Saturday, January 31, 2009

Jan 29 Blath d. 523

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you


January 29
St Blath d. 523

Blath [pronounced Blah, meaning flower] was the cook in St Brigid’s convent in Kildare. It does not matter what your role is - any vocation is a call to sainthood, to saintliness: and to excellence, uncommonness, perfection.

Blath was known for her sanctity. What better might be said of any of us? I didn’t find an internet entry that gave particulars - figure sixth century Irish Catholic and mix in a projection of current Catholic sanctity and you can draw your own picture. Known for sanctity as the cook in St. Brigid’s convent. Sanctity is planted and can flourish anywhere.

Blath was renowned for here steadfast loyalty to St Brigid in good times and bad. [that’s redundant, of course; loyalty includes good times and bad no matter what; or else it’s not loyalty.] I wish I could find out how, why, this loyalty emerged from Blath for Brigid. Loyalty per se is a good, noble, and holy trait. The important part is to discern to whom to give your loyalty. [e.g., reflect upon why you give your loyalty to your mother.] Loyalty to God and Church is a good place to start practicing loyalty. The importance of where you go, what you do, with whom you associate will help you better discern to whom to give loyalty. [one reason a Catholic School and a lifetime of CCD is better than other schools and other forums for learning about faith, religion, et al.]

It was said that the bread and bacon Blath pepared tasted better than a feast anywhere else. Remember, Brigid was always giving away the monastery’s food, or bringing home hordes of the hungry. God provided - e.g., dogs brought back slabs of bacon they’d stolen; cows gave more milk than physically possible. And Blath made the best of what God gave them. As should we all.


Go figure. Follow. Choose your little flower like Brigid did….

I love you
dad

Jan 31 Aidan d. 626 and Adamna d. 680

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you

Happy superbowl weekend! I’ll take the cardinals and seven, being a reflexively anti-Pittsburg sports fan, both by my NYC roots and the long term boss I’ve had who’s a pittsburg native and fan….

I turned on the computer this morning and had two problems - one with linking to the internet and a message telling me about an error because the computer was trying to connect to something it shouldn’t. being as inept as I am with the wonders of the software, such happenings simply emphasize my ineptness; as well as my lack of resources to ask for help. That’s what friends and family are for - my greatest lacks. Obviously, I overcame the lackness and whatever it was that the computer was/is? doing.

Other than that, no news here abouts. One of the advantages of being buried in my burrow: much more than putting my head in the sand.

I watched the Nadal semifinal against Verdasco - five sets, more than five hours of power tennis. Extraordinary.

Tony Dungy is hawking his book, Uncommon. I recommend the book to you. The book reflects the man. And one would think he were Catholic….



January 31
Aidan d. 626

Catholic on line gives us Aidan’s geography: born in Connaught: educated in Leinster: died Ferns monastery in Wexford. There’s something to be said for knowing your geography - formative factors. Aidan had a few - not unlike you two [so far; though you have one more geography than you should have]. Unlike Aidan, your place of birth does not speak to heritage, clan, or collective unconscious but more to circumstance of the wanderings of your parents. Nashville is formative for you; not nearly so much as NYC and Ireland [or your being moved subsequently to GSO].

Tradition tells us that Aidan’s birth was heralded by signs and omens. Your births were signs and omens for me/us but I did not notice any heralding. That you were born in Nashville - - - who woulda thought such a thing possible in 1982 or even 1986? Certainly, nothing that happened before 1982 would have predicted Nashville. What was the sign and omens of your births? And how do you assimilate them?

Aidan showed evidence of piety as a small child. I wish I knew how. The stories of formation, the how, the process are more meaningful and helpful than the result - how is it that Aidan became and sustained saintly? Pious? You two, too showed signs of piety in your youth - less and less so as your youth was taken from the Catholic home and school and church. Two of my cherished remimnders of those days are an egg with praying hands and a picture Thommy drew of the Christmas crèche with the mound and crosses of Calgary above it. Faith was well planted in your souls; piety came from such seed. [the seed of faith implanted….]

Aidan went to St. David monastery [in Wales] to further his education and immerse himself in the study of scripture. The study of scripture in the Irish monasteries was to learn and live the Word of God. The pursuit of one’s vocation can often take you away from your ensconced home-base. Often for your betterment as well as the home you grew up out of and left. You might first discern your vocation and then see where it takes you for its/your fulfillment.

Saxon [think English] war parties attacked the monastery. Aidan miraculously repelled them. You know there are wondrous Bardic stories about Aidan’s saving the monastery from attack. What stories are told about your repelling the spiritual [et al.] saxons who attack the monastery of your soul?

Aidan returned to Ireland. Yes, you can go home again - just like you can step in the same river once, right? Where Aidan returned to was obviously not the same - if only because he returned. So, to leave home to pursue your vocation does not preclude your return.

Aidan founded a monastery at Ferns in Wexford. Aidan also was chosen bishop of the region. To lead is to serve; and to serve in one capacity not uncommonly results in service in other ways. Serve.

Aidan is known for his miracles. E.g., he made a beautiful stag invisible to save it from the hounds. To be invisible, to be unseen, to leave one’s home, to accept exile, may be one way to be saved from the hounds…. Aidan’s miracles drew many to the Church. We have our faith and Church, the people who have come before as well as our personal relationship with Jesus, Father, and Spirit. What other miracles, what other wonder works will turn your head back to the fold? We wait and pray and reach out to you….



ALSO




January 31
St. Adamnan of Coldingham d. 680

Adamnan was born in Ireland and took a series of penitential pilgrimages. Penance and penitential pilgrimages are not a common part of our upper middle class American Catholicism or spirituality in general. ‘I am sorry’ is taken as sufficient by too many. And even that much is not offered to God or man enough. The principle that we should first eliminate sins from our lives and whatever/whoever is occasion for sin is no longer a priority for too many. Imagine the conversations we should/could have around this theme.!

Adamnan met St Ebba at the monastery at Coldingham, Scotland. He stayed with her as a monk. Saintly women are a mainstay in the celtic tradition - catholic celtic woman saints: I suggest you know something about these so that you can better find the best woman for you.

Ebba. Her father was king Aethelfrith. Her brothers Oswald and Oswy - knowing about this royal family and the connivings of their court adds some flavor to our knowledge of Ebba, why she removed herself from public life, and how she was able to establish a monastery. Ebba is described as a wise and holy woman, a woman honored for her nobility and piety - - better credentials you could not find in a woman. Actually, you should find these as part of the basic core of any woman in your life. Ebba was respected enough to be given a queen to train/educate; and bold enough to challenge a king. This royal lady helped spread Catholicism - another quality you should expect in any woman you bring into your life.

At Coldingham, Adamnan lived a life of severe austerity. Try it for a day or a couple of days or maybe an Ignatian long [30 day] retreat. Make austerity a part if not the core of your life.

Adamnan was known for his gift of prophecy throughout his life. We are baptized and confirmed in our role as prophet as well. A prophet interprets the voice of God; a herald sent by God to communicate God‘s will [read Amos’ accounts of his vocation as prophet]. The gift of prophecy requires a knowledge of scripture, of the Law of the Word. Prophecy has the obligation to lead others to God, to prepare the way for His Kingdom.




I love you
dad

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Jan 24 John Grove d. 1679 bl 1929

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you



January 24
John Grove d. 1679 bl. 1929


See the William Ireland blog.

John Grove was the servant in the Jesuit house where William Ireland was based in London. He was caught up in the arrests gendered by the Oates/Popish Plot.

And that’s the whole story in several sources. I wish I knew more about this man. Imagine his story. Manservant to a house of Jesuits. Loyal to the moment of martyrdom - loyal to faith and church. Find his story; and bring him to life in yours….

I love you,
dad

Jan 24 William Ireland, S.J. b. 1636 d. 1679 bl. 1929

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you



January 24
William Ireland, S.J. b. 1636 d. 1679 bl. 1929


William Ireland, S.J. - the trifecta of reasons to stop and consider him and us: William, Ireland, and a Jesuit. Just short of a grand slam - a biggie. Not unlike when I go through the sports pages - so many connections now: two high schools, then the list of colleges that catch my attention because of some personal connections: ND, BC, UA, GC, UNCG, MD, and less directly, Stonybrook, Oregon, Tulane, Vanderbilt, UT, Ohio State…. Fate, chaos? What did bring me into touch with these institutions? And what has been their effect on me? Us? Not to mention the places and people brought to me by them?

You know the intro to this story by name and date - born in England, Lincolnshire, and studied in France to become a priest. And no details in the usual places about his life in between. How did family and parish and town connect with his graces and discernment to give him the wherewithal to go into exile, to leave the cocoon of family and familiarity, to pursue his vocation? How did he call upon his talents and resources, the gifts from God, to discern and follow his vocation wherever it took him? I assume that he was not opposed in his going off like this - although I also assume that his choices elicited fear and the desire to cling and protect from his family: desires sublimated to the will of God. How have you traveled your discernment journey?

In 1655, William Ireland joined the Jesuits; with whom he took final vows in 1673. That’s a long time, 18 years; although the usual training, even today, is closer to 13 years. For me it would have been two years in the novitiate, two years in the juniorate, completion of my bachelor’s degree [another year or two], three years in training at a Jesuit site, most likely teaching in high school, three years of theology, ordination, another year of formation before final vows. Formation is taken very seriously by our religious orders - to become a better Catholic, to become a better priest, to become, e.g., a Jesuit. Be patient with your formation - and be discerning about where you do it, with whom you do it, under whose direction you do it….

William Ireland began his priesthood as a confessor to the Poor Clares. There are many ways to serve - one way is to serve the servants. Not unlike consulting with teachers - even one teacher affects the class of 30 in front of her right now and then 30 the next year and for twenty more years; not to mention her influence on her colleagues at school….

William Ireland was sent to the English mission in 1677. It’s recorded as ‘sent’. I left the novitiate because I could not see myself living the vow of obedience. More specifically, I did not see myself in the hands of my Jesuit superiors who would determine where I served. Even though whatever service I asked to do was approved, the process of asking always, with the real possibility of being told no, was more than I could see myself doing. And always being at the hands of my superiors who could say, Bill, go here - well, that would be it. I couldn’t do it. And, in hindsight, I’m still learning how to be obedient; a vow for every vocation.

How much of William Ireland’s return to England was his discerning his vocation and how much was it the initiative of his superiors to serve the people of God in England - well, the sources I have don’t tell us. I’m betting, given the Jesuits’ practice of recording the whys of their decisions, it’d be in the archives…. Surely, some of both….

On September 28, 1678, William Ireland was swept up by the authorities embroiled in the Popish Plot of Titus Oates, a renegade Anglican minister. William Ireland, falsely accused of participating in the Plot, was thrown into Newgate Prison where he suffered for three months before being taken to Tyburn for execution [hanged, drawn, and quartered to be exact].

Titus Oates falsely accused of participating in the plot to assassinate the King. That William Ireland could prove he was in Wales at the time was irrelevant - the authorities were pursuing convictions; and a papist priest was treasonous anyway. So what did it matter that Titus Oates had been bribed to give false witness?

King Charles II postponed the execution because he said he did not believe that the Jesuits were involved in the Plot. However, enough ire was aroused in the people [think Pontius Pilot?], he allowed the executions to occur.

At his execution, William Ireland proclaimed his innocence: "I beg God Almighty to shower down a thousand blessings upon this whole kingdom." It is possible to be loyal to God and Church as well as a patriot and love family members who are anti-Catholic. It’s a matter of keeping your priorities straight - like William Ireland did.

One of the men executed with William Ireland said from the gallows: "We are innocent, we lose our lives wrongfully, we pray God to forgive them that are the causes of it." Pray every day for God to forgive those who wrong you; pray for the grace to forgive them yourselves. Big things and small. Eventually you will have forgiveness fill your heart; then imbue your actions.

p.s.
The Popish Plot: two cents worth. The catholic encyclopedia online gives a lengthy description of the “Plot”. I suggest you take the time to not only look at that entry but any of the other sources - look, ponder, weigh what it means to you vis a vis the allegations against a person of importance or the Church in which he believes….

Titus Oates, b. 1649, son of a minister of the English Church, the established church, the official church. Titus Oats went through several schools - usually being expelled along the way. He then tried orders, winding up as his father’s curate at Hastings: with a reputation for dishonesty and already a habit of false accusations for personal gain.

At Hastings, father and son conspired against the schoolmaster with such trumped up charges that they were ejected; Titus Oats went to prison for perjury. After escaping, he received an appointment as a naval chaplain; only a year later, he was expelled from the Navy.

In 1677, Titus Oats was accepted into the Catholic Church as a repentant prodigal son. The Jesuits gave him a trial at their seminary at Valladolid in Spain, from which he was expelled five months later. He got a second chance back in London’s Omer’s seminary; from which he was expelled eight months later, June 23, 1678.

After being expelled, Titus Oates met Israel Tonge and concocted the “Popish Plot.”
Tonge was a learned man filled with beliefs about Roman conspiracies against the Reformation and the Crown. At Stafford's trial Oates declared that he was only a sham Catholic. This leads to the likelihood that Tonge persuaded Oates to get involved with the Catholics and Jesuits only to learn their operations. It was Tonge who helped Oates get his accusations before the King’s court.

Oates’ accusations raised the ire of the Court and Parliament, especially the Whig party under Saftesbury. Simply put, the Pope, through the Jesuits and papal legates, with the support of Spain and France, plotted to kill the King and claim England and the isles for the papacy. Parliament declared “there hath been and still is a damnable and hellish Plot, contrived and carried out by popish recusants, for the assassinating and murdering of the King and for subverting the government and rooting out and destroying the Protestant Religion.” When a person is accused - especially when accused to the people already believing the accusation - it is not uncommon that facts are irrelevant. Avoiding accusations - both making and receiving - is the best position. Believing the best and never the worst is also a fundamental premise of our faith.

By bringing to light the particulars of the plot Protestant firmly believed, Titus Oates became a most popular man in the country. Parliament wined and dined him and granted him an income.

When the magistrate who received all of Oates’ accusations qua disposition died, the Whig Party put the blame of his ‘murder’ on the Catholics. That the magistrate was pro-Catholic and nothing detrimental to Catholics was stolen could not attenuate the accusations. Again, facts almost never out weigh beliefs. That’s one reason why faith must be well grounded and a conscience properly formed.

The magistrate’s death turned the Whigs loose to sharpen the penal laws; fill the goals with papists; London was a city of siege; every word of Oates was believed regardless of his lie and contradictions; the chief justice gave full weight to perjurous witnesses.

Sixteen innocent men were executed because of the “Plot”. Eight other priests were executed in the persecution of Catholics that flowed from the “Plot”. John Grove, Thomas Pickering, John Gavan, S.J. [Grandma’s family is Gavin. Likely the same lineage.], William Harcourt, S.J., Anthony Turner, S.J., Thomas Whitebread, S.J., John Fenwick, S.J., Thomas Thwing, William Howard, Oliver Plunket, Archbishop of Armagh, William Plessington, John Lloyd, John Wall, John Kemble, Charles Baker, S.J.

Simply put: Since Oates was discredited, no historian of any consequence has professed to believe it. After two hundred and fifty plus years, nothing establishes one single article of Oates’ disposition.

It took a couple of years, but Oates’ propensity for perjury in pursuit of his own purpose wound him up with him - in 1682 he was committed to prison for life for calling the Duke of York a traitor; he was whipped, degraded, and pilloried. As one commentator said: “he has deserved more punishment than the laws of the land can inflict.” But, when William of Ornage was crowned, Oates left prison and received a royal pardon and pension. Queen Mary with drew both in 1693; Oates had scandalously attached her father James II. After Queen Mary’s death, Oates got a lifetime grant from the treasury.

Titus Oates died July 12, 1705.




I love you,
dad

Friday, January 23, 2009

Jan 23 John the Almoner b. 558 d. 616

John and Thommy,

Good morning
I love you.

After two Irish saints, the named saint of the day, John the Almoner [we’re not so subtle in naming some of our saints] is our main event for the morning. What will our epitaph be? John the _____ . Thommy the _____ . Bill the _____ . And what do we want it to be? For John the Almoner, I’m betting both were the same….



Jan 23
John the Almoner b. 558 d. 616

John the Almoner came from a noble Cypriot family. John the Almoner was a wealthy man in his own right. He married. He had children. John the Almoner was a generous and pious man, husband, and father. When his wife and children died, John the Almoner took that as a sign to become a priest and to serve the poor of his community.

I do not doubt that John the Almoner did not wait until he was fifty before he directed his life by discerning God’s will in the every day happenings of his life. Given his reputation for piety, I bet that he started each day with an Ignatian like prayer asking God what He wanted him to do today; and ended his day with an examination of conscience - how well did I do what you wanted today? I suggest that you practice the same discipline. And not only ask God these questions, ask them of your spouse [if that is your vocation], even ask your mentors and friends often, and your parents regularly.

John the Almoner was not a man of half measures. When he entered the priesthood, John the Almoner used the entire income from his estate to serve the poor.

Such a priest, of course, caught the eye of the leaders of the church. In about 608, John the Almoner was elected patriarch of Alexandria - the primo see of the church in the east. When John the Almoner arrived in Alexandria, he asked for a list of his Masters - I.e., the poor. Before accepting his consecration, he ensured the care of over 7500 poor in the city; whom he took as his responsibility for the duration of his patriarchy.

As Patriarch, John the Almoner issued an order to forbid the use of fraudulent weights and measures, a primary way of cheating the poor. What is the basis for your establishing rules for yourself and for those who are in your care, within your responsibility? Do the poor, the least among us, get preferential treatment from you? As he took office, John the Almoner passed out the patriarchy’s treasury to the hospitals, monasteries, and poor houses. John the Almoner dedicated the revenues for the see to the service of the poor. Check out your parish as well as your own treasure, how do you dedicate your revenues…? This example set, others followed; the contributions to the see came flowing in.

When the officials of the church remonstrated, John the Almoner told them of a vision from his youth. [how do you recall the visions of your youth?] A beautiful woman, brighter than the sun, whom he took for Charity or compassion for the miserable. She said to him,

“I am the eldest daughter of the great King. If you enjoy my favor, I will introduce you to the monarch of the universe. No one has so great an interest with him as myself, who was the occasion of his coming down from heaven to become man for the redemption of mankind.” or, as John the Apostle said to those who sought his wisdom - Love one another….



No number of necessities, no loses, no straits to which he often found himself reduced discouraged him or made him lose confidence in providence. In the end, resources never failed him.



When he was thanked profusely by an ingratiating supplicant, John the Almoner stopped him short, “I have not yet spilt my blood for you as Jesus my Master and God commands me.” What are you called to do….? How will you respond to the thanks you receive? How will you deliver on what you are called upon to do?

Before you become a leader, I suggest you learn a bit about John the Almoner’s way of leading his patriarchy.

Twice a week, he gave free access to him to all those with a grievance. He resolved difference, comforted the afflicted, relieved the distressed.

John the Almoner lived an austere life - as to diet, clothes, furnishings - he wouldn’t make it as a John Thain-like Merrill Lynch ceo with a 1.2 million dollar office.

When a benefactor learned about the thinness of John the Almoner’s blanket, he gave him a blanket worthy of a Patriarch. The prelate used it, in great distress, for one night; he gave it the next day to one of his Masters - one of the poor. Whom do you consider your masters?

John the Almoner saw the priorities of his ministry to be prayer and piety, including the pious reading of scripture and holy books. Neither of which should be absent from our daily routine, if not truly central to it.

John the Almoner did not say anything that was not necessary. Imagine the discipline - first in being clear as to what is necessary and then to remain so focused.

Whenever John the Almoner heard someone say a disparaging word, he changed the topic. Such people he kept out of his house so as not to infect them with such practices. How do you handle the banalities of speaking poorly of others? How do you keep such people out of your life? Out of the groups/organizations for which you are responsible. It is probably more important to first eliminate the influence of wrongheadedness and evil….

How’s this for ways to find and influence the goodness in discourse - - - John the Almoner used meekness to quiet rancor. He fell at the feet of those who insulted him to beg their pardon. John the Almoner would not believe anything said against another until he examined that person himself. AND, he punished false informers, tale-bearers, and calumniators.

John the Almoner exhorts us against rash judgment by reminding us “circumstances easily deceive us…. What do private persons have to do with others unless it is to vindicate them?!”

The wit and wisdom of John the Almoner….

I love you
dad

Jan 23 Colman of Lismore d. 702

Thommy and John,

Good morning
I love you.

There’s more sunshine today. And it’ll be warmer later. I’ve chosen Frost/Nixon [and, maybe, Defiance] for my weekend movie. I remember president Nixon - I remember when he was John F. Kennedy’s opponent in 1960 - which led me, and our history class, to research his and Kennedy’s history and for me to read Profiles in Courage [a book I recommend to you; not Caroline Kennedy’s update. Nor am I displeased that sweet, $100 million plus rich Caroline, did not step into the senate on her name. I was very unhappy when her uncle, carpetbagger Bobby ran for the senate in NY.]

A friend of mine from Camp Ponderosa/UA, Bill Taylor [a name your mother should remember, she spent the night before our wedding in Bill’s house], a Political Science professor, asks his students, what’s the first political event that you remember. The evolution of students made the first big developmental leap for him when “the assassination of Kennedy" meant Robert and not John.

Kennedy’s election is probably my first - remembered as much for his being the first Catholic [allegedly breaking the ‘religion barrier’] as for his killing the hat industry in the USA! I watched the official film of his inaugural just before the 2009 event. Look at all the hats - both men and women, including some morning coats and top hats. But, JFK did not wear a hat. He ushered in a new fashion for us men. Now, if BHO had worn a baseball cap backwards to the inauguration, maybe he’d be a fashion setter himself…. What is the first political event you remember. What stories will that help you tell my grandchildren? See, our separation costs your children as well as you….



Jan 23
Colman of Lismore d. 702

The blurb in Catholic online, is two sentences. Colman was abbot bishop of the monastery of Lismore. Colman succeeded St Hierlug in 698. And I couldn’t find anything more written for him through two iterations of google. But, there is a bunch written about the monastery, the city, the county - Irish are a people of history and, thanks to our bards, prehistory as well. Not unlike looking for information about you and having to find out about you by learning about Nashville…. [and the pictures and letters and diaries I’ve done for/to you]….

From .liosmor.com/mochuda.html.

Lismore, by name, place, and heritage goes back sixteen centuries. We can’t even count back sixteen generations - a familial challenge that we’ve so far failed. Know, though, that our family/clan, heritage, collective unconscious does track with Ireland’s. Seek and you shall find; you should seek to know from whence you came to know who you are….

Lismore was one of Ireland’s religious and scholastic centers - maybe like Nashville, the Athens of the South; being an anthens more than just for the Parthenon: a religious and scholastic culture from which you were prevented from immersing yourself; I’m sorry about that. Opportunity costs, [sins of] omissions are more deleterious than what you do or is done to you….

About 635, Mochuda, a Kerryman born about 564, arrived in Lismore. Mochuda’s religious heritage took flight at the great monastery of St. Comgall at Bangor [both the saint and place you should remember - biggies.]. Under whom we learn and where we do that learning matters - our choices of where to go for our learning should be a serious discerning process….

Mochuda went from Bangor to found the monastery at Rahan in Offaly. After forty years leading that center of religion and learning, the community threw him out. I didn't find the particulars but the story is clear, he was expelled. After forty years. Being expelled, therefore, per se, is not bad or wrong. Especially if the reason is tribal or monastic jealousy. And we pick up and contunue to serve in our pursuit of our vocation.

Machuda was over seventy when he arrived at Lismore and lived only another three years.

Colman became abbot about 698 - about two generations of monks after their founder’s death; and at the dawn of Lismore’s rise to prominence among the great Irish monasteries. Wherever you work, whatever job you take, root yourself in the institution’s founding, history, and genealogy - learn the stories, repeat them, embellish them in the great seanache tradition. Plus, see the potential of the place, the paradise that would be heaven for all you work with. Pursue that perfection, like Colman, rooted in Mochuda and seeing what places like Bangor anticipated….

I love you,
dad

Jan 22 William Paterson d. 1592 bl. 1929

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you

Today flew by, flew away - my circadian cycle is kerblewie. A greek salad with two pieces of bread was my highlight of the day. So, a brief walk with a William saint….



Jan 22
William Paterson d. 1592 bl. 1929

By name and date you can guess William Paterson is one of the English martyrs. His story fairly typical for these saints - as if saintly stories are typical, but they are. That’s why the church raised them up for us to emulate. Ordinary men who responded to their vocation and the grace given to them to fulfill the call.

William Paterson was born in Durham - England, not down the street from Duke, but maybe in a duke’s neighborhood…. Because of the law that made it treason to be ordained a Catholic priest at a Catholic Church seminary, William Paterson had to go into exile to study for the priesthood. Chew on that for a moment. We take pride in our heritage with England in the rule of law. The USA took a different tact of the use of law than England - our laws should be to protect the individual from the state; the monarchy, especially regarding religion, made laws for protecting the state and monarch from the individuals who might preach that the fundamental premise of their reign had become wrong. The monarch changed the divine right of kings principle to eliminate the ‘divine‘ component of their right to rule. [Obama may lead us in a more Franco direction]

William Paterson studied at Reims [now few versions of spelling for this] where he was ordained in 1587. A year later William Paterson returned home to Elizabethan England - might that be an oxymoron? But it’s not. Your home may be analogous to Elizabethan England. Then you too have the responsibility to bring the cause of our Catholicism to the home front. Because? The first question of the Baltimore Catechism - why did God create us? To knowloveandserve Him in this world so that we may be with Him forever in heaven: our responsibility is to do what is necessary to bring ourselves and our family to God and heaven…. As it was dangerous for William Paterson to return home with support and conversion as his responsibility, so it is for us….

The crown arrested William Paterson in 1591 because he was a priest, thus a treasonous person deserving of death. Of course, all he had to do was renege on his baptismal vows - that would put him back into the good graces of the queen of his homeland and thus have the life that she wanted for him. Instead, while in prison, William Paterson converted other prisoners.

I love you
dad

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Jan 21 Thomas Reynolds b. 1562 d. 1642 and Alban Bartholomew Roe b. 1580 d. 1642

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you


Thomas Reynolds b. 1562 d. 1642

I don’t know how many times now I’ve sent a missive based on the short blurb in Catholic Online, which is a direct derivative, like so many, from Butler. So I repeat my lament that I wish we had more about his early life and the qualities of the man that supported his becoming a martyr. I also digress into a swipe at the English - an Irish and Catholic thing with me - but this time with info from the Catholic Encyclopedia. And I repeat my exhortation to you to have the strength of our faith to sustain yourself in our beliefs and practices, regardless of the martyrdom-like consequences for the circumstances of your personal zeitgeist….

From Catholic Encyclopedia online. “English Confessors and Martyrs (1534-1729).


Though the resistance of the English as a people to the Reformation compares very badly with the resistance offered by several other nations, the example given by those who did stand firm is remarkably interesting and instructive.

(1) They suffered the extreme penalty for maintaining the unity of the Church and the Supremacy of the Apostolic See, the doctrines most impugned by the reformation in all lands, and at all times.

(2) They maintained their faith almost entirely by the most modern methods, and they were the first to so maintain it, i.e., by education of the clergy in the seminaries, and of Catholic youth in colleges, at the risk, and often at the cost of life.

(3) The tyranny they had to withstand was, as a rule, not the sudden violence of a tyrant, but the continuous oppression of laws sanctioned by the people in Parliament, passed on the specious plea of political and national necessity, and operating for centuries with an almost irresistible force which the law acquires when acting for generations in conservative and law-abiding counties.

(4) The study of their causes and their acts is easy. The number of martyrs are many; their trials are spread over a long time. We have in many cases the papers of the prosecution as well as those of the defense, and the voice of Rome is frequently heard pronouncing on the questions of the debate, and declaring that this or that matter is essential, on which no compromise can be permitted; or by her silence she lets it be understood that some other formula may pass.”

There is a powerful inertia of English ‘reformation’ in our American, southern, Greensboro environment….

Thomas Reynolds was born Thomas Green at Oxford. The early seventeenth century was not a good time to be raised a Catholic: especially after a century and a half of tyrannical anti-Catholicism: more especially, if you had a vocation to the priesthood! Thomas Reynolds had to become an exile to receive the Catholic education and seminary training necessary to pursue his vocation. And you too may need to leave your current circumstance to achieve a similar benefit of Catholic education and training for whatever vocation you hear in God’s call.

[This Sunday we had the great story of Samuel’s call (1Samuel 3). Three times awoken from a dream and trundling off to wake up Eli - what do you want? It took Eli that many tries to realize who it was who was calling Samuel and told him: “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” I must confess to being enamored by our pastor’s preaching, especially on the topic of each of us being called. In this brief story, we learn that it may be necessary for us to have a believer help us cipher the call of God to us. And it may take even believers a couple of tries before figuring out that it is God’s call that we are hearing….]

Thomas Reynolds went to France then Spain, where he was ordained in 1592. Thomas Reynolds returned home to serve his family, his people, with the Truth that would set them free [well, in a few centuries]. In 1606, Thomas Reynolds was exiled because he was a Catholic Priest ordained in a papal seminary. How much have you been exiled because you are baptized and confirmed Catholic? Or, how many times have you denied your faith and church to avoid being “exiled” from your “country”?

Even after being thrown out, Thomas Reynolds returned. Even after you are thrown out or run away, you have the opportunity to return to live your vocation faithfully: to labor for our faith.

Thomas Reynolds was arrested again in 1628. He spent fourteen years in prison. That alone would be torturous. If only he would renounce his ordination, his allegiance to the Pope, his dedication to the Church, the fundamentals of his faith, he probably would have been released. Instead, he served his fellow Catholics and the needy other prisoners.

In addition to the normal hellaciousness of seventeenth century English prisons, Thomas Reynolds underwent tortures that would make the accusations about Guantanamo seem like a Caribbean resort. Not only give up his own faith but also the names of the other priests snuck back into England. Finally, Thomas Reynolds was hung, drawn, and quartered at Tyburn on January 21, 1642.

Along with Bl. Thomas Reynolds, Alban Bartholomew Roe received the same fate.


January 21
Alban Bartholomew Roe b. 1580 d. 1642

St. Alban Bartholomew Roe, from the tiny bit we have in Catholic online, might have been a bit more fun for us.

Alban Bartholomew Roe converted to Catholicism. [People convert for a myriad of reasons. It’s tragic when a person converts to the one true religion, ours, and then reneges on that conversion - and in the process pulls other people with him/her from the one true faith. Tragic, of course, is an understatement. The ole, woe to those who lead children to sin, and the sin of rejecting one’s faith, a sin against the Holy Spirit, maybe, is a big Woe.]

Alban Bartholomew Roe went to Douai for seminary training - but was bounced because of an infraction of discipline. Wouldn’t it be nice to know what that was. However, as Paul Harvey might say, stick around for the rest of the story. Conversion. Alban Bartholomew Roe teaches us that we can/should recover from struggles with the discipline of his new faith/religion, especially in the seminary.

Alban Bartholomew Roe was ordained a Benedictine priest in 1612, at 32 years old. His order sent him back to England - in that era, it was customary to volunteer and, thus, be sent. However, it’s possible, Alban Bartholomew Roe would have preferred to stay in the safety of the Benedictine monastery in France. Obedience, harped on as a quality of our religious, is also essential for the fulfillment of any sacramental commitment - love, honor, and obey….

It took only three years before Alban Bartholomew Roe was arrested and banished. Like a yo yo, he returned in 1618 to England. Persistence is at the heart of faith: vice versa, too. For all the good things that Alban Bartholomew Roe did, he apparently wasn’t good at keeping below the radar - he was imprisoned almost immediately. In 1623, the Spanish ambassador [the Catholic proxy in London, as well], obtained his release. Once again, In 1625, Alban Bartholomew Roe returned. Get the picture. Stick with your faith. No matter how many times you are rejected, thrown out, ostracized, keep coming back with your faith and the Good News of faith and Church. Let all of the English priest-martyrs be your inspiration and intermediary. Lots of Johns, Thomases, and Williams for you to call upon more personally….

Alban Bartholomew Roe was arrested in 1625. For the next seventeen years, he was in prison and suffered like so many other of the Catholic priests in seventeenth century England. Seventeen years tortured for his faith in his home. Persistence. An example for you.

Alban Bartholomew Roe was hung, drawn, and quartered along with Thomas Reynolds on January 21, 1642.

I love you
dad

jan 21 Brigid b. 452 d. 525

Thommy and John

Good morning
I love you.


January 21
Brigid b. 451 d. 525


Women. How do you get to know women? To better complete yourself. To increase the probability of a holy and peaceful marriage [if that is your vocation]. To best communicate with fifty percent of our universe no matter where you live, no matter what work you do.

One source, of course, is the women you grow up with - mother, aunts, cousins, grandmothers. Except for Kelly, I do not recommend any of them as models to use; from what little I know of Ginger and Donna, they might fit the bill. Your mother’s and grandmothers’ influences are imprinted as well as genetic - for better and for much worse.

Then there is Mary. Your relationship with, your devotion to, Our Holy Mother, The Mother of our brother, Jesus, is an essential component to your relationship with any woman - including your relatives. She is the, THE, standard with which women should determine how to best live life as a woman - daughter, wife, mother, cousin, and child of God.

After Mary, we are given the saints. No dearth of woman saints - e.g., Elizabeth Ann Seton, Mother Teresa, ….

St Brigid [not, we are admonished by some, Bridget - though spelling is not a Gaelic forte, and we have various translations brought down to us or adopted by parents for their daughters along the way], Brigid is the Mary of the Gael, patroness of Ireland.

This would be a good place to insert a digression into Ireland of the 5th and 6th century. It’s worth the trip if only because it is our heritage. An essential place and time in our own collective unconscious. There are several books in my library - fiction, religious, and historical. Or take a trip to a library; even in Greensboro you’ll find a plethora of volumes. Try a trip to Ireland yourself - hear the lilt of the language as you read what our forebears did that helped make us who we are….

Brigid was a princess in County Louth. Born in 451, while Patrick was proselytizing Ireland. [Patrick died 493]. Try to imagine life in the clan; understand the place and value of an Irish warrior princess - especially as a wife for the prince or Ri of another clan. Then figure out how this girl refused marriage and became a nun. Christianity was new to the isle. The place of woman in the Irish church, though, was not unlike it was throughout the culture - not unlike the place of the modern version of the Irish princess warrior in our own expended family. [e.g., Kelly and my cousins Lynn and Chris and Joan et al. and Aunts Catherine, Helen, Mary, Molly...]

Brigid became a nun under the auspices of St Macaille, bishop of Offaly, a disciple of St Mel, whose mother was St. Patrick’s sister. (St. Mel also received the vows of Brigid. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Mel told Macaille, Mel read the Episcopal consecration over Brigid. Mel proclaimed that Brigid alone of the abbesses of Kildare would be a bishop - and her successors, while not being bishops themselves, would continue to have a bishop’s jurisdictional authority. This authority was respected until the Synod of Kells in 1152. Know the place of women in our lineage!

Kildare comes from the abbey that Brigid and her seven companion virgins founded under a large oak tree in the plains of Magh Life: the convenant of Cill-Dare, the church of the oak. [ya think the culture of druids had an influence too?] At Cill-Dare, Brigid founded two monastic institutions - for men, for women.

Brigid also founded a school of art, including metal work and illuminations. From the Cill-Dare scriptorium we have the wondrous book of the 'Kildare Gospels'.

It is important to know the history, the context, the stories brought down to us, not only to understand who Brigid was but how our faith was formed in the crucible of fifth century Ireland; and subsequently brought to us today.

In the Irish tradition, we have innumerable exaggerated stories told of St Brigid. Our patroness was one of the most remarkable people, Irishwomen, of the fifth century. A hymn by St Ultan starts thus: “In our island of Hibernia, Christ was made known to man by the very great miracles which he performed through the happy virgin of celestial life, famous for her merits through the whole world.”

St Ninndh administered the viaticum to Brigid. And the story goes that his right hand was then encased with a metal covering to prevent its ever being defiled. There are many degrees of veneration to which to go - not only for Brigid and Mary but also for the love of your life. [an iron covered hand may be a bit too much in our modern era….]

From the Book of Armagh we have, “Between St. Patrick and St. Brigid, the columns of the Irish, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her Christ performed many miracles.”

Get to know more good women - they will change your lives for the better….

I love you,
dad

Jan 21 Meinrad d. 861

John and Thommy

Good morning
I love you

January 21st. Off to a new start with a new president and one day in a row of my working in a high up cubicle with a great view all the way to the western horizon.


January 21
Meinrad d. 861

We don’t get much on line about St Meinrad. I picked up this saint for today because of the retreat I took at St Meinrad abbey in southern Indiana. My St Henry’s cursillo group took a weekend retreat there.

Cursillo is one piety I recommend to you.

I first met cursillo at St. Mary’s parish in Bridgeport, 1967. I spent a month there as part of my Jesuit training. A Puerto Rican parish, in an impoverished black/PR slice of Bridgeport, CT. The pastor, very much through the cursillistas [sp?] of the parish, was the social-political leader of the community. The cursillo meetings were 99% in Spanish - after a month, I even learned a few Spanish words as I accompanied the pastor and his curate [a Boston Irish Catholic who was on sabbatical from missionary work in the Andes; he was also fluent in Spanish and several dialects from the mountains]. I learned from the nuns who not only ran the school but also were the pack mules for the various social services in the community - the finances of the public funds going through the parish’s control was an eye-popping lesson, too. Several fundamental pieces of my religious and social conscience development came from that month. Lots of stories….

But I digress. The weekend at St. Meinrad Abbey leads me to the suggestion that you too find places for your annual or more frequent retreats. I recommend going with a known group, like a cursillo group. But showing up as a lone participant works too - by staying alone or by assimilating into the larger group. A good way to enhance your spiritual life. A fine way to add Catholics to your spiritual friendships.

Meinrad is venerated as the founder of the Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln in Switzerland - still in operation. Take some time to get to know Benedict and some of his spiritual writings - or, e.g., take a retreat with Benedictines - to get a flavor of another way to find a discipline [and discipleship] to become closer to God and Church….

Meinrad was a hermit and, later, as disciples followed him, an abbot. He was educated at the Abbey School of Reichenau under relatives, Abbot Hatto and Erlebald. He became a monk and was ordained there. He took up the eremitical life on Lake Zurich. [eremetical refers specifically to desert in the original. not much desert in Switzerland.] The Abbess Hildegard gave him a wonder-working statue of Mary; which drew pilgrims and their gifts to the abbey Meinrad began.

Meinrad is also a martyr - killed by a couple of guys to whom he gave hospitality but who murdered him to steal valuables from the abbey.

In the 1850’s Einsiendeln sent two monks to see if a foundation could be started in southern Indiana. Go figure! That has got to be an interesting story as to how that decision got made. The came to plant the Benedictine heritage in America - that seed became the St Meinrad Archabbey on March 21, 1854. They came to meet the pastoral needs of the Catholics settling in that area - maybe some familial connections back to Einsiendeln. They also started a school to prepare local men for the priesthood.

Today, there are a hundred monks at the archabbey; a college; and a seminary.

See, you have a personal connection to St Meinrad…. Not unlike seven steps to Kevin Bacon.

I love you.

dad

[catholic online, catholic encyclopedia]