APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO PORTUGAL ON THE OCCASION OF THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE BEATIFICATION OF JACINTA AND FRANCISCO,
YOUNG SHEPHERDS OF FÁTIMA
ACT OF ENTRUSTMENT AND CONSECRATION
OF PRIESTS TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY
PRAYER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
Church of the Most Holy Trinity - Fátima
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Immaculate Mother,
in this place of grace,
called together by the love of your Son Jesus
the Eternal High Priest, we,
sons in the Son and his priests,
consecrate ourselves to your maternal Heart,
in order to carry out faithfully the Father’s Will.
We are mindful that, without Jesus,
we can do nothing good (cf. Jn 15:5)
and that only through him, with him and in him,
will we be instruments of salvation
for the world.
Bride of the Holy Spirit,
obtain for us the inestimable gift
of transformation in Christ.
Through the same power of the Spirit that
overshadowed you,
making you the Mother of the Saviour,
help us to bring Christ your Son
to birth in ourselves too.
May the Church
be thus renewed by priests who are holy,
priests transfigured by the grace of him
who makes all things new.
Mother of Mercy,
it was your Son Jesus who called us
to become like him:
light of the world and salt of the earth
(cf. Mt 5:13-14).
Help us,
through your powerful intercession,
never to fall short of this sublime vocation,
nor to give way to our selfishness,
to the allurements of the world
and to the wiles of the Evil One.
Preserve us with your purity,
guard us with your humility
and enfold us with your maternal love
that is reflected in so many souls
consecrated to you,
who have become for us
true spiritual mothers.
Mother of the Church,
we priests want to be pastors
who do not feed themselves
but rather give themselves to God for their brethren,
finding their happiness in this.
Not only with words, but with our lives,
we want to repeat humbly,
day after day,
Our “here I am”.
Guided by you,
we want to be Apostles
of Divine Mercy,
glad to celebrate every day
the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar
and to offer to those who request it
the sacrament of Reconciliation.
Advocate and Mediatrix of grace,
you who are fully immersed
in the one universal mediation of Christ,
invoke upon us, from God,
a heart completely renewed
that loves God with all its strength
and serves mankind as you did.
Repeat to the Lord
your efficacious word:
“They have no wine” (Jn 2:3),
so that the Father and the Son will send upon us
a new outpouring of
the Holy Spirit.
Full of wonder and gratitude
at your continuing presence in our midst,
in the name of all priests
I too want to cry out:
“Why is this granted me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Lk 1:43).
Our Mother for all time,
do not tire of “visiting us”,
consoling us, sustaining us.
Come to our aid
and deliver us from every danger
that threatens us.
With this act of entrustment and consecration,
we wish to welcome you
more deeply, more radically,
for ever and totally
into our human and priestly lives.
Let your presence cause new blooms to burst forth
in the desert of our loneliness,
let it cause the sun to shine on our darkness,
let it restore calm after the tempest,
so that all mankind shall see the salvation
of the Lord,
who has the name and the face of Jesus,
who is reflected in our hearts,
for ever united to yours!
Amen!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
"Seminarians, Inspired by Pioneer Priest, Pray for Black Vocations"
From American Catholic
WASHINGTON (CNS)—In his breviary, seminarian Christopher S. Rhodes carries a special holy card depicting Father Augustine Tolton, the first recognized black priest in the United States. In 2012, Rhodes hopes to be ordained as the first African-American priest of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., in more than two decades.
"I use that (holy card) always as a source of encouragement. If he could do it as the first, I could do it," said Rhodes, who is the only African-American seminarian now studying at Theological College, the national seminary of The Catholic University of America.
Rhodes now serves as the president of the National Black Catholic Seminarians Association, and he organized and sang as a cantor at an April 24 Mass at the Theological College Chapel to mark the National Day of Prayer for Vocations in the Black Community.
Washington Auxiliary Bishop Martin D. Holley, one of 16 African-American bishops, celebrated the Mass, which was held on the 124th anniversary of Father Tolton's ordination to the priesthood.
"I would not be standing here as a priest and a bishop if not for Father Augustine Tolton," said Bishop Holley. "The odds were stacked against him. He persevered because of faith and the grace of God."
Born into slavery in 1854 and baptized a Catholic, Father Tolton was encouraged by an Irish-American priest to pursue a vocation, but no U.S. seminary would accept him because of his race. He was ordained to the priesthood in Rome on April 24, 1886, and sent back to serve as a missionary in his own country. Despite the racism he endured, he became renowned as a preacher, and founded St. Monica Parish, the mother church for black Catholics in Chicago. He died in 1897 at age 43.
The Archdiocese of Chicago announced in March that it was beginning the sainthood process for Father Tolton.
According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, about 75 seminarians of African descent, most of whom are immigrants from Africa, are studying to be priests in the United States. About 250 African-American priests, 400 African-American sisters and 50 black religious brothers are now serving in the United States, which has 3 million African-American Catholics.
At the Mass, Bishop Holley noted that Father Tolton had been encouraged in his vocation by his pastor, and the bishop said that happened in the case of his own family, when a German-American priest inspired his parents and older siblings to become Catholic, and he was given the name Martin after that priest.
"As a first-grader I watched my namesake" celebrate Mass, and "I wanted to do the same thing," the bishop said.
The bishop encouraged the seminarians to likewise serve their people with love and help lift up vocations. He noted that in today's world, there are "so many obstacles to hearing the voice of the Lord," and he pointed out how the African-American community faces challenges like high rates of abortion, AIDS, drug addiction and incarceration. "It's going to take good people like you to reach out. ... Evangelize, reach out to them."
Seventy-five seminarians and 10 graduate-student priests from 39 dioceses are now studying at Theological College.
During his homily, Bishop Holley prayed that through the intercession of Father Tolton, "the Lord will allow many young men in the African-American community to hear the call of God, through the example of you, (through) the way you live your life."
Benedictine Father Cyprian Davis, the author of "The History of Black Catholics in the United States," once said that "for black Catholics, he (Father Tolton) is the father of us all." After the Mass, Bishop Holley said he agreed with that assessment of the pioneer black priest. "He's the one who forged the path, who paved the way for us. He did what Christ did, he embraced the cross. The message of his life is one of love."
Bishop Holley said vocations can be lifted up in the African-American community by prayer, by people encouraging and talking about vocations, and by young people getting connected with supportive groups such as the Knights of Peter Claver.
"We've always been a people of prayer, you have to start with that," he said, adding that people need to share stories of faith and perseverance, like the life of Father Tolton. "They need to tell their story and hear the story of others."
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
"Benedict XVI urges Belgian bishops to promote vocations, highlights St. Damien"
From Catholic News Agency
Vatican City, May 10, 2010 / 02:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict underlined the irreplaceable role of priests to the Church during his address to the bishops of Belgium this past weekend. He urged support for the priesthood and a renewed impetus for vocations, saying that the decrease in the number of priests is not inevitable.
The Holy Father met with the Belgian Bishops at the conclusion of their "ad Limina" visit on Saturday morning.
Noting the Vatican II conclusion that the Church cannot do without its priests, he said that "it is therefore necessary and urgent to confer upon them their right place and recognize their irreplaceable sacramental character." Pope Benedict also addressed the trend of a decreasing number of Catholic priests in the country, telling them that it should not be seen as an inevitable process.
A "broad and serious" vocations ministry is needed to confront the situation, said the Pope. This ministry, he continued, must place great significance of the holiness of priests, on attention to the presence of the first signs of vocations in youth and on "assiduous and trusting prayer, according to Jesus' recommendation."
Benedict XVI went on to recognize and greet all priests and consecrated people from Belgium, asking that they and the faithful "not forget that only Christ can silence every storm," and that He gives them strength and courage "to lead holy lives in full fidelity to their ministry, consecration to God and Christian testimony."
He pointed to recently canonized St. Damien of Molokai as an exemplary priest and missionary, whose greatness "resided in his interior wealth, in his constant prayer and in his union with Christ which he saw present in his brothers and to whom ... he donated himself without reserve."
Pope Benedict encouraged the bishops to continue in their efforts to promote Christian formation, "especially with the younger generations" on respect for life, the institution of marriage and the family.
Speaking to journalists after the audience, Archbishop Andre Joseph Leonard, primate of Belgian Catholics, said that there is full understanding between the Holy Father and the episcopate as to the line that is being taken on sexual abuses. He also said that the Pope's words were encouraging for priests in the country who are suffering from stereotypes due to the news coverage of sexual abuse.
Vatican City, May 10, 2010 / 02:45 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict underlined the irreplaceable role of priests to the Church during his address to the bishops of Belgium this past weekend. He urged support for the priesthood and a renewed impetus for vocations, saying that the decrease in the number of priests is not inevitable.
The Holy Father met with the Belgian Bishops at the conclusion of their "ad Limina" visit on Saturday morning.
Noting the Vatican II conclusion that the Church cannot do without its priests, he said that "it is therefore necessary and urgent to confer upon them their right place and recognize their irreplaceable sacramental character." Pope Benedict also addressed the trend of a decreasing number of Catholic priests in the country, telling them that it should not be seen as an inevitable process.
A "broad and serious" vocations ministry is needed to confront the situation, said the Pope. This ministry, he continued, must place great significance of the holiness of priests, on attention to the presence of the first signs of vocations in youth and on "assiduous and trusting prayer, according to Jesus' recommendation."
Benedict XVI went on to recognize and greet all priests and consecrated people from Belgium, asking that they and the faithful "not forget that only Christ can silence every storm," and that He gives them strength and courage "to lead holy lives in full fidelity to their ministry, consecration to God and Christian testimony."
He pointed to recently canonized St. Damien of Molokai as an exemplary priest and missionary, whose greatness "resided in his interior wealth, in his constant prayer and in his union with Christ which he saw present in his brothers and to whom ... he donated himself without reserve."
Pope Benedict encouraged the bishops to continue in their efforts to promote Christian formation, "especially with the younger generations" on respect for life, the institution of marriage and the family.
Speaking to journalists after the audience, Archbishop Andre Joseph Leonard, primate of Belgian Catholics, said that there is full understanding between the Holy Father and the episcopate as to the line that is being taken on sexual abuses. He also said that the Pope's words were encouraging for priests in the country who are suffering from stereotypes due to the news coverage of sexual abuse.
"Priest loses life saving three from drowning at Goa beach"
From The Time of India
PANAJI: A 38-year-old Catholic priest lost his life after he rescued three youths, swept away by high currents at the Galjibag sea shore, 60 kms from here.
The incident took place yesterday when Fr Thomas Fernandes as a part of the group of parishioners from Nuvem village, had gone picnicking on the beach.
Eye witnesses reveal that a bunch of youngsters had ventured into the sea. As they were dragged in by the under current, the priest ran for rescue when the group cried for help.
The priest was rushed to the district hospital at Margao after he saved two young girls and a boy from the watery grave, but was pronounced dead by doctors on arrival.
"He collapsed after rescuing the youngsters. Desperate attempts were made to resurrect him but we failed," Savio Moniz, part of 56-member-group that went for annual picnic, told reporters outside the hospital here.
PANAJI: A 38-year-old Catholic priest lost his life after he rescued three youths, swept away by high currents at the Galjibag sea shore, 60 kms from here.
The incident took place yesterday when Fr Thomas Fernandes as a part of the group of parishioners from Nuvem village, had gone picnicking on the beach.
Eye witnesses reveal that a bunch of youngsters had ventured into the sea. As they were dragged in by the under current, the priest ran for rescue when the group cried for help.
The priest was rushed to the district hospital at Margao after he saved two young girls and a boy from the watery grave, but was pronounced dead by doctors on arrival.
"He collapsed after rescuing the youngsters. Desperate attempts were made to resurrect him but we failed," Savio Moniz, part of 56-member-group that went for annual picnic, told reporters outside the hospital here.
Monday, May 10, 2010
"Pontiff Thanks Priests in Stormy Times"
From ZENIT
VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude for the dedication of the vast majority of priests, despite the sins of a few, when receiving the bishops of Belgium on their five-yearly "ad limina" visit.
At the same time, the Pope encouraged the members of the episcopal conference to promote vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life, amid the difficulties that the Church has gone through in this country in the past weeks.
Last month, Bishop Roger Joseph Vangheluwe of Bruges resigned after admitting to sexually abusing a minor over a period of time during his priesthood and at the beginning of his episcopate.
For the Holy Father, the visit of the Belgian prelates (both Flemish as well as French-speaking) to Rome is an occasion to reinforce "communion in mutual listening, in common prayer and in the charity of Christ above all in this time in which your Church has been tested by sin."
Great sons
However, the Bishop of Rome asked that the focus not be only on sin but also on the great sons of the Church, as is the case of Father Damien De Veuster (1840-1889), a Belgian missionary of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart.
Father Damien, also known as the apostle of the lepers, went to the island of Molokai, Hawaii, where lepers were sent and lived in isolation. He was canonized by Benedict XVI in 2009.
"This new saint speaks to Belgians' conscience. Has he not been designated the most illustrious son of the nation of all times?" asked the Pope, referring to a popular consultation carried out on Dec. 1, 2005 by Flemish open television (VRT).
"His greatness," the Pontiff continued, "lived in the total gift of himself to his leprous brothers to the point of being infected and dying, lies in his interior wealth, his constant prayer, his union with Christ, whom he saw in his brothers and who, like him, gave himself without reservations."
"In this Year for Priests, it is necessary to propose his priestly and missionary example, in particular to priests and religious. The decrease in the number of priests must not be perceived as an inevitable process," the Holy Father stressed.
Benedict XVI said forcefully "that the Church cannot do without the ministry of priests. Hence, it is necessary and urgent to give them their appropriate place and to acknowledge their irreplaceable sacramental character."
"From this stems the need for an ample and serious pastoral care of vocations, based on the exemplary character of the holiness of priests, in attention to the seeds of vocation present in many young men and in assiduous and confident prayer, in keeping with Jesus' recommendation (cf. Matthew 9:37)," he added.
"May all priests, men and women religious, and laity of Belgium receive my encouragement and gratitude and not forget that only Christ calms every storm and gives strength and courage to lead a holy life in full fidelity to their ministry, to their consecration to God and to their Christian witness," said the Pontiff.
Grieving
During the audience, Benedict XVI was greeted by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Malines-Brussels and president of the Belgian episcopal conference, who presented to the Holy Father a "grieving" Church, "after the serious scandal caused by the forced resignation of one of her bishops."
"Grieving, but determined to address this problem with clarity," the prelate added in reference to the sexual abuse crisis. "A Church determined to continue on her path with transparency, as attested above all by the creation of a commission in charge of examining the denunciations in the matter of sexual abuse that take place in the pastoral context. Determined also to carry out with humility and courage her role in the intensely secularized society in which she carries out her mission."
Archbishop Léonard also mentioned the lack of vocations the Church in Belgium is experiencing: "For the next period we will adopt a series of measure capable of reinforcing the places of formation, in order to re-group a sufficient number of seminarians, so that they are given quality education and project themselves in the world of young people."
VATICAN CITY, MAY 9, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude for the dedication of the vast majority of priests, despite the sins of a few, when receiving the bishops of Belgium on their five-yearly "ad limina" visit.
At the same time, the Pope encouraged the members of the episcopal conference to promote vocations to the priesthood and to consecrated life, amid the difficulties that the Church has gone through in this country in the past weeks.
Last month, Bishop Roger Joseph Vangheluwe of Bruges resigned after admitting to sexually abusing a minor over a period of time during his priesthood and at the beginning of his episcopate.
For the Holy Father, the visit of the Belgian prelates (both Flemish as well as French-speaking) to Rome is an occasion to reinforce "communion in mutual listening, in common prayer and in the charity of Christ above all in this time in which your Church has been tested by sin."
Great sons
However, the Bishop of Rome asked that the focus not be only on sin but also on the great sons of the Church, as is the case of Father Damien De Veuster (1840-1889), a Belgian missionary of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart.
Father Damien, also known as the apostle of the lepers, went to the island of Molokai, Hawaii, where lepers were sent and lived in isolation. He was canonized by Benedict XVI in 2009.
"This new saint speaks to Belgians' conscience. Has he not been designated the most illustrious son of the nation of all times?" asked the Pope, referring to a popular consultation carried out on Dec. 1, 2005 by Flemish open television (VRT).
"His greatness," the Pontiff continued, "lived in the total gift of himself to his leprous brothers to the point of being infected and dying, lies in his interior wealth, his constant prayer, his union with Christ, whom he saw in his brothers and who, like him, gave himself without reservations."
"In this Year for Priests, it is necessary to propose his priestly and missionary example, in particular to priests and religious. The decrease in the number of priests must not be perceived as an inevitable process," the Holy Father stressed.
Benedict XVI said forcefully "that the Church cannot do without the ministry of priests. Hence, it is necessary and urgent to give them their appropriate place and to acknowledge their irreplaceable sacramental character."
"From this stems the need for an ample and serious pastoral care of vocations, based on the exemplary character of the holiness of priests, in attention to the seeds of vocation present in many young men and in assiduous and confident prayer, in keeping with Jesus' recommendation (cf. Matthew 9:37)," he added.
"May all priests, men and women religious, and laity of Belgium receive my encouragement and gratitude and not forget that only Christ calms every storm and gives strength and courage to lead a holy life in full fidelity to their ministry, to their consecration to God and to their Christian witness," said the Pontiff.
Grieving
During the audience, Benedict XVI was greeted by Archbishop André-Joseph Léonard of Malines-Brussels and president of the Belgian episcopal conference, who presented to the Holy Father a "grieving" Church, "after the serious scandal caused by the forced resignation of one of her bishops."
"Grieving, but determined to address this problem with clarity," the prelate added in reference to the sexual abuse crisis. "A Church determined to continue on her path with transparency, as attested above all by the creation of a commission in charge of examining the denunciations in the matter of sexual abuse that take place in the pastoral context. Determined also to carry out with humility and courage her role in the intensely secularized society in which she carries out her mission."
Archbishop Léonard also mentioned the lack of vocations the Church in Belgium is experiencing: "For the next period we will adopt a series of measure capable of reinforcing the places of formation, in order to re-group a sufficient number of seminarians, so that they are given quality education and project themselves in the world of young people."
Thursday, May 6, 2010
"SUPPORT PRIESTS, ESPECIALLY IN MOMENTS OF DIFFICULTY"
VATICAN CITY, 5 MAY 2010 (VIS) - In today's general audience, which was celebrated in St. Peter's Square, the Pope focused his remarks on the priest's mission to sanctify humankind.
"Sanctifying a person means putting that person in contact with God", said the Pope, noting how "an essential part of a priest's grace is his gift, his task to establish such contact. This comes about through the announcement of the Word of God, ... and particularly intensely in the Sacraments".
"Over recent decades", he went on, "various schools of thought have tried to make the aspect of announcement prevail in the priest's mission and identity, separating it from sanctification. It has often been affirmed that there is a need to go beyond merely sacramental pastoral care".
"Ordained ministers", the Pope explained, "represent Christ, God's envoy, they ... continue His mission through the 'Word' and the 'Sacrament', which are the two main pillars of priestly service". In this context he identified the need "to reflect whether, in certain cases, having undervalued the faithful exercise of 'munus sanctificandi' has not perhaps led to a weakening of faith in the salvific effectiveness of the Sacraments and, in the final analysis, in the real action of Christ and His Spirit, through the Church, in the world".
"It is, therefore, important to promote appropriate catechesis in order to help the faithful understand the value of the Sacraments. But it is equally necessary, following the example of the saintly 'Cure of Ars', to be willing, generous and attentive in giving the faithful the treasures of grace that God has placed in our hands, treasures of which we are not masters but custodians and administrators. Especially in our own time - in which on the one hand, the faith seems to be weakening and, on the other, there is a profound need and widespread search for spirituality - it is necessary for each priest to remember that ... missionary announcement and worship are never separate, and that he must promote a healthy sacramental pastoral care in order to form the People of God and help them to fully experience the liturgy ... and the Sacraments as gratuitous gifts of God, free and effective aspects of His action of salvation".
The Pope went on to highlight how "each priest knows he is a tool necessary for God's salvific action, but nonetheless just a tool. This awareness must make him humble and generous in administering the Sacraments, respecting the canonical norms but also profoundly convinced that his mission is to ensure that mankind, united to Christ, can offer itself to God as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him".
Addressing himself directly to priests the Holy Father encouraged them "to practice liturgy and worship with joy and love". He also renewed his call "to return to the confessional, as a place in which to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also as a place in which 'to dwell' more frequently, that the faithful may find mercy, counsel and comfort, feel themselves to be loved and understood by God, and experience the presence of Divine Mercy alongside the real presence in the Eucharist".
"I would also like to invite each priest to celebrate and to live the Eucharist intensely", said Benedict XVI. Priests "are called to be ministers of this great Mystery, in the Sacrament and in life".
Likewise, "it is indispensable to strive after the moral perfection which must dwell in each authentically priestly heart", because "there is an example of faith and a witness of sanctity that the People of God expect from their pastors".
Pope Benedict concluded by calling on the faithful "to be aware of the great gift that priests represent for the Church and the world. Through their ministry the Lord continues to save mankind, to make Himself present, to sanctify. Give thanks to God and above all remain close to your priests with prayer and support, especially in moments of difficulty, that they may increasingly become pastors in keeping with God's heart".
AG/ VIS 20100505 (680)
Pubblished by VIS - Holy See Press Office - Wednesday, May 05, 2010
"Sanctifying a person means putting that person in contact with God", said the Pope, noting how "an essential part of a priest's grace is his gift, his task to establish such contact. This comes about through the announcement of the Word of God, ... and particularly intensely in the Sacraments".
"Over recent decades", he went on, "various schools of thought have tried to make the aspect of announcement prevail in the priest's mission and identity, separating it from sanctification. It has often been affirmed that there is a need to go beyond merely sacramental pastoral care".
"Ordained ministers", the Pope explained, "represent Christ, God's envoy, they ... continue His mission through the 'Word' and the 'Sacrament', which are the two main pillars of priestly service". In this context he identified the need "to reflect whether, in certain cases, having undervalued the faithful exercise of 'munus sanctificandi' has not perhaps led to a weakening of faith in the salvific effectiveness of the Sacraments and, in the final analysis, in the real action of Christ and His Spirit, through the Church, in the world".
"It is, therefore, important to promote appropriate catechesis in order to help the faithful understand the value of the Sacraments. But it is equally necessary, following the example of the saintly 'Cure of Ars', to be willing, generous and attentive in giving the faithful the treasures of grace that God has placed in our hands, treasures of which we are not masters but custodians and administrators. Especially in our own time - in which on the one hand, the faith seems to be weakening and, on the other, there is a profound need and widespread search for spirituality - it is necessary for each priest to remember that ... missionary announcement and worship are never separate, and that he must promote a healthy sacramental pastoral care in order to form the People of God and help them to fully experience the liturgy ... and the Sacraments as gratuitous gifts of God, free and effective aspects of His action of salvation".
The Pope went on to highlight how "each priest knows he is a tool necessary for God's salvific action, but nonetheless just a tool. This awareness must make him humble and generous in administering the Sacraments, respecting the canonical norms but also profoundly convinced that his mission is to ensure that mankind, united to Christ, can offer itself to God as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to Him".
Addressing himself directly to priests the Holy Father encouraged them "to practice liturgy and worship with joy and love". He also renewed his call "to return to the confessional, as a place in which to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also as a place in which 'to dwell' more frequently, that the faithful may find mercy, counsel and comfort, feel themselves to be loved and understood by God, and experience the presence of Divine Mercy alongside the real presence in the Eucharist".
"I would also like to invite each priest to celebrate and to live the Eucharist intensely", said Benedict XVI. Priests "are called to be ministers of this great Mystery, in the Sacrament and in life".
Likewise, "it is indispensable to strive after the moral perfection which must dwell in each authentically priestly heart", because "there is an example of faith and a witness of sanctity that the People of God expect from their pastors".
Pope Benedict concluded by calling on the faithful "to be aware of the great gift that priests represent for the Church and the world. Through their ministry the Lord continues to save mankind, to make Himself present, to sanctify. Give thanks to God and above all remain close to your priests with prayer and support, especially in moments of difficulty, that they may increasingly become pastors in keeping with God's heart".
AG/ VIS 20100505 (680)
Pubblished by VIS - Holy See Press Office - Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Pope Urges Parents: Pray for Children's Vocations Exhorts Priests to Stronger Evangelical Witness
From ZENIT
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging parents to pray that their children have open hearts to listen to God so they can find vocational fulfillment and bear good fruit in the world. The Pope stated this today in a public address before praying the midday Regina Caeli with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
He spoke about today's celebration of the 2010 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which has as its theme "Witness Awakens Vocations."
"The first form of witness that awakens vocations is prayer," the Pontiff affirmed, "as is shown to us by the example of St. Monica, who, supplicating God with humility and persistence, obtained the grace of seeing her son Augustine become Christian."
The Holy Father recalled the words of St. Augustine, who wrote of his mother, "Without a doubt I believe and affirm that through her prayers, God granted me the intention not to propose, not to want, not to think, not to love anything else but the attainment of truth."
Therefore, Benedict XVI continued, "I invite parents to pray that the heart of their children open to listening to the Good Shepherd."
He encouraged them to pray that "each tiny seed of a vocation grow into a mature tree, bearing much good fruit for the Church and for all humanity."
The Pope added, "How can we hear the voice of the Lord and recognize it?"
"In the preaching of the Apostles and their successors," he responded, "resounds the voice of Christ, who calls us to communion with God and to the fullness of life."
"Only the Good Shepherd leads his flock with immense tenderness and defends them from evil, and only in him can the faithful place absolute confidence," the Pontiff affirmed.
Mission
He continued, "On this special day of prayer for vocations I especially exhort the ordained ministers, so that, inspired by the Year for Priests, they are moved to a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world."
Referencing his letter written at the beginning of the Year for Priests, the Holy Father said: "May they remember that the priest continues the work of the Redemption on earth.
"May they know how to stop frequently before the tabernacle. May they remain completely faithful to their own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism.
"May they be available to listen and forgive. May they form the people entrusted to them in a Christian way.
"May they cultivate with care priestly fraternity."
"As we rejoice in the new life that the Risen Lord has won for us," Benedict XVI said, "let us ask him to inspire many young people to center their hearts on the things of Heaven and to offer themselves joyfully in the service of Christ our Good Shepherd in the priesthood and religious life."
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 25, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging parents to pray that their children have open hearts to listen to God so they can find vocational fulfillment and bear good fruit in the world. The Pope stated this today in a public address before praying the midday Regina Caeli with the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
He spoke about today's celebration of the 2010 World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which has as its theme "Witness Awakens Vocations."
"The first form of witness that awakens vocations is prayer," the Pontiff affirmed, "as is shown to us by the example of St. Monica, who, supplicating God with humility and persistence, obtained the grace of seeing her son Augustine become Christian."
The Holy Father recalled the words of St. Augustine, who wrote of his mother, "Without a doubt I believe and affirm that through her prayers, God granted me the intention not to propose, not to want, not to think, not to love anything else but the attainment of truth."
Therefore, Benedict XVI continued, "I invite parents to pray that the heart of their children open to listening to the Good Shepherd."
He encouraged them to pray that "each tiny seed of a vocation grow into a mature tree, bearing much good fruit for the Church and for all humanity."
The Pope added, "How can we hear the voice of the Lord and recognize it?"
"In the preaching of the Apostles and their successors," he responded, "resounds the voice of Christ, who calls us to communion with God and to the fullness of life."
"Only the Good Shepherd leads his flock with immense tenderness and defends them from evil, and only in him can the faithful place absolute confidence," the Pontiff affirmed.
Mission
He continued, "On this special day of prayer for vocations I especially exhort the ordained ministers, so that, inspired by the Year for Priests, they are moved to a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today's world."
Referencing his letter written at the beginning of the Year for Priests, the Holy Father said: "May they remember that the priest continues the work of the Redemption on earth.
"May they know how to stop frequently before the tabernacle. May they remain completely faithful to their own vocation and mission through the practice of an austere asceticism.
"May they be available to listen and forgive. May they form the people entrusted to them in a Christian way.
"May they cultivate with care priestly fraternity."
"As we rejoice in the new life that the Risen Lord has won for us," Benedict XVI said, "let us ask him to inspire many young people to center their hearts on the things of Heaven and to offer themselves joyfully in the service of Christ our Good Shepherd in the priesthood and religious life."
Benedict XVI Praises Sacrament of Marriage
From ZENIT
Notes How Human Love Is Foretaste of Heaven
VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today praised the sacrament of marriage, saying it is "truly an instrument of salvation," not only for the couple, but also for society.
The Pope affirmed this during his English-language message at the end of the general audience, when he greeted participants in a family conference to be held in Sweden this month.
"Your message to the world is truly a message of joy, because God's gift to us of marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the infinite love that unites the three divine persons -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit," he said.
The Holy Father noted how human beings are made for love: "Indeed at the core of our being, we long to love and to be loved in return."
He continued, "Only God's love can fully satisfy our deepest needs, and yet through the love of husband and wife, the love of parents and children, the love of siblings for one another, we are offered a foretaste of the boundless love that awaits us in the life to come."
Worthwhile goal
Benedict XVI affirmed that marriage is an "instrument of salvation, not only for married people but for the whole of society."
And like any "worthwhile goal," he said, "it places demands upon us, it challenges us, it calls us to be prepared to sacrifice our own interests for the good of the other. It requires us to exercise tolerance and to offer forgiveness. It invites us to nurture and protect the gift of new life."
He reflected on those "fortunate enough to be born into a stable family," saying they "discover there the first and most fundamental school for virtuous living and the qualities of good citizenship."
The Pontiff concluded by encouraging "all of you in your efforts to promote a proper understanding and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life offer to human society."
Notes How Human Love Is Foretaste of Heaven
VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI today praised the sacrament of marriage, saying it is "truly an instrument of salvation," not only for the couple, but also for society.
The Pope affirmed this during his English-language message at the end of the general audience, when he greeted participants in a family conference to be held in Sweden this month.
"Your message to the world is truly a message of joy, because God's gift to us of marriage and family life enables us to experience something of the infinite love that unites the three divine persons -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit," he said.
The Holy Father noted how human beings are made for love: "Indeed at the core of our being, we long to love and to be loved in return."
He continued, "Only God's love can fully satisfy our deepest needs, and yet through the love of husband and wife, the love of parents and children, the love of siblings for one another, we are offered a foretaste of the boundless love that awaits us in the life to come."
Worthwhile goal
Benedict XVI affirmed that marriage is an "instrument of salvation, not only for married people but for the whole of society."
And like any "worthwhile goal," he said, "it places demands upon us, it challenges us, it calls us to be prepared to sacrifice our own interests for the good of the other. It requires us to exercise tolerance and to offer forgiveness. It invites us to nurture and protect the gift of new life."
He reflected on those "fortunate enough to be born into a stable family," saying they "discover there the first and most fundamental school for virtuous living and the qualities of good citizenship."
The Pontiff concluded by encouraging "all of you in your efforts to promote a proper understanding and appreciation of the inestimable good that marriage and family life offer to human society."
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Updating the blog/finding dead links - reader help
As I try to get back to regular posting on the blog, I'm in hopes readers could assist me in checking links on the sidebar and let me know if there are any dead links. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, but I will also begin to try and work my way through everything as well. If you find anything, please just comment on this post and let me know. Thanks!
Back to posting?
After a considerable hiatus, it would appear that I might, and I should stress might, be able to start posting again to this blog. I am hopeful about it, especially since "Roman Catholic Vocations" is now linked as one of the top ten vocations sites on the USCCB's new "For Your Vocation" website (I should note however, this blog is not an official blog of the Diocese of Raleigh). Sadly, I've missed the better part of the Year for Priests, which has produced countless great articles and stories, but I couldn't have changed the timing. God willing, I'll be back at this on a more consistent basis - I certainly want to be.
Ordination to the Priesthood – The Church’s Physical Link to Christ and the Apostles is “Hands On”
By Msgr. Charles Pope
From the Archdiocese of Washington
We are entering the season for ordinations. And perhaps a worthy reflection is to recall that one of the great glories of the Catholic Church is her historical link to Christ and the Apostles. The Catholic link to Christ himself and the apostles is not merely some moral unity, or a kind of invisible union, it is not merely a knowledge through books and historical data, precious those these things are. No indeed, there is more at work here. There is also an actual physical union through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. In this sacrament, there is a laying on of hands that stretches right back to the Apostles and Jesus.
Unique to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches – Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches can make the claim that they historically go back right to Christ and the Apostles. Every other Christian (Protestant) denomination lacks this antiquity. They were all founded less than 500 years ago, some even less than 100 years ago. Further, they literally severed the physical, hands on connection to Christ by casting aside the ministerial priesthood and hence the laying on of hands that signifies this sacrament. They have ministers, but not priests. The Anglicans are an exception, in that they consider their ministers to be priests. Yet they are not considered by the Catholic Church to have valid orders since they went through a long period wherein they did explicitly abandon the intent to hand on the priesthood, hence the link was severed.
Biblical and Patristic roots – It is clear in the Acts of the Apostles that when the apostles chose successors and co-workers to share in their apostolic ministry they “laid hands” on them. Paul and Barnabas had hands laid on them for their work as Apostles (Acts 13:3, 1 Tim 4:14 etc.). Paul later counsels Timothy to be careful on whom he “lays hands” when appointing bishops and deacons (1 Tim 5:22 etc). All the earliest documents of the Church such as the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch make it clear that this laying on of hands continued. This laying on of hands came to be known as “ordination.”
Every valid priest has “connections” – The Catholic Church through this laying on of hands actually preserves a physical link to Jesus himself and the Apostles he chose. History for us is a “hands-0n” kind of history, a “hands-on” link going back 2000 years. Every validly ordained Catholic bishop has this physical as well as spiritual link to the apostles. Every Bishop is a successor to the apostles. The priests share in this office and this link (though not in its fullness) for they too have hands laid on them by the bishop. I am often humbled to think of the “connections” I have with the early Church.
The Faith is literally handed on – So fellow Catholics, “stay connected” and rejoice in our “hands on” historical heritage. Now you know why it is said that the faith is “handed on.”
From the Archdiocese of Washington
We are entering the season for ordinations. And perhaps a worthy reflection is to recall that one of the great glories of the Catholic Church is her historical link to Christ and the Apostles. The Catholic link to Christ himself and the apostles is not merely some moral unity, or a kind of invisible union, it is not merely a knowledge through books and historical data, precious those these things are. No indeed, there is more at work here. There is also an actual physical union through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. In this sacrament, there is a laying on of hands that stretches right back to the Apostles and Jesus.
Unique to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches – Only the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches can make the claim that they historically go back right to Christ and the Apostles. Every other Christian (Protestant) denomination lacks this antiquity. They were all founded less than 500 years ago, some even less than 100 years ago. Further, they literally severed the physical, hands on connection to Christ by casting aside the ministerial priesthood and hence the laying on of hands that signifies this sacrament. They have ministers, but not priests. The Anglicans are an exception, in that they consider their ministers to be priests. Yet they are not considered by the Catholic Church to have valid orders since they went through a long period wherein they did explicitly abandon the intent to hand on the priesthood, hence the link was severed.
Biblical and Patristic roots – It is clear in the Acts of the Apostles that when the apostles chose successors and co-workers to share in their apostolic ministry they “laid hands” on them. Paul and Barnabas had hands laid on them for their work as Apostles (Acts 13:3, 1 Tim 4:14 etc.). Paul later counsels Timothy to be careful on whom he “lays hands” when appointing bishops and deacons (1 Tim 5:22 etc). All the earliest documents of the Church such as the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch make it clear that this laying on of hands continued. This laying on of hands came to be known as “ordination.”
Every valid priest has “connections” – The Catholic Church through this laying on of hands actually preserves a physical link to Jesus himself and the Apostles he chose. History for us is a “hands-0n” kind of history, a “hands-on” link going back 2000 years. Every validly ordained Catholic bishop has this physical as well as spiritual link to the apostles. Every Bishop is a successor to the apostles. The priests share in this office and this link (though not in its fullness) for they too have hands laid on them by the bishop. I am often humbled to think of the “connections” I have with the early Church.
The Faith is literally handed on – So fellow Catholics, “stay connected” and rejoice in our “hands on” historical heritage. Now you know why it is said that the faith is “handed on.”
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Franciscan Friars of the Renewal Novitiate Class of 2010
The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal 10 New Novices - 2010:
(l-r) Fr. Glenn Sudano, novice master; Br. Frantisek Marie Chloupek, Br. Vittorio Maria Pesce; Br. Jude Thaddeus Boyden; Br. Tobias Marie Redfield; Br. Simeon Mary Lewis; Fr. Maximilian Mary McGoldrick; Br. Seámus Mary Laracy; Br. Mark-Mary Maximilian Ames; Br. Angelus Immaculata Montgomery; Fr. Felipe Immaculée Casadia; and Fr. Mariusz Koch, community servant.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
"Seminary campaign far exceeds goal"
From St. Louis Review
By Joseph Kenny
The first capital campaign in the history of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary exceeded its goal by 21.7 percent, with $60,838,226 in pledges.
The goal had been set at $50 million to provide repairs, updates and physical improvements to a building that dates to 1931, while increasing its endowment.
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, in a letter in today's Review, stated that donations to the "Faith for the Future" campaign are an expression of hope, especially during challenging economic times. The pledges are "a powerful statement of our hope in God's providence," he noted.
Archbishop Carlson also told the Review that the response to the campaign "shows the people's belief that we have to form good priests for the future so we can be a eucharistic people."
Frank Cognata, chief development officer of the archdiocese, noted that the seminary has formed more than 2,700 priests in the past, and the funds will prepare even more in the future. He said it was especially noteworthy that the campaign was conducted in a down economy and that participation met expectations. More than 2,000 volunteers helped make the campaign possible, with many of them making personal visits to potential donors.
The campaign has an unusually high $23 million in cash received to date, he said. About $2.3 million already was spent last fall for additional rooms for seminarians and other improvements. Another $3 million has been deposited into a capital fund to begin the preparation and planning. About $13.7 million has been deposited in the endowment.
Campaign expenses were held to 5.1 percent, a much lower number than expected. Matching gifts totaled $2.3 million.
About 100 parishes exceeded their goal. Bill Bellrose, chairperson of the campaign at his parish, St. Matthias in South St. Louis County, said the goal seemed hefty at first. The parish ended up raising $177,507, which was 161 percent of the goal.
"The most amazing thing about the campaign was that all you had to do was mention it was for the seminary and future priests, and people were standing in line to give. It just shows there's an awful lot of respect for the priesthood around the archdiocese," he said.
His pastor, Father Dennis Port, said: "I was so impressed by what they did. Obviously they want priests in the future."
He noted that five families in the parish are parents of priests. "The people have seen these men grow up and be ordained. I'm sure that helped, but the people are just remarkable and supportive of the Church," he said.
Msgr. Gregory Mikesch, pastor of St. Alban Roe Parish in Wildwood, served as coordinator of the Pastors' Advisory Committee. He called the generosity of the Catholics of the archdiocese remarkable. "They truly love the Church, love their priests and want to provide for the seminarians who will be serving them in the future."
Msgr. Mikesch said the campaign on the parish level was a united effort of many enthusiastic people.
Msgr. James E. Pieper, pastor of St. Clement Parish in Des Peres, said that in light of the economy, the generosity was truly overwhelming. "It did not seem likely as we were looking to it, but it indeed was a great, great tribute to the faith of the people," he said.
The people told him that the cause was a very good one. "The people are very much for vocations to the priesthood, and I think they looked on it as a vote of confidence in the future and wanted to do what they could to encourage vocations to the priesthood."
St. Clement was one of six parishes raising in excess of $1 million, and the parish ended up raising almost $1.7 million, 226 percent of its goal.
Another parish raising more than $1 million was St. Clare of Assisi in Ellisville, which raised $1.2 million, 130 percent of the goal, Msgr. Kevin Callahan, pastor of the parish, said the people "are really living stewardship and come through" on a variety of causes. "In this case, especially, they knew the importance of it. We have two seminarians at the parish. People know them, and there's a connection."
All three priests serving the parish went out and asked for commitments, he said. A DVD provided by the capital campaign was especially helpful, Msgr. Callahan said.
"We talked about our experiences in the seminary. It was not just another collection. The people could see the fruits of it by the priesthood and seminarians."
He noted that the seminary has a wide impact, including on other men who attended the seminary while discerning their vocation and decided not to be ordained. Those men also have received a good foundation from the seminary, he said.
As the number of seminarians has grown, so have the needs of the seminary, from the aging building to the increased need for up-to-date technology, from providing the best faculty and spiritual leaders to ensuring that an adequate endowment will be available to provide the archdiocese with priests both now and in the future.
Parishes big and small, rural and urban came through for the campaign. St. Paul Parish in St. Paul raised $235,535, twice its goal.
Msgr. John J. Hickel, pastor of the parish, said the campaign was well organized and didn't pressure people. "I was really proud of the response. For such a small parish it was amazing. If you would give me another cause I don't think I could match it. The DVD was a real winner. They could see there was an important need, and they responded to that."
Msgr. Daniel Hogan, pastor of St. Barnabas Parish in O'Fallon, said his parish also just told people of the needs. "We said, 'Give whatever you feel you're able to give.' Anytime we have a drive here, people really respond. They're just good people."
The parish raised $264,156, double its goal.
Msgr. Dennis Delaney, pastor of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Parish in Downtown St. Louis, noted that his parish is unique. "We count fewer than 100 households as registered parishioners. We serve, though, the extended community of visitors and tourists in this center city area, as well as the community of business and civil employees who daily join us regularly.
"At St. John's our numbers are small, but the hearts of our people are great. The goal set for us was $29,000. Our people responded with gifts just over $50,000. Their response to the 'Faith for the Future' campaign reflects their appreciation for, and their commitment to, the formation of priests for this new millennium who are simple men, wise men, gentle men, holy men. Our people have made a commitment to the formation of priests, in the image of Christ, the one priest, for service to the glory of God and for the good of God's people."
Cognata pointed out that Archbishop Carlson initially met for three evenings with various campaign leaders in the parishes and made many other efforts. "He brought a real enthusiasm to it," Cognata said. "His past involvement and experience on other seminary boards offers a great insight to his commitment to vocations and the seminary. It also assures the stewardship of the funds raised will truly enhance this great seminary."
The chief development officer's thanks also go to Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, who was named prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome just a month after announcing the campaign, and Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Hermann, who served as archdiocesan administrator until the installation of Archbishop Carlson.
Archbishop Carlson said one of the things he told people he met with was "what we have to do first is pray and ask God what He wants us to do."
The result of the campaign is "a great example of the generosity of people responding to what God wanted them to do," he said.
The campaign represented the priests, the people and religious pulling together and supporting the future of priests in the archdiocese through the premier seminary in this region, Archbishop Carlson added.
By Joseph Kenny
The first capital campaign in the history of Kenrick-Glennon Seminary exceeded its goal by 21.7 percent, with $60,838,226 in pledges.
The goal had been set at $50 million to provide repairs, updates and physical improvements to a building that dates to 1931, while increasing its endowment.
Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, in a letter in today's Review, stated that donations to the "Faith for the Future" campaign are an expression of hope, especially during challenging economic times. The pledges are "a powerful statement of our hope in God's providence," he noted.
Archbishop Carlson also told the Review that the response to the campaign "shows the people's belief that we have to form good priests for the future so we can be a eucharistic people."
Frank Cognata, chief development officer of the archdiocese, noted that the seminary has formed more than 2,700 priests in the past, and the funds will prepare even more in the future. He said it was especially noteworthy that the campaign was conducted in a down economy and that participation met expectations. More than 2,000 volunteers helped make the campaign possible, with many of them making personal visits to potential donors.
The campaign has an unusually high $23 million in cash received to date, he said. About $2.3 million already was spent last fall for additional rooms for seminarians and other improvements. Another $3 million has been deposited into a capital fund to begin the preparation and planning. About $13.7 million has been deposited in the endowment.
Campaign expenses were held to 5.1 percent, a much lower number than expected. Matching gifts totaled $2.3 million.
About 100 parishes exceeded their goal. Bill Bellrose, chairperson of the campaign at his parish, St. Matthias in South St. Louis County, said the goal seemed hefty at first. The parish ended up raising $177,507, which was 161 percent of the goal.
"The most amazing thing about the campaign was that all you had to do was mention it was for the seminary and future priests, and people were standing in line to give. It just shows there's an awful lot of respect for the priesthood around the archdiocese," he said.
His pastor, Father Dennis Port, said: "I was so impressed by what they did. Obviously they want priests in the future."
He noted that five families in the parish are parents of priests. "The people have seen these men grow up and be ordained. I'm sure that helped, but the people are just remarkable and supportive of the Church," he said.
Msgr. Gregory Mikesch, pastor of St. Alban Roe Parish in Wildwood, served as coordinator of the Pastors' Advisory Committee. He called the generosity of the Catholics of the archdiocese remarkable. "They truly love the Church, love their priests and want to provide for the seminarians who will be serving them in the future."
Msgr. Mikesch said the campaign on the parish level was a united effort of many enthusiastic people.
Msgr. James E. Pieper, pastor of St. Clement Parish in Des Peres, said that in light of the economy, the generosity was truly overwhelming. "It did not seem likely as we were looking to it, but it indeed was a great, great tribute to the faith of the people," he said.
The people told him that the cause was a very good one. "The people are very much for vocations to the priesthood, and I think they looked on it as a vote of confidence in the future and wanted to do what they could to encourage vocations to the priesthood."
St. Clement was one of six parishes raising in excess of $1 million, and the parish ended up raising almost $1.7 million, 226 percent of its goal.
Another parish raising more than $1 million was St. Clare of Assisi in Ellisville, which raised $1.2 million, 130 percent of the goal, Msgr. Kevin Callahan, pastor of the parish, said the people "are really living stewardship and come through" on a variety of causes. "In this case, especially, they knew the importance of it. We have two seminarians at the parish. People know them, and there's a connection."
All three priests serving the parish went out and asked for commitments, he said. A DVD provided by the capital campaign was especially helpful, Msgr. Callahan said.
"We talked about our experiences in the seminary. It was not just another collection. The people could see the fruits of it by the priesthood and seminarians."
He noted that the seminary has a wide impact, including on other men who attended the seminary while discerning their vocation and decided not to be ordained. Those men also have received a good foundation from the seminary, he said.
As the number of seminarians has grown, so have the needs of the seminary, from the aging building to the increased need for up-to-date technology, from providing the best faculty and spiritual leaders to ensuring that an adequate endowment will be available to provide the archdiocese with priests both now and in the future.
Parishes big and small, rural and urban came through for the campaign. St. Paul Parish in St. Paul raised $235,535, twice its goal.
Msgr. John J. Hickel, pastor of the parish, said the campaign was well organized and didn't pressure people. "I was really proud of the response. For such a small parish it was amazing. If you would give me another cause I don't think I could match it. The DVD was a real winner. They could see there was an important need, and they responded to that."
Msgr. Daniel Hogan, pastor of St. Barnabas Parish in O'Fallon, said his parish also just told people of the needs. "We said, 'Give whatever you feel you're able to give.' Anytime we have a drive here, people really respond. They're just good people."
The parish raised $264,156, double its goal.
Msgr. Dennis Delaney, pastor of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist Parish in Downtown St. Louis, noted that his parish is unique. "We count fewer than 100 households as registered parishioners. We serve, though, the extended community of visitors and tourists in this center city area, as well as the community of business and civil employees who daily join us regularly.
"At St. John's our numbers are small, but the hearts of our people are great. The goal set for us was $29,000. Our people responded with gifts just over $50,000. Their response to the 'Faith for the Future' campaign reflects their appreciation for, and their commitment to, the formation of priests for this new millennium who are simple men, wise men, gentle men, holy men. Our people have made a commitment to the formation of priests, in the image of Christ, the one priest, for service to the glory of God and for the good of God's people."
Cognata pointed out that Archbishop Carlson initially met for three evenings with various campaign leaders in the parishes and made many other efforts. "He brought a real enthusiasm to it," Cognata said. "His past involvement and experience on other seminary boards offers a great insight to his commitment to vocations and the seminary. It also assures the stewardship of the funds raised will truly enhance this great seminary."
The chief development officer's thanks also go to Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, who was named prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura in Rome just a month after announcing the campaign, and Auxiliary Bishop Robert J. Hermann, who served as archdiocesan administrator until the installation of Archbishop Carlson.
Archbishop Carlson said one of the things he told people he met with was "what we have to do first is pray and ask God what He wants us to do."
The result of the campaign is "a great example of the generosity of people responding to what God wanted them to do," he said.
The campaign represented the priests, the people and religious pulling together and supporting the future of priests in the archdiocese through the premier seminary in this region, Archbishop Carlson added.
Monday, February 22, 2010
"Benedictine monastery in Oklahoma elevated to abbey"
From Today's Catholic
Our Lady of the Annunciation at Clear Creek, a Benedictine monastery near Hulbert in the Diocese of Tulsa, has been elevated to the status of abbey. The change was announced Feb. 11 by Abbot Antoine Forgeot of the Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault in France, the monastery’s motherhouse. Father Philip Anderson, one of the original 13 monks who came from the French abbey to help found Clear Creek in 1999, has been elected abbot. He has served as prior of the monastic community since its foundation. “It’s a moment of perfection, and the moment you become fully what you were meant to be. To become an abbey is to reach a certain point of maturity,” the abbot-elect said. Clear Creek was established as a monastery at the invitation of Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa. In the 10 years since it was established, monasteries nationwide and worldwide have declined in membership, but the Oklahoma monastery has grown from its original 13 monks to its current population of 18 professed monks. Twelve of them are priests and six are brothers. In addition, the community includes eight novices and postulants and seven men who have made their first vows.
Our Lady of the Annunciation at Clear Creek, a Benedictine monastery near Hulbert in the Diocese of Tulsa, has been elevated to the status of abbey. The change was announced Feb. 11 by Abbot Antoine Forgeot of the Abbey of Our Lady of Fontgombault in France, the monastery’s motherhouse. Father Philip Anderson, one of the original 13 monks who came from the French abbey to help found Clear Creek in 1999, has been elected abbot. He has served as prior of the monastic community since its foundation. “It’s a moment of perfection, and the moment you become fully what you were meant to be. To become an abbey is to reach a certain point of maturity,” the abbot-elect said. Clear Creek was established as a monastery at the invitation of Bishop Edward J. Slattery of Tulsa. In the 10 years since it was established, monasteries nationwide and worldwide have declined in membership, but the Oklahoma monastery has grown from its original 13 monks to its current population of 18 professed monks. Twelve of them are priests and six are brothers. In addition, the community includes eight novices and postulants and seven men who have made their first vows.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
"Top Baseball Prospect Retires to Enter Priesthood"
From Foxnews.com
As a top prospect for the Oakland Athletics, outfielder Grant Desme might've gotten the call every minor leaguer wants this spring.
Instead, he believed he had another, higher calling.
Desme announced Friday that he was leaving baseball to enter the priesthood, walking away after a breakout season in which he became MVP of the Arizona Fall League.
"I was doing well at ball. But I really had to get down to the bottom of things," the 23-year-old Desme said. "I wasn't at peace with where I was at."
A lifelong Catholic, Desme thought about becoming a priest for about a year and a half. He kept his path quiet within the sports world, and his plan to enter a seminary this summer startled the A's when he told them Thursday night.
General manager Billy Beane "was understanding and supportive," Desme said, but the decision "sort of knocked him off his horse." After the talk, Desme felt "a great amount of peace."
"I love the game, but I aspire to higher things," he said. "I know I have no regrets."
In a statement, Beane said: "We respect Grant's decision and wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."
Athletes and the priesthood have overlapped, albeit rarely.
Al Travers, who gave up 24 runs during a one-game career for a makeshift Detroit Tigers team in 1912, became a Catholic priest. More recently, Chase Hilgenbrinck of the New England Revolution left Major League Soccer in 2008 to enter a seminary.
Desme spoke on a conference call for about 10 minutes in a quiet, even tone, hardly sounding like many gung-ho, on-the-rise ballplayers. As for his success in the minors, he said "all of it is very undeserving."
The Athletics picked Desme in the second round of the 2007 amateur draft and he was starting to blossom. He was the only player in the entire minors with 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases last season.
Desme batted .288 with 31 homers, 89 RBIs and 40 steals in 131 games at Class-A Kane County and high Class-A Stockton last year. He hit .315 with a league-leading 11 home runs and 27 RBIs in 27 games this fall in Arizona, a league filled with young talent.
Desme went into the AFL championship game well aware it might be the last time he ever played. "There was no sad feeling," he said. He homered and struck out twice, which "defines my career a bit."
The Big West Player of the Year at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Desme was ranked as Oakland's No. 8 prospect by Baseball America. There was speculation the Athletics might invite Desme to big league spring training next month.
Rather, Desme intends to enter a seminary in Silverado, California, in August. He said abbey members didn't seem surprised someone who would "define myself as a baseball player" was changing his life so dramatically.
Desme said he didn't consider pursuing his spiritual studies while also trying to play ball. His family backed his decision and he said the positive reaction to his future goal — the surprising news spread quickly over the Internet — was "inspiring."
"It's about a 10-year process," he said. "I desire and hope I become a priest." In a way, he added, it's like "re-entering the minor leagues."
Desme's first two years in the minors were beset by shoulder and wrist problems. He said his days off the field gave him time to think about what was most important to him, to read and study the Bible and to talk to teammates about his faith.
In retrospect, he said, those injuries were "the biggest blessings God ever gave me."
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Pope to priests: Go forth and blog
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.
The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
And just using e-mail or surfing the Web is often not enough: Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.
"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," but priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites.
Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.
"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," he said.
The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence, while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies.
But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a "gift to humanity" when used to foster friendship and understanding.
The Vatican has tried hard to keep up to speed with the rapidly changing field.
Last year it opened a YouTube channel as well as a portal dedicated to the pope. The Pope2You site gives news on the pontiff's trips and speeches and features a Facebook application that allows users to send postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages to their friends.
Many priests and top prelates already interact with the faithful online. One of Benedict's advisers, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, has his own Facebook profile and so does Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles.
In Saturday's message - titled "The priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the Word" - Benedict urged special care in contacts with other cultures and beliefs.
A presence on the Web, "precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, nonbelievers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute," he said.
Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, who heads the Vatican's social communications office, said that Benedict's words aimed to encourage reflection in the church on the positive uses of new media.
"That doesn't mean that (every priest) must open a blog or a Web site. It means that the church and the faithful must engage in this ministry in a digital world," Celli told reporters. "At some point, a balance will be found."
Celli, 68, said that young priests would have no trouble following the pope's message, but, he joked, "those who have a certain age will struggle a bit more."
The pope, whose own presence on the Web has heavily grown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.
And just using e-mail or surfing the Web is often not enough: Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.
"The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web," but priests are "challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources," he said.
The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites.
Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.
"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," he said.
The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence, while lamenting that the endless stream of news can make people insensitive to tragedies.
But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a "gift to humanity" when used to foster friendship and understanding.
The Vatican has tried hard to keep up to speed with the rapidly changing field.
Last year it opened a YouTube channel as well as a portal dedicated to the pope. The Pope2You site gives news on the pontiff's trips and speeches and features a Facebook application that allows users to send postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages to their friends.
Many priests and top prelates already interact with the faithful online. One of Benedict's advisers, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the archbishop of Naples, has his own Facebook profile and so does Cardinal Roger Mahony, archbishop of Los Angeles.
In Saturday's message - titled "The priest and pastoral ministry in a digital world: new media at the service of the Word" - Benedict urged special care in contacts with other cultures and beliefs.
A presence on the Web, "precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, nonbelievers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute," he said.
Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, who heads the Vatican's social communications office, said that Benedict's words aimed to encourage reflection in the church on the positive uses of new media.
"That doesn't mean that (every priest) must open a blog or a Web site. It means that the church and the faithful must engage in this ministry in a digital world," Celli told reporters. "At some point, a balance will be found."
Celli, 68, said that young priests would have no trouble following the pope's message, but, he joked, "those who have a certain age will struggle a bit more."
Thursday, January 14, 2010
"Vocations are Still a “Super-Priority”"
From The Catholic KeyBy Bishop Robert W. Finn
Kansas City-St. Joseph
In my first months as bishop of the diocese I said Vocations were a “Super Priority.” While we have had a meaningful increase in vocations to priesthood, the diaconate, and some new vocations to consecrated life, I still offer this intention for more vocations to priesthood and Consecrated Life with fervor in my daily prayer. I hope you do also.
We are reaching the midpoint of the Year for Priests, inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI last June. How proud I am of our priests who do so much for you, God’s people. Still, they need more help, particularly as the pastoral needs seem always to increase. This year, please God, we will ordain four new priests; and it remains possible that in 2012 we could celebrate the ordination of eight or nine new priests at once. I haven’t figured out how we will get everyone in the Cathedral; a pleasing dilemma!
Am I greedy to suggest that we need more priests? I believe that God is calling more men to this wonderful vocation, and we have to listen carefully and prepare well so that your sons can hear and answer that call.
What kind of life awaits the priest? To be sure, there are many joys, and also challenges. The priest is helped by God to give himself to many people. He shares in the greatest joys of people’s lives and is with them in times of hardship and sorrow. He is a pastor, a shepherd, a teacher, and spiritual father. He stands in the place of Jesus Christ, particularly in the Sacrifice of the Mass and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
How does a man discern a possible vocation to priesthood? The healthy man (healthy in body, mind and soul), as he matures, wants to give himself in an honest and generous way. It is important and normal that he sees the beauty of marriage, and its central meaning and purpose in society. At the same time, he realizes he has a spiritual dimension to his life and he wants to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and follow God’s call wherever it may take him. He works hard at every task before him, and finds joy in generously reaching out to others. He studies with zeal. He prays. He establishes caring friendships, and determines to live a moral life, growing in the frequent reception of the sacraments, particularly of Confession and Holy Eucharist.
As a man experiences this spiritual depth to his life, he does not seek a vocation that makes him materially rich or famous. Instead, having realized something of the cost and demands of authentic human love, he is ready to trust God and give himself to others out of love for God. He realizes that the Father in heaven has loved him a lot, and the awareness of this love and mercy makes him want to follow God’s plan in his life. Our seminarians are responding to this vocation to the priesthood. Our priests are living this out with dedication. Keep praying for them to persevere.
The role and support of parents is very important to those who are discerning God’s call. Your sons (and daughters) look up to you for approval. They should. Your love for them is unconditional and unselfish. I do not suggest that you should urge your sons to go to seminary, but pray for them, that they do whatever God wants for them. Support them in their search. I pledge once again to our parents that if we receive their sons as our seminarians we will do all in our power to see they get good formation.
Over the course of my priesthood, I have also had occasion to meet many outstanding men and women Religious. I was taught by and have worked closely with several Orders of Religious Women. There is a real renewal taking place in these vocations today. I have established an office for Consecrated Life, and we stand ready to direct young women and men who may be drawn to Religious life as priests, sisters or brothers.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Family the Focus of US Vocations Week
Click HERE to visit Vatican Radio website and listen to audio file of an interview with Fr. David Toups, director of the Secretariat of Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, discuss obstacles to the promotion of vocations in the US. (look for small speaker icon at the end of the paragraph)
'Responsible, family-focused and vocation-oriented -- meet Generation XD"
While the article below is not an article about Catholic Vocations, it is an interesting article none the less...
From The Independent (UK)
Today's 8-14-year-olds will embrace their digital culture to create a financially responsible, ambitious and environmentally-aware generation, according to the largest poll of its kind in Europe.
Nicknamed "Generation XD" by entertainment giant and the survey's commissioner Disney, the digitally-aware European adults of the future will be fundamentally different from today's Generation X, the report suggests. Disney predicts that today's young people will eschew their celebrity-dominated upbringing to focus on traditional family values and traditional vocations. In every country surveyed, "Mum" and "Dad" were the two people most admired in the world, whilst the top five future professions overall were vet, teacher, footballer, doctor and police officer.
"As the kids of Generation X, who embraced all mod cons in their twenties, you'd expect Generation XD to be fully versed in how the internet can help them." said Tom Dunmore, consulting editor of technology magazine Stuff. "What's interesting though, is how they are embracing both cutting edge technology and traditional family values in their approach to life."
"While David Beckham does inevitably get a mention, fame and celebrity are secondary to family and they aspire to be vets and teachers rather than singers and celebrities, which is both surprising and encouraging."
Disney also believes that the credit-crunched environment today's 8-14-year-olds have grown up in has had a profound effect on their attitude to finances. The survey revealed that 70 percent save their pocket money instead of spending it immediately, and 64 percent would rather work for themselves than for somebody else. An impressive 97 percent of Generation XD believed that it was important to care for the planet, with 74 percent already recycling regularly.
Disney interviewed over 3,000 8-14-year-olds in six countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain) to compile the study, the largest pan-European survey of the age group. Despite the fact that children born between 1995 and 2001 have witnessed more technological developments during their youth than any other generation, respondents overwhelmingly used technology to improve face-to-face interaction - face-to-face contact is still the most preferable way to meet up with friends (30 percent) beating texting (15 percent), online chat (14 percent) and mobile (8 percent).
From The Independent (UK)
Today's 8-14-year-olds will embrace their digital culture to create a financially responsible, ambitious and environmentally-aware generation, according to the largest poll of its kind in Europe.
Nicknamed "Generation XD" by entertainment giant and the survey's commissioner Disney, the digitally-aware European adults of the future will be fundamentally different from today's Generation X, the report suggests. Disney predicts that today's young people will eschew their celebrity-dominated upbringing to focus on traditional family values and traditional vocations. In every country surveyed, "Mum" and "Dad" were the two people most admired in the world, whilst the top five future professions overall were vet, teacher, footballer, doctor and police officer.
"As the kids of Generation X, who embraced all mod cons in their twenties, you'd expect Generation XD to be fully versed in how the internet can help them." said Tom Dunmore, consulting editor of technology magazine Stuff. "What's interesting though, is how they are embracing both cutting edge technology and traditional family values in their approach to life."
"While David Beckham does inevitably get a mention, fame and celebrity are secondary to family and they aspire to be vets and teachers rather than singers and celebrities, which is both surprising and encouraging."
Disney also believes that the credit-crunched environment today's 8-14-year-olds have grown up in has had a profound effect on their attitude to finances. The survey revealed that 70 percent save their pocket money instead of spending it immediately, and 64 percent would rather work for themselves than for somebody else. An impressive 97 percent of Generation XD believed that it was important to care for the planet, with 74 percent already recycling regularly.
Disney interviewed over 3,000 8-14-year-olds in six countries (UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain) to compile the study, the largest pan-European survey of the age group. Despite the fact that children born between 1995 and 2001 have witnessed more technological developments during their youth than any other generation, respondents overwhelmingly used technology to improve face-to-face interaction - face-to-face contact is still the most preferable way to meet up with friends (30 percent) beating texting (15 percent), online chat (14 percent) and mobile (8 percent).
A Look at the State of Vocations in France
From Lifesite News
By Hilary White
ROME, January 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Church in France, among the places where the fashionable “liberalism” of the 1960s and ‘70s has most taken hold, is dying out, with Mass attendance, priestly vocations and seminarians at record lows. At the same time, the growth of the doctrinally and liturgically “traditional” movements, who tend to be strongly pro-life and pro-family, is continuing.
The Institut français d'opinion publique (IFOP Institute) has just issued its survey on the situation of the Church in France and reports that the French Catholic Church is in freefall. Between1965 and 2009, the number of French identifying themselves as Catholics fell from 81 per cent to 64 per cent. The number attending Mass once a week or more fell from 27 per cent to 4.5 per cent in the same period.
The statistics, published in the Catholic weekly La Croix, show the effects of institutionalized “liberalism” in Catholic teaching. Sixty-three per cent of those who still consider themselves Catholic believe that all religions are the same; 75 per cent asked for an “aggiornamento” in the Church to reconsider Catholic teaching forbidding artificial contraception, while 68 per cent said the same thing for abortion.
According to official Catholic Church statistics, the total number of Catholic marriages (-28.4%), baptisms (-19.1%), confirmations (-35.3%), as well as priests (-26.1%), and religious sisters (-23.4%), has continued to fall between 1996 and 2006.
Statistics compiled by the traditionalist Catholic group Paix Liturgique show that the decline is sharpest in the most doctrinally “liberal” dioceses with regard to priests and future ordinations. Due to the critical shortage of vocations to the priesthood, it is estimated that up to a third of the dioceses of the Catholic Church in France - some dating to the second century AD - will be forced to close or amalgamate by 2025.
In November last year, Paix Liturgique reported that only 9000 priests are serving the Catholic faithful in France. In 1990, the total number of ordinations in the country was 90. Paris had 10, with two for a local independent religious order. Seven are predicted for 2010, and four for 2011.
There are fewer than 750 seminarians currently studying for the priesthood, with about a hundred of these being for religious orders, not dioceses. The diocese of Pamiers, Belfort, Agen and Perpignan have no seminarians. The drop in vocations to the priesthood will result, the group said, in at least one third of French dioceses either effectively ceasing to exist or being forced to amalgamate over the next 15 years.
But in small pockets where traditional liturgical practice, combined with traditional moral doctrine, is encouraged, French Catholicism is flourishing. Two years ago, Pope Benedict issued the document “Summorum Pontificum,” allowing the use of the pre-Vatican II Mass in Latin. Despite it remaining a “taboo” subject to the liberal faction of the French episcopate, the older rite, what is now being called the Extraordinary Form, is acting as a catalyst for growth in the few areas where it has been accepted by bishops.
More than 14 per cent of ordinations in France were for the Extraordinary Form in 2009, according to Paix Liturgique, with 15 French priests ordained for it. Almost 20 per cent of seminarians, 160, are destined for the Extraordinary Form. The group notes that if the current trends continue, in a few more years more than a quarter of all French seminarians will be studying for the older form of the liturgy, a rite that naturally selects against doctrinal and moral “liberalism.”
According to a CSA poll taken in September 2008, a third of practicing Catholics in France said they would willingly attend a traditional Mass if it were available.
In September, Archbishop Dominique Rey of the southern diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, ordained two priests to his diocese in what is now being called the “Extraordinary Form.”
This move, though heavily criticized by many in the liberal factions of the French Church, followed the ordination of 14 priests and 11 deacons in the newer “Novus Ordo” form in June, demonstrating that the two forms can live side by side.
Paix Liturgique reports that the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon has about 80 seminarians in the only seminary in the world that trains priests in both the pre-Vatican II and the newer rite.
In July, Paix Liturgique reported significant growth in Mass attendance in areas that have allowed the use of the older form. In addition to the existing 132 “authorized” places of worship and 184 served by the canonically irregular Society of Saint Pius X, an additional 72 new chapels and churches have been allowed for the use of the Extraordinary Form. This represents an increase from 55 per cent in two years, compared to an increase of between 2 and 5 per cent between 1988 and 2007.
Even more unexpectedly, the requests to dioceses from the laity for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form, have also dramatically increased. Paix Liturgique reports that more than 350 groups of French Catholic families have formally requested the older form of the Mass from their dioceses all over France and more than 600 groups have formed to promote the older form and have asked for it informally, making direct requests to parish priests.
By Hilary White
ROME, January 12, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Catholic Church in France, among the places where the fashionable “liberalism” of the 1960s and ‘70s has most taken hold, is dying out, with Mass attendance, priestly vocations and seminarians at record lows. At the same time, the growth of the doctrinally and liturgically “traditional” movements, who tend to be strongly pro-life and pro-family, is continuing.
The Institut français d'opinion publique (IFOP Institute) has just issued its survey on the situation of the Church in France and reports that the French Catholic Church is in freefall. Between1965 and 2009, the number of French identifying themselves as Catholics fell from 81 per cent to 64 per cent. The number attending Mass once a week or more fell from 27 per cent to 4.5 per cent in the same period.
The statistics, published in the Catholic weekly La Croix, show the effects of institutionalized “liberalism” in Catholic teaching. Sixty-three per cent of those who still consider themselves Catholic believe that all religions are the same; 75 per cent asked for an “aggiornamento” in the Church to reconsider Catholic teaching forbidding artificial contraception, while 68 per cent said the same thing for abortion.
According to official Catholic Church statistics, the total number of Catholic marriages (-28.4%), baptisms (-19.1%), confirmations (-35.3%), as well as priests (-26.1%), and religious sisters (-23.4%), has continued to fall between 1996 and 2006.
Statistics compiled by the traditionalist Catholic group Paix Liturgique show that the decline is sharpest in the most doctrinally “liberal” dioceses with regard to priests and future ordinations. Due to the critical shortage of vocations to the priesthood, it is estimated that up to a third of the dioceses of the Catholic Church in France - some dating to the second century AD - will be forced to close or amalgamate by 2025.
In November last year, Paix Liturgique reported that only 9000 priests are serving the Catholic faithful in France. In 1990, the total number of ordinations in the country was 90. Paris had 10, with two for a local independent religious order. Seven are predicted for 2010, and four for 2011.
There are fewer than 750 seminarians currently studying for the priesthood, with about a hundred of these being for religious orders, not dioceses. The diocese of Pamiers, Belfort, Agen and Perpignan have no seminarians. The drop in vocations to the priesthood will result, the group said, in at least one third of French dioceses either effectively ceasing to exist or being forced to amalgamate over the next 15 years.
But in small pockets where traditional liturgical practice, combined with traditional moral doctrine, is encouraged, French Catholicism is flourishing. Two years ago, Pope Benedict issued the document “Summorum Pontificum,” allowing the use of the pre-Vatican II Mass in Latin. Despite it remaining a “taboo” subject to the liberal faction of the French episcopate, the older rite, what is now being called the Extraordinary Form, is acting as a catalyst for growth in the few areas where it has been accepted by bishops.
More than 14 per cent of ordinations in France were for the Extraordinary Form in 2009, according to Paix Liturgique, with 15 French priests ordained for it. Almost 20 per cent of seminarians, 160, are destined for the Extraordinary Form. The group notes that if the current trends continue, in a few more years more than a quarter of all French seminarians will be studying for the older form of the liturgy, a rite that naturally selects against doctrinal and moral “liberalism.”
According to a CSA poll taken in September 2008, a third of practicing Catholics in France said they would willingly attend a traditional Mass if it were available.
In September, Archbishop Dominique Rey of the southern diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, ordained two priests to his diocese in what is now being called the “Extraordinary Form.”
This move, though heavily criticized by many in the liberal factions of the French Church, followed the ordination of 14 priests and 11 deacons in the newer “Novus Ordo” form in June, demonstrating that the two forms can live side by side.
Paix Liturgique reports that the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon has about 80 seminarians in the only seminary in the world that trains priests in both the pre-Vatican II and the newer rite.
In July, Paix Liturgique reported significant growth in Mass attendance in areas that have allowed the use of the older form. In addition to the existing 132 “authorized” places of worship and 184 served by the canonically irregular Society of Saint Pius X, an additional 72 new chapels and churches have been allowed for the use of the Extraordinary Form. This represents an increase from 55 per cent in two years, compared to an increase of between 2 and 5 per cent between 1988 and 2007.
Even more unexpectedly, the requests to dioceses from the laity for the celebration of the Extraordinary Form, have also dramatically increased. Paix Liturgique reports that more than 350 groups of French Catholic families have formally requested the older form of the Mass from their dioceses all over France and more than 600 groups have formed to promote the older form and have asked for it informally, making direct requests to parish priests.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI - Safeguard the Family Founded On Marriage
VATICAN CITY, 27 DEC 2009 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus on this Sunday of the Holy Family, the Pope reminded the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square that "God wished to reveal Himself by being born in a human family, and hence the human family has become an icon of God.
"God is Trinity", he added. "He is communion of love, and the family - with all the difference that exists between the Mystery of God and His human creature - is an expression thereof which reflects the unfathomable mystery of God-Love. ... The human family is, in a certain sense, the icon of the Trinity because of the love between its members and the fruitfulness of that love".
Commenting then on today's Gospel reading which narrates how the twelve-year-old Jesus stayed behind in the Temple without His parents' knowledge, the Pope explained that "Jesus' decision to remain in the Temple was above all the fruit of his intimate relationship with the Father, but also the fruit of the education received from Mary and Joseph".
And he went on: "Here we may catch a glimpse of the authentic meaning of Christian education. It is the result of a collaboration that must always be sought between the educators and God. The Christian family is aware that children are God's gift and project. Hence it cannot consider them as it own possessions but, serving God's plan through them, is called to educate them in the greatest of freedoms which is that of saying 'yes' to God in order to accomplish His will".
The Holy Father them addressed some remarks to participants in the Feast of the Holy Family which is being celebrated today in Madrid, Spain. "God, by having come into the world in the bosom of a family, shows that this institution is a sure way to meet and know Him, and a permanent call to work for the loving unity of all people. Thus, one of the greatest services which we as Christians can offer our fellow men and women is to show them the serene and solid witness of a family founded upon marriage between a man and a woman, defending it and protecting it, because it is of supreme importance for the present and future of humankind.
"In truth, the family is the best school in which to learn to live the values that dignify individuals and make peoples great. There too sufferings and joys are shared, as everyone feels cloaked in the affection that reigns in the home by the mere fact of being members of the same family".
Benedict XVI prayed to God that family homes may always experience "this love of total commitment and fidelity which Jesus brought into the world by His birth, nourishing and strengthening it with daily prayer, the constant practice of virtue, reciprocal understanding and mutual respect.
"I encourage you - trusting in the maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Families, and the powerful protection of St. Joseph, her husband - tirelessly to dedicate yourselves to this beautiful mission the Lord has placed in your hands. Be sure of my closeness and affection", he concluded, "and I pray you carry a very special greeting from the Pope to those of your loved ones who suffer greatest need and difficulties".
"God is Trinity", he added. "He is communion of love, and the family - with all the difference that exists between the Mystery of God and His human creature - is an expression thereof which reflects the unfathomable mystery of God-Love. ... The human family is, in a certain sense, the icon of the Trinity because of the love between its members and the fruitfulness of that love".
Commenting then on today's Gospel reading which narrates how the twelve-year-old Jesus stayed behind in the Temple without His parents' knowledge, the Pope explained that "Jesus' decision to remain in the Temple was above all the fruit of his intimate relationship with the Father, but also the fruit of the education received from Mary and Joseph".
And he went on: "Here we may catch a glimpse of the authentic meaning of Christian education. It is the result of a collaboration that must always be sought between the educators and God. The Christian family is aware that children are God's gift and project. Hence it cannot consider them as it own possessions but, serving God's plan through them, is called to educate them in the greatest of freedoms which is that of saying 'yes' to God in order to accomplish His will".
The Holy Father them addressed some remarks to participants in the Feast of the Holy Family which is being celebrated today in Madrid, Spain. "God, by having come into the world in the bosom of a family, shows that this institution is a sure way to meet and know Him, and a permanent call to work for the loving unity of all people. Thus, one of the greatest services which we as Christians can offer our fellow men and women is to show them the serene and solid witness of a family founded upon marriage between a man and a woman, defending it and protecting it, because it is of supreme importance for the present and future of humankind.
"In truth, the family is the best school in which to learn to live the values that dignify individuals and make peoples great. There too sufferings and joys are shared, as everyone feels cloaked in the affection that reigns in the home by the mere fact of being members of the same family".
Benedict XVI prayed to God that family homes may always experience "this love of total commitment and fidelity which Jesus brought into the world by His birth, nourishing and strengthening it with daily prayer, the constant practice of virtue, reciprocal understanding and mutual respect.
"I encourage you - trusting in the maternal intercession of Mary Most Holy, Queen of Families, and the powerful protection of St. Joseph, her husband - tirelessly to dedicate yourselves to this beautiful mission the Lord has placed in your hands. Be sure of my closeness and affection", he concluded, "and I pray you carry a very special greeting from the Pope to those of your loved ones who suffer greatest need and difficulties".
Catholic seminary has 20-year enrollment peak
St. Meinrad, in Indiana, is ahead of national averages.
From The Associated Press
ST. MEINRAD — The nation's sixth-largest Catholic seminary is reporting its highest enrollment in two decades as more men flock to the southern Indiana campus to pursue the priesthood.
The influx of students has left the St. Meinrad School of Theology straining to find classroom and living space for students at the campus, 65 miles west of Louisville, Ky.
St. Meinrad, which trains future priests for dioceses in Kentucky, Indiana and across the nation, began the year with 121 students - its highest number since 1988.
Church leaders and seminarians said a combination of spiritual and practical factors are behind the growth.
The Archdiocese of Louisville's seminarian ranks were all but depleted in 2002 and 2003 at the peak of the child sexual abuse scandal involving numerous priests.
Some of the seminarians at St. Meinrad said that crisis actually prompted them to consider the priesthood. They said they believed the church would avoid repeating such scandals through more rigorous screening and training of would-be priests.
“I think that there is a sense of hope in the church” now, said Adam Carrico, of Pewee Valley, Ky., who is studying at St. Meinrad for the Louisville archdiocese.
“We've experienced some troubles,” he said, “but I think we've learned from what happened in the past, and there's kind of a sense we can move forward and there is a tomorrow.”
Part of St. Meinrad's growth also reflects increasing arrangements with dioceses around the country to train their seminarians.
Both the Louisville archdiocese and the seminary are ahead of the national average in seminarian enrollment, which has remained largely the same in the last 15 years as the Catholic population has grown, while the ranks of priests have aged and declined.
Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz credited archdiocese leaders for starting to reverse declines in seminarians even before he arrived in 2007 from Knoxville.
When Kurtz arrived, six men from the archdiocese were starting in seminary.
Kurtz said there's “no magic number” for recruitment goals, but he said ordaining four or five priests per year would “be a great blessing” toward easing the priest shortage.
The archdiocese has two priests working with recruits in addition to their parish duties.
Kurtz holds an annual “dinner with the archbishop” to encourage youths to consider joining the priesthood or religious orders. This year, the event drew hundreds of teenagers, the most in recent memory.
Jerry Byrd, a student from the Indianapolis archdiocese, said his path to the seminary began more than a decade ago as he converted to Catholicism as a teenager.
“My whole concept of a priest was based on priests I knew,” he recalled. “They were old and bald and slow.”
But one such priest told a class of people converting to Catholicism that “we need young men” in the priesthood, because “without the priests, we don't have the sacraments; if we don't have the sacraments, then we're not a church.”
From The Associated Press
ST. MEINRAD — The nation's sixth-largest Catholic seminary is reporting its highest enrollment in two decades as more men flock to the southern Indiana campus to pursue the priesthood.
The influx of students has left the St. Meinrad School of Theology straining to find classroom and living space for students at the campus, 65 miles west of Louisville, Ky.
St. Meinrad, which trains future priests for dioceses in Kentucky, Indiana and across the nation, began the year with 121 students - its highest number since 1988.
Church leaders and seminarians said a combination of spiritual and practical factors are behind the growth.
The Archdiocese of Louisville's seminarian ranks were all but depleted in 2002 and 2003 at the peak of the child sexual abuse scandal involving numerous priests.
Some of the seminarians at St. Meinrad said that crisis actually prompted them to consider the priesthood. They said they believed the church would avoid repeating such scandals through more rigorous screening and training of would-be priests.
“I think that there is a sense of hope in the church” now, said Adam Carrico, of Pewee Valley, Ky., who is studying at St. Meinrad for the Louisville archdiocese.
“We've experienced some troubles,” he said, “but I think we've learned from what happened in the past, and there's kind of a sense we can move forward and there is a tomorrow.”
Part of St. Meinrad's growth also reflects increasing arrangements with dioceses around the country to train their seminarians.
Both the Louisville archdiocese and the seminary are ahead of the national average in seminarian enrollment, which has remained largely the same in the last 15 years as the Catholic population has grown, while the ranks of priests have aged and declined.
Louisville Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz credited archdiocese leaders for starting to reverse declines in seminarians even before he arrived in 2007 from Knoxville.
When Kurtz arrived, six men from the archdiocese were starting in seminary.
Kurtz said there's “no magic number” for recruitment goals, but he said ordaining four or five priests per year would “be a great blessing” toward easing the priest shortage.
The archdiocese has two priests working with recruits in addition to their parish duties.
Kurtz holds an annual “dinner with the archbishop” to encourage youths to consider joining the priesthood or religious orders. This year, the event drew hundreds of teenagers, the most in recent memory.
Jerry Byrd, a student from the Indianapolis archdiocese, said his path to the seminary began more than a decade ago as he converted to Catholicism as a teenager.
“My whole concept of a priest was based on priests I knew,” he recalled. “They were old and bald and slow.”
But one such priest told a class of people converting to Catholicism that “we need young men” in the priesthood, because “without the priests, we don't have the sacraments; if we don't have the sacraments, then we're not a church.”
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Dear New Visitors and Long Time Visitors,
Obviously there has been a huge gap in posts here on Roman Catholic Vocations. I pray it will not continue indefinitely, but for the time being the demands of life have made it necessary to put something on the back burner. God willing posting will resume in the near future.
Till then, have a Merry Christmas!
Roman Catholic Vocations
Obviously there has been a huge gap in posts here on Roman Catholic Vocations. I pray it will not continue indefinitely, but for the time being the demands of life have made it necessary to put something on the back burner. God willing posting will resume in the near future.
Till then, have a Merry Christmas!
Roman Catholic Vocations
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
