Author: Paul Zalonski

Saint Pius X, pope

St Pius X 2.jpgYes, Lord; you know that I love You.



Father, to defend the Catholic faith and
to make all things new in Christ, You filled Saint Pius X with heavenly wisdom
and apostolic courage. May his example and teaching lead us to the reward of
eternal life.

Today we pray for first communicants and pilgrims through the intercession of Saint Pius X.


The Wiki article on Saint Pius
The Holy See’s page on Saint Pius

Deacons spend their lives for the Gospel as priests & bishops: intellectually, theologically & pastorally

On the feast of Saint Lawrence (August 10), the Cardinal
Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, Claudio Cardinal Hummes, OFM, wrote to
the world’s permanent deacons that what the Year of the Priest is also oriented
toward the Order of Deacon and what is said to the priests applies very
much to the deacons. This is welcome news! 

I admire the vocation of deacons but I have had my fill of deacons who
believe their vocation is undervalued, mis-understood or abused by priests. While there are tensions among some deacons and priests, the problem is often grossly reported. In
recent weeks since the pope inaugurated the Year of the Priest I have heard deacons complaining that they
feel “left out” by not having a spiritual/intellectual year dedicated to them
as one is to the priesthood. The moaning distracts. Complaining is rather 

7 deacons .jpg

tedious when you see the connections among the various hierarchies in our
Church because none can exist without the other (even though the Church didn’t
have the permanent deaconate for long a period of time). Look at the witnesses of the sainted deacons through the millennia: Stephen, Ephrem, Francis among many. Quoting Pope “to work
in favor of this pull of priests toward spiritual perfection, upon which, above
all, depends the efficacy of their ministry,” (discourse of March 16, 2009).
Hence, I am happy to see something on the value of the permanent deacons in the
Year of the Priest because the call and ministry of priests and deacons are intimately
interrelated as is the call to the episcopacy in the service of the Gospel. Additionally,
I am elated the Cardinal once again drew our attention to the need to know our Scripture
and the practice of lectio divina. Proper and ongoing formation in the Lord and
the Church requires careful attention to the place of Scripture and lectio. The
letter said in part:

To know Revelation, to adhere unconditionally to Jesus
Christ as a fascinated and enamored disciple, to base oneself always upon Jesus
Christ and to be with Him in our Mission, this is then what awaits a permanent
deacon, decisively and without any reservation. From a good disciple a good missionary is born.

The ministry
of the Word which, in a special way for Deacons, has as its great model St.
Stephen, Deacon and Martyr, requires of ordained ministers a constant struggle
to study it and carry it out, at the same time as one proclaims it to
others. Meditation, following the
style of lectio divina, that is,
prayerful reading, is one well traveled and much counseled way to understand
and live the Word of God, and make it ones own. At the same time, intellectual, theological and pastoral
formation is a challenge which endures throughout life. A qualified and up to
date ministry of the Word very much depends upon this in depth formation.

St Lawrence distrutes money to poor Fra Angelico.jpg

The
second reflection regards the ministry of Charity, taking as a great model St.
Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr. The diaconate has its roots in the early Church’s
efforts to organize charitable works. At Rome, in the third century, during a
period of great persecution of Christians, the extraordinary figure of St.
Lawrence appears. He was archdeacon of Pope Sixtus II, and his trustee for the
administration of the goods of the community. Our well beloved Pope Benedict XVI says regarding St.
Lawrence: “His solicitude for the poor, his generous service which he rendered
to the Church of Rome in the area of relief and of charity, his fidelity to the
Pope, from him he was thrust forward to the point of wanting to undergo the
supreme test of martyrdom and the heroic witness of his blood, rendered only a
few days later. These are universally recognized facts.” (Homily Basilica of
St. Lawrence, November 30, 2008). From St. Lawrence we also take note of the
affirmation “the riches of the Church are the poor.” He assisted the poor with
great generosity. He is thus an ever more present example to permanent deacons.
We must love the poor in a preferential way, as did Jesus Christ; to be united
with them, to work towards constructing a just, fraternal and peaceful society. The recent encyclical letter of
Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), should be our updated
guide.  In this encyclical the Holy
Father affirms as a fundamental principle “Charity is the royal road of the
social doctrine of the Church” (n. 2). Deacons must identify themselves in a
very special way with charity. The poor are part of your daily ambiance, and
the object of your untiring concern. One could not understand a Deacon who did
not personally involve himself in charity and solidarity toward the poor, who
again today are multiplying in number.

Saint John Eudes: a guide for ecclesial renewal who said give self to Christ

Yesterday’s general audience (August 19, 2009) Pope Benedict took the opportunity to draw our attention to the saint being memorialized in the Liturgy, Saint John Eudes, as a model for personal renewal which will lead to the renewal of the priesthood. The zeal, the desire for the face of God, the need for conversion will lead, I am convinced, not only the renewal of the priesthood (and seminarians) but also the entire Church. Christ is the one thing we are seeking, the one person we are seeking. As the Baptist said, “He must increase; I must decrease.” AND focus on CHRIST!!!!!  

Read a portion of the Pope’s address.

While contempt was being spread for the Christian faith by some currents of thought that were prevalent then, the Holy Spirit inspired a fervent spiritual renewal, with prominent personalities such as that of Berulle, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Louis Mary Grignion de Montfort and St. John Eudes. This great “French school” of holiness also had St. John Mary Vianney among its fruits. By a mysterious design of Providence, my venerated predecessor, Pius XI, proclaimed John Eudes and the Curé d’Ars saints at the same time, on May 31, 1925, offering the Church and the whole world two extraordinary examples of priestly holiness.

Eudists arms.jpg

In the context of the Year for Priests, I wish to pause to underline the apostolic zeal of St. John Eudes, directed in particular to the formation of the diocesan clergy.

The saints have verified, in the experience of life, the truth of the Gospel; in this way, they introduce us into the knowledge and understanding of the Gospel. In 1563, the Council of Trent issued norms for the establishment of diocesan seminaries and for the formation of priests, as the council was aware that the whole crisis of the Reformation was also conditioned by the insufficient formation of priests, who were not adequately prepared intellectually and spiritually, in their heart and soul, for the priesthood.

This occurred in 1563 but, given that the application and implementation of the norms took time, both in Germany as well as in France, St. John Eudes saw the consequences of this problem. Moved by the lucid awareness of the great need of spiritual help that souls were feeling precisely because of the incapacity of a great part of the clergy, the saint, who was a parish priest, instituted a congregation dedicated specifically to the formation of priests. He founded the first seminary in the university city of Caen, a highly appreciated endeavor, which was soon extended to other dioceses.

The path of holiness he followed and proposed to his disciples had as its foundation a solid confidence in the love that God revealed to humanity in the priestly Heart of Christ and the maternal Heart of Mary. In that time of cruelty and loss of interior silence, he addressed himself to the heart so as to leave in the heart a word from the Psalms very well interpreted by St. Augustine. He wanted to remind people, men and above all future priests of the heart, showing the priestly Heart of Christ and the maternal Heart of Mary. A priest must be a witness and apostle of this love of the Heart of Christ and of Mary.

Today we also feel the need for priests to witness the infinite mercy of God with a life totally “conquered” by Christ, and for them to learn this in the years of their formation in the seminaries. After the synod of 1990, Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis, in which he took up and actualized the norms of the Council of Trent and above all underlined the need for continuity between the initial and permanent moments of formation. For him, for us, this is a real point of departure for a genuine reform of priestly life and apostolate, and it is also the central point so that the “new evangelization” is not simply an attractive slogan, but rather is translated into reality.

The foundations of formation in the seminary constitute that irreplaceable “humus spirituale” in which it is possible to “learn Christ,” allowing oneself to be progressively configured to him, sole High Priest and Good Shepherd. The time in the seminary should be seen, therefore, as the actualization of the moment in which the Lord Jesus, after having called the Apostles and before sending them out to preach, asks that they stay with him (cf. Mark 3:14).

When St. Mark narrates the vocation of the Twelve Apostles, he tells us that Jesus had a double objective: The first was that they be with him, the second that they be sent to preach. But in going always with him, they truly proclaim Christ and take the reality of the Gospel to the world.

In this Year for Priests, I invite you to pray, dear brothers and sisters, for priests and for those preparing to receive the extraordinary gift of the priestly ministry. I conclude by addressing to all the exhortation of St. John Eudes, who said thus to priests: “Give yourselves to Jesus to enter into the immensity of his great Heart, which contains the Heart of his Holy Mother and of all the saints, and to lose yourselves in this abyss of love, of charity, of mercy, of humility, of purity, of patience, of submission and of holiness” (Coeur admirable, III, 2).

Avery Dulles’ treasures archived

Dulles exhibit.jpgRecently, Fordham University’s Walsh Library, in collaboration
with one of Cardinal Avery Dulles‘ closest collaborators, Dominican Sister
Ann-Marie Kirmse, displayed many of the cardinal’s possessions. It brings together the many intimate things of Avery Dulles who died 12 December.


The exhibit
gives us another testimony to the great American Jesuit priest, theologian,
cardinal and friend. As Sister Ann-Marie observed: “At that [at the cardinal’s burial] moment, I
realized that the love Cardinal Dulles had for God, his family, his friends and
colleagues, his Jesuit community, his students, and his country are an
important part of his legacy as well.”


The cardinal would’ve been 91 on the 24th and it’s hard to believe that in year since his celebratory birthday party that he’s gone to God and now we are viewing the various elements of grace. The Fordham exhibit is a tribute to genteelness and greatness. The exhibit closes December 23.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Vision of St Bernard with Sts Benedict & John Evan Fra Bartolomeo.jpg

Bernard, the mellifluous Doctor, a friend of the Spouse, wonderful herald of the Virgin Mary, shepherd in this bright vale, did shine brilliantly.
O God, Who did give Thy people blessed Bernard as a minister of eternal salvation, we beseech Thee; grant that we may deserve to have him as an intercessor in heaven, whom we had as a teacher of life on earth.

“Take away free will, and there is nothing left to be saved. Take away grace, and there is no way of saving. Salvation can only be accomplished when both cooperate.”

A vocation means growth in love

It is about a growth in love, in your life and in the
Church. A calling in the Church is never a call to a job or function, but a
call to a person. A vocation is an appeal to grow into a relation, a relation
with God’s love. A call to the three evangelical counsels is a journey of
growing in love. This journey begins of course with less of His love, so that
more of His love can be given to me. The One, who is more than everything else
in this world, must grow in me.


(Homily at the investiture of novices “The
Work,” Familia Spiritualis Opus, Gregor Maria Hanke, OSB, Bishop of Eichstätt)

Saint John Paul? Some say no

Eric Giunta, a law student in Florida takes a look at some reasons why Pope John Paul II ought not be beatified with subsequent canonization in mind. For the record, I think Eric Giunta is off his rocker in his assessment of John Paul’s holiness and heroic virtue, human and papal. He lumps too many things together and he lacks certain theological nuance in doctrine and teaching and when considering matters of ecclesial governance. Additionally, I think he’s trying to hammer a wedge between the papacies of John Paul and that of Benedict which is unfortunate and wrongheaded. Giunta politicizes the Church which is common enough in today’s era, that is, he speaks of the Church more as an institution and does not consider that the Church is first and foremost a sacrament founded by Christ. Miss this point you miss the essential understanding of Christianity.

While I support the proposal of declaring John Paul a saint, I think the Church ought to wait and have further study on his person and work. Pope John Paul insisted on the five year waiting period before the introduction of a cause (except for Mother Teresa) to let among other things, the emotions to settle and give reason a chance to work; I think the rule is a good one even for high profile people like Teresa and John Paul. There is benefit in letting the process mature. So, dissenting opinions provoke a critical reassessment and perhaps new thinking so I recommend reading what Eric Giunta says…

Edwin O’Brien?

EFO'Brien.jpegJohn Allen explores this question in a recent article. Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien is the 15th archbishop of Baltimore, a New York native, and an affable man with a prayer life and a sense of humor. A former spiritual father of mine worked with the archbishop at the North American College (Rome) and spoke very highly of O’Brien’s character, ability to work and his capacity for friendship.

Aside from heading America’s premier diocese, O’Brien is a good shepherd, asking the hard questions and quickly becoming a significant voice for Catholics in America.
Get a sense of Archbishop O’Brien’s thinking through his homilies and talks. Here’s a list.

Here’s Allen’s article.

Saint John Eudes

St John Eudes.jpg

 

…that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

 

 Father, you chose the priest John Eudes to preach the infinite riches of Christ. By his teaching and example help us to know You better and live faithfully in the light of the gospel.

 

 

Father Mark writes about Saint John Eudes‘ spousal union with Blessed Virgin Mary.