April 2013 – Communio

What does it mean to be a priest?

The priest as a spiritual father is the compass leading the people to righteousness, to virtuous path to God. He protects the Christian identity in all its complexities by educating our religious sense as Fr Giussani teaches. The faith community is as strong, stable, and capable in mission,, vocation, and charitable activities as the leaders are willing to lead. A “high ecclesiology,” if you will, shows us that the priest is gateway to the faith and he shows the way to salvation; but a priest can only be a gateway if he has the people who form the walls and is aware that Christ is the foundation. Too often these days the Catholic priest is not a man of prayer, learning, culture, good humor; many priests have lost a sense of heroic virtue.

How does the priest address the needs of the faithful today? Can the priest answer the questions being asked by the faithful and those seeking to know God,or at least willing to do the work needed to answer these questions? What type of witness needed today by the priest viz. the culture, media, and politics, so that we are happy, healthy and loving Christians? What are the concrete ways can we focus on God? How do Christians face nihilism with faith, hope and charity? What does it mean to be a person –and not merely an individual– realizing that the person is a part of a whole who glorifies God?

As you can tell, I am thinking about these things. What I am reading on this subject will make for another post, but I spent time listening to two presentations.

Continue reading What does it mean to be a priest?

Saint Pius V, pope

Antonio Ghislieri (1504-72) was born near Alexandria, a town in Lombardy on the Adriatic. His vocation was with the Dominicans who educated him, had him ordained and missioned him to teach theology. He was elected bishop having served in several places where and he sought to reform the moral and theological, canonical and liturgical laxity of the clergy and laity alike; his concern was the coherence of the Catholic Faith. Sound familiar? Among his many responsibilities was taking up the work of Inquisitor in the Italian region. He was elected to the See of Rome in 1566. As Pope he strenuously promoted the Catholic Reformation outlined by the Council Fathers of Trent (doing of the same work as pope as he did as bishop), oversaw the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth I of England, encouraged missionary work and reformed the brieviary,the sacred Liturgy and the Catechism.

Some are criticizing Pope Francis for his desire for poverty but we ought to recall that Saint Pius V also sought to reduce the spending of the Papal Curia making it more akin to the lifestyle of the Dominicans of his time.

Saint Pius V, Pope, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine cut her hair and put aside her elegant clothing as an act of modesty, to shun the worldly attention of potential suitors and devote her life to Christ.

Set the world on fire by being who are meant to be…

Who else but the glory of Siena than Catherine who is so enkindled with the fire of Christ’s love for humanity to have said, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire,” than Saint Catherine of Siena.

Under the patronage of Saint Catherine of Siena we ask her to beseech God for us for: fire prevention, purity, bodily illness, nurses, firefighters, illness, Italy, miscarriages, people ridiculed for their piety, sexual temptation, sick people, sickness, television.

Why Christians need Antioch

These weeks we are hearing the narrative of the very early followers of The Way, that is, those who adhere to the Good News taught by Jesus, the crucified and risen one.

With the killing of the deacon while kidnapping the two bishops in Syria has me concerned about Christians losing the sensitivity to the importance of Syria as a key Christian center. Most Western Christians forget that our Christians origins in the West was first formed in the East. Recall from Acts that “it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” It was in Antioch, not in Rome, not in Moscow, not in Constantinople, that the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth were first generated by the Holy Spirit, they were called by name. It’s not West OR East, but West AND East when comes to Christian faith. Does Antioch have any resonance with you Christians? Do you have any concern for our Christian heritage in Syria? What’s our concern for those being killed for being Christian today? Do we even care? Remember: God has created each of us to do Him some definite service; let us live and work in charity for our neighbor.

A famous Antiochian saint, the bishop Ignatius said this in his letter to the Magnesians, “It is right, therefore, that we not just be called Christians, but that we actually be Christians” (4.1).

Too often do I hear that it was much easier to be a Christian of the early years following the Ascension of the Lord and the Pentecost than today. That’s a crazy idea! First of all, no one who knows history can hold that idea as valid. Those who really and truly followed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Messiah and Word made flesh, were harassed and/or killed. The Acts of the Apostles testifies to the fact that Jesus’ followers were killed. There is little difference with state of Christianity in AD 13 than in 2013. So what happened to the Christians in the 1st century is no different than what the dictatorship in Syria is doing now.

So, we can’t allow Syria to further unravel and act contrary to faith and reason. We need to remember that Antioch is crucial to our Christian identity today because our faith in the Lord is no less real, no less beautiful, no less controversial today than in previous eras. It is in Antioch (Syria) that we our Christian identity (belief, liturgy, church tradition, music, science and culture) was formed. Antioch (that is, Syria in general) and the people who live there is the place where and the community where we’ve learned the horizons of our Hope in what Jesus promised.

A preacher whom I like very much is the Very Reverend Denis Robinson, OSB, the president-rector of Saint Meinrad School of Theology. Dom Denis is a Benedictine monk and priest who teaches systematic theology. In 2007, he earned a doctorate in theology specially in the work of Blessed John Henry Newman from the Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium. Recently, he said,

As long as we keep stored up in ourselves the well-rehearsed scripts of indifference, ineptitude, pain, doubt, self-loathing. As long as we think we know the answers, after all that’s what mamma said, until we see that the world is more complicated than the truth we learned at our mother’s knee Brothers and sisters, there is one thing and one thing only that we need. We need Antioch. We need that identity. We need Antioch because we must learn to call ourselves something other than forsaken. We need Antioch. We need to learn to love rather than judge, to give rather than take, to provide for one another rather than constantly seeking the self, the damn self that will be truly damned if we cannot give ourselves over to Christ, all to Christ, fully to Christ, forever to Christ. Where will it be? Where will it be then? If not in Antioch, where will it be? Brothers and sisters we continue to revel in this Easter season knowing I hope full well that the complex completeness of Easter did not come on that solemn night of proclamation. Antioch beckons us in the name of towns and places as yet unseen, unknown, unexplored. And we respond full of hope that the fullness of Easter is still rushing in.

Without perseverance no one can please God, St Catherine of Siena taught

Who we read impacts the way we live. Catherine of Siena, whom the Catholic Church honors today, has much to say to the modern person. In one of her letters we read the following, which ought to bolster our approach in our daily work.

To Sano Di Maco and All Her Other Sons in Siena: In the Name of Jesus Christ crucified and of sweet Mary:

Dearest sons in Christ sweet Jesus: I Catherine, servant and slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, write to you in His precious Blood: with desire to see you strong and persevering till the end of your life. For I consider that without perseverance no one can please God, or receive the crown of reward. He who perseveres is always strong, and fortitude makes him persevere.

Does What I Believe In Affect My Life?

Ultimate questions are critical for all persons. And so much for Christians because of the Incarnation of God in human history. What does it mean to believe? What can science teach us? Is using technology a helpful tool in knowing our Christian self? In a Year of Faith presentation on April 20, the topic at hand was “Does What I Believe In Affect My Life?”

Mother Mary Elizabeth Kloss is one of 10 children of a farming family, a Benedictine nun, an artist, and now the Mother Prioress (the elected major religious superior) of the Benedictine nuns of Saint Scholastica Priory (Petersham, MA). Her sister, Sister Mary Angela is a member of the community. The Priory is a member of the Subiaco Congregation of monks and nuns, an international group of men and women, monks and nuns, seeking the face of God through the lens of sixth century rule of life compiled by Saint Benedict.

Mother Mary Elizabeth’s talk can be heard here.

Saint Catherine of Siena

Saint Catherine of Siena writes:

I want your security to be in Christ gentle Jesus. He has clothed us in the sturdiest garment there is, a garment of love….The very first garment we ever had was love, for it was only by love that we were created in God’s image and likeness.

(Letter 185-86)

When I think of Saint Dominic I immediately think of Saint Catherine of Siena. She is an attractive and inviting personality, unique among many of the church’s holy ones.

When in Rome you ought to visit her tomb at Santa Maria sopra Minerva. Among the Dominicans, Catherine was a Dominican Tertiary (a lay person who had permission to wear a distinctive garb).

In 1970, the Servant of God Pope Paul VI honored her with the title “Doctor of the Church,” one of 4 women with the same title. With St Francis of Assisi, Catherine is a patron saint of Italy. Catherine is credited as one of the people to have ended the Western Schism.

A brief video gives a good intro….

Third Order Dominicans, New Haven, celebrate rites of reception and profession

Pope Benedict XV (1914-1922), himself a Third Order Dominican, said,

“Among the means of holiness most useful and opportune for the defense of and progress of Christian faith and morals in our day, we recognize the Dominican Third Order as one of the most eminent, easy, and secure.”

This afternoon New Haven’s Lay Fraternity of Saint Dominic (the Dominican Third Order Laity) celebrated the rites of reception for two new members, simple profession of five and the final profession of two in the context of Sunday Mass. The president of the chapter Linda Kelly and the religious assistant, Father Jordan Schmidt, OP, (who stands in the place of the Master of the Order) received the promises. The rites were held at Saint Mary’s Church in New Haven, CT.

The promises made a more intense living of one’s baptismal vows but now the person promises actually live in a fuller way as the Apostles did in relationship to the Divine Master. Though we rarely think of the graces of Baptism with any regularity, here the profession of promises by the laity accentuate the reality of grace first received when we were first washed of Original Sin and made members of the Mystical Body of Christ.

One of the exhortations made by the priest singled out the the manner of life out to be seen as being salt of the earth and light of the world for the purpose of honoring God and the salvation of souls. Hence, what is at the center of the promises are the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those making the promises are asked if they are “resolved to be more closely bound to Christ and the service of the Church,” “to walk in the newness of life” adhering to what Saint Dominic proposed in terms of announcing the Good News and following the Lord,” and that according to their particular state in life as laity, they have a share in the Church’s “apostolic mission by prayer, study and preaching.” Therefore, they have a new bond with the Order of Preachers.

Blessings to Fraternity of Saint Dominic of New Haven, especially to our friends Tacy and Steve. May what God has given us be brought to completion.

Saint Dominic, pray for us.

Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us.

All saints and blessed of the Dominican Order, pray for us.

Last year’s post on these same rites.

The Spirit changes us

At the Sacrifice of the Mass in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis also celebrated the Rite of Confirmation with 44 people from around the world. As we approach Pentecost, this excerpt from his short homily is very instructive. Pay attention. Don’t forget to daily ask, no beg, for the Holy Spirit to have a special grace to embrace the day. May the Spirit be with these 44 newly confirmed in the Faith, indeed, all those around the world who are receiving the sacrament of Confirmation these days.

This is the work of the Holy Spirit: he brings us the new things of God. He comes to us and makes all things new; he changes us. The Spirit changes us! And Saint John’s vision reminds us that all of us are journeying towards the heavenly Jerusalem, the ultimate newness which awaits us and all reality, the happy day when we will see the Lord’s face – that marvelous face, the most beautiful face of the Lord Jesus – and be with him for ever, in his love.

You see, the new things of God are not like the novelties of this world, all of which are temporary; they come and go, and we keep looking for more. The new things which God gives to our lives are lasting, not only in the future, when we will be with him, but today as well. God is even now making all things new; the Holy Spirit is truly transforming us, and through us he also wants to transform the world in which we live. Let us open the doors to the Spirit, let ourselves be guided by him, and allow God’s constant help to make us new men and women, inspired by the love of God which the Holy Spirit bestows on us! How beautiful it would be if each of you, every evening, could say: Today at school, at home, at work, guided by God, I showed a sign of love towards one of my friends, my parents, an older person!