Tag: beatification

Miriam Teresa Demjanovich –an American blessed

Miriam TeresaToday, the Catholic Church in America witnessed the beatification of a woman Sr. Miriam Teresa –the fourth American-born woman to be beatified. This is the first time a beatification ceremony happened in the USA. The Mass and rite was offered by Cardinal Angelo Amato in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ.

Interesting, our new blessed was a member of the Eastern Catholic Church in the United States. She was a member, however, of a religious order of the Latin Church, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth. Her feast day is May 8. The Blessed’s book, Greater Perfection, published after her death remains germane to those interested in the spiritual life.

The Vatican Radio interview with Bishop Kurt Burnette (eparchial bishop of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Passaic) notes very well the importance of Blessed Miriam Teresa for us: her understanding of the sacrament of Baptism, her teaching on prayer, her desire to be of complete service to the Triune God. As the bishop says, Americans are known for their activism; and the other American blesseds and saints are known for their activity in building up the Mystical Body of Christ –the Church, but her God has chosen to raise up for us a model of holiness who is a contemplative.

“Bishop Burnette reflected on the impact of her legacy on Eastern and Western spirituality.

“One of the remarkable things about her writings, I believe, is that she brings an Eastern Christian spirit of unity into the Western analysis. The Western theology tends to be analytical. For example, when she talks about prayer, in the West they had divided prayer up into three stages. What they called the purgative, the illuminative and the unitive. But Sr. Miriam Teresa claims that prayer always includes all three parts.”

Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Sr. Miriam Therese when a young boy who lost his eyesight due to macular degeneration was cured after prayers through her intercession. For Bishop Burnette, this miracle along with her profound humility, spirituality and insight are clear signs of God’s confirmation of her sanctity. “I don’t believe we really choose who is going to be canonized, God does,” he concluded.

Miriam Teresa Demjanovic –first citizen to be beatified in the USA

MTDThis Saturday, October 4, Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, a Byzantine Greek Catholic woman, born in New Jersey of Slovak immigrant parents, will be the first person beatified in the USA. The beatification will be transmitted live on EWTN and online.

This Saturday, the fourth native-born American woman will be beatified. From the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J, EWTN is pleased to bring you “The Beatification of Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovic”.

The Most Reverend Kurt Burnette of the Byzantine Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Passaic, Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark, and Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson will concelebrate. “The Beatification of Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovic” airs 9:40 a.m. ET, Saturday, Oct. 4 — exclusively on EWTN.

Communion and Liberation opens cause for beatification and canonization for Luigi Giussani today

LGiussani.jpgFather Julián Carrón, the President of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation, the ecclesial movement founded Father Luigi Giussani (who died 7 years ago today) and which was approved by the Church 30 years this past February 11, gave the preliminary research to Angelo Cardinal Scola, Archbishop of Milan, to open the diocesan phase of investigating the eventual beatification and canonization of Father Luigi Giussani.

Miracles, heroic virtue, new blesseds, new saints, 2 Americans

Sixty-seven people who are being proposed for sainthood had their causes advanced today when Angelo Cardinal Amato, SDB, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints presented the respective cases to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Several were recognized as martyrs for the Faith; their witness to Christ resulted in their being killed in hatred of the faith (odium fidei). 7 who were identified as living a life of heroic virtue were women who founded religious congregations of sisters.

Others were diocesan and religious priests, nuns, sisters and lay people. The martyrs came from Spain having died in the mid-1930s. Of note to me was…

Maria Luisa Gertrude Prosperi~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Maria Luisa (nee Gertrude Prosperi; 1799-1847; image) an Abbess of the Benedictine Abbey in Trevi;

~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha (1654-1672), an American lay woman and first Native American;

~the recognition of the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Marianne Cope (nee Barbara; 1838-1918), a Franciscan sister who worked with Saint Damian of Molokai.

The Filipino community gets its second saint with the acceptance of the miracle attributed to Blessed Pedro Calungsod (1654-1672), a lay catechist.

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.

Father Carrón tells us that John Paul was a pope seized by Christ

Father Julián Carrón, president of the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation was interviewed by the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano on the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Father Carrón said that “beatification of John Paul II … is a ‘strong invitation’ to conversion.”

Keeping in mind what Blessed John Paul did for Communion and Liberation in recognizing the charism proposed by Father Luigi Giussani, Father Carrón recalled the words of John Paul who considered that a Movement “becomes a special instrument for a personal and ever-new adherence to the mystery of Christ.” For those who follow the path to Christ offered by Communion and Liberation will know that the vocation of being a part of Communion and Liberation –given by the Holy Spirit– means bringing “the truth, beauty and peace that are encountered in Christ the Redeemer” to the world.

Father Carrón’s remarks can be read here: Interview with Fr Carrón on the JP II Beatification.pdf

Sr Marie Simon-Pierre: If you believe, you will see the glory of God

Holiness is all that matters. Period. Being with God is the ultimate goal of every Christian’s desire. The holiness of
a person whose cause is being considered for beatification rests on the
verification of a miracle -done by God at the request of another, in the case
at hand, at John Paul’s intercession. The person who received the gift of the miraculous
healing was Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, a sister of the Congregation of the Little
Sisters of Catholic Motherhood. Sister Marie Simon-Pierre was living with Parkinson’s
and attributes a complete healing to the intercession of Pope John Paul II. The
pope suffered from the same disease. The following testimony given in 2006 and
verified by medical professionals last autumn, sealed the case to beatify Pope John Paul II. Zenit provided the text.

Sister Marie Simon-Pierre.jpeg

In June 2001, I was diagnosed
with Parkinson’s disease. The disease had affected the whole left side of my
body, creating great difficulties for me as I am left-handed. After three
years, the initial phase of the disease, slow but progressive, was followed by
an aggravation of the symptoms: accentuation of the trembling, rigidity, pain,
insomnia.

From April 2, 2005, I began to worsen week by week, I grew worse day
by day, I was unable to write (I repeat that I am left-handed), and if I
attempted it, what I wrote was unintelligible. I could drive only for short
trips because my left leg would stiffen sometimes, and my rigidity would have
impeded my driving. Moreover, to do my work in a hospital, it took more time
than usual. I was exhausted.

After learning my diagnosis, it was difficult for
me to watch John Paul II on television. However, I felt very close to him in
prayer and I knew he could understand what I was going through. I also admired
his strength and courage, which motivated me not to give in and to love this
suffering, because without love none of this made sense. I can say that it was
a daily struggle, but my only wish was to live it with faith and in loving
adherence to the will of the Father.

Continue reading Sr Marie Simon-Pierre: If you believe, you will see the glory of God

Agostino Vallini: John Paul II kept his gaze fixed on Christ


Agostino Vallini.JPG

Cardinal
Agostino Vallini, 70, Pope’s vicar of Rome gave the following talk at tonight’s
Vigil at the Circus Maximus in advance of Pope John Paul II’s tomorrow’s beatification.

Divine
Providence gives us this evening the joy of a great experience of grace and
light. With this Marian prayer vigil we hope to prepare ourselves for
tomorrow’s celebration, the solemn beatification of the Venerable Servant of
God John Paul II. Even though it has been six years since the death of the
great Pope–Bishop of Rome and Pastor of the universal Church for 27 years–his
memory is particularly vibrant. We feel veneration, affection, admiration, and
deep gratitude for the beloved pontiff.

Continue reading Agostino Vallini: John Paul II kept his gaze fixed on Christ

Who are saints? They are “Flesh and Blood Human Beings”

As Father Gabriel B. O’Donnell reminds, being a saint doesn’t mean that you are divested of your own personality, to have intimacy with God doesn’t mean you change who you are as a person. Domincan Father Gabriel O’Donnell is currently the academic dean at the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, DC.

Watch PBS Religion & Ethics Newsweekly which helps us to understand the role of saints today.

Father Gabriel speaks to the process of sainting a person based on shepherding the process for two Americans, Father Michael J. McGivney and Rose Hawthorne. See the “Sainthood Process.”

Another piece is worth watching, too: “Path to Sainthood.”