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Living Way of the Cross at St Raphael Catholic Church, Raleigh, NC |
For over 2000 years people have been modeling their lives in the way Jesus taught us. For over 500 years a book called The Imitation of Christ, written by Thomas à Kempis, has provided comfort, understanding, peace and been a source of prayer for millions of people. In the seminary we used to read a short meditation from that book each evening. Fr. Norman Butler, M.S., wrote from Argentina about how some people, while meditating and enacting the Way of the Cross, came to an understanding of Christ’s presence today in their lives:
For Holy Week in Argentina most parishes put on what is called a “Living Way of the Cross.” Teenagers and young adults get together to act out the passion of Christ. Costumes tend to be the “classic” Roman soldier fare, while tunics and shawls serve for Jesus, the apostles and the chief priests.
This year I saw a very special and original presentation. It was put on by young drug addicts who are in a recovery program. This program takes place on our La Salette property in Pilar near Buenos Aires.
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Feeding the hungry at Amancer in Cochabamba, Bolivia |
In my years of ministry in Cochabamba, Bolivia, I have seen how Christ’s message is working wonders in God’s people. The words of St. Paul are so true: “I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). In other words, if we let God work in us, Christ’s Resurrection will triumph over death.
In spite of the handful of people who continue to lead the world down paths of death, many, if not most, are Easter people, in whose lives of sacrifice and commitment Christ is resurrected in our own times.
Here in Cochabamba we have lost one such gifted person. At 85 years of age, most of her life was spent in constant work among God’s poor. Her name is Kathleen Mary Murray, known here in Cochabamba as Sister Stephanie. The people of Cochabamba revere her as their own “Mother Teresa.”
Through the kindness of Fr. Bernie Baris, M.S., pastor of the parish of Our Lady of the Cape in Brewster, MA and some of his parishioners, I arrived in Haiti on Feb. 19th, 2013, with Fr. Bernie.
Fr. Bernie Baris (left) with Fr. Flavio
Gillio who is amazed at the heavy
weight of a basket of chickens
The personal impact of this brief visit to Haiti has been profound and very challenging. By the evening of my first day, I already wanted to leave and to go back to the USA. But I did not. I did not even share my initial thoughts with Fr. Bernie or with Sr. Christine. I remembered that something similar also happened to Fr. Bernie, during his first visit some thirteen years ago and it encouraged me. I repeated to myself: if it happened to him, and this is his thirteenth visit, then maybe things can change for me as well.
As St. Paul reminds us, each of us have gifts given to us by God.
I arrived on Dec. 12, 2012 at Immaculate Conception Parish in Holyoke, MA, to give a hand. I came as an “interim priest”, before the La Salette Missionaries return this parish to the pastoral care of the Diocese of Springfield, MA. We have served here for a full 100 years.
I was greeted by the Pastor of ten years, Fr. Jim Aherne, M.S., with a welcoming hand and a caveat: "I am not an administrator.” It seemed to be the answer to many of my questions. True as that might be, what he didn't tell me and I soon discovered, he is a true leader.
Editor: I came across this blog post and asked permission to reprint it on our website. Sister answers well some basic questions and misunderstandings about associates and their connection with their religious community. This applies well to our own La Salette Associates.
Donna raised an important topic in religious life — the role of lay associates (or affiliates) in religious life — in her comment on my post The Demise of Religious Life Here’s what Donna said:
What role do you think lay affiliates of religious orders will play in the future in religious life? Do you think these folk will be more integrated into a given community’s life (i.e., their ministries, activities, etc.) than they are now? How do you view the associates of your order? Is it difficult for older, more traditional sisters to accept associates?
Editor: This article was originally written for a booklet celebrating the Centennial of the La Salette Apparition in 1946.
"Tierra prometida, tierra por lavenir," — thus do the Argentine people love to speak of their country: the Land of Promise, the Land of the Future. Argentina is a rich country and for the most part its people are the descendants of Spanish and Italian immigrants. It is a Catholic country and it has harbored many a Polish refugee. The lack of clergy has prevented the development of the Church among the scattered population of the hinterland. Hence a great field of apostolate lies open in Argentina.
In May,1936, the Rev. Michael Kolbuch, M.S., Provincial of Poland, was urged by Cardinal Hlond, at the invitation of the Polish Government, to undertake a survey of the Polish Catholic immigrants in Argentina. The outcome of his visit was the establishment of several La Salette mission centers in four of the provinces of Argentina: La Plata, Cordoba, Santa Fe and Rosario. A first group of six Fathers and two lay-brothers set out from Poland in 1937 and the following year brought reinforcements.
The work of the Fathers in Argentina, be it said in passing, is not limited to Polish immigrants only. Moreover, these are quite scattered throughout that vast country. The Missionaries labor to spread the Gospel and Mary's message to many needy souls in a broad and strangely mixed territory. A Novitiate and a Scholasticate have been opened to recruit vocations.
More apostles are being trained in the American High School Seminary founded at Olivet, Illinois. It is hoped that the success of this undertaking will help to compensate for the terrible losses incurred by the Province of Our Lady, Queen of Poland, in the old world.
Editor: Bp. Donald Pelletier, M.S. shared that his two Masses – one to close St. Joseph’s Parish in Attleboro, MA, and one to open the newly merged St. Vincent de Paul Parish – “was a great privilege for me. I see this brand new parish as an invitation from God to grow. It is a great opportunity for these two Catholic communities to be joined, reconciled, in order to reach out in God’s name to the poor and the most needy of our area.”
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Bishop Donald Pelletier presides over the first Mass at the Church of St. Vincent de Paul that combines the parishes of St. Joseph’s and Holy Ghost. (Staff photo by Martin Gavin) |
Retired Bishop Donald Pelletier, who also presided over Sunday's final Mass at St. Joseph's, celebrated Mass at Holy Ghost Church, calling the day "a new reality" in the city of Attleboro. "We are all optimistic," Pelletier said. "For us, today, there is excitement and joy as we witness a new parish." During his homily, Pelletier quoted a relevant Bible verse in the Book of Revelation. "‘Behold, I make all things new,'" said Pelletier. "This word is being accomplished in this parish today."
The merged parishes have a large Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking congregation, and Pelletier went on to say that those languages should not be a barrier when sharing the Gospel with other people in the community. Pelletier also pointed out the symbolic shape of the cross, in which the horizontal and vertical lines meet in the center, as do the members of the community, regardless of their languages or social standing. The church's patron saint, St. Vincent de Paul, reached out to the poor, Pelletier reminded the congregation, and urged them to do the same.
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Fr. André Patenaude, M.S. |
ATTLEBORO - For 22 years Fran Gunning has been working with La Salette Father, André "Pat" Patenaude. As manager of his ministry that takes him around the world spreading Our Lady of La Salette's message of reconciliation with God, Gunning has always been proactive.
So when the singing priest fell seriously ill this past August while ministering in France, Gunning immediately took the only action she could for her friend half way around the world - she began to pray for him. Not asking God0 to heal him, but confidently thanking God for healing him. "I began to thank God in advance for Father Pat's healing," Gunning told The Anchor. "I started to pray, ‘Thank you, God, for healing Father Pat,' and others started to pray it as well. It became our mantra while he was in a hospital in Grenoble, France."
When Gunning learned that Father Pat and the La Salette Community had no insurance to help pay for the astronomical bills that began to pile up, she again sprang to action, this time by organizing a fund-raising event to help defray some of the costs. The event will take place March 3, 2013, at the Lake Pearl Restaurant in Wrentham from 3 to 8 p.m.
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Northern Argentina’s secret Detention Centers for the Disappeared (indicated in yellow) |
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Joe Everton speaks with the youth at La Salette eXtreme |