CSVF Blog

What you say of me does not come from yourselves;
it is the Spirit of my Father speaking in you.

Lord,
you called John Bosco
to be a teacher and father to the young.
Fill us with love like his:
may we give ourselves completely to your service
and to the salvation of mankind.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

This past January 28th, nearly 150 people gathered at the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer to celebrate the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas and to hear Professor Robert Louis Wilken deliver the parish’s second annual St. Thomas Day Lecture. One couple shared that they traveled from Colorado and made the lecture part of their anniversary getaway to New York.

A scholar of early Christian history at the University of Virginia, Professor Wilken chose as his topic “Aquinas on Romans.” His purpose was to highlight Aquinas’s conformity to the patristic tradition in his study and exposition of the sacred text. This conformity stands in contrast to the great novelty St. Thomas pursued in his theological writings. In reading scripture, Wilken explained, Aquinas followed the Fathers in reverencing not only the Word but also the words written on the page, sacred words whose meaning runs across the books of the bible and links together disparate texts to reveal the singular truths of God’s salvific work. For example, Wilken demonstrated how the word “sorrow” led St. Thomas all over scripture to develop a deep and biblical understanding of contrition. Wilken closed his lecture by challenging preachers to follow St. Thomas more closely, to read the bible as he did, and to use more scripture in their preaching.

The evening concluded with a light reception in the priory parlors.

Click below for either video or audio of Prof. Wilken’s lecture.  The second audio file contains the Q & A session that followed.

St. Thomas Day Lecture 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

St. Thomas Day Lecture 2009 - Q & A Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

1 Comment »

After all Masses this weekend, Bethlehem Handicrafts will have several of their most popular olive-wood figures available for purchase.  

For more information about Bethlehem Handicrafts and to view their catalog, click here.

From their website:

An olive tree is a blessed tree that symbolizes plenty and prosperity. It has several benefits and is a source of living for many families in the Holy Land. Olives are picked in mid October and can be used in several ways- eating, making oil, soap, lighting and cooking. After picking the olives, the trees are trimmed to get rid of the dry or useless branches and growths. These branches can be used for manufacturing religious and secular items There are hundreds of Christian families who depend on this industry for making their living.

The olive-wood industry has been inherited from our forefathers and ancestors. They depended on it almost totally for supporting their families. So it is the main source of ensuring their existence. However, they had no machines to make these items. They worked only with their hands and simple tools most of which were designed by themselves, such as saws, awls and files.

Nowadays, these traditions are still continued by these families. Each piece of wood is hand selected so that the figures maintain the natural hues and tones of the olive wood. For this reason, each item is unique. So it would be impossible to have two identically similar objects due to the above shades of colors. No paint is used to color the items but a lacquer is used to protect the wood so that it can be kept without losing its natural color.

We hope that with the purchase of our products you will enjoy them for years to come.

No Comments »

Click below to hear today’s edition of “Word to Life,” during which I discussed the readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time with Fr. James Cuddy, OP, of the Church of St. Louis Bertrand in Louisville, KY, and Fr. Francis Belanger, OP, chaplain of Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH.

“Word to Life” is broadcast live every Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Eastern on The Catholic Channel, Sirius 159 and XM 117.

Word to Life - January 30, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

No Comments »

Commenting yesterday on St. Paul’s Letters to Timothy and Titus allowed Pope Benedict to reflect on the life of the early Church, which his fans will know is one of his favorite subjects.

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
January 28, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters:

The final letters of the Pauline collection, about which I would like to speak today, are called the pastoral letters, because they were sent to unique figures among the pastors of the Church: two to Timothy and one to Titus, close collaborators with St. Paul.

In Timothy, the Apostle saw almost an alter ego; in fact he entrusted him with important missions (in Macedonia: cf. Acts 19:22; in Thessalonica: cf. 1 Timothy 3:6-7; in Corinth: cf. 1 Corinthians 4:17; 16:10-11) and afterward he wrote flattering praise of him: “For I have no one comparable to him for genuine interest in whatever concerns you” (Philippians 2:20).

According to the 4th-century Church History of Eusebius of Caesarea, Timothy was later the first bishop of Ephesus (cf. 3,4).

Regarding Titus, he must have also been very beloved by the Apostle, who defined him explicitly as “full of zeal … my companion and collaborator” (2 Corinthians 8:17,23), and even more “my true son in the common faith” (Titus 1:4). He had been entrusted with a couple very delicate missions in the Church of Corinth, the results of which comforted Paul (cf. 2 Corinthians 7:6-7,13; 8:6). Straight away, from what we know, Titus caught up to Paul in Nicopolis of Epirus, in Greece (cf. Titus 3:12) and was later sent by him to Dalmatia (cf. 2 Timothy 4:10). According to the letter directed to him, he ended up being the bishop of Crete (cf. Titus 1:5).

The letters directed to these two pastors occupy an entirely unique spot in the New Testament. It seems to the majority of exegetes today that these letters wouldn’t have been written by Paul himself, and that their origin would be in the “Pauline school” and reflected his inheritance to a new generation, perhaps integrating some brief writing or word from the Apostle himself. For example, some words from the Second Letter to Timothy seem so authentic that they could only have come from the heart and lips of the Apostle.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Praise the holy name of the Lord;
the heart that seeks him will rejoice.

From the Catholic News Agency:

Villana de’Botti was a wife and a Third Order Dominican. She was born in Florence in 1332. She was a very pious child, and at age 13 she ran away from home to join a convent. She was refused and returned home. Soon after, her family married her to Rosso di Piero.

The rejection at the convent and the marriage seemed to change Villana. She became lazy and worldly, concerned only with pleasure. One day, as she was getting dressed, her reflection in her mirrors suddenly changed to a demon. Villana understood this to be a reflection of her sinful soul. She tore off her clothes, put on something poor and simple, and ran to the Dominican Fathers for help.

She became a Dominican tertiary, concentrated on her vocation of married life, and spent her free time praying and reading Scripture and the lives of the saints. She was given to religious ecstasies at Mass, visions of Our Lady and the saints, and had the gift of prophecy. She became the object of much ridicule and slander, but even her fiercest opponents eventually came to see her as a living saint.

She died in 1361 of natural causes at the age of 30. Her body was taken to the church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence, which was under the care of the Dominican Fathers. The priests were unable to bury her for a month due to the constant crowd of mourners. She was beatified by Pope Leo XII in 1824.

O God, our merciful Father,
you called Blessed Villana back
from the emptiness of the world
and aroused in her a spirit
of humility and true penitence.
Recreate in our hearts the power of your love
and, filled by that same spirit,
may we serve you in newness of life.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

This news clip is a couple of years old, but it covers the yearly celebration of the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas in Toulouse, the southern French city where the Angelic Doctor’s relics are enshrined.  Toulouse’s old Jacobins (Dominican) church and priory are now state owned (thank you French Revolution!), but the Dominicans there are allowed access to the church once a year to celebrate Aquinas’s feast and venerate his relics.  As you can see, they do it well.

No Comments »

May Christ be praised, the King of glory,
who fills the world with the teaching of grace through Thomas,
the light of the Church.

When Dominicans gather in choir before the Blessed Sacrament, we begin our prayer by reciting the O sacrum convivium, an antiphon that honors the Eucharist by listing its most prominent effects.

O sacrum convivium!
in quo Christus sumitur:
recolitur memoria passionis ejus:
mens impletur gratia:
et futurae gloriae nobis pignus datur.

O sacred banquet,
in which Christ becomes our food,
the memory of his Passion is recalled,
the soul is filled with grace,
and a pledge of future glory is given to us.

Memorized quickly by every Dominican novice, this antiphon was written by the saint we honor today, our brother Thomas Aquinas.  That such a beautiful and pious text came from the pen of such a powerful intellect reminds us that all prayer, all study, all writing, all preaching, and all religious service to neighbor must take root in and point us back to the mysteries of Christ’s life and to the mysteries of his Church, which communicate Christ’s life to us.  Through this antiphon, and indeed through his entire life, St. Thomas exhibits superlatively how the Eucharist serves as both the catalyst and the goal of the Church’s life in Christ. As preachers of grace and servants of the mysteries of Christ, we Dominicans do well to place Thomas’s words on our lips every time we gather for prayer.

The greatest of the Church’s mysteries, or sacraments, is the Blessed Sacrament, the sacrum convivium, and no other mystery occupied the priestly and poetic heart of St. Thomas like the Eucharist.  He never let a day pass without celebrating Holy Mass, and on most days he would attend a second Mass as an act of thanksgiving.  What’s more, St. Thomas demonstrated his acute skill at poetry and hymn writing by composing Eucharistic texts still in use in the Church’s Corpus Christi liturgies.  His hymns especially remain familiar to many: Tantum ergo, O salutaris hostia, Adoro te devote.  Though less familiar than these hymns, the O sacrum convivium has also been set to music.  Posted below is Thomas Tallis’s setting for the antiphon.

As we celebrate today the feast of the Angelic and Common Doctor, we place our Eucharistic piety under his patronage and protection.  May we grow in our love for the Sacrament of the Altar, which, as St. Thomas reminds us, is both our spiritual nourishment and the promise and foretaste of the eternal convivium that awaits us.

O God,
you made blessed Thomas
a herald of your wisdom
and an example of holiness of life for your Church;
by his merits and example,
grant us perpetually and truthfully to seek you,
and to love you above all things.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

O Christ, Good Shepherd, I thank you for leading me to glory;
I pray that the flock you have entrusted to my care
will share with me in your glory forever.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Marcolino was born in Forli, Italy, in 1317 and entered the Dominican Order as a youth.  He loved silence and solitude and was noted for his devotion to the Virgin Mother of God.  He supported the reform efforts of Raymond of Capua, faithfully carried out his priestly ministry and performed works of charity.  He was a counselor for many, especially of the sick.  He died on January 24, 1397.

God of love and mercy,
the prayer of the humble and meek
is always pleasing to you.
May we follow in the footsteps of Blessed Marcolino
and become truly meek and humble of heart,
and so more readily obtain your gifts of grace.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

Now this wise virgin has gone to Christ.
Among the choirs of virgins she is radiant as the sun in the heavens.

From the Catholic Encylopedia:

Foundress of the Ursulines, born 21 March, 1474, at Desenzano, a small town on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda in Lombardy; died 27 January, 1540, at Brescia.

She was left an orphan at the age of ten and together with her elder sister came to the home of her uncle at the neighbouring town of Salo where they led an angelic life. When her sister met with a sudden death, without being able to receive the last sacraments, young Angela was much distressed. She became a tertiary of St. Francis and greatly increased her prayers and mortifications for the repose of her sister’s soul. In her anguish and pious simplicity she prayed God to reveal to her the condition of her deceased sister. It is said that by a vision she was satisfied her sister was in the company of the saints in heaven.

When she was twenty years old, her uncle died, and she returned to her paternal home at Desenzano. Convinced that the great need of her times was a better instruction of young girls in the rudiments of the Christian religion, she converted her home into a school where at stated intervals she daily gathered all the little girls of Desenzano and taught them the elements of Christianity. It is related that one day, while in an ecstasy, she had a vision in which it was revealed to her that she was to found an association of virgins who were to devote their lives to the religious training of young girls. The school she had established at Desenzano soon bore abundant fruit, and she was invited to the neighbouring city, Brescia, to establish a similar school at that place. Angela gladly accepted the invitation.

In 1524, while making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she became suddenly blind when she was on the island of Crete, but continued her journey to the Holy Places and was cured on her return while praying before a crucifix at the same place where she was struck with blindness a few weeks before. When, in the jubilee year 1525, she had come to Rome to gain the indulgences, Pope Clement VII, who had heard of her great holiness and her extraordinary success as a religious teacher of young girls, invited her to remain in Rome; but Angela, who shunned publicity, returned to Brescia. Finally, on the 25th of November, 1535, Angela chose twelve virgins and laid the foundation of the order of the Ursulines in a small house near the Church of St. Afra in Brescia. Having been five years superior of the newly-founded order, she died.

Her body lies buried in the Church of St. Afra at Brescia. She was beatified in 1768, by Clement XIII, and canonized in 1807, by Pius VII.

Lord,
may Saint Angela commend us to your mercy;
may her charity and wisdom help us
to be faithful to your teaching
and to follow it in our lives.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

On Wednesday, January 28, the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas, the Church of St. Vincent Ferrer will hold its second annual St. Thomas Day Lecture.  This year’s featured speaker will be Dr. Robert Louis Wilken, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Virginia.  An expert in early Christian history and the patristic exegesis of Scripture, Professor Wilken will reflect on Aquinas’s interpretation of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans—a fitting topic during this Year of St. Paul.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 PM, and a light reception will follow.  This event is free and open to the public.

No Comments »

Proclaim the message, insist on it in season and out of season,
refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience,
but do all with patience and sound doctrine.

From Catholic Culture:

St. Timothy, born in Galatia in Asia Minor, was baptized and later ordained to the priesthood by St. Paul. The young Galatian became Paul’s missionary companion and his most beloved spiritual son. St. Paul showed his trust in this disciple by consecrating him bishop of the great city of Ephesus. St. Timothy was stoned to death thirty years after St. Paul’s martyrdom for having denounced the worship of the goddess Diana.

St. Titus, a convert from paganism, was a fellow laborer of St. Paul on many apostolic missions. St. Paul later made him bishop of Crete, a difficult charge because of the character of the inhabitants and the spread of erroneous doctrines on that island. St. Paul’s writings tell us that St. Titus rejoiced to discover what was good in others and drew the hearts of men by his wide and affectionate sympathy.

Click here for the general audience address Pope Benedict gave on Sts. Timothy and Titus in December, 2006.

God our Father,
you gave your saints Timothy and Titus
the courage and wisdom of the apostles:
may their prayers help us to live holy lives
and lead us to heaven, our true home.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

Let us celebrate the conversion of Saint Paul the apostle.
He was transformed from being a persecutor of Christ into a vessel of his grace.

Fr. Jones's Homily - January 25, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - January 25, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

God our Father,
you taught the gospel to all the world
through the preaching of Paul your apostle.
May we who celebrate his conversion to the faith
follow him in bearing witness to your truth.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

Earlier today, Pope Benedict ended the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity by presiding at Vespers in Rome’s Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Here is the homily he preached before the gathered crowd, which included representatives of other Christian Churches and ecclesial communities.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is a great joy every time we find ourselves gathered at the tomb of the Apostle Paul on the liturgical feast of his conversion to conclude the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. I greet all of you with affection. I greet in a special way Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, the abbot and the community of monks who are hosting us. I also greet Cardinal Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. I greet along with him the lord cardinals who are present, the bishops and the pastors of the various Churches and ecclesial communities gathered here this evening.

A special word of recognition goes to those who worked together in preparing the prayer guides, experiencing firsthand the exercise of reflecting and meeting in listening to each other and, all together, to the Word of God.

St. Paul’s conversion offers us a model that shows us the way to full unity. Unity in fact requires a conversion: from division to communion, from broken unity to healed and full unity. This conversion is the gift of the Risen Christ, as it was for St. Paul. We heard this from the Apostle himself in the reading proclaimed just a moment ago: “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10).

The same Lord, who called Saul on the road to Damascus, addresses himself to the members of the Church — which is one and holy — and calling each by name asks: Why have you divided me? Why have you wounded the unity of my body?

Conversion implies two dimensions. In the first step we recognize our faults in the light of Christ, and this recognition becomes sorrow and repentance, desire for a new beginning. In the second step we recognize that this new road cannot come from us. It consists in letting ourselves be conquered by Christ. As St. Paul says: “I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been conquered by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12).

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Crossroads Cultural Center

and

Columbia Catholic Ministry

present

Love, Life and Death in
“The Tidings Brought to Mary”
by Paul Claudel

A presentation on the eternal human questions in the French poet’s masterpiece through the eyes of Msgr. Luigi Giussani

Speakers: Fr. Peter CAMERON-Editor-in-Chief of Magnificat
Mr. Peter DOBBINS-Artistic Director of the Storm Theater
Dr. Evelyn (Timmie) Birge VITZ- Professor of French at NYU

Friday, February 6, 2009 at 7:00 PM
Earl Hall Auditorium, Columbia University Main Campus
117th Street and Broadway, New York

The conference is open to the public and free of charge.

Crossroads Cultural Center
www.crossroadsculturalcenter.org
125 Maiden Lane, Suite 15E, New York, NY 10038. Tel: (347) 713-5146.
E-mail: info [at] crossroadsculturalcenter [dot] org

No Comments »

Time magazine recently posted a photo essay on the Dominican Monastery of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary in Summit, NJ.  Click here to watch the five-minute video.

For more on the monastery, check out the nuns’ website and blog.

For more of photographer Toni Greaves’ photos of the nuns, click here and here.

(h/t: Amy Welborn)

No Comments »

Two actions taken by President Obama during his first week in office warrant the attention of Christians and all people of good will.

First, by an executive order dated January 22 and entitled “Ensuring Lawful Interrogations,” Obama ordered that all combatants detained during armed conflict be treated and interrogated in accord with the procedures outlined in the Army Field Manual, all other orders to the contrary being rescinded.  In effect, controversial interrogation techniques allowed by the Bush administration but considered “torture” by critics are now forbidden.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has welcomed this action.

Second, in a memorandum dated yesterday and addressed to the Secretary of State, Obama rescinded the “Mexico City Policy,” which enacted by President Reagan and the two Presidents Bush forbade private groups receiving federal money from using that money to perform or promote abortion in foreign countries.  As a result, tax money can now be used pay for abortions performed across our borders and overseas.  In a statement released today, Obama explains his rational for the order.  In it, he expresses concern for poor families but defiantly avoids using the word “abortion,” which is incredible considering that the entire policy revolves singularly around the act of abortion.  In reaction, the US Bishops have lodged their protest.

Were these two orders expected?  Yes.  Obama campaigned on them.  Are they consistent?  Not by a long shot.  Just compare them.  One grants enemy combatants detained on the battle field the legal presumption of innocence and the guarantee of humane treatment by interrogators, while the other leaves those truly innocent and by nature defenseless without legal protection to suffer fatal treatment by relatives and doctors.  The two orders meet only at the point where taxpayer money is given for the “treatment” guaranteed by each.

The Vatican has also weighed in forcefully on the controversy.  For its reaction, click here and here.

4 Comments »

O blessed doctor, Saint Francis de Sales,
light of holy Church and lover of God’s law,
pray to the Son of God for us.

Spiritually paralyzed as a young man by Calvinist doctrines, Francis de Sales later became one of the Church’s most ardent apologists for the Catholic understanding of grace.  An intelligent preacher and skilled debater, Francis convinced many Calvinists to lay aside their errors and return to the sacraments.  As Bishop of Geneva, he was a gentle pastor and father, helping his fellow Catholics to greater conversion and holiness of life.

The second lesson of today’s Office of Readings is taken from the opening of Francis’s famous Introduction to the Devout Life.  In it, Francis carefully distinguishes the vocations of the Church and explains the necessary differences that arise among their ways of holiness.

When God the Creator made all things, he commanded the plants to bring forth fruit each according to its own kind; he has likewise commanded Christians, who are the living plants of his Church, to bring forth the fruits of devotion, each one in accord with his character, his station, and his calling.

I say that devotion must be practiced in different ways by the nobleman and by the working man, by the servant and by the prince, by the widow, by the unmarried girl and by the married woman. But even this distinction is not sufficient; for the practice of devotion myst be adapted to the strength, to the occupation, and to the duties of each one in particular.

Tell me please, my Philothea, whether it is proper for a bishop to want to lead a solitary life like a Carthusian; or for married people to be no more concerned than a Capuchin about increasing their income; or for a working man to spend his whole day in church like a religious; or on the other hand for a religious to be constantly exposed like a bishop to all the events and circumstances that bear on the needs of our neighbor. Is not this sort of devotion ridiculous, unorganized, and intolerable? Yet this absurd error occurs very frequently, but in no way does true devotion, my Philothea, destroy anything at all. On the contrary, it perfects and fulfills all things. In fact if it ever works against, or is inimical to, anyone’s legitimate station and calling, then it is very definitely false devotion.

The bee collects honey from flowers in such a way as to do the least damage or destruction to them, and he leaves them whole, undamaged and fresh, just as he found them. True devotion does still better. Not only does it not injure any sort of calling or occupation, it even embellishes and enhances it.

Moreover, just as every sort of gem, cast in honey, becomes brighter and more sparkling, each according to its color, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets his vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion your family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe to the prince becomes more faithful, and our work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable.

It is therefore an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of princes, from family households. I acknowledge, my dear Philothea, that the type of devotion which is purely contemplative, monastic, and religious can certainly not be exercised in these sorts of stations and occupations, but beside this threefold type of devotion, there are many others fit for perfecting those who live in the secular state.

Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.

For more on the life of St. Francis de Sales, click here.

Father,
you gave Francis de Sales the spirit of compassion
to befriend all men on the way to salvation.
By his example, lead us to show your gentle love
in the service of our fellow men.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

Listen in as I discuss the readings for this weekend’s Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul with Br. Bruno Shah, OP, a deacon finishing his priestly formation at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, and Fr. Gabriel Gillen, OP, an associate pastor at the Church of St. Catherine of Siena here in New York.

Word to Life - January 23, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

No Comments »

I have pursued a straight path, I have sought wisdom since my youth.

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Henry Suso was born in Constance-Swabia, Germany, towards the end of the thirteenth century and is associated with Meister Eckhart and John Tauler in the school of Dominican spirituality known as the “Rhineland Mystics.”  He pursued Divine Wisdom and manifested a great love for the Passion of the Lord.  In his writings he taught detachment from all sensible reality and union with God through the contemplation of the perfections and sufferings of Christ. He died in Ulm on January 25, 1366.

Click here for more on the life of Blessed Henry.  Among his many homilies and writings that have come down to us, The Little Book of Eternal Wisdom is perhaps the most famous.  You can read it online here.

God of wisdom,
you called Blessed Henry to follow your Son
and gave him the grace to mortify lhis body.
May we follow the crucified Christ
and so obtain his eternal consolation.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

From the Dominican Ordo:

A member of the noble della Chiesa family, Blessed Anthony was born at San Germano, Italy, in 1394 and received the Dominican habit at Vercelli in 1417. He served as prior in several convents of the Order and labored to restore the regular life.  He was known for his gentle, yet firm treatment of human frailty. He died on January 22, 1459.

Click here for more on the holy and fruitful life of Blessed Anthony.

God of mercy and compassion,
you gave Blessed Anthony the gift of divine love.
By the help of his prayers
may our hearts burn with that same charity
and may our lives like his
be witnesses to the faith
and to the ministry of service.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

Halfway through the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict XVI used his weekly general audience address yesterday to remind of us that ecclesial union rooted in the words and sacraments of Christ remains a goal for which all Christian hearts must yearn. The Gospel itself commands this desire. As Christ revealed at the Last Supper, it is his will that our unity may the the great witness to the world of the truth and efficacy of his redemptive work: “May they all be one . . . so that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn 17:21).

GENERAL AUDIENCE ADDRESS
January 21, 2009

Dear brothers and sisters:

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began last Sunday and will conclude this Sunday, feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, the Apostle. This is a beautiful spiritual initiative, which is spreading more and more among Christians, in harmony, and we could say, in response to the pressing invocation that Jesus directed to the Father from the Upper Room: “That they may all be one, that the world may believe that you sent me” (John 17:21).

On four occasions during this priestly prayer, the Lord asks that his disciples be one, according to the image of the unity between the Father and the Son. This is a unity that can only grow in the example of the surrender of the Son to the Father, that is, going out of oneself and uniting oneself to Christ. Twice, moreover, in this prayer, Jesus adds as the objective of this union: That the world may believe. Full unity is connected, therefore with the life and the very mission of the Church in the world. [The Church] should live a unity that can only be derived from her unity with Christ, with its transcendence, as a sign that Christ is the truth.

This is our responsibility: That the gift of unity be visible for the world, in virtue of which our faith is made credible. For this, it is important that each Christian community become aware of the urgency of working in every way possible to reach this grand objective. Only going out of ourselves and toward Christ, only in this relationship with him can we come to be truly united among ourselves. This is the invitation that, with the present week [of prayer], is directed to believers in Christ of every Church and ecclesial community; to him, dear brothers and sisters, we should respond with generosity.

Continue Reading »

No Comments »

Each year, a special collection is taken up around the province for the support of our House of Studies in Washington.  Currently, we have over thirty student brothers there preparing for final vows and ordination.  The Lord has been good to us. 

This past weekend, Br. Peter Totleben, OP, traveled from Washington to make this appeal at all of our Sunday Masses.  Click below for Br. Peter’s moving witness. If you would like to contribute to this annual “Poor Boys” collection, please contact the Dominican Foundation at (212) 535-3664.  Thank you for your generosity.

Annual "Poor Boys" Appeal - January 18, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

No Comments »

What I longed for, I now see;
what I hoped for, I now possess;
in heaven I am espoused to him whom on earth I loved with all my heart.

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the most beloved of the virgin-martyrs of Rome, St. Agnes.  Early accounts of her martyrdom vary in detail, but they all coalesce around one fact—her youth.  Fortified by adult courage, Agnes successfully preserved her adolescent purity against heathen barbarity, a feat that did much to curtail the brutality of the Romans persecutions and sway public favor toward the Christians.  The site of Agnes’s suffering and death is memorialized by the Church of St. Agnes in Agony on Rome’s famous Piazza Navona.

For more on the life of St. Agnes, as well as her connection to the pallium worn by the pope and the world’s archbishops, click here.

From St. Ambrose’s De Virginibus:

A new kind of martyrdom!  Too young to be punished, yet old enough for a martyr’s crown; unfitted for the contest, yet effortless in victory, she shows herself a master in valor despite the handicap of youth.  As a bride she would not be hastening to join her husband with the same joy she shows as a virgin on her way to punishment, crowned not with flowers but with holiness of life, adorned not with braided hair but with Christ himself.

In the midst of tears, she sheds no tears herself.  The crowds marvel at her recklessness in throwing away her life untasted, as if she had already lived life to the full.  All are amazed that one not yet of legal age can give her testimony to God.  So she succeeds in convincing others of her testimony about God, though her testimony in human affairs could not yet be accepted.  What is beyond the power of nature, they argue, must come from its creator.

What menaces there werer from the executioner, to frighten her; what promises made, to win her over; what influential people desired her in marriage!  She answered: “To hope that any other will please me does wrong to my Spouse.  I will be his who first chose me for himself.  Executioner, why do you delay?  If eyes that I do not want can desire my body, then let it perish.”  She stood still, she prayed, she offered her neck.

Almighty, eternal God,
you choose what the world considers weak
to put the worldly power to shame.
May we who celebrate the birth of Saint Agnes into eternal joy
be loyal to the faith she professed.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

2 Comments »

Fr. Jones's Homily - January 18, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Keitz's Homily - January 18, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Guilbeau's Homily - January 18, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Fr. Matarazzo's Homily - January 18, 2009 Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

No Comments »

In the days running up to today’s inauguration, Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, sent President Obama the following letter outlining the bishops’ agenda for cooperation with his new administration.  For quick reference, I’ve put in bold the specific policy points discussed by Cardinal George.

Dear Mr. President-elect,

As our nation begins a new year, a new Administration and a new Congress, I write to outline principles and priorities that guide the public policy efforts of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). As President of the Bishops’ Conference, I assure you of our prayers, hopes and commitment to make this period of national change a time to advance the common good and defend the life and dignity of all, especially the vulnerable and poor. We continue to seek ways to work constructively with the new Administration and Congress and others of good will to pursue policies which respect the dignity of all human life and bring greater justice to our nation and peace to our world.

As Bishops, we approach public policy as pastors and teachers. Our moral principles have always guided our everyday experience in caring for the hungry and homeless, offering health care and housing, educating children and reaching out to those in need. We lead the largest community of faith in the United States, one that serves every part of our nation and is present in almost every place on earth. From our experience and our tradition, we offer a distinctive, constructive and principled contribution to the national dialogue on how to act together on issues of economic turmoil and suffering, war and violence, moral decency and human dignity.

Our nation now faces economic challenges with potentially tragic human consequences and serious moral dimensions. We will work with the new Administration and Congress to support strong, prudent and effective measures to address the terrible impacts and injustices of the economic crisis. In particular, we will advocate a clear priority for poor families and vulnerable workers in the development and implementation of economic recovery measures, including new investments while strengthening the national safety net. We also support greater accountability and oversight to address irresponsible abuses of the system that contributed to the financial crisis.

The Catholic Bishops of the United States have worked for decades to assure health care for all, insisting that access to decent health care is a basic human right and a requirement of human dignity. We urge comprehensive action to ensure truly universal health care coverage which protects all human life including pre-natal life, and provides access for all, with a special concern for the poor. Any such legislation ought to respect freedom to choose by offering a variety of options and ensuring respect for the moral and religious convictions of patients and providers. Such an approach should seek to restrain costs while sharing them equitably.

On international affairs, we will work with our leaders to seek a responsible transition in an Iraq free of religious persecution. We especially urge early, focused and persistent leadership to bring an end to violent conflict and a just peace in the Holy Land. We will continue to support essential U.S. investments to overcome poverty, hunger and disease through increased and reformed foreign assistance. Continued U.S. leadership in the fight against HIV-AIDS and other diseases in ways that are both effectively and morally appropriate have our enthusiastic backing. Recognizing the complexity of climate change, we wish to be a voice for the poor and vulnerable in our country and around the world who will be the most adversely affected by any dramatic threats to the environment.

We will work with the new Administration and Congress to fix a broken immigration system which harms both our nation and immigrants. Comprehensive reform is needed to deal with the economic and human realities of millions of immigrants in our midst. It must be based on respect for and implementation of the law. Equally it must defend the rights and dignity of all peoples, recognizing that human dignity comes from God and does not depend on where people were born or how they came to our nation. Truly comprehensive immigration reform will include a path to earned citizenship with attention to the fact that international trade and development policies influence economic opportunities in the countries from which immigrants come.

We stand firm in our support for marriage which is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman and must remain such in law. In a manner unlike any other relationship, marriage makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society, especially through the procreation and education of children. No other kinds of personal relationships can be justly made equivalent to the commitment of a man and a woman in marriage.

With regard to the education of children, we will continue to support initiatives which provide resources for all parents, especially those of modest means, to choose education which best address the needs of their children.

We welcome continuing commitments to empower faith-based groups as effective partners in overcoming poverty and other threats to human dignity. We will work with the Administration and Congress to strengthen these partnerships in ways that do not encourage government to abandon its responsibilities, and do not require religious groups to abandon their identity and mission.

Most fundamentally, we will work to protect the lives of the most vulnerable and voiceless members of the human family, especially unborn children and those who are disabled or terminally ill. We will consistently defend the fundamental right to life from conception to natural death. Opposed to abortion as the direct killing of innocent human life, we will encourage one and all to seek common ground that will reduce the number of abortions in morally sound ways that affirm the dignity of pregnant women and their unborn children. We will oppose legislative and other measures to expand abortion. We will work to retain essential, widely supported policies which show respect for unborn life, protect the conscience rights of health care providers and other Americans, and prevent government funding and promotion of abortion. The Hyde amendment and other provisions which for many years have prevented federal funding of abortion have a proven record of reducing abortions. Efforts to force Americans to fund abortions with their tax dollars would pose a serious moral challenge and jeopardize the passage of essential health care reform.

This outline of USCCB policies and priorities is not complete. There are many other areas of concern and advocacy for the Church and the USCCB especially: religious freedom and other civil and human rights, news media and communications, and issues of war and peace. For a more detailed description of our concerns please see Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (USCCB 2008), pages 19-30.

Nonetheless, we offer this outline as an agenda for dialogue and action. We hope to offer a constructive and principled contribution to national discussion over the values and policies that will shape our nation’s future. We seek to work together with our nation’s leaders to advance the common good of our society, while disagreeing respectfully and civilly where necessary for preserving that same common good.

In closing, I renew our expression of hope and our offer of cooperation as you begin this new period of service to our nation in these challenging times. We promise our prayers for you, that the days ahead will be a time of renewal and progress for our nation and that we can work together to defend human life and dignity and build a nation of greater justice and a world at peace.

Sincerely yours,

Francis Cardinal George, OMI
Archbishop of Chicago
President

No Comments »

PRAYER FOR GOVERNMENT
composed by John Carroll,
Archbishop of Baltimore and first Catholic bishop in the United States

We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name. We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope Benedict, the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, Edward, all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation. We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state , for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Earlier this morning Pope Benedict sent greetings to our nation’s new president. Below is the text of his telegram.

THE HONORABLE BARACK OBAMA

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON, DC

ON THE OCCASION OF YOUR INAUGURATION AS THE FORTY-FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA I OFFER CORDIAL GOOD WISHES, TOGETHER WITH THE ASSURANCE OF MY PRAYERS THAT ALMIGHTY GOD WILL GRANT YOU UNFAILING WISDOM AND STRENGTH IN THE EXERCISE OF YOUR HIGH RESPONSIBILITIES. UNDER YOUR LEADERSHIP MAY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE CONTINUE TO FIND IN THEIR IMPRESSIVE RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL HERITAGE THE SPIRITUAL VALUES AND ETHICAL PRINCIPLES NEEDED TO COOPERATE IN THE BUILDING OF A TRULY JUST AND FREE SOCIETY, MARKED BY RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY, EQUALITY AND RIGHTS OF EACH OF ITS MEMBERS, ESPECIALLY THE POOR, THE OUTCAST AND THOSE WHO HAVE NO VOICE. AT A TIME WHEN SO MANY OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD YEARN FOR LIBERATION FROM THE SCOURGE OF POVERTY, HUNGER AND VIOLENCE, I PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE CONFIRMED IN YOUR RESOLVE TO PROMOTE UNDERSTANDING, COOPERATION AND PEACE AMONG THE NATIONS, SO THAT ALL MAY SHARE IN THE BANQUET OF LIFE WHICH GOD WILLS TO SET FOR THE WHOLE HUMAN FAMILY (cf. Isaiah 25:6-7). UPON YOU AND YOUR FAMILY, AND UPON ALL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, I WILLINGLY INVOKE THE LORD’S BLESSINGS OF JOY AND PEACE

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

1 Comment »

From the Dominican Ordo:

Blessed Andrew was born at Peschiera, Italy, in 1400 and entered the Order in a reformed priory of the Congregation of Lombardy.  Itinerant preaching was his life’s ministry, especially in the Valtelline region of the Italian Alps where he labored for forty-five years.  Traveling on foot and living with the poor, he reconciled many to Christ.  He died at the priory of Morbegno on January 18, 1485.

Click here for more on the holy life of Blessed Andrew.

God of all holiness,
you filled Blessed Andrew with an apostolic spirit.
Help us to imitate his words and example
that we may advance in holiness
and live fruitful lives.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.

No Comments »

One of President Bush’s first acts after assuming office was to offer executive protection to the Mexico City protocol, which prevents US foreign aid from being used to perform abortions.  Now, in one of his last acts, he touches again on the same theme—the sanctity of human life.  By his decree, today is “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.”  Here is the text of his proclamation.

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

All human life is a gift from our Creator that is sacred, unique, and worthy of protection. On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, our country recognizes that each person, including every person waiting to be born, has a special place and purpose in this world. We also underscore our dedication to heeding this message of conscience by speaking up for the weak and voiceless among us.

The most basic duty of government is to protect the life of the innocent. My Administration has been committed to building a culture of life by vigorously promoting adoption and parental notification laws, opposing Federal funding for abortions overseas, encouraging teen abstinence, and funding crisis pregnancy programs. In 2002, I was honored to sign into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which extends legal protection to children who survive an abortion attempt. I signed legislation in 2003 to ban the cruel practice of partial-birth abortion, and that law represents our commitment to building a culture of life in America. Also, I was proud to sign the Unborn Victims of Violence Act of 2004, which allows authorities to charge a person who causes death or injury to a child in the womb with a separate offense in addition to any charges relating to the mother.

America is a caring Nation, and our values should guide us as we harness the gifts of science. In our zeal for new treatments and cures, we must never abandon our fundamental morals. We can achieve the great breakthroughs we all seek with reverence for the gift of life.

The sanctity of life is written in the hearts of all men and women. On this day and throughout the year, we aspire to build a society in which every child is welcome in life and protected in law. We also encourage more of our fellow Americans to join our just and noble cause. History tells us that with a cause rooted in our deepest principles and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens, we will prevail.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 18, 2009, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day. I call upon all Americans to recognize this day with appropriate ceremonies and to underscore our commitment to respecting and protecting the life and dignity of every human being.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

By all accounts, it may be some time before the White House adopts this cultural and legal stance again.  Until then, we move forward fortified by the basic truths spelled out above.  And below, the same truths find greater expression in pictures.

No Comments »

Last Saturday, January 10, in Washington DC, four Dominican student brothers were ordained to the transitional diaconate in the Crypt Church of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.  They were: Br. James Dominic Brent, OP, and Br. John Chrysostom Kozlowski, OP, both of the St. Joseph Province; Br. Isaiah Molano, OP, of the Holy Name Province; and Br. John Baptist Nguyen, OP, of the Vietnamese Vicariate.  The Most Reverend Martin Holley, auxiliary bishop of Washington, was the ordaining prelate.

Please pray for these four new deacons as they enter their final preparations for priestly ordination.

Click below for video of the Ordination Mass.

No Comments »