Recently in Diocese of Bridgeport Category

Tonight, in the context of the Sacrifice of the Mass, Bishop Robert A. Brucato, auxiliary of bishop New York, received the Candidacy for Holy Orders of 18 men. This is an official step in declaring one's intention to be ordained with the approval of the bishop or major religious superior. The breakdown of candidates is as follows:

9 for the Archdiocese of New York and 1 for the Diocese of Bridgeport

7 for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and 1 for the Idente Missionaries of Christ Crucified.

Pray for all of us preparing for priesthood.

If you are interested, the rite follows.

The Rite of Admission to Candidacy follows the homily.

Calling of the Candidates

Examination

My sons, the pastors and teachers in charge of your formation, and others who know you, have given a favorable account of you, and we have full confidence in their testimony.

The bishop asks two questions for the candidates:

In response to the Lord's call are you resolved to complete your preparation so that in due time you will be ready to be ordained for the ministry of the Church? The candidates answer: I am.

The bishop:

Are you resolved to prepare yourselves in mind and spirit to give faithful service to Christ the Lord and his body, the Church?  The candidates: I am.

Acceptance of the Candidates

The Church receives your declaration with joy. May God who has begun the good work in you bring it to fulfillment. All: Amen.

Invitation to Prayer

Brothers and sisters, let us ask our God and Lord to pour out his grace and blessing on these servants of his who desire to give their lives to the ministry of the Church.

Intercessions

Concluding Prayer

Lord, hear our prayers for your sons who wish to dedicate themselves to your service and the service of your people in the sacred ministry.

Bless them + in your fatherly love, that they may persevere in their vocation, and through their loving fidelity to Christ the Priest be worthy to carry out the Church's apostolic mission. We ask this through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.

Liturgy of the Eucharist

The Catholic school system in the US has been in a very desperate shape for years: acute and chronic money problems, lack of good, solidly trained Catholic teachers and administrators, a coherent vision of Catholic education as it interfaces with the charism of the religious order/diocese operating the school, building & grounds in near of repair, low endowments, etc. Then there is the assessment of what is purported to constitute a Catholic school: poor formation in the faith, the arts & humanites and science suffer, good use of current technologies, and engagement with people who do things differently, engagement with the vulnerable and culture of life, etc. Many, many Catholic schools don't offer the Sacrifice of the Mass on a weekly basis for the students; and very few of them that I am familiar with offer reliable guidance and formation of the faculty and parents. In my book, if the bishop rarely shows up and the pastor visits the school only when there is crisis. then the problem is more acute.

Don't get me wrong: I am a product of a lot years Catholic education and wouldn't trade it for anything. I love my time in the Catholic schools I attended but I can see the gaping holes in education and experience. I also believe that the Church needs excellent schools and formation programs.

Five exceptions to this critical view may be the five schools in the Diocese of Bridgeport recently named "Blue Ribbon" by the US Dept of Ed. But for these success stories in Catholic Education there are thousands of others pointing to major problems.

Today, there is an article in Time that speaks to a corrective of what is noted above. The dynamic Mr. Ekicsen is asking the right questions and seeking reasonable solutions. The bishop of Patterson made an excellent choice in hiring Eriksen and I pray his project thrives. It will --the saints are behind him. Read about the Eriksen initiative...

I think of a few things that are contributing to a renewal of Catholic eduation in the US: 1) Luigi Giussani's The Risk of Education; 2) the Ed Conference; 3) UND's ACE program; and 4) Dwight Longenecker's booklet The Risk of Faith; 5) Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. This is not an exhaustive list by any stretch of reality because I know there are plenty of more good programs/schools out there so please forward the names to me.

Word has been received that the Church of Saint John (Stamford, CT) has been given the high honor of being named a minor basilica by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Henceforth, the parish will be known as The Basilica of Saint John the Evangelist.

The Catholic community has been present in the Stamford sine the early 18th century but an official ecclesial community was founded in 1847. The current church was completed in 1886.

Saint John's is the second church in the State of Connecticut to receive this distinction. The first is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Waterbury, CT. There are only 65 minor basilicas in the US.

UPDATE

The announcement from the Diocese of Bridgeport, October 17, 2009

The Stamford Advocate's article of October 17, 2009

Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT enters into rites dedicating the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, today. Rarely do we have the opportunity to newly construct a marvelous work of art given for God's greater glory and His worship such as Sacred Heart's Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Having Father Rupnik's commission in Connecticut gives us a special link to the work of the Church in calling us to deeper union with God. Rupnik's mosaic work had its first world dramatic epiphany in Apostolic Palace's Mother of the Redeemer Chapel (Vatican City State) due to Pope John Paul being struck to the beauty wrought by Rupnik and his colleagues at the Centro Aletti. Today, we are struck by the same beauty drawn more deeply into the mystery, into radical holiness by another dramatic manifestation of the mosaics.