Communio – Page 426 – …bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Saint Leopold Mandic of Herceg Novi

The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to free the downtrodden, and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favor.

O God, perfect unity and highest good, You filled Saint Leopold, Your priest, with kindness and mercy for sinners, and an ardent desire for unity among all Christians; through his intercession, may we be renewed in spirit and heart and confidently work for the unity of all Christians in the bond of peace.

Read a brief biography of Saint Leopold Mandic

Saint Vincent’s Archabbot re-elected

Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., 65, the eleventh Archabbot
of Saint Vincent Archabbey, was re-elected as the major superior of the
Benedictine community in Latrobe Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May 11.

In his role as
the Archabbot of Saint Vincent Archabbey, Archabbot Douglas serves as the spiritual
leader of the first monastery established in the United States and one of the
largest monasteries in the world with nearly 175 monks. As archabbot, he is the chancellor of Saint Vincent
College and Saint Vincent Seminary.

The Benedictines operate the Benedictine
Military School in Savannah, Georgia, and the Penn State Campus Ministry
Program at State College, Pennsylvania.

In addition to his responsibilities in
this country, the Archabbot is also the spiritual leader of monasteries in
Brazil and Taiwan.

May God grant Archabbot Douglas abundant blessings today and in the years ahead.

Saint Benedict, pray for us.

Saint Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

NB: Beg the Holy Spirit for graces upon the Benedictine abbeys of Saint Procopius and Marmion (both in the greater Chicago area) who will be electing new abbots this summer.

Vincent de Paul: Charity’s Saint

My primary education was with Vincentian Fathers in New Haven, CT. They were great men, hardworking, faithful and interesting. But the one thing missing was that they never spoke of Saint Vincent de Paul, their order’s founder. More than 25 years later I lament this fact because I am now seeing a terrific richness and beauty of the man and saint, Vincent de Paul. A new video has been produced, “Vincent de Paul: Charity’s Saint.” It gives us a wonderful introduction into the heart of a man who has touched many facets of our life in the Church and in the US.

The trailer is very appetizing, I recommend it because it seems like it will stir the spiritual and apostolic life in you. Plus, it will be an education.

The press release is here.

It is for sale at the DePaul University’s Vincentian Institute.

Honk if you love Jesus…

Rocco’s honorary doctorate from Aquinas Institute perplexes

I must be dreaming! Reading Gary Sterns’ blog today, Blogging Religiously, I learned that Aquinas Institute in Saint Louis gave Rocco Palmo, the Whispers in the Loggia blogger, an honorary doctorate while also giving him the privilege of being the commencement speaker on May 7

Admittedly, I am not terribly enthralled with Palmo’s perspective church-matters, nor his speculation on some things, nor his disrespect for the Holy Father, hence I wonder by what criteria did Aquinas Institute use to decide on giving Rocco Plamo these honors. But may these are the criteria by which the Dominicans of the Central Province judge excellence, getting in touch with those on the margins and theological thinking. Rocco is hardly a journalist, at least not by industry standards in the way John Allen or or Cindy Wooden or John Thavis are journalists; but he can be informative humorous but much too gossipy (the later not being a Catholic virtue and certainly unbecoming of the new evangelization). What was Aquinas Institute President Father Richard Peddicord thinking?

Could Rocco Palmo be now the new type of preaching we can expect from the Order of Preachers? Even the St Louis Post Dispatch’s article is trite. It is a free world, after all, but give me a break. So much living the Dominican motto: to praise, to bless, to preach.

Saint Ignatius of Laconi

I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you. And in you men shall find a blessing, Alleluia.

Lord God, You led Saint Ignatius along the way of humility, innocence, and fraternal charity to the heights of sanctity. Help us to imitate his virtues and to practice charity on earth in word and deed.

Read a brief biography on Saint Ignatius of Laconi

Saint Damien de Veuster (of Molokai)

Father of mercy, in Saint Damien You have given us a
shining witness of love for the poorest and most abandoned. Grant that, by his
intercession, as a faithful witnesses of the Heart of Your Son Jesus, we too
may be servants of the most needy and rejected.

Pope Benedict XVI canonized Damien de Veuster on October 11, 2009. Saint Damien is counted among the North American Martyrs and six other saints for a total of 15 saints of the USA. A wiki-article has a brief outline of Saint Damien’s life.

A number of resources have been pulled together for Saint Damien here.

The Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary have published the texts for the Divine Office and the Mass for the liturgical memorial of Saint Damien found here.

Saint Antoninus of Florence

The fear of the
Lord is holy, abiding for ever. The decrees of the Lord are truth and all of
them just.

Eternal God, you blessed Saint Antoninus with a marvelous gift of
counsel. By the help of his prayers while we walk in the darkness of this life,
may we learn from a light of Christ all that we ought to do.

Saint Antoninus (1389-1459) was a Dominican friar was known for his evangelical zeal, holiness, the desire to live the Dominican life with integrity, the desire to attend to the poor, the reconciliation of sinners, and harmonious workings of society, both political and economic. He is the author of several books, including his own Summa theologica. His liturgical memorial is observed today even though on the Roman Maryrology the observance is noted for May 2.

From the Vita

He
required of himself the most unflinching observance of the Rule of his Order,
and never ate meat unless he were grievously ill. He slept upon the ground or
upon bare boards. He always wore haircloth, and sometimes an iron girdle which
bit into his naked skin. His virginity he kept ever undimmed by the last breath
or shadow. He was so skillful in giving advice that he gained the common
nickname of Antoninus the Counselor. At the same time so beautifully brilliant
was his lowliness, that even when he was at the head of houses and provinces of
his Order, he most cheerfully underook all the meanest services of the house
where he was. Eugenius IV appointed him Archbishop of Florence, and he took it
so ill, that it was only when awed by the threats of the Apostolic See that he
obeyed, and accepted the dignity.

Saint Ivo (Ives) of Brittany

He who serves me, follows me, says the Lord; and where I am, my servant will also be.

O God, You who chose Saint Ivo, Your priest, as a distinguished servant for the welfare of souls and as an advocate for the needs of the poor. Grant that we may imitate his charity and be protected in answer to his prayers.

Saint Ivo (Ives; 1253-1303) studied civil and canon law, Scripture and was known for his prudence, rectitude and the practice of charity. He joined the Franciscan Tertiaries (today known as the Secular Franciscan Order). In time he was ordained to the minor orders and then to the priesthood. Ivo’s good and holy preaching was well known among the people of Brittany leading others to change their lives to adhere to Christ more closely. In the service of the bishop he worked to prevent the state’s encroachment on the Church and he made sure the poor’s needs were met. Tradition has Saint Ivo as a patron of lawyers but not their model as exemplied in a translation of a Latin phrase: Saint Ivo was a Breton, a lawyer and not a thief, a marvelous thing for the people.

Gabriel Robert Scasino takes the Franciscan Conventual habit

Yesterday morning (May 8) my friend Gabriel Scasino was invested in the habit of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFMConv) at Saint Bonaventure Friary (Forestville, MD) during Lauds. His Minister Provincial, Father Justin Blase, presided at Lauds, blessed the habit, and then invested Gabriel with the Habit. Father Justin then celebrated the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Friar Gabriel belongs to the Immaculate Conception Province.

So you may ask, What is the habit all about? The habit is the religious garment of the person who takes the evangelical counsels (poverty, chastity, obedience). It is a sign (used here in the religious/philosophical sense) of something deeper than the person wearing the garment and it is a sign and symbol of Christ and the Church. As a point of comparison, diocesan priests would wear a cassock or a

clerical shirt of some sort. Nevertheless, most religious orders of men and women have a habit, usually some stylized clothing of a former era, though some sisters and priests may wear secular clothing because the founder didn’t specify a habit because of the era in which the congregation was founded (e.g., Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity) or like Saint Ignatius of Loyola who told his disciples to dress as the respectable priests of the day. Orders like the Benedictines, Carmelites, Augustinians, Dominicans and the Franciscans have a habit to identify themselves as living as the poor: simple attire. The habit is a witness to someone greater than me; and believe it or not, the habit often opens more doors to Christ than one might realize because many people recognize a habit as a garment that expresses virtue.

The use of the habit may depend on the context in which the religious is living and working. In some cases color and type of fabric may be relative. However, what is clear is that the habit is not optional; it is not circus clothing, it is not for dress-up. The habit ought to help the person wearing it to take into account his or her life in Christ, preaching the Gospel and living the vows.

So, for my purposes here, let me quote from the Constitutions of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual we learn what the habit means for the Conventual Franciscan in relatively direct terms:

The religious habit of the friars, the sign of our consecration and of our community and a witness to poverty, must be simple and modest, poor and becoming. It consists of a black tunic with a capuche and a white cord. In certain places, for a reasonable cause approved by the Minister General with the consent of his definitory, the grey habit may be worn.

According to custom, it is laudable to wear –suspended from the cord– the Franciscan crown of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The friars must wear the habit of the Order. The Minister General, however, for particular reason and as long as these last may permit another form of dress (97; emphasis mine).

As you can see from these photos, Friar Gabriel and his conferes are wearing the grey habit, which the other Conventual provinces around the world are beginning to adopt as it is seen as the more authentic habit of the Conventual Franciscans.

Friar Gabriel Robert Scasino and I are from the same town, when to the same high school and our home parish is the same, though Gabriel is much younger than I am. He was a Conventual Franciscan for 7 years has been out for about 7 years and has been mercifully and graciously been re-admitted to the same.

Beginning next week Friar Gabriel will spend 3 months in Assisi, Italy, doing a Franciscan course of study with the aim of putting him in touch with the Franciscan way of life by locating himself at the heart of Franciscan life.

Friar Gabriel will make a profession of temporary vows on the feast of Saint Joseph Cupertino, September 18.

May God grant Friar Gabriel many years as a Conventual Friar.