might be the religious life, the religious priesthood. So I went on a number of retreats, and the last place was Saint Michael’s. And it was so far from home, and I thought this is never going to work. But as soon as I was driving up the driveway, the general sense of the monastery I had, I was overwhelmed by this idea, by the sense that this is it, and I couldn’t I couldn’t explain why. But my later retreat, as those days unfolded, really confirmed that. So I wrestled with God because it was so far from home, but I decided, as I mentioned, that I needed to at least give this a try.
Adam Wright:
Wow. Yeah. I think back to my time of discernment, probably about the same time you were discerning entering Kenrick-Glennon as a seminarian. Monsignor Butler was the vocation director at the time, but then also several vocation directors from the religious orders here in St. Louis, of which there is no shortage of religious orders, and all said the same thing. The call to the priesthood and the call to the religious life are really two separate calls. Some men are called to the Diocesan priesthood, some are called to the religious life, and some are called to be priests in the religious life. I think of the Franciscan brothers and Jesuit brothers I knew when I was growing up. Not all of the Franciscans and Jesuits I knew were priests. Some of them were brothers and many of them were priests. So it sounds like you were hearing that call, maybe not knowing what it was at first, but you’re hearing that call that God’s calling you to something in addition to the priesthood, and that’s how you end up with the Norbertines. Now, when you see that this is what God’s moving you to, saying, “Alright, go here. Study here. Check this out.” What happens then? You know, we think of men in the Diocesan seminary that they go, they get their degree in philosophy, they get their degree in theology, they have their practical application year, their pastoral year, their year of being a transitional deacon, and then they’re ordained a priest. But you mentioned that it was quite some time between when you entered and when you were ordained.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
It’s really true. I mean, when I entered seminary, the first time around, I was 19. By the time I was ordained, I was 33. So there were many years in between. But when you enter Saint Michael’s, you become a “postulant”, and that comes from the Latin word “to ask”. So it’s someone who’s seeking, who’s asking, who’s just discerning if this is right. And you stay as a postulant for four months. In that four months, you’re discerning, the community is discerning, the abbot is discerning if this is the right fit. And then, God willing, on Christmas Eve, as is the tradition of our order, we take habit. We are given the habit in a beautiful ceremony called the Vestition Ceremony, where we are vested in the white habit of the Order of Prémontré, and you are given a new name in the order and a new patron saint that the abbot decides. You provide a few names for him. He wants to know who you’re devoted to, if there are some names available, if another Father or Fraater, or brother, as we say, has that name, it’s not up for grabs anymore. So he asks you, and then you’re given that name on Christmas Eve, and you begin your Norbertine life then. Then you become a Norbertine novice. And you’re a novice in our community for two years. You’re not doing much studying. You’re just taking some little courses in spirituality, the history of our order. You’re learning a lot of Latin. We do a lot of Latin at the Abbey, thankfully. And then after two years of your novitiate, you take your first vows. You become what we call a “junior professed”. That’s a temporary profession of vows, lasting for three years. And you keep renewing those vows until the community, the abbot, decides that you’re ready for solemn profession of vows. Once you make your solemn profession of vows, you are essentially, then, married to God, this community, and you no longer have to renew the vows. Then, also, God willing, you are likely going to be ordained a deacon or a priest. We’re typically a very clerical community, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to be a brother. And that’s kind of, in a nutshell, one’s course through formation.
Adam Wright:
It mirrors, in a beautiful way, those who are married, that they have that period of courtship and then a period of engagement before taking the vows of marriage.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
That’s a good connection. And it’s absolutely true. It’s a very helpful way to discern and gradually approach this pretty big vocation.
Adam Wright:
Wonderful. Now, Peregrine. Saint Peregrine, and the only thing I know about Saint Peregrine: patron of cancer patients. How did you come to be — because when I first met you, you were Patrick, and now you’re Father Peregrine.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Right. So Saint Peregrine came as just an amazing surprise to me, too. There are so many surprises. I guess that’s how God works, and I’m glad for that. My life is much more surprising and interesting than I ever intended it to be. But the summer before I entered the Abbey, I was making a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin. And there, His Eminence Cardinal Burke set up many side altars to saints, and one of whom is Saint Peregrine. And I was serving Mass there for a priest friend of mine, and I hadn’t known anything about Saint Peregrine, but there’s a beautiful painting there. And I was serving Mass and looking at the painting of Saint Peregrine and the Lord appearing to him and through the crucifix. And I saw his leg was wounded. It was a mystery to me, but I felt this connection to Saint Peregrine. And I was very intrigued. So after that Mass, I went to the gift shop and I bought a little statue of Saint Peregrine. And I took that home with me that summer. And I just started praying to him and learning about him. And then I went to the Abbey and my four months of postulancy went by, and it came time for me to put down on the list saints for Father Abbott to consider. And as I was thinking, I thought, oh, well, Saint Peregrine. I still didn’t know a ton about him. I was no expert, nor was I fervently devoted. But I had this intuition that I should write his name down. So I wrote his name down on the list and I thought Father Abbot will decide, and then I’ll know if it was God’s will or not. Christmas Eve comes around and I’m being vested in the white habit, and then Father Abbot tells me, and all the confers gathered, “In our community, you will be known as Peregrine.” So I became brother (or frater, as we say at the Abbey) Peregrine. And then later, I was ordained and became Father Peregrine.
Adam Wright:
I’m smiling right now because as you say this, I’m thinking of my son who is in his 8th grade year. He begins 8th grade next week. And he’s already asked, “Dad, what’s a confirmation name, and how do I pick a saint to take that name?” Now I have another story to tell him about, you know, there are many saints, and just go out and find one that moves you.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. And we really believe at the Abbey that our patron saints choose us. It’s not so much about us. The weight is off of our shoulders in a way. If you are praying, if you are living this life authentically, the saints are watching over us. They are a cloud of witness as we hear from the scriptures. And so in a way, there’s not so much pressure on us. They’ll find us. So we just have to be open. And I really believe that Saint Peregrine found — and I’m finding out more and more about him as my religious life unfolds and why he was just the perfect patron.
Adam Wright:
That’s another question because with some religious orders, the name you had as your baptismal name is your name. You enter into the order, you make your first vows, your final vows, you’re ordained. I grew up in a Jesuit high school and a Franciscan parish, so Sather Al, he was Al from his baptism and so on. Your baptismal name is not your name anymore. That’s something that I’ve heard explained before. And every time I hear it explained, I can’t help but think it’s beautiful. But why do you give up that name and take on this new name?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yes. Well, in a way, it’s an important aspect of our new life that we take on when we enter a monastery. We all consider ourselves sinners who have come to a monastery to live this life of prayer and penance and conversion of our ways. We vow a conversion of our ways in our profession formula. This is really important for a Norbertine. So there’s a sense in which we’re starting afresh in our life. It’s one of the most beautiful things about monastic life, life in an abbey. You get a really fresh start. You get a new outfit, so to speak, which is a sacramental sign of the new life that we’ve been given. We’re preparing ourselves when we enter for a life of living in vows, which is another aspect of our new life in Christ. When we put on the habit, we have this prayer that recalls the new man that we have become and are becoming. So the idea that you take on a new name is another important aspect of that. An important, also, aspect is that you have a patron saint watching over you and your religious life, someone who has made it to Heaven, someone who is praying for you to get there, too. Now I will say that your baptismal name, it’s not as though it’s somehow eradicated. We actually just kind of make it our middle name. So at the Abbey, if you look on our website you’ll see it’s Father Peregrine Patrick Fletcher. And our parents are very grateful for that. And Father Abbot told my folks when they came to the Abbey for the first time after my Vestition, Father Abbot said, “He’ll always be Patrick to you.” And our superiors are very sensitive to the fact that it can be harder for families. But in a way, it’s also something really beautiful. So Patrick is still a part of my name and who I am, and now I have this added name, Peregrine, that is my name in religion.
Adam Wright:
I would imagine some of our listeners are curious, and I’m curious as well. You’re on home visit right now. So when you come home, do your mother and father still call you Patrick?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
They call me all of the above. They call me Father Peregrine at times. They call me Peregrine sometimes. They came to visit me when I studied in Rome. I studied in Rome briefly just for one year. And in Rome, Saint Peregrine was an Italian saint. He was named, in Italian, “Pellegrino” is the Italian, and my mother being Italian, loved that. So sometimes they’ll call me Pellegrino, and sometimes they’ll call me Patrick. I don’t have one particular name that I hear when I’m visiting my family.
Adam Wright:
That’s beautiful, Father. As we wrap up I wanted to ask, because I’ve heard that Saint Michael’s Abbey, recently within the past 10 years or so, had to add on. There were so many men coming to the Norbertines, and now even with the addition, you’re filling up. Praise God for the many men seeking out the vocation. If a young man’s listening right now and says, “Well, maybe if they still have room, I’d like to come see if this is where God’s calling me to”, how can our listeners find out more about the Norbertines?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Well, if you’re interested in learning about us, like many religious communities today, we are online and very available there. You can find our website. You can call the Abbey. We have a vocation page on our site as well. If people are generally interested in the Abbey, we have a team of people who have done a really great job of presenting our Abbey, our liturgies, events, and our life on Instagram. You can see all these amazing photos. You’re welcome to look there, but I would say that if you’re interested in a vocation, the first thing is pray and look us up, and see especially if it’s worth a trip out to California. That was my first consideration. And I looked online and I realized, yeah, I think they’re worth looking into. And little did I know, in 10 years I would actually still be one.
Adam Wright:
And for our listeners in the Diocese of Springfield, you actually have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Norbertines who are at the Evermode Institute at the former Saint Francis Convent, the Health Sisters of Saint Francis, who are still there. Beautiful things happening in the Diocese of Springfield, as they will be offering catechesis for all of the catechists and the Diocese and ongoing formation for them. Father Peregrine, it has been an absolute joy to spend this time with you this morning talking about Saint Philomena, talking about the Norbertines, and your vocation. Could I ask you to conclude our time together with a prayer?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Absolutely. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty Father, we come before you today thankful for the gift of your saints, Saint Norbert and Saint Philomena, and all those enfolded in the cloud of witnesses above us. We ask that you help us to join them one day. Make us holy and make us to fulfill our holy vocations. And we ask all of this through the intercession of Our Lady, as we pray, Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Adam Wright:
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. Saint Philomena
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Saint Norbert
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
And Saint Louis
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Adam Wright:
Amen. Father, once again, thank you for being with us. We’re going to take a break here on Roadmap to Heaven, but don’t go anywhere. We’ve got more for you after this.
Adam Wright:
There’s very rarely a week that goes by here on the show without me talking about my kids. And with back to school, one of the things I try to be cognizant of is the question what are my children reading? I like to supplement what they read at school with good books at home, and I’m happy to have had this book come across my desk. It’s called My Name is Philomena. It’s by Father Peregrine Fletcher, who is a Norbertine Father out of California, but a native St. Louisan, and Father is on a home visit and was kind enough to drop by our studio and sit down with us today for Roadmap to Heaven. Father, it’s great to be with you.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Thank you so much for the invite. It’s always great to be back in my hometown of St. Louis. I’m happy to be here with you today.
Adam Wright:
Well, I have to tell you, I love this book. Saint Philomena has a beautiful story of a martyr’s death, and it’s one of those things that as my kids, “Oh, Dad, can we get this book? Can we get that book?” You know, they just see good pictures and they say, “Well, that’s the book I want”, and this is a beautifully illustrated book as well. And rather than the story of — When I was growing up, we had the big red dog. And no disrespect to Clifford. He was a good big red dog. I enjoyed Clifford. But this is a wonderful story about an actual saint that can inspire children, and I think the parents reading to them, everywhere. Before we dive in, I’d love to ask this question for our listeners. Who was Saint Philomena?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Well, that is a great question. Saint Philomena is a very unique saint. She is a virgin martyr from the early church around the third and fourth century. She was a saint who vowed her life to Christ, and she decided to become a consecrated virgin, married to the Lord and Him only. And she got in big trouble for that because in the Roman Empire, the emperor Diocletian, when he fell in love with her, asked her to compromise her vow, and she wouldn’t do that. So she had a very epic life story of great suffering and great trial, but great victory in martyrdom. So she’s an early saint whose relics and tomb really wasn’t discovered until the 19th century in 1802, when excavators were excavating in the catacombs of Saint Priscilla, and they discovered among the tombs of the martyrs, a tomb with a nameplate in terracotta tiles. “Philomena Pax Te Cum Philomena” the terracotta tiles read. And so they searched the archives for a saint by this name, and they couldn’t really find anything. So they realized that this Saint Philomena, this martyr, has been unknown for many, many years.
So she’s a unique saint, in so many ways. The few details that we know about her story, you can glean from the images that were engraved on her tombstone: an anchor, and arrows, a lily for purity, a palm for martyrdom. You see that the ancient Christians inscribed in her very tomb, the images that we so associate with her now. And then later on as history develops in the coming decades, we see a few private revelations, which later on, the church approves for spreading and for telling the details of her story. So the details in this book are drawn from the historical discovery of her relics, her tomb, the symbols found there, the few details we’ve gleaned from the private revelations. All of which culminate in an amazing story really, of a saint who, through her intercession, has brought many miracles of healing, many graces into the church, which have been documented, especially in and around her shrine in southern Italy.
Adam Wright:
Now spoiler alert, for those who are going to read the book, but I’ll tell you what. You’ll still love the book when you read it. You’ve heard the story of Daniel in the lion’s den, or the three men, (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) in the furnace. That’s a good start when we’re talking about Philomena. They each endured those trials and were delivered from those trials. But as I was going through the book, I’m expecting her to suffer. I am not expecting each of these things, you’ve alluded to some of them, the anchor and the arrows. What an amazing tradition that’s handed down about the ways she suffered at the hands of Diocletian and then the way the Lord delivered her.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. And the way that she suffered, in a way, it’s obviously very striking to us, but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for the ancient Christians in the time of Diocletian. And if you look through history, you’ll see that Diocletian was known to have tied anchors around the necks of Christians and thrown them into the Tiber River. He was known to shoot arrows at them or shoot flaming arrows at times, at these Christians, or he ordered his soldiers to do so. So the Saint Philomena story, we look at it and it’s astonishing to us that this little girl endured all of this. But back in the time of those early persecutions, these stories would have been fairly normal, unfortunately. But also, it was, I guess, fortunate in the light of grace where God raised these heroes and they became martyrs and saints we’re still talking about today.
Adam Wright:
And normally, when Diocletian would have an anchor tied around the neck of a Christian and have them thrown into the Tiber, that would be the end of their earthly life, they would pass on to, God willing, Heaven as a martyr’s death, but not for Philomena.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yes. The Lord seemed to choose her, as He has done with many saints through history. He has allowed miracles to occur to save these martyrs in their trials. Now eventually, another spoiler, but not really a spoiler, one of the the tortures does finally kill Saint Philomena. And she’s murdered and she’s martyred. But the Lord sustained her through many of the trials so that she could be an example for Christians today. And really, if you look at even your own life, the lives of those you know, you see the Lord sustaining people in their trials. So what she received, those graces she received are also graces that the Lord is giving us every day. Even if we don’t even notice them, the Lord is constantly sustaining us in our trials, and Saint Philomena is a superb example of that in the ancient world.
Adam Wright:
Now that comes to the lesson I want to get to about this book, because as I think of bedtime stories for the kids, usually, if there are arrows being flung, it’s at the mighty dragon by the handsome knight. Or if there are supernatural things, it’s superheroes coming in to save the day. A martyr’s death usually is not what we think of for a fine bedtime story. But, really, this helps lay a foundation with our children that as they grow up and they endure trials, probably less terrible, shall we say, than arrows or anchors or whatnot. They’ve already got that foundation now that God is with them in their sufferings and that He is sending His grace and He’s sending His angels to be with us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yeah. Adam, you nailed the main theme of the book. What I want children and parents, anyone who reads this book to take away from this is that there really is no suffering, there is no trial that you endure, that the Lord is not there with you. And I hope that as you flip through the pages of this book and you see the illustrations, you’ll see that Christ is there at every step, in each stage of her life. And that there’s no point in which He’s not actively with Saint Philomena. And so I tried to illustrate her story with also sensitivity. So, there’s a lot of metaphorical images or the sufferings that are depicted are either just before the suffering or after, with a couple of exceptions. But I think people will find that there are ways in which you can introduce children to the reality of martyrdom that is actually consoling to them. And it’s not frightening as much as you see how beautiful and how amazing it is and how consoling it is that the Lord is there supporting Saint Philomena.
Adam Wright:
I thought to myself as I was reading this book, am I ready to stand up in today’s culture? You know, we don’t have Diocletian, but we certainly have what Pope Benedict called “the dictatorship of relativism”. Just as bad but in a different way. Am I ready to endure sufferings as Philomena did, to stand up and not compromise my promises to the Lord, to live a life of holiness, to witness to the gospel and to live that life of faith?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yeah. I think this whole culture that we live in is really, as it’s been called, a culture of death. So this is not, in a way, to discourage us. This is a reality we live in, and the saints give us encouragement. How to be joyful when you live surrounded by a culture of death and this dictatorship of relativism. Yes, the evil spirits which were influencing the Emperor Diocletian are still very much at work in this world. It’s all of the evil. The source is the same. So we can take great courage from these stories. The ancient martyrs are so relevant, and not everyone believes that people often kind of look for saints or heroes that are in today’s day and age, but we are not really separated by the saints of the ancient world as much as we might think. Maybe by time, okay. But by grace, their stories are still relevant and still show us the example that we need and encourage us to be joyful martyrs ourselves, if God calls us to be that, one way or another.
Adam Wright:
Well, Father, this has been wonderful to talk about Saint Philomena. We’ve gone a little bit longer than we normally do here on the show, so what I’d like to do is take a break. And then when we come back, love to ask you about the Norbertines, because we don’t have Norbertines here in St. Louis, but we do have them in our listening area up in Springfield at the Evermode Institute. But I always love to talk about vocations on the show. So if that’s alright with you, we’re going to take a break here. Don’t go anywhere. We’ll be back with Father Peregrine Fletcher after this.
Hello, podcast listeners. This is Adam Wright for Covenant Network. If you’re enjoying this podcast, don’t forget to hit like and subscribe. And while you’re at it, share it with your friends. And now back to the Roadmap to Heaven podcast.
We are back. And if you’re just joining us today, we’re honored to have Father Peregrine Fletcher drop by the studio. He was sharing with us before the break about his book, My Name is Philomena, but I’d like to talk about vocations here for a moment. Father, you wear a very distinct habit, and you have a notation after your name on the cover of the book, “O. Praem”. That’s not one we see all of the time and not what I was expecting because, normally, I hear your order referred to as the Norbertines. So when we talk about Norbertine Fathers, I think the big questions we always want to ask: Who are the Norbertines? What’s your charism? What is O. Praem? And how do you all live that out in your apostolates?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
That’s a really good question. The Norbertine order is a 900 year old order, 900 plus years, now. So we’ve been around for a very long time. Saint Norbert, 900 years ago, founded our order, somewhat reluctantly. He didn’t set out to found an order, but especially the ecclesiastical authorities of his day in age, the popes and other leaders in the church encouraged Saint Norbert to form this community to help reform the clergy. Saint Norbert was a great reformer of the clergy, and he really wanted his order to be a place in which clerics could live a life of holiness in community, do penance, and live according to a specific rule of life, which is the rule of Saint Augustine. It’s the rule that we read from every day at the Abbey, every weekday, I should say. And so it was this idea of really clerical reform and clerical holiness. And I would say that that’s also still very relevant today. We need an ever increasing holiness in our priests. And a monastery, like a Norbertine Monastery, is precisely one of the locations where, God willing, you should be able to find that. And Saint Michael’s Abbey in Southern California, when I was discerning my vocation and when I found the Abbey, which is so far from my beloved hometown of St. Louis. But I felt such a call when I discovered Saint Norbert, when I discovered this community of brothers who are really from all over North America and Mexico, too. So, it was a very inspiring place, and I immediately knew that — I didn’t know if I was called to be there, but I knew that this was a place that I needed to give a try, and now it’s been 10 years. I entered in 2013. I made my solemn profession of vows in 2019, and I was also ordained a deacon that year, and in the following very memorable year of 2020, I was ordained to the priesthood.
Adam Wright:
Wow. Now, when we talk about religious orders, you said Norbertines. So we think of the Franciscans named after Saint Francis, the Dominicans named after Saint Dominic, and then we look at the letters after the names. You know, with the Franciscans, probably the most regular, you have “OFM”, “Order of Friars Minor” or “Order of Friars Major”. With the Dominicans, “OP”, which has nothing to do with the name Dominic, but everything to do with what his order did, the “Order of Preachers”, and what they still do to this day. Then we come to the Norbertines and we see “O Praem” usually as the abbreviation after everything. What are we reading when we read that?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Right. Well, as you alluded to, Saint Norbert did not name his early followers as Norbertines. That was something that the later disciples would have called themselves after their beloved founder. But the designation of “O Praem” after our name refers to the Latin title “Ordinis Praemonstratensis”, or in English, the “Order of Prémontré”. Prémontré is a small valley, now a little town there, in Northern France. And that was the location that Saint Norbert decided to establish his community. So Saint Norbert and those who followed him in religion were called the Order of Prémontré after the place in which they lived. And then later on, as history unfolds, they start to become the Norbertines.
Adam Wright:
Similar to if perhaps someone was called to start a religious order here in St. Louis, and they didn’t have a name at first and said, well, that’s the order from St. Louis. Right? The order of St. Louisans.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Exactly. Exactly.
Adam Wright:
Now you mentioned this, that you are from St. Louis. And in fact, you and I met many years ago, I believe at a Christ Power retreat over at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. We probably have several mutual friends from your time in seminary there. How did you go from studying for the Diocesan priesthood to Southern California to the Norbertine Abbey? And it’s Abbey or Monastery?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
It’s both, really, but Abbey is our formal name. We’re an Abbey now.
Adam Wright:
Yeah. So how does one go from seminary in St. Louis to the Norbertine Abbey?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Gosh. That is such a good question. Only the eyes of our Lord saw this coming for me. I did not. But my time at the seminary here in St. Louis was so good, and we have so many wonderful seminarians and priests. And I certainly didn’t leave because things were bad. Actually, things were good. But I had this internal sense that somehow, there was something else. There was a component of my vocation that I didn’t have access to or I wasn’t quite fulfilling. It was a mystery to me. So I talked to my superiors and the priests at the seminary and explained to them the predicament that I’m actually doing really well. I feel happy. I could see myself doing this, but I also have a deep sense that there’s something missing. And I do feel like it’s worthwhile figuring that out. So maybe I should leave the seminary and just discern what’s going on here. They were very kind to me and gave me their blessing and permission to do so with the idea, which gave me consolation that if I take a step out and discern, I could come back. Long story short, in spiritual direction, I decided, or I should say my spiritual director recommended that while I’m away from the seminary, I should really look into religious life after explaining my own spiritual life, my desire, this idea that something’s missing. He said it might be the religious life, the religious priesthood. So I went on a number of retreats, and the last place was Saint Michael’s. And it was so far from home, and I thought this is never going to work. But as soon as I was driving up the driveway, the general sense of the monastery I had, I was overwhelmed by this idea, by the sense that this is it, and I couldn’t I couldn’t explain why. But my later retreat, as those days unfolded, really confirmed that. So I wrestled with God because it was so far from home, but I decided, as I mentioned, that I needed to at least give this a try.
Adam Wright:
Wow. Yeah. I think back to my time of discernment, probably about the same time you were discerning entering Kenrick-Glennon as a seminarian. Monsignor Butler was the vocation director at the time, but then also several vocation directors from the religious orders here in St. Louis, of which there is no shortage of religious orders, and all said the same thing. The call to the priesthood and the call to the religious life are really two separate calls. Some men are called to the Diocesan priesthood, some are called to the religious life, and some are called to be priests in the religious life. I think of the Franciscan brothers and Jesuit brothers I knew when I was growing up. Not all of the Franciscans and Jesuits I knew were priests. Some of them were brothers and many of them were priests. So it sounds like you were hearing that call, maybe not knowing what it was at first, but you’re hearing that call that God’s calling you to something in addition to the priesthood, and that’s how you end up with the Norbertines. Now, when you see that this is what God’s moving you to, saying, “Alright, go here. Study here. Check this out.” What happens then? You know, we think of men in the Diocesan seminary that they go, they get their degree in philosophy, they get their degree in theology, they have their practical application year, their pastoral year, their year of being a transitional deacon, and then they’re ordained a priest. But you mentioned that it was quite some time between when you entered and when you were ordained.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
It’s really true. I mean, when I entered seminary, the first time around, I was 19. By the time I was ordained, I was 33. So there were many years in between. But when you enter Saint Michael’s, you become a “postulant”, and that comes from the Latin word “to ask”. So it’s someone who’s seeking, who’s asking, who’s just discerning if this is right. And you stay as a postulant for four months. In that four months, you’re discerning, the community is discerning, the abbot is discerning if this is the right fit. And then, God willing, on Christmas Eve, as is the tradition of our order, we take habit. We are given the habit in a beautiful ceremony called the Vestition Ceremony, where we are vested in the white habit of the Order of Prémontré, and you are given a new name in the order and a new patron saint that the abbot decides. You provide a few names for him. He wants to know who you’re devoted to, if there are some names available, if another Father or Fraater, or brother, as we say, has that name, it’s not up for grabs anymore. So he asks you, and then you’re given that name on Christmas Eve, and you begin your Norbertine life then. Then you become a Norbertine novice. And you’re a novice in our community for two years. You’re not doing much studying. You’re just taking some little courses in spirituality, the history of our order. You’re learning a lot of Latin. We do a lot of Latin at the Abbey, thankfully. And then after two years of your novitiate, you take your first vows. You become what we call a “junior professed”. That’s a temporary profession of vows, lasting for three years. And you keep renewing those vows until the community, the abbot, decides that you’re ready for solemn profession of vows. Once you make your solemn profession of vows, you are essentially, then, married to God, this community, and you no longer have to renew the vows. Then, also, God willing, you are likely going to be ordained a deacon or a priest. We’re typically a very clerical community, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility to be a brother. And that’s kind of, in a nutshell, one’s course through formation.
Adam Wright:
It mirrors, in a beautiful way, those who are married, that they have that period of courtship and then a period of engagement before taking the vows of marriage.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
That’s a good connection. And it’s absolutely true. It’s a very helpful way to discern and gradually approach this pretty big vocation.
Adam Wright:
Wonderful. Now, Peregrine. Saint Peregrine, and the only thing I know about Saint Peregrine: patron of cancer patients. How did you come to be — because when I first met you, you were Patrick, and now you’re Father Peregrine.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Right. So Saint Peregrine came as just an amazing surprise to me, too. There are so many surprises. I guess that’s how God works, and I’m glad for that. My life is much more surprising and interesting than I ever intended it to be. But the summer before I entered the Abbey, I was making a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin. And there, His Eminence Cardinal Burke set up many side altars to saints, and one of whom is Saint Peregrine. And I was serving Mass there for a priest friend of mine, and I hadn’t known anything about Saint Peregrine, but there’s a beautiful painting there. And I was serving Mass and looking at the painting of Saint Peregrine and the Lord appearing to him and through the crucifix. And I saw his leg was wounded. It was a mystery to me, but I felt this connection to Saint Peregrine. And I was very intrigued. So after that Mass, I went to the gift shop and I bought a little statue of Saint Peregrine. And I took that home with me that summer. And I just started praying to him and learning about him. And then I went to the Abbey and my four months of postulancy went by, and it came time for me to put down on the list saints for Father Abbott to consider. And as I was thinking, I thought, oh, well, Saint Peregrine. I still didn’t know a ton about him. I was no expert, nor was I fervently devoted. But I had this intuition that I should write his name down. So I wrote his name down on the list and I thought Father Abbot will decide, and then I’ll know if it was God’s will or not. Christmas Eve comes around and I’m being vested in the white habit, and then Father Abbot tells me, and all the confers gathered, “In our community, you will be known as Peregrine.” So I became brother (or frater, as we say at the Abbey) Peregrine. And then later, I was ordained and became Father Peregrine.
Adam Wright:
I’m smiling right now because as you say this, I’m thinking of my son who is in his 8th grade year. He begins 8th grade next week. And he’s already asked, “Dad, what’s a confirmation name, and how do I pick a saint to take that name?” Now I have another story to tell him about, you know, there are many saints, and just go out and find one that moves you.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. And we really believe at the Abbey that our patron saints choose us. It’s not so much about us. The weight is off of our shoulders in a way. If you are praying, if you are living this life authentically, the saints are watching over us. They are a cloud of witness as we hear from the scriptures. And so in a way, there’s not so much pressure on us. They’ll find us. So we just have to be open. And I really believe that Saint Peregrine found — and I’m finding out more and more about him as my religious life unfolds and why he was just the perfect patron.
Adam Wright:
That’s another question because with some religious orders, the name you had as your baptismal name is your name. You enter into the order, you make your first vows, your final vows, you’re ordained. I grew up in a Jesuit high school and a Franciscan parish, so Sather Al, he was Al from his baptism and so on. Your baptismal name is not your name anymore. That’s something that I’ve heard explained before. And every time I hear it explained, I can’t help but think it’s beautiful. But why do you give up that name and take on this new name?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Yes. Well, in a way, it’s an important aspect of our new life that we take on when we enter a monastery. We all consider ourselves sinners who have come to a monastery to live this life of prayer and penance and conversion of our ways. We vow a conversion of our ways in our profession formula. This is really important for a Norbertine. So there’s a sense in which we’re starting afresh in our life. It’s one of the most beautiful things about monastic life, life in an abbey. You get a really fresh start. You get a new outfit, so to speak, which is a sacramental sign of the new life that we’ve been given. We’re preparing ourselves when we enter for a life of living in vows, which is another aspect of our new life in Christ. When we put on the habit, we have this prayer that recalls the new man that we have become and are becoming. So the idea that you take on a new name is another important aspect of that. An important, also, aspect is that you have a patron saint watching over you and your religious life, someone who has made it to Heaven, someone who is praying for you to get there, too. Now I will say that your baptismal name, it’s not as though it’s somehow eradicated. We actually just kind of make it our middle name. So at the Abbey, if you look on our website you’ll see it’s Father Peregrine Patrick Fletcher. And our parents are very grateful for that. And Father Abbot told my folks when they came to the Abbey for the first time after my Vestition, Father Abbot said, “He’ll always be Patrick to you.” And our superiors are very sensitive to the fact that it can be harder for families. But in a way, it’s also something really beautiful. So Patrick is still a part of my name and who I am, and now I have this added name, Peregrine, that is my name in religion.
Adam Wright:
I would imagine some of our listeners are curious, and I’m curious as well. You’re on home visit right now. So when you come home, do your mother and father still call you Patrick?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
They call me all of the above. They call me Father Peregrine at times. They call me Peregrine sometimes. They came to visit me when I studied in Rome. I studied in Rome briefly just for one year. And in Rome, Saint Peregrine was an Italian saint. He was named, in Italian, “Pellegrino” is the Italian, and my mother being Italian, loved that. So sometimes they’ll call me Pellegrino, and sometimes they’ll call me Patrick. I don’t have one particular name that I hear when I’m visiting my family.
Adam Wright:
That’s beautiful, Father. As we wrap up I wanted to ask, because I’ve heard that Saint Michael’s Abbey, recently within the past 10 years or so, had to add on. There were so many men coming to the Norbertines, and now even with the addition, you’re filling up. Praise God for the many men seeking out the vocation. If a young man’s listening right now and says, “Well, maybe if they still have room, I’d like to come see if this is where God’s calling me to”, how can our listeners find out more about the Norbertines?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Well, if you’re interested in learning about us, like many religious communities today, we are online and very available there. You can find our website. You can call the Abbey. We have a vocation page on our site as well. If people are generally interested in the Abbey, we have a team of people who have done a really great job of presenting our Abbey, our liturgies, events, and our life on Instagram. You can see all these amazing photos. You’re welcome to look there, but I would say that if you’re interested in a vocation, the first thing is pray and look us up, and see especially if it’s worth a trip out to California. That was my first consideration. And I looked online and I realized, yeah, I think they’re worth looking into. And little did I know, in 10 years I would actually still be one.
Adam Wright:
And for our listeners in the Diocese of Springfield, you actually have a wonderful opportunity to get to know the Norbertines who are at the Evermode Institute at the former Saint Francis Convent, the Health Sisters of Saint Francis, who are still there. Beautiful things happening in the Diocese of Springfield, as they will be offering catechesis for all of the catechists and the Diocese and ongoing formation for them. Father Peregrine, it has been an absolute joy to spend this time with you this morning talking about Saint Philomena, talking about the Norbertines, and your vocation. Could I ask you to conclude our time together with a prayer?
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Absolutely. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty Father, we come before you today thankful for the gift of your saints, Saint Norbert and Saint Philomena, and all those enfolded in the cloud of witnesses above us. We ask that you help us to join them one day. Make us holy and make us to fulfill our holy vocations. And we ask all of this through the intercession of Our Lady, as we pray, Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Adam Wright:
Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Amen. Saint Philomena
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
Saint Norbert
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
And Saint Louis
Adam Wright:
Pray for us.
Fr. Peregrine Fletcher:
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Adam Wright:
Amen. Father, once again, thank you for being with us. We’re going to take a break here on Roadmap to Heaven, but don’t go anywhere. We’ve got more for you after this.
In this episode of Roadmap to Heaven, host Adam Wright interviews guest Father Peregrine Fletcher, a member of the Norbertines. Father Peregrine shares his personal journey and vocation discernment process, shedding light on the Norbertine order. He also discusses his book, My Name is Philomena, which is about the inspiring life of Saint Philomena.
Father Peregrine starts by highlighting the challenges of living in a “culture of death” and the need for encouragement in remaining joyful amidst societal pressures. He believes that the evil spirits that influenced Emperor Diocletian in ancient times are still at work in the world today.
Father Peregrine discusses his book about Saint Philomena, highlighting her story, relics, and symbols found in her tomb. The book’s aim is to provide a consoling perspective on martyrdom, showcasing the presence of the Lord supporting Saint Philomena throughout her life. The book aims to remind readers that Christ is present in all suffering.
Father Peregrine delves into his own journey, starting from his time in seminary in St. Louis. Feeling that something was missing from his vocation, he discussed his concerns with his superiors and priests and was given permission to discern further. Through retreats and ultimately a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Wisconsin, Father Peregrine discovered a connection to Saint Peregrine, which played a significant role in his vocational discernment.
Father Peregrine explains the process of taking on a new name in monastic life and how he was given the name Peregrine by Father Abbot on Christmas Eve. He emphasizes the significance of the new name representing a fresh start and a new life in Christ while maintaining the baptismal name as the middle name.
Father Peregrine shares insights into the Norbertine order, founded by Saint Norbert with the goal of reforming the clergy and promoting clerical holiness. He explains the different stages of formation within the order, starting as a postulant and eventually making solemn vows, becoming married to God and the community. Father Peregrine himself is a member of Saint Michael’s Abbey in Southern California, where he joined 10 years ago and has since been ordained.
The episode concludes with a reflection on vocations and a call to listeners who may be discerning their own calling. Father Peregrine encourages them to explore further and seek guidance, acknowledging that the call to the priesthood and the call to religious life can be distinct but interconnected.
Overall, this episode of Roadmap to Heaven highlights the inspirational life of Saint Philomena, provides a deep dive into the Norbertines, and offers valuable insights into vocational discernment and the pursuit of holiness in a challenging world.
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