March 4, 2019

Issue No. 39, March 2019

A Monthly Newsletter for Paulist Associates

The Associates World is the newsletter of the Paulist Associates. You can download a copy of this newsletter in PDF format (excellent for printing), or scroll down to read it in your Web browser.

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• A Paulist’s Music at a Papal Mass
• The 2019 Paulist Associates National Retreat
• Upcoming Paulist Pilgrimages
• Paulist Associate Board: Visions/Thoughts/Reflections
• Proposed Program for This Month
• Consider submitting an article for inclusion in an upcoming issue of The Associates World
• Prayer for the Intercession of Father Isaac T. Hecker
• Contacts
• Promise

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 By Denis Hurley, Boston Associate

When Pope Francis presided at a historic Mass in Abu Dhabi in early February, he and a filled stadium sang Mass parts composed by Fr. Ricky Manalo, CSP. “This morning was the most humbling experience in my life,” Fr. Manalo wrote on Facebook later that day, “being surrounded by 180,000 “immigrants” (yes, immigrants!) and expats who were singing my mass setting with such exuberance, from beginning to end, during an event that marked the first time EVER a Roman Catholic Mass was celebrated outside (i.e., ‘in public’) in an Arab nation.”

Along with the “immigrants and expats,” who made up most of the congregation, an estimated 4,000 Muslims were in attendance at the Zayed Sports Center Stadium, according to reports from United Arab Emirates officials.

“ ‘So this is why I compose!’ ” I kept silently saying to myself,”  Fr. Manalo wrote in his Facebook post. “ ‘This is why I keep saying yes to God, in good times and in bad.’ ” 

“And,” he added,” during the entire celebration I was in such close proximity to one of the coolest popes in history, one of my heroes, who, every now and then, opened his mouth (just ba…re…ly) and sang along with the rest of us.

“THOSE moments were golden!” 

The Mass setting that the Pope and many thousands of voices sang was Fr. Manalo’s “Mass of Spirit and Grace,” including the Kyrie, Glory to God, Alleleuia, Prayers of the Faithful, and Eucharistic Prayer Acclamations.
During the visit preceding the liturgy, Pope Francis signed a statement on “human fraternity,” promoting peace among nations, races, and religions, with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar mosque.

Fr. Manalo was named 2018 Pastoral Musician of the Year by the organization of National Pastoral Musicians. He received the award at last summer’s annual meeting of the group.

The video below includes Fr. Manalo’s Mass setting at the Pope’s Abu Dhabi liturgy.

 

 

 

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By Fr. Mike Kallock, CSP

 

 

  

Registration Information for the Retreat for Paulist Associates in 20179

Registration $450.

Space is limited to 30 people, which includes all Associates and guests. Thus, we are limiting the registration to current Associates (those who have taken their first promise or renewed their promise within the last 12 months) and an Associate’s spouse and/or health aide. Each guest is required to submit a registration form as well.

This registration fee includes room and meals, beginning in the afternoon on Monday, July 22 through lunch on Friday, July 26. Linens and towels are provided.

A $200 deposit is due at time of registration; full payment is due by June 15, 2019. Full refunds are available until June 15, 2019. (Another option is to pay the entire fee when you register.) A $200 deposit for a guest is also required at the time of registration.

Guests (spouses and/or health aides) are welcome to participate in the social activities, meals, and liturgies. We are reserving the sessions for Associates only.

Morning prayer and sessions are held after breakfast. Liturgy follows the sessions and then lunch. Afternoons are free time. There are optional evening events following dinner.

The property includes lakefront where individuals can swim. The dock is a great place for seeing fireworks. There are walking paths, outdoor seating, and a screened porch. The grounds do have a few hills, including a steep incline towards the chapel and dining hall. Also note that the main building (the Students House) is two floors, and there is no elevator.

• DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM HERE.
• Please be sure to read the information below.

 

If you have any questions or require further information, please contact Fr. Mike at [email protected]

Space is limited to 30 people, which includes all Associates and guests. Thus, we are limiting the registration to current Associates (those who have taken their first promise or renewed their promise within the last 12 months) and an Associate’s spouse and/or health aide. Each guest is required to submit a registration form as well.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE: JUNE 15, 2019

Cost for the retreat is $450.00.

Deposit of $200.00 is due at time of registration (may pay full fee at this time).

Balance is due by June 15, 2019.

Full refund is available for cancellations prior to June 15, 2019.

 

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A seven-day pilgrimage into the heart of Ignatius Loyola under the spiritual leadership of Frs. Thomas A. Kane, CSP and Julio Giulietti, SJ.  Rome is a deeply prayerful place – the Churches and chapels are inescapable – found around every corner, bookending every piazza, speckled along the skyline, welcoming us into prayer. For Catholics in particular, Rome is the foundational point for the Church. Over the course of this pilgrimage, we will visit sites, precious to the Jesuits and their history and journey into the very heart of Ignatius Loyola.  We will not only turn ourselves over to prayer, but be engaged by the various works and voices in the Jesuit world around art and culture, education, the refugee crisis, and so much more. This Pilgrimage is designed for a small group (a maximum of 12) and will focus on Ignatian sites, including a private tour of the Vatican Museum, a journey to La Storta, and a conversation with the staff at the Jesuit Curia. Book now, we expect to sell out quickly because of the limited number. We are greatly looking forward to welcoming to you to Rome as we welcome your prayers for us along our way. Sincerely, Thomas A. Kane, CSP Paulist Pilgrimages Julio Giulietti, SJ Spiritual Director

A ten-day Retreat Pilgrimage into the Heart of Ignatius Loyola with Frs. Thomas A. Kane, CSP and Geoff Wheaton, SJ. Our life is a pilgrimage, a journey of faith to deeper communion with God and with one another.  In many traditions, the faithful travel as pilgrims along the paths of the saints. Join us on this retreat-pilgrimage to Spain as we pray together, enjoy new sites, experience community, and deepen our awareness of God’s grace. As we trace the life and spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola, we also celebrate the common life we share with fine wines and regional foods.

We begin in Bilbao with a visit to the Guggenheim Museum and continue to the town of Azpeitia for a three-day retreat at the Casa Arrupe near the Sanctuary of Loyola. We have retreat talks on the life of Ignatius of Loyola and special prayer opportunities at various pilgrimage sites nearby.  We journey next to Pamplona, where Ignatius was wounded, then on to Javier, the birthplace of St. Francis Xavier.  As we make our way south, we visit the ancient monastery of Leyre.

As we ascend Montserrat, we view the breathtaking vistas of Catalán and enjoy the beauty of this lofty Benedictine monastery.  As we ride along the Cordoner River, we remember The Pilgrim at the cave of Manresa where Ignatius wrote the Spiritual Exercises. We conclude our pilgrimage in Barcelona with a festive Eucharist at Sagrada Familia, a special sightseeing program around the city and a farewell lunch.

Come join us in discovering the richness of our vast spiritual tradition as we journey through these historic lands.  This pilgrimage promises to broaden your faith and be one of the most memorable experiences of your life.

 

An 11-day pilgrimage with Paulist Father Thomas A. Kane on an unforgettable pilgrimage to Eastern Europe. See the once-a-decade performance of the world-famous Oberammergau passion play and explore the breathtaking cities of Budapest, Prague, and Vienna. Register online at: https://paulist.org/pilgrimages/eastern-europe/

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I invite you to join us on our Splendors of Eastern Europe and Oberammergau pilgrimage with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to attend the world famous Passion Play in 2020. The villagers of Oberammergau first performed the play in 1634 in fulfillment of their promise to God for sparing them from the Black Plague, and it has been presented there every ten years since then.

Our journey will take us to some of Europe’s most interesting countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Germany. The scenery is absolutely spectacular as we travel through the plains and valleys of the magnificent Eastern European countryside. The points of interest are very diverse, spotlighting historical places and natural wonders. We will also celebrate the liturgy in some wonderful churches along the way.

In addition to our time in Oberammergau, we will have the opportunity to enjoy visits to Prague, the beautiful 1,000-year-old capital of the Czech Republic; Budapest, Hungary’s enchanting capital on the Danube River; Vienna, Austria’s elegant city with an old world ambience and a rich musical heritage; and Munich, the capital of Bavaria.

The price of our tour includes roundtrip airfare, first class/select hotels and guesthouses in Oberammergau, most meals, first class admission tickets for the Passion Play, the services of a professional tour director and sightseeing in a deluxe motorcoach.

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By Carol Wagner Williams

Based on my past employment as a rehabilitation specialist, university professor emeritus and school psychologist, I would bring research, leadership, communication and listening skills to the Paulist Associates National Board. I like working with people and organizing activities as well as growing in my faith while doing so.

My vision for the associates is that members take an active role in their continued faith formation by prayer and reflection on the pillars of the Paulists through reconciliation, evangelization, ecumenism, and inter-faith dialogue.

I have been a Paulist Associate since 2009, when I made my first promises in Columbus, Ohio.  Subsequent to that time, I have been a co-facilitator and facilitator of the Columbus Group.

I have led new associate training groups in Columbus and when I moved to Vail, Arizona, I assisted with the completion of training for the new associates in Tucson, where I am now a member.  I have participated in national and regional Paulist Associate retreats.

I am a member of St. Rita in the Desert Parish, where I host grief and loss groups. I serve as Vice President of St. Rita’s Guild and serve as a Eucharistic Minister.

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 (It is strongly suggested during the Bicentennial Year of Hecker’s Birth that all groups follow the basic theme for the designated month.)

Submitted by David Rooney, Chicago.   Prayers by Mike Kallock, CSP

Theme: The Church.

Opening Prayer:
During this, the Bicentennial Year of Servant Isaac Hecker’s birth, let us pray.
Father Hecker we ask you: inspire us and energize us with the same zeal and confidence you had in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in your time and place.  Amen

Reading (in advance of the meeting):

On March 6, 1858, Pope Pius IX’s Decree Nuper nonnulli dispensed Fr. Hecker and his four companions from their vows as Redemptorists. (For a recounting of this process in Hecker’s own words, read his letters in The Paulist Vocation, chapter 5.)   Hecker felt a great joy and optimism at his circumstances, after a long, arduous discernment and finally yielding to, in his words, “Divine Providence.”  He also thought pragmatically about next steps, as a course of Church procedures.  These, leading to the founding of the mission:

“The decree, which places us, according to the Canons, under the authority of the Bishops, you will, of course, understand, does not in any way make us parish priests.  The Pope could not tell us in it to commence another congregation, although this is what he and Cardinal Barnardo, and Archbishop Bedini, and others expect from us (From a letter to the American Fathers, March 11, 1958)(p.68).”

“It is customary here, before giving dispensation of vows to religious, to require them to show their admission into a diocese.  As this was not required in our case, we are consequently at liberty now to choose any bishop we please who will receive us. [Barnardo and Bedini] suggested New York…  I shall come back with some gray hairs; I thought to pull them all out before my return, but on looking this morning with that intention I found them too many.  However, that is only on the outside; within all is right—young, fresh, and full of courage, and ready to fight the good fight (From a letter to the American Fathers, March 11, 1958)(p.69).”
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SHARING/DISCUSSION:
Like the Paulist founders, have you ever experienced a trial, or intensely questioned the purpose in your life, in such a way that lead to a new and fresh perspective?  Did this change anything in your spiritual life or practice?  If so, how did prayer, or trust in God’s Providence guide those changes?

REFLECTION:
I find this passage in Hecker’s faith journey comforting and at the heart of the Easter message.  It’s clear to me that he struggled, while reconciling his vocation, with at the same time, feeling a strong call to evangelize the people in North America.  He surrendered these two, apparent conflicting views to God.  What is revealed is something profound and greater than Hecker ever imagined.  During Lent, what are some of the obstacles we perceive as getting in the way of our spiritual journey?  Can we articulate them in prayer and allow the Holy Spirit and the Church to guide our next steps?    

Reading Part 2 (in advance of the meeting)
Members from our Chicago Associates group are reading and discussing Divine Renovation, by Fr. James Mallon.  The Archdiocese and Old St. Mary’s recommends this book and accompanying guidebook as a way to help moves parishes “from maintenance to mission.”  This specifically speaks to the role of the parish setting, as part, within the larger-sense Church.  Though the Paulist Fathers are widely known as a missionary society, our parish centers play a major role in our identity as “Church.”

Mallon reminds us (p. 82) that St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians (4:11-13) calls leaders to “equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”  The book expresses that the primary mission of the Church is to answer Christ’s direct call, to make disciples (The Great Commission).

“St. Paul explicitly tells us that these charisms exist…  A clerical culture that binds the priest to the role of the super-Christian will demand that only the priest does work of ministry and many priests are happy to accept this definition.  We see this in parishes that have virtually nothing going on.  The few activities that do take place must have the direct oversight of the priest.  No one else is equipped for the ministry of leading others to maturity, let alone leading ministry that goes out to the fringes.”

“[Ephesians] also reminds us of the distinction between office and charism.  The ordained have the office of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher.  They are ultimately responsible that these ministries flourish in the Church, but these responsibilities do not always coincide with the charism.  Charisms are given among all the members of God’s people; for the Church to be strong, all must be called to identify their charisms and serve from them (p.84).”

SHARING/DISCUSSION: 
In our parish settings, how do we “equip the saints for the work of the ministry?” What are some of the ways we can support one another and the Fathers in their work?  Can we identify our own gifts and see them as personal charisms?  Do we see opportunities to challenge the parish with Paulist charisms: evangelization, reconciliation, unity and ecumenism?  Are we making disciples in our parish? 

REFLECTION:
The Associates I’ve known remain quite active in parish life.  They belong to the group of overachievers — the ones you can rely on — usually serving in multiple roles, such as lectors, choir ministry, Eucharistic Ministers, RCIA, parish finance council and more.  And I trust they will continue in these works. 

My path is a little different.  For the most part, my home parish usually differed from the Paulist Centers, due to circumstances or because of geography.  That’s probably why I identify with a missionary society and our Associate diaspora group.  I believe the Paulist mission extends the parish boundaries.  I also believe the centers (parishes) are vital part of our communities and we want to continue supporting one another in our individual work.  Like Hecker and the founders, we can ask the Holy Spirit to inspire and lead us in our ministries.  As Associates, how can we encourage others to join us? 

News/Announcements:

Closing Prayer:
We lift up our closing prayer to you, Servant Isaac Hecker.
Help us Father Hecker to grow in our understanding of you. Help us most of all to imitate you in your confidence in the Holy Spirit. May you and the Holy Spirit lead us into living out more deeply the Gospel in our time and place.  Amen.

 

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The Associates World welcomes submissions of articles or information about upcoming events. These should be sent as Microsoft Word documents and attached to an email to [email protected].  Except for reporting on late-month events, we would appreciate receiving submissions by the 20th of the month before the publication date. Please contact editors Kathleen Lossau ([email protected]) or Denis Hurley ([email protected]) with questions or article proposals.

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Heavenly Father, you called your servant Isaac Thomas Hecker to preach the Gospel to the people of North America and through his teaching, to know the peace and the power of your indwelling Spirit. He walked in the footsteps of Saint Paul the Apostle, and like Paul spoke your Word with a zeal for souls and a burning love for all who came to him in need.

Look upon us this day, with compassion and hope. Hear our prayer. We ask that through the intercession of Father Hecker your servant, you might grant us (state the request).

We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit. One God, forever and ever. Amen.

When you pray this prayer, and if you believe that you have received any favors through Hecker’s intercession, please contact the Office of the Cause for Canonization of Servant of God, Isaac Hecker at [email protected]. Visit the web site: isaachecker.org to learn more about his life and the cause for his canonization.

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Paulist Associates National Director

Mike Kallock, CSP
Paulist General Office
New York, NY 10023

Board Members

Carol Wagner Williams
Tuscon, AZ

Frank Desiderio, C.S.P.

Katherine Murphy Mertzlufft
Columbus, OH

Joe Scott, CSP

David Rooney
Chicago, IL

Mary Sullivan
Boston, MA

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I believe that I am drawn by the Holy Spirit to the spirituality and qualities of the Paulist Community. I have discerned both by prayer and study that God calls me to become associated with the Paulists. I promise that I will pray for the works of the Paulist Society, meet with others, who are also members of the Paulist Associates, for spiritual sharing and formation; and I seek to embody the apostolic qualities of the Paulists in my daily life.

Attentive to the Holy Spirit and faithful to the example of St. Paul and the charism of Father Isaac Hecker, I commit myself for one year of membership in the Paulist Associates.