Provincial Chapter

Photograph of the new Passionist house in Lourdes, taken from passionews

I will be leaving early tomorrow morning for the Chapter of the Province of Saint Michael (France) which opens in Lourdes on Sunday. I hope to have a quiet retreat/pilgrimage day on Saturday before people begin to arrive for the Chapter at which I will be acting as moderator. I have not been to Lourdes since 1990, so I am looking forward to this opportunity, especially in the anniversary year.

Profession in Bavaria

Father Anton of the Wounds of Christ (Anton Lässer) made his First Profession as a Passionist on April 4, 2008 at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, Schwarzenfeld, Bavaria. Father Anton, who is 46 years old and holds a doctorate in theology, was a diocesan priest in Austria for some years but was always drawn to the saints and the spirituality of the Passionist community.

The first picture shows Father Anton making his profession of vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and the distinctive Passionist vow to contemplate and proclaim the Memory of the Passion of Jesus

The Provincial, Father Gregor, blesses the insignia of profession

Father Anton receives the Passionist sign which he will now wear on his habit

Congratulations - Ad multos annos!

First Ukrainian Passionist Priest

On 30 March, the first Passionist priest from the Ukraine was ordained for the Province of the Assumption (Poland, Ukraine and the Czech Republic). Father Vitaliy Slobodian was ordained in the chapel of the Passionist house in Warsaw by Bishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź of the Diocese of Warszawa-Praga. Here are some pictures from the ordination.

Catching Up

This week, I will be posting on some things I’ve wanted to highlight over the past quiet days.

First: Father Victor Hoagland C.P. has a new website and blog. Father Victor is always interested in finding new ways of communicating the Gospel. He was editor of Compassion magazine for many years and has produced a number of religious films, some of which you may have seen on EWTN. I’m sure he would be glad to have visitors to his new site.

Year of Vocation

Today the Catholic Church in Ireland launched a Year of Vocation which will run until the Fourth Sunday of Easter next year. The initiative is organised by a team representing Conference of Religious of Ireland, the Irish Bishops’ Conference, the Irish Missionary Union, St Joseph’s Young Priests Society, Vocations Ireland, the Knights of St Columbanus and lay personnel.

According to its website ( Your Vocation), the aim of the Year of Vocation is to raise awareness of the common vocation that we all share through baptism, as expressed through witness, love and service. Within each of these themes and throughout 2008-2009 the specific vocations of marriage, the religious life, the single life and priesthood will be highlighted and promoted.

A lot of the website seems to be still under construction (-well, whose isn’t?). In the Resources section, there are some very interesting statistics on priests and religious in Ireland. These are based on an extensive survey carried out for 2005. I was surprised to read that in 2005 (my Silver Jubilee year), there were eight religious order priests ordained in Ireland, whereas in 1980 we were seven ordained for the Passionists alone. You can find these statistics here

Sitting down

We had a visitor from France today who said that she always looks forward to finding out what I’ve been doing during a blogging hiatus. This time, it’s not very exciting: I spent the first half moving around and the second half lying still. A series of Province-related meetings in Ireland was followed by a spell in bed, not through meeting-sickness but because of the return of whatever it was that I had earlier. This cold/hot/cold weather we’ve been having probably doesn’t help.

In the meantime, there has been the death of Father Conleth, the oldest member of our Province (aged 92) who was buried today at Crossgar, and the death of Mrs Gallagher (mother of Father Dermot cp and Brother Brendan cp) whose Funeral Mass will be celebrated here on Monday at 12.15.

Tomorrow we will welcome Father Denis Travers, our First General Consultor, who arrives to make General Visitation at Saint Mungo’s until Thursday, and members of our Charism Task Force who will be meeting here this week.

Closing a Door

As you probably know, my father died last year. During the three months of his illness, and for about six months after his death, I stayed at home with my mother at night, coming to the monastery during the day. I will always be grateful to the Passionist Community here at Saint Mungo’s for the support my mother and I received during that time . Some months ago, after a spell in hospital caused by a fall, my mother moved to Saint Joseph’s Home, which is run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. That move has now become permanent and yesterday, after a lot of hard work by my brother and sister-in-law, I turned the key in the door of our parents’ home for the last time. Our family had moved there in 1962, so there were lots of memories (as well as lots of things to be moved). However, I am happy that my mother is safe and well cared for by the Sisters and their team. The Little Sisters of the Poor still collect in the streets and in shopping centres to support their work and, as you can see from this picture which someone sent me yesterday, they are quite extraordinary in their apostolic zeal.

I don’t know who took the original picture, so my apologies for no photo credit.

Travels

To Dublin tomorrow for the funeral of Father Anthony’s sister, Pat, then to Crossgar for a Passionist Vocations Retreat, returning Sunday night. Then…

Catholic Chaplaincy
Glasgow Caledonian University

Lent Retreat 2008

FOLLOWING CHRIST

A LUNCH-TIME RETREAT
with Father Paul Francis C.P.

(Monday 10th – Thursday 14th March,
at 12.10)

The Retreat session includes Mass

In the Faith and Belief Centre
(Ground Floor of the Harley Building)
Find it if you can!

Vestition

The Bavarian-Austrian Vice-Province of the Five wounds reports last Sunday’s clothing (or vestition) of two novices, Confrater Markus of the Suffering Jesus in Gethsemane and Confrater Johannes of the Immaculate. They received the habit on Laetare Sunday, 2 March. Here are the crosses and crowns of thorns prepared for the vestition ceremony.

The Provincial, Father Gregor, addresses the two candidates

Blessing of Habits

Andreas becomes Johannes, while Ralf waits to become Markus

Sons of the Light

Receive, dearest brother, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; deny yourself, that you may share eternal life with him. Remember continually that you are clothed in memory of the Passion and Death of Christ the Lord.

Receive, dearest brother, the crown of thorns of Christ the Lord; humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, and be subject to every creature for the sake of God.

When this ceremony is finished and the sign of peace has been given, the superior together with the brothers shall show their joy to the new brother and encourage him to carry his own cross with our most gentle Jesus.
(Quotations are from the Rule of 1736)

Congratulations to our new novices, Markus and Johannes!

Happy Birthday, Checchino

Today, as well as being Saint David’s Day, is the 170th anniversary of the birth of Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. Baptised Francesco (from which comes the family nickname Checchino) at the same baptismal font as Saint Francis of Assisi, Gabriel died on 27 February 1862, just two days before his twenty-fourth birthday. For more on Saint Gabriel, click here