Associates of Blessed Edmund Rice North America

New Associates Website

2008-11-21T13:08:00.003-05:00

As of November 2008 this blog is no longer active.

Please visit the Associates website at:

http://sites.google.com/site/associatesedmundrice/

The Essential Practice For a Spiritual Life

2008-10-10T11:43:00.001-04:00

By Frank Squitteri

Of all the spiritual practices available to us, the one essential, fundamental practice that should precede all our spiritual activities is that of centering. I am not referring to centering prayer, which is really only an extension of the centering practice. In fact, centering prayer has become the tail wagging the dog. Ask anyone about centering, and they will identify it with centering prayer. By contrast, I am stating that centering is the essential practice of the spiritual life. Why?
Our concept of God has shifted dramatically in the 20th Century, although very quietly. No major announcements have been made. No sermons preached on the subject. However, in his book, Man Becoming, theologian Gregory Baum has stated that our concept of God has moved from an outsider God, a divine being facing us from beyond history, to an insider God who dwells within us.

At the core of our being, God reveals us to ourselves, calls us to growth and gives of himself to us. God’s revelatory presence, self-gift and call operate within each situation and experience of our daily life. This theological shift changes everything. To encounter deeply this insider God, we must center down to the core of our personhood where God’s Spirit dwells. We must connect with our Center!

Another term for the spiritual life is the “interior life,” and rightly so. If we are committed to living the spiritual life, we will practice centering many times during our day to prepare ourselves for spiritual activities—before spiritual reading, before we pray, before we celebrate Mass, before we attempt to encounter God’s presence in the divine gift of creation, before we encounter people. And on and on.

If we are not practicing centering, we may be living pious, faithful, church-going lives, but we are not living the spiritual life—a life of union with our insider God. We must connect with our Center!

Centering. What is centering? Centering is the conscious gathering of our mind, heart and will to surrender our self to the Divine Center within us and within all created reality.
Why is this psychological gathering so necessary? We are wounded people—alienated from God, ourselves, others and creation. Ordinarily, we get stuck in our heads or our hearts. Or we act as automatons, being controlled by habit. Despite even good intentions, there will be times when we will not succeed in pulling ourselves together. Only with the Spirit’s help do we experience our own spiritual unity—if we intentionally collect our faculties to create inner unity.
Centering is the way we form our intention that drives our spiritual activities. It helps us to achieve wholeness, inner spiritual union within ourselves. It is by first experiencing this inner spiritual union that we prepare ourselves to experience union with our inner God. Centering, as the term is used here, is not just a technique for concentrating the full energies of our mind and heart. It does that, but it does more than that. It is the way to spiritual union—first with ourselves and then with God.

Centering and Compassion. I have shared with you my discovery of the practice of compassion at the Louvre Museum in Paris. That is the practice of being fully present to the object of our encounter with a caring heart and attentive mind. In other words, we must make a self-gift of ourselves to receive the gift of the other, whether it is the arts, the beauty of creation, other persons or our insider God.

What I now realize is that this practice of compassion is actually the practice of centering, helping us to form our intention for spiritual union. For example, to prepare ourselves for union with God, we must be fully present to the Divine Presence within us with a caring heart and attentive mind. We must gift ourselves, we must surrender ourselves to our insider God. That is the practice of compassion and the practice of centering.

Centering and Perceiving. Spiritual writers and poets voice the human problem of perceiving the depths of things—God, creation, people. We tend to perceive without perceiving. They say we must see with the eyes of our hearts. Or they say we must see with the eyes of love. E.e.cummings writes of revelation: “The eyes of my eyes are opened.” Teihard Chardin prayed, “Lord, grant that I may see, that I may see You, that I may see and feel You present in all things and animating all things.” Our powers of perception are at their best when we are centered and compassionately united with ourselves and with the object or person or God we are attempting to encounter.

Centering Method. Whatever helps you to fire up your heart, focus your attention and bring you fully present into the present moment is your best method for centering. Remember too that your heart’s desire is your most creative force. No matter what method you use, you must experience ardent desire for spiritual union. Here is how the practice of compassion works for centering:

Become fully present. Enter the present moment—the entrance to inner spiritual unity. As bodied persons, you need to use your body to become fully present to yourself. Our minds may be in the past or future, but our bodies are in the present moment. Take time to become conscious of your breathing. Breathe deeply from the gut, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically for a period of time. Make your body attentive by the way you hold yourself. If that fails, use Sadhana prayer. Fr. Anthony DeMello, SJ popularized this method which uses the body to awaken the mind and heart to being fully present in an energized way. It consists of becoming conscious of your body through the body awareness exercise of ritually experiencing your body parts from head to foot for a period of time. Note: Doing both the breathing exercise described above and the body awareness exercise at the same time enhances the experience.

Seek a caring heart and an attentive mind. Lead with your emotional center to achieve a caring heart and an attentive mind. When you experience strong feelings, they register themselves in your body, either in your stomach or chest. If you want to enter into total centeredness to encounter God or created reality compassionately, mind and heart, you must consciously enlist your body’s emotional center to generate a caring, attentive attitude. And you will deepen your sense of being fully present in the present moment.

Attempt to experience union. Arouse desire for union with God. Pray that the Risen Christ will pour Jesus’ life energies, present and available here and now, into your heart that you might encounter the Divine Presence within you, as he experienced when he went into the mountains to pray. Express acts of will to encounter God while admitting that your will is powerless to command love, relationship, encounter. For spiritual union is the Spirit’s gift to give or not to give. Give yourself as self-gift to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to connect you with your Divine Love Center. Then begin your spiritual exercise.

The practice of discernment should be viewed as another essential spiritual practice that flows, like the centering practice, from the theology of the insider God. For our insider God carries on dialogue with us through his Spirit taking initiatives within our hearts’ movements, inviting and inspiring us. But why is centering essential for discernment? Because we want to center our mind and heart and will on the issue under discernment for our deepest perceptions and spiritual insights, and that in the presence of our Divine Center.

Further, the practice of centering as described here is valuable for those who practice centering prayer. It could precede centering prayer to prepare oneself psychologically and spiritually for this rich form of prayer.

Learning the practice of centering should be the first step toward a deeper spiritual life. The French have a phrase for it—the point of departure. If you have your right departure point, you will have a good journey and arrive at your destination. Generally, it happens that when people have decided to take their spiritual journey more seriously, they are directed to Bible study. Most likely, that departure point will not bring them to their destination—a deep relationship with their insider God. However, after they have made the practice of centering a habit, Bible study will contribute to their growth in the spiritual life by deepening their relationship with their insider God.

For centering is the essential, fundamental practice of our spiritual lives. And it is the essential, fundamental practice of living the fully human life. It should be the act that precedes all our spiritual and deeply human acts. Let us connect with our own center and our Divine Center!

This article will soon appear in the Spiritual Development Program on the Cursillo website: http://www.nycursillo.org/

Please send comments to frankkit@sprynet.com

2008-08-25T11:10:00.002-04:00

John Kirschner, (Seattle, Washington) Edmund Rice Associate, husband of Kathy and father of Mac, Patrick, Evan, Alex and Nick, passed away. Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the peace and consolation of the Kirschner family.

2008 Province Chapter

2008-07-10T19:16:00.002-04:00

Visit http://www.ercbna.org/Chapter2008/Reports.html for information on the 2008 Province Chapter being held in Cornwall, Canada from July 6th to 13th.

Chicago Chapter - Tentative Calendar of Events 2008-09

2008-06-17T08:22:00.001-04:00

Sat. Sept. 20 Morning. Opening of New School Year gathering: Ray Mackey's home in Frankfort

Sat. Oct. 25 3:30 PM at Holy Sepulchre and Mass at St. Laurence.
Memorial Time.

(early Advent: retreat time, TBA).

Sat. Feb. 21. morning. Spring gathering.

Sat. May 2. 5 PM Edmund Rice Mass--either St. Xavier or parish.

O'Dea Chapter - Calendar of Events UPDATED 28 July

2008-06-17T08:20:00.001-04:00

Sunday – September 21 9:30 am O’Dea Library
“Exploring Our Heritage: Giants of the Province”

Saturday – October 18 “Connecting With Our Roots”
4:00 pm Visit to St. Patrick’s Cemetery (Kent)
5:30 pm Mass @ St. James’ Cathedral
6:45 pm Social / Dinner @ Brothers’ Residence

Monday -- November 10 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
Reflection: “God is in the Ordinary”

Monday – December 15 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“Advent / Christmas Evening of Recollection”

Monday – January 5 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“A New Year with Edmund Rice”

Monday -- February 9 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
Lenten Reflection: “God is in the Ordinary”

Monday – March 9 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“Ritual: Renewal & New Associates”

Wednesday – May 6 Founder’s Feast Day Celebrations
10:00 am Mass @ St. James Cathedral
7:00 pm Prayer Service @ Brothers' Residence

Sunday – May 17 9:30 – 12:00 K.of C. Hall (Seattle)
Christian Brothers’ Retirement Fund Breakfast

Pope's Message to Catholics in the U.S.

2008-04-10T14:44:00.003-04:00

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is Pope Benedict XVI's message, in English and Spanish, to Catholics in the United States. The pope will visit the U.S. April 15-20.

Click on the play button below to play the video.

Dear brothers and sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture toward every ecclesial community and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ Our Hope." Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including nonbelievers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

Dirijo un cordial saludo a los catolicos de lengua espanola y les manifiesto mi cercania espiritual, en particular a los jovenes, a los enfermos, a los ancianos y a los que pasan por dificultades o se sienten mas necesitados. Les expreso mi vivo deseo de poder estar pronto con Ustedes en esa querida Nacion. Mientras tanto, les aliento a orar intensamente por los frutos pastorales de mi inminente Viaje Apostolico y a mantener en alto la llama de la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen Maria les acompane y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga.

May God bless you all.

BLESSED EDMUND RICE

2008-04-07T08:49:00.001-04:00

By David Elebert

Edmund Ignatius Rice was born in June. He was born in the Westcourt, Callan, Co. Kilkenny. He was to be a man of heroic virtue and worthy of the title "Venerable". On 2nd of April 1993, Pope John Paul II declared the Irishman, Edmund Rice, to be a man of heroic virtue.

Two years later, Rome approved a miracle attributed to Edmund's intercession. This cleared the way for his beatification with the bestowing of the title "Blessed Edmund Rice" at a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, on Sunday, 6th of October 1996. In recent documents issued by the Vatican Congregation of Saint Edmund was recognised as being a gift to the Church. Recalling the era in which Edmund lived, the document praises him for his strong and clear faith, his Eucharistic piety, his devotion to the Mother of God, and his constant reflection on the sacred scriptures.

CHILDHOOD

On 1st June a baby boy was born, he was christened a couple of weeks later with the name Edmund Rice. His mother and fathers names were Robert and Margaret Rice. He was the fourth of seven brothers. He also had two sisters from his mother's first marriage.

Ireland had just pasted through the anti - Catholic period It had more to do with politics allegiances and the for land than with adherence to Catholicism By the year that Edmund was born this had all passed.

Edmunds father Robert worked on a 180 acre farm leased from Lord Desart Other became traders, merchants and shopkeepers. Christ was the centre of his through, affections and apostate, and it was Christ whom he served when he tended the poor and needy His life was characterised by dedication, generosity and humility He truly loved God and his neighbour with all his heart.

If all this is true, Edmund would appear to be a man, not only for his own time but for our time as well. Who then was this exceptional Irishman who is being so signally honoured in the last decade of the second millennium, more than 150 years after his death?

YOUTH

Edmund Rice`s youth was unexceptional for the better off Catholics of his time. Irish was the language that people used in those days, with sufficient English o deal with legal and financial affairs. Edmunds parents were respected in the community for their generosity, fair-mindedness and humanity. The Rice children were fortunate that they had parents whose personalities balanced so well. The father's shrewdness, sturdy common sense and practicality complemented the mother's warmth, sensitivity and compassion. Like any boy growing up in the Kilkenny countryside, Edmund fished, swam, and played hurling. For Edmund life was not all fun and games. Edmund received an education denied to the majority of Catholics. He first went to "hedge school" an illegal pay-school set up by a travelling teacher for those whose parents could not afford to pay the fees. But his parents and family provided his religious education.

Later when Edmund was seventeen he attended an academy school in Kilkenny. Here he received a practical and classical education. This was to prove helpful to him, not only in his business career, but also in his future as founder of schools for poor boys.

For boys of families that were well off Catholic farmers there would have been two choices of jobs. They could stay at home and work on the farm, or they could go overseas and study for the priesthood, or even enter the world of business. Edmunds brother John became a priest in the Augustinian order later becoming Assistant General and died in Malta. Edmund was mostly interested in the business world.

THE YOUNG BUSINESS MAN

When Edmund was seventeen he got a job as an apprentice at his uncles business. Michael Rice was well established in victualling and ship chandelling in the thriving port of Waterford. Although Michael ran a business his sons did not follow in his footsteps. That's how Edmund was given the opportunity of training in the business.

Waterford at that time was both an ancient walled city and a bustling modern port from which a thousand ships sailed each year to Britain and the Continent, as well as to places as far away as Newfoundland. Soon Edmund became a familiar figure in his uncle's stores in Barrowstrand Street. He quickly won his uncle's confidence and a deep affection grew up between them. The business thrived on the two of them. Edmund loved dancing, singing, boating and horse riding, and he dressed in the style for every occasion. Sometimes he would visit his home in Callan.

A man called James Phelan saw that Edmund was a bit giddy in Mass one Sunday. Afterwards the man made his disapproval clear. However he need not have worried. For the faith that Edmund had learnt at his mothers knee had deep roots as witnessed by his custom of reciting the Rosary either alone or with a companion on his travels.

When Edmund was 24 his uncle signed over the business to him. Edmund was the fourth son but his father named him as the legal head.

THE NEW COMMUNITY

Two young men, Patrick Finn and Tomas Grosvenor, heard of Edmunds dream of a new `brotherhood` to teach the poor. They had both been thinking of dedication their lives to God and early in 1802 they offered to throw in their lot with Edmund without fee or reward. Edmund was elated. The new monastery at Ballybricken, to be named Mount Sion by Bishop Hussey because of the lofty position overlooking the city of Waterford, was not yet finished. So Edmund and his companions took up temporary commendation over the stables in New Street, and immediately began a form of community life. The men rose early and prayed together. They also attended daily Mass. They ate sparingly, they taught all day, and they spent some time doing spiritual reading and prayed together again before going to bed. This became the men's daily life.

In 1803 Edmund and his friends moved to Mount Sion. The Bishop blessed the building that they were in. His name was Bishop Hussey. Near the school Edmund built a small bakehouse. He built it so that he could give students daily meals. In a loft over the bakehouse tailors were busy making clothes for the students that went to the school.

SOCIETY OF THE PRESENTATION

Other people began to join Edmunds movements. By 1808 two other people had joined. Edmunds monks had round towers at Carrick-on-Suir and Dungarvan. Edmunds priest friend, John Power, was now the Bishop of Waterford. Together Edmund and himself drew up a rule of life based on the constitutions of the Presentation Sisters. On August 15th 1808, Edmund and eight companions were clothed in a simple black habit (it was to be worn indoors only). They made vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. An official diocesan congregation of brothers known as the "Society of the Presentation" was formed under the authority of the Bishop. The ordinary people among whom they worked called them simply " the gentlemen of the Presentation" or more simply " the monks". Edmund soon after received the name Brother Ignatius after Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

Discipline was maintained by a system of small rewards and as often as not by the personality of the teacher. An early report informs us that "The Brothers seem in a wonderful way to have won the affection of the boys under them, and in a very large measure to have dispensed with anything in the nature of corporal punishment. "

In the way that good news was spread men from different counties in Ireland heard about Edmunds work. Some went to join him at Mount Sion. It was said that the people of Callan, his hometown, were the first to come. Soon others joined them from different places and a wide variety of backgrounds. There was a man called Francis Manifold. He was a major in the Wicklow Militia, who became a Catholic and joined Edmund in his party. Then came Joseph McClelland, a former Presbyterian, and son of a minister in the Church. There was Joseph Watson (Dublin) and Tomas Brien (Waterford). Some young men who wanted to be Brothers had to go through training of two and a half years. Soon they would be Brothers. There were new foundations built in Cork, Dublin, Thurles, and Limerick. All members adhered to Edmunds rule and looked to him as their leader and guide, although technically their local bishop was their Superior.

There were some problems between the Bishop of Waterford and Dr. Murray the former Bishop of Dublin. He was pressing for more Brothers schools for the capital of Ireland. Dr. Murray told Edmund to try and amalgamate all of his institutes under a Superior General on the same lines as the Jesuits. This would allow Edmund to transfer his men from diocese to diocese. Whether the majority of the bishops were ready to accept such a structure for a group of lay religious remained to be tested. Bishop Murphy of Cork, for one, did not approve of 'foreign domination' and made no secret of it.

The rector of the Irish Jesuits, Peter Kenny, a close friend of Edmund's, was a generous man. He gave Edmund advice and encouragement. Edmund in return is credited with helping to purchase Clongowes for the Jesuits. Dr. Murphy gave Edmund a copy of the brief approval of the De La Salle Brothers from their Superior General in Paris. He was then restoring the order on the Continent after its suppression during the Revolutionary period. Here was a model of the kind of central government the new institute needed for free expansion wherever the Brothers were needed.

CONGREGATION OF THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

Edmund consulted the superiors assembled at Mount Sion in August 1817 for their views. They were unanimous in adopting a style of government similar to that outlined in the De La Salle brief, although individual Brothers were strongly attached to their own diocese.
The Bishops were divided. For all the work that the Brothers did, they were still not happy that lay religious should be placed outside their immediate jurisdiction. The Bishop of Cork, looked to the North Monastery as his own foundation. When the Papal brief for the new centralised Congregation of Christian Brothers arrived from Rome in late 1821, the Cork Brothers, at the request of their own Bishop, did not attend the meeting for its acceptance. Edmund was sad because of all these divisions among the ranks.

On the feast of the Holy Name (20th January 1822) the majority of the Brothers voted for Edmund Rice as their Superior General and made their vows as Christian Brothers. A committee, run by Edmund was to work out new rules for the Brotherhood. They studied the rules and constitutions of the Jesuits and De La Salle Brothers and the Presentation sisters and finally compiled a rule " best suited to the peculiar nature of these countries and the genius of the people". After a trial period and some amendments the rule was printed in 1832.

After the hiccups of the 1820s, the schools of the Presentation and Christian Brothers continued to spread across Ireland and, soon, overseas. As early as 1810, Edmund had written to the Archbishop of Cashel that he prayed that his society would spread "to all parts of the Kingdom". In 1825 a foundation was made by the Christian Brothers in Preston, Lancashire, thus opening up a whole new field of labour to the Brothers on the English mission. Further schools were opened in Manchester and London in 1826, and shortly afterwards in Liverpool which was to become the centre of the Brothers greatest involvement in education in England. The Presentation Brothers also would soon spread to England.

The Christian Brothers were transferred to Dublin. Daniel O'Connell the great lawyer and Irish patriot laid the foundation stone of 'Connell Schools, North Richmond Street, Dublin in June 1828. O'Connell was then at the peak of his popularity in his campaign for Catholic Emancipation, drawing huge crowds wherever he went. The newspapers reported that 100,000 people crowded the streets around the new foundation, where O'Connell referred to his old friend Edmund Rice as the "Patriarch of the Monks of the West". The new buildings were to house the Generalate and Novitiate of the Brothers, a large school, and a training college for teachers.

Email: aidancbs@iol.ie

Last modified: February 22, 1999

Star of Bethlehem

2007-12-03T11:22:00.000-05:00

“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

Every year at this time, people ask astronomers if they know “What was the star of stars, the star which lead the Wise Men to Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus?”

Long ago people though of everything that they saw in the night sky as a “star”. Thus, the planets, the “fixed” stars, meteors, comets, etc. all were “stars”. So what might have been “The Star”?

Meteors or shooting stars are caused by pebble-sized bits of rock burning up as they race through the atmosphere some 50 miles above the Earth. Shooting stars happen so quickly that if you see one, by the time you tell your friends to look, the flash will be gone. Certainly a meteor did not send the Wise Men to Bethlehem.

Comets have been described as dirty snowballs traveling through space. As they approach the Sun, comets give off gas and dust which forms the comet’s tail. Comet were well known at the time of Christ’s birth, but were considered omens of bad tidings and thus a comet would not send the Wise Men in search of a great king.

For time to time a star may “explode” as a nova or supernova, and for a short time may even become visible in the daytime. But, our records show no “guest star” at the time of Christ's birth.

The fixed stars do not change from year to year, so they would not account for the search.

The Wise Men followed the motions of the planets as these “wandering stars” moved against the background of fixed stars, for they believed that the motions of these wandering stars could foretell the future. With their knowledge of the motions of the heavens they could calculate that Jupiter and Saturn would be seen to pass each other three times and then be joined by Mars.

Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.

But, what of Herod and his advisors, why did they not see this “star”? Most of the event would not be visible because it would happen during the day.

But, the Wise Men with their superior knowledge of the motions of the planets knew that it was happening. They knew that this event would take place in Pisces, the Fish, a star group which for them was symbolic of the Hebrews. Thus some great event would take place in the land of the Hebrews and the Wise Men were off on their search.

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.

Was this alignment of the planets really “The Star”?

Astronomers do not know; the final decision is yours.

Burkina Faso -- Br. Michael Godfrey

2007-10-26T09:38:00.000-04:00

In the past six months the Congregation Leadership Team (CLT) has had considerable correspondence from Fr Expedit Gnoumou, a priest of the diocese of Dedougou in Burkina Faso. Fr Expedit has come to know our Brothers at Woodeaves in England and at Tamale in Ghana. It seems that Fr Expedit has been captured by the charism of Edmund Rice and he saw the possibility of setting up the Edmund Rice Associates in Burkina Faso. Accordingly he has brought together a group of well educated young people and together they developed a Charter for the Associates. The Charter was sent to the CLT and the CLT has authorized this Charter and formally accepted it.

On behalf of the CLT, I visited Burkina Faso in August of 2007. Fr Expedit met me in the capital of Burkina Faso – Ouagadougou - and then the next day we drove through to Dedougou. The ‘dougou’ seems to represent a village, even though some of these are large towns. Expedit has good memories of meeting Malachy Gillen, George Gordon, Dominic Sassi, Philip Pinto and Eddie Coupe in England as well as Tim Lockwood and Jus O’Mara in Tamale.

Expedit was my guide, taking me to many towns and villages around the west of Burkina Faso. It was a good time to visit as everything was so green. My image before I came there was that it would be desert as it borders the Sahara, but in the rainy season, it is quite fertile and much agriculture, mainly corn, millet and cotton and a range of household animals abound. Donkeys and bullocks seem to provide all the power for agriculture. I slept in a different place each night, once in a village house with no electricity and no flowing water. I attended Sunday Mass in a three sided mud brick building with an iron roof.

On Sunday after Mass, I held a two hour session with the Edmund Rice Associates, a group started by Fr Expedit, mainly young, impressive teachers and qualified people. Most of this session centred on Edmund Rice, the charism, and the Congregation around the world. The group also spoke about the needs of young people in Burkina Faso, particularly in the area of education. The President, Luc, is the Secretary for the Ministry of Education in Burkina Faso.

The Associates [named Oeuvre Edmund Rice] have started a small school for young boys and girls who have missed out on education – and now are doing a kind of skills-training education. Burkina Faso is the first place I know where the charism has gone ahead of the Brothers.

Expedit is very keen on getting our Brothers to come up into Burkina Faso – there is no question of the desperate need for education especially in rural areas – a big percentage of the population is still illiterate. Expedit even showed me a property which he is reserving for the Brothers.

I availed of a translator for most of the session – most educated people have some English as it is taught through secondary school. Our meeting was held out of doors under the shade of trees and I was rather amused by how many other village people came along and sat on the periphery – probably the most exciting thing that happened in the village for weeks!! French is the common language, except in village areas where people speak their own local languages. Fr Expedit speaks five languages fluently and I attended Mass with him where he presided in a different language each day.

We visited the Mother Teresa Sisters – a mix of Indian, German and Portuguese Sisters, caring for sick babies, sick people and those dying of AIDS. Wherever I meet these Sisters, I am in admiration of their simple giving of themselves in the service of the most neglected – the most inspiring experience I had in Africa.

We also visited the Carmelite Sisters – 23 in the community from a number of nearby countries. We met quite a few of them, a lively lot, mainly younger women.

Despite the fact that this country would be regarded as a missionary country, much has happened in terms of development – many large church properties, providing courses for Formation, Catechists [3 year live-in course], Youth, a Seminary with a Junior section of 60 and a major section of 90, about 3-4 priests ordained for the Diocese each year. There are about 15 Dioceses in the country, most of which have their own seminary. The White Fathers [SMA] evangelised the country originally – 100 years ago, and Catholics represent about 15% of the population.

The Brothers of St Gabriel have arrived and are commencing a school in Dedougou at the start of the new school year. The Brothers of the Holy Family seem to be in numbers around Burkina Faso and in Ouagadougou they run an accommodation ‘hotel’ which is a fund raising investment – wstayed there one night – very good. They are involved in education as are a number of Congregations of Sisters – Providence, St Joseph, Immaculate Conception etc. The De La Salle Brothers have three schools in Burkina Faso. The Bishop of Dedougou was away, visiting sponsors in Spain.

There is an easy mixing of Muslims and Christians in Burkina Faso and no detectable tensions. Libya is the source of much funding of new mosques. The China presence is influential in growing numbers of African countries.

If anyone or any group is able to provide any support to Fr Expedit or the Edmund Rice Associates, it would be very welcome. Fr Expedit’s email address is: expedit_gnoum@yahoo.fr

New Perception of Jesus: The Eros-driven Jesus

2007-10-02T12:09:00.000-04:00

The previous article described my newly discovered perception of the Holy Spirit as Divine Eros. Divine Eros is the Spirit of Love directing arrows at my heart to awaken it to the possibilities of love. For me that was a peak experience, seeing the Spirit as well as myself in a whole new light. Then I realized that our peak experiences may well reveal to us something about Jesus, for he was the most human of all human beings.
Could it be that Jesus too must have experienced the Spirit of Love as Divine Eros? I think so. Jesus was familiar with the Song of Songs from the Old Testament and the erotic love relationship described in that book. He understood that the Divine Lover was searching for the beloved and the beloved was searching for the Spirit of Love, and he was the beloved. What emerges from this perception is not the typical holy-card Jesus but the Divine Eros-driven Jesus, the fully alive Jesus who did everything with passion.
Further, the Spirit operated in Jesus’ life, just as the Spirit operates in our lives. The Spirit would have invited Jesus to ever deeper faith, ever firmer hope and ever greater love through gifts of consolations which would have produced deep, positive feelings in Jesus. These feelings would have been the Spirit’s prompts and signs of Divine Dialogue, signs of the Divine Lover calling Jesus to discern God’s will and direction for his life.
The difference between Jesus and ourselves is that he was deeply aware, deeply expectant of the Spirit’s continuous presence in his life, Most importantly, the difference is that he surrendered to the invitations and inspirations of Divine Eros to grow in radical love. Now let’s look at three major directions the Spirit drove Jesus.
Driven to Contemplation. It was the Spirit of Love, Divine Eros, who urged Jesus to enter into the contemplation of his Father, states Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa, OFM, preacher in the papal household. If we think that the desire for contemplation came to Jesus without effort, we are overlooking some of the obstacles Jesus faced. Jesus was a public figure. When word spread that Jesus was in the vicinity, crowds gathered. When Jesus tried to escape the crowds by sailing across the Sea of Galilee, the crowds followed him on foot. He was a celebrity whom the people would not leave alone.
Further, Jesus’ compassion for the crippled, the sick, the deaf and those filled with unclean spirits drove him to be available to all those who needed his healing power. It was the Spirit of Love, Divine Eros, who kindled in Jesus the desire to move away from the crowds and seek solitude to discover through contemplation his relationship to the Father and to discover his identity and mission.
Driven to Holy Partnership. Jesus was a radical, an extremist. He questioned every sphere of life—political, economic, social and religious. Jesus turned upside down everything in the society of his times, states Fr. Albert Nolan in Jesus Before Christianity. Jesus showed that ideas about what was right and just were actually loveless and therefore contrary to the will of God. We might add that Jesus’ teachings are radical and extreme for our times, and for all times.
However, Jesus did not come with a blueprint for the ideal life and the ideal society. He had to discover it. His radicalism was the result of his holy partnership with the Spirit. Jesus was pursuing the wisdom of God, not human wisdom. He was driven to the Spirit to help him create a whole new life vision, a whole new world vision.
Another sign of his radicalism was his choice of disciples. His choice put Jesus on the road to Calvary right from the very beginning. For he snubbed the established religious authorities. How radical to choose as his disciples ordinary men, even a tax collector, when he could have chosen men like Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and thus break into the ranks of the religious establishment! But that was not the Spirit’s way. Jesus was responding to Divine Eros’ initiatives, invitations and inspirations to steer him, not in the ways of men, but in the ways of God.
Driven to Compassion. The Spirit of Love called Jesus into an entirely different mission from that of John the Baptist who strove to bring people to a baptism of repentance in the Jordan. Jesus did not continue to baptize. Instead, the Spirit led Jesus to understand that his mission should be directed at the poor, the sinners and the sick—the lost sheep of Israel. The Spirit inspired Jesus to liberate people from every form of suffering and anguish. His miracles were performed not to prove that he was the Messiah; they were performed out of compassion, states Fr. Nolan.
It was the Spirit of Love, Divine Eros, who helped Jesus prepare his heart for the ultimate sacrifice he was being called upon to make for others. In the end, Jesus would go to his death knowingly and willingly, out of deep love for others. St. Augustine said that Jesus went to the Cross as a bridegroom goes to the bridal chamber. The ultimate and crowning work of Divine Eros!

Frank Squitteri
Send comments to: frankkit@sprynet.com
This article will soon appear in the Spiritual Development Program on the Cursillo website: www.nycursillo.org

Meditation on Vision for Life Prayer

2007-08-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

By Frank A Squitteri

For a long time I have prayed the Vision for Life Prayer each day, because it sums up the Christian Vision succinctly and reminds me of the virtues that I need to live the Christian Vision. Then one day I began to meditate on this Prayer. I have received much inspiration from this practice, and so I want to share my meditation with you in the hope that it will inspire you to create your own meditation. The prayer appears in yellow; my meditation in light green:

VISION FOR LIFE PRAYER

My God, be the center of my life.
Be the center of my feelings, desires,
intentions, relationships,
energy, creativity.
Be the center Who brings order
out of the daily chaos
in my mind, heart and will.
Be the center Who empowers me
to cope with my daily dialectic
of positive heart wishes
and powerful death wishes.
Be the center Who calls me each day
out of my tomb
to new life like Lazarus.
Be the center Who awakens my heart
to the possibilities of love each day.

Let me see all through Your eyes.
Through the eyes of the Creator
who brought all into being
and saw that it was good.
Through the eyes of the Divine Artist
who brought all into being
in such magnificent beauty
and exquisite design.
Through the eyes of our Father
who loves all his creations
with unconditional love.
Through the eyes of Divine Compassion.
Lord, You are fully present to all Your creations
with infinite love and infinite attention.
You “receive” the presence
and giftedness of each of Your creations,
and You pour out Your life energies
to sustain each in being.

Let me see myself as beloved by You.
And that from all eternity.

Let me see others
as my sisters and my brothers.
Equally beloved by You
from all eternity.
We are Your unfinished creations.
We are Your creatures
in the process of becoming.
We are Your diamonds
in the rough.
We are Your Spirit-driven creations,
For each of whom You have a vision:
Christ incorporated us all into Himself
at the beginning of time,
and at the end of time
Christ will gather us all unto Himself.

Let me see life and creation
as Your gifts to me.
The gift of personhood.
I am a knowing, loving, willing being
infused with the Spirit
who empowers me to live a life
of faith, hope and love.
Life is beautiful.
Life is Your gift to me.
Creation too is Your gift to me.
You created out of Your own resources
a stage for me to live my life on,
an environment for me to discover
Your presence, beauty and wisdom.
Creation is beautiful.
Creation is Your gift to me.

Jesus, let me see You
as the model of compassion to others.
You gifted others with Your presence
and You affirmed their giftedness.
And You carry on Your life
of compassion and communion to others
through the likes of me.
A poor substitute!
So empower me to live like You,
fully present to all my sisters and brothers
with a caring heart
and an attentive mind.
Empower me to be sacrament
of peace, healing and forgiveness
to my sisters and brothers
as You were when on earth.
Empower me to be channels
of faith, hope and love
to my sisters and brothers
to awaken their faith, hope and love,
as You did

Let me see Your presence in community
as the source of Spirit-empowerment.
Let me see Your presence in community
as the source of my faith
in community prayer and action.
Risen Jesus, You sacramentalized community
and made it an occasion
for us to grow our souls
through one another
in union with the Spirit.
You empowered community
to be a force for compassion and enlightenment
in their environments.
Risen Jesus, help me to believe
that You still penetrate closed doors and rooms,
closed minds and hearts
to gift us with Your peace
and the Spirit’s powers.

Spirit of Jesus, let me see You
as my Higher Power
who guides and enlightens me.
You are my inner guide, my inner mentor.
I need Your guidance and mentoring
to discern God’s will for me
and the direction of my life
that God desires for me.

Let me see You as the source
of my courage to act and to lead,
Completing Christ’s mission.
Spirit of Jesus, put heart into me,
lest I become disheartened.
Due to my own weakness.
Or due to the weakness of my community
that I need so desperately to support me.

Let me see You as my power
to live the discipline of love.
Spirit of Jesus, Spirit of Love, Divine Eros,
let me see You as my power
to live the life vision
of the primacy of love.
Jesus manifested the radical love
of God in a radical way
and gave us a life vision of radical love,
the primacy of love.
Spirit of Love, Divine Eros,
help me to live Jesus’ life vision.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to live the discipline of love—
to love despite my feelings, my fatigue,
my differences with others,
and despite the arrogance and
self-centeredness of others.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to concentrate on pursuing Jesus’ life vision.
Keep it in my focus
through Your initiatives,
inspirations and invitations.
Spirit of Love, let me see You as my power
to patiently pursue Jesus’ life vision,
one act of love at a time. Amen

Send comments to: frankkit@sprynet.com
This meditation will appear soon in the Spiritual Development Program on www.nycursillo.org

Associate Bea Rodriguez Receives the Lumen Christi Award

2007-07-09T10:34:00.000-04:00

Archbishop Favalora presents Associate Bea Rodriguez with the Lumen Christi Award.

The plaque reads: The Lumen Christi Award: Light of Christ, 2007, Presented to Beatriz Rodriguez for Outstanding Leadership and Service in Education, St. Dominic Catholic Church, June 12, 2007, Catholic Educators' Guild, Archdiocese of Miami

100th Anniversary of Brothers in USA

2007-05-11T10:26:00.000-04:00

For more than a century, so many Christian Brothers have faithfully lived the Consecrated Life, giving witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in schools across this vast country, so that young people might grow in their faith and work for the good of the Church.
Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See to the United States

Bishop Gerald T. Walsh (Power Memorial '59) presides over the Mass.

On Sunday, May 6, 2007, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, Brothers, Associates, Edmundians, Volunteers and friends gathered to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Brothers in the United States.

The Associates banner is carried in the procession.

Associate Ann Brooks reads some of the petitions.

Associate Ellen Mahon reads Acts: 21-27.

Holy Spirit, Divine Eros

2007-05-10T09:18:00.000-04:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

How do you address the Holy Spirit in your prayer life? I call upon the Spirit as my Higher Power, my inner guide, my mentor. But upon examination, I find terms of love are missing. My perception of the Spirit? The One who gets things done. When I need guidance as to what God wants of me, I turn to the Spirit. Or if I need courage to evangelize, I call upon the Spirit.

Of course, I am aware that in the Prayer to the Holy Spirit, we ask that the Spirit: “Kindle in us the fire of Your love.” I am aware too that theologians describe the life of the Trinity as the Spirit flowing from the mutual love of the Father and the Son. Obviously, the Spirit has a lot to do with love, even the fire of love. But that perception has not penetrated my spiritual life. How do we explain this?

For the longest time, I suspect, we have attributed the actions of the Spirit to the term “grace”, the unmerited assistance given persons by God for their conversion and sanctification. In this view, there is a Higher Power who makes things happen, for which we are grateful, but not quite the Lover in our minds.

Further, the Spirit has been AWOL (absent without leave) for almost 2,000 years of Christian spirituality, until the Charismatic Movement rediscovered the Spirit for us in the Sixties. No doubt, the Spirit’s absence created a certain awkwardness of language. Instead of perceiving the Spirit as the source of loving assistance, we have lived our spiritual lives with the abstract concept of grace. Our spiritual love life needs rekindling.

Fr. Jules J. Toner, SJ states that faith is the radical work of the Spirit, and charity is the principal and crowning work of the Spirit. Let me suggest that we can come closer to an appreciation of the Spirit’s work if we recall Eros from Greek mythology. Eros is the son of the goddess of love who excites erotic love in gods and persons with his arrows. In our times, he gets a lot of publicity around Valentine’s Day.

For us, the Spirit is Divine Eros. The Spirit’s arrows are loving invitations to us to grow in faith in God, in the Historical/Risen Jesus and in the Spirit as well. These loving invitations are the calls of a Lover, calling us to expand our capacity for love. It is the Spirit who awakens our hearts to the possibilities of love each day. It is the Spirit who calls us each day out of our tombs to experience new life like Lazarus. It is the Spirit who invites us daily to live a life vision based on the primacy of love, the radical life vision that Jesus manifested for us.

The Spirit pours the love of God into our hearts through gifts of consolation. Through these gifts we experience our living faith increased in depth or firmness or purity or intensity or effectiveness. Through the Spirit’s consolations, we recognize that something beautiful is happening to us as we experience peace, joy, confidence, exultation and the like. When that happens, we know that we have been struck with the Spirit’s arrows. We know that Divine Eros, the Spirit of Love, is at work.

Of course, we cannot always expect such consolations, because they are the Spirit’s gifts. Let us be grateful when they come; in dry periods look forward with expectancy.
I believe that the Song of Songs in the Bible, which describes a torrid love relationship, is an allegory for the love relationship between the Spirit and ourselves. It is full of the language of desire and passion. Saints like Theresa of Avila and John of the Cross used this book to grow their spirituality. For the essence of the spiritual life is the heart’s surrender. Yet, we have no control over our hearts. We need to depend totally on the Spirit, Divine Eros, to direct arrows at our hearts to awaken them to greater love of God and others.

Perceiving the Spirit as Divine Eros radically changes our relationship with the Spirit and the tone of our spiritual life. Not that our perceptions of the Spirit as our Higher Power or mentor and guide are incorrect. They are correct, but they energize the faculties of our will and our mind, whereas the perception of the Spirit as Divine Eros energizes our heart which is really surrender of our total person to the Spirit—heart, mind and will.

Blessed Edmund Rice's Feast Day -- May 5th

2007-04-24T11:53:00.000-04:00

CREED OF EDMUND'S PEOPLE

We believe the God fire burning in our hearts can transform both ourselves and our world.

We believe we are called by God to a deep personal relationship with Jesus, the lover of all creation, as a brother.

We believe we are called to be good news people.

We believe we are called to be stewards of creation. We believe we are called to keep our hearts and minds open and attentive to God’s will.

We believe we are called to witness by prophetic action to our option to the poor, the oppressed, and people at the margins.

We believe we are called to immerse ourselves in the culture in which we live and work.

We believe in community which is prayerful, inclusive and welcoming.

We believe our international brotherhood is a witness to a search for global unity.

We believe it is in facing our own fragility that we can accompany others in theirs.

We believe in sharing Eucharist and reconciliation that we are drawn beyond ourselves to the mystery of God.

We believe others share the charism of Edmund, and are one with us in living it out.

We hear the call to live justly, love tenderly and to walk humbly with our God.

The Glorious Resurrection: The Greatest Story NEVER Told

2007-04-10T17:41:00.000-04:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

For most Christians, Jesus' resurrection is an anti-climax. Mistakenly, they believe that the whole mystery of redemption took place on Calvary and climaxed with Good Friday. Easter simply tells them the fate of Jesus after his great act of love on the cross. Easter victory is reduced to the payment of a debt. This distorted view of God's plan for our salvation has existedf or at least a thousand years, right up to the 20th Century, leaving most Christians deprived of the fullness of the Good News.

How did distortion enter theological thinking? Through the centuries theologians focused on redemption and on satisfaction as an explanation of redemption, excluding resurrection from their thinking. In the introductionto Fr. Francis Durrwell's book, The Resurrection, Charles Davis explains it this way: "If redemption equals satisfaction, the resurrection, which is not a work of satisfaction, is not redemptive." What we have finally come to understand is that resurrection and redemption are intimately connected and dependent on one another. You can't have one without the other.

For those who do not appreciate the resurrection's significance, theRisen Christ is only a weak notion; the Holy Spirit, the forgotten Person of the Blessed Trinity. However, grasping the resurrection's meaning becomes the point of departure on our spiritual journey where we embrace Jesus in all his dimensions-as the Historical Jesus, as the Risen Jesus, and as Jesus who pours out the Spirit on us-to form a dynamic, integrated spirituality.

Forever Triumphant. What is the significance of the Jesus'resurrection? By becoming incarnate, Jesus accepted solidarity with the sinful human race. Except for sin, he became subject to suffering and death.Incarnation into our earthly existence meant a self-emptying on the part of Jesus. Jesus' redeeming death transformed the person of Christ, brought him out of this world of sin and death, penetrated him with the Spirit and exalted him as Lord of the whole of creation. It was through his resurrection that Jesus entered into his power and glory. Now let us look at the relevance for us.

Forever Sacrament. When Jesus rose from the dead, he put a permanent seal on all his life as a source of sacramental power and redemption. All of Christ's life became the visible, sacramental expression in this world of his saving act of divine love. This expression is not limited to his death on the cross. That is why St. Thomas Aquinas says that all the mysteries of Christ's life were efficient causes of our redemption. So, that makes all Jesus' life experiences and words sacramentals for us, contributing to our redemption. The resurrection transforms the history of an itinerant preacher into a here and now power source for us. The goal of our Christ-centered spirituality is to connect with this power source by absorbing Jesus' radical faith, hope and love.

Forever Life-giving Spirit. Jesus lived during his life on earth under the guidance of the Spirit. After the resurrection Jesus called down the outpouring of the Spirit upon his disciples. From the moment of Jesus' glorification, the activity of the Holy Spirit spread out among all his faithful, as we read in Acts. The giving of the Holy Spirit crowns Jesus'work of salvation. Fr. Durrwell calls it "the essentially messianic grace."

For the Christian, a deep relationship with the Spirit is essential. Jules Toner, SJ states: "Human life is Christian life in the measure that it is lived under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of Christ." The goal of our Spirit-centered spirituality is to connect with the Risen Jesus' outpouring of the Spirit upon us, to awaken us to the Divine Dialogue that God has with each one of us through the Spirit, and to be open to the Spiritas our Higher Power, guide and source of our courage to complete Jesus'mission.

This article is drawn from the Spiritual Development Program on the Cursillo Website: www.nycursillo.org

The Face of the Founder

2007-04-04T12:16:00.000-04:00

Br. Timothy Smyth, CFC, ERCBNA Promoter of the Founder’s Cause reports that he has received a message from Br. Donal Blake, the Postulator for the Founder's Cause in Rome.

While they are renovating the property at Mount Sion, it was decided to
have a little "CSI work" done on Blessed Edmund's skull. Perhaps you've seen the programs where a face is recreated from a skull.

Since there are a number of likenesses of Edmund that were produced during his lifetime, and since they don't all seem to depict the same person, this method was decided upon as an attempt to obtain a realistic likeness using modern technology.

Edmund Rice International Novena 2007

2007-03-19T11:17:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Rome to all Edmund Rice devotees.

It is Novena time again.

This year we are concentrating on a theme for the Novena and on two special requests for recovery from serious illness. Our theme this year, the Bicentenary of the Abolition of Slavery Act in Britain (1807) is “Slavery in our World”.

Regarding requests for prayers for the sick, these usually are better dealt with at local level, but to give a focus to our prayer before 5 May each year we normally select two specific requests. We have had requests for prayers from Australia, Canada, the United States, Peru, India, Ireland and England in the past few years.

It can be quite difficult to make a choice for the Novena. This year, like previous years, no sooner had Br. Donatus and myself made the selection than equally meritorious requests came in. I always say to people: By all means, please add local intentions to the Annual International Novena. God’s grace and generosity are never limited to one or two requests!

This year the two requests happen to be from Ireland, one for a Presentation Brother and the other for the young wife of the nephew of a Christian Brother. For details about Br. Fabian and Mrs. Linda Loughran, as well as the Novena Prayers, download the March 2007 Novena Letter .

Br. Donal S. Blake, CFC
Postulator/Historian
Fratelli Cristiani
Via Marcantonio Colonna, 9
00192 Roma, Italy
postulatorcfc@gmail.com

New Community in New Orleans

2007-03-09T10:22:00.000-05:00

Rebuilding in the wake of hurricane Katrina continues to be a difficult struggle especially for the poor in New Orleans. Recognizing this struggle, the New Orleans' Church has been a genuine service to the poor on many levels.

In keeping with the PLT vision statement that calls us to be "visible signs of hope for the poor," and to work "collaboratively with the wider Church," Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America will open a community in New Orleans in service to the poor devastated by Katrina.

Forming this community will be Brothers John Casey (currently at NCEA in Washington, DC), Joe Fragala (from the Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons Community, Schenectady, NY), and Tom LeJeune (from the O'Dea Community, Seattle, WA). The community plans a September 1st opening, and the Brothers will continue dialog with those in the local Church on the best ways they can serve, especially in support of educational efforts.

Santa María de la Asunción

2007-03-07T13:44:00.000-05:00

A new house, community and noviciate opens in Asunción, Paraguay

(Left to right) Brothers Chuck Fitzsimmons, Kevin Bernard, Michael Ó Loingsigh, the two new postulants: Luis Enrique Ayala and Williams Cunyas, and seated, Brother John P. Casey

San Juan Diego Regional High School

2007-02-22T08:53:00.000-05:00

In connection with the celebration of 100 years of the Christian Brothers in the United States, Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America and the Diocese of Brownsville announce the founding of San Juan Diego Regional High School in Edinburgh, Texas.

Up to three Christian Brothers will staff this new school that has an anticipated opening in August of 2009.

Edinburgh is in Hidalgo County, one of the poorest counties in the United States with some 36% of its population living below the poverty level. Edinburgh is about 65 miles northwest of Brownsville, where the Brothers help staff another Diocese of Brownsville school, the Guadalupe Regional Middle School.

Lenten Recommendation

2007-02-20T07:31:00.000-05:00

If you are looking for a suggestion for something to do during Lent, you might access the following: http://www.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

Have a blessed and fruitful Lent!

Announcing the Thirtieth Congregation Chapter

2007-02-15T08:44:00.000-05:00

Br. Philip Pinto, C.F.C., Congregation Leader, has announced the thirtieth Congregation Chapter. It will convene in Munnar, Kerala, India from March 1st to 30th 2008.

A Congregation Chapter is an assembly of representatives of the Congregation. A Congregation Chapter is usually held six years after the previous Chapter. Chapters generally: review the life, mission, religious spirit and resources of the Congregation; plan for the future; and elect Congregations Leadership.

The Congregation Leadership Team, after reflection and prayer over some time have named the theme for this Chapter, “Dare to be Disciple: Passion and Possibility”.

In addition to the representatives of the Brothers, the Congregation Leadership Team will be inviting some people to attend the Chapter and to participate in all its activities and deliberations (apart from voting). They will be inviting a number of Brothers from different Provinces to ensure that the younger parts of the Congregation are adequately represented. They will invite the Presentation Brothers Leadership Team to be present at this important milestone on the Brother’s journey. Finally, with the input of Province Leaders invitations will be sent out to some members of the Edmund Rice Network.

Brother Pinto has said, “I ask that you let all our friends and colleagues know about this announcement. We need the prayers of our world as we begin the spiritual preparation for this most significant event in the lives of our Congregation. I invite you all to pray for God’s continued blessings on us as we hear Mary’s words, Do whatever he tells you.”

THE STORY OF A MOVEMENT -- NACAR 1996 – 2007

2007-02-01T15:28:00.000-05:00

How do you tell the story of a movement? How do you explain a network like NACAR? It had its beginnings in the mystery of call, the struggle of a new movement to find like-minded believers and gifted Associates and Religious who desired to share those gifts.

Starting in 1988 Associates and Religious had been gathering in Cincinnati with the leadership of Sister Anita Brelage of the Sisters of St Francis, Oldenburg and Sister Jacinta Doyle of the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor, and in Marriottsville, Maryland, called together by Rosemarie Jazinski CBS and Peter Foley. We all came away from these gatherings alive with the Spirit, feeling privileged to be part of a new movement of the People of God. I wonder how many who are here tonight also attended those early gatherings in Cincinnati and Marriottsville? Would you please stand? You are the pioneers!

During these early years we had wonderful mentors. For three years, Monika Hellwig shared her wisdom and theological groundedness about discipleship. She taught us that the Church doesn’t exist to perpetuate itself but to further the reign of God. She urged us to live now as though God reigned and no one else had power over us. What does it mean to live as though God reigns and no one else has power over us? It means living in a moving horizon. I do what I see and then the horizon moves.

As we took one step after another, the horizon moved. When Rosemarie Jazinski and Peter Foley moved on to new ministries, the Marriottsville meeting was in danger of being cancelled. It was a strained time for associate communities. Associates and Religious involved with Associates had few places to receive support from each other, hear what the growth was across North America or where the movement was stumbling. Besides lacking a voice, there was no network, there was no way to communicate the growth, no way to experience the energy of the larger associate community. Jean Sonnenberg, an Associate recently appointed director of the Bon Secours Associates and I wanted to address these issues. We came to the 1996 Conference with a plan. We asked the people who attended if Jean and I could establish a “permanent conference”, one that would become a network for those in the movement, one that would have a voice. The people said, “Yes” and NACAR, the North American Conference of Associates and Religious began to exist. Jean published the first issue of The Associate in the summer of 1996, two months after that Conference. The network started with nineteen Religious Congregations supporting NACAR through memberships. Special starting grants from Congregations, including my own, the Sisters of Charity from New York, helped to get us on our way.

By 1997, when NACAR published our first Directory, the nineteen Congregations had grown to seventy-four, with member grants and contributions from sixteen Religious Congregations.

NACAR continued to respond to the call for an Associate-Religious network. Jean and I began to take the show on the road. The IHM Congregation of Monroe, Michigan invited us to Monroe and to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1998. In prayer, dialog and presentation, the conversation continued. What was God doing in our day to bring Associates and Religious together? Workshops and seminars were held in Newfoundland, Ottawa, Toronto, Wisconsin, New York, Maryland, California Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, Indiana, Ohio, Tampa, Los Angeles, St Louis, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, New Orleans.

The yearly major conferences continued and began to be held in different geographic areas. Local inter-congregational Associate-Religious networks took on the planning of these gatherings. It got us in touch with the differences in culture and expression that blesses Associate communities and Religious Congregations. I wonder how many here have been part of such national conference planning. Would you please stand? You are the network.

In 1997 the Conference took place in Convent Station, NJ., the theme, “Strengthening the Bonds of Community”. Maria Reikelman MM led us in looking deeply into the meaning of our growing community. From the lessons of Jesus at his first gathering of disciples to a cosmic awareness of balance in the earth community, we looked and prayed over our NACAR community. We asked the hard questions and found some answers about:

Respecting differences in our life styles
Welcoming cultural differences and a female/male balance
Inviting and encouraging Associates in leadership
Supporting each other in good times and in bad
Letting care be the energy that flowed between us
Relaxing the grip of control
Knowing when to hold and when to fold

Through the years we continued to be fed by the best in speakers at our national conferences:
Anne Harvey SC on “Spirituality and the Associate/Religious Relationship”
Lay theologian Elizabeth Dryer on “The Mysticism of Ordinary Experience”
Catherine Harmer MMS on “Associate Ministry: Empowering the Laity”
The prophetic Benedictine, Sr. Joan Chittister in “Come to the Table; Come to the Feast”; Associate Edwina Gateley in “Fan into Flame the Gifts of the Spirit Within You”; Ronald Rolheiser, Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate, in “Rivers of Living Water Within You”

Grace’s reflections

All that Ellen has been sharing about the growth and development of NACAR has truly been a MIRACLE – yes, a miracle! How did the miracle happen?

I could say SOMEHOW everything came together for NACAR, but I prefer to say all came together because of the immense commitment and energy of the Associates and Religious, YOU, who believed in NACAR and willed it to succeed. Just imagine: yearly and later biennial major national conferences being sponsored by a just getting to know you group, who were dependent upon the financial generosity of grants from a few congregations and membership dues from them and a relatively small base of individuals! As some might say, they went out on a limb. . . The truth? Start-up success came about because of the support, trust, enthusiasm, vision of NACAR members, of them – of you – who were behind the scenes, encouraging, making the hopes become realities, making the miracle happen!

As Ellen has said, NACAR asked some hard questions, especially in the early days about
Just who are associates
What is their call, their vocation
How do associates share in the charism of congregations
How does having associates affect the congregation and its future
What is the role of associates
How can the voice of associates be heard
How does integration of associates into the life of a congregation affect the congregation’s integrity and identity
What might be, should be, the parameters concerning the relationship of associates to the congregation, the congregation to associates
And many, many more vital questions

From where did the answers come to these and many other questions? Where do the answers still come from? From YOU! From your participation and input at the national conferences, from the regional NACAR gatherings whose insights you share; from the ideas and understandings surfaced at your own associate and congregational meetings that you share. YES!

You have molded NACAR through its ten official years by your efforts and participation. NACAR has been at your service, continues to be so, and wants to be at your service. Indeed, you and whoever preceded you as members of NACAR have empowered one another and given NACAR life.

We all know that words frequently fail to express the deepest feelings that we really do want to express. The inadequacy of words is eminently true this evening as we call up Jean Sonnenberg, Co-foundress with Ellen of NACAR way back in 1996. I remember well that moment when Jean and Ellen said yes, they would pioneer NACAR! With sacred belief in what might be, with boundless energy to bring it about, with expertise they had yet to recognize, they said, “Yes”. Together they took upon themselves the responsibility to be Foundresses and Co-executive Directors.

Jean Sonnenberg: Co-foundress of NACAR; herald of a developing form of lay/vowed members sharing charism and mission; woman of God

Jean Sonnenberg: Brave, skilled initiator and editor of the journal The Associate just two moths after you said your “Yes” to being a Co-Foundress and Co-executive Director, woman of courage.

Jean Sonnenberg: We salute you; we thank you; we thank God for you; we bless you. You have gifted NACAR, gifted us with your holiness and your very self. We celebrate you!

Ellen continues the history.

The Associate

In the summer of 1996, two months after NACAR was founded, Jean Sonnenberg produced the first issue of The Associate. In the first issue, she described it as “a quarterly newsletter to share information and ideas on subjects of interest to Religious Congregations with Associate communities and Associates themselves.” The topics would focus on the major components of Associate life: spirituality, community and ministry. It was intended to be a resource that any Associate and Religious could use to deepen their spirituality, explore issues related to the life of an Associate small faith community and to explore more thoroughly the call to ministry. Subscriptions were $10.00. Anyone who attended the Conference got the first copy free. In a matter of months we needed to print 1000 copies.

Grace’s response:

NACAR owes a huge debt of gratitude to the inspiration, spiritual depth, vision and courage of Jean to begin and to continue The Associate. Let us express that gratitude to her now.

Ellen continues the history.

The NACAR Board

In the Autumn of 1997 we welcomed a Board of Directors to assist us in the growing work of NACAR. It reflected the diversity and balance we sought in our organization: lay and religious, female and male, geographic and congregational diversity. Grace Mannion, RSM, our first board president came from Hartford, CT willingly to serve, with many years of experience with Associates and lay volunteers. She has remained in faithful service to NACAR until November 2005. Greg Davidson, an Associate from the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament community in San Antonio, TX brought a business background and a lot of laughs to our board meetings. Lynn Linebeck, an Associate of the Oldenburg Franciscans served for a short time and Jerry McCarthy, a Christian Brother became our first Financial Officer, serving for many years through thick and very thin until his retirement in 2004. Gail De Maria CSJP joined our first board meeting as facilitator. She soon became a very valued board member and advisor.

Because of them, NACAR has become a better listener to the needs of Associates and Religious, more creative and greatly more able to grow as an organization. The names of all of our board members are listed in the program.

I ask them now to stand to receive the thanks of all of us.

Grace’s reflection

As I think back upon the NACAR Board meetings, I smile. I laugh. I am serious. I am pensive. I am grateful. I remember the graciousness of the Board members, their absolute dedication to the vision statement and mission of NACAR, to unselfish service on behalf of NACAR members.

I remember . . . . .

The honest, respectful discussions we had; rarely short ones. I remember the dilemmas we confronted in trying to accomplish all we wanted to do, often with inadequate time and finances, yet how we pushed on, sometimes with blind trust, always believing in the importance of NACAR and the contribution NACAR would make, did and does make, to the life of laity and religious and to the mission of the Church.

Long brainstorming sessions about how to organize regional networking NACAR meetings so that everyone’s voice could be heard, everyone’s input could be culled, everyone’s ideas welcomed.

Intense hours of committee reports ranging from strategic planning to membership statistics, from policy development to public relations, from planning insightful national conferences to planning much-needed NACAR –CARA studies.

The constant challenge to accomplish a comprehensive Board meeting agenda when we could meet only twice a year because of the commitments we each had in our other than NACAR lives.

Serene prayer and liturgy time we spent together, seeking God, asking God, thanking God.

The relaxing last hour each meeting day when fatigue gave way to laughter. I remember the serene interest each Board member had in the other’s welfare and interests. I remember the genuine friendships we shared.

I remember with immense gratitude the privilege I had to be a NACAR Board member. I remember all. I am grateful.

Ellen continues the history.

The CARA-NACAR Study
Partners in Mission: A Profile of Associates and Religious in the U.S.

Gradually NACAR began to realize that the Associate Movement was a lot bigger than any of us anticipated. People were asking us questions to which we did not have answers.
How many Associates were there?
Why did they come? Why did they stay?
Who were they?

Greatly encouraged by the 1997 Report on Associates conducted by the Canadian Religious Conference, we set about raising funds for the first definitive study of all Associates in the U.S.. The Religious Congregations and individual Associates responded with grants and contributions amounting to $30,000 over a four-year period. At that time, Cathy Schwemer, our new Executive Director, was completing research on the associate movement at Washington Theological Union. She joined Mary Bendyna, RSM, Mary Gautier and me in spearheading the study. Teaming with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, we also invited a group of Associates and Religious, women and men to help hone the questionnaires. Their names are also listed in your program. They are a tribute to the broad interest in the Associate Movement among the People of God. They shared their name, their gifts and talents to assist us in completing this important research. If they are present with us tonight, I ask them to stand so that we can acknowledge their contribution.

We learned many things through the Study. We discovered that in 2002, we could account for 27,400 Associates in the U.S.; that 89% of Associates had a formal program of introduction to the Congregation and 96% had made a formal commitment as an Associate. 98% wanted to renew that commitment, verifying a belief all of us had always had; that 98% were attracted to become Associates because they desired a deeper spiritual life and 92% wanted to put that spirituality into service for others.

The CARA NACAR Study, Partners in Mission: A Study of Associates and Religious in the United States has traveled far and wide to North and South America, Europe and Africa. Its statistics have been quoted in the pages of The New York Times, The National Catholic Register and the National Catholic Reporter, the CARA Report, the Canadian Religious Conference; publications of LCWR and CMSM, the Religious Formation Conference and the International Conference of Major Superiors in Rome. The Study is in its Third printing today (and can be purchased at the Conference if you need another copy).

What does all this say? Only time will give us the full picture of the meaning of NACAR. We live today in a moving horizon. We do what we see and the horizon moves. These things I know:

1. Lay Associates in Religious Communities are a gift to the People of God.
NACAR is a gift of the Spirit to all of us in this 21st Century.
How could any one of us conceive of the expansion and importance of the Associate Movement back in 1996? The visions of many have moved us, formed us, sustained us.

2. Associates and Religious have worked together to achieve this networking
No one could do it alone. No founders, no board, no single geographic area, no country could have done it alone. We did it together. We need each other.

3. We are one community, lay and religious. . . yes with different life styles and focus but we are one in community. . . one in mission. The energy that we perceive as we gather at each NACAR Conference is real.

Grace’s Reflection

NACAR’s horizon continues to move, move forward, move upward. NACAR’s accomplishments these ten years are the the result of YOU, of all your predecessors, of all working together. NACAR needs your vision. This conference is entitled Rivers of Living Water Flow From Within. Rivers of living water, the holy waters of the Paracletes’s inspiration, will flow into you and from within you. What you do here this weekend will move NACAR’s horizon. May we all open ourselves to the holy waters. At the close of this Conference, may we bring home these holy waters of inspiration to enlighten and enliven our God-given call as associates and religious.

Ellen continues the history.

And so, this brief spanning of ten years ends with a Thank you from NACAR.

Thank you for all those who are or who have been members or subscribers over these ten years. There are 1573 of you in our database.

Thank you to Religious Congregations who have supported and sustained us in good times and in bad.

Thank you to the theologians, lay and religious ministers who have nourished us at the national conferences.

Thank you to the NACAR regions and contact persons who keep the momentum going with their energy for mission and charism.

Thank you to the board members who have put time, money and talent at the disposal of NACAR

Grace’s reflection

Now it’s my privilege to thank Sister Ellen O’Connell SC for all she has done for NACAR. Where do I begin? How can I ever list all that Ellen has accomplished? How can I possibly ever convey all the gratitude we want to express to you, Ellen?

· For more than your generosity ten years ago to be a Co-Foundress and Co-Executive Director of newly birthed NACAR and later as the sole Executive Director?
· For more than your constant commitment, your faithfulness in pursuing the vision of NACAR
· For more than your willingness to embark on the uncharted journey of NACAR
· For more than the countless daily, weekend, holiday hours you worked on NACAR business and projects
· For more than the many miles you traveled to spread the “good news” of NACAR
· For more than the deep wells of energy you expended on NACAR’s development
· For more than the sincere assurances you gave to NACAR members
· For more than the wise advice with which you guided NACAR’s services
· For far more than I could ever describe or record, we are grateful to you, Ellen O’Connell, Sister of Charity, Co-Foundress of NACAR and Executive Director. You have lived a decade of total commitment, a decade of self-giving to NACAR

Thank you, Ellen. We thank God for you. We bless you. You have been a gift to NACAR. We celebrate you. Wherever your paths may lead in the future, may sunshine and stars lighten your steps. Know that we carry you in our hearts with gratitude beyond knowing.

Ellen and Grace together:

May we meet again in another ten years to speak the words of blessing and encouragement to a new generation of Associates and Religious.

The Next Chapter Begins

Sr Barbara McMullen, CDP, Vice President, NACAR Board

In the name of all that is associate relationship, in the name of all our foremothers in this associate movement, in the name of all that has come to be known as NACAR, we gather to remember and to celebrate these past ten years. Looking back, as we have just done, to the humble beginnings of NACAR, we can see the movement of the Spirit guiding us, but ours is not only a movement of the past. It is a movement of the future. Just look around you . . . here in this place. People have come from far and wide to be a part of this great gathering of nearly five hundred people. We celebrate that we are at a new moment in history.
Ours is a journey of faithfulness, of trust, of risk-taking. We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, those whose energy and determination have helped to further the work of NACAR. Though we say goodbye to Ellen O’Connell, we say hello and introduce you to our new Executive Director, Sister Cathy Schwemer, PHJC. We welcome Cathy as our new leader and we will formally commission and bless Cathy in this ministry at our closing ritual on Sunday.

We Hear You

2007-01-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

The following is an article by the Ursulines’ Associates from NACAR magazine (North American Conference of Associates and Religious).

Gift from the Past, Leaven of the Present, Hope for the Future
St. Angela Merici and the Ursulines’ Charism “Bubble Up” once again in Associate Membership
by Sr. Magdalen Stengler, OSU, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

Association – a movement of lay people seeking to live their baptismal commitment more deeply by sharing in a religious congregation’s charism and ministry – is a fairly new, even surprising phenomenon. Since 1985 when the Ursuline Sisters of Prelate (Saskatchewan) received their first Associates of 13 lay men and women, 168 lay people have become Ursuline Associates.

There are many religious families in the Catholic Church, each one with a somewhat different way of life and ministry. Each one, however, had a special charism or identity. “Charism” may be expressed as the founders or foundresses’ “experience of the action of the Spirit.” This experience is handed on to the members of their community to be lived, maintained, deepened and developed in harmony with the Body of Christ. Charism can also be described as a spiritual energy from the Holy Spirit, giving every religious institute a reason for existing: its identity (who it is) and it mission (what it does).

When St. Angela Merici established the Company of St. Ursula in Brescia, Italy in 1535, she wanted to help rebuild healthy family life, disrupted by years of wars and Church corruption. Political unrest had produced many street children. Prostitutes had broken up family life. To help remedy this situation, Angela asked her “consecrated daughters” to live, not in convents but with their own families. Here they could help renew family life by nurturing others: parents in their faith and providing them, especially mothers, with child-rearing skills. Along with this service, the Sisters attended to various needs in their parish community.

However, Angela’s charism did not remain locked in the “works” of the Company in bring health back to family life and values. Here is where we begin to use images such as the “bubbles,” “clouds” or “roots.” As the Company began to grow and expand, the spiritual energy of Angela’s dynamic charism emerged and led the Ursuline Sisters to adapt the Company to the times, places and needs of the people.

The charism “bubbled up” to include catechism instruction every Sunday. When the parents of the Sisters died and the membership grew older or became ill, the “drive” of the charism led many to live in religious communities in convents rather than in their homes. This led to another change in ministry. Some Sisters looked after orphans; others care for “penitent” women. When the Ursulines spread to France in the 17the century, the majority of Sisters became involved in classroom teaching. When the Church imposed the cloister on religious, thus ending the Ursulines’ public activity in France, the charism did not die. Creation of boarding schools within the convent walls began, and in the next three hundred Ursulines became professional educators establishing numerous schools throughout the globe.

In the twenty-first century, Angela’s charism is ever old yet ever new. A further innovation of the Congregation, through the action of the Holy Spirit, was inviting lay people to become co-bearers of Angela’s charism through Association. Lay people began to imbibe the spirit of Ursuline charism through meeting and getting to know the Sisters who are the carriers of St. Angela’s charism. This is accomplished at significant Ursuline events such as the Feast of St Angela, Associate commitment ceremonies, the vigil and funeral of a deceased Sister and inviting Associates to an assembly of Ursulines in Prelate every four years. Though the spirit of the charism is most visible in community events, it is also active in the daily lives of the individual Sisters.

What was it that made these men and women gravitate toward the Ursuline Sisters and become Ursuline Associates. For some it was a friendship they wanted to formalize; for others, it was a yearning for a deeper spirituality. Gradually they came to discover that it was the charism of St. Angela that attracted them and spoke to their hearts. As they entered into the Associate program and attended regular meetings, their yearning for a deeper spiritual life was nourished by the spiritual input they received from speakers on a variety of topics, including St. Angela’s writings. Events such as potluck suppers, twilight retreats and the annual inter-congregational Associate retreat with about a dozen other Associate groups, offer occasions for building relationships and for offering community support for service in church and society.

As Ursulines and Associates are co-bearers of Angela’s charism, the Holy Spirit teaches the Associates, as the Spirit taught (and continues to teach) the Ursulines, to integrate their prayer life and their ministry in their homes and workplace. While Associates participate in the ministry of the Church as partners of the Ursuline Sisters, the potential within the Associate program is not so much about revitalizing our Ursuline congregation as it is about empowering the committed laity to take their rightful place in the Church as responsible adults.

Being in partnership with the Ursulines does not mean taking on more projects. As a “group with a purpose,” Associates continue to do the work they are accustomed to do in the home, the workplace and the secular community but with a different motive. By participating in the ministry of the Church as Ursuline Associates, the charism of Angela “bubbles up” and their work is transformed from a job into a ministry. In this way, Associates use their personal gifts and talents to extend the mission of the Church and build up the Kingdom of God. Gradually their everyday activities take on a deeper meaning, that of “educating for life.”

Through contemplation in action, Ursuline Associates serve the Church and the world by educating for life in whatever way their talents and circumstances are best suited – as mothers, housewives, fathers, doctors, teachers, lawyers, business people, secretaries, shut-ins and volunteers. Thus St. Angela’s charism is a gift from the past, a leaven of the present and a hope for the future. All the Associates help to proclaim and build up the Reign of God, making the world a better place in which to live and served God and others.

Compassion through Contemplation

2007-01-12T13:14:00.000-05:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

Jesus’ prayer life is revealed in the Gospels. However, what the Scriptures do not disclose is Jesus’ life of contemplation. But how else can we explain Jesus’ intimate closeness to God?

In Jesus Before Christianity, Fr. Albert Nolan, O.P. states: “It is generally agreed that somewhere at the heart of Jesus’ mysterious personality there was a unique experience of intimate closeness to God—the Abba experience…we know that the Abba experience was an experience of God as a compassionate Father.” No doubt, it was his time in contemplation that led Jesus to the heart of God, and thus to compassion for others.

Jesus’ Contemplation. Surely, Jesus practiced this wordless, imageless form of prayer that concentrates on being fully present with a caring heart and attentive mind to God’s interior presence. In his prayer he would also have experienced God as One Who was, by his very nature, for others. Contemplative prayer would lead Jesus to experience God as Father who loved all his creatures with an unconditional love. Most importantly, in contemplative prayer Jesus would experience God as Compassion who was intimately and lovingly present to all his creation.

Here is the important point. Jesus’ solidarity with God gained through contemplation created solidarity for him with all humanity. Contemplation involved commitment of his whole being to his beloved Father, and concern for all that his Father loves. Thus, his contemplation would lead him to his life vision and life mission of compassion for others.

Our Abba Experience. How do we partake in Jesus’ Abba experience? In our contemplation, such as in Centering Prayer, we must experience God as Compassion for others, for only then do we embrace the true nature of God. Only then can compassion for others be the fruit of our contemplation of God. Only then can we experience what Jesus experienced. We cannot rest in the enjoyment of God’s presence in contemplative prayer apart from the creation and creatures God loves.

How do we enter into God’s compassionate life? By making the Risen Jesus the focal point of our contemplation of God. Why? Because the Risen Jesus is the continuous outpouring of Divine Love, beginning with creation, the Incarnation, Jesus’ passion and death, Jesus’ continuing involvement in bringing us to wholeness and ultimately to resurrection. Further, the Risen Jesus has bound us into solidarity with all human beings by incorporating us into his Body. So, the Risen Jesus holds all the world and all our sisters and brothers in his hands. Uniting with the Risen Jesus as Compassion for creation and others opens us up to compassion for all creation and our sisters and brothers. May the Risen Jesus stretch, extend and expand our hearts to embrace all that he loves!

Compassionate Life. The Gospels make it clear that the historical Jesus’ compassion for the suffering of others was a gut-wrenching emotion. However, Jesus manifested another form of compassion in his everyday encounters with people that shares similar qualities with contemplation. Let us look at those similar characteristics.

Both contemplation and compassion, as we are using the term here, require that we be fully present in a caring and attentive way to the other to “receive” the presence and giftedness of the other. Both require that we make a gift of our total person to the other to receive the other’s giftedness. Both require an openness to the other. When the Other is God, the experience is one of contemplation. When the other is a human person, we experience the call to compassion.

Now think of Jesus’ compassion—being fully present in a caring, attentive way—in his encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Or with Nicodemus who came by night to learn more about Jesus. Or with the apostles Matthew and Nathaniel when Jesus called them to follow him. Jesus gifted these people with his compassionate presence and affirmed their giftedness so dramatically that he changed their lives forever.

Earlier, we emphasized that Jesus achieved compassion for the suffering of others through contemplation of God. We also asserted that Jesus manifested a second form of compassion in his evangelization of others. Now we want to assert that compassion, in both senses of the word, can help us in our practice of contemplation of God. Both the practices of compassion to others and contemplation of God require a mode of being present to another that enables one to be affected by the presence of the other.

Therefore, practicing contemplation of God and practicing compassion to others are reinforcing practices that help us attain our spiritual goal of greater intimacy with God in our contemplation. Further, these practices encourage greater compassion to others, both those in need and those to whom we manifest Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation in our everyday lives, such as to our spouses, our children, our friends and acquaintances, the present-day Samaritan women, the Nicodemus’s of the world.

Paraphrasing St. John’s Gospel: How can we be fully present with all our hearts and minds to God whom we cannot see if we cannot be fully present in a caring, attentive way to our sisters and brothers whom we can see?

Contemplation helps us to become more compassionate to others, and being more compassionate to others helps us practice contemplation of God. Together they comprise the Compassionate Life, a focused way of living, a Jesus-like way of living!

Happy 100th Elena Borrás Rodríguez

2007-01-03T13:55:00.000-05:00

As the Brothers celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of their first permanent ministry in the United States. Associate Bea Rodríguez’s mother, Elena Borrás Rodríguez, is celebrating her 100th birthday.

Thanks be to God, Mrs. Rodríguez is well and lucid. She was interviewed for a TV program, her story was published in several newspapers, and in addition to the Thanksgiving Mass and dinner held in her honor, the medical center that she belongs to had a wonderful reception attended by several personalities, including one of Florida's senators who presented her with an American flag that had flown over the capitol building in her honor.

Star of Bethlehem

2006-12-15T09:38:00.000-05:00

Tenth Anniversary of Beatification

2006-11-06T10:42:00.000-05:00

By Br. Donal S. Blake, CFC
Edmund Rice Roman Postulator
blake.d@tiscalinet.it

It is difficult to imagine that ten years have passed since that great day, Sunday, 6 October 1996, when the late Pope John Paul II, beatified – bestowed the title ‘Blessed’ – on Edmund Ignatius Rice (1762-1844), Founder of the two Congregations of teaching religious, the Presentation Brothers (FPM: ‘Fratres Praesentationis Mariae’) and the Christian Brothers (CFC: ‘Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum’), and of their associated Edmund Rice Network (ERN). There was a great air of euphoria around that day in St Peter’s Square and, later, in Fiera di Roma, as thousands of Edmund devotees, with their green scarves, and representing many nations, mingled and congratulated one another in the great wave of joy that coincided with this much longed for event.

Those who went before

Many closely associated with Edmund’s Cause had gone to their eternal reward before this great day dawned, and we freely acknowledge that without their interest and research the happy event of October 1996 would not have happened. We owe them a great debt of gratitude. I think in particular of Br Mark Hill who, after the General Chapter of the Christian Brothers in 1910, accomplished the first gathering of memories of Edmund that had survived among Edmund’s contemporaries and their relatives and friends. I think of Br David Fitzpatrick who wrote Edmund’s first fully researched biography to coincide with the 1944 centenary of Edmund’s death. I remember too my old Novice Master, Br Berchmans Cullen, who continued the compiling of memories of Edmund in Callan and Waterford and without whose efforts ‘Westcourt’, Edmund’s 18th century home, would not have come into the possession of the Brothers. I remember in a special way Br Columba Normoyle whose Trojan work through the 1960s right into the 1990s made sure that all the necessary research and writing was carried out by his team of researchers in a way most acceptable to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. A special ‘grazie’ is due to the late Br Dominic Taylor of the English Province, whose genius with modern European languages as well as Church Latin enabled the final version of the Positio, the more than one thousand pages of documentation required by the Congregation for Causes, to be accepted at its very first writing, a very rare occurrence in Rome, much to the joy of Fr Peter Gumpel SJ, Roman Relator for the Cause. Nor should we forget the first two Roman Postulators who, beginning in 1979, beat a path to the door of the Congregation for Causes to make sure that Edmund’s Cause would not be allowed to slide down the queue of waiting Causes. These too went to their eternal reward before the great day of 6 October 1996 dawned. I refer to Monsignor Seán O’Kelly, Rector of the Scots College, and Dr Dermot Cox OFM, Professor of Old Testament Studies, Gregorian University. The light of heaven to them.

What now?

Br Francis Regis Hickey CFC, Roman Postulator at the time of the Beatification, accomplished a Herculean amount of work with his team of Presentation and Christian Brothers and others that everything should work like clockwork during the great days that surrounded 6 October 1996. There was the feeling that there would not be any great difficulty in acquiring the one extra miracle that would see Blessed Edmund canonised – declared to be ‘Saint Edmund Rice’. There were even rumours that such a miracle had occurred very soon after the Beatification! Then the anti-climax. True, there were what appeared to be many great favours granted through the intercession of Blessed Edmund but nothing that would stand up to the rigorous examination required by the Medical Bureau attached to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. Br Hickey, who had been in Rome for many years, returned to his native Australia in 1997, and there was a feeling abroad among many of the Brothers that perhaps the Beatification was as far as Edmund’s Cause should be progressed! Nevertheless, Prayer Groups and others continued to pray for a total outcome to Edmund’s Cause. In 2002, the bicentenary celebrations of Edmund founding his Brothers at Waterford in 1802 triggered a new reawakening of interest in Canonisation among Edmund’s followers, especially among the more broadly-based Edmund Rice Family/Network. This was discussed among the Leadership Teams of Edmund’s Brothers, both Christian and Presentation. The sequel was that I was called to Rome for a meeting in early 2003 and was appointed Roman Postulator soon after. So here I am!

Has the required miracle been already performed?

Now, as many people realise, one further miracle performed since the date of the Beatification (6 October 1996) is the one remaining requirement for Edmund’s Canonisation., that and current information that there is a healthy devotion to Edmund and what he stood for. In talks with American-born Monsignor Robert Sarno, he has suggested that the extra miracle may indeed have already happened! In many Causes, he says, the required miracle may very well be included somewhere among the favours mentioned by word of mouth soon after the Beatification. I would have to concur. In the gap between 1996 and 2003, when I was appointed Roman Postulator, there were stories of remarkable favours granted through the intercession of Blessed Edmund in various parts of the world. The people involved were convinced that the hand of God, through Edmund’s intercession, was at work. While people in such a situation often make promises to put an account of the ‘favour’ in writing, they fail to follow up unless reminded again and again. Local Promoters and Prayer Group Leaders may very well be aware of the details. However, in checking the files here, the details were never written down formally and forwarded to Rome. They may have been sent to a Provincialate or to a Local Promoter? I now appeal to Province Leaders, Regional Promoters (and/or anybody else who may be aware) to check your files and other sources for incomplete accounts of remarkable favours received. Alert me to the possibilities and seek out more detailed accounts, with some preliminary medical evidence, of the favours allegedly granted. I, personally, would be willing to follow up the enquiries, if necessary. All of this could bring forward the date of the Canonisation, if this be the will of God. As you may very well know, a period of five years needs to pass before an alleged ‘cure’ can be checked out officially. However, there is no need to wait that long to report the alleged ‘cure’. I await local accounts, with guarded anticipation. As Edmund himself was wont to say, “Pray that God’s will be done in this”.

New Congregation Logo

2006-11-02T13:40:00.000-05:00

By Brother Michael Godfrey, CFC

The Congregation of Christian Brothers has adopted a new logo. A logo is always open to exploration and insight. What meaning do you see in the symbols of the logo? The central symbol of Christianity, i.e. the cross, is also central to our expression of our identity as Christian Brothers. The shape of the cross takes its origin from Celtic spirituality as does our Congregation. The significance and the insights of Edmund Rice are highlighted in the stylised E which is incorporated in the logo.

As disciples of Christ, Christian Brothers are continually called to let go and leave behind all that prevents us from living faithfully the values of the Gospel and from promoting the Kingdom of God. This call and response is shown symbolically by the movement of the circle away from its regular pattern.

Our call to internationality, which flows from the time of our Founder and continues on to this day, is not just in geography but also in moving, as flexible and mobile disciples, to meet the needs of the times.

The new leaves and shoots express a continually renewing spiritual journey, offering new life to the Congregation and bringing hope to our Brothers and to our world. Yet even the new leaves continue to express our growth through fragility, by their links to the cross and in risks of branching out.

Further meaning will be found as we reflect on the logo and take inspiration from what it tells us about our story and our challenge as disciples.

Save the Date - May 6, 2007

2006-11-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

Sunday, May 6, 2007, 2:30 p.m.

Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary

of the

Christian Brothers in the United States

Praying the Gospels with the Risen Jesus

2006-11-01T08:35:00.000-05:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

In the previous articles, we explored how our deeper understanding of the Resurrection and of the Jesus Process changed everything—the way we pray, the way we participate in the liturgy of the Mass. Now let us examine how the Risen Jesus changes how we read the Gospels, how we preach the gospels, and how we practice faith-sharing based on the Gospels.

When it comes to the Gospels, the tendency is to focus solely on the historical Jesus’ every word and action. But if we go no further, we lock Jesus into history and he becomes only an inspiring figure, whose words we use to moralize to improve our own or others’ conduct. But by so doing, we encounter only one dimension of Jesus. Thus, he doesn’t become the catalyst of the Jesus Process whereby he leads us to the Risen Jesus and to the Spirit’s empowerment of us.

We must read the Gospels three dimensionally. We must move the focus of the Gospels ultimately to all the dimensions of Jesus—the historical Jesus, the Risen Jesus and the Jesus who gives us the Spirit. Otherwise, we miss the power of the Gospels to transform us into persons who carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation. Fr. John Walsh, M.M. says that we have to look at the Gospels as unfinished: we have to write the latest chapters. It is as if the Gospels are contained in a loose-leaf binder. However, to do so we must grow deeper in the awareness that we have been empowered by the Risen Jesus.

The Risen Jesus has empowered us to carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation by giving us the same powers Jesus exercised in his earthly life. The key questions we have to ask ourselves are: How does the Scripture passage, which we are reflecting on, reveal the powers that the Risen Jesus has given us? How do the Gospels empower us to carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation?

Take the Gospel story of the woman “who had suffered from severe bleeding for 12 years. She had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once. Jesus asked, ‘Who touched me?’” Despite the denials of everyone, Jesus insisted, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.” Today, we have to be the hem of Jesus’ garment. If people in need touch us, they touch Jesus. His power will go out from us—if we have faith, if we have taken possession of Jesus’ powers given to us by the Risen Jesus.

How do we carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation in us? How do we write the next chapters in the Gospels? We must exercise the powers given by the Risen Jesus to be sacraments of peace, healing and forgiveness. The Gospels are all about these powers.

Does our reading of the Gospels awaken our faith in our powers to be sacraments to others? Fr. Ronald Rolheiser writes in The Holy Longing: “We can forgive each other’s sins; not we, but the power of Christ within us.”

Does a sermon on the Gospels inspire us to bind sinners to Jesus through our love for them? Fr. Rolheiser states: “If a child or a brother or a sister or a loved one of yours strays from the church in terms of faith practice and morality, as long as you continue to love that person, and hold him or her in union and forgiveness, he or she is touching the hem of the garment….and is forgiven by God.”

Does the compassionate life of Jesus that the Gospels relate raise our awareness that the Risen Jesus has given us the powers to be compassion and communion to others? Do our Gospel readings empower us to be channels of faith, hope and love for others as Jesus called forth faith, hope and love in others during his earthly life.

Pray the Mass: Pray the Jesus Process

2006-10-23T15:01:00.000-04:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

In the previous article, we explored how the Risen Jesus changed even the way we pray. Should not our deeper understanding of the Resurrection and of the Jesus Process that flows from the Resurrection change the way we pray the Mass, the celebration of the Risen Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation among us, his ongoing transformation of us to become Jesus to others?

Prepare the Way. The historical Jesus is the catalyst of the Jesus Process that will bring us to the Risen Jesus who gifts us with the Spirit. So let us unite ourselves with Jesus prior to Mass and at all the key parts of the Mass. Before Mass, let us recall, with all the love we can arouse, our Crucified Lover who suffered a horrific death to win our freedom. Then, let us celebrate his rising from the dead. The stone has been rolled back from his tomb. The Spirit leads the Risen Jesus in triumph to his glory and power. Now let us ask the Risen Jesus to gift us with the Spirit’s power to celebrate at Mass Jesus’ Resurrection and ongoing Incarnation.

Seek Transformation. The Jesus Process continues as we listen to the words and life events of the historical Jesus in Scripture. Jesus’ life experiences have become power sources for our transformation to become Jesus to others because the Risen Jesus now contains in himself all Jesus’ experiences in a transformed way. Let us pray to the Risen Jesus to gift us with the Spirit’s power to bring about change in our lives. Let us ponder: What change in our lives are the Scripture readings and homile inviting us to make? What empowerment are we being called to in order to carry on Jesus’ Incarnation of service and healing for our sisters and brothers?

Prepare Hearts. The historical Jesus prepared his heart for self-gift on Calvary at the Last Supper. In loving service, he washed the disciples’ feet, and he gave himself in Eucharist. Uniting ourselves with Jesus’ actions, let the Jesus Process work to prepare our hearts for sacrifice and service to others. The bread and wine that we offer up are symbols of our lives that we are sacrificing. With the help of the Spirit, let us surrender our lives to the Risen Jesus. Let us prepare our hearts at the level of our feelings—with words, if necessary, or without words in a prayer of the heart, a prayer of desire.

Offer Self. The Jesus Process reaches its high point at the consecration. The historical Jesus made his offering once and for all. The Risen Jesus has perpetuated his sacrifice. Now it is our turn to make our own offering. We join the priest in asking the Risen Jesus to send his Spirit to empower our gifts of bread and wine with his presence. At the same time, we ask the Risen Jesus to empower us through the Spirit to give ourselves as self-gift to him and to our sisters and brothers in service to them.

When the priest offers up the Consecrated Bread and Wine, he offers the Risen Jesus and us as members of the Body of Jesus. We too are saying to our sisters and brothers, “Take, eat, this is my body; take drink, this is my blood.” We are sacrificing our body and blood, our life, time, energy and resources in service to them.

Power Up. As a truly human person, the historical Jesus was a work in progress. It was the Spirit who led Jesus to develop his innate powers of faith, hope and love of God. Now we need to ask the Risen Jesus for the Spirit’s power to live our self-gift to God and others, which we have just given at the Consecration.

Let us ask for the strength to practice Resurrection, to become persons of radical faith, hope and love. To become agents of the Spirit, beauty and new life. Let us ask the Risen Jesus for the power to practice union with the historical Jesus in our pursuit of holiness, spiritual formation and evangelization so that he can become the catalyst of the Jesus Process for us. Let us ask the Risen Jesus for the power to practice Pentecost by calling upon the Spirit for courage and enlightenment, for discernment of God’s will and direction for our lives.

Carry On Jesus’ Incarnation. When we receive the Risen Jesus in Eucharist, we are not only receiving his presence sacramentally, we are feeding on Jesus’ whole personhood and lifestyle. We are feeding on the Word of God that we have just heard in the Gospel portrayal of Jesus, and we resolve to live that Word of God. For we must put on the mind and heart of Jesus to be Jesus to others.

Now let us ask the Risen Jesus for the Spirit’s power to manifest the Risen Jesus within us to those around us. Let us ask that we become sacraments of peace, healing and forgiveness for others, that we might become Jesus’ compassion and communion to others. Let us ask that we might become channels to awaken faith, hope and love in others as Jesus did. Now the Mass ceremony is ended, but the Mass event continues on: Let us go and be Jesus to others!

Frank Squitteri is a member of the Westchester (NY) Cursillo and very involved in Contemplative Prayer Movement.

Who Are These Christian Brothers?

2006-10-23T14:58:00.000-04:00

By Father Jim Lloyd

I was a fourteen years old graduate of the Paulist Gammar School where I was protected and taught by the loving and maternal Holy Cross Sisters. Soon, I was to be thrown into the care of some mysterious, tall, black robed men known as the Irish Christian Brothers.[1] It was rumored that each one of them had a brown strap hidden in his Robes which he would whip out at the slightest provocation. Teen aged boys allegedly trembled in fear at the very sight of this tool of control! Horror stories of beatings and strange goings on swept our neighborhood. . I was in a near panic.

My good Jewish father had wanted me to go to nearby Commerce High school where I would learn business basics for “making it” in this tough world. Besides, it was free. No tuition. No fees. All the freebies one would need. And, on the other hand, the Brothers at this fancy sounding school, Power Memorial Academy, would charge ten dollars a month! And they taught “useless” stuff like English Literature, French, Latin and Religion!

However, my simple Irish Catholic mother, though usually acquiescing to my father’s wishes, stamped and stomped her way to my enrolling at a Catholic High school. With marvelous trust in the Almighty, she knew that although we had no money, somehow the Lord would figure out a way of digging up that enormous sum each month! And, of course, the Lord came through in the person of a gentle Paulist Father, Fr. Paul Ward, who paid my tuition for the four years, enabling me to have one of the most satisfying, productive educational experiences of my life.

The school was located in Harlem, on 124th street right off Lenox Avenue. Power Memorial Academy was actually three or four crummy looking, old brownstone houses. And into them were crammed several hundred boys, a cramped “lunchroom” in the basement, a tiny chapel on the second floor, “classrooms” where walls had been broken down to accommodate the young scholars, a back yard passing as recreation space adorned with primitive basketball hoops and, of course, quarters for the Brothers.[2] It was not Phillips Exeter or Fordham Prep but we all loved it.

These men had unbelievable dedication to the kids. They were superb educators. They were strong masculine role models and exemplars of Faith. They did demand excellence in scholarship which resulted in an impressive record of college scholarships and generally a sense of “how to study” for the students. The stories of beatings were largely mythical, the kind of exaggeration one might hear sitting before the fireplace on a winter’s night. If the strap was used at all, it was largely symbolic, amounting to no more than a slight sting on the hand. It never destroyed the psyche as is claimed by the contemporary bleeding hearts of Public schools. On the contrary, most of the boys who got so disciplined knew they deserved it and understood its meaning. It was not only justice but love. It helped us mature and become truly masculine. One need only check the reactions of Power alumni over the years to realize how strong was the bond between the Brothers and students.

I needed 10 cents each day for the subway in addition to my homemade sandwich which I always found in my satchel through the “courtesy” of my mother (or grandmother when Mom was away on a job). Here I learned the practical meaning of “God will provide” or, as the Brothers taught me, Deus Providebit. I never worried about the daily dime or the sandwich. I knew they would be there. It left me free to enjoy the thrill of learning about Caesar and Vercingetorix, the dynamics of the quadratic equation, the fluid sound of “Bon jour, mes enfants”[3], the fun of Shakespeare and the endless excitement of the opened mind. It also pervasively taught me, almost like an osmosis, what it means to be a Catholic.

Where in God’s Providence did these guys come from? How did they wind up in the Inner City teaching dirty necks like me the basics of reading, writing and computing? What made them tick?

It started in Co. Waterford, Ireland with a layman named Edmund Rice (1762-1844), a prosperous businessman whose wife had died leaving him with a seriously ill daughter. It was a time when his land had been oppressed by foreign powers leaving the Irish impoverished and generally uneducated. This man who had a lively devotion to the Mother of God, the Blessed Mother, decided to spend some time teaching the many urchins floundering aimlessly around Waterford, giving them some skills in making a living. He did teach them basic computation and reading but it was always against the background of the Catholic Faith. Edmund who has been declared Blessed by the Catholic Church believed in the eternal destiny of all while at the same time being apparently a hard headed Merchant who knew how to turn pig’s ear into a silk purse. He was a Believer who like all saints will have empty pockets and “impossible” dreams but will dare to challenge the “Common Sense” of the world.

His charisma, wonderful to most, insane to others, drew scores of good hearted men who eventually developed into that Congregation then called Irish Christian Brothers and now the Congregation of Christian Brothers. No longer just Irish[4] but Indian, African, Australian, American, Hispanic and even English names dot the International Roster of the Congregation.

But it is always the spirit and vision of Rice which dominates the Monks. Although they number noted scholars in their ranks, they all commit to caring for the young. Recently, I had dinner with an old friend who, as a teenager, was totally disoriented relative to his future. By some strange twist of God’s plan, “Ray” entered Power Memorial and indeed was truly saved. A young Br. “Boney” Power took him over, directed him personally and educationally, to a career in the Board of Education of New York City where he became an able and successful leader. Now in retirement he openly (and often) states that his life was saved by Br. Power. Once a confused agnostic, he is today a practicing and proud Catholic. This is the plan of Edmund Rice and one which has been realized thousands of times around the world since those difficult early days in Waterford.

In my years in South Africa, my initial impression of these Monks was re-enforced and highlighted endless times. They ran the prototypic high level Secondary school in Kimberly, the number one school in the country. The Headmaster, Br. McManus was called “Mr. Education” nationwide. He was consulted by Government Ministers as the ultimate source of “What to do” in this field. I gave an annual retreat to them at Kimberly, went on vacation with them, played tennis with them and shared their lives as much as a non-Monk could. But it was always the same. Dedication. Faith. Commitment to the young. Continual Study. True fraternity. Edmund Rice was written all over them.

I met them in Fiji where they ran a top level school in the Inner city for the indigenous children. They greeted me with warmth and hospitality, even introducing me to the bitter local brew as the natives clapped their hands in delight. I met them in Hawaii where they run a top school for American kids of that area. I was welcomed as their “Brother” and shared their food and shelter. Edmund Rice, who probably never left Ireland physically, was spiritually right there smiling and encouraging them. I met them in Sydney, Australia, where they invited me to share my thoughts at their National Education Convention. Edmund. Edmund. Edmund. He was always there also—urging, challenging, even demanding his spiritual sons to carry on the Message of Jesus.

In my own years at the “Academy” I was obviously drawn myself to become “Brother” Lloyd so attractive and symbiotic to me was their life It was all I ever yearned for—with one monumental exception! I had a huge and undeniable need to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Why couldn’t I be a Brother and priest at the same time?[5] I understand very well that the Vocation to be a Brother is a special and separate call. When Br. John Mark Egan, the superb Christian psychologist was asked why he didn’t become a priest and go “all the way”, he correctly and profoundly replied: “Then I couldn’t be a Brother…” In the mysterious and beautiful makeup of the Mystical Body of Jesus, there are different and equal “calls” as the Blessed Apostle Paul tells us.

Perhaps, one of the three greatest human beings of my life was Br. A.A. Loftus (called “Austie” by the insiders). No one so deeply influenced me on multiple levels. He is the one who invited me to “come along with us” i.e. join the Monks. Like so many others, I wanted to be like him. He was an incredible scholar who taught me Virgil’s Aeneas, Solid Geometry[6], Trig, American History, Catholic theology, Cicero’s orations on Cataline, the Odes and Epodes of Horace.. All on superior levels of teaching. He was a top flight athletic coach winning in successive years the City championships in both basketball and baseball. He was extremely devout in his Faith, deeply Catholic, loyal to the Magisterium. Yet, as with many intellectuals, he relaxed with detective stories and Yankee ball games in the stadium.

If he was displeased with us, we were exceedingly uncomfortable. His approval was essential. When as an insufferable Big Shot senior of 17, I was “goofing off” (slacking in my studies) he ordered me to school on a Saturday intending to whack me over the bottom. As I bent over the desk, with my knees quivering, his basic sensitivity took over and he relented with a verbal reprimand. I had been on the verge of leaving school in mid-year, possibly for a dead-end and mediocre life.

Austie set me straight for what I consider my own “great ride”.Austie, the Ph.D. par excellence, became the Professor of philosophy at Iona College, later President of the College, later Provincial of the Brothers of North America and finally, the top dog, the Superior General of the world wide Congregation. After his retirement, I met him at Power; in fact in the Brothers chapel where he sat mystically gazing at his Eucharistic Lord in the Tabernacle. I had been deeply impressed, as a teenager, at his bouncing into the little Chapel at Power before class, oodles of books under his arm, with a quick genuflection asking the Master’s guidance on his day. I asked him if he was planning to return to Iona to teach philosophy. He laughingly replied that he was going to a high school because “that is where all the fun is.” It was in a high school chapel that he was stricken and quickly was taken to his Lord and Master.

I have been invited several times to preach the Annual Retreat to the Monks at Power, Iona and elsewhere, It has been a strange feeling for me to see the wise, holy, wonderful Monks sitting before me listening with incredible humility to my words on the Spiritual Life. There was Br. Tom Perry at ninety with his hand cupped to his ear least he miss any of my spiritual gems (?). It was he who taught me French, English composition and basic theology! There was the genial, scholarly Br. Blondie Vaughan who taught me about the angles and triangles of Plane Geometry. There were Provincials and scholars and skilled professors listening with some pride to one of “their boys.”

For ten years in my own retirement, I was privileged to say Mass for these Brothers as they became old and infirm. In a beautiful facility run by the Brothers themselves, the grand old men who gave so much of their love, talent and Faith for others wait patiently for their call to the Lord. Even with age and illness burdening them, they almost automatically radiate Edmund’s spirit. They are for others. They always welcomed me, their brother who was a priest as one of their own, making me feel at home with them. Sometimes, they made me laugh as did the Alzheimeric Brother who ran up to me one morning to announce that he was getting married the next day. I kiddingly asked if his bride was good looking and he replied with a satisfied and beaming “absolutely.” Others I comforted and encouraged as they worried about their very few inadequacies prior to meeting God. I was so grateful to minister to my dear friend, Br. Alexander Thomas as he lay dying in the Hawthorne hospice. He with whom I had so much fun competing in Bridge games and who in his own way taught me so many of the delights that God provides--- the cigar, the goblet with Grand Marnier, the French jokes------

So many wonderful memories I have of these good men, these sons of Edmund, these champions of and believers in young people. Who are these Christian Brothers? How much time does one have to listen…. “Arma virumque cano…..”I sing of religious men and their battle against ignorance, bigotry, coldness and that which is not of God.It has been my pleasure and privilege along with literally thousands of others to say:“I know them and they know me.” May God be praised.

[1] The title IRISH Christian Brothers was subsequently changed to Congregation of Christian Brothers as a more accurate reflection of the ethnic makeup of the more recent vocations to the Community. CFC is the present official “sign” after each Brother’s name.

[2] When one got on the “inside” one learned that they were called “Monks”

[3] Br. Tom Perry entered the classroom each morning thusly greeting us in French. with a pronounced Irish accent

[4] Indeed Ireland no longer supplies recruits as of the old days. Irish Vocations are almost non existent. It is India, New Guinea, Africa and what was known as the Mission area which keeps the Congregation alive. The present Brother “General” or Leader is from India.

[5] In fact, years later, as the Director of Pastoral Counseling at Iona College, I became the first priest to become an associate Brother, entitling me to add CFC to my name.

[6] He demanded in his scholarship class that everyone who took the Regents exam in Solid Geom., get 100% on the exam. This was “passing” to him. I who could hardly add, under his leadership, aced the exam with 100%. His secret was check and check and check your work. Repetition was his answer.

Risen Jesus Changed Everything, Even Prayer

2006-06-26T09:16:00.000-04:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

The people in the Gospel stories had a great advantage over us when it comes to prayer. Jesus was present to them as a person, whom they could see and touch. The Jesus we know through the Scriptures no longer exists. Only the Risen Christ exists. This leads us to two questions: First, in light of the Resurrection, to whom do we pray? Second, what is the place of the historical Jesus in our prayer life?

Fr. William Johnston, SJ. in an introduction to The Cloud of Unknowing answers our first question in this way: “Now the Christian, following St. Paul, does not pray just to a historical figure but to the now existing risen Christ who contains in himself all the experience of his historical existence in a transformed way, as he indicated by showing his wounds to his disciples.” So, the object of our prayer is clearly the Risen Christ.

In response to the second question about the place of the historical Jesus in our prayer life, Fr. Johnston states that the problem is that “Christian theology, following the New Testament, situates the historical Jesus at the very heart of prayer—Christ the man, the Incarnate Word.” We are comfortable with the historical Jesus. We can have thoughts and ideas and images of Jesus through his life events. We can have no adequate picture of the Risen Christ. How then do we make our prayer Christocentric and at the same time relate to the Risen Christ?

The Jesus Process. The results of Jesus’ Resurrec-tion as the Jesus Process. First, let us revisit that concept and then explore its relevance to our prayer life. Jesus’ lived experience on earth is the core element driving the Jesus Process. Christ, as the Risen Jesus, no longer limited by time or geography, transforms Jesus’ historical experience into a power source, present here and now in the 21st Cent-ury. Out of this power source, the Risen Christ gifts us with his Spirit who empowers us to carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation in us and manifest his powers for others. Seeing the historical Jesus as the catalyst of the Process enables us to make our prayer Christo-centric and at the same time enables us to embrace the imageless Risen Jesus and Spirit.

Prayer with Words—When we say prayers of petition, thanksgiving or adoration, let us begin by praying the Jesus Process. Let us unite with the human experiences of Jesus, such as Jesus going off to the mountains to pray. Remembering that Jesus is the catalyst of the Jesus Process, let us ask Jesus to lead us to the Risen Christ present in our midst, and let us ask the Risen Christ to gift us with the Spirit. We then pray to the Spirit to aid us. Now the Risen Christ loves our prayers with words, but there is a better way.

Praying without Words— Contemplation such as in centering prayer is a wordless, imageless way of prayer that enables us to seek union with the Risen Christ who is imageless. So, it is a very appropriate form of prayer to the Risen Christ. Remember too that when we pray with words, we are in control; we are asking for what we want. How-ever, in prayer without words, we let the Risen Christ take control and lead us to what he desires for us—ultimately to manifest increasingly the Christ who is incarnate in us..

An important aspect of centering prayer is our intentionality. Here we attempt to establish beforehand our desire to surrender to the Risen Christ’s mysterious presence. Praying the Jesus Process prepares us for centering prayer. We call upon the historical Jesus to act as the catalyst to lead us to the Risen Christ who gifts us with his Spirit who empowers us to lose ourselves in desire for union with the Risen Christ. This experience of union leads us to be transformed into persons who carry on Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation by being sacraments of peace, healing and forgiveness for others, by being compassion and communion to others, and by being channels of faith, hope and love for others.

Frank Squitteri is a member of the Westchester (NY) Cursillo and very involved in Contemplative Prayer Movement.

Blessed Edmund Rice Dinner-Dance

2006-06-09T12:09:00.000-04:00

Blessed Edmund Rice Dinner-Dance

Waldorf=Astoria, New York City

October 14, 2006

Celebrating

130th Anniversary of the Brothers’ ministry in Canada
100th Anniversary of the Christian Brothers’ first ministry in the US
10th Anniversary of the beatification of Blessed Edmund I. Rice

Proceeds from the dinner support the St. Joseph’s Care Residence for elderly and infirm Brothers.

Honorary Chair

Bishop Gerald T. Walsh (Power Memorial Academy ’59)

Honorees

Brother G. Gabriel McHugh, C.F.C.

Robert A. McCormick (Rice High School, NY ’54)

Richard J. Franchella (Iona College ’82)

For more information, please contact the Christian Brothers Foundation Benefit Office:
141 Fifth Avenue, Third Floor, NY, NY 10010 (212) 254-6677 or info@inezevents.com

The Christian Vision: All About Jesus

2006-05-18T10:50:00.001-04:00

By Frank A. Squitteri

The Christian Vision is not about a set of dogmas or about a set of pious practices. It is all about a person named Jesus. The Christian Vision is about (1) Jesus’ life vision, (2) Jesus’ life mission, (3) how he calls us to complete his mission, and (4) how he has empowered us for that mission.

Leave out any one of these four elements and the Christian Vision is incomplete. Omit Jesus’ call to us to complete his mission, and a critical part of the Christian Vision is lost. Ignore the fact that Jesus has empowered us for our task, and we are left with an impoverished Church attempting the impossible.

Ultimately, if the Christian Vision is worth anything, it should move us to a dynamic relationship with Jesus. If it doesn’t, our understanding of the Christian Vision is incomplete or we are rejecting one of its essential elements.

For isn’t that the fundamental spiritual issue each of us faces? How do we transform a figure who lived 2000 years ago into a present day force in our lives? How do we make Jesus come alive? How do we make Jesus religiously compelling and spiritually transformative for ourselves, today, here and now?

In the end, the Christian Vision reveals that Jesus is not frozen in time 2,000 years ago, but is alive today and is the catalyst of a dynamic spiritualization process in our lives. We can have a dynamic relationship with Jesus because Jesus is a dynamic force. But first let us look at the historical Jesus.

Jesus’ Life Vision. What was Jesus’ life vision? Let us first define what we mean by life vision. Life visions are all about attitudes, our attitudes toward God, self, others, life and reality. Now a key question is what was Jesus’ attitude toward God? The answer to that question will determine Jesus’ total life vision.

In Jesus Before Christianity, Fr. Albert Nolan, O.P. states: “It is generally agreed that somewhere at the heart of Jesus’ mysterious personality there was a unique experience of intimate closeness to God—the Abba experience…we know that the Abba experience was an experience of God as a compassionate Father.” As a compassionate Father, God loves all persons.

Here is the important insight. Jesus’ solidarity with God created solidarity for him with all humanity. The driving force behind Jesus’ life vision was compassion for others. Jesus’ God-centeredness impacted all the elements of his life vision, because he saw all through God’s eyes.

What Jesus teaches us is that once we enter deeply into solidarity with God, we will become compassionate persons because God is compassion. The move from self-centeredness to God-centeredness is the breakthrough conversion in our life visions, and therefore in our spiritual lives. We see ourselves, others, life, reality in an entirely new light, because we view all through God’s global view rather than through our narrow point of view.

Jesus’ Life Mission. Jesus’ life vision would become his life mission. Fr. Nolan points out, that unlike John the Baptist, Jesus did not feel called to save others by bringing them to a baptism of repentance. Jesus saw his mission as liberating people from every form of suffering—physical, psychological, spiritual, social, and political. Jesus would become God’s compassion incarnate.

Jesus would seek to win over all people through compassion. His one and only motive for healing people was compassion, not to prove that he was the Messiah. He mixed socially with society’s outcasts, sinners and tax collectors, completely ignoring the scandal he was causing, so that they would know they were accepted by him. He fought the oppression of the Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders of the times, because they imposed a loveless, burdensome religion on the people.

Fr. Albert Nolan writes: “The kingdom in which Jesus wanted his contemporaries to believe was a kingdom of love and service, a kingdom of human brotherhood and sisterhood in which every person is loved and respected because he or she is a person.”

Jesus’ Call. In his radical love for us, God sent Jesus to save all humanity. And Jesus calls us to dream the impossible dream of joining him in his mission to liberate people from every form of suffering—physical, psychological, spiritual, social and political. Jesus wanted all people to experience the fullness of their humanity. We are called to make his mission our life vision and our life mission!
Jesus’ mission is what we call broadly today “social justice”, and is the essential mission for us. Over time, Jesus’ mission has expanded to include many missions, among them Christianizing our environments and teaching catechetics. But in whatever mission we are involved, we are called to manifest Jesus’ compassion, gifting others with our presence and affirming their giftedness. Our compassion toward others opens them to Jesus’ message.

Jesus, Our Brother. Who is it who calls us to complete his mission of saving the whole world? Jesus, our brother. Jesus, though divine, was no make-believe human being. Jesus had to grow in understanding by moving from ignorance to knowledge, from doubt to certainty, from indecisiveness to decision, just as we do. Jesus learned from his Jewish culture as we learn from our culture. Jesus learned from his personal relationships as we do. Jesus learned the way every human learns.

Only when we can sense Jesus’ confusion as to where the Spirit was leading him, can we feel at home with our brother Jesus and be open to his call to mission. So many times we read in the Gospels that Jesus left the crowds behind and went off to pray. What he prayed for was guidance.

Further, Jesus was no solitary man. In pious literature, Jesus is presented as self-sufficient, self-reliant. But the Holy Spirit was his tutor every step of the way. He depended on the Holy Spirit as his mentor and guide, just as we have to do. Truly, Jesus became our brother and embraced our human condition, except for sin. For this reason we can relate to Jesus as brother and friend. This is the Jesus who calls us to complete his mission.

Jesus, Our Crucified Lover. In time, our brother Jesus became our Crucified Lover. Jesus’ priestly mission came to a shameful, horrific end. How we explain his passion and death can either cloud Jesus’ triumph of love for us and weaken our response to his love, or it can transform us into tremendous lovers of Jesus and committed disciples.

For over a thousand years, theologians have been obsessed with the explanation of penal substitution as the rationale for Jesus’ death: Jesus stepped into our place and experienced for us God’s vindictive justice. Thus, God is a cruel God, even a child abuser. Ultimately, we must conclude that we are dealing with mystery, the mystery of God and evil.

However, Jesus’ love for us is not a mystery. St. Augustine asked: “What is the beauty we see in Christ? The crucified limbs? The pierced side? Or the love? When we hear that he suffered for us, what do we love? The love is ‘loved.’ He loved us so that we might love him back…”

What St. Augustine is telling us is: Don’t focus narrowly on Jesus’ suffering which he willingly undertook for us: concentrate on Jesus’ love for us. Let us remember that for each of us personally, Jesus in his passion and death took upon himself all of our pains, anxieties, fears, self-hatred, discouragement and all our accumulation of wounds that we bring from our childhood and our childish ways of trying to survive. He did this out of love for each one of us.

It would be helpful to imagine the love life of Jesus as he encountered his agonizing last days. Imagine Jesus going up the mountain with the apostles and being transfigured before setting out on his journey to Jerusalem and certain death. Jesus thinks to himself: “I choose to live for and with those for whom life is one long, desolate corridor with no exit sign. This is the way I’m going… If it means dying for them, I’m going that way, because I heard a voice saying, ‘Do something for others’….We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter to me now. Because I have been to the mountaintop….I just want to do God’s will…I have seen the promised land… My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

These are the words of Reverend Martin Luther King who prophesized the end to his life, a life of vision and mission. His words give us only a glimpse into the mind and heart of Jesus, our tremendous lover, the image and mirror of God, the Radical Lover. This is the Jesus who calls us to complete his mission.

Jesus, Our Leader. Jesus assures us: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Fr. Nolan writes: “Jesus was experienced as the breakthrough in the history of humanity. He transcended everything that had ever been said and done before. He was in every way the ultimate, the last word. He was on a par with God. His word was God’s word. His Spirit was God’s Spirit. His feelings were God’s feelings. What he stood for was exactly the same as what God stood for. No higher estimation was conceivable.”

Jesus in his humanity is the physical revelation of the infinite God who is invisible and beyond our comprehension. If Jesus is forgiving, God is forgiving. If Jesus is compassionate, God is compassionate. Jesus is the image of God, the mirror that reflects God in all his reality. This is the kind of leader we have—a brother, a Crucified Lover and the very image of God. This is the Jesus who calls us to complete his mission. Nor does he do so without giving us the power.

Jesus, Our Empowerer. For too long the Church has ignored the meaning and significance of the Resurrection. The Resurrection is not just an historical event. It is not the anti-climax to what took place on Good Friday on Calvary, as it has been treated by the Church.

The Resurrection is all about Jesus’ triumph over death and coming into the power of the risen life, and empowering us. If we minimize the Risen Jesus, we minimize the powers Jesus gave us. We are Resurrection People—full of faith in the power of the Risen Jesus, and thus full of hope. The Risen Jesus is the magnificent power broker. With Jesus we can do all things. Let us look at four power sources that the Resurrection opened up to us:

(1) The Risen Jesus sacramentalized the historical Jesus’ whole lifetime by transforming his life events and words into a power source. It is as if Jesus’ life events rose from the dead with him. Jesus lives here and now with all his life events acting as power sources for us. When we unite ourselves with Jesus’ life events in our prayer life, in our spiritual formation and in our evangelization of others, in our suffering, we are empowered by Jesus because his life events live on as sources of power for us. We only need faith in the Risen Jesus.

(2) The Risen Jesus continues his Incarnation on earth through us by incorporating us as members of his Body. And he empowers us with the same powers that the historical Jesus enjoyed—to bring peace, healing and forgiveness to others. When we employ Jesus’ powers, we manifest the Risen Jesus within us to the world. The challenge for us is to take possession of Jesus’ powers. We have been given the powers. We only need faith in the Risen Jesus.

(3) The Risen Jesus pours out his Spirit on us, constantly empowering us with his Spirit’s powers to bring us to self-discovery and to transformation into Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation within us. The Spirit is our inner guide and mentor. God carries on a Divine Dialogue with us, making known his will and direction for our lives and it is the Holy Spirit who confirms within us that we have recognized God’s word to us. It is through the Spirit that we gain the courage to complete Jesus’ mission. It is through the Spirit that we grow in the discipline of love to be self-giving persons as Jesus was. We only need faith in the Risen Jesus.

(4) The Risen Jesus sacramentalized Christian community and continues to do so. He promised that wherever two or three are gathered in his name, he would be present. Think of Jesus’ disciples hiding in the Upper Room behind closed doors. Imagine the Risen Jesus here and now penetrating our communities, and most importantly, penetrating the closed doors of our minds and hearts, opening us up to his Spirit. Imagine Jesus saying to us: “Peace be with you!” and breathing his Spirit upon us. The Risen Jesus continues to empower us through the Spirit in our Christian communities. We only need faith in the Risen Jesus.

Thus far, we have seen how Jesus’ solidarity with God who is a compassionate Father created solidarity for him with all humanity. His life vision became his life mission. Further, Jesus invites us to live his life vision, the Christian Vision for us, and to commit to his life mission. Lastly, the Risen Jesus has empowered us to complete his mission to the world.

Embracing the Vision. What remains to be answered is: how do we embrace the Christian Vision? Earlier we said, the Christian Vision is all about a person, a person named Jesus. We live the Christian Vision by embracing Jesus as ardently as we can and as often as we can. Does that mean embracing just the historical Jesus? No, it means embracing the total Jesus—the historical Jesus, the Risen Jesus, and the Jesus who gives us his Spirit. How do we embrace Jesus?

(1) Practice Resurrection. When we embrace Jesus’ Resurrection, we embrace Jesus. At every Mass we attend let us rejoice in the rising from the dead of our Crucified Lover who carried our burdens on his cross and celebrate the Risen Jesus coming into his triumph and power—the power he has shared with us. Let us celebrate his ongoing presence among us, his ongoing Incarnation in us, his ongoing transformation of us, his ongoing empowerment of us, his ongoing bringing us into union with all men and women who are the Body of Christ. At the consecration, when the priest holds up the host, let us be aware that we are included in that host as members of Jesus’ Body, and let us offer up ourselves as self-gift to Jesus and to our sisters and brothers.

When we are in Christian community, let us remind ourselves that the Risen Jesus is present in our midst, still gifting us with his peace and the Spirit’s empowerment as on the first Pentecost.

(2) Practice Union with the historical Jesus. When we embrace Jesus’ humanity, we embrace Jesus. Let us be keenly conscious that Jesus’ power goes out from him 2000 years later due to his Resurrection. So let us practice union with our brother Jesus. Let us get in touch with Jesus’ power in everything we do—in our prayer life, in our spiritual formation, in our evangelization of others.

(3) Practice Pentecost. Our dream of joining Jesus in his mission to save the whole world is the impossible dream unless we have a Higher Power. That Higher Power is the Spirit whom the Risen Jesus continually pours out upon us. So let us practice Pentecost. Let the Spirit become our guide and mentor. Let us pray the Come Holy Spirit prayer daily and many times during the day for the courage to act and lead to complete Jesus’ mission, and for the power to love others with a radical love. When we embrace Jesus’ Spirit, we embrace Jesus!

(4) Practice Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation. When we embrace the Risen Jesus’ ongoing Incarnation in us, we embrace Jesus. Let us manifest the Risen Jesus within us. Let us practice being sacraments to others—bringing peace, healing and forgiveness to others as Jesus did. Let us practice being Jesus’ compassion to others by gifting people with our presence and affirming their giftedness. Let us practice being communion to others by being bodily present to others with our gestures, tone of voice and our attention to them. Let us practice being channels of faith and hope to others to awaken faith and hope in them.

Embracing Dynamic Jesus. The Christian Vision understood in all its splendor reveals the answer to the fundamental question: how do we move toward a dynamic relationship with Jesus. The short answer is: embrace the total Jesus revealed at the Resurrection.

For the Risen Jesus transformed Jesus’ life on earth into a power source. Out of this power source, the Risen Jesus gifts us with his Spirit who empowers us to live lives of radical faith, radical hope and radical love. The historical Jesus has become and is the catalyst of a dynamic living process of spiritual empowerment for us by bringing into play all his dimensions—his humanity, his resurrected life, and his Spirit. We can have a dynamic relationship with Jesus because Jesus is dynamic!

Frank Squitteri is a member of the Westchester (NY) Cursillo and very involved in Contemplative Prayer Movement.

World Day of Prayer for Vocations - May 7th

2006-04-06T09:10:00.000-04:00

VATICAN CITY, MAR 30, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was the Holy Father's Message for the 43rd World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which is due to be celebrated on May 7, fourth Sunday of Easter, on the theme: "Vocation in the mystery of the Church."

"The weight of two millennia of history makes it difficult to perceive the novelty of the fascinating mystery of divine adoption which lies at the center of St. Paul's teaching," writes the Holy Father in his Message, which is dated March 5. "We are called to live as brothers and sisters of Christ, to consider ourselves as sons and daughters of the same Father. This a gift that overturns all exclusively human ideas and projects."

"What, then, must we say," Benedict XVI asks, "of the temptation, so strongly felt in our own time, to think ourselves so self-sufficient as to shut ourselves off from the mysterious plan God has for us? The love of the Father, revealed in the person of Christ, calls out to us."

Down the centuries, the Pope writes, many men and women, "transformed by divine love, have consecrated their lives to the cause of the Kingdom," and "through Christ have known the mystery of the Father's love." These people, the Pope goes on, "represent the multiplicity of vocations that have always been present in the Church."

Referring then to Vatican Council II's universal call to sanctity, the Holy Father affirms that, in each generation, Christ "calls individuals to take care of His people; in particular He calls men to the priestly ministry to exercise a paternal function. ... The priest's mission in the Church is irreplaceable. Therefore, even though some areas suffer a shortage of clergy, we must not lose the conviction that Christ continues to call men" to the priesthood.

"Another special vocation occupying a place of honor in the Church is the call to consecrated life. ... Although they undertake various forms of service in the field of human formation and care for the poor, in education and in assistance to the sick, [consecrated people] do not consider these activities as the principle aim of their lives because, as the Code of Canon Law says: 'Contemplation of divine things and assiduous union with God in prayer is to be the first and foremost duty of all religious'."

Benedict XVI concludes his Message with a call to pray "for vocations to the priesthood and the consecrated life. ... The Church's sanctity depends essentially on her union with Christ and her openness to the mystery of grace at work in the hearts of believers. For this reason, I would like to invite all the faithful to cultivate an intimate relationship with Christ, Master and Pastor of His people, imitating Mary who guarded the divine mysteries in her heart and contemplated them assiduously."

Visit the Christian Brother's North America Vocation website by clicking here.

Commemoration of Blessed Edmund Rice

2006-03-31T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Vatican has approved the addition of Blessed Edmund Rice to the liturgical calendar of the Archdiocese of New York. The commemoration of Blessed Edmund Rice may be celebrated as an optional memorial on May 5th. The prayers for Mass and the Divine Office are taken from the Common of Holy Men: Religious.

Associates of Blessed Edmund Rice, Dominica, West Indies

2006-01-31T09:52:00.000-05:00

Brother Jerry McCarthy, C.F.C. visited with the Associates in Dominica during January 2006. Shown below are: (left to right) Cuthbert Elwin, Robert St. John, Heather Toulan, Sr. Sarah Hynes, P.B.V.M., Sr. Marilyn Costello, P.B.V.M., John Holmes, Lennox Abraham, Br. E. Bosco Wakehan, C.F.C.

God is love

2006-01-25T10:31:00.000-05:00

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

DEUS CARITAS EST

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON CHRISTIAN LOVE

Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical letter was released on Januray 25th. To read the encyclical please click here.

Manila Leadership Conference

2006-01-24T09:41:00.000-05:00

Province Leaders and their deputies from around the world meet with the Congregation Leadership Team at the Good Shepherd Spiritual Centre in Antipolo City, Manila, Philippines. Also present were Br. Martin Kenneally (Congregation Leader of the Presentation Brothers), Br. Moy Hitchen (Promoter of Eco-Justice) and Br. Donal Leader (Congregation Coordinator for Advocacy and Justice). Attending from Edmund Rice Christian Brothers North America were: Br. Hugh O'Neill (Province Leader), Br. Nick Morris (Deputy Province Leader), Br. Kevin Griffith (Province Councillor) and Br. Brian Walsh (Province Councillor).

For more information go to:
http://www.edmundclt.org/manila_conference.htm

Symbols from Provinces around the world form the centrepiece at the Manila Leadership Conference.

Pope Pius VII's Papal Brief of Approbation

2006-01-18T14:07:00.000-05:00

January 20th, is a special feastday for the Congregation of Christian Brothers.

It was on this day in 1822, the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, that the Brothers formally accepted Pope Pius VII's Papal Brief of Approbation and then elected Br. Edmund Rice as the first Superior General (today called Congregation Leader).

Pope Pius VII's Papal Brief of Approbation was issued earlier, in 1820, in response to Br. Rice's application to the Holy See for recognition of the Congregation as an Apostolic Institute. In his Papal Brief of Approbation Pope Pius VII granted Br. Rice's petition and approved the Society of Religious Brothers as an Apostolic Institute.

Pope Pius VII

Latin America Convention of the Associates to Blessed Edmund Rice

2006-01-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

Forty-two Associates from five different groups in Peru gathered in the beautiful city of Arequipa. The young Associates from Arequipa gave a warm welcome to the visitors in the parish in a small suburb of Cayma.

Álida Tejada a local theologian gave a very clear presentation of lay spirituality. The Associates from Arequipa organized a tour of the historical parts of the city founded in the XVI century. The colonial buildings and Churches were a majestic background for the traditional parade The Arrival of The Wise Men which we witnessed. The visit ended in the Centre for Pedagogical Investigation, Yachay Wasi, founded some 20 years ago by Br. Jim Glos and a few friends. The Regional Leadership Team offered all a cup of hot chocolate and Christmas cake.

The following day Hugo Cáceres led the group through the topic of Edmund Rice´s spirituality. Each group had the opportunity to talk about its apostolic activities and its prayer. A Night of Stars was the opportunity when each group showed its artistic talents.

It was agreed to hold an International Convention of Associates with “The Lay Edmundian in the World Today” as the theme. The most likely dates will be 10 – 20 January 2008.

Rolando Sandoval was chosen as the first National Coordinator of Associates in Peru. Congratulations Rolando! And our sincerest thanks to the young Associates from Arequipa for their warm welcome.

Latinamerican News
Christian Brothers Monthly Newsletter
Latin-American Region
Nº. 17 – Year 3 December 2005/January 2006

Pope Benedict XVI's Christmas Prayer

2005-12-24T21:44:00.000-05:00

"Where there is conflict, give birth to peace. Where there is hatred, make love spring up! Where darkness prevails, let light shine."

Plans unveiled for major development at historic Mount Sion

2005-12-16T21:48:00.000-05:00

Friday, December 16, 2005
By Marion O’Mara

The historic Mount Sion site and Blessed Sacrament Chapel at Barrack Street, in the city, which is the resting place of Blessed Edmund Rice is to be transformed into an international heritage, ecclesiastical and tourism centre. A planning application has been submitted to the City Council for the development which involves the relocation of the existing red-brick Blessed Sacrament Chapel. It will be replaced by a chapel within the Mount Sion campus. Designed along similar compact lines to the existing chapel, it will take greater advantage of the elevated site which overlooks the city beloved by Blessed Edmund.

The new chapel will continue to be available and accessible to the local community. The visually attractive Barrack Street frontage of the Brothers’ residence, the former chapel, the band room, the bakery and tailors shop will form the backdrop of a European-style landscaped plaza. Stained glass in the existing chapel, which was built in the 1970s, currently requires major investment if it is to be retained and preserved. It will be incorporated in the new development, especially in the new stonefaced chapel which will be circular with a free-standing square natural slate roof. Due to be completed within 12 months, the Edmund Rice International Heritage Centre will feature an interactive walk-through museum. It will chart the history and global missionary outreach of the Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers over the past 200 years. The museum will also reflect the social changes in Ireland since the beginning of the 19th Century when Blessed Edmund began his religious life and the work of educating the poor. In addition, it will showcase some of the current developments and changes in the life and work of the Brothers and of the Edmund Rice Network in 26 countries throughout the world.

This is the first major refurbishment of the site since the beatification of Blessed Edmund by Pope John Paul II in 1996.

The mortal remains of the Founder of the Christian Brothers and Presentation Brothers rest at Mount Sion and it is the principal site for the veneration of his relics. It is also where the then Edmund Rice established his first community and school in 1802.Plans for the project have been prepared by Waterfordbased CJ Falconer & Associates Architects in consultation with Irish and UK experts on ecclesiastical buildings and heritage projects with Yorkshire-based Janus engaged as museum consultants.

Brother Paul D. Power is Project Manager for the development. The Brothers in Ireland and throughout the world are changing their approach in line with the needs of our times and society. The changes planned for the Mount Sion site are mirrored in the changing composition and role of the Brothers in Ireland and further afield. The present community on Barrack Street includes Christian Brothers and a Presentation Brother. In addition to Bro Power, the community at Mount Sion includes Presentation Brother Kevin Mascerenhas (Pakistan) and Christian Brothers Dan Herron (United States), Ian Robertson (Australia); Philip Ryan (Ireland) and Sean Whitty (Canada). They will initially concentrate on youth ministries; the provision of an information centre for asylum seekers and a programme for early schoolleavers. Mount Sion is one of just four sacred Irish sites earmarked for specific projects by Edmund Rice Brothers along with O’Connell School in Dublin; the birthplace of Blessed Edmund in Callan, Co Kilkenny and the Presentation Brothers Heritage Centre, Mardyke, Cork.

IN TRUTH, PEACE

2005-12-14T13:58:00.000-05:00

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS

POPE BENEDICT XVI

FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE

1 JANUARY 2006

IN TRUTH, PEACE

Benedict XVI's message for the World Day of Peace, to be celebrated Jan. 1, In Truth, Peace was published December 13th.Click here to read the Holy Father’s message.

Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin

2005-12-12T11:34:00.000-05:00

The Edmund Rice Justice Bulletin is a fortnightly bulletin of news, information and invitation to action on current issues of social justice for members of the Edmund Rice Network.

The latest complete bulletin is available for viewing at http://www.erjnbulletin.blogspot.com

The latest edition contains items on:

Alarm at Rise in Level of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
United Nations data showing Australia's level of greenhouse gas emissions had increased by more than 23% in the period 1990-2003 ....

Make Poverty History Trade Justice Walk
The final global day of action for the "Make Poverty History" campaign in 2005 is due to take place on Dec10th ....

Myths about Muslims
In recent years terrorist attacks around the world have consistently been linked to the religion of Islam...

The Edmund Rice Centre in Croydon (NSW) has recently published a document that challenges some of the common misconceptions about Muslim Australians and Islam.

"Living with AIDS" on CNN International

2005-12-01T09:03:00.000-05:00

Greetings.

HIV/Aids is a severe problem here in Africa and in particularly here in Zambia.

CNN is broadcasting a program these days that was shot in Mongu, Zambia where some of our Brothers work. The times quoted are GMT [London time] so I do not know if and when it will be broadcast in the USA.

It is powerful and very factual and you might find it interesting.

Thurs Dec 1: 1AM, 7PM, Midnight
Saturday Dec 3: Noon and 10 PM
Sunday December 4: 1PM and 7 PM

Best wishes,

Br. Jim Fagan

NOTE: This program is on CNN International.

For more information on the CNN program, see:
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/11/29/aids.samura/

To convert GMT to EST, subtract 5 hours, to CST, 6 hours and so forth.

Thus, December 3rd at 10 p.m. GMT (London) is 4 p.m. EST (NYC) or 3 p.m. CST (Chicago).

Remember however, these program times are for CNN International, not CNN.

Tom L.

Calendar: Nov-Dec CT, NY, NJ

2005-11-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

North Arlington, NJ Chapter
Meeting: November 15, 2005 at 5:30 P.M.
Theme: Sacrament of Marriage
Presenter: Homer Mosley

Bergen Catholic HS Chapter
Meeting: November 15, 2005 at 1:30 P.M.
General Meeting to discuss Scripture Studies for 2006

New Rochelle/CT Chapter
Meeting: November 30, 2005 at 5:30 P.M.
Theme: Sacrament of Penance
Presenter: Dr. Mary Lesser

Bishop Hendricken HS Chapter
Meeting: December 2, 2005
Prayer service with the Brothers' community
Leader of prayer: Priscilla Fox

Scheduled meetings will resume in February 2006

Heritage Day in Chicago -- Nov. 5, 2005

2005-11-05T19:28:00.000-05:00

A large group of the followers of Edmund Rice gathered at Holy Sepulcher Cemetery in Worth, Illinois to remember our deceased Brothers, Associates, family, friends and staff. The long list included so many important names, to list a few, Brothers Hennessy, Houlihan and Finch; Edmundians, Gerald Meany, Ed Wrenn and Gene Flaherty; and friends and Associates, Jack Mahoney, John Hosty, Jim Arneberg and Charlie Reinke. Rev. Leo Lyons added the final blessing.

The group proceeded to the Brother Rice chapel in Chicago for the mass preceding Sunday evening and a wonderful reflection by Marty McLaughlin. Remembering the Edmund Rice Heritage, which began in Chicago at 79th and Sangamon, and then spread to both Brother Rice and St. Laurence O’Toole High Schools, Marty’s stories centered around Leo in the 1950's.

The faculty at that time was one-third Irish Brothers, one-third American Brothers, and one-third lay staff (with one woman working in the office). The southside of Chicago, although very pluralistic in make-up, still had a very strong Irish culture and the schools were in the midst of it.

The lessons the early Brothers and staff left are still vivid in the minds of those who remember them. So many people helped the schools along the way and everyone remains so grateful for this.

The Edmund Rice Associates recall the spirit of our founding and re-emphasize the spirit of prayer, of the gifts of Edmund Rice (now Blessed) and our ongoing commitment to service of those in need.

Upcoming Events: Chicago, Seattle & Salinas

2005-11-05T19:26:00.000-05:00

Chicago:

Centering Prayer Times: 7 PM. First Friday of each month.
Home of Mark Quinn, 9411 So. Pleasant Ave., Chicago IL 60620

Monthly Breakfast: Saturday mornings by call.
If interested contact Pat Fowler, 9045 S. Claremont, Chicago IL 60620

Seattle:

Sunday, May 21, 2006: Christian Brothers’ Retirement Fund Breakfast
K of C Hall: 9:30 AM – 12 noon. Seattle WA.

Palma: Salinas, CA

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2006. Palma High School
First meeting of Edmund Rice Associates.

Calendars 2005-6 -- Chicago, Seattle & Michigan

2005-11-05T19:20:00.000-05:00

Chicago:

Friday, Jan. 6, 2006: Day of Prayer for Edmund Charism: various sites.

Saturday, Mar. 25, 2006: Input Day
Bro. Tony Twomey, Ireland, morning, 10 AM
Bro. Donal Blake, EdmRice Postulator, afternoon.
St. Laurence High School, Burbank, Illinois

Saturday, May 6, 2006: Edmund Rice Mass, 5 PM. McDonough Chapel,
St. Xavier University, Chicago, Illinois

Tuesday, June 27, 2006: Common Associate Project: Service and Bonding
South Side of Chicago, IL (tba)

Seattle:

Monday, Dec. 12, 2005: Advent/Christmas Evening of Recollection: 7 PM
Brothers’ Residence: O’Dea High School, Seattle, WA

Monday, Jan. 9, 2006: A New Year with Edmund Rice: 7 PM
Brothers’ Residence: O’Dea High School, Seattle, WA

Monday, March 13, 2006; Ritual for renewal of Associates and new members.
7 PM: Brothers Res. (as above).

Thursday, May 4, 2006: Founder’s Day Celebration: 10 AM Mass
St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA.
Open House: 6:30–9:00 PM Brothers’ Res. (as above).

Michigan:

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2005: Associate Dinner Gathering: 5 PM
Brother Rice HS, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Friday 9 AM. Solano House/ Service Project

Monday, Jan. 30, 2006: Associate Dinner Gathering: 5 PM
Jan. 31-Feb. 3: Kairos Retreat, Manressa Retreat House.
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006: Seder Meal, 3-8 PM
Bro. Rice (as above)

Wednesday, May 3, 2006: Associate Dinner Gathering, 5 PM
Bro. Rice (as above)
May 4, 2006: Edmund Rice Mass, Hall of Fame awards.

Moyobama, Peru -- Earthquake

2005-09-26T19:06:00.000-04:00

A 7.5-magnitude earthquake struck the jungle city of Moyobamba, Peru, around 10:00 p.m. EDT, Sunday, September 25th. The earthquake was centered 56 miles northeast of Moyobamba, 445 miles north of the capital, Lima.

We have heard that our Brothers and Associates in Moyobamba are in good shape and have experienced no property damage.

According to a report posted on the web, Víctor Mardonio, the Mayor of Moyobamba, reported six people hurt and 13 homes were made uninhabitable in his district.

The quake toppled at least 115 mud-brick homes in the jungle cities of Moyobamba, Lamas and Chachapoya and left at least four dead and thousands homeless in Peru's northern jungle and highlands.

Welcome

2005-09-24T10:53:00.000-04:00

This blog (web log) has been created to facilitate communication between Associates of Blessed Edmund Rice in North America and others of the Edmund Rice Network.

We hope you will find it interesting and useful.