November 24 Colman Mac Lenine [son of Lenin] b. ~510 d. 601 Kenen d. 500 November 26 John Berchmans, SJ b. 1599 d

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you

Happy thanksgiving….
Getting closer – t-minus two days and counting down … with feeloughts about Snoopy’s Joe Cool and flashbacks to my college days’ thanksgivings…. More people, more places, same essence…. Deo Gratias and thanks to you, too….

I made it up today, tho I’m not sure if it went down yesterday. Am very tired at the moment but bright sunshine and more to do than time to do it keeps me muddling along…. Maybe I’ll take a nap under my desk….

Doing these saints is one way for me to pray, to avoid what I’m suppose to be doing, to write to you. Last night I read a book I wrote to John [written by me in 2004 in response to something John wrote in 2001]. Lots of ways to communicate with you – starting with cards and letters and diaries from pre-1994 and enhanced with pictures, letters, diaries, stories since. To touch you. To record some history for you and yours/ours: absent stories in person, which is the best way to leverage God’s gift of family, these writings will have to do….




November 24
Colman Mac Lenine [son of Lenin] b. ~510 d. 601

This Colman was born in Munster. It does matter where you are born, especially when you get a chance to grow up some in that place. Regardless, there’s probably a genetic zeitgeist, a homing dna, that makes our place of birth, and the places of our lineage, more important than any others in our lives. Don’t fight it. Embrace Nashville; and NYC; and back to the homeland….

Colman was an extraordinary poet and royal bard of Cashel. Think maybe he touches all performers; moreso, all the preservers of history.

Brendan baptized Colman when the bard was fifty! Best bet, when Brendan had converted the king of Cashel, the good bard, then fifty years old, was also converted and baptized. See, here’s another saint to give us reason for hope in your reviving your Catholicness; Colman and Augustine, a potent combination of saints in your corner. Baptized by Brendan! Mighty fine company at the birth of our faith in Ireland.

You were each baptized by Kevin G. O’Connell, SJ. Also the priest who witnessed the wedding your mother and I had together [her being married to Rick Redmon, not having followed through on getting an annulment, meant/means that it was a wedding but not a marriage… I am sorry for all three of us about not doing the pre-cana process more diligently. I wish Kevin had but it was in the hands of the Newman Center priest and your mother to take care of the annulment before the wedding. Trust but verify!] Kevin is a friend of mine. He was in theology when I met him; I was a novice at the time. ‘A camaraderie of conceit’ a friend of mine described us as….  Kevin is an extraordinarily talented [and holy] man – an average Jesuit, I’d say….

Colman was the first bishop of Cloyne, county Cork [home of Nolans and Gavins]. [Cloyne is about 20 miles east south east from cork south off of the highway to Youghal.] Even the 21st century allows for firsts. And being first is a mighty advantage as well as superior accomplishment – even marketing research supports that. Pursue firstness.

I just found my 11-24-07 Colman SaintsandSons – you can flip back through to read it.







November 24
Kenen d. 500

Kenen was a disciple of Martin of Tours (France). It does matter from whom we learn; it does matter whom we select as mentor; it does matter whom we emulate. Choose someone like Martin of Tours…. Follow the bouncing relatives – related by blood and in faith. Conchessa. She the Gallic mother of St. Patrick (387 – 493). Conchessa was a close relative of Martin of Tours. St. Kenan we are told was a disciple of Martin of Tours with Patrick. Imagine what dinner around that table was like? ! .

Kenen became bishop at Duleek, in Meath.

See also last year’s entry about Kenen….






November 26
John Berchmans, SJ b. 1599 d. 1621 bl. 1865 c. 1888
That’s right, John Berchmans was 22 when he died….



John Berchmans was the oldest son of a shoemaker from Diest, Brabant. When we draw the trajectory of our lives, starting with our place and circumstance of life, it seems that where we are today is inevitable. But, go back to 1987/89 Nashville – how/who woulda predicted where you are today, doing what you are doing, in the circumstances you’re in/we’re in….

John Berchmans was naturally kind, gentle, and affectionate towards his parents, a favorite with his playmates, brave and open, attractive in manner, and with a bright, joyful disposition. The boy was dealt all the dispositional high cards - - and he pursued his blessings…. And not perfect - he was also impetuous and fickle as a young child; but isn’t that the definition of a young child?

What, however, distinguished John Berchmans most from his companions was his piety. When he was hardly seven years old, he was accustomed to rise early and serve two or three Masses with the greatest fervor. He attended religious instructions and listened to Sunday sermons with the deepest recollection, and made pilgrimages to the sanctuary of Montaigu, a few miles from Diest, reciting the rosary as he went, or absorbed in meditation.

How do you nurture your piety? The occasional daily Mass? Religious instruction – yes, and especially, even as an adult, until way beyond your college years, beyond your golden years if you’re so blessed, religious education is for us always as we pursue the optimization of the gifts we’re given to best knowloveserve God. Say the rosary daily? (weekly? In May and October? On Saturdays? How better to become close with Mary and to become intimate with the mysteries of Jesus’ life?) How much do you practice and enhance your meditation?

Early in life, John Berchmans wanted to be a priest – early, like before ‘junior high school’. In the seventeenth century, aspirations of priesthood did not uncommonly reflect a desire to step up the social ladder. This son of a shoemaker, as we are certain with hindsight, had a true vocation – one he pursued against the odds of making it out of his station. In order to step up to his calling, John Berchmans first stepped down - - at thirteen John Berchmans became a servant in the household of one of the Cathedral canons at Malines.

[At thirteen, I too, wanted to become a priest, to enter the junior seminary. Our parish priest dissuade that pursuit at that time – he suggested that it was possibly an avoidance tactic instead of the following of a call. Maybe, if only he had said yes, where would that road not taken have taken me?]

Eager to learn, and naturally endowed with a bright intellect and a retentive memory, John Berchmans enhanced the effect of these gifts by devoting to study whatever time he could legitimately take from his ordinary recreation. Know your gifts, talents, resources: and, fulfill your duty to enhance them with devotion….

In 1615 [at 16], John Berchmans entered the Jesuit College at Malines. In 1616, John Berchmans became a Jesuit novice. John Berchmans was known for his diligence and piety - - his pursuit of perfection in little things [think Teresa!

I know, your mother has dissuaded you from the pursuit of perfection. You have assimilated her position that the pursuit of perfection is unrealistic, unreasonable, and even counterproductive. I suppose she and you know better than John Berchmans and St Teresa…. Models for a fundamental teaching of our Catholic Christian faith; not to mention what Bear Bryant preached….]

John Berchmans enrolled in the Society of the Blessed Virgin at the Jesuit College. Grandma expressed her devotion to our Blessed Mother through the Rosary Altar Society. Me, especially after two high school years with the Marist Brothers and long time Knight, the Rosary is an integral part of my devotions. Mary qua mother. Mary qua spouse. The rosary informs you about Mary and, thus, how to see your mother, your [possible] spouse.

In 1618, John Berchmans passed on to his philosophate in Rome – a long walk via Antwerp [300 leagues]

In 1621, John Berchmans began his third year of philosophy. [Jesuit training, from the beginning, included two years of novitiate, four years of college/philosophy, three years of scholastic service, e.g., teaching, serving in a parish, three years of theology, ordination, then another one/two years continued study after ordination.]

In August 1621, the prefect of studies selected John Berchmans to take part in a philosophical disputation at the Dominican Greek College – where John Berchmans did quite well.

Unfortunately, when John Berchmans returned to the Jesuit College, he was overtaken by a violent fever and died on August 13.

During the second part of his life, John Berchmans was the type of man who strove to perform ordinary actions with extraordinary perfection. In his purity, obedience, and admirable charity he resembled many religious, but he surpassed them all by his intense love for the rules of his order. His love of Jesus. His devotion to Mary. The nurturance he received from parents and mentors and community. John Berchmans put it all together in his perfection in small things. John Berchmans lived to attain the ideal of observing the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus exactly - - “if I do not become a saint when I am young, I shall never become one”, a very one-day-at-a-time approach to becoming all that God created us to be, made in his image and likeness.

It, of course, doesn’t have to be the constitutions of the Jesuits that is the guiding light in your pursuit of perfection in small things, all small things. It doesn’t have to be (initially) a religious based spark that drives you. Let it be the drive for perfection that swells in you when you engage in your vocation – e.g., at the moment, student, maybe for John for finely crafted in theatre. It is the pursuit of optimizing God’s grace in your life that is at the core of saintliness. Conforming to obedience, to the rules, to the wisdom of God’s gifts of people for us. As John Berchmans said, “I will pay the greatest attention to the least inspiration of God.” Be faithful in this way as you do all of your duties.

Many miracles were attributed to him after his death.

John Berchmans is the patron of altar boys.



I love you
dad
11-25-08

Nov 18-19-20 Thomas of Antioch, John Shoun, Mummolus, Medana, Autbodus

John and Thommy

Good morning
I love you


A short list of saints for today through Thursday. As the liturgical year winds down, maybe the saintly pickings got sparcer – or catholic saints on line hasn’t kept up with the newly or even JP minted saints.

In lieu of the short blurbs, I recommend Andrew Greeley’s Archbishop in Andalusia – especially good story about marriage, love, and our relationship with God, embedded in a typical Greeley Blackie Ryan mystery. Took me only 5 hours to read it today….


November 18
Thomas of Antioch d. 782

Thomas of Antioch is our saint for relief against pestilence – our saint to relieve us of pests? 

Thomas of Antioch, a hermit. If you don’t try a bit of the hermitical life, you’ll have short changed yourself. Whether a Cursillo weekend or annual retreats or a meditative trip to the beach, try it….



November 18

Bl. John Shoun d. 1619 b. 1867

A martyr of Japan. The closest I’ve gotten to Japan besides reading/studying/lectures - - Grandpa’s WWII in the Pacific and the Lahey book he recommended that traces his meanderings in war; Uncle George spent many air force years in Okinawa [as aunt Teresa passionately reminds us, Okinawa is not Japan….. but it’s in the neighborhood], and a novitiate classmate Tom LeQuinn, who was there as a sergeant in the army, learned the language, and went back as a missionary - - he was a hoot!

John Shoun was a Japanese from Meako [betya his parents didn’t call him John!]. Seventeenth century Japan – an era of their history and a cusp of Christian/Catholic inroads. John Shoun was baptized in Nagasaki – and I bet there are a gazillion Catholic stories planted in that city; weaving back to Francis Xavier and sprouting up still today.

John Shoun’s story – he was burned alive in Nagasaki for being a Christian – a bit different from your being ‘roasted’ by peers and even family for being Catholic but an example nonetheless – live in the fire of faith!





November 18, 2008

Mummolus d. 690

Good guess – the name and the year, yes, he’s an Irishman.

Mommolus [aka Momble, Mumbolus, and Momleolus – our oral tradition not unlike the ‘brown cow is blue’ exercise] was a companion of then successor to St Fursey as a Benedictine abbot of Lagny.

It does matter with whom you study. It does matter what path you take in your vocation and career.





November 19

Medana d. 8th c.

Catholic online had one sentence: “Irish virgin who went to live in Galloway, Scotland. She may be the same as St. Midnat.”



November 20

Autbodus d. 690 [a not unpopular year for an Irish saint to die?]

Autbodus was an Irish hermit and missionary. This combination should help you better understand that the stereotype of a hermit off by himself in a desert dirt hut or a seaside cave is, well, an inaccurate stereotype. That’s partly why I recommend you do the hermit thing – if only as routine islands in your calendar. To isolate yourself to better be with God is a good thing. And, like our cloistered religious it is an honorable way of life unto itself. It is also a source of closeness and strength that we can also bring into our daily life, whatever our vocation.

Autbodus preached in Hainault, Belgium, and Artois and Picardy, France. We had many F.B.I.s as our priests while growing up [foreign born Irish] – a deeply rooted faith and stern religion, an Irish tradition that goes back to the fifth century. The Irish aren’t growing as many priests these days; so fewer are becoming missionaries – a shame, I miss them.

Autbodus retired to a hermitage where he died. I rather like that idea!



I love you
Dad

Nov 9 Dedication of St John Lateran Church

John and Thommy
Good morning
I love you

Happy Sunday!

A day for Mass [the 0900 is getting fuller and fuller], some education in the youth room of the Kloster Center, the Times and a venti white mocha, skim milk, no whip cream – sitting in the sun for the duration of the reading and coffee, an afternoon at the library [first city then uncg], the giants v. eagles later this evening, and voila, the day is done.

And you? I hope all is weller with you than with me; better today than yesterday and not so good as tomorrow. What’s up? What are you doing? Whom with? Why? The fun? The challenges? The sorrows? All the dad questions and then some…. Remember the secret of a father’s love….

One of the reasons for my continuing with SPX is, as much as I don’t like the man, the sermons are the bestest within driving distance, consistently, day after day, Sunday after Sunday; plus, there’s the comfort of routine and same people. I’m basically a ‘behind the pillar’ kind of guy; unfortunately, there are no pillars in SPX….




November 9
Dedication of St John Lateran Church on the Caelian Hill

A Church universal feast celebrating the dedication of a church? Something more to learn about our faith and religion. A chance to remember the assimilation of church into Church; a time to also remember that we, individually and collectively are Church, we, personally, in our body, are the Temple of God. Stop to meditate on the personal connection with God-in-us and that we are always and everywhere connected as members of the Body of Christ, all the millions of Catholics. [and Christians and others of faith and even those without faith… the theology of connectivity? But that’s an aside….]

Jesus put our church on the foundation of Peter, the rock – thus making Jesus the bedrock, yes? And Peter, as first among equals, plopped down, sat down on the Chair, the cathedra, in Rome…. Peter, Bishop of Rome, Pope….

Constantine, Emperor of Rome (306-337), ended the persecution of the Christians and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. (Helen, his mother, found the Holy Cross.) For the Bishop of Rome, the head of Christianity, Constantine built a Basilica. [He received the land from the Laterani family as part of the dowry for his second wife but gave them the naming privilege.] To this day, St. John Lateran Church is the Pope’s cathedral. [There are three other Basilicas for the Pope in Rome: St. Paul’s outside the gate (where Paul was martyred), Mary Major (dedicated to our mother), and St Peter’s. But it is St. John Lateran that the Church recognizes as our cathedral, our universal parish church.]

Having moved more times than I wish to count, I’ve experienced parish churches in NYC [Elizabeth of Hungary, my baptism (and yours, too!)], Albany [we went to the cathedral of St. Patrick (my first holy communion)], Portland [Sacred Heart and then St. Patrick (my confirmation)], NYC [St Clare, from where your grandmother and uncle were buried], Novitiate of St. Stanilaus Koska in Lenox, Tuscaloosa [Newman Center (St Francis Chapel) et al.], Eugene, Staten Island, Bayville, Birmingham, Rochester, Covington, Nashville [St. Henry where your mother was confirmed a Catholic; et al., including the Cathedral where the good Dominican Sisters took us for your first communions and John’s confirmation – for which, no matter how much he tries to revise history, he was not pressured, forced, etc. I’ve got the essay to prove it .], Greensboro [SPX where Thommy was confirmed], Columbus [Newman Center at OSU is the best Newman Center I’ve experienced], Dayton, Rutherfordton…. At any moment of any day, there is a Mass being said, with us and for us, in our universal Church – connected. Each parish, within each diocese, is part of the universal Church – connected to The Parish, The Diocesan Cathedral, St John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral…. Each parish is a unique part of the Church just like each of us is a unique part of the Body of Christ….

The Lateran palace, given to Pope Melchiade, was the Pope’s official residence until the fifteenth century. The Basilica was consecrated in 324 by Melchiade’s successor, Pope Sylvester I. Initially, the Emperor had the Basilica dedicated to Christ the Savior – to clearly make his point about the place of Christianity in his reign. Pope Sergio III added St. John the Baptist at the beginning of the tenth century when he rebuilt it after an earthquake destroyed it in 896. Pope Lucius appended St John the Evangelist in the mid-12th century.

When the Popes returned from their side trip to Avignon (1304-1377) their basilica and palace were in such disrepair, they decided to transfer to the Vatican, near St. Peter’s basilica (also built by Constantine, first as a pilgrimage church).

The Popes now reside at the Vatican, and since the fifteenth century, St. Peter's Basilica has hosted most important papal ceremonies. Every year, however, the Holy Thursday liturgy, when the Holy Father symbolically washes the feet of priests chosen from various parts of the world, is celebrated in St. John Lateran.

www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1194 - 31k –
June Hager, February 1996 issue of Inside the Vatican.








Today’s readings - Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12; 1Cor 3:9-13,16-17; Jn:2:13-22


Ezekiel 47:1-2,8-9,12

The angel of the Lord brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the temple faced east; and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then the angel brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side. He said to me, 'This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh.

Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

'On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.'

A vision of Church qua Temple. Rich imagery for our better understanding of Church, the living waters of Church. And more than understanding because the imagery elicits sights, sounds, taste, touch, and aromas – all of our senses, heart and soul are refreshed and sustained by the flowing waters from our Church. Maybe it is what flows from our Church that is more important than the church/Church itself? Maybe it is what we take out of the Church and what flows out of us personally qua Church that is most important? Our Church as the source of life – as the source of the sources of life, as the source of the sustainers of life: Church and each of us. Each moment, our Church makes us and the world, the people we touch, fresh. And this life is forever, this life will not wither, by this Church we are healed, renewed, eternal….

Remember the ditty – with folded hands, ‘here’s the church, and here’s the steeple, open the doors, and see all the people’!



1Cor 3:9-13,16-17

"Brothers and sisters, you are God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."


Paul’s [and more recently, John Paul II’s] theology of the Body – our personal Body as Body of Christ, as tabernacle for Jesus.

You, you yourself, each one of us personally, are God’s building. The foundation has been laid for us – we are not our own foundation. Built on rock or sand? We’re more like a mobile home, I suppose – we can move from one to the other [AND back again!]. Not only are we not our own foundation, we are not alone in being our own builder. We are God’s building, put together not by ourselves but in concert with Jesus, Paul, Peter … parents, priests, etc. et al.

We are God’s temple, God’s Spirit dwells in us. Munch on that awhile! We are given our body as tabernacle! We are responsible for using the talents we’re given, accessing the resources we’re given, assimilating the people we’re given to build, sustain, improve God’s building, misknown as ‘our’ bodies.

Paul is not one to mince words. Destroy God’s temple and God will destroy you! Expand the metaphors from Ezekiel and Paul, mess with God’s temple and God will mess with you! Delve into JPII’s theology of the body [with its grounding in scripture and tradition, especially Vatican II] for more clarity, more depth, a greater awareness of what your body is and your responsibility for how you care for it, what you do with it….



Jn:2:13-22

"The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, 'Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!' His disciples remembered that it was written, 'Zeal for your house will consume me.'

The people then said to him, 'What sign can you show us for doing this?' Jesus answered them, 'Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' They then said, 'This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?' But Jesus was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken."



Continue with the metaphor of one’s body as temple and apply Jesus’ finding people in The Temple selling cattle, sheep, doves, money changers [shysters?]…. What metaphors can you use to describe what Jesus finds in your body? How your body is being used qua temple of God? Zeal for your house, aka God’s Building, should consume you.

In this famous interchange with the people in the temple, they speak with Jesus on different planes and don’t recognize how they are missing one another – it took the resurrection and our subsequent traditions to sort out what Jesus was doing that day, what he was communicating that day.

What sign can you show, what authority do you have for doing this? For saying this? Only that which is given by God! “Who are you to tell me that?!” [whatever ‘that’ is] - - such a petulant, defensive, childish retort!

I’ve been living my entire life - - 46 years, 21 years, 19 years, 59 years - - and you come along and tell me what to do? Tell me how to live? Tell me what I’m doing is wrong – and I’ve been doing this without admonition all this time!?. This is the way I’ve been living my life and it works for me!

On what plane are you living? Is Jesus your foundation? Your Building of God, is it a tabernacle for God to be proud of?



I love you,
dad

addendum to Anthony Mary Claret

November 1, 2008
[0930 – 1111]
Reactions to
Anthony Mary Claret quotes

All Saints Day. Used to be a Holy Day of Obligation. A worthy way to spend the day after all hallows eve!  More than the usual Saturday Morning group at mass this morning. And we got to sing as part of our celebration…. I recommend the day’s readings to you.

I was editing the Anthony Mary Claret entry for posting and got caught up in meditating on the following sections in particular - - connected to today’s holyday, connected to today, connected to us…. Read the quotes through yourself, pause to meditate on any of the messages you receive….

“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel... I have no worldly end in view, but... that God may be known, loved and served by all the world... that sins and offenses against Him may be hindered as much as possible... Another thing that spurs me on to preach ceaselessly is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell... ….If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn't. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sinners. …. You may say the sinner doesn't think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief... I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways.”

“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation…”

“How often I pray, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don't come here to be lost for all eternity!"



Father Claret explains the necessity of poverty …. “Noticing that such abnegation edified everyone and made a deep impression, I did all in my power to continue the practice."


The pastor in the city reported to the bishop: “This town has never seen the like of it. The bitterest of enemies have made peace. Scandals, both public and private, have been terminated, and amends made. Broken marriages have been mended. Restitutions have been made… Because no one can withstand the fire of his preaching, the kindness and liveliness of his manner, his forceful reproofs... and the impact of his reasoning.”



Now, for my feeloughts….


“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord,

This is a mouthful and a half! I restarted my meditations on this sentence fragment at several spots in his declaration. This is not a linear expression. Saint Anthony Mary Claret, in this one blurb, jumps with both feet into the core of our existence.

God. Each starting point starts with God: our belief in God; our relationship with God; who He is to us and who we are to Him. Who is God to you? How do you know God? In the very Biblical sense  ! To daily get to know the unknowable [not unlike a spouse]. So many ways to know God; so many role relationships with Him – infinite I suppose [not unlike a spouse, either]

God our Lord. Note the pronoun! In writing I’d say that verbs are the most important part of speech. In relationships, it’s pronouns. Our Lord. By being God’s children, we necessarily have a familial, communal relationship with Him, He is Ours…. Lord? A touch of reality about who we are vis a vis God.

God gave Anthony Mary Claret [and, us] his ministry, his vocation. Vocation is not something we make up for ourselves. We discern this precious gift from God. It is imperative, for us to be all that we can and should be, for us to fulfill our selves, to maximize our relationship with God, it is imperative for us to do the right thing with this special gift. In the beginning, we have a responsibility to learn how to discern God’s will for us. And before that, to recognize the reason for our creation – to knowloveserve God in this world so that we will be with Him forever in heaven. And before that, to acknowledge our creatureness – that God did create us, gave us life, infused into us our purpose…..

I must discharge the ministry. Given our relationship with God. [think about this also vis a vis spouse.] God is giving. And for each and every gift, we have a responsibility, a duty, a must do. For each talent. For each resource. For each grace. For each ministry we have a duty to God, to our relationship with God, to fulfill that Ministry, to optimize that gift, as with all other gifts. Must. There is the responsibility to the giver to do with the gift what it is meant for. Must!

At any cost, I must discharge the ministry. No matter what. At any cost. Our relationship with God requires us to do our ministry, to fulfill our vocation, at any cost. This is not a negotiable experience; I’ll do my ministry under certain conditions. [Marriage is a vocation. It is a ministry that God gives you (maybe). Therefore, once you discern it is your vocation, you Must live it out, at any cost, no matter what, from the beginning to the end, the very end. The same is true of your other ministries. The other time, talents, treasures that God has given to you. Each of the roles and responsibilities God has given to you. At any cost. Do it! No matter what….




“At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel...

I suggest to you that each of us has a ministry to preach the Gospel – especially those of us who are baptized and confirmed. To preach the Gospel as model for Catholicity. To preach the Gospel in word – to family, within the Church, for the community of friends and neighbors, all Gentiles and Jews…. Our sacraments of initiation obligate us to fulfill those blessings in our preaching the Gospel….





I have no worldly end in view, but... that God may be known, loved and served by all the world... that sins and offenses against Him may be hindered as much as possible...

Not only do we have our personal obligation to knowloveserve God, we have also been created to bring all others to do the same --- that is one essential ingredient in any sacred, loving relationship [i.e. every one], especially with spouse. Just imagine one of your duties to those you love, and it’s a greater duty the more you love the person, is to bring them, lead them, help them, facilitate them to knowloveserve God. Seeing that as your spousal duty, infused in every interaction, will increase the holiness and positiveness of your marriage.

Another end that Anthony Mary Claret sees in his relationship with every single person is to prevent sins and offenses against God. First, help each person to do what is right and good, to knowloveserve. Also, and equally necessary, we are to help others not do those things that will land them in hell [or even purgatory]. These are two criteria for assessing how well we personally behave with others.




Another thing that spurs me on to preach ceaselessly is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell...

We know that this possibility scared the heebie jeebies outta the young boy Anthony Claret. This pious boy could not stand to see people suffer – to be sick, to be injured, to be hungry, to be in prison, to suffer. Once this boy began to get an inkling of what hell is, he expanded his humanist concern for others into a personal, holy love for each and every person. One of our duties to those whom we love [and to those who love us], is to do no harm; moreso, to be sure no harm comes to them. Protect and defend them not only from the hurt we might do to them, but also ensure that no harm comes to them whatsoever. How do you keep your family members from going to Hell? How do you keep your friends from winding up in Hell? You have a responsibility to each of these people. How will you do this for your spouse? How will you preach [not, in your case, necessarily sermonize] to these people to effect their avoiding ending up in Hell?




….If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn't. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sinners. ….

How do we deal with sinners? Here’s where WWJD is most appropriate as a first, last and middle consideration. We are given the charism of healing with the grace of baptism and confirmation. It is the healing of souls we are to attend to – how do you absolve the sinfulness of your family, friends, neighbors, et al.? How do you act vis a vis sinners? The least of the sheep….?




You may say the sinner doesn't think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief...

Truth is independent of belief. Chew on that one for a while!
Truth is independent of belief.
Truth is independent of belief.
Our responsibility in our relationship with God, our duty to fulfill ourselves, is to bring our beliefs to the Truth. [The Way, the Truth, and the Light. That’s a hint.]

How do you get between your unbelieving, unCatholic family members and hell? Your friends? Neighbors? Those unbelieving, unCatholic others God brings into your life?



I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways.”

This kind of certitude is uncommon in our time, in our Church’s pulpits. Shift the focus to the marriage metaphor for a moment? The more you do not knowloveservehonorobey your spouse, the more likely the marital bonds will crack, potentially (probably) break. [I will refrain from the divorce, annulment diversion here.]

And as the person who stops moving toward knowing, loving, serving, honoring, obeying his spouse finds himself further and further separated from his spouse, at some point it happens that the separation becomes permanent. That is truly a hell on earth experience, such separating oneself from one’s spouse.

Return the metaphor to God. To sin is to separate oneself from God. And the infinite separation from God after death is Hell.




“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation…”

There are sins of omission….
Remember the secret of a Father’s Love – a father’s love is forever, no matter what….
You are your brother’s keeper – literally and metaphorically. You are responsible for how others end up because you are given the opportunity and the duty to help people not get run over by the bus. If you refuse to help those in your world come closer to God, to stay with God, to avoid being cast into Hell, if you sit back and do nothing, if you ignore your responsibilities to your family, friends, neighbors, church, et al., you are responsible for adverse outcomes due to your omissions and, as Moriarity reminds us, such omissions are also the source of ‘negative waves’ and, thus, are sins of commission as well.



“How often I pray, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don't come here to be lost for all eternity!"

I suggest you get to know the doctor of the church, and mystic, Catherine of Siena. Your grandmother’s name is Catherine. Catherine of Siena is a Dominican – and you know some Dominicans who are holy and doctoral  Catherine of Siena is the epitome of one’s personal efforts to knowloveserve God!

Make a good confession. Make a good confession [the ‘good’ is really redundant, or should be]. Bishop Curlin says he goes to confession at least twice a month. JPII was said to go to confession daily – a not uncommon practice for Popes who have a full time confessor/spiritual advisor as part of their entourage. This speaks to our relationship with God. When we do something that separates us from God, from our greatest Lover, the One who loves us the most, the One to whom we owe our greatest love, to be a faithful lover, we must confess that we done wrong and ask for forgiveness. Remember my teaching you “I’m sorry” and, must do in return, “I forgive you.” That is the dance of any people who love one another.

Take the time, be a man, admit you’ve done something that has separated you from the One you love, the One’s whose love you want, need, cherish more than any other’s. Name it. See it. Resolve to not do that ever again. Express your love by promising to not commit again your sins of omission and commission. And, in that sacrament of reconciliation, receive the forgiveness, the mulligan that renews the relationship even stronger.




The pastor in the city reported to the bishop: “This town has never seen the like of it. The bitterest of enemies have made peace. Scandals, both public and private, have been terminated, and amends made. Broken marriages have been mended. Restitutions have been made… Because no one can withstand the fire of [Fr. Claret’s] preaching, the kindness and liveliness of his manner, his forceful reproofs... and the impact of his reasoning.”

This description of Anthony Mary Claret is a blueprint for optimizing relationships – making peace, stopping scandalous behavior, keeping marriage together, making restitution…. Narrow it down for yourself for each individual relationship – e.g., fraternal, friends, spouse, even with your pater. The formula includes several ingredients.

Fire imbued preaching. For yourself and the other, be passionate in the faith. Preach to yourself. Preach to your significant others. Preach in all ways wherever you are.

Be kind.

Walk with a bounce in your step, a smile in your eyes, the Spirit of Life exuding from you…..

Be forceful with reproofs. It is just as important to communicate what is not to be done [ultimately to prevent people for an eternity in hell]. Being forceful in reproofs is part of our duty to one another.

Infuse your communications with reason.



I love you,
Dad

October 24 Anthony Mary Claret b. 12/24/1807 d. 1870 bl. 1899 c. 1950

Thommy and John,

Good morning
I love you

October 24th 2008 is a slow day for me as well as on the saints’ calendar. I pulled out Anthony Mary Claret because Catholics Online – getting their info directly from Butler – tells us that Anthony Mary wanted to be a Jesuit but because of his health, he was not accepted into the order…. 1963 is a long time ago. I don’t have many specific memories of the evolution of my desire to become a Jesuit. In the eighth grade, our parish priest dissuaded me from pursuing attendance at a Junior Seminary – he saw my view of that as an escape more than a calling. What I saw in the Jesuits at Cheverus – and learned about them from stories, study, and traveling to the hub of the universe with the basketball team – attracted me: teachers and priests, a twofer of my own callings…. I was locked into the discernment tract before we headed to NYC – an important piece of my identity as I was thrown into Molloy and 1200+ students and the Marist Brothers. I do not remember all the screenings held – I’m sure some of them were more subtle than the day of interviews at the Provincial’s office in Boston [Fr. Burke was the deal maker for me there! He later showed up at the novitiate as the assistant novice master, probably twenty plus years Fr. Bertrand’s senior.] …. I don’t remember submitting any medical evidence – though the Jesuits saw me enough from Freshman football to several retreats my senior year. I was as healthy as a 5’9” 190+# seventeen year old could be. I played football competitively; I played basketball on the street; I was a good enough swimmer/surfer to be a ocean beach life guard. So, I guess I was healthy. [I wonder how they would read me now? Weight. Heart. Activity? Other criteria? Probably my age alone has become a barrier to my getting into most religious/vocational organizations; not to mention ordinary jobs…. Almost sixty is not entry level material….]

Things are vey slow. Too very slow. Precipitously too slow. And too much of my current zeitgeist looks like some of the worst of my memories of my mother’s last years – even with stuff more in boxes than just piles. Videbimus. I’m packing your stuff separately; plus stuff to be given to you; passed on to you; a piece of your legacy…. Some of it of real value; some of it worth some money, too…. 

I wish on this Friday before Halloween I had more stories to tell you….

Catholic Online: Saints and Angels
Biography of Anthony Mary Claret on line (www.olrl.org/lives)



Oct 24
Anthony Mary Claret b. 12/24/1807 d. 1870 bl. 1899 c. 1950


Anthony’s father, Juan, was a weaver in Salient, Catalonia, Spain. His mother was Josefa. What does that tell you about him? How well do you know his zeitgeist – and what of that informs you about this person you know was canonized for us? Fill in the background; go from ground to figure – a relationship not only in personal perception but also in the gestalt in our personal and cultural psychology, persona….

Anthony took up weaving. Now the projection opportunities begin . Did the boy gladly, admiringly, take up his father’s profession? Was it familial necessity? Did the father require it? Some combination of these? Other reasons? What do the questions tell us about us? How do our answers reveal us as well as the saint? 

Anthony wanted to become a Jesuit. [We have an autobiography as well as substantial biographical information on this nineteenth century figure. Let’s give some credibility to this desire.] As son, apprentice weaver, Anthony also studied for the priesthood. What was it about the Jesuits that appealed to Anthony? Why a religious order and not a secular priest? How do we get to know a man based on his choices? His expressed desires? From his autobiography? (and what he chose not to put there? Maybe a similar question for scripture? E.g., Luke’s comprehensive history obviously leaves out more that he could possibly have written. What do the omissions/edits tell us? For me, personally, I say more by what I don’t say; do more in what I don’t do….)

We have the story of an experience from when Anthony was five. He’d learned in catechism class about the eternal suffering of sinners in hell. He had some sense of the suffering of the poor, aged, sick, prisoners et al. He couldn’t get his little head around the infiniteness of hell. He didn’t want anyone to suffer in this world, never mind forever in the next - - thus, some foundation for his desire to save souls from such a fate….

We’re told that Anthony Mary Claret was remarkable for his piety, modesty, and obedience. Piety – how one persistently relates to God, by self and in community. And your piety? Modesty – fulfilling God’s gifts and recognizing that such talent, resources, and accomplishments are gifts as well as duties. Obedience 

Anthony took special delight in receiving and visiting the Blessed Sacrament. That’s like daily mass. And praying in church – if you can find a church that is unlocked for such prayers. Anthony had a devotion to our Blessed Mother, shown by his making pilgrimages to the nearby Shrine of Our Lady of Furimanya - - [Remember what Notre Dame means; and our pilgrimages there.] Anthony also recited the rosary often.

Anthony Mary Claret tells us about his most serious temptations. One against chastity. The other, an urge to rebel against his mother and against Mary. He attributes his success against Satan’s temptations to prayer [a continuing personal relationship with God], patience, and humility.


Anthony Mary Claret was ordained in 1835 [remember he came to study for the priesthood after a turn as weaver….]. He resolved never to waste a moment of his life. [An aside. It’s impossible to not behave; to not act. Therefore, what do we do that we might define as a waste? For whom? For what? Your rearview mirror doesn’t go back very far so use it to ponder this question. What have you done that you’d now describe as wasted time? Then do an about face and look to the ultimate end of the road, from the threshold of the pearly gates, what would you look back and see as waste, as time better spent doing something else – especially things to better serve you when you stand there with Peter and Jesus….

Anthony Mary Claret wrote 144 books and preached some 25,000 sermons. From 1835 to 1870, 35 years – that’s over 700/year, almost two per day, every day, for his entire priestly life…. What drove Anthony? In his own words: “At any cost I must discharge the ministry I have received from God Our Lord, which is to preach the Gospel... I have no worldly end in view, but... that God may be known, loved and served by all the world... that sins and offenses against Him may be hindered as much as possible... Another thing that spurs me on to preach ceaselessly is the thought of the multitude of souls which fall in the depths of hell... ….If you had a beloved brother who, sick and in the throes of delirium, were to insult you with all the angry words imaginable, would you abandon him? I am certain you wouldn't. You would have even more compassion for him, do your utmost for his speedy recovery. This is how I feel in regard to sinners. …. You may say the sinner doesn't think of hell, nor even believe in it. So much the worse for him. Do you by chance think he will escape condemnation because of his unbelief? Truth is independent of belief... I must warn sinners and make them see the precipice which leads to the unquenchable fires of hell, for they will surely go there if they do not amend their ways.”

“Woe to me if I do not preach and warn them, for I would be held responsible for their condemnation…”

“How often I pray, with St. Catherine of Siena: 'O my God, grant me a place by the gates of hell, that I may stop those who enter there saying: Where are you going, unhappy one? Back, go back! Make a good confession. Save your soul. Don't come here to be lost for all eternity!"

Anthony Mary Claret felt himself called to serve in the foreign missions. Still, in obedience and with patience [whew, would that I had much of either!], he served as curate in his hometown, then as pastor in Viladrau, Catalonia; a war torn area. …. In 1842, Fr Claret was named Apostolic Missionary for all of Catalonia. A vast area where religious practice, Church discipline too, suffered from the French invasion, the Carlist war [look it up], and the shift of political power to the anti religious Liberal Party. [would anti religious and liberal be redundant? I suggest yes….]

Imagine the bravery in faith that was necessary for this priest to walk the roads of mid-nineteenth century Catalonia. And what kind of persuasiveness was necessary for him to reach the unreligious and the bandits; as well as to shore up the faithful….? In this place, at this time, how the priest lived was necessary for the success of his mission. Maybe moreso for Fr Claret at that time than for us now – but I think not. How we live, travel, present ourselves – with piety, prayer, obedience, exemplars of the virtues of our faith, the essentials of our vocations, the foundations of our missions - how we live is more important than what we are doing…. Father Claret explains the necessity of poverty …. “Noticing that such abnegation edified everyone and made a deep impression, I did all in my power to continue the practice."

Consider this for a lesson in fatherhood, in leadership – [a lesson that I have put into the preamble of my prayers. Maybe better late than never….] As much as he hated and dreaded sin, he did not scold, ridicule, or terrify sinners, for he learned that only meekness could win them to repentance. These qualities require training, practice, dedication, discipline….

The success of this missionary [see for example the Mission at Olot.], especially since he personified much of the holiness that was detested and feared, eventually put Fr Claret’s life at risk. In 1848, the bishop sent Anthony Mary Claret to the Canary Islands - - where he became quickly overwhelmingly successful in his replanted mission…. In Telde, where morals were lax and they’d suffered a drought, Fr Claret not only led great change, he promised and they received rains at the end of his 28-day mission. The pastor in the city reported to the bishop: “This town has never seen the like of it. The bitterest of enemies have made peace. Scandals, both public and private, have been terminated, and amends made. Broken marriages have been mended. Restitutions have been made… Because no one can withstand the fire of his preaching, the kindness and liveliness of his manner, his forceful reproofs... and the impact of his reasoning.”

Many reported that in the confessional Fr Claret saw into their hearts, probed their conscience. I suggest to you the healing power of confession. Beginning with a true act of contrition, an authentic opening of your soul to the Spirit. Even when the priest is the ordinary man we know, or know of, our coming to cleanse our souls, to restore our closeness with God, will all any priest [and we have many club handed spiritualists] tap into that readiness to reunite with God, Church, family, self….

Discernment of consciences was one of the singular graces with which God favored His servant. By a single word of the penitent he knew the secrets of his soul. There were occasions on which, without ever having seen the persons, he knew the state of their consciences.

Fr Claret gave himself to hearing confessions four, five, ten, or more hours every day. He had a talent. He gave it to his vocation. …. I also wonder ‘where have all the confessors gone’? and the confessees?

It was during this period on the Canaries that we begin to hear about many Anthony Mary Claret miracles. The list is long and venerable. The healing of an epileptic woman. A communal confrontation with Satan. A plentiful harvest for those who attended a mission but ruined crops, as Fr Claret promised, for those who chose harvesting their wheat to nurturing their souls. Unbelievable!? Of course! They are miracles. Given to us to reinforce our faith [not to challenge it].

In 1850, Anthony Mary Claret was consecrated Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba. It was at this consecration that he added the name of Mary to his own. Claret brought his missionary zeal to Cuba – and was the first bishop of Santiago, half the island, to tour his entire archdiocese.

The statistics from his Cuba days are overwhelming! In his first two years he confirmed 100,000 persons, was instrumental in bringing 300,000 to the confessional, married in the church 9,000 couples who had been living in concubinage, and reunited 300 couples who were divorced. Furthermore, during his first visit alone he distributed free – or in exchange for bad books – 38,217 books, 83,500 holy cards, 20,663 rosaries, and 8931 medals.

Anthony Mary Claret was in Cuba for six years. He rejuvenated the archdiocese!

Queen Isabella II recalled the Archbishop to be her confessor. A position that Anthony Mary Claret believed was not for his nature, his vocation, his mission in life. And he went to serve his queen and church. But not to be involved in the intrigues of the Court. Some doubted his neutrality; others detested his Catholic piety. [The Masons were among those who not only wanted to eradicate the church from Spain, wanted to eliminate this archbishop from the face of the earth; at least from influence at court. Your maternal grandfather was a Mason. And we love him dearly anyway….] Anthony Mary Claret kept in mind: “If you were of the world, the world would love you. But since you are not of the world, the world abhors you." There were more than a dozen attempts on his life….

Anthony Mary Claret advised the monarchy on appointing the best priests to be bishops. He also advised them on to whom to give their generous charity. It does matter from whom you seek and get your advice. It does matter to whom you give your advice…. And, of course, what that advice is…  And, don’t forget to give generously to charity… selectively, Catholically….

Anthony Mary Claret tells us of the blessings of visions that he received. One of the reasons he asked to have his autobiography published post humorous was to keep such reports from interfering with his relationship with his people, the high and the low of them all.

This 19th-century saint was a missionary, a religious founder, an organizer of the lay apostolate, a social reformer, a queen's chaplain, a prophet and wonder-worker, a writer and publisher, an Archbishop, and a promoter of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. What, then, is the thread that ties together these and the many other aspects of his career? Anthony Mary Claret had a quenchless thirst to rescue souls.



I love you
Dad