Paul Zalonski – Page 389

Serratelli updates US Bishops on the translation of the new Roman Missal

The out-going chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship, Bishop Arthur Serratelli of Paterson, gave the following update to the USCCB today. Bishop Serratelli is now succeeded by the Archbishop of New Orleans, the Most Reverend Gregory M. Aymond. The USCCB press release is here.

There has been some discussion recently about a report
surfaced through some segments of the Catholic Press regarding the present
state of the text of the Roman Missal, Third Edition. A number of facts will
hopefully clarify the situation and, in so doing, give us the calm needed to
welcome and implement the new text.

First, it is helpful to keep in mind the
genesis of the final text that is now being prepared for publication. The International
Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) prepared for the English-speaking
Conferences of Bishops preliminary drafts (“green books”) of the 12 sections of
the Roman Missal. After incorporating the feedback and responses of the
individual Conferences of Bishops and the Vatican Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, ICEL then prepared the final
drafts (“gray books”). These were approved by canonical vote by each of the
member Conferences. In approving the gray books, each conference also had the
opportunity to make further suggestions to the Congregation, as was done in
particular by our Conference. We submitted many amendments to the texts. The
Congregation, working with the Vox Clara Committee, carefully listened to what
the bishops said. The Congregation incorporated many of the suggestions of the
various Conferences (including our own), combined with their own review and
changes, and put forth the final text. The Congregation followed the principles
of Liturgiam Authenticam faithfully but not slavishly.

This is the final text
now being readied for publication. This process includes a final review and
copy edit which, given the size of the text, uncovers some minor questions of
consistency, typographical errors, and layout. Those questions are being
addressed by the Congregation for Divine Worship. This review has not dealt
with the translation itself. The critique that has circulated has necessarily
failed to take into account the final version of the text, which incorporates
some corrections issued by the Congregation since the transmittal of the full
text to the English-speaking Conferences of Bishops in August 2010.

To sum up,
there is a final text. It has received a recognitio. As the work of editing and
assembling nears completion, there is assurance that the published text will be
available in more than ample time for implementation in Advent 2011. It is good
to note also that the catechetical preparation for implementation is already
underway and has proceeded with much enthusiasm and wide acceptance by both
clergy and laity. It is clear at this point in time that there is an attitude
of openness and readiness to receive the new text. Let us pray in this time of
transition and change that the Roman Missal, Third Edition, will enable all to
understand more deeply the mysteries we celebrate.

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli

Chairman, USCCB Committee on Divine Worship

November 18, 2010

Benedict and Rowan

The Archbishop of Canterbury visits Pope Benedict XVI today.

His Grace’s meeting with His Holiness was previously scheduled to but certainly follows the extraordinary announcement of the 5 Anglican bishops desire for entering into full communion with the Church of Rome. Ostensibly Williams was in Rome to participate in the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity but exact details of the discussion with the Pope are not public (yet?).

The Vatican Radio report carries more information.

Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne

Saint Rose Philippine was called “the woman who is always praying.” Her singular focus on Christ and the mission won her esteem among those who found the Christian Gospel foreign. She is buried in St. Charles, MO, having died there on this date in 1852 at the age of 83. She lived the Lord’s parable of the Pearl of Great Price.
Beatified by Pope Pius XII in 1940 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1988, Duchesne is the US founder of the Society of the Sacred Heart, an order of religious women who were first founded in France by Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat.

Saint Elizabeth of Hungary

Praise to the holy woman whose home is built on faithful love and whose pathway leads to God.

Father, You helped Elizabeth of Hungary to recognize and honor Christ in the poor of this world. Let her prayers help us to serve our brothers and sisters in time of trouble and need.

Saint Elizabeth is the patroness of the Third Order Franciscans (the laity and secular priests). Her example of patience and holiness modeled on the good example of the Franciscan friars leads us to be attentive to the poor in our midst.

In an October address, the Holy Father spoke of today’s saint:

She behaved to her subjects in the same way that she behaved to God. Among the Sayings of the four maids, we find this testimony: “She did not eat any food before ascertaining that it came from her husband’s property or legitimate possessions. While she abstained from goods procured illegally, she also did her utmost to provide compensation to those who had suffered violence.”

She is a true example for all who have roles of leadership: the exercise of authority, at every level, must be lived as a service to justice and charity, in the constant search for the common good. Elizabeth diligently practiced works of mercy…

Read the entire address Pope Benedict gave on Saint Elizabeth of Hungary on October 20, 2010.

Saint Vladimir’s relics visit the USA

The privilege of having the relics of one’s patron coming to your home is a singular experience. Friends who are seminarians at Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary welcomed their patron’s relics in solemn ceremony this past weekend.

An 11th century saint, Saint Vladimir is known in the Orthodox Church as the Holy and Great Prince Vladimir, Equal-to-the-Apostles who first experienced a dramatic conversion to Christ. He is credited with bringing Christianity to various places in Russia.

Saint Vladimir’s feast is commemorated in both the Orthodox and Latin Churches on July 15.

The press release of the veneration is here with yet another here.

Thanks to Deacon Dustin Lyon for the photos.

Solemn Vigil for All Nascent Human Life, 27 November 2010

Marking the beginning of Advent for the Roman Church,
the Holy Father invited the world’s dioceses (parishes & religious
institutions) religious communities, ecclesial movements and associations
throughout the world to join him in a Solemn Vigil for All Nascent Human Life (resources here).

On November 27^th, First Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent, the
Church will gather together with her pastor in prayer to thank God for the
Incarnation of His Son and for the gift of Life, and to ask for the Lord’s
protection over every human being called into existence.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan is new USCCB President; other new officers elected

The new president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York.

The office of president of the USCCB is a three year term of service.

The new vice president of the USCCB is Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville.

The new treasurer of the USCCB is Bishop Michael J. Bransfield.

The new chairman of the Office of Canonical Affairs and Church Governance is Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese of Military Services.

The new chairman of Catholic Education is Bishop Joseph P. McFadden of Harrisburg.

The new chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs is Bishop Denis J. Madden auxiliary bishop of Baltimore.

The new chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis is Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay.

The new chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace is Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien of Baltimore.

The new chairman of the Committee on Child and Youth Protection is Bishop R. Daniel Conlon of Steubenville.

The important point about the place of a conference of bishops in life of the Church is that they serve rather than replace the authority given to an individual bishop in exercising his office by teaching, serving (governing) and sanctifying the faithful of his diocese. But as Pope Benedict has said on any number of occasions, and which was also reiterated by Francis Cardinal George on Monday in his final presidential address, local churches are not national churches. Hence, priests are ordained bishops for the entire Church and not merely for thus-and-such diocese. Speaking to the Brazilian bishops on their recent ad limina visit (a visit to the Pope, various offices at the Holy See and for prayer at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul) Benedict said: “… the counselors and structures of the episcopal conference exist to serve the bishops, not to replace them.”

For a full theological treatment on bishops’ conferences you ought to read Pope John Paul II’s 1998 Apostolic Letter, Apostolos Suos: On the Theological and Juridical Nature of Episcopal Conferences.

Saint Gertrude the Great

A pivotal figure in our theology of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302). She was a nun of the Abbey of Helfta. Saint Gertrude is the only woman on the liturgical calendar to hold the title “the Great.”

Gertrude was an extraordinary student, she learned everything that can be learned of the sciences of the trivium and quadrivium, the education of that time; she was fascinated by knowledge and threw herself into profane studies with zeal and tenacity, achieving scholastic successes beyond every expectation. If we know nothing of her origins, she herself tells us about her youthful passions: literature, music and song and the art of miniature painting captivated her. She had a strong, determined, ready and impulsive temperament. She often says that she was negligent; she recognizes her shortcomings and humbly asks forgiveness for them. She also humbly asks for advice and prayers for her conversion. Some features of her temperament and faults were to accompany her to the end of her life, so as to amaze certain people who wondered why the Lord had favoured her with such a special love.

Gertrude was an extraordinary student, she learned everything that can be learned of the sciences of the trivium and quadrivium, the education of that time; she was fascinated by knowledge and threw herself into profane studies with zeal and tenacity, achieving scholastic successes beyond every expectation. If we know nothing of her origins, she herself tells us about her youthful passions literature, music and song and the art of miniature painting captivated her. She had a strong, determined, ready and impulsive temperament. She often says that she was negligent; she recognizes her shortcomings and humbly asks forgiveness for them. She also humbly asks for advice and prayers for her conversion. Some features of her temperament and faults were to accompany her to the end of her life, so as to amaze certain people who wondered why the Lord had favoured her with such a special love.

She had a vision of a young man who, in order to guide her through the tangle of thorns that surrounded her soul, took her by the hand. In that hand Gertrude recognized “the precious traces of the wounds that abrogated all the acts of accusation of our enemies” (ibid., II, 1, p. 89), and thus recognized the One who saved us with his Blood on the Cross: Jesus.

From that moment her life of intimate communion with the Lord was intensified, especially in the most important liturgical seasons Advent-Christmas, Lent-Easter, the feasts of Our Lady even when illness prevented her from going to the choir. This was the same liturgical humus as that of Matilda, her teacher; but Gertrude describes it with simpler, more linear images, symbols and terms that are more realistic and her references to the Bible, to the Fathers and to the Benedictine world are more direct.

Read the whole of the Pope’s October 6, 2010 address on saint Gertrude the Great.

Life at St Michael’s Abbey

The Norbertine canons of St Michael’s Abbey (Silverado, CA) produced a terrifically inspiring vocation video. As an order, the Order of Prémontré (Norbertines) were founded in 1121 by Saint Norbert who adopted as the order’s motto, prepared for every good work, known essentially the charism of praying the Divine Office and the Sacrifice of the Mass. The ministry of a Norbertine is to make to the world the fruits of his contemplation. St Michael’s Abbey was founded in 1961 and the community has 70 members whose median age is about 43 years.

The Vineyard of Light vocation video of St Michael’s Abbey

Saint Albert the Great

The learned will shine like the brilliance of the firmament, and those who train many in the ways of justice will sparkle like the stars for all eternity. (ent. ant.)

God of truth, You endowed our brother Albert with the gift of combining human wisdom with divine faith. May the pursuit of all human knowledge lead to a greater knowledge and love of You.

History is a Catholic “thing”: the Middle Ages weren’t so intellectually dark as some people say. Proof of this thesis is the presence of the Dominican priest, bishop, natural scientist and philosopher Albert the Great (1200-80). He was a known authority on the sciences and he posited that the earth was a sphere 200 years before Columbus “discovered” America. He also theorized that weather is determined by a person’s latitude. All of this information is taken for granted today but in the 13th century this was truly new information, revolutionary, in fact.

He abandoned his family’s station in life, studied at the University of Padua, joined the brand new Order of Friars Preachers, studied at Paris, and was an interested party promoting Aristotle. Albert was the superior of one of the houses of studies where the young Thomas Aquinas lived and is credited for setting Thomas on his way to be an intellectual giant. In 1254, Albert was elected the Prior Provincial of the German Province of Dominicans and in 1260 Pope Alexander IV nominated Albert the Bishop of Regensburg. He was prodigious author (at least 40 volumes of thought) to the point that Albert’s contemporaries called him the universal doctor and the Church bestowed the title of Doctor of the Church.

Albert was canonized in 1931.