Newsletter of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
Rome, Italy
October 16, 2005

From the Editor:

We have a large photo gallery this month. Be sure to look at it.

We would like to draw your attention to some recent letters from the General Government to the Congregation, which have been mailed to all the provinces, but are also available on our cssr.com website: They are:

We would also like to draw your attention to the website version of Inscriptiones, where you can find updated address lists for all Redemptorist communities, Superiors of Units, Redemptorist bishops, the Redemptoristines and other related Institutes. It is located at: Addresses  In order to keep these lists updated, we kindly ask that all changes or corrections, etc. be sent to the Secretary General of the Congregation: seg.gen@cssr.com.

In other quick headlines:

Father General is attending the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist at the Vatican during this month and will deliver an intervention during the course of the Synod.
You may find it by going to:General Government Documents and Communications

Father Bruno Visuri, of the Rome Province, was installed as prefect of Sant' Alfonso Church here in Rome on Sunday, October 2. He succeeds Father Pawel Pakula of the Warsaw Province.

The ceremonial closing of the Year of St. Gerard will be on October 16th, with a Mass at the Shrine of St. Gerard at Materdomini, Italy. We had space to report only a few of the many events held in the Congregation around the world to commemorate St. Gerard's anniversaries of death and canonization. Thank you for contributing news of these activities to SCALA this past year.

Grace and Redemption for All!
Gary Ziuraitis, C.SS.R.

Recent noteworthy events in the Redemptorist Family. For a complete record of transitions
visit the Officialia site

First Profession of Temporary Vows:

Thomas Augustine Ha Quoc Dung, Vice Province of Extra Patriam, July 30, 2005
Dominic Nguyen Ngoc Khanh, Vice Province of Extra Patriam, July30, 2005
Alphonsus Nguyen Phuoc Hanh, Vice Province of Extra Patriam, July 30, 2005
Alphonsus Maria Tran Dat Nhan, Vice Province of Extra Patriam, July 30,2005
Miroslav Bujdos, Vice Province of Michalovce, August 15, 2005
Maros Kriska, Vice Province of Michalovce, August 15, 2005
Darwin Rene Patiño Uyaguari, Province of Quito, August 15, 2005
Elmer Francisco Pinza Robles, Province of Quito, August 15, 2005
Walter Ivan Villacres Benavides, Province of Quito, August 15, 2005
Daniel Nguyen, Province of Denver, August 20, 2005
Thomas T. Pham, Province of Denver, August 20, 2005
Peter Quang Vu, Province of Denver, August 20, 2005
Thomas Gerard Berndt, Province of Baltimore, September 3, 2005
Miguel Castro Castro, Province of Madrid, September 3, 2005
Carlos Sánchez De La Cruz, Province of Madrid, September 3, 2005

Profession of Perpetual Vows:

Ferdinandus Apolonius Djaga Kota, Province of Indonesia, July 7, 2005
Yosep Gabriel Hoeng Baoninang, Province of Indonesia, July 7, 2005
Denis John Ryan, Province of Denver, August 9, 2005
Manuel Sãnchez García, Province of Madrid, September 3, 2005
Gaetano Desiderio, Province of Naples, September 9, 2005
Gerardo Giordano, Province of Naples, September 9, 2005
Thomas William McCluskey, Province of Baltimore, September 9, 2005
James Vincent Szobonya, Jr., Province of Baltimore, September 9, 2005

Ordination to the Priesthood:

Augusto António García Oajaca, Vice Province of San Salvador, August 20, 2005
Badeea N'Butrus, Province of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, September 10, 2005

Deaths:

Brother Eduardo (António) Carreño Moya, 78, Province of Santiago, November 11, 2004
Rev. Vincenzo Parziale, 88, Province of Naples, August 15, 2005
Rev. Camille Heinis, 91, Province of Strasbourg, September 3, 2005
Rev. Bernard Paul Mulligan, 89, Province of Denver, September 3, 2005
Brother Jakob (Alfons-Maria) Hodel, 89, Province of St. Clements/Region of Helvetica, September 11, 2005
Rev. Jean-Marie Labonté, 91, Province of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, September 21, 2005
Rev. Jean Marie Nguyen Duc Thong, 84, Vice Province of Extra Patriam, September 26, 2005
Rev. Ernesto Gravagnuolo, 89, Province of Naples, September 29, 2005

  Index

News from the Provinces

Vice Province of Michalovce
Stará L'ubovna, Slovakia
New community house is blessed in Stará L'ubovna

The rich heritage of the Congregation shone in the summer sun as Redemptorists from central and Eastern Europe gathered to bless the new community house in Stará, a small town in eastern Slovakia. Over the weekend of August 19-21, Father Jaroslav Stelbaský, viceprovincial superior, and the confreres of the Vice-Province of Michalovce welcomed representatives from the Provinces of Prague, Vienna, St. Clement and Warsaw as well as their neighbors from the Vice-Province of Bratislava, Slovak Redemptorists of the Latin rite. The General Government was present as well in the persons of Father General and Father Jacek Dembek, general consultor.

A new church had been constructed and dedicated in Stará L'ubovna after the demise of the communist regime. This church has been beautifully decorated by Father Kamil Dráb, a gifted artist and iconographer. The bright hues of the new community house reflect the talents of this confrere, who has made certain that the community will live in light and color. The property for the church and house were donated by the town and the bishop has recently given title of the parish to the Congregation.

Saturday, August 19, there was a celebration for Redemptorists, many of whom would have to miss the festivities of the following day because of pastoral commitments. Father General presided at the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostum and preached the homily. This celebration was followed by a delicious supper that included more than seventy confreres. On Sunday, August 20, the local ordinary, Bishop Ján Babyak, presided at the blessing of the house, the Divine Liturgy and the dedication of a beautiful statute to Blessed Methodius  Dominick Trcka, which graces the entrance to the property. Although a Jesuit, the bishop proved himself to be a shepherd after the heart of Saint Alphonsus. After a liturgical celebration of nearly four hours, he still had enough energy to lead the Redemptorists and townspeople in a rousing chorus of Slovak folk songs.

Today the Vice-Province of Michalovce counts 39 members with an average age of 41. These confreres serve the Greek Catholic Church preach missions and retreats and administer parishes in Slovakia, Ukraine, Croatia and Canada. Particularly difficult is the service to Greek Catholics in the Subcarpathia, an impoverished region of Ukraine where a severe shortage of clergy has led the confreres to accept responsibility for many parishes scattered through the mountains. The confreres occasionally assist the Redemptorists of the Latin rite in their own missions. The Redemptorists also sponsor a publications center in Michalovce, the city where the relics of Blessed Trcka are venerated.

Denver Province
An Interview with Father Edward Cosgrove, C.SS.R.
Surviving a Hurricane
Biloxi, Mississippi/Liguori, Missouri USA

Editor's note: In a "Scala Exclusive," Father Norman J. Muckerman, 87 years old, and a former editor of the Liguorian magazine, interviewed 84 Year old Father Edward Cosgrove, who was a member of the Biloxi retirement community that rode out and survived Hurricane Katrina.

NJM: Ed, you were a US Navy veteran during World War II. Did your experiences in the Navy prepare you for Hurricane Katrina?

Cosgrove: I was in the tail end of a typhoon in October 1945 in waters near Manila. That was rough, but not nearly as bad as Hurricane Katrina.

NJM: How and why did the CSSR community at Biloxi decide to stay at home and ride out the storm?

Cosgrove: We made no official decision on this. In fact, one confrere left Sunday morning for northern Louisiana and the rest of us felt that, by this time, the highways were pretty well gridlocked. We didn't want to be caught in an automobile, especially since two of our four members are diabetic and dependent on having access to medicine at all times. So, staying seemed like the right thing to do.

NJM: So when the storm hit Biloxi, what did you do?

Cosgrove: By Monday morning the tidal surge was running up on shore almost to our house, It didn't take long for the water to slam into the first floor of our house and soon it got to be waist high in the chapel. So we took the Blessed Sacrament upstairs and started to carry up other goods too. We were late in doing this. We lost a lot of good liturgical books and other publications that were stored in the chapel. We also brought up food and drink from downstairs.

NJM: After the devastation, what did you all do during those four days and nights when you were waiting out the effects of the storm and were totally without communication with the outside world?

Cosgrove: After the storm passed over, things calmed down enough that we were able to sit out in front of our house and enjoy a little breeze from the bay. (cf. picture gallery) During those days we celebrated daily Mass, a great consolation for us. We prayed together, talked a lot about theology and pastoral matters, etc. The clergy from the Cathedral (near by) urged us to leave Biloxi as soon as possible. On Friday we finally got word from Baton Rouge that help was coming and it arrived soon.

NJM: What was the worst part, the most difficult part of your experience?

Cosgrove: Being without water and not knowing if any would be available. But our wonderful cook saw to it that we got a lot of drinking water supplied to our house, so the danger did not last very long.

NJM: Did you get any other help from outside?

Cosgrove: Yes,the various governmental agencies --federal,state and local -- were very good once they arrived. We certainly cannot complain about them.

NJM: "The south shall rise again" is an old [post civil war] expression. Do you think it is applicable now to the hurricane damaged areas in general and to the CSSR house in Biloxi?

Cosgrove: Yes and no. I think the city of Biloxi will make a fine comeback. But I don't think that our CSSR retirement community will be back. We are mostly old fellows now, some of us infirm, so I think that our CSSR days in Biloxi are over. But they were good while they lasted.

(Editor's note: Another band of four Redemptorists was preparing to go to Biloxi in a new apostolic initiative in the diocese of Biloxi, but had not yet arrived when the hurricane struck. They are still wanted and needed by the diocesan bishop and will take up the pastoral care of three parishes, all of which also sustained damage in the hurricane.)

Denver Province
St. Mary's Assumption Church; Shrine of Blessed Seelos, C.SS.R.
New Orleans, Louisiana

Fr. Byron Miller, C.Ss.R., Director of the Shrine to Blessed Francis Seelos, C.Ss.R., writes:

"In the two weeks since Hurricane Katrina struck, I have been able to return twice to New Orleans with proper clearances and protections to visit the National Shrine of Blessed Francis X. Seelos and St. Mary’s Assumption Church. All of the sacred Seelos items that could be transported were taken out when I first evacuated before the storm, with remaining items removed in subsequent trips. On my last visit into New Orleans yesterday, I met with the heavy military presence in the neighborhood. They inspected the five buildings known as Redemptorist Apartments while I was there to make sure there were no residents still in their apartments. No one was found!

Electricity has been restored to the big substation in our area, but as of yesterday, it was not transmitted to the individual households. This made cleaning out some of the rectory refrigerators an even more pungent task.

The cross and top parapet portion of one of the twin towers on the St. Alphonsus Art and Cultural Center across Constance Street blew directly over the Redemptorist Apartments during the storm and landed in the middle of the rectory courtyard, yards away from the outdoor Seelos statue. ( Click here  to link up with the Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos Shrine website.)

Fr. Richard Luberti, C.Ss.R., in Baton Rouge, reports that Deacon Denis Ryan, C.Ss.R., stationed in New Orleans and presently living at St. Gerard's in Baton Rouge, after arriving with Fathers Joseph Armshaw, Albert Babin, and Earl Toups at St. Clement’s Health Center in Liguori, Missouri, September 7, loaded up the van for the return trip to Baton Rouge with clothing and basic living necessities such as soap and shampoo secured by the employees of St. Clement’s Health Center, Liguori Publications and Liguori Mission House. The van was literally filled to its ceiling with needed relief items.

Besides these basic items, the Redemptorist community at St. Clement's Health Care Center gave Deacon Denis a check for $5,000 to secure other items needed or to give to survivors to help them through this crisis by assisting them with needed monies to pay for food, clothing and shelter.

Today work crews are traveling to St. Mary's in New Orleans to cover holes in the church caused by blown out stain glass windows. Hopefully the temporary repairs will prevent any further rain damage.

The National Guard have now vacated the temporary shelter the Redemptorists provided at St. Gerard's.

Lastly, Fr. Luberti sent pictures of St. John Neumann Residence in Biloxi where Fathers Armshaw, Babin, Cosgrove, and Toups rode out Hurricane Katrina. The building is located two blocks from the Gulf. It survived Hurricane Camile and now Hurricane Katrina while many of the buildings around it were totally destroyed or completely vanished!

The Redemptorists in New Orleans and Biloxi know the people who are in need and abandoned. Many of these people are now unemployed due to the damages done to businesses in New Orleans and elsewhere. Other news stories will soon supplant the aftermath of Katrina, yet, these people will need help in the many months ahead as they rebuild their lives and homes.

Please send any financial contributions for these relief efforts to Fr. Peter Schavitz, C.Ss.R., President of Redemptorist Development, 1230 S. Parker Road, Denver, CO 80231. USA. Make checks payable to Redemptorists/Denver Province and in the memo section write Katrina Relief.

London/Taize
Father Larry Kauffmann
The Day of the London Bombings/Meeting Brother Roger before his death

(Editor's note: Fathers Cyril Axelrod, who is deaf and blind, and Larry Kauffmann, no strangers to the pages of Scala, had coincidental encounters with two of the summer's major stories. Father Kauffmann shares their excellent adventures!)

I came over to London to learn deafblind communication and guiding, so as to take Cyril (Father Cyril Axelrod, C.SS.R.) for his retreat to Taize. Having done the course, I was ready to make the pilgrimage. We left his place on the morning of July 7 at 9.15 am. We got to Camden underground station at 9.30 and were told there was a shut down. So with a deafblind man on one arm and a suitcase on the other, we got onto a London bus bound for Liverpool Street Station via Kings Cross.

After a while we passed people walking in the other direction who shouted at the driver: "You don't want to go there." Eventually after sitting two hours on the bus without moving, over the bus intercom system we heard instructions for buses to be evacuated, and return to their depots. I told the driver about Cyril's deafblindness, and he agreed to let us stay on and in fact he took us back to Camden, out of his way, before heading off for his depot.

Cyril I and were due to take the Northern line and change at Moorgate for Liverpool Street Station, in order to get the train to Standsted Airport and then on to France and Taize. It was between those very two stations that one of the bombs went off only 30 minutes before!

After a day's delay, Cyril and I eventually made the journey the following day. But when we got to Stansted, we had a bomb scare on our Easyjet plane and had to evacuate! To cut a long story short, we got to Taize the following day - 48 hours after we first set out! Well, all I can say is that the whole experience was quite hectic while trying to communicate with Cyril on his hand in the various emergencies. But Taize was a grace beyond compare for Cyril, so God is good. Later, back home, we were shocked to learn of Brother Roger's murder at Taize on August 16th.

On our visit in July we had not expected to see Brother Roger, the founder of the Taizé community. I suppose I simply assumed that he was too old and frail to attend the hour long prayers. But just before the 8.30 p.m. night prayers on our first night at Taizé I was able to relay to Cyril the wonderful sight of a small and bent man shuffling along the centre aisle clinging tenaciously to the long wide sleeves of two Taizé brothers. He took his place at the back of the community, and towards the end of the prayers led the 5000 strong congregation in one of the beautiful short and inspiring prayers for which he is famous

We were to meet Brother Roger ourselves twice after that. On Sunday Cyril and I were invited to concelebrate with about a dozen other priests at the Eucharist. We took our places to the left of the sanctuary. The simplicity of the Taizé liturgy, and the fact that I had earlier interpreted the readings of the day to Cyril, allowed us to participate fully and without my rushing to "catch up" on lengthy words. The great thing too about all Taizé liturgy is that there is never any homily! Ideal for a communicator-guide like me! At the end of the Eucharist, Brother Roger was brought to meet the concelebrating priests, taking the faces of each one of us in turn in his hands and embracing us on both cheeks.

On Tuesday Cyril and I were invited to join the community for lunch after the midday prayer. It is quite a walk from the main church to the monastery, so by the time Brother Emile had led us there, the 60 or so brothers were already seated in the garden at a very long table under the shade of a row of poplar trees. Brother Roger's place was half way down the table, facing the green valley below with its grazing fields of white Charolais cattle. The meals are always taken in silence, Brother Emile explained. My selfish side breathed a silent sigh of relief. It meant that I would be able to enjoy a meal less interrupted than normal by having to be an interpreter in between mouthfuls. All that would be required of me would be to point Cyril in the direction of his plate, the utensils, and the wine glass. Yes, we enjoyed lovely French vin rouge with a meal of olives, tuna and lettuce for starters, and rice and ratatouille with sausage for main course, followed by some delicious light cheese.

As the meal broke up, Emile led us over to Brother Roger, introducing the two South African Redemptorists and explaining Cyril's conversion from Judaism and his condition of deafblindness. Brother Roger reached out to Cyril, took his head into his hands, kissed his forehead, and then clasped Cyril's hands and kissed them. And this time it was Cyril who placed a cross with his thumb on Brother Roger's forehead. With a tear in my eyes I could not help feeling that this was a unique encounter between two holy men who spoke not a word but who touched each other at a depth of spirit that can only be described as pure communion.

In Spiritu Redemptionis

In Spiritu Redemptionis
Sean Wales
Hospitality

"Hospitality" is a favourite word of everybody. It evokes kindliness and graciousness and points to a quality which most people like to think they possess. It encompasses sensitivity and care and when recognised produces a warm glow of satisfaction.

Hospitality is of course a much tougher quality than may at first appear. It is a moral virtue which can make significant demands on one's patience, courtesy and good-will. From its classical etymology hospitality refers to the situation of being either a host or a guest and always there is the undercurrent of care and sensitivity.

In most world religions hospitality is treasured as a sacred trust. In our Christian tradition there is a whole spirituality built around the idea of welcoming the stranger; mutual hospitality shared among Christians and Christian hospitality to be shown to all.

I want to suggest that not only is hospitality a central Christian virtue but it can also be seen as an attractive part of the language of redemption.

We are all guests in God's world. Our very existence is courtesy of God's initiative. Held in being at every moment we exist because our host cares and sustains us. We not only share our existence with all creation but we have been called into an astonishing relationship - we call it a covenant relationship - with our host.

Our behaviour in God's world has not been that of the perfect guest. We have not only defaced our host's world, we have cared little about the many overtures made to us by our host. We have turned on our fellow guests, we have hardened our hearts and closed our minds to the truth and beauty around us.

Our Host has made a dramatic reversal of roles and has found a way to come among us as our guest. We have been shown how to live and how to die. In Jesus we glimpse divine hospitality even in the face of extreme provocation: "Father forgive".

We know that our Host’s efforts to rescue us from our strangeness and alienation have borne fruit when we feel at home in our Host’s house, when we ourselves mirror our Host’s care in our own hospitality to others and when we are respectful guests in other people’s lives.

The extraordinary thing about divine hospitality is that it goes way beyond politeness, good relations or the harmony of nature. God's hospitality amounts to participation in the very life of our Host. It is put unequivocally in 2 Peter 1.4: "you will be able to share the divine nature".

Redemption, in this reckoning, moves way beyond the forgiveness of sins into the inner life of God. We receive power "to become children of God" (John 1.12). Paul echoes all this in writing to the Corinthians: "you will not be without any of the gifts of the Spirit while you are waiting for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed; and he will keep you steady and without blame until the last day, the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, because God by calling you has joined you to his Son” (1 Cor. 1: 7-9).

In living plentiful redemption, Redemptorists imitate the Most Holy Redeemer, and therefore celebrate the hospitality of a God who surprises us as our guest (Matthew 25: 31-46) and surprises us as our host. We anticipate in our Redemptorist lives the way we will share in the bond of love between Father, Son and Spirit. Being held in existence by such a divine host we cannot fail to be hospitable to those around us. We will know what this means in practice when we notice the limits we start to place on our hospitality.

Index

Vatican News as seen from Via Merulana

Lviv, Ukraine
Redemptorist is New Administrator of Greek Catholic Lviv Archeparchy

With the head of the Greek Catholic Church moving from the city of Lviv to Kiev, by decree of Patriarch Lubomyr (Husar), head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Bishop Ihor Vozniak, protosyncellus (chancellor) of the Lviv Archeparchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, was appointed administrator of the archeparchy according to Canon 220, Article 3 of the Code of Canons of Eastern Churches on August 29, 2005. Bishop Vozniak took an oath of office in the presence of Fr. Dr. Sviatoslaw Shevchuk, head of the Secretariat of the Major Archbishop, and Patriarch Lubomyr on 31 August 2005.

Bishop Vozniak was the first provincial superior of our Ukrainian province after it emerged from the underground in 1990.

  Index

Monthly Picture Gallery (  for online viewing only)

1.  Biloxi community sitting in front of damaged residence after Hurricane Katrina: From left to right: standing: Rev. Richard Luberti arrives to transport confreres to Baton Rouge. Sitting: Revs. Albert Babin, Earl Toups, Joseph Armshaw, Edward Cosgrove and Warren Drinkwater.

2.  Community house before the Hurricane.

3.  Community house after the Hurricane.

4.  Neighbor's house next door before the Hurricane

5.  Neighbor’s house next door after the Hurricane

6.  Rev. Gregory Schmitt, C.SS.R., pastor of St. Mary´s Assumption, Shrine of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, New Orleans, directs National Guard soldiers in an inspection of the parish grounds.

7.  Damage around St. Mary´s Church.

8.  The steeple of St. Mary's, weather-worn but standing proudly after the Hurricane.

9.  Japanese confreres attending the workshop sponsored by The Spirituality Center in August in Japan.  Father Ivel Mendahna was retreat director.

10. New Community house in Stara L'ubovna in Michalovce Vice Province.

11. Another view of the new Community House in Stara L'ubovna

12. Father General and General Consultor Jacek Dembek vest for liturgy.

13. Bishop Babyak of Stara L'ubovna begins ceremony of dedication.

14. Bishop Babyak and Father General consecrate the altar in community chapel.

15. Redemptorists celebrate with festive dinner afterwards.

16. Bishop Babyak leads singing while Father General plays the Cymbalin!

17. Father General celebrates the Divine Liturgy in the parish Church.

18. Father Kamil Dráb, C.SS.R., responsible for much of the architecture and religious art in the Church and community house in Stara L'ubovna.

19.  Statue of Blessed Dominic Trcka is unveiled.

20. Statue of Blessed Dominic Trcka

21. Father General gives homily at Mass for attendees of the Spirituality Program in Rome and Italy.

22. Attendees of the Spirituality Workshop in Rome and Italy this  past summer.

23. Ordinandi in Hanoi, Vietnam

24. Ordinandi in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Index

Activities of Father General and the General Council

Interested in knowing where the members of the General Government areand what they are doing? The following link will take you to the Calendar of the General Government.

English: http://www.cssr.com/calendars/CalEN.htm

This link is in our cssr.com website under the Redemptorist section and require passwords. If you do not have them; a pop-up box will direct you to request them from the Secretary General.

Featured Redemptorist Website

This month we feature the website of the Shrine of Blessed Seelos, C.SS.R. Look there for more information about the effects of Hurricane Katrina.

http://www.seelos.org/seelos_seelos_center_news.htm

We also feature the websites of the Vice provinces of Recife & Fortaleza:
http://www.bravil.com.br/redentoristas/crn.htm

http://www.bravil.com.br/redentoristas/recifor.htm

 Index

 Index