Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Bishops have received a letter from Pope Francis as they gather in northern Illinois at Mundelein Seminary this week. The weeklong retreat is taking place at the invitation of Pope Francis who has asked all bishops in the United States to pause in prayer as the Church seeks to respond to the signs of the times.

The Preacher to the Papal Household, Capuchin Friar Father Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., is directing the retreat under the theme of “He appointed Twelve, to be with Him and to Send Out to Preach” based on Mark 3:14. The structure of the retreat includes time for quiet reflection, including silent meal times, daily Mass, time for personal and communal prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, vespers, and an opportunity for confession. No ordinary business is being conducted during the retreat.

Mundelein Seminary, located on the campus of the University of St. Mary of the Lake, is the principal seminary and school of theology for the formation of priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and educates nearly 200 seminarians from 34 dioceses across the country and around the world.

Click to read the letter from Pope Francis

Click to read National Catholic Register report

(By Judy Keane | Catholic News Service—CNS photo by Bob Roller)

STAMFORD—In advance of Connecticut Governor-Elect Ned Lamont’s Inauguration on Wednesday, January 9, 2019, he will be visiting Catholic Charities of Fairfield County’s program, New Covenant Center, on Sunday, January 6.

The Governor-Elect chose the 40-year-old food insecurity program in Stamford in recognition of providing over 600,000 meals each year through their 365-day-a-year Café (Soup Kitchen) and three-day-a-week Food Pantry. Mr. Lamont will make his first stop at New Covenant at 11 am and plans to stay 30-45 minutes. This is part of his five-stop “Day of Service” throughout the state. Susan Bysiewicz, the Lieutenant Governor-Elect, will also visit various nonprofits throughout Connecticut.

“We are honored that Mr. Lamont has selected New Covenant Center as his ‘inaugural’ stop on his Day of Service to draw attention to nonprofit agencies that are helping those most in need,” said John Gutman, executive director of the program.  “He will be assisting other volunteers and staff in the preparation of our Sunday lunch.”

The Governor is encouraging lower Fairfield County residents to donate food items for New Covenant’s food pantry or make monetary donations. This can be done between 10 am and 1:30 pm on Sunday, January 6. The Center is located at 174 Richmond Hill Avenue, at the corner of Fairfield Avenue and Richmond Hill Avenue. Please enter through the front double-glass doors on the corner.

The mission of New Covenant Center is to provide a nutritious meal to all those who are hungry. By creating a safe, warm and compassionate environment, they are taking the first steps toward empowering men, women, and children to reach their full potential and regain their dignity and self-respect.

(For more information and to get involved, visit the Governor-elect’s website.)

FAIRFIELD—St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School announced that it will expand its pre-kindergarten program for the 2019-2020 school year. The new program will include children who turn three-years-old on or by August 31.

Jo Ann Mathieson, principal, said the development of a two-year pre-school program was by popular demand. “The emphasis of a two-year preschool is to build on, expand the child’s experiences and ultimately prepare for kindergarten. We are making this change to best accommodate the needs of families working or living in Fairfield, Westport and the surrounding area. The expanded program hours mirror the hours of our regular school day. All pre-k children will also have the additional option to arrive as early as 7:30 am and stay until 5:30 pm.  Flexible schedules and shorter options are also available.”

The school has an experienced and dedicated group of early education professionals who love working with this age group. Shelby Vosk, program director, is a proponent of mixed age benefits for preschoolers, “We strive to meet the needs of each child in our program which takes the best practices from Montessori, play-based and kindergarten readiness skills programs. The classroom is divided into learning centers to enable a broad developmental range, free and creative play, theme-based curriculum and age-appropriate religious education.  We have benchmarks for three and four-year-olds and differentiating skills assessments. Our goal is to provide each child the foundations needed for elementary advancement.”

St. Thomas will hold a school-wide open house on Sunday, January 27 between the hours of 10 am and noon.  Families living or working in Fairfield, Westport and surrounding towns are encouraged to stop by, take a tour, and speak to the administration, faculty and other parents.

The school is conveniently located in the heart of downtown Fairfield at 1719 Post Road.

(For additional information please contact Barbara Turner, director of admissions, at 203.255.0556 x.225 or Barbara.turner@stasonline.net.)

I’m sorry…I didn’t mean it
I take it back
Strike it from the record

What is as irreversible as murder, violates its victims more than theft, is as deadly as an epidemic? And is a lot closer to you than you want to think?

Gossip, slander, and thoughtless speech. Gossip is a million-dollar industry in our country today. We tend to think of it as a sport, harmless and fun. After all, it’s only words. We even have shows devoted to it.

As Christians, we are called to see things differently. Which is worse, we must ask, to steal from someone or to speak ill of someone? To defraud a person or to humiliate him? Answer: Property can be restored, but the damage done to another can never be undone. In fact, our Jewish brothers and sisters compared slander and humiliation with murder: the destruction is irreparable and enduring.

You can’t take it back. What we say about each other is terribly powerful: words have a long, long half-life, and they can destroy in unseen, unhealable ways.

Our words are a footprint we leave for the world. What will they reveal about the way we treat our children, our parents, our friends, students, co-workers, employees? How we treat ourselves?

It’s a new year. Perhaps none of us will find a cure for cancer, or feed the world’s hungry, or bring about world peace. But nearly every day we find ourselves with someone’s reputation or sense of worth in our hands.

We can improve our world in a powerful, pervasive way; we can act as though our words had the power of life and death.

They do.

About this Reflection

 
When I was a child, there was an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal with the headline and text above, though I have edited some text. The ad was in celebration of the Jewish New Year, I believe. My mother, wise as she was, cut it out and posted it on the refrigerator. If you said or did something that warranted further reflection, you got to stand in front of the full page of newsprint. In time, I had it memorized. When her children moved out of the house, my mother made sure we each got a copy. Mine hangs on the refrigerator and I can still say it by heart. We learn slowly as children…and sometimes more slowly as adults.

Happy New Year One and All.

– Patrick Donovan (Director, The Leadership Institute)

NORWALK — A Ridgefield man is purchasing WNLK-AM 1350 radio and will begin broadcasting EWTN programming throughout Fairfield County, the north shore of Long Island and parts of Westchester after the application is approved by the FCC, a process that typically takes 45 days.

Steve Lee, President & CEO of Veritas Catholic Network Inc., is purchasing the station and an FM translator W280FX at 103.9 MHz from Sacred Heart University, which owns several AM and FM stations. The translator will allow Veritas to simulcast on the FM dial.

Veritas plans to broadcast EWTN programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week in addition to providing local coverage of Catholic and community events.

Lee said the EWTN programming will include “Catholic Answers Live,” “Called to Communion” with Dr. David Anders, “Kresta in the Afternoon,” “The Doctor Is In” with Dr. Ray Guarendi and “Christ Is the Answer” with Father John Riccardo.

Veritas will also simulcast shows like “The World Over” with Raymond Arroyo and classic programs featuring Mother Angelica and Father Benedict Groeschel.

He said Veritas will have a local presence at parish festivals, school fairs, sporting events and conferences at Catholic colleges and universities. Some morning drive-time shows he plans to produce will feature a rotating cast of clergy, including Bishop Frank Caggiano, parish and school news, and programs for young people and religious communities in the area. In addition, he plans coverage of community events such as the Norwalk Oyster Festival.

Listeners will also be able to live stream through the veritascatholic.com website and an app that is being developed.

Lee hopes to begin broadcasting in several months, and his future plans include building an office and a studio.

Bishop Caggiano, who is on the board of Veritas, has said, “The Lord can touch people in profound ways while they are sitting on the Merritt Parkway.” He has voiced his support of the effort, which he called “a new frontier for our Diocese.”

Lee, who worked in finance on Wall Street, stresses the importance of radio in evangelizing and bringing the Catholic faith to listeners.

“I’m sure there is a woman in Fairfield County who is pregnant and scared and thinking about having an abortion,” he said. “And a young man who is questioning his faith and a homebound lonely grandmother with no family nearby. We will bring them the truth and beauty and goodness of the Catholic faith. We can help that young mother, that young man and that grandmother. We can bring Christ to them. We will do it because we have a mandate, a duty as Catholics, to evangelize.”

The mission of Veritas Catholic Network, he said, is to share the truth of the Gospel and fullness of the Catholic faith by broadcasting faithful and entertaining programs on multiple media platforms.

“Catholic radio is a consistent, steady, faithful teacher, and our broadcast will be available day and night,” Lee said. “People will be able to encounter Christ through what we bring them.”

Lee cited research that suggested 93 percent of Americans 12 and older listen to terrestrial radio every week and that 82 percent of media consumers 18 and older prefer AM/FM radio.

“There is a great market here, with 400,000 Catholics,” he said. “Our diocese benefits from an outstanding bishop and strong priests, but like Catholics everywhere, there is a need for a new evangelization that spreads the faith. We hope to extend the Sunday experience out to all seven days so that Catholics in the diocese can become more involved and more educated.”

A survey of 1100 EWTN listeners showed that 56 percent said Catholic radio helped them teach their children, 58 percent increased the amount of time they give to others, and 51 percent became more involved in their parishes. In addition, 127 respondents said it helped save their marriages, 78 converted to Catholicism and 129 considered a vocation to the priesthood or religious life.

“Catholic radio has had remarkable effects on society, particularly in Catholic communities,” Lee said. “There are conversions to the Church, a deeper understanding of Catholic teaching among the faithful, a strengthening of Catholic families, support for Catholic schools and parishes, as well as for Catholic business owners who provide underwriting for these stations.”

There are currently 380 EWTN affiliates in the United States. After operations begin in Fairfield County, Lee hopes the network can expand further into Westchester County and New York City and eventually throughout Connecticut.

Lee and his wife, Roula, whom he credits with providing him spiritual and moral support for his initiative, live in Ridgefield with their three children.

Those who read the four Gospels and understand the power of the messages each Gospel carries has the opportunity to grow more deeply in faith. There is, according to the late Benedictine monk, Father Bargil Pixner, a fifth Gospel. Whereas the first four record the life of Jesus, the fifth invites you to walk in Jesus’ footsteps.

From July 18-27 2019, The Leadership Institute invites those between 19 and 35 to visit this “fifth Gospel” and travel to the Holy Land to study Sacred Scriptures and the life of our Lord and Savior. Beginning in Bethlehem and ending in Jerusalem, the pilgrimage will follow the life of Christ chronologically. The trip will also include a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee, a visit to the Mount of Beatitudes, and day in Capernaum, where Jesus taught and performed many signs of wonder.

“Pilgrims will celebrate Mass together each day, take turns leading reflections, and participate in classes that assist in their faith development,” said Bishop Caggiano, who accompanied the young adults for the 2018 pilgrimage in January. “This year’s pilgrimage was moved from March, when it was originally scheduled, to July. Our hope is that moving the pilgrimage to the summer will allow more of our school teachers to participate.”

“My own pilgrimage experience was a powerful week of reflection, prayer and spiritual growth,” said Grace Shay, who participated in the 2018 pilgrimage and will help guide the 2019 pilgrims on their journey. “There is something very special about traveling with others who are energized on the trip, but also working to navigate what it means to be a faithful disciple back home.”

Shay’s desire to grow in her faith was one of the reasons she took part in the inaugural pilgrimage. “There is no better way to continue our Catholic education and explore the foundations of our Catholic identity than by traveling to the source of our faith.”

Another one of the original pilgrims, Marcelle Morrisey, agreed. “We were in the same spot, physically and mentally, that the disciples were in. They had to figure out what they were going to do next. They had to muster up the courage to step out and be the witnesses they were called to be, which is exactly what my fellow pilgrims and I were called to do after what we experienced on our trip.”

Looking ahead, Shay hopes that other young adults will join the 2019 journey. “This is a chance for a personal encounter with the Lord,” Shay said. “Challenge yourself to grow more deeply in your faith in the place where it all began. Feel the breeze of the Sea of Galilee, read the Gospels among the olive trees and attend Mass in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre – and risk having your life turned upside down.”

“The cost is $3,500 per person,” according to Patrick Donovan, executive director of The Leadership Institute, which sponsors the pilgrimage. “This includes just about everything pilgrims will need.” Some scholarship money is available, and the complete registration process and scholarship information can be found on the Institute’s website, www.formationreimagined.org.

“Many of those who traveled with the bishop last year still get together to pray and study,” Donovan said, “Those who were friends before we left have only grown stronger and those who were strangers when we departed quickly became friends. One of the beautiful things about pilgrimages is the lasting impact the journey has on those who participate. I anticipate that will be no different this year. In fact, post-pilgrimage meetings are built into our schedule.”

“The bishop invites those that fall in this target age to consider joining the pilgrimage,” Donovan said. “I know it is a sacrifice to miss work or to try to arrange to be away from school, which is why we changed our plans from March to July. But the benefits far outweigh the costs. To wake up each day and find yourself walking in the footsteps of Jesus is a powerful antidote to the busyness in which we so often find ourselves.”

To learn more about the journey or how you can help sponsor participants, please email institute@diobpt.org.

Monsignor Stephen M. DiGiovanni, historian, author and pastor of The Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, tells the compelling story of Father Capodanno’s life, his missionary work in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and his service as chaplain during the Vietnam War, in a new book titled, “Armed with Faith: The Life of Father Vincent R. Capodanno, M.M.”

Servant of God Father Capodanno, who died at 38 on a hill in Vietnam during a fierce firefight on September 4, 1967, stands as an example for priests in our troubled time. A Navy chaplain, he often said that where his men were he wanted to be. He shared the hardships and the deprivations of war with them and was known among Marines as “the Grunt Padre.”

Throughout his 16 months in Vietnam, he was a humble hero, who never told his family about the military awards and decorations he received. He was a priest so committed to his Marines and to his faith that he ultimately died for them and was posthumously awarded our nation’s highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor. Now, he is being considered for a much higher honor — sainthood.

Vincent Capodanno was the youngest of ten children and named after his father, a native of Gaeta, Italy, who came to the United States in 1901 and worked as a ship caulker in New York City. Vincent attended P.S. 44 on Staten Island, where his classmates voted him “Best Looking” and “Best Dresser.” At the time, he wanted to be a doctor and he claimed as his motto, “Do a good turn daily.”

After graduating from Curtis High School, he began taking night classes at Fordham University. He attended daily Mass and Eucharistic adoration in the evening, and by the summer of 1949, he considered applying to the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, known as Maryknoll. He was inspired by the stories of missionaries that he read in the society’s magazine, The Field Afar.

Vincent Capodanno was ordained on June 14, 1958 by Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, and began his new life as a priest in Maryknoll, which actor Gene Autry famously described as “the Marine Corps of the Catholic Church,” Msgr. DiGiovanni said.

After seven years of missionary work in Taiwan and briefly in Hong Kong, he asked to be assigned as a Navy chaplain, and on December 28, 1965, he received a commission as lieutenant in the Navy Chaplain Corps. Soon after, he was sent to Vietnam.

On September 3, 1967, Father Capodanno said Mass in a village near Da Nang before moving out with the Marines on Operation Swift in the Que Song Valley.

A fierce battle began without warning, when a few companies of Marines confronted a regiment of 2,500 North Vietnamese. Two platoons of M Company from Father Capodanno’s battalion were being overrun by the enemy.

Eyewitnesses recalled that through the intense fighting, Father Capodanno was running unarmed from one wounded Marine to another on the battlefield to administer last rites, encourage them, tend to their wounds and pull them to safety.

He was wounded by rifle fire and then an exploding mortar shell. His arms and legs were bleeding and part of his right hand had been blown off, but he refused assistance from a corpsman and told him instead to help the others. He refused to leave the battle even though he was bleeding and choking from tear gas.

In his eulogy at Father Capodanno’s funeral, his friend and fellow chaplain Eli Takesian told the congregation, “Hearing the fatal news, a young Marine tearfully came to me and asked, ‘If life meant so much to Chaplain Capodanno, then why did he allow his own to be taken?’ ‘The answer is in your question,’ I replied. ‘It was precisely because he loved life—the lives of others —that he so freely gave of himself.’ His was the pilgrimage of a saint. Even to the end, he faithfully held to the precept of Our Lord that ‘greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.’”

Msgr. DiGiovanni’s book is a moving account of bravery and faith and Father Capodanno’s unselfish concern for servicemen in the struggle of battle. It is the story of a man who eschewed the glories of the world to follow Christ, even unto death. Equally important, Father Capodanno stands as an inspirational example of everything that Christ intended a Catholic priest to be.

Msgr. DiGiovanni had been asked to serve as the chairman of the historical commission of Father Capodanno’s cause for sainthood by Archbishop for the Military Services USA Timothy Broglio

For more information about Servant of God Father Vincent Capodanno, visit www.Capodannoguild.org.

By Joe Pisani

NORWALK, Conn. – Knights of Columbus’ Bishop Fenwick 4th Assembly #100 has been awarded the Supreme Council’s Civic Award. The Assembly is comprised of Fourth Degree Knights from various councils in Norwalk, Wilton and Westport.

The Assembly was presented with the award by Connecticut District Master Allyn Temple at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Waterbury.

The Supreme Civic Award is presented as a tribute to the spirit of patriotism and national pride exemplified in the patriotic activities conducted by all 4th Degree Assemblies. “Our #1 goal as an Assembly is to promote patriotism, support our veterans and defend our Catholic faith,” said Faithful Navigator George Ribellino, Jr. Assembly 100 is very active in such events as Columbus Day festivities, raising money for Veterans organizations including Homes for the Brave, American Legion and Fisher House CT and paying tribute to those men and women who have and still protect our freedoms in the United States.

Knights of Columbus Bishop Fenwick Assembly 100 is hosting its Third Annual Patriot Dinner on Saturday May 11, 2018 at 7p to benefit the Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes in Bridgeport. The fundraiser dinner will take place at the Knights Hall at St. Ann Club on 16 Hendricks Ave in Norwalk. Female Soldiers: Forgotten Heroes (FS: FH) is Connecticut’s first and only community-based transitional home exclusively for homeless female Veterans and their young children. Housed at the Nicholas A. Madaras Home, FS: FH provides ten beds for female Veterans and five beds, when available, for their young children. Since opening in 2011, the program helps female Veterans by meeting their needs for a safe, secure home and adequate food, and by empowering residents to move forward with their long-term goals: obtaining permanent housing, achieving financial stability, and working toward greater self-determination. Each resident works with a Case Manager to develop personal, housing, and employment goals. ABRI vocational staff coach residents in the job search process, including resume writing, interview techniques, computer training, and other life skills For those interested in attending this fundraiser dinner, please go to Assembly100.org/payments to make reservations. No walk-ins, reservations required.

In addition, the Assembly assists the youth in the city of Norwalk by making a donation to the Norwalk Public Safety Cadets since they assist with the serving, set up and clean up for the Patriot Dinner.

“I am so excited for our third annual Patriot Dinner fundraiser to help our Veterans who have defended our freedom and way of life. If you are interested sign up quickly since limited seating is available,” said Ribellino.

Knights of Columbus Bishop Fenwick Assembly 100 4th Degree Knights of Columbus, is based in Norwalk, CT since 1914. The Fourth Degree is the outgrowth and culmination of the desire of the Members to manifest their love for country and pride in their Catholic American heritage. In 1882, the Reverend Michael J. McGivney had founded the Knights of Columbus to provide mutual aid and assistance to its members and their families. At that time the Order had only three Degrees exemplifying the principles of Charity, Unity and Fraternity. In compliance with the wishes of the body as a whole, the national board of directors met in August 1899 and approved the addition of a Fourth Degree to the work of the Knights of Columbus. The new ritual was adopted on the 9th of December and went into effect in 1900 with its primary purpose to foster the spirit of patriotism through the demonstration of one’s love for its country and by responsible citizenship. It is the highest Degree in the Knights of Columbus, giving a greater knowledge and appreciation for our Catholic heritage. For more information, go to Assembly100.org.

Now that Christmas Day has arrived, we can look back on the last few weeks and appreciate how truly hectic they have been for many of us. We managed competing obligations that demanded our time and attention, often making it difficult to immerse ourselves in the true meaning of Christmas and the many blessings of this season.

The distractions we face are also tied up in a net of our own making, given our growing dependence on cell phones, emails and social media that are always buzzing and demanding our immediate attention. Even the landscape of public discourse, that has grown more polarized and even militarized via social media, is a growing distraction, rendering us unable to access unbiased information with which we can understand the depth of the challenges we face in our contemporary society.

Given our lives filled with such distractions, how do we discover and enjoy the true meaning of Christmas? How can we build a personal and communal spiritual life in the midst of such constant “noise”? As I reflect upon my own busy and sometimes distracted life, it seems to me that these questions will not have an answer unless we intentionally rediscover the power and necessity of silence.

For it is in the quiet whispers found deep within our hearts that God speaks powerfully to you and me. It is in the quiet that God reminds us that He is always with us, inviting us to draw closer to Him. For the child of Bethlehem is Emmanuel, which means “God-is-with-Us.”

If we summon the courage to face the power of silence, we will also rediscover a new clarity of vision. In Proverbs 29:18, we read, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” Other translations of this proverb are more direct. They suggest that people perish when they lack a common vision. While this admonition clearly applies to the responsibility shared by leaders of all faiths, it is a question that each person must address in his or her own life.

Perhaps Christmas, more than most times of the year, offers us a glimpse into a vision that can transcend political and personal divisions. Its meaning is universal and enduring: peace on earth, goodwill to men and women, and hope for the world because of God’s love for us!

As Christians, we celebrate this great festival of love, and we find ourselves joining the shepherds and the magi as we adore the infant in the manger who is love incarnate. Who are we to receive such a divine gift from our God who loves us so unconditionally that He walks with those whom He created?

However, to welcome the gift of God’s love born in Bethlehem, we must be able to recognize His presence. This means we need to turn down the volume of the noise around us, allowing silence and true rest to enter our lives. Can you remember the last time you took a few hours to just sit and reflect? In the silence of your soul, are you willing to let go of whatever anger and resentment you may be feeling, and replace it with the light of God’s love?

The Christian mystic, St. John of the Cross, once taught: “In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone.” At first glance, it may seem strange that he makes no mention of orthodox faith, faithful attendance at Mass or even observance of the commandments as the main criteria for judgment, as important as they are. However, all these righteous and necessary acts must flow from a life that has encountered, embraced and lived love fully in every circumstance that we find ourselves. For if they do not flow from love, they will not give honor and glory to our God, who is Love Himself.

We encounter many people who have good intentions and believe that they are doing the right things but act without love. Such people may seem righteous, but their efforts will bear little lasting fruit. In our digital world, where we are encouraged to “react” to anyone who has offended us, we should pause and reflect. We must learn to resist the temptation to lash out in anger or vent our frustrations. In the face of hatred and division, we must learn to stop, take a moment to sit in silence and offer only love in return. Those are the “actions” that can help us to rebuild our fractured society.

There is no doubt that we will face many challenges in 2019, for each of us personally, as a nation and as a community. In this Christmas season, let us reject all division, anger and contempt that is found in our world. Let us seek to love our neighbor as the Lord loves us and leave everything else behind.

By Courtney Grogan | CNA

Vatican City, Dec 25, 2018 / 05:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Christmas, Pope Francis prayed for peace and renewed brotherhood in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other parts of the world experiencing conflict.

“May all of us receive peace and consolation from the birth of the Savior and, in the knowledge that we are loved by the one heavenly Father, realize anew that we are brothers and sisters and come to live as such,” Pope Francis said from the center loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his “Urbi et Orbi” blessing, Pope Francis said his Christmas wish is for brotherhood among people with different ideas that they might have the capability of listening to one another.

“By his incarnation, the Son of God tells us that salvation comes through love, acceptance, respect for this poor humanity of ours, which we all share in a great variety of races, languages, and cultures,” he explained.

The pope prayed in particular for Israelis and Palestinians to “resume dialogue and undertake a journey of peace.” He expressed hope that the truce brokered by the international community in Yemen may bring relief to “people exhausted by war and famine.”

“Without the fraternity that Jesus Christ has bestowed on us, our efforts for a more just world fall short, and even our best plans and projects risk being soulless and empty,” he said.

Francis called upon the international community to “work decisively for a political solution” in Syria without “partisan interests” so that Syrian refugees can “return to live in peace in their own country.”

“May the Child Jesus allow the beloved and beleaguered country of Syria once again to find fraternity after these long years of war,” Pope Francis prayed.

Pointing to the recent rapprochement between North and South Korea, Pope Francis prayed that Christmas may “consolidate the bonds of fraternity uniting the Korean peninsula,” enabling leaders to reach solutions “capable of ensuring the development and well-being of all.”

Francis also called for reconciliation and fraternity in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ukraine, and countries in Africa where refugees are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The pope asked that God grant religious minorities around the world recognition of their rights, particularly the right to religious freedom.

“A particular thought goes to our brothers and sisters who celebrate the Birth of the Lord in difficult, if not hostile situations, especially where the Christian community is a minority, often vulnerable or not taken into account,” he said.

After the Christmas blessing, the great bell of St. Peter’s Basilica rang out in celebration of Christ’s birth. The campanone bell is only rung on the solemnities of Christmas, Easter, and the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

Pope Francis called on the 50,000 people gathered in St. Peter’s Square to silently contemplate Christ’s nativity.

He said, “Like the shepherds who first went with haste to the stable, let us halt in wonder before the sign that God has given us: ‘A baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’ In silence, let us fall to our knees and worship.”

Denver, Colo., Dec 21, 2018 / 01:22 pm (CNA).- After communion at Mass this morning, our parish school choir began one of my favorite hymns.

The first line filled my heart.

“Let all mortal flesh keep silence, and with fear and trembling stand.”

It was darling to hear those solemn words intoned by the cherubic voices of third and fourth graders, already giddy for Christmas break to begin.

I looked at my wife and smiled– at her, at the baby in her arms, and at the thought of our older children kneeling in prayer with their classes, indistinguishable in the sea of plaid jumpers and navy sweaters, somewhere in the pews ahead of us.

The moment felt to me like the end of Advent should feel– Christ is coming, our family will be together, work and school and activities will be put on hold for a few days of feasting, and resting.

But then the school choir sang the next lines:

“Ponder nothing earthly-minded, for with blessing in His hand, Christ our God to earth descendeth, our full homage to demand.”

I realized then that I had spent most of Mass pondering “earthly-minded” things.

I had been thinking about the work I had to get done before Christmas could begin. I had been thinking about the presents I still wanted to buy. I had been thinking about friends I hoped to see, and books I hoped to read over Christmas break, and for a while, I had gotten sidetracked thinking about why our den is so drafty and what I can do about it.

None of that seemed to me like “full homage” of Christ, our God. If God was demanding that I should be thinking only of celestial things- of angels and saints, perhaps- I was failing.

My warm feelings about Advent eroded quickly. My mortal flesh had not kept silent. I was not, I realized, ready, in a spiritual way, for Christmas.

But the extraordinary thing about Christmas is that no one was ready for it. Mary and Joseph were not ready to be expecting a baby. Bethlehem innkeepers were not ready to welcome the Holy Family. Herod was not ready to receive the news that the Messiah had come.

Christmas came- Christ came- no matter who was ready.

There’s a reason for this. The reason is that while Christ warns us to be ready- ready for his coming, ready for our deaths, ready for our judgment- Christ also is the one who makes us ready.

We cannot be ready for the things that matter most unless Christ has come into our lives, and transformed them.

We cannot be ready to respond to hatred with love unless Christ has tamed our tongues and quieted our hearts. We cannot be ready to give without counting the cost unless, in Christ, we know that self-denial gives us real joy. We cannot be ready to go out and make disciples unless Christ has made us disciples.

And we cannot be ready to give up pondering “earthly-minded” things unless Christ has lifted our sights, transformed our vision, filled us with a love that consumes all else.

That transformation takes a lifetime. It is the transformation of becoming a saint. We have a part to play. Mostly our part is to ask for grace, to try, to fail, to repent and try again. To trust that our efforts are not in vain, and that, by grace, our habits will become virtues and our virtues will perfect our intellects, our appetites, and our wills.

But all of that starts with Christ. With grace. With his coming into our lives- through the sacraments, and Scripture, and the Church- just as he came into the world in Bethlehem.

In his 2010 Christmas homily, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that in the Christmas message, two “elements belong together: grace and freedom, God’s prior love for us, without which we could not love him, and the response that he awaits from us, the response that he asks for so palpably through the birth of his son.”

He continued: “God has anticipated us with the gift of his Son. God anticipates us again and again in unexpected ways. He does not cease to search for us, to raise us up as often as we might need. He does not abandon the lost sheep in the wilderness into which it had strayed. God does not allow himself to be confounded by our sin. Again and again he begins afresh with us. But he is still waiting for us to join him in love. He loves us, so that we too may become people who love, so that there may be peace on earth.”

Things start small. With a glimpse of hope, or a moment of self-mastery- with an act of charity that surprises us, or a moment of clarity we didn’t expect. Faith grows. Hope grows. Love grows.

God doesn’t move in our lives because we are perfect, God moves in our lives to make us perfect.

We may not be ready for Christmas, but Jesus Christ is ready for us.

By JD Flynn | Catholic News Agency

VATICAN CITY—This Christmas will people go to adore and be amazed by Jesus, or will they let themselves be detoured by distractions? Pope Francis asked.

In fact, one sign of holiness is being able to “be astonished, to feel wonder before God’s gifts, his ‘surprises.’ And the greatest gift, the ever-new surprise is Jesus,” he told Vatican employees and their family members during a meeting Dec. 21 in the Paul VI audience hall.

The pope continued a tradition he began in 2014 of offering Christmas greetings to people who work at the Vatican. The special audience comes right after a longer-held tradition of the pope meeting with officials of the Roman Curia.

Christmas cheer was in the air as Vatican employees and their families, many dressed in festive clothes, greeted the pope and gave him Christmas cards, gifts and hugs.

Christmas is the season of joy because the source of true joy — Christ the savior — has come, the pope said.

“But often we realize that people and perhaps we ourselves are caught up in so many things and, in the end, there is no joy or, if there is, it is very superficial. Why?” he asked.

Joy, he said, comes from being holy or at least trying to be good, being close to Jesus and letting oneself be touched by wonder and “contaminated” by the joy that surrounds him.

Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and all the others gathered at the manger, gazing at the Christ child, are “overflowing with holiness and, therefore, with joy,” he said.

Mary and Joseph had so many things to worry about, but they were happy because “they welcomed this gift from God with so much faith and so much love.”

He told the employees that his wish for them this Christmas was “to be saints, to be happy.”

People must not be superficial saints, just “normal saints,” that is, people who are holy even with all their defects and sins because “we ask for forgiveness and go forward,” he said.

It takes just a little to be on the road to holiness, he said, just a small ray of sunshine, “a smile, some attention, a favor, saying sorry.”

Little things like that make the workplace “more breathable,” too, he said. It lightens up that stifling environment “we create with our arrogance, closed-mindedness and prejudices, and people even work better” with better results.

The pope reminded them to avoid criticizing others behind their backs. If something is bothering them, they should confront the person directly and speak frankly, he said, or else just bite their tongue.

Do not gossip or backstab, he said, because it destroys “friendships and spontaneity.”

With this being his sixth Christmas at the Vatican, the pope said he has gotten to know many holy people who work there.

They are “saints who live the Christian life well. If they do something bad, they apologize. But they go forward,” he said, adding, “you can live this way. It is a grace and it is very beautiful.”

Often these saints “who live next door” are hard to notice because they are modest, do their jobs well and work well with others, he said.

“And they are joyful people, not because they are always laughing, no, but because they are very serene inside and they know how to spread it to others. And where does that serenity come from? Always from him, Jesus.”

“We are not afraid of holiness,” the pope said. “I can tell you, it is the path of joy.”

By Carol Glatz  |  Catholic News Service

Those who are not fans of Bruce Springsteen might be surprised to find that Catholic themes and imagery reside deeply in the music and the life story of a man who is a pop superstar.

His most riveting songs are haunted by a sense of sin, forgiveness and redemption as he spins tales of blue-collar families living on edge of violence and poverty; tortured souls often riddled with guilt over their decisions and actions.

Many who missed “Springsteen on Broadway” can now see it on Netflix, but for a deeper treatment of his themes and ghosts, it is worth dusting of his 2016 autobiography, Born to Run (Simon and Schuster), where his Catholic sensibility moves over to the printed page as he discusses the emotions and experience behind much of his best known work.

The reader is barely 12 pages into the 500-page book, when he is surprised by a chapter titled, “The Church.” We learn that Springsteen grew up in the shadows of St. Rose of Lima Church in Freehold, served as an altar boy, attended the school– and could barely wait to escape the parochial confinement of the late 50’s and early 1960’s, only to come to a realization that you can run but you can’t hide:

“As I grew older, there were certain things about the way I thought, reacted, behaved. I came to ruefully and bemusedly understand that once you’re a Catholic you’re always a Catholic. So I stopped kidding myself. I don’t often participate in my religion but I know somewhere deep inside I’m still on the team.”

Living across from the Church imbued him with a sense of the sacramental rhythm of life in the weddings, communions and funerals he witnessed as a young boy. His first marriage, to actress Julianne Philips, was held at Our Lady of the Lady of the Lake Church Oswego, Oregon in 1985.

“In Catholicism there existed the poetry, danger and darkness that reflected my imagination and my inner self. As a young adult I tried to make sense of it… that there are souls to lose and a kingdom of love to be gained. As funny as it sounds, I have a personal relationship with Jesus. He remains one of my fathers… I believe deeply in his love, his ability to save…”

The central pivot in Springsteen’s personal and artistic identity is the wounded relationship between him and his father. He writes movingly about his father’s menacing silence that occasionally would erupt into rage. The chapter on the death of his father, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder later in life, is the most moving and powerful in the book. Both men reached an accommodation later in life, a spiritual healing. In one of the final chapters, Springsteen notes that the song “My Father’s House,” is the best song he’s written about his father and reprints this verse:

My father’s house shines hard and bright
It stands like a beacon calling me in the night
Calling and calling so cold and alone
Shining cross the dark highway
Where our sins lie unatoned.

The sacrament of baptism washes through his lyrics and songs, where people frequently head to the river for renewal. “Racing in the Streets” ends with the lines: “ Tonight my baby and me we’re gonna ride to the sea, and wash these sins off our hands.” In “The River,” a couple locates the ebb and flow of their troubled relationship in the trips they take to the river: “We’d go down to the river And into the river we’d dive, Oh down to the river we’d ride.”

Readers just in it for stories about the music and the E Street Band will not be disappointed, but fans may get more than they bargained for in his near harrowing revelations about his struggles with intimacy, his need for control and bouts of depression.

There is also a stunning passage about his own personal isolation in light of the adulation he experiences. On one cross-country auto trip at the age of 32, he and his friend stop at a small Texas town where a Mexican community is celebrating.

“From nowhere, a despair overcomes me. I feel an envy of these men and women in their late summer ritual, the small pleasures that bind them and this town together. … All I can think of is that I want to be amongst them, of them, and I know I cant. I can only watch. That’s what I do. I watch and I record. I do not engage.”

In some ways the book is the “Confessions” of a man with profound spiritual depths alongside an intense awareness of his own flaws and divided nature. The singer/songwriter known to millions at “The Boss,” an adept drill sergeant of his band, admits he came to realize that he had no control over his personal life: he is not sure he can love or is worthy of being loved.

Like many Catholics of his generation, Springsteen left the Church. What is it they couldn’t find in the Church? What is it they couldn’t totally leave behind?

In the last chapter, he slips into the remembrance of himself as a St. Rose of Lima schoolboy dressed in green blazer and ivory shirt, reciting the Lord’s Prayer. His closing paragraph offers the prayer on the printed page, “Our Father, who art in heaven…” in effect, asking the reader to join him in the mystery and continuity.

He unexpectedly repeats that same stunning moment on stage at the end of his Netflix concert, when he refers again to his Catholic boyhood and recites the “Our Father,” just moments after he has referred to his life work as “my long, noisy prayer.”

How does the Church reunite the boy and the man, the prodigal sons and daughters who went elsewhere in their search for meaning?

Springsteen may have been “born to run,” but he couldn’t quite out run his own emptiness. In some sense, the book is about rebuilding faith—faith in himself and others. Ultimately it’s a humbling message and a recognition of the power of the spiritual life.

FAIRFIELD— Parents and friends of Saint Catherine Academy were treated to a spirited and joyful Christmas pageant this morning in the school auditorium in Fairfield.

Two hundred turned out for the annual “The Message of an Angel,” pageant performed by academy students who are impacted with autism, intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“What we witnessed today is the finest homily about Christmas I’ve ever seen,” said Bishop Frank Caggiano, who congratulated the students for their singing and reverent portrayal of the Nativity.

“This is the season when many of us search for the perfect gift. Let us not forget that the gift of Christmas is the only one that really matters, and the students have given us all a beautiful gift today.”

St. Catherine student Anna Stowe narrated the pageant while Jennifer Molina portrayed Mary and Jaheim Hamlette played the role of Joseph.

This year’s production featured a live Baby Jesus, Ella Fitzgerald, who won the heart of the audience. New to the production this year was also a memorable sequence in which the narrator called each of the actors by name and asked, “What is your gift this Christmas for Jesus?”

One by one the young men and women came forward and offered the gifts of themselves: “Joy, singing, helping, smiling, loving…”

“Enthusiasm,” said one young man who danced for joy on his way back to his place in the choir.

After the 14-member cast processed up a dramatic ramp in the center of the hall, the production began with “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”

The audience enjoyed concert favorites including “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Let There be Peace on Earth,” and “Joy to the World,” and joined the students in singing “Silent Night.” Heavy rain drummed the roof in between songs.

The cast finished the production with the audience favorite, “Feliz Navidad.”

Other cast members included Jennifer Molina, Jack Crowell, Luke Norris, Philip Palilla, Ronald Scott, Briana Beliard, Tanisha Delgado, Lizabeth Gonzalez, Nyah Holmes, Lindsy Paul, Fabricio Almeida, Frank Maldonado, Herbierto Moya, and Donte Dedrick.

The production was written by Sister Eileen Boffa, RSM, and directed by Sister Cheryl Driscoll, RSM.

Fairfield University Quick Center provided the lighting, and St. Catherine’s also received support from the St. Patrick’s Council of the Knights of Columbus, volunteers from the Order of Malta, and its Board of Directors.

The bishop praised St. Catherine Center executive director Helen Burland for her leadership. “Your leadership has allowed St. Catherine to prosper and grow.”

In her introduction to the event, Burland said the pageant is a “special occasion for the academy each year and an opportunity to showcase the talent of our students.”

She also asked all those in attendance to consider this question, “What is your gift to Jesus this year?”

“Each one of us is an innkeeper. You have to decide if there is room for Jesus,” she said.

Established in 1999 as a full-time day school for special needs students who benefit from a functional academic, social and life skills curriculum in addition to developing academic skills, St. Catherine Academy educates students ages 5-21 who are motivated to learn but unable to thrive in an inclusive setting.

St. Catherine Academy is located at 760 Tahmore Dr., Fairfield (on the grounds of Holy Cross Parish). For info call (203) 540-5381. Online at: www.stcatherineacademy.org


 
 

Photos by Amy Mortensen

BRIDGEPORT— Bishop Frank J. Caggiano and more than 800 people in attendance received an early Christmas present when the Diocesan Youth Choir delivered its most accomplished and vibrant performance yet at the “Arise and Shine” Christmas Concert at the Klein Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport on Friday evening.

In a remarkable performance the 135-member choir under the direction of Mary Bozzuti Higgins united the diocesan family and inspired all those present with a joyful and reverent celebration of Christmas.

The choir, featuring singers from grade six through seniors in college, received a standing ovation at the end of the hour-long performance, which included traditional Christmas music and contemporary classics.

Their voices lit up the first evening of the winter season as proud parents and friends recorded the performance on their cell phones and responded with thunderous applause.

“As we stand at the threshold of Christmas there is no better way to prepare than to raise our hearts in song. This has been a night of grace that we have spent together because of these young people,” the bishop said in his remarks following the concert.

“In a divided world, they have shown us what different people can do working together. In a wounded world, they have given us a taste of what it means to be healed. In a world of hatred, they have shown us the power of love,” said the bishop as he thanked the young people.

From the rousing version of “Arise and Shine” that began the concert to the reverent and resonant arrangement of “Dark is the Silent Night” that ended the program, the choir soared and seemed to gain strength from the four years that many of the members, including returning college students, have worked together.

The choir, which performed in their signature blue and white robes, sang in front of a beautiful alpine backdrop designed by J. Galt Design Backdrops.

One of the highlights of the evening was the performance of “Christ Child Noel,” which brought out members of children’s choirs from St. Theresa in Trumbull, Our Lady of Fatima in Wilton, and St. Matthew in Norwalk to join the larger chorus.

Photos by Amy Mortensen

This year’s concert also introduced new music with an 8-part cantata, “Were you There on That Christmas Night,” an extended and innovative movement combining different musical styles that interwove Christmas standards with contemporary songs and arrangements.

Student narrators for the cantata included Jack Smith of Fairfield Prep; Julia Rosati, St. Joseph High School; Emma Baughman, Immaculate High School; Thomas Griffin, St. Joseph High School; Odera Smart, Kolbe Cathedral High School; Evan Bean, Fairfield Prep; Gabrielle Wasco, Joel Barlow High School; and Citlalli Santiago of Kolbe Cathedral High School.

The young people’s voices also soared on “Mary Did You Know,” a contemporary classic, and “Believe,” a selection from the popular movie The Polar Express.

The young singers were backed by a gifted seven-piece ensemble including Clay Zambo, accompanist and arranger; Jessica Raposo, flute; Don O’Keefe, percussion; Nick Loafman, Trumpet; Dr. Ralph Kirmser, Oboe; Joachim Petzold, Trombone, and Robert Lenkowski, violin.

“What an accomplishment,” said Father Robert Kinnally, Chancellor of the Diocese and pastor of St. Aloysius Parish in New Canaan, in his welcome in which he noted that the choir was formed four years ago, as a “dream of our bishop.”

Mary Bozzuti Higgins, who demonstrated why she is considered one of the premier choral directors in the state, described the young singers as “happy, joyful, and full of faith.” She said they had rehearsed for months for the annual concert and benefited from the support of many people including members of the St. Augustine Guild.

To learn more about C4Y and how to support the choir, please visit the Choir’s web page.