Vocationcast

Agnus Dei - Pastoral Work of our Papal Nuncio and Irish Bishops: Twenty new seminarians to commence Priesthood stud...

Agnus Dei - Pastoral Work of our Papal Nuncio and Irish Bishops: Twenty new seminarians to commence Priesthood stud...: Twenty new seminarians to commence priesthood studies at Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth “ … have the courage to go against the tide ...

Road of Hope: The Spiritual Journey of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan

On April 24, 1975, six days before the city fell to the North Vietnamese army, Father Van Thuận was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Saigon. It led to his subsequent arrest by the new communist regime, which sent him to a “re-education camp” for 13 years, nine of which were in solitary confinement.

During those years in jail, he found himself in a situation of seemingly utter hopelessness.

But instead of wallowing in his misfortune, he saw it as an opportunity to come into closer communion with Christ, increasing his hope, which he was then able to pass on to others.

After his release in 1988, he was exiled in 1991, but welcomed home by Pope John Paul II, who made him an official in the Roman Curia. The Holy Father later appointed him president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, a post he held from 1998 to 2002. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2001.

Meeting with those who helped complete the diocesan phase of Cardinal Thuận’s beatification last week, Pope Francis recalled his “witness to hope,” saying his memory is still alive and that he had a “spiritual presence that continues to bring his blessing.”

Many people were edified by their encounter with Cardinal Van Thuận, the Pope added, and many recall “his gentle smile and the greatness of his soul.”

Above from and Read more: National Catholic Register - Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan

Bl. Jerzy Popiełuszko

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 6

Societies of Apostolic Life

11. Also worthy of special mention are Societies of Apostolic Life or of common life, composed of men or women. These pursue, each in its own particular way, a specific apostolic or missionary end. In many of them an explicit commitment to the evangelical counsels is made through sacred bonds officially recognized by the Church. Even in this case, however, the specific nature of their consecration distinguishes them from Religious Institutes and Secular Institutes. The specific identity of this form of life is to be preserved and promoted; in recent centuries it has produced many fruits of holiness and of the apostolate, especially in the field of charity and in the spread of the Gospel in the Missions.

New expressions of consecrated life

12. The perennial youth of the Church continues to be evident even today. In recent years, following the Second Vatican Council, new or renewed forms of the consecrated life have arisen. In many cases, these are Institutes similar to those already existing, but inspired by new spiritual and apostolic impulses. Their vitality must be judged by the authority of the Church, which has the responsibility of examining them in order to discern the authenticity of the purpose for their foundation and to prevent the proliferation of institutions similar to one another, with the consequent risk of a harmful fragmentation into excessively small groups. 

In other cases it is a question of new experiments which are seeking an identity of their own in the Church and awaiting official recognition from the Apostolic See, which alone has final judgment in these matters.These new forms of consecrated life now taking their place alongside the older ones bear witness to the constant attraction which the total gift of self to the Lord, the ideal of the apostolic community and the founding charisms continue to exert, even on the present generation. They also show how the gifts of the Holy Spirit complement one another.In this newness however the Spirit does not contradict himself. Proof of this is the fact that the new forms of consecrated life have not supplanted the earlier ones. Amid such wide variety the underlying unity has been successfully preserved, thanks to the one call to follow Jesus — chaste, poor and obedient — in the pursuit of perfect charity. This call, which is found in all the existing forms of consecrated life, must also mark those which present themselves as new.

Purpose of the Apostolic Exhortation

13. Gathering together the fruits of the Synod's labours, in this Apostolic Exhortation I wish to address the whole Church in order to offer not only to consecrated persons but also to the Bishops and the faithful the results of a stimulating exchange, guided by the Holy Spirit with his gifts of truth and love.

During these years of renewal, the consecrated life, like other ways of life in the Church, has gone through a difficult and trying period. It has been a period full of hopes, new experiments and proposals aimed at giving fresh vigour to the profession of the evangelical counsels. But it has also been a time of tension and struggle, in which well-meaning endeavours have not always met with positive results.The difficulties however must not lead to discouragement. Rather, we need to commit ourselves with fresh enthusiasm, for the Church needs the spiritual and apostolic contribution of a renewed and revitalized consecrated life. In this Post-Synodal Exhortation I wish to address religious communities and consecrated persons in the same spirit which inspired the letter sent by the Council of Jerusalem to the Christians of Antioch, and I am hopeful that it will meet with the same response: "When they read it, they rejoiced at the encouragement which it gave" (Acts 15:31). And not only this. I also hope to increase the joy of the whole People of God. 

As they become better acquainted with the consecrated life, they will be able with greater awareness to thank Almighty God for this great gift.In an attitude of heartfelt openness towards the Synod Fathers, I have carefully considered the valuable contributions made during the intense work of the Assembly, at which I made a point of being present throughout. During the Synod, I also sought to offer the entire People of God a number of systematic talks on the consecrated life in the Church. In them I presented anew the teachings found in the texts of the Second Vatican Council, which was an enlightening point of reference for subsequent doctrinal developments and for the reflections of the Synod during the busy weeks of its work. I am confident that the sons and daughters of the Church, and consecrated persons in particular, will receive this Exhortation with open hearts. 

At the same time, I hope that reflection will continue and lead to a deeper understanding of the great gift of the consecrated life in its three aspects of consecration, communion and mission. I also hope that consecrated men and women, in full harmony with the Church and her Magisterium, will discover in this Exhortation further encouragement to face in a spiritual and apostolic manner the new challenges of our time.

Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal come to Ireland

The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal will open a new convent in Drogheda, Co. Louth this month.

Four members of the congregation are currently making final preparations to reside at their new home next to St Mary’s church in St James Street.

The Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal today have four communities, three in the United States in addition to a convent in Leeds in England. The congregation was established 25 years ago by Fr Andrew Apostoli in the Bronx area in New York. The community strives to live according to the ideals of St Francis as handed on by the Capuchins. The sisters work to evangelise and with the homeless and the poor.

In a statement to The Irish Catholic this week on the new departure for the CFR, the congregation’s Mother Superior expressed her joy at its arrival in Ireland.

“We are thrilled for the opportunity for the community to come to Ireland and we can’t wait to get there.”

The CFR sisters will attend a special Mass of welcome in Drogheda on August 15.

Above from: The Irish Catholic - Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal come to Ireland

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 5

Apostolic religious life

9. The West has also known, down the centuries, a variety of other expressions of religious life, in which countless persons, renouncing the world, have consecrated themselves to God through the public profession of the evangelical counsels in accordance with a specific charism and in a stable form of common life,for the sake of carrying out different forms of apostolic service to the People of God. Thus there arose the different families of Canons Regular, the Mendicant Orders, the Clerics Regular and in general the Religious Congregations of men and women devoted to apostolic and missionary activity and to the many different works inspired by Christian charity.

This is a splendid and varied testimony, reflecting the multiplicity of gifts bestowed by God on founders and foundresses who, in openness to the working of the Holy Spirit, successfully interpreted the signs of the times and responded wisely to new needs. Following in their footsteps, many other people have sought by word and deed to embody the Gospel in their own lives, bringing anew to their own times the living presence of Jesus, the Consecrated One par excellence, the One sent by the Father. In every age consecrated men and women must continue to be images of Christ the Lord, fostering through prayer a profound communion of mind with him (cf. Phil 2:5-11), so that their whole lives may be penetrated by an apostolic spirit and their apostolic work with contemplation.

Secular Institutes

10. The Holy Spirit, who wondrously fashions the variety of charisms, has given rise in our time tonew expressions of consecrated life, which appear as a providential response to the new needs encountered by the Church today as she carries out her mission in the world.

One thinks in the first place of members of Secular Institutes seeking to live out their consecration to God in the world through the profession of the evangelical counsels in the midst of temporal realities; they wish in this way to be a leaven of wisdom and a witness of grace within cultural, economic and political life. Through their own specific blending of presence in the world and consecration, they seek to make present in society the newness and power of Christ's Kingdom,striving to transfigure the world from within by the power of the Beatitudes. 

In this way, while they belong completely to God and are thus fully consecrated to his service, their activity in the ordinary life of the world contributes, by the power of the Spirit, to shedding the light of the Gospel on temporal realities. Secular Institutes, each in accordance with its specific nature, thus help to ensure that the Church has an effective presence in society. valuable role is also played by Clerical Secular Institutes, in which priests who belong to the diocesan clergy, even when some of them are recognized as being incardinated in the Institute, consecrate themselves to Christ through the practice of the evangelical counsels in accordance with a specific charism. They discover in the spiritual riches of the Institute to which they belong great help for living more deeply the spirituality proper to the priesthood and thus they are enabled to be a leaven of communion and apostolic generosity among their fellow clergy.

Our Vocation is a Great Gift - Poor Clares, Galway, Ireland

Video Link: Poor Clares Galway - Our Vocation is a Great Gift

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 4

The Order of Virgins; hermits and widows

7. It is a source of joy and hope to witness in our time a new flowering of the ancient Order of Virgins, known in Christian communities ever since apostolic times.Consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, these women acquire a particular link with the Church, which they are commited to serve while remaining in the world. Either alone or in association with others, they constitute a special eschatological image of the Heavenly Bride and of the life to come, when the Church will at last fully live her love for Christ the Bridegroom.

Men and women hermits, belonging to ancient Orders or new Institutes, or being directly dependent on the Bishop, bear witness to the passing nature of the present age by their inward and outward separation from the world. By fasting and penance, they show that man does not live by bread alone but by the word of God (cf. Mt 4:4). Such a life "in the desert" is an invitation to their contemporaries and to the ecclesial community itself never to lose sight of the supreme vocation, which is to be always with the Lord.Again being practised today is the consecration of widows,known since apostolic times (cf. 1 Tim 5:5, 9-10; 1 Cor 7:8), as well as the consecration of widowers. These women and men, through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the Kingdom of God, consecrate their state of life in order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Church.

Institutes completely devoted to contemplation

8. Institutes completely devoted to contemplation, composed of either women or men, are for the Church a reason for pride and a source of heavenly graces. By their lives and mission, the members of these Institutes imitate Christ in his prayer on the mountain, bear witness to God's lordship over history and anticipate the glory which is to come.

In solitude and silence, by listening to the word of God, participating in divine worship, personal asceticism, prayer, mortification and the communion of fraternal love, they direct the whole of their lives and all their activities to the contemplation of God. In this way they offer the ecclesial community a singular testimony of the Church's love for her Lord, and they contribute, with hidden apostolic fruitfulness, to the growth of the People of God.hus there is good reason to hope that the different forms of contemplative life will experience continued growth in the younger Churches as an evident sign that the Gospel has taken firm root, especially in those areas of the world where other religions predominate. This will make it possible to bear witness to the vitality of the traditions of Christian asceticism and mysticism and will contribute to interreligious dialogue.

Worldwide Eucharistic Adoration Today, The Solemnity of Corpus Christi in Union with Pope Francis

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 3

The work of the Spirit in the various forms of the Consecrated Life

5. How can we not recall with gratitude to the Spirit the many different forms of consecrated life which he has raised up throughout history and which still exist in the Church today? They can be compared to a plant with many branches which sinks its roots into the Gospel and brings forth abundant fruit in every season of the Church's life. What an extraordinary richness! I myself, at the conclusion of the Synod, felt the need to stress this permanent element in the history of the Church: the host of founders and foundresses, of holy men and women who chose Christ by radically following the Gospel and by serving their brothers and sisters, especially the poor and the outcast.Such service is itself a sign of how the consecrated life manifests the organic unity of the commandment of love, in the inseparable link between love of God and love of neighbour.

The Synod recalled this unceasing work of the Holy Spirit, who in every age shows forth the richness of the practice of the evangelical counsels through a multiplicity of charisms. In this way too he makes ever present in the Church and in the world, in time and space, the mystery of Christ.

Monastic life in the East and the West

6. The Synod Fathers from the Eastern Catholic Churches and the representatives of the other Churches of the East emphasized the evangelical values of monastic life,which appeared at the dawn of Christianity and which still flourishes in their territories, especially in the Orthodox Churches.

From the first centuries of the Church, men and women have felt called to imitate the Incarnate Word who took on the condition of a servant. They have sought to follow him by living in a particularly radical way, through monastic profession, the demands flowing from baptismal participation in the Paschal Mystery of his Death and Resurrection. In this way, by becoming bearers of the Cross (staurophoroi), they have striven to become bearers of the Spirit (pneumatophoroi), authentically spiritual men and women, capable of endowing

history with hidden fruitfulness by unceasing praise and intercession, by spiritual counsels and works of charity. In its desire to transfigure the world and life itself in expectation of the definitive vision of God's countenance, Eastern monasticism gives pride of place to conversion, self-renunciation and compunction of heart, the quest for hesychia or interior peace, ceaseless prayer, fasting and vigils, spiritual combat and silence,

Paschal joy in the presence of the Lord and the expectation of his definitive coming, and the oblation of self and personal possessions, lived in the holy communion of the monastery or in the solitude of the hermitage.he West too from the first centuries of the Church has practised the monastic life and has experienced a great variety of expressions of it, both cenobitic and eremetical. In its present form, inspired above all by Saint Benedict, Western monasticism is the heir of the great number of men and women who, leaving behind life in the world, sought God and dedicated themselves to him, "preferring nothing to the love of Christ".The monks of today likewise strive to create a harmonious balance between the interior life and work in the evangelical commitment to conversion of life, obedience and stability, and in persevering dedication to meditation on God's word (lectio divina), the celebration of the Liturgy and prayer. In the heart of the Church and the world, monasteries have been and continue to be eloquent signs of communion, welcoming abodes for those seeking God and the things of the spirit, schools of faith and true places of study, dialogue and culture for the building up of the life of the Church and of the earthly city itself, in expectation of the heavenly city.

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 2

The consecrated life: a gift to the Church

3. Its universal presence and the evangelical nature of its witness are clear evidence — if any were needed — that the consecrated life is not something isolated and marginal, but a reality which affects the whole Church. The Bishops at the Synod frequently reaffirmed this: "de re nostra agitur", "this is something which concerns us all".In effect, the consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element for her mission, since it "manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling"and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse.At the Synod it was stated on several occasions that the consecrated life has not only proved a help and support for the Church in the past, but is also a precious and necessary gift for the present and future of the People of God, since it is an intimate part of her life, her holiness and her mission.

The present difficulties which a number of Institutes are encountering in some parts of the world must not lead to a questioning of the fact that the profession of the evangelical counsels is an integral part of the Church's life and a much needed incentive towards ever greater fidelity to the Gospel.The consecrated life may experience further changes in its historical forms, but there will be no change in the substance of a choice which finds expression in a radical gift of self for love of the Lord Jesus and, in him, of every member of the human family. This certainty, which has inspired countless individuals in the course of the centuries, continues to reassure the Christian people, for they know that they can draw from the contribution of these generous souls powerful support on their journey towards the heavenly home.

Gathering the fruits of the Synod

4. In response to the desire expressed by the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which met to discuss the theme "The Consecrated Life and its Mission in the Church and in the World", I intend to set forth in this Apostolic Exhortation the results of the Synod processand to point out to all the faithful — Bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and laity, and to any others who might be interested — the wondrous things which today too the Lord wishes to accomplish through the consecrated life.

This Synod, coming after the ones dedicated to the lay faithful and to priests, completes the treatment of the distinctive features of the states of life willed by the Lord Jesus for his Church. Whereas the Second Vatican Council emphasized the profound reality of ecclesial communion, in which all gifts converge for the building up of the Body of Christ and for the Church's mission in the world, in recent years there has been felt the need to clarify the specific identity of the various states of life, their vocation and their particular mission in the Church.Communion in the Church is not uniformity, but a gift of the Spirit who is present in the variety of charisms and states of life. These will be all the more helpful to the Church and her mission the more their specific identity is respected. For every gift of the Spirit is granted in order to bear fruit for the Lordin the growth of fraternity and mission.

VITA CONSECRATA - Apostolic Exhortation on the Consecrated Life - Part 1

POST-SYNODAL 

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION 

VITA CONSECRATA 

OF THE HOLY FATHER 

JOHN PAUL II 

TO THE BISHOPS AND CLERGY 

RELIGIOUS ORDERS AND CONGREGATIONS 

SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE 

SECULAR INSTITUTES 

AND ALL THE FAITHFUL 

ON THE CONSECRATED LIFE AND ITS MISSION 

IN THE CHURCH AND IN THE WORLD

INTRODUCTION

1. The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly "visible" in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven.

In every age there have been men and women who, obedient to the Father's call and to the prompting of the Spirit, have chosen this special way of following Christ, in order to devote themselves to him with an "undivided" heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:34). Like the Apostles, they too have left everything behind in order to be with Christ and to put themselves, as he did, at the service of God and their brothers and sisters. In this way, through the many charisms of spiritual and apostolic life bestowed on them by the Holy Spirit, they have helped to make the mystery and mission of the Church shine forth, and in doing so have contributed to the renewal of society.

Thanksgiving for the Consecrated life

2. Because the role of consecrated life in the Church is so important, I decided to convene a Synod in order to examine in depth its significance and its future prospects, especially in view of the approaching new millennium. It was my wish that the Synodal Assembly should include, together with the Bishops, a considerable number of consecrated men and women, in order that they too might contribute to the common reflection.

We are all aware of the treasure which the gift of the consecrated life in the variety of its charisms and institutions represents for the ecclesial community. Together let us thank God for the Religious Orders and Institutes devoted to contemplation or the works of the apostolate, for Societies of Apostolic Life, for Secular Institutes and for other groups of consecrated persons, as well as for all those individuals who, in their inmost hearts, dedicate themselves to God by a special consecration.The Synod was a tangible sign of the universal extension of the consecrated life, present in the local Churches throughout the world. The consecrated life inspires and accompanies the spread of evangelization in the different parts of the world, where Institutes from abroad are gratefully welcomed and new ones are being founded, in a great variety of forms and expressions.Consequently, although in some parts of the world Institutes of Consecrated Life seem to be experiencing a period of difficulty, in other places they are prospering with remarkable vitality. 

This shows that the choice of total self-giving to God in Christ is in no way incompatible with any human culture or historical situation. Nor is the consecrated life flourishing within the Catholic Church alone. In fact, it is particularly vibrant in the monasticism of the Orthodox Churches, where it is an essential feature of their life. It is also taking root or re-emerging in the Churches and Ecclesial Communities which originated in the Reformation, and is the sign of a grace shared by all of Christ's disciples. This fact is an incentive to ecumenism, which fosters the desire for an ever fuller communion between Christians, "that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21).

Benedictine Monastery of Stamullen, Co. Meath - Silverstream Priory

The Benedictine Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle (Silverstream Priory)  is a community of men dedicated to the traditional monastic life according to the Rule of Saint Benedict, and to intercession for the Sanctification of Priests, in Adoration and Reparation before the Eucharistic Face of Jesus Christ. 

They were established during the Year of the Priest  (2009-2010) in Oklahoma by His Excellency, the Most Reverend Edward J. Slattery. 

They were invited by His Lordship, the Most Reverend Michael Smith, Bishop of Meath, to move their fledgling community to County Meath, Ireland.  On 31 December 2012, we were formally erected by His Lordship in the Diocese of Meath as a Public Clerical Association of the Faithful (CIC 312) in view of their being recognized, after a suitable period of growth, as a sui iuris Monastery of Diocesan Right.

For more information go to website here:  Silverstream Priory

Associated Blog here:  Vultus Christi

A new sister receives the habit of St Clare in the Poor Clares, Galway

A new sister receives the habit of St Clare in the Poor Clares, Galway

From the Poor Clare Sisters; 

On the Feast of Pentecost, we celebrated, not only the gifts of the Holy Spirit to the Church and to each of us individually, but in a special way in our community, we were thrilled that our postulant Marie, received the habit (which is the distinctive dress of our Order and which signifies consecration to the Lord in the way of St Clare).    

This is a private ceremony, with only the immediate Community present.    In this ceremony, we recall when St Clare left home to follow St Francis, as his first female follower.    This happened on the night of Palm Sunday in 1212, just over eight hundred years ago.    On that fateful night, St Francis cut the beautiful blonde hair of Clare, and she was clothed with the rough sackcloth dress, which was the habit of the Franciscan Order.    In our community, we have always retained the ritual of the cutting of hair as part of the ceremony.   And so as part of the Vigil of the Feast of Pentecost, Marie took a significant step on the journey to committing herself to the Poor Clare way of life.  Symbolising the beginning of a new life in the Lord, Marie received a new name, the name of a saint who will be a special patron to her in her new life.  She is now known, Sr. Brigid Marie of the Sacred Heart.

For more information go to:  http://www.vocationsireland.com/

Knights of the Holy Eucharist

Poor Clares, Drumshanbo, Co. Leitrim, Ireland

Dolores Hart (Former Hollywood Star) now Mother Dolores, Benedictine Nun

Dolores Hart (pictured now) was the first film star to kiss Elvis Presley. She went on to perform in several more films in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In 1961, she played St Clare in Francis of Assisi. That year she met Pope John XXIII and told him, "I'm Dolores Hart, the actress playing Clare." The Pope said, "No, you are Clare!" Those words were prophetic, as a few years later, Dolores entered the Regina Laudis Benedictine Abbey in Connecticut, and took her final vows there in 1970. As a Benedictine Sister, she has lived a very quiet, structured life, praying the Office every day. The community is self-sufficient and has its own 160 hectare farm, pottery and foundry.

 Through the years, Mother Dolores has been instrumental in developing the abbey's connection with the community through the arts. Paul Newman helped her with funding for a lighting grid, when she decided to start a year-round arts school and a better-equipped stage. Another friend, the Academy Award winning actress Patricia Neal also helped support the abbey's open-air theatre and arts program. Every summer, the abbey's 38 nuns help the community stage a musical. Shows have included West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, The Music Man, and My Fair Lady. In 2006, Mother Dolores visited Hollywood again after 43 years in the convent, to raise awareness for peripheral idiopathic neuropathy disorder, a neurological disorder from which she now suffers. In April 2006, she testified at a Washington congressional hearing on the need for research on the painful and crippling disease. Reverend Mother Dolores Hart became Prioress of the Abbey in 2001, but she remains a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, having in recent years become the only nun to be an Oscar-voting member. This year, she will be attending the Oscars herself, because she is the subject of the short documentary, God is Bigger Than Elvis, which is up for an Academy Award.

The Choir of the Abu Ghosh Benedictine Monastery

Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen

All Religious Orders and Congregations in the Catholic Church began as small communities of devout men and women united by simple guidelines. Over a period of time, each Order adopted a Rule and Constitutions which were approved by the Church. The Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen, or CMRI (Congregatio Mariae Reginae Immaculatae), has followed the same steps.

This Congregation began in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1967, as an association of lay Brothers and Sisters devoted to spreading the message of Our Lady of Fatima. The Congregation held its first General Chapter in July, 1986, at Mount St. Michael in Spokane, Washington. During this meeting, CMRI established its Rule and Constitutions. In the same year, the Rule was approved by Bishop Robert McKenna, O.P., whose episcopal lineage can be traced back to Archbishop Pierre Martin Ngo-dinh-Thuc. (Archbishop Thuc received extraordinary patriarchal powers from Pope Pius XI on March 15, 1938. By means of these faculties, he could legitimately consecrate bishops without the usual mandate from Rome. These faculties were renewed on December 8, 1939, by Pope Pius XII and were never rescinded.)

As the Congregation grew, it was called upon to minister to the spiritual needs of many Catholics who would not accept the Modernism of Vatican II. With the death of Pope Pius XII, and with the convocation of the Second Vatican Council, an unprecedented situation befell the Church, which attacked her very doctrines and worship. In order to provide for the preservation of the Catholic Faith and the traditional Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Sacraments, the Priests, Brothers and Sisters of the Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen profess and adhere to the Catholic Faith as it had been consistently taught throughout the centuries since the time of Christ. CMRI upholds the 1917 Code of Canon Law and the principle of epikeia which reflects the mind of the Church that “the salvation of souls is the supreme law.”

The current Superior General of CMRI is Bishop Mark A. Pivarunas. The Mother General of the Marian Sisters is Reverend Mother Mary Agnes. The Religious of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen serve over 40 churches and chapels in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. They also operate a seminary in Omaha, Nebraska, while the Sisters’ motherhouse is located in Spokane, Washington. CMRI members foster true devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and strive to promote Our Lady’s requests at Fatima to pray the Rosary, wear the scapular, and to practice reparation and amendment of life.

Website:  http://www.cmri.org/index.html

Cistercian Life...

Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel..

Between the years of 1206 and 1214, there existed a group of hermits living in Mt. Carmel in Palestine that had formed themselves into a group under the leadership of a man named Brocard.

This group proceeded to ask Albert, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, to provide them with a "formula vitae" or rule of life which became the Carmelite rule.  Because of the association of Mt. Carmel with the Prophet Elijah, these first Carmelite hermits took him as their "Dux et Pater", or leader and father. They also had a particular devotion to Our Lady, building an oratory dedicated to her, and by doing so pledged themselves to her service and placed their community under her patronage and protection. Hence they later became known as "the Brothers of St Mary of Mount Carmel."

Hermits, belonging to ancient Orders or New Institutes, or being directly dependent on the Bishop, bear witness to the passing nature of the present age by the inward and outward separation, from the world. By fasting and Penance, they show that man does not live by bread alone but by the work of God. Such a life "In the Desert" is an invitation to their contemporaries and to the ecclesial community itself, never to lose sight of the supreme vocation, which is to be always with the Lord.

The Hermits of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel are a community of men called to a life of silence, solitude, prayer, and penance for the good of the Church and the salvation of the world. The hermits live in a Laura, a colony of Hermits living in separate dwellings around a central chapel, following the original Carmelite rule. 

The vocation of the Carmelite Hermit is the contemplative vocation, and the foundations of his life are the Eucharist, Sacred Scripture and devotion to Our Blessed Lady under the title of Our Lady of Mount Carmel . For the hermit the cell is the place of encounter with God. 

For more Info:  http://www.carmelitehermits.org/

Knights of Columbus

To Jesus Through Mary........

Venerable Matthew Talbot - Triumph over Addiction

Matthew Talbot was born on May 2, 1856, the second of 12 siblings, in Dublin, Ireland. He had three sisters and nine brothers, three of whom died young. His father Charles was a dockworker and his mother, Elizabeth, was a housewife. When Matthew was about 12 years old, he started to drink alcohol. His father was a known alcoholic as well as all his brothers. The eldest brother, John, was the exception. Charles tried to dissuade Matthew with severe punishments but without success.

Matthew worked as a messenger boy when he was twelve and then transferred to another messenger job at the same place his father worked. After working there for three years, he became a bricklayer's laborer. He was a hodman, which meant he fetched mortar and bricks for the bricklayers. He was considered "the best hodman in Dublin.

As he grew into an adult, he continued to drink excessively, He continued to work but spent all his wages on heavy drinking. When he got drunk, he became very hot-tempered, got into fights, and swore. He became so desperate for more drinks that he would buy drinks on credit, sell his boots or possessions, or steal people's possession so he could exchange it for more drinks. He refused to listen to his mother's plea to stop drinking. He eventually lost his own self-respect. One day when he was broke, he loitered around a street corner waiting for his "friends", who were leaving work after they were paid their wages. He had hoped that they would invite him for a drink but they ignored him. Dejected, he went home and publicly resolved to his mother, "I'm going to take the pledge." His mother smiled and responded, "Go, in God's name, but don't take it unless you are going to keep it." As Matthew was leaving, she continued, "May God give you strength to keep it."

Matthew went straight to confession at Clonliffe College and took a pledge not to drink for three months. The next day he went back to Church and received communion for the first time in years. From that moment on, in 1884 when he was 28 years old, he became a new man. After the he successfully fulfilled his pledge for three months, he made a life long pledge. He even made a pledge to give up his pipe and tobacco. He used to use about seven ounces of tobacco a week. He said to the late Sean T. O'Ceallaigh, former President of Ireland, that it cost him more to give up tobacco that to give up alcohol.

The new converted Matthew never swore. He was good humored and amicable to everyone. He continued to work as a hodman and then as a laborer for timber merchants. He used his wages to pay back all his debts. He lived modestly and his home was very spartan. He developed into a very pious individual who prayed every chance he got. He attended Mass every morning and made devotions like the Stations of the Cross or devotions the Blessed mother in the evenings. He fasted, performed acts of mortification, and financially supported many religious organizations. He read biographies of St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Catherine of Sienna. He later joined the Third Order of St. Francis on October 18, 1891 even though a young pious girl proposed to marry him. Physically, he suffered from kidney and heart ailments. During the two times he was hospitalized, he spent much time in Eucharistic adoration in the hospital chapel. Eventually, Matthew died on June 7, 1925 while walking to Mass. He was 69 years old. Here is a wonderful quote from Matthew to remember:

"Three things I cannot escape: the eye of God, the voice of conscience, the stroke of death. In company, guard your tongue. In your family, guard your temper. When alone guard your thoughts."

Article From Savior.org

The First Gypsy Saint....Bl. Ceferino Jimenez Malla (El Pele)

Marthe Robin ...Victim Soul

[The following article from the Voice of Padre Pio speaks of another soul, who like Padre Pio, offered herself to God on behalf of others.]

She neither ate, drank nor slept, but lived for seven decades and carried on a busy apostolate.
Padre Pio passed to his heavenly reward in September 1968.

At that moment a sister soul, a laywoman who also suffered the stigmata and the Passion of Christ was still living her mission. She lived in the Galaure Valley in the southern half of France. It would seem that she and the Padre had much in common.

Last year, just after my biography, The Pierced Priest was published, I was interviewed on a French radio station. They were fascinated to hear more about Padre Pio and I realised that perhaps he is not quite as well known there as in some places because France had its own 'Padre Pio'. She was Marthe Robin. The interviewer was surprised that Marthe, in turn, is very little known so far in English-speaking countries.
In researching Padre's life, I understood that he was in some way part of that "Legion of Little Souls" that St Therese of Lisieux so confidently prophesied would follow her and continue her 'Little Way.' As well as the 'explosion' of apparitions with which the Lord seemed to be gracing this century, I understood that in his mercy He was also inspiring chosen souls to become 'victims' with Him to appeal to the Divine Mercy of our Father on this apparently Godless age.

Padre Pio was born in 1887. We know that as a student he read the newly-published 'autobiography' of St Therese. (He was also much influenced by another devotee of Therese, that incomparable little flower herself, St Gemma Galgani.)

Therese died in 1897. I think she somehow in her last months experienced that near-despair which would be the lot of so many of our contemporaries in the twentieth century. Marthe Robin was born in 1902.

Her only food was the Holy Eucharist

From the age of 28 she was completely paralysed and bedridden. At first she still had the power to move thumb and forefinger of one hand whereby she could still tell her beads. Eventually this, too, was lost to her and she was completely immobile apart from her head which she could move slightly. Since the previous year, at the age of 25, she could not eat anything at all. And from the age of 26 and her total paralysis she couldn't even take a sip of water. When doctors tried to force some water down her throat, it merely came down her nostrils.

For the next 53 years Marthe's only food was the Holy Eucharist. Once a week her spiritual father brought her the Sacred Host. On more than one occasion both he and other visiting priests, saw the Host apparently leap from their hands and fly directly to her mouth. Even a bishop testified that he saw it apparently dissolve once it passed her lips.

Her Holy Communion was weekly. Once she had received Jesus she went immediately into ecstasy and then began her weekly re-living of Christ's Passion and crucifixion. The stigmata and the scourging, the crowning with thorns appeared on her body. The whole crucifixion seemed to be re-enacted on this little countrywoman and from the moment of Christ's death on the Cross she too appeared dead. Thus she would remain until 'called back' to life under obedience by her spiritual father on the Sunday. (This would eventually become the Monday and then even the Tuesday following the Friday crucifixion.)

I said that for 53 years Marthe ate not a crumb of food. Neither did she sleep. She was in constant prayer and intercession for the world. On the days when she was not reliving the Passion she would receive a stream of visitors. Like Padre Pio she had the gift of seeing into people's souls and would very simply tell them what they most needed to hear. Also like the Padre she could not abide anyone coming to see her out of mere curiosity or expecting to 'have their fortunes told.'

One famous French philosopher and member of the prestigious Academie Francaise, Jean Guitton, wrote how he was bowled over on meeting this extraordinary little woman on a visit to her family's small farmhouse where she lived in a bed in one small room. As a renowned intellectual, Guitton was fascinated by the fact that she never slept. He concluded that she was a "living brain" which was constantly active. Soon, of course, he realised that she was "more, much more, than that."

She was directed to found a school, first for girls and then one for boys, in her native village. All this she directed and led to the smallest detail from her bed in her darkened little room! But more was to follow. She was then told to found a community which would welcome retreatants and which would be a home of "light, charity and love." It became known as the 'Foyer de Charite' and there are now some 70 houses and communities throughout the world.

Our Lady gave very specific instructions about what was to happen in these houses. Each one was to be led by a priest, 'the Father', and the retreats were to be in complete silence apart from the prayers and the preaching of the Father which would lead to a complete renewal in the Faith of the participants. And they were to be five days long. Three days was "not enough to change a soul." The retreats were, and are, based very much on the teaching of that great Marian apostle, St. Louis de Montfort. Indeed, one time after an ecstasy a copy of his Treatise on True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin was found on Marthe's bed. No one knew where it had come from. Marthe told them our Lady left it!

Like Padre Pio and others who live a high degree of union with Our Blessed Lord, Marthe also had to suffer assaults from the Devil. As in a similar incident with Padre Pio, our Lady assisted Marthe and one time when she was thrown onto the floor, herself placed a cushion under Marthe's head.

Like Padre and other truly holy souls, Marthe was also very discreet about her supernatural experiences. But she did often speak to close friends about her special relationship with St Therese of Lisieux. On more than one occasion she confirmed that St Therese had appeared to her three times. She said that Therese had told her that her work, like that of Therese, would be much greater after her death than while she was alive in her Carmel of Lisieux. And Therese said that Marthe would have a great mission to continue in her 'Little Way.'

"For your beloved souls, the priests"
An offering made by Marthe in 1939 (renewing her Act of Abandonment of 1925) echoes so closely that made by Padre Pio. She said, "Lord, I offer myself, I give myself again to You for all the souls in the world, for the sanctity of your beloved souls the priests, especially for those whose sins I carry in my heart.
"That through me, Lord, by my prayer, by my love, by my sufferings, by my immolation, by any exterior actions I may have, that by my whole life their apostolate will be more effective, more fruitful, more holy, more divine."

Another paragraph of that offering would surely have struck a chord with Padre Pio, who offered the Mass with such love, devotion and tenderness that he would often weep. Marthe prayed for her beloved priests, "May their Mass be less of a sumptuous exterior ceremony during which they are busy, distracted, distant, and more an act of profound tenderness."

And like Padre Pio, Marthe seemed to be able to be - or at least see what was happening - elsewhere. She could tell her spiritual father, exactly what had happened that day during the retreat in the Foyer in the village. She could tell him which parts of the talks he gave were good and where he might have been a bit distracted for example. And this ability and concern for the well-being of the retreatants reached down to the smallest detail. She would point out clearly to the members of the community if there had been any lack in charity or if the silence had been broken. She would say if the retreatants needed more heating or if something was not good enough with the meals.

When Marthe died aged 79, after suffering the Passion and Crucifixion a last time in February 1981, over 250 priests and several bishops concelebrated her Requiem. Her work of the Foyers de Charite continues and grows.
Thank God who in his infinite Mercy has given us such souls as our beloved Padre Pio, St Gemma Galgani, Marthe Robin and who knows how many hidden 'victims' to intercede with Him to the Father for mercy in these times we live in.

The very existence of a Padre Pio, a Marthe Robin, surely proves once again the "loving mercy of the Heart of our God." He cannot change. He sent his only Son to die for us. The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, inspires certain chosen souls to identify in a special way in the redemptive work of our Saviour. They are led and helped particularly by she who stood by the Cross, Our Blessed Mother of Mercy.

What a mighty God who in this century of atheism, rejection of his ways, mass murder, and all sorts of blasphemy and sacrilege should respond with grace upon grace. May we respond, with our brothers and sisters those victim souls, before it is too late. May St Therese Padre Pio, Marthe Robin intercede for us and inspire us

[The above article was from the Voice of Padre Pio speaks of another soul, who like Padre Pio, offered herself to God on behalf of others.]

Vocations to Follow Jesus in Religious Life..

Servant of God Frank Duff...Founder of the Legion of Mary

Servant of God Frank Duff (June 7, 1889 - November 7, 1980) was a native of Dublin, Ireland, born as the eldest child of a wealthy family. He is best known for bringing attention to the role of the laity during the Second Vatican Council of the Roman Catholic Church, and for founding the Legion of Mary.

Early life

Francis Michael Duff was born in Dublin, Ireland, on June 7, 1889. He attended Blackrock College, then joined the Roman Catholic organization for laity known as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in 1913 and was greatly influenced by the spirit of the Society. He entered the Civil Service at the age of 18 and had a distinguished career. His free time he at first dedicated to sporting activities, but at the age of 24 he joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul where he was led to a deeper commitment to his Catholic faith and at the same time he acquired a great sensitivity to the needs of the poor and underprivileged. Along with a group of Catholic women and Fr. Michael Toher, a priest of the Dublin Archdiocese, he formed the first branch of what was to become the first praesidium of the Legion of Mary on September 7, 1921.

From that date until his death, November 7, 1980, he guided the world-wide extension of the Legion with heroic dedication. He attended the Second Vatican Council as a lay observer. He died on the evening of November 7, 1980 aged 91 years. His Cause for Beatification was introduced by His Eminence Desmond Cardinal Connell, the then Archbishop of Dublin, in June 1996.


In 1916, aged 27, Duff published his first pamphlet entitled "Can we be Saints?" In it he expressed the conviction that all without exception are called to be saints, and that through Christian faith all persons have available the means necessary to attain such sainthood.


In 1917 he came to know the Treatise of St. Louis de Montfort on the True Devotion to Mary, a work brought to his attention the importance of Mary in the life of the laity. feast June 7

The Legion of Mary
On September 7, 1921 Frank Duff founded the Legion of Mary. This is a lay apostolic organisation at the service of the Roman Catholic Church, under ecclesiastical guidance. Its twofold purpose is the spiritual development of its members and advancing the reign of Christ through Mary.
The Legion operates throughout the world. Today between active and auxiliary (praying) members there are in excess of 10 million members worldwide.


Later life

In 1965 Pope Paul VI invited Frank Duff to attend the Second Vatican Council as a Lay Observer, an honour by which the Pope recognised and affirmed his enormous work for the lay apostolate. Frank Duff would question the lack of apostolic zeal of many Catholics, leading him to wonder whether they had the Catholic faith to begin with.


In his book about Frank Duff, Fr Robert Bradshaw said that Frank Duff had a great devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus but he had difficulty at first becoming a member of the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association because it meant wearing the badge which has a picture in the center of the Sacred Heart. Frank did not like wearing his religion in public. But feeling that he was denying Our Lord he became a member and went even further by having a special Pioneer badge made for himself which would make the picture of the Sacred Heart more visible.


Later Frank helped Joe Gabbett set up the Catholic Breakfast center for the poor in Whitefriars Street because Protestant Proselytizing Centers were obliging the poor to listen to a Protestant service in order to obtain a Breakfast. Frank was very impressed by the big picture of the Sacred Heart that Joe Gabbett had overseeing their breakfast center. Frank made promotion of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus a part of the Legion Apostolate. Frank took to heart the words of Our Lord to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque "My Heart is so inflamed with Love for men that it is no longer able to keep within itself the flames of its burning Love. It must make itself known unto men in order to enrich them with the treasures it contains" and on another occasion Jesus told her "Behold this Heart which has loved men so much and yet is so little loved in return". And later when Frank joined the Secular Franciscan Order he probably really absorbed Saint Francis weeping lament about Jesus when he said "Love is not loved".

Frank would spend his life trying to make 'Love loved' by as many people as possible and to make them realise that Love loved them. To this end he would try to have Legionaries get the picture of the Sacred Heart enthroned in the homes they visited. He also encouraged Legionaries to use and explain the Miraculous Medal to their contacts which also has a picture of the Sacred heart on the back. Frank probably understood Jesus' words when He said "I have come to set fire to the earth and how I wish it was burning already" (Lk 12:49) to mean that Jesus wanted everyone to know about the fire burning in His Sacred Heart for mankind so that all mankind would be burning with love for God. It is no coincidence that Frank Duff was born and died on the First Friday of the month. He had a mission to fulfill for the Sacred Heart of Jesus.


Frank had great faith in the Mercy and love of Jesus for mankind, he wrote the following prayer:

"O Lord, all hearts are in Your Hand You can bend as it pleases You the most obdurate and soften the most hardened. Do that honour this night through the Blood, merits, wounds, names and inflamed Hearts of Your Beloved Son and His Most Holy Mother by granting the conversion of the whole world. Nothing less My God, Nothing less because of Mary Thy Mother and because of Thy might and Thy Mercy"

On November 7, 1980 Frank Duff died and was buried in Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.


In July 1996 the Cause of his canonisation was introduced by the Archbishop of Dublin, Desmond Connell.


From Wikipedia..