Category Archives: News

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The Angel of Bahia

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Approximately 70,000 Brazilians–including President Dilma Rousseff–turned out last Sunday for the beatification of Sr. Dulce Lopes Pontes (1912-92), who served the poorest of the poor in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil.

Sr. Dulce (baptized Maria Rita) entered the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God at the age of 18.

One of the inspirations for her vocation was the life of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus. “I think I am like the little love of my small heart, that no matter how much love it has, it is little for such a great God,” wrote Sr. Dulce upon her entrance into religious life. “I think that the Child Jesus is pleased with all little acts of love no matter how small they are.”

She founded the Obras Sociais Irma Dulce, or in English, “The Charitable Works Foundation of Sister Dulce,” as the umbrella-organization for her amazing outreaches to the poor and needy. She was absolutely beloved by the Brazilian people, who sometimes called her “the Angel of Bahia.” Toward the end of her life, she was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

The presider at the beatification was Brazilian Cardinal Dom Geraldo Agnelo. Those unable to attend the event were able to watch the nationally televised ceremony from home.

The miracle for her beatification occurred in 2001, when Cláudia Cristiane Santos, now 42, survived an uncontrolled hemorrhage after giving birth. The bleeding continued despite three operations. Doctors lost all hope that she would survive, but when her family sought the intercession of Sr. Dulce, the bleeding stopped immediately.

Th miracle further confirmed Sr. Dulce’s virtuous life, centered on prayer and charity in little things. “Love overcomes all obstacles, all sacrifices,” she used to say.

For more news reports on the beatification of the “Angel of Bahia,” check out these articles from AFP, CathNews India, and The Pilot.

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Dominican Sisters Head to San Francisco

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The online edition of Catholic San Francisco published an edifying story this past week on the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, who are sending four sisters this fall to Marin Catholic High School, located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.

The sisters will there not only to teach, but also to assist with the student clubs, campus ministry, and retreat program, thereby reinforcing the school’s Catholic identity, which includes daily Mass at 7:30 a.m. for the students.

This is the young community’s second foray into Northern California. Last fall they began teaching at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary School in the Diocese of Sacramento, at the invitation of Bishop Jaime Soto.

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Time-Tested Ingredients of a Priestly Vocation

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Phillip Owen, 26, says he has always felt the Blessed Mother watching over him. Born and raised in St. Luke Parish in River Forest, Owen is the eighth of 10 children in his family. The experience of growing up in a large family served him well, he said. “I learned at an early age what it meant to sacrifice, share with others, and be generous with my time,” he said. “My parents instilled in me the importance of sharing with others, being respectful of others, the importance of Sunday Mass, and the importance of daily prayer.”

He also learned the joy of assisting at liturgies when he was quite young, becoming an altar server after his first communion.

“As a young boy in grade school I enjoyed getting out of class to serve funerals on Tuesday mornings,” he recalled. “Looking back now, I believe that God blessed me with special graces for all the time I assisted at liturgy at a young age. My favorite thing to do was serve Benediction on Monday nights during the summer months. I believe that being surrounded by so much grace at a young age allowed me to say yes to the priesthood.” Continue reading Time-Tested Ingredients of a Priestly Vocation →

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Vocations in the News

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Some interesting vocation news items from this past week:

Founder of Vocationists is beatified (Zenit) Don Justino Russolillo formed “a religious family dedicated wholly to the formation and education of vocations to the ecclesiastical-religious state.”

African bishops say they need help forming flourishing vocations (Catholic News Service) We are well aware of the fact that vocations are flourishing in Africa, but they do have a “shortage” when it comes to having people qualified to form them. The African bishops have invited U.S. seminary professors to come teach in Africa. They also would like to send more seminarians to the United States, where some could remain for awhile after graduation, while others would return to Africa to teach.

Fr. Clemente Vismara, “Patriarch of Burma” to be declared blessed (Asia News) This new blessed was a missionary who lived for 64 years in the forests and mountains of Kentung.

KC young adult ministry offers many opportunities to deepen faith (Catholic News Agency/Catholic Key) Kansas City is known not only as the home of world-class barbecue and the AFC West champion Chiefs, but also for its fantastic outreaches to young adults that are making a difference for the good. Examples include City on a Hill, Catholic Challenge Sports, Theology on Tap, Tuesdays at the Boulevard, Reservoir (monthly holy hour for young adults), and Band of Brothers.

Opus Dei: The Good, the Bad, and the Albino (NCRegister blog)   Interesting discussion of real-life experiences (as opposed to Da Vinci Code-type caricatures) of Opus Dei, one of the most intriguing organizations in the Church today. By way of full disclosure, while not a member or “cooperator” of Opus Dei, I have benefited greatly from their ministry and everyone I know who is actively involved with it strives the best he or she can to be a faithful Catholic. Can’t ask for much more than that.

Relic of “Blessed” nun to return to Hawaii (Wall Street Journal) This week we celebrated the feast of St. Damien of Molokai, the “Leper Priest.” What many people don’t know is that shortly before his death Mother Marianne Cope and other Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse came to carry on his amazing work in the leper colony. Mother Cope herself was beatified just a couple years ago.

Preserving a way of life (Worcester Telegram) I suppose even Trappists have to make ends meet!

Catholic priest nominated as chaplain of the House of Representatives (Washington Post)  Jesuit Father Patrick J. Conroy was recently named to succeed another Catholic chaplain for the House, Fr. Daniel P. Coughlin. What seemed to be a non-partisan process got a little ugly, as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (a Catholic) and others opposed Fr. Conroy’s nomination for a time because his community has paid out a large sex abuse settlement. (Never mind that Fr. Conroy was not personally involved in the activity or any alleged “cover up” and in fact blew the whistle on one of the offending priests!) The issues have been resolved, however, and his nomination now looks secure. One does wonder how Fr. Conroy’s nomination can be opposed on moral grounds by the same people who are actively opposing efforts to cut government subsidies for Planned Parenthood. Mother of God, pray for us! 

The Mother of God is the defender of orthodoxy (Catholic Online)   Short, well-written article on Mary’s vocation as “Theotokos” by Fr. Dwight Longenecker.

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JPII Priests and More

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Archbishop Dolan with JPII in 2003

Some interesting vocation-related stories and articles I’ve come across this past week:

Archbishop Dolan on John Paul II priests (Catholic Education Resource Center) The Archbishop and former seminary rector reflects on how Blessed John Paul II inspired an entire generation of bishops, priests, and seminarians.

Sister finds calling for those in need at hospital (St. Petersburg Times) Franciscan sister discerns religious vocation following the 9/11 tragedy.

Baseball’s religious followers (Albany Times Union) Talking baseball with three N.Y. Yankee fans who happen to be Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Vocation to priesthood a life, not a job (Catholic Globe/CNS) Detroit-area priest shares his story, stressing that prayer is the “lifeblood” of priests.

Rally encourages students to listen to God (Catholic Sentinel) “We need people to create a culture of vocations so young people can at least think about it,” says Jim O’Hanlon, who with his wife Terry helped to organize the event. “God will call them, but they need to be able to respond.”

And closer to home, the Topeka Serra Club announced the winners of its vocation essay contest.

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Blogfest at the Vatican

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Irish Dominican Father Gerard Dunne was one of the 150 bloggers from around the world invited to the meeting of bloggers at the Vatican this week. Check out the complete list of bloggers in attendance here. Good to see that Whispers in the Loggia, Catholic Mom, and the American Papist, among others, were represented.

This conference is just one further indication that the Holy See is really trying to put the new means of social communication at the service of the new evangelization.

For more coverage of the event, click here.

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Praying with the Church

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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 May 2011, as published by the Apostleship of Prayer:

  • Communication Media.  That those working in communication media may respect the truth, solidarity, and dignity of all people.
  • Church in China.  That the Lord may help the Church in China persevere in fidelity to the Gospel and grow in unity.

All of us have a role to play in the evangelistic, missionary activity of the Church, and a great way to start is by praying for these intentions each day!

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2011 Ordinations by the Numbers

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This week the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops made public its annual survey of newly ordained priests, conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), a Georgetown University-based research center. The Class of 2011: Survey of Ordinands to the Priesthood surveys the men being ordained priests for U.S. dioceses and religious communities this year.

“One important trend evident in this study is the importance of lifelong formation and engagement in the Catholic faith,” said Archbishop Robert J. Carlson of St. Louis, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Clergy, Consecrated Life, and Vocations.  “The role of the family, parish priest, friends, and youth ministry are evident in the results.”

Most of the findings weren’t all that surprising or noteworthy to me. However, there are three things that caught my attention:

(1) The new priests are a little younger. The average age of this year’s ordinands is 34. Not only that, but two-thirds of all the ordinands are 34 or younger. The religious order priests raise the average a little bit, as they also typically go through their postulancy and novitiate before beginning their seminary studies.

(2) Vocations come from larger families. Families with at least three kids are now considered “large families.” Seventy-seven percent of the new priests come from families with three or more children. In fact, 37% come from families with five or more children. It’s by no means a “cause and effect” thing, but the numbers here do not lie: Large, intact, faithful Catholic families provide the best possible soil for priestly and religious vocations.

(3) Websites help. Twenty three percent of all respondents to the survey said that their discernment was influenced by websites. Even more, 37% of religious order priests were so influenced. I realize this is a little self-serving, but the survey nonetheless suggests that vocation websites and blogs can be most helpful tools in fostering vocations.

For the complete report, click here.

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Thank You, Fr. Mike!

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The Franciscan University of Steubenville has announced that its chancellor and past president Father Michael Scanlan, T.O.R. will be retiring on June 30, 2011. As most of our readers know, Fr. Mike–with the powerful assistance of the Holy Spirit–was the driving force behind the incredible renewal of Franciscan University, making it an internationally recognized center of  “dynamic orthodoxy” in recent decades.

As a graduate theology student at Franciscan University in the 1990s, I’m personally grateful for Fr. Mike’s leadership and the friendship he showed me and so many other people who have stepped on the Steubenville campus.

While he deserves some well-deserved rest from his labor, I am sure he’s especially gratified that the torch has been successfully passed to Fr. Terence Henry, T.O.R. and the rest of the current administration. Catholic families are still able to count on the university’s fidelity to its Catholic–and Franciscan–principles.

For more, see this article, courtesy of Catholic News Agency.

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How to Build God’s House

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I just came across a story on Catholic News Service on Domus Dei, a company owned by the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master. With more than 30 artisans and specialists in architecture, mosaics, stained glass, sculpture and liturgical objects and furnishings under one roof, “[Domus Dei] can do a complete church from the building itself to the chalice on the altar.”

The company is especially busy these days, as many churches and communities are wanting statues as well as chapels and monuments to honor the soon-to-be-beatified John Paul II. Before that, they created the bronze statues for this year’s Stations of the Cross with the Holy Father in Rome.

What struck me Continue reading How to Build God’s House →