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Where your heart is, there will be your treasure
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| Redemptorist Newsletter | Number 33 |
Rome, Italy
January 16, 2008
Click here to subscribe to RSS feed version of Scala
NEWS FROM THE PROVINCES
New Mission in Argentina
Mission Preaching in Haiti
Vienna Province plans for Clementine Centenary
Religious Practice in Cuba today
ALPHONSIANUM
Academic Year begins at the Alphonsianum; statistics
Colombia: Foundation of the University of Saint Alphonsus
VITA APOSTOLICA
Father Félix Catalá´s third installment on Religious life.
REDEMPTORISTS IN THE NEWS
Father Richard Reid missioned to Zimbabwe
Thailand: Pattaya Orphanage faces closure
PHOTO GALLERY (on-line only)
Photos from around the Redemptorist World
FEATURED MEDIA
Province of Mexico celebrates 100 years.
TRANSITIONS
Professions, Ordinations, Anniversaries, Deaths, Electoral News
This month we would like to remind our readers of the various ways you can receive SCALA. Our primary way of receiving SCALA is through e-mail. If you are not receiving SCALA in your e-mail it may be either because we don't have your e-mail, you have changed your e-mail, or because your internet service provider treats SCALA as "spam" and sends it to your spam box or deletes it automatically.
To get around this problem, we also offer SCALA through the RSS feed button just above the Index. Just follow the instructions and SCALA will be delivered to your computer automatically every month. Of course, if you happen to miss an issue of SCALA or wish to go back and look at a previous issue, SCALA is archived at the "News" menu button on www.cssr.com , more specifically at http://www.cssr.com/scala/index.shtml
You will also notice many links throughout SCALA that take you to related webpages and websites concerning the issue's contents. There is always a link to a photo section that illustrates many of the stories in SCALA or is a brief news item in itself in picture form.
Once again, I ask all units of the Congregation that have not yet responded, to send me in .jpg form, three or four photos of significance with a short caption about your unit for the next edition of ORBIS, which will be a pictorial edition. Thank you and enjoy this month's SCALA.
Grace and Redemption for All!
Gary Ziuraitis, C.Ss.R.
Argentina
Mario Marques, C.Ss.R.
A new mission in Esquel, Argentina
I am working in the new mission of Esquel, in the Patagonian region of Argentina. I am very happy to be able to follow in the footsteps of Christ the Redeemer as well as in the footsteps of our founder St. Alphonsus. And when I say that, I am not just saying that idealistically or as a metaphor, but in the reality of encountering so many similarities in these distant mountain villages of southern Argentina with that of the mission that Alphonsus carried out with the goat herders and abandoned country people of southern Italy.
At one point I spent time in a small village in the mountains near the border of Chile celebrating the Eucharist. The people in that region had not seen a priest or celebrated Mass in three months. It was a joy to share with them the love of God as manifested in Jesus Christ. It made me feel fulfilled and joyful to have been called by the Lord to this ministry. There are so many things to be grateful for and not enough time to recount them all.
On November 24, 2007, we officially began the Redemptorist mission in Esquel. The Bishop of the Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia, Virginio Domingo Bressanelli, S.C.I., numerous Redemptorists from the vice province of Resistencia, and Father Zdzisław Klafka, then provincial from Poland, were present with us for the ceremony.
We ask too for the prayers of all the confreres. United in the Redeemer, we extend our abrazos to all.
Haiti
The 'Alphonsian Family'
Parish Mission Preaching
The 'Alphonsian Family' is a missionary institution set up in the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on the occasion of the 300th centenary of the birth of our Founder St. Alphonsus in 1996. The decrease in parish mission preaching was the catalyst for this movement. Archbishop Joseph Serge Miot, Coadjutor Administrator, had already requested the Redemptorists to reinvigorate parish mission preaching. The "family" consists of four groups that share the spirituality of St. Alphonsus: the Redemptorists, the Redemptoristines, the Companions of Jesus and the Holy Family.
Fr. Joseph Claessens, a Belgian Redemptorist, initiated the idea that was later taken up by the famous Canadian missionary, Fr. Michel Lachance. There was much preparation and discussion entailing pastoral methods and mission systems but finally agreement was reached and the 'Alphonsian Family' was launched at an assembly held in 1997 at the Redemptorist House of Studies in Bois Patate.
Who are the 'Companions of Jesus'? It is a Secular Institute founded by Fr. Claessens on December 25, 1971, to preach the Good News to the poor at a time when there were few Redemptorists available for the task. It was made up of a number of young women vowed to the service of the Lord and whose mission was to evangelise the poor.
What is 'The Holy Family'? It is a lay movement founded in Belgium by Henri Belltable and Joseph Haeken in 1844. It was inspired by 'the evening chapels' of St. Alphonsus in Naples and was introduced to Haiti by the Belgian Redemptorist, Fr. Ernest Manise in 1929. Its purpose can be summed up as the poor preaching to the poor.
These two groups share the spirituality of St. Alphonsus and depend much on the prayers of Redemptorists.
Since its foundation the 'Alphonsian Family' organizes annual parish missions. Because Redemptorist students take part in these missions as well as the members of the 'Companions of Jesus' who work in the schools, they are not always free to choose the dates. There are two types of mission, one lasting at least eight days but with intense preparation and other shorter ones on the occasion of certain feasts or anniversaries.
The longer mission begins with a meeting with the parish priest and council to determine the program and the theme of the mission. Then a special retreat is preached at Easter by a team of five to seven people that includes the small chapels in the area. About two months before the opening of the mission a team of about fifty people are given three or four days of special training and then dispersed throughout the region to prepare the faithful. The mission lasting at least eight days is conducted by 30 to 40 members of the 'Family' in every corner of the parish. A careful evaluation is made after each mission.
The shorter form of the mission often coincides with feasts or anniversaries. This is also carefully prepared in advance with the various leaders who arrange times and places of various exercises. Usually eight to ten persons take part in the preaching and afterwards an evaluation is made.
The 'Alphonsian family' is aware of the great need of catechesis and so arranges various sessions for this purpose. There is a special team engaged in this apostolate, one of whose members, Sister Alta Emile, has spent two years in the Catechetical Centre of Lumen Vitae in Brussels.
This year we have conducted a particularly important mission in the parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel about fifteen kilometres from the capitol. This parish was celebrating its centenary with great enthusiasm. The mission was preached from July 7 to 15 and thirty-six missionaries took part. We visited the people and preached in every center of the area. Redemptorists were mobilized to ensure the possibility of all being to take part in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
This year marks a decade of our existence and we had the great privilege of preaching a mission in the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince that was broadcast by the Catholic radio. The closing ceremony was presided over by Mgr. Joseph Lafontant, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese, and was followed by a torchlight procession through the city.
The meetings of the 'Alphonsian Family' began in October 1997 and we preached our first mission in 1998. We have decided that this year, October 2007-October 2008, will be a year of evaluation. For this purpose we plan to visit all the parishes where we have preached in the past ten years and we want to offer them a session of formation. We are anxious as well to study the effects of our work where we have made so many efforts to evangelise.
Finally we wish to thank the Lord for having chosen us as his missionaries. We are grateful to the Redemptorists who by their prayers and support have enabled us to exist in spite of many difficulties. Our gratitude goes as well to Mgr. Joseph Serge Miot for his support, to 'The Companions of Jesus' for their love of the mission, to the Redemptoristines for their continual prayer and to the 'Holy Family' for their commitment and apostolic zeal that encourages us to go forward humbly in our aim to proclaim the Gospel.
In conclusion let us join together and sing with St. Paul: I am ruined if I do not preach the Gospel (1 Cor. 9: 16).
Austria and Poland
Year of St. Clement 2009
Lorenz Voith, C.Ss.R.
Preparations for the Year of St. Clement 2009, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the saint's canonization, are underway.
At a meeting in Vienna, an interprovincial preparatory commission outlined the major events of the festivities to celebrate the occasion of this centenary. The members of the inter-provincial commission are: Frs. Michael Zamkovsky (provincial, Bratislava), Peter Slobodnik (Bratislava), Sylvester Cabala (Warsaw), Marius Chyrowki (Warsaw), Stanislaw Prybil (provincial, Prague), Edmund Hipp (provincial, Munich), Martin Leitgöb (Vienna), Lorenz Voith (provincial, Vienna, director of the commission).
The following is an outline of their deliberations so far in the planning process:
1) May 19th - May 22nd 2009: Festive Week
Program:
May 19th: A Day in Vienna.
- In the footsteps of St. Clement Maria Hofbauer in Vienna (historical sites).
- Meeting with some Austrian Redemptorists (visitation of some new pastoral and social Redemptorist projects in Vienna).
- Visitation of the new "St. Clement's Museum" and exhibition.
- Opportunity to visit other sights of the city.
May 20th: (St. Clement was canonized at St. Peter's in Rome on May 20th, 1909).
The festivities will be jointly prepared and implemented by the provinces of Vienna, Munich and Bratislava.
Morning: St. Clement's relics are carried in solemn procession from Maria am Gestade to St. Stephen's Cathedral. Eucharist presided over by Cardinal Schönborn and Fr. General Joseph W. Tobin.
Afternoon: Ceremony in honor of St. Clement for all Redemptorists as well as for friends of the Redemptorists, collaborators, representatives of other religious communities, the Church of Austria and guests from the fields of politics (translations from German into English and Czech will be provided for).
Evening: Gaudeamus for all participants.
May 21st: Joint pilgrimage to Tasovice (where the saint was born). Meeting with Redemptorists from the Province of Prague and with people from South Moravia (Bishop of Brno). Eucharist.
May 22nd: Krakow: In the morning: opportunity to go sightseeing in the city.
In the afternoon: A Concert and afterwards the Holy Eucharist presided over by the Archbishop of Krakow and the General Government (translations from Polish into German and English will be provided for). Meeting with members of the Province of Warsaw.
Conclusion of the day: Gaudeamus for all participants.
End of the festivities.
Confreres from all over the world are invited to celebrate with us these festivities in Vienna, Tasovice, and Krakow!
Another invitation containing a detailed program is to follow in 2008. Organizational support (accommodations, means of transport etc.) will be provided for at the various locals. Redemptorists and friends of the Redemptorists from the USA (Provinces of Denver and Baltimore) have already informed us of their participation in these festivities.
2) Other fixed dates:
December 8th, 2008: Start of the jubilee year in the Province of Warsaw.
January 1st, 2009: Start of the jubilee year in the Province of Vienna.
March 6th-15th, 2009: St. Clement's Novena in Vienna - Maria am Gestade.
June 30th, 2009: Official closure of the jubilee year in the Province of Vienna (anniversary of the death of the Venerable Servant of God, Fr. Wilhelm Janauschek, C.Ss.R.).
October 2009: Symposium/workshop (Province of Warsaw, at Tuchow or Torun).
3) Further planning and preparatory work:
Film project: A documentary film containing scenes about St. Clement; at present a screenplay is being written. This film is intended to be translated into several languages. Contacts to TV stations are being made.
A musical on the life of St. Clement is being envisaged.
A documentary film "In the footsteps of St. Clement" about the original places in Tasovice, Warsaw and Vienna is in progress (Province of Warsaw).
A Festschrift containing the major items of the festivities is to be published in several languages (German, English, Polish, Czech, and Italian) at the beginning of 2009.
A separate web site (links) for the jubilee year is being planned.
Teaching material for all grades of elementary and secondary schools on the life and work of St. Clement as well as contemporary parallels and challenges is to be developed for classroom use.
Patron saint of the bakers: Collaboration with wholesale bakeries; creation of a "St. Clement's bread" with information about the saint; to be offered for sale in hundreds of retail shops.
Riddle Game for children in Vienna: "In the footsteps of the patron saint of Vienna".
Possibly: Foundation of a "Clement Maria Hofbauer Award" for special merits…
Short biography on St. Clement: Re-publication of the booklets on the saint.
Historical research work: in progress (Provinces of Warsaw and Vienna).
A LOGO for the jubilee year is being developed. It will be chosen in May 2008.
Cuba
Religious practice in Cuba
José Pablo Patiño Castillo, C.Ss.R.
The Catholic Church in Cuba has no place in the streets, the schools or public places. It is active only in the chapels. Indeed many of these chapels are now cultural centers such as the 'Minor Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi' in Havana, the Church of Holy Faith in the Isla de la Juventud and some others. Fr. Sergio Cámpara C.Ss.R., who is a missionary there, was promised the chapel of Santafereña some time ago by Caridad de Diego, Directress of the Office of Religious Affairs, but after a long delay it is still an illusion.
The faithful who come frequent places of worship by habit, as a result of the invitation of a friend or neighbour, or out of mere curiosity. Most of the church bells are in museums or adorn certain streets. Not many attend celebrations and almost all are elderly. Statistics tell us that up to 1960, seventy percent of the total population was Catholic although some were involved in masonry and communism. After the socialist revolution the percentage was reduced to 30 % and church attendance to 10%. The visit of the Pope in 1998 brought about an increase in church attendance, as well as in the following years, the arrival of various religious Congregations. The total population of Cuba is about 12 millions, including more than 2 millions abroad, especially in Miami.
A Jesuit priest, at a meeting of Religious men, spoke of the necessity of evaluating humble situations and conditions, which even though insignificant socially can be places where God is present. Such were places like Bethlehem and Nazareth. Such were people like Peter, John and Andrew, fishermen. Our small communities of the faithful, though reduced in number, are important people. Simple things bring joy to Jesus the Master and Lord of the harvest: "I praise you Father, because you have revealed these things to the humble…"small seeds called to germinate and become fruitful in 'plentiful redemption'.
During Holy Week, of course, and on the feast of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patroness of Cuba, the faithful turn up in greater numbers. In September, on the feast of the Virgin of Regla, in the town of the same name near Havana, great numbers come to the Eucharist and the procession. Up to 2000 people including the American Consul and his wife watched and were electrified, as the Image under a canopy of silver, donated it is said by the wife of Fulgencio Batista, was carried shoulder high through the streets adjacent to the sanctuary in a continual swaying movement. When they came in view of the bay the Image was raised with arms uplifted and held there for some minutes facing the sea.
Meanwhile the crowd became a small sea of fervor errupting into prayers, hymns, tears and applause as well as showering down flower petals, waving handkerchiefs and holding candles. Some even fainted from the heat and emotion.
Another occasion for greater participation in the Mass is when it is announced for the dead. Funerals here attract many. The relatives bring an offering of one or two pesos. They know nothing about stipends. The contribution of the faithful on the occasion of Mass or the sacraments in Cuban pesos scarcely covers the cost of the light and water for the churches.
State aid in Cuba does not go far beyond health and education and an allocation for funerals and a little food. You get the food on presentation of a voucher to poorly stocked shops whose owners cheat. For example one is due 4 kilos of rice and given 3.5, the excuse given that you 'would not be overloaded' when in each case usually an elderly person returns to reclaim it! What money is left has to be spent in stores and converted according to the value of the United States dollar into CUC's with a loss of 20%. A CUC equals 24 Cuban pesos. The monthly salary is 210 pesos. Some receive a retirement pension of 164 pesos. That of professionals can reach 500 pesos. Many people live on remittances sent in dollars from outside the country which means that there is no real equality and many get better health care because of their friends abroad!
For the upkeep of parochial houses, the support of priests and religious or any reconstruction work, recourse is made for funding from abroad, from Religious Congregations or the international assistance of other Churches. There is no question of building anything new. Just to survive without any luxury or recreation requires an abundant supply of dollars.
There is no custom of daily Mass. In our parish we have three chapels. In that of Guadalupe, looked after by the Brothers of the Love of God, the Eucharist is celebrated three times a week; in that of St. Joseph once a week; and in the main parish church on Sundays and Wednesdays when there is also the Novena in honor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help concluding with a personal blessing and at times the anointing with the oil of the Lord of Miracles. Eucharistic adoration is common on Thursdays in many places. Very few churches have an evening Mass on Sundays. In the Cuban context we think that a Eucharist in a miserable tumbledown chapel, attended by a few elderly people, is as important as that celebrated in St. Peter's in the Vatican by the Pope and Cardinals!
The Alphonsian Academy formally opened its academic year on October 4, 2007 with a liturgy in the church of Sant'Alfonso for the entire Academy administration, faculty, student body, and invited guests. The main celebrant was Bishop Salvatore Fisichella, auxiliary Bishop of Rome and Rector of the Lateran University in Rome. Father General, moderator of the Academy, was away from Rome so Father Jacek Dembek, Consultor General, represented the General Government. Fathers Martin McKeever, President, and Sean Cannon, Vice President, also concelebrated with the bishop.
After the liturgy, the festivities continued in the Academy's Aula Magna. The new president of the Academy Father Martin McKeever, C.Ss.R., of the province of Dublin, (cf. Scala#30, October 2007), presented the Academy report for the previous year and the expectations for the current academic year. Father Dennis Billy, professor of the History of Moral Theology and Christian Spirituality, of the province of Baltimore, who is completing 20 years of teaching at the Academy, gave the featured presentation on La vocazione del teologo moralista cattolico formato nella tradizione alfonsiana. (The Vocation of the Catholic Moral Theologian Formed in the Alphonsian Tradition.) Afterwards a reception was held in the Academy Foyer.
Complete statistics for the current academic year and a comparison with the last four academic years are available for your information in .pdf form at http://cssr.com/scala/Alphonsianum.pdf .
All Saint's Day brought sad news to the Academy and the community of Sant'Alfonso. Father Lorenzo Alvarez Verde, C.Ss.R., professor emeritus who had returned to Spain after over forty years at the Academy, died suddenly of an aneurism. He was remembered at a memorial Mass by the Academy held at the church of Sant'Alfonso on December 7th presided over by Father General. Father Alvarez's colleague, Father Francisco Lage, C.Ss.R., professor of Biblical Moral Theology at the Academy, gave the eulogy. Father Alvarez's teaching ministry had extended beyond the strictly Alphonsian Academy setting to include renewal courses such as those sponsored by the Divine Word Fathers (Nemi), the Pontifical Spanish College of Rome, the Hermanas Hospitalarias (Rome), and courses in various lay pastoral formation centers in Rome and other dioceses of Italy.
Colombia,
FUSA - Foundation of the University of St. Alphonsus
Forming ourselves for the New Millennium
Fr. Luis Antonio Rojas López, C.Ss.R, Rector.
Dear Confreres, warm greetings and very best wishes.
In this article we wish to share with you, comprehensively, the history, scope and achievements of our Institute of higher education, The Foundation of the University of St. Alphonsus (FUSA), begun seven years ago with a sense of great responsibility by the Province of Bogotá, Colombia.
The Foundation aims at forming genuine Christian pastors, priests and laypeople qualified to face the immense and complicated challenges of the new millennium. We educate them to be clearly aware of the cultural, ecumenical and missionary dimensions of ministry not only on the national level, but also conscious of the needs of Latin America and preparing them to respond as well to the restructuring of the Congregation worldwide.
The objectives and criteria aiming at integral formation can be expressed in the formula: From faith and reason we are forming for the new millennium. This identifies FUSA. Our identity is clear and we pay special attention to the demands of the Church for priestly formation.
History and Scope:
We received legal status from the Ministry of National Education on December 7, 2000. FUSA is the result of several years experience as a Center of Philosophy and Ministry (CEPAF), and as an Institute of Missionary Theology (ITEM).
From the philosophical aspect, FUSA combines the contribution and experience of CEPAF, founded in 1976 by the Missionaries of La Consolata and the Redemptorists. In addition to the traditional philosophical formation of a candidate for the priesthood, following the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and of the Conferences of the Latin American Episcopate, the pastoral and communication dimensions of the program have been intensified.
The theological department includes the contribution of ITEM founded for Redemptorist study in 1998 to continue priestly formation using a program responding to the needs of evangelical formation not only for priests but also for religious, members of lay Institutes and laypeople.
On December 1, 2006, we received the ecclesiastical recognition of the Archdiocese of Bogotá from the hands of His Eminence, Cardinal Pedro Rubiano Sáenz, Archbishop of Bogotá.
FUSA is approved for the following programs:
Philosophy-Theology registered in the National System of Information and Higher Education (SNIES) on July 9 2001.
Theology registered in SNIES July 25 2003.
Social Communication with emphasis on Pastoral Communications and Journalism registered in SNIES on July 18 2006 respectively.
In the same way the Ministry of National Education has approved the two Specialized Courses : Missiology for post graduate students of which we presently have 9 students. The other course is in Theological Ethics. It will begin next year.
FUSA follows fully the guidelines laid down by Colombian legislation for higher education and contributes its own vision and mission in the programs produced and presented to qualify for registration.
Today:
Since the beginning, FUSA has been growing year after year. The student body has increased from 90 students to 185 students through the participation of 26 different religious communities as well as seminarians from various dioceses and vicariates as well as laypeople. The following nations are represented: Ethiopia, Kenya, Congo, Tanzania, Haiti, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Paraguay and Colombia. We have made quite an impact on different religious communities in developing their programs and we are valued very positively for our contribution to priestly and missionary formation.
As a sign of its solidarity with other Catholic Universities of Latin America our Institution has agreements with regard to publications, scholarships, teachers, research, resources and other things with the following Universities:
The Foundation University Luis Amigo, Medellin, Colombia,
The Bolivarian Pontifical University, Medellin, Colombia,
The Xaverian Pontifical University, Bogotá, Colombia,
The San Bonaventura University, Bogotá, Colombia,
The Monserrate Foundation University, Bogotá, Colombia,
The Salazar Herrara University Institution, Medellin, Colombia,
The Catholic Foundation University of the North, Medellin, Colombia,
The University Institution CESMAG, Pasto, Colombia,
The Pontifical Catholic University of Parana Rua Immaculada Conceiçao, Brazil,
The Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador,
The Catholic University of Honduras 'Our Lady Queen of Peace',
The Catholic University of Pelotas, Brazil,
The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile,
The Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina,
The Network of Bogotá Catholic Universities linked with the Catholic Institute, Paris.
For further information on our Institute we invite you to visit our web page: www.fusa.edu.co and our e-mail is info@fusa.edu.co
We are grateful to the Province and the Congregation for their confidence in us to continue this work as a contribution to the Church and to society.
Vita Apostolica
Community
Félix Catalá C.Ss.R.
I would like to reflect briefly on another element which shapes our redemptorist religious life style: Community. While, to put it simply, community life does not constitute the end of the Institute, it is, according to Constitution 21, "an essential law of life for the members" in order to "fulfill their mission in the Church". This means that community exists for mission, to make effective the "apostolic charity" we are called to live. Constitution 21 stresses that "the community aspect must always be kept in mind when any missionary work is being accepted". Community is understood in direct relation to the first chapter of the Constitutions: our charism defines the necessity and the form of community life. The meaning of community is expanded in our Constitutions to envision, beyond the local or personal communities, the whole of the Congregation as well as the (vice) Provinces as real communities. The dimension of community demanded by the charism is all-encompassing.
Our Constitutions give us a flexible approach to our community life style, steering away from the fixed structures and norms in the previous Rule of the Congregation. The Constitutions and General Statutes now give a broad framework that is to be worked out at each structural level of the Congregation. The demands are not lessened. I would say that much more effort, responsibility and creativity are demanded in order to live faithfully our charism. It is necessary that the theme of Community be taken seriously in our present discernment on restructuring.
It is clear from the second Chapter of the Constitutions that community is not to be a totalitarian structure that suffocates the person (cf. Constitutions 34-38). Nor is it an anarchic or amorphous conglomerate that is ruled by individualism or improvisation (cf. Constitutions 44-45). Redemptorist community life attempts to bring into an oriented unity the diversity of personalities that enrich the Congregation and the Church.
A new concept is introduced to give expression to the demands of establishing authentic communities: Gospel friendship. We are called to form community in Christ. In order to live radically the requirements of the Gospel, we are called to come together in "Gospel friendship" in order to bring life to community, "even in its juridic and administrative dimension". This "Gospel friendship" also "maintains and gives growth to the community life of the members" (Constitution 34).
As Redemptorists we are "to continue the presence of Christ and his mission of Redemption in the world". This means that we freely "choose Christ" to be at the center of our life. Our community life growths as each member grows in an intimate personal relationship with him. The closer the union of each member with Jesus, the Christ, "the stronger will become their union with each other" (Constitution 23).
At this point rises the need to "cultivate the spirit of contemplation". Constitution 24 gives us a description of the fruit of Redemptorist contemplation: it enables us to "see God in the people and in the events of everyday life. They will see the plan of salvation in its true light, and be able to distinguish between what is real and what is illusory." The Redemptorist community, as a community of prayer, lives and moves in constant discernment, "docile to the Holy Spirit who works without ceasing to conform them to Christ, so that they learn to view all things as Christ does, and be of one mind with him" (Constitution 25).
A consequence of all this is that, even in those instances in which a confrere works and lives alone, he does so as part of a community in on-going discernment: the community gives him the necessary support in sending him and he knows and feels at each moment that he is not just "realizing" his self or his talents but fundamentally carrying out a mission of the community (cf. General Statutes 026-027). Another consequence is that at times one can find oneself working and living in a way one would not choose but which, in discernment with the community, one carries out gladly in obedience to the Spirit and in order to be a sign of abundant redemption as a member of the Redemptorist community.
There are, therefore, two fundamental criteria in establishing Redemptorist communities: "the demands of evangelization and the requirements of brotherly love" (Constitution 22). These two come together at one and at the same time in an indissoluble unity that is structured in such a way to give witness to Christ and the truth of the Kingdom of God where we live and carry out our ministry. In this way our "vita apostolica" finds concrete expression as community.
Wherever we are, whatever we do, our communities are to be signs of God's love and of salvation in Christ. In concrete, this means that each community (provincial, local) ought to understand well the reality in which it lives in order to structure itself as a real and effective sign of the Gospel of Christ there. In its way of living and organizing itself, the community witnesses to the type of community God envisions for humanity. In asking what is the sense of religious life today, we face the question of what it means to be human today in a concrete society and culture. Each society and culture presents its own challenges to which we respond by our way of living and being. In itself, community life is a powerful instrument of evangelization. Our Constitutions give us the flexibility to do this whether we are in the Americas or in Asia, for example, leaving doors open to search for ways in which to proclaim the Good News from within and to the cultures in which we live.
Recent General Chapters have pointed out the need to face the rampant individualism in many of our societies and cultures. Perhaps too often this individualism has become part of our life style. One thing is to respect and take into account the person and the value of personal life before God. A person cannot but exist in relationships that become an expression of the Trinitarian community. It is quite another to focus on the individual and the satisfaction of his needs and the realization of his talents as an absolute principle. The renaissance English poet and preacher John Donne gave expression to a profound truth that has resonated throughout the world, beyond the European confines of its metaphor.
No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Our communities face the challenge of the brutal neo-capitalism that fosters a culture of death and of "each man for himself". We must resist the temptation to "nest" in the comfort of self-satisfaction and form communities that proclaim the will of God, the Kingdom of God, ad instar apostolorum.
Questions for Reflection:
1. In what ways is our community an open community that is "a leaven in the world" and a "living witness of hope" (Constitution 43)?
2. Do our present forms of community prayer nourish our vocation and strengthen our missionary zeal?
3. How does our community life promote our "conversion of heart and continual renewal of mind"?
Scotland
Father Richard Reid, C.Ss.R. to go to Zimbabwe
Joanna Vallely, Edinburgh News
The leader of a campaign to have an Edinburgh factory worker made a saint has pledged to take his cause to Zimbabwe.
Fr. Richard Reid, of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church on the Cowgate, will be traveling to the troubled African nation in February to run a priest training center.
The appointment of the 35-year-old Father Reid, who had just begun studying for a doctorate in Belgium, has come as a huge shock to the tight-knit community at St. Patrick's.
But Father Reid – who oversaw the exhumation and reburial of Edinburgh's possible first saint who is buried on the church grounds, Venerable Margaret Sinclair, and produced a film about her life – said he was excited by the challenge.
Father Reid last visited the Redemptorist Order Mission in Harare, the Zimbabwean capitol, in August 2006, although the political situation in the country has since become increasingly unstable under Robert Mugabe's regime.
Father Reid said: "I have very mixed emotions. I'm thrilled to have a new challenge, but also a bit daunted. It's an amazing place, with a real vibrancy. It's a young church, but has many problems and political challenges, which are always there in people's lives."
He said he intended to teach people about Ms. Sinclair, a Cowgate-born factory worker, who is renowned for her charitable work with the poor in Edinburgh's slums.
She died in 1925, and has already been given Venerable status by the Catholic Church – a major step on the way to sainthood.
Father Reid said: "I'll be spreading the devotion to Margaret Sinclair and will make sure people are praying to her. In the townships you get 3,000 people at a time at Mass, so there will be plenty of opportunity to let people know about her.
"I'll show the film about her life, and I carry a big picture of her with me, which I'll put up in one of the community rooms. It's a wonderful way to keep up the links with Edinburgh and the people of St. Patrick's, who have been so generous to the mission in Zimbabwe."
Father Ed Hone of St. Patrick's said Father Reid's appointment had been a complete surprise.
"Richard had said before that he would drop everything to go, if he was ever needed. He was approached and said yes straight away.
"He has been training priests for seven years very successfully and his move will be announced in St. Patrick's this weekend."
Having visited Zimbabwe himself, Father Hone admitted that he was worried about his long-time colleague going to live in the African country, which suffers from political strife and repression.
"It's so insecure and volatile out there. Mugabe very quickly points the finger at white Europeans for anything going wrong. Richard knows that and is still prepared to go. The people of St. Patrick's will be very excited and anxious for him."
Father Reid was at St. Patrick's for more than six years, until he started a three-year course in the spirituality and psychology of vocation at the Catholic University of Louvain in September this year.
Thailand
Orphaned a Second Time
Pataya People Newspaper
For many people this breaking news will come as a shock: The Father Ray Foundation established by the late Father Raymond Brennan, [C.Ss.R., 1932 – 2003] has been told to leave the Pattaya Orphanage by January 1st, 2008, by the owners of the land, the Diocese of Chanthaburi under the leadership of Bishop Lawrence Pienchai Samanchit. Representatives of the Father Ray Foundation says that the children, all orphans now, become orphans for the second time, as all the people of the Father Ray Foundation have been like their family during their stay at the Pattaya Orphanage. Now this "family" is being taken away from the children. This news has come as a shock to many people, who have supported and been involved in the running of Pattaya Orphanage. Pattaya People Weekly has been talking to representatives of the Father Ray Foundation, to supporters of the foundation and to Bishop Pienchai.
The following statement was issued by Father Lawrence Patin, C.Ss.R., Managing director of Fr. Ray Foundation on December 12, 2007:
"Dear Friends, I regret to inform you that as of January 1, 2008, the Pattaya Orphanage and the School for Deaf Children will no longer be managed by the Redemptorists under the Fr. Ray Foundation. The Orphanage was founded by Fr. Ray Brennan in 1974 on a piece of land owned by the Diocese of Chanthaburi. However, the agreement between the diocese and Fr. Ray Foundation, allowing the Redemptorists to manage the Orphanage and the School, expires at the end of this year and will not be renewed. The Diocese has decided to manage the Orphanage and School by themselves.
I wish to assure you that all the other good works and projects for the poor and disadvantaged children and young adults started by Fr. Ray will continue on as usual. The Redemptorist School for Blind Children, the Redemptorist Vocational School for Disabled Young Adults, the Redemptorist Children's Home, are all located on land owned by the Fr. Ray Foundation. The Drop-in-Center for Street Kids will continue on as well. Sponsorship of children and young adults at these projects will continue on as usual. As for sponsorship at the Orphanage and the School for the Deaf, I ask you to contact me or my secretary and we will work out what is best for you and for the child you are sponsoring.
I hope and trust that you will continue your generous support for the more than 700 children and disabled young adults under the care of the Fr. Ray Foundation. May God bless you."
The concern from the Father Ray Foundation is that the Diocese will use the land of the Pattaya Orphanage to build a highly profit making Catholic school, a plan that the late Father Ray was very opposed to, as his plans were to use the land to build a Catholic church. Father Ray had ongoing arguments with the Diocese and the Bishop about the policy of the orphanage. Father Ray apparently wanted to expand whereas the Bishop wanted a very small orphanage with only 40 children.
However, after leaving the Pattaya Orphanage, the Father Ray Foundation will still be in control of the Redemptorist School for the Handicapped, The Blind School, The Street Kids Home and other institutions in Pattaya.
Pattaya People Weekly spoke exclusively to Bishop Pienchai, who openly was happy to answer our questions. We asked him what would happen to the children of the orphanage after the take over on January 1, 2008. His answer was: "Everything will continue as usual. However, the administration of the Father Ray Foundation has made the donors, especially the English Trust, stop supporting the orphanage. As such we will not have enough money to run the place, and I have told them that this only hurts the children. I have written to the English Trust and asked them to continue supporting the children, but I have had no answer from them."
Answering to our question if there were plans to build a Catholic school on the land of the orphanage, the Bishop answered, "If we cannot get support from the English Trust and other supporters of the orphanage, we have no other choice than to build a school as this would make us a lot of money." The Bishop continued: "In the past Father Ray and the Diocese had no problems, whereas the present administration does not follow the policies of the Diocese. Therefore we have no alternative than to ask them to leave, we are the owners of the land so this is our right."
Pattaya People Weekly visited the Orphanage and talked to the staff of the Father Ray Foundation. They were all very cautious to make any statements, they are all acting in a gentlemanly-like manner by not criticizing the Bishop or the Diocese, as this only would hurt the situation for the children. But it is clear that there is a lot of anger, frustration and sadness.
The new administration will not take over totally empty handed, as we were informed that a bank account with 5 million baht (US$ 164,000) will remain with the Orphanage, but that might not cover running costs for more than three months.
Pattaya People Weekly will follow this situation closely and keep our readers informed. Only time will tell if the children again will be the victims of unfortunate circumstances.
1. The main celebrant and homilist of the Alphonsianum's Eucharist opening the academic year was Bishop Salvatore Fisichella, auxiliary Bishop of Rome and Rector of the Lateran University in Rome.
2. The faculty and student body of the Alphonsianum gather in general assembly in the Aula Magna at the beginning of the academic year.
3. The Academy held a memorial Mass for Father Lorenzo Alvarez Verde, C.Ss.R., professor emeritus of the Alphonsianum, who passed away in Madrid Spain on All Saint's Day.
4.FUSA – The Foundation of the University of Saint Alphonsus, Bogotá, Columbia, located in the Barrio of La Soledad..
5. The foundation´s curriculum of Social Communications includes the study of digital radio. The study of radio is also included in the areas of pastoral communications and public speaking, spread through the various programs of Philosophy and Theology.
6. Computer rooms with capacity for thirty computers, totally on-line, with broadband internet service.
7. The book stacks of the library contain more than 4,000 volumes. The students have access by internet to the libraries of the Raises and Quiroga seminaries.
9. The Redemptorist Church of the Holy Cross in Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil decorated in Christmas lights.
10. Father Mario Marques, C.Ss.R. poses with youth from the new mission in Esquel, Argentina
11. The Bishop of the Diocese of Comodoro Rivadavia, Virginio Domingo Bressanelli, S.C.I., numerous Redemptorists from the vice province of Resistencia, and Father Zdzisław Klafka, then provincial from Poland, concelebrated the liturgy that opened the new mission in Esquel, Argentina.
12. The parishioners of Esquel, Argentina participate in the opening of the Redemptorist apostolate in Esquel, Argentina.
13. The Alphonsian Family of Haiti gathers for the closure of the July 15th mission.
14. Father Peltrop Gilbert, C.Ss.R., Region of Haiti, Director of the Alphonsian Family.
15. Bishop Joseph Lafontant preaches at the closing Mass of the July 15th mission in Haiti..
The Province of Mexico is celebrating their 100th Anniversary. In the following slideshow they feature the charisms of the Congregation, the culture of Mexico, and the beautiful People of God to whom they minister.
http://picasaweb.google.com/cmbonfilio/MisioneroCssr/photo#s5145548053477399458
Recent noteworthy events in the Redemptorist Family. For a complete record of Transitions visit the Officialia site
First Profession of Temporary Vows:
Joseph Tamotsu Inami, Vice Province of Tokyo, December 3, 2007
Profession of Perpetual Vows:
Oscar Daniel Chamorro, Vice Province of Resistencia, July 27, 2007
Oleh Chykharivs'kyj, Province of Lviv, August 12, 2007
Ostap Dudak, Province of Lviv, August 12, 2007
Volodymyr Kozak, Province of Lviv, August 12, 2007
Vitalij Nazar, Province of Lviv, August 12, 2007
Volodymyr Sabat, Province of Lviv, August 12, 2007
Kingsley Sampson Ebhodaghe, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
Vincent Ifeanyickukwu Ezezue, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
Francis Linus Imoedemhe, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
Ernest Chijioke Ndukwe, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
Cornelius Iheoma Ofoegbu, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
James Denen Vembe, Vice Province of Nigeria, September 29, 2007
Donald Berry Willard Jr., Province of Denver, October 27, 2007
Fransiskus Xavierius da Cunha, Province of Indonesia, November 9, 2007
Marcelinus Lelu Lede, Province of Indonesia, November 9, 2007
Marselinus, Silviandre Ta, Province of Indonesia, November 9, 2007
Yuseph Tanggu, Province of Indonesia, November 9, 2007
Ordination to the Priesthood:
Petro Loza, Province of Lviv, August 26, 2007
Cecil Cedric Dowling, Province of South Africa, September 29, 2007
Frederico Augusto de Oliveira, Province of Goiás, November 24, 2007
Stéphane Jean, Region of Port-au-Prince, December 2, 2007
Alix Joseph, Region of Port-au-Prince, December 2, 2007
Josué Joseph, Region of Port-au-Prince, December 2, 2007
Tyrone Anthony Sam, Province of South Africa, December 8, 2007
Meyasser Petrus Behnam Moussa Al-Kas, Province of St. Clement/Region of Iraq, December 21, 2007.
Deaths:
Rev. Damião de Oliveira Antunes, ,74, Province of Rio de Janeiro, November 15, 2007
Rev. Claude Lamieux, 72, Province of Edmonton-Toronto, December 2, 2007
Rev. Alfredo De Miguel Alonso, 75, Province of Madrid, December 11, 2007
Br. Willy Thiry, 67, Region of Belgium-South, December 14, 2007
Rev. Thomas Francis Schmidt, 72, Province of Baltimore, December 14, 2007
Br. Josef (Matthias) Klos, 70, Province of Munich, December 21, 2007
Rev. Arthur Roland Rossie, 85, Province of Denver, December 25, 2007
60th Jubilee of Ordination:
Earl Joseph Toups, Province of Denver, January 6, 2008
Robert C. Simon, Province of Denver, January 6, 2008
William Francis McKee, Province of Denver, January 6, 2008
50th Jubilee of Ordination:
João Pereira Gomes, Province of São Paulo, January 1, 2008
25th Jubilee of Profession:
Antonio Jesús Muñoz González, Province of Bogotá, January 6, 2008
Pavol Tomko, Vice Province of Michalovce, January 6, 2008
Glenn Michael Cecil de Cruz, Vice Province of Ipoh, January 30, 2008
João Batista de Almeida, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
José Manoel Belo de Oliveira, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
Ernesto Coelho da Costa, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
Jerónimo Colombo, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
Manoel Aparecido dos Santos, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
Reinaldo Norberto das Graças Tristão, Province of São Paulo, January 30, 2008
Electoral News:
Rev. Ronald John McAinsh, elected Provincial Superior of the Province of London. Confirmed December 12, 2007..
Rev. Gerard Patrick Mulligan, elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of London. Confirmed December 13, 2007.
Rev. Lorenz Walter Voith, re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Vienna. Confirmed December 14, 2007.
Rev. Patrick Francis Woods, re-elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Baltimore. Confirmed December 17, 2007.
Rev. Alfred Eugene Bradley re-elected Vicar Provincial of the Province of Baltimore. Confirmed December 17, 2007.
Rev. Ryszard Bozek, elected Provincial Superior of the Province of Warsaw. Confimred December 18, 2007.
Nominations:
Rev. Winand Claessens nominated Regional Superior of the Region of Belgium-South
Rev. André Philippe nominated Regional Vicar of the Region of Belgium-South.
Rev. Maurice Adam nominated Second Consultor of the Region of Belgium-South.
Confirmed December 13, 2007
Erection of Vice Province:
The Region of Nigeria erected as the Vice Province of Nigeria, December 13, 2007.
Suppression of House:
"St. Mary's" in Bacolod City, Republic of the Philippines, suppressed on December 6, 2007.