The Good Catholic Life

Summary of today’s show: Scot Landry and Fr. Dan Hennessey consider the new pastoral guidelines for fostering priestly vocations from the Vatican that show that family, Catholic schools, the witness of joyful priests, and serving others in charity are they keys to more priests in our parishes, while families that discourage, priests who are marginalized or take the shine off the priests’ life, and a growing secularism in society work to deter men from considering this vital vocation. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Dan Hennessey Links from today’s show: “Pastoral Guidelines for Fostering Vocations to Priestly Ministry”, Congregation for Catholic Education (PDF) Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati “To the Heights” Hike Part II: Tackling Monadnock Office for Vocations Today’s topics: The four keys to more priestly vocations and the four factors that work against 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed back Fr. Dan Hennessey, vocation director of the archdiocese of Boston. Scot said summer is busy for him, beginning with helping the newly ordained men who are now priests and continuing with helping men discerning their entrance to the seminary. Fr. Dan encouraged men who are finishing up their applications and applying to the seminaries. Scot noted that the men are from all different backgrounds, finishing college, starting college, or coming from a working background. Fr. Dan said a majority of men have just finished college or within the past couple of years. Scot asked what the rules and requirements are for seminary. Fr. Dan said men have to have graduated high school. If they don’t have a college degree, they go to a college seminary at Providence College. At the other end of the age range, they don’t have a hard and fast rule, but anything over 45 or 50 years old, it becomes less common. He said there are men in the 50s and 60s studying for the priesthood. Scot noted that it’s a mutual discernment between the man and the Church. Fr. Dan noted that you can’t really discern in a vacuum. He encouraged any interested man to start a conversation that has no obligation in it. Scot said he spent two years in the seminary and is grateful for that opportunity of discernment. Fr. Dan said the end result isn’t simply that we get more priests, but that each man can know and do God’s will in their life. His job is to challenge men to ask the questions well. Today’s topic is a new document from the Congregation for Catholic Education on guidelines for fostering priestly vocations. Scot said he notes that Fr. Dan has Fr. Dan said they have an even in early August called the Blessed Pier Giorgio Hike. Fr. Dan said there’s a story of Frassati climbing up this mountain with his friends and wrote on the bottom of the picture his friend took “To the Heights”. So the vocations office is gathering young men to have an outdoors event. Previously, they’d had a hike in June on Mt. Watatic, starting at St. John’s in Townsend with breakfast by the Knights of Columbus. They drove to the mountain and hiked to the top where they had Mass. One of the knights literally built an altar that they carried to the top of the mountain. It was just ann event for seminarians and priests and young men to get together. In August, they’re going to do it again by hiking Mount Monadnock on Saturday, August 11 at 8:30am. They won’t be able to have a Mass at the summit, but they will have it at St. John’s parish and breakfast again as before. Fr. Dan said a lot of the men who came in June were invited by the seminarians and other priests. Interested folks can call or email to register. Find the information at the website. Photos of the Mount Watatic hike in June 2nd segment: Scot said 20 years ago Pope John Paul published a letter on the formation of priest called Pastore Dabo Vobis, which guides all the ways that seminaries form men for the priesthood. The Vatican wanted to mark that anniversary. Fr. Dan said it’s actually his longest papal writing and it goes through all the different aspects of formation in a seminary for a man to become a priest. There are four pillars of seminary formation: pastoral, spiritual, intellectual, and human. These four pillars together form a whole man. The seminary revolves around that. It’s not just academics, but a formation of the whole person. He said we should believe that any man’s time in the seminary is more than just an intellectual engagement. The Latin name means “I will give you shepherds.” It’s become the Magna Carta for forming seminarians. Scot said as a father raising three kids to be good and responsible adults who know God and are good citizens, those four pillars apply to the formation of his kids as well. They should have good human qualities, strong spiritual qualities, intellectual formation, and pastoral formation to put others first through service and giving of self. Scot said it’s good to read for anyone in any state in life. Fr. Dan talked about the identity of the priest and what the ministerial priesthood is for the Church and the world according to John Paul II. He said the priest stands there as an icon of Christ. That extends even to the human dimension, so that the man must become more and more a bridge to bring others to Christ. Now this new pastoral guidelines document was compiled by the Congregation for Catholic Education in the Vatican which sent out a survey to the bishops’ conferences around the world. They asked them to complete a situational report on what’s working and not in each culture. What they found was that the situation of priestly vocations the star is very varied in the world: The situation of priestly vocations is very varied in the world today. It seems to be characterized by both good and bad. While in the West there is the problem of a decline in vocations, in other continents, despite their lack of resources, there is a promising increase in priestly vocations. In traditionally Christian countries, the worrying fall in the number of priests, the rising of their average age and the requirements of the new evangelization are shaping a new situation for the Church. The reduced birthrate also contributes to the diminishing of vocations to a special consecration. The life of the Catholic faithful is suffering the effects of the unbridled quest for material goods and the fall in religious practice, which discourage making courageous and demanding Gospel choices. Scot asked Fr. Dan if he sees less support from family for men considering the priesthood. Fr. Dan said the document points out many times the importance of the family for passing on the faith and encouraging and nurturing the seed of the vocation. Unfortunately, in some families they don’t see the value in their son considering whether God might calling them to the priesthood. Scot said the document also says there’s a vocations boom in some places, especially African and Asia. Scot said wherever vocations are promoted and prayed for, men do respond to the call to the priesthood. If we want more priests, religious, and good marriages, we need to pray for them. Fr. Dan wanted to be sure to quote: “The key things to foster priestly vocations are those proposed by formation for Christian life: listening to the Word of God, participation in the Eucharist and exercising charity.” He often responds to parents who ask him how to encourage vocations in their kids by telling them that vocations grow from a strong Catholic environment. Scot said the family is very important: The family remains the primary community for the transmission of the Christian faith. It can be seen everywhere that many priestly vocations are born in families where the example of a Christian life in keeping with its calling and the practice of the evangelical virtues give rise to the desire for complete self-giving. Care for vocations presupposes, in reality, a strong family pastoral ministry. Also they note the joyful witness of priests: The witness of priests united to Christ, happy in their ministry and united in brotherhood among themselves, has a strong vocational appeal for young men. Bishops and priests offer to young men a high and attractive image of ordained priesthood. ‘The very life of priests, their unconditional dedication to God’s flock, their witness of loving service to the Lord and to his Church – a witness marked by free acceptance of the cross in the spirit of hope and Easter joy – their fraternal unity and zeal for the evangelization of the world are the first and most convincing factor in the growth of vocations.’ Fr. Dan said it’s amazing how much of an influence joyful priests have on young people. Very often he hears from men considering the priesthood is because they have a friendship with or are parishioners of a priest who loves being a priest. He often thinks that if more priests were proactive at inviting men to consider the priesthood, they might be surprised at the positive response they receive. Scot said someone who gives everything that they have and live their life with joy, it inspires other people to want to do that. A mom who is full of joy in her life inspires her daughters and other women to want to emulate her. Same with plumbers and electricians. Scot recalled Cardinal Seán’s story of his vocation, how as an eight-year-old boy he met a Franciscan gardener at a retreat center who was the most joyful person he’d ever met. Fr. Dan said another group of influential people is the seminarians themselves, showing the joy in their seminary life. He said there’s something about knowing you’re not alone in the struggle. When young men realize there are other young men like them considering the same thing gives them courage. That’s why the hike and events like it are so important. Scot said two other important contexts are service work and schools: It can also be seen that many young people discover the call to priesthood and to consecrated life after they have had an experience of doing voluntary work, in charitable service towards those who suffer, the needy and the poor, or after they have taken part for some time in Catholic missions. Fr. Dan said very often a year of service after college can be a life changing experience. The men come out of their comfort zones and encounter Christ in the poor, allowing them to consider what’s most important. Discernment is when a young man or woman asks what really is most important in life? How can I live a serious life instead of just floating along? When a Catholic man comes to see that the priesthood is integral to the most important things in life, then he can ask whether this is for him. Scot said when we see heaven as the most important thing in life, that’s when we can see rightly. Fr. Dan told the story of the Cure of Ars, when he arrives at his new pastorate for the first time. On the road he encounters a young boy and tells him, you show me the way to Ars and I’ll show you the way to heaven.“ Priests are human beings who are fallible and weak, but who has been changed by God to be somebody who can stand in the midst of the community and say, ” I want to help lead you to heaven." Scot said when you spend life in Christian service you care for their material needs because you see them as God’s children and you begin to ask who’s caring for their spiritual needs. The other context is schools. In interviewing more than 100 priests and asking them where they first considered a vocation ,he said many point to Catholic schools as a place where they first thought of it. Fr. Dan said about 10 to 20% of Catholics attend a Catholic school, but over 50% of seminarians priests have gone to Catholic school. There is nothing more powerful than witness and the witness of religious brothers and sisters and priests in those schools has been key. Scot argues that the biggest context is experience of a big Catholic event like World Youth Day or the March for Life. He said many men talk about their experience at those events triggering the thought of God calling them. They see thousands or millions of people and wonder if God is calling them to serve the vast crowds. Fr. Dan said the next part of the document talks about the identity of the priest. “Before calling his disciples to a particular task, Jesus invites them to put everything to one side, to live in profound communion with him, indeed to ‘be’ with him (Mk 3:14).” The first thing Christ did with his disciples was to “be” with him before sending them out. So all these contexts of family and schools and the like first start with prayer. When we know Christ, it isn’t so scary to say that he might be calling us to a life because we know he will always be with us. 3rd segment: Scot said the document also talks about factors that depress Catholic vocations. The first is the sense that we are living in a growing secularized society: “The spreading of a secularized mentality discourages the response of young people to follow the Lord Jesus more radically and more generously.” Scot said Pope Benedict often talks about how don’t act like a Christian in public; we are practical atheists who hide our faith in a box. We’re told religion isn’t something we share in public. Fr. Dan said priests are aware that secular environment more and more. He said when people recognize he’s a priest wearing a collar, he finds that people are welcoming to him. Scot said in young people there’s not the conversation or narrative that there used to be even in public schools: What do you think God has in store for you? People don’t feel comfortable talking that way now. Children in Catholics schools today talk about how they are happy to be able to use the name of Jesus in school today. Another chilling factor: “Parents, furthermore, with their hopes for their children’s future, reserve little space to the possibility of a call to a special vocation.” Fr. Dan said the further we get away from understanding the priesthood as a beautiful and important vocation in the world, the more the priest comes to be seen as a functionary. We need to understand the priesthood is not just a functionary activity. He thinks this is why Pope Benedict had a Year for Priests a few years ago. The priesthood doesn’t boil down to what one does, but it’s who he is. That’s important for vocational discernment and it’s unfortunate we don’t recognize this. Fr. Dan is not a service provider. Scot said the response to secularism is the Year of Faith. The response to discouraging parents is to be the one who tells kids you know to consider their vocation. Scot said another factor is the lack of chastity in society today. The hook-up culture is normalized and the person trying to be faithful to chastity is seen as strange. Fr. Dan said it’s important to recognize that when a parent is discouraging, they are motivated by great love even if they are not exercising it in the best way. They think their son going to the seminary is wasting his life. They don’t think their son will be happy. We need to educate parents and help them to see that the vocation to the priesthood is a life-giving vocation. The fourth main concern is that some parents scandalized by priests not faithful to the priesthood are concerned about their sons becoming like that man, even those are just not joyful. In any vocation there are going to be people who live it well, who are mediocre, and those who are embarrassment to that vocation. Look for the holy and happy priests as the model. Fr. Dan invited everyone to pray for vocations to the priesthood and to form an invisible monastery of prayer for priests for the Archdiocese of Boston.

Summary of today’s show: Our Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Antonio Enrique look at the news headlines of the week, including Cardinal Dolan’s declaration of the US as a mission territory; a survey that shows falling confidence in the Church and all organized religion; a slew of new priest assignments; a ministry that cares for ailing priests; new leadership for the Sisters of St. Joseph; and vocations retreats and pro-life boot camps in the Fall River diocese. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Antonio Enrique, editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: US mission territory; low confidence in religion; ministry to priests; pro-life boot camp 1st segment: Scot Landry and Susan Abbott caught up on their week. Scot noted that his young sons, Christian and Dominic, are in the studio today. Dominic is six years old today. The Pilot has returned from its two-week hiatus and there’s a lot of news to catch up on plus a provocative piece by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York. 2nd segment: Scot and Susan welcomed Fr. Roger and Antonio to the show. Scot said Cardinal Dolan wrote a column that called the Archdiocese of New York and all of the United States is a mission territory. "Cardinal Dolan sees US as ‘mission territory’, Catholic News Agency, 7/17/12 “Mission Territories”, The Gospel in the Digital Age", Cardinal Timothy Dolan “I was raised – as were most of you – to think of the missions as ‘way far away’ – and, to be sure, we can never forget our sacred duty to the foreign missions,” the New York archbishop wrote on his “Gospel in the Digital Age” blog. “But, we are a mission territory, too. Every diocese is. And every committed Catholic is a missionary. This is at the heart of what Blessed John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI call the New Evangelization.” Susan said she was reminded of a conversation with an Irish Holy Ghost Father 15 years ago who had just come from Africa. He told her that the US is a mission country needing a second evangelization, which is harder than the first. Susan noted how Cardinal Dolan spoke from the heart and warned that we’ve taken our Catholic faith for granted. He said we all need the Year of Faith. Cardinal Dolan was referencing a speech by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia that his archdiocese is a mission territory. Antonio said many Catholics live their faith as if they just happen to be Catholic. He said the religious understanding of life doesn’t go very deep anymore and hopefully we renew our focus on passing the faith onto the next generation. Scot quoted from the Cardinal’s blog: Because, guess where we’re at: We’re with the apostles on Pentecost Sunday as we embrace the New Evangelization. No more taking our Catholic faith for granted! No more relaxing in the great things the church has accomplished in the past! Cynicism is replaced by confidence … Hand-wringing by hand-folding … Dullness by dare … Waiting for people to come back replaced by going out to get them … Presuming that people know the richness of their Catholic faith replaced by a realistic admission that they do not … From taking the Church for granted as a “big corporation,” to a tender care for a Church as small and fragile as a tiny mustard seed Jesus spoke about… Keeping our faith to ourselves to letting it shine to others! This is the New Evangelization! The Archdiocese of New York is a mission territory! The whole Church is! Our parishes are! Culture is! The world is! You and I are missionaries! No longer can we coast on the former fame, clout, buildings, numbers, size, money, and accomplishments of the past. As a matter of fact, all of this may have dulled us into taking our faith for granted. No more! We are missionaries. And, it starts inside. Fr. Roger said at the same time as there will be a Synod of Bishops from around the world on the new evangelization in the Vatican in October we’ll be launching the Year of Faith for us to re-examine our own faith and re-found it in Christ in our daily life. He said he often talks about the New Evangelization in retreats and talks about the methods of the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict said in a Jubilee Year address that the first method of the New Evangelization is prayer. We need to be praying far more for people to come and experience the fullness of the Lord’s love as we have in our own lives. Then we need to be docile to the Holy Spirit, who makes the converts to the faith. We must become more and more united to God. Pope Benedict is asking us to reflect more on our faith. Scot said the Holy Father has called the Year of Faith because of a crisis of faith in the West, as seen in a recent Gallup survey that shows a low in confidence in the Church by Catholics and in organized religion in general. “Gallup survey shows low confidence in church, organized religion in US”, Catholic News Service, 7/13/12 “U.S. Confidence in Organized Religion at Low Point”, Gallup Forty-six percent of Catholics express “a great deal or quite a lot of confidence” in the church and organized religion, compared to 56 percent of Protestants. Overall, 44 percent of Americans expressed that same level of confidence in church/organized religion. The percentage is slightly lower than what Gallup has found in recent years; in 2002, it was 45 percent and in 2007, 46 percent. “This follows a long-term decline in Americans’ confidence in religion since the 1970s,” Gallup said. In 1973, 66 percent said they had a high level of confidence in religion. Antonio said it’s not very surprising, given all the social unrest in the Sixties and movements to separate people from organized religion. He said maybe it’s time to start the New Evangelization because we can see the effects of the last four decades which haven’t been fulfilling to people. All the societal decline goes together with this decline in religion and so we can go out and announce the beauty of Christianity and the fulfillment found in God. Scot said a related finding is that American’s confidence in other important societal institutions is also at an all-time low, so it’s not just the church, but all institutions. Susan said it seems the whole country is in a funk. She said Scripture tells us we must always be ready to give reasons for our hope. (1 Peter 3:15) If we have no hope, where do we go? How do we more forward? The whole spiritual/not religious dichotomy shows the emptiness and loneliness when their is faith without community. She said we see it in our own Archdiocese when the pastoral planning proposal was made and was met by fear and suspicion. Scot said Cardinal Dolan said that cynicism needs to be replaced by confidence. Scot said when he sees that 46% of American Catholics have great confidence in the Church, he would have expected it to be a lot less. Fr. Roger said that number is about double weekly Mass attendance, so we have great reason to hope that there are a lot of people who could be ready to be invited back to Mass. He also noted that many institutions are much lower than the Church (like Congress which was in single digits), even though we really do want 100% to have total confidence in the Church. We are living in an anti-institutional, anti-authoritarian age. Confidence from top to bottom: military, small business, police, church/organized religion, banks, US Supreme Court, public schools, medical system, presidency, television news, newspapers, criminal justice system, organized labor, big business, HMOs, and Congress at the bottom. 3rd segment: This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is Fr. Thomas Bouton of Dorchester, MA He wins a “Praying for our Priests” 3 Pack: “Praying for Our Priests” - A Book of prayers for the priesthood An audio CD of the Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy Chaplet with meditations on the priesthood An audio CD of the Rosary with meditations on the priesthood If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 4th segment: Scot announced all the recent priestly assignments made in recent weeks: Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Rodney J. Copp from pastor at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Waltham, to pastor at St. Gerard Majella Parish in Canton. The effective date of this action is Aug. 28, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has accepted the request of Father Robert R. Kennedy to resign as pastor at St. Monica-St. Augustine Parish in South Boston. The cardinal has also granted Father Kennedy senior pries/retirement status. The effective date of these actions is July 31,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Thomas J. Powers as pastor at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Lynnfield. This appointment is in addition to Father Powers’ assignment as pastor at St. Maria Goretti Parish in Lynnfield. The effective date of this action is Aug. 1,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father George C. Hines from pastor at St. Mary Parish in Wrentham and from pastor at St. Martha Parish in Plainville, to pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Medford. The effective date of this action is Aug. 1, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Frank J. Silva from pastor at Corpus Christi-St. Bernard Parish in Newton, to pastor at St. Margaret Parish in Burlington. The effective date of this action is Sept. 4, 2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Father Robert J. Carr from pastor at St. Benedict Parish in Somerville, to pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Quincy. The effective date of this action is Oct. 1,2012. Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, OFM Cap., has announced the appointment of Very Reverend Thomas F. Nestor, V.F., from pastor at St. Eulalia Parish in Winchester, to pastor at St. Paul Parish in Hingham. The effective date of this action is Aug. 26, 2012. Scot, Susan, and Antonio discussed the priests they know and the affect it will have. Fr. Roger said anytime there’s a change in pastors, it’s a time for people in those parishes to bond themselves even more to Christ who sends the priests to serve in His name. Scot noted an article in the Pilot this week profiling Fr. Jim Flavin, a priest of the Archdiocese, who has been sent by Cardinal Seán to work at the St. John Vianney Center in Pennsylvania that provides pastoral care to priests and others in religious ministry who require spiritual and psychological care. He said the work he undertakes can restore a priest or a nun to ministry serving thousands of others in some cases. “If I get a priest healthy, that’s a thousand people that get a priest, get the Eucharist, and get God in their lives. So, it’s good work,” he said. Antonio liked Fr. Flavin’s quote on the foolishness of youth which is also the gift of youth, that is that they think they can change the world. Scot thinks another quote relates to pastoral planning in the archdiocese: “We are getting to a point where we just give priests more work. Where there was one parish with four or five priests, now we are giving one priest four or five parishes,” he said. Scot mentioned Fr. Flavin’s relationship with Dorchester native and movie actor Mark Wahlberg. Fr. Roger said the work of the Vianney Center is important because of the work they do for clergy who receive unique stresses in their work. How can a priest deal with the stress of hearing upsetting things in confession when they can’t reveal it. So having a talented priest can minister to his brother priests, he can understand better than anyone else who isn’t a priest. Fr. Roger said there are several centers like St. John Vianney Center around the country. Also in the Pilot is the 20th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Boston Black Catholic Choir. They had a Mass and gala dinner on June 30 at Boston College High School. Susan said it was pointed out in the article that their work is really a ministry of prayer. Scot said it can be difficult to start ministries but it’s even harder to keep them going year after year. He said the choir does more than just sing in some churches, but travel all over to sing at conferences and other events as well. The Diocese of Fall River had its Quo Vadis high school vocation retreats days for young men to consider the call to the priesthood or to just be better formed as Catholic men whatever their vocation. They’ve had one of their largest gatherings this year and already some of the men entering the seminary now have been on previous Quo Vadis Days. Scot referred to another local story about the Sisters of St. Joseph, a local religious order, who have elected a new leadership team. Susan said Sr. Margaret Sullivan, one of the new leaders, used to work in the Pastoral Center and misses her terribly but wishes her well. In her reflections at the end of the liturgy, Sister Rosemary Brennan said, “Each transition of leadership dares us to dream we can co-create a future which ‘moves always towards profound love of God and love of neighbor without distinction.’ The passion and enthusiasm we have for being Sisters of St. Joseph and Associates is what impels us to live - knowing that relationship is always at the heart of who we are; and when we find ourselves in situations which test our relationships we will always seek to live in and through our charism - a charism that is our unique gift to our Church and our world.” Also in the Anchor this week is a story about the pro-life boot camp taking place on the campus of Stonehill College in Easton. Fr. Roger said it was founded last year to help young pro-life Catholics to receive real training to be effective agents in the culture of life. Several years ago some members of the youth group wanted to set up a training program for them so they could then train others. The diocesan pro-life apostolate took on the program, sent a couple of young people to a boot camp in Texas, and then set up the first sold-out boot camp in Easton last year. Fr. Roger said he will be participating and a number of other pro-life leaders will be coming from around the country to help. Scot said Jaymie Wolfe has a great column on what she learned from her time serving three months on a grand jury, especially 16 particular findings.

Summary of today’s show: Brian Boyle has reached the apex of his profession, a career that many young kids dream about, as a professional hockey player with the NHL’s New York Rangers. Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams talk with Brian and his father, Artie, about his faith journey, how his father’s struggle with and miraculous cure from cancer affected him, the discipline and commitment it took to get where he is today and to stay there, and how his faith, family, and friends as his top priority in life keep him in grounded in the sports media spotlight. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams Today’s guest(s): Artie Boyle of Boston Catholic Development Services, Brian Boyle of the NHL’s New York Rangers Links from today’s show: Program #0110 for Wednesday, August 10, 2011: Artie Boyle, Part 1 Program #0111 for Thursday, August 11, 2011: Artie Boyle, Part 2 Brian Boyle’s Wikipedia entry New York Rangers Today’s topics: Brian Boyle of the New York Rangers 1st segment: Scot Landry and Fr. Matt Williams caught up his busy summer. Last week, they had a retreat called Witness to Truth, a leadership retreat for high school students. Next Thursday they are doing a similar program for middle school students. For middle schoolers who are interested should check out the Office for the New Evangelization of Youth and Young Adults website at http://www.one4boston.org. Today’s show is a followup to two shows they did last summer interviewing Artie Boyle about the miraculous cure of his cancer. Today Artie returns with his son Brian Boyle, NHL player and one of Artie’s 13 children. 2nd segment: Scot said there’s been a tremendous amount of feedback on the shows with Artie last summer and asked Artie if he had any updates. Artie said the good news is that his health is still good. He said he also just came back from Medjugorje with a group of young people, including his two youngest sons who went for the first time. Scot said he’s heard that Brian didn’t know how ill his father was when he was going through it. Brian said he remembers as a teen being floored by the news when he was at a church in Hanover and his father gave his witness to a confirmation group. In the talk, his father said he thought he was going to die and Artie had protected his kids from that news. Artie said he thinks its more difficult for the spouse and children of the sick person to go through with it than for the sick person himself. He said his family was busy with their own lives. Artie said he had just been diagnosed with the metastatic cancer and Brian had just been taken into the junior NHL hockey league in Canada and so he went up to Canada with Brian to experience it with him. Brian said he can’t imagine what his father went through with all the people in his life he’s taking care of. As he gets older, he understands even more what Artie did and how he kept everyone together. It’s amazing how his dad traveled with him to a remote area in Canada on two or three planes and a long bus ride. Scot asked Brian what it was like to go to Medjugorje knowing it was the place where his dad was likely healed of his cancer. Brian said it was impressive, especially how far it took to get there. He was 18 years old, right before the NHL draft and after high school graduation. He was under a lot of pressure, but going over there he felt a lot of peace. He understood the most important part of life. It was easy to walk up the mountain and be consumed in prayer. Fr. Matt said we often talk about the importance of a mother and father in being handed on the faith. Brian said it’s just impressive how they got everyone out of bed and to church on Sunday morning, but it’s important because it became part of his life and as he got older he got more out of it. He learned to work hard at school and sports and be self-motivated because it was a gift from God and he had a responsibility. Fr. Matt said our humanity is the bridge by which people can encounter Christ. He said it’s amazing to see their selflessness in the lives of their kids and how it translates into so many ways they shaped their faith. FR. Matt asked how going to Medjugorje further shaped his prayer life after he returned. Brian said the confession in Medjugorje was the biggest change. Before, he was afraid of the sacrament, especially having to verbalize what he had done. But over there he went to confession and realized he could release the burden he didn’t even know he was carrying. Going over there opened up for him all the things it can do for you. Scot said Artie said last year he’s never said no to invitation to share his story. Scot said he’s sure thousands have come to a deeper relationship with Christ through his store; how does he feel to know his story has helped his own children. Artie said it’s humbling. He and his wife Judy want nothing more than his children to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow him. Artie said every time he gives his talk, it feels like he’s being healed all over again. He always says Yes because he someone may need to hear the story. Artie said their children are passing on the faith to their own children. Their one responsibility as a parent is to pass on the faith to their children. You can’t force it on them. All you can do is live it as a witness. 3rd segment: Scot said Brian went to St. Paul in Hingham and St. Sebatian’s in Needham for high school. In his senior year, he was invited to participate in the NHL draft. Brian said it was very stressful, measuring yourself against the others, wondering which team would pick him, what round they would pick him in. He said it helped him mature a lot before going on to college. He flew down a couple of days early to Nashville for the draft. He had to do workout drills and they pick them apart and strip them down for their strengths and weaknesses. There were 30 from the family down there total. He was picked 26th overall. It was a whirlwind after that and finally later it all sunk in. Unlike the other leagues, when you’re drafted in the NHL he can choose to go to college. Going into the draft, Brian knew he was going to Boston College. His first year in college was tough with many ups and downs. He’d known being drafted was no guarantee, but he knew he would make it to play in the league. Those experiences helped him with his work ethic and being able to take ups and downs. Scot said at Boston College the team made it two championships but never won. He asked how the closeness of family helped him. Brian said it was a dream of his to play for Boston College. He’d always cheered for them. In senior year when they lost to Michigan State was the worst loss for him and took longest to get over it, but being with his family helped him through. He said his dad took it even harder. Artie said he grew up playing all sports. He played hockey goaltender in college and still plays. He said hockey players are a little more caring for their teammates than the other sports. Scot noted that he’s seen the Bruins have always been a little more down to earth than the other athletes. Brian said he’s found that among every hockey team he’s played on. Selfish players are weeded out early. He said it’s difficult to understand that you’re always fighting for your job, but the culture is still caring for the whole team. They don’t care who gets the goal as long as the team scores. It’s one reason there’s fighting in hockey with guys standing up for each other. Scot said after college Brian played in Manchester in the minor leagues and then went to the LA Kings. He was asked to play a different position as defense instead of forward, which he’d played all his life. Now with the Rangers he’s back to his old position. Brian said he was a center his entire life until the last eight games of his senior year when injuries on his team forced him to play more defense. When he turned pro he was put on defense and had to spend a lot of time trying to understand the brand-new position. Over 30 games in Manchester he played D and it did give him an understanding of the position and how to use that as a center in the defensive zone. In the long run, that’s helped it become a big part of his game. Scot asked Artie about reports of a meeting between Artie and the general manager of the Kings, asking him to trade him East if he’s not going to use him the way he should. Artie said he’d known Dean Lombardi socially as a friend of a friend and so when he heard he was coming to Boston and arranged a meeting. They met for an hour at the airport Hilton to tell him about Brian, talk about his character and makeup so they wouldn’t try to make him something he isn’t. He understood Brian as a goal scorer. He asked if they plan to trade him to trade him East so they could see him play. A month later they traded him to the Rangers. Scot said Judy, his mom, had been praying a novena to be traded East. Brian said he wasn’t aware of his father talking to the general manager of the hockey club and when he heard about it he was nervous. Dean was understanding and was willing to do what was right for Brian. He’s very happy in New York and thinks it’s the best place to play, within an hour of home without being in front of the hometown crowd. Artie said his first night in New York, his mother told him she couldn’t control herself, crying because he was so close. He didn’t realize until he came back how much he missed his family and being close to home was a huge plus for him. Fr. Matt asked what it’s like to make it to the professional level and play in New York, night and night out with the pressure, and media scrutiny, and how he gets through it, especially with his teammates. Brian said he’s been on both sides of the scrutiny. He said the fans have been supportive of him in New York. He said there’s pressure even inside the locker room with the coaching staff and other players. they make sure your attitude doesn’t change at all and that you remember you’re part of a team. For Brian, he downplays everything else. He always remembers that they’re just a bunch of guys playing the game, that they’re all human. If you lose today, there’s another game tomorrow, and if there isn’t another game tomorrow, then leave it all out on the ice. Scot said when you get to the apex of your profession, how complete is it for you? What can he say to teens about the balance of his life. Brian said it was always his dream to play in the NHL. Being able to do that, he’s always striving to be better and then to achieve the ultimate goal of the Stanley Cup. Hockey is a huge part of his life, but it’s not who he is. The biggest part of his life is family, friends, and faith. Those have been with him through the ups and downs of life. The best games are when he can talk to his dad after the game or to have his family there. Hockey is more fun when his family is part of it. And they’ve taught him that his faith is number one. Fr. Matt asked how he lives his witness as a Christian on the ice, off the ice, in the media room or wherever. Brian said hockey is funny because of the violence in it. Before every game he prays, right after warm up. He says the novena to St. Jude because that was his confirmation name and they prayed it when he was struggling in freshman year in college. He then goes out with then intention to do his best to glorify God with the gifts he as given Brian. In his interviews he gets to tell people how blessed he is to play in the NHL with the NY Rangers. Scot said New York is the media capital of the world and asked Artie what it’s like to deal with the ups and downs in the NHL, especially when they saw a cheap shot on Brian in the playoffs that knocked him out of playing for a few games. Artie said he was at the game and was concerned that he’d been hurt after he disappeared off the ice. After the game, they were called into the locker room. He saw the nasty hit on replay. Brian had a concussion and it took him a while to recover from that. They temper the ups and downs, scoring and getting hurt, playing too little and too much. Artie said he gets so personally involved that his wife Judy says he’s playing in his son’s body. Fr. Matt asked Brian about the discipline he goes through to go for excellence and how he stays motivated. Brian said the best example is getting up early on a Monday morning to drive an hour in July when the season just ended and next season is months away. It’s a challenge but he also has seen what happens to guys who don’t put in the work. The way he’s been brought up and the way he’s learned all along the way that he has to make this priority, that you have to work hard and not give in to temptations. Scot asked Brian what advice he has for kids playing in whatever sport about reaching the apex of the sport. Brian said the number one thing is that winning as a team is more important than personal accomplishment. Teams want winners who’ve contributed their individual effort to the ultimate prize. Brian said he’s always been passionate about victory at the end of the day. You can’t accept losing in yourself and always look to improve yourself for the next time. Brian’s younger brother was just drafted by the NHL. He said he was even more excited for that than for his own draft. Artie said his others kid include a doctor with seven kids, a real estate broker, school teachers, retail, an MBA, two in high school, and the drafted hockey player going off to college.

Summary of today’s show: There are many laity who serve in various roles in the Church, but some are called to a specific role as lay ecclesial ministers. These laypeople are specifically formed, authorized, and commissioned into professional ministry in parishes, schools, and the diocese. Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor are joined by Dr. Aldona Lingertat of the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization and Patty O’Connor, a parish lay ecclesial minister to talk about the phenomenon and how we can support them in their efforts to build up the Church and evangelize their communities. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Dr. Aldona Lingertat and Patty O’Connor Links from today’s show: Theological Institute for the New Evangelization Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord (PDF) Today’s topics: The Calling of the Lay Ecclesial Minister 1st segment: Scot Landry pointed out that a big part of Fr. Chris O’Connor’s job, when he’s not co-hosting The Good Catholic Life, is helping forming laypeople for evangelization though the Theological Institute for the New Evangelization. Fr. Chris said there’s lots of planning going on for the new school year starting in September. TINE is part of St. John’s Seminary and is located on the old St. Gabriel’s property in Brighton near the old St. Elizabeth’s hospital. Fr. Chris said they’re just putting the finishing touches on their new chapel. The numbers at St. John’s in both priests and laypeople means they’re bursting at the seams and need more space. Fr. Chris said Aldona Lingertat has been with the Master of Arts in Ministry program since it’s start and now under TINE has been paired with a Master of Arts in Theological Studies as well as the certificate program. They’re also gearing up for something new, but he’s not yet prepared to announce what it is yet. This is all to mark the Year of Faith. Scot said today’s show is about the calling of the lay ecclesial minister in serving the Church as a lay person. He said among other things they will discuss the US bishops’ document of a few years ago called Co-Workers in the Vineyard of the Lord, which Fr. Chris pointed out is the same name as the conference they produce every Spring from Aldona’s office, which is always about lay ecclesial ministry. Our other guest is Patty O’Connor, a lay ecclesial minister and DRE from St. Mary’s in Randolph. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Chris welcomed Aldona and Patty to the show. Scot asked Aldona about the MAM program. She said the MAM just graduated 10 students, many of whom are already working in Catholic parishes and schools, including campus ministry, directors of religious education, and general pastoral associates. Now, they’re interviewing the incoming class. Scot asked what a typical class looks like. Aldona said they hope to have 20 incoming students each year. They pace themselves. The students can take one or 2 courses per semester or go full-time. If they go full-time and take summer courses, it can take two years. If they take one or 2 courses, it can take 4 to 5 years. Scot said Patty O’Connor has been director of religious education at St. Mary’s. She said she grew up at the parish and went to school there. After graduation from college, she went back to teach in Catholic school as a 1st grade teacher. When the school closed she stayed on as director of religious education. She said it’s one of the most diverse parishes in the Archdiocese. Scot said Randolph is a diverse town, that every language spoken in the Archdiocese of Boston is spoken there. Scot asked Aldona about the vocation of the laity in building up the Church. She said our life in Christ starts in baptism and we are called to bring Christ to the world. Through our baptism we share in that life and bring it to our families and society. Scot noted most laypeople live that calling in the secular world wherever we might work. Patty said we’re called to be leaven in the world in every community that we’re in and that starts with the people we see every day. Fr. Chris said in the Co-Workers document, it says: The secular nature of their calling refers to the fact that God “has handed over the world to women and men, so that they may participate in the work of creation, free creation from the influence of sin and sanctify themselves in marriage or the celibate life, in a family, in a profession and in the various activities of society.” This task is itself a participation in the mission of the Church. He said the baptismal call that we are all sent to sanctify ourselves and be active in the world. Scot said there are many roles in the Church that used to be just for priests or religious: Today in parishes, schools, Church institutions, and diocesan agencies, laity serve in various “ministries, offices and roles” that do not require sacramental ordination but rather “find their foundation in the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, indeed, for a good many of them, in the Sacrament of Matrimony.” Some of those roles are under the title of lay ecclesial minister. Some choose to build up the Church by working inside the Church. It’s an important development of the Church and the transformation we hope to have in the Church will have a lot of lay involvement. Aldona points out that in Luke’s Gospel Jesus sends out 72 disciples to proclaim ahead of him that the kingdom of the Lord is at hand. This is what a lay person does. Scot said people involved in volunteer ministry are not lay ecclesial ministers, but they are still vital to the work of evangelization and the life of the Church. Patty said the baptismal call is one that people in the pews still hear loud and clear, and despite their busy lives still step forward. Fr. Chris said a priest friend preaches that the Church isn’t a country club or 7-11. It’s not a place to get goods and leave. It’s a place to be a member of a community. Each of us is called to contribute to the life of the parish. The word “parish” comes from a word meaning “to draw near” to both Christ and to the Body of Christ, all the members of the parish. Aldona said when she first talks to someone considering a degree program, they express a call to know more about their faith and be of service to their parish and the Church, but aren’t sure how yet. She sees the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives as they are open to that sense of a call to serve. Scot said when it’s a call to work full-time for the Church, there’s a sense of community and duty. As more laypeople began to work in leadership roles, the US bishops wanted to outline what those roles might be and give guidance on how to form them. So they outline four characteristics on what makes a lay ecclesial minister: Authorization of the hierarchy to serve publicly in the local church Leadership in a particular area of ministry Close mutual collaboration with the pastoral ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons Preparation and formation appropriate to the level of responsibilities that are assigned to them So they are authorized by the bishop and announced publicly. Aldona said this is key. Many people feel called, but there’s always two parts to a calling: You discern your gift and where you will give that gift. Not everyone is suited for leadership in religious education, but may be great in hospice work, for example. Scot said it also provides some confidence in what this person is teaching to make sure it’s in line with the Church’s teachings. Fr. Chris said the bishop is number one, he’s the overseer, the conservator of the faith as the successor of the apostles. Historically, the bishop has sought out collaborators to help his ministry. The bishop is the source of unity within the diocese and with the Church as a whole. Aldona noted that their formation is human, spiritual, pastoral, and academic. In the second year of formation, they form ministerial identity. The goal is the candidate for ministry learns that the role they will play in the future is on behalf of the Church. The second characteristic is the call to leadership. It’s not just anybody who works for a parish or diocese. They have a lot of delegation of authority to carry on that ministry.Patty said you grow into leadership positions and it’s important to have good mentors to form you. The third is close, mutual collaboration with the ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons. You can be a lay ecclesial minister off on your own. Aldona said you’re part of a body. Fr. Chris said Christ prayed that they all might be one. When there’s division or separation, that creates scandal. True collaboration is the work of Christianity. The parishes that are vital are the ones where the pastor is collaborating. The fourth is preparation and formation. Aldona said the Co-Workers document gives a guideline of formation and what courses to cover. The diocese can determine who is certified after the formation program. There are also national certifications as well. Aldona is currently president of Association of Graduate Programs in Ministry. It brings together the programs for lay ecclesial ministry in the US. Scot said the preparation and formation four pillars is the same as that for the formation of priests: human, spiritual, pastoral, and academic. Fr. Chris said we do this with our seminarians on a separate track. It’s also a whole person formation. They develop leadership and communications and relationship skills. The minister is to be a bridge, not an obstacle, to Christ. The spiritual formation means we have that connection to Christ that we’re trying to convey. Scot talked about the lay ecclesial ministry roles most often associated with it as the lay pastoral associate, who often assists a pastor in a variety of different roles; director of religious education, director of youth ministry, director of worship/pastoral musician, school principal. At a non-parish level, there’s a health-care chaplain or campus minister and other diocesan leaders. Scot has heard debate over whether a business manager is a lay ecclesial minister. He said they may not get all four pillars of the formation. Aldona said at one point there was a training program that did try to include all four pillars and there is a move toward that direction. Fr. Chris asked Patty about her responsibilities as a pastoral associate in her parish. She said she’s coordinated the Arise program and the Why Catholic program. She trains and forms liturgical ministers, teach on the new Roman Missal, work with RCIA, led Catholics Come Home for her parish. Her current role came out of a discussion with the pastor four years ago when they listed the duties she wanted to take on. Scot asked if parish secretaries are lay ecclesial ministers. Patty said that in a loosely defined way, a lay person working in the church is a lay ecclesial minister in a way. She said there are circumstances in which a business manager is a lay ecclesial minister. Scot said in thinking about a secretary, he thinks it might be conditioned on how formation they have and how much leadership they have. Fr. Chris said this is a developing situation in how we define particular roles. He said the important thing is that the parish secretary is doing incredible work at the front door. In many ways she’s the voice of the Church. When we are the voice of the Church, we have to be aware how we communicate Christ’s love. Anyone involved in the parish is in some way a lay ecclesial minister. Aldona said there’s another term that may more accurately describe the role as lay minister as opposed to lay ecclesial minister. The lay ecclesial minister is the one in leadership. Scot said as lay ministry becomes more formalized we have these kinds of discussions about the differences in different roles. Maybe we need to say these other roles do need all the formation because they are someone who represents the Church in many places. Even lay ministers don’t just enter the ministry, but are approved by the pastor and trained to do the work. Scot said the standards we hold clergy too are now being created for lay ministers. Aldona said there is a national movement to develop a certification that will be portable between dioceses. The US bishops have accepted the guidelines that have been proposed and for the first time lay ecclesial ministers are requesting national certification. Scot asked Aldona on the numbers of lay ecclesial ministers and their growth. In 2005, the most recent survey, there were about 30,000 lay ecclesial ministers, defined as working at least 20 hours per week in paid positions in parishes. This year, it’s up to 31,000. Patty said in the Archdiocese, there are 435 parish catechetical leaders and of them 85 are DREs and certified with graduate degrees. There are also about 100 pastoral associates, 125 Catholic school principals. Fr. Chris said he would include the teachers in the Catholic schools. Fr. Chris said he thinks Scot is a lay ecclesial minister, but Scot asks if he’s received the formation he should have for that designation. He said there are many jobs in the Pastoral Center that would qualify as lay ecclesial ministry. Aldona said the 2005 survey found that the lay ecclesial ministers were raised up from inside their parishes. She encouraged anyone listening to talk to their pastor if they feel like they are called and then seek out a formation program. Patty said a former pastor continually invited her to continue her education as her children grew older. It was in 2002 that she discerned that call into the Master of Arts in Ministry program. She said the four pillars gave her a confidence and maturity. Fr. Chris said we have to address the financial situation of parishes. This is where the money in the basket goes. Pastors want to hire these lay ecclesial ministers and the ministers are due a decent salary. So the offertory in part goes to paying these ecclesial ministers’ salaries. Scot said looking forward at the recommendations in the pastoral planning for pastoral service teams to serve more than one parish in most cases, it seems as more effective to group these ministerial activities in parishes together under certain leaders, probably lay ecclesial ministry. He asked Aldona her hopes for the growth of lay ecclesial ministry. She said she hopes the collaboration of these teams would go well and the transitions would go smoothly. It’s a challenge to grow to serve a couple of parishes at a time. Patty said her hope with the pastoral service teams is that they be able to entice young lay ecclesial ministers, who are unable to take the jobs because of finances. If the Church can bring the resources together, that may be possible. Patty said certification calls for one to have a graduate degree appropriate for the job and letters of recommendation from the bishop and pastors, and the sending it into the pastoral planning office. There is a committee that will review them and make a recommendation. Most of the time the applicant has already done much of the work of the lay ecclesial minister. Scot said TINE offers two degrees and there are about 90 people in the MAM program. Aldona said many of the deacons have options for getting degree credit for their work. Fr. Chris noted that many of the wives take the classes with their husbands. Scot suggested a young person start working in a parish while working toward certification. Fr. Chris said Catholic school teachers receive 50% off their tuition when they apply at TINE. Patty is on the Pastoral Planning Commission. Scot said the real goal is to allow us to be better at evangelization. Pattyy said she joined in February to represent catechetical leadership. She thinks the committee has worked hard at the goal of strengthening parishes. It’s now turning its focus to the other four elements focused on evangelization.

Summary of today’s show: In January 2012, Pope Benedict XVI created an ordinariate for North America as a way to welcome former Anglicans, their priests, and their parishes into communion with the Catholic Church. On the North Shore of Massachusetts, a group of former Episcopalians is preparing to do just that with their priest, Fr. Jurgen Liias. Scot Landry talks with Fr. Liias and Fr. David Barnes, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Beverly, about Fr. Liias’ spiritual journey and what the new ordinariate means for resolving the rift in Christianity caused by the Protestant Reformation and Henry VIII. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry Today’s guest(s): Fr. Jurgen Liias and Fr. David Barnes Links from today’s show: Fr. Jurgen Liias’ blog Fr. David Barne’s blog. “A Shepherd’s Post” Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus Today’s topics: Fr. Jurgen Liias and the Anglican Ordinariate 1st segment: Scot said in the future the year 2012 will be remembered as the creation of an ordinariate for Anglicans becoming Catholic. Fr. David Barnes, pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea in Beverly joins us to discuss this news. Also joining us is Fr. Jurgen Liias, currently an Episcopalian priest seeking to become a Catholic priest in the ordinariate. Scot said Fr. Jurgen was born in Europe and moved with his family to the US. He said he was born in Germany. His mother was a refugee from East Germany and his father was a refugee from Estonia. He was born in 1948 and they later came to the United States as displaced persons. They originally lived in a displaced persons camp in Baldwinville, Massachusetts. He was four years old and his brother was two. His father found a place for them to live in an Episcopalian church rectory in Charlestown at St. John’s in Monument Square. They lived there for most of his childhood. His father became caretaker of the church. Fr. Jurgen said from the time when they moved in he would say he wanted to be a minister like their host who took them in. He never changed his mind from that. He’d been baptized Lutheran, but they became Episcopalian. Fr. Jurgen said the two are very much alike. He said Charlestown in those days was a pretty rough Irish Catholic ghetto and he got beat up regularly for being a Protestant and a “Nazi”. The church was a refuge and the one place they were accepted, a safe haven. He went to Boston Latin school and to Amherst College in Western Mass. He met his wife who was at Smith College. They met the first day as the Amherst men went to Smith to help the young ladies move into their dorms. In college, he was very involved in the peace movement and Students for a Democratic Society. As a Christian he always said he was there because Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. Most of his Christianity in those days was expressed in the social gospel. Scot asked if the Sixties was a turbulent for Episcopalians as it was for Catholics. Fr. Jurgen said it was a shift, but not as much as for Catholics. He said while he was involved in the social gospel, it was all externalized and he hadn’t internalized or taken a good look at himself. As the charismatic movement began to rise, he started to have his heart opened to a more person exposure to the Holy Spirit. Meanwhile, his church’s pastor wasn’t very interested in this spirituality. He became more convinced what he was experiencing was something the Church needed. Out of that came a call within a call to work for the renewal of the Episcopal Church. It had become stale and spiritually tepid. Most of his ministry over the last 30 years has been working to this end. Fr. Jurgen said he began to delve into deeper questions of what is the faith and what is the Church. He found a confessor, which is unusual for a Protestant, in order to confess his sins. His first confessor was an Episcopalian monk, but after 5 years he told him he’d left his order and became a Dominican in the Catholic Church. This was a seed planted in Fr. Jurgen’s psyche. Another seed planted for his journey to Rome was the pro-life movement. He found in the pro-life movement in the early 1970s. Most of his Episcopalian friends, other clergy, abandoned him as he took a stand against abortion. Feminism had taken strong root in the Episcopal Church. He started the National Organization of Episcopalians for Life. He saw in the Catholic Church a consistency in standing for the Church and that’s where he began thinking about maybe he’d be better off in the Catholic Church. 2nd segment: Scot asked Fr. Jurgen to define Anglican, Episcopalian, and ordinariate. Fr. Jurgen said the Anglican Church encompasses Christianity in England going back to the times of the Holy Roman Empire. It flowered when St. Augustine of Canterbury was sent by Pope St. Gregory in the fourth or fifth century to bring Christianity there. At the time of Henry VIII in the 1500s, the king broke away from the Pope and created the Church of England. During the heyday of the British Empire, the Anglican church went wherever the empire went and created the Anglican Communion, all the branches throughout the world. In the United States, the Anglicans called themselves the Episcopal Church. In the worldwide Christianity, the Catholic Church is the largest, the Orthodox is the second-largest, and the Anglicans are the third-largest. Pope Paul VI started the Anglican-Catholic dialogue during the 1960s. Scot said the Anglican Ordinariate was founded in January 2012. Why now? Fr. Jurgen said Pope Benedict said it was a response to the requests of Anglicans over many, many years. Bl. John Henry Newman was an Anglican priest in the early 1800s who started the Oxford Movement to bring the Anglicans back to Rome, but he eventually concluded that he had to do it himself. In the 1980s, Pope John Paul set up the Anglican provision, which let individual Anglican priests convert to Catholicism and to become Catholic priests. Then there was permission given to certain Catholic parishes to use a different liturgical form, closer to the Anglican form. Now, the ordinariate allows Episcopalian congregations to come into full communion with Rome with their priests, but to continue to hold to their traditions. the ordinariate is the structure under which they serve. Scot said it’s kind of parallel to a diocese, except dioceses are territorial, while the ordinariate in the US covers all of North America. Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson, a former Anglican bishop, has been put in charge of the ordinariate by Pope Benedict XVI and serves the function of a bishop. Scot said there are a few ordinariate parishes in the US so far. Fr. Jurgen said there are close to 60 or 70 men like him who are seeking Holy Orders through the ordinariate, some of them with significant parishes with them, others who are like Fr. Jurgen have a small group of people looking to come into the Church with him. Scot asked Fr. David Barnes why this is significant, not just in the world, but more locally in the Archdiocese of Boston. Fr. David said it’s part of the New Evangelization. Pope Benedict is open to all the movements in the life of the Church and interested in opening up new ways for people to become Catholic. The Pope has gone around all the problems to open up this new way. Scot said it’s his opinion that because Pope Benedict grew up in Germany among Protestants that he views the role of the papacy to further this work. Fr. David said the witness of the Catholic faith of the new converts is a good example. Fr. Jurgen and those like him bear witness to a relationship with Jesus Christ, how we come to faith and it changes our life. Scot asked what it means to him to see an Episcopal priest to share the priesthood with him. Fr. David said it’s great to share faith with him, apart from ordination. Through him, he’s met other people and occasionally sees another Episcopalian priest coming to Mass at St. Mary’s. 3rd segment: Scot asked Fr. Jurgen what are the steps to becoming a Catholic priest in his position. Fr. Jurgen said the ordinariate has sped up the process. Under the pastoral provision it took one or two years. Fr. Jurgen started his process in February and hopes to be ordained this fall. He’s taken part in theological formation, every Saturday for months, via computer distance learning. He’s also had a mentor, a Catholic priest to help him, and Fr. Barnes has filled that role. He’s also just came from psychological testing. There’s a background check as well. These are all things that a seminarian has to go through. This is all gathered together and sent to Rome for approval by the Vatican. Fr. Jurgen said at a certain pint within the next few weeks, he will be expected to formally renounce his orders in the Anglican church. He will become a layman and await a decision by the Vatican. Scot asked him if he receives other sacraments first. Fr. Jurgen said he will be received at St. Margaret’s in Beverly Farms on August 15. He will make his first Catholic confession and his first Communion. He will also receive confirmation at the same Mass. He said he’s been going to Mass and it’s difficult not receiving Communion so far. Scot asked Fr. David how he will prepare parishioners. Fr. David said people have been very receptive. Msgr. Steenson came to the parish a few months ago to give a substantial lecture on the ordinariate. They had a Mass on which several people were received into the Church. On August 15, a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, who also serves as vicar general of the ordinariate, will fly up for the confirmation. If he will be ordained in the Church, Cardinal Seán will do that. Fr. Jurgen said there’s also about 15–20 people who have also chosen to make this journey with him. He started almost two years ago with a little group that met on Saturdays in 8am. They discussed the papal document setting up the process for the ordinariates. They also studied many ecumenical documents. Dr. Tom Howard, a former Anglican who became Catholic nd who later taught at St. John’s Seminary, helped catechize the group. They were meeting every week and now meet twice per month. They continue to meet regularly and tonight, for example, they will be studying the rosary. Fr. Jurgen said there is a wing of the Anglicans that does all the Catholic devotional life, call the Anglo-Catholics. He said he is more of an Evangelical. There are Anglican traditions that aren’t part of Catholic devotional life. He said familiarity with the Bible will be something they can bring. There are some spiritual traditions as well. One is called choral evensong. It’s a form of Vespers with Anglican chant. Pope Benedict had just had the Westminster choir in the Vatican to sing evensong. Fr. David said Msgr. Steenson predicts that the Anglican traditions will be saved by the Catholic Church. Fr. Jurgen said the group will be forming a parish of the ordinariate within the Archdiocese of Boston. They intend to have a positive relationship with the local diocese. While they could form a parish without approval of local bishop, Msgr. Steenson said they want a cordial partnership. Fr. David said the priests on the North Shore will love to have Fr. Jurgen’s help in the area. He hopes to have faculties to function within the Archdiocese. But in the meantime, he will help found a parish of the Diocese of North America. One of the visions of Pope BEnedict is the beginning of the end of the divisions of the Reformation. They want an organic reunion. Fr. David said he’s very hopeful that Fr. Jurgen will be ordained and he’s been a very wonderful priest who shown many gifts in his previous parishes. He hears that he’s a wonderful preacher and has a great love for the Church already. Fr. Jurgen said he feels like he’s falling in love with the Catholic Church and is enormously blessed with the gift of the Church and the riches it will give him. Fr. Jurgen said he published his spiritual autobiography as part of his application and had so many requests for it that he put it on a new bog.

Summary of today’s show: Just before Christmas every year, the Holy Father gives a kind of State of the Church address to the Roman Curia and this past year was no exception. Scot Landry, Fr. Chip Hines, and Domenico Bettinelli delve into Pope Benedict’s address and his diagnosis in Europe and North America of faith fatigue as well as the cure: a faith that takes on new life, a joyful passion for faith. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chip Hines Today’s guest(s): Domenico Bettinelli of Pilot New Media Links from today’s show: Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI on the Occasion of Christmas Greetings to the Roman Curia Today’s topics: Pope Benedict on faith fatigue and the joy-filled Catholic 1st segment: Today we present the text of Pope Benedict’s address to the Roman Curia at the end of last year, which will be the topic of discussion in this show. Dear Cardinals, Brother Bishops and Priests, Dear Brothers and Sisters, The occasion that brings us together today is always particularly moving. The holy feast of Christmas is almost upon us and it prompts the great family of the Roman Curia to come together for a gracious exchange of greetings, as we wish one another a joyful and spiritually fruitful celebration of this feast of the God who became flesh and established his dwelling in our midst (cf. Jn 1:14). For me, this is an occasion not only to offer you my personal good wishes, but also to express my gratitude and that of the Church to each one of you for your generous service; I ask you to convey this to all the co-workers of our extended family. I offer particular thanks to the Dean of the College, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who has given voice to the sentiments of all present and of all who work in the various offices of the Curia and the Governorate, including those whose apostolate is carried out in the Pontifical Representations throughout the world. All of us are committed to spreading throughout the world the resounding message that the angels proclaimed that night in Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will” (Lk 2:14), so as to bring joy and hope to our world. As this year draws to a close, Europe is undergoing an economic and financial crisis, which is ultimately based on the ethical crisis looming over the Old Continent. Even if such values as solidarity, commitment to one’s neighbour and responsibility towards the poor and suffering are largely uncontroversial, still the motivation is often lacking for individuals and large sectors of society to practise renunciation and make sacrifices. Perception and will do not necessarily go hand in hand. In defending personal interests, the will obscures perception, and perception thus weakened is unable to stiffen the will. In this sense, some quite fundamental questions emerge from this crisis: where is the light that is capable of illuminating our perception not merely with general ideas, but with concrete imperatives? Where is the force that draws the will upwards? These are questions that must be answered by our proclamation of the Gospel, by the new evangelization, so that message may become event, so that proclamation may lead to life. The key theme of this year, and of the years ahead, is this: how do we proclaim the Gospel today? How can faith as a living force become a reality today? The ecclesial events of the outgoing year were all ultimately related to this theme. There were the journeys to Croatia, to the World Youth Day in Spain, to my home country of Germany, and finally to Africa – Benin – for the consignment of the Post-Synodal document on justice, peace and reconciliation, which should now lead to concrete results in the various local churches. Equally memorable were the journeys to Venice, to San Marino, to the Eucharistic Congress in Ancona, and to Calabria. And finally there was the important day of encounter in Assisi for religions and for people who in whatever way are searching for truth and peace, representing a new step forward in the pilgrimage towards truth and peace. The establishment of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization is at the same time a pointer towards next year’s Synod on the same theme. The Year of Faith, commemorating the beginning of the Council fifty years ago, also belongs in this context. Each of these events had its own particular characteristics. In Germany, where the Reformation began, the ecumenical question, with all its trials and hopes, naturally assumed particular importance. Intimately linked to this, at the focal point of the debate, the question that arises repeatedly is this: what is reform of the Church? How does it take place? What are its paths and its goals? Not only faithful believers but also outside observers are noticing with concern that regular churchgoers are growing older all the time and that their number is constantly diminishing; that recruitment of priests is stagnating; that scepticism and unbelief are growing. What, then, are we to do? There are endless debates over what must be done in order to reverse the trend. There is no doubt that a variety of things need to be done. But action alone fails to resolve the matter. The essence of the crisis of the Church in Europe is the crisis of faith. If we find no answer to this, if faith does not take on new life, deep conviction and real strength from the encounter with Jesus Christ, then all other reforms will remain ineffective. On this point, the encounter with Africa’s joyful passion for faith brought great encouragement. None of the faith fatigue that is so prevalent here, none of the oft-encountered sense of having had enough of Christianity was detectable there. Amid all the problems, sufferings and trials that Africa clearly experiences, one could still sense the people’s joy in being Christian, buoyed up by inner happiness at knowing Christ and belonging to his Church. From this joy comes also the strength to serve Christ in hard-pressed situations of human suffering, the strength to put oneself at his disposal, without looking round for one’s own advantage. Encountering this faith that is so ready to sacrifice and so full of happiness is a powerful remedy against fatigue with Christianity such as we are experiencing in Europe today. A further remedy against faith fatigue was the wonderful experience of World Youth Day in Madrid. This was new evangelization put into practice. Again and again at World Youth Days, a new, more youthful form of Christianity can be seen, something I would describe under five headings. Firstly, there is a new experience of catholicity, of the Church’s universality. This is what struck the young people and all the participants quite directly: we come from every continent, but although we have never met one another, we know one another. We speak different languages, we have different ways of life and different cultural backgrounds, yet we are immediately united as one great family. Outward separation and difference is relativized. We are all moved by the one Lord Jesus Christ, in whom true humanity and at the same time the face of God himself is revealed to us. We pray in the same way. The same inner encounter with Jesus Christ has stamped us deep within with the same structure of intellect, will and heart. And finally, our common liturgy speaks to our hearts and unites us in a vast family. In this setting, to say that all humanity are brothers and sisters is not merely an idea: it becomes a real shared experience, generating joy. And so we have also understood quite concretely: despite all trials and times of darkness, it is a wonderful thing to belong to the worldwide Church, to the Catholic Church, that the Lord has given to us. From this derives a new way of living our humanity, our Christianity. For me, one of the most important experiences of those days was the meeting with the World Youth Day volunteers: about 20,000 young people, all of whom devoted weeks or months of their lives to working on the technical, organizational and material preparations for World Youth Day, and thus made it possible for the whole event to run smoothly. Those who give their time always give a part of their lives. At the end of the day, these young people were visibly and tangibly filled with a great sense of happiness: the time that they gave up had meaning; in giving of their time and labour, they had found time, they had found life. And here something fundamental became clear to me: these young people had given a part of their lives in faith, not because it was asked of them, not in order to attain Heaven, nor in order to escape the danger of Hell. They did not do it in order to find fulfilment. They were not looking round for themselves. There came into my mind the image of Lot’s wife, who by looking round was turned into a pillar of salt. How often the life of Christians is determined by the fact that first and foremost they look out for themselves, they do good, so to speak, for themselves. And how great is the temptation of all people to be concerned primarily for themselves; to look round for themselves and in the process to become inwardly empty, to become “pillars of salt”. But here it was not a matter of seeking fulfilment or wanting to live one’s life for oneself. These young people did good, even at a cost, even if it demanded sacrifice, simply because it is a wonderful thing to do good, to be there for others. All it needs is the courage to make the leap. Prior to all of this is the encounter with Jesus Christ, inflaming us with love for God and for others, and freeing us from seeking our own ego. In the words of a prayer attributed to Saint Francis Xavier: I do good, not that I may come to Heaven thereby and not because otherwise you could cast me into Hell. I do it because of you, my King and my Lord. I came across this same attitude in Africa too, for example among the Sisters of Mother Teresa, who devote themselves to abandoned, sick, poor and suffering children, without asking anything for themselves, thus becoming inwardly rich and free. This is the genuinely Christian attitude. Equally unforgettable for me was the encounter with handicapped young people in the Saint Joseph Centre in Madrid, where I encountered the same readiness to put oneself at the disposal of others – a readiness to give oneself that is ultimately derived from encounter with Christ, who gave himself for us. A third element, that has an increasingly natural and central place in World Youth Days and in the spirituality that arises from them, is adoration. I still look back to that unforgettable moment during my visit to the United Kingdom, when tens of thousands of predominantly young people in Hyde Park responded in eloquent silence to the Lord’s sacramental presence, in adoration. The same thing happened again on a smaller scale in Zagreb and then again in Madrid, after the thunderstorm which almost ruined the whole night vigil through the failure of the microphones. God is indeed ever-present. But again, the physical presence of the risen Christ is something different, something new. The risen Lord enters into our midst. And then we can do no other than say, with Saint Thomas: my Lord and my God! Adoration is primarily an act of faith – the act of faith as such. God is not just some possible or impossible hypothesis concerning the origin of all things. He is present. And if he is present, then I bow down before him. Then my intellect and will and heart open up towards him and from him. In the risen Christ, the incarnate God is present, who suffered for us because he loves us. We enter this certainty of God’s tangible love for us with love in our own hearts. This is adoration, and this then determines my life. Only thus can I celebrate the Eucharist correctly and receive the body of the Lord rightly. A further important element of the World Youth Days is the sacrament of Confession, which is increasingly coming to be seen as an integral part of the experience. Here we recognize that we need forgiveness over and over again, and that forgiveness brings responsibility. Openness to love is present in man, implanted in him by the Creator, together with the capacity to respond to God in faith. But also present, in consequence of man’s sinful history (Church teaching speaks of original sin) is the tendency that is opposed to love – the tendency towards selfishness, towards becoming closed in on oneself, in fact towards evil. Again and again my soul is tarnished by this downward gravitational pull that is present within me. Therefore we need the humility that constantly asks God for forgiveness, that seeks purification and awakens in us the counterforce, the positive force of the Creator, to draw us upwards. Finally, I would like to speak of one last feature, not to be overlooked, of the spirituality of World Youth Days, namely joy. Where does it come from? How is it to be explained? Certainly, there are many factors at work here. But in my view, the crucial one is this certainty, based on faith: I am wanted; I have a task in history; I am accepted, I am loved. Josef Pieper, in his book on love, has shown that man can only accept himself if he is accepted by another. He needs the other’s presence, saying to him, with more than words: it is good that you exist. Only from the You can the I come into itself. Only if it is accepted, can it accept itself. Those who are unloved cannot even love themselves. This sense of being accepted comes in the first instance from other human beings. But all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me, and I become convinced of this, do I know definitively: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being. If ever man’s sense of being accepted and loved by God is lost, then there is no longer any answer to the question whether to be a human being is good at all. Doubt concerning human existence becomes more and more insurmountable. Where doubt over God becomes prevalent, then doubt over humanity follows inevitably. We see today how widely this doubt is spreading. We see it in the joylessness, in the inner sadness, that can be read on so many human faces today. Only faith gives me the conviction: it is good that I exist. It is good to be a human being, even in hard times. Faith makes one happy from deep within. That is one of the wonderful experiences of World Youth Days. It would take too long now to go into detail concerning the encounter in Assisi, as the significance of the event would warrant. Let us simply thank God, that as representatives of the world’s religions and as representatives of thinking in search of truth, we were able to meet that day in a climate of friendship and mutual respect, in love for the truth and in shared responsibility for peace. So let us hope that, from this encounter, a new willingness to serve peace, reconciliation and justice has emerged. As I conclude, I would like to thank all of you from my heart for shouldering the common mission that the Lord has given us as witnesses to his truth, and I wish all of you the joy that God wanted to bestow up 2nd segment: Now as we do every week at this time, we will consider the Mass readings for this Sunday, specifically the Gospel reading. Gospel for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 15, 2012 (Mark 6:7–13) Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick– no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Summary of today’s show: Our usual Thursday panel of Scot Landry, Susan Abbott, Fr. Roger Landry, and Gregory Tracy looked at the news headlines of the week, including confirmation that assisted suicide will be on the ballot in Massachusetts in November; the excommunication of an illicitly ordained Chinese bishop; Cardinal Raymond Burke’s public comments on the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms of the Latin Rite liturgy, concelebration, and other liturgical matters; and the Vatican’s financial reports. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Susan Abbott Today’s guest(s): Gregory Tracy, managing editor of the Pilot, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Boston, and Fr. Roger Landry, pastor of St. Bernadette Parish in Fall River Links from today’s show: The Anchor The Pilot Some of the stories discussed on this show will be available on The Pilot’s and The Anchor’s websites on Friday morning. Please check those sites for the latest links. Today’s topics: Suicide on the ballot; Chinese bishop excommunicated; restoring tradition 1st segment: Scot Landry welcomed Susan Abbott to the show and noted that the usual Thursday panel is together again. Susan said her office has been planning for the new religious education year and meeting with parish staff on their concerns, including preparing for the Year of Faith. Scot welcomed Fr. Roger Landry, who is traveling in Michigan and doing a retreat for the Alma sisters, and Gregory Tracy. Scot noted that the Pilot is still on hiatus this week. Scot said this week that Secretary of State Bill Galvin has certified the ballot initiatives that will be on the ballot this November and Question 2 will be the physician-assisted suicide proposal. Scot said he will be voting No. “Massachusetts ballot to include marijuana, end-of-life questions”, Boston Globe, 7/12/12 “Mass. officials announce fall ballot questions”, Boston.com/AP, 7/11/12 Scot said he was disappointed by the the Secretary of State’s office used the pro-assisted suicide language of aid in dying, instead of assisted suicide. Susan said the language will make a difference; words are important. Susan said this is a matter of choosing death over life. End of life care is not easy, not pretty, but it’s a blessing and a privilege. Scot said we’re now in the final phase of this effort. These four months will have a lot of messaging and will be competing with a lot of over election matters. Greg said he hopes that the message isn’t lost. People could easily be misled about the exct intentions and purposes of this law, just like during the original signature petition in which people said they were misled about what they were endorsing. A misleading soundbite about a false compassion might be enough to convince people. He doesn’t think people would make a deliberate choice for this ballot initiative because of how badly written it is with loopholes and lack of safeguards. Susan said she’s surprised that even proponents are in favor of such a badly written law. Scot asked if having legalizing medical marijuana on the same ballot will have an impact. Fr. Roger said most people who care for others will recognize that marijuana is a gateway drug. He said it will be emphasized as personal rights or caring for others. Real compassion is helping people talk themselves down from the psychological rooftop and show that life still has meaning. Scot said he thinks it will be the one on one conversations people have about this in the next four months. He said there is a poll on the Worcester Telegram and Gazette website on this issue. Susan noted how people she knows haven’t heard about this initiative. Scot said 90% of the people who are going to vote don’t know the arguments on both sides of this issue and he thinks people can be persuaded by the Church’s arguments. Greg talked about reports that it is very easy to get doctor’s permission for medical marijuana in California, undermining the law. He said both issues are means of fleeing reality. Scot noted that we don’t have to make theological arguments on these issues. Fr. Roger said reason tells us that these things are wrong. Opposition to suicide is commonsense and has been recognized as contrary to the common good throughout history. In the ancient world, suicide was usually offered as a means to avoid execution. He said we’re all called to be Good Samaritans, like the firefighter who climbs out on a ledge to save a suicidal person. SuicideIsAlwaysATragedy.org 2nd segment: This week’s benefactor card raffle winner is John and Ann Murphy from Merrimac, MA They win a "Praying for Our Priests" 3 pack: The book "Praying forOur Priests: A Guide to Praying for the Priesthood", an audio CD of the Stations of the Cross and Divine Mercy chaplet, and an audio CD of the Rosary with meditations on the priesthood. If you would like to be eligible to win in an upcoming week, please visit WQOM.org. For a one-time $30 donation, you’ll receive the Station of the Cross benefactor card and key tag, making you eligible for WQOM’s weekly raffle of books, DVDs, CDs and religious items. We’ll be announcing the winner each Wednesday during “The Good Catholic Life” program. 3rd segment: One of the bigger stories this week is the situation in China when the Holy See determined a Chinese bishop was illicitly ordained was excommunicated. Scot asked Fr. Roger to explain. Fr. Roger said a valid ordination means the man has been made a bishop. For that to occur an ordained bishop has to ordain a valid priest. Licit is a way of saying legal according to canon law. So there can be a valid ordination, but you don’t have the permission to make this man a bishop. For example, if Cardinal Seán ordained Fr. Roger a bishop without permission of Pope Benedict. Fr. Roger would validly be a bishop, would be illicitly ordained and would be excommunicated. That’s what happened in China. The Chinese government wanted the priest to be a bishop, but the Vatican did not want it. So the man is now a bishop, but is totally outside of communion with the Church. “Illicitly ordained Chinese bishop incurs automatic excommunication”, Boston Pilot/CNS, 7/11/12 Scot asked why the bishop doing the ordination wasn’t excommunicated. Fr. Roger said it was probably because the Chinese government threatened the ordaining bishop and the Vatican must have heard about this. That’s what happened when Archbishop Marcel Lefebrve ordained men as bishops in 1988. Pope Benedict XVI lifted that excommunication a couple of years ago. Scot said it goes to show that religious liberty something we need to pray for everyday. The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope, although the divisions are not hard and fast. Many priests and laypeople, and even bishops, are members of the patriotic association in public, and of the underground Church, in secret. Susan said there was another Chinese bishop who renounced his participation in the Patriotic Association was arrested by the government Scot said the next story is about Cardinal Raymond Burke, a leading American voice in the Vatican today, marked the five-year anniversary of the lifting of the restrictions on the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. “For Cardinal Burke, restoring tradition is a work in progress”, Catholic News Service, 7/6/12 Greg said it adds to richness of the liturgy to have both forms of the Mass celebrated today. The liturgy is living and vibrant and not to be tampered with, even as the Church responds to the needs of the time. Scot said Cardinal Burke talked about resistance to the older form, elements of the older form that could be brought to the new, and parts of the new form that improve upon the old form. The reform of the Roman Missal in the period following Vatican II was “too radical,” and “went beyond, and in some senses perhaps not completely coherently with, what the council fathers had set forth,” the cardinal says. “There was a stripping away, a changing of the form of the rite that in my judgment was too much,” he says. “You can’t take a living reality, the worship of God as God has desired that we worship him, and tamper with it without doing violence and without in some way damaging the faith life of the people.” Fr. Roger said there are a lot of private prayers for the priest in the older form that have been cut from the present missal. He’d love to see those come back because it helps priests to pray the Mass better. He does agree there was a lot that could have been cut from the old missal. What he appreciates most in the new form, he loves the way we begin Mass now with the New Testament greetings, the Kyrie, and the readings. In addition to being in the language of the people, the lectionary is a lot larger. There were lots of the Old and New Testament that you never heard. Both Masses help us to pray the other better. Cardinal Burke also spoke in a separate article in Catholic News Agency that there’s an excessive use of concelebration, the practice of priests saying Mass collectively. His primary concern was that when a priest gets in the habit of primarily concelebrating, it can develop a sense in the priest of just being part of the congregation. Susan said she was surprised by this concern. Susan said he also outlined why a priest should not ad-lib prayers during Mass. She was surprised that this apparently happens enough to be remarked upon. In a wide-ranging interview, Cardinal Burke also outlined the reasons why a priest should not ad-lib his own words or prayers during Mass, since he “is the servant of the rite” and “not the protagonist – Christ is.” “So it is absolutely wrong for the priest to think, ‘how can I make this more interesting?’ or ‘how can I make this better?’” he said. They discuss the recent case of a priest in Illinois stripped of his faculties for this reason. Susan asked Fr. Roger why Cardinal Burke would be speaking on liturgy since the cardinal’s role at the Vatican is as Apostolic Signatura, which is like a judge. Fr. Roger said all cardinals serve on various of the Vatican’s congregations and Cardinal Burke is a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Fr. Roger said Pope Benedict said a few years ago that he was disturbed by the large-scale concelebrations of thousands of priests at certain events. For a priest to validly concelebrate the Mass, he has to be able to consume the precious blood. So how much must be consecrated so everyone has some, without having lot leftover. Fr. Roger said young priests in some situations outside of parishes don’t get a chance to celebrate the Mass on their own and are forced to concelebrate, like at the Pontifical North American College. Another big story was that the Holy See’s budget showed a loss this year. Greg said people have this idea that the Vatican is just full of gold and money. But when you see the numbers related to a worldwide organization of 1 billion people it’s not that much. “Holy See budget shows major loss despite rise in donations”, Catholic News Service, 7/5/12 Scot compared the budget for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the Holy See and Vatican City State: $35 billion to $500 million.

Summary of today’s show: The country of South Sudan has been in existence for just about one year and still struggles to provide even basic needs for its people. Last year, Scot Landry interviewed Fr. Peter Loro right after independence and now Fr. Loro has come back and sits down with Scot and Fr. Chip Hines to talk about the progress since independence and the many pastoral needs experienced by one of the poorest countries in the world with a population starving for the sacraments. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chip Hines Today’s guest(s): Fr. Peter Loro Links from today’s show: Program #0107 for Friday, August 5, 2011: Fr. Peter Loro Bambu Fr. Peter Loro’s website Today’s topics: Fr. Peter Loro and South Sudan’s first year of independence 1st segment: Scot wished his mom a happy birthday today. Fr. Chip Hines also said he was asked by Cardinal Seán to become the pastor of St. Joseph in Medford. He broke the news to his parishes in Wrentham and Plainville this past weekend. They discussed how a priest says yes to a bishop unless there’s a very important reason. Fr. Chip said as hard it is, it’s a time of reflection with the people he’s leaving. It’s difficult because you become family as their priest. Scot noted that St. Joseph’s is the parish that Fr. Chip was baptized in. His grandparents and parents were married there. The parish also has a school and Fr. Chip is very interested in working with a parish school. Scot noted his own brother just transferred from one parish to another in the Diocese of Fall River. He asked what’s going through Fr. Chip’s mind. He said his parish staff is helping him with logistics, pack all his stuff, clean up all his paperwork, see what he needs in his new parish. He will start in his new parish on August 1. Scot said Fr. McLaughlin that Fr. Chip is replacing in Medford was in the parish for 35 years, 25 as pastor. He said perhaps a third or more of the parish have never known a different pastor. Fr. Chip said it’s a great opportunity to offer some different or new approaches to being a pastor. Today’s guest is Fr. Peter Loro, who will talk about the challenges for the Church in South Sudan, Africa. He was on the show last summer by phone to talk about the country right after its independence from Sudan. He will update us on the first year of the country and the current state of the Church there. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Peter Loro of the Archdiocese of Juba to the show. Scot said Fr. Peter has just completed a decree in canon law in Rome. Fr. Peter said he was sent to study in Rome three years ago and completed those studies last month. He’d been invited at the time to come to Boston to participate in the mission appeals in Boston by the Pontifical Mission Society here. Then he will return to South Sudan to take up his new assignment at home. Scot said Fr. Peter will speak at six or seven parishes throughout the Archdiocese. Fr. Peter said the situation in South Sudan is challenging because before independence they went through more than two decades of war with the north. Now that peace has come there have been many challenges. For instance, Juba is filled with displaced people returning to the country from abroad and from the countryside. The Church has been challenged to provide for the spiritual and physical needs for these people. This is why they have turned to the universal Church. Fr. Peter said the Pontifical Mission Society is more than just a charity providing handouts of money and goods. First and foremost, their work is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the people. He said behind the donations the people of Boston may give is the intention to bring the Gospel of Jesus. Scot noted most people are familiar with the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, which is just one of four Pontifical Mission Societies. Another is the Society of St. Peter the Apostle. They provided for Fr. Peter’s education in canon law in Rome. Fr. Peter said the society has done great work in forming priests. They don’t just pay for priests to be educated in Rome, but also continue to assist them when they return to their home dioceses. Whatever donation people can give to this office, they will participate in the formation of young men who will be very useful in supporting the Church in South Sudan. The St. Peter Society is supporting the seminary in Juba which is the lifeblood and future of the Church there. Fr. Chip asked the difference between Sudan and South Sudan and why the need to establish the new country. Fr. Peter said Sudan received independence from the British in 1956. They handed power to the northern Sudanese on whom most of the resources had been concentrated. Given that situation, the people of southern Sudan asked to be given their independence, rather than be forced into a quickie marriage that will break up eventually. Right away, they had their first civil war in opposition to that first decision. That war continued until 1972. Right after that peace agreement, it was abrogated by the northern Sudanese president. From 1972 to 1983, the people of southern Sudan prospered a little and by 1983 they wanted more independence. The people of southern Sudan were second-class citizens. The northern Sudanese are mainly Muslim Arabs versus the Christian Africans. The civil war started in 1983 and lasted until 2005. That peace agreement included a requirement that after 6 years the people of southern Sudan were to be given a choice for independence or unity. That led to a January 2011 referendum on the issue and 98.9% of people voted for separation. They celebrated their independence on July 9, 2011. If you go to Sudan today in the north, it is Islamic. It is a desert climate. In southern Sudan, it is Christian, African, and more temperate climate. They were historically different people forced together artificially by the British empire. The problems were political, religious, and cultural. Fr. Peter said they are bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the south, Ethiopia to the east, Central African Republic to the west. There are nine dioceses in the whole of Sudan, north and south. Now they have seven dioceses in South Sudan, including the Archdiocese of Juba, which is the capital. The majority of the Christians are Catholic, followed by Anglicans. The majority of the people have access to weekly Mass, in cities or villages. In some of the outlying areas, including Fr. Peter’s former parish of St. Thomas, the parishes don’t have churches. Instead they celebrate Mass outside, often under the trees. Fr. Peter didn’t have a rectory when he first went to his parish. They built a grass hut where he lived for three years. He said it was a good shelter, not ramshackle at all. Fr. Chip asked how many baptisms Fr. Peter would do on a general Sunday. Fr. Peter said he had to cover 16 villages in his parish and visited them on a monthly basis. The people would come in the hundreds and he would baptize the children. The people didn’t come to the parish center because of the danger of robbers and land mines which made travel dangerous. He said he would anoint so many people his arm would grow tired. He might baptize 100 children at a time. The people are hungry for the sacraments. It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. Fr. Peter said he would stay for a week at a time in the villages. When Fr. Peter isn’t in the villages, he has catechists that he has trained. He would bring them together and show them how to teach the faith to the people. Fr. Peter said they have many materials in their native languages, including the Bible. the basic parts of the Catechism have also been translated. Scot asked what kind of money the parish of St. Thomas had and where it came from. Fr. Peter said the people of the parish want to help with the programs of the parish, but they look to him as a provider of the material needs they don’t have. They look to the Church to bring in international aid to the village. Fr. Peter said the Church there appealed to the Pontifical Mission Societies to provide a little money to create local projects to rise money. For instance, they built a ferryboat crossing the Nile River to raise money, which among other things helped them build a school. Fr. Peter said it’s important to have a school because you have to preach Jesus but also teach them how to preach Jesus to others themselves. Fr. Chip asked how many priests in the Archdiocese. Fr. Peter said there are 54 priests, plus the archbishop. Not all of the priests are in parishes. Some work in institutions, but those who work in parishes are paired together. There is a major seminary for all of South Sudan. While some studies still go on in the seminary in Khartoum in the north, they will have to transfer soon because the northern government treats the students as foreigners who need permits to study there. Fr. Peter said when he was in Juba last September they opened a new parish. The archbishop celebrated the Mass under threes. Fr. Peter said a parish should have a church, a place for the pastor to live, a basic primary school for the children, a health clinic and dispensary. Today, to get malaria medicine, people have to walk sometimes 55 miles to Juba and some die on the road. Fr. Peter said these basic needs would be a huge contribution to the life of the people. Scot asked what people do in south Sudan for jobs. Fr. Peter said most people live on subsistence agriculture. They grow just enough to feed themselves and to buy medicine or pay school tuition comes out of that. Fr. Peter said before the peace agreement, most kids didn’t even reach secondary school, whether due to lack of schools or because of insecurity. Now there is the possibility with new roads that people could even get to the towns for university study. Fr. Peter said war had scattered the people from their homes to other African nations or even to the rest of the world. In a way that was a blessing because many people were able to get higher education, even college degrees, while displaced and are now returning to contribute to the country. Fr. Peter said the United Nations is providing some aid through non-governmental organizations, which Fr. Peter said often have selfish ends. He said a number of NGOs did help to provide simple education and healthcare and food and shelter. Scot said the Pontifical Mission Societies help the Church there, but also Catholic Relief Services helps as well. Fr. Peter said CRS has helped southern Sudan for many years. Fr. Peter said they have particularly helped in education, building schools. They also provided healthcare and food and shelter. Other organizations include Aid to the Church in Need. But outside groups always want to manage their programs themselves as opposed to letting the local leaders prioritize their needs. Scot asked Fr. Peter what he thinks the people of the Archdiocese of Boston can help with. Fr. Peter said he hopes to support the pastoral needs of priests to reach the people. He means mobility. They don’t have cars in most cases and when they do it’s very old. Most walk on foot, which wastes a lot of time. He said people also look to the Church for food, shelter, medical services. All of this takes money and so hopes all of this can be supported. Scot recalled Fr. Paul O’Brien in Lawrence saying that the kids in the local Catholic school do better in school because they care for the whole person and the kids study better because they aren’t hungry or aren’t sick. Fr. Peter said the people need care for the whole person, the body and soul. Christ came to save us body and soul. Scot said if people wanted to help, the Catholic media secretariat in Boston will help create a website for Fr. Peter at which people can make donations.

Summary of today’s show: From his school days at the Archdiocesan Choir School as a child, Fr. Bill Kelly has heard the Lord calling him to the priesthood. He just never thought it would take such interesting turns. In his 20+ years as a priest, Fr. Bill has studied in Rome, received a doctorate in theology, taught at the seminary, led the ongoing formation and support of priests, been a pastor, and co-hosted a movie review show on CatholicTV. Fr. Bill joins Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor to talk about his vocation and his priesthood. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Fr. Bill Kelly Links from today’s show: CatholicTV’s Spotlight St. Mary Parish, Dedham, MA Today’s topics: Pastor Profile: Fr. Bill Kelly 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris talked about the busy seminary schedule interviewing prospective seminarians for next year. Fr. Chris said this could be the largest class in years, with close to 25 new men applying. He said he’s going on vacation next week so he’s hoping to wrap up the process this week. Scot noted that early in Cardinal Seán’s tenure there was a total of 25 men at the seminary and there was talking about closing it. Now it’s filled to capacity with 79 men in residence. Fr. Chris said it’s the wisdom of the Church that men are brought together to be formed together. Today’s guest is Fr. Bill Kelly, who has served in the archdiocese as head of the office that deals with ongoing clergy formation, as well as teaching at the seminary. Now he’s pastor at St. Mary Parish in Dedham. 2nd segment: Scot and Fr. Chris welcome Fr. Bill Kelly. Fr. Chris recalled that Fr. Bill taught him how to drink wine in Rome. Fr. Bill said Fr. Chris didn’t have a lot of experience with wine. On the other hand, Fr. Bill was introduced to gin and tonic by Fr. Chris and his family. Fr. Bill grew up in Sacred Heart in North Quincy. He said his parents still live there. The pastor who was there for most of his life exuded the life of the priest. Sadly, he died suddenly in 1996 and a book of essays about this priest by his brother priests was produced and Fr. Bill uses that as an example of the life of the diocesan priest. He was a gentle soul and a tremendous preacher. At his funeral, there were 250 priests and 15 bishops. Six thousand people came to his wake. Out of Sacred Heart, they’ve had 7 or 8 men who’ve gone on to priesthood. Fr. Bill said he is the oldest of six, two brothers and three sisters. They are a very musical family. His dad is a drummer and his mother sings. His grandmother had a radio show on which she played piano. They grew up singing around the piano. Fr. Bill attended the Archdiocesan Choir School in Cambridge which elevated his natural interest in music and was the seedbed of his vocation. Fr. Chris said Seiji Ozawa once threw Fr. Bill out of Symphony Hall. Fr. Bill said he was a sixth grader in the choir in a rehearsal and was chitchatting a bit with a friend. Ozawa lost his temper and threw him out. Scot asked why the school was the seedbed of his vocation. Fr. Bill said the first time he thought of the priesthood was in the fourth grade and remembered the priest going to the tabernacle and being in awe of that. Later at the choir school, Ted Marier, the founder and original headmaster was not just a great musician, but Fr. Bill also believes he authentically a saint. The faith of the headmaster and his wife was expressed in the work they did. The choir sang at Mass every day and on Sunday. It was by his devotion to the Church that came pouring out of him through his musical genius. He remembers that the entire school was confirmed every four years, all the kids in the school and the Mariers were the sponsors of all the boys. It was during the singing of one hymn that the ides of a vocation came to him most clearly. Fr. Bill attended Boston College High School. While some of the Jesuits encouraged him to consider the order, he was very interested in diocesan priesthood. He went right into the college seminary, which he loved, not least because they didn’t have take any math courses. From there he went to the North American College in Rome for five years. When he left home, his youngest sister was in seventh grade and when came she was a senior in high school. He was home for three years and then returned for doctoral studies. His first assignment was Sacred Heart in East Boston for just three or four months. Then he went to St. Paul’s in Hingham. He went to Rome for a doctoral degree in dogma with the plan that he would come back to be spiritual director at the seminary. He was there from 1995 to 2005. Every seminarian has to have a spiritual director. They would meet every two weeks to help him grow in sensitivity and understanding to how God was at work in their lives. It always comes back to how it fits in with how it helps him discern whether God is asking him to be a priest. At the seminary, he had 15 to 25 directees. He also directed a number of religious sisters and laypeople. He also helped design the spiritual life component of the Masters of Arts in Ministry program. All told, he was seeing about 40 people per year in spiritual direction. Scot asked what it’s like to see many of the men he directed as priests now. Fr. Bill said it’s great to see them later. Fr. Chris was one of the seminarians at the time. He recalls finding Fr. Chris doing an impression of Fr. Bill giving a lecture. Fr. Bill said his priesthood was transformed by the students, seeing their love for the Lord and their priesthood. Fr. Bill said his closest friends in the presbyterate are men who were students when he was there. After St. John’s, he was put in charge of ongoing formation for priests. Fr. Bill said it was a natural transition in some ways. He did have to help priests of varying experiences from newly ordained to ordained for decades. It was just a few years after the abuse crisis began so there was a lot of need for providing support for the priests, including just having men come together. Fr. Bill said he is convinced the conversion of the priesthood will come through intellectual formation. Scot said one of the programs Fr. Bill brought to the archdiocese was Good Leaders, GoodShepherds from Catholic LEadership Institute. Fr. Bill said it’s a program that helps priests look at leadership skills, especially for priests feeling burdened by administrative tasks. It’s not just a time management course, but it truly was centered in the Church’s teachings. It weds the best practices of leadership in the corporate world with Church teaching. More than 100 priests in Boston have gone through the program. Scot asked what it was like to travel a lot around the country, speaking and giving retreats for priests. Fr. Bill said he enjoyed speaking to varied groups. He loved to bring communities together in a different way. He’s been fortunate in his life. He once lived with the great spiritual writer Henri Nouwen. He met Mother Teresa a number of times. He met Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger. He’s been able to bring those experiences to his various talks. 3rd segment: Fr. Bill has been at St. Mary’s in Dedham for two years. He was a priest for 20 year before becoming a pastor. He’d been living at Holy Family in Rockland for 15 years, helping out on the weekends. He was happy to get the new assignment. It was a significant change. It’s phenomenal parish with wonderful leadership. Fr. Matt Williams and Fr. Bill Lohan were there as parochial vicars. Bishop Dooher was pastor there before becoming a bishop. Fr. Bill said their active youth group has a bunch of them in Nicaragua this week. Those who couldn’t go have committed to going to the 7am daily Mass to pray for those who went. Fr. Chris asked what makes St. Mary’s unique. Fr. Bill said it has a long and beautiful devotional tradition of care for the Blessed Sacrament. They have all-day/all-night adoration on Fridays. They have active prayer groups. The Mass is well attended and they have long and well-established music program. He remembers his first weekend singing with the choir. More recently, Life Teen is perhaps it’s most well-known program. Fr. Chris Hickey created this program from almost nothing. Five men with connections to St. Mary’s in the seminary with three more going next year. That’s the fruit of LifeTeen and of the prayer of the parish for vocations. They also have wonderful participation in the Sacrament of Confession. Fr. Bill said they renovated the confessional and made it very beautiful. It’s now a very large space with a great stained glass window. All the ancient traditional symbols of reconciliation have been incorporated into the confessional. They’re hoping to increase the amount of time devoted to confession and he said you can’t walk across the parking lot without being asked to hear a confession. It’s a spirit-filled parish. Fr. Bill said LIft Ministries was founded by two parishioners. Scot said he first heard about St. Mary’s because of the LifeTeen program. Scot said you don’t see many parishes that have all the generations so active in parish life. Fr. Bill said a priest friend visited last summer and on a Thursday night it was so busy that his friend asked him if he realized how lucky he is. Fr. Bill said at least six groups meet regularly on Thursday nights. Scot asked what the root causes of this active parish are in addition to good priests and prayer. Fr. Bill said it’s both the town of Dedham, which is the kind of place where people put down roots and always come home. It’s also the families. Because they don’t have a school, there is a little bit of a struggle to bring in young families, but they are seeing young families grow again and they are starting to see a growth of ethnic families in the area. Fr. Chris said each priest preaches one basic homily with variations. He asked what it is for Fr. Bill. He said because of his years as a spiritual director he thinks he’s mostly attuned to people’s friendship with Christ and their relationship with God. Then how does that get lived out. How is it that the Church is the surest way to grow in our relationship with Christ? The Church is the most abundant way that one’s spiritual life is able to grow. He said he thinks he needs to ramp up on some of the issues of the day in his preaching. Scot said Fr. Bill also co-hosts a show on CatholicTV called Spotlight along with Fr. Chip Hines. Fr. Bill said he and Fr. Chip were at some gathering for priests and got into a conversation about movies. They got into such an intense discussion that somebody told them they should have their own show. Somehow Fr. Bob Reed heard about it and asked them to do the show. They just finished their third year and have reviewed over 300 movies. They approach it from the point of view of whether it’s a good movie on a technical level, but also on what themes can be drawn from it on the basis of our Catholic faith. They will be upfront with people about the content if it’s morally objectionable. He said they often hear from cloistered nuns who watch movies based on their reviews. They take a currently running movie and build a theme on it, whether topic or theme or the like. He said the funny thing is when people come up to him at a wedding in the Communion line and look at him with recognition. For the summer, he recommends the quirky movie Moonrise Kingdom. He did just see the Spiderman movie and thought it was terrific. He does agree with critics who said the action scenes are not as exciting as in the other Spiderman movies. He’s very interested in seeing Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love. The biggest movie of the summer will be The Dark Knight Rises. He thinks the previous installment in the Batman series is one of the best movies ever. He said he knows some seminary professors use it in their moral theology classes. At the top of his list would be the Lord of the Rings trilogy; the Wizard of Oz; Ordinary People because he loves family dramas and because it’s when he fell in love with the movies. Scot asked Fr. Bill where he would recommend people look for family-appropriate movies. He said the Boston Globe has a family-friendly guide or search online. Decent Films Fr. Bill said the old DIsney movies are great for kids. For children’s movies, don’t take them to the dumbed down movies. There are good movies with good messages and substantial messages. He recommended The Secret World of Arrietty.

Summary of today’s show: There aren’t many priests in the Archdiocese of Boston who can say they felt the call to the priesthood in Blessed John Paul’s native Poland and none as young as Fr. Adrian Milik. Born in Poland, but raised in the United States from eight years old, Fr. Milik was studying in Krakow when John Paul II died and it was then that the Holy Spirit called him to become a priest in Boston. Fr. Milik joins Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor to talk about his first three weeks as a priest, the whirlwind that he’s been in since the Ordination Mass, and the experience of bring the sacraments to the people for the first time. Listen to the show: Subscribe for free in iTunes Today’s host(s): Scot Landry and Fr. Chris O’Connor Today’s guest(s): Fr. Adrian Milik Today’s topics: New Priest Profile: Fr. Adrian Milik 1st segment: Scot and Fr. Chris caught up on their time off last week for the Independence Day holiday and their plans for the summer. Today’s guest is Fr. Adrian Milik, newly ordained just last month by Cardinal Seán. Fr. Chris noted that Fr. Adrian has a Polish background like himself. Scot said he’s been assigned to St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in East Bridgewater. 2nd segment: Scot welcomed Fr. Adrian to the show. He asked Fr. Adrian how his first few weeks have been. Fr. Adrian said he moved in to the parish the week after the ordination, met the pastor and parish, and still had many family and friends in town for the ordination. Fr. Chris walked through all the various elements of the busy week surrounding ordination from the rehearsal on Thursday before to reporting to the parish the following Thursday. Fr. Adrian said what stood out for him was the moment his hands were anointed by Cardinal Seán and being told that they have been set aside for sacred things. It means everything you do know is different. They talked about the custom of giving the cloth used to wipe the oil on the priests’ hands to their mothers for them to be buried with as a sign that they gave birth not just to a son, but also gave to the Church a priest. Fr. Adrian said it’s part of the symbolism that the priest conveys something of God to the people. Fr. Chris said priests also give their first confessional stole to their fathers. Fr. Adrian said he gave these items to his parents before they went back to Poland. Fr. Adrian said he really felt God’s presence during the Mass, even when trying to make sure he had the right response for his part. He felt like he was being led, like God was in control. Scot another elements that stands out is the number of hugs given by all the priests in the cathedral at the sign of peace, the laying on of hands, and after the Mass. Fr. Adrian said he was surprised by the manner in which each priest lays hands on the heads was so different from one to another priest and reflected their personality. The same way with the sign of peace. Fr. Adrian said the moment when the cardinal receives the blessing and kisses his hands was odd at first, but very moving and an indicator of the change of reality in him. Scot asked about his first two Masses, concelebrating the rest of the ordination Mass and then his first Mass the next day. Fr. Adrian say when praying the Mass for the first time as a priest and surrounded by other priests, he felt their support for him. It was a powerful experience that didn’t sink in at the time. His first Mass was at St. Eulalia in Winchester, which was his parents’ parish for many years. They started the Mass with incense and he also decided to use the sprinkling rite for the beginning of Mass. While he was going through the church with the water, the thurible was in the sacristy with a very low ceiling and that caused the fire alarms to go off. The pastor made an announcement to ask everyone to evacuate until after the firefighters cleared the building. They were able to get back in the church after a few minutes. They didn’t use incense the rest of the Mass. Fortunately, it eased some of the tension he’d been feeling. On Friday before the ordination, he received his first assignment from Cardinal Seán at a dinner for ordinandi. Fr. Adrian said each man met with the cardinal in his office after dinner. They went in one by one and received the envelope with their assignment. He said he spoke to the cardinal about the assignment, that he’d heard a lot of good things about the parish and they discussed the presence of Bridgewater State College. He encouraged Fr. Adrian. Fr. Chris asked his sense of the parish. Fr. Adrian said it’s a very warm parish and the people have been generous in welcoming him and inviting him and the pastor and the seminarian there for the summer into their homes. Fr. Chris asked if his expectations of priesthood were different from the reality. Fr. Adrian said he’s surprised by how natural it feels. He’s not nervous in celebrating Mass nor is he nervous in being in a new place. He’s had an opportunity to celebrate Mass in a number of places in that first week after ordination, so it’s been an opportunity to learn and grow. Scot asked if he feels pressure to learn all the names. Fr. Adrian said he’s not particularly good at learning names, so he’s trying to do his best. He’s been grateful that they’ve been so understanding. Fr. Chris said one of the first Masses for the newly ordained is at Regina Cleri, the home for retired priests and those in physical or other rehabilitation. He was happy to be with these men who have given so much and are examples of faithful service to the people of Boston. There’s something great about being in a full chapel with everyone who is concelebrating the Mass together. They also had lunch with them after and they talked about the changes they’ve seen in their lives and the accumulated wisdom they’ve gathered. Fr. Adrian said his father is a quiet person, but his mother is more demonstrative and both showed how proud they are of him. His mother had a lot of good advice for him and his father said a lot through a couple of words and a hug. His mother was very glad to be able to be there and not just speak to him about the priesthood, but also to say goodbye to Boston and to give him to Boston. 3rd segment: Scot asked Fr. Adrian when he first had a sense he had calling. When he was 8, his dad got a job in San Diego and they were parishioners at Our Mother of Confidence Parish. He was a regular Mass-goer but he hadn’t yet owned his own faith. When he was in the confirmation program, the youth minister conducted a retreat. Fr. Adrian was saying some prayers and felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in him that immobilized him. He talked to God and felt God’s presence in him. He felt peace and direction in his heart. That was a life changing moment in which he realized God wasn’t a concept, but is a Person. His faith came alive after that. His prayer was no longer a series of negotiations, but a real conversation. When he was in college, he was invited to a Come-and-See Day for the Diocese of San Diego at the seminary. It felt right, but he wasn’t quite ready at that point. After he graduated college, he went back to Poland to do his Master’s degree at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, where Pope John Paul II was a college student before World War II. Fr. Chris talked about the depth of the expression of Catholic faith in Krakow and how the presence of John Paul II is felt there. Fr. Adrian said he was in Krakow when John Paul died in 2005. The university cancelled classes for the week. The street in front of the archbishop’s house was completely covered in candles. They talked about other ways t he love for John Paul expressed itself, including soccer hooligans who would normally be at each others’ throats, standing arm in arm. Fr. Adrian said his experience there at the time was definitely an influence in pushing him forward on the way to the priesthood. He said when he was in San Diego, he wasn’t in a particularly Catholic environment, which made it difficult to hear his call as he was distracted by his surroundings. Meanwhile, in Krakow most of his friends were involved in Catholic student groups and it was a very different environment that was very much shaped by John Paul II. He recalls that the Sunday Masses at the church would be filled 15 minutes before it began and people would be lined up outside the door. Meanwhile, his parents had moved to Boston for work. So he started to pray about what to do when he finished his Master’s degree. At the time in Krakow he went to see a French monk speak about being open to the Holy Spirit. He shared his experience of the truth of the Holy Spirit he knew, so Fr. Adrian prayed about where God was calling him to experience the truth in his life. At the time he was thinking about going for a PhD in history or looking for a job in the US. Those options left him unease and anxiety, but he prayed about applying to seminary, there was just peace. He spoke to both San Diego and Boston dioceses, and felt God calling him to Boston. Fr. Chris said every priest preaches one homily, just in different ways. He asked Fr. Adrian what is his one homily. Fr. Adrian said he tends to go back to God’s love and mercy and the importance of the sacraments, especially Confession. In Krakow, he regularly visited the Divine Mercy shrine and that Divine Mercy has been present throughout his life. We need to remember that God loves and forgives us so much. He’s already been able to hear confessions at his new parish. Fr. Adrian said St. Thomas has Masses at 7am and 9am during the week; on Saturday at 4pm; and on Sunday, 7:45, 10am, and noon Mass. Also St. Basil Chapel at 10am at Bridgewater State college. The noon Mass is the Life Teen Mass. During the school year, there is an evening Mass at St. Basil’s.