Category Archives: General interest

General interest

Fr. Z on Tomorrow’s Priests

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Fr. Z took time out from his Fourth of July holiday to grace his readers with the following top ten list of qualities of prospective priests today:

1. Prospective priests (Religious or Diocesan) are not looking primarily for community life, as we live it. They are looking for a Church-related mission that they believe in.

2. Prospective priests want to know what the Pope teaches, not what the U.N. teaches.

3. Prospective priests do not want to sit around with older “veterans” and listen to the latter whine about the Pope, Rome and the bishops.

4. Prospective priests are not in favor of women’s ordination. Period.

5. Prospective priests do not want to attend Masses that resemble hootenannies, Quaker meetings, or Presbyterian services.

6. Prospective priests are not ashamed of the Pro-life movement, they’re for it.

7. Prospective priests do not want to hear their brothers mock the Pope and gripe about liturgical norms.

8. Prospective priests do not want to study at theological unions/seminaries that are embarrassed by Catholic teaching.

9. Prospective priests know that Vatican II was not the only, or even the most important, Ecumenical Council.

10. Prospective priests are not embarrassed by Marian devotion, and are seen praying the Rosary.

I think this list is pretty accurate. I would say with respect to point one that prospective priests today tend to be inspired by the call for a “new evangelization.” Some feel a greater need for community life than others. Others who may not have thought much about it before seminary come to recognize the value of some form of community life, even as a diocesan priest.

What do you think of Fr. Z’s list?

General interest

The Catechism on “Vocation”

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church is often touted as an excellent resource for Scripture study because of the extensive biblical references. I find that the Catechism is also good for word studies as well.

For example, the index at the back under “vocation” has well over 30 listings, so that this rich concept may be examined from many perspectives. Another helpful tool is the glossary, which provides a concise definition along with the best Catechism references for additional study. Take, for example, the following glossary entry for “vocation” (the numbers in parentheses refer to paragraphs in the Catechism):

“The calling or destiny we have in this life and hereafter. God has created the human person to love and serve him; the fulfillment of this vocation is eternal happiness (1, 358, 1700). Christ calls the faithful to the perfection of holiness (825). The vocation of the laity consists in seeking the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according to God’s will (898). Priestly and religious vocations are dedicated to the service of the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation (cf. 873; 931).”

Those wanting to learn more about vocations to the consecrated life are then quickly referred to Catechism, no. 931, which provides as follows, quoting canon 783 of the Code of Canon Law:

“Already dedicated to him through Baptism, the person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God’s service and to the good of the Church. By this state of life consecrated to God, the Church manifests Christ and shows us how the Holy Spirit acts so wonderfully in her. And so the first mission of those who profess the evangelical counsels is to live out their consecration. Moreover, ‘since members of institutes of consecrated life dedicate themselves through their consecration to the service of the Church they are obliged in a special manner to engage in missionary work, in accord with the character of the institute.'”

There are many ways to study the Catechism, but be sure to take advantage of the references, indices, and glossary!

General interest

Show of Faith

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photo by Peter van Agtmael for The New York Times

I never thought when my daughter Mary Kate entered a Dominican community last August that within a year she would be on Oprah and have her picture in The New York Times, but I guess stranger things have happened!

I especially like the photo of Sr. Mary Kate, which is how she has looked at prayer for many, many years. God has always blessed her with a deep desire and gift for contemplative prayer.

When Sr. Mary Kate was here for a home visit last month, she mentioned the interview and expressed doubt that they would publish any of the interview, as it didn’t seem to be quite what they were looking for. They chose to publish a few comments on prayer, and particularly when it comes to dealing with distractions in prayer–something common to the experience of everyone who has sought to grow closer to the Lord.

For that reason, I thought it might be helpful to add the Catechism’s treatment on distraction in paragraph no. 2729:

“The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction. It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer; it can concern, more profoundly, him to whom we are praying, in vocal prayer (liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer. To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart: for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified. Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.”

General interest

Expanding Our Hearts

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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 July 2011, as published by the Apostleship of Prayer:

  • Those Suffering with AIDS.  That Christians may ease the physical and spiritual sufferings of those who are sick with AIDS, especially in the poorest countries.
  • Religious Missionary Women.  That religious women in mission territories may be witnesses of the joy in the Gospel and living signs of the love of Christ.

One beautiful consequence of praying for the Holy Father’s intentions is that it causes us to expand our horizons, to pray for people we might not otherwise think about, because they are so far removed from our own limited experience.

So let us pray for the relief and missionary efforts identifed above, and in the process ask the Lord to make our hearts like unto His.

General interest

Icons of Christ the Servant

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Earlier this month, fittingly on June 9th, the feast of the holy deacon St. Ephrem of Syria, Bishop Alexander Sample of Marquette, Michigan issued a pastoral letter entitled, “The Deacon: Icon of Jesus Christ the Servant.”  This pastoral letter is a welcome contribution to the body of teaching on the permanent diaconate, which has been restored in the West since the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

Even the title of the pastoral letter is instructive. Deacons receive the Sacrament of Holy Orders, and thus are clerics. There is no such thing as a “lay deacon.” Yet deacons do not share in the priesthood of bishops and priests. Rather, they are ordained for diakonia, or service. They sacramentalize the Church’s call to imitate Christ, who came not to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45). The deacon exercises this sacred ministry through the Word, the liturgy, and especially acts of charity. So, as the pastoral letter’s title suggests, the deacon should be a living image, or icon, of Jesus Christ the Servant.

It’s disappointing that the good of this pastoral letter has been dampened Continue reading Icons of Christ the Servant →

General interest

Renewal Is Not a Four-Letter Word

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Last week Rorate Caeli published a provocative post entitled, “How has that been working out?” to mark the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation Evangelica Testificatio, on the renewal of religious life according to the teaching of Vatican II.

It’s a very good question, and the turbulence and decline of the past 40 or so years give the question a bit of an edge, leading some to place the “blame” for this (and anything else they don’t like about the “post-conciliar” Church) on Vatican II and Pope Paul VI.

There’s a lot to be said about all this, and we can have different opinions about the Church, the state of religious life, etc. I would, however, like to give just a few ground rules for the discussion as faithful Catholics.

(1) The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) was a legitimate ecumenical council of the Church, and if one is not careful, one can be on the outside looking in if he/she goes too far in trying to minimize the Council’s authority or teaching, or in second-guessing the actions of Pope Paul VI. One does far better to adopt Pope Benedict’s “hermeneutic of continuity” in that regard.

(2) While this isn’t de fide, it’s probably misguided to think that Vatican II wasn’t necessary and that the post-WWII world and Church were just fine as they were.

(3) “Renewal” is always a good thing, and when it comes to the Church as a whole, renewal does not usually happen overnight.

(4) Sinful mankind is always part of the equation (one of the reasons “renewal” takes awhile!), but it’s subordinate to the grace of the Holy Spirit through which God continually breathes new life into His Church.

(5) The “renewal” of religious life called for at Vatican II and discussed in Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation has continued, despite the setbacks. Those documents need to be read in continuity not only with what came before, but also in continuity with subsequent exercises of the Magisterium, most notably the Synod of Bishops that culminated in Pope John Paul II’s 1996 apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata.

(6) We do well to look forward in hope, as we “put out into the deep” (Luke 5:4) in the new millennium, focusing on all the good that’s happening in the Church, and in particular in religious life. In that regard, the Institute on Religious Life has been a singular voice in upholding the goodness, beauty, and enduring truth of the Church’s living tradition as it relates to the consecrated life.

General interest

Siblings Following Path to Priesthood, Religious Life

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The following uplifting article was recently posted by Patricia O’Connell, a correspondent with the Catholic Free Press, serving the Diocese of Worcester, Massachusetts.

Meaghan Boland first felt the call to religious life at age 16. She was preparing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.

“It was just kind of the whole preparation,” she said.

Also, in high school, she went on a youth retreat, where she spent time in the presence of Our Lord.

“That drew me into the adoration piece,” she explained.

Meaghan’s faith continued to deepen.

So her parents, Thomas and Virginia Boland, were not surprised by Meaghan’s recent announcement that she wanted to join a convent.

But there was an unexpected twist three years ago when Meaghan’s older brother, James, discerned he had too a vocation. Continue reading Siblings Following Path to Priesthood, Religious Life →

General interest

Holy Vocations, Paths of Love

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This past weekend, awakened by a persistent thunderstorm, I starting browsing Catholic sites and came across two excellent vocation-related blogs not previously mentioned here.

The Holy Vocations blog is primarily geared to those who are considering the priesthood or religious life. If you are discerning a possible vocation as a priest, nun, religious sister, monk, or consecrated virgin, or if you are currently in formation, then this blog is for you.

I also came across the Paths of Love blog, which had a variety of posts, including homilies, photos from recent ordinations, and articles on interesting topics such as how to interpret religious statistics and why consecrated virginity is not itself a sacrament.

The blog is part of the Paths of Love website, which  is dedicated to imparting information and discussion about vocations through the lens of Catholic tradition, drawing upon the Fathers of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis de Sales, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and the popes, particularly Pope John Paul II, with a particular emphasis on vocation discernment.

Check them out!

General interest

Cardinal Burke: From Wisconsin to Rome

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Cardinal Raymond Burke said he thinks often about his humble upbringing in rural Wisconsin and where his Catholic faith has taken him during his lifetime.

“You just keep doing what you believe the Lord wants you to do, and who knows where it [may lead] you eventually,” Cardinal Burke said during a recent interview in his Rome residence. “That’s the only way I can describe it.”

Cardinal Burke, a long-time friend of the Institute on Religious Life, has now served for three years as the Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the highest court in the Catholic Church. In this article from the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram, he talks about the unfolding of his vocation, from growing up in the heartland of the United States to serving such a vital role in the universal Church.

General interest

Successful Chef Enters Franciscan Community

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Dennis Narlock has cooked for Hollywood stars and built a well-known local catering business throughout the past three decades. But Narlock plans to walk away from his business and his cooking career at the end of the year. He says he will also give up his personal wealth and all his worldly possessions after joining a recently established Franciscan monastery in the Diocese of Fargo.

For the full story, check out “Leap of Faith: Grand Forks businessman gives up wealth to join religious order,” courtesy of the Grand Forks Herald. Hat tip to The Deacon’s Bench.