In 2012, the Catholic Church marks a major anniversary of one of its more strictly pastoral councils, one that singled out for comment the importance of preaching and the need for its renewal.  Its deliberations extended several years–making it the third longest in Church history.  In its span, the Council saw the death of one pope a little less than a year after it opened and the election of his successor.  Despite the fact that most of the Council’s attention had been devoted to pastoral issues, there were many who thought the Council Fathers did not go far enough in their reforms.  As history can well attest, this Council was shortly followed by a massive upheaval and many defections from the Church.  It was a time of great upheaval not only in the Church, but seemingly the whole world.  In some sense, the pastoral challenges facing the Church were far graver after this Council than they were before.  Many even believed the Council was a failure.  Yet, none of this affects the validity of the Council’s teaching or its contributions to the pastoral life of the Church.  Even though the world has changed greatly since the time the Council was called, the Church still does well and can benefit from re-familiarizing herself with its teaching.

This great pastoral council, which the whole Church joins in celebrating in this anniversary year, is, of course, the Fifth Lateran Council.

Pope Julius II

This date–May 10, 2012–marks the 500^th anniversary of the reading of the papal bull proclaiming the opening of the council in St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome, the fifth and last to be held there, and thus the anniversary of the opening of its first session, which would meet in a further eleven sessions between 1512 and 1517.  The two popes involved were Julius II (1503-13) and Leo X (1513-23), and the major upheaval was the rebellion launched by the Augustinian friar, Martin Luther, just seven months after the closing of the Council.

In many ways, the Fifth Lateran was also a very Dominican council.  One of its primary figures was Thomas di Vio Cajetan, then the Master of the Order, but best known for his later work as a Cardinal in his paternal, but ultimately unsuccessful, encounters with Martin Luther.  Cajetan was one of the leading voices at the Council both for the reform of the Church and for the primacy of the Pope.

While the Council’s efforts to reform the Roman curia, religious life, and credit organizations will doubtless receive much coverage during this important anniversary year, it is the Council’s instruction on preaching from its eleventh session on December 19, 1516 that garners our attention today.

Cardinal Cajetan and Luther

The papal bull approved by this session of the council begins with words of praise for the act of preaching.   It says that preaching is of “first importance” and “very necessary” but only when it is done so rightly out of love for God and neighbor and according to the precepts and example of the fathers.  Those entrusted with the office of preaching are reminded to reflect upon the fact that they are now responsible for maintaining that which was begun by the Jesus Christ himself and handed down by the apostles:

Preaching is of the first importance, very necessary and of great effect and utility in the church, so long as it is being exercised rightly, from genuine charity towards God and our neighbor, and according to the precepts and examples of the holy fathers, who contributed a great deal to the church by publicly professing such things at the time of the establishment and propagation of the faith. For, our redeemer first did and taught, and by his command and example, the college of twelve apostles — the heavens alike proclaiming the glory of the true God through all the earth — led back from darkness the whole human race, which was held by the old bondage under the yoke of sin, and guided it to the light of eternal salvation. The apostles and then their successors propagated far and wide and rooted deeply the word itself through all the earth and unto the ends of the world. Therefore those who are now carrying this burden ought to remember and frequently reflect that they in turn, with respect to this office of preaching, are entering into and maintaining that succession of the author and founder of this office, Jesus Christ our most holy redeemer, of Peter and Paul, and of the other apostles and disciples of the Lord.  [Fifth Lateran Council, Session XI, 15 December 1516]

The instruction recalls with sorrow the fact that there are many entrusted with the office of preaching who ignore this fact and preach things contrary to the teachings of the church and thereby give scandal to the faithful all for the pursuit of vainglory.

When they turn aside from the official sacred teachings, which they ought particularly to follow, they separate and move far from salvation those who listen to them. For, as a result of these and similar activities, the less educated people, as being more exposed to deceit, are very easily led into manifold errors, as they wander from the path of salvation and from obedience to the Roman Church.  [Fifth Lateran Council, Session XI, 15 December 1516]

Pope Leo X

This is a perennially valid point, even nearly five hundred years removed from time of the Council.  The words of the preacher either maintain and strengthen what was founded by Jesus Christ and the apostles leading the believer into all truth or they lead astray, obscuring Christ, and safeguard vice and error. Preaching can lead astray in one of two basic ways: by moving those who listen to place their faith and confidence in something other than God and His revelation (e.g. introducing new prophecies, revelations, or superstitious practices) or by sowing doubt and disbelief (e.g. erroneous interpretations of Scripture, denials of articles of the faith, or disdain for received tradition).  (See 2 Tim 4:3-4)  The office of preaching, however, is intricately linked with the unity of the faith, the unity of our Baptism, and the unity of Christ in whom we place our trust for salvation.  Its mission is to safeguard and build up that unity, and to be an instrument of God’s saving grace for countless souls.

May this year of celebration in honor of the opening of this great Council help us to consider anew its important teachings, and be led by its wise pastoral counsel.

Dominican Cooperator Brothers Study

“Dedicating Ourselves to God, Following Christ to Lead an Evangelical Life in the Order (LCO 189, I)

Dominican Cooperator Brothers of the United States Gather for an Historic Meeting

Recently, Dominican Cooperator Brothers throughout the U.S. met to discuss the vocation of brothers in the Order.  Below is a description of the fruit of some of their recent discussions.  The meeting of the brothers was requested by the Master of the Order to review the status of the cooperator brother vocation.  These meetings in the United States will culminate in meetings in Rome with brothers from throughout the world.

U.S. Dominican Cooperator Brothers. Photo by Br. Lupe, OP

Is the Order of Preachers dying? Such a question would seem absurd to some, alarming to others, but the “vocation crisis” of men interested in the consecrated life as Brothers in the Church today is very real. The decline has been especially felt in the Order by the Dominican Brothers, who, as one brother described, have seen a 57% decline in numbers since the 1980s, as compared to a 20% decline in the number of Dominican priests (cf. Curia Generalizia Frati Domenicani). To combat this alarming trend, the Master of the Order has called for a study of the vocation, formation and ministries of cooperator brothers in provinces around the world.  The study, under the direction of a Core Team, consists of regional meetings in the Provinces where Brothers are asked to come together to discuss ways in which this decline might be addressed in order to promote the renewal of the vocation and ministries in the Order.  The meeting of Dominican Brothers in the United States was the first of several similar meetings to be held in the near future in Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, Poland, Congo and other Provinces throughout the Order. Information and recommendations gathered during these meetings will help the Master of the Order prepare for an international congress of cooperator brothers called for by the General Chapter of Rome (2010).

Sixteen brothers, including five in initial formation, from all four U.S. provinces attended the regional meeting hosted by St. Albert’s Priory in Oakland, California from March 30^th-April 1^st, 2012. Under the theme “dedicating ourselves to God, following Christ to lead an evangelical life in the Order” (LCO 189, I), the Brothers were invited by the planning committee to prayerfully dialogue about their experiences as brothers, their formation, their ministries, vocation promotion, and steps the Order could take to radically challenge the decline and promote the revitalization of the vocation of Dominican Brother. It was an overwhelming impression among all gathered that the question of renewal of the Brother’s vocation was vital to the renewal of the whole Order. One Brother remarked “It is a question of renewal of our entire way of life.  We speak frequently about being a Dominican Family, but to be that family we need every part to be thriving.  As communities of friars, cooperator brothers cannot flourish without our priest brothers, and neither can the priest brothers without the cooperator brothers.”  It is the central hope of the Brothers who participated in the Oakland Meeting that all friars of the Order will come to believe that renewal of the Order is essential in the Church’s plan for the New Evangelization.

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Relics of St. Antonius, Church of San Marco, Florence

St. Antoninus of Florence (1389-1459, feast – May 10) was an eminent pastor.  He was so well respected during his life that Pope Nicholas V, who canonized St. Bernadine of Siena, said that he thought Antoninus, even while Antoninus was still alive, was equally worthy of canonization.  His pastoral skills come out in three particular areas: counsel, generosity to the poor, and teaching.

Firstly, St. Antoninus had been especially blessed with the gift of counsel.  Because of this, he was even known as the “Angel of Counsels.”  Princes and prelates would turn to him for advice.  He was sought out to bring peace to warring groups.  He was so respected in this regard that Pope Nicholas V even forbade appeals to be made against sentences passed by Antoninus.

Secondly, Antoninus was known to be extremely generous to the poor.  Having been trained to understand the vow of poverty by Bl. John Dominici and Bl. Lawrence of Rippafratta, and making his novitiate with Bl. Peter Capucci and Bl. Fra Angelico, Antoninus maintained a life of simplicity even as a bishop.  Whatever he had was just as much the property of the poor as it was his own.

Finally, he was an eminent teacher.  He penned great works of theological importance, especially his Summa Theologica Moralis which served as an immensely helpful aid to pastors and confessors.  Moreover, he took his teaching office seriously, establishing Confraternities of Christian Doctrine in Florence to educate the youth.

May we be helped, Lord, by the merits of your holy confessor and bishop, Antoninus, that as we make known your wonders in him, we may also rejoice at your mercies to us.  Through Christ our Lord.

In her Dialogues, the Sienese Dominican St. Catherine of Siena, is famous for her deep mystical relation with Jesus Christ.  Much of her spirituality revolves around that intimate rapport that a life of prayer can bring.  Her great metaphor–the Bridge of Christ–re-casts the body of Christ as a great medieval bridge, beginning at his feet, resting in his heart, and hearing the truth from his very mouth.  And it is through Christ–the way, the truth, and the life–that one may enter into the eternal life of love that is the Holy Trinity.

But, what about the role of Mary in St. Catherine’s spiritual writings and teachings?  Certainly, as a Dominican she would have absorbed the great piety the Order had for the Mother of God.  But how does this manifest in her writings?  In his article, “Mary in the Life and Thought of St. Catherine of Siena“, Fr. Vincent Wiseman, OP, the former Student Master of the Province of St. Joseph and currently a missionary in East Africa, attempts to answer that very question.  Fr. Wiseman begins his treatment in this way:

“In the name of Jesus Christ crucified and of gentle Mary.”  With these words, Catherine begins her book, Il Dialogo, as well as all but a few of her three hundred eighty-two letters, indicating the close link that Catherine makes between gentle Mary and her crucified Son. Catherine’s birth on March 25 in 1347, a year in which the customary date of the Annunciation coincided with Palm Sunday, might seem to have anticipated the close relationship Catherine would draw between Mary and the Redemption. For Catherine, Mary is not a passive or peripheral figure to the story of salvation but one who is vitally involved in its decisive moments.

As has been seen, Catherine, unlike a number of medieval authors, emphasizes the Incarnation as the beginning of the redemption. Thus, she writes:

This Word was engrafted in her flesh, this blessed and sweet field of Mary, as the seed that is cast on the earth. Through the warmth of the sun, it germinates and draws out the flower and the fruit and the shell remains on the earth. So, truly, [it was] through the warmth and the fire of divine charity which God had for the human race, casting the seed of His Word in the field of Mary. O blessed and sweet Mary, you have given us the flower of the sweet Jesus! And when did this blessed flower produce the fruit? When He was grafted on the wood of the most holy cross. Then we received perfect life. [Letter 144]

For St. Catherine, Mary plays no mere passive role in the incarnation of her son.  As the Word was given to Mary, so Mary gives the Word to the world in bearing her Son.  Mary is united to Christ in his work of salvation, and so is united to us as that same salvation is worked in us.

To read the rest of Fr. Wiseman’s article, click here: “Mary in the Life and Thought of Catherine of Siena“

Image of the Madonna, Protectress of the Order, which hangs in St. Dominic's cell in Santa Sabina, Rome

In the Vitae Fratrum, the Lives of the Brethren, which was written very soon after the Dominican Order was founded, the Blessed Virgin Mary appears in over 100 of the stories.  Some of the stories even include visions in which Mary is seen as the foundress of the Order because she begged her Son to send preachers into the world to convert heretics.  Others mention her protection over the brethren as they prepared to die or as the Order itself was attacked by demons, heretics, or even other Christians.

Since its very beginning, the Dominican Order has had a great love for the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on May 8th, we celebrate her patronage over the Order.  Throughout the centuries, she has aided the Order and supported us in our task of preaching for the salvation of souls.  On this day, we renew our fidelity to following her, and we thank her for the great gifts she has brought to the Order, she who is our benefactress and mediatrix.

The following prayer is recited in many of our communities to commemorate this:

Virgin Mother Mary, with trust we approach you. We, your preachers, fly to you who believed in the words sent from heaven and pondered them in your heart. We stand close around you, who are always present to the gathering of apostles.

In you the Word was made flesh, that same Word which we receive, contemplate, praise together, and preach. Therefore, under your guidance we today devote ourselves anew to the ministry of the Word. Furthermore, we declare to you that, hearing with you the Word within ourselves and anointed by the Spirit, whose sacred vessel you preeminently are, we are consecrated in the name of Jesus Christ to the evangelization of the world.

With the eyes of your heart enlightened, you understood the mystery of the Word.  Through you we, too, are able to perceive the presence of that same Word in the history of our time, so that we may finally contemplate him face to face.

Through you the Father sent his Son into the world that he might save it. Through you we will be powerful in the sight of your people, becoming witnesses of that truth which frees and of that love which unites.

To this place we have brought our needs and here we ponder them. Do you, Mother, give us strength and preserve the harmony of our family, so that what was begun by our profession may be brought to completion by our love for one another, for the salvation of the world, and to the praise and glory of God.

Fr. Bruno M. Shah, O.P. is joined in studio with the director of adult formation from his parish of St. Vincent Ferrer, Mary Schwarz, and over the phone by NYC vocation director, Fr. Luke Sweeney.

5th Sunday Easter B Play Now

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On Friday, May 11, 6:30pm – 8:30pm the The Catholic Information Center in Washington, DC, will welcome Dr. Peter Kreeft and Fr. Gabriel Gillen, O.P., in celebration of their upcoming documentary, The Sea Within: Letters to a Young Surfer on the philosophy of surfing. The project features Peter Kreeft and is based on his three books on the subject: I Surf Therefore I Am, If Einstein Had Been a Surfer, and The Sea Within. Dr. Kreeft and Fr. Gillen, O.P. will discuss their joint project, as well as share with us their Surf Lessons for the Spiritual Life.

The Lecture is entitled: “The Sea, Surfing, and Waves as the Meaning of All Things”.

There will also be a possible first preview and showing of clips from the upcoming documentary, The Sea Within: Letters to a Young Surfer.

Discounts on all books by Peter Kreeft will be available. Food and refreshments will be served. $20 at the Door. Please RSVP to contact@cicdc.org

On Saturday, May 12, 11am – 1pm Dr. Peter Kreeft will offer a book signing and a lecture entitled, “Tolkien’s Songs of the Sea: What J.R.R.Tolkien can teach us about preparing for our final sea voyage.”

“Great stories give us the grace of a mystical experience, on the level of the imagination.”
– Peter Kreeft, “The Philosophy of Tolkien: The Worldview Behind the Lord of the Rings”

About the Catholic Information Center
The Catholic Information Center strives to make the Catholic Church present and alive in the hearts of the men and women who work in the international, financial, and business center of the nation’s capitol. Located in downtown Washington DC, CIC’s chapel is a quiet refuge for prayer where Holy Mass, confession, and Eucharistic adoration are offered daily. With panel events, book signings, and an ongoing series of lectures and discussion groups, the CIC works to provide the tools necessary for Catholics to share and increase their faith.

The Catholic Information Center  is located at 1501 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005-1401.  They can be reached at (202) 783-2062.

Window of St. Vincent Ferrer, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome

I can only imagine that St. Vincent Ferrer must have been intense.  Vincent Ferrer (c. 1350-1419, feast – May 5*) was an amazing preacher and a wonder worker.  His did both with such zeal and passion that it can truly be said of him, “Zeal for your house has consumed me” (Ps. 69:10).

Through much of his life, St. Vincent Ferrer was a preacher – a famous preacher.  He traveled all throughout Europe zealously preaching.  Grace, coming through the instrument of his preaching, led to the conversion of around 25,000 Jews, 8,000 Muslims, and even more Catholics who were not living lives based on the Gospel.  He was famous, in particular, for preaching the apocalypse.  He became so well known for this that the Pope even allowed him to style himself as the Angel of the Judgment, and in Christian art he is often portrayed with angelic wings.

As prodigious a preacher as he was, St. Vincent Ferrer was also a thaumaturgus – a worker of miracles.  In fact, when he would preach, there was a bell that traveled with him called the “Miracle Bell” that would be rung every time he would work a miracle.  (Our parish of St. Vincent Ferrer in New York still has its “Miracle Bell” in honor of her patron.)  When it came time to examine his life for the process of canonization, when the officials reached 800 miracles, they asked for no more.  That was more than enough

His miracles were not just the more regular ones like healing the sick either.  He worked some truly fantastic ones.  On one occasion, a woman had gone crazy, killed her son and chopped him up, and then attempted to serve him in a stew to her husband.  When he found out about it, he fled to St. Vincent Ferrer who then came and worked a miracle in which he both put the boy back together and brought him back to life.

Through St. Vincent Ferrer’s intercession, may the Lord grant us the grace to be zealous preachers of the Gospel and faithful servants working for the spread of His kingdom.

O God, through the wonderful preaching of your confessor, the blessed Vincent, you granted that a multitude of peoples should come to acknowledge your name; grant, we beseech you, that we may be worthy to be rewarded in heaven by him whom he announced on earth as the Judge who is to come, our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever.

* N.B. On the Roman calendar, St. Vincent Ferrer’s feast is April 5, but because that date often falls during Holy Week or the Easter Octave, in 2001, the Dominican Order received permission to celebrate his feast on May 5.

Rev. Miroslav Konštanc Adam, O.P. takes the Oath of Fidelity

Earlier last month, it was announced that Rev. Miroslav Konštanc Adam, O.P., had been appointed as the new rector of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas(the Angelicum) in Rome.  Fr. Adam has previously served as the Dean of the Faculty of Canon Law at the Angelicum.  In the presence of the faculty and students, Fr. Adam took the canonically required Oath of Fidelity before assuming his new office.  Also in attendance were His Eminence, Georges Marie Cardinal Cottier O.P., the retired theologian to the Papal Household; His Excellency, Archbishop Jean Louis Bruges, O.P., the Secretary for the Congregation for Education; Hon. Miguel Diaz, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Holy See; and the Very Rev. Ed Ruane, O.P., serving as the vicar of the Master of the Order of Preachers.  Fr. Adam succeeds Most Rev. Charles Morerod, O.P., who was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as bishop of Lausanne, Genève et Fribourg, Switzerland.  Following the Oath of Fidelity there was a light reception at the Angelicum.

Below is a collection of photographs from the event:

On April 30th, the traditional feast day of its namesake, the Dominican parish of St. Catherine of Siena in Manhattan honored three individuals with the St. Catherine of Siena award, for their activity in health care work and ministry.

The St. Catherine of Siena award is given typically given to an ecclesial leader, or a local doctor or chaplain for his work in healthcare ministry. The award was given to His Eminence, Donald Cardinald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, Sr. Elaine of the Congregation of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Br. Ignatius Perkins, O.P., upon the establishment of the St. Catherine of Siena chair in Catholic health care ethics at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception (PFIC) in Washington DC.

Dr. John F. Brehany, Ph.D., STL, of the Catholic Medical Association, stated that the “Dominicans really want to provide more and better education than ever to their own friars, so that they can bring Catholic wisdom to bear on people who teach about and those who provide and support Catholic health care.”

Rev. Jordan J. Kelly, pastor of St. Catherine’s church, explained that  “regardless of one’s political affiliation, we can readily observe that matters relating to medical care and life issues will impact each one of us now and in the future.”

Most Rev. Steven Boguslawski, O.P., president of the PFIC in Washington, explained that  “the friar must provide the immediate pastoral care that brings sacramental and personal solace – the cura animarum [care of souls] -  while simultaneously guiding patients and caregivers about moral and ethical obligation arising from the faith during their treatment.”

NY church celebrates healthcare workers [ 3:39 ] Play Now

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