Mortification of the flesh for the good

As the body is to be chastised at the beginning so that sin may not reign in it and we may overcome temptations, so too when the temptations have been overcome we must persevere in the same practices not only for fear of falling back but also out of desire for progress.
 
Thus through the mortification of the flesh the spirit may thrive the better and, the lighter and more slender the fetters which attach it, the more freely it may rise to spiritual things.
 
Blessed Guerric of Igny
Liturgical Sermons

Cirill Tamás Hortobágyi new archabbot of Pannonhalma

On January 6, 2018 the abbatial community of the Archabbey of Pannonhalma elected Prior Cirill Tamás Hortobágyi, O.S.B. as their new archabbot.

TODAY, February 16, the Holy Father has accepted the election and appointed Abbot Cirill as Archabbot of the Territorial Abbey of Pannonhalma, Hungary.

He succeeds Bishop Imre Asztrik Várszegi, O.S.B. as Ordinary Archabbot of Pannonhalma.

Archabbot Cirill was born on 22 February 1959. He entered the abbey taking the habit on 21 August 1977. Having made his first profession on 6 August 1981 and then ordained priest on 15 August 1985. He has served the community in a variety of positions.

The abbatial blessing will take place 21 March 2018. Archabbot Cyril also serves as the Abbot President of the Hungarian Benedictine Congregation.

Spiritual Reading for Lent 2018

We are at the beginning the season of Great Lent. May I commend to you these titles for your spiritual reading and meditation (listed in no particular order):

Alexander Schmemann, Great Lent

Richard John Neuhaus, Death on a Friday Afternoon:  Meditations on the Last Words of  Jesus from the Cross 

Flannery O’Connor, A Prayer Journal 

John Behr, Becoming Human

Brother Lawrence, The Practice of the Presence of God

Jean-Pierre de Caussade,  The Sacrament of the Present Moment

Frederica Mathewes-Green, The Illumined Heart

Frank Sheed, Theology for Beginners

Peter Kreeft, Your Questions, God’s Answers

C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Pope Benedict XVI, Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts, and Other Solemnities of the Church 

Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection 

Which books would you recommend for Lent?

Pope meets with Melkite Synod of Bishops

Earlier this month the Patriarch and bishops of the Melkite Church met in Synod in Lebanon to deliberate on some serious matters concerning the Church, including the election of new bishops. Following the Synod, the bishops travelled to Rome to make a pilgrimage to the holy places –the shrines of Saints Peter and Paul– and then to meet with the Roman Pontiff in addition to meeting with the various heads of the Roman dicasteries. When the Synod met last year the only substantial thing done was to elect a new Patriarch. Meetings of substance now. At 11.45 this morning (Feb 12, 2018), the Holy Father Francis received in audience the members of the Melkite Synod, and addressed the following words to them:

Beatitude, dear Brothers in the Episcopate,

Thank you for your visit. The happy occasion is given by the public event of the Ecclesiastical Communion, which will take place tomorrow morning during the Eucharistic celebration and which I have already had the opportunity to grant to Your Beatitude in the Letter of 22 June, after your [Joseph Absi, MSP] election as Patriarch, Pater et Caput, on the part of the Synod of Bishops.

So, as today, dear Brother, I assure you of my constant closeness in prayer: that the Risen Lord will be near you and accompany you in the mission entrusted to you. It is a prayer that cannot be dissociated from that for the beloved Syria and for all the Middle East, a region in which your Church is deeply rooted and performs a precious service for the good of the People of God. A presence, yours, which is not limited to the Middle East, but has extended, for many years now, to those countries where many Greek-Melkite faithful have moved in search of a better life. My prayer and my affectionate remembrance goes also to those faithful in the diaspora and to their Pastors.

In this difficult historical period, many Christian communities in the Middle East are called to live their faith in the Lord Jesus in the midst of many hardships. I sincerely hope that, by their testimony of life, the Greek-Melkite bishops and priests can encourage the faithful to remain in the land where Divine Providence wished them to be born. In the aforementioned June Letter I recalled that like never before, “pastors are called upon to manifest communion, unity, closeness, solidarity and transparency before the suffering People of God”. I invite you fraternally to continue on this path. As you know, I have called a day of prayer and fasting for peace on the 23rd of this month. On that occasion I will not fail to make special mention of Syria, afflicted in recent years by unspeakable suffering.

You come to Rome as pilgrims, at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, at the conclusion of your last Synodal Assembly, which took place in Lebanon in the first days of the month. It is always a fundamental moment of common journey, during which Patriarch and bishops are called to make important decisions for the good of the faithful, including through the election of new bishops, of pastors who are witnesses to the Risen Lord. Pastors who, as the Lord did with His disciples, revive the hearts of the faithful, staying close to them, consoling them, stooping to them and to their needs; pastors who, at the same time, accompany them upwards, to “set their minds on things that are above, where Christ is, not on things that are on earth” (cf. Col 3: 1-2). We are in great need of pastors who embrace life with the breadth of God’s heart, without settling for earthly satisfactions, without contenting themselves with carrying on what is already there, but always aiming high; pastors who are bearers of the High, free from the temptation to stay “at low altitude”, freed from the restricted measures of a warm and habitual life; poor pastors, not attached to money and luxury, in the midst of a poor people who suffer; coherent announcers of Paschal hope, in perpetual journey with their brothers and sisters. While I am pleased to grant Pontifical Assent to the bishops you have chosen, I would like to experience the greatness of these horizons.

Beatitude, Excellencies, I reiterate my heartfelt gratitude for your fraternal visit. When you return to your sees and meet with the priests, men and women religious and the faithful, remind them that they are in the heart and in the prayer of the Pope. May the All Holy Mother of God, Queen of Peace, guard and protect you. And as I have the joy of giving my Blessing to you and your communities, I ask you, please, not to forget to pray for me.

St Paul Miki and companions

The Martyrs of Nagasaki, St. Paul Miki (1562–1597) and his twenty-five companions are liturgically honored today. As you note from the image he was crucified for the faith in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1597.

Historians tell us that Miki was  Japanese layman of great nobility and wealth, who converted to Christ by the great missionary, St. Francis Xavier. The Church, initially, was not in opposition to the Emperor and his princes but as time went on Christians were felt to be a threat to Japanese culture. Paul Miki and his companions were tortured and made to walk 600 miles to Nagasaki before they died. Given the option for personal freedom if they denied Christ and the Church, Paul remained steadfast to the Faith. I wonder how many of us would do the same today?

St Marianne Cope

The Church in America liturgically remembers St. Marianne Cope (1838–1918), also known as St. Marianne of Molokai, today.

A German immigrant to the USA, Marianne worked in a New York factory before entering the Sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Syracuse. Her superiors missioned Sister Marianne to a ministry in health care and education where she excelled. Called to serve the poor, and by Divine Providence, Hawaii opened the door for Mother Marianne and six sisters to go on mission in 1883. There she gave 35 years to caring for those afflicted with Hansen’s disease (leprosy) in Molokai, Hawaii, establishing a hospital and a school for girls on the island of Maui. She is remembered for introducing cleanliness, dignity, and fun into the colony. Despite her direct contact with leprosy patients over many years, she was not afflicted by the disease, which some consider miraculous. A gift for Sister Marianne was collaborating with St. Damien of Molokai. Benedict XVI canonized Marianne Cope in 2012.

Are we open to the promptings of Divine Providence?

Gardening is good for you

Indeed, working in the soil is a good you on many levels, not least on the spiritual and affective levels. We know getting out in the fresh air and working is good exercise. Experience tells me that our whole disposition changes for the better. There is a story that when a certain Dominican nun who was having a difficult day with the novices, she would go to the garden in her monastery. Sr. Columba also encouraged the novices to do the same.

This past week I’ve been settling my commitment to my small agriculture for 2018 with the ordering of some new bee hives, placing an order for new honey bee colonies. This year, I am getting a new species of honey bee from Canada called Saskatraz. This past year I year I had some sort of Russian-mix bee. But I had some issues with the colonies and it’s very possible that only one of three colonies survived.

I have adopted the motto: save the honey, save the church. You could also replace “church” with “culture” or “the family.”

Committing oneself to the honey bee is a commitment to a 100 million year history of life. The honey bee is one of the most amazing insects God has given us! You can’t underestimate the importance of the honey bee in human and animal life. And yet, we humans are not too aware of our actions that obstruct or even kill the bee due to shallow desires like the eradication of dandelions and white clover. Nevertheless, I am doing my part. I daily pray for my honey bees and I have developed an affection for them.

Likewise, I am beginning to organize my mind on what may be planted. With all the seed catalogs I’ve received there is no shortage of ideas; there is a shortage in space and energy to do the work.

Back in November 2017 I planted approximately 15 pounds of garlic in the various gardens I oversee.

As a side note, I ran across a CNN article on the papal garden. Now while the Pope says he’s committed to good ecology and the connection with Faith, he doesn’t personally plant and tend the garden on his 62 acre farm. A shame. But the Roman Pontiffs of recent years have had some sort of garden at the summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, just outside of Rome feeding the pope and his guests. Yet, there is a good example set by Pope Francis in is his desire for fresh food. Apparently, he gets a daily basket of fresh produce which may include seasonal items like broccoli and cauliflower but he also gets handmade cheeses, milk, eggs and yogurt are also made fresh each day.

The papal farm has seven farmers and several nuns who make high-quality olive oil cold-pressed by granite stone from a 1000 olive trees (some dating back to AD 1200), 30 cows, and chickens for nutrient dense eggs and meat. Here’s a brief video.

Lots of work to be done in the next 69 days.

Armenians restore female diaconate

The female diaconate has been restored with the ordination of Ani-Kristi Manvelian, 24, in Tehran as a deacon for parish life who is not a nun.

It is understood as a “restoring” rather than “reinstating” of the Order of Deacon for women. This act is see as a precedent. The ordination happened  at St. Sarkis Church on 25 September 2017 by Archbishop Sebouh Sarkissian, the Primate of the Diocese of Tehran (Catholicosate of Cilicia).

Archbishop Sarkissian said:

“Today, our Church is confronting the imperative of self-examination and self-critique. It is imperative to rejuvenate the participation of the people in the social, educational and service spheres of the Church. It is our deep conviction that the active participation of women in the life of our Church would allow Armenian women to be involved more enthusiastically and vigorously, and would allow them to be connected and engaged. They would provide dedicated and loving service [to the people]. The deaconess, no doubt, would also be a spiritual and church-dedicated mother, educator, and why not, a model woman through her example. It is with this deep conviction that we are performing this ordination, with the hope that we are neither the first nor the last to do it.”

The narrative of the event was communicated by Hratch Tchilingirian on his blog.

The Armenians have had a tradition of female deacons serving, like the male deacons, at the Altar.

Deaconess  Ani-Kristi Manvelian served the Christmas Eve Liturgy on January 5th. For the Archbishop his act as the head of diocese is “to revitalise the participation of women also in our church’s liturgical life,” adding, “do not be surprised, a woman could also become a servant of the Holy Altar.”