Cloistered life, Men's communities, News

Cistercian Centenary

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August 20th is the Feast Day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and this year the Cistercians are celebrating an extra-special anniversary for 2013 is the 900th centenary of St. Bernard’s entrance into Citeaux, the Motherhouse of the Cistercians.  The date of his entry was either 1112 or 1113 so for the past year the Cistercians have been commemorating this anniversary with a daily prayer for vocations.

Citeaux

Cîteaux Abbey was founded in 1098 by Sts. Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding, monks from the Benedictine Abbey of Molesme who were seeking to follow the Rule of St. Benedict more closely. St. Bruno also resided in the vicinity of Molesme around the same time (1082) but he left to become the founder of the Carthusians.

When St. Bernard arrived at Citeaux, which hadn’t had a vocation in some time, there were thirty men with him, including his uncle and four of his brothers! When he was only in his twenties, he established a new Cistercian abbey in the Valley of Light or Clairvaux. At the time of his death, 700 men resided at Clairvaux and 68 new abbeys had been founded by him. What a difference one Cistercian made in the life of the Church!

 

So let us join the Cistercians today and pray their prayer for vocations:

Most gracious Father,

in setting up the New Monastery our fathers followed the poor Christ into the desert.

Thus they lived the Gospel by rediscovering the Rule of Saint Benedict in its purity.

You gave Bernard of Fontaine the ability

to make this new life attractive and appealing to others,

in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

Grant that we today, after their example,

may live our charism deeply in a spirit of peace, unity, humility,

and above all, in the charity which surpasses all other gifts.

May men and women of our time be newly called to follow the Gospel in monastic life,

in the service of the Church’s mission, and in a world forgetful of You.

Remember Lord, Cîteaux, where Bernard arrived with his companions.

May the brothers there continue to live in the enthusiastic and generative spirit of the founders.

Remember all who live the Cistercian charism.

Remember all Cistercian communities, those which are aging and those newly-born,

in all parts of the world, north and south, east and west.

Let them not lose courage in times of trial,

but turn to her whom Bernard called the Star of the Sea.

 Holy Father, from whom we have already received so much,

grant us again your blessing that our communities may grow in numbers,

but above all in grace and in wisdom, to your glory,

who are blessed for ever and ever.

Amen.

Men's communities

Soldiers of Christ

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August 15th is a special day for Miles Christi for it was on this day in 1984 that their founder, Rev. Fr. Roberto Juan Yannuzzi, MC, received the inspiration to found a spiritual army of priests and brothers dedicated to the sanctity of the laity, especially college students. They do this through retreats, specifically through the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, and catechesis. In the few decades since its founding in Argentina, the Order has spread to the US, having locations in Michigan and California. Amazingly, they were invited to the US by the IRL’s founder, Rev. John A. Hardon, S.J.

In the latest newsletter, Rev. Fr. Yannuzzi, quoting Hilaire Belloc, said that “great sculpture is not fashioned in butter. The best carving is done in the closest-grained wood, and against the grain.” These are the type of men he is seeking – young men who “become tough men, men of character, men with a backbone. In other words, exactly the contrary of what the world and contemporary culture promote.”

In their Constitutions, it says: “A horror for a mediocre, useless, and empty life is deeply rooted in every true miles Christi, who, looking at his Lord on the Cross, asks himself, `What have I done for Christ, what am I doing for Christ, what must I do for Christ?´” (Const. 11).

Miles Christi, which means “soldier of Christ,” conducts the Spiritual Exercises across the country on a regular basis. Click here to see if one is coming near you! They also have a love for the rich liturgical traditions of the Church, including Latin and Gregorian chant. Their Schola Cantorum, made up of students and religious, has sample downloadable chants available on their website.

Miles Christi says that a “Filial love and veneration of the Holy Father is a salient feature of our Religious Order. In Rome we possess the beacon of the Truth” (Const. 78). How marvelous that one of their own countrymen is now the Vicar of Christ for the universal Church!

 

Men's communities, Vocations

To Win the World for the Immaculata

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Two weeks ago, the Conventual Franciscans celebrated the simple professions of seven young men. Friar Patrick from New York, Friar Joseph from Ireland, Friar Israel from Nevada, Friar Don from Texas, Friar Thomas from California, Friar Colton from New York and Friar Gregory from Australia professed the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience and received the cincture with the three cords as a reminder of the evangelical counsels that they promise to follow.

How wonderful that these young men will continue the tradition of not only St. Francis of Assisi but also of his spiritual son, St. Maximilian Kolbe, whose feast we celebrate today. The professions took place at Marytown which is the National Shrine of St. Maximilian. The American Novitiate, located in Mishawaka, Indiana, is where the novices take classes on the Franciscan rule, constitutions, vows, Church documents of the consecrated life and its history, prayer forms, Scripture, communication, Mariology and the Secular Franciscan Order.

According to Brother Paschal Kolodziej, their order “has always had a great emphasis on community and prayer. Many young people are attracted to this call to be a friar minor. Our call is to be a ‘lesser brother’ to all those we minister to. That can take many forms and ministries.” He adds that “the fraternal aspect attracts young people who are looking for a sense of belonging. We have always been of service to the Church in many different ways. Obedience to the Church has always been one of our hallmarks.”

St. Maximilian, the “martyr of charity” who was killed in Auschwitz in 1941, wanted to “win the world for the Immaculata.” May these seven friars in their various ministries draw many souls to Christ through the loving hands Mary, His mother.

Men's communities, Vocations

Teeing Up for Evangelization

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“I realized, with the help of grace, that Jesus Christ was not just a nice man, but God become man.” This realization drove Brother Peter Hannah, O.P., from the driving range of the golf course to the Order of Preachers founded by St. Dominic.

Bro. Peter was raised Presbyterian but it wasn’t long before golf replaced God as the most important factor in his life. Reading Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis convinced him as to the truth of Christianity. It was a short step from Lewis to G.K. Chesterton, “the first person I came across who wrote of the Catholic Church as if it were a distinct entity.”

Attending Mass with a friend was a revelation. He realized: “If what the Catholic Church teaches about the Eucharist is true, this is the most astonishing and beautiful thing that I have ever seen. If the Catholic Church is right about the Eucharist, then I must become Catholic, since God is manifesting Himself here in a way He isn’t in other Christian communions.” He made a resolution to do a holy hour every day and after 2 months was convinced of Jesus’ Real Presence in the Eucharist. Six months after his reception into the Church, he knew he was called to the priesthood.

Bro. Peter was drawn to the Dominicans because of their focus on evangelization. His full name in religion is Brother Peter Junipero after the great saint, Junipero Serra, the Franciscan missionary of California, Peter’s home state. God willing, Brother Peter will be ordained a priest next year for the Western Dominican Province. To see the complete story, visit the National Catholic Register.

Women's Communities

The Family of Clare

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Happy Feast of St Clare!

Most people are familiar with the Poor Clares, the contemplative Order of nuns founded by St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare but did you know that there are four branches on the family tree? The Poor Clares, the Poor Clare Colettines, the Capuchin Poor Clares and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.

Perhaps the most famous Poor Clare of today is Mother Angelica, PCPA, who founded the Eternal Word Television Network. This is very appropriate for St. Clare is the patron saint of TV.

The least known of the Poor Clares, at least in this country, are the Capuchin Poor Clares. They were founded by Venerable Maria Laurentia Longo in Naples, Italy in 1538, a few decades after the founding of the Capuchin Franciscans. Both groups were founded in an attempt to return to a more primitive way of Franciscan life. The most famous Capuchins Friars  of recent vintage are Padre Pio and Sean Cardinal O’Malley of Boston.

The Capuchin Poor Clares are fairly new to the US, their first monastery being established in 1981 in Amarillo, Texas. There are now 4 additional monasteries in the US: Wilimington, DE; Alamo, TX; Denver and Pueblo, CO. If anyone is near Wilmington on August 10, please join them at 11:00 for a special Eucharistic Celebration in honor of St. Clare. You can support these wonderful sisters by buying their Clarisas butter cookies, made from scratch, in small batches, using nothing but the finest ingredients!

You know, I am sure, that the kingdom of heaven is promised and given by the Lord only to the poor: for he who loves temporal things loses the fruit of love. Such a person cannot serve God and Mammon, for either the one is loved and the other is hated, or the one is served and the other despised. St. Clare of Assisi

Liturgical Year

An Ancient Spirituality

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Oldest Known Dominican Missal, Lausanne Monastery

There are many ancient Rites still in use in the Church today which gives us a beautiful glimpse into the spirituality of our ancient forebears. The Dominican Rite is one of the most fascinating. I was prompted to look more deeply into it today because at morning mass on this Feast of St. Dominic, the priest said that it is a tradition for Dominicans to process with the processional cross facing backwards. This allows the friars and the priests to “gaze upon the cross.”

The Dominican Rite came about due to the rapid growth of the Order and the need for a uniform liturgical spirit to bind the preachers together. Today, we are used to the Roman Rite being the norm for most of Catholicism. You can imagine as the local churches were built up in the early Church and communications were lacking, that many geographically-oriented and community-unique rites came into existence and flourished.

The Dominican Rite was codified in 1256 and remained in use until 1968, when the Roman Rite of Mass and of the Liturgy of the Hours was adopted. Today, the Dominican Rite may be used with the permission of the master of the order or the local provincial. Other orders have their specific rites with the same stipulations such as the Carmelites, Cistercians and Norbertines. The Carthusian Rite, however, is different and is celebrated as the norm by this congregation.

The Eastern Province of the Order of Preachers (Dominican Province of St. Joseph) has this beautiful reflection on the unique place of this Rite in their spirituality and rich heritage:

The Dominican Rite’s relative sobriety and simplicity likewise gives evidence of the antiquity of its sources.  It has nourished the greatest saints of the Order, many of whom – including St. Albert the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Vincent Ferrer – have written extensively of the Dominican Rite’s unique beauty and theological depth.  It is therefore a genuine source of the tradition of the Order, and a privileged means by which to enter into the original spirit of St. Dominic’s friars.

To order a CD of Gregorian Chant: Dominican Liturgy, click here.

News

Vocations and Commitment

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Sr. Jeanette Marie, the Vocation Directress for the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, was heartened as she said to hear the Holy Father, Pope Francis, describe one of the things that prevents young people from entering religious life. The issue is Commitment!

As everyone knows, the popularity of marriage is in a steep decline. People live together and then move on. It used to be said that “I am living with him/her to see if marriage is in the cards” which it usually wasn’t. Now it is: “I am living with him/her until the next him/her comes along.”

This problem casts its long shadow on religious life and vocational discernment. A religious vocation is to eternity. Sr Jeanette wrote that we live in a culture that fails to see the good of making a lifetime commitment; a culture that says, “I will choose this vocation provided that everything goes OK.”

In his talk, Pope Francis said, “To become priests [or] Religious – is not primarily our choice. I don’t trust the seminarian, the novice who says: ‘I have chosen this path.’ I don’t like this. It’s not right! But it is the response to a call and to a call of love. I hear something within me, which makes me restless, and I answer yes. The Lord makes us feel this love in prayer, but also through so many signs that we can read in our life, so many persons that He puts on our path.”

Sr. Jeanette  believes that there are three things you can do to come to a decision about religious life:

  • learn about religious life and celibacy
  • pray about your vocation, seeking the guidance of your parents and spiritual advisors
  • plan to arrive at a firm commitment towards your calling – before it’s too late!

The Mercedarian sisters will have a discernment retreat for young women October 11-13, 2013, in Baton Rouge, LA. Now is the time to test your commitment to follow the Lord in faith!

 

 

 

 

Cloistered life, Papal Address

Entrustment to Mary

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On this feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major which Pope Francis visited on the eve of his departure for World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, it seems appropriate to post the counsel he gave to seminarians, novices and those discerning a vocation in a gathering held on July 7, 2013:

I entrust you to the intercession of Mary Most Holy.

She is the Mother who helps us to take life decisions freely and without fear.

May she help you to bear witness to the joy of God’s consolation,

without being afraid of joy,

she will help you to conform yourselves to the logic of love of the Cross,

to grow in ever deeper union with the Lord in prayer.

Then your lives will be rich and fruitful! Amen.

With cloistered Nuns in Rio de Janeiro

Men's communities

Our Lady of the Angel’s Brothers

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Today is the foundation anniversary of the Franciscan Brothers of Peace who were founded in 1982 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the first community of brothers to come into existence in the archdiocese. Their founder, Brother Michael Gaworski, fbp, was very active in the pro-life movement, and with Brother Paul O’Donnell, fbp, founded Pro-Life Action Ministries.

It was while attending the 1982 Notre Dame Charismatic Renewal Conference that a “prophetic word,” as their website says, was given as thus: “I am calling many of you to embrace a life of celibacy for My Kingdom. But you say you have looked and there are no places for you to go. I tell you that I am raising up new convents, monasteries and communities for you to enter. Go home and ponder these words.”

Just in his early twenties, Brother Michael took the initial steps which in 1986 led to the community of brothers being recognized as a Private Association of the Faithful and in 1994, as a Public Association of the Faithful. In 1991, Brother Michael contracted bacterial pneumonia which left him a quadriplegic with severe brain damage. A suffering servant for the brother’s many ministries to the poor, he died on August 28, 2003.

On May 10 of this year, their long-awaited desire to establish a Spiritual Center, a place of prayer and retreat for the brothers as a respite from their urban ministries, came into fruition. In Finland, Minnesota, Bishop Paul Sirba of Duluth consecrated the oratory of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels. They hope one day to have several brothers permanently residing living a semi-eremitical life surrounded by the beauty of Superior National Forest.

The brothers are growing and hope one day to have the 40 members necessary to become a religious institute. As it is, their current friary housing 14 brothers is running out of room. If you can support them, please go to their website to find out how you can help with their expanding (a good problem to have!) apostolate to the poor.

Brother Paul advises young men who are interested in their way of life to Pray about a vocation to the religious life and seek spiritual direction. Vocations mostly come from real people with real families, not everyone is a perfect saint. Disregard thoughts of unworthiness. We are all unworthy, the Holy Spirit is the guiding force. Do not be afraid to make a commitment and put your trust in the Lord.

 

Saints

A Saintly Humility

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All founders of new religious institutes undergo severe trials as the community root’s are established but none can seem to top the anguish of today’s saint, St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), bishop and founder of the Redemptorists (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer).

To put it briefly, St. Alphonsus was tricked, due to his old age, infirmities and trust in his advisors, into signing a modified rule which eliminated or changed the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and perseverance. When he learned the truth of what he had signed, he wept bitter tears. Pope Pius VI, believing in Alphonsus’ complicity, ordered Alphonsus at age 86 to be expelled from his own congregation.

Ironically, Alphonsus was beatified by the same pope, an investigation having cleared Alphonsus’ good name. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1781 and is acclaimed as one of the Church’s greatest Moral and Marian theologians. In art, he is often depicted hunched over because he suffered from severe rheumatism. His congregation flourished after this death and today they number over 5000 priests and brothers around the globe who bring the Good News to the abandoned poor.

He appropriately said, “Persecutions are to the works of God what the frosts of winter are to plants. Far from destroying them, they allow them to strike their roots deeper in soil and make them more full of life. What really injures religious orders and brings the plant to decay like a worm gnawing at the root are voluntary sins and shortcomings. So let us put an end to these imperfections, let us correct ourselves, and God will protect us. The more violently persecution rages, the more closely must we become attached to Jesus Christ.”