News, Saints

Watch Now! New Ven. Samuel Mazzuchelli, OP, Documentary

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Mazzuchelli: Called for Great & Difficult Work

Patchwork Heart Ministry has partnered with the Diocese of Madison (Wisconsin) and Different Heart Productions to produce a new documentary film about the life of Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli, a Dominican missionary priest who ministered, evangelized, and built the Church in the Midwest. The film is available to watch for FREE on YouTube.

Click here to watch now!

If you would like to learn more about educational or group showings and resources email mazzuchelli@patchworkheart.org 

Each year, the Diocese of Madison hosts a pilgrimage exploring the southwestern part of Wisconsin where Venerable Fr. Samuel Mazzuchelli was so influential. You can hike and camp for the three-day pilgrimage from Dubuque, IA to Father Mazzuchelli’s gravesite in Benton, WI.  Click here for more information.

Reflection/Discussion Guide

+ Father Mazzuchelli came to America as a seminarian to become an “apostolic missionary” and proclaim the Gospel to a people that he had never met, to a people who may have never heard of Jesus or the Catholic Faith. What do you think compelled him to respond so generously to the Holy Spirit’s invitation to leave family and familiar surroundings to serve the Lord in a strange, new land? What does this say to us as believers who at times find it difficult to live and witness to the Faith at times?

+Arriving to the United States alone, knowing no English and with no clue how he was going to report to Bishop Fenwick to finish his studies and prepare for the priesthood, Samuel Mazzuchelli manifested a deep faith in God and in the generosity of others. How might his life of complete trust in Divine Providence serve as an inspiration for us, especially as we struggle to boldly follow God’s will in our lives?

+As a young Dominican priest, Father Mazzuchelli was not afraid of sharing the truths of the Catholic Faith, but he first listened to effectively respond to objections and clarify any misconceptions. How might we learn from his example of preaching and teaching when we encounter people opposed to our Catholic beliefs, practices and morals? How can we use education as our primary means of evangelization.

+Father Mazzuchelli built up the Body of Christ by literally constructing churches and establishing local faith communities. In doing so, he endured much fatigue, anxiety, and expense in erecting church buildings as he zealously shared the Faith with all he met, especially those who had never heard about Jesus and His infinite love for humanity. How can his apostolic zeal inspire us to selfless give of ourselves for the sake of the salvation of others, especially our loved ones and whoever the Lord puts on our path in the journey of life?

+In his memoirs, Diary of a Frontier Missionary Priest, Venerable Samuel always refers to himself as “the missionary” in order not to draw attention to himself but instead focus on the work that was entrusted to him. How does this example of humility and selflessness stand in stark contrast to our current culture that tends to want to direct attention to ourselves and to our accomplishments?

+While Father Mazzuchelli often ministered alone, he consciously committed to involve others in his evangelical efforts, inviting them to live out their faith as missionary disciples according to their specific calling in life. He also founded the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa to encourage women to offer up their gifts and talents to witness in both word and deed, especially by educating and forming young people. How might his rich legacy help heal our broken and wounded world that desperately needs once again to hear the Good News? How might Father Mazzuchelli life and ministry be presented to young people as they seek to discern their vocation and mission in life?

+Pope Francis often reminds Catholics of the urgent need to “wake up the world” by boldly witnessing to Christ in society and not to be afraid of reaching out to those in the margins. How might Venerable Samuel Mazzuchelli’s example inspire us to live our call to missionary discipleship and to lead those who may be lost, forgotten and on the fringes to the find healing, hope and happiness?

Lord Jesus, You called Your servant, Samuel, even in early youth, to leave home and all for a Dominican life of charity in preaching Your holy gospel. You gave him abundant graces of Eucharistic love, devotion to Your holy Mother of Sorrows, and a consuming zeal for souls. Grant, we beseech You, that his fervent love and labors for You may become more widely known, to a fruitful increase of Your Mystical Body, to his exaltation, and to our own constant growth in devoted love of You who with the Father and the Holy Spirit live and reign one God, world without end. Amen.

Men's communities, News

A Norbertine Priest Discusses Fundraising as a Spiritual and Pastoral Endeavor

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Interview with Fr. Ambrose Criste, O.Praem., of St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, California

You are a Norbertine Canon Regular at St. Michael’s Abbey in California. Would you briefly tell us about yourself and the Norbertine community of which you are a part?

IRL Affiliates and readers of Religious Life Magazine will know St. Michael’s Abbey as the home of Fr. Thomas Nelson, who has been the National Director of the IRL for several decades. Our abbey in Southern California began with seven Hungarian Norbertines who were refugees forced out of their monastery (also called St. Michael’s Abbey and founded in 1180) under the Communist persecution of the 1950’s.

From those seven Hungarian refugees, St. Michael’s Abbey has grown to nearly 100 members – roughly 60 priests and solemnly professed brothers and 40 novices and juniors preparing for religious profession and priestly ordination. We live the rich liturgical life of canons regular, and we undertake a number of apostolic works, from the administration of parishes and schools, to directing retreats, various chaplaincies, and even evangelization and teaching on social media and our own Abbot’s Circle virtual monastery.

I joined the abbey in the year 2000 after completing my undergraduate degree and some graduate school. I was ordained a priest in 2008, and then served as our abbey’s novice master, master of juniors, and vocations director for nearly 14 years. I have worked closely with our development and finance team over many years to serve our mission with adequate resources. More recently, I am working on a new project our canonry has undertaken called the Evermode Institute, a program of catechetical formation for Catholic school teachers and parish catechists to be used nationwide.

Your community dedicated the newly built St. Michael’s Abbey just three short years ago, after securing more than $120 million in financial commitments for its construction. Could you share with us how your community went about accomplishing such an ambitious project and what it taught you about fundraising and stewardship?

Through the firm and faithful witness of the founding priests and those aspiring to live the Norbertine ideal, a surge of vocations in the late 1990s and early 2000s left St. Michael’s Abbey in great need of more space. We launched a campaign to build a new abbey that was projected to cost north of $120M.

We struggled with fits and starts (and multiple consultants) over the next decade. By 2016 the campaign had stalled by many accounts, and we found that we had no real path to achieve our goal. That prompted us to stop listening to outside consultants and to try to do things differently.

We had originally thought, “We are priests and religious– what do we know about finances? Let’s bring in experts who know how to do this.” But the reality was that that didn’t work. The experts used a templated approach that left aside many of our gifts as consecrated religious, and rendered our fundraising transactional and ultimately unsatisfying.

It wasn’t until we integrated our fundraising effort into our way of life as religious that we found meaningful success. We made it a spiritual and pastoral endeavor rather than a transactional one, and the Lord blessed it. By early 2018, we hit our $120M goal and ultimately raised in the neighborhood of $150M, paid off all of our bank debt, and quadrupled general donations for operations.

It was an authentically Catholic approach to generating and managing resources that allowed us to complete the project our Lord had entrusted to us. It is not a novel concept– it’s a model that dates back to the time and teaching of Ss. Peter and Paul.

You just mentioned that an authentically Catholic approach to managing resources is not novel– but perhaps it is often neglected? What are the challenges you see as religious communities and Catholic institutions seek to manage their finances properly?

Very interesting question. So, on the heels of our campaign, we found ourselves providing a great deal of counsel to other religious communities. We tried to promote the strategy that had worked for us, by providing a tailored and spiritual approach to fundraising, and in this way, ultimately helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars for worthy Catholic projects. While working closely with Catholic leaders, they began to draw us into broader financial conversations and more freely expressed their concerns, particularly as relates to investing.

We quickly realized that of the many financial challenges they presented, the morality of investments was a tacit, yet deadly moral crisis. We have taken a keen interest in understanding this issue in order to help think through ways that religious communities and Catholic institutions can generate meaningful returns from their investment portfolios while not falling into the real moral pitfalls that have recently flown under the radar.

You say there is a crisis in the morality of investing. Can you speak into that a bit more?

Since the Dobbs ruling in 2022, many companies have become abortion activists– and this is just one of the ways that these companies are not measuring up to the USCCB Socially Responsible Investment guidelines.

As a result of this change, many Catholic religious communities were seamlessly transitioned into implicitly cooperating with evil. Further, the Catholic screens then implemented to protect Catholic institutions from falling prey to this cooperation proved to be inconsistent, and in too many cases inadequate.

As Catholics, we are called to be excellent in all we do. For investing, that means generating returns to serve our mission without compromising our morals in the process. As Norbertines, we think there is an opportunity to generate these returns morally, and we are leaning into this opportunity by researching the best ways to do this, especially through dialogue with our fellow religious.

How can our readers, especially orders, congregations, and communities like yours, learn more about the abbey’s work and be part of a larger conversation about raising and managing resources in an authentically Catholic way, and in particular, investing with a clear conscience?

We are taking a great interest in the area of authentically Catholic investing because we feel a call to be good stewards of the resources God has entrusted to us— but as you pointed out, investing is part of a much larger topic. We know these resources are only a means to an end, which is to serve Christ and His Church fully in the way He intended, and that is our motivating drive.

We have recently launched an unprecedented study that will serve to support religious who are trying to to be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to them.

If any religious community should want to share their experience and perspective in the survey, they can contact me via email at frambrose@stmichaelsabbey.com. If there are broader questions on the topic of investing or fundraising, we are happy to share our research and thoughts in those areas as well.If you are a religious community interested in participating in a brief online survey conducted by St. Michael’s Abbey about this matter, please contact the Institute on Religious Life (irlstaff@religiouslife.com) for more information.

News, Women's Communities

Servants of the Children of the Light: Dedicated to Catholic Montessori Education

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Mother Chiara Thérèse, Sr. Lucia Rose and Bishop David Kagan. Photo by Deborah Kates Fine Photography.

On October 1, 2020, the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Most Rev. David Kagan of the Diocese of Bismarck established the Servants of the Children of Light, a Public Association of the Christian Faithful for Women.  The community has the apostolate of Catholic Montessori education rooted in a life of contemplative prayer. The Servants currently serve at Christ the King Catholic Montessori School in Mandan, North Dakota, just west of Bismarck.

Many people do not associate Montessori Education with the Catholic Church, but it was Dr. Maria Montessori’s dream to have a religious order promoting her vision of childhood education. “An individual working alone can be compared to a man digging by himself in a field whereas the work of a religious Order, by comparison, is like that accomplished by a bulldozer,” she said. Dr. Montessori was a Catholic medical doctor who devoted her life to a child-centered approach to learning.  Her first childcare center in poor, inner-city Rome was called Casa dei Bambini, the “children’s house.”

Foundress Mother Chiara Thérèse received her childhood training in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a catechetical program for children ages 3-12 rooted in Sacred Scripture, the Liturgy, and the educational philosophy of Maria Montessori.  Mother also obtained an AMI Montessori Assistants to Infancy diploma (birth to 3) from the Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies in Mesa, AZ, a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University, a diploma in Spiritual Theology from the Teresianum in Rome and a Master’s in Theology and Christian Ministry from Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH.  Her religious name is tied to their charism.  “I chose Chiara because it means ‘light’ in Italian and Thérèse for her childlike abandonment, a desire to live a childlike obedience.”

The new community, in addition to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, take a fourth vow—to serve Christ in the child.  The sisters who enter the community will “pursue an AMI Montessori diploma, according to the age of the children they feel called to serve,” said Mother Chiara Thérèse.

“We know that Dr. Montessori was a devout Catholic,” said Mother. “In fact, she said, as E.M. Standing recounts, that ‘her own method could only find its fullest expression when applied to the teaching of the Catholic faith.’”   She also noted that “Dr. Montessori also believed that ‘the true respect of the child is only possible when one respects God in the child.’”

The daily conventual Mass of the community is celebrated, where possible, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The sisters pray in community the Extraordinary Form of the Divine Office. They wear a modified Benedictine habit and a medal of the “Madonna of the Chair” (Madonna della Seggiola) by Italian artist, Raphael, that depicts Our Lady holding the Child Jesus.

“Bringing back a deep and Faithful Montessori-Catholic education is indeed something we desire to spread,” wrote Mother Chiara Thérèse. “Dr. Montessori’s method is so deeply rooted in the Catholic faith that we have seen a beauty in the children when the method is given its fullness.”

Servants of the Children of Light 
Christ the King Catholic Montessori School
505 10th Ave. NW
Mandan, ND 58554
vocations@servantsofthechildrenoflight.org
servantsofthechildrenoflight.org

You can also read more on the Diocesan website:

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Buffalo Carmelites Relocate to Diocese of St. Augustine

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After a century in Buffalo, New York, the Discalced Carmelite Nuns have relocated to the Diocese of St. Augustine.  As the sisters noted in their farewell letter to their friends, their monastery used to be on the outskirts of Buffalo where they could live their contemplative life in silence and solitude.  This is no longer the case.

Here are some words from their newsletter describing their arrival in Florida:

Thanks to the hard work of many kind and generous friends who prepared for our arrival, our new monastery felt like home from the very first moment, already embellished with many of our beautiful statues and holy images. But it truly became “home” when Jesus Himself came to dwell among us in His Eucharistic Presence after the first Mass in our lovely little chapel. We were moved to tears and well understood the sentiments of Our Holy Mother St. Teresa, who considered that a new foundation was truly established when the Blessed Sacrament was permanently reserved in the tabernacle. The difference was palpable – our beloved King is now enthroned and dwells among us!

Before we were enclosed, on our first full day in Florida we had the incredible blessing to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche, where our new Bishop, the Most Reverend Erik T. Pohlmeier, welcomed us warmly and offered Holy Mass for us. While there, we were able to tour the “Sacred Acre” where the first parish Mass was offered in what is now the United States on September 8, 1565. Our Lady’s maternal presence is so strongly felt on that site which has such historic significance for the Church in our country!

You can read more about their move here: https://www.carmeljax.org/news

Their monastery in Buffalo was founded by Mother Mary Elias of the Blessed Sacrament, OCD (1879-1943), who as she knelt before a Mexican firing squad (her crime was persevering in her Carmelite vocation), made a promise to St. Therese of Lisieux to found a monastery in her honor if she was spared.  The guns were fired, Mother and her companion fell to the ground, and when they regained consciousness, there was blood on their clothes but they were unharmed.  Mother kept her promise and the monastery of the Little Flower of Jesus was founded in Buffalo.

In their current temporary location they do not have a public chapel or gift shop for visitors.  They are praying to locate a suitable property and the funds which will allow them to build a permanent monastery which can house their growing community.

Vocation inquiries may be directed to:
 PO Box 1012
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32004, USA
(904) 648-2663

Their physical address is:
8002 James Island Trail, Jacksonville, FL 32256

 

 

Cloistered life, Women's Communities

Magdala Apostolate – For Cloistered Women Religious Too!

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By Mother Mary Paschal, PCPA, Abbess

Several years ago, a friend of our community who is an integral member of the Magdala Apostolate venture, encouraged us to take the plunge and join in the classes they offered. A period of discernment ensued since an online forum of classes was so far outside our realm of lived experience in the cloister. Yet the opportunity for ongoing formation offered by Magdala answered a real need that was not being met in our studies and classes. For many an enclosed monastery, bringing in someone to teach the basics of theology or philosophy is a rare feat that is seldom realized.

Thus the Magdala Apostolate offers an ingenious gift to women religious around the world. Under the guidance from proficient clergy, scholars, and professors, the horizons and the heights of our Catholic Faith and Tradition are opened up for apostolic and contemplative religious. The courses on Scripture and the Liturgy have deepened our life of prayer and illuminated the mystery of Christ in which we are immersed every day. Philosophy and Theology classes have opened the door for many of our Sisters to search with greater understanding for the wisdom hidden in Christ. We have benefited greatly from the classes offered on Religious Life itself and have often learned much from the insights and questions asked by fellow Religious Sister-students.

It would be impossible to quantify the gift that Magdala Apostolate has made towards our human and spiritual formation over the past few years. It has struck us deeply how much those who give their time and resources to make this endeavor possible, believe in the importance of building up a solid formation program for women religious. Joining with fellow Sisters and teachers of the Faith each week, we experience the truth of St. Paul’s exhortation through Magdala: that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in love, to have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:3).

 Mother Mary Paschal, PCPA, Abbess
Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
Our Lady of the Angels Monastery
Hanceville, Alabama

The Magdala Apostolate is an outreach project of the Institute of Catholic Culture and is dedicated to providing sound doctrinal formation, both initial and ongoing, for women religious and novices, in accord with the Church’s call for a new evangelization.

News, Women's Communities

Roswell Poor Clares Celebrate Diamond Anniversary of Foundation

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On November 13, 2023, the Poor Clares in Roswell, New Mexico, celebrated the 75th anniversary of their foundation with a solemn Mass of thanksgiving, over which His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke presided. The chapel was packed to overflowing with friends who came from all over the country for the occasion. Although not all who attended were able to stay afterward to greet the sisters briefly in the parlor, the line was long enough to keep the sisters busy greeting visitors for a full hour and a half!

Most touching was the presence of friends whose parents or grandparents had supported the monastery since its small beginnings in 1948. The journey of the foundresses by train from Chicago was delightfully recounted in the very popular and joy-filled book A Right to Be Merry by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C., who was a very young sister at the time of the foundation. Since then, the “farmhouse-turned-monastery” has flourished and become a motherhouse to five daughterhouses, either founded from or restored by the Roswell community. Today the Roswell community has twenty-four members, with two aspirants scheduled to enter in the coming months.

As part of the jubilee celebrations, the Apostolic Penitentiary has granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to those who make a visit to their monastery chapel before the conclusion of the jubilee year on November 13, 2024. The indulgence may also be gained by those unable to visit in person due to infirmity or inability to travel if they offer their sufferings to the Lord or carry out practices of compassion.

“We ourselves can make no suitable return to you for all your goodness to us, so we rejoice all the more that Holy Church herself can help us out in this way!” wrote Mother Mary Angela, P.C.C. “May this jubilee indulgence bring you (and all the deceased loved ones for whom you may wish to offer this indulgence) an eternal reward for all of your goodness to us.”

For more information about the Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, visit: poorclares-roswell.org

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Saints, Women's Communities

Brooklyn Visitation Inspires New CD of Hymns in Honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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From 2023-2025, Bishop Benoît Rivière of Auton, France, has decreed a Great Jubilee to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Heart of Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary in Paray-leMonial, France. A fitting tribute to this Jubilee celebration is the release of a CD, composed by Michael Zabricki to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He was inspired by the nuns of the Brooklyn Visitation Monastery for whom he created online video Masses for their nine-day Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

What follows is the press release; you can also listen to a sample of the CD below!

A Brooklyn NY parish musician is on a mission to revive devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.Michael Zabrocki, director of music ministries at Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church in Whitestone, NY, has produced a CD with original and traditional hymns, along with spoken word prayer tracks. The CD will be released on November 21, 2023.

Zabrocki said, “My devotion began in my heart during the COVID-19 lockdown when I was introduced to Sr. Susan Marie and the Sisters of the Visitation of Holy Mary at Brooklyn Visitation Monastery. I created online video Masses for their nine-day Novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus with the Very Rev. Joseph R. Gibino.”“Their community’s history and devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus deeply moved me to learn more about Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque and the others whom Jesus used to bring this devotion to the world. Over time, it became the focus of my own spiritual life,” Zabrocki said.Zabrocki shares that many people associate the Sacred Heart of Jesus only with a painting hanging in their home. “It is much more than that!” he said.“I pray this collection of my new compositions and selected traditional hymns, along with prayers that have found a home in my heart, will help in some small way to spread this devotion again,” he said. “Thank you to Sr. Susan Marie, Sr. Mary Cecilia and all at Visitation Monastery for a gift I can never repay.”Delays, Death and Divine ProvidenceWhile Zabrocki wanted to begin making the album about two years ago, commitments kept cropping up causing delays. And then in April 2023, Michael formerly committed to having the album recorded and released by the Feast of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in October.Then the unthinkable happened. Michael’s twin brother and fellow musician Ron passed away in May. “Along with the emotional impact, Ron was also my producer, guitarist, arranger and much more. I lost my studio and production staff. I now had to go it alone for the first time after thirty years of recording Catholic music.”Zabrocki started a crowdfunding effort which resulted in 100% of production costs to be met in the first two months.  Then, Grammy-winning Christian music pioneer John Michael Talbot offered to play guitar on a few tracks. This was followed by Lenny Smith, composer of the beloved hymn “Our God Reigns,” offering Michael the opportunity to be the first to record a new version of the hymn, transforming the song to true worship.But God wasn’t finished with him and his mission to spread this devotion, Zabrocki recalled.  It was announced that Bishop Msgr. Benoît Rivière of Auton, France had decreed a Jubilee commemorating the 350th anniversary of the apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to Saint Marguerite-Marie (Margaret Mary) in Paray-le Monial beginning in December, 2023.Sr. Susan Marie shared the first review of the album: “These gentle flowing hymns of divine love, including original creations and traditional Catholic works, truly permeate the soul. Mr. Zabrocki’s new album evidences the deep touch of Divine Providence as its release corresponds to the 350th Anniversary Years of the Apparitions of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to St Margaret Mary. Listen, and be transformed!”Zabrocki said that God used COVID to bring him to the sisters at the Visitation Monastery in Brooklyn.  Zabrocki echoes Talbot’s sentiments about that religious monastery’s being “the beating heart of the Church.”  “The heart of a monastery joined Michael’s heart with the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  May God be praised and may this devotion spread again throughout our Diocese and the world!” Zabrocki said.The title of the new album is “Consecration: Hymns and Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus” and includes nine original and traditional hymns and five spoken word prayer tracks. The album will be published November 21, 2023, on all streaming platforms and wherever digital music is sold online.  Those wishing the physical CD can purchase it directly from Zabrocki’s website.

You may listen to the title track on YouTube, “Only You (Consecration)” or click the image above. 

Discernment, General interest, Vocations

“Souls in the Game” – Seminary Life through the Lens of Fraternity and Sportsmanship

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A very enjoyable and moving 30-minute documentary showing a group of seminarians, some without any real basketball experience, joining together to form a team in the truest sense of the word. From the Press Release and website:

Souls in the Game, a co-production of Saint John’s Seminary and the Archdiocese of Boston, is a heartwarming new 30-minute documentary that tells the story of seminary formation beyond theology and philosophy classes.  Released in time for National Vocation Awareness Week, the documentary offers a glimpse into seminary life through the lens of fraternity and sportsmanship, showing brothers supporting each other– on and off the court– as they grow to understand their own vocations.

Deacon Marcelo Ferrari, who is currently studying at Saint John’s Seminary, added, “We are excited to show a youthful church on fire with faith. By coming to the basketball tournament, you get to see this bright future of the Church. There’s a lot of young men living the joy of the Gospel and following Christ.”

Souls in the Game is available for free viewing at soulsinthegame.com or YouTube. Discussion questions
are also available making it appropriate for religious education curriculum or vocation awareness initiatives.

For more information and a complete press kit, visit https://www.soulsinthegame.com/press.

Women's Communities

Sisters of the Little Way – A New Private Association of the Faithful

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There is a new community of women being formed in the Archdiocese of Portland – the Sisters of the Little Way of Beauty, Truth, and Goodness.  They are currently a private association of the faithful “intending to become a religious institute, given a charism rooted profoundly in the authority of God who is Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.”

They have the unique mission “of listening, healing outreach, spiritual reparation, and solidarity with people who are despairing, doubting, and hopeless, people on the fringes or outside of the Church, especially those people who have been wounded, scandalized, or abused by members of the Church. God is calling many people right now to address the deep wounds in the Church.

When God called us to a mission of reaching out to those on the fringes of the Church, especially those people who have been abused, wounded, and scandalized by members of the Church, we felt small in the face of this immense mission. But we also know that we are not alone. We are dependent on one another. Renewal always involves the whole Body of Christ.”

More their website:

Whether we are practicing Catholics, on the edge of the pew, or have already left the Church, the following statistics tell us something we already know deep in our bones. The Church is bleeding members and she is bleeding from the wounds caused by her own members. 

In the U.S. the percentage of Catholics who belonged to a parish declined to 58% from 76% between 1998 and 2020—twice the rate of decline among Protestants (Gallup). 

37 percent of American Catholics in 2019 say news of reported sexual abuse by priests had them reexamining their religion, up from 22 percent in 2002 (Gallup). 

A 2021 survey found that 31% of adult U.S. Catholics said the abuse crisis has made them embarrassed to identify themselves as Catholic (CARA at Georgetown University).

These signs of darkness in the Church make clear the need for deep renewal and healing. This sorely needed, profound reform calls us to leave behind the status quo, take risks, reorganize our efforts, and embrace new ways of thinking rooted in the Gospel.

On September 22nd, the sisters professed private vows and were officially recognized as a private association by Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland. They can now be called sister and wear their habits. Here is a description of the habit:

An outward sign of the beauty of our vows, our habit is foundational to our life and mission; it includes a gray tunic, a black apron-scapular, a teal veil, and a rosary. Gray, the color of ashes, poverty, and renewal, reminds us to go to Christ for healing and to live in reparation for the sins of members of the Church. The black apron-scapular, a memento mori, symbolizes our obedient service to God’s beauty unto death. The embroidered crucifix on our apron depicts the moment of anguish when Christ cries out to the Father, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” (Mt 27:46). The teal of our veil, like the blue sky meeting the green of the earth, represents the Blessed Mother’s intercession for God’s anawim. … In our struggle against principalities and powers (see Eph 6:12), we unite our prayer with Mary, Our Lady of Surrender—Protector of the Anawim by praying the Rosary in reparation for the sins of the Church’s members and for renewal.

If you would like to learn more or to help the sisters in this important mission in the Church, please visit their website: www.sistersofthelittleway.com.

 

Men's communities, Reflection, Saints

After Easter, Then What?

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Br. Daniel Sokol, OSB

Brother Daniel published this reflection for the Benedictine Oblates.

St. John on Patmos

Well, the annual awesome Easter Season is upon us, and hopefully we are aiming towards getting more and more ready and willing to do God’s holy will.  We are so blessed to have a treasure trove of so many liturgical wonderful feasts and holy saints to bless us on our journey and guide us through the daily pitfalls of this earthly life!  If only we would consistently and prayerfully ask for their help, and then do whatever it is they suggest, we would, through perseverance, become so much closer to God and our end goal of reaching our heavenly homeland.

Our patron saints and Guardian Angels who are our subtle but “holy helpers” can keep us on track while we work our way towards heaven.  They are happy to help us if we would only have recourse to them for their supernatural assistance.  However, following their advice requires clarity of thought and single-minded perseverance! This is not an easy process; it takes lots of practice.  We must become tuned in to our purpose with “the ear of our heart” (Rule of St. Benedict, Prol 1).  There are numerous hurdles and “roadblocks.” The evil one constantly puts pitfalls on our paths, and flashes of distraction, thus obscuring our road to peace.  We all too often make up weak excuses for our own worldly free will, and this obscures our otherwise clear-thinking process.

Season after season we keep discovering so many ways to serve the Lord and gather innumerable graces for ourselves, for our family, our confreres, our oblates, the poor souls in Purgatory, the homeless, the abused, the wanderers, etc.  Occasionally I think about the holy priests who quietly go about minding their own business saving souls, praying the Holy Mass, day after day—often two or three Masses—and surviving 20, 40 or 60 plus years of quiet labors, not complaining and just keep on persevering while doing God’s holy will, not being enticed or bothered about trifling earthly matters.  These are the real saints on earth!  Consider the enormous good they accrue: the infinite graces they have attained while praying each Mass, and the stability of heart, mind, body and soul.  Monks and lay people can accomplish this kind of focus if only we would not entertain unworthy thoughts, or worldly pleasures, or talk too much!  Peace and tranquility accompany the practice of quiet perseverance in the way of the Lord.

Let us strive towards continuously minding our ways.  Time is a precious commodity that is extremely valuable, and more easily glides by when we become stable.  Note that stability is the first of the Benedictine vows (or promises for Oblates).  When compared to infinity, we have but a mere moment in time, a drop of mist in an immense ocean.

As for the temporalities of this present life, we can thank God that we have a Deliverance Prayer inspired by a potential poisoning incident in St. Benedict’s life that can be used whenever we are pestered by the wiles of Satan: “Begone Satan!  Tempt me not with your vanities! What you offer me is evil.  Drink the poisoned cup yourself.”  This prayer is enhanced by those who carry a blessed Benedictine medal, and sincerely contemplate what the prayer means to them.

Thanks be to God!

Brother Daniel Sokol is a Benedictine Monk at Prince of Peace Abbey in Oceanside, California. PrinceofPeaceabbey.org