Monthly Archives: December 2015

Women's Communities

New Dominican Foundation in Ireland

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opIn 2016, the Dominicans are celebrating the 800th anniversary of their founding. Their Order was officially confirmed by Pope Honorius III on December 22, 1216, as a body of Canons Regular. The year-long plus celebration takes place between November 7, 2015, and January 21, 2017.

The history of the Dominican family in Ireland is almost as ancient. The Order of Preachers came to the Emerald Isle in 1227, 789 years ago. Rounding up, that’s 800 years too!

In this jubilee year, the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, based in Nashville, Tennessee, gave Catholics in the city of Limerick some happy news. It had been announced that the Dominican fathers were leaving the city because of falling numbers. But beginning in August, four sisters from Nashville will be moving into the priory associated with St. Saviour’s Church.

It was Bishop Brendan Leahy who issued the invitation and much to his surprise, received an interested reply. Two sisters came last summer and “were very taken with Limerick.”

saviourThe church is dedicated to the Most Holy Saviour Transfigured. Paintings and stained glass windows honor the Dominican saints, namely, Sts. Vincent, Catherine of Ricci, Pius V, Albert the Great, Catherine of Siena, Rose of Lima, Peter the Martyr, Margaret of Hungary, John Macias, Thomas Aquinas and Dominic. Sounds like a worthy Dominican pilgrimage site for the Jubilee Year!

The Nashville Dominicans were founded in 1860 and came to the city at the invitation of the second Bishop of Nashville, the Right Reverend James Whelan (born in Ireland). The Bishop, also a Dominican, wanted sisters to “conduct an academy for higher education of girls and young ladies” with an emphasis.”

The sisters will continue the Dominican tradition of contemplative prayer and evangelization, namely teaching and religious formation, in their new home city.

“In this year dedicated to Consecrated Life, it is like a gift from God to us that we can now look forward to the arrival of new young Dominican Sisters who will surely also be an inspiration to young people,” said Bishop Leahy.

To read more, visit The Limerick Reader website.

News

The New Bethlehem at Greccio

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greccio

This fresco was completed by Giotto and his assistants to commemorate St. Francis and his creation of the first manger scene. “I wish to do something that will recall to memory the little Child who was born in Bethlehem,” Francis said, “and set before our bodily eyes in some way the inconveniences of His infant needs, how He lay in a manager, how, with an ox and an ass standing by, He lay upon the hay where He had been placed.”

greccio2Why did St. Francis want to recall this moment in the life Our Lord to the mind of the people at Greccio? Thomas of Celano tells us that Francis “saw a little child lying in the manger lifeless, and he saw the holy man of God go up to it and rouse the Child as from a deep sleep. This vision was not unfitting, for the Child Jesus had been forgotten in the hearts of many; but, by the working of His grace, He was brought to life again through His servant St. Francis and stamped upon their fervent memory.”

The manger was prepared, the hay had been brought, the ox and ass were led in. There simplicity was honored, poverty was exalted, humility was commended, and Greccio was made, as it were, a new Bethlehem. The night was lighted up like the day, and it delighted men and beasts. The people came and were filled with new joy over the new mystery. The woods rang with the voices of the crowd and the rocks made answer to their jubilation. The brothers sang, paying their debt of praise to the Lord, and the whole night resounded with their rejoicing. The saint of God stood before the manger, uttering sighs, overcome with love, and filled with a wonderful happiness.

—St. Thomas of Celano from his life of St. Francis

A blessed Christmas to all!

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Update

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m angelThe Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration in Hanceville, Alabama, were in the news recently for two very different reasons.

The Catholic News Service reported that Mother Angelica, PCPA, their foundress and founder of EWTN, is receiving nutrients from a feeding tube. Suffering lingering effects and partial paralysis as a result of two  strokes she suffering 14 years ago , she is able to communicate with a squeeze of the hand or gestures with her eyes. On her 92nd birthday in April, the sisters said that she offers all her sufferings for the Church.

It was also announced recently that the Poor Clares of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville will be merging with the Poor Clares from Charlotte, NC. Mother Dolores Marie, PCPA, who is presently the Abbess of St. Joseph Monastery in Charlotte, will be the superior.
In 2002, the Hanceville Poor Clares sent sisters to help their monastery in Portsmouth, Ohio. Sisters were also sent to help reopen their cradle monastery in Troyes, France. Over the past seven years, the community has also made new foundations in Tonopah, Arizona, and San Antonio, Texas.

Mother Dolores Marie and three other solemnly professed nuns of the Charlotte community started out as members of Our Lady of the Angels in Alabama. They were invited to come to Charlotte from Portsmouth, OH, in 2010 by Bishop Peter Jugis.

 Mother Delores says: “I ask your prayers for both of our Communities during this time of transition and for me as I assume the role of Superior of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. …With this new mission before us, our building plans in the Diocese of Charlotte are obviously placed on hold. However, the Holy See has granted that Saint Joseph Adoration Monastery be held canonically open to facilitate a return in the future.”
Lord, we pray for bountiful vocations for the Poor Clares, so that through their lives prayer, poverty and sacrifice, they can continue to serve the Church both in Alabama and North Carolina.

Liturgical Year, News

Year of Mercy Icon Explained

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For the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the IRL is pleased to introduce this special icon entitled “Merciful Like the Father” in honor of this extraordinary year in the life of the Church. Written by Vivian Imbruglia, it draws one into the message that the Holy Father hopes to bring to the world. God is a merciful Father. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who will leave the 99 sheep to go in search of the one lost soul. Mary is our Mother whose mantle embraces all.

We were honored to have Fr. John Grigus, OFM Conv., bless the icon at the filled-to-capacity Mass on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at Marytown in Libertyville, IL, on December 8th. The icon can be seen in the Eucharistic adoration chapel, where adoration of the Blessed Sacrament takes place 24 hours a day.

MercyIconMediumIn the center of the icon is Jesus, the Good Shepherd, taking upon his shoulders the lost soul, who has one eye open, illustrating that all it takes is one look at Christ to bring about a transformation. The rays emanating from Jesus are reflective of the Divine Mercy image, the Blood and Water flowing from the Heart of Jesus.

Jesus stands in front of the Holy Door, opened by Pope Francis on December 8th at St. Peter’s in Rome. “Anyone who enters will experience the love of God Who consoles and pardons and instills hope” (Misericordiae Vultus). Marytown is also a designated as a Year of Mercy Holy Door pilgrimage site.

The Blessed Virgin, Our Mother of Mercy, embraces the whole world with her outstretched hands. To her left, the figures are instances in the Gospel when people encountered God’s mercy: the Samaritan Woman, Zacchaeus, Matthew, the Woman who anointed Jesus’ feet, the Prodigal Son, the Repentant Thief, St. Peter, and the Parable of the Lost Coin.

On the right side are saints who made Divine Mercy their special mission in life: Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, Padre Pio, St. Faustina, St. Maximilian Kolbe (whose National Shrine is at Marytown), St. Therese of Lisieux. The other figures represent the people of God who participate in the saving work of  Christ.

pope-francis-holy-door-640x360“In passing through the holy door, then, may we feel that we ourselves are part of this mystery of love,” said Pope Francis. “Let us set aside all fear and dread, for these do not befit men and women who are loved. Instead, let us experience the joy of encountering that grace which transforms all things.”

To order holy cards, triptychs, note cards, etc. visit MercyIcon.com or call the IRL office at (847)573-8975. To read about the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peters, visit the National Catholic Register website. To watch the opening of the Holy Door, visit Salt & Light TV.

 

News

December Intentions: Experiencing God’s Mercy

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MErcyIconPope Francis boldly stated that, “No one can be excluded from the mercy of God; everyone knows the way to access it and the Church is the house that welcomes all and refuses no one. Its doors remain wide open, so that those who are touched by grace can find the certainty of forgiveness.” By proclaiming a Jubilee Year of Mercy the Holy Father has emphasized the importance of mercy in our times. In this age, the Year of Mercy is a truly extraordinary opportunity for all to spread God’s merciful love to those who desperately seek it.

The Holy Father has asked the Apostleship of Prayer to pray specifically for people who desire God’s mercy in his universal intention for the month of December. He asked for all members to pray, “that all may experience the mercy of God, who never tires of forgiving” and “that families, especially those who suffer, may find in the birth of Jesus a sign of certain hope.” In presenting these two intentions, Pope Francis is noting  the appropriateness of having the Year of Mercy begin within the context of the Advent season which gives ApostleshipofPrayerus hope in Christ who became a child out of His merciful love.

The IRL has taken Pope Francis’ charge seriously and is celebrating this Year of Mercy by commissioning an icon written by Vivian Imbruglia. This beautiful icon has been utilized in the creation of several devotional items. You can download a Year of Mercy catalogue sheet featuring special icon triptych cards, prayer cards, Gospel of Mercy devotional book, icon prints and greeting cards. These devotional items are a tangible way in which you can open wide the door of mercy to all people.

 As we prepare to begin the Year of Mercy, let us all work to spread this most necessary message in our time. Let us imitate Pope Francis during the Year of Mercy who encouraged the faithful to “allow God to surprise us. He never tires of throwing open the doors of his heart. He loves us and wants to share his love with us.”

News

Father Hardon Archive & Guild Update

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hardon-smileThe Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Archive and Guild website has a new look that gives everyone interested in the progress of the Servant of God’s cause for canonization a place to go for the most current news.

On the site you will find the approved prayer for the beatification and canonization, a brief biography of Father Hardon, relevant contact information for the Archive and Guild, and some photographs of his life.

The Archive & Guild reside at the Eternal Life Apostolate in Bardstown, Kentucky. Father Hardon’s vast personal library and correspondence are housed there and is being organized and cataloged by Eternal Life volunteers. Father did not waste one minute of time. Ad majorem Dei gloriam!

hardonsjOn the Real Presence Association website are links to many of Father’s writings, all wonderfully organized in categories for easy access. If you look at the Guild website regularly, you will see ongoing postings of some these writings. Though Father wrote many of these some time ago, they are timeless.

Some of the recent postings on the Guild website have been:

Vocations & Commitment – Father explains that the real crisis is not a lack of vocations. “What we are facing today is a massive failure in every state of life to make a lifetime commitment.”

St. Augustine and Marriage – Like in Augustine’s day, “we need to recover the clarity of his faith which saw in Christian marriage the real test of Christianity.”

Pope John Paul II and the Christless Man – The modern world has a pathetic need for Christ. “Words could not be more graphic than those of John Paul II in describing the plight of Christless modern man.”

For more information on the Archive and Guild, visit the website (hardonsj.org) or contact them at:

Fr. John Hardon, S.J. Archive and Guild
902 West Stephen Foster Ave.
Bardstown, KY 40004                                                                              800-842-2871, or 502-348-3963

They are happy to send you a free Father Hardon prayer card. Please join the army of people – religious, lay, priest – praying for his cause!