Instaurare Omnia in Christo

Archbishop Dolan on the Earthquake in Haiti

2010-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

Please pray for Haiti. The entire city of Port-au-Prince is completely destroyed. The Archbishop of Port-au-Prince, Msgr. Joseph Serge Miot, as well as all of the seminarians of this archdiocese is among the estimated 100,000-500,000 people dead.

May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Intercession of Our Lady of Sorrows bring consolation to the people of Haiti during their hour of need.

The Tragedy in Haiti

January 13th, 2010

I have been in Rome for the past week for ceremonies and meetings related to the celebration of the 150^th Anniversary of the Pontifical North American College, where I was both a student and Rector. The news of the horrific earthquake in Haiti has shocked and saddened everyone. The Holy Father today offered the following words this morning during his weekly audience.
“My thoughts go in particular to the population hit just a few hours ago by a devastating earthquake which has caused serious loss of human life, large numbers of homeless and missing people, and vast material damage.
“I invite everyone to join my prayers to the Lord for the victims of this catastrophe and for those who mourn their loss. I give assurances of my spiritual closeness to people who have lost their homes and to everyone who, in various ways, has been affected by this terrible calamity, imploring God to bring them consolation and relief in their suffering.
“I appeal to the generosity of all people so that these, our brothers and sisters who are experiencing a moment of need and suffering, may not lack our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international community. The Catholic Church will not fail to move immediately, through her charitable institutions, to meet the most immediate needs of the population”.
I have asked Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Vicar General of the Archdiocese, to send a letter to all priests of the Archdiocese asking that they lead their people in prayer this weekend in a special way for the people of Haiti, and for the Haitian community in New York who may have lost loved ones during the earthquake. There will also be a special collection at all Masses this weekend, and the money raised will be sent to Catholic Relief Servicesfor the relief of the suffering in Haiti. Catholic Relief Services has been first on the scene, and has already been providing assistance wherever it can.
As followers of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, we are called to respond whenever there are people in need. However, I believe many of us feel a special urgency today, given the tremendous devastation that has occurred, as well as the large Catholic population in Haiti and the large Haitian community here in New York as well.
I met today with Paul Josef Cardinal Cordes, President of Cor Unum, the Holy Father’s charitable outreach agency, and with the Haitian Ambassador to the Holy See. I assured them both of the prayers of the people of the Archdiocese and told them that the Archdiocese would make every effort to be of financial assistance as well.
We are very blessed here in New York to sponsor the cause for canonization of Venerable Pierre Toussaint. Pierre Toussaint who was born in Haiti in 1766 before being brought to New York as a slave. He eventually became a free man, and would have been a rich man had he not given most of his money away. Toussaint was known for his tremendous acts of charity and his deep faith. I hope that many people will join me in saying a special prayer to Venerable Pierre Toussaint asking for his intercession with Our Heavenly Father for the safety, support, and comfort of the people of Haiti at this time.

Christmas Indroit - Puer Natus Est

2009-12-24T13:53:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas To You And Your Loved Ones

1. Adeste Fideles laeti triumphantes,
Veníte, veníte in Bethlehem.
Natum vidéte, Regem Angelorum:

Veníte adoremus,
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum

2. Deum de Deo, lumen de lúmine,
gestant puellae viscera
Deum verum, genitum non factum:

Veníte adoremus,
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum

3. Cantet nunc io chorus Angelórum
cantet nunc aula caelestium:
Gloria in excelsis Deo:

Veníte adoremus,
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum

4. Ergo qui natus, die hodierna
Jesu, tibi sit glória
Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum:

Veníte adoremus,
Veníte adoremus
Veníte adoremus Dóminum

The Christmas Season

2009-12-24T13:35:00.001-08:00

from: http://www.cantius.org/go/liturgy_devotions/liturgical_seasons/christmastide_extraordinary/christmas_extraordinary/

hristmas - December 25 (December 24 in some countries)

Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus’ birth with various secular customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals. The date as a birthdate for Jesus is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth.

In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen’s Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6, while certain old rite or old style Eastern Orthodox Churches celebrate Christmas on January 7, the date on the Gregorian calendar which corresponds to 25 December on the Julian Calendar.

The word “Christmas” is a contraction of two words “Christ’s mass” and is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Thus, Xmas is an abbreviation for Christmas.

After the conversion of Anglo-Saxons in England from their indigenous Anglo-Saxon polytheism (a form of Germanic paganism) in the very early 7th century, Christmas was called geol, which was the name of the native Germanic pre-Christian solstice festival that fell on that date. From geol, the current English word Yule is derived. Many customs associated with modern Christmas were derived from Germanic paganism.

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (26 December - 6 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.

Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace.

It is unknown exactly when or why December 25 became associated with Jesus’ birth. The New Testament does not give a specific date.[4] Sextus Julius Africanus popularized the idea that Jesus was born on December 25 in his Chronographiai, a reference book for Christians written in AD 221.[4] This date is nine months after the traditional date of the Incarnation (March 25), now celebrated as the Feast of the Annunciation. March 25 was considered to be the date of the vernal equinox and therefore the creation of Adam; early Christians believed this was also the date Jesus was crucified. The Christian idea that Jesus was conceived on the same date that he died on the cross is consistent with a Jewish belief that a prophet lived an integral number of years.[5]

The earliest reference to the celebration of Christmas is in the Calendar of Filocalus, an illuminated manuscript compiled in Rome in 354.[7][8] In the east, meanwhile, Christians celebrated the birth of Jesus as part of Epiphany (January 6), although this festival focused on the baptism of Jesus.[9]

Christmas was promoted in the east as part of the revival of Catholicism following the death of the pro-Arian Emperor Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. The feast was introduced to Constantinople in 379, to Antioch in about 380, and to Alexandria in about 430. Christmas was especially controversial in 4th century Constantinople, being the “fortress of Arianism,” as Edward Gibbon described it. The feast disappeared after Gregory of Nazianzus resigned as bishop in 381, although it was reintroduced by John Chrysostom in about 400.[7]

Middle Ages

In the Early Middle Ages, Christmas Day was overshadowed by Epiphany, which in the west focused on the visit of the magi. But the Medieval calendar was dominated by Christmas-related holidays. The forty days before Christmas became the “forty days of St. Martin” (which began on November 11, the feast of St. Martin of Tours), now known as Advent.[10] In Italy, former Saturnalian traditions were attached to Advent.[10] Around the 12th century, these traditions transferred again to the Twelve Days of Christmas (December 26 - January 6);a time that appears in the liturgical calendars as Christmastide or Twelve Holy Days.[10]

The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066. Christmas during the Middle Ages remained a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.[11] Christmas gift-giving during the Middle Ages was practiced more often between people with legal relationships (i.e. tenant and landlord) than between close friends and relatives.[11]

By the High Middle Ages, the holiday had become so prominent that chroniclers routinely noted where various magnates celebrated Christmas. King Richard II of England hosted a Christmas feast in 1377 at which twenty-eight oxen and three hundred sheep were eaten.[10] The Yule boar was a common feature of medieval Christmas feasts. Caroling also became popular, and was originally a group of dancers who sang. The group was composed of a lead singer and a ring of dancers that provided the chorus. Various writers of the time condemned caroling as lewd, indicating that the unruly traditions of Saturnalia and Yule may have continued in this form.[10] “Misrule” — drunkenness, promiscuity, gambling — was also an important aspect of the festival. In England, gifts were exchanged on New Year’s Day, and there was special Christmas ale.[10]

From the Reformation to the 1800s

During the Reformation, some Protestants condemned Christmas celebration as “trappings of popery” and the “rags of the Beast”. The Roman Catholic Church responded by promoting the festival in an even more religiously oriented form. Following the Parliamentary victory over King Charles I during the English Civil War, England’s Puritan rulers banned Christmas, in 1647. Pro-Christmas rioting broke out in several cities, and for several weeks Canterbury was controlled by the rioters, who decorated doorways with holly and shouted royalist slogans.[12] The Restoration of 1660 ended the ban, but many of the Nonconformist clergy still disapproved of Christmas celebrations, using Puritan arguments.

In Colonial America, the Puritans of New England disapproved of Christmas; its celebration was outlawed in Boston from 1659 to 1681. At the same time, Christian residents of Virginia and New York observed the holiday freely. Christmas fell out of favor in the United States after the American Revolution, when it was considered an English custom.[13]

By the 1820s, sectarian tension in England had eased and British writers began to worry that Christmas was dying out. They imagined Tudor Christmas as a time of heartfelt celebration, and efforts were made to revive the holiday. Charles Dickens’ book A Christmas Carol, published in 1843, played a major role in reinventing Christmas as a holiday emphasizing family, goodwill, and compassion over communal celebration and hedonistic excess.[14]

Interest in Christmas in America was revived in the 1820s by several short stories by Washington Irving appearing in his The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon and “Old Christmas”, and by Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem A Visit From St. Nicholas (popularly known by its first line: Twas the Night Before Christmas). Irving’s stories depicted harmonious warm-hearted holiday traditions he claimed to have observed in England. Although some argue that Irving invented the traditions he describes, they were widely imitated by his American readers.[15] The poem A Visit from Saint Nicholas popularized the tradition of exchanging gifts and seasonal Christmas shopping began to assume economic importance.[16] In her 1850 book “The First Christmas in New England”, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a character who complained that the true meaning of Christmas was being lost in a shopping spree.[17]

Christmas was declared a United States Federal holiday in 1870. Starting in the late 1800s, the economic importance of Christmas led to concerns over what has been seen by some as the increasing commercialization of Christmas.

Christmas as a celebration of the nativity

The Nativity of Jesus refers to the Christian belief that the messiah was born to the Virgin Mary. The story of Christmas is based on the biblical accounts given in the Gospel of Matthew, namely Matthew 1:18-Matthew 2:12 and the Gospel of Luke, specifically Luke 1:26-Luke 1:56. According to these accounts, Jesus was born to Mary, assisted by her husband Joseph, in the city of Bethlehem. The birth took place in a “stable”, surrounded by farm animals, and the infant Jesus was laid in a manger. Shepherds from the fields surrounding Bethlehem were told of the birth by an angel, and were the first to see the child.[18] Christians believe that the birth of Jesus fulfilled many prophecies made hundreds of years before his birth.

The word “Christmas” is a contraction meaning “Christ’s mass.” It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.[7] After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol,[7] the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word ‘Yule’ is derived.[19] In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-sixteenth century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.[20] Hence, “Xmas” is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.

Remembering or re-creating the Nativity is a central way that Christians celebrate Christmas. The Eastern Orthodox Church practices the Nativity Fast in anticipation of the birth of Jesus, while much of the Western Church celebrates Advent. In some Christian churches, children perform plays re-telling the events of the Nativity, or sing carols that reference the event. Some Christians also display a small re-creation of the Nativity, known as a Nativity scene, in their homes, using figurines to portray the key characters of the event. Live Nativity scenes are also performed, using actors and live animals to portray the event with more realism.[21]

Nativity scenes traditionally include the Three Wise Men, Balthazar, Melchior, and Caspar, although their names and number are not referred to in the Biblical narrative, who are said to have followed a star, known as the Star of Bethlehem, found Jesus, and presented gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.[22]

References:

[1] “Christmas - An Ancient Holiday”, The History Channel, 2007.

[2] “Saturnalia”, The History Channel, 2007.

[3] “Christmas - An Ancient Holiday”, The History Channel, 2007.

[4] “Christmas, Encyclopædia Britannica Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006.

[5] “The Feast of the Annunciation”, Catholic Encyclopedia, 1998.

[6] Origen, “Levit., Hom. VIII”; Migne P.G., XII, 495; quoted by Natal Day The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1911

[7] a b c d “Christmas”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913.

[8] This document was prepared privately for a Roman aristocrat and is named after an artist who illuminated part of it. The reference to Christmas states, “VIII kal. ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeæ”. It is in a section based on an earlier manuscript produced in 336.

[9] Pokhilko, Hieromonk Nicholas, “The Formation of Epiphany according to Different Traditions

[10] a b c d e f Murray, Alexander, “Medieval Christmas”, History Today, December 1986, 36 (12), pp. 31 - 39.

[11] a b McGreevy, Patrick. “Place in the American Christmas,” (JSTOR), Geographical Review, Vol. 80, No. 1. January 1990, pp. 32-42. Retrieved 10 September 2007.

[12] Durston, Chris, “Lords of Misrule: The Puritan War on Christmas 1642-60”, History Today, December 1985, 35 (12) pp. 7 - 14.

[13] Andrews, Peter (1975). Christmas in Colonial and Early America. USA: World Book Encyclopedia, Inc.. ISBN 7-166-2001-4.

[14] Rowell, Geoffrey, “Dickens and the Construction of Christmas”, History Today, December 1993, 43 (12), pp. 17 - 24.

[15] Moore’s poem transferred the genuine old Dutch traditions celebrated at New Year in New York, including the exchange of gifts, family feasting, and tales of “sinterklass” (a derivation in Dutch from “Saint Nicholas,” from whence comes the modern “Santa Claus”) to Christmas.The history of Christmas: Christmas history in America, 2006

[16] usinfo.state.gov “Americans Celebrate Christmas in Diverse Ways”November 26, 2006

[17] First Presbyterian Church of Watertown “Oh . . . and one more thing”December 11, 2005

[18] Luke 2:1-6

[19] “The Christmas Season” The Voice, CRI/Voice, Institute, 2006.

[20] Oxford English Dictionary

[21] Krug, Nora. “Little Towns of Bethlehem”, The New York Times, November 25, 2005.

[22] Matthew 2:1-11

O Antiphon - December 23rd - O Emmanuel

2009-12-24T13:29:00.000-08:00

LATIN: O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.
ENGLISH: O Emmanuel, God with us, our King and lawgiver, the expected of the nations and their Savior: come to save us, O Lord our God.

O Antiphons - December 22nd - O Rex Gentium

2009-12-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

LATIN: O Rex gentium, et desideratus earum, lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum: veni, et salva hominem, quem de limo formasti.

ENGLISH: O King of the gentiles and their desired One, the cornerstone that makes both one: come, and deliver man, whom you formed out of the dust of the earth.

O Antiphons - December 21st - O Oriens

2009-12-22T16:45:00.000-08:00

LATIN: O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.

ENGLISH: O dawn of the east, brightness of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.

O Antiphons - December 20th - O Clavis David

2009-12-20T20:58:00.000-08:00

LATIN: O clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; claudis, et nemo aperit: veni, et educ vinctum de domo carceris, sedentem in tenebris.

ENGLISH: O Key of David, and scepter of the house of Israel, who opens and no man shuts, who shuts and no man opens: come, and bring forth the captive from his prison, he who sits in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Video of an Icon of Saint Nicholas of Myrna weeping tears of Myrrh, Saint Paul's Greek Orthodox Cathedral, West Hempstead, NY

2009-12-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

Weeping Icon In New York

John Romanides: A Tribute | MySpace Video

from: http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=863

The video was taken by Bishop Savas while he was chancellor of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in June 2008. He wrote:

Long story short: I took this video in the sanctuary of the Cathedral of St Paul in Hempstead, New York, around 3:15 p.m. on June 22, 2008, Sunday of All Saints. This icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker began to stream a clear, sweet-smelling liquid during the celebration of the Divine Liturgy in the morning. I don't know what to make of it. It smells of myrrh. I don't know if I would have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, handled it with my own hands, inhaled the aroma for myself. Take a look and see for yourselves. +S

Apparently it began gushing myrrh on Pentecost Sunday and it was examined by the Greek Archdiocese a week later on the Sunday of All Saints when this video was taken. The weeping stopped within about a month of when it began.

Pope Benedict XVI declares Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II Venerable

2009-12-19T16:28:00.000-08:00

from: insidethevatican.com

Pope Pius XII Declared Venerable

Today in Rome, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II were both declared venerable by Pope Benedict XVI — the first step on the road to canonization as saints for both men

By Robert Moynihan, reporting from America

=====================================

In a dramatic move, after long hesitation, Pope Benedict XVI has signed a decree declaring Pope Pius XII -- the Pope who led the Church during the Second World War and has been repeatedly accused by many Jewish and progressive Catholic groups of not doing enough to help the Jews during the Nazi persecution -- as "venerable," the first major step on the road toward canonization as a Catholic saint.

In the same decree, Benedict has declared Pope John Paul II, known for his friendship with the Jewish people and his dramatic visits to the synagogue of Rome in 1986 and to the Western Wall in Jerusalem in 2000, as also worthy to be called "venerable" in the Church.

Benedict's decree, published today in connection with the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Congregation for the Cuases of Saints, recognizes the "heroic virtues" of the two Popes, paving the way for their beatification and canonization, which can come with the approval of first one, then a second miracle attributed to their intercession.

Also approved were the martyrdom of the Polish priest Fr Popielusko and a miracle attributed to Mary McKillop (Australia).

Pius XII, the Pope who led the Church during the Second World War (he was Pope from 1939 to 1958), and John Paul II (Pope from 1978 to 2005) are now officially to be called "Venerable" (meaning able to be venerated), because Benedict XVI has confirmed that their lives displayed "heroic virtues,"

that they were heroes because of their remarkable virtue.

This is particuarly dramatic with regard to Pius, because he has been accused, not only of not being a hero, but even of being evil, of being "Hitler's Pope." (A book under that title was published several years ago by British author John Cornwell, who later retracted much of what he had written.)

The attacks on Pius seem to have given Benedict pause. Not because he believed their truth, but because he knew that many did believe they were true, and would be scandalized if Pius was declared "Venerable" without clarifyinf that the charges against him were false.

This explains why the documentation to sign the Pius XII decree was given to Pope almost two years ago, and not signed until now.

Many Vatican observers had noted that Benedict was taking his time before signing the decree. Senior Vatican officials told me that he was waiting until Jewish and progressive Catholic groups themselves recognized that the charges of anti-Semitism raised against Pius XII were without foundation.

And this is what has occcurred.

Over the past several years, due in large measure to the work of committed Catholic and Jewish scholars and activists ranging from Sr. Margherita Marchione, an American Catholic nun, to Gary Krupp, an American Jewish businessman, clear evidence that Pius XII worked heroically "behind the scenes" to save nearly 1 million Jews from deportation to Nazi concentration camps has now been discovered and published. (We have printed much of this in the pages onInside the Vatican magazine.)

In fact, this evidence even suggests that Pius XII did more to help victims of the persecution than virtually any other single person in Europe during the war years, making his denigration all the more unjust.

And because an increasing number of scholars have come to conclude that the charges raised against Pius XII were a calmny, the opinion about Pius in the world's Jewish community has slowly been transformed from an absolutely negative one to a far more positive one.

"I received a call from Rome just now to inform me that the Holy Father proclaimed Pius XII as venerable," Krupp emailed to me this morning. "Congratulations to all of you for the hard work over the years to right a terrible wrong perpetrated by the historical revisionists."

===================

Judging Sanctity

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints today published a series of decrees in which the pontiff recognizes 5 miracles attributed to several people (including the venerable Mary McKillop, Australia) and also recognizes the "heroic virtues" of a further 10 people, among them the two Popes.

These decrees pave the way for their beatification, as soon as there is the recognition of a miracle attributed to them.

Another decree recognizes the martyrdom of the Polish priest, Fr Jerzy Popieluszko, killed by the communist police in 1984.

Benedict XVI met with all the members of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints for celebration marking the 40th anniversary of the dicastery.

In his address, citing the various stages leading to the canonization of a candidate, the Pope said: "In the first instance, the People of God are invited to look at those brothers who, after an initial careful discernment, are proposed as models of Christian life; the a cult of veneration and invocation confined within local churches or religious orders is urged; finally, we are called to rejoice with the whole community of believers in the certainty that, thanks to solemn papal proclamation, a son or daughter has reached the glory of God, where they participate in perpetual intercession of Christ in favor of his or her brethren (cf. Heb 7:25)."

We will have a more complete report on all the implications of this decision for Catholic-Jewish relations in future reports.

Five of the December 19 decrees testified to the authenticity of miracles attributed to candidates who have already been beatified, and are now qualified for canonization. They are:

Bl. Stanislaus Soltys (Kazimierczyk) (1433-89), whose liturgical cult was formally recognized by Pope John Paul in 1993.

Bl. André Bessette (1845-1937), a Canadian renowned for his devotion to St. Joseph who developed a reputation as a miracle worker in his lifetime.

Bl. Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), who founded the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart and will become Australia’s first canonized saint.

Bl. Giulia Salzano (1846-1929), foundress of the Congregation of the Catechetical Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

Bl. Camilla Battista da Varano (1458-1524), a Poor Clare nun.

The Congregation also approved miracles for five other candidates who, like Father Popieluszko, will now be scheduled for beatification:

Father José Tous y Soler (1811-71), a Capuchin Franciscan.

Brother Leopoldo de Alpandeire (1866-1956), a Capuchin Franciscan.

Manuel Lozano Garrido (1920-71), a Spanish layman.

Teresa Manganiello (1849-76), a Third Order Franciscan.

Chiara Badano (1971-90), a laywoman of the Focolare Movement.

In addition, the Congregation declared the heroic virtue of Bl. Giacomo Illirico da Bitetto, a Franciscan.

The Congregation also proclaimed the heroic virtue of nine others, who now qualify for the title "Venerable" and may be beatified with the approval of a miracle:

Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) (1876-1958).

Pope John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla) (1920-2005).

Father Louis Brisson (1817-1908), founder of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales.

Father Giuseppe Quadrio (1921-63), a Salesian.

Sister Mary Ward (1545-1615), an Englishwoman who founded the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters).

Sister Antonia Maria Verna (1773-1838), foundress of the Sisters of Charity of the Immaculate Conception of Ivrea.

Sister Francesca Farolfi (Maria Chiara Serafina of Jesus) (1853-1917), foundress of the Missionary Franciscan Clarists of the Blessed Sacrament.

Sister Enrichetta Alfieri (1891-1951).

Giunio Tinarelli (1912-56), a layman and member of the Silent Workers of the Cross.

(Here is a link to the official decree, published in Italian: Promulgazione Di Decreti Della Congregazione Delle Cause Dei Santi (Holy See)

=====================

Final note: If you would like a lovely, last-minute Christmas present, why not consider giving a gift that will "give all year," a subscription ot Inside the Vatican magazine? My best wishes to all during this Advent season. —Robert Moynihan

=======================================

“He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.”—Blaise Pascal (French mathematician, philosopher, physicist and writer, 1623-1662)

O Antiphon - December 19th - O Radix Jesse

2009-12-19T16:23:00.000-08:00

LATIN: O Radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum, super quem continebunt reges os suum, quem gentes deprecabuntur: veni ad liberandum nos, iam noli tardare.
ENGLISH: O Root of Jesse, that stands for an ensign of the people, before whom the kings keep silence and unto whom the Gentiles shall make supplication: come, to deliver us, and tarry not.

O Antiphons - December 18th - O Adonai

2009-12-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

O Adonai (December 18) O Adonai or O Lord and Ruler(Exod 6: 13) and Ruler of the house of Israel (Matt 2: 6), you appeared to Moses in the fire of the burning bush (Exod 3: 2), and on Mount Sinai gave him your Law (Exod 20). Come, and with outstretched arm redeem us (Jer 32: 21).

from: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=958

Pope Benedict To Declare Pope John Paul II Venerable On Saturday, December 19th

2009-12-17T10:25:00.001-08:00

from: http://www.romereports.com/palio/modules.php?name=News&file=article&newlang=english&sid=1359

December 17, 2009. The late Pope John Paul II is one step closer at getting a spot on the altars, now that Benedict XVI will name him venerable.

Benedict XVI is expected to sign the decree Saturday December 19th.

When the Pope gives a candidate to the altars, the title "venerable" that means he recognizes that they lived the Christian virtues as heroes.

To beatify a candidate, the commission of cardinals and Vatican theologians must certify that God has performed a miracle through his intercession.

In the case of John Paul II, just two months after his death, several medical teams have classified the cure of a French nun with Parkinson's, as “scientifically inexplicable”. The nun says, with much difficulty, she wrote John Paul II name on a piece of paper and a couple of hours later she was 100% cured.

To name venerable John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI analyzed the documentation collected during the last 5 years by the postulator of the Cause of beatification, Father Slawomir Oder. Thousands of pages with specific facts and that show what many proclaimed the day of his funeral: that John Paul was a saint.

John Paul II road to sainthood, is perhaps one of the shortest on record. It started just one month after he died.

And lasted only 5 years. The traditional road to sainthood usually takes 10 times as long.

The following are some photos of Pope John Paul II Celebrating Mass and praying in his private Chapel:

The following is a picture of Pope John Paul II celebrating mass at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran when he took possession of its cathedra after he was elected to the See of Peter

The O Antiphons: December 17th- O Sapientia

2009-12-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

from: http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/seasons/advent/o_ant.cfm

O ANTIPHONS OVERVIEW

Begining on December 17, as the final phase of preparation for Christmas, the Church recites or chants the O Antiphons preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The O Antiphons express the Church's longing and expectation for the Messiah, her startled wonderment at the fullness of grace which the Christ-Child is about to bestow on the world. Their theme is the majesty of the Savior, His wisdom, His faithfulness and sanctity, His justice and mercy, His covenant with His chosen people, who in their ingratitude broke faith with Him. They are concerned with His power and love as King and Redeemer of the world, His relation to every soul as Emmanuel, God-with-us. (With Christ Through the Year by Bernard Strasser)

According to Professor Robert Greenberg of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one — Emmanuel, Rex,Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia — the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion. (Fr. William Saunders)

O Sapientia (December 17) O Wisdom (Eccl 24: 5), you came forth from the mouth of the Most High (Sir 24: 30), and reaching from beginning to end, you ordered all things mightily and sweetly (Wis 8: 1). Come, and teach us the way of prudence (Isa 40: 14).

Archbishop Dolan on the True Meaning of Christmas: Let's not mall each other over holiday

2009-12-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

Let's not mall each other over holiday: Christmas is not just about presents, parties and eggnog

BY ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY DOLAN
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS

Sunday, December 6th 2009, 4:00 AM

Archbishop of New York Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Read more:http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/12/06/2009-12-06_lets_not_mall_each_other_over_holiday.html#ixzz0YyF18kV2

With Thanksgiving now behind us, the signs of the Christmas season are everywhere. The tree in Rockefeller Centerdazzles, the windows of Saks Fifth Avenuedelight and the crèche in St. Patrick's Cathedral brings the story of Christ's birth to life (although the crib of the baby Jesus remains empty until midnight Mass). Just as predictably as the appearance of poinsettias and sidewalk Santas, the so-called "Christmas War" will break out once again.

We all know the sides by now. In one corner are those who want to remove any mention or even hint of religion, of the birth of Christ, from this holiday ("holy day") season, ready to rush into court to battle those who would dare even mention the birth of the Savior in a public setting. In the other corner are those who seem ready to call for jihad against any commercial outlet or business with a "holiday sale," ever prepared to organize boycotts, letter-writing and e-mail campaigns to counter these supposed pagan, secularist forces.

As I prepare to celebrate my first Christmas as archbishop of New York, I realize it might seem presumptuous to interject myself into this annual battle. But if any time of year calls for us to follow our better natures, this is that time. Thus, I call for a truce!

Obviously, I am enthusiastic about "keeping Christ in Christmas." For those of us who believe that Jesus, the Son of God and our Savior, was born to Mary in a stable inBethlehem 2009 years ago, we never forget what it is and why it is that we are celebrating. Christ must remain our focus. We must never let the commercial aspects of Christmas overwhelm us or cause us to think that the gift-giving and the parties are all that matters. I know that for me, as much as I look forward to spending time with family and friends, exchanging gifts, sharing Christmas dinner and cheer, it all really begins deep down inside, with faith, hope and love, as we thank God for the gift of Christ, and share this sacred present with others.

However, many others don't believe as we do but still wish to celebrate this wonderful time of the year. Parties, decorations, holiday specials, gifts - I'm all for it!

Still we see the public relations battle, the calls to spurn this retailer in favor of that, the angry denunciations of those who wish to sing "Silent Night" or "The First Noel" at a town event. Even more troublesome is that this season, when we should be celebrating peace, we find instead so many ways to be at odds with one another. It really doesn't have to be this way.

Think about it. Here in New York, the Catholic League places a giant crèche near Central Park, and our city manages to survive, our nation's democracy remains intact, and the Constitution still guarantees the freedom of religion. I'm pleased to know that a menorah will also be displayed at the same location to celebrate Chanukah. At the same time, numerous retailers have "holiday sales" instead of "Christmas sales," stationery stores sell "Season's Greetings" cards, businesses have holiday parties - and still our faith endures. If the celebration of the birth of Jesus inspires enjoyable parties, acts of charity, an exchange of good wishes, a smile to those we pass on the street, a card or a call to an old friend, a gift of appreciation to someone who helps, well, alleluia!

So, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior, I invite my brother and sister Christians to renew their faith in love and joy, and I thank my neighbors of other beliefs - or of none at all - for sharing in our celebration in the spirit of happiness, peace, and good will that flourishes these splendid weeks through the New Year.

Saint John Neumann College Seminary Lessons & Carols

2009-12-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

This past Monday Night, the Saint John Neumann College Seminary had their annual Christmas Lessons & Carols Concert in the Chapel of Saint Joseph's Seminary. Here is a video clip of one piece they did, the "Angelus Domini" by Franz Biebl:

On the Nature of the Catholic Faith and Its Authentic Development: An Analysis of The Commonitories of Saint Vincent of Lerins

2009-12-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

The following was a textual analysis on a patristic source that I did for my Early Church History Course during First Theology, the fall semester of 2009. I chose to write it on The Commonitories of Saint Vincent of Lerins:

The question regarding how one can tell apart the authentic nature and development of the Christian faith from heretical errors has been an issue problem that Christianity has often struggled with since its very beginning. The problems surrounding this issue would become especially more pronounced with the rise of heresies such as Arianism, Pelagianism, and Donatism. The result of these heresies and other similar movements was distortion the basic principles of the faith that were handed down by Jesus Christ through the teaching of the Apostles and their successors in the Episcopal hierarchy of the Church. In The Commonitories, Saint Vincent of Lerins sought to solve the problems that these heretical movements created for Christianity by showing how one can determine what is the nature of true Catholic belief and how one can determine what is the nature of authentic developments of those beliefs. It is through this work that Vincent would lay out the foundation for a proper understanding of a theology of Christian revelation and the concept of an organic development of Christian doctrine, which would be explored further by Catholic theologians in later centuries.

Saint Vincent of Lerins was a monk and ecclesiastical writer from Southern Gaul who lived during the early part of the fifth century and died around 450 AD. Not much is known about his early life and almost all the information we have regarding him is contained in Gennadius’ De viris illustribus (lxiv). [1] He entered the monastery of Lerins, which was founded on the Island of St. Honorat in 410 AD off the southern coast of France near modern day Cannes.[2] In Chapter 1 of The Commonitories, he notes that he entered the monastery after he endured “various unstable and saddening whirlpools of secular strife,” that he may “propitiate God by the sacrifice of Christian humility and thus avoid not only the shipwrecks of the present life but the flame of the world to come.”[3] Vincent would write his Commonitories in 434 A.D. under the pseudonym of Peregrinus (the Pilgrim).[4] It is said that he called his work the Commonitories because “he felt his memory getting weak and because he had observed that persistent reading of his notes helped him to see more clearly in matters of decisive importance.”[5] The structure of this work is divided into three parts: the First Commonitory deals with how the nature of the Catholic Faith stands apart from heretical novelty and develops over time without changing. The Second Commonitory has been lost to history but the Third Commonitory contains a brief summary of what was contained in this lost manuscript.[6]

Vincent was writing this work within a hundred years of the occurrence of the Councils of Nicaea (325 AD), Constantinople (381 AD) and Ephesus (431 AD) as well as within a few years within the death of Saint Augustine of Hippo. The major theological debate was between the Augustinians and the Semi-Pelagians over the role of free will and its relationship to divine grace. Vincent would find himself alongside John Cassian and Hilary of Arles as defenders of the semi-Pelagian position, and against Propser of Aquitaine who was the main apologist for the Augustinian position. Pope St. Celestine I also would address this conflict in his letter to the bishops of Southern Gaul in which he condemned a group of priests in Marseilles for confusing people regarding the nature of the faith in their condemnation of certain errors found within the teachings of Saint Augustine. What was central to the Christian life during the life of Saint Vincent of Lerins were battles concerning theological issues that either were recently resolved or were still hotly contested, such as specifics regarding the nature of the persons of the Holy Trinity and the nature of Grace and its relationship to free will.[7]

In the first chapter of The Comonitories, Vincent notes that the purpose of his work is “to describe what our ancestors have handed down and entrusted to us [in the faith] as an honest reporter.”[8] He notes that he acquired from men “outstanding in sanctity and in doctrinal knowledge, how, in a concise, general and ordinary way…he may be able to discern the truths of the Catholic faith from the falsity of heretical corruption.”[9] This ability to fortify the faith comes from two sources: 1) the authority of Divine Law as revealed in Scripture; and 2) the tradition of the Catholic Church passed down through the teaching of the Ancient Fathers and the Bishops who have maintained communion with the true faith. In the second chapter, Vincent establishes his famous rule of faith, stating “In the Catholic Church itself, every care should be taken to hold fast to what has been believed everywhere, always and by all.”[10] Within the context of the rule of faith, Vincent sets forth some basic criteria and principles of discernment in which one can tell apart what truly is Catholic belief from any heretical novelty. Universality means that a certain belief must be held by the entirety of the Universal Church. Antiquity implies that such belief is also rooted in the writings teachings of the Apostolic Fathers and Early Church Fathers and is passed down within the tradition of the Church to the current day. Consent implies that we adopt the entirety of the teaching of the Apostles, the bishops as their successors, and the early fathers as one deposit of faith and seek to follow that with the full ascent of faith. [11]

In Chapter Three, Vincent lays out a plan of action for faithful Catholics to follow in the face of the occurrence of heresies. He suggests that they “endeavor to adhere to the antiquity, which is beyond the danger of being reduced by the deceit of some novelty.”[12] In this statement, he affirms the supernatural nature of revelation and the teaching of the faith noting that if a belief is rooted in antiquity that originates back to Christ Himself and the Apostles, it will stand the test of time and the challenges that are posed against it by heresy. He also notes that if a number of believers in a later age find an error within the antiquity of the traditions of the Church, they should appeal to the decrees of a previous ecumenical council (if there was one) regarding the disputed matter of faith before the error was formally pronounced. If no such council can be found, Vincent recommends that believers seek the opinions of previous bishops and church fathers regarding this issue, who have remained in full communion with the Catholic Church and have become reliable authorities in regards to matters of the faith. He then states that the believer “must also believe without hesitation whatever not only one or two but all equally and with one and the same consent openly, frequently, and persistently have held, written and taught.”[13]

In Chapter 6, Vincent uses the example of Pope Saint Stephen I sending a letter to the African bishops condemning the errors of Bishop Agrippinus of Carthage and the Donatists for holding that apostates of the faith must be rebaptized. This belief was contrary to the rule of the Church Universal, the opinions of his brother bishops and the teachings of his forefathers, and Pope St. Stephen responded by laying forth the rule that “nothing new is to be accepted save what is handed down by tradition.”[14] In explaining this, Vincent notes that true devotion and piety towards the faith requires that “everything be transferred to the sons in the same spirit of faith in which it was accepted by the fathers.”[15] This implies that religion must not be based upon where individual believers want it to lead us and to say, but rather we must let it speak to us and bring it to where it wants to take us. Thus Vincent calls we as believers to help preserve the truths and the contents of the faith which Christ has passed on to the Apostles and their successors and then let that same faith help form us into true disciples as it did for our forefathers.[16]

In Chapters 21 through 24 of the First Commonitory, Saint Vincent of Lerins lays out the groundwork for his theory of the development of doctrine within the context of his commentary on I Timothy 6:20-21. In this passage, Saint Paul states “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane novelties of words and appositions of knowledge falsely so called which some promising have erred concerning the faith.” Within the context of this passage, Vincent notes the following tendency that is often found among heretics:

They are possessed by a permanent desire to change religion; to add something and to take it away-as though the dogma were not divine, so that it has to be revealed only once. But they take it for a merely human institution, which cannot be perfected except by constant emendations, rather, by constant corrections.[17]

Here Vincent points out that a common tendency which is found within all heretical movements is the tendency to replace the supernatural and the objective element found within the faith with one’s own subjective interpretation and use of the faith. Vincent notes that what Saint Paul is urging Timothy to do in keeping “that which is committed” to him is to preserve the faith in the manner that it has been handed down to him, not in the matter of his own personal interpretation and invention. [18] Vincent also states that Saint Paul’s use of the word “O” is an expression of foreknowledge in love which indicates that he foresaw the future errors and heresies that would arise in the life of the Church and “that he suffered in advance over their coming.” Vincent then identifies the Timothy of Today as the Universal Church “in particular the whole body of ecclesiastical superiors who out to have for themselves and to administer to the people an integral knowledge of Divine Worship.” [19] What is indicated in this quote is a connection between the handing down of the Catholic Faith with how to authentically worship God and that it is the duty of priests, bishops and ecclesiastical superiors to make sure that believers have knowledge of the truths of authentic worship. The importance of this principle reaffirmed by the Church in the belief of Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi (The law of prayer is the law of belief). Vincent would again highlight the importance of the office that priests and bishops have in handing down the faith in the following passage:

O Timothy, O Priest, O Interpreter, O Doctor, if a gift from heaven has prepared you by mental power to be the Beseleel of the spiritual Tabernacle, to cut the precious gems of divine dogma, to but them together faithfully, to adorn them judiciously, to add glamour, grace and loveliness, may that which is formerly believed with difficulty be made, through your interpretation, more understandable in the light. May posterity, through your aid, rejoice in the understanding of things which in old times were venerated without understanding. Yet, teach precisely what you have learned; do not say new things even if you say them in a new manner.[20]

Vincent uses this passage to highlight the supernatural character that those in ecclesiastical offices have in passing on the faith. Such men who teach the faith can be given graces by God in order to bring about more clearly the importance of an element of Christian belief that was obscure until the present time. Yet this new insight cannot go against the integral character of the previous teaching that was handed on to them, it can only reinforce and bring clarity to the divine truths already present in such teaching.

The clarification of belief that has already been passed on will be an integral element to Vincent’s conception of the development of doctrine, which he lays out in Chapter 23 by posing a question on whether any progress of religion possible within the Church of Christ. Up until this point of The Commonitories, he seems to place heavy stress upon the nature of the genuine faith as being rooted in antiquity and on labeling any novelties regarding such faith as heretical. This point is then clarified by Vincent in his statement that in regards to the faith “there has to be progress, even exceedingly great progress.”[21] In light of this previous framework, he then puts forth the following principle regarding the development of doctrine as ‘progress’ and differentiates this from the notion of ‘change’:

Progress means that each thing grows within itself, whereas change implies that one thing is transformed into another. Hence, it must be that understanding, knowledge, and wisdom grow and advance mightily and strongly in individuals as well as in the community, in a single person as well as in the Church as a whole, and this is gradually according to age and history. But they must progress within their own limits, that is, in accordance with the same kind of dogma, frame of mind and intellectual approach.[22]

Vincent points out that the main feature of authentic development of doctrine as progress in faith is that there is a growth in understanding in regards to a particular belief that is interiorly consistent with the same teachings of that belief from previous times. This growth in understanding effects the belief of the entire Universal Church as well as the belief of individuals in that it helps them come to a deeper understanding of the faith that was in previous times. Vincent compares this notion of progress to the growth of a person between childhood and adulthood in that “the joints of adult men are as many as those of young children; though some are developed only in maturity, they already existed in embryo.”[23] Thus within his concept of the development of doctrine as ‘the progress of the faith,’ nothing new occurs besides a development of what was latently present in the original revelation of that belief by Christ. Then the Apostles and the other Early Fathers received, passed down, clarified, and nurtured these beliefs as the principle seeds of faith within the Catholic Church. Then what can be added to the faith is clarity of teaching that brings out the inner appearance, intelligibility, beauty and distinction of belief while maintaining its original substance. Vincent then notes further the responsibilities that those in ecclesiastical authority and believers themselves have in light of such developments of doctrine:

Whatever has been plated in the husbandry of God’s Church by the faith of the fathers should, therefore, be cultivated and guarded by the zeal of their children; it should flourish and ripen; it should develop and become perfect. For it is right that those ancient dogmas of heavenly philosophy should in the course of time be thoroughly cared for, filed, and polished; but it is sinful to change them, sinful to behead them or mutilate them. They make take on more evidence, clarity, and distinctness, but it is absolutely necessary that they retain their plentitude, integrity, and basic character.[24]

Vincent explains his leeriness in mixing the authentic, ancient beliefs of the Catholic faith with novel ideals in that this would then start to creep into every facet of the Church’s life, resulting in the confusion and the corruption of the basic truths of the faith. In light of such dangers, Vincent then states that it is the duty of the Church “to treat tradition faithfully and wisely; to nurse and polish what from old times may have remained unshaped and unfinished; to consolidate and to strengthen what already was clear and plain; and to guard what already was confirmed and defined.”[25] It acts upon this duty through having Councils to clarify and enlighten its teaching that it has received from the ancient fathers in order to strengthen belief and guard it against the heresies of the current day.

In light of the clarification of the development of dogma as the progress of faith and not its change, Vincent reexamines the meaning of I Timothy 6:20 in Chapter 24. He defines the concept of “the profane novelties of words” as various subject matters and opinions “contrary to tradition and antiquity which, should they be accepted, would of necessity defile the faith of the fathers either entirely or to a great extent.”[26] If such opinions were accepted as worthy of belief, they would undermine the faith held by Christians through all ages of history and make their faith seem as blasphemy and ignorance. Vincent then attacks various heretical groups that the Catholic Church has had to deal with in recent times such as the Pelagians, who denied the assistance of grace with man’s free will in order to do good acts. He also attacks Celestius, for rejecting the evil effects of original sin, Arius, for splitting “the Unity of the Trinity,” and Sabellius, who confused “the Trinity of Unity.” [27] Vincent then attacks every group and person from Simon magus up until Priscillian who claimed that God was the author and cause of the sins of mankind and that He created human nature as corrupt and necessarily inclined to sin rather than to do good. He uses these groups as examples of people who have rejoiced “in ‘profane novelties’ and loathing traditional knowledge, which some rejecting have made a shipwreck concerning the faith.” In closing, Vincent reemphasizes the teaching of Saint Paul that states “let him be anathema ‘if any one preach to you a gospel besides that which you have received.’”[28]

The Commonitories of Saint Vincent of Lerins emphasizes for the Christian believer the importance of being able to determine the nature of the faith and its authentic development in the light of history and separate them from heretical novelties and interpretations. The inspiration of this work occurred during a period of history in which Christianity was still trying to understand more deeply the meaning of its fundamental beliefs while facing the growing influence various heretical movements that were distorting their original meaning. The writings of Saint Vincent show us that the faith of Christianity is not just a mere subjective reality created through our own intellectual musings. Its is rather a reality that conveys on its own the full revelation of the inner life of the Holy Trinity, revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God. In light of the nature of the faith, those in ecclesiastical authority have a responsibility not only to interpret correctly the faith handed on by Jesus to His Apostles but also to let the supernatural contents of the faith speak for themselves to every age of human history. This is done by the Church in its handing on of the faith that it has received from the ancient fathers to newer generations eager experience the saving grace of the Gospel. This is done practically through the pronouncements of Ecumenical Councils, the teachings of the popes and other writings of her Magisterium which help to teach and clarify her belief and refute any errors that may occur in the attempt to understand its meaning.

In his teaching on the development of doctrine, Saint Vincent of Lerins would assist in establishing the point that any legitimate development of faith will not invent something new to believe but rather bring greater clarity to its original content. This development then would assist the Church and the individual believer to enter deeper into the saving mysteries that Jesus Christ has revealed through it. John Henry Newman would explore the issue of the development of doctrine later in his writings during the Nineteenth Century. This issue also would be looked at by theologians such as Karl Rahner, Joseph Ratzinger, and Yves Congar who were present at the Second Vatican Council and contributed to the thought contained in its Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum).

[1] The Society of Clerks Secular of Saint Basil, “Saint Vincent of Lerin (Lerins) - Feast Day: May 24,” http://reu.org/public/saints/vincL.HTM (accessed October 31, 2009).

[2] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories (Commonitoria), trans. Rudolph E. Morris, Vol. 7 of The Fathers of the Church (New York, NY: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1949), 258 [This will hereby be abbreviated after this as The Commonitories.]

[3] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 1

[4] ibid. 258-259

[5] ibid. 259

[6] ibid. 258

[7] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, 258

[8] ibid. Chapter 1

[9] ibid. Chapter 2

[10] ibid. Chapter 2

[11] ibid. Chapter 2

[12] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 3

[13] ibid. Chapter 3

[14] ibid. Chapter 6

[15] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 6

[16] ibid. Chapter 6

[17] ibid. Chapter 21

[18] ibid. Chapter 22

[19] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 22

[20] ibid. Chapter 22

[21] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 23

[22] ibid. Chapter 23

[23] ibid. Chapter 23

[24] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 23

[25] ibid. Chapter 23

[26] Vincent of Lerins, The Commonitories, Chapter 24

[27] ibid. Chapter 24

[28] ibid. Chapter 24

Bibliography:

The Society of Clerks Secular of Saint Basil. “Saint Vincent of Lerin (Lerins) - Feast Day: May 24.” http://reu.org/public/saints/vincL.HTM (accessed October 31, 2009).

Vincent of Lerins. The Commonitories (Commonitoria). Translated by Rudolph E. Morris. Vol. 7 of The Fathers of the Church. New York, NY: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1949

On Father James Driscoll and the Modernist Crisis at Saint Joseph's Seminary

2009-12-01T12:26:00.000-08:00

The following was a paper that I wrote for my Writing and Composition course for First Theology during the Fall Semester of 2009. My goal was to give a brief historical survey of the events surrounding the Modernist Crisis at Saint Joseph's Seminary during Father James Driscoll's tenure as rector:

Father James Driscoll’s involvement in the Modernist crisis while rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary from 1902-1909 is an example of the danger and chaos that arose in the attempt of the Catholic Church to open its doors to the modern world. This is made evident through looking at his personal correspondences as well as the tight theological inquiry made by the Sulpicians and later by the Vatican and Cardinal Farley himself regarding certain articles found in The New York Review. Some of the attempts to quell modernism within Saint Joseph’s Seminary and the Catholic Church at large bordered along the lines of excessive, imprudent inquiry and persecution of some priests. Yet the problems that this heresy posed were real and dangerous in that the efforts of its proponents to adapt the Catholic faith to certain intellectual developments in philosophy, history, and science risked undermining the basis for her belief in God.

Father James Francis Driscoll was born in Vermont and had studied at the Grand Seminaire in Montreal and the Institute Catholique in Paris as a seminarian. He would later be ordained in Rome in 1887 for the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont. Once he had returned home, he would later enter the Society of Saint Suplice (Sulpicians) whose charism was the education and formation of men for the diocesan priesthood.[1] When he joined the Sulpicians, he taught nearly the full gamut of theological studies and with special concentrations on studies in sacred scripture and Semitic languages which he came to know through his studies with Dr. Ignazio Guidi and Henri Hyvernat.[2] It was also under their guidance that Father Driscoll would become a follower of the new developments in scripture studies that centered on the rise of historical exegesis. Some of these developments would also receive heavy criticism from certain groups within the Vatican and the Suplician Order.[3] The reactionary turn that the Sulpicians had towards Modernism was something that caused Driscoll much grief. Fr. Frederick Colin, rector of the Suplician seminary in Montreal, would later name him as a heretic before the superior-general of his order. Around the same time, Driscoll would begin a correspondence with Fr. Alfred Loisy, a noted French theologian, whose work later would become one of the main targets of condemnation of Pope St. Pius X’s encyclical against Modernism, Pascendi Dominici Gregis. Although Driscoll had never been a student of Loisy and did not agree with everything that Loisy held theologically, he greatly admired his work, particularly his critiques of the theology of Adolf Von Harnack. He once asked Loisy if he could publish two of his theological works into Englisch, which received condemnation by a number of French bishops, in order to help people see his “radical” work in the realm of historical critical exegesis in its proper theological context.[4] Thus, Father Driscoll was a man who often pushed to be on the theological edge and was not afraid to engage in trying to reconcile the faith to modern developments in theology and scriptural exegesis.

Father Driscoll would be appointed rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary in 1903, shortly after Archbishop Farley’s installation as Archbishop of New York. Farley, who was known for hostility towards the Suplician order when he was Vicar General of the Archdiocese of New York, wanted a man as rector who would run the seminary in a superior fashion. During his term as rector, Father Driscoll would receive high praise for the faculty members that he would bring to the seminary.[5] His main focus as rector was to make Saint Joseph’s Seminary into a place that would “produce priests who were not only pious but cultivated in the things of the mind.”[6]

In June 21, 1905, Father Driscoll and a group of faculty members would receive permission from Archbishop Farley to start a theological journal at the seminary known as the New York Review. [7] The faculty members who served as the driving force behind this journal were Father Francis P. Duffy, Father Francis E. Gigot who was a professor of sacred scripture, Father Joseph Bruneau who was a professor of dogmatic theology, and Father John Brady who served as the periodical’s managing editor.[8] Its goal would be to provide Catholics both in the Archdiocese of New York and in America the best of modern scholarship in scripture and theology. Gigot, Bruneau, and other facuty members would contribute over half of the articles for The New York Review. Other articles would be taken from the works of major European theologians such as Wilfred Ward, George Tyrrell, Vincent McNabb, O.P., Joseph Turmel, and M.J. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. The first issue of The New York Review would be received favorably by the Catholic press and would raise the reputation of Saint Joseph’s Seminary to one of the premiere Catholic intellectual institutions in America.[9] But soon The New York Review’s reputation of being on the cutting edge of modern developments in theology would quickly garner it the scorn of critics within the Catholic Church who were concerned with the rise of the heresy of modernism within the ranks of its intellectual institutions.

In the summer of 1905, Fr. Edward Dyer, S.S., the First Rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary who was now serving as the vicar general of the Sulpicians in the United States, would express concern over the exalted status that The New York Review was gaining for itself. Father Dyer was a close friend of Father Driscoll and shared many of his views on modern theology.[10] Yet he also was caught up in the middle of a battle between the superior-general of the Sulpicians who wished to exercise greater control over the seminary and the Dunwoodie Sulpicians who wished to obtain greater autonomy from the order. This battle was also brought about by the concern of some within the hierarchy of the Sulpicians regarding Saint Joseph's seminary’s embrace of modern currents within theology.[11] Dyer thought about the possibility of removing Driscoll as rector in order to placate the concerns of his order yet he did not wish to go against the desires of Archbishop Farley who greatly favored Driscoll and risk creating an uproar that would result in the Sulpicians loosing control over Saint Joseph’s Seminary.[12] Yet his worst fears eventually would be realized on January 9, 1906, when Father Driscoll and four out of the five Sulpicians who were residing at Saint Joseph’s Seminary left the order. These men were immediately incardinated as priests for the Archdiocese of New York by Farley and they were allowed to keep their positions on the seminary faculty. Father Driscoll sought to defend himself by publishing a pamphlet in which explained that the reason behind his departure was that he and his colleagues wanted to continue their work in modern theological scholarship under a less restrained atmosphere.[13] Dyer viewed the actions of Driscoll and his companions not only as treason but also as a major blow to the Sulpicians presence within Catholic seminaries in the United States.[14]

Under Driscoll’s continued leadership as rector, Saint Joseph’s Seminary continued its proud tradition of intellectual excellence. The New York Review also would further its reputation in being on the intellectual forefront of modern theological scholarship in the Catholic Church but this would all come to a grinding halt. During the summer and fall of 1907, Pope St. Pius X would publish the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis, against the doctrine of the Modernists, and the Holy Office soon after would publish Lamentabili Sane Exitu, a list of sixty-five condemned propositions found in the writings of Modernist theologians.[15] The New York Review would publish the full texts of these documents but it would also claim in its commentary notes that the condemnations were only aimed at the “extreme views” of the modernists and that readers should not extend their condemnations to anyone “who has ever studied biology or Hebrew.”[16] Later, Archbishop Diomede Falconio, the Apostolic Delegate in Washington, would complain to Archbishop Farley that The New York Review had carried advertisements for the works of George Tyrrell, one of the targets of the Pope’s condemnations, in the very same issue that contained the texts of Pascendi.[17] Farley would come to the defense of Driscoll and the editors of The New York Review, respond that such accusations were inaccurate and that Tyrrell’s works were published during a time when he was still in good standing with the church.[18] In December 1907, Driscoll would be invited by Charles Briggs to deliver a theology lecture at Union Theological Seminary but Farley would ask him to decline due to the suspicion that the seminary was receiving from Rome.[19] Driscoll would privately convey to Briggs his true feelings about the anti-Modernist campaign in the church at this time, stating “Nothing so violent and drastic as the recent curial documents has appeared on the part of the Vatican since the days of the Inquisition. I can compare the crisis to nothing but a cyclone during which people must simply make for the cellar…”[20]

Archbishop Farley would continue to defend Father Driscoll and his seminary faculty, even though he would come under fire for doing so from the anti-Modernist forces. In March 1908, he would send Father Driscoll both French and Italian copies of A Catechism of Modernism by J.B. Lemius, O.M.I. in order to have the Seminary publish an English translation of such document as an attempt to try to deflect criticism against Saint Joseph’s Seminary having modernist sympathies.[21] However, Farley would eventually cave in from the pressure of the anti-Modernist crusade. He would stop the publication of The New York Review after it published its Spring 1908 issue.[22] Father Driscoll would continue to stay on as the rector of the seminary for about another year. Finally in the summer of 1909, Archbishop Farley would visit Rome where he would agree to remove Father Driscoll as rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary. On September 5, 1909 at a faculty meeting at the seminary, Archbishop Farley stated that he had finally accepted Driscoll’s resignation as rector. The Archbishop commended Father Driscoll for his years of service to the seminary.[23] Upon leaving Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Father Driscoll would become pastor of Saint Ambrose Church in Manhattan and later pastor of Saint Gabriel’s Church in New Rochelle where he would reside until his death in July 5, 1922.[24]

Father Francis Driscoll’s term as the rector of Saint Joseph’s Seminary was marked both by academic success and theological persecution. The seminary quickly grew as one of the most prestigious intellectual centers of American Catholicism, but its prestige was eventually defended due to the anti-Modernist purge that would consume the Catholic Church during the early years of the Twentieth Century. This period of the history of Saint Joseph’s Seminary marked a skirmish within a larger struggle that the Catholic Church has had to deal with over the past two hundred years. This battle centers on the question of how the church can adapt its theology and teaching to developments in modern intellectual scholarship without stripping away the essence its Catholic identity. Father Driscoll represented a figure that sought to deal with this tension and create new bridges for the faith to be communicated upon while trying to avoid falling into the dangers of adapting the faith to modernity. He hoped to make Saint Joseph’s Seminary into an environment where such intellectual exchange between theology and modern world can occur and bear good fruit. The Catholic Church would later adapt the disposition that he sought to foster at Saint Joseph’s Seminary during the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The story of Father Driscoll points to the caution and prudence needed in undertaking such a dialogue with faith and the modern world and the sacrifices that are needed to make sure that this can occur in a correct manner.

[1] Michael J. DeVito, Ph.D., The New York Review (1905-1908), (Yonkers, NY: United States Catholic Historical Society, 1977), 16

[2] ibid. 17

[3] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 124-125

[4] ibid. 125

[5] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 124

[6] Michael V. Gannon, “Before and After Modernism: The Intellectual Isolation Of The American Priest.” The Catholic Priest In The United States: Historical Investigations ed. John Tracy Ellis, (St. Paul, MN: North Central Publishing Company, 1971), 334

[7] Thomas J. Shelley, “A Somber Anniversary,” America Magazine, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10718 (accessed October 26, 2009).

[8] Michael J. DeVito, Ph.D., The New York Review (1905-1908), (Yonkers, NY: United States Catholic Historical Society, 1977), 31

[9] Thomas J. Shelley, “A Somber Anniversary,” America Magazine, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10718 (accessed October 26, 2009).

[10] Thomas J. Shelley, “A Somber Anniversary,” America Magazine, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10718 (accessed October 26, 2009).

[11] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 137

[12] Thomas J. Shelley, “John Cardinal Farley and Modernism in New York,” Church History, 61, no. 3 (September 1992), 355-356

[13] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 142

[14] ibid. 140-141

[15] Thomas J. Shelley, “John Cardinal Farley and Modernism in New York,” Church History, 61, no. 3 (September 1992), 357

[16] Thomas J. Shelley, “A Somber Anniversary,” America Magazine, http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=10718 (accessed October 26, 2009).

[17] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 156

[18] ibid. 157

[19] ibid. 159

[20] ibid. 159-160

[21] ibid. 159

[22] ibid. 161

[23] Thomas J. Shelley, Dunwoodie: The History of Saint Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York (Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, 1993), 167

[24] ibid. 168

Biography:

DeVito, Michael J. The New York Review (1905-1908). Yonkers, NY: United States Catholic Historical Society, 1977

Gannon, Michael V. “Before and After Modernism: The Intellectual Isolation Of The American Priest.” The Catholic Priest In The United States: Historical Investigations, edited by John Tracy Ellis. St. Paul, MN: North Central Publishing Company, 1971.

Shelley, Thomas J. Dunwoodie: The History of St. Joseph’s Seminary – Yonkers, New York. Westminster, MD: Christian Classics, Inc., 1993

______________ “John Cardinal Farley and Modernism in New York.” Church History, 61, no. 3 (September 1992): 350-361

______________ “A Somber Anniversary.” America. March 31, 2008. http://www.americanmagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id-10718 (accessed October 26, 2009).

Reflections on the Mystery of the Season of Advent

2009-11-28T08:33:00.000-08:00

from: http://www.cantius.org/go/liturgy_devotions/liturgical_seasons/advent_extraordinary/mystery_of_advent_extraordinary/

The Mystery of Advent

The Mystery of Advent

from Dom Gueranger’s “Liturgical Year”

If, having described the characteristic features of Advent which distinguish it from the rest of the year, we would penetrate into the profound Mystery which occupies the mind of the Church during this season, we find that the Mystery of this Coming, or Advent, of Jesus is at once simple and threefold. It is simple for it is the one same Son of God that is coming; it is threefold because He comes at three different times and in three different ways.

‘In the first coming,’ says St. Bernard, ‘He comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, He comes in spirit and power; in the third, He comes in glory and majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third.’

This, then, is the mystery of Advent. Let us now listen to an explanation of this threefold visit of Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third sermon de Advent: ‘There are three comings of Our Lord; the first in the flesh; the second in the soul; the third at judgment. The first was at midnight according to the words of the Gospel: At Midnight there was a cry made, Lo, the Bridegroom cometh! But this first coming is long since past for Christ has been seen on the earth and has conversed among men. We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love Him, He will come to us and take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty for us; for who, save the spirit of God, knows them that are of God? They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes, but whence He cometh or whither He goeth they know not. As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more sure than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death. When they shall say, peace and security, says the apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. So that the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible. In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, He renders us just by His grace; in His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends.’

The holy Church, therefore, during Advent, awaits in tears and with ardour the arrival of her Jesus in His first coming. For this, she borrows the fervid expressions of the prophets, to which she joins her own supplications. These longings for the Messias expressed by the Church, are not a mere commemoration of the desires of the ancient Jewish people; they have a reality and efficacy of their own, an influence in the great act of God’s munificence, whereby He gave us His own Son. From all eternity, the prayers of the ancient Jewish people and the prayers of the Christian Church ascended together to the prescient hearing of God; and it was after the receiving and granting them, that He sent, in the appointed time, that blessed Dew upon the earth, which made it bud forth the Savior. The Ten Virgins at the Last Judgment, by an Unknown Flemish Master (see Matthew 25:1-13)

The Church aspires also to the second coming, the consequence of the first, which consists, as we have just seen, in the visit of the Bridegroom to the bride. This coming takes place, each year, at the feast of Christmas, when the new birth of the Son of God delivers the faithful from that yoke of bondage, under which the enemy would oppress them. The Church, therefore, during Advent, prays that she may be visited by Him who is her Head and her Spouse; visited in her hierarchy; visited in her members, of whom some are living, and some are dead, but may come to life again; visited, lastly, in those who are not in communion with her, and even in the very infidels, that so they may be converted to the true light, which shines even for them. The expressions of the liturgy which the Church makes use of to ask for this loving and invisible coming, are those which she employs when begging for the coming of Jesus in the flesh; for the two visits are for the same object. In vain would the Son of God have come, nineteen hundred years ago, to visit and save mankind, unless He came again for each one of us and at every moment of our lives, bringing to us and cherishing within us that supernatural life, of which He and His holy Spirit are the sole principle.

But this annual visit of the Spouse does not content the Church; she aspires after a third coming which will complete all things by opening the gates of eternity. She has caught up the last words of her Spouse, ‘Surely I am coming quickly,’ and she cries out to Him, ‘Ah! Lord Jesus Come!’ She is impatient to be loosed from her present temporal state; she longs for the number of the elect to be filled up, and to see appear, in the clouds of heaven, the sign of her Deliverer and her Spouse. Her desires, expressed by her Advent liturgy, go even as far as this: and here we have the explanation of these words of the beloved disciple in his prophecy: ‘The nuptials of the Lamb are come, and His wife hath prepared herself.’

But the day of His last coming to her will be a day of terror. The Church frequently trembles at the very thought of that awful judgment, in which all mankind is to be tried. She calls it ‘a day of wrath, on which, as David and the Sibyl have foretold, the world will be reduced to ashes; a day of weeping and of fear.’ Not that she fears for herself, since she knows that this day will for ever secure for her the crown, as being the bride of Jesus; but her maternal heart is troubled at the thought that, on the same day, so many of her children will be on the left hand of that Judge, and having no share with the elect, will be bound hand and foot, and cast into the darkness, where there shall be everlasting weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the reason why the Church, in the liturgy of Advent, so frequently speaks of the coming of Christ as a terrible coming, and selects from the Scriptures those passages which are most calculated to awaken a salutary fear in the mind of such of her children as may be sleeping the sleep of sin.

This, then, is the threefold mystery of Advent. The liturgical forms in which it is embodied, are of two kinds: the one consists of prayers, passages from the Bible, and similar formulae, in all of which, words themselves are employed to convey the sentiments which we have been explaining; the other consists of external rites peculiar to this holy time, which by speaking to the outward senses, complete the expressiveness of the chants and words.

First of all, there is the number of the days of Advent. Forty was the number originally adopted by the Church, and it is still maintained in the Ambrosian liturgy, and in the eastern Church. If, at a later period, the Church of Rome, and those which follow her liturgy, have changed the number of days, the same idea is still expressed in the four weeks which have been substituted for the forty days. The new birth of our Redeemer takes place after four weeks, as the first nativity happened after four thousand years, according to the Hebrew and Vulgate chronology.

As in Lent, so likewise during Advent, marriage is not solemnized, lest wordly joy should distract Christians from those serious thoughts wherewith the expected coming of the sovereign Judge ought to inspire them or from that dearly cherished hope which the friends of the Bridegroom have of being soon called to the eternal nuptial-feast.

The people are forcibly reminded of the sadness which fills the heart of the Church, by the sombre colour of the vestments. Excepting on the feasts of the saints, purple is the coulour she uses; the deacon does not wear the dalmatic, nor the sub-deacon the tunic. Formerly it was the custom, in some places, to wear black vestments. This mourning of the Church shows how fully she unites herself with those true Israelites of old who, clothed in sack-cloth and ashes, waited for the Messias, and bewailed Sion that she had not her beauty, and Juda, that the sceptre had been taken from him, till He should come who was to be sent, the expectation of nations. It also signifies the works of penance, whereby she prepares for the second coming, full as it is of sweetness and mystery, which is realized in the souls of men, in proportion as they appreciate the tender love of that divine Guest, who has said: ‘My delights are to be with the children of men.’ It expresses, thirdly, the desolation of this bride who yearns after her Beloved, who is long a-coming. Like the turtle dove, she moans her loneliness, longing for the voice which will say to her: ‘Come from Libanus, my bride! come and thou shalt be crowned. Thou has responded to my heart.’

The Church also, during Advent, excepting on the feasts of saints, suppresses the angelic canticle, Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis; for this glorious song was sung at Bethlehem over the crib of the divine Babe; the tongues of the angels are not loosened yet; the Virgin has not yet brought forth her divine Treasure; it is not yet time to sing, it is not even true to say, ‘Glory be to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men of good will.’

Again, at the end of Mass, the deacon does not dismiss the assembly of the faithful by the words: Ite missa est. He substitutes the ordinary greeting: Benedicamus Domino! as though the Church feared to interrupt the prayers of the people, which could scarce be too long during these days of expectation.

In the night Office, the holy Church also suspends, on those same days, the hymn of jubilation, Te Deum laudamus. It is in deep humility that she awaits the supreme blessing which is to come to her; and, in the interval, she presumes only to ask, and entreat, and hope. But let the glorious hour come, when in the midst of darkest night the Sun of justice will suddenly rise upon the world: then indeed she will resume her hymn of thanksgiving, and all over the face of the earth the silence of midnight will be broken by this shout of enthusiasm: ‘We praise Thee, O God! we acknowledge Thee to be our Lord! Thou, O Christ, art the King of glory, the everlasting Son of the Father! Thou being to deliver man didst not disdain the Virgin’s womb!’

On the ferial days, the rubrics of Advent prescribe that certain prayers should be said kneeling, at the end of each canonical Hour, and that the choir should also kneel during a considerable portion of the Mass. In this respect, the usages of Advent are precisely the same as those of Lent.

But there is one feature which distinguishes Advent most markedy from Lent: the word of gladness, the joyful Alleluia, is not interrupted during Advent, except once or twice during the ferial Office. It is sung in the Masses of the four Sundays, and vividly contrasts with the sombre colour of the vestments. On one of these Sundays, the third, the prohibition of using the organ is removed, and we are gladdened by the grand notes, and rose-coloured vestments may be used instead of the purple. These vestiges of joy, thus blended with the holy mournfulness of the Church, tell us, in a most expressive way, that though she unites with the ancient people of God (thus paying the debt which the entire human race owes to the justice and mercy of God), she does not forget that the Emmanuel is already come to her, that He is in her, and that even before she has opened her lips to ask Him to save her, she has already been redeemed and pre-destined to an eternal union with Him. This is the reason why the Alleluia accompanies even her sighs, and why she seems to be at once joyous and sad, waiting for the coming of that holy night which will be brighter to her than the most sunny of days, and on which her joy will expel all her sorrow.

Bishop Tobin : Catholic Politicians Must "Quit Your Job and Save Your Soul" Rather than Support Abortion

2009-11-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

from: http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112516.html

Bishop Tobin on O'Reilly: Catholic Politicians Must "Quit Your Job and Save Your Soul" Rather than Support Abortion

By Kathleen Gilbert
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island, November 25, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Bishop Thomas Tobin of Rhode Island clarified his reasons for denying pro-abortion politicians Communion on Tuesday, noting that such politicians are not forced to be Catholic - but if they choose to, they must then "understand what the Church teaches, accept those teachings, and live that faith."

"The most important commitment we can make is our faith, because that defines our relationship with God. Nothing is more important than that. And if your job, your profession, your vocation gets in the way of that, you have to quit your job and save your soul," said Tobin in an appearance on the FOX Network's "O'Reilly Factor" Tuesday night.

Bishop Tobin has been at the center of controversy after it was revealed that he told the Catholic pro-abortion Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) in 2007 to refrain from receiving Communion. Kennedy originally sparked the public feud by accusing the Catholic Church of fanning the "flames of dissent and discord" by opposing the pro-abortion House health care bill.

Tobin denied that his decision to ban Rep. Kennedy from Communion was a "punishment."

"Every Catholic has certain obligations, it means something to say you are a Catholic. No one is forced to be a Catholic," said the bishop.

"If you choose freely to be a Catholic it means you do certain things, and you believe certain things, and I think all I'm trying to say to Congressman Kennedy and others who might be involved, say: if you're a Catholic, live up to your faith. Understand what the Church teaches, accept those teachings, and live that faith."

Tobin also defended the Church's basic right to intercede in public debate on behalf of universal moral principles.

"If the church, not just the Catholic Church, but the religious community - if we don't bring these values, this spiritual vision to these discussions, who else will do that?" said Tobin.

The tenor of the interview starkly contrasted with Tobin's appearance on MSNBC's "Hardball" with Chris Matthews Monday night, in which the Catholic Matthews lectured the bishop and accused Tobin of using public policy as leverage in getting Kennedy to heed his authority.

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Catholic League Rebukes MSNBC's Matthews for 'Insulting Lecture' in Bp. Tobin Interview

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/nov/09112409.html

On the Feast of Christ The King, Last Sunday in Ordinary Time, Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite

2009-11-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

Taken from Quas Primas - On The Feast of Christ the King, Pope Pius XI, December 11, 1925

from: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/pius_xi/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_11121925_quas-primas_en.html

7. It has long been a common custom to give to Christ the metaphorical title of "King," because of the high degree of perfection whereby he excels all creatures. So he is said to reign "in the hearts of men," both by reason of the keenness of his intellect and the extent of his knowledge, and also because he is very truth, and it is from him that truth must be obediently received by all mankind. He reigns, too, in the wills of men, for in him the human will was perfectly and entirely obedient to the Holy Will of God, and further by his grace and inspiration he so subjects our free-will as to incite us to the most noble endeavors. He is King of hearts, too, by reason of his "charity which exceedeth all knowledge." And his mercy and kindness[1] which draw all men to him, for never has it been known, nor will it ever be, that man be loved so much and so universally as Jesus Christ. But if we ponder this matter more deeply, we cannot but see that the title and the power of King belongs to Christ as man in the strict and proper sense too. For it is only as man that he may be said to have received from the Father "power and glory and a kingdom,"[2] since the Word of God, as consubstantial with the Father, has all things in common with him, and therefore has necessarily supreme and absolute dominion over all things created.

8. Do we not read throughout the Scriptures that Christ is the King? He it is that shall come out of Jacob to rule,[3] who has been set by the Father as king over Sion, his holy mount, and shall have the Gentiles for his inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for his possession.[4] In the nuptial hymn, where the future King of Israel is hailed as a most rich and powerful monarch, we read: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; the scepter of thy kingdom is a scepter of righteousness."[5] There are many similar passages, but there is one in which Christ is even more clearly indicated. Here it is foretold that his kingdom will have no limits, and will be enriched with justice and peace: "in his days shall justice spring up, and abundance of peace...And he shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth."[6]

9. The testimony of the Prophets is even more abundant. That of Isaias is well known: "For a child is born to us and a son is given to us, and the government is upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, God the mighty, the Father of the world to come, the Prince of Peace. His empire shall be multiplied, and there shall be no end of peace. He shall sit upon the throne of David and upon his kingdom; to establish it and strengthen it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth and for ever."[7] With Isaias the other Prophets are in agreement. So Jeremias foretells the "just seed" that shall rest from the house of David - the Son of David that shall reign as king, "and shall be wise, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth."[8] So, too, Daniel, who announces the kingdom that the God of heaven shall found, "that shall never be destroyed, and shall stand for ever."[9] And again he says: "I beheld, therefore, in the vision of the night, and, lo! one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven. And he came even to the Ancient of days: and they presented him before him. And he gave him power and glory and a kingdom: and all peoples, tribes, and tongues shall serve him. His power is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed."[10] The prophecy of Zachary concerning the merciful King "riding upon an ass and upon a colt the foal of an ass" entering Jerusalem as "the just and savior," amid the acclamations of the multitude,[11] was recognized as fulfilled by the holy evangelists themselves.

10. This same doctrine of the Kingship of Christ which we have found in the Old Testament is even more clearly taught and confirmed in the New. The Archangel, announcing to the Virgin that she should bear a Son, says that "the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father, and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end."[12]

11. Moreover, Christ himself speaks of his own kingly authority: in his last discourse, speaking of the rewards and punishments that will be the eternal lot of the just and the damned; in his reply to the Roman magistrate, who asked him publicly whether he were a king or not; after his resurrection, when giving to his Apostles the mission of teaching and baptizing all nations, he took the opportunity to call himself king,[13] confirming the title publicly,[14] and solemnly proclaimed that all power was given him in heaven and on earth.[15] These words can only be taken to indicate the greatness of his power, the infinite extent of his kingdom. What wonder, then, that he whom St. John calls the "prince of the kings of the earth"[16] appears in the Apostle's vision of the future as he who "hath on his garment and on his thigh written 'King of kings and Lord of lords!'."[17] It is Christ whom the Father "hath appointed heir of all things";[18] "for he must reign until at the end of the world he hath put all his enemies under the feet of God and the Father."[19]

3. The foundation of this power and dignity of Our Lord is rightly indicated by Cyril of Alexandria. "Christ," he says, "has dominion over all creatures, a dominion not seized by violence nor usurped, but his by essence and by nature."[20] His kingship is founded upon the ineffable hypostatic union. From this it follows not only that Christ is to be adored by angels and men, but that to him as man angels and men are subject, and must recognize his empire; by reason of the hypostatic union Christ has power over all creatures. But a thought that must give us even greater joy and consolation is this that Christ is our King by acquired, as well as by natural right, for he is our Redeemer. Would that they who forget what they have cost their Savior might recall the words: "You were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled."[21] We are no longer our own property, for Christ has purchased us "with a great price";[22] our very bodies are the "members of Christ."[23]

14. Let Us explain briefly the nature and meaning of this lordship of Christ. It consists, We need scarcely say, in a threefold power which is essential to lordship. This is sufficiently clear from the scriptural testimony already adduced concerning the universal dominion of our Redeemer, and moreover it is a dogma of faith that Jesus Christ was given to man, not only as our Redeemer, but also as a law-giver, to whom obedience is due.[24] Not only do the gospels tell us that he made laws, but they present him to us in the act of making them. Those who keep them show their love for their Divine Master, and he promises that they shall remain in his love.[25] He claimed judicial power as received from his Father, when the Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath by the miraculous cure of a sick man. "For neither doth the Father judge any man; but hath given all judgment to the Son."[26] In this power is included the right of rewarding and punishing all men living, for this right is inseparable from that of judging. Executive power, too, belongs to Christ, for all must obey his commands; none may escape them, nor the sanctions he has imposed.

15. This kingdom is spiritual and is concerned with spiritual things. That this is so the above quotations from Scripture amply prove, and Christ by his own action confirms it. On many occasions, when the Jews and even the Apostles wrongly supposed that the Messiah would restore the liberties and the kingdom of Israel, he repelled and denied such a suggestion. When the populace thronged around him in admiration and would have acclaimed him King, he shrank from the honor and sought safety in flight. Before the Roman magistrate he declared that his kingdom was not of this world. The gospels present this kingdom as one which men prepare to enter by penance, and cannot actually enter except by faith and by baptism, which, though an external rite, signifies and produces an interior regeneration. This kingdom is opposed to none other than to that of Satan and to the power of darkness. It demands of its subjects a spirit of detachment from riches and earthly things, and a spirit of gentleness. They must hunger and thirst after justice, and more than this, they must deny themselves and carry the cross.

16. Christ as our Redeemer purchased the Church at the price of his own blood; as priest he offered himself, and continues to offer himself as a victim for our sins. Is it not evident, then, that his kingly dignity partakes in a manner of both these offices?

19. When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony. Our Lord's regal office invests the human authority of princes and rulers with a religious significance; it ennobles the citizen's duty of obedience. It is for this reason that St. Paul, while bidding wives revere Christ in their husbands, and slaves respect Christ in their masters, warns them to give obedience to them not as men, but as the vicegerents of Christ; for it is not meet that men redeemed by Christ should serve their fellow-men. "You are bought with a price; be not made the bond-slaves of men."[32] If princes and magistrates duly elected are filled with the persuasion that they rule, not by their own right, but by the mandate and in the place of the Divine King, they will exercise their authority piously and wisely, and they will make laws and administer them, having in view the common good and also the human dignity of their subjects. The result will be a stable peace and tranquillity, for there will be no longer any cause of discontent. Men will see in their king or in their rulers men like themselves, perhaps unworthy or open to criticism, but they will not on that account refuse obedience if they see reflected in them the authority of Christ God and Man. Peace and harmony, too, will result; for with the spread and the universal extent of the kingdom of Christ men will become more and more conscious of the link that binds them together, and thus many conflicts will be either prevented entirely or at least their bitterness will be diminished.

20. If the kingdom of Christ, then, receives, as it should, all nations under its way, there seems no reason why we should despair of seeing that peace which the King of Peace came to bring on earth - he who came to reconcile all things, who came not to be ministered unto but to minister, who, though Lord of all, gave himself to us as a model of humility, and with his principal law united the precept of charity; who said also: "My yoke is sweet and my burden light." Oh, what happiness would be Ours if all men, individuals, families, and nations, would but let themselves be governed by Christ! "Then at length," to use the words addressed by our predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, twenty-five years ago to the bishops of the Universal Church, "then at length will many evils be cured; then will the law regain its former authority; peace with all its blessings be restored. Men will sheathe their swords and lay down their arms when all freely acknowledge and obey the authority of Christ, and every tongue confesses that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father."[33]

Saint Jerome Debate: Resolved That Certain Genres Of Music Intrinsically Disordered

2009-11-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

The following was a presentation that I made at The Saint Jerome Debate at Saint Joseph's Seminary on November 17, 2009. The topic was Resolved That Certain Genres Of Music Intrinsically Disordered and the debate style was in the form of the Scholastic Questiones Disputate. I presented the affirmative side. My opponent, Eugene Ubawike, Jr. (a seminarian in 3rd Theology) debated the negative side. The affirmative side won the debate 14-10-2 and Mr. Ubawike won best speaker:

Music is one of the most influential and powerful forces in human culture. It can evoke different feelings and emotions within man depending on the venue it is played in and the volume and rhythm of its tones. Some music can educe a subdued calming effect in a person after a long day of work or help one focus during prayer or study. Other types of music can often heighten emotions. Depending on the beats and rhythms of a given piece of music, it can heighten emotions and passions leading to certain violent or sexual behaviors to break out at given events like when a person is trying to bust a move and gyrating their body next to a pretty girl at the local night club while the latest dance hit. Also, how many times do we find ourselves speeding on the highway after listening to an upbeat song? Hopefully we don’t get pulled over but it can happen.

A common question that is asked by theologians, psychologists, and philosophers is what makes music good or bad? Is it the lyrics alone that do this? In this debate, I shall herby argue the point that in order to truly understand what music is in itself and in its relation to God and man, one must look at not only the lyrics of a given piece (if they happen to posses them) but also the various rhythms and tones that are being utilized. When all three of these aspects are taken into consideration, one will see that music is not just a mere matter of personal preference decided upon by one’s own free will but that it also contains an objective reality that is formative to human nature. When musical tones and lyrics are used to convey beauty and order it will lead to harmony and virtue within a person. When jarring music is overindulged in, it can increase the passions and emotions of a person to such a degree that they can wear down one’s rational and volitional capacities and influence him to commit immoral actions. It is when music is viewed in its formative aspects that one can clearly see that certain forms of music are indeed disordered when they are used within their relationships to both God and man.

What does it exactly mean for music to be intrinsically disordered? The important thing for one to keep in mind here is that music is not just a subjective reality based upon our own preferences for lyrics, beat and rhythm. In The Republic, Plato describes music as “something which sinks deep into the depths of the soul and remains there. It is the medicine of the soul and it should restore the soul’s order by bringing it concord through its harmony and rhythms.” He noted that music and poetry are supposed to go together and that the purpose of melodies and harmonies are to reinforce the lyrics of the music. Beautiful music can lead man to a deeper understanding of God and reality. Its lyrics and melodies can lead man into an ecstatic state in which he transcends his reason and senses and has a supernatural experience of truth, beauty and goodness. Dietrich Von Hildebrand and Plato speak of such experiences conveyed by music as formal beauty or Divine madness but such an experience will still keep man’s reason and passions in harmony with each other. Music can become bad when it flaunts itself and overwhelms man with its beat and rhythms in such a way that it stirs up his passions and blurs his perception of reality. This is something that every Hollywood producer and nightclub owner knows. They select certain kinds of music to enhance and influence scenes in a movie that involve violent fights, wild dances, and sexual behavior. Some describe loud jarring music as having what is called a Dionysian effect (Dionysius was the Greek god of drunkenness and merrymaking). This music consists of a potent emotional power of tone and a droning, constant melody that create erotic effects within man in which he is overwhelmed by ecstatic, violent passions, and looses his capacity to rationally perceive reality in itself. This behavior is personified by the Bacchic sex cults of Ancient Greece, the Saint Vitus Festivals of Europe, and the Babylonian Seneca, all of which were drunken, sexual orgy fests surrounded by wild music. Similar effects can be seen in our day with the loud blaring music of Reggaton artists such as Zion y Lennox, Rappers such as Eminem and Fify Cent, and Heavy Metal Bands such as Slipnot and Godsmack.[1] How many times do we find people grinding to such music in dance floors or training to such music while they are preparing to participate in sporting events such as boxing matches and sports games?

Some of the early church fathers such as Saint Clement of Alexandria and Saint Basil the Great condemned the use of certain musical instruments because of the sinful behaviors such as lewd dances and sexual expressions usually associated with their use as well as the use of certain flutes and castanets that were used in worship rites at pagan temples.[2] The will is always free to choose or to reject what the passions are presenting it. However, if one is given prolonged exposure to a loud droning music, it can cause the will and reason to cave in into one’s passions and fall into a state such as the Dionysian. This effect is substantiated by various psychological and sociological studies looked at how music can influence human behavior: Scientists have noted that when a person listens to music, the heartbeat tens to synchronize with the rhythm of the music. Fast songs lead to a faster heartbeat, which in turn will influence chemical changes in the bloodstream and thereby arouse emotions. In a scientific study, one hundred and forty four undergraduate men viewed rock videos. Exposure to nonerotic violent videos resulted in significantly higher adversarial sexual belief scores and ratings of negative effects. Another study noted that a large number of adolescents in a psychiatric population who were all chemically dependant preferred heavy metal music because they tend to find a support system and release through the beat and lyrics of the music for their problems as well as something that encourages them to engage in destructive behavior. Another study found that when comparing adolescents who listened to heavy metal music, pop music, and classical music, those who preferred classical music had the lowest score on a delinquency scale, and those who preferred heavy metal had the highest score. It was found that adolescents that listened to heavy metal had low levels of parental supervision and higher rates of delinquency. (Cole, Ch 4)

Closing Argument:

In his book The Closing of the American Mind, Alan Boom notes that our present generation “is addicted to music.” Loud, obnoxious sounding music with perverse lyrics has a common place in American culture. It is true that we are what we eat but we are also what we listen to. If we choose to overindulge in disordered music eventually we will be driven to destructive behavior due to our passions being stirred to such a point that they overwhelm our reason and will power. If we listen to good wholesome music, our nature will be formed into the accordance of virtue and we will come to a greater understanding what is good, true and beautiful.

The issue of whether certain forms of music are intrinsically disordered becomes very important not only within the realm of liturgy but also in the Church’s mission to evangelize culture. Melodies and rhythms within sacred music can assist people enter deeper into prayer, sleep, study, exercise while other music can contribute to violence and sex. Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best when he stated that “I cannot define pornography but I know it when I see it.” I cannot imagine that people in this room cannot find certain musical genres that can fit the description of pornographic and vile music.

In closing, I would like to briefly mention a thought from Cardinal Ratzinger’s book A New Song For the Lord (pg 107-109). He speaks about how the Church today is facing a crisis of faith and culture, which is personified in a particular way through a crisis of music. In our current time, popular music has separated itself from God and transcendent moral values, becoming more focused on success, popularity, and producing money. Good music leads us to something higher. Pythagoras it is rather a science that speaks to the soul by its different chords and rhythms. Music does not necessarily need to be linked directly to God in order for it to be good. When it conveys to man the transcendent realities of what is truth, beauty and goodness it helps form a harmony within his nature that gives him peace and fulfillment. When music becomes too fixated on itself by flaunting its beat, rhythms, and lyrics for mass appeal it can make man worship the Golden Calf of his own passions and self-vanity. Let us then follow the teaching of Saint Paul (Phil 4:8) and seek after that music which is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, excellent and worthy of praise, and use it in such a way that it helps us grow closer to God and perfects our nature as human beings. Thank you for listening.

[1] Birth of Tragedy, 6-7

[2] Cole 52-53, 55

Sources Used:

Friedrich Nietzche, The Birth of Tragedy
Basil Cole, O.P. Music and Morals
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, A New Song For The Lord
Alan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind
Theodore Dalrymple "Blast the Boom Box." National Review, June 28, 2004, pg 50-51

Ordination 2009

2009-09-29T20:54:00.001-07:00

NYPRIEST.com Vocations Profile: Matthew Mac Donald

2009-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

I saw Pope John Paul II for the first time in my life at the Liturgy of Good Friday at Saint Peter’s Basilica. I remember him praying intensely under a crucifix while the Passion of Saint John was being chanted in Latin. It was at this moment where God impressed upon me that this was a priest who constantly laying down his life through prayer, preaching and his example so that souls may have live through the merciful, redeeming love of Christ.

I would eventually find myself back in Europe in college. During my travels there, I was greatly inspired in seeing the history of the Faith in Europe as seen at various Marian Shrines and the tombs of the saints and martyrs. I would see Pope John Paul II again during the last moments of his life in Rome and be present for his last Easter blessing. A week after this, I would find myself travelling with my fellow classmates and thousands of other people to see the Pope’s body in state. This was one of the most profound moments of my life and it led me to reflect more about becoming a priest. On the day of the election of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, I remember going before the Blessed Sacrament to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for his election. It was at this moment when God made me realize the reality of His love for me and how my love for Him and His Church was at the very core of who I was as a person. From this moment on, I knew that He was calling me to lay down my life in service to His Church as a priest.

We need priests in our fallen world to serve as examples of holiness and love in our fallen world and to continue Our Lord’s work of salvation. I encourage all young men discerning a vocation to stay close in prayer to the Our Lady and the Blessed Sacrament for they are the pillars of priestly life. Do not be afraid to entrust your lives completely to Christ, for it is through this that you will find Him and also find your vocation.

Name: Matthew Mac Donald

Age: 25

Hometown: Lynbrook, NY

Seminary Year: I Theology (Class of 2013)

What is drawing you to the priesthood:

God is calling me to be a priest to preach the Gospel for the salvation of souls. He has placed this call on my heart and I am striving to respond faithfully to Him. I am also motivated to become a priest to help strengthen Catholic community, which is threatened by the secularism of our culture.

Parish: Church of Saint Vincent Ferrer (Lexington & East 63^rd Street)

Interests: History, Philosophy, Politics, New York Mets Baseball, Sports, Travelling, Fishing, and Writing

Favorite Movies: The Passion of the Christ, Gladiator, Braveheart, Ben Hur, Becket, Michael Collins, Saving Private Ryan, Hoosiers, and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Favorite Books: Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, True Devotion to Mary by Saint Louis De Montefort, The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood by Ven. Louise Margaret Claret De la Touche, Providence by Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI, The Person and the Common Good by Jacques Maritain, A Man for All Seasons by Robert Bolt, Story of A Soul by Saint Therese of Lisieux, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Favorite Quote:

For this cause I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom all paternity in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened by His Spirit with might unto the inward man, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts; that being rooted and founded in charity, you may be able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth: To know also the charity of Christ, which surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:14-19

Taken from: http://www.nypriest.com/real-lives/sem-macdonald.html

Vocations Talk for the 2009 Seminary Collection

2009-09-29T12:34:00.000-07:00

This is an outline of a vocations talk that I gave at Regina Coeli Church in Hyde Park, NY on September 12-13. I also gave the same talk at St. Rita's Church in Staten Island, NY on September 19-20:

My name is Matthew Mac Donald and I am a seminarian in First Theology studying at Saint Joseph’s Seminary for the Archdiocese of New York. I am originally from Lynbrook, NY on Long Island. I graduated Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2006 with a Bachelors Degree in Philosophy. Before entering seminary, I worked for two years as an Administrative Assistant for the Catholic League of Religious and Civil Rights and also volunteered as a catechist in Manhattan.

I would like to speak you all today briefly about the importance of supporting and fostering vocations to the priesthood. In the Gospel of Mark (Mk 1:16-20), we see Jesus calling poor, humble fisherman along the shores of the Sea of Galilee to follow Him as Apostles, the first priests of the Church. He says to them “Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What Our Lord shows us here is that a vocation to the priesthood does not depend on a person’s background or place in society. Rather, this is a special grace, a supernatural calling, given by God to whomever He chooses. He alone is the one who makes a man worthy of being a priest. All one can do is to be open to the call that God has given him in their heart and respond to it humbly in faith, hope and love. This is seen in the Apostles response to the call of Christ, “And immediately, they left their nets and followed him.”

Pope Benedict XVI also expands upon the identity and mission of the priest, noting that it is uniquely tied into the proclamation of the Gospel and the offering of the sacraments, particularly the Holy Sacrifice of the mass. When a priest fully knows and embraces this identity as a gift from Christ, he is t able to help people enter into a deeper encounter with Him. When a priest does this, he also fulfills the words of Saint Jean Vianney who said that a good pastor is “the greatest treasure that the good God can give to a parish, and one of the most precious gifts of Divine Mercy.”

The Holy Father has declared this year as the Year of the Priest. This is to help strengthen priestly identity and foster vocations to the priesthood within the life of the Church. Here are some brief suggestions that one can do in order to assist the Holy Father and their Parish Priests in this initiative:

1. Pray daily for priests and for an increase of priestly vocations – The Holy Father has particularly set aside the First Thursday of each month as a day of prayer for the sanctification of priests. On this day, special graces and indulgences have been assigned for those who pray for this intention at mass. If you are unable to do this, please remember to pray for these intentions whenever you are able to be present for mass, attend Eucharistic Adoration or pray the Rosary. Please also encourage others people that you know to do the same.

2. Secondly, one can meditate upon what the Church teaches about the Priesthood and reflect on the lives of Holy Priests such as Saint Jean Vianney or Pope John Paul II.

3. Thirdly, one can support your local parish priests. Let them know that you appreciate their sacrifices and service on behalf of God and the Church. One can also volunteer to assist them in the parish.

4. Help support Saint Joseph’s Seminary – We are extremely grateful if you are able to make any contribution to the seminary this year. We are supported through the generosity of the people of the Archdiocese of New York. If you are unable to make a direct contribution at this time, please remember to keep the work and mission of the seminary in your prayers.

5. If you wish enquire more about vocations to the priesthood please log onto the Vocation’s Office website www.NYPRIEST.COM. Please also encourage any young men you know who maybe considering a vocation to contact Fr. Luke Sweeney, the Vocation Director of the Archdiocese of New York or their pastor for guidance and support.

Thank you very much for your time and efforts in support of priests and priestly vocations. Through the intercession of Our Lady, Saint Joseph, and Saint Jean Vianney, may God bless you all for your generosity.

Life in the Seminary Column for the Archdiocesan Holy Name Society's October Newsletter

2009-09-29T12:23:00.000-07:00

My name is Matthew Mac Donald and I am one of sixteen new seminarians in First Theology at Saint Joseph’s Seminary. My class consists of eight men studying for the Archdiocese of New York, another seven men studying for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, and one seminarian studying for the Idente Missionaries. We also have a classmate studying for the Archdiocese of New York at the North American College in Rome. Second Theology has a new seminarian studying for New York as well as a new seminarian that is studying for the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Orientation for my class started on August 30 with various meetings and culminated with mass later that day. We started a two-day pastoral seminar on “The Priest and the Public Eye,” which discussed the importance of communication skills, dealing with the media, dining and social etiquette within priestly ministry. Starting on Wednesday September 2, Fr. Eric Rapaglia, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in the Bronx, led a three-day silent retreat for the entire seminary. He reflected on the life of King David in Scripture and how it parallels the life of Christ. He also reflected on the virtues and dispositions that all priests should strive to cultivate in their lives such as humility in the way we relate to God and others, perseverance in the face of temptation, and the importance in trusting in the guidance of the Holy Spirit and Divine Providence. The week ended with all of us having the honor of witnessing several of our brother seminarians being ordained to the transitional deaconate by Bishop Sullivan. This event was an interesting experience for my classmates and I who were just starting our formation at the seminary. It revealed to us the end that we hope to obtain in our priestly formation and also the gift and responsibilities that a vocation to the deaconate and priesthood requires of those whom God has chosen to serve Him and His church.

The following week at seminary commenced with mass on the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lady celebrated by Archbishop Dolan to open the academic year. In his homily, Archbishop Dolan exhorted the seminarians and priests present to strive to imitate the faith and humility of Our Lady in our formation and ministry. Classes would finally start for us on September 10 with a full load of eighteen credits. During the weekend, we would be sent out to various parishes to preach on vocations for the annual seminary collection. I would be sent to preach at five masses at Regina Coeli Church and Saint Paul’s Mission in Hyde Park. These first few weeks at Saint Joseph’s Seminary have been both exciting and surreal. Now as formation gets in gear and schoolwork begins to pile up, the reality is finally setting in that I am now in full preparation for the priesthood. Please pray for us seminarians during this Year of the Priest that we, like Saint Jean Vianney, may learn more deeply what it means to be a priest of Our Lord Jesus Christ and to humbly serve Him and His Church with steadfast faith, hope, and love.

Matthew Mac Donald is a seminarian in First Theology for the Archdiocese of New York. He graduated Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2006 and attended the Saint John Neumann Residence for pre-theology studies.