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Tag: Friars of the Renewal
A new CFR priest! Father John Paul
The newly ordained (19 May 2012) Franciscan Friar of the Renewal Father John Paul offers a blessing. Brother Luke Mary is assisting. Father John Paul’s ordination happened at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (NYC). Father John Paul will serve his community as the vocation director. Saint Francis pray for us.
Photo: Fr Sweeney
Religious life 2010: Profession of vows, entrances and ordinations
Spring and summer great times in abbeys and great orders because of the ordinations, profession of vows, entrances to the novitiate and the anticipation of such things. God, indeed, provides…God hears our prayers for humble workers in the vineyards. We seek the face of God together, in faith, hope and charity.
For last two years I’ve been compiling a selective list of orders that have received new members and noting which ones had professions of vows because I was awe struck by the fact that some people are still being called to do such. That is to say, I am not struck by the fact that God still calls men and women to accept the gift of religious life but that they actually say ‘yes’ to the Divine Invitation to follow Him.
I was also curious to know which groups, randomly surveyed, got new members. Leading others to Christ is serious business, so I wanted to know how the Church in America might fare in the future with fewer vocations. For example, the tri-provinces of the Eastern Jesuits (the Provinces of Maryland, New England & New York) admitted only 8 for themselves for 2010. To compare numbers, in the New England Province in 1990, 6 men entered the Jesuit society (only 1 remains today) and in 2010 they admitted only 2 men. Dismal numbers given the beauty of the vocation. What would Saint Ignatius of Loyola say?????
Let us note well: Some religious orders or monasteries don’t want anyone to know the facts of professions, entrants or ordinations too readily. This is frustrating because the info should be readily available if a group has a website. There is good reason to believe that many religious are embarrassed by the fact that no one is entering or that with all the money being spent on vocation promotion no one is interested in their way of life as it is lived in that group’s context. Moreover, some orders are not aware of the value of internet technology in today’s era, or are just incapable of find the “right way” to use technology to assist in getting the word out there that life exists in their order or that the charism they’re living is worth living and may be attractive to others.
We should acknowledge the fact that some orders are dying (or are already dead and the membership is refusing to admit that their group is dead) but if God has given the grace to come into existence, to abort the charism/vocation too readily and without taking stock in the factors that have contributed to diminishment and the factors of correctives, is perplexing.
Nothing beats being faithful to some simple facts which encourages a faithful living of the vowed life and makes it attractive to others:
- a common prayer life and personal prayer which includes Mass, the Divine Office, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Lectio Divina, the rosary; a daily hour could be optional but there ought to be a good reason why a religious is not making a holy hour more often than not;
- a common vision for living and serving the gospel in the Catholic Church as it is today, not as the Church “was in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s” or what the Church “should be”; the work done together, whether serving the poor, teaching school, being chaplains needs to cohere to the founding charism, be done together, and with joy in the Risen Lord; serving the gospel and the Church means being faithful to the Church’s teaching authority, which means pastoral authority of the Pope and the bishops;
- a caring fraternal life
- the wearing of a religious habit not only in the house but in public; if you won’t wear the habit in a restaurant or movie theater or any other place, including the airport, then you shouldn’t be there; the wearing of the roman collar for religious orders should be done by exception if there is a legitimate habit available and the lapel pin just doesn’t cut it.
In sum, I’d say that a religious ought to live the virtues we observe in God’s Trinitarian life: be familial/communal with to regard to living, faithfully accepting of another’s differences (the gifts the other brings), maintaining a personal dependence on another realizing that we humans didn’t make ourselves and we really only know ourselves in light the other person, having an attitude for the sharing of resources and the practice of hospitality remembering that we receive guests as though it was Christ Himself knocking on our door.
The fruit of prayer and witness to Christ is seen in the admission of candidates to religious life as postulants, novices, simply and solemnly professed members as well as ordinations. Let me give you a sampling of what I am talking about –this is not a comprehensive list:
The Monastic Life:
Monastero di Bose (Italy) solemnly professed three, 1 monk and 2 nuns.
Saint Walburga Abbey (Virginia Dale, CO) have 3 novices, 1 sister professed simple vows and there are 5 sisters in temporary vows. The abbey has a blog.
Saint Emma Monastery (Greensburg, PA) has 1 novice.
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles (Kansas City-St Joseph, MO) have regular vocations but as to numbers, that is unknown. You would have to wait for their newsletter or call them.
Abbey of St Paul outside the Walls (Rome) simply professed 1 and there are 2 novices.
St Louis Abbey solemnly professed 2 monks, will simply profess 1 and admitted 1 to the postulancy and ordained another to the priesthood in June. Father Bede reports that in the past 13 months there have been a total of 5 solemn professions and D.V. there will be 1 simple profession in November and a solemn profession in January 2011.
St Anselm’s Abbey (Washington, DC) simply professed 1 monk.
Marmion Abbey solemnly professed 1 monk and admitted 2 to the novitiate.
St John’s Abbey 2 monks made solemn vows and 4 simply professed vows; their stories are here; 2 were admitted to the community.
St Mary’s Abbey (Morristown, NJ) simply professed 2 monks on May 1. Four entered the novitiate.
St Vincent’s Archabbey ordained 1 to the priesthood, 5 became novices and 4 professed simple vows. The juniorate has 13 monks.
St Meinrad Archabbey ordained 1 priest and 2 professed solemn vows.
St Benedict’s Abbey (in Kansas) ordained 2 monks, 1 to the order of deacon and another to the priesthood.
St Benedict’s Abbey (in Wisconsin) simply professed 1.
Conception Abbey simply professed 1, solemnly professed 1 and 4 entered the novitiate.
The Monastery of San Benedetto (Norcia, Italy) had 2 monks profess simple vows and 1 profess solemn vows this summer. The community was founded in 1998 in Rome and in 2000 moved Norcia, Italy. The community grows.
Benedictine monasteries worth knowing about, who live the life but don’t publish the numbers of their monasteries with accuracy:
Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Westfield, VT)
Abbey of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek (Hulbert, OK)
The Dominican nuns of Summit, NJ, the Monastery of Our Lady of the Rosary, will simple profess 1 and 1 entered the postulancy. Watch their slide show.
The Carmelite Monks (Cody, WY) had 4 postulants enter, 2 enter the novitiate and a perpetual profession. 2 were ordained to the diaconate.
The Norbertine Canons of the Abbey of Saint Norbert (DePere, WI) admitted 3 the novitiate (2 for St Norbert’s & 1 for the daughter house Santa Maria de la Vid in New Mexico); there is 1 novice in the 2nd year novitiate.
The Norbertine Canons of Daylesford Abbey (Paoli, PA) admitted 1 to the novitiate, there is 1 2nd year novice, 2 others in formation for priesthood.
The Norbertine Canons of the Abbey of Saint Michael (Silverado, CA) 2 professed solemn vows; new postulants were accepted; 1 was ordained a priest and 1 a deacon.
Apostolic Orders:
The Missionary Fraternity of St Charles Borromeo educates 40 seminarians in Rome and who ordained 3 as priests on June 26; plus there are houses of formation in Mexico and Chile.
The Conventual Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception Province simply professed 1 friar; 1 made solemn vows.
The Conventual Franciscans of the Province of Our Lady of Consolation received 2 postulants and 1 novice; there was 1 simple profession of vows.
The Capuchin Friars of Saint Mary’s Province simply professed 2 friars, and ordained 1; seven student friars renewed vows; 1 friar ordained deacon; 2 novices received the habit.
The Capuchin Friars of the Province of Our Lady of the Angels admitted 5 to the postulancy.
The Capuchin Friars of the Province of Saint Conrad simply professed 1 friar, 1 novice, 3 postulants and 1 friar ordained deacon.
The Capuchin Province of Saint Joseph 2 novices received the habit.
The Capuchin Friars of the Saint Augustine Province simply professed 1 friar; 7 novices received the habit
The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal had 3 sisters profess final vows and 5 take the habit.
The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal had 6 friars profess final vows and 10 remain in the novitiate; 4 friars were ordained deacons.
The Franciscan friars of the Holy Name Province finally professed 4 friars and admitted 4 men as postulants; 2 friars ordained deacons.
The Dominicans of the Western Province ordained 5 men to the priesthood, 3 novices took simple vows.
The Dominican friars in Canada had 5 men enter the novitiate.
The Dominican Province of St Joseph ordained 3 to the priesthood, simply professed 8 with 21 men who entered the novitiate.
The Dominican Province of Saint Albert the Great had 10 men enter the novitiate, 3 make simple vows and 2 make solemn vows; 2 friars ordained priests and 1 friar ordained deacon.
The Dominican Missionaries for the Deaf Apostolate perpetually professed 1; 2 are in theological studies preparing for priesthood; the community has 12 members in 2 priories.
The Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus had 4 sisters renew vows; 1 professed perpetual vows and 3 entered the novitiate and 1 entered the second year of novitiate. There are also 4 new pre-postulants.
The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma had 7 sisters finish the first year novitiate.
The Sisters of St Francis of the Martyr St George (Alton, IL) 21 junior sisters renewed their vows; 4 professed simple vows, 5 entered the postulant program, 3 entered the 1st year novitiate and 2 moved to the 2nd year novitiate.
The Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist simply professed 1 and received 1 into the novitiate joining 4 other sisters; the FSE also received 1 into the postulancy.
The Congregation of St Cecilia, Dominican Sisters of Nashville perpetually professed 5 and simply professed 9; 20 were invested as novices and 26 new postulants entered.
The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist (Ann Arbor, MI) had 8 make their simple profession of vows & 5 made perpetual vows. 11 enter the novitiate and 22 enter the aspirancy. Founded in 1997 the congregation has more than 100 sisters.
The Sisters of Life simply professed 10 and finally professed 1; 7 sisters began the novitiate.
Keeping the mission in front us
Missions to help people find their true humanity and to know the mercy of Christ and friends, always needs our personal attention: friendship, prayers & study and financial assistance. Can I get you thinking about the foreign missions by personally undertaking some work to know the good work of missionaries and the work of the Holy Spirit?
Consider this blog post a seed planted: make a plan to go to the missions for period of time (even for a week), support a project with friendly letters, human contact and financial support and most certainly with your prayer to the Saints Francis Xavier, Therese of Lisieux and Josephine Bahkita for their intercession before God’s throne.
In all the consider you make, perhaps you may want to pray the Memorare to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Feeling a call to serve as a missionary in the Sudan, one of Africa’s incredibly poor countries, Father Herald Joseph Brock, CFR asked his superiors if he could serve the Church in Sudan. With tremendous generosity of the Friars of the Renewal and friends, Father Herald is rocking on… Father Herald writes a blog, “CFR Sudan Mission,” to keep friends engaged in his projects.
Making donations to the Franciscan Mission Outreach –CFR Sudan Mission can be done here. Last September I made a plea for help for the Mission.
Where are you?
The
very first question that God asks man in the Bible is, where are you? “The Lord called to the man, and
said to him, where are you?” (Genesis 3:9) It is not a question that demands sophisticated answers nor
are there multiple answers to this question. Rather, it is a question of concern from a loving
father and the only demand placed upon this question is that one answers
truthfully, even if the truth exposes something to us that highlights our selfishness
and our need for God.
Before God asked Adam this question Adam had committed a
sin by disobeying God’s commandment and ate from the tree God had forbidden him
to eat from. Adam had forgotten
about God’s love and choose to place his own will and desires over the will and
desires of God. Now Adam, ashamed
and afraid (which is always the fruit of sin) tries to hide from God because he
realizes something dramatic has occurred in his relationship with the Lord. The Lord simply asks him, Adam, where
are you?
This question, as old as the Bible itself, God continues to ask us
today. Throughout our lives,
throughout each day, and often several times a day, God is continually asking
us, “My son or my daughter, where are you? In other words, where is your heart right now? Is it tired, frustrated, angry? Is it overwhelmed by the demands of
life? Is it engrossed in selfish
activities? Is it immersed in lust,
pride, envy, jealousy, etc? Is it
distracted by the things of this world?
When the Lord asks us this question it
is an invitation from him to turn our eyes away from the many distractions we
often promote and to turn our eyes once again towards Him. It is our Father, gentle tapping us on
the shoulder and calling us back to Him.
Rather than living in future events, or reliving past wounds over and
over again it is an invitation to experience God in the present moment, the
only place where we can be guaranteed to encounter God.
Brother Jeremiah Myriam
Shryock, CFR, a Fourth Year Seminary Student Saint Joseph’s Seminary-Dunwoodie,
Yonkers, NY. Brother Jeremiah was ordained a deacon on May 29, 2010 with three
other Franciscan Friars of the Renewal by the Most Reverend Manual Cruz, an
auxiliary bishop of Newark. A poem of Brother Jeremiah’s, “After Eden,” was published here.
New York’s new priests 2010
New priests will be ordained for the Archdiocese of New York and the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, these are their stories… Our New Priests (CNY article).pdf
After Eden
If only I could return,
to feel your hands
calm and
serene
serene
fashioning me in your image,
to hear your voice
tranquil and easy
breathing
over me,
over me,
to see your eyes
fervent and beautiful
revealing yourself to me.
I
promise:
promise:
this time,
I will not be afraid.
Brother Jeremiah Myriam Shryock, CFR
Third Year Seminary Student (2010)
Saint Joseph’s Seminary-Dunwoodie, Yonkers, NY
Franciscan winemakers cheer the heart
In October I posted a
piece on the Franciscan Friars’ wine making hobby. Franciscan Friar
of the Renewal Brother Giuseppe Maria Siniscalchi had an idea a few years ago
to make homemade wine when he wasn’t hitting the theology books. The friars do more than study, serve the poor, run the Catholic Underground— they cheer the heart with their wine which is a very human thing to do. This is the
second year for Our Lady of Cana wines. Perhaps this may be a new franchise for the friars!!! I’m looking forward to a 3rd year of winemaking. AND I am willing to be the wine-quality control guy.
With grapes handpicked and materials donated by friends, and
help from the other friars, Brother Giuseppi made a great barrel of wine. Of course, nature did her part and God His… For the
last six months the wine has matured –and we’ve been eagerly waiting for the maturing process to work– in a basement corner in an oak barrel. The
wine now sufficiently mature, today was the time to bottle.
Deacon James
Ferreira, Ken Riello (a 1st yr Dunwoodian) and yours truly set out to watch,
assist and taste the fruit of the earth. James was most kind in bringing some
great bread, cheese and soppressata.
We had great fun bottling nearly 275 bottles of wine. James, I hear, has a case of wine for his first Mass in May! AND this event was SO Catholic!
Always thinking liturgically, the
soon-to-be-priested, Friar Deacon Charles blessed the new wine using this
text, but here is another version of the blessing of wine:
The Blessing of Wine in Honor of Saint John the Evangelist
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Pray Psalm 22 and then the Our Father
V. And lead
us not into temptation.
R. But deliver us from evil.
V. Preserve thy servants.
R.
That trust in thee, my God.
V. Send them aid, O Lord, from heaven.
R. And from
Sion watch over them.
V. Let the enemy be powerless over them.
R. And the son
of evil do nothing to harm them.
V. And should they drink anything deadly.
R.
May it not hurt them.
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto
thee.
V. The Lord be with you.
R. And with your spirit.
Let us pray.
Holy Lord,
Father Almighty, eternal God! Who didst will that thy Son, equal to thee in
eternity and substance, should descend from heaven and in the fullness of
time take temporal birth of the most holy Virgin Mary, so that He could seek
the lost and wayward sheep and carry it on His shoulders to the sheepfold, and
could cure the man fallen among robbers of his wounds by pouring in oil and
wine– do thou bless + and sanctify + this wine which thou hast vintaged for
man’s drink. Whoever partakes of it on this holy solemnity, grant him life in
body and soul. By thy goodness let it be to him strength in the pilgrimage to
prosper him on the way, that his journey may come to a happy termination.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
R. Amen.
Let us pray.
O Lord Jesus Christ,
Who didst call thyself the true vine and thy holy apostles the branches, and
didst desire to plant a chosen vineyard of all who love thee, bless + this wine
and impart to it the power of thy benediction.+And as thy beloved disciple John,
Apostle and Evangelist intercedes for them that partake thereof, grant them
security from all deadly and poisonous afflictions and constant good health of
soul and body. Who lives and reigns forever.
R. Amen.
Let us pray.
O God, thou
gives to man bread to eat and wine to drink — bread to nourish the body and
wine to cheer the heart. And as thou didst confer upon blessed John, thy
beloved disciple such favor that not only did he himself escape the poisoned
potion, but could restore life to others so overcome; do thou grant to all that
drink this wine spiritual joy and eternal life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
thy Son, who with Thee, lives and reigns, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one
God, forever and ever.
R. Amen.
Friars of the Renewal profess vows today
May the Lord grant you His peace!
Great news echoes in the heavenly courts: 16 Franciscan Friars of the Renewal novices professed temporary vows (poverty, chastity and obedience) today at Saint Antoninus Church (Newark, NJ). Newly elected Community Servant (Fr. Provincial) Father Mariusz Koch received the vows. A reception followed at the novitiate of the Most Blessed Sacrament Friary also in Newark, NJ. Bishop Emmanuel Cruz, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark was present. Here are some pics of the community.
The Friars also invested 10 new men as novices on Saturday. Names are always fun, especially when you think, “where did they get that name from?” Read the new names:
Br Frantisek Marie Chloupek, Br Vittorio Maria Pesce, Br Jude Thaddeus Boyden, Br. Tobias Marie Redfield, Br Simeon Mary Lewis, Fr. Maximillian Mary McGoldrick, Br Seamus Mary Laracy, Br Mark-Mary Maximilian Ames, Br Angelus Immaculata Montgomery, Fr Felipe Immaculee Casadia.
May Saints Francis and Clare bless the new friars abundantly!
Fr Benedict Groeschel celebrates 50 years of priesthood
This year is Father Benedict Groeschel’s golden jubilee as a priest. That’s right! He’s 50 years a Catholic priest. Many would know him as a TV personality on EWTN; others know him as the instigator of the Friars of the Renewal, to many, he’s a friend and a great priest. Friends of his put together a beautiful, brief video of Father Benedict. Watch it, the link’s below.
Pray for priests. Pray for Father Benedict. Pray for the Friars of the Renewal.
The CFR newsletter on Father Benedict
A video honoring him can be seen here.