Congratulations...

Congratulations to and blessings upon Fr. Paulinus Odozor for being invited by the Holy Father to serve as a consultant at the upcoming Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in Rome from October 4th to the 25th.

A full story can be read here.

La Festa di San Michele, Arcangelo

Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing.
- Roman Canon

St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray and may thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Hometown Faces...

I arrived into Rome on Wednesday early evening and spent Thursday adjusting to the time zone change, unpacking, reading mail, etc. That evening I grabbed a bus heading to Hotel Diana where pilgrims from my home parish of St. Paul the Apostle were enjoying three days in Rome before heading off to Assisi, Florence, etc. It was a great joy to see familiar faces from home, including the pastor, Fr. Marconi, who serves not only my home parish but two other parishes in Northeast Arkansas. A good number of the 38 pilgrims had also taken a pilgrimage to Notre Dame for my ordination to the priesthood.

I joined the group for dinner and then we all hopped on a bus to enjoy a night tour of Rome. Our first stop was at the Trevi Fountain which is just a block or two from my residence. I felt honored to introduce Mrs. Sorg to the great joy of gelato, as seen in the above photo!

I am especially happy for Mr. and Mrs. Henry Dust who this year celebrate their 50th Anniversary of Marriage. They were able to renew their vows in a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica. They are our neighbors back home and are wonderful people of great faith, decency, and generosity. The Dusts are to my left and right. The other couple pictured are the Harpers who organized the 50+ who traveled to my ordination.

Buon viaggio.

A Preview...

I arrived into the city of Intra in the region of Verbania on Friday and had my first Italian tutoring session that afternoon. Saturday was spent in the great city of Milan which is situated about two hours away by train. Today, Sunday, was spent touring Lago Maggiore and the large nearby islands historically owned by the Borromeo family, including St. Charles Borromeo. Italian tutoring picks up again Monday morning and I hope to post more later.

A Timely Reading...

A Reading from the First Letter of St. Paul to Timothy:

Beloved:
Teach and urge these things.
Whoever teaches something different
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the religious teaching
is conceited, understanding nothing,
and has a morbid disposition for arguments and verbal disputes.

Discussing "priests" in the Year For Priests.

Here is what looks like a worthwhile conference as the Church observes the Year for Priests.

And here is what looks like a worthwhile text to read and meditate upon as the Church observes the Year for Priests.

You Have Put On Christ, Alleluia, Alleluia!

Before my return to Rome I headed back to my hometown to baptize my cousin's first-born, Paul Christopher Wurtz. It was an honor to baptize and the trip was a convenient way to say goodbye to family before heading across the Atlantic.

I arrived into Little Rock airport Wednesday night and headed straight to my sister's house where we had a fun birthday party for my one year old nephew. It was obvious that his favorite gift was the ND t-shirt I gave him. Though, the cash his grandparents gave him might have knocked my gift out of the running for favorite.

I spent Thursday and Friday assisting in my home parish with Mass, including the grade school's annual Grandparent's Day. The church was packed and the pastor, Fr. Marconi, gave an excellent homily on the necessity of teachers in the lives of our young people. The rest of the day was spent reading and enjoying the pleasant summer air of Arkansas.

This home visit was a time to see family who had driven in for the baptism. My aunts and grandfather had supper with us Thursday night - a great pork roast and fried okra!! made by my mom. We stayed up till about 11 or 11:30 talking the night away and enjoying company that I rarely get to share these days. My dear grandfather gave me a late birthday gift - a box of top quality cigars. I told him that I'm not sure I can smoke the cigar with a Playboy logo! The box was a great gift.

Paul Craig and April announced they were expecting during the Year of St. Paul and then had their son baptized in St. Paul's Church. Their son certainly has a strong patron saint, and parents of great faith!

The occasion was given special weight by the presence of my grandfather who was able to witness the baptism of yet another great grandson. This photo shows four generations of Wurtz men: Camillus, Sidney, Paul Craig, and Paul Christopher.

A Very Timely Reminder...

Here is a reminder given by His Holiness regarding the essential difference between the ministerial priesthood (of which the Year For Priests is meant to deepen the awareness) and the common priesthood of the baptized. It is a timely reminder.

THE ROLE OF PRIESTS IS IRREPLACEABLE

VATICAN CITY, 17 SEP 2009 (VIS) - This morning in Castelgandolfo the Holy Father received a group of prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (Northeast 2), who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.

Highlighting the functions of the various members of the Church, the Pope explained how "the particular identity of priests and laity must be seen in the light of the essential difference between priestly ministry and the 'common priesthood'. Hence it is important to avoid the secularisation of clergy and the 'clericalisation' of the laity".

"In this perspective", he went on, "the lay faithful must undertake to give expression in real life - also through political commitment - to the Christian view of anthropology and the social doctrine of the Church. While priests must distance themselves from politics in order to favour the unity and communion of all the faithful, thus becoming a point of reference for everyone".

Benedict XVI indicated that "the lack of priests does not justify a more active and abundant participation of the laity. The truth is that the greater the faithful's awareness of their own responsibilities within the Church, the clearer becomes the specific identity and inimitable role of the priest as pastor of the entire community, witness to the authenticity of the faith, and dispenser of the mysteries of salvation in the name of Christ the Head".

"The function of the clergy is essential and irreplaceable in announcing the Word and celebrating the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. ... For this reason it is vital to ask the Lord to send workers for His harvest; and it is necessary that priests express joy in their faithfulness to their identity".

The Pope made it clear that "the shortage of priests must not come to be considered as a normal or typical state of affairs for the future". In this context he encouraged the prelates "to combine efforts to encourage new priestly vocations and find the pastors your dioceses need, helping one another so that all of you have better-trained and more numerous priests to support the life of faith and the apostolic mission".

Referring then to the 150th anniversary of the death of the "Cure of Ars", which the Church is currently commemorating with the Year for Priests, Benedict XVI indicated that St. John Mary Vianney "continues even now to be a model for priests, especially in living a life of celibacy as a requirement for the total giving of self, expressed through that pastoral charity which Vatican Council II presents as the unifying center of a priest's being and actions".

The Holy Father concluded by assuring the prelates of the existence of "many signs of hope for the future of particular Churches, a future that God is preparing through the dedication and the faithfulness with which you exercise your episcopal ministry".

So It Begins... (Upadated)

This afternoon I will travel from ND to Chicago's O'Hare airport for what will be the first of several legs in a trip taking me back to Italy. Classes begin on October 13th, but I am returning now so as to take advantage of a two week language school near Milan.

It has been a very blessed Summer with the main thrust having been to study French so as to have a reading comprehension ability. An auxiliary goal was to reconnect with my religious confreres, my family and my friends. I am grateful to the priests and brothers of Corby Hall for welcoming me during these past three months.

Buon viaggio!
mbw

I have arrived safely back at my room in Rome, 4PM local time/10AM EST and am grateful that my luggage came along with me. I knew Our Lady of Sorrows would make that happen! I also was assigned a bulkhead seat which meant I had a tad bit more leg room and more importantly, no 4'9" person in front of me leaning their seat all the way back!

My arrival into the city and back to my room is drastically different than when I first arrived on Sept 1st last year. I feel as though I am at "home" surrounded by the tools of my study trade and eager to tackle the academic year. I am grateful for this small consolation.

Call to Prayer...

Please keep in prayer two members of my congregation here at Notre Dame who are experiencing tremendous crosses of ill health, one of whom undergoes surgery this afternoon. Please kindly remember them and their medical staffs in prayer.

Our Lady of Sorrows

Today we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, patroness of the Congregation of Holy Cross.

Our Mother and Patroness, Holy Mary,
We deliver ourselves to your faithful protection and your special care,
now, for every day, and at the hour of our death.
We seek refuge in the bosom of your mercy,
And we entrust our bodies and souls to you.

We entrust all our hopes and consolations,
all our sufferings and miseries, our lives and the end of our lives
that through your most holy intercession and your merits,
all our works may be directed and performed
according to your will and that of your Son.

Our Lady! Our Mother! We wholly offer ourselves to you,
and to give you a proof of our love, we now consecrate to you
our eyes, our mouths, our ears, our hearts and in a word our whole beings.
Since therefore we are yours, O Good Mother,
preserve and defend us as your own possession.
Since therefore we are yours, O Good Mother,
intercede for Holy Cross College, that God may bless the college abundantly
so that it may do your son’s work on earth. Amen.

Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
St. Joseph, pray for us.
Blessed Basil Moreau, pray for us.
Blessed Br. Andre, pray for us.
- 1859 Directory of the Congregation of Holy Cross

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

We adore you, oh Christ, and we bless you.
Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Just a quick check...

It is the Year for Priests. It follows almost 44 years after the Vatican II decree on the laity, Apostolicam Actuositatem. It follows almost 44 years after a deepening of the understanding of the role of the laity in the Church and of the importance of the lay apostolate. It follows almost 44 years of a great flourishing of laity working in the Church whether it be in Catholic schools, parishes, chanceries, schools of theology, or the Vatican's curial offices.

So, just a quick check. This is the Year for Priests.

This year is "meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a stronger and more incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world" (Pope Benedict XVI in his Inaugural Letter Proclaiming the Year for Priests). The Holy Father ends this same letter with: "May his [St. John Vianney's] example lead all priests to offer that witness of unity with their Bishop, with one another and with the lay faithful, which today, as ever, is so necessary."

It is the Year for Priests, that is, a year for ministerial priesthood - a singular year which comes to us after nearly 44 years of a focus on the common priesthood. Just a quick check.

Congratulations to Fr. Columba Stewart, OSB who was nominated by Cardinal Walter Kasper to become the newest member of the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. I was honored to come to know Fr. Stewart during my time studying at St. John's University (2006 - 07). For me, this news means I'll have another opportunity to be visited by a friend in Rome over dinner. But more importantly, for the Church, this news promises that the work of fulfilling Christ's desire that "they may all be one" will be done by Christians of deep sincerity and high intellect.

Unprecedented Days...

Who would ever think that the day would come when parents would be in an outrage over the President of the United States addressing their students about the importance of education? I readily admit that I am a rather dense person - but I do not see the "socialist agenda" in this text.
Obama.school.speech

New Release...

Ave Maria Press, an apostolate of the Congregation of Holy Cross, has this month released Through the Church Year: Reflections for Feasts and Seasons by Msgr. Francis Kelly.

Msgr. Kelly is the superior of the Casa Santa Maria, a residence for English speaking priests studying in Rome, including myself.

Integral, Authentic Human Development

The latest encyclical letter by Our Holy Father Benedict XVI entitled, Caritas in Veritate, or Love in Truth was published just this June. The letter is a social encyclical, written in the same spirit as Rerum Novarum of Pope Leo XIII and Populorum Progressio of Pope Paul VI. It speaks on topics such as the dignity of work, the insistence upon just and living wages, the rights of workers to unionize/organize, and the need to be ever vigilant against greed, whether personal or corporate in nature. It is a timely document during this global economic crisis. Its main thrust, with the Holy Father's passionate insistence, is for authentic human development - for integral human development which can only be discovered with God, not in spite of God. I quote just a few powerful passages:

"The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that 'a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized'" (para 15).

"God is the guarantor of man's true development, inasmuch as, having created him in his image, he also establishes the transcendent dignity of men and women and feeds their innate yearning to 'be more'. Man is not a lost atom in a random universe: he is God's creature, whom God chose to endow with an immortal soul and whom he has always loved" (para 29).

"Hence it is important to call for a renewed reflection on how rights presuppose duties, if they are not to become mere license. Nowadays we are witnessing a grave inconsistency. On the one hand, appeals are made to alleged rights, arbitrary and non-essential in nature, accompanied by the demand that they be recognized and promoted by public structures, while, on the other hand, elementary and basic rights remain unacknowledged and are violated in much of the world. The link consists in this: individual rights, when detached from a framework of duties which grants them their full meaning, can run wild, leading to an escalation of demands which is effectively unlimited and indiscriminate" (para 43).

"If there is a lack of respect for the right to life and to a natural death, if human conception, gestation and birth are made artificial, if human embryos are sacrificed to research, the conscience of society ends up losing the concept of human ecology and, along with it, that of environmental ecology. It is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves. The book of nature is one and indivisble: it takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development" (para 51).

"I make forever....."

On Saturday, August 29th Kevin G. Grove, CSC and Gerry J. Olinger, CSC professed their final vows in the Congregation of Holy Cross. Joined by hundreds of family, friends, and fellow Holy Cross religious in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Notre Dame, the two professed "forever the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience according to the constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross".

The next morning the two were ordained to the Order of the Diaconate at the hands of Bishop John M. D'Arcy, D.D. of the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend. The Mass was celebrated in the Moreau Seminary chapel.

Rev. Mr. Grove serves as deacon at St. Joseph Parish in downtown South Bend. Rev. Mr. Olinger serves as deacon at the University of Portland in Oregon.

The two will be ordained to the priesthood on Easter Saturday during the Easter Octave. Congratulations to Kevin and Gerry. Thank you for your commitment to Christ and His holy Church!