Fr. John's Blog

On Sunday, October 13, 2019, the Holy Father celebrated Mass and presided at the Rite of Canonization of five Blesseds: John Henry Newman (1801-90), Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, Founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England; Josephine Vannini (1859-1911), Foundress of the Daughters of Saint Camillus; Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876-1926), Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family; Dulce Lopes Pontes (1914-92), professed religious of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God; Marguerite Bays (1815-1879), lay woman and Secular Franciscan. I intend to spend the next several weeks presenting a brief biography of each of them so we can get to know these newly canonized saints. The source of the material will be the English weekly edition of L’Osservatore Romano. Today let’s look at the life of Saints Josephine Vannini and Dulce Lopes Pontes.

On Sunday, October 13, 2019, the Holy Father celebrated Mass and presided at the Rite of Canonization of five Blesseds: John Henry Newman (1801-90), Cardinal of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, Founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England; Josephine Vannini (1859-1911), Foundress of the Daughters of Saint Camillus; Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan (1876-1926), Foundress of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family; Dulce Lopes Pontes (1914-92), professed religious of the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God; Marguerite Bays (1815-1879), lay woman and Secular Franciscan.

Recently I was stopped by a parishioner after Mass who wanted to ask me a question. The parishioner had heard in a news report that the Holy Father had changed the text of the Our Father. The parishioner continued by asking me when I was going to follow suit and have us start praying the Our Father according to the change that the Pope had ordered. I had not seen this news report, but I promised the parishioner that I would research this and let the parish know what was going on with this.

I was looking forward to the presentation by our former parochial vicar, Fr. Robert Boxie, on racism. Unfortunately, Fr. Boxie was not able to deliver his talk yesterday owing to a conflict that had developed in his schedule. We are hoping to reschedule his talk soon. He had planned to offer some more reflections on a recently issued pastoral letter by our bishops on racism.

Last Sunday the Church celebrated World Mission Sunday. This celebration goes all the way back to 1926 when Pope Pius XI instituted this commemoration. The first worldwide Mission Sunday collection actually took place in October 1927. Often this collection has been taken up on the next to the last Sunday in October—but this year it was celebrated on the second Sunday of October. The day is celebrated in all local Catholic churches as the feast of catholicity and universal solidarity, so that Christians the world over will recognize their common responsibility with regard to the evangelization of the world.

This month, during Respect Life month, the Church remembers in a particular way victims of domestic violence. I thought that it would be useful to include in today’s column some pastoral guidelines in response to abusers.

October is a special time for us to pray for life. A few weeks ago now Archbishop Gregory wrote to the priests of the Archdiocese about Respect Life Sunday, which Catholic Churches in the United States are observing today. Let me quote two paragraphs from his letter for you now:

Today marks the 105th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019. I want to devote the next two columns to Pope’s Francis Message for this occasion.

On September 13, 2019 Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, Chair of the USCCB Committee on Migration, issued a statement in anticipation of the reported recommendation of Administration officials to the White House that the number of refugee admissions for the next year be fewer than 30,000 refugees.

As I write this column Hurricane Dorian has hit the Atlantic Maritime Provinces of Canada (notably Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland) on Sunday afternoon (September 8). By Sunday evening it should have blown out to sea. Several days ago Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement about Hurricane Dorian that left at least fifty people dead in its path. Here is part of Cardinal DiNardo’s statement: “…we are extremely mindful of the dire need faced by the community in the Bahamas so devastated by this catastrophic storm. We pray for all affected and invite Catholics and all people of goodwill to donate to Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.”

On Wednesday, August 28, 2019, I received the sad news that Sr. Marcella Marie Missar, SND, who turned 92 on April 7, 2019, had died at the Notre Dame Health Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on August 9, 2019. Sr. Marcella had been in religious life for seventy-six years.

I am writing this column after having returned from my brief visit to Butler, Pennsylvania to visit family and friends. While I was in Butler I saw clear evidence of the opioid epidemic that has plagued various parts of the country, particularly Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. A priest ministering in Pennsylvania said that he saw the impact of the opioid crisis in people walking the streets, high all day, and being so blatant to the point that they are shooting up in public and not even trying to hide it. When I was in Butler, I talked with a long-standing acquaintance about the impact of the opioid crisis in my hometown. He expressed the frustration of many who want to be compassionate but become angry and frustrated when they see addicts passed out or stealing from people to get money to purchase more drugs.