800th Anniversary of the Founding of the Poor Clares

Looking at the National Catholic Reporter website, I came across an essay by Jon M. Sweeney.  He is an author who has written about saints, especially St. Francis of Assisi.  He also wrote prayer books dedicated to both St. Francis and St. Clare.

In his essay, Jon Sweeney stated that last Sunday, March 18th, in 1212, would have been the Palm Sunday in Assisi, when Clare would leave her family, and their wealth and prestige; and go join Francis and his ragged little band of followers.  That night she would dedicate herself to living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, guided by Francis and the Holy Spirit.  Thus was born another branch of the Franciscan family, the Poor Clares.  It is unique in that it is a monastic, contemplative movement, but it is faithful to the spirit of St. Francis and St. Clare.

From My March Column in Fraternity Newsletter

“United by their vocation as brothers and sisters of penance, and motivated by the dynamic power of the gospel, let them conform their thoughts and deeds to those of Christ by means of that radical interior  change which the gospel itself calls conversion.  Human frailty makes it necessary that this conversion be carried out daily.”  (Art. 7a, SFO Rule)

Saint Francis was constantly reminding his followers that they could never be satisfied with the level progress they had made on living the Gospel life.  He is quoted as saying in the later years of his life,” Brothers, let us begin again, because up until now we have done nothing.”  He recognized that the spiritual journey in never over, that we travel it every day of our life.

All of us can become complacent about where we are in our relationship with God.   Lent provides us an opportunity to do a reality check on that relationship, an opportunity to deepen that relationship.  The Church calls us to intensify our practice of the spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  Lent gives us the inspiration, the nudge, to spend more time in solitude, reading and reflecting on Scripture, letting the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts.  We then can see if we are making a relationship with God a priority in our life, if we letting the Spirit inspire us to greater acts of charity, if we are letting the Gospel of Christ guide us in our daily lives.

Our Rule and this season of Lent both remind us that the process of conversion is never finished, never over, no matter how long we have been professed.  Each day we must answer anew the call of Jesus to pick up our cross and follow Him.

Reflection on Ash Wednesday

Another Ash Wednesday has come and gone.  The 2012 season of Lent has begun.  I went into St. Anthony Shrine, Boston, MA, for a period of prayer and to receive the ashes.  I went to a Franciscan Friar I knew and he gave me a pretty good smudge.  People would definitely know what faith I belonged to that day.

Later, I went to a mid-day Mass at the Shrine.  The celebrant, during his homily, called on all of us to use this Lenten season as an opportunity to become the person God meant us to be.  We are all called by Christ to a life of holiness, to strive to live the Gospel and enter into a deeper relationship with our loving God.

The Church give us the season of Lent to remind us of that call, and encourages us to answer it with all our heart and soul.

More Info on Archdiocese of Boston Reorganization

Today one of Boston's public radio stations, WBUR-FM, has reported on the preliminary lists, showing how the Archdiocese of Boston intends to organize parishes into clusters, so as to best use diminishing resources, both in personnel and in finances.  There are links below.
 
 
 

http://www.wbur.org/2012/01/25/boston-catholic-reorganization

 
 

http://www.wbur.org/2012/01/26/parish-groupings-2

 
 
 
 

The Story Behind The Boston Globe Breaking The Clergy Abuse Scandal

The WBUR.FM program, Radio Boston, had an interview with two of the reporters who had worked on the Boston Globe Spotlight Team, and broke the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.  That series of reports, with evidence to back them up, would finally break down the walls of secrecy and cover-ups.

A Sad and Tragic Anniversay

Ten years ago this month, the scandal concerning the sexual abuse of children by Boston Catholic clergy was revealed by the Boston Globe.  The revelations contained in the newspaper’s reporting sent shockwaves throughout the Boston Catholic community.  The shockwaves have continued to be felt in the national Church, indeed throughout the entire Catholic Church.  Like many Catholics, I was very angry; I felt betrayed by the very men I had believed were suppose to look after their faith communities, to be caring shepherds.  Instead, I saw bishops more concerned with covering up the scandal, to protect the image of the Church.  Anybody in public life could have told them that what really upsets people is not the crime, but the cover-up of the crime.  The scandal was a pressure cooker, waiting to explode; and because it was ignored by the bishops, it did.

Despite my anger, I have never considered leaving the Church, or cutting back my involvement in the life of my parish.  Maybe it was because of my years of formation with other seminarians, who I came to love and respect.  Maybe, it was because of my knowledge of Church history, and experience within the institution; I have known the Church to be both very holy, and unfortunately, very human.  But, mostly, it has been my own encounter with Christ, and where those encounters have been, that have kept me in the Church.

The effects of the scandal are still with us.  I cannot tell you how many CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) release forms I have had to sign because I am both a parish volunteer and a Candidate for the Permanent Diaconate.  The measures taken to pay compensation to the victims are still controversial.  There is still a tug of war between those who want of the names of all accused priests released, and those who believe a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.  The guidelines to handle sex abuse cases, written by the US bishops, have not been followed by all bishops (Incidents in the Philadelphia and Kansas City dioceses come to mind).  This wound is going to be with us for a very long time.

One bishop who is working to heal that wound has been Cardinal Sean O’Malley, OFM CAP, Archbishop of Boston.  He was recently interviewed by John Allen, Jr., a reporter for the National Catholic Reporter.  The link is here.

Conflicts over The Place Christ was Born!

One of the scandals of Christianity has been the conflicts between  various Christian denominations over control of the holy sites in the Middle East.  Catholics squabble with Greek Orthodox, and Greek Orthodox will fight with the Armenian Orthodox; each trying to preserve their piece of a holy site. This state of affairs has existed over the centuries.  Now Huffington Post has a story about a fight between Greek and Armenian Orthodox in the ancient Church of the Nativity.  The church is supposed to enclose the site where tradition holds Jesus Christ was born. 

So in a place that celebrates the birth of the Prince of Peace, Christian clergy are fighting with each other like street gangs over turf.  I can never understand why there is this lack of cooperation, lack of charity, and possessiveness.  Whatever happened to “They will know we are Christians by our love?”