Paul Zalonski: July 2010 Archives

Saint Ignatius of Loyola

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Statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola.jpgTo your Name's own greater glory,
In the midst of worldly strife,
Came Ignatius called Loyola,
Building up your Church's life.
That the gospel of the Savior,
With its news of endless grace
Might be brought by his companions
Unto ev'ry land and race.

Once a warrior for earth's kingdoms,
Gravely wounded, he became
Soldier for the King of heaven,
Limping forth in Jesus' name.
Once in Paris, he found others
Who alike heard Jesus' call;
Soldiers, poor and chaste, obedient, 
There they gave to Christ their all.

In his living and his dying,
He has shown to ev'ryone
What it means to lose one's own self,
How to live for Christ the Son.
May his love, which scorned all travail,
Teach us how to follow you;
May our love, in his example,
Be to Christ forever true.

To the Father, life's own author,
To the Son, who sets us free,
To the Spirit, voice of prophets,
Three-In-One, all praises be!
From the mouth of Saint Ignatius
Comes a song of matchless praise;
All the Church, on earth, in heaven,
Joins, as now this hymn we raise.

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
87 87 D; IN BABILONE, HOLY MANNA
Here is the post-communion address of the newly ordained Bishop David O'Connell CM, coadjutor of Trenton, as prepared for delivery (the text does not include the ad lib remarks):
David M O'Connell arms.jpgI have been thinking a great deal in recent months about the role and ministry of bishops in the Church. You might think, sitting here in the Cathedral today in the midst of this beautifully moving ceremony, you had good reason for such reflection! And, while there is real truth to that reaction --- at least since the Apostolic Nuncio first met with me on May 24 about coming to Trenton --- I did have some other motivations. For the past twelve years, I was president of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C, a place that is known as the "bishops' university." I am grateful that so many of my colleagues and friends from Catholic University are here with us today, both in the pews and around the sanctuary. Throughout those twelve years, I had many occasions to get to know bishops from around the country either as university trustees or as visitors to campus. We spoke about many things: their dioceses, their experiences, their joys and their challenges. I came to admire them as good men, good priests and good leaders. Although they all differed from one another in many ways, they all had one thing in common: they loved their people.
Today, through the grace and mercy of God and the sacrament of ordination, I join their ranks as successors to the Apostles. Like them, I approached this day filled with joy and gratitude but also with a sense of humility and awe. Like them, I am profoundly aware of my flaws and limitations, that I am far from perfect.  Like them, I do not know what the future will hold but I am quite sure that the expectations are as many and as different as there are people in and outside of this Cathedral.

When the Apostolic Nuncio spoke with me that morning in late May, he shared much information about the Diocese of Trenton and the process involved in my appointment. But he said something to me that I will never forget: "Father, always remember that there are over 830,000 souls in your Diocese. And you will be responsible for all of them." What has been very much on my mind since that conversation is simply this: how will I exercise that responsibility?

The other day, someone asked me how long it took to come up with my Episcopal motto, Ministrare non Ministrari --- "to serve and not to be served" --- to which I responded, "about two seconds." When I was first ordained a Vincentian priest --- and I am so happy to see so many of my confreres here --- the Gospel reading for the ordination Mass contained those words of Jesus Christ in Mark's Gospel. I was struck with the phrase then as being a perfect description of how to follow the Lord as a priest: "to serve and not to be served and to give my life as a ransom for the many." This was how I wanted to live out my life as a priest. This is how I want to live out my life as a bishop and how I hope to exercise that responsibility.

According to the Second Vatican Council, "Christ gave the apostles and their successors the mandate and the power to teach all nations and to sanctify and shepherd their people in truth (Christus Dominus, 12)." To teach. To sanctify. To shepherd their people in truth. Christ gave this mandate to the successors to the Apostles. Christ gave this power. And with power like this comes great responsibility. Please pray for me.

"To serve and not to be served." In my letter to our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI accepting his appointment, I wrote to him of my choice of a motto. In his response to me read here today, he repeated them.

A bishop serves his people by teaching truth. The truth that comes through the Gospel, the truth that comes through the Church and all its teachings, the truth that lives among us a community of faith, for "where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matthew 18: 20)." This is how a bishop serves, not by being served through compromise or taking the easy way out, not by being served saying only what people want to hear or what makes them comfortable, striving to be popular. As Pope John Paul II wrote, the truth that we teach "has its origin in God himself ... (but) people can even run from the truth because they are afraid of its demands (Fides et ratio, 7; 28)." Christians cannot run from the truth for this reason. Nor can the bishop. This is how he serves.

A bishop also serves by sanctifying his people and by leading them to holiness. And there is only one way to holiness: Jesus Christ and a personal relationship with him, convinced in faith as we must be that he alone is "the way, the truth and the life (John 14: 6)." All three make us holy. Jesus Christ is the Risen Lord. He triumphed over death and every suffering and evil. The bishop is called, it is said, to be a servant of the empty tomb not of the status quo. He leads his people to holiness by bearing witness to what the empty tomb means: joy, hope, the promise of new life, remembering Jesus' own words: "In the world you will have troubles but take courage: I have overcome the world (John 16:33)." This is how the bishop serves.

Finally, a bishop serves by leading, by guiding, by shepherding his people. This is, perhaps, the most difficult not only for those he governs as bishop but for the bishop himself, marked as he is by human weakness. But lead he must, by word and example. God gives the grace. And follow we must. God gives the grace. The answers that we may seek from him, the answers that we may want from him may sometimes not be what we seek or want. Sometimes the answer is no. "The gate is narrow and the road is long that leads to life (Matthew 7: 14)." This is how the bishop serves and this is where that service leads: to life.

To serve and not to be served. To teach. To sanctify. To shepherd. This is what a bishop does for God's people and with God's people: brother bishops, fellow priests, deacons, faithful religious women and men and all the baptized, one community of faith. With a grateful heart I thank you for being here today, too many to call by name. Please know that I care deeply for you all. With humble, faithful hearts, let us go forward, together, "to serve and not to be served."

Noted author Anne Rice on her Facebook page wrote: "In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian" because she regards Christians as "quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous."

Ms. Rice also added she refuses to be "anti-gay, anti-feminist and anti-Democrat."

Interestingly, she quits Christianity in the name of Christ. Hmmm.

I hope Ms Rice knows that Jesus Christ does not leave her alone and neither does He abandon her. And neither does the Church abandon her, nor ceases to care for her salvation.

I pray for Ms Rice's peace of soul and eventual return to her Mother, the Catholic Church.

Saint Peter Chrysologus

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San Pietro Crisologo.jpgO God, who made the Bishop Saint Peter Chrysologus an outstanding preacher of your Incarnate Word, grant, through his intercession, that we may constantly ponder in our hearts the mysteries of your salvation and faithfully express them in what we do. Through our Lord.

Saint Peter Chrysologus (born c. 400 and died c. 450; known also as "the man of golden speech"), Archbishop of Ravenna, was named a Doctor of the Church in 1729 by Pope Benedict XIII because of his eloquent, evocative and persuasive speech which led many to Christ. Many of his sermons are extant and used for spiritual reading in the Roman Office. Chrysologus was a student of Cornelius who ordained him to the Order of Deacon. He was an early advocate of the frequent reception of Holy communion; worked diligently for unity among Christians and lovingly cared for the poor.

Later Summer Reading 2010

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If you are looking for something to read this summer, I would suggest some of the following I gleaned from the Fall 2010 Eerdmans catalog:

Conor Cunningham's Darwin's Pious Idea

Ron Austin's Peregrino: A Pilgrim Journey into Catholic Mexico

Charles Mathewes' The Republic of Grace: Augustinian Thoughts for Dark Times

Carl Braaten's Because of Christ: Memoirs of a Lutheran Theologian

Livio Melina's The Epiphany of Love: Toward a Theological Understanding of Christian Action

Edward O'Flaherty, Rodney Petersen and Timothy Norton's Sunday, Sabbath and the Weekend: Managing Time in a Global Culture

Kevin Codd's To the Field of Dreams (subject: on making the pilgrimage to Compostella)

Saint Martha

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Christ with Martha and Mary.jpgIn midst of burning desert heat
Three strangers came along the way
Where Abraham and Sarah stayed;
He saw them, and begged them to stay.

In hospitality, he sought
To care for each and ev'ry need;
In answer came the promise sweet:
"Your wife will bear a son, indeed."

In much the same way, Jesus came
To Martha and to Mary's place;
While Mary sat and heard the Lord,
All awed by such amazing grace,

Her sister called, rebuking her
And scolded Christ for lack of care.
But Jesus said, "What Mary chose
Alone is needful, and most fair."

In giving hospitality,
We serve our God in neighbor's guise;
The trouble others seem to be
Will oft be Christ, to our surprise;

And yet the one thing needful is
The mystery of Christ in all,
Our hope of glory.  Here we sit
And hear our Master's loving call.

The other day I made a post on this blog about a Canadian woman priest giving Communion to a dog. A reader of the Communio blog, Lydia wrote to me saying:

I am a priest in the Episcopal Church in the US. The Anglican Communion does not have priestesses. I am sure that you know that. Perhaps you are just being sarcastic.

Personally, I would rather have my Church known for giving communion to a dog than for the fact that many of my priests molested children, in countries all over the world, and that my Bishops did all that they could to ignore complaints about the abuse, to hide the problem, and to protect the offending clergy.

My response to Lydia

The dictionary defines a priestess as a female priest. It's a perfectly good English word; in fact, the Anglican C.S. Lewis wrote an essay called, "Priestesses in the Church." If the word "priestess" has a strangely non-Christian sound, perhaps that is because in churches that claim apostolic succession, there is no precedent for female priests. As Lewis pointed out, there have been many religions with female priests (priestesses), but these religions are very different from Christianity as it has been known for 20 centuries.

In any case, the word "deaconess" is not considered offensive, so why should "priestess" be so considered? If masculine imagery for divine transcendence needs to be balanced by feminine imagery of divine immanence, why not say that priest and priestess together represent the divine more fully, like Yin and Yang? My impression is that many modern Anglicans (including women clergypersons) think on those lines. So why fight about the sound of a word when its substantive meaning is considered OK?

As for the Catholic Church being "known for" molestation of children and minors: well, the Anglican Church in Canada and Australia has been racked by similar problems, particularly in residential schools, with some dioceses being nearly bankrupted. I am saddened by the Anglicans' troubles since the attacks on their schools is an indirect form of anti-Christian persecution at the hands of a hostile state. As such, this abuse hysteria threatens us all because it is premised on the assumption that the sins of a few abusive clergy should be avenged on the entire Body of Christ. In the case of any other group besides the clergy, this would be considered unjust prejudice and overreaction.

Statistically speaking, Catholic priests are no more likely to molest than ministers of other religions; it's just that we are a much larger church and that our dioceses are legally set up as a corporation sole, thus inviting crippling lawsuits and lots of bad publicity. That said, I do agree that we Catholics are not in a position to cast any stones on the sexual abuse issue. And so this blog has not done so.

Gross liturgical abuses and irreverence are a different sort of issue. These liturgical-sacramental aberrations are public acts done in an official capacity, not secret sins or obvious crimes. And, in fact, I do emphatically criticize and abhor similar liturgical abuses among Catholics and wish that more Catholic parishes had the reverence and decorum to be found in many high-church Episcopal parishes. It's not a matter of either side of the Reformation divide being free of sin or failure: it's just that without an authoritative center of communion and teaching and practice, Anglicanism can't easily set any parameters for legitimate diversity within itself. And Archbishop Williams himself would sadly admit that that is unfortunately the case.

Resurrection AdelCastagno.jpgCatholics today are choosing cremation over the burial of the body. The numbers are on the increase in recent years due to economic reasons, perceived ecological concerns space limitations in some places. But are these good reasons to chose cremation of the body? The Church's allowance of cremation is given by exception with a strong preference for the entombment of the body (either in the ground or a masoleum). Why? Principally because cremation does not fully express a Christian's belief in the Resurrection of the body on the Last Day.

Though permitted by the Catholic Church, cremation is not the preferred way of caring for the deceased (Order of Christian Funerals Appendix, 414). The Church retains the value of imitating Jesus' own burial prior to His Resurrection. We believe that in death "life has changed, not ended." Hence, the human body has a dignity and this dignity is expressed liturgically through the funeral rites of the Church. The sacred Liturgy is the expression of what we believe and our hope in God's promises. Think of the ritual actions of the family and friends gathering for a wake (keeping vigil), prayers, the processions, blessing with holy water, the burning of incense, the celebration of the Sacrifice of the Mass for the soul of the deceased and then burial. Those who say that they follow Christ and believe in Him as Savior normally imitate what he did as they closely adhere to what He said and how He did things. The further develop this idea an appeal to the reasonableness of Church teaching is necessary. The US Bishops' document "Reflections on the Body, Cremation, and Catholic Funeral Rites" (1997) states the following about the body: "This is the Body once washed in baptism, anointed with the oil of salvation, and fed with the bread of life. Our identity and self-consciousness as a human person are expressed in and through the body... Thus, the Church's reverence and care for the body grows out of a reverence and concern for the person who the Church now commends to the care of God."

What is cremation? Cremation is the taking of the dead body and reducing it to ash and bone fragments by the application of intense heat (in excess of 1400 degrees) and the pulverization  of what remains. The ash and bone pieces are placed in an urn.

The practice of cremation was normal in the pagan world prior to the Resurrection of Jesus and in the early of Christianity. But because the earlier followers of Christ and belief in bodily resurrection the practice waned. Eventually, it was rejected as an accepted practice by the Church because cremation became a method of rejecting Christian belief in Christ's resurrection, our own resurrection on the last day and the rejection of the body as sacred. The   presence and popularity of the Masons and their rejection of fundamental Catholic belief, the Church taught that cremation was prohibited. You can trace the clear teaching from the French Revolution.

The Church respects the body, the living and the dead. Regarding the dead, the Church states that "The dying should be given attention and care to help them live the last moments in dignity and peace. They will be helped by the prayer of their relatives , who must see to it that the sick receive at the proper time the sacraments that prepare them to meet the living God. The bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in faith and hope of the Resurrection. The burial of the dead is a corporal work of mercy, it honors the children of God, who are temples of the Holy Spirit (Catechism 2299-2300).

With the passage of time, the Church in an effort to recognize the legitimate needs of her children, changed her teaching with the publication of a 1963 decree of Blessed John XXIII relaxing the restrictions if Catholic teaching is maintained. At the Catechism of the Catholic Church the Church said, "The Church permits cremation, provided that it does not demonstrate a denail of faith in the resurrection of the body" (2301). And the Code of Canon Law (1983) states: "The Church earnestly recommends the pious custom of burial be retained; but it does not forbid cremation, unless this is chosen for reasons which are contrary to Christian teaching" (1176).

Some might say the Church has strong "feelings" on cremation. The Church's teaching has nothing to do with feelings. And the Church's preference is not one opinion among many nor is it akin to having a preference for a porterhouse steak over hamburger. What happens to the body after death is based on solid sacramental theology and two millennia of experience.

In sum, what is expected (hoped for):

1. the offering of prayer and sacraments for the dying, especially at the time of death
2. the showing of respect for the deceased with regard to preparing the body for a wake
3. the praying of the Office of the Dead and prayers for the dead at the wake
4. the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass in Church in the presence of the body
5. the burial of the body or the cremation of the body and then the burial of the cremains
6. the daily praying for the soul, the periodic offering of Mass for the soul of the deceased and visiting the cemetery, especially during the month of November, the Month of All Souls.

While three members of my family chose cremation as a burial option, my family was attentive to the sacramentality of the body and Catholic burial rituals (wake, Mass with the body present & burial of the ashes in the local Catholic cemetery.

Funny that Net TV posted on this subject and that I am posting about it today given that just the other day my mother told me that a long time family friend distributed the ashes of her parents to her family and friends in zip-lock bags. Honestly, I heard of of such wierd and disrespectful things happening but I thought the stories were fiction. Such actions (distributiing the cremains, making jewlery out of the cremains or placing the cremains on the mantle or in a home closet) clearly show a rejection (subtle as it may be) of the blessedness of the human body and it being a temple of the Holy Spirit. I am, quite frankly, a bit crazed by the practice of doing any but what the Church asks to be done with the cremains. 

Watch the news story "The Church on Cremantion"
ENDOW.jpgENDOW (Educating on the Nature & Dignity of Women) is a Catholic educational program bringing women together to discover what it means to be a woman, made in God's image and likeness holding a God-given dignity known in being a person. ENDOW is a new feminism promoting the beauty of being a woman.

ENDOW is work was begun in the Archdiocese of Denver and because of its importance the archbishop gave ENDOW a moral standing in the Church by making it a private juridic person. ENDOW exists in 87 dioceses in the USA and a few in Canada. Before ENDOW begins its work in a particular (arch)diocese it asks the permission of the diocesan bishop for his approval and blessing.

The Religious Sisters of Mercy (Alma) helped to write the formation materials aimed at cultivating a true sense of what it means to be a woman through faith, friendship and formation. ENDOW is oriented to the various ages of women in the groups. Age differential helps women work with each other based on experience and wisdom. 

What is a woman's human dignity? Why is it important to have an appreciation for a woman's human dignity? First, we have to understand and accept that our value comes from God the Father; that the God created us specifically. Second, we need to have understanding that we live in a relationship of love of/with God, self and the other. Love is sacrificial (sometimes we have to give up our plans for the sake of another) and we find ourselves in giving ourselves to another. Only in self-giving love do know who we are as persons. Therefore, our personhood is not determined by the culture at large. John Paul taught us that all people, particularly women as we are speaking of here, can humanize the context of our lives (at work, home, among friends), it is a special gift of being woman. People like John Paul and Benedict, and others, have said that  the whole world change for the better if you can change woman's heart, form and heal the hurt of women. The culture has radically hurt women over the centuries that need for healing. Learning and living the truth of our personhood in light of what God intends for us to be will have implications for our lives in the areas of relationships, sex, work, having a healthy psychology, physicality, etc.

Find out by reading about a woman's dignity as developed on Pope John Paul II's Letter to Women and Mulieris Dignitatem.

This is not a self-help program. It is an educational program in contact with the Lord. God determines who we are as persons, made in His image and likeness. Courses proposed by ENDOW are offered for adults and youth; it's supposed to be parish based but some study circles may happen at home; groups of 8-12 are generally the norm. Study guides and leader training guides are available. The idea is to function more-or-less like a "book club" but the work done on a text is meant to dig deeply into faith formation of/for women among friends.

I would hope parishes and Catholic chaplaincies at high schools and universities would adopt the ENDOW methodology.
The work of holiness is supposedly on our lists of things "to do." Yet, we bounce from thing to thing, place to place, guru to guru without considering the true source of holiness and how holiness develops. Yes, it is a work but it is not something imposed on us by an external force. As St Gregory of Nyssa once said, "For the quality of holiness is shown not by what we say but by what we do in life." No gift can be imposed on someone, neither from God nor from another. We can never take a gift but only be open to receiving a gift. This is particularly true in meeting God and a friend.

Several other thoughts about our desire for holiness come to mind. Holiness is truly being yourself as God means for us to be. Holiness is an invitation made to us to be in a relationship with God; holiness is another way of speaking about a friendship with God through Jesus under the power of the Holy Spirit. It is taking our human needs more and more seriously right now.

I was reading the soon-to-be-made "blessed," John Henry Newman and as usual, he hit the nail on the head. So squarely did he diagnose my spiritual and fraternal problems that I shuttered. I wondered: can anyone be so completely transparent to another so as to truly honest and let all inhibitions fall to the side? Can anyone be so transparent to God? It's as though Newman is talking about standing completely naked before another, warts and flab and all and hear the words: I love you, I trust you; there is nothing that can dissaude me from loving you. Newman's words below completely went numb, then I felt relieved, then I was afraid, and so on. How could anyone get it so right? 

Read Newman's assessment and let me know if you agree.

Perhaps the reason why the standard of holiness among us is so low, why our attachments are so poor, our view of life so dim, our belief so unreal, our general notions so artificial and external is this, that we dare not trust each other with the secret of our hearts. We have each the same secret, and we keep it to ourselves, and we fear that, as a cause of estrangement, which really would be a bond of union. We do not probe the wounds of our nature thoroughly: we do not lay the foundation of our religious profession in the ground of our inner man: we make clean the outside of things: we are amiable and friendly to each other in words and deeds, but our love is not enlarged, our bowels of affection are straightened, and we fear to let intercourse begin at the root: and in consequence, our religion viewed as a social system is hollow, the presence of Christ is not in it. (Plain and Parochial Sermons, V, pp. 126-7).
Fr Linus blessing Fr Ambrose.jpg

Preaching the first Mass of a newly ordained member of his monastic community, Benedictine Father Ambrose Bennett cited "Emmanuel Cardinal Suhard, who served as Archbishop of Paris in the post-war years, expressed this mystery [of the priesthood] very eloquently in a beautiful pastoral letter that he wrote to his priest on Holy Thursday of 1949:

At the altar, the priest, like Christ, is the [sacrificial] victim. But he is also the sacrificer; he is then the dreadful man, the one who works death, the one who slays sin and burns it, the one who is crucified and who crucifies, the one who cannot save the world, nor will consent to its salvation, save through nailing it to the Cross. "Without the shedding of blood there is no redemption" (Heb. 9.22)... That is why the priest in relation to society must always be somehow or other its adversary. He will never be forgiven for recalling and perpetuating, from generation to generation, Christ, whom they thought they had suppressed forever... Far from being a fatherly adviser or a good-natured citizen, a priest is, like God, a terrible being. He is a fighting man... Like Saint Michael, he challenges the Dragon, dragging him out of ambush by healing men's hearts, so as to crush one by one his ever resurgent heads. Although it is too frequently overlooked, a priest is an exorcist...; he has the power and the duty of expelling the Devil (Cardinal Suhard, Priests Among Men, pp. 82-83; 44-45).

communion distribution.jpgAND you wonder why fewer and fewer people take the Anglican Church (or the Episcopal Church if you are American) with a degree of seriousness. Recently a Church of Canada priestess gave communion to a German Shepherd as a "simple church act of reaching out." What a gesture of welcome! This act is not only contravening "church policy" as much as it is an acknowledgement that the real Presence of Christ is not a Reality for these people. Policy is has nothing to do with it, does it? But if the Anglicans of the Church of Canada simply believe Communion is a symbol or that it represents something else.... Sounds like Joseph Campbell, Derida and many Protestant theologians (e.g. Borg, Tillich and Bultmann) are patron saints of mere symbol and not of Jesus Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity.

What comes to mind is Flannery O'Connor's famous insight when she said to hell with a symbol. O'Connor said:

"I was once, five or six years ago, taken by some friends to have dinner with Mary McCarthy and her husband, Mr. Broadwater.... She departed the Church at the age of 15 and is a Big Intellectual.... Toward morning the conversation turned on the Eucharist, which I being the Catholic, was obviously supposed to defend. Mrs. Broadwater said when she was a child and received the host, she thought of it as the Holy Ghost, He being the most portable person of the Trinity; now she thought of it as a symbol and implied that it was a pretty good one. I then said, in a very shaky voice, "Well if it's a symbol, to hell with it." That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable."

Nuns land record deal

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Benedictine in France.jpgThe Benedictine nuns of the French abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Le Barroux (near the famed Avignon) landed a music contract with Universal Music. This is the same label as Lady Gaga and Elton John.

I doubt Lady Abbess will be consulting with Lady Gaga on the record details. BUT do you think they might take a clue from the Erie Benedictines performing "kum bay ya" on the Ed Sullivan Show?

Congrats to the nuns!!!
Boadt.jpgPaulist Father Larry Boadt, 67, died Saturday after a long illness.

No theology student is able to escape Father Boadt's work on the Old Testament with his substantial book, Reading the Old Testament. He's also credited with publishing several works on the diaconate, ecumenism and matters pertaining to inter-faith relations.

Here is the Paulist Fathers obit for Father Boadt.

Well done, good and faithful servant. May your memory be eternal.
Santiago de Compostella con el Rey.jpgAlmighty Father, by the martyrdom of Saint James You blessed the work of the early Church. May his profession of faith give us courage and his prayers bring us strength.

This year is being dedicated to Saint James the Greater (known as the Jacobean Holy Year or Año Santo Jacobeo). The holy year dedicated to Saint James is observed when his feast falls on a Sunday, as it does today. The ceremonial opening of the Holy Year begins as it does in Rome with the opening of the Holy Door; if you read Spanish you'll find the January ceremonial described here.

Read King Juan Carlos' 2010 message --the Offering-- during his visit to the Shrine of Saint James (Santiago de Compostella).
"There are many companionships. I don't say, "Choose one," but follow the one that Christ has put you in, that Christ has had you meet, the one that first struck you convincingly."

Monsignor Luigi Giussani, Founder of Communion and Liberation

Thomas à Kempis

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Thomas a Kempis.jpg
In the Episcopal Church USA today is the liturgical memorial of Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471). He's not venerated as a saint in the Catholic but his liturgical prayer is worth noting, not least because of his famous spiritual work the Imitation of Christ. Read the encyclopedia article on Kempis.

Holy Father, you have nourished and strengthened your Church by the inspired writings of your servant Thomas a Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what is necessary to be known, to love what is to be loved, to praise what highly pleases you, and always to seek to know and follow your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Sharbel Makhlouf

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St Charbel 04.jpgThe mountain heights of Lebanon
Resound with songs of joy;
The cedars of that ancient land
Stand tall as we employ
Our hymns of praise and thankfulness
For Sharbel's saintly ways,
Lived out in strict humility
That guided all his days.

True monk and hermit of the hills,
Saint Maron's modest son
Scorned wealth and comfort in his life
That heaven's crown be won.
Of Mary, heaven's Queen and Gate,
Devoted son was he,
Who cherished all the ancient rites
With great humility.

Fierce lover of the lowly life,
True father of the poor,
As you have done, so help us all
To struggle and endure,
That Christ be praised in ev'ry life,
That riches not ensnare
Or rule us in our daily walk;
That strong may be our prayer!

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,
One God in persons three,
Receive this hymn we offer now,
And keep your Church e'er free
To follow, as Saint Sharbel did,
Enflamed with love so bright
That we, with eyes fixed firm on Christ,
May vanquish sin's dark night.

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
CMD; FOREST GREEN, RESIGNATION
B16 No Applause.jpg
Hat tip to Fr Guy Selvester at Shouts in the Piazza for posting this image. Indeed, the sacred Liturgy is worship of the Blessed Trinity not a time for introducing secular measures of approval and disapproval. I was at a priest friend's funeral today and after the homily was finished a member of the laity started the congregation in an applause. Not only was it out of place it bore no relation to the reality of the meaning of the Sacrifice of the Mass being celebrated by the Archbishop of Hartford (himself seemingly surprised yet he drew more attention to the fact that it happened). Not that my friend Father Brian didn't deserved some thoughtful acknowledgement for his extraordinary human and priestly qualities but at his Mass of Christian Burial applause was out of place. Paying attention to human sentiment and emotion is very important but there are appropriate times for external awareness. Something similar happened after a music piece was perforned earlier this week at a Mass which I attended for a friend's nephew who took his life. No doubt we were all feeling the rawness of emotion of a young man's suicide but is the Liturgy the place for secular displays of feeling. My friend Father Ambrose has fought for keeping applause out of the school Mass at St Louis Abbey's conventual Mass celebrated with the student body in attendance...

Saint Bridget of Sweden

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St Bridget of Sweden2.jpgIn Christ's death, I have died now;
In Christ I live anew.
With faith in God's Son, Jesus,
That keeps me ever true,
I know the love he's shown me,
That washed my sin away.
His cross, which daily leads me
And guides me as I pray.

Thus Bridget, monarch, mother,
Good spouse and Christian wise,
Lived Jesus' sacred Passion
Each day before his eyes.
She loved the poor and lowly,
Gave all her store away,
Called men and women to her
To live the gospel way.

Give glory to the Father,
Whose loving plan ordained
That we should each be purchased
From sin and sorrow's shame!
Give glory to Christ Jesus,
Whose death has set us free!
Give glory to the Spirit;
To God, the One-in-Three.

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
76 76 D; PASSION CHORALE
SrMiriam CK.jpgNot long ago St Emma Monastery became an independent monastery after years of being dependent on their motherhouse, Abtei St Walburga, Eichstatt, Germany. Mother Franziska Kloos set the nuns of St Emma's out on their own now as a canonically established conventual priory! The formal installation with a blessing of Mother Mary Anne by the Bishop of Greensburg, the Most Reverend Lawrence E. Brandt happened on April 18.

The 12 nuns, including 1 novice, live the monastic life. 

Be sure to read the recent newsletter (at link above) which tells the story.

Let's pray for the first Conventual Prioress, Mother Mary Anne Noll.

May God be glorified!
2010 Newman Conference August 5-7, 2010
National Institute for Newman Studies

This year's conference theme is "A Reflection on the Life, Thought, and Spirituality of John Henry Newman in Celebration of His Beatification."

JH Newman.jpg
Over 25 speakers will deliver papers on such varied topics as "Principles of Newman's Theological Reading of the Fathers," "Newman and Twentieth-Century Literary Converts: Lowell, Merton, and Day" and "Holiness in the Parochial and Plain Sermons: Its Nature, Aids, and Obstacles." 

Keynote addresses will be given by Fr. Ian Ker, of Oxford University, Dr. Terrence Merrigan, of the Catholic University of Leuven, and Dr. Cyril O'Regan of the University of Notre Dame. 

The August conference in Pittsburgh will begin with a Mass celebrated by Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik. Deacon Jack Sullivan, the man who was healed through Newman's intercession, will offer the homily.

Conference details and registration information is available on the Newman Association's website.
Francis Assisi Chullikatt.jpgEdward Pentin makes a brief intro of the new Apostolic Nuncio to the United Nations, Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt, JCD, 57, 32 years a priest and four years a bishop. The new nuncio is the first non-Italian to hold this appointment; he's also worked at the New York Mission of the Holy See and other diplomatic missions for the Apostolic See.

The news post of the Conference of Religious India Bulletin

Here is the homily delivered by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo on the occasion of the episcopal ordination of His Excellency.

May God grant the Archbishop his heart's desire as expressed in his motto, Fidei in Virtute (By the power of faith) that all will be accomplished for the True, the Beautiful, the Good and the One.

Saint Mary Magdalene

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St Mary Magdalene.jpgIn hours of darkness, Mary
Prayed psalms throughout the night,
"I searched throughout the city
Until the morning light;
And then I saw the watchmen,
And asked them, in their way,
'Have you seen him my heart loves?'
As night turned into day."

Thus Mary, in her weeping,
Went searching near and far,
And could not find her Master,
The bright and Morning Star.
She thought she saw the gard'ner,
And asked where Jesus lay;
She heard his voice say, "Mary!"
And there stood Christ, the Way. 

We thank you for the witness
That she bore for your Son,
The faith she kept proclaiming
Until her life was done.
All glory to the Father,
All glory, Risen Son!
All glory to the Spirit,
True Godhead, only One!

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications
76 76 D; AURELIA
Fr Monnerat.jpgPlease keep in your prayers the repose of the soul of the Reverend Father Brian W. Monnerat, 60, priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, who died, July 14, 2010, while on vacation with his family. He was ordained a priest in 1988, when I first met him. This is a sad time for the archdiocese.

Father Brian was the pastor of Saint Matthew Church, Forrestville, CT.

A special prayer for priests, and for those who struggle with their weight and have cardiac problems.

Come Holy Spirit. Come through Mary.
St Louis Abbey church exterior2.JPGThese last 9 days I've been in St Louis, MO visiting friends, lay and monastic (including Mrs. Casey!). I periodically return to St Louis the scene of some studies I did at St Louis University between 1994 and 1997. I stayed with the Benedictine monks of Saint Louis Abbey; there I have many old friends.

When I went to St Louis in 1994 I didn't expect to meet Benedictine monks as I was fully ensconsed in the life and works of the Society of Jesus. While I did hear of the St Louis monks, I really never thought that a friendship would flower with them. By Divine Providence I met two monks, Fathers Gerard and Gregory, at a consecration of a Coptic Orthodox Church. The monks had some Copts in their school and so being at the church consecration was a natural thing to do and I was there because of my high interest in Eastern Christianity. Plus, who could resist saying you met a pope, the Coptic Orthodox pope, Shenouda? To this day I still get some mileage out that anecdote.

Ambrose models a warm fuzzy.JPG
From the providential meeting of the two priests I met other monks with whom I have had the privilge of being friends. Over the years the company has grown and for that grace, I am very grateful.

I haven't been back to St Louis in the past three years. Since then the city and various suburbs have changed for the better with buidling and/or renovating public places and the like. I love the many new stores and the restaurants. Actually, there are many good eats in the greater St Louis area! But some things remain the same: a people who know each other vs. the terrific annonymity of many east coast cities. Sometimes, I have to say, St Louis is too small....

Time spent at the abbey and with other friends was truly delightful. I went particularly to see Fr Ambrose whom I hadn't seen in a while and with whom I share many things, not the least being Rome and warm fuzzies. Fr Ambrose is modeling a warm fuzzy in the picture to the right.

I happily had the opportunity to visit with the students of St Louis Priory School making what is affectionately known as "Monkamp" (i.e., 4 days' introduction to the monastic way of life, or at least the fundamentals of it --prayer, manual labor, community, silence, balance, study and fun); monkamp is a small effort at vocation promotion. At some point I had terrific dinner with a classmate who 
abbey coat of arms.JPGremains in the Gateway City, David Miros, invitations to getting ice cream at Ted Drews (3x), a "drive-by" meeting with Tim Hercules, making an attempt with Fr Ambrose at having a Lebanese lunch at St Raymond's Maronite Cathedral (instead we went for something equally as exoctic, Indian, as the Lebanese lunch was closed for a month), and the meandering around St Louis University and seeing an old friend who was recently ordained a Jesuit priest, Kevin Dyer, etc. While visiting St Raymond's I ran into an old friend who told us of the tragic killing of her grandaughter, Gina, a few months ago by teenage muggers. Roxy's recounting the crime moved me to tears. Pray for Roxy and her family as they deal with the aftermath. Gina, a single mother leaves two sons, one of whom witnesses the brutality of his mother's murder.

BVM.JPG
Crucially important for me was the time spent with the monks in their fraternal life. Theirs is a more intense life than many US Benedictine monks in that their day begins with Office of Vigils at 5:35 am and ends with Compline at 7:40 pm with three other parts of the Divine Office, Mass and Lectio Divina integrated into the day complemented with care for the senior monks, house duties, parish and school work. Free time (holy leisure) is not often found, sadly. Besides the Priory School (junior and high) the monks are the pastors of Saint Anselm Church, the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine (the traditional Mass crowd), and a vibrant Oblate program.

PAZ with Brs Sixtus with Aidan2.JPG
Catching up with Brothers Sixtus, Aidan, Mark, Maximillian, Edward, and with Fathers Ambrose, Linus (the newly ordained), Dominic and Bede (for an afternoon), et al, was good for me because I am edified by their witness. These are great men living a vocation that is engaging, attractive, life-giving and lived in order that God be glorified.
 
Particularly joyful for me was to see Brother Sixtus following his solemn profession of vows, and to see Brother Aidan. In the photo to the left is Br Sixtus and Brother Aidan.

Let us pray to Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Graces and to Saints Louis, Benedict, Scholastica, Walburga, Emma and Gertrude for the monks, their benefactors, Oblates and co-workers & students.

Other pictures found here.

God gives all a vocation

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Every man is a vocation, the Pope tells us in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate; he has a vocation. Why? Because man is by nature a being who listens, a given being; before him, there is another who gives meaning to his life. We came into the world because there is someone who loved us first: at the beginning is always love, the gift, and when we consider ourselves, we realize that we feel the need to redirect ourselves toward the source from which we come. We came from the eternal love of God.

And when we enter into the mystery of God's love, we feel almost a fear, a tremor, like the prophet Isaiah. Contemplating the mystery of God, it almost seems like we are dying, because we feel all our fragility and weakness; but when the mystery of God enters into even our fragility, into our weakness, it purifies us. God does not enter into our lives to annihilate us, but to free us and allow life to be manifested in its fullness. And purified by God, we discover untold energy within us, and then if man by himself can do nothing, man with God can do everything. Nothing is impossible for God, and we are called every day- we created beings, we who have a vocation- we are called every day to rediscover the eternal mystery of God, to experience our weakness and fragility, and at the same time, to experience the merciful and renewing grace of God. And on God's side, under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with Jesus who has risen and called us to be his friends and brothers, we can do great things. We can be at the service of his kingdom and make the kingdom of God triumph first in ourselves and then by the witness of life we want to give.

Archbishop Velasio De Paolis, CS
Homily excerpt, Legion of Christ
July 10, 2010
OR.jpgThe art world is abuzz due to an article in L'Osservatore Romano on Sunday stating that a "lost Caravaggio" may now be found.

The as yet unauthenticated painting, "The Martyrdom of St Lawrence," owned by the Society of Jesus, is thought to be a Caravaggio because it has the hallmarks of a Caravaggio, including dramatic lighting effects, the L'Osservatore Romano said. "Certainly it's a stylistically impeccable, beautiful painting," the article stated in its Sunday edition. "One can't but be reminded of works like the Conversion of St Paul, the Martyrdom of St Matthew and Judith and Holofernes."

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is the acknowledged pioneer of the Baroque painting technique of contrasting light and dark known in Italian as "chiaroscuro." It is estimated that about 80 of the painter's works are extant. He was born in Milan and trained there under Titian. Many are also aware of the artist's wild lifestyle and the alleged murder he committed of a man in a brawl and then fled Rome. Moreover, Caravaggio's mysterious death in 1610 has long intrigued scholars. Among the theories of his disappearance are that he was killed on a deserted Tuscan beach or collapsed there due to an illness. Italian anthropologists announced last month they had found the famous artist's mortal remains. The artist's club is observing the 400th anniversary of the artist's death.

Leave it to the Jesuits to have at least two Caravaggio's!

I've had some spare time to read and so this morning I pondered the address given by Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People at the 2010 Conference of European University Chaplaincies, 14-18 June 2010. The title of the address is "Young hearts and minds toward 'Peace, Reconciliation, and Social Justice."

A few paragraphs that I thought would be germane for reflection and deeper prayer.


Pope John Paul II ... wrote that "forgiveness is above all a personal choice, a decision of the heart to against the natural instinct to pay back evil with evil. The measure of such a decision is the love of God who draws us to himself in spite of our sin.  Forgiveness therefore has a divine source and criterion. Forgiveness, as a fully human act, is above all a personal initiative (World Day of Peace message 2002). The ability to forgive lies at the very basis of the idea of a future society marked by justice and solidarity. Peace is essential for development, but true peace is made possible only through forgiveness and reconciliation" (ibid).

Pope Benedict XVI, in his Message to the youth in 2007, invited them to "dare to love" and not to desire anything less for their life than a love that is strong and beautiful: love that is capable of making the whole of their existence a joyful undertaking of giving themselves as a gift  to God and their brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love (cf. Rev 5:13). Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilizations.

Pope John Paul II in fact was convinced that the future far lies in the hands of the youth. The future of peace lies in their hearts. To construct history, as they can and must, they to free history from the false paths it is pursuing. To do this, the youth must have a deep trust in the grandeur of the human vocation -a vocation to be pursued with respect for truth for the dignity and inviolable rights of the human person. Pope Wojtyla felt the feeling of the modern youth indeed. He said that he saw them being touched by the hunger for peace; that they are troubled by so much injustice around them and sense overwhelming danger in the gigantic stockpiles of arms and in the threats of nuclear war; that they suffer when they see widespread hunger and malnutrition and are concerned about the environment today and for the coming generations; that they are threatened by unemployment and many already without work and without the prospect of meaningful employment and are upset by the large number of people who are oppressed politically and spiritually and who cannot enjoy the exercise of their basic human rights as individuals or as a community. All this can give rise to a feeling that life has little meaning. In this situation, some may be tempted to take flight from responsibility: in the fantasy worlds of alcohol and drugs, in short-lived sexual relationships without commitment to marriage and family, in indifference, in cynicism and even in violence. Pope John Paul II invited them therefore to be themselves on guard against the fraud of a world that wants to exploit or misdirect their energetic and powerful search for happiness and meaning. He invited them not to avoid the search for the true answers to the questions that confront them (World Day of Peace 1985).

L'Osservatore Romano
June 23, 2010
Even in the summer the Pope meets the faithful at the residence in Castel Gandolfo to give a brief reflection before praying the midday Angelus. He's on vacation so-to-speak, though he continues with meetings and writing and the like on a much reduced schedule. A paragraph from yesterday's address on vacation and God is noteworthy as many of us are now taking time off from work for leisure activities. The Pope emphasizes in his reflection that Christ is clear: the active life and hospitality are essential in discipleship but it is absolutely necessary to listen to the Word of the Lord. The heart of St Luke's narrative of the Martha & Mary event is that in "the Lord is there in that moment, present in the person of Jesus! Everything else will pass and will be taken away from us, but the Word of God is eternal and gives meaning to our daily activity."

And so, we have the heart of Benedict's message:


Christ with Martha & Mary.jpg
This Gospel passage [on Martha and Mary, Luke10:38-42] is very important at vacation time, because it recalls the fact that the human person must work, must involve himself in domestic and professional concerns, to be sure, but he has need of God before all else, who is the interior light of love and truth. Without love, even the most important activities lose value and do not bring joy. Without a profound meaning, everything we do is reduced to sterile and disordered activism. And who gives us love and truth if not Jesus Christ? So let us learn, brothers, to help each other, to cooperate, but first of all to choose together the better part, which is and will always be our greater good.
taft.jpgThe Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches should own up to their past misdeeds and work to restore communion, according to Archimandrite Robert F. Taft, SJ.

Fr. Taft, a Jesuit priest of the New England Province and professor emeritus of the history of Byzantine Liturgy at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, said that the rift between the churches was sustained primarily by offensive actions--not theological differences. He delivered "Perceptions and Realities in Orthodox-Catholic Relations Today," on June 28 at Fordham University.

"The main problem that we Catholics and Orthodox face in our ecumenical dialogue is not doctrine but behavior," Fr. Taft said. "The issue is not that Catholics and Orthodox do not know how to pray and believe and live Christianity in the right and true apostolic way. The problem is that we do not know how to act."

He pointed to Catholic "uniatism"--aggression against another church--as a major problem blocking fruitful dialogue between the religions. He added that although the Orthodox faith has been victimized, it also refuses to admit its own misdeeds.

Fr. Taft advocated a system of "ecumenical scholarship and theology"--a new way to study Christian tradition that seeks to reconcile and unite, rather than to confute and dominate. To accomplish this, the Catholic and Orthodox churches must recognize one another as historic apostolic sister churches, he said.

The point of this new ecumenical theology is not that Catholics and Orthodox never disagree. "What it does mean, is that at the official level, disagreements can be discussed truthfully and courteously, without invective, rudeness, and slander," Fr. Taft said. [Fordham University]

Fr André Louf, OCSO RIP

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Thumbnail image for Andre Louf.jpgThe Trappist monk and prominent theologian and retreat master, Father André Louf, died on July 12, 2010. Louf was a monk of Mont-des-Cats, in France. He was born in 1929 in Leuven, Belgium; he entered the monastery in 1947 and elected abbot of his monastery in 1963, a ministry he exercised for 34 years. Upon retirement in 1997 he lived as a hermit and served for a while as a chaplain to a group of nun in the south of France.

Famously he was the author of the 2004 meditations of the Way of the Cross at the invitation of Pope John Paul II. If you've not read them, get your hands on a copy which are available online.

... The sentiment which, in the end, will prevail for the truly humble person is an unshakeable confidence in God's mercy of which he has tasted at least a glimmer even in the midst of failure. How then could he doubt any longer? (A. Louf, The Way of Humility)
 
His obit is here.

May Father André's memory be eternal!

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

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OL of Mt Carmel & St Simon jpgCardinal Newman in his admirable "Letter addressed to the Rev. E. B. Pusey, D.D., on occasion of his Eirenicon" (1865) says very aptly: "Theology is occupied with supernatural matters, and is ever running into mysteries, which reason can neither explain nor adjust. Its lines of thought come to an abrupt termination, and to pursue them or to complete them is to plunge down the abyss. St. Augustine warns us that, if we attempt to find and to tie together the ends of lines which run into infinity, we shall only succeed in contradicting ourselves" (Difficulties felt by Anglicans in Catholic Teaching, 5th ed., p. 430). It is widely agreed that the ultimate considerations which determine a true estimate of all particular points of the Christian tradition are doctrinal. No purely historical arguments, whether from antiquity or from silence, are ever decisive. They are subject to a further theological scrutiny and revision in the perspective of the total Christian faith, taken as a whole. The ultimate question is simply this: does one really keep the faith of the Bible and of the Church, does one accept and recite the Catholic Creed exactly in that sense in which it had been drafted and supposed to be taken and understood, does one really believe in the truth of the Incarnation?

Let me quote Newman once more. "I say then," he proceeds, "when once we have mastered the idea, that Mary bore, suckled, and handled the Eternal in the form of a child, what limit is conceivable to the rush and flood of thoughts which such a doctrine involves? What awe and surprise must attend upon the knowledge, that a creature has been brought so close to the Divine Essence?" (op. cit., page 431). Fortunately, a Catholic theologian is not left alone with logic and erudition. He is led by the faith; credo ut intelligam. Faith illuminates the reason. And erudition, the memory of the past, is quickened in the continuous experience of the Church.

A Catholic theologian is guided by the teaching authority of the Church, by its living tradition. But above all, he himself lives in the Church, which is the Body of Christ. The mystery of the Incarnation is still, as it were, continuously enacted in the Church, and its "implications" are revealed and disclosed in devotional experience and in sacramental participation. In the Communion of Saints, which is the true Church Universal and Catholic, the mystery of the New Humanity is disclosed as a new existential situation. And in this perspective and living context of the Mystical Body of Christ the person of the Blessed Virgin Mother appears in full light and full glory. The Church now contemplates her in the state of perfection. She is now seen as inseparably united with her Son, who "sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty." For her the final consummation of life has already come-in an anticipation. "Thou art passed over into Life, who art the Mother of Life," acknowledges the Church, "Neither grave nor death had power over the Mother of God... for the Mother of Life hath been brought into Life by him who dwelt in her ever-virgin womb" (Troparion and Kontakion for the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary).

Again, it is not so much a heavenly reward for her purity and virtue, as an "implication" of her sublime office, of her being the Mother of God, the Theotokos. The Church Triumphant is above all the worshipping Church, her existence is a living participation in Christ's office of intercession and his redeeming love. Incorporation into Christ, which is the essence of the Church and of the whole Christian existence, is first of all an incorporation into his sacrificial love for mankind. And here there is a special place for her who is united with the Redeemer in the unique intimacy of motherly affection and devotion. The Mother of God is truly the common mother of all living, of the whole Christian race, born or reborn in the Spirit and truth. An affectionate identification with the child, which is the spiritual essence of motherhood, is here consummated in its ultimate perfection. The Church does not dogmatize much about these mysteries of her own existence. For the mystery of Mary is precisely the mystery of the Church. Mater Ecclesia and Virgo Alater, both are birthgivers of the New Life. And both are orantes.

The Church invites the faithful and helps them to grow spiritually into these mysteries of faith which are as well the mysteries of their own existence and spiritual destiny. In the Church they learn to contemplate and to adore the living Christ together with the whole assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven (Heb. 12:23). And in this glorious assembly they discern the eminent person of the Virgin Mother of the Lord and Redeemer, full of grace and love, of charity and compassion -- "More honorable than the cherubim, more glorious than the seraphim, who without spot didst bear the Eternal Word." In the light of this contemplation and in the spirit of faith the theologian must fulfill his office of interpreting to believers and to those who seek the truth the overwhelming mystery of the Incarnation. This mystery is still symbolized, as it was in the age of the Fathers, by a single and glorious name: Mary Theotokos, the Mother of God Incarnate.

The Ever-Virgin Mother of God
Archpriest George Florovsky
San Bonaventure2 jpg"As for yourself, be self-possessed in all circumstances.... I am already being poured out like a libation." --From the Second Letter of Paul to Timothy, and from the Gospel of Matthew.

When the papal legates came to the Franciscan convent, bearing the cardinal's red hat of the see of Albano, they found Brother Bonaventure doing the dishes outside. In dishwater up to his elbows, the story goes, he pointed to the branch of a nearby tree and said, "Hang it there." Self-possession is all right up to a point. Myself, I'd have poured out that magic detergent as a libation, and have made a dive for the "merited crown reserved for me."

Saint Bonaventure had reason to be self-possessed. He was the general of the Franciscans at thirty-nine and curial cardinal a year before he died at fifty-nine. Just a year or so before this, his friend Aquinas had refused the archbishopric of Naples. And Saint Albert the Great, Aquinas' teacher in Cologne, died as the Archbishop of Regensberg.

All three men I've named were later designated doctors of the Church and all three were mendicant friars. Is there any realtion between their state in life and the theological eminence --or even their office as teachers of the least of the commandments? The answer, I think, is yes and no. The first concern of the early friars was not intellectual. It was to break out of the mold of static institutions which were impeding the spread of the Gospel. Monasticism meant hugh landholding --a princedom for the abbot-- as witness Monte Cassino where Saint Thomas did his grammar and high school. The parish clergy were illiterate. The monks who could read and preach were immobile. Francis, Dominic, the varying reform-fashioners of the Augustinians, the Carmelites, the Gilbertines, all decided to "get the Church moving." They brought the monastery into the marketplace; they preached sermons in the streets to octogenarians who had never heard a sermon before. They even invaded the new universities --already the preserve of the secular clergy. They were poor men, and let the light of their goodness and dedication shine. They became students perforce because the great charity which men of that time needed to have shown them was broken bread of God's word in all its purity and strength,

What the worker priests, the little brothers and sisters of Charles de Foucauld, lay missionaries and secular institutes are in our day, mendicant friars were in theirs. All human institutions, groupings excluding the family, tend to outlive their usefulness and die. That could include today's relgious orders as we know them. New needs arise. But some things are constant: charity, stability, chastity, wisdom, obedience, utter fidelity to the Master's message.

Gerard Sloyan
Homily, NOYP, 197-99
The monthly Mass for couples suffering from infertility and recurrent miscarriage, followed by a support group for couples with infertility or a talk about the NaProTECHNOLOGY approach to treating infertility, will be held this evening at St. Catherine of Sienna Parish, 411 W. 68th St., New York.

Schedule
 
6:00 pm           Confessions
6:30 pm           Mass
7:15 pm           Support Group OR NaProTECHNOLOGY Talk by Dr. Mielnik
 
All events are open to the public and free of charge.
 
All are welcome to attend this beautiful night of recollection which is co-sponsored by The Dominican Friars Healthcare Ministry of NY and The Gianna Center for Women.
 
Dr. Mielnik will be available after the talk to answer questions about NaProTECHNOLOGY as well.
The Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith published today the norms reforming the law and process in dealing with clergy sex abuse cases under a motu proprio signed by Pope Benedict XVI, titled, Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela (May 21, 2010).

The Introduction

The historical background: Historical Intro SST.pdf

The letter to the bishops: SST letter to bps.pdf

The Norms (Normae de Gravioribus Delictis)

The changes made; Summary of SST modifications.pdf


Saint Bonavenure

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San jpgThe feast of the great theologian and Doctor of the Church, Saint Bonaventure, is observed today. A theologian points us toward what is revealed by God, and so a thought of his helpful for us today.

We have been brought to life through Christ. The apostle makes this known in [the] passage when he says: "He has brought us to life together with Christ." The apostle says this because God brings is to life in Christ, with Christ, through Christ, and according to Christ.

In the first place, God has brought us to life in Christ, because he has shared our mortality of life in his person, according to that passage in John: "As the Father has life in himself, even so he has given to the Son as life in himself" (5:26). Therefore, if the Son has life in himself, while he has taken to himself our mortality, he has joined us to the true and immortal life, and through this he has brought us to life in himself.

He has brought us to life with Christ, while Christ himself, who was life, lived among mortal men... So while he was seen on earth and lived among men (Bar 3:28), God brought us to life with Christ, when he made us live with him.

 He also brought us to life through Christ, when he snatched us from death through his death, according to that passage of the First Epistle of Peter: "Christ also died once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us back to God. Put to death indeed in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit" (3:18). When Christ laid down his life for us, God brought the dead human race to life through him.

Finally, he brought us to life according to Christ when he guided us through the path of life according to his example, according to that passage of the psalmist: "You have known to me the paths of life when he gave us faith, hope, charity, and the gifts of grace. To these he added the commands according to which Christ himself walked and in which the path of life consists. It is according to these that Christ has taught us to walk. God has brought us to life according to Christ because he guides his imitators to life.

Saint Bonaventure (+1274)

What are you reading?

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just_funny_dogs.jpgJust for fun I am reading Martin Luther's essay "Against the Robbing and Murdering Hordes of Peasants."

What are you chewing on today?
Bl Katerit Tekakwitha.jpgBlessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1656 - 1680), is known popularly as the "Lily of the Mohawks" and the "Geneviève of New France." Kateri was born in the Mohawk area of Ossemenon in New York State, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Catholic Algonquin woman whom he had saved from captivity at the hands of the Iroquois. By the time she four years old smallpox killed her parents and her brother; she was left her scarred and with impaired eyesight.

Adopted by her uncle, the chief of the Turtle clan, and Kateri  had many offers of marriage. The Jesuit missionaries  (the Black Robes) gave some knowledge of the Catholic faith to Kateri that gave her the desire to live life not only as a Christian but as a virgin: a heroic determination at the time. However,  Kateri  was not baptized until she was 20. Because of her virtue she experienced persecution and death threats, she fled to the established Christian community at Kahnawake in Québec. Observers testify that Kateri advanced in communio with God taking on bodily mortifications with intense prayer; she died at the age of 24. Kateri Tekakwitha was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22 June 1980.
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... for a few days I am fishing for catfish ... and eating Ted Drews ...


St Teresa of the Andes.jpgOn the liturgical ordo of the Carmelite Order today is the feast of the relatively unknown saint outside some circles (on the Roman ordo today's saint is memorialized on April 12). Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes was born on July 13, 1900 and died on April 12, 1920 and having spent only 11 months as a Carmelite nun.

Baptized Juanita Fernandez Solar she took the name Teresa of Jesus of the Andes. Teresa of Jesus was the first Chilean to be canonized. She is today, a model for young people. The Church concerned for holiness proposes to us today this beautiful, young and "unaccomplished" saint as a perfect model for our journey.

The spiritual autobiography, if as compelling as the Little Flower's, can have a profound influence on someone (think also of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who was influenced by St Teresa of Avila), so much so that the young Teresa entered the Discalced Carmelite monastery of the Andes on May 7, 1919.

At Santiago de Chile Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa of Jesus on April 3, 1987 and the Pope later canonized her on March 21, 1993. Her brother Luis attended the beatification. Teresa is also the Discalced Carmelite nun to be canonized outside of Europe and the 4th "Teresa" of the Carmel Order to be canonized.

Read the Vatican's biography of Saint Teresa of Jesus of the Andes.
Scenes from the 2010 Northeast Coast Communion & Liberation Vacation in the Hudson Valley, outside New Paltz, New York, July 1-5, 2010 ... Can anything make life new again?

Vacation time offers the unique opportunity to pause before the thought-provoking spectacles of nature, a wonderful "book" within reach of everyone, adults and children. In contact with nature, a person rediscovers his correct dimension, rediscovers himself as a creature, small but at the same time unique, with a "capacity for God" because interiorly he is open to the Infinite. Driven by his heartfelt urgent search for meaning, he perceives in the surrounding world the mark of goodness and Divine Providence and opens almost naturally to praise and prayer. (Pope Benedict XVI)

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Wk of prayer for Christian Unity 2011.jpgEach year the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a theme and the theme for the 2011 observance of the Week of Prayer is One in the Apostles' Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread and Prayer.

The 2011 theme was announced by the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and the World Council of Churches. The Christians in Jerusalem are the major consultants for the 2011 observance. The theme's "inspiration" comes from Acts 2:42.

For more information on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2011 and other resources, visit the website.
McGivney Catholic High School.jpgMy friend Robin in Glen Carbon, IL, let me know about a fund raising opportunity for a new Catholic high school, Fr McGivney Catholic High School.

To my surprise, a new school is named for the Venerable Servant of God Michael J. McGivney, the priest who founded the Knights of Columbus here in New Haven.

May the Venerable Servant of God Michael J. McGivney intercede for this crucial endeavor.
Paul octopus.jpg... who would have thought that someone, anyone, would think that a common octopus named Paul, would select THE winner of the World Cup 2010!!!

The octopus is spared from the calamari plate one more time...

Well, I am partial to Paul the octopus!
Today, I was one of the acolytes at St Ann Melkite Church (Waterford, CT) for the Maronite Liturgy celebrated in the another Eastern Church, the Melkite Church. It is not typical for one Liturgy to be celebrated in a church of another Eastern Church but since there are a number of Maronite Catholics who live in southeastern Connecticut it was judged rightly to have the Maronite Liturgy this weekend. The Liturgy was done in both English and Arabic. My friend Archimandrite Edward Kakaty welcomed visiting Maronites with their priest from Our Lady of Lebanon Church, Waterbury, CT, to St Ann's.

For nearly three years I served as acolyte for the Maronite Liturgy and frequently the Melkite Liturgy so today was like coming home.

Watch part I of the Diving Liturgy here, part II here and part III here.

Saint Benedict

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Come! Lift your hearts to God on high,

That we be joined in praise this day,

For God has called this blessed man

Who leads us in Christ's narrow way.

From youth he sought to know God well,

Preferred, to all things else, Christ's love

That, freed within the three-fold vow,

His heart be set on things above.

He founded, in his holy zeal,

A school of service of the Lord

Where all might leave self-seeking cares,

That God in all things be adored.

His sons and daughters he has formed

To run the way of God's commands

Within the cloister and the world,

Through common life in many lands.

To men and women, monks and nuns,

Who strive within their rule to grow,

Give purity of heart; grant joy;

That in all thorns, Christ's peace they know.

O Father, Son, and Spirit blessed,

With Benedict we sing your praise.

All glory be, until that time

We join the saints for endless days.

 

J. Michael Thompson

Copyright © 2009, World Library Publications

LM; DUKE STREET, DEUS TUORUM MILITUM

PAZ & Monk Michael July 10 2010.jpgOn his way to Boston from his monastery in Gallion, Ohio, my friend Father Michael, an Orthodox monk, stopped by to see me and my parents. He also joined me at New Haven's School of Community on Friday eve (I dragged him to our CL meeting after a 14 hour drive).

Father Michael is an Orthodox monk of the Greek Orthodox Church; his monastic brotherhood at St Theodore House is a small group of convert monks living the monastic life and doing limited apostolic work.

Monk Michael has a terrific voice for God's greater glory and so he's practicing with the Boston Byzantine Choir for some forthcoming events and possible recording of a new CD. They've already recorded 4.

What made the visit easier (my parents have a small house) was the wonderful the overnight hospitality of the Benedictine Nuns of Jesus Crucified (Branford, CT). Plus, a monk needs his silence! The sisters were most gracious to receive Father Michael; it was good to renew my friendship with the sisters. Thanks be to God for the presence and friendship of these nuns and their witness.

I've known Father Michael since my time of studies in Cambridge. We some travel together with another friend and did fun things. Now, our points of real contact are few in number. I last saw Father Michael more than a year ago when he visited me in North Carolina (see the record), both he and I were at different places, as we are today. Surprise!

The Benedictine monks of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul have captured my personal, spiritual and theological imagination. Why? Because they seem to be attentive to the "right things" in the Rule of St Benedict and they are asking the right questions when it comes to their desires. Their history and on-going life as Benedictine monks is lived in light of the charism given to the Church in Communion and Liberation is strikingly beautiful and "on target" as far as I am concerned. They, though not perfect by any means, are attentive to their humanity; the monks are are attentive to their "I", the whole person. Plus, any group of monks to make beer (see this link for an Italian article/photos) can't be all that bad, can they? Visit the monks' website for their beer.

Below is the most recent article on the La Casinazza monks was published in the April issue of Traces; other articles on them con be found at the Traces webpage.


In front of Him: Silence, liturgy, work.

We spent 24 hours at the Benedictine monastery founded in 1971 on the edge of Milan, Italy. It is a place where, from bottling beer to plowing the fields, everything has value, because "it is in relation to Christ," and contributes to generating a people-even in Japan.

by Fabrizio Rossi

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"Do you see this fork? You might not even notice it. Or you might be amazed, because someone placed it on the table. Nothing can spare you from having to move: in the monastery or in any other place, you are the one that makes the difference." The heart of this place is summed up in these words. At La Cascinazza, the Benedictine monastery in the countryside outside of Milan, supper has just finished. The iron gate that separates this farm from the pastures, the fields, and the Milanese lowlands, is closed. By reciting the "Deo gratias," the monks have broken their silence.  Out of the 24 hours of the day, "recreation" is the only moment in which they can speak freely. And each word is precious, as I have just been shown by Giorgio, who was among the first men who founded this community almost 40 years ago (today there are 15 of them, including 2 Spaniards and a Brazilian, all with diverse backgrounds). As they gather together in the chapter room at the end of a day spent in silence, a certain confusion might be expected. Instead, no one talks over the other; they speak of how the work went, or they help each other to judge certain facts, or share prayer intentions. "It is not by chance," explains Fr. Sergio, the Prior, "that it is in the free moments that what we care about most emerges. In any case, there is no lack of arguments..." Just like a family. Then, at 8:40 pm, all arguments must give way. As silence returns, a monk reads aloud two pages of a work by Fr. Giussani (lately, it is Qui e ora [Here and Now], a collection of dialogues with university students), before closing the day in the chapel with Compline and the singing of "Ave, Regina Caelorum" with the lights out, before the icon of the Virgin Mary.

The life of these men is like the sun rising in the world, for "it is the moment in which humanity begins to be itself," as Fr. Giussani, who always felt close to the Benedictine experience, used to say to them. From the very beginning, he supported the vocations to the monastic life that began to spring up in the Movement, like those of the CL high school students who-having first lived at Subiaco, one of the monasteries founded by St. Benedict himself-were at the origin of La Cascinazza. These are men who are like a seed in the earth, destined to grow into a great tree-like the two cedars planted in the first years of the monastery, which now dominate the courtyard, facing the central wing of the farmhouse with the chapel on one side and, on the other, the tractor sheds.

Ora et labora. On the side, at the entrance beneath a small colonnade, is a schedule of the hours. Every day is the same: wake-up at 5:00 am. At 5:15, Divine Office in the chapel. Breakfast. Lauds at 6:50. Mass at 8:30. Then work. The Angelus at noon, then Sext. Lunch. At 3:00 pm, None. Study. Some work. The Angelus again. Vespers at 7:00 pm. Then, supper, recreation, and Compline... A routine? "The point is not to be constantly doing something different," says Rafael, from Spain. For a dozen years, he has been tending the garden, the orchard, and now also the monastery beehives. "Just as with a married couple, there is newness if they relive the fascination of the day they first met."

It is the newness that the monks are experiencing, also ever since they began to make beer, in the old stable converted into a brewery, the result of a search that took years. Ever since they discovered that what they grew themselves was not enough to sustain them, they have tried out a number of trades, even soldering microchips.

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Malt and valves. "Then a friend suggested, 'Why don't you try beer?'" recounts Fabrizio, 41, an architect from Alessandria, Italy. "This was a  job that would allow us to maintain our rhythms, in addition to carrying on a tradition that owes a lot to monks." So Fabrizio and Marco, an economist from Como, Italy,  in 2005 traveled to a Trappist Monastery  in Flanders to learn. After several attempts ("We started out in the kitchen with a pot!"), the first Italian monastic beer was born: "Amber," to which the dark version, "Bruin," was later added. "But the real novelty is what is happening amongst us." In the brewery, along with Fabrizio and Marco, are Quique, who arrived from Madrid in 2000, where he was a diocesan priest, and Pietro, who entered a little over a year ago, fresh from completing medical school. So, an architect, an economist, a theologian, and a doctor... "Each of us is different from the others. But it is the work that makes us grow in communion. That is how Sergio proposed it to us: 'Get together for one minute a week and ask yourselves why you are together.' It is a continual discovery." And there is no lack of struggle: "Think about the person that cleans the bathrooms," recounts Quique, who spent the first six years armed with gloves and a cleaning rag. "It is not what you would choose... But, as Sergio said to me one day, "in obedience, everything corresponds to you even if nothing corresponds." Sure, he needed time to understand: "Just as when I was asked to make beer. I objected for a year. 'I studied philosophy and theology; what do I have to do with malt and valves? The most fundamental thing, however, is not to keep from rebelling, but to give in to the relationship with that You. Now I see that to face someone is worth my while."

To face someone, in each instant.  The psalm sung a few hours ago, before the world had awoken, comes to mind: "To You I cry out day and night..." Or Mass, celebrated today by Fr. Claudio-who came from the city of Varese 35 years ago and who has the task of guiding the novices-in which one by one the monks brought the intentions that relatives and friends have asked for: "For Silvia's studies," "For those without work," "For Paolo and Pino's journey in Novosibirsk," "That Your face may illuminate the desperate..." Behind these walls, where news enters only if someone brings it, such attention to what is happening in the world-in real time-is striking, even if, apparently, not even L'Osservatore Romano or the Italian Bishops Conference newspaper ever arrive on time!

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"We are here to carry the cry of each man to Christ," explains Fr. Sergio who, in the 1970s, worked on the railroads and, hoping to respond to his own desire for meaning and for justice, threw himself into politics as a labor union activist. "The point is to be serious with one's own question; otherwise, you can look at any tragedy and remain indifferent. It is what I told the monks this morning in the chapter, reading a letter of St. Bernard: we cannot care for others if we forget ourselves." Hence, the value of silence: "To help each other recognize Someone present. Far from being mortification, it is what you do when faced with something beautiful: you are speechless. Imagine if Fr. Giussani lived upstairs: you would never hear the vacuum cleaner, but we would always be tensed toward his presence."

We are interrupted by the bell for lunch. It rings seven times a day just for prayers. And it reminds everyone of the same thing: "It is the Mystery calling. Perhaps you were in your cell, meditating on a wonderful text, and then the bell rings and you are provoked to look at something even greater." On the way to the refectory, we pass a painting by Letizia Fornasieri: two sunflowers on a table. It is like an offering on the altar: "This is why we are here. And those sunflowers remind us that even eating is a liturgy." In fact, when the horseshoe-shaped table is full, with the Prior at the center, the food is blessed. Today, there is tomato pasta along with a potato and walnut soufflé, thanks to Pippo, an architect who has lived here since 1985. While the other monks pass the dishes in silence, one of them reads aloud a passage from the Bible or from the Rule, along with other texts for meditation (for the record, today it is Fr. Claudio's turn, and the texts are some articles from the latest issue of Traces). Everything is for the glory of God. Whether you eat, whether you drink...

Even a coffee. St. Benedict had not foreseen it, but even this is part of his "welcome guests as you would Christ." The Prior offers it to us after lunch. And, in the meantime, he tells us the story of this place, about the two who had been CL high school students and how in 1968 they entered the monastery of Subiaco, about those who weren't accepted in 1970, about the esteem of the Abbot-President of Subiaco, Gabriel Brasó, for the experience of those young men and Fr. Giussani. And about this farm south of Milan, discovered by their mutual friend, Paolo Mangini, that would be the place for the monastery, born as a result of all these factors and the proposal of a new community. The proposal came from Bernardo Cignitti, an abbot from Savona who, on the heels of the Council and the exhortations of Paul VI, was deeply concerned about the rebirth of the Benedictine experience: "God writes straight with crooked lines," comments Bruno, one of the young men not accepted at Subiaco, who 40 years ago was a book binder and now does the same thing in La Cascinazza.  On June 29, 1971 (Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul, to whom the monastery is dedicated), eight monks attended the Mass that inaugurated La Cascinazza. During the homily Fr. Cignitti said, "I offer my life as fertilizer for this community." In September he died of a tumor.

 "For us, the relationship with Fr. Giussani was fundamental, above all in those years," remembers Fr. Sergio. "He always repeated to us that at the center of monastic experience there is no particular practice other than Baptism: if Christ is everything for me, He is for everyone." In the 1980s, the relationship with the Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, Carlo Maria Martini, was also decisive. He granted recognition to the community and in 1990 erected it as a Priory sui iuris according to diocesan law.

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The shadow of the moon.  With time, a whole host of relationships has been added to these ones, relationships one would least expect, like the Buddhist monks from Mount Koya in Japan who come to visit them annually, and like the friendship with the American painter William Congdon. Two of his paintings of La Cascinazza by night are hanging on the walls: "The monastery represents the self. The moon is the Mystery present, which illuminates it. From there, the shadow cast onto the courtyard-because out of that relationship a people is born." In 1959, after a long quest, Bill-as they all refer to him-met the faith, and lived the last 20 years of his life in a small house on the monastery grounds. "He was like one of us: a wounded man, facing the Mystery."

A wounded man. But a man in relation with that You.  Or, precisely because he was in relationship with that You: "When you fall in love, you are restless until you see that woman again," explains Rafael. "You miss her, precisely because she exists. She is part of you. That is why we experience nostalgia to the extreme: we are wounded because He exists."

Time is up. The monks have to return to work. As I pass by the two sunflowers, only one sound breaks the silence: silverware. In the refectory, someone is setting the table.

Carving-Candle.jpgThe Benedictine nuns of The Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut, have for several years run a monastic intern program where people come to live the life of the nuns, explore their vocation, gain a fuller appreciation of creation and experience healing (even if the healing isn't sought). The rhythms of life the nuns have are suited to being more humane and educative. The participants in the monastic internship program are not necessarily thinking of becoming nuns and priests, many pursue their life's calling as they know it by being teachers, doctors, lawyers or farmers.

A recent monastic intern, Brenna Cussen, wrote an essay on her experience, her desires and the calling she's received in "Craft and the Holiness of Matter." Scroll to the bottom of the webpage for the essay.
When I met the son of Saint Gianna Berretta Molla in May I thought, "Wow, this is amazing, I've made another connection with a saint!" Of course, in the back of my head I recalled that Saint Gianna's husband died this past spring. We usually don't think of saints and their families these days. In some ways, and perhaps in every way, abstracting a saint from his or her biological family (and friends) makes that saint too vague and plastic.

It wasn't until recent times that technology opened a new facet of a holy person's life by making it possible to have more accurate portraits and voice recognition. Video and audio files reveal the concrete person so as not to rely exclusively upon someone's "recollections" or hagiography no matter how accurate these memories or details may be. How different are our spiritual relationships with the likes of Saints Padre Pio, Josemaria, Blesseds John XXIII, Mother Teresa, Marianne Cope, and the Servant of God John Paul II  from the likes of Saints Benedict, Dominic, Francis and Agatha! Why mention this? I was reading the local newspaper's obits today and stumbled upon the death notice of Dorothy Lorraine Bessette Gazzola, 89, the grand niece of Blessed Andre Bessette. The family published Bessette-Gazzola's visiting her grand uncle in Montreal when she was a child. She knew a saint! She hugged and kissed a saint! She could relate personally with saint! How great is that!!!

Blessed Andre is due to be canonized a saint in October.
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O God, You specially strengthened Blessed Adrian with a wonderful spirit of holiness and courage. Hear the prayers of Your people and from his renowned example may we learn to be obedient to You rather than to human authority.


Blessed Adrian's collect for Mass tells his story: he was a lay Dominican (i.e., a third order member), a husband and a martyr. Blessed Adrian was known for his piety, sanity, and ethical life. A cousin of the famed Anne Boleyn, Adrian (1476-1539) opposed Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine. Twice married (Anne Stoner, Adrian's first wife died), he raised two daughters; history shows us that 12 years after the death of Stoner he married Anne Rede who bore three sons.

Adrian Fortescue served England as a Knight of the Bath (given the honor in 1503) and as a Knight of St. John in 1532 (seen in his Malta cape here) and Oxford's Justice of the Peace. Refusing to take the Oath of Supremacy which supported Henry's break with the Roman Church, at 62 years of age, Adrian was thrown in the Tower of London without formal charges and condemned by Parliament without trial and beheaded with Thomas Dinglay in 1539. The date of his death is disputed. Pope Leo XIII beatified Adrian on May 13, 1895.

On the liturgical calendar prayed by the Dominicans, today is the liturgical memorial of Blessed Adrian Fortescue; in some places you'll see his feast day listed as July 9.
Garima gospel page.jpgHave you asked yourself: What is the oldest piece of Christian art in the world today? I have. AND reading UK's Telegraph online I found out the answer to my question. A page in the famous Garima gospel collection was identified and re-dated.

Read the story here.

Facing our own reality, as it is present to us right now, can be an extraordinarily painful experience. Living in either the past or the future is not of the Holy Spirit. But we sometimes find ourselves nursing old wounds, angers, being scared by weaknesses. However, experience tells us if we look carefully, that living reality is superbly beautiful and freeing and loving, too. Fr Giussani points us to keep life real, to be faithful to life and to accept the grace of recognizing that Christ is in the center of life. Easier said than done most days. One's sin can be overwhelming and it has the ability to define our being if we are not careful. I found the following paragraph of Abbot Alban's to be helpful and real; he names the virtues we need to live as God wants us to live. Perhaps you'll take some solace from Abbot Alban's brief note, too,


Time and again, during our life, we shall meet with hardships which are the inevitable accompaniment of any attempt to lead a supernatural life on this earth. These will arise not only from the temptations which ... are the consequence of our own weakness and fault but also from all those trials and problems that arise from circumstances and people beyond our own control, things which will demand from us much humility, fortitude, generosity, forgiveness, patience with the "personality problems" [of others], patience with ourselves.... Only the spirit of compunction of heart will enable us to accept them ... [and] to transform them from bitter frustrations into a patient and even joyful sharing of the sufferings of Christ.

Alban Boultwood, Alive to God: Meditations for Everyone (Baltimore: Helicon, 1964), 64.

Bl Benedict XI.jpgEternal Shepherd, you made Blessed Benedict known for his great love of the brethren and his service to Your flock. By the help of his prayers may we ever be ardent in our fellowship and with one heart be steadfast in the household of the Church.


In the days leading up to the feast of Saint Benedict (Jul 11) I thought I'd look at some reflections on his influence on us today. The Saint has set the stage for so much in the Church today, especially for the spiritual life, that we need to pay clear attention to what he has to say.

Living in the presence of God, according to Benedict, shapes all realms of human life: prayer, work, interaction with creation, and relationships with other people. "Fellowship," that great slogan of our time, was for Benedict no contradiction to a devout love of God. The social dimension is always already religious, for in the brother as in the sister we encounter Christ himself.

Faith in God is made concrete for Benedict in a belief in the good core of the fellow human being. There faith is expressed in a new way of being with one another. That, for Benedict, is the basis of true humanity. It is not an uplifting ideal, but reality that confronts us again and again in daily situations.

Thus Benedict says in the chapter on the monastic counsel that the abbot is to call all the brothers to counsel because "the Lord often reveals what is better to the younger." For Benedict, then, it is clear that the Lord speaks to us through people, that he can speak to us through anyone, even a younger person who may have less experience and knowledge.

Anselm Grun, OSB, Benedict of Nursia: His Message For Today

Saint Maria Goretti

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St Maria Goretti.jpg"What does this fragile but christianly mature girl say to today's young people, through her life and above all through her heroic death?" Pope John Paul II asked on her feast day in 2003.

He went on to say: "Marietta, as she was lovingly called, reminds the youth of the third millennium that true happiness demands courage and a spirit of sacrifice, refusing every compromise with evil and having the disposition to pay personally, even with death, faithful to God and his commandments. How timely this message is.

Today, pleasure, selfishness and directly immoral actions are often exalted in the name of the false ideals of liberty and happiness. It is essential to reaffirm clearly that purity of heart and of body go together, because chastity 'is the custodian' of authentic love."
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St Thomas Aquinas didn't have a theological opinion on America's Independence for obvious reasons, but he did have at least two thoughts on the virtue of the fatherland and a Catholic's perspective in honoring one's homeland. He sets in clear terms the proper order of our praise for our origins. Aquinas wrote:

"The virtue of piety helps us pay worship not only to one's father but also to one's fatherland" (II-II, Q. 102, a3).

And in another place he said, "Our existence and guidance in life come primarily from God, secondarily from our parents and our native country.  Religion gives expression to the faith, hope and charity which fundamentally unite us to God; in the same way loyalty expresses the love we have for our parents and native country" (II-II, Q101, a2). 

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God of love, Father of us all in wisdom and goodness You guide creation to fulfillment in Christ Your Son. Open our hearts to the truth of His gospel, that Your peace may rule in our hearts and Your justice guide our lives.

A blessed 4th of July!
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Prayer to Follow Pier Giorgio

O Father, You gave to the young Pier Giorgio Frassati the joy of meeting Christ and of living his faith in the service of the poor and the sick; through his intercession may we, too, walk the path of the beatitudes and follow the example of his generosity, spreading the spirit of the Gospel in society. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.


When he beatified Pier Giorgio twenty years ago John Paul remarked in his homily that, 

"Today's celebration invites all of us to receive the message which Pier Giorgio Frassati is sending to the men and women of our day, but especially to you young people, who want to make a concrete contribution to the spiritual renewal of our world, which sometimes seems to be falling apart and wasting away because of a lack of ideals. By his example he proclaims that a life lived in Christ's Spirit, the Spirit of the Beatitudes, is "blessed," and that only the person who becomes a "man or woman of the Beatitudes" can succeed in communicating love and peace to others. He repeats that it is really worth giving up everything to serve the Lord. He testifies that holiness is possible for everyone, and that only the revolution of charity can enkindle the hope of a better future in the hearts of people."

Read Pope John Paul II's homily at the beatification of Pier Giorgio.

More information on Blessed Pier Giorgio at Frassati USA

A prayer to Mary

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JP & OL Guadalupe Dec 12, 2009.jpgMary, humble servant of God Most High, the Son to whom you gave birth has made you the servant of humanity. Your life was a humble and generous service. You were servant of the Word when the angel announced to you the divine plan of salvation. You were servant of the Son, giving him life and remaining opening to his mystery. You were servant of redemption, standing courageously at the foot of the cross, close to the Suffering Servant and Lamb, who was sacrificing himself for love of us. You were servant of the Church on the day of Pentecost and with your intercession you continue to generate her in every believer, even in these our difficult and troubled times. Let the young people of the third millennium look to you, young daughter of Israel, who have known the agitation of a young heart when faced with the plan of the Eternal God. Make them able to accept the invitation of your Son to give their lives wholly for the glory of God. Make them understand that to serve God satisfies the heart, and that only in the service of God and of his Kingdom do we realize ourselves in accordance with the divine plan, and life becomes a hymn a glory to the Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Pope John Paul II
11 May 2003
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Taking the extraordinary example of faith Thomas has, let live as though the real Presence meant something: My Lord and my God.


Almighty Father, as we honor Thomas the apostle, let us always experience the help of his prayers. May we have eternal life by believing in Jesus, whom Thomas acknowledge as Lord, for He lives and reigns with Your and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Some may have heard the idea "the new liturgical movement" used nowadays to describe a recovery of the sacred Liturgy that understands a continuity in the Liturgy that has existed through the ages and not just made up by scholars and hacks. John Allen explores the origin of this idea according to the thinking of Pope Benedict in a brief NCR article, "What Benedict means by a 'new liturgical movement.'

I would also recommend the book referenced by John Allen, Milestones. It is necessary reading for all sorts of things, not just trying to understand Joseph Ratzinger.

Blessed Junípero Serra

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God most High, Your servant Junipero Serra brought the gospel of Christ to the peoples of Mexico and California and firmly established the Church among them. By his intercession, and through the example of his apostolic zeal, inspire us to be faithful witness of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.


Blessed Junipero was born at Petra, Island of Majorca, November 24, 1713; he died at Monterey, California, August 28, 1784. Serra was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988.


Father James Kubicki, director of the Apostleship of Prayer, posted a note on his website inviting pray-ers/readers to send him possible prayer intentions.

As he said, "People often ask us where the Pope's prayer intentions come from. That's a great question with a great answer: they come from the Pope. And they can even come from you. If you have a prayer intention and would like more than 50 million people to pray for it, I invite you to send it to us, keeping in mind that it should be something that concerns the needs of the Church and the world. We forward intentions to our international office in Rome, where a number of them are selected to present to the Holy Father."

This is important to do. As you know, on the first day of each month I post for our prayer the intentions given by Pope Benedict to this Apostleship of Prayer. Well, they come from somewhere, written and proposed by someone, coming from real experience and real need that are placed before God.

You may send Father Kubicki your proposed prayer intention by reply e-mail or mail:

Apostleship of Prayer

3211 South Lake Drive, Suite 216

Milwaukee, WI 53235-3717

(414) 486-1152

info@apostleshipofprayer.org


PS: Don't forget to make your daily morning offering, today!

Casimira Kaupas.jpgAmong the decrees promulgated by Archbishop Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for Saints, is the recognition of heroic virtue of the Servant of God Maria Kaupas (in history Casimira Kaupas). She founded the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Casimir, in Scranton, PA, on August 29, 1907.

Casimira Kaupas was born in Ramygala, Lithuania on January 6, 1880 and died in Chicago on April 17, 1940. She faced bone cancer for eight years.

Now, this foundress will be known as the Venerable Servant of God Maria Kaupas. The next step is to identify and verify a miracle so that she can be beatified.
We all are united with the Church under the guidance of the Pope, Benedict XVI, in praying for the following intentions in the month of July. The Pope entrusts us with these prayers hoping that all of us, united in faith, hope and charity, would be aware of the needs of Mother Church and the world when we offer our daily sacrifice of prayer to God.

The general intention

That elections in every nation may be carried out with justice, transparency, and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens.

The missionary intention

That Christians may strive to promote everywhere, but especially in our cities, education, justice, solidarity, and peace.

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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This page is a archive of recent entries written by Paul Zalonski in July 2010.

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