Blessed John XXIII

Pope John XIII.jpgToday we are given Blessed John XXIII as a model of holiness. Pope Blessed John’s liturgical memorial is not the date of his death but the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

As one example of his holy inclinations I recently read his 1962 letter to women religious, “Il Tempio Massimo.” It is remains a beautiful testament to a great man filled with the Holy Spirit lived as a man of the Church. In this letter the Pope talks about the place of spiritual renewal in religious life; he’s got the grace of a new Pentecost in mind: an old person can be born again.
The new Pentecost in Blessed John’s mind is evidenced in a life of prayer, a life of example and a life in the apostolate, whether active or in the cloister. Of course, this letter to the women religious has a specific structure and emphasis but one that ought not be lost to the rest of the Church today; the Pope encourages us “to cultivate a holy enthusiasm” in life in Christ aiming to a more complete and full vocation first introduced to us in the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation & Eucharist) and then in the call to serve the Lord and the Church in a particular manner (the vowed life, priesthood for those given that vocation, the married state and single life).
 Blessed John’s points on prayer could be summarized as follows:
1. “…more rigid mortification and penance is intended to affirm once again the pre-eminence of the duties of worship and of complete consecration of life to prayer over any other form of apostolate…;
2. “…conform more perfectly to the call of the Divine Master…in the contemplative life”;
3. “…the only foundations and soul of the apostolate is the interior life”;
4. without a life of prayer can “…fall into that ‘heresy of action’;
5. a life of prayer “…entails not a mechanical repetition of formulas but is rather the irreplaceable means by which one enters into intimacy with the Lord, to better understand the dignity of being daughters of of God and spouses of the Holy Spirit, the ‘sweet guest of the soul’ Who speaks to those who know how to listen in recollection”;
6. “holy Mass should be the center of your day, so much so that every action converges on it as a preparation or as a thanksgiving. Let Holy Communion be the daily food which sustains, comforts and strengthens you”;
7. 3 recommended and fundamental devotions: “Nothing is better for enlightening and encouraging the adoration of Jesus than to meditate upon Him and invoke Him in the threefold light of the Name, the Heart and the Blood.
I’d recommend reading the rest of the letter because Pope John talks about honoring poverty, radiating chastity, a life of sweet obedience and the apostolic and contemplative life.

Synod of Bishops for the Middle East

The Synod of Bishops for the Middle East begins today. The importance of this particular Synod is given by NCR correspondent John Allen.
The Synod’s meeting is the result of requests of bishops and the pastoral visits of the pope to that part of the Church. The Christian minority in the Middle East needs our help.
The Synod is using Arabic for the first time as an official language and a rabbi and 2 Muslims are observers to the Synod.
The North American contingent to the Synod is quite substantial. See the list…

The Synod meets from October 10-24.

We beg the Holy Spirit to guide the work of the Pope, the bishops and other attendees.

Mary is the model of Christian life, pope reminds

In his pastoral visit to Sicily last week the Holy Father called to mind the beauty and the place of the Mother of God in our lives: she’s an intensely loving mother who truly looks after her children. Here are some excerpts:


Madonna della Scala Correggio.jpg

To the Virgin Mary I wish to entrust all of the people
of God who live in this beloved land. May she sustain the families in love and
in educational commitment; may she fructify the seeds of vocation that God
liberally sows among the young people; may she instill courage in trials, hope
in difficulties, renewed strength in doing the good. May the Madonna comfort
the sick and all those who are suffering, and help the Christian communities so
that no one in them be forgotten or in need, but that each one, especially the
little and the weak, feel welcomed and valued.” 


The also told us that “in Parma, Anna Maria Adorni
is being beatified. In 19th century she was an exemplary wife and mother and
then, having become a widow, she dedicated herself to charitable work among
women in prison and in difficulty, for whose service she founded two religious
institutes. Mother Adorni, because of her constant prayer, was called the
“Living Rosary.” I am glad to mention her at the beginning of the
month of the rosary. May the daily meditation on the mysteries of Christ in
union with Mary, the prayerful Virgin, strengthen us in faith, in hope and in
charity.”

Benedict XVI
address at Palermo’s Foro Italico Umberto I
October 3,
2010

Abbot Timothy Kelly, OSB, RIP

Timothy Kelly.jpgThe monastic family of Saint John’s Abbey and the American Cassinese Congregation mourns the passing of Abbot Timothy Kelly who died on October 7. He was 76 and had been suffering from cancer.

Abbot Timothy was the 9th abbot of St John’s Abbey (1992-2000) and was the Abbot-President of his congregation of monks from 2001 till this past June. The Abbot’s monastic life was rich in service to abbey and the wider Church.
The present abbot of Saint John’s, John Klassen, has an obit here.
Saints Benedict and Scholastic, pray for Timothy and the Saint John’s community.
May the angels lead Abbot Timothy to the Kingdom.

Saint Louis Bertrand

St Louis Bertrand.jpgProclaim the glory of the Lord among the nations; God’s marvelous deeds to all the peoples; great is the Lord and worthy of all praise.

Almighty and merciful God, as You filled the heart of Saint Louis Bertrand with reverent fear of Your name, inflame our hearts with that same divine fire. With both love and reverence may we too serve You faithfully.

Hymn for Blessed John Henry Newman’s feast day

JHN icon.jpgO God, the source of wisdom’s fire,

Who formed the mind of man

In complex and mysterious ways

Within Your loving plan,

We thank You now for calling forth

This priest who praised Your Name

By teaching and exalting you

In words of living flame.

 

John Henry Newman, England’s son,

Was formed in Oxford’s halls,

Endowed with tow’ring intellect

To answer all the calls

Which Church and University

Gave forth in times of doubt,

A rebirth of the ancient truths

As rain for minds in drought.

 

He served the Church of England well

With scholarship and grace,

Restoring ancient roots of faith,

Removing error’s trace.

But scorned by leaders of his time,

He left his Oxford home,

In search of kindly, leading light

Which led him on toward Rome.

Continue reading Hymn for Blessed John Henry Newman’s feast day

Blessed John Henry Newman

Bl John Henry Newman.jpgO God, who bestowed on the priest Blessed John Henry Newman the grace to follow Your kindly light and find peace in Your Church; graciously grant that, through his intercession and example, we may be led out of shadows and images into the fulness of Your truth.

 

“God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another” (JH Newman, Meditations on Christian Doctrine).

Blessed John Henry’s feast day today is the anniversary of his conversion to Catholicism and not the date of his birth into eternal life (death), as most of the saints are honored. 

The other Propers for Mass and the Office of Readings for Newman’s feast day can be found here.

World’s “Oldest” Catholic university to reconsider “Catholic” identity

The Catholic University of Lueven, founded in 1425 by Pope Martin V is said to be entering into a process to re-consider their Catholic identity, even to the point of removing the adjective “Catholic” from their title, a news item on the Cardinal Newman Society’s webpage said, reporting a Brussels-based news article on October 7.

The university’s rector Mark Waer, 59, a trained physican and medical researcher in nephrology and immunology, has reportedly said, “The Catholic message is not appropriate for the university…” after the criticism from Catholics about the granting of the Nobel Prize to the instigator of IVF technology. Waer only began his term as rector of the university in 2009.

The University’s mission statement can be read here.

Ushaw College Seminary to close in 2011

UK’s The Tablet ran a news piece today saying the seminary for the North of England dioceses, Ushaw College, is closing at the end of the school year in June 2011. Currently, 7 English dioceses are served by UC. Ushaw was first founded in Douai, France in 1568 and has been located four miles west of Durham City since 1808.

From its heyday of 400 men studying for the priesthood to 26 today, the Ushaw has a staff of 62.

The story of Ushaw is grim and it sounds like St Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) which has fewer than 25 seminarians for the secular priesthood. For the time being SJS is working alone and is slated to merge with Huntington’s seminary.