January 2010 Archives

Saint John Bosco

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The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.


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Because today is a Sunday, the Church does not observe the feast of Saint John Bosco, known also as Don Bosco. However, in the Salesian family, Don Bosco's it is a feast day. My encounters with members of the Salesian family have been few so I've poked around their website to learn a little more of the spirit of Don Bosco. The paragraphs are excerpts of a May 10, 1884 letter by Saint John Bosco, considered by some to be the "Magna Carta" of Salesian Education. It is included as an appendix to the Constitutions of the Salesian Society, and given to members of the Salesian Family. In the USA the Salesians are not as known as in other parts of the world. Here, their educational system was perceived to be competing with the Jesuits, and Salesians could not compete. The Jesuits have about 47 high schools in all the major cities. Be that as it may, Saint John Bosco provides for us an insight into effective pastoral ministry. The Salesians of Don Bosco are influential in various sectors of the Church, primarily in education and with the youth. The reasons for this fact are evident in the letter below. If you are interested in the Salesian priests and sisters, visit their website.

From the letter of Don Bosco

By a friendly informal relationship with the boys, especially in recreation. You cannot have love without this familiarity, and where this is not evident there can be no confidence. If you want to be loved, you must make it clear that you love. Jesus Christ made himself little with the little ones and bore our weaknesses. He is our master in the matter of the friendly approach. The teacher who is seen only in the classroom is a teacher and nothing more; but if he joins in the pupils' recreation he becomes their brother. If someone is only seen preaching from the pulpit it will be said that he is doing no more and no less than his duty, whereas if he says a good word in recreation it is heard as the word of one who loves.

How many conversions have been brought about by a few words whispered in the ear of a youngster while he is playing. One who knows he is loved loves in return, and one who loves can obtain anything, especially from the young. This confidence creates an electric current between youngsters and their superiors. Hearts are opened, needs and weaknesses made known. This love enables superiors to put up with the weariness, the annoyance, the ingratitude, the troubles that youngsters cause. Jesus Christ did not crush the bruised reed nor quench the smouldering flax. He is your model. Then you will no longer see anyone working for his own glory; you will no longer see anyone punishing out of wounded self-love; you will not see anyone neglecting the work of supervision through jealousy of another's popularity; you won't hear people running others down so as to be looked up to by the boys: those who exclude all other superiors and earn for themselves nothing but contempt and hypocritical flattery; people who let their hearts be stolen by one individual and neglect all the other boys to cultivate that particular one. No one will neglect his strict duty of supervision for the sake of his own ease and comfort; no one will fail through human respect to reprimand those who need reprimanding. If we have this true love, we shall not seek anything other than the glory of God and the good of souls. When this love languishes, things no longer go well. Why do people want to replace love with cold rules? Why do the superiors move away from the observance of the rules Don Bosco has given them? Why the replacement little by little of loving and watchful prevention by a system which consists in framing laws? Such laws either have to be sustained through punishment and so create hatred and cause unhappiness or, if they are not enforced, cause the superiors to be despised and bring about serious disorders. This is sure to happen if there is no friendly relationship. So if you want the Oratory to return to the happiness of old, then bring back the old system: let the superior be all things to all, always ready to listen to any boy's complaints or doubts, always alert to keep a paternal eye on their conduct, all heart to seek the spiritual and temporal good of those Divine Providence has entrusted to him. Then hearts will no longer be closed and deadly subterfuge will no longer hold sway. The superiors should be unbending only in the case of immoral conduct. It is better to run the risk of expelling someone who is innocent than to keep someone who causes others to sin. Assistants should make it a strict duty in conscience to refer to the superiors whatever they know to be an offence against God.

One of the world's high profile Christian leaders, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, always draws a crowd. For good reason. he's a provocative Christian thinker, writer and quite engaging as a man of God with various theological interests. Regardless of your opinion about the state of affairs in the Anglican Church, Williams is not a disappointing public, Christian intellectual. Rowan Williams is the 104th archbishop of Canterbury, enthroned in 2002.

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Today, Archbishop Williams gave the 27th annual Father Alexander Schmemann Memorial Lecture at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary (Crestwood, Yonkers, NY). Williams lectured masterfully on "Theology and Contemplative Calling: The Image of Humanity in the Philokalia." Just prior to the lecture, the Seminary conferred on the Archbishop a Degree of Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa).

More than 200 people attended the lecture including a small delegation of seminarians from St Joseph's Seminary, Orthodox and Catholic bishops and priests, students and friends.

Archbishop Williams' talk will be made available shortly and will be published in the St Vladimir's Theological Quarterly.

Yesterday, Dr Williams spoke to Wall Street executives, on their home turf, as the NY Times called it.

Earlier in the week Williams received from the Jesuits at America Magazine the Edmund Campion Award, for his sizable literary output. OK, the Campion Award is a literary award. But how odd that the English clergyman of high rank, such as Canterbury, should receive an award named for an English Jesuit martyr, put to death by the English government in the period of the post English revolt of the Catholic Church. Campion died a particularly painful death for Christ and the Catholic Church. Or, is it too odd to conceive? I will leave you to answer the question if Campion was truly smiling upon the event. I, for one, am not enthusiastic that the Jesuits gave an award to Williams named after Campion. I don't see it as martyrial ecumenism. You see, it is an act of generosity on the part of the Jesuits to honor Williams (and for him to accept) but I do mind the Jesuits making too close a connection with the martyr Campion and Rowan Williams. Certainly, someone saw the irony in this event, regardless if Campion is liturgically remembered by the Church of England on May 4th (while we remember Campion on December 1. You can read Fr Drew Christiansen's remarks and listen to the Archbishop's remarks on the podcast.

A cursory review of Williams' itinerary can be read here.

Saint Hyacinth of Mariscotti

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Heavenly Father, You inflamed the virgin Saint Hyacinth with the fire of Your love and made her an example of continual mortification. Through her intercession in our behalf grant us the grace to repent of our sins and to abide in Your love.

Steeple damage St Mary Church Jan 29 10.jpgSome have bats, we've got holes! Big, dangerous holes!

The steeple on Saint Mary's Church, New Haven, CT, was damaged earlier today by high winds and a weakened structure.

The steeple was placed on the church for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Knights of Columbus in 1981/82. The addition of the steeple completed the overall design of the church which was halted at the time that original construction happened in the early 1870s. The Church was dedicated in 1874.

No one hurt with the pieces of flashing falling to the ground and Hillhouse Avenue was closed temporarily.

As a Catholic faith community in Protestant New Haven, Saint Mary's was established in 1832.

Ralph McInerny (1929-2010)

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Ralph McInerny died this morning. He was 80. McInerny for those not familiar with his name, was a prominent commentator on culture and a faithful Catholic. He was a Third Order Dominican (a member of the Dominican laity). Since 1955, McInerny was a professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame and a prolific author. He was known for his studies in the thought of Saint Thomas Aquinas and the Father Dowling Mysteries. With Michael Novak he founded Crisis Magazine, now called InsideCatholic.


Over at First Things J. Bottum has pulled a few things together on Dr. McInerny.


May his memory be eternal.


Professor McInerny captured the voice of millions as he said:


"By inviting Barack Obama as commencement speaker, Notre Dame is telling the nation that the teaching of the Catholic church on this fundamental matter can be ignored. Lip service may be paid to the teaching on abortion, but it is no impediment to upward mobility, to the truly vulgar lust to be welcomed into secular society, whether on the part of individuals or institutions."

Interesting issues regarding the pastoral care of the sick viz. the numbers of priests available to be sacramentally present. USA Today a story that deserves some attention. Catholics are sacramental people: no priesthood, no sacraments...

On the same page as the story noted above is a video clip of Father Denis Robinson, OSB, Rector of Saint Meinrad Seminary talking about the up-tick of vocations.

Praying for what God wants

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We tend to pray with great intensity for the things we want, but do we ever think of praying for what God wants?

Usually, when our desire for something "cools off," so does our prayer. It is very important, therefore, that when we pray, we move with the current of God's will, and not against it.

This is true even when we are praying for someone we love tremendously. When my husband Eddie was in a car accident and I was on my way to be with him, I prayed fervently that he might be well.

But in my mind, every second I forced myself to add, "if it be thy will." If God wanted to take Eddie home for whatever reason, I had to be willing to accept it. I had to mentally pronounce words to the effect that I was ready to do God's will and to move in its stream.

A person's greatest act is to do the will of God. You may ask me, "How do I know his will?" How do I know which ideas are mine, and which belong to God?

There is only one answer. To know his will, I must learn how to listen to him. This can happen only through prayer and under the guidance of a spiritual director.

Catherine Doherty
Grace in Every Season, pp. 34-5

Catherine de Hueck Doherty is the founder of the Madonna House Apostolate, Combermere, Ontario, a public association of the Christian faithful. More info on Madonna House can be found online here.
The Lord sealed a covenant of peace with him, bestowing the priestly dignity upon him forever. (Sir. 45:30)

Lord, through the wise counsel of blessed Roger You have gathered to Yourself many peoples. As we eagerly run the way of Your commandments, may his intercession obtain for us a firm faith and true peace of heart.

Known as being on fire for the salvation of souls, Saint Francis admitted Roger to his fraternity and later asked him to help guide a community of women under the leadership of Blessed Philippa Mareri, who became what is known today as Poor Clares. Pope Gregory IX knew Roger personally and gave witness to his holiness. Roger died in 1237.
If you want to know the reasons why the bishops and vicars of the Traditional Anglican Communion petitioned the Holy Father for full communion --which led to the motu proprio for the Anglicans (given on Nov. 4, 2009), then read their October 2007 letter. The It was recently published by a blogger of Anglo-Catholic sensiblities. Here it is...

Saint Thomas Aquinas

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St Thomas Aquinas2.jpgBlessed be the Lord; for love of him Saint Thomas Aquinas spent long hours in prayer, study, and writing. (Gospel antiphon for Lauds)

O Lord my God, help me to be obedient without reserve, poor without servility, chaste without compromise, humble without pretense, joyful without depravity, serious without affectation, active without frivolity, submissive without bitterness, truthful without duplicity, fruitful in good works without presumption, quick to revive my neighbor without haughtiness, and quick to edify others by word and example without simulation.

Grant me, O Lord, an ever-watchful heart that no alien thought can lure away from You; a noble heart that no base love can sully; an upright heart that no perverse intention can lead astray; an invincible heart that no distress can overcome; an unfettered heart that no impetuous desires can hold back.

O Lord my God, also bestow upon me understanding to know You, zeal to seek You, wisdom to find You, a life that is pleasing to You, unshakable perseverance, and a hope that will one day take hold of You.

May I do penance here below and patiently bear your chastisements. May I also receive the benefits of your grace, in order to taste your heavenly joys and contemplate your glory. AMEN.

Aquinas is the patron saint of academics, apologists, book sellers, Catholic schools (all levels), pencil makers, theologians and publishers.
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In a recent catechesis, I already illustrated the providential role that the Order of Friars Minor and the Order of Preachers, founded respectively by St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic Guzmán, had in the renewal of the Church of their time. Today I would like to present to you the figure of Francis, an authentic "giant" of holiness, who continues to fascinate very many people of every age and every religion.

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"A son is born to the world." With these words, in the Divine Comedy (Paradiso, Canto XI), the greatest Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, alludes to Francis' birth, which occurred at the end of 1181 or the beginning of 1182, in Assisi. Belonging to a wealthy family -- his father was a textile merchant -- Francis enjoyed a carefree adolescence and youth, cultivating the chivalrous ideals of the time. When he was 20 he took part in a military campaign, and was taken prisoner. He became ill and was released. After his return to Assisi, a slow process of spiritual conversion began in him, which led him to abandon gradually the worldly lifestyle he had practiced until then.

Striking at this time are the famous episodes of the meeting with the leper -- to whom Francis, getting off his horse, gave the kiss of peace; and the message of the Crucifix in the little church of San Damiano. Three times the crucified Christ came to life and said to him: "Go, Francis, and repair my Church in ruins." This simple event of the Word of the Lord heard in the church of San Damiano hides a profound symbolism. Immediately, St. Francis is called to repair this little church, but the ruinous state of this building is a symbol of the tragic and disturbing situation of the Church itself at that time, with a superficial faith that does not form and transform life, with a clergy lacking in zeal, with the cooling off of love; an interior destruction of the Church that also implied a decomposition of unity, with the birth of heretical movements.

However, at the center of this Church in ruins is the Crucified and he speaks: he calls to renewal, he calls Francis to manual labor to repair concretely the little church of San Damiano, symbol of the more profound call to renew the Church of Christ itself, with his radical faith and his enthusiastic love for Christ.

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This event, which probably occurred in 1205, makes one think of another similar event that happened in 1207: the dream of Pope Innocent III. He saw in a dream that the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Mother Church of all churches, was collapsing and a small and insignificant religious supported the church with his shoulders so that it would not collapse. It is interesting to note, on one hand, that it is not the Pope who helps so that the church will not collapse, but a small and insignificant religious, whom the Pope recognizes in Francis who visited him. Innocent III was a powerful Pope, of great theological learning, as well as of great political power, yet it was not for him to renew the Church, but for the small and insignificant religious: It is St. Francis, called by God.

On the other hand, however, it is important to note that St. Francis does not renew the Church without or against the Pope, but only in communion with him. The two realities go together: the Successor of Peter, the bishops, the Church founded on the succession of the Apostles and the new charism that the Holy Spirit created at this moment to renew the Church. True renewal grows together.

Let us return to St. Francis' life. Because his father Bernardone reproved him for excessive generosity to the poor, Francis, with a symbolic gesture, and before the bishop of Assisi, stripped himself of his clothes, thus intending to renounce his paternal inheritance: As at the moment of creation, Francis had nothing, but only the life that God gave him, and into whose hands he entrusted himself. Then he lived as a hermit until, in 1208, another fundamental event took place in the journey of his conversion. Hearing a passage of the Gospel of Matthew -- Jesus' discourse to the Apostles sent on mission -- Francis feels he is called to live in poverty and to dedicate himself to preaching. Other companions associated themselves to him and, in 1209, he went to Rome, to submit to the Pope the project of a new form of Christian life. He was given a paternal reception by the great Pontiff who, enlightened by the Lord, intuited the divine origin of the movement awakened by Francis. The Poverello of Assisi had understood that every charism given by the Holy Spirit is placed at the service of the Body of Christ, which is the Church; hence, he always acted in full communion with the ecclesiastical authority. In the life of saints there is no opposition between a prophetic charism and the charism of government and, if some tension is created, they must wait patiently for the times of the Holy Spirit.

In reality, some historians in the 19th century and also in the last century tried to create behind the Francis of tradition, a so-called historical Francis, just as there is a desire to create behind the Jesus of the Gospels, a so-called historical Jesus. Such a historical Francis would not have been a man of the Church, but a man linked immediately only to Christ, a man who wished to create a renewal of the people of God, without canonical forms and without the hierarchy. The truth is that St. Francis really had a very immediate relationship with Jesus and with the Word of God, which he wished to follow sine glossa, exactly as it is, in all its radicalism and truth. It is also true that initially he did not have the intention of creating an order with the necessary canonical forms, but, simply, with the Word of God and the presence of the Lord, he wished to renew the people of God, to call them again to listening to the Word and to literal obedience to Christ. Moreover, he knew that Christ never is "mine" but always is "ours," that "I" cannot have Christ and "I" cannot reconstruct against the Church, his will and his teaching -- but only in communion with the Church, built on the succession of the Apostles, is obedience to the Word of God also renewed.

It is also true that he did not intend to create a new order, but only to renew the people of God for the Lord who comes. But he understood with suffering and pain that everything must have its order, that even the law of the Church is necessary to give shape to renewal and thus he really inserted himself totally, with the heart, in the communion of the Church, with the Pope and the bishops. He knew always that the center of the Church is the Eucharist, where the Body and Blood of Christ are made present. Through the priesthood, the Eucharist is the Church. Where priesthood, and Christ and communion of the Church go together, only there does the Word of God also dwell. The true historical Francis and the Francis of the Church speaks precisely in this way also to non-believers, to believers of other confessions and religions.

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Francis and his friars, ever more numerous, established themselves in the Porziuncola, or church of Saint Mary of the Angels, sacred place par excellence of Franciscan spirituality. Also Clare, a young lady of Assisi of a noble family, placed herself in Francis' school. Thus the Second Franciscan Order originated, that of the Poor Clares, another experience destined to bear outstanding fruits of sanctity in the Church.

The successor of Innocent III, Pope Honorius III, with his bull "Cum dilecti" of 1218, also upheld the singular development of the first Friars Minor, who were opening their missions in several countries of Europe, and even in Morocco. In 1219 Francis obtained permission to go to speak with the Muslim Sultan Melek-el-Kamel in Egypt, and also to preach the Gospel of Jesus there. I want to underline this episode of the life of St. Francis, which is very timely. At a time in which there was under way a clash between Christianity and Islam, Francis, armed deliberately only with his faith and his personal meekness, pursued with efficacy the way of dialogue. The chronicles tell us of a benevolent and cordial reception by the Muslim Sultan. It is a model that also today should inspire relations between Christians and Muslims: to promote a dialogue in truth, in reciprocal respect and in mutual understanding (cf. Nostra Aetate, 3).

It seems, then, that in 1220 Francis visited the Holy Land, thus sowing a seed that was to bear much fruit: his spiritual sons, in fact, made of the places in which Jesus lived a privileged realm of their mission. With gratitude I think today of the great merits of the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land.

Returning to Italy, Francis entrusted the government of the order to his vicar, Friar Pietro Cattani, while the Pope entrusted the order, which continued gathering more followers, to the protection of Cardinal Ugolino, the future Supreme Pontiff Gregory IX. For his part the founder, totally dedicated to preaching, which he carried out with great success, wrote a Rule, later approved by the Pope.

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In 1224, in the hermitage of La Verna, Francis saw the Crucified in the form of a seraphim and from the encounter with the crucified seraphim, he received the stigmata; he thus became one with the crucified Christ: a gift, hence, which expresses his profound identification with the Lord.

Francis' death -- his transitus -- occurred on the evening of Oct. 3, 1226, at the Porziuncola. After blessing his spiritual sons, he died, lying on the naked earth. Two years later Pope Gregory IX inscribed him in the register of saints. A short time later, a large basilica was raised in Assisi in his honor, still today a destination for very many pilgrims, who can venerate the tomb of the saint and enjoy Giotto's frescoes, a painter who illustrated in a magnificent way the life of Francis.

It has been said that Francis represents an alter Christus, he was truly a living icon of Christ. He was even called "Jesus' brother." Indeed, this was his ideal: to be like Jesus; to contemplate the Christ of the Gospel, to love him intensely and to imitate his virtues. In particular, he wished to give a fundamental value to interior and exterior poverty, teaching it also to his spiritual sons. The first Beatitude of the Sermon on the Mount -- blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3) -- found a luminous fulfillment in the life and in the words of St. Francis.

Truly, dear friends, the saints are the best interpreters of the Bible; they, incarnating in their lives the Word of God, render it more than attractive, so that it really speaks to us. Francis' witness, who loved poverty to follow Christ with dedication and total liberty, continues to be also for us an invitation to cultivate interior poverty to grow in trust of God, uniting also a sober lifestyle and detachment from material goods.

In Francis, love for Christ is expressed in a special way in adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. In Franciscan sources one reads moving expressions, such as this: "The whole of humanity fears, the whole universe trembles and heaven exults, when on the altar, in the hand of the priest, there is Christ, the Son of the living God. O wonderful favor! O sublime humility, that the Lord of the universe, God and Son of God, so humbles himself as to hide himself for our salvation, under the low form of bread" (Francis of Assisi, Scritti, Editrici Francescane, Padua, 2002, 401).

In this Year for Priests, it pleases me also to recall a recommendation addressed by Francis to priests: "When you wish to celebrate Mass, certainly in a pure way, carry out with reverence the true sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Francis of Assisi, Scritti, 399).

Francis always showed great deference to priests, and recommended that they always be respected, even in the case when, at the personal level, they are not very worthy. He cherished, as motivation for this profound respect, the fact that they have received the gift of consecrating the Eucharist. Dear brothers in the priesthood, let us never forget this teaching: the holiness of the Eucharist asks us to be pure, to live in a consistent way with the mystery we celebrate.

From the love of Christ is born love of people and also of all God's creatures. Here is another characteristic trait of Francis' spirituality: the sense of universal fraternity and love for Creation, which inspired his famous Canticle of Creatures. It is a very timely message. As I reminded in my recent encyclical Caritas in Veritate, the only sustainable development is one that respects Creation and does not damage the environment (cf. No. 48-52), and in the Message for the World Day of Peace of this year I underlined that also the building of a solid peace is linked to respect for creation. Francis reminds us that in creation is displayed the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator. In fact, nature is understood by him as a language in which God speaks with us, in which reality becomes transparent and we can speak of God and with God.

Dear friends, Francis was a great saint and a joyful man. His simplicity, his humility, his faith, his love of Christ, his kindness to every man and woman made him happy in every situation. In fact, between sanctity and joy there subsists a profound and indissoluble relation. A French writer said that there is only one sadness in the world: that of not being saints, that is, of not being close to God. Looking at St. Francis' witness, we understand that this is the secret of true happiness: to become saints, close to God!

May the Virgin, tenderly loved by Francis, obtain this gift for us. We entrust ourselves to her with the same words of the Poverello of Assisi: "Holy Virgin Mary, there is no one like you born in the world among women, daughter and handmaid of the Most High King and heavenly Father, Mother of our Most Holy Lord Jesus Christ, spouse of the Holy Spirit: pray for us ... to your most holy favorite Son, Lord and Master" (Francis of Assisi, Scritti, 163).


Watch the video clip.
During this 800th anniversary year of the founding of the Franciscan Order, Franciscans throughout the world have remembered the occasion with celebrations and have also been reflecting on the demands of Franciscans today. Though Franciscan life is expressed differently depending on one's state in life, five basic commitments characterize all Franciscan's lives. These five commitments offer a continuing challenge for renewal and recommitment to living the Franciscan life which this anniversary year has helped to foster.

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The first commitment is that of leaving everything in order to follow Jesus. In fact, the first gospel text which Francis and his brothers discovered in the Gospel book in the church of St. Mary of the Angels, was the word Jesus addressed to the rich man inviting him to leave everything, to distribute all of it to the poor, and then to come follow him (Mt 19:21). Francis did this when he renounced his inheritance before the Bishop, and Clare did this as well when she left her family home to join the brothers at the Portiuncola. This commitment expresses the conviction that there is nothing more important than following the footprints of Jesus and living the gospel. But, for Francis and Clare this kind of poverty was not an end in itself, but the basic requirement for living as brothers and sisters with everyone and with all of creation.

Second, once accepted into the brotherhood and sisterhood one was committed, "Through the charity of the Spirit ... to serve and obey one another voluntarily," and they were to "express the love they have for one another by their deeds...." This style of authority and obedience practiced by the brothers and sisters was placed in a context of mutuality-the minister must be a servant of the brothers, and the other brothers must also serve and obey their minister. Charity is of the essence of obedience according to Francis who summarized Jesus' obedience in terms of his self-giving love first when he was born for us in Bethlehem and when he gave himself on the cross for our sins, leaving us an example to follow

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Third, the brothers and sisters practiced an ethic of sufficiency. Relinquishing everything, they identified with the poor in terms of their choice to live with them and to dress like them. The brothers supported themselves by working, hiring themselves out primarily as day-laborers. In payment they received only what was necessary for life, in terms of food, drink, clothing, for themselves, for the brothers who were sick or unable to work, and for the lepers and other poor. If they did not receive enough for the day, only then could they beg. The logic of Franciscan living is that if everyone took only what was necessary for the day, there would be enough to go around for everyone. At the same time, this practice facilitated brotherhood and sisterhood as Francis suggested: "Let each one confidently make known his need to another; Let each one care and love for his brother as a mother loves and cares for her son in which God has given the grace."

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Fourth, the brothers and sisters lived lives of mission. As they traveled about the world, they met people where they found them, engaged with them in honest conversation in the homes that were opened to them, and they ate and drank what was set before them while they promoted peace. The brothers and sisters were sustained by the Body and Blood of the Lord which accomplishes the reconciliation and peace of all things with God. In this sense, the mission of the brothers was "eucharistic," that is, the mission is to effect reconciliation and peace, preaching primarily by deeds.

Finally, the brothers and sisters were "Lesser Brothers and Sisters." They were to live lives subject to all people in the world and church, as well as to the created order. This implied a pattern of behavior as a lifestyle, and even more than a pattern of behavior, it describes a way of being human-simple, without controlling others, without controlling the created world. There is only one All-Powerful, and that is the Father of Jesus Christ. This way of being human was the counter-example to the greed and violence of so much of the society in Francis' day as well as in ours, and this describes the real condition of the lepers, the poor and the marginalized even today. Being subject does not imply a passive acceptance of injustice and evil, but the choice to act humbly, patiently, and peacefully in every situation.

These five elements have characterized Franciscan life and practice for 800 years, since the time of Francis and Clare, and they challenge us today to continue the legacy handed on to us so that we can entrust it to those who will come after us in the future!

The author, Father Michael Blastic, OFM, is a professor of Franciscan Studies at the Franciscan Institute, of St. Bonaventure University. This  article was published in the the Winter 2009 issue of The Antonian.

Saint Angela Merici

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St Angela Merici.jpgBorn in northern Italy in 1474, Angela Merici was orphaned by the age of 10, she was soon alone in this world without her nuclear family since her older sister suddenly died. Called to a life committed to the Lord, Angela was a Franciscan tertiary (today known as Secular Franciscan) who devoted herself to as much time in prayer as possible. She was particularly devoted to Christ crucified because it is "the book from which the soul learns," having spent hours in prayer before the crucifix. On pilgrimage to the Holy Land she went blind but was miraculously healed after prayer before the cross.

In a vision from the Lord, Angela formed a group of women who would care for families and the education of children. The group was called the Company of Saint Ursula and in some places it is referred to the Institute of Saint Ursula. Marcocchi's 1986 biography of the saint he said, "In 1535 Angela Merici founded at Brescia the Company of St Ursula. Its members observed the evangelical counsels without being bound by vows; they wore no particular habit; they did not lead a common life as in a monastic community, but lived with their own families and earned their own living. This initiative, aimed at inserting consecrated virgins into the world, introduced a feature of great innovation, as it took shape outside a monastery, in other words, outside the structure which for centuries had channeled religious life for women (XV)." At this time in the Church, the Company of Saint Ursula was a completely new form of religious life that many churchmen had problems with it because it challenged every sort of preconceived notion of what and how women acted in church and society. The only form of religious life offered to women was the cloister or the hospital. An apostolic life like that of the Franciscan and later of the Society of Jesus for women was unknown. Angela lived under the spiritual influence of Saints Francis of Assisi and Catherine of Genoa, and later those who followed the converted solider of Manresa. Angela would not only heed the spiritual doctrines of the Franciscan but keenly the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Angela died in 1540, the year the Jesuits were approved by Pope Paul III for the Church universal.

Saint Angela Merici was canonized by Pope Pius VII and is the patron saint of physically challenged people, sick people, and orphans. Her body remains incorrupt.

My hope is that a revival of the Company of Saint Ursula (the Ursulines) would happen...we need their witness today. Pray for this grace.
Slawomir Oder.jpgThe postulator (main promoter/researcher) of the cause of canonization of the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, Msgr. Slawomir Oder, published the full text of John Paul II's resignation letter in his recent book, Why He Is Holy (only in Italian at the moment).

There are other interesting points in the book which you can read about at the CNS site.

Watch the video clip talking about the possibility of an unprecedented papal resignation.
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Earlier this morning I was poking around the Vatican website reading some of the pieces posted in the section on Pope John Paul I. The General Audience of September 6, 1978 is a striking reminder of how a Christian ought to live: in a mode of gratitude. The Pope's address is so simple that the profundity is extraordinarily beautiful and reasonable. Pope John Paul I did very few things in his month long pontificate that after reading some of the things I did today, I wonder with awe of this man, a pope, a witness to Jesus Christ who went prematurely to the Lord. Or did He?


To be good, however, it is necessary to be in place before God, before our neighbour and before ourselves. Before God, the right position is that of Abraham, who said:

"I am only dust and ashes before you, O Lord!" We must feel small before God. When I say, "Lord I believe" I am not ashamed to feel like a child before his mother; one believes in one's mother; I believe in the Lord, in what he has revealed to me. The commandments are a little more difficult to observe; but God gave them to us not to satisfy a whim, not in his own interest, but solely in our interest.

Once a man went to buy a motorcar from the agent. The latter talked to him plainly: "Look here, it's a good car; mind that you treat it well: premium petrol in the tank, and for the joints, oil the good stuff." But the other replied: "Oh, no, for your information, I can't stand even the smell of petrol, nor oil; I'll put champagne, which I like so much, in the tank and I'll oil the joints with jam" "Do what you like: but don't come and complain if you end up in a ditch, with your car!" The Lord did something similar with us: he gave us this body, animated by an intelligent soul, a good will. He said, "this machine is a good one, but treat it well."

Here are the commandments. Honour your father and your mother; do not kill; do not get angry; be gentle; do not tell lies; do not steal... If we were able to observe the commandments, we would be better off and so would the world. Then there is our neighbour... But our neighbour is at three levels: some are above us; some are at our level; some are below. Above, there are our parents. The catechism said: respect them, love them, obey them. The Pope must instil respect and obedience in children for their parents. I am told that the choir-boys of Malta are here. Let one come here, please ... the choir-boys of Malta, who have served in St Peter's for a month. Well, what is your name?

--James! 
--James. And listen, have you ever been ill? 
--No. 
--Ah, never? 
--No. 
--Never been ill? 
--No. 
--Not even a temperature? 
--No. 
--Oh, how lucky you are! But when a child is ill, who brings him a little broth, some medicine? Isn't it his mother? That's it. After wards you grow up, and your mother gets old; you become a fine gentleman, and your mother, poor thing, will be in bed, ill. That's it. Well, who will bring the mother a little milk and medicine? Who will?
--My brothers and I.
--Well said! "His brothers and he," he said. I like that. Did you understand?

But it does not always happen. As Bishop of Venice, I sometimes went to homes. Once I found an elderly woman, sick.
--How are you? 
--Well, the food is all right!
--Are you warm? Is there heating?
--It's good.
--So you are content? 
--"No" She almost began to cry. 
--But why are you crying? 
--My daughter-in-law, my son, never come to see me. I would like to see my grandchildren.

Heat and food are not enough, there is the heart; we must think of the heart of our old people. The Lord said that parents must be respected and loved, even when they are old. And besides our parents, there is the State, there are superiors. May the Pope recommend obedience? Bossuet, who was a great bishop, wrote: "Where no one commands, everyone commands. Where everyone commands, no one commands any longer, but chaos." Sometimes something similar is seen in this world too. So let us respect those who are our superiors.

Then there are our equals. And here, there are usually two virtues to observe: justice and charity. But charity is the soul of justice. We must love our neighbour, the Lord recommended it so much. I always recommend not only great acts of charity, but little ones. I read in a book, written by Carnegie, an American, entitled "How to Make Friends", the following little episode:

A lady had four men in the house: her husband, a brother, two grown up sons. She alone had to do the shopping, the washing, the ironing and the cooking: everything all alone. One Sunday they come home. The table is laid for dinner, but on the plate there is only a handful of hay. "Oh!", the others protest and say: "What! Hay!" And she says, "No, everything is ready. Let me tell you: I prepare your food, I keep you clean, I do everything. Never once have you said: 'That was a good dinner you made for us.' But say something! I'm not made of stone."

People work more willingly when their work is recognized. These are the little acts of charity. In our home we have all some one who is waiting for a compliment.

There are those who are smaller than we are; there are children, the sick, even sinners. As Bishop, I was very close even to those who do not believe in God. I formed the idea that they often combat not God, but the mistaken idea they have of God. How much mercy it is necessary to have! And even those who err.... We must really be in place with ourselves. I will just recommend one virtue so dear to the Lord. He said, "Learn from me who am meek and humble of heart". I run the risk of making a blunder, but I will say it: the Lord loves humility so much that, sometimes, he permits serious sins. Why? In order that those who committed these sins may, after repenting remain humble. One does not feel inclined to think oneself half a saint, half an angel, when one knows that one has committed serious faults. The Lord recommended it so much: be humble. Even if you have done great things, say: "We are useless servants." On the contrary the tendency in all of us, is rather the contrary: to show off. Lowly, lowly: this is the Christian virtue which concerns ourselves.

Titus ordained by Paul.jpgFor your servants and your bishops,
God, this day our thanks we bring.
Timothy and Titus, teachers
Of your word: their praise we sing.
In the church's youngest days
They were faithful to your ways;
With Saint Paul the gospel preaching,
Each day saw them new souls reaching.

With such witnesses surrounded,
Let us run in faith our race
That, with Jesus as our leader,
Buoyed up with Spirit's grace
We may reach our heav'nly goal,
True in body and in soul.
Praise the Father, Son, and Spirit!
We are saved through Jesus' merit!

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
87 87 77 88;  FREU DICH SEHR

icon of Titus being ordained by the Apostle Paul
Bl Bernardo de Hoyos.jpgA young Spanish Jesuit priest, Father Bernardo Francisco de Hoyos (1711-1735), will be beatified on April 18, 2010, in Valladolid, Spain. Why is he important to us? Well, he'll be counted among the saints and blesseds who spread the devotion to the Sacred of Heart of Jesus and the Lord's desire to give bountiful graces. De Hoyos' heavenly companionship will be with the likes of Saints Gertrude and Mechtild, Saints Theresa of Jesus (Avila) and John Eudes, Saints Margaret Mary Alacoque and Claude La Colombiere, and Saint Faustina.

Father de Hoyos was commissioned by the Lord Himself to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart in Spain on May 4, 1733. He can infer that the Lord wants the devotion to His Sacred Heart spread throughout the world.

H2O news ran a video clip about some forthcoming projects regarding the young blessed and the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. See see this website.

Leisure is under-rated

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Do you like leisure activity? Are ever in the mood to live life differently? When you tell someone you are being leisurely, or that you need some leisure time because "life" is getting burdensome, it is not uncommon to get a weird look, a tart comment or utter dismissal. The Protestant work ethic doesn't allow for holy leisure to rejuvenate mind, body and soul. The Catholic has a different approach to the subject principally because of the Doctrine of Creation and the Incarnation: savoring the beauty of creation or being engaged with real life but in a humane way taking account of the ways grace is operative. The classic work on the subject is Josef Pieper's Leisure: The Basis of Culture (recently republished in 1998), which I highly recommend. In the meantime, Trappist Father Michael Casey offers this insight on the place of leisure in life from the monastic perspective which is also applicable to us on the other side of the monastery wall.

Leisure is not idleness or the pursuit of recreational activities. It is, above all, being attentive to the present moment, open to all its implications, living it to the full. This implies a certain looseness in life style that allows heart and mind to drift away from time to time.

Monastic life is not a matter of shoehorning the maximum number of good works into a day. It is more important that monks and nuns do a few things well, being present to the tasks they undertake, leaving room for recuperation and reflection, and expecting the unexpected.

Leisure allows openness to the present. It is the opposite of being enslaved by the past or living in some hazy anticipation of a desirable future. Leisure means being free from anything that would impede, color, or subvert the perception of reality. Far from being the headlong pursuit of escapist activities and having fun, authentic leisure is a very serious matter because it is the product of an attentive and listening attitude to life.

Strangers to the City
Father Michael Casey, OCSO

St Paul Catarino.jpg
"Hear the signs of true believers--
Satan cast out in my name,
Unknown tongues are clearly spoken,
And the sick their health reclaim!
Go and tell the world my gospel;
Those denying, faith have waived.
Washed in waters of baptism,
Those believing will be saved."

For the deed of Paul's conversion,
Thanks and praise we render you,
That your mercy, not our merit,
Brings salvation strong and true.
As you called him from his sinning
To a new, abundant life,
Teach us self to now abandon,
Thus forsaking sin and strife.

Glory to the God and Father
Of Christ Jesus, living Lord;
Glory to the Son, our Savior,
Risen Victor, e'er adored;
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Moving us with one accord
Thus to shout with hearts and voices
"Yes! Christ Jesus is the Lord!"

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
87 87 D; IN BABILONE, ALLE TAGE SING UND SAGE

The image of Saint Paul is by Catarino

Conversion of Saint Paul

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Gladly will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Conversion of St Paul HSpeckaert.jpg
Among the biblical readings from today's liturgy there is the celebrated text of St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians in which the Church is compared to the human body. The Apostle writes: "As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). The Church is understood as a body, which forms with Christ, who is the head, one single whole. Nevertheless, what the Apostle wishes to communicate is the idea of unity in the multiplicity of charisms, which are the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Thanks to these gifts the Church presents itself as a rich -- and not a uniform -- living organism, the fruit of the one Spirit who leads all into a profound unity, assuming the differences without abolishing them and realizing a harmonious ensemble. It prolongs the presence of the risen Lord in history, especially through the Sacraments, the Word of God, the charisms and the offices distributed in the community. For this reason, it is precisely in Christ and in the Spirit that the Church is one and holy, that is, an intimate communion that transcends and sustains human capacities.

I would like to emphasize this aspect while we are observing the "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity," which concludes tomorrow, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Following tradition, I will celebrate vespers in the afternoon in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, with the participation of representatives from the other Churches and ecclesial communities present in Rome. We will ask God for the gift of the complete unity of all the disciples of Christ and, in particular, according to this year's theme, we will renew the commitment to being together witnesses of the crucified and risen Lord (cf. Luke 24:48). The communion of Christians, in fact, makes the proclamation of the Gospel more credible and efficacious, as Jesus himself said as he prayed to the Father on the eve of his death: "That they may be one ... that the world might believe" (John 17:21).

(Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, January 24, 2010; Image of the "Conversion of Saint Paul" by Hans Speckaert)

Emil Shimoun Nona ordination.jpgOn January 8th, a new archbishop of Mossul, Iraq, was ordained: 42 year old Emil Shimoun Nona, a priest since he was 23, succeeded Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, killed on March 12, 2008. 

The new archbishop was ordained by Patriarch Emmanuel III and 9 co-consecrators according to the rites of Chaldean Church. In 2004, the directory lists 20,600 Catholics with 10 diocesan priests and 4 religious priests. Our prayers go with Archbishop Emil as he begins his pontificate. More pictures of the ordination rites may be seen here.
Why does faith still have any chance at all?... Because it corresponds to the nature of man.... Man possesses an inextinguishable aspiration, full of nostalgia, for an infinite. None of the attempted answers will do; only the God who himself became finite in order to tear open our finitude and lead us into the wide spaces of his infinity, only he corresponds to the question of our being. That is why, even today, Christian faith will come to seek out man again.
Joseph Ratzinger

Now, with our failing muscles, with our exhaustion, with our propensity for melancholy, with this strange masochism that life tends to favor nowadays, or with this indifference and cynicism that life produces nowadays as a way of avoiding the suffering of an excessive and unwanted fatigue, how could we ever accept ourselves and others in the name of a discourse? We cannot sustain love for ourselves unless Christ is a presence, as a mother is a presence for her child. Unless Christ is a presence now - now! - I cannot love myself now and I cannot love you now.
Luigi Giussani

(quoted from the Communion & Liberation Christmas poster, 2009)
Grant Desme.jpgMaking the rounds is the story that a top baseball player is following his true love, Jesus Christ by becoming a Catholic priest. Grant Desme, 23, is leaving the Oakland A's for Saint Michael's Abbey, a Norbertine community of priests and brothers in southern California. The community of Saint Michael's is young, dynamic and they think with the Church...no surprise they're getting vocations. Famous for their white habit and white biretta, the Canons Regular of Premontre were founded by Saint Norbert c. 1121.

Desme isn't the only high profile athlete to enter the seminary in recent times, soccer player Chase Hilgenbrinck, left his sport to be a secular priest. He's studying at Mount Saint Mary's Seminary.
St Francis de Sales2.jpg

In graciousness and dignity
Saint Francis led Christ's own,
That through the gospel's gentle love
Reforming strength be shown.

Mid fractious striving, Francis preached
The Cath'lic faith and shared
His riches with the poor he met;
Bore witness everywhere.

May each of us, by Francis led,
Commit our lives anew
To Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
God loving, wise, and true. 

J. Michael Thompson, Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
CM; AZMON

 

Today is also the 44th World Communications Day, on feast of the saintly patron is Saint Francis de Sales who tirelessly brought the faith to others in an understandable way. Those claiming to be interested in the New Evangelization, especially seminarians, pay attention to what the Pope is saying! What is your diocese doing to reach out to those not hearing the Gospel on Sunday morning? How does your parish measure up to the Pope's ideas? Does your seminary promote communication, in its various forms, for the good of teaching the faith? Are you, as a Catholic, prepared to meet the post-modern era? If not, why?

 

The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World:
New Media at the Service of the Word.

The theme of this year's World Communications Day - The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word - is meant to coincide with the Church's celebration of the Year for Priests. It focuses attention on the important and sensitive pastoral area of digital communications, in which priests can discover new possibilities for carrying out their ministry to and for the Word of God. Church communities have always used the modern media for fostering communication, engagement with society, and, increasingly, for encouraging dialogue at a wider level. Yet the recent, explosive growth and greater social impact of these media make them all the more important for a fruitful priestly ministry.

All priests have as their primary duty the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, and the communication of his saving grace in the sacraments. Gathered and called by the Word, the Church is the sign and instrument of the communion that God creates with all people, and every priest is called to build up this communion, in Christ and with Christ. Such is the lofty dignity and beauty of the mission of the priest, which responds in a special way to the challenge raised by the Apostle Paul: "The Scripture says, 'No one who believes in him will be put to shame ... everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? (Rom 10:11, 13-15).

Responding adequately to this challenge amid today's cultural shifts, to which young people are especially sensitive, necessarily involves using new communications technologies. The world of digital communication, with its almost limitless expressive capacity, makes us appreciate all the more Saint Paul's exclamation: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel" (1 Cor 9:16) The increased availability of the new technologies demands greater responsibility on the part of those called to proclaim the Word, but it also requires them to become more focused, efficient and compelling in their efforts. Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word.

The spread of multimedia communications and its rich "menu of options" might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web, or to see it only as a space to be filled. Yet priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different "voices" provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.

Using new communication technologies, priests can introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ. They will best achieve this aim if they learn, from the time of their formation, how to use these technologies in a competent and appropriate way, shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord. Yet priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ. This will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a "soul" to the fabric of communications that makes up the "Web".

God's loving care for all people in Christ must be expressed in the digital world not simply as an artifact from the past, or a learned theory, but as something concrete, present and engaging. Our pastoral presence in that world must thus serve to show our contemporaries, especially the many people in our day who experience uncertainty and confusion, "that God is near; that in Christ we all belong to one another" (Benedict XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2009).

Who better than a priest, as a man of God, can develop and put into practice, by his competence in current digital technology, a pastoral outreach capable of making God concretely present in today's world and presenting the religious wisdom of the past as a treasure which can inspire our efforts to live in the present with dignity while building a better future? Consecrated men and women working in the media have a special responsibility for opening the door to new forms of encounter, maintaining the quality of human interaction, and showing concern for individuals and their genuine spiritual needs. They can thus help the men and women of our digital age to sense the Lord's presence, to grow in expectation and hope, and to draw near to the Word of God which offers salvation and fosters an integral human development. In this way the Word can traverse the many crossroads created by the intersection of all the different "highways" that form "cyberspace", and show that God has his rightful place in every age, including our own. Thanks to the new communications media, the Lord can walk the streets of our cities and, stopping before the threshold of our homes and our hearts, say once more: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me" (Rev 3:20).

In my Message last year, I encouraged leaders in the world of communications to promote a culture of respect for the dignity and value of the human person. This is one of the ways in which the Church is called to exercise a "diaconia of culture" on today's "digital continent". With the Gospels in our hands and in our hearts, we must reaffirm the need to continue preparing ways that lead to the Word of God, while being at the same time constantly attentive to those who continue to seek; indeed, we should encourage their seeking as a first step of evangelization. A pastoral presence in the world of digital communications, precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, non-believers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute. Just as the prophet Isaiah envisioned a house of prayer for all peoples (cf. Is 56:7), can we not see the web as also offering a space - like the "Court of the Gentiles" of the Temple of Jerusalem - for those who have not yet come to know God?

The development of the new technologies and the larger digital world represents a great resource for humanity as a whole and for every individual, and it can act as a stimulus to encounter and dialogue. But this development likewise represents a great opportunity for believers. No door can or should be closed to those who, in the name of the risen Christ, are committed to drawing near to others. To priests in particular the new media offer ever new and far-reaching pastoral possibilities, encouraging them to embody the universality of the Church's mission, to build a vast and real fellowship, and to testify in today's world to the new life which comes from hearing the Gospel of Jesus, the eternal Son who came among us for our salvation. At the same time, priests must always bear in mind that the ultimate fruitfulness of their ministry comes from Christ himself, encountered and listened to in prayer; proclaimed in preaching and lived witness; and known, loved and celebrated in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation.

To my dear brother priests, then, I renew the invitation to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new "agorà" which the current media are opening up.

With this confidence, I invoke upon you the protection of the Mother of God and of the Holy Curè of Ars and, with affection, I impart to each of you my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 24 January 2010, Feast of Saint Francis de Sales.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

When the heart is touched by direct experience, the mind may be challenged to change. Personal involvement with innocent suffering, with the injustice others suffer, is the catalyst for solidarity which then gives rise to intellectual inquiry and moral reflection. 

Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J.
Former Superior General of the Jesuits, 1983-2008

Saint Agnes

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St Agnes3.jpgAlmighty and everlasting God, you choose those whom the world deems powerless to put the powerful to shame: Grant us so to cherish the memory of your youthful martyr Agnes,  that we may share her pure and steadfast faith in you.



Let us now our voices raise,
Wake this day with gladness;
God has now to joy and praise
Changed our human sadness--
Joy that Agnes won her crown,
Entered heaven's portal
When she laid the mortal down
For the life immortal!

Praise we God, whose wondrous grace
Showered on this martyr,
Giving strength in death's fierce face
Not with sin to barter;
Rather claiming Christ as Lord,
Vowed to him forever.
Fullest praise let us afford,
Hymns that shall cease never!

To the Father, giving life,
Endless praise be given,
To the Son, who through death's strife
Brings us all to heaven,
To the Spirit, Paraclete,
Filling all with graces
Be our song of joy complete,
Through the endless ages.

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
76 76 D
TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM, AVE VIRGO VIRGINUM

For more on Saint Agnes, read the post from last year which includes a brief paragraph on the blessing of lambs.

What the video on the blessing of lambs whose wool is used for the weaving of pallia.

Out of the depths I cry, Lord,
O Lord, please hear my call!
Let your ears be attentive;
I beg for mercy, Lord.
If you marked our offenses,
O Lord, who then could stand?
But you grant us forgiveness---
Therefore we stand in awe.

My hope is in the Lord's word
And for the Lord I waid,
More eagerly than watchmen
Yearn for the morning light.
Hope in the Lord, O people,
In his unfailing love.
With him is full redemption;
He will redeem his own.

 

We entrust all to the Lord and to Blessed Virign Mary with the Venerable Servant of God Pierre Toussaint.

I renew the plea for donations to assist the Haitian people. Good organizations are found here.

Blessed Basil Anthony Moreau

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Bl Basil Moreau.jpg

Spirituality. He practiced poverty to a heroic degree. He never looked to do anything for himself. It was his view that everybody should have better than he had and that everybody should have the best. He learned a deep sensitivity in dealing with others. He was a man who understood people. When he was a young priest, he was supposed to go study theology and he said, "I don't know theology, I can't do this, I am not equipped to do this." And, his spiritual director wrote, "Rejoice above all that you see nothing in yourself to depend on in this new post. That's a very good beginning, to put nothing of yourself into it and to await the Lord who will not fail you."

(Cardinal McCarrick's address on Blessed Basil Moreau, Stonehill College)


A prayer and other info on Blessed Basil Moreau may be found here.

Saint Eustochia of Messina

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St Eustochia Smeraldo calafato of Messina.jpg

Lord, through Your loving favor, You revealed to the virgin Saint Eustochia of Messina, the hidden secrets of Your providential care. Through the way of life of our mother Saint Clare she grew deeper in her love for Christ and His Church. may we who know You now by faith, come to rejoice with her in heaven, and see You face to face.


Saint Eustachia was a daughter of a count & countess; before she could marry, her fiance died. After the death of her father she became a Poor Clare kneeling at the foot of Christ crucified. She spent her life devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, penance and charity. Her mother and sister were nuns at the Abbey of Monte Vergine. She was elected abbess of her community. Her body is incorrupt and is venerated by the faithful annually on August 22nd.

Blessing of Icons, too

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Blessing with holy water.jpgLast week Father Michael Morris (of the Seminary faculty) blessed an icon for me. This week, another similar service was done by Economos Romanus Russo, an adjunct professor at Saint Joseph's Seminary and pastor of Saint Michael's Russian Byzantine Chapel (266 Mulberry St, NYC).

Some are of the opinion that icons need not be blessed because they hold a holy image of Our Lord, the Virgin or an angel or saint. But because an order of blessing exists in the liturgical books from time immemorial, the mind of the Church indicates that holy images are in fact blessed by the proper minister and according to a rite.

Anointing the Icon.jpg
The blessing of icons takes on a similar theological/liturgical sensibility as Christian Initiation where the person to be baptized is washed, anointed and receives Holy Communion. Hence, the icons today were blessed by holy water, anointed with sacred Myron (Chrism) and the Eucharistic ciborium was touched to each icon. We now have a fully initiated icon that leads us to Christ and the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. Economos Romanus then. in giving the icon back to the owner, blessed the man who in turn kissed the icon.

The ritual prayers were the same as used previously (see the link above).

Blessing with Eucharist.jpg
Icons are visible gospels. The icon is an experience of the beauty of God revealing the divine order of things. In history the first icon not made of human hands was the body of Jesus Christ. Following Divine action, the iconographer cooperates with God in creation and reveals to us the reality of Jesus' humanity. The iconographer is also a theologian because he or she writes for us the dogmas of Christian belief--the reasons and pathways for our salvation.

The stipend for Economos's spiritual solicitude is that each time we pray before the icon we pray for him and his family, forever. Deal.

Blessed Andrew of Peschiera

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God of all holiness, you filled Blessed Andrew with an apostolic spirit. Help us to imitate his words and example that we may advance in holiness and live fruitful lives.

Blessed Andrew, a Dominican priest, worked 45 years as a traveling preacher in the Italian Alps. He founded churches, schools and orphanages and was known as a miracle worker.
God, You patterned the death of [these Jesuits] after the death of Christ, Your Son. Through their intercession, gather into perfect unity all who believe in Him.

By martyrdom a disciple is transformed into an image of his master, who freely accepted death on behalf of the world's salvation; he perfects that image even to the shedding of blood. The Church, therefore, considers martyrdom as an exceptional gift and as the highest proof of love. (Lumen Gentium, 42)

This common feast commemorates 67 Jesuit martyrs who died in religious conflicts after the Reformation and have been canonized.  Most were French and some were Portuguese. Some of the names are noted here: Jacques Sales, Guillaume Saultemouche, Joseph Imbert, John-Nicholas Cordier, Ignatius de Azevedo, James Julius Bonnaud, William Anthony Delfaud, Francis Balmain, Charles Berauld du Perou, Claude Cayx-Dumas, John Charton de Millou, James Friteyre-Durve, Claude Laporte, Mathurin Le Bous de Villeneuve, Claude Le Gue, Vincent Le Rousseau de Rosancoat, Loup Thomas-Bonnotte and Francis Vareilhe-Duteil. 

New Cardinals in 2010???

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Cardinal apparel.jpegAt the moment there are 112 cardinal electors should we have to elect a new pope. The papally imposed number of 120 is usually enshrined in our minds but we can conceivably have more (or fewer) should a reigning pontiff decide the matter. Pope John Paul II confirmed certain norms in a document Universi Dominici Gregis in 1996. Nevertheless, in 2010, 11 cardinals of the Holy Roman Church will lose their ability to vote in a papal conclave because they will turn 80. Their Eminences, Cardinals Ambrozic, Maida, Williams, Herranz, McCarrick, Poupard, DiGiorgio, Daoud, Giordano, Tumi, Pujats. You'll notice that 2 are from the USA and 1 from Canada.

Pope Benedict has already had two consistories (2006 & 2007) making 38 cardinals. Mind you, some were ineligible to vote in a conclave from the first day of the cardinalate.

So, it is very likely that the Holy Father could create new cardinals in 2010.

Regarding bishops, at the moment there are, in 2010, 11 bishops submitting a letter of resignation to the Holy Father because they're 75, there are 4 who turned 75 in 2009 (and no replace nominated yet) and there remain 6 empty dioceses. If no one dies or gets into trouble, the USA could see 21 new bishops.

Saint Charles of Sezze

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St Charles of Sezze.jpgLord our God, You are the shield and glorious reward of those who walk blamelessly in Your sight. keep us steadfast in Your holy service so that aided by the wise teaching and intercession of Brother Charles of Sezze, we may with hearts open to You run the way of perfect charity.


Saint Charles was known for holiness, simplicity and charity. He was heroic in serving the 17th century plague victims. Blessed John XXIII canonized him in 1959. The Franciscan Ordo places Saint Charles' feast today.
Speaking of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which begins today and lasts until the 25th, the Pope talked about the value of the prayer initiatives for the Week at the Sunday Angelus Address:

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Every year it constitutes, for believers in Christ, a propitious time to revive the ecumenical spirit, to meet each other, to get to know each other, to pray and reflect together. The biblical theme, taken from the Gospel of St. Luke, echoes the words of the risen Jesus to the apostles: "You are witnesses of these things" (Luke 24:48). Our proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus will be much more credible and effective the more that we are united in his love, as true brothers. Thus, I invite parishes, religious communities, ecclesial movements and associations to pray unceasingly, in a special way during Eucharistic Celebrations, for the complete unity of Christians

Saint Margaret of Hungary

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I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth.

St Margaret of Hungary.jpgO God of truth, through the Holy Spirit you blessed our sister Margaret with true humility. Teach us that same integrity so that we may constantly turn from our selfishness to your love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

More on Saint Margaret of Hungary may be read herehere and here.

Some hold her feast on January 26th, but the Dominicans commemorate her today. In her family there are few saints: Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Kinga and Blessed Yolanda. She was canonized by the Venerable Servant of God Pope Pius XII on her aunt, Saint Elizabeth;s feast day in 1943.

"What marvels the Lord worked for them! What marvels the Lord worked for us: Indeed we were glad" (Ps 126)

"How good and how pleasant it is when brothers live in unity" (Ps 133)

1. At the beginning of this encounter in the Great Synagogue of the Jews of Rome, the Psalms which we have heard suggest to us the right spiritual attitude in which to experience this particular and happy moment of grace: the praise of the Lord, who has worked marvels for us and has gathered us in his Hèsed, his merciful love, and thanksgiving to him for granting us this opportunity to come together to strengthen the bonds which unite us and to continue to travel together along the path of reconciliation and fraternity. I wish to express 

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first of all my sincere gratitude to you, Chief Rabbi, Doctor Riccardo Di Segni, for your invitation and for the thoughtful words which you have addressed to me. I wish to thank also the President of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities, Mr Renzo Gattegna, and the President of the Jewish Community of Rome, Mr Riccardo Pacifici, for their courteous greetings. My thoughts go to the Authorities and to all present, and they extend in a special way, to the entire Jewish Community of Rome and to all who have worked to bring about this moment of encounter and friendship which we now share.

When he came among you for the first time, as a Christian and as Pope, my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, almost 24 years ago, wanted to make a decisive contribution to strengthening the good relations between our two communities, so as to overcome every misconception and prejudice. My visit forms a part of the journey already begun, to confirm and deepen it. With sentiments of heartfelt appreciation, I come among you to express to you the esteem and the affection which the Bishop and the Church of Rome, as well as the entire Catholic Church, have towards this Community and all Jewish communities around the world.

2. The teaching of the Second Vatican Council has represented for Catholics a clear landmark to which constant reference is made in our attitude and our relations with the Jewish people, marking a new and significant stage. The Council gave a strong impetus to our irrevocable commitment to pursue the path of dialogue, fraternity and friendship, a journey which has been deepened and developed in the last forty years, through important steps and significant gestures. Among them, I should mention once again the historic visit by my Venerable Predecessor to this Synagogue on 13 April 1986, the numerous meetings he had with Jewish representatives, both here in Rome and during his Apostolic Visits throughout the world, the Jubilee Pilgrimage which he made to the Holy Land in the year 2000, the various documents of the Holy See which, following the Second Vatican Council's Declaration Nostra Aetate, have made helpful contributions to the increasingly close relations between Catholics and Jews. I too, in the course of my Pontificate, have wanted to demonstrate my closeness to and my affection for the people of the Covenant. I cherish in my heart each moment of the pilgrimage that I had the joy of making to the Holy Land in May of last year, along with the memories of numerous meetings with Jewish Communities and Organizations, in particular my visits to the Synagogues of Cologne and New York.

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Furthermore, the Church has not failed to deplore the failings of her sons and daughters, begging forgiveness for all that could in any way have contributed to the scourge of anti-Semitism and anti-Judaism (cf. Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, We Remember: A Reflection on the Shoah, 16 March 1998). May these wounds be healed forever! The heartfelt prayer which Pope John Paul II offered at the Western Wall on 26 March 2000 comes back to my mind, and it calls forth a profound echo in our hearts: "God of our Fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the nations: we are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant."

3. The passage of time allows us to recognize in the Twentieth Century a truly tragic period for humanity: ferocious wars that sowed destruction, death and suffering like never before; frightening ideologies, rooted in the idolatry of man, of race, and of the State, which led to brother killing brother. The singular and deeply disturbing drama of the Shoah represents, as it were, the most extreme point on the path of hatred that begins when man forgets his Creator and places himself at the centre of the universe. As I noted during my visit of 28 May 2006 to the Auschwitz Concentration camp, which is still profoundly impressed upon my memory, "the rulers of the Third Reich wanted to crush the entire Jewish people", and, essentially, "by wiping out this people, they intended to kill the God who called Abraham, who spoke on Sinai and laid down principles to serve as a guide for mankind, principles that remain eternally valid" (Discourse at Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp: The Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI, II, 1 [2006], p.727).

Here in this place, how could we not remember the Roman Jews who were snatched from their homes, before these very walls, and who with tremendous brutality were killed at Auschwitz? How could one ever forget their faces, their names, their tears, the desperation faced by these men, women and children? The extermination of the people of the Covenant of Moses, at first announced, then systematically programmed and put into practice in Europe under the Nazi regime, on that day tragically reached as far as Rome. Unfortunately, many remained indifferent, but many, including Italian Catholics, sustained by their faith and by Christian teaching, reacted with courage, often at risk of their lives, opening their arms to assist the Jewish fugitives who were being hunted down, and earning perennial gratitude. The Apostolic See itself provided assistance, often in a hidden and discreet way.

The memory of these events compels us to strengthen the bonds that unite us so that our mutual understanding, respect and acceptance may always increase.

4. Our closeness and spiritual fraternity find in the Holy Bible - in Hebrew Sifre Qodesh or "Book of Holiness" - their most stable and lasting foundation, which constantly reminds us of our common roots, our history and the rich spiritual patrimony that we share. It is in pondering her own mystery that the Church, the People of God of the New Covenant, discovers her own profound bond with the Jews, who were chosen by the Lord before all others to receive his word (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 839). "The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews 'belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs and of their race, according to the flesh is the Christ' (Rom 9:4-5), 'for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable!' (Rom 11:29)" (Ibid).

5. Many lessons may be learnt from our common heritage derived from the Law and the Prophets. I would like to recall some of them: first of all, the solidarity which binds the Church to the Jewish people "at the level of their spiritual identity", which offers Christians the opportunity to promote "a renewed respect for the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament" (cf. Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Jewish people and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, 2001, pp.12 and 55); the centrality of the Decalogue as a common ethical message of permanent value for Israel, for the Church, for non-believers and for all of humanity; the task of preparing or ushering in the Kingdom of the Most High in the "care for creation" entrusted by God to man for him to cultivate and to care for responsibly (cf. Gen 2:15).

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6. In particular, the Decalogue - the "Ten Words" or Ten Commandments (cf. Ex 20:1-17; Dt 5:1-21) - which comes from the Torah of Moses, is a shining light for ethical principles, hope and dialogue, a guiding star of faith and morals for the people of God, and it also enlightens and guides the path of Christians. It constitutes a beacon and a norm of life in justice and love, a "great ethical code" for all humanity. The "Ten Commandments" shed light on good and evil, on truth and falsehood, on justice and injustice, and they match the criteria of every human person's right conscience. Jesus himself recalled this frequently, underlining the need for active commitment in living the way of the Commandments: "If you wish to enter into life, observe the Commandments" (Mt 19:17). From this perspective, there are several possible areas of cooperation and witness. I would like to recall three that are especially important for our time.

The "Ten Commandments" require that we recognize the one Lord, against the temptation to construct other idols, to make golden calves. In our world there are many who do not know God or who consider him superfluous, without relevance for their lives; hence, other new gods have been fabricated to whom man bows down. Reawakening in our society openness to the transcendent dimension, witnessing to the one God, is a precious service which Jews and Christians can offer together.

The "Ten Commandments" call us to respect life and to protect it against every injustice and abuse, recognizing the worth of each human person, created in the image and likeness of God. How often, in every part of the world, near and far, the dignity, the freedom and the rights of human beings are trampled upon! Bearing witness together to the supreme value of life against all selfishness, is an important contribution to a new world where justice and peace reign, a world marked by that "shalom" which the lawgivers, the prophets and the sages of Israel longed to see.

The "Ten Commandments" call us to preserve and to promote the sanctity of the family, in which the personal and reciprocal, faithful and definitive "Yes" of man and woman makes room for the future, for the authentic humanity of each, and makes them open, at the same time, to the gift of new life. To witness that the family continues to be the essential cell of society and the basic environment in which human virtues are learned and practised is a precious service offered in the construction of a world with a more human face.

7. As Moses taught in the Shema (cf. Dt 6:5; Lev 19:34) - and as Jesus reaffirms in the Gospel (cf. Mk 12:19-31), all of the Commandments are summed up in the love of God and loving-kindness towards one's neighbour. This Rule urges Jews and Christians to exercise, in our time, a special generosity towards the poor, towards women and children, strangers, the sick, the weak and the needy. In the Jewish tradition there is a wonderful saying of the Fathers of Israel: "Simon the Just often said: The world is founded on three things: the Torah, worship, and acts of mercy" (Avoth 1:2). In exercising justice and mercy, Jews and Christians are called to announce and to bear witness to the coming Kingdom of the Most High, for which we pray and work in hope each day.

8. On this path we can walk together, aware of the differences that exist between us, but also aware of the fact that when we succeed in uniting our hearts and our hands in response to the Lord's call, his light comes closer and shines on all the peoples of the world. The progress made in the last forty years by the International Committee for Catholic-Jewish Relations and, in more recent years, by the Mixed Commission of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and of the Holy See, are a sign of our common will to continue an open and sincere dialogue. Tomorrow here in Rome, in fact, the Mixed Commission will hold its ninth meeting, on "Catholic and Jewish Teaching on Creation and the Environment"; we wish them a profitable dialogue on such a timely and important theme.

9. Christians and Jews share to a great extent a common spiritual patrimony, they pray to the same Lord, they have the same roots, and yet they often remain unknown to each other. It is our duty, in response to God's call, to strive to keep open the space for dialogue, for reciprocal respect, for growth in friendship, for a common witness in the face of the challenges of our time, which invite us to cooperate for the good of humanity in this world created by God, the Omnipotent and Merciful.

10. Finally, I offer a particular reflection on this, our city of Rome, where, for nearly two millennia, as Pope John Paul II said, the Catholic Community with its Bishop and the Jewish Community with its Chief Rabbi have lived side by side. May this proximity be animated by a growing fraternal love, expressed also in closer cooperation, so that we may offer a valid contribution to solving the problems and difficulties that we still face.

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I beg from the Lord the precious gift of peace in the world, above all in the Holy Land. During my pilgrimage there last May, at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, I prayed to Him who can do all things, asking: "Send your peace upon this Holy Land, upon the Middle East, upon the entire human family; stir the hearts of those who call upon your name, to walk humbly in the path of justice and compassion" (Prayer at the Western Wall of Jerusalem, 12 May 2009).

I give thanks and praise to God once again for this encounter, asking him to strengthen our fraternal bonds and to deepen our mutual understanding.

"O praise the Lord, all you nations, acclaim him, all you peoples. Strong is his love for us, He is faithful forever. Alleluia" (Ps 117)

We're all asking the theodicy question. How could one -even person of solid faith in Providence--not ask why natural evil happens and why God permits it. In a recent interview Zenit asked the head of the Papal Charitable office, Cor Unum, Josef Cardinal Cordes, about the Haitian earthquake. As a first glance at the matter the Cardinal names something important, namely, if you claim to understand God, then your claim has nothing to do with the personal God of Christianity and that the Christian continues to believe God's goodness in the face of suffering. Hard ideas to grasp. BUT it is a beginning.

ZENIT: How much does people's faith help them through a catastrophe such as this?

Cardinal Cordes: The faith of the people who have suffered in this disaster will play a critical role in not only bringing relief to their physical injuries and losses, but also in addressing the spiritual dimension and meaning to be found in such a catastrophe. In visiting disaster areas before and talking with survivors, many express their gratitude to God for sparing their lives and for the generous outpouring of assistance made available to them by family, friends, neighbors, and Churches worldwide. Because of the large Catholic population (80% of Haitians are Catholics), faith and the concrete presence/witness of the Church will have a very important role in the present tragedy.

Our Pontifical Council Cor Unum had already planned that the next meeting of the Populorum Progressio Foundation would take place in Santo Domingo this coming July. The foundation, established by Pope John Paul II, is to help the indigenous peoples of the Latin American and Caribbean countries. In the past, we have given much help to Haiti and we shall continue to do so. Of course, our spiritual closeness is of primary importance. We shall be certain to celebrate the Holy Eucharist on that occasion with bishops coming from different countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Without faith, this tragedy would turn into a complete disaster. That is why it will be essential for our brothers and sisters to pray together; experience Christians worldwide sharing their burdens as members of God's family; know the compassion of our Holy Father. All these become sources of hope and energy. In His first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict invites us to recall "St. Augustine who gives us faith's answer to our sufferings: 'Si comprehendis, non est Deus' -- 'if you understand him, he is not God.'" The Holy Father adds: "Even in their bewilderment and failure to understand the world around them, Christians continue to believe in the 'goodness and loving kindness of God' (Titus 3:4)" (No. 38).

ZENIT: Will good come from this tragedy?

Cardinal Cordes: This is a disaster that has caused immense loss of life and suffering. Many years will be needed for the nation to be rebuilt physically and the people to recover in their spirits. For this reason, the Church must remain present even as others move away.

But already we see good rising from the ruins. The eyes of the world are being open to the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, whose long suffering was all but forgotten. This tragedy shows that we depend on each other and must care for our suffering brothers and sisters, just as we did during the Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. So we must ensure that the necessary assistance now being shown to Haiti continues in the long-term, for example through setting up better local Caritas structures and links with government development ministries of wealthier countries and help agencies.

We are witnessing and hearing of many selfless and heroic acts made to save lives and to rescue those in danger.  There are still thousands of others, who, coming from all over the world and without any accolades, are dedicating themselves to helping whoever is in need. People are being moved to give of themselves spiritually and materially to help the poor and suffering. In the coming days and weeks, I am convinced that we shall encounter in the midst of this catastrophe many examples of goodness.

Above all, it is with trustworthy hope in the Crucified and Risen Lord Jesus that Christians face the present. In his encyclical Spe Salvi, Pope Benedict speaks of the sufferings of this moment being borne through hope in the future. It is not that Christians know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness: "Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well" (Spe Salvi, 2).

Lord God, You sanctified the beginnings of the Order of Friars Minor by the glorious struggle of Your holy martyrs Berard and companions. As they did not hesitate to give up their lives for You so may we bear staunch witness to You by our lives.


Saint Berard was the superior of Vitalis, Berard, Peter, Accursius, Adjutus, and Odo, missionaries to Morocco whom we celebrate today. They were martyred on this date in 1220. Saint Francis upon hearing of his brother's deaths was reported to have said, "Now I can truly say that I have five Friars Minor!" The translation of the relics in the 15th century prompted Saint Anthony of Padua to leave the Augustinian Canons and join the Franciscans.

Ralph McInerny.jpgDr. Ralph McInerny's condition is not good, but it is far better than rumors have had it. He is in ICU at the new St. Joseph Medical Center in Mishawaka, IN, on oxygen with an intravenous feeding tube. He's weak and has lost a lot of weight, and he sleeps much of the time.

 

He is one of the great ones!

 

Our Lady of Perpetual Help, pray for us.

Three very worthy aid organizations are helping the Haitian people: The Association of Volunteers in International Service (AVSI), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Order of Malta. Monies collected get to those in need!

 

Many of us will want to help those who are suffering in Haiti - firstly with prayer and secondly with material support.  However, getting the material support to those who need it most is going to be very difficult given the severity of the disaster.  Moreover spurious organizations will most likely spring up and so we, as good stewards of God's gifts, must be careful about who we send our donations too.  

 

1. AVSI.jpgAVSI is an international charitable organization started by Communion and Liberation because I know my donation will reach those who need it.  AVSI has been present in Haiti since 1999 working in the agriculture, food security, education and social sectors in neighborhoods around Port au Prince as well as in Les Cayes in the south.  On the occasion of previous emergencies, flooding in 2004 and 2008, AVSI implemented emergency relief operations with international donors.


Any donations to assist AVSI's emergency program in Haiti can be received by AVSI-USA, it is tax deductible, and will be channeled to AVSI in Haiti.

 

Information about AVSI and their appeal for Haiti can be found here.

 

Checks can be made payable to "AVSI-USA" with "Haiti Emergency" in the memo and  sent to AVSI-USA: 529 14th Street NW, Suite 994, Washington, DC 20045.


 

2. CRS.jpgTremendous work is being done by Catholic Relief Services in Haiti all the time. Please consider giving a tax-deductible contribution to CRS to help them in this endeavor. The Archbishop of New Yorkm, Timothy Dolan, recommends support of CRS.

 

You can give directly through the CRS Web site here or by typing www.crs.org into your Web browser. Or call 1-800-736-3467.

 

Order of Malta.jpg3. The Order of Malta-American Association supports three major missions in Haiti. Each of these missions is in desperate need of funds to provide emergency relief and medical assistance and to buy food for starving children, mothers and fathers, and elderly Haitians. The Haitian  people depend upon us for help during this crisis and for the foreseeable future.

 

The three missions in Haiti associated with the American Association include:

      • Haitian Health Foundation
      • Hôpital Sacré Coeur - Crudem
      • Hope for Haiti

      The Haitian Health Foundation has the facilities and the expertise to manufacture food which will be desperately needed. Hope for Haiti is organizing airlifts and busloads of critical food and medical supplies. Hôpital Sacré Coeur will be a triage connected to Operation Hope. These three Malta organizations are trusted stewards of your generosity.

    • Each of these organizations will guarantee that 100% of the monies will go toward emergency relief for those in need and tax deductible. To donate to the Order of Malta visit here.

       

      Since I can personally vouch for them, I am sending a donations to AVSI and to the Order of Malta.

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      Today is the feast of the first companions of Saint Benedict of Norcia, Saints Maurus and Placid. The traditional blessing of the sick calling upon Saint Maurus' intercession follows. You may not have a relic of the True Cross or relic of Saint Benedict to you available to you, so the priest should use a crucifix and the Saint Benedict Medal.


      Before the blessing is imparted, the relic of the true Cross of our Lord or the medal of Saint Benedict is exposed, at least two candles having been lit. The Act of Contrition and firm confidence should then be excited in the sick person, so that through the merits and intercession of Saint Benedict and Saint Maurus, if it should please God, health may be obtained. Three Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory be's are recited in honor of the Blessed Trinity.

      Then a priest or deacon, having put on a stole, and with his right hand holding up the relic or the medal of Saint Benedict before the sick person, says the following prayers:


      V. Benediction and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor and power and strength to our God forever and ever.

      R. Amen.

      Blessing of Icons

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      Over the Christmas holiday I acquired an icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, written by Brother Terrence McGrath, OCSO, a monk of Saint Joseph's Abbey, Spencer, Massachusetts. In the tradition of the Catholic Church, all icons (religious objects intended for devotion) ought to be properly blessed. The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy teaches us,  


      The Church blesses sacred images because of their cultic significance. This is especially true of the images of the Saints which are destined for public veneration, when she prays that, guided by a particular Saint, "we may progress in following the footsteps of Christ, so that the perfect man may be formed in us to the full measure of Christ." (244)

      Today, Father Michael Morris, a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and history professor of Saint Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie-Yonkers, NY) properly blessed the icon.


      The Blessing of Icons follows:


      Priest:   Blessed is our God always, both now and ever, and unto ages of ages:

       

      Server: Amen.

       

      Priest: Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy upon us. 

       

      Priest:

       

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      O Lord our God, Who created us after Your own image and likeness; Who redeems us from our former corruption of the ancient curse through Your man-befriending Christ, Who took upon Himself the form of a servant and became man; Who having taken upon Himself our likeness remade Your Saints of the first dispensation, and through Whom also we are refashioned in the image of Your pure blessedness; Your Saints we venerate as being in Your image and likeness, and we adore and glorify You as our Creator; Wherefore we pray You, send forth Your blessing upon this Icon, and with the sprinkling of hallowed water.

       

      Bless and make holy this icon untoYour glory, in honor and remembrance of Your Saint (N) [or, Mother of God]; And grant that this sanctification will be to all who venerate this icon of Saint (N) [or, Mother of God], and send up their prayer unto You standing before it;

       

      Through the grace and bounties and love of Your Only-Begotten Son, with Whom You are blessed together with Your All-Holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of ages.

       

      Server:  Amen.

       

      Sprinkling cross fashion the icon with holy water, he says:

       

      Hallowed and blessed is this icon of St. (N) [or, Mother of God], by the Grace of the Holy Spirit, through the sprinkling of Holy Water: in the Name of the Father (+), and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: (+), Amen.

       

      Priest: Let us pray to the Lord.

       

      Server: Kyrie eleison.

       

      Priest:

       

      O God our Savior, Who did deign to enter under the roof of Zacchaeus, unto salvation of the same and of all that were in the house; Do you, the same Lord, keep safe also from harm them who now desire to dwell here, And who, together with us unworthy ones, do offer unto You prayer and supplication: Bless this (+) their home and dwelling, and preserve their life free from all adversity; For unto You are due all glory, honor and worship, as also unto Your Eternal Father, and Your All Holy, Good and life-creating Spirit; both now and ever, and unto ages of ages:

       

      Server:  Amen.

      Pierre Tousaint.jpgThe tragedy in Haiti brings to mind the presence of the Venerable Servant of God Pierre Toussaint entombed in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, a native of Haiti and whose cause is being studied for beatification and canonization.

      My prayer has turned to the Venerable Servant of God Pierre Toussaint for the nation of Haiti and those ex-patriots in the USA who are anxious to learn of the well-being of their family members there.

      Connections give a human face to the horrible situation in another country like Haiti, Here at St. Joseph's Seminary one of the men in the kitchen, Guy, is Haitian and can't reach his family in Haiti. We pray for Guy and his loved ones.

      The renewal of religious life is also one of Pope Benedict's priorities. AND boy does it need it. The general state of religious life in this country at least, is circling the drain. Religious life's sad state is not merely about gaining new recruits, or wearing habits or working with the marginalized, but being faithful to Christ and the Church today, not some fantasy of what one "guru" hopes the Church to be. There are notable exceptions to this evaluation, but even those orders getting vocations there are concerns with the institutional rot in the ranks, and therefore they are fragile. Benedict's general audience address yesterday shows us the breadth and depth of the work needed to be done AND the desire to see the mendicant life thrive and contribute to the upbuilding of the Kingdom. Being faithful to the charism of the order and to the Magisterium of the Church are essential components to any hope of renewal. The Pope said:

       

      At the beginning of the new year, we look at the history of Christianity, to see how a history develops and how it can be renewed. In it we can see that it is the saints, guided by the light of God, who are the genuine reformers of the life of the Church and of society. Teachers by their word and witnesses with their example, they know how to promote a stable and profound ecclesial renewal, because they themselves are profoundly renewed, they are in contact with the true novelty: the presence of God in the world.

       

      Such a consoling reality -- that in every generation saints are born and bear the creativity of renewal -- constantly accompanies the history of the Church in the midst of the sorrows and the negative aspects of her journey. We also see come forth, century by century, the forces of reform and of renewal, because the novelty of God is inexorable and always gives new strength to go forward.

       

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      This was what happened in the 13th century, with the birth and the extraordinary development of the Mendicant Orders: a model of great renewal in a new historic period. They were called thus because of their characteristic of "begging," namely, of going to the people humbly for economic support to live the vow of poverty and to carry out their evangelizing mission. Of the Mendicant Orders that arose in that period, the most notable and most important are the Friars Minor and the Preaching Friars, known as Franciscans and Dominicans. They have these names because of their founders, Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzmán, respectively. These two great saints had the capacity to wisely read "the signs of the times," intuiting the challenges that the Church of their time had to face.


      A first challenge was represented by the spread of several groups and movements of faithful that, although inspired in a legitimate desire for authentic Christian life, often placed themselves outside of ecclesial communion. They were in profound opposition to the rich and beautiful Church that developed precisely with the flourishing of monasticism. In recent catecheses I reflected on the monastic community of Cluny, which had always attracted young men and, therefore, vital forces, as well as goods and riches. Thus logically developed, initially, a Church rich in property and also immobile. Opposed to this Church was the idea that Christ came on earth poor and that the true Church should be, in fact, the Church of the poor; a desire for true Christian authenticity was thus opposed to the reality of the empirical Church.

       

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      This brought about the so-called pauper movements of the Medieval Age. They harshly contested the lifestyles of priests and monks of the time, accused of having betrayed the Gospel and of not practicing poverty as the first Christians, and these movements counterpoised to the ministry of the bishops their own "parallel hierarchy." Moreover, to justify their choices, they spread doctrines that were incompatible with the Catholic faith. For example, the movement of the Cathars or Albigensians proposed again old heresies, such as depreciation and contempt of the material world -- opposition to wealth quickly became opposition to material reality as such -- the negation of free will, and then dualism, the existence of a second principle of evil equated with God. These movements had success, especially in France and Italy, not only because of their solid organization, but also because they denounced a real disorder in the Church, caused by the less than exemplary behavior of several representatives of the clergyOn the other hand, the Franciscans and Dominicans, in the footsteps of their founders, showed that it was possible to live evangelical poverty, the truth of the Gospel, without separating from the Church; they showed that the Church continued to be the true, authentic place of the Gospel and Scripture. Thus, Dominic and Francis drew, precisely from profound communion with the Church and the papacy, the strength of their witness.


      With an altogether original choice in the history of consecrated life, the members of these orders not only gave up possession of personal goods, as monks had since antiquity, but even wanted real estate and goods put in the name of the community. In this way they intended to give witness of an extremely sober life, to be in solidarity with the poor and trust only in Providence, to live every day by Providence, in trust, putting themselves in God's hands. This personal and community style of the Mendicant Orders, joined to total adherence to the teaching of the Church and her authority, was greatly appreciated by the Pontiffs of the time, such as Innocent III and Honorius III, who gave their full support to these new ecclesial experiences, recognizing in them the voice of the Spirit.


      And fruits were not lacking: The poor groups that had separated from the Church returned to ecclesial communion or, gradually, were re-dimensioned until they disappeared. Also today, though living in a society in which "having" often prevails over "being," there is great sensitivity to examples of poverty and solidarity, which believers give with courageous choices. Also today, similar initiatives are not lacking: movements, which really begin from the novelty of the Gospel and live it radically today, putting themselves in God's hands, to serve their neighbor. The world, as Paul VI recalled in Evangelii Nuntiandi, willingly listens to teachers when they are also witnesses. This is a lesson that must never be forgotten in the endeavor of spreading the Gospel: to live first of all what is proclaimed, to be a mirror of divine charity.

       

      St Anthony Preaching  Detail from the Miracle of St Anthony of Padua  from the Cupola 1798.jpg

      Franciscans and Dominicans were witnesses, but also teachers. In fact, another widespread need in their time was that of religious instruction. Not a few lay faithful, who lived in greatly expanding cities, wished to practice a spiritually intense Christian life. Hence they sought to deepen their knowledge of the faith and to be guided in the arduous but exciting path of holiness. Happily, the Mendicant Orders were also able to meet this need: the proclamation of the Gospel in simplicity and in its depth and greatness was one objective, perhaps the main objective of this movement. In fact, with great zeal they dedicated themselves to preaching. The faithful were very numerous, often real and veritable crowds, which gathered to hear the preachers in the churches and in places outdoors -- let us think of St. Anthony, for example. They dealt with themes close to the life of the people, especially the practice of the theological and moral virtues, with concrete examples, easily understood. Moreover, they taught ways to nourish the life of prayer and piety. For example, the Franciscans greatly spread devotion to the humanity of Christ, with the commitment of imitating the Lord. Hence it is not surprising that the faithful were numerous, women and men, who chose to be supported in their Christian journey by the Franciscan and Dominican friars, sought after and appreciated spiritual directors and confessors. 

       

      Thus were born associations of lay faithful that were inspired by the spirituality of Sts. Francis and Dominic, adapted to their state of life. It was the Third Order, whether Franciscan or Dominican. In other words, the proposal of a "lay sanctity" won many people. As the Second Vatican Council recalled, the call to holiness is not reserved to some, but is universal (cf. Lumen Gentium, 40). In every state of life, according to the needs of each, there is the possibility of living the Gospel. Also today every Christian must tend to the "lofty measure of Christian life," no matter what state of life he belongs to!


      The importance of the Mendicant Orders grew so much in the Middle Ages that lay institutions, such as labor organizations, ancient corporations and even civil authorities, often took recourse to the spiritual consultation of members of such orders for the writing of their regulations and, at times, for the solution of internal and external opposition. The Franciscans and Dominicans became the spiritual leaders of the Medieval city. With great intuition, they put into practice a pastoral strategy adapted to the transformation of society. Because many people were moving from the countryside to the cities, they placed their monasteries no longer in rural but in urban areas. Moreover, to carry out their activity for the benefit of souls, it was necessary to move in keeping with pastoral needs

       

      With another altogether innovative choice, the Mendicant Orders abandoned the principle of stability, a classic of ancient monasticism, to choose another way. Friars and Preachers traveled from one place to another, with missionary zeal. As a consequence, they gave themselves an organization that was different from that of the majority of monastic orders. In place of the traditional autonomy that every monastery enjoyed, they gave greater importance to the order as such and to the superior-general, as well as to the structure of the provinces. Thus the mendicants were in general available for the needs of the universal Church. This flexibility made it possible to send friars more adapted to specific missions and the Mendicant Orders reached North Africa, the Middle East and Northern Europe. With this flexibility, missionary dynamism was renewed.

       

      Another great challenge was represented by the cultural transformations taking place at that time. New questions made for lively discussions in the universities, which arose at the end of the 12th century. Friars and Preachers did not hesitate to assume this commitment as well and, as students and professors, they entered the most famous universities of the time, founded centers of study, produced texts of great value, gave life to true and proper schools of thought, were protagonists of scholastic theology in its greatest period, and significantly influenced the development of thought. 

       

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      The greatest thinkers, Sts. Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure, were mendicants, operating in fact with this dynamism of the new evangelization, which also renewed the courage of thought, of dialogue between reason and faith. Today also there is a "charity of and in truth," an "intellectual charity" to exercise, to enlighten intelligences and combine faith with culture. The widespread commitment of the Franciscans and Dominicans in the Medieval universities is an invitation, dear faithful, to make oneself present in places of the elaboration of learning, to propose, with respect and conviction, the light of the Gospel on the fundamental questions that concern man, his dignity, and his eternal destiny. Thinking of the role of the Franciscans and Dominicans in the Middle Ages, of the spiritual renewal they aroused, of the breath of new life that they communicated in the world, a monk says: "At that time the world was growing old. Two orders arose in the Church, from which it renewed its youth, like that of an eagle" (Burchard d'Ursperg, Chronicon).

       

      Dear brothers and sisters, let us indeed invoke at the beginning of this year the Holy Spirit, eternal youth of the Church: May he make each one of us feel the urgency of giving a consistent and courageous witness of the Gospel, so that saints will never be lacking, who make the Church shine as a Bride always pure and beautiful, without stain and without wrinkle, able to attract the world irresistibly to Christ, to his salvation.

      Bl Odoryk Pordenone.jpgHow beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the man who bring tidings of peace, joy and salvation.


      God our Father, through the apostolic ministry of blessed Odoric You made Your Church grow, shedding the light of the Gospel on many oriental peoples. Grant us through his prayers to stand fast in the faith and to remain constant in the hope of the gospel which he preached.



      This Franciscan Friar is remembered for his preaching the Gospel in the far reaches of Asia. History also tells us that he traveled on diplomatic missions in China, India and Mongolia. He was well-known and appreciated by the laity. Blessed Odoric ranks just behind Marco Polo for his travel in foreign lands and understanding other cultures. He wrote of his explorations which are preserved in as many as 73 manuscripts.
      To make good priests is the greatest achievement in the world: it is impossible to conceive anything greater or more important. To devote oneself to making good priests and to cooperate to this end - is to fulfill the very task of Jesus Christ.

      St Vincent de Paul
      At the end of the general audience today, Pope Benedict met privately, for a brief time, with Susanna Maiolo and 2 members of her family. You'll recall the unpleasant incident of Ms Maiolo taking down the pope and a cardinal. Ms. Maiolo expressed her regret for what happened at the celebration of the night Mass for Christmas at St Peter's Basilica, and for his part, the Holy Father gave her his forgiveness and expressed good wishes.
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      In the confusion of the event, French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, 87, who lives with frail health, fell to the basilica floor breaking a femur. He's recovering at the Gemelli Hospital where he and the pope enjoyed a visit on January 9th.

      Saint Hilary of Poitiers

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      St Hilaire Poitiers.jpg

      Saint Hilary worked tirelessly to defend the faith from wrong-thinking Christians, typically called heretics. What follows is Hilary's teaching on God the Father.


      It is the Father from whom everything that exists has been formed. He is in Christ and through Christ the source of all things. Moreover, His being is in Himself and He does not derive what He is from anywhere else, but possesses what He is from Himself and in Himself. He is infinite because He Himself is not in anything and all things are within Him; He is always outside of space because He is not restricted; He is always before time because time comes from Him.... But, God is also present everywhere and is present in His entirety wherever He is. Thus, He transcends the realm of understanding, outside of whom nothing exists and of whom eternal being is always characteristic. This is the true nature of the mystery of God; this is the name of the impenetrable nature in the Father.

      (On the Trinity, Bk. 2, Ch.6; ML 10, 54; FC XXV, 39-40) 


      The Liturgical prayer for Saint Hilary may be prayed here.

      ... sing to the tune of "What a difference a day makes"

       

      What a difference a Motu Proprio makes 
      Twenty-four little hours 
      Brought the sun and the flowers 
      Where there used to be rain 

      My yesterday was blue, dear 
      Today I'm part of you, dear 
      My lonely nights are through, dear 
      Since you said you were mine 

       

      What a difference a Motu Proprio makes 
      There's a rainbow before me 
      Skies above can't be stormy 
      Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss 

      It's heaven when you find Latin on your menu

      What a difference a Motu Proprio makes
      And the difference is you 

       

      What a difference a Motu Proprio makes 
      There's a rainbow before me 
      Skies above can't be stormy 
      Since that moment of bliss, that thrilling kiss 

      It's heaven when you find Latin on your menu 

       

      What a difference a Motu Proprio makes
      And the difference is you 

       

      Thanks to MEL for making this available.

      OL Banneux.jpgMary, the Mother of God, introduced herself as "I am the Blessed Virgin of the Poor" to an 11 year old girl in 1933. I am not all that familiar with this devotion to Our Lady of Banneux, but it is very appealing to me because of the gentleness of the vision and connection with the poor and the sick.

      Read an account of this Marian apparition.

      A Litany to Our Lady of Banneux

      This video clip gives a good introduction into this new (relatively speaking) title of Our Lady.

      Bob & Penny Lord did a video on Banneux


      The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith outlines what makes for a legitimate Marian apparition; an unofficial translation of the 1978 French document may be read here.
      Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, St. Meinrad, IN, has been awarded an $895,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. of Indianapolis. The grant will be used as supplemental support for the "One Bread, One Cup" youth liturgical leadership program.

      The funds will underwrite a portion of the operating expenses of the program for five years. During that time, Saint Meinrad will continue to build an endowment to replace the grant as a source of operating revenue. Other costs of the program are covered by participant fees.

      "Lilly Endowment has played a crucial role in supporting our program over the years," said Fr. Godfrey Mullen, OSB, interim manager for the "One Bread, One Cup" program. "Their support empowers Saint Meinrad to pass on the Benedictine heritage of community and liturgy to another generation of Catholics. Catholic youth and those who serve them will benefit greatly from 'One Bread, One Cup' because of the generosity of the Lilly Endowment."

      Understanding Atheism

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      Dominican Father Brian Davies is delivering the St Thomas Day Lecture entitled, "The New Atheism: Its Virtues and Its Vices," on Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 7 p.m. at the Church of St Vincent Ferrer (Lexington & 66th Street, NYC).

      Father Davies is a Dominican of the English Province but of Welsh heritage and a professor of philosophy at Fordham University

      Baptism

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      A substantial part of the Pope's Sunday Angelus address is worth thinking about: the reality of Baptism. Why? Because I think many of us have yet to grasp some of the essential points of what the Catholic Church believes and teaches. What I notice, as you may have, that even the clergy have a faulty understanding of what the sacrament of Baptism is meant to do for the person. It is not a social event for the family. It is not an opportunity to quiet the screams of family members (grandma) regarding "the way it is done in this family", etc. Baptism is about a life in Christ. Period.

      BUT what is the sacrament of Baptism all about? At the time of baptizing children or baptizing adults we are given a supreme gift by God: love. Let me briefly explain what baptism is and what it gives to us. These points don't exhaust the teaching and the conversation of what happens when one is baptized:

      A. there's a forgiveness of sins --the baptized person "dies to sin" (Romans 6); for the adult person there is repentance and deliberate renunciation of personal sin, AKA, conversion;

      B. there's a configuration to Christ, that is, a person comes to a close union with Jesus: baptism unties the Christian with Christ--it is a union of mind and will; the person is made new; the the baptized person is a sharer in Christ's own paschal mystery (life, death, resurrection and ascension, Romans 6:1-11); the soul is changed permanently, which we call sacramental character;

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      C. the baptized person is given the gift of the Holy Spirit--he or she is "re-generated" in the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13); the gift of the Holy Spirit is personally present and dwelling in each person; the Holy Spirit gives eache person the grace of becoming sons and daughters of God the Father, also the Spirit gives each person the power to say, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6): St Paul is clear, by the Holy Spirit we can utter the holy name, Jesus Christ and call Him "Lord";

      D. as baptized persons we have a new relationship with God the Father as adopted children of God; this new relationship speaks of our destiny--God wants us to be saved--He offers each person salvation through Jesus Christ AND His Church;

      E. baptism gives each person membership in the Church, not like a membership at a gym or a country club or Sam's Club; we are brought into, incorporated in the Church as a communion of faith and a communion of saints; in the Church we receive grace AND we work out our salvation through the worshipping community and together as a community in mission to realize the Gospel.

      And now the Pope's address:

      The Baptism of the Lord [the feast celebrated this past Sunday, Jan 10] suggests quite well the general sense of the Christmas festivity in which the theme of "becoming sons of God" thanks to the only-begotten Son's taking on of our humanity constitutes a dominant element. He became man so that we could become sons of God. God is born so that we could be re-born.

      These concepts continually return in the liturgical texts of Christmas and constitute a powerful motive for reflection and hope. We think of what St. Paul writes to the Galatians: "God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption" (Galatians 4:4-5); or again, of St. John in the prologue to his Gospel: "To those who received him he gave the power to become sons of God" (John 1:12). This stupendous mystery that is our "second birth" -- the re-birth of a human being from "above," from God (cf. John 3:1-8) -- is realized and summarized in the sacramental sign of baptism.

      With this sacrament man really becomes son -- son of God. From that point the goal of his life consists in arriving at, in a free and conscious way, that which from the very beginning was his destination as man. "Become what you are" -- represents the basic educational principle of the human person redeemed by grace. Such a principle has many analogies with human growth, where the relationship between parents and children passes, through separation and crisis, from total dependence to the awareness of being children, to recognition through the gift of life received and to the maturity and capacity to give one's life. Born to new life through baptism, the Christian too begins his journey of growth in the faith, which will carry him to consciously invoke God as "Abba -- Father," turning to him with gratitude and living in the joy of being his son.

      A model of society is also derived from baptism: that of being brothers. Fraternity cannot be established through an ideology, much less through the decree of just any power that has been set up. We recognize ourselves as brothers through a humble but profound awareness of being sons of the one heavenly Father. As Christians, thanks to the gift of the Holy Spirit received in baptism, we have the gift and task of living as sons of God and brothers, to be like "leaven" in a new humanity, united and rich in peace and hope. We are helped in this by the consciousness of having, besides a Father in heaven, a mother too, the Church, of whom the Virgin Mary is the perennial model. To her we entrust the newly baptized children and their families, and we ask for all the joy to be re-born every day "from above," from the love of God, that makes us his children and brothers among ourselves.

      Saint Bernard of Corleone

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      BernardCorleone.jpgHe humbled himself in all things and found favor with God. Great is the power of God; by the humble he is glorified.



      God, our Father, You have given us Saint Bernard as a wonderful example of penance and of Christian virtues. By the power of Your Spirit make us firm in faith and effective in our work.

      Saint Aelred of Rievaulx

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      St Aelred3.jpgPour into our hearts, O God, the Holy Spirit's gift of love, that we, clasping each the other's hand, may share the joy of friendship, human and divine, and with Your servant Aelred draw many to Your communion of love; through Jesus Christ the Righteous, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.


      On friendship

      There are four qualities which characterize a friend: loyalty, right intention, discretion and patience. Right intention seeks for nothing other than God and natural good. Discretion brings understanding of what is done on a friend's behalf, and ability when to know when to correct faults. Patience enables one to be justly rebuked, or to bear adversity on another's behalf. Loyalty guards and protects friendship, in good or bitter times.

      Saint Aelred of Rievaulx

      Another note on Saint Aelred may be found here.

      Saint Thomas of Cori

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      John Paul II called Saint Thomas "the living image of the Good Shepherd" who "meditated upon and incarnated in his life the Gospel requirement of poverty and of self-giving to God and neighbor."


      Saint Thomas's brief biography may be read here.
      PNAC Coat of Arms.jpg

      As part of the 150th anniversary celebration of the Pontifical North American College, Pope Benedict XVI addressed a gathering of cardinals, bishops, priests, students and friends of the College on January 9, 2010. The PNAC was founded by Blessed Pius IX.


      I am pleased to welcome the alumni of the Pontifical North American College, together with the Rector, faculty and students of the seminary on the Janiculum hill, and the student priests of the Casa Santa Maria dell'Umiltà. Our meeting comes at the conclusion of the celebrations marking the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the College's establishment by my predecessor, Blessed Pius IX. On this happy occasion I willingly join you in thanking the Lord for the many ways in which the College has remained faithful to its founding vision by training generations of worthy preachers of the Gospel and ministers of the sacraments, devoted to the Successor of Peter and committed to the building up of the Church in the United States of America.

      It is appropriate, in this Year for Priests, that you have returned to the College and this Eternal City in order to give thanks for the academic and spiritual formation which has nourished your priestly ministry over the years. The present Reunion is an opportunity not only to remember with gratitude the time of your studies, but also to reaffirm your filial affection for the Church of Rome, to recall the apostolic labors of the countless alumni who have gone before you, and to recommit yourselves to the high ideals of holiness, fidelity and pastoral zeal which you embraced on the day of your ordination. It is likewise an occasion to renew your love for the College and your appreciation of its distinctive mission to the Church in your country.

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      During my Pastoral Visit to the United States, I expressed my conviction that the Church in America is called to cultivate "an intellectual 'culture' which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the pressing issues which affect the future of American society" (Homily at Nationals Stadium, Washington, 17 April 2008). As Blessed Pius IX rightly foresaw, the Pontifical North American College in Rome is uniquely prepared to help meet this perennial challenge. In the century and a half since its foundation, the College has offered its students an exceptional experience of the universality of the Church, the breadth of her intellectual and spiritual tradition, and the urgency of her mandate to bring Christ's saving truth to the men and women of every time and place. I am confident that, by emphasizing these hallmarks of a Roman education in every aspect of its program of formation, the College will continue to produce wise and generous pastors capable of transmitting the Catholic faith in its integrity, bringing Christ's infinite mercy to the weak and the lost, and enabling America's Catholics to be a leaven of the Gospel in the social, political and cultural life of their nation.

      PNAC courtyard.jpeg

      Dear brothers, I pray that in these days you will be renewed in the gift of the Holy Spirit which you received on the day of your ordination. In the College chapel, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady is portrayed in the company of four outstanding models and patrons of priestly life and ministry: Saint Gregory the Great, Saint Pius X, Saint John Mary Vianney and Saint Vincent de Paul. During this Year for Priests, may these great saints continue to watch over the students who daily pray in their midst; may they guide and sustain your own ministry, and intercede for the priests of the United States. With cordial good wishes for the spiritual fruitfulness of the coming days, and with great affection in the Lord, I impart to you my Apostolic Blessing, which I willingly extend to all the alumni and friends of the Pontifical North American College.

      What follows are excerpts of an address the Holy Father gave to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See today, January 11. I selected what I thought were some germane points for our consideration.

      [...]

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      The Church is open to everyone because, in God, she lives for others! She thus shares deeply in the fortunes of humanity, which in this new year continues to be marked by the dramatic crisis of the global economy and consequently a serious and widespread social instability. In my Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, I invited everyone to look to the deeper causes of this situation: in the last analysis, they are to be found in a current self-centred and materialistic way of thinking which fails to acknowledge the limitations inherent in every creature. Today I would like to stress that the same way of thinking also endangers creation. Each of us could probably cite an example of the damage that this has caused to the environment the world over. I will offer an example, from any number of others, taken from the recent history of Europe. Twenty years ago, after the fall of the Berlin wall and the collapse of the materialistic and atheistic regimes which had for several decades dominated a part of this continent, was it not easy to assess the great harm which an economic system lacking any reference to the truth about man had done not only to the dignity and freedom of individuals and peoples, but to nature itself, by polluting soil, water and air? The denial of God distorts the freedom of the human person, yet it also devastates creation. It follows that the protection of creation is not principally a response to an aesthetic need, but much more to a moral need, in as much as nature expresses a plan of love and truth which is prior to us and which comes from God.

      It is proper, however, that this concern and commitment for the environment should be situated within the larger framework of the great challenges now facing mankind. If we wish to build true peace, how can we separate, or even set at odds, the protection of the environment and the protection of human life, including the life of the unborn? It is in man's respect for himself that his sense of responsibility for creation is shown. As Saint Thomas Aquinas has taught, man represents all that is most noble in the universe (cf. Summa Theologiae, I, q. 29, a. 3). Furthermore, as I noted during the recent FAO World Summit on Food Security, "the world has enough food for all its inhabitants" (Address of 16 November 2009, No. 2) provided that selfishness does not lead some to hoard the goods which are intended for all.

      I would like to stress again that the protection of creation calls for an appropriate management of the natural resources of different countries and, in the first place, of those which are economically disadvantaged. I think of the continent of Africa, which I had the joy of visiting last March during my journey to Cameroon and Angola, and which was the subject of the deliberations of the recent Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The Synod Fathers pointed with concern to the erosion and desertification of large tracts of arable land as a result of overexploitation and environmental pollution (cf. Propositio 22). In Africa, as elsewhere, there is a need to make political and economic decisions which ensure "forms of agricultural and industrial production capable of respecting creation and satisfying the primary needs of all" (Message for the 2010 World Day of Peace, No. 10).

      How can we forget, for that matter, that the struggle for access to natural resources is one of the causes of a number of conflicts, not least in Africa, as well as a continuing threat elsewhere? For this reason too, I forcefully repeat that to cultivate peace, one must protect creation! Furthermore, there are still large areas, for example in Afghanistan or in some countries of Latin America, where agriculture is unfortunately still linked to the production of narcotics, and is a not insignificant source of employment and income. If we want peace, we need to preserve creation by rechanneling these activities; I once more urge the international community not to become resigned to the drug trade and the grave moral and social problems which it creates.

      To carry our reflection further, we must remember that the problem of the environment is complex; one might compare it to a multifaceted prism. Creatures differ from one another and can be protected, or endangered, in different ways, as we know from daily experience. One such attack comes from laws or proposals which, in the name of fighting discrimination, strike at the biological basis of the difference between the sexes. I am thinking, for example, of certain countries in Europe or North and South America. Saint Columban stated that: "If you take away freedom, you take away dignity" (Ep. 4 ad Attela, in S. Columbani Opera, Dublin, 1957, p. 34). Yet freedom cannot be absolute, since man is not himself God, but the image of God, God's creation. For man, the path to be taken cannot be determined by caprice or willfulness, but must rather correspond to the structure willed by the Creator.

      [...]

      Blessed Bernard Scammacca

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      Merciful God, you led Blessed Bernard along the path of conversion and evangelical perfection. With the help of his prayers and by following his example may we have sorrow for our offenses and turn to you with hearts cleansed of sin.

      Saint Francis of Assisi is not the only one to have have sway over birds and animals, our blessed friend, Bernard is also known for the same. He had the gift of prophecy and was particularly kind to sinners in the confessional.

      Blessed Bernard is the patron saint for those living with paralysis and confessors. He is also listed among those whose bodies have not decayed.
      A Church that no longer raises up holy men and women among her priests, laypeople and religious is a sterile mother. In fact, what matters the most is not the construction of huge buildings or realizing great projects. What the Church needs most is the witness of saints. Holiness is the sign of the Church's credibility. They are her letters of reference.

      His Beatitude Fouad Twal
      the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
      Beatification of Mother Maria Alfonsina Danil Ghattas
      November 22, 2009

      Saint Gregory of Nyssa

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      St Gregory of Nyssa3.jpgYou have shown forth your watchfulness, and were a fervent Preacher of godliness: by the wisdom of the teachings you have gladden the Church's faithful, Righteous Father Gregory, entreat Christ our God to grant us his great mercy. (Troparion, tone 3)

      God our Father, Saint Gregory, Your bishop, praised You by the splendor of his life and teaching. In your kindness, as we forget what is past and reach out to what is before us, help us to attain that vocation to which we are called.

      Saint Gregory of Nyssa once said:

      A greedy appetite for food is terminated by satiety and the pleasure of drinking ends when our thirst is quenched. And so it is with the other things... But the possession of virtue, once it is solidly achieved, cannot be measured by time nor limited by satiety. Rather, to those who are its disciples it always appears as something ever new and fresh.

      More on Saint Gregory of Nyssa may be read here.

      Baptism of the Lord

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      In the likeness of a dove, the Holy Ghost was seen: the Father's voice was heard saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased: Hearken unto Him!

      It is the Lord that commandeth the waters, it is the glorious God that maketh the thunder; it is the Lord that ruleth the sea. The Father's voice was heard saying:
      This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased: Hearken unto Him!
      RJN ordination1.jpgLast evening a segment of the faithful gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral for the Sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, on the first anniversary of the death of a friend, Father Richard John Neuhaus. It is hard to conceive with ease that a year has past since Father Richard passed from life to Life. He died a year ago as a result of complications to cancer at 72.

      Father George Rutler's terrific homily may be read here.

      Also, there is Robert Louis Wilken's article, "An Anniversary."
      Into Your Hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. For the name of Jesus, and in defense of the Church, I am willing to lay down my life.

      Father, we honor the martyrs Philip and Herman, Your bishops and Your monastic priests, Theodore and Cornelius. Through their struggles and by their intercession may we willingly accept any hardship while serving Your beloved people.


      Blessed Angela of Foligno

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      Bl Angela of Foligno.jpgPraise to the holy woman whose home is built on faithful love and whose pathway leads to God.


      Almighty God, You caused blessed Angela to excel in contemplating the mysteries of Your Son. Through he merits and prayers may we share in the same mysteries on earth and rejoice exultantly in the revelation of Your glory.


      A 13th century third order Franciscan, Blessed Angela, gave her life to Christ based on a vision she had had of Saint Francis and after living a wild, and some would say sinful life. She was a wife, mother and a leader of other lay people who followed the Franciscan Rule for the laity.

      Blessed Angela is the patron against sexual temptation, against the death of children, people ridiculed for their piety and widows. She is often depicted receiving Holy Communion from the Lord, or in the case of the image here, from an angel of the Lord (given her name, "Angela").

      The observance of the feast has had a number of changes: some calendars note her feast day as January 4th or March 30th, but the current Ordo has her liturgical memorial listed today.

      An Italian website on Blessed Angela

      Saint Raymond of Peñafort

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      St Raymond of Penafort.jpegThe whole law has found its fulfillment in this one saying: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

      Almighty and compassionate Father, through the life and teaching of our brother Raymond you show us that love is the fulfillment of the law. Fill our hearts with love and so make us grow in freedom as your sons and daughters.


      Saint Raymond is the patron saint for attorneys, barristers, canonists, lawyers, medical record librarians.
      NCR journalist John Allen posted a rather disturbing piece yesterday about Jewish youth who spit on Christian clergy in Jerusalem. Perhaps this is a good example of turning the other cheek or being despised for belief in Christ as Messiah. The public witness to belief in Christ and one's consecration to the same is an extraordinary witness to the person of Christ who warned his disciples of acts of hatred. But whatever spiritualization of a disgusting insult you want to offer, the act is nonetheless a sign hate and I don't think it ought to go un-addressed. Over-zealous youth is a problem whether you live in New Haven, CT, St. Louis, MO or Jerusalem. I wonder if the admonition of the tribunal there is strong enough to alter the behavior of Jewish petulant youth in question.

      Blessed André Bessette

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      Blessed André Bessette, your devotion to Saint Joseph is an inspiration to us. You gave your life selflessly to bring the message of his life to others. Pray that we may learn from Saint Joseph, and from you, what it is like to care for Jesus and do his work in the world. Amen.


      St Andre Bessette.jpg
      Pope John Paul II said this of Brother André:

      A daily crowd of the sick, the afflicted, the poor of all kinds--those who were handicapped or wounded by life--came to him. They found in his presence a welcome ear, comfort and faith in God. Do not the poor of today have as much need of such love, of such hope, of such education in prayer?

      One of Brother André's friends said of him: "He spent his whole life speaking of others to God, and of God to others." 

      More on Blessed --soon to be a saint-- André is found here, including the liturgical prayer.



      Info on Brother André's canonization of will be announced here soon.

      Saint John Neumann

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      sjnmosaic.jpgMerciful Father, You have given me all that I have in this world, even life itself. In all my daily needs, help me to remember the needs of others too. Make me aware of the need to pray to You not just for myself but for the Church, the Pope, for the clergy and for people who suffer any need.

      Make me as selfless as Saint John Neumann. Throughout my life, give me the grace to direct my first thoughts to the service of You and of others. Make my prayer - "Your will be done" knowing that in Your mercy and love, Your will for me is my sanctification. I ask this through Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen. (Prayer to Saint John Neumann)

      The liturgical prayer, a brief chronology and a prayer for the saint's intercession may be found here.


      Canonization homily of Pope Paul VI, Sunday, 19 June 1977

      Greetings to you, Brethren, and sons and daughters of the United States of America! We welcome you in the name of the Lord!

      The entire Catholic Church, here, at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, welcomes you with festive joy. And together with you, the entire Catholic Church sings a hymn of heavenly victory to Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, [1811-1860] who receives the honor of one who lives in the glory of Christ.

      In a few brief words we shall describe for the other pilgrims some details of his life, which are already known to you.

      We ask ourselves today: what is the meaning of this extraordinary event, the meaning of this canonization? It is the celebration of holiness. And what is holiness? It is human perfection, human love raised up to its highest level in Christ, in God.

      At the time of John Neumann, America represented new values and new hopes. Bishop Neumann saw these in their relationship to the ultimate, supreme possession to which humanity is destined. With Saint Paul he could testify that "all are yours, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor. 3, 22). And with Augustine he knew that our hearts are restless, until they rest in the Lord (St. Augustine, Confessions, 1, 1).

      His love for people was authentic brotherly love. It was real charity: missionary and pastoral charity. It meant that he gave himself to others. Like Jesus the Good Shepherd, he lay down his life for the sheep, for Christ's flock: to provide for their needs, to lead them to salvation. And today, with the Evangelist, we solemnly proclaim: "There is no greater love than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends" (Jn. 15, 13).

      John Neumann's pastoral zeal was manifested in many ways. Through faithful and persevering service, he brought to completion the generosity of his initial act of missionary dedication. He helped children to satisfy their need for truth, their need for Christian doctrine, for the teaching of Jesus in their lives. He did this both by catechetical instruction and by promoting, with relentless energy, the Catholic school system in the United States. And we still remember the words of our late Apostolic Delegate in Washington, the beloved Cardinal Amleto Cicognani: "You Americans", he said, "possess two great treasures: the Catholic school and the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine. Guard them like the apple of your eye" (Cfr. Epistola 2 June 1963).

      And who can fail to admire all the loving concern that John Neumann showed for God's people, through his priestly ministry and his pastoral visitations as a Bishop? He deeply loved the Sacramental of Reconciliation: and like a worthy son of Saint Alphonsus he transmitted the pardon and the healing power of the Redeemer into the lives of innumerable sons and daughters of the Church. He was close to the sick; he was at home with the poor; he was a friend to sinners. And today he is the honor of all immigrants, and from the viewpoint of the Beatitudes the symbol of Christian success.

      John Neumann bore the image of Christ. He experienced, in his innermost being, the need to proclaim by word and example the wisdom and power of God, and to preach the crucified Christ. And in the Passion of the Lord he found strength and the inspiration of his ministry: Passio Christi conforta me! (The Passion of Christ strengthens me)

      The Eucharistic Sacrifice was the center of his life, and constituted for him what the Second Vatican Council would later call "the source and summit of all evangelization" (Presbiterorum Ordinis, 5). With great effectiveness, through the Forty Hours Devotion he helped his parishes become communities of faith and service.

      But to accomplish his task, love was necessary. And love meant giving; love meant effort; love meant sacrifice. And in his sacrifice, Bishop Neumann's service was complete. He led his people along the paths of holiness. He was indeed an effective witness, in his generation, to God's love for his Church and the world.

      There are many who have lived and are still living the divine command of generous love. For love still means giving oneself for others, because Love has come down to humanity; and from humanity love goes back to its divine source! How many men and women make this plan of God the program of their lives! Our praise goes to the clergy, religious and Catholic laity of America who, in following the Gospel, live according to this plan of sacrifice and service. Saint John Neumann is a true example for all of us in this regard. It is not enough to acquire the good things of the earth, for these can even be dangerous, if they stop or impede our love from rising to its source and reaching its goal. Let us always remember that the greatest and the first commandment is this: "You shall love the Lord your God" (Matt. 22, 36).

      True humanism in Christianity. True Christianity-we repeat -is the sacrifice of self for others, because of Christ, because of God. It is shown by signs; it is manifested in deeds. Christianity is sensitive to the suffering and oppression and sorrow of others, to poverty, to all human needs, the first of which is truth.

      Our ceremony today is indeed the celebration of holiness. At the same time, it is a prophetic anticipation-for the Church, for the United States, for the world-of a renewal in love: love for God, love for neighbor.

      And in this vital charity, beloved sons and daughters, let us go forward together, to build up a real civilization of love.

      Saint John Neumann, by the living power of your example and by the intercession of your prayers, help us today and for ever.

      Saint Zedislava Berkiana

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      Sts Zedislava & John Sarkander.jpg

      Faithful God, by her married life and works of charity you taught Saint Zedislava to pursue the way of perfection. By her prayers may family life be strengthened and be a witness to Christian virtue.


      Saint Zedislava is depicted as a third order Dominican (in the Dominican habit on the left in the image) wearing a rosary wound with roses, lying in the place of a sick person in bed. She is the patron saint of difficult marriages and people who are ridiculed for their piety.

      Lord, pour out upon us the fullness of your mercy, and by the power of your Spirit remove divisions among Christians. Let your Church rise more clearly as a sign for all the nations that the world may be filled with the light of your Spirit and believe in Jesus Christ whom you have sent, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.    (from the Mass for Unity of Christians)

      The work of bringing about the unity among Christians is a supreme priority for all Catholics, indeed, all Christians. In the 26+ year ministry of Pope John Paul II we saw this work unfold and advance in many unimaginable ways, as we did with previous popes, but John Paul recognized Christian unity as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We were reminded the Church's priority for Christian unity at the beginning of Benedict's pontificate. The month of January 2010 we are asked by the Pope to keep this work in our sacrifice of prayer not because it is a "nice thing to do," but because it is a condition, that is, a premise, a stipulation, a prerequisite for Catholic faith and life. Let's recall a portion of what Benedict said at his inaugural Mass as Supreme Pontiff:

      ...image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. "I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd" (Jn 10:16); these are the words of Jesus at the end of his discourse on the Good Shepherd. And the account of the 153 large fish ends with the joyful statement: "although there were so many, the net was not torn" (Jn 21:11). Alas, beloved Lord, with sorrow we must now acknowledge that it has been torn! But no - we must not be sad! Let us rejoice because of your promise, which does not disappoint, and let us do all we can to pursue the path towards the unity you have promised. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as we plead with him: yes, Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn, help us to be servants of unity! (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry, 2005)
      Our inheritance ... is the poor, the poor; pauperibus evangelizare misit me.  What happiness, what happiness!  To do what our Lord came from heaven to earth to do, and by means of which we too shall go from earth to heaven, to continue the work of God. 

      Saint Vincent de Paul

      Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

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      St Elizabeth Ann Seton3.jpg
      Lord Jesus, Who was born for us in a stable, lived for us a life of pain and sorrow, and died for us upon a cross; say for us in the hour of death, Father, forgive, and to Your Mother, Behold your child. Say to us, This day you shall be with Me in paradise. Dear Savior, leave us not, forsake us not. We thirst for You, Fountain of Living Water. Our days pass quickly along, soon all will be consummated for us. To Your hands we commend our spirits, now and forever. Amen. (a prayer by Saint Elizabeth Seton)


      Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1774-1821), a native of New York was socialite, a wife, a mother, a convert to Catholicism and a foundress of a religious community of women. Seton is the first native-born American citizen to be canonized. She founded the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows With Small Children, New York City's first private charitable organization, and founded the U.S. Sisters of Charity. Seton was responsible for the parochial school system in the USA. 

      A video was made of Seton and you can watch the trailer here.

      Even more on Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton may be found here, including the liturgical prayer for her.

      Behold the Lord the Ruler is come: and the Kingdom is in His Hand, and power, and dominion. Give to the king Thy judgment, O God: and to the king's Son Thy justice. (Epiphany entrance Antiphon)

      Thumbnail image for Magi Ravenna mosaic.jpg

      Saint John Chrysostom teaches us that, "If the Magi had come in search of an earthly King, they would have been disconcerted at finding that they had taken the trouble to come such a long way for nothing. Consequently they would have neither adored nor offered gifts. But since they sought a heavenly King, though they found in Him no signs of royal pre-eminence, yet, content with the testimony of the star alone, they adored: for they saw a man, and they acknowledged a God."

      The Feast of the Epiphany is a terrific day to manifest the Lord's entrance into our history with an ordination. The Diocese of Bridgeport, indeed the entire Church, rejoices today in calling another man to ordained service as a deacon. But what do deacons do in the Catholic Church? According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Deacons are ministers ordained for tasks of service of the Church; they do not receive the ministerial priesthood, but ordination confers on them important functions in the ministry of the word, divine worship, pastoral governance, and the service of charity, tasks which they must carry out under the pastoral authority of their bishop (1596).

      Thumbnail image for Bishop Lori.jpg

      Today, Bishop Lori ordained to the Order of Deacon Jaime de Jesus Marin Cardona, 41, at Saint Charles Borromeo Church (Bridgeport, CT). Deacon Marin is a native of Columbia where he did his seminary training. Here in the US, Deacon Jaime did some studies at Saint John Fisher Seminary (Stamford, CT) and Holy Apostles Seminary (Cromwell, CT).

      During the Rite of Ordination of a Deacon Bishop Lori prayed:

      Almighty God . . . You make the Church, Christ's body, grow to its full stature as a new and greater temple. You enrich it with every kind of grace and perfect it with a diversity of members to serve the whole body in a wonderful pattern of unity. You established a threefold ministry of worship and service, for the glory of your name. As ministers of your tabernacle you chose the sons of Levi 
and gave them your blessing as their everlasting inheritance.

      More than a dozen priests and deacons concelebrated Mass with the Bishop--in Spanish--with a packed Church. A fair number of the diocesan seminarians were also in attendance, many of whom acted altar servers for the Liturgy. It was wonderful to see all the gathered faithful. Jaime drew together his family and friends from across the area to celebrate with him. The occasion afforded the Msgr. Patrick McGivney Council, the local council of the Knights of Columbus to observe their 10th anniversary in Saint Charles. The State KofC officers were present as was the 4th degree honor guard.

      Since he's finished with studies, Deacon Jaime will serve in a parish for the next six months. In the exercise of his ministry, Deacon Jaime now "strengthened by sacramental grace... [is] dedicated to the People of God, in conjunction with the bishop and his body of priests, in the service (diakonia) of the liturgy, of the Gospel, and of works of charity" (CCC 1588).

      We also rejoice at the ordination of another man for the Bridgeport Diocese. On December 12th, Bishop Lori by the laying on of hand and prayer, ordained Jeff Couture to the Order of Deacon at Holy Family Church (Fairfield, CT), a native son of that parish. The ordination took place at the Vigil Mass for Gaudete Sunday with lots of Jeff's family and friends present. Deacon Couture is a student at Mount Saint Mary Seminary (Emmitsburg, MD). He's been serving Holy Family Church for Christmastide and will return to the Mount to finish up prior to ordination.

      Thumbnail image for Diocese of Bridgeport coat of arms.jpg

      On June 5, 2010, four men will be ordained to the presbyterate for the Diocese of Bridgeport. In addition to Deacons Jaime and Jeff, the deacons ordained this past May, Deacons Michael Novajoski and Karol Ksiazek will be made priests. In comparison to 2009 when six were made priests of Jesus Christ, 2010 is also a good year for our diocese in terms of ordinations. As of this writing, there will only be one ordained to the priesthood in 2011.

      May Saints Stephen, Nicanor, Lawrence, Ephrem, Francis and all holy deacons, pray for us and for these men ordained for service in the Diocese of Bridgeport!


      Blessing of Homes on Epiphany

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      Read the Gospel narrative of Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-9) from the Family Bible.

      Using blessed chalk, write above the entry way:

      20 + C + M + B + 10

      Let us pray.

      Peace be to this house and all who live here. During these days of the Christmas season, we keep this feast of Epiphany. Through the guidance of a star, the coming of Jesus was made known to the Gentiles. We celebrate Christ made known to the Magi, to John in the River Jordan, and to the disciples at the wedding at Cana.

      C+M+B.jpg
      Today Christ is made known to us! Today this home is a holy place! The Magi came from the east to Bethlehem to adore the Lord."They went into the house, and when they saw the child with His mother Mary, they knelt down and worshipped him.They brought out their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and presented them to Him." [Matthew 2:11]

      Bow our heads and pray for God's blessing . . .

      Lord our God, bless our home and all who live here. May we be filled with health, goodness of heart, gentleness, obedience to Your law, and thanksgiving to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Help us love and respect one another and make your presence known by the way we care for others. May this blessing remain upon this house and upon all who live here. Through Christ our Lord. Amen. 


      The blessing of the home is an Epiphany custom. Chalk blessed by the priest on Epiphany is given to the faithful to mark their entrance door with the current year and with the inscription C+M+B, the initials of Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, the traditional names of the Magi (as above). In addition to remembering the Magi, the inscription means for the Latin phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means "Christ, bless this home."
      Epiphany PPerugino.jpgThe Epiphany Proclamation

       

      Dear brothers and sisters, the glory of the Lord has shone upon us, and shall ever be manifest among us, until the day of his return. Through the rhythms of times and seasons let us celebrate the mysteries of salvation.

       

      Let us recall the year's culmination, the Easter Triduum of the Lord: his last supper, his crucifixion, his burial, and his rising celebrated between the evening of the 1st of April and the evening of the 3rd of April.

       

      Each Easter - as on each Sunday - the Holy Church makes present the great and saving deed by which Christ has for ever conquered sin and death.

       

      From Easter are reckoned all the days we keep holy:

       

      Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, will occur on the 17th of February.

      The Ascension of the Lord will be commemorated on the 13th of May.

      Pentecost, the joyful conclusion of the season of Easter, will be celebrated on the 23rd of May.

      Corpus Christi will be celebrated on the 6th of June. 

      The First Sunday of Advent will be celebrated on the 28th of November.

       

      Likewise the pilgrim Church proclaims the passover of Christ in the feasts of the holy Mother of God, in the feasts of the Apostles and Saints, and in the commemoration of the faithful departed.

       

      To Jesus Christ, who was, who is, and who is to come, Lord of time and history, be endless praise, for ever and ever.

       

      R. Amen. 

      Epiphany Giotto.jpgLo, God in man is manifest!
      tell out the joyous story:
      tell how the Wise Men
      worshipped the Son Incarnate.

      Sages from furthermost Orient stream to bow before His boundless power. Who is the King whom the prophets foretold should come to save both Jew and Gentile?

      Lo! He humbleth Himself from His throne of glory, taketh on Him the form of servant. He who is God before all ages now is born of the Virgin Mary.

      See fulfilled is Balaam's prophetcy:
      Out of Jacob shall a star arise--
      so 'twas promised! See the Wise Men offer Him their costliest presents:
      Gold and myrrh and fragrant incense.

      Rising up in power and majesty,
      He shall strike with dread discomfiture
      Moab's princes.

      Offerings significant: incense shows His Godhead;
      gold, His kingdom; myrrh, His passion.
      Join, then, in one solemn chorus and raise
      the melody of praise and glory,
      which may betoken oblations most rare
      which to our Lord we fain would offer.

      Praying that His true protection
      over all nations be extended,
      now and forever.  Amen.

      from the Sarum Use of the Mass, Epiphaniam Domino

      Sts Basil, John Gregory.jpg

      Saint Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea was one of the most distinguished Doctors of the Church. He lived c. 329 to January 1, 379. Theologians place Saint Basil after Saint Athanasius as a defender of the Church against the heresies of the fourth century (the most destructive of the faith was the Arian heresy).

      Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 325-389) was also from Cappadocia and a friend of Basil, followed the monastic way of life for some years. Eventually the Church called Nazianzus to be a priest and later bishop of Constantinople (in 381). Saint Gregory was given the title "The Theologian" because of his learning and oratory.

      Many icons of Saints Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil include Nazianzus' brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa. The group is known as "The Three Cappadocians." Some make the claim that Basil outshines Nazianzus and Nyssa in practical genius and actual achievement. BTW, the icon presented here does not include Nyssan but Saint John Chrysostom.

      The liturgical prayer for today's memorial may be found here.

      Saint Basil the Great writes on life's journey:

      We read in the Book of Psalms: 'Blessed is the one who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor follows in the way of sinners.' Life has been called a 'way' because everything that has been created is on the way to its end. When people are on a sea voyage, they can sleep while they are being transported without any effort of their own to their port of call. The ship brings them closer to their goal without their even knowing it. So we can be transported nearer to the end of our life without our noticing it, as time flows by unceasingly. Time passes while you are asleep. While you are awake time passes although you may not notice.

      All of us have a race to run towards our appointed end. So we are all 'on the way'. This is how you should think of the 'way'. You are a traveller in this life. Everything goes past you and is left behind. You notice a flower on the way, or some grass, or a stream, or something worth looking at. You enjoy it for a moment, then pass on. Maybe you come on stones or rocks or crags or cliffs or fences, or perhaps you meet wild beasts or reptiles or thorn bushes or some other obstacles. You suffer briefly then escape. That is what life is like.

      Pleasures do not last but pain is not permanent either.

      The 'way' does not belong to you nor is the present under your control. But as step succeeds step, enjoy each moment as it comes and then continue on your 'way'.

      Commentary on Psalm 1, 4 (PG 29, 220)

      cross detail3.jpgLiving and dying in Christ in 2009 was way too common. Especially the dying part.  Pope Benedict's Christmas homily notes that "The Church everywhere proclaims the Gospel of Christ, despite persecutions, discriminations, attacks and at times hostile indifference. These, in fact, enable her to share the lot of her Master and Lord." Many of the 37 people killed this past year met hostility for their acceptance of Christ as Savior, others were easy targets because they were priests or nuns or in some way connected with the Church. Being killed for being Christian is not the same as saying the 37 were martyrs for the faith. Some may be legitimate martyrs, but not all.

      Those who died:

      Fr Joseph Bertaina, of the Consolata Missionaries, killed January 16, 2009, Langata, Kenya

      Fr Eduardo de la Fuente Serrano, 61, killed February 14, 2009, Havana, Cuba

      Fr Juan Gonzalo Aristizabal Isaza, 62, killed February 22, 2009, Medellin, Colombia

      Fr Daniel Matsela Mahula, 34, killed February 27, 2009, Jouberton, South Africa

      Fr Lionel Sham, 66, killed March 7, 2009, Mohlakeng, South Africa

      Fr Révocat Gahimbare, killed March 8, 2009, Karuzi, Burundi

      Fr Gabriel Fernando Montoya Tamayo, 40 & Fr Jesús Ariel Jiménez, 45, Redemptorists, killed March 16, 2009, La Primavera, Colombia

      Fr Ramiro Luden, 64, killed March 20, 2009, Recife, Brazil

      Fr Lorenzo Rosebaugh, 74, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, killed May 18, 2009, lta Verapaz, Guatemala

      Fr Ernst Plöchl, 78, Congregation of the Missionaries of Mariannhill, killed May 31, 2009 Cape Province, South Africa

      Mr Jorge Humberto Echeverri Garro, 40, killed June 11, 2009, Colonos, Panama Arauca, Colombia

      Fr Habacuc Benítez Hernández, 39, and Seminarians Oregon Eduardo Benitez, 19, and Silvestre Gonzalez Cambron, 21, killed June 13, 2009, Tierra Caliente, Guerrero, Mexico

      Fr Gisley Azevedo Gomes, 31, Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ, killed June 15, 2009, Brazlandia, Brasilia

      Fr Mariano Arroyo Merino, 74, killed July 13, 2009, Shrine of Our Lady of the Rule, Cuba

      Mr Ricky Sukaka Agus, 27, Caritas worker, killed July 15, 2009, Musezero, North Kivu, DR of Congo

      Fr Mukalel James, 39, killed July 30, 2009, Mangalore, Karnataka, India

      Fr Leopoldo Cruz, Redemptorist, killed August 24, 2009, El Salvador

      Fr Cecilio Lucero, Filipino, 48, killed September 6, 2009, Northern Samar province, Philippines

      Fr Roger Ruvoletto, 52, Fidei Donum missionary, killed September 19, 2009, Manaus, Brazil

      Fr Evaldo Martiol, 33, killed September 26, 2009, Santa Caterina, Brazil

      Fr Danilo Oscar Cardozo 57, killed September 27, 2009, Villavicencio, Colombia

      Mr William Quijano, 21, Community of St. Egidio in El Salvador, September 28, 2009, Apopa, San Salvador

      Fr Edward Hinds, 61, killed October 24, 2009, Chatham, New Jersey

      Fr Louis Jousseaume, 70, killed October 26, 2009, Tulle, France

      Sr Marguerite Bartz, 64, Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, killed October 31/November 1, 2009, Navajo, New Mexico

      Fr Hidalberto Henrique Guimaraes, 48, killed November 7, 2009, Maceió, Brazil

      Fr Miguel Angel Hernandez, 45, Capuchin Franciscan, killed November 8, 2009, Ocotepeque Honduras, and found dead in a province of eastern Guatemala

      Fr Jean Gaston Buli, killed on November9/10 2009, Bunia, DR of Congo

      Fr Daniel Cizimya Nakamaga, 51, killed December 6, 2009, Kabare, DR of Congo

      Fr Louis Blondel, 70, Missionaries of Africa, killed December 6 /7, 2009, Pretoria, South Africa

      Sr Denise Kahambu Muhayirwa, 44, Trappistine, killed December 7, 2009, Murhesa, DR of Congo

      Fr Jeremiah Roche, Society of St. Patrick for Foreign Missions, killed December 10/11, 2009, Kericho, Kenya

      Fr Alvino Broering, 46, killed December 14, 2009, Santa Catarina, Brazil

      Fr Emiro Jaramillo Cardenas, 73, killed on December 20, 2009, Santa Rosa de Osos, Columbia

      We are never very far from offering our lives for Christ. The day after Christmas we observe the feast of the first martyr, Saint Stephen, a deacon and one of the seven chosen to serve the Church. In his Angelus address Pope Benedict recalled for us that

      Stephen's witness, like that of the Christian martyrs, shows our fellow men and women, so often distracted and disoriented, in whom they must place their trust in order to give meaning to life. The martyr is, in fact, the person who dies in the certainty of being loved by God and, placing nothing before love for Christ, knows he has chosen the better part. Fully identifying himself with the death of Christ, he realizes that he is a life-giving seed that opens the way for peace and hope in the world. Today, presenting us St. Stephen the Deacon as a model, the Church is also showing us that acceptance and love for the poor is one of the privileged ways to live the Gospel and to bear credible witness before the world of the Kingdom of God that is to come. (Angelus, December 26, 2009)

      Rome Reports filed this story.
      Mother & Child.jpg

      God our Father, may we always profit by the prayers of the Virgin Mother Mary, for You bring us life and salvation through Jesus Christ her Son who lives and regins with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.


      from Catechism of the Catholic:

      Called in the Gospels "the Mother of Jesus," Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as "the mother of my Lord." In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God." (495).


      from the Directory on Popular and the Liturgy: The Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God:

      On New Year's Day, the octave day of Christmas, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Holy Mother of God. The divine and virginal motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a singular salvific event: for Our Lady it was the foretaste and cause of her extraordinary glory; for us it is a source of grace and salvation because "through her we have received the Author of life."

      The solemnity of the 1 January, an eminently Marian feast, presents an excellent opportunity for liturgical piety to encounter popular piety: the first celebrates this event in a manner proper to it; the second, when duly catechised, lends joy and happiness to the various expressions of praise offered to Our Lady on the birth of her divine Son, to deepen our understanding of many prayers, beginning with that which says: "Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners".

      In the West, 1 January is an inaugural day marking the beginning of the civil year. The faithful are also involved in the celebrations for the beginning of the new year and exchange "new year" greetings. However, they should try to lend a Christian understanding to this custom making of these greetings an expression of popular piety. The faithful, naturally, realize that the "new year" is placed under the patronage of the Lord, and in exchanging new year greetings they implicitly and explicitly place the New Year under the Lord's dominion, since to him belongs all time (cf. Ap 1, 8; 22,13)

      A connection between this consciousness and the popular custom of singing the Veni Creator Spiritus can easily be made so that on 1 January the faithful can pray that the Spirit may direct their thoughts and actions, and those of the community during the course of the year.+New year greetings also include an expression of hope for a peaceful New Year. This has profound biblical, Christological and incarnational origins. The "quality of peace" has always been invoked throughout history by all men, and especially during violent and destructive times of war.

      The Holy See shares the profound aspirations of man for peace. Since 1967, 1 January has been designated "world day for peace". Popular piety has not been oblivious to this initiative of the Holy See. In the light of the new born Prince of Peace, it reserves this day for intense prayer for peace, education towards peace and those value inextricably linked with it, such as liberty, fraternal solidarity, the dignity of the human person, respect for nature, the right to work, the sacredness of human life, and the denunciation of injustices which trouble the conscience of man and threaten peace. (115-117)

      B16 & BI.jpgA new year, a new set of intentions given to us for our personal and communal prayer for the Pope and for the good of the Church. Saint Paul teaches to pray for the Church. And the Pope himself has reminded us that "He who prays does not waste time, even if the situation has all the markings of being an emergency and seems to push us toward action alone."  The intentions given to us have the great importance for our Christian life in our local context and for thriving of the Christian Way. Please be attentive to these intentions!

      The general intention

      That young people may learn to use modern means of social communication for their personal growth and to better prepare themselves to serve society.

      The missionary intention

      That every believer in Christ may be conscious that unity among all Christians is a condition for more effective proclamation of the Gospel.

      About the author

      Paul A. Zalonski is from New Haven, CT. He is a member of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, a Catholic ecclesial movement and an Oblate of Saint Benedict. Contact Paul at paulzalonski[at]yahoo.com.

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