McGivney to be beatified by Church

This morning in Connecticut (Roman Noon) it was announced that the Holy Father approved the dossier stating that Father Michael J. McGivney will be beatified. Connecticut gets its first native Blessed of the Church. A miracle has been certified through the intercession of Father Michael J. McGivney. He was the founder of the Knights of Columbus.
 
– il miracolo, attribuito all’intercessione del Venerabile Servo di Dio Michele McGivney, Sacerdote diocesano, Fondatore dell’Ordine dei Cavalieri di Colombo, v.d. The Knights of Columbus; nato il 12 agosto 1852 a Waterbury (Stati Uniti d’America) e morto a Thomaston (Stati Uniti d’America) il 14 agosto 1890

St Philip Neri at Pentecost

On the vigil of Pentecost in 1544, St Philip was praying in the Catacombs of Saint Sebastian, on the Via Appia, as he had done many times, and asked God to give him the Holy Spirit. St Philip was suddenly filled with great joy, and had a vision of the Holy Spirit as a ball of fire. This fire entered into St Philip’s mouth, and descended to his heart, causing it to expand to twice its normal size, and breaking two of his ribs in the process (a fact later proven by his autopsy). He later said that it filled his whole body with such joy and consolation that he finally had to throw himself on the ground and cry out, “No more, Lord! No more!”

(courtesy of Bp. Mario Aviles, CO)

St Alban

In addition to St Bede and St Philip Neri, the Church recalls the memory of St Alban, the first Christian martyr of Britain, today. The list of saints commemorated on any given days is always interesting and worth our time in knowing and praying for their assistance.

The Byzantine Church recalls Alban’s memory today while the Latin Church will claim him on June 22. The year of his death is disputed.

The entry for Alban’s life reads thusly for one of the typicons:

“Our venerable father, Alban, protomartyr of the English.

Since the island of Britain was under Roman rule, Dio­cletian’s persecution accounts for Alban’s martyrdom some time around 287.

Alban, of Latin-Briton stock, gave shelter to a fleeing Christian priest. After hearing his guest describe his belief in Christ, Alban requested baptism. When soldiers traced the priest to Alban’s house, they discovered Alban dressed in the priest’s clothes. This enabled the priest to escape, but gave the authorities an excuse to execute Alban.

He was beheaded on a hill outside a town now known as St Albans in Hertfordshire. A monastery was founded on the site in the 8th century and became a famous Benedictine abbey. (NS)

Francis G. Morrisey, RIP

The sad news was sent out among the canon lawyers that the “dean” of canonical study, Father Francis G. Morrisey, O.M.I., died this morning at 9:40 a.m. at Élisabeth Bruyère Hospital, Ottawa.  Father Morrisey had been receiving palliative care for the past several weeks due to a cancer diagnosis. His sister, Joan, was with him at the time of his death.

As one canonist said, “The Church has been enriched by Frank’s selfless outpouring and, through the Church, cultures and societies throughout the world have also been enriched. He remains a gentleman esteemed and admired by a plethora of social innovators, church leaders, and professional colleagues. He has shown himself to be a faithful son of Saint Eugene De Mazenod who envisioned bringing healing and hope to the peripheries of Eugene’s day. Frank has done the same in today’s world.”

Father Morrisey mentored many at Saint Paul University, Ottawa. It was  said that he was a brilliant, humble, caring teacher –a priest and servant of the gospel- a colleague, a gentle soul and a friend. He was a great contributor at the annual CLSA convention and at regional canon law conferences.

While I did not know Father Morrisey personally, I had some communication with him through the years and I have used his canonical thought. We all have been enriched by Father’s presence and his great humanity. He won a lifetime achievement aware in 2019 which you can read/listen here. Thanks be to God.

Eternal rest, grant unto Father Morrisey O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace. Amen.

May Father’s soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.

Eternal memory.

Welcome without partiality

The role of hospitality is deeply embedded in the fabric of Christian life. It is modeled and encouraged by countless of witnesses over the millennia. I am thinking of my experience of the people in rural areas, and the monks and nuns, notably the Benedictines (in several monasteries) but also hospitality as a pivotal value in other Christian communities like the New Skete communities (Orthodox monks, nuns, lay companions).

Saint Benedict says,
“Let all guests who arrive be received like Christ, for He is going to say, “I came as a guest, and you received Me” (Matt. 25:35). And to all let due honor be shown, especially to the domestics of the faith and to pilgrims,” (Rule of Benedict, 53).

Benedict’s wisdom is a conviction based on Jesus Christ and the Christian community that the guest is to be welcomed as Christ. Hospitality forms a culture of avoiding the distinctions of race, gender, economic advantage, education, age and health. There’s a welcome without partiality.

I firmly believe that hospitality in Communion and Liberation is formed by witnesses not only by Benedictines (from which the Movement owes much) but also by the lay faithful who are serious about faith, life and other people. We still have lots to reflect upon and to learn.

It seems to me that we need to work on the recent narrative (see this link) in the recent CL Newsletter and The Miracle of Hospitality by Father Giussani.

Preparing for Pentecost

Prayer of St Augustine

Breathe into me, Holy Spirit,
that my thoughts may all be holy.
Move in me, Holy Spirit,
that my work, too, may be holy.
Attract my heart, Holy Spirit,
that I may love only what is holy.
Strengthen me, Holy Spirit,
that I may defend all that is holy.
Protect me, Holy Spirit,
that I may be holy.

With celebrating the feast of the Ascension yesterday we now turn to preparing for the Pentecost. I figure it is a very good thing to do since the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are quite important to our daily spiritual life. We ought to beg the Holy Spirit to pour out His 7 gifts daily.

St Pachomius the Great

Our venerable father among the saints, Pachomius, the great, is liturgically commemorated. He is a central figure in the monastic life, East and West.

Pachomius was born in 292. As a young man, he served in the army under the emperor Constantine. The hardship of military life in Egypt was lightened by the kindness the soldiers encountered in every Christian settlement along their march. Pachomius was so impressed that he was baptized and embraced the monastic life.

He withdrew to the Egyptian wilds to live with Palemon, one of the desert fathers. After his guide and teacher died, Pachomius’ brother John came to live with him. Before long there were others, and Pachomius was soon the abba of a whole colony of monastics, totaling about seven thousand. His gift of leadership and skill in organization has been raised by later tradition to the level of direct divine inspiration, which is expressed in the story of an angel, dressed in the monastic habit, appearing to Pachomius and instructing him to adopt this garb for his monks. Aside from such embellishments, Pachomius remained a model of practical genius.

He established the Lavra of Tabenna on the Nile, with a school for boys and a hospice for travelers. He wrote a typi­con in Coptic, probably the first such rule in monastic history, and insisted that all the monks learn to read the scriptures. He organized teams of cooks, bakers, and gardeners. Each dwelling for these professional families included a library and a scriptorium for the copying of sacred texts.

His sister begged him to start a monastery for women. Her persistence and the number of nuns already at the gates moved him to consent. It was built on the opposite bank of the Nile. Twenty years after the council of Nicaea, a plague swept through the Nile valley. Pachomius died nursing his stricken monks.

(NS typicon)

The Orthodox and Catholic Churches remember him today, May 15th while the Coptic Church celebrates his feast on May 9th.

St. Damien of Molokai

May 10th is the liturgical memorial of St. Damien of Molokai. He’s become the famous leper priest with the famous leper nun, St. Maryann Cope. Some of thoughts are worth reflecting upon:

“I feel no disgust when I hear the confessions of those near their end, whose wounds are full of maggots…This may give you some idea of my daily work. Picture to yourself a collection of huts with 800 Lepers. No doctor; in fact, as there is no cure, there seems no place for a doctor’s skill.

The Blessed Sacrament is indeed the stimulus for us all, for me as it should be for you, to forsake all worldly ambitions. Without the constant presence of our Divine Master upon the altar in my poor chapels, I never could have persevered casting my lot with the lepers of Molokai; the foreseen consequence of which begins now to appear on my skin, and is felt throughout the body. Holy Communion being the daily bread of a priest, I feel myself happy, well pleased, and resigned in the rather exceptional circumstances in which it has pleased Divine Providence to put me.”

~St. Damien of Molokai
Canonized by Benedict XVI, 2009

Saint Isaiah, the prophet

I love the prophets. For Catholics we place a great emphasis on the work and prophecies of the men called by God to call us into relation to him. Yet, the prophets are not well known among Catholics. Thanks to the Byzantine Church for keeping a liturgical commemoration alive.

As you know, the Holy Prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Some fun facts on Isaiah to recall: he had a royal lineage and is revered as a martyr. In another blog I remembered for the readers that the Jewish king Manasseh ordered that he cut in half by a wood-saw. Isaiah was buried near the Pool of Siloam but his bones were moved to Constantinople in the church of Saint Laurence at Blachernae. Part of the head of the Prophet Isaiah is preserved at Athos in the Hilandar monastery. The importance of being buried near the Pool of Siloam comes from a miracle he performed through God’s power to quench the thirst of those defending Jerusalem from her enemies. Siloam means i.e. “sent from God.” The holy prophet is known to be wonderworking. Genealogy shows us that Isaiah’s father Amos, raised him in the fear of God and in the law of the Lord.

In addition to the virtue of life of Isaiah, he important because he is clear in his prophesies about the coming of the Messiah, Jesus, Christ the Savior. The prophet names the Messiah as God and Man, teacher of all the nations, founder of the Kingdom of peace and love.

In the Kondakion the Church sings,

You were favored with the gift of prophecy, O martyr and seer, Isaiah, preacher of the things of God, and you announced the Incarnation to all when you proclaimed: Behold, a virgin will be with child.

By Isaiah’s prayers, may our souls be saved. May we, like the Holy Prophet make the Incarnation known.

The Received Iconography of the Mother of God

Today, May 7, Marek Czarnecki, a well skilled in iconography, from Meriden, Connecticut, gave a presentation on the Iconography of the Mother of God. The presentation was given as part of the Knights of Columbus Museum’s webinar series.

 

Scholars have classified over 600 distinct prototypes for icons of the Mother of God. How can this multiplicity point to only one source, the first century Miryam of Nazareth? The first Christians responded to her intuitively with the earliest catacomb frescoes. The early church validated her importance with biographical icons narrating her participation in the life of Christ. Icons representing her solely with the Christ child expressed formal Marian dogma, beginning with her title as Mother of God. As Intercessor, her icons catalogued every possible human need. Other icons commemorated the sites of miracles or apparitions, while new prototypes continue to be revealed and painted into the present.