Pope distinguishes St Patrick’s Old Cathedral as “Basilica”

Old St Patrick's Cathedral NYC2.jpgIn solemn rites during second Vespers for the Second Sunday of Advent, Archbishop Timothy Michael Dolan formally inaugurated the Archdiocese of New York’s first minor basilica, Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral, a community of Catholic faith since 1809. A prior blog post notes the announcement.

Other area churches distinguished with the title of “basilica” are: Saint James Cathedral and Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the Brooklyn Diocese, the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in the Newark Archdiocese, the Church of the Immaculate Conception (Waterbury, CT) in the Hartford Archdiocese and Saint John the Evangelist (Stamford, CT) in the Bridgeport Diocese.
Congrats to Archbishop Dolan and to Monsignor Donald Sakano, rector of the new basilica.
Here’s the NY Times’ article on the event.
CBS News did a spot…

Saint Nicholas

St Nicholas Liberation of 3 Innocents Fra Angelico.jpg

O Holy Father Nicholas, the fruit of your good deeds has enlightened and delighted the hearts of the faithful. Who cannot admire your measureless patience and humility? And who cannot wonder at your graciousness to the poor? At your compassion for the afflicted? O Bishop Nicholas, you have divinely taught all things well. And now wearing your unfading crown, you intercede for our souls with Christ, our God.

 

(Vesperal antiphon, Byzantine)

 

The Baptist calls us recognize the voice in desert

St John the Baptist Pellegrino da San Daniele.jpg





Advent is time of hope and expectation, it is also a time of repentance and conversion. Today’s readings in the Liturgy orient our attention to changing our life’s to reflect more and more the Lord’s. And the Baptist is the amazing and stirring Advent proponents to follow Jesus more closely. What is more identifiable than the Baptist’s exhortation: Prepare the way of the Lord?

St. Augustine on the gift of conversion: “What, then?
It is perhaps dependant on you, O man, if converted to God once you have earned
his mercy, while on the contrary those who have not converted have not obtained
mercy but have encountered the wrath of God? But you what resources available
to convert, if you had not been called? Was it not He who called you when you
were the enemy, to grant you the grace of repentance? So do not ascribe to
yourself the merit of your conversion: why, if God had not intervened to call
you when you fled from him, you would not have been able to look back.” St.
Augustine Expositionson the Psalmi, 84, 8-9.

The International Theological Commission meets with Pope: God “has gifted us with a reason in harmony with his nature”

The Pope met yesterday with the members of the International Theological Commission in plenary session, a bi-annual meeting, though I think the Pope only meets in a plenary session with the ITC once a year. I am familiar with several members of the group and I can attest to their diligent and honest work in theology for the good of the entire Church. The work of the ITC deals with some of the most interesting theological and philosophical questions these days. The ITC is working on questions of theological methodology, the question of one God for the 3 monotheistic religions and question of the Church’s social doctrine in the context of Christian doctrine. The ITC documentation is published in various languages and useful for one’s own theological reflection. There are several important points the makes about the vocation of a theologian and the nature of theology. He reminds us, namely, that a theologian does not work in a solitary way, that faith and reason are intrinsically linked and that theology is outward thinking and acting. Benedict XVI’s address to the ITC follows:

I receive you with joy at the end of your annual
plenary session. I would like first of all to express my heartfelt gratitude
for the words of homage that, on behalf of all, Your Eminence, in his capacity
of president of the International Theological Commission, addressed to me. The
work of this eighth “quinquennium” of the commission, as you
recalled, addresses the following very weighty topics: theology and its
methodology; the question of the one God in relation to the three monotheistic
religions; the integration of the social doctrine of the Church in the wider
context of Christian doctrine.

“For the love of Christ impels us, once we
have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He
indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Corinthians
5:14-15). How can we not make our own this beautiful reaction of the Apostle
Paul to his encounter with the risen Christ? In fact this experience is at the
root of the three important topics on which you reflected in your plenary
session that has just ended.

Continue reading The International Theological Commission meets with Pope: God “has gifted us with a reason in harmony with his nature”

Keep the conversation with the Lord going

I’ve been conscious of how busy everyone is, or pretends to be. Excuses run rampant as to why one can’t do thus-and-such, or … or …. One person asked the perennial question: How do I maintain my relationship with God? Father Giussani asked a similar of question of members of Communion & Liberation. He answered by telling his questioner that to keep the Lord’s name on our lips and to recognize the way the Lord has looked at us He looked at Zacchaeus in the sycamore tree. Giussani also reminded us to be attentive to reality as God has given it to us and not as we want it to be. Maintaining one’s relationship with God alive is easy if you move in small but deliberate steps by following a long held custom of praying short prayers that re-focus our attention: Jesus, Mary and Joseph, pray for us; Come Holy Spirit, come through Mary; Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner; O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee; Saint Catherine of Siena, pray for us; and so on. Short prayers such as these examples are remarkable keeping my mind and heart on target and away from sin. I have the practice of praying my own version of the Litany of Saints as I walk up and down the aisle when attending Mass or when I am making the Morning Offering.


Saint Josemaría Escrivá offers some guidance in this regard: “You should maintain throughout the day a constant
conversation with Our Lord, a conversation fed even by the things that happen in
your professional work. Go in spirit to the Tabernacle… and offer to God the
work that is in your hands.”

Make a spiritual communion.

Saint Barbara

St Barbara.jpegLoving God, whose service calls forth

Courage in Your
servant’s soul,

We here gathered
sing the praise of

One who bravely
reached heav’n’s goal.

Claiming Christ
as only Savior,

Scorning those
with evil planned,

Now with
white-robed brilliance vested,

Near Your throne
she finds her stand.


Teach us, as You
taught St. Barb’ra,

How to love and
serve Your Name

That our hearts
may not be conquered

By our fears or
love of fame.

As she loved You
to her last breath,

Give us strength
to faithful be,

That our witness
may be fearless

And our lives
unfeigned and free.


Glory be to God,
the Father,

Glory be to God,
the Son,

Glory be to God,
the Spirit:

Glory to the
Three-in-One!

From the virgin
choirs of heaven

And from tempted
saints below,

Endless hymns
and praise unceasing

Shall from all
our hearts e’er flow.

J. Michael Thompson, © copyright.

Saint Francis Xavier

St Francis Xavier with cross.jpgWith eyes fixed squarely on the Lord, Francis Xavier left the companionship of the early founders of the Society of Jesus in Europe to go on mission, preaching the Gospel and bringing new life through the sacraments. Because of his zeal for the salvation of souls many came to know Jesus and thus were saved. Let us pray for missionaries and the work of evangelization through Saint Francis Xavier’s intercession.

Remembering the women killed in El Salvador 30 years ago

4 El Salvador martyrs.jpgI was quite young when the 4 women were killed in El Salvador in 1980. They were killed months after the Servant of God Archbishop Oscar Romero was killed. Missionaries brutally killed for their faith Christ and service to the poor are part of the landscape of the proclamation of the Gospel. Since my high school days, I have kept these women in prayer, especially since Jean Donovan had a Connecticut connection. They were:

Sister Maura Clarke, MM
Sister Ita Ford, MM
Sister Dorothy Kazal, OSU
Miss Jean Donovan.
The Maryknoll Fathers & Brothers’ remembrance
The Maryknoll Sisters’ remembrance
The Vatican Radio story is here.