May
11,
2006 — Vol.
5, No. 5
|
Christ continues to call adolescents,
youths and adults to the priesthood, says the Pope.
Read more below
|
|
This summer's VCI begins June
18 and features Frs. Thomas Dubay,
Benedict Groeschel and Brian Mullady
Read
more below.
|
|
|
Care to read this on our website? Click here.
CONTENTS:
- Pope on Vocations Day: Christ
Still Calls and Cites a Friendship That Gives Meaning
to Life
- Jesuits Marking Death of St. Ignatius,
Birth of His Companions
- Institute of Christ the King Transforming
Closed Chicago Church into Liturgical Showplace
- Men
Let Cameras in on Their Vocation Discernment for Cable
TV Series
- Buffalo, NY
Nun Who Worked With Ex-Convicts Found Murdered
- Pope
Reminds Priests of Their Ordination, Importance of
Prayer
- First U.S. Born Saint and Religious Nun
Named Patron Saint of Maryland
- Pope Clears Way
for Canonization of Founder of Indiana Sisters' Order
- St. Anselm Abbey's Oldest Monk Dies
- Veterans' Group
Gives Is Highest Award to Felician Nun from Buffalo
- IRL'sVita Consecrata Institute
Program Set for 2006 Summer Classes
at Christendom College
|
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope on Vocations Day: Christ Still Calls and Cites a Friendship That
Gives Meaning to Life
Despite the crisis of vocations in some countries, Christ continues to call
adolescents, youths and adults to the priesthood, says Benedict XVI. The Pope
made these comments today, World Day of Prayer for Vocations on May 7, after
ordaining 15 priests in St. Peter's Basilica, and before praying the midday
Regina Caeli with crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square.
The Holy Father referred to "the experience of Jesus' first disciples
that, after meeting him on the lake and in the villages of Galilee, were captivated
by his attractiveness and love" to explain why men and women decide to
consecrate their whole life to Christ. "The Christian vocation always
implies renewing this personal friendship with Jesus Christ, which gives meaning
to one's life and makes it available for the Kingdom of God," the Pontiff
said.
"The mission of the priest is irreplaceable and, although in some regions
there is a lack of clergy, there is no doubt that God continues to call adolescents,
youths and adults to leave all to dedicate themselves to the preaching of the
Gospel and the pastoral ministry," Benedict stated.
"Another special way of following" Christ, the Pope said, "is
the vocation to the consecrated life, which is expressed in a poor, chaste and
obedient life, totally dedicated to God, in contemplation and prayer, placed
at the service of brothers, especially the little ones and the poor."
Also, the Holy Father said, "let us not forget that Christian marriage
is a vocation to holiness in the full sense of the word, and that the example
of holy parents is the first condition favorable for the flowering of priestly
and religious vocations."
Benedict XVI concluded by appealing for the prayers of all believers "so
that the seeds of the vocation that God sows in the hearts of the faithful
will mature and bear fruits of holiness in the Church and the world."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jesuits Marking Death of St. Ignatius, Birth of His Companions
The Jesuits, who make up the Catholic Church's largest religious order of men,
are in the midst of a jubilee year called to remember three of the original
members of the Society of Jesus. The 2006 celebrations mark the 450th anniversary
of the death of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and the 500th
anniversary of the births of two of his closest companions, St. Francis Xavier
and St. Peter Faber. In St. Peter's Basilica and in chapels, churches and cathedrals
around the world April 22, Jesuits and their friends will gather to remember
the three and to reflect on continuing their mission today. The celebration
date is the feast of Mary, Mother of the Society, marking the day in 1541 when
the three saints and the other original members of the Jesuits took their solemn
vows in Rome. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Vatican secretary of state, will preside
over the Mass in St. Peter's. Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, Jesuit superior
general, and Pope Benedict XVI will address the congregation after the Mass.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Institute of Christ the King Transforming Closed Chicago Church into
Liturgical Showplace
When Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz first drove up to the former St. Gelasius Church
in Chicago in 2003, he saw lightning, heard a thunderclap and watched hail
fall on what had been a cloudless day. He decided it was a sign from God. Now,
nearly three years later, the Institute for Christ the King Sovereign Priest
-- which Msgr. Schmitz serves as vicar general and provincial superior -- has
remodeled the former parish convent as a priory and provincial headquarters,
complete with a chapel where Mass is celebrated daily. Still in the works is
what will be the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a colorful church
furnished and decorated in the early baroque style. The institute, which came
to the United States in 1996 and started working in Wisconsin, Rockford, Ill.,
and St. Louis, renovates old churches and offers the 1962 version of the Latin
Mass.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Men Let Cameras In On Their Vocation Discernment for Cable TV Series
Steve Horvath, Joe Adair, Dan DeMatte and Mike Lechniak have something
in common: Like many young Catholic men, they've wondered whether they
are called to a life in the priesthood. Unlike the vast majority of
their compatriots, however, they consented to have their discernment
process captured on camera for a cable television series, "God or the Girl," to debut on Easter, April 16,
on A&E. The five episodes of the series cover their lives over several
weeks as they deal with current, past and potentially future girlfriends as
well as influences from priests, peers and family. They are bound by the producers
not to reveal their decision until the final episode airs. "It was a lot
of fun" being on the show, Lechniak said, yet "it was annoying and
stressful." At the same time, "it was something I wouldn't change.
I enjoyed having it (the camera) there," he said, although "having
your life put on film" and living "behind or in front of the camera,
it's very, very hard to deal with."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Buffalo, NY Nun Who Worked With Ex-Convicts Found Murdered
Sr. Karen Klimczak, a Sister of St. Joseph who was murdered April 14
at the Buffalo, NY home where she ministered to ex-convicts, "gave her life in
service to her God, her church and the community she loved," said Bishop
Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo. Police have charged Craig M. Lynch with the murder.
Lynch, who was released from Wyoming Correctional Facility in January, lived
at Bissonette House, a residence for former prison inmates founded and directed
by Sister Karen. Police said Lynch, 36, attacked Sister Karen, 62, as she interrupted
a burglary. Lynch reportedly led police to the nun's body, which was not recovered
until the evening of April 17. Sister Karen began Hope House prison ministry
in 1985 to provide a home for men recently released from prison. In 1989 she
moved the ministry to the former rectory of St. Bartholomew Church. She also
was the pastoral associate at SS. Columba and Brigid Church in Buffalo.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope Reminds Priests of Their Ordination, Importance of Prayer
Priests can be heroically active, but if they are not men of prayer
they cannot be real friends of Jesus able to share his saving love
with others, Pope Benedict XVI said. Celebrating the chrism Mass April
13 and leading more than 1,000 priests and bishops in renewing the
promises made at their ordinations, Pope Benedict said, "The nucleus of the priesthood is to be friends of Jesus
Christ. Only in that way can we truly speak 'in the person of Christ.'" The
pope asked the priests and bishops to remember their ordination day, particularly
the moment when a bishop laid hands on their heads and then anointed their
hands with oil. The human hand, he said, is the symbol of a person's ability
to act, to create and possess. Through the imposition of the bishop's hands,
Jesus transmits his "divine touch," claiming the new priest for himself,
the pope said.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
First U.S. Born Saint and Religious Nun Named Patron Saint of Maryland
Maryland has a new heavenly protector. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first U.S.-born
saint and a religious nun-founder of what would become the Catholic school
system in the United States, has been named the official patroness of Maryland
by the Vatican. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Sacraments at the Vatican, announced the title earlier this
year in a letter to Baltimore Cardinal William H. Keeler. The idea for the
special designation came from Paul and Janet Vater, parishioners of Mother
Seton Church in Germantown, Md., located in the Archdiocese of Washington,
who asked Cardinal Keeler to seek the title from Rome. The Baltimore prelate
liked the idea and petitioned the Vatican for the special designation in a
letter also signed by Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington and Bishop
Michael A. Saltarelli of Wilmington, Del., whose dioceses cover parts of Maryland.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Pope Clears Way for Canonization of Founder of Indiana Sisters' Order
Pope Benedict XVI cleared the way for the canonization of
Blessed Mother Theodore Guerin, the 19th-century foundress of a religious
order and numerous schools in Indiana. During an April 28 private meeting
with head of the Vatican's Congregation for Saints' Causes, Cardinal
Jose Saraiva Martins, the pope signed a decree recognizing a miracle
attributed to the intercession of the French-born nun. Born in France's
northern province of Brittany October 2, 1798, Mother Theodore traveled
to the United States as a missionary in 1840 at the request of the
French-born bishop of Vincennes, Ind. Mother Theodore, who had been
superior of the Sisters of Providence at Ruille-sur-Loire in France,
founded the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods. She and
her companions also started Indiana's first boarding school for young
girls. Before Mother Theodore died May 14, 1856, she set up 10 other
Catholic schools throughout Indiana.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
St. Anselm Abbey's Oldest Monk Dies
Benedictine Father Michael Herbert Custer, the oldest and longest-serving monk
in the history of St. Anselm Abbey, died May 1 at the Catholic Medical Center
in Manchester following a brief illness. He was 95 years old and had been a
monk for nearly 71 years. He was to be buried in St. Leander's Cemetery on
the St. Anselm College campus May 5 following a funeral Mass at the abbey church.
The abbey and college were established in 1889. Born in 1910 in Lowell, Mass.,
Father Custer joined the Benedictines at St. Anselm in 1934 and took his first
vows the following year. He was ordained a priest in 1941. He began teaching
chemistry at the college in the 1930s and chaired the chemistry department
from 1945 to 1982. After he retired from teaching he continued for years as
an unofficial greeter at the college admissions office, warmly welcoming new
students and their parents.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Veterans' Group Gives Is Highest Award to Felician Nun from Buffalo
A Felician Sister who works with the poor in Buffalo, N.Y., has received
the AMVETS Silver Helmet Award, the organization's highest honor, for
her assistance to military veterans. Sister Mary Johnice Rzadkiewicz,
founder and director of St. Adalbert's Response to Love Center in Buffalo,
estimates that as many as 30 percent of the needy people she encounters
at the center are military veterans. "When they come back, they're so lost," Sister Johnice
said. "You see them walking around aimlessly. They often feel rejected
and they don't know where to turn. But here we try to make them feel valuable.
We tell them, 'Thank you for being there for us. Thank you for fighting for
our country and our freedom.'" Sister Johnice won the award in the rehabilitation
category. "Many people are not aware of what Sister Johnice does on a
daily basis to help veterans," said Edward Kemp, AMVETS national commander. "She
is an inspiration to all of us."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IRL's Vita Consecrata Institute Set for 2006 Summer Classes
at Christendom College
The Vita Consecrata Institute (VCI), a joint
effort by the Institute on Religious Life (IRL) and Notre Dame Graduate
School (NDGS) of Christendom College in Virginia, will be held at the
beautiful campus of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. Beginning
on June 18, the VCI consists of two, 2-week sessions offering an intense,
yet rewarding, academic and spiritual experience rooted in the documents
of the Second Vatican Council, the magisterial teaching of Pope John
Paul II, and the rich historic tradition of the Roman Catholic Church.
The VCI is ideal for priests, religious and other consecrated persons
wishing to pursue further academic studies, those interested in a brief
sabbatical experience, religious in formation, and those preparing for
perpetual vows. The program is structured in such a way as to assure
the participants the full living of their consecrated life in a context
of prayer, silence, study and community. Its format consists of intense
sessions of theological study on particular topics relating to the consecrated
life.
VCI classes may be taken for credit and applied
to a Master of Arts in Theological Studies degree from NDGS. This summer's
instructors include Frs. Thomas Dubay, Benedict Groeschel and Brian
Mullady. Scheduled courses include “Consecration and Contemplation,” “Theology of the Body,” “Fostering
a Culture of Vocations,” and “Human Maturity and the Consecrated Life.”
For more information visit www.religiouslife.com/vci or
call 877-267-1195.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Return to top
Visit
IRL's Catalog of Books, Videos & Audios at http://www.religiouslife.com/catalog
IRL News Briefs is a periodic electronic
newsletter that culls the news services to present informative, inspirational
and/or insightful news items highlighting some aspect of the priestly/consecrated
life and ministry.
Pass
this free e-newsletter on to your friends!
Click
e-news-request@religiouslife.com to
subscribe or unsubscribe to this e-newsletter and put the word subscribe
or unsubscribe in the message line.
Institute
on Religious Life
PO Box 410007
Chicago, IL 60641
773-267-1195
http://www.religiouslife.com |
