Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey Welcomed as a New Affiliate

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The IRL is pleased to welcome Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey as a new Affiliate Member. The Abbey is a cloistered, monastic community of 20 nuns of the Cistercians of Strict Observance (Trappist), striving to follow Jesus Christ through a life of prayer, silence, simplicity and ordinary work.

The Abbey was founded in 1964 when 13 nuns left the Mount Saint Mary Abbey in Wrentham, MA, to found an new community near Dubuque, Iowa.  Situated on a bluff overlooking the  Mississippi River, the nuns support themselves though the Trappistine Creamy Caramels they make themselves and sell by mail.

Seven times a day the nuns gather in the Abbey to sing God’s praises. All of their liturgies are open to the public. Four small guest houses are available for individuals or small groups wishing to make a private retreat in a beautiful, peaceful setting.

Stay in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.

– Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Cloistered life, News, Women's Communities

Sr. Mary Wilhelmina, OSB, first Prioress of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Dies at Age 95

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From the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles….
+PAX
Dear Family, Friends and Benefactors,
Mother Abbess and the Sisters humbly request your prayers for the soul of our beloved Sister Mary Wilhelmina of the Most Holy Rosary, osb (née Mary Elizabeth Lancaster) who passed away peacefully at 8:35 PM on Wednesday, May 29th, 2019 having been strengthened by the Last Sacraments and the entire community surrounding her in prayer. It seems Our Lord could not have granted a more consoling departure from the community, who loved her so dearly.
Sister became unresponsive on Saturday morning. Nevertheless, several times she joined in as best she could while the Sisters sang Marian hymns and prayed the Rosary between Sunday and Wednesday. She also briefly smiled at the Sisters gathered around her.
On May 29th, the feast of the Ascension having begun with First Vespers, the whole community assembled at 7:00 PM in Sister’s cell while Mother Abbess read to Sister Wilhelmina and all of us the various notes of assurance of prayers, along with prayer requests from family and friends. At this time Sister was not actively conscious, though it cannot be doubted that she indeed was taking all to heart. After singing some more of her favorite Marian hymns, the community chanted Compline in her cell. As Mother Abbess was giving the traditional sprinkling of holy water to the community, peacefully and without a struggle, Sister Wilhelmina breathed forth her last breath immediately after Mother Abbess blessed her with holy water, as the Sisters finished the antiphon Vidi aquam.
Sister Wilhelmina once was asked who was her favorite Benedictine saint, she replied, “St. Bede the Venerable, of course! I became a Benedictine on his feast you know.” 1300 years ago on this very feast, St. Bede the Venerable also expired peacefully as the evening Offices were being completed. Though it was Rogation Wednesday, according to Liturgical accounting he is said to have died on the Ascension, since First Vespers of this feast had been chanted, and it was an hour after sunset. Following not only in her beloved saint’s footsteps in the love of the Divine Office and our Blessed Lady, our dear Sister Wilhelmina followed him even in the manner of death.
Sister’s final words were “O Maria” on Tuesday afternoon, as the Sisters sang one of her favorite hymns: “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above.”
Sister Wilhelmina has long been the treasure of the community, both by right as our first Prioress and through her exemplary conduct as a Bride of Christ. We are deeply saddened at the loss of her beautiful example. Sister Wilhelmina recently celebrated her 75th anniversary of vows and her 95th birthday, so we remain deeply grateful to God for her persevering fidelity and faithful service.
Many years ago, our first chaplain asked Sister Wilhelmina “why did you become a religious?” Her instantaneous reply was: “because I was in love with Our Lord.” It could be easily said even in her declining years that she never fell out of love with Him. Let us unite in loving prayers that the love she bore for her Divine Bridegroom likewise bears her directly to His embrace.
All are invited to pay prayerful respects at the wake, which will begin immediately in the Chapter House at the Abbey until the Funeral Mass. Traditionally, a silent wake is kept so that the community may take turns praying the psalms, so we do ask that all talking cease upon entry into Chapter House on the southeast side of the church. The Funeral Mass (Requiem) will be offered in the Abbey church at11:00 AM on Friday, May 31st. Sr. Wilhelmina will be buried at the Abbey cemetery immediately following Mass. All are welcome to the reception to follow in the basement of the Abbey Church.
Thank you for your many prayers for the soul of dear Sr. Wilhelmina, and for our entire community. May God bless and reward you all.
In Corde Mariae,
Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles

Women's Communities

Sisters of Mary Morning Star’s New Addition Blessed

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Catholic Herald photo/Kevin Wondrash

The Sisters of Mary Morning Star in the Diocese of Madison recently had their new addition, comprised of guest rooms, cells, a library and workroom, blessed by Msgr. James Bartylla, diocesan administrator.   With the addition, there is now enough room for 10 sisters to live at the convent.

For those who have grown up in Catholic parishes and schools without having seen a religious sister, the parish community where the sisters reside has been particularly blessed.  Monsignor Bartylla said thar there is a “sense of something that we didn’t know we needed, particularly, but know the blessing of it when it arrives.”  He also noted that the Church is Petrine and Marian, and with the sisters arrival, it helps to provide “fullness” to the Church.

The four main aspects of the charism of the Sisters of Mary Morning Star are prayer, fraternal charity, search for truth, and manual work. There are currently 250 sisters of the community throughout the world welcomed into 14  dioceses by bishops, with priories in Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa.

The second phase of the project is the building of a chapel ($400,000 or so in cost). For more information, please contact the sisters at 608-224-0251 or mariastella.madison@gmail.com

Cloistered life

A Carmelite Artist in Tasmania Inspired by Faith

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Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole.                                                                                                             —Pope John Paul II, “Letter to Artists” (April 4, 1999)

One of the beautiful Carmelite monasteries listed on our new CloisteredLife.com website is the Discalced Carmelite Monastery of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tasmania.  The nuns have long been receiving our magazine Religious Life and we are happy to be united with them in spirit across the ocean on our website.

Last Sunday, they hosted an art exhibition at the monastery because they have a wonderful artist-in-residence—Sr. Christina Mary, O.C.D., who entered Carmel in 1999. She comes from a family of artists and her whole upbringing was characterized by art and faith. Sister Christina graduated college with an honors degree in art and wondered if her art would distract her from living fully the Carmelite life. But her superior and novice mistress at the time realized “that God was working in and through my art and so they gave me permission to continue.”

The date chosen for the exhibition recalled St. John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists” issued on April 4, 1999, Easter Sunday, in which he said: “…my hope for all of you who are artists is that you will have an especially intense experience of creative inspiration. May the beauty which you pass on to generations still to come be such that it will stir them to wonder! Faced with the sacredness of life and of the human person, and before the marvels of the universe, wonder is the only appropriate attitude.”

Mother Teresa Benedicta of the Cross said that Sr. Christina Mary’s work continues a centuries-old tradition of nuns and monks involved in creative pursuits. “All the Sisters are encouraged to develop their gifts in creative ways,” she said, “which gives glory to God and is an extension of our prayerful pondering of the Word of God and the mysteries of Christ, and also provides relaxation and human flourishing in manifold ways.”

The Australian Carmel in Launceston was founded in June 1948 and moved to its present location in April 1975. Their life of prayer and sacrifice in solitude, in strict papal enclosure as desired by St. Teresa and given by the Church, is for the sake of the Church and the world, supported by life in community. They wear the habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as a sign of our consecration.

The Cloister Grounds

Sister Christina Mary accepts commissions for new paintings and  relies on photos, her imagination and the sky above to find her inspiration, though they have a great vista down the Tamar Valley in northern Tasmania. Mother Teresa Benedicta says: “Please God, it will draw people to Our Lord through the beauty of her art.”

News, Women's Communities

Little Sisters of the Poor Receive the IRL’s Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award

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This is the speech given by Sr. Constance Carolyn, l.s.p., on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor, who received the IRL’s Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award. Given on April 27, 2019, at the University of St. Mary of the Lake.

On behalf of all the Little Sisters of the Poor around the country, I’m very happy to thank you for this beautiful Pro Fidelitate et Virtute award. I understand that the award was designed to honor those “who manifest a strong love for the Church and a zealous commitment to the consecrated life.” I am sure that there are countless individuals and groups who would have been worthy awardees this year, no doubt worthier than ourselves, and yet here we are. Divine Providence chose us Little Sisters to receive the Pro Fidelitate et Virtute Award this year, during the sesquicentennial of our presence in America.

Providence is a word that easily rolls off the tongue of every Little Sister of the Poor, but what do we really mean when we talk about Divine Providence? I have to admit that for many years I thought of Providence more or less like a heavenly version of amazon.com, or an ATM machine — whenever we need something we just utter a prayer or, better yet, put a note under St. Joseph’s statue, and bingo, the need is met! The word “provide” is found in “Providence,” but is that all that Providence means, that God is the great heavenly provider? In studying our history the last couple of years, I’ve come to understand Divine Providence as so much more than that.

I’d like to begin with a story, a moment in our Congregation’s history that profoundly impacted my understanding of Providence. It’s not a story about our coming to America, although I will speak about that before I finish, but a story about our Congregation’s experiences during World War II. As early as 1940 the Germans occupied half of France. On December 6, 1940, 72 Little Sisters of British nationality were taken into exile and imprisoned by the Germans along with other women religious. American Little Sisters in France were imprisoned later, and they were all held in captivity until they were liberated by Allied forces in October 1944.

Also, during the War our motherhouse in Brittany was transformed into a vast but rather primitive home for the aged as Little Sisters and residents were evacuated from more dangerous areas of France. At the height of the War over 950 people were living at the motherhouse. These included Little Sisters, the elderly, benefactors and Little Sisters’ family members who had fled the dangers of the war.

In addition, La Tour was used as a 500-bed military hospital. A total of 7,984 wounded soldiers were treated there during the war years. The German military also visited the motherhouse several times in view of taking it over for use as a hospital or training grounds. Fortunately for us, they were afraid of the old people and the communicable diseases they were presumed to carry, and found La Tour too primitive, so they never took it over.

Finally, a number of our houses were damaged or destroyed by bombings, including our novitiate in Marino, Italy, and our home for the elderly in Lisieux, France, both of which were destroyed during the Allied invasion. A total of 32 Little Sisters and 70 Residents were killed in these two bombings. Yet throughout all of these trials the Little Sisters never doubted God’s loving solicitude.

In 1944 Mother General wrote these remarkable words in a letter to the Congregation: “Someone recently remarked, with great emotion, ‘Your Congregation is truly privileged.’ Surely this is not obvious today, but at the time of our centennial (in 1939) the Princes of the Church were unanimous in proclaiming that our Congregation of Little Sisters of the Poor is a perpetual miracle, a glorification of Divine Providence. We realize this truth even more in light of our present trials: the bombings to which our homes in several regions have been exposed, the difficulties of the forced evacuations, the challenges involved in providing for everyone demonstrate the daily protection of our heavenly Father. We can repeat with Father LeLièvre, ‘Divine Providence never lets us down; in the measure that our religious family grows, Providence doubles its portion.’ What life-saving graces, what efficacious assistance! Despite the uncertainties of the morrow we feel ourselves now more than ever, the children of God’s delicate Providence!”

“The children of God’s delicate Providence!” Despite everything the Congregation had just gone through, Mother General had enough faith to call us the children of his delicate Providence! In fact at the beginning of the hostilities, she had made a vow to the Heart of Jesus to erect, at the completion of the War, a monument in thanksgiving for God’s protection — the divine protection she was sure he would grant the Congregation. This monument to Christ the King, bearing the words Glory, Thanksgiving and Love, was erected on the outside of the motherhouse chapel in 1947. Since then, generations of Little Sisters have passed by it multiple times every day.

What really struck me about this scenario is the way that our Sisters maintained their faith in God’s providential care even in extremely difficult circumstances. It is hard to imagine how such pressing, serious difficulties — not merely the solutions to these challenges, in which anyone might be able to see God’s intervention, but the challenges themselves — could be seen as demonstrations of God’s protection. Yet this is what our Mother General wrote.

I was also struck by Mother General’s vow at the beginning of the War to construct a monument to Christ the King once peace was restored. This was her way of thanking God ahead of time for the protection she was absolutely sure he would provide. Now that is confidence!

These same attitudes can be found in the stories of our first years in America. Father Ernest LeLièvre, whom Mother General referred to in her 1944 letter, was a diocesan priest who dedicated his life to our Congregation. Wealthy, well-educated and multilingual, he was largely responsible for our expansion beyond the boundaries of France. He arrived in America on June 10, 1868 and remained here for four straight years — even while the Franco-Prussian War raged back home in France — helping the Little Sisters to establish our first 13 homes in this country. He was also a spiritual father to both the Little Sisters and the elderly.

In all the challenges and obstacles he encountered Father LeLièvre would repeat, “I know in whom I have believed … I know that I serve a Master who values the will of a sincere heart beyond any talent” and “I know and am perfectly certain that of all the calculations I could make, the wisest is to abandon myself to Him.” At the end of his four years in America he wrote, “Here is my theology. When I return to Europe, I am going to do a thesis. The proposition that I will state and that I will prove by the whole history of the Little Sisters of the Poor is this: ‘We must believe in God, the Father Almighty.’”

Our first Little Sisters in America shared Father LeLièvre’s convictions about the Providence and universal fatherhood of God. The annals of each home are filled with stories of how God manifested his goodness by providing all kinds of necessities, always at just the right moment, through the generosity of good people in the community — all sorts of people from every walk of life.

Among our early benefactors were the founder of the first American men’s religious community, women religious from other European communities who had preceded the Little Sisters as missionaries in America, diocesan seminarians, bishops, archbishops and parish priests, school children and their parents, the richest woman in Boston and a couple of Irish maids who donated the shawls off their backs, farmers, butchers, fish mongers and a young heiress from Philadelphia who went on to establish a religious community to serve Native and African Americans.

Although the Little Sisters’ trust in Providence has most often been expressed in terms of material needs, it was not limited to the idea of God as provider. Like our foundress, St. Jeanne Jugan, our pioneering Little Sisters lived their faith with the simplicity of the “little ones,” the anawim. Their formation had taught them to look on events and persons with a living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity. The Sisters had a down-to-earth attitude toward ordinary events — with a very nitty-gritty apostolate among the sick and infirm they had to — but they also saw the action of God in those ordinary events.

During the very years when our first American foundations were being made, the Fathers of the first Vatican Council wrote these words: “God in His providence watches over and governs all the things that He made, reaching from end to end with might and disposing all things with gentleness.” In this definition, which is still widely used, we find the two aspects of Divine Providence — God both watches over and governs. To quote the great Jesuit Father Hardon, God “not only knows what is going on, he is directing what is going on…. God, who made the world out of nothing, not only keeps it in existence, but directs this world, God’s world, down to the smallest and most minute detail. God is active in every atom, in every proton, in every neutron. God is active in every thought we think, in every desire we have. All, all is part of his providence.”

“The Church tells us, God’s almighty providence, God’s almighty power governs the world with gentleness. God is mild. God is not loud or boisterous; he governs the world with gentleness. Our only danger is to not see his hand, to be deceived by his mildness to not realize that behind that mildness is omnipotence; in other words, it is divine power tempered by love. My favorite definition of gentleness,” Father Hardon wrote, is “power tempered by love.”

I’m sorry that it has taken me so long to get to the point this evening, but here is the point I wanted to make for all of us, members of the consecrated life and committed lay Catholics alike: As Father Hardon said in 1988, I think our society today often succumbs to the danger of not seeing God’s hand, of being deaf or inattentive to his voice because it is so gentle. At the same time, there is so much fear all around us. Shortly before the 2016 election I was at a conference in Washington and encountered a gentleman who was a fervent Catholic and a highly respected Washington insider. As we were leaving a panel discussion he said, “The way things are going in our country, this is the moment to believe in Providence; what else is there?”

Yes, this is the moment to believe in Providence! Now is the time to believe in a merciful and Provident God who is intimately involved in our daily lives. And so I think as believers we need to witness to those in our sphere of influence in a way that will inspire faith in God, our Father Almighty. We need to help others believe that we are ALL the children of God’s delicate Providence. We need to be able to say, each in our own way, “I know in whom I have believed … I know and am perfectly certain that of all the calculations I could make, the wisest is to abandon myself to Him.”

In our various spiritualities or religious families we might express this trust in God in different ways, but however we express it, we need to share this good news with our contemporaries! Our world is in such need of it!

Along with St. Jeanne Jugan, who said, “My Jesus, I have only you; come to my aid … If God is with us it will be accomplished,” I am thinking of St. Therese’s little way of confidence and love; and of the quote of St. Josephine Bakhita made famous by Pope Benedict: “I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me — I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.”

I recall the suscipe of Venerable Catherine McAuley: “My God, I am yours for all eternity. Teach me to cast my whole self into the arms of your Providence with the most lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity. Take from my heart all painful anxiety…”

On this eve of the Divine Mercy Sunday I am also thinking of St. Faustina, who taught us to trust in Jesus, and who prayed: “O God, how much I desire to be a small child. You are my Father, and You know how little and weak I am. So I beg You, keep me close by Your side all my life and especially at the hour of my death. Jesus, I know that Your goodness surpasses the goodness of a most tender mother.”

Finally, I am reminded of a passage from Pope Francis’ Gaudete et Exsultate: “We need to live humbly in his presence, cloaked in his glory; we need to walk in union with him, recognizing his constant love in our lives. We need to lose our fear before that presence which can only be for our good. God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly. Once we accept him, and stop trying to live our lives without him, the anguish of loneliness will disappear (cf. Ps 139:23-24). In this way we will know the pleasing and perfect will of the Lord (cf. Rom 12:1-2) and allow him to mold us like a potter (cf. Is 29:16). So often we say that God dwells in us, but it is better to say that we dwell in him, that he enables us to dwell in his light and love.”

As I conclude I would like to thank you once again on behalf of all the Little Sisters of the Poor for this beautiful Pro Fidelitate et Virtute award. I pledge to you that we will strive to pay it forward by witnessing more convincingly than ever that God is the Father who gave us life and loves us greatly. We will strive to express our gratitude by being faithful daughters of the Church and faithful daughters of St. Jeanne Jugan, icons of mercy as Cardinal George once called us.

Please join us in praying for a new flourishing of vocations to our Congregation so that we can continue our mission in America for another 150 years! Thank you!

 

News, Women's Communities

Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Celebrate the 125th Anniversary of their Foundation

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On February 2, 2019, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus celebrated the 125th anniversary of their foundation. The year 2019 has special significance for all involved for it marks the 70th anniversary of the sisters’ arrival in America and the 75th anniversary of the diocese itself. In honor of the occasion, Holy Mass was celebrated by Most Rev. George V. Murry, S.J., in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica in Youngstown, Ohio. Carried in the Procession was a Mercy Cross, one of 33 pilgrim crosses blessed by Pope Francis for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.

Mercy Cross

The Oblates Sisters were founded on February 2, 1894 by Bl. Mother Maria Teresa Casini in Grottaferrata, Italy. Their foundress, when she was only 18 years old, experienced Jesus showing her His pierced heart “and asked me to share in His suffering.” Originally a cloistered community dedicated to prayer and sacrifice in atonement to the heart of Jesus for the human failings of priests, they eventually established schools for young people to help them spiritually and to cultivate vocations to the priesthood.

The charism of the Oblate Sisters is to console the Pierced Heart of Jesus through prayer and reparation. They live this through the daily offering of themselves, by caring for elderly priests and by collaborating with pastors in parish ministry, schools, and religious education programs, instilling in those they serve a love of God and an openness to God’s vocational call. Two hundred Oblate Sisters serve in six countries (Italy, United States, Brazil, India, Guinea-Bissau, Peru) on five continents.  Ministry in the United States began in 1949 in the Diocese of Youngstown and in 2015 in the Diocese of Joliet in Illinois.

Mother Maria Teresa was beatified in 2015 in the piazza in front of the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle in Frascati, Italy, where she was baptized. Pope Francis declared, “She was a contemplative woman and missionary; she made her life an offering of prayer and concrete charity in support of priests. Let us thank the Lord for her witness.”

Reflecting on this anniversary, their General Superior, Mother M. Arcangela Martino, said: “Remembering does not mean simply to remember facts from the past, but actualizing, today, the events that ‘happened’ at the origin of our history in order to continue to live the charism given by the Spirit to our Blessed Mother Teresa.”

The thought and the desire of consoling the pierced Heart of Jesus should always be alive in the Oblate…love and sorrow drove Jesus to make His voice heard in the depths of our heart, and this love and sorrow cause Him to desire and to want holiness in the priests dear to Him. He wants the Oblate to sacrifice herself, to pray, to supplicate, to work and grow weary for the sanctification of these dear people…He loves these souls with an immense love…His Heart seeks out people who will pray, suffer and make reparation for them. ―Bl. Maria Teresa Cassini

Villa Maria Teresa, 50 Warner Road, Hubbard, OH 44425

E-Mail: vmtoblate@aol.com

 

 

General interest, Saints

The Amazing Life and Death of Bl. James Kern, O.Praem.

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Many of you know that our National Director, Fr. Thomas Nelson, O.Praem., prayed to Bl. James Kern during his recent battle and miraculous recovery from mouth cancer. Here is the story behind this beloved Norbertine.

The amazing life and death of Blessed James Kern

“Throw yourself into the breach!”

By Sr. Joanna Marie, L.M.

          “Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15:13). This verse describes the beautiful life of Bl. James Kern, a priest, soldier, and true hero of the Church. Here is his little-known story:

A baby boy, Francis Alexander (Blessed James Kern), was born on April 11, 1897, in Vienna, Austria, to Francis and Anna Kern. When Anna was pregnant with her son, she visited a Marian Shrine and prayed that if her child was a boy he would be called to become a priest. She promised Our Lady that she would do all she could to teach her child how to be holy and to love and revere the priestly calling.

When Francis was four or five years old, he received some ordinary toys for Christmas. His mother asked if he liked them and was shocked when he sadly answered: “No,” explaining that he had hoped to receive “an altar with candlesticks and candles and flowers.” His parents soon found a play altar for him.

Francis entered the minor seminary at age eleven. His life was built upon prayer and he received Holy Communion daily. He was intensely devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary. His classmates appreciated his joyful and childlike spirit and noticed that he was one of the happiest young men in their peer group. He enjoyed a good joke and had a quick sense of humor! Caring for the sacristy was his favorite assignment during his time in the minor seminary, as he loved deeply the Sacred Liturgy. He loved to use his strong clear voice to sing, praising the Lord with his brothers in their times of communal prayer.

Francis was studying diligently with his eyes fixed on the goal of the priesthood when World War I broke out. On October 15, 1915, at age 18, Francis reported to fight for his country with the 50th infantry in Salzburg. A devoted patriot, Francis was proud to be a soldier of the emperor. But he was a soldier for God before all else and was unashamed to openly practice his faith, serving at Holy Mass (while wearing his military uniform under the cassock) despite the ridicule of some of his fellow soldiers.

On New Year’s Day, 1916, Francis knelt adoring Jesus Christ exposed in the monstrance in Saint Blase’s Church in Salzburg, Austria. The soldier made a request of His Lord that would soon be granted. He prayed… to be showered with suffering. His deepest wish was to be like Jesus, Who suffered for the sake of others.

Francis’ life changed forever on September 10, 1916 when his platoon was attacked by Italian forces. During the attack, he witnessed one of his comrades fall mortally wounded. Francis was deeply saddened and said the prayers for the dying with the man. The attack continued, and Francis bravely fought on. The following day, he was struck with a bullet, sustaining severe wounds to his lungs and liver.

When Francis finally arrived at a hospital two days later, his wounds were infected, and he had a high fever. To the amazement of the doctors and nurses, the suffering seminarian-soldier was heard singing: “Trust my soul, confidently trust in the Lord. He helps those who trust in Him. In trial and distress our faithful God will protect you.” For nine months, his life hung in the balance. He battled the infection and endured intense pain and a surgery to remove a piece of one of his ribs. He was awarded the silver medal and promoted to second Lieutenant for his bravery.

When he was strong enough, Francis returned to the seminary. For a time, he was excused from military service due to his weakened health. However, he was called to fight again and returned to the battlefield.

The war ended in 1918, leaving political chaos in its stead. This confusion and revolutionary spirit did not leave the Catholic Church untouched. In the newly established “Czechoslovakia,” a dissident Czech “national church” was being founded by a group of misguided priests and religious. This “national church” was not in union with the Pope. One of the leaders of this movement was a priest named Isidore Bogdan Zahradnik, a member of the religious community called the Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Norbertines. The press found out about this scandal and spread the story like wildfire.

Abbey of Geras in Austria

Francis was profoundly affected when the news reached him. He felt deeply the pain that the fall from grace of this priest was causing the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Recalling the experience of seeing his comrade fall mortally wounded on the battlefield, Francis realized this was far worse. A priest—one of God’s soldiers in the battle for souls—had fallen. He heard an interior voice from deep in his soul saying: “Throw yourself into the breach! Take the place of the deserter!” He knew what he had to do. He would enter the Norbertine Order and take the place of this fallen priest. In this way he would make direct atonement to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as a sacrificial soul. His spiritual director recognized this as a unique inspiration and wanted to test that it was truly from God. He advised Francis to wait for one year before joining the Norbertines. At the end of the year, Francis’ desire was stronger than ever. On October 18, 1920, he entered the Norbertine Abbey of Geras and received the religious name “James.”

During his seminary days and time of religious formation, James often prayed, “Dear God, let me live to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at least once.” His deep and persistent longing would soon be fulfilled. On July 23, 1922, he was ordained to the Holy Priesthood. The prayer of his mother Anna was answered! On August 1, 1922, James had the joy of offering his first Holy Mass. He did so at the convent of a group of sisters who had provided hospitality to him during his time as a soldier-seminarian. The sisters, and indeed all the people from the surrounding village, were overjoyed. Dressed in traditional folk costumes, the villagers gathered in church to celebrate and pray with the new priest. James recounted in his writings: “My first Mass was filled with jubilation. It was like Palm Sunday and Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. Now I am entering my Holy Week.”

As a young priest, Father James poured himself out tirelessly for the people of the small villages in which he ministered. His sermons drew more and more of the faithful. People were struck by his strong faith and could tell that he spoke from his heart. Many sinners were inspired to be reconciled with God through the Sacrament of Penance. Father James rejoiced every time he was able to bring one of God’s prodigal children back to Him by absolving their sins in the confessional.

The sick and suffering were very dear to him. It never mattered to him if he was called at an inconvenient hour or had to travel a far distance to minister to them. He would travel quickly, praying as he went and encouraging those accompanying him to do so as well. He showed the same compassion for children and young people by teaching them religion and organizing groups and associations to help them grow strong in their faith. He often prayed: “Lord, You may take everything else from me, but give me souls.” As Our Lord thirsted while hanging on the cross, Blessed James was consumed—body and soul—by this thirst after souls. His already fragile health was rapidly declining.

Things came to a crisis on August 10, 1923. Father James had to be taken to the hospital due to hemorrhaging blood and a recurrence of the infection in his chest wound. Because his heart was so weak, he had to undergo surgery without anesthesia. The pain he endured is unimaginable. Initially the surgeon removed three ribs, but soon discovered removing a fourth rib was necessary. Father James made a joke about it, saying he was sorry to be so much trouble! It is reported that he bit through a towel as he silently suffered through horrendous surgery.

During his time in the hospital, Father James edified everyone around him, especially the doctors and nurses who cared for him. He was constantly cheerful, never complained, and showed deep gratitude, despite his intense suffering. His room was next-door to the chapel and he wrote in a letter at that time that having “the Savior for a neighbor is the crowning of all that is good and beautiful. It is a glorious compensation for the little suffering that I bear.” It took months, but he finally recovered enough to return to the Abbey of Geras.

Only a few months of life remained for the faithful priest of God. He gave his final sermon on July 20, 1924. He preached on the importance of loyalty to the Bishops and the Church—the very thing he had given his entire life for. He had only to crown this glorious witness by his death. That day would soon arrive. In September, his health collapsed. He underwent another surgery in which four more ribs were removed. Yet another surgery would be required after he built up his strength. This was not to be, however, and the 27-year-old priest knew it. He foretold that he would not live through this final surgery.

October 20, 1924 was the date scheduled for the operation. Amazingly, this was also the day the young Norbertine was supposed to make his final profession of vows in his religious Order. The evening before the surgery, a Sister caring for Father James was preparing a small altar from which he would receive Holy Communion before the operation. He asked her to please prepare everything as beautifully as possible because “the last Communion should be celebrated as solemnly as the first.” He also said: “Tomorrow I will receive my last Communion and celebrate my solemn profession in heaven.” And that is indeed what happened. The priest of the atonement died on the operating table as the Angelus bells chimed at noon.

James Kern was beatified by Pope John Paul II on June 21, 1998. In his homily the Pope said of Blessed James: “Out of love for Christ he did not selfishly cling to life, but consciously offered it for the good of others.” May we all follow his example of sacrifice. Let us confidently ask his intercession in our needs. He is just one step away from canonization. His prayers must bring about miracles in order for him to be canonized a Saint. God wants us to ask the Saints for their prayers. Blessed James Kern, pray for us!

Men's communities

From Diocesan Priest to Carmelite Friar: A Guide on the journey

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Written by Fr. Michael-Joseph of St Thérèse, OCD from the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians at Holy Hill in Wisconsin

In pursuing a vocation to religious life, often a young man responds to what he perceives as a divine call, enters initial formation and, if there is a vocation to the priesthood, proceeds with studies and priestly formation. If all goes accordingly, he will make solemn profession of vows and be ordained to the diaconate and then to the priesthood. For some religious, however, the path is different. They enter religious life after they have been ordained to the priesthood. While all face obstacles in doing God’s will, I believe a diocesan priest who desires to enter consecrated life will face them intensely. Because of the uniqueness of this journey, priests need encouraging witnesses to show them that they are not alone, and that God will make all things work out if the call is truly from Him.

In my case I found a saintly witness who helped me get past the various road blocks in following this vocation―Bl. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. He is the newest Discalced Carmelite Blessed, having been beatified in November of 2016. His compelling story is a great example for all people facing obstacles, but especially for priests who experience the call to embrace a completely new way of being for the Lord.

Bl. Marie-Eugene encouraged me initially through his writings on Carmelite spirituality. As I learned more about his life however, I discovered that he had greater obstacles to overcome in his resolve to enter Carmel than I could have imagined. I consider him a vocational hero in the face of these difficulties.

Henri Giralou (he took the name Marie-Eugene in Carmel) was born in 1894 in the Aveyron region of France. He discerned a call to the priesthood at a young age and entered the minor seminary, but his studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War I. After distinguishing himself on the front he reentered the seminary in 1919.

As he was on his retreat to prepare to be ordained a subdeacon, he took along a little book about St. John of the Cross that he had been given by a Carmelite nun. During his reading, he had a eureka moment: “This is exactly it!” he thought. He knew he had found his heart’s deepest desire and received an indisputable “call” from the Lord to become a Discalced Carmelite. Though he had never met a Carmelite friar and did not know if there were any in France, he knew God made him to be a Carmelite.

He first approached his seminary spiritual director, a gentle and holy man, in whom he trusted very much. The priest told Henri “absolutely not” and forbade him to speak any more about this folly of an idea. Henri found himself in a crisis for his interior light was so strong, but it was not being confirmed by God’s representative in his life. He was obedient, said not a word, and was left alone with the haunting thought of entering Carmel. It got to a point though that after he was ordained a subdeacon, he said to the Lord: “The spiritual director must bring this up before Easter of this year or I will know this is not really from you.” Lent comes, Holy Week comes, the Triduum comes, and still no word! Henri was on the edge of his pew on Good Friday wondering what would happen. Suddenly his spiritual director came into the chapel, sat beside him, and said out of the blue: “So what is it with this Carmel thing?” Henri explained his experience, now matured over several months. At the end of the meeting, the priest turned to him and said: “If you were not resolved to go to Carmel, I myself would force you to go!”

As the weeks passed, Henri was ordained a deacon and was set to be ordained a priest. He felt he must speak about this to the bishop. Henri was a gifted man with great strength of personality, intellect and heart. He was an incredible leader who distinguished himself in WWI and quickly became the lieutenant of his regiment. The bishop planned to have Henri lead a missionary band of priests to go throughout the diocese to bring back the many fallen away Catholics. Naturally, at the request of Henri to depart for Carmel, the bishop said, “Absolutely not, you will report to your new assignment after ordination and that is all.” Henri was saddened but confident that God would find a way. Several weeks later, the bishop asked the seminary spiritual director: “How is Henri doing?” To which he answered: “He submits to you.” The bishop then recounted that since his meeting with Henri, he had not gotten a good night’s sleep. He could not get Henri’s request off his mind and was convinced that God would not let him rest until he let him go. The bishop told the rector: “Tell Henri he may go!”

The next obstacle was the greatest and most heart wrenching―his mother, a widow who spent the last ten years working numerous jobs to pay for Henri’s seminary education. They were very close and shared a deep love for each other. Her one dream was to retire from her arduous daily labor and live with her son at his rectory as a housekeeper and companion. When Henri told her about his desire to enter Carmel, she was very upset. She believed that he was going to hide away in a cloister and would never see her again. Henri tried to explain that this was a misunderstanding of Carmelite life, but she would not listen to reason. She cursed his path to Carmel and even threatened to take her own life. Henri was completely broken by these encounters.

He did not know what to do. He was about to be ordained a priest and his mother said she would not have any part in his ordination or first mass. Henri knew his mother never went back on her word. He asked God for a miracle: if she came to the ordination this would be the last confirmation that this call to Carmel was from God. Ordination day arrived, and she was not in the pew. Then just as the Mass began, Henri spotted her in a corner. The miracle had happened!

Fr Marie-Eugene with Notre Dame de Vie co-foundress Marie Pila

After ordination, Father Henri spent some days in his hometown making visits and celebrating first Masses before leaving for Carmel. In this brief period, some priest friends accused him publicly of running away from his duties and hurting his family. Three weeks after receiving Holy Orders, Father Henri was received into the novitiate of the Discalced Carmelites, taking the name Fr. Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus. After much prayer and suffering over two years, his mother was reconciled to her son’s vocation, and they resumed their loving relationship. His life as a Carmelite bore abundant fruit as he took on various leadership roles, bringing    Carmelite spirituality to the Church in an unprecedented way and founding a thriving Secular Institute, Notre Dame de Vie (Our Lady of Life). Part of the Carmelite family, its members live ordinary lives, being fully consecrated to God, for the world, in three autonomous branches for laywomen, laymen and priests.

I believe any priest who feels called to religious life should turn to Bl. Marie-Eugene for prayers and guidance. May he obtain for us the light and strength we need to embark on this completely new path, no matter what the obstacles.

Icon written by a Carmelite nun in Harissa, Lebanon

For more information on his life:

I want to see God & volume II I am a Daughter of the Church Thomas More Publishing (November 1, 1998)

Where the Spirit Breathes (Alba House,1998)

Under the Torrent of His Love (Alba House,1995)

15 Days of prayer with Fr Marie-Eugene (Alba House, 2009)

Jesus Contemplation of the Paschal Mystery (Editions du Carmel;1986)

 

Discernment, General interest, Liturgical Year, News, Reflection, Resources, Saints, Vocations, Women's Communities

New IRL Affiliate Alert: Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa!

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“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too… It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s Faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.”  ​
​- Pope Benedict XVI, concerning the venerable liturgical rites of the Church

We at the IRL are happy to announce a new community added to our roster: Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa!

The Superiors of the Marian Sisters previously belonged to another religious Traditional order, however at the gracious invitation of Robert F. Vasa, Bishop of Santa Rosa, California, they founded a new community “to make visible the invisible reality of God’s love in the Diocese of Santa Rosa.”

As Marian Sisters, they live and love at the heart of the Church.  Their spirituality can be described as Ecclesial, Eucharistic, and Marian.  This is, in part, lived out through their charism of living the fullness of the liturgical life of the Roman Catholic Church – they participate in both the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo) and also the Extraordinary Form (traditional Latin) in their chapel several times a week and provide the choir for the Extraordinary Form High Mass at the Cathedral each Sunday.

Since their founding, the community has grown and its active apostolates have expanded.  Committed to the spread of the faith in the Diocese, every Sister teaches the Faith in some manner.  While some are formal classroom teachers, most of the Sisters exercise the charism more broadly through children’s catechesis, faith formation groups, retreats and camps, and any other way in which God’s will is made manifest.

Called to a life of total consecration to Christ and His Church, the Sisters take the Blessed Virgin Mary as their inspiration and model and dedicate their time and talents completely to the service of God and neighbor.

The Constitutions of the Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa  were approved and canonically erected the community on January 4, 2012.

 

 

Men's communities, News

New Direction for Mercedarian Friars USA – 800th Anniversary Sees Anticipated Growth

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High on a balcony of the lavish Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Lima, Peru, a full-size statue of the Blessed Virgin gazes down at pilgrims and tourists.

The Mercedarian friars there have served the parish for centuries, their white habits a familiar sight in the center of town. But although these priests and brothers are well-recognized in many countries of Latin America, including Mexico, they are practically unknown in the United States.

They plan to change all of that – God willing.

“We’ve done a lot of soul-searching over the last few years, and it seems that the Holy Spirit is asking us to reignite our original charism and make some needed changes,” said Fr. Daniel Bowen, OdeM., the vocation director of the Mercedarian friars in the United States.

“It’s taken years, and a lot of discussion and praying, and now we are taking on new responsibilities and doing things in ways different from the past,” Fr. Daniel said. The Order’s growth will certainly be a helpful factor here. They have expanded from five friars in 1970 to 24 today.

A Charism of Redemption

Fr. Daniel said that the Order, known more formally as the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, has looked anew at the charism of their order, which is to redeem Christians whose faith is in danger of being lost.

The order was founded in 1218 in Spain by St. Peter Nolasco, who saw the plight of his fellow Christians who were taken captive by Muslims and made into slaves.

“St. Peter Nolasco, our founder, would collect money to redeem Christians held as captives in Muslim countries,” Fr. Daniel said. “Today, we rescue Christians from modern forms of captivity, such as social, political, and psychological forms which place their faith in danger.”

New Ministries of Freedom

The Order looked at one form of captivity – that of families trapped in vicious cycles of failed marriages. So, in 2016 they started a ministry for marriage – the St. Raymond Nonnatus Foundation for Freedom, Family and Faith. The goal of the group is to promote family life according to Catholic moral principles, under the patronage of St. Raymond Nonnatus, another Mercedarian saint.

Also, the U.S. Mercedarians have been given two parishes in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The order has been in the country for at least one hundred years, with friars from a different province serving there. The order has also been to staff two small rural parishes in Jacksonville, FL. This ministry includes acting as chaplains to the nearby prisons. Prison ministry is fully in line with their charism of redemption.

Formation Program Moves Overseas

Their formation program will be changed from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia to Europe for most of the men’s formation. They will initially live in Philadelphia as postulants learning Spanish, spend their novitiate in Spain, and then study at the University of Salamanca, in Spain. Friars headed for the priesthood will study theology in Rome.

“We are becoming much more international as we should be, and more closely connected to our European and Spanish roots,” Father Daniel said. “We are excited by these new directions. We see a lot of possibilities for fulfilling our charism and helping to bring about the New Evangelization.”

Younger Faces

In recent years, the Order has seen younger faces in their U.S. contingent. “This of course allows us to grow, and we are grateful to God for this blessing,” Fr. Daniel.

Overall, there are signs of hope for men’s religious institutes in the United States, according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). In 1970, there were 116 institutes, and by 2015 the new communities outstripped the folded ones by 15, so that there are 131 men’s religious communities today.

While the number of men in religious life in the U.S. has declined by 58 percent in those forty-five years, the ten smallest religious communities of men increased in number by 84%, according to CARA. The Order of Our Lady of Mercy, one of those ten, experienced the second highest gain – 380%.

“We’re riding the wave of the new growth of vocations in the United States,” Fr. Daniel said. “Although we’ve been around since the early part of the twentieth century in America, serving Italian immigrants in Ohio, we definitely have new expectations.”

A Special Fourth Vow

The Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy is an international community of priests and brothers who live a life of prayer and communal fraternity. In addition to the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, members take a special fourth vow to give up their own selves for others whose faith is in danger. Their motto is “my life for your freedom.”

Today, friars of the Order of Mercy continue to rescue others from modern types of captivity, such as social, political, and psychological forms which place their faith in danger. They work in jails, marginal neighborhoods, among addicts, and in hospitals. In the United States, the Order of Mercy gives special emphasis to preserving the faith of families through education and parish work. They now serve in the dioceses of Cleveland, Buffalo, Philadelphia and St. Petersburg, FL.

“We think that these new ministries are fulfilling the needs of modern life, as well as carrying out our original charism” Fr. Daniel said.

Contact the Mercedarian Friars

Read more about the Order of Mercy’s charism on their website, or visit their Facebook page. See the YouTube video of their history, “Redeeming Medieval Captives.”

Think you might have a Mercedarian vocation? Find out about the friars’ next Come and See Discernment Retreat, by emailing Fr. Daniel at vocations@orderofmercy.org. Click also to sign up for the friars’ Vocations Newsletter.