Kyle Fertig was one of 1.1 million students who began school in New York yesterday. He’s likely to be voted THE well-dressed student of the school system.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, pray for our students.
Author: Paul Zalonski
Forgiveness Has Implications in This Life, the Next
Last Sunday’s Mass readings centered our attention on fraternal charity, fraternal correction. We have to heal the person who causes harm because he or she needs the healing more. The Rule of St Benedict and Pope Benedict had something to say about it. This coming Sunday’s reading continues the theme of forgiveness. The Church in her wisdom keeps on reminding us of the facts that make up the Christian journey and how to live within these “facts” so that we thrive.
Basilian Father Thomas Rosica’s reflections on this coming Sunday’s readings on forgiveness are appropos.
What does it mean, “to forgive”? First of all forgiveness implies that there is something to forgive. Whether it’s something big or small, the need for forgiveness means somebody has done something wrong. The Greek word used for “forgiveness” in today’s parable means “to send away” or “to make apart.” Forgiveness “sends away” whatever has been keeping people apart. Anger or feelings of vengeance are “sent away.” By forgiving, one is no longer under the control of that past sinful act he suffered. We know that Jesus demands boundless forgiveness of his disciples. Forgiving and showing mercy, however are not always simple matters.
Forgiveness doesn’t mean that the people will be reconciled immediately. Nevertheless, it begins the healing process and helps to remove feelings of revenge. To ignore Jesus’ teaching on forgiveness has serious implications in this life and in the next. Do we really believe that our eternal destiny and salvation are harmed or hindered by our inability to forgive while we are on this earth? How do we do justice and show mercy? These are certainly not easy questions for us to answer and they surface in us a myriad of emotions that are also present in this parable.
The Church is called to break down the barriers that divide peoples, to build up relationships of trust and to foster forgiveness and reconciliation among peoples who have become estranged. As followers of Jesus we must be prophets of justice and peace, and always passionate about the suffering of humanity in our times.
Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
“Forgiveness Has Implications in This Life, the Next
Biblical Reflection for 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time A”
Saint Peter Claver
Today the Church liturgically remembers one of her missionary saints, Saint Peter Claver, (1580-1654) a Spainard who came from a very modest but known family heritage. Claver was influenced by what he heard and what he read in Jesuit houses of the missionaries. The brother porter-saint of Claver’s Jesuit house of studies, Alphonsus Rodriquez, frequently spoke of the need great work he could do in sharing the Gospel in mission lands. So moved to serve the Divine Majesty in a distant land, he requested of his superiors to be sent on mission to the New World. In what is known today as Columbia, South America, Claver worked with the negro-slaves teaching them the faith, and attending to their human and spiritual needs. In Claver’s eyes he took Saint Paul’s teaching that there are no distinctions in the Kingdom between Jew and Greek, slave or free, man or woman: all are the adopted children of God. As one person put it, for 33 years Father Peter Claver lavished love on the slaves that transcended the natural order. It was a love that confounded his religious superiors and the leaders in civil society of his day. It is reported that the saint brought to Christ 300K souls.
Let us remember in prayer the missionaries and those who work to evangelize.
Firefighters’ Names Endure in St. Patrick’s Towers
David W. Dunlap of the NY Times wrote a piece earlier today, “Firefighters’ Names Endure in St. Patrick’s Towers,” talking about the legacy of the firefighters in the iconic St Patrick’s Cathedral. The article is a nice remembrance of those who inscribed their names following the 9/11 tradegy. Thanks to Msgr. Robert Ritchie and others who are committed to keeping the graffiti intact.
The slide show is worth looking at.
Richard John Neuhaus and the Priestly Vocation: an unforgotten anniversary
Father Richard John Neuhaus would have celebrated 20 years a priest today.
May his memory be eternal!
Read Father Raymond J. de Souza’s article in First Things,
Nativity of Mary
The feast of the nativity of the blessed Virgin Mary, born from the tribe of Judah, from the seed of Abraham and the race of King David, from whom the Son of God was born, made man through the Holy Spirit, that men might be freed from the ancient servitude of sin.
“…this feast of Mary’s birth should remind us of God’s loving plan” (Abp. Charles J. Chaput, Installation homily).
Fraternal love and correction essential, Pope reminds
One of the themes from Oblate retreat this past weekend was humility. And from within the Gospel and Saint Benedict’s vision of humility Brother John Mark spoke about love and fraternal relations, particularly rubbing elbows in true charity with your brother and sister in community. A stone is only polished when it meets other stones.
Pope Benedict brings up the human desire to be in community with other other people: how good it is for brothers and sisters to live in unity, St Paul says. But this unity and love have one condition: “You will love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:8-10). Some take this point as an easy thing to do. I assure you, it is not. This past Sunday’s Scripture readings teach this point.
In his Rule, Saint Benedict places a strong emphasis on mutual responsibility (“a reciporcal responsibility” the Pope calls it) and charity toward the other person is lived only in a personal way. Benedict XVI argues as Saint Benedict did before him, “that there is a co-responsibility in the journey of the Christian life: everyone, conscious of his own limits and defects, is called to welcome fraternal correction and to help others with this particular service [of forgiveness and healing injuries].
Continue reading Fraternal love and correction essential, Pope reminds
Chaput talks about acceptance of Catholic teaching
The new Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, OFM, Cap., is doing what Saints Peter and Paul would have done: teach the Faith with clarity but pastorally: if you don’t accept the teachings of Christ as found in the New Testament and articulated by the Church, then you really aren’t Catholic. You may be Christian, but not really Catholic. Cafeteria Catholics –Catholics who pick-and-choose what to believe– don’t trust in Christ, nor do they believe in the objectivity of truth taught by the Church. The promises of Christ and the Church aren’t too good to be true. The teachings of Christ and the Church are the way, the truth and the life for all Christians. Chaput has been clear about what it takes to be an authentic Catholic and picking and choosing is not the method. Sorry.
A recent AP interview with Archbishop Charles can be read here.
Here’s a moment of truth: are we going to walk on water OR sit in the boat and talk about what we know? Will you do great things for God and His Church? Archbishop Charles is making this clear….
Religious life 2011: Profession of vows, entrances and ordinations
About this time of each year I look at the numbers of who professed vows, entered religious life and/or ordained of a select group of religious orders of the mixed, apostolic life and monasteries since Autumn 2010.
Locating the public vocation in Christ and therefore in the Church, we have to note what Pope Benedict has taught:
“The Eucharist is the source of that ecclesial unity for which Jesus prayed on the eve of his passion: “Father… that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17:21). The intense communion favors the growth of generous vocations at the service of the Church: the heart of the believer, filled with divine love, is moved to dedicate itself wholly to the cause of the Kingdom” (World Day of Prayer for Vocation, 2007).
No vocation makes sense without the Eucharist and the ecclesial unity the Eucharist creates. All vocations, are therefore born from an intense desire for unity in Jesus Christ, the Eucharistic Lord.
This year’s vocation stats:
Monastic Life
St Meinrad Archabbey (St Meinrad, IN): 1 novice was given the habit.
Conception Abbey (Conception, MO): 1 monk was ordained to the Order of Deacon; 2 novices were invested.
St Joseph’s Abbey Covington, LA): 2 professed simple vows; 1 entered the novitiate.
Subiaco Abbey (Subiaco, AK): 2 monks professed simple vows; 2 entered the novitiate and 3 men entering the postulancy.
Our Lady of Glastonbury Abbey (Hingham, MA): 1 entered the novitiate.
Prince of Peace Abbey (Oceanside, CA): 1 monk professed solemn vows.
Mount Michael Abbey (Elkhorn, NE): 1 monk ordained to the Order of Deacon and 1 monk ordained to the Order of Priest.
Monastero di San Benedetto (Norcia, Italy): 1 monk professed solemn vows, one ordained to the Order of Deacon and is expected to be ordained to the Priesthood on September 24. The monastery now has 8 solemnly professed monks.
St Louis Abbey (St Louis, MO): 1 postulant entered. The monks also re-elected Abbot Thomas for a 3rd 8-year term of service.
St Vincent Archabbey (Latrobe, PA): 3 monks profess solemn vows; 4 profess simple vows; 7 junior monks renew their temporary vows; 2 monks were ordained deacons.
St John’s Abbey (Collegeville, MN): 1 monk professed solemn vows; 2 professed simple vows; 3 invested as novices; 13 monks in formation.
Belmont Abbey (Our Lady Help of Christians, Charlotte, NC): 1 monk solemnly professed vows.
St Benedict’s Abbey (Atchison, KS): 1 monk professed solemn vows, 2 professed simple vows and 3 were admitted as postulants.
St Mary’s Abbey (Morristown, NJ): 1 monk professed solemn vows, 3 professed simple vows; 1 novice entered.
St Bernard’s Abbey (Cullman, AL): 1 ordained a priest, 1 solemn vows, 1 made simple profession and 1 received into the postulancy.
St Martin’s Abbey (Lacey, WA): 1 monk professed solemn vows and 1 monk was ordained priest.
Abbey of Saint Walburga (Colorado): simply professed 2 nuns in 2011 who join 3 other junior nuns.
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Kansas City-St Joseph, MO) had 3 profess first vows and 2 enter the novitiate. These sisters follow the traditional Liturgy.
St Dominic’s Monastery (Linden, VA): 4 novices, 3 postulants, 2 aspirants. This community is a very young community of women living the vocation of an enclosed Dominican Nun.
The Dominican nuns of Summit, NJ, the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, there are 8 nuns in formation: 3 temporary professed, 4 novices, 1 postulant.
The Carmelite Monks (Cody, WY) had 2 enter the novitiate, a perpetual profession and 2 professed temporary vows.
Daylesford Abbey (Paoli, PA): 1 ordained to the priesthood (December 2010) and 1 ordained priest (September 2011); 1 simple profession.
St Michael’s Abbey (Silverado, CA): 1 canon was ordained to the priesthood and 2 were ordained deacon; 1 professed solemn vows.
Holy Theophany Monastery (Olympia, WA): a novice will be invested with the habit in November. This is monastery is only a few years old and lives according to the Byzantine tradition.
Apostolic religious men
The Capuchin friars of St Mary’s Province (New York-New England) simply professed 2 friars; there will be 5 friars professing solemn vows; 3 were admitted to the novitiate and 4 to the postulancy.
The Capuchin Friars of the Saint Augustine Province simply professed 4 friars.
The Capuchin Friars of the Province of Saint Conrad (Mid-America) 2 novices entered, 1 friar was ordained a deacon and 1 friar was ordained a priest.
Conventual Franciscans: several provinces sponsor a common novitiate in Mishawaka, IN: 5 friars professed simple vows; 7 men received the habit.
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal: 4 friars professed final vows; 5 professed simple vows and 5 postulants entered.
Franciscan Friars, Holy Name Province: 2 were ordained priests; 2 professed solemn vows, 3 entered the novitiate; 5 became postulants.
Congregation of Holy Cross (Notre Dame, IN): 1 professed final vows in the USA, 5 professed final vows in East Africa; 6 professed simple vows in the USA. The same American who professed final vows was ordained to the Order of Deacon.
The Dominicans of the Province of St Joseph: 16 professed simple vows, 9 friars professed solemn vows and 5 ordained priests, 13 entered the novitiate.
The Dominicans of the Province of St Albert the Great: 7 professed simple vows; 6 men were admitted to the novitiate.
Apostolic Women religious
Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Hamden, CT): 1 sister professed perptual vows; 2 entered the first year of the novitiate; joining 3 second year novices; and there are 3 junior professed sisters.
Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (Clyde, MO): 1 sister was received who’s transferring from another Benedictine congregation of sisters.
Sisters of St Benedict (Ferdinand, IN): 2 professed solemn vows; there’s 1 novice and 1 postulant. You may want to read The Sisters’ blog.
The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia (Nashville): 7 sisters professed perpetual profession; 15 novices made their first profession; 11 sisters renewed their vows for 2 years; 24 postulants were admitted to the novitiate. The sisters have a convent in Australia.
Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist (Ann Arbor, MI): 4 sisters professed perpetual vows; 7 professed simple vow; 18 received the habit for the 1st year of novitiate with a total of 36 novices.
The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal had 3 sisters enter the postulancy.
Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist (Meriden, CT) 1 sister professed final vows; 1 professed simple vows; there’s 1 novice; 1 sister transferred to the Congregation.
The Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George (Alton, IL) 23 junior sisters renewed their vows; 2 professed simple vows, 3 entered the postulant program, 3 entered the 1st year novitiate and 3 moved to the 2nd year novitiate.
Sisters of Life: 5 sisters profess first vows.
Previous blog post: September 9, 2010
John Paul II’s Laborem exercens makes 30 years
John Paul II’s Laborem exercens (On Human Work; September 14, 1981), celebrates 30 years next week. Itself was a document written on the 90th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s landmark work Rerum Novarum. I think we ought to give more attention to the meaning of work and its connection with the work of the Creator. Too often we disparage work and its place in the daily experience of men and women. This morning at Lauds, by Providence, I read from the Apostle’s work that a person who doesn’t work, doesn’t eat. I could help thinking about the implication of this teaching. THence, today, is an appropriate to think about work and it’s meaning.
Some paragraphs from LE:
Through work man
must earn his daily bread and contribute to the continual advance of science
and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral
level of the society within which he lives in community with those who belong
to the same family. And work means any activity by man, whether manual or
intellectual, whatever its nature or circumstances; it means any human activity
that can and must be recognized as work, in the midst of all the many
activities of which man is capable and to which he is predisposed by his very
nature, by virtue of humanity itself. Man is made to be in the visible universe
an image and likeness of God himself, and he is placed in it in order to subdue
the earth. From the beginning therefore he is called to work. Work is one of
the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose
activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable
of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence
on earth. Thus work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of
a person operating within a community of persons. And this mark decides its
interior characteristics; in a sense it constitutes its very nature.
must earn his daily bread and contribute to the continual advance of science
and technology and, above all, to elevating unceasingly the cultural and moral
level of the society within which he lives in community with those who belong
to the same family. And work means any activity by man, whether manual or
intellectual, whatever its nature or circumstances; it means any human activity
that can and must be recognized as work, in the midst of all the many
activities of which man is capable and to which he is predisposed by his very
nature, by virtue of humanity itself. Man is made to be in the visible universe
an image and likeness of God himself, and he is placed in it in order to subdue
the earth. From the beginning therefore he is called to work. Work is one of
the characteristics that distinguish man from the rest of creatures, whose
activity for sustaining their lives cannot be called work. Only man is capable
of work, and only man works, at the same time by work occupying his existence
on earth. Thus work bears a particular mark of man and of humanity, the mark of
a person operating within a community of persons. And this mark decides its
interior characteristics; in a sense it constitutes its very nature.
Continue reading John Paul II’s Laborem exercens makes 30 years