Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia
Reverend Father Rafael Arizaga is the Nephew of “Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia” pictured above
nonpossumus-vcr.blogspot.com

Father, can you tell us how is the project of the new Monastery of San Jose?
Sure. First I want to thank all the faithful readers and friends for their help Non Possumus spiritual and material. I want to talk to the project has come a long way with the help of God and all of you. Providence we settled in Colombia. There were several important signals called us there, so now our plans are concentrated there. In recent months, these plans have been secured and all resistance is supporting us. The project is well under way and built a monastery, started about 6 years ago, thanks to the faith of some families who wanted to build something that would serve for the preservation of the faith.Without knowing exactly what it would be used, began to build a monastery and a Benedictine Monastery, by the way it was built, and being in the mountains, in a place where he has been for four centuries monasteries. These people God entrusted his work for a day out and consecrated religious house project to San Jose. Then when they saw me and had the project of a monastery, offered this construction, and after analyze it and see it with the superiors, saw it was the most suitable to begin the project of the Monastery of San José.

– When will open the monastery and where it is located?
Our plan is to open on October 7, with five monks, with the help of the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Brazil and many benefactors. The new vocations begin arriving next year.
San Jose has been in charge of the project from the beginning and we are very pleased that has advanced so quickly.
The monastery is located in the most blessed of Colombia, a few kilometers from the city of Chiquinquirá which is the national shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, the most important in Colombia invocation of the Blessed Virgin. It is also within a mile of a former Dominican monastery, which was built in that area because the Apostle Bartholomew appeared asking to build a house of prayer, a religious house in that area, it was the Will of God. And as the Monastery now a museum, we saw that this desire of Jesus Christ through His Apostle St. Bartholomew, it is up to us to continue that work.

– What role has the Monastery of the Holy Cross in this new foundation?
The Santa Cruz saw that the best way to support and help his monastery, was found another Benedictine house. To receive vocations Spanish speaking and at the same time could share the work and ministry of the Holy Cross Monastery in Brazil. Then Dom Thomas has given us all your help, all their support, and with the help of the monks are also going to start this new monastery.

– Will you go monks of the Holy Cross to Colombia?
Yes They’re going to stay with us monks. Do not yet know how many, but for now comes one in October.

– How will the opening ceremony of the new Monastery on October 7?
We’ll make a solemn Mass with all the monks and a priest visitor who will also attend, as well as all the faithful. Our Lady of the Rosary is the patron at the start of the Monastery.

– Bishop Williamson is aware of the project?
Williamson, seeing how providential work, the desire to put a bastion of faith to preserve the legacy of Archbishop Lefebvre, and all the signs of God to settle there, he gave us his blessing and asked us monastic adventure in Colombia. He gave us his blessing and is willing to help us with everything we need. We only asked one thing: that we keep faithfully prayed the Divine Office in common every day, because this is the strongest stone of a Monastery, fidelity to the Holy Rule, the Divine Office and the traditional liturgy.

– How many monks and priests begin the Monastery?
We started 5 on October 7. Another priest who will be helping us, a priest friend of Tradition and has always worked in traditional circles.

– How faithful have visited and are helping this work?
We have visited in the last three months between 120-150 different faithful.

– They will attend to the faithful of the Resistance in need of sacraments?
Yes, at the request of Bishop Williamson, will be traveling to meet faithful, even to the faithful of Ecuador, in Quito and Cuenca. Visits are not yet fixed, but the visit occasionally.

‘Father, what is now the monastery needs? Are you quite finished?
The Monastery is habitable, you can live there but still very austere. We are still missing important things, for example, no electricity (we are putting solar panels), no drinking water, use water to bring the lake, we need a well. We have furniture, we are missing some windows, and we need to build a second floor to house another 10 monks. In addition, of course, the power of the monks. Therefore, we need the help of all the faithful of the Resistance.

-You have consecrated to San Jose entire project since leaving the United States, is not it?
He is the main protagonist of this project. San José is initiated, which continues and will culminate the work. They have been told to the monks who want to enter the monastery that St. Joseph is the Abbot, who all have to be devoted to San Jose, which is the perfect model of monastic life, the one who has loved Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin and help us perfection of Benedictine life. San Jose is the Abbot, is the father of the house and the monastery will be like Nazareth. The aim of all the monks is to become another San Jose who live to love the Blessed Virgin and to sacrifice for Jesus Christ through the vows of perfection and fidelity to the Rule. Working and praying as San Jose and along with him and through him and to him more pleasing to our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin.

– Does the Monastery website?

Yes, and we ask all the faithful who visit.

Thank you very much for the interview Father.

Reverend Father Rafael Arizaga is the Nephew of “Saint Rafael Guízar y Valencia” pictured above

*
Donations may be made at inthissignyoushallconquer.com

*