The Poppies Blow Between The Crosses, Row On Row

 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

 

by John McCrea

The Irish Trench Priest

The book Trench Priest, an exciting and very moving story of an Irish Jesuit,

Fr William Doyle, his lifelong war on himself and finally his magnificent triumph in the trenches of Flanders where he laid down his life for Our Lord and his Irish Battalion in the First World War. Anybody who comes to the final chapters will not fail to be moved by the descriptions of the gallant and courageous soldiers and their child-like love for their priest who went out with them into the firing lines to anoint and console them as they fell.

The book is full of pictures of Fr Doyle's life and of the places and battles he describes. There are also numerous maps so that you can follow him through the maze of trenches.

Link (here) to the Transalpine Redemptorists blog and post on Fr. Doyle

Operation Market Garden, Private First Class Curtis C. Morris And The Jesuits Of Mariëndaal

Private First Class Curtis C. Morris was a paratrooper in the Easy Company, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division died, the beginning of Operation Market Garden in Holland on Sept. 17, 1944. “We needed to seize a series of bridges so our forces could begin the liberation of Europe after the breakout from Normandy,” Soyster said. “On 17 September 1944, the 82nd Airborne Division jumped into Holland. Their objective was to seize the Maas bridge.”

Born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on September 18, 1917, Morris enlisted on October 14, 1940. He underwent extensive training to become a paratrooper, and he saw his first combat in July 1943 when he jumped in the Sicily campaign. Morris was injured later in Salerno by mortar grenades and was awarded the Purple Heart for the wounds he received there. After recovering, Morris rejoined his unit and took part in the battle of Anzio.

He was serving as the runner for Easy Company Commander Captain Walter Van Poyck, at the time of his jump at the start of Operation Market Garden.

The jump was to be Morris' last. “After his prior combat actions, Curtis Morris once again stood in the door of a C-47 flying over the village of Velp in Holland,” Soyster said. “On this day, his parachute malfunctioned, and before his reserve chute could fully deploy, he plummeted through a plum tree on the farmyard of farmer Jan Van Den Hoogen.”

After his fall, Morris was carried into Van Den Hoogen's barn by U.S. soldiers. When the soldiers checked the pocket of his uniform, they discovered the photograph of Morris' baby daughter, Carol, and a Rosary.

“When the soldiers discovered Morris was Catholic, they sent for the priest of a (The Monastery Mariëndaal) nearby Jesuit monastery, Father Hanssen, to baptize Private Morris and give him the Last Sacraments. Approximately two hours later, he died on the day before his 27th birthday.”

Morris' body was placed on a bier in the Jesuit monastery. The next day, five U.S. soldiers recovered his body as the abbot and rector prayed the Lord's Prayer and a Hail Mary as the seminarians formed a lane at the gate through which Morris was carried. Morris was buried on September 21, 1944, in a temporary U.S. military cemetery “Molenhoek” near Nijmegen. He reached his final resting place on February 9, 1949, as he was reburied in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

Link (here)

Jesuits in Holland (here)

Photo of Mariendaal Seminary in Velp, Holland

Relive Operation Market Garden by watching the movie "A Bridge To Far"

Hell On Earth Began Some 70 Years Ago

On the morning of September 1, 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein ushered in WWII when it opened fire on the 180-strong Polish contingent stationed on Westerplatte. Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, and Lech Kaczynski, the nation's president, were due to lay wreaths at a memorial to the garrison at 4:45am, 70 years to the minute that the ship's shells first tore into the Polish defenses.

Link (here)

The 69 Polish Jesuits who died in WWII (here)

The NAZI's Entered The Jesuit Chapel During The Warsaw Uprising

"Do you mind me asking why you were imprisoned?"

"You see I was put to work to repair the highways and I ran away and, coming to Warsaw I bought some goods from the farmers. As bad luck would have it, a Gestapo control caught me with the goods in the train. They took the goods away and put me in gaol," he finished.

I left him in the attic. The yard was silent. The guards were speaking quietly near the gate. We were relieved at six in the morning. I went to sleep but somehow I could never get enough sleep. At nine Marushka woke me, explaining that the Germans were shooting at the house next to ours and that our people were already in the basement. Explosions of hand grenades and shooting from machine guns were very close, coming from Akacia Street.

We went down to the basement. Here we heard the latest news the Germans had broken into the Jesuit chapel that was about 200 steps away from us. What was happening there nobody knew.

Maybe shots had been fired from that house and the Germans retaliated? After half an hour the shooting stopped. After leaving the basement we saw fires and smoke. Rushing up to the top floor we saw that the chapel was burning. Smoke was pouring through the windows covering the wall with soot and we could hear the glass breaking. In a very short while the whole chapel was on fire, cleaning the traces of the recent tragedy. We all worried about the fate that had befallen our nearest neighbours.

Link (here)

152 Jesuit Victims of the Nazis (here)

Photo of Polish volunteers of the "Warsaw Uprising". Link (here) with many more photos.

Link (here) to a slideshow tribute to the Poles of the Warsaw Uprising

Jesuit Was Awarded The "Medal Of Honor"

Get to Know … Fr. Joseph O' Callahan, S.J.

Joseph Timothy O'Callahan (May 14, 1905 - March 18, 1964) was a Jesuit priest who would later be described as "the bravest man I ever saw" by his commanding officer on the aircraft carrier Franklin.

O' Callahan was awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during World War II. Specializing in mathematics and physics in addition to religious philosophy, he was ordained in the Jesuit Order in 1934.

He spent time teaching at Boston College, the Jesuit Seminary of Weston College and the College of Holy Cross. He was appointed Lieutenant, J.G., in the Chaplain Corps of the U.S. Navy Reserve on Aug. 7, 1940.

While in active service, O'Callahan reported aboard the USS Franklin on March 2, 1945, just 17 days before it was severely damaged by two bombs from a Japanese aircraft that attacked the carrier at dawn.

Although wounded by one of the explosions after the attack, O'Callahan moved about the exposed and slanting flight deck administering the last rites to the dying, comforting the wounded, and

leading officers and crewmen into the flames to carry hot bombs and shells to the edge of the deck for jettisoning.

For his action, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. O'Callahan returned to Holy Cross College in the fall of 1948 as a philosophy professor. He died in 1964 and is buried in the Jesuit cemetery on campus. His Medal of Honor resides in the archives at the college. Fr. O' Callahan also wrote a book about his experiences called, I Was Chaplain on the Franklin .

Link (here)

Read more (here) at McNamara's Blog

D-Day And The Jesuit Martyrs Of WWII

United States of America's President Ronald Reagan
his speech at Normandy on the 40th anniversary of D-Day
(here)

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's
Prayer prior to D-Day
(here)

The Normandy Invasion
(here)

The Jesuit Martyrs of WWII
(here)

Fr. Pierre Chaillet, S.J. A Leading Figure In The Resistance

Jesuit Father Pierre Chaillet, hero of the French resistance and the publisher of an underground newspaper, used to haunt the street of Lyons and countryside looking for abandoned children.

During one search, he found four children huddling in a cave and led them to a monastery,

where several hundred other refugees were being housed. He also rescued 30 Jewish children from French police stations, where they were being held for questioning.

Link (here)

This Jesuit Earned Two Bronze Stars: Fight! Fight! Fight!

REV. WALTER HALLORAN Died Mar. 1, 2005

Jesuit priest Walter Halloran died at age 83 in a Jesuit retirement home. Rev. Halloran was the last surviving priest who performed the 1949 exorcism on a 14-year-old Mt. Rainier, (The Haunted Boy) Maryland boy. That exorcism was the inspiration for writer William Peter Blatty, author of the book "The Exorcist."

The real exorcism was performed at a St. Louis psychiatric hospital by Rev. William Bowdern. Rev. Halloran was asked to help control the child as he was having violent seizures.

Rev. Halloran’s nose was broken during the exorcism. He appeared as himself in the documentary about the real exorcism: "In the Grip of Evil." Rev. Halloran served his country in Vietnam. He earned two Bronze Stars as an airborne chaplain.

Link (here)

Fr. Benediktas Andruska, S.J. Lithuanian Martyr On His Jesuit Heroes

The real source of my knowledge about the Jesuits were the Church's history, taught by Professor Bronislovas Žongolavičius.  

He vividly and wittily told about the Order of the creation, operation mode, the mighty battles with the enemies of the Church, 

the Order of the great obstacles and persecution, and recovery and the elimination of low order and teaching tesupratau (spirituality) , but I felt great admiration for the Jesuits, holding them as genuine heroes.

Link (here) to learn more about Fr. Benediktas Andruska, S.J.

Buy a his book (here)

90 Year Old Wheelchair Bound Jesuit Fr. Bill Brennan Thrown In Jail Along With Union Political Activists

Keith Kelleher is president of SEIU Healthcare Illinois & Indiana, which represents workers in hospitals, nursing homes, home care agencies and childcare. He said many SEIU members were being caught up in the sweeps and background checks.

"There needs to be comprehensive immigration reform and we can't wait any longer. That's why I'm getting arrested. We need these deportations to stop. Everyday 1,100 families are broken up," 

said Kelleher. He and others termed the federal government's immigration strategy a failure. "The families in my district who are being ripped apart by old and broken laws can't wait," said Chicago Alderman George Cardenas. "The workers can't wait. Our economy can't wait. You don't throw $1.5 trillion down the drain in a recession." Cardenas was referring to the amount of money immigrant workers will add to the US economy if reform passes.  

"Legality. Rules. Passports and security on the border. Those are issues. But the real issue is people looking for a better life. God made the world for everybody. Not just for you and me and the United States," 

said Father Bill Brennan, (photo) a 90 year-old Jesuit priest from Milwaukee who was arrested.

Link (here) to Peoples World

Jesuit On Groking

To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, there is a good time to speak out and a not-so-good time.  And if we speak out in a not-so-good time, not only will our message get lost, but in that loss our credibility may be diminished.  So I’m not sure this is an auspicious moment for the church to make pronouncements, especially condemnatory ones, on matters relating to sexuality—whether it’s same-sex marriage, homosexuality, and, frankly, anything related to women.  To me, it doesn’t seem like the kairos.  I hope that the church groks this.

Link (here) to the full post by Fr. James Martin, S.J., his post is entitled,  Does the Church Grok It?

Jesuit Says of Pope Benedict, "Oddly Discordant"

The Boston decision also stands in contrast to the increasingly heated language coming from church leaders on the topic of same-sex marriage.  Pope Benedict XVI's comments last week in Fatima, Portugal, in which he stated that abortion and same-sex marriage were "some of today's most insidious and dangerous threats" to the common good seemed oddly discordant.  

The equation of abortion, something that clearly is about a threat to life, with same-sex marriage, which no matter how you look at it, does not mean that anyone is going to die, is bizarre.  A good friend of mine, who is g@y, recently resigned from a position at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, 

where he said, with great dismay, that “abortionsamesexmarriage” had become one polysyllabic word among some of his bosses.

Link (here) to America magazine, the entire article entitled, "Hinghman, Same-S@x Marriage and Life Issues" written by Fr. James Martin, S.J.

Fr. James Martin, S.J. follows up on the subject with this post (here). his post is entitled, Cardinal  O'Malley on Hingham.

Ignatius Insight's Carl E. Olsen on the subject (here) 
Catholic News Agency on the subject (here)
Catholic World News on the subject (here)  
Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, president of Human Life International in a follow up piece on Fr. Martin's article (here)
Matt C. Abbott at Renew America and Fr. Martin go it (here)

Blogger Note: The original post by Fr. Martin has been edited slightly from it's original form. 

Matt Abbott, I Read Your Comments

Father James Martin, S.J., sent me an e-mail in response to my May 20 column. "I read your comments ... and thought I'd send along my response, particularly since I was called 'revolting,' 'dishonest' and, worst of all, seeking to embarrass Pope Benedict," Father Martin said (slightly edited).

Link (here) to the full blog post at Renew America by Matt C. Abbott

Radical Pro Abortion Speaker Kerry Kennedy To Speak At Jesuit Parish In New York City

From the website of St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church in New York City

An evening with Kerry Kennedy author of Being Catholic Now.

Wednesday, June 2nd 7:00 PM Main Church

Her life has been devoted to the vindication of equal justice, to the promotion and protection of basic rights, and to the preservation of the rule of law. At a time of diminished idealism and growing cynicism about public service, her life and lectures are testaments to the commitment to the basic values of human rights.

• For more information: 212.627.2100 x 216 Layspirits@gmail.com
• Suggested Donation $15.00

Link (here) to the Jesuit parish in New York City St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church


Articles referring to Kerry Kennedy and her views

How Support For Abortion Became Kennedy Dogma 
from the Wall Street Journal by Anne Hendershott

Ms. Kennedy's commitment to abortion rights is shared by other prominent family members, including Kerry Kennedy Cuomo and Maryland's former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. 

 

An Interview With Kerry Kennedy in The Boston Globe

I just mentioned, or when Bob Drinan was talking about abortion rights, and in the midst of this discussion he was having with me, we were in his office and the phone started to ring, and he said, 'Oh, that's the pope, telling me to shut up.' And so that was kind of funny.


Kerry Kennedy on abortion rights in China her article is entitled,

Help China Help It's Self at MaximsNews Network

As international leaders gathered Thursday at the United Nations to address plans to eradicate global poverty, the Bush administration notified Congress that it will withhold the U.S. contribution ($34 million) to the U.N. Population Fund for the fourth consecutive year. This aid provides vital services for the world's poorest women and girls, so why would the U.S. fail to help? Because, despite the U.S. State Department claims to the contrary, the administration asserts that the fund supports China's forced sterilization policy. The truth is, in order to change that policy, Washington should support the population fund, not cripple it.

Listen (here) to a revealing 50 minute interview with Kerry Kennedy, listen to her say "I am pro-choice" and discuss her confrontation with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

Fr. Robert Barron comments in a video on Kerry Kennedy's, "Being Catholic Now" and the Donatism of the liberal Catholic left. Watch the 5 minute video (here)  from Father's WordonFire.org

46 - 205

A special investigator says in her final report that at least 

205 former students claim to have been s@xually or otherwise abused in Jesuit schools in Germany. Investigator Ursula Raue said Thursday she thinks the number is even higher, as "we cannot expect to have heard everything yet." 

She said 46 Jesuits and non-clerical staff at the schools have been accused of abuse or of knowing of such crimes without acting.

Link (here) to Catholic Culture.

We Are Heartbroken

A former president of Loyola Academy was removed from active ministry after he admitted having an "inappropriate relationship" with a student during his tenure at the Wilmette school, religious and school officials said Monday. The Rev. Larry Reuter was president of the Jesuit school from 1975 until 1990. He was Loyola Academy's longest-serving president. 

He reportedly admitted a relationship with an 18-year-old student, though religious officials declined to specify when the incident occurred. Officials said the student had turned 18 when the relationship began. 

 Loyola was an all-male high school until fall 1994, when the institution went coed. No other information was available about the student.

"We are heartbroken by this violation of trust by a former member of our community," Loyola Academy's president, the Rev. Patrick McGrath, said in a statement released Monday. 

The decision to remove Reuter from active ministry effective March 15 was made by the Chicago and Detroit provinces of the Society of Jesus, the organization that oversees Jesuits in the region.

Link (here) to the full Chicago Tribune article 
Photo is Fr. Larry Reuter, S.J. (here)

The a written and video report of a second "Problem" (here)

 The second accuser of Fr. Larry Reuter SJ was interviewed by WGN-TV, not on camera and with voice disguised.  Forty years old and married with two children, the man says the abuse started in the late 80s, when he was a Loyola Academy junior.  He sought and got guidance from Reuter, he says, and appreciated it.  But matters between them took a turn for the worse. Reuter “started feeling comfortable giving me a hug, supporting me as a friend,” he said. “All of a sudden (the hug) became a k..ss on the lips.”
Link (here) to the blog entitled Blithe Spirit


The story gets more complicated this story provided by an unrelated abuse victim from L.A.

This site City of Angels action 2010 also has a copy of a page appearing to be from Jesuit files on Donald McGuire SJ, the convicted abuser now in federal prison.  These are “Minutes of the Chicago Province Consultors Meeting, June 12–14, 2007,” at which McGuire’s fate as a Jesuit was decided, namely to recommend his dismissal from the Jesuits and the priesthood “on grounds of s.exual misconduct.” Among the three “consultors” (advisors to the provincial superior) was “Fr. Lawrence Reuter, S.J.,” who is noted as absent on the third day of the meeting, June 14.  This is clearly the Larry Reuter recently suspended after admitting abuse in a case settled years earlier. Hat Tip to Blithe Spirit (here)

Loyola Academy alum James Young Wagner ‘76 has started a new blog devoted to the coverage of this issue, his blog is entitled The Mess At Loyola Academy

.
Blogger Note: I encourage readers to read the comments section, an important and candid discussion is taking place.

Ethics & National Economy, by Fr. Heinrich Pesch, S.J.

Written in 1917 as part of a symposium of Catholic thinkers on the problem of Christian Natural and International Law, Fr. Pesch's contribution stresses a truth which is as fundamental as it is today neglected: that morality must govern economic life.

Taking apart the various aspects of economic activity, Fr. Pesch throws the light of the Moral Law on such topics as the manufacture of material goods, exchange of goods, remuneration and wages, justice in pricing, and - of course - he looks at what he calls the two "absurd consequences" of the individualist, free - market school of thought: Capitalism and Socialism.

Heinrich Pesch, S.J. (1854 - 1926) is one of the greatest of philosopher-economists, whose "Solidarism" is based upon the classical and Christian understanding of man and socio-economic life, rooted in the teaching of Aristotle and perfected by St. Thomas Aquinas. His other works include Liberalism, Socialism, and the Christian Social Order (1900) and the monumental Compendium of National Economy, which ran to nearly four thousand pages and earned him recognition as the first Catholic to write a complete, scientific economic treatise. Volume I of his Compendium saw numerous editions and was a standard text in the social science curricula at many Catholic institutions of higher learning.

Link (here) to purchase the book Ethics and the National Economy by Fr. Heinrich Pesch, S.J.published by Angelus Press
Photo is of Fr. Heinrich Pesch, S.J. (here)

Jesuit On God, The Creation Of The Universe, Atheism And Blaise Pascal

Blaise Pascal’s strategy in his Pensées: “We want truth and find only uncertainty in ourselves. We search for happiness and find only wretchedness and death. We are unable not to want truth and happiness, and are incapable of either certainty or happiness.” That’s the real lesson of atheism: it tells us more about the human condition than it ever can about God. As Pascal again pointed out with his usual unsparing gaze: “If man is not made for God, why is he happy only with God? If man is made for God, why is he so hostile to God?”

Link (here) to Fr. Edward T. Oakes, S.J. full article entitled, Atheism's Just So Scenarios found at First Things.

Four Years Ago

Before the meeting, the Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University and a Jesuit priest, said the new Mass would "cause chaos and real problems and the people who are going to be at the brunt end of it are the poor priests in the parishes."

Link (here) to the blog entitled, Athanasius Contra Mundum

A Jesuits "Top Ten" List

Since the weekend’s big feast, Pentecost, is sometimes colloquially referred to as the birthday of the Church, I thought I’d offer a little birthday greeting.  I couldn’t fit two thousand candles on a cake, so I came up with a top ten list instead.  Maybe it’s not really my top ten, but here are ten things I love about the Church.  (The New York Times doesn’t want you to know this, but, yes, it’s still okay to love being Catholic.)

10.  Songs about Mary. Whether it’s Pavarotti belting out “Ave Maria” or tone-deaf Jesuits (like yours truly) humming their way through the “Salve,” the Blessed Mother brings out something sweet and beautiful even in the gruffest of us.

9.  Relics. They may seem a little weird to contemporary American tastes, but think about all that relics say about the importance of the body, the embodied nature of our faith, and our hope, ultimately, in the resurrection of the body.

8.  The Book of Tobit. Speaking of weird, there aren’t many stories in the annals of literature with plots that turn on, well, bird droppings.  Fewer still which are also recognized as Sacred Scripture and include lessons in courage, dignity, perseverance, charity, and fidelity.

Link (here) to the complete top "ten list" by Anthony Lusvardi, S.J. , his post is entitled, Happy Birthday, Mom. 

At The Hands Of The Jesuits

James Joyce's entire formal education came at the hands of the Jesuits. By the time he graduated from University College, Dublin,

in 1902, however, he had rejected his Catholicism and all his obligations to family, homeland and the British who ruled there. In 1904, he fled Ireland into self-imposed exile, moving, with his wife and two children, through several European cities (including Pola, Trieste, Zurich, Rome, and Paris). 

The ex-patriot Joyce was once pointedly asked what he had done during the Great War (World War I). His reply? "I wrote Ulysses."

Link (here)

Save Your Money

[Controversial Fordham theology professor Terrence] Tilley (pictured) is publishing Faith: What It Is and What It Isn’t (Orbis Books, 2010) in the fall. The book, his tenth, is a textbook that he hopes better addresses tensions between religious thought and scientific and historical inquiry. The book begins with an exploration of what faith is not, because Tilley said that the first thing professors must do is teach young collegians to “unlearn” their beliefs.  

“They tend to arrive with very strong opinions that are often wrong. They equate faith with fundamentalism, or they equate it with emotion, or they think that there isn’t anything to reason or think critically about when talking about faith,” 

he said. “Many of them believe that religion is bogus or they believe that their religion is the true one, for sure, no matter what, and it’s exactly what Jesus taught. All of that needs to be taken apart before you can do something constructive.”

Link (here) to the Fordham press release.

There Were Only Two Catholics In The City of New York

If you go over to the eastern side of Fish Island you will find an isolated and stunted pine, which is known far and wide as " Captain Kidd's Tree," and you may have to listen to all sorts of gruesome tales about how the bold buccaneer buried his treasures somewhere in the soil and left them to the care of the Prince of Darkness. 

It is curious that Captain Kidd and Father Isaac Jogues, who are poles away from each other morally, should meet on this little green spot in the Hudson. 

After six days the ship reached New York, and the Governor gave Joques a most honorable reception, seating him beside the Dominie at table, providing for his wants, and changing his ragged and half savage costume for a civilized dress. Naturally the presence of a priest and a Jesuit on Manhattan Island, especially with all the marks of his terrible sufferings upon him, caused a profound sensation among the colonists. 

They crowded around him to ask about his captivity, and it is narrated that, on one occasion, a young man fell at his feet and, kissing the mangled hands of the priest, exclaimed: " Martyr of Jesus Christ! Martyr of Jesus Christ!" "Are you a Catholic?" asked Jogues. " No, I am a Lutheran, but I recognize you as one who has suffered for the Master." 

There were only two Catholics in New York at that time —one the Portuguese wife of the Ensign, who, singularly enough, had a picture of St. Aloysius in her room; the other an Irishman who had come up from Maryland. He gave Father Jogues intelligence about the Jesuits there and profited by the occasion to perform his religious duties.

Link (here) to portion of the book entitled Isaac Joques, S.J.: Discover of Lake George

Link (here) Fr. Z's post on kissing the hand of a priest.

Painting of St. Isaac Jogues, S.J. martyrdom at the hands of the Mohawk Indians (here)

Thanks Be To God

Luis Bunuel was once asked whether he had been deeply affected by his Jesuit upbringing. "I am an atheist," he replied, "thanks be to God."
Link (here)

Phrases On The Blackboard At Georgetown

When the Rev. Fr. Frank Fadner SJ, taught me Russian history at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service many years ago it was his habit to write key Russian words and phrases on the blackboard before each class. One pregnant phrase kept recurring down through the Russian centuries – smutnoe vremya - Смутное время -  "Time of Troubles."

Link (here) to the portion of the blog mentioned by Jesuit educated Bob Bauman

Dan Aykroyd A Second City Jesuit?

"Rosie Shuster's the one who coined the best line about Dan Aykroyd. 

Danny had studied in a seminary to be a Jesuit priest the same time he was doing Second City jobs in and around Ontario. 

Rosie's the one who said, 'Danny's epiphany would be to commit a crime and arrest himself.'"

Link (here)

Jesuit's Saint Mary Assunta Chapel Open To The Public

In a major initiative, the Society of Jesus has opened the doors of its oldest homes in Rome, where saint Ignatius used to live and died is open to public. The Society of Jesus is celebrating its 470th anniversary. The move is considered as significant because some of the places, like the Saint Mary Assunta Chapel, has never been open to the public. The initiative is called ‘Unexpected connections: journey to the heart of the Society’ and includes guided tours by groups of young Jesuits.

Watch video by Rome Reports (here)

Insubordination

In a full-page ad in Monday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel nearly two-hundred faculty members from two Jesuit institutions—Seattle University and Marquette University—condemned Marquette’s decision to rescind an offer to Jodi O’Brien to become Marquette’s dean of arts and sciences, “condemned the involvement of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and other outside influences in this decision,” and stated “that the appropriate response to the current situation is for the offer of the Deanship of the College of Arts and Sciences to be extended again immediately to Dr. O’Brien with an apology.” Insubordination

The full details (here) at Religion on our Campuses.


One Jesuit, Fr. Josef V. Venker, S.J., Seattle University Assistant Professor of Fine Arts signed the petition. Find the complete list (here)

"Unless You Eat The Flesh Of The Son Of Man And Drink His Blood, You Do Not Have Life Within You." A Quote By Jesus As Found In John 6:53

Stating that “Catholics can become fanatical about one form of the Body of Christ in the bread of the Eucharist as the REAL presence of Christ,” Father Michael Kelly, the Jesuit CEO of the Asian Catholic news agency UCA News, criticized the doctrine of transubstantiation in a May 24 column. In his column-- a critique of the new, more accurate liturgical translations that reflect the content and dignity of the original Latin-- Father Kelly writes:

Regrettably, all too frequently, the only Presence focused on is Christ’s presence in the elements of bread and wine. Inadequately described as the change of the “substance” (not the “accidents”) of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, the mystery of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist carries the intellectual baggage of a physics no one accepts. Aristotelian physics makes such nice, however implausible and now unintelligible, distinctions. They are meaningless in the post-Newtonian world of quantum physics, which is the scientific context we live in today.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, on the other hand, teaches:

The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: "Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation." (no. 1376)

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

Link (here) to the Catholic Culture piece.

• A word to say about liturgy (UCA News)
• Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Cardinal Newman Society, Jesuit Institutions And Pro-Life Yahoo's

The Cardinal Newman Society compiled the following list of Catholic colleges and universities whose commencement speakers have publicly opposed or acted contrary to Catholic values on fundamental teachings. Link (here) to the full press release and list.
These are Jesuit institutions on that list.

Boston College (Mass.)

Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), will be the commencement speaker and honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree recipient at Boston College’s commencement ceremony on May 24.  GE has an official company policy permitting experimenting on embryonic stem cells and last year launched a partnership with Geron Corp. to sell products derived from embryonic stem cells. 

Boston College Law School has invited U.S. Senator Scott Brown to address its May 28 commencement ceremony.  While running for office in 2002 in Massachusetts, Brown made public his position in support of legalized abortion with some restrictions.

College of the Holy Cross (Mass.)

Mark Shriver will be the commencement speaker and receive an honorary degree at the College of the Holy Cross on May 28.  Shriver is currently Vice President and managing director of Save the Children.  While a 2002 candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland, Shriver stated in a Washington Post interview, “Women's issues are critically important and I will continue to fight for a women's right to choose; family planning funds; maternal and child health funding and education for girls both here and abroad.”

Georgetown University (D.C.)

Baroness Brenda Hale will be the commencement speaker at Georgetown University Law Center on May 23.  In 2004, Hale became the first woman to serve in the British House of Lords as a “Lord of Appeal in Ordinary,” the equivalent of a U.K. supreme court justice.  Hale has “argued for gay civil partnerships and no-fault divorces” (The Guardian) and supports gay adoption as well as better rights for “cohabitees”.  The Independent reported in 2003 that Hale stated: “My present view is that there is a strong case for introducing a legal commitment between people who are unable to marry, principally gay and lesbian partners.”

Loyola Marymount University (Calif.)

The Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, was the commencement speaker at Loyola Marymount University on May 8.  Prior to serving as governor, Patrick was assistant attorney general for the civil rights division during Bill Clinton’s presidency.  Patrick’s campaign website boasts that that he "helped lead the fight to keep discrimination out of the Massachusetts constitution and preserved the right of same-sex couples to marry in Massachusetts."

Marlene Canter was the graduate commencement speaker for Loyola Marymount University on May 9.  She is a former member of the L.A. Unified School District board.  According to LifeSiteNews, Canter has called the legalization of same-sex marriage an "issue of simple fairness and basic human rights."  The same article reports that Canter has opposed a parental notification abortion law.

Loyola University Chicago (Ill.)

Clarence Page will be the commencement speaker for the School of Communication at Loyola University Chicago on May 14.  Page is a syndicated columnist and a senior member of The Chicago Tribune editorial board.  He has written that people who want to ban abortion are “yahoos”.  As a guest on the MSNBC program Hardball last year, Page described proposed pro-life language to the healthcare bill as “worse… because this is declaring that even a woman can’t use her own money to pay for an insurance plan that also covers abortion.”  He has stated, “I stand firmly on the pro-Roe side of the abortion debate.”  Page also supports same-sex “marriage” as evidenced by his editorial “In defense of same-sex marriage”.

University of San Francisco (Calif.)

On May 22, the University of San Francisco will host as commencement speaker Dale Minami, who will also receive an honorary degree.  A supporter of same-sex “marriage,” Minami is lead partner at Minami Tamaki LLP, which in December 2007 sponsored a fundraiser and donated funds to Asian Pacific Islander Equality, a group that advocates for same-sex “marriage.”

Jesuit Missionaries Bring The Apple To Pantagonia

The generally accepted explanation of the apple in this region is that it was introduced by the early Jesuit missionaries. The oldest record found is that in the diary of D. Basilio Villarino, pilot of the royal armada, who had been ordered to lead an expedition up the Rio Negro from the sea for the purpose of reaching Valdivia on the Pacific coast by an overland route. His voyage lasted 8 months, from the twenty-eighth day of September 1782 to the twentyfifth day of May, 1783, only three weeks of which were needed for the

return. Hardly a month out, October 26, and not yet far from the Atlantic coast, he speaks of the  tierra de las Manzanas (apple land), about which he had heard through the Indians that were accustomed to descend to the Pampas in search of cattle and horses. By January 23 he had reached the juncture of the rivers Ncuquen and Limay, and ascending the latter, about three weeks later, his advance party brought in branches from apple trees found on the banks of a small stream flowing into the Limay from the west. Unfortunately, for the purpose of his expedition, Villarino did not continue to follow the Limay to its source, but went up the Colloncura which was more easy of navigation; he then probably proceeded up the Chimehuin, a river flowing into the Colloncura from the west just a little north of the 40th parallel, to the neighborhood of lake Hucchulaufquen. Almost daily. while navigating up these two rivers, his scouting parties brought in apples that they had got by barter from the Indians. He mentions apples weighing as high as 17 ounces and remarks about what good apple gatherers the Indians were as they never left "even one" on the trees found by his men. The Indians made chicha from them, evidently a kind of cider, and orejones, dried apples. The following is a literal translation of the entry in Villarino's diary for the twenty-ninth of April, 1783, probably written not very far from the present town of Junin de los Andes:

Read Villarino's diary entry (here) contained in the book, The Journal of Heredity
Photo of a wild apple tree in Argentina is from the same book, the essay is called, APPLES OF THE CORDILLERAS: A Notable Case of Plant Migration—Fruit Now Grows Wild in Profusion Introduced by Spaniards and Immediately Took Possession of the Country—Account of Early Explorer  by Walter Fischer of Washington, D. C.
 

New Orleans Province Ordination

The 10-state New Orleans Province of Jesuits is celebrating the ordination of an Oregon native. Rev. Mr. Anthony Wieck will be ordained June 5 by Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile, Ala. Originally from Enterprise, Rev. Mr. Wieck entered the Society of Jesus in August 1999. Before taking vows, he graduated from the Jesuit University of San Francisco with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a minor in mathematics. After teaching in Phoenix, for several years, he began theological studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He completed a master’s degree in pastoral studies at Aquinas Institute and was missioned to teach at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, Texas. He later completed a licentiate in sacred theology at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Calif. and went on to teach at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. He will continue to serve at the college after his ordination.

Link (here) to the Sentinel.
Photo is from the future Jesuit Father Anthony Wieck's Facebook page

New York City Jesuit Parish Lay Group Celebrating Stonewall G@y Riots Anniversary

These four announcements are from the parish website of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in NYC May 23rd, 2010

Pride Potluck Friday,

June 11 at 7:00 PM ~ 9:00 PM West Room. Let’s dish! Catholic L@sbians and G@y Catholics will be sharing favorite entrées, desserts and beverages in celebration of the 41st anniversary of Stonewall. Please contact SFXWomen@aol.com or SFXGCGroup@gmail.com or (917) 297-6804 to let us know what you’ll be bringing. 

Catholic L@sbian Group

Practicing Catholics and non-practicing, the religious and not-so-religious—all are welcome. Our mission is to provide a safe place for g@y women to come together and discuss issues related to spirituality, identity and community. Led and organized by parishioners, we have been meeting at the Church of St. Francis Xavier for more than twelve years on the second Friday of every month at 55 W. 15th St., West Room, second floor.

• 17th Annual LGB/T Anniversary Mass - Friday, May 14, 2010, 7:00 PM
• Find Information on Current happenings on the Catholic L@sbians page.
• Contact SFXWomen@aol.com or (917) 297-6804. 

G@y Catholics

Men meet monthly on the first and third Fridays in a welcoming, affirming environment to address g@y Catholic life and how best to live authentically our commitment to the Gospel.
Regular meetings are held in the Mary Chapel at 7PM. Please enter at 55 W. 15th Street.

• 17th Annual LGB/T Anniversary Mass - Friday, May 14, 2010, 7:00 PM
• New York GMHC Annual Aid/s Walk Sunday, May 16th ~ 9:00 AM Central Park
• Notice: G@y Catholic Men’s Group will not Meet on Friday, May 7th. The next regular Meeting will be on Friday, May 21st in the Mary Chapel
• Please see our G@y Cstholics page or contact SFXGCGroup@gmail.com for more information.

Zen Meditation Group

Meets every Monday at 7 pm. Newcomers are welcome. Introductory instruction available.
Contact Peggy & Paul Schubert at 212-260-2486 or schubertnyc@gmail.com

Link (here) to the announcements from Church of St. Francis Xavier in NYC

The Sound And Shape Of Catholic Music

There’s no accounting for taste, but surely there is some answer to the mystery as to why Catholic music in America went the direction it did after the Second Vatican Council. 

Some insight arrives via a close look at the central players in this drama, a group that came to be called the St. Louis Jesuits—a phrase that alternatively inspires snickers and disdain in many Catholic observers, and deference and respect in others. One person credits them with wrecking the liturgy and the next person credits them with saving it. 

Neither side can begin to account for the perspective of the other. For all the talk of community and unity that is invoked on behalf of their simple, popular, folk-like style, this music remains some of the most divisive in the history of liturgical music.

Partisans of sacred music might argue that the whole period is best forgotten, the same way the fashion industry would like to forget the leisure suit or patchwork platform shoes for men. But this is not yet possible, for their music is still very much with us at liturgy. Their music continues to dominate contemporary songbooks. Of all the hymns in the mixed-repertoire, mainstream Heritage Missal published by Oregon Catholic Press, 24% are by a member of the St. Louis Jesuits, with 70% written in the style they pioneered. 

The 2000 edition of Glory & Praise, “the most popular Catholic hymnal ever published,” according to OCP[1] , contains 100 songs written by them. One member of the St. Louis Jesuits serves on the US Bishops’ Subcommittee on Music, which is working toward naming a common repertoire for parishes.

The St. Louis Jesuits have indeed succeeded in transforming the sound and shape of Catholic liturgy, so much so that the authentic sound of Catholicism has been largely relegated to the land of CDs and specialized liturgical settings. Their music does indeed constitute the “Catholic classics” of our age, as painful as it is to admit. 

To some extent, their music has penetrated beyond Catholicism: The Saint Louis Jesuit’s music was played at Ronald Reagan’s funeral and Bill Clinton’s inauguration.

 

Link (here) to the lengthy article entitled, The Mystery of the St. Louis Jesuits by Jeffrey Tucker