Author: Paul Zalonski

Ave Maria University fires Fr. Fessio, again!

Fr J Fesio.jpgAs it’s reported in a few places, Jesuit Father Joseph Fessio, the well-known and gifted teacher and leader was fired by Ave Maria University. The matter of his dismissal revolves around all things, financial matters of the university. Something mentioned here before. So, one must ask if the university is going to be able to make it in the long haul or is the pizza man’s dream over. All are called upon to pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for Father Fessio and, of course, for Ave Maria who once again makes an imprudent decision just because someone disagrees with their philosophy. Sounds like the roundheads are at it again. Read the news article on this event. Father Fessio’s email follows:


This morning, (Monday, July 20th) Dr. Jack Sites,
Academic Vice President of Ave Maria University, flew from Houston, where
he was attending a meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools,
to San Francisco, to inform me personally that I was being dismissed from Ave
Maria University. Our meeting was amicable and Dr. Sites, as always, acted as a
Christian gentleman.

He said that the reason for my dismissal stemmed from a
conversation I had in November of 2008 with Jack Donahue, then chairman of the
board of AMU. At that time I felt it an obligation to speak to the board
chairman before the upcoming board meeting, to make sure he was aware of the
urgency of the university’s financial situation. After I had informed him,
using projections based on publicly available documents and statements, he
asked me what I thought was the solution. I told him that there were policies being
followed that were at the root of the problem, that the present administration
was irrevocably wedded to those policies, and that without a change of
administration the university was at great risk.

Dr. Sites said that Jack
Donahue related this conversation to Tom Monaghan, and it was decided (I don’t
know specifically by whom) that the university could not have a faculty member
making these criticisms of the administration and thus undermining the
university.

Dr. Sites told me that there were unspecified others who had
similar substantive concerns that I was undermining the university.

I continue
to support the university. I pray for its success. I have great admiration for
the faculty, students, and many of the staff. I do disagree with some of the
policies of the administration. This seems to be the reason I was fired the
first time, in March 2007, since the official explanation was
“irreconcilable administrative differences”.

Nevertheless, I think it
is an accurate summary to say that I am being dismissed as a faculty member
because of a private conversation with the chairman of the board in which I
made known my criticisms of the university administration; and because of
allegations which have not been made known to me and to which I have not been given
an opportunity to respond.

I will continue to recommend AMU to students and
parents. And I will continue to think my dismissal is another mistake in a long
series of unwise decisions.

The Bible is for Catholics

How often do you hear that Catholics don’t read the bible? How often do you think (or say) that you aren’t a bible thumper? Do you know bible basics? Do you have a bible in your home? Do you know where to find a bible in your Catholic church? I’d be willing to bet that you can’t even find a copy of the bible in the church. Just today a college student asked me if there was a bible in the church and I had to admit that I wasn’t sure if we had one available. Ironically, today began the parish’s Vacation Bible School with a 140 little kids so the question of how we use the bible is in the forefront of our minds. Mary Elizabeth Sperry compiled a Catholic’s approach to the bible-praying-reading-study-meditation.


The Bible is all around us. People hear Scripture readings in church. We have Good Samaritan (Luke 10) laws, welcome home the Prodigal Son (Luke 15), and look for the Promised Land (Exodus 3, Hebrews 11). Some biblical passages have become popular maxims, such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Matthew 7:12),” “Thou shalt not steal (Exodus 20:15), and “love thy neighbor” (Matthew 22:39). 

Today’s Catholic is called to take an intelligent, spiritual approach to the bible.

Listed here are 10 points for fruitful Scripture reading.

  1. Bible reading is for Catholics. The Church encourages Catholics to make reading the Bible part of their daily prayer lives. Reading these inspired words, people grow deeper in their relationship with God and come to understand their place in the community God has called them to in himself.
  1. Prayer is the beginning and the end. Reading the Bible is not like reading a novel or a history book. It should begin with a prayer asking the Holy Spirit to open our hearts and minds to the Word of God. Scripture reading should end with a prayer that this Word will bear fruit in our lives, helping us to become holier and more faithful people.
  1. Get the whole story! When selecting a Bible, look for a Catholic edition. A Catholic edition will include the Church’s complete list of sacred books along with introductions and notes for understanding the text. A Catholic edition will have an imprimatur notice on the back of the title page. An imprimatur indicates that the book is free of errors in Catholic doctrine.
  1. The Bible isn’t a book. It’s a library. The Bible is a collection of 73 books written over the course of many centuries. The books include royal history, prophecy, poetry, challenging letters to struggling new faith communities, and believers’ accounts of the preaching and passion of Jesus. Knowing the genre of the book you are reading will help you understand the literary tools the author is using and the meaning the author is trying to convey.
  1. Know what the Bible is – and what it isn’t. The Bible is the story of God’s relationship with the people he has called to himself. It is not intended to be read as history text, a science book, or a political manifesto. In the Bible, God teaches us the truths that we need for the sake of our salvation.
  1. The sum is greater than the parts. Read the Bible in context. What happens before and after – even in other books – helps us to understand the true meaning of the text.
  1. The Old relates to the New. The Old Testament and the New Testament shed light on each other. While we read the Old Testament in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it has its own value as well. Together, these testaments help us to understand God’s plan for human beings.
  1. You do not read alone. By reading and reflecting on Sacred Scripture, Catholics join those faithful men and women who have taken God’s Word to heart and put it into practice in their lives. We read the Bible within the tradition of the Church to benefit from the holiness and wisdom of all the faithful.
  1. What is God saying to me? The Bible is not addressed only to long-dead people in a faraway land. It is addressed to each of us in our own unique situations. When we read, we need to understand what the text says and how the faithful have understood its meaning in the past. In light of this understanding, we then ask: What is God saying to me?
  1. Reading isn’t enough. If Scripture remains just words on a page, our work is not done. We need to meditate on the message and put it into action in our lives. Only then can the word be “living and effective.”(Hebrews 4:12).

Mary Elizabeth Sperry is Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible.

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi

St Lawrence of Brindisi.jpg

Lord, for the glory of your name and the salvation of
souls you gave Lawrence of Brindisi courage and right judgment. By
prayers help us to know what we should do and give us the courage to
do it.

Friar Lawrence was a brilliant man when it came to language study, knowledge of the Bible, the ability to preach in several languages, keeping balance in the Capuchin order and skillful in exercising leadership diplomacy. Spiritually he had the gift of tears, tongues and ecstacy. His work for God’s Kingdom was preaching so that Jews and Protestants would be Catholic.

Saint Lawrence had a supreme belief in the Sacrifice of the Mass (taking up to 16 hours to celebrate the Mass on Christmas day in 1610), he advocated the efficacy of Mary’s place in the economy of salvation as a font of mercy, and was a model of Christian virtue. One last interesting, but trivial note for those interested in the Franciscan
way, Friar Lawrence was educated by the Conventuals but joined the Capuchins.
There’s got to be a story there. 

In 1961, Saint Lawrence joined three other Franciscans friars as a
Doctor of the Church (Saints Anthony & Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns
Scotus) though he is the only Capuchin to have this distinction. He is known as the Doctor Apostolicus (the Apostolic Doctor).

Saint Lawrence’s brief biography is found here.

New to me is this Litany of Saint Lawrence of Brindisi.

Ecology: A Doorway to the Mystery

The Catholic Forum presents
Ecology: A Doorway to the Mystery
with Pablo Martinez, Ph.D.

Dr. Martinez is a well known ecological economist working on three continents to bring harmony between nature and development. His work includes an online university for poor rural villages connecting 30 countries in Spanish and English, and fighting to solve chronic hunger in Sierra Leone.

Dr. Martinez’s new book, Environmental Solidarity: Ecology as if God is Happening, describes the latest ideas in world development and the need for a relationship with a loving creator as the key to solving the world’s great human and natural crises. His talk will touch on these themes and inspire all who attend with a hope for the future of mankind and the planet. 

Dr. Martinez was a visiting professor at Yale University during the 2007-8 academic year.

Please join us!

Sunday, August 2 at 7 p.m.
St Rose of Lima Church Hall (42 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT), Monsignor Conroy Room

A pizza dinner will be served!

The Catholic Forum is a personal initiative of friends who follow the Communion & Liberation ecclesial movement, who with other members of the parish church are interested in matters pertaining to faith and reason. The Catholic Forum has sponsored other events on faith and reason including talks by Father Richard Veras and Dominican Father Peter Cameron; they’ve also sponsored the St Paul play directed by Father Cameron.

For more information on the Catholic Forum visit: www.catholicforum.us.

Priesthood is enlightened by reason & freedom, Archbishop Piacenza said


Mauro Piacenza.jpg

“Are you resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit,
to discharge without fail the office of the priesthood in the presbyteral order
as a conscientious fellow worker with the Bishop in caring for the Lord’s
flock?”

The Archbishop-Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy,
Mauro Piacenza, wrote to the world’s priests on July 15th reflecting on the
liturgical theology that identifies and supports the theology of priesthood.
Now that we are clearly in the Year of the Priest we have to make solid effort
at connecting our daily prayer for priests (and, those preparing for
ordination) and education on what the Church believes and teaches about the
priesthood. This year dedicated to the priesthood is not only directed to
renewal and reform of the priesthood but also conversion of the entire Church. The
year of priestly renewal is not merely centered on prayer for the local priest (which
is most essential) but also a time for some intellectual formation for both
priest and people. So, the proposal of the Pope is that we give a sufficient
attention to both prayer and education, not one or the other. I’d like to note
that I find myself disappointed to see the lack of a public of storming heaven
for the graces of renewal but also the lack of sufficient discussion of what
the Church teaches and believes. What to do? In the meantime, Archbishop
Piacenza offers a number of juicy tidbits to consider. He said in part:

The
Church, in her maternal wisdom, has always taught that the ministry is born of
the encounter of two freedoms: divine and human. If on the one hand one must
always recall that, “no one claims this office for himself; he is called to it
by God” (CCC n.1578), on the other hand, clearly, it is always a “human and
created I”, with his own story and identity, with his own qualities and also
his own limitations, who responds to the divine call.

            The
liturgical-sacramental translation of this asymmetric and necessary dialogue
between the divine freedom which calls and the human freedom which responds is
represented by the questions which each of us has had addressed to him by the
Bishop during the rite our own ordination, immediately prior to the imposition
of hands. We shall revisit together in the months ahead this “dialogue of love
and freedom”.

            We
have been asked, “Are you resolved, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to
discharge without fail the office of the priesthood in the presbyteral order as
a conscientious fellow worker with the Bishop in caring for the Lord’s flock?”
We answered, “I Am”

            The
free and conscious response is based, therefore, on an explicit act of the will
(“Are you resolved to discharge the office”, “I am”) which, as we know well,
requires to be continuously enlightened by the judgement of reason and
sustained by freedom, so as not to become a sterile voluntarism or, worse, to
change over time, becoming unfaithful. The act of the will is enduring of its
very nature, because it is a human act, in which the fundamental qualities of
which the Creator has made us participants are expressed.

            The
undertaking, then, that we have assumed is “for the whole of life” and thus not
related to fads or indulgences much less to sentiments, which might be apparent
to a greater or less degree. While feelings may be said to have a role in
coming to the knowledge of the truth, it is only so as to direct out focus in
such a way as not to obstruct such knowledge but to assist the discernment of
it. Nevertheless, this is but one aspect of consciousness and cannot be its
determining factor.

            Our
will has accepted to exercise “the priestly ministry”, not other “professions”!
Above all else we are called to be priests always and, as the Saints remind us,
in every circumstance, exercising with our very being that ministry to which we
have been called. One does not merely act as a priest: one is a priest!

            Each
one of us is part of a dynamic entity, called to collaborate by demonstrating,
each in his own way, the Head of this Body: always as “fellow workers with the
Bishop“, in obedience to the good which he indicates, and “under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit”, that is in praying with each breath. Only he who prays can
hear the voice of the Spirit. As the Holy Father recalled in the General
Audience of the 1st July last, “Those who pray are not afraid; those who pray
are never alone; those who pray are saved!”.

Saint Elijah (Elias) the Prophet

An angel in the flesh, the foundation of the prophets, and the second forerunner of Christ, the glorious Elijah from on high sent grace to
Elisha, to cure sicknesses & cleanse lepers. He likewise overflows with
healing for those who honor him.

(Troparion of the feast, Tone 4)

St Elijah FBol.jpg

Let all Christ’s Church assemble here

And, gathered in His holy Name,

Keep solemn, joyful festival

To sing of great Elijah’s fame.

Of all the prophets who foretold

God’s hidden plan of saving grace,

He is the chief: to him we give,

The Tishbite, now the choicest place.

He called the folk of Israel

Back to their covenant with God;

Through kingly wrath and violence

God’s narrow way of truth he trod.

When earthly tasks for him were done,

You called him in a special way:

A fiery chariot came for him,

Foretelling Christ’s ascension day.

For all the graces You have giv’n

Through what Elijah did for You,

Your Church on earth gives endless praise,

O Father, Son, and Spirit true.

L.M. (88.88)

James Michael Thompson (2009)

New Haven native priest moonlights as clothing designer

Fr Andrew O'Connor.jpgInteresting people come from the Elm City! The New Haven native who’s also a Catholic priest, Father Andrew O’Connor, of the Archdiocese of New York, designs clothes, provides jobs in two countries and continues to preach the Gospel.

Mary O’Leary’s New Haven Register article on Father O’Connor altar-ations can be read here.
Nice to see Mary Alice & Charles’ son in the media!

Saint Camillus de Lellis

St Camillus Lellis.jpg

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my
love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have
kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken
to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Father, you
gave Saint Camillus a special love for the sick. Through his prayers inspire us
with your grace, so that by serving you in our brothers and sisters we may come
safely to you at the end of our lives.


A bio on Saint Camillus