Month: August 2012

Post-Christian America: what does it look like, why?

Bouncing around in Catholic religious orders for some time is the notion that one can be a member of the Jesuits or the Sisters of Mercy and “go beyond Jesus and the Church.” I can remember hearing from a Jesuit whom I respected in the early 1990s that he was a “post-Christian Jesuit.” I wondered how a member of the Society of Jesus, a son of Saint Ignatius, could be post-Christian. The former Dominican Father Matthew Fox tried the same line of thinking. In fact, he’s neither a Catholic nor a Catholic priest and a professed member of the Order of Preachers as he’s gone to the Episcopal Church and now some kind of new ager. Christ is optional for him. Not long ago a religious sister who teaches at CTU said that the sisters in the USA can go beyond Jesus. So the recent crisis in faith in religious orders reflects a deeper divide in Christian faith in the rest of society.

I try to wrap my mind around what it means to be a post-Christian American. Father C. John McCloskey III, priest of the Opus Dei wrote a piece, “Post-Christian America,” which I am recommending. Father McCloskey is a Church historian and research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute (Washington, DC). The point of the article is not demonstrate America’s abandonment of Christian faith but to say how it happened.

Saint Bernard, 900 years since entering Cîteaux


Nearly 900 years ago Bernard of Fontaine-lès-Dijon led
a group of young Burgundian noblemen, to the Abbey of Cîteaux in 1112 or 1113. The fledgling
new monastery got a burst of new life and from there set the world ablaze with
what became the Cistercian charism. 


Let us pray for the Cistercians in the
North America, paying particular attention to the intention of young men and women entering the
monastic life under the gaze of Saint Bernard. Beginning today until a year from now, the Cistercians are observing a Year of Saint Bernard. Let’s join them in knowing more about this pivotal saint and monk.


Vision of St Bernard Fra Bartolomeo detail.jpg

Most loving Father, in establishing
the New Monastery at Cîteaux our fathers followed the poor Christ into the
desert. Thus they lived the Gospel, by rediscovering the Rule of Saint Benedict
in its purity.

You gave Bernard of Fontaine the ability to make this new life
attractive and appealing to others, in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Grant that
we today, after their example, may live our charism deeply in a spirit of
peace, unity, humility, and above all, in the charity which surpasses all other
gifts.

May men and women of our time be called to follow the Gospel in monastic
life, in the service of the Church’s mission, in a world often forgetful of
You.

May the monks and nuns of our Order  continue to live in the
enthusiastic and generative spirit of the founders. And in all of our needs may
we always turn to Our Lady whom Bernard called the Star of the Sea.

Holy
Father, from whom we have already received so much, grant us again your
blessing that our communities may grow in numbers, but above all in grace and
in wisdom, to your glory, who are blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer adapted from the original by Dom Olivier, abbot of Citeaux.

Benedictine abbots to meet in Rome


Badia Primaziale arms.jpgThe Office of the Abbot Primate announces…

Almost 300 monastics will gather in Rome, 17-25 September 2012, for the international Congress of Benedictine Abbots and Conventual Priors at the Primatial Abbey of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill. Preceding the Congress, new monastic superiors will participate, 15-16 September 2012, in an orientation program. 25 representatives from Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB), an association of Benedictine sisters and nuns, will also attend the Congress. The Abbot Primate has invited ecumenical guests from the Orthodox and Reformed traditions.

The two keynote speakers are Prof. Michael Hochschild presenting his research on the viability of
Benedictine monasteries, and Fr. Michael Casey OCSO offering a paper on autonomy in Benedictine life. In addition, a wide range of workshops will address current topics in monastic life; such as, Benedictine identity, stress and burnout, associate membership programs, management of monasteries, individualism in the monastery, relationship with Benedictine women, new forms of Benedictine presence in society, ecumenism, the paschal mystery in the sacred liturgy, new directions for inter-monastic dialogue, new structures for AIM, the changing role of the Athenæum S. Anselmo,the sexual abuse crisis, the role of the abbot, communio in the confederation,and the formation of “traditionalist” candidates.

The assembled abbots and conventual priors will have the opportunity to visit in pilgrimage the monasteries of Subiaco, Montecassino, Norcia, and Camaldoli, which is celebrating its 1000th anniversary this year. Nearly half of the 250 abbots and conventual priors will reside in the Collegio S. Anselmo, with the others, including CIB representatives and ecumenical guests, housed in area religious houses and hotels.

An important item on the agenda is the election of the abbot primate of the Benedictine Confederation. According to the Lex Propria of the BenedictineConfederation, the abbot primate is elected for an eight-year term, and renewable thereafter every four years. There is no term limit to the office of abbot primate. The current abbot primate, Dr. Notker Wolf OSB, a monk of St. Ottilien Archabbey in Bavaria, is completing 12 years of service, having beenre-elected in 2008.
Your prayers for the success of the Congress are greatly appreciated.

Nellie Gray, Pro-Life “mother” died


Last weekend Nellie Gray, 88, the “Mother of the Pro-Life” movement in the USA died at her Washington, DC home. She was the voice of the marginal in the USA. The annual March for Life was founded by Nellie 39 years ago. She worked to shed light on the evil of abortion which has claimed 55 million lives. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated for the repose of Nellie Gray on the Solemnity of the Assumption.

Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley, OFM, Cap, said of Nellie Gray:


Nellie Gray.jpg

Having received
news of Nellie Gray’s death, I wish to express my sincere condolences and
prayers for her family and for all who came to know and love her in the
Pro-Life Movement. Her love for life and her dedication to protecting the
unborn, the most vulnerable among us, have inspired countless generations of
Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and we will miss her tremendously.

Nellie
Gray will be remembered as the Joan of Arc of the Gospel of Life. The
architects of the pro-abortion movement in the United States thought that the
opposition would go away, but close to 40 years later the issue is still very
much alive, thanks in part to the annual March for Life and because of people
like Nellie who are committed to the culture of life. Having participated in
every single March for Life since its inception, I have witnessed firsthand her
advocacy and dedication. I was honored by her presence in Boston in 2009, when
during the Boston Catholic Women’s Conference we conferred upon her the Culture
of Life Award.

Her death is a great loss for both our Church and our Country,
but her life has left a meaningful and lasting impression upon the hearts of
those who knew her and upon the many hearts of those whose lives she saved. We
will keep Nellie Gray and all those who mourn her death in our prayers. We ask
God to grant her eternal rest and peace, and we give thanks to Him for the gift
of her life.


Our Lady of Life, pray for Nellie Gray, and for us.

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Catholic University Looks East

Rev. Mark Morozowich.jpgSalvation comes from the East! You’ve heard that before, no? If not, then it is news you ought to welcome, not just because an Eastern Catholic priest, Father Mark Morozowich is the new Dean of the School of Theology at the Catholic University of America.

Father Mark is a longtime friend, and I rejoice in his selection. A brilliant choice! CUA could use a deeper appreciation for the Christian East and with Mark, perhaps they’ll get it.
Perhaps Father Mark’s appointment will be an opportunity for all the Eastern Churches in the USA to send their seminarians to CUA for their theological education. The Maronites and Ukrainian Byzantines already do so; can the Melkites and Reuthenians do likewise? No sense in being too provincial, is there?
The National Catholic Register carries an interview with Father Mark here.
May the Holy Theotokos guide Father Mark’s work for Christ and the Church.
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Oriental Orthodox Churches face elections

Christ in Coptic Art.jpgThe Coptic and Ethiopic Churches face the elections of new popes in the coming  weeks. Pope Shenouda III died in March 2012 after serving as pope of his Church for 40 years. Yesterday, the patriarch of the Ethiopic Church Abune Paulos died at the age of 76. Shenouda had health issues and Paolus apparently died of a heart attack (there’s some controversy on the reason for the death).

The Coptics are preparing to elect the 118th successor of Saint Mark. The list of 17 possible choices is being scrutinized now; the more than 2500 electors have been gleaned from the clergy and laity alike.
The New Jersey eparchy (diocese) for the Coptic Orthodox has introductory material to read. The US doesn’t have a large group of Coptic Orthodox in comparison to the Greek Orthodox Church or Catholicism –let alone the Coptic Catholics, for that matter– but the Church is growing. Worldwide there are 18 million adherents. In the Tri-State area there are some 19 communities of the Coptic Orthodox faithful. For example, the Copts purchased the former Benedictine abbey of Corpus Christi in Texas for a monastery of their own.
Catholics have a keen interest in the Coptic Church because of the role she has played in the forming Catholic faith across the many centuries.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church will also have to elect a new leader, the 6th patriarch, with the death of Abune Paulos yesterday. He served as head of his Church since 1992.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Church Church established themselves as separate from the Coptic Church in 1959 and claims 45 million faithful.
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Cardinal Dolan explains his invites to Al Smith Dinner

There’s been a lot of posturing –let alone misinformation– about the recent revelation that the Cardinal of New York, Timothy M. Dolan, invited the US President to the famed Al Smith Dinner. He wants to be inclusive, open to dialogue, and helpful in trying to inform politicos about Catholic teaching on life and public service. Civility is Dolan’s hope. 

Indeed, it is noteworthy that civility ought to be a Catholic approach. In a time when civility is lacking in and outside the Church, perhaps this event may be a good example. Who could deny the value of such a method. Perhaps, one may ask, is it time to change the focus of the Al Smith Dinner or do away with it altogether?

Read the Cardinal’s comments on his blog here. (Why it took so long for the Cardinal to make his reasoning public is negligent.)
Nevertheless, I wonder if the Al Smith crowd and the Cardinal with his managers are working overtime to defend a prudential (reasonable?) judgment that’s really too difficult to defend by inviting a pro-choice US President.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary


OL of Assumption with angels.jpg“those He justified, He also glorified” (Rom
8:30)


Almighty ever-living God, who assumed the Immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of your Son, body and soul into heavenly glory, grant we pray, that always attentive to the things that are above, we may merit to be sharers of her glory.

What was given to Mary, is offered to us: to share in the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Unlike the Gaga song of “being on the edge of glory,” we Christians are offered the possibility of being in the center of glory. But do we believe it?

Eastern and Western Christians observe on the same day the glorious move
of Mary from this world to the next. The Eastern Christians call today’s feast
the “Dormition,” the falling asleep of the Theotokos and the assumption to
heaven. In the West, we refer to this feast as the Assumption. That Mary,
without decay of the human, was called to heaven body and soul, by God.

Continue reading Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint Maximillian Kolbe

Maximilian Kolbe.jpgCome, you blessed of my Father, says the Lord. Amen I say to you: Whatever you did for one of the least of my brethren, you did it for me.

O God, who filled the Priest and Martyr Saint Maximilian Kolbe with a burning love for the Immaculate Virgin Mary and with zeal for souls and love of neighbor, graciously grant, through his intercession, that, striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death.
Saint Maximilian is clearly one of the 20th centuries most notable martyrs we have. I can think of anyone who has really followed so closely the entrance antiphon (noted above) than Kolbe.
Earlier today I had a visit from a friend, Brother Maximilian of Newark Abbey, who was visiting family. I am also reminded of Brother Maximilian of St Louis Abbey today, especially as he prepares to go to studies for the priesthood.
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