Pietro Sambi, 73, Pope’s ambassador to the USA, RIP

Pietro Sambi.jpg

His Excellency, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, 73, died tonight complications following a delicate lung surgery.
His family was called to his bedside last week.
The Archbishop’s work in the USA was to be the Pope’s ambassador to government and to be the Pope’s voice to the Church here. He’s been in the USA since 2006.
In ministry, Sambi has been a priest for 47 years and a bishop for 25.
The Church has lost a wonderful brother, priest and witness to Jesus Christ.
May the Good Shepherd guide Archbishop Sambi to full communion with Him.
Bishop Robert Lynch remembers the Nuncio on his blog.
May Pietro Sambi’s memory be eternal.

Saints Ann and Joachim



Sts Anne and Joachim.jpg

O Lord, God of
our Fathers, who bestowed on Saints Joachim and Anne this grace, that of them should
be born the Mother of your incarnate Son, grant, through the prayers of both,
that we may attain the salvation you have promised to your people.


Today’s the liturgical memorial of Saints Ann and Joachim, the parents of Mary, the Mother of God and the grandparents of Jesus. In the simplest understanding is that the Church remembers the Lord’s family members. But let’s move beyond this initial thought and look more closely at the collect noted above: the priest prays that through the intercession of Ann and Joachim salvation may be given to us as promised to God’s people.

Historically we know that Ann and Joachim existed; their biographies are unknown to us. What we do learn from sacred Tradition is the approach Ann and Joachim took to the action of the Divine Majesty in their lives. They trusted in God.

The Church brings to our awareness the lines of grace in a historical fashion. The prayer reminds us of Jesus’ humanity and the promise God the Father made to His people: His Presence among us; an offer for salvation. This feast is clearly interpreted for us in the first reading from Sirach and the psalm. There we hear the beautiful words of promise, of remembrance, of relationship.

Quilting ladies of St Benedict’s Abbey, Benet Lake

ladies quilting at Benet Lake.jpgBenedictine abbeys are places where the culture of prayer, study, charitable work and arts and crafts can breathe with ease. That’s the genius of Saint Benedict and the leadership of monasticism through 1500 years. Few religious orders have such an expansive sense of culture as the Benedictines (or share in across the world). Art aids one in his or seeking God and a better sense of self.

The monks of Saint Benedict’s Abbey, a monastery of monks in the Swiss-American tradition just outside Milwaukee and an hour’s drive from O’Hare Airport, have a retreat house where individuals and groups come to pray, study and rest in the Lord.

The arts have had a significant, yet humble place in Benedictine life. Making art is one way to bring together a deeper level of fraternity, balance and healing in the distracted world. Some Benedictines are musicians, others are scholars, weavers, quilters, calligraphers gardeners, beer makers, vestment makers, organists and horn players, others are apiarists and the so on. In his Rule for Monasteries, Saint Benedict’s 57th chapter “On the Artisans of the Monastery” fosters a spirit of human expression that has limits based on virtue as yet another but crucial way to glorify God. Benedict says,

Continue reading Quilting ladies of St Benedict’s Abbey, Benet Lake

Saint James the the Greater


St James the Greater woodcut.jpgSaint James, the son of Zebedee, and brother of Saint
John the Apostle, was a Galilean. He was one of the first to be called to the
Apostolate, together with his brother, and, leaving his father and his nets, he
followed the Lord. Jesus called them both Boanerges, that is to say, sons of
thunder. He was one of the three Apostles whom our Savior loved the most, and
whom He chose as witnesses of His Transfiguration, and of the miracle by which
He raised to life the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue, and whom he
wished to be present when He retired to the Mount of Olives to pray to His
Father, before being taken captive by the Jews.

Continue reading Saint James the the Greater

Vatican Nuncio to Ireland recalled

Giuseppe Leanza.jpgIn an extraordinary act, the Holy See has recalled the papal nuncio, Archbishop Giuseppe Leanza, 68, to Rome to understand the implications of the July 13, 2011 Cloyne Report (421 pages worth) that indicated yet more of the clerical sex abuse.

This is a most dramatic and essential step in getting to the bottom of the problem of abuse and the response of the Church. The recall, initiated by the Holy See, is being interpreted by the same as the degree of seriousness it wants for an effective response to the failure to protect children and for greater collaboration with the Irish government. This recall is not a permanent close to diplomatic relations between the Irish Republic and the Holy See; it is a measure for greater clarity on how to respond to the crisis.

Hopefully Archbishop Leanza has the grace and competency to be effective in Ireland. His own experience hints that he can be helpful. He is the former papal nunico to Haiti, Malawi, Zambia, Bosnia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bulgaria before going to Ireland in 2008.
Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid of Ireland, pray for us.

Monastic Worship Forum launched

Periodically the Benedictine monks, nuns and sisters meet to discuss issues pertaining the sacred Liturgy and sacred music as done in their monasteries. They met two weeks ago at the Archabbey of Saint Meinrad for the meeting and decided to formally merge the liturgical and musicians’ groups into one: The Monastic Worship Forum. This work has been in process since 2009. The purpose of the Forum is to provide support, education, and formation in the sacred Liturgy for monastic contexts in order that God maybe glorified.

Benedictine monk Father Godfrey Mullen chairs the committee that will lead the Forum. Father Godfrey earned his doctorate in Liturgy from the Catholic University of America and serves as the VP for Saint Meinrad Seminary and the Archabbey’s director of Liturgy.

The new website can be found here.
Blessed Ildefonso Schuster, and all Benedictine saints and blesseds, pray for us.

Virgilio Cardinal Noè, RIP, former Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica

John Paull I and Virgilio Noè.JPG

One the well-known faces in the Vatican curia died earlier today. Virgilio Cardinal Noè, 89, died in Rome.

Noè has been a cardinal since 1991. He was the Pope’s vicar general for Vatican City State, the President of the Fabric of St Peter’s Basilica and the Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Noè’s face was recognizable due to his work as the pontifical Master of Ceremonies, a ministry he held since Pope Paul and one that he had under the Pope John Paul II until 1982.
Cadinal Noè is remembered for his faithful service as a priest and adherence to the Gospel.

Emil Kapaun’s cause for beatification moves to Vatican

Emil Kapaun.jpg

The Church in the US could have another saint if US Army chaplain Father Emil Kapaun‘s cause for beatification is accepted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. 

The work of getting the relevant materials ready has been under the able hands of Father John Hotze, the bishop’s delegate for the study of Father Kapaun’s beatification and canonization. A priest of the Diocese of Wichta since 1940, Father Kapaun served in the US Army from 1944 until his death in 1951. In fact, he died in a prison camp hospital on May 23, 1951 (he was born on April 20, 1916). The Diocese of Wichita has the competence to present the dossier of his life when it officially opened the cause for his beatification on June 29, 2008. 

Father Emil Kapaun, a native of Pilsen, Kansas, served in the Korean War as a US Army chaplain, and was known for his selflessness. Kapaun is on record for courageously rescuing wounded soldiers from the battlefield, risking his own life to prevent their execution at the hands of the Chinese. The care of the priest saved the lives of sick and injured soldiers. 

The well-known Dr. Andrea Ambrosi, is going to shepherd the Kapaun case. He’ll be the person who will present Kapaun’s case, all 8,268 documents about the chaplain’s deeds and sacrifices in the Korean War, to the Congregation of Saints at the Vatican said based on what he knows thus far, Father Kapaun has a good chance at being beatified. Ambrosi said: “He showed that there was not just a devil working on the battlefields of the war, but something else.” The face of Christ.

Two miracles are being studied.

  • In 2006, Avery Gerleman, then 12 years-old, near death for 87 days. She recovered after her parents prayed to Kapaun.
  • In October 2008, Chase Kear, a college track athlete, medically inexplicable, he  survived a severe pole vaulting accident. His skull was fractured in several crucial places and caused bleeding on his brain. The prognosis was very grim. Family prayed for Father Emil’s intercession.

Saint Mary Magdalen: a witness to the “healing power of Christ’s tender mercy.”

St. Mary Magdalene.jpeg

“Everywhere in our culture, people seem so quick to condemn. It is very hard to find words of mercy or understanding for someone who has done something wrong, many good people out there saying things they know they shouldn’t be saying.

People make mistakes. They sin. Some people do evil that causes scandal and grave harm. We can condemn the offense and work for justice — without trying to destroy the person who committed the sin.

We need to reject every temptation to shame or condemn people. Let us never be the cause of turning someone away from seeking God’s forgiveness and redemption.

Let us pray for one another this week, ask the Virgin Mary to ‘give us a faith like Mary Magdalene and hearts to forgive.'”

José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles

The Tidings, July 22, 2011