Resources

Light of the Nations

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This Saturday, September 17, 2011, the Institute on Religious Life is pleased to present a day of recollection for priests, religious, and laity at the Marytown Retreat and Conference Center in Libertyville, IL.

The theme for the day of recollection is “Light of the Nations: The Specific Role of Consecrated Religious in the Life and Mission of the Church.”

Fr. Brian Mullady, O.P. will offer reflections on Vatican II’s rich yet often misunderstood teachings on consecrated life. He will show that Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium) provides the blueprint for the authentic renewal of the Church in general, and of consecrated life in particular.

Only by closely studying and then putting into practice these teachings can consecrated men and women learn to embrace a life of perfect charity after the manner in which Christ practiced it, and thereby allow themselves to serve as eschatological witnesses of the kingdom.

Fr. Mullady is a nationally known Dominican priest, retreat master, and spiritual director, and he serves as the theological consultant to the Institute on Religious Life. Father also teaches at Holy Apostles Seminary, writes for Homiletic and Pastoral Review and Religious Life magazines, and frequently appears on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

To register for the event, or for more information, click here.

General interest

Missionaries Find Faith in Vietnam

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The September 9, 2011 edition of the Rhode Island Catholic included this uplifting article about Greenville, RI pastor Fr. Francis Santilli and one of his parishioners, Donald Turbitt, who just returned from a missionary trip to Vietnam.

The mission trip was coordinated by Turbitt, the Vietnam coordinator for Renewal Ministries, Inc., an Indiana-based international nonprofit dedicated to fostering renewal and evangelization in the Catholic Church in 25 countries throughout the world.

Father Santilli and Mr. Turbitt were able to minister to seminarians as well as families during their visit, where they found a real hunger for the faith despite government opposition. They also visited convents belonging to the Lovers of the Holy Cross, a community of religious sisters dedicated to working with the poor, handicapped, and children.

The missionaries were even blessed to attend the final profession of eleven sisters during an early morning Mass in Phat Diem.

“Families are deeply honored if one of their children is in religious life or the priesthood,” Father Santilli noted. He added that the church is the “center of life” for the faithful in Vietnam.

General interest

Vocation, Anyone?

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The New York Times recently ran a feature article on Fr. Paul Arinze, a Nigerian-born priest who serves as vocation director for the Diocese of Madison. In his “spare time,” Fr. Paul serves is a tennis umpire who has worked at Wimbledon and, most recently, at the U.S. Open.

He doesn’t seem to be neglecting his “day job,” though. Madison projects that it will ordain 26 men between 2012 and 2019, and the diocese is welcoming a record ten seminarians for the 2011-12 academic year.

General interest

New Video on French Religious Foundress Highlights Virtue in the Face of Family Difficulties

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At the age of 28, Jane de Chantal, a French noblewoman, was faced with the difficult task of getting beyond her husband’s accidental death and raising five children. Beyond that, she was compelled to live at her father-in-law’s estate and  put up with his irritations.

A very devout woman, she then met St. Francis de Sales and the two formed a lifelong friendship. Francis confided to Jane his desire to found a religious order that would be welcoming to women who seek a deep relationship with God, but who for one reason or another could not live with the physical rigors of traditional religious life.

In 1610, the two officially established the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary. Before she died, St. Jane de Chantal founded 86 houses of the Visitation.

All of this is recounted in a new video on the life of St. Jane de Chantal, which has been viewed over two thousand times on Gloria.TV in the first week of its debut.

The video was produced by VocationPromotion.com for the Second Federation of the Visitation in the United States and is featured on the website www.VisitationSpirit.org.

General interest

New Video on Redeeming Medieval Captives Goes Viral

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Offering one’s life in exchange for another Christian whose faith is in danger is certainly a noble cause. Maybe that’s why a new video on the history of a men’s order founded to do just that is attracting so much attention.

The nine-minute video, “Redeeming Medieval Captives–The Story of The Order of Mercy,” has gone viral on the Catholic video website Gloria.TV, with more than 2,000 views this week.

The nine-minute video explains the origins of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, complete with period paintings and drawings depicting 13th century ships, ancient drawings of men captured by Muslims, as well as prayerful modern-day Mercedarian friars.

Quoting the Mercedarians’ official historical record, the video says, “The real risk of captivity for a Christian captive in the power of the Saracens was the danger of renouncing the true faith. . . . The very circumstances of captivity were a real, ongoing and serious temptation for Christians whose faith was not very strong.”

Find out what experience motivated St. Peter Nolasco to found the Order by viewing the video and visiting the  Order of Mercy site.

News

On the Road Again

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The “Running Nuns” of St. Charles Children’s Home in Rochester, New Hampshire are holding their 15th Annual Labor Day 5k Road Race this Labor Day.

The road race fundraiser has helped the sisters provide hundreds of children with the guidance, therapy, and love they need to prepare them for life with new families. All proceeds of the road race go to benefit the children at the St. Charles Children’s Home.

General interest

Prayer Intentions

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Let’s once again unite our prayers this month with those of Pope Benedict XVI. Here are the Holy Father’s intentions for September 2011, as published by the Apostleship of Prayer:

  • Teachers. That all teachers may know how to communicate the love of truth and instill authentic moral and spiritual values.
  • Church in Asia. That the Christian communities of Asia may proclaim the Gospel with fervor, witnessing to its beauty with the joy of faith.

In addition, as we approach the tenth anniversary of 9/11 this month, may we also pray for a new outpouring of healing, mercy, and peace throughout the world. Check out the USCCB website for resources for parish and diocesan observances of the anniversary.

News

No Girl Altar Servers at Phoenix Cathedral

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The rector of Sts. Simon and Jude Church, the cathedral of the Diocese of Phoenix, has announced that girls will no longer be allowed to serve at Masses there.

For more of the story, click here. The article incorrectly noted that girls have been allowed to serve at Mass since 1983. Actually, such permission was not given until 1994.

At any rate, girls now function as altar servers everywhere in the United States, except in the Diocese of Lincoln and a handful of more traditional parishes scattered throughout the country. Continue reading No Girl Altar Servers at Phoenix Cathedral →

News

New Soldiers for Christ

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In a news release earlier this month, the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA reported a steady increase in the number of young men entering Catholic seminaries who would like to become military chaplains.

At the start of the 2011-2012 academic year, the number of co-sponsored and military-affiliated seminarians will stand at 31, up sharply from just three in 2008-2009; 12 in 2009-2010; and 23 in 2010-2011.

Co-sponsorship means that a diocesan bishop agrees to accept the young man as a seminarian, and that the seminarian will participate in the Chaplain Candidacy Program of one of the branches of the U.S. armed forces. The bishop agrees to release him for service as a military chaplain after three years of pastoral experience as a priest in his diocese. When the priest leaves military service, he returns to the diocese.

Father Kerry Abbott, O.F.M. Conv., Director of Vocations, said, “This is one of the ‘untold stories’ of the blessings of the Holy Spirit upon the Church Continue reading New Soldiers for Christ →

News

Religious Sisters of Mercy

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Earlier this month, five young women took their final vows as Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma. This community is especially devoted to the practice of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

The event took place at the Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption in Saginaw, Michigan, at a Mass celebrated  by Most Rev. Joseph R. Cistone, Bishop of Saginaw, will celebrate the Mass. Read more about it here.

These are sharp sisters, by the way. The group that took their final vows includes a medical resident, a medical student, and a doctoral student in psychology, while the other two are studying theology in Rome. Wow!