Blessed Fr. Francis X. Seelos

October 5th is the feast day of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss.R, born January 11, 1819 in Fussen, Bavaria, Germany, and died October 4, 1867, New Orleans, Louisiana.

This past Summer, I had occasion to travel with a group from St. Ignatius parish, in Mobile, Alabama, on pilgrimage to New Orleans, Louisiana, to visit the National Seelos Shrine and Seelos Center, located at St. Mary's Assumption Church. We celebrated Mass at the church and afterward we were able to venerate Blessed Seelos at the shrine adjacent to the church. Let me say that the church's baroque architecture and ornamentation is awesome.

Afterward, we learned more about Seelos' life at the Seelos Center, located next to the church. Frankly, before the trip I didn't know much about Fr. Seelos, but during a walk through the Seelos Center we learned all about his life. We also learned of the many miracles attributed to his intercession.

The video, below, gives a short, seven minute overview of Fr. Seelos' life. For a more lengthy biography, click here.




"If you want to be Happy be Holy.  If you want to be Very Happy be Very Holy!"

-- Father Francis Xavier Seelos, C.Ss. R.

2010 Men of St. Joseph Retreat

We're back from our 2nd Annual Men of St. Joseph Retreat, held August 28-29, 2010, at the historic Visitation Monastery in Mobile, Alabama. Below are some photos from the retreat. Also, we've posted to this blog, some personal reflections on the retreat theme. Jeff Galle writes It is Time for Men to be Men, and Bill Harkins posts Retreat – No Way, We are Moving Forward!.





Photos by Paul Burkholder, Jr., and Mike McAleer.

Retreat – No Way, We are Moving Forward!

By Bill Harkins


The weekend of 28 and 29 August, a group of 100 men from all over the Gulf Coast met in prayer, reflection, instruction and discussion.  Under the guidance of Fr. Bry Shields, with inspiration from the Holy Spirit, direction from our Savior Jesus and loving nudges from our Blessed Mother Mary and her spouse, our Patron Saint Joseph, we tapped into an understanding of our role as men in modern day America.  Not just ordinary men, but strong Catholic Christian men, preparing for our mission as Men of St. Joseph.
          
What does this mean?  What do we do now?  We stand up for our principles with strong moral courage.  You know, the kind of courage that Saint Paul tapped into when he set the world afire with the Word.  Life was not easy for him in the first century and it is not easy for us now.  Paul overcame several obstacles, including his horrible past as a persecutor of the same Jesus he was preaching as Messiah.  He suffered torture, imprisonment and even death for his beliefs and actions, but look at the results.  His efforts led to several “forward bases” of Christian communities that flourished over the years.  This was the beginning of a movement that will exist until the end of time, the Church.  We are challenged to take up our mission to ensure the continued spread of the Good News, with action and prayer.  Just as Paul had a team of brothers in his work, we have our brothers, our fellow Men of St. Joseph to team up with on this task.

            How do we get started?  It begins at home.  Talk to your wife, children, parents, brothers and sisters about your experience at the retreat.  Let them know that even when society laughs at and antagonizes us for our moral principles, we must stand firm.  Beyond that, we must meet such hate with love, and teach our family to do so.  This can be very difficult for us.  After all, we are men of action.  Reacting with love does not mean you have to be quiet.  On the contrary, reacting with love means you reply in a way that clearly articulates our Catholic convictions.  Do this without the retaliation mentality that often appears in such situations.  Let the attacker know that you disagree, why you disagree and that you’ll gladly continue the conversation if they would like to do so rationally.  Make it clear that you will not participate in an emotional debate.  This may mean that you end up walking away with a smile and a prayer on your lips as the attacker spews further hate, but we must handle such situations as Christ would want us to.  If you act this way, you will have a lasting impact on your adversary, as well as those observing the discussion.  Imagine the example you will set for your children when they see you overcome a potentially volatile situation this way.

            Another way to positively impact your family and our culture is to pray.  Pray with your family in a meaningful way.  Lead prayers of thanks and petition to our Lord.  Just as we ask our fellow Men of St. Joseph to pray for us, ask the saints for help.  Ask St. Albert the Great to intercede for your child who has a difficult math test, after all, he taught St. Thomas Aquinas.  Ask St. Ignatius and St. Sebastian to plead to our Savior for the protection of a family member in the military, they were soldiers and know the fear and loneliness of battle.  Ask St. Catherine of Sienna to pray for your daughter who needs support in not giving in to peer pressure.  This Doctor of the Church held to her convictions so strongly she became an advisor to the Pope during the middle ages when women were to be seen and not heard.  During these times of prayer, be an example of love and ask the Holy Spirit to touch those who have offended you in some way.  Ask Jesus to provide the wisdom of Solomon and the courage of St. Joan of Arc to our political leaders.  Who knows what your family’s prayers can lead to?  Is there any better legacy to leave your children when you are gone?

This retreat reminded us of our obligation to stay engaged in what goes on around us.  We are called to shine the light of Truth on evil.  Just as St. Paul confronted the authorities of his day with the Truth of Jesus Christ, we must let our politicians know that we will not stand for a government that infringes upon our God given rights.  Our Declaration of Independence tells the world that all men “…are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…”  Being pro-life is not just a “Catholic thing”; it is as American as our founding documents and as Christian as the Bible.  There are plenty of other issues that we can become involved in, but the pro-life cause is critical and in desperate need of the support of strong Catholic Christian men.  This a complicated set of issues that range from the unborn to the proper care for the dying.  It also includes contraception. We are obliged to understand Catholic teaching on these subjects and defend the Church’s stance.  

Many of us, through ignorance or apathy have committed grave sins against life.  God will forgive you and give you the grace to forgive yourself.  If you have committed sins in these areas, find a Priest, make a good confession and become engaged in the fight.  God makes good out of evil.  He wants us all to support life from conception to natural death.    

An example of a man who lived a life engaging real world issues from a Catholic perspective is Blessed Alberto Marvelli.  He lived in Italy during and after World War II.  Alberto was politically active, but never compromised his deep Catholic Faith.  He was very devoted to the Eucharist and care for the poor, often at the risk of his own life.  Even his political opponents respected his integrity and “…profound dedication to the well-being of the community.”

Blessed Alberto had a tremendous impact on his town, even though he died at 28 years old.  He followed God’s will by maximizing the use of his talents as an engineer, teacher, athlete and compassionate leader.  Your challenge is to allow God to apply your talents where they are best utilized.  Are you up to this challenge?  As an individual, maybe not, but with the support of your brothers’ of the Men of St. Joseph, definitely so.  Blessed Albert, protector of the poor and Saint Joseph, terror of demons, pray for us.

It is Time for Men, to be Men

Reflections on the 2010 Men of St. Joseph Retreat, Mobile, Alabama, Fr. Bry Shields, Retreat Master.

By Jeff Galle, Executive Director, Men of St. Joseph

It was apparent at the retreat: we men are ready to be men. We who laid latent are ready to step up, and not in pride, nor in hate, nor passion. We are ready to seek the command of our leader, Jesus Christ, taking up his banner, moving forward with courage, reckoning not the cost. The question is: how? Simple steps are the answer.

We let Christ into our whole lifestyle. Our family. Our workplace. Our leisure. At night and in the morning we pray with our children and wives. We are honest in our work. We take a prayer card to the hunting stand on Saturday. We’re in Church on Sunday. If we can, we’re in Church everyday. If we can’t, we pray everyday.

We do not shy away from our Mother, the Church. We allow her to propose her wisdom and principles, and we follow them, kindly asking why they are what they are, so we can fully explain them to others. Some teachings are hard to follow. We follow them anyway. We assert them. They are Her principles, and it is our job not to slink away from them, but to stand up for them. To be Christ to the world.

We love our wife. Not in lust, but as Christ loves the Church. Everyday we die for our wife. We sacrifice, we give up. We love her. We love her. We love her. We show her that she must love, that the Church calls her to affection, to service, and to virtue. She must too focus on virtuous works, on prayer, on sacrifice. We gently but firmly propose this lifestyle to her, just as Christ proposed to the Church. Put down Cosmo. Pick up a life of a saint. Turn off sitcoms and gossip channels. Pray for the children.

We read. We understand what is going on in the world, and we check the sources our kids are reading. We make sure they are being taught properly. We call people out when they lead our children astray. When they try to shush us, we do not get quiet. We affirm our kids and teachers when they are virtuous. We have children. We have children according to the Church. We know that the greatest gift a child can receive is a brother/sister or cousin. That this companionship is even more important than college and wealth. A relative can go to heaven. A BMW can’t.

We watch. Television, films, phones, and gadgets are gifts, not evil. They are being used for evil. No more. When they are not used right, we demand they are. We make sure our children are not poisoned. We do not feed ourselves poison. No late nights without the wife. The conjugal act (sexual intercourse) is worship. You probably haven’t heard that before, I’ll write it again. The conjugal act is worship. It is a good, so good in fact it is a sacrament, a holy oath meant for great pleasure and procreation. Would you throw the Eucharist on the ground and stamp on it? No. Don’t do that to consummation.  Don’t misuse it. Gently and firmly don’t allow your wife to misuse it. No more late night poison on the computer or television.

We get our priorities straight. Football games are great, but Church is the greatest. Mardi Gras is a Catholic holiday, meant to celebrate the coming of Christ’s great sacrifice in the desert and resurrection, not for sin. We get rid of secret habits. You know yours. We go to mass as much as we can. We get involved in civil life. Make sure the right people are in office. Make sure that our businesses are honest. Make sure our donations are generous and wise.

These practices are a first step to happiness, to a new life. They are a beginning, a lit match to dried brush. It is not easy, and when we fail, we are there for each other. We lift each other up. If someone is repentant, no condemnation. Failure is necessary for learning, and the possibility of failure is what makes the challenge meaningful. God has given the most thrilling and difficult challenge: not to be a beast, but to be like Him. To be His Son, to be His Brother. He has given us, us of all creation, the ability to rise up and enjoy him eternally. Through humility, through courageously and unabashedly choosing Him, we know heaven. We know brotherhood. We know happiness.

No more permissiveness. No more apathy. No more sloth.

It is time men, to be men.

The Feast of the Assumption of Mary

By Anthony Tobin


This Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The Assumption of Mary is one of four Marian Dogmas - a dogma being the highest form of revealed truth of the faith that the Church declares. The four Marian Dogmas are:

• The Divine Motherhood of Mary (aka Theotokos)
• Mary’s Perpetual Virginity
• Mary’s Immaculate Conception
• Mary’s Assumption

In 1950 Pope Pius XII infallibly declared that, “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory” (Munificentissimus Deus). This truth was unanimously held in the Early Church and by Church Fathers, what we call our Sacred Tradition. But Pope Pius XII also points out the connections in Sacred Scripture.

Pope Pius said that the truth for the Assumption flows naturally from the scriptural foundation of another Marian Dogma, the Immaculate Conception which was defined in 1854. In Genesis 3:15, what is commonly called the protoevangelium (the first gospel), we see God say to the serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed…” The serpent represents Satan and his seed is sin, evil, and all evil humans and angels. The Woman represents Mary and Jesus her seed. The Church defines this enmity as an absolute and complete opposition to sin and evil. Thus, Mary was granted, as a gift from God, an immaculate (sinless) nature at the moment of her conception – the Immaculate Conception. Naturally flowing from this truth, Mary then would not suffer the effects of original sin, one being death and corruption of the body. Therefore, this absolute and complete opposition prophesized in Gen 3:15 is opposition to sin and the effects of sin, death (Rom 5-8). Also, proceeding from the Assumption is the Coronation, which is Mary being crowned Queen of heaven and of earth. We see this in Rev 12:1, and this presumes Mary being assumed bodily into
heaven.

Because this is a gift granted to Mary by God, and therefore declared that by the Catholic Church in the form of dogma, acceptance of Mary can not be arbitrary nor extraordinary. It is appropriate that we come to Jesus the same way he came to us, and that is through Mary the Mother of God. We as Catholics do not worship Mary, we only worship and adore God. We give Mary the highest honor and veneration over all creatures ever created, because God did first! We see in 1 Kings 2:19 Bathsheba, the gebhirah, or Queen Mother’s, role in the Davidic Kingdom. She enjoyed a position superior to all other woman, was crowned and sat in a throne at the right hand of the king. (see also 1 Kgs 15:13, 2 Chr 15:16, Jer 13:18, 29:2)

Therefore, it is essential that we find a place in our hearts for Mary. We must honor her because God honored her and crowned her Queen of heaven and earth. Because of Mary we have received the Word of God made flesh. On this feast of the Assumption may we truly take Mary into our homes, and into our hearts as Christ, using his last few breaths on the cross, commanded us to do (Jn 19:26-27).

Peter Kreeft on Dominus Iesus

Peter Kreeft on the 10th Anniversary of Cardinal Ratzinger’s Landmark Document

By Peter Kreeft

Dominus Iesus, published Aug. 6, 2000, by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is one of the most important Church documents of modern times because it concerns what is absolutely central and primary in Christianity, Christ himself, because it defends the most unpopular aspect of the Church’s claim today — its “absolutism” — and because it overcomes the dualism of “liberal” vs. “conservative” by which the media classify and evaluate everything. (I wonder how they will classify the Second Coming when they see it.)

To see these three points, all we have to do is try to classifyDominus Iesus as “liberal” or “conservative.” I put an “L” after all its main “liberal” points and a “C” after all its “conservative” points, and I ended up with 30 Ls and 38 Cs.

But the “kicker” is that it is not half and half, or halfway in between; it is so “liberal” precisely because it is so “conservative.”

To understand this, we should first try to spear those two slippery fish: the “liberal” and the “conservative.” (You can’t fry them if you don’t catch them.)

I see four essential differences, which are the roots of all the others.

First, liberals begin with subjectivity, while conservatives begin with objectivity.

Liberals prioritize personal freedom; conservatives prioritize objective truth. Liberals absolutize persons and see truth as relative to persons. Conservatives absolutize truth and see persons as relative to truth. (Both are right in what they affirm and wrong in what they deny. Both persons and truth are absolute.)

Second, in their anthropology, liberals prioritize the heart, while conservatives prioritize the mind. An attempted mutual heart and brain transplant between a conservative and a liberal failed because no one could find a conservative who would give up his heart to a liberal or a liberal who had any brains to give to a conservative.

Third, liberals emphasize the abstract universal, the cosmopolitan, the global, while conservatives emphasize the concrete particular: individuals, families, neighborhoods and nations. (Thus, the “bad liberalism” of “leftist” communism is international socialism, while the “bad conservatism” of “rightist” Nazism is national socialism.)

Fourth, most obviously, liberals love change and conservatives love permanence; liberals love the new, conservatives the old. That is a matter of temperament rather than ideological content, for anti-Establishment liberals turn into Establishment conservatives when they succeed. And truth is not told by clocks any more than time is told by syllogisms.

These four differences manifest in religion as Modernism vs. Fundamentalism, especially regarding salvation.


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Parables

Below is today's sermon on the subject of Parables, by Fr. Philip Powell, OP.  He hits on just one of the things I find enjoyable about the Men of St. Joseph way of doing things. We read the coming Sunday's Gospel reading at our weekly meeting, then we discuss how it teaches us something that we can use in our everyday lives. The Gospel is so rich that we can study the Sunday readings over the Church's three year cycle, then start all over again and dig into something new each time. The Old Testament readings and the Epistles, also shed light on the Gospel readings. That's why the Church put them in Sunday's liturgy!

The parables often generate the most interesting discussion, and I really enjoy and learn so much from them.

by Fr. Philip Powell, OP, from Domine, da mihi hanc aquam!
Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, Church of the Incarnation, Univ of Dallas

Parables—like poetry—drive most people crazy. The symbols, the allusions, images with multiple interpretations—all of these breed frustration and impatience even in the heartiest soul. However, there are some who enjoy the challenge of figuring out these literary mysteries. Think of them as miniature detective stories planted with bits of elusive wisdom designed to stretch the imagination and exercise the mind. And despite the cussing and spitting that parables and poetry often evoke in some, these art forms can push us to broader and deeper understanding, both guide us and force us to consider angles of approach that we might otherwise fail to use. So, let's wipe our chin, confess our cussing, and consider the possibilities. Jesus teaches with parables because he knows something we oftentimes forget: as we progress along the Way we need more and better food for the journey. We can't continue to live and grow in the Christian life consuming nothing but cut and dried propositions, raw statements of belief, and easily digestible greeting card pablum. At some point, we have to tuck into the meat and potatoes of the Good News, risking a bout or two of indigestion along the way. Case in point, those tiny mustard seeds can cause diverticulitis and yeast an itchy rash. Mustard seeds can also grow into a hearty, edible plant and yeast is necessary in leavening bread and making beer. Even the smallest seed, the tiniest bacterium—given time and patience—can produce a desirable (and delicious!) result.

Let's say that Jesus is using the mustard seed and the yeast bacterium to refer to the faith infused into an individual soul. Given the right conditions—a set of listening ears and seeing eyes, an opened heart and mind, a strong desire for holiness—an individual infused with faith can nurture this virtue of trust into a hearty way of life that produces an admirable fruit. But what if Jesus is using the seed and the yeast to refer to the faithful individual planted in the fertile soil the Church? The seed and yeast of one soul's faith can fertilize and leaven the whole Body of Christ, prompting the Body to produce a higher, stronger yield of holiness. But what if Jesus is using the image of the seed and yeast to refer to the Church herself, all of us together constituting just one mustard seed, one bacterium, his one Body planted in the fields of the world? Then, like the faith growing in a single soul, and the single soul growing in the Body of the Church, the Church is planted in the world—one seed, one bacterium—to thrive and produce an admirable fruit. Do we settle on just one interpretation of the parable? Or do we take choose to hold all three simultaneously? Even better: do we take these three and grow them into another and another, always remembering that the mustard seed can only produce mustard and that yeast will always be yeast?

If we hope to avoid being favorable compared to the Jeremiah's loincloth—rotted and good for nothing—then we must safeguard the Word we've been given and at the same time broadcast it as seed into the fields of the world, as yeast into the unleavened dough of our culture. The Lord charges Judah with a faithless pride. He says that they are a “wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts,” who serve and adore strange gods. If we hope to avoid this righteous charge—as individuals, as a Church—then we must listen to Christ's parable with more than an analytic mind. Our task as those baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of the Lord goes far, far beyond the recitation of liturgical formulas, far beyond the soothing litanies of good intentions. We are not only charged with spreading the seed of the Good News, we are also charged with nurturing what we have planted, tending the fields, pulling the weeds, and reaping an admirable harvest. But even as we work, we do so as servants of a more merciful Lord, one who cared for us as we grew from a seed to a sprout to a fruit-bearing plant. 

Parables—like poetry—can be infuriating in their vagueness. But let's not mistake Jesus' purpose in using the parable of the seed and yeast: he's teaching us that not everyone, at any given time, is ready to produce the same admirable fruit. An excellent farmer is a patient farmer. He is also a lover of parable and infuriatingly persistent.