All posts by Anne Tschanz

Women's Communities

The Call of Divine Providence

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Some of the most beautiful apostolates that our religious communities engage in are those that serve the mentally disabled. One community in the Chicagoland area that has been caring for the most vulnerable people in our society for generations is the congregation of the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence, also known as the Guanellians after their founder, St. Louis Guanella.

The Guanellians care for the mentally disabled, the homeless, the elderly, youth, those needing catechesis, the hungry and the poor in 14 countries around the world and in the Midwest and eastern states of the US.

St. Guanella began the works of the Congregation in the US in Chicago where the first Sisters ministered to  Italian immigrants and their families. They taught school and later built a residential home and school with the focus of caring for the mentally and physically challenged.

The sisters will be holding a discernment weekend in Chicago from Friday, March 15, to Sunday, March 17, for single women at their convent at 4200 N. Austin Avenue, Chicago, IL. Contact Sr. Beth Ann Dillon, DSMP (773) 545-8300 for more information.

Participants will be guided through a process of personal reflection & discernment. The Liturgy of Hours, Mass, Lectio Divina and small group work will be included as part of the weekend. Individual mentoring will be available upon request.

In our discouraging times, when life seems to have little value or meaning for so many people, the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence give witness that every life is a gift from God to be cherished and nurtured and respected and, more importantly, loved.

We give witness to the value of human life from conception to natural death and to the merciful love of Christ toward all men and are alert and attentive to accept the signs of the times as the call of Divine Providence.

 

 

News, Women's Communities

A Milestone in North Dakota

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This year, the Sisters of St. Francis of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Hankinson, North Dakota, are celebrating their 100th anniversary in America. Also known as the Dillingen Franciscans, the sisters arrived in Collegeville, Minnesota, from Germany in the summer of 1913 and served in the community there until 1958. In 1921, they opened a parochial school in North Dakota where the Motherhouse was built and still is today.

There are many Franciscan communities around the world , many of them new foundations. The charism of St. Francis of Assisi has remained new and vibrant for lo these many hundreds of years. The Sisters however are one of the very ancient communities for they can trace their beginnings back to 1241 in Germany (just 15 years after the death of St. Francis himself!). In the early 1300’s they became affiliated with the Friars Minor of the Strasburg province and they received the Third Order Rule of St. Francis. To survive almost 800 years in the middle of Europe is incredible.

In 1803, the government confiscated all of their land and buildings. The sisters were allowed to remain in the convent until their deaths but no new postulants were allowed to enter the community. By 1828, there were only 5 sisters  left but it was enough for a new beginning. By1847, there were 53 sisters and by 1968 there were over 2300! The Lord uses even the smallest seed to grow a large, fruitful orchard. The sisters today serve in Germany, Brazil, India and the US. In North Dakota they care for the elderly and sick, teach young people, visit the imprisoned, support pro-life causes, run a retreat house, produce altar breads and do other evangelical activities.

Commenting on the German sisters who came to foreign soil in Minnesota, Sr. Ann Marie Friedrichs, OSF, said, “I am filled with an immense amount of joy and pride every time I think of the courage and vision it took for our German sisters to leave their homeland…not familiar with the American customs and totally unable to speak English. What trust in God they had to say ‘yes'”!

 

News

The Lost Sheep and the Shepherd

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I was thinking about the image of a shepherd’s crook recently and remembered a homily that I heard long ago about the symbolism of the crosier (pastoral staff) as conferred to a bishop when he receives his Episcopal consecration. The priest said that the crook was used by shepherds to draw in wayward sheep that had left the flock.  The image that came to mind was a sheep standing on the edge of a precipice with the shepherd drawing him back to safety, maybe unbeknownst to the sheep. The Catholic Encyclopedia says that the episcopal staff is the symbol of that doctrinal and disciplinary power of bishops in virtue of which they may sustain the weak and faltering, confirm the wavering in faith, and lead back the erring ones into the true fold.

When I was in the Holy Land driving around the desert in a rental car with a friend and a priest in tow, we passed a gas station in the middle of nowhere that was a popular stop for trucks. The noise and the fumes were tremendous. But in the corner of the gas station parking lot was a shepherd and around him, in a perfect concentric circle, were his sheep. You couldn’t have gotten a piece of tissue paper between them, they were packed in that tightly together .

What struck me was that they couldn’t have been terrorized because then they would have been dashing about in a frenzy. The shepherd must have given them a command and so they formed in around him. They had perfect trust in their shepherd to protect them in what had to be a hostile and unnerving environment.

I thought of that image yesterday when I heard of Pope Benedict’s retirement. My first reaction was one of anxiety— Who would be our shepherd? I realized how much I had come to trust in this shepherd. The Lord said, “And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd” (Ezekiel 34:33).

In the Gospel of Matthew, it says:  “When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:26).  Jesus also said to Peter: “And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). This was the thought that comforted me as we await the announcement of our new shepherd. God will not abandon His Church. May God grant Pope Benedict the days of prayer he so longs for.

Men's communities, Vocations

Vocations and Family Life

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In the following video, Fr. Joseph Eddy, Vocation Director for the Mercedarian Friars, relates his vocation story. As is usual with many if not most vocational stories, he came from a devout Catholic family. As our National Director, Rev. Thomas A. Nelson, O.Praem., states in his vocational CD’s, as the family goes, so goes priestly and religious vocations. With the decline of the traditional family, there are fewer vocations. If we want priestly and religious vocations, we must build up holy family life again, rooted in the sacraments and prayer. We must pray for Catholic family life.

Father also has a list of the 7 quick questions to ask yourself if you want to discern if you have a vocation. This is geared towards religious life and the Mercedarians but it could apply to anyone. Parents could even answer these questions for their children and if one seems to have a vocation, then they can give them the encouragement they need to explore that beautiful calling from God, one that is vital to the Church and her evangelization efforts.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: Parents should respect and encourage their children’s vocations. They should remember and teach that the first calling of the Christian is to follow Jesus. (CCC 2253)

Women's Communities

Evading the Nazis

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Recently, Sr. Anne Green, l.s.p., died at age 100 in a Little Sisters of the Poor home in Scotland. As remarkable as as her age were her adventures as a Little Sister during World War II. Sr. Anne was living in the Little Sisters’ Motherhouse (all Little Sisters spend some time in France as part of their formation) at La Tour St. Joseph in Brittany, France,  when the Germans took over the area. Because Sr. Anne was a British citizen, she was forced to go into hiding for 6 years at a Little Sisters’ home near Belgium. However, when the Germans occupied that town, “the mayor phoned the Reverend Mother and warned her that if there were any British citizens there, she should send them away,” said Sister Anne. “There were four of us, including an Australian, and she told the mayor that there was nowhere for us to go. He said he would burn our registration papers and that we should remain in hiding.”

The one time she left the confines of the convent, she and her companion encountered a German patrol and Sister was forced to take refuge in a pile of potatoes loaded onto a cart. She was undetected and never left the convent again until the Allies arrived.

When American tanks came into the town, Sister stopped a convoy and asked the commander if he could find her brother Tom who was in the army. He said to her, “Sister, there are just a couple of million soldiers back there, but I’ll see what I can do.” Two days later, said Sister Anne, “they found him and brought him to see me. I will never forget seeing him walking in. It was absolutely wonderful.” I’m sure the American commander was amazed and happy too.

Sister Anne returned home to Great Britain in 1949 and served out her long life among the poor and aged in the United Kingdom. The Little Sisters have 4 homes in Scotland, 4 in Ireland, 9 in England and even one on the Isle of Jersey. May God grant repose to her soul and may the Little Sisters of the Poor continue to care for God’s venerable aged ones around the world.

“She was exemplary,” said Mother Aimee. “Her continual smile and serenity were testimonies to her happiness in religious life.”

See the full story in the The Scotsman.

Cloistered life, Men's communities

Gregorian Masses Said Here!

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We often get the question about which religious orders say Gregorian Masses. While doing research on Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusians, I discovered that the Carthusians in Vermont take offerings for Gregorian Masses. The only Carthusian Charterhouse in North America is in Vermont. For any of you who have seen the movie, Into Great Silence, you will know how remarkable their life is.

A Gregorian Mass consists of 30 masses said on 30 consecutive days for the repose of a soul of a deceased person. They cannot be offered for the living. The customary stipend for a Gregorian Mass is $300.00.  The address for the Charterhouse is:

Charterhouse of the Transfiguration, Carthusian Monastery, 1084 Ave Maria Way, Arlington, VT, 05250

They do not allow visitors to the charterhouse. The monks’ life is one of prayer and fasting totally dedicated to God. The Carthusians were founded in 1084 by Saint Bruno in France. Their Motherhouse today is La Grande Chartreuse in the same valley.

In the interior and exterior silence of his solitude, the monk lives for God, and for God alone. The members of other monastic Orders also seek God in silence or solitude, but for Carthusians silence and solitude are the principal means to find Him. Inner silence – poverty in spirit – creates the empty space necessary to experience God’s presence in our heart, which transcends all words. “Let him make a practice of resorting, from time to time, to a tranquil listening of the heart, that allows God to enter through all its doors and passages.” (Statutes 4,2)

 

News

Canons and Canonesses

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One day, I received a call asking what a canoness was. I confess I could not answer the question except that I supposed that they were associated with canons. The only canonesses I know of are members of the flourishing and rapidly growing community (they are building a convent to house 48 sisters) of Norbertine Canonesses in Tehachapi, California. According to a Catholic dictionary, a canoness is  a woman who lives a vowed religious life according to the Rule of St. Augustine followed by the Canons Regular.

The next obvious question is: what is a Canon Regular? Canons regular are a community of men following the Rule of St. Augustine who seek to fulfill the Church’s obligation and privilege to worship God through the public celebration of the Divine Liturgy. Hence, canons are usually priests and associated with a particular church. There are also Canons Secular who do not profess vows and may own their own property. St. Bruno, founder of the Carthusians, was a Secular Canon of the Cathedral in Rheims, France.

Pope Pius X, when approving the Constitutions of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception said: “This type of priestly life that unites the pastoral ministry and the religious life, is truly admirable and is to be commended. Far from being opposed to each other they strengthen and fortify each other … to the great advantage of the people.”

St. Thomas Aquinas says: “The Order of Canons Regular is necessarily constituted by religious clerics, because they are essentially destined to those works which relate to the Divine mysteries, whereas it is not so with the monastic Orders,” The clerical state is what distinguishes the Canons Regular from monks who may or may not be priests.

Canonesses are also asked to lend “their voices to Him and to His entire mystical body so that Heaven’s eternal canticle may resound also on earth. Therefore, they dedicate themselves to an individual Church of their order.” The Norbertine canonesses are associated with St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, California. Their life is one of sacrifice and prayer, especially liturgical prayer, ie, the Mass and Divine Office. For a history and current status of Norbertine canonesses around the world, check out the Norbertine website in Chelmsford, England.

There are four IRL Affiliate Communities that are composed of Canons Regular.

May the Canons Regular and canonesses, by their prayers and witness, strengthen parish and family life across our country.

 

Cloistered life, Men's communities, Women's Communities

Two Communities, One Act of Praise

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Something you don’t find everyday in the modern world, much less in the U.S., is a twin community of nuns and monks. Such a community of Benedictines exists in Petersham, MA. The St. Scholastica Priory houses a group of nine nuns and the Monastery of St. Mary, a group of seven monks.  Both live a contemplative life of prayer in service to God, the Church and world.

St. Scholastica Priory is an independent priory of Pontifical Right. St. Mary’s is a dependent house of the Abbey of Pluscarden in Scotland. When there are enough members in the men’s community, they will become an autonomous community as is typical for Benedictines.

The nuns and monks live a monastic life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict and pray the office in Latin using Gregorian Chant , except for Matins and Vespers. Monks from St Mary’s serve as the sisters’ chaplains. The monks’ Novus Ordo Mass is in English with sung parts in Latin and Greek.

As it says on the St. Scholastica website: The Benedictine life is both ordinary and human, extraordinary and divine. It is ordinary and human because St. Benedict in his Rule encourages us to get on with the business of monastic life; it is extraordinary and divine because it is a response to a call from God and it is a life lived for others.

The sisters will hold a Monastic Experience weekend for young women who may be called to this life from February 15-17, 2013.  Please email smangkloss333@aol.com or call 978-724-3213 for more information.

To thee, therefore, my speech is now directed, who, giving up thine own will, takest up the strong and most excellent arms of obedience, to do battle for Christ the Lord, the true King. Rule of St. Benedict

 

 

News, Pro-life

March For Life

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When you personally know the names of many people who went on the March for Life one can conclude that there were a ton of people there! Estimates are up to 500,000 people! Our parish sent a bus, Benedictine University in Kansas sent 7 busloads of people, the ENTIRE STUDENT BODY of Christendom College went. “Whether it’s your first time to the March or your tenth, it never gets old,” said sophomore Emily Bot of Minnesota, who has attended the March many times. “Being surrounded by thousands of other pro-lifers is an amazing feeling—knowing that we are not alone in the fight—it’s a great experience!” Many commented on the young age of the crowd. It is an encouraging sign for the future.

Liturgical Year, News

World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life

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Sunday, February 2, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord which is also the World Day of Consecrated Life. Pope John Paul II instituted this special remembrance “to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels.”

This particular day was chosen because, the Holy Father noted, “the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent icon of the total offering of one’s life for all those who are called to show forth in the Church and in the world, by means of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one.”

In support of this day of prayer for consecrated men and women, the IRL has published a novena booklet: Living Signs of the Gospel: A Novena to Support All Consecrated Persons in the Church, written by Msgr. Charles M. Mangan, highlighting excerpts from the Holy Father’s nine messages/homilies for the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life.  The goal of this novena is:

1) To pray for consecrated men and women

2) To strengthen consecrated life

3) To pray for vocations to the consecrated life

Please join us in saying this novena during 2013. A  free copy of the booklet may be obtained by calling the IRL office at (847)573-8975 or by e-mailing us at IRLstaff@religiouslife.com.