November14, 2008 - Issue #21
Local News | Opinion/Editorials | Letters to the Editor
Local News
Dominican rite aims to shine from the ‘dark ages’
Ancient Mass comes to Anchorage
Ethereal chant, incense and perhaps even an ostrich-feathered liturgical fan will soon waft through Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage.
Beginning Dec. 6, the ancient Dominican rite Mass will be celebrated in Latin every first Saturday of the month at noon.
The successful emergence of the Dominican rite locally is keeping tradition alive, and perhaps fueling organic development of the liturgy into the future.
By early 2009, the Anchorage Archdiocese is also hoping to provide regular celebrations of the Tridentine Latin Mass, which was the standard Roman Catholic liturgy before the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).
Within the universal Catholic Church, there are 22 different rites, such as the Roman, Byzantine and Coptic, that incorporate different traditions into the Mass.
When it comes to forms of the Mass, “often we think of the Masses as ‘pre-Vatican II’ and ‘post-Vatican II,’ and it was more complicated than that,” said Father Vincent Kelber — a Dominican priest at Holy Family Cathedral, where he is preparing to celebrate the Dominican rite.
| Learn more Beginning Dec. 6, the Dominican rite Latin Mass will be celebrated at Holy Family Cathedral every first Saturday at noon. To help prepare for the celebrations, Holy Family Cathedral is offering a Latin class for the Liturgy. Classes, which are open to the public, are on Wednesdays, 6:30-8:00 p.m., in Holy Family Education Center. For more information, call 276-3455. |
In 1570, the Council of Trent codified the Tridentine Mass as “the Mass for all time,” he explained. It then served as the main form of the Mass for the Latin Church until the Second Vatican Council.
The Council of Trent, however, allowed for the celebration of those rites which, at the time, had been in existence for at least 200 years, Father Kelber said.
That meant the Dominican order and others like the Carthusians, Cistercians and Carmelites could continue celebrating their own rites, alongside the principal Tridentine Mass.
Father Kelber explained that by the 1200s, it was clear that the Dominicans needed a common liturgical expression for the order’s many priests who preached and celebrated Mass in varied communities across Europe. Thus, the Dominican rite was established.
While the Tridentine Mass is sometimes criticized for being antiquated, it is actually pretty new compared to the medieval Dominican rite, noted Father Kelber. The Tridentine is really “the beginning of the modern era,” he said.
At Vatican II, the Tridentine Mass was replaced by the “Novus Ordo” or “new Ordinary of the Mass” as the principal form of the Mass. In that form, which most Catholics are accustomed to today, prayers are said in the local language.
Those familiar with the Tridentine Mass will find similarities in the Dominican rite. Both are celebrated in Latin, which for centuries was the sacred liturgical language of the Catholic Church, Father Kelber said.
Additionally, in both the Tridentine and Dominican rites, priests face the same direction as the congregation — toward the altar.
The point is to be “oriented towards the one God,” said Father Kelber. The Eucharist is always central, he added.
Priests also wear special vestments in the Dominican rite, but since the Dominicans “pre-date lace,” explained Father Kelber, they are not as ornate as those in the Tridentine rite.
Catholics may also notice that the Dominican rite contains many signs of reverence, such as bowing, Father Kelber explained.
A penitential prayer, which the priest leads at the start of the Mass, is said before he enters into the sanctuary, “the holy of holies,” Father Kelber said. Also, communicants receive Communion kneeling.
“Every movement in the Mass is purposeful and prayerful; it is embodied worship,” he said.
‘Rite’ for the times
While Vatican II ushered in many needed changes, the continued use of the Dominican rite helped provide stability amid the flux.
“We realize now and Pope Benedict realizes that some of the changes of the Second Vatican Council were good, but some of them were too fast, some weren’t explained, some were poorly implemented and some weren’t according to the documents,” Father Kelber said.
The ancient Masses “helped people to cope,” he added.
As part of the patrimony of the church, the ancient Mass is worth preserving, Father Kelber continued.
“It’s okay to have this kind of diversity,” he said.
Father Kelber said it is especially important to appreciate the “ethos” of a pre-reformation tradition, such as that of the Dominicans.
“There is a lot that the medieval times can offer,” he said. “They weren’t in the dark ages at all. They lived a life that we can see today is something worth emulating in many ways, because it was before the busy-ness of the modern world. They knew what contemplation was, they knew what silence was, and we don’t.”
In the 1980s interest in the Dominican rite grew among the young friars of the Dominicans’ Western Province, said Father Kelber. Interest “bloomed again in a new way” with friars, such as Father Kelber, who were ordained in the late 1990s and early 21-century.
With no formal training on how to celebrate the ancient Mass, Father Kelber said he read about the Mass and worked with other priests familiar with it.
“Preservation work is personal,” he said. “It has to be handed-down. It can’t be just gotten out of a book.”
Now, given the growing interest in the Dominican rite, the Western and Eastern Provinces of the Dominican order are planning instructive conferences for its friars. The first takes place August 2009 at St. Albert’s priory in Oakland.
Here in Anchorage, with permission from his provincial director and Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz, Father Kelber has been perfecting his practice of the Dominican rite on his days off.
“There are people all over the United States and the world excited about the old rite — excited about Gregorian chant,” he said. “It’s not just one person here saying ‘Well, I miss the old days.’ It’s not just something looking back, but something looking forward and a gift for these crazy times.”
Safe-environment audit a success
Archbishop Schwietz: Results show commitment to protecting children
The Anchorage Archdiocese is now in full compliance with all 17 requirements set forth in the U.S. bishops’ national charter to protect children and youth from sexual abuse within the church.
Auditors notified the archdiocese last month that it had met all aspects of the “Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People,” which the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops adopted in 2002 after sex abuse scandals rocked the U.S. church.
Last year, the archdiocese missed two areas of the charter. The first dealt with providing safe-environment training and background checks for all priests. The second area dealt with providing safe-environment education for children.
After a rigorous effort over the past year, however, the archdiocese ensured that 100 percent of its 37 priests were trained and given background checks. In addition 1,909 children and youth received safe-environment training in local parishes and Catholic schools.
“We finally reached the goal we set as an archdiocese to do everything possible to create an atmosphere of safety for children,” Anchorage Archbishop Roger Schwietz told the Anchor Nov. 3. “It is gratifying to receive a report that recognizes that.”
Archbishop Schwietz offered his thanks to those who worked to ensure that the 2008 audit was a success.
“It shows how serious everyone is about their commitment to the safe-environment program,” he said. “I am very happy about that.”
Adrian Dominican Sister Jackie Stoll is the safe environment coordinator for the archdiocese and has worked with local parishes and pastors to help them implement the recommendations from last year’s audit findings. The most recent report recognizes those efforts, she said.
“It reflects the commitment of the folks in the parishes – the faith formation directors, the pastors, teachers, volunteers —people who have always been committed to safe environment issues but who now are able to really demonstrate that and be recognized for the hard work they’ve been doing this past year.”
Sister Stoll noted that over the past year, the archdiocese went “from basically no program to a program that is able to pass the audit.”
“That is an incredible feat to achieve in one year,” she said.
While the report is welcome news for the archdiocese, the audit did state that there is still room to improve, Sister Stoll said.
The Gavin Group is the private company which performs safe-environment audits across the country for U.S. bishops. According to their report, the Anchorage Archdiocese still needs to do a better job at educating a greater overall number of children in the parishes.
Sister Stoll said the recommendation doesn’t reflect badly on archdiocesan efforts to provide training. Rather, it points to the greater problem of getting people to attend parish faith formation programs in general.
“It’s true across the country that the number of children who register for faith formation programs is not necessarily the number of children that show up,” she explained. “Like other places, we need to be a bit more creative about how we present the safe environment material to children. Perhaps we could spread the material out throughout the course of the year or present the material a bit earlier in the year.”
Since the U.S. bishops issued their 2002 charter, the Anchorage Archdiocese has been audited each year since 2004. The most recent audit took place Oct. 13-16 as a follow up to last year’s report.
In the past, every participating diocese in the country has been audited annually. Beginning this year, however, one third of dioceses will be audited annually and the remaining two-thirds will self-report. It is unclear if Anchorage will be audited again in 2009.
Departing nun brought hope to the sick and vulnerable in Anchorage
When the long-serving and compassionate Sister of St. Joseph of Peace leaves Alaska this month to begin discerning a new ministry, she’ll leave a gap felt by Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
For 22 years, Sister Marilee Murphy has served as a chaplain for the sick and vulnerable at the spiritual care department of Providence Alaska Health Systems in Anchorage.
During that time, she has grown acquainted with human frailty.
“The issues that people suddenly experience when they’re sick are so raw,” she said of her ministry.
“When you park in Providence’s parking lot, something is going on in your life,” she explained. “Maybe you’re visiting a doctor. Maybe your visit is planned or unplanned. But it’s not the same thing as going to the grocery store or the post office. And, if you have to put our pajamas on, something out of the ordinary is going on in your life.”
To all those people — especially the ones wearing the pajamas — Sister Murphy felt a commitment.
The work has left its mark on her.
“It’s the challenge of being authentic,” Sister Murphy said. “I’m not the same every day. It’s being aware of co-partnering with God. It’s the privilege of being with people and supporting them, of being part of a team, working collaboratively with people from many fields.”
Working as a chaplain often brings you in touch with people at their most vulnerable, she explained.
“You have to ask, what’s meaningful for them? What gives them strength? What gets them in touch with God?”
Anyone who remembers the old days at Anchorage’s only Catholic hospital might be surprised to learn that the chaplaincy program has evolved. For one thing, not just anyone can hang out a chaplain’s “shingle.”
Chaplains now go through years of study to secure their clinical pastoral education. And Providence, which serves a wide swath of the state’s population, has a very ecumenical chaplaincy program now.
Frank Macht, the manager of the Spiritual Care program, is a Lutheran minister, and there are several religious traditions represented in the seven-person chaplaincy team – soon to be six with Sister Murphy’s departure.
Macht said Sister Murphy’s presence will be sorely missed.
“She’s been primarily responsible for the adult critical care unit,” he said. As such, she often dealt with families in acute crises.
“Her dedication, her deep sense of spirituality, her gentle touch, the fact that she was always there when she was needed – she’ll be missed,” said Macht.
A chaplain ministers not just to patients, he said, but to employees who often need support as they work in critical care situations. Sister Murphy, said Macht, was popular with and appreciated by the staff.
The Seattle native has a background of diverse ministry. She began religious life as a third grade teacher. Beginning in 1965, she worked as a licensed nurse practitioner, including time in the Philippines. She had her first Alaskan experience in 1974, when she ministered in Ketchikan as an alcoholism counselor and a home health aide. Eventually, she came to Anchorage and served as a pastoral associate at St. Patrick Parish until 1981.
After several years outside Alaska, where she obtained her chaplaincy certification, Sister Murphy returned to Anchorage in 1986 to work at Providence.
Now, she heads back to Seattle and early next year will begin a “100 days of renewal” program at the Sangre de Cristo Center near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“It will be a time of understanding ourselves as persons, as Christians and as religious ministers at a time when society and the church are undergoing profound cultural change,” she said.
Alaskan women look to sister-saints in heaven
Saints inspire modern women to pursue holiness in daily life
Modern Catholic women in the Anchorage Archdiocese are tapping into some very ancient and holy female friends as they attempt to follow Christ in the Last Frontier.
These powerful friends — female saints — were cloistered nuns, philosophers, teachers and mothers, when they, too, walked the earth.
A diverse bunch, these women all share what Pope John Paul II called the “feminine genius.” They are famous and ordinary women “who reveal the gift of their womanhood by placing themselves at the service of others in their everyday lives,” the pope wrote in his 1995 letter to women of the world, adding, “for in giving themselves to others each day women fulfill their deepest vocation” — the vocation of heroic love.
Accounts of these holy women populate the Old and New Testaments. For hundreds of years, Catholic faithful have called for the intercessions of such saints as Felicity, Perpetua, Lucy and Agnes.
As years pass, the church continues to recognize new saints. According to the Catholic Internet resource, catholiconline.org, there are more than 10,000 saints, many of them women.
Catherine Neumayr, a single Anchorage woman and parishioner at St. Benedict Church, looks to a number of women saints for inspiration.
Her namesake, St. Catherine was a mystic and counselor to the pope in the 1300s. Despite humble beginnings — being the 25th child of an Italian wool dyer and lacking a formal education — she was famous for theological brilliance, and was eventually recognized as a doctor of the church.
Neumayr noted that everything started in prayer for St. Catherine.
Then there is St. Therese of Lisieux, the young Carmelite, hidden behind the grille of the cloister. She was “a force to be reckoned with, but in such a humble way,” Neumayr explained.
Neumayr said St. Therese’s strength did not lie in “trying to adopt the same power” of a man. Rather, she had a “profound understanding of her femininity.”
Neumayr also esteems St. Margaret Clitherow, an English Catholic lay woman who, during the persecution of the church in England in the late 1500s, harbored priests in her home so they could celebrate Mass for fellow underground Catholics. She was executed for that felony while pregnant with her fourth child.
Neumayr explained that St. Margaret’s motherly, Christian love “spilled out” to “all children of God.”
These saints exemplify the unique and quiet power of women to “be mothers first,” Neumayr said.
As an unmarried woman, Neumayr said she can pursue a “spiritual motherhood” by nurturing youth on their way to confirmation, in her profession as a teacher, and in serving the church and helping to strengthen families.
In Valdez, Sister Marie Brent, of the Sisters of the Holy Family, is pastoral administrator of St. Francis Xavier Church.
She is especially attached to St. Lydia, a 1st century convert of St. Paul who sheltered him and his missionaries. St. Lydia was married and had children. Her home became one of the house churches where Catholics gathered for Mass, “the breaking of the bread,” Sister Marie explained. She added St. Lydia was a “leader” and “a very brave woman” in an era that was frightening for Christians.
“We need models and mentors — those who served and served up to death,” Sister Marie said.
Such models include St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first native-born American saint, Sister Brent said.
A widow with children, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton converted to Catholicism and made vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. She eventually founded a religious community, orphanages and the first free Catholic school in America.
Sister Marie said that such saints “lived ordinary lives and lived them extraordinarily well.” As a result, they show sainthood as attainable, said Sister Marie. “If they did it, so can I.”
And finally, Sister Marie remembers the most heroic mother — her namesake, the Mother of God — who helped her own mother to carry Sister Marie to term in a difficult pregnancy.
Mary Ellen Grandel of St. Michael Church in Palmer also looks to her mother in heaven and to several other saint-sisters for inspiration “through the day.”
Grandel described St. Gianna Molla as “an example of charity and a messenger of divine love.”
St. Gianna, called the “martyr of maternal love,” was an Italian physician and mother who sacrificed her life for her unborn child in 1962, when she was diagnosed with a serious medical condition while pregnant.
Grandel said the saint’s courage and love for her unborn child “speaks volumes” and inspires her to sacrifice for her own six children, whom she cares for and homeschools.
Grandel is another devotee of St. Therese of Lisieux, who has helped her become “more aware of Christ in the little things you have to do.”
When Grandel faces a busy day or a “mountain” of dirty laundry, she thinks of St. Therese, who “saw Christ in the dirty dishes.”
St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine, is another saint who inspires Grandel — for her patience and constant hope. St. Monica prayed for 17 years that her pagan son would change his ways.
Grandel also looks to St. Maria Goretti, who defended her virginal purity against an attacker.
Grandel said that St. Maria’s example is also important for her children, whose virginal purity is “precious.”
Grandel said that despite the differences in the saints, she sees the feminine genius in them all.
“They could see beyond the cloud that society creates and they could see the graces of self-sacrifice — and they understood the power of love,” she explained.
Grandel added that she was introduced to the saints and the Blessed Mother at a very young age.
“They became part of my family. They became my sisters, my mother in Christ,” she said.
While Grandel’s earthly mother is still alive, she lives far away. So when Grandel is troubled during the course of the day, she goes to her heavenly family for help.
“Someday, I won’t have my mother,” Grandel said. So, “they’ll be my strength.”
Founder of Bean’s Café and Safe Harbor receives award
Lynne Ballew, the founder of Bean’s Café and Safe Harbor Inn in Anchorage, was chosen by the Sisters of Providence to receive the 2008 Mother Joseph Award.
Bean’s Cafe serves about 20,000 meals each month to the disadvantaged, and Harbor Inn is Alaska’s first and only nonprofit motel for homeless families and people with disabilities.
The Mother Joseph Award is given annually to a person who “exemplifies the values and courage of Mother Joseph,” the first provincial superior of the Sisters of Providence in the West. It will be presented at a reception at 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, at Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Ballew has spearheaded or helped to create many successful organizations, including the Division of Low- and Moderate-Income Housing at the Federal National Mortgage Association in Washington, D.C. It was there that she found her true interest and calling, “developing housing for people with special needs who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”
In Anchorage, half of the guests at the Safe Harbor Inn are children under the age of 18, reflecting the increasing number of families needing transitional housing. Nearly all of the staff members are former Safe Harbor guests. Many of the guests are beneficiaries of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, Safe Harbor’s largest public donor, which supports organizations providing services to people with chronic mental illness and related disabilities.
Ballew lives at Safe Harbor Inn as its volunteer director, using her room as both home and office.
The Inn, which opened in November 2001 with 21 rooms in an older, remodeled hotel, has been filled to capacity since it opened. It has expanded three times to its current 55 rooms, which provide 80 percent of the transitional housing in Anchorage for homeless families. The fourth expansion comes this month with the opening of Safe Harbor Muldoon in a former Ramada Inn in east Anchorage, adding another 50 rooms of transitional housing for homeless families.
Ballew graduated from Vanderbilt University with majors in Latin, Greek and philosophy and received her Ph.D. in classical philology from Vanderbilt in 1975. She has had a long and varied career in eleven states as a developer, lender, finance specialist, writer, editor, Greek philosophy professor and community activist.
Sisters of Providence is a religious order that serves the poor and vulnerable through education, parish ministry, health care, community service, housing, prison ministry, pastoral care, spiritual direction and retreats, and foreign missions. The Mother Joseph Province encompasses Alaska, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Washington and El Salvador.
News & Notes
Feast of Christ the King
On Nov. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King.
According to the Old and New Testaments, Christ’s kingdom is eternal and encompasses all Creation. That is not only Catholic nations and baptized persons, but also “all those who are deprived of the Christian faith,” explained Pope Leo XIII in his 1899 encyclical, “Annum Sacrum.”
As “there is no other name under heaven given to men whereby we must be saved,” Pope Pius XI said, Christ the King is “author of happiness and true prosperity for every man and for every nation.”
In 1925, Pope Pius XI established the feast day of Christ the King to combat that anti-clericalism, which denies Christ’s spiritual authority over mankind and the world.
Pope Pius XI lamented in his day, that “the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ and his holy law out of their lives” – the private as well as political spheres.
He added that rebellion against God results in rivalries between nations, insatiable greed, private quarrels, blind selfishness and the undermining of the unity and stability of the family. Renouncing Christ’s kingship leaves “society in a word, shaken to its foundations and on the way to ruin,” he said.
By refocusing mankind’s eyes on the King of kings, the pope hoped to help man secure order, “real liberty” and peace that can be found only in the Kingdom of Christ.
On the feast day, the laity can pledge their loyalty to Christ the King in an “enthronement of the Sacred Heart” ceremony at home, a tradition in which a family places an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in a place of honor in their home and prays the “Act of Dedication of the Human Race to Jesus Christ King,” which is listed below.
Most sweet Jesus,
Redeemer of the human race,
look down upon us humbly prostrate before You.
We are Yours, and Yours we wish to be;
but to be more surely united with You,
behold each one of us freely consecrates himself today
to Your Most Sacred Heart.
Many indeed have never known You;
many, too, despising Your precepts, have rejected You.
Have mercy on them all, most merciful Jesus,
and draw them to your Sacred Heart.
Be King, O Lord,
not only of the faithful who have never forsaken You,
but also of the prodigal who have abandoned You;
grant that they may quickly return to their Father’s house,
lest they die of wretchedness and hunger.
Be King of those who are deceived by erroneous opinions,
or whom discord keeps aloof,
and call them back to the harbor of truth and the unity
of faith,
so that soon there may be but one flock and one Shepherd.
Grant, O Lord, to Your Church assurance of freedom
and immunity from harm;
give tranquility of order to all nations;
make the earth resound from pole to pole with one cry:
Praise to the Divine Heart that wrought our salvation;
to it be glory and honor for ever.
Amen.
Love and marriage series offered
St. Benedict’s Youth Ministry just began a six-week series of one-hour courses for area high school seniors and college students on Catholic marriage. The topics include: the nature of real love, discerning vocations, preparing for marriage, healthy dating and faith in marriage. The talks include a question and answer period and take place Sundays at 1 p.m. in the Upper Room at St. Benedict Church. Another series starts after Christmas. Teens and young adults interested in joining either series can contact Bob McMorrow at 273-1552 or email rmcmorrow2@aol.com.
Cathedral hosts fall bazaar Nov. 15
On Nov. 15, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Holy Family Cathedral hosts its annual fall bazaar. The bazaar offers holiday crafts, baked goods and home-canned delicacies, as well as hot lunches and desserts. For more information, contact Dona Boschee at 646-4626 or Betty Libbey at 562-4552.
Exhibit puts face on adoption
Beautiful photographs of Anchorage’s children who are seeking adoptive parents will be displayed on Adoption Day, Nov. 20, at the Captain Cook Hotel. Each photo is framed with a quote from and information about the child. For more information, contact sara.childress@alaska.gov.
Thanksgiving for those in need
On Nov. 24, 3-8 p.m., the Knights of Columbus at St. Patrick Church is teaming with Catholic Social Services to host a traditional Thanksgiving meal for people in need. The dinner will take place at St. Patrick, 2111 Muldoon Road. To volunteer or to donate items, contact Melissa Bartley at 222-7344.
Poinsettias on sale
Lumen Christi students are selling Christmas poinsettias to raise funds for the school. Supporters of Catholic education are encouraged to purchase one of the decorative plants, which are $12 each. For more information, call 245-9231.
Book sales offer aid for refugees
Catholic Social Services will publish a book based on its photographic exhibit, “Expressions of Refugee Youth,” which features refugees resettled by the CSS Refugee Assistance & Immigrations Services program. The coffee-table book – available in time for Christmas – costs $45. For more information, contact Katie Bender at 222-7738.
Financial appeal for retired religious
On Dec. 14, Catholic parishes in the Archdiocese of Anchorage will conduct the 21st annual appeal for the Retirement Fund for Religious. In 2007, the appeal distributed $23 million in “Basic Grants” to 482 Catholic religious institutes of women and men across the country. The Archdiocese of Anchorage contributed $90,154.11 last year. Women and men religious who ministered in the Archdiocese of Anchorage and are now retired benefit through the grants awarded to their motherhouses or administrative headquarters. More than 37,000 Catholic religious are now past age 70. And more than 4,900 retired religious women and men require skilled nursing care.
Nominations begin for 2009 St. Francis Awards
The St. Francis of Assisi Awards project, instituted in 2001 in honor of Archbishop Emeritus Francis T. Hurley to annually recognize those who exemplify the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, is seeking nominations for the 2009 awards. Nominations may be made in three categories: priest, deacon, sister or brother; lay person; and youth or youth group. The deadline to submit nominations is 5 p.m. Jan. 12. The awards banquet takes place on Feb. 12 at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel. For more information, contact Julie Varee at 297-7718.
Children need snow gear
Children staying at Catholic Social Services Clare House, an emergency shelter for women and children, are in need of snow pants, gloves, hats and coats. Donations may be delivered to 420 West 54th Avenue. For more information, call 563-4545.
Winter needs for homeless shelter
For the hungry and homeless this winter, Catholic Social Services’ Brother Francis Shelter is seeking donations of non-perishable foods and clothing, particularly socks, undergarments and men’s belts – as well as stackable chairs to accommodate additional guests on the coming colder days. Donations may be delivered to the shelter at 1021 East 3rd Ave. For more information, call 277-1731.
The Order of Preachers (Dominicans)
Religious Profile
The Order of Preachers, more commonly known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order consisting of priests, brothers, nuns, sisters and lay members. The order has the mission to “preach the truth and teach the doctrine of the church,” explained Father Vincent Kelber of the Dominicans’ Western Province and parochial vicar at Holy Family Cathedral in Anchorage. The Dominicans’ work is “missionary,” he added. According to the Dominicans’ Web site, the order is committed to going “as far as need be to preach the Word of God to those who do not yet know it.”
There are three Dominican priests in Alaska: Father Francis Le, Father Vincent Kelber and Father Dominic DeMaio. In addition, there are four Adrian Dominican sisters, which were featured in the religious profile from the Feb. 22, 2008 issue of the Catholic Anchor.
The Order of Preachers or Dominicans were founded in 1206 by St. Dominic, a Spanish nobleman and priest, to combat the heresy of Albigensianism which fails to recognize the sanctity of the body.
In 1206, Dominic and Diego de Acebo, bishop of Osma, offered their services to Pope Innocent III to save souls. The pope asked them to reclaim for Christ the Cathars, adherents of a heretical movement in Languedoc, France. So by foot, Dominic and Bishop de Acebo traveled through area’s villages, preaching along the way. When the bishop died, Dominic continued with the help of a number of women who had left the Cathars.
In 1215, Dominic and a group of brother companions established a community in Toulouse and adopted a rule of religious life based on St. Augustine. In 1216, Pope Honorius III confirmed the order, soon after which Dominic sent the brothers two by two to continue preaching. The order’s first constitutions were approved in 1220. Dominic - who had become famous for his constant prayer, acts of penance and love of souls - died in 1221. In life and after his death, a number of miracles have been attributed to the intercession of Dominic. In 1234, Pope Gregory IX recognized Dominic as saint.
The Western Dominican Province – formally called the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus – was established in 1850 by a Dominican bishop from Aragon, Spain who traveled by covered wagon across the United States to California.
According to Father Kelber, the greatest number of saints recognized by the church are Dominicans. They include St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Martin de Porres, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Louis de Montfort and Pope St. Pius V. The Dominicans are known as the “Hounds of the Lord.” The nickname refers to a vision St. Dominic’s mother experienced while pregnant with the saint. In the vision, a black and white dog with a torch in its mouth appeared, and wherever it went, it set fire to the earth. Later, the black-and-white-robed Dominicans were said to the earth ablaze with the Word of God.
According to Father Kelber, the Dominicans plan to stay in Alaska.
To investigate a religious vocation with the Dominicans, contact Father Steven Maekawa, Promoter of Vocations for the Western Dominican Province, at (510)-596-1821 or log onto www.opwest.org/vocations/.
Editorial
Old roots are source of new life
In three weeks Holy Family Cathedral will begin monthly celebrations of the Dominican rite Latin Mass, which developed in the 13th century (see story on page one).
By early 2009, the archdiocese also plans to offer monthly celebrations of the old Tridentine Mass — the standard celebration of the Roman rite from the Council of Trent (1570) until shortly after Vatican II (1962-65).
Some might be tempted to view the revival of these old Masses as a regression into history, when what the church really needs are fresh ideas to revive 21st-century Catholic faith. This interpretation, while understandable, misses the complexity of the moment.
There is no doubt that Vatican II left a profound and needed impact on the Catholic Church. Anchor readers following the ongoing series by Father James Oberle, S.S. (see page 10), are getting a glimpse into the history and influence of this pivotal council.
One of the council’s main goals was to reform the liturgy so as to enable the faithful to more actively participate in and understand the sacredness of the Mass.
At the time of Vatican II, Pope Benedict XVI (then Father Joseph Ratzinger) was a brilliant young theologian and an ardent supporter of the council’s goals.
After the council had concluded its work, Pope Paul VI, in 1970, approved a renewed liturgy (called the Novus Ordo) for the Roman rite. It was quickly translated and enthusiastically celebrated in many different languages all across the world.
There remained, however, a number of Catholics attached to the older Tridentine Mass – celebrated in the traditional Latin.
In an Oct. 2007 letter to his brother bishops, Pope Benedict XVI specifically addressed this ongoing reality and explained his reasons for choosing to allow an expanded use of old Tridentine Mass by issuing his 2007 papal letter “Summorum Pontificum.”
The pope acknowledged that some Catholics were attached to the old Mass because it was familiar to them from childhood. Others, however, were drawn to the Tridentine Mass because, in many instances, celebrations of the newer form “were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal,” and celebrations of the new Mass “frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.”
At one point, Pope Benedict cites personal experience, saying “I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusions.”
It is important to understand that the pope never levies criticism against new form of the Mass in and of itself. Rather he criticizes the abuses and innovations that distorted the full and faithful celebration of the new Mass.
A little further into his letter, the pope expresses hope that the older and newer forms of the Roman rite Mass would mutually enrich each other.
Specifically, he says the newer Mass could be elevated by the older, allowing the new form to more powerfully demonstrate the “sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage.”
Again, it is key to understand that the pope writes that the new Mass, “when it is celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives,” can certainly unite parish communities and be loved by them.
He concludes his introductory letter by stating the “positive reason” for why he decided to encourage more frequent use of the old Mass.
“In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture,” he states. “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them proper place.”
Earlier in the letter, the pope observes that it isn’t just older Catholics who wish to participate in the Tridentine Mass. “Young persons too,” he writes, “have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist.”
In the next few weeks, Catholics in the Anchorage Archdiocese will have opportunities to experience some of the ancient treasures of their Catholic tradition.
In celebrating the old Dominican and Tridentine Masses, the Anchorage Archdiocese is not regressing into history, but merely acknowledging that the church is ever ancient and ever new. The expanded celebration of these Masses should be welcomed as part of the legitimate diversity within the Universal Catholic Church.
- Joel Davidson, editor
Columns
Life is shorter by a year
Autumn is a lovely time of year in Northern Indiana where I now live. Today on a brisk, sunny afternoon, I ventured out into a patch of isolated woodland off the borders of the University of Notre Dame, carrying with me a copy of T.S. Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral and a book of meditations from The Journals of Thomas Merton.
I sat on an old, rotting stump, my back to the warm sun, near a dwarf crab apple tree, all quiet, hoping to get some feel or intuition into the state of my health, spiritual and otherwise. A white tail deer sauntered by just then, looking my way intently then snorting and bounding off.
The closing days of autumn are upon us, I thought, the end of the church year as well, the Thirty Fourth Sunday, named also for Christ our king.
It was all this that drew me to that quiet woodland of a Wednesday afternoon where nature stood in its private quietness, arrayed in all its beauty of red and gold and in its state of decay as well.
The Scriptures: 1 Corinthians15:20-2 Matthew 25:31-46 |
All things die, I thought, all nature, all created life is in an extended state of decay and a state of renewal but not yet evident. It will be spring before true life is recognizable once again.
So, that is what I thought about under that crab apple tree: My life is shorter by a year. What of my spiritual life? A year of grace has just ended, another to come…I trust.
End times, it seems to me, always draw forth from us reflections on our states of health, spiritual and physical. Advent season, only a week away, promises to give us a renewed sense that another round of life lies open before us with all its possibilities, its struggles, even its possible failures.
So, on this Wednesday afternoon before the ending Sunday of the church year, I sat and waited, nothing in particular bothering me, just waiting and imagining what the new year might bring.
That is why I brought T.S. Eliot’s beautiful poem/play, Murder in the Cathedral with me. (I read it each October at church year’s end and Advent’s beginning. It is the story, of course, of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, venerated as a saint and martyr. He is engaged in a battle over the rights and privileges of the church, assassinated, finally, in Canterbury cathedral by King John’s knights. So, the reader waits to see what will transpire. “We wait in decaying October,” the chorus of women wail, “we wait, we wait and the saints and martyrs wait. Destiny waits in the hand of God shaping the still unshapen.”
Finishing reading that opening section of the book, it seemed to me that Becket’s waiting, the women’s waiting, stood as a kind of metaphor for our own life’s waiting. We do not know what the Advent of a new year will bring. So, we wait, not idly, not standing by. Having learned a thing of two about our life during these passing seasons, another decaying October will not find us unprepared. We begin, yes, we begin here and now to create and form our days and make them sacred.
End days, end times, the unrealized future will always be our tutors. We learn from experience and we plan for better days. Time shall not catch us unawares this time, no indeed. The future lies open before us, as always. Grace is everywhere.
The writer formerly served the Anchorage Archdiocese as director of pastoral education. He now lives and writes in Notre Dame, IN
Let us pray for a prophet
I saw a sculpture when I visited the Vatican Museum that haunts me still. I can’t remember who the artist was, and I’ve looked all through the Internet trying to find it again, to no avail.
It was a sculpture of John the Baptist. He looked absolutely haggard, hair wild and frenzied. He was dressed in “a garment made of camel hair” and truly looked like he subsisted — barely — on “locusts and wild honey.” (Matt. 3:4)Physically, he was a shocking, apocalyptic figure.
But he looked resolutely ahead, like a man who saw what others couldn’t see.
The artwork stood out among the grandeur of the Vatican. The statue’s stark, bold simplicity proclaimed that here, indeed, was a prophet.
People need prophets, we crave them, we pray for them, we’re fascinated by them, and then, often, we kill them. If we don’t destroy them, then at the least we laugh them out of town or pick them to pieces.
Take Jeremiah, the Hebrew Testament’s powerful but reluctant prophet (Jer 20). Jeremiah was called to prophecy — and yes, indeed, one doesn’t choose to be a prophet, one is called. Jeremiah was called at a time of disaster for the Hebrew people, so the events he spoke of were grim. He hated having to do it — he had been, he lamented, made a laughingstock.
But then, he was overpowered by God … “it was like a fire burning in my heart.
He was compelled to speak out. “You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced.”
Prophets and power don’t mix. Prophets must, in that time-worn phrase, “speak truth” to power. They, like Christ himself, are seen in the world’s eyes as coming from a position of weakness — a crucified Savior being a difficult thing for power to come to terms with.
Once, I read about a woman who was arrested following a demonstration at a nuclear weapons site. I have forgotten all the circumstances — where, when — but I remember that she was sentenced to a considerable prison term, and she had small children at home.
How, I thought, can she justify this activism when her children need her? I will never forget her reply: “If your children were in a burning building, would you not rush into that building to try to save them? Well, we live in a burning world.”
That woman was a prophet.
Oscar Romero was a prophet. He didn’t start out as one. He walked a straight line with the authorities; like many bishops in Central America at the time he fraternized with power. But then, through the death of a priest-friend, Romero received his call to prophecy and from then on, he faced down power until he was gunned down at the altar. Like Jeremiah, he could say, “All those who were on good terms with me watched for my downfall.”(Jer 20:10)
But Romero lives on in the Salvadoran people.
Dorothy Day was a prophet. Her friend, Peter Maurin, with whom she founded the Catholic Worker, was a great intellectual. But it was Dorothy, who rolled up her sleeves, fed the poor, went to jail countless times, who remains for us the woman on fire.
It’s no coincidence prophets speak of fire so often — isn’t that our image of the Holy Spirit?
I think Catholics today yearn deeply for a prophet, perhaps another Cardinal Joseph Bernardin who could proclaim a larger vision and help us transcend our petty squabbles. We yearn for someone who will speak boldly.
Let us pray for a prophet, and the courage to receive one.
The writer is a stewardship and hospitality coordinator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Anchorage
There is a little mystic in each of us
Generally speaking a mystic is someone who has a profound direct experience of God in prayer. Therefore, Christian mysticism simply means the spirituality of the direct experience of God. Since this is the case, the answer to the second part of your question is a resounding “YES!” Anyone can be a mystic. The key is in recognizing who are the ‘holy people?’”
The Second Vatican Council was very clear that by virtue of our baptism, we are all called to be the “Holy People.” Each of us is called to personal holiness for our sake and the sake of the world. This is seen very strongly in the First Letter of Peter where we read, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart.” (1 Peter 2:9).
To be “holy” literally means to be set apart for God. So in the most basic sense, we are already “holy.” The challenge is to live and pray in a manner which reflects that calling. That is where prayer comes in.
In the life of the church, there are three kinds of prayer: liturgical prayer, group prayer and private, personal prayer. One can have the direct experience of God in all three. In the liturgy and the sacraments, if one is properly disposed, the direct experience of God is assured, in varying degrees, according to the spiritual formation and disposition of the individual. This is because the grace of the sacraments is certain if they are properly celebrated.
Likewise, many people have profoundly experienced the presence of God in the group prayer settings, such as Rosary prayer groups, Taizé Prayer, or charismatic prayer groups for instance. And the spiritual history of the church is rich with accounts of people, such as Teresa of Avila or St. Francis and others who had profound mystical experiences at prayer.
The key here, of course, is to pray. One cannot encounter the risen Christ in prayer if one is not praying on a regular basis. I advise people to start simply. Spiritual exercise is a lot like physical exercise. Nobody runs a marathon the first time they go jogging. It takes months and years to work up to that level.
Another key is consistency. If you cannot find ten minutes a day for personal prayer with Christ, then quite frankly your life is out of control and you need to make changes.
We are all called to holiness and therefore we all have a little bit of mystic in each one of us.
The writer is pastor at St. Andrew Church in Eagle River and a lifelong Alaskan. To send Father Leo Walsh a question, e-mail him at lwalsh@caa-ak.org
Renewing liturgy was the important first step in renewing the church
Editor’s note: This is the part of an ongoing series that explores the impact and significance of the Second Vatican Council.
The Second Vatican Council Fathers chose the liturgy as the most important first step in the Church’s renewal. The final vote on this document, “Sacrosanctum Concilium,” was 2,147 in favor and 4 opposed.
In choosing the liturgy (the public worship of the church) the council rightly perceived that this was the most important aspect of Catholic life. The Mass has always been recognized as our most central focus.
But why did 99.8% of the bishops and cardinals think that the Mass, the sacraments, and the Liturgy of the Hours needed renewal and updating?
My sense is that while Catholics were attending Mass they were not actively participating. Many people prayed their rosary or completed other devotional practices. Please, do not misunderstand me! The rosary and other devotions are essential; they are, however, not the best. At the very top is the Eucharist. This is the source and summit of our Catholic life.
Since that Mass was in a language that most people did not understand and since much of it was said in a low voice, most people could not be fully engaged in the celebration. While the bells at Mass have a certain aesthetic richness, the real function was to draw the people’s attention from what they were doing to the central focus on the Mass. Thus, the bells were rung at the Sanctus (Holy, Holy) and at the elevation of the Host and the Precious Blood.
In the first few paragraphs of the “Constitution on the sacred Liturgy,” the theological and philosophical rationale for change is outlined. In paragraph one, the council lists four goals. These are to impart vigor, to adapt, to promote unity, and to strengthen the faithful.
While the liturgy is timeless, it must be able to speak to the participants. Also, while Christ is the one who nourishes us, we must be able to acknowledge that nourishment in how we live our lives.
In making the change to the vernacular (although Latin is still the official language of the Mass and the sacraments), the church wanted to engage participants in the celebration. Similarly, in having the priest face the people, the church saw the priest in dialogue with God and the people. The priest would serve as a pontifex (a bridge).
I noted above that liturgy is the public worship of the church. It has very specific rules and regulations. Devotions are called private worship. They permit more flexibility. But as the public worship it is communal, and the dialogue by its very nature requires a response.
The two changes in language and posture usher in a whole series of other changes. Some were foreseen and others took everyone by surprise. Could we get suitable translations from the Latin? This is something that the church is still struggling with.
In having the priest face the people a whole new emphasis is placed on his presiding skills. All of his actions are now seen and heard. Does he evoke a sense of awe and reverence? Is there gracefulness in his presiding?
Having noted the above, I think everyone would agree that people now respond at the appropriate times in Mass. People now hear the Scriptures proclaimed in a language they can understand. The homily which now replaces the sermon is based on the Scripture that has been proclaimed. Before the council the sermon was more like a catechetical instruction than an explanation of the Scriptures.
In the revised Lectionary we now hear much more of the Old and New Testament. We now have a three-year cycle where a year is devoted to St. Matthew, one for St. Mark and one for St. Luke. St. John’s Gospel is proclaimed during some of the privileged parts of the liturgical year. There are now three readings on Sunday instead of two. The second reading is almost always from the letters of St. Paul.
On weekdays we now have a two-year cycle instead of a one-year cycle. The point of these changes is for the Catholic to hear more of the Scriptures proclaimed.
The challenge is now good preaching. It is incumbent for the homilist to be well prepared. The homily must be capable of nourishing our spiritual journey. Additionally, it must assist the parishioner in making virtuous and ethical decisions.
We will continue our reflection on the Mass and the sacraments in the next issue.
‘Secularists’ have their own brand of religion
We frequently hear the idea that in a democratic society, religious views have no place in politics. The loudest voices making this claim are the secular atheists, who promote this idea through groups like the ACLU and the Freedom From Religion Foundation. They argue that religious ideas should be kept out of public policy because religion is a subjective matter of faith. At the same time, they assert that it is perfectly appropriate for their beliefs to shape politics because the secular position stands on the firm ground of reason, science and objectivity. According to this position, a non-religious worldview should inform our politics, and religious convictions should be a private affair that is kept in the closet.
Religion though, is what defines our core beliefs about reality, about who we are and why we are here. If these beliefs are not to serve as our guide in the discussion about how to pursue the worldly common good, then what else could serve as a guide?
This is not a question of whether religion can inform politics, but whether anything else can inform politics.
Chesterton said that religion is not the church we go to, but the cosmos we live in. Why shouldn’t our understanding of the world around us figure into our beliefs about what makes good public policy? The secular atheists are not shy about openly advocating that their worldview be incorporated into politics, why should religious people keep their worldviews to themselves? The answer of course, is because it is religious.
But really, it occurs to me that this secular view is also religious. This materialist worldview that excludes a creator is a well-defined belief system that meets all the defining characteristics of a religion; It has a creation story, a comprehensive morality, a creed, dogmas, sins, heresies and even end-times prophesies. Together, these make up the Religion of Secularism — the cosmos that a secular atheist lives in.
Asserting that God does not exist is a bold statement of faith that has deep implications for matters of politics. While the secularist likes to think their cosmos rests firmly on hard facts, their dogmas are matters of faith. For example, science can propose a scenario where life came about by chance, but to claim that it definitively happened that way requires a leap of faith that is positively unscientific. Ultimately the secular worldview relies just as heavily on faith as any other religious worldview.
Like Christianity, the Religion of Secularism has different denominations with different dogmas, but the fact is they do have dogmas. If you doubt this, challenge a ‘faithful Secularist’ on abortion, global warming, or any number of dogmatic issues and they usually respond with non-negotiable religious zeal rather than cool rationalism. A discussion between a Secularist and a Christian is not a matter of a rational position engaging a religious one, but rather of one religious view engaging another religious view.
The point is that Secularism’s claim to be above religion is not a valid one. Rather than having a monopoly on the political discussion, Secularism should be on an equal footing with other religions.
If it is reasonable for the Secularist to shape their politics according to their worldview, then it is reasonable for the Christian to do the same. To do this, we should use reason to make the best case for our ideas and submit them to the meat grinder of American politics.
What we shouldn’t do is be intimidated into ignoring or denying our religious convictions when it comes to politics. Nor should we let the secularists set the terms of the conversation because they claim to be above religion. The Secularists are not only religious, but in a way they set an admirable example of what it means to be religious; They are tireless evangelizers and are absolutely unapologetic about living their faith. In that way, we should be more like them.
The writer is a Catholic artist in the Archdiocese of Anchorage.
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