Category Archives: News

News

Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., Remembered on His Birthday

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As a priest called to found the Institute on Religious Life, no one could have set a better example of loving service to religious, utter faithfulness to the Magisterium, and great personal sanctity than Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. His contributions to the Church came at great personal sacrifice, but their fruits lie in his steadfast preservation of orthodox Catholic teaching and its profound benefit to the many he influenced.

With a life spanning from 1914 to 2000, Fr. Hardon’s upbringing, education, formation, and apostolate all took place within the most trying century ever seen by Catholic Christianity. Great wars, the onslaught of heretical theology, and the incredible challenge of properly responding to the Second Vatican Council all provided their difficulties to the “agent of orthodoxy.” Yet amidst it all, Fr. Hardon led a distinguished teaching career, authored dozens of books, and served in an advisory and formative role for many religious orders, all while remaining faithful to prayer and attentive to all those in need around him.

His service to religious orders included (at the request of Pope John Paul II) writing the catechetical training program Mother Teresa used to form her Missionaries of Charity into catechists. The program was later used by the Marian Catechetical Apostolate, which Fr. Hardon also founded.

From the beginning to the end of his life, Fr. Hardon expressed zeal to be a martyr for the Church, and indeed, he lived out a martyrdom of personal suffering and self-sacrifice. His witness provides an incredible model for the Institute on Religious Life as we seek to ever lift up those who live out the beautiful call to the religious life, and we hope for all others as well. Today, on this anniversary of both Fr. Hardon’s birth and his ordination, say a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of this great apostle of the Church.

News, Women's Communities

The Heartbeat of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

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On June 1, Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided at the Mass in which six Little Sisters of the Poor made their first profession. The close proximity of the Cardinal to the Little Sisters Novitiate would not necessarily make this an unusual event but what made his presence extra-special was the fact that one of the newly-professed Little Sisters was from his hometown of Baldwin, Missouri and even attended the same grade school that he also had attended. The Cardinal promised to be at her first profession and three years later he kept his promise. He brought along with him Sr. Sister Mary Rosario, RSM, principal of Holy Infant Grade School in Baldwin. Hr truly is a man of the people.

The Cardinal told Sr. Elizabeth and the 5 other sisters making their first profession that they were called to be the heartbeat of Jesus, tenderness incarnate, in receiving God’s love and extending it to others. Also in attendance, were 5 novices who, God willing, will soon take their place at the side of the aged poor.

The sisters new assignments will take them to Ireland, Australia, New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania. I think what is beautiful about the Little Sister’s formation is that they all spend time at the Motherhouse in Brittany, France. There is a great sense of sisterhood among the Little Sisters across the world which comes from this shared time together at the resting place of their foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan.

News, Saints

St. Anthony Comes Around

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Last Sunday and Monday, we at the IRL who lodge at the Conventual Franciscan Friary at Marytown, were blessed to be able to view and venerate the relics of St. Anthony of Padua which are on tour from Padua, Italy. Throughout the two days, there were masses, vespers, adoration, and many people who came to be near the earthly remains of this very popular Franciscan priest and Doctor of the Church.

As you can see from the picture, the reliquary is stunning. May this patron saint of lost articles and this so eloquent evangelist for the Faith, intercede for us this day and help us throughout our lives.

Here is a St. Anthony Novena:

Novena to Saint Anthony for Any Need

St. Anthony, you are glorious for your miracles and for the condescension of Jesus Who came as a little child to lie in your arms. Obtain for me from His bounty the grace which I ardently desire. You were so compassionate toward sinners, do not regard my unworthiness. Let the glory of God be magnified by you in connection with the particular request that I earnestly present to you.

[State your request here.]

 

As a pledge of my gratitude, I promise to live more faithfully in accordance with the teachings of the Church, and to be devoted to the service of the poor whom you loved and still love so greatly. Bless this resolution of mine that I may be faithful to it until death.

St. Anthony, consoler of all the afflicted, pray for me.

St. Anthony, helper of all who invoke you, pray for me.

St. Anthony, whom the Infant Jesus loved and honored so much, pray for me. Amen.

 

 

Men's communities, News

Infant of Prague Returns

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When we hear the term “Infant of Prague,” we think of the small statue that adorns many churches and outside shrines. We may not realize that there is a Prague (captital of the  Czech Republic) and there is a statue of the Infant Jesus in the church of Our Lady of Victories in the capital of that country. After you read this story, you will never look at the statue in the same way again.

The Infant Jesus of Prague statue came originally from Spain and was sent to Bohemia (The Czech Republic) as a wedding gift in 1556. The statue was then given to the Discalced Carmelites attached to the church of Our Lady of Victory in 1628. During the Thirty Years War, the statue suffered along with the people and was discovered by a priest, Father Cyril, abandoned in a corner with both hands broken off. It seemed to Father Cyril that Jesus was saying to him:

Have mercy on Me and I will have mercy on you.
Give Me hands and I will give you peace.
The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.

Father Cyril restored the hands and from then on, the city and the people seemed to be blessed and miraculous healings were attributed to devotion to the Infant Jesus. Many saints have had a love for the Divine Child as an expression of their profound reverence for Jesus in His Incarnation. St. Anthony of Padua comes to mind as well as St. Therese of the Child Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi.

Twenty years ago, after the fall of Communism in then Czechoslovakia, Father Anastasio Roggero, a Discalced Carmelite from Italy, was asked by Archbishop Vlk to take over the ruin of the church housing the Infant Jesus of Prague statue. The family who held the key to the unused Church used the sacristy as a room to hang their laundry. There was rubble everywhere and the miraculous status (can you imagine!) was in a side altar, abandoned and forgotten.

Today, four Carmelite Fathers that guard the Church welcome over 1,000,000 visitors a year to the shrine. Their most famous recent pilgrim was Pope Benedict XVI who visited in 2009. He “canonically crowned” the statue with a new crown that presently adorns the statue. (See YouTude video of the crowning). A Canonical Crowning is the highest honor a pontiff can convey on a statue of Jesus or Mary. It is one of two statues of Jesus in the world to receive such an honor. The President of Aid to the Church in Need, Father Joaquín Alliende, said at the time, “The gesture of the Holy Father is an expression of a profound truth. Even as a Child, Christ is already a King. The Child Jesus is the only King who can bring peace to the world.”

Read the whole story on the Aid to the Church in Need Website.

 

News, Women's Communities

BBQ With the Marian Sisters

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For those of you who like to support new and growing communities that are faithful to Magisterium of the Catholic Church, here is your opportunity!

The Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa are hosting, with Bishop Robert Vasa, a barbeque in very elegant surroundings on June 30, 2013, at the Smith Family Ranch in Napa, California. The purpose of the event is to support their growing community and share in the joy of their new vocations.

For those nearby, come share in the delicious meal, fine Napa wines and a raffle courtesy of Ignatius Press. For more information or to make reservations for the BBQ, contact Carole Duncan at (707)944-9540 or email dincan@aol.com.

As Marian Sisters we are animated by a desire to magnify Jesus Christ in and through our lives of consecration to Mary. We strive to communicate the beauty, goodness and truth of the Catholic Faith through our works of joyful evangelization while living the fullness of the Church’s liturgical life.

News

Patron Saint of Peace

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Happy Feast of St. Norbert who is the patron saint of peace and the founder of the Norbertine Order.

Why the Patron Saint of Peace?

Well, one day while Norbert was traveling by horseback, he was struck by lightning and lay in a stupor for quite some time. Like Saul, he heard these words as spoken from the Lord: “Turn away from evil, and do good: seek after peace, and pursue it.”

That about sums up the Christian life!

For more information about the life of St. Norbert, visit the EWTN website or the Norbertines of St. Michael Abbey, Silverado, California..

General interest, News

Praying and Living For Priests

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What are the signs that it might be time for a contemplative community to pick up roots and move to another location? How about having a witches coven, nudist colony and New Age B&B as neighbors? Or maybe a gunshot through the chapel window on Holy Saturday? A mountain lion gazing in through the window? A storm that has demolished your greenhouse? All this happened to the Handmaids of the Precious Blood in Jemez Springs, New Mexico.

Last month, the Sisters were pleased to announce their move to a new home in the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee. It is rather ironic that they have moved from traditionally Catholic land to the Protestant Bible Belt which is seeing an increasing number of Catholics. How wonderful that the people of east Tennessee will be able to see sisters in habits. This contemplative monastery is a first for the diocese. There are 18 professed sisters with several in formation.

I am happy to say that the IRL played a part in this happy marriage between the diocese and the sisters. It was at an IRL event that Mother Marietta met Bishop Richard Stika, the Bishop of Knoxville. Cardinal Raymond Burke and our Executive Director, Mike Wick, spread the word among the bishops that the sisters were contemplating a new home. At one point, they were communicating with 9 dioceses. After much discernment and prayer, the sisters were delighted to hear from Bishop Sticka who said that the diocese had been given a great gift and he was able to offer the sisters a home.

The Handmaids of the Precious Blood were founded in 1947 by Father Gerald M.C. Fitzgerald, sP, who opened his door one day to a homeless person only to discover that the man was a priest who had left the Church because of personal problems. This inspired him to found a religious order whose mission is to pray for the sanctification of all priests. Mother Marietta said, “These Sisters don’t just pray for priests, they live for them.” Their beautiful habits reflect their life of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. The wine red color symbolizes the Precious Blood and the white veil symbolizes the Eucharist.

Bishop Sticka said, “Their prayers and many sacrifices as a silent proclamation of the Gospel are the very “soul and leaven” of the Church’s evangelization efforts and works of mercy. Indeed, cloistered religious are truly indispensable co-workers in the mystery of redemption.”

See the complete story in the East Tennessee Catholic.

News

The Fruits of the Faith

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Christendom College is living proof that if you preach the Gospel and present the truths of the Catholic Faith, the fruits will be there. For the evidence, click here to see a list of the 137 vocations to the priesthood and religious  life that have come from their ranks. And let’s be real here – the college has only been in existence since 1977.

Amongst the communities listed that their graduates have entered are many IRL Affiliates, most notably the Nashville Dominicans who have welcomed 11 Christendom graduates and the Carmelite Monastery in Buffalo, New York who on May 26, celebrated the clothing ceremony of Christendom alumna Kathleen Gilbert (’07).  Taking the name Sr. Mary Magdalene of Jesus Crucified, Gilbert is the fifth Christendom graduate to enter that particular monastery.

The Carmelite Monastery of Buffalo was founded in 1920 by Mother Mary Elias of the Blessed Sacrament who narrowly escaped execution by firing squad by Mexican revolutionaries in 1914. As Mother and her companion knelt before the executioners, Mother prayed, “Little Therese, if you are a saint, as some people say you are, then deliver us, and I promise to found a Monastery in your honor.” Shots were fired and the nuns were left for dead. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves bloodied but completely unharmed. Mother went on to found the Buffalo Carmel and their chapel was dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux on the very day of her canonization, May 17, 1925.

Inspired by the courageous example of our Mexican Mothers and the heroic virtue practiced by Saint Therese, we fervently aspire to follow the “Little Way” of spiritual childhood. We rejoice in numbering ourselves among the “army of little souls” whom she wanted to follow in her footsteps, repeating her ardent cry: To be Thy Spouse, O Jesus, and by my union with Thee, to be the mother of souls!

Men's communities, News

Pope Francis and the Franciscans

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When Pope Francis was elected and announced that he had taken the name of Francis, Father Michael Perry, now the new Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor said, “I physically started shaking because this man has taken the name of the person we hold as a model who calls us to live faithfully the Gospel. And I started thinking how short we fall sometimes in living the Gospel.”

The Holy Father has energized and challenged  the Franciscans by choosing the name of their venerable founder, St. Francis of Assisi. Pope Francis’ simple life of poverty and care for the poor and marginalized is causing the Franciscans to “to rediscover our own authenticity, and calling us to simplify our lives and to speak less and demonstrate more who we are.”

Father Perry was elected Minister General on May 22, 2013, the spiritual father to 14,000 Franciscans worldwide. The Indiana native said that St. Francis “brings us back to the very core of who we are as human beings. Francis is a convener of humanity, he helps people come together and see what really matters for their lives and that we can live together in peace, we can care for one another and we can care for our world.”

To see the whole article, visit the Catholic News Service.

News, Vocations

The Legacy of John Henry Cardinal Newman

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The stories that come out of college campus Newman Centers continue to inspire and astonish me. There are college campuses that are seedbeds of vocations (Thomas Aquinas College, Franciscan University at Steubenville and Christendom College come to mind) but it is hard to challenge the vocational record of an active Newman Center on a college campus. Newman Centers all over the country have many beautiful vocation stories, showing that students immersed in Catholic Life truly do discover and live the vocation that God has planned for them.

This past spring break, six students from the Newman Center at the University of Nebraska traveled all the way to Chicago to spend a week with the Little Sisters of the Poor. They served meals, drove residents to doctor’s appointments and generally just visited with the men and women that the sisters serve. One sophomore said the trip inspired her to attend daily Mass for the first time in her life. Another said the trip helped him to focus on the needs of others instead on “the me” and he felt happier and more at peace because of it. “We never expected” said a senior, “that we would build strong relationships with the sisters and the residents.”

At another Newman Center at Missouri Western State University, a then-freshman and her fellow “Newmanites” went to a FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students-another great organization) conference where her faith was ignited and she seriously considered religious life for the first time. This past February, she joined the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matara.

Take a look at the Witchita State Newman Center list of vocations. There are many priestly vocations, four women in religious life and one man who joined a Benedictine abbey.

Read this vocation story from a young man who attended the Newman Center at Oklahoma State University. Weekly events there included Monday night rosary, Tuesday night Bible study, Wednesday night student Mass, Thursday faith immersion, Friday free lunch, Saturdays of home football games, the students sold food for tailgating parties and Sunday night was Mass and dinner. God willing, this young man will be ordained in three years.

Another young man from the University of Illinois is now studying for the priesthood. At the Newman Center, he said, he found wonderful friends, priests, and religious that “I could never have dreamed existed.” St. John’s Catholic Newman Center is the only residential Newman Center in the country. Cardinal Francis George called it “one of the most important apostolates” in Illinois.

At Texas A&M University (see photo above) where there is the St. Mary’s Newman Center, 37 Aggies have entered formation for the priesthood and religious life in the past 4 years!

If you know of a young person who is planning to head to college, check out ones with strong Newman Centers. Their eternal life may depend upon it!