Category Archives: General interest

General interest

Free Priest Retreats – Hanceville, Alabama

Leave a comment

The Knights of the Holy Eucharist, founded in 1998 to serve the needs of the guests and nuns of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, AL, offer free private retreats to priests, seminarians, brothers and deacons.

The website, for those who wish to make a private retreat on the Poor Clare Nuns of Perpetual Adoration’s beautiful grounds, provides information about  accommodations, travel arrangements, daily schedules, and reservations. They also have a Facebook page.

Nestled just a short walk from the Shrine, “The Barn,” a modern building with a rustic look, has twelve fully furnished guest rooms with private baths and a beautiful private chapel for prayer and Mass. All meals are complimentary. Guests are free to roam the 400 acres of wooded countryside, attend or celebrate Mass and participate in community activities with plenty of time for personal prayer.

Each year, over two hundred priests and seminarians enjoy the beautiful accommodations provided by the Knights of the Holy Eucharist. Come and enjoy a restful personal retreat in the peaceful countryside of Northern Alabama!

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

Franciscan Friendship

Leave a comment

On February 7th, the Conventual Franciscan novices of Mishawaka, IN, visited the Poor Clares of Kokomo for the feast of the sister’s patron St. Colette. The friars spent time with the sisters in prayer and visited at the parlor grill. The Sisters explained their life of enclosure to the friars. It was a wonderful afternoon of sharing Franciscan joy together.

The Conventual Franciscan Friars of the St. Bonaventure Province are an IRL Affiliate Community who have as their spirituality St. Francis’ simplicity, love for the Eu­charist, and devotion to the Virgin Mary. They strive to further St. Maximilian Kolbe’s mission of evangelization by promoting Marian Consecration and expanding Catholic media to build up the “Culture of Life.”

The Poor Clare Colettines Nuns of Kokomo, Indiana, also an IRL Affiliate, have Saint Clare as their Mother and Foundress and Saint Colette as their second “Mother.” Saint Colette preserved for them the primitive rule of Saint Clare. The Poor Clares are called to praise and worship God, especially in His Eucharistic presence.

General interest, Men's communities

Order of Mercy Scapular Makers

Leave a comment

The scapular of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy has been in demand by many of the faithful over the centuries. In recent months, its demand in the U.S. has increased.

The Order of Mercy (Mercedarians) is looking for a cloistered religious community who would like to make the scapular for distribution. The Mercedarian community in the U.S. is growing in size, and due to the importance of this part of their apostolate, they are expanding their website to include a page that will make the sacramental available.

The Mercedarians were founded by St. Peter Nolasco in 1218 to redeem Christian captives from their Muslim captors.  In addition to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, their members take a special fourth vow to give up their own selves for others whose faith is in danger.  The Order exists today in 17 countries, including Spain, Italy, Brazil, India, and the United States. In the U.S., its student house is in Philadelphia, and it also has houses in New York, Florida, and Ohio.

The Order is seeking a scapular maker in the United States, and is willing to pay a fair price for bulk orders. This would be a great cottage industry for a religious community.

For more information, contact Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M., at 267-670-0503 (cell), or vocations@orderofmercy.org.

General interest

African American Catholics

Leave a comment

The most current issue of Our Sunday Visitor (2/5/12) has an article on African American Catholics. The whole article is very interesting but one family stood out. Michael Healy, an Irish immigrant, and his common-law wife and slave, Eliza Clark, had ten children together. They were unable to marry because the laws of the time (early 1800’s) prohibited interracial marriage. Even worse, the children born to them were considered slaves. Therefore, the parents sent their children North for their education and freedom.

Their son James, a Suplician,  became the Bishop of Portland, Maine. Their son Patrick, a Jesuit (pictured left), became President of Georgetown University. Sherwood was the rector of Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston. Two of their daughters, Josephine and Eliza, became nuns with the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph and the Congregation of Notre Dame in Canada. What sacrifices the parents made on behalf of their children! What wonderful formation the children must have received from others known only to God! God bless all parents who give so much for the welfare of their children.

General interest

National Vocation Awareness Week

Leave a comment

National Vocation Awareness Week begins today, as dioceses across the nation embrace this time to encourage young people to think of considering a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

It is no accident that the week begins today, as the Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. This feast marks the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry.

National Vocation Awareness Week focuses on vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and consecrated life in particular. During these days, families and the parish community are urged to nurture the faith of their children to prepare them to respond to whatever God’s call is for them. Catholics are encouraged during this week to take time to pray for vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life; to reflect on our own vocation and strengthen their personal relationship with Christ; and to educate young people about the importance of silent prayer and taking the time to truly listen to God’s voice in our hearts.

General interest

Promoting Vocations in the Pacific Northwest

2 Comments

Portland vocations director, Fr. John Henderson

You are the one.

That’s the slogan the Archdiocese of Portland’s new vocations director uses to help Catholics discern their calling, whether it’s marriage or a single lifestyle, or religious life, the diaconate or priesthood.

Father John Henderson has been leading baptized people to find their calling in his new role in the vocations office since he was assigned to the position last summer. He oversees the 52 diocesan seminarians stationed at Mount Angel Seminary, a handful of other schools, and in local churches. He also promotes vocations in the parishes, recruiting men to the priesthood.

On his “To Do” list lately has been the preparation of the Archbishop’s Retreat, “On the Priestly Vocation,” slated for Jan. 27-29, at the Our Lady of Peace Retreat House. Father Henderson assists Archbishop John Vlazny in leading this weekend retreat for men who would like a chance to reflect on the possibility of priesthood.

For the rest of this story by Clarice Keating, staff writer for the Catholic Sentinel, click here.

General interest

Pope’s Intentions for January 2012

Leave a comment

As we begin the New Year, let’s once again unite our prayers this month with those of Pope Benedict XVI. Here are the Holy Father’s intentions for January 2012, as published by the Apostleship of Prayer:

  • Victims of Natural Disasters. That the victims of natural disasters may receive the spiritual and material comfort they need to rebuild their lives.
  • Dedication to Peace. That the dedication of Christians to peace may bear witness to the name of Christ before all men and women of good will.

January is also a month especially devoted to the Holy Name of Jesus, which was popularized by St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century. For more on devotion to the Holy Name, click here.

General interest

Onward, Catholic Soldiers

Leave a comment

Religion & Liberty, a publication of the Acton Institute, recently published an interesting study by historian Mark Summers on the Catholic Church’s complex role in the United States Civil War (1861-65), a topic we’ve covered in previous posts.

Here’s what Summers had to say about the participation of  Catholic priests and religious during the Civil War:

“Along with the thousands of soldiers that fought in the ranks were hundreds of priests who ministered to the troops and Catholic Sisters who assisted as nurses and sanitary workers. Catholic soldiers were at a religious disadvantage compared to the Protestant comrades, as the church lacked enough priests to both serve in the army and minister to the congregations at home. Nevertheless, Catholic priests heard confession, comforted the men, and celebrated Mass prior to battle. More than eight different orders of nuns served the soldiers during the war. Before the organization of the American Red Cross, nuns were among the most organized and experienced nurses available to serve the army. Catholic sisters were praised for their assistance to all soldiers, North and South, Catholic or Protestant. When observing this ministry, a Protestant doctor remarked to a Catholic bishop that ‘there must be some wonderful unity in Catholicity which nothing can destroy, not even the passions of war.'”

General interest

Supporting Tomorrow’s Vocations Today

Leave a comment

Still looking to make an end-of-the-year donation to support the Church and especially vocations? You might want to consider the Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations.

The Mater Ecclesiae Fund for Vocations assists men and women to follow God’s call to service in the Church through a life of consecration. They operate the St. Joseph Student Debt Relief Grant Program for religious life and the St. John Vianney Student Debt Relief Grant Program for the parish priesthood.

These grants eliminate the delay many young people encounter as they struggle to pay off their student debts before they can enter religious life. A grant pays candidates’ student loan payments while they are in formation for either religious life or the priesthood.

We have profiled this organization on a previous occasion, but we wanted to make a special appeal to our readers based on this message that appears on their website:

We have received 43 applications for our 2012 grant awards. The student loans held by these applicants totals $1.6 million. The annual cost of issuing grants to all applicants would be $216,000. It would be a small miracle if we could meet just one fifth of this demand. A miracle made possible by the generosity of you and our other donors. Please pray to the Lord of the Harvest for a big miracle and consider continuing or increasing your generosity towards the work of enabling vocations.

For more information as to how you may financially assist young men and women who are considering religious vocations, visit Mater Ecclesiae’s site today!

General interest

Religion and the Civil War

Leave a comment

The Catholic News Agency (CNA) recently published an interesting piece on the role of religion in the U.S. Civil War. CNA interviewed Dr. George G. Rable of the University of Alabama on this subject, since this year marks the 150th anniversary of the war.

Dr. Rable is the author of God’s Almost Chosen Peoples: A Religious History of the American Civil War. He provides some interesting commentary on the complex role of the Catholic Church in both the North and the South, especially as it related to discussion of the moral issue of slavery.

Of particular interest to our readers is the role played by consecrated religious in the war. Perhaps most noteworthy were the Sisters of Charity, who worked in the military hospitals and cared for everyone regardless of their political affiliation.

“They were there to serve as nurses. Soldiers on both sides were impressed with the Sisters of Charity,” added Rable, whose book recounts the story of one soldier so impressed by a sister that he converted to Catholicism.

For more on the role of Catholic religious in the Civil War, check out “Catholic Sisters and the American Civil War” by Dr. Pat McNamara.