Paul Zalonski: February 2011 Archives

Syria should be on your radar screen if you have an interest in the life of the Church. It's openness to Christianity today is startling bad. Freedom of religion and human rights lack; political oppression and basic needs are always in question. The current regime very likely nervous given the recent wave of political take-back. John Juliet Buck's Vogue magazine article on the Syrian First Lady, Asma al-Assad, "A Rose in the Desert" speaks to many issues in Syria, not least is religion. Thoughts of St John the Baptist's tomb hearken back to when in 2001 Pope John Paul II visited Syria and prayed at the tomb of the Baptist.

At first thought Ms al-Assad's deference to the importance of the Baptist is impressive but there's something that strikes me as false given recent history of her husband's family's rule of Syria viz. religious freedom. Plus, her interest in Christianity in Syria is not because the gospel is true, good and beautiful; her interest in the Church is cultural. The gospel in this context has been reduced to a system of culture and ethics --exactly what it's not. Syria is  Indeed, many religions have passed through those lands and one seems fairly certain that the current regime wants religions like Christianity to leave Syria and not turn back. Historically, Christianity has been in Syria since St Paul visited the country. It is the place, as we know, where the followers of Jesus were first called "Christians." Christians in Syria comprise 10% of the population with the largest group being the Greek Orthodox Church.

For me here's the relevant paragraph in the article:

Back in the car, Buck was answered about his investigation "what religion the orphans are?" "It's not relevant," says Asma al-Assad. "Let me try to explain it to you. That church is a part of my heritage because it's a Syrian church. The Umayyad Mosque is the third-most-important holy Muslim site, but within the mosque is the tomb of Saint John the Baptist. We all kneel in the mosque in front of the tomb of Saint John the Baptist. That's how religions live together in Syria--a way that I have never seen anywhere else in the world. We live side by side, and have historically. All the religions and cultures that have passed through these lands--the Armenians, Islam, Christianity, the Umayyads, the Ottomans--make up who I am."
St Gabriel of the Addolorata.jpgO good St. Gabriel, God inspired you to love the passion of Jesus as it was reflected in the heart of Mary, his mother. By her side, you stood beneath the cross of Jesus, gazing on him as she did, and sharing her compassion. O St. Gabriel, we wish, like you, to grow in love for God and all his people. Remember us in the trials of our life. Remember especially those who are young and in need.

Support us, all our days, by your holy prayers. And when this life is done, may we join you in heaven in the joyful company of Jesus and Mary. Amen.

Francesco Possenti's love of Jesus Christ was mediated through Mary. No wonder that his name in religion would be "Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother."

Francesco Possenti was born on 1 March 1838 in Assisi; he was the 11th child. On 21 September 1856,  Francesco received the religious habit of the Congregation of the Passion (the Passionists) and was given the name "Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother." His love for the Mother of God under the title of "Sorrowful Mother" was intimate, intense and beautiful. She taught him what it meant to be at the foot of the Cross. In few years on earth Gabriel cultivated a profound love for the Christ Crucified. At a young age Gabriel was diagnosed with tuberculosis, dying only days before he could be ordained a priest.

On this date in 1862 at 24 and 6 years a Passionist, Brother Gabriel died. Pope Benedict XV canonized him on May 13, 1920 and declared him a patron of Catholic youth. In 1959, Blessed Pope John XXIII named him the patron of the Abruzzi region, where he lived prior to death. He's also revered by seminarians, novices and those with an abiding desire to be with Christ.

It was through Gabriel's intercession that Saint Gemma Galgani was cured.
Sfeir.jpgToday, Pope Benedict XVI accepted the petition of His Beatitude, Patriarch Nasrallah Peter Sfeir, cardinal, to retire from his pastoral leadership as the Father of Maronite Church.

The resignation was speculated a few weeks ago.

Here is the letter of Pope Benedict to His Beatitude (in French until an English translation is given).

Jonah.JPGThe Orthodox Church in America (OCA), according to reports, has placed Metropolitan Jonah on a leave of absence. The Synod of the OCA acted swiftly to seeming abuse of power. The Metropolitan Jonah, it seems, is facing mounting questions not only over issues of style of management but anger issues.

The news is found here. This is distressing given all the problems the OCA has faced in recent years.

In his words, His Beatitude speaks about the requested lenten quies.

The OCA news of changes

Being a bishop --and for that matter, a priest-- in this era is tough. One can't lead if the sheep don't want to follow. Some see clearly what is needed for clear testimony and action so that the lex orandi tradition is not trampled. Deeper conversion to Christ and living a coherent life of faith is not easy when sin is rampant. Disconnected from reality is not a virtue for the Christian Church, Catholic or Orthodox. When His Beatitude was elected as head of the OCA just over two years ago there was much hope for good leadership in the OCA after the sexual and financial scandals of clergy and laity alike. His very addresses were received with enthusiasm because he spoke with authority. I, for one, said "Finally, someone who gets it." Could the troubles faced by Metropolitan Jonah be the result of the negative aspects of American culture to engrained in attitudes of members of the Synod coupled with a exaggerated sense in the capacity to change human frailties?

We pray to the Holy Spirit for the grace of prudence for the OCA. May the all-holy Virgin Mary intercede.

Oscars 2011 and a nun

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Dolores Hart OSB.jpgNot surprising that many people are interested in sensational stories like "Mother Dolores Hart: The Nun Who Kissed Elvis Presley." I guess kissing Elvis is akin to winning the jackpot. Each to his or her own! Thom Geier's story is exactly titled such on EW.com. I have to admit, however, I am fascinated --to a degree-- by this woman's gesture of following a vocation that had in mind her eternal destiny and not just money, fame and power. Hart's life and enduring witness to Christ at the Abbey of Regina Laudis, Bethlehem, CT, is inspiring. Who wouldn't be inspired by a beautiful woman giving her life to God through monastic consecration!

The following gives a flavor of Geier's article: "Over the course of nearly half a century as a Roman Catholic nun, Mother Dolores has had many jobs: choir member, baker, and coffin maker. She's served as prioress, the convent's second in command, for nine years. But for the past two decades, she has spent a good deal of time each winter on another assignment that harks back to her earlier, pre-monastic life: Oscar voter."

Mother Dolores' autobiography ought to be out soon.
On Wednesday I joined my friend Suzanne Tanzi, a fellow traveler among friends in the lay ecclesial movement, Communion and Liberation, to an in-service billed as "Gendercide, Sex Trafficking and Violence Against Women" given in light of the Christian perspective as a way to give an alternate voice to the ideology of the United Nations Commission of the Status of Women. By the Way, Suzanne is also the editor of Traces magazine (you ought to subscribe!!!!).

The presentations were heavy and some of them need refining. The content was stimulating and possibly burdensome for the weak of heart. The truth of the violence against women around the world is devastating. I sat listening mourning the presence of evil actions in our society today. We are never very far from human frailty! On the train ride home last evening I stumbled upon a New York Post article about a Wednesday bust on drug use and mid-afternoon sex acts on a bench dedicated to Katharine Hepburn in the Dag Hammarskjold Plaza on East 47th Street, got me thinking. This presentation was being given at Holy Family Parish a few steps away from these heinous acts! You see, wanton sexual behavior and drug are not very far from us. The human dignity is at being trampled. But hope enlightened the heart and mind where one would be tempted to despair. I walked way from the afternoon having been received salt and light, thanks in part, from meeting Reggie Littlejohn.

John Patrick Foley, cardinal & grand master.jpgJohn Patrick Cardinal Foley, 75, Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem retired from his work in Rome due to the illnesses of luekemia and anemia. He returned to his native Philadephia. His return to the USA was swift after submitting a letter of resignation to the Cardinal Secretary of State on February 8 and meeting with His Holiness, Pope Benedict on February 10; he was home on the 12th.

Foley is the former editor of the Phildelphia Catholic newspaper The Catholic Standard & Times and the former President of the Pontifical Council of Social Communications. The Cardinal held his position at the Holy See for 23 years.

His Eminence freely admits his physical diminishment but is facing his illness with courage and with Christ at the center. His diagnosis was received in September 2009.

Read the CNS story here.

Bishop Pates' Ordination.jpgAt a priest's ordination as bishop the Book of the Gospels is held open over the man's head by two deacons, a way to communicate that the Scriptures are crucial to the life of the bishop and that Christ has infused His Word in his heart and mind. Archbishop Timothy Broglio said this when he ordained Bishop Spencer in 2010: 

"Those writings inspired by Almighty God and identified and transmitted over the centuries by His Church must fill you from head to toe.  You must be imbued with that word so that whatever comes from your mouth will be an expression of what you have read and heard.  You will have a special opportunity to deepen the faith of those to whom you are sent." We are to be similarly filled.
God of justice and truth, you made Blessed Constantius renowned for his unceasing prayer and his zeal for peace. By the help of his prayers may we walk in the path of justice and reach everlasting peace and glory.

Here the liturgical memorial of a Dominican friar, priest and prior, Constantius (Bernocchi) of Fabriano (1410-1481), is observed. He was a 15th century Italian Dominican whose reputation, even as a child, led sinners to reconciliation with Christ and the Church. His spiritual fathers included Blesseds John Dominici, Laurence of Ripafratta and Florence's Saint Antoninus. Constantius was a man of many austerities, prayer and service to the least. Constantius' work as the elected head of several priories was to restore the regular life of the Dominican friars. His first miracle was the cure of his sister but always a peacemaker.

Father Constantius was beatified in 1811 by Pope Pius VII.

Saint Polycarp

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St Polycarp3.jpg
If you really want to know what tradition is look at the life of today's saint. Saint Polycarp had indirect knowledge of Jesus: he had known those who had direct knowledge of the Savior. Polycarp was a disciple of the Beloved Disciple, Saint John the Evangelist, who had converted him around the year AD 80. And from Saint Irenaeus of Lyons, we learn that Polycarp taught him as a young man what he learned about Jesus and the Kingdom from the Apostles, which the Church hands down, which are true.  Irenaeus testifies to the seriousness, holiness, and the devotion Polycarp had for Christ.

The Martyrology tells us that Polycarp became bishop of Smyrna and administered the diocese for some 70 years. He defended the Church's orthodox faith against those who taught a different doctrine, especially Marcionism and Valentinianism (the most influential of the Gnostic sects).

From a hagiography

"At Smyrna, the death of St. Polycarp. He was a disciple of the holy apostle John, who consecrated him bishop of that city; and there he acted as the primate of all Asia Minor. Later, under Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, he was brought before the tribunal of the proconsul; and when all the people in the amphitheater cried out against him, he was handed over to be burned to death. But since the fire caused him no harm, he was put to death by the sword. Thus he gained the crown of martyrdom. With him, twelve other Christians, who came from Philadelphia, met death by martyrdom in the same city"

Pius Parsch
The Church's Year of Grace
Thinking about uniting ourselves closely to Christ I was wondering what prayer is and it is connected with my relationship with Him. The Pope said earlier this month that "prayer, on the one hand, must be very personal, a uniting of myself with God in my innermost depths. It must be my struggle with Him, my search for Him, my gratitude for Him and my joy in Him. Yet it is never something private of my individual 'ego' that does not concern others. Praying is essentially and also always praying in the 'we' of God's children. "In this 'we' alone are we children of Our Father, which the Lord taught us to pray. This 'we' alone gives us access to the Father. On the one hand our prayer must become more and more personal, must touch and penetrate ever more deeply the nucleus of our 'ego'. On the other, it must always be nourished by the communion of those praying, by the unity of the Body of Christ, in order truly to shape myself on the basis of God's love" (Benedict XVI, Homily for Episcopal Ordinations, 5 Feb 2011).
LGiussani and Rose.jpgForgive, O Lord, the soul of Luigi, your priest from the all the chains of his of his sins and by the aid to them of your grace may he deserve to avoid the judgment of revenge,
and enjoy the blessedness of everlasting light.

May your memory be eternal, Father Luigi!
annuario.jpg

On February 19th, the Cardinal Secretary of State, His Eminence, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone SDB and Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the assistant for General Affairs, presented the Holy Father the 2011 Annuario Pontificio. The Annuario is the pontifical yearbook with everything you want to know and more. Highlights in this edition:

In 2010, the Pope erected 10 new episcopal sees, 1 apostolic exarchate and 1 apostolic vicariate. One diocese was elevated to the rank of metropolitan see, two prelatures to the rank of diocese, and two apostolic prefectures and one apostolic administration to the rank of apostolic vicariates.

The world's Catholics increased from nearly 1,166 million in 2008 to 1,181 million in 2009, an increase of fifteen million faithful which corresponds to a growth of 1.3%.

The distribution of Catholics among the continents. Between 2008 and 2009:

SSPX detente?

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The religion editor for Reuters published an article "Catholic splinter group sees no Vatican accord" on the eve of Vatican-Society of St Pius X talks ending but with no resolution. Why this group of priests persists in living outside the Catholic Church and under the unity of Pope Benedict is beyond me. Hubris is a good word but the issues are complex. Certainly there are some legitimate doctrinal issues that have surfaced following the Second Vatican Council on which the SSPX adherents are correct in objecting to. But their manifest schism from the Church of Rome is not the way to renew doctrine and to have care for the salvation of souls. I think Bishop Bernard Fellay is too obstinate to accept any offer of Divine Grace from the Trinity.
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran of France proto deacon of the College of Cardinals Feb 21 2011.jpgWith the Cardinal Agostino Cacciavillan, 84, who requested to be made a cardinal-priest and because of his age, the College of Cardinals gets a new proto-deacon (that is, the first among the deacons of the College). 

Jean-Louis Pierre 
Cardinal Tauran, 67, from France, is currently the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. His central duty as the proto deacon is to announce to the world that a new pope has been elected at a conclave. He will say:

Annuntio vobis gaudium magnum, habemus Papam: Eminentissimum ac Reverendissimum Dominum, Dominum N. (first name) Sanctaee Romanae Ecclesiae Cardinalem N. (the surname) qui sis nomen imposuit N. (the papal name).

The French born proto deacon was ordained a priest of Bordeaux in 1969 and was ordained a bishop in 1991. He has served as Secretary for Relations with States in the Secretariat of State till 2003 when he was created a cardinal and appointed the Church's archivist and librarian. In 2007, Pope Benedict named Tauran the President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. 
Consistory of Cardinals meet to canonize saints Feb 21 2011.jpgThe Pope called an ordinary consistory of cardinals to today to discuss and then announce that 3 new saints are to recognized. The new saints: Don Luigi Guanella, Don Guido Maria Conforti and Sister Bonifacia Rodriquez de Castro.

  • Blessed Luigi Guanella founded Congregation of the Servants of Charity and the Institute of the Daughters of Saint Mary of Providence
  • Blessed Guido Maria Conforti founded the Xavierian Missionaries
  • Blessed Bonifacia Rodriquez de Castro founded the Congregation of the Servants of Saint Joseph
The Sacrifice of the Mass and the Rite of Canonization will take place on October 23.
chained prisoner Goya.jpgPrograms for prisoner reentry into society is crucial in keeping people clean, working, and being a good citizens. "Do-good-ing" is not a Catholic principle. We have plenty of good people doing good all the time. In fact, my heart is really moved by those who don't have a faith tradition to call their own and are motivated to act charitably toward those in need. Living a life of virtue and prayer are Catholic ways of proceeding. Showing mercy is what we are called to live in concrete ways. Helping the excon get on his or her feet again and walking with them is Jesus-inspired act.

Faith-based community projects, church-based communities of faith, Catholic groups like the Order of Malta and Catholic dioceses are among those who are doing good work to live the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith-based communities have compassion as part of their mission and many are facing compassion fatigue. Money and red-tape are real obstacles to living the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.

"... I was in prison and visited me" (Matthew 25:36)
Three Faith NYPL.jpg



I recommend visiting the NY Public Library before February 27 to take-in the exhibit "Three Faiths."

It is interesting and well done. I think the exhibit is done more for the cultural point of view but it does give a good sense of the major themes in specific theologies and worldviews.

Baptismal and other rites.jpgIn the Latin Church there are several forms of celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism. Most Catholics today are familiar with the Rite of Baptism done according to the reforms of Pope Paul VI. Other Catholics follow the Traditional form according to the Rituale Romanum. This booklet follows this older form of the ritual.

The booklet is compiled by members of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) who are not in full communion with the Roman Pontiff. Moreover, the booklet doesn't carry an imprimatur of a bishop in communion with the Pope.

This is a handy booklet on Baptism is in print at Angelus Press. One booklet is $3.95, 10 for $26.00.
St Maron2.jpg1600 years is a long time. But the Church never forgets. She especially never forgets a sainted monk who called together others to live the Gospel and to pray. Maronite Church who traces her foundation to a monk is remembering his good work and his death of so long ago. Several celebrations around the US mark the anniversary.

Bishop Gregory J. Mansour celebrated the Divine Liturgy in honor of Saint Maron and prayed for peace in the Middle East at his cathedral, Our Lady of Lebanon, Brooklyn, NY.

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, presided at a celebration of the Liturgy in honor of Saint Maron and gave an address in which he reminded the Maronites to be custodians of the Christian gospel and tradition in the Middle East (and wherever they are. The celebration happened at the Maronite College in Rome.

Archbishop Henry J. Mansell recently presided at the Maronite Liturgy at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, Waterbury.

Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing prays the Liturgy at Our Lady of Lebanon Church, Lansing, MI.

At the invitation of Chorbishop John Faris, His Eminence Daniel N. DiNardo with Bishop James Cunnigham of Syracuse presided during the Divine Liturgy at Saint Louis Gonzaga Church in Utica, NY.

A beautiful brief video "Saint Maron | 1600 years" is worth viewing even though it is narrated in Arabic.
signs of love.jpg

I try to communicate to others, particularly the friends I teach about the Catholic faith, that to be authentically Catholic one has to fall in love with Jesus, and to do what He does. Mercy and love are constitutive parts of being called a Christian. This not always easy. It is a human struggle for many. But we are called by the Lord Himself to love and pray for your enemies; have mercy on the sinner; forgive injuries; feed the hungry. Not willing to do this, then it would be pretty hard to convince others that your proposed faith in Christ as Lord and Savior is true. The Pope's Angelus address earlier today gives us a clue to my point: to be a Catholic means living in the mindset of having a perpetual second chance. Read the 2 papal paragraphs:

On this seventh Sunday of Ordinary Time the biblical readings speak to us about God's will to make men participants in his life: "Be holy because I the Lord your God am holy," we read in the Book of Leviticus (19:1). With these words and the precepts that follow from them, the Lord invited the Chosen People to be faithful to the covenant with him, walking in his ways, and established the social legislation on the commandment that says that "you will love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). If we listen, then, to Jesus in whom God took on a mortal body to become every man's neighbor and reveal his infinite love for us, we hear again that same call, that same objective audacity. The Lord, in fact, says: "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). But who can become perfect? Our perfection is to live as children of God in humility concretely doing his will. St. Cyprian wrote that "to God's paternity there must correspond a conduct as children of God so that God might be glorified and praised by man's good conduct" (De zelo et livore, 15: CCL 3a, 83).

In what way can we imitate Jesus? Jesus himself says: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you will be children of your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:44-45). He who welcomes the Lord in his life and loves him with all of his heart can begin again. He is able to do God's will: to realize a new form of existence animated by love and destined for eternity. Paul the Apostle adds: "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16). If we are truly aware of this reality and our life is deeply formed by it, then our witness becomes clear, eloquent and efficacious. An [early Christian] author wrote: "When the whole being of man is mixed, so to speak, with God's love, then his soul's splendor is also reflected on the outside" (John Climacus, Scala Paradisi, XXX: PG 88, 1157 B), in the whole of his life. "Love is a great thing," we read in "The Imitation of Christ," [it is] "a good that makes every heavy thing light and easily endures every hardship. Love aspires to sail on high, not to be held back by any earthly thing. It is born of God and only in God can it find rest" (III, V, 3).

Did God Correct Himself?

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Today's Gospel from Saint Matthew poses a crucial question for our following Christ: How do we do it? The line that is frequently often misunderstand:

Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.

Several credible witnesses give a fruitful look at what it means to be a Christian today. Saint Basil the Great  (330-January 1, 379) wrote in Letter 2 that:

We must try to keep the mind in quietness. For if the eye is constantly shifting its gaze, one moment this way or that, then veering between upwards and down, it cannot see clearly what lies directly in front of it. It has to bring its gaze to bear on this object so as to see it clearly in focus. In the same way a mind distracted by thousands of worldly concerns cannot possibly bring a steady gaze to bear on the truth.

What is Septuagesima Sunday?

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If you don't pray the 1962 Missal at today's Mass you would have missed the liturgical observance of Septuagesima Sunday. Those who prayed the Missal of Pope Paul VI heard the gospel of "an for an eye." But what is Septuagesima Sunday and what would it mean to us today as Lent approaches? How does it relate to the overall liturgical life of the Church? There are several parts of the sacred Liturgy that face a startling change. There is a certain beauty and richness in the older liturgical tradition that seems to have been lost in the post Vatican II revisions...but that's a theme for another time. The famous Benedictine monk and writer of the 19th century, Dom Prosper Gueranger, gives perspective on the Season of Septuagesima:

The season upon which we are now entering is expressive of several profound mysteries. But these mysteries belong not only to the three weeks which are preparatory to Lent: they continue throughout the whole period of time which separates us from the great feast of Easter.

The number seven is the basis of all these mysteries. We have already seen how the holy Church came to introduce the season of Septuagesima into her calendar. Let us now meditate on the doctrine hidden under the symbols of her liturgy. And first, let us listen to St. Augustine, who thus gives is the clue to the whole of our season's mysteries. 'There are two times,' says the holy Doctor: 'one which is now, and is spent in the temptations and tribulations of this life; the other which shall by then, and shall be spent in eternal security and joy. In figure of these, we celebrate two periods: the time before Easter, and the time after Easter. That which is before Easter signifies the sorrow of this present life; that which is after Easter, the blessedness of our future state... Hence it is that we spend the first in fasting and prayer; and in the second we give up our fasting, and give ourselves to praise.'

Blessed Christopher of Milan

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God of all truth, you made Blessed Christopher a faithful herald of your word to the people. By his life and ministry may we keep Christ ever in our thoughts and in the love of our hearts.

Christopher (early 15th-c.-1484) was known among his Dominican brothers as "holy and abstemious, humble and studious" and having all the ordinary virtues of a good Christian man. His apostolic work included the areas of Milan and Liguria where he drew many souls to Christ due his excellence in preaching.

Pope Pius IX beatified Christopher in 1875.

From an antiphon from First Vespers for Blessed Christopher we pray: Strengthen by holy intercession, O Christopher, confessor of the Lord, those here present, have we who are burdened with the weight of our offenses may be relieved by the glory of thy blessedness, and may by thy guidance attain eternal rewards.
pilgrim shell.jpgSalt + Light TV has given a wonderful gift in doing a terrific story on the ancient pilgrimage trail called in Spanish, El Camino de Santiago. The Way of Saint James. Alessia Domanico is the host of "Discovering the Way: El Camino de Santiago."

I've been wanting to walk the Camino for years. I can think of no other pilgrimage to do with gusto than this one. It may still take me time to plan and go on the Way of Saint James, but I am resolved. You???

As was said in the video, the walk along the long trail to tomb of Saint James does many things but for me it seems to me that its most important aspect is one's ability to notice beauty, to notice life. Recall that beauty is that theological datum that most speaks of God in a most authentically human and spiritual manner.

The Camino is truly about the Christian tradition, there's:

  • a great adventure, go for a purpose: you'll grow spiritually and physically
  • an opportunity to pray, to do penance, to be reminded of tradition
  • catechesis on the faith
  • an opportunity to learn Christian and civil history
  • to know your own humanity, that of the other
  • learn and experience the christian faith
  • have the goal to go to the Cathedral of Saint James to visit the relics of a great Apostle.
I would also recommend Monsignor Kevin A. Codd's book on the making the pilgrimage, To the Field of Stars.

Monsignor's blog To the Field of Stars introduces you to the pilgrimage.
Husar and Voznyak.jpgIn the past weeks we've seen the Pontiff accepting the resignation of His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, 78, as the Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Bishop Ihor Voznyak is the temporary administrator of the Church until a new leader is elected.

The Ukrainian Church is the largest of the Eastern Catholic Churches with its own tradition, law, discipline, and customs; in Church law we'd call the Ukrainian Church an Ecclesia sui juris. As a note, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church is alternately called the Union Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church, Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Byzantine Rite or the Kyivan Catholic Church. Empress Maria Theresa introduced the designation of Greek-Catholic in the title of the Church in 1774. In 1999, the Synod of Bishops introduced the name "Kyivan Catholic Church."
Burying John Paul II.jpgThe Holy See is allowing the coffin of Pope John Paul II to be viewed following the May 1st beatification ceremony which will be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. 

After the viewing the papal body will repose in the Chapel of San Lorenzo in the Basilica of Saint Peter.

The video story is here.

The Vicariate of Rome website for Pope John Paul's beatification ceremony
Kyle Logue's essay on Christian Web Trends, "4 Reasons Why Church Websites Don't Attract Visitors". Kyle pinpoints a number of good things to keep in mind for the work sharing the faith with the outside world. Pay attention! His list includes:

  1. lack of interaction
  2. no easy way to share content
  3. lack of good content
  4. lack of purpose.
One could also quote Reinhold Niebuhr who once said: 

"Nothing is so incredible as an answer to an unasked question. One half of the world has regarded the Christian answer to the problem of life and history as "foolishness" because it had no questions for which the Christian revelation was the answer and no longings and hopes that that revelation fulfilled" (The Nature and Destiny of Man, Vol. II. Human Destiny).
The Prefecture of the Papal Household, having been informed of the existence of unauthorised offers by some Tour Operators, especially on internet, of assistance in procuring tickets, with a service charge, for General Audiences and Papal ceremonies, particularly for the Beatification of the Servant of God John Paul II on Sunday, May 1, wishes to make it clear that:

1) For the Beatification Mass of Pope John Paul II, as made clear from the outset, no tickets are required.

2) The tickets provided by the Prefecture of the Papal Household for General Audiences and Papal ceremonies are always issued FREE of charge and no person or organization can request any kind of payment.
The Philippines is the most populous Catholic nation in Asia. We ought to be aware that the Catholic faith has been in the Philippines for 5 centuries now!!!!

These days, among the many things Benedict XVI is doing, he's meeting with the Filipino bishops who are praying at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul, all in an effort to strengthen the bond of unity between the universal Church and the Church in the Philippines. This is the second group of bishops from the Philippines led by Archbishop Palma of Cebu, is in Rome for the ad Limina. A third group will begin their visit on the 21st. Benedict addresses the body the bishops and also meets individually with each bishop. Every 5 years a bishop who heads a diocese is to make a pilgrimage to Rome to pray, to visit with the pope to report on the state of evangelization of the local church and to visit with the various departments at the Holy See. A quinquennial report is sent ahead of a bishop's visit to the Eternal City so that the pope can study the good and areas of need of a particular diocese. It is the expectation that the ad Limina Apostolorum, to the threshold of the Apostles, helps in the transparency in bishop's concern for the salvation of souls. What Benedict told the Filipino bishops today is appropriate for us here in the USA. A portion of the text is given below with my notations for emphasis.

OL Lourdes at St Peter's.jpg
Filipino culture is also confronted with the more subtle questions inherent to the secularism, materialism, and consumerism of our times. When self-sufficiency and freedom are severed from their dependence upon and completion in God, the human person creates for himself a false destiny and loses sight of the eternal joy for which he has been made. The path to rediscovering humanity's true destiny can only be found in the re-establishment of the priority of God in the heart and mind of every person.

The 7 Holy Servite Founders

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Servite Holy Founders.jpgThe collect prayed by the priest at Mass for today's optional memorial of the 7 holy founders of the Servite Order asks the Lord for same "love which inspired the seven holy brothers to honor the Mother of God with special devotion and to lead your people to you." Servites, a 13th century mendicant order inspired by the first Dominican martyr, Saint Peter of Verona, are devoted to the Our Lady of Sorrows and are to live a life of penance.  Theirs, like what all Christians live, is a life discipleship with Christ Crucified. The is the key to our salvation. And the Servite founders remind us that following Christ necessarily means bearing the cross.

The Thought of Henri Bremond

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In the current issue of La Civiltà Cattolica, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro wrote an interesting essay, "The Thought of Henri Bremond." Matters pertaining to faith and reason, faith and culture interest me perhaps you. At least that's what I hope if you are a frequent reader of the Communio blog. Henri Bremond (1865-1933) is a former a Jesuit priest, literary scholar and was in the middle of the Modernist crisis. His literary output was terrific. Bremond was a member of the illustrious Académie Française succeedingm(elected in 1923 holding seat number 36). France also awarded the Lé d'honneur. The summary:

An attempt to overcome the gap between faith and culture - In the years that saw the rise of surrealism, of Freudian thought and of the modernist crisis, Henri Bremond captured the separation that was growing between theology and culture sanctioned by the Enlightenment. Bremond suffered in trying to find a compromise in terms of language, seeking to show to a cultured audience the best results of a religious sensibility and sought to show to his Catholic readers the religious value of «profane» literature. Seeing the similarities between a mystical and a poetic inspiration, he concluded that "it is up to the mystic to explain the poet," reversing a common axiom. The article, on the occasion of the reissue of his Prayer and poetry, absent from Italian bookstores for three decades, presents the main insights of the priest, academician of France.

Working in a great parish where it is difficult to get some of the simplest things done due to a labor shortage --that is, people giving their time for service-- and getting other ministerial things accomplished for the good of the Church and the salvation of souls, thinking about the ministry of the laity has given me pause to revisit some personal thinking. Baltimore's Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien wrote about lay ministry in the current edition of The Catholic Review where he acknowledges the great number of people who Christ and the Church in generous ways by living the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Archbishop puts his finger on a process, formation. Pay attention to what Pope Benedict has said about parish work.


Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien


One of the great joys I have experienced in my visits to parishes and schools in our Archdiocese over the past three-plus years has been the witness of so many dedicated lay Catholics who serve the Church in many and diverse ways. 

Much of the work of these lay ministers is visible to us. They share their gifts and talents as music ministers at Mass, making "a joyful noise to the Lord," and as lectors, ushers and Eucharistic ministers who, Sunday after Sunday, show great care for the liturgy. Catechists minister in our parishes, passing on the faith to Catholics of all ages - from converts to "cradle Catholics" - who are hungry for spiritual nourishment. And the youth ministers of our Archdiocese share their enthusiasm for being Catholic and the Gospel message of God's love with young people "on fire" for their faith.
God's promise to us is to remain with use for ever.

"Wisdom has built herself a house, and she has set up seven pillars." To man, who was made in the image of God when the rest of creation was created, Wisdom gave the seven gifts of the Spirit to enable man to believe in Christ and to keep His commandments. By means of these gifts, the spiritual man grows and develops until, through firm faith and the supernatural graces he receives, he finally reaches maturity. Knowledge stimulates virtue, and virtue reflections knowledge. The fear of the Lord, understanding, and knowledge give true orientation to his natural wisdom. Fortitude makes him eager to seek understanding of the will of God, as revealed in the laws by which the entire creation is governed. Counsel distinguishes these most sacred and eternal laws of God from anything opposed to them, for these laws are meant for man to ponder, to proclaim, and to fulfill. Insight disposes man to embrace these expressions of God's will and to reject whatever contravenes them.

Office of Readings
a commentary on the Book of Proverbs by Procopius of Gaza, bishop
The reviews of the 2011 NY Encounter sponsored by Communion and Liberation in January continue to surface. A recent view by Sophie Lewis on ilsussidiario.net gave some things to think about in an article, "A Living Cathedral." Lewis puts her finger on living a new way. Namely, that Jesus Christ has loved us before we were aware of that love.

Quoting a priest's homily Lewis notes: "All of you are here because you were loved first, and that is what should be the purpose of your work here." This COULD NOT BE TRUER! The priest continues: "You are not engaged in an altruistic community service project, but you are here because Someone else loves you and you are responding to that love." Now, THIS is the perfect way of indicating our response to the invitation to meet God who works hard to meet us.

Sophie Lewis is 17 and approaching university life soon. Happy to see her digging into the beauty and work of Communion and Liberation!
This year is an opportune time for the worldwide Redemptorist order, but especially the order in the USA, to get back to basics outlined by their sainted founder Saint Alphonsus Liguori and beautiful example of Saint John Neumann. Why this year? Because the Church in the USA is honoring the 200th anniversary of birth of Saint John Neumann. So, it is a Year of Saint John Neumann.

A recent essay on the Redemptorist spirituality by Michael Terheyden is a very fine primer on the subject.

We are all called to follow the in the way of the Redeemer.
Pius XI & G. Marconi 1931.jpgFebruary 12, 1931, Vatican Radio began its social networking capabilities for Pope Pius XI who had a particular interest in evangelization, especially in the foreign lands. Guglielmo Marconi (1874-1937), the physics Nobel Prize laureate became the father of wireless communication. Quoting Marconi, the Vatican Press Director Jesuit Father Frederico Lombardi recalled, "My inventions are to save humanity, not to destroy it."

Read a few ideas on the founding of Vatican Radio.

Pope Pius XI exhorted his first listeners said, "Listen and hear, O Peoples of distant lands."

Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo is celebrating their 25th anniversary as a congregation of priests. The Fraternity is a new community of priests in the Church, founded by Monsignor Massimo Camisasca in 1985. It was signed into Church law in 1999 by Pope John Paul II as a Society of Apostolic Life. On Saturday, February 13, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI met with the Fraternity's  founder, leadership and seminarians. Here's the text of the Pope's address to members of the Fraternity.

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It is with real joy that I meet with you, priests and seminarians of the Fraternity of St. Charles, who have gathered here on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its birth. I greet and thank the founder and superior general, Monsignor Massimo Camisasca, his council and all of you, relatives and friends who are part of the community's circle. I greet in particular the Archbishop of the Mother of God of Moscow, Monsignor Paolo Pezzi, and Don Julián Carrón, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, which symbolically expresses the fruits and the roots of the work of the Fraternity of St. Charles. This moment brings back to my mind my long friendship with Monsignor Luigi Giussani and bears witness to his charisma.

Romanian witches are soon to be licensed. Why, you ask. So when their spells fail to provide the desired results, the government can jail them. There's a bill on parliament's desk. On January 1, Romania changed its laws witchcraft requiring receipts and prohibiting them from exercising their craft near churches and schools.

Saint Valentine

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The Church's hagiographical tradition (lives of the saints) the Roman Emperor Claudius prohibited young men from getting married because he wanted them for his army. Valentine, a priest of Rome, contradicted the Emperor's wishes and married couples in secret. This act of deviance, and the fact that he helped martyrs at the time of persecution, landed Valentine in prison with a death sentence. He was beaten and beheaded. Saint Valentine's relics repose in the Church of Saint Praxedes (near to the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore). Corresponding with some married couples Valentine would sign his letters, 'Your Valentine'.

Valentine was martyred in 269 at Rome and buried on the Flaminian Way. He is the patron saint of beekeepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travelers, and young people. Valentine is often portrayed with birds and roses in iconography.

As a cultural note, the Flaminian Way is one of the principal Roman roads leading from Rome to Gaul. The road's construction was begun in 220 BC by Caius Flaminius.

Saints Cyril and Methodius

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Ss Cyril & Methodius.jpgO Cyril Methodius, glorious teachers, with brilliance you taught the Moravians to bless God in their own words, by translating the law of the Lord from Greek into Slavonic. You taught His righteousness. Therefore, the Slav peoples now give glory to God in joy.

Who can proclaim the wonders of the Lord, which Cyril and Methodius did to his glory? They overcame the poison of the Saracens. They tore apart the heavy nets. Their language closed the mouths of the corrupt Khazars with the faith of the Lord. They made sweet the bitter waters and delighted the good people that had sat in darkness.

Stichera at the Praises, Tone 8

The Cistercian monk, philosopher and theologian Isaac of Stella (1100-1169) was featured in the Office of Readings today: Charity is the reason why anything should be done or left undone.

Charity is the only good reason to do anything, but it also sometimes demands that we not do something we might think we want to do. There are a lot of fine distinctions one has to make in this area to live spiritually in common life and ministry. For example:

  • We are called to support one another, but not to enable maladaptive behaviors, debilitating addictions, and sins. We must bear with the burdens of others, and be willing to wash feet, but we should not take responsibility for the feelings of others.
  • We must seek ways to invite both individuals and institutions to benefit from our strengths, and invite them into the success that derives from them, but--again--we should be careful not to take interior or exterior responsibility for situations that the Holy Spirit has not, or not yet, seen fit to put in our care.
  • Sometimes the greatest charity--and often the most painful--is not giving someone what he thinks he wants.
  • We must be good to ourselves, practicing good self-care, but that doesn't mean taking it easy and just 'being nice' to ourselves. On the one hand, we must not be so hard on ourselves that our whole spiritual life becomes a rehearsal of faults and sins, for this is one of the devil's tricks in making us fail to notice God, and on the other we must also be careful not be overly forgiving of ourselves so as to effectively give up struggling with certain selfishnesses and sins.
  • We must practice the sort of self-charity that nourishes our gifts and virtues, and is ruthless in the unwillingness to put up with sin.
Thanks to my friend Friar Charles for providing grist for the mill.

St Agatha GB Tiepolo.jpgThe Church has a ministry, a role, a work, in helping to restore a person to health and wholeness because the Church is the continuation of Jesus' ministry of healing in the world today.

Last Friday and Sunday I spear-headed two gatherings for those who live with breast cancer for the feast of Saint Agatha, the patron saint for those living with diseases of the breast. These gesture of prayer and solidarity were done in conjunction with the Order of Saint Agatha, Dominican Friars Healthcare ministry and two churches.

Anointing with blessed oil is a sacramental way in which the Church through her priests is concretely present to those in need spiritual comfort by complementing the medical and social practitioners in the ministry of healing. Any illness can have the effect of personal and communal isolation. What the Church is saying by this gesture of prayer and anointing is that the person is not alone, that we, the community of faith, empathize with the effects of illness and want to be in solidarity with the ill person. As was said, "breast cancer was the best thing to have happened to me because I've had to live life differently, more intently, and in a God-centered way."

Why anoint someone? There are 5 identifiable reasons to administer the Sacrament of the Sick:
Bernadette Soubirous4.jpgThe yearly Communion and Liberation Mass was celebrated earlier this evening by our friend Bishop Peter A. Rosazza, auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Hartford, at Saint Mary's Church, New Haven, CT. His homily focused on the young girl that had the vision of Our Lady of Lourdes, Saint Bernadette Soubirous.

The Sacrifice of the Mass is celebrated for the good of Communion and Liberation --that is, so that it remain faithful to the charism given it by the Holy Sprit and articulated by its founder, Monsignor Luigi Giussani and for the peaceful repose of the soul of Monsignor Giussani.

2011 recalls for us that today is the 29th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's approval as a valid charism for the Church. It is also the 6th anniversary of Giussani's death.
OL of Lourdes.jpgWe celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and the 19th World Day of the Sick.

God of mercy, we celebrate the feast of Mary, the sinless mother of God. May her prayers help us to rise above our human weakness.

 
By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24)

Many in the world suffer. That is a given and we ought to keep the suffering of others in the forefront of our minds. I think this is appropriate for no other reason than the example of Jesus who showed had compassion on all suffering people, healing them in body, mind, and soul. He even allowed Himself to be conquered by evil and suffering, though we know that He ultimately defeated death by death itself when on the third day he rose from the dead. Jesus' own suffering and rising is proof of a love that knows know limits. As Benedict has said in various places that "Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith."

Saint Scholastica

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With the Church in her Liturgy we pray to the Lord:
"...we may serve You with love and obtain perfect joy."

Released earlier today, the Pope gave the Church his thinking and hopes for the living and the promotion of vocations. Very clear is the Pope's insistence on one's being familiar with the Scriptures, friendship with the Lord cultivated through personal and liturgical prayer. Also, one's own self-awareness factors into the discernment of one's vocation, whether to religious life, priesthood or to the lay state. May the Lord of the Harvest grant an increase.


The 48th World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be celebrated on 15 May 2011, the Fourth Sunday of Easter, invites us to reflect on the theme: "Proposing Vocations in the Local Church". Seventy years ago, Venerable Pius XII established the Pontifical Work of Priestly Vocations. Similar bodies, led by priests and members of the lay faithful, were subsequently established by Bishops in many dioceses as a response to the call of the Good Shepherd who, "when he saw the crowds, had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd", and went on to say: "The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. Pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest!" (Mt 9:36-38).

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His Beatitude, Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, MSU, 78, retired from serving the Ukrainian Catholic Church today. The Holy Father accepted the Cardinal's request to retired due to health concerns. He has served the Church in his present position since 2001.

His Beatitude has been a bishop since 1977. Husar has done a terrific job for the Church these past years and is owed a debt of gratitude.

The Cardinal has a terrific sense of humor, friendly and insightful. My sadness is that he never was granted the title of Patriarch, a title he's entitled to use given the state of his Church but the pope's have been reticent to grant the patriarch's title in fear of what the Russian Orthodox Church would say.

CNS' Cindy Wooden's article on His Beatitude's resignation; looking to the future...

Saint Maron

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In honor of the 1600th anniverssary of the death of Saint Maron, the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI blessed and unveiled a new statue of the saint at the Vatican basilica of Saint Peter's.

For the past year, Maronites and others around the world have been observing a jubliee year called by His Beatitude, Patriarch Nasralla Peter Sfeir. In a letter to the Maronite Church around the world he said, in part, 

Our Church was not built after a name of a See or Apostle, but rather took its identity from the radiance of a man and a monastery: the Maronite Church, a Church of asceticism and adoration attached from the beginning to a solitary man, not a man of rank or a Church leader.

The faith lived out by the hermit Maron became the inner strength of a people's history. As for the successive migrations from Syria (in the 5-10th centuries), the Maronites gave them one meaning, that is, giving up land, wealth and comfort in Syria moving toward a poor land where anxiety and austerity prevail, so they could preserve their faith and remain attached to their freedom ... This event is not a simple historical fact among others ...  it is the very beginning of a new history, the history of the Maronites.

The Jubilee Prayer

Lord, Jesus, You called Your chosen one, Saint Maron, to the monastic life, perfected him in divine virtues, and guided him along the difficult road to the heavenly kingdom.

During this jubilee year, commemorating 1600 years since the death of Your chosen one, Saint Maron, when he was called to the house of Your heavenly Father, we ask You, through his intercession, to immerse us in Your love that we may walk in Your path, heed Your commandments, and follow in his footsteps.

May his holy example resonate throughout our lives. With Your love, may we achieve that final distination reached by our father, Saint Maron, and carry Your Gospel throughout the world.

Through his intercession, may we attain the glory of the resurrection and everlasting life in You.

Glory and thanks are due to You, to Your blessed Father, and to Your living Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.
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Jesus left his throne in heaven,
Humbly coming as a slave,
Here his love and his obedience
Were the ransom that still saves:
Strong the song the Church now raises
For this humble virgin's day,
Praising God that, through all struggles,
She was led to Christ, the Way.

As a child torn from her fam'ly,
Made a slave, great suff'ring bore,
And by those who took her childhood,
Named "Bakhita" everymore.
Brought to Italy and rescued
By Cannosian sisters there,
She found Christ and then was baptized,
Lived in service and in prayer.

As the virgins in the Gospel,
Josephine was filled with light,
Daily serving at her convent,
Greetings all with heaven's sight;
Loving all with Jesus' mercy,
Treating each as she would him--
Persevered through pain and sorrow,
Making life her off'ring-hymn.

Glory to the loving Father
Who has made us for his own;
Glory to the Son, who saves
And who lifts us to his throne;
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Never-ending font of love!
With our saint, the "one most blessèd,"
We raise songs to God above!

J. Michael Thompson
Copyright © 2010, WLP
8787D; BEACH SPRING

A previous post on Saint Josephine

Saint Colette

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Saint Colette.jpgSaint Colette is the famous 15th century reformer of the Poor Clare nuns. You see her reform noted as the Colettine Poor Clares. She follows to a "T" the rigorous life set down by Saint Clare herself in hearing the words "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." She did; so did others.

King Henry VIII would compare Saint Colette to "a diligent bee that gathers exquisite honey from the precious flowers of the most rare virtues."

The Prayer Over the Gifts for Saint Colette's Mass reads:

Lord, may the gifts we bring You help us to follow the example of Saint Colette. Cleanse us from our earthly way of life, and teach us to live the new life of Your kingdom.

Here the Church wants us to receive the gift of singular focus on the new we've received already through Baptism, Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. The new life preached by Christ and the Church today.

According to the Roman-Franciscan Sacramentary of 1974, February 7 is the liturgical memorial of Saint Colette, not March 6 as noted in other places. A previous blog post on Saint Colette can be read here.

Japanese Martyrs.jpgThe Church observes the liturgical memorial of Saint Paul Miki and his companions, martyrs for believing in Jesus. The only thing a person of true faith in Christ can say is what the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Galatians: "I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me."


A beautiful for the feast


O Christ, the source of endless life,

We bring you thanks and praise today

That martyrs bold your name confessed

And, through their pain, held to your Way.

 

The gospel preached within Japan

Converted both adult and child,

And flourished there by your rich grace

Despite oppression fierce and wild.

 

When hatred for this infant church

Broke out in persecution's might,

Your martyrs knew you as their Lord

Who shined in darkness as their light.

 

O Father, Son, and Spirit blest,

To you all glory now is due.

As were the Martyrs of Japan,

May we to Christ be ever true!

 

J. Michael Thompson

Copyright © 2010, World Library Publications

LM; TALLIS' CANON, BRESLAU"

Personal and corporate renewal is always a timely topic. Recently, the Superior General of the Discalced Carmelites, Father Saverio Cannistrà, speaking about the hope of renewing his order answered a question in what he saw as essential to renewal. I think the renewal is not only for the Carmelites but for all us. Don't you think?

In part Father Cannistrà said: "it is rather like the way of prayer Saint Teresa [of Avila] talks about: a growth that happens day by day, passing through moments of consolation and desolation, but with the determination to forge ahead, without giving up. The real changes which have had an effect on history, are not mere administrative reorganizations: they are changes of heart, as Scripture tells us. If we do not expose our heart to the beneficial tempest of the Spirit, then generous and prophetic initiatives cannot be born from it. Formation, both initial and ongoing, would probably be the sole help that we could offer, as an institution, to tread this path."

Cybertheology

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Cybertheology is not one of the sub-sections of systematic theology. At least not yet. But it is a promising idea that will likely have a positive influence in the lives of those who surf the web religiously and for those searching for God and who are not ready (willing?) to be personally involved in the Sunday celebration of the Mass or any other organized religious program that requires one to be physically present.

The originator of the Cybertheology project, Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, one of the editors at La Civiltà Cattolica, started a blog to investigate the new, dynamic and complex influence of the Net and the challenages it poses to our relationships with others, language, thinking and the Divinity. I take Father Spadaro's interest and work in this subject on the impact of the digital world to be wholly consistent with what Pope Benedict talked about in his January 2011 letter on social communications where he said "new technologies must be placed at the service of the integral good of the individual  and of the whole of humanity. If used wisely, they can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being." And, "This dynamic [the digital world] has contributed to a new appreciation of communication itself, which is seen first of all as dialogue, exchange, solidarity and creation of positive relations."
RR Reno.jpgThe Chairman of the Board of First Things, Robert Louis Wilken, announced that Russell R. Reno is the new editor of First Things.

RR Reno is the sometime professor of theological ethics at Creighton University. He earned a doctorate from Yale University.

Reno recently published Fighting the Noonday Devil and Other Essays Personal and Theological (Eerdmans, 2011).

The appointment is effective April 1. 

RR Reno's the second successor to Father Richard John Neuhaus. Jody Bottum left the editorship a few months ago.

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Pope ordains 5 new bishops

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The Holy Father ordained 5 priests to the episcopacy today on the liturgical memorial of Saint Agatha at the Vatican Basilica. The priests are:

Father Savio Hon Tai-Fai, 61, a Salesian of Saint John Bosco, elected titular archbishop of Sila and nominated Secretary of the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples.

Father Marcello Bartolucci, 67, a priest of the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbria-Gualdo Tadino, elected titular archbishop of Bevagna and nominated Secretary of the Congregation of the Causes of Saints.

Father Celso Morga Iruzubieta, 63,  a priest of the Diocese of Calahorra y La Calzada-Logroño, elected titular archbishop of Alba Marittima and nominated Secretary of the Congregation of the Clergy.

Father Antonio Guido Filipazzi, 48, a priest of the Diocese of Ventimiglia-San Remo, elected titular archbishop of Sutri and nominated Apostolic Nuncio.

Father Edgar Peña Parra, 51, a priest of the Archdiocese of Maracaibo, elected titular archbishop of Telepte and nominated Apostolic Nuncio in Pakistan.

May the saints intercede for these men.

Pope no longer organ donor

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Pope at Vespers Feb 2 2011.jpgWord's been received that Pope Benedict's organ donor card is void. It's been so since his election to the papacy in 2005. Since the 1970's it is said that he's been an organ donor.

He fully supports organ donation but now that he's the Pope, his thinking has not changed --he still believes in the virtue of donating one's organs to another-- but now as it was said, his body belongs to the whole Church. In fact, the Pope has criticized the selling of human organs versus the free gift of self in making a donation of an organ. The Pope said on November 7, 2008 at the international congress, "A Gift for Life: Considerations on Organ Donation": 

The act of love, which is expressed with the gift of one's own vital organs, is a genuine testament of charity that knows how to look beyond death so that life always wins. The recipient should be aware of the value of this gesture that one receives, of a gift that goes beyond the therapeutic benefit. What they receive is a testament of love, and it should give rise to a response equally generous, and in this way grows the culture of gift and gratitude.

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, head of the healthcare office at the Holy See, said the Pope's body will remain intact at the time of his death.

Read what Pope Benedict XVI thinks about beauty of organ donation: Pope Benedict on organ donation.pdf

If you understand German, you can listen to Pope Benedict's personal secretary Monsignor Georg Gänswein brief on the matter.



Terrence Tilley.jpgTerrence W. Tilley, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Theology at Fordham University, was formally installed as the first occupant of the Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Chair of Catholic Theology. The benefactors of the Dulles Chair are Vincent and Teresa Viola.

Typical in academic settings like this one the Chair delivers an address of his choosing. Tilley gave audience his opinion on Saint Ignatius of Loyola's famous Rule 13 in  Rules for Thinking with the Church as found in the Spiritual Exercises. His address: "Sentire cum Ecclesia: Thinking With and for the Church." Tilley's claim was based on his reading the of Rule 13 in light of Cardinal Dulles' 1974 and later republished in 2002 with a new introduction and an essay on Pope John Paul II's ecclesiology, Models of the Church. Models is Dulles' exposition of the 5 ways of knowing the Church.
The NY Community Communion and Liberation has been invited by Dominican Father Jordan Kelly to attend a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Beatification of Pope John Paul II which will be celebrated at The Church of Saint Catherine of Siena (411 East 68th Street, NYCon Sunday, May 1, at 12 Noon. Father Jordan will be the main celebrant and homilest.

Monsignor Lorenzo Alabacete will be concelebrating and giving his personal recollections of Pope John Paul II and what the beatification means for us following the Mass.

If you already read the recent letter by Father Carrón, you would know that on the same day the entire Movement in Italy will be present for the beatification ceremony in Rome. If you have not read the letter yet, I strongly encourage you to do so. Father Carrón's letter to the Movement can be read here

Please save the date for this moment of gratitude and unity.
The Religious Sense.jpgThis coming year the Schools of Community throughout the world will be working on Monsignor Luigi Giussani's seminal text, The Religious Sense (in English in 1997).

In The Religious Sense, Monsignor Giussani explores man's search for meaning in the given-ness of life. He demonstrates that reason is known in understanding and recognition of truth, goodness and beauty. Regardless of faith tradition, all people are in search for these elements and we can know the meaning of truth, goodness and beauty by the criteria of the heart, that is, discovery of these element is found in the person himself by an openness to existence which has the capacity to affirm reality as it is --from experience-- (reason) and not from what the lack of self-aware world says reason is, that is, from outside factors.

Several essays open up Giussani's work:

Father Julián Carrón's Milan presentation of "The Religious Sense, Verification of the Faith", a version of which was given at the 2011 NY Encounter: The Religious Sense, Verification of the Faith.pdf

Father Luigi Giussani's "The Religious Sense and Faith": The Religious Sense and Faith.pdf

John Waters' "The Religious Sense and myself"

Carol Glatz of CNS wrote a fascinating article --at least fascinating to me because I can identify with what the new Prefect of the Congregation of Religious said of his own experience with Liberation Theology. To say that liberation theology terrorized vocations is likely an understatement. I believe the Archbishop is correct in saying that elements of liberation theology are credible, Pope Benedict has said as much, too, but the Marxist methodology is not fitting for the salvation of souls, at least how the Church conceives of salvation of souls. Liberation theology deconstructed religious and priestly life to social work, reduced essential theological concepts to ideology and rejected the authority as non-essential, among many things. Why would anyone devote their lives to a religious vocation under the rubric of liberation theology? Clearly this method of theological reflection needs to be scrutinized even more.

A very telling line in Glatz's article is the Archbishop saying: "'The lack of a theological and mystical experience of the Holy Trinity as the source of communion has brought negative statements about community life,' such as when some religious say the biggest penance they face is communal living." His other statements on one's experience of God viz. autonomy and obedience and love are interesting, too.

Archbishop Joāo Bráz de Aviz credits his relationship with the lay movement Focolare in saving his vocation from being aborted. Focolare, like other lay ecclesial movement focused on vertical and horizontal communion with the Trinity and others, and stressed the virtue of unity built on the Trinitarian life. I follow Communion and Liberation and I say that CL has kept me together in ways that other things did not or could not. Focolare is also a very worthy vocation to follow.
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Saint Rabanus Maurus

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St Rabanus Maurus.jpgSaint Rabanus (c. 780-4 Feb. 856), a Benedictine monk, theologian, exegete, poet, abbot and archbishop of Mainz, called the "teacher of Germany." Rabanus studied under Alcuin who gave him the name of "Maurus." He authored De rerurm naturis (On the Nature of Things), De laudibus sanctae Crucis but he's most known for his composition of "Veni Creator Spiritus," the beautiful hymn we sing at Pentecost and any time we pray to the Holy Spirit.

As Pope Benedict XVI reminded us when thinking about Saint Rabanus, he is "an extraordinary awareness of the need to involve not only the mind and heart in the experience of faith, but also the senses." Rabanus was instructive in showing us how to use the "aesthetic taste and human sensitivity which bring man to benefit from the truth with all of himself: spirit, soul and body."

For Benedict said, "I believe that Rabanus Maurus also speaks to us today. Whether immersed in the frenetic rhythms of work or on holiday, we must reserve time for God. We must not forget Sunday as the day of the Lord and the day of the liturgy, in order to see --in the beauty of our churches, of sacred music, and of the Word of God-- the beauty of God Himself, and allow it to enter own being. Thus our lives become great, they become true life.

Ultimately from Saint Rabanus we learn that "We must search for God in all the dimensions of our being."

The 2001 Roman Martyrology lists Rabanus as a saint while other sources list him as a blessed. Saint Rabanus is recognized as a holy bishop and scholar, and a confessor of the faith.

Pope Benedict XVI's General Audience of 3 June 2009 was dedicated to Saint Rabanus.

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We will be gathering to pray the Holy Mass for those living with breast cancer in honor of Saint Agatha, the patron saint of those living with breast cancer.


Saint Agatha's feast day is February 5 but for pastoral reasons, the liturgical observance will be held on the day before and the after the feast.


No one is without a family member or a friend who has breast cancer. This is an opportunity to join together in prayer and friendship with those living with ongoing trial --you could say cross-- of breast cancer.


  • On Friday, February 4, at the 5:30 pm Mass at Our Lady of Pompeii Church (355 Foxon Road, Route 80, East Haven, CT), Father John Lavorgna will administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick invoking the intercession of Saint Agatha.

Let your friends know of this special Mass and anointing service. All are invited and most welcome.

One never knows when you might get a small, unexpected visitor....

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Four Chaplains Day

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Besides being Saint Blase Day, today is also known as "Four Chaplains Day." The US Congress designated today to honor the 4 US Army chaplains who were serving on the USAT Dorchester during World War II. 

Father John P. Washington (Roman Catholic priest), Rev. Clark V. Poling (Dutch reformed), Rev. George L. Fox (Methodist), and Rabbi Alexander D. Goode sacrificed their lives as their ship went down. 672 of 902 men died.

All of the chaplains held the rank of lieutenant.

The Episcopal Church has designated February 3 a liturgical memorial for these chaplains.

Nancy Davis detail.jpgLast week Nancy Davis, 59, drug smugglers wanted her pickup truck and killed her for it in Mexico. What Nancy and her husband, Sam, did was to build churches and orphanages but they found themselves trying to out-run drug runners with assault rifles. Nancy and Sam Davis have been missionaries in Mexico for the last 38 years.

Sam said he trusts that Nancy is with God and that he's confident that she never suffered after being shot in the head. Ms Davis' funeral was held in McAllen, Texas. May Nancy rest in peace!
This bulletin letter is making the rounds on the blogs. I thought it touched on an important point or two regarding one's reception of Holy Communion. Do you reflect upon on how you prepare to receive the Eucharistic Lord at Mass and how receive Him --Communion received on the tongue or in the hand, and why? What do you think of this letter?
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In weekly classes on the Catholic I've been stressing a few (of many) points:

  • lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi (prayer, doctrine, life): all have to cohere
  • the Incarnation is a fact: in faith we encounter this fact, this Person, experience the exceptionality and the wonder
  • the contemporaneousness of Jesus Christ
  • the witness of the Catholic faith is true and it is true for all people
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In November the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace Peter Cardinal Turkson, 63, gave an interview to Zenit on his new work as the head of a Roman office after being a pastor of a diocese in Ghana. Cardinal Turkson is a trained biblical scholar.

My point of bringing this matter up is that those of us who make the claim to be faithful Catholics need to live the faith as though Jesus Christ truly mattered and that what we profess at Mass and in prayer is lived according to correct doctrine while sharing the Good News of Salvation coherently. Cardinal Turkson is not the first to say that we don't always understand social justice, but we need to put a greater effort in doing so. How do we imitate the love of God for other?


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Lord, hear the prayers of Your martyr Blase. Give us the joy of Your peace in this life and help us to gain the happiness that will never end.

The Church has few exact details of the life of Saint Blase (also Blaise, Biago, Sveti Vlaho) but we have the experience of his popularity through the centuries in the churches of the East and West. What we know is that Blase was a physician, the Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia and martyr. The Roman Martyrology tells us that he was beheaded in 316.

More info on Saint Blase is found here and here.

The Blessing of Candles on the feast of St Blase can be found here.

The Blessing of Bread, Wine, Water and Fruit for the feast.

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From the Golden Legend again: 

And when this good widow, which by S. Blase had recovered her swine, heard thereof, she slew it, and the head and the feet with a little bread and a candle, she brought to S. Blase, and he thanked God and ate thereof, and he said to her that every year she should offer in his church a candle, and know thou that to thee and to all them that so shall do shall well happen to them, and so she did all her life, and she had much great prosperity.

Even after imprisonment, he refused to worship the prince's gods, and for punishment his flesh torn by wool combs. He was finally beheaded, martyred along with seven women and two children.

Today, due to the cure of the boy's throat when the boy was choking, Saint Blase is patron against diseases  or any other trouble of the throat.

The priest will bless two candles in honor of Saint Blase.

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In today's feast we contemplate the Lord Jesus whom Mary and Joseph take to the Temple "to present him to the Lord" (Luke 2:22). Revealed in this evangelical scene is the mystery of the Son of the Virgin, the consecrated One of the Father, who came into the world to carry out his will faithfully (cf. Hebrews 10:5-7).

Simeon points to him as "light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), and proclaims with prophetic word his supreme offer to God and his final victory (cf. Luke 2:32-35). It is the meeting of the two Testaments, the Old and the New. Jesus enters the ancient Temple, He who is the new Temple of God: He comes to visit his people, bringing to fulfillment obedience to the Law and inaugurating the end times of salvation.

Mass, St Mary's Norwalk.jpgHow does one form a deacon, priest and bishop to celebrate the ars celebrandi of the sacred Liturgy? Being side-by-side these sacred ministers I am often scandalized by the lack of composure and gravitas in the praying of the Mass and other liturgical rites. Several priests and bishops I know are such poor celebrants of the Mass that I would argue that Mass celebrated so poorly does in fact lead others away from the Church's worship. And let's not even speak of the many deacons who have no clue and poor presence in the sanctuary! Two cardinals I've seen celebrate the Mass in their cathedrals have the habit of running down the isle and up the stairs into the sanctuary with evident exterior indication of what is about to happen. Another needs a seat belt in the cathedra. Is it too much to ask for beautiful gesture, beautiful music, beautiful words, beautiful art and architecture in the sacred Liturgy? Beauty and prayer also warms interpersonal relations!

Father John Zuhlsdorf (Fr. Z) over at the blog What the does the Prayer Really Say?  has it right: save the Liturgy, save the world.

I think Archbishop Joseph Raya will have the last word on this topic today: "It is absurd to hurry: this shows a lack of understanding and respect and may be an occasion of scandal" (Byzantine Daily Worship, Alleluia Press: 1969).
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Presentation - Candlemas.jpeg40 days ago we celebrated the fact of the Incarnation of the Eternal Word of God, Emmanuel, whom we call Jesus. Today's liturgical observance of Candelmas --the Encounter with the Lord-- recalls our great joy and we're told what our joy is about by Saint Leo the Great: 

"Our Savior was born today: let us be glad. For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity."
H2O News aired an interview with an acquaintance of mine, Jesuit Father David Neuhaus, who gave his family's recollection of the Nazi atrocities in WWII. Himself a convert to Catholicism his thoughts are poignant. Each year at January's end there is a Day of Remembrance. Father David is the vicar of Hebrew Christians for the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. I recommend watching the interview.
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The St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (Yonkers, NY) will present a setting of the St. Matthew Passion.

The musical setting of Passion of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Saint Matthew is an exquisite interplay of soloists, choir, and orchestra. This concert will be the U.S. English-language premiere of the piece by Russian Orthodox Christian composer and churchman Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev.

Performers will include The Salomé Chamber Orchestra, famed soloists soprano Mary Mackenzie, mezzo-soprano Ana Mihanovic, tenor Blake Friedman, and bass Aaron Theno, and the New York Virtuoso Singers prepared by Harold Rosenbaum.

The concert will take place at 7:30 pm in the Church of the Saint Paul the Apostle (at the corner of Columbus Avenue & West 60th Street, NY 10019).

Please click HERE for more information and to purchase tickets.

Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev, 46, is the Russian born Oxford and Paris educated theologian and musician. He's wonderfully talented in many areas. Last May it was a pleasure of mine to see him and hear his work in Rome at a concert he organized for Pope Benedict XVI.

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Presentation of the Lord

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Presentation of the Lord PdeChampaigne.jpgIn honor of the divine mystery that we celebrate today, let us all hasten to meet Christ. Everyone should be eager to join the procession and to carry a light. Our lighted candle are a sign of the divine splendor of the One who comes to expel the dark shadows of evil and to make the whole universe radiant with the brilliance of His eternal light. Our candles show us how bright our souls should be when we go to meet Christ.


from a homily of Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Office of Readings
RFisichella.jpgIn some comments made of a book on the papacy of Benedict XVI, Archbishop Rino Fisichella said that at the beginning of every pontificate the new pope and the Church face certain challenges that are normal. As Fisichella, the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization reminded his audience, we're only 6 years into Benedict's ministry as the head of the Catholic Church. None of the things that blotted the pope's copybook (that is, have caused the Pope to expend political capitol) are new and that extraordinary; change is always needed in the Church moving to a new administration. All of the recent popes have had to deal the growing pains of transitioning from pontificate to another. In Fisichella's interpretation, and I concur, the central issue of Benedict's work is one of formation, a new education in the faith of all the faithful, including the higher and lower clergy. However, I do think that some of the people that work directly or indirectly at the Holy See have not been as helpful as they possibly could be so as not to have Benedict kicked by the secular media at every "major" event.

Snow and Ice

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bird feeder February 1 2011.jpg"The Snow-Storm" comes to mind today. There's a certain end-times (should we say a 19th century apocalypticism?) quality to Ralph Waldo Emerson's poem that life and death are confronted, forward motion is reduced-if-not-halted the boundaries are indistinct. Looking out my window I see the barrenness of the landscape with only the evergreens providing color save for the woodpecker, the bluejay and the cardinals collecting their food at the feeder. The property lines aren't present and movement is difficult either by foot, car, or train, and forget the airplane. The vivid white of the snow and ice is blinding. 

So, I think it's time for a change in weather. Don't you?
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Saint Brigid of Ireland

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O holy Brigid, you became sublime through your humility, and flew on the wings of your longing for God. When you arrived in the eternal City and appeared before your Divine Spouse, wearing the crown of virginity, you kept your promise to remember those who have recourse to you. You shower grace upon the world, and multiply miracles. Intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls. (Troparian, tone 1)


Lord, you inspired in Saint Brigid such whole-hearted dedication to your work that she is known as Mary of the Gael; through her intercession bless our country; may we follow the example of her life and be united with her and the Virgin Mary in your presence.


More on Saint Brigid here.

Official photograph of Egyptian President Hosn...

Image via Wikipedia

AsiaNews.it published this editorial today where the writer highlights some middle eastern countries. I recommend it. Interesting to note is the comment made by Syria president Bashir al-Assad who spoke with the Wall Street Journal calling the political upending a "kind of disease" due to political and economic stagnation.

The one million people gathered in Cairo's Tahrir (Liberation) square are forcing the hand of Hosni Mubarak, 82, to leave office by Friday after what some have called a soft dictatorship for the past 30 years. He's the 4th and current president of the Egyptian Republic. It won't belong now before the many oppressive regimes around the world are taken down. Who's next? Cuba, China, Iran?

Saint Menas, pray for Egypt, and for all of us.
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Heilengkreutz monks2.jpgFebruary 2, Candlemas, is since 1997, World Day of Consecrated Life was instituted by Pope John Paul II. Candlemas is a feast of encounter. In years past the Pope celebrated the Mass but this year he's celebrating Vespers. Four years ago I was there with some friends and it was a widely beautiful experience because we were united in prayer and in communion with Pope Benedict with all the various charisms --religious orders, congregations, religious and secular institutes-- called by the Lord into existence for the entire Church, not just for a select few. While a man professes the vows of a Capuchin or Benedictine his vocation is for his own salvation and for the witness of the Resurrection. It is not a case of either-or. This is an important point: a day of prayer like the one for consecrated life is not exclusively for those in vows, but for all of the faithful who are called to live a life of holiness, a life of conversion rooted in Baptism. Pope Benedict notes three aspects of the day of prayer for consecrated life: to thank and praise God for the gift of the consecrated life, to promote and appreciation with all the faithful of this vocation and to invite all the vowed people to recognize what the Lord has done in them through the Gospel.
Pope releases dove Jan 30 2011.jpgThe general intention

That all may respect the family and recognize its unmatched contribution to the advancement of society.

The missionary intention

That the Christian communities may witness to the presence of Christ in serving those who suffer from disease in those mission territories where the fight against disease is most urgent.

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 February 2011.

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